In Remembrance of Wolfgang "Keil" Borgmann (RIP December 2022): Vocalist for Technical-Progressive Thrashers MEKONG DELTA (Germany) from 1987–1990

Strangely named after the Vietnamese region characterized by flat flood plains and vast water networks—also the site of extremely brutal battles during the Vietnam War—the German band Mekong Delta (1985–present) evoked a sense of complex, turbulent intensity. They pioneered a technical form of thrash metal that maneuvered through blistering speeds and avant-garde classical arrangements. They carved out a niche, reflecting the peculiarity of their namesake through intellectual compositions and shifting time signatures, resulting in a more intricate form of technical and progressive thrash than had ever been heard before.

According to Metal Archives, mastermind Ralf Hubert (using the pseudonym Björn Eklund)—a sound engineer and owner of the label Aaarrg Records—assembled the band in 1985 as an anonymous studio project. By 1987, they hit the ground running with their self-titled debut. This was not the sound of a band finding their way; it was the sound of a well-oiled technical machine functioning at high speeds and turning at sharp angles. It was a combination of progressive songwriting and a passion for classical music expressed through metal instrumentation. The percussion was expertly crafted by the legendary Jörg Michael ("Gordon Perkins"), a prolific drummer for many bands like Stratovarius, Rage, and Grave Digger, Saxon, and many, many more. The guitars on the early albums were handled by Frank Fricke ("Rolf Stein") and Reiner Kelch ("Vincent St. Johns"), both of the German thrash band Living Death.

Navigating these hazardous compositions required a vocalist with versatility and a spirit of adventure, and the man for the job was Wolfgang "Keil" Borgmann. As the voice of the 1987–1990 era, he tackled songwriting that often seemed to defy vocal accompaniment—which explains why there is a nice bunch of instrumentals during his tenure. On these releases, one finds his peculiar style: melodies intentionally in a different key or rhythm than the guitar riffs; an almost operatic delivery that shifted between dramatic storytelling and theatricality; and a schizoid vocal approach that matched the H.P. Lovecraft-inspired themes. He shifted between clean tones, manic shouts, and eerie, hushed passages to establish the Mekong Delta style. Furthermore, his use of 70s rock-inspired inflections provided a soulfulness that was highly unusual for the rigid, mechanistic nature of thrash. Simply put, Keil did what he had to do to survive Mekong Delta’s songs.

After Keil’s departure, Mekong Delta delivered the 1990 masterpiece Dances of Death (And Other Walking Shadows) with a different vocalist, Doug Lee. On subsequent albums, the band eventually took their foot off the gas, moving in a more progressive, less intense, less technical direction. While the quality has remained top-tier, the Keil era remains a singular moment in heavy metal history.

To this writer (Metal Bulletin Zine), these early albums offer a vital lesson for today’s technical metal. Technical metal has come a long way since the 1980s, and levels of complexity have undoubtedly increased. However, one aspect has suffered from a lack of creativity: the vocals. Today, it is almost automatically expected that technical metal will feature growled or screamed vocals; technical metal vocalists don't even bother to ask themselves if they can do something else besides the basic, monotone, dull growling. The result is often captivating, technically amazing music paired with mentally lazy vocals and vocalists. While instrumentalists work tirelessly to deliver complex arrangements, the vocalist often seems content to growl along in a pedantic manner. Oftentimes these vocals ruin otherwise interesting music.

Many modern technical metal bands would do well to encourage their vocalists to use their imagination and escape the dead-end corner that technical metal has painted itself into. We should not have such low expectations for vocals in complex music. Keil, even with his own limitations, proved nearly 40 years ago that vocalists can and should be as daring as the musicians behind them.

The following songs are tracks 1 and 2 from the three Mekong Delta full-lengths (1987, 1988, 1989) with Keil on vocals: Mekong Delta, The Music of Erich Zann, and The Principle of Doubt.

