Madder Mortem - Marrow

By Kevin Page. 20 years these quirky Norwegians have been kicking around the metal scene. After a 7 year wait between prior albums (2009's Eight Ways and 2016's Red in Tooth and Claw) they've taken pity on us with only 2 years between releases.

By Kevin Page.

Artwork Thore Hansen

20 years these quirky Norwegians have been kicking around the metal scene. After a 7 year wait between prior albums (2009's Eight Ways and 2016's Red in Tooth and Claw) they've taken pity on us with only 2 years between releases. This album is a definite 'grower' as it took a few more spins than usual for it to sink in. But your patience will pay off in the long run. Here is my track by track breakdown.

After a brief intro, the album kicks off with "Liberator". The band doesn't waste any time getting right to the point. This track centers around a big fat juicy riff that weaves its way into your frontal lobe. For long time fans of the band, this would be the "My Name is Silence" of the album.

"Moonlight Over Silver White", one of my favorite songs on the record. There's something about that main guitar riff that tickles me with excitement. Masterfully woven together with smooth jazz and melodic metal, it bounces back and forth between two worlds.

"Until You Return" can be considered the most tender song the band has done to date. I could envision them in suits in a dark smokey lounge noodling away. But in typical Madder fashion, it's punctuated with fits of rage before returning to its casual beauty.

"My Will Be Done" is the most oddball/divisive track on the album. Essentially a groove metal bro dude tune with screamo vocals, interjected with the sonic feelings of present day Gojira/Mastodon on the pre-chorus and interspersed with Agnete's signature voice. I'll be damned if it didn't win me over in the end though. I'm not going to claim it's my favorite track or anything, but for something I initially thought stood out like a sore thumb (or even a down note), I'm totally fine with it. Consider it somewhat of a palate cleanser.

"Far From Home" is heavily reminiscent of "Armour" from Eight Ways. Soft, gentle, ends on a high note with Agnete's soaring vocals.

"Marrow", the title song and my 2nd favorite track. Not only is this a full on metal jazz song (with overtones of "Changeling" from 2006's Desiderata). It's another number I can see them playing in a nightclub lounge. Yet after lulling the audience into a false sense of security with "Until You Return", the utter shock and dismay of the unsuspecting crowd would be a glorious sight to see.

Photos by Aline Meyer.

"White Snow, Red Shadows" is fairly straightforward, at least for a Madder Mortem composition. Punchy and upbeat from start to finish. This is the only time I've heard Agnete vocally trying to keep up with the music.

"Stumble On" really snuck up on me and turned out to be my clear cut favorite. The backbone of song is a slice of Midwest Americana folk (with shades of "Hangman" thrown in for good measure). Featuring some of the finest vocal and lyrical work by Ms. Kirkevaag to date, it elicits that chemical reaction in my brain that moves me emotionally. The galloping drums and the build to the final crescendo is a thing of pure beauty.

Threads of purpose through our life
We will stumble on
Blinding darkness and endless light
We will stumble on

This is the time when shadows grow longer
When sharp blades grow blunt and you need to be stronger
This is the point where you don't run for cover
When everything's urgent and nothing is over
This is the truth and the heart of the matter
If you cannot hold, then everything SHATTERS

"Waiting to Fall" is the closer with a bombastic 9 minute run-time that ties together all the varied textures and emotions of the songs that came before it. Again, as a callback to previous albums, you'll get a distinct "The Eighth Wave" vibe here.

In my review of their prior album, Red in Tooth and Claw I felt the band had essentially let it's hair down and become fully comfortable in their own skin. Now with Marrow they have taken that a few steps further with a seemingly "we don't give a shit, here it is" attitude. Yet with an expertly crafted production (you end up learning a few things over two decades) they do indeed care.

The cut above: a look back at 2016 part 2

By Bryan Camphire. Coven, or Evil Ways Instead of Love, the 2016 album by Polish black metal horde Cultes des Ghoules, has five songs and clocks in at one hour and thirty-eight minutes. To refer to this record as epic is no cheap use of hyperbole. The songs are dynamic and feature frequent change ups.

