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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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The Swedish
purveyors of filth return already with yet another attack already.
Aggressive Mutilator is a very prolific band, they released three
demos and a seven inch in 2012 alone. They show no signs of slowing
down as you can see this is the second demo they sent me this year
already! The sounds on Death Toll VI is very rhythmic, almost
ritualistic feeling, they still play that dirty thrash style but the
music on here reminds me a lot of old thrashing black metal bands
from the late ‘80s / early ‘90s. You know stuff from that time
period like Mortuary Drape, Necromantia, Vital Remains or even
something like the “Inside The Circle Of The Pentagram” demo from
Morningstar or the “Satanas Tedeum” demo from Rotting Christ mixed
with some Celtic Frost. You know I worship all of that, so it is no
surprise that I also like the stripped down low-fi sickness of the
Mutilator. I need to go to Scandinavia one day soon and see a gig
with Aggressive Mutilator playing alongside Axeslaughter and Bestial
Mockery, I might not make it out alive! - 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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This is
something different from what I usually get and that is a nice
change of pace. Not to mention they are from my homeland (or the old
country if you prefer) of Canada. It is always a pleasure to get
some music from back home. Ancient Obliteration play a quirky sort
of thrash and death metal mixture most often played at a pounding
slower to mid-paced speed. They sing about monsters and cool shit
like that from what I can gather, you know the kind that wreck
cities, slither out of swamps, ooze puss and sending people
scurrying like roaches when someone turns on a light. The production
is clear enough for me but also kind of muddy and obscure sounding,
but if you read Canadian Assault often you know I tend to like that
kind of thing. The vocals of Geoff Olson are excellent and I never
tire of hearing them. They are part shouted, part growled with that
old school thrash gruff clarity and he comes across a little bit
like he is an off-kilter mad man that stepped out of one of those
cheesy but great 70s horror flicks. Actually musically their
attitude and quirkiness makes me think somewhat of another great old
messed up Canadian thrash band I worshiped growing up by the name of
Dayglo Abortions. You mix Dayglo Abortions with some great old
American deathrashdoom sicko bands like Righteous Pigs, Impetigo and
Goatlord, then smatter in a healthy dose of their own sound and you
have Ancient Obliteration. Seriously the more I listen to these guys
it makes me think of a more off-balance slightly more modern version
of Righteous Pigs (which featured Mitch Harris of Defecation/Napalm
Death fame in its ranks). I loved the Pigs so that is a compliment.
Ancient Obliteration is probably an acquired taste for some that
like it all slick and by the numbers. For the rest of you reading
this check out these dirty sounding, fuzzy monster obsessed pervs
out. – Dale
http://ancientobliteration.blogspot.com/
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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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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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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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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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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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This seems to be
a brand new record label, so new it was very hard to find any kind
of an online presence for the label. The same, to a lesser extent
with the three bands they are kicking off the label with, all of
whom are apparently brand new bands as well. Those three bands are
Relentless, Nocturne, and Deathcult, with the exception of Deathcult
who previously had a demo out, none of the other bands have released
anything. Now I do not know if this is the label of one of the
bands. But two of the bands Relentless & Deathcult are one man bands
and both are the same man (Tim Pearons) doing everything for both
bands. Nocturne is also a one man band, but a different guy than the
other two one man bands, you got all of that straight haha? I think
I do now. This release is basically a three song sampler, with one
song form each band and one song is obviously not a lot to go on,
but I will try my best. Relentless, as soon as I read the name I
wondered if it was a Pentagram influenced band and named themselves
after that bands classic album. That is the case they are very
Pentagram influenced, a really cool song, entitled “United By
Darkness”, replete with Bobby Liebling copy vocals. I like
Relentless and want more, I am sucker for this stuff! Noturne hit us
up with the song “Pain of Purity”, hard to take away a lot from one
song, but I would say it is some interesting melodic flowing catchy
death metal, not bad stuff. Finishing things off, we have Deathcult,
who brandish a flaming sword of bitter, early 90s black metal
destruction with a fuzzy, otherworldly fuzzy guitar sound, some cool
riffing, a bit too stop and start in the middle for my liking, but
it does add some dynamic to the song. The production is clear enough
