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Wow after an
epic eight year absence, October 31 graces itself upon the ears and
fears of the scene once more. It is good to have them back! Holy
shit, that meaty riff off the hop, bursts out of my headphones in
rocking fashion. Then we immediately launch into a brief, frantic
guitar solo, just before the almighty King Fowley clobbers you with
his wonderful, charismatic voice / yells dripping with traditional
heavy metal / thrash goodness. I could listen to that man sing over
classic style heavy metal of yesteryear all night long. Howl it out
brother! Whoooo!! On side B of this sweet piece of vinyl, we are
absolutely treated to a rousing, spirited cover of Uriah Heep’s “Too
Scared To Run”, one of my favourite Heep tracks. They knock this
thing right out of the park, it sounds so great, that stylish chunky
riff starts things off and running, with King pouring his heart out
all over the microphone! His voice is saturated with emotion and
conviction that is perfectly matched by the music. I am getting
fucking chills listening to cover man, fuck me this is soooo good it
hurts!! - Dale
https://myspace.com/october31
http://www.hellsheadbangers.com/ |
 
Pissed On are a
grind death band that comes out of the Kentucky scene. Their debut
seven inch features five songs of blasting grind with death metal
influences. The guitars are played at a high speed with aggressive
patterns and riffs. The guitars do slow down to a more controlled
middle pace in a few songs, before going back to hyper speed riffs.
The vocals are brutal and harsh screams with some growls as well. I
am not the biggest grind fan around, but Pissed On do a good job of
playing extreme, but do have some good ideas and patterns mixed into
their sound. - Patrick
https://www.facebook.com/pissedonky/
http://www.advocaterecs.com/ |
 
These 2 bands
are new to me. Dale went out on a limb & picked this up for me from
an overseas distro. Good fucking call bro! The Pulveriser side
contains the "Slave Grinder" ep & it kills in an ultra brutal death
style that reminds me of early Vomitory quite a bit. The band look
young and I'm sure they'll be spreading filth for years to come. The
Cremation side is definitely more blasting death metal with some bm
touches that make them sound undeniably sinister. This vinyl split
is a must for ug fanatics. - Jeffrey Kusbel
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My thanks is
extended to the mighty Paragon Records for honouring me with a copy
of this album with the vinyl version. It is much appreciated – thank
you to Mike. Rigor Sardonicus do not play or in their case a better
word might be encompass your traditional doom metal. You will not
hear the classic Sabbath sounds or the slick synth infusion of later
day My Dying Bride for one example. No the Sardonic ones possess a
style that does not really sound a lot like anyone else, yet it is
slow and suffocating and it is immense doom in every sense of the
word. It is plodding, apocalyptic and the dark snails pace actually
manages to accentuate and make you forget that they use a drum
machine (as drum machines generally sound awful in fast bands IMO).
They have done a masterful job utilizing this instrument. The vocals
are extremely obscure, so much so they almost melt into the
background like they are part of the scenery rather than meant to be
a focal point of the musical whole. I guess my only complaint and it
is a minor one would be the recording could be a little fuller and
richer to take full effect of their suffocating and permeating
style. The warmth of sound on vinyl does compensate for this some. A
lot of bands claim the title graveyard metal but Rigor Sardonicous
actually achieve it in their very unique doom-y way. It is not often
you get a release that sticks out from the rest and sounds original
like Vallis Ex Umbra De Mortuus does. I loved the etching in the
vinyl just above the center label that says “The dead body of your
enemy always smells good!” You have to love that ha ha.
– Dale
http://www.smilingdeath.com/RigorSardonicous/
http://www.themetalunderground.com/
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Sadistic Ritual
pair nicely with label mates Death Of Kings, with thrash being the
common denominator. Not to mention, explosive high octane energy,
which drips off the two songs on this black as night vinyl. Sadistic
rely a little heavier on the brutal end of the thrash spectrum,
reminding me of the time in the late 80s, early 90s, when thrash
bands were getting heavily influenced by death metal. I mean make no
mistake, this is a thrash band first and foremost, but there is also
plenty of rough death metal edge to please fans of that genre as
well. Sadistic remind me a lot of the intensity and insanity of
extreme thrash bands like Whiplash, Forced Entry, early Exodus, old
Destruction, Kreator “Pleasure To Kill” and that sort of glorious
sound. It is great, to hear more bands keeping this glorious past
style of frenetic, brutal, blitzkrieg thrash metal alive and well. I
am telling you, some of the riffs on this thing will wreck your
head, as well as your neck. These boys do not slow down for solos,
the solos have to jump in attacking full force to keep up! Damn I
bet these guys would be fun to watch live, a tour of Boris records
bands would be intense as all hell! I am afraid to say, this vinyl
is limited to only 300 copies, which I am sure are going fast. If
you happen to miss out on it, they do sell the downloadable version.
