This week’s Heavy Music HQ reviews include releases from Category 7, Culled, Dream Evil, Duskwalker, Ghost, Grid, IX Of Blades, Mean Mistreater, Nether, Respire, Summoning The Lich, Verni, A Wake In Providence and Wormwitch.
The ratings are on a 5-star scale.
Category 7 – Category 7 (Metal Blade)
With an all-star array of musicians that have played with enough bands to fill a whole review (Shadows Fall, Armored Saint, Exodus, Machine Head, Adrenaline Mob, to name just a few), Category 7 can easily get that “supergroup” tag. They don’t rest on that label alone on their self-titled debut album, which is thrash metal loaded with some of the best guitar work of the year and an unhinged performance from drummer Jason Bittner.
That’s not to discredit John Bush’s recognizable wails or bassist Jack Gibson’s steady hand. This does turn into the Mike Orlando and Phil Demmel spectacle for fans of trade-off solos and impressive fretboard feats. Closing instrumental “Etter Stormen” gives us eight minutes of that as a delightfully over-the-top finale to an album with hooks to supplement the extraordinary musicianship.
Rating: 4
(Dan Marsicano)
Culled – Psycles (Horror Pain Gore Death)
Culled have found a way for grindcore, sludge metal and doom metal to coexist on Psycles, their second EP after 2018’s Thin The Herd, Fail To Learn. In the six years since that EP, the band have a new rhythm section, though their unique merging of genres is retained. When they grind on the title track and “Halo Of Flies,” they do so with no remorse and an intended goal to be done in under two minutes.
Instead of beginning Psycles with one of those swift cuts, they mimic their first EP with the lengthy “The Trauma Of History.” At seven-plus minutes, it’s a great encapsulation of all of their influences merging into one song. The gloomy intro that doesn’t rush off, an abrupt dive into bedlam, then back to an extended outro repeating a crushing riff. Psycles defies anyone’s opinion of where it’ll head, maintaining this for 20 minutes.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Dream Evil – Metal Gods (Century Media)
Fredrik Nordstrom keeps pretty busy as one of metal’s most in-demand producers, so there are usually several years between albums from his heavy/power metal band Dream Evil. That’s the case for their latest effort Metal Gods, their seventh studio album and the follow-up to 2017’s Six.
The lyrical theme this time around is fighting, with all the songs about battles. Musically, it’s bombastic and melodic with a lot of memorable riffs and passionate vocals from Niklas Isfeldt. While there are a few cheesy moments, like the intro of “The Tyrant Dies At Dawn,” there are a lot of quality heavy/power metal songs like the driving “Lightning Strikes” and the more moderately paced “Masters Of Arms” that features some of the record’s best guitar work. Dream Evil doesn’t break a lot of new musical ground with Metal Gods, and there’s some filler, but it’s still an enjoyable album.
Rating: 3
(Chad Bowar)
Duskwalker – Underground Forever (Black Lion)
Duskwalker are in a foul mood throughout Underground Forever, which accelerates their thrashy death metal. Previous albums have messed around with acoustic guitars and singing, but this has none of that. Besides some slower tempos on “Artillery Communion” and “Inhaling The Dust Of Bones,” the band are in ignition mode from opener “Crippled At The Core” onwards.
The first three songs on Underground Forever are how to write riffs meant for manic body movements. There are some moments, like the gang chants in the outro to the title track, that wear their presence out, but the group have locked into a sound that suits their unrepentance.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Ghost – Rite Here Right Now (Loma Vista)
Ghost‘s feature film Rite Here Rite Now recently debuted, combining live performances from The Forum in L.A. with a narrative story. The soundtrack includes 17 songs from those shows plus a previously unreleased track.
The majority of the set is from Ghost’s last two albums: 2018’s Prequelle and 2022’s Impera. They also play both “Kiss The Go-Goat” and “Mary On A Cross” from the 2019 EP Seven Inches Of Satanic Panic. Hit singles such as “Rats,” “Call Me Little Sunshine” and “Danse Macabre” are well received by the crowd. The live arrangements are more theatrical than the album versions and adding backing vocalists gives them an even more larger than life sound. The unreleased track, “The Future Is A Foreign Land,” has a retro vibe and Ghost’s usual ridiculously catchy melodies. Ghost live shows are a memorable experience, and Rite Here Right Now does a nice job capturing that feeling.