Mekong Delta - Without Honour

Mekong Delta - The Cure

Mekong Delta - Age of Agony

Mekong Delta - True Lies

Mekong Delta - A Question of Trust (Cyberpunk 1)

Mekong Delta - The Principle of Doubt - Chapter 3 Taken From 'The Chronicle of Doubt'

In Remembrance of Mieszko Talarczyk (Nasum) (December 23, 1974 – December 26, 2004)

Mieszko Andrzej Talarczyk was born in Poland on December 23, 1974, and moved to Sweden with his family in 1982 at the age of seven or eight. The family settled in Örebro. According to Metal Archives, Nasum formed in 1992; Talarczyk joined in 1993, initially as a guitarist. When original drummer Rickard Alriksson left, founding member Anders Jakobson took over the drums, and Mieszko stepped up to handle both guitars and vocals. Early on the band moved away from the gore-focused themes prevalent at the time, focusing instead on socio-political commentary. Their earliest material, for instance, is characterized by exaggerated, alarmist, leftist critiques regarding environmental destruction. Talarczyk was a primary songwriter and performed on all of Nasum's studio albums:

Inhale/Exhale (1998)

Human 2.0 (2000)

Helvete (2003)

Shift (2004)

Beyond Nasum, he was a member of several other bands, including the crust/hardcore punk groups Genocide Superstars and Krigshot, and the death metal project Bloodshed. Additionally, Talarczyk was an accomplished sound engineer and producer. He co-founded Soundlab Studios in Örebro alongside Mathias Färm of Millencolin. He was renowned for a production style that captured the raw intensity of grindcore with a specific clarity that became a genre standard. He produced and engineered albums for numerous extreme metal and punk acts, including Rotten Sound, Disfear, Exhumed, and Skitsystem.

In late 2004, Talarczyk went on holiday to Thailand with his girlfriend, Emma. Tragically, he died in the Indian Ocean tsunami on December 26, 2004—just three days after his 30th birthday. While Emma survived, Talarczyk remained missing for several months until his body was identified in February 2005. Following his death, both Nasum and Genocide Superstars disbanded permanently, as his bandmates felt his creative voice was irreplaceable. His work continues to be cited as a definitive influence on the grindcore genre.

In my opinion, Nasum is one of the best examples of grindcore, especially in the post-1990s era. By the time they became a major force, the foundations of the genre were already established, yet Nasum still produced a wealth of high-quality material. While I prefer their more direct, fast tracks over their slower, "groovier" moments, I enjoy their entire discography—including the massive compilation Grind Finale, released posthumously by Relapse Records in 2006.

Nasum - Helvete (2003) Full Album HQ (Grindcore)

In Remembrance of Leslie West (Mountain) (October 22, 1945 - December 23, 2020)

Early Years: The Foundation of Heavy Rock (1945–1969)

Leslie Abel West was born Leslie Weinstein on October 22, 1945, in Forest Hills, Queens. Growing up in the New York metropolitan area, West’s musical journey began not in the folk-centric Greenwich Village, but in the raw, aggressive garage rock scene. His first band, The Vagrants, specialized in "blue-eyed soul" with a hard edge. The turning point for heavy metal history occurred when the Vagrants worked with producer Felix Pappalardi, who had recently produced Cream’s Disraeli Gears. Pappalardi recognized that West possessed a "mountainous" sound, a thick, sustain-heavy guitar tone that was louder and more aggressive than anything in the mainstream. This collaboration led to West’s 1969 solo debut, Mountain, which served as the blueprint for the band that would soon follow.

Mountain: The Forerunners of Metal (1969–1973)

In 1969, West and Pappalardi formed Mountain, a band Rolling Stone famously described as a "louder version of Cream." While Cream laid the groundwork, Mountain pushed the boundaries of volume and distortion, becoming one of the first true "proto-metal" acts. At Woodstock in 1969, on the second day of the legendary festival, Mountain delivered a high-decibel, 11-song set that proved "heavy" music could command a massive audience. "Mississippi Queen": Released on the 1970 album Climbing!, this track became a heavy metal anthem. With its iconic cowbell intro and West’s crushing, power-driven riff, it provided a rhythmic and tonal template for the "Stoner Rock" and "Sludge Metal" genres decades later. Nantucket Sleighride (1971): This album showed the "Epic Metal" side of West’s writing. The title track’s dramatic shifts and soaring solos influenced the progressive side of early metal.

