114th part of the short reviews.
SKELETHAL – Within Corrosive Continuums
Year: 2024
Label: Hells Headbangers Records
Rating: 8,1 / 10
The French band SKELETHAL continues to maintain its level and offer old-school Death Metal with an excellent understanding of all the subtle features of the style. In addition to the obligatory gravenous sound, there are harsh, testosterone-fueled riffs that would've fit even MORBID ANGEL. However, in general, SKELETHAL are more like the old Swedes, but they hardly allow themselves to play frivolous rock-and-roll garbage, and I am very thankful for that. Fuck "Wolverine Blues"!
ALCEST – Les chants de l’aurore
Year: 2024
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Rating: sweet ass candy
When ALCEST switched from Prophecy to Nuclear Blast, the latter obviously immediately explained to the French that no one would allow them to sell water as music, as on shallow and dreamlike "Shelter" and "Kodama". Therefore, on “Spiritual Instinct” ALCEST returned to a more concrete sound, and on the new album they turned to their past even more specifically. "Les chants..." has a lot in common with "Souvenirs...“ and ”Les Voyages...“, and here, you won't believe it, there are songs, not another ”A-a-a-a" with an airy guitar. Neige even uses his outstanding screaming several times. He always did it fantastically, unlike singing. The song "Améthyste" is a real hit and an amethyst a pearl of the whole album. In short, new ALCEST is worthy of attention. This is a beautiful and well-written easy-listening quasi-metal, which has only one problem: in places, it is too sweet, like a whole can of condensed milk in your chocolate eye.
OBNOXIOUS YOUTH – Burning Savage
Year: 2024
Label: Svart Records
Rating: 7,6 / 10
Swedo-Finnish quartet which includes a bass player with the wonderful nickname Shit. Looking at all this, you might think that this is some kind of hooligan punk, and you won't be much mistaken. But OBNOXIOUS YOUTH is actually a very dirty (in a positive sense) mix of genres, and the main goal of the band is to fucking bash! The quartet not only does not shy away from Satan, but embraces Him totally, so its music is not only dirty, but also dark. There are some slow tracks that sound like BLACK SABBATH drenched in cheap wine. You'll like it.
SVAMPE ALKEMI – Schizoteric Rites Vol.1
Year: 2022
Label: self-release
Rating: mushroom dances
The modest Belarusian project SVAMPE ALKEMI sits quietly and unnoticeably, like that fungus under the leaves, and plays the magnificent Stoner Rock, which is released for free on Bandcamp (I've heard about some cassettes, but I'm not sure they exist). Stoner has never been and will never be included in the list of my favorite styles, but I undoubtedly call SVAMPE ALKEMI one of the best examples of Stoner that I have heard. The author of the project did not try to make anything complicated, but simply recorded fantastic rhythmic songs with a soul, feeling and even a characteristic Belarusian atmosphere, although nothing outwardly indicates it. SVAMPE ALKEMI's rhythmic structures strongly resemble post-punk, which is probably why I liked it. There is also a slight similarity to BLACK MAGICK SS. One way or another, it's quite a shame that a simple Belarusian guy with poor equipment creates hits that no one listens to and distributes them for free, while all sorts of Italians and Swedes, who have a full set of lamp heads and amps, record pretentious shit and attract the listener exclusively by the boobs on the album covers. Give SVAMPE ALKEMI a chance.
SADISTIK WARFARE – Seeds of Hate
Year: 2024
Label: Selvajaria Records
Rating: 5 / 10
A rather weak release from a young Portuguese label. The demo of the Swiss-Portuguese band, supposedly created "in oldschool way", is actually made ”In lazy way". This is an early 2000s type of "old school" - with badly photoshopped photos of the musicians, shitty digital sound and the freshness of wet potatoes forgotten in the basement for two years. I was especially happy with the incredibly original texts about politicians who deceive us all. I can give the band a few more outstandingly innovative lyrical concepts for free: the ice is cold, the sun is hot, and a bear shits in the woods. The release is saved a bit by the aggressive manner of performance and a fine timbre of guitars, but these are the only positive things.
