Albums Round-Up (November 2019)

As the year begins to draw to a close, the obvious fact is that there are far fewer albums to review, across the board. This means that this month's round-up will be a bit of a short one. Add to this the fact that there  has been some technical/logistical issues that have plagued RWEI over the last few weeks and... yikes... The next few weeks will be more productive, for sure! Speaking of which, you can keep an eye out for some catch-up content and end of the year fun stuff for the even sparser month of December. It will be well worth the wait! 

Back to November's releases for now though, we start in slightly gentler territories before things get really heavy... Enjoy!

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1) Highly Suspect 

MCID (1st November)

Atlantic

WORDS: Joanne Gray

In a world where 'radio rock' has become a bit of a byword for overly polished, vapid and stale music that has no real sense of feeling to it, Highly Suspect felt like a breath of fresh air when they entered the scene with 2015's Mister Asylum. Melding a bluesy garage rock sound and energetic, soulful vocal delivery with a sense of musical rawness and openly introspective lyricism, the band's musical ambitions were evident. This was only expanded upon in 2016's The Boy Who Died Wolf, where elements of desert and progressive rock, hip hop, electronica and some soulful piano balladry were sprinkled on top of this appealing foundation.

It is perhaps not surprising that the band therefore continue to broaden their palette with this third release then. What is surprising is the sheer extent that the band appear to want to be divisive within this album though. Following proclamations from the band's frontman Johnny Stevens that "The only thing I don't like is rock music" and "If we've alienated you, that's a good thing", MCID is more akin to a jumbled Spotify playlist or a mixtape than a coherent album. An interesting and novel idea within rock music, for sure. The only issue is that there's not much here that's all that good.

The hip-hop oriented songs here ('Fly', 'Tokyo Ghoul', 'The Silk Road') showcase Stevens' rap alter ego "Terrible Johnny" to various degrees. Sadly this moniker is an appropriate one. The rapping in these different iterations here is clunky and uninspired at best, and downright embarrassing at worst. Just look up some of the lyrics if you must. '16' and 'Freakstreet' in comparison, are clear attempts to capture the mainstream with a very safe sort of electronic led Imagine Dragons sound that a more soulful vocal delivery can't save here. Equally lifeless, and even more boring are the electronic instrumental tracks 'Tetsuo's Bike' and 'Juzo' which really do feel like they contribute nothing to the overall feel of the album but rather just add minutes on to the album which didn't need to be there. 

Marginally better are the alt-grunge rock tunes 'Canal' and 'Upperdrugs', which offer something a bit more familiar to the ears while taking things to slightly darker lyrical and musical territories. But it is definitely not a case that all of the 'rockier' tunes are good. '@tddybear' featuring Nothing But Thieves and 'SOS' featuring Gojira (yes, you read that right) are two of the oddest, most disjointed features I've heard in a long time. Particularly the latter track which sees the French metallers appear briefly to open and close the track while their presence is quickly swept aside for the rest of the more upbeat track. Bizarre.

These two features, alongside the utterly pointless inclusions of ambient instrumental tracks, really point to the overwhelming issue that presents itself in MCID. It tries to cover way too much, without ever really mastering anything it tries its hand at. On paper, the jumps between musical genres should make this an interesting and engaging album. But the poor quality of the songwriting, the lack of urgency and sense of theme really do make this album feel far longer than it is. Now it doesn't help that the album starts to feel like it should finish when we get to the latter third of the album. In particular, the 3 song run of 'Taking Off', 'These Days', and 'Snow White' sounds like the band have ran out of enthusiasm and ultimately fail to bring together any real memorable or original hooks of their own. So by the time we get to the last instrumental closing track 'Nairobi', the album has nearly reached the hour mark, and it certainly feels like every single one of those minutes. And then some. 

