Category Archives: Reviews

In Case You Missed It: Stéphan Forté – The Shadows Compendium

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Stéphan Forté – The Shadows Compendium (Listenable Records, 28 February 2012)

Ugh, I can’t believe it’s only Wednesday. Last week, with the holiday and me adding on a vacation day, I only actually worked three days… which I think has now totally spoiled me, because I keep feeling like the workweek should be just about over. This sucks. I spent most of the past couple days listening to some ultra-heavy monolithic death metal, which is usually great for settling the nerves and calming me down. Right now it isn’t really doing it for me, though, and I’m afraid the next person that bothers me is going to end up with a pretty nasty punch to the throat unless I find a better way to chill out. Considering the fact that the majority of the time, I deal with the pain-in-the-ass people over the phone or by e-mail, the whole punching thing might be a bit awkward, but believe me, I’d find a way.

So that brings us to the subject of this review, since I was looking for something totally different to listen to. How about some guitar-driven instrumental metal? Probably not something you’d expect me to gravitate towards, especially since I’ve discussed some of my thoughts on the genre previously, and how it can really rub me the wrong way unless it’s done just right. I was a bit skeptical too, at first, especially when I saw this album cover (see above) and noticed how much this guy looks like a French Steve Vai with a bunch of eyeliner. But then I decided, what the hell, I can be open-minded and at least check out a song or two, then move on to something else.

Well, I’m glad I did give this album a chance, because honestly I was pretty impressed by the quality, and — if I can say this without having it sound like a backhanded compliment — I was surprised by the overall lack of pretension and pomposity that one normally expects from solo guitarists (e.g. Yngwie, etc.).
 

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The “Signmeto” Unsigned Band of the Week: Chopstick Suicide

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Hey look at that, it’s Monday.  Around here, that can only mean one thing: it’s time for the “Signmeto” Unsigned Band of the Week!  Just like I do every single Monday, without any exceptions ever*, I’ve gone to the “Sign Me to Roadrunner Records” website and checked out some of the bands there who are looking for people to review their music.  I’ve picked out one of those,  listened to the songs they’ve got posted, and now I’m writing about them here so that once again, YOU can discover some awesome new music. 

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*Okay, okay, okay, I lied. I missed last week. I was too busy travelling and visiting with relatives and junk like that over the Easter weekend, and didn’t have anything prepared for Monday. But that was just one time! It won’t ever happen again. Ever. But don’t quote me on that.
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Anyway, that bunch of pissed-off looking dudes in cartoon character shirts, up above, are a band of mathcore hooligans from Istanbul, Turkey, called Chopstick Suicide.  These guys recently released an album called Lost Fathers and Sons on the Turkish label Peyote Müzik, but nevertheless they do have a few of their songs available on the Signmeto Roadrunner Records website, and therefore they qualify as an Unsigned Band of the Week here on Valley of Steel, mostly because they are currently seeking a relationship with other labels to help distribute their stuff internationally.
 
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Just Released: Obolus – Lament

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Obolus – Lament (The Flenser Records, 10 April 2012)

In the “Inferno” section of his Divine Comedy, the poet Dante describes his descent through the various circles of Hell, including the particular sins which had landed the condemned souls in each of these, and what tragic fate had been assigned to them.  A large part of the allegorical nature of this tale revolves around the narrator’s interaction with some of these damned creatures; while often serving as political commentary on what he perceived as misdeeds in his own time, Dante’s poem also speaks on the evils of human nature in a far more universal sense.

Of the nine circles through which the author must pass, the seventh is the final resting place for those deemed guilty of sins of violence.  This circle is further subdivided into three narrower rings.  The section “Canto XIII” discusses what he sees in the second of these three rings, which is classified as sins of violence against oneself:
 

“… we had put ourselves within a wood,
That was not marked by any path whatever.
Not foliage green, but of a dusky colour,
Not branches smooth, but gnarled and intertangled,
Not apple-trees were there, but thorns with poison.”

“There do the hideous Harpies make their nests…
They make laments upon the wondrous trees.”

“I heard on all sides lamentations uttered,
And person none beheld I who might make them,
Whence, utterly bewildered, I stood still.”

 
Soon, at the urging of his netherworldly guide Virgil, our hero discovers that the voices he hears are issuing from the disfigured trees themselves, in which form are trapped the souls of those who had ended their lives by their own hands.

By breaking off a piece of one of their limbs, he finds he is able to address the tortured soul within, and have it respond to his inquiries:
 

“As out of a green brand, that is on fire
At one of the ends, and from the other drips
And hisses with the wind that is escaping;
So from that splinter issued forth together
Both words and blood…”

 
If the lamentations he heard from this poor, wretched being could be captured on tape, I’m sure the result would be extremely similar to the just-released Lament by the San Franciscan atmospheric black metal band Obolus.
 

