Ego Boost: Early 2012 Reviews
Though the blog has been quiet, I’ve been busy… or the bands I recorded last year have been, at least. Immolith’s “StormDragon” was released a few weeks ago, Abazagorath’s self-titled EP is coming out any day now, and the Grass/Sadgiqacea split LP has been out for a few months; reviews for all are stellar and as an added bonus, thoughts on the production are all positive. My name has even been popping up, which is always a nice surprise. Some notes, excerpts, links are below. If you want me to me your awesome band sound as awesome as you deserve, email me: subvertallmedia AT gmail DOT com.
IMMOLITH – “STORMDRAGON” (Metalhit)
Released February 14, 2012
When I first talked with Immolith about StormDragon, we discussed what they wanted in their album: pure, straightforward, black metal. They were looking for a production that would have a very traditional feel but still somewhat clean and modern.
“Cowan: Chris Grigg (WOE, Candlelight Records) produced “StormDragon.” What was it like working with Grigg?
Isiamon: Chris is a really cool guy, and was very easy to work with. He totally got what I was aiming for, and is well versed in old school black metal, so we really saw eye to eye on the sound we were trying to achieve…. He cared as much about putting out a good black metal album with his name on it as engineer and producer as we did—the band that played the stuff. I’d recommend him and his studio to anyone.”-Interview from Metal Underground
“Few albums capture the (black) magic of the true kings of Norway. We hear the chords and the vocal patterns of that time, but most bands are merely wanking off the dead dick of Euronymous. Even though black metal is a scene over-saturated with poor knockoffs, every so often we need a good throwback album like ‘StormDragon.’” –metalunderground.com
“[Immolith]… rely on pure instrumentation to convey their dark flames—harkening back to the genre’s analog tape roots.”
ABAZAGORATH (No Visible Scars)
This one was a real treat for me as Abazagorath was the first local underground black metal band I got into when I was first getting involved with things. Their first recording after four years of hiatus, it was extremely important for them.
“The tracks are good and the production is done in an almost first-class manner that shows why these guys are on the top of the US Black Metal scene.”
–Review from Voices of the Darkside
“Leaving aside contemporary tendencies ABAZAGORATH concentrate on classic Black Metal for sure, clearly influenced by the Scandinavian hordes, excellently executed and refined with a thick, super heavy production… Anyway, raging blasts, melodic, sinister riffs, superb vocals, varying, smart song-writing and an intense athmosphere add up to a trvly fucking amazing record.”
“All in all this EP floored me literally because of it’s monstrous sound quality…While the various cuts on here come forth like detonating artillery explosive ordinance it’s the final cut, “Storms of Destruction”, which is an absolute masterpiece.”
SADGIQACEA/GRASS SPLIT 12″ (Anthropic)
I’ve recorded both Sadgiqacea and Grass prior to this: Sadgiqacea did a demo track with me shortly after I started recording and Grass did their EP/demo back in 2010 (or was it 2009!?) with me in freelance sessions at Red Planet. This split, however, was a beast all unto itself, and really showcased both bands at their strongest.
“This is an almost perfect split album that is available from Bandcamp and as a limited edition 12” vinyl. Whatever format you decide on, you won’t be disappointed. The production on this split is also amazing so I can’t find any real flaws with this at all. Two bands with incredible potential – check it out….9.5/10”