That said, Evolution of Evil is a pretty standard if acceptable affair. There’s nothing here that really jumps out at me. The production is nice and and tight/chunky. The vocals are an array of nondescript mid range growls rasps and bellows, the subject matter is interesting and the players, most with some experience in more obscure mid west death metal acts, are decent, especially rock solid drummer Greg Mueller.

But there is nothing on these 10 songs that grabs me or makes me want to listen to the effort again. Even the video above is standard metal fare. The focus is on more sturdy, chunky grooves like “Malevolent Milwaukee Massacre” and trundling “Curse of the Night Stalker” (which even has some haunting female backing vocals) than speed like “Undead Living Hell”, “Encroaching Darkness” or “Cyanide Skies”. Most songs have a little of both like “Final Chapter”, “Blood Bathory” or closing piece “The Asylum”, but none of it sticks despite the energy and production. The songs just are ‘there’. Don’t get me wrong though. This is far, far from a ‘bad’ album, simply, it’s just another generic ok-album; one I don’t mind when it’s playing, but one I’m not really craving to listen to again.

After the intro “Vestige”, the increased ballistics s immediately felt on “No Longer Within” and “The Dreadful Echo” where the blackened symphonic wisps are backed by much beefier double bass and blast beats, especially the latter which has a real “whoa” impact. And in fact, everything thing, even the guitars and vocals (other than the remaining Paul Kuhr ish croons here and there) seemed a bit beefed up and burlier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbYv8wYNIdY

The following tracks deliver the same blend of blackened death metal with keyboards as the likes of “Awakening”, the snarling “Hours of Obstinancy”  and “Shadow Path” all show an increased level of aggression and less warbly gothic/doomy metal as the bands earlier sound (no female vocals or ballad-y song here  as on No Closure). But ultimately even with solid tracks like “Hex illusion”, the album as a whole doesn’t have those ‘it’ moments to define it or elevate it. As much as I enjoy the album for review purposes, I’m not feeling that need to go back to it, despite it doing everything right.

Withering Soul‘s caffeinated up November’s Doom sound (“In Abscence”) has it’s place and Adverse Portrait certainly is a solid album, but I’m left wanting more from the band as a whole, not just this album. They seem so close to taking it to the next level and standing out in the US scene, so I hope they take that step for the next album, even its it takes another 4 years.

Album of Man collects the bands last few Man themed EPs: Instincts and Intrinsic into one concept album that melds thrash, heavy metal, progressive metal and even death metal into a vast sonic collage that is really hard to nail down in an easy description. Those who have heard The Living Fields self titled debut and 2011s Running Out of Daylight will be familiar with Higgs divisive voice, but for the uninitiated imagine a high pitched register that melds Rob Halford, King Diamond, Ihsahn and 3 Inches of Blood‘s Cam Pipes. To many it will sound like a cat being raped while raking its claws on a chalk board. To others, myself included, even with my aversion to clean vocals, they are unique and interesting, especially as they are at least broken up with a more normal clean croon and occasional growl/bellow.

So if you can get past the vocals, you will be in for a kaleidoscope of arrays and styles of metal. Monsterworks simply does not fit one or more style as they constantly change in songs, between songs and won’t squeeze nicely into one paradigm. You have gentle acoustic numbers (“Known”, “Being Human”), rousing hard rock (“It’s Alive”, “Free Will”), lively thrash numbers (“All Suns Die”), sprawling, complex progressive pieces (“Unconditional Lie”) even a blasting death metal number (“Harden to Art”) and a bit of everything (“Taste of Doom”). All of it enjoyable, challenging and engaging, if all over the musical map.

However, it’s not until the album’s epic closing standout “Air – We Have Come so Far”, a new track where I feel the brilliance of The God Album truly shines through. Not that anything else on the release is chopped liver – but it all feels a bit disconnected – like the separate releases they were. Unlike the standout longer, more developed compositions such as “Everything You Believe is a Lie”, “God” and “Hymn of Fire” from The God Album, “Air” traverses 7+ minutes of patient build, more delicate hues and a steady prog rock/Opeth-ian gait. It never quite peaks but certainly draws you in elegantly and delvers a fairly rousing end note, showing what Monsterworks can really deliver when they settle into a song for an extended period.

I have to admit, Album of Man didn’t strike a chord with me as well as its predecessor, but it’s an interesting release to say the least and you have to appreciate the creativity and diversity Higgs and co dive into for this project, knowing full well the fickle metal community.