Impact on the 1980s Metal Explosion and Beyond

While Leslie West remained active throughout the late 20th century, his importance is best measured by the metal titans who followed him. He wasn't just a contemporary; he was a teacher to the bands of the 80s.

Eddie Van Halen: Frequently cited West’s tone and vibrato as a foundational influence on his own "Brown Sound." Randy Rhoads: The Ozzy Osbourne guitarist credited West’s aggressive but melodic solos as a key part of his musical education.

Zakk Wylde: A lifelong devotee, Wylde adopted West’s "pinch harmonic" technique and massive, overdriven tone, effectively carrying the Leslie West torch into modern metal.

Covers and Tributes: The importance of West is immortalized in the bands that covered his work. From Ozzy Osbourne (who covered "Mississippi Queen" on Under Cover) to W.A.S.P., Zakk Sabbath, and even Anthrax, the metal community has consistently returned to the Mountain discography as a source of influence.

Ozzy Osbourne – "Mississippi Queen" (Under Cover, 2005) Perhaps the most famous tribute. The "Godfather of Metal" himself chose to cover this anthem, enlisting Leslie West to play the guitar on the track. Ozzy often noted that Mountain was one of his favorite bands and that Black Sabbath actually opened for them on their first US tour in 1970.

Zakk Wylde – "Blood of the Sun" (Legacy: A Tribute to Leslie West, 2022) Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society/Ozzy/Pantera) is arguably the modern successor to Leslie’s tone. His cover of this track from West’s 1969 solo album is a masterclass in heavy, pinch-harmonic-laden metal. Zakk has often said that West’s vibrato was the blueprint for his own aggressive style.

W.A.S.P. – "Mississippi Queen" (The Last Command, 1985) In the height of the 80s metal explosion, Blackie Lawless and W.A.S.P. took this riff and gave it a raw, sleazy, "L.A. Metal" edge, proving the song’s timelessness for a new, hungrier generation of headbangers.

Anthrax – "Mississippi Queen" (Anthems EP, 2013) The Big Four thrash legends recorded a high-energy version of the track, with Charlie Benante’s thunderous drumming and Scott Ian’s precision rhythm work highlighting the "proto-thrash" nature of the original riff.

Clutch – "Immortal" (Pure Rock Fury, 2001) Stoner metal kings Clutch didn't just cover a song; they reworked "Baby I'm Down" (from West’s first album) into a new track titled "Immortal." Leslie West actually co-wrote the lyrics and provided music for this version, bridging the gap between 70s hard rock and modern stoner metal.

Corrosion of Conformity – "Never in My Life" Often played live or cited as a major influence, C.O.C. embodies the "sludge" and "Southern Metal" spirit that Leslie West pioneered. The groove in "Never in My Life" is widely considered a direct ancestor to the NOLA metal sound.

Geezer – "Mississippi Queen" (2020) Released as a direct tribute upon West’s passing, the stoner/doom band Geezer (taking their name from Sabbath) showcased how West’s music is still the "North Star" for bands that value "the riff" above all else.

The "Sabbath Connection"

It is a crucial piece of metal history that Black Sabbath looked up to Mountain. In 1970, Sabbath was the opening act for Mountain in the US. Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler have both acknowledged that witnessing West’s massive "wall of sound" and Leslie’s ability to command a crowd with a single, blues-drenched power chord helped shape the way Sabbath approached their own legendary volume.

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Mountain and Leslie West made tons of music. I do not pretend to be an expert, not at all, not even close, but I think the two Mountain albums listed below are a great introduction to this very important piece in the history of heavy rock coming out of the late 1960s. I would say, listen to the entire albums, not just one song or two. If at first you don't understand it or like it, give it some time. Come back to it later, months later, a year later, two years later. Sometimes we need some time to understand some of the older music.

