måndag 16 december 2013

DEICIDE "In The Minds Of Evil"

The legendary Deicide is here with a new album and a new guitarplayer. What will we hear this time, lyrics about the environment and bad politics? Well, not really. But the titletrack is actually about suicide terrorists if I have understood the message right. Otherwise you will get "your" Glen spitting out his rage against Christ and his friends. The rage just never ends. As the last record the production is very clean, almost too clean. But it´s ok for me, just crank the volume and bass up to 10. I have seen different opinions of this record, many praise it like "The Stench Of Redemption" but I have also seen people calling it bland. I am somewhere in between. The approach is aggressive and Steve Asheim blasts like an eager teenager. Glen doesn´t his dual voice attacks at all this time. It´s mostly his low grunts, and he sounds good this time. Full of anger, but he also articulates pretty well. I think the songs are decent, lots of pretty good riffs and very good leads, thanx to Kevin Quirion whom plays most solos(If I am right?) He plays very skillful and the solos really fit the songs, not just wankery for the sake of it. As I said, the songs are decent and really solid, but the riffs that really grabs you by the throat and doesn´t let go are fewer. The no.1 standout song for me is absolutely "Godkill" with a cool chorus, quite simple song but effective. That chorus sticks in my head all day when I´ve heard it. With a band like Deicide you want to get smashed and "riff-alized" until you can´t breathe anymore, but unfortunately I can´t find a lot of those memorable songs here. If this record were made by a less wellknown band I´ve would probably gave it a higher score, life isn´t fair.  If you´re in a band like Deicide, you have pretty high demands.

 After 20+ listens I give this one...

6,5/10

söndag 24 november 2013

DEATH ANGEL "The Dream Calls For Blood"

My first memory of Death Angel harks back to 1990 when I was about to buy "Act III". Now 23 years later they are back again with their fourth album after their comeback in 2004. And do they sound vital?? My one and only answer is a big fuckin´ YES. Since this monster of an album was released I have been spinning it over and over and over again. They have managed to create an album that is full of catchy songs with hooks and Mark Osegueda is in, what must be the best shape of his life. His voice rips, and shreds like a razor through all the songs like he was in his 20`s and hungry for world domination. Well, they have just made an album that you will not be able to sit still for many seconds, although I am guy far beyond my twenties I just can´t stop banging my head to this. You won´t get a lot of  epic songs with complicated soundscapes, but you will get RIFFS, RIFFS and even more great RIFFS. It´s not full throttle every second, but the slower  moments just makes the faster parts even better. The last song "Territorial Instinct-Bloodlust" is the most thoughtful song with blistering solos. The most important ingridient in this kind of music we all call thrash metal is to be able to create monster riffs. If Testament´s latest release is a monster in terms of epic songs, "The Dream Calls For Blood" is the record you wanna hear if you are a riff addict like me. Are there any downsides of this record? Not really actually, I like all songs. There is about less than 10 seconds of this record that isn´t top notch if you ask me. Talking of Mark´s voice again. In the end of the song "Detonate" his voice reaches heights (or if you wanna call it highs) I didn´t think was possible, incredible. We have a lof of crazy thrash but also with some great melodies and really great solos included. The drumming is  also solid and punchy. Well, I can´t ask for a lot more of a modern thrash release, I hope you feel the same! Thrash and burn, reload and thrash again.

10/10

onsdag 13 november 2013

NEGATOR "Gates To Pantheon"

German black metal has really made an impact on me lately with bands like Endstille, Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult and Negator. I know that their vocalist has been a bit bashed for his shortlived presensce in one of the biggest bm bands in the universe, Dark Funeral. Well, some people will always complain, I have never felt the need of bashing someone on the internet, what´s the point? Well, this review is about Negator´s new opus, and this time they have really nailed (almost) everything. I am very easy to please when it comes to bm though, as long as it not sounds too melodic nor have too much slow parts. Negator knows how to make intense and cruel bm with a lot of great sounding blasting. I love blasting, especially when the drums and the production is this good. Maybe the production could be a bit heavier and dirtier, but the drums sound tight and not too Pro Tools infected. The guitars could also be a bit crunchier but if you want buzzsaw guitars, put on Dismember dude. The guitarsolos on "Gates.." are very well thought out and quite melodic but I like the contrast between brutality and (some kind of) melody. Negator gives us a lot of blasting, but they also give us a lot of catchiness and songs full of  bloodchilling riffs and horrifying soundscapes. Nachtgarm does a terrific job as a vocalist. If I should mention any band sounding similar it would be Dark Funeral. Generic, in a good way of course,typical black metal riffing and a feeling of literally being in hell. There are dirtier and more gruesome bands out there, but the sound of this is evil enough to please me and hopefully several thousands of metalheads worldwide. Chaos and terror can be this beatiful, so get into the warfield  and prepare to bang your head to this  massacre.

Standout tracks: "Carnal Malefactor", this song has pretty much everything you could ask for in this kind of bm. "Bringer Of War",the chorus really sticks into my head.
"The Urge For Battle", great blasts and a feeling of being stuck in a nightmare.
"Epiclesis" Perfect opening track, you want to hear more...

8,5/10



lördag 28 september 2013

ABOMINANT "Onward To Annihilation"

Yes, this is what I like. Deathgasm Records rarely disappoints, and one of their best bands, yet sadly underrated are Abominant, these guys are what they say they are. "Fuckin´ Old School" Nothing fancy, no metalcore, no clean vocals. Just dirty, raw death metal played in a quite simple but skillful way. The music just oozes of the good old days, like you had stopped the time in the late eightes/early nineties. The production is also a bomb, heavy yet clear. Speaking of the songs, the only song that sets apart from the rest is "Hold Your Ground" which could be on any Exciter album, those high shrieks included. Pretty cool and unexpected. Otherwise you get your fix of unholy and stunning death metal with a lot of attitude. I don´t like all these bands from the stoneage but some of them surely know how to write killer riffs all the way, it´s like magic. Either you have it or you don´t. These guys got the whole concept, great name, great logo, great album titles, chunky riffs and that old rotten image with either no hair or long hair, mostly dressed in shirts with bands that (almost) nobody knows about. They mean every single note and word they express, this is real quality. This is death metal. Yes, real death metal for the diehards, not for those Black Dahlia Murder kids. Obey and listen to this guys and girls, men and women!

9/10
ABORTED "Global Flatline"

I saw Aborted live yesterday, it was very explosive and very tight. Just as it should be. Did I like it? Well, it was intense and professional but I lacked a bit of that important death metal feeling, it was a little too much of the new stuff displayed including slams and metalcore/Gothenburg dm influences. All these things together never satisfies me, I like it alone(not Gothenburg death metal) but a death metal band that incorporate all those styles don´t do it for me. On this new record, mr vocalist mixes those "Black Dahlia Murder" vocals with pig squeals and a voice somewhere in between. A band that started their career with a record like "The Purity Of Perversion" and nowadays look like a hardcore band except for the drummer and one of the guitarists just isn´t my thing. The look of the band come to life in the music too. Maybe I am a bit of a purist, but for me the whole death metal thing is about music AND image, can you imagine a band like Immolation playing in shorts and beanies? Not me. Well the music on this disc is not bad, but as I said before you gotta decide what to sound like and what to look like and build your image around these criterias. You got a lot of songs with twists, turns and great grinding but I guess the songs appeal better to the kids than to me? When I want metalcore/thrashcore (or whatever you wanna call it) I put All Out War in my player, and when I want death metal I listen to Incanation and so on. Give me a real death metal record next time guys, you got all the skills to do do it!

