Lazarus Blackstar at Myspace

Lazarus Blackstar’s first album “Revelations” was a classic of the sludge genre. Many bands, particularly in the UK, had trod the path well-worn by the likes of Eyehategod, Grief, and Iron Monkey. But none of them, not Raging Speedhorn nor Mistress, have done so in such an original and portentous way as Lazarus Blackstar did with “Revelations”, through adding the crust stylings of Amebix and the chugging plodding sense of groove of vintage Sabbath into the mix to create something that was more of the sum of its parts. Lazarus Blackstar’s sophomore album “Funeral voyeur” starts off as more of the same, with the title track kicking off proceedings with an ominous crawl.

“Funeral Voyeur” is Lazarus Blackstar’s last album with vocalist Paul Catten, who has left to join possibly one of the worst concept bands in extreme metal, The Sonataran Experiment. How Lazarus Blackstar will cope without Catten is uncertain, as his highly unique vocal style is part of the attraction. Imagine an 80 year old great grandmother from the Gorbals area of Glasgow. Now imagine that woman out of her face on vicodin, LSD, and Buckfast, screeching at the top of her voice at random passers-by at 3am. That is Paul Catten’s vocal style first used in bizarre spazcore pioneers Medulla Nocte and further used in sludge metal supergroup Murder One. His vocals convey a sense of hopelessness, agitation, and terror that few other vocalists in sludge metal can, with his performance on “I’m Not Paranoid (I Know That They Hate Me)” being the best evocation of sheer paranoia and mental instability this side of Art Bell’s coast-to-coast.

Other choice cuts include the apocalyptic “Revelation III: Conclusion” and “Loneliness”, which sounds sort-of like Candlemass if they had a Glaswegian pensioner junkie on vocals. All in all, if you liked the first Lazarus Blackstar album then you’ll like the second as there’s no progression. Where they go from here with the loss of such an integral part of their sound in the shape of Paul Catten is anybody’s guess.

The Freezing Fog at Myspace

One would not expect that a traditional heavy metal album would come from the same plectrums of the same people who gave you Converge-approved metalcore heroes Beecher, despite the fact that Beecher themselves were originally conceived as a doom metal band, but rest assured if you absolutely hate metalcore (if you don’t then check out Beecher’s “This Elegy, His Autopsy”) you’ll probably be interested to check this out. Apart from the mark of mid-period Cathedral, there’s not a single influence that’s later than 1976. The riffs of Sabbath, the twin guitar attacks of Thin Lizzy, the stomp of Budgie, the genius of Deep Purple, the muddy power of Blue Cheer, the progressive bent of Hawkwind yadda yadda yadda. Basically this is the sound of heavy metal before Judas Priest and Motorhead got their hands on it, revisited through a stoner prism.

The lead guitar work by one “Charles Edward Godby” (like Beecher they insist on using their middle names in the time honoured serial killer fashion) shows an immense sense of power and rhythm, as vast riffage collides with soulful and psychedelic leads. The songs are expertly structured with many different variations on 70’s heavy metal ebbing and flowing in a natural and delightful fashion with the spacey Jimmy Page meets Kyuss solos being an obvious highlight. David William Hopkinson’s soaring masculine yet distinctly Lancastrian vocals bring a passionate and forceful resonance to the music, somewhere between a lower pitched version of Budgie’s Burke Shelley and a hell of a lot more tuneful Lee Dorrian!

This is the perfect album for chilling out, drinking a few beers and smoking the odd joint (a subject visited by the band themselves in their stoner hobbit epic “No Light, No Smoke”) to on a summer’s day. If this band had been around in 1974 they would have been legends, as it is in 2008 it’s a godamn awesome piece of trad metal heavier than fiat punto full of hambeasts, with not a growl, scream, or a trace of punk rock in sight. Although released in the United Kingdom by Roadkill records late last year, this record is being re-released worldwide in August this year by Dental records with 2 bonus tracks, so I would take some marks off for some Roadrunner-esque tactics there, but it’s hard to stay mad at these stoners for long with such quality guitar work on display.

