The Trials of September 1, 2017

Note: We live in chaotic times and for some if not most, the work seems never-ending! The Klown knows this and so does his exasperated sister. So as the Dropkick Murphys have sung before in the “Workers Song.” “This one’s for the workers who toil night and day, by hand and by brain to earn your pay.” Happy Labor Day for you all, now on to the tune you can listen to so you can chillax to.

Honorable Mention:

Lemmy Gives Us One More Gem from Metal Valhalla

The Klown normally doesn’t do compilation albums unless something stands out. In fact, prior to this one, the only other compilation album the Klown did was Soilwork’s Death Resonance last year. Anyway, the name Lemmy Kilmister needs no further intro and the same can be said of his pioneering and iconic band, Motorhead.

Even though Lemmy took GWAR’s “Fuck This Place” to a whole literal level and joined Dave “Oderus Urungus” Brockie in metal Valhalla, the iconic frontman/bassist comes back with one more gift from the metal gods. Silver Lining Records have released Motorhead’s Under Cover compilation album which, if you haven’t caught on by now, is an array of cover songs done by this legendary band.

If you’ve ever wondered or never heard Motorhead cover Judas Priest’s “Breaking the Law,” the Sex Pistol’s “God Save the Queen,” David Bowie’s “Heroes,” Ozzy Osbourne’s “Hellraiser” or Metallica’s “Whiplash” inquire no further because this album has officially lumped them together to enjoy them all in one place.

St. Lemmy and St. Philthy Send Their Regards!

Speed Metal’s Holy Trinity

 

The Convalescence Release their Hellish Contemporary

The Toledoan sextet known as The Convalescence have returned with a new installment titled This Is Hell through Unique Leader Records. The albums commences rather soft and eccentric with the use of the keys and opens with keyboardist/vox Katie McCrimmon’s vocals which are immediately accompanied by Keith Wampler’s growling vocals. Soon after these two begin, they’re met with combination samples and electronic to their metalcore sounds, this combo returns in “I Won’t Survive.”

The band sticks to deathcore in “No Way Out,” ”Murder Machine” and “There Will Be Blood” just to name a few. The Convalescence would also venture a bit further and showcase a bit more and become borderline DJent with “This Is Hell” and “With No Hope.” The Klown definitely took a liking to “Alone” and begins with powerful drumming and a great opening riff that hooks you in almost instantly. This track also contains a medley of keys, riffs and drums with growling vocals. This album was a pleasant surprise considering it was a bit of a sleeper hit by comparison to the other releases. You can check this out and get this album through the labels Bandcamp.

5 out of 6, They’ll Give You Hell

Epica Circulate The Leftover for Hungry Fans

If anything could best describe this contemporary it would be Christmas in September. That’s right Epica fan, the Dutch symphonic sextet has returned nearly a year later with their latest EP The Solace System through Nuclear Blast Records. The album starts with “The Solace System” which does a great job hooking you to this EP with the orchestral overture that the song commences with which is followed by Simone Simons’ powerful operatic voice.

The song is then followed by “Fight Your Demons” and “Architect of Light” which was nearly similar to the previous but contains chorus and some growling vocals by Mark Jansen. Simons also manages to  make the biggest macho cry with her voice through the ballad “Immortal Melancholy.” The album finishes how it began, with “Decoded Poetry” which features more of Jansen’s growling vocals and more of a metal element when he takes over the mic. Isaac Delahaye’s guitar play and solo and Ariën van Weesenbeek’s thundering double kicks shine in this track.

This album was a pleasant surprise considering that this album could have simply been introduced as a “special” edition for The Holographic Principle or could have been used for a follow up album in the future. If you love Epica or symphonic metal definitely an album that the Klown recommends for you and you can get you album here.

5 out of 6, Symphony to Your Ears 

 

Paradise Lost Make Their Mythical Album a Reality

The British Goth metal band and one of the original pioneers of the death-doom subgenre known as Paradise Lost have returned with their 15^th album titled Medusa through Nuclear Blast Records. The album begins with the 8-plus minute track “Fearless Sky” which was rather slow but powerful. The song begins with the sounds of an organ which would then transist into a rather brooding and really features frontman Nick Holmes show off his vocals in many forms from harsh and clean.

The song is then followed by “Gods of Ancients” which features the band go back to their sounds of doom and features artist Steve Crobar as a guest backing vocalist. They really sported their Goth banner with “From the Gallows,””The Longest Winter,” “Medusa” and “Shrines” with the gloomy but melodic sounds as well as the harmonic but dark chorus.  Artist Heather Mackintosh also lends her vocals for “No Passage for the Dead” which would completely revisit the doom-death subgenre the band has been known for with some heavy distorted guitar riff from Aaron Aedy and a sweet solo from Greg Mackintosh.

