Bloodwork - World Without End (2014)

Death metal has changed quite a bit since its formative years in the mid-late 1980's.  What started as a more extreme extension of thrash metal quickly developed into its own form in the early 1990's, and has taken on a number of iterations in subsequent years.  The early-mid 90's saw the rise of technical death metal like Gorguts, Atheist, Cynic, and latter-day Pestilence, as well as more brutal death metal like Suffocation or Dying Fetus.  Death metal mixed with doom metal became prevalent as well, with acts ranging from My Dying Bride, early Paradise Lost, and early Anathema to Paramaecium and Orphaned Land.  The 2000's and beyond have spawned more modern distillations of the death metal sound with ever-improving production values, which sometimes make the music sound more "in your face", but sometimes take away from the raw, unadulterated sound of what death metal was in the beginning.

The last 5 or 6 years has seen a major resurgence in the sound of early death metal, now referred to by most as "old school death metal" or OSDM.  A fair number of indie and underground music labels are putting out cassettes and vinyl releases for a number of bands, and many are retreating from over-produced, sterile sounding records to something more raw and organic, recalling the early 1990's where good production was possible, but the raw sound of the music wasn't compromised by the production, mixing, or mastering.  Endtime Productions has wisely snapped up UK death metallers Bloodwork, and given the vinyl (and CD) treatment to their full-length debut World Without End.  It stands as a shining example of OSDM done right in the modern age.

Right away, I hear many hallmarks of early death metal in the sound.  The guitars are downtuned, like most albums from that early period, but not so far that there's no definition in the guitar tone or in the riffing.  The guitar sound isn't so deep and sludgy that it forsakes some level of bite; indeed, this record's guitar sound is heavy and has plenty of teeth.  There isn't much in the way of solo work on the record, but lots of fast-picked rhythms and segues that really show off the abilities of all 3 guitarists in the band, James, Jeff, and Michael.  There are some nice spots, particularly in the title track, where dueling guitar lines are used to great effect to produce a layered sound that works well.  Other times, it sounds as though 2 or 3 guitars are playing the same rhythm so as to pummel you into oblivion as you listen.  Bass, as provided by relative newcomer Ben, is well played and is prevalent enough in the mix that you feel the rhythms, but can also hear what he is playing, and he chimes in alongside the riffing quite nicely.  Drummer Jon Rushforth has quite an impressive number of bands he has provided drumwork for, and he shows considerable skill here on the album, with lots of blast beats, groove-oriented bits, and really solid, accurate rolls and fills.  Some death metal drummers sound like they're barely keeping pace with the music, but Jon doesn't miss a beat (sorry, pun intended).

Vocally, the album has a lot going on.  Much of the vocal work is a high-pitched, almost rapsy growl that sounds more like black metal than the typical raspy death vocals of Jeff Walker or similar growler.  But similar to an early Carcass album, you also have a deeper, more mid-range to low guttural growl that is layered in with the higher-pitched rasp, creating a good contrast.  Sometimes the vocals are relatively understandable, other times the layering obscures them enough to where it's difficult to make out the lyrics, but it's not overly distracting.  Both sets of growls are quality, though, because there is some inflection and variation throughout.  I didn't get a lyric sheet with the review copy, but based on the band's previous material, it's not hard to guess that the lyrics are based on Christianity, and in a couple spots fairly obvious cries to God for help/deliverance.

There are 2 distinct qualities at work here that keep me coming back to this release.  First and foremost, the album has some level of variety in the songwriting.  There are the usual blast-fest songs that go at full speed throughout, but there are moments of real atmosphere (like the outro of "Shadow Aspect"), as well as slower-paced moments interspersed throughout that give the songs additional flavor.  Also, there are spots where some real groove is present, which keeps the album from veering too far into brutal death metal territory, and help it identify with some early death metal pioneers like Obituary, while surpassing them with a heavier, more brutal overall sound.  Secondly, the album is short and sweet.  Despite the variety present, there's only so much aural pounding one can take before an album wears out its welcome, and this release is long enough to feel like you've been sufficiently been kicked in the teeth when it's done, but not beaten to a pulp and feeling like you need to chase it with something far less heavy or insane.  It's well balanced, well produced, and well constructed overall.  It's also a major improvement over the band's earlier material.  I had previously heard the "Insufficient Flesh" EP, and this sounds like a whole new band, in a good way.  While that EP had the typical markings of a demo-quality band in the studio for the first time, this sounds like a group of seasoned professionals, staking their claim on the metal landscape and putting out a quality album with no filler.  Hats off to Endtime Productions for scoring this release, as well as for making it available on vinyl.  The vinyl has made its way to my short-list, and that says something, especially given the limited income I have to purchase music with these days.  Highly recommended for the death metal enthusiast.

80/100

ForChristSake - Apocalyptic Visions Of Divine Terror (2013)

It's always exciting to get a new album from a relatively new band that has started strong and has room to grow.  One always hopes that the band has wisely used the time in between releases to strengthen their sound, tighten their approach and songwriting, and generally improve.  When they do, it's gratifying for fans who have expected great things from the band.  When they don't, it's equally frustrating for fans who feel they know the band is capable of more.  What is, perhaps, more frustrating, is when a record comes out that shows the band has grown in ability or talent, but issues outside the songs make the new record a less than fulfilling experience.

