Ren Marabou & The Beserkers "Holy Mountain(Helgafjell)" Album Review

     The incomparable Viking Metal/Norse Gael Heathen Tribe Ren Marabou & The Beserkers  have been unleashing consistently quality releases,originally started as a solo project during the dark days of lockdown, after the release of the excellent Sagas album Ren would recruit Michael Casserly(on Bass Guitar) and Terence McCann(On Drums) and would release their second Opus the magnificent Tales Of Rune,the band even got to do a tour with the legendary Polish Acts Vader and Hate which unfortunately they had to cut short due to a family bereavement,ever since then the band concentrated on writing the highly anticipated follow up to Tales Of Rune,which has now come to fruition with the absolutely phenomenal Helgafjell(Holy Mountain),which is a whole lot darker and heavier then previous offerings,let's dissect the finer details of this stellar opus.

    Launching straight into The Journeys Of Rig the relentless drumming really sets the tone on this song while combining Melodic and heavy riffing while the bass drives the relentless drumming,the vocals varition between clean and aggressive adds alot of passion and controlled anger to the track making a brilliant way to open the album, Ran's Hall is a really heavy mid paced offering full of melody and a really dark atmosphere, we're treted to a really cool intro on The Price Of Glory with tribalistic drumming and some beautifully orchestrated Violin before seamlessly transitioning into a proper Groove laden guitar Riff,it becomes more noticable that the clean vocal delivery has got a slight bit darker then the opening two tracks which only adds more heft and darkness to the overall atmosphere.

    A Dark atmosphere and an absolute riff fest are what's unleashed  with the brilliant Curse Striker while been extremely dark there's also an element of beauty to this track with  the soaring leads which has a really epic atmosphere like you're taking part in some sort of pilgrimage/adventure, Gramr The Bloodstained Beast is possibly the fastest track on the album ,there's an almost Thrashy feel to this track,again this displays some absolutely stellar lead Guitar work, things get that bit more heavier with the crushing In The Hall Of Gimle there's some subtle elements of Sludge which add an extra bit of Heft to proceedings. another quality offering with Live And Die By The Sword were we're treated to some really epic song structures  full of atmosphere and heaviness on top of melodic riffing,this is possibly the darkest track on the album and creates an even more passionate aura,the leads on this are phenomeal and have a really anthemic feel to them.

  The Hefty Riffing on The Duel Of Flint and Steel has some really killer Groove elements and explores the story of Viking Brethren drinking too much Mead and Fighting in Valhalla like some sort of game of one upmanship, Idunn The Ever Young switches between fast paced instrumentaion to soaring and passionate Vocal passages creating yet more epicness to proceedings,closing track the absolutely mind blowing Epic Heaviness of Helgafjell(Holy Mountain)  has some personnel heartfelt story behind it ,as mentioned before this tells the story of a family bereavement and has an extremely dark atmosphere combined with fantastic musicianship making it possibly the best song the band have ever written.

 

   Not only has Helgafjell(Holy Mountain) shown the true capabilities of this band it's a massive progression from the excellent Tales Of Rune,this is not me blowing air this album is more then worth it's weight in gold,the band have reached a pinnacle were hard work and passion get justly rewarded,i will add WormHoleDeath  knew what they were doing when they announced the signing of Ren Marabou & The Beserkers to the label,always had a feeling something special was going to be unleashed and to my delight the band have delivered a monumental opus full of fantatsic story telling ,musicianship and fantasticly created atmosphere throughout.

RATING: 9/10

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Keith McCoy "Dawn Of The Machine" EP Review

 Those who've been following some of the quality output from the multi talented Keith McCoy will be aware and know about the various projects/bands he's being invloved with for a number of years including Hedfuzy,Symbiotic Tomorrow,Soylent Chiba and numerous homages/tributes to the legendary John Carpenter,you can also include a plethroa of stellar Instrumental synthwave and Progressive Metal EP's/Albums which leads us to his upcoming EP Dawn Of The Machine which will be his first to have vocals included,this was something myself and other fans were always curious to see what it would sound like and suffice to say the results are absolutely phenomenal,let's get into the finer details of what to expect.

