This week’s Heavy Music HQ reviews include releases from Devin Townsend, Erdve, The Freqs, Funebrarum, Godthyrmm, Hanry, Hecate Enthroned, Leatherwitch, Monolord, On Borrowed Time, Pharmacist, Serpent Lord, The Who and Wyrmhaven.
The ratings are on a 5-star scale.
Devin Townsend – The Moth (InsideOut)
Devin Townsend has been working on the massive The Moth for over a decade. The ambitious opus features the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra & Choir along with musicians such as guitarists Steve Vai and Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa) and vocalist Anneke Van Giersbergen. The album’s concept is transformation. It’s available in numerous configurations, some which include a Blu-ray of last concert performance of the songs in the Netherlands.
Townsend’s music works well with the orchestra, whether it’s atmospheric and reserved or epic and bombastic. The variety is evident out of the gate, with “War Beyond Words” displaying ebbs and flows along with both harsh and clean vocals. Epic tracks like “Covered By Causes” and “Orion” are balanced by more concise numbers such as “The Big Snit.” Instrumental interludes and short pieces add drama and context, becoming integral to the story. The Moth flows seamlessly from start to finish, a compelling and engaging work that lives up to and even exceeds its high expectations.
Rating: 4
(Chad Bowar)
Erdve – Epigrama (Season Of Mist)
When the double bass drums pick up on the self-titled track that opens up Epigrama, it’s as if Erdve are playing only a few feet away. The band self-produced their third album, and they made sure to give every drum hit, every thumping bass line, every barked word its deserved weight. That’s important for sludge metal that moves with the dexterity of someone with a lead weight in their shoes.
Even when crisper guitars come out on “Trukmė” and “Skleistis,” there’s a loneliness to them that brings the mood down even further. Epigrama may not have the beastly pounce of 2021’s Savigaila, but the group have replaced that with a measured chokehold.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
The Freqs – No God On The Gold Coast (Self)
After only releasing EPs over the years, Massachusetts noise rock trio The Freqs have finally released No God On The Gold Coast, a quick, dirty and chaotic album that manages to come in just shy of twenty-six minutes.
Feeling like Queens Of The Stone Age by way of The Jesus Lizard, The Freqs take a darker route with this album, choosing to double down on the heavy riffs and grimy feel compared to their 2023 EP Poachers. Though tracks like “Short King” showcase that the riffs and blast beats are the focal points of the album, the use of Robert Downey Jr.’s Wall Street monologue to open “Lo IQ” is a good showcase on how a short and sweet sample can open a track. No God On The Gold Coast leaves a solid first impression in terms of debut albums, short and sweet and does not overstay its welcome.
Rating: 3.5
(Dalton Husher)
Funebrarum – Beckoning The Void Of Eternal Silence (Pulverised)
Beckoning The Void Of Eternal Silence is the first album in over 17 years from the New Jersey death metal band Funebrarum, and their third overall. Opening with an intro and the title track you get a dark and ominous vibe from this band’s style of death metal, one that feels more in line with some of the Finnish death metal of yore and not so much the American scene.
“Sa Nagba Amāru” features some great doomy dirges that would best fit a funeral march before the band juxtaposes that with fast and furious riffs that couple with tremendous atmosphere, providing excellent song structure for a band with a markedly old school approach. As the album approaches its end, the excellent “Turning The Stones Of Torment” continues the excellent use of guitar tone for Funebrarum to get their point across to listeners with their uncompromising approach. It appears simple at first, the layers within this track reveal themselves over time. Beckoning The Void Of Eternal Silence is a welcome death metal return for a band obsessed with the little things.
Rating: 4
(Tom Campagna)
Godthrymm – Projections (Profound Lore)
Projections has Godthrymm solidifying the great progress made on 2023’s Distortions. With a second guitarist and an expanded role for vocalist/keyboardist Catherine Glencross, they are emerging into a formidable doom metal unit. Death metal undertones hover over “Trenches Deep” and “Hope Is Eternal,” a fresh wrinkle to their sound.
