Oneuro – Deivore

“Deivore” is the debut album from Oneuro, a solo technical death metal project by Christopher Thayer. At 66 minutes, this album is an absolute monolith of a release, filled to the brim with incredibly intricate solos and riffs, tight rhythm playing, and monstrous vocals. Before that, however, “Deivore” opens with “Three Realms Broken”, a symphonic instrumental track. While this song sounds absolutely nothing like the rest of the record, it is actually the most ambitious and interesting track, as it is driven by an evocative, haunting melody. Though this album is admittedly quite bloated; the somewhat indulgent intro is actually a breath of fresh air, as there is little variation throughout the rest of the record.

Once “Omen To The Gods” begins, Oneuro’s sound becomes quite clear. Showing homage to any number of incredibly technical bands like Obscura or Neuraxis, this track easily moves from speedy bizarre harmonies, to downright brutal chugging. These latter moments show the band with more of a brutal death metal sound, which is only enhanced by the production. Indeed, this album’s sound makes the low-end crushing in its attack. By contrast, whenever Oneuro provides more melodic passages, it is the bass that shines. Technical death metal is practically heaven for bass players, and Thayer’s skills make it clear that Oneuro is no exception. His vocal performance is good, but not particularly unique. In the context of “Deivore”, growling does not seem to be important, as much of this album’s runtime focuses more on either dazzling displays of technicality, or skull-crushing breakdowns and rhythmic assaults.

While “Deivore” is clearly well executed, it does fall short from a songwriting perspective. The aforementioned harmonies are, at times, so jarring that it makes them difficult to digest. It feels like an attempt to one-up the band’s contemporaries, though in that respect it does succeed. In fact, this is an appropriate description of the direction of the record: it takes the established technical death metal formula, but often gets off track, and feels as though the songs are written to be weird for the sake of being weird. To be fair, these sections are not so pervasive that they ruin the record, but they do appear far too often. The strange, circus-like interludes in “The Roulette” provide an example of this sound; not only does this section feel out of place, but it begins to switch between the clean guitar and bass interlude and a second or two of death metal. On their own, the two sounds are fair, but when combined, they seem strange.

Taken at face value, “Deivore” is not only an interesting listen, but a respectable one. It is astounding that one individual came up with something so eccentric. Even though it doesn’t always hit the mark, and is largely devoid of memorability, there is still a lot to like here. The fusion of technical and brutal death metal is particularly interesting because so few bands can capture the traits of each subgenre and switch between them instantly this competently. If Thayer cut back on the absurdity, dropped about half the songs, and focused on keeping just the best riffs and solos, this would be a top-tier modern death metal release. Of course, that would probably defeat the initial goal of this project, but the key point is that the ingredients for success are here, they just need to be refined a little bit. 

Be sure to check out and like Oneuro on Facebook!

Highlight

"Three Realms Broken"

Final Rating

3.4/5 or 68%. 

Written by Scott

Starblind – Dying Son

One year removed from their debut record, Sweden’s Starblind has returned with another album of Iron Maiden-inspired tunes. “Dying Son” is a step even closer to mimicking the style of the metal giants as this album’s harmonies, melodies, and riffs sound even more authentic than the last record did. Once again, the primary differentiating factor is the band’s singer, who sounds nothing like Bruce Dickinson. His approach covers a similar range, but with more grit and less clarity. This is especially obvious when he unleashes wicked screams that push the limits of his voice. While nobody can top Bruce, having a distinctive singer definitely helps Starblind to be much more than a Maiden clone. Instead, they’re more like a band that follows Iron Maiden’s old formula to create great songs.

As you might imagine, this means that the album has a lot of galloping. “Sacrifice” for example, has the trademark mid-paced rhythmic thump that Steve Harris has made a career of writing. By contrast, “Lighthouse” is a song that is built around a faster galloping charge, not unlike songs such as “Run To The Hills” or “The Trooper”. Even the drumming reminds one of Nicko McBrain’s, with its triplet ride cymbal abuse. Taking the similarities to their limits, the most noticeable throwback to Iron Maiden is in “Blood Red Skies” where the many of the rhythms are reminiscent of “Where Eagles Dare”, particularly in the rhythm section underneath the first solo.

Not to be left out in all of this worship, Starblind’s guitarists do their best to channel the spirits of Adrian Smith and Dave Murray. While there are no excessive trills such as the ones the latter guitarist loves, the way that the harmonies and solos are constructed on this record shows that Starblind’s shredders have put in the time to study the composition styles of Smith and Murray (though one of the melodies in "The Man of the Crowd" is very reminiscent of a melody from Monument's "Carry On", a band that is quite heavy on Maiden worship themselves).

