INFERNAL WAR "Redesekration, The Gospel Of Hatred....."

I love speed and chaos. I have always liked controlled chaos, it started with Slayer, Nuclear Assault, Holy Terror and a couple of other bands in the eighties. It continued with bands like Morbid Angel, Immolation and Deicide. These days the limits of what is human possible to play have moved forward, even before the last century ended we had Marduk releasing "Panzer Division Marduk" one of the most extreme albums of all time. It is very hard to impress me today, but Polands Infernal War is a band I am a big fan of. They play that kind of "war black metal" that is almost impossible to not like if you like extreme intensity with a good amount of talent involved. They not only play fast and with extreme precision, they also make great songs with a good portion of catchiness while it still is brutal as hell. They have a really good mix of total annihilation parts and some very headbangable slower parts (Not really slow, just slower) which let you catch your breath for a short period until the next attack of relentless grinding begins. Their vocalist "Herr Warcrimer" is a man who knows how to sound totally possessed by all that´s evil. Yes this is some evil sounding black metal with a pretty crunchy production. So if you like primitive, badly produced old fashioned black metal, stay away from this. Otherwise, let yourself be devoured by this beast.

9/10

SUFFOCATION "As Grace Descends"

New York death metal legends Suffocation will be back in January with their new album entitled "Pinnacle of Bedlam". This track are among the ones you will be able to hear. What we have come to expect from these veterans are top notch musicianship and well done death metal with a lot things happening, without being technical just for the sake of it. The brutality has never got lost along the way just to impress the listeners, the punch and total heaviness is always there.This time around the drum phantom Dave Culross will do his best to destroy your ears and make you headbang relentlessly. He has returned from a long hiatus from this band and of course he is tight as hell as assumed. The song they let us "pre-listen" to is in the good old fashioned Suffocation way. The song is quite catchy , it contains of two mainriffs, one pummeling chord progression and the other riff is based on powerchords. As usual a lot is happening musically but the thread is never lost and the force and the incredible "slap in the face" riffing  is always present . You got the typical grind parts, the heavy parts and the great soloing. Frank Mullen does a good job, he has a deep growl but you can hear the lyrics if you listen carefully. Some people complained about the last record, they said it was a bit overproduced. I think they nailed it pretty good with this one quite clear but not crystalclear (and boring), though the bass isn´t that audible, you can hear it when you wear headphones but if you listen to the song in regular speakers I guess you won´t recognize it a lot. Well Derek Boyer is as you know a beast of the bass but I guess they wanted another soundscape this time. Maybe he will be more audible on the other songs. The other instruments sound good , I especially like the drums, their sound is nothing short of greatness empowered by one of the greatest drummers in death metal.
 https://www.facebook.com/suffocation

8/10

GAZA "No Absolutes In Human Suffering"

A band named after one of the most violent areas on earth, you think it´s gonna be a peaceful ride? No I didn´t think so either. I guess most people categorize this as some kind of "core", if it´s hardcore, noisecore with grind parts or something in between is up to you to decide. This music is for sure violent and dissonant all over and you can actually feel their agony through their music. I bet they are not some happy dudes having pool parties, probably they are members of some kind of gerilla squad fighting for human rights desperately. The sound of this music is so desperate, so dark and so massive at the same time. If you´re feeling down, depressed and lonely maybe you shouldn´t let this album rotate in your player, but if you´re in the mood of destroying something or upset your stupid neighbours put this on. It will work just fine.The music on this record sounds like something between the noiseheroes Converge and the  not so well known guys, the apocalyptic maniacs in Goatsblood, a bloody and pissed punch in solar plexus. You will get a mix of fast fury and gruesome slow passages, on top of that you get their vocalist who spits, screams and tells us he hates a lot in this rotten world. The production fits the music pretty well, it´s distorted and a bit muddy but nothing that feels out of place. The drumming is everywhere, typical for this kind of music. The guitars sound heavy but you don´t get the typical in your face metal tone, more like a distant thunder attacking you.
myspace.com/gaza

 7,5/10

WEAPONS TO HUNT "Blessed In Sin"

Aad Kloosterwaard is one of Holland´s hardest working men among the death metal elite. This is the contuniation of  the band formerly known as Infinted Hate. I liked the old name a bit more than this one, maybe it takes a while to get used to it. If you´ve heard these guys other bands Sinister, Supreme Pain and Houwitser to mention a few,  I think you know what this is gonna sound like. Well, it´s nothing we haven´t heard before from Aad and friends. But he is a strong force within the dutch scene, and as usual he and his bandmates rarely releases a bad album. The guitars follows kind of the same formula as in his other bands, the same kind of fretting and riffs but as always the end result is always at least decent. The drumming is good and has a lot of pounding and fast rhythms. This debut album has a load of great riffs and the whole record is very entertaining. I am a total death metal worshipper and this album doesn´t make me bored at all. I guess that´s a good sign, since I´ve heard thousands of records through the years. What I really like about this is when we talk about members of dutch quality old school death metal bands you know you´ll never get any trendy stuff or supermega triggered drums, you get quality death metal with no intentions to be honeyed, too melodic or having clean sung parts. You can always hear Aad´s distinct voice as the outstanding part of the music, he has a quite unique voice, dry and harsh. Death metal this entertaining is a real treat. Listen and enjoy relentlessly.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Weapons-to-Hunt/124969717612834

9/10

MASTER "The New Elite"

Paul Speckman, the mastermind of this band has been around forever, or at least 30 years in this band with some on and offs so to speak. He has been a member of several death and thrash bands through the years and released hundreds of albums, well not hundreds but a lot. I guess he doesn´t like USA very much, since he has immigrated to Czech Republic and continued to run his band with two guys coming from the same country. I guess they have great beer there. Well anyway, Paul is soon to be 50(!) and releases a album which shows no signs of getting ol´and tired. This death/thrash album with Paul´s rusty and harsh voice is a good example of not letting something stupid like age stopping you from being lethal and violent. The music on this one is very old school sounding, very organic. Full of wild leads everywhere and a sound that reminds me of rotten flesh, tormented bodies and going for the throat thrash metal spiced up with death metal in some parts. Most of the songs follows quite the same formula, but that is not a bad thing here since the material kicks some serious ass.
As I just mentioned the sound of this record is far from sounding "Pro Tools", you can here that these fellas play this music like it was the only thing that meant anything to them in life. Paul Speckman is a fucking legend in his game, unfortunately not many have discovered that yet. Give this good collection of songs some listening and maybe you change your view.  Horns Up!
https://www.facebook.com/master.abomination

8,5/10

CRASHDIET "Cocaine Cowboys" 

