Gnawed - Pestilence Beholden (2016)

Minnesota's Gnawed are back, with a record that I feel is described perfectly by the small amount of text located on the album's digipack. “All scrap metal, performed percussion and natural sounds were recorded within sewers, and rotting abandoned industrial complexes in Minneapolis.” In short, that pretty much sums up what you'll be hearing here as well. It's also quite good, as Gnawed give us a slightly different and surprisingly less ferocious atmosphere this time. When I first started up the record, I was expecting a great deal of unhinged anger and death electronics – but that's just not what I got and was thankful for it. Rather, there's something of an ominous and almost zen-like mist that pervades through the album. It doesn't feel pleasant, but it's not willing to rip your throat out either. As the text above implied, there is a heavy use of scrap metal scrapings on the disc, which help it to feel extremely metallic. We might call certain approaches of extreme rock music “heavy metal” but in all honesty, Gnawed is the sound of literal metal. Steel, iron, copper, aluminum – it's all here for your ears to explore. If this record had a smell, it would be that of a rotted old pipe left out for decades in an abandoned factory mixed in with the stale hint of a musty sewer.

Yes, there are moments of shouting on the disc (heavily masked with an effect) but they didn't reach in until much later, and once again I appreciate that the artist took time to think out of the box with this one. Industrial listeners expecting an atmosphere that matches the horrific imagery of malnourished humans on the album's digipack artwork will find exactly that in Pestilence Beholden. There's absolutely nothing that I couldn't recommend on this one, because it literally feels like cold, rotting metal and that is really what you want from industrial music. Real industrial music, where metal is used instead of rock or metal instruments and/or synthesizers. Admittedly, I like that sort of thing as well, but at least I know enough about this genre now to differentiate it from the dance-friendly distant cousin that exists on the other side of the paradigm. Gnawed fans won't be disappointed with this one, because it is exactly what they should expect from the artist at this point and feels like a more mature approach to the genre, even though it is straight-forward. Certainly worth picking up for any fan of industrial music and can be used as a educative tool to teach those who are unware of the difference in the two industrial genres. Gnawed have made the example with this one, with mastermind Grant Richardson showing everyone else what industrial music is really all about.

(9 Tracks, 55:00)

8/10

Hellgoat - Eden In Flames (2016)

Georgia's Hellgoat is about to release their next EP, with several full-lengths and other EP's just like it under their belt. The band has been comapred to acts like Von, Abysmal Lord, Beherit, Demoncy and others, offering a pretty raw and very rough-necked black metal edge that feels like a more produced version of something that may have come out during the early nineties. The drums do overpower the tremolos here, but that's probably how they'll sound on the stage too – and that's fine, because this is the kind of raw energy that we want to hear from them. It's not always blazing, but even during the lower registers, the frontman still manages a venomous scowl or two and makes for an entertaining performance. The lyrical matter is mostly based in the same Anti-Christian/Satanic stuff that you hear from most black metal acts and we won't beat them up about it. More or less these guys are just sort of emulating the acts and ideas that they enjoy putting forth in their music, and the approach comes off without a hitch. It's not very long, but it makes a mark and includes some interesting introductory and closing notes as well. You hear the sound of goats to open it, and you know – having lived on a farm at one point in my life, goats really aren't all that frightening to me. The ending piece was interesting though, a murky droning atmosphere that I wouldn't have expected. It's worth a listen, but these guys have a bunch of other material out there that comprises of more than just two tracks. I'd listen to those releases first.

(2 Tracks, 8:00)

7/10

Traffic Death/Lurking Corpses - Split Personality (2016)

I don't review much punk here, because I frankly can't fucking stand most of it, or that scene for that matter. Especially now that social justice culture has worked it's way into the scene. That being said, this is a split between two bands from Des Moines and Ft. Wayne with both offering a different approach to punk than I've heard before. Traffic Death started out with a pretty common punk flair, right up there with the Ramones or Misfits, especially in the “whoa-oh” sections. Then they decided to turn a song about their frustration with remakes and new shit into a rather scathing punk cut. The riffs were pretty derivative of the punk genre, but the frontman offered an absurdly harsher vocal approach that I quite enjoyed.