Taking this album into consideration as a whole, it does very much feel like MCID attempts to tap into as many contemporary genres as it physically possible within the band's means. It is always great to see bands experiment and try new things, but I can't help but feel cynical about Highly Suspect doing this when the results are so painfully sub-standard. I can't honestly imagine that many music fans outside of rock circles will particularly embrace this on a deep level, and I don't believe that the majority of rock fans will take too kindly to the lack of attention or care given to the genre either. A very disappointing album from a band that have been shown to be capable of real creativity within the rock circles they find themselves in.  

Tracks to check out: 'Canals', 'Upperdrugs'

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2) Stray From The Path 

Internal Atomics (1st November)

UNFD

WORDS: Joanne Gray

Two years ago, the New York-based Stray From The Path managed to become a talking point within unexpected circles due to the overtly political nature of Only Death Is Real. The confrontational ‘Goodnight Alt-Right’ in particular represented the album’s sledgehammer like attack on the current American administration in a manner which attracted the ire of the very people it criticised. That album saw the band take the groovy Rage Against The Machine-meets-NY-hardcore sound they had been developing for the last two albums to its extreme. Great for those Tom Morello enthusiasts out there, but perhaps not for fans of more aggressive hardcore.

In a move which would please the latter group of people then, SFTP’s ninth album takes a different musical and lyrical approach to the last two outings. Opening with ‘Ring Leader’s repeating distorted voiceover of: “Thinking like everyone else is not really thinking”, the album makes a statement about its wider lyrical narrative from the get-go. As the instrumentation of the drums and low end guitars slowly filter in to give a rather dense and ominous tone, vocalist Drew York spits out his distinctive throat shredding yelps to complete the image of a band which is more incensed at the state of the world than ever. Gone here are the rather fun bouncing riffs and squeals in favour of an utterly punishing and threateningly aggressive metallic attack that is more akin to scene leaders Code Orange and Knocked Loose. 

And this unenclosed sense of rage then continues to batter your eardrums through the rest of this conventionally short half hour album. Even the most ‘accessible’ songs here, such as the catchy ‘Kickback’ and ’Fortune Teller’ have anvil heavy musical delivery that really stop you in your tracks. And the groovier offerings here, such as‘Something in the Water’ and ‘Second Death’ have a more punchy and brutal tone that makes them feel rather distinct from anything from the previous album (even if the latter track does sound eerily similar to Cancer Bat’s ‘R.A.T.S.’ in more ways than one...). This heaviness is highlighted most within the track ‘Double Down’, where Kublai  Khan's Matt Honeycutt and his gruffer guttural vocals play off well against Yorke’s higher shrieks.‘The First Will Be Last’ and ‘Holding Cells for the Living Hell’ on the other hand, inject a level of speed and intensity that hasn’t been seen since the band’s early metalcore days. The latter song in particular presents a more personal and emotionally resonant narrative which describes the struggles Yorke has had with his mother’s mental health problems.

It is in this intersection between the personal and the political that gives this album the punch and emotional resonance it is clearly setting out to achieve as well. ‘Beneath The Surface’ presents a snapshot of inequality and prejudices that present themselves in modern day America in a particularly affecting manner.‘Second Death’ hammers down on religious child abuse scandals. ‘Something in the Water’ criticises a media fuelled cycle of war and violence. And so on, and so on. Underneath all of this powerful lyricism then is the sense that Stray From The Path are really pissed about the state of the world. But there is a sense of resistance and hope which can't help but rear its head towards the end of the album. The short burst where Yorke emboldens the audience to "change the world" through 'Actions Not Words' really makes Internal Atomics feel even more like a vital call to arms for social justice and acts as a perfect end to the album.

Whereas Only Death is Real felt like an in the moment spurt of rage then, Internal Atomics is somehow more methodical, broad and crushingly impactful. Although this album took a while to really get its claws into me compared to its more instantly accessible predecessor, Internal Atomics has gotten better and better for me the longer I have delved into its topics and intensity. While this album probably won’t reach the ears of the people it seeks to criticise in the same way the last album did (and there are a few tracks which aren’t quite as memorable as the ones mentioned above), it is nonetheless an incredibly vital and gratifying album to listen to as a form of motivation in the present day. 