  Instantly with the opening intro The Tuning Test you know you're about to be taken on a journey with the sublime 80's Synthwave instrumental which feels like it from a John Carpenter movie score,a brilliant way to commence this superb offering, thise soaring  vocals from Jason Guile at the start of  H.U.M.A.N. officially conform was i was suspecting with the addition of vocals to all those instrumental releases and it's done with magnificient aplomb,also the atmosphere created by the synths is absolutely breathtaking and creates a really 80's vibe to proceedings.

  

    Hear Me has a really upbeat vibe with extremely inspiritional lyrical output touching on themes of hope the struggles that come with it and the will to strive and succeed, the Guitar work throughout this is absolutely awe inspiring and  when you combine it with the synths the conclusion is truly superb, the time signatures in Dawn Of The Machine are seriously intense with slow paced riffing and a pulsating heavy bassline which adds  a fantastic feeling to those relentless drum fills,there's also a subtle dystopian feel to the lyrics like it's part of some post apocalyptic film were the machines are about to take control of humanity, the closing outro track Imitation Game helps to add a very eery atmosphere to the overall feeling within this offering while also feeling like the story within is going to be continued.

  Dawn Of The Machine further confirms the true capabilities of what McCoy is capable as a musician and producer,as mentioned before i was always curious to see what his music would sound like with vocals added and i can now confirm this is beyond what i was expecting and Jason Guile has delivered an absolute masterclass full of emotion, soaring vocals and unbridled passion; There's also something really unique with this release beneath all the awe inspiring,hope and very emotional passages throughout there's also a really subtle underlying dystopian atmosphere which becomes more apparent with repeat listens,this is an absolute must for fans of 80's inspired Synthwave mixed with plemty of Progressive elements of Rock and Metal.

RATING: 8.5/10

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Puresonic Outcasts "Sacrifice" Single Review

  The Finest Purveyors of Groove Laden Stoner/Doom/Punk Fusion Hallions Puresonic Outcasts have returned with killer new material for the first time in almost two years with their brilliant new single Sacrifice this is possibly their heaviest and most aggressive output to date, lets dissect the finer details of this brilliant offering.

  Straight away it's noticable that the production is better than on previous material, you get some absolutely stellar drumming courtesy of Graham Murray who has settled into the role perfectly after joing the band for the brilliant Endless Contemplation,his presence behind the kit really drives and pushes the groove laden heaviness to the fore with razor sharp precision, the basslines have a really punchy groovy feel to them throughout this and gives this track an extra element of groove and rhytmn, the tandem between the Lead and Rhytmn guitars are absolutely fantastic mixing crushingly heavy passages with soaring riff heavy leads full of passion and fuzzed out psychedelica,the final ingredients of the vocals are really gritty and are even more aggressive then on previous material at times it sounds like they're verging on Death Metal,suffice to say this is possibly the best overall track from the band.

  Everytime a band releases something new it's becomes common place to look for some sort of improvement or progreesion on their sound,Puresonic Outcats have not only done all this in spades they've not only hit that glass ceiling they've smashed through it ,everything from the production ,the musicianship has porgressed to another level,it's like the band have finally found their sound and are even more heaier and agressive then ever before, Sacrifice truly is a quality offering that shows the bands true capabilities.

RATING: 8.5/10

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Nebularis "Exodus: Shattered Earth Saga Pt.1" Album Review

   The absolutely fantastic Progressive Metal act Nebularis set out to create a sci-fi legacy that comes from another galaxy in time and space,what founding member and the bands Guitarist/Synth player Mo Sheerin set out to do started coming to fruition just over a year ago were the band slowly treated us to something new.fresh and interesting,peoples interested was peaked when the band played their first live shows during Metal 2 The Masses Ireland were they would eventually make it to the final,late last year they would deliver a stellar set at the hugely popular Siege Of Limerick,the culmination and results of all this would see the release of their mind blowing debut album Exodus:Shattered Earth Saga Pt.1 just last week let's dissect the finer details of this magnificent opus.

  Straight away the tone and atmosphere is set for what's to come with the beautifully crafted synth/keyboard intro  Tellurian this feels like something from a movie score and gives the atmosphere if soemthing tragic/disastrous is about to take place, laucnhing into the sublime Cataclysm judging by the song title and lyrics you know something tragic has happened and a group of people have to leave their world behind and find some new habitat,the vocal delivery from Hytham Martin is awe-inspiring and soars beyond out planetary existence.