They say sleaze is dead. Well, I don´t agree on that. The bands that have built up a strong reputation hasn´t died and withered. This first taste, the (cd)-single "Cocaine Cowboys" of Crashdiet´s new record, coming next year is a natural progression of their last record "Generation Wild". Massive production, strong choruses and well performed sleaze/hair metal/glam or whatever you wanna call it. Their "half-new" vocalist Simon Cruz has a solid voice, he fits this band perfectly with his often melodic voice and sometimes a bit rougher edge to it. I guess this will appeal to both guys and girls as usual. It´s  melodic, but with a "middle-finger-in-the-air" approach which I like. Both dirt and really great melodies. If this is what the rest of the record is gonna sound like, they still got the ability to write good songs with a lot of great body movin´ riffs and good sounding choirs. They give you exactly what you need to get your fix of modern melodic sleaze with a punch.
http://www.crashdiet.org/
https://www.facebook.com/realcrashdiet

8/10

FATHER BEFOULED "Revulsion of Seraphic Grace"

I guess you´ve heard of Incantion if you read my reviews at this website. And I will talk about them quite a lot in this review. Father Befouled started their short career in 2008 and have this far released three albums, with this their latest as the natural continuation of their blasphemous death metal in the vein of, yes you guessed it Incantation. I guess this band have Incantation posters all over their walls and worship before the altar of their records. Now you maybe will think that this band is just a bad copycat, but that´s not the case here. These guys not only worship Incantation, they pass on their legacy in the best way possible. Father Befouled have done everything right to not just become a clone of the clone. The production, the sound, the guitars, the voice of the vocalist and the song titles with names you never remember, they are all there. The slow and doomy passages too. But even with all these similarites this band have some kind of rarely seen ability to make this music sound like they almost invented this sound. The whole record is just pure professionalism and total dedication to the sound of deprevation and misery. One thing I will complain about though is their ugly logo. Change that logo guys, even with my hardened gaze your logo looks like something I vomited  out the night before. And that is not meant in a good way.
https://www.facebook.com/FatherBefouled

8,5/10

PROFANATICA "Sickened by the holy host/The Grand Masters"

This is actually an EP, but it contains a lot of songs, from two different periods. This is some great rotten blackened death metal with a brutally sick twist. I´ve seen that most people call this black metal, but the riffing has as much in common with dm as it has with bm. It´s very raw sounding guitars with the bass very upfront in the mix which makes them sound a bit different than other bands in the same territory. The riffing is like a unholy and great mixture of Autopsy, Incantation and Father Befouled. Plenty of monotony which in this case is a good thing. The production is dirty but clear. On top of that you have the sickest voice I´ve heard in a while. Paul Ledney has a voice like if you would hear the dead screaming at you in your blackest nightmares, more filthy death metal growls than black metal shrieks. Or maybe Paul Ledney is the devil. As I mentioned before the music is based on death metal riffs, tremolopicking riffs and some power chords that sound very much death metal. Well, I could discuss this forever, but to me this is some putrid, raw, filthy death metal and not so much black metal. It has a black metal feeling though, cause it´s very primitive and unadorned.  The whole record is like a trip to the deepest pits of hell, and I enjoy the ride. Get your fix of unholy and totally twisted music. Get in to the world of Paul Ledney.

8,5/10

DISFIGURED "Amputated Gorewhore"

Holy crap, their last record was a great showcase of death metal. But this new one, with a new vocalist is not that good. The music on this one is pretty similar compared to their debut, but the lyrics. Hey, what the fuck did you morons think about when you did this. I know there are some bands  writing shit about abusing women, but if you´re not deranged you can´t possibly like lyrics like that. Not if you are just a BIT mature and have some kind of sensible mind. "Raping a retard" for example has a intro when you can hear a woman getting raped. What the fuck is cool with that???? It makes me sick and I feel terribly bad when listening to that shit. There are also some other RETARDED intros in songs like "Vomit creampie surprise" (Yeah pretty "funny" songtitle, but nevertheless a sick and demented intro in a bad way). How can you mess up some quite well done death metal with such idiotic attitude guys?? Death metal should be about violence, violent lyrics are a part of death metal of course, as long as it doesn´t feel too much like the guys who writes the music are psychiatric patients in a mental hospital. It can also incorporate lyrics about satanic stuff like old Morbid Angel and the gruesome stuff  Cannibal Corpse writes about. But if there are just pathetic lyrics about abusing women all over the record, spit on that fucking band. Except this band I just spit on bands like Artery Eruption and Diminshed. They make me puke. Call me a feminist, I don´t care. I like death metal, not bad jokes like this.

2,5/10

BEHEADED "Never To Dawn"

Malta´s premiere death metal band is back! 7 years after the highly appreciated "Ominous Bloodline" they hit us all with an intense offering with a little new influences. This time I can hear traces from bands like Gorgasm, Incinerate and even the german band Disbelief in some parts. You can also hear some melodies here and there, but these melodies aren´t "melodic" as in "weak sounding" if you get the point. Have they developed their sound? Yes, I would say that without a doubt. But without losing the brutality. For brutal it is. And it´s technical, a bit more than last time I guess. Death metal this brutal yet technical rarely has the intention to be very catchy, but impressive and headbangable. The songs are very complex and a bit hard "to swallow" the first times you listen to the cd. I have listened to it for a few days now, and it´s hard to pinpoint any direct flaws. It may take a while to really appreciate all this well arranged madness but what really got me this time is the production which is a lot better than their other records (more crunch and less mud) and their new vocalist Frank Calleja has a much better voice than the guy who did the cookie monster vocals on their previous record. I talked about the band Disbelief in the beginning, and if you listen to the song "Towards an abducted Sun" you will hear the similarities. You can also hear this in "Descent Into Sanguianary Seas". The last song "The Ancient Acumen" is very complex and you can hear they have  a slightly different approach on this one. Well worth waiting for this one. Excellent mix of brutality and complexity.

8,5/10

DEAD BY APRIL "Incomparable"

What? I am reviewing Dead By April? Yes, I wanted to review this album because they have become ridiculously big in my homecountry and they claim themselves to be a metal band. The have been participating in a music contest called "Melodifestivalen" in Sweden, and their popularity has reached to levels I can´t understand. Almost every trendy kid with cool clothes and trendy haircuts listen to this lame computerized music with a small amount of guitar riffs included. Do they even play their instruments themselves? Ok, maybe their drummer does, that is a bit hard to fake. Prove me wrong. I would never mock a band that hasn´t got an audience or hadn´t sold some records, but this band has, quite a lot also. And their concerts are full of girls screaming their lungs out.  Well, they got one guy who sings clean, lame clean singing. And a guy who screams randomly, just for effect no purpose. They are all tattooed and having that "cool attitude" except the sweet guy behind the microphone who sings "lovely". This band was and is made just to get the attention from teenagers with no reason to seek music with soul and mind, but just music which is on the charts for some odd reason and tries to be "rough" .I guess they call it metal.... How on earth can this music be this popular? Well, I can´t find any reason at all actually. I don´t have anything against the guys personally but the music they play is soulless crap. This is not a vendetta, this is a true fact. I give them one point for having the perseverance to record this at all.

