Time Signature Deformed trunk...

Genre: death metal

2012 welcomes Italian deathsters Synapses, whose band name insinuates that their music is challenging and technical. And that is indeed what it is, as their debut album Expiation clearly shows.

Each song drawing on a plethora of riffs, many of which include dissonant chords and/or rhythmically challenging textures, Synapses' brand of death metal id definitely of the more advanced kind. True to the genre of tech death metal, there is also a dose of brutality injected into the music on the debut album, featuring more primitive old school death-grind riffage and more different types of blastbeats than I ever knew existed.

The level of musicianship is incredibly high, and the degree of precision with which Synapses deliver their music is almost beyond what is humanly possible – especially the velocity and precision of the drumming is pretty much beyond belief. The album lacks guitar solos, and that is a shame I think, as they could have added a further layer to the music where the band could have further showcased their technical abilities. Also, while impressive and rhythmically varied and challenging, the album does tend to get a bit monotonous in the long run, leaving the listener yearning for something else than syncopated rhythms and technically impressive drumming. This is probably one of those albums that are best enjoyed a couple of tracks at the time.

Still, we are dealing with quality death metal here, and if you are into machine gun bass drums and wing chun punch snare drums and riffs galore, then do not hesitate to give Synapses' powerful debut a listen.

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)

Time Signature Death metal maniac...

Genre: death metal

Behold the re-issue of death metal act Cianide's 2005-album Hell's Rebirth - complete with no less than six bonus tracks, five of which are demo-versions of songs already on the album.

The album was originally released in 2005, but it sound like it is from 1994, as it contains pure old school death metal. Now, this should be no big surprise, seeing that Cianide were indeed part of the first death metal wave and have been wreaking havoc since the early 1990s. Thus, we are treated to heavy, and often primitive (which is a good thing, I hasten to add) riffs mixed with one-stringed tremolo death metal chaos as well as more thrashy riffage, accompanied by straight up old school metal drumming and a bass that is nearly inaudible, but whose presence is felt in the fat bottom (pun unintended) that characterizes the old school brutality of the production of the album. Some tracks like 'Curse of the Dead' have a nice thumping groove to them, and there is also a certain touch of crust to be heard on the album (most prominently in 'Powerhead')

While not overly technical, the song in this album do contain a considerable about of changes, and in that respect, their music is not dissimilar to Morta Skuld. Also, blastbeat-sections do pop up every now and then, but whenever they do, they are more akin to old school death-grind along the lines of Symphonies of Sickness-era Carcass, early 90s Napalm Death, and early Bolt Thrower.

Primitive and old school, the songs on this album are nonetheless quite compelling and have the power to draw you in and set your body to moshing mode. Thus, fans of old school death metal are bound to adore this moshfest of a reissue.

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)

UMUR "Kotfresser" is the debut release by German death metal act Impulsive Evisceration. It´s a 5 track 14:47 minutes long EP self-released in April 2011. Impulsive Evisceration is a one-man act consisting of J who handles vocals, guitars and programming. The band was founded in 2008 under the Frogkill monicker but changed name to Impulsive Evisceration before the release of "Kotfresser".

The music on the EP is brutal death metal with heavily processed and completely unintelligible growling vocals. The tracks are predominantly mid-paced and ultra brutal. One of the greatest features on the album is the unbelievably well produced guitar sound and the really edgy guitar riffs. The drum programming is pretty great too and before I discovered that the drums were programmed I actually thought it was a real drummer. Personally I find the vocals to be a bit one-dimensional and monotone and that´s unfortunately a slight issue on an otherwise great release. It´s probably an aquired taste though.

With it´s "over the top" nasty cover artwork and songtitles like "Spinal Cord Reconstruction" and "Trippin' On Meth" (which is also featured in a demo version) it´s not hard to imagine that this is a pretty extreme release. Really brutal death metal has a tendency to become one-dimensional fast and I can´t rule out the possibility that the same will be the case with Impulsive Evisceration over the course of a full-length release, but "Kotfresser" is definitely worth a listen and I found myself enjoying the EP quite a lot. A 3 - 3.5 (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Sermon of Mockery" is the debut full-length studio album by US death metal act Pyrexia. The album was released through Drowned Productions in 1993.

The music on the album is brutal and technically well played death metal. When listening to the album it´s obvious that Pyrexia are very influenced by fellow New York death metal act Suffocation. There are many similarities between the music by the two acts, like the ultra brutal and completely unintelligible growling vocals, the multiple tempo changes in the tracks and the high technical level of playing. In addition to that former (and present) Suffocation guitarist Guy Marchais is a part of the Pyrexia lineup on "Sermon of Mockery". I´m not sure I´ll go as far as to call Pyrexia a Suffocation clone but it´s close.

Personally I think the quality of the music is slightly lower than most of the material released by Suffocation, so while "Sermon of Mockery" is a good quality death metal release in it´s own right, it doesn´t exactly reach the hights of the best albums in the brutal and technical part of the genre. The sound production could´ve been more powerful, the tracks could´ve contained more hooks and while the musicianship is generally strong I think the vocals are monotone and one-dimensional. Still a 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Megatrends in Brutality" is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Comecon. The album was released through Century Media Records in August 1992. Comecon was a project more than a "real" band and they released three studio albums in the years 1992 - 1996, which three different vocalist. "Megatrends in Brutality" features L-G Petrov on vocals. He was unemployed at the time as he had been kicked out of Entombed in 1991, alledgedly because of a situation that involved Entombed drummer Nicke Andersson´s girlfriend. L-G Petrov and Entombed would patch up their differences though and Petrov rejoined the band again in late 1992.

The music on "Megatrends in Brutality" is old school Swedish death metal, complete with crunchy downtuned guitars, morbid leads, growling intelligible vocals and D-beat drumming. Actually the drumming varies quite a lot with both D-beats, blast beats and mid-paced heavier beats. The riffing is on the punked side at times but ultimately this is pretty typical old school Swedish death metal. Maybe that´s why "Megatrends in Brutality" seldom gets the recognition I think it deserves. It doesn´t stand out enough from the crowd, but I´m pretty sure fans of the genre will find it greatly enjoyable.

The musicianship, the sound production and the songwriting are strong without reaching excellence but less is sometimes enough and I think that´s the case with "Megatrends in Brutality". A 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "...For Victory" is the 5th full-length studio album by UK death metal act Bolt Thrower. The album was released through Earache Records in November 1994. "The IVth Crusade (1992)" earned Bolt Thrower much critical acclaim and for the death metal genre the album was commercially successful too and provided the band with a position among the elite of UK death metal acts.

"...For Victory" pretty much continue down the same war/battle themed death metal style as it´s predecessor. To me it sounds like they have trimmed the fat though, making "...For Victory" a more compact and consistenly high quality release than "The IVth Crusade (1992)". It´s like they took all the great things from the predecessor and left out the not so great ones in the process too. The music is unmistakably the sound of Bolt Thrower though with heavy downtuned and groove based riffing and simple yet effective songwriting. Karl Willetts sounds more commanding and aggressive than ever while still maintaining his brutal edge. The rest of the band sound tighter than ever too. I´ve been critisizing Andrew Whale´s drumming in the past but I guess all the touring they did in support of "The IVth Crusade (1992)" payed off because here he delivers a great performance.

The 10 track, 39:35 minutes long album is pretty much packed with one gem after another. Very few times during the album´s playing time do the quality drop just slightly. Just take a listen to tracks like "Remembrance", "When Glory Beckons" or the title track which fully display the brutal yet epic war themed death metal of the band. If I have to mention a minor issue with the album it´s that the tracks are slightly one-dimensional, but it´s to be expected from a death metal album in this vein and from Bolt Thrower in particular. They seldom break out of their formula to the great joy of their fans and to the great despair of their critics. If people who are not familiar with the band´s material ask me which Bolt Thrower album they should start with, I recommend "...For Victory". A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is fully deserved.

UMUR "The Great Execution" is the 8th full-length studio album by Brazilian death metal act Krisiun. The album was released through Century Media Records in October 2011. Having existed since the early nineties, Krisiun are one of the most successful death metal acts from Brazil. Unless you count the formative years where Krisiun was shortly a four-piece, the band have always been a three-piece consisting of the three brothers Alex Camargo (bass, vocals), Max Kolesne (drums) and Moyses Kolesne (guitars).

The music on "The Great Execution" is death metal with quite a few thrash metal traits. The vocals are brutal yet intelligible growls though and that feature defines the music as death metal to me. A combination of Sepultura (the brutal thrash metal riffing) and Behemoth (the brutal growls placed high in the mix and the way the blast beats are played) could be a valid description, but Krisiun don´t particularly sound like any other act.

The band are an extremely well playing unit. It´s actually to a point where they at times seem to melt together to one grinding brutal organism. I guess nothing beats true blood/brotherhood when it comes to understanding each other. At 61:57 minutes the album is slightly too long to my ears, but it´s a small issue when the quality of the bands music, their strong musicianship and a really detailed and powerful sound production are on such a high level. While the album may be a little long for an extreme metal release, the band succeed very well in keeping the intensity level high all the way from album opener "The Will to Potency" and until album closer "Shadows of Betrayal" ends. This is simply through and through a quality release and a 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is fully deserved.

UMUR "Soulskinner" is the 6th full-length studio album by German death metal act Fleshcrawl. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in January 2002. Since they inception Fleshcrawl have been exponents for old school death metal in it´s purest form and rest assure that nothing has changed on "Soulskinner".

...we´re still talking straight forward old school death metal with brutal growling vocals (only few words stand out. The vocals are mostly unintelligible), crunchy downtuned riffing (the riffing often reminds me of Dismember both in sound and in style) and drumming that spans from blast beating, D-beat drumming, slower doomy rythms and mid-paced groovier beats. The band are very well playing and "Soulskinner" also features a really brutal and powerful sound production that suits the music well.