Mountain - Climbing! (1970) Full Album

M̤o̤ṳn̤t̤a̤i̤n̤ Nantucket S̤l̤e̤i̤g̤h̤r̤i̤d̤e̤ ̤ Full Album HQ

MOUNTAIN - Mississippi Queen (Live on "The Show" 02-24-1970) - * RARE * remastered audio

Leslie West - Legacy꞉ A Tribute to Leslie West (Full Album) 2022

WASP - Mississippi Queen

lyric video: When Nothing Remains - The Grim Reaper's Tears (death doom from Sweden)

When Nothing Remains

Echoes of Eternal Night

The Circle Music

21 November 2025

Hey, fanatic of death doom, you crazy lunatic of the slow beat, here's one for your personal interests: Listen, here we have a band, a solid band from Sweden called When Nothing Remains, and let me tell you, they know exactly what they’re doing. Jan Sallander and Peter Laustsen, these are very creative people, very smart. They left another group, Nox Aurea, that was okay—I don't know them, actually—but Jan and Peter wanted more freedom. They wanted to win. So they started this new band in 2010, and it’s been a huge success with me.

Now, they’ve been away for a while, they took some time to go fishing—great sport, by the way, the best—but they came back in 2025 with a brand new album titled Echoes of Eternal Night, and people, some people, like me, are saying it’s their best work yet. It’s got the heavy sound, the big sound, but it’s very melodic. You have Jan doing the vocals and the rhythm and the keyboards, and Peter on the lead guitar. They've got Dimitri Jungi on drums, and session bassist Kim Liljedahl. It’s a powerful lineup, a real team.

They’re telling everyone this album continues a story from 2016, a haunting narrative from their third album. I haven't heard the old album, but I can tell you, this new one, the fourth one, is fantastic. If you like the extreme vocals, the melodic vocals, and that beautiful, melancholic doom sound, then this is for you. It’s heavy, it’s got the guitars, it’s got that gothic feel that everyone, mostly me, is talking about. It’s a very big deal for the fans of death doom. Believe me! I don't like doom or death doom, but I like this album. This death doom is A-OK with me; all other death doom bands are bad. That's sad. But this band called When Nothing Remains, they're winners. I like them. I'll keep them around.

When Nothing Remains - The Grim Reaper's Tears

https://www.facebook.com/whennothingremainsofficial

review: Imperatore - neosymphonic melodic-gothic metal from Australia

Imperatore

The Lionspirit

Rockshots Records

19 December 2025

The proceedings start with a neosymphonic version of Iron Maiden's "Ides of March," the instrumental introduction to the 1981 classic album Killers, the second and final album with Paul Di'Anno (1958-2024) on vocals. Imperatore, on the other hand, is an Australian neosymphonic melodic band featuring midrange and lower-register vocals. Imperatore's singing has a gothic quality. At times, the tone of the voice may remind you of Powerwolf, Danzig, or Volbeat (or even The Doors or Elvis Presley, if you go back far enough), while at other times, the voice is closer to Alice Cooper or 1990s-era Metallica. Vocally, these are simply reference points to explain two things: first, that the music is neosymphonic but the vocals are not operatic, as is sometimes the case in melodic metal; and second, that you should expect solid, pleasant singing without any irritating qualities.

Regarding the gothic influence: male goth vocals can sometimes feel exaggerated or even silly, such as the style of Type O Negative, but Imperatore is much more measured. Their approach is closer to Kamelot's more gothic moments, meaning it is reasonable and well-balanced. If you enjoy male vocals that stay within a natural range without banshee screaming, this album could be a great discovery for you.