This is a great album which I can only see myself liking more and more with each passing listen and I would recommend you check this out too. A great album to help get through such turbulent times. 

Tracks to check out: ‘Ring Leader’, ‘Kickback’, ‘Something in the Water’

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3) Turnover

Altogether (1st November)

Run For Cover Records

WORDS: Joanne Gray

From the outside looking in, the musical chronology of Virginia Beach's Turnover within the last 6 years really is pretty remarkable. The emo-tinged pop punk flavour of the band’s 2013 debut Magnolia moved into more alternative territory with the much lauded alt rock/dream-pop album Peripheral Vision. Continuing a trend which has followed the band since this album's follow up (2017’s more relaxed and floaty Good Nature), comes their fourth album Altogether.

The opening smooth trumpets of ‘Still in Motion’ let you know exactly what sort of album you’re going to get here, as the more chilled out vibe persists all the way through this record. There is a dreamy, blissed out sort of haze which floats around this album that is perfectly enunciated by the shimmering clean guitar lines and vocalist Austin Getz’ distinctive voice that manages to sound both laidback and loved-up at the same time (best seen here in the song‘Parties’). Except for the slight deviation in ‘Plant Sugar’s more bittersweet post-punk tinged bounce, Altogether never really moves outside the musical format it sets up for itself within the opening track. Jazzy guitar chords and progressions meet slightly funky bass grooves and RnB melodies all over this album. But it is the exceptionally clean tones and carefree nature of the songs which ensure that this album never feels like it’s vying for your attention.

And that really is the crux of Altogether. It is a total mood piece that tends to sit within the background of whatever you may be doing at the time of listening. For those who liked the band’s earlier work (particularly Peripheral Vision), this may be incredibly off-putting. But for me, the mood manages to evoke Sunday mornings in Brooklyn coffee shops; sunset Californian drives and hazy Chicago blues bars nights at various points in the record. It is really quite remarkable how vivid these mental images are for me here.

Maybe that’s why I have vibed with this album so much, as it really captures a particular feel and mood like few other releases I’ve heard this year. This is a very different sort of album for me, but I have found myself enjoying it more and more with each listen. I would thoroughly recommend checking this out if you just want a nice little album to accompany your moments of respite. Maybe it will just make you forget that it’s absolutely chucking it down with rain outside and that we're in such troubled times (not related to the above review at all)…

Tracks to check out: 'Still in Motion', 'Parties', 'Plant Sugar'

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4) Slayer

The Repentless Killogy (8th November)

Nuclear Blast

WORDS: Ross Donald

This will be a review of the album and not the movie. This Slayer show took place at the Los Angeles Forum on August 5th 2017. I did find this selection a bit weird as they’re currently on their final ever tour and I figured it would be more fitting to have one their sets from this year. But hey ho, it’s another Slayer release, so it was always gonna be fun regardless. Plus I have been lucky enough to have seen Slayer twice in the last year or so and this was a nice throwback to those great nights.

The album starts with what I consider to be one of the best intros to any metal show ever with ‘Delusions of Saviour’ ringing out across the venue. This is an excellent instrumental opening as it manages to be both atmospheric and headbang-worthy at the same time. With this then blasting right into ‘Repentless’, the title track (and arguably the best track) from their last album manages to whip the crowd into a frenzy and create a huge singalong with the big chorus. A wonderful start. 

Next up we have a bit of a rarer cut with ‘The Antichrist’: a nice little treat from debut album Show No Mercy. The band tends to go with tracks like ‘Black Magic’ or ‘Evil Has no Boundaries’ so it was nice for them to perform one of the lesser played tracks. And of course it’s played to perfection. I do have to say that I do like the production on the album as it makes you feel like you’re actually at the gig enjoying these legendary tracks, all the while you can still hear the band very clearly.