As such all of the above features should have ensured a really good ride if you are a fan of old school death metal, but unfortunately "Soulskinner" proves to be a somewhat one-dimensional affair. By the time I reach track 4 or 5 on the album I´m wondering when track number 2 ends and that´s a sign that the tracks lack memorable moments/hooks. I´m entertained while the album plays, but only remembers very few moments from the album when it´s over. Now I expect old school death metal albums to be somewhat one-dimensional, because that´s sort of the premise of the genre and usually also a demand from the fans of that particular genre, but there still needs to be hooks to hold on too, for an album to stick and they are basically not present here. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

Wilytank So, it's been a few months since my review of Gorguts' 'Obscura' was published. Surely by now I must understand the album for the musical genius and divinity that it is and change my mind about the negative score I gave it, yes? No. I have not gone back to that album since the review for the simple reason that I refuse to listen to terrible music more than I need to. However, it's time to leave the past to the past. I have moved on to their followup album, 'From Wisdom to Hate', which is a great improvement over 'Obscura'. Unfortunately, that still does not make it very good.

First, I'm pleased to say that the production has improved and it's a lot more apparent that the guys in Gorguts are interested in actually playing their music to an actual key than making noise with the guitar strings. This coincides with the album's whole style which now sounds like a sort of post death metal album influenced by parts of "Nostalgia", one of the better pieces from 'Obscura'. With this particular concept, Gorguts have showed some promise. This post-metal concept is a lot more likeable than the "dissonant" noise that was existent in 'Obscura'.

What's the problem then? Why is this score rather low? The problem is how Gorguts actually executes this concept. As the album goes on, it just really seems to drag with all the slower paced riffs that I begin to feel like the playing is just really uninspired that it just drains my attention to the point of boredom. It gets worse when I look at a more modern example: Ulcerate. When I listen to 'Everything Is Fire' or 'The Destroyers of All', I get this sense of nihility mixed with a little misanthropy to make a really negative sounding atmosphere. I'm just not getting that here on 'From Wisdom to Hate'. The thematic elements are drastically different between the two. While Ulcerate have a rather negative view on the human condition, 'From Wisdom to Hate''s lyrics contain some bullshit about human transcendence. I get the feeling from the piece "Unearthing the Past" and "Elusive Treasures that Luc Lemay wanted to be an archaeologist before becoming a musician because both of those songs basically talk about how cool archaeology is.

The point I'm trying to make is that this post death metal style of music doesn't work as well in the setting that Gorguts presents here on 'From Wisdom to Hate'. Death metal tends to be much better when it has more negative energy. Not to say I don't appreciate Gorguts' change in style to something better than 'Obscura', but better does not equal good. At the publishing time of this review the band hasn't put out anything since this album; but even with the amount of time they would have had to change things up further, I'm not too enthusiastic as to what the product will be.

Diogenes Italy’s Hour of Penance have been on an absolute tear lately. They’ve been around since the late ‘90s, but their past two albums, The Vile Conception and Paradogma, have catapulted the band to the front of today’s technical/brutal/insane/whatever death metal scene, and it seems as though they just keep getting better. 2012’s Sedition was released after losing vocalist Francesco Paoli to fellow countrymen Fleshgod Apocalypse and a change in the guitar department, but the band’s direction couldn’t be clearer; extreme metal of the utmost quality, an unrelenting assault whose only objective is to kick your ass. Does it ever…and then some.

Upon first listen, Sedition is probably going to sound a lot like other albums that fall under the tech/brutal death metal category. There’s a guy growling/roaring incomprehensibly (spewing anti-Christian lyrics, as usual), really fast riffage, and more blast beats that you can shake a stick at. And sure, music of this caliber can be hard to get into; those riffs can be hard to pick apart at first, and drummer Simone Piras’ style is, well…a little much for all but the most numb of metalheads. It’s not an album that can be digested immediately-that, you can be sure of.

And yet, there’s something about this album. There’s something that keeps you drawn in after that first listen, something that tells you that Sedition isn’t just another random display of fret-dancing and blast-beating. It’s something that sets Hour of Penance apart from the rest of the repetitive and wanky modern death metal scene, and that will hold its listeners’ interest long enough to discover the hidden jewels that really make this album tick.

…It’s substance. You know, that undefinable “stuff” that makes an album great. It’s there on Sedition; you just don’t know it yet. As best as I can describe it, there are “levels” on this album that accomplish multiple things: the brutality on the surface to appeal to your average death metal fan (or generally angry person), the riffs (which are produced excellently) to get that fan hooked, and the technical prowess and craftsmanship beneath it all, to really make Sedition worthwhile. Hour of Penance just plain know what they’re doing, and know how to make a great death metal album, no matter what bells and whistles may be covering it up.

While there is absolutely zero filler on this album, I’ll choose “Decimate the Ancestry of the Only God” to make my point. Right off the bat, there’s that opening riff: it thunders forward like a freight train on a one-way path to hell, immediately accounting for extreme brutality over Piras’ frantic drumming. Hour of Penance could have stopped there and left the track to be one-dimensional, but no; just 30 seconds in, there’s a lead. It’s sinister, it’s confident, and it immediately changes the dynamics of the song from a straightforward headbanging-fest to something you can actually appreciate. Keep listening, and you’ll come across that same lead 3 minutes in; this time, it builds and builds, howling in agony, but over that riff, it couldn’t feel more right. Hour of Penance perfectly captures what it’s like to be both the torturer and the tortured, all in less than 5 minutes of some of the best death metal you’ll ever hear.

Of course, that’s only one track. Sedition has 9 of them (including a short intro; normally, I don’t like these, but the mood this one sets is impeccable), and they all accomplish more or less the same thing: encapsulate brutality and technicality in the perfect ratio, all while showing off the band’s artistry. This is, without a doubt, an album that will continue to grow on you; with Sedition, Hour of Penance have managed to transcend all of those silly subgenres, writing an album that fulfills everything death metal stands for, while standing as a mind-blowing piece of music in its own right. If you’re a fan of the extreme side of music, you’d be wise to pick this one up.

UMUR "Dethroned" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Canadian death/black metal act Morgue. Just as the case was with "Flames and Blood (2010)", "Dethroned" is a self-released affair. The album was released in October 2011.

The music on the album is death metal with a slight blackened edge. The blackened edge is actually only audible when the brutal, processed and almost completely unintelligible growling vocals are replaced by a higher pitched sneering vocal style. Other than that I´d say this is death metal through and through (despite most band photos depicting the band in corpsepaint). "Dethroned" is the kind of death metal album that is enjoyable while it´s playing but not that memorable after it is finished. It´s brutal and punishing with good rythmic variation and also features a powerful sound production, but it lacks that last uniqueness to really stand out from the pack.

Still "Dethroned" is a solid death metal release and I´d say a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

Phonebook Eater 8/10

"Like An Ever Flowing Stream" is an ear-crushing landmark album for Death Metal.

Dismember are a Swedish Death Metal band from the nineties, and are praised as some of the most influential and important bands of the genre, mainly because of their debut album “Like An Ever Flowing Stream”, one of the key LPs of old school Death Metal.

Like a lot of similar bands, Dismember were focused on giving a brutal impact with their music: the first thing that pops up about these compositions are the crushingly heavy, distorted guitars. Hearing them makes you think of mountains crumbling down in fast motion. The vocals also are greatly guttural, nasty, and fierce. With the typical old school DM sound, the music is rough sounding and thrashy, and gives the perfect touch to the tracks. Sometimes a vocal chorus might subtly come in, to give a more unearthly feel, really giving the idea of this music, visceral as it is, coming strait from the center of the earth, born from the lava and rocks.

It’s thematic nature also is not different from the one of most Death Metal bands: what make the lyrics interesting is that the persona seems to be the same, but his actions and characteristics change from song to song, as if a story narrated his changes: on the first track, this narrator seems to be reluctant yet resigned about dying and to go to hell, but by the second and third track, he gets progressively more sadistic in his actions. Then in “Skin Her Alive” it almost looks like he’s somewhat guilty of his killings, yet with the track following he continues his work of evil. On the final track, it’s a sort of goodbye to the audience.

With only thirty minutes of length, “Like An Ever Flowing Stream” features eight tracks, all of them extremely consistent to the sound and to the attitude. This truly is like an immense, fuzzy ball of mayhem and destruction falling down a hill, and disintegrates every single thing that comes in its way. It leaves quite an impact on the listener, who despite the short life of the album is overwhelmed by the intensity. Starting with the powerfully memorable “Override To The Overture”, the album doesn’t lose it’s quality throughout it’s length, emphasizing the impact: from the shorter episodes like “Soon To Be Dead” and “Skin Her Alive”, to the more stretched out ones like “In Death’s Sleep” and “Dismembered”.

Thanks to it’s sheer brutality, “Like An Ever Flowing Stream” is still today regarded as Death Metal milestone; for any fan of the genre, this is a must.

optisailor2002 The early 90s was a good time for metal in general, with the rise of pioneering American death metal bands such as Death, Atheist and Obituary. Apart from the rising death metal genre in America, other regions were experiencing this growth at the same time, and Electrocution hails from Italy, with their debut (and sole) full length album, Inside the Unreal, originally released way back in 1993 as death metal has begun to go into its mature stages.

It is perhaps not surprising then that the style of death metal that Electrocution plays leans closely towards the more thrashy spectrum of the death metal genre, and right from the beginning the blistering speed that the band travels at one is immediately reminded of such acts as Death, as compared to the dark sound that Incantations prefer. The thrash metal influences are also clear in the guitars of Alex, where he unleashes insane and chaotic guitar solos in the veins of Slayer's Kerry King, apart from the urgent riffing patterns. The style of vocalist Mick are a savage, deep, throaty growl, helping to bring in the element of brutality in the band's music, and all these are backed by the frantic drumming of Luca, punishing the kits relentlessly. The songwriting abilities of the band is constantly shown off throughout the album, with the band somehow managing to bring about some sense of order despite the whole commotion going on.

