The Scrolls of Akhenaten: May 3rd, 2024

May 3, 2024May 5, 2024 / Akhenaten / Leave a comment

Having returned from tour with my band Ratpiss in the United States this past week I encountered a ton of cool bands who definitely deserve mention on this here segment on the Heavy NFLD blog. If any of these band names, album covers, or descriptions entice you then you definitely need to check them out!

Black

Emerging from the depths of Philadelpha to join the ranks of other Philly metalpunk rebels like Zorn and Devil Master, Atomic Cretins are exactly what I want from blackened thrash metal. Their debut EP is both heavy and ripping while maintaining a spooky, vampiric atmosphere, the perfect mixture for this style of extreme music. The riffs are fast and unrelenting, the vocals are absolutely atrocious (complimentary) and the drumming is pulverizing. All of this is combined with devilish guitar solos that conjure comparisons to Sarcofago and early Mayhem, while the occasional synth passage drapes the EP in a morose quality. With a name like Atomic Cretins it’s no surprise that the band sounds as nuclear as they do, with comparisons to Teutonic thrash outfits of old like Sodom and Kreator also being apt. Don’t sleep on this Philly four piece.

Death

Upon my band’s return route to the frozen northern wastes of Canada we made a stop in the city of West Chester, about 45 minutes west of Philadelphia, where we played in a VFW hall called The Moose Lodge. Among the bands that graced this bill was Aroma, who opened up the show. Their brand of slamming goregrind was honestly a lot more interesting than most bands who I’ve heard in this genre. Instead of relying exclusively on slow, downtuned chugs and pig squeals or gurgles like most slam does, Aroma had a lot of variety in their music. They mixed higher tempo death metal riffs in with the chugs, changing things up on a dime, while the vocals transformed back and forth between deep guttural lows and pained mid-range highs. They were easily one of my favourite bands we played with on this tour.

Doom

Messe – *Connemara PL*
**May 1st, 2021**
**Psychedelic / Stoner Rock**
**Independently Released**
**Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada**
**Standout Song:** “Cette Étoile Inconnue”

Not a band that my band played with on this tour, but a band that one of my other bands played with on a previous tour from last year. Messe, hailing from the far eastern town of Bathurst in New Brunswick, are pure Acadian rock and roll through and through. Mixing elements of Black Sabbath together with other groups from the same era like Led Zeppelin, Iron Butterfly, Blue Cheer, and more, these guys really embrace that old school 60’s and 70’s sound on this debut EP. While the band has released a new EP this year, this is the one I’m more familiar with so I chose to represent this one instead. It’s loud as hell, with the guitars reverberating and echoing across the boreal landscape all the way to the coast. While the music is all sung in French I think anglophones can still find a lot to enjoy from the instrumental aspect regardless.

Prog

Serling – *The James Bevis Chronicles*
**August 16th, 2021**
**Mathcore / Technical Deathcore**
**Independently Released**
**Bowdoin, Maine, USA**
**Standout Song:** “Time Enough at Last”

Admittedly this isn’t usually the kind of thing I’d be into these days. I had a huge phase in which I was super into mathcore and progressive / technical deathcore about 10 years ago, but the style doesn’t do much for me these days. However we did play alongside a band called Serling at a huge beachside fest in Boston called Weedviolence Fest during this tour, and when I found out that their whole deal is that their music is all inspired by The Twilight Zone I knew I’d have to give them a fair shake. It’s still not really the kind of stuff I personally go out of my way to listen to, but this is music that was made for people who love bands like The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, Car Bomb, Rings of Saturn, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and The Red Chord. Mathy and heavy as fuck.

Punk

Ratpiss’ old touring mates in Corrupt World were kind enough to set up the final show of our recent run in the ol’ U.S. of A. in Burlington, Vermont and it was a pleasure to share the stage with them again. If you like noisy as hell, relentless, d-beat crust punk that incorporates elements of grindcore and harsh noise into the mix then this band is for you. This is unrepentant and raw as fuck music that pulls no punches when it comes to grinding your eardrums to dust against the pavement. Just because it’s noisy as hell, though, doesn’t mean that Corrupt World is without a degree of catchiness to their music. Quite the opposite. Many of the songs on this EP have fairly catchy guitar riffs and ripping solos that are derived straight from the Motorhead-adjacent rock and roll stylings of old school hardcore punk.

Thrash

While Artificial Scarcity are definitively a grindcore band, it would be remiss of me to ignore the copious amount of thrash metal influence in their music. Perhaps given that guitarist Sam Agnew has played in thrash bands before, it’s a bit unsurprising. It would also be remiss of me to not mention the band that I had just spent the past week and a half on the road with, ripping up venues all across the east coast of the States. Do not skip out on Artificial Scarcity. Not only are they musically impressive, featuring unabashed ripper after ripper across this debut record, but politically they hit the nail on the head. Appropriately calling out the state-imposed capitalist depravity of the modern world, from minimum wage slave labor to the government’s ignorance towards indigenous sovereignty, to the genocide of the Palestinians, to fighting back against state oppression. It’s all gloriously wrapped up in unbridled shred.

Trad

Goblet – *Bastard Thrash*
**September 25th, 2020**
**Speed / Thrash Metal**
**Independently Released**
**Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA**
**Standout Song:** “Wing Fling”

While Goblet’s music is also undoubtedly rooted in thrash metal, there are elements of other genres present here as well. We get the occasional black metal tremolo-picked riff, while some of the riffage veers into death metal territory. They’re somewhere at the intersection of multiple genres while still feeling very much like just a Capital M “Metal” band. The music contained on here feels just as much influenced by bands like Municipal Waste and Metallica as it does 3 Inches of Blood and other power metal bands that draw upon that NWOBHM sound. We performed alongside these guys at the aforementioned Weedviolence Fest in Revere, Massachusetts and they were easily one of my favourite bands of the night. If you want fucking killer riffs, over-the-top vocals, and speed that kills, then Goblet is for you.

Non-Metal

The Pentagram String Band – *Blood Blood Blood*
**August 9th, 2023**
**Bluegrass**
**Independently Released**
**Kansas City, Missouri, USA**
**Standout Song:** “Mother of Babylon”

Perhaps one of the most interesting bills on this tour was a show we played in Atlanta, Georgia with a couple of bluegrass and folk bands at a venue called The Catacombs. It turned out that both our tours were hitting the same city on the same date so the bookers put us together for a bit of a mixed bill, which I was skeptical of at first, but came to enjoy quite a bit by the end. We performed alongside Johnny Lawhorn, the frontman of The Pentagram String Band, who performed his band’s material solo that night. His music was honestly kickass as hell. This man can play the banjo with a speed I’ve never before witnessed. Describing themselves as “suspicious of traditional bluegrass”, The Pentagram String Band draws inspiration from Satanism, the occult, and traditional Appalachian folk music to create a pastiche of darkness over the typically upbeat genre.

~ Akhenaten

The Scrolls of Akhenaten: April 26th, 2024

April 26, 2024 / Akhenaten / Leave a comment

Despite being on the road in a completely different country I still will find the time to provide you with eight killer album recommendations because music is what makes the world go round. On that topic I’ve encountered a number of bands over the past week that definitely deserve a bigger audience.

Black

The first time I was exposed to Infant Island it was when they were added last minute to a huge mixed bill that featured the likes of Gatecreeper and Fearing. It was odd but given how mixed the bill was I guess it made sense to toss a screamo band on there. Admittedly I wasn’t all that into them for this live show but decided to check out their new record when it dropped earlier this year and was shocked to find out just how damn much I liked it. This album is fucking phenomenal, featuring tons of atmosphere, triumphant guitar work that screams out over relentless blast beats and passages of intense, cathartic screaming. Screamo and black metal may seem at polar ends of the musical spectrum but bands like Infant Island manage to bridge that gap almost flawlessly and this record is proof of that. Obsidian Wreath is a phenomenal release that deserves your attention.

