The most interesting releases of the week!
True Blue was released on Adventure Cat Records. The band’s lush, emotional post metal guitar lines drew me in on first listen. Distorted and slightly out-of-tune guitars that open the first proper track give way to a beautiful and full sound that keeps going for the entire 30-minute run time.
The obvious comparisons here are Cult of Luna with more bite or Pelican with a dreamier atmosphere. And while both of these comparisons would be accurate, Blanket thread the needle to create their own sound. This album stuck with me through a dreary evening after my first listen. It will again soon.
Ok, Kreator. Krushers of the World is the newest album from the thrash legends, released on Nuclear Blast. While I had a fun time with Hate uber alles, it seems that the album was more divisive than the band may have intended. Krushers of the World does a better job stitching together the fury of Kreator‘s earlier masterpieces with the more chorus-centric music found on Gods of Violence and Phantom Antichrist. And given that the past can’t return to us, this is everything I was hoping for from a new Kreator album.
It’s big, it’s fast, it’s formulaic. Kreator does an excellent job coloring within the lines that they helped originally set. The anthemic choruses are absurdly catchy; the solos are fantastic. I would never recommend this as an introduction to the band, but it’ll be a great addition to the discography for anyone who wants to do a deep dive. The first Old Guy Thrash album of this year is a success.
Let Water Flow is the debut release from Moon Wisdom, and the newest album released on Hypnotic Dirge Records. This melodic black metal album has some weird contrasts, most prominent of which is the difference between the vocals and the guitars. The vocals sound muffled. They belong on a second wave worship album. The guitars are pristinely produced, with precise, varied tones that drive the solos and leave a lasting impression. I’m not sure why these two major instruments were approached so differently, but anyways, Moon Wisdom. They made a good album.
The mid-tempo black metal tracks that make up Let Water Flow feature enough nifty tricks to keep the standard genre skeleton standing up tall. The vocals and drums pair well together, with a variety of fills bursting out of sustained howls to create something more interesting than either instrument would have managed on their own. The morose riffs are engaging enough as well. The album as a whole is tightly wound enough to avoid growing stale.
Fire and Blood is the newest EP from the black metal group Viserion, and I almost didn’t listen to it because of Game of Thrones fatigue. I’m glad I did, though, because this band can write solid songs. Their style of black metal comes quite close to the blackened thrash sphere. Biting, mounting repetition creating tension eventually explodes into a fun chorus or guitar solo. You know the drill.
Viserion maintains an edge throughout the EP. Outside of the repeated staccato drills and loud production, Fire and Blood contains plenty of rhythmic throughlines in the drums and guitars to keep the pace moving even when the song enters a slow part. This gives Viserion the ability to rebuild some speed without sacrificing any momentum they’ve gained. Nifty release.
