Dwell is a side project of Church Bizarre members Allan B. Larsen (listed as ABL here) and Jens B. Pedersen (listed as JBP) to explore the realms of slower and heavier Death Metal. This is actually a fairly short release as far as Doom/Death Metal is concerned. Though there are three tracks on Ash Tombs, only two of them are actual songs. “Become the Void” is essentially a four minute Ambient/keyboard intro to “Perditions Mire,” although it’s listed as a separate track. It’s definitely needed, though. “Plunging Into Ash Tombs” and “Perditions Mire” are cast from the same mold in terms of how they sound, so breaking the two of them up helps to separate them in the minds of the listener. Otherwise, they would have bled together, sounding like one long song. The riffing is different, but the tonal ranges are fairly close. The keyboard interlude between them is a great move strategically when you know your music operates on a narrow tonal range. Since this is a demo, Dwell can get away with that, but if they ever go on to record something longer than this, they’re going to have to figure out a way to further differentiate the songs from each other. Maybe incorporating keyboards or some other higher pitched instrument would help, because the contrast between that and the lower, darker notes could highlight the differences. Individually, I like both “Plunging Into Ash Tombs” and “Perditions Mire.” Together, they sound similar enough to where you would think they were the same song. It would be a good song, but the same one nonetheless.

At War With has a dark and murky sound. The guitars are very bass-heavy and this whole LP reminds me of old Disembowelment and Corpse Molestation, but the music has an early Swedish Death Metal feeling. Valdur is a band that isn’t afraid of mixing in some melody in with the carnage and destruction that they’re dishing out, something that was particularly effective in making the songs memorable and interesting. If this album had been song after song of brutal riff after brutal riff, it would have bored the shit out of me in no time flat. By mixing things up, the songs became far more listenable. Even though the band operated in a tight tonal range for the bulk of this LP, the melodic parts, the atmospheric elements and the tempo changes (going from Grind level speeds to slower and heavier) broke things up enough so that I never started thinking that I was listening to several different versions of the same track. This is some brutal and ugly Black/Death Metal and that’s the kind of music I like to hear. If there was one area that I would have changed, it would be the loudness of the drums. There are times when the drums, particularly the snare, drown out the guitars. When Matthew, the drummer, isn’t blasting away, this isn’t a problem. It becomes an issue when they kick up the speed and start going into a segment were they are more in the Grind range. This doesn’t happen too often, but when it does, you notice it right away. On the whole, though, I found At War With to be an LP that was both dark and punishingly brutal, two good things that work well together in the realms of Black and Death Metal. I’m definitely looking forward to what this band produces next.

Though this band seems to have been originally influenced by Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings saga in much the same way that Summoning was, the content of Colossal Darkness appears to be entirely inspired by Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champion series. The Eternal Champion concept was interesting in that it wasn’t an actual series of books but a combination of novels and characters that were interrelated. Most fantasy literature nerds, such as myself, will know Elric and his soul drinking sword, Stormbringer, right away, but there were many others. Each protagonist in Moorcock’s writing was the reincarnation of the Eternal Champion, and since each character existed in a different era, there were almost infinite possibilities when it came to where the stories could go. Realistically, books in the Eternal Champion series could be futuristic or primitive or anywhere in between. It also allowed for a lot of crossovers where different characters from the various novels could interact with each other in one or more of the fantasy worlds that Moorcock created. While a lot of Moorcock’s work wasn’t as epic as Tolkien’s, it’s still fertile ground for a band like Numenor to explore. Musically, Colossal Darkness isn’t quite as epic as Summoning, but there are times when they come close, such as on “The Sailor on the Seas of Fate.” Most of the time, the band is more akin to a Power Metal version of Dimmu Borgir. The music is generally Symphonic Black Metal, but the guitar-work reflects a substantial Power Metal influence, particularly in the soloing and in the places where the guitar is the primary instrument. The combination of this Power Metal influence and the Symphonic Black Metal style creates an interesting and dynamic range of musical output. Like the Eternal Champion series itself, it allows Numenor to go a lot of places within the realms of Metal. If there is one thing that the band needs, though, it’s some more punch in their music. It might have something to do with the production, but I thought that the guitars needed more prominence and power. Also, more powerful keyboards, which are already nice and loud but should sound “bigger.” Things are just a little bit too ethereal here. Colossal Darkness is still a good album with some interesting music and ideas. If Numenor can put a bit more power into their delivery, they’ll be a band to look out for.

