SAMAEL: Above

Produced by Xy

Released: 2009

Over the last decade or so, Samael has made a stylistic shift into the realms of industrial ambience that has at times bordered on pop. It was a vastly different style from the early days when they were one of the original pioneers of black metal outside of Scandinavia.

So imagine my surprise when Above almost tore my ears off with blindingly fast riffs, furious blastbeats and caustic, grim vocals. The industrial and ambient elements are completely gone, replaced instead with a thick, vicious guitar sound, a relentless pace and subtle underlying melodies. This was originally intended as Xy’s solo album, and he is the prominent energy behind it. Vorph’s heavily distorted vocals are low in the mix and the drums are at the front, vying with Makro’s hyperspeed tremolo-picking as the driving force.

On first listen it may sound like Samael’s usual dynamics and sense of melody have been shunned in favour of the punishing pace, but those hallmark elements are still there, playing an understated yet important role that gives Above far more depth than that of just a fast black metal album. And this is without doubt the fastest album Samael has ever made. On “Dark Side” the drums are just insane as the band nears a black grind intensity and the speed rarely drops below full-on for the entire 40 minutes.

As both an homage to the groups that inspired them and a return to the aggression of their past, Samael’s Above is a triumph and one of the best albums of the year so far.

1. Under One Flag
2. Virtual War
3. Polygames
4. Earth Country
5. Illumination
6. Black Hole
7. In There
8. Dark Side
9. God's Snake
10. On Top of it All

Rating: 97%

THE BOY WILL DROWN: Fetish

Released: 2009

Following on from what I said a couple of days ago about deathcore in the CTLOG review, this is precisely the sort of shit I was referring to. For 29 minutes, this British band does little more than cut and paste blasting riffs and explosions of sweeps together as if there's no structure whatsoever. Unlike real grindcore bands like Napalm Death or Carcass who also spurned conventional song structures, The Boy Will Drown simply stick things together with no thought as to how it will turn out.

It's almost as though the band couldn't be bothered developing the bunch of riffs and ideas they had into proper songs, so they just played through them all in a haphazardly random fashion, recorded it while they did so and called it an album. Actually, calling this an album is a stretch: the ten "songs" here clock in at just under half an hour, and even that's about fifteen minutes too long because The Boy Will Drown exhausts most of their ideas after the first four songs. A silly, distorted countryfied guitar-plucking interlude crops up again and again, firstly as a minute-long coda to the tasteless "Josef Fritzl", and then a couple of other times later on. It sounds exactly the same each time, and just as pointless. There's the inkling of a melody in "Akura-Class" that makes it a little interesting, but only briefly. The only thing that comes close to a highlight is the 23-seconds of actual grindcore called "Elisabeth Fritzl", another classy reference to one of the worst sex-crimes in history.

Fetish is perhaps the most worthless CD I've heard so far this year. And I've heard a lot.

1. Deep Throat
2. Irminsul
3. Josef Fritzl
4. Apollo's Lyre
5. Dead Girls
6. Epileptic
7. Barrymore's Pool Party
8. Akura-Class
9. Elisabeth Fritzl
10. Suis da Luna

Rating: 10%

SWITCHBLADE: Invictus Infinitum

Produced by Darren Jenkins
Released: April 25

Switchblade has followed up their superior 2005 debut in the best way possible: by surpassing it in every aspect. Invictus Infinitum is a triumph for this hard-working and determined band. With a mix by no less a name than Neil Kernon, who's worked with Nevermore and Nile, and a spectacular guest appearance by modern guitar god Jeff Loomis, this is a display of just how good an album from an underground, unsigned act can be. This was made by an independent Sydney band but looks and sounds like it came from the stables of Nuclear Blast or Century Media: cardboard slipcase, fancy stickering, brilliant artwork, deliriously good production and, most importantly of all, a killer bunch of songs.

