Malfet : The Way to Avalon

    Inspired by Arthurian legend, the music composed by Malfet takes listeners on a journey through vibrant sounding musical landscapes of epic splendor. “The Way to Avalon,” is not your typical dungeon synth album and features some creative synth work that leads you into a world of endless sounding wonder.

    When listening to this album I was impressed by the medieval sounding themes and incorporation of sounds from nature. You feel as though you are stepping through a gateway into another realm. What I believe grabbed my attention right away was the album's overall atmosphere and how compelling the music sounded. Anyone can attempt to create a dungeon synth album, however, you must have purpose and an ability to convey a captivating world of pure instrumental fantasy. Malfet is able to accomplish that on this album by building their own distinct identity, while also writing a strong album from start to finish.

    The first track, “The Way to Avalon,” sets forth a path into the artist’s vision of what it would be like as you make your way to the legendary island of Avalon. As the background synth lays down a solid foundation, the main melody leads you through a peaceful sounding forest filled with calming sounds. The following tracks, “Within Llyn Ogwen” and “Farewell to Gaste Forest,” slightly change direction as the music takes on a more sombre feel, but eventually it returns to that triumphant sounding confidence you heard on the first song.

    The middle of the album continues to feature dynamic sounding arrangements of fantasy themed sounds that are recorded in such a precise manner. I feel as though the music is never overwhelming and the production is very crisp and clean sounding. Instead of overloading the landscape with too many layers, there seems to be an emphasis placed on certain melodies which are very soothing and maintain your focus. The song, “Joyeuse Garde Idyll,” is a great example of a well written piece of music that is presented in a simple manner, yet conjures a very powerful emotional sounding tone.

    Once the album ends, you find yourself returning from that magnificent world of Arthurian greatness back to the cruel reality where people like Taylor Swift are rich and famous for releasing garbage. I think Malfet’s vision was executed extremely well and the album is one of the strongest sounding instrumental releases to come out this year. This type of talent can definitely be used to score a film, especially one surrounding the topics explored on this album. I look forward to more pleasant sounding musical journeys from Malfet in the future and highly recommend this release for fans of epic sounding dungeon synth music.





Check out "Malfet - Briosque Juvenis" below:

Pathetic "Rat King"

    Merciless devastation is what Pathetic unleashes upon the world with their debut full-length album. This pulverizing trio from Calgary does not mess around when delivering their brand of gruesome and savage sounding death metal.

    “Rat King,” is an album that features an unholy onslaught of unforgiving extreme metal music. The band knows how to construct some brutal sounding songs, while also coming up with a variety of unique compositions. You can have a slow gritty juggernaut like riff coming at you one moment which all of a sudden changes making way for an intense tsunami of old school death metal carnage.

    Overall the production and the band’s sound is extremely raw and not overproduced. Unlike most of the modern death metal bands who focus on their image and trying to act like they are guitar virtuosos yet can’t write a memorable song to save their lives, Pathetic seems to have their songs nailed down. The band also effectively utilizes audio clips during their songs, which I think adds to the band’s vicious vision throughout the release.

    If you want to open an album with an impact, you need to take note at what Pathetic does with the first song off the album, “Natural Born Loser.” The music slowly builds up with some dark sounding audio clips and eventually singer and bassist AJ Kovar unleashes a monstrous growl. As the song progresses the band keeps hammering out a terrorizing main riff and drummer Duncan Chisholm pummels the hell out of his kit. Song number two, “Hamatsa,” is gory cut of metal music where guitarist Spencer Kraft throws down a fierce sounding guitar solo that really compliments the song's cannibalistic theme.

    Track number three, “The Fatal Charade,” is an ear piercing attack of adrenaline pumping instrumental entropy. AJ’s vocals provide such a sinister and aggressive tone to compliment the song’s overall sound. Tracks four and five, “Going Postal,” and “Rat King,” are putrid sounding tunes of corpse grinding death metal. I think track number seven, “Frozen to Death (The Starlight Tours),” is probably the heaviest song off of the album and the main riff conveys a very death doom like vibe. You feel as though you are slowly suffering from frost bite and the world around you shakes as the drums and bass lay down these seismic strikes to your ears.