The band's later material also lean towards a more technical/progressive style in the veins of Atheist, and Inside the Unreal contains some moments that see the technical side of the band rear its head. Rising of Infection, for instance, contains many sections that are reminiscent of Atheist, from the odd time signatures, the numerous tempo shifts on the track, to the complex riffs and soloing style of Alex on the track, though Electrocution's style is much smoother with fewer of those jarring moments. There are even times when Mick's vocals somewhat bear a resemblance to Kelly Shaefer's, further increasing that comparison to Atheist. One other thing that is notable is how the album manages to retain its old school feel despite the remastering that the album has gone through.

There are numerous excellent death metal acts alongside bands like Electrocution that have for some reason come and gone with just a single album and faded into obscurity. Fortunately then, there are still labels out there that help to ensure that excellent acts such as Electrocution, Death Strike and the likes remain fresh in fans' memories through the numerous reissues of hard-to-find albums. Inside the Unreal is a true masterpiece and any fan of death metal will find himself unwittingly going back to it again with its old school charm.

(http://www.heavymetaltribune.com/)

UMUR "Despise the Sun" is an EP release by US death metal act Suffocation. The EP was released through Vulture Records in 1998. Suffocation disbanded shortly after the EP was released. They reformed again in 2002 with a modified lineup (and released their comeback album "Souls to Deny" in 2004). The lineup on "Despise the Sun" includes new drummer Dave Culross (Malevolent Creation, Pyrexia), who replaces Doug Bohn (who played on the preceeding studio album "Pierced From Within (1995)").

The 16:34 minutes long EP features 5 tracks of crushingly brutal and technical death metal in the trademark Suffocation style. Production wise and also on other perimeters I´d say that the sound and style on "Despise the Sun" remind me the most of "Pierced From Within (1995)". In other words a natural successor to that album. And that´s definitely not a bad thing. Few can deliver brutal technical death metal with such conviction and passion as Suffocation can. If you ask me they are one of the few acts in the really brutal part of the death metal genre that actually stand out with a unique sound. The fact that Frank Mullen´s ultra brutal growls are actually slightly intelligible only makes my listening experience that more intense. And intensity is certainly a good word to describe what this EP is about. It´s actually a downright punishing listen. The playing is relentlessly energetic wether it is blasting sections, mid-paced sections or the über brutal breakdowns that the band are also known for.

Suffocation are not exactly known for writing easy listening material and it does take a while before hooks begin to appear on this release too. However the band stick to their guns and never fall into the "cheap" trap of incorporating melody to make their music more easily accessible. They demand your full attention and by the fierce way these guys sound you´re probably better off giving it to them. Effectful songwriting, a powerful sound production and an extremely well playing band amounts to a 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating.

UMUR "Path of Forgotten Souls" is the debut full-length studio album by Spanish death metal act Legacy of Brutality. The album was released through Chief Records in March 2011.

With a name like Legacy of Brutality (the title of a Misfits compilation from 1985) I instantly thought the music on the album would be either punked death metal or death´n´roll. As it turns out I was completely wrong in my assumption as the music style played by Legacy of Brutality on "Path of Forgotten Souls" is old school death metal. Not of the most filthy and primitive kind and not of the über technical kind either, but somewhere in between. The music doesn´t exactly stand out as original or groundbreaking in any way, but the delivery and the songwriting is damn convincing. The brutal yet sligthly intelligible growls are right in your face and the riffs are brutal and memorable. I think there´s a slight nod towards early Gorefest, but it´s not too dominant an influence. I actually think the band successfully blend influences from both US, UK, Swedish and European death metal. Legacy of Brutality skillfully vary pace too, which means that you´ll find both blasting and heavier mid-paced parts on the album, so while the music does reek old school aestethics, the band are skilled enough to execute their music in a techically convincing fashion.

Other than an odd clicking drum sound, which isn´t to my liking, "Path of Forgotten Souls" is a very good death metal album that fully deserves a 3.5 star (70%) rating. If the drum sound had been better I would have given the album an even higher rating.

Time Signature No way out...

Genre: melodeath

Burning Bridges to Nowhere is the sophomore album by Canadian metallers Odium. Solidly placed in the melodeath genre, the album is a fairly typical melodeath release and then again, it isn't.

It observes the features of the genre quite consistently, and thus the listener is treated to heavy and aggressive verses with thrashy riffage and growled vocals, combined with melodic choruses, sung in Thomas Emmans' quite expressive clean vocals. In addition, there are plenty of melodic guitar leads and some atmospheric and melodic synths to "melodize" things even further. Following the trail blazed by Dark Tranquility, Odium also insert a couple of blastbeats and other elements from more extreme metal every now and then.

So, yes Burning Bridges to Nowhere has everything a fan of melodeath will appreciate – and that is without deviating into the territory of sugary pop, which some formerly respectable melodeath bands have done recently (granted, some purists might find the melodic choruses and the closing ballad 'The Descent' to be poppy, but I will leave that up to them to rant about). Still, to some extent, Odium has more in comment with North American melodic metalcore acts than with Scandinavian melodeath bands. For instance, Odium do not embrace the Gothenburg-sound but make use more of a modern American metal sound on this album, and – although there are no metalcore breakdowns to speak of on this album – there album is pervaded by number of melodic metalcore aesthetics.

The musicianship is advanced and very solid with advanced guitar leads, and clockwork precise drumming, and – like mentioned above – the clean vocals are very expressive. Fans of melodeath and melodic metalcore alike should definitely give this album a listen, and they are likely to appreciate how Odium have managed to strike a balance between the melodic and the aggressive.

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)

Time Signature Tomb desecrator...

Genre: death metal

Of Carrion and Pestilence is the debut album from Spanish deathsters Mass Burial. The band name, the logo, and the cover artwork all spell old school death metal.

And old school death metal is exactly what Mass Burial deliver on this album. Making use of primitive, but compelling, riffage – some of which has a thrashy quality to it, the Spaniards really takes the listener on a journey back in time to the early 90s when primitive and raw death metal was in its heyday. Even the performance is just as organic and dynamic as in the good old days with chaotic guitar solos and not-too-guttural growls and all that business.

Production-wise, the album has a very dark quality to it, and the guitars are brutally distorted. The almost crust-like guitar sound is not unlike the raw and dirty Stockholm-sound that characterized early Swedish death metal . This should appeal to fans of old school authentic extreme metal, but a consequence can also be that, even for seasoned fans of the genre, it will take a couple of spins to atune one's ear from the pristine productions of today to the raw production of this album.

Of Carrion and Pestilence is old school in every sense of the word, and any fan of early extreme metal should definitely give this slab of primitive brutality a listen.

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)

Phonebook Eater 5/10

"Incurso" throws at the listener so many things at once, that none of them end up giving an impact.

Spawn of Possession are a Swedish Technical Death Metal that over the years have been gaining an increase in popularity. But with “Incurso” the band reaches the attention they never really had: they now are generally extremely well respected among Death Metal enthusiasts. This third album of theirs, “Incurso” is being somewhat praised by Metal fans, not really for the songwriting but more for the amazing technical aspects.

Like the vast majority of modern Technical Death Metal, “Incurso” has no sense of melody whatsoever: everything is focused on are flashy guitar riffs, extremely fast-paced and complex rhythms, everlastingly changing hooks. But the thing about Spawn Of Possession is that in their music these technicalities are done extremely well: each and all of these musicians play like musical demons, especially the drummer, Henrik Schonstrom, who many times delivers truly amazing fills. The bass played by Erlend Caspersen is wild and virtuous as well, with all of it’s slappings and slidings. Of course the music is very hard to follow because of all the things that are coming and going at once, and that is one of the main problems I seem to have concerning modern Technical Death Metal.

The lyrics, like many Death Metal lyrics of the early days, are graphic and violent. But what makes them especially gruesome is that most of them are stories: some include hints to necrophilia (“Bodiless Sleeper”), possession and Satanism (“Deus Avertat”), demonic raping and futile revenge (“Spiritual Deception”), sadistic surgeons (“Servitude Of Souls”). But the most twisted story of all is possibly the explicit one narrated in “The Evangelist”, where a man remembers being dialy raped by a priest, and finds out, sitting next to his sickly mother, that she too was daily raped by the same priest and that the protagonist is actually the son of the priest.

The album as a whole, because of it’s style, is one that drags on and on, and since there are no sort of melodies or stand-out moments, it feels like a huge, lengthy song that never ends. This impression is strengthened even more with the fact that all of the songs use pretty much the same formulas, almost never there are any moments that somehow differ from the rest. A slight exception is the last track, “Apparition”, where there is much more instrumentation--mostly orchestral--, a slower passage, and an overall more varied feel. But the rest of the tracks, even though they are constantly changing hooks and rhythms, feel monotonous anyhow, which is the last thing that should happen in this kind of music.

“Incurso” has an excellent production, amazing musicianship, and disturbing themes in the lyrics, but there is no natural flow from song to song: no matter how flashy everything is, there are really few moments worth remembering. But maybe this is just me.

J-Man If you've been blown away by the killer technical death metal from newer bands like Obscura or Abysmal Dawn, Relapse Records now has another band on their roster to satisfy that itch for brutal, semi-melodic, and inhumanly technical death metal. Enter Spawn of Possession, a Swedish five-piece that has made their major label debut, and third album overall, with the masterful Incurso. I was, ashamedly, unfamiliar with these Swedes before a promotional copy of this album rolled into my inbox, but 'better late than never' certainly applies here. Incurso is Spawn of Possession's first album since 2006's Noctambulant, and although there have been a few lineup changes over the past five-plus years, the band's technical-edged extreme metal sound remains fully in-tact.

Technical death metal is known by most people as a genre focused on blinding guitar leads, frantic drum patterns, and brutally challenging composition styles, and while this all certainly applies to Spawn of Possession, they take the dizzying sound of technical death metal and showcase the genre at its highest potential. Very much like their labelmates in Obscura, Spawn of Possession is not afraid to sneak some memorable hooks into their otherwise punishing tech-death sound, and I think this versatility and modern-sounding approach in terms of songwriting is what sets Spawn of Possession apart from the hordes of bands that are still trying to relive the classic days of Cryptopsy, Atheist, and Death. Incurso shows the result of a forward-thinking, talented band taking the very best of technical death metal and updating it for the modern age.

