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This review will
be on the short side, I imagine. I mean do not get me wrong, I love
gore grind as much as the next deviant. But there are just not a
whole lot of dynamics, time changes, nuances etc… that lends the
genre to in depth description. One things is sure, Embryonic
Crytopathia are one sick and extremely manic band. For me “Uterine…”
immediately dredges up comparables such as early Carcass, old
Cryptopsy (but less dynamic) with a juicy sprinkle or splatter if
you like of the mighty Gut on the mix. A real relentless chugging
attack of flying riffs and dismembered drum runs. Whatever movie,
those first couple of intros are from, sounds awful twisted and just
campy as hell. I will have to make it a point to try to find and
watch that film. Recommended, if gore grind, is your thing.
– Dale
www.myspace.com/embryoniccryptopathia
|
Let me hit you
with some interesting background information. Firstly, the name has
an obvious Finnish reference. Though surprisingly the band is from
Sweden, made of mainly Finnish guys living Sweden. The second tidbit
is they had recorded a mini-album for Necropolis records in 1992
that was never released until now. I guess it is no surprise that
Paul Thind and Necropolis screwed something up yet again that can be
added to the list. What we have here is that unreleased record
entitled “Twilight in The Wilderness” plus their “Doomed” seven inch
from 1992 as well and their “Ceremony of Doom” demo tape from 1990.
I must say this is some seriously cool doom with a slow to
approaching middle pacing metal. I feel this material is excellent
even by today’s standards. Well also nothing ground breaking by
today’s standard either but back in the day? You fucking bet!
Eternal Darkness do not get mentioned that often next to other doom
death pioneers like Autopsy, My Dying Bride, Anathema, Goatlord,
Thergothon, Cathedral but certainly should. That low rumbling
brutality and darkness is calling for you. –
Dale
www.necroharmonic.com www.myspace.com/eternaldarknesssweden
|
Coming at us
like a bat out of hell or rather a band out of Illinois is Exalted.
First thing that hits me is the recording. I really like it, it is
more than clear enough but definitely gives me that early nineties
feeling and suits the maelstrom just fine. The album starts off and
I feel creeping darkness that sends a freezing plague through the
veins of any devout black metal junky. At times “We are The Grim
Throng” resembles a mixing of tracks from “Transylvanian Hunger” and
“Panzerfaust”. It may not be as good as those classic Darkthrone
albums but it is a good album on its own. There is even some really
rocking guitar injected from time to time ala Celtic Frost. It
almost seems as if it should not fit the whole musical scheme but
somehow it just does. If you can not get enough of that early 90s
black metal and classic Hellhammer / Frost vibe then you might want
to pick this one up. –
Dale
www.battlekommand.com exaltedhail@yahoo.com
|
I was in touch
with this band 10 years ago, yes you read that right, a fucking
decade ago, geez I am an old koot. I was in quite good touch with
them, the guitarist took out an advert in issue 2! As I recall he
never did pay me for it either, yet the man who ran Wild Rags that
everyone accused of shady took out a full page and paid me more up
front than I had asked for. Yes, well back in those gray sundry days
of yore, Fall of The Leafe, played an evil brand of epic black metal
band, raw yet thoughtful. Fast forward to modern day, these Finnish
blokes are still kicking. Are they still black metal? Fuck no, they
are not even melodic death metal at this point. No sir, now they are
commercial gothic rock with a homo erotic atmosphere. They say they
are old goth mixed with grunge? What the fuck? I do not hear grunge,
though the singer sounds like he is trying to be a hunky version of
the Pearl Jam singer, so maybe that is it? He Leafers, want to buy
back your demo so no one finds out what you used to be? Total Crap.
– Dale
www.firebox.fi www.falloftheleafe.com |
Almost 40
minutes of unmitigated cold and dark black metal coming from these
Portugese warriors. There is no doubt right from the first seconds
that this band plays some great early 90s second wave of bm dipped
in audio black blood of the Scandinavian variety. I do not think it
is out of line to state that the early works of bands like
Darkthrone, Dark Funeral, Gorgoroth and the like are an influence. I
have heard this bands name for sure but it was surprising to see
this is the bands 2nd album after a few demos, an ep and
10 years have passed since their inception. Okay so I am not going
to lie as Fagellum Dei do sound an awful lot like the bands they
worship and do not have a lot of charisma they could call their own.
