Hey… I still liked it.

Ed’s Review:

Hour of 13 is a relatively new duo from North Carolina rocking out what they refer to as “True Original Occult Doom” according to their myspace site, yet another example of many new American bands diving head first into the doom metal revival – in this case basically re-hashing and re-working old Candlemass riffs until they are blue in the face, resulting in what sounds like a weed and Makers Mark-laced mess of melodic/retro Candlemass worship. The only problem is, this band doesn’t do it nearly as well as Candlemass, or any other classic doom band for that matter.

The album starts off strong – the first three or four songs are well done, but like so many other records in this genre it starts to fall off into generic territory about half way through, offering little more than fairly bland classic-style doom riffs with the same high-pitched vocal arrangements throughout. The production has a very 80’s/reverb vibe to it (commonly known as the “Metal Blade” production in reference to the 80’s Celtic Frost sound), all the guitar solos are pelted with way too much delay effect (probably to make up for the lack of skill in this area), the vocalist is a direct cross between Ozzy and Messiah Marcolin, and the rhythm guitars are about what you’d expect – slow, heavy, punishing. Of course there are moments where you find yourself banging your head to the groove – and there are some killer grooves – I just don’t think this material holds up to the classics by any means.

Highlights: Title/kick off track “The Ritualists” is a good doom track, solid rhythm guitars and catchy vocals. “Demons All Around Me” has a great chorus. Final track “The Crawlspace” has some cool moments. There are other elements, particularly guitar riffs, contained within the album that are fairly rocking also.

Overall this band knows what they are doing, but compared to the heavyweights of contemporary doom (think Daylight Dies, Solitude Aeternus, etc.) this is definitely a “burn it” CD.

Ed’s Rating:

King says: “Only two guys in the band? My make-up staff is bigger than that!!!”

Matt’s Review:

Over the years, I’ve come to realize that doom metal is one of those sub-genres that can theoretically encompass a very broad range of musical territory. Unlike many of its relatives – thrash, death, grindcore, speed, biker, glory, and war metal – doom is one of the few that allows for a great deal of experimentation and originality, while at the same time not sounding too forced or diluted. Several bands have managed to successfully pull this off over the years and thus distinguish themselves as a result (Paradise Lost, Novembers Doom, Type O Negative, My Dying Bride, Isis). Others have managed to do the opposite and simply sound forgettable and/or like something that has been rehashed about as many times as a shitty Godfather impersonation (Bongzilla, Acid Bath, Electric Wizard, Crowbar). Either way, it’s all subjective… but in my meaningless opinion, Hour of 13 leans more towards the latter category, unfortunately.

I had never heard of these guys until I was kindly asked to review this album. Therefore, I can honestly call this a completely unbiased review and will surely sleep guilt-free tonight.

The first track, “The Gathering,” is very short (only 2:09 min) and comes off as very psychedelic, yet generic open chord doom metal with an uneasy David Bowie-meets-present-day-Ozzy vocals. With it being so short, it’s hardly fair to make any stern judgments just yet… The next song, “The Ritualists,” seems to carve out a much more definitive expectation of what the rest of the album might sound like. The riffing is much more Sabbath-inspired (nothing groundbreaking in 2010 by any means), which naturally makes the vocals blend in a bit better. Although the flow of riffs is fairly nice throughout, the reverb-filled solo and “Ohhhhh” vocals towards the end are a bad choice.

“Naked Star” consists almost entirely of riffs that sound like they were stolen directly from a Dio-era Sabbath album and/or the Dio song “Holy Diver.” Not only is there another bad reverb-drenched solo, but the song awkwardly fades out during a verse at the end. More bad choices have been made.
“Demons All Around Me,” on the other hand, is a pretty awesome song. The riffing is very much in the realm of early Mercyful Fate with a hint of Judas Priest and is much more progressive than the previous songs. Done very well here indeed… even enough for me to forgive the sub-par solo at the end, which I’m guessing is going to be a pattern from here on out…

“Possession” takes us back to Dio-era Sabbath rip-offs, with the intro and verse riffs sounding almost exactly like “Sign Of The Southern Cross.” I’m not that impressed with this one… and it’s pointless for me to even mention the solos anymore.

“Soldiers Of Satan“… I’m pretty much bored up until 4:30, when a kick-ass fast riff finally breaks up the monotonous one-dimensional vocals and sub-par riffing for the remainder of the song.

“Evil Inside” offers much of the same formula. As with “Soldiers,” there is ‘that one part’ between 4:50 and 5:20 that breaks up the monotony with a double-time chuggy riff.