By Bryan Camphire.

Artwork by Mar.A.

Coven, or Evil Ways Instead of Love, the 2016 album by Polish black metal horde Cultes des Ghoules, has five songs and clocks in at one hour and thirty-eight minutes. To refer to this record as epic is no cheap use of hyperbole. The songs are dynamic and feature frequent change ups. The bass is particularly prominent, and there are even occasional drum and bass breaks, a feature that feels almost more punk rock than it does black metal. This music is raw. The production feels like it is going for as close to a live sound as possible. The effect is to give the feeling of being in the room with this evil coven of sadistic Satanic musicians, witnessing their heresy live as it happens. The singer of this group is known as Mark of the Devil (Is his given name Mark? One wonders... because that would be pretty clever...). To me, he has every bit as much character and originality as Ozzy Osbourne brought to the genre of metal some forty-five years ago. Mark of the Devil cackles, croons, chants, grunts, growls, screams, whispers and sermonizes with extreme gusto. He does his job with a depth and thoroughness the likes of which I haven't heard equaled among other hordes of blasphemers. This man truly sounds like a evangelist for Satan preaching from an altar top adorned with a prostrate virgin oozing blood from every pore. Highly recommended devilry.

Artwork by Trine + Kim Design Studio.

Virus are among the stranger acts making heavy music at present. In fact, their guitar work is predominantly clean, so it is difficult to even categorize the music they make as metal. The devil being in the details, it’s in the group’s sinister use of harmony where the real mischief lies. Put another way, if one were to take the work of Virus transcribed as sheet music and feed it into a synthesizer, no matter what patch one might try to apply (How does this music sound transposed for brass instruments? Or, how might this sound if played on an accordion?), the result would sound much more menacing than most metal music on the market today. This group has been perfecting their craft for decades, and it shows in the strength of their songwriting. This music exists in a delirium entirely of its own.

Cover Art by Raul Gonzalez.

Here we have the genuine article in contemporary American black metal. We take a look at the front cover of this record and we see cold deep blues and blacks everywhere, lightning striking, storms raging, swirling mystical mists, craggy pathways leading downward toward perdition laden with stalactites dripping dreary deathless doom. At the center of all of this is Death Fortress. What secret lies beyond those dark castle walls? How does this horde reign supreme in the realms of the Unyielding? The magic is in the breakdowns. I’m talking about those sections of music where the band plays in half time. The drummer smacks the bell of the ride so hard it sounds like broadswords clashing. The listener pumps her fists and thinks it might just be time to go burn down a church. Listening closely to the tempo changes on this album, one marvels at the rhythm section’s deft balance of tempo changes.

The first track, "Enthroning the Oppressor," goes full tilt for four full minutes of blistering blast beats until that breakdown finally comes in glorious half-time. In the next track, "The Erasure Of Species", Death Fortress seems to sense the lust for blood in the audience, and the breakdown comes forth right at the two minute marker. One can feel the boots stomping along to this deathless march. Then along comes "Mercyless Deluge", and the band careens forth until just one minute and twenty seconds before a riff is played in half time… only to reveal itself as just a fraction of a larger phrase, which speeds up and then slows back down and then speeds back up again, like some unearthly carriage racing around corners driven by mad rabid beasts unyielding in their drive towards the beyond. "Scourge of Aeons", the fourth track, speeds along unremittingly throughout its entire length.

This is where things start to get interesting into the record’s B side. This is where the breakdowns turn into dirges. Track five, "Power Beyond the Stars," plays it’s first minute and a half slowly, really letting the bass come to the fore, and the band just builds and builds from there, upping the tension more and more. "Trail of Graves", the penultimate track, starts fast before devoting its entire last half to an evil menacing dirge. The last track is the record’s title track, clocks in at ten and a half minutes, with drums changing all over the place - which, by the way, is becoming something of a trademark style of Shawn Eldridge, the same drummer of Ruinous, who plays like an undead hellspawn. Get this record already, now that I’ve broken down nearly every breakdown for you. "Enthroning the Oppressor" will never feel so good outside the confines of the unholy Death Fortress.

