Nuclearhammer - Serpentine Hermetic Lucifer (2014) --

Full Length

1. Multidimensional Prism of Black Hatred

2. 24-Cell (Octoplex)

3. ...Rise No More

4. 120-Cell (Hyperdodecahedron)

5. Nuclearhammer

6. 600-Cell (Hexacosichoron)

7. Phosphorous Clouds Descend on Mecca

8. H3po4 (Orthophosphoric Acid)

9. Parasitic (Temple of Rats)/Hpo3 (Metaphosphoric Acid)

10. Subhumannihilation

11. 12th Dimension

12. The Seeds of Martyrdom Remain Bitter Until the Dawn of Reverted Curses

13. Cosmic Atomic Hypnosis

Total Runtime: 44:26

Very few bands have ever come close to the intensity of music and negativity that Blasphemy, Archgoat, and other violent black metal bands of old have achieved. Often, I feel as if many bands attempt cheap rip-offs through copycat imagery and fuzzed out production. Sorry to say, but black metal is getting old. It was a hip new thing in the 90's, but since has outgrown it's roots and derailed into all manners of black metal blasphemy (the irony, eh?). I mean, come on, look at fuckin' Liturgy. Oh boy do they ever suck. Not only that, but in having a band whose whole mission statement is to be a band that proves that black metal isn't just hatred and Anti-Christianity, they are unconsciously perpetuating the status quo; people will realize how thin and drab their music is, and then turn on something more traditional. 

This may not seem relevant, but I mention all this to a very good point. Black metal has grown old, and thus it needs new blood to keep fresh. Innovation is key; not just leading the train, but laying the tracks as well. I believe Nuclearhammer are laying the tracks for an all new, original style of black metal in this, their newest release, titled: "Serpentine Hermetic Lucifer". The album was released in Spring of 2014, without much of a fuss being raised about it altogether. Thankfully, I was able to get a digital copy and listen to this gem of a record, and now I can tell you without a doubt in my mind: this is the next innovation.

Up until now, Nuclearhammer has been a band that has played music very similar to Blasphemy. After all, they did label themselves "war metal" (a label I never much cared for among any bands, but regardless), and so for the albums previous to this, their sound has been  more-or-less consistent: beating, rapid drums; screeching tremolo downtuned guitars; reverbed, eerie vocals. This record provides all that, and new musical insights. It deals with themes of cosmic evil, and evokes imagery of an all consuming poison gas, swallowing entire planets, beyond human comprehension.

The beginning of the record starts off explosively, with "Multidimensional Prism of Black Hatred" blasting in, and guitars high in the mix. The guitars fuzz on and keep ones senses intrigued as they try to make out intelligible riffing. It's all madness and chaos, and the fact that it's done with such eloquently thought out overlays makes it better. As the record progresses, not only do we find that Nuclearhammer are masters of speed and hatred-born music, but thanks to Axaazaroth's recent experiments in Powerviolence/electronic, there are also short tracks that play in between the chaos; the ambience gives a true feeling of the emptiness and vastness of space. There are also moments when the band slows down, though only for a short period of time. 

Everything about this record simply feels better than Obliteration Ritual, which was already a pretty good record, but suffered from being standard black metal fare. This is something new, and something fresh. Cosmic imagery and themes are rarely ever dealt with in black metal, and the band has incorporated such fresh elements into their sound and image in startlingly effective ways; without sacrificing too much, and straying from what black metal is all about, they've also shown that innovation can be done right. 

The only weak point on this record is that I feel there are quite a few filler tracks; as I mentioned previously, there are quite a bit of ambient tracks that they added, supposedly post-recording I guess, though I'm not sure. These may sometimes break up the flow of songs, as they routinely play in between pieces. If these were incorporated into the music somehow, that would be killer! Unfortunately, you just keep getting small snippets throughout that don't amount to much except to fill time on the record. 

(This album is definitely a great album worthy of attention. It can be bought here, or ordered directly through the band at their Facebook page.)

Cromlech - Ave Mortis (2013) --

Full Length 

1. Ave Mortis

2. For a Red Dawn

3. Honor

4. To See Them Driven Before You

5. Of The Eagle and the Trident

6. Lend Me Your Steel

7. Amongst the Tombs

8. Shadow and Flame

Total Runtime: 1:10:25

Do you ever wonder what it’s like to smell like a warrior? Probably blood and sweat, maybe women if you’re a more suave type swordsman. To see your enemies driven before you, and to have your ale drank after the battle was a glory that warriors have enjoyed since the beginning of time. While Cromlech’s debut “Ave Mortis” may not bring all these wonderful things to you, it will damn sure make you feel them.

A lot has been going on here in Toronto; we have plenty of new, successful extreme metal bands (Sortilegia being of relative interest to that topic), and it’s done the underground some good here. However, I also find that the underground in this city is fairly lacking in successful bands of the more accessible variety. Cromlech does well to remedy this, and in such a way that they do not sound like a tribute band of any sort.

The Toronto-based Doom band with epic lyrics and progressions sound no less furious and battle ready than any of the bestial black metal in the city, but also manage to achieve a completely different type of ferocity through images of sword-and-shield warfare, much akin to many Viking metal bands, but without referring to or using Odinistic/Viking imagery. This is a good thing, considering way too many bands do such a thing without half the effect this album holds, but I digress.

The album can be best described like this: a collection of war songs taken right from an ancient civilization’s song book. Every second feels tribal, European, and epic, even with acoustics and clean vocals. Each song is an average of 5-10 minutes long, and none of them really seem to drag at all. The riffing is creative and songwriting is appropriately formed around riffs. Not a single moment seems quite out of place on this record, and that’s most definitely a good thing! Despite mostly being doom, they also have their fast and thrashy sections, such as the majority of Honour. The song begins with a slow guitar melody and continues in a still-melodic, thrashy fashion. The songs are very diverse for a theme that usually causes bands to create shallow, one-dimensional music.

The gem of this album is To See Them Driven Before You, with it’s thick, heavy doom riffing, but somehow always managing to keep up-tempo despite the grim, battle-torn atmosphere. The drums snap and pop crisply to the rumbling bass that seems to hold all the instruments and group vocals together. From start to finish, this is a great song through and through, and it feels not a second too long, despite being approximately 11 minutes.

Without giving away too much, this album is studio quality music while retaining that tribal, battle-ready feeling most rougher Epic metal bands seem to miss a lot of the time. This is definitely not a release to miss this year; get your hands on a physical copy; I know I will! Fantastic debut, and all the best to Cromlech.

(Streaming available here )

THIS IS A TEST POST. ALSO HI

Welcome to the very first post of the Toronto Crypt Metal E-Zine! We are very pleased to start service to the Toronto and GTA metal community, and will be doing so as we continue the upkeep of this blog. It's a little rough right now, but do cut us slack.

I have a bunch of reviews I will be getting to you guys very soon.

That being said, if you have a gig that you would like in our gig classifieds page, please contact me on facebook under the profile "Majortom Togrouncontrol" and tell me all about it, where it is, times, bands, and cover charge.

The majority of this E-Zine will be committed to reviewing and espousing information/press releases from Toronto area TRUE heavy metal bands -  NO POSERS ALLOWED.

If you are wondering if your band fits the description, please read these rules:

http://www.metal-archives.com/content/rules

And that's about it. If you have suggestions feel free to make them.