Black Sabbath - 13

If there is one band that does not need an introduction here, it would be the mighty Black Sabbath! With that said, I’ll jump right into the review, because this is a record you should hear. So many things could have gone wrong with “13”, but it actually turned out well. For one thing, Ozzy’s vocals sound phenomenal. Regardless of how much studio manipulation may have been done, it is amazing that his basic voice is still intact to sound this good. Strangely enough, the only part where his vocals are poor are the opening lines to “End of the Beginning”. Once things pick up in that song, he retains his old 70’s and 80’s voice perfectly (though it certainly does not reach the crazy highs he was hitting on “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”). With that out of the way, we can move to the next area of concern: the lack of Bill Ward. Obviously Bill Ward is a great drummer with a distinctive style, but if there was just one member of this lineup that could have been replaced it was him. Brad Wilk proves this perfectly as he pretty much nails Ward’s style. The fills are exactly what you’d expect in Sabbath, and though the entire opening track is derivative of the band’s title song, Wilk also manages to sound exactly like Ward would in this situation.

Now I can talk about what is undeniably the best part of every Black Sabbath album: the godly guitar player known as Tony Iommi. Never before has the world seen a guitar player who can write the most memorable riffs imaginable, and can also shred (using mainly a pentatonic scale) like a madman. I can never decide whether I enjoy his riffs or his solos more, but on “13”, they’re both brilliant. You can pretty much pick any track and there’s at least a classic riff or two on there. For example, after a few slower minutes in “End of the Beginning”, there is a riff that locks into a huge groove. It’s so simple, yet very effective. Likewise, the main riff in “Loner” just screams “Master of Reality”, with its mid-paced, driving feel. It really is astounding that these riffs feel so fresh, because Iommi doesn’t really do anything out of the norm in terms of the phrasing of the riffs or the notes he uses. In fact, this is always what amazed me with his solos. For the most part, they tend to use exactly the same notes, but each solo is memorable from start to finish, and the leads on “13” are no exception. See the outro to “Loner” for one of my favourite examples, but much like great riffs, they are numerous on this record.

Despite all of this praise, “13” is not devoid of criticism. Black Sabbath appears to have an incessant need to include useless interludes or songs on their records. I won’t say “Zeitgeist” is pointless, but did we really need a “Planet Caravan Pt. II”? The only major positive of the track is that it allows Geezer Butler’s fantastic bass playing to shine. Otherwise, this song just kills the momentum created by the previous track, and it really only prepares you for the underwhelming middle part of the album. The two tracks that follow “Zeitgeist” are by no means bad, but compared to the brilliance of the opening three songs and the final two tracks, they are a bit pedestrian. To be fair to "Age of Reason", it does have the most evil sounding riff in the band's history, which is composed of a mind-numbing amount of tritones, and it also contains one of the best guitar solos on the record. 

All things considered, “13” is still a pretty great record. Given the band’s history and their age, everything could have gone completely wrong on this record. Nevertheless, Black Sabbath has managed to add a worthy record to their legacy. If for nothing else, buy this album for the astounding performance delivered by Tony Iommi, and you will be reminded why he is the creator of metal!

Be sure to check out and like Black Sabbath on Facebook!

Highlights

"End of the Beginning"

"Loner"

"Damaged Soul"

Final Rating

3.9/5 or 78%. 

Written by Scott 

Razormaze - Annihilatia

I’m somewhat of a thrash freak. I consume all things thrash, and it’s pretty difficult for me to find some thrash I don’t really like. With that said, when I first discovered Boston’s Razormaze on their “Miseries” EP, I had a big problem with them. The vocals just didn’t work. It was unfortunate, because the music was great, but I still don't find myself revisiting that EP. One look at the album artwork for “Annihilatia”, however, meant I had to give the band another shot, and that turned out to be a great decision.

