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Lock your doors
and hide your women Aggressive Mutilator are sweeping through town
once again. Aggressive Mutilator continues to do what they always do
on this six song demo. Just play down ‘n dirty thrash, this time I
would say they are little more energetic and forceful than say their
Death Toll release I reviewed here as well. I got a nice little headbang going on the song “Storms Of Evil”. This may be the best
production I have heard from them, the grimy low-fi sound really
suits them, this is good but almost a tad too clean for this filthy
band haha. But they make it work and run rough shot over top of the
listener. The raw black metal rasp vocals on here are very well done
and add that element of an evil aura to their sound. I honestly can
recommend this to those that are not obsessed with technical, razor
sharp plastic metal, but do like ripping thrashing black metal. Keep
the cassettes coming sickos!! - Dale
http://aggressivemutilator.bandcamp.com/
mikael_holm@hotmail.com
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This is the
first demo from Altars, an Australian death metal band. There are
five songs on tap, this release is apparently limited to 500 copies.
The production is pretty thick and dense, but heavy. It is also a
bit muddy, but that kind of just adds to the atmosphere for me and
everything can still be heard fairly well. While Altars put a few
more dynamics than many death metal bands, I am not sure I would
push the “experimental” title that they seem to fancy themselves on.
Actually some of the quirky bits and time changes, remind me of shit Gorguts were doing in the late 90s and what Cryptopsy were doing on
their first few records some years ago. But full marks should be
given, due to the fact that they do incorporate some unconventional
style elements, into their material. All the while, not hurting the
overall, brutality and flow of the music. Which is something, I have
seen gone wrong many a time, over the years, on releases I have
reviewed and purchased. As far as influence goes, I can hear stuff
like such as old Entombed, Dismember, Morbid Angel plus the Canadian
bands I mentioned above. All of which, receive regular rotation from
my record collection. So I suppose, it is of little surprise that I
enjoyed this demo. The vocals though in case you wondered, are
nothing like the bands I compared them to, save for Cryptopsy a
little bit. They are mainly belched and growled with the odd higher
pitched squeals to add some counter point. The packaging is
well-done here too. I can recommend you check these blokes out.
Apparently a 4-way split CD and split 7” ep in the works, so keep an
eye out for that as well. – Dale
http://myspace.com/altarsofficial
http://altars.bigcartel.com/
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I must say for a
self release, the band has not gone the cheap route on anything,
from the packaging to the recording. Ara hail from Milwaukee,
Wisconsin and they play very technically proficient death metal.
Now, I must confess, when it comes to this particular sub-genre of
death metal, much like that of melodo death metal, I am very picky.
I will only re-listen to and enjoy, the elite cream of the crop
bands / albums from those two sub-genres. As opposed to just
straight up brutal non-technical / non-melodic dm or black band,
where I can listen to an average or slightly above average album,
and still enjoy and get something out of it, and play it again and
again. So how does Ara measure up to my lofty standards of this
style? I am happy to report, they measure up quite well, thank you,
as I will admit they both surprised and impressed me. I would even
go so far, as to say they flirt with the gold standard quality level
of bands, and albums, like Gorguts “Obscura”, Atheist
“Unquestionable Presence”, and Theory In Practice “The Armageddon
Theories” etc… I would not, and do not put them in that company
lightly, let me tell you. I dig the growling style of the vocalist
as well, he has a deep frightening roar, but mixes in a bit of
Toad’s croak, that croak reminds me of the great old Demilich vocals
on the “Nespithe” album from the early nineties. This has to be
close to the best debut album I heard in ages. Not sure what else to
say, except, if you like, love or worship brutalizing techno death
metal, then you simply must have a copy of this album. I am
convinced after listening to this, that either the band will not be
unsigned for long or they never had any interest in being with a
record label in the first place. - Dale
http://arawi.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Ara.Music.WI |
This is a very
good looking cassette with nice professionally printed packaging.
Arktogaa is an Italian band playing a NS black metal hybrid, mixed
with punk and Oi! hardcore influences. I would say black metal is
the more dominant sound within the music, but they do fluctuate
depending upon the song. There is some fine old school traditional
riffing on here I enjoyed, as well the songs are quite catchy at
times, which adds an extra dynamic to the proceedings. The
atmosphere and feeling of the music is a very triumphant one,
possessing a sort of militant aura, yet always keeping a dark edge.
I hear hints of influences on the bm side from bands like Bathory,
Burzum and Graveland. The vocals are the gruff yelled variety, with
a slight growled underpinning, but still fairly decipherable in a
forceful style. I like them quite a bit. I also enjoy the break from
time to time, in the epic malevolent black metal side of things, as
the energy injection of the hardcore / punk influence kicks in
before inevitably returning to the darkness and evil. “Blood For
Wotan” is a rather impressive debut demo, as far as I know, this is
the three members first band but they do not use their real names,
so who knows. The recording and production for a first effort is
solid. I did not get into the philosophical side of the band, but
this often does not interest me much in many cases anyway, so no
different here. This cassette is limited to just 100 copies, so if
you have any interest based on my description, get on this sooner
than later or miss out. - Dale
http://arktogaahorde.bandcamp.com/releases
Wotanfront@hotmail.com
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I got this demo
tape in a very interesting package one day; it had this cassette,
the Black Blood Stigmata cd and issue 2 of Extreme Metal fanzine.
What all three of these creative underground entities have in common
is, the main man Troy, whose last name I have no idea what it is
haha. He simply lists his first name in all three of these projects.
Okay, now on to the project in front of me, there are only two
tracks on here, everything written & performed by the mysterious
Troy. The opening track starts off with some melancholic sounding,
dark and serene music, which is shattered by the high nasally
rasping screamed vocals. They sort of remind me a little of the
first Burzum record, I like them, such emotional and tortured vocals
over spat out over the top of mildly tranquil guitars. They really
do not fit together, both are good on their own, but do not, in my
opinion, really compliment one another in the least. After flipping
the tape, the music is some melancholy acoustic guitar; it almost
feels like some atmospheric road music or something to chill to
while you float down a river. The vocals are a little more subdued
on this track, which fits the music better; though I am still not
sure the music and the vocals are good match here again. I am not
trying to knock the music or the vocals, both are fine, but they do
sound like they should belong to two completely different bands. I
do dig the lost in thought, meditative vibe of the music on this
track, it might have actually worked even better for me as an
instrumental song. The music is well done and you can tell Troy has
some talent at striking emotion in the listener. I think this is
worth checking out for sure, if you can get past those cool vocals
that just do not mesh with the music they are paired with. -
Dale
http://autumngrave.bandcamp.com/
autumngrave@hotmail.com
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Autumn Grave,
the brainchild of Troy Reynolds, has returned for another foray into
the pages of Canadian Assault. This time, once again, with another
nice looking tape & packaging. The quality level extends to the
recording which is extremely clear and nice. I found myself focusing
the most, on the opening track entitled “Immortal Through Suicide”,
it has this weird break in the flow, then goes into this stunted
sing song children rhyme type rhyme, like dunt da da dunt dunt da.
That is just sounded so weird to me, sort of irritating at first,
but with each new listen that started to grow on me, and I started
to like it. That is not the whole song of course, but that part just
cuts in and out of the flow a couple times, again at first it seemed
out of place and now feels seamless to me. Speaking to the overall
sound now, I still feel much the same, as I did on their last demo
tape. It still feels to me like the vocals, and the music, do not
really belong together, but obviously that is a choice on Troy’s
part, and we just apparently disagree on that fundamental point. It
still feels like the harsh screeching tortured (ala early Burzum)
black metal vocals; do not belong with the light, airy, beautiful
flowing folk music. I will admit, I think, he has managed to make
this unlikely coupling work slightly better and more smooth than it
did the last time around. I like it, but I want to like it even
more, because the vocals are great, and the music is wonderfully
written and performed, but they do not mesh together for me. Having
said that, if that unlikely mix, sounds like something you would be
into? Then I can this, because all the elements that make up
“Forsaken By The Gods”, are of high quality and deserve to be
heard. - Dale
https://autumngrave.bandcamp.com/
https://www.reverbnation.com/autumngrave
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I had not heard
anything from Avitas, prior to receiving this, but it is always good
to get something form my homeland and better yet, a release from a
Western Canadian band. The area in Canada where I was born and
raised. Avitas’ music, is a blending I do not think I have heard
before, philosophically / image wise, as they are a national
socialist black metal band, which heavily incorporates weed use and
weed culture, which for lack of a better term some might call stoner
black metal. I may be putting, a little too much emphasis on the
weed thing here, then again their band name is a form of pot spelled
backwards and they have Cannibas in one song title, and finally,
their label name is Bud Metal. I’m not going to lie, when the first
song hit after the intro, I thought to myself, I often say a one man
band does not sound like a one man band as a compliment, but based
on the start of this album, I could not bestow that compliment on
Avitas. It just sounded disjointed and too separated. I am pleased
to say, slowly track by track, everything gets better and better,
smoother and smoother, and generally more quality and convincing
steadily as the album goes along. Avitas play raw, mid paced early
90s Scandinavian influenced black metal, with a minimalist approach,
putting an emphasis on a dark, creeping atmosphere, that so many
bands seemed to forget about, over the years, as the scene trended
towards slicked up, shiny plastic sheen presentation across their
music. No, Avitas keep it cold, harsh and hateful, with gloomy
touches and interludes. With each listen, I get more and more into
this album, it really holds up the old ways very well. But, one
thing that holds it back for me, a little bit, is the vocals. They
are just sort of coarsely yelled vocals, that are a bit clunky and
slightly amateuri-ish sounding at times. They do get the job done
though, and do not distract too much, from the great raw sounding
black metal that flows throughout this killer record. If you like
your black raw and rough, then check this out, for those overseas,
it is also distributed by PHD (Plastic Head Distribution) so hit
them up. - Dale
http://avitas.bandcamp.com/
http://www.plastichead.com
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Avitas are back at it once again, in the pages
of Canadian Assault, with their newest offering and second full
length release “Pioneers”. I am very pleased right from the first
listen that Myrtroen, the one and only man in this band, has taken
everything across the board up a level (with the possible exception
of the second track on this full-length effort). I mentioned, if you
read my review of their last release, whilst I enjoyed it I said it
had room for improvement, and improved it has. I mean even starting
with the recording, now I like raw recordings, and there is still a
raw edge to this release. But the recording is a bit crisper, a
touch cleaner while remaining heavy and retaining that evil edge to
it. This time around the playing is better, smoother; the song
writing is enhanced and more confident sounding. Avitas for the
uninitiated, play epic old school Scandinavian influenced black
metal, wrapped in brooding atmosphere with even a slight psychedelic
feel to it. It is an interesting blend the band pulled off well
here. Some of the songs are very long, in the eight to ten minute
range, but thankfully they do not drag at all, quite the opposite
really. At times it creates a very dark, hypnotic journey which
invokes for me many fantastic creepy, fog covered mountainous mental
landscapes, mixed with occult imagery and ritual. The bands style of
play and slower to middle pacing, reminds me very much of the
diverse black metal scene of the late 80s and early to mid 90s.
