This week’s Heavy Music HQ reviews include releases from Ancient Thrones, Castle Rat, Deaf Club, Hartmann, Igorr, Krigsgrav, Mike Tramp, Novembers Doom, Stoned Jesus, Sunniva, Tithe and Vittra.
The ratings are on a 5-star scale.
Ancient Thrones – Melancholia (Self)
A psychedelic trip turns sideways on Ancient Thrones’ second album, Melancholia. A concept inspired by vocalist/drummer Sean Hickey’s own experience on hallucinatory drugs, chilling fright is given through blackened death metal. Their songwriting trims the excess from their debut The Veil, while never losing sight of the overarching story of a person’s inner turmoil.
A few songs use piano for cinematic effect, including the calming interlude “Achromatopsia” and rumbling stance of “Vacant.” The latter is the group at their slowest, slinking along as each word is coughed out with disdain. A cavalcade of drum fills perks the tune up before an extended bout of noise finishes Melancholia on a hopeless note for our suffering main character.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Castle Rat – The Bestiary (King Volume)
Castle Rat‘s sophomore record The Bestiary promises more fantasy doom metal than their debut. Castle Rat are well known for their costumes and stage antics, but behind all of that are some solid musical chops, some that would draw comparisons to contemporaries like Lucifer. Killer guitar hooks and the powerful vocals and rhythm guitar of The Rat Queen (Riley Pinkerton) build a sense of the ethereal as the leads lay down some serious hooks on “Wolf I.”
On “Siren,” Pinkerton does her best impression of the infamous winged creatures that historically eliminated sailors with another impactful use of vocals with a heavy driving riff bringing the action to a close. Some tracks slow the album’s momentum in a transitional sense as you get a sense of the band traveling to their next sonic locale, allowing you to collectively catch your breath. Castle Rat’s magical mystery tour version of doom metal is a fun romp, leading to one of the year’s most fun records.
Rating: 4
(Tom Campagna)
Deaf Club – We Demand A Permanent State Of Happiness (Southern Lord/Three One G)
They use their sense of humor while doing it, but Deaf Club loudly voice their displeasure with the state the world today on We Demand A Permanent State Of Happiness, the hardcore band’s second full-length album.
There’s no shortage of aggression and heaviness, but this time around Deaf Club add a few more hooks and melodies to the chaos. They display some groove on opener “Nihilism For Dummies” and catchy riffs to “Crap Circle.” The band’s songwriting is razor sharp and focused, keeping filler to a bare minimum and the passion to a maximum. We Demand A Permanent State Of Happiness is relentless in its message and delivery, a 30-minute ride of vitriol and catharsis.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Hartmann – Twenty Times Colder (Sonic 11/Pride & Joy)
Oliver Hartmann has been in a few bands over the years such as At Vance and Avantasia and also fronts Germany’s number one Pink Floyd tribute band. His namesake group Hartmann are celebrating their 20th anniversary with their tenth album Twenty Times Colder. It was produced by Sascha Paeth (Avantasia, Kamelot, Beyond The Black).
The band’s brand of hard rock hearkens back to the glory days of arena rock, with some modern touches mixed in. The songs are packed with hooks and tracks like “This Heart” are anthemic and radio-friendly. As you’d expect, Hartmann’s vocal performance is top-notch, both on uptempo rockers like “Valentine’s Day” and bluesy ballads such as “Alone.” Twenty Times Colder delivers exactly what Hartmann fans have been enjoying for the past two decades.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Igorr – Amen (Metal Blade)
Igorr are back with Amen and, as always, the project is a perverse and strange mix of electronic music and avant-garde metal. The album leans further into what the band is known for: keeping you guessing about what’s coming next and making industrial sound explorations feel as heavy as any riff.
There are even flashes of “positive” energy, but overall Amen brings a darker, more sinister tone to the band’s music. I don’t think this album is for everyone, and it might even divide Igorrr’s fans. There’s a certain degree of simplification here — the band has dialed down the madness and focused more on what feels uncomfortable. It’s still fascinating, but it may be a tall order for many listeners.
Rating: 3
Carlos Tirado
Krigsgrav – Stormcaller (Willowtip)
In less than a decade, Krigsgrav have traveled an extraordinary path. Beginning with 2018’s Leave No Path To Follow, the band not only reached a new height of songwriting maturity but also opened themselves to fresh musical horizons. Their latest studio work Stormcaller continues along that same path— majestic, turbulent, and epic.
Once again, Krigsgrav guide listeners through a passionate journey into nature’s beauty and darkness, through the philosophy of death and the shadows of folklore, delivering one of their most complete and mature works to date. The spirit of Stormcaller rises above all the band’s previous albums, drawing from every moment of their twenty-year history. The result is a soundscape that is masterfully composed, boldly executed, and utterly captivating. What lingers most are the guitar solos soaring above the melodies like a storm rider that carry the album to its final, thunderous breath. Stormcaller is more than just a record; it is a turning point for Krigsgrav, a place where they inscribe a new doctrine into their music.
