Amenra - De Toorn

Labels: Relapse Records

Formats: Vinyl/CD/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 28 Mar 2025

Tracklist:

1. Heden

2. De Toorn (Talisman)

Earlier this year Belgian post-metal/extreme metal band Amenra released two EPs via Relapse Records, called De Toorn and With Fang And Claw. Both EPs look back at their career to date while also looking forwards to their future as a band. Over recent years they have become one of the most admired/revered acts in extreme music and this November, they'll be touring the UK and Europe around their much anticipated performance at Damnation Festival in Manchester.

The weight of life that sits heavy on our shoulders can sometimes become too much. With economic, personal and technological pressures (AI and social media being two prominent examples); it’s hard to switch off and appreciate the beauty, and humanity that surrounds us. This week is about doing just that for me and after a day filled with lazy solitude, being surrounded by heaviness is perfect.

Opening De Toorn with ‘Heden’, which builds very slowly from a quiet percussive beginning, the stirring musicianship of Amenra comes to life. The spoken-word lyrics are sparse yet striking, the instrumentation clear and spacial. It allows for self-inward reflection without it being sign-posted, and it shows what a band can do without dissonance or feedback ruling the recording, Obviously, this wouldn’t be an Amenra release without that heaviness and they wait until the song’s final quarter to unleash it. It’s a shock to the system in a way but also extremely cathartic and cleansing too.

Second track ‘De Toorn (Talisman)’ follows in very much the same form. Not as slow building but not immediate either. Subtle percussion and bass grow alongside melodic guitar, and more spoken-word vocals/choral ambience; though the music itself doesn’t build as expected. I think that’s kind of the point here, as nothing should be expected or be predictable in life. Amenra take that thought process by the hand and deliver another crescendo-like ending. 

Ultimately, this EP will fill you with all kinds of emotions. Amenra have crafted something truly beautiful here and a live setting is the best place to experience it, if you’re lucky enough to be able to catch one of their up-coming shows.

You can stream the EP digitally and buy it on all physical formats below:-

You can also buy physical copies directly from Relapse Records here - https://www.relapse.com/collections/new-releases

Amenra - https://www.facebook.com/churchofra

Relapse Records - https://www.facebook.com/RelapseRecords

Living Gate - Deathlust

Labels: Relapse Records

Formats: Vinyl/CD/Digital

Release Date: 12 Jun 2020

Tracklist:

1. The Delusion Of Consciousness

2. Roped

3. Deathlust

4. Heaven Ablaze

5. Living Gate

Here's an exciting release from a band that's rooted in both Europe (Belgium to be exact) and the United States. Sharing members with some of the modern greats of extreme metal and hardcore, Living Gate released their debut EP in June via Relapse Records. The detailed cover art that adorns this record dragged me in and hopefully, I'll get spat out at the other end!.

I get asked all the time about why I hammer my keyboard so hard at work. It’s because I imagine that I’m writing about music like this! Given the other bands in which these guys call home, their death metal is totally nasty. It’s definitely more on the old-school side. Opener ‘The Delusion Of Consciousness’ mixes doom/death with grind and thrash. That’s a heavy list of sub-genres and while not inaccurate, Living Gate surpasses mere pigeonholing through sheer skill.

The technicality is real without being overpowering and ‘Roped” is a song that straddles time-signatures and tempos, becoming a beast with many legs in the process. The multi-vocal approach is truly devastating, while the riffs are both melodic and razor-sharp when they meed to be. The percussion and bass offer plenty of rhythmic battery that’s perfect for the music.

There’s no rest in between songs and the title-track ‘Deathlust’ is filled to the brim with brutal urgency thanks to some manic blasting. It’s shorter in length but there’s still plenty of gloomy death metal to keep you interested, as well as a sick guitar solo towards the end. Breathtaking!

‘Heaven Ablaze’ comes out of nowhere with the sole aim of flattening you and leaving no trace. Again, it’s fast and heavy but there’s also a nod to bands like Cynic and Atheist within Living Gate’s technical musicianship and occasional jazz/blues-like guitar work. Before you know it, you’re heading face first into the final song on a release that goes by all too quickly.

The final song is question is the band’s namesake ‘Living Gate’ and it embodies exactly what they’re about. A heady mix of everything that makes extreme metal great rolled into one sub five-minute song. It’s the final blow on what is a superb debut record. There’s no messing around here. Living Gate are in it for the long-haul (hopefully).