Bringing to mind, in addition to the Scandinavian scene, the early
Greek scene or great old bands like Mortuary Drape or early Ancient
Rites. Which is a style, I would like to see return, even more in
the modern bm scene. I can not continue on without also praising
Myrtroen, for strengthening maybe the weakest area in the past,
which were his vocals. He has worked hard on those here, while it
could still use some sharpening in the more partially sung,
partially spoken word bits, but overall the improvement is dramatic
and his delivery is filled with great emotion and poise. Mytroen
even gets adventurous in a way, by doing a black metal style cover
of Ministry’s “N.W.O.” (I am a big Ministry fan), which is very
interesting, and dare I say, it turned out better than you might
think with that cover choice in this style. I find myself coming
away quite impressed with “Pioneers”! The bands previous release was
a little below average honestly, yet showed stong elements of
promise underneath peeking through it’s blackened soul. Now they
have taken that rough diamond, and now have honed that diamond to
dangerous sharpened point, which strongly gleams brightly,
reflecting it’s creators black heart. This comes highly recommended
from me, but do not take your time, as I believe this is
professionally produced record is strictly limited to 300 copies!
- Dale
http://avitas.bandcamp.com/
avitas66@hotmail.com
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As soon as I
opened the package that this tape came in, it took me back to the
early 90s. When I was ordering demos left and right and would rip
open the rectangular package with adrenalized fury and pop the
cassette right in the stereo. The cover and inlay are pure old UG
style, photocopied and cut ‘n paste – hell yeah! Axeslaughter are a
bit sloppy and dirty as hell, they play death thrash metal in sound
and especially the spirit of old gods like Nunslaughter, Slaughter,
Repulsion etc… I find the riffing to be both heavy and abrasive, yet
strangely hypnotic in it’s own rhythmic / ritualistic way. The
vocals are harsh sandpaper growls / screams, the sorts of which you
might imagine coming forth from a well rotted decaying corpse. In
another old school tradition Axeslaughter employ weird or disturbed
audio samples from movies, tv and wherever in the intro and peppered
throughout the songs themselves. By the way a message to the band
with the outro entitled “Outro (FUCK YOU)”. I think you twats put
the outro one too many times in a row, so fuck you too! ha ha. Some
other song title highlights on this six tracker are “Ripping Up The
Virgin’s Tomb”, “Coffin Breath” and my favourite “Never Drink From
The Dead”. For those reading this that like slickly produced,
tightly played modern death and thrash metal. You need not apply
here as this was not made for you and you could not handle it
anyway. It is rough, ugly, low-fi and I like it, it keeps the old
spirit burning bright! Nice to see something like this come out of
Finland. – Dale
http://www.reverbnation.com/axeslaughter
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Hailing from
Battleboro, Vermont comes the self-titled debut album from this
progressive metal foursome. When I read the bands style, I expected
clean, silky vocals like Fates Warning or something, but no, the
vocals are very audible and decipherable yet pretty extreme craggy
yells and screeches. The vocals are sort of like a less maniacal
version of the vox, employed by the The Accused, which are total
over the top insanity. They do switch it up on us, now and then,
suddenly employing a cleaner style of vocals I expected, for an
example check out the “Through Streams, Through Mountains” track.
But that is only a moment’s respite, as the cool vocal savagery
quickly returns. The music itself however, while pretty hard edged,
does fall a little more into what you expect, when you see the
progressive metal descriptive thrown around for Barishi. The music,
is very free flowing and introspective, with some skillful time
changes and arrangements. When the vocals start getting faster and
meaner, so does the music, yet the music at all times is smooth and
the interesting time changes and overall dynamic speeds up, while
always maintaining that finesse, that is ever present on the pensive
mainstay material. The musicianship and song arranging, are pretty
impressive on this album, surely belying the age of this recently
formed band. I would think this album would be a must own, for
progressive metal fans, that do not mind or even like a heavy edge
to their progressive rock / metal. - Dale
http://barishi.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/barishiband
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Here is
something a little different and interesting arriving in my mailbox.
They label themselves as a Metal/Rock/Blues mixture. Which, all in
all is a pretty fair description I suppose. I would say some
influences I can hear are Down, Alice In Chains, Pantera, Crowbar,
Eyehategod and just generally shoot from the hip garage rock ‘n roll
bands. I don’t hear that much blues influence but you can detect it
here and there, also despite some of the influences I list they are
not a doom band. The name does give you a pretty good indication of
what to expect. Just really raw and raunchy hard rock that is
probably played with few a beers in them, you know what I mean? I
dig some of those short spastic and energetic fills/solos. It is
pretty loosely played, lacking precision in the playing or in the
song writing and again I use the term raw sounding. Now for most
reviewers in this day and age that is probably enough to write them
off. But I think you know me by now I tend embrace the loose, the
low-fi and the rough music presentation. What Beer, Guts & Glory
lack in precision, technical song writing, they make up for with
coarse, nerve jarring emotion and fuck you we are doing what we want
and play what we like type of attitude. I respect that and you will
have to as well to enjoy this beer stained, cigarette smelling four
song demo tape. If you like your shit polished, clean and by the
numbers then you are going to hate these guys, you can book that
son. Didn’t blow me away yet I got some enjoyment out of it for
sure. – Dale
http://www.myspace.com/beergutsglory
http://www.reverbnation.com/beergutsglory
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That album
title is great, it really does a good job of painting a vivid
picture, and it rolls off the tongue with an inevitable wry smile to
follow. It just sounds like something, which is right up my
perverted sleazy alley, so to speak haha. The music on here is audio
hatred incarnate; it is low fi and reminds me of the black death
metal, that was coming out in the early and mid 1990s. It has that
old spirit, also like bands of that time period, almost all bands
calling themselves black metal, were very satanic lyrically or at
the very least extremely anti-religious. Black Blood Stigmata are no
exception, they are filled with venom and vitriol towards religion,
one only needs to peruse their song titles to know this. The music
is very stripped down, evil and filled with brutal, vigorous riffing
that quickly assaults the senses and rarely lets up. There are brief
sort of melancholy introspective moments, that add emotional depth,
to the music. The vocals are a high / low mixing of two distinctly
different vocals styles. The slightly more prominent vocal is a
raspy screamed bm style vocal, with a very nasally, whining
resonance to them that I could see being a bit of an acquired taste
for some, for me I liked them after I got used to them. The other
vocal is whispery dm growling, the juxtaposition of two vocals
styles, really fits the music well and they play off of each other,
never stepping on one another, but do a good job of point and
counterpoint. There is some synth on here, it wafts in and out, like
a wisp of smoke, but tends to stay more in the background where it
belongs and is not over used for the most part. It did not bother me
that much, but if I did have one complaint, it would be a couple of
the songs maybe over stay their welcome slightly. But otherwise this
is a superbly crafted album, by men who make music the right way, in
my estimation, and also it has the right kind of old spirit and
attitude behind it. You can just feel that bleed through listening
to the music. I should mention as well, you get your money’s worth
length wise, as this album clocks in close to the one hour mark. I
can recommend fans of old-style black metal, with large doses of
death metal, who enjoy a touch of unabashed blasphemy in their lives
like I do. - Dale
http://www.reverbnation.com/blackbloodstigmata
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This is my first
encounter with Black Space Riders, despite this apparently, being
the German bands fourth album. This is most definitely something
different, from the usual fare, I receive for review. BSR play
atmospheric spacey, non-technical prog rock, with some metal touches
in some of the riffing. I have to be honest, the first listen
through, I thought well this is okay, but that is really about all.