5,5/10

tisdag 20 augusti 2013

GORGUTS "Colored Sands"

It´s always hard to review a record by a band like Gorguts. First and foremost they have recorded one of the most extreme records ever when it comes to strange rhythm patterns and riffing you only hear on planets above the earth. I guess you either prefer their earlier works with more focus on pure death metal, or the latter with focus on the very complex side of extreme metal. I think "From Wisdom To Hate" is a great record. It has their trademark crazy riffing, brutality, Luc Lemay´s desperate vocals and the atmosphere from another dimension of this universe. I am a bit divided in my thoughts for this new album, the first three songs sound a bit too slow for my taste. But the title track includes some great grinding within the cacophony of tones from your darkest and weirdest nightmare. Well I need some speed to get satisfied, otherwise I get bored even if it is flawlessly played with rich amounts of great musical knowledge and with a production you only hear from these Canadians . Maybe I am too "old school", but when one start to incorporate violins in "The Battle of Chamdo" and other stuff belonging to classical music I tend to be a little uninterested. (I understand that this kind of song is meant to be a moment of breathing before the next storm comes). In my opinion it would have been better to have this song at the end of the record. I have the deepest respect for these musicians but you can´t love it(the music) all, can you?. The next song that captures me is "Enemies of Compassion" which reminds me of the "From Wisdom To Hate" record. Really aggressive and very fu-king catchy (In a Gorguts way). "Absconders" follows and you got a Gorguts in great shape. Midpaced song with atonal chords as usual. One of the more brutal songs "Reduced To Silence" end this record. A good choice. Well, this record is like a neverending artistic cacophony of sounds that you hopefully can imagine in a strange dream. Exactly what you should expect from Gorguts today. Is it good. Yes, it´s very good. Is it excellent? In my taste, I would have preferred a more straightforward record. Maybe I have changed my mind in a few weeks, but right now I give this one 10 for being unique and 7 for being good but not great. And the cover is artistic supremacy, so I guess I have to give this record...

8,5/10

fredag 9 augusti 2013

BLOOD RED THRONE "Blood Red Throne"

When it comes to death metal Norway hasn´t been very successful, Sweden has been much more in the forefront. But anyway Blood Red Throne is one of the exceptions, they have slayed and tortured since 1998 and they still do. Lately "Souls of Damnation" and "Come Death" have appealed to me a lot. Crunch, hooks and speed have been their trademarks. In 2011 they changed label to Sevared Records, known for their bands with gory and perverse covers. Well, "Brutalitarian Regime" didn´t impress me a lot(Even if the cover actually is cool). It was too generic and not much happened in the songs. Now they are back with a blastfest and a new vocalist who uses both "highs" and "lows" in a very good way. He sounds very demented when he shrieks (that´s a good thing, it´s death metal huh?), and growls decent, not phenomenal but way better than most of the label´s bands vocalists. This record is a beast that really hits you hard and goes for the throat. You have both heavy parts and incredible blastbeat hammering. The good thing about this record is that I can´t get enough of the songs, I always want to hear more, cause they are very diverse and never get boring. You can hear that these fellas are experienced musicians with a passion to destroy in a very pleasent way. Crushing riffs, great solos and a production that is very good, it´s dirty but you can hear all the instruments, at least you can hear the bass if you wear headphones. Now and then the bass is more audible (even withouth headphones), and that´s always a good thing. Even if it´s not Erlend Casperssen playing the bass. You get the most out of this record if you want bonegrinding death metal with a lot of attitude, this is death metal, not tech death, thank you guys. It´s very well played but not in a whanky way. The play raw and dirty death metal, but it doesn´t sound "old" it sounds fresh and vital all the way.

9/10

måndag 29 juli 2013

FUELED BY FIRE "Trapped In Perdition"

The third record from a band is always critical. "Will we be left in the shadows or will we tour the world?" one could think. Fueled By Fire started as the typical "kill the poser" band with their "Spread The Fire" record, they relased their superb "Plunging Into Darkness" quite recently due to some delays.That one had a darker approach and was a bit more serious. This one is even more serious with a very dark atmosphere. The first track "Catastrophe" has by the way a mainriff that is very similar to "Defensive Personalities" by the almighty Death. The production and especially the guitarsound is pretty similar to "Spiritual Healing" but with a modern touch. It continues with both death and thrash metal riffing and whole lot of attitude and personality, the vocals are still thrash (as fu*k) though. The much more darker songs (and lyrics) can first be a bit hard to take in, if you are used to the earlier works. But don´t be let down in sorrow my friend, this one grows if you listen to the record as a thrash/death record and don´t care about what you think it would sound like. There are a lot of great riffing here and the solos are amazing! The record as a whole feels very genuine and solid. I guess my favorite tracks so far are "Suffering Entities", "Profane Path" and "Defaced Mortality" with its heavy opening riff. Listen also to "Forsaken Deity" which has an opening riff that is not exactly similar but has chord progressions that remind of "Twisted Truth" by Pestilence.  My opinion is that this record is not as great as the last one, but I still like it a lot.

7,5/10



söndag 21 juli 2013

CHAPEL OF DISEASE "Summoning Black Gods"

Death metal is not just music, it´s a way of expression. An artform. Chapel Of Disease is for starters a very cool name, it sounds good and it looks good when it´s printed. "Summoning Black Gods" could be a black metal title as well, but it really fits the cover. And yeah, the cover is also very attractive. Horror and death metal goes hand in hand. This german band is pretty new, and as their countrymates in Deserted Fear they play death metal with a dirty but amazingly headbangable style . They are kind of common in sound too, like cross between old Death, Morgoth and Asphyx. Their vocalist Laurent Teubl has a voice reminiscent of all these aforementioned bands mixed together. Raspy, throaty and crunchy. The music itself is like I said before very easy to like, not overly technical but with a lot of punch and great guitar riffing. The riffing is everything in music, and these guys nail it well. You will get NO slams, NO shitty pig squeals, but a lot of GREAT music and GREAT vocals. I really like the flow in the songs, you never get tired of them, cause there is always an interesting riff comin`, combined with a nearly perfect production. You get the sound of the late 80´s/early 90´s with a heavy yet raw production. You might like this piece of music, I do.

8,5/10

söndag 14 juli 2013

SCENT OF DEATH "Of Martyr´s Agony and Murder"

Death metal is one of my biggest passions in life, and I have heard a lot of bands through the years.  Today I am pretty picky, and I know after a few seconds or minutes if I will like the band or not. I heard within like five seconds that this was something really interesting. This band from Spain is something you have to remember if you like catchy, yet brutal death metal with a huge amount of dynamics and instrumental flawlessness. You will hear influences from bands like Hour Of Penance, Mithras, some Morbid Angel like riffing and the weird soundscapes of Gorguts. They have the ability to create something unique out of these influences, and you´re always eager to hear the next chord or rhythm change. Even if it´s very technical (and brutal) it never gets out of hand, and you will hear a lot of very cool and unexpected fretboard magic. I also really like the drummer Rolando Barros of this band, you can hear that he is talented and hopefully you´ll always like the outcome since it´s always tastefully done even while it is technical. What´s up with the vocalist then?  Death metal vocalists has to be at the top of the game to interest me and actually Sergio Alfonso reminds me of a mix of Luc Lemay of Gorguts and Fransesco Paoli of Hour Of Penance. Not bad, not bad.
This band has not paid me for this review, actually this band has the guts and talent to go on tour with a more well known band. Now!

