Beyond Creation – The Aura

April 4, 2011 • PRC Music

I've been listening to a lot of death metal lately. Don't ask me why; I guess it's just one of those phases (though I might have to blame Inanimate Existence). Beyond Creation is one of the many new modern-tech-death bands I've been pumping into my ears, and I have to say they're probably one of the better ones—and further evidence that Quebec has some of the best extreme metal out there.

It's tough to point to a specific thing that Beyond Creation does well, but I guess when it comes to death metal it's all about the riffs, isn't it? and this album has them in spades. The band does a great job of setting up nice groovy parts left and right while fitting all the parts together just right, and everything sounds very clean and meticulously-composed. Even the breakdowns are good—death metal breakdowns are all too often hamfisted and cheesy, but on The Aura they're actually done tastefully and don't overstay their welcome. There are also some nice pseudo-progressive, pseudo-jazzy clean parts to break up the intensity, and they're also done very well. All in all the band does a great job of not dawdling on one thing too long; they'll jump from crunchy headbanging riffs to furiously-paced wheedly guitar to energetic blasting, all at exactly the right moments. (Also, some fantastic bass work throughout—which I'm happy to say isn't rare in this kind of music, but it really shines here. They even have bass solos.)

Of course, like many other similar albums it does seem like it drags on a bit long, even at just fifty-two minutes. Maybe I'm noticing it now when listening a bit more closely instead of just jamming along while doing other stuff at work. Then again, I don't really notice much of a drop in quality anywhere—it's pretty consistent the whole way through—and that's always a good thing.

I won't say this album (or this band) will ever go down as some kind of classic. But after listening to what may be dozens of similar 2000s–10s death metal albums over the last few months, this one has managed to stay near the top of my list, so that's gotta be a good thing.

Soilwork – Natural Born Chaos

March 25, 2002 • Nuclear Blast

Time for another trip down memory lane, this time all the way back to high school in 2004 or maybe 2005. I was finally starting to expand my metal horizons besides whatever garbage was on the radio (okay, yes, it was a slow process) and I had a friend or two who were into some good stuff (what passed for good stuff at the time). Natural Born Chaos blew my little mind at the time—or maybe that was just because of how loud my friend played it in his car.

Anyway.

Like every melodic death metal band who was around in the mid-2000s, Soilwork was a very silly band and this is some pretty silly music. The melodic-ness is laid on really thick for the most part—lots of harmonized vocal hooks, cheesy synths, relatively cliché chord progressions and such. That said, they do manage to write a few good riffs and when they decide to get actually heavy (e.g. "Follow the Hollow") it's actually some pretty good material. Maybe not enough actually-good material to fill ten songs, but it gets close. And even I have to admit that the technical aspect of this album is pretty good. The drumming is satisfying, the mix is nice and punchy—heck, even the guitar solos are pretty good and I usually don't care much about guitar solos.

Then again, there's a big nostalgia factor here. When I first heard this album, it was when I actually had time to read and remember the lyrics, and quite a few of these songs I still know how to play on bass. These melodies and riffs are etched in my brain forever. Had I first heard of this album today, I probably would be entertained for a while and then forget it shortly after, but as it stands I can't not enjoy it.

Cannabis Corpse, Mammoth Grinder, Inanimate Existence, Artillery Breath

December 18, 2014 • Ace of Cups, Columbus, Ohio

Concerts this year were sadly slim. It looks like things might pick up next year, though. Anyway I was excited to finally hit another death metal show—as I've said before, I think death metal is one of my favorite genres to watch live, if only for the sheer insanity some bands bring out on stage.

Artillery Breath

The token local opener, and pretty decent stuff to get the show started at that. They're kind of like a death-metal-oriented Kvelertak—lots of heavy grinding extreme metal with old-school high-energy hard rock riffs, with that same sort of high-energy performance and silly and fun attitude. They're not really the kind of thing I'd spin very often on my own, but they were definitely good to watch and a great opener.

