Archive for November, 2021

Album of the Week 47-2021: Exodus – Persona Non Grata


Thrash metal bands should never get too comfortable with their own style. Once they do, the urgency that makes most of the best albums in the style as good as they are goes away and there is a serious risk of churning out riffs on auto-pilot. Ever since their reunion around the turn of the century, Exodus has been walking the tightrope between stylistic expertise and formulaic predictability, occasionally leaning too far the latter way. ‘Persona Non Grata’ is by no means flawless, but certainly sounds more inspired than a majority of their post-reunion releases, including its predecessor ‘Blood In, Blood Out’.

‘Persona Non Grata’ sounds more or less exactly like one would expect Exodus to sound in the twenty-first century, for better or worse. Nobody has to teach Gary Holt how to write a sharp, vicious modern thrash riff anymore and those are here in spades, some of them even having an eerie, twisted feel I have not heard often since Dark Angel’s heyday. But there are also a couple of more contemporary-sounding mid-tempo tracks that plod along for one or two minutes longer than they should. As a whole, ‘Persona Non Grata’ has quite a pleasant flow, however, so these are not too overbearing.

What the album does better than most Exodus releases is throw some surprising twists at the listener. The opening title track has a mid-tempo middle section with a couple of surprisingly melodic guitar solos that was structured differently than I was expecting and just when the following ‘R.E.M.F.’ appears to settle for the same groove for too long, a really cool pulsating post-solo section breaks up the song. ‘The Fires Of Division’ toys with time feels and an awesome guitar harmony near the end of the song, while the dark, epic ‘Lunatic-Liar-Lord’ is one of the most dynamic Exodus tracks since ‘Pleasures Of The Flesh’.

Despite bitching about modern Exodus’ slower moments reasonably often, it’s really the mid-tempo stuff that meanders a bit. By contrast, when Exodus goes for the truly slow stuff, the results can be excellent. ‘Prescribing Horror’ in particular is a monstrously heavy doom track with a genuinely scary vibe in the guitar work. It is somewhat reminiscent of ‘Forward March’ from the ‘Tempo Of The Damned’ album, though it’s slower and more atmospheric. ‘The Years Of Death And Dying’ also works surprisingly well. In the hands of a lesser band, it would be another dull mid-tempo plodder, but the interesting guitar arrangement and Steve ‘Zetro’ Souza’s surprisingly multi-faceted vocal performance up the ante.

Ultimately, the only major flaw of ‘Persona Non Grata’ is that it really did not need to be an hour long. Personally, I could have done without the anticlimactic closer ‘Antiseed’ and the in one ear, out the other ‘Elitist’. I don’t find ‘The Beatings Will Continue (Until Morale Improves)’ all that interesting either, but it does its duty as a short banger in the middle of the album. All in all, the album has a surprisingly large number of inspired moments and it is sonically much better than ‘Blood In, Blood Out’ as well. Those expecting another masterpiece after not having had any Exodus releases for seven years will be disappointed, but some tracks are real growers.

Recommended tracks: ‘Lunatic-Liar-Lord’, ‘Prescribing Horror’, ‘The Fires Of Division’

2021
11/28
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Album of the Week 46-2021: Obscura – A Valediction


When everyone except vocalist and guitarist Steffen Kummerer left German progressive death metal giants Obscura last year, the curse was turned into a blessing by recruiting guitarist Christian Münzner and fretless bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling, thus reuniting 75 percent of the line-up that recorded their breakthrough album ‘Cosmogenesis’ (2009) and its follow-up ‘Omnivium’ (2011). Those expecting a reprise of those albums may end up surprised. ‘A Valediction’ still features all the trademark Obscura elements – a whirlwind of complex guitar patterns, unexpected songwriting twists and a highly dynamic approach concerning intensity – but is a significantly more melodic affair altogether.

Some fans of the band’s older work may be turned off by this more melodic approach, but since ‘A Valediction’ undeniably sounds so much like Obscura, there probably will not be many of those. Heavy guitars, powerful drums and fretless bass are pillars of the band’s sound and those are still here in spades. If anything, the more melodic approach makes the individual songs a bit more memorable. Obscura was always one of the more interesting bands of the progressive death metal scene to me because of their tighter songwriting chops, but never have entire sections clung to the back of my mind as much as those on ‘A Valediction’.

