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Entrapment come
out of the Netherland’s death metal scene with their newest release
“Through Unseen Realms”. This album features eleven songs of solid,
heavy death metal with some very creative and well performed
passages. The guitars are played with both heavy mid paced guitar
riffs and more straight forward fast patterns. The guitarist does
know how to write, and perform well written guitar patterns, and
even mixes in some well done solos. The drums are done with a lot of
class, and well done patterns going on an all out assault on the
drum kit, to a more controlled mid paced drum style. This is my
first time hearing Entrapment’s music, but this new release mixes
solid, heavy death metal with some melodic dm passages and even some
thrash elements in the guitars. - Patrick
http://entrapment2.bandcamp.com/
http://www.pulverised.net/ |
The thrash metal
scene lately seems to be really growing and making another comeback.
Entrench who have been around for a while, show that the Swedish
thrash metal scene continues to flourish. Entrench are proudly old
school thrash to the maximum here, with their 3rd
full-length they sound like they are straight out of the mid to late
‘80s, when thrash metal was king. The band rip things up with a
speedy assault, filled with swift catchy riffing and slightly
unconventional, but interesting patterns and flow if you pay enough
attention, you will be rewarded with some subtle tasty guitar work.
The drumming punishes and pummels with ferocity and a real high
level of control and maturity. I guess I should not be surprised, as
I just looked up the drummer Mats Blyckert, it appears he has been
honing his craft in the bands Aboth and Dead Awaken as well, playing
almost consistently since 1989! Plus, of course, he has also been
playing in Entrench since 2005. The vocals have that dark, obscured
thrash gruff hiss to them, but unlike the music the vox have a
little more modern influence, from early ‘90s death bands
accompanying the traditional thrash delivery. I have seen a few
reviews comparing them only to Merciless and Sadus, over and over,
which are fair comparisons yet I wondered why all of them came up
with that until I read the bio which names those two bands. I say
that, because I do not know how you could not list the obvious
middle-late ’80 German thrash influence, especially with regards to
Kreator who are clearly a big influence. I thought I even heard a
hint of Forced Entry in there, but I may be imagining things haha.
If you are a die hard fan of classic thrash metal, then you will
love this, it will bring back to you that old great feeling. -
Dale
https://www.facebook.com/entrench http://www.ihate.se/
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It is a pretty
interesting coincidence, at least to me, that I receive an album
from a band not only out of my homeland and even the same province.
But, they are also signed to a record label, which is only a short
drive away from where I now reside in Pennsylvania. It is a small
world I guess. The band plays a style that unlike many sub-genres
these days is not oversaturated. I am talking about Crossover
Thrash, you know thrash metal mixed with healthy doses of punk and
hardcore. Epi-Demic keep it traditional and right down the middle,
with frantic speed showing little to no sizeable swings in tempo or
range, another trademark of the bands that defined the term
Crossover. Epi-Demic do slip in some pretty catchy rhythms into the
riffing framework, at times, which helps keep the interest and
differentiate the songs a little more from one another, in turn
producing a light headbang from me. Between the punk and hardcore
influences, I would say hardcore is far and away taking the lead
with a lot of hardcore style cadence to the pacing. Plus, you have
the vocals, which are probably more hardcore shouted style than your
usual gruff thrash vocal staple. Some bands I can hear influence
from on here are Cryptic Slaughter, Wehrmacht, SOD, Crumsuckers, COC
during their crossover period, maybe a little bit of early Nuclear
Assault as well. You often hear in reviews, they are retro but bring
in modern touches, I am not saying that here these guys are old
school all the way, even the production in some ways, but they own
it and are proud of it. So kudos to them for doing what they like,
and not pandering to modern fans, just to try to be more relevant as
it seems like a lot of bands try to do. It might not be mindblowing
stuff, but it is good Crossover Thrash, done unapologetically in the
old tradition with spiked fist to the face. - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/theplaguebegins13 http://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/
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Coming out of
Belgium’s death metal scene is Epoch, with the cd version of
“Sacrosanct”, which was originally only a digital release back in
2015. The music is heavy death metal, with elements of black metal
and various other genre’s mixed in, to create a very heavy and
unique sound and style. The guitars are nicely performed and well
written; mixing in raging fast speeds, but the guitarist can also
play mid paced sections with similar skill. The music is a nice mix
of fast melodic parts and moving at times into more diverse tones
and patterns. The vocals are brutal death metal growls with some
gruff vocals mixed into a few of the songs. To sum it up, Epoch
create and execute an enjoyable style of death metal with some other
varied minor influences, so if you are a fan of brutal yet unique
death metal then be sure to check this out today. - Patrick
https://epoch616.bandcamp.com/album/sacrosanct
http://www.lavadome.org/
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Australia’s
Eskhaton return with their third full length ‘Omegalitheos’, which
features fourteen songs of aggressive and heavy death metal. The
guitars are done mainly with extremely fast and well written
patterns. The guitars are not all aggression and speed all the time,
as the guitarist does slow to a mid paced tempo with some excellent
passages and even adds some solos throughout the songs. The drummer
is equally as vicious and chaotic with his performance; he is rapid
fire with the blast beats though he does catch a breath with some
slower paced patterns here and there. If you enjoyed Eskhaton’s
previous releases then do yourself a favor and check out
‘Omegalitheos’ today. - Patrick
https://www.facebook.com/eskhaton666
http://www.lavadome.org
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It is always a
pleasure to receive, for review, releases from the great South
American UG metal scene. So it was very cool to get this album of
Estigma, a band who come to us out of Peru, a country that has a
bigger more quality scene than many people outside of South America
would ever believe. Some might remember I listed Estigma, as one of
my fave bands on a recent review of the Soulgrinder compilation. The
man who put it out, Paul Caravasi seen that and sent me this album,
so all thanks goes to Paul for this review. The band plays deathrash
metal, with pretty equal parts from both sub-genres, possibly
leaning a little more to the thrash side of things. Despite my
preamble about the SA scene, this band actually outside of the well
done decipherable death growls with a slight native accent
undertone, sound very American, as in the United States of America.
To give you a picture of the influences, think of a mixing of Bay
Area thrash (late ‘80s / early ‘90s) and Floridian death metal
(early ‘90s), leaning toward the more clean and polished albums from
those scenes. When I say polished I refer to the total package of
playing, hook laden catchy songwriting and production, which is not
to say it is not heavy as fuck too, because it is! This honestly is
an excellent album, truly quality from top to bottom from the music
itself, to the top notch production and instrumental performances.
Having said that, looking deeper into the history of the band, I was
interested to find out after releasing a demo, EP and an album in
the mid-90s this album is their first release in 19 years!! I assume
the band split at some point or was just put on hold, not sure
either way, but they had an awful lot of time to work on this
record. So, it was a surprise for me, to find out that 50% of this
album is made up of songs from their past works all those years ago.
So I guess this album better be damn good (and it is) if in total it
encompasses twenty years of song writing! Anyway, back to the music,
my two favourite parts were the strong, proficient drum work and the
tasty accomplished guitars, which are expertly crafted and drip with
emotion and class. I think my fave track might be the title track,
which embodies everything great about this band and I am sure is
destined to be a future classic song live for the die hard followers
of this band. Estigma represents yet another fine example among many
of why the South American scene is one of the very best in the
world. - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/estigmaperu https://www.facebook.com/postunderproductions
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Expulser are a
heavy, thrash metal band coming to us out of the Brazilian metal
scene. “The Unholy One” was originally released in 1992, but here it
has been remastered this reissue with full liner notes and also the
“Fornications” ep as a bonus on here. The guitar work on this record
is executed with a lot of skill, and ability to write and construct
some excellent classic heavy metal anthems. The vocals are old
school gruff growling and some blackened screechy screams are spread
throughout all the songs on here. If you missed out on this classic
release the first time around, as many of us did, then definitely
check out this unearthed gem of blackened heavy metal art today.