1/10

FLESHRED "Bloodtorn"

Finland has a pretty great plethora of good grind and death metal bands, and this finnish band make their kind of death metal with a moderate part of grind. The foundation of their sound is based in the typical "Stockholm" or "swedish" sound. The tremolo picking technique, mixed with power chords you´re all aware of, with a lot of distortion in the production. Grave´s latest record sound quite the same as this one. I think it sounds quite fresh and not some bland copy of the copy. The grinding is a nice adding to their sound as it adds more brutality, yet they have lots of catchy riffs in almost every song. They don´t  need to grind to "cover" they can´t write good songs. I was a bit surprised I haven´t heard of them until 2 months ago. But you can´t hear them all, can you? What really got me into their music was their ability to make good songs and never lose the edge to the music. There is always a good hook or a nice heavy part. The guys in the band are good at what they do, I guess they don´t intend to play any kind of Yngwie leads or Flo Mounier stuff on the drums. They play death metal, not music from outer space. Right? I appreciate technical music, but there is always a place in my dark heart for classic death metal with no "look at me, I am the greatest fretboard athlete" tendencies.

7,5/10

INCANTATION "Vanquish In Vengeance"

I remember when I met their vocalist John McEntee John in 2004 at a gig and he was the most humble guy you could think of. He thanked me for coming to the show and told me he appreciated the support. Very nice indeed. And I got my record signed too. Well, that was then this is now. It has been six years since their last record and you gotta love these guys, they always come up with cool blasphemous song titles hard to remember and their trademark old school death metal with dissonant melodies and slow crushing passages. John sounds haunted and the guys are playing tightly, even if it´s dirty and crude it needs to be tight, huh. This time around they have got the best production ever, it still sounds organic and non computerized of course, but it´s not the "muddy feeling" from the past. You can hear the instruments well, and distinguish them from each other. The songs this time are not anything that you haven´t heard before, but that is exactly what you want from Incantation. Many of the lyrics are about killing in the name of god on this record and not just about hating christianity. I know one band that totally worship Incantation, their name is Father Befouled. Compare their music if you haven´t heard ém. Icons have followers and Incantation are legends in their game. Let´s just hope that it won´t take six years to release the next album

9/10

COLD HARD TRUTH "Deliver The Fear"

What do we have here? It´s actually a record I have listened to a lot. Beatdown hardcore is a style I both despise and love. At the same time. I despise it ´cause it has that almost ridiculous "tough guy" feeling. The "We are the baddest motherfuckers in the universe, so don´t mess with us you bastard!" attitude. BUT this stuff is heavier and more mean than a lot of things out there. They blend new school thrash riffs with heavy as fuck hardcore/metalcore with a production that crushes your face instantly. If you imagine the feeling of being buried under cement and then scattered all over by a woodshipper. Maybe a bit brutally discribed, well you get musical torture here in its purest form. It hurts to listen to these UK maniacs, but at the same time it feels so damn good. They actually incorporate some death metal riffing too, it adds a bit of brutality to this godforsaken frenzy. Their vocalist has a tormented scream, sometimes he growls a bit too. It kind of blends into it eacher. A little bit of screaming, and than a little bit of hardcore growls. It´s not really death metal growls but pretty near. I think CHT and the US band Betrayal have come up with some of the heaviest shit lately in this genre. Actually I can´t find a lot of downsides here. Maybe the vocals could be a bit more clear sometimes and not so muddy. But that´s not a major problem here. This pretty much kills.

9/10

HAVOK "Time Is Up"

The cover is as ugly as my old and worn out underpants, but the music is incredible. It´s riff based thrash metal the retro style with enough modern influences to make it fresh and vital. The guitarsound of this record is razorsharp. And I mean RAZZZZOORsharp. The sound of the guitars can cut through glass and the riffing is precise and extremely well executed throughout the record. What makes this record so good is their ability to write extremely energetic yet very catchy songs in the name of old school thrash metal, but made with recent technology.  I started listen to this record one year ago, I thought it was good but nothing mindblowing. A few great songs, but nothing extra ordinary. I have changed my mind. I picked it up 4 months ago again, and no I can´t stop listen to this record. Almost everything is good, the production, the leads, the riffing, the vocalist who sounds a bit like Schmier of Destruction. They combine precise technical riffing with a great feeling for not just energy but breath taking energy which makes you wanna mosh for hours. Not much is bad here. Almost every song is top notch, I should say this is among one of the best thrash records in the last 10 years. Yes this one was a grower for me. I think I will go to see them live as fast as possible. 

9,5/10

DESTRUCTION "Spiritual Genocide"

30 years into their career they release a slab of good quality german thrash. Schmier still sounds like he is 20 years younger when he releases his voice in songs about everything violent he likes to write about. This time the cover is quite cool. Their "evil butcher" has a thorn around his head like Jesus, with a riflescope pointed at his head. Of course he is holding his big butcher knife too. There are different creatures around him including a pig´s head on a stick. Tasteful and evil looking. My problem with Destruction through the years have been that they always are good, and write a couple of great songs but some of the songs are easily forgettable. This time I think they pull things off pretty well the whole way. The riffing, production and the songs are above average. Among the best are "Cyanide", "To dust you will Decay" and "Legacy of the past". "Cyanide" and "Legacy of the past" hit quite hard and "To dust.." is more of a midpaced song with a great chorus. I also like the title song with its catchy guitars and cool chorus. Also "Carnivore" is good song with a little different direction, full of groove. My favorite song is "Under Violent Sledge" with its cool sing a long choirs and catchy riffing. The good songs continue the whole record, I hope I will still like them in six months or so. The classics are always welcome in my headphones but the new ones don´t usually stick in my head for so long. That´s the main problem with Destruction nowadays, I always like most of the songs in the beginning but they get a bit anonymous after a while. Well, enough of my nagging. This is a solid record and I hope Schmier will not rip my head off if he reads this.

7,5/10

TESTAMENT "Dark Roots of Earth"

Through the years millions of bands have passed, some have succeeded some have failed. Testament have done a bit of both, most of their records has been at least decent and some has been absoulutely brilliant. I have always liked some songs on all of their records, but sometimes they have lacked songs with real punch all the way. "Dark Roots of Earth" is absolutely one great record. Full of Alex Skolnick´s and Eric Peterson´s nice sounding solos and Chuck Billy´s voice is in great shape. It feels great to see that man alive and well again! Fuck cancer!  The songs themselves involve even grind in "True American Hate" and that´s pretty rare in Testament´s case. Awesome song about meaningless hatred. I could say I dislike too much melodies in metal but Testament have always been good at incorporating melodies while it still sounds metal as fuck. Never too much of it and never losing that important punch in the music.  This disc  is very varied and multilayered with a lot of amazing musicianship. Yes, you can hear this is a bunch of experienced musicians delivering "thinking man´s thrash metal" yet never losing the edge to the music. Never too technical nor too pretentious. I could say a lot about this record, and take it song by song, but this review would be too long to read I think.  Among my favorites you can find almost every one of the songs in its own different way. Every song fulfills its purpose in a way hard to describe. It´s like a long trip where you have to get from point A to point B to get the whole picture. This record is near an epic masterpiece, it´s very diverse, from real thrash monsters to slower melodic songs with amazing solos, and I mean amazing guitar work. Alex` and Eric`s solos on this record is like "I want more" the whole time. Stunningly performed, lovely to hear. When it comes to the drums I haven´t found out whom of Gene Hoglan or Chris Adler plays which song but I guess there are a lot of drum fantaics who want to hear about the drumming. Well, I hear one thing anyway. The drumming is like the music itself not overly technical but with a lot of FEELING and of course tight as my buns of steel (well) Very organic sounding drums I should say. No "plastic feeling" at all. Of course the whole production is very thick and it fits the music perfectly. Thanx guys, you have made me jelous again. Well done. Have I some negative aspects of this record? Well, in a perfect world I would ask for 10 point riffs all over the record from beginning to end. This time, maybe 10 percent of the riffs is like 8 points. And maybe some of the songs could be a bit shorter. But this is as we say in Sweden "luxury problems" as in "minor problems"

