Snowblind "Shapes In The Trees" EP Review

 

    Over a decade ago a potentially sublime band would come to fruition,this very band is the brilliant Progressive Metal trio Snowblind their early sound was a mix of Thrash Metal in the vein of Megadeth with subtle progreesive leanings in the mould of Rush,these two influences still hold true to this day but their sound has become more expansive and musically they've matured one thousand fold, although their last release was a really long nine years ago,they would still play live pretty regularly including at the renowned Bloodstock Festival in the UK, it will all become apparent why they took so long to bring out the absolutely phenomenal new EP Shapes In The Trees.

  Kicking it off with the infinitely epic title track Shapes In The Trees nothing will prepare you for the absolutely mental time signatures and genre defying gymnastics throughout this, the start sounds similar to something Rush would do then they launch into a really heavy passage that harks back to their early thrash influences,a new element they've introduced which is a huge but welcome curveball is the twin Vocals from Ian McKeon( like a mix of Di'Anno & Geddy Lee) & Sean Boland which sees them switching between really aggressive and soaring vocals to a more Blues/Rock Based Vocal delivery that shows an ode to Thin Lizzy or Budgie,also there's some sort of Psychedelic element to the lyrical and structure of the song which can be best described as like some Hullucinogenic dream were you go between been relaxed and like been lost in some nightmarish dream that you can't escape,the twin vocals help to portray this brilliantly, we treated to some real old school rock tendnecies on Barrow Wight that also have subtle sludge hints similar to mid era Mastodon, there's also plenty of massive homages to Thin Lizzy & Gary Moore with the absolutely killer Guitar work,already two song in you can feel yourself getting lost in the sheer volume of all that is going on,at times it's just so immersive and mind boggling you just need to let it all sink in.

 

   

The blues tinged elements of Burning Red are totally mesmerizing and hint at more old school rock escapades which sound both retro and modern at the same time,everything throughout this oozes quality,the melody and harmonies combined with the sublime drumming of Jake McCarthy drive this in a different territory then the previous tracks,it's almost like some love story gone wrong were you've been through a lot of heartache and  struggle, The shortest and catchiest song on the EP is the brilliant groove laden Primal Spy this has a  real air of confidence and swagger about it with the delivery of the vocals and music, again this one owes an ode to old school rock, closing track Go Forth has a great combo of Traditional Heavy Metal reminiscent of early Iron Maiden,especially with McKeon's vocal delivery,also the guitar harmonies hint at this as well, this gives the overall product a really cool nostalgic vibe while still having plenty of modern elements for your listening pleasure.

 

  

  Despite such a long period between releases Snowblind really have come of age and delivered an absolutely mind blowing masterpiece of epic proportions, anyone who was doubting they'd capture the essence of what they were doing 8/9 years ago will be hugely mistaken this just renders everything they've done before almost obsolete,that's not a condemnation of their earlier work but this release is flawless to me,everytime i listen  to it on i discover something new ,this is definitely a true contender for EP of the year within the Irish Rock & Metal Scene and verifies why Snowblind have always being highly thought of,long may it continue for years to come.

RATING:10/10

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Saint Slaughter "The Secret Speech" Album Review

  Drawing influence form old school Thrash Metal luminaries such as Annihilator,Overkill and Exodus the excellent Dublin Thrashers Saint Slaughter have been unleashing stellar live shows for the best part of a decade,following on from their debut EP Intravenosa the band have made a concise effort to up the standard of songwriting and overall prodcution and the results can be heard on their brilliant debut album The Secret Speech, this is a selection of songs written over their storied decade in existence,let's get into the guts of this brilliant offering.

 

 

  Launching into the superb White Death which is a lethal cacophony of riffs combined with searing vocals layered on a heavy groove laden rhytmn section a great way to open the proceedings that will follow, Led To Treason delivers pummelling drumming with a relentless vocal delivery, the groove points to a homage to Exodus ,the riffing throughout this is executed with razor sharp precision, the pace is upped on the very raw and aggressive Lambs To The Slaughter  the guitars constantly rip with a relentlessness that assaults the senses with face melting heaviness.

 

 

 Things start to get even heavier on Inglorious this flows along seamlessly combining heavy riffing with a plenty of killer drumming that gradually builds the tempo with maximum effect and precision,the lead in this is absolutely divine and vocally this really packs a punch, Guitarist Jeff Hernandez takes over vocal duties on the sublime Resist The System  this has a real confident air about the way it flows with relentless groove and an absolute insane volume of riffs, possibly one of the heaviest offering on the album is the brilliant Waltz with The Devil this one is yet another ode to Exodus, at times this hits like a ton of bricks with the bass and drums driving the rhytnm section into really heavy passages, this one also shows the vocal range Eoin Clarke is capable of hitting.

  

  Darkness and a haunting atmopshere prevail on the brilliant Deep In Shadows going by lyrical content this is about Jack The Ripper which adds a slightly scarier theme to the bands overall sound, the mid paced tempo throughout this shows how this band are able to deliver an eeriness which shows that they can mix it up brilliantly, that gorgeous bass intro at the start of Thrasher Crash sets up a mind boggling amount of riffs for the rest of the track,there's also a really fun element running throughout,lyrically i think this is about hanging with your friends ,getting wasted drunk with not a care in the world of the consquences that await the following day,as mentioned this is full on riff gymnastics that will really grab your undivided attention, yet another song about having fun is the relentless We Were Born ,this one is a real old school party thrash Anthem with a chorus that has a proper sing-a-long element about it, cloisng track Ride Like Hell is absolutely rifftastic and yet again has a really catchy and fun element that will have you haedbanging from start to finish,possibly the best way to close out this really excellent album.

