Spiritual Beggars - Sunrise to Sundown

Artist: Spiritual Beggars
Album: Sunrise to Sundown
Year: 2016
Rating: 68/100

For all the excellent work that Michael Amott has done in metal over the years (primarily with the likes of Arch Enemy, Carcass and Carnage among many, many others), his other musical vehicle of note (and also my favourite band of his) is the stoner metal giants the Spiritual Beggars, recording their second album with former Firewind vocalist Apollo Papathanasio, the band's third vocalist after Christian "Spice" Sjöstrand and Janne "JB" Christoffersson (also of doom metal legends Grand Magus). But how does this one stack up?

Unfortunately, the Spiritual Beggars now feel like their music has had its edge taken off with the presence of Papathanasio on lead vocals, and they now sound too polished as a result. With JB leading them, the Beggars had a vocalist who got the balance between grit and melody spot on, while with Spice at the helm, his bruising, gritty, yet melodious bellow was the perfect foil for Mike Amott's meaty guitars and Per Wiberg's swirling Hammond organ. Don't get me wrong, Apollo Papathansio is a good vocalist in his own right, and when the Beggars do get it right on this album, as they do on the title track and the excellent "Diamond Under Pressure", you can hear what the Beggars are still capable of at their best. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen anywhere near enough on "Sunrise to Sundown" on the whole; Papathanasio is just not commanding enough a presence, and his vocals jar with the accompaniment that Amott and Wiberg provide.

"Sunrise to Sundown" isn't a bad record by any stretch of the imagination. However, it feels far too formulaic to be a truly excellent album, and the lack of real presence from vocalist Apollo Papathanasio means that it's not in the same class as the Beggars at their best, arguably with "Ad Astra" or even "On Fire". Disappointing, to say the least.

Track list:

1. Sunrise to Sundown
2. Diamond Under Pressure
3. What Doesn't Kill You
4. Hard Road
5. Still Hunter
6. No Man's Land
7. I Turn To Stone
8. Dark Light Child
9. Lonely Freedom
10. You've Been Fooled
11. Southern Star

Petrichor - Rain

Artist: Petrichor
Album: Rain
Year: 2016
Rating: 88/100

Petrichor don't exactly deal in the cheerful. The Leeds-based trio play some of the bleakest funeral doom this side of the likes of Mourning Beloveth and Funeral, coupled with the occasional foray into the most aggressive black metal and the odd switch into the atmospheric soundscapes associated primarily with post-rock and the likes of Isis and Neurosis et al. Of their three primary influences, cited as My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost and Celtic Frost, it is the latter whose influence stands out above the rest.

Opening track "Drown the World" is a nine minute plus opus of sheer brutal misery that paradoxically is a delight to the ears; the contrast in clean and growled vocals provides a balance that is superbly maintained throughout the album, against a backdrop of coruscating riffs and the occasional blastbeats. Middle track "This Too Must Die" is the only real curveball that Petrichor throw to the listener, with its angular time signatures and clean tone guitars evoking mid period Isis (think circa-"Panopticon" and you're not far off the mark at all). The real jewel in the crown that is "Rain" is the twelve minute monolith "Nihilist", which gives the listener the line, "Reality is a construct and all your Gods are dead", which illustrates the angle Petrichor take on the world perfectly.

"Rain" is a strong debut effort for a wonderfully miserable new band, and Petrichor are everything a good funeral doom band should be. I'm looking forward to see what they come up with next, and how exactly they can continue the nihilism. Get hold of a copy of this; it's worth your time if bleak music is your calling.

Track list:

1. Drown the World
2. As the Dark Steals the Light
3. This Too Must Die
4. We Are the Fire
5. Nihilist

Killswitch Engage - Incarnate

Artist: Killswitch Engage
Album: Incarnate
Year: 2016
Rating: 79/100

After a few years of instability and the return to the fold of vocalist Jesse Leach (in turn replacing Howard Jones at their forefront), Killswitch Engage return to the radar with "Incarnate", the follow up to "Disarm the Descent". But the one crucial question is, how does it hold up?

Not too badly, all things considered. Jesse Leach's return for "Disarm the Descent" was a welcome one for the band, and that record turned out as an underrated gem on the whole for Killswitch Engage. On "Incarnate", however, Leach and drummer Justin Foley treat every track as if their very lives depended on it; Leach singing, growling and screaming with the fire and passion that rocketed the quintet to recognition on "Alive Or Just Breathing" and Foley with some of the most precise drumming I've ever heard him do. Opening number "Alone I Stand" is almost "My Last Serenade"-esque in its power and energy, and lead off singles "Hate By Design" and "Cut Me Loose" have the same raw, primitive essence that forms the backbone of Killswitch Engage's sound. Even more pedestrian numbers like "Until The Day" and "It Falls on Me" get a much needed lift from the respective performances of Leach and Foley.

While Jesse Leach is on record as saying that he hit something of a creative wall in the creative processes behind "Incarnate" at some points, Killswitch Engage fans will be pleased to know that the end result doesn't bear that out at all. It's not a perfect album, but it's definitely got enough to keep the diehard fans happy, which is the main thing. Definitely worth getting hold of a copy, even if it's not quite as instant as "Alive Or Just Breathing" or "Disarm the Descent".

Track List

1. Alone I Stand
2. Hate By Design
3. Cut Me Loose
4. Strength of the Mind
5. Just Let Go
6. Embrace the Journey...Upraised
7. Quiet Distress
8. Until The Day
9. It Falls on Me
10. The Great Deceit
11. We Carry On
12. Ascension
13. Reignite
14. Triumph Through Tragedy
15. Loyalty

Boss Keloid - Herb Your Enthusiasm

Artist: Boss Keloid
Album: Herb Your Enthusiasm
Year: 2016
Rating: 91/100

Maybe it's just my love of puns, or just that I recognise a good riff when I hear one, but there was something that just clicked instantly with me when I hit play on "Herb Your Enthusiasm", the debut effort from Wigan riffmasters Boss Keloid. With Chris Fielding (Electric Wizard, Conan, Napalm Death) at the production reins and the excellent James Plotkin (Khanate, Atomsmasher), the early signs are certainly promising.

Opening number "Lung Mountain" is a hard hitting, enthusiastic (yep, that's going to pop up a lot here in this review) number which is big on clattering drums, fuzzed up riffs and the unique and superb vocals of front man Alex Hurst. Conan's Jon Davis even pops up to contribute guest vocals on "Lung Mountain" and "Chabal", two of the strongest numbers on the album. The wordplay in the titles is there in abundance as well; short but sweet instrumental number "Highatus" and the wonderful, sprawling "Escapegoat", complete with its customary buzzsaw riffs and lots of slick, deft time signature changes that seem determined to challenge the listener without the need to unnecessarily blast the listener into submission.

The most impressive thing about "Herb Your Enthusiasm", however, is the level of consistently high quality that Boss Keloid attain with every track. It's fresh, it's exciting, it throws up something different with every listen that you may not have picked up on before. If this is how Boss Keloid plan to start, then I can't wait to see where they'll go next.

Track List

1. Lung Mountain
2. Haarlem Struggle
3. Escapegoat
4. Cone
5. Axis Of Green
6. Highatus
7. Lung Valley
8. Elegant Odyssey
9. Chabal
10. Hot Priest