DEVOURMENT "Conceived in Sewage"

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

7/10

HATEBREED "The Divinity of Purpose"

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

9/10

HATCHET "Dawn Of The End"

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

8,5/10

MORTILLERY "Origin of Extinction"

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

5,5/10

AEON "Aeons Black"

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

9/10