The Enigma Division "The Enigma Division" Album Review

    

You spend years listening to a plethora of bands,artists, albums,EP's,single and your opinions of them tend to be very polarizing but once every so often a band/album comes along and resonates with you in a way you thought incomprehensible,that such band(album) is the absolutely god tier self titled debut album from Progressive/Tech Noir Metal Trio The Enigma Division, the band features the sublime talents of Conor McGouran (Ex Xerath),on Guitar/Keyboards,Ronan Burns on Bass/Keyboards and Ben Wanders(Ex Xerath, Shardborne & Slave Zero) Drums & Vocals.

   Straight away you get the feeling that you're about to listen to a movie score or soundtrack with the Intro 1977 which builds like some post apocalyptic countdown to an event or a story,it's has the feeling of movies like Terminator or Blade Runner, instantly you're hit with a barage of  groove laden riffs,synths combined with soaring and emotional vocals on the sublime The Escapist the lyrics have the feeling that a person/protagonist is lost in some existential crisis and yearns to escape from this waking nightmare while simultaneously also dreaming of creating some type of surreal paradise, possibly my favourite track on this album the absolutely mind blowing Echoes In The Deep starts out with some echoing beacon giving you the feeling that there's a growing fear of been lost within a place devoid of hope ,we're treated to some fantastic keyboards throughout this track by the legendary Derek Sherinian(Ex Dream Theater,Sons Of Apollo & Planet X) at times it sounds like McGouran has channeled the ghost of Eddie Van Halen and took the musicianship to a whole new level,there's also a section were you get to hear the full capabilities of the vocal range of Wanders,hence why this is a truly mind blowing track, let the time machine take us back to some absolutely fantastic homage to 80's synthwave/progressiveness on  Afterglow this time we treated to the amazing vocals of Richard Thomson(Ex-Xerath) ,there's a really nice pop sensibility about this song it also feels like you're in some 80's TV Programme or Movie.

    Aware that the song may have diffrerent stories and meanings to them if the first part of the album was about been lost in some sort of existential crisis then this part is about becoming aware of things like an understanding of who you are this is pushed to the fore with the excellent The Age Of Discovery there's a noticable change in the atmosphere that has become that bit more darker and the vocals have a little extra aggression in them,there's also a slight element of disdain in the vocals like wanting some more meaningfulness in your life, every element that's already being heard throughout this opus starts to reach it's peak on the sublime Kaleidoscope this gradually builds to a monumental cacophony of emotions combined with razor sharp riffage and epic structures,the synths in the background give off a really dark atmosphere,excuse the pun but it feels like you're travelling through a kaleidoscope of life that's taken you into the unknown, now we taken into a place of tranquility with the beautiful Clarity once again the pop sensibilities are oushed to the fore on this while still maintaining that dark atmosphere,eventually the vocals hit another level near the closing parts of the songs.

  Closing track 1977- Ad Infinitum takes us back to where it all began and brings us through each story we've just heard and takes us on an epic journey like our life was flashing before our eyes you see all the good times,bad times and everything in between but you're totally unaware that you're only a small part of what has happened or is about to happen in this universe, when it's drawing near the end there's an extremely dystopian narrative where we're told about every faucet of life including political doctrines,economic doctrines,beliefs,despotic rulers etc and that we are but a little dot in the universe and looking desperately for  someone or something to saves us from oursleves.

   This is such a modern day masterpiece,when you listen to it you will hear elements of music you've heard in the 80's 90's and even 00's but what you've possibly not heard before is the way the music is arranged, the atmosphere the way it feels like a soundtrack to a movie or life,the way it feels like some sort of existential crisis, the musicianship on this is absolutely mind blowing it's not like people didn't know about them been that damn good,what alot of folk weren't aware of and it seems to be the bands secret weapon is the absolutely earth shifting vocal display of Wanders on this opus, i know it's early in the year but i'm of the opinion that this is going to be a legitimate contender for album of the year,for me this is an absolute game changer and if i'm bing honest even after two months since it was released i get extremely emotional when i'm listening to it as i said it's being a really long time since an album had such a profound effect on me on a personal level

RATING:10/10

 

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5mCudD6p5CnAxnVTFswfJC?si=jSaeD1eATwGTqNgjoLlThg

BANDCAMP: https://theenigmadivision.bandcamp.com/album/the-enigma-division

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@theenigmadivision9119/featured

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

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

Symbiotic Tomorrow "All That's Gone" EP Review

 

  For Almost the last three years Symbiotic Tomorrow have being releasing consistently great music but for some reason it's not reaching/resonating with a larger audience,let this serve as a brief introduction(& appreciation) of them,two of Limericks most talented/proficient musicians play a huge part in what the band have to offer, Alan O' Connell writes and produces all the music and Keith McCoy delivers machine-like percussion/drumming ,most of their releases also feature Italian professional session singer Eric Castaglia, The music blends elements of Death Metal,/Thrash Metal and Progressive Metal delivered with razor sharp precision while packing a lethal punch,lets get into the finer details of the new EP All That's Gone.