But they have found the right man to do this review. As I happen to
really adore this chilling style of black metal. I can never seem to
get tired of it. So “Under The Might…” still managed to haunt me
like a nightmare, turning my day into darkest night. Will it do the
same for you or would you rather just pull out your old records?
Only you can answer that question. But until then I will bathe in
the cold sinister sounds of Flagellum Dei.
– Dale
http://www.myspace.com/flagellumdei
http://www.bloodyprod.com/
|
Funebrarum
– I am unsure if I have mentioned it lately. But Funebrarum are one
of my fave bands. So it should surprise no one that the 5 tracks
here have done nothing but blow me away! You must hear this to
believe it, simple words do not suffice. Funebrarum for the
uninitiated play absolutely crushing old school death metal with a
dirgy doom undertone. For a general reference point to their sound
and style, think of the old works by bands like Grave, Autopsy,
Repulsion, Nihilist… You know basically the stuff I worship. What a
brutalizing and suffocating atmosphere to this music – you will feel
it and know what I mean. It hits covers you in an avalanche. There
are two amazing cover tracks on here of Abhorrences “Caught In A
Vortex” + Grave’s “Into The Grave”. The Grave cover makes me want to
break shit and circle around an invisible pit in my living room! I
mean seriously I have not played this much air guitar or head banged
this mucking fucking in ages.
Interment
– Are really a great band to follow Funebrarum. They are a little
more thrashy and not doomy like Fune but are definitely cut from the
same cloth as the band they share this disc with. Think Autopsy on
speed mixed with heavy doses of Carnage and early Entombed. These
guys are fast and intense. The drummer Kennet Englund is a real
demon on the kit and asserts himself into sound quite prominently.
The riffing from Interment is just really heavy and catchy but in an
oh-so-brutal way. This made me an instant fan of Interment. This
release is just great and what an amazing split. This release is an
absolute must have it. – Dale
www.conquerorofthorns.com www.funebrarum.com
|
This is some
gorgeous grind straight out of the Czech Republic. G.O.R.E. follow
in a similar to the tradition of one of my all time fave bands. I
speak of the mighty Gut. Okay as you would expect from the name they
are a little less porn then Gut and a lot more gory but a not too
dissimilar in sense of humour. You can also throw in some Terrorizer
and early Napalm Death and mix it all into the bloody organ stew.
This is the way I like it. They just come right at you and never let
up. It is an immense wall of pulverizing guitars grinding along like
a chainsaw and backed with speedy buck shot drumming. The vocals are
deep and growling and rather undecipherable but damn good regardless
as they roll and rumble off the singers tongue. The goofy pop lounge
lizard tunes used as song interludes in the first part of the album
had me laughing. These bastards have got to be drunk (just check out
the lyrics!) with that idea but somehow it also works. The
production on here suits this style pretty nicely. It highlights the
sick guitars and pummel drumming but there is room for everything to
stretch its dismembered legs. It is gore and it is grind and death
metal and it does make me want to break shit. So I would say I can
recommend this.
– Dale
www.khaaranus.wz.cz www.goregrinddeath.com
|
I have seen this
release listed in some places as a demo and in others as an album. I
personally lean towards demo tag as it is self-released and only has
4 songs but the bands site calls it an album. It is also packaged so
professionally and presented with a DVD so I will give it the
benefit of the doubt calling it an album. H-George travels to our
ears all the way from Italy and call their sound “Alcoholic Thrash
Metal”. Which I am not sure really describes their sound that well.
