Crawl Below "Its Ministers on Earth"

    Dwelling in the gloomy woods of Eastern Connecticut, Crawl Below has become a true anomaly in the world of extreme music. Over the years this one-man act has explored a plethora of different musical styles ranging from Lovecraftian inspired acoustic punk to spectral sounding death-doom. Charlie Sad Eyes, the mastermind behind Crawl Below, has written and recorded some extremely unique sounding releases over the years, all of which I tend to find rather enjoyable. 

    Crawl Below's new release, “Its Ministers on Earth,” steps into a darker and heavier sounding world by constructing some monolith sized blackened death doom tracks that really pushes the music into this more abrasive sounding world. I personally really enjoyed the last Crawl Below release, “9 Mile Square,” because the overall sound on that album conveyed a more doomy and gothic style very similar to that of Type O Negative. Honesty, this new release threw me by complete surprise, because the delivery comes across with more deafening attitude at times. Even though the sound on this album is not exactly similar to the previous release, I will acknowledge that the compelling sounding atmospheres and attention to detail remains very much the same. 

    “Its Ministers on Earth,” begins with a brutal sounding slugfest of harsh sounding guitar riffs and foundation crushing drum parts. The opening track, “The Daemon Damned Season,” starts out with the sound of ocean waves crashing against the shore, but eventually turns into an explosion of blistering aggression and ear shattering doom. The old school death growl vocal style used during the first vocal part of the song provides a sinister touch and is eventually accompanied by haunting clear sounding vocals. I thought that the contrasting vocal styles was a brilliant idea, and as the song progresses you find yourself becoming almost possessed by the music’s merciless sounding hypnotic aura. 

    On the second track, “Red Fell the Vapours,” Crawl Below continues to take a dive down a more venomous sounding musical void and summons forth some agonizing arrangements. I felt as though the music took on a more black metal meets death metal approach that featured a sporadic amount of feverish sounding guitar riffs. “Summoning Rite,” is a short instrumental drum arrangement that adds to the albums ritualistic occult like theme, which I personally think was a creative way to slow the music down a bit before the next onslaught of planet decimating death doom. 

    Track number five, “Will Rot the Base Chains,” is without a doubt my favorite song off of this album, even though I find picking a favorite to be an extremely difficult task given how well each song was written and recorded. Still, “Will Rot the Base Chains,” is a mesmerizing piece of music that really stands out by offering up a fair amount of eye opening dynamic arrangements. During the entire song I felt like I was listening with great interest and would become almost possessed by the guitar and bass parts along with the adrenaline pumping drumming. Plus, the haunting clean vocals towards the end of the song made you feel as if you were floating through a cosmic sea of comforting darkness. 

    Once again Crawl Below delivers a solid and utterly sinister sounding release with, “Its Ministers on Earth.” Charlie Sad Eyes is a very creative artist who is willing to experiment with each new release and step outside the box at times in order construct an album that vividly stands out. This is one of those albums where you feel every single riff and every single drum part, especially when the music takes a turn down one of those nightmarish sounding pathways shrouded in a veil of hazy doom. This album is highly worth checking out if you are a fan of blackened death doom with a surreal sounding occult like atmosphere that will make you go crazier than Anya Taylor-Joy's character in the movie, The Witch. 

Crawl Below Bandcamp:

https://crawlbelow.bandcamp.com/album/its-ministers-on-earth

Crawl Below Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/crawlbelow/

Rat King "Santa Hipocresía"

    Good Gawd Almighty! Rat King is rushing down the ramp with a steel chair in hand looking to break some bones and raise some hell! These death metal/grindcore maniacs from Seattle, WA come charging at the metal world with a relentless and unforgiving attitude on their new EP, “Santa Hipocresía.” 

    I remember reviewing their full-length album, “Vicious Inhumanity,” back in 2020 which I thought was a solid album that featured a deafening selection of face shredding death metal/grindcore. However, this new release is almost a completely different beast and sounds even more vicious in terms of the band's delivery and the overall presentation. Once you start listening to the album’s first track, “Santa Hipocresía,” you are instantly thrown into this pit of extreme sounding carnage that hits you with a flurry of fatal punches. Throughout the release the guitar playing and drumming proves to be on point, capturing the band’s utterly brutal approach. 

