Located in th South East of Ireland Wexford Grunge/Progressive Alt Rock outfit Soverna are a relatively new band although i do think members have a wealth of experience in previous acts throughout the year, recently they released their excellent debut EP What We've Lost let's dissect the finer details of this brilliant offering.
Conjurings From The Hellfire Club Reviews
Monday 14 October 2024
Soverna "What We've Lost" EP Review
Located in th South East of Ireland Wexford Grunge/Progressive Alt Rock outfit Soverna are a relatively new band although i do think members have a wealth of experience in previous acts throughout the year, recently they released their excellent debut EP What We've Lost let's dissect the finer details of this brilliant offering.
Tuesday 8 October 2024
Saint Slaughter "The Secret Speech" Album Review
Even though alot of these songs were written a good few years ago they have a killer mix of old and modern Thrash Metal elements that makes this album a really worthwhile listen,you can expect everything from topics like partying ,growing up,having fun and real life issues,the musicianship is absolutely exemplary and is a testament to how far this band have grown in the last decade,this is a must listen for fans of Old School Thrash Metal with a modern twist all done with a DIY ethos.
RATING: 8/10
Thursday 12 September 2024
Grave Sermon "Liturgical Perversions" EP Review
With a welath of experience in a who's who list of Underground Irish Metal bands including Primal Dawn, Abaddon Incarnate,Ground Of Ruin,Fifth Dominion and legion Of Wolves the absolutely brutal Death Metal stalwarts Grave Sermon have just unleashed their absolutely sublime second EP Liturgical Perversions following on from 2019's Whitewashed Tomb this is a monstrous step up in quality,lyrically musically and productions wise and is a definite contender for EP of the year.
Blasting form the get go with the relentless This Mortal Disease this absolutely pummells like an unstoppable juggernaut,vocally it sounds similar to peak Deicide on top of that tasty modern production,the guitar show little to no let up with regard to the relentless speed, we get subtle hints of Immolation throughout Preordained the filthy rawness thoughout this adds a real nastiness to proceedings while the drumming and bass keep pushing that relentless blasting to another level.
Not only have Grave Sermon progressed from previous material they've delivered an absolute masterclass in how to deliver pummelling,relentless Death Metal,there's plenty of Old School nuances throughout this,long term fans of them will know that one of the most important themes they touch on is a condemnation of atrocities committed by organised religion and especially with the reign of terror for a prolonged period in Ireland, to close out this is a definite contender for EP of the year within the Irish Scene.
Sunday 8 September 2024
Pincer Consortium "Geminus Schism" Album Review
Continuing with the earth shattering Dual Shock Termination this is the shortest track on the album but makes for a really interesting listen the melodics combined with the relentless riffing give this an extremely varied soundscape ,we're treated to a more progessive and technical output throughout this also, the further you get into this album the more mind bending it becomes with the progressive elements getting pushed to another spectrum with Tandemic Dispersal,this is another one that keeps building and introducing different elements the further the song elapses,the lead guitar work throughout this shows how far into the stratosphere this coincept can go leaving nothing left untouched,a little after the half way mark of the track the speed of guitars,vocals get's progressively faster taking everything to an unfathomable plateau of consciousness.
Getting to the penultimate atges of this opus with the absolute mindfuck that is Spectral Dyad it becomes apartment that this dual entitiy/presence has gone beyond the pale of sanity/existence and into some other alternate afterworld/universe asking the question has the entity become one being created through the dual entities,the relentelessness throughout this at time feels suffocatingly heavy while also going even further into progressive passages,especially the part with the orchestral keys, now to the concluding part of this phenomenal opus with the brilliant Bi-Fold Conclusion again this starts out pretty slow with an extemely haunting foreboding bass line pushing a really dark atmopshere to the fore until it gradually builds to a complete explosion of auditory assualt on the senses, the progressiveness goes into levels of mind boggling proportions epicness making you feel that this storied concept may or may not have some sort of conclusion and is left open to what the mind can comprehend.
Monday 2 September 2024
Horrenda "Think On Your Sins" EP Review
Saturday 13 July 2024
Astralnaut "Astralnaut" Album Review
Veterans of the Irish scene Astralnaut took an extended hiatus aorund the later stages of 2014 and alot of folk have been wondering since what had become of the band,well a few line up alterations and dilligently working behind the scenes has resulted in an absolutely stellar release with their self titled debut album Astralnaut,an absolute tour de force of groove heaviness and grit is what we've been treated to,the old saying good things come to those who wait rings true with this offering,let's dissect the finer points of this brilliant album.
