GWAR – Lust In Space

(Metal Blade/Riot)

The Skinny: the return of our interstellar overlords

Gwar are a band worthy of the utmost respect. They’ve managed to sustain a joke about dressing up as space aliens for 25 years, existing on the fringes of popular culture. While Lust In Space is a step backwards from 2006’s Beyond Hell and is at times trite and unfocussed, there are more than a few classic Gwar moments on the record. Like every Gwar album before it, Lust In Space has two or three killer tracks against the bulk of the album, which is indiscernible filler. The six-minute epic title track alongside classic-sounding Gwar cuts like Parting Shot and Let Us Slay fill Lust In Space’s killer quotient. The rest of the album is fairly boring, and the shared vocals are frustrating and really don’t work.

It’s Worth Checking Out For: The hilarious KISS rip-off cover artwork and the over-exuberant ridiculousness of tracks like Metal Metal Land.

***

ETERNAL REST – Seize Of Anubis EP

(Independent)

The Skinny: local act take a shot at DM giants

It takes balls to release an album of death metal with references to Egyptian mythology. Big, hairy balls. Because anything Egyptian is immediately going to draw comparisons to death metal’s resident face-melting Egyptologists Nile. But that’s exactly what Eternal Rest have done on their Seize Of Anubis EP; what’s more, they manage to pull it off. Eternal Rest’s debut recording, Seize Of Anubis is as unforgiving as bleak Egyptian desert. Following on from the moody atmosphere established on opener Temple, the next five tracks are a relentless onslaught of ferocious, unrelenting death metal. As shredding guitar tracks scorch through layers of evil vocals and blast beats on cuts like Where The Ancient Gods Lay and Falling From Your Throne with precision and power, Seize Of Anubis is proof that there’s more to Egyptian death metal than Nile.

It’s Worth Checking Out For: Because it’s one of the strongest local death metal releases in quite a while.

****

CHASING SIRENS – Demo

(Independent)

The Skinny: The sounds of post-metal deathcore?

Modern hardcore music has a tendency to fall into two polar opposite categories; the formulaic, utilising typical chugga-chugga mosh parts and the unrestrained, genre-deviating noisemaking. The debut recordings from local act Chasing Sirens falls firmly into the latter category. Managing to disregard the stifling conventions of hardcore, the two-track offering from the Brisbane band also avoids the self-indulgent crapulence of most noisecore acts. Instead, this release straddles a balance between the two extremes and Chasing Sirens explore musical soundscapes while retaining a visceral intensity and clear focus. Pierced by delicate guitar fuzz and permeated by swirling, ethereal post-metal passages, Chasing Sirens’ demo also acknowledges the importance of blasts and breakdowns. Powerful and cerebral, these early recordings from Chasing Sirens are a promissory note of future success.

It’s Worth Checking Out For: Hearing an innovative and exciting local band.

****

DYING FETUS – Descend Into Depravity

(Relapse/Riot)

The Skinny: Death metal innovators deliver more of the sickest riffs.

Dying Fetus had their work cut out for them on Descend Into Depravity. Following up what was the band’s best album to date, 2007’s War Of Attrition, Descend Into Depravity is a sick offering of some of the coolest riffs in heavy metal. The straight-forward blasting of tracks like Hopeless Insurrection is pitted against the mid-tempo slam-orientated jams on Your Treachery Will Die With You. The product of these riffs makes Descend Into Depravity one of Fetus’ most dynamic, intense albums to date. With frontman John Gallagher’s face-melting solos filling every spare second on tracks like Conceived Into Enslavement, Descend Into Depravity is an album that will have metalheads busting out the air guitars and banging their heads with a renewed fury.

It’s Worth Checking Out For: Tracks like Ethos Of Coercion.

****½

TOM HERSEY

Comments (1)

Write Comment
Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Poster's IP addresses are logged.
Name:
Comment:
Code:*