    There are moment where one might feel as though the riffs are a bit simplistic and that the arrangements are nothing innovative, however, the passion and adrenaline pumping ferocity is what hooked me throughout the entire EP. I felt like the guitar playing on this album was able to get the job done, especially when setting up those moments of intense blast beats which created a monumental rush of sickening brutality. Track number two, “Maldición Del Alma,” brought a massive amount of aggression for such a short track and I thought the vocals perfectly captured the gruesome devastation that seemed to come crashing in from all around. You hear that same brutal mentality on other tracks like, “False Prophet,” and “Morboso,” which also contain chainsaw like guitar riffs and those ear obliteration drum parts. 

    As someone who feels like a fair portion of modern death metal and grindcore bands attempt to record “brutal” music yet end up writing very forgettable albums, I was extremely pleased with how Rat King went about recording this release. Also, the band seems to have a strong and tight grasp on their overall sound, which I thought was executed extremely well. I believe we have reached a point in the extreme metal world where as much as we would like new bands to be ground breaking or innovative masterminds, we actually just want artists to deliver albums that leave an impact and sound like they weren't recorded by a bunch of drunk yahoos. No bullshit, this album is a mighty statement and Rat King is definitely an artist that I recommend checking out. 

Check out the song "False Prophet" below:

Rat King Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/ratkingseattle/ 

Rat King Bandcamp:

https://ratkingband.bandcamp.com/

Old Tower "The Old King of Witches"

    Once again Old Tower conjures forth an album that leads listeners into a shadowy realm of haunting tranquility. “The Old King of Witches,” is more than just another dungeon synth album, but a journey across a mysterious archaic landscape where darkness reigns and one might begin to question all they once knew to be possible. 

    The Specter, the creative genius behind Old Tower, has proven to be an extremely brilliant composer within the world of dungeon synth and ambient music. In the absence of lyrics, one must be able to hook listeners with profound ambience, while also seamlessly guiding listeners through mesmerizing pieces of music that creates a cinematic sounding world. Old Tower’s last full-length release, “The Last Eidolon,” was an extremely impressive release, and an album that I considered to be one of the best albums to come in 2020. Compared to, “The Last Eidolon,” I find this new release to be even more darker and dives into this eye opening horror themed world in which there is an evil force lurking amongst this forbidden domain. 

    Each track serves as a small yet powerful piece in relation to the overall frightening story as you progress throughout the album. The Specter makes sure to add enough detail into eacb track order to really establish a vivid sounding environment. Right away you hear a bit of a departure from the traditional old school dungeon synth sound, and instead you can hear a more ambient style that feels like something that could be used as a film score. “Wych Totem,” is the album’s opening track and builds up suspense with eerie noises which throws you straight into the heart of this forbidden musical realm. At the end of the song a sharp ear piercing sound breaks the calm silence, as if you have reached the boundary line into an evil dominion. 

    During the song the, “The Dwelling,” I could imagine myself entering a decrepit old den where a cauldron is bubbling and candles surround a book used to summon malevolent forces. I really must applaud The Specter for arranging such compelling and realistic sounds, because once you start listening to a track you become completely possessed by every little noise that comes out of the speaker. On most dungeon synth albums you hear a triumphant yet melancholy sound driving the music forwarded, but on this release the gloomy and ghastly compositions lead you through a more mysteriously sinister atmospheric cloud of sound. 

    Other tracks on the album like, “Red Dragon Bones” and “Winter Embers,” continues to incorporate a plethora of sounds in order to provide more fascinating detail to an already monumental musical tale. The sounds of a crackling fire during, “Winter Embers,” that break through the glossy synth arrangement, leaves you feeling like you are standing all alone in a forest nestled away under a sea of dead mangled trees. A track for me that really stood out was, “The Drifter of Duskmire,” because the layering of different sounds during the song really hooked me from the beginning until the end. The synth arrangements are extremely well recorded and the other noises compliment the music’s insidious tone. 

