Album Review: Dokken - Breaking The Chains

Dokken - Breaking The Chains

Elektra Records - 1983

8/10

Some argue that Dokken's first record dropped two years prior, but in the same way that Slipknot's Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. went from debut to demo, it's more or less easier to just regard Breakin' The Chains as a second demo beside Back In The Streets; the G makes all the difference, right? Properly, Breaking The Chains in 1983 would represent a far clearer idea not only of what was attempted the first time around, but would set a strong foundation of what Don Dokken and George Lynch would run with for the rest of the '80s. Moreover, it's one of those odd instances of something where I like every release in the "classic" era better, yet I find myself returning to it just as often.

We'll chalk this up to the fact that it's such an easy listen, bringing me to the overall point that it's about as "safe" as a metal album can be. Dokken would evolve into something more intricate with far more distinct nuances, but in a vacuum, Breaking The Chains simply fell into the sleazy pre-glam sound that dominated the scene in the early '80s (a great friend of mine calls this "VHS metal"). The general formula follows straightforward riffing with typical themes around partying, love, and life, topped off with warm clarity. Occasional falsetto belts and a beefy riff here and there add a dash of flavor, and the meat & potatoes approach lets things move together quite nicely, at least avoiding anything I'd call awkward.

Fortunately, a lot of the songs worked as what we'll call happy accidents. The opening title track may be the grand exception, as the ripping solo, catchy layered chorus, and ascending verses are pumped full of energy with more purpose than anything else on the album. Anything more that I love about this just happened to work nicely. "Nightrider" is the go-to example, driving with a stern rhythm that never lets up despite its less-than-exciting layout. Closer "Paris Is Burning" has loads of energy, utilizing drum kicks and healthier speeds meeting the gang chorus halfway, and "Seven Thunders" is a catchy pop-metal banger that I get stuck in my head quite regularly. Hell, I'll even throw some props towards "Stick To Your Guns" because of its bassy bridge and decent harmonies.

On the other hand, for every tune I'll hype up, there's one that could be skipped. I won't pretend "Felony" doesn't also get stuck in my head with its start/stop structure, but it's a on-the-nose nature and poorly aged lyrics don't help, which also goes for "Young Girls." Similarly, "I Can't See You" is held up structurally thanks to being an earworm, but there's almost no foundation beneath the surface. Others don't even get that much acknowledgement, as "In The Middle" is about as boring as it gets, and "Live To Rock (Rock To Live)" is a supreme let-down despite it's muscular charge.

If the previous paragraph is anything to go by, it may sound like I dislike Breaking The Chains, but despite its one-sidedness, I manage to find plenty of charm. It's a swift listen, showcasing promising foundation of what's to come, and not a single song is overtly bad. Some are just by-the-numbers sleaze-metal of the time that's serviceable enough, but can't distract from the obvious filler element. Similar to Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers, the quirks and chuckles keep me coming back, making it a record that's here to stay.

Album Review: GraveRipper - Seasons Dreaming Death

Graveripper - Seasons Dreaming Death
Wise Blood Records - 2023 8/10

With the new release hitting the scene, I felt it necessary to first revisit GraveRipper’s debut full-length record. Having followed the Indianapolis outfit since its earliest inception, it was neat to watch the demo years evolve into fruition. Therefore, it should be no surprise that Seasons Dreaming Death realizes the general vibe put forth before in a more complete format. No-nonsense thrash with a blackened veneer is what it's still about.

Interestingly, for a genre that typically favors the rough and gruff on its surface, GraveRipper have chosen a clearer direction. Cory's harsh vocals never glean clean for even a minute, yet almost all of them come through as crisp and comprehensible as possible. Complementing this are the same riff-salads that defined their sound on the demos, sticking to a pretty basic formula that's admittedly not unique but is equally difficult to mess up. Thankfully, a nice swift runtime allows this beast to start and end without overdoing anything, making its statement quite digestible.

