The Australian extreme metal story isn't one that's too well known amongst the global metal community who are generally only aware of relatively few of the main players but Melbourne hardcore punk band Depression would play an important role in the early days of the movement. In fact, of all the artists who would go on to produce genuine extreme metal releases during the 1980's, Depression were arguably the first to form, trying their hand at being a band from as early as 1982. I didn't start to become involved with the local metal scene until around 1988 & wouldn't run into Depression until they'd well & truly transitioned themselves into a crossover thrash metal act with their 1988 sophomore album "Thrash Till Death: Studio Tapes". I never looked to venture back any earlier in their discography until the last few weeks either but the exercise has led to me coming to some startling revelations around Depression's significance in the forming of the Aussie scene of the mid-to-late 1980's.

Depression's earliest demo tracks were released within a year of the band forming & presented a raw, potent & consistently high-tempo sound that possessed pure punk rock energy with front man Spike's vocal delivery being very much in line with that snotty Sex Pistols vibe. They were also very well produced for a demo too & I can see why Depression would have been signed off the back of them. 1983's "Body Dump" demo tape would see Depression becoming a touch more violent & hardcore. The shorter songs show the four-piece band throwing themselves into their craft on a physical level & exuding a strong level of technical proficiency about what they do too. The production was complete rubbish on this occasion though with the song-writing being muffled by a washed-out live/rehearsal tape aesthetic. I wouldn't say that there was all that much metal in Depression's sound just yet but there are a couple of thrash riffs here & there while the universally high tempos & production issues do tend to leave everything sounding very samey. The vocals were still reasonably clean although Spike's lyrics were spat out with great vitriol & you can easily see how a relentless brand of hardcore such as this one might have spawned the extreme metal subgenres like thrash metal, black metal & grindcore.1983's "Money Chain" single would see Depression adding a touch more accessibility to their approach with more restraint & variation being evident in the tempos & with a stronger emphasis on song-writing. You can definitely hear the chugging, down-picked metal influence starting to increase in these three tracks but I wouldn't suggest that the material was particularly thrashy while the vocals still sat largely in the snotty punk space with the trademark political messaging being stereotypical for the punk scene. And that sees us leading into 1984's self-titled debut album which is certainly Depression's most well-known & highly regarded release.

Now let's get one thing straight right from the start, "Depression" definitely isn't a metal record but it does contain some of the elements that would see these Aussies transitioning into a metal band shortly afterwards. There's no doubt at all about its status as a hardcore punk release though with its 26 short tracks all bounding past at a fair clip. Spike's vocals were now noticeably more aggressive & masculine than they were on those few 1982 demo tracks while the guitar work of Stephen Lazaros (aka Smeer) is abrasive, incisive & attacking. It's very clear that Smeer was becoming more & more influenced by the early extreme metal scene here as his technique is starting to showcase various shared techniques, so much so that we have a few genuine crossover thrash songs here which is really saying something when you consider that this was 1985 & the whole crossover scene would only kick off at that time with bands like S.O.D., D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, Slaughter & Concrete Sox all releasing records of significance within that twelve month period. Just listen to songs like "Big Business", "Breath of Death", "They Wouldn't" & "Universal Product Code" (my personal favourite) & tell me that it shouldn't qualify as thrash! This element has really surprised me actually as there are generally a few common names bandied around when people talk about the earliest steps out into Australian thrash & it's very rare to see Depression mentioned in that discussion.

The production job is perfect for this style of music in that it manages to harness the power of a live hardcore punk act while also allowing all of the individual components great clarity. I think this is a real feather in the album's cap actually. The musical proficiency of each band member is also very high for a hardcore debut & I'd suggest that the band took their craft very seriously, not only as angry youths but also as genuine artists. Perhaps the most impressive thing about "Depression" though is the fact that I enjoy every one of the long list of songs included, perhaps not to the point that I'd claim any of them as a classic of any sort but enough to make this a surprisingly enjoyable record, particularly for someone that's not usually much of a fan of hardcore. In fact, on the evidence of this experience, I'd have to suggest that Depression might have been a world class exponent of the hardcore punk sound, if not one that was particularly original in their approach or threatened the top tier of the genre.

Depression would go on to incorporate more thrash into their sound with each release over the next three or four years before they'd eventually call it a day in 1989 but I think it's fair to say that their legacy is a little under-appreciated because, on the evidence of records that followed this one, they played a much more important role in the early Australian metal scene than they're given credit for. If you have a penchant for well-produced, high-quality hardcore punk then I'd encourage you to dig into this fairly unknown release. It might just surprise you.

