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Originally, this
was released in 2007, “Deathcult Barbaric Hell” is the debut album
from this US war metal band known as Amputator. Greyhaze Records is
re-releasing this classic on vinyl, for the first time, if you have
never heard the band they play a barbaric and vicious form of
blackened death war metal. The guitar work is done with chaotic and
extremely fast guitar riffs and patterns. The guitarist does slow to
a more mid paced controlled speed, in a few of the songs, before
going back to the extreme and crazed guitar sound and style. The
vocals are harsh, raw screams and some deeper, gruff death growls
used throughout the release. The music has been remastered for the
LP version, but still holds things up in the barbaric blackened
death war metal scene. - Patrick
https://greyhazerecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.greyhazerecords.com/ |
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Details on this
band are scarce, but I believe they are a duo and features Canadian Gord Olsen (Ye Goat-Herd Gods, Demisery, Divinity) and Swede Hempa
Brynolfsson (Ordo Infernus, ex-Excruciate, ex-Mykorrhiza etc…). As
well, both gentlemen are in the international band Darkened whose
debut EP I reviewed in these pages just recently. There are three
tracks (two long players and an outro) on this piece of vinyl. The
band play a high energy style of black death metal, where they keep
the extremity levels up, but also inject quite a bit of melody into
the proceedings. I would say they are a little too brutal and heavy
to put in the melodic death category though. There are some razor
riffs on here played at lightning speed, but also some solid,
semi-intricate skillful guitar work cutting through the fray. The
vocals are dark sounding, bestial growls that are quite intelligible
in their style and delivery with strong enunciation on the growls.
As mentioned this EP ends with an outro, which is a gloomy
atmospheric synth/piano piece that is decent, but felt like a bit of
time filler to me personally. This is a solid release though and I
look forward to hearing more from this new band. - Dale
https://edgedcircleproductions.com/
https://www.facebook.com/edgedcircleproductions
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This band and
release is something really interesting and different than most
bands. They are like this writhing audio cabal of a myriad of
elements you have heard before from many bands through the years,
but combined in a way you have likely not heard before. This is
accomplished with an amalgam of tangential influences, which are
shaped and craftily constructed into something extremely creative
and intense. The music is this interesting, eccentric mix of King
Diamond, if he played first wave morphing into early second wave
black metal mixed with a horror movie soundtrack, ala the classic
‘70s Lucio Fulci films. Then you take that musical mixture and top
it off with an evil and sinister maniacal take on the wild vocal
performances of Macabre, The Accüsed and early Burzum. “The
Haunting” really is a fatiguing yet enthralling experience to listen
to, take in and process. I am sure it will take more listens than
the three I have put in thus far to mentally comb through all the
insanity going on here, never mind the eccentric, again King Diamond
style concept album lyrically. As far as the lyrics and concepts,
the band claims them to be channeled through some sort of Séance
sessions, and translated into what you hear on this album. I have
almost nothing but glowing and positive things to say about this
album, but if I did have to nitpick one item, keeping in mind I
generally like raw, under produced recordings. Yet, nonetheless the
production on here has a noisy, whiny quality to it that was
slightly headache for me. I do not know what to make of this Ordo
Vampyric Orientis circle, or coven collective that apparently also
includes the bands Beastial Majesty and Bat Magic, but check into
that further your self, if interested. Also, apparently the CD
version of this album is on Avantgarde Records, holy shit I have not
heard that storied labels name in a long time! This edition is of
course the vinyl version of that release. I will just quote from the
bio that it comes “on heavyweight translucent pink/magenta marble
and limited black vinyl, with an illustrated 16-page book of stories
that accompany the twisted tales heard on The Haunting. Orders also
come with a brushed bronze Ordo Vampyr Orientis insignia pin”.
That is quite a deluxe package, and this release comes highly
recommended from me. - Dale
https://ordovampyrorientis.bandcamp.com/
https://www.labyrinthtower.com/ |
This is my first
encounter with COS, spoiler up front; I very much hope it is not my
last. The track on first side is the title cut; it captured me
almost immediately, as the music and the singer are filled with
infectious charisma. The song features a rich tone and silky flow,
the music is classic doom metal influenced, but there is much more
going on as it also has hard rock influence and a touch of
progressive rock flair. The guitars dance and gallop along, but
always return to that emotional doomy heart punch, it is hard to
even call this doom at the same time, because in certain sections of
the tune the pace is very quick. It is so damn infectious, I can not
stop listening to this song, I am convinced it will be a future
classic! I can not move on to track two without mentioning the
vocals of G.E., he has one of the best classic doom style vocals I
have ever heard!! His voice is smooth, so deeply achingly emotive
that I can feel it is my soul as it soars through my headphones with
such a dynamic range, reflecting the poignant sentimentality of the
music step for step effortlessly. It is just wonderful and I am not
sure I have ever written so much about one song before haha! Side B
of this record features a live recording of “The Hangman”, which is
a song from their debut self titled full-length record. Honestly,
the first reaction is a slight letdown, but that is partly due to
such a drastic drop in sound quality, the recording on the first
song is stellar, loud and full then it drops way down here to kind
of a flat low level. About halfway through the song, it has this
metal or hard rock version of a latin inspired beat / section. It is
strange and maybe an acquired taste, but it does seamlessly weave in
and out of the hurriedly mournful metal mainstay of the tune better
than you would think. This side of the record is a step down from
the first, a true B side in that sense, but Side A is more than
worth the price of admission, all on it’s own. That title song is a
fucking masterful work of art, from the beginning of it’s six minute
length, to the last second! Get this posthaste! - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/caveofswimmers http://southerndruidrecords.storenvy.com/ |
Coscradh are a
four man band coming out of the blackened death metal scene in
Ireland. This vinyl features two songs of intense and well delivered
black death metal. ‘Mesradh Mache’ starts off the release with a mix
of fast, blasting metal instruments. Their are some mid tempo
guitars and drum parts that are mixed into the song to give it a
nice balance between unrelenting speed and a more controlled pace.
The vocals are gruff growls and some raw black metal screams are
used throughout the song as well. ‘Plagues Of Knowth’ is the final
song of this release and is much more furious and frenzied in it's
delivery. The guitars are played at extremely fast aggressive
patterns. The drums are hyper-speed blasting drum passages that fit
this song very nicely. The vocals are a mix of heavier death metal
growls and some insane screams. If you are a fan of intense and well
delivered blackened death metal, then do yourself a favor and check
out this seven inch as soon as possible. - Patrick
https://coscradh.bandcamp.com
https://invictusproductions666.bandcamp.com/ |
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Datura came out
swinging in the second week of June with their debut full-length The
Harrowing, celebrating its release the day after at the Raleigh
Deathfest with one of the best performances on stage that night.
