xoth — Blog - Crushtor.net

So I wrote (co-wrote) a book. About dating. Yeah. Me. A book about how you can get better at dating. You can pre-order it here. It works, and I’m proof. (lol!) Anyway…

Sonata Arctica - Reckoning Night

Perennially compared to fellow Finns Stratovarius (100% justified), this power metal powerhouse dominated the early oughts with fast double kicks and neo-classical wank a-go-go. For some reason I always considered Winterheart’s Guild their best, until I chanced upon this cheap copy on eBay. It’s definitely their magnum opus; achieving something greater than you ever thought the whole was capable of. Like Jean Claude Van Damme’s heart-rending confession to camera in the magnificent JCVD; or Adam Sandler’s darkly compelling arthouse turn in Punch Drunk Love. This is good. Like, really good. My Selene captures the record’s mirthful yet sombre tone, lifted high with give-all performances by the entire band. Power metal as a whole is probably 99% shit - this is the rare as hen’s teeth top 1% solid gold brass stuff.

Everdawn - Venera

I think I played Nightwish’s third album, Wishmaster, into the fucking ground when I got it. Everdawn plays mezzo-soprano fronted prog-adjacent metal, headed by the whimsical Alina Gravilenko. If there was ever a Wishmaster 2.0, this is it. I fucking hate hate HATE when PRs tout a band releasing a record that “takes everything from their previous works and bring it to the next level” but this… sounds accurate. Opener Cassiopeia unleashes beltings of grandiose guitar and bombastic choirs, which sounds tame compared to OTT gothic banger (think Kamelot) Century Black, throwing convention into the sky above and waving it goodbye. The Ghost Love Score killer, Truer Words Ever Spoken throws down the laced gauntlet to Tuomas Holopainen’s top hat wearing arse, duels his recent so-so output, and lances it straight through the heart with an engraved silver stiletto. Yeah, it’s stuffed with cheese and pomp, but you know what? The quality of songwriting transcends the trappings of this often very silly genre. A+, would put this on through my headphones while crawling into my bedroom stoned and afraid of waking my parents… again.

Counting Hours - The Wishing Tomb

Imagine if Katatonia, instead of treading into more contemporary territory after the release of Tonight’s Decision, stuck to their miserable shoegazing doom guns as heard on Discouraged Ones or Brave Murder Day. That’s it. You’ve just heard this album in your head. These Finns aren’t cribbing everything from their Swedish bros. For instance, they growl. Katatonia don’t growl! Not since… that time. Long eBows trill off into great cold distances (BOO) and bass plumb depths of well-worn despair. Tracks like All That Blooms (Needs to Die) will catch you thinking it’s the genuine article. It’s as good as the real thing, that’s for sure. Lesser ripoffs be damned. They’ve nailed the mood and the songwriting. If you’re an absolute Katatonia fanatic like I am, you can’t really put this one down.

Resin Tomb - Cerebral Purgatory

It’s impossible to parody death metal - as soon as you take the piss it horseshoes back into itself. Werewolves do it to a point, but it’s impossible to tell. It’s just death metal all the way down. Queensland’s own Resin Tomb threaten tearing apart death metal into a putrid gas, red-lining the entire way through. Crushing and unrelenting like fucked movies on black spine VHS after 2am, Resin Tomb create compelling hellscapes devoid of hope or redemption. The deathiest of death metal, natch.

Flaming Wrekage - Terra Inferna

I’m going to cheat again, because I gave this a 9/10 and I still stand by it:

Each track could be considered its own mini-symphony, seguing between sections seamlessly and creating their own unique and urgent textures and moods. Paralysis catches one off guard since it begins like a standard riffy boi but halts midway to play around with a crunchy, solitary motif; drums and bass nowhere to be heard. Leadwork explodes like fireworks amid Enduring Decay, culminating in the 80s denim-and-leather throwback Our Own Blood, tremelos a-go-go and quick-time percussion smacking headlong into towering walls of guitar. There’s so many holy shit moments in this record upon first blush, one only wonders how many we’ll pick up during subsequent listens.
Terra Inferna is as much as a celebration of the rich chainmail tapestries metal can weave as it is a testament to their blossoming as an incredible death metal force not to be wreked with. There’s only one way to play this record: loud and on repeat.

Xoth - Exogalactic

If all metal bands were as intent on sounding fuckin cool like Xoth, we’d all be better off as a species. Space/alien/epic themed guitar hero melodic death piles on leads and wild solos, banking and twisting through eight incredible tracks that will make any guitar nerd’s heart sing. Think of the pomp and silliness of Gloryhammer meets the sharp riff-lordery of The Black Dahlia Murder and you’re kinda half-way there. Long live Xoth!