FT-17 – Marcellin S'en Va-t'en Guerre (2016)

France's FT-17 really have a lot of promise. I guess we could call them war metal, but they don't really seem to stick to one basic thing. They're actually considered “melodic black metal” by the scribes over at Metal Archives, which I suppose sticks well enough, as we're definitely hearing colorful piano pieces as well heavily melodic riffs. The whole performance does feel very classical in a sense, which fits the source material of a school teacher who was drafted to serve as part of the military during the first World War. The record (English translated: Marcellin Goes To War) reads like his diary and is probably quite passionate, but I can't get over that part of the language barrier. As you might expect, the lyrics are all in the band's native so you would need some education in that department to understand them properly. Though I'd simply have it no other way. I feel that bands should be able to perform in their native and respect their mother tongue. Let us not lose that along the way. I feel that it is worth mentioning that FT-17 is made up of current members of depressive black metal outfit Ad Extirpenda, yet I much prefer this approach to that of the other band. What I really like about this record is that the disc sounds just as grim as you might expect it as Misein's vocals are just as raspy and full of venom as we'd imagine. Yet the duet of piano (yes, not a keyboard – they have a real piano player here by the name of Khorto) and guitar (performed by Hrothulf) truly work to provide a rather Gothic, or at least gloomy overtone that only comes up in the oddly rocking solo sections. Despite the record being rather depressing, these incredibly powerful solo sections feature nothing but some of the best noodling I've heard, even though their very presence is somewhat astounding for such a disc. But I'm certainly not going to knock a good solo – I never have.

The record is spaced with a few spoken word moments in which the diary is read. These add to the story, but won't do much for you if the language is in the way. Once again, that isn't a reason for you to not pick up this album and I'm quite surprised to see that no one else is promoting what I found to be quite an appealing piece of work. The disc is a bit raw, but it's the kind of raw we want. The piano pieces are well mixed, and don't feel forced by any means. I do think that listeners might be taken aback a bit by the use of female vocals in the album's closer, but it is 2016 and people need to start opening their minds a little more to unexpected approaches in their music. She certainly does a good job mixing with the band's style, but let us hope that FT-17 doesn't become more of a female-fronted symphonic metal act than the wonderful mix of dreary melodic black metal and classical piano that we have here. In any case, if you are looking for something different and perhaps with a bit more class and intelligence than you'll find in the devil worshiping antics of other black metal bands, I believe that you'll find something here in FT-17.

(11 Tracks, 43:00)

8/10

Mortiis - The Great Deceiver (2016)

Before we ask ourselves the simple question, “What in the hell has Mortiis done?” I think it's best that we should go back and analyze this album, as well as the processes leading up to it. Technically, The Great Deceiver is Mortiis' first release since '04's The Grudge. Metal Archives might tell you that the free album, Perfectly Defect was a full-length release, but that's actually not true. It was closer to an EP that served as promotion for this record. As a matter of fact, I remember getting a lot of promotional material for this record with that one, at the same time saying that it was due to come out the year after (which would have been 2011.) Well, something must have happened between the years 2011 and 2016 that stalled this thing, because it's about five years overdue and one of those records that we thought would never see the light of day. I was actually quite surprised to see it in a completed form, but that's still not saying much. A friend and Tower colleague introduced me to Mortiis back in '01 during The Smell Of Rain era, which I thought was remarkable. I also enjoyed The Grudge and was really getting into Mortiis' industrial era quite a bit. I even found some good material on Perfectly Defect. In any case, he happened to hear the record before me and thought that it was utter trash - basically a Ministry knock-off. I thought that at first when I heard “The Great Leap” but as I listen to this record again, I feel that maybe I needed to soak it in a little first. I'm noticing this introduction in particular to have more of that NIN feel that The Grudge had, rather than Ministry. Additionally, some of these songs don't even sound like Ministry nor Revolting Cocks nor Surgical Meth Machine material at all. If anything, they sound like NIN and The Grudge flavored Mortiis of '04. Not surprisingly, “The Ugly Truth” also seems to come off more like The Downward Spiral. As a matter of fact, I'm not really hearing anything here that really seems remotely like Ministry and even Mortiis' vocals remind me more of Trent Reznor than Al Jourgensen.