These guys have been a part of the local metal scene in North
Carolina for many years, and in their current incarnation have been
making music together since around 2015. They began recording The
Harrowing last October, and now the fruits of their labors finally
manifest! The album expertly combines various influences within its
43-minute playing time, most significantly from thrash and death
metal, although one may find sprinkles of doom here and there in
such tracks as “Haxan” and “Keeper of the Light”. Regardless of
subgenre nitpickiness, the album will have you headbanging no matter
what track you listen to. Give “Battle Worn” a listen, and the
initially mid-paced riffing will guide you into each verse, building
anticipation up until the chorus calls out at the “battle-worn
betrayer” with righteous indignation, then releasing you into the
rhythmic aftermath that eventually winds down like the falling
action of a story within the track’s latter half. Or maybe you would
prefer the next track, which showcases Kellie Gates’s vocals at
their best, in my opinion. Listen as the guitars at times punctuate
the verses, and at times gallop along, keeping the composition
moving in a constantly forward direction until you get the
broken-down form in the chorus where Gates takes over with deadly
delivery of punching lines and contrasting soaring screams. Needless
to say, there is a lot to love about this album—more than I can
succinctly determine in a single paragraph. Navigate to Datura’s
Bandcamp or Spotify in order to hear for yourself why Datura is one
of the most promising extreme metal acts coming out of central NC
today. – Aaron
https://datura666.bandcamp.com/ https://www.rustyknucklesmusic.com/collections/datura |
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We see the
return of the old school thrashing maniacs to Canadian Assault, with
a new two song EP. The first song, on this vinyl, is “Hell Comes To
Life”, which an aggressive thrash metal attacking track featuring
ripping guitars played with a lot of skill and fierce patterns. The
vocals are some raw screams mixed with some blackened style vox. The
second song is a cover, Judas Priest’s classic “Hell Patrol”, the
band does a great job capturing the intensity of that song, but also
adding a dash of their own style to the song. If you are a fan of
the early years of thrash, such as Kreator, Exodus, Judas Priest
“Painkiller”-era, then be sure to check this slab of vinyl out as
soon as it is released. - Patrick
https://deathofkings.bandcamp.com/ http://boris-records.com/
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So up first on
this split vinyl is the Philippines own Deiphago with three songs
from their recent demo “Lucifer Alpha Omega”, which was a demoed
version of songs that wound up on their “Satan Alpha Omega” album
released on Hells Headbangers some years ago. The music is raw,
crude black metal that stays true to the early black metal genre.
The vocals are raw screams mixed with some deeper growls that are
used throughout the songs. The guitars are played with aggressive
and fast guitar chords, but do slow down to a slow to heavier mid
pace within some of the songs. Flipping over to the second side, we
have the U.S. war machine known as Amputator, who presents two
unreleased songs for us. Amputator’s style is barbaric and vicious
war metal. The drums are blast beats, performed with fierce brutal
attack, going from an all out assault of blasting beats to a calmer
and fast drum pattern. The vocals are gruff screams and growling.
The end result of this split release is a pretty great one uniting
two of the underground’s best blackened death war metal bands. -
Patrick
https://www.facebook.com/deiphago/
https://www.greyhazerecords.com/
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It really is
impressive, while I was not paying as much attention to them as I
should over the years, Dødsferd has amassed a seriously prolific
(ten albums, many demos, splits and EPs) body of work stretching
back to their start in 2003. Prior to this I think I only have one
album, one split CD with Mortovatis and now this interesting
release. I know whenever I see their band name my brain
automatically thinks they must be Swedish, but no, this storied
black metal horde hail from Greece. I never tire of this old style
of black metal and I can never get enough of it. As I understand it
this will also be released on CD, but will include as a bonus on
that disc their entire last album which clocks in at over 50
minutes! That is one hell of a bonus. For the vinyl version (this
version) however, it is a stand alone seven inch vinyl EP. There is
a lot to like on this two song piece of vinyl, they play in a style
that is a passion for me, that being great freezing cold in your
veins second wave Scandinavian black metal. Both hymns are cryptic
and icy flowing black metal that immediately entranced me. The
vocalist gives a great performance here with his roiling and acidic
yelling rasp, which punctuates the music with a level of hatred and
haunting menace that keeps you on edge. This is a really good piece
of vinyl that I am sure any second wave black metal die hard will want
to own. - Dale
https://dodsferd.bandcamp.com/
https://tometal.com/
|
There is no
beating around the bush here, from theme, to look, to the music
itself is a violent and evil sounding love letter to the German
thrash scene of the early to late ‘80s. You could maybe even narrow
the focus even further and call this Sodom worship (“In The Sign Of
Evil” MLP and the first couple albums in particular), but there is
no doubt bands like Kreator, Destruction etc… also played a part in
shaping this band. I am sure, with this being nothing new or
experimental, progressive or whatever the fuck focused fans have
already stopped reading this review. Which is just fine, this not
made for you, so continue moving along as there surely is nothing
new here. This Swedish band features members (which has been kept
kind of hush, hush for the most part) who are currently or formerly
members of bands like Destroyer 666, In Aeternum, Centinex,
Interment, Hypnosia etc.. After finding that out, you may not be
surprised to discover the ferocious Teutonic thrash, played by these
maniacs is picture perfect old school blitzkrieg metal of the
highest order. This is truly top shelf thrash; played at break neck
speeds with amazing riffing that had my head banging like a puppet
on a string, leaving me no choice to bow to it’s will. Yes, it is
that fucking good! The only problem is it is too short, only two
original songs, followed by a scathing cover of “Tormentor” by
Kreator. All of which, barely breaks the nine minute mark, so a
rather short 12”, but one thing I can promise, if you worship ’80s
German thrash. You will be standing close to the record player,
because you will be flipping and replaying this constantly, as you
punch the air with your spiked fist and bobbing your head in between
swinging that arm back to the beginning of the record time and
again. Take it from me; during the course of writing this review, I
am literally 30 listens deep on this thing with no end in sight!
