Wild Throne – Blood Maker

Photo Credit:
Ryan Russell

    There are times when an introduction to a band smacks you dead centre in the face and stops you in your tracks, one fine example being the debut EP from US band Wild Throne, only they additionally rip open your torso with great scything riffs and gnaw your insides with rhythms carrying more voracity than a rabid predator. The three track onslaught is much more than mere aggression though, lethal melodies and impossibly captivating sonic imagination just as greedily at work as the release provides an early major statement for 2014. Blood Maker is a dramatic entrance from a band destiny will have a lot of time for you suspect on the evidence of their impressive tempest.

     Though the debut release from Wild Throne, the band have since 2009 already been crafting and honing their striking blend of progressive rock and melodic metal under original name Dog Shredder. With a couple vinyl EPs and numerous tours and shows with the likes of Dysrhythmia, Melt Banana, Kylesa, Marnie Stern, Helmet, and Black Cobra under their belt, the trio of Josh Holland (guitar/vocals), Noah Burns (drums) and Jeff Johnson (bass) have evolved into Wild Throne and announced this new chapter in riveting style. Recorded with producer Ross Robinson (At The Drive In, Machine Head, The Cure) after the band completed a US tour with Red Fang and Helms Alee, the EP declares the Bellingham, WA trio as not only a proposition to watch very closely but one to devour hungrily right now.

    The Brutal Panda Records released EP smuggles all of its ready to erupt creative armoury into the imagination through the opening rhythmic intrigue of The Wrecking Ball Unchained, the coaxing dramatic beats of Burns, soon aided by the expressive potent vocals of Holland, hypnotically distracting the senses. It is a transfixing start which belies the lying in wait tempest which soon has its moment and bursts through the ears in a torrential storm of invention and passion. Riffs and rhythms stalk and incite with determination and skill whilst the bass of Johnson adds a throatiness which only further seduces but it is the fiery inventive sonic flames and twists Holland also unleashes alongside his stirring vocals which cement the captivation. It is a powerful almost tempestuous engagement with plenty to justify the comparisons to bands such as The Mars Volta, Helms Alee, and These Arms Are Snakes, Wild Throne has drawn, but also in many ways we would add Manic Street Preachers in their early days, Black Tusk, and Muse for various aspects and essences which expel their bait throughout the tremendous track.

     Ebbing and flowing like a tidal wave of energy and emotion, the opening majesty is soon equalled in presence and depth by Shadow Deserts, a track with an acidic call from its first breath aligned to another pulsating bass growl and rhythmic agitation. Like its predecessor, the song’s start is the perfect set up and doorway into the immediately following tsunami of passion and intensity. The celestial, bordering ethereal, ambience and vocals add another avenue to explore within the rage whilst the earnest vocal squalls and compelling punk fury of the track skirted by further melodic imagination and classic metal exploration, simply enslaves an already feistily hungry appetite for band and EP.

    From the exhausting and searing heat of the second song, the title track takes over and instantly opens a fiercer acrid vat of sonic exploration and senses searing enterprise. More At The Drive In than Mars Volta with a toxin of psychedelic vitriol to the expansive and unbridled fire of guitar and vocals, the track is a breath-taking plunge into rapacious creative rabidity and exhaustive passion. The song smothers and permeates every synapse and cell with an irresistible contagion and alone brings an intense spotlight upon the band, which the other songs of course only inflame.

    Blood Maker will not be the first time that Wild Throne leaves people opened mouthed you can be quite sure of that, but it makes a very important and exhilarating base to explode further from.

http://www.wildthrone.com/

10/10

RingMaster 06/03/2014

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Endless Chaos – Rejected Atrocity EP

 

    Unveiling their introduction through a three track ravishment which simple devours the senses, Canadian metallers Endless Chaos have announced themselves upon the world in impressive style. Forging an inventively refreshing blend of blackened thrash with death metal, the Winnipeg based quintet take little time raising a greedy appetite for their incendiary sound through the Rejected Atrocity EP. Simultaneously the promise drenched fury also ignites a major anticipation for further things to come from the intensive band, expectations of even greater triumphs a hard to resist thought taking the premise of the outstanding debut from the band.

     With a presence and sound which embraces chaos and enterprise in equal depths, Endless Chaos has forged a formidable reputation through their live performances which has seen the band share stages with the likes of Skeletonwitch, 3 Inches of Blood, Wretched, Aborted, Toxic Holocaust, and Kataklysm to great success and acclaim. The next step on their emerging domination of local and further afield metal scenes comes with their first EP, a released inspired by classic horror movie Re-Animator, a film which is definitely akin to the unbridled lust of their creativity. The self-released, Ryan Forsyth produced, Rejected Atrocity is a teaser and taster of things to come from the band, in the words of Jordan Dorge, the EP will “give you the best taste of what’s to come of Endless Chaos,” the vocalist going on to say “When we were writing these songs, we really took in everything we love about death, thrash and black metal and incorporated it into Endless Chaos.”