The album finishes in true Goth fashion with their dark ballad “Symbolic Virtue” which not only made a great closer, it features some keys courtesy of Mackintosh and feature a beautiful chorus and harmony that is sure to win you gents and ladies some brownie points for that alone time with your significant other and is reminiscent to that of the late great Pete Steele’s Type O Negative in terms of composition, sounds and lyrical content. This album was great and was justly hyped, it even had yours truly hooked because it featured everything the band has had to offer since day one. You can totally get your copy here and enjoy my Goths and ghouls because this one was a good one!

6 out of 6, Perseus Couldn’t Slay This One 

*Uh oh! Here comes Jenny Oh to throw in her 2 cents! There goes her life savings…AGAIN*

Septicflesh Cracks Open The ‘Codex’

Did you miss these Greek extreme metallers as much as the J-Ohster did? Well luckily for us the wait is over for Codex Omega which was released via Prosthetic Records (here in ‘Mericuh that is). This 10^th saga was waiting to be unearth and devoured by yours truly…don’t mind if I do *winks awkwardly.*

Septicflesh cracked open this bad boy, with a symphonic intro that they know how to do so great with their first single “Dante’s Inferno.”  Septicflesh crank up the cinematic and haunting sound in “Portrait of a Headless Man.” After stumbing out of the haunted mansion, “The Gospel of Fear” will get you ready for an epic battle where the Arabic flute pops in to guide you before casting a spell on you with “Dark Art.” In “Dark Art” rhythm guitarist/co-vocalist Sotiris Vayenas’s clean vocals work their magic in these gothic horror stories.

Not feeling the cinematic part too much? Well “Martyr” and “Enemy of Truth” tones down that element a little bit keeping the dramatic overtones with a rougher sound Septicflesh is ALSO known. What can’t these guys do, amirite? “Faceless Queen,” and “Our Church, Below The Sea”  has Vayenas’s clean and anguished voice beautifully dance around bassist/co-vocalist Spiro “Seth Siro Anton” Antoniou’s growl giving you the other side of the coin like a melodic Jekyll and Hyde.

This Codex balances the orchestral sound Septicflesh has mastered with their rougher side as opposed to their previous albums (Check out Communion for a symphonic masterpiece). Both of these delectable flavors will make you want to indulge harder and for those who are not familiar with these guys, this album will feel like the right balance for you. Snag THE Codex Omega here and dive head first into this new saga.

6 Out 6, Alpha *Sips on blood of enemies, puts on monocle*

The Trials of June 16

Igorrr Brings Back the Weirdness With His Latest

The man known as Gautier Serre has returned with one of his well known projects Igorrr. The newest installment Savage Sinusoid has been released through Metal Blade Records. If you are familiar with the man, then you are in for a treat. If you aren’t, allow the Klown to tell you that Child Bite makes more sense. The album starts off with the very experimental “Viande” which sounded like DJent on acid with repetitive, remixed screaming vocals.

The following song “ieuD” starts off with some harpsichord with Serre’s deep baritone vocals sounding like sniveling cries of pain which are then accompanied by some female soprano operatic vocals and mixed with some dubstep after the breakdown. “Houmous” starts the song with some accordion mixed with some electronic and clarinet which sounded like an erratic remix of a Russkaja song and finishes the song with a brief 8-bit version of the song. “Opus Brain” starts off with more of a house style EDM and features some more female operatic vocals before transitioning to brooding and remixed black metal elements and harsh vocals.

“Spaghetti Forever” begins with some acoustic guitar before the breakdown unleashing some dubstep with female chorus line, classical strings, double bass drum pedaling and screaming vocals. “Cheval” will take you to a demented version of Paris because it takes the sounds we associate with Paris and puts them in a mix and adds a bit of metal. The albums caps off with “Au Revoir” which starts and ends rather slow and tender with  the use of the piano, high female operatic vocals and choir. This track also features some symphonic metal and dubstep after the breakdown. If you are high on Electronic Dance Music style or experimental, then the Klown highly recommends this album to you. Lastly, you can check this album out in the man’s bandcamp.

4 out of 6, Drop the acid..LITERALLY! You don’t need it for this album

Mirrored In Secrecy Surprise their Fans with Latest

The former quintet known as Mirrored In Secrecy has returned with a second brand new album titled Solitution independently. The now sole member of the band, David Timsit, presents the diehard and potential fanbase of the Goth metal genre a showcase of his talents. Timsit starts this album with “Bittersweet” which was rather slow which was to be expected due to the fact that it’s supposed to make you feel the feels. The Klown, at one point in time, felt like he was listening to some lost Moonspell song but if Fernando Ribeiro showcased cleaner vocals. The Klown took a real liking to “Song of the Dead,” “Solitution” and “The Kill” aside from really sounding like Moonspell, Timsit featured a one-two vocal combo of clean and aggressive growling vocals.