[Check out Bryan's playing in Bloody Panda and Traducer]

Madder Mortem - Red in Tooth and Claw

By Kevin Page. I always find that reviewing an album by one of my favorite bands is a double edged sword.  On one hand I'm more than willing to give it the time to sink in and appreciate it, Yet on the other hand I go in with a lot of preconceived desires and tend to expect more from it than another band. So hopefully at the end of the day both of these things cancel either other out

By Kevin Page.

Cover art by Christian Ruud.

I always find that reviewing an album by one of my favorite bands is a double edged sword.  On one hand I'm more than willing to give it the time to sink in and appreciate it, Yet on the other hand I go in with a lot of preconceived desires and tend to expect more from it than another band. So hopefully at the end of the day both of these things cancel either other out and I am realistic about the matter at hand.

Madder Mortem's Red in Tooth and Claw is the first new material by the band in 7 years. The album was written and recorded well prior to it's release back in October 2016 (while they searched for a record label and then determined a release date). So to say I was anxious to hear it would be an understatement.

For anyone familiar with their prior material, Red in Tooth and Claw is more akin to a collection of songs this time around. There is no unifying plot or specific vision/purpose like on All Flesh is Grass, Deadlands, and Desiderata. The prior album, Eight Ways, somewhat broke that mindset, so the band has taken that idea to its ultimate conclusion. Red in Tooth in Claw is the perfect jumping in point for new fans of the band. You get a taste of the many styles and emotions the band is so good at delivering. They jump around from heavy groove riffs to controlled chaos to tenderness, back to rock and roll and progressive jazz (that almost feels danceable, as weird as that sounds). While this may sound like the band has a case of musical tourette's, it never comes across as disjointed or an attempt to simply smash a bunch of things together for the sake of being different. If anything, the band excels at simply being who they are and sounding genuine, something I prefer in my music which only adds to their cachet.

Of course I'd be remiss if I failed to mention vocalist Agnete M. Kirkevaag.  I make no secret that I feel she has no equal (male/female/etc.) regardless of the music genre. I could listen to her read the phone book, sing me a lullaby or scream at me as a drill Sergeant. Once again she puts in an expected tour de force performance. No matter where the music takes you, she's there to give you chills. Highs, lows, in betweens, oozing with power and emotion.

When it comes to bands I really adore, I no longer try to judge each release under the guise of is this their best album or where does it fall in order of best/worst. I simply want an enjoyable album to listen and something that I find repeatable. This is exactly what Red in Tooth and Claw is.

Lucifer's Child - The Wiccan

By Andy Osborn. One of my favorite things about the Greek scene is how the bands can so clearly influence each other while still sounding wholly unique. Katavasia, a supergroup of sorts

By Andy Osborn.


One of my favorite things about the Greek scene (and there are a lot of them) is how the bands can so clearly influence each other while still sounding wholly unique. Katavasia, a supergroup of sorts, emerged last year with an incredible debut that sounded entirely Hellenic but still stood its own, war-torn ground. And with such influential bands as Rotting Christ and Varathron running strong for over two decades, it’s great to see the influences imparted without giving way to (too many) imposters.

I pretend to be a student of this scene, so I was shocked to stumble across Lucifer’s Child months after The Wiccan was unleashed. Their first album is so fun, so unique, and so singularly Greek that one would of imagined it igniting the metallic blogosphere into a drooling frenzy. But with the ‘best of’ rush getting earlier and earlier every year, it’s no surprise that a new, unknown Greek band on what’s traditionally a Norwegian Viking-ish label would get lost in the mix late in the year.

What draws me to Lucifer’s Child is how clearly defined their sound is already despite having no clear history. It’s far removed from traditional black metal, with nary a tremolo or double bass beat to be found and odd, circusy riffs drilling themselves into your brain and triggering whatever sort of dance mechanism black metal fans may have. Vocalist Marios Dupont does his best Sakis Tolis impression, and while that type of thunderous cry has become a mainstay on the peninsula, it’s still a refreshing vocal attack that fits the quartet.