but pretty low-fi stuff which can be a positive with this style of
bm. With this band I feel I need more material to make any kind of
judgment, some stuff I really liked and some stuff I was so-so on
with this track. One thing is for sure apparently Do Or Die Records
plans to burst into 2013 like a blaze across the northern sky, as
all three bands will be releasing full length records in first few
months of the year. On a final note, love the artwork on the front
and the killer fanzine style page borders on the inside of the
booklet. - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/DoOrDieRecords
DoOrDieProductions@gmail.com |
https://soundcloud.com/empireofthescourged
http://www.empireofthescourged.com/
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This is the debut e.p from the Texas based Enormicon I guess the
best way to describe this band would be is a mix of stoner rock,
traditional doom, and older prog music. It's not really my styles of
music so this review is going to suck as I don't too much about
these particular genres. So I will say if you are a Sabbath or High
On Fire fan or just old-school doom in general then you might enjoy
Enormicon.
- Patrick
http://www.myspace.com/enormiconmetal
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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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The
fascinatingly cool and enigmatic, Guilty As Sin, once again grace
the pages of Canadian Assault. Guilty As Sin, has always been a
bitch to nail down with a style to classify them. They are simply
all over the place and it is quite amazing their albums manage
retain a coherent lucid flow to them. I mean you can hear damn near
everything out of these guys, from Scifi / space rock to thrash and
hardcore metal, to death metal to punk, jazz bits, to pure
atmospheric wandering ambient music! Hell every now and then they
throw in belly dancing music, I shit you not. Also I should convey,
a lot of the time they do not do all of these styles in the confines
of one song, rather there can be a hardcore song, an ambient song
follows that, a thrash song and then a middle eastern belly dance
song. They keep you guessing and you just do not know what is around
the next corner as one song ends and the other begins. Future
History is no exception you get some ripping, heavy headbang tunes,
you get some really epic; at times almost awe inspiring guitar
ambient songs that will set your mind off wandering into the cosmos.
Then abruptly you jolted with some blast beating grind death metal
madness to slap you back awake. The vocals, which is another thing
whole sections of GAS albums have none, but when they are there with
this album on the more aggressive metal tracks. I hear a real Master
influence in those vox, they sound like they could have almost come
right off of the “On The Seventh Day God Created…Master” album, love
those vocals. No matter what you get with this band, it usually has
a sense of purpose, and vision, generally all pulled off with an
uncanny sense of emotive feel and care. I am not sure these guys are
for everyone, but they are for me, I think they are pretty fantastic
and you should at least give them a try. You might just be
surprised. - Dale
http://www.myspace.com/guiltymusic2008
ovoianrocks@yahoo.com
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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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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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Italian death
metal brutality, the production is pretty rough and muddy, but fuck
this is a demo people. The production still gets across what the
band were going for. Which is some brutal, unrelenting death metal
backed up with some pounding drum work. The vocals of Klaudia are
probably a bit of an acquired taste, I mostly quite liked them,
though at times were a touch grating. Nothing groundbreaking here or
that you have not heard before, but there is some talent there and
you can see with a little more time to simmer they might come up
with something special. This was another disc sent to me by Paul
Caravasi of Aquelarre zine, and like the other band Killing The
Reason, I will be interested to hear what this band does next, could
be something devastating. This release in the meantime is worth a
listen, as long as you are not one of those super picky assholes
with production, you might dig this one. - Dale
http://www.reverbnation.com/iwillkillyou666
https://www.facebook.com/1IWKY
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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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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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Ahhh the gods of brutal underground death metal return! After
hearing the 2008 demo Vae Victis {which can be downloaded for free
on the bands F.B page!}. I was hooked on this German bands catchy,
brutal and just plain vicious death metal style. It is full of fast,
thick guitars that build from mid-paced to all out whirlwind riffs
and masterful played solo's. The drumming is precise with the
speedy, blast beats chaotic in some songs while other structures are
more heavy, mid-paced drum beats. Timm's vocals are vicious deep
death growls with some higher screams and fit perfectly with Mental
Killing Spree's original brutal death metal style. Fans of brutal
straight-forward death metal are urged to check this band out
today!