     I would describe, "The Old King of Witches,” as a great example of how The Specter has a plethora of creative depth that is still being shown on each new release. This album is one of the most well produced releases to come out this year, and the fact that this album does not need words to create such strong mental images only reaffirms my respect for this artist. In my opinion, Old Tower is the king of dungeon synth/ambient acts right now and the kingdom established by The Specter is one that I hope continues to flourish in the dark confines wherever this artist dwells for many years. 

Link to the teaser video for the album: 

Old Tower Bandcamp:

https://oldtower.bandcamp.com/album/the-old-king-of-witches

Mentor "Wolves, Wraiths and Witches"

     You might consider the new release from the band Mentor to be the perfect soundtrack for Halloween, because based on the album’s title alone this is one horrifying extreme metal release. “Wolves, Wraiths and Witches,” is the band’s third full-length album to date and tells haunting crypt dwelling tales with a merciless blitzkrieg of brutality. 

    The Polish based band goes straight for the jugular on this release by throwing together some sinister sounding blackened thrash metal with a violent kick of old school hardcore punk. Out of the nine tracks off of this album I can tell you without hesitation that each piece of music comes charging at you like a machete wielding lunatic looking to unleash havoc. Probably what stood out the most on this release was the bombastic off the wall and into the bloody pit type of energy, which is captured extreme well throughout the release in terms of the recording quality. 

    

    Out of the nine face shredding tracks on this album, picking a favorite will be an extremely difficult task simply due to the fact that each song flows with a feverish sounding aura. From the opening song, “Equal in the Fire” to the final track, “Sealed in a Tomb,” the riffs coming violently blasting out of the speakers, while the band’s drummer unleashes an onslaught of rhythmic destruction. Also, the bass playing on this album is perfectly captured throughout the entire release and provides an extra boost of sickening devastation to the overall sound. Songs like, “Fed After Midnight” and “The Great Grave in the Sky,” are presented with a very old school hardcore/thrash mentality, which is always nice to hear when done right.  

    A significant amount of metal bands have explored this style of extreme metal before, and the bands that tend to excel are the ones that are able to make it their own. Mentor is not trying to reinvent the wheel by any means, but this group is definitely determined and has a strong passion for the music that they record. Songs like, “Creature Feature,” “Dance of the Dead,” and “A Night So Grim,” blend the worlds of horror and metal together for a slaughterhouse full of ear bursting insanity. Lyrically, I thought the band created some vivid sounding tales of terror to accompany the gruesome sounding instrumental compositions. 

    Mentor is a band that I believe can appeal to a fair amount of extreme metal fans, especially those who wish to throw on an album that conjures up a wicked and raw sound. “Wolves, Wraiths and Witches,” is a release that has very little flaws, mainly because this band has a confident and passionate drive from the start of the album until the very end. Overall, I would say this is an extremely solid release, which is highly worth checking out if you are into ghoulish lyrical themes and bone crushing arrangements of nightmarish proportions. 

Check of the track "Equal in the Fire" below: 

Mentor Bandcamp:

https://mentor3.bandcamp.com/

Tower "Shock to the System"

    After releasing their debut studio album back in 2016, the New York City based band known as Tower returns with one fearsome sounding release. The band holds nothing back and unleashes a thunderous heavy metal onslaught on their sophomore release, “Shock to the System.” 

    This band has a massive amount of raw and ruthless classic metal energy, which also conveys that no-nonsense rock and roll attitude. I hear a variety of influences ranging from hard rock to NWOBHM, but in the end this band is able to hammer out a sound that really comes rushing through the speakers with a confident and ballsy attitude. The twin guitar attack of guitarists James Danzo and Zak Penley is on full display throughout the album, especially when pertaining to the feverish sounding chord progressions and skillful lead guitar work. Also, the high soaring and confident vocals provided by the band’s singer, Sarabeth Linden, offer up a monumental boost of raw energy into the tracks.  

    Songwriting is always something I pay attention to when reviewing albums and bands that fail to compose strong and engaging songs usually lose me after the first couple tracks. In the case of Tower, this band is able to produce a solid sound that even though has been done numerous times before, definitely conveys a strong hard rock and heavy metal vision. For example, the opening track, “Blood Moon,” is a slamming piece of headbanging aggression. Drummer James Jones kicks things off by laying down some crushing rhythms that are followed up by a flurry of ear shattering riffs and powerful vocals. 

