Wednesday, December 17, 2014
this band makes people hysterical: Horrendous (U.S.): Ecdysis (Dark Descent Records)
Horrendous (U.S.): Ecdysis (Dark Descent Records)
Horrendous seems to get a kick out of tripping people’s expectations. Horrendous was known for playing “old school Swedish death metal” when they formed in 2009, with their demo and with the 2012 album. Now in 2014 the band’s new album has busted out with melodic guitar solos all over the place and it’s got people making all sorts of ridiculous statements. I read somewhere that Horrendous sounded like Def Leppard (and Venom, I think they said). If you say it that way people won’t want to hear this band!
In all seriousness, Horrendous still sounds very much like 90s death metal from Sweden. The guitar tone, the riffs, the vocals and the overall spirit are similar to certain sounds from Sweden. It is true that the solos are very melodic, but they work within the context of the songs. Now, of course, it is also true that the album suggests that Horrendous may be getting a bit antsy about remaining within a certain style, and it’s totally possible that in the future Horrendous will sound like a totally different band. There’s a bit of that vibe that seems uncomfortable with this style as a total identity, probably because the band has read that some people dismissed them a retro band from the U.S. trying to sound like a band from Sweden.
However, many other people who have heard this new album are liking it very much and I have even read that it was listed as the top album of 2014 by some publication. I remember which one now, but I don’t think I am making that up. So, the album has been appreciated by lots of people.
In summary, Horrendous seems to have made a move towards more melancholic, doomier sounds while still remaining in part death metal. The guitar solos point to melancholic doom, and now I’m sure that we don’t have a clue what will happen next. This band might turn out to be as unpredictable as Sentenced (I know, not Swedish) was from 1990 to 1996, when they finally started to settle down into a predictable style. The next Horrendous album is going to have some people running down street all confused: “What genre is this, please? Tell me! I can’t think for myself! I need to know what genre it is before I declare that I like it!”
The band will just sit back and smile. “We are Horrrendous, and we like your ‘hysteria’.”
www.darkdescentrecords.com
www.facebook.com/HorrendousDeathMetal
HORRENDOUS - The Stranger (2014) Dark Descent Records
I like that old-time death metal: Rude (U.S.): Soul Recall (FDA Rekotz)
Rude (U.S.): Soul Recall (FDA Rekotz)
It’s taken a long time for death metal Rude to have its 2014 album out and about in the world since the band started back in 2008. The music showcases how the band has studied classic death metal for years and years, and in the process the band has put together one super impressive debut that sounds like a potent mix of the classics in a particular way specific to Rude. The band will probably hate this description, but on this day, after living with this music for a while, since the year is about to end we better do this review now.
Rude must have come up with the idea of playing death metal the following way:
The vocals should be in the style of “Leprosy”-era Death and “Consuming Impulse”-era Pestilence. The enunciation has fundamental Schuldiner/van Drunen characteristics. The result? Sounds great! By far, one the most recognizable and beloved forms of growling in all of death metal: extended syllables and aggressive delivery, not the cupped-microphone/low-murmur, fearful-of-throat-injury style. Growl like you don’t care about your “health.”
The guitar work should combine the memorable parts/riffs of “Leprosy,” and “Altars of Madnes”-era Morbid Angel, and leave room for other golden-era death metal sounds, like classic Pestilence and the others.
The drum sound should be like Morbid Angel’s “Covenant,” and the style/speed of the drumming should be a bit like “Covenant,” but with more segments of uptempo (non-blasting) beats, so it’s fast, but no one should confuse Rude with the non-stop blasting style of other bands. Incidentally, the drum sound is rather attractive on this album, contrasting a lot with the clicky/plastic/soft sound so common in metal.