   Staright from the off All That's Gone delivers relentless break neck speeds and technically proficient riffing while the vocal delivery is nothing short of unbridled brutality, the mid tempo passages throughout Blood Of The New World ups the ante with regard to the technicality of proceedings while the vocals maintain that trademark relentlessness, there subtle Melodic Death Metal nuances very prevelent on Burn there's a nice mid tempo groove complemented by the aggressive vocals.

 

  Again On Eyes Of Your God the melodic tendencies are pushed to the fore,the drumming is full of intricate fills and rolls whick keep fluctuating from mid tempo to aggressive brutality, Closing track  The Hatred With is a killer mid tempo offering with the technicality pushed even more to the fore,again the vocals are relentlessly aggressive and consistently pack a lethal punch,the drumming is once again delivered with razor sharp precision.

 All That's Gone has a somewhat apocalyptic undertone and offers a fantastic array of everything from Death,Thrash & Progressive Metal,brilliantly executed drumming,aggressive gut punching vocals,tachnicality proficient Guitar work including soaring leads full of passion and  a subtly uplifing element you wouldn't usually associate with the more extreme side of metal, this is a really solid and competent offering that should attract a larger audience.

RATING: 8.5/10

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0kNO7Wh72FDeknlScI3AP2?si=gEAfbhc3QeCxXnJLrXkh0Q

BANDCAMP: https://symbiotictomorrow.bandcamp.com/music

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@SymbioticTomorrow

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100067656368811

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

Scáth Na Déithe "Virulent Providence" Album Review

   Throughout the years of following bands/artists within the Irish Metal scene i've witnessed or encountered some fantastic musicians,one in particular has continously caught my attention with his work in bands such as Nautilus, Dunmharu & his current project Scáth Na Déithe, for me anything Cathal Hughes has been a part of always strikes gold in my opinion,the excellent Virulent Providence is no different, once again as with previous Scáth Na Déithe releases the compostion is bleak and harrowing and gives an account of The Great Hunger of the 1840's being passed down from generation to generation as a stark reminder of the horrors that took place during that period of time.

  Three years on from the absolutely fantastic The Dirge Of Endless Mourning we're once again offered more Irish Folklore but this time it's much more bleak,harrowing and tragic and a hell of a lot more epic, a story divided into two tracks spanning 40 minutes,staright from the off Virulent Providence Pt.1 delivers a barage of blisteringly fast riffs combined with an emotion and atmosphere not present on previous offerings, the relentlessness for the opening six minutes is somewhat over bearing(like it should be) when telling a tale so tragic there's a momentary atmospheric section for about two minutes then gradually builds up to an absolutely epic crescendo before going into some dream like sequence where it feels like some long lost memory until it gets resurrected and the tale still remains.

  The Beat of a Bodhran is heard rumbling in the background at the beginning of the Virulent Providence Pt.2 adds an extrmely foreboding atmosphere to the story, the dirge-like essence is almost like something not far removed from Funeral Doom,it's crawls and meanders miserably while adding a somewhat hypnotic atmosphere like you're been dragged through some nightmarish scenario that's neverending, the vocal delivery is filthy and nasty while maintaining an abundance of emotions,the time changes throughout flow seamlessly between extreme relentlessness to emotional atmospherics while switching between torturous Black Metal shrieks to visceral Death Growls,when it's drawing near it's end you can hear that Bodhran with an acousitic guitar coming to the fore before going back in a dirge-like seqence to carry this tragic tale onto another generation.

  If you're after something bleak,harrowing,full of atmosphere and a tale full of horrific and tragic stories would definitely recommend Virulent Providence, this album is on a whole different level to previous releases and should not be passed up,also this is not any favouritism on my account as i've always being a massive fan of Mr.Hughes work in the past,this release confirms to me that he's like some sort of modern Seanchai(Irish/Gaelic Storyteller/Historian),while still been harrowing and bleak there's also something beautiful about the essences of this release,like memories been brought back to life and shared with those who never knew.