- Patrick
https://www.greyhazerecords.com/
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Minnesota’s Face
Of Oblivion are back with their second full length “Cataclysmic
Desolation”. They play a brutal death metal style that has a
blending of middle ‘90s sound and some elements of more recent
technical death metal. The drums are played with a lot of skill that
goes from crazed blast beats mixed with some really well constructed
drum patterns. The vocalist is Jesse Watson (singer of Incinerate)
does a great job with his deep, brutal growls, and in a few songs,
there is even a few lines of raw screams mixed with the death metal
growls. If you enjoy brutal death metal, with touches of technical
death, be certain to pick up a copy of Face of Oblivion’s new cd
today. - Patrick
https://www.reverbnation.com/faceofoblivion
http://www.comatosemusic.com
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The very
prolific Troy Reynolds comes to us with another one of his solo
bands, where he writes and records everything himself. Some of the
other bands Troy is part of are Autumn Grave, which is another solo
effort, as well as full member bands like Black Blood Stigmata and
the great Path Of Damnation I just reviewed as well. Fatelancer
proclaims to be black metal, but the whole concept here is very much
heavily rooted in the current American sociopolitical realm. Which
to me, does not seem to fit with black metal whatsoever (which as
said they do call themselves bm), this sort of concept and subject
matter is more of a punk and hardcore thing (the vocals on here do
sound kind of hardcore-like) to tackle such issues mixed with music.
The band even label themselves as “Alt-Right Black Metal”, the
Alt-Right movement seems to be largely led by and comprised of
ultra religious Christian zealots, which is of course is the
extreme opposite of what black metal at it’s core has always stood
for and it’s object of hate toward. Black metal in my opinion should
never be combined with anything relating to the praise of the
Christian religion. That is all I will say on that, but I would
think most in the history of the bm scene would agree with that
stance. So, with that aside now, it is usually the music that I
focus upon most in reviews, so time to dig into the music itself
which is a challenge. The music, as you may imagine is very much
tailored in this case solely to the subject matter at hand with a
lot of audio clips from the newscasts, public speeches and the like.
Most of that did not do it for me I have to admit, I found in this
case it only serves to kill any flow the music could hope to have.
But I guess I appreciate the passion in standing up for what one
believes if nothing else. When we do get bits of actual metal songs,
a sparsely populated event, they again really do not come off black
metal sounding at all to me outside of the odd sparingly used
tremolo picked guitar run. No, much of the music especially with the
vocal style Troy employs here comes off like a slightly growled
version of the typical hardcore style shouted vocals. The music
sounds more like moody slower metallic edged hardcore music all
around to me, which is not something I am generally very much of a
fan of honestly, so even musically this is not for me. Again, to
reiterate, I am just speaking musically here, but for me, this is
not Troy’s finest work or even close to it by any means. I know he
has band mates to work with in Path Of Damnation for example, but
that other band of his is so many miles beyond Fatelancer in
quality. I would recommend highly checking out Path Of Damnation or
even Black Blood Stigmata and give this one a pass. Though I suppose
if you really like having social and political issues mixed with a
barrage of audio clips into little chunks of music (which is only a
hastily thrown together backdrop for the message and nothing more)
then you may enjoy this release on a different level than I do.
- Dale
https://fatelancer.bandcamp.com
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As I always say,
it adds a bit of extra excitement for me, when I get a release for
review from my homeland like with Canada’s Feral. I am immediately
struck by the vocals on here. Now, I like screechy and screaming
vocals for the most part, I mean I am a fan of everything form
Burzum to Lust to The Accused etc… But, the vocals from this one
band are nauseatingly annoying, to the point of almost being
headache inducing. I am sure fellow parents will get this, but I
have a young daughter, back when she was 3 to 5 years old, she would
have these ultra melodramatic screamy, yelling, crying hoarse voice
temper tantrum meltdowns. Well, mix that sound with a bit of the
usual metal and hardcore type screech ‘n yell combo, and you will
get an idea of what the Feral vocals sound like. It took me two full
listens of this album before I could focus much past the vocals and
listen to the music. The music has it’s moments, with some nice
guitar work infused with the odd cool emotive moment or nuance I
enjoyed. The bulk of the music though, while solid enough I suppose,
feels a little disjointed, like some jam parts were just connected
together to make a song and lacking the feeling of a finished
flowing song. Back to the guitar work, there are some killer guitar
fills and solos, yes I know it is black metal or at least is
presented as black metal, but there are a lot of moments which
suddenly sound much more heavy metal or hints of thrash. Possibly a
sad thing, since it is a bm band, those non-black metal elements are
almost always the best moments on this album. There is definitely
some passion on here and a talent for coming up with cool parts of
songs, but it feels like there is a distinct lack of overall vision
and aptitude, when it comes to song writing / craftsmanship. This
might be a time when having people to collaborate with, might pay
off if he can find some suitable people, oh and definitely work on
those vocals. There is a first time for everything; I do not think I
have ever said this before about a Horror Pain Gore Death release,
but this is something I would say you should give a pass on. -
Dale
https://www.facebook.com/ftwlidtjlctp/
http://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/
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Hailing from Southern Germany, Firtan bring us a truly immersive
experience of a pagan/folk black metal album in Okeanos. Now,
I can't swim worth a damn, and in fact have had several
near-drowning experiences, but this album makes me feel like I can
brave the most tumultuous of currents. I gain a sort of tranquility
listening to it that makes me believe I can confidently drift
through its abyss and come out changed, yet unscathed. The first
track, "Seegang", is an experience akin to this: an exercise in the
push and pull between stillness and the tide that feels more like
symbiosis than combat. As you wade into the next track, "Tag Verweil",
the pace quickens almost dramatically but still returns to an
acoustic moment around the 4-minute mark that illustrates the
welcome possibility of calm before the next towering wave of kinetic
energy. Most of Okeanos continues thusly, with exceedingly
well-crafted melodies guiding the listener through different
movements within each track, persistently enveloping said listener
into moments of beauty that develop into dark yet grand statements
of marine omnipotence. I contend that "Nacht Verweil" does this
especially well with the addition of violin during the mid-section
of the track, bringing an additional layer of heightened emotive
expression into the serene mix that builds into an epic,
electrifying section of grisly guitars that shock the listener out
of their previous lull. While this construction does get a little
predictable over the course of the album, it is still absolutely
gorgeous to behold. Each track (aside from "Purpur", which is a
quieting interlude) approaches the bare bones of this song
composition but develops fresh themes for it and ultimately becomes
a new experience for the audience. If you are familiar with the
conventions of black metal, the earthy roots (whether found in
frigid or fertile soil) and the otherwise obscure trappings of the
genre (putting the black in black metal), then you will have
absolutely no obstacles in recognizing the splendor of Okeanos.
What have you got to lose? Let Firtan teach you how to swim. –
Aaron
https://www.facebook.com/Firtanofficial
http://www.aoprecords.de/
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The German power
metal kings of saying the word king more than any other band, in
that they work it into their name, album title and pretty much all
of their songs! Haha. No, they do not spare the cheese quotient, in
the lyrics and concept. These guys are not resting on their laurels;
it seems like only a couple months ago, I was reviewing their debut
album “Kingdom Of The Hammer King”. This record pretty much picks up
right where the last one left off, which is energetic, uptempo
melodic music that is a little on the lighter more airy side heavy
metal, but still possessing the earmarks of the old traditions. I
still hear influences like Manowar, Blind Guardian, Hammerfall,
Grave Digger etc… The vocals are very good, as you need for this
style; the vocalist has some good range and control over his pipes.
