#jul24 — Public Fediverse posts

Soulbound – obsYdian Review

By Kenstrosity

Long time readers understand that I like damn near any kind of metal. If it’s got heavily distorted guitars and big, bloodied hooks, I’m on board. My eclecticism inside the metalverse affords me a rare kind of versatility when it comes to review duties, too. Anything that falls into my lap has a chance to get a proper sponge bath. However, sometimes a band does a bunch of stuff that I normally enjoy and yet, my enthusiasm falters. Most of the time, that’s a simple conflict. I just don’t like the songs, even if I like the format. That, dear readers, is precisely the case for German “wedon’tgiveafuckmetal”1 outfit Soulbound and their fourth LP, obsYdian.

Does anybody remember Powerman 5000? I do. They had some straight-up bangers in their time, like “When Worlds Collide” and “Bombshell.” Sadly, their legacy is one of pure novelty and nostalgia. Undeterred by such circumstances, Soulbound cut their sound from the same cloth, interweaving pop metal elements reminiscent of Amaranthe; creepy gothic industrial rock similar to some of Marilyn Manson’s work; and stompy riffs and a genuinely vicious scream pulled straight from the Static-X playbook. With obsYdian, Soulbound integrated a new, updated thread of synthwave influence into their Eurovision-ready bops, which happens to be a major draw for this reviewer in 2024. And yet, obsYdian still grinds my gears.

Frustration floods my system every time I spin obsYdian. From the start of its overlong instrumental intro to a bizarre two-part closer, Soulbound make questionable choices that keep me listening almost entirely out of morbid curiosity. Starting off with a powerful dose of cringe, opener “Burn” serenades my inner angsty teen with shouts of “BURN, MOTHERFUCKER” against a backdrop of base chuggery. In fact, “motherfucker” features an egregious number of times for a band claiming to give no fucks to begin with. Other missteps include “Lioness,” which I hypothesize speaks on struggling with mental illness, heartbreak, or uncontrolled drug use. Any one of those holds potential for a great theme, but “Lioness” kicks off on a confusing note—a howling wolf—and further befuddles with chorus lyrics that muddle the message beyond easy deduction. Outside of those memorably unfortunate moments in the first half, the bulk of obsYdian fails to make any impression one way or the other. Inoffensive tracks like “Insane” and “Isolate” fight hard for my attention with superficially hooky licks and aggressive bounce. Yet, I remain wholly unmoved. Finally, I reach a real head-scratcher with obsYdian’s bewildering closing duo. “Remain (Part 1),” an ill-fated, three-minute, sappy sadboi ballad, wasn’t the best choice for a late album tuck-in to start with, but Soulbound paired it with a truly puzzling consort: “Remain (Part 2).” After “(Part 1)” ends, “(Part 2)” reprises the main theme of “(Part 1),” at half-time, with orchestral bombast, ad nauseam for a whopping seven minutes of mind-numbing buzzkillery. What the hell is even that?

In all fairness, Soulbound do know their way around a sharp hook once they find one. Top selections like the synthwave worshipping “Forever in the Dark,” the anthemic “Saint Sinner,” and the dance party-ready “Paralyzed” might be cheesy and somewhat oversimplified, but they get my head bobbing and I can’t help but hum each one absentmindedly while out and about. On the sonic front, Soulbound’s shift into synthwave territory suits their particular use of melody wonderfully, especially compared to the more industrial crunch of past records. I hope they capitalize on that further going forward. However, the increased volume of moody ballads like “Heartless” in the back half significantly brings the album’s energy down—enough to discourage replays. My suggestion would be to either revisit and develop those ballads into incontrovertibly captivating showstoppers, or cut them entirely in exchange for one or two more infectious bops like “Forever in the Dark” and “Paralyzed” instead.

Soulbound adopted a sonic palette and a poppy songwriting approach that should’ve wholly resonated with me. It checks a lot of my more superficial boxes. However, I’ve been listening to this kind of music for decades now, and demand more hype and substance than what obsYdian offered. Ultimately, I’m hard-pressed to recommend all but a scant three songs to this readership, and even those come with caveats. That said, you’ll hear no judgment from me should you like Soulbound more than I. It’s just not for me.