Impressive album by a band that is very good students of death metal, and are becoming teachers themselves. Let’s hope that they don’t break up or begin to feel the need to be “more” than death metal. It is a-ok to be death metal, this type of death metal. Don’t change the style, Rude. You don’t have to “jazz it up” or “core it up” or “math it up” for us. Love the Rude metal.
www.facebook.com/pages/Rude/391039200987363
www.fda-rekotz.com
RUDE - Soul Recall (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
Rude - Memorial
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
heavy metal in Russian from Russia: VOLNAYA STAYA (Вольная Стая)
Вольная стая - Стая
Группа Вольная стая " Птицей в небо" Клуб Little Rock 11.10.14 Москва
Группа "Вольная стая в Дубрава Холл.
https://www.facebook.com/volnayastayaofficial
http://www.volnayastaya.ru
neo-Stockholm-style death metal from Sweden: ENDING QUEST
Ending Quest (Sweden): The Summoning (FDA Rekotz)
Neo-Stockholm-style old time death metallers Ending Quest (name tribute to old Gorement’s “The Ending Quest”) say that the death metal from today doesn’t have the same soul. For this band it’s about that old time death metal. From the sounds of this album, if you run into these lads in Sweden, don’t even invite them to a modern metal show because you won’t even get them to the mosh floor. The cynics will say that Ending Quest is retro, but of course, the cynics will say what they will. Sure, Ending Quest loves the sounds of the past, but the band is not over the hill. They started in 2009 and the members were born in 1986 and 1984. Some might call it retro, but in metal it is called respect for tradition and playing the metal that you love and being proud of it. If your interest is peaked by the idea of a young band presenting its interpretation of golden-age death metal, give this a band a chance. I have been listening to this 2014 album, their debut, a lot and I like what I hear and am curious to hear what the future brings for Ending Quest. www.fda-rekotz.com
www.facebook.com/EndingQuestOfficial
ENDING QUEST - Sumerian Invocation (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
heavy, experimental and weird: Pyrrhon (U.S.): The Mother of Virtues (Relapse Records)
Pyrrhon (U.S.): The Mother of Virtues
Only a mother could love the weirdo jazz-from-hell tech-experimentalists Pyrrhon’s growling, headache-inducing sounds of the absurd. Some people say: You will like Pyrrhon if you like Gorguts or tech-metal or left-field sounds like Today Is the Day or whatnot, but those bands sound pretty normal compared to this looney bin insane asylum salad of mixed nuts. Pyrrhon is like a drunk cook in the kitchen making soup with whatever he or she finds in the kitchen: Is that a pair of old shoes? Whatever, throw them in the pot! Vegetables and shoes taste good, right? Is that an old battery? Let’s use that battery, too. Soup with batteries surely will be an interesting delicacy, correct? Pyrrhon is a band of many, many personalities and it is the equivalent of an abstract painting that some people think is genius and that makes uptight people shake their heads in frustration or confusion. Fast, slow, silent, animal sounds, gentle segments, space sounds, tech-metal speed, screams, blasts, yoga moments, drone… it is all Pyrrhon taking care of business. Pyrrhon is a bad, bad band, man. These bad boys of rock and roll are throwing away all the rules of music theory. In truth, most of the metal listeners that think this band is garbage are not qualified to have an opinion. They don’t understand because this band is too much for them. Listen to Pyrrhon if you like heavy, weird music. Otherwise, this is the wrong party you just walked into. Find the exit now.
www.pyrrhonband.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/pyrrhonband
www.relapse.com
PYRRHON - "Balkanized" Official Track
Washington state's got grind: THE DRIP - "Siren" (Official Music Video)
https://www.facebook.com/thedripgrind
http://thedrip.bandcamp.com
"THE DRIP has just released their first official video, the violent visuals crafted for "Siren," which hails from the band's grinding Relapse debut, A Presentation Of Gruesome Poetics. Directed by Owen Mansfield, the "Siren" video was filmed during one of the band's regional live attacks earlier this year in support ofthe vicious EP's release in April, taking the viewer inside a hometown mutiny at Rays Golden Lion in Richland, Washington back in April. "Additionally, THE DRIP continues booking live excursions into the coming year, the band confirmed to support Pig Destroyer in Seattle on January 10th, after which they'll join Enabler and Call Of The Void on a three-city romp through Vancouver, Seattle and Spokane from February 22nd through the 24th. THE DRIP Tour Dates: 1/10/2015 El Corazon - Seattle, WA w/ Pig Destroyer 2/22/2015 333 - Vancouver, BC w/ Enabler, Call Of The Void 2/23/2015 The Highline - Seattle, WA w/ Enabler, Call Of The Void 2/24/2015 The Hop - Spokane, WA w/ Enabler, Call Of The Void After a string of independent releases, Relapse signed THE DRIP for the release of A Presentation Of Gruesome Poetics, the ferocious and relentless explosion of blasting grind violence, dispatching six tracks in barely twelve minutes. The EP was the very first release to be fully recorded at Audiosiege in Portland by Joel Grind (Toxic Holocaust) and mastered by Brad Boatright (Tragedy, From Ashes Rise, Integrity). THE DRIP's violent effectiveness and intensity of their high-speed output is prime sustenance for diehard fans of Misery Index, Rotten Sound, Dead In The Dirt, Nails and Nasum."