Considering the bare-bones nature, Seasons Dreaming Death is better understood as a single-purpose approach that still has neat little nuances from time to time. "Divine Incantations" might be a favorite, as the bass ups its ante and the blackened overlay is more ferocious thanks to its blast beat-tremolo combo before returning to the thrash metal roots. The final two tracks "And I Curse Reality" and "Only Coldness" really lean hard into the blackmosphere, caking on even more of this for the majority of their runtimes. On the other hand, there's some fun to the direct but effective method. A slower lead with chugging rhythms running to the solo in "Red Skies" comes in nice and hot, and I love the straightforward nature of the monotoned punch in "Premeditated."

A word I'd use to describe the general idea here is "safe." It would be dishonest to treat this outfit's first record as groundbreaking in any way, but its also exactly what I look for in a black/thrash debut. They're very clearly onto something by this point, the songwriting is competent and clear, and there's a desire to perhaps pack in darker artillery if the closing songs are anything to go by. Anybody looking for the fast and furious attitude under a grainy blanket should seek this out.

Album Review: Vindicator - The Antique Witcheries

Vindicator - The Antique Witcheries

Heavy Artillery Records - 2010

9/10

Two years following Vindicator's thrashy, trashy, but impressively catchy debut album titled There Will Be Blood, the Ohio outfit returned for a follow-up in the same vein showcasing early evolution. No hard deviations from the rough and gruff thrash under a youthful scope were present, but an obvious reigning-in of the chaos and tightening-down of the writing was present. Thus, The Antique Witcheries strikes the iron at that sweet spot where production has that organic grit with song structures that aren't quite as simplistic. I may be a fan of the latter fun, but that direction has a shelf life about as long as milk.

Such a description might make someone predict something leaning into over-sophistication, but Vindicator's attitude dodges that and continues aiming for a no-bullshit punch. As controversial as it sounds, this is Marshall Law's best vocal performance to date, trading some of the harsher shrieks and blitzing energy for a raspy but concise flow, touching the right amount of melody. Moreover, rhythmic integrity takes a step up in the riff department, mixing more intricate breaks into otherwise straightforward structures, and the solos are in no short supply either. Even the drums have an echoed tint that add a little personality, but not overdone to the point that it sounds like it belongs on a demo.

And as immaculately as The Antique Witcheries is pulled off as a complete package, I really appreciate the amount of nuances found from song to song. "Sewn To The Flesh" is a bass-heavy banger that utilizes steady power-stance bridges under vocals that use monotone to their advantage, while opener "Beneath The Guillotine" reveals the band's ability to morph their violent nature into something catchy from start to finish. "Raze The Dead" showcases strengths in obvious zombified themes under a suspenseful scope that bakes crushing riffs and crawling bass lines into the formula. I may even point out some hardcore influences in its little breakdown that precedes some of Vic Stown's strongest leads seeing us out.

Even the speed-heavy blazers leave a sharp impression, like the explosive "Fearmonger" that still packs in layer after layer of aggression. You'll get whiffs of the hectic fun from before in the form of "Quarry Rats," a goofy but impressionable number, and the title track's gang chants following several directions fit all of this very nicely. Hell, there are even early signs of the political and reality struggles that would come with Vindicator's evolution in the likes of "Communal Decay," which doesn't feel out of place with the slime and grime. It's like a reminder that the energy of the first round isn't gone, but simply evolved to fit into a new mold. What matters most is that nothing feels forced, and the different nuances in the band's evolution mesh together with the established attitude, avoiding awkward transition. 

Given my direct insight on the band's history, I find it insane that Mr. Law doesn't particularly care for his performance on this. Maybe it's a happy accident, maybe it's another one of my personal sympathies a la Exodus's Force Of Habit, but I find the sophomore record to be their most essential work. No shade at the other albums, as it's all got its own charm, but it's tough for a throwback thrash act to really feel unique. If they nailed a distinct identity on any record, this is the one.

