Bilskirnir - Wotansvolk (2007)

Hot on the heels of the Allied By Heathen Blood split with Hunok and following the Wolfswut EP, NSBM darling(s) Bilskirnir have dropped album number three, Wotansvolk.

Sporting a cleaner but quieter production, this release sees a slightly more melodious and sombre side emerging. Graveland-esque keyboard intro and title track marches us into the uplifting bravado of 'Weltenbrand'. For epic centrepieces 'Reconquering Atlantean Supremacy' and 'Nacht und Nebel', Widar shrieks and wails through the downcast descant, like a sepulchral stream of soothing ambience that flows through the wooded realms of Wotan.

A good solid realease and a bleak album that will serve well as the soundtrack of Autumnal depression.

8/10

Axon - War Anthems (2007)

Axon are Mexican broootal death metal. Emphasis on brutal. And snare. So much snare. This album is completely inaudible. The mix is muddier than a living room in New Orleans and buried under the most obnoxious snare and cymbal battery this side of St Anger. It might only be twenty-one minutes long, but you'll be bored to tears after two.

Occasionally something other than the monotonous drum barrage or vocals aborrecida will permeate the filth such as the bass spazm of the title track or deceptively calming intros to 'The Signal' or 'True Evil'. War Anthems also wins the award for the most ironically appropriate cover with Mortician's 'Hacked Up For BBQ' making an appearance. It still can't save this short, sharp blast of dull, uninspired banality though.

3/10

Dethklok - The Dethalbum (2007)

Kickass cartoon of deathmetal magic? Mediocre metal homage? Or puerile perpetuator of the tired stereotype that all metalheads are borderline retards and at any given moment may choke to death on their own tongue? The jury's out, with it appearing as if majority opinion falls with the former. Either way, Dethklok's album of deathlite cartoon anthems is likely to shift a few units, despite being barely more than 52 minutes of palm muting, Queen leads and lyrics you might find in the fortune cookies of a Chinese restaurant run by Amon Amarth.

Even a casual viewer of the show will be familiar with many of the songs with the appearance of such "hits" as 'Murmaider', 'Birthday Dethday' and 'Awaken'. Now, there are a few catchy riffs dispersed throughout. Granted, they tend to be the only riff in any given song, but catchy is catchy. The rest of it comes across like the worlds longest breakdown. Chug chug chug chug chug chug zzzzzzzzzzzzz. To give a little credit where it's due, 'Go Into The Water' is a little 'Flash Gordon' and 'Castratikon' is slightly evocative of a dumbed down Ancient Existence. 'Hatredcopter' sounds like the only "real" song (having previously seen release on the Saw III soundtrack) with a bit of variety and Mustaine-esque clean vocals thrown in.

There is a temptation to disproportionatly languish Brendon Small with praise for not only creating a successful cartoon but also composing an entire "metal" album (aided by the meaty sticksmanship of Gene Hoglan). However, you really don't need to be a Berklee College of Music graduate to make an album this tedious. Furthermore, anyone familiar with Doc Hammer's (aka Eric Arthur Hammer, co-writer of The Venture Bros) Mors Syphilitica is likely to remain equally unimpressed.

2/10

Austere - Withering Illusions and Desolation (2007)

There is no serenity, only suffering. There is no hope, only death. And there is nothing quite like depressive black metal from Wollongong. 55 minutes of desolate misery, an aural equivalent to anti-Prozac and the unofficial soundtrack to your suicide.

Given that Austere come from a country where the summer temperature can average in excess of 40 degrees (or 100 for you none metricated barbarians) this is an unexpected excerise in arctic dirge. Slow burning and melancholic it's awash with ethereal distortion and mid-paced drums. The production is wispy and distant, and perhaps a little ruff around the edges but is the perfect complement to the smothering atmosphere. Vocally, this album transcends from the depressive to the truly disturbing. It evokes the death whistle of Nazgul(Ita) via the Noktu/Niege/Varg shrieking anguish. Completely unintelligible yet brutally appropriate.

It would serve little purpose to delineate each tracks merits given that the album appears to function as a whole. The template remains nearly identical for each song. However, the album sucks you in and swallows you whole, carrying you from each track to the next on a bed of icy stalagmites.

If you want blast beats, whirlwind riffs and infinite variety seek ye elsewhere. If you feel like slicing off your ears and crying yourself to sleep in a bath of ice shards, delve into Withering Illusions and Desolation.