The artwork, on this thing, just screams old school too. I probably
drew a shitty version of this cool cover artwork on some my binders
in school haha. It is just so old school vibe. Another very
recommended release from Boris.
- Dale
http://www.reverbnation.com/sadisticritual1
http://www.boris-records.com |
 
Oh man this
record, just bursts out of your speakers, like a caged bear that has
been taunted and poked through the bars for far too long. They have
great savage energy, in their playing, that is what struck me right
away. I immediately felt like, I could destroy everything in the
room, with the energy they were feeding me. Sangus play black thrash
metal, mixed with a crusty punk feel and liveliness, all injected
into storming musical blitzkrieg. The band is from Rhode Island, New
York yet if I did not know that, I would have thought they were
European band. The music is relentlessly played at breakneck speed,
it is so heavy and you will headbang to it, it will command you, you
have no choice in the matter. The drummer is a maniac on the kit, he
eats his way into the songs like a woodchipper, chewing up the audio
scenery. The vocals really are the finishing touch, to round out
this rampage; his vocals are so harsh, hyper and contain this
infectious fury to them that I just can not get enough of. Damn it,
after listening to this,I am left wanting more, and imagining what a
wonderfully draining experience it must be, to witness this musical
hurricane live! The packaging on this killer release is very nice
and though it is limited to 600 copies (500 black & 100 red vinyl),
it appears to be still available at time of this writing. I would
warmly recommend you get yourself a copy now while you still can.
- Dale
http://sangus.bandcamp.com/
http://www.eternal-death.com/
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Coming out of
Gernany’s death metal scene is Six Reasons To Kill, with their new
seven inch containing two songs, one original and a Dismember cover
of the song “Of Fire”. Starting off with the song “Rote Erde”, which
is filled with really good performances, by musicians that really
know how to play their instruments? The song is filled displays some
good mid paced death metal, which uses some old school and some
newer elements, from the death metal scene. The vocals are death
growls that are done very well. The second song cover sounds
excellent and it is done very well. This is a good 7 inch, and if
you are fan of death metal, with thrashy elements, then definitely
give this band a listen today. - Patrick
http://www.sixreasonstokill.de/
http://www.bastardized.net/
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Boris Records is
really doing a good job, at putting the Altanta, Georgia scene, on
the map. All four of the releases, they have sent for review have
been from Atlanta. I must say, I am impressed, at the quality coming
out of there. This time around, we get a dirty, grimy band which
plays crusty thrashing death/grind insanity. Some of the higher
pitched mainstay vocals, remind me slightly to the vox of the mighty
Macabre, so you know I like that shit being a big Macabre fan. The
more I listen to this record, the more it feels like there is a
Spewtilator sound, so to speak, where they have taken a lot of
influences and created something of their own with it. I did not
feel that way, after the first listen or two, just thought well this
is just okay, but the more I listen to it, the more I hear and the
more their sound started to click with me. So much so, I am becoming
kind of addicted to listening to this, five song circle of vinyl
raunchiness, over and over again. It does not want to seem to come
off of my turntable! This release, sort of reminds me of many years
ago, when I got heavily into a band named Drogheda. Spewtilator
remind me of them somewhat stylistically, but more the atmosphere
they create and their consistency, within that feel to their music,
from song to song. I think their sound has a certain crossover
sensibility to it, from a few genres like crust, punk, thrash,
death, grind and maybe even the slightest hint of black metal
vitriol spit in there. This is some good shit; it just may take a
few listens to really sink in like it did with me. Just stick with
it and you will be rewarded. I will tell you what, Boris Records and
the Atlanta scene have captured my attention, they will capture
yours too if given half a chance. - Dale
http://spewtilator.bandcamp.com/
http://www.boris-records.com
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What a perfect
pairing of bands!