The Superchi brothers (Jake and Nick, aka The Witcher and OldNick) are back again, but this time under the name of Thy Emptiness. Instead of the Symphonic Black Metal style that they usually write with their main band, Ceremonial Castings, they’ve decided to do something in the Doom/Death Metal direction, hence the different name they’re employing, and the cover of My Dying Bride’s “For You.” Truthfully, though, this isn’t so much Doom/Death Metal as it is Black Metal with Doom/Death Metal influences. Thy Emptiness is actually closer to Dimmu Borgir than it is to anything in the Doom/Death Metal vein. All of the songs on Crowned Under Cascade Rain could easily pass for something on a Ceremonial Castings LP, mostly due to the overpowering keyboard presence. Everything here is a bit slower and heavier than the usual Ceremonial Castings fare, but ultimately, Thy Emptiness isn’t different enough to have an identity of its own. The main reasons for this, I think, are the over-reliance on keyboards when creating melody and atmosphere, and the lack of heaviness in the guitars, which are very thin, and that’s a bad thing in the Doom/Death genre. They needed to be punishingly heavy and more prominent, and the fact that they aren’t seriously hurts. The main things Thy Emptiness needs to work on is getting the guitars in there and stop relying on the keyboards so much. Keyboards might be the most important element in Ceremonial Castings, but they don’t translate as well to a genre that is primarily driven by guitars like Doom/Death Metal is. These are, however, mainly production issues that could be worked out for the band’s next release. So, while the songs don’t suck, I think this might appeal more to fans of Gothic Metal or Black Metal. It just doesn’t have that underlying heaviness that fans of My Dying Bride are looking for.

Metal Church is a band I haven’t kept track of very much since the ’80s. I was a big fan of The Dark and the self-titled debut, but after David Wayne left the band, they kind of dropped off of the radar for me. Occasionally I’d hear a track or two from them over the ensuing years, but nothing through the ’90s and into the 2000s impressed me enough to check them out again. This is, quite literally, the first Metal Church album I’ve listened to in its entirety in almost three decades. Comparing it to the legendary The Dark probably isn’t fair, but that’s my last reference point for their music. Generation Nothing isn’t bad. Even compared to The Dark, it doesn’t sound horrible, but the music is just missing that rawness and intensity that the early material had. Ronny Munroe does his best to sound like David Wayne, but his delivery makes him sound more like Udo Dirkschneider to the point I thought I was listening to Accept half of the time. Musically, Generation Nothing is fairly basic “by the numbers” Heavy Metal. There’s nothing here that Metal Church hasn’t done before, and while there aren’t any tracks that blatantly suck ass, none of them stand out. There’s no “Ton of Bricks” or “Watch the Children Pray” to be found here, and that’s what this LP desperately needs. There isn’t a song that instantly gets your head banging and makes you say “Fuck Yeah! Turn this shit up!” when you hear it. Traditional Heavy Metal is really at its best when it has that hook or standout melody. It’s what people remember after the album is over, and Generation Nothing is lacking in that department. Even after repeated listens, my reactions were the same: this is okay, but just doesn’t have what it takes to really be a good album, let alone a great one.

I’ve never been to Norway, but the winters there must be brutal for the country to produce so much dark, bleak, and cold music as it does. Throne of Katarsis is a band that embodies all three of those characteristics. The Three Transcendental Keys is as dark, as bleak, and as cold as Norwegian Black Metal comes. This LP has that Burzum-esque droning style melded with raw and dirty Transylvanian Hunger-era Darkthrone, plus dark, dismal melodies, and howling, reverb-laced vocals thrown in to make things even more evil sounding. I admit that the style isn’t exactly groundbreakingly original. I’ve been listening to Scandinavian Black Metal for twenty years now and I’ve heard a lot of bands. Throne of Katarsis might not be doing anything different or unique, but they know how to squeeze the most out of what they have. If you want to make this kind of Black Metal, old Burzum and Darkthrone is a good place to start. The Three Transcendental Keys is a pretty harrowing affair, mostly due to the heavily reverb-laden guitars and vocals. If there’s one thing that keeps it from greatness, it’s the droning style. Some might like it because the somewhat ambient nature of the music lulls you into a weird hypnotic state - and it is pretty mesmerizing at times - but if you’re paying attention, the repetitive structures get kind of boring. As a side note, one of my friends told me that this LP is one you shouldn’t listen to while taking any hallucinogenic drugs. I haven’t tried it, and I don’t recommend it, but apparently the experience isn’t good.

