Kai Reznik - Scary Sleep Paralysis (2015)

French electronics composer Kai Reznik has released his first EP, even though technically this one came out in October of last year. I have no earthly idea as to why the artist's actual full-length, Unreleased (Feb '16) is priced at a thousand euros, but I don't think that's going to encourage anyone to buy it. So be thankful that this digital EP is fairly priced and worth listening to if you like the sort of ambience which might include chiptunes (Post) or even Europop friendly nodes amidst what can actually be quite foreboding (The Recognizer) depending on the mood. The disc also features guest work from Oll Korrect and Sasha Andrès. It's a rather solid electronic piece with loads of potential in it's rather unexpected sense of murkiness, but I feel that some of the high-pitched laser effects on “Monster5” can be a be a bit much for me. I think said cut would be better if they weren't quite so rampant in the mix. Sometimes less is more. There is a twenty minute cut called “Nails and Crosses” which seems to show the composition at it's best, but most of that is silence leaving us to more of those high-pitched theremin-like tones. I think I get the idea, but I'm not necessarily feeling it as much on the second listen. Check out the Bandcamp for yourself and give some of these cuts a listen if this seems like something you would be into. This would sound great in a game, but that's just me...

(5 Tracks, 38:00)

7/10

Pit Of Carnage - The Rise Of The Fallen King (2016)

Danish brutal deathers Pit Of Carnage have returned with their second full-length, just two years after 2014's The Beginning Of The End. The band are made up of just two guys, but GoreDrummer handles the drumming, guitars and vocals relatively well, while Peter Juelsgaard makes himself known in the bass department. He only plays the bass, but his licks are very much a part of the entire performance. Sometimes these guys break the forumal completely for some airy keyboard atmospheres, but I think that's part of the charm. They crush, but leave room for a little more, which is what I like. Even when I take a look at their compositions, I can see that there's quite a bit of technicality and groove as well as melody in some areas that you don't hear quite all the time in this kind of music. We also get some solos from time to time, which you may not ever hear in this genre, depending entirely on the act. There are more bands than I can count that give a stable performance (which almost always include the same song regurgitated in ten different ways) in the BDM genre, but Pit Of Carnage are standing out for doing their own damn thing.

Sometimes it sounds a bit Nu-Metal with the downtuning (which might upset people) and there are even some breakdowns here and there as well as some prog touches, but it's not a record that I feel has an absence of overall riff-matter or inspiration. When I mean “riff-matter” I mean that I can actually hear some riffs on the disc, not just an overload of bass and drums. Pit Of Carnage don't seem to be playing any kind of style beyond that of their own, which is something worth considering if you're looking for a record in this genre that goes out of it's way. It's not exactly perfect, but open-minded fans of technical death metal and brutal death should come together on this one. Just be sure to keep your ears peeled for the odd effect near the end of “Reflection Of Desire.” That's the kind of experimentation I'm all about. No doubt you'll hear several more of these little experiments incorporated in various places on the disc, so you'd better give it a listen if you're tired of bland bands.

(10 Tracks, 28:00)

8/10

Howling Giant - Black Hole Space Wizard Pt. 1 (2016)

Hailing from Tennessee, Howling Giant are the kind of stoner metal act that pushes the genre a little further than most. With a wonderfully catchy vocal end that features elements from all three of these musicians, as well as four distinctly different songs that take off in ways I wouldn't imagine, Howling Giant might be one of the best up and coming stoner/rock acts in the state right now. There is an obvious commercial edge to pieces like “Mothership” and “Clouds Of Smoke” but in my eyes, that follows in the same kind of territory as Mastodon's more accessible Crack The Skye release and I'm not complaining one iota. The band are able to craft what I'd consider rather complex, keyboard driven hypnotic atmospheres that even feature a little bit of H.G. Wells thrown in for good measure. Fans of various stoner acts, as well as stuff like Mastodon, Kyuss, Floor and maybe even Tool will find something here, but just keep in mind that there are a hefty amount of doom riffs to be found on some of the cuts here. I've listened to it probably around five or six times now and can't wait for the second part!