Needless to say, I felt like getting to the last song, “The Crawlspace,” was a bit of a chore… and yes, that’s only eight songs total. However, I do like this one much more than the others, with “Demons” being the lone exception (yes, my fav!). Like “Demons,” this one is much more progressive, with a good flow and use of different tempo changes throughout.

All in all, “The Ritualist” reveals a band that is largely one-dimensional in every aspect and has little to offer in terms of originality, technicality, and songwriting prowess. While there were some good moments here and there, the album as a whole is largely forgettable.

Matt’s Rating:

King says: “Those are demons all around you?  Hmm… could’ve sworn they were just dwarf extras from the movie Willow.”

Have A Listen:

Hour of 13 – The Ritualists:

Download audio file (The_Ritualists.mp3)

When I first visited Howl’s myspace site and found the band proudly sporting an endorsement for Chicago-based Emperor Cabinet amplifiers, I immediately asked myself “are these guys from Chicago?” Since all of your friends here at R/R are from Chicago, we usually get a first hand look at the extremely heavy yet sometimes questionable local hipster/celebrity male subculture that metal has become here, where the length of one’s beard can often be confused in drunken grandeur with the length of one’s self-proclaimed diabolical manhood. Anyway, turns out Howl is NOT from Chicago, but actually from Providence, RI – so I was immediately interested in what kind of metallic sludge this band had to offer without the media distractions of having their own premature Kuma’s Corner burger or having 20 simultaneous witty write-ups and name-drops in the Chicago Reader before anyone gets a chance to hear the actual music. And although Relapse is never a label to be cheap on the heaviness, I was a little iffy about the promo we received (64k mp3’s with a loud BEEP every 30 seconds throughout the ENTIRE ALBUM as a watermark… classy, fellas) but I gave the album a spin anyway. Hey, it’s a free promo right? And it’s METAL… good enough for me.

Turns out the low quality mp3’s and annoying beeps didn’t really matter all that much, because in the simplest terms possible, this album absolutely rips.

Howl have managed to find a near-perfect hybrid of the riffy, technical aspects of progressive heavyweights like Mastodon while keeping the pace at a slower, thicker sprawl than their speedy aforementioned peers, resulting in an aggressive and ultimately pummeling doom metal experience. What’s great about this album is the excellent songwriting combined with the consistency of quality songs from start to finish – two essential items that always make or break an album bearing this kind of intensity. Opener “Horns of Steel” is a juggernaut of a track, the slow building introduction giving way to a powerhouse of minor key riffage, directly throwing the listener into the wild, doomy ride this album has to offer. Things move in this path for a while, a brief dose of black metal riffs appearing during the bridge sections of “You Jackals Beware” that is completely nerve shattering (in a great way), eventually making it’s way to the excellent stand-out track “Jezebel” which conjures up imagery of both black dungeons and soaring cliffs – a very heavy, fairly complex and completely mesmerizing doom track that stands up with some of the best ever written, from Sabbath to Candlemass and beyond. The vocals tend to serve as more of an instrument as the album beats along, which is more than fitting considering the fine guitar work that rages throughout this listen. “Heavenless” moves more into prog territory, but with a cutting intensity and great fretwork both in rhythms and brief leads from guitarists Vincent Hausman and Andrea Black. In a similar manner to how Baroness has created a new flavor in slightly deep fried, yet killer hard rock guitar techniques, Howl is a guitarists’ band on a mission to bring the more evil, minor key range of doom metal into the volume game – this material is well-played and very dense, and rightfully so. “The Scorpions Last Sting” is another standout track, concluding with several minutes of bulldozer chug riffs mixed with psychedelic guitar overtones perfectly placed. The album concludes with the 10+ minute “The Day of Rest” which needs little description – just let me know if your stereo survives the damage.

I would highly recommend Howl to anyone who is fascinated by creative yet uncompromising doom-ridden guitar work – turned up to 11.

Ed’s Rating:

King says: “I wish we could have tuned down to B back in the 80’s… I probably could have ditched the make-up for a gig or three!”

Chris’ Review:

Man, I really thought I would get into this chug fest based on the album opener, but something happened and my interest faded as the tracks rolled by. Repeated listens of the album have me taking it down a notch on the patented R/R King scale each spin. What’s bothering me about Howl?

The overall thing is that there’s nothing here that sounds fresh or unique to me. There’s some cool moments, sure, like badass chugging riffs at some point in almost every song. But you know what, every high school band in my subdivision can crank out a badass chugging riff when they want to. What else does Howl got?

Well, they got this frenetic drummer that’s always playing big fills in small spaces and double bass, so that it sort of seems like the song is all intense and shit, but when you try to follow along, you find the song is actually pretty plain; the drummer’s just getting bored like you are. It’s hard to judge production on a low resolution review download, but it sure seems like there’s a whole lot of cymbal going on. At some points the guitars are just barely there. But golly, that crash cymbal sure comes through.