“Demons Are Back” of which there's a video for, actually caught my attention in the mix and on the second time through, I'll say that I like it quite a bit. I think it's a very good representation of the album as a whole. Next we have “Hard To Believe” where Mortiis actually decides to add some acoustic guitar influence into his industrial approach, which also works. The chorus is just as strong as anything I've heard on The Grudge and it does make a mark. “Road To Ruin” contains some odd filter effects on the vocals which I didn't care for in some areas, but I love the eighties industrial influence that he's pumped into this one. It would also take a while to soak in, but I think after a while I could come to accept it. It's certainly not a bad song and achieves what Mortiis has always done well. But we have to realize that this is post-The Grudge Mortiis and not The Smell Of Rain Mortiis, which were by and large different. Perhaps “Bleed Like You” is a little flimsy and doesn't really go as far as some of the other cuts, but maybe this could work better live as it is a high energy piece. There's passion in it, I can hear that from the vocals alone – but it doesn't come across well on the disc. “Scalding The Burnt” actually DOES have Ministry influence, which is definitely noticeable in the drumming, but it doesn't deliver nearly as well. I see what he's trying to do here and commend him for plugging into that approach, yet it doesn't seem quite as potent in a vocal sense. It just sort of falls flat and feels like gibberish.

“The Shining Lamp Of God” actually goes back to his more familiar industrial approach, where it really hits and extremely hard. Even though one might consider The Great Deceiver one of Mortiis' weaker moments as a whole, this is definitely one of his best songs. Again, I think a song like this could do rather well live and I'd hope that they do perform it in such a manner. It's also well-constructed as far as an electronic standpoint is concerned and I feel that fans of the style will appreciate that. “Sins Of Mine” is a little lighter piece, perhaps feeling a little bit like David Bowie or an electronic-era Billy Idol. There's a light vocal approach here, but I think that the main chorus piece of the song is oddly distorted and feels out of place. I think he was trying to distort this airy ballad like piece, which he certainly achieved even though it's certain that he completely ruined the main impact of the song altogether. “Feed The Greed” borrows a lot from NIN at their best, but I don't understand why he had such a long fade-in for the piece. It takes maybe about a minute and a half before the song even starts, to which it's rather strong, much like that of The Grudge. In fact, this song would be right at home on The Grudge. The last piece we have here is “Too Little Too Late” which observes a little more atmosphere amidst it's familiar style. It's nothing we haven't heard before, but the tweaks within it make it a little more interesting. It's a rather odd note to the end the album on though, but I guess it works as well as any other.

There's no doubt that Mortiis experimented far beyond what was necessary here, but the end result isn't quite as bad as I thought it would be, especially when a series of rather harsh text messages from my colleague seemed to consider this one of the worst records he's ever made. Even so, it's definitely not a complete wash as there are several songs that I think will grow on the industrial listener with time and a few more listens. The first time I listened to this record much of it fell into the background, failing to really come out to me. But that's because many of these tracks sounded a bit derivative of each other and it did feel in ways like a bit of an industrial mess. Yet as I've listened to it again with a greater focus put on the material, I have found a couple of tracks here that warrant it a little better than my original first impression. The Great Deceiver is a decent industrial disc that still achieves the same kinds of feelings we had with The Grudge and does feel like a slight evolution from that material. But I have a feeling that more material than just these twelve tracks was composed within the almost fifteen year waiting time between this album and The Grudge, so I think that we'll be hearing something else from Mortiis very soon. I also have a feeling that it might be a little bit different. There's no doubt in my mind that he wanted to get this material out as soon as possible, because he was more or less tired of it by now. I would've been as well. Though as to whether or not we'll get another album next year or a bit later, is still up in the air. Mortiis will surely release another when he feels up to it, and hopefully it will show a bit of a deviation from this The Grudge style material. I am quite sure that most other reviewers will say, “We've heard this stuff already on The Grudge” and yeah, they're right. We have. As to whether or not you should check it out, that is entirely up to you. I'd definitely listen to a few tracks first and get a taste for it, because it isn't something you can immediately soak in and will certainly take some time.