Honestly, like I said just check out my last review, as this is
really is totally a continuation of their last album (though now
with more flute
J),
so if you liked that one you will not be disappointed in this follow
up record. If you have never heard them, I think I have given a
decent idea of what to expect. But in my view, they do everything
very well, it is enjoyable for me, but in the end it is pretty
predictable stuff and not too essential to more discerning or picky
fans of this style. - Dale
http://www.hammer-king.com/
http://www.cruzdelsurmusic.com/
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Hands start
things out with four of the first five tracks on this album, The
Wandering Midget has, as you would expect, the longest track on the
record, despite that Hands of Orlac’s opening song is no lightweight
clocking in at just over 14 minutes long. The band is originally
from Italy, now residing in Sweden, I can hear some of that Italian
influence in there with certain elements of their sound reminding me
of stuff like Death SS, Paul Chain and even a touch of Mortuary
Drape. Hands of Orlac play pure hard rock & metal classic doom metal
of the ‘70s / early ’80s style. I heard some of their old stuff with
faster, more heavy metal guitar featuring more in your face
production. I must say this more laid-back sound and production
really suits them so much better, in addition to an obvious
self-assured maturity now creeping into their songwriting over the
years. The vocals of frontwoman The Sorceress suit the music very
nicely, they are also in the old style and have a really soothing,
spellbinding quality to them which reflects back and adds to the
depressive trippy atmosphere of the music so well. The vocalist also
plays and the band incorporates the flute (a fair bit yet not to
excess), but in a way I can dig, it is kind of slightly lower and
obscured in the mix (past releases the flute was far too loud/high
in the mix for me) giving off more of a cool ‘70s atmospheric,
hypnotic and melancholy vibe. That first song, “Curse Of The Human
Skull” is a minor masterpiece, in my opinion. They follow up that
fourteen minute marathon beauty, with a six minute song (featuring
some more upbeat rocking sections) and two interlude pieces, all of
which keep the quality level on the up tick. Their side is worth the
price of the record alone! I am now in love with Hands Of Orlac,
here is to hoping this is them finding their stride and window into
the sound they will carry forward into future releases. Next, we
move to The Wandering Midget, who appears with only one song “Where
We March The Vultures Follow”, which features the mammoth running
time of 18 plus minutes!! This is the first release for Wandering
Midget in nearly five years so there is excitement for it. We are
treated to some really good dark classic doom metal, but not as much
rooted in the ‘70s as Hands Of Orlac, no they are modern sounding
and owing more to bands like Candlemass and Solitude Aeturnus. The
guitars are more up front, and slightly more biting, but just enough
of the requisite fuzzy doom edge to them. The song starts slow and
melancholic, eventually building tension until the band explodes
with an emotional outburst I found quite poignant and powerful, they
then slowly bring us back down while maintaining their triumphant
depressive gloomy aura all the while. The classic vocals are really
freaking good and are filled with emotion, matching the music in
every way and sometimes, somehow, even surpassing it. This is a
truly a fantastic split album, of which, all classic doom metal
hounds should strive to add to their collection. - Dale
https://handsoforlac.bandcamp.com https://www.facebook.com/TheWanderingMidget
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For those not in
the know, Unspeakable Acts is an imprint label, under the mighty
Dark Descent Records. It is where they indulge mainly in their love
of old thrash and thrash mixed with black and death metal. Hellish
are from Chile and thrash to the fucking hilt they are! These guys put
their foot on the gas and rip shit up, in an extreme ‘80s thrash
metal manner flaying your skin and peeling the paint off the walls,
with their vicious sonic attack! I can definitely hear some early
influences from bands like Exodus, Razor, early Death Angel,
Destruction, Kreator, Sodom etc… They have some great killer
melodies injected into the speedy riffing, and it is an exclamation
point, when they hit one of those blazing short frantic guitar
solos. The vocals are classic thrash screams, but they possess
influences of the gruff classic mainstay style, with hints dripping
down the edges of black metal rasping and a slight death metal
growl. Yet, those vocals in the sub-genre’s tradition always stay
very decipherable, where you can make out everything being sung just
fine. Now comes my only nitpick, and I am usually not that picky
with regards to the recording, I mean the production overall is
decent, but everything could be a little beefier and heavier, but it
is the drums I have an issue with most. Do you know when you hear a
song that has been ripped into mp3 at terrible quality setting like
112 or 128 kbps? Where everything gets really tinny and has slight
high pitched whine sound, thankfully that is not present on
everything here but when the drummer hits the cymbals, which is
often, it sounds like that big time. That is the only nitpicky thing
I can say about an otherwise great old school thrash metal album!
South America proves once again to me at least, it possesses
probably one of the top 5 best extreme UG scenes in the world in
recent years!! Get this if you love thrash metal done the ancient
way. - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/Hellishchile
http://www.unspeakableaxerecords.com
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It seems like
very little is known about The Heretics Fork, something that seems
to be very much by design. Which often makes one wonder if it is
members from bigger bands that do not want to be officially
affiliated with the style this side band plays or they could just be
extremely private guys I suppose, I could understand it if that was
the case. So let’s get on to the music, which is what they want us
to focus on here. ‘Tormentore’ is the bands debut record featuring
eight songs of intense and brutal metal, with influences from both
the ‘90s US brutal scene and newer brutal dm bands. The vocals are
low, guttural growls that fit the bands style very nicely. The
guitar work is done with a mix of both slower and heavier guitar
patterns, but there is plenty of extremely fast and vicious guitar
chords. If you are a fan of bands like Mortician, Devourment,
Brodequin etc… then do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of
‘Tormentore’ as soon as it is released. - Patrick
https://www.facebook.com/p2loggia
http://p2omerta.blogspot.com/
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Surprisingly, to
me at least, this is the first time I am listening to this Swedish
one man band. As this Rafn since 2012 has released no less than
seven full-length’s and over twenty ep’s, splits and a demo! I mean
talk about having a seemingly inexhaustible well of creativity, not
to even mention time invested recording and releasing it all. This
release represents two ep’s Hermóðr have released this year,
combined into this one disc, previously only available digitally.
There are only two songs on this release, yet the total run time is
around the 35 minute mark! As you can tell they are both very epic
tracks. Hermóðr play a very flowing, long form style of black metal
that is both extremely atmospheric and depressive, but in a longing
somber fashion, not in the wallowing in suicidal depression sense of
depressive black metal term. The music is pretty sparse with one
long gracefully flowing riff played continuously in a very
monotonous style. Which sounds like a negative, but it is quite the
opposite for me, as it is a majestic quality somewhat melodic riff
in each song that mentally carries you on a journey. There are some
slight change ups, used sparsely, as well as some secondary guitar
or synth accents also quite meagerly employed strictly as accent
support for the main riff. The drumming is also very low key, again
subtle, but a well timed counterpoint for the winding stream that is
the great main riff. These two releases are nearly instrumentals,
though there are some excellent obscure yelling rasps in “Northern
Might”, which may remind you of a more subdued version of the vocals
on early Burzum releases. Actually, I think you could say a lot of
the music on here is like the early Burzum, especially the longer
epic sections with a little more emphasis on atmosphere. Everything
here is well done, but I do suppose you may have to be in the right
sort of reflective, meditative mindset to truly enjoy this release
as I was and did. The cover artwork is very fitting, the music on
here makes me think of one of my pleasures, which is standing and
staring or strolling through mysterious misty mountain landscapes.
This is not hard for me to imagine personally, as I live on in the
valley on a mountain with multiple mountain peaks closely
surrounding my home and are often covered in mist and fog. But the
great music on this disc makes me mentally feel like I am the mist
caressing and flowing around this magnificent darkly imposing
creation of mother earth. Since I have only heard these two epic
songs from Hermóðr, I have a hard time imagining this man creating
an album full of short songs. But, that is apparently exactly what
he does on his albums, so I am very much looking forward to finding
out what that is like very soon as I have some catching up to do!
- Dale
https://hermodr.bandcamp.com/
https://www.wolfspellrex.com/
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Coming out of
the Russian death metal scene is Horror God, who supply three brand
new songs here, as well as a cover of Purulence’s “Sinking Into
Transparency”. This is my first experience listening to the band,
they play a solid form of death metal, but they are not afraid to
explore and add other genres of metal within the mid paced death
metal mainstay they create. The musicianship features a lot of
creativity, and well written and played performances on their
instruments. Horror God play their own style of death metal and do a
very good job of it. Techne are up next, they play a progressive
death metal style of music. The band does add in some excellent
progressive metal elements and early rock influences within their
music. This is a band that plays a very good brand of progressive
death metal, yet I still just can not get into this, but if you like
the idea of a split with two quite different sounding bands you
might want to pick this one up. - Patrick
https://www.facebook.com/horrorgod
http://lavadome.org/
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I am new to
Ignitor here. I was a little surprised to see that this is no less
than their sixth full length record, since they hit the scene in
2004, with a self-released full length recording. Also of interest
to me, this EMP Label Group, which upon a little digging I came to
find out this is the record label run by Dave Ellefson from Megadeth!