    The title track violates the senses first, rampaging riffs and pummelling rhythms an instant assault. Within the torrent of sonic abuse the guitars of Mike Menza and Mike Toews also unleash a twisting irresistible clutch of grooves and hooks to immediately seduce the imagination, their potent bait a bewitching and similarly lethal distraction from the carnivorous rhythms uncaged by drummer James Burton and bassist Jeff Humarang. It is a breath-taking and riveting web of intrigue and devastation from the opening second, the thrash driven ferocity speared and veined by the some of the richest compelling craft and imagination heard in a long time from a thrash/death tempest. The vocals of Dorge parade a vitriolic squall as intimidating as the sounds and invention at work, his slight variation in delivery enough to leave satisfaction ripe and song enhanced as well as listener blissful.

     The scintillating start is soon matched by the following Sacrificial Ritual, it a bestial consumption cored by serpentine vocal malevolence, unpredictable spite, and a maze of ingenious adventure sculpted by the continuing to impress technical craft and vindictive imagination of the band. Like its predecessor, the song is unafraid to launch into unexpected and bold detours whilst the guitars again carve a sonic sculpture which scars and invigorates the senses. The bass of Humarang brings an even throatier predation to the cyclone of malice whilst Burton simply splinters bone and synapse with a continued display of skill and aggression.

   The closing Condemned to the Pit drives at the jugular with its thrash bred energy and sinews crushing all before whilst rhythmically the track batters and concusses with hungry rabidity. As with all the songs, the onslaught is only half of the picture. The track reaches its mid-point and seemingly takes a step back to survey the damage, rhythms still plundering and provoking but sonically the song relaxes somewhat. It is a mere moment in time though as the feverish ferocity is soon letting its death/thrash rage and expertise off the reins to bring the unquenchable storm to a staggering close.

The Rejected Atrocity EP is just exceptional, a must have impressive and towering debut to inject real excitement into the world of metal. It sparks, without reserve, the belief that Endless Chaos will be not only a prolifically important joy ahead but one which will help take thrash, death, and metal itself into new mouthwatering realms.

https://www.facebook.com/endlesschaoss

http://endlesschaos1.bandcamp.com/album/rejected-atrocity

10/10

RingMaster 04/03/2014

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Animus – Fall of the Elite

    If you understandably missed the limited regional release of the Fall of the Elite EP last year, Scottish metallers Animus have provided another chance to immerse in its tempest with its deserved nationwide unleashing. Consisting of four savagely aggressive and rivetingly varied slabs of sonic provocation, the band’s introduction is a mouthwatering onslaught providing a well of satisfaction as deep as the promise also rampaging through its sinews. Its sound whips up an antagonistic fury from a brew of progressive death metal and djent with technical and groove metal, creating a predation which is equally recognisable and innovative. Fall of the Elite certainly suggests this is a band still evolving its presence but one with major expulsions ahead you easily feel.

     Hailing from Dundee, Animus was formed in 2010 by drummer Poul Thomassen and guitarist Sam Gilmour. It was not long before the pair was joined by second guitarist Graham Brown and Gavin Holloway on bass. The first couple of years saw the band playing around Scotland drawing strong support and responses but it was with the addition of vocalist Aaron Fawns in 2012 that it could be said a spark ignited within the band, the quintet finding that something bringing everything into focus and vital explosiveness. A further rampage of shows ensued, including sharing stages with the likes of Bleed From Within, To Kill Achilles, Here Lies A Warning, Heights, Silent Screams, Chronographs, Hero In Error, Our People Versus Yours, and I Divide, all only increasing the stature and reputation of the band. The final weeks of 2012 saw Animus enter the studio to sculpt their debut Fall Of The Elite, influences from the likes of After The Burial, Suicide Silence, Bring Me The Horizon, Whitechapel, and Tesseract spicing up their own distinct toxicity. After a well-received first unveiling, the EP is now poised to work on the rest of the UK with its ravenous and creative intensity.