Death

Eyecatcher is a four piece death metal outfit that my own band Ratpiss played with while on tour in Long Island City, New York. This Maryland quartet was amazing in the live setting and their brand of Obituary / Power Trip worshipping death metal was right up my alley. Checking them out on the recording side of things I am happy to report that their first self-titled release is just as good sounding as the live versions of these songs were. This is ripping death metal with thrash metal and grindcore influence that would not go unwelcome on a playlist next to bands like Frozen Soul and Sanguisugabogg. While this EP is “blink and you’ll miss it” short, it’s packed with more killer riffs and drum beats that you can shake a disembodied leg at. If the cover art doesn’t sell you on it already, let the song titles like “Blood Carnival” and “Wormtongue” entice into the grotesque nature that awaits.

Doom

I was first introduced to Horndal through my friend Tyler. Admittedly when I first checked it out I wasn’t sure about it but after numerous repeat listens it dawned on me: this album is fucking incredible. This thing combines elements of the bright, harmonized guitar work of groups like Thin Lizzy or Kvelertak along with the progressive riffing nature of bands like Mastodon as well as the raw sense of urban decay ushered in by bands like Tombs or Morne to create a sound I’ve never quite heard before. This thing is a beast of modern metal, and not in the same way that people describe Lamb of God. This is the pinnacle of modern metal music, utilizing every aspect of heavy music that I personally love in such a way that I’ve never been privy to. It’s experimental while also being catchy as fuck, all while the gruff caveman vocals detail stories about the history and legends of the band’s hometown for which they are named.

Prog

Orbs was a band of particular interest to me back in 2010 when they first emerged onto the scene of modern, nu-progressive artists that had readers of the blog Heavy Blog is Heavy fawning. Featuring such notable names as Dan Briggs from Between the Buried and Me, Adam Fisher of Fear Before the March of Flames, and Ashley Jurgemeyer of Abigail Williams, this was a supergroup of sorts that existed to blend elements of jazz, prog, and space rock with a post-hardcore affectation and approach to songwriting, and holy moly did they ever knock it out of the park. Almost 15 years after the fact I still come back to this album and can sing along to all the words like no time at all has passed. Relentlessly interesting and masterfully composed with hooks for days both on the vocal front as well as the instrumental front, it’s a shame Orbs hasn’t been more active in the intervening years.

Punk

Another band that Ratpiss has shared the stage with, multiple times now. Philadelphia’s Diuretic absolutely fucking rule. Not only are they super cool people, but their music fucking rips too. The band has released one EP and a demo as of their existence so far, with Martyrfucker being the most recent effort. Pissed off, aggressive, loud and nasty, this is grindcore as it should be. Along with the general angry vibe of the music it also sounds raw as fuck. It’s not really “pure” grindcore in a sense since most of the music on here doesn’t rely exclusively on blast beats, and there are a lot of groovier sections with two-step parts that lean them a little bit more towards the hardcore punk side of grindcore. That said Diuretic is still full of angst, piss, and vinegar, and this EP is a prime example of just what the Philadelphia grind scene has to offer.

Thrash

This Montreal thrash trio, which has since evolved into a quartet, have been slowly making a name for themselves over the past year in Quebec and the wider Eastern Canadian scene. Taking influence from both the realms of old school thrash metal legends like Slayer and Anthrax as well as newer crossover institutions, the band doesn’t really fall squarely into one category or another. There’s a hefty amount of hardcore punk influence going on here, especially on the EP’s opener “Chernobyl”, but the ripping thrash doesn’t take long to kick in. Guitarist Christophe Michaud has one goal in mind and that’s to rip your head from your neck by making you headbang like a fucking lunatic. He accomplishes that goal in spades on here, while making sure the punk influence keeps things fun and upbeat.

Trad

Vancouver’s Gatekeeper are the best kept secret in the world of the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal originating from Canada. This band embraces every classic metal cliche, taking as much influence from bands like King Diamond and Mercyful Fate as they do bands like Blind Guardian. They straddle the line between old school heavy metal outfits like Dio as well as pure power metal that emerged from Europe in the 80’s and 90’s a la Helloween. Delightfully melodic and impossibly catchy, every song on this record is absolute fucking banger and deserves to be blasted at max volume. With lyrics inspired by the works of famous fantasy and horror authors like Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft, listening to this album makes me feel like Conan the goddamned barbarian, riding a mighty steed across the plains of uncharted wilderness, a great broadsword strapped across my back.

Non-Metal

Com Truise – *In Decay*
**July 16th, 2012**
**Synthwave**
**Ghostly International**
**Orlando, Florida, USA**
**Standout Song:** “Data Kiss”

Have you ever been on a long-ass drive that you started early in the day, like before noon, and you keep on screaming down the highway, still having not reached your final destination as the sun goes down behind the hills and it seems like night is going to last forever? You’ve had one too many energy drinks and you’re wearing sunglasses to minimize the glare of the searing lights of the construction zone you’re passing through? Well this album is the soundtrack to that vibe. This is a night driving album if there ever was one. Much like other synthwave artists like Perturbator, Carpenter Brut, or Filmmaker, Com Truise has made a career off of perfectly encapsulating the atmosphere of the liminal space that is a highway after dark. That said Com Truise’s music is a bit more chillwave-leaning than the retro and horror inspired vibes of those other artists, but the comparison is still apt.

~ Akhenaten

The Scrolls of Akhenaten: April 19th, 2024

April 18, 2024April 20, 2024 / Akhenaten / Leave a comment

As I’m ready to head off into lands unknown I figured I’d leave you with one more entry into The Scrolls of Akhenaten to tide you over until next week. Read on, dear viewers, for a heavy helping of hellbound hymns.

Black

If you don’t know Japanese blackened crust outfit Gallhammer then you should. This band is one of the few who I’ve ever heard properly emulate the sound of Darkthrone’s crust punk era, and while it may not be a perfect emulation, it’s close enough in spirit that it more than earns its status as a legendary record in metalpunk circles. it’s got it’s own flair for the disgusting and the ethereal and melds both of them together wonderfully. The song “Crucifixion” should be a crust anthem, in my opinion. There’s a significant amount of disgusting atmosphere that this album is drenched in from front to back, as if the whole thing was dipped into a sickly mixture of vomit and other bodily fluids. It’s gross and offensive to the senses, and I love every second of it. It’s a shame that the band is currently on hiatus as I would love to hear with this Japanese trio would have to offer in the modern day, but for now this album is always great to come back to.

Death

Death metal warriors Necrot have more than made a name for themselves in recent years following their past few records which have been warmly and well received in extreme metal circles. This new album of theirs, Lifeless Birth, is no different. While Necrot aren’t exactly breaking new ground with this album they are doing what they do very well, and as my friend Tristan put it, I can feel my IQ being lowered with every caveman riff they heave upon my eardrums. The song “Drill the Skull”, which was released as a single ahead of the album’s full release, set the stage for what’s to come, but is honestly one of the best tracks on the record. It’s low down, dirty, groovy, and filthy as fuck, with this awesome start-stop riff during the chorus. Inspired as much by Cannibal Corpse as they are by their contemporaries, it’s not shocking Necrot has achieved the level of popularity they have. They deserve it.

Doom

Faetooth are a particular breed of doom that I truly wish was more prevalent. This atmospheric brand is softer and quieter than most doom metal but still packs a hell of a punch. It’s elegant and pretty but dark and brooding and filled with nothing but catchy hook after catchy hook. If you listen to only one doom record today, make it this one. Every one of the songs on this album is not only dark and moody, but also immensely catchy. The ending track “Saturn Devouring His Son” is a monolithic piece of doom where their singer repeats “First the head, and then the bod’, and half his blood, spills down the jaw” is impossible to get out of my head. This is only the first full length offering from this California crew but considering the quality of it then I’m excited to hear whatever they come out with next.

