Evile – Hell Unleashed
It was enormous news in the new wave thrash community that, not only were pioneers of the style Evile returning, but that vocalist Matt Drake wasn’t. Instead, his brother and co-founding guitarist Ol stepped up to the plate and wields the mic for the Englishmen’s first studio album in 8 years. Hell Unleashed renews Evile’s bloodthirst with what is surely their most aggressive work to date. Ol’s vocals suit the new gore-hungry style perfectly, and the guitar-work is a new level of sharp. The majority of this record is relentlessly fast, but boy do the Huddersfield lads know how to bring the hammer down and ensure no one’s head is left unbanged. The cover of Mortician’s “Zombie Apocalypse” is a surefire higlight for its sledgehammering primal groove, but thrashers will definitely be drawn to the likes of “The Thing” or the rapid-fire title-track. We really couldn’t have asked for a better, angrier or more eager return to form from new wave thrash’s finest.
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Dark Horse, White Horse – Dark Horse, White Horse
Vocalist Marcela Bovio (Ayreon, Mayan, Stream of Passion, The Gentle Storm) together with guitarist Jord Otto (Vuur), keyboardist Ruben Wijga (Blackbriar, ex-ReVamp), bassist Siebe Sol Sijpkens (Phantom Elite, Destiny Potato, Sordid Pink) and drummer Ariën van Weesenbeek (Epica, Mayan) got together to form an all Dutch prog-tech symphonic metal supergroup. The self-titled debut E.P. Dark Horse White Horse is just over 20 minutes long and consists of 5 tracks. That may not sound like much but given the amount of creativity, diversity and emotion delivered in these songs, you can’t really ask for more. The band has put together an impressive, oppressive and slightly depressive sound through punishing progressive riffs, ominous dramatic orchestrations and crushing emotion. Fusing in blistering solos, futuristic electronic effects and Marcela’s most powerful vocal delivery to date, the band is aiming to shock but also to engage the listener in a deeply emotional and otherworldly cinematic experience.
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Termina – Dysphoria
Termina is the quite literally dynamic duo consisting of Nik Nocturnal and Andy Cyzek, providing the textbook approach to what debut djent record should be in Dysphoria. Short banging groovy tracks with plenty of hooks as well as progressive sections and intricacy from Nik, topped by the supernatural vocal versatility of Andy make for a compact and convincing release that can’t slip by unnoticed for fans of the genre. Some worthy comparisons would be Monuments, Born of Osiris Architects or Tesseract. Give it a shot for a djenting good time.
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Capra – In Transmission
This album came as a surprise to me. I was not familiar with the band before this release. I was instantly hooked and pleasantly surprised. A great take on melodic hardcore with ferocious vocals and awesome musicianship. The songs are quick and punchy, with lyrics that evoke various emotions. Definitely a highlight of April, despite some bigger name releases coming out. This is one I’ve gone back to multiple time without hesitation.
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Nekromantheon – The Visions Of Trismegistos
If you can believe that a band as savage as blackened thrashers Nekromantheon can lie dormant for 8 years (in terms of recorded output, anyway), you’ll know why the intensity of this 33 minute comeback was sorely missed. Some of the tracks on the Norwegians’ third full-length are fleshed out into rampaging mini-epics, but the title track and “Neptune Descent” still can’t help themselves from thrashing the skin off your face. Themes of the ancients appear on most of the songs, and the same sandy blasts of intensity and divine fervour emit from the cutting riffs and tombstone grooves of the trio. Nekromantheon, it’s very good to hear you again.
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Synalkross – 0K4M1
Spanish melodic death/industrial hybrid lunatics Synlakross have long been favourites of mine since their early debut Melodichrome, combining complex industrial soundscapes with deliciously catchy melodic death and a White Zombie-esque Sci-fi/Horror style. New banger 0K4M1 dropped on the final day of the month like the last entrant into the Royal Rumble and slung everybody else over the top rope in a flurry of undeniable headbanger riffs, creepy Alienesque aesthetics and electrifying solo licks. This melodic death sci-fi/horror concept killer’s not to be missed.
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Spectral Lore – Ετερόφωτος
The Greek black metal scene has already proven to be one of the most ferocious and boundary pushing across Europe and even worldwide. But Spectral Lore is a different kind of beast. Ετερόφωτος is one of those albums that you don’t come across very often: it is extravagant, multifaceted and relentless, it combines the aggression of Sentinel with the melodic sensibilities of III while some traditional eastern/Greek folk passages a la Gnosis are also imbued here and there. The fifth album that Ayloss released under the Spectral Lore moniker is a massive undertaking and certainly not for the faint hearted, it will require several listens before one finally begins to sink into its depths. So why album of the month? Because its themes are of extreme importance, because it dares to go as far as to denounce everything that black metal has been notorious for (outside the purely musical aspect), because it dares to be different than anything else. Perhaps it is not the most detailed or refined of Ayloss’ albums, I know that already. But Spectral Lore went all the way and created one of the most audacious releases one could think of. Not an instant classic, but an album of undeniable cultural importance when it comes to black metal’s conceptual/contextual traditions. Give it some time and Ετερόφωτος will prove itself to be one of the most important releases of 2021.
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Sweet Oblivion – Relentless
I approached Sweet Oblivion’s second album Relentless with a fair dose of skepticism: a band put together by a record label (Frontiers) around the voice of Geoff Tate with the overt objective to resuscitate the sound of Queensrÿche circa 1980? It smelled a lot of opportunism. But here I stand, proved wrong. Because Relentless is a surprisingly good album that I struggled to drop off my April playlist. Sure, Sweet Oblivion are not pushing any boundaries here, but the album has three/four killer songs that, if you close your eyes and forget this is 2021, will bring you straight back to those magic Queensrÿche years. And that cannot possibly be a bad thing, can it? “Strong Pressure”, “Anybody Out There”, “Another Change”, and the sweet acoustic ballad “I’ll Be the One” are excellent tracks that give Tate some strong material to stretch his still impressive vocal skills. Is the album as good as those early Queensrÿche records that it promises to hark back to? Not really, but in a couple of songs it does get damn close!