They were a great band before, but Invictus Infinitum is a reflection of how Switchblade has matured since The End of All Once Known. Indeed, this is almost a completely different band from the one that recorded that album. Their sound is leaner and the musical direction more refined, the hooks and riffs more memorable. Losing nothing of their heaviness, the production also enhances the more melodic aspects. Two of these guys were in Infernal Method for a while, and one could be forgiven for thinking that they brought some elements from that band to this. Twin guitar harmonies abound among catchy death metal riffs that recall the likes of Arch Enemy or Dark Tranquillity.

From the opening notes of “Revelation”, Invictus Infinitum is nothing less than a celebration of visceral, modern metal: insidious melodies, thrash grooves and hook-ridden death metal riffing. Loomis rips the fretboard apart on his guest slot in "Reflective Curse", one of the stand-out tracks with an infectious, Gothenburg sound. “The Cancer Benign” and “Impure Design” are savage and the feverishly heavy closer "As the Sun Dies" is also one of the highlights, but there isn’t a single bad track to be found.

Switchblade has delivered again, bigger and better than before.

1. II
2. Revelation
3. Coil of the Serpent
4. The Cancer Benign
5. Solitary Existence
6. Reflective Curse
7. Impure Design
8. Lacerate
9. As the Sun Dies

Rating: 95%

CROSS THE LIPS OF GRACE: The Epilogue of Suffering

Released: April 11

Deathcore has pretty much left me cold as a genre. To my ears, it's just a bunch of screamy, technical-for-the-sake-of-it bullshit that might be fantastic live with people going nuts everywhere but on CD just sounds like repetitive, tryhard scenester rubbish. So either there is more to it than that, or Cross the Lips of Grace just has a somewhat unique take on it, because The Epilogue of Suffering is by far one of the most interesting deathcore albums I've heard.

This opens with a theme-like organ surge that gradually builds towards the second track, a fearsome, almost terrifying assault of guitar noise, roars and screams of despair that sounds like the gates of Hell opening. This in turn leads to "The Miasmic Stench of Misery", a combination of omnious, Morbid Angel-style slab-like riffs, deathcore grooves and incomprehensible screaming. It's certainly the vocals that give this band that "core" tag, because musically these guys seem to draw far more from the likes of Suffocation and Dying Fetus than Despised Icon (could there be a more aptly-named band?). "Though Your Wilderness of Pain" is laden with sweeps, but they're never overdone, a wildly melodic guitar solo plays counterpoint with the surging miasma of "Synaesthesia" and "Your Filth Sickens Me" is a heavy as fuck mind-rape. The album's centerpiece is the three-part "Servant of Flesh", an odyssey full of chunky grooves and monstrously heavy riffage, rounded off with a strings-and-synths final section that is unfortunately about five minutes too long. That's the only real criticism I have of this utterly fearsome album of relentlessly extreme music. The Epilogue of Suffering simply doesn't let up.

Metal snobs who turn up their nose from anything remotely -coreish could do worse than give these blokes a listen.

1. Ortus
2. Abolition/Annihilation
3. The Miasmic Stench of Misery
4. Born into Bondage
5. Servant of Flesh - Enslavement
6. Servant of Flesh - Domination
7. Servant of Flesh - Subservient
8. Through Your Wilderness of Pain
9. The Icarus Demise
10. Your Filth Sickens Me
11. Synaethesia
12. Poena

Rating: 96%

LACUNA COIL: Shallow Life

Produced by Don Gilmore

Released: April 21

Lacuna Coil disappointed many fans with Karmacode, this correspondent included. Their commercial aspirations seemed to have driven away everything that made them appealing in the first place. There was never anything wrong with them chasing success, but on their way to selling half a million albums the soul appeared to have been sucked out of the band.

Shallow Life does something to readdress the balance between their commercial pretentions and their metal roots. If you've heard any Lacuna Coil you know what this is going to sound like, yet while the band's songwriting remains steadfastly risk-free, this is a much heavier album than Karmacode. Possibly due to the guiding hand of Linkin Park and Avril Lavigne producer Don Gilmore, Lacuna Coil has been allowed to expound their pop inclinations while also pounding out music that is (most of the time) undeniably heavy metal once again.