http://thedrip.bandcamp.com
"THE DRIP has just released their first official video, the violent visuals crafted for "Siren," which hails from the band's grinding Relapse debut, A Presentation Of Gruesome Poetics. Directed by Owen Mansfield, the "Siren" video was filmed during one of the band's regional live attacks earlier this year in support ofthe vicious EP's release in April, taking the viewer inside a hometown mutiny at Rays Golden Lion in Richland, Washington back in April. "Additionally, THE DRIP continues booking live excursions into the coming year, the band confirmed to support Pig Destroyer in Seattle on January 10th, after which they'll join Enabler and Call Of The Void on a three-city romp through Vancouver, Seattle and Spokane from February 22nd through the 24th. THE DRIP Tour Dates: 1/10/2015 El Corazon - Seattle, WA w/ Pig Destroyer 2/22/2015 333 - Vancouver, BC w/ Enabler, Call Of The Void 2/23/2015 The Highline - Seattle, WA w/ Enabler, Call Of The Void 2/24/2015 The Hop - Spokane, WA w/ Enabler, Call Of The Void After a string of independent releases, Relapse signed THE DRIP for the release of A Presentation Of Gruesome Poetics, the ferocious and relentless explosion of blasting grind violence, dispatching six tracks in barely twelve minutes. The EP was the very first release to be fully recorded at Audiosiege in Portland by Joel Grind (Toxic Holocaust) and mastered by Brad Boatright (Tragedy, From Ashes Rise, Integrity). THE DRIP's violent effectiveness and intensity of their high-speed output is prime sustenance for diehard fans of Misery Index, Rotten Sound, Dead In The Dirt, Nails and Nasum."
Monday, December 15, 2014
the monolith: Primordial (Ireland): Where Greater Men Have Fallen (Metal Blade Records)
Primordial (Ireland): Where Greater Men Have Fallen (Metal Blade Records)
There are so many different eras of Primordial that it is only appropriate to ask which Primordial is the one that a person is referring to when discussing the band. The truth is that Primordial 2014 is very, very far from the black metal/pagan metal sound of the 90s, and it is the same band in name only, given the gigantic changes in musical direction. Primordial 2014 stubbornly plays midtempo, rendering Primordial 2014 a melodic, melancholic doom band. The band leaves no room for doubt: They appear to excel at the various genre changes, and as the years go by, the band seems to receive more and more ridiculously positive acclaim, making one wonder whether the band members have enlisted their moms, dads, sisters, brothers, cousins and best friends to write outrageously positive reviews all over the internet. Here’s a challenge: Can you find a band more universally praised than Primordial?!
One would think that it is the doom/sludge/“post-metal” crowds that are really enjoying the doom of Primordial. The vocals are melodic-melancholic, and the guitar works with the “less is more” philosophy of riffs, while the drummer patiently labors away. The few places where the band shows some speed, like on the song “The Seed of Tyrants,” that really sounds out of place with the slow vibe of the album as a total work. Why do it? To appease some people? They obviously don’t enjoy it and it sounds forced.
