Friday Morning Metal – Tryglav – The Ritual

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Oooh Croatian black metal. This time it’s The Ritual by Tryglav, a one-man band that started in 2018. Boris Behara is the driver of Tryglav, and he has other singles with names like I’m Gonna Fvkk Your Mom. Encyclopaedia Metallum seems to believe that, though he’s from Croatia, the band formed in Italy, and is therefore Italian black metal, instead of Croatian. That seems like splitting hairs. But also I get grumpy when Death Cab for Cutie claim to have formed in Seattle and not Bellingham. Maybe I should talk to somebody about that. It’s a weird thing to get hung up about.

The song kicks off with some orchestral bits that sound fun and foreboding, like the Phantom of the Opera is almost here, in your mind. A string crescendo transitions into the song, which is heavily guitar-forward and rad. The melody is catchy, and chock full of arpeggios. I think those are arpeggios. Because it’s black metal, the vocals are high and growly. I much prefer clean vocals, but I guess that turns the song into a different genre. The solo at the midpoint is pretty straightforward, if it is a solo. Feel like when guy makes a whole song all of it could be a solo, right?

Since it’s a solo project, the video is just this dude shredding next to some torches. They did a lot of close ups and slow mo shots of the fire, but really it’s just him standing in a field playing guitar. The video does have some scan lines from time to time and like digital artifacting, I bet it’s there to be creepy. While I’m not the biggest black metal fan, the guitar work is great, and it’s cool to see Croatian metal out there. So go out there, Try some glav.

Mega Colossus – Razor City

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Happy Friday! Enjoy some bigass metal from Mega Colossus, this time it’s Razor City. These guys are from Raleigh, NC, and have been shredding faces since 2005. Although for 2005-2016 they were just Colossus. I guess in 2016 they upgraded. And whatever upgrade they did it is well worth it! These guys bring the metal that should be blasting out of every skate shop or dingy dive bar covered in stickers. They also have an album called “… and the Rift of the Pan-Dimensional Undergods” which is pretty spot on for a metal band.

The song kicks off with some staccato drums before a big metal scream. Also they’re slicing their way through the madness. I really dig the vocalist yelling RAZOR CITAAAAAAYYYYY before the first of many finger tappy solos. The vocals are not exactly what I’d expect on top of this kind of metal, but then he yells RAZOR CITAAAYYYY and I understand completely. The drums drive their way through the song, and into your heart. This is one of those “if I’m on a bike ride I’m putting up some PRs” type of songs. I feel like these guys had a checklist of awesome metal tropes to include in the song and took care of them with aplomb. Chock full of solos, chugga riffs, harmonizing, and more, this song rips so hard.

If Beavis & Butthead still covered music videos, this would’ve been in rotation. It cuts between the band playing in a club and clips from Skateboard Samurai 2. He starts off fighting a dude who looks kinda like him, and then he moves on to the Skooter Boys! There’s also a witch lady with a scrying orb and a little demon guy who looks like a Portuguese Gremlin. Oh dang guitar posing during the breakdown! And then a great twist at the end. I want to see more of Skateboard Samurai. He looks tough and awesome.

Friday Morning Metal – Cruel Force – Savage Gods

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German speed metal! This week we’re checking out Savage Gods by Baden-Württemberg’s own Cruel Force. The band is made up of GG Alex, Slaughter, Carnivore, and Spider. Carnivore’s a pretty tough name. You wouldn’t want to mess with Carnivore. According to the Encyclopaedia Metallum they focus on themes of Satan, Blasphemy, and Heavy Metal Cult. I’m not sure what heavy metal cult is, but I bet they have good mixers.

The song kicks off with some guitar and drums that give off a Mediterranean vibe before dropping into the main riff. Frenetic guitars punctuate the growly metal vocals of Carnivore in a great way, and the noodly guitar fills after each line are fantastic. And the solo toward the end has just enough shred to hit the RDA for metal. The song does have a great breakdown at the end. Like they got so tired from being speedy metalheads that they need a nap. Despite the video coming out a week ago, the mix definitely sounds like 1985, especially on the drums. That kinda hollow-y echo is fun and makes me think of dragging my bench press out into the backyard in summer.

The video looks like they’re performing somewhere in Greece. Or like the steps of a courthouse. Lotta quick cuts between band members ensures you know who they all are. It is a little bummer they left the drummer in the recording studio. Maybe it was too expensive to ship his kit to the parthenon so he threw a tantrum and decided “he didn’t want to go to stupid Greece anyway.” I am not speaking from personal experience there, I’m just guessing why he didn’t get to go. Or maybe they won’t let him in because he said tzatziki sauce is weird.

