Havukruunu - Tavastland
The average metalhead will run across eleventy billion bands that they cannot pronounce. The bands in question might rule, but you can forget about telling your nextdoor neighbor about them without pen and paper present. Actually, your nextdoor neighbor probably wouldn't dig Havukruunu anyway. Putting aside the fact that I can't pronounce their songtitles (they sing in Finnish, their native tongue), I am madly in love with Havukruunu. They play folk-infused black metal, although the band members themselves simply refer to the music as "metal." And they aren't wrong. This metal is conducive to toe-tapping and/or head-nodding (or just straight-up headbanging, especially if you're in public). Every song - I repeat, every song - comes equipped with a splashy, sumptuous guitar solo. "But Dom, what if the song doesn't call for a solo?" Shut up, kid. You're no fun.
It's only March, but I'm confident that Tavastland will show up on my year-end list. It's abounding with color, despite the monochromatic artwork. Favorite tunes? "Kuolematon Laulunhenki," and dude, listen to "Kuoleman Oma." You won't be able to resist that level of shred. I'll also recommend the rest of Havukruunu's discography, which includes three full-lengths and a pair of (rad) EPs.
Scour - Gold
I realize that Pantera has become a bit of a joke in the underground, but I harbor no guilt when I say that Phil Anselmo is one of my favorite vocalists of all time. Sign me up for any of his projects. I nearly wore out my copy of the first Superjoint Ritual record. Scour might be his most extreme outlet. On their first three releases (all of them EPs), the band trafficked in tightly-wound death/black metal full of blastbeats and some of Phil's nastiest barks to date. Gold is essentially more of the same, only nuanced and slightly fleshed out. Here again, the vocals range from vein-rupturing screams to deeper roars. I'm struggling to make an apt comparison, as he fills out the entire tracklist with a unique tone. With regards to his low-register delivery, I know he's a Morbid Angel fan. Maybe somewhere between Steve Tucker and Covenant-era David Vincent?
Of course, we're all Morbid Angel fans, but you know what I mean. I'm a Scour fan. Gold contains their best material, in my estimation. Check out "Infusorium" and "Coin." Quick sidenote...the latter features a guest solo by Gary Holt.
No comments:
Post a Comment