Wednesday 17 September 2014

Machinergy - Sounds Evolution (2014)


Sounds Evolution is Machinergy's second full-length, and the Portuguese three-piece have produced one hell of thrashy beast!

Singer (and guitarist) Rui Vieira has a vocal style that seems to mix the styles of early Fear Factory with mid-era Prong, producing an aggressive but forlorn sound that complements the industrial feel extremely well. The guitar work is very technically accomplished without being too technical, leading to fast and brutal songs that have great hooks.

The industrial elements are limited to samples and intros (such as in the excellent track Venomith) and imagery rather than musical content, leaving the album as a rather stripped-back thrash affair. There is the occasional melodic death element, and I can hear some Metallica and even Machine Head influences! The riffing is therefore varied enough to keep the listener's interest throughout.

Carne & Mal has some great riffs and a neat retro groove section, Cado Falso has some excellent lyrics that will speak to fans of Testament, and Waterwar (great title!) has a solo that definitely needs to be witnessed to be believed!

Machinergy have managed to pack a lot of vintage thrash into a modern album, aided by the mixing which is slightly bass-light, and an excellent drum recording. If I had one criticism, it is that the vocals lack body. There are times where they could have been brought to the front of the mix more, giving them the room they deserve, powerful as they are.

Portugal is not known as a place to find great thrash, but give Machinergy a chance and you may just find your new favourite band.


Available from https://machinergy.bandcamp.com/album/sounds-evolution

http://www.machinergy.com/

Sunday 8 June 2014

Hok-key - Znak Biady (2014)


Hok-Key's dramatic new album is something you should definitely hear this year. The Belorussian folk metal band have been producing quality music since 1994, when they started as a comedy metal band. Since 2004 they have ploughed the furrows of folk metal, incorporating violins and keys into their grandiose sound. Znak Biady bursts into life with a dramatic introduction, and the following songs meander between chugging bursts of riff, beautiful folk strings and vocals, and bombastic, Finntroll-esque sections of bouncy melodic metal.

The vocal sound is huge and epic, with vocalist Dmitry Rudovich singing in a clean style, which is quite a departure from previous efforts, where he tended to produce a vicious scandanavian-style snarl. The new style works well with the bombastic production, however, and there are even some female vocals.

There are some unusual melodies, not least in Opener, Ruch, and some wonderful acoustic folk parts that sound very melodic and well considered. If you're looking for the Pantera-inspired riffage that littered previous albums, you may be disappointed, but tracks such as Spadčyna and Horad M have some great heavy parts.

This album, one which is altogether more coherent effort than 2009's Ad Libitum and more epic and natural sounding than previous album, R.I.P., comes highly recommended for fans of symphonic and folk metal alike.

The album will be available on CD, but, in what is quite a generous move, you can download their entire discography, including Znak Biady, from their website at http://www.hok-key.com/page.php?id=3

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Thursday 17 April 2014

Iskald - Nedom Og Nord (2014)

The last Iskald album I heard was 2008's Revelations of Reckoning Day, so I don't actually know what they've done since then, but I'll review their latest offering, Nedom Og Nord (Journey to the North), anyway.

I quite like the fact that this band has only two members, one of whom does the drums and the other of whom does everything else. One- or Two-man bands often have a tight focus that is missing from larger bands. Iskald are entirely focused on recreating the feeling of an arctic blizzard in your front room, and they do it pretty well. If you're looking for a reference point, they've clearly learnt a lot from Immortal, with the excellent drumming providing the backing for riffs that quickly move from sauntering groove to icy blasts. The arpeggios are a particular joy, with a crackly edge to them that conjures images of the glittering crests of icebergs.

Underworldly is a track that borrows from Blut Aus Nord, with some particularly chilling atonal chord lunges. The track is largely instrumental, but the vocals that are used are vast yet comprehensible and suitably emotional.

The song Iskald is worth checking out, mainly for the strained vocals that sound more Impaled Nazarene than Iskald, but the riffs are much broader and epic than in the other tracks, and contain that Marduk-esque style of moving down the fretboard as the song goes on rather up it. There's even a touching solo, though don't expect any fret-wankery here - it's a sparse solo, drowning in a sea of chords.

You've got to hand it Iskald: they know how to create that frozen atmosphere. They're no Immortal, but they're clutching at the same frostbitten cloak. The album is not as varied as it could be, but the formula works, and there are parts of this album that are classic black metal, with a chilling vocal performance. Good work from these chilly Norwegians. Someone light them a fire.

Out now on Indie Recordings.

Click here to listen to 'Underworldly'



Thursday 2 January 2014