Reports from the Underground: April 2020 prog reviewed (part 1)

Moura – Moura (Spain)
Style: Psychedelic (clean vocals)
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Review by: Tyler

I’ve been on a pretty big, unimpressive stoner kick recently. I love the genre, but it really has gotten pretty over saturated, and there aren’t a lot of folks doing anything terribly interesting that I can grab on to and pay attention to. When I ran across Moura, I was ready for more of the same. The intro to opener “Eira”, while spooky and cool, but I’ve been lied to before. I was ready to be disappointed and throw another 5 at a stoner band and call it a day. But then the rest of the band kicked in, and took me completely through a loop.

Moura is definitely more of a psychedelic band than anything. There are definitely some progressive and stoner tendencies in there, but right of the bat, I had mis labeled them in my stupid lil’ brain. There is a massive focus and inclusion of synths that I think adds a huge amount to their sound. Usually when these are included, they are just there to reinforce the key or to add some atmospherics. While they do that, they are also a big player in the rhythm, often locking in with the drums and bass to keep the song driving (see the middle section “Da Interzona A Annexia”). There are a lot of parts that groove on the same idea for a while, and I think the addition of these additional sounds really helped keep things interesting. And yes, we’ve seen and heard these things before, but combined with modern stoner tropes, it actually does freshen up what I think is a massively overcrowded part of the metal sphere.

I have to take a second to talk about the vocals too, because there is a whole other layer there that they add. It’s this mix of traditional Spanish folk singing, and a 70’s classic rock timbre that totally fits in the music and makes it even more obtuse and weird, which, as stated, is completely welcome. Combined with harmonies, tons of reverb, and a plethora of other effects, it makes for a really compelling listen; you can tell that there was a lot of thought and care that went into these choices. The production could have been a little cleaner in some places I think. There were times when I wanted more dynamic range, but everything seemed squashed and a bit claustrophobic, but otherwise, I was pleasantly surprised with how I felt at the end of it.

I have a very spanish (language) focused course this time around, which is something that I don’t dive too much into, since I really like knowing what the songs are about, and the barrier there is often too big for me to take the plunge, but I think after this listen, I really should broaden my scope if this is the kind of thing that these bands are doing. If you like your Elder via The Mars Volta, don’t sleep on this one. It’s just weird enough to intrigue, but accessible enough to wrap your head around.

Recommended tracks: Da Interzona A Annexia, O Curioso Caso De Mademoiselle X
Recommended for fans of: Elder, The Mars Volta, singing on mountains
Final verdict: 8/10

Duende en la Penumbra – That Same Evergreen I Love So Well, Despite the Way its Shadows Make Me Sad (US-NY)
Style: Blackened Forest Folk meets Djent (their description) (Mixed vocals, English/Spanish/French, Spoken word, some female vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook
Review by: Chris

Strap in— this is truly one of the hardest things to listen to I’ve encountered in a while (I mean, look at the title, the genre, and the vocal description). Self described as a Blackened Folk meets Djent album, That Same Evergreen I Love So Well, Despite the Way its Shadows Make Me Sad (I will abbreviate this ridiculous title to TSEILSWDtWiSMMS for now on)is a really messy mish mash of a lot of ideas with not enough composition or polish to make it come together cohesively. 

The album starts with an ambient track combined with the sound of flies buzzing around, before more synths take over underneath a mix of male and female vocals softly singing. To be honest, this isn’t that bad and lured me into thinking the album would be somewhat palatable at the first listen. When the second track, “Metdominaja”, began, I still was waiting to see how the blackened parts would evolve into the sound, as the initial guitar drop, while not great in tone, seemed to bear promise. That hope nosedived pretty hard into reality around 30 seconds in when the harsh vocals hit and never recovered afterwards.

Vocals done in this style have a place and can work, but not when they are brought forward to such a mind-numbing degree and left as dry as possible. I put Ghost Bath in the FFO because i think these vocals are somewhat similar, except Ghost Bath understands the mixing and presentation needed for them. Honestly, the issue here with TSEILSWDtWiSMMS is that there is no sense or understanding of that at pretty much any point. The drums are not leveled in a sensible way with themselves. The spoken word drivelings are as monotone as possible and essentially just laid on top of whatever might have the misfortune of happening at the same moment. The guitar distortion tones are terrible throughout, and there truly is almost no sense of composition in this 72 minute long album. I would give  this album some leeway if it was a 30 minute EP, but sitting through it for 72 minutes was absolutely a chore.

I think some people enjoy stuff like this: some friends throw things at a wall and do what sticks. The problem here is that the wall seems to be lined with double-sided tape, and everything stuck. TSEILSWDtWiSMMS tries to do pretty much everything, and fails as a result. There are a few bright spots:some of the more post-y moments are kind of nice, but they are so sandwiched between irredeemable sections that I can barely evaluate them on their own merit. For example, the opening of “Regarder Le Lierre Vaincre la Pierre” opens with a riff that could be cool if it could be presented in a way that made it sound good. The tone is terrible, the drums are not mixed with themselves, and nothing seems to have been approached with any arrangement in mind. In the same way, this album could have worked, but not in the way Duende en la Penumbra seems to have approached it, and certainly not with this level of performance or production. I really understand the “black metal patina” decisions of the genre in production, but those at least have arrangement and presentation; I see nothing of that here. The Recommended bands I provided are what I think this could be a mash of if it was approached in a much more collected and…competent way.