After the ominous intro in the form of "Abodement", the band dives head-first into brutal, technical death metal in "Where Angels Go Demons Follow". For the most part, technical death metal is the name of the game throughout Incurso, but frequent changes within riff structures, a monstrous rhythm section, and rather dynamic songwriting keeps the album from ever feeling one-dimensional. The copious amounts of keyboards in "Apparition" even brings 2011's Agony from Fleshgod Apocalypse to mind, with its symphonic flirtations over-top of brutal tech-death working like a charm.

With the musicianship also remaining impeccable across the board (I especially have to give a nod to Henrik Schönström - few drummers manage to kill my self esteem as much as this guy!), it's really tough to find any complaints when we're talking about a technical death metal album of this caliber. Incurso secures Spawn of Possession's place among the elite modern tech-death acts, and I'd recommend this within a heartbeat to anyone who enjoys music from the likes of Obscura, Abysmal Dawn, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Atheist, or late-period Death. In short, Incurso is a modern death metal masterpiece and a landmark album for extreme metal in 2012 - don't miss it!

Warthur Atheist's comeback album Jupiter finds the band injecting the death metal back into their sound to an extent not heard since Piece of Time, with the jazz motifs of Unquestionable Presence or Elements serving the metal rather than existing in their own space. On the whole, it's a good and enjoyable listen, even though the technical death metal world has moved on since the band's glory days; my major criticism of the album is that after the first few songs it begins to feel a bit samey, something which was never the case on their earlier albums; a few quieter spots or the inclusion of moments where the jazz outweighs the death metal, as on their previous two albums, might have gone a long way to keeping things varied here.

UMUR "Blooddrunk" is the 6th full-length studio album by Finnish melodic death metal act Children of Bodom. The album was released through Spinefarm Records in April 2008.

If you are familiar with the band´s sound, it will come as no surprise that the music on "Blooddrunk" is melodic death metal drenched in power metal tinged synths. Compared to the more traditional heavy metal inspired death metal style of the two predecessors ("Hate Crew Deathroll (2003)" and "Are You Dead Yet? (2005"), the music on "Blooddrunk" is slightly harder edged though. Of course we´re talking details here, and Children of Bodom more or less stick to their guns on "Blooddrunk". The songwriting has somewhat stagnated and you won´t find many new ideas on this album keeping in mind how much the band developed their style on the first four albums. The musicianship is excellent as ever, the sound production is professional and well sounding and as such the songwriting is pretty strong too. I guess the problem with "Blooddrunk" is, that it drowns in the band´s discography. It just doesn´t stand out among the best releases by the band.

When that is said "Blooddrunk" is still a quality product and new fans who listen to this album first, probably won´t understand why my review comes off slightly negative and hardcore fans of the band will probably enjoy this one without reservations too. To the more casual fans my recommendation is that you get "Follow the Reaper (2000)" and "Hate Crew Deathroll (2003)" to hear the best the band has to offer. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Saga Guerriere" is the 2nd full-length studio album by French death metal act Kampfbund. The album was released through TB Records in 2011.

The lyrics are in French and deal with the European resistance against Turkish invasions throughout the last nearly 1000 years. Apparently the band come from a RAC metal background, so without being able to further explore the lyrics as my French language knowledge is limited, I´m assuming the lyrics or at least the intention behind the lyrics are of a RAC nature.

The music is death metal with an epic battle mentality, and bearing in mind that the lyrics describe historic battles the band have successfully paired music and lyrics and as a consequence the album has a nice flow and appear cohesive. The music features both thrashy and death´n´roll ideas too. The vocals are brutal and unintelligible growls. The musicianship and the sound production are pretty standard and to my ears though. The production in particular is even a little below standard.

"Saga Guerriere" is a decent album by Kampfbund and providing you can accept the lyrical concept/content, I think it´s worth a listen. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

Warthur The second Dethklok album finds Brendon Small continuing his laser-accurate tribute to extreme metal. Actually, whilst the first Dethalbum's songs mainly presented a fairly accessible brand of extreme metal, on Dethalbum II Small mixes up both more accessible numbers and substantially more complex material, broadening the range of the project considerably. There's a few points where the joke seems on the verge of wearing thin - did we really need a sequel to Murmaider? - but otherwise the Dethklok schtick continues unabated across the entire album and another entertaining melodic death metal opus is produced by a band of cartoon dudes from a flash-animated Adult Swim series. Don't you love the 21st Century?

UMUR "Metamorphosis" is the 4th full-length studio album by US death metal act Vile. The album was released through Willowtip Records in November 2011.

The music is technically well played US death metal. I´m thinking mid-nineties Morbid Angel a couple of times during the playing time, but Vile have ultimately created their own sound (without sounding completely unique). While technically well played, and varied when it comes to tempo changes, this is by no means technical death metal. It´s rather old school US death metal of the more technically well played kind. The vocals are predominantly growling and only slightly intelligible but for effect the growls are occasionally spiced up with some higher pitched screams. It works very well for the diversity of the vocals on the album, which otherwise might have become a bit one-dimensional. The band use lots of fast harmony tremolo picking but also heavier semi-dissonant riffing, while the drums either blast away or play slower parts with fast double pedal work underneath.

The 11 tracks on the 38:22 minutes long album are all well composed, well played and the sound production is professional and suits the music well. It´s a sound production that emphasises detail rather than power and aggression, which isn´t an everyday feature when we´re talking death metal, but it works really well on "Metamorphosis".

"Metamorphosis" is all in all a quality US death metal album that might not stand out too much from the pack, but delivers in almost every other aspect. A treat that deserves a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating.

UMUR "Eternal" is the 4th full-length studio album by US death metal act Malevolent Creation. The album was released through Pavement Music in May 1995. After making waves on the US death metal scene with "The Ten Commandments (1991)" and "Retribution (1992)", the band hit rock bottom with "Stillborn (1993)", which wasn´t popular neither among critics nor among most fans. The decline in success got Malevolent Creation fired from Roadrunner Records, and in the same unfortunate breath lead vocalist Brett Hoffmann and drummer Alex Marquez left the group. On "Eternal", Marquez is replaced by Dave Culross (Suffocation, Pyrexia) while bassist Jason Blachowicz takes over the vocal duties from Hoffmann, making Malevolent Creation a four-piece for the first time.

The music on the album is slightly different from the brutal thrash tinged death metal of the three preceeding releases, as there is a greater emphasis on death metal brutality on "Eternal". Jason Blachowicz is a shouting type growling vocalist and he sounds quite different from Brett Hoffmann, which is also a thing that makes "Eternal" stand out from the earlier releases by the band. I enjoy the fact that Blachowicz growling delivery is intelligible and very powerful too. The album is full of well executed heavy riffing but also some really fast blasting sections. Dave Culross masterfully leads the band through the latter type sections. Like most of the band´s albums the tracks take a while to tell apart but upon repeated listens, vocal hooklines and recognisable riffs begin to appear. Don´t expect melody in any shape or form though. That´s not what Malevolent Creation is about.

"Eternal" is the kind of album where you can hear that the band has something to prove. There´s a rarely found intensity in the delivery, that you only hear on albums, where the artist feels that "grasping the last straw" urge. There´s just no way in hell, Malevolent Creation were going to be remembered for "Stillborn (1993)", which they weren´t completely satisfied with themselves and they´ve made damn sure that "Eternal" packs so much punch that "Stillborn (1993)" is more or less forgotten the minute you put "Eternal" on. Now I´m actually one of those rare few who found "Stillborn (1993)" pretty enjoyable, but listening to "Eternal", I have to admit, that "Stillborn (1993)" definitely lacked the passion of the best output by the band. "Eternal" fully deserves a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating.

Warthur Brendon Small's Metalocalypse cartoon might poke fun at some of the more buffoonish antics of musicians and bands, but every single episode drips with love for the genre, right down to the band names slipped in here and there in the background (like having a fast food outlet in one episode be called "Burzumburger"). I think that's why the Dethalbum succeeds so well at both being a hilarious parody of extreme metal and yet, at the same time, a really good melodic death metal album in its own right.

Any doubts about Small's ability to develop the snippets of Dethklok's music we hear in the episodes is dispelled with the opening track Murmaider, a song which is more crushingly heavy than many serious death metal bands are able to compose, and keeps going through a series of excellent tracks that don't let up until the end. I can take or leave the bonus disc, but then again I never let bonus tracks affect album scores anyway; on the whole, I have to give this one five stars.

UMUR "The Will to Kill" is the 8th full-length studio album by US death metal act Malevolent Creation. The album was released through Arctic Music Group in November 2002. It´s the first out of two Malevolent Creation albums to feature former HatePlow and Sickness vocalist Kyle Simons. Brett Hoffmann only contributed vocals to "The Fine Art of Murder (1998)" and "Envenomed (2000)" before he made his second departure from the band. However he would return to the band again and replace Simons for the recording of "Doomsday X (2007)". "The Will to Kill" also features new drummer Justin DiPinto (Divine Rapture, Pyrexia) who replaces Dave Culross (Suffocation, Pyrexia, HatePlow).

...but of course numerous lineup changes has been a part of Malevolent Creation´s history since day one, but as long as guitarist and main composer Phil Fasciana is leading the band, you can always count on what you get with a Malevolent Creation album. "The Will to Kill" is no different from the rest of their discography in that regard. New lead vocalist and drummer or not.

The music on the album is death metal with brutal thrash metal leanings. No surprises there. New lead vocalist Kyle Simons has a more "regular" death metal type vocal delivery (still intelligible) than the more thrashy/distinct sounding Brett Hoffmann. It´s not necessarily a bad thing though, it´s just an observation. The musicianship is as always on a high level. Fast riffing, mid-paced heavier parts, precision drumming and lots of aggression. Now you can argue that the band haven´t developed much since they started playing music (you of course wouldn´t be completely right), but it´s actually besides the point, as Malevolent Creation have always aimed at staying true to their basic style with only small tweaks and twists along the way.