RATING: 9.5/10

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6enbW9NPpdAtxXecZldTv0?si=IsBx0OefTiugCBnySLhPcA

BANDCAMP: https://scathnadeithe.bandcamp.com/music

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@scathnadeithe4378/videos

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

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

Death Feast "Risen From The Tomb" Album Review

   Every so often you're made aware of new bands who like to delve deep into the old school sound from the mid eighties we all know and love,recently thanks to the fine people at Haloran Records for contacting me about doing reviews for bands on the label ,this is when i became aware of Thrash/Death/Black Metal Fiends Death Feast and have had the pleasure of listening to their excellent third full length album Risen From The Tomb let's get into the finer details of this magnificent opus.

  The eerie atmosphere of the intro The Initiation sets a tone not far removed from something from a Hammer Horror movie adding a nice homage to Old Horror movies,this is synonymous with what the band are well known for, as soon as you hear the guitars on Crossing The Fire you know you're about to delve into some evil and nasty old school riffage, this is a real headbanger of a tune and along with the intro sets the tone of what's to follow brilliantly, Banish From Monastery is full of riffs for days combined with lo-fi tones reminiscent of Sarcófago, time for some total Metal worship with the brilliant Commandments Of Metal obviously this is about spreading the word of Metal all across the world,we treated to some elements of Speed Metal throughout this track with subtle reminders to the legendary Venom, all the superlatives i've being describing so far get pushed to another level with the rip roaring majesty of Devoted Assassins were the hounds of hell are unleashed with unrelenting fury.

   Things get that bit more relentless with the hauntingly disturbing Hell Funeral the atmosphere is extrmely foreboding and does a fantastic job maintaining that unnervingly dark homage to horror while also having a very chaotic element to the overall sound, an abundance of mayhem is another prevelant theme running throughout this releases ,this becomes abundantly clear on The Evil Crown, the mayhem evloves into chaotic territory with the excellent title track Risen From The Tomb the lo-fi Guitar tone harks back to the Obsessed By Cruelty era of Sodom and has some extremely evil undertones, as soon as the bell chimes ring loud on Volcano and the Guitars roll along like a funeral procession you know you're about to get some old school mayhem that delivers with raw,evil and chaotic fury, The Blood Pact(Outro) sounds like some french horror movie and leaves a very disturbing finale to porceedings leaving you wanting even more chaos and mayhem.

 Overall Risen From The Tomb is a really enjoyable and worthwhile listen, if you like Hammer Horror, legends of Horror like Cushing,Price,Lee,Ingrid Pitt combined with homages to old school bands like Sodom,Venom,Celtic Frost and Sarcófago this is definitely an album for you,the production while having a very lo-fi approach still has a slight modern fell to it,also the musicianship is second to none,with razor sharp leads,extremely evil sounding vocals and a rawness and primitiveness stepped in the old school traditions of metal.

RATING: 9/10

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/album/7iRdruc2pKJf96sIaXJZnr?si=1AZKjcztSqSCwURwrF5ZSw

BANDCAMP: https://haloranrecords.bandcamp.com/album/hlrn002-death-feast-risen-from-the-tomb

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@haloranrecords

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

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

The Bastards Diesel "A Liminal Release" EP Review

 

  Let this serve as an introduction/commendation of the very interesting solo project The Bastards Diesel,stepped in the nuances of Experimental Sludge/Noise/Doom with a penchant for creating an audio/visual assualt on the senses with the absolutely fantastic debut release A Liminal Release.

  The bass heavy intro on opening track Thoughts Lost In The Ether sets a very bleak and dirge like tone added by the lo-fi miserably scrawled vocals, you can literally feel the nastiness and filthiness with every moving second,the repitive riff running throughout just pounds home the atmosphere, the lo-fi crushing heaviness of That Cold Feeling has subtle hints of Funeral Doom while still maintaining that bleak and nasty atmosphere,there's also the added elements of some fantastic guitar leads permeating in the background and epic drum fills executed with razor sharp precision.

  This is a great start of what's to come from The Bastards Diesel,the atmosphere created throughout paints a picture of Bleak,Nasty and Epic Soundscapes desigend to assualt the senses and leave you coming back for more,in all A Liminal Release is the perfect introduction for what we can expect from The Bastards Diesel in the future.

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/33T2sQtRgTfd3T6raeTB9r?si=_LuxQNbhT1-beg8Aste9KQ

BANDCAMP: https://thebastardsdiesel.bandcamp.com/album/a-liminal-release

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

PxBx "Commissary Or Die" EP Review

   Unbeknownst to the masses there's a plethora of quality Hardcore bands circulating up in the North of Ireland and they're producing some top notch material,just recently a new band of this ilk arose like a pheonix from the ashes in the shape of the Old School NYHC inspired trio PxBx with their excellent debut EP Commissary Or Die.