Stephen listened to some of this with me and had this to say: “This is like the black metal version of a single dot on a canvas that sells for $10,000.” If that intrigues you, maybe you will find something here, but personally I’ve decided (as I am writing this) to cleanse my musical palate with some Merzbow, of all things.

I’m fully prepared for this review to be my Dronte review and for everyone to tell me I messed up, I guess.

Recommended tracks: Like He Who First Bore My Name, I Died of Sadness
Recommended for fans of: Ghost Bath, Windir, Arkona
Final verdict: 3/10

Joviac – Here and Now (Finland)
Style: Traditional (clean vocals)
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Review by: Stephen

Here and Now is the second album from the Finnish band, Joviac, and the first album I have heard from this band. It also happens to be one of the tougher albums I’ve had to review in 2020 so far. Let’s dive into why.

Let me start by saying that there are a lot of things to like about the album. The production and musicianship are on point. However, there were moments where it felt like just as the album was pulling me in, it would push me away again. By the end of the second track, “Straws”, the album was starting to grow on me. Then when “Black Mirror” began I felt my enjoyment slowly start slipping as the song progressed. These ups and downs kept happening as the album went on. The biggest up and down for me had to be the contrast between “Decay” and “Crossfire.” “Decay” was my favorite track off the album and “Crossfire” was my least favorite track on the album, by far. 

I think my main issue with this album is that there were lots of cool riffs and cool builds that lead to releases that fell flat. I feel the vocal melodies throughout the album could have used a little bit more spice, especially during the choruses and climaxes. Don’t get me wrong, the vocalist has a good voice that should appeal to listeners who like throwback power-prog vocalists… but the melodies felt very uninspiring throughout the album. 

Now that I have unintentionally torn this album to shreds, I will circle back to the fact that there really is a lot to like about this album. As I stated before, these guys have a ton of talent. I think this album will appear to a lot of our readers. It also sits in a very unique spot stylistically. Somewhere between happy, uplifting, and dark. 

Recommended tracks: Decay, Straws
Recommended for fans of: Spocks Beard, Jolly
Final verdict: 6.8/10

Ritual Dictates – Give in to Despair (Canada)
Style: Technical Black/Thrash (90% harsh vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Dylan

Jesus this album is so much fun. 

Black/thrash metal is something I groove with big time. It’s one of the extreme sub-genres that clicks with me on such a level that I can listen to it at any moment, in any mood. When done correctly, a black/thrash album is just a blast to go through, and Give in to Despair is just that. A blast.

This album packs a punch. It doesn’t matter if you’re feeling depressed, sad, or even a bit cheated. This album is bound to make you want to jump out of your couch, do 500 pull-ups, break your desk with your head, and throw cats at your neighbors. I mean for the love of god, in its essence, it’s black metal riffs with the frantic feel that thrash metal offers. How are you not going to get pumped with this?

It also barely offers a moment of rest, which is perfectly fine for a 33 minute release. Ritual Dictates know how to do a ‘’get in, get out, no bullshit’’ kind of track that doesn’t sacrifice technicality in order to accomplish the objective. Not only are the performances impressive, but they’re also built upon a strong blueprint of songwriting. It knows when to stop throwing thrash beats and go for a more Rock’n Roll kinda vibe, it knows when to incorporate the rare when vocal, it knows. This album knows how to make everything in their power for you to have an amazing time listening to it, and how to make you want to replay it as soon as it’s over. Don’t miss out.

Recommended tracks: Give in to Despair, Poisonous Proclamation, Terror of Time
Recommended for fans of: Bewitcher, Midnight, Ravencult
Final verdict: 8.5/10

Shodan – Death, Rule over US (Poland)
Style: Death (harsh vocals)
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Review by: Andrew

Once upon a time, I thought all old school death metal was bad. Fast-forward to 2020, and now I only think some old school death metal is bad. Fans of OSDM – don’t take this personally, it’s absolutely preferential and if you adore OSDM then more power to you. For those who aren’t familiar with the old school death metal subgenre, it is typically characterized by high BPM, repetitive riffs, and intentionally raw production. Evolving directly from thrash metal, death metal took the speed and heaviness of thrash and turned up the dial on all accounts. I can see the appeal but not much of the style has ever really stood out to me. 

Shodan’s Death, Rule Over Us, though labeled as progressive death metal, gives off strong OSDM vibes. Hailing from Poland, Shodan previously released Protocol of Dying in 2016, and then followed it up with Death, Rule Over Us. These guys sure do like death. 

The key difference between Shodan and other OSDM bands I’ve heard is the dynamic songwriting. Each song has more to offer than just riffs, growls, and solos. There is the occasional clean passage, slow section, or mood change. These little curveballs make Death, Rule Over Us far more interesting than the majority of OSDM that has befallen my eardrums. Still, the tracks are primarily high energy, repetitive riffing. The small things here and there that add some uniqueness to the album don’t do nearly enough to fully connect me with Death, Rule Over Us.

Recommended tracks: Doomsday Melody, Primordial Incest
Recommended for fans of: Death, Hail of Bullets, Bolt Thrower
Final verdict: 6/10