This week’s Heavy Music HQ reviews include releases from Ade, Black & Damned, The Body, Cartilage, Dorothy, Intensive Care, Manntra, Nite, The OddEven, Red Fang, Ricky Warwick, Rwake, Sanhedrin and Warbringer.
The ratings are on a 5-star scale.
Ade – Supplicium (Time To Kill)
Supplicium, the latest album from the Italian death metal band Ade is a very middle eastern sounding album that is very similar to a band like Ex Deo. This is a storming album that has aggression in spades and crushes everything in its path. It is both heavy and dynamic at the same time, constantly entertaining and pummeling simultaneously. It is indeed one of the more meaty death metal platters of the year so far and manages to have the middle eastern sound down pat all the way through.
The guitarwork is evocative of the aforementioned Ex Deo, but also perhaps Nile. Blasting comes from all directions and manages to make a huge impact on the listener. Drumming is punishing and hugely effective. The only downside to the music is that similar stuff has been done before. Supplicium is still an extremely effective and captivating listen. It comes across as brimming with passion and worthy of a solid recommendation.
Rating: 3.5
(Adam McAuley)
Black & Damned – Resurrection (Rock Of Angels)
Just two years after their 2023 release Servants Of The Devil, German metal bringers Black & Damned have returned with their hybrid blend of Iron Maiden-like energy and Black Sabbath-like bleakness to bring their third full length release Resurrection.
Despite the grandiose feeling of the album, the songs feel a bit blasè in the end. “Ruthless Wrath” and “Circle Of Amnesia” are serviceable at best with solid guitar solos and the occasional background keyboard provided by Daniel Galmarini of Mercury Falling fame. Resurrection feels like a slight step down from Servants Of The Devil and it’s going to be interesting how they move forward from this one.
Rating: 3
(Dalton Husher)
Cartilage – Tales From The Entrails: A Necrology (Everlasting Spew)
Cartilage have a morbid sense of humor on their latest EP, Tales From The Entrails: A Necrology. Framed as four different stories with a fake movie trailer acting as the opener, the group provides all the gore and guts expected from these maniacs. They play up the absurdity of the situations too, with “Ape-u-tator” revolving around a monkey with a murderous streak.
Their brand of deathgrind is tailor-made for the EP format, and tying it all together with a film-like arc was smart. Cartilage knows what brings people back to them—the unfettered brutality, a vocalist who can contort his growls in sickening ways—and Tales From The Entrails: A Necrology is more of what they want.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Dorothy – The Way (Roc Nation)
Powerhouse Hungarian vocalist Dorothy Martin could move mountains with those pipes. Not unlike a hard rock Adele, on The Way she continues in the same anthemic, modern metal vein she explored on 2022’s Gifts From The Holy Ghost. Produced by Scott Stephens (Halestorm, Shinedown, Daughtry), The Way shares a great deal sonically with those groups – very heavy, but also very slick.
Lead-off track “I Come Alive” sets the tone for much of what follows with its epic chorus and half-time grooves. “The Devil I Know” does an even better job, ramping up the anthemic qualities. The problem, however, is when every song is an anthem, the overall effect can get a bit numbing. The countryfied “Tombstone Town” shakes things up, but feels slightly out of context. The only respite comes courtesy of the piano-driven title track at the end. A voice this grand deserves a little more room to breathe.
Rating: 3
(Gino Sigismondi)
Intensive Care + The Body – Was I Good Enough? (Closed Casket)
When it comes to collaborations, The Body have done a ton over the years, recording albums with everybody from Thou to Krieg to Full Of Hell and many more. This time they team up with the Rhode Island duo Intensive Care for Was I Good Enough?.
The music has an industrial base, with plenty of loops and samples. They combine that with caustic and noisy parts and a hefty dose of experimentation. There are lengthy instrumental sections that let the rhythms move to the forefront. They slow it down to a glacial doom pace on “At Death’s Door” and move a bit more briskly on “Cartography Of Suffering.” The album wraps up with the 10 plus minute opus “Mandelbrot Anamnesis,” an atmospheric track that unfolds slowly, ramping up the heaviness and chaos before ebbing to a peaceful end. Was I Good Enough? is a challenging but interesting album.
Rating: 3
(Chad Bowar)
Manntra – Titans (Napalm)
While not a household name in North America, the Croatian folk metal band Manntra have been around for quite a while and played a lot of high-profile festivals including Wacken Open Air. Titans is the band’s eighth studio album.
They utilize a lot of traditional instruments that give the songs that folky vibe, but Manntra also inject the melodies and hooks of traditional metal and some of the atmospheres of symphonic metal. That’s evident on tracks like the catchy “Teuta” and rousing “Higher.” They shift gears to a more modern metal style on songs such as “My Sandman.” That makes Titans an intriguing combination of classic and contemporary that folk metal fans should enjoy.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Nite – Cult Of The Serpent Sun (Season Of Mist)
Nite have found their niche with tuneful blackened heavy metal on their third album, Cult Of The Serpent Sun. If it wasn’t for vocalist/guitarist Van Labrakis’ raspy delivery, most of these songs could’ve been radio hits in the height of 1980’s metal. The choruses repeat the same line over and over, drilling them into a listener’s memory until it becomes second nature to sing along to.
