Stheno/Grassroll/Everydayhate Records/2014 Split 7 Inch Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  7  inch  between  Greece's  Stheno  and  Grassroll  which  was  released  by  Everydayhate  Records  in  2014  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Stheno  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  crust  and  grindcore.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  melodic  female  vocals  an  chants  as  well  as  some  spoken  word samples  which  leads  up  to  a  more heavy  and  violent  sound  that  brings  in  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  blast  beats  are  added  in  along  with  a  good  amount  of  crust  and  grind  elements  as  well  as  a  blackened  death  metal  sound  that  utilizes  some  chaotic  guitar  leads  at  times  and  they  remain  in  this  direction  throughout  their  side  of  the  recording  along  with  a  powerful  sounding  production  and  lyrics  that  cover  dark  and  violent  themes.

  In  my  opinion Stenho  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  blackened  death  metal,  crust  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Demons  Of  Dust  And  Smoke".

  Next  up  is  Grassroll  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  grindcore  and  sludge.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  off  with  a  very  raw,  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  sound  that  bring s in  aggressive  female  screams  and  blast  beats  along  with  a  heavy  crust  influence  and  on  the  alter  tracks  death  metal  growls  are  added  into  the  music  at  times  and  when t he  music  slows  down  you  can  hear  a  decent  amount  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  elements  along  with  a  very  dark,  heavy  and  raw  production  and  lyrics  that  cover  violent  and  hateful  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Grassroll  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  grindcore  and  sludge  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Carved  Morality".

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  death,  black  metal,  grindcore  and  sludge.  8  out  of  10.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Stheno/3540380699
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Grassroll/3540364521      

Godhunter/Secrets Of The Sky/Gh/ost/The Compound/Battleground/2014 Split Album Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Arizona's  Godhunter  and  California's  Secrets  Of  the  Sky  called  "Gh/ost"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  the  Compound  and  Battleground  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Godhunter  a  band  that  plays  a  very  heavy  form  of  sludge  metal.

  A  very  distorted  sound  along  with  some  spoken  word  samples  start  off  the  side  of  the  split  before  adding  in  some  heavy  bass  and  guitar  riffs  which  also  have  some  melodies  at  times  and  a  few  seconds  a  mixture  of  growls  and  rough  clean  singing  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  leads  bring  in  an  old  school  doom  metal  feeling  to  the  bands  style  of  sludge

  After  awhile  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  can  be  heard  for  a short  while  along  with  some  violins  and  the  first  song  is  6  minutes  length  on  the  second  track  clean  playing  and  female  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  leads  that  are  in  a  very  melodic  musical  direction  and  the  song  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  heaviness  and  is  over  10  minutes  long  and  after  awhile  you  can  also  hear  some  spoken  word  parts.

  Godhunter  plays  a  very  heavy  style  of  sludge  metal  on  the  first  track  that  they  are  known  for  while  the  second  song  shows  a  different  side  to  their  musical  style,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  haunting  and  supernatural  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Godhunter  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  sludge  metal,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "GH/OST:S".

  Next  up  is  Secrets  Of  The  Sky  a  band  that  plays a  mixture  of  black  and  doom  metal  and  have  been  featured  before  in  this  zine.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  their  side  of  the  split  bringing  in  a  progressive  feeling  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavy  and  melodic  doom  metal  sound  along  with  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls.

  The  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  are  very  melodic  and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  good  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  along  with  some  synths  and  as  their  side  of  the  split  progresses  clean  singing  finds  their  way  into  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  second  tracks  shows  the  band  getting  a  lot  more  experimental  and  progressive  while  still  having  a  heavy  edge  to  them  and  halfway  through  the  track  spoken  word  parts  are  added  in.  

  Secrets  of  the  Sky  continue  their  progressive  mixture  of  black  and  doom  metal  while  also  adding  more  melody  in  their  sound  and  they  have  also  gotten  a  lot  more  experimental  this  time  around, the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  haunting  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Secrets  of  the  Sky  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "GH/OST"S  II".

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  sludge,  doom,  black  and  progressive  metal,  you  should  add  this  album  to  your  collection.  8  out  of  10.  

http://dirtweedmetal.com
http://godhunter.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/godhuntertucson666
http://www.facebook.com/secretsofthesky
https://twitter.com/secretsofthesky      

Alaric/Atriarch/Split LP/20 Buck Spin/2012 CD Split Review

  This is a review of a split album between Oakland's Alaric and Portland's Atriarch which was released in 2012 by 20 Buck Spin and we will start of the review with Alaric which plays death rock with a crustcore edge.

Drums range from slow to mid paced drumming with nothing in the way of fast playing or blast beats, while the synths bring a very dark, gothic and atmospheric sound to the music, as for the bass playing it has a very strong and powerful tone with gothic/death rock riffing that dominates throughout the recording.

Rhythm guitars range from slow to mid paced gothic/death rock riffs with some influences from crustcore, punk rock and new wave, while the lead guitars are very dark sounding dream pop/gothic rock guitar solos and leads.

Vocals are all clean singing vocals, while the lyrics cover dark and emotional themes, as for the production it has a very dark and powerful sound where you can hear all of the musical instruments that are present on this recording.

In my opinion Alaric are a very good sounding death rock band and while this is not material that usually gets covered in my zine, I s till feel that they are very good at what they do and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACK "So Far Down". RECOMMENDED.

Next up is Atriarch a band that mixes death rock with black metal, sludge and doom metal.

Drums range from slow to mid paced playing with some fast drumming and blast beats, while the bass playing has a very strong and powerful tone with gothic/doom metal riffs that dominate throughout the recording, as for the synths when they are utilized they bring a very dark and avant garde edge to the music.

Rhythm guitars are all slow, mid paced to fast riffs that combine black, doom, sludge and gothic rock together with the last song being very long, while the lead guitars are very primitive sounding doom metal guitar solos and leads.

Vocals range from clean singing, aggressive vocals, deep death metal growls, high pitched black metal screams and spoken word parts, while the lyrics cover dark and desolate themes, as for the production it has a very dark and heavy sound to it.

In my opinion Atriarch are a very great sounding death rock/black/sludge/doom metal hybrid with the best music on this split and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACK "Offerings". RECOMMENDED.

In my opinion this is a very great sounding split and if you are into gothic rock, crust, sludge, black and doom metal, you should add this album to your collection. RECOMMENDED BUY.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alaric/201671150715

https://www.facebook.com/pages/ATRIARCH/241062512127