Album Reviews

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    Portfolio – Reason Outside Nature (2012)

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    With all the lines between Art Rock, Alternative Rock, Post-Rock and so on getting blurred, it is quite refreshing when we get releases that actually offer more than your average album. Portfolio’s release “Reason Outside Nature” is one of those albums that nicely blends many influences into a very well-crafted palette of sounds. Featuring six tracks, this EP will ease you into tranquility with its very relaxing music.

    Opening with the playful “Gringo, Portfolio are dead”, the band nicely establishes a Jazzy Post-Rock foundation that is very catchy and engaging. The trumpet nicely gives depth to this band’s sound and the way it’s carved into the music separates them from the rest. There are some heavy guitars in this track, but they are mostly used to speed things up. With even more class and determination, “Frassica” fills up the room with a sexy and intoxicating atmosphere.

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    Silent Carrion – Andras (2012)

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    Usually one-man bands are a big hit or miss, they can either be awesome because the person behind them is a musical virtuoso and can’t stand playing around with other retards, or they are just terrible because they are the public inner ramblings of a child that could not play music. Silent Carrion falls somewhat in the middle of these two categories. “Andras” delivers eight tracks of weird Ambient / Drone / Noise music that is interestingly creative and disturbing, but very often poorly executed (in our opinion).

    The opener “Mountain (An Invocation)” creates a very eerie and weird atmosphere that if it wasn’t for the bad sounding programmed drums, it would be an excellent song. With “Mist” things get a bit more intense and the creepy factor is still in play with some more ‘intense’ drums. We often wonder how can somebody thing this programmed drums sound good when they are not well polished. Take for example the legendary Diabolos Rising, their programmed drums sounded amazing.

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    Lynchmada – To The Earth (2011)

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    Arriving from Australia today we have another run-of-the-mill Metalcore band that while having a few fine moments, it still falls short of being interesting and truly engaging. Lynchmada and their second full-length release “To The Earth” pack 11 tracks (50 minutes of music) of uninspired typical Metalcore that makes you wonder if the world of Metalcore itself is devoid of creativity.

    The album starts with the brutal “What Fresh Hell is This”, a very typical song that has powerful guitars and inhuman growls, making you believe this is actually a Deathcore release. The catchiness really starts on “Throat of Stone”, where the band shows off some nice groovy riffs but fails to move away from the traditional song structures of the genre. The breakdowns mark their first appearance here, and while there is some nifty guitar work here and there, there is nothing more to really enjoy.

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    Wombwrecker – Wombwrecker (2012)

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    Delivering a heavy dose of Deathcore, today we have England’s Wombwrecker and their self-titled digital EP. Playing a very vanilla type of Deathcore, the band has produced 7 tracks that are devoid of any originality and sound brutal for the sake of being brutal. With all the Deathcore band’s spanning in the last few years, one would expect that they would at least focus on not sounding all alike, but we guess that Wombwrecker missed the memo.

    Immediately pounding away with “Introduction”, the band established that their sound is going to be brutal and that their guitars will be heavy as fuck. In terms of the structure of what they are playing, we can’t really say we haven’t heard this before. The brutal vocals make their appearance in the second track “No Sluts, No Glory”, and they are as heavy as any other band in the genre like Oceano, Acacia Strain, etc., we have no complaints in this department since they are as brutal as they can be.

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    Lahmia – Into the Abyss (2012)

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    Seemingly out of nowhere, today we have one of the best Melodic Death Metal releases we have heard in the past few years with Lahmia’s “Into the Abyss”. For a debut full-length release, this riff-tastic album is very well crafted with excellent melodic passages and very aggressive sections. With the typical comparisons to Swedish Melodic Death Metal giants Dark Tranquility, the band also fuses some of Belgium’s Thurisaz elements into to their music to create a superb album.

    Opening with “Drag Me to Hell”, the band delivers intense Thrash riffing that nicely morphs into more traditional Melodic DM as the song progresses. The Dark Tranquility worship is clearly evident with the section around the 4:30 mark where they sound like DT’s opus “There In”. The mixture of traditional growls with some harsher Black Metal shrieks nicely reminds us of Thurisaz, but with less emphasis on the atmospheric side of things, as depicted on “Nightfall”.