Rating: Bad.
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Metalville
Website: facebook.com/MusicSoulbound
Releases Worldwide: July 26th, 2024

#15 #2024 #Amaranthe #ElectronicMetal #GermanMetal #GothicMetal #IndustrialMetal #Jul24 #MarilynManson #Metalville #obsYdian #PopMetal #Powerman5000 #Review #Reviews #Soulbound #StaticX #Synthwave

Mages Terror – Damnation’s Sight Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier

Look at this, another metal exploration by the horror-loving guitarist and drum programmer, Horror Illogium. While staying busy between his efforts as founder of Portal and guitarist of Vomitor, this Australian native seems incapable of sitting still for long. With the help of the vocalist and guitarists of Australia’s newest Pustilence, Illogium is out to ravage the annals of black, death, thrash, and speed metal with Mages Terror’s debut record, Damnation’s Sight. While the man is not new to writing thrashy licks for Vomitor, Mages Terror is an old-school tribute to the sounds of olde. Stripped to its basic elements, Damnation’s Sight does little to tinker with them individually, they combine them all to deliver a unique twist in Illogium fashion. Spattering the riffs and song structures with eerie and sinister guitar tricks, this record looks to meld death and speed elements into those early, dark days of Sodom. It’s time to damn them eyes.

Having been a part of the Australian metal scene for a long time, this new project is unique because Illogium has teamed up with young pups that only recently released their first full-length record. And, according to Metal Archives, the drummer has never seen combat. But that doesn’t slow them down as they dive into this weird combination of genres and smash out ten songs in a mere 36 minutes. The result is barebones with a guitar tone that feels like I’m back in the late ’80s/early ’90s. Which, inevitably, does no more than any other band of its kind, but the spooky tone of the record is very much as you would expect from an outfit led by Illogium. Between its short runtime and horror-inspired character, there’s just enough to keep the interest up for a rather old-man inclusion into the metalverse.

“Serpent Bat” kicks things off in good form with old-school Sodom vibes as the vocalist alternates between black metal rasps and death metal growls. The fast-moving blackened thrash riff moves along nicely, interrupting itself in the song’s final minute to drop some heavy chugs wrapped in a dark presence. This latter riff, in particular, sets up the mood for the rest of the album. The follow-up track, “Paramount Specter,” keeps the ball rolling with its own black/thrash character and overlapping rasps and growls. The guitar work also increases a bit, delivering an intricate riff that, sometimes, feels like the guitars can’t keep up with the drums. But this is only the beginning. This song is all over the place, transitioning to some heavy riffage before introducing strange guitar leads and a mid-paced groove. For only three-ish minutes in length, this is the most confusing track on the record because it has no idea which riffs it wants to settle on.

Better tracks on the album are “Ruthless Guild,” “Master in the Black Cavern,” and the surprising instrumental, “Demon Bell.” The first is a trve banger with a high-pitched, mid-paced thrash lick that builds throughout. Its first riff change comes with neck-breaking beauty and punching vocals that remind me of the older stompers in 1349’s catalog. It also shows off some solid drum work from the newly-christened drummer. “Master in the Black Cavern” also sees solid drum work as it leads this heavy number chockful of tasty soloing tidbits. The bass also lends its sinisterness to the mix to create something truly cavernous in the final, chugging moments. “Demon Bell” is a surprising piece because, being near the end of the record, I didn’t think something with such killer riffs and structure would come without vocals. But it’s a nifty piece with surprising dueling guitar work—at least in comparison to the album’s other instrumental, “Presage.” This instrumental isn’t bad, but its sad, reverberating guitars do little to introduce its follow-up.

Damnation’s Sight has a lot of old-school character, where simplicity reigned supreme and solos ruled the roost. That alone sets it apart from those modern outfits trying to mash multiple genres and sub-genres together to create something unique. Not once did I feel like I was heading somewhere special with this release, but I still enjoyed it for what it was. Sure, the chorus of “Fane of the Slug Gods” is so forced that it becomes almost funny. And “Vulgar Overlord” is so simplistic that I barely remember it with each new listen. But, for what it is, the old tone matches the style, and the weird, eerie guitar work on songs like “Paramount Specter” provides a unique twist to the album. In the end, Damnation’s Sight is a solid effort even if it doesn’t completely grab me.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Invictus Productions | Bandcamp
Website: facebook.com/magesterrorfront
Releases Worldwide: July 12th, 2024

#1349 #25 #2024 #AustralianMetal #BlackMetal #DamnationSSight #DeathMetal #InvictusProductions #Jul24 #MagesTerror #Portal #Pustilence #Review #Reviews #Sodom #SpeedMetal #ThrashMetal #Vomitor

