Nyarlathotep - The End is Always Near [EP] (2008, Self-released)

Like drugs doom metal require a certain setting and mindset to be most effectful in terms of musical enjoyment. Doom metal and all its subgenres to me are some of the most atmosphere-creating subgenres of metal and so the things that the music brings to life in my mind are very important when I listen to it. I found that the American black/doom metal band Nyarlathotep, while their name isn't exactly the most original, brought to life visions of dusty, desolate and dystopic wastes thick with the scent of impending doom and coming apocalypse.

Black/doom metal and funeral doom metal isn't well known for huge attention to detail or variation, so it may seem a bit nit-pickey to say that I found "The End is Always Near" to be a bit uneventful and unoriginal. A pitfall that many bands in this genre fail to avoid is the tendency to more or less sleepwalk through songs, and my first impression with Nyarlathotep was that they were such a band, but upon further listening I found their music to actually be pretty fascinating and enthralling. Never judge a book by its cover, I suppose.

I had prepared myself to write that Nyarlathotep's music didn't have a very good atmosphere compared to how much the genres relies on just that, but the gritty, fuzz-driven cacophony that make up the bulk of their EP has a certain claustrophobic effect rather befitting of the lovecraftian name. The droning instrumentation and void-like vocals really come together and form the very sound of the apocalypse.

I was originally content on giving Nyarlathotep's EP a 6/10 guitars, but I have actually grown to enjoy the sublime slices of dementia that make up The End is Always Near to such an extent that I have decided to give the EP 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Rivers of Blood
2. The End is Always Near
3. Through the Gates of the Silver Key
4. Waiting for the Sun (The Doors Cover)

NYARLATHOTEP official myspace

Take my word for it or listen for yourself. You can download the EP free of charge on the band's bandcamp profile right HERE

Agga - Agga [Full length] (2008, Self-released)

Folk legends and traditional mythology of old, be it Celtic, Norse, Medieval or other, has been featured as musical inspiration and lyrical subjects in metal bands for a long time, dating back to the early releases of bands like Cruachan, Skyclad, Bathory and Subway to Sally. In more recent times the incorporation of mesopotamian, oriental, egyptian and mediterranean elements have seen the light of day with bands like Nile, Melechesh and Orphaned Land on the forefront of these glorifiers of the ancient days of the cradle of the Earth.

En Eabatu, the Lord of Babylon and the sole member of AGGA, is one such person. With lyrics firmly rooted in Babylonian and Sumerian mythology aswell as Lovecraftian lore and music in the genre of black metal with an absolute and dominant twist of ancient-sounding folk music, Agga is a phenomenal example of the fact that you don't have to follow tradition in music. En Eabatu has labeled Agga as "mystical metal", and I find this to be a very exact description as this 7 track album indeed has a huge emphasis on the mystical atmosphere. When listening to Agga I find myself imagining a dark, ancient mediterranean city.

It's obvious to the listener that Agga's main strength lies in the incorporation of this dark, ancient ambience in the otherwise standard black metal sound with incredibly catchy and atmospheric riffs aswell as catchy choruses. The overall feel goes great with the metal elements and the vocals which are mostly a mix between black and death vocals. The structure and flow of the individual tracks also help contribute to the overall feel that it's obvious Agga has gone for.

Overall I feel you could say that this debut album from 2008 exhibits an extrordinary sense for atmosphere. The only thing dragging the self-titled release down is dodgily mastered guitars and a final track that is definitely below par. Other than that: 8/10

Tracklist:
1. Dance of the Fire Serpent
2. The Lord of Babylon
3. Desert Death Winds
4. The Calling
5. Neo Sumerian
6. The Rise of Gibil
7. Out of the Cold Desert

Agga - Agga is available for free download HERE
Visit AGGA on Facebook

Brainerd - Brainerd / The Goat [Full length] (2008, Zodiac Killer Records)

America is, given it's size, a country that houses a throng of obscure but great bands of all genres. Brainerd is one such band, and armed with a dirty garage-sound, smashing, memorable riffs and gruff vocals they're poised to take on any heavy groove-oriented metal band out there.