As it kind of conjures up images (in my mind) of a raunchy, raw,
loose sort of band with party / non-serious lyrics. But the fact of
the matter is they play a really controlled power heavy metal
thrashy type sound with a tight crisp performance and quite serious
thoughtful emotional themes to the lyrics. It is honestly almost a
little too in control and over produced for me. But there is no
denying the talent displayed in George’s writing with some really
solid riffs and well crafted meandering and entertaining guitar
solos. This band is really George’s work and George’s baby and he
has brought in Carlos in to play drums and Trevor in to handle the
vocals. Carlos does a fine job on the kit, solid and professional
and Trevor puts in a pretty gritty late 80s sounding sort of thrashy
gruff performance. The vocals are good but buried in the mix and
less prominent than one would expect for his aggressive style and
performance. I would have liked to see him be brought a little more
up front. In fact the aforementioned intangible raunchiness the
music tag summons up is just what this release could use to put it
over the top. Just a little too controlled and over analyzed. I bet
this material comes off better in a live setting. That all makes it
sound like I do not like this release. Which is far from the truth,
as this is a nice release but it could go to another level, if it
had not been gone over so much with a fine tooth comb and just let
it all hang out a little more? The actual material itself on here is
pretty killer. Now on to the DVD... It is about 30 minutes long and
is pretty well done. It basically has interviews with the guys that
recorded this record as well as studio personnel. They talk about
their history / tastes in metal, their motivation and about the
making this record. There is some various studio footage as well as
some sprinkled stuff of the members out and about in Italy. It is
pretty cool to see and it does give you a respect for what went into
this recording. The DVD is all in Italian but there are English
subtitles so no worries there. – Dale
www.h-george.com
www.myspace.com/hgeorgemetalbeer
|
So Havoc Unit
hail from the mighty lands of Finland. They recently changed their
name from …And Oceans. Now I do remember …And Oceans but it was from
their early days in the late 90s. Back then, they played solid, yet,
pretty forgettable symphonic black metal. So these days they are
playing industrial death metal hey? Interesting… Well it is good to
see a band change their name when this sort of about face happens –
more bands should follow this example. I would not call myself a
huge industrial death fan. But I do like some of the bands and have
followed it virtually from its inception as a genre. Early stuff
like Skinny Puppy to Malhovoc to Pitchshifter to old Fear Factory
and others have all graced my collection over the years. Havoc Unit
is a pretty straight forward band. To be honest they are sort of
monotone and lacking any real punch or diversity in their song
writing. Under their previous moniker they played average but pretty
good sympho black metal and now 10 years later they are still
pumping out the same quality level. Just in another genre these
days. They do little to stand out or have much staying power to my
ears and instead just blend in with the pack. It is worth a listen
if you worship this style and if not then your money is best spent
elsewhere.
– Dale
www.vendlusrecords.com www.myspace.com/havocunit
|
If you want the
cliff notes version this is basically the French version of
Halloween mixed with Gamma Ray. I hate to over paint them with that
brush. Yet the fact of the matter is they wear their influences on
their sleeve to the point it is hard to say they have much of a
sound of their own. Coupled with the fact they play a style where
you kind of need some sort of unique identity to stick out from the
crowd. It is not like they are death metal and just make sure they
are brutal to make up for the fact they are unoriginal. By deduction
I do suppose the next question would be is it well done at least?
For my liking it is a touch too clean, synth heavy and over produced
but on the whole it is well done, yes. Some engaging riffs and sweet
guitar leads. Vocalist Ben Sotto just bleeds Halloween vocals but he
sounds excellent doing so, hitting all kinds ranges and high
registers along the way. That is something Heavenly really has going
for them, in this genre you need to have a strong vocalist and they
have that part covered. If you are a fanatic of this style and can
never get enough then by all means pick this up but otherwise just
break out your “Keeper…” records instead. – Dale |
Well some years
back we had the re-formation of the classic thrash band Destruction.
During his hiatus from Destruction, mainman, Schmier formed a band
called Headhunter. A band which spat out a demo tape and 3 albums
from the early 90s to the middle 1990s. Now he has come back full
circle and both bands are going full steam at the same time for
once. The other two members of Headhunter are Uwe Hoffman (Talon)
and Jorg Michael (Rage, Running Wild, Grave Digger, Mekong Delta and
a bunch more bands) whom many or most will know about. They play
classic heavy metal. Schmier definitely has that clean and classic
80s sort of vocal style down pretty well and it is kind of cool
hearing him do this style. The music is traditional heavy metal and
it is pretty catchy and memorable. The song “Silverskull” is
tattoo’d on my brain now and is a good example of catchiness and
staying power I mentioned. It is pretty simplistic stuff overall but
sometimes that is for the best in this style. There are some solid
emotional guitar solos / fills that really grabbed my attention and
unlike some bands they do not come off as forced or out of place.