"The Will to Kill" is overall another strong album by Malevolent Creation. I wouldn´t call it among their best, but there are still few that play US death metal in such a convincing way as Malevolent Creation do. Just take a listen to the opening title track for proof of a hookladen, brutal and powerful death metal track. The sligthly "dry" sound production doesn´t enhance my listening experience, but the production is still professional and ultimately it´s probably an aquired taste. "The Will to Kill" deserves a 3.5 star (70%) rating in my book.

J-Man If there's any doubt that Napalm Death is one of the most consistent forces in the world of extreme metal, Utilitarian is likely to silence those naysayers. With fifteen albums (as well as numerous EP's, demos, splits, and live releases) now under their belts, the latest from Napalm Death is a perfect example why this famed grindcore band from Birmingham, England is still as relevant in 2012 as they were nearly thirty years ago. Utilitarian is a downright lethal blend of death metal and grindcore, filled to the brim with crushing riffs, brutal technicality, and overwhelming amounts of rage. It's tough to imagine any Napalm Death fan being disappointed by an effort with this kind of quality, and Utilitarian currently stands as one of the year's best death metal offerings.

After an epic instrumental opening in the form of "Circumspect", the band dives straight into their bone-crushing and distinct hybrid of death metal of grindcore with the killer "Errors in the Signal". Utilitarian, like most recent Napalm Death albums, veers much closer to death metal territory than grindcore or crust punk, but there are frequent reminders that the band did start out in the eighties' as one of the earliest grindcore acts. Many of the riffs are definitely rooted in hardcore punk territory, and Barney Greenway's hostile vocal delivery just reeks of anger and raw aggression. Throughout this sixteen track album (or eighteen if you purchase the version with bonus tracks - something I highly recommend), your head will be bashed in by some extremely brutal music, but Napalm Death never forgets to keep their music memorable and exciting. Lots of variation within riff structures, tempos, and vocal delivery always keeps me on my toes, and Utilitarian is an absolute blast throughout its full duration. Not many deathgrind albums are as well-composed as what we have here - believe it or not, Utilitarian actually stands as one of Napalm Death's finest musical efforts thus far. With songs like "Errors in the Signal" and "Quarantined" (to only name two), it's hard not to be left amazed by this exceptional observation.

Utilitarian also shows Napalm Death taking a few risks musically, particularly in "Everyday Pox" where saxophone legend John Zorn delivers frantic squeaking to add to the already frenzied atmosphere. This is a damn solid album from every angle; the band is as tight as ever, the compositions are brutal yet rewarding, the production is phenomenal, and a sheer sense of unbridled energy is always present. Fans of Napalm Death are advised to head out to their local record stores and pick up a copy of Utilitarian immediately - this is yet another fantastic observation from kings of deathgrind.

UMUR "For the Security" is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Carbonized. The album was released through Thrash Records in 1991. Carbonized was founded by bassist Lars Rosenberg (Entombed, Serpent) in 1988 and featured, in it´s early incarnation, among others Markus Rüdén (Morpheus), Matti Kärki (Dismember, Carnage, Murder Squad, Therion, General Surgery), Jonas Deroueche (General Surgery) and Richard Cabeza (Dismember, Unanimated, General Surgery). Around 1990 the lineup stabilized to a three-piece consisting of bassist Lars Rosenberg, drummer Piotr Wawrzeniuk (Serpent, Therion, Monev) and vocalist/guitarist Christopher Johnsson (Therion).

Carbonized was always considered an odity on the Swedish old school death metal scene of the early nineties and listening to "For the Security" it´s pretty obvious why. While the music on the album is certainly rooted in the contemporary national death metal scene it still sounds alien and quite unique. Especially the fusion type bass breaks, but also the at times unconventional drumming set this apart from most other acts on the early nineties Swedish death metal scene. There´s an influence from the more grinding part of the death metal genre too and I´d especially mention "Symphonies of Sickness (1989)" by Carcass as an influence.

The band are very well playing and the sound production is raw and powerful. If the songwriting had been a bit more varied (especially the grinding parts tend to sound a bit too much the same in all songs) "For the Security" could have been a brilliant album. As it is now it´s an album that I find very intriguing and enjoyable and I´d say a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is warranted.

Warthur Ever since their transformation from a patchy black metal band into an intriguing black-about-the-edges death metal band, Behemoth have become one of the most consistent forces in metal. Whilst The Apostasy didn't blow me away to the same extent as some of their other albums, it's still a tremendously enjoyable (not to mention deliciously evil) death metal album which sees the band finding endless new ways to keep their same old themes fresh and new. It might not break that much in the way of new ground for the band, but if you've heard and enjoyed the albums leading up to it you'll be pleased to know they've lost none of their diabolic spark.

UMUR "Dystopics" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Norwegian technical/progressive death metal act Diskord. The album was released through the No Posers Please! label in April 2012. Diskord made quite the impression on me with their 2007 debut album "Doomscapes", which is a filthy old school death metal album with added technical playing and progressive ideas. Since then the band have toured a lot in their native Norway and also made a change on the guitarist potition as Håvard Østli has replaced Espen Tørressen Hangård (Hangård plays on "Dystopics" though), who himself had released Chris Myhre, who played on "Doomscapes". The usual suspects are Eyvind Wærsted Axelsen on bass and Hans Jørgen Ersvik on drums and lead vocals.

The music on "Dystopics" pretty much continue down the same filthy and technical old school death metal path as the music on "Doomscapes". I´m still reminded of early Darkthrone, Cadaver and Carbonized, played with the technical skill of Atheist and the dissonant weirdness of late eighties Voivod. Like the case was on the debut the technical playing is not implemented to flash virtuoso skills but a way to express chaotic darkness. The atmosphere on the album is bleak and aggression is the key word. The music is delivered with an infectious energy and great conviction. These guys mean business and it´s perhaps heard no better than in the absolutely caustic vocal delivery by Hans Jørgen Ersvik. Look no further for snarling growling vocals that seem designed to sear iron. The music features both fast blasting parts, odd technical parts and slow filthy doomy sections too. The latter type sections at times remind me of early Autopsy. Rotten to the core.

The sound production is raw and organic giving plenty of room for all instruments. I especially enjoy how audible the bass is in the soundscape. The sound is perfect for the trio format.

"Dystopics" is another very strong and distinct sounding release by Diskord. "Doomscapes" took me completely by surprise when I listened to the album the first time and ultimately I think "Dystopics" lacks that surprise element to elevate it to the same extremely high level as "Doomscapes". It comes close though and a 4 - 4.5 star (85%) is fully deserved.

Time Signature Colossus...

Genre: progressive gothic metal

Branded a progressive melodic death metal band, In Mourning obviously have certain liberties and can get away with things that other more traditional genre-bound death metal artists might not be forgiven for.

Their latest release "The Weight of Oceans", for instance, does not at all strike me as being a death metal release. Well, that is, the vocal style consists of growls and screams, but other than that we are dealing with music which is much more in the direction of gothic metal blended with alternative rock and progressive metal. And, you know what, it is pretty good actually. I think that the melancholic bass-driven opening of the very first track 'Colossus' pretty much makes that clear.

Drawing on dark atmospheres, melodic harmonies and spicing things up with odd time signatures every now and then, In Mourning have really struck gold artistically speaking. Not unlike with gothic metal legends Paradise Lost, melancholic and melodic guitar leads are a central feature in the sound of In Mourning's music - even in more aggressive tunes like the thrashy 'A Vow to Conquer the Ocean' and the black metal informed 'Isle of Solace' do we hear melodic guitar leads. And it is exactly this sense of melody, and the lushness it generates, along with the little details and twists and turns found throughout this album, that makes "The Weight of Oceans" the very interesting and compelling listen that it is.

In many ways, In Mourning could be described as a more sophisticated Paradise Lost (of course, In Mourning have their own sound - this is just to draw a line of comparison), combining melancholy and musical lushness. I think that "The Weight of Oceans" should appeal to fans of the likes of Barren Earth, My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost and perhaps also Crematory and Ecnephias.

UMUR "Necropolis Transparent" is the 3rd full-length studio album by multi-national grindcore/death metal act Lock Up. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in July 2011. Lock Up is a project act originally formed in the late nineties by bassist Shane Embury and guitarist Jesse Pintado both, at the time, from Napalm Death, drummer Nicholas Barker (Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir) and lead vocalist Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, Pain, Bloodbath). This constellation recorded "Pleasures Pave Sewers (1999)". Peter Tägtgren was replaced by former At the Gates vocalist Tomas Lindberg for the band´s 2nd studio album "Hate Breeds Suffering (2002)" and "Necropolis Transparent" sees yet another lineup change as guitarist Anton Reisenegger (Criminal) replaces the late Jesse Pintado.

...what hasn´t changed one bit is the intensity and aggression of the band´s delivery. Full speed ahead grindcore with death metal elements. These guys are some of the most seasoned artists on the scene and it´s audible. Tight yet organic precision playing and a fiercely aggressive vocal delivery are what you´ll get with this album. The music does become sligthly one-dimensional and it´s actually not until track number 17 "Tartarus", which is the closing track, that the pace is lowered and the band deliver something else but high speed grindcore intensity. It doesn´t affect my overall rating much, but it would have been nice if the tracks were easier to tell apart.

With that said "Necropolis Transparent" is still a very well produced, well performed and well written grindcore album and definitely one of the top albums of the genre in 2011. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

Time Signature Bastard self...

Genre: crusty death metal

Originating as a metallic crust punk band, French aggressors Acephalix gradually took their style in a more death metal oriented direction which, on Deathless Master - their sophomore full-length release – has resulted in a sound that is not unlike the mighty Stockholm-sound of the 1990s Swedish death metal scene.