"Survive" is the perfect start, a tinkling xylophone and a repetitive, child-like vocal line are suddenly overwhelmed by crushing guitars that for a moment almost makes you wonder if you're listening to the right CD until the familiar harmonies of Cristina Scabbia enter the picture. A true star whose presence looms over the rest of the group like a colossus, it is Scabbia's distinctive timbre and grasp of melody that really makes this band. Musically, Shallow Life is the group's typical wall-of-sound guitars, rock beats and sprinklings of keys, with simple, catchy riffs recycled from the best songs on previous albums. It's heavier than before and the whole thing goes along all right, but there's nothing outstanding about the tracks, which for the most part stick rigidly to Lacuna Coil's tried and tested formula. "I Won't Tell You" and "Not Enough" are quite memorable and in the rock stylings of "I'm Not Afraid" the band nudges the accessibility of Linkin Park, an aspect that is echoed in the title track. Similarly, "I Like It" is so unashamedly pop that only the lack of a funky beat stops it from becoming an instant dancefloor hit.

Nevertheless, Shallow Life still has a metal vibe, with a much stronger presence from Andrea Ferro, who seemed to spend most of Karmacode standing around doing nothing. With Scabbia's talent and presence overshadowing him, Ferro was in danger of becoming completely redundant but on Shallow Life he takes the lead on a couple of occasions, and turns in his best performances so far. As much as Scabbia owns the first two-thirds of this, Ferro dominates "The Maze" and "Unchained", two of the band's heaviest and darkest songs.

Shallow Life doesn't offer any real surprises but it is certainly edgier and heavier than its predecessor and just as likely to snare more fans in Lacuna Coil's harmonious net. Again, Scabbia proves what a giant talent she is and the band shows how they'd be nothing without her.

1. Survive
2. I Won't Tell You
3. Not Enough
4. I'm Not Afraid
5. I Like It
6. Underdog
7. The Pain
8. Spellbound
9. Wide Awake
10. The Maze
11. Unchained
12. Shallow Life

Rating: 73%

DREADNAUGHT: Dreadnaught

Produced by Reggie Bowman and Dreadnaught
Released: 1 May

Dreadnaught's latest album starts off rather subtly with a nice melodic guitar line. After exactly one minute, a choppy staccato riff slams you in the face and it's all in from that moment on. The Melbourne quintet's fifth album all but dumps the dirty raw rock sound of their last for the more metallic stylings of earlier days, but that hasn't stopped them sounding pissed off.

It would be hard not to sound this way really, with a voice like Greg Trull's out front. His distinctive, powerful roar is like pure anger unleashed. There's also a new weapon in the Dreadnaught arsenal: the clock-stopping drumming prowess of Matt Racovalis. These guys aren't as technical as Racca's previous band Alarum, but his stickswork still gives them an extra sting in the tail. And that sting is venomous.

"Tattooed Tears" opens Dreadnaught with the pain and frustration of loss. Three people close to the band died between this album and the last, including former drummer Suds, and this sort of emotion pervades the entire set. The first four tracks pile on anger and fury in heightening degrees until the first of the brief, moody "Reflections" interludes offers short respite. Trull evokes such rage in tracks like "Save Your Life" and "Agony/Ecstacy" you almost expect to cop flecks of spittle in your ears as you listen. Musically, the band never forgets the importance of dynamics, blending catchy riffs and short bursts of rock groove with controlled injections of melody and occasional splats of lead guitar. Racovalis (he of the traditional grip) proves his mettle more than once, and no more so than with the machine-gun drumming in "10x the Pain". Finally, if all that anger wasn't quite enough, Dreadnaught finishes with "Buried" that's nothing less than full-blast hardcore.

Just as good as anything they've done before, Dreadnaught's fourth album is a furious ball of rage that cements them as both the angriest and one of the best of Australia's heavy metal legions.

