Your End -- Le sombre triomphe (review)

Band: Your End
Album: Le sombre triomphe
Genre: blackened death/grind/sludge
Year: 2017
Label: independent

Your End started out as an extreme metal duo in 2017, but they sound as if they've been honing there sound for at least half a decade.  Needless to say, these guys exist to deliver sludgy, HM-2-driven black/death.
The EP opens with my personal favorite track, "Endless Agony."  The sludgy riffing and crushing breakdown set the morbid tone for the hail of frantic blasts and dark melodies that follow.  When the band kicks it into high-gear, the songs sound as if they are on the verge of falling apart, like all the screws are loose and everything is violently rattling.  As a result, the music sounds urgent, as if Your End is trying to record the whole thing before they shatter into oblivion.  That may not sound so good on paper, but the EP benefits from this greatly.
The pacing of the music varies from frantic blast beats to slower sludge metal passages.  There are plenty of riffs and melodies to make each track stand out from the rest.  The vocals are very much a cross between black metal rasps and grindcore growls and grunts.  The track "Dead Before Dawn" even briefly features some more emotive vocals.
Overall, Le sombre triomphe is an excellent, raw debut release from this American extreme metal duo (now a trio).  I highly recommend procuring their full catalog.  You can download this EP (for free/name your price) on bandcamp.


Rating: 4 / 5
Top Tracks:
Endless Agony
Dead Before Dawn
Drain

Project Nefast -- SEX MONEY POWER (review)

Band: Project Nefast
Album: SEX MONEY POWER
Genre: drone metal
Year: 2017
Label: Tartarus Records

Sex.  Money.  Power.
Project Nefast blow me away yet again.  Their previous effort, Dogma, was a monstrous exposé of psychedelic bliss, and here we see the band taking their sound in a new direction: drone metal.  Consisting of four hypnotic tracks, SEX MONEY POWER is a half-hour journey into a world of wailing feedback and distortion.  I'll break it down track-by-track and also delve into the accompanying music videos...
The album opens with the absolutely crushing "Mislukkeling."  This is pure, unadulterated drone metal.  Wave after wave of harsh guitar noise crashes upon the listener in an unrelenting bath of chaos.  The drummer gets a few shots in as well, but rather than providing structure, he only adds to the disarray.  And who would have thought that there would be a music video for this?  I don't think I've ever seen a music video for an instrumental, but Project Nefast pull it off.  The video trudges along slowly, keeping pace with the music.  The plot is simple: three masked men (Nefast in the flesh) sit around a table playing monopoly.  Two of the album's central themes are represented in the scene: MONEY (monopoly cash raining down on the men) and POWER (the array of weapons on the table, including a pair of... well, scissors).  Overall, I would say it matches the track perfectly and gives us a little glimpse into the minds of this Dutch trio.
Check the video here.
Next up is "Pastorale."  On this track, Nefast lead us into a nice little psychedelic jam.  Somewhat reminiscent of their 2016 album, "Pastorale" builds intensity over its nearly 10-minute running time before slowing down and running out of steam.
A jolt of noise announces the third track, the titular "SEX MONEY POWER."  Yet another shift in musical direction, "SEX MONEY POWER" builds a wall of psychedelic noise which all but drowns out the vocalist.  The drummer provides structure to this droning wall of sound by blasting away at a steady pace.  Once again, I am reminded of Dogma, but it still seems fresh.  The music video displays a darker side of the band.  Shaky, black-and-white footage follows a pair of women as they engage in the nightlife of the urban sprawl.  Everything seems pretty lighthearted as the duo walk the city streets, clearly high as fuck.  The footage is intercut with shots of a playground, particularly focusing on a slide.  As the tension in the song finally explodes, the women break into an argument which ultimately escalates into a fight at the playground.  The whole thing is filmed in such a way that it feels unnerving, and the action follows the swell of the music perfectly.
View the video here.
Finally, we have "Ziektebeeld."  A steady drum-and-bass beat provides the stage for a rant ( I presume in Dutch) by a seemingly crazed vocalist.  It almost feels like a one-sided argument, as if he is trying to reason with himself.  The guitars chime in, providing a layer of psyched-out droning.  Some electronic elements are also utilized towards the end of the track.  The album ends very abruptly.  The shift from droning repetitiveness to absolute nothingness is quite a shock, yet in my opinion is not out of place.
Project Nefast end the album on an odd note, but that seems to be the point.  Society craves sex, money, and power, but these things cannot fill the void within us all.  They leave much to be desired (or maybe I'm just full of shit on this one).  I highly recommend you listen to this trio's discography.  You can stream SEX MONEY POWER from their bandcamp here and purchase a cassette copy from Tartarus Records here.  Full support for these Dutch metallers!


Rating: 4 / 5
Top Tracks:
SEX MONEY POWER
Ziektebeeld

Methwitch -- Piss (review)

Band: Methwitch
Album: Piss
Genre: slamming deathcore
Year: 2017
Label: independent

Methwitch is a one-man deathcore project from New Mexico.  Blending together the most brutal elements of hardcore and extreme metal, Piss is an unrelenting beast of an album.  Over the course of its one-hour run time, Cameron McBride lays down hellfire on anyone (un)lucky enough to listen to his output.
None of the songs are particularly memorable, but this guy knows what he does best: crush the listener with 20 tons of breakdowns.  If you hate breakdown-driven core music in the vein of Vulvodynia and Infant Annihilator, then I recommend you avoid Methwitch at all costs.  Love getting curb-stomped repeatedly?  Indulge yourself with this behemoth!
I was extremely surprised to see that the drums on this release are, in fact, programmed.  In my opinion, they sound very organic (I mean that in the way that they aren't overly repetitive -- they sound triggered for sure).  The guitar work is great (for deathcore).  There really are not any stand-out riffs, but McBride manages to pull off some technical shit when he's not delivering a brutal beatdown.  The bass is audible, but there is nothing really impressive about it.  Vocals, on the other hand, are phenomenal!  A mix of hardcore shouting, guttural growls, and ear-piercing shrieks, McBride manages to keep the music interesting for its long-winded run time.  He seems to be heavily influenced by the likes of Duncan Bentley and Travis Ryan, while simultaneously cementing his own unique style.
All in all, I think the album is a bit too long for this style, but if you are looking to get crushed, look no further.  You can download the album from the Methwitch bandcamp here.


Rating: 3.5 / 5
Top Tracks:
Carmine
Priest of Piss
Altar of Blasphemy
Gallery of Apostasy