Inanimate Existence

The obligatory second band playing that I'd never heard of but wound up liking the best. (Weird how often that happens.) As I soon as I saw them breaking out the seven-string guitars and warming up with some jazzy lines, I could tell it was going to be good. This band falls much more into the brutal/technical death metal side and have a much more serious stance than the other bands playing, but what they were playing was ridiculous—the kind of complicated wall-of-sound riffing where the drummer is somehow the sanest one playing. I did my best to keep up with what the guitars and bass were doing, but the complexity and fluidity was too much, as if they were just waving their fingers over the fretboards at random but still having something awesome come out. This sort of very-long-form through-composed material isn't for everyone and it can be tough to get through at a show, but in this case I don't think I ever found myself anything but engrossed. So yeah, they're good, very good, if you can stomach the wall of intensity.

Mammoth Grinder

This band was the primary reason I went to this show, as they were the only one who I'd heard before. As it turns out I don't really like them at all. I'd listened to their 2009 album some time ago and forgotten about it, and now I know why. Their particular style of modern metallic crust punk isn't really my thing at all. There are some good bits here and there, but most of their music is pretty flat and to be honest they aren't really that fun to watch, either. Oh well. If they're already your thing, it's probably worth it to check them out, but don't stress about it.

Cannabis Corpse

It's been ages since I heard any Cannibal Corpse, but if I remember them right, these guys are (musically) by far the better band. They're pretty traditional death metal with a little bit of groove metal fusion going on, and clearly with a lot of songwriting talent. On the other side of the coin, though, I'm not a stoner, and unfortunately most of their fans are, and we don't get along. I am not a real big fan of moshing, but at many shows I wind up standing right where people want to open a pit, which is usually in a prime spot for, you know, just watching. So I was forced to stand in the back where I couldn't really see, and at that point you might as well just go home and listen to it on YouTube. Usually the audience at metal shows I go to here in Columbus is pretty reasonable, but not this time. Shame, because the band themselves seemed like pretty cool guys. Oh well.

Ulcerate, Inter Arma, Locusta, FaithXtractor

May 18, 2014 • Carabar, Columbus, Ohio

Finally! It's been, what, three months since I've been to a show? Anyway, earlier I said that while death metal may not be the best kind of metal, it's probably the best kind to see played live. Slowly, data point by data point, I am confirming this to be true.

FaithXtractor

With a silly name like this I had low expectations for FaithXtractor, but I'm happy to report that I was dead wrong. These guys were great. They played a sort of classic-ish death metal but in a way that's definitely an improvement over a lot of the boring old stuff I've heard. Straightforward and powerful riffage, great chugging rhythms, non-stop brutality. Nothing particularly flashy or fancy, but they get the job done—and, after all, sometimes the simpler things in life are best. Worth checking out; I picked up their CD and I'm glad I did.
8 • Gnarliest Bass Tone Award

Locusta

I first saw Locusta back in September and was blown away, so I was pumped to see them play again. And I have to say that they absolutely killed it—even better than last time. I don't know if any of the material they played was new (familiarity with songs always makes them more enjoyable) but it says something when their Death cover was the weakest in the set. They had the same mixing problems as before (low bass and vocals) but it didn't matter much to me; their songs are simply made for the stage and impossible not to slam along to.
9 • Best Private Services in the Bathroom Award

Inter Arma

So this was the third time seeing Inter Arma (second time here). And nothing has changed since then. Their music doesn't lend itself well to a live show at all (and it's not that good to begin with anymore anyway). Their show has turned into a big series of noodling, fills, and walls of atonal garbage that just go on and on forever. It felt like they barely played any music (and it seemed like most of the time there were more heads banging on stage than in the crowd). I mean, I guess they perform well, but you'd better be really sure that you love their stuff before you make the trip.
4 • Best Time to Grab Some Merch Award

Ulcerate

Like Inter Arma, Ulcerate's material doesn't really translate well to the stage. Unlike Inter Arma, though, Ulcerate is pretty good in the studio so they definitely put on a more enjoyable show. It's just unfortunate that their style of death metal becomes this sort of chaotic, atonal, messy wall of sound that's hard to follow. The older stuff, which is a bit more rhythmic, fared better, and overall it was a pretty cool show to see. Side note: There comes a point in every person's life when they realize they have too many drums. That point is before you reach two hi hats. At least, it should be.
6 • Biggest Silly Headphones Award

Separatist – Closure

February 2014 • self-released

I haven't really gotten tired of black metal yet, but lately I've been thinking that maybe death metal is where it's at. I've been starting to dig and discover a bit more recently, and of course there's plenty of good stuff to be had. I'm not sure if Separatist is a good representation of where the genre has been lately and where it's going, but Closure is (if nothing else) a real experience.