- Dale
https://www.facebook.com/DreadfulFate/
http://www.edgedcircleproductions.com/
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|
 
Birmingham,
Alabama’s Ectovoid returns with a brand new release featuring three
brand new tracks of extremely solid and heavy death metal. The
vocals are a mix deep death metal growling and some old school gruff
style growls. The music is interesting and keeps your interest at it
chugs along at a brutal edge and a fast tempo. The band does play
some brief slower, mid paced sections as well. If you are a fan of
early Autopsy and Immolation then be sure to pick up a copy of this
nice piece vinyl audio violence. - Patrick
https://www.facebook.com/ectovoid
http://shop.bloodharvest.se/ |
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This Swedish
band is made up of members that have a long history in the UG scene,
but they span more than just the death and grindcore scene. They are
vets of the punk and hardcore scenes as well. Some of the many bands
the members have done time in are Asterisk*, Demon System 13,
Invasionen, The Lost Patrol, The Vicious, Epileptic Terror Attack,
Feral Brain, Imperial Leather, Sonic Ritual, Suicide Blitz, Axis Of
Despair, Infanticide and a bunch more. The bio states this is no
thrown together super group one off or an internet band, but rather
a proper regularly rehearsing full on band. I like that. So what
area of music do Exil fall into? Well, for me, they are straight
hardcore punk rock to the max. They play these styles the way I like
them, which is fast, mean pissed off in your face ripping hardcore
punk! There is a small touch of metal crunch in the guitar, but this
is hardcore at their heart with catchy songs that you can gang sing
along to. Yet, as mentioned the music is also speedy, destructive
and irate enough to pummel you into submission. It is like if you
mixed early Sick Of It All, Dead Kennedy’s, Earth Crisis, Agnostic
Front, Cryptic Slaughter, Circle Jerks, DS 13, Violent Reaction,
Black Flag and Crucifix into a melting pot, then you get something
pretty killer like Exil as the result. The vocals match the music
and are classic coarse hardcore vocals with those aforementioned
sing-a-long parts and the lyrics have something to say, but I will
let you discover that part for yourself. If you a devotee of
hardcore and the bands I mentioned then you are going to want to add
this LP to your collection, and sooner than later. - Dale
https://exilhardcore.bandcamp.com/
http://www.armageddonshop.com/
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Originally,
these three songs were a part of the split release with Brutal
Distortion, which was released way back in 1990. The Expulser half
of the split have been remastered, but the songs still hold a raw
sound and feel to them. The first song “Vomiting Paradise” is a
semi-fast thrash style, which features some very good musicianship.
The guitarist even adds some well written and performed nice solos.
The second song is “The Offensor”, which is a faster, more crazed
tune that goes for it. The final track is “No Resurrection”, which
is probably the heaviest out of the three tracks on this LP. The
drumming on here is done at hyper-speed and the vocals are more old
style death growls with some gruff screams intertwined throughout
the growling. If you are a fan of old school thrash metal with
elements of the early days of death metal, then be sure to pick this
up today.
- Patrick
https://greyhazerecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.greyhazerecords.com/
|
Exterminator was
an early Brazilian thrash metal band with some early death metal
influences. This recording was originally released in 1987; it was
the bands debut (as it turns out also their final release) which is
now getting the vinyl treatment with this reissue on Greyhaze
Records on the thirty anniversary of the original release. The
vocals on here are raw thrashy screams mixed with some early death
metal growls that really fit the bands musical style. The guitarist
wrote some very aggressive and memorable riffing patterns, he even
mixed in some well played and written solos. For the most part, the
guitars are played in mid paced range with some faster parts here
and there in some of the songs. The drummer does a solid job of
combining both middle speed drumming and faster paced drums, which
he uses throughout the recording. If you are a fan of original, well
played thrash mixed with elements of death metal you should pick up
a copy of “Total Extermination” as soon as it is available to the
public. - Patrick
https://greyhazerecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.greyhazerecords.com/ |
|
Glemt is a black
metal band from the United Kingdom, which is a one man band, that
man being Orobas (who is also in the multi-member band Mørktår) who
writes all the music and handles all instruments. There is some
guest appearances on this release from members of Vampirska, Thy
Dying Light and Nocturnal Departure. This is my first time
unfortunately listening to a Glemt release despite the band being
very active releasing about ten demos, EPs, split EPs and a split
album prior to this debut full-length. Though most if not all of
those releases were very limited like in some cases as few as 12-15
copies, so not so surprising that I missed out until now. Glemt play
very raw and to my ears excellent black metal filled with darkness
and evil, it is early second wave black metal with touches of first
wave black metal whispering through like a creeping fog. Some of the
rhythmic sequences on here are slightly off-kilter and bizarrely
eccentric, for one example the middle sections of “Entranced By
Eibon Shadows” or the seven minute track “Phasmophobia”, yes a
little strange at times, but the result is also very malevolent and
surrealistic sounding, and very infectiously hypnotic to me as a
listener. But even when they do take these emotive trips they are
always book ended by icy, hateful bm aggression sooner or later.
There is some skillfully placed gloomy synth that is mainly used as
accent and interlude employed much along the same lines as those
aforementioned off-kilter stark rhythms. The vocals are a mix of
great traditional bm raspy screams with flourishes of those haunting
tortured spirit moans and bellows ala Lust (Canada) or early Burzum.
Yes, those vocals add a sinister and diabolic aura to the music
underneath it’s dark shadow. There is no folk shit, there is no goth
shit, there is no angelic shit either! No, it is evil and raw
classic black metal that reminds me why I became so possessed by
glorious freezing black metal in the first place! - Dale
https://glemt.bandcamp.com/
https://www.ipr666shop.com/
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Nebular Carcoma
is re-releasing western Canada's Godless North’s 1998 debut demo for
the first time on a format other than cassette on this special vinyl
release. Othalaz (see also his past bands Deus Inferi, Gloria
Diaboli, Rites of Thy Degringolade) is the sole member of the band,
and on this recording plays a very bestial and unrelenting
traditional second wave of black metal style. The music is raw and
noisy with some well executed guitars and drum patterns that are
played with real zeal and aggression. The guitars do slow to a more
calmer mid pace within a few of the songs, before inevitably going
back in for the kill with hyper speed drums and razor sharp guitar
chords. The vocals are raw black metal screams and screechy vocal
patterns that fit the music perfectly. To be honest I have never
heard this bands other releases, so I can not compare the
re-released demo to his present material, but if you are a fan of
raw aggressive black metal then you should order a copy of “Dark
Rites Of The Mystic Order” as soon as possible. - Patrick
https://www.facebook.com/nebularcarcoma
https://www.nebularcarcoma.com/
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Grog produce
intense and high energy death metal grindcore with chunky brutal
riffing and piston drumming that is often sped up to light speeds.