But they don’t reveal this all at once, as the opening track only hints at the cards they’re holding without giving away the full hand. It’s a mid-paced rocker with some - but not too much - guitar trickery that’s a perfect appetizer for the dessicated feast to come. I declare all bands should copy this method: Instead of having some nonsense ambient intro that doesn’t doesn’t sound anything like the rest of the record, make an “Hors de Combat” to tease and intrigue, holding back until you really want to show off.

And showing off is just what they do for the next few tracks. “A True Mayhem”, “Spirits of Amenta”, and “He, Who Punishes Slays” are just plain ludicrous in what they achieve. While the song construction is fairly simple - take a fairly weird and catchy-as-fuck riff and toss in some rockin’ drums - it’s executed so well what it disguises you from what this really is. It’s upbeat alt-rock disguised at black metal. It’s what Queens of the Stone Age would sound like if they moved to Norway and started worshipping the devil. It’s a Kvelertak record from a different dimension. And it’s fucking cool. I’ve played those three tracks more than anything else in the past few months since I discovered them, that's how strong their hold is.

So it’s a bit sad that this epic build-up and subsequent fun doesn’t last forever. The first four tracks are by far the best and really define The Wiccan, because after some middling sameness, “Lucifer’s Child” and “Doom” completely ditch what they’ve been showing off so far and see the band transforming into some sort of psychedelic doom group - a look that doesn’t exactly fit them.

It’s an unfortunate note to end on, as the songs perfectly show the band’s weirdness without any of the fun. Although it doesn’t fully realize its potential, The Wiccan is still a wickedly fun album packed with ridiculously fun riffs and the type of joyful, upbeat rhythm that black metal usually tries to stay away from.

Label Spotlight: Dark Essence Records

The Norwegian label Dark Essence Records is now on Bandcamp, sharing the page with their parent (and non-metal) label Karisma Records. Dark Essence mostly focuses on extreme metal bands from the label's hometown Bergen. Their roster is home

[The Norwegian label Dark Essence Records is now on Bandcamp, sharing the page with their parent (and non-metal) label Karisma Records. Dark Essence mostly focuses on extreme metal bands from the label's hometown Bergen. Their roster is home to high profile names like Taake and Aeturnus, but here are three bands you may not have heard before, all from Bergen, and all profiled by the mighty Autothrall.]

Artwork by H'grimnir from Helheim

Although their end products might bear a only passing resemblance, I've always likened the progression of Helheim to that of their countrymen Enslaved. Unafraid to evolve themselves into varied configurations, but somehow managing to retain the razor disposition of their early works, these Norsemen explore sound with absolutely no concern for the whining of a reactive audience. Chances are, if you're still on board with the band after 15 years, you're expecting some mild transformation through each of their full-lengths, and Heiðindómr ok mótgang, their 7th, is no exception to this, evenly distributing its creativity through passages of strained beauty and primordial strength. [read the rest of the review here.]

Artwork by Robert Høyem

It's hard not to think of Viking metal as being beaten to a pulp these past two decades, what with a great many subpar acts springing up in the genre and diluting its novelty. I'm sure many have the purest of intentions, and should in no way be faulted for celebrating the subject (especially if its a point of their personal ancestry), but tossing in a few folk instruments and playing forgettable, mead drunken melodies to offset a few substandard black metal charging rhythms is simply not going to cut it. What does this have to do with Norway's Galar? Well, they are one of the few acts to happen along, and not only cut it, but cut the entire forest down to its roots with a sharply hewn axe. Til alle heimsens endar is the band's sophomore album, following up solid debut Skogsvad from 2006, and the band manages to sum up exactly what's been so great about their forebears like Enslaved, Týr, early Borknagar, and Viking-era Bathory without crossing streams too closely with any of them. [read the rest of the review here.]

2007's Cursed Madness was a well-received debut from this Norse cult, one of the few bands out there who manage to crossbreed death and black metal into a manageable and interesting form. This follow-up, Thorns in Existence, offers progress even beyond the debut, an interesting and for the most part original work. This not only impresses via the members' musical capabilities, but the immersion into its many twisted corridors of grief and vitriol. [read the rest of the review here.]