Acephalix primarily make use of primitive, but brutal, death metal riffage combined with crust punk and hardcore riffage, accompanied by a drumming style that features both d-beating and slightly more advanced death metal drumming techniques, which generates an aggressive energy which I think will appeal to many a metalhead. The uptempo parts on the album compel you to bang your head, while the heavier breakdowns are very moshing-friendly. The guitar leads are aggressive and slightly chaotic, which is another feature that fans of old school death metal should like.

The vocals consist of guttural growls – at times accompanied by screams and other vocal noises. Appearing to have been processed through some sort of distortion effect, the growls definitely sound very raw, and the amount of reverb imposed upon them also give them a slight atmospheric touch. Unfortunately, the vocals are at times quite low in the mix, but this might well be a matter of Acephalix being inspired by early Amebix.

In terms of the instrumentation, Acephalix have opted for a very heavy, very distorted, and quite brutal sound which bears similarity to the above-mentioned Stockholm-sound, and this, I think, will also be something that appeals to fans of old school death metal. In any case, it contributes with a compelling brutality to Acephalix' energized crusty death metal.

Deathless Master is a lesson in old school death metal brutality with a touch of crust energy, and it should appeal to fans of old school death metal as well as to fans of crust-metal acts like Extreme Noise Terror, Nuclear Death Terror and Wolfbrigade.

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)

Time Signature Ride the steel...

Genre: crust metal / metal crust

Originally known as Wolfpack, Wolfbrigade has been unleashing their fierce crust music upon the world since the mid-90s. Now, they are back with another barrage of d-beating angry madness in the form of Damned.

Opening the album fiercely with the in-your-face d-beater "Feed the Flames", Wolfbrigade relentlessly keeps pounding the listeners eardrums through that track and "Slaves of Induction" and "Road to Dreams", and it is only in "The Curse of Cain" that the tempo is lowered to mid-pace. And just as you thought things would quieten down a bit, Wolfbrigade throw the super-fast "On Your Knees... in Misery" at you, exposing you to more crust madness in "Ride the Steel", "Hurricane Veins", "From Beyond", "Catch 22", "Damned to Madness", "Where No One Sleeps".

As with most other crust releases, Damned is a molotov cocktail of empowering energy generated through the simple but compelling riffage and the powerful drumbeats. While I personally love that sort of energy that is encapsulated in crust punk, hardcore punk, crossover thrash and related genres, I am well aware that a lot of d-beating crust has a tendency to become monotonous in the long run. I think that Wolfbrigade steer clear of this risk by inserting guitar leads and melodic elements into their sound as is the case of, for instance, "Ride the Steel" and "From Beyond" as well as "Peace of Mind", which feature some melodic guitar leads and more heavily paced bridges, on top of the d-beating madness (I especially like the heavy second part of "Ride the Steel").

In addition to the melodic tendencies, there is a certain metallic feel inherent in the music on this album, as several heavy metal elements pop up now and then, as in "The Curse of Cain" and "Ride the Steel". The overall production sound also has the brutality associated with death metal, which also contributes to giving Wolfbrigade a metallic edge on this album. Sounding like Motörhead on steroids, Wolfbrigade's brand of crust punk (or crust metal, or metal crust) should appeal to both metalheads and crust punk fans alike.

If you are into the energy of crust punk and do not mind melodic elements and a couple of intrusions of the universe of metal music, then you should definitely check out Wolfbrigade's high octane, hardboiled, hardcore energy bomb Damned.

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)

UMUR "Wastelands" is the debut full-length studio album by Slovenian death/crust act Hellcrawler. The album was released through Hollow Earth Records in May 2011. The album is available in a digipack CD version, but it´s also free for download on the band´s Bandcamp page.

The music on the album is a mix of old school death metal and D-beat crust/hardcore. Add to that lyrical themes about post apocalyptic wastelands (think the "Fallout" game or maybe the "Cyborg" or the "Mad Max" movies) and you got yourself a powerful cocktail. The music is energetic, decently played and the album features a decent sound production too. I´m not blown away but I´m certainly entertained and my head bangs more than once during the playing time and that´s always a positive sign.

The tracks are relatively short and to the point. 10 tracks distributed over a 30:02 minutes long playing time tell that story. This is a no frills "we´re gonna kick your ass" type of album and it gets the job done pretty well. The songs are maybe a bit too one-dimensional and hard to tell apart, but upon repeated listens little hooks begin to appear. A 3 star (60%) rating is deserved.

J-Man Nocturnal Torment was formed all the way back in 1988 as a band named Termination, but it's not until 2012's They Come at Night that we finally get to hear the group release their debut full-length album. Aside from a demo released in 2009, as well as an obscure tape released under the monicker of Termination in 1989, this death metal quartet has never released material as a collective unit in their nearly 25 year long existence - which is actually quite a shame considering the strength of the material offered on this album. It's always better late than never, though, and old school death metal fans should be sure to check out what these guys have to offer. While They Come at Night is hardly anything new, it's a solid example of old school death metal done right.

All of the members in Nocturnal Torment have been involved in numerous other bands over the past twenty years, and it definitely shows on They Come at Night. Though the band may not have always been the most active, all of the musicians here are top-notch players with a real knack for writing quality old school death metal. Musically, we're dealing with very raw, early nineties' sounding death metal somewhere between Entombed, Morbid Angel, Deicide, Incantation, and Cryptopsy. Plenty of fat, downtuned riffs bring the glory days of early Swedish death metal back to life, but the rather technical edge also brings a few American names to mind. Nocturnal Torment delivers a captivating and powerful take on old school death metal, and while it's not the most original by any stretch, the band's dedication to keeping the death metal of yesteryear alive will likely satisfy fans of the genre.

Clocking in at over 50 minutes, They Come at Night does begin to lose a bit of steam towards the second half, but I guess that's expected when we're talking about music this raw and intense. This is fifty minutes of very fast-paced and unpolished extreme metal just the way most fans like it. The derivative nature of this album is made up for by its sheer intensity, and overall it's a very recommendable purchase to fans of Entombed, Morbid Angel, and Deicide. Folks that love death metal without breakdowns, sleek productions, or any other modern gimmicks are bound to love what Nocturnal Torment have cooked up for their debut.

UMUR "The Karelian Isthmus" is the debut full-length studio album by Finnish death metal act Amorphis. The album was released through Relapse Records in November 1992. Amorphis was formed by former members of speed metal act Violent Solution and death metal act Abhorrence. Shortly after their formation, Amorphis recorded a studio demo (which was later released as the "Privilege of Evil (1993)" EP), which was send to Relapse Records. or actually Relapse Records had written to lead vocalist/guitarist Tomi Koivusaari to offer Abhorrence a record contract, but as that band wasn´t active anymore Amorphis included a copy of their studio demo in the return letter to Relapse Records and it got them signed to the label. Several of the tracks from the studio demo was re-recorded for "The Karelian Isthmus".

The music on the album is old school Scandinavian death metal with a melodic doomy touch. It reminds me slightly of early Paradise Lost but early releases by Swedish acts like Cemetary and Tiamat also come to mind. Already on their next album, Amorphis would include strong folk/ethnic elements in their music and while they are not as strong on "The Karelian Isthmus", those elements are present here too. All tracks are of a decent quality and the musicianship is impeccable, but the songs don´t stand out enough from each other. The result is that you don´t remember the tracks after the album is over. I thought it was maybe a matter of listening to the album a couple of more times, but nothing has changed in that department even after several spins. Still when the album is playing, it´s an enjoyable listen and if you enjoy old school Scandinavian death metal you should find a lot to like here. The sound production is also quite good, so a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is still fully deserved even though "The Karelian Isthmus" isn´t the most remarkable death metal album out there.

arcane-beautiful Since Evisceration Plague, I've been waiting for a new Cannibal Corpse album for a whilst now. These guys havent disapointed me in the past 10 years, and I wasn't really expecting them to.

Now to try and say that these guys do the same thing over and over again is a bit of an overstatement. These guys are the biggest death metal band in the world, and if they didn't deliver there standard sound, then people would be upset. But these guys are sneakily able to add a little something else to the music now and then.

Musically, the album is a little different than their last 3 albums. It's a lot heavier in my opinion and a lot of modern influences and experimentation is heard in this album, with flirts of groove metal, tech death and if you open your ears, tiny seeds of djent can be heard throughout. Corpsegrinder's vocals are also better than I've ever heard them. And the guitar sound is one of the most bone crunching guitar sounds I've heard in ages (I'm guessing that's thanks to Eric Rutans producing).

I think the material at times is their best I've heard in years. I mean it, there are some real anthems on this album that I will be hearing in my head for a whilst. My brother told me before listening to it that he thought this was their catchiest album to date, and in a way I kind of agree with him. But If I'm honest...this is their weakiest album in a long string of albums.

Now I'm not saying it's a bad album, in fact it's a pretty great album, but comparing this album to Kill, Evisceration Plague, or even The Wretched Spawn, which I think is one of the best death metal albums ever made...is a bit of a challenge. The album is great, but there are a lot of weaker moments on the album, which drag it down a little.

But hey...it's death metal...you get what you expect...which is some of the heaviest stuff you will ever hear in your life

1. Demented Aggression – These guys are always able to get your attention by starting off the album with an incredibly kick as song. Some earth shattering riffs. 10/10

2. Sarcophagic Frenzy – One of the most kick ass songs on the album. Some really killer riffs on this song. Amazing chorus in the song too. 10/10

3. Scourge Of Iron - A slower song, but mammothly heavy. I love the changes in tempo throughout. One of the most interesting and best songs on the album. 10/10

4. Encased In Concrete – Fast and brutal. I really love the lyrics on this song, especially cause the thought of being buried alive in concrete...is a bit of a fear of mine. The music video for this song is pretty killer too, and I advise people to check it out.8/10

5. As Deep As The Knife Will Go – One of the best chorus' on the album. I literally thought this was a melodic death metal song for these guys, but it's heavy and brutal enough to confuse you. This is the band's new anthem for this decade. 10/10

6. Intestinal Crank – Great lyrics. Love how the song changes in the middle and becomes something completely different. 9/10

7. Followed Home Then Killed – Great tempo changes throughout. Pretty heavy moments and a killer chorus. 8/10

8. The Strangulation Chair – These guys most technical song in my opinion. If it weren't for the technical musicianship, this song would be pretty standard. There's also a killer bass solo on this song. 8/10

9. Caged...Contorted – One of the most grooviest songs on the album, so the riffs are the main focus. Rather than that, it's pretty standard. 7/10

10. Crucifier Aveneged – I love the storytelling element of this song. Other than that, it's pretty standard. 7/10

11. Rabid – This song would be better if it was quicker and shorter. It's a bit drawn out to be honest. 6/10

12. Torn Through – Love the lyrics in this song. The discordant riffs and the fast paced narrative really helps the evilness of the song. 8/10

CONCLUSION: By far there best, but still...these guys do death metal better than most bands, especially in today's metal society. LONG LIVE DEATH METAL!!!

