AK-11 - Legendary, Demonic & Invincible [Demo] (2011, Self-released)

Self-proclaimed "triumphant black war metal" band AK-11 started out in 2011 with Valak being the only member. Valak had fashioned this demo, "Legendary, Demonic & Invincible", already by November the same year as a tribute to classic black metal acts like Celtic Frost, Burzum, Emperor and others. In 2013 two new members were added to the lineup, but AK-11 has yet to release anything as a trio.

Though black metal is traditionally stripped down to the bare necessities this goes especially for AK-11. On this demo there is not a breath wasted, not an effort spilled on fancy solos, symphonic orchestrations or overly complex compositions. What the sole member, Valak, puts forth on this first demo is convincingly simple black metal tunes condensed to a fine spirit. Though AK-11 hails from Australia, at least half the demo is sung in Russian as a tribute to the famous Avtomat Kalashnikov assault rifle. While this doesn't have any direct influence on the music found on "Legendary..." it accentuates the vodka-fueled slavic sounds that tracks like Shest' Shest' Shest' i Katyusha take on through inventive guitar riffs.

Most of the tracks are almost literally bursting with energy. Tracks like the satanic "Sniper's Glory" and Slava Rossii stand out as tracks of an especially engaging kind with their enticingly traditional riffs and mechanical blast beats, and the "Legendary..." demo is characterized by an unusually high lowest point in terms of songwriting quality. The riffs in particular catch the eye as one of the demo's strongest competences, Valak's raw vocals and his overall ability to write captivating material not falling far behind.

Production is often devalued in black metal, the genre often being seen as inherently lo-fi. This deep-rooted disregard for quality of sound seems to have also been part of the recording process with AK-11. Seeing as Legendary, Demonic & Invincible is a demo this can more or less be excused, and the - what I assume is a - drum machine has the samples fairly balanced with the abrasive sound of the guitar and the grey veil of Valak's vocals. The demo warrants excitement for future releases by AK-11 and is itself well worth a listen. Australian black metal often takes on a strong thrash metal influence as seen with bands like Deströyer 666, Nocturnal Graves, Gospel of the Horns, Atomizer, Malichor, Razor of Occam and so on and so forth. AK-11 sticks out like a sore thumb in this crowd as a band trying out new things, even if these elements aren't necessarily major parts of the band's sound. 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. The Cleansing Stream
2. Vechnyi Ogon'
3. Slava Rossii
4. Legendary, Demonic & Invincible
5. Sniper's Glory (Satan Guides My Aim)
6. Shest' Shest' Shest' i Katyusha

Visit AK-11 on Facebook
Download the demo FOR FREE

In Silent - Potêpienie [Full length] (2013, Self-released)

Having been formed in 1996, In Silent will soon be able to celebrate their 20th anniversary. The Polish band has 4 demos to show for it, the latest being from 2009. Most of the early members of In Silent are long gone from the lineup, with the two guitarists being the only original members, and the core of the band's sound.
The very nucleus of the death metal genre is searing guitar work, scorching vocals and ferocious drumming. In Silent's modern incarnation is ripe with the familiar sound of that classic death metal technique, giving off the feeling that they're old timers within the genre. Potêpienie exudes an atmosphere of devotely following the stipulations of death with thick production values and grooving riffs.

The heavier guitars that make up the majority of the album are at the very forefront of In Silent's behavior. The Polish band twist and wrangle the stringed instruments into submission, accompanied by a powerful veil of merciless drumming, the raw and articulate vocals efficiently tying the whole thing together into the 22 minute opus that it is.

The straightforward musical craftsmanship that the album mainly portrays is obviously where the group have their comfortzone. This, however, leads to very little fluctuation in sound and constitution, the essence of the band being efficiency. What I mean by this is that there is absolutely no effort wasted, and everything is mechanically precise to the point where there's no soul to the music. The pseudo-technical adventures into the higher frets on the guitars come off as choppy and over-simplified, and while the groovy parts work well in their protected environment, almost every track sounds like it needs a few surprises. Most tracks sound like they're roughly the same speed as the previous, and the parts that would normally mix things up a bit aspire to be little other than soft-spoken, anonymous left-over particles.

