The Australian Metal scene is a promising one yet it is overlooked. Rarely you Metal bands from the region headlining tours like their American or Scandinavian counterparts. The result being, bands like Ne Obliviscaris don't get exposure, fame or opportunity that's proportionate to their musical capabilities.
However now with the world paying attention to them and music festivals like Soundwave start putting these bands on stage with the international acts, I hope the same does not happen with acts like Hadal Maw. Hadal Maw in general can be considered as a Technical Death Metal band. Despite that descriptor, to let readers judge is the sound of the band as that only is a gross understatement and unfair to the band.
It's either the pollution in Melbourne has gotten really bad or the smoke machine is finally doing its job.
The band's songwriting can be divided into two parts and aptly divided an instrumental in the middle album, consisting of (African? Australian Aborigine?) tribal drums. The first part of the album feels like a cross between Death Metal, that isn't overtly technical (so don't expect Necrophagist like noodling) and Groove Metal sensibilities. Now I'm not referring to the Pantera styled tough guy Groove, I'm referring to the heavy ground pounding Groove that you could hear on a Gojira album.
In fact, I dare say this sounds like a cross between Gojira and old Kataklysm. The drums and leads were the highlight of the first track, where the drums goes on a crazy rampage of machine gun drumming, the leads come in pulls off melody lines that creates a certain atmosphere that haunts the listener. Sometimes to almost a Blackened like feeling but never crossing into the Black/Death boundary too far. It still stays in the realm of Death Metal.
To add up the atmosphere, the band slows down into a Doom like tease, but then only allows you calm down for a minute. Like an interrogator teasing you with a 30 second break yet he continues to water board you right after your attempt to catch your breath. You think there is hope to catch up and let the air into your lungs but it's just the chance for the warden to bark you questions. You won't listen to vocals with a huge range but it does its part and stays consistent despite the division that I mentally made. Mainly comprised of one part barking vocals, almost Obituary like and one part deep growls.
The second half of the album goes into a different level. Continuing from the frantic tribal drum track, a pseudo drum solo enters, rolling away into madness, the band lets the drummer show off and the mad technical riffs comes in a different level. Like the levels of a video game, the riffs played seems to be harder, faster and more complex, screaming at you to catch up.
The composition here is a whole more complicated with even more complex riffing and a bit less groovy, focusing on the conventional Technical Death Metal we are used to, something like Nile to a certain extend. The riffs are more varied and they quell off any connotations that the band is a one trick pony. Groove styled riffs are lesser and take the back seat. In fact, I'm glad that they did this or else the album would be monotonous.
While the band is able to show the full range of their capabilities, the only part there is a sense of showing off is the short pseudo drum solo. The band members focus on creating melodies with a purpose and stuck as a team, working together.
"Do you know the lyrics to African Child?"
Sorry, I just had to make that joke.
Because the fact there is an obvious line in the album that I could split it into two parts, it made me think of several scenarios. Was the track list arranged according to chronological order? Or was the tracks were intentionally arranged in the manner so that they get even more intense as they go up? The doubting part of me wants to think of the one prior, where the band got better through the years, where the bands were able to transition from the Groove influenced riffs into much more Technical song writing.
The art-appreciating side of me though wants think of the later where the band wants to put the listener into a dark journey up a mountain. The higher it gets, the more treacherous it becomes. The deeper you immerse yourself in this slab of Death Metal, the deeper you sink into complex riffs.
There are exceptions on both sides though, where the first track sounds like the more Technical edge on the 2nd half of the album while Altars of Ire starts as something Groovier, then into the complicated guitar work. It is more like an amalgamation of the 1st and 2nd half. Of course, I might be wrong about all this and they just happen to sound constructed like that to my ears.
Lyric wise, the band somehow feels as if, while vague were writing about Earth being destroyed, through the wrongdoings of men. Sounds familiar? I guess Gojira's influence in their mind extends further than just the music. The lyrics even feels like Gojira. In fact, the word senium is an old English word of old, which I assume refers to the Earth being old, not 6000 years that young Earth creationists may want to imply. Then again, I am assuming here. But from lyrics like this;
A bastard child of his own creation
Left to linger and slowly deteriorate
How can you not guess that they're definitely against this whole anthropocentric thing. In fact, I appreciate this than your regular Death Metal gore and violence a bit. Different flavor of the palette for today.
The essence of this album is the excellent combination of devastatingly heavy Groove riffs mixed together with Technical Death Metal. No excessive lead work that leads to nowhere and everything done in a sufficient manner. Despite the introduction of modern Groove sensibilities, the parts don't sound jarring or forced.
When a Groove riff needs to end, it ends. That's one good point about this band in a world that is too obsessed with speed, technicality and brutality, that people forgot about the songwriting element of Death Metal. That is what also separates the finer musicians from the ones who only seek to achieve novelty by pushing a new idea that doesn't fit.
When there is a new element to be introduced, don't try to force it, see if it could fit in naturally. Music and art aren't parts that you buy in a store where you can attach it and assemble together. They're more like gardens where different plants might not mix with each other, or in some cases might be a parasite to each other.
You don't want your riffs to be parasites.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hadalmaw
Bandcamp: http://hadalmaw.bandcamp.com/
