The Modern Age Slavery; Sidious; Svart Crown; Terminate; Wormed

The Modern Age Slavery‘s “Requiem for Us All” combines blasting death metal with core, something like “blasting deathcore.” One of the central features of this band is that they do not do many riffs. They do rhythms, heavy rhythms that come from plucking at the low strings, they do chugging parts, they do breakdown parts (not too much, though; this is a fast band), they have a bit of melody. However, where are the riffs? Ultimately, for someone who listens to metal a whole lot everyday, chugga-chugga guitar is not entertaining, in particular if you are an experienced listener. In addition, the drums on here could be computer programmed or not. The band has a drummer, but the sound is a bit too plastic and it just does not sound that heavy or hard. True, this band does a lot of things right and things to enjoy, such as the speed and intensity. Good job there. On the song “The Silent Death of Cain” the band breaks out with a riff (at 01:05-01: 34) and it sounds refreshing. This is a strength that they should explore more. www.facebook.com/tmasofficial www.facebook.com/tmasofficial

Sidious wondered what happens if Behemoth and Dimmu Borgir jam together. The EP “Ascencion to the Throne ov Self” is that hypothetical jam session. The songs go at a Behemoth pace, so blasting fast, but then have slower moments for Dimmu atmosphere. Just like Dimmu and Behemoth, it’s not easy to tell the real vocals from the special effects. Behemoth does not know how to control themselves in a studio and thinks that adding “monster” sound effects and special effects makes things more “brutal” and “evil.” To sum up, call Sidious one of two things: a symphonic Behemoth baby or a sped up Dimmu Borgir baby. Don’t get the wrong impression, though: Insidious has a lot of potential on here. https://www.facebook.com/sidiousofficial www.facebook.com/sidiousofficial

Svart Crown’s “Profane” walks the line between brutal death metal and cold black metal, between Behemoth and Deathspell Omega. The vocals should please any Deicide/Cannibal Corpse fan. Svartcrown sounds like they brought their A-game, very professional and with a huge sound. The guitar riffs sound thick and massive when in the death metal mode, while the black metal side goes for the cold and somewhat dissonant and dry feel. Now, as to the songs, definitely impressive, clearly the band is no bunch of beginners. I don’t see why Behemoth or Hate fans would not like this band. On the other hand, the picky group that is the Deathspell Omega crowd certainly says that Svart Crown belongs in a category below, and that critique may not be so incorrect, but Deathspell Omega is above just about everybody, so basically proves that Svart Crown has put together a strong collection of songs, any way you look at this brutal/blasting monolith. Time will tell you whether they channel the speed into more memorable songs, which they have not yet mastered completely. www.svartcrown.net www.svartcrown.com www.svartcrown.net

The good thing about Terminate‘s “Ascending to Red Heavens” is the fact they do riffs. No doubt, they know that the riff is the bottom line. When there is a good riff, the song has the potential to be remembered after the music stops. From the first song “Answered in Lead” and onto the last one, “Iron Supremacy,” Terminate’s songs are driven by the riff. Knowledgeable listeners will, of course, hear the Stockholm-style death metal influences, such as the guitar tone, but really Terminate’s songs hold their own just fine, with good riffs, good melodies and headbanging tempos. Unfortunately, the sound quality is subpar on here, making this sound like a demo. For example, the drums sound buried in the mix, making it difficult to hear the double bass. It’s too bad, actually, because there are good melodies in this classic-style death metal. www.facebook.com/TerminateChicago www.facebook.com/TerminateChicago

Wormed’s “Exodromos” is the band’s submission in the international competition “The Most Brutal Album of 2013.” This wildly famous contest takes place in my grandma’s basement, where I live, in a van, down by the river. Wormed’s vocals are total pig squeals, since their vocalist could simply be a pig from the farm. They might as well put a microphone to the pig and see what happens. What happens is Wormed. This band has two guitarists, otherwise known as “chugga-chugga specialists” and they slam and chug like crazy because they are playing to win the gold medal of “The Most Brutal Album of 2013.” And what does the drummer do? Oh, you know, he blasts, blasts, blasts and then after that, he does a bit more blasting to go along with the blasting. Gillemoth is the name of the bassist, but I am not able to hear the bass because the pig squeals took over and kidnapped the bassist. Gillemoth still has not been found. Please call the authorities if you happen to hear Gillemoth at any time during this recording. www.wormed.com www.wormed.net