Death Metal – Page 135 – Wonderbox Metal

Just Before Dawn – The Dead and Those About to Die (Review)

Just Before Dawn are an International Death Metal band featuring band members prolific in any number of other groups. This is their latest EP.

Their last album The Aftermath was a good romp through war-torn climes and The Dead and Those About to Die is no different.

As you have probably worked out, this is war-themed Old-School Death Metal à la Bolt Thrower, with a bit of the Swedish Death Metal style thrown in for overkill.

There are five songs on this release, adding up to a hefty 28 minutes of music. The music is solid Death Metal and brings to mind a huge armoured vehicle, relentlessly crawling over a cratered battlefield to bring rolling death to all of its enemies.

Battle-scarred survivors, these five songs detail the horror and destruction of war via the medium of crushing Death Metal that’s well-written and performed by veterans of great experience who know exactly what they’re doing. The battle-scarred survivors have seen it all and lived to tell the tale. This tale.

The Dead and Those About to Die is an enjoyable trip down a memory lane that’s been bombed to rubble.

Have a listen.

Favourite Track: Into the Iron Mist. High energy with some vocal variety and atmospheric leads.

Abyssus – Into the Abyss (Review)

This is the début album from Greek Death Metallers Abyssus.

I’m familiar with Abyssus from their Split with Morbider, and I have to say that I enjoyed that release quite a lot, from both band’s perspectives. So when this album from Abyssus popped into my inbox, I immediately prioritised it.

Abyssus play Old-School Death Metal with a strong Obituary influence, which is not something that you hear too often when compared with bands that take their influences from other Death Metal greats. Even the singer’s voice seems moulded by Obituary, with a similar kind of tone and style apparent.

This may be Obituary-worship in some ways, but it still has its own charms and Into the Abyss boils along at its own pace causing destruction and death wherever it travels.

The songs are simple, atavistic paeans to 90s Death Metal, with the recording values following suit. It’s a pleasing collection of tracks that makes a good impression with its honesty and authenticity. There’s nothing flashy or new here, but that’s resolutely not the point. This is 39 minutes of enjoyable and pleasurable Death Metal that makes no grand claims and simply revels in the bloodshed.

Like the aforementioned split, I really like this; simple and effective. I bet they’re great live.

Check them out.

Dementia 13 – Ways of Enclosure (Review)

Dementia 13 are a Death Metal band from Portugal. This is their début album.

Sometimes only Old-School Death Metal will do. Yes, it’s always nice to hear the latest in TechDeath fusion, or the latests sophisticated Avant-Garde Black Metal opus, or some new-fangled take on Doom…but sometimes you just want something primitive, ugly and swamped in Death Metal’s rich heritage. For times like that, there’s bands like this.

This is horror-inspired music, with each track finding inspiration in a different film.

With a decent sound that means the guitars sound good and heavy while the bass is actually audible, Dementia 13 take a festering, decaying sub-genre by storm and kick up some dust and muck while they’re at it.

This is a very satisfying release. The tasty riffs and deep, growling vocals hit the right spots and Ways of Enclosure is full of grim, filthy Death Metal that manages to capture the spirit of the Old-School style perfectly without sounding stale or tired, as so many do.

The singer’s voice is perfectly gruff but still surprisingly legible. His throaty growl tears along over the steady pace of the music, while the guitars throw out riff after riff and dark tidings aplenty.

Fans of Bolt Thrower, Massacre, Entombed, Autopsy and Six Feet Under will find a lot to enjoy with Dementia 13.

Necropsy – Buried in the Woods (Review)

Necropsy are a Finnish Death Metal band and this is their second album.

Necropsy play Old-School Death Metal that stinks of the crypt and is full of rotting horror.

Their sound is nicely heavy and full of rolling, tasty riffs. Frequent leads and solos accompany the the thick riffs and an ancient atmosphere of atavistic Death Metal is easily achieved.

The singer has a good growl that conjures up all manner of revolting, sickening images as he grunts and roars his way through the musical carnage.