Prog

Cell Press – *Cages*
**March 8th, 2024**
**Noise Rock / Sludge Metal / Mathcore**
**Independently Released**
**Montreal, Quebec, Canada**
**Standout Song:** “Original Uranium Baby”

Cell Press have been around the Montreal underground music scene for a while now but this is their first full length offering and holy shit does it absolutely rule. This album really defies description as while the foundation of it is noise rock it incorporates elements of sludge metal, grindcore, mathcore, and prog into the entire mixture. There are some very strange time signature changes and tempo switch-ups on this thing that, while I’m used to now as I’ve listened to umpteen thousand times, definitely threw me for a loop when it first came out. It’s chaotic and frenetic, with nothing but killer riff after killer riff along with mesmerizing drumming throughout the entire runtime. Noise rock is a bit of a hit or miss genre for me but this one is a banger. Don’t let it pass you up.

Punk

Another group from Montreal who have been around the city for some time these past few years. I’ve seen this group play live a bunch of times and every time it’s always an enrapturing experience. Their brand of atmospheric, depressive post-punk is addictive, catchy as hell, and fun as fuck to listen to. The same can be said for this release, the band’s second EP, which dropped last year. If you want to listen to Gothic punk that’s both insanely danceable as well as something that’ll put you in a dour mood then this EP is for you. The Montreal punk scene is full of tons of great post punk and Ilusión are just one of many who are injecting new life into a genre that had its heydey decades ago.

Thrash

Another new release that came out just last week, this album totally shocked me by its quality. I was already aware of Vulture but when I listened to this new album it totally took me aback due to just how great it is. If you like old school thrash metal from the 80’s then this album is absolutely without a doubt for you. Everything from the quality of the songwriting to the production on this album to the vocal affectation just screams 80’s, and as such this album is right up my alley. Songs like “Transylvania”, “Realm of the Impaler”, and “Where There’s a Whip (There’s a Way)” just absolutely rip. So far 2024 has already been a fantastic year for new releases but Vulture has slowly woven its way to the top echelon of my list.

Trad

Attic – *Sanctimonious*
**August 18th, 2017**
**Speed Metal / Epic Heavy Metal** **/ Black Metal**
**Ván Records**
**Gelsenkirchen, Germany**
**Standout Song:** “Sanctimonious”

I know that this may be considered blasphemous in some circles but I don’t care. Attic does what King Diamond and Mercyful Fate did but better. It’s the same style of vocals, mimicking the King to a tee. Yet their riffs are just so much more interesting and engaging than the material found on those early Fate records. It is often said that those who pioneer something are not those who perfect it, and I think this album is the prime example of that. The musicianship present on this record is just more compelling and creative, and I love every second of it. Every moment of this album grabs you by the balls and doesn’t let go, telling a horrific Gothic tale of nuns, convents, illicit love affairs, and demonic births. It’s a fantastic record, and while Attic did just release their first new album in many years a few weeks back, this is the one that I always find myself coming back to.

Non-Metal

Rodrigo Y Gabriela – *11:11*
**September 6th, 2009**
**Flamenco Nuevo / Flamenco / Acoustic Rock**
**Rubyworks**
**Mexico City, Mexico**
**Standout Song:** “Hanuman”

I first discovered Rodrigo Y Gabriela through the Rock Band series of video games years ago as a teenager. Their brand of acoustic-only rock music derives itself from flamenco music as much as heavy metal, as the band’s two members have influences that are far reaching across the music spectrum. Regardless of influences, their playing abilities and musical acumen cannot be disputed. Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero are absolute shredders on their respective acoustic guitars and showcase the total speed and precision that they are capable of from front to back on this thing. On top of that the music isn’t just technical and masterfully performed, it’s also tasteful and catchy as hell. Every song on this record stands apart on its own and offers hooks for days, sinking their claws into you and forcing you to dance with reprieveless gusto. It may be metal in spirit, but defies genre expectation.

~ Akhenaten

The Scrolls of Akhenaten: April 12th, 2024

April 13, 2024 / Akhenaten / Leave a comment

This one is coming to you a day late because life got in the way this past week and I didn’t get as much time to hammer out which albums I wanted to recommend to you all on Friday. I was also busy hosting a show at The Traxide in Montreal featuring some rather excellent bands from the Maritimes, namely the blackened death metal stylings of Paratomb and progressive metal wizardry of Omnivide, along with local thrashers Grimhold and death-sludge riffologists Obelisk. Now that I’ve got a few moments of free time to myself this Saturday (between recovery) I’m going to make up for it. Read on for some of your (somewhat) regularly scheduled riff recommendations!

Black

The first time I heard this record I was absolutely floored and to this day it continues to shock me. I’d like to thank Devon Milley for this recommendation as it was through him that I discovered this band. I’ve never heard a band so perfectly emulate the sound of Darkthrone’s early material. Everything on this record from the guitar tone to the drum approach to the production to the vocal approach is the closest I’ve ever heard a band mimic that style, and they do it wonderfully. The riffage is so pure and kvlt and trve and devoid of any bells and whistles. Even the vocals sound eerily similar to the range and tone of Nocturno Culto on those classic black metal albums as well as the post-Panzerfaust era of the band. All you have to do is listen to the first track here, “Three Desecrated Hosts”, and you’ll see what I mean. If you’re at all a fan of that style of Norwegian black metal, then Germany’s Pakkt is a must-listen, especially for Darkthrone die-hards like myself.

Death

I first discovered this band through a video made by the YouTuber known as The Punk Rock MBA. I think that guy sucks but I’d be lying if I said he hadn’t put me on to some cool music over the years. Human Remains is definitely one of those bands. The first time I put this record on I couldn’t quite believe what I was hearing. “A deathgrind diamond” as one Bandcamp reviewer named Brett put it, this thing is fucking weird. There are sounds on here that I didn’t even know a guitar could make before I listened to this thing. It’s exceptionally brutal, uncompromising, relentless, and unapologetically experimental. There’s plenty of moments where the music remains firmly rooted in brutalizing the listener with blast beats and atonal guitar riffs before launching into interludes that feel like they’re drawing upon bands like Mr. Bungle and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Of course Dillinger was probably influenced by this band considering that Human Remains predates them.

Doom

Wardehns – *Now Cometh the Foul*
**December 21st, 2018**
**Stoner Metal / Sludge Metal / Crust Punk**
**Independently Released**
**Wausau, Wisconsin, USA**
**Standout Song:** “Denim Dogs”

I was put onto this band through a friend of mine who just happened to be playing them out loud on a Bluetooth speaker while I was hanging with some pals at their house. I was pretty much immediately hooked by the quality of the riffage, the production value, and just how similar it felt to the kind of sludge metal that I am really drawn to: bands like Mastodon, Kylesa, and Black Tusk. The ones who are a little artsy but aren’t afraid to get deep, down, and dirty with their music. Wardehns certainly scratches that itch for me and I’ve had this record on repeat ever since that initial encounter. It’s monolithic in size, with every song imparting the image of a group of intrepid travelers and warriors climbing their way to the top of a frostbitten mountain, surviving blizzards and avalanches, and fighting horrible beasts all along the way. The album cover is indeed a perfect representation of what kind of music you’ll hear on this thing. It comes highly recommended.

Prog

I brought up Omnivide in the intro to this article not just to tell you about the show I was at last night, but also as a genuine recommendation for a band that kicks fucking ass that doesn’t live all that far from Newfoundland. This New Brunswick progressive metal outfit just released their debut album, A Tale of Fire, last month, and are currently embarking on a tour across Canada in support of it. Having seen them live a couple of times now as well as having listened to this thing all the way through time and time again I can attest to this band absolutely ruling. If you want your brain to be disassembled and then put back together wrong then this is the record for you. Their music certainly draws heavy influence from big-name prog bands like Between the Buried and Me, but there are also shades of groups like Cynic, Obscura, and Beyond Creation to be found within. If you like any of those bands you’ll almost certainly like this.

