Album Review: Pounder - Uncivilized

Guitarist/vocalist Matt Harvey may be best known for his contributions to thrash and death metal with groups like Exhumed and Dekapitator, but he still has room in his heart for good old-fashioned classic metal. Pounder was seemingly born from this passion and offers a furious take that could only come from guys with a more extreme background. If 2018’s Faster than Fire EP was a warmup, then we can consider Uncivilized as their first main course.

True to form, the musicians’ death metal origins result in a noticeably intense yet still melodic take on power metal. The production is incredibly clean, allowing every instrument to stand out in the mix as the guitars are fast and fiery, the bass is grimy, and the drums rarely waver from their relentless double bass blasts. There are times where things may feel too precise, but the sheer force gives the songwriting an extra boost that might not have been there with a more antiquated approach.

Unfortunately, Harvey may have a decent growl on him, but his clean vocals leave a lot to be desired. His odd wheezy approach is often drowned out in the mix and completely overwhelmed by the instrumental intensity. The power ballads “Long Time No Love” and “Answer the Call,” already rarities in this scene nowadays, are nearly derailed by strained warbling while other would-be scorchers like the title track and “Red Hot Leather” yearn to be delivered by somebody like Tony Moore or Jean-Pierre Abboud. Thankfully the heavier guitar focuses on the Riot-esque “We Want the Night” allow it to rise above this handicap.

Plenty of debut albums have been brought down by bad or out of place vocals but even at its worst, Pounder’s first album offers a ton of potential. The instrumentation is excellent, and the writing is memorable, so I can only imagine how much more powerful it’d be with somebody else at the helm. I imagine there’s a sizable enough crowd that can overlook this flaw, but Traveler’s debut is a better executed example of this style. I may have to give this a lower grade than I honestly want to, but I’m keeping an eye on these guys all the same.

Highlights:
“We Want the Night”

Final Grade: C+

Album Review: Tyr - Hel

Right off the bat, Tyr’s first album since 2013’s Valkyrja starts with one of the band’s heaviest songs to date. While the chorus on “Gates of Hel” is the sort of power metal upliftment one would expect from these Faroese raiders, the verses and instrumental segments suggest more extreme influence with their driving guitars, blasting drums, and growled vocals. It sounds more like Amon Amarth than Tyr at times yet manages to not sound out of place with everything to follow.

Going along with that, the musicianship on Hel is some of the band’s most involved in over a decade. The guitar tone is noticeably heavier, showcasing more bottom end with a fierier character compared to the usual icy feel, and the leads are more intricate. The bass is infinitely more prominent than it has ever been with numerous tracks bursting with intrusive undercurrents. The band has stated that the writing process was much more collaborative this time around and it truly shows.

But with thirteen songs totaling to a near seventy-minute runtime, Hel is admittedly rather overstuffed. Tyr is certainly no stranger to longer albums, but such lengths were better suited for the slower, more epic style of Eric the Red or Ragnarok than the more straightforward fast-paced metal of their most recent outings. Fortunately, there aren’t any outright weak tracks on here so culling tracks would largely be a matter of preference.

And with that in mind, there are pretty great tracks on here. The singles were well chosen as the heavier tinges on “Sunset Shore” give it some extra oomph not seen on any of Tyr’s other ballads while “Fire and Flame” is one of the album’s catchiest speedsters. “Far from the Worries of the World” may be the album’s strongest track thanks to its particularly triumphant refrains and I can dig the subtler percussive hooks on “Songs of War.”

As much as Hel can feel more like Amon Amarth with clean vocals than an “actual” Tyr album, it may be their strongest effort since 2009’s By the Light of the Northern Star. It’s a little sad to see less of the band’s folk tendencies but the boost in heaviness and heightened band chemistry more than make up for it. Seeing how the band has hinted that their next album could completely move away from their Norse aesthetic, it’ll be quite interesting to see how things progress in the future.

Highlights:
“Garmr”
“Sunset Shore”
“Far from the Worries of the World”
“Fire and Flame”
“Songs of War”

Final Grade: B