Stargazer
– Stargazer are like an occult dream of high caliber deathrash with
intelligent structuring & epic atmosphere which equals a memorable
addictive listen through the most extreme of art.
Arghoslent
– Anyone who reads C.A. regularly know how much I respect this bands
music! They sound like no other. Extremely unique deathrash with
hints of power metal background here & there. Supreme piece of vinyl
is this!! - Dale
Stargazer, Box
182, Ingle Farm, 5098 South AUSTRALIA
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Strychnine
– I’ve been really enjoying & reveling in this first rate piece of
see thru blood-red vinyl. They are not terribly prolific (2 demos, 1
album and this split), in their 9 years of audio blasphemic
existence. Strychnine are a seasoned and confident band who come
across to myself as more than a little original & in strong contrast
to most of what is making the rounds these days. I would describe
Strychnine as late 80s style deathtrash (you know that period when
many thrash bands were incorporating death elements) with a slight
but note able early 90s black/death metal feel (mainly due to the
riffing). Vocalist Don has an 80s speed / thrash clean but still
dense lightly graveled delivery which is both unique and personally
pleasing. Strychnine are fucking supreme!
Lethal
Prayer
– Didn’t this band go under a different moniker in the early 90s?! I
may have them confused with someone else. Anyway, Lethal Prayer play
excellently riffed guttural death metal albeit a bit typical. I
really like the dark and suffocating atmosphere their music
possesses. The vocals are indecipherable, garbled & obscured
sounding which I dug a lot. - Dale
$10 USA/$12 US
CAN/MEX/$17 US Rest of World to: A. Rec., Box 173, Keyport, NJ.
07735 pete@apparitiondistro.com
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I am honoured
that Negativity Records chose to grace me with the actual vinyl
itself of this release! It is not often you get vinyl for review
period, but especially these days with the way costs are with
pressing and postage. This is a great looking record as well, now I
see some places where this is listed as an EP, but if you ask me
when you start getting over say the 21, 22 minute mark you are
talking mini-album territory. Back to the packaging, which is very
nice, the vinyl itself looks beautiful; it is white with grey,
black, brown splatter streaks, almost like an explosion across the
white. I love it - now on to the music. To my ears the music sounds
like a mix of early 90s black metal, with the Scandinavian
influence, and a decided very early Impaled Nazerene influence. I
worship early Impaled Nazerene, so with that comparison you know
this is some really gloomy, vile and sick metal. Even some of the
vocal accents remind me to the inhuman, demonic yells on the amazing
1991 “Goat Perversion” seven Inch. As I mentioned though that sound
is mixed with cryptic early 90s black metal ala Darkthrone, Immortal
etc.. And it sounds fantastic, very harsh, very atmospheric, but
always horrific and dark as night. They end the release with a
great, ritualistic feeling to their cover of Black Widow’s “Come To
The Sabbat”. Teratism continues to prove that the USBM (and Texas)
is strong and producing some of the best black metal on the planet
right now. Did I mention you get a beautifully done magazine size
glossy 12 page booklet with lyrics, awesome artwork, pics? Yes this
is one of the best inserts in a vinyl I have ever seen. That is not
all though, you also get a large fold-out poster of superb Mark
Riddick artwork, this is truly deluxe packaging, my hat is tipped in
Negativity’s direction. Highly recommended! - Dale
http://www.reverbnation.com/teratism
http://www.negativityrecords.com/ |
A split between
band & labels – now that is fucking underground!
The Forgotten
– I’ve been into these hellhounds for a long time and every release
that they put out slaps me in the face, letting me know this one is
better than the last. Cryptic harsh black metal for all your suicide
fiends. Vocalist “M” is a monster screamer, he sounds better than
before and his vocals really push everything over the top. Hail The
Forgotten (Dimentianon!).
Rigor
Sardonicus
– Play original sounding and vile snails pace head crushing doom.
