Killtide – From Gates of Hell

It is always a treat to discover yet another traditional heavy metal band from Toronto. Just when you think the scene can’t possibly have any more bands, a new one pops up. In this case, it is Killtide with their 2014 EP “From Gates of Hell”. This release is very interesting when compared to many of Killtide’s Toronto peers, because while it undoubtedly is rooted in the sound of the 80s, Killtide is able to inject more modern influences into this music. This is particularly noticeable in the drums, which uses a lot of double bass and rhythmic patterns (see the intro of “Pray With Me” for the most blatant example) that you tend to hear in more modern metal bands. Nevertheless, the riffs are largely born and bred in the old-school vein, with bands like Judas Priest, Dio, and others seeming to be of inspiration.

Of course, this release features all of the other elements that make traditional heavy metal so great: incredible melodies and solos, bass playing that you can actually hear, and a passionate singer. Killtide’s vocalist is one of those guys who is great because of his enthusiasm. I don’t think anyone could argue he’s a better technical singer than guys like Rob Halford or Bruce Dickinson, but he doesn’t try to be. Instead, he gives a rocking performance that is a perfect fit for the music.

One of the really interesting elements about “From Gates of Hell” is the progression in the songwriting. Killtide is not a prog band, but it feels like most of the songs have really strong transitions between riffs and sections. This is in large part due to the drums, which refrain from playing standard rock beats all the time, and instead switch things up a lot. The drums are probably a bit too high in the mix, but it does help to reinforce these changes. It would not surprise me to find out these drums are programmed, as they don’t sound the most organic, but this sound doesn’t really take away from the EP at all.

Amongst a very crowded scene, Killtide does enough to stand out. Though this is a short EP, it manages to leave an impact. The songs might not be quite as strong as Skull Fist’s or Cauldron’s, but they good enough that this EP is worth purchasing, and Killtide is worth following. Ultimately, “From Gates of Hell” is an inspired work that has set the stage for some incredible future releases.

Be sure to check out and like Killtide on Facebook!

Highlights

"Fearless"

"Pray With Me"

Final Rating

4.0/5 or 80%. 

Written by Scott 

Miscreancy – Remnants Of A Dark Age

“Remnants Of A Dark Age” is the second EP from US melodic black/death metal band Miscreancy, and it really couldn’t be any more appropriately named. The sound of this release hearkens back to the mid-1990s, which was a dark age for metal’s popularity. Equally fitting, however, it references the chilling dark sound of legendary melodic black metal bands like Dissection and Sacramentum. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think this album actually came out in 1996. The production is so old-school sounding that it’s actually pretty impressive. This means the EP is somewhat on the quiet side, but there’s really nothing wrong with that. The treble on the guitars is way up, with most bass sounds (other than the bass drum) taking a back seat. The bass drum itself is a little on the clicky side, though I personally love that. It makes the double bass pummeling, and the faster sections even more brutal.

Miscreancy’s riffs make heavy use of some higher notes on the fretboard, with the emphasis being on riffs that are easy to latch onto. Tremolo-picking is the most common style of riffing, but the band also has the occasional thrashier or more melodeath-styled riff in them as well. Though Miscreancy certainly is not the pinnacle of originality, they are clearly well-versed in this sound and know how to make it work effectively. This is really the main point: “Remnants Of A Dark Age” sounds authentic. When you hear it, you know exactly what the band has set out to do, and there are no modern influences. Everything from the frenetic, busy drumming, to the cursed screeching vocals, and of course, the melodies, is just a perfect homage to Dissection and co. For all intents and purposes, consider this a long-lost gem that you missed in the 90s, and you’ll be incredibly satisfied.

Be sure to check out and like Miscreancy on Facebook!

Highlights

All of it

Final Rating

4.2/5 or 84%. 

Written by Scott 

News Corpse – Breaking News

The UK thrash scene is one that I feel never really got the appreciation it deserved. The biggest problem it had was a very high proportion of the bands in that scene played more straight forward thrash in the vein of Metallica and Testament, and for that reason, it didn’t appeal to those looking for the next most extreme band. In modern times, the thrash metal landscape in the UK is a bit different, but independent band News Corpse seeks to recapture that 1980s UK thrash sound. This description might sound a bit unappealing, but let’s be honest here: modern thrash doesn’t exist to reinvent the wheel. In fact, News Corpse does this sound so well that you’ll probably be replaying them over the long lost Metal Messiah, Snyper, or even D.A.M.; “Breaking News” is the News Corpse's debut EP, and it provides a relentless onslaught of thrash. Every single riff on this release is well crafted and absurdly heavy (some are even pretty technical). The production suits this sound; it is definitely more modern, but it isn’t as loud and clean as some of the earlier new wave bands.