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    L’Alba Di Morrigan – The Essence Remains (2012)

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    Arriving all the way from Italy, today we have a very mellow and atmospheric release with L’Alba Di Morrigan’s debut full-length album “The Essence Remains”. Combining elements of Art Rock with some Progressive and Post-Rock hints, the band delivers nine tracks of solid music that will nicely relax you after a hard day of work.

    The album opens with the very Katatonia-esque “Snowstorm”, a piece that had the participation of Frank Default (of Katatonia fame) on percussions and keyboards, giving this track a nice ethereal sound to it. The band continues with more Katatonia worship on “The Fairies’ Circle”, mainly on the distant vocal sounds and the overall depressive vibe. Frank Default makes another appearance on “Silence”, our favorite track of this release thanks to its very moody passages.

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    Llvme – Yia De Nuesu (2012)

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    With a very lush and elaborate sound, today we have Llvme and their second full-length release “Yia De Nuesu”. Mixing elements from Doom, Folk, and Black/Death Metal, this band has a very rich and entertaining sound that will blow you away with excellent melancholic passages and sheer brutality moments.

    Opening with the majestic “1188-1230” track, this release immediately establishes a melancholic atmosphere full of aggression and emotions. The female vocals and violins in this track are excellent and nicely contrast the heavy elements of the track. “Helmantica” brings forth a more aggressive stance from the band and some very Dimmu Borgir-esque keyboards. The riffing is very well crafted and the drums are stellar. “Vettonia” has that same Folk Metal vibe that bands like Eluveitie exploit to no end (the bagpipes), but it somewhat feels different with some nice stop-and-go moments and the direct Amorphis ‘rip-off’ section at the end of the track.

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    Tal’set – La Via del Guerriero (2012)

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    ATMF is always surprising us with some mind-bending music as well as some ear raping releases, the label with Tal’set’s “La Via del Guerreiro” has managed to release something that is very rare these days: Truly Original Music. Before you go thinking that the end is near (due to such inconceivable fact), Tal’set’s musical style is a pretty interesting amalgamation of other styles into a weird hybrid that sounds like nothing else and everything else put together in perfect harmony.

    The album starts with a very trippy intro titled “Il Vecchio Alla Stazione” that sets the mood for a deeply confusing and weird release indeed. “La Via del Guerreiro” features some weird proggy elements from the 70’s mixed with some heavy duty Death Metal elements adding to the confusion of where is this band going with this. Same happens with the medieval sounding opening of “Intento” only to go back into some barebones Death Metal with chunky riffs and some BM sounding drumming.

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    Kommandant – The Draconian Archetype (2012)

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    As the USBM scene keeps getting better and better over the years, it is not surprising to find high-quality releases, like Kommandant’s “The Draconian Archetype”, that keep pushing the boundaries of Black Metal. The band’s delivers 10 tracks and over 50 minutes of excellent Black Metal with an emphasis on the atmospheric side of things. With a sound similar to bands like Nightbringer and Canadian’s Weapon, Kommandant clearly knows what they are doing and transmit their sickness perfectly in this release.

    With excellent dissonant guitars and a balls-to-the-wall approach, “We are the Angels of Death” makes a powerful statement as the opener for this release. The thick atmosphere created by the guitars is outstanding and gives that veil of darkness that many BM releases lack these days. The vocals are creepy and intense, adding an extra layer of dissonance to the music. “Victory Through Intolerance” features a more traditional structure, but that dense atmosphere is nicely present throughout this track as well.

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    Kaos – Validated in Blood (2012)

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    Kaos, the Bay Area’s most underrated Thrash Metal band is finally back with five high-octane tracks that deliver the powerful message that the band needs a shot at the big leagues: ASAP. In “Validated in Blood” the band maintains their top notch form from their previous release “The Pits of Existence”, and delivers a very intense and powerful release.

    Opening with the pummeling “United We Kill”, the riff machine immediately starts and keeps things soaring high for the remainder of this release. Besides the killer riffing, Jason Darnell’s vocals are top notch, perfectly blending with the band’s aggressive music. The percussions in this song are excellent and the individual guitar work in the solos is top notch, something that many bands fail to put attention to, showcasing the abilities of Stacey Murray and Steve Brumbaugh.

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