    Drawing a single breath whilst a groan brews in the background, opener Damnation announces its presence with an intriguing air accentuated by sirens and an apocalyptic ambience. With the scene set, the track emerges from the anarchy with forcibly twisting grooves and percussive provocation speared by vicious rhythms skirted by predatory riffing. The vocals of Fawns snarl and growl with bile soaked animosity, his direct intent sharing enough variety to engage whilst musically the band lashes and entices the senses with a masterful and bold invention. The song is not the most malevolent and violent proposition but holds an intimidation and intensity which leaves knees buckled and ears scarred as its imagination captures that of its recipient with ease and enterprise.

   The following DB8666 follows suit but instantly uncages a lethal groove and commanding swagger which leaves its predecessor in the shade. The swinging contagion of the track is clad in a threatening musculature upon a djent inspired spine whilst it’s flailing sonic arms and acrid melodic adventure provides the most compelling hues to potently ignite the imagination. Every move and twist of the song is pure infectious bait, at times almost too involved in itself but never relinquishing the tightest entrapment of thoughts and emotions. As all the tracks upon the EP, there is plenty to discover with each subsequent encounter, certain underlying textures and touches unveiled within the increasingly persuasive tempestuous engagement after numerous excursions.

     The following Home(less) is a bestial display of maliciousness but one aligned to the most creative progressive enticement yet. The guitars sculpt simultaneously uncompromising and seductive endeavours whilst bass and drums carve out bruising lures which also only beckon and threaten. Once again the song is a cascade of innovative manipulations which flirt with indulgence and chaos but only to tease and taunt within its skilled and deliberately devious craft. That dramatic and alluring enterprise is pushed further with the closing title track, its bewitching opening progressive design of melody caressing keys wrapping the ears in a transfixing coaxing before being joined by staccato riffs and splintering rhythms within a brawling cast of sonic causticity. Carnivorous in its stalking and guitar endeavour whilst magnetic in its continually evolving melody induced progressive searing of the air, the track is a smouldering rampancy which seizes an instant lingering submission for its ruinous nature and assault yet slowly burns an even greater seduction in the passions over time and multiple unions.

   The outstanding climax brings a similarly impressive release to a close leaving anticipation and appetite for Animus a greedy hunger. Certainly the release shows that the band is yet to find its truly unique presence but that is only a matter of time with, on the evidence of Fall of the Elite, stronger dramatic triumphs destined to follow. This is an immense exciting start and base for their horizons and the open doorway to eager recognition countrywide.

www.facebook.com/AnimusUK

9/10

RingMaster 03/03/2014

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The Committee – Power Through Unity

 

    Originally a doom metal proposition, The Committee has added and woven in a black metal breath and guitar enterprise to a sound which has begun drawing in attention and fascination within the metal world. The release of debut album Power Through Unity, with its chilling drone sculpted soundscapes around an equally cold tongue which licks and lashes the senses with blackened malevolence and abrasing persuasion, is sure to push the band into a stronger potent spotlight. It is not a release to ignite the most ferocious of passions but one with a menacing magnetism and certain craft which like a siren constantly calls attention back into its pestilential body.

      Formed as a one man project in the winter of 2007 by vocalist/guitarist Igor Mortis, The Committee expanded into a quartet with the addition of guitarist Aristo Crassade, bassist Marc Abre, and drummer William Auruman before unveiling the four tracked Holodomor EP to strong interest amongst the metal underground and various internet sites and magazines. Based in Belgium with its members bred from roots set in Holland, France, Ukraine, and Russia, the band has a blend and mix within its fusion of black and doom which persistently captivates upon their first album. Released via Folter Records with songs themed by ‘history, occult manipulation of the mind and fascinating past events’, Power Through Unity is like an intensive ritual, a passage of rites to the heavy dark realms the band find their inspirations. Their motto says it all, “History is written by the victors, we are the voice of the dead”.

     Opener Not Our Revolution makes a reserved entrance; an applauding ambience alongside an intriguing single guitar entices thoughts with decent potency before the drums call in the full slow scourge of sound, guitars and bass prowling the ears whilst vocal squalls roar from within the oppressive breath of the song. The lowly slung voice of the track drags its heart and intent deep into the imagination whilst an almost cavernous wall of riffs aided by sadistic rhythms cages and enthrals with a ruinous and deceptively varied persuasion. The track is as imposing as a tsunami but as patient as an ice age in its consumption of senses and emotions.

   The strong start and intrusion is followed and matched by The Man of Steel, another track which is in no rush to devour but working at that aim from its first seconds with ravenous riffs and antagonistic rhythms plaguing ears. The melodic and sonic invention of the guitars merges drone and repetition within their invasively hued narratives laying a coaxing which as the drums and bass compel and intimidates with predacious efficiency. The threatening squall of sound envelops every inch of the senses and like the first track is dramatically bewitching.