(4 Tracks, 21:00)

9/10

Megadriver - Role-Playing Metal (2016)

The shortest disc in the set is also the last one I have here for review, but it is also my favorite. The theme of this one is something completely different than what Megadriver have done in the past, and it works well for them. Here we have several covers taken from various role-playing games, spanning both the classic and modern eras of the genre. The first is “Tristam” from Diablo II, which is a game I haven't played much of even though I've liked dungeon crawlers for years. I'm not very familiar with the source material, but this is one of the most bombastic (and yes, there are a slew of outside folk instruments utilized) and intriguing tracks that the band have ever recorded. It is more than just a metal track, and shows the compositional power of these guys beyond standard heavy metal pieces. It only gets better from here, folks. Next we have the Final Fantasy theme, here entitled “Prelude.” It sounds absolutely awesome to hear those notes played on a fretboard in this fashion, and I love the added elements to the piece which expand beyond it's rather simplistic (but wholly memorable) origin. Then we have “Still More Fighting” which is of course, from Final Fantasy VII. They're doing a solid job with it here, but I just don't think you can capitalize on The Black Mages version of it, which is of course Nobuo Uematsu's band. He composed the orinal cuts, so it goes without saying that his version of this piece is astounding. Even though I will add that this Megadriver version adds some interesting sections and a nice solo to the cut that work to their favor. This is also a pretty long song, so expect that. Next we have “Title Theme” from The Legend Of Zelda. I've heard this covered more times than I would care to admit, by more bands than you would ever believe. One of them even incoproated black metal blasts (Artifact) into the composition. “Gerudo Valley” is from TLOZ: Ocarina Of Time, which most people would want me stoned to death for not having finished. I've played it several times, I just became stuck early in the game and never finished it. I've heard this piece before from the band, but did not know it was from Ocarina Of Time.

Following that, we have “White Wolf” which is the theme for The Witcher. Yes, I have The Witcher. It is installed on my PC right now, but I can't get the hang of it. One of these days I might go back to it. The piece is thundering heavy metal, as we might expect – and it features loads of chugs and gallops. These guys love their gallops. They always have. The next cut is “Courage and Pride” which is the Guardia Castle theme from Chrono Trigger. This piece was done so well in the latter half of the song that my eyes nearly welled up. What was already a terrific melody became a fantastic lead. Without question, this might very well be the best piece Megadriver have ever recorded IMO. Even the solo fits, which I wasn't sure about at first, since this one is fragile. Break it and I'll be forever pissed. Next we have an equally popular piece, “Frog's Theme.” I've heard it covered in metal by several bands as well (but not Guardia Castle, that was a first!) It also seems to be played a bit slow, but the leads really shine here as they should – Chrono Trigger's soundtrack was all about melodies, melodies that the developers actually heard in their dreams. (That's a fact by the way, go look it up.) Even more special to me is the Chrono Cross soundtrack. Now I know that this one is a bit of a hit or miss with fans, but I've always loved the music. There were times that I would sit and just listen to the soundtrack, it's easily one of the best – if not the best RPG soundtrack of all time for me. “Scars Of Time” is the intro movie's music, which surprises me as they could have done Nikki's theme (which actually incorporated a real guitar.) As such, it's decent. Some of the melodies fit rather well here, the leads continuing to shine through. More could have been done, however. Plus, not even a metal cover could one-up the original composition for me here and there are just some things that you shouldn't touch.

“Dragonborn Comes” from Skyrim is a theme that I've never heard, as I never got very far in Skyrim, but I did play quite a lot of it. Oh, great. There's the band's frontman again... You know it's a bad sign when you dread hearing the band's frontman. This is basically a folk metal piece, but I won't put too much stock into it as the vocals really kill it for me. As for “Song Of Elune” I have only spent a total of ten minutes in the World Of Warcraft, when a friend was trying to get me into the game. I suppose the game's music is decent, and that cut does manage to do something for me near the end, when the shredding begins. Closing on the end of the disc, we have “The End Of The Millennium” from Phantasy Star IV, a game I haven't personally played (as I think it was fan-translated) but have been told was quite good. It has an electronic backing, which works additionally well with the amount of melodies and the shredding apparent. The last cut on the album is “Dungeon” from Phantasy Star. Out of all the others, this one could have also been on Rise From Your Grave as it was also a Genesis/Megadrive title.