1. Tattooed Tears
2. The Push
3. Save Your Life
4. Collapse
5. Reflections Pt. 1
6. More Than One Way
7. Agony/Ecstacy
8. Reflections Pt. 2
9. 10x the Pain
10. Twist the Knife
11. Reflections Pt. 3
12. Buried

Rating: 93%

IRON MAIDEN: Brave New World

Produced by Steve Harris and Kevin Shirley
Released: 2000

With the "classic" line-up (plus Janick!) reunited after a decade of fluctuating fortunes for all involved, Brave New World was one of the most anticipated releases of 2000. Their world tour of the year before (which, as usual, skipped Australia) had apparently shown the magic was back, but Iron Maiden now had to prove it was there on record. While this turned out to be a hit-and-miss affair, Brave New World was easily the best thing Maiden had done since Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. By far.

Literary themes inspired some of the material, as expected, but like The X Factor there was also more personal tracks, namely Steve Harris' eulogy to his father, "Blood Brothers". The introduction of experienced producer Shirley brought back the enormous, bombastic sound of Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son, and there was a subtle usage of keyboards from Harris that was far better handled than on previous excursions. And instead of sounding cluttered, the three guitars idea works very well, with each giving the other plenty of breathing room.

As always, the album opens with a strong and catchy belter in the shape of "The Wicker Man" before going into a significantly more epic mode with "Ghost of the Navigator", the first real opportunity for Bruce Dickinson to show people who hadn't followed his solo career that he his voice had actually improved since his previous Maiden outing eight years before. It's the longer tracks that are really the highlights on here, in fact, particularly "Dream of Mirrors" (allegedly co-written by Blaze Bayley) and "The Nomad", one of Dave Murray's rare songwriting contributions. The second of these is quite a grower, with Murray's Eastern-sounding guitar lines adding an extra element. Adrian Smith's "Fallen Angel" is a gem, but often overlooked by being squeezed in between this pair of dinosaur-sized sagas.

The album's final track is a stand out simply because it's such an unusual one. With a meandering structure and constant outbreak of extended soloing, "The Thin Line Between Love and Hate" (another Murray co-write) sounds more like a studio jam than the regular contrived Iron Maiden compositions, and thus remains one of the most remarkable tracks of their entire catalogue.

Elsewhere, "The Mercenary" is quite forgettable, "Blood Brothers" is overwrought and the big anthemic title track wears out its welcome after a few spins. Nevertheless, Brave New World as a whole was proof that Iron Maiden could come back from the wilderness in a way that few other major acts could manage and set them up for another decade of triumph.

1. The Wicker Man
2. Ghost of the Navigator
3. Brave New World
4. Blood Brothers
5. The Mercenary
6. Dream of Mirrors
7. Fallen Angel
8. The Nomad
9. Out of the Silent Planet
10. The Thin Line Between Love and Hate

Rating: 81%

HATCHET DAWN: Faith in Chaos

Produced by Howsie
Released: April 14

Recorded a year and a half ago with almost a completely different line-up, "Faith in Chaos" is the first release by a Melbourne band called Hatchet Dawn, who mix up a couple of normally rather disparate styles to create a truly unclassifiable din.

In its broadest sense, "Faith in Chaos" is something like Crowbar going up against Strapping Young Lad. A murky sludge undercurrent runs beneath Townsend-style blitzkrieg riffs with vocals that run a gamut of intense "core"-ish screams and a deep, gravelly croak like Anselmo on Down's NOLA album. It's a pretty intriguing blend and it doesn't always come off. The first two songs are so alike it's difficult to tell when one ends and the next begins, but this is a CD that gets better as it goes on. The creeping, mournful Down-like "Red Memoirs" bridges the samey-sounding chaos of the first half and the more interesting second. "The Serpent Order" is the stand-out track on here, the one that best defines their intentions and the one rightly chosen to turn into a video, which is included as a bonus track. If Devin Townsend and Kirk Windstein got jamming together, something like "The Serpent Order" could well be the result. "Perfect Parasite" is much looser, a darker, brooding track with an almost Neurosis vibe weaving through it.

With "Faith in Chaos", Hatchet Dawn has done some pretty good work, even if their obvious influences still overshadow their pretentions of originality, and show themselves to be something to keep an eye out for.

1. Demon
2. Consuming Creation
3. Red Memoirs
4. The Serpent Order
5. Perfect Paradise

Rating: 73%