Foraoisi Gan Inuichadh "Isolation" Album Review

 

 

   Ever since i discovered this One Man project the undoubted potential has always been there but nothing could prepare almost anyone who's listened to this young man how mind blowing the quality of the material would eventually be, with each release there was always a noticable improvement and with the release of album number two Isolation the level of quality seems to have reach a pinnacle way beyond his years.

 Foraoisi Gan Inuichadh has achieved a level maturity and musical proficiency most Black Metal outfits only dream of, opening track Everything Turns To Black starts out with a really foreboding atmosphere added by some sort of anguished screams before unleashing a flurry of precise riffs with harrowing and melancholic vocals before we're treated to some very atmospheric melodic riffs,half way throught the track the atmosphere becames extremely haunting and pessimistic with the continued barrage of anguished vocals, See The Sun Set has an almost doomy element running throughout the track again the consistent anguished vocals add a very melancholic atmosphere,this pace is maintained until some sort of clear vocal arrangement gives the track soemthing fresh that has never being used on previous releases, Pink Mist has a somewhat similar atmosphere to the previous track with the exception it's has a little bit more pace ,the vocals are more harrowing and anguished on this adding a really raw yet vibrant element to procedings, Sixteen is like an interlude in the album were you hear a phone been dialed at the start then out of nowhere a blood curling and terrifying screams sets a really scary and depressive atmosphere like something terrible has just happened.

  The Awakening is a trademark Black Metal track offering buzzsaw guitar tone,lo-fi atmosphere and a rawness almost similar to early Darkthrone,the vocals seem to be lower in the mix which just gives the whole atmosphere a level of nastiness most BM bands would thrive to create,then some Operatic style vocals add another dimension to the track. the boundaries of atmosphere are really pushed to another level with the absolutely brilliant The Kingdom Will Die this track also has some operatic vocals mixed with the trademark anguished vocals giving another excellent facet to the overall aura of the album, Tomas Hynes Guitar Playing on this is possibly the best piece of song writing he's done since he started such a short time ago, Once again the levels of atmosphere are pushed into another realm with the excellent  The Souls Of The Damned, there's an added level of melancholy with the vocals portraying anger along with the anguish we've become familar with, closing track Epilogue is a fitting way to end the album with the barely audible spoken word at the start and then we're reintroduced to the same kind of vocal arrangement we heard on the second track except this one os alot more prolonged.

  Isolation is a beautifully crafted album by a young man who for all intense purposes is releasing absolutely quality Black Metal on a level some established bands would dream of and at the age of 16 he is undoubtedly going to continue to get better and evolve as a musician, if you haven't already checked out Foraoisi gan Inuichadh you're missing out on something truly amazing.

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7peEEPlcqZ9WjyxxMpQ9Ev?si=uOlxQq8ARuWo5bECIIb08g

BANDCAMP: https://unexploredforests.bandcamp.com/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/unexploredforestsofficial

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/foraoisiganiniuchadh/

LUD "Ritual Of The Damned" EP Review

   LUD are an International Band based In Ireland,members have previous experience of playing in bands such as Voidhammer, Coscradh, Leproso and Gathering Darkness, the band want to create a sound similar to The Second Wave of Black Metal combining aggression,speed and melodic elements in the mould of 1349, Dissection, Satyricon, Dark Funeral and Keep Of Kalessin,these elements are abundantly clear on their absolutely killer 3 track Debut EP Ritual Of The Damned.

  Opening track Devour To Transcend is a pretty relentless offering with little to no let up razor sharp riffs and laser precision balst beats with  a powerful vocal delivery makes this a great way to unleash whats to follow.  Powerful double bass drums set the tone for the brilliant Perish On The Cross switching between mid paced heaviness and fast melodic riffs, there's also a very blasphemic atmosphere to proceedings only added by the satanic lyrical content, closing track  Ritual Of The Damned has some kind of seance/ritual at the intro of the track before unleashing a truly relentless and evil sounding riff ,there's an added viciousness to this particular track compared to the previous two,that main riff hooks you by in and dissects with unrelentling precision and savagery.

 LUD have left a undeniable mark with this excellent releases, all the nuances of Second Wave Black Metal are present and done with passion, unrelenting fury and aggression, i also get the feeling that the band are more then capable of expanding this sound into an even broader spectrum and further themselves not just as a unit but as musicians, despite the shortness in length of the EP Ritual Of The Damned achieves what it set out to do and gets the point of the release across brilliantly.

BANDCAMP: https://lud666.bandcamp.com/releases

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCILq-LfSyd6eNtD2VbGzIlg/videos

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/groups/322041484530881/user/100083143608367/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/ludblackmetal/

Fornoth "The Ferryman And The Lock Keeper" Single Review

   

 Fornoth are a pretty unique band,early in their career they played a style were people compared them to Amon Amarth,there may be similar elements to their sound but they also inject a rather unique Folk element associated with The Sea,all done with an extremely epic atmosphere,fresh off winning Metal 2 The  Masses Ireland and performing at Bloodstock Festival the band entered the studio to record the two track promo single The Ferryman and The Lock Keeper.