My closing thoughts on Role-Playing Metal mainly consist of high praise, as this is one of the best records that the band have ever done. If we throw the vocal-laden “Dragonborn Comes” out into the ocean somewhere, we still have twelve memorable and lengthy cuts that show the band exploring and experimenting not only like they haven't done before, but unlike other bands in their genre have done before. The melodies truly shine on this record, which has always been the best thing about video game music, especially in those early compositions.

Closing my thoughts out on all three of these, (please read the reviews for Rise From Your Grave and Gaming Hell before you read this) it's almost unreal to think that these Brazilians have released such a vast compilation of music in such a short time. It has also been well-composed for the most part, and is being offered online for a price, or a free download if you're on the fence about it. IMO, Gaming Hell was hell except for a few strong cuts, with the Rise For Your Grave record being a bit more to my liking. Obviously, I like the RPG compositions the best, and you might feel a little bit different, as well you should. I'm starting to think that these guys are running out of things to cover as well, with so much territory having been covered on a regular basis. They keep releasing new music, which is something that will keep them relevant for a long time to come. I didn't see any real reviews for this band, nor any news articles about them since 2011's Metalhog album. It's been a long time since that record released, and these guys have gone unheard for a bit too long, I'd say. They're practically giving you these three albums on the Megadriver website (that's .br by the way) but if you could throw a little bit of support their way, I'm sure they would be grateful.

(13 Tracks, 45:00)

8/10

Megadriver - Rise From Your Grave (2016)

The next album in the set is the longest here, and it is also more in the vein of the band's traditional material. Simply, it's a Megadriver record of tunes covered from the Sega Megadrive soundfont. Every single tune covered here appeared specifically on the console, reminding me much of their early material. It's going to be that sort of “return to the roots” days that people were looking for and it certainly doesn't disappoint. There are twenty-one cuts here and the disc nearly runs to seventy minutes, but I'll try to go through it as best I can. First we have “Another Part Of Me” from Michael Jackson's “Moonwalker.” It's alright, and works as a decent enough intro. I never got into that particular title though, but I've played it a few times. “Rise From Your Grave” comes next, which should have actually opened the disc for some reason, but maybe they didn't want to do that as their Altered Beast album did the same. This is probably about the eightieth time I've heard these guys cover this track since the demo days, and I'd actually think Nino would be tired of playing it by now. Next we have “The Graveyard” from Ghouls n' Ghosts, which doesn't need a very long explanation. It is played a little slower than I expected, however. “Sunset Riders” also comes from the band's demo days, except this time we have a more produced version of the cut. “War Of The Clones” is from X-Men 2: The Clone Wars and it is an odd piece with some keyboard effects and record scratches thrown in to go with the slightly electronic feel of the piece. Clone Wars was a very odd game for me, I never really finished it, or got very far. It was one I had always sat on the back burner and never really understood it. It was an unexpected direction from the original, even with Magento playable.

The next cut comes from Vectorman and it's entitled “Day 1 Terraport/Day 6 Bamboo Mill.” It also has more added electronic effects to emulate the palette of the original. Keep in mind, these were more funk-induced electronic cuts, so hearing them in metal seems a bit bizarre – even though the band certainly seems to capture a great metallic feel to both. The next one brings back a lot of memories, as it's title theme to Battletoads & Double Dragon, here called “Dragontoad.” Probably one of the best (and toughest) beat em' up/platformers ever made, it's definitely worth a play for all of you old-schoolers out there and certainly had some great music in it's own right. The band captures that pretty well here and I'm quite pleased with the rendition. Definitely one of the best here. They even got the cowbell right. The next one is “Turbo Tunnel” from the Sega version of Battletoads. It's a remake of the NES version, but is still just as tough. Especially because of that bike section. This one's alright, but nothing truly amazing. Another game I remember is Aladdin, and we have “Agrabah Market” here, which is basically just a Middle-Eastern folk piece transferred into metal. I never got very far in Kid Chameleon, but it remains as a classic sort of launch-title for the Genesis. This is a decent number, but it doesn't really leave me with anything. It's just kind of there and I don't really love or hate it. “Night Of The Mutants” from Comix Zone (another good, but short beat em' up – it was a rare style of game that we haven't seen since) has some strong leads here and there and follows a good composition. It gets better with the listen and stands out as another one of the most memorable tracks here.

