Microdose: Nemesis, Martin Templum Domini, Deathwhite & Pyogensis

I’m Gonna let Mass take care of the Microdoses for a bit, so enjoy some curated content from him. He is a writer and educator in Iran who listens to an eclectic range of music. Welcome to the format of Mass. SCORING IN A MICRODOSE. Can you believe it?

Verdict:

Absolutely magnificent. Listening to this album makes one feel like 2000s Arch Enemy is back in business. This is the very first album by this all-female band from Serbia and it rocks the listener to the core. Sanja Drča delivers top-shelf vocals (should I say whose voice Sanja’s reminds me of? 😉 and Tijana Milivojević and Aleksandra Petrović on the guitar display robust riffs and catchy melodies. Besides the riffs, what makes this album a death fest is Selena Simić behind the drum-kit and her aggressive style. The only thing I was left hoping for more of was the bass. There were instances that she was given room, yet there was not enough of that. Overall, this was a crushing album from a promising band, a gang of fierce metal musicians to raise the flag of their motherland. I am totally looking forward to hearing more from Nemesis in the years to come.

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Verdict:

Martin Templum Domini is a Spanish instrumental trio who hail from Barcelona. Their self-titled debut album, and their only work until today, was first released in October 2018 but was then re-released early in 2020.

This album is a forthright display of musical prowess in the domain of power/heavy metal. The riffs are damn strong and can move every bone in your body. Carlos Martín’s guitar is fearsome, and his execution is at virtuoso-level, both on solos and riffs, and it deserves much appreciation. I am not a great fan of most of heavy/power metal bands out there, especially if they are instrumental, as lyrics are a thing I have always considered when listening to an album. However, the music on this album is self-standing. For an introductory album, Martin Templum Domini is a work to build hopes on.

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Verdict:

Deathwhite is a rather young American band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with only two albums released to date. Their Grave Image is much in the same vein as their debut For a Black Tomorrow (2017), just better, just more mature. Mature to perfection. Not a single thread of imperfection on this album. Not one stain on this gem! Spotless indeed. From A to Z, this album is a masterpiece, the ambience, the riffage, the drumwork, the production (can anything go wrong when you have the legendary Dan Swano?), the melodies, the vocals, oh dam these vocals!!! One of the greatest cleans I have heard this year and that is truly magnificent. On some songs, it reminded me of Joel Ekelöf’s voice (the vocalist for Soen, whose voice I simply LOVE). Clean vocals seldom sit well with doom metal/doom death metal, but this guy has nailed it. The artwork of the album, done by Jérôme Comentale, is so reflective of the nature of this piece and captures the band’s essence. For a sophomore LP, this album is laudable.

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Verdict:

It is kind of difficult to pinpoint what genre this band belongs to as it is many and yet it is none. It is Jack of many trades and master of none, the musical version. They have a rich history in metal music, starting out with more death-doom, swinging then toward alt rock and finally landing somewhere in between. A Silent Soul Screams Loud has the catchiness of alternative rock but the sound of metal, aiming for a melodic death sound (especially on a track like Mother Bohemia), which is totally lacking and insufficient, in my opinion. The album offers value for the time you put to listen to it and surely there are moments of quality metal (like the riff on Survival of the Fittest, one of the album’s finest songs), but don’t expect to be impressed.