The band then give everyone in the audience and listening at home some whiplash with the next four tracks on the setlist: ‘Disciple’, ‘Postmortem’, ‘Hate Worldwide’ and ‘War Ensemble’. If you’re a Slayer fan then you’ll know what I mean when I say that I think the four horsemen of the apocalypse could be represented as these songs here. It is nice to finally have a recorded live version of ‘Disciple’ considering how popular the song has become, and hearing a whole crowd sing “God hates us all” makes me very happy. ‘War Ensemble’ is easily one of the album's highlights as it’s one of the few tracks on here that I think I actually prefer to the album version. It’s just so bombastic and really captures the essence of what Slayer really is. Hearing Tom Araya screaming “Waaaar!” at the top of his lungs will never cease to hype me up.

As well as having more popular cuts like the always eerie ‘Dead Skin Mask’ and ‘Mandatory Suicide’ for the next few tracks, there are another couple of songs from Repentless in ‘You Against You’ and ‘Cast the First Stone’. While these are good songs, they don't really feel like they fit amongst some of the greatest metal songs ever recorded. This is my only real issue with the album. I know it was kind of unavoidable given that the show was recorded in 2017 when they were promoting the album, but I just feel that it would have been nice to have soundtracked the band ending things by playing tracks from rarer albums. Replacing these 2 tracks with the likes of ‘Jihad’ or ‘Dittohead’ could have made this a perfect Slayer live record. I can't complain with their choice of ‘When the Stillness Comes’ though as it acts as a necessary break for your neck after ‘War Ensemble’ hits.

I still can’t get over how great the last six tracks are though. Just look at this: ‘Seasons in the Abyss’, ‘Hell Awaits’, ‘South of Heaven’,‘Raining Blood’, ‘Chemical Warfare’, and ‘Angel of Death’. Some of the biggest metal songs in history, and hearing them played one of the after the other just brings absolute joy to my ears. Like ‘War Ensemble’ before it, I do prefer the live version of ‘Hell Awaits’ here to the studio version. It just sounds like this was the way the song was meant to be heard. I don’t have much else to say about these final tracks. If you know them, you already know how fantastic they are, and the live versions totally do the legendary tracks justice. If you don’t find yourself headbanging on the intro to ‘Raining Blood’ then there’s something seriously wrong with you.

This feels like the easiest album to review because it’s just freaking Slayer, so it’s always going to be good, and this is pretty much as close to a greatest hits live show you’ll get. While I wish the tracklist could be have been slightly improved, it doesn’t take much away from a great release this is. All Slayer fans and general metalheads alike owe to themselves to check out immediately. Especially with the band’s time with us drawn to a close. The older tracks still sound amazing and it’s nice to hear tracks that we’ve never heard played on a live album before. All hail the mighty Slayer.

Tracks to check out: ‘Repentless’, ‘Disciple’, ‘War Ensemble’, ‘Hell Awaits’, ‘Raining Blood’, ‘Angel of Death’

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5) Blood Incantation

Hidden History of the Human Race (22nd November)

Century Media Records

WORDS: Ross Donald

I’ll admit that when November began and I was looking for albums to review, I hadn’t even heard of this one. But this was an album that seemed to crop up all over the place. Hell, the album hadn’t even been released and I’d already seen it top the best albums of the year and decade lists. I had to check this one out to see if it lived up to the hype.

For a bit of background, Blood Incantation are an American cosmic death metal band and this is the follow up to the well received debut Starspawn (which I’ll really need to listen to at some point). I did think that this was an EP at first as the album only features four tracks in total, but it does add up to a rather LP-esque length of 36 minutes. While I did question this at first, it ended up being a great design choice as it feels like more focus could go into each track to really perfect them. Normally when there’s only a few tracks, I can pick out the weaker ones. Here however, I wouldn’t be able to do that as each track brings something special to the experience.

