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: 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

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The Scrolls of Akhenaten: April 12th, 2024

The Scrolls of Akhenaten: March 29th, 2024