You can stream Deathlust and buy it on all formats below:-

Living Gate - https://www.facebook.com/LivingGate666/

Relapse Records - https://www.facebook.com/RelapseRecords/

Candy - Super-Stare

Labels: Relapse Records

Formats: Vinyl/Digital

Release Date: 23 Sep 2019

Tracklist:

1. Super-Stare

2. Win Free Love

I've seen US hardcore band Candy making waves recently, no doubt helped by joining forces with Relapse Records over recent months. I'm a big fan of what Relapse does and the signing of Candy adds extra variation to an already damn solid roster. Candy released their first demo songs in 2017 and followed them with their debut EP "Candy Says" in November of the same year. More demos and their first full-length "Good To Feel" followed a year later, along with tours and shows with the likes of Harms Way, Fucked Up, Quicksand and Nothing (to name a few) proved that they were destined to reach wider audiences. Their latest two-song EP "Super-Stare" was released via Relapse in September as a precursor to their up-coming second full-length. Here, they bring hardcore and metal even closer together, if that were possible.

I’ve listened to this EP a couple of times in recent weeks and even though it only consists of two songs, it’s super addictive. Kicking off with Super-Stare, Candy provides stomping riffs alongside a slightly psychedelic influences, before pounding drums and harsh vox take over, nestling for room with bass-heavy tones. It’s extremely noisy and that noise grows to almost industrial-like levels before there’s an unexpected break-up featuring guitar work that could’ve come straight off Metallica’s “Black Album’. Those memorable riffs close out the song in the same way that they introduced it.

Second song Win Free Love is urgent and definitely more of a hardcore bruiser, but it still contains the band’s industrial influence (if I'm hearing it right). It’s grinding and chaotic, with no let-up in tempo, but like the title-track it’s catchy. Catchiness is certainly something that you can take away from this EP. Candy’s next full-length is going to be well worth waiting for. This is a good starting point though if you’re new to them.

You can stream and purchase "Super-Stare" on vinyl and digitally via Candy's bandcamp page below:-

Candy - https://www.facebook.com/candygonnadie/

Relapse Records - https://www.facebook.com/RelapseRecords/

Full of Hell - Weeping Choir

Labels: Relapse Records

Formats: Vinyl/CD/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 17 May 2019

Tracklist:

1. Burning Myrrh

2. Haunted Arches

3. Thundering Hammers

4. Rainbow Coil

5. Aria Of Jeweled Tears

6. Downward

7. Armory Of Obsidian Glass

8. Silmaril

9. Angels Gather Here

10. Ygramul The Many

11. Cellar Of Doors

I appreciate that this release has probably been dissected by enough people already, given it's release nearly a month ago but having picked up a vinyl copy over the weekend just gone I was yearning to throw my hat into the ring. There's probably not a lot I can say about Full of Hell in an introduction that hasn't already been said and if by any chance you're still living under a rock, you need to sort that out. "Weeping Choir" was released in mid-May via Relapse Records across all formats. They're currently playing various shows across Europe with The Body, so get to one if you can. 

I’m at the point right now where I just want my music to be fast, grinding and super angry. I need intensity to help me iron out some kinks and Full of Hell was the first band I wanted to turn to. You can’t get anymore grinding and intense than their new record and as opener Burning Myrrh kicks off, there’s no room for hiding. A mix of many elements of heavy music make this the epitome of everything I’ve mentioned above. Full of Hell has taken the music back into the territory that was held by “Rudiments Of Mutilation” albeit with a more focused and clear sound. It’s less powerviolence and more straight-up grind on Haunted Arches, with a more obvious metal influence playing a greater role. It’s still super fast and contains their now trademark noise and samples but the progression they’ve made so far really shows. 

The riffs are huge on Thundering Hammers, which is a great song title. They’re akin to death metal blows to the head that are brimming with technicality and match the dual high/low growls really well. The drums are stupidly quick while the bass tops it all off with an ominous rumble. FoH’s noise influences come to the fore during the frankly disturbing Rainbow Coil, which is a jarring piece filled with white noise and drumming that’s inhuman,. The guitars aren’t as prevalent here except for some ringing feedback and the vocals also take a bit of a back seat too. I guess breaking up the aural barrage isn’t a bad thing. This song will still appeal to your menacing side.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that a machine gun was going off during the opening bars of Aria Of Jeweled Tears, but alas it’s just the drums (or maybe samples) again. Without even breaching ninety seconds, FoH manages to prove that good songs don’t need to be long. The way they switch from powerviolence/grind to death metal in the space of seconds is impressive and Downward contains the groove of the latter while still reaching an insane tempo. From there you’re greeted with Armory Of Obsidian Glass, which is a sludge-laden beast (possibly influenced by recent touring buddies Primitive Man) but still made all their own. It’s tempo, as expected, is toned down a lot and the vocals take on a horror-themed persona. Maddening is used a lot when describing heavy music (and has indeed been used a lot by me in the past) but this truly is. It’s ending passage though is beautiful and life-affirming.