Dave has quite an extensive roster of heavy metal, thrash, black,
death etc… bands, he is also in the process of reviving Combat
Records, as a sub-label to EMP. Anyway, sorry back to business at
hand, Ignitor I was interested to find out features a member of
Witches Mark and two members of Agony Column. Anyone remember Agony
Column? They made noise and some name recognition, as a Metal Blade
Records band, at the end of the ‘80s and early ‘90s. Agony played
heavy metal mixed with southern rock, the music was pretty good I
thought, though the southern rock thing (visual and musically) came
off a bit gimmicky to me at the time. I would say Ignitor for the
most part, does not sound like Agony Column, it only really rears
it’s head for a moment or two on tracks like “Leather Forever” and
“No Sanctuary”. Ignitor is a different style of heavy metal and/or
old school power metal compared to A.C. To me, they are more akin to
the classic period of bands like Grave Digger (I hear them a lot as
an influence), Accept, Mercyful Fate and Judas Priest etc… The band
writes and performs, some very good catchy and weighty riffed heavy
metal, which is backed up with plenty of experience and maturity. I
really dug some of the stylish, tasty solos and guitar fills, which
are sprinkled throughout these emotive ripping songs. What really
pulls the whole album together is the stellar work by Jason McMaster
(original Watchtower vocalist), who gives a lively, soaring
tour-de-force classic heavy metal as fuck performance, bringing to
mind the vocals of bands like classic Grave Digger, Dio, Raven and
the like. The band wraps up the album with a very faithful and
energetic cover of Raven’s “Hung, Drawn & Quartered” which I found
quite enjoyable. This is a good album made for die hards of early to
mid 1980s classic heavy metal, nothing new here, but it is not meant
to be, it is designed to hold up the old traditional metal ways and
kick some ass while they do it. - Dale
https://www.emplabelgroup.com/
https://www.ignitorband.com/
|
Impetuous
Ritual’s recent release Blight Upon Martyred Sentience begins like a
storm: the drums and guitar are thunder claps that ominously
resonate overhead as the atmosphere approaches like a noisy curtain
of rain tumbling into the composition. The ambiance is all
encompassing, enveloping you into a murky reality that will be your
home for the 43-minute duration of this album. Cavernous production
quality is a mainstay here, similar to the assembly of Teitanblood
and Grave Upheaval, although Impetuous Ritual utilize this aesthetic
in a way that is very much their own. They allow their instruments
and deep, intimidating vocals to seep through the mesh as the
listener gets to feeling more and more acclimated to the album’s
environment. The further the album progresses, the more the
listener’s eyes adjust to seeing the figures in the surrounding
darkness: shrieking guitar leads that are composed in such a way as
to feel tumultuous while still being tightly executed, for example.
In the track “Apoptosis”, this element occurs overtop the tenacious
drumming from Necros Craigos, which provides an extra layer of
dimension to sink into past the outer layer of the overbearing
production quality. Then comes one of my favorite tracks on the
album, “Synchronous Convergence”, which bears similar attributes,
but arrives at a point where the listener feels completely oriented
to the established setting of the album. Vocals come through clearer
on this track, the guitar work is slightly more distinguishable from
the mixing, and the drumming feels slightly more methodical.
“Sullen” winds the album down to its near closing with a slower
approach to the familiar characteristics of the album, and rings a
foreboding bell to cue the finale. Overall, Blight Upon Martyred
Sentience is a fantastic album from the Australian atmospheric death
metal band that has been consistently unleashing exceptional albums
onto the scene since their conception. – Aaron
https://www.facebook.com/ImpetuousRitual/ https://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com
|
 
It was a nice
surprise to receive this disc in the mail. I was a fan of the band’s
first two records, especially the second one “Berserk Artillery
Barrage”. So much so, on the strength of that record, we interviewed
them in Canadian Assault back in the print days, believe it was
issue 6 or 7. Despite it being about 15 years since then, the band
has picked right up where that second record left off, continuing
with that style / sound that made me like them. Invasion has melds a
large dose of catchy melodicism within death metal extremity, but it
feels like they may have turned said ingredient up even further on
“Destroyer Of Mankind”, as this record is as catchy as all fuck. I
still hear that early ‘90s Swedish death metal guitar sound and
style I love so much, however I feel like they toned that element
down a tad, with other influences from the same time period via
other parts of Europe (ala Bolt Thrower, Benediction, early
Sinister) and the US have asserted themselves more prominently.
There is a little more refinement in the material, aside from the
high tunefulness mentioned above; there are some great underlying
guitar fills and patterns that are pure class. I can hear an example
of it right now, as I write this, on the killer song “A Satisfying
Death”. Main man of the band bassist / vocalist Peter Clemens has
his death growling pipes in fine form, as he puts on a commanding
performance consisting of mostly decipherable bestial growling,
which is sure to frighten even a raging bear into turning tail. I
see Peter is still obsessed with World War II, as with past albums,
it is largely or even solely based upon that epic war. I can not
blame him there is a ton of material to be mined (no pun intendec)
from that war, and as a bit of a classic war buff myself, it is the
war I probably find the most fascinating as well, not sure if my
grandfather fighting in that war and on D-Day might have something
to do with my personal interest in the subject. But Invasion do it
justice, the lyrics on WWII are passionate and visceral (with
various audio clip samples to aide in setting the scene), even
rather moving and has me reaching for my Band Of Brothers dvd set,
since it now has an alternate soundtrack courtesy of Invasion. Well
done boys. - Dale
https://invasion2.bandcamp.com/ http://www.officialabyssrecords.com/
|
Iron Fire are
back, with their eighth full length to date, featuring twelve songs
of power metal mixed with traditional heavy metal. The guitars are
written and performed with a lot of skill and maturity, presenting a
lot of class and interesting patterns. The guitars range between
faster and more controlled mid paced ranges, with some very well
composed and great sounding solos mixed into the music. The drumming
as well is top notch, with a varied drum style going from a
semi-fast drum style and sound, to a more mid tempo style. The
vocals are a mix of screams and hollering, to a more well sung,
heavier power metal vocal fashion. This album is a really good power
/ heavy metal band, so if you are a fan of this genre, then be sure
to pick up a copy of this album today. - Patrick
http://www.ironfire.dk/
https://shop.crimerecords.no/
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Shadow Kingdom
Records has a very track record with me, we seem to be on the same
wavelength much of the time with regards to old school heavy metal,
thrash and doom in particular. So, this time around they introduce
me to the United Kingdom’s Iron Void, by presenting us with their
third full-length album. Iron Void come more from the epic late ‘70s
/ early ‘80s heavy metal and doom marriage side of things, along the
lines of bands like Manilla Road, Cirith Ungol, Pagan Altar, Realm
Builder type of style. As opposed to the more crushing, heavy
classic doom sounds of stuff like Black Sabbath (not that every doom
band on the planet doesn’t possesses a little Sabbath because they
do), Trouble, The Obsessed, Saint Vitus, Solitude Aeturnus approach.