- Patrick
https://myspace.com/mentalkillingspree
https://www.facebook.com/mentalkillingspree
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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/ |
Prayer Of The Dying from Malta have returned with a brand new
release of all new material. Main man Martin Ciappara {vocals,
instruments} has some friends, musicians that help him out on Gods
Failed Creation. As always Martin does a great job of writing and
creating a unique style of blackened death metal with some doomish
element. On the song "The Desert Inside" features female vocals
which are only used in a few lines {and if I am not mistaken this is
the first time Martin has ever used female vocals with Prayer Of
Dying} which sound really good and fit nicely with Martin's musical
writing style so hopefully he will consider using more female vocals
in the future {as long as he does over do it like so many bands do
these days} If you have heard past Prayer Of The Dying releases and
liked them definitely get Gods Failed Creation as it is the bands
most creative and strongest release to date.
- Patrick
http://www.reverbnation.com/prayerofthedying
http://prayerofthedying.yolasite.com/
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Germany's Running Death have just released their second Mcd "The
Call Of Extinction”. The music comes across between fast and
speedy thrash and some influences of old-school heavy metal. The
guitars are done with a lot of talent and creativity, writing some
blazing fast riffs and then slowing it down, to a more mid
paced range that is very memorable. The drums are chaotic in some
parts of the Mcd and other times very controlled. The vocalist has a
good range with some good hollering/yelling vocals and
even some deeper thrashy screams. I will
admit that this could've been better in some areas,
but on the other hand I've heard much worse. So if you’re a fan of
metal music {thrash / heavy metal}
give this band a listen and judge for yourself.
- Patrick
http://runningdeath.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/runningdeath
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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 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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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 |
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 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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I have to
commend this Wisconsin band, on going all out on the promotion
front; they sent a very complete and impressive promotional package.
I have not seen this much effort, money and patience put in to a
promo package for probably a decade now (Yeah I have been at this a
long time I know) at least. It was a little more common place back
then, but these days in the age of digital downloads and everything,
well it is nice to see. Warseid play I suppose more of a European
style black folk metal. Now this is listed as an ep, but you get 30
minutes of music, to Decide and a lot of bands would consider that
album length. The vocals are harsh black metal rasps with a growling
undertone type of vox, they are fine for what they are, but I have
to be honest, for me, to my ear they do not really suit the music
very well. They just do not seem to convey or match the energy or
emotion of the music or seem to fit very well to the music, if you
know what I mean? It is not one of those cases where you go I can
not imagine a different vocalist in there, I can and the one I
imagine is a better fit. The music itself is some good black metal,
not really harsh or low-fi, yet they do not abandon their aggressive
or hateful roots altogether either. No it is a little crisper, with
a slight punchy metal edge, but that edge is rounded off by some of
the symphonic elements and nice rhythms and well thought out, catchy
harmonies. The music is really pretty solid, it could honestly use a
bit more flow though, it is a tad rigid and not always seamless when
transitioning from straight up parts to the more symphonic or
melodic sections. But that will come with time; I am sure because
there obviously is some imagination and talent on display here with
Where Fate Lies Unbound. I think fans of the more symphonic or
melodic black metal and folk sounding bands will be interested in
this one. Yes it is not without its faults, but at the same time it
nicely displays a talented band still finding their way they just
need to work on those vocals first, of course. – Dale
http://www.reverbnation.com/warseid
http://www.warseid.com/
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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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