June 2020: Top Picks - Invictra, King Marm, Visions of Disfigurement

Congratulations, Diaries of Doom reader! If you're reading this, you've made it halfway through this bastard of a year without succumbing to Coronavirus, a police system in need of systemic reform, murder hornets, bushfires... It feels like we're slowly going back to normal after a very weird few months, whatever 'normal' is now. Wonder what kind of curveball the next month will throw at us.

Although 'Diaries of Doom' could be the name of any current affairs outlet at the moment, I'm just here to write about bands. Now, some bands have released music in the last month. Some of those have been pretty good. I'd like to think I've got something here that you won't have heard yet.

Invictra - Chaos Theory (thrash metal) - independent

US thrash metallers Invictra released 'Chaos Theory' only a few days ago. What a monster EP it is. If you like technical, groovy thrash metal with progressive, neoclassical flourishes and plenty of guitar wizardry - without it feeling too self-indulgent - give this Rochester band a go. Their second EP since forming in the mid-2010s - with the 2018 full-length 'The World Game' in between the two - 'Chaos Theory' shows a step up in quality for Invictra, whose songs are more memorable here than the last album. It's always exciting to hear a band in their own ascendancy, with each release topping the last, the peak of their powers still unrealised. Yet if 'Chaos Theory' were to be Invictra's crowning achievement, this would be no mean feat. Opening with 'Wretch of Deceit', Invictra waste no time in showing the uninitiated what they're all about. The intelligent instrumental work and a well-honed balance of aggression and melody sets the scene well. 'The Adversary' is best characterised by its constant, furious double bass work and neoclassical-isms, before the groovy 'Psycho's Vindication' starts on a riff that gets the neck snapping away, maintaining this energy throughout. With a section allowing the bass to shine as a lead instrument, it demonstrates one of Invictra's strengths in allowing each member to shine individually without losing the essence of the song. The instrumental 'Four' is undoubtedly one for the shred fans, with plenty of trade-off soloing akin to Megadeth's Wake Up Dead/Into The Lungs of Hell/Hangar 18 (etc). But there's plenty of excellent riff work and key changes to keep things interesting. The melodic 'Chaos Theory' then ends proceedings on a bang, with euphoric Maiden-esque guitar leads and harmonies. Josh Zalar's strong vocal style alternates between a powerful, aggressive growl and gruff clean singing. This may well appeal to fans of Megadeth who aren't the biggest fan of Mustaine's vocal style but love the instrumental proficiency, or alternately Havok listeners who dig their old-school based style, but want to hear influences from more modern metal bands like Trivium. You wouldn't have guessed that the 80s - the decade of thrash's heyday - were now four decades ago, when thrash sounds this vital and straight-up killer. A remarkable effort.

King Marm - Trash (sludge/hardcore) - independent

Riff devotees King Marm are relative newcomers to the scene, but their first release is a real statement of intent. Their swampy riffing style could be straight out of the American South, with the Eyehategod influence audible from the off. Although King Marm are from a South, it's the South of England. With that said, the UK sludge and doom scene is in such vital shape at the moment, it's no big shock. King Marm have a healthy dose of hardcore energy in their sound too - at the end of 'Drunk Tank', for example, or 'Electric Soup', a visceral 80 seconds of pure hatred that'll appeal to fans of Nails. 'Street Rats', on the other hand, floats away for over ten minutes, as if Sleep in their classic era were influenced by pints of beer, rather than following the smoke. The vocals are a fantastic tortured howl throughout, fitting the misanthropic murkiness like an old pair of shoes. With that said, the further the album goes along, it gets harder to believe that King Marm are no old pair of shoes - it's only their first offering and god knows what's next for them. I won't be sitting out on it. Regarding the rest of the sound, the fuzzy guitars and bass are well produced and the drums batter away with a raw power for the whole of the 22 minutes. You only wish there was more, really. As their Facebook page suggests, King Marm are 'hooligan doom from the four drunkest guys in the room', and their influences, interests and other individualities are simply 'cans'. Crack open a beer outside while the weather's still nice, then, and piss off your neighbours/disappoint your family by playing 'Trash' very, very loudly. Excellent work.

Visions of Disfigurement - Aeons of Misery (slam/brutal death metal) - Realityfade Records

According to Wikipedia, Manchester overtook Edinburgh as the UK's second-most visited city (after London). What makes Manchester so great? Its vibrant music scene explains a fair bit. We've had Madchester and Oasis in the past, but these days everyone who likes to throw down to disgusting chuggy riffs, guttural vocals and bands with barely-legible logos knows about Slamchester. Visions of Disfigurement are one of the biggest names in the scene at the moment and their sophomore album 'Aeons of Misery' sums up why, in just over half an hour. With that said, VoD have evolved in a more brutal death metal direction for 'Aeons' - not that they've completely turned away from slam. It's good to see them move forward and not stagnate or become complacent. The album benefits from modern production, with every riff and note punching the listener in the face with clarity, and somewhat of a vengeance. Ben Quinlivan's drumming is technical and very much on point, it's surprising to learn that VoD only have one guitarist, considering how well he carries the sound. It does, however, allow Adam's grimy basslines to really shine over certain moments of the album. Vocalist Dan, in turn, demonstrates an impressive amount of range and power throughout. Noticeably, the album doesn't flag at all as it progresses through the track listing. 'Perpetual Torment', featuring Meik Grziwa of Begging for Incest, is one of the absolute standout tracks on 'Aeons of Misery', with a slightly blackened atmosphere to highlight the song's wicked depravity. It's not the only guest appearance, either - Stillbirth's Lukas and Whoretopsy's Zac also appear across the album. In every sense, it's a pure, unadulterated death metal album to be celebrated by fans of the genre. I'll be surprised if this doesn't come up on a few end of year lists. The riffs are heavy as fuck and create an amazing atmosphere. If you like slam, death metal or extreme stuff in general, you have to check this out.

MN