Their style could probably best be described as a ghastly hybrid between Entombed, Metallica and just a little pinch of hard rock and punk. One thing is certain: They play some filthy music, and they do it magnificently. The structures aren't what you've come to expect from modern metal bands - Instead they're different and the material features a fresh take on riffing in mid-to-slow-paced metal. Straightforwardness is a key word with Brainerd's debut and to say it's boring because it doesn't feature neckbreaking drums and fast gutiar play would be plain wrong. There are so many facets and aspects of this 9-track album that to describe them all here would be folly. A little piece of psychedelia here, some doom metal there, some esoterical babble over yonder, it's all there.

Simplicity is, quite paradoxically, a complicated thing. Make it too simple and it's boring and has too little variation. Make it too intricate and it becomes a complicated mess of utter chaos. Bands like Motörhead and to some extent AC/DC have mastered the fine art of balancing music so it becomes simple yet fantastic. Brainerd has achieved something akin to that of the previously mentioned bands - Making music just simple enough to be easily memorable but still fitting it with lots of surprises.

Generally speaking the self-titled album has everything a release in that genre needs. Thick with catchy vocals and guitars, simple songwriting and a perfect length for you to be entertained and never get bored, Brainerd can get nothing other than 9/10 guitars.

Tracklist:

1. Dracula Marine

2. Demon in the Night

3. Blood Money

4. Powerlines

5. Devil Star

6. All Night Party

7. Love Convulsion

8. Mud

9. Hurt in a Skirt

Visit Brainerd on Myspace

Denyall - Dehumanized [Demo] (2008, Self-released)

The last decade symphonic and gothic metal has prospered immensly with bands like Nightwish, Evanescence, Within Temptation, Epica and Sirenia making their way to the scene. This wave of female-fronted pseudo-gothic bands have spawned hundreds of bands that try to copy their sound.

Denyall is a band that, at first glimps, could just be another one of these bland diva bands. While their songtitels certainly imply so, even at first listen it is clear that they're doing it somewhat differently. Bands lik Within Temptation and Nightwish have a rather melancholic and melodramatic sound to them, but Denyall seems more haunting and full of dispair. The cover features a blackhaired girl sitting in a corner of a bland room in what looks like a straitjacket.

What really makes Denyall stand out from the veritable hordes of diva bands is the utilizing of growls. The vocals can suddenly go from regular clean singing to growling, not unlike that of Battlelore, which is probably the band this also Finnish sextet has most in common with.

For a demo the production is better than one would expect, and even though it contains just 3 songs for a total playtime of 11 minutes and 46 seconds, all these songs are very well-composed and nicely put together. The tracks all fit together perfectly without any major deviation from the overall style, yet it doesn't become stale and uncreative. They utilize a minimal amount of keyboards, thusly not falling into the pit of overly keyboard-dominated symphonic metal like so many others. The guitars actually play some memorable riffs once in a while but still maintain a certain level of heaviness. The variation in the vocals is probably the band's main selling point for me though.

Denyall represents the fact that not all symphonic/gothic bands are talentless hacks. This 3 song demo is filled with great song structures and well thought through tracks. Normally I wouldn't even consider listening to symphonic metal, especially not female-fronted ones. These bands tend to all sound the fucking same, but Denyall manages to steer away from the typical concepts of what is gothic metal.

That being said the demo is a little short for my taste, and symphonic metal really isn't my type of thing. While Denyall - Dehumanized is somewhat different from most symphonic metal, it still is symphonic metal, which I feel is a tried out genre.

In spite of this, Dehumanized receives 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:

1. Dehumanized

2. Garden of the Condemned

3. Late

DENYALL on Mikseri.net