    The second track, “Prince of Darkness,” continues the loud and bombastic onslaught with a slightly slower tempo, while also being fueled by Sarabeth's passionate earth shaking vocals. On the third song, “Metatron,” the band arranges an instrumental composition featuring a variety of creative tempo changes and some blistering lead guitar playing. The lead parts are very precise, yet have that killer raw sound which never ends by sounding like a tsunami of random notes saturating the song and causing listeners to feel overwhelmed. 

    Probably what stood out the most on this album was how tight the band sounded, especially when considering that I've come across countless bands who play this style of music. Songs like, “Running Out of Time,” “Hired Gun” and “The Black Rose,” turn up the heat by demonstrating countless moments of catchy guitar parts along with very memorable chorus section. However, the song on this album that I believe stole the show had to be, “In Dreams.” The band draws some influence from eighties hard rock and heavy metal by crafting some epic sounding melodies. Add in some triumphant guitar riffs and earth shaking vocals that stretch across the landscape with tremendous force, and you end up getting one brilliant piece of music. 

    

    From top to bottom, “Shock to the System,” is a scorching release that comes charging at the global metal community with a relentless and wild heavy metal passion. The all around musicianship is really impressive, however the band’s songwriting talents along with their take no prisoners hard rocking mentality, is what I believe can help them stand out as they continue their ascent in the world of rock/metal. After a year of lockdowns and domestic insanity, Tower is coming out swinging with no remorse on this new album, so do not pass it up! 

Check out the song "Blood Moon" below:

Tower Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/TOWERnyc

Tower Bandcamp:

https://towernyc.bandcamp.com/album/shock-to-the-system

When the Deadbolt Breaks "As Hope Valley Burns: Eulogy"

    When the Deadbolt Breaks perfectly conjures up gloomy atmospheres and trippy instrumental compositions that leave you floating through a void of mind altering darkness on their new release, “As Hope Valley Burns: Eulogy.” Just in time for Halloween, this group of psychedelic doom metal musicians from Connecticut offers listeners an album that seems to draw inspiration from the haunting New England lore and lays down plenty of heavy mountain sized riffs of pure DOOM. 

    This is not just another doom metal band that drinks cheap beer, has members that look like Dog the Bounty Hunter and writes the same Sabbath "Vol. 4" like riffs for an entire album until you become completely bored to death. The band draws from a plethora of influences and composes their songs with a great deal of dynamic sounding arrangements. From clean vocals to the harsh vocals that sound as if someone has become completely enraged and ready to just throw down a vicious flurry of punches, the band provides very refreshing tracks that keeps you listening with great interest. Right away on the album’s opening twelve minute track,”I Live in the Dirt,” you are greeted with this monumental surge of distorted energy and massive sounding arrangement. The drums echo like thunder across the cold landscape bringing a juggernaut of rhythmic force. 

    On the second track, “Cleanse the Death,” there is a more sludge like approach conjured up to invoke this spectral sounding atmosphere. The overall riff may not be the most technically challenging sounding riff, however, the band is more focused on atmosphere and experimenting with a variety of haunting tones. On the album’s third track, “Gods Eyes,” there is more monstrous aggression thrown into the mix, which I think can appeal to those listeners who desire hard hitting meaty sounding doom riffs. 

    Honestly, the fourth song on this album, “Forever in the Fire,” is the real show stopper in my opinion. From the song’s solemn sounding beginning that lulls you into this utterly calm trance like state that is slowly scorched away by a firestorm of rage from the singer's harsh sounding vocal delivery. The guitar work throughout the track is sublime sounding and guitar effects create this sounds to capture your imagination, thus leaving you listening in true amazement as the song evolves. 

    For their final song on the album, the band offers listeners a cover song, “Not to Touch the Earth,” which was originally written by The Doors. I definitely liked how the band keeps the original song's frantic psychedelic sound, but also injects more haunting doom touches throughout the recording. I would best describe it as a cross between The Doors and Type O Negative, so you sort of get the best of both worlds. 