'Slave Species of the Gods’ works as a perfect intro as it doesn’t go too experimental and is the closest the band gets to performing a standard death metal track. But it is able to hook the listener in with some excellent guitar riffs that leave you wanting more.‘The Giza Power Plant’ begins similarly before going in a more experimental route. Those eastern influenced sounds really do help to make a 7 minute track feel like it's only 4 minutes.‘Inner Paths (to Outer Space)’ is the only instrumental track here and you really get a sense of the more cosmic side of the band, as you feel like you’re floating around in space while listening. The final track is an 18 minute long track that is the biggest risk here. It could have derailed everything! Thankfully it's the most interesting track on here though and I’ve been able to listen to it around 10 times while always finding something new. The death metal elements never become boring as they’re split nicely with another cosmic instrumental section that sounds gorgeous. It’s rare I can listen to a track this long that isn't from Iron Maiden but this is an example of how to do it right.

This definitely lived up to the hype and more as this is easily one of the best albums of the year. With only 4 tracks on offer here, that’s pretty damn impressive. Like I said, I’ve already listened to this on multiple occasions and I keep finding more to enjoy. These guys are worth your time and attention.

Tracks to check out: All of them

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6) Cattle Decapitation

 Death Atlas (29th November) 

Metal Blade

WORDS: Ross Donald

“Present-time data, and temperature acceleration at the poles, as well as current weather patterns around the globe confirm the notion that we are already at the center of dramatic changes that will have a massive and devastating impact on agriculture over the next two decades. These escalating impacts will be disastrous to the livelihoods of the societies in which we live. Everyday behavior that we call our civilization will deteriorate. It is worrying that humanity has found itself in a situation of its own doing, where we debate the validity of the scientific analysis of our own near-term extinction. Annihilation is necessary” - ‘The Great Dying II’ 

Expect a lot of talk like that in this album. A LOT... 

Death Atlas is the eight studio album by deathgrind heavyweights Cattle Decapitation, and is an album I’ve been anticipating for a little while now. I only discovered the band a couple of months back. I bought a ticket for their Glasgow show, and from there I’ve quickly fallen in love with the band's previous work. Especially the last two excellent albums from their discography. They’ve always had something to say about the state of the world we live in. But with Death Atlas, they’re really not fucking around with their message this time. It’s kind of weird going from bands like Sacred Reich telling you that you’re perfect just the way you are to Cattle Decapitation telling you that you need to die along with the rest of the world.

After listening to the first few singles leading to the release of the full record, I was pretty damn hyped as it sounded as though this could be something special. However, I did brace myself as I’ve been disappointed after promising singles before. So did the rest of the release live up to the hype? In a word: absolutely.

The album begins with the 2 minute intro ‘Anthropogenic: End Transmission’, which appears to feature news reporters from different parts of the planet describing the end of the world. With some haunting music in the background, it really sets the tone for what’s about to come, all before we are then blasted into ‘The Geocide’ to really get us going. Armed with extra guitarist Belisario Dimuzio and new bassist Olivier Pinard, this is a track that really lets you know what you’re in for. It includes all the elements of a classic Cattle song, with some of the blast beat moments you would expect; all alongside those awesome almost goblin-like vocals hitting for a big chorus. There's an added level of atmosphere with the inclusion of backing music which makes it all feel like an end of the world event though. This shows a bit of evolution of the band that will is explored again towards the end of the album. This is a great intro track though, and you know when a song ends with the lyric “Fuck the future, fuck all mankind”, you’re in for some fun. 