It's some very interesting death metal, highly technical yet still the sort of technicality that allows for some really brutal sounds. It's almost grindcore-like at times, but aesthetically it's very definitely death metal. Blasting, double kicks, some tremolo picking and some nasty grinding riffage. There's even the occasional black metal sound once in a while. Not to mention some progressive-like sections with clean singing as well—yes, it's true! It kind of shocked me the first time around; how often do you hear clean vocals in death metal (at least, the kind that doesn't entirely lend itself to that style like Gojira)? Yeah, not often.

And that's all just in the first track.

Yes, after a while it does spiral into the sort of incomprehensible trip through a lightning-fast changeup of sections and styles; Closure is a hugely dense album and there's simply so much going on at any point that it's very difficult to ride along with it much of the time. More established death metal veterans will probably have an easier time with it than I did, of course. That doesn't mean there aren't a lot of great ear-catching rhythms to anchor onto now and again ("Carrier" has a good selection, for one). Maybe it's just one of those albums that's best in small doses.

I haven't heard too much modern death metal that isn't horribly derivative or boring, but Separatist is doing something right (as bizarre as it can get). Recommended if you can stomach the sheer brutality.

Behemoth – The Satanist

February 3, 2014 • Nuclear Blast

Behemoth is (yet another) one of those metal bands that I listened to a ton of around 2005–2007, but really fell out of my rotation after that in favor of some more appealing and niche death metal (it didn't help that I found their 2009 album Evangelion really boring and derivative). Even still, I kept interest in the band through the stories about Nergal's illness and recovery and figured I might as well give The Satanist a shot. And it was well worth it.

Although this album is still very much in line with their older stuff, it's a huge step forward in terms of sound and performance and shows the band finally stepping up out of their rut a little bit. Their particular brand of blackened death metal is as solid as ever, but it takes a couple interesting turns. Most notable is a bit of a slower, toned-down atmospheric sound on a few tracks (like "Messe Noire" and "The Satanist") that reminds me a lot of bands like Gojira (especially "The Satanist"). It fits in well with the rest of the album and adds a nice new contrasting aesthetic dimension to the music. Also worth a mention is the saxophone solo (of all things!) during the bridge near the beginning of "In the Absence ov Light"—completely out of left field, but also totally great to hear. There's a lot of neat little moments like that scattered around.

And I can't complain about their more traditional death metal writing, either; there's loads of great catchy riffs and blasts to keep things intense. As usual, there's a bit of simplistic repetition in a few songs like the basic riffing in "Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer" which is a bit less appealing to my tastes, but it's still not bad.

I know a lot of people are opposed to the glossy mix and over-production of their albums from the last ten-plus years, and that hasn't gone away; The Satanist is definitely far too slick that anything with that title ought to be. Personally, I never mind that sort of thing. In this case, it might help a bit since there's a lot of extra instrumentation going on—choirs, organ, strings, brass, etc. Also, the bass is mixed really prominently and has a great growly sound that cuts through really well, even on earbuds.

I still have a soft spot for Demigod (as that was the first of theirs I heard) but this one is probably going to take the number two spot in their discography for me. I'm not going to say The Satanist (or Demigod, for that matter) is some kind of death metal masterpiece that will be remembered as a classic for years to come, because it won't (they're too mainstream for that by now, ironically). It is, however, a reasonably good album that Behemoth should be proud to have to their name.