Punk

I was lucky enough to catch Flower at Varning Fest last year, an annual underground crust punk and metal festival that occurs in Montreal. They came up from New York City to play here and absolutely tore the place apart. I thought their live performance was already great but it was checking out their recordings after the fact on my own that really sold me on them. This right here is the kind of punk I like the most. It’s loud, aggressive, angry, and dirty as fuck. All the best crust punk is only a few steps removed from speed metal and black metal and Flower really embrace that vibe on this LP. The album opens with an atmospheric blackened guitar riff that reminds me extensively of Gallhammer and Darkthrone, before the unruly punk ripping starts at full force. It’s so gross and nasty, from the raw guitar tone to the punchy drums to the pissed off vocals. Flower are fantastic, and this LP absolutely slays.

Thrash

Mexico’s Phantom are pretty much everything I want from modern thrash. Their sound is supremely old school, drawing clearly upon the bands of the 80’s, with the Teutonic sound in particular being a primary influence. If you like Sodom, Kreator, or Destruction, or at least the way those bands used to sound back in the day, then Phantom may be for you. That’s not to discount the American influence in their sound either, because notes of Slayer and Metallica definitely crop up from time to time, but ultimately they keep things rooted in that more aggressive sound that veers on the edge of black metal without ever stepping forth into the blizzard. What makes this album even more impressive is that the dudes in this band are really young, most of them being around the ages of 18 to 20. For being as young as they are they’ve got a fantastic grasp of their instruments and their songwriting capability is excellent. I’m stoked to hear what they put out next.

Trad

I never thought I would unironically enjoy a NASCAR-themed metal band but then I am the Intimidator came out of nowhere and showed me the errors of my hubris. This is the new solo project of former Poison Idea guitarist Andrew Stromstad and the entire thing is lyrically and aesthetically based around the final day of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt’s life. If that wasn’t already enough to sell you on the concept, then I’m happy to report that the music contained within is just as fucking awesome. It’s old school speed metal that draws as much influence from Metallica, Motorhead, and King Diamond as it does from a blackened speed metal act like Venom and an epic doom metal band like Candlemass. While the record may be all over the map in terms of influence it is surprisingly consistent all the way through, featuring fabulous riff after fabulous riff and vocals that’ll put hair on your chest.

Non-Metal

Shpongle – *Tales of the Inexpressible*
**March 29th, 2001**
**Chillout / Psychedelic Trance**
**Twisted Records**
**Chobham, England, UK**
**Standout Song:** “Star-Shpongled Banner”

I discovered Shpongle years ago when I was still in high school. While sick and staying home from school one day I went down an enormously long musical rabbit hole on YouTube (this was back in the day before algorithms ruined everything) which eventually led me to a fan-made animated music video for the song “Star-Shpongled Banner”. I was so enamored by the combination of the music with the visuals I was experiencing made that song stick with me for years to come, and to this day I still revisit this record from time to time. While I don’t often find myself listening to electronic music, when I do I prefer the kind of stuff that’s outside the realm of the typical club fare. I don’t go to clubs often, mind you, but I have a hard time imagining that this is the kind of thing played anywhere outside of a hippie drug den. It’s not for everyone, but if you like weird electronica you should definitely check this one out.

~ Akhenaten

The Scrolls of Akhenaten: April 5th, 2024

April 5, 2024April 1, 2024 / Akhenaten / Leave a comment

This week’s installment of The Scrolls of Akhenaten is going to turn up the heat because some of these records ended up being some of my top reviewed albums of the past several months (last year into the first few months of this year) over on our sister blog at Where Strides the Behemoth. Seriously, these are some of my favourite albums from recent memory, so even if you don’t like them, you might get a better idea of my own taste and why the albums I review here get the scores that they do (if you’ve ever been curious about that, that is.) Onwards!

Black

If ever there was a black metal project that just filled you with joy because of how utterly silly and full of whimsy the music is then this record is for you. I couldn’t believe upon first listen just how relentlessly catchy this record is. Every riff, every keyboard melody, every drum beat, just burrows into your brain and infects you like a virus. I kept coming back for more, re-listening to it again and again and again because I just couldn’t get enough of the addictive sound this record provides. Don’t let the frankly terrible cover art fool you. This album knows exactly what it wants to do and accomplishes it in spades. I can scarcely think of a black metal record that has invigorated this much energy and magnificence in me in recent memory, and for that reason Bloody Keep managed to craft what has easily become one of my favourite records of 2024 so far.

Death

Paratomb are a four piece death metal band who hail from Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island. Their first EP, while great, felt a little too adjacent to groove metal to really hook me in, especially in the vocal performance. With this new EP, however, Paratomb have absolutely outdone themselves. For one, the production here is immensely improved, sounding much more akin to old school death metal and first wave black metal instead of the more modern sound their debut EP had. Secondly the songwriting and musicianship on display has obviously matured. The songs sound way tighter and contain much more dynamism than their first effort. Paratomb had already made me a fan by virtue of being a band playing this kind of extreme music from such an isolated place, but with this new EP they’ve made me excited for whatever they’re going to get up to next.

Doom

This record almost squeaked by me at the end of 2023 and I’m glad I checked it out because it wound up making my best of list at the end of the year. I would describe this record as being an album for people who thought Ghost’s first album was great but couldn’t really vibe with everything else they did after. It’s occult-themed doom metal with a flair for the theatrical, combining huge, epic Hammond organ instrumentation with fantastic riffs and incredibly infectious vocals. Every song on this thing is a certified banger (in my opinion), chronicling the bizarre world of Albion occultism through a series of heavy, melancholy, and ultimately just mercilessly fun tracks. If any of what I’ve said sounds like this album might peak your fancy then you owe it to yourself to check this one out. It’s mesmerizing and I’ve found myself coming back to it time and time again.

Prog

The Greek band Naxatras has some of the best album art in the psychedelic rock genre, as evidenced by the absolutely badass and glorious cover art for IV, their fourth full length record. Naxatras’ music kind of falls somewhere in between the worlds of psychedelic rock, stoner rock, and progressive rock, all of which converge to create a sound that is spacious, atmospheric, and grandiose, like I’m on a hotboxed spaceship slowly cruising through the farthest reaches of the galaxy. If the phrase “far out” was an album, this would be it. The raucous drums and chunky yet sublime riffing are joined only occasionally by the vocals, which remain largely in the background, taking a back seat to the instrumentals which are front and center, in your face, ready to make you feel like you’re about to lift off into orbit, never to return.

Punk

This Montreal trio have been buds of mine for a long time, and if you think I’m gonna not shout them out just because they’re my friends well, that’s where your wrong. Skate punk has never really been my thing. It’s a genre that has always kind of turned me off with its whiny vocal approach and saccharine instrumentation, but Stand Alone have never quite fit that mould in my opinion. They’re unapologetically fast, ripping through these songs with intensity and an ability to write really catchy hooks. With drums that careen forth, unstoppable, and an attitude full of piss and vinegar and shouty vocals that are both raspy and melodic, Stand Alone definitely stands apart from the rest of the skate punk outfits I’ve personally been exposed to in Montreal. They’re a lot of fun, and if you ever get a chance to see them live I recommend you do it.

Thrash

With an introductory track that opens with a blistering double bass assault you should have an idea of what you’re in for with this sophomore effort from Japanese black thrashers Evil (appropriate name). This album pulls no punches as it seeks to accomplish its only goal: complete and total sonic destruction and the pillaging of the corridors of thought inside your mind. This stuff is unapologetically evil, brash, and violent, fitting in rather well with the early pioneers of extreme metal who sought to kick the already blazing tempo of thrash metal up a notch. Notes of Sodom and Kreator adorn this album as much as the more rock n’ roll adjacent outfits like Judas Priest and the even more raucous first wave black metal acts like Bathory and Hellhammer. If any of those bands are up your alley then this record is definitely for you. It shocked me with its quality and I hope it does the same for you.