Next we have “Last Springsteen” from Contra Hard Corps. This is when Konami still made Contra games, instead of various disappointments. The track is heavy thrash, features a ton of shredding and even some alarm sounds in the background. A good game with a good soundtrack, so it's no wonder as to why this one also wouldn't be one of the best cuts on the disc. “Stage 1-1” from Mega Turrican has a bit of Neoclassical influence in it, it serves as a pretty strong cut and more or less represents the game. “Military On The Max Power” is from Gunstar Heroes, which enough praise cannot be given. The music to the game was pretty decent, but the gameplay delivered in spades. There are a lot of indie games these days that try to emulate that style, and it works to varying degrees. “From Duckberg To Transylvania” is from Quackshot, which I never played much. The track here is also a bit “there” and doesn't really leave me feeling anything. The second portion of the song is a little better though, and I'll raise it a point. “Alleycat Blues” was a good track, whether you heard it on the SNES or Genesis/Megadrive. This was actually taken from Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist, which was a poor man's version of Turtles In Time. It had some bits from the Turtles In Time Arcade game, but other than that, it felt terribly stripped down. These guys definitely did the rockin' piece justice though and it's one of my favorite cuts here. The next track is also a very strong piece called “Tornado Is Approaching” from a game called El Viento. I'm not familiar with this one, but I'll have to play it sometime. Without a doubt, this is another one of my favorite cuts on the disc. Those lead riffs are killer. After that, we have a cut from Splatterhouse 2 called “Back To The House.” As I said, this is from Splatterhouse 2 which was alright; but I would have loved to hear more extreme metal covers of many of the cuts from Splatterhouse 3. That game had such a creepy vibe and atmopshere that was only enhanced by tracks like it's boss music, which begs to be covered in a darker, more guitar-laden format. Splatterhouse 3 was extremely dark for the early console generation, due to all of it's depictions of blood, gore and grotesqueries. The first one wasn't much and the second one looked like a Friday The 13th Clone, but the third one really evolved upon that. Play this one if you haven't. The piece in general is alright, it manages to keep some of the creepy vibe from the original material.

Getting closer to the end, we have “Flash Of Sword” from the Syd of Valis Genesis/Megadrive exclusive title. They may have also made Valis 3 for the Genesis. Valis games have an extremely fascinating backstory. I used to love these, as the gameplay was very interesting as well as the story and it's characters. Syd Of Valis was a weird one with SD characters. The last Valis was Super Valis IV, which was on the SNES as an exclusive. After that, well... the entire fucking franchise became an adult hentai game. Remember those people that you had to fight? The tough bosses at the end of the game? Well, now you're fucking them. This has made me more upset with a franchise than anything else in recent memory. Valis, we barely knew ye. The piece retains the same memorable quality as with the original Valis tracks and many more should be covered from subsequent titles. But what would be awesome, is if someone could create a spiritual successor to the whole franchise. After that we have “Harrier Saga” from Space Harrier II. I sucked at these early shmups, so I didn't play very many of them and for very long at that. It is another strong cut with intricate guitar playing in sections that comes off without a hitch. Perhaps it goes on for a bit too long, though. The last track here is “Du, Du, Du” from Ristar. I'll admit that Ristar was a good platformer, but I think it came out too late in the life cycle of the console to be noticed. By that time, Sega were trying to add more weird peripherals to that thing than were wholly necessary. It's a nice send-off for the disc though, and feels rather dreamlike.

Rise From Your Grave is a much better offering that shows Megadriver doing what they do best, and have done for many years now. Some of the tracks are new, some of them are old favorites given a facelift and a bit more polish. It's definitely worth a listen, but some tracks do seem to just kind of sit there and don't really leave a real mark on you. But that's only because there are so many, and it goes without saying that we will have hits and misses on the disc.