8,5/10

NECROPHOBIC "Death To All"

For over twenty years they have spread their blasphemous music, and they don´t sound tired at all this long into their career. The lyrics are still there and their trademark blackened death metal are also there. They have a pretty unique sound, you can hear it is Necrophobic and not some faceless clone. The music itself is fiercly intense most of the time, still melodic. But the guitar melodies don´t make the music sound weak or boring, it adds a spooky atmosphere and Tobias Sidegård sounds as haunted as ever when he shrieks and growls out his message about Lucifer and his best friends. I have heard a lot of their records and this is among the better they have released, through the years. Drums, guitars and the voice of Tobias hit my ears with a feeling that is hard to explain but if you imagine having a nightmare, a nightmare with the perfect soundtrack you will hear this. I should say horrorfilled magic, not sounding too pretentious.The music is like a dark unit meant to be scary and very intense, yet extremely entertaining. The riffs are so catchy and easy to listen to, at the same time they are like little horror flicks, amazingly brutal.The production of this record is good, the bass isn´t that audible but that´s a minor problem since the rest of the instruments sound great. When I have started listen to this, I hardly can stop. It´s that hypnotizing, really. So if you don´t want to be a part of this unholy team´s ideas and ideals, don´t listen. But If you have read this far I guess you´re interested in it. Go listen to this and get blown away by this swedish uncrowned masters of blasphemy.

9/10

HATE ETERNAL "Phoenix Amongst The Ashes"

Many things have been said about Erik Rutan´s Hate Eternal. Some say they lack dynamics, some say their productions suck and some say they are the masters of pummeling blasting death metal. I am of the view that some of their later albums like "Fury And Flames" for example is a bit blurry with the drums very upfront in the mix. This their latest blastpiece of blistering tight death metal is nothing but a showcase of death metal supreme. Erik Rutan has one of, if not the best death metal voice ever. He articulates, but nothing of the brutality is lost. He really sounds like he´s mad at the whole world when he growls and spits full of rage. This record have a lot of interesting songs, especially the opening riff in "The Art of Redemption" is totally sick. The riff is extremely fast and sounds more like a frenetic guitar solo than a single riff, very unique sounding for sure. Another thing people complain about is their faceless blasting, I think this record has a lot it of but they mix it up with a lot of heavy parts too which makes the record a bit more easily digested. But since I am a speedfreak and worship most of the songs Hate Eternal have done through the years, this is no exception. Within the fierce grinding parts, there are always substance in the songs, the riffs are entertaining most of the time even at neckbreak paces. Why? Because with such poise and conviction that Erik Rutan possesses not much can go wrong I think. He manages to always give the listener a very brutal, but extremely talented song writing experience. The song "Hatesworn" has a part after the first riffs when Erik sounds totally possessed by everything evil in this universe." HATESWORN, HATESWORN, HATESWORN !!!!!!!" No offense, but nor David Vincent, George Fisher, Chuck Chuldiner, Luc Lemay, Ross Dolan, John Tardy or Glen Benton have that kind of brutality in their voices. It´s almost inhuman to sound like that. I like this record a lot, but I envy Erik for being such a godly death metal ambassador. Almost everything he touches turns to if not gold but to death metal masterpieces, even as a producer. Obey Erik and his mighty men, listen to this deadly piece of death metal art.

9,5/10

EMBALMED "Exalt The Imperial Beast"

Mexico is a hotbed for crazy bands with no boundaries when it comes to create insane music. Embalmed is a good example of insane music with no intentions to be melodic or catchy. I am sucker for this kind of music, since it is some kind of deranged sense in my mind which comes to life when listening to it. Embalmed is a perfect mixture of a more primitive early Angelcorpse and Bestial Warlust, combined with a little hint of Black Witchery. Every song sounds almost as the one before, the chords and rhythm patterns are pretty identical, but for the diehards, that´s a good thing if the production does the music justice. The production of this is like a deadly ten ton hammer tearing through a skyscraper and then the hammer hits the ground and thrash every car and human being around, and leaves a bloody mess. It´s chaotic, it´s destructive and they give every poser around the globe a big, big middle finger in the air because they don´t just play and act chaotic. Mexico is a violent country and I guess this shows in their music climate too. You can´t pretend music this aggressive that totally lacks compromises and any ANY kind of melody These maniacs are for sure necro, evil and full of hell and I think you will hear this when you put this piece of world war 4 in your stereo or computer.

8,5/10

SICK OF IT ALL "Based On A True Story"

In my life there has been a certain of amount of hardcore/ metalcore involved since I was quite young.  I have always liked bands with more "core" and "metal" involved than "punk" in their sound. Sick of it all have always included some punk influences in their music, but the hardcore part has always been dominant. Pure hardcore has a rougher edge with more punch I think. This record is among the absolute best they have have ever released. I have always liked some of their songs, but not a whole record. Sometimes their is a lack of dynamics in their songs. A lot of songs on this record are aggressive and the sound and production is more "metallic" than bands like Pennywise and Bad Religion (Of course their music is also heavier and more mean, since they play hardcore and not surfpunk/so cal punk), . Lou Koller is one of the keys to their aggressive sound, his voice is nothing but pissed and angry the whole record. And he has a great "crunch" in his voice. Some kind of dirtiness and rawness. All over there are songs full of great hooks and a heavy sound, just the way I like it. There are also a lot of their trademark sing a long choirs which add a bit of catchiness. 24 years into their career they are as angry as ever. It´s always great to hear a band not just releasing albums for the money alone. (Well, I think nobody does today, the record business is dead, but you get the point?) This time they are almost as good on cd as they are on stage. There are more aggressive bands out there, but SOIA play their brand of hardcore pretty damn well. Horns up guys!

