This week’s Heavy Music HQ reviews include releases from Brume, Crawl, Deleria, Feuerschwanz, Ghost On Mars, Gothminister, Obscurial, Pirate Queen, P.O.D., Terminal Nation, Unearthly Rites and Unleashed.
The ratings are on a 5 star scale.
Brume – Marten (Magnetic Eye)
San Francisco doom/gothic rockers Brume have expanded their lineup from a trio to a quartet for their third album Marten. The addition of Jackie Perez Gratz on cello also expands their musical palette.
Cello is introduced immediately on opener “Jimmy,” which builds from a mellow opening to a dramatic middle section and back to a quiet conclusion. Most songs on the album incorporate a lot of dynamics, contrasting heavy doom riffs with acoustic sections and more reserved parts. Even tracks that are mostly mellow throughout, like “Ottos Song,” are still dynamic. Not only is Brume’s music dynamic, so are the vocals of Susie McMullan, running the gamut from quiet to belting it out. Marten is an interesting leap forward for Brume.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Crawl – Altar Of Disgust (Transcending Obscurity)
Crawl are one of the several bands that have brought back the old school Swedish death metal sound, embracing the iconic Boss HM-2 aesthetics. Inspired by bands like Entombed, Dismember, and Feral, Altar Of Disgust incorporates crust elements that, though subtle, are not commonly found in the genre’s landscape.
With infectious riffs and unrelenting brutality, the album strikes a balance between polished production and gritty crustiness, capturing your attention from start to finish. While the album doesn’t waste time and maintains a direct approach, it does include a few too many intermissions. However, Crawl aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel; instead, it offers an enjoyable ride with an authentic old school Swedish death metal vibe, free from pretension.
Rating: 3
(Carlos Tirado)
Deliria – Phantasm (Self)
Deliria never skimp on the melodies with their black metal on Phantasm. Evocative guitar work covers the background of many songs, while warm bass tones pluck out pleasant leads, including excellent ones on “Covenant” and “Oblivion.” That type of harmony isn’t found in the vocals though, which ache with the worn raspiness of a soul driven down by life.
Phantasm is a streamlined effort compared to their bloated debut Nausea, which included a 17-minute closer. There is a ten minute tune on this one, but otherwise, the band fits cozily into manageable pieces. “Gemini” is as close to “radio friendly” as black metal gets, its dim mood concealing a memorable chorus. It took about seven years for Deliria to follow up their first album, but Phantasm is a nice improvement that has them honing their songwriting.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Feuerschwanz – Warriors (Napalm)
It’s been 20 years since Feuerschwanz embarked on their career journey. Much can be said about the seriousness of their work, yet undeniable is their remarkable commercial success, surpassing that of many contemporary bands. To commemorate this lengthy tenure, Warriors stands as a compilation of their most renowned tracks, accompanied by a selection of new ones. One notable novelty is that all songs have been recorded in English.
Warriors is nothing but fun! That’s the simplest way to describe it. Every aspect has been crafted to amplify the infectious essence of their folk metal formula to its fullest extent. While it may lean towards the more conventional side of Feureschawnz, featuring too many structurally similar songs and lacking groundbreaking ideas, it undeniably delivers the entertainment it promised.
Rating: 3
(Carlos Tirado)
Ghost On Mars – Out Of Time And Space (Willowtip)
The Italian prog metal band Ghost On Mars formed in 2019, quickly issuing an EP. Five years later, they have completed their full-length debut album Out Of Time And Space. Their inspirations include bands like Katatonia and Soen, with vocals in the vein of Leprous and lyrics about sci-fi.
Opener “Beyond The Mist” is the album’s longest song at just over 7 minutes, and it encapsulates everything Ghost On Mars are about. There’s heaviness, melody, atmosphere, dynamic melodic singing and some harsh vocals for contrast. Their songwriting is varied, with a lot of shifts and changes within each song while still keeping things cohesive. The arrangements are compelling, and there are catchy moments on tracks like “That Time I Saw The Moon” and “Carbon Skin.” Out Of Time And Space is an impressive debut, and adding a few more of those catchy moments could take their next album to another level.
Rating: 4
(Chad Bowar)
Gothminister – Pandemonium II – Battle Of The Underworlds (AFM)
The Norwegian industrial/gothic metal band Gothminister are marking a quarter century as a band. They continue the theme of 2022’s Pandemonium with their eighth studio album Pandemonium II – Battle Of The Underworlds.
Mainman Bjorn Alexander Brem not only wrote all the songs, he also produced the album. He says the songs are more complex than on Pandemonium, and while that may be the case, they lose none of the catchiness. There’s also a good balance between driving industrial and more accessible dance rock. Tracks like “Creepy Shadows” have elements of each. Pandemonium II – Battle Of The Underworlds is dramatic (becoming melodramatic at times), but still a lot of fun, exactly what Gothminister fans expect and enjoy.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Obscurial – Heretic (Memento Mori)
The Malaysian death metal band Obscurial emerged with a demo in 2020 and issued their full-length debut in 2021. They continue the brutality and blasphemy with their latest album Heretic.