    It is probably fair to say that the tempestuous surface of songs carry a too similar a temptation across the release and needs a more intensive dive into the corruptive hum at times to discover their uniqueness, but the rewards are always waiting and in a track like By My Bare Hands offered in a more easily visible and digestible meal of caustic charm and icy toxicity. The Last Goodbye also casts out more open bait and like its predecessor opens on an intimate melodic touching of the imagination before being consumed by the brute force and intensity of a hungrily howling ravenous storm. The production of the album provides a little uncertainty in the appreciation of the release though, its touch at times smothering and defusing the underlying melodies and tempering elegance which ignites a song like this and the following Katherine’s Chant, but simultaneously its glacial feel fuels the bone-chilling temptation of the release which it is hard not to find a small passion for.

   Through the insatiably pungent ruin of Katherine’s Chant and the even more rabid air of the closing title track, its appetite and mordant atmosphere the most voracious and eager on the release, Power Through Unity leaves the senses on an acerbic high and rigorously satisfied. The EP lacks enough diversity to truly ignite the passions and to be fussy that production issue does dull too much of the release’s success and sound to build a formidable stature for The Committee, but there is plenty to be drawn to often and with keen relish creating a strong and exciting first introduction certainly for us to a fiercely promising proposition.

www.thecommitteecult.com

7.5/10

RingMaster 28/02/2014

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Miserable Failure – Hope

 

    French grindcore band Miserable Failure first came to and viciously gripped our attention as part of Miserable Fucking Society, a three way split with Infected Society and F Stands For Fuck You. All of the bands stood out but in hindsight it was this Marseille quartet which left the richest lingering toxin in the emotions. The band now unleashes their new EP Hope, a release easily reinforcing a rising appetite for their brand of angry vitriolic confrontation. Released like the split via Kaotoxin Records, Hope provides four furies lasting a combined four minutes to excite and stimulate, the songs shards of sonic spite piercing and scarring the senses with lethal and pleasing venom.

    The Blueprints of Self Disgust initially unleashes a squall of guitar noise around a spoken sample to start things off. It is not long though before the ferocious rhythmic battering of drummer Elvis Jagger Abdul Jabbar is blasting through the ears within the equally violent sonic outpouring from guitarist Rom Sanchez. It is a corrosive rage of viciousness matched by the acidically abrasive squalls of vocalist Bleu, he a tempest alone squealing and spewing out lyrical venom with unbridled intensity and passion. Throughout the onslaught a groove links it all, forging a mutual course for every aspect of the song which the throaty basslines from John Culbuto embrace and entwine around its own distinctive temptation.

    It is an impressive start, if a blink and you miss it confrontation like all the tracks, and instantly matched by the acid dripping punishment of One More Reason to set This World on Fire. The blaze is a tart and castigating protagonist again with pressing grooves and infectious hooks adding their fleeting bait within a scorching rant of noise. Like its predecessor the song seizes a full submission which Goodbye & Good Riddance next abuses and complements with its distinctive and imaginative outpouring. Offering miniature breaks for a vocal and rhythmic beckoning to spark the primal instincts, the track scores and flails ears and beyond to take best songs honours.

   That is until the closing This World Ain’t Mine steps up and whilst eyeballing the listener flares up and uncages a bawling torrent of hook entwined sonic discipline. There is a swagger and bounce to the track which adds to its conviction and contagion, though as always it comes in a form as surly and acrimonious as the straight out scorn of the song.

     Hope is a thoroughly exciting and thrilling encounter, though whether the tracks hang around long enough to really fire up the imagination can be debated. The fact that we have been continually invigorated by its tirade across plays well into double figures since receiving it probably answers that. Miserable Failure are maybe yet to sculpt something which thrusts the band away from other genre bands but you sense they are well on the way whilst providing a full and lingering pleasure at the same time. Released as a free download for a limited time, Hope is an intrusion well worth losing your well-being over.

https://www.facebook.com/msrblflr

http://listen.kaotoxin.com/album/hope

8.5/10

RingMaster 28/02/2014

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Atacama Death Experience – Wasted Time And Broken Bones

 

     Like being drawn into the darkest dirtiest cess pool you can imagine and subsequently fighting against suffocation, listening to Wasted Time And Broken Bones the debut EP from Italian metallers Atacama Death Experience is an experience to fear but equally hanker after, its intimate intrusive violation comforting in a perverse kind of way. Consisting of four unrelenting fusions of doom and sludge metal with healthy, or should that be unhealthy, essences of crust, the encounter is an intensive corruption to introduce a striking and promising band by. With a sound tagged as nihilistic blues, the EP immerses the listener into a vat of pestilential ravishment, a debilitating swamp of riffs and grooves with more physical distortions than residents frequenting The Hills Have Eyes. It is certainly not a comfortable or merciful listen but one which is undoubtedly frighteningly compelling and intriguingly satisfying.