7.2/10

adg211288 The Beauty of Chaos is the fifth album by Polish act Eternal Deformity. The 2012 album is my first encounter with them, and it’s also their first release since 2007’s Frozen Circus. Although what I’ve read about the band would have me believe I should be expecting some kind of avant-garde hybrid of doom and melodic death metal, this isn’t really the case on The Beauty of Chaos. The melodic death part is certainly true enough, but it’s spiced with more progressive flavours than it is avant-garde, and I don’t detect anything to do with doom metal about the release. It does however draw on symphonic sounds a fair bit.

But misconceptions aside, Eternal Deformity creates an interesting sound on The Beauty of Chaos. The arrangements of the tracks are interesting and complex with symphonic keyboards used to effect with the guitars without being overbearing and there is progressive implementation aplenty. The songs are generally over the six minute mark with the exception of the first two, the very first of which is an intro. Drawn out instrumental passages are to be expected. Additionally the group uses three distinct vocal styles, done between two vocalists, so expect clean vocals along with both high and low growling. The low growls put me firmly in mind with death metal while the high growls wouldn’t sound out of place in a number of styles. The clean vocals are technically the weakest of the three styles but fit with the group’s music well enough, creating a kind of melancholic sound that works to especially great effect during the lighter sections of Eternal Deformity’s music. Overall it’s quite the atmospheric experience, heavy, yet without an in your face level of intensity and always melodic.

Compositionally we’re talking something pretty interesting. The Beauty of Chaos is one of those albums that grabbed me right from the off and refused to let go after that. While I wouldn’t go as far to say it’s an album where all songs can be considered highlights in their own right, it maintains a consistently high level of quality with the odd track pushing their boundaries right up to the highest levels. The earliest example of them doing just that is the track Lifeless but distinction of being a standout can also be applied to Caught Out Lying and the epic closer The Holy Decay. With the exception of the intro track, although it is better than most, The Beauty of Chaos is highly enjoyable from start to finish.

The Beauty of Chaos is an excellent album that I’m sure will have a pretty wide appeal among metal fans. Their mix of influences from three styles blends together in such a natural way that I find it impossible not to get drawn in. Overall it’s about borderline between being great and exceptional, but I think an exceptional rating is just about deserved.

8.5/10

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven (http://metaltube.freeforums.org))

UMUR "Enter the Dragon" is the debut full-length studio by US death/thrash metal act Dim Mak. The album was released through Dies Irae Productions in May 1999. The lineup features three former members of cult death/thrash metal act Ripping Corpse, who released the "Dreaming With the Dead" album in 1991. The band disbanded in 1992 after a futile attempt to record a second album and failed attempts to get a record deal. Ripping Corpse is also known for hosting a young Erik Rutan (Morbid Angel, Hate Eternal).

The music on "Enter the Dragon" is somewhat a continuation of the aggressive and technically well played death/thrash style that Ripping Corpse were known for playing. Dim Mak have added more groove and some hardcore influences to the style though, which makes their music stand out from the sound of their old band. The lyrical subject matter is also quite different from their old act, as Dim Mak have chosen to embrace martial arts/Kung-Fu themes as their main lyrical topic. There are still a few excursions into horror themed H.P. Lovecraft universe, but the former mentioned themes are the most dominant on the album (check out songtitles like "Spirit of the Dragon" or "Royal Ass Whipping"). Picking such an odd subject matter for their lyrics (not exactly the most common lyrical theme in the genre) was a very conscious move though. The band wanted to stand out from the mob right from the start and they succeeded very well in that mission.

In addition to featuring high skilled playing and an original lyrical subject matter, "Enter the Dragon" is an aggressive punch to the stomach. However lead vocalist Scott Ruth isn´t exactly your regular growling type vocalist. Allthough he on occasion does employ a more brutal semi-growl, his vocal style is more in an aggressive, beastly hardcore/thash influenced style. A real powerhouse, spitting out the words with great conviction. His vocal style is probably an aquired taste, but I really enjoy his sound, which is yet another thing that sets Dim Mak apart from most other band´s playing a similar style.

Then to the more negative things. The album is a bit long with it´s 50:53 minutes of playing time and the band could easily have cut 2 or 3 tracks to make the album a more compact and effectful release. My main gripe with the album though, is the production, which is a bit flat and lacks power. Fortunately the energetic playing and intriguing riffs make up for some of that, but it doesn´t change the fact that "Enter the Dragon" could have been a better album with a more powerful sound production. Overall the album is still a very enjoyable release and I´d say a 3.5 star (70%) rating isn´t all wrong.

renkls It's hard when it comes to reviewing albums that are near universally acclaimed such as this one, to not simply repeat the same praise that others have. And in this albums case, it's hard to pick apart any real flaw at all. The 40 minute single track album deals with a post apocalyptic narrative where humanity can no longer breed. This affliction leads the people of this world to desperation, and when the king and queen have a child, their hope is restored - but will it lead them to former glory or greater destruction? The narrative is murky and ambiguous in its design, but never leaves you with too little information to be any less then fully involved. If I had to pull it apart, I'd say, that yes, it does get old eventually. But I've heard this through at least 100 times, and each time I can easily keep involved in the narrative and musical design - so for the repeatability this album holds, as well as the power, ambition and result, it receives my highest recommendation.

optisailor2002 Impetuous Ritual is perhaps best known for containing 2 members of the insanely chaotic and controversial Australian death metal band Portal. The first time I heard Portal, their material literally made no sense to me, with the chaotic and abrasive sound that the band had crafted. Hearing about Impetuous Ritual's debut release Relentless Execution of Ceremonial Excrescence though, I decided to take the risk to check that out, despite the awareness of the band being a project of members of Portal, and the chance of the stuff being equally un-listenable as the latter.

And I have to say, the first few times listening to Relentless Execution of Ceremonial Excrescence was indeed unpleasant to say the least, and the music that is present on the album certainly lives up to its title. Relentless the music certainly was, with the first listens hitting me like a brick to the face, leaving me wondering what the hell just happened after about 35 minutes of battering. But after a number of listens, for some reason things started falling into place, and Relentless Execution of Ceremonial Excrescence just suddenly sounded completely coherent and made total sense to me.

Unlike the experimental approach that Portal tends to take, Impetuous Ritual chooses instead a more straightforward approach, and it almost feels as if the whole intention of the band is to crush listeners under as heavy a form of death metal as they can write. Elegy opens the album with a slow build up in the atmosphere, as the band playing in the background slowly fades into the foreground, and the guitar tone and the wall of noise is immediately familiar to listeners who already have prior exposure to related bands. The slow pace that the band begins with also leaves listeners with an air of unease, with the foreboding and crushing heavily palm muted riffs on the guitars. A low growl then greets the listener from the middle of the track, providing the ceremonial and ritualistic aspect of the song. And without warning, all hell breaks loose with Convulating Unto Despondent Anachronism, as the band goes into full speed chaos. The hits on the drums are relentless, the guitar tone abrasive as fuck, and the vocals demented enough to fit the overall atmosphere in the music.

On top of the faster segments, the band also makes clever usage of slower segments when appropriate, and when least expected, often to further build up the tension in the atmosphere. Often times, this ends up with a mood so dense that it almost makes it hard to breathe, like on Destitution, where the band simply drones on and on with the same riff over and over again, with the same ritualistic pace that they started out with, almost killing the listener who is waiting in anxiousness for the next onslaught to begin. Once the band does with Inexorable Blasphemies though, it somehow (and ironically) became easier to breathe once more, feeling as if all tension is finally released.

The straightforward approach towards the songwriting though does not discount the band's technical abilities as there are numerous guitar solos that are littered throughout, and despite the seemingly incoherent and chaotic style, these make perfect sense in the setting where they occur. The drumming as well can also get pretty technical at times, and instead of brainless blasting, what one will find here is drumming in odd time signatures and rhythms and ever-changing drumming patterns, yet managing to retain the ferocity at the same time. Songs like Coalescence of Entropy contain numerous memorable drum patterns, and are evidences of the drummer's capabilities.

Sure, complaints about this being just brainless noise and punishment on the instruments are unavoidable but the band not giving a fuck about how loud and how hard they are playing their instruments is precisely what makes this album all the more charming. To put it shortly, if one felt that Portal was too raw and incoherent to listen to, Impetuous Ritual provides a more coherent albeit slightly different experience with the variation in the songwriting styles, though the band has fortunately managed to keep the intensity, energy and atmosphere that has made Portal and its related bands one of a kind.

Originally written for http://www.heavymetaltribune.com/

UMUR "Until Eternity Ends" is an EP release by Swedish death metal act Edge of Sanity. The EP was released through Black Mark Production in 1994. The sleeve of the booklet states this: "These are four songs that we felt didn't fit the album that we are busy writing right now. But we like the songs and wanted them out somehow. This is not a taster of our upcoming CD! The fourth CD Purgatory Afterglow will take off where Unorthodox left! C-Ya (1994)"

It´s interesting to note that the band states that " Purgatory Afterglow (1994)" will take off where "Unorthodox (1992)" left as there was an album ("The spectral Sorrows (1993)") released between those two albums. But thinking about it I guess it does make some kind of sense as "Purgatory Afterglow (1994)" probably sounds more like the successor to "Unorthodox (1992)" than "The spectral Sorrows (1993)" does.