Friday Morning Metal – Aeon Gods – Reborn to Light

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Happy Friday, here’s Germany’s own Aeon Gods bringing the epic power metal that is part of a balanced breakfast. Pretty sure Colonel Jack O’Neil and Dr. Daniel Jackson rocked out to this stuff on that Stargate planet. They seem fairly epic and whatnot. I guess all their albums are about ancient gods, which seems like a rich vein to tap for epic metal. I hope they have Tobin’s Spirit Guide, so they can shout out more obscure deities.

A solid drum fill kicks the song into gear before hearing the main melody. It’s a rollicking riff with some big keyboards adding some extra oomph. I wonder if metal becomes epic when there’s a keyboard involved. I enjoy the vocalist, he’s a little growly while still hitting those soaring moments in the chorus. Also I think he pronounces thousand as “toe-sand.” The solo starts off a little slow before getting some sweeps picks and gnarly scales going. Just in time for the breakdown prior to the coda. I wonder if they planned to do a key change there but thought Alestorm had taken all of them.

The video takes place in the Duat, which is apparently the Egyptian underworld. Their outfits are pretty cool, like they landed on the Stargate planet with the lasers and stuff. I know the Stargate planet’s like sorta Egyptian, but these guys look… space Egyptian. Maybe it’s because the guitarist has one of those no headstock guitars, it looks fancy. Also there’s a dude with a ram head riding a boat, he looks heavily computer graphical. I kept waiting for him to do something, but he just kind of rode the boat for a while. Maybe they ran out of computer budget to make their outfits extra tough.

Friday Morning Metal – Shylmagoghnar – The Sea

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Here we go! Coming at you with a band that sounds like one of Skwisgar’s former groups, it’s Shylmagoghnar’s The Sea. Apparently the band started as two dudes, and now it’s maybe just one guy, Nimblkorg. It’s gotta be tough to play all those instruments at the same time, but he seems to do a pretty solid job of it. In one whole song he’s covering guitars, bass, drums, synthesizers, piano, flute, violin, and vocals!

The song starts with a creepy poem about the sea, before some plinky plunky grandspas guitar work coupled with violins. The vocals are primarily whispers, which is kind of fun and spooky. About halfway through there’s a breakdown and some bigass guitar work, as if it’s another movement within the song. The guitar solo is pretty soaring, and feels like something Skwisgar would use in a song about the ocean. But maybe not Go Into the Ocean. A different ocean song. There’s also some good piano work that gives it more of an epic/operatic metal vibe than melodic black metal. At 8 minutes, the track does feel a little long, but there are enough changes that it’s not too bad. Maybe it could be two four minute songs, but who am I to judge. I can’t play ANY instrument, let alone eight.

The video itself makes the band look like they’re underwater, while it cuts to clips of fish and waves and stuff. They’re really leaning on the title with that. There’s some other stuff, like candles doing their thing, but primarily it’s a lot of ocean. Big splashy cymbals are paired with images of waves crashing, and while that seems a little on the nose, it’s pretty cool. But for a song called the Sea, having a lot of ocean references is pretty great.

Friday Morning Metal – Tad Morose – Beneath A Veil Of Crying Souls

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Time for some bombastic power metal, from Sweden’s own Tad Morose. I wouldn’t say these guys are morose at all, they seem epic. I wonder if there’s a band called “Slightly Epic.” These guys have been shredding since 1991, led by Christer “Krunt” Andersson. Krunt doesn’t seem like a good nickname. I bet it’s totally chill in Sweden, but I’d totally call someone a Krunt if they were being rude. Or it could be a euphemism for eye gunk. “Hey Jim, you take a nap? You got a lot of krunt on your eye.” Beneath a Veil of Crying Souls is a hell of a title, like if you didn’t know the band you could imagine it’s going to be screamo or math rock or something. Or a Falconer album title.

The song kicks off with a great guitar melody before the singer gets going. He’s got a solid set of pipes, alternating between kinda growly and soaring. The rest of the band harmonizes well on the chorus, when it sounds a bit more power metally. There’s a solid chugga breakdown halfway through, right before the noodliest metal solo I’ve heard in a minute. I bet that guitarist is named De Cecco with how full of noodles he is. The song ends kind of abruptly, or at least they do a final chorus and then there’s like a couple measures and that’s that. Regardless, it’s shreddy and not very morose.

The video is pretty much them performing in a really dark church, or in front of some faux stained glass light boxes. Either way, there’s a lot of staring down the barrel from the whole band. I think they’re trying to show off how tough they look playing. Which they do look quite tough. Especially the bassist. I bet he did a Drillbit Taylor back in the day. Pretty sure if I was in a band and they wanted me to look right at the camera while playing I’d probably make a goofy face. So good thing I’m not in a band!