Rating: 4
(Chad Bowar)
Grid – The World Before Us (Self)
The World Before Us is Grid’s first album with vocals, as their instrumental stance was firm for years until the 2022 single “An Ocean Of Falling Stars.” That’s not to say they’ve abandoned their past completely with this concept album, as only two of the six songs include any vocals. It’s a middle ground that allows the themes of the existential crisis humanity goes through as they search for meaning to this life to build without having it explicitly told.
To get the full experience of The World Before Us, it’s necessary to treat this as a 40-minute composition. Otherwise, tracks like “Contact” and “Duality” don’t land the same, as the former’s synthy bursts and the latter’s ambient qualities are diminished. If one didn’t want to approach this album that way, they could still get excited by a rocking instrumental like “Traversing The Interstellar Gateway” or the slimy pace of “Our History Hidden.”
Rating: 4
(Dan Marsicano)
IX Of Blades – Death Card In Reverse (Self)
After a 20 year hiatus, writer Curtis Lawson, best known for Black Heart Boys Choir, has returned with his latest project IX Of Blades and the debut EP Death Card In Reverse. Known for being unapologetically weird with his work, the same energy can be found within this debut.
Clocking in at a brief 20 minutes, it feels like you blink and it’s done. When it comes to the instrumentation it feels like your usual black metal arrangement with no one track standing out. “One Star in the Sky” is noteworthy due to a nice fade out, but that’s about it. The production quality is on par with the rest, then again if your album is mixed by Robb Kavjian of Monastery you expect nothing less. Death Card In Reverse marks an interesting return for Lawson, and hopes are high that he will tap into his unapologetic weirdness more with future projects.
Rating: 3
(Dalton Husher)
Mean Mistreater – Razor Wire (Dying Victims)
Texas newcomers Mean Mistreater roll the clock back to the days of denim jackets and cheap beer, creating the 2024 sonic equivalent of “Heavy Metal Parking Lot” on their debut full-length, Razor Wire. Vintage guitar tones and pummeling double-bass drumming conspire with lead vocalist Janiece Gonzalez’ raspy belt to transport you back to the good old days of pure, unadulterated heavy metal.
Mistreater slam the pedal to the floor on opening track “Forget It” and doesn’t let up. The first few songs stick to the formula, but things shake up with “Bleeding The Night,” which gallops along like Judas Priest covering “Barracuda,” and “One By One,” somehow combining elements of KISS’ “Love Gun” with Sabbath’s “Never Say Die.” The combination of classic metal vibe and Gonzalez’ paint-peeling voice make Mean Mistreater a band to watch.
Rating: 4
(Gino Sigismondi)
nether – The Blood Of Rats (Void Wanderer)
The Blood Of Rats is an outrageous black metal work of art packed with sounds deriving from all across the board. Fused with nu metal-esque bass tones and defiant thrash electrics, nether have truly outdone themselves with this one. It’s moody and dark, like any good album in the genre, but it’s also raging and defiant, aching and cruel. The breakdowns are deadly, the drum beats electric. With nether, nothing is done with low effort.
I especially enjoyed the contrast between the bass and the guitar; the bass gave an almost funky atmosphere to an otherwise cryptic environment while the electric guitar playing felt as thrash heavy as any one of the greats. The result is a melancholic masterpiece of expert craftsmanship worth giving a listen.
Rating: 3.5
(Ethan Wylan)
Respire – Hiraeth (Dine Alone)
Hiraeth is the latest release from Toronto’s Respire. The seven-piece group’s style is difficult to categorize, incorporating orchestral, black metal and hardcore into what they call “post everything,” which is an accurate description.