9,5/10

fredag 12 juli 2013

HATRIOT "Heroes Of Origin"

This must be the ultimate metal family! Ex vocalist och Exodus and Testament, Steve Souza unleashes a sharp old school thrashfest with his two sons. Pretty unique in the metalworld. I stumbled across this band in a swedish mag where Massacre Records had an ad. I decided to check em out. And man, I wasn´t disappointed. Steve may be old but he sounds as pissed as ever, and his bandmates beats the shit out of their instruments, though very tightly played and there are plenty of catchy hooks everywhere. They are quite similiar to Exodus in sound, but hey do you mind? I remember when I heard "Impact is Imminent" and "Fabolous Disaster" for the first time ( a long time ago) and Steve sounds exactly the same today, weird, crazy and full of that throaty raspy voice which is almost impossible to imitate.(Well, Bobby in Overkill has kind of same voice, but he doesn´t sound this mad)As I said before I hear a lot of great riffs here, and the guitars sound like monsters, crunchy and crisp. A lot of good leads too. Well, the drummer Nick Souza is a tight guy when it comes to bash the skins of his drums, it´s thrash metal so it´s not overly technical but very good and with a lot of attitude and punch, he even grinds now and then.  The production overall is very good, not too clean and not too muddy. I like almost every song on this album, but among the highlights are "Suicide Run", "Weapons of Class Destruction", Murder American Style", "The Violent Time of My Dark Passenger" and "The Mechanics of Annihilation". You got a time of murderous riffing ahead of you. Don´t hesitate, this is great thrash metal! And by they way, look out Exodus..

8,5/10

onsdag 10 juli 2013

ABDICATE "Transcend Through Sacrifice"

Pretty new band Abdicate on Sevared Records hit me like a sledgehammer a few days ago. I didn´t expect it to be this good. For starters, Sevared Records have released a lot of records lately with vocals I can´t stand. If you have read my reviews here, you know I despise pig squeals. But this band´s vocalist manage to stay away from which I loathe the most, most of the time actually. Abdicate reminds me of good and catchy mix of Sepsism and Suture. A lot of brutality, a lot of bonebreaking grinding but with enough hooks to make you wanna go wild in the moshpit. The production is pretty compressed, especially the snare, but it´s ok, I can live with it since the rest of the music slays in a very good way. It happens a lot, but you will not get lost among all the cacophony. In other words, you will always be able to follow the thread without feeling like jerk for not being able to keep up. Unfortunately, their new record has a lot of pig squeals...but that´s another story since this one is good enough to make me wanna listen to this record over and over again without being tired of it.

8,5/10
CRUCIFIED BARBARA "The Midnight Catch"

Swedish hardrock group with sleaze influences CB comes with another dose of  songs (often) on the rougher side of the coin. Vocalist Klara Force has a voice with enough attitude and sound, when she sounds angry and most dirty her voice oozes of cigarettes and whiskey. That is not often the case with female singers unfortunately, most of them sound too weak for my taste. Klara doesn´t sing harsh as hell all the time, but when she does, her voice is a lot above average female vocalists. Well, the first song "The Crucifier" starts of with an almost thrasy riff which makes me smile. There are a lot of good songs here, like the aforementioned and "Into The Fire", "Shut Your Mouth", "Everything we Need", but the song that had the most easily remembered chorus is "Kid From The Upperclass" The mainriff is almost juvenile but has a lot of punch. The most unusual song on this album must be "Count Me In", some type of ballad, but I can´t really take it in. It´s not bad, but it doesn´t fit on this album. I think they maybe wanted the song to be like a break in the middle of the record, to make us beg for more sticky riffs. The rest of the record got songs like "Rock me like a devil" and "Rules and Bones" which are good, but not groundbreaking. If you wanna listen to one of Europe´s best all-girl hardrock bands, listen to this but don´t expect every song to be a monster.  Anyway, they kick ass live that´s for sure.


7/10

onsdag 3 juli 2013

DEEDS OF FLESH "Portals To Canaan"

DEEDS OF FLESH "Portals To Canaan"

My admiration for this band has never ended, though it has not been that great the last years, since I think they have already peaked with albums like "Trading Pieces", "Inbreeding..." , "Path of the Weakening" and "Reduced To Ashes", and also "Of What´s to Come" even if it´s a bit different. Very good albums with Mike Hamilton´s brilliant drumming technique as the No.1 musician, his drumming is just amazing. Though he hasn´t played on all records. Well, this new one has really needed some time to grow on me. As many people know they have turned more into technical death metal than just "brutal" death metal these days. Of course this is great, they have the songwriting skills and the instrumental skills, and this is very good according to today´s standards among death metal bands, leaning more towards the sophisticated style of playing. For me it has kind of grown a bit stale, since many of the bands tend to sound the same. A whole lot of wankery, (too) clean production and covers reminding me of something from outer space more than crude, dirty death metal with the intent to kill instantly. Deeds Of Flesh is a very good band and Erik Lundmark sounds like in the old days, still great. Deeds Of Flesh has not abandoned their old sound completely. Songs like "Celestial Serpents" "Xeno-Virus", "Hollow Human Husks" and "Portals To Canaan" kick a lot of ass , they incorporate plenty of their old style death metal in these songs except for maybe "Portals.." The record ends with a good but not groundbreaking cover by Gorguts. All in all this record gives you "bang for the buck" if you can stand their more modern style on half of the record.

6,5/10

tisdag 4 juni 2013

LECHEROUS NOCTURNE "Behold The Almighty Doctrine"

Back again after a little hiatus. Busy schedule lately. Back again to review the long awaited new album from one of my favouritebands when it comes to creating brutal, technical  and crude death metal with one main goal, to destroy and demand the listener to really listen and not just "headbang" cause this is some intense stuff. Their first record was more generic, but still good. Generic can be good as long as it has some kind of dirty energy and personality. The last one was a real blast and this new one is kind of a natural continuation of their ferocious slab of violent music. You can hear influences from bands like Japan´s Desecravity, Hate Eternal at their most extreme times, Angelcorpse(the furious typical riffing now and then) and Malignancy(crazy rhythm patterns) add to that some black metal chords  but with their unique own twist, blackened horrifying death metal is a quite good description of this one. At first it can be a bit hard to take in everything that happens on this disc, cause there is wonderful controlled chaos goin´on. Both the guitars and drums play some really technical stuff, I will not mention twentyfive different kinds of techinques that are being used, since I am not really interested in musical theory but the music that is played as an artform. These guys incorporate pretty much everything you want from a great death metal band, maybe the rhythm patterns they use are at times a bit hard to digest even for the most diehard death metal fanatic. It´s very intense, not in a Origin way but it almost hurts when you listen to this, because of the extreme amount of bonebreaking passages that are not for the weak of heart. The vocals, that are flawless, clear and throaty at the same time with a lot of power, the riffing, the drums, that absolutely kill, he blasts tightly like a madman,and the production are all very in your face, actually they can all together break faces(!) I can feel when I am listening to this that sometimes I want more dynamics, cause some of the memorable songs got lost within all the whirlwinds of chaotic riffing and drumming. This one is excellent if you want to clear your brain and have an evening full of headcracking riffs. If you want something more easy to relax to , listen to "To Hell With God" by Deicide or something like that. Because this is death metal for musicians and people whom really like extreme, yet very good death metal with the intent to kill.