I find that the albums that grow on me the most are the ones that have incredible depth and intricate songwriting, not necessarily from being overly technical or lengthy, but rather from paying attention to every minor detail in the sound image. In Silent's debut album, Potêpienie, stands out as a piece that is mostly too simple, but without the much needed memorability and hooks that make simpler music enjoyable. The tracks Necro Fucker and Czerwony Parszywy Cheam have the gist of what it takes, but the slowly lumbering pace with oddly placed blastbeats doesn't quite do it in the end. Morbid features one of the album's most ambitious main riffs, but quickly switches to a boring chug rhythm. The album is almost insultingly simple at times, to the point where it actually becomes sort of annoying, and it holds little merrit in the long run, the only real value being that In Silent are sufficiently immersed in their Polish lyrics and groovy rhythms for it to be a fun listen once in a while. Unfortunately, the recipe fails to impress.

Tracklist:
1. Tydzieñ Patriotów
2. Potêpienie
3. Czerwony Parszywy Cheam
4. Necro Fucker
5. Morbid
6. Amputacja
7. Pedofiluzzkleru

Visit the band on Facebook

Sguaguarahchristis - Der Nacht [Full length] (2014, This Winter Will Last Forever Records)

Having been formed in 2011, Sguaguarahchristis - or SG666 for short - are hardly old timers within the scene. Self-proclaimed anti-human black metal, the group currently consists of three members, with Pesten seemingly being the driving force behind the band. Since their debut album in 2012, they've released a few minor offerings of black metal with the newest being the second act of their dark performance, Der Nacht. The album saw the light of day (or dark of night, one might say, as the album is meant as an homage to the same) in 2013 and was released in February 2014 through bandcamp, with a physical release through This Winter Will Last Forever Records in March.

It becomes apparent rather quickly that the band are, to say the least, enthusiastic about the general atmosphere and songwriting of second-wave certain black metal legends. They themselves mention early Emperor and Arcturus as influences, and the similarities - while faint - are definitely there. The music of SG666 emphatically fluctuates between cascades of assailing blast beats and seamless, astral melodies, both on guitar and synth. The raw attitude of some tracks greatly contrast the vast harmony of others. It is when the band wholeheartedly open the gates to their core of melodies that the music of Sguaguarahchristis soars above being anything but bland text-book black metal. Most of the tracks on Der Nacht have interesting melodic compositions that play around with the idea of turning the music toward a less esoteric audience, but without fully doing so. These oftentimes rhapsodic themes come across as the very element the rest of the music is built around, though neatly intertwined with the intrusive tone of the band's inherent black metal style, which itself often lies on the raw side of the spectrum.

The songwriter(s) of the band has great feel for the flow and length of an album. Barely exceeding 40 minutes, Der Nacht would seem long had it not been for the way the band captivates the listener through its glorious, ethereal melodies. It is not something exceedingly out of the ordinary, but the music resonates with me in a way that makes it a worthwhile listen. Der Nacht is a wholesome album that essentially feels pure - The synths don't seem out of place among the cold guitar tracks, the bass isn't "there" just because, and the drumming feels relevant and applied. 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Under the Moon We Are the Hunters
2. Transparent Tears from Saturnus
3. Black Waves of Thy Winter
4. My Sideral Journey
5. The Howling Wind Whispers My Destiny
6. Mother Night, Eternal Labyrinth
7. Der Nacht (Your World is Covered by Lies)

Listen for yourself on Bandcamp
Like them on Facebook
Visit the label

Subscale - The Last Submission [Full length] (2013, Geenger Records)

Reviewing something like Subscale is a troublesome undertaking. For a lover of the old school and loather of mindless modernity, an album like The Last Submission from a band that has in such a degree soaked up all the clichés and trends of the last 15 years of mainstream metal and hardcore is an unwelcome nostalgia trip to the distant lands of Korn, Slipknot, Killswitch Engage and so on. In 2010 Subscale was formed in Croatia with the first release, the EP "Fictional Constructs", being released in 2012. It wasn't long before the debut album, The Last Submission, was released, with a lineup counting seven people.

The style Subscale represent is computerized nu-metal-core for and from a definite digital age. The project is plentifully staffed, aimed at joining the most heavy, groove-laden elements of nu metal, djent, metalcore and other contemporary genres in one release uninterested in innovation and deviation. Borrowing several factors from especially a North American style, their sound is dense and core-fueled throughout the long-winded album, with each song sprinkled with pleasingly melodic choruses. Despite the apparent abundance of band members the compositions don't sound cluttered, which either speaks of the skills of the sound engineer or the complete redundancy of having so many people in one band.