Within the doomy, somewhat downtrodden and musically triumphant
context, I.V. manages to write some very memorable and infectious
melodies that enchanted my ears. I also love it when, every now and
then, for a brief spark like in the song “The Grail Quest”, they
just let their hair down and fucking rock out with a headbang riff
and ride it for a little stretch. That element, when worked into the
valiant yet laidback mainstay vibe really stands out and adds, like
I said, a certain spark or dynamic; I would not mind them doing that
a little more often. There is some really classy and thoughtful song
crafting here, all pulled together into an emotional and flowing
musical collective. As I am sure you guessed from the album title,
this is essentially a concept album that is re-telling the King
Arthur legend. It is up to you whether you like historical
re-telling albums lyrically or not. For me, it is a fair enough
backdrop to write your music around, but I am more into the music
itself and not the lyrics (maybe the intricate and expertly woven
stories in Game of Thrones have spoiled me on quality levels of
medieval tales), but they have done an impressive job of attempting
to write a soundtrack to that old legend. Because, musically
speaking the album succeeds by transporting you, on a flowing epical
journey of doomy heavy metal goodness. If you are a fan of style I
described above you should definitely give this classy piece of
artwork a listen. - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/ironvoid/
https://www.shadowkingdomrecords.com/
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Coming out of
New Jersey’s death metal scene, is Kalopsia, with their third full
length “Angel Plague”. Kalopsia play heavy, chaotic death metal
which is not all fast, as the band writes and plays some very good
mid paced sections. The guitars are played with a lot of skill,
their experience level shows through as in their playing, going from
an all out assault of fast riffs and patterns to a more controlled,
well written mid paced passages. The drums follow along in the same
vein, possessing a lot of power and skill, showing variety with more
of a mid paced style in a few songs. The vocals are deep death metal
growls with some gruff screams used in a few of the songs. If you
enjoyed Kalopsia’s previous releases then be sure to check out
“Angel Plague” today. - Patrick
https://www.facebook.com/youwillsubmit http://www.comatosemusic.com/
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I have to admit
I was very interested in this release when I pulled it out of my
mailbox. Just the immediate first impression I received from the
band names, song titles, cover and hell I also like the attitude /
mindset to call your record label Dead Sheep haha. It sounds like
something I would do, Autopsy Kitchen anyone? Anyway, on to this
split, Karonte, a veteran band is up first up with three tracks on
this 22 minute EP. They hail from Spain, which immediately conjures
up past memories of brutal death metal bands, from that country.
Spanish dm bands traditionally tend to have this dark, and very mean
brutal sound and dangerous feeling atmosphere to their music,
Karonte carries this tradition on in fine form. Well, maybe Karonte
has a hint more melodo finesse and catchiness to their riffs,
comparing to many of their countrymen, but only a hint I say. I
would say this is most evident, on the third track “Dominación”,
which incorporates a more distinctive level of heavy metal guitar
histrionics, but also slows down the pace a fair bit and in so doing
brings a doomy feel to the track. Damn, this is a great first half
to the split. Bloody Brotherhood also from Spain, comes at us with
two tracks, “In Tyrant’s Land” & “Thousand Years Of Lies”, both of
which are a little longer than the Karonte hymns. BB has a cleaner,
less dirty (I mean that in a positive way) guitar sound than Karonte,
but also play death metal and do so mostly at a middle pace. Bloody
at first blush, does not seem quite as brutal, but they have their
moments and the brutish bits come at you in sudden fits and starts
like a suddenly striking viper after it took a moment to size you
up. The vocals are growls, but at times have black, hate dipped
emotive vitriol to them, which I like very much and those vocals do
a lot to give the band a certain atmosphere and feel, which could at
times, be reflected more in the music to make the songs more
powerful, in my opinion. I did not enjoy the Bloody Brotherhood side
of the split as much as Karonte, but having said that Bloody have
some really good things going for them and I look forward to hear
more from this young band as they progress into the future. This is
a pretty killer release, I have the disc, but there is also a 10” EP
vinyl version as well. I bet these songs sound fantastic on the
turntable. Whichever version you check out, I have a feeling you
will enjoy it, if you are a death metal lover there is a lot take in
on this release for an EP. I hope to one day find more rotting
pieces of dead sheep’s delicious carcass in the future. - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/deadsheepproductions/ http://deadsheepproductions.es/
|
My first
experience with Kawir was around the ‘93/94 time period. I tape
traded for the bands first release which was a promo demo released
back in 1993. I really enjoyed that tape, but besides a ’94 ep,
their debut album and a later split ep, but I never kept up on the
bands releases from the 2000’s onward unfortunately. But here I am
nearly 25 years later after I tape traded for that promo and the
band is still going strong! It is good to see one of the early bands
of the Greek black metal scene, who have stayed true to their roots,
amongst some notable examples of bands largely abandoning them (ala
Samael, Rotting Christ etc…). I say this, but do not misunderstand
me; the band is not just playing the same old thing they did over
twenty years ago. No, they have clearly progressed in their playing
ability and song crafting, there is more intricate structuring, as
well as higher doses of melody injected into the freezing murky
atmosphere. Still, there is always that ribbon of their sound, which
can clearly be followed back to their beginning possessing the early
to mid ‘90s Greek black / death aura and dark tone. I dug the
bombastic booming accent elements (I imagine fans will wait for it
and thrust a fist in the air live), they are hard to describe, but
when you listen to the track “Thyestia Deipna”, you will hear what I
mean and while you are there, be sure to check out the superb
inspired guitar work in this song. The guitar work definitely should
not be understated, not only is it technically sound, but
additionally the writing and performance can be very emotive at
times working expertly within the sinister and often evil
atmosphere, adding another layer of depth and quality. The epic
feeling of the final track, entitled “Orestes”, even has old school
Iron Maiden influence slithering in and out of the guitars. There is
so much going in this song, from triumphant heavy metal parts, to a
blistering hateful classic second wave black metal sequence, there
is even a ripping guitar solo thrown in. It almost seems like all of
that should not work together, but Kawir expertly crafted this
excellent song, producing a seamless mighty anthem, clocking in at
nearly eight minutes in length (which is not over long for this
record as all of the songs are in the 6 plus to 8 minute range but
none are more epic than this one). I am pleased Iron Bonehead, who I
have followed since inception has managed to bring me back to this
great Greek band, who have forged an impressive legacy for
themselves in the annuals of the underground metal scene. This
legacy has only been furthered by this ambitious concept album of
Greek Hellenic mythology. - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/kawirblackmetal/ http://www.ironbonehead.de/
|
Well now, this
takes me back in time, when this album was initially released by the
notorious JL America label. Which burst upon the UG metal scene, and
about three years later rapidly burned out. But it was an
interesting, if not short ride for the label in the early ‘90s; they
did the US releases for labels like Osmose & the German Turbo Music,
before striking out on their own signing and releasing their own
bands. One those bands they signed was Killing Addiction. I had a
handful of JL cassettes back in the day, like Goatlord, Impaled
Nazerene, Mortuary, Beherit, Acheron, Blasphemy and last but not
least Killing Addiction. This is a cool gesture towards the bands
legacy (did I mention they reformed some years back?) by Xtreem
Music, to re-release this album on it’s 25 year anniversary! Oh
shit, I guess that also mean I am a really old metal goat in this
scene. Oh well, at least I still have all my own teeth, not to
mention company like the members of this band still kicking and
screaming, after all these years. For newer fans of death metal, who
imprudently never took the time study the history of this sub-genre
and it’s bands, they might be in for a bit of a surprise here. This
is a window into the beginnings of death metal, it was a different
time, things were not all digital and pro tool’d to hell, for
starters. Also, not all of the bands were going for intricate
mathematical time signatures, and/or playing a million miles a
minute with twenty riffs in every song. No, this was a time for a
lot of bands when death metal was morphing out of the extreme end of
the thrash metal scene, just finding it’s feet and establishing a
new style. A lot of the bands like Killing Addiction played a more
stripped down, possibly to some newer ears a primitive style. But to
me, it was more about focusing on the song and the atmosphere it
created without using a lot of cheater effects, like synth or studio
tricks to create it. The riffs on here are crushing and rhythmically
catchy, which had me headbanging pretty good, honestly I experienced