    Atacama Death Experience consists of bassist vocalist Romano Monero and drummer Antonio Iodice, the pair coming together in 2013. Combining and creating a monstrously striking and rewarding encounter from just bass and drums is not a first, Morkobot one impressive example, but the Rovereto hailing duo twist that union into a carnivorous and carnal sonic consumption of the senses which stands apart from most other similar two pronged invention. Wrapping lyrical themes of decay, anarchy, and drug experiences in this destructive provocation of sound, the Cimmerian Shade Recordings released Wasted Time And Broken Bones is simply a scourge but one which constantly you just want that little more of time and time again.

    Fleece Of Time starts things off with a savage appetite and presence; rhythms casting an iron clad net as the bass tones abrase and scour the senses trapped within. To say there is a scuzz bred sound to the bass comes nowhere near the reality, its throat and voice a demonic drone of noise and malevolence twisting riffs and grooves into one venomous and riveting malefaction. This infringement on sanity and peace is matched by the grizzly malicious vocal squalls of Monero, a union which converges on their victims with rapaciousness as hungry and unrelenting as a tsunami. The track is the hardest most brutal on the release but within its brawling maelstrom the rhythms of Iodice entice whilst repetitive grooves and hooks tease as they threaten to show their faces.

    The following Useless Blues opens with a swagger of a groove as psychedelic whispers drift across its brewing seduction. It is not long before that temptation takes a full and contagious flight with the drums in close and appealing attendance. The intensity and devastating oppression of the first song is reined in upon its successor, though intimidation and spite are never far from the vocals and the acid lined burn of a groove coring its infectious bait. Though from the same breeding, the song is openly diverse from its predecessor instantly showing variety and depth to the creativity and noise making of the band, next up Rotten Clouds offering yet another example though on the surface it feels closely related to the second song. Lumbering in its stalking of the senses, its sludge driven intensity and doom soaked breath like tar around the ears. The song again has a swagger or honest confidence to its gait which easily enthrals the imagination whilst bursts of frantic grooving and rhythmic explosiveness only add to the enjoyable onslaught inspiring a definite eager appetite to devour this enterprising animosity.

     Whereas Wasted Time And Broken Bones opened on its most difficult moment, the first track one to have newcomers fleeing from or embracing its ruinous presence, the title track leaves it on its loftiest plateau. Shamanic vocal calls and handclaps resound around the ears and senses setting things off unpredictably before the bass almost creeps into the mix and unveils a ridiculously addictive groove, its appeal soon matched by the rhythmic adventure of Iodice. With cleaner vocals opening up the lyrical narrative before the ignition of a furnace of energy and sonic heat, the track proceeds to unleash a continually inventive and twisting predation which snarls, savages, and seduces for the strongest irresistible part of the release.

    Wasted Time And Broken Bones is a startling entrance from Atacama Death Experience, one leaving good and less favourable scars but an introduction which gets better and stronger through each track whilst suggesting that the Italian band is a provocation to keep firmly on the radar.

https://www.facebook.com/AtacamaDeathExperience

http://atacamadeathexperience.bandcamp.com/

7.5/10

RingMaster 27/02/2014

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Bernaccia – Cinema EP

    Triggering that gut instinct that you are witnessing the birth of something special, the Cinema EP from UK neo-psychedelic blues rockers Bernaccia is one of those magnificent surprises which has you catching your breath in excitement. Hailing from Newcastle upon Tyne, the band has already reaped an eager attention with a pair of previously released songs. As good as they certainly were though, there is something extra and exceptional about this new release in presence and quality. Bernaccia casts a fusion of blues, folk, and rock which is deliriously captivating; a riveting sculpting of atmospheres, rhythmic slavery, and melodic seduction which is simultaneously expansive and intimate, and simply irresistible.

     The quartet of Jonny Noble, Stew Falkous, Chris Cox, and Kieran Healy drew great critical responses and success last year with the release of the track The Keeper, a song followed and equalled in strength and success by No Club. The second track pushed the band into a greater spotlight, helping pave the way for the band to support slots bands such as Wolf People, Twisted Wheel, and Royal Blood, but it is Armada and its two companions making up the new EP that look destined to dramatically push and accelerate the emergence of Bernaccia such their riveting temptations

     From its opening breath Armada has intrigue soaking senses and imagination as a sonic whisper brews into a breeze as the distinct tones of Noble begins the expressive narrative. As anthemic beats from Cox join the richly coaxing emergence of the song, its atmosphere and seduction intensifies becoming irresistible as the striding dark bass tones delivered by Healy and the equally eager guitar strokes from Falkous and Noble join the transfixing suasion. The song transports the imagination into imagery of chain gangs, passionate resistance in the face of oppression, and simply lives making their way through unavoidable trouble and suffocation, the power of the song inspiring thoughts to go beyond its own theme and intent. The song is a delicious blaze of sultry, smouldering drama punctuated by those striding rhythms, a bold drama soon matched by its successor.

