ALBUM REVIEW - Silent Descent - 'Mind Games'

Silent Descent were one of the surprise finds of university for me. I was in year two, and the album had been out for most of that year already when I stumbled onto the video for 'Duplicity' on Youtube, having seen Metal Hammer's recommendation. The long, flowing hair and a Berzerker t-shirt told me I needed to check them out.

So forward three and a half years until now. The second album, 'Mind Games' has finally arrived after a few line up changes - Sniffles, Dave and Mr. G have all gone, and over the years in have come Chewy, Jimmy Sa... Su... erm, Soviet, and Purple Gimp respectively to fill the gaps. The sound hasn't changed overmuch, although the omnipresent scratches and wikkitiwah that were all over 'Duplicity' have been replaced with subtle samples that support everything else like a sinister Purple Gimp supporting everything else.

So, the album itself. It's noticeably more accessible than the previous disc; the songs are by and large about the singalong chorus and follow a relatively predictable 'metalcore formula' of scream/sing/scream/sing. There are a few of what I call 'Sonic Syndicate Moments' where the riffs and choruses sound like they've been written with radio play in mind, that said I can't object to that really.

The main changes to note are the vocals - no longer is vocalist Tom Watling relying on a low inhale for his gutturals, instead switching between a mid-pitched shout, a higher shriek/scream, and the older style (although this is improved a lot). Guitarist Callahan seems to have taken over the melodic vocals full time, and the chorus parts are definitely written with hooks and memorable melodies. The drums as well have been recorded by a person, which is nice as certain parts on 'Duplicity' would need three or four arms to play. I know. I'VE FUCKING TRIED.

There are a couple of criticisms I need to bring to bear, however: A little more variation would have been nice - there are only a couple of songs not following the general formula noted earlier, such as 'Bring-In-Sanity', and there are no songs that have the crushing heaviness of previous efforts such as 'I Can, I Will'. 'Mind Games', then should be seen as not so much an attempt to retread the same ground, but focus that sound in a certain direction and bring the band to as many people as possible. And on those grounds, I would rate it at 7/10. Good luck hearing these choruses and not having them stuck in your bonce for days.

ALBUM REVIEW - God Forbid - 'Equilibrium'

I'll not lie, when Dallas quit God Forbid, I shat a brick. One of my favourite bands lost someone who was a huge part of the sound and I was nervous about where they'd go next. Well, they went here:

'Equilibrium' - the band's sixth album, came, and with it, a new guitarist in Matt Wicklund, whose other projects I am entirely unfamiliar with. The good news? He can shred like a bitch. One worry averted.

The band's sound has changed noticeably - Doc is doing most of the melodic singing now, where on previous releases the band favoured Dallas' voice. His vocals are deeper and 'meatier' than his brother's, so it's no negative change, just one that gives the band's sound a different texture.

A few people have levelled accusations at the band of doing the same thing again and again - well, I can see why they'd say that, but then didn't people say the same thing about Lamb of God? God Forbid are churning out NWOAHM, have been since I first heard them, sure... But the strength of the songs means this is consistency.

So, the new disc. Well, Corey Pierce, the happiest drummer in metal (you ever seen how much he smiles behind that kit?) has clearly sat on a fire as he's playing faster and blastier than ever. The songs tend to favour a slightly predictable verse/chorus formula, seemingly a little more radio friendly this time. The guitars and bass are all chugging along too - Doc's leads are tastier than a 5kg bucket of buffalo wings - and Byron' vocals still drip bloody murder over the chaos beneath. We even get a guest solo from Per Nilsson. Oh hell yes.

Overall? I rate this album at 7/10. It';s a strong disc that could maybe use a little variation, but the strength of the music carries it beyond this and into the realm of memorable metal that you'll be humming for days on end.

ALBUM REVIEW - The Agonist - 'Prisoners'

I received this disc through in the post a few days ago. It was late due to the bank holiday. Fucking Queen.

So! We have here eleven tracks of angry, Canadian metal. I guess that should be mehtal? Following on from 2009's 'Lullabies For The Dormant Mind', which was an utter barnstormer, the album always had a lot to live up to. Does it? Yes and no. It depends if you wanted 'Lullabies...' part two, really. To expect the band to do that would have been a little unfair though, especially considering the schizophrenic mix of styles present on their previous disc.

So this album, then, should be seen as an evolution of the previous sound. It's notably less difficult to keep track of what's going on, despite longer compositions, and the songs tend to go for the jugular instead of dismembering you slowly. It's like the difference between an axe murderer and that dude from Saw.

Two tracks have been heard before its release on the two-track EP 'The Escape'. There are no instrumental tracks as such (the last album had a version of Swan Lake), although the first single 'Ideomotor' does contain an extended jam at the end, which was pretty cool. The instrumentation is still top-notch, with some mind-melting fretwork. The drums seem a little more straightforward this time which was a little disappointing at first, at least until this was considered in the context of the rest of the songs, after which it made a lot more sense. The vocals are consistent from the last two albums, alternating between growls, screams and melodic vocals. You could liken Alissa White-Gluz to what would happen if Stephen Fry and Christian Alvestam had a child, and that child was a screaming blue-haired lady. Why Fry, you ask? Read the lyrics. You'll learn about things.

Happily, when the music kicks back into acoustic or slower passages, the intensity isn't lost, and interest does not wane.

The only gripe I can really find at this stage (other than child vocals *shudder*) is the production on the drums - the last album had nice, clear kicks which in fairness sounded triggered to hell, but you could tell exactly what was going on; this album follows metal's annoying trend to have the drums mixed so that the really speedy bits sound like a cat snoring. Come on, producers. Bring back the vulcan-cannon kick production of old.

This is just a minor, minor gripe in the scheme of things. Overall, I would score this album at 8/10 - it's a logical step from their last disc and has some slamming tunes. Can't go higher than 8, though. Child vocals. Don't like 'em!

And so it begins.

So I finally decided to open a music blog for album reviews, thoughts on gigs, that sort of thing.

As the title suggests I am an irritable, grumpy fucker. So bear that in mind.

A little later we'll have some album reviews up to kick start the process.