Headhunter like to mix up the dynamics every couple of songs
(energetic and fast to brooding and etc…) and it makes for a pretty
good, interesting listen. I can recommend this album. But I must
mention that the Skid Row cover kind of sticks out like a strange
sore thumb. Placing it right in middle of album (rather than the
end) amongst the rest of the tracks seems unnecessarily disruptive
to the overall flow and it is too. I could see that really annoying
some people.
– Dale
www.candlelightrecordsusa.com www.official-headhunter.com/en/ |
This album is
nearly 2 years old and unfortunately, for the band the label, which
released it is now defunct. Yet the band must live on and keep
fighting. Hellacaust is doing just that and sent “Inevitable
Dementia” in for review to keep their name out there, while they
brew some new material. Hellacaust residing often quiet metal east
coast of Canada. They play a really interesting mix of black, death
and thrash metal. I can hear influences from everything from early
Mayhem & Immortal to Exhumed, Angelcorpse & Napalm Death to Kreator,
Slayer and Megadeth. One large melting pot but they know how to
smelt it all together into a solid and cohesive whole which is not
an easy feat by any means. I think we have all heard a band or ten
who attempted this sort thing, only to fall flat on their collective
faces. Hellacaust keep it evil sounding but never afraid to rumble
forward with some sick militaristic head banging sections in most
songs, not to mention some smoking guitar solos brief but regular
appearances. The vocals alternate between death metal bellows and
black metal rasps and are well done. This is a flat out a very good
album. I do not see Hellacaust being label-less for very long. –
Dale
http://welcome.to/hellacaust
http://www.myspace.com/hellacaust
|
Well we have
some German thrash and yes, in case you were wondering, it is of the
classic old style of their homeland. There are so many influences
you could throw out there, but a few that come to mind, which are
influences for HC are Poison (yeah you know which one I mean), Iron
Angel, Kreator, Sodom, and especially Slayer and even a newer band
like Desaster. You can just feel how much these guys love thrash
metal through they’re playing. Bloodrust is a really excellent
record, not a lame retro attempt, but all the same very clearly
rooted in the days of old and they do manage to bring something
substantial to the genre. You can even hear some little nuances
going on at times that remind me of classic Priest or Maiden. This
is pretty unrelenting stuff with a plethora of memorable riffs and
headbanging parts to get your blood boiling. I dig those frantic
Slayer-esque guitar leads that pop up now and then. Hellish
Crossfire is not all full speed ahead all the time though. There are
slower moody moments, sort of like a brooding tank slowly creeping
along, barrel simmering with smoke, searching for victims of their
next assault. Those brooding ominous moments definitely add a little
more depth and personality to flesh out the bands sound. The vocals
complement the music nicely with their classic early Slayer and
Kreator tendencies. All that is left to say is, if you like to
thrash, then you will love Bloodrust Scythe, it is as simple as
that. –
Dale
http://www.ihate.se
http://www.myspace.com/hellishcrossfirethrash
|
I possess
nothing but respect for Katon W. De Pena and Hirax. They continue to
just rage after all of these years. I mean to stick to your roots,
for literally decades, is amazing and a mean feat all of its own.
What we have here is a mini-album. I am sure this is just a stop-gap
to keep the die hards from dying of thirst until the next full
length brew comes out. So yes “Chaos and Brutality” is short but
still a fine piece of work and worth owning. With the 4 tracks here
Hirax explode out of the gates right off the first note and do not
let up with their face ripping thrash attack until the disc stops
spinning. Hirax pack punch after punch of fast headbanging riffs
rhythms backed with De Pena’s wails sounding off like a siren of
successive growls. ARGH! Once it is over though you have to hit the
repeat button as this is just too short to hear just once. We need a
new full album now and the sooner the better.
