Swallow the Sun - When a Shadow is Forced into the Light

Artist: Swallow the Sun
Album: When a Shadow is Forced into the Light
Year: 2019
Rating: 93/100

Finnish death/doom metallers Swallow the Sun have come a long way since their 2003 debut album, The Morning Never Came, was foisted onto the world. Their sonic approach of crushing intensity and finely tuned atmospherics has served them well, and nothing exemplifies this quite like their seventh album, When a Shadow is Forced into the Light.

The band's main songwriter, rhythm guitarist Juha Raivio, had lost his partner, Aleah Stanbridge (who has a songwriting credit on the track "Clouds on Your Side") prior to the recording of this album, and this plays a significant role in the songwriting on it. New keyboardist Jaani Peuhu clearly got the memo that atmosphere has always been a big part of Swallow the Sun's sound, and this is exemplified on tracks such as "Firelights", "The Crimson Crown", and "Here on the Black Earth", the former of which is one of their most sonically accessible listens.

When a Shadow is Forced into the Light is Swallow the Sun at their best: sonorous, sorrowful and melodic without crossing over and becoming their evil twins, saccharine and maudlin. It's a bit more stripped back than some of their previous albums, and more accessible as a result. A highly recommended starting point for those looking to get into Swallow the Sun.

Track listing

1. When a Shadow is Forced into the Light
2. The Crimson Crown
3. Firelights
4. Upon the Water
5. Stone Wings
6. Clouds on Your Side
7. Here on the Black Earth
8. Never Left

Motorpsycho - The Crucible

Artist: Motorpsycho
Album: The Crucible
Year: 2019
Rating: 87/100

Norwegian psych-rockers are one of those bands who seem to slip under the radar of most people, yet you hear their name mentioned frequently. Then, when you finally get around to listening to them, you wonder why (and, to a lesser extent, how) they have managed to stay under your radar for so long. Since forming in Trondheim in 1989, the trio have given us album after album of delightfully off-kilter psychedelic rock, and their twenty-third album (yes, twenty-three albums in a thirty year career. Impressive) The Crucible is a 41 minute long, three track magnum opus.

Opener "Psychotzar" is the shortest track of the album, clocking in at just shy of nine minutes, and it's a treat for the ears. Whenever Motorpsycho decide an idea needs to be changed up, they don't let it outstay its welcome and take the song on a completely different trajectory. It's a trick that has served them well for their entire career, and does so here. "Lux Aeterna" is slightly longer, starting with some intricate acoustic guitar before taking the listener on a journey of trumpets, mellotron, and countless other instruments before returning to the sonic starting point to close the song off. Finally, the title track is 21 minutes in length, but Motorpsycho do plenty to keep things interesting, not just with the instrumentation, but with the angular time signatures, too, giving it the edge of a track by instrumental titans Dysrhythmia, changing things up brilliantly without making it sound unnecessarily random.

On the strength of The Crucible, I'm stumped as to how I haven't paid Motorpsycho any significant attention before now. Considering they've been doing this sort of thing for thirty years now, and this is their 23rd album, they've got a strong track record of delivering excellent music, and this is an excellent album. A good starting point for anyone looking to investigate them further.

Track listing

1. Psychotzar
2. Lux Aeterna
3. The Crucible

Carnal Forge - Gun to Mouth Salvation

Artist: Carnal Forge
Album: Gun to Mouth Salvation
Year: 2019
Rating: 59/100

When the Swedish death metal explosion happened in the early 1990s, the wave upon wave of bands that left an indelible mark on the music scene there was simply huge. In Stockholm, there was Entombed, Dismember, Tiamat, Katatonia and Opeth; over on the west coast in Gothenburg, At the Gates, In Flames and Dark Tranquillity emerged. Down the road from Stockholm in Västerås, a death/thrash quintet called Carnal Forge (taken from the song by Carcass) gained recognition with albums such as Who's Gonna Burn and Aren't You Dead Yet?, then returned with a new line up and a first new album in twelve years, called Gun to Mouth Salvation.