But with each subsequent listen, I am feeling my way emotionally,
into the soundscapes and mental tapestries, they are weaving and
warming up to it. If you are willing to let yourself, you can really
go on a free flowing journey, which for me, felt both chilling and
uplifting at times, yet also very sorrowful and melancholic at other
times. I think, to get the full experience of this band, patience
and a number of repeated listens are required. The band make quite a
big deal on their website, about having two lead vocalists, but
honestly, not to disparage the vocals performance on here, because I
like it. Yet, had I not known there were two vocalists, I may have
thought it was just one person, as it is usually not that apparent
to me, as a listener, where one guy ends and the other begins. The
drumming, at times is sparse, but there is a real feel with drumming
of when to turn it up and when to recede into the shadows, then take
a brief breather and wait for the optimum time to join back in. The
drums are definitely more important, to their sound, than you often
find in this style of music. I enjoyed this record, but I should
probably reiterate here, considering my usual readership, this is
not metal, so keep that when reading this review, and if you are a
little adventurous and like what I have above definitely check this
out. - Dale
http://www.blackspaceriders.com/ |
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Normally this is
the part where I say it is fucking awesome to get a cassette tape
and that never happens any more in this day and age. But the last
year or so has been a pleasant surprise and I have received I think
3 or 4 demo tapes. The old school way lives and the old traditions
die hard. That brings a smile to the sullen face of this old UG
scene goat! I read a review online that said these New Orleans
ghouls rose from the ashes of a band named High Priest which I see
released a demo and ep. I would call Burial Curse a blackened
mixture of brutal death metal and doom. The said review above (from
a site called Chips & Beer) compared these guys to Profanatica and
Incantation, I would agree with that but I would say a slowed down
version of the former and bang on the latter comparison. Oppressive
Darkness has a very brooding and suffocating atmosphere which slowly
grinds and steam roll you to bits. The vocals much like the music
itself are very obscure, sounding like blood curdling screams and
growling howls emanating deep in the woods, on a foggy night,
chilling you to the bone. This is an excellent debut release for
Burial Curse, look into this band, I believe this whole demo or most
of it is available to listen to for free online. So you have no
fucking excuse not to check into this tremendous new band. – Dale
http://www.reverbnation.com/burialcurse
http://www.myspace.com/burialcurse
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There are a lot
of two’s going on with this Canyon Of The Skull disc. There are two
members in the band, two members who do not do vocals, only two
songs on here, yet it clocks in at over 35 minutes. This Texan band
plays doom metal, though they keep things moving at a slightly
quicker pace than you might imagine, when you see two songs and the
run time. The songs wind, and stagger, their way through the desert,
occasionally stopping to lick their dry lips, at the sight of the
next mirage, then continuing on through the sun hammered sand that
feels like it is burning through it’s boots. Canyon plays less of a
Black Sabbath style doom, and more of a sludgy doom style, minus the
constant screeching feedback some of those bands, ala Cavity love so
much. The band manages to convey a good amount of emotion,
considering their instrumental nature, and lack of general pace or
directional change within the songs. They do start the album off on
a higher energy note though, with a chugging riff at a higher than
normal velocity, but by the two (uh huh!) minute mark, they have
pretty much settled down into the flowing introspective journey you
will partake in for the rest of the album. I think this is a good
release, if you are a doom fan in general, and like the sludge doom
side of things and do not mind instrumental releases, you dig will
this puppy, just give it a few listens to really dig it’s claws into
you. - Dale
http://canyonoftheskull.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Canyon-of-the-Skull/100972360126
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This is an
interesting release to receive in my mailbox. I am not certain what
the thought was by the band, on here, of playing instrumental
versions of songs that were from one of the members past bands
Chainsaw. Which, was a good band, and these songs of course are
good. Without vocals, it gives their brand of black thrash, more of
a hypnotic feel, but the hate and blasphemy still emanates from the
music like a rising fog. The music just rages on here, dark and
thrashing riffs, alongside strong militant drumming. Despite the
rehearsal tag, the sound on the recording is actually quite good,
and fits the music perfectly. I hope to hear some new music from
Communion soon, assuming it will be in vein of this Chainsaw stuff,
I know it will be something I will not want to miss. But in the
meantime, if you missed out on the Chainsaw album, or are just a die
hard fan of the band, then pick this up to tide you over until the
next attack. - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/CommunionBlackMetalChile
proselytismrecords@yahoo.com |
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This is a very
unique collaboration, almost a super group of sorts, but this time
on the underground level, and on a purely for the love it basis, and
not for monetary reasons. A truly international effort, with the
four members hailing from Greece, Romania, Brazil and the last
member is listed, as being from both the US & Mexico. I was hooked
up with this release, by the bass player from Mexico, named Victor
Varas (thank you Victor of Zombie Ritual Fanzine). So what have
these men gotten together and produced? Well, Cryptic Realms is a
tribute or love letter of sorts, to the great brutal death metal
beginnings, of the late ‘80s to early 90s. I would say, looking from
the extensive list of influences they included, in this promo pack,
those influences center upon American (they even named the band
after a Massacre song!) and Euro early death metal, while excluding
the whole Swedish sound that became the rage. The bands that
immediately come to mind, upon first listen were Incubus, Death,
Hellwitch, Massacre, early Obituary (the vocals are very John Tardy
sounding), Baphomet, Monstrosity etc… Yes, this is definitely the
death metal sound that I fell in love with, during the late ‘80s and
start of the ‘90s, when I was tape trading my ass off with traders
around the globe. As you can see, from my list of bands, I feel the
American sound had a far bigger influence on this material than the
European bands they named. This is just brutal, stripped down,
driving and ultra heavy memorable death metal. Done in the old
tradition, when the songs still meant more, than just relying on pro
tools and doubling everything up fifty times, and trying to fit a
dozen riffs, and dozen time changes, in every song. This when the
song drove death metal, you could really get into a trance-like
headbang flow while listening to it. You know, before clinical and
plastic, replaced the sinister atmosphere and ominous, foreboding
aura, within the brutality. If I could find one nitpick, and believe
me that is a difficult task, it would be that the recording does
sound a tad separated, like these guys were never able to rehearse
the songs together properly. But that feeling is only there, in a
fleeting way, because considering every part was recorded in a
different country, with different equipment, the result is still
very even and relatively cohesive. I really enjoyed this demo and I
hope there are plans for an album!! Get this, if you love the old
death metal traditions, which spawned the whole scene in the first
place. - Dale
http://crypticrealms.bandcamp.com/
http://weed-hunter-records.blogspot.de/
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I have heard the
name of this band for a while, all good things, so I am happy to get
a chance to judge for myself. There are only four tracks on here,
from this Los Angeles band, but do not let that fool you as the run
time on thing is over 60 minutes! So prepare yourself for a couple
nearly twenty minute epic songs. The Deathkings play moody,
strikingly melancholic doom, with a real sense of elegance and flow
in the song writing. Some of the music style on here, reminds me a
little of the best Paradise Lost albums (ala “Shades Of God” and
“Gothic” era), even a little in some of the vocals too, which is all
a very good thing in my books. Speaking of the vocals, much like the
guitar playing, and the song structuring, there is a diverse array
of vocal approaches. There are the mainstays, which are the somewhat
obscured sounding hoarse shouts, as well as decipherable but deep
and great dm growls, all backed by accents of clean sung parts and
chants, shadowy whispered spoken word etc… “All That Is Beautiful”
is a really good doom metal record, I think it is diverse enough
that fans of other sub-genres of metal, who are not die hard doom
fans like me, will also be able to get into this and enjoy it.
Highly recommended. - Dale
http://deathkings.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/DeathkingsMusic
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This preamble
could take a while, so stick with me here, if you want some
background information on the band. First off, the band is formerly
known as Sargatanas Reign, who was around for quite some time
releasing albums on I Hate Records and Regain Records. Also, on this
album you interestingly, or strangely, upon your view get two songs,
from full time vocalist Petter Hauckland, then they have a roster of
guest vocalists, who also get two songs each on the album. Both
strange and interesting to me, and I can only guess, the full time
vocalist was okay with this arrangement? The roster, of guest
vocalists, include Tompa Lindberg (At The Gates, Disfear, Lock Up),
Roberth Karlsson (Edge Of Sanity, Scar Symmetry), Mathias Vreth
Lillmans (Fintroll, Magneta Harvest), Joakim gothberg (Marduk,
Dimension Zero). This variety will surely interest some, while
frustrating others who wish their favourite, had done the whole
album. Once again, I found myself feeling both emotions, the variety
was welcome at times, other times I wish for less of it and a
concentration on the best suited vocalist. So anyway, we have that
out of the way, on to the music. Deathquintet play mainly mid-paced
death metal, which is solid and at times really good. It is pretty
simple and straight ahead material, fairly heavy, with maybe a touch
of thrash aesthetic mixed in for good measure. Even though, they do
not overall sound exactly like that, I can not shake the often
reoccurring undercurrent, of a more brutal “Heartwork” Carcass
influence. Not quite as intricate as that influence, or as catchy,
yet all instruments are expertly handled and performed. The straight
forward nature of the material could be seen as a plus, no million
miles a second pro-tool to death, with the needed accompanied math
sheet, to try to follow along with it. No this has more of an old
school vibe. There is something about Deathquintet’s overall sound,
that just does not do it for me, I am sorry to say, often times when
I think they have a good idea or section going, it seems to promptly
die, they repeat themselves, things just never seem to progress to
anything that held my interest for long and I am a pretty patient
listener. There is so much here, that is honestly top notch quality,
from the playing to large portions of the material, that I can see
this band working out the bugs and creating something really special
in the future. But this not it. - Dale
http://www.reverbnation.com/deathquintet
http://www.deathquintet.com/
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I was not sure
what to expect from this Brit band after just looking at the cover.
You have the old school sci-fi font with an accompanying picture
that reminds of something from old British science fiction TV
mini-series The Prisoner or some such. Now that I think about it
another UK band used that same / similar font on their album, a certain Live
At Last from Black Sabbath in fact. So now you are expecting some
spacey, floating mellow space rock right? No wrong, really the only
place where the elements of sci-fi are prominent on this three
track, twenty-three minute outing are in between the songs. Where
you get some spoken word passages about black holes and the like,
with a few 70s sci-fi movie bleeps in the background. No I would
probably describe their music as progressive, sometimes technical
death metal with epic, flowing sensibilities and more aggression
than that description makes it sound. As you can imagine from that
description the skill level of the musicians is high as this sort of
style simply demands for it to be, lest it fall to pieces. Their
performance on this adventurous piece of atmospheric brutality is
damn impressive. It is a clinic of emotive playing that is
technical, expertly timed, progressive and somehow in the middle of
all of that harsh sounding. The production on here is superb as well
and those deep growling adaptable vocals just add the cherry on top.
I can not help thinking while listening to this that record labels
must be falling all over themselves like their shoe laces are tied
together to sign this talented band. - Dale
http://www.reverbnation.com/deconstructingsequence
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I am glad I was
able stream the two lengthy tracks on this disc. Because I put the
disc I received, in my computer drive, it asked if I wanted to burn
something to the disc, as it is empty haha. Oh well, shit happens
and I was glad in a rare case (I generally prefer to review physical
copies of releases) like this, to be able to still make the review
happen without another disc being posted across the globe. As you
already know, if you read my prior review, I am fan of this young
and exciting band. Deconstructing Sequence once again weave a
cosmic, sci-fi theme through their release, but this time the
accompanying sound samples, spoken words and sounds have not just
been relegated to in between the songs. They are wonderfully,
expertly made part of the music itself and add an extra dimension to
the sound, which I found quite exhilarating and interesting. The
concept feels more like a human exploratory mission, rather than
just a space-y, flowery journey along the Milky Way, it feels a
little more gritty and grounded than that. As I mentioned the last
time out, these two musicians are highly skilled, but what is more
exciting for me, is they are not just highly skilled on their
instruments, they are also extremely talented song writers, and
construct songs that are emotional works of death metal art. This is
an audio version of Hierronymus Bosh or Pieter Bruegel The Elder.
What I love about this, again it speaks to their song composing
talents, even though there are many progressive elements, very
technical elements, somehow they make the songs flow like a river.