Many, many people seem to love the band’s current musical direction. For instance, the reviews on Metal Archives of the 2007 album “To the Nameless Dead” do not hesitate to call that album the greatest or the best and things like that. Now, this new “Where Greater Men Have Fallen” continues that course and the band’s feet are firmly planted in the slow music. The band has mastered the latter-day direction and now it’s only question of whether this album will be called a greater masterpiece than the others.
On the other hand, if you are the type of listener that would love to see Primordial play less monotonously slow metal, and would like a more balanced combination, as on the 2000 album “Spirit the Earth Aflame,” then you will be so, so, so disappointed and truly wasting your time. This band is so far gone from that, that only if they sense a great frustration amongst the listeners, would they possibly reconsider dialing back the repetitively, monotonously slow doom direction they enjoy so much. In that sense, Primordial sounds very now, very 2014, at a time when doom/sludge/slow/post-metal seems so popular. As already mentioned, the current musical taste seems to prefer the slow Primordial by a large margin.
Therefore, which Primordial do you prefer in 2014?
www.facebook.com/primordialofficial
www.primordialweb.com
www.metalblade.com
The following track is representative of the vibe of the album.
Primordial - Come The Flood
Sunday, December 14, 2014
You're living in a time machine: the doom from beyond time: BRIMSTONE COVEN
Metal Bulletin Zine reported about this band earlier this year. Now, here's the review.
Brimstone Coven (U.S.): Brimstone Coven
(Metal Blade Records)
This album is recommended if you are at all interested in the following musical proposition: Are you curious to hear a band from today play music like the foundational bands of heavy metal did in the early days of the genre? If your answer is “yes,” then buckle up and hold on tight because Brimstone Coven will shock you with their time-machine retro doom. Seriously, what in the universe gets into the minds of this band to play music this way?! Brimstone Coven should do a world tour in the 1970s with Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Uriah Heep. They should do more tours back in the 70s with Sir Lord Baltimore, Thin Lizzy, Blue Oyster Cult, Blue Cheer, Steppenwolf, Alice Cooper, Foghat, Bad Company, Pentagram and Mountain? Brimstone Coven should tour with …ok, never mind, I think you understand: 70s heavy metal, 70s classic rock, 70s heavy rock.
They positively sound like a 70s band, but to be more accurate, Brimstone Coven, you could say, in general plays midtempo/uptempo 70s doom with smooth, musical singing, an early-friendly style closer to a band like Bad Company, for instance. There are small passages that the band quotes in tribute to Sabbath, but it is an insult to dismiss this band as a Sabbath clone because, for instance, there’s no way that you will ever find Sabbath vocals sounding as harmonious (listen to a song like “Behold, the Anunnaki” for evidence). The singing on this album is one of the highlights, actually. It’s not like some street stoner dude yelling like Ozzy; this is real singing, melodic, harmonious, a bit psychedelic singing, which also shows an earlier influence, like from the 1960s. The guitars definitely show a certain harmony, too, by the way (could be from Thin Lizzy, a major source for guitar harmonies).
This self-titled debut is the band’s first full-length album, with the band’s first EP tagged on as bonus tracks. Apparently the band was formed in 2011. These doomsters are from West Virginia, U.S. The time machine dropped them off at this decade, but their spirit really originates from the early 1970s. Don’t dismiss this band as “another stoner rock” band! The music is quality.
