Caskets Open - To Serve the Collapse (2014)

Oh, Sensuela!!:

Finland is no stranger to doom metal. From Reverend Bizarre, Spiritus Mortis to Fall of the Idols and The Wandering Midget, Santa's homeland has produced many a great act to please all the dirge worshippers around the world

and continues to do so by unleashing pissed off undead corpses To Serve the Collapse onto humankind this time around. That's right, the sophomore full-length offering by up and coming Finnish punk-doom metallers contains hour-long filthy and brooding invocation of the undead. 

Caskets Open have already established a quite intriguing sound with their debut But You Rule by fusing the crushing, slow traditional doom tempos of Reverend Bizarre and the punk/thrash/doom sensibilities of Carnivore and early Type O Negative. This time they have returned with the aforementioned dynamics only with more rage and a more grinding heavier production. They've also re-recorded a few tracks from two of their recent demos.

The bass-heavy lurches and despondent lead guitar melodies of "Phantom Wood" marks the beginning of the end. It ultimately leads to almost sludgy territories when Timo Ketola aka Horror employs his raspy hardcore/thrash oriented shrieks during the outro chorus, "Sleep till death...Sleep till death." "Subwoman" (re-recorded from In the End demo) is based on Teuvo Tulio's cult classic Sensuela which is regarded as a cheesy, ridiculous over-the-top semi-softcore flick nowadays. Horror gradually tells Laila Walk's ill-fated story with this crushing piece as its rifftastic nature, rock-steady drumming and catchy hooks unfold only to boggle your mind further with an orgasmic solo. 

"Humanist" begins with full-on punk/thrash attack and culminates with doom. "Funeral Home" is free from the punk tendencies in its entirety. It mostly revolves around painfully heavy trad doom riffs, clean bellowing vocals and atmospheric breaks. "Mayhem" sort of acts as a sequel to aforementioned "Humanist". It basically reverts the opening and closing rhythm of its predecessor by picking up from the doom outro and closing down with barn-burning punk/thrash. 

"The Law" is again a fantastic riff-orgy and features a cool Iommic vibrato which

also reminds me of a similar bending rhythm from the outro of Blood Farmers' "Orgy of the Rats". "Hetero" offers more mid-paced doom crunch before collapsing into the gloomy dirges of "I don't Mind" which is one of the earliest songs composed by the band for their very first demo. While this retake lacks the raw punch of the demo version it successfully makes up for that by becoming more cathartic and coma inducing.

To Serve the Collapse is a solid record that borders on greatness. I think it's not too far when Caskets Open will reach their full potential and produce something truly overpowering. Maybe they will achieve it with their next offering. I'd be looking forward to that.

Rating - ★★★★

Inconcessus Lux Lucis - Crux Lupus Corona EP (2014)

NWOTBM = New Wave of Twisted Black Metal:

This emergence of freaky and twisted black metal is quite engaging to me. Be it Urfaust's drunken rituals, Negative Plane's black magic with a tasty surf rock

undertone or Head of the Demon's Sabbath meets Darkthrone approach all of these guys are pretty damn unique in their own ways. Now comes Inconcessus Lux Lucis! Huh! Inconcessus Lux Lucis is Latin for "Prohibited Light". Now the music is not quite dark or gloomy but it's definitely as deranged as the band name. Well, maybe Whorethorn seemed a bit too naive for this kind of sound!

Crux Lupus Corona is the after effect of the maniacal disorder caused by its full-length predecessor Disintegration: Psalms of Veneration for the Nefarious Elite which was released back in April. The EP is named after the containing individual tracks respectively apart from the intro "Via Dolorosa" which initiates this aberrant ceremony with an atmospheric and anthemic tone with piper like lead guitar melodies dominating over jangling grooves and poignant harmonized vocals. The strongest aspect of this duo is they know how to write killer hooks and classy rhythm. Constant Interplay between black and thrashy shifts with more rock-out and punk sections, texturally varied harmonics, swirling grooves and even a bit psychedelic flirting they utilize all these styles to create their own brand of oddball black metal.

Imagine Hail Spirit Noir jamming with Venom and Motorhead with a schizophrenic twin of Nocturno Culto on vocals. That's how bizarre and ridiculously dope they managed to sound with "Corona". Just make sure you have a bottle of Corona to accompany you when you howl-along,

"O hollow temptress, I call to thee - Fuck me! 

Come, join the slow dance, with maggots, shit and entropy!"

The crunchy headbangable riffs are appeasing to traditional metal, hardcore punk and thrash fans alike yet raw enough to please die-hard black metal fans. So, if you're a fan of good quality heavy metal in general, be it Motorhead or Celtic Frost and open for bands with quirky approaches then Inconcessus Lux Lucis might rock your socks off.

