Female fronted death metal bands are an interesting phenomenon. For years, the extreme metal subgenre was pretty much exclusively a male domain, but after Angela Gossow joined Arch Enemy and gained worldwide renown for growls that could match the very best, it appeared to shift the tide, with many other bands set to follow suit. From Landmine Marathon featuring the amazing Grace Perry, to Sweden’s 6th Awakening, through Poland’s Enter Chaos and beyond, the rising profile of women within death metal became worldwide and, obviously, is something to be applauded. On their 2016 long player ‘Don’t Stop When You Walk Through The Hell’, Russian death practitioners Ascent prove more than capable of going toe-to-toe with some of the genre’s finest.
Tag Archives: metal
THE EYES OF DESOLATION – Awake In Dead EP
Taking elements of gothic metal, a touch of doom and a pinch of black metal on their 2016 release ‘Awake In Dead’ Costa Rica’s Eyes of Desolation whip up a dark storm that’s powerful and unsettling, yet more accessible than many metal bands veering on the extreme side. Between them, not only can they play very well, but also understand that a strong melody – even one that’s oppressively dark – can go a very long way with regard to not only enticing people to listen, but also keeping their attention and inviting those all-important repeat listens. In terms of dark, gothic metal sounds, this EP has all you’d hope for…and more.
EVIL REBORN – Throne Of Insanity
Formed in 2012, Venezuela’s Evil Reborn play a brilliantly constructed form of melodic death metal crossed with the heaviest strands of groove metal. Their third release, ‘Throne of Insanity’ – their first for Russian extreme metal specialists Satanath Records – is a belter. It might not be particularly original, but in terms of what Evil Reborn do, you’ll be hard pressed to find it done any better. Across the album’s nine tracks, the riffs are enormous, the amount of bottom end crunch is equally as ferocious and frontman Victor Chaparro settles upon a vocal style which – much like Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe – retains just enough clarity among the growls not to be an instant turn off.
HIGHRIDER – Armageddon Rock EP
Sweden isn’t short of rock bands. Few, however, rock in the manner of Highrider, Their debut EP, ‘Armageddon Rock’ takes cues from various familiar sources, musically closer to In Flames at times than anything else, while vocally, things lean more towards hardcore. The resultant sounds won’t necessarily be to everyone’s tastes, but so often show a band very capable of taking a few key influences and doing more than just recycling them. On these four tracks, it’s fair enough to say that Highrider spit those influences out somewhat venomously and in their own distinct way.
THE KILLING FLOOR – Tongue Tied EP
In June 2016 the UK had a referendum on their position within the European Union. The campaign attracted the attention of many people with narrow right wing views, from aggressive groups of thugs, to pensioners with very myopic and rose tinted remembrances of the past. More people in the UK voted on the referendum than the previous general election, so it’s almost impossible to see how the “leave the EU” outcome wasn’t racist in some way. More people seemed to have an opinion on whom they’d want living and working in the country than whom they’d like to see running it.