Holosoil – Look Up EP (InsideOut Music) [Matt Bladen]Holosoil FKA R3VO were fromers founded in 2019 but with a change of singer, Emelie Sederholm in, Eleonara Barbato out the remaining members of the band Victor Nissim (bass), Jan Kurfürst (guitar) and Altaïr Chagué (drums), thought changing the name and resetting as this new line up was better than continuing.
R3VO had been featured in Metal Hammer, performed at Euroblast Festival and supported Vukovi on tour, so Holosoil will be looking to achieve more under their new banner and the Finnish/German band come armed with a five track EP of inventive, explosive modern prog metal that spans multiple genres and influences.
Drawing comparisons to musical boundary pushers such as Björk, The Mars Volta, Muse and Tool,
Look Up is based around the first single and opening track of the same name, about how insular humans are and that sometimes we need to look up, it’s got janky, djenty guitar riffs, shimmering synth moments, propulsive analog/electronic drumbeats, off time grooves and vocals that have a lot of Anneke Van Giersbergen about them.
The inspiration of electronic metal comes through on the woozy
Cracks, while
Animal has a thumping pop metal motion to it, all very modern and very experimental, a track like
Freakshow putting the intense vocals against bass grooves, ambient moments and flashes of riffage.
An intense, inventive EP from Holosoil and while the name has changed the musical adventuring continues.
8/10
Golgotha – Hubris (Abstract Emotions) [Mark Young] Its always nice to be surprised, unless it’s a gas bill attached to an arrow, but generally it’s a positive. Such is the case with Golgotha and their latest release,
Hubris.
Once again, those pesky tags applied here don’t fully paint the picture of the band, and its sound noting it as being melodic doom/death metal. Its all of those, for sure but at the heart is the push/pull between those two singing styles demonstrated so well by Maria J Lladó and Andrew Espinosa. The cleans have that goth tinge, the sort that I grew up on and that was prevalent at metal nights.
It’s the kind that manages to convey so much without resorting to histrionics or unnecessary vocal gymnastics. Its pitched perfectly, so when the harsh vocals are deployed it’s a real shift. They get this rolling on the opening track A Simple Life, and lets not forget about the music behind, without a solid backing these vocals would be for naught. Its heavy in the right areas, melodic in others, as is The Weight Of The Weak where Maria dominates for the most part, but still it doesn’t forget the need for a heavy touch.
It sounds excellent too, the lows are low whilst staying clear, and a key example of this is Broken Toy, with a blackened start, bringing dense guitars into play before they bring Maria in once more. I appreciate that having the clean/harsh styles running through each song may be considered nothing new, but there is always room for bands who can do it well.
Golgotha is one of these as they know how to arrange the music so it is all aligned. There is a sumptuous lead break here that comes in and flies without being overlong, and if anything could have been longer. As a statement, it’s a very strong one from them and considering that they are able to find new avenues to run down after being in existence since 1992 its no mean feat.
There are moments of brutality here amongst the doomed beauty; Empty Minds with its ying/yang approach is immensely satisfying, as is Too Late with its lumbering early moments that roll over you. It’s an album that has a lot to say, and yes it uses the dual approach as its base it doesn’t repeat the same trick as it progresses. For fans of the band, and of this style of metal there is a lot to enjoy knowing that these will evolve once they play them live, especially the atmospherics of Blind which is made for the stage.
It’s a consistent affair, achieving a high level of quality early and then staying at that level right through. Its their approach to songcraft that makes the album so worthwhile, even to someone like me who leans into the more aggressive and quick forms of metal. There is a lot to recommend, so it’s a worthy 8/10
Gout – Actual Bastard (Independent) [Spike]
There is a certain type of noise that can only be manufactured in the shadow of a derelict industrial estate, somewhere between a broken intercom and a fistfight. Gout have managed to bottle that exact frequency on their debut EP, Actual Bastard. It’s a five-track jolt of street-level grit that refuses to be polite, trading the high-gloss sheen of the modern circuit for a sound that feels like it was recorded in a space where the ceiling is permanently sweating.