Gorguts, Origin, Nero di Marte, Dismemberment, Unkured

December 14, 2013 • Alrosa Villa, Columbus, Ohio

Back when I saw Locusta play in September, I thought that even though I don't really listen to much death metal at home, it's definitely a genre that I can get into when performed live. Tonight I tested my theory, and as it turns out I was totally right. Even though I was lukewarm to Gorguts' last album and I hadn't even heard of any of the other bands who played, I knew that it would still be worth it to give them a shot in concert. And it turned out to be one of the best shows I've been to yet.

Unkured

Gorguts couldn't have asked for a better opener. Although they fall at least somewhat into the "tech death" camp, these guys still managed to rock really hard. It was probably some of the old-school influences, so it was a familiar sound to a lot of people, and there is a lot of groovy rhythmic bits that really got us pumped up. Their songs were a bit disorganized and tough to follow, but it didn't really matter in that environment, I suppose. They still were very technically talented, with some really nice tapping. I knew it was going to be a good show just from watching these guys.
7 • Best Fascist Combat Boots Outfit Award

Dismemberment

Essentially, take the above band and make it old-school thrash and melodeath instead of old-school tech death. Fast, rocking stuff, really fun to listen to even though it normally wouldn't have been my thing. Really nice riffage, lots of headbangers, straightforward and metal as hell.
7 • Most Luscious Manes Award

Nero di Marte

The token "weird band" of the night. Rather than straight-up rocking stuff, these guys were slower-paced atmospheric proggy death/deathcore. Kind of like Ulcerate meets The Contortionist with loads of heavy atmosphere and very dense production. While it didn't work as well live as it probably would have in the studio, they were still pretty decent. Not as interesting to watch, of course, but they had some good songs and some good breakdowns and such to make up for it.
6 • Silliest Smoke Machine Award

Origin

The brutalest of brutal death metal. These guys were mesmerizing to watch with a really awesome stage presence and audience interaction (stories, diving). The music was a little forgettable, but the performance aspects made up for that (aside from when they'd get off time from each other, tsk tsk). Special mention to the bass guitar player who must be some sort of wizard; I've never seen anyone play the way he does, precision-attacking the frets and strings like he was trying to break it.
7 • Worst Stagediving Award. Also, Best Stagediving Award

Gorguts

They sounded basically like what I thought they would, but (as I mentioned) it was definitely much better live. They played Colored Sands in its entirety (I think) plus some older stuff as an encore. So it was a great set, and it was really cool to hear both eras of the band. I was kind of impressed how much the crowd really got into it. Also, how did I not even realize that Colin Marston was in the band? That was half of my excitement right there. Anyway, really great stuff, totally worth seeing.
8 • Best Drummer Faces Award

!T.O.O.H.! – Democratic Solution

August 13, 2013 • self-released

!T.O.O.H.!'s 2005 album and their last before disbanding Order and Punishment is something of an underground classic of death metal, and they've probably been one of the highest-regarded bands from the Czech Republic. They reformed recently to put out one more album, and it's debatable whether it was worth it; it's definitely an interesting listen, though.

The band's style has shifted considerably from the technical death metal of their past to something more in line with mid-2000s avant-garde metal bands, with the odd folky influences and grind bits. As I don't really care for most tech death, this probably made it an easier album for me to listen to, as things are a little bit simpler and a bit less dissonant.

On the other hand, it's difficult to judge the album on its songwriting merits simply because it sounds so awful. With the exception of the decent (if unoriginal) drumming, about every instrument sounds totally wrong. Guitars are played through an AM receiver and the bass is just guttural farting noises. The vocals are a mixed bag; it's all clean singing, and some is decent but most feels really off (the end of "Boubelovo životakončení" is a good example of singing that really should have been left out). The keyboards are a nice touch, though, if a bit overdone.

So if you can get past the odd production, there's a half-decent metal album in here. It's not great, and I don't know if I'd call it good, but it's not as awful as some people would have you think. It's going to be a bit too weird to please most people, for sure; it has some cringey moments but definitely some redeeming ones as well. Just try not to take it too seriously, I suppose.