Godthrymm will always have some connection to My Dying Bride, which comes from having two former members of that group in this band. They don’t shy away from it though, from the sullen melodies that drift through Projections to giving vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe a prime spot for his distinguished singing on “Endure My Skin.” Three albums in, they have become a band that can stand alongside the best doom metal can offer.
Rating: 4
(Dan Marsicano)
Hanry – What Came From Silence (Pelagic)
What Came From Silence is instrumental music seeped in atmosphere, as Hanry saturate the usual assortment of guitars and drums with electronics, synths and piano. They love a proper build-up of quaint melodies to a swirling eruption, sometimes waiting for minutes for the release to happen. “Dead Waves” and “Her Crown, Her Empire” fulfill this purpose with a deft hand that usually comes from a band that’s been around for decades, not years.
There are little things to pick out in each of the songs that may not be fully realized until several listens in. It could be a cello in the background or ambient noise that is hidden behind layers of buzzing guitars. What Hanry specialize in on What Came From Silence is compositions rich in elaborate sounds that demand in-depth inspection.
Rating: 4
(Dan Marsicano)
Hecate Enthroned – The Corpse Of A Titan: A Lament Long Buried (M-Theory)
Hecate Enthroned have been releasing studio albums approximately every five years. The Corpse Of A Titan: A Lament Long Buried reflects the dark and dramatic style of the band’s black metal niche. Keyboards feed drama and atmosphere into the music, a bit like Cradle Of Filth, although this is heavier and less symphonic…perhaps more like the early material of the aforementioned band.
Apart from some death metal growls that augment the music’s quality, the black metal vocals are excessively grating and off-putting. On the other hand, most of these songs have mellow and melancholic intros or bridges, all of which help punctuate the music’s heavier parts. “Steed Of The Still Water,” with its acoustic guitars and violin, is a good example of this. The Corpse Of A Titan: A Lament Long Buried is heavy as hell and well produced without sacrificing the music’s raw and rugged qualities. While it won’t re-invent the wheel of black metal, it is a paragon of the sub-genre.
Rating: 3.5
(Chris Galea)
Leatherwitch – First Spell (Listenable)
After the demise of Crystal Viper, Marta Gabriel formed Leatherwitch. On First Spell she handles vocals, guitar, bass and drums, with some guitar solo help from former Crystal Viper bandmate Giuseppe Taormina and Ginoir (Sabbat, Metalucifer). Gabriel has put together a full band for live shows.
The album is traditional metal that has old school influences without sounding retro. The pace is mostly fast, with tracks like “Beast Inside” and “Living In The Fast Lane” keeping the pedal to the metal. Most of the songs are streamlined and to the point, but Gabriel gets more expansive on “The New Beginning,” which is more deliberate and features some her most potent vocals. The album concludes with a cover of Helloween’s “Walls Of Jericho/Ride The Sky,” which is right in her wheelhouse. First Spell showcases Gabriel’s versatility and musicianship.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Monolord – Neverending (Relapse)
After quickly releasing their first several albums, the Swedish stoner/doom trio Monolord had a five-year gap between It’s Time To Shine and their new album Neverending. They worked with producer Sylvia Massy (Tool, System Of A Down). The goal was to create more succinct and immediate songs, and they have succeeded.
The heavy, fuzzy riffs and catchy melodies remain, but most of the compositions are concise. Previous albums had five or six tracks, but this time around there are eight. It’s a nice balance of streamlined songs like “Iodine” and “The Masque” and lengthier numbers such as “Inside A Collider” and “Ooozing Wound.” Shifting between plodding doom and uptempo stoner keeps things interesting, and Neverending flows well. Thomas Jäger’s tenor vocals are delivered with emotion, and his guitar work is on point as well.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
On Borrowed Time – In The Dark Before The Dawn (Omen)
They’ve been honing their craft for nearly a decade, releasing several singles along the way, and On Borrowed Time are ready to unleash their debut album In The Dark Before The Dawn. Hailing from Dorset, England, their sound blends hardcore, post hardcore and punk.