  Straight off we're treated to a spoken word/narrative dialog with the title track The Ferryman And The Lock Keeper, there's a very foreboding tone with this intro, the instrumentation at the start has an almost psychedelic atmosphere,after almost two minutes in the track bursts into epic riffing and nasty snarling vocals before going back into that narrative style which eventually starts to sound treacherous when you hear "what if i were to turn this Ferry into a Pyre" things start to sound even more despairing and all hope is lost,this creates an absolutely fantastic atmosphere with the song; The second track Stranger To The Sea has a somewhat melancholic atmosphere like a burial/funeral at sea is about to take place,there's a short folkish vocal arrangement that starts out with a really deep undertone then you hear numerous voices which creates a beautiful and harmonious atmosphere,then throughout the rest of the song different instruments start surfacing until they all slowly fade out.

 

 Fornoth have seemed to expand their sound into broader horizons creating a treacherous and melancholic atmosphere combined with epic song structures and all the melodic nuances that they're known for, i for one i'm curious to hear future output to see if they further develop this sound,it also sounds like the band put an awful lot of work and effort to create these epic passages,this can only be commended and praised to oblivion and long may it continue.

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7y7MKmhUz3jIKrEdHNmAhV?si=sTS6pBM7SzSCgK5KA2zmBg

BANDCAMP: https://fornoth.bandcamp.com/

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_37W9yOhql_R0wKIgabt0g

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/FornothTheBand

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/fornoththeband/?hl=en

Koma "The Betrayed" Single Review

   Wouldn't usually do a single review but on this rare occassion i do one,let it be an introduction to the excellent Northern Ireland Quintet Melodic Metalcore/ Progressive Metal outfit Koma and the imminent release of their debut single The Betrayed due for release this Sunday 18th September, i recently became aware of these when they were supporting Skypilot and i have to say considering i never heard anything from the band i was highly impressed with their performance, now that i've given a brief introduction of them lets get into a more detailed description of the track and what the band are attempting to convey.

   The Betrayed is a tale about the Judeo-Christian God forsaking his chosen people and questions why would a God do this to his people, one of the main themes behind the lyrics is the band are attempting to make the listener contemplate how gods were seen in ancient times, the artwork depicts the God Janus who happens to be the God of The Beginning of a Journey much like the band are beginning their journey; Combining elements of Progressive Metal and Metalcore,the bands sound is extremely melodic with plenty of groove ,catchiness and interchanging vocals ranging from Soulful and Blues Style and a Modern Metal style,the musicianship is absolute quality with an all round dynamic sound full of passion and of a really high standard.

  This debut single is a fantastic introduction to a band with a whole lot of potential,i'm sure there'll be planty more quality coming from Koma in the future, i'm almost certain that alot of people are going to enjoy this song which has a lot of facets and nuances to attract a large following for the band. 

To Keep Up to date what the band are doing follow,subscribe to their social media and streaming platforms all relevant links below

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0yLoO1CPbeeojKSpD4KQua?si=-s8RVdXfRsiOg_LNTtALbA

BANDCAMP: https://komaofficialni.bandcamp.com/

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9yjvQsQIAk23nYPpC7Kz-g

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/komaofficialni

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/koma_official_ni/?hl=en

Skypilot "Simple Beasts" Album Review

 

   A career spanning 20+ years without any line up changes is unusually rare,this is the case with Northern Ireland Stoner Rock Veterans Skypilot you'll always get quality output with these this is very much the case with album number three  Simple Beasts, following on from 2019's The Affront the band have really upped their game to another level on this release,it's very noticable that the members have developed a unique understanding of what they do well with perfect aplomb.

   Album opener Waffledust flows with a tasty grooves and intertwined with soaring and emotive vocals,there's a somewhat epic feel to the track, Octofuzz is a solid kick ass groove laden rocker with a slight homage to Northern Ireland Rock Legends Therapy? , title track Simple Beasts has a nice smooth atmosphere at the start were the vocals gradually build until outbursts of those tradermark soaring vocals hit with a passion and verve that are hard not to admire and enjoy, time for some big fat juicy riffs with the briiliant Klusterfun.

  Halfway through the album and we're treated to the excellent Jazz Club there's a slightly Alternative/Grunge element throughout this track giving more depth and feel to the album,the drumming on this adds a really dynamic rhytmn to proceedings, 8 In The Face is were you get to hear the full range of  what Vocalist Dave Hall is truly capable of ,this is likely the most emotional track on the album while still maintaining the trademark groove, Through The Window continues with more groovy intricacies,there's also a level of emotion present and once again the drumming really pushes and drives the power to another level, closing track  Knifed On The Beach is another lenghty track nearing the 8 minute mark there's a constant powerful groove continuously switching between mid paced riffage and powerful vocal deliveries a more then perfect way to end a really quality release.

  Skypilot are a band that know what they're good at and keep it simple yet full of dynamics ,passion and emotion,there is also a very minimal amount of singing throughout the album this just adds a relentless Riff Machine element to the bands sound,this element is further pushed by the ridiculously powerful drumming, if you're a fan of Therapy? and Clutch would highly recommend giving Skypilot a prolonged listen,you won't be dissapointed,if you want no filler all killer riffs for days in a Stoner Rock style look no further then Skypilot.

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0pjRiiB7XzLNnbptsoa8Ru?si=c73rnxk-RSeH8T9vzB7EXw

BANDCAMP: https://skypilotofficial.bandcamp.com/

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEZeir2cOKCtqJHex835ZdA

BIG CARTEL: https://skypilotmerch.bigcartel.com/?fbclid=IwAR3qU1712cpuAifQhOPAjNpTOLoCHg6IQ1aAtZNo79It3nPPvpSOp8XIRkE

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/SkypilotOfficial

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/skypilotofficial/