– Dale
www.selfmadegod.com www.hirax.org
|
|
Hirudinea
– Are one frenetic death metal band. On these 4 tracks they employ a
set of dual vocals. The main set of pipes, sort of remind me to the
vox on the “Clandestine” album. The other set of vocals are harder
to pinpoint and are more frantic, angst filled volleys that remind
me a bit of old Ministry, of all things. I do not hear a lot of
bands playing this style lately. That is to Hirudinea’s benefit.
Watchmaker
– The Boston, Mass clusterfuck. If you are searching for some catchy
head bang riffs, actual song structuring and depth. Then look
somewhere else. It is no surprise, keeping with these comments that
Watchmaker used to have an Anal Cunt member. Because the 7 tracks on
this split are nothing short of a chaotic wall of thrashing white
noise. Their only purpose seems to be to play as fast and in as in
your face as they can, from a dead run, start to finish. They
destroy everything in their path. It is actually pretty good stuff
but you really have to be in the right mood for it, if you know what
I mean?
– Dale
www.bestialonslaught.com |
My deep and
lasting obsession with Horna began somewhere around the beginning of
1997. I received their first masterpiece of a record “Hiidentorni”
from their then label Solistitium records out Germany. Incidentally
this lead to an interview I did with them way back in issue # 2 of
Canadian Assault (I have put in a request for a new interview in
this issue, no word whether it is happening or not, as of yet). It
was during this period, the second wave after the rise of Darkthrone,
Immortal, Burzum etc… came to be and they have stood the test of
time as the best black metal band from this mid-90s era. This band
has never let me down, releasing album after album, seven inches, LP
and split vinyls at an alarming rate and each and every release has
been a quality work, a new splash of darkness across the UG scene.
Over the years the horde have managed to evolve and devolve in
interesting ways but never betraying their roots, never scarring
their devoted followers and never having to look themselves in the
mirror with anything but pride and dignity. They may make your head
bang with some devilish catchy riffs but they shall never stray far
from the epic melancholy longing and cold, evil sorrow that is the
foundation of their profound heartless cruelty. A very select few, a
diabolic elite, if you will, have the ability to create so many
emotions within the black metal realm, whilst relying upon on
traditional instrumentation. That includes Horna, they have the
uncanny ability to channel simultaneously through their music
emotions such as disgust, hate, sorrow, melancholy, introspection,
elation, adrenalized odium all while sweeping you away on a
journey. A vast journey outside of this pathetic existence, an epic
walk through fields of pain blanketed by black night. Horna have
always had some of the sickest rasps in black metal bar none and
nothing has changed in this respect with “Envaatnags…”, despite
member changes, the cold heart of Horna, Mr. Shatraug lives on, in
the infamous black metal conjurer. Almost a decade later and Horna
continues to haunt me! – Dale
www.woodcutrecords.com
|
I used to be in
the touch with the guy behind this 1 man band from the Philippines
back in the mid to late 90s. It is good to see thee crusty old
bastard is still going. A lot of time has passed since the early
days of Kratornas but not that much has changed to be honest. His
early recordings were extremely raw and not always the easiest to
make out or distinguish one instrument from the next. The recording
on “Over The Fourth…” is definitely better than those days though
not a lot better. It is still very raw and low-fi but it is clearer
and you can hear everything with more separation. Another difference
between then and now is these days Kratornas is probably a little
less grind and not quite as black metal influenced though that is
still there. The music is still pretty dark but a slight bit more
energetic and frenetic with a healthy dose of thrash metal mixed
into the riffs and overall guitar playing. There is even a hopped up
adrenaline blitzkrieg solo or two to be had. The vocals are still
obscure sort of dark whispers with the classic black metal sort of
undertone. This is a pretty good record showing some maturity and
focus that has come with age and experience. The one thing I could
do without is the drums. Unlike the Rigor Sardonicous album I just
reviewed here is an example of how a drum machine can hurt an album.
Otherwise this is some good work if you like things dark and you
love catchy thrashing riffs.