     Circuit Ryder takes the sinewed rhythms of its predecessor and pushes them into bigger bulging enslavement, their towering call supported just as loftily by a pulsating bass beckoning and the guitar shaped emotive hues of the song. There is a western ambience embracing the track, more Native American than Morricone like and enthrallingly magnetic amongst the folk and rock seeded blues exploit. Essences of The Doors play with thoughts but equally that of Helldorado and the Dennis Hopper Choppers with more than a whisper of The Verve too at times. Accompanied by a new video from Melting Point Media, the song is simply sublime, bordering heroic and apocalyptic.

   Final song No Home For The Buffalo reaps the same climate as the previous track, its body bringing an even more potent blues flame as a scuzz kissed edge excitingly teases through the guitars. As across the other songs there is an unrelenting anthemic call to its determined yet controlled stroll, the track spawning a shamanic/ soulful drone which envelops and takes over it’s recipient like an epidemic. It is another outstanding venture standing side by side with its fellow protagonists to ignite and invigorate thoughts and passions, a union of tracks which as mentioned thrusts the band into a whole new realm of success and expectations.

   Armada is the first of a single a month sequence from Bernaccia which will make up the Cinema trilogy, each track connected to a piece of exclusive artwork which will be available as an early bird exclusive to the debut download Armada. It is a little confusing to our simple minds especially with this release already being called Cinema, but whether by that name or using Armada in your search, this is an evocative adventure which simply must not be missed.

https://www.facebook.com/BernacciaMusic

10/10

RingMaster 26/02/2014

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Cross Wires – Assembly EP

     Hankering for a slice of post punk infused new wave with that irrepressible eighties originality? Then a healthy purchase of the exploration of the new Cross Wires EP is your next mission in life.  Assembly is a riotous stomp of energetic imagination and deliciously niggling invention, a quartet of songs bred in the birth of those genres but equally ripe with a modern psyche stirring mischief. It teases, taunts, and romps with the senses like a discord draped devil child to quite easily and unrelentingly stir up the passions.

     Hailing from Bethnal Green and Romford in the UK, the foursome of vocalist Jonathan Chapman, guitarist Peter Muller, bassist Pete Letch, and drummer Ian Clarke has been sculpting an impressive reputation for their sound and live performances since their debut at The Others in Stoke Newington in late 2010; subsequently playing across the capital and home county Essex at notable venues including the Camden Barfly, Sebright Arms, Queen of Hoxton, 93 Feet East, The Half Moon, and Hoxton Underbelly. Two EPs, Forward/Repeat and Animal Heat announced the band to a wider audience in 2011 whilst a third, Dark Water, the following year only helped cement and accelerate their emerging presence which the outstanding Assembly will surely add another enthusiastic gear to.

    Cross Wires bring inspirations from the likes of Buzzcocks, The Clash, The Cure, Gang Of Four, and Wire into their own inventive devilry as well as that of XTC whose song on the White Noise album, the band named themselves after. To be honest anyone reaping the influences of one of our eternally favourite bands is given a head start with us though their music obviously has to do the talking, which on Assembly it loudly does. From the beginning of the opener Stranger’s Bed, the band lays an infectious hand on the imagination and passions as they cavort with the relish of a maniacal puppeteer. Thumping anthemic drums seize instant attention, setting things up for the jangle of guitars to add their own bait around the expressive vocals of Chapman. Into its infectious stride soon after the track stomps with a rhythmic vivacity and range of hooks which the Buzzcocks would be proud of, indeed the overall sound has a rich essence of the Mancunian band as well as the discordant enterprise of Medway band Houdini. It is an undemanding and thoroughly giving slab of post punk pop with a fuzzy breath to increase the appeal.

