Posts Tagged ‘ Shun ’

Album of the Week 09-2020: Volcano – Godspeed


Reliability defines Volcano. They have steadily released new music since their last line-up change in 2010 and all of those albums contain a consistently good mix of equal parts thrash metal and classic heavy metal, with some touches of melodic death metal thrown in for good measure. Between 2015 and 2018, the band released a new studio album every year in mid-July. And while all of those albums were good – ‘Melt’ (2015) and ‘Darker Than Black’ (2018) in particular – it is good that Volcano took some more time for ‘Godspeed’. It does dial back the intensity a little, but only in favor of more variation.

The songwriting credits may offer some insight on the varied nature of ‘Godspeed’. Former Gargoyle guitarist She-ja was always the main songwriter for Volcano, but ‘Godspeed’ is the first album that has input from each of the four band members. She-ja still composed half of the songs, so the album is still full of thrashy riffs, triumphant guitar harmonies and solos that are either bluesy or neoclassical. Overall though, ‘Godspeed’ sounds a little more traditional heavy metal than other recent works. ‘Ironbound’ era OverKill might be a good reference, not in the last place because Nov has a similar timbre to Bobby ‘Blitz’ Ellsworth.

Bassist Akira Tanaka has been contributing to the songwriting for a few albums now and he does seem to have a preference for the more melodic side of heavy metal. ‘I Decide Who I Am’, with its hyper-melodic, piano-enhanced verses, is a bit of a strange choice for the second song on the album, but the chorus does contain some of Nov’s greatest vocals on the record and She-ja’s guitar solo is nothing short of amazing. Closing track ‘Grief’ is a big, epic heavy metal track that kind of mirrors ‘Guardian Deity’, Akira’s closer for ‘Darker Than Black’, though not quite as thrashy.

Even more interestingly, ‘Godspeed’ is the first album that features songwriting contributions from drummer Shunsuke ‘Shun’ Ohyama. And if these songs are anything to go by, he is certainly welcome to contribute more. The hilariously titled ‘Lust In Peace’ has a blunt, hardcore-ish vibe in its riff work and a death metal-inspired chorus, but also some really classy lead guitar work. His other composition ‘Into The Flame’ kind of brings to mind ‘Melt’ highlight ‘Tokyo Panic’ in the way tight riffs and borderline chaotic verses alternate, but it is also a great deal more melodic. Definitely two of the album’s highlights.

Volcano is at its best when they thrash hard. Anyone who enjoys that side of the band has plenty of She-ja compositions to look forward to. ‘D.R.’, ‘Raise Your Fist’ and opening track ‘Salvage Sun’ are all scorching rippers full of fast thrash riffs and memorable melodies. ‘Get Wild’ is the trademark sleazy track, although it sounds less like rock ‘n’ roll and more like a mixture of Black Sabbath, latter day Loudness and Gargoyle this time around. His other two tracks are decidedly more melodic, with ‘Angel Son’ being an excellent mid-tempo heavy metal track and ‘Breaking, Saving, Killing,’ (yes, that comma is supposed to close the title) being a power ballad. The latter is not bad, but I wish they had replaced Nov’s “whoa-oh” chants with a guitar melody.

‘Godspeed’ is basically exactly what one would expect from Volcano at this point, for better or worse. Only those expecting the pronounced melodic death metal touches from ‘Mythology’ (2011) and ‘Melt’ may end up disappointed, as ‘Godspeed’ certainly is a more traditional affair. The extra half a year they took to make the album this time around has accounted for a more varied selection of songs, but the core sound of Volcano is still intact. Anyone who has as much of an obsession with thrash riffs and twin guitar harmonies will likely enjoy ‘Godspeed’.

Recommended tracks: ‘D.R.’, ‘Into The Flame’, ‘Salvage Sun’

2020
03/01
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Album of the Week 30-2018: Volcano – Darker Than Black


‘Darker Than Black’ is Volcano’s fourth original studio album since mid-July 2015. While that may seem a bit excessive, it is also remarkably good. Volcano was always the perfect band for anyone who could not choose between the vicious aggression of thrash metal and the melodic appeal of traditional heavy metal and ‘Darker Than Black’ is no different, though the melodic death metal influences that were prominent a few albums ago have been dialed back considerably. ‘Darker Than Black’ is one of Volcano’s more interesting albums compositionally, though it is just as capable of thrashing your face off when it needs to.

One thing that immediately stands out is that a lot of attention has been given to making the songs instantly recognizable. Every previous Volcano album has its fair share of powerful songs and catchy moments, but at times, some of the non-highlights had a tendency to sound a little too similar. However, no two songs sound alike on ‘Darker Than Black’. This is admirable, because thrash metal can be quite the limiting genre. By subtle changes in tempo, atmosphere and melodic content, the Japanese quartet managed to give each song its own face while retaining their thrashing intensity.