The vocals are fantastic, utterly guttural growling vocals with
accents of higher nasally vocals often used believe it or not,
during the choruses. The result of those choruses over the top of
this mind numbing grind brutality is pretty awesome and not
something I would have expected. Grog takes up side A of this sweet
piece of vinyl with two new original songs and then covers of
Simbiose, Marginal and Napalm Death. I think I tape traded for a
Grog demo tape way back in the early ‘90s. I had no idea they were
still going strong (30 years in 2021!!) until last year when I
listened to killer split live tape with Agathocles. They are still
destroying all in their paths thirty years later! Namek like to mix
it up and play parts that are middle paced heavy deathrash style
riffs, before inevitably launching into sections of blinding
grindcore, crusty mincing blitzkrieg speed and barbarity that I
found pretty damn satisfying. The vocals are a garbled wall of
noise, but they work. Namek also do two new original songs and then
do two covers of Regurgitate and Cock & Ball Torture. I can
definitely recommend this for grindcore fans that like a healthy
dose of death metal mixed in. Namek is damn good on here, but Grog
is even better, putting on a tour-de-force performance on their side
of the split. - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/grogpt
https://namekgrind.bandcamp.com
https://helldprod.com
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Haunting were a
band that was part of the Atlanta, Georgia underground metal scene.
The band only put out one release, entitled “Sealed Shut”, which was
a limited run demo tape that came out in 2014. That release plus a
new intro is essentially what this is, so a re-release, but now on
the vinyl format for the first time, giving a chance for those that
missed it the first time around to get on it. Just reading the bio
from the label, apparently the band was very important back in the
2013-1016 time period in helping revive a local Atlanta seen that
was in decline. Haunting’s music is a nice blend of thrash and early
death metal. The guitars are played with crazed, fast guitar
patterns. The guitarist has a talent for writing some well executed
guitar riffs, and even adds some solos, which are weaved into the
music quite skillfully. The vocals are old school gruff growls and
some screams are used here and there in a few of the songs. If you
are a fan of old school death and thrash metal, then make sure to
you check this one out and pick up your own copy today. -
Patrick
https://borisrecords.bandcamp.com/album/sealed-shut
http://boris-records.com/
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This album was
originally released in 2011; it is the bands second full-length
release, which is now finally getting the vinyl treatment via the
great Boris Records (a champion of the Atlanta, Georgia extreme
metal scene). Hellgoat play a straight forward and thoroughly
Satanic vicious black metal style. The vocals are harsh, raw
blackened screams and screeches. The vocalist does use some deeper,
gruff growls and shrieks in a few of the songs as well to round out
his vocal arsenal. The drums and guitars are played with fast and
chaotic patterns reminding me a lot of the early ‘90s black metal
scene. If you are familiar with Hellgoat’s musical style and
appreciate then do not hesitate to pick up a copy of ‘Death Conquers
All’ on the sweet format of vinyl as soon as it is released. -
Patrick
https://www.facebook.com/Hellgoat-359498710801448
https://boris-records.com
|
 
This came out of
left field for me, as I had never heard of Hellthrasher before now,
at least not a band by that name. As I understand it, you might be
able to call this Memphis band a bit of project band featuring
members of Incineration, an ex-member of influential crust punk band
His Hero Is Gone and some other local musicians. The result is a
pretty brutal mixing of death metal, grind and crust, which is heavy
and chunky as fuck, not to mention just catchy enough in many
sections that I can not even help myself from headbanging to the
metallic maelstrom. The pacing is up and down, from middle pacing
chunky death metal to vicious outbursts of high velocity grinding at
times, with crust-like structuring and vibe. The vocals, much like
the music, seem like a hybrid of the above subgenres with an
undertone of aggressive hardcore crust screeching cutting through
the slightly more predominant dm growling. I find that combo pretty
satisfying, but I guess it depends on how particular you are with
those styles, on whether you would mind or not the mixing of those
styles. The drums are really the backbone of this record in a lot of
ways, it is a rather menacing forceful drum performance, which sets
the tone, strongly backing up the thick rumbling bass and stout
guitar riffing, and propelling the whole thing in a forward motion
in a lot of ways. I am uncertain of the running time, I would guess
somewhere between 15-20 minutes, but it is an intense ride you will
want to take repeatedly, so you can keep the intensity rolling and
trust me you will want to keep it rolling. It is always a treat for
me to receive vinyl for review, it is like an Xmas present for me,
so cheers to the label for sending this cool limited (300 copies I
believe) release on beautiful dark red marbled vinyl (it comes in
three editions of red & black marbled and straight black). I
listened to this on bandcamp just for comparisons sake and the
sound, in my opinion, kills on the vinyl version. - Dale
https://hellthrasher.bandcamp.com
http://blakskul.bigcartel.com/ |
 
So one of my
fave new brutal death metal bands is Ripped To Shreds, a one man
band from the mind and hands of the uber talented Andrew Lee. A
little background on Mr. Lee is he comes from Taiwan, he appears to
split his time between the USA and his ancestral homeland, but I
believe he was born and lives mainly full time over here in
California. So why am I waxing on about Ripped To Shreds and Andrew
Lee? Well, that is because Houkago Grind Time is his other one man
band, so as you can imagine I am a little excited to review this
album. Due to my interest in his other band I actually have sought
out a couple H.G.T. releases and just let me say, in my opinion, "Bakyunsified
(Moe To The Gore)" takes Houkago to a new level of quality across
the board. Where as Ripped To Shreds is an amazing death metal band,
this band is in the ferocious grindcore / mincecore style and
tradition. Andrew has a talent or maybe a better term would be a
feel for extremity and brutality, as well as how to keep that as the
core of music, never letting it wane, while at the same keeping a
lot of variation in the songwriting. Things are always extreme and
bestial yet never monotonous or repetitive. Those traits to his
music have been a staple of all of his works (so far that I have
heard), which is something I greatly appreciate and wish more death
metal bands should strive harder for. This is a grind album, but all
the same there are sequences of just pure highly enjoyable old
school death metal riffing that is allowed to briefly gallop. Some
examples of this are scattered throughout the recording, but a
couple songs to look out for that come to mind are the title track
and “Fuwa Fuwa Grind”. Having said that for a goregrind record there
are a lot of cool nuances woven into the blinding speed, crushing
garble that are skillfully inserted with a touch of finesse ala some