Gorguts – Colored Sands

August 30, 2013 • Season of Mist

I'd like to preface this review with a disclaimer: I never really liked Gorguts' 1998 album Obscura very much. Yes, I know, it's a classic of death metal and considered one of the best in its genre. But there's something about it that I just never really clicked with me—I felt it was too technical, soulless, and just not interesting.

I won't say that Colored Sands completely changed my opinion of Gorguts' music, but what I will say is that it's by far the superior album. Maybe it's my taste for more modern stuff when it comes to extreme metal (particularly death metal—the only "classic" band I ever really felt a connection with is Atheist), maybe it's the more conventional structures, or maybe I've just gotten used to it. I don't know.

I guess it's the riffs—here they feel more natural, more organic. The songs are much easier to listen to, easier to get my head around and actually follow. There's dynamics—see the bridge in "An Ocean of Wisdom", which is lighter in instrumentation (but not in tone). There are plenty of groovier and chuggier sections as well, sections I can follow the beat on and really get into. Not a ton, but I appreciate that they're there.

I still don't feel much of an emotional connection to Gorguts at all (I usually don't with most death metal, so I won't fault them for it), so I'm not going to be claiming that this is one of the greatest death metal albums ever (and certainly not the best album of 2013). Sure, yes, I can see how it appeals to others who enjoy death metal, and I can understand it being praised as highly as it is. It just isn't for me, and I'm okay with that.

Although I gotta say—the bass guitar still sounds amazing.

5

Inter Arma, Woe, Locusta

September 18, 2013 • Ace of Cups, Columbus, Ohio

Locusta

I don't say this often, but Locusta fucking rocked. And that's not a term I'd throw around lightly. Although I don't listen to a ton of death metal, these guys hit the spot for me in just the right way. Perhaps it was the slight groove and speed metal influences, or the fantastic playing and stage presence. It was seriously some of the absolute greatest drumming I've ever seen from any metal band (some of the fastest blasting, too), and the guitarwork was equally mesmerizing to watch. Absolutely worth seeing again. I gotta find more death metal shows.
8 • Purplest Cassettes Award

Woe

An awesome show as well (I was there mainly to see them, so I was pretty sure it was going to be good anyway). It was an interesting contrast to the Locusta show—more wall-of-sound, cathartic torrents of noise. Typical black metal, I suppose, but that's what I love about it. There isn't much else to say about their set overall (especially if you're familiar with their sound already), although I must say those "catchier" moments (e.g. "Song of My Undoing"'s intro) worked really well live.
8 • Best Windmilling Award

Inter Arma

Despite that they apparently haven't changed members (aside from the bassist) since the first time I saw them play in 2010, Inter Arma has become a very different band in those three years. There was definitely more of a serious-introspective-metal mood going on compared to the incredibly fun first show I saw, and the band seemed a bit aloof and lazy. Still the same avant-sludge-meets-black metal sound, but it was all new material and I don't think I care for it quite as much as their older stuff. Partly because blastbeats and slow, laboring riffs don't go together that well... I dunno.
5 • Cutest Matching Shirts Award

Soilwork – The Living Infinite

February 27, 2013 • Nuclear Blast

Soilwork is a band I've been listening to for a long time (comparatively), since my days as a young metalhead in high school, so they're one of those bands that I'll probably always keep up-to-date with. Like most of their peers in the melodeath scene in the late 2000s, they had a bit of a falling off with some boring and generic releases (though I do still kind of like Stabbing the Drama). Since then melodeath has been more or less a dead horse genre, so I was just as surprised as anyone to hear Soilwork putting out a double album—a bold move for sure. And it's surprisingly pretty good, at that.

Anyone who's heard the band before won't be surprised; their sound is still the same typical melodic death metal they've pretty much always had—intense and fast guitar riffing, cleanly-sung and anthemic choruses, catchy melodies, the occasional blasting away. The real difference between this and the last couple albums is that it sounds like they're actually conscious about the direction they were going in and made a huge effort to turn that around—and it worked. While it's true that there are some slightly weak tracks here (just a couple, though), there's hardly a moment wasted and just about every track is interesting in its own way. While they never stray far from the verse-chorus structure, the riffs themselves are quite satisfying and only rarely sound generic or played-out.

