85th part of short reviews.
GALAXY – On the Shore of Life
Year: 2021
Label: Dying Victims Productions
Rating: 6,8 / 10
Heavy / Power Metal from Australia. It sounds very good, especially where it doesn't lean to doomy side. The guitar solos are amazing. The problem here is mostly the vocalist: most of the time he sings well, but on high notes he resembles a recent Starship launch: he confidently takes off into the sky, but suddenly starts spinning around, swallowing syllables and all. Well, at least he doesn't explode. Listenable album.
THE TROOPS OF DOOM – Antichrist Reborn
Year: 2022
Label: Alma Mater Records
Rating: 7 / 10
The recent news that the crooks Max and Igor Cavalera are re-recording the first two SEPULTURA releases reminded me that I did not listen to the debut LP of THE TROOPS OF DOOM - a band where Jairo Guedz, the original guitarist who wrote those two SEPULTURA albums, plays. If you're an unbeliever, listen to "Antichrist Reborn”, and all doubts will disappear. The style of "Morbid Visions / Bestial Devastation" is recognized from the first minute. Unfortunately, the album does not benefit from modern high-quality sound, since through it the music begins to resemble VADER, and this, to put it mildly, is not at all what we need. Among the attractions - there is a track featuring the vocalist of the legendary RATOS DE PORÃO (this man always sounds better on metal records than in his own band) and a cover of “Necromancer”, where Alex from KRISIUN sings.
WITCHUNTER – Metal Dream
Year: 2022
Label: Dying Victims Productions
Rating: 7,2 / 10
Thrash speed metal from Italy. The first thing that attracts attention is the fantastically right sound. Undoubtedly, these guys not only know what they are doing, but also understand, and even live by that. Sometimes I even want to shriek "ПРОРОЧИТ СМЕРТЬ ЗВЕРИНЫЙ ВОООООООООООООЙЙЙЙЙЙ". The downside is, these are hyper-emotional Italians, so the construction of the compositions wasn't the first thing they thought about. Everyone plays and sings as if for himself; there are serious problems with tightness and consistency. In the dirty Black Thrash stuff about Satan, these things are allowed, but we're talking about more refined music at the moment. One way or another, this album is fiery!
ASTRAL TOMB – Soulgazer
Year: 2022
Label: Blood Harvest
Rating: 7,4 / 10
Now this is some kind of temporary paradox: a band of young men from USA, who are 20 years old at best (and if you look at them, it's more like 15), and suddenly they play a serious, technical, brutal and conceptually deep Death Metal. In 1991, it wouldn't surprise anyone, but in 2020s, young people, especially in the States, have healthier activities - Fortnite or pot smoking, for example. And here, look, it's not even some lonely nerd, but as many as three guys at once! To be honest, the album gives a lot of reasons for criticism (for example, atonal fragments sound terrible and all over the place), but I give these guys additional points for enthusiasm.The influence of BLOOD INCANTATION is obvious - I hope, unlike them, these young gentlemen will not manifest themselves as woke retards.
HOURS OF WORSHIP – The Cold That You Left
Year: 2022
Label: Iron Bonehead Productions
Rating: 6 / 10
An American-Portuguese duo playing a dark mix of Gothic rock and darkwave. Obviously, some metalheads are hiding behind these masks, because if not, then why would Iron Bonehead release them? The album has an excellent cold sound, great lead vocals, but all this is in vain, since it completely lacks dynamics. All 9 tracks for 47 + minutes are slow, performed at the same pace and in the same dour mood. I inform you, good people, that this whole post-punk/gothic/darkwave stuff only when you offer its combination with hypnotic dance rhytms, otherwise it's just boring. t's a pity; the album had a lot of potential.
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