Time Signature Total fucking hell...

Genre: black-thrash

I kinda enjoyed these guys' eponymous 2013-demo. While I did look forward to more input from this Norwegian group of thrash-madmen, they dropped from my radar, so I was shocked to see that, since then, they'd released another demo, and and album, and another album. That 'another album' was released in December 2014 and bears the awesome title "Total Hell".

I was evilly happy to learn that they still operate within the same style of black-thrash that characterized their eponymous 2013-demo, and presumably also their other releases, which I, admittedly, have not heard yet. That is, "Total Hell" fully lives up to its name as it contains twelve tracks that can only be characterized as fast and furious black-thrash. The songs are fast-paced and primitive and come across brutally chaotic. The vocals are hysterical, which suits the music perfectly, as are the frantic guitar solos which remind me of early Slayer as well as Jacob Schultz mad solos from his Invocator days.

From the opener 'Deathrush' to the closing track 'Demonic Perversion', the listener is bombarded with awesomely frantic and angry thrash metal, which is adrenaline-fuelling and entertaining at the same time. Fans of black-thrash of any ilk should definitely check out this thashy black-attack. It truly is total hell.

Time Signature Ritual burning...

Genre: black thrash

The demo tape format seems to be having a renaissance these days, and the Norwegian thrashers with the disturbing name Infant Death are among the underground artists to make use of this format with their 2013-demo (which can also be acquired in digital format, I should point out).

Stylistically, Infant Death explore the rawer and more primitive landscapes of black metal without their music being too simplistic. Definitely aggressive and driven by primal anger, the tracks nonetheless are characterized by several bursts of finesse, a couple of parts even being kind of technical (such as the quirky opening of 'Slave to the Grave'. The dissonant chords in 'Death Throat' even reach near-Voivod dimensions.

Still, the crunchy production and the many fast-paced beats - some of which almost qualify as blastbeats - make the music seem very frenzied. The chaotic guitar solos and the hysterical vocals further contribute to this sense of chaos. I am sure this is a 100% deliberate move by the Norwegians, and it definitely does not detract from the experience of listening to this demo. On the contrary.

Infant Death's demo is an explosion of underground evil and should appeal to any fan of fast-paced in-yer-face black thrash.