While Hell’s 2011 debut, Human Remains, was a tribute to the deceased founder of the band, David Halliday, Curse & Chapter marks a new phase. Human Remains featured only old material, and while the new lineup took some liberties with those songs, they were essentially faithful to the originals. Curse & Chapter shows Hell returning as a full-fledged band that wants to produce new and original music. I was initially wary of this because it’s always dicey when a group reunites without one of the core members. Most of the time, it’s a cash-in on a familiar name with the remaining guys either rehashing older material again or putting out new stuff that’s a pale shadow of classics. Curse & Chapter, though, shows that the band has the chops to be able to pull this off. The overdone theatrical nature of their music - especially David Bower’s vocals- might be off-putting to some, but the net result is that their songs are never boring or “same old shit” sounding. In a way, they’re kind of like a NWOBHM version of Cradle of Filth, complete with the atmospherics, blackened tongue-in-cheek lyrics and over the top delivery. The music on Curse & Chapter is still solidly in the realms of the melodic NWOBHM style, but the newer influences do stand out. Even when things get a bit “out there” in terms of the playing, they keep going back to that Metal foundation that grounds them. I enjoyed listening to this LP quite a bit, mostly because it expands on the older material and brings in some interesting new sounds. It’s never a dull moment with these guys. David Bower is a big part of that with his “William Shatner of Heavy Metal” style vocals. I can’t honestly say that there’s another singer like him. Likewise, Hell has a sound that is distinctly their own. If there’s any downside to this album, it’s that it doesn’t compare to seeing them live. I’ve watched clips of the band’s live show and it’s quite a spectacle. Once you see David Bower on stage dressed like Satan himself, and wielding a trident that sprays sparks all over the place, hearing the music without the visuals seems a tad bland in comparison. Still, this is a very entertaining record, and if you’re a fan of some good old-fashioned Heavy Metal, it is sure to satisfy you.

Having grown up in San Francisco, Bay Area Thrash is something that I’ve known about and followed for most of my life. While I was never one of those people who religiously went to The Stone or to Ruthie’s Inn, I did know about and listened to most of the bands in the local scene. As such, Death Angel and their peers were a fairly large part of my youth and young adult life. I first discovered Death Angel not long after The Ultra-Violence was released. One of my friends was a huge fan of theirs at the time and I heard that LP at least once every time I was around him back when I was in high school. Thrash was getting big in those days, with Metallica leading the way. MTV was starting to play Thrash videos and major labels were signing Bay Area bands left and right. As things grew more and more commercialized, you could slowly see a lot of local groups changing, and Death Angel was no exception. I remember them attempting to become more commercially acceptable on Act III, and at some point they even started calling themselves D.A. because Death Angel wasn’t radio-friendly enough. They eventually disappeared, dissolving back in 1991, with members forming other bands like The Organization (also known as “The O”), Swarm and Big Shrimp. Death Angel reformed in 2001, though with only two of the members from the ’80s lineup remaining (Rob Cavestany and Mark Osegueda). The new team is rounded out by three scene veterans: Will Carroll, Ted Aguilar and Damien Sisson (all three of whom are also members of local Thrashers Scarecrow, Ted and Will were also in Warfare DC together). The Dream Calls for Blood is the latest album by this revamped lineup, and while the novelty of Death Angel being comprised of family members is gone, the band is more focused, and the desire to appeal to MTV and mainstream radio is nowhere to be found. Though they’re never going to recapture the feeling and energy of The Ultra-Violence, the Thrash on this record is definitely potent. It’s reminiscent of other Bay Area bands, blending a bit of Exodus with some Vio-Lence and a little old Metallica into their already established sound. No new ground is broken, but the music still does plenty of damage to the vertebrae in your neck. All of these songs are mostly hard-driving, speedy Thrash with just enough melody to hook you in and get your head banging. The only one that really doesn’t fit is their rendition of “Heaven and Hell,” but that’s a digipak-only bonus track, so I don’t really count it. It’s a good cover, but the song is slower and heavier than the others, making it stick out as an oddball. As a bonus track, though, it’s definitely worth an extra dollar or two if you’re a fan of the band. Even if you only have the option of buying the regular version, it doesn’t disappoint.

I always hate researching a band with a name like Astaroth. Going online and searching for the right one is always a pain because there are literally dozens of groups out there with the same name or some variation of it. This particular Astaroth comes from Oslo, Norway, and they’re Black Metal. To further add to the confusion, there is also another band from Laksevag, Norway, with the same name, but they’re Death Metal. Anyway, Chaosatanas is the debut release by this Astaroth, and while I didn’t find it very original, I did notice that, for whatever reason, I’ve been listening to this album a lot. It kind of reminds me of old Dark Funeral and Marduk at times, but the music here is far more versatile than that. Astaroth isn’t one of those bands that plays fast all the time. They know how to inject some melodic, and occasionally thrashy, guitar-work in with the all-out speed assault, making their music much more effective. It also helps that most of the songs kick ass, too. “Abyss” and “Xeper-I-Apep” had my neck making all kinds of noises that I don’t think are healthy. There were a couple dud tracks, “The Chosen” being the most obviously sub-par, but on the whole, this was a pretty solid debut. While there is room for improvement, Chaosatanas shows a band with some impressive skills. If their next LP is full of songs that are on the same caliber as “Abyss,” “Grace of Earth,” and “World Enslaved,” they’ll be responsible for a large number of neck injuries and we’ll be forgetting that there are a dozen other bands out there with the same name.