If you haven’t already guessed it, the vocals on this record are much improved. Singer Alex Citrone doesn’t do anything fancy, but he provides a solid thrash bark to accompany the music. A close comparison might be Matt Drake from Evile. Both singers definitely have the capacity to hold notes and reach more than a few pitches, but are also at their best when they keep it simple. Musically, “Annihilatia” follows the cover art in that things are getting much more complex. The band doesn’t change time signatures or tempos like some of the more technical thrash bands do, but they use very intricate riffing, not unlike the riffs on a record like “…And Justice For All”. “Annihilatia” is going to be an album that will take more than a few listens to get into. The complexity of the song structures and lack of clear repetition (compared to a more straightforward thrash band) means that not much will stick in your head when the album ends. On the production side of things, this is a great sounding record. The bass might be a bit low, but otherwise, everything sounds very clear. You can really tell when the guitarists are using a heavy palm mute (see: “Worshipping the Void”), as there is a great chunky sound, and all other moments feature an overdriven crunchy tone. The leads are exceptional, both from a production standpoint and based on the quality of them. It isn’t an all-out shredfest, but the playing very much matches the style of the riffs. Overall, everything comes together very nicely on “Annihilatia” to create a solid thrash record.

With this new album, Razormaze has taken a huge step up for me. It’s a record that will be revisited by many people for a long time, especially as getting a feel for the songwriting becomes clearer. Even if you aren’t a fan of more technical thrash (Coroner, Voivod, etc.), you will still like “Annihilatia” as the band doesn’t do anything weird at all, they just play more complicated riffs.

Be sure to check out and like Razormaze on Facebook!

Highlights

"Something Like A War"

"Worshipping The Void"

"Terminal Escape"

Final Rating

4.2/5 or 84%. 

Written by Scott 

Instanzia - Ghosts

A couple of years ago I came across two bands from Quebec that both played some wicked power metal: Icewind and Instanzia. The former was a bit more accessible for me in terms of finding their records, but I was recently able to acquire the debut record by Instanzia, and it was more than worth the wait! Over the course of 7 songs (along with an intro), this band delivers one of the most undeniably catchy records in recent history. “Ghosts” is a record that is so memorable that you can seriously sing nearly every chorus on the album by the second time you hear it. To say a lot of effort went into this album is an understatement.

Things kick off with my favourite song, “Ghosts of the Past”. This song has a great lead melody before getting into a high-speed verse. The track reveals Instanzia’s excellent ability to mix keyboards and piano. The verse features a piano melody underneath the rest of the music, while other parts of the song, such as the intro, let keyboards take prominence. Don’t be confused though, this is guitar and vocal-driven record. In fact, the vocal lines are so brilliant that it isn’t just the choruses you will be remembering. Many of the verses are very easy to sing along to. Ironically, I actually feel as though vocalist/guitarist Alexis Woodbury is not the most impressive singer. His tone feels slightly emotionless and disconnected. Nevertheless, this doesn’t really detract from the music; it just gives the band a bit of a different sound. His voice gives hints of more character (see the word “strongest” in “Power of the Mind”), but he ultimately tends to stay in the same voice otherwise.

For the most part, this is an up-tempo and uplifting record. The songs all have quite a bit of speed, which is often displayed by the great double bass work in the drums. “Charming Deceiver” shows a thrashy, pounding moment that evolves into a speedy assault from the drums before heading into the chorus. It is a relatively brief section, but shows how quickly this band can change the feel of a song. In many respects, the songwriting is quite standard power metal, but the hooks are brilliant. I could go through each song to keep telling you the merits of this record, but it truly is something you need to hear to get a proper sense for. All power metal fans need listen to Instanzia or else you’ll run the risk of missing one of the best power metal records of the last few years!

Be sure to check out and like Instanzia on Facebook!

Highlights

"Ghosts of the Past"

"Power of the Mind"

"A Genius Who Believes"

Final Rating

4.6/5 or 92%. 

Written by Scott 

Impalers - Power Behind the Throne

This is a band that I've been following since early 2011 (around the same time I started this zine) back when they released the "A Necessary Evil" demo, which served as a nice punch to the gut with four tracks that hearkened back to the '80s teutonic thrash scene. In 2013, Impalers have now unleashed their debut full-length "Power Behind the Throne" which picks up right where the 2011 demo left off, delivering fast and precise thrash track one after the other. There are simply way too many bands out these days playing a style so akin to the old school German scene that it's almost silly, but these Danes add a nice touch of the old school bay area sound to the constant speed to balance the music out a bit. This album isn't the most original thrash album out, but Impalers are good at what they do, and what they do is play some pretty solid thrash which can't be said for hundreds of today's bands, making their debut a fun listen. 

