REVIEW DRAFT - The Fallen

Although i haven't delved back into their early discography, including Shadows Over the Cosmos, I am familiar with all their releases since 2013's Nightfall. Judging by these later albums, I have found THV to be a solid funeral doom outfit without them (or him as it's a solo project) ever threatening the position of the genre's premier bands like Esoteric or Skepticism. I will check this out though - maybe it was the band's peak and I do like their stuff anyway.

Fistula - The Process of Opting Out (2020)

Fistula are a sludge metal five-piece from Ohio, who have managed to retain the resentful, pissed-off attitude of harcore punk better than an awful lot of so-called sludge acts. The opening few tracks of The Process of Opting Out, Costa Doing Business and especially Ratpiss and Cerebral Conflikt, really let rip on the hardcore front and would appeal to any Black Flag fan I'm sure. As the album progresses though, the band seem to slow their attack and revert to a more usual sludge metal sound, but never at any point do they sound any less angry at the world. This really is quite vituperative and vocalist Brian Neaville spits and screams his way through the lyrics in an angst-fuelled harangue against seemingly everything and everyone as the riffs change velocity from headlong hardcore charges to heavily-laden, sludgy chugs. The production is very clear and that adds a sharper edge to the sound than the muddiness often employed in sludge metal production, allowing these short, uber-aggressive tracks to give your brain more of a beating than you may have expected. An album this intense could outstay it's welcome if extended too much, but Fistula, learning from the best hardcore practitioners, kept it to under half-an-hour and so the listener never has chance to become inured to, or wearied by, it aggressiveness.

All in all this may appeal as much to a hardcore fanatic as much as a sludge metal fan and if you are more inclined to the doom aspect of sludge and much less to the punk elements then The Process of Opting Out may leave you unimpressed. Me, I am fairly chuffed to have stumbled across it and enjoyed it enough to be willing to check out more of the band's discography.

4/5

Time for another Review Draft for The Fallen. This month's pick order will be as follows...

1. Vinny

2. Ben

3. Sonny

The six releases to select from are... (drumroll)...

Vinny gets first pick this month...

Faustcoven for me.

Over to you Ben.

I'll go with Heavenwood.

Over to you Sonny...

I will take Rituals of the Oak.

Heavenwood - Abyss Masterpiece (2011)

I guess I should start by saying that I'm a fan of gothic metal. Just making that statement can be somewhat daunting amongst many metal fans, as it feels very much like a minority subgenre to enjoy. I've spent a lot of time over the years listening to the likes of Tiamat, The Gathering, Theatre of Tragedy, Katatonia, Moonspell and Paradise Lost, not to mention gothic death doom bands like My Dying Bride and Draconian. As with any style of music though, this doesn't mean that I enjoy ALL gothic metal releases. Case in point - Heavenwood's Abyss Masterpiece album. Here we have a band that seems to be attempting to follow the Paradise Lost recipe, yet inadvertently forgets to include some vital ingredients. Given the relative simplicity of the musicianship found in your typical gothic metal release, it's super important that the outcome manages to connect with the listener on an emotional level. The bands I mentioned above are not attempting to wow you with technicality and often make little attempt to be particularly creative, but what they do well is move the listener with melancholic and despondent atmosphere (occasionally even romantic). Heavenwood seem perfectly capable and have a solid production, but rarely make me feel much at all. It's only really on The Arcadia Order and Leonor that I find myself getting all that involved, and given Abyss Masterpiece has a runtime of over an hour, that's just not enough meat on the bone. As a final note, I'm not sure how this release has been given a death doom metal subgenre at RYM. There's very little that resembles doom here.

2.5 stars

Faustcoven - "Rising From Beneath the Earth" (2008)

Gunnar Hansen and Johnny Tombthrasher's (yes, really) contributions on Rising From Below the Earth are varied in terms of actually being able to hear them as the production job on the bands second full length is so dense that it sounds a horrid, muddy muddle in parts. For a man who is bold enough to name himself Tombthrasher, Johnny's drums sound incredibly tishy throughout album opener At Night They Rise from Below the Earth to the point where they sound like drums on demo recorded in someone's basement. But, these guys are from Norway and those lo-value production influences are bound to rub off I guess. Although I see them tagged as "black/doom" on the internet, these guys are clearly blackened death doom. The riffs of Hansen rarely lift beyond some mid-paced tempos whilst his vocals manage to inhabit a crude void between guttural death doom growls and that familiar Scandinavian black metal inflection.

The kvlt and raw ethos to the record does not come across all that well though. When you listen to just a few tracks into the record you soon find the mind wondering as the under-mixed drums and over-produced bass soon start become the main focus instead of the actual song content. If you are going to do death doom of any kind then you need to get the balance of your instruments right or otherwise that repetition is soon going to get monotonous and boring. I remain unconvinced by the authenticity of the black metal mire that Faustcoven attempt to submerge themselves in and sound find myself believing that they are just inexperienced musicians who are hiding in the confines of a sub-genre where they believe that basic musicianship is an acceptable level at which to perform.

The solo/sonic efforts are painful in all honesty and boy do I regret not using my Review Draft pick more wisely this month folks. Somethings were supposed to stay underground I guess.

2.5/5

Time for another Review Draft for The Fallen. This month's pick order will be as follows...

1. Sonny

2. Vinny

3. Ben

The six releases to select from are... (drumroll)...

Heavy on Sludge this month. Sonny gets first pick...

I highly recommend the Acid Bath record to anyone that enjoys hasn't already heard it. Think metalcore-infused sludge metal with touches of stoner metal & death metal.

I am familiar with Acid Bath's Paegan Terrorism Tactics (although I am not as big a fan as some) but I have never listened to When the Kite String Pops, so I will take Daniel's advice and go with that.

Over to you, Vinny.

Ruby the Hatchet for me please.

Off you go Ben

Vile Creature for me. Hopefully I don't have a similar reaction to it as represented on the cover.

Ruby the Hatchet - "The Eliminator EP" (2014)

I was already familiar with RtH following my discovery of their Valley of the Snake release the year after this one.  I recall that although the nostalgic element of the sound shone through initially, that sheen soon wore off after a few tracks of Valley of the Snake and so this two-track single has chance to fair a bit better given its much shorter runtime.  Opener Paralyzed has all the hooks you would expect and is much more immediate than the more moody title track which relies on a slow build before it unleashes that hazy riff upon me.

This fuzzy, psychedelic brand of rock has some appeal for me even though I would not perhaps actively seek it out.  Despite the short release length I do find myself getting a bit tired of Eliminator long before the track comes to an end and the single soon ends up suffering the same fate as the sophomore full-length.  I just do not have the affiliation with this music unless I am really in the mood for it and I soon become exhausted of these two tracks even after several listens where sadly the enthusiasm levels never get even near simmering.

For fans of stoner rock this is probably entertaining enough and whilst this is not dripping with doom there is enough moodiness deployed to let it carry some doom credentials off and keep itself in the stoner metal tag for now.  Striking cover aside, there is not a lot here for me though.

2.5/5

Both Sonny and I have found it difficult to find the time to listen to and review our draft picks in the last couple of months. We've both decided to take a bit of a break from it, so there doesn't seem to be a lot of point to making one. If anyone else wants to kick one off, go for it.

Likewise, I am struggling for time with work pressures at present so will be abstaining as well.