“Dying Son” is not an Iron Maiden record, but it much more genuine sounding than “The Book of Souls”. This album doesn’t waste time repeating choruses 1,000 times in each song, or having too many excessive quiet intros (though “Firestone” and “Sacrifice” show that these intros are not inescapable). While it is not as good as that record, it does sound much more like any of Maiden’s classics from the 1980s. If you crave more of that sound, Starblind’s “Dying Son” is an essential listen.

Be sure to check out and like Starblind on Facebook!

Highlights

"A Dying Son"

"Blood Red Skies"

"Sacrifice"

Final Rating

4.25/5 or 85%. 

Written by Scott

Goblet – On Tap

“On Tap” is the second EP from American thrashers Goblet. Featuring 5 tracks, it is a mixed bag of a variety of sounds that cause both headbanging and head scratching. The former sound is achieved when Goblet is playing faster, more aggressive riffs. The band’s singer draws most of his influence from the crossover scene, as he spends most of his effort yelling (though the ending of “Full Metal Jacket” does show some much more brutal screaming, as does “Party Monster”). Like many of the subgenres vocalists, Goblet’s singer isn’t the most technically proficient, but it works. He doesn’t unleash any wickedly fast passages, but again, the more simplistic approach is effective.

The middle three tracks on this EP are the best because they follow a tried and true formula. When the band experiments, however, things go awry. A great example is the start of the EP. Similar to many other intros, it begins layering instruments as it attempts to build to something heavier. Unfortunately, the tame production makes the single guitar sound weak and thin. The other strange song is “Acid Rain”, which brings more of a doom/stoner vibe. Though these aren’t my subgenres of preference, their brief appearance here isn’t my chief complaint; instead, it is the contrast with the crossover sounds of the other songs that makes it out of place. It also doesn’t help that the lyrics are not the best.

The problems with “On Tap” do not make up a significant portion of its playing time, which is why it is a worthy EP that displays quite a bit of promise. If the band can tighten up the production, and stick to playing more intense riffs, Goblet will definitely be a group to watch.

Be sure to check out and like Goblet on Facebook!

Highlights

"Forced Blunt Trauma"

Final Rating

3.25/5 or 65%. 

Written by Scott

War Atrocities – Necromantical Legions

War Atrocities is a Croatian black/thrash solo project masterminded by vocalist and guitarist Wastelander. After a demo in 2014, “Necromantical Legions” was the next step. Though this release boasts 7 tracks, there are 6 full songs. “Screams From The Pits” is an instrumental intro that successfully conjures a dark, brooding atmosphere, with minimal metal contributions. Things really get going on “Destruktor of Eternal”, a song that demonstrates both the strengths and flaws of War Atrocities’ music. This track shows an incredibly tight blackened thrash sound, with more emphasis on having a decent production than a noisy one. Indeed, every instrument on this release is easily to hear (the thick, distorted, Venom-like bass included). Unfortunately, this relatively clean sound also displays the biggest problem with “Necromantical Legions”. On more than one track, there is either some kind of extreme tuning issue, or an insanely incompatible and ill-advised harmony going on. Based on how blatant this is, one would think it is intentional, but even in the context of a black metal-influenced band, it is not easy to appreciate.

The good news is that this issue is not pervasive, which again leads me to believe it is a purposefully strange harmony. Most of the album unleashes primitive, Venom or Bathory-inspired riffs, atop awesome rocking drum beats. These riffs take the simplicity of the NWOBHM sound, and put a more sinister twist on them. The result is quite effective, as this style of riffing is consistent with the overall primordial atmosphere of the release. Even the vocal approach is not overly complex. Bathory again appears to be the main point of reference, as Wastelander utilizes a mid-range growl almost exclusively. 

“Necromantical Legions” doesn’t really throw any surprises at you, but it doesn’t need to. War Atrocities clearly subscribes to the philosophy of less is more, and this is clear in their pure worship of bands like Venom and Bathory. If they can get the tuning (or songwriting) issue sorted out, it would go a long way towards making this release more impressive, but this sound only does show up on a few riffs throughout the EP, so it can be largely ignored. While not original, “Necromantical Legions” is nonetheless powerful.  

Be sure to check out and like War Atrocities on Facebook!

Highlights

All of it

Final Rating

3.5/5 or 70%. 

Written by Scott