DEICIDE "In The Minds Of Evil"

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

 After 20+ listens I give this one...

6,5/10

DEATH ANGEL "The Dream Calls For Blood"

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

10/10

NEGATOR "Gates To Pantheon"

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

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

8,5/10

ABOMINANT "Onward To Annihilation"

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

9/10

ABORTED "Global Flatline"

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

5,5/10

GORGUTS "Colored Sands"

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

8,5/10

BLOOD RED THRONE "Blood Red Throne"

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

9/10