Trad

Leather Heart – *Comeback*
**October 1st, 2015**
**Heavy Metal**
**The Fish Factory**
**Madrid, Spain**
**Standout Song:** “The Crow”

I’ve definitely recommended this album in the past when this segment was a bit more of a regular feature on the blog, but it bears repeating because this record is a complete and total masterpiece. Whenever anyone brings up the genre of traditional heavy metal or the modern NWOTHM movement I am always quick to tell them about this album. It’s a masterpiece of classic heavy metal revivalism that combines all the best tropes of the genre into one explosive cocktail of perfected, glistening steel. This is the only album that Leather Heart ever released and, to my knowledge, they’re not really doing much these days. The irony of the record being called Comeback is not lost on me, but don’t let the cliche album art and self-referential nature of the record’s title dissuade you. Every song contained within here is a brilliant piece that so perfectly encapsulates everything great about this genre.

Non-Metal

Antoine Dufour – *Development*
**2006**
**Acoustic Fingerstyle / Progressive Folk**
**CandyRat Records**
**Montreal, Quebec, Canada**
**Standout Song:** “Spiritual Grove”

The first time I heard “Spiritual Grove” by Antoine Dufour I would’ve been in high school and I remember very vividly being completely shocked that an acoustic guitar could sound like this. Dufour is an undeniably talented and skilled guitarist for whom the acoustic guitar feels more like an extension of his person than just an instrument that he picks up and plays. Far from the typical sounds of acoustic-centric folk music, Dufour adds a technically complex edge to his playing by approaching the acoustic guitar with the fingerstyle method of playing, plucking strings with pitch perfect accuracy. This approach to folk is somewhat progressive and even jazzy at times as the playing manoeuvres through different movements, never slowing down, always rolling forward to the next segment, ready to dazzle you with the beauty found within the complexity.

~ Akhenaten

The Scrolls of Akhenaten: March 29th, 2024

March 29, 2024March 24, 2024 / Akhenaten / 1 Comment

Welcome back, dear readers, to The Scrolls of Akhenaten, the weekly segment in which I, your titular host, deliver unto you recommendations of brazen, heavy, and aggressive music spanning across seven different sub-genres, as well as one non-metal recommendation for those of you who don’t like to bludgeon your ear drums into pulp on the regular (but who am I kidding, we all do that all the time anyways, right?) Read on, and consider giving some of these albums, both old and new, a listen. Perhaps you’ve already heard of them? Well, in that case, why not consider a re-visit?

Black

Cropping up right at the tail end of last year, this record almost squeaked right by me. When I saw the frankly beautiful album art though I knew I’d have to give it a shot, and I’m so glad that I did because this album rules. It isn’t pure black metal, but neither is it pure death metal, resting somewhere in between, both genres in pure harmony with one another. This album contains a great deal of symphonic elements but never do they feel unwelcome or overbearing as they so often do in the midst of other projects that attempt this sound. It feels rather like an addition to the metal rather than forcing the guitars to take a back seat. Speaking of guitars, the riffs on this thing? God damn. They’re glorious. If you’re a fan of old school melodic black metal like Dissection or even folksy melodeath bands like Wintersun then this record is absolutely for you, though perhaps is significantly darker in tone than the latter.

Death

If the album art and logo are anything to go by then you’ve probably already got an idea of what you’re getting into with this record. I first became aware of Concrete Caveman when my own band was booked on a bill with them during a tour last year that brought us to Philadelphia, and woah did they ever blow my mind. Easily one of my favourite bands that we shared the stage with during that run, they were energetic, violent, brutal, charismatic, and ultimately just a hell of a lot of fun. Musically the ape-like creature on the cover art is a pretty accurate depiction of what you should expect from this thing: utterly heavy and ignorant, knuckle-dragging riffs with a bit of a grindy, punk-adjacent edge that gives them the extra oomph to stand out in the crowd. Every riff, every guttural vocal, every scream, every pulverizing punch of the drums, feels like getting smacked upside the head with an iron shovel. Brutal.

Doom

Eschewing the standards laid down by the godfathers of rock n’ roll, Montreal’s Seum forgo the typical addition of an electric guitar in their mix, relying solely on the smooth tones of a fuzzed-out bass guitar to provide their bombastic, heavy riffs and catchy songwriting throughout this sophomore effort from the trio. While all three of the band’s members, Gaspard, Piotr, and Fred, originally hail from France, they have settled in nicely to life in Canada, a fact which comes across in their music. Both their first record, Winterized, and this 2023 follow-up, contain references to Canadian culture, as well as the culture of Montreal specifically both in the music itself as well as their artistic direction. Outside of that though, I cannot emphasize just how gosh darned catchy their music is. For a band who relies exclusively on the bass to lay down the foundation of their sound, they absolutely crush every track on this record.

Prog

This album sort of came out of nowhere for me when I was first recommended it by somebody on the metal side of Twitter. The second full length effort from Australian multi-instrumentalist and solo musician Charlie Park, Divine Laughter is a monumental slab of progressive and technical death metal that occasionally straddles the line between death metal and post metal. It feels like their are equal shades of both Cynic and Isis at war with one another behind the Jackson Pollock-esque cover painting that represents the chaos contained within this record. I’ve always had a bone to pick with tech death as a genre for so many bands having a stunning lack of ability to write memorable parts. Cave Sermon does the opposite. This record, for all its disharmonic, atonal, experimentation, has so many riffs that stand out and get stuck in your head. It’s not exactly an easy listen, but every time I go through it I find something new to love.

Punk

Around the same time that I was getting into Devil Master (2018/19, shoutout to Adam Giles for that life changing recommendation) I was also put onto a few other bands from the New England metalpunk world, Zorn being among them. Their brand of sci-fi and horror-themed metalpunk was instantly addictive, to the point that when their first full length record came out I played it almost on repeat for months. Little did I know that my own band would get a chance to open for them not long afterwards. Seeing these guys live was an unforgettable experience, but even so I still come back to this album time after time. Nothing else really scratches the itch for this type of blackened punk that has ridiculously shreddy guitars, quick and to the point, no-nonsense song structures, and vocals that sound like an unhinged madman just going brazenly feral on the mic. This was easily one of my favourite records of 2023 and it should be yours too.

Thrash

Montreal is a city that has long been known for the cornucopia of progressive and technical extreme metal bands that have emerged from it, to say nothing of being the home of legendary prog-thrashers Voivod who originated from neighbouring Jonquière. Dissimulator are the latest in this long tradition of Quebec prog and tech metal, though they’ve taken a noticeably thrashier edge than some of their contemporaries. Evoking comparisons to other tech-thrashers like Vektor and Watchtower, Dissumulator absolutely floored me with this debut record of theirs, which only dropped in January of this year. When looking at the body of work from the various members of this band, which includes such lauded acts as Chthe’ilist, Beyond Creation, First Fragment, Worm, and Phobocosm, it should come as no surprise that the music here is made by musicians at the top of their craft, combined with a catchy edge.

Trad

Forged by Melissa Moore following her departure from the black metal band Absu, Sonja is a significant departure from her work in the previous band, but one that is completely and totally welcome. Loud Arriver feels like the perfect mixture of old school heavy metal with goth rock, twisting the heavy, fist-pumping awesomeness of the former with the moody brooding atmosphere of the latter to forge a sound that is, in my opinion, wholly unique within the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal movement. The second I heard the first single from this record, “Nylon Nights”, I was immediately hooked and have not looked back since. This album is filled to the brim with absurdly catchy hooks, brilliant melodies, and an infectiousness that I just can’t shake. Everything about this album just kicks fucking ass. I literally get goosebumps when listening to it sometimes. If that isn’t enough to get you to check it out, I don’t know what is.

