Different kinds of extreme this time, resulting in four highly recommended albums.
Ashen Horde - Antimony
I believe the first time I read about this album was on Angry Metal Guy (yes them again). A concept album about the unsolved murder of Charles Bravo almost 150 years ago. Cause? Antimony. The album looks at several suspects and related people, Now that was interesting, but this extreme metal album got me hooked straight from the beginning by its music. The base is Black Metal of the progressive kind, but with Stevie Boiser from Inferi on vocals, some Tech Death also passes. Even small parts of doom pass by and at times clean vocals can be heard. The last coming from Trevor Portz who started this band as a solo project ten years ago. The mix of styles is not my comfort zone maybe, but this intense album only got better when reading along with the lyrics. This is their fourth full lenght and I might especially need to check out 2019's Fallen Cathedral, when Stevie joined on vocals. I don't think any extreme metal album will blow me away this much, this year. After listening on bandcamp I ordered the CD and decided to add the kick ass shorts. Well that took three months and some emailing back and forth, but now happy owner of what must be the best extreme metal album of 2023.
Finality - Technocracy
Finality play a different form of extreme. Their progmetal is filled with thrash, tech and power. Last year Imminent Sonic Destruction made it to #2 on my end of year list. They announced playing at Finality's album release show. So you check out Finality and love the two songs they put online. So much I even broke my rule of never paying more for postage than for the CD. Listening the first two times I was maybe underwhelmed after my extremely high expectations based upon the two videos. The album does not vary a lot in speed, it is mainly fast. Well now I am at playing number 5 or 6 and man, is this another gem of 2023. An absolute must hear album and one that needs to be promoted with a tour through Europe. Well fat chance for that now that even bigger US names start cancelling tours due to high costs over here. For now the CD has to do, but what an album this is man. Be like me and pay postage over art for once.
Hellripper - Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags
Hellripper popped up on Bandcamp for me. Hellripper is a one man project, namely James McBain from Aberdeen Scotland. This is his third album already and he impresses here. Blackened Seed metal which nods to teh past, but sounds very fresh. Hellripper is touring quite a lot, so he should have a band for that. Reviews of his Effenaar show were very positive and he comes to Pitfest and Uden as well this summer. As that is during my summer holidays, I now definitely plan going to Roosendaal Open Air 2 September. This music should be heard and felt live. Not miles apart in style from Brazilian bands I hosted in my HM B&B Sodomizer and Imperador Belial. This with the advantage of Scottish mother tongue and a good sound, even if the latter might annoy purists. Extreme return to the eighties at one side, me extremely happy.
Max Enix - Far From Home
Max Enix found me online and his music is also extreme. Extremely long in this case. This album comes in the form of 5 (five) CD's totalling well over five hours. To be honest I found this too much. The first two CD's both amost 80 minutes are the base. The last three are orchestral versions, which I tend to play as often as the Inside Out hobby of adding instrumental versions with their albums. That is zero times. But the first two I heard and there definitely is something for many in this ambitious release. The playing and performance are fine, but the long list of guests is not really for me. I mean I am Dutch but can't be bothered by Ayreon. If you are into that band, you should check these albums out as I think you will like them. Curious to see if Max intends to play live in some sort of form.
Trespass - Wolf at the Door
Now that Trespass started to release full albums the last decade many comments are the same. Dated music, Marc Sutcliffe is not among the best vocalists and noone is waiting for this kind of music in 2023. Wrong!!!. I love the new Trespass as much as anything Trespass that came before. For me Trespass means extreme nostalgia and they bring me back to 14/15 year old me who discovered them on Metal for Muthas 2. I taped their songs at the time, but they never released an LP. Bright Lights I taped from Stampij and that was it. Years later I bought compilation album The Works, followed by The Works II. Eight years ago I travelled to their home-town Sudburry to see them playing the local theatre. What a perfect weekend that was. A year later they became the first band to stay at my HM B&B. So resuming a bit of a Fanboy am I. So I don't worry about Marc's voice it just fits Trespass. I love the guitars again, where the double work sounds comforting old school. The new album even holds some songs I would love to hear live on stage (Crooked Cross, Unsinkable, Live Like a King to name a few) Finally the album is packed in a beautiful cover created by Mark Wilkinson, my favorite cover artist. So what's not to like? Having wolfs at your door maybe, which became reality for some in Holland the last years.
No comments:
Post a Comment