a touch of nostalgia for the early ‘90s as I listened. I should also
mention, there are a few killer guitar solos expertly woven into the
brutality, which adds some nice depth to the songs. The vocals are
pretty guttural, early ‘90s style, near undecipherable growling,
which is something I like, but I know is an acquired taste these
days for some. Speaking of the vocals, in one song they alternate
with higher nasally growling, which something that became very
popular years later, but this in my mind seems like one of the
earliest examples of it. I am not sure I can place this record at
the upper echelon of ‘90s brutal death metal classics, but it is a
damn good album nonetheless, an album that did not get the
recognition it deserved, so here is to hoping this release sheds
more light on this record. It would not be a special anniversary
edition without some extras, you do get those as Xtreem has included
the bands “Legacies of Terror” 1990 demo tape (I dig the grimy,
cruel sound on it), and their killer 1991 “Nekrosphere” 7” ep as a
bonus. You know what you need to do posthaste, links below. -
Dale
https://www.facebook.com/killingaddiction/
https://xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com/
|
Killing
Addiction first formed at the end of the ‘80s, they released a demo
tape in 1990 and a 7” EP in 1991, before putting out their debut
album “Omega Factor” in early 1993. Did I mention they are from
Florida? I am not sure why they did not get more attention, or more
well known, along with so many of their peers early in the early to
mid ’90s, as people were eating up anything Floridian death metal
back then. The band called it quits some time in 1994/95, but
decided to get back together some years back now. “Omega Factor” (I
had my JL America cassette baby hehe)
is, and was, my only experience back in the day (or since then) with
Killing Addiction. I liked that debut album, it was good early death
metal. Listening back to that album, and then “Shores Of Oblivion”,
it would seem the band has stayed true to their old school dm style,
back then though I think they may have had a bit more dynamic song
structuring. Yet, this more straight forward, stripped down
structuring on this EP, seems to fit them well. If anything, since
the early days, Killing Addiction has slowed things down a tad,
going for a more brooding gloomy vibe with the atmosphere. I kind of
dug how the third track “Extinction Agenda” starts, it fades in
slowly with a sort of muffled effect until everything slowly becomes
clear, not only that but it starts off sounding like you are already
a minute into the song, not something I want on every song but a
really cool effect for one track on here. Besides the heavy dirge
riffs, I think my favourite part of this release is the great vocal
performance, from bassist/vocalist Patrick Bailey. He slides
seamlessly between deep dark growling, slightly nasally growls and
obscured rasping type vocals. He makes those changes in a very
subtle way, so it is not jarring or too different from one style to
the next, just really well done vocals. To end this review I want to
say R.I.P. to guitarist (and brother to Patrick) Chad Bailey, who
passed away a couple months after this recording, and prior to it’s
release. This four song EP is for old school Floridian death metal
fans, who are not obsessed with newer sounding death metal that has
a million riffs and time changes in every song. This band is more
about the song and the music rather than being fast and technical
all the time. Check it out. - Dale
https://killingaddiction.bandcamp.com/music http://www.xtreemmusic.com/
|
|
King Heavy is a
mixture of musicians mostly out of the great Chilean scene spanning
an array of bands from that country, but the vocalist Luther
Veldmark (Hooded Priest) is from the Netherlands. So, that is
interesting, I assume it would present some challenges for writing
and recording, not to even mention rehearsing for live shows. The
style King Heavy play is a classic form of heavy metal doom in the
vein of bands like Saint Vitus, Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus,
Trouble and the like. The guitar tenor and drumming are the epitome
of that old style; the songs have some great flow, stirring up some
affecting emotive qualities in me as a listener. The vocalist has a
good classic sounding voice for this style and decent range as well.
Yet, having said that, some of it is probably due to the often
clunky lyrics, but the vocalist despite having those great raw
tools, seems to have very little feel and skill in how and when to
deploy them in a proper way. To my ears, this often results in
unwittingly sabotaging the flow and emotive impact of the very
quality music accompanying the vocals. It is hard to explain unless
you hear it; the vocalist slows up and presents awkward phrasing,
clunky timing, he switches registers at times that do not compliment
the flow of the music or the words being sung. Like I say, it is
unfortunate because the guy has a very good classic voice and tone
to his voice for this style. But again, in my opinion, he seemingly
has little to no feel on how to use it within the context of these
songs; it is a bit frustrating to listen to actually. I know that
sounds harsh, I do not mean it to be and it is not like vocalist
Luther Veldmark never gets it right, but he never really seems for
very long. I should try my best here not to paint the whole album
with this brush, though it is hard not to do as the vocals are very
prominent in the mix front and center. All the same, there is some
excellent classic doom underneath the vocals that is mostly really
quality emotive music, which can really not be faulted for anything
and still makes this a good listen for die hard fans of the genre.
- Dale
https://kingheavy.bandcamp.com
https://www.cruzdelsurmusic.com
|
It is great to
see Pagan Records still going strong! I used to be in contact with
the label owner Tomasz Krajewski even before the label started when
I ordered issues of his great Holocaust fanzine. Then he started the
record label and I purchased some of his first releases (Crucifier
“By Disgrace Of God” EP & Behemoth “Return Of The Northern Moon”
Demo cassettes) and even eventually interviewed him for CA close to
20 years ago now! Okay, that is enough of a trip down memory lane
now. So onwards with examining the 19 minutes of music at hand on “Portentaque”.
This is my first chance to hear the band. I was immediately taken by
the dark and murky death metal within. If you can imagine a more
atmospheric, slow motion doomy churning version of the mixing of
things like early Grave, Asphyx, Incantation, Necros Christos and
threw in a dash of “Mental Funeral” Autopsy. Then you would start to
get a decent idea of the fresh hell of an audio landscape that Kult
Mogił produces. Now, when you see atmospheric you are probably
thinking there are wall to wall synth and other effects; well you
would be dead wrong, as this is a thick atmosphere is produced only
with traditional instruments. This is something for me, which makes
what they have managed to produce here, just that much more
impressive and pure. The vocals consist of tortured haunting
screams, growls and just guttural pain that also remind me of a mix
of the Canadian band Lust, early Grave and early Autopsy vocals with
an own twist that is extremely effective in sustaining and
furthering that gloomy foreboding eerie graveyard feel on this
recording. This band and this release resurrect and continue the
tradition of truly cult of dangerous and dirty metal of death. This
comes recommended and I understand there is a pretty limited amount
of this 12” vinyl, so I would suggest those looking for this to
hurry and snatch up this format as this music is perfect for vinyl.
Now, if you will excuse me, I need to introduce myself to this bands
debut album without delay. - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/kultmogil http://www.pagan-records.com/
|
Coming out of
Pittsburgh’s traditional heavy metal scene is Lady Beast with their
second full-length release. “Vicious Breed” consists of eight songs
of classic heavy metal, with some extremely well composed music back
by well played instruments. The guitar work is played with both fast
traditional metal riffs and solidly written and executed mid paced
sections. The guitarist even writes and performs some excellent
solos intertwined within the memorable music. The vocals are handled
by Deborah Levi, who does a great job of belting out both
conventional heavy metal vocals, as well as somewhat wild aggressive
vocals, but she can is also sing with a more controlled melodic
style. I would say, if you are a fan of NWOBHM, and other early ‘80s
heavy metal bands then be sure to check out Lady Beast’s newest
release today. - Patrick
https://www.facebook.com/ladybeastofficial/ http://www.cruzdelsurmusic.com/
|
Italy’s brutal
band Logic Of Denial, are back with their third attack entitled
“Aftermath”, featuring twelve songs. The band plays a brutal and
vicious death metal style and do it with a lot of skill and talented
musicianship. The guitars are played mainly with crazed and fast
riffs and patterns, as well as some well done solos, mixed into a
few of the songs. The vocals are low brutal death metal growls. The
drums are played with some insane blast beats and the drummer does
know how to create and perform well done heavier mid paced skin
beating. If you are a fan of modern brutal death metal then be sure
to pick up a copy of “Aftermath” when it is released. - Patrick
http://www.logicofdenial.com/ http://www.comatosemusic.com/
|
Cruz Del Sur are
quickly becoming the champions of heavy metal, the label tends to
have quite discerning tastes and their stable, to me, is beginning
to set the standard for excellence in the genre these days. This
German band is clearly full of energy and very talented. They play
an entertaining brand of heavy metal, which is deeply rooted in the
NWOBHM and I can hear a lot of Iron Maiden at their deepest core.