The Klown also took a liking to “Megrim” and “Autumn Breeze” because it sounded like a young Septicflesh that was instrumentally combined with clean harmonic vocals. The difference between the two is that “Autumn Breeze” sounded more like attempting to do a rough dark ballad. “Ravenpath” was a dark, acoustic song one for the ladies and features Timsit’s clean vocals making things intimate, his voice was like a vampire seducing its victim before it feeds. Former bandmate Julia Kahlert takes over vocal duties for  “At The River” where Timsit briefly adds some of his vocals in the background to create an intimate duet. This was album was pretty good and chill for the most part. This album is strongly recommended for those diehard Goths who indulge in metal and diehard Moonspell, Septicflesh and Swallow The Sun fans. If you want to check out this album you can do so in the MIS’s bandcamp.

6 out of 6, Gothify yoself!

Iced Earth Is Incorruptible

The quintet from Tampa has released their 12 installment Incorruptible through Century Media Records. This album was full of surprise even in pre-production starting with founding member/rhythm guitarist/backing vocalist Jon Schaffer going under the knife after their 2015 tour and the band becoming somewhat inactive, Iced Earth’s long time skinsman Brent Smedley reuniting with the band, lead guitarist Troy Steele leaving the following year and being replaced by current lead guitarist Jake Dreyer. Despite all that, it didn’t stop the band’s determination to put this baby out.

The band starts off strongly with “The Great Heathen Army” and though it was a bit slow at first it set an epic mood before transitioning to their signature epic power metal sounds. For metalheads who love Pirates of the Carribean, good news “Black Flag” will definitely be the song you want to check out! Aside from it being a sung narrative about the piracy, it tells a very bitchin’ perspective on both privateering and piracy but it also paints an epic battle scene of clashing steel, powder kegs blowing, and barrels of rum because it wouldn’t be complete if there wasn’t any rum. For the ladies and gentle men, the group treats you to not one but two power ballads with “Raven Wing” and “The Veil.” “Raven Wing” features a bitchin’ solo from Dreyer and a very manly chorus to accompany frontman Stu Block’s vocals. “The Veil” is much darker and soothing, and the vocalist has hope about rekindling what was lost whereas “Raven Wing” is a standard power ballad.

The band picks up the pace with “Seven Headed Whore” and features Block’s interchanging vocals which switch from clean, harsh and even adds a few falsettos to the chorus. Also worth noting that Smedley made his presence known in this track by really thundering his drum like a thunder god! The band also features the bromantic song titled “Brothers” which feature several wailing solos from Dreyer. The band closes this album by revisiting the US Civil War with “Clear The Way (December 13^th , 1862)” retelling the Battle of Fredericksburg and the horrors and romanticism of war from a first person perspective. This was a great comeback for this metal giant. Lastly you can get your hands on this album here.

6 out of 6, What a comeback!

Carach Angren Latest Will Send Shivers Down Your Spine

The Dutch black metal trio known as Carach Angren has released their latest, spine tingling album Dance and Laugh Amongst the Rotten through Season of Mist. The current masters of terror start this album with a melancholic piano intro to set the mood and acts as a catalyst for the infamous “Charlie” song. If you haven’t indulged in it, the Klown recommends that you do because “Charlie” is about an evil imaginary friend attempting to kill the protagonist staying true to the horror aspect. The song also features the signature screeching violin sounds used in scary movie and the rest of the band as a ghastly chorus.

“Blood Queen,” which happened to be the album’s first hit and a love letter to history’s most notorious blood queen Countess Elizabeth Bathory, was not only a bad ass song but also feature some symphonic sounds, piano, feminine whimpering, and ghastly struggling breaths adding some creepiness to the song. “Charles Francis Coghlan” follows right after and happens to be the current hit and pays tribute to the Anglo-Irish playwright/actor that would be the equivalent of Sylvester Stallone minus the action flicks, face paralysis, and huge muscle mass (by modern day standards) who entertained in both the UK and US theaters.

“Song for the Dead” set the tone and really represents the morbid approach of the group and feels as if you’re listening to a funeral song. The rest of the album from “In Da Naam Van De Duivel” finishes the album ridiculously strong and for those who mind orchestra, this track really gives you some pure extreme metal that the group is known for. The Klown could seriously give more deetz on this album but he may as well just talk about the entire album. Seriously, the Klown recommends this album if you fancy yourself a horror fiend and kvlt. Lastly, you could get your ears on this bad boy here.

 6 out of 6, Scary Terry has Found his Album, Bitch!