The influence of Metallica is immediately made clear on the opening track "Fear," as it opens with a clean guitar passage reminiscent of the thrash pioneers, but after the distortion comes in the album becomes an all-out blitzkrieg of teutonic riffage. Every song on here (barring the instrumental "When the World Hungers" which is pretty damn awesome itself) reaches a fast tempo, but that can get kind of boring pretty quick. Luckily, Impalers throw in an adequate amount of midpaced riffage and breaks to keep the album flowing smoothly without sounding like a blur or one long, fast song. Soren Crawack's vocals are also straight out of the old school German scene, and they add an extra layer of aggressiveness to the already heavy music, even more so when the gang vocals make their presence felt. The rhythm section of the band isn't extraordinary, but they do their jobs well enough to keep things heavy when they need to be and faster for a longer duration. The lead guitar work, however does deserve some praise. The solos throughout all have a perfect amount of melody and shredding to captivate the listener, especially on the title track where the solos and melodies at the end are the highlight of the song. Overall, there isn't much more to be said about "Power Behind the Throne," other than it's a very solid album with kickass artwork. If you're a fan of fast thrash in the vein of bands like Kreator and Tankard, then do not hesitate to listen to Impalers who thrash better than most of the pretenders.

Be sure to check out and like Impalers on Facebook!

Highlights

"Power Behind the Throne"

"Nuclear Nights"

"Death in Fire"

Final Rating

4.1/5 or 82%. 

Autopsy - The Headless Ritual

Autopsy is pretty much the sickest music in existence. If the name, album covers, song titles, and logo don’t give it away, this band is about everything that is disgusting and wrong. Listening to these guys is a ritualistic experience that is unmatched by any other band. Amazingly, the band put out a comeback record that was on par with their old material. The only major shortcoming of “Macabre Eternal” was how long it was. At just 44 minutes, “The Headless Ritual” has already solved that issue, and now it’s just a matter of writing more quality music.

The good news is that “The Headless Ritual” is largely similar to the previous album. The riffs are groovy and dripping with the skin-crawling atmosphere that only Autopsy can produce. Chris Reifert’s vocals are as mangled as ever. He manages to retain his deep voice but still be fairly understandable, except when he is giving a ghastly scream. The versatility in his voice is impressive, and it helps prevent this record from being monotonous. Guitar solos are plentiful and come straight from the school of Slayer. They are energetic, at times make no sense musically, but fit the music perfectly. The songwriting bears a couple of surprises to the seasoned Autopsy fan. “She Is A Funeral” features several tapping melodies unlike anything I’ve heard from the band before. It’s great to hear an old-school death metal band embrace a bit of 80’s influence in their music. The next track, “Coffin Crawlers”, opens with one of the strangest, most haunting melodies in all of death metal. It sounds like it was ripped straight from a horror movie. While this section eventually dissolves, it returns at the end of the track before the more upbeat “When Hammer Meets Bone” begins. At less than 2 minutes, “Thorns and Ashes” is the soundtrack of impending doom. These kind of leads appear frequently on this record, as Autopsy appears to be putting more focus than ever on finding melodies that are pure evil.  

Despite these differences, “The Headless Ritual” is a strange record for Autopsy in that the sound is largely similar to the prior record. With their first four albums, each one was very distinctive from what preceded it. Even “Macabre Eternal” had a different feel; it was a more modern sounding version of the band that combined all of their best influences from the first three albums. Ultimately, however, “The Headless Ritual” is very satisfying as it shows the band settling into a sound that works well for them. There certainly isn’t an overabundance of this style of music yet, and even if that comes in the future, no one will do it better than Autopsy.

Be sure to check out and like Autopsy on Facebook!

Highlights

"Mangled Far Below"

"She Is A Funeral"

"Coffin Crawlers"

Final Rating

4.2/5 or 84%. 

Written by Scott