On "Until Eternity Ends", Edge of Sanity play three straight out death metal tracks, which are the first three tracks on the EP. The title tracks is by far the most interesting track out of those three (with some progressive leanings) while the two other tracks "Eternal Eclipse" and "Bleed" are of more standard quality compared to the band´s best material. The title track is what I´d call an Edge of Sanity "classic". However the most interesting track on the EP is the cover of "Invisible Sun" by The Police. It´s a great cover track displaying what Edge of Sanity were also capable of.

The sound production is well sounding and suits the music well.

I think this is a very enjoyable EP and one of the things you´ll need to own if you´re a fan of Edge of Sanity. A 3 - 3.5 stars (65%) rating is warranted even though two of the tracks are a bit sub par to the other two.

Time Signature Remember death...

Genre: death-black

While the Norwegian black metal scene is probably the most influential black metal scene in the world, I would say that the French one is among the most interesting ones, spawning a number of different black metal acts operating within a number of different black metal subgenres, each offering their own take on the genre.

One of these French black metal bands is Vorkreist. Their style is normally described as blackened death metal, but I think that, at least on "Sigil Whore Christ", the scales tilt more towards the black metal side. Granted, there are a couple of death metal elements in the form of certain riffage styles (such as palm-muted brutal picking), guitar solos and breakdowns, and, production-wise, the album also leans more towards death metal. However, the attitude, the vocals, the atmosphere are, to my untrained ear, straight up full of black metal evil, and there are enough repeated tremolo-picked dissonant chords accompanied by blastbeating to qualify as black metal. If anything, I'd consider this "deathened black metal".

The whole death or black metal debate aside, "Sigil Whore Christ" is a very well made album, I think, and I quite like the brutality that the death metal riffage and production adds to the black metal attitude. Just check out a track like "Dominus Illuminatio Mea" to hear how the death and black elements are well balanced and well integrated into each other.

Spicing black metal up with death metal elements, Vorkreist have managed to combine black metal chaos with death metal brutality into a very convincing evil and aggressive brand of black metal, which should appeal to fans of the likes of Svarttjern, Behemoth and Temple of Baal.

Time Signature Superior MetalEthics...

Genre: prog-tech death metal

Gory Blister is one of many metal bands on the bustling Italian scene, and definitely one of the most interesting acts hailing from that part of the world, and now they are ready to punish your ear-drums with a new release.

After an intro that sounds more like something from a hard-edged 80s AOR-album, the title track of the album kicks in, revealing the true style of Gory Blister's Earth-Sick - namely, prog-tech death metal of the more brutal kind – without really being all out brutal death metal, I think (to be honest, Gory Blister's brand of death metal is much better than your average typical brutal death metal release). Technical indeed and even progressive, the tunes on this album are, however, not overly noodling like some other tech death metal, and stylistically, I think they have more in common with the likes of Atheist, Death, Sectu, and Neuraxis than with, say, Obscura, Necrophagist, or Brain Drill. Drawing on complex song structures, Gory Blister insert several shifts and changes into each track on the album, combining blasting brutal death with grooves, aggressive thrash elements, the occasional old school death metal reference, and dissonant chords into their own style. Moreover, a track like "Dominant GenEthics" even takes a symphonic direction. So, yes, this is an incredibly dynamic album, which, while varied, is also very consistent and focused.

One thing that I really like about this album is, apart from the dynamics and technically advanced yet contained playing, is the nature of the guitar solos. Rather than being all out chaotic and shreddy, as is otherwise typical of death metal, the guitar solos often have an almost rock-ish and classic metallish feel to them, which is often combined with advanced and impressive solo techniques, often bordering on being virtuous. Indeed, the istrumental aspect of this album is monumentuous. On the other hand, I am not a big fan of the style of growling used on this album, but I can definitely live with it, as it does not detract from my positive experience of the music itself.

A massive prog-tech death metal effort, Earth-Sick is recommended to fans of the likes of Death, Atheist, Sectu, and Neuraxis. It is challenging. It is technically advanced. It is dynamic. And, still, it is quite accessible to fans of death metal in general who might not be into the overly technical and noodling variety of death metal. In other words, this is simply quality death metal!

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)

UMUR "Darkest Day" is the 8th full-length studio album by US death metal act Obituary. The album was released through Candlelight Records in June 2009.

The music on the album is in the trademark simple, groove based and brutal death metal style that Obituary have practised since day one. The addition of lead guitarist Ralph Santolla on "Xecutioner's Return (2007)" boosted the band´s sound with his many and varied guitar solos. The same can be said about his contributions to "Darkest Day", which takes a similar approach, with loads of solos from Santolla. As always the impressive growls by John Tardy and the downtuned and brutal yet groove based riffing is the basis in the music though. Fans of the band will probably love this album, while those who never enjoyed Obituary won´t have a reason to check them out now. They basically sound the same as they have done since "Slowly We Rot (1989)" with only moderate tweaks to their songwriting and overall sound. Obituary are one of the few death metal acts out there with a completely distinct sound though and they always deliver their music with great conviction and fierce energy. That also counts for "Darkest Day", which is another lesson in why the band are counted among the elite death metal acts on the scene. The album kicks in gear with the fast paced (there are no blast beating on the album, which has never been a part of the band´s sound) "List of Dead" and just never lets go of your throat while it´s spinning. Aggressive, sneering, heavy and brutal as few, Obituary are not even close to sounding tired. It´s obvious they still have an unstoppable appetite for playing their music.

Like it´s predecessor "Darkest Day" feature a very bass heavy sound production, that suits the music well.

While "Darkest Day" is hardly a revelation when it comes to the evolution of the death metal genre, it´s another high quality release by Obituary fully deserving a 4 star (80%) rating. Even after 20 years they are still on top of their game.

Warthur Bolt Thrower's last album to date still has yet to see a followup - not because the band have split up, but because according to them they do not want to put out any new songs unless they are of greater quality than what they present here. I guess that's a reasonable decision, because Those Once Loyal finds Bolt Thrower deep in a rut. The compositions lack any surprises or twists, the band's performances sound more or less exactly like they have done for their last four albums, and overall I think the band's command of the death metal genre is slipping. It's a good and entertaining listen, but the previous few Bolt Thrower albums had been ear-splittingly fantastic listens.

UMUR "Tomb of the Mutilated" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US death metal act Cannibal Corpse. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in September 1992. After releasing two very successful and increasingly brutal death metal albums in "Eaten Back to Life (1990)" and "Butchered at Birth (1991)", the band opted to turn up the brutality factor one more notch on "Tomb of the Mutilated".

Featuring a sharp and clean yet powerful and raw sound production courtesy of Scott Burns (one of his best IMO), "Tomb of the Mutilated" kicks off with a blast with "Hammer Smashed Face". It´s clear from the start that Cannibal Corpse intend to take no prisoners, turning up the brutality level and the technical playing from the first note. The playing is in fact very impressive on the album delivered with a sharp precision. Multible tempo changes within tracks and fast and razor sharp brutal riffing. So far, so good. The instrumental part of the album and the sound production are way above standard for the genre. Especially since we´re talking about an album from 1992. The songwriting could have been more varied but we are talking brutal death metal here, so most people expect a limited range of stylistic elements and variation.

While the instrumental part of the music certainly is impressive, the completely unintelligible and processed growling vocals by Chris Barnes ruin a lot of my listening experience. Already by the end of the opening track "Hammer Smashed Face", monotony sets in because of the vocals. Of course some of the gore drenched songtitles like "I Cum Blood", "Entrails Ripped From a Virgin's Cunt" and "Post Mortal Ejaculation" are a good laugh, but the music would have been so much more effectful if I was able to just grasp a single word here and there. As it´s almost tradition with Cannibal Corpse albums, "Tomb of the Mutilated" of course features parental advisory explicit lyrics and artwork.

"Tomb of the Mutilated" is besides the monotone growling vocals a really great death metal album. I know a lot of people enjoy the album and even the vocals, so the vocals are definitely an aquired taste that will thrill some people and put others off. Personally I would have rated "Tomb of the Mutilated" with 4 stars (80%) if the vocals had been more varied, but as the album is now I´ll give it 3 - 3.5 stars (65%).

UMUR "Infernal" is the 6th full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Edge of Sanity. The album was released through Black Mark Productions in February 1997.

Following up on an almost universally praised album like "Crimson (1996)" must have been a daunting task for the band. Add to the grand expectations from the fans, that the band was falling apart because of musical differences around the time of the recording of "Infernal" and you have a major part of the explanation to why "Infernal" is not only vastly inferior to it´s predecessor, but also an incohesive and disappointing release judged on it´s own merits. The album simply sounds like it´s recorded by two different acts and when you look at who´s playing what on the album, it soon becomes apparent that that´s exactly the case. Tracks 1, 3, 6, 7, and 11 on the album are recorded by Dan Swanö (Guitar, Bass and Vocals) and drummmer Benny Larsson without participation from the rest of the band. Tracks 2 and 4 feature all band members except Dan Swanö, while track 5, 8, 9 and 10 feature all members.

It´s not that such an approach can´t work and it does work in some cases, but here Edge of Sanity obviously struggle to make ends meet. The tracks on the album, which are recorded by Dan Swanö and Benny Larsson, are clearly the standout tracks on "Infernal", while the remaining tracks more or less fit the filler definition. Tracks like "Hell Is Where the Heart Is", "15:36" and "Forever Together Forever" could quality wise easily have fit on any of the preceeding releases by the band, but overall there are not enough memorable highlights to be found on the album.

"Infernal" is still a quality release though and even the tracks, which are clearly fillers, do feature some redeeming qualities. I´d say a 3 star (60%) rating is warranted. It doesn´t change the fact that "Infernal" is a great disappointment though.