This week’s Heavy Music HQ reviews include releases from Abraham, Autumn Tears, Cosmic Reaper, Degrave, Fauna, Last Retch, Mors Principium Est, Overt Enemy, Rage, Revocation, The Vintage Caravan and Vintersorg.
The ratings are on a 5-star scale.
Abraham – idsungwüssä (Pelagic)
idsungwüssä is the fifth album from the Swiss post metal band Abraham, and the conclusion of a conceptual trilogy. The band says it’s a parallel narrative to 2022’s Debris de mondes perdus.
The compositions this time around are mostly lengthier, allowing even more space for musical twists and turns. That’s evident from the opener “Fate Of Man Lies In The Stars.” Dense sludgy metal is contrasted by mellow ambient parts with shifts in intensity and pace. Tracks like “A Discomposite Shell” start urgently before easing back, while songs such as “06:00.40U” have the opposite approach. idsungwüssä takes patience to fully absorb, an album with a lot of depth and layers.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Autumn Tears – Crown Of The Clairvoyant (The Circle)
Ambient/darkwave band Autumn Tears return with an orchestral album. Crown Of The Clairvoyant has no electric guitars and barely has any rock attributes, let alone metal. It is, however, quite an emotional and evocative album. Many bands infuse classical elements into their songs but using orchestrations in a way that meaningfully enhances the music is another matter entirely. Autumn Tears do succeed in this.
Francesca Nicoli of Ataraxia lends her voice to a couple of excellent songs. “Ghosts and Empaths” reminds me of Australian band Virgin Black. “Martyrdom – Catharsis (Where Gods Go to Die)” is an ethereal song with some beautiful vocals. Crown Of The Clairvoyant will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but its appeal might also catch you unaware.
Rating: 4
(Chris Galea)
Cosmic Reaper – Bleed The Wicked, Drown The Damned (Heavy Psych Sounds)
With Bleed The Wicked, Drown The Damned, Cosmic Reaper head for a darker turn with their stoner metal. Every song starts as if being submerged in quicksand, its sticky texture making it incapable of being released from. There aren’t any surprise upbeat rockers to break the illusion. The band want the listener to be stuck in a continuous state of discomfort.
New lead guitarist Peter Snasdell saves the solos for key points when they can make the strongest imprint. That’s the case with the passionate ones used on “Waiting By The Gallows” and “Bones.” Bleed The Wicked, Drown The Damned is Cosmic Reaper reveling in an ominous spirit that hovers over the record.
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Degrave – Metalithic (ShredHead)
Though Degrave have not received the sort of attention that other contemporary thrash metal bands have gotten, they are already on their fourth album, Metalithic. Their underground status is intact with this low-fi rendition, as they shun any sort of polished production in defiance of modern recording. It’s raw in the right places, without sounding like it was manipulated through Pro Tools excessively.
Much of Metalithic is in line with their previous three records; nuclear thrash with no filters. The last third of the album diverts from this with the bass instrumental “Ignis Accendere” and jam-laden “Burn Up The Sky.” For almost six and a half minutes, Degrave abandon their usual agenda for bluesy stoner metal with a back-and-forth solo section. It’s really memorable, which can’t always be said about Metalithic.
Rating: 2.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Fauna – Ochre & Ash (Lupus Lounge)
It has been more than a dozen years since the last Fauna album. The Olympia, Washington’s fourth record Ochre & Ash is a concept album of death and rebirth. The album title is what ancient humans used to create paintings in caves, evident in the cover art which is an image of a cave in Argentina.
Fauna’s brand of Cascadian black metal is ambient and atmospheric. The album alternates three ambient interludes with three lengthy songs ranging from 14 to 23 minutes long. The songs unfold slowly, with a lot of repetition that builds anticipation for what’s to come. Each song is varied, blending dissonance, melody and atmosphere. The band wants to take listeners on a shamanic journey, a black metal ritual traveling back to the time of ancient humans. Ochre & Ash is a long, winding and deliberate journey, but ultimately a rewarding one.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Last Retch – Abject Cruelty (Time To Kill)
When Last Retch lament about the rot and filth within the “Steel City” on Abject Cruelty, they aren’t talking about the city most people in the U.S. would connect that moniker to. This album isn’t about Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but the other Steel City in North America: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Here is where the quintet of Last Retch calls home, as their sights are on the decrepit drain of city life.
This attitude is seeped all over their battle-hungry death metal, with Abject Cruelty’s snappy form wrapped up in about 27 minutes. The punctuality keeps these songs from dragging out, whether it’s the loose charge of “Dissolved In Lye (Down To Rot)” (written by the group in 15 minutes) or the bulky stomp of “Resinous Drip Of Decay.”
