Weekly Round-Up: June 1st 2014

Avatar

When I saw that there was a new album on the way from Sweden's Avatar, I was prepared for more of the same Melodic Death Metal as they delivered on their last album, 2012's "The Black Waltz". Instead what I hear is more of an Industrial / Nu-Metal stomp with the added quirkiness of Dog Fashion Disco / Mr Bungle and the ear for a melody of Faith No More or even Mr. Serj Tankian. This really is a most welcome change of direction from Avatar and is one that has every chance of propelling them into the realms of the more mainstream end of Metal. Not that this is a complaint. Far from it. This is a great album and is one that deserves your full attention. Remember this name. You'll be hearing it a lot more in the future. I guarantee it.

Body Count

What did I expect to hear from a new studio album by Ice T and his "Metal" band, Body Count in 2014? Well, I wasn't sure, but I certainly expected a LOT more than this cringe-worthy embarrassment of an album. Body Count had their 15 minutes back of fame in 1994 with the decent enough "Born Dead" album - but that was then and this is now...and thankfully things have moved on a lot since the early 90's (other than Ice T, it would appear). "Manslaughter" (in my case man's laughter) is so bad that it would have sounded hideously dated in 1995 and is so cliché-ridden that you would be forgiven for thinking that it was actually a parody Rap / Nu-Metal album. Sadly though, this is 100% serious. If I woke up from a 20 year coma, I think I would be wishing that I hadn't. In fact, I DO wish that I hadn't heard this turgid drivel. I actually didn't even make it until the end of the second track, so it could get better. But somehow, I doubt it. Avoid. At all costs. If you really must hear a "song" from the album, be my guest:

Mushroomhead

Mushroomhead always got a raw deal back in the day. Much better than they were given credit for, they were always unfairly maligned for "copying" Slipknot's masked gimmick. Regardless of who did it first (it was Mushroomhead, trivia fans), this backlash was always inevitable. Which is a real shame as if you look beyond the costumes and masks, you will find a band with a real knack for writing a catchy tune. They may not really have moved forward, musically, in the past decade, but if you are a fan of the band, then this is a good thing. New album, the oddly-titled "The Righteous & The Butterfly" ticks all of the same boxes as the last album "Beautiful Stories For Ugly Children", with it's Avant-garde take on Industrial / Alt / Nu-Metal.

Vallenfyre

Essentially a super-group comprising members of British Doom Metal bands, My Dying Bride (Hamish Glencross) and Paradise Lost (Gregor Mackintosh) along with Swedish drummer Adrian Erlandsson - himself a former member of such Metal luminaries as At The Gates, The Haunted, Deathstars, Cradle Of Filth and many more - Vallenfyre are as close to Doom Metal perfection as you could ever wish for. The combination of Gregor's distinctive, mournful lead work with that of Hamish's sorrowful, wailing guitar sound is nothing short of beautiful and with Gregor's vocal delivery being in a similar vein to that of early Paradise Lost, you really are in the presence of something very special here. The sorrowful, tectonic-plate paced guitars are bolstered by some ferocious Death Metal riffing and absolutely spot on song writing, At times, the music may well be reminiscent of bands such as Celtic Frost, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Obituary etc, but it is so much more. This is classic Doom / Death Metal reinvented for the modern era and this, the band's second album is nothing less than essential for fans of the genre.

Shores Of Null

Up next we have some Melodic Death / Doom from Italy's Shores Of Null. "Quiescence" would be a great album by pretty much any standards, but that it is actually the band's debut is nothing short of astonishing. Here is a band that takes influences from past (and current) masters and blends them with fresh, innovative ideas all of their own to create something of a modern-day masterpiece. The influences are often clear for all to hear, but Shores Of Null have just raised the bar.