While News Corpse does mostly stay within the boundaries of thrash, they do occasionally deviate from this sound to add touches of death metal. There are a few riffs that are pure tremolo picking (see the intro of “Here Lies The Sun” for one example). Even more noticeable, however, is the heavy use of blastbeats. Fortunately the blasting is not all that fast (certainly not at the speeds modern death metal bands reach), but it does create something a bit different for this style of thrash.

Frontman Rohit Bazaz has a really killer thrash voice. The aforementioned comparisons to Metallica and Testament would be apt for his singing as well. It’s not so much that he sounds like James Hetfield or Chuck Billy, but rather, he has an aggressive, understandable voice. He shows the ability to sing, as well as the potential for harsher vocals, but ultimately, he spends most of his time in that perfect thrash barking range. His voice is well suited to this brand of thrash, and while it isn’t particularly distinctive, it is effective.

Perhaps the only area of criticism for News Corpse is that the songs aren’t instantly catchy. Granted, this is thrash metal and it’s more about snapping your neck off than it is singing along. The best bands were able to manage both though. For a first EP, “Breaking News” shows a lot of potential. There is no shortage of quality riffs here, nor does the band have any trait that would really put anyone off of their music. Overall, News Corpse is a band I’ll be revisiting often, as it is rare that a band shows this much of a penchant for high quality thrashing with their first EP!

Be sure to check out and like News Corpse on Facebook!

Highlight

"Here Lies The Sun"

Final Rating

4.25/5 or 85%. 

Written by Scott  

Countless Skies – Countless Skies

For all of the hate that melodic death metal tends to get, it really is a diverse subgenre. You can go the Ensiferum route and throw in folk elements; alternatively, you can do what Children of Bodom used to do with neoclassical influences and create something interesting that way. Perhaps the most impactful way to create melodeath, however, is to take influence from Insominum, who create some of the most emotionally charged music in existence. This sound is largely what UK melodic death metal newcomers Countless Skies hope to emulate. Their self-titled first EP is an excellent demonstration in the band’s abilities, and shows a lot of potential for the future. To be fair to the band, the entire EP doesn’t just sound like Insomnium; however, that’s when they are at their best. The most forceful moments on the release are when the double bass pounds away at a steady 8^th or 16^th note beat as the rest of the band follows along. The first track, “Ethereal” is a great example of this. At one point, clean vocals come in over top of this charging rhythm and provide a gripping melody. This is directly followed by a spaced-out section where the harsh vocals return and everything except the drums slow down a bit. These sorts of sections are very prevalent across the entire release.

The band also isn’t afraid to slow things down for tamer, interlude-like moments. This is where the bass comes to the forefront of the music and makes an impact. Another common thing Countless Skies does on this EP is the way they use melodic riffs for more intense sections. This occurs on both “Penance” and “Everlast”, and helps differentiate these tracks from the other two. Unfortunately there is one more riff style that Countless Skies relies on. In both of the first two tracks, the band tries to use some more unique rhythms (particularly in the verses) to let the guitars stand out. While this effort is appreciated, it isn’t all that effective. The sections end up coming off as unfulfilling because they don’t allow keyboards to provide a nice backdrop to the rest of the music. Nevertheless, they don’t ruin the songs because the band is quick to return to their more emotional pounding.

A big point of contention for some will be the inclusion of clean vocals on this release. Singing is becoming seemingly more popular than ever in melodeath, and it has had varying results. The biggest problem many of these bands face is that they just don’t have a good clean vocalist. In Countless Skies’ case, this isn’t an issue, and this is why the clean vocals work. The aforementioned section in “Ethereal” is a great example of how the band can seamlessly switch between singing and growls with no negative impact on the music. The only slight complaint I can levy against the singing is that on “Reverence”, the first half of the song is a little too focused on clean vocals (though this is partly because the track starts out quite a bit tamer than the other three songs). The track builds and explodes into a more brutal affair as it progresses, so it is effective in that sense, but it would be nice if the song has a bit less emphasis on singing.

Despite some specific issues I had with this EP, the rest of the release is an incredible experience in a style that hasn’t grabbed my attention the way other subgenres of metal have. For that reason, not only is “Countless Skies” a worthwhile purchase, but it also shows a band that will definitely be worth following in the future.   

Be sure to check out and like Countless Skies on Facebook!

Highlights

"Ethereal"

"Everlast"

Final Rating

4.2/5 or 84%. 