‘Be Still Our Bleeding Hearts’ and ‘Vulturous’ keep the fun (end) times rolling as we’re further reminded that the world is screwed, newborns will one day be formed into awful people, corporations suck, and the "man" is a shit stain. And we’re only four tracks in. It’s here where we have one of the few interlude tracks,‘The Great Dying’ which is similar to the intro track, only with just one person warning of mass extinction. These interludes have been criticised by other reviewers in a similar fashion to Slipknot's interludes on We Are Not Your Kind. I believe they add something of value though. First off, a full album of over 50 minutes of sheer death metal can be a strain to listen to one after another sometimes and may leave no lasting impact. These interludes are perfectly placed for when you feel like you’re becoming bored of a similar sound, as it changes things up a bit as well as keeping the overall message of the album intact. In this case, they also give the album what feels like a 3 act structure where the first 2 acts build to a massive conclusion (we'll get to that soon).

After this first interlude, we are treated to the first 2 singles released from the album.‘One Day Closer to the End of the World’ begins with distorted guitar tones that you would expect to hear more from deathcore artists like Thy Art is Murder or Fit for an Autopsy. It makes for a nice change from what we’ve heard already. This is a brutal track that is circle pit ready, and even adds frontman Travis Ryan's now iconic goblin voice towards the end of track to really make it stand out. 

Following this is possibly my favourite track on the record,‘Bring Back the Plague’. It has so many layers and different sections to it that you really need to listen to it multiple times to take it all in. The chorus is fantastic and I love singing along to it every time it hits. The instrumental sections are fantastic and give me goosebumps as they blast on right after the softer chorus. This all then leads us to an outro that’s definitely inspired by slam metal with those gutteral vocals. Fantastic track. I kind of feel bad for ‘Absolute Destitute’ having to follow those 2 tracks though as it really has its work cut out for it. But thankfully it’s another suitably brutal track with yet another brilliant bridge that sees the goblin voice returning with its most sinister sound yet. All the while the band remind us that the human race is flying too close to the sun.

We have another interlude track, 'The Great Dying II’ which gives us a bit of a breather before moving onto ‘Finish Them'. This is the shortest musical track on the album at only 2:55 minutes long, but it's another banger of a track which gifts us with the line:“We skull fuck futures for our profits” (which I absolutely love). After one of the heavier tracks on the album ‘With All Disrespect’, we have ‘Time's Cruel Curtain’. This was my most anticipated track before release as the band played this live when I saw them and it just floored me with how good it was. I was gutted that I had to wait a month to hear it properly and was really hoping that it lived up to what I heard at the gig. Thankfully it does here. This is a very different track from what you would expect of the band because, while it still has it’s brutal moments, it almost has this feeling of sadness and melancholy (or even regret or guilt) for the state of the world at the moment. The chorus is gorgeous with the goblin voice used very effectively for a different kind of mood. Impressive stuff, and an album highlight for sure. 

The final interlude, ‘The Unerasable Past’ leads us nicely into the final track ‘Death Atlas’. After multiple listens, I’d have to say is easily the band’s magnum opus. The track is 9 minutes long but it never feels like a drag. The first 5 minutes sound like a classic Cattle track before the last few minutes really slow down and almost sound like something you would hear from a band like Swallow the Sun. It’s just haunting and really feels like the proper way to end an album like this.

Overall, I had high expectations for this album before its release, and I'm happy to say that these expectations were met and in some cases even exceeded. Quite frankly, this is Cattle Decapitation’s best album to date and the one by which all of their future albums will be judged. It’s filled with so many great tracks and paced incredibly well too, all the while sending out a message that’s bound to make you think. A 2019 highlight for sure.

Tracks to check out: ‘The Geocide’, ‘One Day Closer to the End of the World’, ‘Bring Back The Plague’, ‘Time’s Cruel Curtain’, ‘Death Atlas’

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Thanks to Ross for helping out with his reviews on this monthly round-up and thanks to you for checking it out! I hope you enjoyed our takes on the albums. Let us know what you think in the comments below or by interacting with us on the socials. Feel free to support RWEI by giving us a like/follow over there as well (it is close to Christmas after all!). As always, we are open to submissions and collaborations so get in touch if you like!

For your listening (dis)/pleasure, there's a playlist below with the recommended tracks from this month as well as some other songs that we've been playing from this month. 

Cheers!