Rating: 3.5
(Dan Marsicano)
Mors Principium Est – Darkness Invisible (Perception)
Darkness Invisible is album number nine from Finnish band Mors Principium Est, a furious but multi-faceted full-length that blends black metal, death metal, thrash, prog and neoclassical metal. Going deeper, tracks such as “Monuments” and the cheery “All Life Is Evil” feel gripping and epic. In Ancient Roman mythology, Avernus was the gate to Hell – so it should come as no surprise that “The Rivers of Avernus” is sonically brutal.
On the other hand, “An Aria Of The Damned” contains some haunting female chanting. Blastbeats, harsh vocals, melody, synths, violins, piano — the album has it all. And despite all these layers and mood — or perhaps because of them — Mors Principium Est have crafted a striking album that deserves to be anything but “invisible.”
Rating: 4
(Chris Galea)
Overt Enemy – Insurrection (Self)
Overt Enemy began life as a tribute to deceased Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman, though Insurrection is not a throwback or knock-off. This debut album grooves harder than anything Slayer tried in the 1990’s, while their trio of vocalists scream and bark in harmony and against each other.
This vocal interplay turns into Overt Enemy’s standout trait, as the music itself is competent thrash/groove metal. There are up-tempo breaks with guitar solos that could’ve been thought up by Hanneman or Kerry King in an hour. That’s supplemented by snappy bass guitar leads and a drummer that can’t seem to keep his feet off the double bass pedals. Insurrection is bound by their admiration for Slayer without it being their only move.
Rating: 3
(Dan Marsicano)
Rage – A New World Rising (Steamhammer/SPV)
The veteran German band Rage will celebrate 40 years of existence next year. The trio’s lone remaining original member is vocalist/bassist Peter “Peavy” Wagner. They’ve been especially prolific the past several years. A New World Rising follows last year’s Afterlifelines.
Their creative well certainly hasn’t run dry, as the album blends traditional metal, thrash and power metal. The songs pack a punch along with having ample hooks and melodies. Rage bring the tempo and aggression on thrashy tracks like “Innovation” and emphasize melodies on songs such as “Freedom” and “Fire In Your Eyes.” The album wraps up with “Straight To Hell ’25,” a reimagining of the song from their 2001 album Welcome To The Other Side. Rage sound energetic and ready to go another 40 years on A New World Rising.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Revocation – New Gods, New Masters (Metal Blade)
On the band’s ninth album New Gods, New Masters, Revocation return with technical aplomb and the addition of two new members: bassist Alex Weber and guitarist Harry Lannon. Dave Davidson is still at the helm and longtime drummer Ash Pearson continues to blast away on the skins. “Sarcophagi Of The Soul” is the kind of song that will have long time listeners excited. It’s hard to believe these guys have been going for nearly 20 years, because this could easily have been a track on their big break Existence Is Futile from all the way back in 2008.
Revocation like to make sure they have like minded musicians on display with Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation making a guest appearance on “Confines of Infinity,” bringing his signature rasps to the fray. Jonny Davy of Job For A Cowboy and Luc Lemay of Gorguts are here too as is jazz guitarist Gilad Hekselman. Dave Davidson’s dystopian look at society’s obsession with technology is painted with a brutal brush and the result is New Gods, New Masters, showing that Revocation are still at the top of their game.
Rating: 4
(Tom Campagna)
The Vintage Caravan – Monuments (Napalm)
The Icelandic trio The Vintage Caravan live up to their name, with influences from classic rock’s glory days like Deep Purple and Cream. They also inject modern flavors on their sixth album Monuments.
It gets off to a strong start, featuring Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt on the opening track “Philosopher,” providing a melancholy counterpoint to the band’s raucous sound. The album is packed with catchy, melodic songs like “Days Go By,” proggier numbers such as “Here You Come Again” and mellower tracks like “Current.” There’s also some impressive shredding on “Electrified.” On Monuments The Vintage Caravan span a wide variety of approaches, putting their spin on classic rock with progressive and psychedelic influences.
Rating: 3.5
(Chad Bowar)
Vintersorg – Vattenkrafternas Spel (Hammerheart)
Vintersorg‘s latest album Vattenkrafternas Spel is a powerful conclusion to their elemental tetralogy that masterfully blends epic black, folk, and prog metal. The album showcases their unmatched balance of blasting intensity and majestic melodies, proving they remain a serious and potent force that puts many folk metal peers to shame.
While the production is notably loud and the opening tracks rely heavily on blastbeats, the songwriting is spectacular as ever. As a worthy follow-up to albums like Orkan, Vattenkrafternas Spel demonstrates the band’s enduring strength. The poetic, nature-themed Swedish lyrics add a rich layer of atmosphere for those who can appreciate them. This exciting conclusion suggests Vintersorg are more than capable of delivering top-tier material for years to come.
Rating: 3.5
(Carlos Tirado)