Next we have the equally scathing Lurking Corpses, which aren't strangers to me as I've reviewed them before – but this time around they're experimenting with thick, heavy bouts of doom as well as some death metal growls on “Human Scar.” It's also the longest cut on the disc. Considering the length of this thing, that's not long. After that, they just go into fast numbers that come in and out and don't really leave a mark. It's like when an artist just kind of says, “Eh, fuck it – we'll just write two quick tracks and clal it a day.” But that's what they did. It's a decent disc with slight bits of promise and even though I don't really like a lot of punk, I'll accept this as a relatively decent disc.

(5 Tracks, 8:00)

6/10

State Of Mine - Devil In Disguise (2016)

Hailing from Michigan, these alternative/hard rockers certainly have something for fans of acts like Five Finger Death Punch and early Motograter, which is what they sound like. Even more so than the acts they've been compared to on the press release: Mice & Men, Shaman's Harvest, Sevendust and Gemini Syndrome. While I haven't quite heard of all of those bands, I know for sure that State of Mine have not even the clearest resemblance to Sevendust as I've been a fan of those guys since I was a teenager. What we have here is an act that channels quite a bit of Five Finger Death Punch in their most modern and accessible era, which will do great for record sales, but not strike so hard for originality. What surprised the hell out of me though, was how close to Moody's vocal tone the frontman got on this record – it's unreal. Put those two together in a music program and you'll be quite astonished by the similarity. They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery, but I don't know how well it's going to do for these guys to go so close to an approach that sounds just like that of the current kings of radio rock. “Curtain Call” is the track they're promoting and even have a video for, which certainly seems to have a lot of FFDP worship especially considering the chorus. Now Flaw could also be cited, but Flaw was performing their style long before Motograter joined Moody (and if anyone's ever heard Motograter before Moody, you'll know that they were an entirely different band at that point) and it could even be argued that Ivan Moody borrowed from Flaw in their early days (even though that's highly debatable.)

In any case, fans of a familiar radio rock approach (with added electronics) will find something here within the downtuned riffing and catchy chorus matter that pervade through the disc. There are some strong nodes in the chorus line for “Stones” as well as the closer “Broke By Monday” which reminds me of some of the good times during my teenage years, where we would all ride around on the back roads and listen to radio rock while getting stoned. I'm far too old for that mess now, but back then it was quite an experience. Devil In Disguise is chock-full of radio hits from front to back and I'd certainly recommend it to those who have no problem with commercial approaches. It's not too bad, but certainly nothing I'd outright recommend unless you want to have more radio-friendly hard rock music in your life. I have more than a few friends that would enjoy it, and I think personally that these guys are just one hit away from a major radio breakthrough. But I feel like I've personally heard it all before as far as this goes and it's really nothing all that special. Feel free to check the video and give them a listen for yourself, if this is something that interests you.

(7 Tracks, 25:00)

6/10

Ludicrous - The Stoic Ideal (2016)

This is the sophomore album from the Finnish industrial/death output, featuring members from End Of You, Dead Shape Figure and GAF. According to MA, there's only one member in the act right now and no one knows what he plays. That doesn't seem quite right to me though, and later checking the band's FB profile warrants a much better description. There are five members in the band here who apparently play various instruments. There, now that we have that covered (stifled laughter) let's get to talking about the damn album, shall we?

First off, Ludicrous are not the kind of band to stay stuck in one style for too long, even though they have a base of thumping bass (yes, I made a pun) and furious industrial elements. It can be said that some djent is used on the recording, but it only feels like an element instead of a backbone. Keyboard atmospheres gently decorate sections of the disc, but occasional piano can appear as well as a myriad of other things. Much of the record seems to mirror Swedish death metal, particularly cuts like “Crucifix-State-Of-Mind,” “Deathjog” and the album closer “Delta Male Supremacy.” The band does hit into more alternative rock territory with “Inside Out” and of course, the unexpected Slipknot cover of “Duality” which is definitely one of the act's most mainstream and popularized songs. As for that cover, it does maintain the same vibe, but features more of an industrial background and a much deeper vocal style than Corey Taylor might be capable of.