The Last Submission is heavy-handed and grooving, but at the same time immensely unattractive, inoffensive and thuggish. I mentioned the melodic choruses in an earlier paragraph, which is what carries the band's mainstream appeal, but this is where the pleasantries end. Though the ensemble obviously have great control over the arts of open-stringed chugging riffs (though "riffs" seems a poor term under these circumstances), this recipe gets old fast. With little variation like tight melodies, breaks or anything, it's hard to distinguish between songs were it not for the blandly clean vocal melodies which each and every chorus section has.

Subscale's debut, though neatly produced and well-executed, seems like an unnecessary collection of modern clichés. Despite attempts to keep a high level of energy throughout the album, the amount of investment both the band and the listener can muster half-way through seems to be radically decreasing. The completely interchangable riffs and vocal parts aren't enough to decisively make it worth the chore it is to endure the extended, mindlessly pumping chugs that make up the majority of the material on Subscale's album. Where the band's peers, who have a tight grip on the younger mainstream audience, all have their trademark values, Subscale doesn't amount to set itself apart from the hordes of similar bands that came out 5 or 10 years ago, even if The Last Submission is a wholesome experiment in hte blandness of deep-string chugging. I suspect some people will think this is one of the greatest albums of all time, but I am not one of those people. 5/10 for effort.

Tracklist:
1. Interception
2. Fictional Constructs
3. Antecedent
4. Method and Manner
5. Pull the Threads (Extraction)
6. Realization
7. Outreach
8. The Verdict
9. The Last Submission
10. Endgame

Visit Subscale on Facebook
Visit Subscale on Soundcloud
Visit Geenger Records

Despot - Satan in the Death Row [Full length] (2013, Self-released)

The South American continent has long been one of the big players in extreme metal, and bands like Sarcófago and Sepultura are household names in metal today. Picking up the mantle in 2008 is B.A.V., formerly of Necrocult and Unholy Massacre, when he created Despot, a militantly crude black metal project through which he released 3 demos until laying the finishing touches upon his biggest opus yet, Satan in the Death Row.

Right off the bat Despot and the associated album Satan in the Death Row gives off a somewhat schizophrenic vibe with the colourful and vibrant cover art leading the thoughts more toward hipster-indie stuff rather than the savage black metal tunes that inhabit the disc. The intro track, too, supports the notion that Satan in the Death Row is an effort quite dissimilar to the traditional approach many bands take, its electronic ambience sounding more akin to certain European pioneers. But at the very core of it all is the raw bulk of black metal coarseness, a more obvious product of Despot's national ancestry. And like many of the Despot's South American predecessors the music itself - the riffing in particular - has an inherent tinge of thrash metal, turning songs like Purified by Fire into relentless Sodom-esque tunes.

The weirdness and ambiguity of Satan in the Death Row doesn't end with the perculiar choice of artwork or the ambient intro. The beginning of the album's eponymous track also feels a bit out of place along with the same track's oddly melodic solo and the epic aftermath of same, and the closing track of the album neatly ends the experience in much the same way as it began. Fact of the matter is that all these elements serve to subtract from the often cheesy sense of self-worth and arrogance inherent to some black metal acts. The commanding beats of the programmed drums to which B.A.V. plays his militaristic riffs and rasps his belligerent lyrics grants Despot's music a militant and vigorous sound, and the marching habit of his compositions could well have devolved into mediocrity.

Not knowing Despot's previous demo work it's hard to say for sure, but Satan in the Death Row feels like an ambitious endeavor. The riffs aren't too shabby but often feel lost in a hostile environment of ferocious drum machines where the strings don't quite come into their own. Classical elements and computerized choires lend a certain amount of melody to the mix, which in turn once in a while makes it harder to discern individual elements. Not always does the compositions follow the tide of battle, but it can generally be said that the 9 tracks on Despot's debut album present a different take on modern, South American black metal. 6/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Introduction: Divination
2. Matriarch
3. Auto-da-Fé
4. Purified by Fire
5. Satan in the Death Row
6. Forbidden
7. Le Roi Nu
8. Egregious
9. Outro

Visit Despot's official Facebook
Listen on Bandcamp where the album is also available as pay-what-you-want