Much like those heroes and Judas Priest, there abounds some
wonderful soaring twin guitar harmonies. That is the main template
for their sound, but they do have some other influences, as I hear a
bit of 70s and believe it or not, some slight influences from ‘90s
extreme metal. Which is quite the juxtaposition, with some of the
very light airy moments, sitting next to the heavy, gloomy
introspective passages elements. There are some frolicking lively
guitar solos scattered through the album which were engaging and
pleasurable, those solos give off a improvisational vibe to me. One
thing that is a must, if you are even going to attempt this genre is
a good vocalist, enter Alex Vornam. With his soaring clean vocals,
which are possibly a tad too light and not gritty enough for some,
but he fits the music well and has a smooth voice with pretty solid
range. Yeah, this is a pretty kick ass album, displaying real talent
across the board. I guess the only criticism, I might have is some
of the songs are a little too long, about half of the songs are 8 to
10 minutes long. There is nothing wrong with that, but I think maybe
this very young bands experience is a little short, and their
maturity as song writers, needs some more time to develop before
they have the vision and discipline to make such epic length songs.
I have little doubt as I said, with some experience, that they will
be full value for such a gargantuan undertaking. Having said that
those are still good songs, but could benefit from a little
tightening up. But, if you are a fan of the styles I mentioned
above, then I am certain you dig this album. - Dale
https://lunarshadow.bandcamp.com/ http://www.cruzdelsurmusic.com/
|
|
This is my first
time hearing Ordoxe’s music, the band combines elements of
aggressive and melodic black metal, even throwing in some death
metal influence in a few of the songs. The guitarist knows how to
write, and play various speeds and styles, going from a fast black
metal guitar to a slow to more mid paced guitar pace in a few songs.
The vocals are a mix of harsh black metal screams along with deeper
growls. “Towards Eternity” is a good mix of both melodic and
forceful blackened death metal, so if you are a fan of Ordoxe’s past
releases, then be sure to pick up a copy of the new release today.
- Patrick
https://ordoxe.bandcamp.com/
http://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/
|
Usually, the
most politically motivated metal that I hear these days comes from
the thrash and core scenes, but here is Mendacium with their
leviathan work of black/death metal, Decimating Titans.
Decimating Titans is the inventive side-project of Daniel
Jackson, who is known for his work with his main brainchild, Void
Ritual, which takes a more straightforward black metal approach in
terms of lyrical themes (e.g. odium and misery). This album,
according to the description from Redefining Darkness Records, takes
on the themes of abhorrence for and usurpation of conservative
establishments that maintain and direct power as they see fit. The
tracks take on just as lethal an edge as the topic matter indicates,
and to which the black/death metal form handily lends itself.
Crushing from the start, the title track is damn near anthemic in
its call for annihilating those in power, repeating the line,
“Decimating titans!” as well as decreeing with raspy growls, “Let
them die! Let them decay!” The rest of the tracks follow suit,
proceeding with the grimness of black metal and the ferocity of
death metal to detail sonically the toppling of the titans’ reign.
Every moment of Decimating Titans is packed with rage and
aggression, making it an energizing listen, and a cathartic one by
the end. Truly, this album is almost entirely well executed.
However, as someone who is not a fan of the fade-out, I cannot say
that I enjoy the ending to “An Invocation for Bloodshed”, though I
do love its overall composition. Including chanting vocals does
wonders for expanding the foreboding tone past the extremity of
everything else contained within the composition. Overall,
Decimating Titans will not disappoint fans of extreme music at
all—rather the opposite. Jackson does not waste a single second on
the album, making it feel like a complete release despite its short
run time. Definitely give this release a listen if you relish death
and/or black metal in all their ruinous glory. – Aaron
https://mendacium.bandcamp.com/
http://www.redefiningdarkness.com/ |
This is my first
time tangling with this U.K. doom metal band which features members
of Khang, Lazarus Blackstar, Solstice etc… Monolith Cult play
classic traditional epic doom metal, in the vein of bands like
Candlemass, Black Sabbath, Solitude Aeturnus, Argus, Iron Maiden
(some melodies and structural nuances remind me of them). Also, even
though they do not play doom death metal, as such, there are some
points they remind me a little of old Paradise Lost, partly in sound
and partially in the atmosphere create. Speaking of atmosphere and
feeling their music invokes, it conjure up in me a very mournful,
desolate mood, making me feel melancholic in a good way. This is not
a feeling I like feeling in everyday life, but Monolith Cult make it
feel like a warm, soft and comforting blanket to mentally wrap
myself within. The guitars and song structuring are really make that
happen, they get their hooks in you drawing you in and pulling you
along almost trance-like, with their heavy flowing melodies and
emotive, expertly crafted compositions. A couple minor criticisms I
have, well they may fall more into personal taste territory, but at
times, there is a cool heavier section and riff they could really
set down on a ride out a bit more to great effect, but they move on
to lighter or more subdued material too quickly. Finally, the bass
seems so low in the mix, it feels almost non-existent at times I
wish the bass was a little more prominent, which would give the
record more bottom end and density to properly back the great guitar
work and fantastic poignant drumming. This finally brings us to the
vocalist Bry, he has a very time-honored conventional doom style to
his soaring voice, which reminds me of a mix of Robert Lowe from
Solitude Aeturnus and Messiah Marcolin of Candlemass, but with
possibly more of an ‘80s heavy metal singer undertone like maybe
hints of Dio, Dickinson etc… that is not prominent and down in the
mix of influences, but I still feel it is there. His vocals do much
to proliferate and accentuate the somber vibe, which is steeped in
gorgeous misery. I have to admit all of this took a while to sink in
for me, it was not immediate upon first or even second to be honest,
but every listen there after, it started to sink and possess me with
it’s hypnotic and depressive charms. So, I would wholeheartedly
recommend this to doom maniacs, however I would suggest you be
prepared to give it time to work it’s magic. - Dale
https://www.reverbnation.com/monolithcult
http://www.transcendingrecords.com/
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Coming out of
Olympia, WA is Mortiferum with their debut demo, which Blood Harvest
will be releasing in digipak format. “Altar Of Decay” features four
tracks of crushing death doom metal. The vocals are gruff growls
along with a deeper death metal growling approach. The drums range
from a mid paced drum style with some faster drum patterns used in a
few of the tracks. The drummer also plays a very slow and heavier
drum style. The guitars are played in the same vein, as the drums,
with some fast guitar mode before slowing down to a more crushing
doom pace. - Patrick
https://mortiferum.bandcamp.com/
http://www.bloodharvest.se
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Greyhaze Records
is getting set to re-release, yet another Cogumelo Records classic
Brazilian band, this time around it is Mutilator with their debut
album. Originally released in 1987, “Immortal Force” is thrash metal
at it’s best, playing extremely fast thrash showcasing musicians who
know how to write and perform quality music. The guitars are played
with hyper-speed riffing patterns executed with skill and excellent
precision. The guitars do slow to a more mid paced range, at times,
with some nice patterns and solos intertwined within the music. The
drumming, is top notch, with both fast blasting drums and more
controlled mid paced patterns. If you were lucky enough to have
heard this band back in their prime, then you know what to expect,
but if you are a new listener then just imagine fiercest, most
violent thrash metal possible. Check this release out today. -
Patrick
https://greyhazerecords.bandcamp.com/ https://www.greyhazerecords.com/
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I was a little
surprised to see a band billed as Norwegian black metal on Shadow
Kingdom Records, a label that usually focuses on old school heavy
metal, doom, speed and thrash metal. Though Nachash does possess a
certain level of olden heavy metal and thrash to their sound. I was
also surprised when I did a little digging on this band’s members.