(12 Tracks, 57:00)

7/10

Shroud Of Despondency - The Beast's Desire To Sacrifice (2015)

Though this record came out a little while ago, I'm kind of shocked as to it's existence. As you might remember, the band declared themselves dead after the release of their previous effort and apparent final release, Family Tomb. As you also may recall, I thought Family Tomb was a great send-off for the band and a surefire sign that they've left their mark. Nevertheless, the mere fact that The Beast's Desire To Sacrifice exists, says to me that these gentlemen clearly aren't ready to call it quits yet, nor should they. There's far too much damn talent here, just as this record displays rather well. Make no mistake about it, you're getting a black metal performance with elements of I guess one could say technicality and perhaps even a little bit of melodic death metal. It's just a hodgepodge of extreme, but feels a little closer to the source material. It also has a higher production quality than Family Tomb, which makes we wonder if the band literally recorded that record in such a lo-fi quality just for the heck of it. Even so, you're not getting another Family Tomb with this one. You're getting what I would consider the second step in that evolution. The Beast's Desire... is still Gothic, and it's keyboard usage is still as dreary and forlorn as we might expect. The drums still blast, the tremolos are still as frosty as ever and the vocals are still just as scathing as we'd expect them to be. There are even solo sections to be had, which as you know always work for me when done right. Now these are the kind of rock style solos that you might not expect to hear so much in black metal, but the fact of the matter is that the performance here never claimed to be purely anything and winds up instead being much better than a plethora of bands that would rather stick to one style. Shroud Of Despondency have never been a band to stick with one approach and it's kept their music from becoming stagnant. There are some death growls in use here every once in a while too, which gives us a little more than what could've been a very one-sided vocal approach. Even some clean and spoken word pieces appear on the album, as well as a short instrumental break called “The Hidden” which I'd consider a bit creepy. Keeping that in mind, there's also “To Get All I Need” which sounds like a completely different band altogether. As euphoric synths and piano excursions work to decorate various soundclips, we're definitely getting a taste of something that we surely wouldn't have heard on Family Tomb.

This kind of will to push further beyond the boundaries of what most people consider to be heavy metal, and what most people consider to appear on a heavy metal album is why I have an awful lot of respect for these guys. I have literally met people who feel that certain things should not appear on a heavy metal album, because they listen to heavy metal when they're expecting to hear something heavy. Their argument is that when they want to hear something that isn't heavy, they'll simply listen to another type of music. While that is all well and good, and perfectly acceptable; I still think that a musician should be free to write the kind of music that he wants to write, regardless of whether or not certain people will listen to it or consider it heavy metal. There's obviously enough black and death metal influence here to give the listener a pounding atmosphere, but it leaves room for tea; and In my opinion, there's always room for tea. A few alternate drum mixes comprise the bonus tracks for the album, but for the most part you are getting a memorable performance from Rory Heikkila and Ron Blemberg, just as we received on the previous outing and the one before that. As interesting as the Gust project is, I'm glad to see that these guys haven't closed the book on Shroud Of Despondency yet. I'd still consider this act far superior and can't wait to see what future efforts will bring.

(9 Tracks, 58:00 (Omitting Alternate Mixes)

9/10

Anger As Art - Ad Mortem Festanimus (2016)

These Californian thrashers, made up of current and former members of Bitch and Abattoir have released their fifth album here in Ad Mortem Festanimus. However, it would be wrong to consider them a mere thrash act, as there are elements of classic metal, doom and even some more extreme moments on display. You'll hear just what I'm talking about on the surprisingly punchy “Aim For The Heart” which features a serious of unexpected blasts from skinsman Rob Alaniz. Danny Oliverio's vocals also tend to go into what I would consider much fiercer territory for mere thrash, as his inhuman scowls seem to bring an almost death/thrash sensibility to it, making the band far more than a simple eighties throwback. When the thundering grooves kick in during “Tombward” an incredibly brackish performance is offered, which makes for a truly punishing listen that once again, is far more volatile than mere thrash. Truly, Anger As Art could be one of the few thrash acts that might find mass appeal beyond that of the mere thrash hordes who want the same old thing. As much as I love classic thrash done right, I also love it when bands explore beyond what is truly an aging form of music. We've done almost everything there is to do with thrash these days, so I feel that the polish and experimentation offered here is just what the doctor ordered to keep such an approach from becoming stagnant. Adding to that, we have the utterly explosive licks from Oliverio as well as Steve Gaines, who both manage to serenade us right into solo heaven. I mean, this is the way that thrash solos are supposed to sound.