 

 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

   

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Lock Horns "Red Room" Album Review

  Six years on from their excellent debut album Molon Labe Progressive Metal Force Lock Horns finally unleashed their highly anticipated second album Red Room,this is a monstrous step up form the much loved debut offering ,this is full of mind bending unpredictable brilliance that will leave you speechless.

 The absolute cacophony of mindfucks commences with the brilliant The Origin Of Evil Impulses not confined to one specific genre you can hear industrial elements layered with Progressive undertones,the seamless progessive between clean and abrasive vocals adds plenty of depth and feeling to this track, mixed with aggressive vocals and punchy rhytmns Rust packs an absolutely devastating punch leaving you even more disorientated , the madness continues to evolve with the mind blowing Skin and Bones, the punishing brutality within this track is at times mind blowing,you can literally feel the anger and lack of control through the vocal delivery.

 The relentless power and speed of Lab Rat takes the mind boggling consequences to even more disturbing levels, lyrically and musicially this sounds like some gone wrong botched experiment were control and the lack thereof seem to have a sense of duality through manipulation and coerciveness, we're treated to some absolutely soaring interludes with the phenomenal Impressions Of a Dream the groove and time signatures are something to behold on this and the soaring vocal deliveries give a whole new dimension to the overall them within the album,there is a beauty invloved to all the lack of control and it's executed magnificiently by the band.

 The rip roaring relentlessness of The Golden Mean delivers a short sharp shock to the sense leaving a trail of destruction in it's wake,this one is full of progressive riff gymnastics,the drumming is executed with razor sharp precision and the deranged vocals leave the perfect desired effect, closing track Expressions Of Madness is full of slow heavy grooves that leave a sense of unnerving insanity and a dread that's ready to crush the senses into oblivion.

  Lock Horns leave no cross unturned on this absolutely mind blowing release.although short in length Red Room ticks all the right boxes ,the whole theme of control and the lack thereof really hits home with devastating consequences,for all the superlatives alot of people have been saying about this the anticipation and hype is 100% real,this is a modern masterpiece and a definite contender for Album of The Year.

  RATING: 9.5/10

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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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Words That Burn "Cut Throat Culture" Album Review

 

   Recently i made a post on Facebook about specific types of bands i would've been extremely reluctant to listen to,growing up in an era were Thrash,Death and Black Metal were the undisputed kings for me,for want of a better word and been somewhat of an edgy jerk in my youth with regard to what i listen to(if it ain't fast or brutal enough forget it),ever since i've started doing my weekly segment on Metal Messiah Radio about two years ago i've discovered numerous bands from array of different genres and one in particular has really changed my opinion of some of the modern acts delivering some absolutely quality tunes and that is the ridiculously brilliant Words That Burn,with the release of their third full length album Cut Throat Culture the band have honed and crafted a really spectacular opus.

   

   

Straight from the gates the band launch into the absolutely brilliant Den Of Lions like a pheonix rising from the ashes and unleash a barage of emotions combined with metaculously crafted riffs with electro pop sensibility, Sunshine hits with unrelenting aggression,the switching between harsh and clean vocal delivery gives the track an underlying dark atmosphere, possibly my favourtie track on the album is the sublime Play God which hints at the topic of maipulative relationships,the aggression throughout this adds a really emotional element ,there's also a brilliant anthemic feel to the track.

   We're treated to the upbeat nuances of the excellent Sirens ,there's a nice rock element to this track,the vocals have a great anthemic feeling to them, this one really grabs your full undivided attention with the groovy hooks and the continous switching between aggressive and anthemic vocals, the anthemic atmosphere continues with the fantastic The Cavalry Ain't Coming the fills in between the chorus are nothing short of relentless combined with those heartfelt emotional vocals, You're On Your Own really pounds home the underlying  mental health issues throughout the album and how horrible society can be, the atmosphere gets that little more darker on the hauntingly eerie Fire At Will this is possibly the heaviest track on the album and delivers a combination of absolutely devastating and emotional vocals.

   Things begin to delve that little bit darker with To Night the feeling of dread is really prevelant which is pushed to the fore with the haunting atmosphere there's also a bit of pop sensibility to add a different feeling to proceedings, Thicker Skin has a really nice keys intro before it launches into killer groove laden hooks,there's almost a ballad type approach to this albeit with brief aggressive vocals, you also get the full repotoire of what the bands vocalist is capable of, closing track Michael delivers some killer riffs combined with a really dark atmosphere created by the keys/electronic elements,once again the vocal delivery is truly breathtaking switching effortlessly between harsh and clean vocals.

  Overall Cut Throat Culture shows a band not only progressing from previous releases but showing a confidence and maturity that's going to push them to another level of brilliance,we treated to plenty of memorable anthemic type songs,one of the main elements that won me over with this band is the ease with which they can switch between full on aggression and soaring and passionate vocal delivery, if you're sitting on the fence(like i once was) about this band do yourself a favour and listen to this album,you will find something that you enjoy about.

RATING: 9/10

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