Kind of like if you took that old band Entety on their “Cadaveric
Necrogrind” 7” and put them in slow motion mixed with after shocks
of a nuclear bomb! This release is limited to 500 copies and mine is
#54 – just try and pry it from my death grip!! - Dale
Label # 1 =
paragonsnuff@aol.com # 2 = deadseason@yahoo.com
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I've read about
this band and I've been wanting to check them out. Finally this LP
came out on Hellflame run by Solieri Nicola of the zine of the same
name. The first song has an awesome opening which very much took me
back to the Celtic Frost inspired days of late 90's Darkthrone
material. Each song on this record contains a lot of good
songwriting and while not too many dynamic moments materialize, most
of the songs are still memorable. The vocals are a bit quiet in the
mix but this doesn't hinder anything. I highly recommend this to the
ug black metal hordes and urge you to play it fukkin loud! -
Jeffrey Kusbel
c/o Solieri
Nicola - Via India 73 - 41100 Modena - ITALY http://come.to/hellflame
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Kentucky’s
blackened death metal band unleash their brand new two song 7 inch
upon the metal underground. The first song “Scared To Death” is a
violent and chaotic hymn that mixes in both heavy mid paced tempos
along with some faster, crazed parts. The vocals are death metal
growls with some raspy vocals mixed in. Flipping over to side B, the
track is entitled “Treads Of War”, which is played in the same vein
starting off with heavy mid paced music, but wastes little time
before going to hyperspeed crazed metal passages. The drumming is
mid paced and heavy beats that at times break into an all out
assault of blasting drums. The vocals are deep death growls with
some gruff screams mixed into music. If you enjoy heavy, chaotic
blackened death metal then be sure to check out this release today!
- Patrick
https://www.facebook.com/tombstalkerband https://borisrecords.bandcamp.com/
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Toxic Holocaust
– Darkened black metal with slight punk leanings. Better than you
would think actually.
Oprichnicki
– Punk / hardcore style music with some metal riffs. Okay. This
vinyl is cheap as shit ($3 US) so give it a chance.
T.H., Box 628,
Delaware City, DE. 19706 www.geocities.com/toxicholocaust/nuclearhell
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I have to send
out an extreme thank you to the might Paragon Records for sending me
a vinyl for review! It will never ever go unappreciated if any label
or band honours me with sending in vinyl for review. A sweet piece
of vinyl here with some nice liner notes on the sleeve of the
record. The music on this album is cold and cryptic, middle paced,
epic ancient style black metal glorifying the greatness of early to
mid 90s black metal. These epic songs threaten to carry you away
with their shadowy gallop, but the necro headbang atmosphere keeps
from being swept away. I could really see this dark bands sound
going over very well in a live setting, it is sure to bring the evil
aura but also satisfy those that wreck their necks at gigs. The
production on here is clear enough, yet also has this obscure creepy
air to it which supports the music perfectly. I can hear some
influences in here like earlier Root, early Masters Hammer, Ungod
and the like. The vocals are great and again bring to mind Root with
some definite Big Boss influence and you know I worship that mans
vocals! I read online that this is limited to only 250 copies, it is
not hand numbered but I wish you luck attempting to find a copy of
this great album. You may have to settle for a copy of the cd
through the German label Fog Of The Apocalypse Records. - Dale
http://youtu.be/9KkZiHEW47w
http://www.paragonrecords.org
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This recording
was originally released in 2005, on cassette tape, which as you see
has been reissued on vinyl through Palehorse Records. Vpaahsalbrox
plays a very raw form of black metal, which is mainly in the mid
tempo range. The guitars are played with a lot good patterns that
stay well within the early black metal genre. The guitars do speed
up in a few of the songs, but mainly played with mid paced riffs.
