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