Tag: album review

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ALTAR of BETELGEUZE – Echoes – REVIEW

 

Do you love Doom Metal? Hate it? Don’t care for it? Altar of Betlegeuze has you covered with their latest release, Echoes.

The Finnish Doom masters have cleverly melded multiple styles and sounds into something that is accessible to everyone. Every note feels heavy as Altar of Betlegeuze set out to prove slower usually means heavier. Altar of Betlegeuze aren’t playing slow just for the sake of being a “Doom” band. Every note march the songs forward. No fancy fills or strange ambient passages. Throughout the recording you’ll hear harsh and clean vocals, sludgy riffs and even some hints of Groove Metal. “Embrace the Flames,” is a banger that feels a little different than the rest with its’ “speed” Altar of Betelgeuze is able to do all of this while remaining true to their original Doom beginnings, keeping it mean, slow and heavy.

If you are looking for an album to introduce yourself or a friend to Doom Metal without scaring them away, look no further.

 

 

 

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GOHANGMUSIC – Godless EP – REVIEW

 

And now for something completely different.

When you first inspect the cover to GoHangMusic’s EP Godless, with the bloody figure and black crosses you may think you are about to check out some nasty and savage Black Metal. Once you hit play, you’ll find you initial impressions are wrong. Very Wrong.

The title track “Godless,” sounds like something off a generic rock radio station. It’s not bad by any means. It just not the gut punch we are used to. GoHangMusic bills itself as, “misanthropic industrial folk punk.” The music inside is as interesting as the genre they are a part of.  While nothing included here as as heavy as we are used to here at Trve Kvlt, there are plenty of rocking tunes.  Luckily the Ep really picks up with the second track. “Dust,” is full of killer riffs and clean refrains that become earworms. “Necrotized,” picks up the pace with plenty of punk inspired piss and anger.

“Awash,” sees GoHangMusic go in a different direction. The usual clean vocals are left behind for angry and raspy screams. The tempo slows down to a plodding pace creating the perfect eerie atmosphere.

 

 

 

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KRIGSGRAV – Fires in the Fall _ REVIEW

 

Labor day is the unofficial last day of summer in the states. Many begin look forward to Fall with its longer and colder nights and onslaught of pumpkin spice products. Here a Trve Kvlt, nothing warms our little black hearts more than a fresh serving of Black Metal.

Krigsgrav is from Texas and with the current heat wave the states is experiencing, it might as well be Hell itself. Perhaps just the spark of inspiration that band needs to keep pumping out incredible material. Fires in the Fall, is the group’s 7th album in their 20 year existence.

One of the first things that hits you on your first listen is the outstanding production. Every note and sound is heard and has a larger than life feeling. This is especially felt in many of the Doom elements that are infused into the recording. While production value is often looked as the enemy of Black Metal, Krisgrav expertly use it their advantage.

Krisgrav creates melodic atmosphere throughout the album. Each song feels massive and takes on a life of its own. At one moment you are enjoying a nice slow Doom beat and the next Krisgrav hammers you over the head with some killer thrash riffs and hooks. The band perfectly fuses these elements together with great fluidity.

Closing track, “Alone with the Setting Sun,” is the band at their peak. Krisgrav adds just the perfect touches of Doom, Black and classic Death Metal here to make an absolute banger. There are too many great guitar moments here to count. Stop reading and start listening!

 

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LUST WITCH – We All Die Alone – REVIEW

 

Lust Witch’s deput, We All Die Alone, is four  tracks of murky and sludgy doom crawling out from the depths of Indianapolis. Interestingly enough, the 4 song titles are taken from the words in the album title with “We,” being the first track and so on. With that thought process in mind, this album is meant to be enjoyed as a complete listen.  Each track melds into the next. Don’t put this one on shuffle.

“We,” starts off softly with an eerie tone coupled with some creepy chants in the background. Lust Witch slowly build up the temp and intensity into the second track, “All.” The tones are a little harsher and the sense of dread still hangs thick in the air. With “Die,” the longest track on the recording, Lust Witch continues with more vocal work and more thick and chunky riffs. Throughout the first 3 tracks you can really sense that Lust Witch is building to something.

“Alone,” closes things out starting with some thick and nasty bass grooves and trench deep guitar tones. As the song title would suggest, “Alone,” has an unshakable depressing feeling of isolation and loneliness and despair. Everything your blackened little heart wants from a Doom EP.

 

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THE HUMAN RACE IS FILTH – Echo Chambers – REVIEW

 

You gotta love that band name. Straight to the point and utterly complete statement. The Human Race is Filth or THIRF for short,  was formed back in 2017 by a bunch of veterans of the Maryland and Pennsylvania extreme music scenes. With a shit load of experience between the band members, THRIF deliver exactly what you would expect on this short EP.

