tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42088730304517346862024-02-06T19:27:41.263-08:00Album reviews for true metal warriorsHi there metal warriors around the globe! I will write about the music I have loved for about 30 years. This include death metal, which I am specialized in, black metal, thrash metal and some hc/metalcore stuff, and sometimes more mainstream hard rock. I write all these reviews, ´cause I have an inner urge of doin´ it. Extreme metal is not something you just like, it is something you live...it´s a way of life.
Horns up metalheads!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.comBlogger144125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-28088435473697806532015-08-26T00:46:00.000-07:002015-08-26T00:46:09.645-07:00HATE ETERNAL "INFERNUS"<br />
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Erik Rutan must be one of the most angry guys on this planet, despite the fact that he always is polite in interviews on the internet. But as usual we can recognize this band by its extreme brutality, you can be sure there will be no wimpy melodies, no clean singing, no cheesy parts. You know it´s gonna be brutal and this time is no exception. Erik & Co delivers throatcutting neverending brutality and their new drummer can easily run a marathon with his stamina. Their are slower parts to (give the listener) room for some breathing, but then again you will be hit by that fast train without any fucking mercy. In other words Hate Eternal sounds the way you want and probably expect. The problem for HE has never been the musicianship but the production and the songs. <br />
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On a few records like "Fury and Flames" you can talk of so called faceless blasting and a drumsound that is way too upfront, in the end it just becomes a blur of brutality. Their debut album and King Of All Kings but also Phoenix Amongst the Ashes are my favourites in their catalog. Effective and brutal, yet semi-catchy.<br />
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This time around the production is crisp and no intstrument is overshadowing the other, though the bass isn´t that audible. Yes you can hear if you pay attention, and wear a good pair of headphones but not that much. So overall the impression is good. Still the songs are a bit generic for me. I really like most of their stuff except the fact that it´s hard to top their best albums to date. If this is the first time you hear them you will probably love the record, because it´s not bad at all, it´s just the fact you´ve heard it before. As usual Erik Rutan has one of the best voices in death metal, extremely hateful yet very clear and crisp. Along with Ross Dolan and a couple of other guys he is the best growler around. <br />
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I will give this record a pretty good grade though cause it´s always good to kill your ears (in a good way) with some top notch brutality and the music and musicianship is always above average, so fuck my criticism in some ways and go listen to this with an open mind. The masters of brutality is back and they will destroy you!<br />
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7/10Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-22280749534171141092015-01-19T12:53:00.000-08:002015-01-19T12:53:13.460-08:00DESECRAVITY "Orphic Signs" <br />
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Have you been to Japan? Not me yet, though I have realized that the people of this country seem to be so polite, so in control so very sophisticated. The outcome of this is usually that the energy and frustration has to come out somewhere. This is an example of that. It happens a lot on this record, every second actually except for a few seconds of breathing. If Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal) and Paul Ryan of Origin sat at a café and planned a project togheter it would probably sound like this. The riffing and the structure of the songs reminds me of both bands mixed togheter. Aggressive, technical and absolute supertight! If you have a lot of time and a lot of technical talent, I bet this record could fit I you wanna put out some mindmelting guitar- and drumcovers on Youtube. I have often been talking about the ability to make the songs sound interesting despite the fact that a lot of things are goin´ on at the same time. There are not a lot of catchy riffing, since so much is happening every moment but since I like speed and technical talent I really like this record, it has been circulating a lot lately. Intensity with a lot of dynamics is the key I guess. I can´t really pinpoint what it is that keeps me on my toes but it certainly does. The only flaw on this album must be the production, this music deserves to have a thicker and crunchier production. Well, don´t mind the production, listen to the album and be amazed by the power.<br />
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8/10Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-74546042584755876242014-12-30T13:54:00.000-08:002014-12-30T13:54:57.950-08:00RECIPROCAL "Order Of The Ages"<br />
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A relatively unknown band from USA that combines great musicianship with lyrics about the declination of this world. The cover is terrific with the withered and torn Statue of Liberty.The snakes are about to consume "her". A whole lot of the songs are about conspiracy theories and intros that tells us about the greedy american government and other unpleasent things that occur every day.The intros are the only big flaw on this self funded record. They are far too long and take away the interest of the song. I don´t need 1,5 minutes long intros. The music itself is extremely tight and well performed. Reciprocal can easily compete with any technical death metal band out there. People like to label things, and some people claim this is deathcore. Well I don´t care that much, for me it´s techical and quite brutal death metal. Yes it´s dual voices as in many deathcore bands, but almost no breakdowns at all. I should´t call these guys a clone of hundreds of technical death metal bands, usually I get bored by music that tries to impress the listener, but somehow they manage to keep my interest up through the whole record. What I really like about the record is that Reciprocal don´t play any supermelodic solos or parts of songs. It´s mostly evil sounding music in your torn face. Put away your Unique Leader stuff, Necrophagist and Spawn of Possession records for a while and listen to this! This band sound sort of like a mix of those bands...<br />
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8/10<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-67060187074134428692014-02-16T11:37:00.001-08:002014-02-22T04:48:41.233-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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HANDFUL OF HATE "To Perdition"<br />
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In some way I have missed this bm band that has been around since 1993, maybe due to lack of promotion and as you all know internet has made the searching for music so much easier nowadays. Anyway I was totally blown away by these bastards. The intensity they deliver is overwhelming and in this kind of brutal headcrushing bm you gotta be able to create an evil atmosphere with scary riffs and a whole lot of attitude. And yes they have the right evil attitude and the skills to play both fast as hell(yes that´s right) and incredibly tight with loads of lightning fast blastbeats. The production that is clear but at the same time gritty really does the music justice. It gives you that punch in the face that you want so badly. They really deliver razorsharp songwriting and great musicianship, there´s not a sloppy moment on this record! Actually the skills of these italians reminds me a lot of their countrymates in Hour Of Penance, though the music isn´t exactly the same, but there are some death metal influences here and there. This band is like a combination of Marduk, Belphegor, Behemoth and a little taste of the just mentioned band HOP. But, and there´s a big "but", these guys have a sound of their own. Actually they kick so much ass, that I HAD to get a shirt of this band. The only flaw I can find with this record is the bassdrums, they are sometimes a little too high in the mix, but that´s just me being very picky.<br />