The EP hits the ground running with Inmate, and the intent is clear from the first vibration. This is pugnacious, low-end-heavy noise that feels like it’s been dragged through a hedge. It’s followed by Too Bleak, which lives up to its billing with a rhythmic instability that reminds me of that specific, early 80s industrial-punk friction, think the raw-nerve energy of The Birthday Party mashed into a modern, subterranean weight. It’s unpolished, honest, and possesses a level of “dirt under the fingernails” that makes most current metalcore look like it’s been through a car wash.
The absolute jewel in the crown here is track three: I Am A Beacon Of Health And Wellbeing. Beyond having arguably the best title I’ve seen on a track-list this year, it’s a masterclass in sarcasm-as-art. The vocals are delivered with a dry, caustic vitriol that perfectly punctures the self-help obsession of the modern age. Musically, it’s a slow-building monolith of tension that eventually explodes into a wall of noise.
The final stretch, Junk Sick and Tarmac doubles down on the attrition. Tarmac, in particular, feels like a literal representation of its name: hard, grey, and unforgiving. The production allows the guitars to scrape against each other with a surgical precision that hasn’t been sanitized for radio safety. It sounds like a band playing in a room that is far too small for the ambition of the noise, which is exactly where this kind of music thrives.
Gout didn’t come here to make friends or offer a “testament to resilience.” They came here to document a very specific kind of urban rot, and Actual Bastard is the jagged, essential result. It’s a record that understands that the most vital art often comes from the people who have stopped trying to be liked and just started being loud. This is a reminder that the underground still knows exactly how to leave a mark. 8/10
Resumption – The Respite (Self Released) [Joe Guatieri]
Resumption is a one man Death Doom band made up of Wilhelm Lindh, who is known for being the guitarist in The Gardnerz. Previously he has also been involved in both Allamedah and Tristita, the latter band only broke up fairly recently in 2023. The man has been around the block, consistently putting out releases for years so it seems time for him to open up his solo account, how will he hold out on his own with The Respite.
The album opens with Self Reliance, it starts at a low frequency and puts you into a dark world, full of uncertainty. Scratchy guitars, plodding bass and pingy high hats make me dream up visions of staring up at a high tower in the rain. Everything feels at home being nestled underneath a blanket of Lo-fi production, as Wilhelm’s deep growl rumbles on for eternity.
Going into track three with Worship, it seems very familiar from the get-go. It starts with a call and response pattern that attempts to be evil. After some chugging, the guitars then go for a more hypnotic rhythm but it doesn’t capture what it sets out to do and sounds undercooked as a result. It refuses to let the song breathe and focus, simply by doing too much at once. The pace does pick up a bit at the back half but it doesn’t save the song, for me Worship is Death Doom 101.
Next is Leave It Alone, a track that marks a change of pace for the album, leaning into a more Death Metal style with drums that are so loud, they shout out into the void. The song is frantic throughout, like it’s running away from the unknown but that all comes to a crawl by 2:35 where we are presented with watery refrains. The bass shows it’s still alive, hitting after the guitars sing but then almost immediately after a seconds silence, we are thrown back into the same traffic again. The bulk of the song doesn’t change and that slow build up meant nothing.
Later on we’ve got track seven with Invest In Yourself. This sees a change from old habits as an idea is presented and built upon, sounding complete. The way that all of the instruments move together here has a really good sway to it, it’s like the hero in an action film, walking away from an explosion, it sounds regal. I think that there is a strong Crowbar influence here, it just cuts through you and this is complete with a Death Metal freak out by the end of the track, spider riffs for days! Definitely my favourite song on the record.
Despite Wilhelm Lindh’s evident prowess, this release remains uneventful. It might call out to classic Doom and Death acts, with a dash of New Orleans Sludge but it doesn’t act upon instinct, neither inventing something new. It commits a sin and that is doing something that most metal fans have heard before.
The whole experience of Resumption’s The Respite is like stumbling on an apparent old metal demo on YouTube from the late eighties, or early Nineties that was recently uploaded. I am not impressed by this record. 4/10
