Carcassbomb @ Noob Heavy Team
I am spending December catching up on 2019 releases I’ve missed, or as every metal reviewer has said at some point – I’ve been sleeping on. Also I’m on meds that makes a full review a bit much for the first couple of weeks so this is a good way to give my thoughts without having to be methodical and academic about it. Expect this format a lot.
SAOR – Forgotten Paths (February)
Here’s one that came out at the start of the year and everyone loves, so I’m ashamed that this is here only now. I’ll never understand how these solo projects this year keep utilising folk and symphonic elements, but pulling it off way better than the majority of bands. There’s a strong melody to this album that every aspect of the sound seems to be in service of. I don’t feel angry here, I feel more at peace. A bunch of people had wanted me to listen to this and I’m glad I did because it’s a nice bit of time away from the hyper furious hyper fast sounds of brutality. This album made me want to play a fantasy game and have an emotional experience.
FFO: Sojourner, Agalloch, Mizmor.
Edellom – Sirens (October)
A very sincere debut LP from a band in Israel. The comparisons to Swallow The Sun are apt and in that way the album feels comfy to me. I have a lot of memories inside of such soundscapes, be it on long walks or train rides. Death Doom will always be my favorite genre and it’s a difficult genre to fuck up. While this certainly catches some snags here and there, mostly where the gothic elements come in, which are a big part of this album. The death growls are great but the cleans don’t always hit the mark for me and would require improvement for the next record. The story element of it is a nice touch and ties into the cover art appropriately.
FFO: Swallow The Sun, Novembers Doom, Draconian (Remember them?)
Abythic – Conjuring The Obscure (September)
Here is a zesty mix of old school death metal and sludge that carries a surprising amount of energy. This sludge does not slump, it’s a brutal downpour littered with catchy hooks and riffs. It has thrashier elements that come through with the clearer vocals but it’s more subdued – more technical. There’s some super talented vocals in here that will dazzle you with their raw expression. The bass is pretty damn fun too, this is a great album for drinking a lot of coffee. So much coffee that you can’t actually do any of the work you needed coffee in order to do. The main con for me is some of the tracks end with ambient/sample outros, sometimes they nail it like in the opening track “Eternal Chaos Will Rise”, but other times it feels too camp for the sludge elements. A minor detail.
FFO: Abhorrence, Demigod, Morgoth.
Cannabis Corpse – Nug So Vile (October)
I wanted to enjoy this more than I did. There’s just too much of what I expected from the band and instead of being hilariously awesome it was just some rad tunes. Solid artwork by Olofsson here who has an insane credit list to his name, just look at it. It’s a good album, especially considering how long they’ve been around – many bands shit the bed by this point but fans were stoked on this release. Personally it’s just too much thrash and the vocals parody work doesn’t necessarily equal enjoyable for me.
FFO: Cannabis Corpse, Austrian Death Machine, Dethklok.
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