Non-Metal

Holy Locust – *Beneath the Turning Wheel*
**June 17th, 2023**
**Folk Punk / Gothic Country / Dark Folk**
**Flail Records**
**USA**
**Standout Song:** “Dead Wake”

I have long been a disliker of folk punk. The vast majority of the stuff I’ve heard from the genre did not appeal to me in any way, leaving me longing to either never hear the genre again or to hear something that would truly catch my ears. Enter Holy Locust. While not the first folk punk band I’ve found myself enjoying in recent years, they are the most recent that I’ve been put onto, and I can confirm that they absolutely rule. This newest album of theirs is an incredible piece of modern folk music that, unlike most of the folk punk I’ve heard, is incredibly dark and mournful, brooding in its apocalyptic misery and commands that you take it seriously. It’s less of a folk punk record and more of a proper folk album, in my opinion, drawing upon the same sort of dark, gothic atmosphere as a band like Wovenhand, who I’ve shared in this segment before. If you’ve got a hankering for banjos, accordions and fiddles, this may be the album for you.

~ Akhenaten

The Scrolls of Akhenaten: March 22nd, 2024

March 22, 2024March 17, 2024 / Akhenaten / 1 Comment

Welcome back to The Scrolls of Akhenaten, the weekly blog segment in which I recommend a bunch of albums in different sub-genres of metal and punk, as well as few non-metal releases that strike my fancy. This week I’ve got some absolute bangers up my sleeve that everyone who reads this should absolutely give a chance at the very least. If you like your music fast and hard as fuck (with perhaps the exception of our prog selection for this week) then this is the bundle of records for you! Read on and consider giving these records a shot.

Black

I first became aware of Spiter through following the band’s guitarist and vocalist Richard Spider on Instagram, where he goes by the name Sexman Leather on account of his various leatherworking creations. I later saw the band perform live at Turbo Haus and holy shit did they knock my socks off. This power trio (which also features members of Devil Master) rip forth with the ferocious terror of a blackened assault that combines elements of black metal and thrash metal together with hardcore punk and speed metal to create an unstoppable sound that crushes all in its path. This album is absurdly fast, unrelenting, and violent in every aspect, from both the mesmerizing music to the bloody imagery present on the album cover. If you want badass music about vampires and castles that pulls no punches when it comes to speed then Bathe the Babe in Bats’ Blood (say that 10 times fast) is the record for you.

Death

Some of you are likely already very familiar with Øbelisk thanks to their tour in August of last year which landed them several shows across Newfoundland, including a date in Corner Brook and three dates in St. John’s. The band has been around since at least 2022 (though likely earlier), with The Architecture of Suffering being their first full length record, and boy does it fucking crush! Having seen these guys live a ridiculous number of times over the past couple of years I have become intimately familiar with these songs and they still hit just as hard now as they did when I first heard them. Like Spiter, Øbelisk is a power trio, and together they have composed a series of kickass songs that blend elements of death metal, sludge metal, and grindcore together to create a devastatingly heavy brand of concrete-heavy extreme metal that obliterates everything in its wake. Don’t sleep on Øbelisk.

Doom

Bison B.C. – *Dark Ages*
**April 13th, 2010**
**Sludge Metal**
**Metal Blade Records**
**Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada**
**Standout Song:** “Stressed Elephant”

Taking things back to the past, I revisited this album from my youth recently and found that it still hits just as hard as it did way back then. Bison B.C. have released two albums in the intervening years since Dark Ages was initially released but this album just has something special about it that none of their other work really touched. It’s dark and brooding and even progressive at parts. Some of my favourite moments come when the band interject mournful synths into the otherwise purely metal instrumentals, making the whole piece sound like some sort of messed up funeral dirge. This record has a lot of variety and also feels like the perfect sonic representation of the kind of atmosphere that comes with living in cities in the great white north. It’s hard to describe exactly, but the vibe of Canadian urbanity is often expressed through the music of those who live in it in a way that bands from south of the border don’t quite tap into, and Bison is a great example of that.

Prog

I’ve been aware of Vulture Industries for years but never really dove into their work until the release of this record. This album is what you get when you combine the expected black metal atmosphere of a band from Norway with a Gothic vocal affectation and aesthetic and a penchant to experiment with different sounds and melodies. Equal parts Opeth and ICS Vortex, as well as Devin Townsend and Unto Others, Vulture Industries have landed on a sound that is wholly unique within the world of progressive metal, and I’m completely and utterly addicted to it. I think this album in particular will probably appeal to fans of old school goth rock like The Sisters of Mercy or Siouxsie and the Banshees while also attracting fans of the more dark and atmospheric side of heavy metal, a la a band like Cellar Darling or perhaps even Paradise Lost. The influences here are too numerous to truly list, but if you like any of the bands mentioned above this record is worth checking out.

Punk

Yet another band coming to you from the city of Montreal is Mulch, a relatively new band who dropped their first EP a scant month ago. Nothing Grows Out of Dried Flowers is what you get when you put a guitarist and drummer who are approaching punk from a decidedly more eclectic side of the music world with a bassist who primarily plays hardcore and grindcore and a vocalist who has never been in a band before. This EP is absolutely brimming with energy and exudes a feeling of pissed off angst and vitriol, yet at the same time there is an experimental edge to it that I feel a lot of other Montreal punk bands don’t quite have. Parts of this record, from the off-kilter guitars to the tone of the bass, have a slight noise rock vibe to them, which at times reminds me more of bands like Lightning Bolt and Melt Banana, despite still being a hardcore punk band. Definitely an EP worth checking out for those with a flair for the experimental!

Thrash

Thrashing their way out of the bayou of Lafayette, Louisiana, Void are a relatively newer band, having been active since 2019, and Horrors of Reality is their first full length effort in that time frame. I first became aware of them through their campy and old school music video for the song “Voodoo”, which immediately drew me in through the visuals alone. It was a pleasant surprise then that the music was quality enough to bother checking out the full record, and I greatly enjoyed what I heard beyond the anachronistic cover art. These guys clearly love the thrash bands of yore and conjure a lot of comparisons to some of the greats, with Megadeth and Anthrax perhaps being the most obvious comparisons. The guitars absolutely rip and tear, the drums are punishing, and the compositions are creative. That’s saying something in a subgenre where most of the bands sound either like a low rent Metallica, Slayer, or Municipal Waste.

Trad

Significant Point – *Into the Storm*
**February 7th, 2021**
**Speed Metal**
**Dying Victims Productions**
**Tokyo, Japan**
**Standout Song:** “Heavy Attack”

I came across the Japanese speed metal quintet Significant Point through the NWOTHM Full Albums channel on YouTube and I am so glad I clicked on that video because good lord this thing fucking rips! Japanese metal bands have always had a flair for pomp and theatrics, and Significant Point is no different. While I can’t speak to what the band’s live performances look like, the music on this record is evidence enough of how much effort and skill these guys put into their craft. The drums are ridiculously fast, never taking a second to slow down. The guitars shred with unbelievable fury, and the vocals consist almost exclusively of high pitched falsetto wailing that carries across the music like the fighter jets depicted in the cover art. If ever there was music to engage in a dogfight with enemy aircraft to, this record would absolutely be it. It’s glorious and magnificent in every aspect, including the old school style of production that gives it all an air of authenticity.

Non-Metal

Mama’s Broke – *Count the Wicked*
**June 1st, 2017**
**Celtic Folk / Americana**
**Independently Released**
**Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada**
**Standout Song:** “The Vein Braider”

Growing up in Newfoundland I admit that there was a certain resentment that I built up against folk music since it was all that I was exposed to as a youngin’ out around the bay. As an adult though I’ve cultivated more of an appreciation for folk, especially the Celtic kind, and Mama’s Broke may be the apex of what I’ve heard in this style from Atlantic Canada. First showed to me by one of my partners who hails from Nova Scotia, I immediately fell in love with their style of music that combines the traditional Celtic instrumentation with a degree of Americana influence. It’s obvious upon a first listen to this debut record from the duo that Lisa Maria and Amy Lou Keeler are absolute experts of their craft and their chosen instruments. Fiddles, banjos, mandolins abound on this masterpiece of the genre that only gets better with each subsequent listen.

