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 MILLIONS – Gather Scatter
(Seventh Rule)
The Skinny: Chicagoans’ debut full-length of angular hardcore.
The debut by Millions, Gather Scatter, is indeed a confounding beast. Equal parts Black Sabbath, Big Black and Black Flag, Gather Scatter is a delicious smorgasbord of tones, aggression and genuine musicianship. The band tiptoe a line between a hardcore punk wildness and a noise rock restraint. Tracks like Lest The Professor Catches Fire sound like math metal slowed down and gone feral, where Getting The Last Word sounds like an orgy of Sabbathian riffs played through cheap amps. All credit must go to guitarists Scott Flaster and Corey Lyons for so making such a mish-mash of undomesticated riffage into cohesive tracks like Life Is Unsatisfactory and We Make Poor Decisions. Millions’ Gather Scatter is the most promising noise debut since Fudge Tunnel’s Hate Songs In E Minor.
It’s Worth Checking Out For: Big Black without the self-satisfied irony
****
 THE DEAD – Ritual Executions
(Independent)
The Skinny: Brisbane death crew bring the doom.
From the first cavernous, low-end rumblings on opening track Bury Your Dead, Ritual Executions sees local death metal act The Dead showing off their doom chops in front of their established death metal sound. Tone-drenched, mammoth riffs roll through the band’s second long-form EP, conjuring imagery of invisible oranges, long sleeve t-shirts, full strength beer and all things metal. Pushing song lengths further, Ritual Executions sees the band expand the depth of the doom influences explored on debut release Nocturnal Funeral. While the band has retained their death metal sensibilities enough to write Cannibal Abattoir and the title track, Ritual Executions stands out for the powerful doom jams of Centurion and Death Metal Suicide. Already at the forefront of the local death metal scene, Ritual Executions is The Dead taking their game to the next level.
It’s Worth Checking Out For: the riffs, baby!
***½
THE DEVIL WHITE – Silent Dance With Death
(Independent)
The Skinny: Perth crew’s vulgar display of Pantera.
Pantera may no longer be with us, Rest In Peace, but bands still insist on emulating them. The hook-driven, bouncy heavy metal that the Cowboys From Hell introduced to the world is still being disseminated ad naseam by international and local bands alike. The Devil White’s first full-length, Silent Dance With Death, heinously commits the crime of Grand Theft Pantera. While some bands slavishly emulate Anselmo & co. to a point bordering on identity theft (*cough* Throwdown *cough*), The Devil White show that they’re capable of originality on tracks like Cold Dark Betrayal and Numb. However, for the bulk of Silent Dance With Death, especially on tracks such as Tear You Apart and Devil’s Eye, they choose to explore an enjoyable, yet grossly formulaic sound.
It’s Worth Checking Out For: how the band explore their softer side.
**½
DAWN OF AZAZEL – Relentless
(Prime Cuts/Riot)
The Skinny: New Zealand extremists couldn’t have come up with a more fitting title.
Dawn Of Azazel fit into the glut of extreme bands that have combined technical death metal playing chops and black metal vehemence with the furious melodies of hardcore. Their third full-length highlights everything that has brought the band to prominence in the underground, yet still it seems to miss the mark. The blast-driven extremity of tracks like Majesty and The Art Of Seduction: II Ravishment are punishing exercises in aural terrorism, but none of the riffs seem to stick. Aided greatly by the crisp production afforded to the record, Relentless cannot overcome its lack of flamboyance. The jams are tight, but they don’t compare to memorable slam efforts from bands like Dying Fetus.
It’s Worth Checking Out For: tracks like I Relentless.
***
TOM HERSEY
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