   Opening track PxBx(Prison Bitch) is an abrasive and sludgy offering with a very dark and foreboding atmosphere, we're treated to some relentless and raw in your face attitude with the short sharp shock of the title track Commissary Or Die time to explore the topic of mental health and the demons involved with it that we deal with on a daily basis with the extremely aggressive Cycle Of Destruction  things get that bit more vitriolic with the stigma and tragicness of substance abuse with gut punching aggresiveness of Meth=Deth, closing track Life(Death Penalty On Standby) slows the pace down a bit and has an element of groove combined with the filthy rawness that's very prevelent throughout this EP,

   despite the shortness of this release it achieves what it set out to do and that's have all the nuances and elements synonymous with Old School NY Hardcore with subtle homages to Black Flag,Leeway and Agnostic Front combined with a really dark and foreboding atmosphere that's all their own,for a debut this is a really ambitious attempt to deliver something that's not only an ode to Old School NY Hardcore but also touches on relevant and modern stigmas associated with life's struggle, keep a close watch on this band i can see plenty of memorable releases in their future.

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2KhcduWH4HK6mlIAyoSMpU?si=IglPE-p6Tb-kqfFSmcVnGA

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@PxBxBC

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

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

Rotlaust "The Dirge" Album Review

    Once in a while something comes out of nowhere and hits you like a tonne of brick or a curveball so to speak and your left utterly gobsmacked and speechless i could add a few more descriptive analogies to describe the absolutely mind blowing album The Dirge from Blackened Death Metal Project Rotlaust, Former Dead Aeon Vocalist Jack Penders is the brainchild behind this monumental project and has enlisted the help of a few old friends to help create possibly one of the best releases within the Irish Metal scene this year.

  Carrion opens up with the sound of thundering drums rumbling in the background before we're hit with a barage of crushing riffs and relentless drumming add to that a groove that continually evolves the track into nefarious tinged vocals which switch between Crushing Growls and tortured shreeks,suddenly there's the brief sound of a sitar which blends in seamlessly with the rest of the music before a soaring lead pushes the atmosphere to another level, Ceaseless continues the trend of combining groove with crushing relentlessness with an added darkness and atmosphere, the vocals begin to develop a much more darker and sinister tone,as the song title suggest the boundaries pushed into a territory that's never ending, The tempo is slowed down slightly with the groove laden heaviness of All But Calcerous while the dual vocals add a more caustic/aggressive atmosphere to proceedings,another addition is the riffs are a lot more melodic on this track, near the end of the track there's a sample of some man speaking about some nightmarish scenario about life and evolution this seamlessly flows into the earth shaking crushingly heavy The Deafening Dawn Chorus which seems to be touching on the topic of depression and the mental restraints that go with it, the further you delve into this album the darker and more sinister it becomes which is further compunded with another eerie sample from the same person about beliefs and how much they enjoy the darkness within life.

  Stain Of The Familiar delves further into mental anguish and societal collapse, the relentlessness begins to reach even higher levels, the musicianship is absolutely mind blowing and soars like a pheonix risen from the ashes, Nascent really pushes a relentless atmosphere and darkness to the fore further compounding the exremely sinister aura persisting throughout this offering,again we hear another sample/spoken dialogue from the same person this time talking about rage and a world full of bleakness and hopelessness, The Dirge combines every element and facet within this opus with a relentless efficiency that most Death Metal Bands would only dream of,about half way through the song we're treated to a dream like sequence which adds a slightly uplifting element to the overall aura before delving back into the malevolent and aggressive scenarios, Nex Internum is a fitting way to close this absolutely magnificient opus combining elements of Black Metal with the trademark crushing groove laden Death Metal ,all executed with ruthless precision and efficiency.

  The Dirge was an absolute curve ball of a release that no one was expecting and to everyones delight it delivered an album with all the hallmarks of a modern masterpiece,this has everything you'd want from an Extreme Metal band,darkness,crushing grooves,the technical proficiency of all the luminaries that create this type of Blackened Death Metal,a relentlessness that evolves to a mind blowing crescendo the further you delve into this opus, furthermore the work, focus and effort put into this deserve to commended with all the aplomb of modern masterpice of artistic genius.

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3cdNp5FWU7T85voDcEjkTb?si=7YK5qkZCRwuAzM2Wuq5uPA

BANDCAMP: https://rotlaust.bandcamp.com/

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

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