– Dale
http://www.kratornas.com |
Coming at us
from the armpits of Australia is Limb From Limb. One look at the
album title and the track listing shows these guys are pissed off
and it shows in the music. This is some heavy and guttural death
metal that definitely has an American sound to it. Maybe mixed with
a touch of Australian blasting war metal style. For me there is
something wrong the mix on this album. It is kind of all separated
and the lower levels seem to just get lost while other aspects are
loud and clear. It is kind of hard to describe. Some the riffing
though just comes at you like an avalanche while your body is
pounded to a pulp by the drums. There is a clearer less used growI
but the main garbled vocal sickness would make Mortician proud. I
think death/grind fanatics will love this album but if you are a
little more selective when it comes to this genre. Then you could
probably due without this one. This was pretty impressive for a
debut and I will be interested to see what they can do on their
follow up with a more balanced recording. I must mention that
Obsidian Records have done a fantastic job on their promotional
package and seem like a label that is really serious about promoting
their bands. –
Dale
www.obsidianrecords.com www.myspace.com/brutalozzydeath |
An Italian
“Occult black metal” is what this one man band bills itself as. The
7 tracks, which include 4 songs, 3 intros that were done in ’06 but
apparently just now seeing label release, from what I can gather. I
am rather hoping this release was nothing more than an early,
beginners demo tape. As Manth to be blunt are all kinds of sloppy
with a liberal does of down right horrible. Manth try to play equal
parts of extreme black metal ala Profanatica / Havohej and heavy
synth atmospheric ala a dying cat that swallowed a mini korg
keyboard. I mean what an mess we have on our hands here. The metal
half, is poor to barely passable but possess no real flow, feeling
or direction to the song. The atmospheric half, sounds like a child
who got a synthesizer for christmas. The two halves are merely
smashed together in exceptionally amateurish fashion. I am left
scratching my head as to why a label would want to release this?
– Dale
www.kampf.ws
kampfrec@go2.pl
info@kampf.ws
|
We have some
melodic death metal from Sweden on tap. I like only a very select
few bands in this genre. So a band in this style has to be quite
remarkable to capture my interest. In fact, after the initial
quality releases in this style, the early works by Dark Tranquility,
In Flames etc… I have found very few albums of any use really. A
second mark against Marionette is they seem to have decided to meld
the Goteburg melodious death style with a genre I mostly actively
dislike. That would be American metalcore, some call it deathcore
and others call it mallcore. I mainly call it garbage. There are
some quality harmonious riffs and interesting structural moments to
be had. The band has some talent and are young – so it is impressive
from that point of view. At other times the music is just too sweet
or drowns you too much in metalcore for me to truly attempt to enjoy
it. The production on here is slick, almost to a fault, but if you
like things over produced as many do these days, then you will enjoy
“Enemies” on that level. You have heard it all before, one thousand
times, but if you are a big fan of the styles I have described
above. Well then I see no reason you will not enjoy Marionette.
Excuse me though if I pass on this. – Dale
http://www.listenable.net
http://www.myspace.com/marionettesweden
|
The opening
movie sample on “Zombie Terror”, track number two for those keeping
score at home, of gut munching and that beyond awesome, high pitched
scream right out of the 80’s had me hooked like a fish. Do they have
quality music to back the window dressing? Oh Lucifer I invoke thee,
the dark prince raises a spiked hoof and proclaims “God be cursed,
Mephisto knows how make me headbang!” Speaking of Satan, there is
very little doubt Mephisto musically worship at the black magic
altar of Venom!! Hell, they even wear the influence on their sleeves
by closing with the richly titled inside nudge “Again At War With
Satan [Introduction]”, it is a short brutal little ditty
incorporating the song title in the lyrics and a nice little
“Teachers Pet” guitar run, among others, for nostalgic value. I only
hope I am not making Mephisto out to be some kind of un-serious band
because they make stone cold sober black metal of the thrash ‘n
death variety. These Italians do have a knack for writing that old
loose style, most of these plastic (i.e. – Pro Tool cheatin’) bands
would shake their head and call it sloppy, but no this is the way
real bands play, this is the way metal is supposed to be fucking
played, ‘Metal of Death’ indeed. The drums are so “Welcome To Hell /
Black Metal” sounding it almost hurts and other influences, speaking
in a much more general arena would be Sodom, Bulldozer and Slaughter
swim through my brain. The vocals sound so familiar as well but I
will damned if I can remember who, the closest I can seem to come is