The record isn't all that long, but it certainly manages something a bit new and different with the death metal genre that people won't be expecting anytime soon. Just in case you passed it up, you might really want to get your hands on it. Bands like Ludicrous are just what we need in the metal scene today, because these are the kind of acts that truly think out of the box. For a real shocker, check out “Ponyrides and Ceilings.” You might not know what to think after hearing that one! Hopefully there will be more of this to come in the future.

(8 Tracks, 31:00)

8/10

Black Royal - The Summoning Pt.2 (2016)

While I don't remember the first part of The Summoning from these Finnish /stoner/death metallers, this second one definitely caught my attention. Musically, we're getting a doom approach with some extra bells and whistles (especially in the vein of melody) that help to accentuate what can be some rather rough growls from the frontman. Maybe there's a little bit of thrash to be found in sections as well, it just depends on the track. We even get some rather ethereal keyboard sections on “Reclaim The Throne” which starts out as a downright pounder. The track pounds you into the ground as if lifts you up and carries you into an enchanted forest. Go figure.

The rest of the cuts after that one are quite heavy, more along the lines of what you were expecting and they all feature a great deal of heavy bass and harsh vocals coupled with some bluesy guitar solos. I don't feel that anything goes as out of bounds as the ending of “Reclaim The Throne” even though “Demonspawn” does have a few more light-hearted moments, particularly when the keyboards return just slightly to give it an unexpectedly angelic feeling right before one last pounding.

Black Royal proves that they've got something a bit more to offer the stoner/death scene, even if that's the mere addition of melodies and keyboard bits. In any case, it's worth checking out if you're looking for a slightly different flavor than many similar bands in the genre.

(6 Tracks, 25:00)

6/10

Devotion - Words and Crystals (2016)

I decided to cover this, because the only English review I could find of it was negative and there has to be a reason that I would have it in my promise pool if it was worth checking out. The reviewer in particular said that he didn't really care for the Deftones style approach that this band dish out, but I on the other hand do like that sort of thing, so I think it's only fair that these guys get a review from someone out there who actually gives a damn about their sound.

First off, Devotion come from Italy and they've played a few shows with the Deftones as well as The Dillinger Escape Plan, two bands that actually match their sound perfectly. They're also on the soundtrack to All Points Bulletin which is some game that EA put out and apparently didn't do very well. That being said, these guys are quite talented if you're into the whole alt/rock and post metal style, and I think you'll find that the frontman has a pleasant voice and a high vocal range at times. He also tends to have a bit of a ferocity within his lines, which can lend very well to some of these pieces. Devotion have a very aquatic sound, despite the occasional tidal waves that occasionally launch waves of Nu-Metal angst, reminding me even a little bit of Filter. No, not Title Of Record Filter either. Those guys have had their share of heavy cuts, just like “P. Hamilton” manages to showcase here. Devotion have not forsaken the Nu-Metal genre, which of course is a thumbs up for me, regardless of the fact that some people don't care for it.

As far as the Deftones influence, I'm going to put this one at a mix of Adrenaline, Around The Fur and Diamond Eyes. Yes, I remember Adrenaline and it was definitely heavy – the right kind of Nu-Metal heavy. Yet what Devotion manage to achieve with such a sound, is waves of atmosphere which always allow the music to breathe. It can be a sledgehammer or a sandwich, depending on the song and mood conveyed within. Perhaps some of the harsher approaches can grain on one's nerves (simply depends on the listener) but I find that for the most part, there is enough variety here within all of the different styles that they attempt to make for a pretty solid listen. I'd definitely give it that much, as you may find that you like it.

(10 Tracks, 39:00)

7/10