The songs are well-written and the band have that authentic, underground quality to them. Necropsy are veterans of the scene and know what goes into making decent Death Metal. They know when to apply speed too and are not over-reliant on slower sections; there’s savagery here.

It’s a well-rounded package really. Good sound, good songs, good variety; Buried in the Woods ticks all of the boxes for this kind of release and it’s clear that the band have poured a lot of effort and personality into these 8 tracks.

Very nice indeed. Necropsy have impressed and pleased.

Antlion – The Prescient (Review)

Antlion are a Canadian Technical Death Metal band and this is their début album.

Antlion’s brand of Death Metal incorporates some Jazzy, Progressive and Death-style elements into their Technical Death Metal broth and it tastes good. It’s a modern take on the genre and is somewhat of a mix of bands like Gorod and Between the Buried and Me’s quirky extremity, mixed with a classic essence of Death and just the barest touch of Djent.

The music is highly accomplished, featuring enough style and time-changes to satisfy anyone’s craving for challenging music. This is coupled with a wider Progressive sensibility that stops the music from going off the rails completely, but only just.

Liquid leads and fluid guitars fracture into spiky riffs and jagged melodies at a moment’s notice. The merging of the two disparate Progressive Technical Metal worlds that bands like Between the Buried and Me and Death inhabit is a stroke of genius and it’s a joy to hear the modern and the Old-School share space in this way.

The singer’s voice mainly consists of sharp, shrieking screams and aggressive growls. His performance fits the music and it’s nicely rabid the entire way through.

For all of their seeming-randomness, these are tightly controlled songs that have a surprising emotive content and even catchiness in places, both of which are unexpected for a band of this ilk.

This is an impressive release, especially for a début. I would love for this band to develop their Progressive side in the future, but at the same time keeping the inherent unpredictability of their Technical side. This would probably mean songs that average about 10 minutes in length each, but I’m happy with that. As it is though, The Prescient is a very involving slab of Technical/Progressive Death Metal with loads of content and a nasty bite.

Highly recommended.

Abhorrent – Intransigence (Review)

Abhorrent are from the US and play Technical Death Metal. This is their début album.

Featuring former/current members of Spawn of Possession, Absurdist and The Faceless, there’s already a wealth of knowledge and experience behind this release, which is no wonder that it sounds so accomplished for a début album.

The aggressive technicality of Abhorrent is a thing of disturbed beauty and the way that it all twists, turns and demolishes can leave you with whiplash if you’re not careful.

Dense, complex music combines with straight-ahead brutality to create something that lives in both worlds but is beholden to neither. Guitar gymnastics and sparkling, spiky bass are your frequent companions and the frenzied drumming seems only one step away from pure madness.

The singer’s rapid-fire grunting is like being hit repeatedly with a blunt object. Add to this the nature of the music and Intransigence is an album that rarely stops to take a breath.

A lot of Technical Death Metal recently seems to be supping more and more from the pot of Progressive Death Metal. Although this is largely a very good thing, it means that it’s been a while since I’ve listened to the insanely-crazy all-over-the-place style of ridiculous Technical Death Metal that Abhorrent espouse. Well, I’ve missed it and I have really enjoyed the chaotic, controlled mayhem of Intransigence.

Listen if you dare, if you think you can handle it.

The Sickening – Sickness Unfold (Review)

This is the second album from Norwegian Brutal Death Metallers The Sickening.

This is Brutal Death Metal for fans of Deeds of Flesh, Severe Torture, Vile and the like. Indeed, the last song on here is a Vile cover.

Guttural growls lead the way, deep and dark atop the gore-drenched music. The singer is an accomplished grunter and leaves no doubt in your mind that you are firmly in his sights and may very well be on the menu.

The band have a slightly odd production in that everything sounds extremely sharp; whereas the average Death Metal band will happily pummel you to death with blunt objects, The Sickening prefer to use knives and bladed weapons.

The recording allows the band to make ample use of their bassist too, which is something I always enjoy in my Death Metal.

