Wednesday, February 1, 2012

SubRosa - No Help For The Mighty One

No Help For the Mighty One is not an enterprise for the faint of heart. It's an extreme and aggressively emotional listen that offers no reprieve to your aural capability. They're hard to pigeonhole into any one genre, but there is a definite stonery sludge factor at play here. The slightly off-key vocal melodies are lilting and serene, which essentially counterbalances the relentless doom riff attack in a way that seems fresh and unique.

I do find the overuse of the electric violins on this record a hard pill to swallow, but SubRosa make me regret airing this complaint by offering up House Carpenter; a 3 minute acapella folk song that seems like it would work against the grain of this album, but strangely does not. In fact, it makes the listener realize that this entity is, in fact, a horse of many colors.

As for my rating, it's going to take a few more spins to completely wrap my head around, so i'll give it a solid 3 forks for the time being. But I WILL say this: for a band with 3 of 5 members being female, they sure do have a metric ton of balls!!








SubRosa Official            

Monday, January 30, 2012

Wolves In the Throne Room - Celestial Lineage

Wolves In the Throne Room create contemporary USBM the way American black metal should be made: with power, grace, beauty and conviction. Brothers Nathan and Aaron Weaver round out and conclude the trilogy that began with Two Hunters by offering up their latest (and last, apparently) triumphant vessel Celestial Lineage. This opus is awash with scuzzy guitars, chimes, female choirs, and the requisite chanting you've come to expect from each and every WITTR release.

Every track has a gorgeously indescribable organic feeling, something woodsy and natural even. It's unfortunate that most black metal artists this beautifully adept at their craft
pack it in too soon. Rest in peace Woods of Ypres, Weakling
and WITTR.


There's still Agalloch.


 
 
                                                    




Wolves In the Throne Room Official           
Hope everyone had a safe and productive weekend. Here's a little something to get you amped up for a dreary, cold Monday morning!!! New review forthcoming today!!



Thursday, January 26, 2012

Lord Vicar - Signs of Osiris

FINALLY, the mighty Finnish riff merchants Lord Vicar brings us another searing slab of trad-doom!!! It's been 2+ years since their last outing, but did they ever make up for lost time!!

Signs of Osiris, the quartet's 2nd full-length,  is a pretty solid effort, retaining much of the debut's groove and sonic seamlessness. It's a little more yielding than Fear No Pain, yet packed full of nice time changes, crescendos, and mid-track climaxes. The overall tone of the record is less "woe is me" and a little more "whoa!!"

Definitely a good listen for all the traditional doom fanatics in your life.










Wednesday, January 25, 2012

White Wizzard - Over The Top

White Wizzard's sophomore effort is an aptly titled one. There hasn't been an artist this blisteringly metallic since the 80's, and that is exactly the point. These L.A. based bastard sons of Judas Priest are ushering in the new face of metal by emulating the past. The twin guitar attack is powerful, compelling, and will have you throwing the forks and jaguar screams aplenty!


While it's obvious that no new ground has been broken, it's all too refreshing to hear someone play metal with such conviction and fervor. Only in L.A. would/could a band like this exist and flourish. If this band sticks in your craw, you should also take a gander at Skull Fist, Holy Grail, and Cauldron for more filthy retro fury.
Expect big things from this band and genre.








Earache Records                 

Welcome Metal Warriors of Odin!!!

Welcome to Tenebrae Redacta, where we present abbreviated metal reviews for the metalhead on the go!!
I'm gonna try to slam them out in a hundred words or less, so here's to hoping!!!

It pretty much goes without saying that I'll update when and where I can and add features in much the same way.

We'll review old albums, new albums, films that feature metal, etc.
Send any and all review requests to me HERE. I'll try to honor all requests, or at least acknowledge them in some way. And don't forget to

Happy reading and rocking!!