Secondly, each song is full of riffs, but they’re mostly not very interesting and just pasted together. It’s like a heavy metal jam band at some points (“Jezebel“, “You Jackals Beware“). Some riffs are downright played out (“Asherah“, the intro to “Jezebel“; how did this even make the album)? And I’m thinking I’ve heard the opening of “The Scorpion’s Last Sting” somewhere, too (free gift to whomever can tell us where).

The sound and style of Howl is nothing offensive, but it’s nothing that’s been missing from my life either. If more songs like “Heavenless” or “Horns of Steel” added interest and energy to this album, it might have been saved, but as an collection, this album doesn’t float.

Chris’ Rating:

King says: “This band would have a chance if they had a gimmick. Try face paint and devil worship.”

Editor’s note: Chris… I believe you’re referring to Earth Crisis’ “The Wrath of Sanity“. Now where’s my free gift?

Have A Listen:

Howl – Jezebel:

Download audio file (Jezebel.mp3)

Because we didn’t want to talk your ears off like last time around, we’ve decided to split this month’s topic into a two-parter. We’re discussing “lost” albums from the 90s… basically albums that we think are under-appreciated or not as well-known as they deserve to be. Although we don’t necessarily share the same thoughts on each other’s picks, I do recommend checking any and all of these records out if you’re in the mood for some new (old) metal.

We also take a bit of time to review the new Dethklok album, Dethalbum II, and talk about the “tower of meat” that is the Kuma’s Corner October Burger of the Month… The Agenda of Swine.

Again… we hope you enjoy, be sure to subscribe in iTunes, and feel free to give us the old “one-two” in the comments section.

Download audio file (ReviewsResist_Podcast_2.mp3)

(24.8 mb / 27:05)

 

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While literature and film often employ thematic elements and foreshadowing, it’s quite rare to find such concepts in the world of metal. With Spoils of Failure, Buried Inside do so, and (once again) deliver a sludgy opus magnum.

Frivolous “Neur-Isis” comparisons aside, (and whether it’s intentional or not) Buried Inside do a great job of exploring traits primarily found in the world of classical music. Whereas 2005’s time-inspired Chronoclast explored variations on a single theme (à la La Valse), Spoils of Failure breaks down into what can only be described as a series of suites, strung together by a singular idea (Ballet Deviare take note). This may be boring as fuck to some people, but I find it a breath of fresh air in a genre that all too often falls victim to true repetitiveness.

In keeping with the Maurice Ravel references, the album’s opener “I” is basically the metal equivalent of Boléro. Starting off with a single droning guitar, the song builds eloquently for the next six and a half minutes, finally breaking down and giving the listener a moment to reflect before moving on.

While “III,” “VII,” and “VIII” employ a nice range of dynamics, and “V” churns out the monster riffs, it’s the layered guitar interplay and spacey, repetitious leads that really stand out and make Spoils of Failure an exciting listen. Both brooding and beautiful, this is “Thinking Man’s Metal” at its best.

Justin’s Rating:

King says: “In the words of the late, great Kyuss… ‘Listen Without Distraction.’ ”

Chris’ Review:

A predictable to response to Justin’s accurate review would be, “But does it rock?” and the answer is an unqualified “Sometimes.”

The grand themes of the album are easy to miss if you don’t follow the listening instructions, but, like Buried Inside’s previous album Chronoclast, something subtle tells you this band is on the right side of this genre’s fine line between interesting music and boring sludge.

If you’ve got the 53 minutes to invest, Spoils of Failure may reward you with its grand vision, but taken in smaller pieces, the aforementioned subtleties are enjoyable on any track. Guitar interplay is surely this band’s special contribution to the genre. Songs will often build a feeling tension before resolving to a synchronized, bombastic chugging riff which could get real cheesy real fast, but somehow Buried Inside gets it just right every time. One unusual example being the closing to the song “V” (the title track?) which actually fades out. However, it fades on the biggest, badass chord progression and lead guitar riff of the album, or of hundreds of albums for that matter. How else you would close such a song is unthinkable. If they don’t close their live set with this song, what the hell do they follow it with? I can’t wait to find out. Finally, Buried Inside is not afraid to mix tempos. Thinking metal it may be, but post-rock with distortion it is not.

So perhaps complaining that Buried Inside does not always “rock” is like complaining that AC/DC lacks complexity. It would be similarly unfair to say that if you don’t like Spoils of Failure, you just don’t get it. A lot of people don’t listen to metal for sublime complexity.

Chris’ Rating:

King says: “Old, dead European guys know complex music. Me, for example.”