7,5/10

FETUS STENCH "Stillbirth"

Another Devourment clone? The name is typical for those bands playing "slamming brootal death metal", but this is something totally different. This is a swedish, very young band (if you look at pics of them) which plays a straight forward, yet quite technical hardhitting death metal with great dynamics and a crushing sound. Far away from that stereotype sound of hundred elephants trying to handle their instruments in a pit of zombies. Well, I tried to describe how it sounds when some bands perform their totally generic slam death metal. Fetus Stench is way better than their name, despite their young age they handle their instruments very professionally and even their vocalist has a very mature voice. He sounds very angry and has a clear, yet brutal voice. The music itself  consists of both heavy parts and speedy grinding parts with a lot of punch and inventive guitar playing. Well produced stuff with a touch of several high class death metal bands. The first band that comes to mind is actually the swedish blasphemous masters Aeon. I know I have mentioned them in some reviews before, but Aeon´s relentless music is not something you dislike. Is it? Newer stuff from Grave is another thing you can hear some traces of here. These guys have a sound and songs that are not totally unique (who has these days?) but this disc is so full of really good songs, you really can´t hate this.One of the better records lately from a swedish band for sure! This kills and shreds This is their first album, and a pretty hard one to top I think. I am looking forward to their next piece of well executed death metal.

9/10

HURTLOCKER "Embrace The Fall"

Since this blog is a total DIY (Do it yourself) thing, I mostly write about bands I like and would like to promote. And this is one of the bands I would like to promote, too bad they have split up. I have seen a lot of  people and mags telling that this is a metalcore band. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is a METAL band with maybe some slight "core influences" But first and foremost this is hardhitting metal with both grinding parts, heavy thrash and some death metal riffing. I discovered this band when I bought a copy of the american mag "Explicitly Intense", specialized in extreme music, six years ago and there was a cd sampler with the song "Absolution" from their first cd on it. That song totally blew me away, it was full of aggression and catchiness and their vocalist sounded like a predator full of rage. The thing about this band is that nobody, I mean (almost) nobody talks about them! It´s a fuckin´shame, ´cause they play(ed) a totally relentless mix of several metal genres without loosing any of the momentum in the songs. There is always a thread to be found and none of the riffs or chords seem to be out of place. This cd is full of their, if not  unique but totally outstanding ability to create songs that are just fucking lethal metal, not death not thrash not grind. Just lethal metal with all the aforementioned ingridients included. The only minor complaint I have about this record is the few  spoken parts which seems a bit out of place. Otherwise this slays as much as their first masterpiece of pain inducing metal.

8,5/10

JUNGLE ROT "What Horrors Await"

Jungle Rot are the epitome of straight forward death metal with no tendencies of technical wankery or pretentious lyrics about abstract things. It´s about war and it´s mid-paced most of the time. But it doesn´t matter, ´cause the music they play is without a doubt among the best of bands who play groove laden death metal with riffs to kill for. This is a record that won´t disappoint you if you´ve heard their previous albums. Jungle Rot deliver meat and potatoes death metal with a punch, a great punch in your face even without grind parts and technical riffing. Death metal with a punk attitude, "We don´t care about playing a zillion scales and rhythm patterns from another dimensions, this is pure death metal about war" That´s what it´s all about, and since they seem to have a inhexaustible ability of composing great riffs, there is no use for a sound like Necrophagist or Origin. It´s hard to pinpoint favorite songs on this record, they are all good and full of the only thing that really counts. The kings of  heavy riffing are Jungle Rot.

9/10

GENOCIDE KOMMANDO "Black Metal Supremacy"

This french black metal band have now split up, this is their only record released. But it´s a good one. It´s not very original or unique but it has qualities you want from a black metal band. They play their style of violent  bm with  great conviction and since I like things speedy this is a great one for me. You have the "war feeling" in this music, like Marduk meets Endstille with a little twist. It´s not blasting the whole record, but it´s a lot of it and you can hear that the vocalist means every word he spews out from his bloody jaws of hate.The cold and grim (Yes, it´s a bm record) feeling is present all the time and that is what black metal is all about. The human apocalypse, the misery of mankind.  You have probably heard a lot of records approximately like this, but it´s not just about how you play, if you don´t bring forth the state of total downfall you have failed. But this record brings you devastation. If Black Witchery are the kings of destruction and hate and Marduk are the princes of the throne, these guys come pretty close among others.

8/10

AMON "Liar In Wait"

The Hoffman Brothers revenge on Deicide, and it´s a pretty brutal revenge for sure. It´s never easy to write a review about a record that so many people have an opinion about. But this is pretty good stuff, you will not here any synthesizers nor any "Gothenburg melodies". This is death metal in the vein of the more recent Deicide, with a lot of tight blasting and technical guitar stuff. Alternate picking sections and impressively clean sweep picking, all played flawlessly with lightning speed. If you like later Deicide, you´ll probably like this, ´cause even their experienced vocalist Jesse Jolly  is reminiscent of Glen Benton. You will even here those "double voices" performed. What differs from Deicide is the music itself,which is a bit more brutal and technical. You will not fall asleep during this, nor you will find it amazingly entertaining. This is highly skilled death metal but not a lot of "death metal hits" are found here. The musical aspect of this record is more interesting, since it is a very technical but not just "a lot of wankery for the sake of it" record. You can really hear that these guys have made their homework when it comes to creating songs with great dynamics. Even though it´s good music, I don´t get the feeling of a great record ´cause there is a lack of really great riffs. . Maybe it´s a grower.

7/10

ANGELCORPSE "The Inexorable"

The one with the most difficult name to spell. But I think it´s the best of their records. Amazing riffing in the same vein as old Morbid Angel combined with that famous "war metal" brutality. And they have THE riff of the century in this slab of fucking great music. The song I am talking about is "Wolflust" The main riff in that song is totally hypnotizing and I wanna put the song on repeat every time I´ve heard it. That riff alone makes this record a 9 out of 10. Well, this whole record is a showcase of mindblowing death/black metal with a lot of punch and personality and Pete Helmkamp as the hord leader with his mean and hissing voice. Tight performance of a band that mark their career highlight here. What makes this record so stunning is the memorable riffs all over the place. What makes a riff good? For me, it´s when the riff makes you wanna crawl out of your body,  but you don´t know what to do with your limbs. You just know that this riff is so cool you have goosebumps everywhere. This record is full of twists and turns, but the songs are driven forward by a relentless force and a great amount of bonegrinding madness. Crazy and fucking great.

9/10

HATE "Erebos"

They are as good as country mates Behemoth, but they haven´t got half the attention. They have been around since 1990 and released a couple of great death metal records. Year by year they have refined their formula to a modern death metal monster with a lot of power and a great ability to create songs that are interesting and full of amazing musicianship. Many people compare them to aforementioned Behemoth, but this band can stand on their own without any doubts. This record is a proof that if you are persistent, things will finally pay off. Maybe they haven´t got the recognition they deserve  among the "big death metal horde" but I guess many underground fanatics like myself have heard them and appreciate their nowadyas pretty sophisticated style of death metal with a production fatter than most of the butter in my country. This records gives you blastbeats, exciting chords patterns, horrifying riffs, great guitar leads, scary atmospheres  and as the cream of the crap Adam the first sinner as the ultimate vocalist. He spits his wrath at everything he dislikes and he does it with such conviction you can´t do anything but believe him. This is a great slab of modern death metal which will appeal to people who likes well produced, but excellent and catchy death metal with no poppy melodies at all. I guess next record will be as good this, and if there is any justice in this world they will get notified by more people who like quality metal in general and death metal in particular.