The songs have plenty of chug and groove in them, as well as the requisite blasting barbarity. This is a band that doesn’t understand the word subtle and is quite happy going straight for the kill in every one of these tracks.

When only Brutal Death Metal in its purest of forms will do, The Sickening are here for you.

Check them out.

Anal Fissure – Mind of a Serial Killer (Review)

Anal Fissure are a Brutal Death Metal band from the Philippines. This is their début album.

Here we have 32 minutes of Brutal Death Metal with a decent amount of groove and blast. Influences from the Slam style work their way into the mix here and there, but for the most part this is all about the tried-and-tested method of Brutal Death Metal carnage.

For some reason, the band name and album cover led me to believe that this was going to be a more primitive Grind-influenced offering than it actually is. I was wrong though and Mind of a Serial Killer is a very professional and polished collection of butcher’s songs; the album features a strong recording where everything is solid, thick and precise.

Blasting drums, heavy grooves and huge breakdowns provide plenty of meat to chew on. The riffs are ever-present and the band know how to play, whether they’re going full-speed ahead or slowing it down a notch to crush the listener with churning grooves. Whatever they’re doing, the songs are well-played, with everything sounding tight and focused.

The singer has a pretty gruesome near-pignoise growl that is perfectly executed for this style of carnage. No marks lost for his performance.

Sometimes you want ostentatious and flashy music, or something more experimental and unique to listen to. At other times, however, only Brutal Death Metal will do. For times like that, you have this.

Bloodily enjoyable.

Contrarian – Polemic (Review)

Contrarian are a Progressive Death Metal band from the US. This is their début album.

Just take a look at the album cover – there’s a lot going on and this translates to the music on Polemic too. Contrarian play distinctly atypical Progressive/Technical Death Metal. It’s not your standard fare. which we are eternally grateful for. As a soundtrack to space battles, it works.

Elements of Death, Atheist and Cynic can be heard, as well as more modern influences. All of this is held together by a first-rate vocalist whose growls can only be described as monstrous.

The music twists and turns, taking the listener down all manner of interesting avenues before seemingly changing direction on a whim, returning to where it left off only to find that it’s not the same place after all.

So the band can play, that much is clear; you would expect no less considering the pedigree of some of the members, (Nile being the most notable). Interestingly though, even through all of the technicality and forensic playing they still somehow manage to fashion this chaotic landscape into a collection of songs.

There’s a good helping of otherworldly melodies and distorted atmospherics included in the mix too. These are a welcome addition to the band’s music, helping to create an additional sense of depth and longevity to the tracks. There are frequent calmer sections peppered throughout, as if the band are allowing themselves small moments of respite and self-reflection to replenish themselves for what’s to come.

In the final analysis, it all results in a highly-textured release that is a very enjoyable listen.

Highly recommended.

Nomad – Tetramorph (Review)

This is the latest EP from Polish Blackened Death Metallers Nomad.

Here we have 4 songs, 16 minutes of music; a glimpse into the world of Nomad. This world is brutal and ugly, but surprisingly nuanced and with an interestingly Blackened Sheen. The songs seems to barge out of the darkness to commit heinous, blasphemous acts before disappearing back into the night once more.

This is solid Death Metal, corrupted by Black Metal influences to tinge the riffs a shade darker than they would normally be and infusing the songs with dark atmospheres and an occult presence. They kind of remind me of a band like Blood Red Throne if they were more of a Blackened Death Metal proposition and were mixed with a band like Zyklon.

Nomad’s songs seem to be less about the individual riffs or parts and more about holistic atmosphere and feeling. This is an approach more commonly used by Black Metal bands than Death Metal ones, and thus befits their hybrid status. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t some choice riffs on display here though; there are, and the overall impression that Tetramorph makes is extremely positive.

Dark growls that are more emotive than the norm for this style are combined with sickly screams and all kinds of other incantations to produce a focal point for these Blackened hymns.

Having never heard Nomad before, this is not what I was actually expecting. It’s always nice to be surprised and hear Blackened Death Metal done well, especially when the two styles are blurred so well like they are here.

Recommended.