of the succinct guitar fills and solos that Mr. Lee makes work
delightfully well inside the maelstrom of chaos. Oh did I mention
the whole concept of this band lyrically is Anime? I am mostly taken
by and engrossed in the music itself, but yes, it is about Anime
cartoons/movies and there are pithy audio clips from that artform
strewn throughout the release. It is hard to believe this is only 20
minutes long, I keep it on repeated listens and have been listening
to it for over two hours and I never tire of it! Andrew Lee is the
fucking man. Get this sweet piece of vinyl (no disc or tape just
yet) and/or go get a copy off of bandcamp ASAP! - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/houkagogrindtime/ https://houkagogrindtime2.bandcamp.com/ |
Death metal
seems to be experimenting quite a bit this year in terms of bringing
influences from other sorts of music into its compositions. Death
doom often reigns in this area, but recently psychedelia elements
have been sneaking their way into the brutal form. Enter John Frum,
a super group of sorts, with “A Stirring in the Noos” released on
May 12th in association with Relapse Records. This album merges
psychedelia with dusky death metal with seasoned competence, as is
to be expected from a lineup that includes members like bassist Liam
Wilson of The Dillinger Escape Plan and vocalist Derek Rydquist of
ex-The Faceless fame. These two band members produced the elements
that I found myself focusing on the most when I was listening to the
album, not because of their status in the scene, but rather because
of just how much control each has over their deliveries. Wilson’s
bass at times pummels through the composition, and at times acts as
the pulse to the music. Rydquist’s vocal performance demonstrates
his wide range, fluctuating from mid-lows to blackened mid-highs. He
has complete power concerning the verses he conveys. However, the
drums and guitar do not feel as exceptional in comparison, even
though they both show technical capacity throughout the album. Matt
Hollenberg’s guitar solos are often astoundingly tortured in the
manner that has become familiar in this brand of death metal, but
they sometimes fall short in terms of being memorable. Similarly,
Eli Litwin’s drumming exhibits his mechanical proficiency, but there
were only a few sections on the record where I truly noticed the
drums as being brilliant. This is not to say that the album overall
is lackluster. Quite the contrary—I believe the band will only
better from here because this album presents much promise for their
future. John Frum carve out a space to call their own in the vein of
psychedelic death metal, but whether they will maintain their rank
alongside so many other fantastically written experimental death
metal projects churned out this year remains uncertain. - Aaron
http://johnfrumband.com/
https://john-frum.bandcamp.com/
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|
This five man
band out of Greece may have only been around about five years or so,
but the experience of it’s members stretches back much, much further
than that. The various musicians on Katavasia have done time in
bands like Varathron, Zaratus, Funeral Storm, Melan Selas, Aenaon,
Agnes Vein, Freefall, Riffobia, ex-Kawir etc… Perhaps their most
veteran member is the vocalist the mighty Necroabyssious, the leader
of the legendary band Varathron. A moment of indulgence here, did I
ever mention I was writing letters with Necroabyssious back and
forth way back in the day and he wrote me while in the studio
recording the 1993 classic “His Majesty At The Swamp”. Okay, okay
enough of that, on to the music of Katavasia. The band play a kind
of mix of harsh first wave black metal mixed with newer epic flowing
black metal style that features accents of melody, and also the odd
guitar sequences or riff that feel very of heavy metal or thrash.
There are just two tracks on here “Descending To Acheron” and
“Premonition of Doom”, but it is a seven inch vinyl after all.
Necroabyssious handles all the vocals and he sounds fucking great!
He spits out vocal venom in deadly fashion with a gruff deep voice
that is mixed with a traditional bm rasping edge yet it is all quite
decipherable, evil and commanding. I need to hear more and explore
the bands past releases that include a second EP and two full-length
albums. But until then this is a quality piece of work I am sure any
fan of the band will enjoy and/or maybe it could be a jumping on
point for a new fan, like me. Check it out. - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/katavasiaofficial/
https://ironboneheadproductions.bandcamp.com/ |
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It is an
interesting choice by this Finnish band to start off the opening
song on their debut album with a cover tune. After listening to it
though, it does feel right, as they really add their own style
heavily to this cover of Darkthrone’s “The Serpent’s Harvest”, from
the Total Death album. They end up largely making the song their
own, yet still paying homage to the songs immense cadenced
foundation riff. This is my first encounter with this young band,
after apparently having missed their digital single and ep, both
released a couple years ago. Khanus has been hard at work on this
introductory record ever since and that hard work shows. I suppose
you could call the band avant-garde or progressive to some extent,
as the band incorporates many unusual elements, such as all sorts of
primitive sounding ritualistic and occult or Shamanic ceremonial
type elements such as chants, hypnotic rhythmic drumming, overall
tempos and timing. Like I said, I guess you can call them that, but
unlike most bands placed into the avant-garde / progressive realm
Khanus never abandons their root sound. Which is very heavy and
slightly doomy darkened death metal, that brutal underpinning is
always the anchor with everything else spinning around it’s orbit.
Despite that description everything on here is solid and well
performed, but there is really nothing overly technically impressive
or amazingly complex going here with their slow-ish to middle paced
music. But, the way it is all put together, the vision and song
crafting are where it is special or at least different, and somewhat
original (okay so maybe Master’s Hammer and Root have done something
approaching this) when combined together as you all know that alone
is an achievement these days. All the above described, conspire
together to create a very shadowy and mysterious atmospheric vibe
that is magnetic in a sinister trance-inducing manner. The vocals
display an impressively wide spectrum of styles, often featuring
spoken word or partially sung and spoken passages in a brutish
intimidating style, as well as growling, clean voices, triumphant
almost classic doom style singing and as mentioned previous various
iteration chanting. As I said earlier, there is nothing mind-blowing
here with regards to it’s unremarkable individual elements, but the
manner in which they have all been masterfully woven together, in a
different and original sounding way is what makes this a special
record, worth your attention. - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/khanusband
https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com |
This Spanish
band is new, but it’s members have been around for years in other
bands (Sheidhim, Graveyard, Morbid Flesh etc…), so it is no surprise
how mature this mini-album sounds and the performances within.