9/10

SANCTIFICATION  "Black Reign"

As a swede, I have to say we have a lot of good death metal bands, and not just in the "Stockholm death metal" genre. This band have members from Aeon and a vocalist of Dark Funeral fame Masse Broberg aka "Emperor Magus Caligula".  This is some heavy and evil sounding stuff. The similarities to Aeon are obvious, it´s punishing, hammering death metal with a pretty big musical knowledge. Not just endless blastbeats but more focus on creating a combination of a blastbeats, powerful riffs, heavy parts and Masse the vocalist growls very well, you can hear most words he grunts.This isn´t unique sounding stuff, nor it´s a rip off, you´ve heard death metal before. Right? Even if a band don´t explore new territories, it can still be damn good. And this is good stuff, you can bang your head and grab a beer or two. There could have been more memorable songs and the triggered drumsound is a bit clicky. But I don´t care that much, you shouldn´t either. Metal til death.

7/10

CORONER "No More Color"

Switzerland hasn´t got many well known death, thrash or black metal bands(Celtic Frost and Hellhammer of course). At least not outside their own country. But Coroner is a for sure an exception. They have written a couple of total classics within the thrash/progressive thrash genre. I bought this one on LP when it came out in 1989, and it´s unique in every way possible. From the strange, crazy rhythm patterns and great technical riffing to Ron Royce´s brilliant vocals. He sounds like he means every word, like the sick scientist trying to convince the people to believe his theories about the end of the world. The music on this masterpiece is nothing short of amazing, if you could imagine Atheist meets darkened thrash, combined with a great amount of "black as the night" riffing. The riffing is phenomenal, they were way ahead of their time when this exploded into the metal scene. The guitars play very complex stuff combined with a fingertip feeling when it comes to creating catchy yet very depressive and dark riffs. This is one of the absolute timeless classics within this genre, though a bit underrated. Not among the diehards, but among the rest. Be a true metal warrior and let this great piece of music be a part of your weekly metal meal.

9,5/10

AZARATH "Blasphemer´s Malediciton"

The blasphemous masters of satanic death metal are back with a vengeance. This time with a new vocalist, and they sound as depraved as ever. I really like their dirty, crushing sound. Many of the new bands have a more polished sound, but these fellas go right for the throat with their evil sounding musical terror, some kind of horror filled soundscape with rough edges. It´s not grinding madness all the time, but the whole atmosphere of this record is so dark and sick that you can´t help but falling into some sort of trance. All of their records have that haunting feeling, it´s impossible to run and hide from these friends of the horns. You will for sure be dragged down to the deepest pits of hell, when you listen to this. The music itself is pretty straight forward, yet quite technical blackened death metal. A genre that I like a lot. What makes them different from a lot of other bands is the ability to make the whole listening experience
very intense and like a burning fist in the face. This music hurts and it hurts well. Obey your master.

9/10

 PATHOLOGY "The time of great purificaiton"

Pathology´s first cd was pretty gruesome with some sick doctors  ripping the flesh and blood out of someone
on the cover. With every cd they have improved the cover art to something more tasteful. A bit more tech-death inspired with a bit more abstract and thoughtful covers. So even this time, with a man standing on a narrow path and some "abstract circle in the sky" is throwing fire towards the earth. The music on this disc is pretty awesome with lots of slamming, groovin´, grinding and great leads. Actually I can stand the awful vocals because the music itself is so well performed and more towards death metal with tech parts than just brutal death metal. There is so much going on  in this bloody stew of heavy death metal. It happens a lot in the songs, without being overly technical or boring. This one really punches you in the face, while still having a lot of dynamics and a great amount of hooks to bang your head to. It´s not "too slammy" or stale. If you mix the best of bands like Devourment, Dying Fetus and Disgorge US you pretty much got what this sounds like. The only flaw is the vocals,otherwise it kicks major ass.

8/10

PUTRID PILE "Blood Fetish"

Shaun LaCanne is a sick m-therfucker, that is for sure. He has now released 4 albums, and this his fourth is the most diverse to date,and the lyrics are of course about death, decay and splattered bodyparts.The cover art is as usual as tasty as ever. The feeling with this record isn´t a "one man band" feeling. It is very professional produced though you can hear a drum machine is used, it´s well programmed at it´s not just everlasting blasting the whole album, he got some nice fills here and there and there are a moderate part of different drum patterns. This man creates actually great death metal, in the "broootal territory", he uses the awful pig squeals, moderately but he has a great growl too. There are a lot of good riffing here, and if you like your death metal in your face with no melodies and a lot of punch I guess you like this. This record is quite in the same vein as the other he has produced this far, so you know what you get here. As I told before the production is great, it´s crunchy and has a lot of power to it. Most brutal death metal records have a bit more muddy production, I like when you hear every instrument seperately, maybe the bass is a bit hidden in the mix but overall it´s a good production, well fitting the style of music. Well you get it, it´s brutal, it´s quite catchy and it´s not too much slam in this blood filled stew.

7,5/10

MALIGNANCY "Eugenics"

During their twenty year career as a band they have released two EP:s and three fullenght albums. This is their third fullenght and they keep on doin´what they do best. Crazy technical death metal, and this time with slight math metal influences (it isn´t as bad as it may sound if you´re a purist). These influences come across the most when vocalist Danny Nelson mixes his high screams with very technical passages, you almost stumble yourself when you hear these guys playing ultra technical shit . This music isn´t meant to be memorable as in "writing catchy songs" ´cause it happens so much in the songs it´ almost impossible get a grip of the material the first times you´re listening to it, and yes they use pinch harmonics this time too in the songs. I think it adds diversity to the sound and makes it a more suggestive listening experience,  even they don´t overuse it. These crazy pot smokers(?) have done it again, crazy death metal for crazy death metal maniacs. Enjoy.

8/10

SQUASH BOWELS "Grindvirus"

Poland has a lot of high quality death metal these days, but this band plays grind or if you wanna call it goregrind. The production is a bit muddy but dirty and heavy as it should be. This cd is released by the almighty Willowtip Records, and if you´re familiar with that label you know they are just behind Relapse when it comes to signing quality grindcore bands,(maybe they were more in the frontline a few years ago) although I prefer Willowtip before Relapse. This bunch of grinding maniacs from Poland is kind of unknown yet, even if they are favorites at festivals like Obscene Extreme I think. They give us a great cd here, with a lot of groove and frantic grinding. The common thread is never lost in the songs, and there is a good flow in each of the songs, the vocalist Artur Grassman has a really nice scream and he also delivers a evil growl in the songs which adds some heaviness to the overall impression.This is grind for people who doesn´t give a fuck about trends and wants to be a needle in they eye on average Joe that plays disco music every friday for all his trendy friends. Fuck things up with this record. Play it loud.