Album Review: Silencer - Death, Pierce Me

Silencer - Death, Pierce Me

Prophecy Productions - 2001

2.5/10

For about as long as I've been familiar with Silencer's existence, they have basically been a meme to me, nothing more. As much as I shat on it, and laughed at the hilarious vocals, as well as the ridiculous lore behind front man Nattramn's uh, backstory, it occurred to me that I never sat and properly listened to the entire record from front to back. The lone full-length titled Death, Pierce Me seems to have spearheaded what would become known as "depressive black metal," something I basically ignore outside of two Ghost Bath records. For nothing else, I guess the Swedish project's historical significance has to mean... something? A quick search did show the genre existing a few years prior to this, but I can't say I recognized a single name.

On paper, Death, Pierce Me isn't structurally too different than the Norwegian, second-wave format. Long, atmosphere-heavy songs carry roughly fifty minutes worth of music in the form of only six tracks. A grim and cool atmosphere is established, degrading the riffs into a coarse but comprehensive soundscape meant to enhance the heavy backbone, while leaving a bleak impression on the occasional soft parts. Acoustic guitars with the help of synth layers will spruce up both sides here and there for extra toppings, and cleaner electric guitars tend to weld it all together. For the most part, you wouldn't expect this to be much different than the typical Emperor or Mayhem album. Except...

We'll cover the infamous part next, that being the horrendous cry/squeal vocals. Obviously this is somewhat common for the sub-sub-genre at hand, but Silencer's brand seems to do absolutely nothing to add even the slightest hint of desirability. There is the occasional blackened shriek that fits far more into the blackmosphere such as in the bulk of "Sterile Nails and Thunderbowels," but as soon as you're about to take a shred of this seriously, the softer back of the song ruins that. Laughable wimpers that sound like an awful Yoda impression mixed with a distraught toddler's tantrum overtake a window of softer passages that work as a break from the harsher sections. Once the momentum picks back up, on come the crying wails that ruin any sense of decent riff writing behind them. It could potentially be easier to overlook if the vocals were at least toned down, layered back, or just less ambitious as a whole (see Ghost Bath's Moonlover), but that must be asking too much. For some reason, "I Shall Lead, You Shall Follow" randomly drops to demo-level quality, with the roughness somehow making these features even worse, not better.

All of that does also beg the question; is the music itself any good? The answer is really just a simple "I guess?". For the most part, the rhythms are about as black metal by the numbers as the atmosphere and general vibe establish up front. There are a few notable moments, like the bassy rumble that introduces "Taklamakan" before breaking into explosive drum blasts accompanying tremolos, but even this is later ruined with what sounds like hiccup/gargling shrieks of pain. You can find your occasional guitar or keyboard melodies that work decently enough. The opening licks on the album's title track are intriguing (at first), and the closing piano instrumental "Feeble Are You, Sons Of Sion" is probably the best three minute streak on the album. Cool, we'll throw Nattramn a few points for all of this, even if it takes also sifting through the eleven minute snoozefest called "The Slow Kill In The Cold" to find nothing of note.

Even with these areas worth at least acknowledging, I wouldn't call this anything resembling good music, even ignoring the vocals. They're obviously the worst part, but ultimately they just make a boring album far worse, and any good comes with bad tenfold. If you took the formula of In The Nightside Eclipse (an album I find overrated as is), cheapened everything about it, threw horrendous vocals to the top, and made the themes depressing and suicidal, you'd have this record. Even its presentation of such depressing themes is laughable and impossible to take seriously, sounding as if it was conjured up by a middle-schooler who's parents just don't understand. Each layer peeled back reveals something worse than its shell, and I can't really call Silencer's one full-length album anything short of a fifty-minute, cringe, pile of shit. I hope creating this helped the mastermind's mental situation, because it made mine worse.

Album Review: Malokarpatan - Krupinske Ohne

Malokarpatan - Krupinske Ohne

Invictus Productions - 2020

8/10 Back in the cold, dark days of quarantining, a Slovakian outfit known as Malokarpatan came across my radar in my endless desire to find music to distract me. In a time where extreme metal was becoming more and more favorable to yours truly, odd hybrids such as this band piqued my interest. One might give them that odd "blackened heavy metal" title that simply means traditional metal with a blackened overlay, but my experience see's it as more of the reverse. With a few albums under their belt, the third one titled Krupinske Ohne is the one that still leaves an impression on me.