Mages Terror – Damnation’s Sight Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier

Look at this, another metal exploration by the horror-loving guitarist and drum programmer, Horror Illogium. While staying busy between his efforts as founder of Portal and guitarist of Vomitor, this Australian native seems incapable of sitting still for long. With the help of the vocalist and guitarists of Australia’s newest Pustilence, Illogium is out to ravage the annals of black, death, thrash, and speed metal with Mages Terror’s debut record, Damnation’s Sight. While the man is not new to writing thrashy licks for Vomitor, Mages Terror is an old-school tribute to the sounds of olde. Stripped to its basic elements, Damnation’s Sight does little to tinker with them individually, they combine them all to deliver a unique twist in Illogium fashion. Spattering the riffs and song structures with eerie and sinister guitar tricks, this record looks to meld death and speed elements into those early, dark days of Sodom. It’s time to damn them eyes.

Having been a part of the Australian metal scene for a long time, this new project is unique because Illogium has teamed up with young pups that only recently released their first full-length record. And, according to Metal Archives, the drummer has never seen combat. But that doesn’t slow them down as they dive into this weird combination of genres and smash out ten songs in a mere 36 minutes. The result is barebones with a guitar tone that feels like I’m back in the late ’80s/early ’90s. Which, inevitably, does no more than any other band of its kind, but the spooky tone of the record is very much as you would expect from an outfit led by Illogium. Between its short runtime and horror-inspired character, there’s just enough to keep the interest up for a rather old-man inclusion into the metalverse.

“Serpent Bat” kicks things off in good form with old-school Sodom vibes as the vocalist alternates between black metal rasps and death metal growls. The fast-moving blackened thrash riff moves along nicely, interrupting itself in the song’s final minute to drop some heavy chugs wrapped in a dark presence. This latter riff, in particular, sets up the mood for the rest of the album. The follow-up track, “Paramount Specter,” keeps the ball rolling with its own black/thrash character and overlapping rasps and growls. The guitar work also increases a bit, delivering an intricate riff that, sometimes, feels like the guitars can’t keep up with the drums. But this is only the beginning. This song is all over the place, transitioning to some heavy riffage before introducing strange guitar leads and a mid-paced groove. For only three-ish minutes in length, this is the most confusing track on the record because it has no idea which riffs it wants to settle on.

Better tracks on the album are “Ruthless Guild,” “Master in the Black Cavern,” and the surprising instrumental, “Demon Bell.” The first is a trve banger with a high-pitched, mid-paced thrash lick that builds throughout. Its first riff change comes with neck-breaking beauty and punching vocals that remind me of the older stompers in 1349’s catalog. It also shows off some solid drum work from the newly-christened drummer. “Master in the Black Cavern” also sees solid drum work as it leads this heavy number chockful of tasty soloing tidbits. The bass also lends its sinisterness to the mix to create something truly cavernous in the final, chugging moments. “Demon Bell” is a surprising piece because, being near the end of the record, I didn’t think something with such killer riffs and structure would come without vocals. But it’s a nifty piece with surprising dueling guitar work—at least in comparison to the album’s other instrumental, “Presage.” This instrumental isn’t bad, but its sad, reverberating guitars do little to introduce its follow-up.

Damnation’s Sight has a lot of old-school character, where simplicity reigned supreme and solos ruled the roost. That alone sets it apart from those modern outfits trying to mash multiple genres and sub-genres together to create something unique. Not once did I feel like I was heading somewhere special with this release, but I still enjoyed it for what it was. Sure, the chorus of “Fane of the Slug Gods” is so forced that it becomes almost funny. And “Vulgar Overlord” is so simplistic that I barely remember it with each new listen. But, for what it is, the old tone matches the style, and the weird, eerie guitar work on songs like “Paramount Specter” provides a unique twist to the album. In the end, Damnation’s Sight is a solid effort even if it doesn’t completely grab me.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Invictus Productions | Bandcamp
Website: facebook.com/magesterrorfront
Releases Worldwide: July 12th, 2024

#1349 #25 #2024 #AustralianMetal #BlackMetal #DamnationSSight #DeathMetal #InvictusProductions #Jul24 #MagesTerror #Portal #Pustilence #Review #Reviews #Sodom #SpeedMetal #ThrashMetal #Vomitor