THRIF does a great job playing blistering old school Grind. The closing track, “Shit States USA,” is just a little over 30 seconds and length but starts out with a cool groove before going into full blown blast mode. It’s one of those tracks that remind of the early days of Napalm Death where you would want repeat the shortest tracks over and over.  The group does take time to slow things down a bit in parts. “Mindless Thoughts,” starts with a groovy crawling bass that is followed by a creeping guitar before the blast beats hit What sets THRIF apart is their ability to blend in some Sludge and Doom elements that perfectly fill out a song. It dosent feel at all out of place and still delivers a meaty hook to the jaw.

At less than 10 minutes in length, you can spin Echo Chambers a few time before clocking in to work.

 

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THLURM – The Thlurm Must Die & Dungeon Scum

 

Thlurm bills itself as, “Metal Punk from the dungeons of Indiana,” which is quite an accurate description for their contribution to this month’s subscription. “The Thlurm Must Die and Dungeon Scum,” is part of Wise Blood Records demo series that highlights up and coming and promising new artists.  This recording, combining 2 separate demos is raw and punk as fuck, covered in chunky layers of pure filth.

” Instantly you hear influences of Toxic Holocaust and Midnight and like those bands, Thlurm is a solo product brought to you by Austin Sipes. Thlurm though has a much more punk and grind approach to their style. Songs come in fast and filthy with a certain unpolished charm that is comparable to early Napalm Death. This recording reeks of the lo-fi production of the the mid to late 80’s.

The vocals are sick, the guitars have more of a punk then metal feel and the while the drumming does not include any blast beats, the first demo, “The Thlum Must Die,” is some killer Grindcore. “Disease,” is punk rock kick to the jaw and the following track, “Imaginary Hell,” is a straight up banger that reminds me of Ghoul.

The second demo, “Dungeon Scum,” is much more raw in sound than the first. This half shows more of a Black Metal influence which can be felt the most on “Serpent Master.” “Illusions of Chaos,” and “Human Waste,” even slow things down a bit with even adds more of a haunting vocal feel.

For a demo release, Thlurm are already a band to watch.

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HELL NIGHT – Unlimited Destruction – REVIEW

If you haven’t been hip to Hell Night yet, now is the time to correct that mistake. The band had several 7’s and singles throughout their career and released their first full length in 2019, “Unlimited Destruction.”  The title  fits perfectly as this recording is full of enough hard hitting guitars, pummeling drums and vicious vocals to level a city. Brian Fair replaced original vocalist Mike Craft for “Unlimited Destruction,” taking the sound further with even more fury than before.

Hell Night have a hardcore/metal/punk approach filled with pure aggression that comes in part from Andy White’s brutal and murky guitar work that perfectly compliments Brian Fair’s pissed off vocals. While their exact genre of music is difficult to pinpoint, their ability to write killer riffs and songs that may a mosh pit to break out in your living room is without question.

For even more details regarding this album check out our recent interview with Brian Fair.

 

 

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INSINNERATOR – Hypothermia – REVIEW

This one is for the Thrashers. Instantly from the first track, “Burned Alive,” Insinnerator assaults the listener with a battery of blazing riffs, intense solos and some killer vocals that give off an early Exodus vibe. Tons of falsetto screams and group vocals are added throughout the album that hammer home the Bay Area metal vibe that Insinnerator expertly pull off.

Curiously, the title track, “Hypothermia,” is a vast departure from the rest of the album. It is a short and somber instrumental melody that feels much more like the opening of  a longer piece than a title track. “Elemental Ice Dragon” has all of the makings to be an epic Thrasher. It’s a longer song that adds more technical flair than the pure Thrash fury displayed on the rest of the EP. It has a real Metallica meets Slayer vibe. This is a nice change of pace that showcases that the band can add a little more variety to their sound beyond straight aggressive Thrash. (Not saying that there is anything wrong with that!)

“Curse (Horror of Dracula)” is a banger and a great way to end this EP with tons of angry speed, great vocals and a nice haunting feeling vibe to close things out. Another win from the next generation of Thrash Metal!

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TRYANNUS – It Taketh -REVIEW

“It Taketh,” is a three song Demo from the Scottish duo Tryannus. Included within is just a taste of what is to come when they release their debut album next year. “The Flood,” starts out with a frenzied Black Metal style with a haunting and icy crawl in the mid section. Title track, “It Taketh,” is filled with plenty of blast beats, buzzsaw guitars and sickened vocals. The demo ends with the eerie instrumental, ” Lake of the Undying,” that utilizes some great synth work merged with a softer guitars that paint a dreamlike sequence.

Tyrannus definitely fit the mold of Lovecraftian style they are looking to achieve and it will be interesting to see what they come up with when they release their full debut album next year.