With ties to one of first US acts plying the style competently, the underrated Veneficum, in keyboardist/guitarist Krystopher, Withering Soul’s sound has a distinct European tone that obviously culls from the likes of early Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth, and to these ears Arthemesia. However, the band has a little of their own character by way of some death metal growls and some deep baritone clean vocals akin to Novembers Doom’s Paul Kuhr — amid a couple of rending doomy, moody passages, and it makes for a very enjoyable listen.

After the intro “Night of the Revenant”, the first proper track “Phantasmal Chaos Divinity” clues you in to Withering Soul’s competent sound with some polished, dramatic synths, bristling, militant riffs and a sudden but well delivered transition into an unexpectedly rending doom passage. Second track “The Sequitor” and third track “Tides of The Accursed” are far more rooted in direct Dimmu Borgir, especially the opening salvo of and intense closure of “Tides of The Accursed” which could have come from Enthrone Darkness Triumphant as could have most of the riffs and synths “Possession of Deception pt 2”, if it weren’t for the somber vocal bridge that appears.

After a bit of a lull with the albums midpoint track “Sadistic Redress”, which is still an enjoyable symphonic black metal number, “Manifest Transparency” sees a return to a more dramatic turn complete with more well done clean vocals while “Lifeless They Lie” takes a more Cradle of Filth turn with more emphasis death metal vocals, thrashing riffs, as well as some female crooning in the back ground. It’s all stuff I’ve heard before but all in all, it’s still done very well here –especially the last few moments. The following penultimate track “Unquiet” tones things down a bit, going for a more gothic metal, beauty and the beast -mood with male and female vocals being used effectively.

The album closes out with the expected atmospheric outro in “Requiem of Sorrow” so all the requisite elements of symphonic black metal are covered, but I have to admit, for the style these guys are pretty good and personally blow fellow US acts like Sothis and Abigail Williams out of the water. Definitely keep an eye out.

The band began life as a Metallica cover band, and it won’t take you long to figure that out. Whether it be vocalist Frank Leary doing his best to imitate the worst of James Hetfield’s yodeling attempts to sing toward the end of album opener “Suffer Patiently” or guitarist Patrick Hayden’s lead ripped right from the “How to Play in the Style of Kirk Hammett” instructional video on the same song. Then there’s the ballad “My Regret,” which offers a carbon copy of some of the worst that the Metallica catalog has to offer, and the painful vocals on “Unstrung Hero,” which sound like someone trying to do Hetfield karaoke. Despite that, though, there are moments in most of the songs that I actually like.

The title track opens with a nice squealing riff that shows promise. After that, though, things go off the rails. It’s like there’s no connection, chemistry or spark in the song – almost like the parts were recorded in four different studios in four different towns and then patched together. “Crimson Sand,” after a Godsmack-flavored opening riff, suffers the same fate. The dry, squeaky clean production doesn’t help matters either, as individual instruments, particularly the guitar, sound very good alone, but when taken together it seems a bit sterile – kind of like Metallica’s Load, now that I think about it.

Much of this record seems to be dedicated to recreating the Load era, though why anyone would want to do that, I have no idea. There are interesting moments scattered throughout – the Alice in Chains-flavored vocal bit and faux-exotic guitar licks at the beginning of “One More Shot” and the twangy guitar at the beginning of “Last Redemption” – but instead of following those threads, the band always reverts back to Load mode.

Toward the end of the record, we finally get some relief. “The Fear” opens with a cool thrashing riff, but Leary’s Sully Erna impression falls short of the original and still has too many heavy Hetfield inflections. “Glass Legacy” sees the infusion of some power metal influence. It scales back the Metallica worship (though it’s still there) and reminds me a bit, at times, of Iced Earth. It’s the first real sign of life for a full song on the record. Album closing ballad “Fever Slide” loses the momentum, though, despite some nice Alice in Chains-infused moments and a really cool piano and Spanish-flavored guitar run at the end that save it from being another Metallica copycat ballad.

I think there’s a great deal of promise on Fury Rising, but, in truth, not much fury. I can find some good point of just about every song here (with the possible exception of “My Regret”), but the band absolutely has to find its own identity. Right now, they’re a copycat that’s not even copying the best era of Metallica. If you’ve ever wondered whether or not you would have liked Load if it had been another band instead of Metallica, one listen to this record will give you the answer: No.