Wil Cifer Archives - Page 14 of 18

COLDWORLD: “AUTUMN”

Jul 182016

(Wil Cifer brings us this review of the new album by Germany’s ColdWorld.)

Finally after 8 years, Germany’s ColdWorld has released a new album, Autumn. This world might be more of a slight chill than a cold one, as the sound has certainly changed. With this album, everything is bigger, so the compromise is even up to some of the starkness created by the more lo-fi ambiance of this project’s earlier work. I love depressive black metal; if you have read my other reviews then you know I like it as dark as a band can give it to me. So after hearing the changes, which have made this more of an atmospheric black metal album than a depressive black metal album, I had to pry my stubborn old mind open even further.

The mood has changed; something hopeful lies within the chords propelling the scowling vocals. Things become even more refined when clean vocals appear in the first song, creating a more Porcupine Tree sound. Female vocals are even layered within “Void”. Synths set the stage for “Woods of Emptiness”. There is an emotive pulse to the guitar, but to my ears it’s not what I call dark; instead it paints the song in a hazy, dream-like gray. Continue reading »

NAILS: “YOU WILL NEVER BE ONE OF US”

Album Reviews 3 Responses »

Jun 062016

(Wil Cifer reviews the new album by Nails.)

Over the years trends in metal come and go, leading up into 2016 when grindcore and powerviolence seemed poised to break through into the metal mainstream. What Weekend Nachos failed to deliver is now jackhammered into your face by this trio from California, who possess a guitar tone as nasty as the instrument can achieve while still being able to create riffs capable of holding together actual songs. For the purpose of this review, the word “song” is used to refer to sharp bursts of rage.

Grindcore has never been my forte, as the genre’s range of dynamic expression sonically feels like coloring with only the red crayon of anger. While this might limit what many bands do, Nails are savants at coloring with this crayon so well that your only choice is to hold on for the jolting ride. Continue reading »

YOUTH CODE: “COMMITMENT TO COMPLICATIONS”

Album Reviews 3 Responses »

May 112016

(Wil Cifer reviews the new album by Youth Code from L.A.)

After the Alaric review, you might have guessed I am more drawn to heavy in all of its forms than being limited only to ingesting it as metal. You might be familiar with my work at Cvlt Nation; if so, my weird taste will make perfect sense.

This album has a great deal of metal influence lurking beneath the electronic beats. Youth Code is aggressive in a way that industrial music has not been in some time. Industrial music has lost a great deal of its menace over the years. It became enmeshed in EDM, with even the legends of the genre such as Skinny Puppy succumbing to coating their songs in a plastic sheen after The Greater Wrong of the Right. Youth Code has come to put the teeth back into industrial.

These kids are not just hipsters playing dress-up. They are the real deal. This aggression doesn’t require sampling riffs from ’90s thrash metal either; it is fueled into the buzz of their synths. Continue reading »

ALARIC: “END OF MIRRORS”

Album Reviews 2 Responses »

Apr 212016

(Wil Cifer reviews the new album by Oakland-based Alaric.)

In my assessment of what makes a band heavy, darkness is an integral component of the equation. Dialing in the gain and tuning lower are easy first steps toward this woeful abyss, but it really takes the ability to convey life experience stained by addiction, mental illness, and deep loss to capture convincing sonic shades.

This band from Oakland is more than convincing when it comes to diving into the shadows. They caught my ear when the whole hipster death rock revival came into my consciousness, though these guys are much rougher around their serrated edges than other bands that rode in on that wagon. Now five years later they have made a very welcome return with End of Mirrors thanks to Neurot Recordings.

All the things that have worked for these guys in the past are in place as they plow into the post-apocalyptic wasteland their music conjures. Their bassist provides varied levels of gloom-ridden melodies that are trod upon by the guitarist, a member of the sludge band Noothgrush. Some of the hypnotizing grooves here take multiple listens to fully sink in. Continue reading »

BOSSK: “AUDIO NOIR”

Album Reviews 6 Responses »

Apr 062016

(Wil Cifer reviews the new album by Britain’s Bossk.)