This is all well and good until you realize that for the rest of the record, the band more or less want to thrash as they had been doing on the last one, which was only relatively decent. They still manage a proficient job, but it's nothing compared to the rush one gets with the scathing vocal punishment unleashed towards the beginning of the record. I was at first hearing something that almost reminded me of my favorite era of Testament, but that quickly turned into something that just sounded like regular old Testament, especially when the squeals come in. It sounds like one of these guys is being stepped on like a squeaky toy and that doesn't gel with me at all. I do realize that this kind of vocal approach was used a lot in early thrash, which is why I guess such a thing is lost on me. Oddly enough though, things change to material that reminds me a little bit of, well... Iron Maiden. Yeah, I was just as surprised as you will be when “Praise The Firehead” starts up and while Oliverio is no Bruce Dickinson, he still tries his best to deliver that kind of vocal power. It's actually quite potent, but I'm sure some thrash fans will scratch their heads a bit as they wonder what this segue into classic heavy metal is doing on a “thrash” disc. It's a very good piece though and I certainly wouldn't kick it out of bed. Once again, they're experimenting and I think that's a good thing. If you don't like it, you can always skip it.

Following that, we have Castlevania style organs and neoclassicism that works to introduce a closer entitled “Dim Carcosa” that sounds like it doesn't even belong on this record. There's almost a power/thrash sense on here and to be honest, I'd rather hear this than those four or five basic thrashers in the middle of the album. I really like this change of pace right towards the end, and while some might throw up the “OMG, this band is fucking confused!” card (waiting on you, Autothrall) I'm just glad that I didn't have to suffer through a regular old thrash album. In conclusion, I'm quite pleased with Ad Mortem Festanimus and would recommend it to fans of not only thrash, but several other genres as well. There's a lot to chew on here, but I'm hoping that the next one will showcase even more of the band's abilities. They're only getting better with each record, which is definitely a good thing.

(11 Tracks, 48:00)

8/10

Toothgrinder - Nocturnal Masquerade (2016)

Fans of more modern acts like that of Killswitch Engage, The Dillinger Escape Plan, early Mastodon and Slipknot will find something here in Toothgrinder, which seems to put several of those bands in a blender and regurgitate out absurdly thick grooves, harsh vocal bites and an embrace of slight technical experimentation. These New Jersey natives actually consider themselves progressive metal, but it's quite clear that we're not talking about Fate's Warning or Dream Theater with such a nuanced and sludgy sound as I'm hearing here. It's not that what they play is “sludge” but it just feels very dirty. There are some clean cuts here like the ballad “I Lie In Rain” which could end up on the radio, but you're being mainly pummeled with technicality and djent influence on pieces like “The House (That Fear Built)” and “Blue.” Even some guitar solos appear on a record of this nature, which you wouldn't expect for a disc of it's type. I know that a lot of people will hear this disc and feel that the band aren't really covering anything new, but when I hear it, I sense some promise in the fact that perhaps a band of this type can actually transcend well beyond their peers. I feel though, that I would love to hear more of that progressive sense and not quite so much brawn for the sake of brawn. It's true that I expect metal to be heavy, but I feel that there's almost two mediums here – a fist to the face, or a radio rock sound with heavy moments, ala Five Finger Death Punch. I will say that I would much rather listen to a record like this over that of FFDP, but I can't really see too many extreme metalheads getting into it, honestly. Nevertheless, I feel that the disc is a step in the right direction, at least for the most part. Nocturnal Masquerade is chunky, dirty and sometimes even pretty damn catchy. It's the perfect recipe for accessibility, which I'd rather have covered in New Noise instead of a smaller format like here. But with a band as commercially viable as this one, there's no doubt in my mind that they're getting plenty of recognition for this performance. While it does have that “bro” vibe, there's enough staying power here to warrant several listens. It just depends on your tastes, and if you can deal with each song being relatively bite-sized. Toothgrinder have promise, but they could be so much more.