More than just a niche style, Malokarpatan's identity lies heavily in the Slovakian historical lore. Not that I could understand a word of it, but the cultural significance seeps into every riff and every passage in a way that makes Krupinske Ohne work better as one massive experience, especially since its nearly fifty minute runtime is packed into only five tracks. All over the place lies softer acoustic licks, haunting synths, fun keyboard tangents, and a tampering with instrumentation meant to invoke a medieval or even ancient feel. It may not be super uncommon for this to work for a transition from time to time, but more than that, this is crafted into the very fabric of the music to achieve such unique flavors.

Behind all of this still lies an insane amount of heavy riffwork that errs on the darker side of the genre, working in blastbeats for the more intense atmospheric build, all the while sneaking in plenty of melody. For how smoothly all of this moves about, it becomes understandable why so much time was needed to really land its impression. It also wouldn't be wrong to point out a heavy doom metal influence, one that avoids anything drone-like or over-the-top, favoring the slow traditional riffs delivered in a dense fashion. More often than not, this precedes the explosive, blackened tropes to round itself out with a progressive feel that retains the folky flavors nicely enough.

With all of this, I may even appreciate the sections that simply cool off all of the layers and simmer into an almost jam-friendly heavy metal lick, such as the majority of "Ze semena viselcuov čarovný koren povstáva" with it's Iron Maiden-esque gallops. The howl/growl snarl that the vocalist employs fits just as nicely for these sections as it does to the more monstrous sections, likely being all part of why this meshes together so nicely. I'd be lying if I said at times things didn't get the littlest bit overwhelming, but this is why I love these straightforward breaks. A very specific mood is definitely needed for black metal of such titanic proportions, but not for the reasons most would attribute to black metal.

EP Review: 구룡 - 백두의 소환

구룡 - 백두의 소환
Self Released - 2025
7/10

Because if someone's gonna review this, it should be me, right? 구룡 (pronounced Kuryong) is a black metal act claiming to be from North Korea, from the special administrative district known as Rason. 백두의 소환 (Invocation Of Baektu) is their debut EP, dropping just a few days ago, centering around themes of the enigmatic nation and the DPRK's state ideology known as Juche (a unique Korean interpretation of Marxism-Leninism) played in a rough and raw black metal style. "Baektu" is actually a mountain held sacred by Koreans in the north that borders Chinese Manchuria along the Yalu, adding some authenticity to the themes. Obviously, bands have swung gimmicks for traction in the past, so perhaps it's tough to know how legit this is, but until I'm proven otherwise, I'll be assuming that this is the actual first metal release to come from the nation.

All of this aside, 백두의 소환 is a neat little EP of only nine minutes consisting of fairly typical black metal in the rougher sense, reflecting the second-wave Norwegian sound heavily. Despite the grainy textures, things sound rather focused, breathing clarity in terms of compelling riffs and competent structures. Three songs make up our short experience. The first track may actually be the harshest one, being a short blast of degraded rhythms casting an explosive soundscape before slowing the pace. Track two brings on some serious Emperor vibes, building itself off a foundation that nearly mirrors "I Am The Black Wizards," with some of the clearest vocals that maybe I'd be able to understand if I knew Korean? The way this one works in the slower centers transitioning into the tremolos is pretty impressive, and the clean/whisper section doesn't feel out of place at all. The third and final track focuses its energy mostly on explosive drum blasts and even hotter speeds, reflecting the first track a bit to tie things off in the form of an instrumental.

Below the surface, 구룡 crafts a pretty compelling black metal sound that I wouldn't really call anything special, being rather typical of this stage for its genre, but pleasing enough. There are certainly worse ways to spend nine minutes. As far as its legitimacy, it's certainly possible, considering it's easier for Koreans up north to access western media than absurd headlines would have you believe, especially knowing the region it claims to come from. Time will obviously tell, the way it did for Ghost Bath, but until then, I'm believing this to be a state-sanctioned outfit from the Tumen River's Korean port city.

$Chosŏ$