    “As Hope Valley Burns: Eulogy,” is an album that find conveys a variety of sounds and creative ideas which listeners will be able to take away. When the Deadbolt Breaks is a band that I personally find to be extremely fascinating and writes extremely solid pieces of music. Also, when experimenting with different sounds, one must still have the ability to bring every together, otherwise it ends up sounding like a boiling pot of garbage noise that would not get played on a public access network no matter much money the band's parents have to offer. When the Deadbolt Breaks is no where near that level of pond dwelling scum sucking humanoids, so definitely check this album out! 

The album is being released through Electric Talon Records/link below to bandcamp:

https://talonrecordsusa.bandcamp.com/track/cleanse-the-death

Murderbait “When the Sun Goes Down, It Goes Down Forever”

    If you are a consistent reader of this blog, then you will have noticed that I give a fair amount of coverage to bands that are on the label, Sentient Ruin. The reason for this being that Sentient Ruin works with a wide variety of unbelievably creative and unorthodox extreme metal and punk artists. Now, in the case of Murderbait, I was pleasantly surprised to be sent this band which one might not right away think would be associated with the label. However, if you have followed this label from the beginning, then you would know that Sentient Ruin is all about promoting hard working and passionate underground artists. 

    Murderbait’s sophomore EP, “When the Sun Goes Down, It Goes Down Forever,” released back in 2019 is finally getting vinyl release thanks to Sentient Ruin. Originally only available on cassette and digital, this group of Portland, Oregon based goth/post-punk rockers are going to be capturing even more curious listeners now that Sentient Ruin is releasing this album on vinyl. Honestly, as much as I enjoy the bludgeoning extreme metal bands that write such savage offerings of sickening brutality, I too yearn for something a bit different to listen to once in a while. 

       I am glad that Sentient Ruin sent me this promo, as I sometimes feel that I do not get an opportunity to talk about the plethora of different musical styles which I also enjoy. Murderbait’s mesmerizing sound mixes together a variety of haunting elements, but the gloomy almost western influenced post-punk sound is what seems to be the main driving influence on this two track EP. When listening to the band’s sound I hear a bit of New Order, Depeche Mode, Bauhuas, Nick Cave and The Cure, while also those beautifully haunting moments one might expect to hear on a Type O negative release. I think the band’s ability to pull such a vast amount of influences together and form their own unique sound is what makes this group really stand out. 

    Also, the lyrical creativity along with the somber delivery of the vocal parts tells a tale of haunting grace accompanied by this macabre atmospheric sounding world of soothing gothic post-punk. As I mentioned earlier I hear a bit of New Order in their sound, especially in regards to the bone-chilling bass melodies. The song, “When the Sun Goes Down, It Goes Down Forever,” comes masterfully rolling out of the speakers in a hypnotic post-punk fashion. Each sound slowly builds to this tidal wave of melancholy emotion that compliments the singer’s dark delivery. 

    Track number two, “Unravelling,” definitely picks up where the first song left off by stringing you along with this glossy atmosphere, which eventually begins to unravel towards the end of the song by offer some dynamic instrumental arrangements. Overall, the guitars create a landscape shrouded in a veil of heavenly gothic tones, but the production never sounds weak, or loses its potency. From the start of the song until the end, you feel draw to this spectral aura emanating from your speakers. 

     Murderbait is highly recommend for fans of gothic rock and post-punk looking for something that breaks the stereotypical music mold. Music likes this could be used in a horror film as people are gathered in a cemetery under a cluster of dark ominous clouds, because the music paints such vivid images in your mind. In the end, having this EP finally released on vinyl through Sentient Ruin will allow for the band to be discovered by more potential listeners, while also offering current fans a chance to own this release on vinyl. The way I see it, everyone wins in the end (Besides those close minded bestial blackened death doom grindcore elitists who will continue acting like badasses until their parents tell them it is time to go eat at the Red Lobster). 

Check out the video for the song “When the Sun Goes Down, It Goes Down Forever” below:

Sentient Ruin Bandcamp:

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/album/when-the-sun-goes-down-it-goes-down-forever