Happy Halloween, you motherpeckers… it’s your old boy Waldo here to let you know about some upcoming releases. This time of year, the releases start to slow, but hey, I get paid by the peck here so…
Anyone that reads this knows I’m not a huge fan of black metal, well traditional black metal anyway, and although there is a substantial buzz around Abigail Williams, I can’t say that Walk Beyond the Dark is really changing my mind. So, first off, I have to say, I LOVE the record cover, certainly not standard for a black metal album cover. So, what about this release already? Right? This is well produced, all of the instruments are clear and present, AND they actually sound forceful. What about the song writing? Well, it’s actually well crafted, this has a little swing too it, not just 100 times the blast beats with some screeched vocals. That all sounds positive right? Why don’t I like it? There’s just something here I can’t put my feather on, something that seems to be missing. All in all, this is an aggressive (mostly) cohesive metal record, maybe I just don’t “get it.” If you like black metal, this is a finely crafted record that fits neatly into the genre and excels over most. If you don’t like black metal… well, then… 5 Fucking Pecks
Lord Mantis is a metal band, not one so easily pigeonholed. Universal Death Church drives that point home. There’s no one that sounds like them, and they do it well. So, what about this? This is a shambolic affair, basically taking everything that could have been a possible extreme metal influence and throwing it all in the pot and voila! Lord Mantis! It needs to be said that although there are A LOT of varied influences here, there’s not one derivative influence that jumps out or no real vibe of plagiarism. This just IS. Lumbering, sometimes crawling guitars, tortured vocals lead into moody passages that can border on the industrial. This isn’t arty for art’s sake, just one nasty piece of work. Yes, I also know that Ken from the aforementioned Abigail Williams is now in Lord Mantis, so like… cool your jets, everyone. I like this more (no disrespect, Ken). 7 Fucking Pecks
MAN, I Love Nile, and reviewing Vile Nilotic Rites is going to be tough. I really haven’t been excited by too much after Black Seeds of Vengeance, BUT, I gotta say, I’m pretty impressed compared to their last couple of efforts. This is a SOLID death metal record (with AMAZING drumming by George Kollias). So, this is basically what’ you’d expect from a Nile record, it’s got some stuff about mummies, some pyramid jams, and well Egyptian themed death metal. This is a more compact, concise Nile, but it still packs a little heat. Complex at times (as it should be) but it never comes across as confused. This is what Nile in 2019 should sound like. I like it. 7 Fucking Pecks
‘Til next time. Waldo out!