Rating: 4.5
(Arash Khosronejad)
Mike Tramp – Songs Of White Lion Vol. III (Frontiers)
After fronting the platinum selling glam metal band White Lion in the ’80s and early ’90s, Mike Tramp pivoted to a solo career. Those albums are more in the melodic rock vein, but over the years Tramp has periodically returned to his White Lion roots. That includes reimagining the band’s songs with a series of albums over the past couple of years.
The latest is Songs Of White Lion Vol. III. He covered most of the band’s hits in the first version (“Wait,” “When The Children Cry,” “Little Fighter”). While Volume III is mostly deeper album cuts, it does include “Radar Love,” the Golden Earring cover song that was a minor hit for White Lion. Tramp alters the arrangements to give the songs a fresh coat of paint, and hardcore White Lion will find some gems, and while Tramp’s voice is still in fine form, three albums in he has reached the point of diminishing returns.
Rating: 3
(Chad Bowar)
Novembers Doom – Major Arcana (Prophecy)
It has been a while since we’ve heard from the veteran doom/death metal band Novembers Doom, who issued their debut album back in 1995. Their last album was 2019’s Nephilim Grove. Major Arcana, the band’s twelfth full-length, is a concept album inspired by tarot and divination.
Over the past three decades, Novembers Doom have established themselves as a stalwart of the genre, and that’s evident in the quality of their songwriting. Their sweet spot is the five-to-six-minute track, giving them ample time for the song to unfold and inject shifts and tempo and intensity with Paul Kuhr’s vocalists shifting from harsh to melodic and back again. Harsh vocals are front and center on tracks like “Ravenous,” while melodic vocals are prevalent on songs like “Chatter” and “The Dance.” Compelling from beginning to end, Major Arcana is another varied and engaging Novembers Doom release.
Rating: 4
(Chad Bowar)
Stoned Jesus – Songs To Sun (Season Of Mist)
Emerging in the early ’00s, the sound of the Ukrainian trio Stoned Jesus has shifted over the years. While stoner/doom has been the cornerstone of their sound from the beginning, they have become more progressive and experimental. Songs To Sun is the first album in a planned trilogy, and features two new members along with founding vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Igor Sydorenko.
Stoned Jesus are equally adept at writing lengthy, slow-building songs like “New Dawn” and “Lost In The Rain” that have a lot of ebbs and flows as they are composing more focused, shorter numbers like “Shadowland” and “Low” that are more accessible and relatively straightforward. The nearly ten minute closer “Quicksand” is an outlier, mostly acoustic and mellow until intensifying towards the end. Songs To Sun has a few lulls but still manages to deliver plenty of interesting moments.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Sunniva – Hypostasis (Svart)
Straddling the small divisions between sludge metal, doom metal and post-metal, Sunniva are ready to both bathe in darkness and embrace the light on their debut album, Hypostasis. The lead-up to this record goes back to their first EP, 2017’s The Holy Mountain. Since then, they’ve been finessing the right proportion of dense heaviness with alluring melodies.
The second half of Hypostasis captures this the best with harmonic singing and female vocalist in “Sun Funeral” and dreamy guitars early on in “Hung From The Sky.” Svarta Havet vocalist Lotta is brought onboard to put her raspy barks to use on “Valovaltimo,” a guest spot that makes the song much bleaker. It’s great to hear bass guitarist Timi Ketonen so prominent on Hypostasis, especially in the elongated intro to “Opening The Key.”
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Tithe – Communion In Anguish (Profound Lore)
Communion In Anguish is the third album from the Portland death metal trio Tithe. This time around, bassist Alex Huddleston adds lower pitched growls to complement Matt Eiseman’s throat-shredding harsh vocals.
Tithe have amped up the intensity, but on tracks like “At The Altar Of Starving Children” alternate chaotic death metal with groovier sections. It’s a dynamic record, slowing down to doomlike tempos on “Ostiary” before stomping on the gas. They also incorporate intense grindcore and even a bit of black metal influence that help change things up. Communion In Anguish is constantly shifting and evolving, but Tithe manage to make it a cohesive work.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Vittra – Intense Indifference (Self)
Intense Indifference isn’t a “fun” album exactly, but Vittra can turn their melodic death/thrash metal into a celebratory mood. The Night Flight Orchestra keyboardist John Lönnmyr plays piano on “Transylvanian Buffet” as if he’s channeling Richard Tandy in ELO’s cover of “Roll Over Beethoven.” It’s so bizarre to hear that against volatile riffs, yet it’s one of the instant highlights of the record.
Same goes for the acoustic jamming that pops in halfway through “Soul Searcher” and the excellent cover of Slayer’s “Piece By Piece” that ends Intense Indifference. There’s no doubt that Vittra are willing to place themselves in unusual spots that don’t take away from their pugnacious energy.
Rating: 4
(Dan Marsicano)