8/10

PERDITION TEMPLE "Edict of the Antichrist Elect"

This warmachine from hell with members from Angelcorpse, Blasphemic Cruelty and Apocalypse Command show us how terror should sound if it was music. Gene Palubicki is what I suppose the mastermind behind this band, and that shows in the music which is a continuation of Angelcorpse´ blasphemous and wild kind of death metal mixed with the oh so terrible genre description war metal. But that´s what comes alive on this record. It´s musical war, and PT is a good substitute to Gene´s other bands. He knows how to create satanic and totally mindblowing music that will possess your mind and soul. I think most of the songs are very well done, since they melt together flawlessly with a great amount of grinding parts and their unique guitar sound which sounds so evil and cruel. This gives me also memories of the old and good Morbid Angel, when they played "Bleed for the Devil" on "Altars Of Madness" I freakin love that song, but that´s another story. PT gives you a almost full knock out on this piece of brain-melting metal.

9/10

I CHAOS "The Human repellent"

This german/dutch band consists of one former Sinsister member and two guys from the german band Dew-Scented. And this is ONE HELL OF A BAND, they play a very riff based death metal with a tight rhythm section and the ability to pound the listener to dust. This music isn´t "broootal death metal" which I mostly dislike, this is much more sophisticated and well produced. But and there´s a big "but", this stuff kills and rips through your headbangable body until you can´t stand still. Not unlike swedish blasphemous death metal killing machine Aeon, except the lyrics as they don´t write anything about Satan and his friends. Their vocalist Joost Vand Der Graaf has a great growl, he articulates so you can actually understand his lyrics if you listen carefully, that´s the way I like it. This band has it all, except international success yet. But since this one is their first album I guess things will soon change. I bet they will have a huge following if they tour with a more famous band. Come on guys, come to Sweden and rip the place to shreds. As you already have understood, this album is incredible. Over and out.

9,5/10

ENDSTILLE "Infektion 1813"

Black metal has been around for a while now, and there are more and more bands adapting the scandinavian style of playing black metal. This is more towards the swedish sound with bands like Marduk and Setherial. I like their approach with a good mix between fast and semi fast black metal. When bands have the ability to play fast and tight black metal that´s always a good thing. I think black metal is meant to be played fast, cause it gives you the feeling of complete downfall which is the whole point of playing this kind of godforsaken music. They create a great amount of horrifying atmospheres created by two guitars, bass and drums, though it sounds like there are like 20 guitars on this recording. The sound is so full like a punch in the face. I guess you can imagine what this sounds like. Great powerful black metal with lyrics about war and Satan. Not very unusual, but still a really good soundtrack to dark and gloomy days. Or why not a sunny day when you´re grilling your steaks next to your boring neighbours. They will for sure get a bit pissed I guess.

8/10

PAINFUL DEFLORATION "Antisocial Antihuman"

Ukranian grind isn´t something we´re spoilt with, especially not good Ukranian grind. This band have been around since 2006 and this is their third album. I haven´t heard the previous ones, so I can´t compare ém. What I do know is that this is well performed grind, it isn´t much of death metal in this piece of destroying music. It´s pure grind with a relentless force and a good amount of hooks and a great tight drummer, he doesn´t play any spectacular rhythms or so, (but hey it´s grind not Meshuggah) but he´s very good at what he´s doin´. Speedy and powerful drumming. Back to the songs, they are for sure inspired by bands like Nasum not "pot style grind" like Brutal Truth , I find them pretty unique and not like a bland copycat using riffs that has been used a million times . At least they play the songs with passion and fire with a good amount of riffing for your head to bang to, that is a very important point these days when there are so many bands playing this kind of music. Instead of being unique and using trumpets, you can make good music by showing the crowd that "this is important to us, we play like there´s no tomorrow"  That is what these guys do. They invide us to a pretty awesome grindfest which you can´t refuse to join.

8/10

DIABOLIC "Excisions of Excorsisms"

The american death metal monsters attack with their lethal and neverending bombastic tornado of blastbeats and extremely fleshripping riffs. This band has somehow avoided to reach a wider audience, which to me is hard to understand. They always give us hardhitting US death metal, tightly performed and with an incredible amout of power and a sick way of playing sooo intense, yet easily digested music. They got their own sound, the guitars are all over the soundscape and their drummer Aantar Lee Coates is one hell of a tight blastmachine that destroys everything in his path. Their vocalist Paul shows a great way to handle the vocals, he´s like a hungy wolf waiting for blood. I think this record is their best to date, because while it is intense like a sandstorm in the Sahara desert it is still catchy as hell. You have to listen to this album to fully understand the amazing songwriting skills these guys possess. The hardest part as a band is to not repeat the song and riff patterns from the last record (especially in an extreme style of music as Diabolic´s high speed  death metal), Diabolic manages to develop their sound further with every record. While this stuff maybe isn´t as intense and bonegrinding as their "Infinity Through Purification" record, it´s a bit more memorable. Believe in their statement "Death metal at blasphemous speeds" and you´ll be greatly rewarded.

9/10

OFFENDING "Age Of Perversion"

France has never been very famous for producing high class death metal bands. But lately it has been a change of that fact, bands like Svart Crown, Kronos, Gorod, Offending, Benighted and the commerical "used to be death metal" success Gojira have released a lot of good records. Easily comparable to the best in the scene.And this one is no exception, I was really surprised when I found this band on the  "Metal Manicas" website and realized that they destroyed a lot of bands that have gained greater success abroad. I don´t know about their budget, but they have a really powerful production, not soft and clean but heavy and clean with rough edges. They also combine technical knowledge,great vocals, tight musicianship, great lyrics and a capability to write songs that include both fast grinding parts and bone crushing heaviness without losing any of its flow. Flow is a words that comes to mind when listening to this. Every part fits together and it  brings a feeling of experienced musicians and a lot of practicing. Three of them are featured in the technical/experimental black metal band Asmodee. What we get here  is a really great trip into the realm of death metal, and it´s a  great cover art too. Evil and ancient priests making the masses obey them in a church. Great music and great artwork. Well done.

9/10

INSISION "End Of All"

Sweden´s Insision give us their first release on the "oh so broooootal" label Sevared Records. This label have a lot of generic crap with shitty vocals, but they also have signed a bunch of good bands. Insision are one of these good bands, since they a good amount of quality in their unrelentling death metal with Carl Birath as their unholy growler, Carl growls quite hearable and not like a pig who wants to take a shit in the nearest bushes. Back to the music, it´s for sure US influenced  death metal with great riffing and a tight drummer with some good techniques behind his kit. The music is quite groove laden with meaty grinding parts that grips the listener by his throat. Roger the guitar player knows how to create some scary atmospheres with his six string monster, though the production is pretty muddy the display of anger comes through greatly `cause every instrument is easily recognizable (except for the bass). What one could ask for is a bit more variety in the songs. It feels like you´re listening to one long (good) song. Everything is well done, and tight performed, the only thing I ask for is a bit more "kick in the face" songs.. I demand a bit more from these experienced musicians. This time half of the songs punches you in the face, and the rest just makes little ripples on the water.