Unlike their contemporaries, however, Carnal Forge have never been as innovative or as ground breaking. There's no doubt that they're solid enough musically, as the first two tracks from the album, "Parasites" and "Reforged" show, but by the time track three, "Aftermath" starts, it's hardly challenging to spot how their songwriting patterns work; formulaic "angry" growled vocals here, an otherwise good guitar solo here, drumming so stiff and wooden you'd get splinters in your ears if you endured an entire album of it, all wrapped up in some surprisingly glossy production.

I don't doubt there'll be a few people who will have missed Carnal Forge and what they brought to the table sonically, but I'm not one of them. In their time away, their peers and contemporaries have evolved into some of the biggest names in metal around the world, and in returning with a death/thrash metal by numbers damp squib, Carnal Forge are only going to see themselves get lost in the shuffle and left behind.

Track listing

1. Parasites
2. Reforged
3. Aftermath
4. Endless War
5. Bound in Flames
6. King Chaos
7. The Order
8. Hellride
9. State of Pain
10. Sin Feast Paradise
11. The Stench

Ithaca - The Language of Injury

Artist: Ithaca
Album: The Language of Injury
Year: 2019
Rating: 84/100

Holy Roar Records have been on something of a creative roll of late. They know a good band when they hear one, and that testament can be provided by them giving bands such as Boss Keloid, Conjurer and Employed to Serve (and that's just the tip of the iceberg) a home for their music, and now they can add metallic hardcore quintet Ithaca to that list. The Language of Injury is their first full length album, and as far as debut records go, it's a strong one.

"New Covenant" sets the tone tidily as the album's opener, with powerful, hard hitting drums clattering away against a backdrop of wonderfully discordant guitars and the feral roar of vocalist Djamila. However, it is the excellent "Impulse Crush" (for which the band made a video), "Gilt", "Secretspace", the title track and "Youth vs Wisdom" where it feels like Ithaca really come into their own. The discordant guitars are at the forefront again, and they're a treat. Djamila's roar is backed up in some cases by a soothing clean vocal, that on occasion feels like it's a bit too far back in the mix to really shine through. Similarly, the drums, while good, feel like they're a bit too far forward and almost overpower everything else. These are just minor points, however, and take nothing away from the overall quality of the album.

Ithaca have crafted a minor unorthodox gem with The Language of Injury. It remains to be seen where they will go from here, but with a little bit of time and development they'll be one of the best metallic hardcore bands UK shores will have seen for a while. Keep an eye out for them.

Track listing

1. New Covenant
2. Impulse Crush
3. Secretspace
4. Slow Negative Order
5. (No Translation)
6. The Language of Injury
7. CLSR
8. Youth vs. Wisdom
9. Gilt
10. Better Abuse

MONO - Nowhere, Now Here

Artist: MONO
Album: Nowhere, Now Here
Year: 2019
Rating: 95/100

Japanese post-rock band MONO have an innate knack for creating some of the most beautiful music I've ever laid my ears on. Their 2004 album Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined is a masterpiece comprising some utterly stunning soundscapes, such as "2 Candles, 1 Wish" and "A Thousand Paper Cranes", to name but two, and now, ten albums and twenty years into their career, it seems that knack hasn't eluded them even slightly on their new effort, Nowhere, Now Here.

The album opens with "God Bless", an ethereal, haunting number led by strings and trumpet, leading into the guitars of "After You Comes the Flood" just to set the tone perfectly. "Breathe" is a spooky, synth heavy number that's best not so much listened to as absorbed, with it being the only track on the album to feature any vocals of any kind. The title track is also a stand out, the first one of the album to clock in at longer than ten minutes, beginning with a sumptuous mix of clean tone guitars, trumpet and strings, beginning slowly, pulling back slightly, then exploding brilliantly into life where the listener least expects it to. Elsewhere, "Far and Further" is a low key blend of jangling guitars and strings, "Sorrow" is a beautiful melancholic slow burning eight minute epic, while closing track, "Vanishing, Vanishing Maybe" is a powerful soundscape to bring proceedings to an end.