    The last three songs, “Slob,” “Defecating Upon the Grave of the Grand Wizard,” and “Empty Threat,” do a great job wrapping up the album. I mean, “Defecating Upon the Grave of the Grand Wizard,” takes listeners on this feverish journey of old school gore grinding madness. The band seems to have a knack for writing solid riffs that flow with sheer brutal blood thirsty force.

    What I take away from Pathetic’s, “Rat King,” is that true unforgiving sounding death metal is definitely alive and kicking, especially in a world where quality seems to be going away due to a lot of bands not thinking about production before they release an album. Pathetic proves that three guys can obliterate the musical landscape with strong songwriting skills, killer riffs and true extreme music making passion. I don’t know what it is about Canada and trios, but I guess you don’t need a band with four or five members to make an impact.


Pathetic Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/patheticband666/

Pathetic Bandcamp:
https://pathetic666.bandcamp.com/

Nocturnus AD "Paradox"

    The science fiction themed death metal pioneers return with a tremendous sounding release and although the band is called, Nocturnus AD, the music on this new album embodies everything the original Nocturnus established. In my opinion, “Paradox,” is the album that should have followed the band’s 1990 release, “The Key,” which to this day remains a cult classic in the world of old school death metal.

    This Florida based act stands out from their peers by pushing the technical and conceptual boundaries. There are some bands who get stuck focusing on the same cheesy satanic imagery and anti-christian rhetoric, while Nocturnus AD explores unique lyrical themes and in the process creates a tale of horrific science fiction proportions. Just like with, “The Key,” one can hear raw blistering technical talents that form these progressive sounding landscapes of mind bending brutality.

    Drummer/vocalist and original member, Mike Browning, demonstrates amazing skill behind the kit and does a solid job providing his vicious signature vocal delivery. Also, I was extremely impressed by the guitar playing on this release. Both guitarists, Demian Heftel and Belial Koblak, consistently lay down a solid foundation of explosive riffs and fluid shredding. I thought bassist Daniel Tucker did an admirable job as well maintaining a solid foundation throughout the release, especially given the complex arrangements. Keyboardist Josh Holdren does a great job adding some diverse and eerie ambience to the extreme sounding instrumental vortex. Not too many bands can effectively incorporate keyboards into their music, however, Nocturnus AD does it in a way that seems very natural.

    From start to finish the band keeps you intently listening and there is never dull moment on this release. Once you hear that opening keyboard part on the first song, “Seizing the Throne,” your fate is sealed and Nocturnus AD pulls you through a technical death metal world containing lakes of endless fire. The second track. “The Bandar Sign,” begins with a high pitched keyboard composition that leads you into a gateway of intense rhythms and profound lyrical content. Once again, Mike Browning is able to captivate listeners with these unworldly tales which compliment the aggressive instrumental arrangements.

    Throwing riffs and solos at listeners faster than the speed of light, “Paleolithic,” is historical hell ride of dynamic and unpredictable tempo changes. I like how the band incorporates a variety of tempo changes throughout the song, yet the music flows with great synergy. Another song that I want to mention which is also probably my favorite off of the album is, “The Return of the Lost Key.” The song contains some exceptional guitar work and Mike Browning delivers one of his most ravenous vocal performances, especially during the ending part of the song. I thought the final song, “Number 9,” was a brilliant sounding instrumental composition and features some great technical prowess and amazing atmospheric touches. You couldn’t ask for a better way to finish an album.

    When I interviewed Mike Browning during my college radio show back around 2014, he stated that he had wanted to continue where Nocturnus left off when they recorded, “The Key.” I can honestly say that Nocturnus AD did just that with, “Paradox.” While some iconic death metal bands overproduce their albums and state they are going to return to their original sound, Nocturnus AD was actually able capture that same essence and sound that made their early works such coveted releases. Arguably the best album to come out this year so far and one that will hopefully inspire more young death metal artists to push themselves creatively.



Nocturnus AD "Return of the Lost Key" :