The feelings you experienced during Armory Of Obsidian Glass are soon flung to one side by the anguish and hyperactivity of Silmaril. I don’t think there’s any other way to describe it. Noise and stomping sludge make Angels Gather Here something of an anomaly. It’s not the calming piece you might think it is and instead it’s a mid-tempo beast filled with glitchy electronics and bass-heavy riffs. The final duo beginning with Ygramul The Many and ending with Cellar Of Doors will make you pray you were undergoing rendition, such is their crazed black jazz and possessed screams (during the former) and mix of death and black-grind (during the latter). 2019 is turning into a stellar year musically and you probably won’t find a better record than this one. Full of Hell’s musical maturity is shining through and long may it continue.

Stream "Weeping Choir" and purchase it on all formats below:-

Full of Hell - https://www.facebook.com/fullofhell

Relapse Records - https://www.facebook.com/RelapseRecords/

Yob - Our Raw Heart

Labels: Relapse Records

Formats: Vinyl/CD/Digital

Release Date: 08 Jun 2018

Tracklist:

1. Ablaze

2. The Screen

3. In Reverie

4. Lungs Reach

5. Beauty In Falling Leaves

6. Original Face

7. Our Raw Heart

Following my review yesterday I felt like the warm embrace of doom again and this release came to mind. It's the newest album from Eugene (Oregon, US) doom band Yob, which appeared earlier this year after a near four-year gap following their last full-length "Clearing The Path To Ascend". "Our Raw Heart" is the trio's eight album and marks their 22nd year as a band, which is one hell of a feat. They will be heading over two these shores in October in support of the record with Wiegedood, playing a select number of dates as they plough through Europe.

“Our Raw Heart” is an album that’s been built by the experiences that almost led to the band’s demise, amidst the illness that affected Mike Scheidt. Thankfully, as it displays, Yob are stronger than ever and are ready to tell their story through music. Opener Ablaze is filled with the kind of doom riffs (Mike) and bass-lines (Aaron Rieseberg) that helped to coin the genre’s name, while the percussion (Travis Foster) beats a tempo filled with raw passion. Mike’s vocals are a mix of cleanly sung crooning (if that’s the right word) and occasional bursts of harshness, all the white helping the music to feel truly heartfelt.  There’s a pulsating groove within The Screen. It’s hard to truly describe but it’s mesmerising and suits the song, which is filled with a darker and heavier atmosphere. It’s not as densely layered as the album’s opener and it sees Yob looking back towards their earlier sound somewhat.

The lowly bass build-up of In Reverie gives way to a crushing monster that makes you jump (at least it did with me) and from there on in it’s a whirlwind of slow doom with a laid-back stoner edge that turns into something truly evil. The thing is though, Yob doesn’t waste time being all showy. The constant repeating melodies and musical passages in the verses are fantastic and exactly what you need in an album like this. Ambience greets you on Lungs Reach. It offers an opportunity for peaceful reflection, though the feeling that it could all come crashing down at any moment is just around the corner. The mid-point passes before that feeling becomes reality and Yob once again drags you into the torturous shadows and into their psyches. 

Lungs Reach is a brief song given the lengths of the others present here and it leads nicely into Beauty In Falling Leaves, which itself characterises the gentle/harsh dynamics that have crept further into Yob’s sound on this record. As the lengthiest song on “Our Raw Heart”, yet it’s also the most melodic and while it would be unfair to describe it as “easy-listening”, it’s a really soothing piece. That soothing feeling was never going to last though and sure enough, Original Face destroys any zen-like calmness you might have been feeling thanks to the sound of heavy riffs and roared lyrics. The technicality and song-writing prowess isn’t to be missed though, as it gets the heart racing. Its fitting that the title-track rounds out this album. It draws a line underneath all of the pain that Yob has felt in recent times but also paints a positive and thankful picture too. The swirling instrumental layers that take over as the song reaches it’s end are magnificent and underline why this is such a great album.

You can stream "Our Raw Heart" in full below:-

It's available to purchase from their bandcamp page above on cd, vinyl and digitally, though tape copies have sold out.

Yob - https://www.facebook.com/quantumyob/

Relapse Records - https://www.facebook.com/RelapseRecords/