Friday Morning Metal – Kalmah – Seventh Swamphony

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Swamp metal! It’s a thing! And Kalmah have been making it since 1991! To be fair, I have no idea what swamp metal is, but Kalmah sound like really orchestral metal with black/death vocals, so maybe that’s it. According to Wiki, they started in 1998, but were Ancestor from 91 to 98. Then they swamped it up, focusing on themes of Politics, Personal struggles, Swamps, History, Hunting, Fishing. Seventh Swamphony feels like it talks personal struggles and swamps, maybe environmentalism too?

The song kicks off in a really frenetic pace before the guitars drop the melody. The vocals are intriguing, though I feel like I’m getting a sore throat just listening to it. I do enjoy the keyboardist adding some flair, it makes it feel much more epic. There’s a killer keyboard breakdown that transitions to a solid solo while the bog monster gets monstrous. All in all it’s a pretty good swampy time.

The video cuts between the band playing out in a bog and some dude having a bad time, also in a bog. I think he’s polluting the bog, which summons a bog monster. Maybe it’s the spirit of the bog. Regardless, the monster is not pleased with some dude, and he’s got some monster tendrils to get vengeance! It is funny seeing the band look like a bunch of swamp dwellers shredding on pristine guitars and keyboards and whatnot.

Friday Morning Metal – Tankard – A Girl Called Cerveza

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Oooh Frankfurty thrash! This week we’re checking out A Girl Called Cerveza by Tankard. Bjørn keeps sharing various Tankard songs so it seemed like as good a time as any to get a video up in here. These guys have been around since 1982 (like me!) and are considered one of the Big Four of Teutonic Thrash. Much like bands that are 40 years old, there’s been some churn, but the original bassist and singer are still there kicking ass and taking names, so good on them for the longevity!

The song kicks off with some solid riffing before kicking into a solid chugga melody. It’s fun to hear a German guy pronounce cerveza as “serve-essa” almost like Vanessa maybe? The vocals fit well with the band, while the lyrics are about how this lady stole all his beer after getting him drunk. Poor guy. Nobody should get their beer supply taken. The solo is a frenetic and fantastic, but I can’t remember if it’s arpeggios or just very staccato. I should probably take some music theory classes if I’m going to keep writing about how rad these songs are.

The video is a combo of them shredding on the roof of a building and also the Girl Called Cerveza making metal faces while the singer paws at her. Then she kills the singer in a brewery! I think? Regardless, it looks like they’re having a hoot and a half, so give it a watch and enjoy!

Friday Morning Metal – Power Paladin – Sword Vigor

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Ready for some cheeky power metal? This week it’s Iceland’s own Power Paladin, shredding out Sword Vigor. Apparently they used to just be called Paladin, then the pandemic™ happened and they became POWER PALADIN! I bet they know Björk. Maybe she’s featured in other songs. That would rule.

Much like most power metal, there’s some big guitar hooks before the rest of the band dives in. The hook is catchy as hell. Their vocalist is solid, transitioning from staccato verses to soaring choruses with ease. I think there’s even a baby key change before the solo, so this song has it all! The epic solo halfway through gets the added bonus of some keyboard, or they actually have someone playing a harpsichord in the band. Wouldn’t put it past a power metal band to get a harpsichord or zither up in there. The song is pretty paint by the numbers epic power metal track, but they do a great job of it so I look forward to more Power Paladin!

The video highlights the Power Paladins doing their regular day to day, I guess? Turns out they have a carpool and one of them vapes a ton. Oh and one of them is wicked passed out in the car. That can’t be healthy. And I guess they hate the vikings. LUTE SOLO! I know it’s guitar but the Power Paladin playing on a lute in the video is great. Then they beat the pie out of a goblin. Those Power Paladins sure are good at paladin’ around. And then they rip off in their sedan. This video gives a lot of the same goofy vibes I saw from Red Fang, and that’s fantastic.

Friday Morning Metal – Templar – Treacherous Beast

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Straight out of Stockholm this week is Templar, proprietors of throwback metal! These guys started in 2022, but maybe they frozen in ice in 1978 and thawed out in 2022.

The song is a solid throwback metal song, feels a lot more like 1979-1982 era stuff. Like they could open for Riot. Not Quiet Riot, but Riot. It starts with some live footage before kicking into the dueling guitar intro. They do the cool thing where each guitar is in its own channel, so you can hear difference. Unless you’re missing a speaker or are deaf in one ear, then you only hear 75% of the band. They’ve got a great chugga sound, and the vocals harken back to the bygone era of feathered hair and songs about traveling the wilderness to fight the beast. There’s a great echo effect during the solo, it makes it sound extra layered and stuff. The song’s also just short of three and a half minutes; doesn’t feel like they left any meat on the bone for this one! Just a solid throwback shred fest.

The video bounces between live footage and what appears to be a band photo shoot. They seem a little nervous playing with the bigass sword and the torch, but otherwise they seem to be having a good time. I hope they used the group photo for a Christmas card. The live footage doesn’t always synch with the audio, which is a little off-putting, but otherwise it’s solid.