Imperatore's debut album was released in 2023, followed by a sophomore effort in 2024, making this their third release. The music here is not "metal fast" or "metal aggressive," but is instead midtempo and anthem-based. It occasionally moves into an uptempo hard rock or classic heavy metal feel, but it never reaches double-bass, thrash-like speeds. In other words, the music is played at a tempo that listeners of all ages can enjoy and appreciate. The guitars focus on big rhythms that serve the song, working with the bass and drums as a single unit to deliver tracks with big grooves. The melodies come primarily from the keyboards and vocals rather than the guitars because this is not guitar-driven music.

Therefore, if you are looking for melodic, neosymphonic heavy metal with midrange singing, I recommend putting this album on your radar. Lyrically, there seems to be a Roman Empire-themed vibe to the record, though I cannot say much more as the information overlords who provided this album gave me the music but not the lyrics. For that reason, while I wholeheartedly recommend the music, I cannot comment on the lyrical depth or specific content, though personal struggle and inner strength appear to be recurring themes throughout.

IMPERATORE - Be A Man (Official Music Video)

IMPERATORE - Shadows Of The Gods (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)

IMPERATORE - My Life (Official Music Video)

https://www.facebook.com/imperatoreband

KISStory - a documentary on Hulu

KISS - You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!

I recommend the documentary KISStory.

I have been watching a documentary about "the hottest band in the world!" on Hulu: KISS. Hulu describes it as "The definitive documentary on the most recognizable band in the world, KISS. Chronicles the band's five decades in the business as founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons reflect on their historic career." It's a fascinating look into rock music in the 1970s in the United States, and why rock fans took to the band like fish to water! Watching it you will understand why just about all the 1980s heavy metal bands grew up on KISS music. The documentary covers the 1980s, 1990s and all the way to the reunion and beyond. You wanted the best, you got the best!

I transcribed the powerful beginning when bassist Gene Simmons and singer/guitarist Paul Stanley explain their childhood and their humble beginnings.

Gene Simmons: I was born in Israel. Both my mother and my father came from Hungary after World War II. When I was six and a half my father picked up and walked out, and my mother and I came to America. In New York my mother goes (to work) to a sweat factory. She makes half a penny for every button she sews on to a winter coat. Clears just enough money to pay the rent and food and we survive.

Paul Stanley: If Gene was a stranger in a strange land, I was a stranger in a strange neighborhood. I grew up in a one-bedroom apartment in an Irish Catholic area. We were the only Jews. My mom had been born in Berlin, and had fled to escape the Nazis and the extermination of six million of our people. I grew up with people with (Nazi concentration camp prison) numbers on their arms. On top of that I was born with a condition called a microtia, so I had no right ear. It was a crumpled mass of cartilage, and I couldn't hear on my right side. When you don't look like everybody else, the scrutiny is unrelenting. And for a little kid to be stared at or pointed to or taunted, is devastating. Gene and I, what we share is a sense of being outsiders for different reasons, but we also found escape in music.

Gene Simmons: I came here as Chaim Witz. I couldn't speak a word of English. I was aware I didn't fit in. I still feel like an outsider, but I soon devoured everything American, and I started listening to the radio all the time. I heard Chuck Berry, Jackie Wilson and Fats Domino. I couldn't speak English, I just loved the music.

[For more context, Wikipedia points about Gene's mother: Flóra Kovács (later Florence Klein, then Florence Lubowski) (1925–2018), was born in Jánd in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. She survived internment in Nazi concentration camps from November 1944 to her liberation from the Mauthausen camp in Austria on May 5, 1945. She and her brother, Larry Klein, were the only members of the family to survive the Holocaust. Witz's father, Ferenc "Feri" Yehiel Witz (1925–2002), was a carpenter whom Klein married in 1946; the couple moved to Israel the following year.]

Paul Stanley: I had a little pocket transistor radio, and I walked around with it waiting to hear The Beatles. Here were these four guys. They looked like buddies.

Gene Simmons. I'd never seen anything like it. The girls were going out of their minds.

Paul Stanley: And I had an epiphany.

Gene Simmons: And I thought, "That's a pretty cool job."