It is all very accessible, for someone, who is not necessarily into
those beautiful intricacies, to just pick up and enjoy straight
away. That is talent and vision at work. The dimension about DS,
which may not be coming across yet in my review, is just how fucking
brutal and aggressive this band is. The harsh moments, are violent
and destructive, the brief quieter moments are very contemplative
and emotionally atmospheric, and the cosmic elements only help to
propel you on a superb mental journey. I am not sure, if the band
prefers putting out just eps, but that seems to be their modus
operandi, maybe it suits their concepts better? Maybe they are
waiting for the right record deal? Record labels should be climbing
over each other in order to sign this young British band. Not sure
what the story is there, but I am very hungry now for a full length
album! Someone make this happen please. Beyond recommended, for
anyone who complains the scene is stagnant or everything sounds the
same, Deconstructing Sequence has heard your pleas and responded
with “Access Code”. - Dale
http://www.reverbnation.com/deconstructingsequence
https://myspace.com/dsprogart |
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You will
remember my favourable review of their “Death Lives Again” 2007
demo. Well these Danish purveyors of dark and dirty death metal have
hit me up again with this release. Which I think could be considered
a taster, for the upcoming “Murderer” album that was scheduled for
release sometime in late 2010. There are only 2 live songs on here,
those being “Wall of Violence” and “I Seen Him Slay”. The band is
loose and raw on this recording, but powerful and it adds an
atmosphere to their sound in a live setting that really works. I
enjoyed this, but it is short and only leaves me wanting for a copy
of their album now. Hail Denmark! – Dale
http://www.myspace.com/deusotiosus
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Here is some
filthy blackened death metal from my old stomping grounds of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There are five songs on this EP, the
band name seems an apt one for their sound, it is heavy and dirty
metal. The vocals are dark yelled screams with a death metal
growling edge to them, quite decipherable, so you can follow the
lyrical content, yeah I like the vocals. The music is sinister and
grave, but also seems to also have some emotional, introspective
elements also, which I quite enjoyed. Those elements give the music
some extra depth making it more memorable. Their sound is a nice mix
of speed, barbarism, slower maudlin moody passes and the odd quirky
bits to keep you guessing. I also like some of the subtle, classy
guitar work going on here. There are five songs on here, the band
lists this release as an EP, Deicide would probably call this length
an album, I would say it is plenty long enough to at least consider
it a mini-albums worth of material. So you get plenty of material
here, go check out their band camp site, download it and apparently
you name your price on the download, so it is hard to beat that with
a stick. Check these guys out, good to see the Philly scene showing
some strong signs of life. - Dale
http://dirtworshipper1.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/DirtWorshippermetal |
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South Carolina’s
Enthean bring us 8 songs of technical black/death metal. I find the
same thoughts creeping, as I had recently reviewing Illusions Dead’s
disc, which is this bands sounds awfully mature and proficient for a
band with only one demo under their belts. I am not sure I could say
I loved this release as much as the one mentioned above. But that
has nothing to do with the playing as it is top notch and
impressive. It is more the music itself, which at times, for me
lacks enough flow in some sections. So, in other words, many of
these impressive sections of music do not feel like they fit
together and the transition from one section to the next, often
feels forced and not smooth enough from a construction point of
view. I hate to sound like I am just bagging on this, because these
guys are talented and write some good raw material, but the actual
song writing needs some time to mature by my ear. Also I am not sure
if it is the production or mix, which seems okay, but I find the
emotion the band tries to imbibe into the songs, are not allowed for
lack of a better term to explode like it should, it feels like there
is an invisible wet blanket dampening things. I think it needs be
more raw and forceful to highlight the material. It is weird to say,
and hard to put into words, but I get this weird feeling that this
album is a technical symphonic black metal record being played by a
band that is more of a melodic death metal band by nature, almost
subconsciously suppressing that tendency. At the end of the day, the
final result, in my opinion, is just not as good as it should have
been. I guess the old saying fits of having all the tools, but have
yet to find the toolbox to put them all together in. - Dale
https://enthean.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Enthean
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New Jersey's
Entrenched have launched their debut cd “Preemptive Strike” up on
the underground. But listening to the cd it is hard to believe this
is a debut. The band play a mix of brutal old school death metal
with a huge influence of violent war/thrash metal intertwined within
the violent speeding guitars and machine gun like drum patterns. The
vocals are shared by the duo and fit perfectly with a more deeper,
angry growl, grunt and intense shrieks of hate. While the band takes
no prisoners and refuses to compromise its sound. Entrenched have a
lot of good musical ideas and even some catchy memorable guitar
patterns throughout. If you enjoy straight forward death/thrash with
a touch of war metal insanity then entrenched is a band you must
hear! - Patrick
http://www.myspace.com/entrenchedusa
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This is Eternal
Armageddon's second demo, to see the light of day. The band
originally started out playing a melodic black metal style, but with
this new demo “Black Thrash Bastards”, they have gone for a more
thrashy blackened sound. They pull it off extremely well with some
good drum patterns and guitars on display. The drums start out at a
mid paced range before speeding up to faster beats. The guitars
follow in the vein, beginning with lightning speed intense riffs,
but are not over the top, and they do when to slow down to a heavy
metal guitar speed. This is a great demo, from this band coming to
us out of Bangladesh, hopefully they will stick with this style and
put out some more good music in the coming years. - Patrick
http://www.eternalarmageddon.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/Eternalarmageddon
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I do not often get to review bands from
Israel, so in that sense, this was a bit of a novelty for me. I wish
I could say I loved it, I wish I could say I even kind of liked it.
But, that would not be the truth; this is to my ears a very generic
blending of death metal and metal core, or I suppose the deathcore
tag may apply. A style I am not very fond of, so to impress me you
had better do it really well, something that Ferium does not do, in
my view. This is just awfully pedestrian stuff, the playing is okay,
the songs rather uninteresting and pretty interchangeable with very
little standing out. I mean it probably does not help Ferium out
that I have been lucky lately by reviewing a lot of high quality
releases, from the material to the performances. It only serves to
make things like “Behind The Black Eyes”, when they come along, to
stick out like a sore thumb by contrast. A strong influence within
the deathcore sound is Pantera, I can hear that in the music, but
really strong in the vocalist as well, as he does a more growled,
more shouted lesser quality imitation of Phil Anselmo. Yeah, sorry
guys but this was just not for me, and in my opinion, just not that
good either. - Dale
http://ferium.bandcamp.com/
http://www.feriumband.com/
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Coming out of
the U.S. black metal scene is Kentucky’s Fornicus. The music is a
blend of vicious, evil black metal, with some death metal influence,
thrown in for good measure. The guitars are played with a lot of
speed and the riffs are aggressive, but also have some really well
played patterns within the music. The vocals, are a mix of black
metal shrieks, mixed with some death metal growls. I would say
Fornicus, has done, a very good job of creating an excellent
blackened death metal hybrid album. Check this one out. -
Partick
http://www.fornicus.com/
http://fornicus.bandcamp.com/
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There is only one track, on here, entitled
“Hail To The Legions That Rise From Flesh and Darkness”. So not all
that much to go on for a review, the song is just under seven
minutes, and that includes an intro and outro, so about 4 minutes or
so of actual song. But what I can get out of it is some ferocious,
and brutal, darkened death metal sickness. The riff in this song is
heavy as fuck, the growling vocals sound like they are emitted from
some blood thirty beast, come to life straight out of an HP
Lovecraft story. I would tell you more, but there is not a lot to go
on here, I see they have just released a full twenty minute demo
now. Here is to hoping I get a chance to hear it, because this one
track promo did it’s job in wetting my appetite for Gravered, and
has me looking forward to hearing more. - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/gravered.deathmetal
http://gravered-deathmetal.bandcamp.com/releases |
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Well then, it has been a while since I have
heard from Guilty As Sin, but the enigmatic and talented metal
merchants return once again to the pages of Canadian Assault (dig
around for my past reviews of GAS). The band has sent in releases
for nearly a decade probably, during which time I have become a fan,
as you never know quite what to expect from this diverse band.
Having said that this may well be one of their more straight forward
albums. It is a display of driving extreme metal, which is well
crafted, part cerebral grace, part unbridled aggression and
destruction, but all enjoyable. At times in the past, the band has
been fairly instrumental oriented, but this time around I think this
may well be the most vocals I can remember on a GAS release. The
vocals are gruff hardcore style shouting mixed with slight dm growl.
There are moments of more ambient, mind journey atmosphere which
give you a moment to breathe, a moment to reflect, a moment to enjoy
the well rounded musicianship and vision behind the band, before
launching back into the fire once again. Guilty As Sin is never run
of the mill, it is always an experience, always an expansive mental
ride, a ride that is always worth taking so hop aboard. - Dale
ovoianrocks@yahoo.com
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/GuiltyAsSin |
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This is
interesting and different. I remember another band some years back
with the same name and I wondered if this was them, but apparently
not, it is a new entity. Hammer Fight play raunchy, really heavy
hard rock / metal with balls and I can hear some punk / hardcore
influence and maybe a little Motorhead in there somewhere, but they
are heavier than that. Another band that just popped into my mind as
possibly being a real influence and a starting point for the reader
to gauge their sound and that band is Antiseen (whom I like). I
could see these guys appealing to both death metal fans with the
brutality edge and to the hardcore fans that like some metal in
their music. This disc definitely caught my attention and I will be
interested to see where this band goes from here. These bar
brawling, vodka drenched, tattoo’d motherfuckers even finish off
this ep with an AC/DC cover of “If You Want Blood (You Got It)” for
fucksakes. I need not saying anything more. –
Dale
https://www.facebook.com/HammerFight
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Nice to have a
band, from the area where I was born and grew up in, in Canada send
in a promo. This release is the bands first outing, though I can see
a couple of the members are fairly experienced in other bands, one
member, apparently is a transplant from overseas was in bands for
years over in the UK. Hammerdrone play hypnotic, melodic death metal
that really does a solid job of still maintaining that brutal metal
edge throughout as the underlying backbone. That is what helps put
it over the top for me. There is something there for the brutal
death fan, something for the melododeath file and it has, to use the
term again, a hypnotic flow to the music that some doom fans might
grab on to. In some ways it reminds me to Edge of Sanity from their
classic period, ala Purgatory Afterglow / Crimson. I am not trying
to say Hammerdrone are at that level yet, but those EOS albums are
some of my all time faves of any genre, so… It goes without saying
if I make that comparison these guys know a thing or two about
harmonies, song writing and there is some really nice emotive guitar
work on here. The vocals from Graham Harris are a nice compliment to
the music, they are very thick, brutish growls but much like the
music, there is some so emotional range present and they play off
the music, rather than just vomited over top, whether they fit or
step on the toes of the music itself as a lot of bands are prone to
do. I am impressed here, there are a couple of experienced members
in this group, but all the same A Demon Rising showcases a band that
has room to grow yes, but also a band that shows a lot of maturity,
vision and talent. I eagerly await more from Hammerdrone and boys
you are doing Albertan scene proud. This four song disc is well
worth your time / money. - Dale
http://www.hammerdrone.com/
http://www.reverbnation.com/hammerdrone
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This may come on
a limited edition CD-R, but the packaging is a nice professional
looking slipcase, rather than the usual CD-R and cut out piece of
paper with the album cover/info. We are treated to 9 songs of black
metal; the material is written and performed in the ancient way, a
surprising approach coming from this intriguing young band from the
United Kingdom. Hokedun play really old school black metal, many
think of early to mid 90s Scandinavian scene with that term, but I
am reaching back even a little further than that. Yes, the roots I
hear in the bands music are from things of the very late 80s and
early 90s variety, such as the early works by Greek bands like
Rotting Christ, Necromantia, Varathron, Zemial etc… Plus also they
bring to mind a similar style to the first days of Ancient Rites and
Mortuary Drape. I am a huge fan of that era, and that time period
for those bands, so this is welcome choice for me made by the band.