~ Akhenaten

The Scrolls of Akhenaten: March 15th, 2024

March 15, 2024March 14, 2024 / Akhenaten / 1 Comment

*“Ever thus from the sands of time, I return, with pestilence and famine bequeathed to all.”*

Ages ago I used to do a segment on this blog called The Scrolls of Akhenaten in which I would recommend a series of albums or EPs from different genres of heavy and extreme music that aren’t from Newfoundland and Labrador. I did this simply in an effort to spread awareness of other music that I really like and to hopefully put some people on to artists they’ve never heard of. This concept was also inspired by one of our former contributors, Jonathan Simms, aka Abraxas the Reclaimer, who did a similar segment under the title of The Abraxas Decree.

All that said, I’ve decided to bring this segment back in an effort to continue spreading the good word about awesome music and also to diversify the kind of content that our readers have become used to on this blog. I would like to try to do this segment on a weekly basis, ever Friday, but for now we’re starting off with just one. The way it’s going to work is that each entry in this column will be from a different genre of heavy music, including: black metal, death metal, doom metal, prog, punk, thrash metal, traditional heavy metal, and one non-metal release as a palette cleanser.

Ergo, welcome to the resurrection of The Scrolls of Akhenaten! I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Black

Some of you may already be aware of Skumstrike due to the band’s association with Profane Order and Spectral Wound, both of whom share an association with Newfoundland through their shared band member Illusory. Skumstrike is the primary project of L.A. who formed the band with Serpent Corpse drummer Z.S. Based purely on the cover art and logo alone you should already have an idea of what the music on this thing sounds like. It is unrepentant, unrelenting blackened speed metal the likes of which I haven’t truly heard before. That said if you’ve ever perused the wares of underground labels like Hells Headbangers or the band’s current home at Caligari Records then you know that what they provide is quality. This album is liable to rip your head clean off your shoulders with wretched vocals, savage riffage, and an unforgiving percussive assault from behind the kit. Raw!

Death

Speaking of Serpent Corpse, why don’t we bring them up for the death metal segment this week? These guys have fast grown into one of Montreal’s premiere old school death metal revivalist acts. While the city may primarily be known for the more technical variety of extreme metal, Serpent Corpse are at the forefront of the movement to revive the sounds of classic 80’s death metal spearheaded by bands like Obituary and Morbid Angel, and they do a damned good job of it too! There’s no bullshit to be found here. This whole album is just riff after riff after riff on top of groovy drums from Skumstrike’s own Z.S. While I would question a band’s decision to name one of their own original songs “Electric Eye” when one of the most famous metal songs ever written shares that title, it doesn’t get in the way of the quality meat n’ potatoes brutality that goes on beyond the album cover.

Doom

I was first introduced to this band by a partner of mine who is a fan of one of the folk projects that the group’s violinist and vocalist Laura C. Bates worked on. Taking one look through Bates’ page on Metal Archives and its clear that she’s got some serious chops, having worked with other names in the metal world that may be familiar to you such as Blood Ceremony, Witchrot, and Thantifaxath. In listening to this band however we’re gifted a much more somber, brooding, and atmospheric helping of melancholy doom that feels heavily inspired by nature and fantasy. If anyone is old enough to remember when the Saskatchewan band Black Tremor made the trek to St. John’s for a show at CBTG’s back in 2016, well, this band sounds like them but way more intense and with more of a focus on vocals. Völur may not be the first band to incorporate violin in their doom, but they do it damn well.

Prog

This kind of record really isn’t for everybody. It’s mixture of progressive rock elements with aspects of pop music, alternative rock, funk, and avant-garde music could certainly be off-putting to people whose taste leans more towards the heavy and extreme. That said if you’re willing to give this record a shot you could be pleasantly surprised. I know I was. Perhaps it’s the theater kid in me that loves the ostentatious presentation and the theatrical grandeur this record provides but god damn do I ever love it. When it comes to the genre of “nu prog”, which is crowned by artists like Coheed and Cambria, a lot of it can be hit or miss with me. Closure in Moscow manage to be one of the best groups in the genre simply for their musical acumen and their ability to craft absurdly catchy tunes through an experimental haze and willingness to genre-bend. Let yourself love the poppy hooks that its full of.

Punk

The Montreal hardcore scene, much like that of Newfoundland’s, has exploded in the post-pandemic world. There have been so many new bands that have emerged in the scene lately that it’s been hard to keep track sometimes. That said, with the cornucopia of new groups that pop up, some of them are bound to rise to the top. Enter Glowing Orb. These guys are easily one of the most ferocious and aggressive punk bands in Montreal, at least when it comes to their music and their live shows. If you ever get a chance to see them live, do it. You will not regret it. As for their recorded material, they’ve got a demo and a split, and then this most recent release, Subterranean Prison, which, in my opinion, contains their best tracks yet. Listen to the song “Line Goes Up” and tell me you don’t want to scream along with that chorus in the live setting. Heavy, relentless, and full of piss n’ vinegar.

Thrash

Have you ever heard of pizza thrash? If you have there are probably a few bands that come to mind with the name. Municipal Waste and Iron Reagan are up there. D.R.I. perhaps. Well, allow me to introduce you to the pinnacle of this so-called sub-genre. The creme de la creme, folks. Pizza Death. This band sings exclusively about pizza, death, and death by pizza. It doesn’t get any more laser-focused than this. Normally I’d roll my eyes at such a concept, but if I’m being honest, this album absolutely fucking rips. The band has released more music since this one but this is the album that I always come back to. It’s a glorious mishmash of crossover, thrash metal, hardcore punk, and fastcore that intersperses absolutely nuclear riffs, unrelenting drums, and vicious vocals with a sprinkling of samples of various characters from pop culture talking about pizza. It’s as hilarious as it is utterly gnarly. It makes me want to shred a half-pipe while holding a pizza box in one hand and a PBR in the other.

Trad

Do you ever long for the glory days of heavy metal? Back when the music was real? Like the 70’s? Nah, like the early 70’s? Well, yearn no further my fellow appreciator of the old school sounds. Your search ends here. New York’s Tower are perhaps the most impeccable example of the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal that I have been seeking. Other groups like Leather Heart will always have my, well… my heart, but Tower does this style with an unmatched pizazz that I have yet to encounter in my endless sifting through this sub-genre and movement. Whether it’s vocalist Sarabeth Lindon’s incredibly powerful and expressive voice, or the glorious riffs, or the creative, energetic, and commanding drumming, this album has everything that an old head could ever ask for. To match that, I saw this band live back in 2023 at Foufounes Electriques in Montreal and they ruled that stage like true professionals. I can’t speak highly enough of this album and this band.

Non-Metal

Wovenhand – *Ten Stones*
**September 11th, 2008**
**Alternative Country / Goth Rock**
**Glitterhouse Records**
**Denver, Colorado, USA**
**Standout Song:** “The Beautiful Axe”

I have been a long time fan of Wovenhand, the band led by singer-songwriter David Eugene Edwards. The group’s atypical approach to the country genre that they have often found themselves lumped in with immediately caught my ears the first time I decided to check them out, with their record Consider the Birds. However, throughout their discography, it was this album, Ten Stones, that really solidified itself as my personal favourite. Combining elements of country music and Americana folk with the darkness of goth rock and the Southern Gothic aesthetic makes this album a must-listen for fans of any of the musical genres or aesthetics I just listed off. It is gorgeous, emotionally gripping, and darkly unsettling. No doubt this record appeals to metalheads in part because it is heavy, but without an overt reliance on distorted electric guitars. Rather it feels heavy in the same way a pregnant rain cloud feels heavy. There’s a certain atmosphere here, a darkness that cannot be described.