The band doesn’t skimp on the guitar solos either, as Labrakis and fellow guitarist Scott Hoffman harmonize regularly. “The Mystic” has a psychedelic momentum that lets bassist Avinash Mittur take charge, as drummer Patrick Crawford lends steady rhythmic support. Cult Of The Serpent Sun builds on the anthemic roughness of their 2022 record, Voices Of The Kronian Moon.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
The OddEven – Outer Space Outtakes (Eclipse)
After issuing The Darkness last year, it didn’t take The OddEven long to write a follow-up. Outer Space Outtakes is their fourth album, delving into everything from alien encounters to personal relationships.
Their music blends hard rock, alt metal and grunge. It’s guitar-driven and melodic with songs ripe for radio play. Songs like “First Encounter” and “RIPG” are concise and catchy with heavy riffs and bit of a Black Label Society vibe, while tracks such “Come Home” are more diverse, going from mellow to intense and back again. They even bring in some country rock vibes on “Free.” Outer Space Outtakes is so streamlined that the extended version of “Come Home” adds just 20 seconds.
Rating: 3
(Chad Bowar)
Red Fang – Deep Cuts (Relapse)
Red Fang’s last studio album was 2021’s Arrows. The Portland rockers are celebrating their 20th anniversary by delving into the vaults with Deep Cuts, a 26-song compilation. It collects cover songs, unreleased tracks and non-album songs.
The covers include Wipers “Over The Edge,” Tubeway Army’s “Listen To The Sirens,” No Talent’s “Through” and Dust’s “Suicide,” but strangely enough, “Ice Ice Baby” is not a Vanilla Ice cover. It’s a mostly instrumental number that along with a few other songs on the collection was written and recorded during pandemic lockdowns at the band’s practice space. There are songs taken from deluxe editions of albums, soundtracks, and some tracks described as recorded at Aaron Beam’s house “almost certainly while legally high on marijuana.” Red Fang fans will find plenty to dig into on Deep Cuts while they await the band’s next album.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Ricky Warwick – Blood Ties (Earache)
Ricky Warwick doesn’t have a lot of down time. The singer from Northern Ireland has done a lot of solo recording and touring, in addition to his duties as frontman for Thin Lizzy and Black Star Riders. His latest solo album is Blood Ties.
It features his meat and potatoes hard rock with big hooks and singalong choruses, evident on songs like “Angels Of Desolation” and “The Crickets Stayed In Clovis.” There are also a few guests on the album. The highlight is “Don’t Leave Me In The Dark” with Lita Ford, which would have been a huge hit back in the day. Guitarists Charlie Starr (Blackberry Smoke) and Billy Duffy (The Cult) also guest on the record. Warwick is one of those artists that’s had plenty of success, but is still underrated. Blood Ties is another in a long time of quality albums from Warwick.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Rwake – The Return Of Magik (Relapse)
Over 13 years between albums hasn’t stifled Rwake’s otherworldly sludge metal on The Return Of Magik. This record is the reincarnation of a group that never fully went away. The origins of their sixth studio album dates back to 2017, and they were in no rush to churn out subpar material. There are familiar faces involved along with some new members, yet their swampy mystique has only intensified since 2011’s Rest.
When Rwake were going strong in the 2000’s, there weren’t many others mixing Southern rock, psychedelic prog and earth-rumbling sludge the way they did. The Return Of Magik is like welcoming an old friend in for a few shots of hard liquor; there’s a lot to talk about, and it’ll get weird at times. Rwake have strengthened their awe-inspiring creativity as they inch closer to their 30th anniversary.
Rating: 4
(Dan Marsicano)
Sanhedrin – Heat Lightning (Metal Blade)
New York City’ Sanhedrin‘s fourth album is the hard rocking heavy metal Heat Lightning. This thundering trio create a massive sound on opener “Blind Wolf” with crushing riffs backing up powerful frontwoman/bassist Erica Stoltz as the drums pound your aural cavity upfront and personally.
The album’s title track is a bit of a slower burn with some sections being a bit more deliberate, helping to allow the melodies to hit even harder when they come in from behind the wall of sound that the band tends to employ when things really get moving. For a more straightforward experience you get “Franklin County Line,” which has lyrics about all the potential debauchery of the northern New York Amish population on display, something that Sanhedrin does really well; a real Rumspringa rocker. Sanhedrin play to their strengths and continue to write some very memorable and catchy rock songs. Heat Lightning marks one of their most complete records to date.
Rating: 4
(Tom Campagna)
Warbringer – Wrath And Ruin (Napalm)
Five years ago, Warbringer released Weapons Of Tomorrow, which many consider not only the band’s best album to date but also a clear indication of their growing songwriting maturity. Now, with their seventh studio album Wrath And Ruin, they continue to solidify their position among the most respected acts in thrash metal.
Wrath And Ruin is both melodic and catchy while also being savage and unapologetic. It delivers the raw energy of old-school thrash metal when needed and adopts a groovier sound at appropriate moments, aligning with modern thrash sensibilities. This versatility results in a consistent yet dynamic listening experience. Wrath And Ruin unleashes wild, untamed soundscapes but can also evoke dramatic, emotional musical scopes just moments later. It captures the audience’s attention immediately, showcasing the impressive experience and influential legacy that Warbringer have built over the past 20 years.
Rating: 4
(Arash Khosronejad)