Centuions Ghost at Myspace

I first saw Centurions Ghost live in 2005, in the basement of a dodgy pub in one of Birmingham’s dodgiest suburbs. The pub has since gone, torn down probably to create more yuppie apartments as is the way in most major UK cities, but the memory of that performance remains as visceral today as it was back then. Centurions Ghost’s second album, ‘The Great Work’, proves they still had whatever it was back then, being a stunningly visceral doom album that takes elements from sludge, thrash and death metal.

The most explicit influence on ‘The Great Work’ is Crowbar, though this is nowhere near straight-up hero worship. They are heavier and more technical than the boys from New Orleans and they disregard Crowbar’s hardcore elements entirely, and make their depressive side more subtle and less melodic. Evidence of their innovation is seen on album opener ‘The Supreme Moment’, which starts with an ever-so-slightly mathematical verse before sweeping in with some soulful guitar harmonies in the chorus. Winter, Celtic Frost, and Cathedral would be other good reference points, with ‘Bedbound (In the House of Doom)’ and ‘In Defiance’ having a distinct Entombed feel. The latter of those tracks abounds in the fattest groove this side of an armchair in a furry’s house, with the most sublime psychedelic guitar part five minutes in, and is the clear stand-out track.

Apart from the bizzare pairing of Biohazard’s more metal moments with some Flordian slo-mo death metal components in ‘Walking Through Walls’, this album is consistently enjoyable. A definite listen if not purchase for all fans of slow-paced extreme metal.

Winterfylleth at Myspace

Hailing from the most grim and frostbitten city known to man, Mancunian black metal troupe Winterfylleth released this terrific wee demo EP in October 2007, and I’ve listened to it literally squillions of times since. Literally. Fuck, I hate people who misuse ‘literally’.

So seriously, then. This is great. Atmospheric and riffy, Winterfylleth successfully pull off the Eastern European pagan / heathen sound of Hate Forest, Drudkh, early Graveland et al but with a very British ‘tromping about in the rain’ twist. The production is by no means polished, but at least it manages to avoid sounding like your next-door neighbour smashing pans together (like so many BM demos) and instead sounds impressively full and heavy.

The mid-tempo drumming, acoustic influences, and long, repetitive riffs do a great job of making you feel like you’re out in the countryside thinking about how awesome England was before those fucking Roman bastards came and fucked everything up. Running water? Culture? Fuck off. I’ll keep my pig-ear and turnip stew, thanks very much.

The shitty thing about ‘Rising of the Winter Full Moon’, though, is that it’s incredibly short. Three songs, totalling about 17 minutes. But they’re apparently working on an album anyway, so whatever. They best hurry up and finish it and then start playing live so I can watch them at a venue near me, supported by some shitty deathcore band.

So yeah. Grab this if you can, it’s good!

(Click Album Cover for Samples)

“Lay down your soul to the gods of Rock N’ Roll!” Those are the words EVERY single person remembers when hearing the title track to Venom’s sophomore release “Black Metal.” Those words have always been kind of true in terms of Venom because of them coining the now infamous term, “Black Metal.” But, when you talk about Venom you cannot help but get into the whole discussion of who started “Black Metal” whether it was Bathory, Pentagram, or even Black Sabbath (I’ve heard people use the Black Sabbath argument).

But after so many “Black Metal” bands such as Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Burzum, and so on and so on, Venom as a band kind of faded away leaving the term, the image, and the attitude for the newer bands to take and make their own. Slowly, but surely, Venom had tried to stay revelant to the metal world, not the “Black Metal” world, with albums such as “Cast in Stone”, “Metal Black”, and now “Hell.” While Venom no longer really consists of the original members, Cronos being the sole leader and foundation, they have still have not let up or changed much of the ideologies that they began with.

“Hell” is very much a heavy album with very moody overtones, which at times, taps into a more “Doom Metal” emotion. At times, the album reminds me of Slayer’s “Diabolus In Musica” with the slow, droning riffs, heavy and prominent bass, and double bass drumming. The lyrics still hold true to their Ideology of doom, Armageddon, death, and anti-Christianity. In reality, very little has changed in the bands style, maybe a modernizing of playing, but this album actually fits pretty well within todays “Metal” world.