Written by Scott

Hellripper – The Manifestation of Evil

One look at the cover art for “The Manifestation of Evil” should tell you immediately what Hellripper is all about. Both the band name and the lack of colour indicate that this release is going to consist of raw, primal evil. In other words: blackened speed metal! The band (or rather, 1-man show) waste no time with filler as there are 4 tracks here that don’t even combine for 10 minutes of playtime. Nevertheless, Hellripper’s brevity plays to their strengths. This is most evident on the opening track “Flesh Ripper”, where great riffs reign supreme. This song is by far the best on the EP, and its chorus is incredibly infectious, both because of the riff underneath it, and because of the calls of “beware of the Flesh Ripper!”. Whether you cite Venom, Midnight, Bathory, or whoever else as an influence, this song fits the bill. Things get even more enjoyable when the guitars cut out in favour of a drum/bass break before the Motorhead-esque guitar solo. But as quickly as the song gets going, it’s over.

Luckily for us listeners, song two, “Total Mayhem”, is the other highlight. Once again, the song is successful because of its punky, simplistic riffing in the chorus, and easy to growl along to chorus. This song steps up the speed even further than “Flesh Ripper” did, and ultimately provides an incredibly energetic jolt to an already inspired release. After these two tracks, Hellripper provides two more songs in a similar vein. They don’t manage to be quite as good as the first couple of tracks, but they definitely don't sound out of place. With that said, “Trial By Fire” is differs from the rest of the EP in that it offers some harmonized guitars at one point.

The mainman behind Hellripper, James McBain, has the perfect voice for this sound. His words sound more like tortured screams. They’re understandable enough that you don’t lose that old-school 80s feel, but are also brutal enough that the band doesn’t feel tame compared to their peers. At times, it actually seems as though his voice becomes harsher. For example, “Black Mass Sacrifice” shows McBain actively trying to rip his throat out. This is in stark contrast to the first two songs where he was closer to Cronos than he would become on this later track. In any case, his vocals, along with all of the rest of the instrumentation, are more than competent. The only slight complaint I have is that the production seems to differ between the songs. Nothing sounds drastically different, but I noticed during each listen that I had to adjust the volume as each new track started. In any case, this type of music isn’t meant to sound perfect, so it doesn’t hurt the release too bad. Ultimately, “The Manifestation of Evil” is exactly what the title describes. This release is a prime example of witching metal, and a necessary release for all fans of this style.

Be sure to check out and like Hellripper on Facebook!

Highlights

"Flesh Ripper"

"Total Mayhem"

Final Rating

4.1/5 or 82%. 

Written by Scott

Blind Spite – Extinction Event

Blind Spite hails from the UK and plays some extreme black/death metal. Despite the only having a couple of EPs and a few demos under their belt, this group has actually been around since the mid/late 1990’s. “Extinction Event” is their newest release, and is over 20 minutes of extreme metal madness. No time is wasted on the title track as you are immediately hit with a barrage of blast beats, screams, and noise. Thankfully it isn’t long before the drumming becomes a bit more varied, and you know not to expect 20 straight minutes of blasting. One comparison that came to mind is modern-day Belphegor; they aren’t exactly the same, but both bands overwhelm with brutality (Blind Spite doesn’t quite take the atmospheric approach that Belphegor does though).

The mix on this release appears to favour the drumming over all else. Both the vocals and the guitars are audible, but are in a constant battle with the snare and bass drums in order to be heard. As you might imagine, the bass is almost impossible to hear. Part of the problem here is the inherent nature of this style: the guitars are so downtuned that the low frequencies fight each other. On “Doubt”, where there are plenty of sections consisting of higher guitar notes, the guitars are more audible (granted, they are occasionally played without the drums in the background here, but they are still quite a bit louder than the rest of the time). This song is actually pretty cool as it has a bit of a doomy feel to it for a good portion of the track. It also has a riff where the second half of the riff is just straight downpicking, and it is reminiscent of some of the thrash greats. This is probably the best riff on the EP, but that’s likely more of a reflection for my preference for thrash to other styles of music. This song builds to a maddening combination of twisted vocals over top of a wild guitar solo that brings the sheer absurdity of the music to a climax.

Overall, “Extinction Event” is a pretty competent release. Everything is played well, and despite my complaints about the production, it actually doesn’t sound that bad. The songwriting is more memorable than your average black/death affair, which is a major compliment considering the struggles this style occasionally has with songwriting. If this style of extreme metal appeals to you, you don’t want to miss out on this EP.

Be sure to check out and like Blind Spite on Facebook!

Highlight

"Doubt"

Final Rating

3.7/5 or 74%. 

Written by Scott