https://www.facebook.com/brimstonecoven
www.metalblade.com/brimstonecoven
Behold, the Anunnaki
Brimstone Coven "The Grave" (OFFICIAL)
Friday, December 12, 2014
Thursday, December 11, 2014
seeking the throne of "extreme metal": Sidious (U.K.): Revealed in Profane Splendour
Sidious (U.K.): Revealed in Profane Splendour
Sidious has a simple plan: conquest of the “extreme metal” world. The winner takes it all and Sidious is out to be the winner of the competition. The benchmark that the band has set for itself seems to be the major successes of “extreme metal,” such as Dimmu Borgir’s “Death Cult Armageddon” (2003) and Behemoth’s “Demigod” (2004). You know, the albums that made waves. Perhaps more accurately, Sidious is “modern, glossy symphonic extreme metal,” with growled vocals and blasting speed, but balanced out with some melodic singing or slower, atmospheric moments. Sidious is meant to be fast and heavy, grandiose and “brutal,” but also memorable. This band wants the audience, especially the modern death metal and modern black metal public to get into the music. Sidious wants it all: the big production, the perfect sound, the heavy songs and the melodic parts, too; and they want you. Sidious is the definition of “extreme metal” in 2014. They had an EP in 2013, and now they have arrived with the album, demonstrating that they are ready to take all the chips and to leave the losers with nothing. Recommended to followers of Behemoth, Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth and similar sounds. www.kaotoxin.com
www.facebook.com/sidiousofficial
SIDIOUS "Obscenity Ov Old"
SIDIOUS "Revealed in Profane Splendour"
abstruse black metal: Cainan Dawn (France): Thavmial
Cainan Dawn (France): Thavmial
Cainan Dawn’s “Thavmial” is from 2014 on Osmose Productions. “Thavmial” is black metal that avoids cheap/expected hooks, melody and memorable parts at all costs. It is made to alienate and keep a distance between the band and the listener with a sound that is unapproachable, making sure to keep away certain unwanted people. Cainan Dawn does not play black metal by the rules of connecting with the listener. They know 99% of metal people won’t understand this sound. That’s fine. Look into this band only if you are in the small minority of people that searches black metal for the initiated: “cold,” “distant,” “unfriendly,” and “uncatchy” elitist black metal sounds. This band is not going to beg you to give them a like or thumbs up or whatever else garbage it is that some people want. This is what abstruse black metal is.
www.facebook.com/cainandawn
www.osmoseproductions.com
Caïnan Dawn - The Brood
traditional heavy metal: Osmium Guillotine (U.K.): Osmium Guillotine
Osmium Guillotine (U.K.): Osmium Guillotine
Osmium Guillotine has been around since 2009 and has a total of some eight works in total. This is the band’s full-length album from 2014; it is almost an hour long. This band plays at an uptempo/midpace and retains a grit, toughness in the sound and vocals. This band has studied classic heavy metal a lot and you can hear the devotion. This album sounds like a serious proposition by a band that means business. Look into this band if you like the street style of early Saxon, early Maiden or if you also like the current sounds of Kaine, another British band with a somewhat similar attitude. www.osmiumguillotine.com
Osmium Guillotine - Phobophobia
traditional heavy metal: Axe Crazy (Poland): Angry Machines
Axe Crazy (Poland): Angry Machines
Axe Crazy’s 2014 four-song EP celebrates old heavy metal in the classic NWOBHM style. Of course, they got their name from the NWOBHM band Jaguar’s song called “Axe Crazy.” This is sing-along heavy metal. This is the band’s first recording, but it’s definitely a good beginning for this band. The band lives up to the name! www.facebook.com/axecrazyband
Axe Crazy - "Angry Machines"
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Alltheniko (Italy): Fast and Glorious (Pure Steel Records)
Alltheniko (Italy): Fast and Glorious (Pure Steel Records)
Alltheniko is a keep-it-true, true-as-steel, metal-on-metal metalhead’s dream come true. If you have ever thought: Are there no traditional heavy metal bands that have heard songs like “Painkiller,” “All Guns Blazing,” “Freewheel Burning” (by Judas Priest) and “Angel in Black,” “Kiss of Death,” and “Back from Hell” (by Primal Fear)—and said to themselves, “That’s the way I want my heavy metal! Fast, shredding, screaming and with no stupid time-wasting ridiculous nonsense like ballads,”—Alltheniko’s new album “Fast and Glorious” is exactly that! Name-taking, no-prisoners, no-fat, no-filler, glass-breaking, door-down-kicking heavy metal. You know how Judas Priest and Primal Fear often start albums with heavy metal that is the very definition of heavy metal, but then they ruin it by slowing down for a ballad. Why?! Stop for nothing! Pedal to the metal; fire up the double bass, get the shredding on, and start the fire, and end it only when the album is over with silence. You might feel like saying, “Finally, a metal band that understands! Finally, a band that knows how a metalhead actually thinks!” Alltheniko takes the fast elements of Judas Priest and Primal Fear and runs away with the speed. This band has been around since 2002 and has five albums. If you want your heavy metal fast and shredding, start with this album. By the way, if you like thrash, but you don’t like the punk-like vocals of thrash bands, you should hear this fast metal band that has singing. Alltheniko is not a thrash/speed metal band per se, but they sure are fast heavy metal. www.puresteel-records.com
www.facebook.com/alltheniko
www.sites.google.com/site/alltheniko/
ALLTHENIKO - FAST AND GLORIOUS (with lyrics)
ALLTHENIKO - SCREAM FOR EXCITER (with lyrics)
80s old death metal demo: TERMINAL DEATH
Terminal Death (U.S.): Terminal Death (compilation of 1984 and 1985 demos)
Terminal Death was a Chicago band that played early death metal. This is a compilation of a 1985 demo and a 1985 rehearsal session. This band is pretty much almost forgotten, as you will notice that it basically never gets mentioned when people talk about early death metal. These recording are pretty rough. It sounds like demo recordings and the quality is garage-style. As you can imagine, the songs are ferocious and raw; for the demo fanatics.
