Altheria, Iron Kobra & Petrychor

August 15, 2010

CHRIS

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Altheria - Brainsexxx

Estonia’s melodic death outfit known as Altheria is attempting to put its small country on the metal map. Until recently the only popular band to come out of the country is the all-girl pop/rock band Vanilla Ninja, a surprisingly good band in itself, but I digress. What we have here is good modern death/thrash without pretense or trend.

Brainsexxx is four tracks of above-board thrash/death that shows significant promise with its punishing drums blasts and well-constructed guitar riffs and some vocals that are very typically death-like, but work well here in this mix. The music seems to change itself periodically through the tracks, providing some diversity and showing some effort. As far as what we have oozing like an infection from the malls in America, Altheria is a bright step up the music chain with its brand of melodic death that doesn’t rely on recycled riffs from crap like Black Dahlia Murder with vocals that go clean and ruin the feel of what it means to be true ‘melodic death’.

All four songs showcase some real believability in the music, so check them out. I think they’ll move forward with some polishing and new tracks.

Petrychor - Dryad

Release Date: February 12, 2010
Band Self Released

TRACK LISTING:
1. Dryad (I Make My Home) 2. Gamma Leonis 3. ...of Salt and Sky           -    Total playing time: 23:12

The United States is dipping, ever carefully, its wayward foot into the black/ambient section of heavy metal. I’ve always had careful trepidation when it comes to this style being attempted by American bands; what could we possibly know about the cold, darkness that is Scandinavia? After all, when you think of Burzum or Sweden’s Lustre along with some of the other bands of the genre they pretty much carve a musical vision out of their environment that is, quite literally, foreign to us. There are exceptions, however, in way of Agalloch and up-and-comers Embers (Oakland) and Oskoreien (Los Angeles), but these are glorious exceptions.

I’m sensing a Californian trend here, as lone-man project Petrychor hails from the far west as well, offering a folk-styled ambient effort of three tracks that are steeped in atmosphere (“Dryad”) and as timid as a slow-moving brook in a nature preserve (“…of Salt and Sky”).  What is most interesting about Petrychor is that the music isn’t droning, going on and on in a loop until you’re ready to rip out your eardrums. Rather, the music is a lesson in emotional diligence and exceptional crafting in its infancy. With variations as subtle as a slow summer walk or chaotic like an Oklahoma thunderstorm, Dryad is a twenty-minute entry into the full spectrum of emotions, both wildly erratic and serenely passive. The acoustical passages are not only vibrant, but perfectly placed without mucking up the waters for the sake of difference.

This is, in layman’s terms, good stuff, people.

Iron Kobra - The Cult of the Snake

Release Date:  April 11, 2009
Band Self Released

TRACK LISTING:
1.  Speedbiker  2.  Fists Of Fury  3.  Rocket Raiders  4.  Valhalla Rock  5.  Ronin      -    Total playing time: 18:38

Iron Kobra’s German brand of traditional metal is right in line with the current re-emergence of the old-school metal emanating from the likes of Sweden and Germany. With it’s the Cult of the Snake demo making the rounds Iron Kobra is, in all senses of the phrase, a throwback to what once was. Saxon hyped up on something might be a good description for the Iron Kobra sound, though the complete might of Saxon is a far cry at this point.

I must admit “Speedbiker” left much to be desired with its Saxon-like motorcycle revving in the beginning and somewhat uneven vocal delivery, but once the “Fists of Fury” kicked in it made me want to watch my Bruce Lee DVD’s in succession. There are five fine songs here that might do well with a bit more polishing. I will admit to the lyrical content being somewhat rudimentary and quite literally obligatory with songs about blasting off on rockets and racing motorcycles, but it’s at least decent enough to want to keep an eye on them for future projects. The vocal delivery is drenched in the German accented tone that makes Destruction and Sodom so much fun, but when vocalist Sir Serpent attempts the Schmier-like scream it falls somewhat short. Overall, these complaints are minor, if not important to note.

The band already has a new EP out called Iron Kobra Battlesword that is in the same vein as Cult, but one could certainly do much worse when seeking out a band of this genre.  

For a CD of The Cult of the Snake contact the band via their myspace page (click on link above).

TO THE TOP

Release Date:  May 11, 2010
Band Self Released

TRACK LISTING:
1.  Reptile Community  2.  I Am What I Am  3.  Brainsex  4.  Fill The Silence (bonus track)       -    Total playing time: 16:27

DOWNLOAD Brainsexxx FREE from the band's myspace page (click on link above).

DOWNLOAD Dryad FREE or pay what you want from the band's bandcamp page: http://petrychor.com/

DEMO ARCHIVE