Things start off with a possessed demonic intro that reminds of the
early vocalization of the infamous Hellhammer. Following the intro,
the music explodes out of your speakers with an exciting burst of
forcefulness, which is sure to invigorate the listener into a frenzy
of adrenaline filled headbanging fury. It is a straight shot to the
veins of potent, swirling guitars producing a catchy and heavy riff
storm. The energy is high, often with a rapid pace to match, but the
band does slow things down now and then to create an underlying evil
atmospheric to underpin the barbarity. Think of a blitzkrieg melding
of early Venom and Celtic Forst, mixed with newer influences like
Vomitor, Dissection, Bestial Mockery, Nifelheim, Destruktor and
Gospel Of The Horns. So yes, it is in my mind, a caustic love letter
to some of the most vicious bands from the Australian and Swedish UG
scenes. There is not that much of an own sound, but fuck it, when
they do it this fucking good and put this much dedication and
diabolic energy into it. I can do nothing but praise what they have
accomplished here on this six song, twenty minute recording. Not to
even mention, how do you not love a band with high quality music,
who also have a song title called “The Great Masturbator”! -
Dale
https://krossfyre-spain.bandcamp.com/ http://www.hellsheadbangers.com/
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Atlanta’s death
metallers Malformity return with a new 7” EP, which features two
tracks of old school brutal death metal. The first track is
“Rapturous Damnation”, which is four minutes of solid and raging
barbarous death metal music. The vocals are growls that fit in the
musical style very well. The guitars are played at a mid paced
tempo, but do speed up a few times, before calming back down to the
middle paced realm once again. The second and final song is
“Unraveling”, which is a much faster and chaotic piece of music
compared to the first track. The drumming is played with some
blasting drum parts that do slow down slightly to a fast style
similar to the mid ‘90s US and Swedish bands from this era. The
vocals in this song are a mix of gruff growls and some deeper
brutish growling as well. If you are a fan of quality old school
death metal, which has influences from both American and Swedish
death metal scenes, you should definitely pick up this seven inch
when it is released. - Patrick
https://www.facebook.com/Malformity/
http://boris-records.com/ |
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Malignament are
a brand new band coming out of Finland's mighty black metal scene.
Purity Through Fire is re-releasing the bands debut demo on vinyl,
it featuring three tracks of well crafted and executed black metal
darkness. The music is played with a mix of fast and aggressive yet
well composed melodic musical passages, as well as some slower more
mid paced sections. The vocals are a mix of gruff growls and some
black metal screams and cleaner sung passages. If you are looking
for a new band that plays well devised black metal then do yourself
a favor and pick up a copy of “Demo 1” that is hot off of the
presses and await the next output from this promising new band.
- Patrick
https://www.malignament.bandcamp.com/
www.purity-through-fire.com
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If anyone knows
me, and my musical tastes, they know how big of a die hard I am for
early to mid ‘90s Greek black metal. I worshipped at it’s malevolent
altar back then, and since tape trading, buying releases and
following this scene. It unfortunately, over the years, largely
morphed stylistically and sound-wise into something I largely did
not care for. I long for those olden days, so does Medieval Demon,
who are keeping them alive and attempting to return the scene to
past glory. I immediately think of one of my all time favourite
black metal releases when listening to this, which is Necromantia’s
side of their split album with the mighty Varathron, released way
back in 1992, a pure masterpiece. Before anyone gets the wrong idea
that M.D. are a new young band, picking up the old mantle, forget
that straight away. despite having called it quits for 15 years at
the end of the ‘90s, Medieval Demon actually formed in 1992
releasing demos, a split ep and album prior to the hiatus. The two
main driving forces of the band are brothers Lord Apollyon &
Sirokous, who also run a record label called Cryptia Productions, as
well as running a black/death record store together in Athens. This
release spews no less than fifty-five minutes of the audio
personification of blasphemic darkness and evil! The old Greek bm
style, while similar to the early ‘90s second wave of black metal
coming from Scandinavia, tends to possess more ritualistic drumming
and effects. These bands also show more passion for the first wave
of black metal, in the late ‘80s, with more traditional metal
elements than many of their Scandinavian counterparts. The sound
also often includes dark and freezing synth accents, frequently
coupled with a building crescendo of dramatic hypnotic beats. When
performed and crafted correctly it can truly take the listener on a
sinister emotional mental journey. I know I have built this album up
high, I do not want to mislead here, it may not rival those early
classics, as good as it is. But, it does capture that sound and
tradition with an authentic reverence, assuring that the flame is
lit again and that the air crackles electric with the old magic once
again. So, if you miss the early years of Greek black metal, as I
do, and adore the early releases of bands like Necromantia,
Varathron, Rotting Christ, Nergal, Kawir, Agatus, Zemial, Thou Art
Lord and more (not Greek but I even hear a bit of Mortuary Drape in
there) then you will need to look into this straight away! -
Dale
https://medievaldemon.bandcamp.com/
http://www.hellsheadbangers.com/ |
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Starting off
this cool piece of split vinyl is the American warring blackened
death metal horde Morbosidad with a new track, entitled “Verdugo”,
which is an excellent death black metal assault of real destruction
and fury. The vocals are cool raw gruff growls and screams. The
music is mid paced with a few outbursts of intensity mixed into the
anarchy. The second song is “Pureza Del Martir”, which is a more of
a little faster paced, and straight to the point with blasting drums
backed with a mix of gruff growling and tortured screams. Sweden’s
Kill (featuring Carl Warslaughter whom long time CA readers will
remember well from the infamous band Bestial Mockery) like their
counterparts on this split release are veterans of sick UG game.
