46th part of short reviews.
ABYSMALIST – Reflections of Horror
Year of release: 2019
Label: Caligari Records
Rating: 6 / 10
The first demo tape of the American duo. Death Metal in the vein of BOLT THROWER: moderately heavy, unhurried, balanced sounding, with good acoustic deviations. The lyrics are mainly based on horror literature. I always considered BOLT THROWER a boring band, and the painful bloating of the left hemisphere of the elderly Karl Willetts completely discouraged me from touching the music of these British. ABYSMALIST are hardcore punks from California, so I predict that the infection that struck Willetts may have symptoms in the future of this band as well. If this does not scare you, check out.
MEPHORASH – Shem Ha Mephorash
Year of release: 2019
Label: Shadow Records
Rating: 6,6 / 10
The new album of Swedish occultists, one might say, blew up the Internet, and therefore, succumbing to universal delight, I was convinced that I was about to hear an album of a decade, no less. However, the final result left me almost indifferent. Subsequent auditions did not change the situation much. Well, yes, solid songs, varied sound, grand synthesizer parts, outstanding guitar work, eloquent lyrics.... separated, all these parts look great, but their sum does not catch me. “Shem Ha Mephorash” is very similar to the last two BEHEMOTH full-lengths, but BEHEMOTH can compose hits, and the Swedes can compose 10-minute canvases. The riffs available are not enough to smudge them evenly over the entire duration of the album, so you have these long interludes that make you sick at the third song or even earlier. No thanks.
BHLEG – Äril
Year of release: 2019
Label: Nordvis Produktion
Rating: 6 / 10
I already wrote about this group not so long ago - the Swedes perform atmospheric metal music, typical of Nordvis, with a large number of acoustic fragments. Something close to AGALLOCH and LÖNNDOM, but simpler. There is nothing special about the release; ordinary modern Scandinavian chewing gum. A typical set of solutions, a vocalist with a mouth full of wet paper, a thin sound. Nothing really bad here, but I won't listen to this again.
FATAL CURSE – Breaking the Trance
Year of release: 2019
Label: Shadow Kingdom Records
Rating: 7,3 / 10
The debut of the New York band playing Heavy Metal as if it is still 1983. At least that’s the impression when you hear this beautiful analogue sound. The line-up includes the former guitarist of good death metal band DISFIGURED DEAD. Heavy metal from FATAL CURSE isn't like maidens or priests, but something more pop-hooligan like THIN LIZZY, DIAMOND HEAD, WITCH CROSS and VIRGIN STEELE. Therefore, I doubt you will listen to this album more that 2-3 times, but this listenings will bring you pleasure.
DARKENED – Into the Blackness
Year of release: 2019
Label: Edged Circle Productions
Rating: 5,5 / 10
The fact that this international project will be trivial, like a daily trip to the toilet, is understandable already when you read to these totally mediocre titles of the band and album. DARKENED includes people from Sweden, UK and USA - the most prominent figure is Daryl Kahan, drummer of BOLT THROWER and disgusting MEMORIAM. The quintet pulled 15 minutes of a rather gray Death Metal with Swedish punky vibes, simple template tunes and a disastrously faceless sound. This band is probably the perfect example of "project" - generic as fuck. Only so much effort has been invested so as not to cause the listener to vomit. But does this justify the loss of fifteen minutes of life?
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