Apparently drummer Kenneth Tiller played in the black/death band
Nephrite at the start of the ‘90s releasing two demos. Then I can
find nothing on him (disappeared from the scene?!) until he showed
up in the band Celestial Bloodshed in the year 2000, and the band
released some eps, split ep’s and two albums. Okay, that has no real
bearing on this review, but I enjoy interesting history tidbits of
info like that on bands or their individual members. The other two
member of this band, by the way, seem to be new on the scene for the
most part. Now Nachash is a black metal band, but they incorporate a
lot of heavy metal into their sound, sort of like the first wave of
black metal did and the early bands of the second wave at the start
of the ‘90s. I like it though, a lot of the time they are more of a
black heavy metal band more than anything. But, there are definite
elements of early to mid ‘90s style black metal in there as well, as
well as slight traces of dark death metal from the same musical
epoch. I like the vocals they are part yell, part bm rasp with an
whispering of a death metal growl, but they sound evil and
commanding complimenting the evil music well, adding an extra
element of audio pestilence. I think my fave tracks on here are the
two opening tracks, starting off the beginning of “Red Death
Eclipse…” reminding me a lot of the opening title track to Venom’s
“Black Metal” (did I mention I worship at the Venom altar?), with
it’s caustic opening build up and finishing off with demon vocal
sounds straight out of early necromantic Impaled Nazarene. This
quickly leads into the second track “Apex Illuminous”, which
continues the build up and launches into an evil sounding yet
headbang inducing metal chugging with a killer tremolo riff and
infectious melody that Satan himself would dance around a bonfire
to. The rest of the album, while it does dip a skosh, ultimately
keeps a pretty high level of quality and settles into a little more
of hypnotic moody vibe on the final two songs, “Vortex Spectre” &
“Elder Night…”, which combined clock in at over fifteen minutes. I
would recommend this for fans of the current UG metal scene that are
also die hards for ‘80s dark heavy metal, and the first wave of
black metal from the late ‘80s and very start of the 1990s. -
Dale
https://www.facebook.com/nachashnorway
https://www.shadowkingdomrecords.com
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Imagine a bright green bouncy ball. This bouncy ball has
spikes--shiny steel ones. They glimmer grotesquely as they catch the
light from passing stars. Yeah, this bouncy ball is in space,
somehow rebounding off of planets as if they were only models in an
elementary school classroom. This ball is analogous for how
Nekrogoblikon's brand of melodeath sounds to me: a strangely
entertaining mixture of silliness that sometimes has an
unpredictable edge to it. It is superficially enjoyable with
indisputably catchy riffs and refrains, but sometimes they are
catchy to a fault on this album. While the verses of most of the
tracks on Welcome to Bonkers have suitably speedy death metal
riffing and Nekrogoblikon's trademark eccentric flair, their
quirkiness and repetitiveness can become slightly vexing in such
tracks as "Dressed as Goblins" and "Darkness" where the choruses are
springy earworms. Since I am not accustomed to listening to "party"
metal, or death metal pizza with extra cheese, heavier tracks such
as "The Skin Thief" strike my fancy more. However, that is also an
important point about the appeal of Nekrogoblikon: they
defamiliarize death metal for fans of the genre with their
incorporation of extra-genric components like vivacious keyboard
lines, as well as in this way make this genre more accessible to
newer/younger fans of heavy music. Their liberal and varied use of
keyboards on Welcome to Bonkers would have the potential for
putting this album on the cusp of being excessively bogus if it were
not for how well-executed and incorporated they are into the
compositions. The piano-toned lines in such tracks as "Dragons", for
example, foreshadow the animated tempo of the guitar riffs to come,
making it even more satisfying when they do make their entrance.
Listeners must keep in mind that the purpose of this album is to
have some fucking fun with conventions that folks in the metal
community often take too seriously. It is not cerebral, and it is
not downright brutal even though it definitely has its moments; it
is funny, fun, and certainly bonkers. –
Aaron
https://nekrogoblikon.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/mysteryboxfortress/
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Now, it's time
for some thrashy Black Metal, I guess. A catchy type of raucous, so
far. It sounds like mischievous raccoons scurrying around fibrous
tree trunks on a moonlit night. The songs have a tight structure yet
have a deliberate sloppiness stemming from (or around) their core -
to make the overall atmosphere feel lively and present. They have
that "controlled chaos" aspect, I'd say. A little off kilter but
masterfully gliding along the left hand path - with a smirking
knowing wink, no doubt. A raw touch of the diabolical with a
seemingly aloof panache. I like the two different guitar patterns
going on much of the time (left and right variations - complimenting
each other). Keeps things interesting. Quality deviltry, here...or
pseudo-deviltry? Either way...it's pretty enjoyable. Oh...wow. Just
as I was about to end this review, I heard a familiar song
beginning. It's a cover of Slayer's "Angel of Death". Not bad. Not
great...but not retch-worthy, either. Seems a bit out of place,
though. Two more songs to go. Back to the more impassioned style of
their own. Yeah, this is some fine work, here. Recommended.
- Anders
https://www.facebook.com/nekrokraft/
http://thesignrecords.com/
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Brazil’s raw
thrash black metallers Nervochaos are back with a new release
featuring thirteen songs. The guitars are played with intense, fast
guitar patterns throughout most of the songs. But the guitarist does
slow down to a more controlled mid pace pattern in a few of the
songs. The drumming is done in the vein, with chaotic and crazed
drum patterns, but does slow to a heavier slower pacing. The vocals
are a mix of raw death metal growls and some screaming intertwined
within the mix. If you are a fan of the previous Nervochaos releases
then be sure to pick up a copy “Nyctophilia” today. - Patrick
https://www.facebook.com/NervoChaos https://www.greyhazerecords.com/
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This is the solo
release of Nick Noro, who comes from the robust Bay Area thrash band
Survival, I have reviewed a couple of their releases now, if you
want to check those out. There was already an older re-release of a
Survival recording, which was essentially a Nick Noro solo release
using the Survival name. But this one is quite different, man how to
even begin to describe this, it is so different from Survival and
different from most of what I get to review or choose to listen to.
After a spoken word recount of a victim, who was shot in the head,
it then cuts over to Bruce Buffer from the UFC of all things, doing
one of his trademark intros. So yeah, that is the start of this four
song, roughly eleven minute EP, yes it is weird. The music, which
makes up the rest of “Vietnamm” is actually pretty good stuff, much
better than the old Noro solo Survival record. But it is kind of
hard to describe the music, it consists of cool but random short
songs that are strange hard rock things, which is a mix probably of
who knows what, but maybe stuff like Rollins Band, Faith No More,
Mr. Bungle with some art rock and like pop punk or something. I
obviously have limited references points on these styles. When I
read that description of the style above, I think fuck I don’t want
to listen to that, but honestly if you can stomach that kind of
weird mix, this is actually some pretty interesting and catchy
stuff. One thing it shows for sure, there are many musical sides and
lot of talent, within this tortured (see my Survival review for
details on his imprisonment etc..) artist Nick Noro. This is a
pretty tough sell to most readers of my site, and honestly it was a
tough sell on me too, not my kind of thing either truly, but I can
appreciate the talent and vision going on here. - Dale
https://nbrd.bandcamp.com/
http://www.merdumgiriz.org/
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If you see my
review of this bands album, entitled “The Child Must Die”, you know
I have become a big fan of this band. So, I was very pleased, to
find this new release (limited to 500 copies) in my mailbox. The
main man you should concern yourself with is Mika Mage, who is
Finnish and now resides in Philadelphia, he is generally responsible
for the majority of everything Nihilistinen Barbaarisuus (Nihilistic
Barbarity in English), from the musical creation, to composing and
concept. Though on this release, he has decided to enlist some
friends, and former band mates, to lend their playing and voices to
these songs. I get that feeling, from this release; it is a
collection of songs rather than a cohesive whole. This just feels
like it is Mika letting loose, and stretching his artistic legs,
outside of the album concept, to where the individual songs are
meant to be enjoyed on their own, the opposite of the old saying the
sum of it’s parts… Which I think, on an ep is where you like to see
that kind of thing, which if done well can be a welcome and
enjoyable distraction, whilst you await the next full length album.
Regardless of intentions, Mika’s superior composing skills and
vision are ever present. It is a little different here at times,
compared to the album, but that combination of ambient black death
metal mixed impressively with frosty aggression, yet maintaining
this perplexing infectious, uplifting and triumphant quality that is
fast becoming a celebrated (by me at least) signature of Mika Mage’s
writing style. His style is not easy to describe, but it is a near
perfect blend of ambiance, cold hate and melodicism. The style, on
this on five track nearly 20 minute release, varies more than the
album, nowhere more apparent than vocal performances with no less
than three guest vocalists. Despite the lack of cohesion in that
area, it also adds a certain dynamic, varied quality which is sure
to keep the listener engaged, as all the variant performances are
well done. This is yet another fine Nihilistinen Barbaarisuus
release, which only serves to wet the lips of the bands parched
fans, myself included, who eagerly await the next full length
album! - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/nihilistinenbarbaarisuus
http://satanath.com/sodp
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