The album kicks off in fine style with the launch single Tipping Point with it's slow paced groove that instantly pulls you in and doesn't let go,the gritty vocal delivery almost has a subtle blues element to it hinting at a southern rock vibe, Adrift flows with soaring vocals and a crushing groove that seamlessly blends with the intrciate rhytmns and the background female vocals which adds a fantastic atmosphere to the track, the dark and foreboding sludginess of Plebicide wraps a cloak of melancholy until launching into some some soaring lead guitar work, the building atmosphere on Humanity shows a real pomp and confidence from a band that knows how to deliver some thought provoking lyrics with tasty goroves of heaviness, the spoken word section creates a somewhat dytopian feel to the song yet another element the band explore with brilliant aplomb.
Things get a bit more thought provoking with the brilliant The Veil there's something mysterious about the way the lyrics are delivered and then you add the excellent riffage which have a really fantastic way of grabbing your undivided attention,the sole vocal sections in this is another element that shows the full repotoire of what this band are capable of, White Feather introduces a really epic structure to the overall product,those gritty vocals really go into overdrive creating some truly crushing passages until about half way through the track the pace begins to speed up creating a wall of crushing heaviness that has an almost Sabbath-esque feel to it, did i mention epicness,yes there's plenty of that afoot on the ultra heavy Husk which weaves those trademark vocals with sludgy grooves, another thing not mentioned is the drumming is exemeplary throughout and has some subtle homages to Bill Ward with it's wholt rhytmic and tribal feel,the leads add to the epic output and create a really awe-inspiring feeling to the track.
The darkness becomes even more prevelent on the instrumental The Confederate Pt1 which opens up with some brilliant lead guitar layered on top of some intricate harmonies, returning to the crushing grooves with The Confederate Pt2 once again this delivers a consistent flow of keeping things interesting while maintaining all those trademarks elements we've come accustomed to hearing,closing track Blood Sacrifice flows with a mid paced groove that will leave you wanting even more,this track really shows every element the band have delivered throughout this release and as previously said this band know how to deliver memorable tunes while keeping your attention focused on all their qualities.
Friday 5 July 2024
Partholon "The Ocean Pours In" Album Review
Almost 8 years since the brilliant Cork outfit Partholon released their excellent debut album Follow Me Through Body and although this may slow momentum with the large majority of bands,this is not the case with Partholon and their highly anticipated second album The Ocean Pours In ,the old saying comes to mind good things come to those who wait,confirming what alot of people were expecting we have a bonafide masterpiece to delve into and explore to the deepest depth that our consciousness can fathom.
All the tension begins to release when those first notes kick in on Skin Of The Beast the beautifully crafted harmonies during the intro create a dark atmopshere that wraps onto your consciousness and won't let go,the presence of two alternating vocals gives off a mirroring/echo element that creates some sort of dual entities that have the same thoughts. the tensely built aura of Gathered In Circles is both haunting and full of tautly executed dark melodies,there's the added element within the track that makes you feel like there's a location or place of some massive significance been referenced throughout.
This album gradually builds with each track which leads us into the phenomenal Pillars which introduces us to a crushing rhytmn section layered with intermittent lead sections,there's a part with soaring and passionate vocals that are layered above the music giving a whole new atmosphere to the overall product, the atmopshere created at the start of Light Chambers has a really dreamy element which eventually builds with plenty of twists and turns until about half way through a crushing rhytmn section with layered Lead Guitar sections which pummel with a relentlessness that is awe inspiring and will leave you speechless.
The atmosphere is taken to a level and height beyond the stratosphere with the mind blowing closing track We Swallow The Ocean the simplisticness of less is more is very prevelent at the intro with the slight presence of music with dual vocals layered on top of everything before venturing into very slow heavy sludgy progressions that keep building while seamlessly blending in leads that build to an epic crescendo until it closes out with some distressed sounding voice hidden behind a melancholic piano section which slowly closes out the opus beautifully.
Overall this is a monstrous progession from their debut and leaves an extremely lasting impression, the more listens to this the more new elements you will notice ,the tension and atmosphere within this are at times suffocatingly heavy and the rhytmn sections crushes with a relentlessness that's full of beautifully crafted harmonies and melody, everyhting about this oozes quality of the highest standard making this an absolutely sublime offering which is definitely one of the best releases you're likely to hear this year not just in the Irish Scene but also far reaching.
RATING: 9/10