The music and riffing is very stripped down, simplistic, moody and
vaguely hypnotic like an audio soundtrack to an occult ritual
performed in some dark cave. The vocals are evil raspy, partially
sung screams that really fit the music very well and are in a
classic style. But do not get too attached to them because I think
only about half of the songs have vocals and the rest are
instrumental. I could have used a little more of the vocals
personally, yet I do concede, in some parts of the songs lacking
them they may not have fit as well with those songs. I think for a
lot of more modern black metal fans, they may not like this; it
would be too simple for them, not over produced enough and not
filled with a hundred riffs and time changes. But guess what?
Hokedun did not make this for those people. No, the band choose to
keep things straightforward, they let the songs breath, placing
importance on feeling and atmosphere, sometimes the old saying is
true that less is more. I quite enjoyed this release, it is for
diehards like me, who long for the great early days of black metal
that had a very distinct and interesting sound. “Succumbing To
Decay” has also been released in a cassette version, through
Hexenreich Records, so keep an eye out for that as well if
interested. But do not hesitate or procrastinate as I believe both
formats, CD-R and cassette are limited to just 100 copies. -
Dale
https://www.facebook.com/hokedun
http://hexe.pimeduse.org/
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Horrible Earth
waste no time jumping right into it, it is almost like the opening
track starts mid-song, no easing into this shit but nothing wrong
with that. These boys are from Boston, Mass and regular Canadian
Assault readers will recognize the name Zak Ovoian, the mastermind
from the band Guilty As Sin, as I have reviewed I think at least
four or five of his releases on here. They call themselves Grindpunk,
now I definitely hear the grind end of things, the punk well maybe a
hint of that, more of hardcore sound mixed in with the grind and
death metal influence than punk. But that is just my take on it,
mainly Euro influences but I would think it might be fair to throw a
bit of Brutal Truth in the mix too. I hear more of a Swedish death
metal and grind sound than the usual American grind you would
naturally hear over here. Think of bands like Entombed, Dismember
mixed with Nasum, Rotten Sound and then throw a healthy dose of
American hardcore in that mix. I like it though it is fast, brutal
and hard hitting, there are enough death metal slow down breaks to
really keep things interesting adding a nice level of dynamic to
their sound. The pacing of the songs in the faster parts remind me a
lot of hardcore riffing pace and structure, of course backed up with
grinding drums. The vocals also have a growling undertone with the
primary hardcore coarse throat rip yelling. The songs are short and
steeped in adrenaline, that must be great live. The mix of all of
these things rather than being a jumbled mess actually for me the
death metal sections only serve punctuate the high hardcore speed
then it is sped up even more with some pit inducing grind and back
down again producing a very intriguing, attention holding listen.
Which can be a weakness of grind that it gets all same-y sounding,
thankfully Horrible Earth do not suffer from this problem. Honestly
I think this album is fantastic! I really hope this gets some
attention as Horrible Earth should get a similar level of
recognition to say a Nasum or a similar level band. If you love the
genres I mentioned above this is a must buy. My only complaint is it
is too short, I want more now, until then I just have this set to
repeat and am listening to it over and over. - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/HorribleEarth
http://www.reverbnation.com/horribleearth
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Just in case you
are curious about the “Part 1” in the title, the band apparently has
planned a three or four part series of EP’s, to follow this original
world concept. I find everything about this young Nashville band
interesting, from their conception of this series, vibe of the band
pics, to the artwork and finally the music. Speaking of which,
Howling Giant draw from a fairly diverse sub-genre pallet, but I
would have to say the more prominent one is a stoner doom sound yet
you will also find hints of traditional doom, progressive rock, 70s
psychedelic hard rock (ie – the organ accents), space rock etc…
Despite that description they do not sound overly retro and have a
more updated and fresh feel to sound. I do like to liberally apply
the doom tag to the band, but the third tune on this four tracker is
pretty fast, displaying an upbeat energy you can headbang along
with. Somehow, that change up does not interrupt the flow of the
other three songs, and serves as a vibrant bridge to the overall
doom foundation “Black Hole Space Wizard”. The main vocals are
interesting they are sung quite clean and clear, yet sound they are
bouncing off the walls of a wide open empty building, with a slight
echo effect. That is until the final track “Clouds Of Smoke”, which
features a more straight forward almost slightly commercial clean
sung vocal, which may not be for some extreme metallers, but it fits
the music here very perfectly. All in all, I have to say this is a
pretty polished and mature effort from a young band, with only one
previous ep to their history. If they continue to progress it could
result in something special. I can definitely recommend this (in
particular to stoner doom and seventies psy rock fans) and will be
pulling it out from time to time for sure. Hopefully I get a chance
to hear the other forthcoming parts in this series. - Dale
https://howlinggiant.bandcamp.com/music
https://www.facebook.com/howlinggiant
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The first song,
or rather the first few minutes of the opening song, burst out of my
headphones like a blitzkrieg attack wall of noise trampling
everything in its path. I have to admit, as impressive and ferocious
as that first volley was, I thought to myself I am not sure I am up
for an entire album of nothing but that right now. Thankfully, for
my sake, that first track is akin to being slapped aside the head to
make sure you have someone’s full attention. Like start paying
closer attention, because here comes something special. Humut Tabal
have my attention now, and it is focused on the rest of the album,
which proves the band is a whole lot more than just a single-minded
bull, raging ahead headlong into a red cape. The bombast is always
lurking below the surface waiting to re-emerge for brief, but deadly
attacks, which you never really know when they are coming. The
spaces, in between those attacks, shows a lot of variation,
creativity and even catchy elements, which will have your head
grimly nodding, as you mentally wander through the black ink audio
that is “The Dark Emperor Ov The Shad”. Just reading their bio, they
name Emperor and Dissection as influences, I can definitely hear
both of those in there, but there is much more to it than that. It
seems to me, listening to some of the playing and elements they mix
into their song structures, these guys transcend just black metal
and metal in general with their influences. But, I am happy to
report, that despite letting those unconventional inspirations seep
in, the band never lets it interfere or poison the roots of its base
black metal hatred and sonic bloodshed, which inspired them to play
within the genre to begin with. That is something I can respect,
expand your boundaries, but always keep a firm grasp on your
identity, which in this case is cold, sadistic black metal. This is
the bands second full length and they are clearly hitting their
stride. If you like dynamic black metal, played with hostility and
imagination, then let me introduce you to this great band from Texas
I heard just recently. - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/humuttabal
http://www.reverbnation.com/humuttabal
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Illusions Dead are Finnish band who play
extreme melodic (I know those terms rarely belong together) death
metal. The first thoughts that came to me, upon my initial listen,
these guys sound really polished and mature; when taking into
account they had only released one demo previously. Now, before you
get the wrong idea, yes they do play melodic death metal, but not
the lighter, sweeter sounding stuff ala In Flames, Dark Tranquility,
Shadows Fall etc… No, they have more in common with the catchy,
while still being very brutal and mean bands such as Dissection,
Kataklysm, At The Gates, early Arch Enemy and the like. There is one
exception to those bands, and that is, in some sections of the
material I.D. display a doom metal side which is skillfully done,
adding a nice moody contrast. When they pick up the pace, which is
most of the time, you are treated wonderfully constructed and
performed barbarity, overlaid on top of some great melodies. They
really scratch an itch, if you like violent music, which is mixed
with finesse and musical subtlety. The recording, on this self
financed effort, sounds great. I have to think, record labels will
be knocking on this bands door, as should you be. - Dale
http://illusionsdead.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/illusionsdeadofficial
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This may be this
bands first release, but the members are anything but new to the
band experience and the UG scene. As members of this band are or
were in Witch Tomb (IT seems like it is a continuation from the
ashes of Witch Tomb), Embryonic Cryptopathia, December Wolves,
Blessed Offal, Hirudinea etc… Good thing Christ is nailed in place,
because he would be swept away by the utter bestial filthy bombast,
which is belching wonderfully out of my speakers. It is a total
cacophony of grating, grinding, scourging metal sickness, in the
vein of Profanatica, early Beherit, early Bathory, old Impaled
Nazerene, Archgoat and the like. The vocals are like an exhilarating
cheese grater to the brain, they will remind you much of Profanatica,
as does the music of course. Both are intense and great, keeping up
the tradition and great legacy of that legendary band. Definitely a
must have for fans of the above mentioned bands and time periods.
This is unrelenting! - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/impenitentgestas
http://novisiblescars.bandcamp.com/
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After doing a
little digging, to find out more about this Chicago band, I almost
want to call say, the band formerly known as the great Corpsevomit.
I say that, because this as Imperial Savagery contains three of the
four members that were previously mainstay members of Corpsevomit.