8/10

lördag 11 maj 2013

IMMOLATION "Kingdom Of Conspiracy"

The New Yorkers with the vocalist Ross Dolan (the guy with the loooongest hair in the business) and Robert Vigna as the leaders of this everlasting death metal machine give us their latest album of intricate riffing and weird tempo changes. Yes, you got it, you will never hear clean singing or keyboards from these guys. From the "Dawn of Possession" album in 1991, to these days they have evolved through the years brilliantly. I can only remember that "Here In After" didn´t impress me that much. Otherwise they have always delivered full throttle, dark, heavy, intense and unique death metal. Always technical but not so technical you feel it´s a competition in who plays most notes per second. You will always hear that it is Immolation. Their riffing and the voice of the almighty Ross Dolan is terrific. I count him in my "big 4" among guys like John Tardy, Erik Rutan and David Vincent. His voice is darker than most vocalists and so powerful,  you can also hear everything he growls about if you listen carefully. This time around they give us lyrics about the world downfall, we´re all victims of the system that controls us. Smart and thought out lyrics about this scary place called earth, and not so much about questioning religion. The production is kind of similar to "Majesty And Decay". Heavy and crunchy, yet clear. Maybe I want some more dirt in the production, than it would be perfect. What can I say about the musicianship? Not much flaws here either, they know what they do and they do it damn well. The riffs crawl under your skin like snakes and the atmosphere created is utter tasteful darkness as usual. What I want is even more memorable songs, but Immolation is not really the kind of band that gives you catchy songs, it´s more like they give us a neverending scary nightmare filled with horror and riffs delivered directly by the devil himself. The songs flow together very smoothly even without songs with a "hit factor". They got the ability to give us quality music that you wanna listen to over and over again, because of the tremendous amout of power and great spooky soundscapes like they were from another world. Big words? Yes, but I think they are that unique.The only real flaw I can find is the new logo they have used for a while, the old one is much better. Anyway, Immolation equals QUALITY.

9,5/10

torsdag 9 maj 2013

THE MONOLITH DEATHCULT "Tetragrammaton"

What happened to this band? They were a decent death metal with a sound like Nile some years ago. What now? A mix of junglemetal a la Soulfly and horrific techno, add to that goth sounding music(I even hear some samples from an ICE T song, with ICE T himself screaming I guess).The death metal is still there though, and the death metal passages are well sounding, like Nile as they used to sound. But these moments are too few.They also got strange songtitles like "Drugs, Thugs and Machetes", pretty innovative but not my cup of tea if you´re a serious metalband. You either play death metal, techno or some metal a la Soulfly. Not all combined!! Did they possibly get some inspiration from the latest crazy motherfucker of a record by Morbid Angel? No this is not good, this is just messed up. Decide what to play next time, I won´t give this piece of music a lot of running time. That is a true fact. This time you failed guys. Best song: "Gods Amongst Insects", because this one is the closest they get to the old good TMD sound. Because of some good moments and a pretty cool albumcover among all the crazy cacophony I give this one...

3,5/10




tisdag 7 maj 2013

BONDED BY BLOOD "Aftermath"

After the highly appreciated debut "Feed The Beast", Bonded By Blood came up as one of the main highlights of the thrash revival. The wild vocals of José Barrales and the explosive songs with a crunchy production were a winning combination. The second album "Exiled To Earth" was also good, maybe a bit less memorable, but still catchy and full of energy. With the loss of José on vocals there is a new kid on the block called Mauro Gonsalez. Mauro has a voice that is a bit more articulating and his vocals are a bit more sung than shouted so to speak, he reminds me at times of the vocalist in Heathen and Joey Belladonna of Anthrax and he also got a more harsh vocalstyle about 50% of the time. I think he is a very capable vocalist, even if some critics says he´s a bit lame. It´s always tough to release album number three, especially when the first album is (almost) counted as a classic in the genre. The production on this one is quite "80´s" (A bit dry) compared to the first two records, and the overall feeling is that Bonded By Blood plays a bit more melodic style of thrash metal, yet with a lot of great riffing and excellent leads. But this record is by no means bad, just a bit more conrolled. Forget about the first record and judge this record for what it is instead of bashing it. The next record will be a slap in my face(I hope), you always need some time to get things totally killer with a new vocalist.

7/10

tisdag 30 april 2013

SVART CROWN "Profane"

In late 2011 I got my eyes on Svart Crown and their last record "Witnessing The Fall" and was impressed by their ferocity in the same vein as Behemoth and other eastern country bands with their typical harsh sound . This time we have a bit more diverse album, which isn´t easy to take in the first times you listen to it. You can´t call them a clone of the modern death metal sound, they have more aces upon their sleeves. The sound is somewhat cold and mechanical as polish Hate has used in some of their later records, combined now and then with frenetic parts actually very much alike the american noise heroes Converge(!) The chaotic and desperate feelings are there and give the songs a more brutal and suggestive vibe. So if you´re a death and black metal purist these parts doesn´t appeal to you, but since I am a pure death and black metal fan I actually find these parts refreshing and like an extra spice upon this slab of brutality. The vocalist JB Le Bail uses both deep growls and high shrieks. He uses both a more black metal style kind of shrieks and a style more common in chaotic grind and noisecore bands. The least adapting word to this release must be "generic", because their are so much going on here. You have apocalypitc spooky parts, grinding madness and slow heavy parts. Before you know it the slow part has become a grinding nightmare ready to destroy everything in sight. Like I said before, it can take a while to really, really take in this record but once you´ve done it, it´s like a tornado of great sounding innovative metal coming at you fast and without mercy. The production could be more dirty and some of the chaotic parts could have been excluded in favour of more traditional death and black metal, otherwise I find this one really amusing and like Svart Crown will have a bright future.

8,5/10

torsdag 25 april 2013

GUTTURAL SECRETE "Nourishing The Spoil"

American brutal death metal has grown very big over the last 10 years. Bands are coming just out of everywhere, Guttural Secrete is among the more hyped bands around when it comes to bashing my head to pieces and write lyrics about topics you won´t mention to your mother. I think the brutal death genre has become very stale and generic lately with a very few good bands releasing albums worth hearing. It´s always the same kind of awful pig squeal vocals and guitars sounding like they were recorded underground in a cave full of mud. The riffing is mostly neither very interesting, just chugging, palm muted riffs in a pile with no direction, or technical stuff just for the sake of being technical. Fuck that. Well, Guttural Secrete actually impress me a little bit this time, the lyrics are still the usual gory, bloody demented, gruesome, twisted and sick stuff. But the music and production this time is pretty catchy, and quite technical without sacrificing the dynamics. But the biggest improvement is definitely the vocals, you can almost here what Jeremiah Blue Jensen growls about most of the time. A vocalist that is good, can actually make a band twice as good. If the music is well performed and the vocalist is very crappy and without any kind of uniqueness I will probably don´t give a shit about the band. Well, let´s about the music again, they use quite a lot of pinch harmonics this time. Not all the time, but every now and then. Besides that it´s pretty basic death metal riffing with a bunch of great hooks this time. If you don´t mind sicker that sick lyrics and are used to throaty vocals I think Guttural Secrete´s latest can give you some good moments. Acutally I hoped I was going to really hate this record, cause their last record wasn´t something I have listened to more than twice. Can I pinpoint something bad about this record then? Yes, actually. Even if I like the record, I need more dynamics and memorable riffs all over. Any contradictions here? Yes, sometimes I am not easy to understand folks.

