Metalcatto
Let’s go!
Exa – Dead/Alive: Teutonic Thrash is having a good year—more on that another day—so Exa brings us a track that fits the most modern takes of this dirty tradition. It’s nasty, brutal, and obviously fast. There’s not much else to ask from your Thrash, aside from saying this song sounds a lot like Sodom. That should be enough recommendation for anyone who knows what those two syllables mean. If you don’t, start there and come back.
Jonestwon – Jonestwon: Time for a local band. Jonestwon plays the kind of spooky Heavy Metal that many of you have come to love in the last few years. Production and musicianship are on point for the conventions of the style. I know the band isn’t technically traditional Doom, but it has a lot of epic elements borrowed from that style too. So it’s a light listen—it won’t hurt you, but it might make you light a candle and stare at a wall for a while. In a good way.
Primmal Sinner – SCLAVUS I – The Rings That Never End: Probably someone else at MER would dig this even more, but I did find this simplified Symphonic Metal take rather appealing. It’s pretty dramatic, but the instruments shine through together as a unit. Sure, the vocals are good, but it’s refreshing when a band from this subgenre can actually write something interesting beyond the usual bombast. That’s the case here.
Richthammer – Durch Trieb zur Qual: The heaviest track we have today. This is strange and rather folkish Death and Black Metal that, despite using familiar ideas, is trying to show its own identity. It’s ugly in all the right ways. Also, it’s louder than an angry three-year-old who just lost their favorite toy. That should be compelling enough for anyone who thinks modern Metal has become too polite. It hasn’t. This track proves it.
Aviditas – Color My Skin: Another familiar face in this section. It’s a sentimental power ballad, and though I’m not usually into those, many of you seem to long for those simpler times. So here I have something for those of you who are nostalgic about the 80s and also the 2000s, since there’s a bit of both here. The whole thing feels like a yearbook photo you forgot you took. It’s not my usual thing, but I can see why it works for others. Sometimes you need a breather between the blasts. This is that breather.
Metal Eclipse Reviews 