But having said that, the members were or are also in bands like
Lividity, Evil Incarnate and a little known band, whose demo I liked
back in the day (ala mid to late 90s) called Pederasty. But enough
of that, let’s talk some Imperial Savagery, who as you can see are
no rookies to the underground scene. The band play vicious,
exceptionally brutish and barbarous death metal, that immediately
transports me back to the great death metal scene of the mid to late
90s. They do the sound proud of keeping this sound and tradition
alive. The band play nearly everything at break neck speed, I mean
they do slow it down briefly now and then, then again their ‘slowed
down’ is a lot of other bands top speed gear. Damn I miss dm played
this way, I mean if you are searching for that plastic Pro Tool’d to
death production, or some more slam death metal or Mallcore, then
move along bitch! No, this is pure old school death metal that gives
me tingles, at how ferocious and sadistic it is played. The growled
vocals on here are great to, deep, semi-decipherable and they match
the savagery and unrelenting emotion created by the music. This is a
death metal purist’s wet dream! - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/imperialsavagery
http://www.reverbnation.com/imperialsavagery
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This Wisconsin
band, as you may be able to tell from their name and album title,
are a concept band, based on the classic works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Something you may not know about me, both myself and my wife, are
huge Tolkien and Lord Of The Rings fans. So much so, we have in our
home a couple swords, a dagger and Gandalf’s staff replicas in our
home, made by the company that made them for the film. So as you can
imagine straight away, I am fully on board with the band’s concept
from top to bottom. Now on to this bands music, this demo contains
three tracks of middle earth inspired, brutal death metal. I would
describe their brand of death metal, as a combination of New York
sound, mixed heavily with old school Floridian death metal style. I
can hear influences from bands Morbid Angel, Suffocation, Nile,
Immolation, Incantation, Death, Massacre etc… It is very well done
though, it is brutal, but also there is some nice subtle and not so
subtle guitar finesse elements, worked beautifully into the crushing
barbarism. I am sure this is where the Tolkien works come in, but
there is also an epic, triumphant emotive atmosphere, you can feel
through the music, which reflects the world the band clearly
worship. This is on full display, during my favourite song, the
third track entitled “Thorin Oakenshield”, it is a glorious and the
proud warrior Dwarf King Under the Mountain, would be honoured by
this song. Check this out ASAP! - Dale
https://www.reverbnation.com/khazaddum6
https://www.facebook.com/Khazaddumband/ |
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Thanks to Paul
Caravasi from Aquelarre ‘zine for passing along this piece of black
metal hate emanating from Spain. Killing The Reason, play an acidic
brand of blackened metal with some death metal touches. The vocals
are purely spat venomous rasps in the early 90s great tradition and
I really enjoy those, very cryptic and hateful. The music itself is
good, pretty straight forward, but it is well executed with an
intense energy about it. I feel like the songs and riffing, at
times, could have a little more flow at times, but that is a minor
complaint really. Followers of old school black metal should keep an
eye on this band, they have something special starting to brew. I
will really be looking forward to hearing what they can do on their
next release. Beyond Eternity is an extremely impressive for a debut
release! - Dale
http://www.myspace.com/killingthereason
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZMYc4KGOpY
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Brazil’s Krueger
have released their new cd “Return To Death”. An album which has
unleashed a blast of old school death metal and a healthy dose of
thrash guitars. The guitars are fast with some speedy thrashy riffs
and some heavier death metal riffs, with some solos mixed in a few
of the tracks. The drumming is top notch with some crazed and
chaotic patterns. The vocals are death growls, as well as some raspy
screams mixed in a few of the songs. Krueger have released a very
solid album, which I can recommend to anyone who is into early
nineties death and thrash metal. - Patrick
http://www.reverbnation.com/officialkrueger
https://www.facebook.com/officialkrueger
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It is a good day when a new Lavagoat release
ends up in my mailbox. The boys pick up right where they left off
last time around. We are treated to another sludgy, doomy slab of
atmospheric metal, which will hunt you down tirelessly in slow
motion. I always like the dark and heavy vibe Lavagoat projects
mentally with their rumbling audio tapestries. I still hear bits of
influence in their sound from the likes of old Cathedral, Celtic
Frost, Sabbath etc… Despite their doom mainstay, the band are not
adverse to speeding things up, such as they do in the song
“Cimmerion Fury”, they pick up the pace, and ruin everything in
their path, with some great affecting guitar work. The guitars on
the whole album are fantastic, they do some really cool things with
the sound of them, they creatively to manipulate those sounds in a
variety of ways, which create some diverse emotions in the listener.
Lavagoat only gets stronger with time, and I must strongly recommend
yet another of their releases, for you dear readers to check out
post haste. - Dale
https://www.reverbnation.com/lavagoat
https://www.youtube.com/user/LavagoatTV |
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This is Italy’s Methedras second cd “System Subversion”. The band
plays a mix of early to mid nineties death, thrashing metal. The
guitars are fast with a lot of great thrashy riffs and some solos,
mixed in a few of the songs, but also have some heavier more chunky
riffs intertwined in the maelstrom. The drumming is done, with a lot
of good heavy beats, but also can speed up with the guitars at times
too. The vocalist has a mix of death metal growls and some gruff
screaming in a few of the tracks. All in all, not a great release,
but it does have some good songs sprinkled among the average ones.
- Patrick
http://www.methedras.com
www.reverbnation.com/methedras
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This has been
out for a while, but it was nice to get a chance to finally hear
this disc. This New Jersey band, takes heavy metal back to its roots
of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, in pretty much every way possible.
The riffing on here is solid, very memorable with melodic song
structures and harmonies, which will stick in your head. You can
tell they worked very hard, to make their songs catchy, and have
some nice old school flow to them. The vocals follow suit, they feel
like they pulled them straight out of 1983 or something. I dig it. I
think fans bands like Virgin Steele, Riot, Lethal, Meliah Rage,
Armored Saint, Running Wild, plus the very early works of Iron
Maiden and Judas Priest, should enjoy the hell out of Midnite
Hellion. The band has a seven inch out, on Witches Brew, since this
disc came out and I believe a live album is in the works as well.
Check this out, NWOBHM and just power metal fans from the early days
of the genre, this is for you. - Dale
http://www.reverbnation.com/midnitehellion
http://www.midnitehellion.com/index.html
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Interesting.
That's the first word that comes to mind when I listened to Overture
- Neutrad Archon's newest full length. Hailing from California,
this sextet is truly a mix of many different style of metal and
music in general. Progressive base is mixed with black, death,
folk, and experimental metal elements. Quality musicianship is on
display with these guys for sure. The vocals are probably the
weakest part, though. I think there are parts on some of the songs
that are screaming for a clean vocal line ala Halford or Dickinson,
instead of the thrash/blackened hybrid voice that permeates the
album. The keyboard parts are a little out of place at times as
well. There are parts of the album that remind me of Emperor in
places - a wall of sound if you will. Again this is an interesting
release. I'd like to see what they do in the future. If you like
your metal with a cerebral component, Neutral Archon may be for
you. - Mark
http://www.myspace.com/neutradarchon
http://www.neutradarchon.com/ |
When I first
perused the cover and band name, I thought to myself a black metal
band, and well, I thought very wrong. No these south Floridians,
play epic ‘80s style heavy metal, with heavy doses of classic doom
metal influence. They show their doom influences on their sleeve,
with a cover of “Crystal Ball”, from the mighty Candlemass. This
cover interestingly, is placed right in the middle of the song
order, rather than the usual, traditional tacking on of the cover
song at the end of the album. Speaking of the length, this is quite
prolonged for the ep or mini-album designation, I seem to see it
listed everywhere as, you get five tracks in total and it just
breaks the thirty minute mark. The first song, also the title track,
is darn good song in its own right, but for me has more of the
eighties metal feel, less of the doom feel. As the record continues
along, it continues to build steam, the cover song aside, each track
gets better and better as you go along, and also their doom
influences seem to grow stronger as you go. They do employ some
synth / organ backing and accents, which give off a ‘70s vibe ala
Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Lucifer’s Friend and the like. They doom it
up, but then they mix in poignant, introspective passages, and they
know how to rock a bit form time to time too. I really like the
vocals, again eighties heavy metal rears its gorgeously beast-y head
again; the vocals are clear and smooth, with depth to them at both
ends of the high / low spectrum. I also enjoyed some of the hot solo
work, like that displayed in the middle of the opening track for
instance; I think I got a little hard listening to that one. The
closing track, entitled “To Thee I Give An Orchid”, is a ten minute
magnum opus for the band. This song is the band at its best, there
is a cool muted gallop riff, a punching synth atmosphere, which
surges to the forefront and then recedes again to resume the gallop.
The song slows down, to a brooding standstill towards the middle,
the emotion very slowly starts to build back up the anticipation, as
the flowing doom riff sweeps you along, taking you on an emotional
grand journey. The vocals on this track really showcase well, even
though, they are used in a judicious manner. That closing act is
really the clincher, on me recommending this release, to fans of
classic doom metal and heavy metal of old. I am really looking
forward to this bands next record, it feels like they still have
another gear to get to, and the next one could be something
special. - Dale
http://northerncrownband.com/
https://soundcloud.com/northern-crown-doom
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Nuclear Hatred
is a band made up of the members of Zamboni, who recently had to
change their name (after having this album under that name all ready
to go, the company that owns the rights to the hockey zamboni
threatened to sue them if they did not cease and desist in using the
name - Dale). Nuclear Hatred play a good style of crossover metal,
which has a really good mix of fast thrashing guitars, and some well
written and creative guitar patterns. The drums are played with both
a mid pace, and a crazed fast pacing within the drum arrangements.
If you are a fan of crossover metal, then you should definitely give
Nuclear Hatred a listen today and buy this thing. - Patrick
http://nuclearhatred.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/NuclearHatred/
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This is a
re-release of the French band, Ossuaire’s 2005 debut demo, which
originally was released on a limited run, of only 100 pieces on cd.
This is my first encounter with the band, who are apparently still
active. But one thing is for sure, they are not a very prolific
band, having formed in 2000, and since then they have released a
total of 11 songs over three releases in sixteen years! So how is
the music on here? It is some solid death metal, in vein of stuff
like old Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower, Cannibal Corpse, Immolation and
that style of death dm. I must say, for a first time demo, the song
writing on here is quite good, and the guys play their instruments
well. They are not just brutal, but at times create a pretty cool
atmosphere or vibe, with their music, that creates a dark and
dangerous feeling emotionally. I like that. No, there is nothing
groundbreaking here, just a really solid release, which should
appease fans of old classic American style of death metal. -
Dale
http://ossuaire-deathmetal.blogspot.fr/
http://nihilisticholocaustrecs.bandcamp.com/music
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Path of
Damnation features a name familiar to me and the readers of Canadian
Assault. Which is Troy Reynolds, whose past works such as Extreme
Metal fanzine, Autumn Grave, and Black Blood Stigmata have all been
reviewed on these pages. Now Troy has joined with another group of
musicians to form Path Of Damnation. The band play straight up death
metal, it is brutal stuff, but not so much in the guttural belching
fashion. No, this is more in the vein of say late ‘90s style death
metal, when the bands were still brutal, not yet so overly slick as
would become the fashion. But all the same, heading slightly in that
direction, with added clarity, and focus on musicality, and not just
pure brutality. You know the sort of direction, a lot of the scene
slowly headed in, after some landmark releases like Carcass
“Heartwork” etc.. There is some really nice guitar work, and
arrangements on here, that show talent in handling their
instruments, as well as their song writing skills. Look no further
than the song “Sky Turns Red”, where there is some nice underlying
guitar, a cool guitar lead fill and a short, but very cool emotive
solo to finish off the song. The vocals, are deep largely
indecipherable growls, which I did enjoy, as they add a little of
that gritty bestial feel to the mix, which counterpoints the finesse
of some of the guitar work. It is a pretty nice balance, they have
struck between those two sound elements, of elegance and cruelty,
though it could still use a little more refinement to smooth out the
transition and integration between the worlds. But that is precisely
why they have first released this live in the form of a rehearsal
demo tape. It is for fans to enjoy the songs, before the
arrangements and execution, are tweaked and polished. So with that
in mind, I will be looking forward to checking that out, hopefully
sooner than later! - Dale
https://www.reverbnation.com/oblivion666
https://www.facebook.com/pathofdamnation/
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This is another
cool band sent to me by Huaida, who runs Friends Of Hell Promotions,
out of Chile. He also sent me great stuff from bands like Gravered,
Communion and Worship Death. Focusing on this release, at hand,
Profaner are an old style death metal band from Peru. This promo
contains five tracks from the bands past demo and 7” ep releases.