Kill appear with one longer song (well longer than the two
Morbosidad tracks) entitled ‘Prayer Of Destruct’, which is a
frenzied piece of blackened death metal music and a real beast of a
song! The music is played with a lot of raw intensity that is grim,
but also showcases the bands experience and sadistic song writing
abilities. The vocals on this track are raw, harsh hateful sounding
screams. This is an excellent release for fans on truly dirty and
evil metal from the depths, so check it out and also support the
great Hells Headbangers who have fine taste in music and champion
true death and black metal. - Patrick
https://www.facebook.com/thetruekill
https://shop-hellsheadbangers.com/
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This is the
debut release of Don Of The Dead of (the legendary) Nunslaughter’s
new band. Don never ceases to deliver both quality and debauchery in
equal quantities! This is such an interesting mix of death metal
depravity, combining things like hints of Nunslaughter greatness
with classic influences from the likes of Autopsy, Impetigo, early
Morbid Angel, Slaughter (from Canada) and small whispers of other
necro inspirations from things like Punk and black metal. The vocals
are a diabolic mix of raspy black metal style vocals, deep growls,
higher pitched growling, hysterical screams, and gore grinding
gurgles, along with half spoken bestial howling! These vocals would
make the likes of Stevo from Impetigo, Abscess and the vocal chords
of demons straight out of hell proud!! It is hard to choose a
favourite song out of the five on here, but “Abducted, Raped And
Eaten” is a strong contender for me. This is 12 minutes of an
utterly wonderful cacophony of sickness and depravity that must be
heard to be believed! I fucking loved this and can not wait for the
full-length album due out somewhere around the end of 2019. -
Dale
https://nighnacht.bandcamp.com/
http://www.hellsheadbangers.com/
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This Canadian
(Newfoundland) band has not been around long, just three years; this
is my first encounter with this two man horde. After releasing two
demos and a split album with Abduction, Nocturnal Prayer unveils
their debut full-length record. The music this diabolic duo produce
is creeping evil personified, all wrapped within an audio cloak of
darkness and hate. This band worships the kind of black metal that I
do, and in kind creates their version of early ‘90s Scadinavian
(Norway especially early Mayhem, Burzum and Darkthrone) black metal
that is mixed with mid ’90s French bm and other early to middle
nineties bands like Moonblood, Graveland and Judas Iscariot. When it
is done well, with obvious true feelings behind it, I can not get
enough of this supreme and ultimate modus operandi. The band has a
talent for writing really haunting, emotive and memorable sequences
continually permeated with a pernicious freezing cold aura. This is
complimented well by Murder’s spiteful and venomous blackened rasps
that are filled tortured agony. I find this album such a compelling,
almost hypnotic listen and have had it on repeat continually for
hours as I am paralyzed under it’s sinister spell. If you worship at
the altar second wave black metal in the old way then you should get
a copy ‘Mutilation On The Bed Of Winter’ for your collection
posthaste. - Dale
https://nocturnalprayer.bandcamp.com/
https://www.ipr666shop.com/
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You know I am
excited for this release, and then again, as you probably know I am
a huge Nunslaughter die hard. I tend to get stoked for all of the
releases from this prolific veteran legend band. With that in mind,
it is probably not surprising to hear this is good, in addition to
being godfathers in the UG scene, they also are a consistent and
true to their roots. After all of these years they deliver the
quality, each and every time out. They have put out literally
hundreds of releases, and not a single one I have heard (I have
heard a lot of them!) has not been either good or really fucking
good. Nunslaughter is metal of death, the way it was meant to be
played! Fluids from Arizona by contrast is a much younger band,
having formed in 2018, but much like Nunslaughter their creative
(body) juices are also pretty plentiful. I say that as looking
quickly they have about a dozen releases in the last two years
alone. Though this is only the second release I have heard from this
band after their full-length compilation (‘Fluids Of Death 2’),
which collected all their singles and splits from 2021. Fluids play
good, guttural death metal that just keeps coming after you, to
track you down in Michael Myers’ mindless yet deadly stocking style.
There is some killer riffs in the four tracks on their side of this
superb split piece of vinyl. The biggest influence that bleeds
through profusely is Mortician, but there are some more minor gashes
in their musical attack drawing blood from bands like Impetigo,
early Carcass, General Surgery and later era Autopsy. It is
Nunslaughter so it is great, you can always count on that, but they
tend to pick some damn good bands to do splits with, and Fluids fits
that description too. Get this! - Dale
https://hellsheadbangers.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/hellsheadbangers
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I somehow missed out on this album when it was released on CD last year through Sewer Rot. But this release corrects my mistake for me, and fans of the band, or people interested to check them out now have the option to get this album on vinyl. Pukewraith is the work of one mind and body, in the form Brendan Dean, who hails from my native country of Canada. Brendan is a busy fellow too, he has another solo band named Wexler’s Prime, as well as being a member in fuller bands like Soul Devourment, Alucard, Fumes, and a band I know pretty well called Gutvoid, who are Blood Harvest labelmates. The music on here hits the ground running, and let me warn you, you need to have stamina because this motherfucker does not let up for pretty the entire running length of this album. The recording is filled with guttural, brutalizing music with some killer riffing and old school ripping death metal madness! It is far from mindless though; there is some thought and care put into the songwriting, backed up heavy down picked muscle to deliver home the auditory representation of raging and turgid, sewer cruelty. I enjoy the morbid, cryptic aura of this bands music too. Drum programming (emphasis on in the right hands) certainly has come a long way, it bothers me less and less as the years go by, because it sounds much more seamless than it used to, a little more natural and a bit less typewriter stiff and stale compared to the old days. His vocals are a strong point for me too, they are super deep partially undecipherable growling that is accentuated by some classic roiling, boiling gurgles. This album is fun, if not a little depraved listen of Canadian underground metal that I can highly recommend if you like this sort of thing as much as I do. - Dale
https://pukewraith.bandcamp.com/
https://bloodharvestrecords.bandcamp.com/
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This evil union
of two of Greece’s longest running and notorious bands have now come
together for a special release split featuring one new song from
each band. Rotting Christ starts the split off with their track
‘Spiritual Sancti’, which is played with the bands signature style
and sound, while adding some melodic black metal with touches of
gothic music elements. The vocals are gruff growls that fit this
song just perfectly. Varathron owns side two with their song ‘Shaytan’,
which for the most part is played with a lot of speed and intensity,
but does slow down to a calmer pace in a few parts. Personally, I
prefer both bands earlier works, but the new songs have a lot of
complex and well executed structures. If you are looking for quality
black metal then look no further than the “Duality Of The Unholy
Existence” split release. - Patrick
https://hellsheadbangers.bandcamp.com/
http://www.hellsheadbangers.com/ |
This album was
already released on both Cassette and CD (through respectively
Headsplit & La Caverna Records). Now mighty Blood Harvest Records
has decided to pick quality album to release on the vinyl format for
all the maniacs out there. ‘Anthropophagy’ is this Finnish bands
debut release featuring ten songs of crushing old school intense
death metal that is truly sick and filthy in a great way. The music
ranges from mid paced death metal riffing patterns that transition
to more aggressive and faster tempos throughout the songs. The band
seems to be able to play both the faster and more mid paced styles
equally as good, showcasing both their skill and their penchant for
musical and lyrical depravity. If you are a fan of old school
intense death metal then do yourself a big favor and pick up a copy
of this killer long player piece of vinyl today. - Patrick
https://www.facebook.com/censoreddrive/
https://bloodharvestrecords.bandcamp.com/ |
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This is a
re-issue of this notorious legend bands final album that originally
came out in 1996. The album starts off with a short intro before
kicking off the music with a middle paced thrashy old school black
metal sound. The vocals are a mix of old style gruff growls and some
screams mixed in. There is also some clean singing believe it not
and even some whispery spoken word type of vocals used in some of
the songs. The guitars are done mainly with mid paced guitars, but
do speed up to a faster pace now and then throughout the recording.