For fans of Discharge, Disorder & Crass.

Oceans of Slumber have transformed into the metal band who have exhumed the most wasted potential of the 2020s so far. I never thought of them as being a bad ensemble, but a debut album in 2013 that showed promise has fallen on deaf ears since 2018's The Banished Heart. Two follow up releases that improved barely anything and continuing further into 2024 with Where Gods Fear to Speak.

This album is all over the place in its texture/style. I'm not opposed to bands altering their sound to adapt another genre, like how Oceans of Slumber isolate their melodic death roots in favour of doom/gothic metal here, but the execution of these sounds in harmony sounds more like a trainwreck. As a result, the album feels remarkably disjointed; none of these smaller ideas were given any semblance of connectivity and progression throughout the runtime. the record will non-chalant transform from a slow, melodically pleasant doom section into black metal blast beats and death metal howls at the snap of a finger without any preparation. And this, sadly, is further explored in Cammie Gilbert's vocals as well. There are a lot of metal bands that are perfectly fine writing music without harsh vocals (i.e. Katatonia, Within Temptation, late Opeth), but Oceans of Slumber still imagine heavy music not truly being "heavy" without it. So vocal lines become disjointed with a hybrid vocal delivery, which when paired with the poor songwriting, makes the vocals feel even more obtuse.

I thought a lot about the band Epica while listening to Where Gods Fear to Speak and all of the places that Oceans of Slumber should have focused on to make this record better than it is. Unfortunately, many of the best elements of those Epica albums like Omega and The Quantum Enigma is painfully absent here. What we are left with is a band trying to replicate one of the 2010s most consistent power/symphonic metal bands, but adding the worst possible aspects of progressive metal songwriting to the table for an overall lackluster experience. Oceans of Slumber are the modern day victims of this commonplace issue within the genre, but will likely get a free pass because of the progressive metal tag. It's really a shame and leaves this review feeling empty.

Best Songs: Wish, Wicked Game, I Will Break the Pride of Your Will

I've always liked what I heard from Norwegian progressive metallers Conception but hadn't committed to a full release up until now with my previous experience being limited to the odd inclusion on Spotify playlists or on metal radio. I thought I'd start with their most well-known record as it was somewhat of a breakthrough release for the band & I can see why too. There can be no denying the class of a band like Conception & one feels that their critical success was almost a foregone conclusion. The presence of future Kamelot front man Roy Khan certainly didn't hurt their cause either & he plays a monumental role in "Parallel Minds" that sees him being very much the central figure with his pure vocal tone simply oozing of his pedigree in opera which means that Conception really only need to place the right hooks into his capable hands in order to captivate their audience. Whether they succeed in that task is up to the listener to decide though.

"Parallel Minds" isn't the most technically demanding of progressive metal releases but it's certainly complex enough to keep the prog fiends interested. The suitably clean production job & performances afford the compositions the opportunity to connect in a fairly accessible manner & the strength in the song-writing through the first two thirds of the album takes full advantage of it too. The album is highlighted by two genuine classics with the wonderful "Roll The Fire" being as captivating as any progressive metal anthem you're likely to find. "Silver Shine" isn't far behind either while I also tend to favour the more muscular title track. These very strong examples of their type see the album really flexing its muscles from track 1-7 but I can't help but feel that the tracklisting tends to fade a little over the remaining three tracks which are clearly the weakest of the ten on offer with even the epic eight & a half minute closer "Soliloquy" (which was obviously intended to be somewhat of a centrepiece for the album) tending to limp to the finish line rather than galloping in a similar fashion to the earlier material. I still get enjoyment out of all of these tracks & the slight dip in quality hasn't proven to be enough of a concern to see me altering my rating but I do feel that it was somewhat of a missed opportunity nonetheless. 

I'm surprised that I haven't seen more comparisons between Conception & Dream Theater to be honest as "Parallel Minds" showcases a very clear influence, particularly from Dream Theater's classic 1992 sophomore album "Images & Words". Fellow US progressive metal legends Fates Warning were no doubt the other primary influence here with Khan's vocal histrionics tending to sit in the middle ground between Dream Theater front man James LaBrie & Fates Warning's Ray Alder. There are some impressive guitar solos from Ark/D.C. Cooper axeman Tore Østby included which was always gonna tick a few boxes for an old shredder like myself but I also found myself getting into the power metal influence that pops up from time to time, particularly on tracks like "And I Close My Eyes". The ballad "Silent Crying" takes a more commercial heavy metal direction to the rest of the album but has grown on me significantly with each listen after it initially seemed like an ill-guided attempt at achieving radio play. The rhythm section of bassist Ingar Amlien & drummer Arve Heimdal are impressive throughout & give Conception a solid platform for which to work off while keyboardist Hans Christian Gjestvang contributes a tasteful performance that doesn't ever push out into cheese territory.