The band has been around a long time now, starting as Bestial Death
in 2005, and changing the name to Profaner in 2007. Profaner in the
music, and the vocals, remind me very much of early Death, with the
growled stylings of one Chuck Schuldiner. Plus, I can hear a touch
of Autopsy, and the early Swedish death metal sound. The raw, heavy
but still more than clear enough production really fits perfectly
with their sound. The second track, “Zombie Curse”, really shows
Profaner at their best keeping ultra heavy, but really varying the
pace up and down, in a very infectious manner that is sure to get
your head banging along. That must be a killer song live. The bands
age shows through, on this release, as they have a mature feel for
song flow and arrangement, which really evokes emotion in me as a
listener. Another fantastic band here, recommended to me, that shows
how alive and kicking the Chilean and Peruvian scenes really are
these days! If you love old school atmospheric, but really heavy
death metal, then you need to get your hands on some Profaner
material soon. - Dale
profaner_deathmetal@hotmail.com
http://www.friendsofhell.cl/
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Coming out of
the Canadian heavy metal / thrash scene is the new band Reanimator.
The band, play a good mixing of hyper-fast, thrash metal. The
guitars are done with a lot of fast paced structures, with some
contrasted with some heavier slower paced sections. The drumming is
top notch, with fast drum patterns and some mid-paced runs
intertwined in the music. The vocals are a blending of screams and
gruff styled vocals. If you are fans of Exodus, early Testament and
all the other mid-80s thrash scene, then you should do yourself a
favor and check this band out today. - Patrick
https://www.facebook.com/reanimatormtl/timeline
https://myspace.com/reanimatorthrash
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I have no
information on this band and could dig up very little about them
online. But I can tell you they are from Ohio and play a disgusting
brand of grindcore. I rather enjoyed this album, it lives up to it’s
title and is very sick, it is also very high energy, dirty grind
with that cool fuck you and everything about you attitude. Which I
really liked haha. Some of their stuff reminds me of some earlier
Meat Shits material, like some of the stuff off of that bands “Fuck
Frenzy” and “Ecstasy Of Death” albums, minus all the porn samples
and horror movie clips though lol! This is some good shit, if you
are into wall of noise grind, with short blasting songs and enjoy
rolling around in your own filth, while listening to this juggernaut
musical maelstrom. This is what they are about, no deeper than that,
so if you like ripping grindcore with an attitude, then pull your
dick out of that hooker, take your last swig of whiskey and get in
touch Sewage Grinder! - Dale
http://sewagegrinder.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/shitgrinder |
This is Skeleton
Wolf’s debut release, featuring seven songs, of newer blackened
death metal. The guitars are well written, and extremely well
played; they go from a fast black metal guitar style to a more
controlled modern death metal pattern. The guitarist knows how to
create, and play, a lot of solid guitar runs, and some very well
written solo’s mixed into a few of the tracks. The drumming is very
skilled as well, and can go seamlessly from a mid tempo drum style,
to executing a faster aggressive drum pattern in a few songs. The
vocalist does a good job with brand of death metal growls,
interspersed with some black metal screams filtering in and out,
from time to time throughout the material. - Patrick
https://www.facebook.com/skeletonwolfmusic/
http://skeletonwolf.com/ |
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Skitzo returns
to the pages of Canadian Assault, this legendary California heavy
metal / thrash band, continues to conjure up the old metal rituals!
I say legend, and I mean it; this band is grossly underrated, and
not nearly heralded enough for continuing on from the early to mid
1980s until today! I have total respect for someone keeping the
dedication and faith for decades. Skitzo is, and always has been,
the brainchild of the talented and imaginative, and deliciously
perverted Lance Ozanix. Skitzo effortlessly from song to song,
switch from heavy metal to thrash metal, and back again. When they
thrash out they fucking thrash, Lance’s vocals on thrash parts, at
times, are the spitting audio image of classic era Nuclear Assault
and Overkill. A lion’s share of the time he sings in a gruff, partly
spoken, partly sung vocal style, which I believe is partly handled
in a co-vocal situation by bassist of Nate Clark. “Dimentia Praecox”
is filled with massively heavy, melodiously memorable riffing; that
and the arranging are a real strength for the band. Finishing off
the trio, we are treated to a strong performance from drummer Mike
Carli, with some tasty drum patterns, and a powerful pounding of
each and every strike on the kit. As usual with Skitzo, they seem to
get some great guest musicians, this time is no different, as we
hear an extensive, and impressive appearance by Tony Rainer formerly
of Blue Cheer. Okay so that covers the new Skitzo tracks on here.
This release is an interesting mix of things, as you get those new
songs, you get an old Skitzo song about Ted Bundy from 1982 (!!),
plus a bevy of great cover songs, which are deep cuts from bands
like PCP, Axe Witch, Posthumous and Skullduggery. Plus some unlisted
devilish surprises, at the end of the album, which I will let you
discover for yourself. As ever, you should expect absolutely
beautifully produced, crystal clear yet heavy productions we have
come to expect from this band. I say get this fucking thing, right
now, it is about time this band got the recognition it is due! -
Dale
https://myspace.com/skitzo667
http://www.skitzo.biz
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I recently
glowingly reviewed a release from the band Imperial Savagery. I
mentioned at that time, it is almost like having one of my fave old
death metal bands, Corpse Vomit reformed, as that band had three
former members of Corpse Vomit in it’s ranks. Well, apparently I
spoke too fucking soon, because Sons of Famine has no less than all
4 members of Corpse Vomit, and for all intents and purposes is
literally a new band, entirely reborn from the ashes of the mighty
Corpse Vomit. They certainly share something in common with their
other band, which is unadulterated savagery; they have it in spades
and deal it out with no mercy. This is some raunchy, dirty, and
angry death metal played at blitzkrieg speeds, there are some truly
biting riffs on this bitch. I like the odd brief, frenzied little
guitar fills strewn about the album, they really stand out in
contrast to the pounding and add a cool dynamic to their sound. This
demo brings me back, to the early to mid 90s, when for me the death
metal scene was at its pinnacle. I mean, this does not sound dated,
but it does sound classic and timeless. I’m not just talking about
the awesome guitar sound on here either with that comment. There are
four songs on this demo, and it is a little on the old side
currently, so fuck me, I hope we get a new release from this great
band soon! These death metal legends, all these years later, still
deliver the goods and still deserve your attention. - Dale
http://sonsoffamine.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.facebook.com/sonsoffamine |
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This band is
from New York, the main force behind the band, is the Argentinian
guitarist / vocalist Alfonso Ferrazza. Apparently Sunlord started
out as a cover band and then eventually morphed into what we have
here on this disc. I am not sure, how to describe them, as they
display a bit of a hodge-podge of influences from song to song. One
song might be all out ripping thrash, the next is kind of crossover
punk / thrash thing, the next is hard rock / metal with heavy
influence from Motorhead and so on. It is all over the place, but
there is some cohesion of style, which manages to peek through now
and then, within each song. I am guessing in this trio, Alfonso is
doing the vocals mostly out of necessity, because his vocals are
clearly the weak link in the Sunlord sound. At first, to be honest,
I thought they were terrible, but as time went on and more listens
were had, they started to grow on me a little bit to the point I did
not mind them as much. Nonetheless they are still the achilles heel
of the band in my opinion. Because the music is pretty great, there
is a lot of talent there, some cool riffing and skillful song
structuring, which kept my interest very well. I might like to see
the band try to hone their sound a little more, so their next album
has a little more unity, and a possible vocal upgrade possibly,
would go a long way. Because the there is a lot of talent in this
band and they know how to write some killer songs that rip. So I am
looking forward to see how they progress with time. - Dale
http://www.dinnermusicforthegods.com/
http://www.reverbnation.com/dinnermusicforthegods
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Coming out of
North Carolina’s metal scene is Suppressive Fire, combining elements
of complex and guitar driven death metal, with some thrashy
elements. The guitars are very well done, with outburst of fast
thrash guitars, with some mid paced heavier sections. The drumming
is performed, with a lot of power, and fast drumming patterns that
fit with the chaotic guitars quite nicely. The vocalist does a good
job, delivering gruff vocals, intertwined with some screams. If you
are a fan of early to mid nineties, style of death metal, then this
is a band you will want to check out very soon. - Patrick
https://suppressivefire.bandcamp.com/
https://www.suppressivefire.net/
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Survival are a
thrash band, with some hardcore leanings, and hail from Oakland
California. They sound like a pretty wild band, just from reading
some background on them, with various members slipping in and out of
jail stays. But on to the music, which is really heavy, catchy and
minimalist. They get straight to the point here, they find their
sweet spot and stick to ala old Prong, another band that pops into
mind is DRI during their great “Thrashzone” album era, but Survival
are probably a bit more stripped down than them. You can hear the
hardcore influence, every now and then, in the structure and gang
shouted parts on the track “Walls”. At times, they create more of an
atmospheric sound with their music, than you would probably think
reading this review. It is that, you just have to hear it to get it,
with that element of their sound. This is nothing mind-blowing, but
I enjoyed this cassette, but I could see some of the extreme metal
die hard crowd, which often reads Canadian Assault, having a tougher
time getting into this. But, especially for 80s thrash crossover
fans, who are into stuff like the aforementioned Prong, or maybe
Biohazard (with their heavier songs), will want to check this out. I
have seen this listed somewhere as a full-length, that is simply not
the case, this puppy is less than 17 minutes long, it is short but
good. - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/SurvivalBayArea/
https://survival1.bandcamp.com/music
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Torn The Fuck
Apart hail from Kansas fucking City, Kansas and play brutalizing
death metal. I love some good crushing and pillaging death metal as
much as the next guy. I liked some of the little secondary guitar
noodling accents to the riffing, similar to stuff Cryptopsy used to
do and others. But I have to be honest that was the only thing about
this album I really liked. The vocals are decent too. The music
however, overall is some really generic, boring death metal, Torn
even try to throw in some groove parts that sound forced and
uninspired. I can respect these guys for trying to do things on
their own and just getting out there and making it happen, more
power to them. But after releasing a demo and well I guess,
essentially two self-released full length demos after that, over the
span of nearly a decade, with still no action on the label front, I
can see why. But hey, if the boys believe in what they are doing and
are having fun, well then keep on plugging away. I am not saying
they are terrible or anything, just very, very average. - Dale
http://www.reverbnation.com/tornthefuckapart
https://www.facebook.com/tornthefuuckapart
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It really is a
small world sometimes. I get a package from an old contact / friend
from France, who runs Nihilistic Holocaust Records, only to find out
the band he sent me for review, is from my own backyard in
Philadelphia. Damn! I am glad he did send this may way. Trenchrot
play great old school death metal, in the vein of stuff, like early
Dismember, Carnage, Grave, Afflicted (“Prodigal Sun” album),
Pestilence, Repulsion mixed with other different stylistic dm bands
like Asphyx, Autopsy and slower more doomy death bands. Despite
those latter examples, most of the music on here, clips along at a
pretty brisk pace, it is more the atmosphere of those doomy bands.