‘The Worst’ (a very apt title as this has to be the worst thing the
band released - Dale) is Sarcofago’s last full length release, while
this release is nowhere near as fast or chaotic as the bands earlier
releases, but the ‘The Worst’ does still have some good music on it
at times. - Patrick
https://www.greyhazerecords.com
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From the Bay
Area of California we have some fresh, hearty meat entering the
contemporary death metal scene: Succumb’s self-titled debut. This
album was released by the band formerly known as Cloak on May 5th in
association with Flenser Records, and has made ripples in the metal
community, or at least in the metal blogosphere. Coming in at about
34 minutes of spin time, this record wastes not a single second
within its tracks, moving from passage to passage seamlessly with
such ferocity that you will wonder when you are truly allowed to
catch your breath and massage your neck. Harry Cantwell’s drumming
especially adds to the band’s mercilessness, taking a methodical
approach that reigns in the other elements of the compositions while
still maintaining his own furious pacing and rhythm. Indeed, the
guitar and bass consistently feel like they are on the brink of
becoming chaotic throughout certain areas of the album, but the
drums chain them to the coarse earth while the vocals shout down at
them from above. Cheri Musrasrik’s feral, yet controlled, yells
exchange lines with bassist Kirk Spaseff’s deep growls
intermittently in such tracks as “Bedchambers”, providing a terrific
contrast that helps keep the listener invested in the well-crafted
verses. Altogether, the elements combined on this record rightly fit
together, and thanks in good part to the masterful mixing by Jack
Shirley, they only rupture at the seams when it is strategic for the
band to do so. Oftentimes heavily rhythmic, and always heavy,
Succumb’s self-titled debut brings a hardcore flare to death metal
that will definitely see their ripples in the medium turn into
waves. – Aaron
https://succumb.bandcamp.com/album/succumb http://theflenser.com/ |
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I can not think
of another label which can compare to Inferna with regards to
scouring the earth to find the most obscure and malevolent raw black
metal bands. Their release schedule is impressive too. Just look
above at their June / July release schedule to see what I mean. One
of those hordes is Vanagandr, who hail from the prolific and largely
true to themselves UG scene of Chile (and by extension all of South
America). This is a two man band consisting of M.N.V 218 & F.
Kalkutufe who are currently in bands like Blood for Satan, Funeral
Fullmoon, Sacred Veil, Sanctum Sathanas, Dawün, Sendero Inexorable.
The music on this vinyl is early second wave black metal that is
very raw, harsh and freezing cold. Despite how raw it is and
probably for some under produced (for something bm this raw and
coarse it is perfect in my view), the songwriting is the opposite,
it is refined and purposely builds to cruel emotive and bleak icy
crescendos. The lyrical content seems to largely deal with black
witchcraft, wolves and lycanthropy, which the music reflects well as
it stalks through a creeping misty audio darkness. It is looking for
it’s prey to perform a frenzy kill in true wolf pack tradition. The
vocals on courtesy of F. Kalkutufe are those great tortured spirit
style black metal vocals, ala those from Canadian legend band Lust
and of course also early Burzum. Those vocals are truly haunting,
agonized howls and the screams are filled with grief and suffering.
I like it from time to time when the freezing despondent mainstay
gets really grim and heavy, through the riffing and musical
sequences showing a merciless hot anger that gives the sound an
extra dimension. If you worship old callous as fuck low-fi black
metal like those early days and early recordings. Then keep a close
eye on this record label they will deliver it as they have once
again here with Vanagandr. - Dale
https://infernaprofundusrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.ipr666shop.com/
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Wald Krypta is a
two man band with members from the U.S and Canadian black metal
scenes. ‘Possessed By Nothingness’ contains seven songs of cold,
traditional black metal darkness. Heresiarch handles the drums that
are done with razor sharp fast drum patterns. There are some slower
drum passages throughout the release to give the band a nice mix of
extremely fast and a more controlled black metal style. Heresiarch
(Life Denied, Targrave) also handles the vocal duties for the band,
which are raw black metal screams and some deeper gruff growls and
screams. Einsam (Antinatalist, Bodhisattva, Cursed Altar, Einsam,
EmptyLife, Life Denied, Lorem Ipsum, Targrave plus many more bands!)
who lives in the great country of Canada handles the guitar duties
for the band. The guitars are played with an adept and clever
writing ability and some extremely fast paced guitar arrangements.
There are some slower more mid paced guitar sections used throughout
the recording, which gives the guitars a nice blend of extremely
fast and a more mid paced varied music. - Patrick
http://www.eternal-death.com/
https://www.facebook.com/eternaldeathUSA
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This is the
debut album from this young Finnish band, having formed in 2013,
subsequently releasing a demo and a couple seven inches since then.
I am extremely pleased that I chose review this album; it is one of
the best black metal albums I have heard in recent years. White
Death proudly continues the old traditions of early 90s black metal,
but put their own stamp on this classic sound, whilst updating it in
their own way. I also get impression, unlike so many black metal
bands these days, they are serious about the philosophies and
meaning behind what originally started the black metal scene and
made it severe and evil. This album takes everything you love about
early ‘90s Scandinavian black metal and stokes that fire up to a
full northern blaze! The mainstay of the music, is mainly a
blitzkrieg attack of seething hatred and violence, tearing asunder
everything in it’s path. Despite that being the staple of their
sound, at times it is also surprisingly diverse, in it’s emotive
qualities and thoughtful song structuring. There are also times,
when it is almost perplexing that the music is this grim and harsh,
yet also incredibly melodic. I say that, because all too often a lot
of melodicism is the enemy of musical barbarity and violence, not so
with White Death, they marry the two into a catchy, stealth-like
savage beast. Always present within the sound, is the classic bm
freezing grim atmosphere, which produces that tangible feeling of
darkness and evil within the listener that has made me a slave of
this movement for nearly three decades. There are some keyboards,
but they are mainly kept as a background accompaniment, filling in
the atmosphere and not dominating in the forefront, which is just
way I prefer. The vocals, much like the music, are harsh and varied
in an interesting way, the icy rasping quality is great, but has
some depth to it and as mentioned containing some diverse nuances.
There is even one vocal bit that sounded like a tortured demon
possessed horse snarling or something fucked up like that. This is a
fantastic debut album, showcasing what traditional black metal is
really capable of, while still staying true to it’s roots and deadly
tradition. I simply can not recommend this enough! - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/unholywhitedeath
http://neuntoter.org/
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