This week’s Heavy Music HQ reviews include releases from Arctis, The Chronicles Of Manimal And Samara, Coma Hole, Dead Icarus, Lifesick, Mitochondrion, Qaalm, Recidivist, Rorschach Test, Skillet, Slower and VOLA.
The ratings are on a 5 star scale.
Arctis – Arctis (Napalm)
The Finnish modern metal band Arctis assembled a first-rate production team for their self-titled debut album. It was produced by Jimmy Westerlund (Sturm und Drang) and mixed by Stefan Glaumann (Rammstein).
It’s a very accessible album, blending metal and industrial/electronic with Alva Sandström’s pop/rock style vocals. There are a lot of catchy tracks, from opener “I’ll Give You Hell” to the modern stylings of “Remedy” to the ballad “Frozen Swan.” There are also a couple that aren’t quite as memorable that dilute the overall impact of the record. Still, Arctis is an enjoyable pop metal album.
Rating: 3
(Chad Bowar)
The Chronicles Of Manimal And Samara – Origins (Self)
The UK prog duo The Chronicles Of Manimal And Samara emerged in 2021 with their debut Full Spectrum and quickly followed it up the following year with Trust No Leaders. Their third album is Origins.
Their last album had songs that were focused and short, especially for prog, with only one track surpassing four minutes. This time around their compositions are more expansive, allowing for even more sonic exploration. Opener “Feed The Beast” shifts from mellow to heavy and back again, with Daphne’s Ang’s vocals spanning everything from spoken word to crooning to belting it out. She does that throughout the album, with Andrea Papi providing periodic growls. “Bite The Bullet” with rapper Mr. Meuri is the record’s most interesting track, with smooth rhymes alternating with harsh vocals and heavy guitars. No matter which style they utilize, TCOMAS make Origins interesting throughout.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Coma Hole – Hand Of Severance (Self)
Hand Of Severance has bassist/vocalist Eryka Fir and drummer Steve Anderson livening up the music on Coma Hole‘s sophomore release. In its first half, the songs are quicker, more agile and prone to rocking out in a manner that their self-titled record didn’t do much of. “Alphaholics” and “Nevermind” are a sizable pair of quaking, rhythmic stompers.
The last half of Hand Of Severance has glimpses of Coma Hole’s former selves, though without the anxiety built behind psychedelic-inspired jamming. “NOOSES” is the punchiest tune on the entire album, which makes the outro of Fir crooning alongside a solemn piano a sudden showstopper. Hand Of Severance isn’t like their debut, but this also sounds like Coma Hole in all the right ways.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Dead Icarus – Zealot (MNRK Heavy)
After leaving Atreyu a few years ago, vocalist Alex Varkatzas formed Dead Icarus with guitarist/producer Gabe Mangold (Enterprise Earth) and drummer Brandon Zackey (Whitechapel, Sicarius). After issuing an EP earlier this year, their debut full-length Zealot is being unleashed.
It falls under the metalcore banner, with some really heavy moments. Right out of the box, “The Unconquerable” blends crushingly intense parts and harsh vocals with melodic singing. That template is followed throughout the album, with Dead Icarus shifting tempos from deliberate to galloping to help avoid monotony. “Vade Retro Santana” is probably the album’s catchiest track. Zealot is a potent debut, not surprising with Varkatzas’ resume.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Lifesick – Loved By None, Hated By All (Metal Blade)
One of the world’s heaviest bands, Lifesick hail from Fredericia, Denmark. Their blistering sound, which was fully experienced on Swept In Black and Misanthropy, released in 2018 and 2022, respectively, hinted at something even more powerful to come. Their latest album, Loved By None, Hated By All, is a significant addition to their discography and a worthy successor to their 2022 release.
Loved By None, Hated By All marks Lifesick’s maturity in keeping the metallic hardcore spirit alive and solidifies their position as a titanic leader of the scene. The album’s Slayer-like start sets the stage for an aggressive and monstrous work, while the Swedish HM-2 buzzsaw death metal underpins the album’s sound. While the band’s approach may not be groundbreaking, their focus on creating massive riffs and epic, body-slamming, bone-shattering breakdowns makes this a special work for hardcore fans. It’s a record they can proudly claim as one of this year’s sickest and heaviest, and rightfully so.
Rating: 3.5
(Arash Khosronejad)
Mitochondrion – Vitriseptome (Profound Lore)
Defining the style Mitochondrion pursue in their new album Vitriseptome is challenging. It’s dissonant and technical, but it also has a chaotic, industrial atmosphere that’s unusual for the genre. Describing the album as claustrophobic and anxiety-inducing is an understatement — not because of sheer heaviness, but due to its fragmented nature. Yet, it’s a more mechanical type of chaos.