I'm still not a huge fan of their drummer (I almost said "new drummer", but then I realized he's been in the band nearly ten years by now), as he can be a bit overzealous to the point where sometimes it doesn't really fit the style (such as the weird blastbeat and clean vocals section in "Tongue"). And no matter how good your songs are, twenty of them a row can get a bit fatiguing; consequently the album drags a bit near the end. But these are minor complaints, I suppose.

Undoubtedly, part of the reason I enjoy this band is that Soilwork helped considerably to shape my taste in metal music eight or nine years ago, so it comes with a hesitant recommendation. For Soilwork fans, this is definitely a godsend. For general metal fans, it's probably still pretty good. Anyone else understandably won't see a lot of value in it; regardless, for what it's worth, it's an album for the band to be proud of.

7

Cryptopsy – Cryptopsy

September 11, 2012 • Defen Society

I'll be honest, Cryptopsy has never been anywhere near my list of top death metal bands—None So Vile was alright but nothing terribly special, and I haven't heard much of their other stuff. So I don't know why I even bothered with their new, self-titled album. While not horrid (and almost certainly better than its predecessor), there's almost nothing appealing about it that would make me want to listen to it.

For death metal coming out in this decade, Cryptopsy is just about as generic as you can get. It's got all the typical elements. The drumming is interesting and nicely complex, though the obviously-triggered nature of it wears on the ears. The guitar riffing is almost random, the sort of dissonant jumping-around I've come to accept, even if I don't like it. I will give the bass plenty of credit for being interesting, though, with a nice thick sound and plenty of its own neat moments. But I cannot stand these vocals. They haven't ventured far from the deathcore sound of the last album, those pigsqueal-sort of growls that are almost embarrassing to listen to. Texturally, they make the album almost unlistenable.

Sonic qualities aside, there still isn't much going for this album. It's just a confusing mess of unrelated riffs, tacked on one after the other. While that does tend to be the nature of tech death, I have a very difficult time getting into what the band is doing here, even compared to similar stuff I've heard. The album just blows by on every listen and none of it stands out as being particularly good or memorable. It's true that really careful listening will unearth a siz able collection of satisfying bits and pieces—a few per song, perhaps. The album's relentlessness and almost complete lack of dynamics makes this fatiguing, though.

As an exercise in technical proficiency (specifically guitar skills), sure, Cryptopsy is fine. It'll satisfy the metalheads who are in it for the brutality and the double-kick drumming and the downtuned guitars. It's got all that. But for me, there's nothing worthwhile to be gleaned from this album. They haven't progressed (or reverted) from The Unspoken King as much as some people make it out to be, either, if that makes a difference. All I know is I won't be coming back to this.

4

Ära Krâ – Ferne Tage

April 15, 2011 • self-released

Ära Krâ is a tough band to review—they're another group I really don't know much about, just another 2012 metal release on my radar and I have tons of those. This one doesn't impress me terribly much, though it isn't horrible.

Ferne Tage has a very interesting sound—it's definitely metal of some sort, but takes influences from all over the map: melodic death metal and black metal are most prominent. They manage to fuse them pretty effectively, and sound decent while doing so. The drumming ranges from slow deliberate beats to blasting, sometimes in the same song; the guitars are very expressive and have a lot of really nice riffs. I dislike the vocals though; the vocalist is always doing this mid-range scream (that sounds a bit like the Dillinger Escape Plan) no matter what the rest of the band is doing. It gets old fast.

It's an interesting album and, if nothing else, relatively unique. However it's not terribly interesting to me—at least, after several listens I'm not really inclined to ever hear it again. It's just another metal album, really.

5

Nile – At the Gate of Sethu

July 3, 2012 • Nuclear Blast

I was never much of one for Nile (I missed the boat on a lot of popular death metal acts back in the day), but I find their brand of ancient-Egypt-tinged metal to be mostly pretty cool (at least, Annihilation of the Wicked is pretty neato). Their new album, though, is a bit different; it's hard to say if it's a competent band deciding to go in a different direction or simply losing their touch.