~ Akhenaten

The Scrolls of Akhenaten: Book #5

March 5, 2019March 5, 2019 / Akhenaten / Leave a comment

Black

Appalachian Winter – Appalachian Winter

I’ll never forget the first time I was graced with the epic synth and symphonic soundscape of “Winter” for the first time. In the midst of a dark, stormy, wintry night on the west coast of Newfoundland, in a shitty apartment on the far edge of town near the vast open expanse of an airfield with a blizzard battering the walls that my friend Kris and I were inhabiting. Still to this day I get chills going up my spine whenever I hear the melodies in this song coupled with D.G. Klyne’s grandiose, theatrical vocals. Though the programmed drums may sound a bit ridiculous at times this album still has a lot to offer through its fantastic orchestrations and its ability to conjure visuals of the epic, snow-laden Appalachian soundscape. Appalachian Winter is the perfect name for this project, as well as this album.

Death

Archspire – Relentless Mutation

Archspire have no doubt made a name for themselves through not just the insane technicality of their music, which rivals even Brain Drill in its ridiculousness, but also for the inhuman vocals of frontman Oliver Rae Aleron who growls with the speed and ferocity of an M134 minigun. With a combination of chaotic and technical guitar work and mind destroying drum work, the vocals feel more like an additional layer of percussion on this record than actual vocalizations. A lot of people have criticized Oliver for his rap-influenced style saying that it has no place in a genre like technical death metal but that just simply isn’t true. The style that Oliver exhibits is influenced by rappers like Twista (fastest rapper in the world) and Tech N9ne, which requires an incredibly amount of stamina and technical ability. If anything, combining that type of vocal technicality with the instrumental technicality of the musicians in Archspire seems like a no-brainer, but what’s more, it just works.

Prog

Scale the Summit – Carving Desert Canyons

Scale the Summit holds a special place in my heart for being one of the first tastes of progressive metal I ever got my ears on in my early years as a burgeoning metalhead. I still remember quite vividly the day when my friend Jake introduced me to both Blotted Science and this album by Scale the Summit, along with their first. I felt like I was being transported on an amazing journey across gorgeous natural landscapes, from the frigid tundras of the Arctic to the Grand Canyon to the open waters of the Pacific Ocean. This album is a trip when it comes to nature-inspired prog metal and fully lives up to its name. Whether its the syncopated intro of “Sargasso Sea” or the beautiful guitar textures of my favorite song, “The Great Plains”, Scale the Summit hit all the right notes on this record and have continued to do so well into their career on other albums like The Collective and V. But for me, nothing compares to the majesty of Carving Desert Canyons.

Post

Pelican – What We All Come to Need

When it comes to post metal most people look up to Isis, Neurosis and Cult of Luna as the undisputed kings of the genre, but I’d also place Pelican into that pantheon of genre-specific legends as well. Even though they’re an instrumental band, it’s precisely that quality that makes them one of the best in the genre. Their lack of vocals allows them to focus on two things: riffs and atmosphere. Every track on this record is swimming in both, from the opening piece “Glimmer” which is chock-full of riffs and melancholy melodies with layers of guitar-driven atmosphere coating the entire thing, drawing influence from other genres like shoegaze as well as sludge metal, from which post metal draws its stylistic roots in the first place. The standout piece on this record, however, goes against all of that by adding vocals. “Final Breath” is an emotional asteroid collision of a pretty love song with it’s dirge-like final line of “‘Til the seas are drying” echoing off into eternity. What We All Come to Need may be one of the best albums Pelican have released to date.

~ Akhenaten

The Scrolls of Akhenaten: Book #4

January 22, 2018 / Akhenaten / Leave a comment

Goth

The Birthday Massacre – Violet (London, Ontario, Canada – 2005)

I’ve always had a massive soft spot in my heart for anything that is Gothic but, like, really cheesy Gothic. While I do find the fanbase behind The Nightmare Before Christmas to be ultimately cringe-worthy, I can’t say that I don’t like that film. It’s wonderfully animated, has a great story, catchy musical numbers and, of course, a magnificent Gothic aesthetic that spawned a whole generation of Hot Topic-wearing preteens. I never partook in the scene or emo cultures of the 2000s as I was, and still am, more of a metalhead than anything else. But whenever I want to indulge in the world of Gothic cheese I turn to none other than The Birthday Massacre.

Violet is far and away my favorite album by this band. It smashes us in the face right from the get go with the first two songs, “Lovers End” and “Happy Birthday”, which will dig their way into your brain and remain rooted there until the end of time. The lyrics on here are so weirdly and darkly nostalgic, bringing the listener faint memories of bizarre, twisted events that may or may not have happened to them as a child. For example, “I think my friend said stick it in the back of her head, I think my friend said two of them are sisters, I’m a murder tramp, birthday boy, I think I said I’m gonna bash them in, bash them in, I think I said”. They’re appropriately creepy and yet when sung with Chibi’s childlike vocals and juxtaposed against the guitar and keyboard melodies and an atmosphere that evokes nostalgia, we’re left with a morbid yearning for darker days of yore.

4/5

Favorite Tracks:
“Lovers End”
“Happy Birthday”

Post

Suffocate for Fuck Sake – Blazing Fires and Helicopters on the Frontpage of the Newspaper. There’s a War Going on and I’m Marching in Heavy Boots (Sweden – 2008)

Well, with an album title like that how could I not give the sophomore release from Swedish post metallers Suffocate for Fuck Sake a listen? In truth, it was the album title that drew me in in the first place. To this day I’m unsure of how I initially discovered this band. Perhaps they were mentioned on one of the old Blogspots that I used to frequent in the late 2000s or I was recommended them via my intense listening of Isis, Jucifer and Pelican on Last.fm. Either way this album became a curiosity for me on my personal musical journey for many reasons.

The guitars, bass and drums here are as pummeling and atmospheric as you would expect from the band’s post metal contemporaries such as the aforementioned three acts or other bands like Neurosis and Cult of Luna. What makes this album different is the sampling. Throughout each track the listener is treated to clips of an interview that tells the story of a strained relationship between a mother and daughter who are both afflicted with mental illnesses. The interview is entirely in Swedish (of course) so I’m going off of the translations of others, but this is a believable story.

My favorite track on here is without a doubt “A Japanese Flag”. I was hooked on this one as soon as the unmistakable drum intro kicked in, followed by the sustained guitar chords and muffled vocals. It’s the highlight of the album for me and I still listen to this one track almost a decade after the album’s release.

4/5

Favorite Track:
“A Japanese Flag”

Totally Not Metal

Danny Brown – Atrocity Exhibition (Detroit, Michigan, USA – 2016)

Hip-hop is a genre that I’ve not given as much attention as I should have before this year. I decided as a New Years resolution that I would invest more time into genres that I haven’t explored much, to broaden my horizons and try new things. Investing time into hip-hop as both an art form and a cultural movement is a part of this new desire of mine. I started off by listening extensively to two of the genres biggest classic albums, N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton and Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Both are stellar releases and perfect examples of what the genre is to a newbie like myself. Atrocity Exhibition, however, is a perfect example of what the genre has the potential to be.

The beats on this album are just straight up strange. They’re catchy and unique for sure, every one of them an earworm, but they’re also unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. From the sparse instrumentation on “Pneumonia” to the heavy, almost metal-like punch of “Golddust”. Then you have Danny himself who is screaming like a madman from start to finish on this thing, rapping in this weird, high pitched voice that instantly sets him apart. Even if you’re not a hip-hop fan this album is weird enough, crazy enough and hard-hitting enough that I’d recommend it to just about anybody.

5/5

Favorite Tracks:
“Ain’t it Funny”
“Golddust”
“Pneumonia”

HeavyNFLD

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