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9/10 <br />
.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-5571360475985955102013-12-16T12:58:00.000-08:002013-12-16T12:58:09.879-08:00DEICIDE "In The Minds Of Evil"<br />
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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.<br />
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After 20+ listens I give this one...<br />
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6,5/10<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-4796189922026955262013-11-24T13:08:00.000-08:002013-11-27T23:54:33.727-08:00DEATH ANGEL "The Dream Calls For Blood"<br />
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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. <br />
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10/10<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-46778385779597303782013-11-13T11:29:00.001-08:002013-11-13T11:29:14.282-08:00NEGATOR "Gates To Pantheon"<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
"The Urge For Battle", great blasts and a feeling of being stuck in a nightmare.<br />
"Epiclesis" Perfect opening track, you want to hear more...<br />
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8,5/10<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-54930045300605648492013-09-28T07:03:00.000-07:002013-09-29T04:02:58.035-07:00ABOMINANT "Onward To Annihilation"<br />
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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!<br />
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9/10Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-71292770451920779902013-09-28T06:30:00.001-07:002013-09-28T06:33:12.574-07:00ABORTED "Global Flatline"<br />
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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!<br />
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5,5/10Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-81247930141857221662013-08-20T14:08:00.000-07:002013-09-28T06:34:04.178-07:00GORGUTS "Colored Sands"<br />
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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...<br />
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8,5/10Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-11648922201006913502013-08-09T11:23:00.000-07:002013-08-09T23:11:36.455-07:00BLOOD RED THRONE "Blood Red Throne"<br />
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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.<br />
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9/10<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-1991359408973762542013-07-29T12:05:00.000-07:002013-07-29T12:05:01.127-07:00FUELED BY FIRE "Trapped In Perdition"<br />
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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. <br />
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7,5/10<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-44139017466427061062013-07-21T14:22:00.002-07:002013-07-21T14:22:47.781-07:00CHAPEL OF DISEASE "Summoning Black Gods"<br />
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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.<br />
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8,5/10Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-15440354863221785352013-07-14T14:31:00.001-07:002013-07-14T14:31:21.682-07:00SCENT OF DEATH "Of Martyr´s Agony and Murder"<br />
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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.<br />
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! <br />
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9,5/10Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-76119313011186796652013-07-12T14:07:00.002-07:002013-07-12T14:07:38.827-07:00HATRIOT "Heroes Of Origin"<br />
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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..<br />
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8,5/10Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-55168440175315636012013-07-10T14:40:00.001-07:002013-07-10T14:40:25.865-07:00ABDICATE "Transcend Through Sacrifice"<br />
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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. <br />
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8,5/10Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-53433407045351813542013-07-10T14:23:00.002-07:002013-07-12T13:39:52.551-07:00CRUCIFIED BARBARA "The Midnight Catch"<br />
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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.<br />
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7/10Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-89505220900427204802013-07-03T14:28:00.001-07:002013-07-04T09:22:28.520-07:00DEEDS OF FLESH "Portals To Canaan"DEEDS OF FLESH "Portals To Canaan"<br />
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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. <br />
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6,5/10Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-10844633993395928232013-06-04T14:23:00.000-07:002013-06-05T13:50:23.712-07:00LECHEROUS NOCTURNE "Behold The Almighty Doctrine"<br />
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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. <br />
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8/10Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-67388278845145748622013-05-11T14:26:00.001-07:002013-05-12T13:29:55.513-07:00IMMOLATION "Kingdom Of Conspiracy"<br />
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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. <br />
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9,5/10Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-20806389213150720602013-05-09T14:36:00.001-07:002013-05-09T14:36:38.841-07:00THE MONOLITH DEATHCULT "Tetragrammaton"<br />
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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...<br />
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3,5/10<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-69525194027968500262013-05-07T13:50:00.002-07:002013-05-07T13:50:25.117-07:00BONDED BY BLOOD "Aftermath"<br />
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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. <br />
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7/10Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-25155744214982306782013-04-30T13:51:00.001-07:002013-04-30T13:57:23.465-07:00SVART CROWN "Profane"<br />
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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.<br />
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8,5/10Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-73818475187994466662013-04-25T14:25:00.000-07:002013-04-25T14:25:11.453-07:00GUTTURAL SECRETE "Nourishing The Spoil"<br />
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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.<br />
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7/10Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4208873030451734686.post-64179975384918092712013-04-23T14:14:00.001-07:002013-04-23T14:14:11.563-07:00DESERTED FEAR "My Empire"<br />
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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. <br />
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!<br />
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8,5/10<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565498409817296512noreply@blogger.com0