You won’t find much groove in this album, but it will certainly keep you engaged throughout the journey. If you’re into technical death metal but also crave something terrifying and unsettling (as in, more industrial or black metal vibes), Vitriseptome might be exactly what you’ve been looking for; just don’t expect an accessible listen.
Rating: 3.5
(Carlos Tirado)
Qaalm – Grave Impressions Of An Unbroken Arc (Hypaethral)
Qaalm’s sophomore album Grave Impressions Of An Unbroken Arc has both a new lineup and a different musical direction. The agonizing funeral doom metal of their Resilience & Despair debut has been switched over to progressive doom/death metal. They’ve kept the longer song lengths, though with an added urgency to the tempos.
This comes into play on tracks two and four, “Shadows Behind The Sun” and closer “Hangman’s Lament.” These go full-on death metal at points in ways that were previously unexplored by the band. The opener “Borderlands” and “King Of Contradiction” are the closest to their older style, downbeat without becoming too oppressive. Each song has a vibrant guitar solo too, one of the updated features to Qaalm’s flexible transformation.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Recidivist – Madness Malformed (Creator-Destructor)
When a person imagines how death metal and hardcore would sound paired up, an album like Recidivist’s Madness Malformed should now be one of the prime examples. It’s been a while since a band so effortlessly merged these two divergent genres together. There’s clear evidence that a band like Spinebreaker (whose vocalist Alex Herrera provides guest vocals to the title track) has had a small part in getting Recidivist to the sound they have today.
“Cryptic Nightmare,” a re-recorded version of a 2023 single, is a track Recidivist will look back at years from now as a “statement.” Its gripping guitar harmonies lead into back-and-forth danger between chugging grooves and ruthless eruptions, complete with a momentous guitar solo spanning over a minute. It’s not even the closing track, as Recidivist still have more hope to sap from poor souls on their way to the gates of oblivion.
Rating: 4
(Dan Marsicano)
Rorschach Test – Fallen (Unlabeled Artists)
After falling silent after their 2020 album Peaceminusone2020, goth rock veterans Rorschach Test have returned with the release of their third full length album Fallen. Much like the actual Rorschach Test, Fallen is a bit all over the place with some common themes tying the album together.
“Save the Bees” feels like the odd duck out in this album; the early Marilyn Manson feel that throws off the rest of the album’s pacing. While Fallen feels like a step down from their last album in terms of flow and pacing, it serves as a step up in terms of quality at the same time.
Rating: 3
(Dalton Husher)
Skillet – Revolution (Hear It Loud)
Over the past quarter century, Skillet have been one of hard rock’s most successful bands. They’ve had platinum and gold albums and a string of singles that have topped both the rock and Christian charts. For their twelfth studio album Revolution they’ve left major labels behind for their first independently released record.
Full creative independence hasn’t caused Skillet to dramatically shift their sound. They still write inspirational and extremely catchy songs, with pretty much every single song on the album a potential single. “Unpopular” has already climbed the charts, with others certain to follow. John Cooper and drummer Jen Ledger’s call and response vocals have become a staple of Skillet songs, and that continues with numbers like “Not Afraid.” The most personal song on the album is “Happy Wedding Day (Alex’s Song)” that Cooper wrote and sang for his daughter’s wedding. There’s not an ounce of filler on Revolution, and while it doesn’t blaze a lot of new musical ground it is varied with a lot of memorable songs.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Slower – Rage And Ruin (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Rage And Ruin is the second album released this year from Slower, a band putting a fuzzy spin on memorable Slayer tunes. This record is a bit different, as there are now original songs alongside the covers. That wasn’t the original plan, as they were initially intent on covering the Haunting The Chapel EP in full. They got two-thirds of the way there, as sludge/doom metal takes on “Chemical Warfare” and the title track from that EP are represented here.
The newly composed material doesn’t steer far away from what they do with their seismic interpretation of Slayer. The title track ends the album on a forlorn note, with a piano being brought in for an almost gothic purpose. Whether it’s doing covers or their own songs, Slower have done great work this past year with Rage And Ruin and their self-titled debut.
Rating: 4
(Dan Marsicano)
VOLA – Friend Of A Phantom (Mascot)
While the Danish prog metal band VOLA have been around for nearly 20 years, 2021’s very well received Witness really boosted their profile. They try to keep the momentum going with Friend Of A Phantom.
VOLA incorporate a lot electronics into their songwriting, especially on tracks like “Break My Lying Tongue,” but also keep the guitars front and center. In Flames’ Anders Friden lends his growl to “Cannibal,” while “Paper Wolf” is also heavy. Those are contrasted by songs like the mellow “Glass Mannequin” and the progtastic “I Don’t Know How We Got Here.” Asger Mygind’s smooth and emotive vocals are a highlight throughout. Friend Of A Phantom should satisfy prog fans, but also appeal to a wider swath of listeners.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