After an eerie and creepy intro sets the stage, things kick in with “Blasphemous Cult,” a moderately paced slab of brutality and groove. They pick up the pace on tracks like “Maggot Incubation” and slow down to a glacial tempo on “Carrion Disease.” While most songs are in the four minute range, they double that on “A Cure For Sickness,” which has some of their best riffs and several ebbs and flows. It probably should have been the closer, as the ending instrumental doesn’t add much. Inspired by some of the genre’s greats like Morbid Angel, Grave and Bloodbath, Heretic isn’t overly original, but the execution by Obscurial is excellent.
Rating: 3
(Chad Bowar)
Pirate Queen – Ghosts (Despotz)
The pirate metal genre has been thriving lately. A passion for some, a guilty pleasure for others, there is no shortage of bands flying the Jolly Roger for the style. A new addition to the fleet of pirate metal bands is Pirate Queen, an all female group said to hail from the Bermuda Triangle.
Their debut album Ghosts has all the bombastic power metal and cheesy lyrics you want from pirate metal. Vocalist Her Majesty Maria Aurea displays of variety of styles and a good range, and the songs are catchy. Tracks like “Ghosts” and “Santa Lucia” have quality riffs and potent melodies. Ghosts is basically an EP, with six original songs along with a couple alternate versions of the title track. Avast ye pirate metal fans, it didn’t take Pirate Queen long to get their sea legs, and with Ghosts they give notice to all the other buccaneers that they are the new queens of the sea.
Rating: 3
(Chad Bowar)
P.O.D. – Veritas (Mascot)
Thirty years after their debut Snuff The Punk, P.O.D. are still going strong. They have two platinum and one gold record on their resume, along with chart-topping singles. They show no signs of mellowing on their eleventh album Veritas (Latin for “truth”), which is one of their heaviest.
The band’s mix of nu-metal, punk and rock is fully intact. In addition to frontman Sonny Sandoval’s trademark vocals, a couple of guests bring a lot to the table. Lamb Of God’s Randy Blythe brings the extremity to opener “Drop,” while Jinger’s Tatiana Shmailyuk adds some grit and edge to the catchy “Lies We Tell Ourselves.” The musical landscape has shifted since P.O.D.’s late ’90s/early ’00s heyday, but they are still writing songs that are as relevant and impactful to their fans as ever. There was a five year wait for Veritas, and the band used that time wisely to craft a batch of quality songs.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Terminal Nation – Echoes Of The Devil’s Den (20 Buck Spin)
Little Rock, Arkansas’s Terminal Nation bring their hardcore laden death metal back for round two with Echoes Of The Devil’s Den. The opening title track crushes with powerful riffs acting as aural bludgeons used with maximum effectiveness before giving way to the subsequent track “Written By The Victor,” which ups the tempo upon its arrival. The band doesn’t hold back with the chorus to “No Reform (New Age Slave Patrol),” voicing their opinions about the state of policing in the United States as it comes to a close.
“Cemetery of Imposters” is structured in a unique way including the shouting of the track’s name which evokes a different kind of tone juxtaposed with the pumping of a shotgun helping this band to properly bridge the sometimes subtle gap between hardcore and death metal. Terminal Nation have crafted a solid slab of crushing music with a socio-political tilt. Echoes Of The Devil’s Den stands out as an extreme entity in 2024’s metallic landscape.
Rating: 4
(Tom Campagna)
Unearthly Rites – Ecdysis (Prosthetic)
Unearthly Rites ask and answer the question we’ve all been thinking these last few years on the closing track to Ecdysis, their debut album: “Are we doomed? We are doomed!” It’s no shock that the name of said song is “Doomed,” as relevant now as it’s ever been. Seven minutes of rumbling death/doom feeds on the fears of humanity. The band takes an ecofriendly stance, though with this being death metal, there’s no sunrise at the end of this dark path.
The destruction is at our doorstep and Unearthly Rites remind us on every minute of Ecdysis. There’s a deliberate pace throughout that’s constantly derailed by a swift break into a screeching guitar solo that’s backed by the band admirably keeping up. That’s one of their strengths, as is their regular moves into doomy mannerisms. The best points of the record are where they are aligned with both sides of themselves, melding the death and doom together with unbreakable feedback.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Unleashed – Before The Creation Of Time (Darkness Shall Rise)
The legendary Swedish death metal band Unleashed have influenced countless extreme metal artists since their formation in 1989. They have released 14 studio albums, their most recent being 2021’s No Sign Of Life. Prior to their 1991 debut Where No Life Dwells they recorded several other songs. Those are all collected in the compilation Before The Creation Of Time.
It includes the 1990 demos The Utter Dark and …Revenge along with seven songs from the Bielefeld recording sessions which appeared on the EP And The Laughter Has Died… and a couple of Century Media compilations. As you’d expect, the material is raw and powerful, showing talent and potential and an indication of what they would develop into. There are multiple versions songs like “The Dark One” and “Unleashed,” so you can see how they progressed. The average death metal fan may not have a lot of interest in this remastered compilation, but Unleashed aficionados will find Before The Creation Of Time an interesting look at the band’s early days.
Rating: 3
(Chad Bowar)