7/10

tisdag 23 april 2013

DESERTED FEAR "My Empire"

This is gonna hurt, like Nikki Sixx would´ve said. German death metal in a good old fashioned way, some would call them copycats but I don´t. The sound is very similar to newer releases by Asphyx, including the voice of Mahne, he almost sounds like he IS a very angry Martin Van Drunen with a little touch of John Tardy of Obituary. Is this a bad thing? There is the original band and Asphyx have released a couple of good albums, but when the songs are this well performed and the riffs and the production are so very intense you can´t do nothing but bow to the end result. This riff fest is very hard not to like, since almost every song is like glue in my brain. Brainglue. Except the excellent riffing, the sound of this record combined with the great vocalist makes this record a very great one.
They mix that old school feeling with a fresh vibe, it sounds old but at the same time new and so full of power. The whole soundscape of this record is powerful and damn it´s so violent yet catchy and easy to digest. Yes, I have reviewed a lot of good records lately, maybe I will review a very bad one soon. Anyway, this is gonna hurt, and it´s gonna hurt good. Let us all listen to great german death metal in the vein of Asphyx!


8,5/10

torsdag 18 april 2013

VORUM "Dance of Heresy"

Old school worshippers beware! Land of the thousand lakes give us some creepy, festering death metal that smells more of rotten flesh than fresh tomatoes so to speak. I like the sound of this record, it is for sure old school sounding. But in a modern and crunchy way. Your speakers will nearly die if you turn them up to 10. Cause this is some hardhitting and very catchy music fellas! If you combine the best parts of,old Entombed, Dismember and the almighty reborn Nominon. Than spice things up with Asphyx and the new kid on the block Necrowretch and you got the sound of these finnish maniacs. Pounding production and pounding songs pretty much all the way. Some have it, some don´t. Vorum has the ability to write brutal songs while they still are bloody catchy and they got a lot of distinct tight drumming, the grinding parts are just great! The vocalist Jonatan Johansson has a voice pretty similar to Henke Skoog in Nominon. With other words, he sounds like he is possessed. Definitely one of the better nordic death metal releases this year. Even if we´ve just reached  mid April this will stand tall among a lot of other releases 2013. Anything bad about this record? Well not a lot actually. Some sound engineers can surely find some flaws in the production, but since I am a death metal fan and not a guy who complains about every little detail I think this record kicks a lot of ass!

9/10


onsdag 17 april 2013

IMPIOUS BAPTISM "Wrath of the Apex Predator"

Within the extreme metalscene it has become pretty common with one-man and two-piece bands. This one-man slayingmachine comes from Australia, and since we all have come to really like the famous australian "warsound" through bands like Abominator and Bestial Warlust and also american bands like Angelcorpse and Perdition Temple among others we all gonna bang our heads to this great cd. Multi instrumentalist "J" (he plays everything including the drums, and he also growls) gives us a fusion between the aforementioned bands and dirty crude death metal in the vein of Nominon and longtime unknown legends Abominant on Deathgasm Records. It´s not a neverending chaos with no slower parts, it´s a very well created musical experience including both hate, anger and occult messages. Add to that flawless musicianship when it comes to creating well sounding songs with substance and charisma . You can hear that this guy didn´t start creating brutal music yesterday. You have an album full of ultraviolence but also parts with a gloomy dark atmosphere that builds up the scenario of total deprevation (in a good way of course, metalheads!) and downfall of mankind. I really like the contrast between the wall of grinding drums with a production similar to "controlled chaos" mixed with the extremely well balanced death metal parts with a lot of great riffing and awesome hateful vocals. If you don´t have a clue what this sounds like after reading this, I bet you´re not a extreme metal fan, but everyone else obey this piece of unholy and very meaty steak of black and death metal.

9/10

torsdag 4 april 2013

LOST SOCIETY "Fast Loud Death"

Aren´t we tired of old school thrash bands coming out of every country like a disease? Actually not, at least when it is this well played with blistering solos and frentetic riffing from some youngsters that seemed to have listened to all the great bands from the golden time of thrash metal. I am actually quite stunned that this four-piece create such blistering music, since Finland isn´t exactly a country where thrash bands have popped out everywhere. These kids (The eldest one is 19) play like there´s no tomorrow and after what I´ve seen on youtube they act like a young Kreator or Sepultura on stage too and their vocalist is a guy who spits, roars and screams in every way he can. The songs on this disc released by Nuclear Blast is a really entertaining ride with so much speed, so much frenzy and the joy of playing intense thrash metal that you can almost feel the vibe if you try. If you take pieces of Exodus and the totally amazing brazilian thrash band Deathraiser and combine that with Destruction and hints of the craziness of S.O.D and the fun factor of  Tankard and Municipal Waste, than you have this great finnish band. If I should compare this to a newer record I will mention the first exploding riff fest of Bonded By Blood. That record is intense and so is this, add to that songs that stick into your head.
Of course some lyrics are juvenile and so it should be, kids don´t care that much about politics and stuff, do they?  The only downside is that there are some songs that should have been excluded, because of the lack of intensity, but 2 songs that are not great out of 15 songs are not a lot to complain about. But the first record shall not be perfect, there shall be things to improve. One thing I like as an longtime Kiss fan is the "I Stole Your Love Cover" at the end of the record. It´s not top notch, but it´s decent and they make it pretty much their own song instead of just copying everything in it.
Well, this is some very good "fist up in the air thrash". Prepare to catch em live whenever you can!


8,5/10


onsdag 3 april 2013

LOGIC OF DENIAL "Atonement"

Death metal from Italy isn´t very exotic today, since the amount of great death metal belonging to the catholic country have now reached impressing levels. With bands like Hour Of Penance, Antropofagus, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Hideous Divinity and more we can now count Italy to Europe´s and one of the best "death metal countries" in the world. Logic Of Denial plays a brutal kind of death metal with aggressive fast
riffing, doublebass drums and roaring vocals. Just like you expected, right? If I compare this band to the aforementioned I think Hour Of Penance´s little brother meets US brutal death metal is a pretty good description. They have the skill and energy to create lethal death metal, but since the quality today is so high in this genre I get a little picky. Most of the songs have the same formula, but I should not say it´s generic music. Not at all, but I´ve heard it before and better. One thing that irritates me a bit is that the vocalist now and then uses the awful pig squeal which isn´t a great thing for me. Fortunately he doesn´t use this kind of technique very often, which should be a waste of talent since his regular voice is good. The production is heavy and chunky with a little dirt on the edges. Not crystal clear like most bands with a more technical approach uses today. These guys have done their homework skillwise, now I am waiting for really good songs.

 6,5/10

tisdag 26 mars 2013

DEVOURMENT "Conceived in Sewage"

These americans have songs about everything you love and adore. Right? Well, maybe not. But anyway this time the crazy maniacs in Devourment have come up with a slab of very listenable brutal/slam death metal.
I find dynamics in a lot of the songs, which is so very important in this style of music, and real songs instead of just riffs in a pile with no direction. I have found many of their records being dull and just having disgusting gore drenched lyrics to cover up for lousy songs. The riffs they come up with this time seem to be less repetetive and much more focused on layers of great riffing and a great production on top of that.  Of course the songs are are heavy as a tank and brutal as a desperate soldier in world war 2.(Yes, there are faster and more extreme bands out there, I know) But none of the riffs or songs seem to be out of place and as a sucker for good death metal with a lot of punch I get a lot of it here. I also want to mention that Mike Majewski is a much better vocalist than Ruben Rojas. At least if you like to hear some kind of words and not just some blurry noise coming out the mouth. So this very hyped band finally deserves a good grade. This is not among the top five albums of the year, but it´s a good record, no doubt about it. My favourite song of this record is "Legalize Homicide" and the rest of them come pretty close.