8/10

Arch Enemy - Rise Of The Tyrant

Few bands BEEP BEEP BEEP (In Flames aside) have managed to polarise the melodeath fanbase quite so much as Arch Enemy. With the unfortunate departure of Liiva and introduction of Angela Gossow, a clear distinction was BEEP BEEP BEEP drawn between the old and the new. While the ternion of Liiva era albums BEEP BEEP BEEP remain fairly untouchable, the same can't be said for the Gossow productions. Wages... may have turned a few heads but the frankly BEEP BEEP BEEP embarassing Anthems... and mildly improved Doomsday Machine did little to convert the Liiva loyal. However, with Christopher Amott back in the band after a short trip to college, Rise Of The Tyrant may not undeservedly be calling for the all too familiar "return to BEEP BEEP BEEP form" marker.

First things first BEEP BEEP BEEP however, the "one long track" accusations aren't entirely unfounded. You can't fault a band for a having a trademark sound. But, when it gives the impression BEEP BEEP BEEP that every song is written in the same key with minor rythmic and scale variations then criticism is warranted. Amott has BEEP BEEP BEEP always had a tone akin to BEEP BEEP BEEP liquid gold flowing down Brian May's fretboard, but that translates to near indistinguishable solos and leads in this instance. Furthermore, when your lead guitarist wrote all his best riffs upwards of ten years ago you're BEEP BEEP BEEP looking at a bit of a crusty creative pallet. But, that being said, it's still a huge improvement on the past two efforts.

Angela's more BEEP BEEP BEEP "organic" vocals are on fine display in the agressive chorus for 'Blood On Our Hands' and the BEEP BEEP BEEP charging thrash-on-crack meets cheesy bombast and soaring leads of 'The Last Enemy' flows gently into the BEEP BEEP BEEP synth n' widdle of 'I Will Live Again'. The pace doesn't let up either, 'In This Shallow Grave' sprints out of the block like a steroid BEEP BEEP BEEP addled Testament and Malcolm McDowell's Caligula parlance is the perfect start to the eponymous title track.

For many, AE have BEEP BEEP BEEP well past peak performance and the holy trinity with never be topped. But, like an athlete BEEP BEEP BEEP leaving retirement for one last stunning performance Rise Of The Tyrant is an admirable effort. Wages Of Sin 2.0? Possibly. BEEP BEEP BEEP

7/10

Alchemist - Tripsis (2007)

Back in the year of our Dark Lord 2003, Austral Alien fired out of the land down under and made a rather impressive impact above the equator. With Relapse pre-orders coming with a free copy of said album, it appears that Alchemist are hoping to build upon this success with follow up Tripsis.

Alchemist really are one of few bands deserving of the 'avante-garde' tag. However, the gosssamer production, tribal drumming, spacey keyboards and ethnic flair have been slowly phased out of the foreground over the years. That isn't to say that this is a straightforward album by any means, but it contains an air of focused aggression and has lost some of the psychedelic edge. It does remain in some places however, take for instance the clean strummed echo that introduces 'Nothing In Time'. Vocally there is also a lack of some of the trademark diversity. Rarely clean, they're almost of Jourgenson-esque quality, sans distortion. It is the riff however, that takes centre stage here. It's openers 'Wrapped In Guilt' and 'Tongues and Knives' that really set the tone for the album whole. Riffs piled upon riffs piled upon subtle, barely audible leads and keyboards, all wrapped in a shroud of rapt complexity. But there's no didgeridoo.

It's still Alchemist. But if you're expecting another Organasm or Spiritech you'll come off a little dissappointed. A great album of extreme metal in its own right, but overshadowed by the superiority of its predecessors.

7/10

Agonhymn - Doom Jazz (2007)

Sadly, this isn't an interpretation of Bitches Brew done in the style of Reverend Bizarre. Instead we have another fairly run of the mill drone-doom album of the "one long track broken into parts" variety. It's not all doom and gloom though; it appears as if half-way through the recording process, aside from "chucking a few shrimps on the barbie", Byrne and Brewer sat down
for a nice bong.

The first quarter of the song/first three parts of the album follow the usual drone template. Sporadic crunching guitar accompanied by drumming thats heavy on the crash and easy on the tempo. Come 'Doom Jazz Part 4' however, and you may be forgiven for thinking that Bongzilla have crept into the album playlist. It still plods along at barely walking pace, but is pulled along by a suffocating groove. '...Part 5' ups the ante again, with clean strumming leading into some altogether more frenetic riffing and '...Part 6' drops us back into Stonerville with the introduction of some Dixie/Muleboy style barbed wire gargling vocalizations. By the closing part however, I'd stopped paying attention and started skinning up.

The minimalist nature of drone-doom makes it a difficult genre to really stand out in. If you were sitting on the fence with regards to this style of music, Doom Jazz isn't going to knock you off. However, the more patient and/or drug riddled among you may glean some enjoyment out of it.

5/10