The drums go from a mix of fast patterns to a more mid paced
drumming style. The vocals are raw vicious black metal screams. If
you are a fan of harsh, raw black metal then you will definitely
want to pick up this release immediately. - Patrick
https://www.facebook.com/PHROfficial/
http://www.palehorserecs.com/
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This is an
interesting release. Wintercoffin hail from Memphis, this release is
actually nearly six years old, and is the only recorded material by
the band. Apparently this was a two man band, that had originally
planned to carry at some point in the future, but some time after
this recording, Jimmy Blitzkrieg died. The remaining member Rob Evil
(from the band Evil Army) probably never thought it would see the
dark of night. But Black Skul records decided this single song
“Forest Of The Blitzkrieg”, needed to be heard. I am glad they did,
this song is a pretty fucking awesome, it is a combination of
headbanging thrash, and harsh early 90s tradition Nordic black
metal. It is far from the first time, these two sub-genre’s have
been mixed together, but it may be one of the best examples of
having done it well. They really capture thrash when they thrash,
you can do circles around the living room, nodding your head and
punching the air, in an adrenaline frenzy. They also managed to
capture and transition, back and forth from classic atmospheric
sound of foreboding, freezing black metal, which will chill you with
it’s evil vitriol. It is kind of hard to explain properly, but damn
I wish they had been able to carry on with this. Because if they
could have written, an entire album this good, it could have been
something truly memorable, amidst a scene often devoid of that
quality. This track was recorded on a basement 4 track, but the
sound for me is perfect, it’s clear but low-fi and heavy. I am not
sure, there is much more to say going on only one track, but believe
it or not, even though this is only a one song release, it is well
worth your time and money. The vinyl itself and the packaging are
quality and nice to look at, this was limited to 550 and currently
it is still available. - Dale
http://blakskul.bigcartel.com/
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This was a great
surprise to receive. It is not often labels send vinyl for review
(and with good reason as that shit is more expensive to press and
mail out than the average record buyer would ever expect). So it is
something I truly appreciate and respect dedicated labels such as
DAS records that believe in their band and message so thoroughly.
The packaging on the vinyl is nice (though black print on black
jackets never stands out very well, but apparently that is what they
were going for) and my copy is yellow with black splatter. There is
also a green version with black mist – the whole thing is limited to
500 copies (200 yellow & 300 green). So now on to the music itself.
This is some exceptionally harsh and raw black metal. The recording
is low-fi and coarse as far as sound quality goes. But when it comes
to blitzkrieg, cold as a crypt black metal, then I rarely have a
problem with it. In fact, the energy is so primal and dark that it
often only enhances the overall ambiance. This is the sort of thing
that makes weak kneed christians tremble and quake under it’s
blasphemy. Wyqm is not adverse to injecting some more somber and
emotional passages. Yet, never forgetting it’s bleak reverence
towards encompassing darkness and Satanic majesty. The songs are
solidly crafted and backed with some excellent riffs. If you worship
early 90s black metal yet mixed with modern touches & cloaked in an
ambient tapestry. Then, look no farther than Wyqm, who are a fine
example. My copy is #063/500. – Dale
www.myspace.com/deathagoniesscreams
http://deathagoniesscreams.blogspot.com/
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I am extremely
pleased to receive this record. This is the second time DAS has been
gracious to send a Wyqm release in this format. As I mentioned
previous, only dedicated labels are willing to sacrifice the costs
and believe in their band and message so much, they are willing to
send vinyl for review. That is not even taking into the account the
presentation on this long player. The label has out done themselves
once again with the superb packaging and presentation of this piece
of art. I received a copy on transparent red vinyl with black
splatter and it looks sick, I love the colour mixes and transparent
releases. The cover artwork as you can see above is extremely
awesome and sets a tone for the music. There is also a black with
grey swirl version and that is combination I do not recall having
seen before the way it is done in the pics of it. That is saying
something for a guy that has been collecting vinyl for close to 30
years. The sound on here fits extremely well for a band that plays
that classic (and reverently worshipped by yours truly) early 90s
Scandinavian black metal. I am getting the chills as the needle
rolls along. The atmosphere created by the music of Wyqm is cold and
evil in a way few bands are capable of capturing and channeling
through their hymns. I mean the hate and the misery you can feel
coming out of your speakers and seeping into your skin like the
venom of a snake strike, and is almost palpable. The vocals match
the supremacy of the music, and also are the traditional cruel
rasping that is an integral part of this hallowed style. When black
metal is done like this it is not an album it is more of an
encompassing emotion filled experience. I honestly can not recommend
this enough. Now I must wish you luck in actually locating a copy as
there are only 500 in existence (my copy is not for sale so do not
ask). My apologies go out to DAS records for taking so long with
this review. Yes I know I fucking suck, this sweet piece of wax
however does not. – Dale
www.myspace.com/deathagoniesscreams
http://deathagoniesscreams.wordpress.com/
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