7/10

torsdag 21 mars 2013

HATEBREED "The Divinity of Purpose"

Jamey Jasta? Is he and his men still interesting? Hell Yeah! This is among the most vital and fresh moshing up tempo songs I´ve heard in a while. I have liked most of their records more or less, and this is no exception. They have reached almost crazy fame in the states and they are not far behind in Europe due to endless touring and of course good music and promotion. I also guess that a lot of their stardom have to do with their charismatic frontman and the fact that they never release a dull album. Even if it´s not the most innovative music you´ve heard it is always hard not to bang your head and swing your hips (?!) when you hear the extremely catchy choruses Hatebreed bring to the masses year after year. Of course the production of the guitars is fatter than ever and Jamey is in great shape. He is for real and he likes death metal, a hardcore screamer who likes death metal is for real. Of course I appreciate a guy who likes death metal and stands up for the weak. It´s pretty hard to pinpoint any favouritesongs, since many of the songs kicks so much ass. This is Hatebreed at their best.
https://www.facebook.com/hatebreed

9/10

fredag 15 mars 2013

HATCHET "Dawn Of The End"

Californian thrashers in Hatchet releases their second fullenght album, packed with crisp sounding guitars and great solos. These guys guys nail it really well this time. Not as wild as the first album by Bonded By Blood but kind of similar to Death Angel´s sound with a few other influences such as Testament and a more straight forward Heathen.The sound is somewhere between rough and melodic. Enough thrash to please most fanatics and enough melodies to please most metalfans. I like the voice of Julz Ramos, his voice is somewhere between David Sanchez of Havok and Mark Osegueda of Death Angel. You get a lot of great riffing here and a production that is clear but with plenty of rough edges. The overall feeling is top notch musicianship with a lot to offer in terms of good songwriting not lacking almost anything you could want from a semi melodic thrashband. If you wanna check an up and coming band, check these guys out.
https://sv-se.facebook.com/hatchetofficial

8,5/10

torsdag 14 mars 2013

MORTILLERY "Origin of Extinction"

Thrash metal with a female vocalist is quite rare. I have heard a few bands, and some are good. This canadian band has the right attitude, some great riffs and a pretty punky approach. I have nothing against female vocalists, if a vocalist is good he/she is good no matter what gender. Unfortunately Cara McCutchen has a voice that is a bit too weak for my taste. She screams and spits the lyrics in our faces in her best way possible, but when she sings clean it´s too lame sounding I think. The production is very organic and a bit thin, maybe a bit more crunchy instruments and a bit more brutality in her voice would do great. The songs "Creature Possessor" and "Sunday Morning Slasher" are amazing with a lot of vocallines and riffs to kill for, but the rest is a bit bland.  Give me some more punch overall and the next record will be something more interesting. You have all the ingridents to succeed, so give me a slap in the face next time guys and girls.
https://www.facebook.com/Mortillery

5,5/10

lördag 2 mars 2013

AEON "Aeons Black"

I´ve heard different opinions of this record, some great and some less great. I must say this is a strong album focusing more on groove than pure speed. Of course there are fast parts on this record, for sure! But the main focus is not on maximum blastbeats. The choruses are very strong this time, and you get a lot of chunky guitars with a lot of wonderful distortion. When it comes to the vocals, Tommy Dahlstrom is a very capable growler. He uses all the force he can from his guts and out comes a voice with which you can scare your neighbour who destroys your nights with endless parties with vomit inducing techno. If you´re tired of satanic lyrics, I think you don´t like this. Because you have an album full of Christ hating lyrics, but since the music on this record is so very good I don´t mind if the lyrics are a bit juvenile at times. I don´t despise these kind of lyrics but I prefer the lyrics written by Immolation and Hour Of Penance. Their lyrics are a bit more deep and thoughtful. Any downsides? Maybe the sound could be more dirty and evil, I really like the sound of Azarath´s record. Clear but really really dirty and evil. But you can´t have it all, can you? Anyway you get a lot of "bang for the buck" here. Enough of hooks, deadly vocals and drumrolls to destroy a flat entirely(If you´re in that mood). Along with Nominon(Even if they don´t play the same kind of unholy death metal) this is one of the absoulte best swedish releases this year. If I compare it to a lot of records by american bands this one stands tall.

9/10

måndag 25 februari 2013

MADBALL "Rebellion"

It´s time for some New York hardcore guys and girls! This time with a six track EP. I´ve known Madball since the mid 90´s when the hardcore movement in my country was biiig. I never really liked their early material. It was too lame and I didn´t like the vocals either in the beginning.The productions of their records wasn´t really good either. But around year 2000 they learnt how to produce a record and Freddy became a great vocalist. The sound became much heavier and the songs had more crunch than ever. I think "Infiltrate The System" is one of the absolute best modern  hardcore releases ever. It has a all the qualities you want from a great hardcore record. This record has the same sound and you have these mosh friendly songs all over the record. I don´t think it has world class "hits", but it serves very well as an appetizer for the next fullength record.
https://sv-se.facebook.com/madballNYC

7,5/10

fredag 22 februari 2013

MORTAL SIN "Psychology Of Death"

I had the pleasure to see Mortal Sin on their last tour in late 2011. I am grateful I did, cause now they have split up. Mortal Sin appeared first on LP in 1986, when thrash metal was hot and new. But I think they disappeared among all the great bands back then. I have always liked their energetic thrash with elements of both old Metallica,Testament and Exodus but with their own unique sound. Especially the "Face of Despair" record was a favourite of mine. On this record they sound very vital and hungry. Mat Maurer is the locomotive that keeps the engine running here. Among all the amazing thrash riffs he sounds like a very eager young man, doing the best of his abilities to show the world he´s a very good vocalist that fits this vicious thrash masterpiece. Yes, it´s that good. It´s not the best record I´ve heard, but you could say they end on top with this. The production is fatter than a very fat cow and the instruments cut through wood. Old school thrash is not the word I would use about this record but a very good modern thrash record with influences from the past and the present, all blended together to a perfect mix of catchy metal music. A forgotten(?) record but nonetheless very very good. A few more stunning riffs and the grading would be top  notch.

9/10

torsdag 21 februari 2013

NECROWRETCH "Putrid Death Sorcery"

These crazy Frenchmen take you back to the golden age of extreme music. You can smell both Sarcofago, Repulsion and Possessed here done with a better but dirty production. You can taste the smell of death and decay everywhere on this recording. This style of music is pretty popular today, but not many bands do it well. To me it sounds like they´re born in the wrong decade,´cause I guess Necrowretch worship the years when death/thrash and black metal were new and very exciting musical genres. They convince me when they spit and tear through every song with a rabid relentless brutality. Their vocalist Vlad sounds like a beast from the underground, pissed for real I think. But while the music is brutal they got that fingertip feeling of how to write good songs with chilling guitar melodies, that creepy old feeling and riffs from the dark corners of hell, and not just songs that fit into a certain style of music, without any real guts. This music is made by man, not computers. I think technical progression has destroyed death metal a bit, I still love death metal and different styles of it, but sometimes the soul(!) gets lost when you use Pro Tools, triggers and stuff that makes the music sound mechanic and stale. This music sounds evil and alive for real. France has a lot of great bands now within the death/thrash and black metal scene. Let´s hope it continues.