That's my take on the new ForChristSake release, "Apocalyptic Visions Of Divine Terror" (quite a mouthful!).  It's a quality record, from the standpoint that the band is branching out a bit from the extreme death/thrash of the debut EP and including some black metal elements that weren't as present on the EP.  They also add even more keyboard work, including some nice flourishes here and there that give the album a lot of atmosphere as compared to the EP.  In addition, the album's dense sound and production give it a real "suffocating" feel to accompany the atmosphere, which just adds to the tension of the listening experience.  However, there are some elements of the production that make the album a frustrating listen, which I'll expound upon in the writing below.  Ultimately, it leaves me as a fan partially unfulfilled.

Let's get to the good first and foremost.  While the EP had a split focus of thrash and death metal that was nicely blended, this release has more of a death metal attack with some thrash mixed in, as well as some black metal elements peppered in for good measure, mostly in some of the layered vocals and atmosphere.  The album's dark, foreboding tone is palpable, and it makes the whole thing work more effectively with the heavy lyrical bent.  There's some interesting guitar work going on, with some nice harmonized licks and leads here and there, and some oppressively heavy riffing at times.  Vocalist Ben does a nice job continuing to expand his vocal approach with nice variation on his mid-range growl, plus a couple spots where clean vocals are utilized ("Deliver Us From Evil" in particular), and then the higher-pitched growl/shrieks and awesome "throaty yell" which brings a thrash element.  The album barely slows down to take a breath from a few seconds after hitting play until roughly half way through, as many tracks flow directly into the next, so if you're looking for maximum punishment from your death metal, this CD delivers that through the bulk of its material, only stopping to smell the roses a couple times near the end.  Ben and Simon on guitar sound good overall, with a heavy, crunchy tone that emphasizes the low end without sounding too modern, and the keyboard bits come through nicely in most instances, giving that little extra element to the sound.

Unfortunately, the production makes things very muddy, and also creates some real issues with the drum sound and rhythm.  Anyone who listens to the EP knows Ignatios can drum and provide a solid, time synchronized attack.  My guess is, something happened with the production and or mix/master process to cause some of the drum tracks to be off-time or out of sync, because there are spots where it sounds as though he is going off the rails, or where his playing is just slightly out of time with the rest of the music.  As well, the drum production sounds as though the drums weren't mic'd evenly, so some bits have slightly loud cymbal and snare parts, the toms sound hollow and empty on occasion, the bass drum sometimes feels like it's being hit quite limply, and one place where the cowbell is used is hard to hear unless you crank it up or wear earphones.  The production buries the bass so far in the mix that it's like white paint on a blank white canvas.  You know it's there, and there's evidence of its place in the mix, but you really have to listen closely to pick it out.  Some places where there's a lull in the guitar riffing you can pick out the bass much more clearly, but even then it's such a low-end, dense and muddy tone that it's difficult to hear what it's doing.  That's a shame, because as evidenced by the EP, Mark can play pretty well.  The mix itself is muddy, and as I mentioned before, quite dense and oppressive.  That feel works well for the material, but doesn't do the material any favors, as at times, it feels as though the songs are barely held together when things get too fast or go into more complex territory where the band is using odd time signatures, or layering the instrumentation to include multiple guitars, multiple vocals, or a lot of snare hits in short succession.  It just sounds real messy from time to time.

Reading the last paragraph, it would be easy to get the impression that I dislike the album, but that's just not the case.  I've listened to this CD a lot over the last several weeks, hoping to glean more of a real understanding of the album's focus and feel.  I stand by my opinion that the EP overall had better production, because the separation of instruments is more pronounced there, providing for a listening experience not fraught with the kind of frustration this CD brings.  There's nothing wrong with a dense, oppressive production.  Carcass' "Heartwork" and Paramaecium's "Exhumed of the Earth" both have oppressively heavy guitar tones, and dense, heavy production that makes the albums sound artificially heavier than they might be if they were played live.  With that dense production, however, came separation of instruments to allow each to be heard more clearly and specifically.  This CD doesn't afford the listener that chance, however, so it requires repeated listens to get a real sense of what is going on.  That, coupled with the troublesome drum production and timing mean that while the band is obviously growing in the songwriting space, it's difficult to hear that full potential when the songs aren't done justice.  Though there are more tracks here than I might have anticipated, coming off a 4-track EP as the previous release, the pacing of the album doesn't feel like it drags on forever because of the songs.  The production hampers the listening experience enough to make the longer songs a bit of a chore to listen through, which is unfortunate.  I also feel as though the album's title track should have been the album's centerpiece, but it gets tacked on nearly at the end of the release.  A minor complaint in the grand scheme of things, but one that warrants mentioning, given the nature of the album's production woes.

All in all, I'm pleased with the album from the standpoint of the band showing that they're growing as an entity and with their songwriting.  They're expanding their horizons a bit, adding more elements, as well as making the longer songs more interesting with transitions, breaks, and enough twists to keep me engaged.  Where I'm let down is the drum production and sound, and the overall production which keeps the bass buried so far that it's not satisfying, and the uneven production that gives the guitar riffs a dense, oppressive sound but does so in such a way that it makes things sound muddy.  I really wanted to love this album, because I really enjoyed the EP, despite its flaws.  I do enjoy the album, and have had fun listening to it multiple times over the past 2-3 months in preparing for this review.  I just can't give the album as a whole a score that is as high as I would like, because the album on the whole doesn't quite live up to its potential.  ForChristSake fans will likely enjoy this, and I did too.  I just wish the album had better, more consistent production that played to the band's strengths rather than creating issues that make it sound as if their not ready for prime time, because I believe they are.  This CD just doesn't highlight that the way it should.  Recommended, with caveats.

70/100