This album is not as heavy or intense as their last release, 2020’s Black Line, but there are plenty of aggressive moments. “The Match, Consumed” has a chaotic, black metal beginning, shifts into slow doom and then picks back up to an accessible, melodic style, all in the span of two and half minutes. There are also some intense parts in “We Grow Like Trees In Rooms Of Borrowed Light.” Hiraeth is a dynamic and engaging album, expertly crafted and spanning a plethora of styles and genres.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Summoning The Lich – Under The Reviled Throne (Prosthetic)
It’s inspiring that the wave that emerged in the early 2000s, blending melodic death metal with the burgeoning deathcore genre, continues to resonate. Hailing from St. Louis, Missouri, Summoning The Lich are unwavering devotees of this distinct musical school. Their second studio album, Under The Reviled Throne, is a remarkable follow-up to their acclaimed 2021 debut.
Under The Reviled Throne becomes an exciting listening experience when it takes a step beyond the musical events of the first album. At its core, it maintains the mania and technical heat of death metal, has a glimpse of deathcore, and grew brutality in its rebellious nature more than before, adding an intense and exciting edge to the listening experience. At the same time, its production challenges Summoning The Lich’s ability in composition and performance to achieve a more personal tone. Under The Reviled Throne can quickly be proudly recorded in the mind of its audience, even if there are countless other bands with similar music.
Rating: 3.5
(Arash Khosronejad)
Verni – Dreadful Company (M-Theory)
Longtime Overkill bassist D.D. Verni started the side project The Bronx Casket Company in the late ’90s and they have released several albums, the last one in 2011. He then began his solo project Verni, and released Barricade in 2018.
Verni’s latest album Dreadful Company incorporates more punk influences than their debut. Verni handles vocals, guitar and bass, with his Overkill bandmate Jason Bittner on drums. There are also several guests including Dope’s Virus, The Bronx Casket Company’s Charlie Calv and Symphony X’s Michael Romeo. The songs are generally uptempo and very melodic, mixing metal and punk. Most tracks are pretty streamlined, but “Call Of The Highway” stretches out to six minutes with tempo and intensity changes, shifting to a mid-tempo singalong during its second half. There’s also a cover of BTO’s “Takin’ Care Of Business.” You can tell Verni had a blast recording Dreadful Company, a fun and entertaining album.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
A Wake In Providence – I Write To You, My Darling Decay (Unique Leader)
The New York symphonic deathcore band A Wake In Providence‘s latest album is I Write To You, My Darling Decay. It tells a story encapsulating emotional pain and the lengths some are willing to go to undo that pain. It’s an ambitious effort, both musically and lyrically. The songs are painstakingly composed, constantly shifting the balance between metal and orchestral depending on what the song requires.
There’s also a mix of harsh vocals and melodic singing, including some operatic singing on tracks like “The Unbound.” Most songs are in the six to seven minute range with a lot of ebbs and flows and with such complex arrangements, additional things reveal themselves with each listen. Highlights include the epic “Mournful Benediction” featuring Shadow Of Intent’s Ben Duerr and the dramatic “And Through The Fog She Spoke,” which begins in a mellow symphonic manner before become heavier and more chaotic. I Write To You, My Darling Decay is probably about one song too long, but still manages to both challenge and engage the listener.
Rating: 4
(Chad Bowar)
Wormwitch – Wormwitch (Profound Lore)
Wormwitch’s self-titled fourth album sees them blasting out of the gate with furious black metal on “Fugitive Serpent” picking up right from their previous album Wolf Hex. As melodic black metal albums can go, this is a relatively bite-sized affair, one without a song that tops six minutes and not lacking in variety either.
“Envenomed” and “The Helm And The Bow” start slowly and build up to the fever pitch you expect from Wormwitch. There is ample anger and fire beneath this British Columbian collective, punctuated by furious riffs, pounding drums and shrill, barked vocals. “Inner War” has beautiful intro followed by an aural assault of driving drums and “Salamander” is a medieval sounding bumper track that adds variety all culminating in a fun slab of black metal that takes no issue in varying their overall sound from track to track. Wormwitch’s self-titled release is their darkest album to date.
Rating: 4
(Tom Campagna)