Rating - ★★★★

Primordial - Where Greater Men Have Fallen (2014)

Psalms for the exiled:

The Irish heathen metallers have received much acclaim and gained quite a following over the past few years since their highly praised masterwork To the Nameless Dead. Their eighth full-length Where Greater Men Have Fallen continues the trademark gloomy yet fierce, melancholic yet aggressive sound

which they have founded with their sophomore effort A Journey's End and perfected with each release since then.

While me and some of the other fans of the band alike believe that they have peaked with To the Nameless Dead, Primordial still delivered a quite solid successor in the form of Redemption at the Puritan's Hand. Now the question is how long can they remain viable? That I don't know but they are still quite flawless and interesting with this record, at least to my ears. 

Although the title track which is also the opener bears the hallmark of the openers of their previous two records in the manner of standard verse-chorus-verse form it isn't as varied and majestic as "Empire Falls" or "No Grave Deep Enough". So, it ends up being a bit monotonous. "Babel's Tower" almost channels the opening riff of Mayhem's "Freezing Moon" by slowing it down to a more doomy pace and it sounds quite awesome. The riffing halfway through gets even heavier and doomier and then you're in for a folky interlude and a breathtaking solo which features some great heartfelt shredding. "The Seed of Tyrants" is pure savagery as it recalls Primordial's absolute black metal moments from Imrama and Storm Before Calm although the vocals of Nemtheanga remains within his latter cleaner territory with some harsh yelling in parts instead of pure black metal screaming.

The tempo becomes slower again with the doomy crawl of "Ghosts of the Charnel House". "The Alchemist's Head" is the utmost standout of this record. The atmospheric arpeggios in the beginning reminds me of the excellent "Bloodied Yet Unbowed" from the previous record although not quite

melancholic in nature instead the verse riff sounds sinister if anything and it maintains this brooding vibe throughout even during the folky bridge section. "Wield Lightning to Split the Sun" ends the album on a high note as it recaptures the epic vibe of Viking/Nordic era Bathory much like the closer of their previous record.

While Where Greater Men Have Fallen is not as remarkable as Spirit the Earth Aflame, The Gathering Wilderness or To the Nameless Dead it's still a quite worthy addition to their glorious, near flawless catalogue and also a big relief for Nemtheanga fanatics who were a bit disappointed by his recent inconsistent outings with Twilight of the Gods and Dread Sovereign.

Rating - ★★★★1/2 (90% on Metal-Archives)


  

Melvins - Hold It In (2014)

Federation of Freaks:

Name a band with a career spanning over three decades that contain about two dozen records, numerous mini-albums and non-stop touring. That's right! Melvins are a rare breed which not only spawned the Seattle and New Orleans scene almost single-handedly but also a benchmark to a generation of experimental heavy acts like Boris, Sunn

O))), Earth, Khanate, Neurosis, Isis, Mastodon, YOB, Eagle Twin and the likes. Hold It In is the latest addition to their ever evolving consistent catalogue.

The duo from Big Business are on a break this time around as King Buzzo and Dale Crover have opted to churn out some freaky jams with two of their other weirdo kins, Paul Leary and Jeff Pinkus from Butthole Surfers. This is not a collaboration between the Melvins and the Surfers instead Paul and Jeff are serving as the full time members of the Melvins with bringing in some of their own ideas as well. 

The opener "Bride of Crankenstein" truly lives up to its name by showcasing some of the trademark massive wall of sludgy riffing. It's just so relentlessly pounding and loud that unaccustomed listeners may end up in a trauma. Oh, the lyrics, they're as wacky as ever - "What was that shit you sold me? We both know you should've told me. It got me spinning 'round the wrong way, It's gonna be a long day!" Just when you're in a mood for more of these sick, loud and freaky soundwaves Melvins troll you by becoming nonchalant and feel-good in the following two tracks "You Can Make Me Wait" and "Brass Cupcake" while the former, written by Paul Leary is a quirky almost surprising take on shoegaze with ethereal psychedelic layers and upbeat rocking melodies and reverb soaked vocals, not to mention the exuberant bluesy solo in the middle. The latter is a bit more conventional laid-back groovy punk rocker. However, the heavy returns with the noise-doom torment of "Barcelonian Horsehoe Pit" and the gigantic stoner lurch of "Onions Make the Milk Taste Bad". "Eyes on You" is a total sing-along freak 'n' roll anthem.

"Sesame Street Meat" is as meaty as its title, full of slow-burning heavy gallops, molten drumming of Crover and infectiously catchy howls of Buzzo. "The Bunk Up" offers more of the Melvins' psyched-out Beefheartian take on Sabbathian metal. They let their much acknowledged KISS influence shine on "Piss Pisstopherson" before the absolute avant-garde climax of "House of Gasoline".

Hold It In is a total package. It offers the iconic sludge of the Melvins as well as their ever-present experimental traits to the maximum. Enough said! Off to worship the King's 'fro. 

Rating - ★★★★1/2 (96% on Metal-Archives)