  Aurelia is another short interlude/passage that has an eerily oceanic feeling like your submerged beneath the surface which leads us into the mind blowing offering of Subnautica the question of making the same mistakes as before are permeating throughout this track,the guitar work on this is outworldly and the vocals reach another level of quality,the drumming by Damian Dziennik is truly amazing and adds another dimension to the overall story within this release.

  We're treated to the absolutely brilliant ballad-like Voyager the combo of  Keys/Synth with the guitar and bass are seamless and create a really beautiful galactic atmosphere, we also treated to some samples of Carl Sagan another part of the storyboard becomes prevelent when the people think they've found new place within the universe, Exodus is another one of these short interludes that are used to create an eery atmosphere and create another part of the storyboard,this one sound like some lost sattelite signal maybe yet another place for the people to explore.

   Time to delve into something that bit more darker with Holocene the aggression that unfolds in this track is another dimension to this bands overall sound,while still maintaining the awe-inspiring vocal delivery and outworldly guitar work the added heaviness creates a darker atmosphere to proceedings, if you think you've heard every element of this band thus far wait til you get to the closing track Critias prepare to have another curveball with the added element of the beautiful backing vocals courtesy of Mo Sheerin,also this track has possibly one of the most awe-inspiring lead guitar outros i've heard in a really long time,have to mention this is the part of the story where the people seem to have found their way,maybe we'll find out in Pt.2 of this magnificent opus.

 

If Shattered Earth Saga is the beginning of some epic story/adventure we're definitely going to be getting something truly amazing from band who have constructed a story full of hope,struggle,despair within another planetary dimension,it's like the took little sections from War Of The Worlds, Aliens,The Abyss and other sci-fi masterpieces and combined it with Carl Sagan's evolutionary thoughts thus making a universe full of mystery, it likes they've sucked us into some story were we want to know what happens,the potential within this part of the opus is too good not to ignore and a whole new standard has been set and it's truly sublime.

RATING: 9.5/10

 

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Gravity Well "Negative Space" Album Review

   Psychedelic tinged Stoner Rock/Doom outfit Gravity Well have something sort of mysterous and strangely captivating about them in that they're not your average type of fuzzed out stoner rock entity could it be the haunting and ethereal vocals of  Fionnuala McGlinchey or the spaced out  psychedelic Guitar and Basslines that at time feel if they're laced with some sort of hulucinogens that bring you on a never-ending trip through the stratosphere or the tribalistic drumming that hints at subtle homages to the legendary Black Sabbath, if you think their debut album Earthbound was were they nailed their sound you're in for a pleasant surprise with their new brilliant opus Negative Space.

  Opening tack As Above is like some sort of introduction or start of a hallucingenic/lucid dream that's equally hypnotic as it is eery and serves as the perfect precursor of what is about to unfold, time to enter some quality riffage with The Abstract ,the fuzzed out Guitar combined with those ethereal vocals give a whole new meaning to the word trippy and it feels like you're being lured into some sort of  trip/journey into the unknown, things get all the more psychedelic with the brilliant Delirium if the opening two tracks were an attempt to lure you into some sort of trip then this leaves you in a whirlwind feeling of "Will I Won't I" like some sort of apprenhensiveness before you're about to let go of yourself,

  

  The dread and doom of Burning Gaze begins to grip you in a trance and it feels like you can't escape this lucid dreamscape,there's some subtle odes to the track Black Sabbath running though this, something that's pretty hard to avoid when playing heavy music,this is possibly my favourite track on the album, the atmosphere get's a bit more chilled out with the ultra dreamy The Forest the vocal delivery had an extremely lo-fi dreamy effect that feels like your drfting throught some place laced with hallucingens. closing track So Below drags you further into the dreamlike sequences and that reaccuring voice that was present in the opening track has surfaced again and makes the atmosphere feel that slight bit Eery before eventually some sort of release comes over you and your left drifting for eternity.

  What Negative Space has to offer is worth your time,it's feels like you're going through some psychedleic rollercoaster that keeps bringing you up and down through some sort of dream-like sequence which makes you feel all sort of emotions,dread,euphoria,paranoia etc encapsulate your body and you're not really sure if this is a dream or is it reality, Gravity Well have really upped their game on this one and created a spectacular opus that will leave you wanting more.

RATING: 8.5/10

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