I'm rarely stuck on finding words to describe how good an album honestly is, but "Nowhere, Now Here" is one I truly cannot recommend highly enough. This sumptuous beauty of an album is best listened to through headphones without distraction, as it seems to be the only real way to do it justice.

Track listing

1. God Bless
2. After You Comes the Flood
3. Breathe
4. Nowhere, Now Here
5. Far and Further
6. Sorrow
7. Parting
8. Meet Us Where the Night Ends
9. Funeral Song
10. Vanishing, Vanishing Maybe

Rival Sons - Feral Roots

Artist: Rival Sons
Album: Feral Roots
Year: 2019
Rating: 93/100

Well, bloody hell. Where do I start with this? Everyone seems to be acquainted with Rival Sons and their energetic, high octane brand of hard rock, only this time it seems to have been cranked up to 11, and unlike Greta Van Fleet, the LA quartet are absolutely the real deal. They've seemingly been on a creative roll since Great Western Valkyrie dropped in 2014, and album number five, Feral Roots, is their first album for Atlantic Records.

It doesn't feel like Rival Sons have elected to polish their sound to excess, which is an encouraging start. Opening track "Do Your Worst" is very much business as usual, with the taut rhythm section of Dave Beste and Mike Miley holding a steady groove down, while guitarist Scott Holiday makes his guitar squeal in a way that only he can against the soaring holler of Jay Buchanan's vocals. Elsewhere, the acoustic intros of "Look Away", "End of Forever" and the title track provide a welcome change of pace, while gospel-tinged closing number "Shooting Stars" winds things down perfectly.

While Feral Roots is certainly more accessible than its predecessor Hollow Bones was, that's something that works in its favour. This album feels very much like the album that would deservedly propel Rival Sons into rock's big leagues, and not a moment too soon, either. I can't recommend this highly enough.

Track listing

1. Do Your Worst
2. Sugar on the Bone
3. Back in the Woods
4. Look Away
5. Feral Roots
6. Too Bad
7. Stood By Me
8. Imperial Joy
9. All Directions
10. End of Forever
11. Shooting Stars

The Twilight Sad - It Won't Be Like This All the Time

Artist: The Twilight Sad
Album: It Won't Be Like This All the Time
Year: 2019
Rating: 88/100

It's been a little over a decade since Scottish shoegaze quintet The Twilight Sad first arrived on the scene with a sonic arsenal that both assaulted and delighted our ears. It Won't Be Like This All the Time is the fifth album in their canon, released on Rock Action Records, a label owned by legendary post-rockers Mogwai. So how does this one stack up?

Well, the album gets off to a strong start with the track "[10 Good Reasons For Modern Drugs]", a heavily layered wall of sound with some stop-start drumming, dense guitars and keyboards from Andy MacFarlane and Brendan Smith respectively, set against the backdrop of the plaintive, mournful vocals of James Graham. Elsewhere, the brightest spots include "VTr", with its strong Brian Eno influences shining through in the music, and lead off single "Videograms" closing the album in fine fashion. 

The Twilight Sad have carved out a reputation for being one of the loudest, most musically intense bands on the live stage, and It Won't Be Like This All the Time embodies this perfectly. The album is consistently strong and the songs are exquisitely crafted. A highly recommended listen.

Track listing

1. [10 Good Reasons For Modern Drugs]
2. Shooting Dennis Hopper Shooting
3. The Arbor
4. VTr
5. Sunday Day13
6. I/m Not Here [Missing Face]
7. Auge/Maschine
8. Keep it All to Myself
9. Girl Chewing Gum
10. Let/s Get Lost
11. Videograms