www.store.shadowkingdomrecords.com
Terminal Death - Judge Death
early 90s death metal: MORTHRA (Holland)
Morthra (Holland): Desecrated Thoughts
Morthra’s “Desecrated Thoughts” is a compilation of the 1991 and 1993 demos, plus live tracks. This is prime-time early 90s death metal. Young listeners will love the genuine feel of real-deal death metal, when death metal was just death metal, and did not need subgenres. “Brutal, heavy and sick,” would be how people described this sound. It is mostly uptempo and midpaced death, along the lines of Obituary and Grave, more or less, and definitely not the Morbid Angel/Suffocation speedy death.
www.vicrecords.com
Morthra - Hollowed Carcass
80s old metal demos: MEFISTO
Mefisto (Sweden): The Megalomania Puzzle (compilation of two 1986 demos)
When it comes to 80s black and death metal from Sweden people think of Bathory, but Mefisto formed in 1984 as Torment and in 1986 had two demos as Mefisto: “Megalomania” and “The Puzzle.” As someone who had never heard this band, I think these demos sound very good. I don’t know where Vic Records finds these bands, but it is always nice to hear “new” bands like this one. Vic Records does a great service to people into cult metal by releasing these recordings. www.vicrecords.com
Mefisto - Frost Of Inferno
80s old death metal demo: INCUBUS
Incubus (U.S.): Incubus (1987 demo)
This 1987 Incubus demo was recorded after Mike Browning and Sterling Scarborough left Morbid Angel. This is rough, early death metal, making the thrash of that time sound tame in comparison. This recording is definitely for those into old death metal demos. Expect dirty death metal. www.vicrecords.com
Incubus - Engulfed In Unspeakable Horror - Demo 1987
old metal from the 80s: POWERLORD
Powerlord (U.S.): The Awakening (1986)
Powerlord was a thrash band from Oklahoma, U.S. The album should appeal to total thrash fanatics that want thrash to sound the classic style of speed and tightness. This is not a demo-quality recording, either. If you like to go back and discover forgotten thrash this will be a good one for that old Forbidden/Testament pace of thrash. www.store.shadowkingdomrecords.com
Powerlord (US) - Malice
80s old metal: MANILLA ROAD
Manilla Road (U.S.): Out of the Abyss (1988)
Manilla Road is a cult name, of course. The band started in 1977 in Kansas, U.S. This was the band’s seventh full-length album and it is considered the band’s most “dark and thrash” album. Personally, I think that you can’t go wrong with this album, if you like 80s cult metal. Recommended for those into cult metal like Mercyful Fate, Brocas Helm, Cirith Ungol or more recently a band like Slough Feg. Manilla Road is the personification of cult occult metal. Shadow Kingdom Records is keeping alive the old metal.
www.store.shadowkingdomrecords.com
www.facebook.com/ManillaRoadOfficial
Manilla Road - Out of the Abyss
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