6,5/10

SPAWN OF POSSESSION "Incurso"

I had the oppurtunity to see these swedish masters of technical death mastery this spring. And yes It was quite an experience, it´s pretty hard to exactly describe how these lads play, because to understand you have to keep yourself locked in for like 10 years and practice all possible musical theory and having daily fretboard gymnastics . Except for that you must learn how to use eight arms and legs to be a drummer of this kind. Well it is not music for guys and girls who likes their music easy and simple. They are like athletes, for example their bass player Erlend Caspersen who has played with like ten great death metal bands is for sure an athlete. He uses hiss bass as his gym equipment, He plays fast and his fingers are everywhere. It´s like a nightmare for every kid dreaming of being a decent musician. And their new dutch guitarplayer, he plays things that most people just can imagine, seemlessly without effort. Yes, I hate these guys because of their almost ridicolous talent, but I worship them for the reason that they somehow manage to create great songs in this tormenting nightmare of time changes, strange drum patterns and the amazing guitarplayer Jonas Bryssling´s ability to play guitar in a godly way . He writes a lot of the songs and here he delivers some of the most bizarre, amazingly written riffs I have heard in a while. He mixes both crushingly heavy and technically difficult fast riffing with classical style guitar and takes you on o trip to a realm where just his mind have been. It´s a magic world of rhythms that you can come close to if you listen to this weird and totally ingenious record. They manage to create GREAT songs out of millions of notes and strange drum patterns. And that is their greatness. They don´t sound like an Origin clone, they sound like a band that is impossible to mimic and have much more substance in their songs than mentioned band. It´s not just technical wankery, there are true song writing skills behind this long awaited album. Of course the  growler Dennis does a great job too. I prefer a bit more varied songstyle but he´s doing it decent. And yes he´s tight too.

9/10

TOXIC HOLOCAUST "Conjure And Command"

I´ve heard a lot of  music within the new wave of thrash metal. A lot of bands worship the old bands totally and mimic them unshamedly. Toxic Holocaust have a slightly different approach, the main man Joel Grind looks like a surferdude (at least in many photos I´ve have seen) with light hair and headband(!) But he sounds angry and plays angry. It´s very far away from the "party sound" of bands like Municipal Waste and Bonded By Blood. This is far more dark and depressive and has a slight black metal influence, not so much for the riffs but the overall dark feeling and Joel´s hateful voice.This is a great alternative for you seeking for a more serious and dark approach of thrash metal. If you take a look at the cover, it has much more in common with black metal than thrash metal. It´s black and white and has an underground feeling to it. I think the songs on this record kick some ass, even if not all the songs are "hits". I would say the most memorable songs are the quite simple and straight forward "Bitch", It has a lot of great riffs and a great chorus, the catchy "Nowhere To Run", the quite fast (mainly) "Revelations" and the slow and dark "I am disease" Your blackened thrash needs will be pretty satisfied with this bunch of songs.

7/10

ALL OUT WAR "Assassins in The House of God"

Can you fail with an album title like that? I have a penchant for "tough" and "evil" album- and track titles, this one must be one of the best, most thought provoking album titles I´ve heard. I really like bands that question the "holiness" of  the church and God. Anyway, this is the fourth album by these metalcore/thrash maniacs. And I don´t mean they play thrash all the time, but there are moments of Slayer riffing now and then. I would say they are one of the forerunners of the metalcore genre (Though they have much more in common with  the metal genre than the core dito). They begun in 1991, and what I can recall few of the big names in the scene nowadays started that early. I have been a big fan of this band since I heard this record the first time, first and foremost for the lyrical concept, the neverending anger which feels real,  and the crushingly brutal riffs, yet they all are quite catchy. This music is no fake and all the songs are so full of pent-up anger that it must be impossible to fake this. Anger, frustration, agony and an enormous amount of power and energy. And the vocalist, he is for sure a "screamer" but he convinces at least me with his lyrics about the apocalypse . All Out War is no joke. They play hard ball all the way and they mean it.

9/10

IMMOLATION "Unholy Cult"

Through the years Immolation have given us some unique death metal with weird riffing and a dark atmosphere that is easy to recognize. The intricate riffs, the time changes and Ross Dolan´s extremely haunting voice is so intense and impossible to  not remember . And the lyrics are so incredibly smart. They question religions, beliefs and god in so many intelligent ways they could be religion professors. It´s not just the usual slaying God concept. When it comes to the music, there are many different opinions on which of their albums is the best. I like a lot of their records song wise, unfortunately what I don´t like about some records are the lousy productions. But this record has a quite flawless production. It´s heavy, clear yet dirty and full of life (or should I say full of death?) As always they don´t have many songs that suck. Maybe these guys are not the catchiest band around, but they always make good songs. Even this time there are so many riffs that are almost impossible to not be "drawn into". It´s like a nightmare coming true within all your senses at the same time made by guitars only. The drummer adds a scary atmosphere with his unusual drum patterns as well. I can´t say anything bad about this record except maybe they could have written a bit more memorable songs. But what the heck, If you like Immolation you will like this record. They never disappoint.

8/10

ASPHYX "Deathhammer"

Martin Van Drunen (Ex Pestilence, Hail Of Bullets, Ex Bolt Thrower etc) and crew had a 9 year hiatus, then the praised "Death...Brutal Way" was released and the rollercoaster was about to begin again. This time they give us a album pretty much in the same vein. You got that dirty death metal with heavy doom parts. It´s no frills, no fancy guitar techniques or blastbeats from hell. You´ve heard much of it before from other bands (what the hell it´s 90´s death metal, not progressive new school metal), maybe except the doom parts which isn´t that common in death metal. As always I prefer when things are hittin´hard, the slow passages makes me wanna take a nap. I don´t need blastbeats all night long, but I need some kind of intensity to not press the skip button. As long as they stay to their formula of angry distorted guitars, great riffs and a pretty intense pace I am a big fan. And of course Martin Van Drunen adds an inch of madness with his tormented voice. . Keep the pace up guys and you kill most of the competition in the old school game.

7/10

HEATHEN "The Evolution of Chaos"

I remember when I picked up their debut album "Breaking The Silence" in 1987. I bought at a grocery store(!) and since I was into thrash already at that time I was eager to get home and put it on. And what a record, I played it for years in a row. Bands like Metallica, Exodus, Nuclear Assault, Testament and Slayer got all the attention and many many good bands were left in the shadows. What do I wanna say? This is one of the best melodic yet aggressive thrash bands ever to have existed on this planet, but most people don´t know them. Only the diehards like me and people interested in quality music. And this record which was released 18 years after their second album is a total eargasm. This one is even more progressive than the last one, I should call this record epic. It´s so full of amazingly performed guitar solos and great melodies that you can´t help but worship it. But it´s NOT too melodic, It has a lot of aggressive parts and great riffs all over the place.
If you add the best elements of   Metallica before they went alternative rock(Ride The Ligthning, Master Of Puppets, And Justice For All)   and mix it with  present Testament. Than you add some Death Angel styled riffing, King Diamond melodies and you pretty much got it. But these guys are no copycats, they are legendary geniuses. I just try to explain how they sound roughly. You gotta listen to this epic, proggresive, aggressive, amazingly written, stunning, headbangable, outstanding piece of world class metal. YOU NEED THIS. This is the real deal. Music that will always stand the test of time.

10/10