Pale Divine - Cemetery Earth (2007)

Pale Divine are one of those bands that the phrase "unsung classic" was made for. Having released two albums of glorious psychedelic proto-doom, (with Thunder Perfect Mind remaining a personal favourite) number three Cemetery Earth will no doubt once again be missed by the majority.

All the aspects that make a perfect proto-doom album are present here, heartfelt and well executed. The most important factor here is that it's doomy. It trudges along at a melancholic pace with a booming bottom end and almost tangible fuzz. Sorrowful riffs and mournful leads carry you through on a funeral march of Sabbathian quality. The trademark guitar work of Klein and Diener is out in full force with '(I Alone) The Traveller' serving as the perfect example. Floating in via harmonious distortion it twists and turns through seamless solos, all supported by the gruff tones of Diener. 'Soul Searching' showcases the duo's groovier sensibilities and the typical lengthy title track is Doom 101.

Another Pale Divine album, another slab of doomy perfection. Next time you're about to spin Pentagram's self titled or stick on Holy Mountain for the 1000th time, given Cemetery Earth a try (and track down Thunder Perfect Mind while you're at it).

8/10

Witchcraft - The Alchemist (2007)

Dust off those flairs, polish your lava lamp and shove your Wolfmother up your arse because Witchcraft hath returned with another slice of Pentagram worshipping 70s nostalgia. Skirting the borders between stoner and doom The Alchemist channels the aural essence of decades past through a sonic time warp.

It's an analogue masterpiece that's oozing with old school flair, Witchcraft once again managing to bring the crisp grain of vinyl to the digital masses. Subtle distortion meets jangly clean strumming, supported by groove soaked workhorse drumming and lively bass that dances between root notes like a court jester. The re-recorded 'If Crimson Was Your Colour' (previously seeing release on a limited vinyl) even adds authentic Moog to the mix.

The tracks themselves are some of the bands strongest to date. Never afraid to flaunt their influences, 'Hey Doctor' invokes the very spirit of Sabbath, driven by crunching riffs, vintage solo and Ward style drum breakdowns. Magnus Pelander's voice has never sounded stronger either, accented by some subtle vocal harmonies. Album highlight 'Samaritan Burden' is a grooving cacophony of funked up drumming and proggy leads. It simmers and flows to an expectedly climactic end, only to ebb away into Jethro Tull style folksy noodlings. 'Remembered' is really the only "duff" track, that whilst not bad in its own right just doesn't fit the flow of the rest of the album. It opens with a 60s styles bouncy intro and closes with a King Crimson-esque style saxophone solo. It has more of an air of "bonus track" to it, and serves as a slight interruption before the lengthy epic title track. The only other problem is the length as at just over 40 minutes you'll find yourself repeating the album to sate your appetite.

As it stands, anybody spurting the old "they don't make music like they used to" really has no excuse. This is 70s heaven.

8/10

V:28 - VioLution (2007)

Energy signals pulse discordantly via my virus-infected synapses; meager thought-bytes of stored memories downloading to safety. The biotechnic body at my command, this relic of the living past, is failing, as all organics must. Electronic rapture calls, subtle currents swelling beneath my consciousness, and I can no longer deny it. Experiences, my existence, siphon into the data stream amongst the dead stars. I no longer see them, can no longer separate the life I thought I lived from the immensity of the universe. My mind screams as it washes away into the collective, and the digital sound wave is processed by the void and logged away for our analysis. All who have come to us have despaired at us, the manifestation of God. And all shall despair, all shall weep and grovel in their fleshly weakness as their data is assimilated. There is no room for life on these barren planets - the time of the organic is past. Now begins a new millennia of sterility, of static perfection and holy industry.

8/10

Baroness - Red Album (2007)

Despite a relatively meager output of two EPs and a split release Baroness have already built themselves a formidable reputation in sludge circles and across the metal spectrum in general. It's no surprise therefore that their debut full length has become one of the most anticipated releases of the year. With First and Second setting such high expectations for the band the Red Album has some pretty big shoes to fill.

To get it out of the way, the Mastodon comparisons are unavoidable; the Southern-tinged progressive sludge genre isn't exactly flooded. First and Second managed to seamlessly blend the rawking sludge aggression of Remission with the proggier sensibilities of Leviathan whilst still retaining a unique flair. Interestingly enough Red Album appears to have followed Blood Mountain in so much as Baroness have cleaned themselves up and gone a bit more Rush and a little less EyeHateGod.