The melodic music is contrasted by edgy vocals that range from growls to hardcore barks to gang vocals to singing. They are comfortable shifting from chaotic punk to aggressive hardcore to more accessible sections. Pretty much every track is dynamic, with shifts in tempo and intensity. There are also curveballs like the mellow instrumental “Reset.” In The Dark Before The Dawn is a promising debut, with On Borrowed Time displaying a varied musical palette.
Rating: 3
(Chad Bowar)
Pharmacist – Vertebrae After Vertebrae (Hells Headbangers)
Japanese gore goblins Pharmacist return with their third album Vertebrae After Vertebrae to unleash their early Carcass obsessed nightmares on unsuspecting listeners. Think Symphonies Of Sickness style meets Necroticism song length and that’s what’s going on here.
Opener “Propelling Inwards” covers the gross production with a flair for riffs and growled vocals which helps to create the vibe that Pharmacist are planning to establish. “Endogenica” features a sick groove to help build in some variety for the otherwise straightforward attack incorporating more sounds from the godfathers of grind while doing enough to make it theirs. Pharmacist give you what you want, early goregrind with very little filler, longer songs which allow for the band to flesh out their pharmaceutical acumen as their sound is far from suffering from necrosis. Vertebrae After Vertebrae is a fresh corpse thrown onto the pile of festering flesh that the maggots welcome with open mouths.
Rating: 3.5
(Tom Campagna)
Serpent Lord – The Once Forgotten Ways Of Old (Eisenwald)
Jake Superchi (Uada, Ceremonial Castings, Motorthrone, Thy Emptiness) formed Serpent Lord more than two decades ago. He released a split and a couple of demos, the last one in 2004. While Superchi’s focus shifted elsewhere, he kept ideas and compositions for Serpent Lord, finally resulting in The Once Forgotten Ways Of Old.
’90s pagan black metal is the inspiration for the album. It twists and turns from intense black metal to melodic parts to groovier sections. There are three 8-plus minute songs, giving Serpent Lord plenty of time to showcase a varied style of songwriting. Those are contrasted by more focused tracks like “Constrictor” and “Enter Serpentagram,” which are still dynamic and varied. The Once Forgotten Ways Of Old pays homage to the glory days of the genre while putting its own stamp on the style.
Rating: 3
(Chad Bowar)
The Who – Live At Eden Project 2023 (earMusic)
The Who, backed by the Heart of England Philharmonic Orchestra at Cornwall’s breathtaking Eden Project, deliver a performance that is far more than a victory lap with Live At Eden Project 2023. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey carry the weight of an extraordinary legacy without ever appearing crushed beneath it, and the orchestral integration is genuinely seamless as the strings and brass don’t soften the music so much as unlock a grandeur that was always present in the writing.
Daltrey meets the occasion with a vocal performance that still commands attention, bringing real feeling to songs he has sung thousands of times. The unique atmosphere of the Eden Project, nestled in a former quarry in the Cornish countryside, adds something no purpose-built arena could manufacture, the sense that the location itself is part of the show. The closing “Baba O’Riley,” delivered under the open Cornish sky with a full orchestra behind it, is simply remarkable. Not nostalgia, but something considerably larger than that. The Who still have something to give.
Rating: 3
(Jeanetta Briski)
Wyrmhaven – Seasons Of Gloom (Self)
Wyrmhaven are a melodic death metal band with metalcore tendencies on their debut album, Seasons Of Gloom. By that definition, their songs hardly reach the vigorous tempos that would normally be expected. They stick the melodic landing with pleasing guitar solos, but there are many parts when they love a good chugging breakdown. In the case of “Pendulum Faces,” that makes up its last minute or so.
Some may hear a deathcore influence in Seasons Of Gloom, though Wyrmhaven have too much bounce in their step to be that dour. The group knows their sonic wheelhouse and smartly stays committed to it for 35 minutes. Any longer and this would’ve dragged itself to the end, instead of keeping upright and charging to the finish as it currently does.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