Hellhammer with early Bathory with a dash of Cronos and something
else I just cannot put my finger upon. How does Bestial Burst keep
finding these maniac bands?! I must confess this album has an
atmosphere and feeling to it that I have not felt in a new band in
many years. Buy this now or I might interview and then you will be
sorry you waited later. – Dale
www.metalofdeath.com http://bestialburst.blackmetal.fi
|
It amazing that
this quality Australian band has been around so long (that is since
1991 for those keeping score at home). Yet, outside their homeland
and the staunchest die hardcore followers of death metal. They seem
to still be a fairly unknown name. It is a shame and I suppose they
will be one of those bands that everyone claims they always revered
once they are gone. First off as opposed to my review of Limb From
Limb, this album, has a great recording that really helps the music
stand out and be heard. This record is just fantastic. Some
avalanche heavy death metal that is mid to slightly fast paced, but
is intermingled with heavy doses oppressive doom elements that
smother you like a blanket of darkness. Some really massive and
memorable material and more than enough dynamics to keep me
interested every minute of the way. I really dug the guitar solos,
tastefully done and bring to mind some of the classic metal bands
from the late 80s. Damon Robinsons vocals are superb as well and
bring to mind some legendary American death bands like Incantation,
Immolation, Grave, Asphyx, old Morbid Angel etc… They are growling
and brutal but just clear enough make decipher and convey a range of
depth and emotion the garbled style growls can only dream of. I am
not sure what else to say except every self-respecting death metal
fan must have this album in their collection! –
Dale
www.obsidianrecords.com www.myspace.com/ondemonwings
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Muerte Villa
are, a Texas based, death metal band. The entire concept and lyrical
content deal with and promote the ideals of the Mexican Nationalist
agenda. As you may have already guessed all lyrics are sang or
rather growled in Spanish. Before you begin to scratch your head,
there is no need to get worked up you death purists, as there is no
Mariachi music or any traditional Mexican instruments like trumpets
or maracas incorporated into “La Conquista”. No, it is traditional,
straight forward, non-technical American style death metal. So for
better or worse, the music does not support or directly compliment
the message and/or concept. The production is pretty bass heavy and
kind of low (you will have to crank it up). “La Conquista” presents
some solid and enjoyable death metal but at the end of the day,
nothing really stands out for me.
– Dale
www.negativityrecords.com
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This is the
first time I have heard of Needful things. I was surprised to find
out that they have been around for over a decade! Yet this is their
debut album. Though they have released many split releases (I think
around 11 splits) and some compilation tracks over this long time. I
may have missed out on them for many years but I finally get my
chance with “Dead Point”. After just finishing reviewing both
Alienation Mental and Cerebral Turbulency’s “Crash” this record is a
welcome relief. No crappy mallcore here my friends! So put down your
imaginary pogo stick and step away from the ledge. This is more like
it. Needful Things just flat out clobber you over the head and drag
you back to their cave. They play a little loose and not as tight as
some bands. To be honest I really like that it gives a more organic
and off-kilter sort of feel to the music and gives it room to spread
out. Some of the riffing on here is just heavy as all hell and I am
guessing the headbanging and moshing at their live shows must be
pretty violent. There is a healthy dose of straight up death metal
mixed with the grinding and it is mixed up nicely. There is no doubt
some Napalm Death influence (like “Harmony Corruption” riff
sections) and also you can clearly hear that in the growling vocals
along with some Dave Ingram from Benediction style. Besides the
Napalm influence I hear also things like Extreme Noise Terror,
Rotten Sound and similar bands. I must say again I love the riffing
it is just so brutal and massive! Needful things do not get fancy
they just bash your skull in and they are good at it. Check this
out.
– Dale
http://www.khaaranus.wz.cz
http://www.needfulthings.wz.cz/ |
It is always a
pleasure to review bands from my homeland of Canada. Nefastus is new
to me and this is their debut record so no surprise there. From what
I understand this album was released on a small label a couple years
ago. But now that they have been snapped up by Candlelight it
receives a wider audience. Presumably while the band gathers it’s
forces and continues the assault with writing a follow-up to “Urban
Cancer”. I would have to call N.D. sympho melodic death metal ala
the Scandinavian pioneers with some black metal touches as well.