Paul: It was a revelation to me. I'm a little overweight kid named Stanley Bert Eisen. I'm deaf in one ear, but I see The Beatles, and I go, "I can do that. I can touch that nerve." Why I thought that, God only knows.

Gene: My mother bought me a copy of a Höfner bass called a Kent, and I've never looked back.

Paul: I knew I wanted to make rock and roll.

--

Here is one of my favorite KISS songs. It is from the 1984 album Animalize.

KISS - I've Had Enough (Into The Fire)

KISS - I've Had Enough (Into The Fire) Live (Ipswich 1984) Audio Only

Rocking Christmas Music

Howdy, friend.

How is that Christmas list coming along?!

I bought some CDs back during Black Friday, and I've got some more music I'd like to get. I'm hoping and waiting on some Christmas deals. Anyway, while we are on topic of Christmas and music, here are some Christmas songs done a little bit differently.

Alice Cooper - Santa Claws is coming to town

Carol of the Bells - Liliac (Metal Cover)

Joe Satriani - silent night/ holy night jam

Stryper - "Winter Wonderland" - Official Lyric Video

Iron Maiden - A Christmas Cheers

SUN OF THE SUNS - two music videos - Italian prog deathcore

Below are two official music videos from SUN OF THE SUNS.

SUN OF THE SUNS

Entanglement

Scarlet Records

12 December 2025

Since their 2021 debut album TIIT, the Italian progressive technical death metal band Sun of the Suns came out of the cage with a bag full of futuristic-contemporary deathcore-death metal prog groove. Here they are again, with their second album titled Entanglement. It looks like this record continues that signature style of cosmic soundscape that mixes the heavy, brutal rhythms of tech death with atmospheric melodies.

The core lineup for Sun Of The Suns on their album features Luca Scarlatti handling all vocals and Marco Righetti covering both rhythm and lead guitars. The instrumental foundation is rounded out by Ludovico Cioffi on rhythm guitar and bass, with the drumming provided by a guest appearance from Francesco Paoli (known for his work in Fleshgod Apocalypse).

The album was produced, mixed, and mastered by Simone Mularoni at Domination Studio. The cover art was created by Erskine Designs (Wormhole, Inanimate Existence, and Irreversible Mechanism). For reference, the band's style is generally recommended for listeners who enjoy Fallujah, Rivers Of Nihil, Shadow Of Intent, Lorna Shore, and Whitechapel.

SUN OF THE SUNS - On The Last Day Of Earth (Official Video)

SUN OF THE SUNS - Ephemeral, Ethereal, Eternal (Official Video)

Entanglement by Sun Of The Suns

https://www.facebook.com/sunofthesunsofficial/

Wailing - barbaric-blasting death metal from New York

Wailing is a new death metal project that brings together instrumentalist/vocalist Tomrair of black metal entity Dawnbreaker (USA) with drummer Shawn Eldridge [Ruinous, ex-Abysmal Gates, ex-Seraphim Lament, ex-Wall of Water, ex-Death Fortress, ex-Funebrarum, ex-Kalopsia, ex-Krukh, ex-The Ciem Show, ex-Woe, ex-Ordeals (live), ex-Tchornobog (live), ex-Shadows of Dawn, ex-Flesh Mantle, ex-Nights Blood]. As of right now (December 9th, 2025), the record label Vision of God Records is streaming the song "A Curse Devours the Earth." The sound of this song, I would say, is in the general field of barbaric-blasting death metal. The vocals are generally low and pretty indecipherable, and the music is classic-style American death metal, maybe with a bit of that early 1990s New York death metal. Of course, this is only one song, so it's not appropriate to make definitive statements. I have not heard the rest of the album, but I like what I'm hearing so far.