Speaking of atmosphere, two of the album’s most atmospheric moments have surprisingly been composed by bassist Akira. The propulsive ‘Jailbreak Vampire’ has a middle section that would not have sounded out of place on a mid-nineties Scandinavian melodeath album, while closing track ‘Guardian Deity’ immediately becomes one of the album highlights through its heroic melodicism. Guitarist She-ja wrote the rest of the material, with ‘Flight To The World’ possibly being the best opening track Volcano ever released. Classic twin guitar melodies, punishing drum work by the incredible Shun and biting thrash riffs constantly keep each other in perfect balance. And good luck getting that chorus out of your head.

Furthermore, Volcano explores the entire spectrum of heavy metal here. At the most melodic end, there are songs like the classic midtempo heavy metal of ‘Scatter Toxins’ and the relatively open ‘When You Are’, which has a gorgeous, almost bluesy guitar solo. The latter is also true for ‘Arena’, which is the perfect breather for an otherwise rather chaotic song. ‘Horror’ is a very cool riff-driven thrasher closest to the eighties Bay Area tradition, while ‘Great Crisis’ similtaneously houses some of the album’s most extreme as well as some of its most melodic sections. It should not work and yet, it does.

In fact, the entire album works. The only issue have with it is that the mastering job is a nightmare. It isn’t disruptive in every single song, but during some intense double bass sessions, the music distorts. With the songwriting generally being on par with – at times even slightly better than – the better moments of ‘Melt’, that should only be a minor complaint though. Though nothing on ‘Darker Than Black’ may be as instantly catchy as ‘Tokyo Panic’, it feels like this 53-minute collection of carefree thrashing will leave more of a lasting impact, quite likely making it the second best Volcano album after 2001’s incomparable ‘Davi’.

Recommended tracks: ‘Flight To The World’, ‘Guardian Deity’, ‘Horror’

2018
07/29
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Album of the Week 32-2015: Volcano – Melt


Over two decades have passed since Sheja left Japanese Thrash legends Gargoyle, but the basic elements of his compositions are still the same in Volcano. There’s his lethal guitar tone, perfectly suited to both his vicious riffs and highly melodic leads, raw vocals – though “gruff” would be a more fitting word for Gargoyle’s Kiba – and rhythms that support groove as well as aggression. And if the break of “only” four years after its predecessor ‘Mythology’ wasn’t good enough news – there was a decade between their masterpiece ‘Davi’ and ‘Mythology’ – the quality of ‘Melt’ is. It’s one fine record on the tri-state area of Thrash, Melodeath and traditional Heavy Metal.

‘Mythology’ showed the band trying out a more contemporary approach which I considered partially successful. Some of the Death Metal influences are heard throughout ‘Melt’, though mostly in one track (‘Tokyo Panic’). However, due to the more melodic songwriting, the album has a distinctly more traditional vibe than any of their previous releases. The violent Thrash riffs are definitely still there, but most of the intros and choruses are built upon melodic (twin) guitar parts and the latter are generally only pushed into Thrash territories by Nov’s raspy vocals.

Yet, there’s something deliciously irresistible about the melodicism of ‘Melt’. While ‘The Mother Earth’, for instance, has the uptempo palm-mute riffing of a Thrash Metal song, it is essentially classic Heavy Metal with a strong build up, wailing leads and a soaring chorus. Even the most Thrash-oriented moments, such as opening track ‘Super Whole Stone’, ‘Perish’ and the Slayeriffic ‘Die Number Nine’ have twin solos and dramatic passages to make them more interesting than the average contemporary Thrash Metal record. The intensity of a song like ‘History Cries’ or ‘Progress’ is never reached, but somehow, that wouldn’t really fit the album anyway.

Another classic Heavy Metal song is the amazing ‘Fire Sky ~Hero Of This Story~’, that has a couple of blazing twin riffs and one of Nov’s best vocal performances on the record. Drummer Shun is absolutely on fire as well and proves that Katsuji Kirita can absolutely be replaced, something I initially had my doubts about. Another one of Shun’s highlights is ‘Tokyo Panic’, on which he alternates between the blastbeats of the verses and the powerful Thrash grooves beneath the rest of the riffs. And that chorus (“Panic! Tokyo Panic!”) begs to be shouted along. And when the band does slow down, like they do in the crushing ‘Aim, Shoot, No, Kill’, they impress just as much.

With the Metal scene being as conservative and stubborn as it is, there’s a chance many people will find it too little of either to be interesting, but the simple fact is that ‘Melt’ is the perfect melting pot (incredibly lame pun totally intended!) of Thrash Metal and Heavy Metal. Sheja obviously knows how to write a good song and that is a feat not given to many Thrash composers. With the band being Japanese, it’s kind of hard to track down the album, but it’s worth every bit of money and effort you put into it. I wish they still had a European deal like they had with their debut…

Recommended tracks: ‘The Mother Earth’, ‘Fire Sky ~Hero Of This Story~’, ‘Tokyo Panic’

2015
08/09
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