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Out Last Week: Elizabeth – Where Vultures Land

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Elizabeth – Where Vultures Land (Throatruiner Records / I for Us Records, 04 April 2012)

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s worth repeating: I have a lot of respect for bands and record labels who do what they do for the right reasons. Here, “the right reasons” are not to get rich and famous and live a life of luxury by taking advantage of people, but simply to create (for the bands) or disseminate (for labels) art based on a true passion for doing so. Now, I’m not saying that nobody should ever make money from their art — a lot of work goes into it and everyone involved totally deserves to recoup their expenses and bring in enough extra income to hopefully be able to continue what they are doing! But at a certain point, it seems like making a few dollars becomes more important than sharing a mutual love of music, and that is just a sad situation for anyone to be in.

Having said that, it’s obvious Matthias Jungbluth of French (Breton) label Throatruiner Records is in this for the right reasons. Anyone who would start an extreme metal label nowadays has to know beforehand that they aren’t going to be bringing in a ton of money, considering the state of the music industry these days, and so there must be some degree of passion for the art itself. The label specializes in small releases on vinyl or cassette, as well as some other merchandise, supplemented by free downloads of those releases in order to expose the artists to as many people as possible.

 
Packaged with the free download of an album from Throatruiner is the following text (contained in a file named “FVCK LARS ULRICH.rtf”):

Thanks for your download, we hope you will enjoy this record as much as we did! When I have started Throatruiner Records last year, one of my guidelines was to put all my releases on free download. Because the stuff i love should live without any boundaries. So if you want to support Throatruiner Records & our bands, please visit http://throatruinerrecords.tumblr.com/ and pick some stuff, we need it; and if you think we don’t deserve any $, be kind, share this album with five of your friends!

Sorry for your ears.

I’ve discovered a lot of great new music through this label, one example of which I’d like to share with you today.

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Out Today: Vulture – Oblivious to Ruin

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Vulture – Oblivious to Ruin (27 March 2012, Innervenus Music Collective)

 

I’d to apologize to you in advance for the following review, because what I am about to bring to your attention is going to seriously fuck up the rest of your day.

Today marks the official release of Oblivious to Ruin, the debut LP from “Steel City Sludge” purveyors Vulture. These Pittsburgh natives have been around for a few years now — they had previously recorded a self-titled EP at the end of 2008 with a different singer (this was recorded in Virginia with the assistance of Gwar‘s late guitarist Cory Smoot). The following year, though, they swapped for new frontman Justin Erb, and soon started working on new material.

The first material anyone heard out of this revised line-up was the track they recorded in early 2011, exclusively for the Iron Atrocity Vol. 1 compilation: “Prick of Misery” . That song was definitely one of the highlights from that collection, so of course I was excited not long after that when I learned Vulture had teamed up with Innervenus to put together a full-length album.

The band returned to the same studio in Akron, Ohio, where “Prick” had been recorded, and once again they worked with Complete Failure‘s James Curl. After hammering away at it through August and October 2011, Oblivious to Ruin is now ready to be unleashed upon a thoroughly unsuspecting public.

 

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In Case You Missed It: Krampus – Kronos’ Heritage

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Krampus – Kronos’ Heritage (Self-released, 24 August 2011)

Good afternoon, readers.  So how is your day going so far?  Mine’s almost over, but still it seems to be dragging on far too long.  I could sure use a break, and I’d be willing to bet you feel the same.  I’ve decided to take a  folk-metal break, care to join me?

Amazingly, just a few short years ago I had no idea that there existed such a thing as folk metal.  I’ve been a long-time fan of the orchestral and symphonic stuff that sometimes gets incorporated into black or power metal, and any other music that brings together unexpected juxtapositions of style or instrumentation, but for whatever reason, I’d just never really been exposed to the folkier stuff.  Once I did discover it, though, I instantly was knocked off my feet, and ever since then I just can’t get enough.

Today I’m taking a quick look back at the EP Kronos’ Heritage, released last summer by the Udinesi octet Krampus.  Just a quick look, though, because the EP is only three songs, clocking in around twelve minutes.  Following that, I’ll also be glancing ahead, because right now this troop of Italians is busy laboring on their forthcoming debut release for  Noise Art Records, which is due out late this year.

The Krampus, as I understand it, is a scary monster with goat-like features, somewhat like a satyr, which originally came from the pagan folklore of the pre-Christian Alpine lands, but nowadays is thought of as the Christmas demon, serving as a counterpart to Saint Nicholas in many central European countries, and coming around to deal with the naughty children who don’t deserve any gifts.  Similarly, the band that shares its name with this creature seems to be intent on punishing those who have misbehaved, except in a metaphoric sense: here, the “children” represent all of mankind, and the “misdeeds” for which we are to be reprimanded involve polluting and destroying the planet on which we live.