7,5/10

måndag 18 februari 2013

SYN:DROM "Iconoclasm"

 Death metal, done in a very powerful way made in Sweden. Far away is the sound of the Sunlight Studios and what you get is a very modern production, with influences from both Hour Of Penance, Nile and the dutch superband I Chaos. I thought about the vocalist´s voice and it is very similar to the growler in I Chaos, though this dude uses more highs. He also reminds me of the guys in Nile. The sound on this one is very "pompous and majestic", very similar to the aformentioned acts. Syn:drom´s last album was also good, but it didn´t get me goin´ like this one. You have high class solos, great riffs and interesting drumwork. There have been so many high class death metal albums released lately with bands like Centurian, Suffocation, Incantation, Nominon and Dehumanized to name a few, which makes it hard to give a fair grading. But anyway, If I should grade this upon my listening experience I would rate it pretty high, because you get top quality musicians, good songwriting and  a very professional feeling overall. I guess some people will complain about the clean production, yes it´s not that dirty. So maybe it could be a minor problem if you´re picky and want it to sound like early stuff by Dismember or Morbid Angel. But since there are many bands playing that kind of death metal already I don´t really care if the production is glossy as long as it isn´t totally flat and the bassdrums sound like a plastic disaster. If the music is well performed and the vocalist is a beast I will not complain. Since the music is very listenable and the growler is top notch my complaints are minor. If they pull these songs off live(why wouldn´t they?), I bet there will be some great moshing in the pit.

8/10

lördag 16 februari 2013

SUFFOCATION "Pinnacle Of Bedlam"

Dave Culross is back in the game from a very long hiatus, he played on the EP "Despise The Sun" in 1998. Since then he´s mostly been bashing the drums in Malevolent Creation. His comeback behind the drumkit is very exciting and I was eager to hear him. I wasn´t that surprised when I heard the result ´cause he´s been the (technical) blastmaster no.1 in MC, and he still is, I will not compare his drummingstyle to Mike Smith´s but Dave is king of both feet and hands. His feet are incredible at playin´ those bassdrums. When listening to this record, I got a feeling that Dave injects some new blood to this band. Mike Smith was one hell of a good drummer, but sometimes a change is needed to get the engine running. I got all the trademark Suffocation stuff here, but this time with songs you really remember afterwards. And since I am a sucker for good death metal drummers and  riffs that really kill this one makes me so happy(well, not happy but hungry for a moshpit and furious, that is happy in my world) Frank Mullen who has retired from full-time touring does a good job with his deep grunts and he hasn´t lost any of his power lately, I think his voice has become better by age since you can hear most of the words if you listen carefully. You can also hear some thrash riffs on this record, and some really great guitarplaying by Terrance Hobbs and Guy Marchais. The guitarplaying is flawlessly performed and I think this is one of the better ones they have released when it comes to solos. If you have the slightest idea of Suffocation and you think that my review was a bit blurry(I am tired today) I think you should just give it a listen or two and you´ll be convinced that this is a great one. Though I needed two or three listens before it grabbed me. If you like dirty productions you´ll be a bit disappointed, ´cause this is quite slick and clear. I don´t care so much since you can change your equalizers, and I am not what you could call a "sound fascist", I mostly adapt to the conditions given. The only thing I demand is that it´s not sounding like a shitty demo recording from 1984. That is not my style. But this is great as I have already told you guys and girls. Go and grab it and turn it up loud.

8,5/10

lördag 9 februari 2013

EMBRYONIC DEVOURMENT "Vivid Interpretations of the Void"

Wow, that was a hard one. I am almost short of breath when I have said both the name of the band and the title of the album. Wow. But regardless of what my heart thinks of when pronouncing these words, this is something you wanna listen to. I guess you can label these guys under "technical death metal". But don´t stop reading if you dislike bands like Necrophagist and Origin(If that is possible), cause this is some great music. If you combine Spawn of Possession with Execration and than add some serious badass riffing like old Atheist, to that you add a sense of musically be able to tie together brutality with twisted parts, the guitars and drums are just everywhere, with some sort of seldom sighted ability to make songs that makes you wanna mosh and wave your fists in the air for hours. The main vocalist Austin Spence is a monster, he spits, growls and tear things up like a rabid mad dog without sounding strained. He articulates well and flawlessly . They will release a new record this year, I am looking forward hearing it. For sure!

9/10
DIMINISHED "Origin Of Apocalypse"

These "mature" kids with album covers worthy a juvenile teenager who hasn´t had sex yet, releases an album with a bit more serious approach. The album cover this time isn´t something shitty, but quite great looking. It´s not very unique, but ok.The music is unfortunately not that interesting. Some mix of brootal slam death, semi technical death metal and grind. I have heard this so many times before, lack of ideas maybe? Just put some random slam parts together with a quite boring riff cascade and the generic pig vocals and you got the formula. But what the hell, if you are trying to be more serious and better(?) why do you use that awful pig squeal? It´s so fucking irritating and ruins the whole record. I don´t get the picture, "Let´s do a more serious record, but let´s keep the shitty vocals!" Many american so called "brootal bands" use vocals that are just plain boring and not worth listening to, it´s hard to growl really good but practice makes perfect! Now and then the guy on vocals change his voice to the better, but why not change the vocal style totally? Learn how to growl decent, then write some interesting songs with killer riffs and a razorsharp production. This record is not total crap but I think they can do so much better if they use their imagination and if they like to combine slam with regular death metal, listen to the latest record by the almighty Dehumanized. That record is amazing. Both vocalwise and musicwise! Show me what you got next time guys, and give me some real death metal.

4,5/10

fredag 1 februari 2013

HATE "Solarflesh"

A new album from one of the leading death metal bands from Poland. Some people accuse them for being "Behemoth 2", but that is not the truth if you really listen to them carefully. Especially this new record is very dirverse and has a lot of different elements. There is a misanthropic and creepy mood throughout the record and their vocalist Adam The First Sinner growls like a uholy high priest with a very clear voice. You can hear all the words he expresses without straining your ears, and he just doesn´t sing in one way. He has a voice with many souls and twists(!)If we talk about the music you can hear everything from "Nile-like" intros to experimental/industrial sounds, slow pounding parts, melodic solos to parts with blistering speed and stunningly fast riffing. You even get to hear a woman singing opera in "Mezmerized"! Not in a gothic way, but in a horrifying way. I have always liked Hate for being very death metal, and always having that dark feeling in their music while they have tested some new influences with their more recent records. I never got the feeling that their music is pointing in too many directions, since their is always a nice flow in the songs and the darkness and creepy feeling you want from good death metal will be there and it will demand your attention. What is really good about this record is that you will never risk getting tired of endless blastbeats or lack of imagination since Hate are not your average mediocre band. Even if the first and the last song are industrial, they fulfill the dark ride and they don´t feel out of place.Talking about the instrumentals, one of the bonus tracks "Venom" is like a clip taken from a horror movie about a mentally deranged woman, maybe it´s the mad woman on the front cover who is screaming to the abstract industrial sounds? This is the ultimate soundtrack to a day in hell. Full of darkness, horror and blasphemy.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/HATE/212997752295

9/10

torsdag 31 januari 2013

HOUR OF PENANCE "Sedition"

