siLLy puPPy The San Francisco Bay Area has been one of the hot spots for extreme metal ever since Metallica introduced the world to thrash metal all the way back in the 1980s and although much of the world followed suit, this region where i reside has hardly rested on its laurels producing numerous metal bands of all strains. Well some of those bands like Oakland’s Sleepytime Gorilla Museum chose to get wild and experimental and then others like Pittsburg’s HEMOTOXIN chose to revisit the 90s with its Death inspired technical death / thrash metal mix.

This band was formed in 2010 as a one-man act of Michael Chavez but soon was joined by Joshua Sumpter (bass) and drummer Joey Banducci only to be replaced by drummer Brandon Wilcox who has been with the band ever since. An active power trio to this day, HEMOTOXIN has so far released three albums and an EP and it all began with this debut BETWEEN FOREVER… AND THE END which hit the scene in 2013. This album features nine tracks at a traditional album’s running time of just under 37 minutes.

Considered a Death clone by many, HEMOTOXIN does worship its guru Chuck Schuldiner not only by crafting a rampaging mix of thrash and death metal with slightly progressive twists and turns but actually covers the Death track “Suicide Machine” from the band’s classic “Human” album. This band really goes all the way including a vocal screaming growl that would pass for Schuldiner himself in a slightly altered dimension. Likewise the pummeling guitar riffage and bass / drum attacks are right out of the Death playbook. This is one of those cases where the musicianship is off the charts perfect but the creativity is sorely lacking. Of course everyone has their tolerance level for clone bands but i’m ok with it to a certain point.

The saving grace is that BETWEEN FOREVER doesn’t quite sound like a complete Death ripoff but rather sounds like a Death meets Vektor hybrid as the band has learned how to implement those wild extensive riffing frenzies that bounce back and forth and all over the place and longer extended cadences. Likewise the vocals fall somewhere between Chuck Schuldiner and Vektor’s David DiSanto. The thrash elements taking the death metal sound back to the late 1980s also oft makes this album sound more like a bonafide thrash album than a fully developed death metal one. Thematically in line with Death, the subject matter includes gore, horror and science fiction especially courtesy of H.P. Lovecraft.

Like many such bands that wear their influences too overtly on their sleeves, HEMOTOXIN is a mixed bag but due to the high quality musicianship on board with each track carving out an excellent slice of techy deathened thrash metal, i can’t help but be thoroughly impressed but likewise due to the cloniness, also are these tracks a tad forgettable as they only conjure up visions of past masters rather than establish HEMOTOXIN as a top dog in the modern tech death world. Highly recommended for those with a large expansive appetite for such technically proficient extreme metal but for those who get queasy at the sound of Schuldiner worship then perhaps this is one you should pass on.

UMUR "Between Forever... and the End" is the debut full-length studio album by US, California based death metal act Hemotoxin. The album was independently released in February 2013 and made available in digital format on the Hemotoxin´s Bandcamp profile at a "name your price" tag. Hemotoxin was formed in 2010 and released several demos and the "Divinity in Torture" EP in 2012, before releasing "Between Forever... and the End".

On those early pre-album releases Hemotoxin have covered Death (the band) tracks more than once, and the tradition continues on "Between Forever... and the End", where they cover "Suicide Machine" (which is played very true to the original). Now the reason for starting the review of the actual music with mentioning the legendary death metal pioneers, is because the music on "Between Forever... and the End" is strongly influenced by the technical/progressive 90s output by Death. Sometimes to the point, where one has to wonder if Hemotoxin are content with essentially being a clone act with very little original musical input of their own. There are differences though and especially the occasional use of blast beats set Hemotoxin apart from Death, but in the end there are more similarites than differences.

It´s a bit of shame really, because the quality of the material is generally high, the musicianship are on a high level, with some tight playing and some great aggressive vocals, and the sound production is pretty powerful too. So it´s overall a good quality release, but the clone factor is bound to drag it down. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved, but this one is mostly recommended to those who can´t get enough of the 90s material by Death and who can´t get enough of that sound.

UMUR "Biological Enslavement" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, California based death/thrash metal act Hemotoxin. The album was released through Unspeakable Axe Records in April 2016. It´s the successor to "Between Forever... and the End" from 2013, although the two albums were bridged by the "Alchemist" EP from 2014.

Stylistically the music on "Biological Enslavement" is a technically well played type of death/thrash. Early 90s Death (the band) is probably the most obvious influence, but Hemotoxin are not clones by any means (even though they´ve chosen to cover Death´s "Suicide Machine" and add it as a bonus track). There´s a good level of aggression in the music and especially lead vocalist/guitarist Michael Chavez delivers some really convincing, raw, and intelligible snarling vocals, but the instrumental part of the music is also rather punishing. Hemotoxin occasionally venture into slightly more adventurous territories and when they do that they remind me a bit of an act like Revocation.

The quality of the material on the album isn´t quite as high as the output by that reference though, and that mostly boils down to the songwriting lacking a bit of memorability. The album is entertaining enough while it plays, but it´s not many songs you remember when it´s over. The musicianship is generally on a high level, with the above mentioned fierce vocal delivery as the high point of the performance, but the sound production is slightly lacking too. It´s hard to put a finger on what exactly it is about it, but there is a messy mastering or something else wrong with it. It´s nothing too serious and I´m fully able to enjoy the album without thinking too much about it, but it could certainly have been better.

Upon conclusion "Biological Enslavement" is still a pretty decent release by Hemotoxin though and the convincing delivery of the material and occasional killer riff are enough to make it an interesting release, although neither the songwriting nor the sound production reaches great heights. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Alchemist" is an EP release by US, Pittsburg, California based death metal act Hemotoxin. The EP was released through Brutal Gear/Clandestine Records in April 2014. The EP is available in digital format at a "name your price" tag on Hemotoxin´s Bandcamp profile. Hemotoxin was formed in 2010 and released several demos and the "Divinity in Torture" EP in 2012, before releasing their debut full-length studio album "Between Forever... and the End" in 2013. "Alchemist" is the follow up release to that album.

The 5 tracks on the 19:53 minutes long EP pretty much continue the strongly 90s Death (the band) influenced technical/progressive death metal style of "Between Forever... and the End (2013)" except for the short intro and the closing track on the EP, which is a cover of "After Forever" by Black Sabbath. The musicianship are on a high level, with convincing aggressive growling vocals, fast aggressive death/thrashy riffing and drumming, pretty well played solos, and Hemotoxin are overall a tight playing unit.

The original tracks on the album are well composed although the Death influence is maybe a bit too obvious, and I miss more original ideas from the band. The cover version of "After Forever" isn´t that successful to my ears though. I´m not sure if it´s under rehearsed or if it´s the arrangement of the track that´s a bit off, but it doesn´t sound that great. The sound production is professional, clear, and powerful, and overall "Alchemist" is a quality product despite a few issues (mainly that the band almost clone ideas from Death). A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.