Album reviews by Mark J-More awesome releases-Part 3-Writhing, Burner,Firepower, Une Misere,King, Crisis Act, Inner Light and Abyssal Tomb. All fucking bangers.

 

Album reviews-More awesome releases-Part 3-Writhing, Burner, Firepower, Une Misere, King, Crisis Act, Inner Light and Abyssal Tomb. All fucking bangers.

These are the dog bollocks, concise short reviews of shit you need to buy now. Got it, now read, buy and thank me later fuckface.

We have a blindingly awesome selection of releases here as the year draws to a close. 

Let's go and get into these bangers.

Writhing-Of Earth and Flesh.
Indeed a 2022 release, but fuck it you cannot miss out on this OSDM banger of a release. All the good shit is repped here hard like Immolation, Cannibal Corpse and Incantation etc. Everything is visceral and abrasive whilst musically and song structure-wise these cats are way ahead of most of their competition. That Which Becomes Death is gory, skin peeling and so crushing that it is up there with the best of Deicide or Morbid Angel. This is slightly groove-driven and every track is brilliant. Well recommended, killing it live and more releases in the works. Essential Brutality. 

Burner-It All Returns to Nothing. A more recent, mid-year killer album was this debut from South London's harsh metallic hardcore demigods, Burner. This band haven't dropped a bad release and this is in my top five releases of the year. This is out-of-the fucking gates raging, bleak sonic violence that dips into hardcore, black metal, powerviolence and death metal. Every track is savage, gritty and beastly, if the vocals don't slice you open, the belligerent riffs and bass/drums will make your innards explode. I cannot separate the tracks from exceptional to brilliant and every other superlative, this is astonishing brutal music that will rip you a new one. At a push EF5 or Struggle Session wins the best track of the album, for this minute at least. Buy and support this band hard!.


Firepower- Death Comes Quick. Wow, full-on balls out Aussie rock is back with a vengeance. This is solid quality street rock in the vein of Motorhead, Coloured Balls, Rose Tattoo, The Angels and early blues-inspired punk. Coming straight for the jugular is side one, Shotgun Man, the title track, Into the Fire and the very Rose Tattooesque-inspired beast that is When the Axe Comes Down which is a clever and raucous classic. Closing out side A is Watchers in the Sky which whilst definitely not a song for me, is something that in the 70's/80's would be a top 5 track in the charts-it's memorable, almost Midnight Oil meets Goanna at a BBQ with Spy vs Spy. To do something like this is a risk, but one that will pay off in the overall flow of this great release. Side B takes you straight back to the fistfight outside the pub with Dead Man Walking, such a ripping barnstormer- I love the backing vocals on this and that ripping rifffest. We're the Lowlifes is the biggest throwback to Al's previous bands like Marching Orders; this is a definite Oi meets Billy Thorpe encounter. Grey Street Lizzie brings back the blues-heavy vibe and a huge anthem; that grabs you with sensational vocals, great tempo changes and feisty riffs. As we hit the final stride of the album, you get the excellent AC/DC vibes on The Hangman, Mean Streets Run Red is a dominant real sharpie type rocker that really shows the quality in this band-they can change it up, slow or speed stuff up; but they play with purpose and energy. The final track is Burnout Blues and this is a huge road dog or badarse bikie classic-it has that spiky dynamic and Al mixes up the vocals here as well as some of the best guitar work on this debut. Impressive, essential and even wilder live. Hit the band up for vinyl or spin this album on streaming services now!!!
This is barfight/whiskey-drinking music for the working man, love it.

Get antisocial;



Have a listen:


Une Misere-Damned. This new EP is from a sensational band from Iceland whose debut Sermon totally floored me on so many levels. 2022 saw a lineup change with a new vocalist and to state they have become heavier and grittier is an understatement. Damned is incredible, griping and heavy as hell. Opener and lead single/video Sever is raging, unhinged blackened hardcore that is brutal and deeply engaging, it reminds me of when metalcore was free from trends. This track also has a borderline powerviolence feel mixed with death metal and is my fave single of the year. Nothing ever is diluted and the tension is off its head. Une Misere seems more agitated on this release and I'm all for that. Near Death is as psychotic and has a nasty groove that is almost beatdown crossed with classic Deathcore vibes and the phattest breakdowns that you love. Plus the gore-dripped backing vocals on this were mental and so wicked. Kudos to the grim guitar tone on this track and to the whole release. Hard to believe this band has gotten heavier.
Drown is a high-paced hardcore banger that is sensational with the best vocal performance on this release, and this would be wild live. The brilliant Nocturne closes out this superb release and is as chaotic as the rest, but this is demonic yet atmospheric. The lyrics are wicked on this, and it isn't offset by the small amount of slightly clean vocals(which generally I hate) because they balance it out and the groove element really works so perfectly. Cannot wait for a full album from these legends.