(12 Tracks, 43:00)

7/10

Maximum The Hormone - Mimi Kajiru EP (2016)

Mimi Kajiru is a mere EP from the Japanese experimentalists, who seem to mix together elements of everything from punk to Nu-Metal to djent and a lot of other things. They're not as obscure as they used to be, especially since performing for the first time in the US during last year's Knotfest event. These songs also incorporate J-Rock as expected, as well as some silliness. There's a lot of silliness utilized here on the vocals, almost the kind of thing that you'd expect from Mike Patton. This time around, these guys really tend to love their punk, which you'll hear utilized just as much as the heavier Nu-Metal sections, where the harsh vocals appear. In a song from Maximum The Hormone, it's not too out of character for a track to turn from a happy punk anthem to something that sounds like thundering metallic mayhem. Think Dir En Grey a little, perhaps towards their earlier era. It's obvious that they were having a lot of fun with this one and it feels like a good snack in between their last record and a possible upcoming release. There's just twenty minutes of music here, but between the many different shades of music the listener will digest, it's going to sound a lot longer. Unexpected things like the telephone message and the children's choir appear on this record as well, making for an even more random sense of things. It's not my favorite of their releases, but it's certainly not bad for an EP and gets surprisingly heavy during some sections. But you can't expect any one thing from Maximum The Hormone, nor would we ever want that. It's obvious that fans of Slipknot and their style would certainly find something in the down-tuned riffs and vocal delivery laden within these tracks, but they'll be forced to open up their palette to new ideas of which they might not be keen to at first - especially with all the roaring punk influence. I'd say to give it a shot if you can find it, because it is worth a listen or two. But they've delivered better in the past and will no doubt deliver even better in the future.

(7 Tracks, 20:00)

7/10

Steve Roach - Emotions Revealed (2016)

Atmosphere legend Steve Roach has never been one to sit on his laurels, and yet another one of his magnificent soundscapes is here in the form of this two track recording. Technically, it consists of pieces dating all of the way back to the eighties, and was previously lost. There wasn't even a name on the tape! But due to the magic of technology, these old recordings sound as if they'd been made just a few months ago. That being said, both pieces will require a large degree of observation, such as I will offer here. The first piece is the title track, which is composed of two separate pieces. A basic piece composes the background, whilst something that I would almost liken to a sort of guitar seems to go off in several directions throughout the mix. The reverberation in the simplistic foreground piece seems to serve as a sort of conscious conductor, which seems to hold more of my attention than the artistic wizzums of which I'm being exposed to in the background. But it oddly enough works, because of it's mantric nature. It's like clockwork and feels almost mechanic, yet in an ethereal sense of things. As the piece continues, the background gets a bit louder and mixes in with the foreground mantra, making something that sounds just like we'd expect from Steve Roach. The piece fades out rather quietly, yet still retains it's machine-like atmosphere up until the end.

The next piece we have is called “Firelight” and it's by and large different. Whereas the title cut was very artistic and moving, this piece feels like a trip of sorts. Though we're first assaulted by a rather grim sort of notion, the piece does lighten up a little to a sound which doesn't even feel natural. It feels inhuman, like something completely not of this world. The piece is not overbearing, it feels almost non-existent and almost like the mere ebb and flow of a galaxy. I believe I've heard similar approaches in a visual novel or computer game, especially the very deep ones, where such a piece might benefit the story. There's something ancient, powerful and removed from our world that exists within this piece. It drones for a bit, albeit in a pleasing way, until it finally explodes into what I can describe as a burst of color, where it finally explodes and fades out like a dead star... which still manages to glimmer brightly a few more times before it finally flickers out. All in all, you're getting two drastically different pieces from Roach, which embody everything we've come to expect from him. They're definitely worth your attention and the price of the journey.

(2 Tracks, 51:00)

8/10