Wailing

Oracles of Devastation

Vision of God Records

January 2, 2026

1.Until the Desolation

2.A Curse Devours the Earth

3.Shades That Cannot Rise

4.Celestial Hosts Will Rot

5.Darkness and Woe

6.You Who Immolate

7.Cast Without Burial

8.Crushed by Eons of Inequity

9.Abhorrence to All Flesh

Oracles of Devastation by Wailing

https://visionofgodrecords.bandcamp.com/album/oracles-of-devastation

review: Internal Decay - Swedish death metal album from 1993

Internal Decay

A Forgotten Dream

Vic Records

5 December 2025

Vic Records has a knack for finding recordings from the old days, before metal music became "internet metal." Back then, audiences went to shows, and the only way to remember an event was to rely on one's own memory, aside from the occasional picture that you did not take, but that a friend of a friend of yours took because, unbeknownst to you, he was able to find a camera and remembered to bring it to the show. You hadn't actually seen the picture with your own eyes, but you heard from a friend of a friend that he had seen the picture.

I know absolutely nothing about this band! I do not believe that I had ever heard their name before. Vic Records says about this album: "Recorded at Sunlight Studios, Stockholm, Sweden in January 1993 with Thomas Skogsberg and Lars Linden." The information on Metal Archives shows a demo in 1991 and this album, and then nothing else. This is the 1993 album, but it has been "Remastered by Achilleas Kalantzis at Suncord Audiolab (Possessed, Vio Lence, Varathron). Booklet and artwork carefully restored like the original release by Ra Design (Sodom, Asphyx, Destruction)." Metal Archives states that all five members were, are, and continue to be involved with a whole bunch of bands, but mostly names that are lesser known to me.

To my ears, the music is early melodic death metal. The vocals are intense, aggressive growling, similar to the classic death-thrash vocals of Kreator. There are some death-thrash moments, some background keyboards in certain places, slower segments, and plenty of uptempo passages, along with some nice guitar melodies. As I say, this is early melodic death metal, and it is not substantially incorrect to say that, on this album, there is a certain vibe also found during this period in Dark Tranquillity and At the Gates, a certain melodicism, a certain sensation that this is not some type of imitation of Entombed. If anything, by 1993, this band was thinking to make sure they sounded different because of all the Entombed clones at the time. In addition, these lyrics are different from the typical death metal fare. In general, the main point is not gore, zombies, satanism, or graphic violence. The lyrics on Metal Archives generally read like poetry, stories, personal struggles, depression, and loneliness. These lyrics are far better than the typical genre lyrics, while still not totally free in all respects from that typical imagery. Overall, though, they are not embarrassing lyrics, unlike so many bands.

This band, Internal Decay, keeps the music heavy while working in some melody. How does the album sound today? It is the sound of a band that has tons of ideas, and they are working on developing them. This album is the band laying down a general statement of purpose, but they were just getting warmed up. Their next album would have been Internal Decay really bringing to life a much fuller and more complete vision of their sound. Then, the third album would have been their masterpiece. On this debut, there are whispered vocals, a bit of guest female singing, acoustic or clean guitar, atmospheric moments, and piano/keyboard. They were hinting at many things to come. Looking on Metal Archives, it looks like they could not hold it together. Perhaps there was too much musical disagreement between the members wanting to be pure death metal and the members who wanted to be more than just another "Swedish death metal" band. For example, their 1991 demo seems like typical death metal focused on blasphemy, satanism, and that stupid stuff, whereas on the album, as already stated, there is much less of that.

Metal Archives shows the history of the band like this: 1987–1988 (as Misery), 1988–1989 (as Critical State), 1989–1991 (as Subliminal Fear), 1991–1994, 2023–present. Look at that last part! What?! Are they active again? Yes. In fact, their Facebook page says: "The wait is over — The fires of Internal Decay burn again! After 33 years of silence, the storm returns. Internal Decay is back and will release an EP with new material in February, on the mighty Hammerheart Records. Exclusive and limited to 700 ex in total (350 vinyl & 350 CDs). More info to come." We will soon find out where the new music stands in the current era. In the meantime, from Vic Records, we have this gem.

A Forgotten Dream by Internal Decay

https://www.facebook.com/internaldecayofficial/