Not all songs are as overtly melodic as ‘When Stars Collide’, which was released as a video. Personally, I really like the song, because it is full of incredible riffs and euphoric melodies, though I am still in doubt whether Soilwork’s Björn Strid was the best choice for the brief clean chorus. On the other end of the spectrum, there is a track like the monstrously heavy ‘Devoured Usurper’, which at times feels like it could be a Bloodbath track, were it not for the overall dynamics and the intricacies of the middle section. Neither is a typical Obscura track, but neither feels out of place either.

One of the big benefits of the slight change of direction is that the material sounds more unique to Obscura. The band has been accused of blindly copying other bands – Death most prominently – and Kummerer occasionally openly agreed. ‘A Valediction’ has a handful of material that sounds like Obscura, yet unlike anything they have done before. The very neoclassically-tinged ‘The Beyond’ and delightfully melodic ‘In Adversity’ might be the clearest examples, musically sounding like they could pre-date death metal. I also really like the dynamic opener ‘Forsaken’, which is the longest track on the album but does not bore for even a second.

Very few technical death metal musicians understand how to write a good song, but Obscura has always been the pinnacle of songwriting within that scene for me. Where many bands in the scene strive for ever-increasing complexity, Obscura almost did the mirror opposite here without sacrificing any of their characteristic intricacy. The album may not feature as many fusion elements as some of their audience might hope, but I personally think it is all the better for it. Hopefully Münzner and Thesseling will be kept on board for good this time. If that happens, I foresee some more excellent Obscura material in the future.

Recommended tracks: ‘Forsaken’, ‘In Adversity’, ‘When Stars Collide’, ‘A Valediction’

2021
11/21
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Album of the Week 45-2021: Mary’s Blood – Mary’s Blood


‘Confessions’ was a pretty divisive album among Mary’s Blood’s fan base. It saw the band moving towards modern hardrock in a significant number of songs with a production style focusing on the band’s biggest asset: the voice of singer Eye. Its follow-up, a self-titled release no less, takes a U-turn back to a more metallic direction, almost to a fault. It is heavier than ‘Confessions’, but it does not take the easy route by simply copying the ‘Bloody Palace’ formula. ‘Mary’s Blood’ combines the band’s trademark sound with contemporary metal touches like guitarist Saki explores more extensively in Nemophila and occasional AOR-isms.

‘Mary’s Blood’ is far more consistent than ‘Confessions’, because its lows aren’t as bad, but on the other hand, its highs aren’t as good. There is no song on ‘Mary’s Blood’ that I hate as passionately as ‘Hello’, but no songs I love quite as much as ‘Karma’ and ‘Laylah’ either. In addition, the band heavily borrows from its own past. The chorus to closing track ‘Starlight’ features a melody that must be public domain in Japan, as literally hundreds of J-rock and J-metal bands keep using it, while ‘Be Myself’ can be switched with ‘Nautical Star’ or ‘Chateau De Sable’ and I doubt anyone will notice.

Having said that, when ‘Mary’s Blood’ is good, it’s excellent. My favorite track is the hypermelodic ‘Let Me Out’, in which Saki’s love for Seikima-II is fairly obvious. Its combination of AOR-ish synths and impeccably arranged guitar parts brings tracks like ‘Stainless Night’ to mind. A perfect fit for the band’s interplay and Eye’s fantastic voice. The energetic, uptempo ‘Blow Up Your Fire’ is another highlight. ‘Mad Queen’ is borderline speed metal and built upon a handful of really cool riffs, while ‘Without A Crown’ is surprisingly vicious and modern. The latter took some time to sink in, but definitely became a highlight once it did.

And then there is the weird stuff, which isn’t necessarily as bad as it sounds. ‘Hunger’ would have fit the production style of ‘Confessions’ a lot better than it does here, with its reliance on simple, heavy riffs and almost trance-like synths. ‘Joker’ combines a sleazy rock ‘n’ roll vibe with downtuned modern metal guitars and Rio’s fat and ugly distorted bass sound stealing the show in the bottom end of the sonic spectrum. ‘Umbrella’ is one of the more interestingly structured ballads in the band’s discography, though it does sacrifice a bit of its memorability in the process.