     Acid Bath, like the first, makes the strongest entrance possible. This time it is the bass stroking the ears with a riff certainly Gang Of Four inspired, its carnivorous voice and suasion an irresistible lure which only increases with the scythes of guitar and unpolished enticing vocals. The chorus of the song loses some of that initial potency as the thrust of the track softens but replaces it with a virulent causticity which touches on The Fall. Once more band and song has feet lurching around with eagerness whilst voice and energy is seduced into action with ease, the same results achieved by the brilliant I Want To Be Your Man (Again). The best track on the EP swaggers in with a slow swerving of its hips and a persistent flexing of its sonic audacity, the track a hybrid of all the good things already gracing the release, taking those qualities and invention into a loftier frisking of the passions. It is an exhilarating exploit raising a lustful greed once thought lost to those times in the eighties.

   Final song White Dress makes a less dramatic entrance than previous songs but is soon, through a precise hook within thumping rhythms, unleashing another Shelly and co styled persuasion with the Cross Wires imprint. It traps satisfaction in a lustful romp of angular enterprise and refreshing adventure and though the weakest of the four songs, in that it does not unleash the demon inside as certainly the previous pair of tracks do, White Dress still provides a magnetic proposal to sell your dignity for and a delicious end to a thrilling release.

     If any of the bands mentioned or just simply punk, new wave, and post punk in general lifts your temperature then Cross Wires is a band to set a fire in your thoughts and emotions, though as Assembly shows, expect the unpredictable and something which is certainly seeded in those glorious older times but takes you on a new adventure. With the Assembly EP free at http://crosswires.bandcamp.com/album/assembly-ep there is little reason not to be part of this extremely promising and exciting band.

https://www.facebook.com/CrossWires

9/10

RingMaster 21/02/2014

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Terratomorf -Ya Legenda

 

    Terratomorf emerged in 2013 from the seeds of the band Byzantium and recently stepped forward with their debut release, Ya Legenda, a richly promising and enjoyable heavy metal proposition. That previous band consisted of guitarist Sergei Gviniashvili, bassist Ivan Sel, drummer Alexander Dmitriev, and vocalist Ruslan Kaplun, and earned a strong reputation for their live performances and sound. Creative differences saw them splitting with Kaplun going one way and the other three forming Terratomorf. Ex- Barbarian frontman Nikita Salishchev was found to complete the new line-up with the quartet making their stage debut in June of last year. The departure of Sel saw Vladislav Balashov come in to the line-up as the band set to work on their first EP, a release certain to awaken keen attention.

   Released at the end of January, Ya Legenda (I Am Legend) takes little time to make a very convincing persuasion on ears and emotions, its inventively sculpted blend of heavy metal and hard rock a temptation which in its strongest moments virulently ignites the imagination and in its less inventive times gives the passions a potently infectious time. From start to finish the album captivates with skill and accomplished individual prowess, and though maybe the tracks at times feel like they have something in reserve which could have been unleashed to even greater success, it is an introduction which breeds full satisfaction and an anticipation of greater things to come from the Moscow band.

     The title track sets things in motion and instantly has attention wide awake with an opening of predatory riffs and crisply delivered beats. The vocals of Salishchev soon join the incitement, his tones clean but holding a snarl which adds potency to the Russian delivered lyrical narrative. The track itself is a thrilling mix of groove metal within a heavier metal rapaciousness, ripe melodies helping shape a sound which reminds of Finnish metallers Stam1na. It is an absorbing and scintillating start easily waking up a hunger for the band’s invention. The best track on the EP is arguably never equalled by any of the subsequent songs though they all make richly pleasing attempts.

    From the additive might of the opener the band takes a more reserved and straight forward approach with Sudba. Featuring the guest vocals of Artur Berkut from Russian heavy metallers Aria, the track swings through the ears with a steady infectious groove aligned to similarly appealing riffs and melodic enterprise. Just as compellingly the bass provides a darker stomp to shadow and complement the great clean vocals, their swagger and smile matching the melody soaked heart of the track. Though not as dramatically gripping as the first song, it still offers a healthy temptation with its presence to invite at least one more play before moving on to investigate more.

    Prizrachniy Mir steps forward next placing a dark velvety bassline around the ears before a sonic shimmer opens up a weave of guitar endeavour and vocal enticing. Providing another distinctly varied proposition within the release, the track has a heavier antagonistic feel to its breath and sound. Riffs and rhythms court an intensive weight in their delivery whilst the sonic invention of the guitar, especially in the excellent solo, adds more heat and acidity than previously found on the EP. A melodic aside within the growl of the song makes a great unexpected twist before the song returns to its earlier muscular and suasion.

      That impressive diversity to the band’s debut continues with V Nebesa, the track also giving full rein to its sinews whilst encircling them with rich flames of heavy metal creativity. The virulent rumble of bass and drums never relinquishes a second of their intimidation across the song to ensnare and temper the melodic textures of the song but it works to the benefit of the end result, though this is one of those occasions where you feel the band is holding back a little in their invention, hints of more never realised.

