Album Reviews : Various Artists – The Euphony Fusion II

Here is a review of ‘The Euphony Fusion II‘ – a free Australian Metal Compilation created by Welkin Entertainment. A limited number of copies are available for free outside the venue at the conclusion of all MESHUGGAH AUSTRALIAN TOUR dates.

Distribution gigs:
Meshuggah – Sun 12th Oct @ Arena, Brisbane
Meshuggah – Mon 13th Oct @ Roundhouse, Sydney
Meshuggah – Tue 14th Oct @ HQ, Adelaide
Meshuggah – Wed 15th Oct @ Palace Theatre, Melbourne
Meshuggah – Thu 16th Oct @ Capitol, Perth

Separatist (Tas) – The Harvest
If we weren’t already impressed from the bands appearance on ‘The Euphony Fusion I’, then we sure as hell are now! This song is yet another powerful offering from the Tasmanian 5 piece, incorporating influences from Black Dahlia Murder, Skinless and Psycroptic.

www.separatistonline.com

House of Thumbs (VIC) – Tourian
With a Meshuggah inspired opening riff, the weirdly named House of Thumbs deliver a stop start track of thrashy death metal. The drumming is worthy of mention here, reminiscent of Meshuggah in the way it feels just off time. The vocal growling is also pretty good, as is the production. Expect this band to grow pretty big in the near future.

www.myspace.com/houseofthumbs

Frankenbok (VIC) – The Last Ditch Redemption
Upfront and honest riffing, this ‘no holds barred’ grungy rock infused thrashing beast of a machine that is Frankenbok continues to deliver, with a solid track taken from the bands recent album ‘The Last Ditch Redemption’. If only the mixer had of lifted the guitar solos up a bit…

www.myspace.com/frankenbok

People Die (QLD) – 5 Bucks on Carnage
The first appearance of anything ‘short fast brutal’ on this compilations, and the low down dirty grinding that these Queenslanders offer up is of good quality. Sure its nothing new in the genre, it rarely is with grind, but when listening to this band one has to envisage a live setting, and that means one brutal as fuck moshpit. With that in mind, this song will click with you!

www.myspace.com/peopledie666

Guild of Destruction (VIC) – Death of Man
The drunken boys of G.O.D present to you a trademark grinding death metal sacrifice. Expanding on their earlier material, Guild’s sometimes groove laden new material will only serve to further the band on their destined path of Australian Death Metal domination.

www.myspace.com/guildofdestruction

Tidal (SA) – Stronghold
For a band I must say I don’t know a lot about, reading their bio would suggest that Tidal are severely underrated. Perhaps they are just hidden in the Adelaide scene, but the spotlight deservedly should shine on them on this cd. A forward thinking death metal act, with influence from bands such as Dillinger Escape Plan and Tool, they are worthy of checking out further!

www.myspace.com/tidallive

Dred (NSW) – Absent From Entity
A perfect balance between Annihilator-styled thrash and technical death metal There are regular pace changes, switching from fast, thrashy guitars to mid-paced chugging, with the occasional melodic piece thrown into the mix meaning there is quite a lot of variety but it all flows very well.

www.dred.com.au

Spasticator (VIC) – Man Who Falls From Sky
With a straight to the point attitude, Spasticator’s brand of heavy industrial goodness is made up of a Berzerker like industrial feel, black metal influenced vocals and unrelenting death metal riffage. Production is quality for the style, and new album out soon will deserve some attention!

www.myspace.com/spasticator

A Red Dawn (SA) – The Harbinger
Think Lamb of God meets old school death metal. It’s just got that modern tinge which is oh so addictive to listen to. The Adelaide band is one tight outfit. There are moments of brutality, guitar solos and the ever present strong death vocals. And with the excellent Truth Inc Records behind them, A Red Dawn will soon be a main player in the local scene.

www.myspace.com/areddawn

Ayera (VIC) – Black Messiah
With all the hallmarks of the Bay Area, yet somehow coming across as early Gothenburg Death Metal, Ayera are a breath of fresh air to the local thrash scene. After a slow introduction to the track, the boys quickly kick into gear and leave you with the impression of early Arch Enemy gone an extra few steps towards Thrash. New EP in the works, so keep an eye out!

www.myspace.com/ayerametal

Leicohtica (NSW) – A Prototype Soul
It’s the slight gothic edge that is subtly layered over the progressive death sounds that gives Leicohtica some edge. A clear variation of styles within the band has been controlled perfectly in this track, with the duelling death/black vocals the highlight, working perfectly together and giving the song a real sense of theatre. The melodic guitar solos are another highlight worthy of mention here, and with the rest of the album following on a similar path, it’s an album I’m very happy I purchased!

www.myspace.com/leicohtica

Sword Toward Self (NSW) – Sword Toward Self
To put it confusingly simple, what we hear here is Death Metal, with melody, without being Melodic Death Metal. Kicking the track off with some brutal riffage, the band slowly incorporates melody into the song when needed to create an interesting piece of music. They show their diversity at the midpoint of the song, when an Opeth styled acoustic interlude changes the pace of the song, before the pace quickens again to end in a guitar solo frenzy.

www.swordtowardself.com

Claim The Throne (WA) – Triumphant March Of The Draconic Legion
This here is an interesting mix of ideas, with influence taken from many a black/folk metal band (Manegarm, Moonsorrow, Enslaved etc). Honestly, I didn’t like this to start with, however once the song fell into its groove and correct direction, it became quite enjoyable. Black metal darkness, Celtic folk jigs and acoustic sections mark this a rollercoaster ride of musical moments

www.myspace.com/claimthethrone

Dogs of War (WA) – The Lions
The opening riff screamed Arch Enemy for a few seconds, then its screams Dogs of War, as the band scraps any fixed stereotype on their music. The song really gets into a cool groove at around the 50 second mark, and that theme continues on in intermittent bursts throughout the remainder of the track. The guitars and drums feed off each other nicely, and the use of slightly varied vocals is a major plus.

www.myspace.com/dogsofwarband

The Veil (VIC) – Deathcult
The Veil offer a track of Progressive death metal along the same lines as Melbourne’s Praetorian. I am a big fan of the semi clean vocals delivered and the guitar tone is just perfect for this style. There are references to Jester Race era In Flames, and vocal performance reminiscent of current era Enslaved means The Veil produce a thoroughly enjoyable progressive movement.

www.myspace.com/theveilau

Slowlight (WA) – Dreary Days
A bass driven bluesy hard rock song, the female vocals here are quite interesting and clearly inspired from outside out the metal genre. The guitars are kept to the background to focus more on the vocals, I think it would be interesting to hear if the rest of the bands music in recorded in a similar style, because I think the guitars are probably the best part of this song and deserve more exposure.

www.myspace.com/slowlightofficial

Band: Australian Metal Compilation
Album: The Euphony Fusion II
Year: October 2008
Genre: Compilation
Label: Welkin Entertainment
Origin: Australia