Italy´s best death metal band is back with another high class album. This time with their new vocalist Paoli Pieri, he´s got a great growl. Clear and charismatic and it works like an extra instrument in this wonderful slab of speedy death metal . As usual we get quality top notch musicianship that almost makes you jelous. If I compare this to Paradogma it´s not very unlike that record. Both sound and music is kind of the same, maybe the production is even more glossy. But you have to love these brutal fellas, they despise religion and its lies in the world´s most catholic country, you gotta have some balls to do such thing I guess the pope is not their biggest fan. And second, there is so much intensity in their songs. I-N-T-E-N-S-I-T-Y. I have spoken about it before but it has to be mentioned again. Some bands just have the ability to have that enormous power and excellent brutality while writing songs that really got stuck in your brain. So infectious, so amazingly well written. The guitars work their way into every limb of my body and the drums sound like a machinegun programmed to kill, with skill. The instruments are just all over, in every song. Like a neverending celestial terror is the best way to describe this outstanding band. They are one of my all time favorites in death metal, no doubt about it. And they are soon coming to Sweden. Will I bang my head and sweat like a wild teenager?Yes, probably.
https://www.facebook.com/hourofpenance

9/10

måndag 28 januari 2013

CENTURIAN "Contra Rationem"

12 years after their classic album "Liber Zar Zax" they are ready to strike us again with their hate and blasphemy. Rarely do we hear a band with a unique sound, but Centurian has a unique sound. You can  instantly hear that it´s Centurian and no other band than Centurian. They follow scale- and riff patterns combined with a production which is unique for these mad Dutchmen. Some people say they sound like a Deicide clone, which is totally wrong. Listen and tell me exactly where those (clone) similiarites are.Of course they have some parts that could belong to the satanic band from USA, but there is so much more to their music. To me they have a sound that is full of  anger, blasphemy, talent and a total aversion to mankind and religion, not in a goofy way but for real. I think they also got some secrets(?) in the studio, when it comes to having that distinct sound. But what I am always talking about when making good death metal is the the ability to write totally crushing riffs in every song, and yet having songs that are incredibly catchy. It is impossible to not bang your head to this, it is impossible! Mostly we hear high tempo songs, played tightly and with their new (at least in Centurian) vocalist Niels Adams hailing from their other band Nox and his old band Prostitute Disfigurement spreading the lyrics like the unholy pope with a mission to destroy. A future classic like their last one. Obey.
https://www.facebook.com/Centurian333

9,5/10

lördag 26 januari 2013

OBLIVION "Call To Rise"

Gone are the days when labels signed everything in sight. This band is unsigned, but if you listen to the production, the music and the sheer professionalism on this record you can´t do nothing but getting surprised they don´t have a label behind them. They have a guy of All Shall Perish-fame in the ranks, otherwise there are pretty unknown guys in this band. But as I already told you, this is very good. What do we get here? To use a cliche´, it´s thinking man´s death metal. Very technical (though not overly technical), very thought out and also very, if not totally unique but well written songs in every sense of the word. Technical death metal bands have popped out of the universe like a plauge lately, so it is pretty hard to be "the king of the mountain" so to speak. Since there are hordes of good musicians out there, the thing that seperates the bad from the good is the capacity to write good songs, and not just a million notes and rhythm patterns you quickly get tired of. Bands like Obscura have added too much soft melodies lately that sound a bit out place, but Oblivion don´t use sweet melodies that much. It´s sometimes melodic, but It´s always a touch of darkness present in their songs.Speaking of wankery, Oblivion never play technical stuff just for the sake of it. There is always a reason for every note played. They also have a top notch vocalist in Nick Vasallo, mixing between highs and lows with ease. You will also hear all instrumental songs in the end, made by an orchestra. That is kind of unique, huh? Send this band on a tour with Fleshgod Apocalypse and you will have a tour package that will rule. Any label ready for a deal?
https://www.facebook.com/OBLlVlON

9/10
OVER KILL "The Electric Age"

Some wine´s get better by age. Some bands too. I have never counted Over Kill among the better ones of the old classic thrash bands. I have always liked some of their songs, but they have been a bit uneven when it comes to create really great records. (Though, their first two records are quite packed with unbridled energy).  At least in my world. I guess most of the downside for me has been the voice of Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth. It is  a bit hard to get used to, if you´ve listened to James Hetfield, Chuck Billy and Tom Araya a lot. Maybe I have been more openminded when getting older (I am not 100 years old, but close), but on this record I have accepted his voice. Not the best I´ve heard, but very unique and he also got that furious power and energy which you can´t pretend. Especially not when you´re around your 50´s. But it´s not just his voice I have learnt to like, the music on this record is very sharp and has a lot of youthful energy. The riffing is really great here, not many songs disappoint if any I would say. I think many young bands should listen and learn. Metallica did some really great records in the past, then they got too successful for their own good and made records they can´t be very proud of. Maybe this is what they should sound like today if they hadn´t grown too big. Over Kill still sound like they are in their late 20´s here. Bow to these fellas and show respect.
https://www.facebook.com/OverkillWreckingCrew
8/10

onsdag 23 januari 2013

DECREPIT CADAVER "The Beginning Of Depravity"

Usually I really like South American bands. They often got a passion to create music that is brutal but full of emotions and (unholy) spirit. These guys got all the ingridents a "brutal death metal band" should have. The typical riffs, the lyrics, the logo and the cd cover of something offending. But a band doesn´t sound good just by having these things included. They can play, and their vocalist has a decent (but boring) voice. But I lack passion, drive and songs that really stand out. For me, this is just a very generic death metal record without an identity. It´s just riff after riff without any hooks or the real ability to create a furious state of madness caused by a whirlwind of good riffs. Even the production is stale and generic. No punch. But along the way something happens!! When I suddenly hear the song "Delight of Suffering" I can hear good riffs, a cool solo and a vocal style that is much better than I heard on the earlier songs. It actually sounds like a different band!!  That shock continues the last four songs. The songs are good, and I am left in a state of confusion. Did they decide to change musical direction after song number 7? I am still very confused, but I give these guys a suggestion to let the next record sound like the four last songs on this record. These are high quality recordings.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Decrepit-Cadaver/53141616431?ref=mf

6/10
DISMEMBER "Complete Demos"

You get to hear Dismember´s two vocalists here. On two thirds of the songs their old growler Robert Sennebäck screams, and on their last demo "Reborn in Blasphemy" their master growler Matti Kärki dominates. You can really hear the difference between 1988 and 1990, both in production, tightness and in style. First they sounded more like an obscure lo-fi black/death metal act, the voice included, but already their second demo was a huge step forward. Robert Sennebäck sounded like a young Martin Van Drunen, and the sound was more distinct and their coming sound began to take place. The production was still raw and unpolished but it fitted the music well.When Matti joined the ranks things started to sound like present Dismember. The sound was a bit heavier and more mature so to speak and Matti growled his way to hell with conviction even when he was a teenager. Earlier they haven´t found their trademark sound, the Sunlight guitars that were like chainsaws on steroids. But on the "Reborn in Blasphemy" demo everything was there. Bottomline, the three first songs are very great to hear in all their obscurity and primitivity. The second half of the songs are still very good and have stood the test of time It is always great to hear the development of a classic band. And this band are among the most classic ones we got, right?
 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dismember/306330996047
http://www.myspace.com/dismemberpromo
http://www.lastfm.se/music/Dismember

8,5/10