Ultimately, ‘Mary’s Blood’ is a bit difficult to judge for me. It tends to overcompensate for the notably less metallic direction of ‘Confessions’ at times, there is quite a bit of self-plagiarism and a few songs around the middle of the album are in one ear, out the other. It is certainly nowhere near as good as ‘Bloody Palace’ or even ‘Confessions’. On the other hand, there are too many good songs to dismiss the album. The uncertainty Mary’s Blood retains about their direction might be the issue. With the riffs of ‘Mary’s Blood’ and the memorability of ‘Confessions’, they might have another incredible album in them.

Recommended tracks: ‘Let Me Out’, ‘Blow Up Your Fire’, ‘Mad Queen’

2021
11/14
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Album of the Week 44-2021: Kinniku Shojo Tai – Kimi Dake Ga Oboeteiru Eiga


Only a band with a core sound as weirdly unique as Kinniku Shojo Tai’s would be able to drop two prominent elements from it and still sound like nobody but themselves. Fumihiko Kitsutaka’s classy melodic speed metal guitar work, which was front on center on most post-reunion Kinniku Shojo Tai albums, is used remarkably sparingly on ‘Kimi Dake Ga Oboeteiru Eiga’ and Toshiaki Honjo’s choppy funk riffs are completely absent. And yet, ‘Kimi Dake Ga Oboeteiru Eiga’ is a typical latter day Kinniku Shojo Tai album. Slightly less powerful than other recent releases due to the prominence of rock and pop leanings, but entertaining nonetheless.

Kinniku Shojo Tai has had an extended period during which rock and pop were the main focus of their sound in the mid to late nineties. But even though the trailer which surfaced online prior to its release suggested that ‘Kimi Dake Ga Oboeteiru Eiga’ was moving in that direction again, that is not entirely true. A song like the melodic hardrocker ‘Muishiki Shita De Aimasho’ continues the tradition of latter-day tracks like ‘Torifido No Hi Ga Ki Te Mo Futari Wa Iki Nuku’ and ‘Owakari Ikadaketa Daro Ka’, while bassist Yuichiro Uchida’s compositions in particular focus on the band’s trademark quirkiness.

To start with Uchida’s songs, ‘Sekai Chan’ almost sounds like the band’s earliest days, before Kitsutaka and Honjo joined. Uchida’s bass line is slinky and semi-jazzy, carrying the dark, brooding vibe of the song perfectly. I also like how the song appears to build towards a chorus it does not have. ‘Boya No Shichi Nin’, on the other hand, is a jumpy, dynamic track which moves back and forth between stomping start-stop riffs, ska-inspired verses and somewhat surf rock-ish segments. Another delightfully quirky track is the brief instrumental ‘Russia No Circus Dan Ika Sama Magician’, which almost sounds like it originated from a jam session.

My only gripe with ‘Kimi Dake Ga Oboeteiru Eiga’ would be that there are no less than four ballads, out of which ‘Covid-19’ and ‘Outsiders’ are the best. The former has an interesting structure, starting out as a fairly typical acoustic track, then brought to a higher level by a number of surprisingly dark, sparse sections. The latter has a simple, but cool recurring guitar theme. The flow is not helped by three consecutive ballads at the very end at the album. But when paired with songs like the swinging hardrocker ‘Soko Ijiraretara Haa!?’ and Kitustaka’s relatively heavy ‘Ooedo Teppo 100 Nintai Onmitsu Senki’, it’s not as big a problem as it could have been.

‘Kimi Dake Ga Oboeteiru Eiga’ definitely does not reach the heights that post-reunion Kinniku Shojo Tai albums like ‘Love’ and ‘Omake No Ichinichi (Tatakai No Hibi)’ did reach, but while it might be the band’s weakest release in about a decade, it does what it does very well. Personally, I would have preferred just a bit more of the funk rock and speed metal riffs that were on the previous albums, but it is remarkable how dynamic an album the band managed to create without them. ‘Kimi Dake Ga Oboeteiru Eiga’ sounds like a mixture of the band’s nineties work and their post-reunion albums. Anyone who enjoyed those will likely enjoy this album as well.

Recommended tracks: ‘Ooedo Teppo 100 Nintai Onmitsu Senki’, ‘Sekai Chan’, ‘Muishiki Shita De Aimasho’

2021
11/07
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