The sound on here is crushing and the riffs will melt your brain, as
they roll over you, in ever attacking waves of audio orgasm. I
should mention I am an absolute sucker for that old Swedish dm style
and the other bands I rattled off. So a more picky fan, of this
style may disagree, but all the same, I think Trenchrot fucking kill
it here, despite wearing some influences on their sleeves. I believe
the band have just released their debut album on Unspeakable Axe
Records. I need to get my claws on that thing, as this demo has me
excited about contracting a more severe case of Trenchrot. -
Dale
http://trenchrotdeathmetal.bandcamp.com/
http://nihilistic.voila.net/
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I am immediately
hit with a very, very familiar sound when pressing play. Right from
the vocals to the guitars, to the riffing style and really
everything sounds like Pantera. That is not to say they do not have
the sound down and are good at what they do. It is probably boils
down to the fact I am a not a huge fan of this, what is sometimes
called modernized thrash metal, when I do feel like listening to
some (which is not often) I will just reach for a Pantera album to
be honest. I will say they did not skimp on the production of the
album, everything sounds very good and clear. If you are not like me
and wish Pantera was still around then this might be a band for you
to check into. – Dale
http://www.facebook.com/trialsmusic |
 
Well, for the
Impetigo die hards out there, you wanted more Stevo, you shall get
more Stevo! This time, it is not delving into his early pre-Impetigo
days; no we get to see what Stevo has been up to lately. I was
pretty damn excited to be honest as an Impetigo die hard my own self.
There is an interesting twist in here, in that Stevo’s lyrics are
written and sung in Italian! His vocals sound really fucking cool,
like half sung, half spoken, deep vocals that remind me, a lot of
the great Big Boss of the Czech band Root, especially in his earlier
days. I am mesmerized by those fucking vocals, Stevo sounds like a
maniacal beast of an uncle, on a murderous drunken rage, taking the
time to deeply enjoy living out those deep dark thoughts. His vocals
only sound more diabolic being sung in Italian. Also, I should
mention in this trio, it features Vanessa Nocera of Wooden Stake &
Razorback Records on bass. This band and it’s entire concept is a
tribute or an ode, a love letter of sorts, to the great Giallo genre
of cult horror movie classics from Italy. They mix in lots of audio
clips, as intros, and directly within the songs, which I really
enjoyed and thought they incorporated very well. The music really
mixes up the pacing, from mid-paced to fast sections, which are then
interspersed with some slower moody atmospheric sections, which
really add some emotional depth and punch when things speed up
again. The music itself, I am not sure how to describe, probably
dark heavy metal and thrash would be the mainstay of the sound, but
there are also some of the band members death metal and grind
backgrounds seeping in, if you listen closely. There are some parts,
that remind me of the early 90s period, from one of my fave Italian
bands of all time Mortuary Drape. The production / recording almost
sounds like it is from that late 80s / early 90s and I fucking love
that too. This demo is simply amazing, I keep listening to it over
and over and over, it is so addictive and good, one of the best
releases of the year hands down for me. I am getting aroused and
bathing myself in blood just thinking about a full album from Twist
Ending…Oooohh. By the way the tape has 2014 printed on it, not sure
if there was a delay or what, but it was not actually released until
2015. - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/twistending
http://novisiblescars.bandcamp.com/ |
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This is a one
man band by the drummer of Blessed Offal (among other bands). There
are four tracks on this cassette, which are filled with hatred and
drip with a morbid atmosphere. I think Vein could be best described
as worshippers of Blasphemy and Sarcofago. That is what you get
here, nothing new or innovative, but it was not meant to be, it is
not pretending to be anything else. The atmosphere on here is
extraordinary, it really does capture the mastery of the classic
works by the bands I mentioned above. I mean right down to the
obscure sound, low-fi production values, which is probably the only
way this style of evil warring black metal should be heard. If you
are a devotee of this sub-genre of music, you will want this
release, if you are not a die hard follower of those bands and this
sound; this is probably not for you. I seen online there is only 5
copies of tape left, hopefully you get one before they sell out.
There is however, a digital download version for $4 you can find at
a link below. - Dale
http://novisiblescars.bandcamp.com/album/into-the-vein
http://nvslabel.blogspot.com/
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This was a
pleasant surprise to see arrive in my mailbox. This band based out
of Phoenix, Arizona may be a new band, but their members are
anything but, they are all veterans of the scene, having been in
various bands. The band leader bassist / vocalist George Robb, has
also been in many bands, maybe best known as a founding member of
Agent Steel, where he appeared on their demo, debut album and ep.
These boys could have stepped right out of the great early to mid
80s Crossover Thrash scene. I can hear influences in here (think
specifically of the earlier works from these bands) like Slayer,
D.R.I., Cryptic Slaughter, The Exploited, Exodus, S.O.D., Corrosion
of Conformity, Sacred Reich etc… Violent Revolution carry on the
tradition perfectly, they really have this sound down, playing with
a raw, angry edge at all times. This album is a wonderfully
rampaging wall of noise and controlled chaos. I even dug that short
manic solo in the middle of “Damaged”. I love the vocal parts, where
they spit out that gruff thrash and hardcore mix of vocals, and
multiple members trade off lines of lyric. It really keeps the
energy high, and gives you a feeling, of how cool it must be to see
Violent Revolution live. Because there are many times, I found
myself headbanging to this, and the sudden urge to jump up and punch
the air wildly, like it had stolen something from me. The only thing
I can seem to find that is wrong with this demo; it is 4 songs and
an intro, too fucking short! I want more ASAP!! Get this raw,
beautiful throwback angst drenched, spiked fist in the face of
modern slickly produced bullshit. - Dale
https://www.reverbnation.com/violentrevolution1
http://www.violentrevolution.net
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This is the
debut single, “I am In Hell” from Vorzug, a new band from the
Phoenix, AZ area. The band plays a very old school style of
blackened death metal, with some thrashy guitars in the song. The
song is mid-paced, with some great killer guitar solos and riffs in
the debut song. The drumming goes from extremely fast thrashy drums
down to a middle paced range. The vocalist, starts off with the
death growls, but towards the middle of the song, it switches up to
old school black metal screams. I am very eager, to hear the debut
when it is released, but for now if you are into digital songs /
downloads, then get a copy of this one.
- Patrick
https://www.facebook.com/vorzugmetal
http://www.reverbnation.com/vorzug
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Damn, it seems
like I get a lot of quality stuff to review, from bands emanating
out of Texas. Whore Of Bethlehem are no exception, this Austin Texas
band immediately rub raw the senses, both audial and visually
speaking, when you hit play and then start reading their song titles
and lyrics. I must say first off, the guitar sound on here is
fucking massive and brutal, I love it, and those riffs simply crush
all unfortunate to get caught in its path! If is obvious, to me at
least, listening to this that these guys are big fans of a large
section of the old Floridian death metal style. I can definitely
hear influences from bands like Morbid Angel, Deicide, Malevolent
Creation etc… Maybe I imagining things, but I think I hear a little
Dismember in there as well. But these guys are tight, barbaric; they
keep the song writing dynamic and even mix in some frenetic solos.
The drummer is a beast, he mixes it up well and puts in a Herculean
performance, and he matches those massive riffs step for step and
beyond. The vocalist also varies his vocals, slowing it down in
sections, speeding it up his growls in others, slipping in an out of
a higher, more nasally sound for brief periods and spits out
growling yells at emotional high points in songs. I am pretty
impressed with the vocal work on here, it is not just growling
slapped over top of music, there is thought and timing put into his
pissed off roaring. For me, this is a great young band, to keep an
eye out for as fans of old school Floridian death metal will wet
themselves listening to this album. - Dale
http://www.whoreofbethlehem.com/
http://www.reverbnation.com/whoreofbethlehem
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I love this
bands attitude and honesty in their bio, I also can really relate to
them as they speak about playing a style similar to what they grew
up listening to through tape trading, plus talk of being old. I am
right with you brother, grew up on tape trading too (early to mid
90s) and I am also an old goat in this fucking scene haha. The four
songs on here for me simply are fantastic, they are heavy, they are
rocking, they are dark and they are dripping with old school
intensity and attitude. Not to mention combining some of my
favourite bands and styles as influence. I am not even sure where to
start but think of mixing classic Celtic Frost / Hellhammer, Venom
together with Dismember, Grave, Darkthrone (especially their
releases where they show their Frost influence) and even some
Motorhead thrown into the mix for good measure. The vocals kind of
follow suit to those influences I mention above, a mix of old thrash
gruff yelling with a decipherable growling undertone. They wear
their musical hearts on their sleeve, and I like that, we share that
metal heart and it is hard to tear apart. I say if you are a product
of the 80s and early 90s metal and miss those days, With Burning
Contempt is for you. Keep the ancient flame burning and the spiked
fist pounding! - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/WithBurningContempt http://www.reverbnation.com/withburningcontempt
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This Chilean
band took me by surprise and in a good way. There are only two songs
on here, but they are both killers and not short songs. Worship
Death play grimy, pulverizing old school death metal in the vein of
Autopsy, Repulsion, Dismember, Grave etc… This is some pretty
fucking glorious stuff. It brings back that old feeling, very nicely
to the point; I can almost taste the air of ripping open one of my
tape traders packages from the early 90s. I love the trademark
Autopsy style drumming and angry bee in a box gutfuck riffing. The
vocals are like hearing an obscure recording, emanating from a pit,
that serves as the mouth of hell. About the only even remotely
negative thing I could say is, I wish the mix on the recording was a
little better, more even, and the first song could use a little more
flow to the pacing. But otherwise, I can not recommend this enough,
to old school death metal die hards!! - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/worshipdeathmetal
https://worshipdeathmetal.bandcamp.com/
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