"Parallel Minds" has really impressed me here. I often find myself digging the more traditional 1980's brand of progressive metal when it contains soaring & universally capable clean vocals & there's no denying Conception's clear qualification against that criteria. Some of the riffage is a little uninspired during the weaker moments (just look at the clear rip-off of the main riff from Pantera's "Mouth For War" in "Wolf's Lair" for example) but the overall package is executed with such efficiency & class that I never find my gaze being broken for too long. I'll certainly be returning to "Parallel Minds" in the future & also look forward to seeing what Conception's next couple of albums offer too.

For fans of Ark, Sunburst & Eldritch.

Progressive/technical thrash/death metal is something I'm up to exploring more of, but I'm still heavily focused on the genres for my main clans. One of my latest attempts was when I checked out Sadist's 1993 debut album Above the Light. Interestingly, this Hemotoxin album doesn't stand out to me as much as that Sadist album. Perhaps one reason is because it sounds to me more like the tech-death/thrash of Revocation with only some progressiveness here and there...

When Time Becomes Loss is the 4th album from this band from Pittsburg (California, not Pennsylvania). Guitarist/vocalist Michael Chavez has pulled off some deathly riffing and thrashy harmonies with technical firepower. His vocals are pretty cool too.

"Morbid Reflection" opens the album smoothly though the production is a bit muddy. Nonetheless, you can hear the energy coming from the guitar and bass. The tech-death/thrash sound definitely sounds like if Revocation time-traveled to the era of Atheist's debut Piece of Time. "Call from the Abyss" kick the drums and guitars up some notches. This is fast wall-smashing metal! "Malediction" burns you to the ground then resurrects you like a phoenix. The speedy machinery slows down in some sections.

"Abstract Commands" blazes through once again with its firmly heavy fast sound. "Conscious Descent" finally has the progressive variety I was anticipating, starting with clean acoustic melancholy before descending into Vektor-ish chaos. The bass sounds the most audible here.

"Reborn in Tragedy" returns to the tech-death/thrash sound, practically rebirthing a genre that faded out long ago. It's actually more progressive than most of the other tracks here, but again, technicality and aggression continue to reign. The title closer unleashes the last of the technical firepower in this album. And you're left wondering if there will ever be more of that sound in the future.

I think it's clear Hemotoxin has the strength to crash through the gates and show no mercy. They have true tight talent and are good at their blend of old-school and modern. All I'm asking for is clearer production for a new album and giving their sound a little more progressiveness to go a long way....

Favorites: "Call from the Abyss", "Conscious Descent", "Reborn in Tragedy"

Anciients are a band that were very popular among the more djent-y side of prog and metalcore during the 2010s and I could never get into them at the time. Just about a full decade later, Anciients release Beyond the Reach of the Sun, their third studio album and it shows a lot of growth as well as future potential.

First thing I noticed was how different of a sound scape this is. Instead of the djent and metalcore of previous albums, Anciients have gone closer to melodic death metal, and more specifically, mid 2000s Opeth melo-death. That should be enough of a seller for most on its own, but in the interest of specifics, compositions have a knack for bending dynamics and making crescendos that sound rewarding. Kenny Cook has a very nice vocal range and still employs some of his signature death metal screams as before, but now in reserve as the clean singing is not only impactful, but memorable. 

I was a little hesitant on the albums length going into it, but the more I listened to Beyond the Reach of the Sun, the less bloated it became. The album has some longer moments (i.e. "Forbidden Sanctuary" and "Melt the Crown") but the songs are well constructed and compliment each other remarkably well. There is enough variety in the sound structure that it never feels bloated, but not too vast in its scope that it starts becoming overzealous. 

If you like your mid 2000s Opeth mixed with some Mastodon or The Ocean sludge, this is a great return for Anciients and an excellent place to catch on. I hope that they continue down this path in their future projects.

Best Songs: Forbidden Sanctuary, Melt The Crown, Cloak Of The Bast And Black, Beyond Our Minds, In The Absence Of Wisdom