(21 Tracks, 64:00)

7/10

Megadriver - Gaming Hell (2016)

The first of three full-length releases from the Brazilian VG Metal stalwarts, this compilation features a lot of material that differs heavily from their Genesis/Megadrive roots, as well as their 8-16 bit roots. There are still some classics to be found, but some of the stuff I found completely uninspiring and not at all memorable. “The Way Of The Assassin” features the band's frontman on vocals, and the guy has not improved any. It's a chore to get through and still makes me wonder as to why these guys have a singer at all. It's absolutely pointless for them. His tone is like an out of range Rob Halford and it's not pleasing to listen to. Most of you will probably skip that one right out. Then we get to “Revolution” which is also an Assassin's Creed track. I've never heard this one before, and am not sure if the original was done with guitar. It is however, one of the stronger tracks. We get a medicore cover of “Sons Of Liberty” from Metal Gear Solid 2, as well as the title theme for GTA Vice City. But then we get a real classic, which is “Streets Of Desolation” from Konami Batman (because that's just what it's called.) I'm thankful that the tune is faithful to the original and doesn't feature any clean vocal pieces from their frontman about Batman fighting the Joker. I'd have stabbed myself in the stomach and bled to death right then and there. I'll also add that this one has a nice solo on the end of it (not in the original, obviously.) Next, we have “Gank-Plank Galleon” from the original Donkey Kong Country. There was more of a funk and groove to the original when it kicked up to add guitars, but this rendition seems to carry more chug with it. After that, we get “Fire” which is actually from both the Ninja Turtles II Arcade cabinet (which you can play on your damn phone these days) as well as the NES port. It's quite close to the original and was one of the tracks that got me into heavier music, along with Konami Batman's “Streets Of Desolation” of course. Keep in mind, I was seven. I had no idea who Slayer or Metallica were. But I knew that I liked the sound of emulated guitars and wanted to hear real ones. Now here I am at thirty-one years of age, hearing more real guitars than I'd ever imagined.

The next one is “Wings Of Liberty” from Starcraft II, which is a game I've never so much as booted up. The next track we have actually has a funny story behind it. Here, it is called “Maximum Carnage.” But those of you who know your metal and rock history might remember the song's original title, “Carnage Rules” performed by Green Jelly. I've loved this song for years and have been chomping at the bit to do a vocal cover of the piece with more of a sinster and black metal edge – kind of like if Carnage himself had sung it. I also think that it's one of the heaviest punk songs I've heard, it has a ton of bite and remains on my playlist to this very day. I jam the shit out of that song and have for years. And yes, the lyrics are loosely based on Spider-Man. Now as for Megadriver's version, it is a little peculiar. I think Nino wanted to change the composition a little to sound different from the Green Jelly version and they also added some extra elements to it. It's not bad, but it has nothing on the original Green Jelly cut. After that, we have the worst abomination in the entire VG Metal genre and something I hope that I never hear again for the rest of my life.

Those of you who remember Valve's first Portal title might remember the little song “Still Alive” at the end. Well, these guys decided to give us a traditional metal version of the cut which is terrible. It has a one-star rating here on my WMP list and it will stay that way. This is just... cancer. I'll pretend that this one doesn't exist. Next we have “Get To The Choppa” from Tiger Heli and man, is it ever a welcome change of pace. After that we have “Area 7” from Blaster Master, and I've never gotten that far. It's a pretty traditional rendition and stands on it's own. Next we have “Warriors Of Metal” (almost to the end here, folks) which comes across as a very clean composition. It's definitely one of the stronger cuts on the record and fills with some very potent nodes in areas. Then we have “Brazil Stage” from a game called Sonic Wings 2. It's actually quite good, and stands as one of the best compositions on the album, if not the best. Now I'm not sure if that was because the piece itself was well composed, or that they added extra elements – but the end result comes off pretty memorable. Following this, we have another sung vocal piece in the form of “Song Of The Lonely Mountain” from The Hobbit. It's actually not too bad and the frontman manages to hit some pretty decent notes here. As you might expect, the track is a mixture of folk and power/thrash.