Dream metal serves as a better sub-genre to file this British band’s debut full-length under, rather than dismissing them as post-rock or sludge gaze. Too often post-rock/metal has meant music influenced by Piper At the Gates of Dawn. Before God Speed You! Black Emperor raised their skinny fists, Voivod had already tested those Roger waters on “Nothingface. Instead of trying to re-invent the Floydian wheel, Bossk is giving it a new spin. They bang out a brand of bong-fueled aggression easily agitated into something more overtly metal. Like many of their mellower peers, an incredible guitar tone comes with the job description; it has just taken a decade to make sure it’s dialed in right on this album. Continue reading »

TOMBS: “ALL EMPIRES FALL”

Album Reviews 3 Responses »

Mar 222016

(Wil Cifer reviews the powerful new EP by Brooklyn’s Tombs.)

After wrecking eardrums with 1349 and Full of Hell on the Chaos Raids tour, the Brooklyn band is stepping further into the darkness on their new EP All Empires Fall. It might not seem as grim a journey, with the increased focus of their song-writing lighting the band’s way, but it is a powerful addition to their legacy.

Without a doubt, things have changed for this Brooklyn band since releasing Winter Hours in 2009. Some of those changes include the band’s line-up, which now includes Fade Kainer from Batillus / Statiqbloom. Kainer’s industrial side is set back in the shadows as a slight drone launches them into the solid metal chug of the opening instrumental “The World Is Made of Fire”, with the band lashing themselves into straight-up black metal for “Obsidian”. But it’s not just full blast ahead. These guys have more tricks up their sleeves with Kainer‘s synths adding a new depth to the band’s post-apocalyptic sonic layering. Continue reading »

GRAVES AT SEA: “THE CURSE THAT IS”

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Mar 172016

(Wil Cifer reviews the new album by Graves At Sea from Portland, Oregon.)

After a few splits and an EP, these guys are pulling the trigger on the full-length I have been dying to sink my doom-hungry jaws into. The nastiness they teased us with on previous releases has been filtered through a bigger production value for their debut full-length. The band still thunders into your ears, with some of the evil abrasion that coated their work now snarling at you like crystal-meth-infused stoner rock. Sometimes this even borders on the post- apocalyptic sludge of Through Silver and Blood-era Neurosis.

The vocals are the band’s meanest quality, packing ample grit into each scream. The guitar has warmed up a bit. Perhaps it is the time they took in the studio to perfect their tone versus the raw, angrier sound of previous releases. With each listen I began to appreciate the expanded musical qualities invested into the songs here; it just takes a little getting used-to. Continue reading »

HOWLS OF EBB: “CURSUS IMPASSE: THE PENDLOMIC VOWS”

Album Reviews 4 Responses »

Mar 042016

(We present Wil Cifer’s review of the new album by Howls of Ebb.)

Finally there is some motion in the ocean, as the albums I’ve been looking forward to going into 2016 have begun to creep into my inbox. This project out of San Francisco brings a sense of adventure back to death metal. There is little in the way of rehashing what Incantation and Morbid Angel have already done. No time is wasted digging into the meat of the metal on this one. The trippy grooves and atmosphere are still intact, as the double-bass hammers beneath the rubbery bass lines. The aggression is not conveyed in the manner you expect from death metal. Their guitar tones are not saturated in distortion; they give an organic quality to the chaos bubbling within these songs. Continue reading »

MOONSORROW: “JUMALTEN AIKA”

Album Reviews 4 Responses »

Mar 012016

(Wil Cifer reviews the new album by Finland’s Moonsorrow.)

It’s been five years since the Finnish overlords of pagan metal left us with Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa. The new album, Jumalten Aika (“The Age of Gods”), opens with folk instruments, creating a ritualistic aura. After a minute and a half of this they storm into the larger-than-life metal you have come to expect from them.

The black metal side of what they do is toned down on this album, as this one dives into folk metal on an epic scale. Holding true to their mission statement, the album does have a commanding Viking feel, without inspiring you to go into a jig with your drinking horn. Continue reading »

KETZER: “STARLESS”

Album Reviews 4 Responses »

Feb 052016

(Wil Cifer reviews the new album by Germany’s Ketzer.)

This German band’s third full-length continues to defy genres. It varies on a song-by-song basis as to what shade of darkness these guys are bringing. From the more blackened death metal roar of riffage that is “When Milk Runs Dry” to the punk influence permeating the thrashy moments of almost black ‘n’ roll. It’s the attention to detail and aversion to following a formula that elevates this album above the dozens of other metal releases still sitting in my in-box. The solos are very melodic and add to the song rather than just litter them with shredding.

Ketzer are most often thought of as a black metal/thrash hybrid, though their bassist plays a much larger role in their sound than the bulk of black metal bands. At times this creates almost a groove without conforming to mainstream metal. Continue reading »

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