REVIEW: STIGMA ''Concerto for the Undead''

TRACKLIST:

1. ''Chop his head off!''

2. ''Prove You are a Man!''

3. ''And they died happily ever after!''

4. ''A Monstruous Feeling''

5.  ''The Undertaker''

6. ''What About a Terror Ride''

7. ''3000 Years and Still Keeping it Real''

8. ''A Grave Situation''

9. ''Beat me Maestro,Eight to the Dead!''

10. ''Doctor Skeleton''

Right out of the gate,I'm gonna say that the very first thing I've noticed about STIGMA is the striking resemblance to the ARSIS sound.It is undeniable that these musicians have been attending the James Malone school of thought when closely observing the classical influence on the riffs,and the perfect blend of technicality,melody,and brutality forging the core of this very thrilling songwriting.

I would say that this album as a whole is very accessible to the Hot Topic masses,but it is also an offering that will impress the purists in the sense that the absolutely atomic chemistry between the musicians turns the music into such a breath-taking mosaic of advanced-level technical ideas it will simply fucking crush 'em to dust and show 'em how it's done in the adults' playground.I know for a fact that this kept me on the edge of my seat during quite a number of tracks,especially ''And They Died Happily Ever After!'',and ''3000 Years and Still Keeping it Real'',which are dizzying mazes of complexity within a heck of a rush of brutality that took over my senses and I feel those symptoms aren't going to leave me anytime soon.

That being said,the technical/classical voice of the spirit of this impressive entity is muted on quite a handful of tracks that I would qualify as very weak and quite blatantly filler.Said tracks,especially ''The Undertaker'' and ''What about a Terror Ride'',seem quite fatigued in terms of creativity.The patterns of these tracks inevitably fall into the easy-to-consume deathcore mold,with piss-poor main riffs,and very basic and watered down breakdown-verse-chorus-breakdown bullshit that quite laughably fails to punch me in the guts.I'm not saying these aren't listenable,only that they don't seem to fit within this fucking delectable rush of an album.I have a feeling it's most definitely half-assed material.All that retained my attention during these particular tracks is the very Richard Christy progressive drumwork that definitely kept the punchiness factor through the roof for all this time.

Overall,I can safely say that this disc is a heck of a big ass smoking gun.The skillful musicianship that's clearly rooted in the most complex style of music ever invented that is classical,the raspy and fucking insistant vocal delivery that definitely knew to impress me for the entire lenght of the journey,and the absolutely out-of-this-world progression/nuances and knife-sharp precision of the ensemble of most of the tracks are elements that kicked my ass across the room big time.

I want more of this.Now.

RATING: 8/10

-Noch 

                                                                                               

REVIEW: DOOMDOGS ''s/t''

TRACKLIST:

1.''Fight the Greed''
2.''Dogs of Doom''
3.''Calling''
4.''I'm Sure''
5.''The Game''
6.''Shout''

TRACK BY TRACK ANALYSIS:

1. ''Fight the Greed'' Extremely Sabbath-y and groovy stoner doom cut with a heck of an effective catchiness that makes you want to crank it 'til something blows up.Most definitely a nice way to kick shit off the ground.The lenght of the track is justified,since while those riffs aren't exactly the most original I've ever heard,they're very efficient in their simplicity and remind me of the greatness of those oldschool bands from the 70s who simply had that magical knack for ideas that just plain WORK.This doesn't ever get tiring to hear nor generic.

2. ''Dogs of Doom''

This one track,sounding like more of a radio-friendly hit than an actual bone-crusher from the dephts of the catacombs of Paris,does much less for me.The repetitiveness of the riffs in their slightly alternative and more-or-less heavy fashion makes the song seem longer than it truly is,to these ears.I've never been a fan of this type of danceable ''doom'' so I suppose my take on it is highly subjective.When it comes to the catchiness,it probably manages to score a few points with the fans of more accessible hippie rock,but for the true doom metal addict,this is a bit of a letdown.

3. ''Calling''

Here we have the very best example of a track that has absolutely every element to beat your ass into a crisp,but turns into nothing else than a poor bitch slap as its lenght progresses to an absurdly endless stretch.We have the smokin' riffs,the absolutely delightful heaviness,the pretty freakin' sweet bluesy leads (that come into the picture far too late,may I add) and the soaring vocals of a particularly wild vocalist.I have to say though,trim this thing up.It becomes an irritatingly pedestrian affair after the first six minutes,guys.Sticking to the same beat and putting the riffs on loop mode without any sort of surprise thrown within the mix when the tune is nine minutes long,that ruins the experience and turns it into a painfully dull and tired offering.A shorter version of this song would've been an absolutely killer deal.The extended version puts the track to shame.

4. ''I'm Sure''

I'll start by saying that the main riff that we have here is pure genius,making the track a very catchy affair while remaining heavy and authentically doomy.For once I do feel like the lenght doesn't reach a point of excess,as the purely rock and roll spirit of the tune charges on without any single letdown moment,any single turn-off along the way.The leads are acceptable,but barely impressive.The rhythm section holds its own though,making this tune an instant stoner doom classic.It does sound very accessible,but also will have an irresistable sex-appeal to the purists.Try not nodding your head along to this puncher of a track,you'll have a heck of a hard time.

5. ''The Game''

Hooks galore!This is the type of tune I've been waiting for since the first track ended.It incorporates incredibly satisfying creative ideas all along,and the audacity of the nuances does rock up the damn house comparatively to the linear fashion of say,track three.It is catchy,progressive,bluesy,macabre,and is almost what I would call a full-blown cross between Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath,with a bit of a Motorhead kick.Absolutely delightful.

6. ''Shout''

The first three minutes are an immediate skipper.From the megaphone vocals and their painfully repetitive and unconvincing lyrics right down to the absolutely awkward cacophony in the background really does a heck of a lot to make you wonder if this is a joke song.It eventually turns into more of a jazzy deal (after THREE minutes of this crap) that soon morphs into a bass solo that is brilliant for the first two minutes but ends up being painfully uncreative when it stretches out to nine-minutes,the last moments of the song being nothing but a loop of the last bass line and someone sliding a pen on the neck of a guitar plugged into a lame-ish overdrive amp channel.

RATING: 5.5/10 This band certainly has the peanuts to bring relevance to the table.They have extremely powerful ideas for their rhythm section in every song,but I must say that the leads need a lot of working on.These ideas for the solos need to be fleshed out into something much more elaborate to really be useful within these songs.Lastly,I must underline the fact that if you're gonna throw in a bunch of nine-minute tracks on an album,you have to make ABSOLUTELY sure that you avoid putting the first three minutes on repeat,or you might make someone go away from the listening session out of desperate boredom.When you have a talent for hooks,exploit it at all times,don't be sloppy for a ten minutes that might completely butcher the ensemble of the listening experience.

-Noch