    The closing Gorod Dushi is a pleasing and attentive encounter to the needs of a metal fan but underwhelming in many ways to what has come before, its riffery and grooves unremarkable but enjoyable in the overall containment of the excellent release. It is very easy to recommend Ya Legenda to heavy and melodic metal fans and to suggest that Terratomorf is a band with very potent and rewarding horizons ahead, we certainly will be watching closely.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Terratomorf/194256434065820

8.5/10

RingMaster 21/02/2014

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Jesus Christ – We Will Fight

    We Will Fight is one of those releases which maybe fails to live up to its potential but is fuelled by such a rich promise that you suspect its creators will find greater success in the future. The eight track debut album from Russian metallers Jesus Christ is a riotous confrontation with plenty to enjoyably satisfy the appetite, a brawl of thrash metal with healthy heavy metal expression which more often than not fires up the imagination. It is certainly a flawed adventure unleashed by the band but one which compensates with songs which treats with inventive passion drenched storms.

    Hailing from Nizhny Novgorod, the band began in 2011 with two guitarists, Max Shcheglov and Sergei Morozov. Soon joined by vocalist Andrei Mironov, who had just resigned from the armed forces, the trio set about writing and honing thrash driven songs whilst looking for a drummer, a position filled by Sabbath. The following year saw a change in the line-up with a vacancy for a guitarist being taken by Garnov Ruslan and also the addition of bassist Dmitry Ilaltdinov to the band. From a debut show with local thrashers Resurrection, Headcrushers, and Exaloud, the quintet earned a fine reputation for their performances and sound going on to share stages with the likes of Brazilian bands Astafix and Harllequin. From there they turned their attention to recording their first album, the self-released We Will Fight.

     The album starts off impressively with the instrumental March of Jesus, a track which turns through a classical bred piano beckoning into an expressive and superbly crafted charge of melodic and sonic imagination. Though the production, as across the whole of the album, is not always the most flattering to the skilled charm and invention of the sounds, the track is an enthralling and incendiary treat for the emotions; one not quite matched by the following tempest The Deadmen Attack. Immediately aggressive and openly thrash bred, the song steals easy attention with towering riffs and a violent rhythmic persuasion. Again because of the production the air around the flair of the band is too smothering and cloudy, stealing the deserved clarity of the individual and united quality of the members though the vocals survives that detriment. Mironov provides a varied attack, ranging from hardcore through to classic heavy metal wails which are not as pleasing and successful, though that is just because of personal preference to be honest. With good sonic seduction to the solo and an ever contagious ring to the riffs, the track makes a more than decent full welcome to the encounter.

     Eternal War steps up next with a deeper carnivorous growl to the bass amidst classically spawned riffs, a tone the song provides across many of its aspects within a thrash cultivated provocation. Less urgent and rabid than its predecessor and similarly less commanding on thoughts and emotions, the song still makes for a steady and pleasing proposition if failing to ignite any real hunger for its arguably messy but at times inventive presence. Traitor is a more controlled and ultimately thrilling antagonist in comparison, the bass again standing out alongside the potency of the guitars and their adventure. Riffs consistently scowl across the ears as rhythms swipe chunks out of the senses, their aligned attack rabid and magnetic defying the production and again less striking but generally capable vocals. It is the best moment of the EP to that point showing a good depth of that potency and promise mentioned at the start.

     The ravenous attack of Ahead makes a promising case for the song from the first moments and continues to light the ears with its Megadeth influenced predation, a core appeal which never loses its lure amongst the fluctuating vocals and restrictive production. Its departure brings in the excellent Revolution Now, the forty three second instrumental an infection of rhythmic temptation and vocal intrigue wrapped in a restrained but enticing melodic conspiracy. As to its purpose it is hard to say but not a question to linger over such its exciting inclusion before Blind Humanity expels its blaze of thrash ferocity and the closing title track scorches senses and atmosphere with its own incendiary energy and attitude. Both songs hold a similarity which does not work against them, with certainly the last offering a great vein of exploratory invention winding in and out of the raging causticity. They both provide the strongest moments of the album after that great brief interlude, bringing the album to an impressive and invigorating conclusion.

     We Will Fight does have issues but provides an undeniable quality from the band and a promise in sound to leave an open welcome for the band in the future, the next meeting with Jesus Christ you feel being something to eagerly anticipate if they resolve the negatives here.

http://jesuschrist8.bandcamp.com/

7/10

RingMaster 21/02/2014

 Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard from

http://www.audioburger.com