The trademark interwoven melodies and pissed off lumberjack vocals are still all there, but it's with less crunch and more widdle. Opener 'Rays On Pinion' is a much more subdued affair than either 'Tower Falls' or 'Red Sky' with slow building tribal-like tom work and clean leads that flutter about like moths to a flame. Even when it kicks in the expected aggression is eschewed for a more focused drive. The album as a whole feels more streamlined, the band have matured and honed their sound with each passage flowing smoothly to the next with military precision. Each note feels meticulously crafted but not forced. They've taken the Mastodon style southern licks from songs like 'Megalodon' and 'Crusher Destroyer' and extrapolated them , carrying them through to a conclusion in 'The Birthing'. The instrumental piece 'Cockroach En Fleur' is evocative of Tony Furtado's trademark slide piece 'Cypress Grove' and closing track (excluding the hidden one) 'Grad' comes across like an up tempo Earth circa Hex.... Even Welch's gruff vocals now soar over the top with subtle melody, rather than barking from beneath.

Baroness have clearly hit their stride and Red Album is the triumphant culmination of their efforts to date and an impressive excerise in diversity. It takes a few listens to readjust and let it all sink in and the maturation of the sound may loose a few fans among those who were longing for a sludgier full length. However, this release sees them stepping out of Mastodon's shadow with their own unique take on the genre.

8/10

La Division Mentale - L'Extase Des Fous (2007)

With Deathspell Omega, Peste Noire and Blut Aus Nord all dropping full lengths, 2007 is quickly become the year for French black metal. Not content to let their more well known comrades hold all the limelight, we now have La Division Mentale adding L'Extase Des Fous to the fray. Loathe as I am to drop into journalistic simile mode, there really is no better method by which to describe this album. Imagine if you will, Sigh and Aborym collaborating on a Dødheimsgard covers album. Not only this, but they've decided to record it in a mental institute, with demonically possessed French children as a backing choir and Satan's Gameboy as a drum machine.

With intro, outro and inbetween utilizing the "sonic warfare" approach akin to Gallows Gallery, you may be asking yourself "Can I play with Madness?" The answer of course is no, because he'll strap you to a table made of dried feces, masturbate into your ear canal and pour fire ants in your urethra. This is off the deep end, utterly disturbing industrial black metal. You have been warned.

From the moment 'La Gale de Mon Passe' spews forth you're aurally assaulted with a sonic tidal wave of distorted guitars, demonic, barking vocals and a relentless drum barrage. Before there's time to recover in slips one of few recognizably orthodox riffs on the entire album and then we're off to lala land again. A tumultuous tornado of dischordant riffage carries 'Satan Inside', backed by an eery Mario coin capture sound, where the coins in question could be Mannoroth's testicles. Celestial dispersions of clean male, female and childlike vocals in native French drift through the album, like spirits of the dead trapped within the compositions. In essence, L'Extase Des Fous is the aural equivalent of Slakemoth effluence. A nightmarish cachophony of bleak industrial soundscapes, dragged towards a hellish maw by the hellicoid distortion of guitars stringed with demon sinew.

10/10

Must Missa - Martyr Of Wrath (2007)

Given that Deströyer 666 are still going strong you'd think that the rest of the thrashing black masses would have given up and gone home. Estonia's Must Missa seem to think otherwise, with album number four of blackened thrash madness Martyr Of Wrath.

It's a thundering 35 minutes of chunky, chugging thrash. Like the soundtrack to a pissed up metalhead's wet dream, Must Missa seem to have found the perfect mix of traditional Darkthrone and trademark Tankard. 'Devil's Rejects' is a 'Too Old Too Cold' style riff spiral of poser lambasting while 'Here To Destroy' and 'Thristy And Mad' lay down a homage to hops and destruction. But, like a Die Hard movie without dialogue it remains entertaining yet hollow. With a riff palette barely as broad as Bush's vocabulary, only the thrashing faithful and mildly inebriated are likely to see it through a full spin.

Still, it's an album true to its roots that'll get you in the mood for crushing cans on your head and pissing in a wardrobe. Like McDonalds with the shits, it'll fill a hole but leave you feeling empty afterwards.

5/10

Conelrad - Function Creep (2007)

I stumbled across this album on SomethingAwful's GBS forum, and wow, was I in for a treat. This is essentially a bit of Boards of Canada worship, although the artist named quite a few inspirations along with BoC (Aphex Twin's ambient works, Squarepusher, My Bloody Valentine, Muse and others) the one that comes through the most to me is BoC, along with a hint of the Squarepusher and Aphex Twin. Conelrad's vocals are varied, but generally are in the vein of distorted, almost angelic crooning with unintelligible lyrics.

Let me say this now, if you don't like Boards of Canada's style of melancholic idm with the occasional shoegazey wall of sound (this comes through heavily on the track Target City) then don't even bother. The influences aren't subtle here, but he's taken the sound of the bands he loves and made a wonderful little album that can totally stand up on its own. The best part about this album? It's free.

8/10

Click here to download a copy of the album in .rar form
FLAC version