To be fair, At the Gate of Sethu is very competently-executed metal. Technically, everything is perfect: great drums, nicely chugging and arpeggiating guitars, and the songwriting isn't bad either—it manages to not get as complicated as a lot of death metal albums get (something I dislike) but it doesn't stray into overly-simple and repetitive nu metal either. (That's not as ridiculous as it may sound.) And there are more than a few neat riffs, the main one in "Supreme Humanism of Megalomania" being one of my favorites.

In general, though, the album feels a bit empty. Yes, I have the same problem with it plenty of other people seem to, that a lot of the Middle Eastern flair that gave their old music character is gone. It shows up now and again, especially in the two interludes but not much at all outside of them, reminding you what it could have sounded like. I'm all for bands and musicians progressing with their sound—it's boring if you do the same thing over and over again, of course—but this seems like a step backwards.

Maybe not. There are plenty of people for whom the Egyptian thing was a gimmick and are more than happy to hear Nile playing more traditional death metal, and more power to them. Because, again, for death metal it's pretty darn good. Legendary? Definitely not. Memorable? Pushing it. But listenable? Absolutely. Worth a shot if you are into tech death, and I enjoy it more or less, but I wouldn't go much farther than that.

5

Gojira – L’enfant sauvage

June 26, 2012 • Roadrunner Records

It's been a while since I listened to Gojira—From Mars to Sirius, in fact—and this new album seems to be on every metal fan's radar this year. I have to say I'm not terrible enthralled by what I'm hearing so far; not bad, certainly, just par for the course.

In two albums not much has changed: Gojira still has their death metal riffing, their wide-open and spacy atmosphere, their prog flourishes, and (of course) plenty of pick scrapes. Anyone who liked what they heard on From Mars to Sirius (as I did) will easily be able to get into the mood of L'enfant sauvage; probably a good thing.

But I feel like their songwriting skills have taken a turn for the worse. There are some cool moments (the verses during the title track have a pretty neat groove going) but some tracks just totally fall flat. "The Axe" is a good example, especially coming right after the decent title track. It's a horribly generic song with very boring riffs and drumming that sound like they didn't have much effort put into them.

And unfortunately I get that feeling about a lot of the album. They've hit on a solid formula, but I can only take this endless chugging for so long when it's so monotonous (and this is coming from someone who still digs Catch Thirtythree). When there isn't a lot to differentiate the songs from each other, it's so difficult to get into the album and enjoy it.

I dunno. Maybe I'm taking it all the wrong way, and it's just supposed to be a metal album and nothing more. If you find entertainment in it, fine; if not, that's fine too. It's okay, but I won't be returning to it, especially when From Mars to Sirius seems to be all I'll need from Gojira.

4

Napalm Death – Utilitarian

February 27, 2012 • Century Media Records

Another day, another Napalm Death album. One of the oldest grindcore acts and still going strong after thirty years is nothing to sneeze at, of course, though I haven't been keeping up with them aside from hearing their debut Scum and a couple albums around 2005/2006 (The Code Is Red... Long Live the Code and Smear Campaign). In the six years since, it sounds like they haven't changed one bit; whether that's a good or bad thing is up for debate.

Admittedly, for a bunch of old farts they still have their chops; the technical aspects of the album are quite good. It may often be a bit slower-paced than your average modern grindcore and death metal, but they still play well. The drumming is nice and varied (and when it gets blasty it's very solid), the guitars are what you'd expect (kind of thrashy at times, deathy at others, with the occasional punk riff), and the vocals are the same as ever.

But Utilitarian still suffers from the same problem I had with The Code Is Dead and Smear Campaign, and probably moreso: The songs simply aren't very memorable. Perhaps I'm simply jaded, but I feel like a lot of these songs are just retreading the same stuff I've heard from plenty of other death metal bands lately. Of course there are some exceptions; for instance, I really like "The Wolf I Feed" which has this punk / industrial fusion thing going on. So it's apparent they still have a few tricks to pull out now and again and their sound isn't totally stale.