 

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Just Released: No Anchor – Rope/Pussyfootin’ 7-Inch

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No Anchor – Rope/Pussyfootin’ 7-Inch (Self-released, 17 March 2012)

Good morning, readers. It felt like this week was never going to end, but it’s finally Friday! All we need to do is fumble our way through one more day, then the weekend will officially be here. Pretty awesome, huh? Although sometimes even just one eight-hour day still feels like it lasts forever, and besides that, it’s hard to get excited about anything this early in the morning, right?

Well don’t worry, I’ve got something to help you survive one more workday. Go grab a cup of coffee and get your headphones on, and brace yourselves for some grungey noise-rock all the way from Queensland! Brisbane’s No Anchor have just unleashed a brand new 7″ with four songs (three of which are free to download!) over an eight-minute span that should give you just the jolt you need.

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In Case You Missed It: Decaying – Encirclement

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Decaying – Encirclement (2 January 2012, Hellthrasher Productions)

So remember way, way back in November, when this blog was still more or less in its infancy, I posted an announcement with details about Encirclement, the soon-to-be-released second album from Finnish death metal band Decaying? 

If you missed that announcement, don’t feel bad — somehow I sort of let it slip away too. The January release date came and went, and I must have been distracted by something, because I didn’t actually get around to grabbing myself a copy of the album until just a few weeks ago. But it was definitely worth the wait, and I have listened to it countless times since then. And now, I’d like to share it with you.

 

Honestly, that first paragraph will be enough of a review for most people: Finland has built quite a reputation for having excellent quality metal, so as soon as you hear there is a new death metal album coming from that nation, your fingers are probably already itching to go click on that “order” button. But just in case you need just a little more convincing, keep on reading…

 

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Just Released: Hail Spirit Noir – Pneuma

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Hail Spirit Noir – Pneuma (Code666, 5 March 2012)

(This is the second in a series of two album reviews today, for two very different, yet equally awesome, Central Macedonian bands. To read about Descensus Ad Inferos by Erevos, head in this direction.)

 

Pneuma (πνεύμα, or Spirit in English) is the debut release from Thessalonian duo Hail Spirit Noir, which consists of Haris (synths) and Theoharis Liratzakis (guitar/vocals), both of whom serve in those same roles in the avant-black ensemble Transcending Bizarre?.  HSN has been in existence for about two years now, and much of this time was spent composing the material found on Pneuma, which was then put to tape at Lunatech Studios (near Mount Olympus), rounded out by guest musicians Dim Douvras on bass (who also mixed the recording), Ioannis Giahoudis on drums, and Dimitris Dimitrakopoulos who provided additional vocals.  Acclaimed Swedish engineer Jens Bogren then mastered the final product, and earlier this month Code666 Records made it available worldwide.

At least, that’s what happened according to the record label’s official press release (which also refers to the group’s music as “psychedelic prog black to tear your psyche apart”).  Now, I’m not trying to imply that any of this information is inaccurate in any way.  But having listened to this album pretty much nonstop for several days, I’ve found that what these guys have crafted is so uniquely compelling, I would have been willing to believe it if I had been told there was a bit more to the story of its inception than that.

 

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In Case You Missed It: Erevos – Descensus Ad Inferos

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Erevos – Descensus Ad Inferos (30 September 2011, Orkestral Promenade Records)

I don’t know what’s in the water in the Greek region of Macedonia. Maybe there’s some kind of magic in the Termaic Gulf or the nearby Haliacmon River or something. Whatever it is, it’s obviously had a strong effect on the musicians of that area, as evidenced by the fact that today I’m going to tell you about not one, but two incredible debut albums, from a pair of bands who both come from the Central Macedonian capital (and second-largest city in Greece), Thessaloniki. The second one, about Hail Spirit Noir‘s Pneuma, can be found over here, but first I’d like to introduce you to Erevos.

 

Erevos (έρεβος in Greek, or translated into English as Erebus) literally means darkness; in the story of Creation, Erebus was one of the primordial Greek deities which originally came forth from Chaos, wherein he was the incarnation of darkness and night. The name also refers to a place of darkness beneath the earth, which some say indicates the eternal home of sinners after death, while others identify it with an area through which the dead pass between earth and Hades.

Erevos is also the name of a symphonic black metal band who have been around since 2004, having released a couple demos and some split releases since that time, in addition to touring all over Greece and other parts of Europe, including Bulgaria and France. In early 2011 they finished recording their debut full-length, Descensus Ad Inferos, and then in September it saw a limited release in their home country through the Orkestral Promenade Records label. The album met with much acclaim from those who were lucky enough to hear it the first time around, so in cooperation with Clawhammer PR, they’re now pushing to spread the word about this excellently composed sonic poetry worldwide. And, well, spreading the word is what I’m here for.

 

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