While it is symphonic and atmospheric in spots, it is also a pretty
fast paced record with good energy. I have to confess I am not the
biggest fan of this style. I do however really like a handful of
classic albums in this style. So a band playing this sub-genre
generally has to be really fucking good to impress me. Does “Urban
Cancer” accomplish this for me? Well in all honesty no. But as this
style goes they do it very well and as I mentioned the speed
quotient and adrenaline energy helps separate them a little. If you
are a devout follower of this kind of music I am sure you will not
be disappointed with this purchase. On the other hand if you
generally only collect the cream of the crop or only dabble as I do
then you can probably live without this record. It will be
interesting to see how this band progresses on their sophomore
release as it will be a couple years at least for them to brew and
perfect it. –
Dale
www.candlelightrecordsusa.com www.myspace.com/nefastusdies
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When I had seen
the album title, I was immediately reminded of one of my fave albums
from the 80s by the same name released by the band TT Quick. The
record starts off with an intro collage of audio taken from the new
Rambo movie. Which is pretty predictable stuff, but it does reflect
the lyrical content, and set the stage to get you in the mindset of
bombs, guns and blood. There is no doubt what they sound like to me
at least. Which is 80s thrash ala Dark Angel, Sacrifice mixed with
classic German thrash like Kreator & Destruction. You get a full
platter of head down, racing forward riffing, simple high octane
speed drumming and old school gruff yelling vocals that will bring
you back. The searing hot guitar solos that pop up here and there
cannot be ignored either. I am not going to try and sell a false
bill of goods. Which is saying stuff like this is brings retro into
modern times because no this retro through and through. But, fuck
guys this is good old school shit, it is not original in any way,
but it is some truly quality and aggressive thrash perfectly played
in the way the forefathers meant it to be. So if you do not care for
the retro thing, then just move along, but if all you care about is
great thrash that will rip your flesh off, then you need to get
this. – Dale
www.moribundcult.com http://www.myspace.com/nocturnalfear
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This is the old
German band some of you might know or at least should know. They
formed some time way back in 1992. Since then they have released a
whole bunch of shit including 4 albums between 1995 and 2000. Before
this release from Nyctophobic recently came my way, I had thought
they were RIP. But according to their website they are again going
to be active and have a new vocalist. This is good to hear. What we
have here on “Blast From The Past” is a collection of tracks from
the bands old split CDs, seven inch eps, split tape etc… + 4
unreleased songs. There are also some great live tracks included.
Mainly the tracks come from the’94-’98 period of the bands history.
All in all you get 27 tracks that have been remastered and honestly
sound great. I was surprised and impressed at how even they got the
different recordings to sound. What else is there to say besides
this is some amazing and intense grind man. Nyctophobic are heavy
and brutal and dirty. They never let up, it is a straight ahead
pummeling barricade of rolling guitars, pounding yet dynamic drums
and the vocals switch off from guttural to the classic nasal high
pitched variety. It all works very well and if you are a grind fan.
Well then I can only suggest that you need to own this one..
– Dale
http://www.khaaranus.wz.cz
http://www.nyctophobic.de
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The album begins
and ends with ambient synth tracks, both of which clock in at
exactly two minutes and two seconds. I have no idea of the
significance of that, but it seems too simpatico to be a
coincidence (unless they are Chuck Woolery fans or something?). The
main portion of the record from these French black metallers, is
comprised of four lengthy songs that weigh in from the 6 to nearly 9
minute mark. Which always conjures the word epic in my mind and I
think it applies here to an extent. But also Militiae has an
avant-garde sort of feel to it and is rife with atmospheric
tapestries. That is not to say the black metal foundation of their
description is virtually non-existent, it definitely lives and
breathes an icy cold breath of hate into the material. I think the
track “Les Symboles de la Catharsis”, illustrates this point nicely
as it is a meaner hymn and the Nyseius’ aggression and darkness are
allowed to spread its wings. That is the classic black metal sound
I love and that old way is ever present in the raspy vocals. I like
that the band has not let their experimental avant-garde side run
rampant. They refuse to forget their roots at this point. Militiae is a record worth
exploring. – Dale
http://nyseius.free.fr/
http://www.myspace.com/nyseius
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