King-Fury and Death. This is the third album from these metal royals(lol) and the band always strike a balance between melodic death metal and black metal. Fury and Death is less grim and cold compared to the earlier releases and more rockish. Not as in stadium rock, but more head-banging than the earlier stuff. Whilst not hugely breaking new ground musically or lyrically, this is a beast of an album. Perception Ignited is dynamic, full of thick hooks and the usual brilliant vocal and drum performance from the demigods that play in this band. This like most tracks grips you and washes you with filth and mood. Volcano, Mountains of Ice, Black Dimension, Crepuscular and Death in the Cosmos will slaughter you in multiple different ways. The song structures are clever, the guitarwork is staggering and this is this band's finest hour...so far. Solid and well-produced, this is a killer release.

Crisis Act-Artificial Noose. Joe and Dave Haley are back again with this insane shrieking, abrasive grindcore band that also has the mad lunatic Matty Young on vocals. The nine tracks don't even make the 15-minute mark on this new EP, but that's the point. Aggressive, frantic tempo-based extreme metal that definitely doesn't take itself too seriously and we are the better for it because this is as fun as the early thrashcore stuff many of us grew up on. Every track is excellent, all about the mosh but is not throwaway-the songwriting is purposeful and the riffs are brilliant. My favourite track was the title track; this just mixed the speedcore genre with deathgrind so perfectly-and the main riff was so acidic and gnarly. Brilliant stuff as expected!.


Inner Light-Structure. Earlier this year, we reviewed their s/t Ep and praised how solid this band is with their modern take on metalcore. The foundation is super tight metallic hardcore with tension-filled moody guitars, super solid drums and bass and a brilliant vocalist. This release sees the band getting heavier in both the ferocious nature of the guitar work perhaps more metal influence and definitely harsher vocals. The first three tracks are very solid and still sit in that adored Walls of Jericho/Venom Prison vein, but these tracks are quite similar; for me that is cool but I feel the track order is slightly out. This is because the two best tracks are the final two and I think they should have sat earlier up in the order. Exist is more in that Jinjer style and has excellent cleanish vocals in the middle and is a quite dramatic track-atmospheric, but heavy as hell. Circle was the video for this release and is the huge highlight for this release-so searing, raw and crushing. The song is very hardcore and the chuggy breakdown and riff trail was wondrous. As I said I can't fault this EP, although the track order for my tastes is slightly out. Here's hoping for a full album next year from this amazing band.


Abyssal Tomb- Buried. This one is an OSDM ripper featuring Rohan from Battlegrave, Stu from Sylvan Awe/Brace and Tim from Munitions so you know this is going to be killer. Think Dirty, nasty OSDM like Obituary, General Surgery, Australia's own Anatomy or early Six Feet Under. The guitarwork is severely nasty and so effective, combined with a fantastic use of a slower tempo. Tracks like the title track, Wild, Sun God and the mighty Swamp of Viscera all soar with that deep, plodding pace combined with the savage vocal performance of the year. This is a killer, confident and stunning debut and I cannot wait for an album of this dark, hefty and disgusting filth. For me, this style is where Death Metal really was the best and I don't care if I ain't progressive-this writer needs this caveman Death Metal desperately. 
Buy this and support this band hard!


That's a wrap for the year, if we didn't review your release we either ran out of time or you need to try harder. 


LAST BUT NOT LEAST SUPPORT OUR ZINE BY SPREADING THE WORD FOLLOWING US ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND REPOSTING OUR WORKS...
SUPPORT THE UNDERGROUND AND OUR COMMUNITY

Comments

Post a Comment