I have been a bit rubbish when it comes to writing reviews lately. I would offer an excuse for my apparent laziness, but… really… I can’t be arsed. Anyway, I thought I’d ease myself in gently with an EP. EPs are little, right? Thus, this should require less effort than a full length album. At least, that was the plan.
It’s no secret that I’ve been excited about this release for a while (you can try to measure my excitement here and here), so it could be expected that I’d be all over this like Grumpy Cat memes on Facebook. And this is true – but it’s not undeserved. “Ascension to the Throne ov Self” may only be four tracks long, but it’s jolly impressive (and I have been dying to use the word ‘jolly’ in a review). It mixes the symphonic and the brutal terrifically well. It could be described as the sweet and sour of the metal world. It could be, I’m not saying it should be. All I’m trying to say is that Sidious have got the balance just right. Neither aspect is played to the point where it’s over the top or drowns out the other side. Sidious have a split personality and it suits them.
In spite of having their roots firmly planted in sunny ol’ England, there’s a bit of a Polish sound to this EP. Throughout the four tracks I was reminded of bands like Behemoth, Hermh, Abused Majesty and Devilish Impressions. It’s a style of extreme metal that seems to be very popular in that part of the world and now Sidious have proved that the Brits can do it equally as well.
This EP showcases the band’s musical prowess and it gives the listener plenty of opportunities to marvel at the technical abilities brought to Sidious’ table. And, as I mentioned before, Sidious have that split personality. That wonderful, wonderful split personality. The EP is not all about showing off – these guys can pen a decent tune. Yes, folks – they have songs. Proper ones! I like that, I do.
All in all, this is a very good starting point from a band that threatens to have a very promising future. Now… GIVE ME MORE!
You can listen to (and buy) “Ascension to the Throne ov Self” from Bandcamp.
Rating: 93%
You may remember that a few months ago I got rather excited about a relatively new Blackened Death Metal band called Sidious. Well, now it’s time to get REALLY excited, because their EP is now available to order!
A trailer for the album can be viewed below:
You can grab the EP from the Katoxin Bandcamp page – just click here! Alternatively, you can stream and buy this little beauty by utilising the sexy widget below. The EP is available either as a CD or a download – plus you can get a CD and t-shirt combo deal. What more could you ask for? Oh yeah, you also get an immediate download with your CD too. Wicked!
Ok, so this is the final freebie for this week (our other freebies for this week are Ethernal, Tvangeste and Thorngoth), so I hope you’ve all got your clicking fingers poised – this is another good’un!
In case you’re not familiar with the concept of “Freebie of the Week”, here’s a brief explanation… Each week I go on a little hunt through the vast wastelands of the Internet in search of FREE and LEGAL downloads. So, all of the downloads featured here will be obtainable through trustworthy means… and they’ll be guilt-free. For example, I will only ever feature music available from official band websites, profiles (such as MySpace, Reverbnation or Facebook) and Last.fm (or equivalent).
Into the Nethermost have put up their entire entire “Once Upon the Graveyard” album for free download (or “name your price”). Grab it by using the widget below:
Info:
INTO THE NETHERMOST is an attempt to escape from the abyssal tedium vitae of existence and explore the profoundest recesses of human nature through metal music in its varied forms, by mixing death, black metal and acoustic passages.
INTO THE NETHERMOST is the logical transmutation of the now extinct Dark Awake (1998-2009) taken to a profounder level of musical expression.
Former Dark Awake members Enryk, Scar and Nosfear decided to continue in their personal search for a release from tedium vitae through art.
The line-up would be eventually completed with Edgäar as second axeman Seiors as throatman.From the depths… beware of what lies in the NETHERMOST
Ars Longa, Vita Brevis
INTO THE NETHERMOST 2012
Line-Up:
Enryk (Enryk Hidalgo) – Severe Strings
Scar (Òscar Ros) – Graven Depths & Deviant Apothegms
Nosfear (Ramón Clarà) – Sanguine Snares & Hammers
Edgäar (Edgar Valle) – Hellmouthed Chords
Seiors – Mischievous Throats
Links:
facebook.com/IntotheNethermost
intothenethermost.bandcamp.com
I first spotted this album towards the tailend of 2012, when its incredibly eye-catching orange artwork jumped out at me from the CD Baby website. Due to the fact that I rarely have any money, I wasn’t able to pick up the album straight away, but I mentally filed it in my “To Buy” folder (it used to be a mere list, now it’s a folder… a big, huge, overgrown folder). Fast forward a couple months and I happened to notice that the album was sitting in my Haulix account, just waiting for me to give it a go. So I did.
“Towards the Baphomet’s Throne” is pretty much a straight forward Black Metal album with Death Metal touches. Fiends at Feast seem to wear their influences on their collective sleeve and throughout the album I’m reminded of Black Metal greats such as Marduk, Taake, Carpathian Forest and Dissection. These influences are not over the top, but you can clearly hear where these guys are coming from. It’s a path well-travelled, but it produces fantastic results. That’s not to say that Fiends at Feast are just going through the motions – Nope, these guys know what they’re doing and they certainly bring their own stuff to the table.
Fiends at Feast have successfully created a tremendously harsh and frozen atmosphere on this album, which is completely at odds with the band’s Californian location. It’s an unforgiving listen that demands your full and undivided attention. The tracks are very well written and suck you in from start to finish. I think it’s the combination of full blown evil, combined with insane tremelo picking and a hearty dose of catchy riffage that makes this album so damn addictive. I’m seriously beginning to think that “Towards the Baphomet’s Throne” is the Black Metal equivalent of a tube of Pringles – once you pop, you really can’t stop. This is the reason why Satan will need to go to rehab.
Although the whole album is worth a listen, there are some tracks that stand out more than others. At the moment, my current favourite has to be “Hedonistic Heresy”. Not only does it have those addictive qualities that I mentioned in the previous paragraph, but it is also home to an amazing guitar solo. It’s definitely one of those ‘jaw to the floor’ kinda moments.
At the beginning of this review I told you that I grabbed this little beastie from my Haulix account. After listening to it numerous times, I’m pleased to say that I fully plan on tracking down a physical copy and adding it to my collection. Damn good stuff.
You can listen to the album via the Bandcamp widget below – if you like it, buy it!
Rating: 88%
facebook.com/FiendsAtFeast
fiendsatfeast.bandcamp.com
twitter.com/FiendsAtFeast
In case you’re not familiar with the concept of “Freebie of the Week”, here’s a brief explanation… Each week I go on a little hunt through the vast wastelands of the Internet in search of FREE and LEGAL downloads. So, all of the downloads featured here will be obtainable through trustworthy means… and they’ll be guilt-free. For example, I will only ever feature music available from official band websites, profiles (such as MySpace, Reverbnation or Facebook) and Last.fm (or equivalent).
And here’s our FOURTH freebie for today… ESOTERIC BURIAL!
I spotted this tasty slice of Blackened Death Metal on Facebook a few days ago, so I thought I’d share it with you. To grab the track (called “Stygian Evermore”) either click here to visit the band’s website (where you can also stream it) or click here to download it directly.
Info:
Conceived in August of 2010 and formed in February of 2011, Esoteric Burial provides listeners with alternate and more realistic view of society and the human experience overall.
Members:
Vocals-Allen Wilson
Guitars-Liam Payne
Bass-Tom King
Drums-Ethan French
