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  

Antioch – Antioch

It’s getting a little bit absurd just how many traditional heavy metal and speed metal bands are coming out of Ontario these days. As long as they keep up the quality, however, this really isn’t a problem. Newcomers Antioch definitely do just that with their first EP, which is a self-titled release featuring 6 tracks of pure, unfiltered heavy metal. Surprisingly, the EP is actually a tale of two sounds. On the one hand, Antioch displays the incredibly high-speed, charged style of speed metal played by fellow countrymen Skull Fist and Axxion. The songs in this vein (“Phantoms of the Sky” and “Leather Demon” being the strongest two) are incredible metal anthems that are driven by the absurd vocals of Nicholas Allaire. This man’s voice knows no bounds. In the aforementioned songs, he spends much of his time screaming his lungs out, not unlike Rob Halford on “Painkiller”. It truly is incredible some of the notes he hits in these songs. The rest of the band likewise takes their cue from that album, offering up scorching speedy licks and a rhythm section that complements this style.

At other times, however, Antioch takes a different approach. Some of these songs (“Inquisition” and “Golden Road”) are of a more epic, stomping heavy metal sound. The former track is practically an ode to bands like Candlemass, with its doom-laden riffs and astounding vocal performance. Although these two sounds provide somewhat of a strange juxtaposition on the EP, they’re both executed so well that there’s no real reason to complain. No matter which approach the band takes, there are always catchy riffs and melodies, as well as a very genuine vocal display.

All of this is without mentioning by far the best song on the EP: “Deathwell”. This song is a fitting end to this release. The chorus of this track redefines what catchy is, and the way it is combined with guitar solos in the outro show the band giving you everything they have. Most of the song has a very feel-good metal to it. The riffs are just so classic and enjoyable that you really can't criticize it in any way. Overall, “Antioch” is a stellar EP. The band is clearly very talented when it comes to writing songs with hooks and memorable sections, and they mix up their sound enough to keep things interesting. While they certainly have a lot of competition in the heavy and speed metal scenes, their material worthy to stand alongside their fellow Canadian bands.

Be sure to check out and like Antioch on Facebook!

Highlights

"Inquisition"

"Leather Demon"

"Deathwell"

Final Rating

4.3/5 or 86%. 

Written by Scott  

Running Death – Overdrive

Though modern day Germany doesn’t seem to pump out thrash bands quite like the country did in the 80s, there is still no shortage of denim-vest clad kids ready to create a frenzy of mosh-friendly riffs. Running Death has been around for over a decade now, but is only just releasing their first record studio album, “Overdrive”, in March 2015. Although Running Death makes no major innovations to the thrash sound, it is clear very quickly that they aren’t simply an Exodus clone. This album is sonically quite different from many of the band’s peers. The production is more laid-back and not excessively loud, which compliments the bands more melodic and speed metal-oriented approach. The band doesn’t downtune excessively (or possibly even at all; though my ear isn’t quite pitch-perfect, these guys definitely aren’t reaching modern levels of downtuning). The band’s riffs complement this approach. This means that Running Death isn’t playing at warp-speed all the time (but if you are looking for that, "Raging Nightmare" fits the bill perfectly!). Instead, they make good use of a variety of tempos and grooves to create something more than a 50-minute thrashing. Sometimes this leads to a truly sideways style of riffing, complete with weird rhythms or bluesy scales, but these differences make the album even more compelling.

Where Running Death is likely to either convince or lose some people is in the vocal approach. Lead singer Simon Bihlmayer is just that: a singer. Rather than trying to emulate the savage throat ripping of Mille Petrozza, he leans more towards the singers of bands like Deathrow or Iron Angel. In other words, though his accent is a bit heavy, he is definitely on the melodic side of things. He can become a bit more vicious occasionally, but overall, he is definitely playing to the band’s speed/thrash approach with his more singing. Granted, he’s not the most technically developed, but he does stand out quite a bit. The only slight complaint I have towards him is in the song “Remote Controlled”, where his vocals are mixed pretty low and it’s hard to hear him clearly over the guitars.

“Overdrive” is a pretty lengthy experience. Though it only comes out to 10 songs after excluding the intro and interlude, the album does occasionally drag on a bit. Fortunately, the band’s diversity works to their favour, as it makes an album of this length bearable. With that said, it does feel like “Overdrive” lacks a few really killer tracks. The title song is certainly the best, and nothing sticks out in a bad way, but there aren’t too many hooks here despite all of the use of melody. Instead, the listener is treated to lots of shredding solos and great riffs (see the intro of "Mercenary" for examples of both), alongside plenty of more mid-paced emotionally charged sections. Ultimately however, “Overdrive” is a great listen because it isn’t something we’ve all heard 1000 times before. If you’re feeling a bit burned out on the THRASH THRASH THRASH approach of modern thrash bands, “Overdrive” is just the change of pace you need.

Be sure to check out and like Running Death on Facebook!

Highlights

"Raging Nightmare"

"Overdrive"

Final Rating

4.0/5 or 80%. 

Written by Scott 

Planet Eater – Planet Eater

I’m never surprised to find great metal bands in certain parts of the world (after all, we’re in the digital age now), but what does surprise me is just how many bands come out of particular areas. In this case, Canada’s prairie provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, for the non-Canadians out there) seems to provide an endless supply of metal bands, particularly those that lean to the more aggressive side of things. One good example of this is Planet Eater, a death metal band from Saskatchewan. Their first EP is a self-titled release that offers up an energetic series of tracks. Things kick off with the highlight of the EP, “Burn It To The Ground”. As the title suggests, this song absolutely destroys everything in its path. Though it offers many great riffs, what makes this track effective is the sheer catchiness of its title, and how it is easy to sing along to. The rest of the EP doesn’t stand out quite as much, but is nonetheless serviceable.

Planet Eater’s sound draws influence from a variety of death metal (and other) sounds, and it would be unfair to label them as simply a clone of another band. There is a lot of punk on this EP, which is primarily evident in the faster, higher energy sections. At times, this punk influence almost makes it feel more like a deathgrind record, not unlike early Bolt Thrower. Though perhaps not as pummeling as the aforementioned band, Planet Eater still provides plenty of headbanging material, and have a rhythm-heavy approach. Many of Planet Eater’s riffs are a bit more unique rhythmically than straight chugging or alternate picking (though those riffs exist as well).

One of the more interesting aspects of this EP is the vocal performance. It is clear that Planet Eater’s singer has many sides to his voice, but he spends much of his time in a standard death growl. His vocals are not too difficult to understand, and they’re more mid-ranged than ultra-guttural. He also can also lay back on the harshness at times in favour of something closer to a thrash vocal style. Overall, his voice definitely helps make the songs easier to appreciate, as he is clearly quite talented.

“Planet Eater” is an EP that is absolutely worth hearing. If for nothing else, at least check out the madness of the opening track, and then make a decision about whether or not to venture further with this EP. Though it’s hard to argue that Planet Eater brings much new to the table, they don’t need to, as they’ve done a solid job of combining many sounds into one that is their own.

Be sure to check out and like Planet Eater on Facebook!

Highlight

"Burn It To The Ground"

Final Rating

3.7/5 or 74%. 

Written by Scott