Finally, we have something a bit “interesting” for me to talk about, as I know this piece very well. Extremely well. I've put my own vocals on it and you can listen to the track right on my YouTube channel, except it'll be buried under gameplay videos. I recorded the cut for my solo record back in 2010 Black Therapy, and it was essentially done as both a hobby project and a way to get the word out about the bands that performed many of the instrumentals I used. Note the version of the track that I recorded my vocals to is a much lower quality version than this one, but comparing “El Origen De La Oscuridad” to “Into The Sea” leaves me with the feeling that I completely obliterated this guy. You can listen to both cuts back to back and let me know what you think. My version is a bit more chorus-heavy and possibly a bit darker than the one Megadriver did here, but they went for a more traditonal sound and style. It's a shame, because these guys did perform some much heavier material, like “Grim Lord Of The Mound” which was a sort of factor in how I got my title and named this place. It all started with an inside joke started from a demo instrumental I did to that cut and showed to a local guitarist I knew. The name “Grim Lord” stuck after that, and hence; the Tower. So I have a lot of respect to these guys, GWAR (which inspired the silly lyrics I was doing on that cut) and the guitarist I knew for helping to bring all of this to form. That being said, Gaming Hell is probably the worst of the three releases in this set, even though there are some strong and rather exceptional pieces to be found here and I certainly won't deny that.

(16 Tracks, 53:00)

6/10

TMHM - Stage Names (2016)

Canada's TMHM (The Man and His Machine) have been around for five years now and have self released three EP's as well as two live discs throughout their lengthy tenure. This recording marks the act's first full-length and official debut, which as of this writing is also a self-released recording. The only difference here, is that that album was recorded in Rain City Studios, where acts like Misery Signals, Japandroids and Baptists were also put through the three-step process of recording, mixing and mastering.

Although this is the act's first debut release, it still feels like an EP due to length, but I guess that is to be expected from a band who is most likely (and I'm just taking a guess – not even an educated one) used to writing and recording smaller albums in an EP format. It merely graces over twenty-two minutes of overall playtime. The sound I can describe as a mix of Nu-Metal, post, punk and core, which certainly doesn't turn me away due to the Nu-Metal elements alone. Those of you who've been with us a long time will know that I grew up in the age of Nu-Metal and first cut my teeth on this music. Though I've reviewed and enjoy more extreme approaches as well, I've always had a soft spot for this kind of music.

We start right with the very Nu-Metal style of “Bad Luck In Belleville” which seems to echo some of the heavier moments of acts like Primer 55. The vocal end of things is definitely a bit loud and even somewhat obnoxious in the mix, but I think that adds some real heart and feeling to the music. When we get into “Toxic Mix” we're listening to a post-metal piece which almost carries a bit of punk with it. The punk and groove elements punch up with “18 Oz” which might not be for everyone, but it's got a hell of a lot of piss and vinegar. “Threadcounts” changes the style of the band to a punk influenced core or powerviolence if you will. I guess I'm a bit reminded of Gallows without the sing-along parts. The powerviolence seems to carry right on over into the title cut, which is quite raucous, but I'm almost afraid that the frontman is about to blow a blood vessel.

“Better Half” changes the style a bit to aloow for more down-tuned bass, but the Nu-Metal influence has been removed almost completely in favor of something that sounds like more of what we've just heard. It's not a bad approach, but it makes me feel that the beginning of the disc might be a bit misleading to listeners. TMHM certainly have a lot of fight in them though, I can say that. The rest of the record doesn't offer much more than we've heard at this point, so you should already be aware of what you're getting now. Saying little more about the album, if you like incredibly noisy approaches that combine punk along with various metal elements, you'll certainly find something in what I can consider a rather solid and outspoken release.

It sounds like the voice of a generation, in which a cacophony of words amount to distress and frustration towards society and it's machinations as a whole. I believe this is the sound of the rebellion, though I'm not quite sure what the rebellion is against these days. The wealthy capitalist machine cannot be beaten in a physical manner, one will merely have to wait until it finishes it's tenure and goes kaput all on it's own. 

People obviously seem a bit disrupted by the current system of economics and government, which of course will bring about some sort of change in paradigm. Though that change in paradigm, I believe; had already been planned from the get-go. It is much easier to get people to rebel against and remove something themselves, than to just completely have it removed altogether – especially when they'll find that the next system probably won't work as well as this one. But what can I say? Progress has a price. Give this one a listen if you're full of rage and angst against the infernal machine.

(8 Tracks, 22:00)

7/10