I didn't really expect to be totally amazed by Utilitarian though, and I more or less got what I thought I would: An entertaining album, if somewhat rehashed and disposable, and I'll probably forget what it sounded like in a few months. I wish they'd stick more to grindcore than death metal, but whatever makes 'em happy.

5

Disbelief – Shine

March 25, 2002 • Massacre Records

It's tempting to say that the early 2000s were Disbelief's "golden period"; their albums Worst Enemy and Spreading the Rage were both classics and it's not surprising they got signed to major European metal label Nuclear Blast around this point (although their music might have suffered because of it). However, when it comes to Disbelief their music is all pretty much the same thing, and although they have a really cool and unique sound the individual songs don't have a lot making them distinct from each other. Since Shine was actually one of the last albums by them I heard, that was an issue for me: Even though, by their standards, it's a good album, there isn't a lot about it that makes it stand out above the rest.

All the elements are there, though, the excellent guitar work being the standout bit, as always; the riffs are up there with most of their other stuff from around this period. It's still got that melancholy-yet-heavy style to it that I really enjoy, and there are some really great almost-headbanging-inspiring moments. The piano intro on "Me any My World" is kind of a shocker; piano is something you never hear in death metal, and it's a pretty nice piece too, although unfortunately it's pretty much the only spot in the whole album where there is some sort of unusual element thrown in.

The album does drag about two-thirds of the way through, and some of the songs buried near the end have some generic riffs and melodies, so the album definitely doesn't make good active listening, at least after the first few tracks. But it does make great background music, which is still a good thing.

I am sad to say that Shine is probably for pretty committed fans only; Worst Enemy was more original and fresh while peaked on Spreading the Rage, so those albums are definitely a better listen than Shine even though it has its own merits. Unfortunately it doesn't have enough strengths to really make it stand out, even though it is a fine album as it stands.

6

Decapitated – Carnival Is Forever

July 12, 2011 • Nuclear Blast

I'm a bit torn on this album. Having never really heard much else by Decapitated before, I wasn't sure what to expect from their new album, and after a couple listens I'm still a bit confused on it. It's an pretty bizarre album that strays quite a bit from the technical death metal formula quite a bit, and it's hard to say whether that works well here or not.

To expand on that a bit, it's clear that this is still a death metal album at heart, as the drumming and song structures definitely have a pretty deathy sound, but many of the guitar riffs seem to fit in more with metalcore or math metal, with a lot of start-stop patterns, off-beat rhythms, chugging, hints of breakdowns, etc., and the vocals have a more thrash- or metalcore-like sound. I'm not sure how much I enjoy this combination. (It's not much.) Sometimes the band pulls it together really well, other times it seems too disjointed and confused, making it difficult to listen to.

The album doesn't have a whole lot of consistency either. The tracks nearer the beginning and ending of the album, the ones with a more traditional death sound, are actually not nearly as good as the ones that have the more math metal and metalcore influence (something I'm surprised to see myself say). This could probably be attributed to the fact that it's hard to make technical death riffs interesting, especially when directly compared to more mathy riffs, and that tech death is more or less played out by this point. Decapitated apparently has almost all-new members for this album and it does seem like they aren't really interested (or good at) that older, more traditional sound. That's a good thing, since it keeps the album interesting with the more progressive riffs, until they try to do the death metal and it just sounds generic and uninteresting.

For people who want the really face-smashing head-banging sort of stuff, sure, this is probably a good album to pick up. I'm not enthralled. With death metal, it's one place where I generally prefer the older, purer stuff (Atheist / Cryptopsy / Death etc.) and, while I admire Decapitated's ambition to branch out a bit and do something a bit different it doesn't wind up being as fresh-sounding as it should be and winds up being just another typical late '00s/'10s death metal album, like a weirder Vader (I guess that comparison makes a lot of sense, though). So I'm a bit torn as there are some really cool riffs and bits of songs (e.g. the Meshuggah-style riffs throughout "404", that one is pretty awesome), so I don't want to say I dislike it, but I'm not really sold on it either.

5