Death Metal – Page 158 – Wonderbox Metal

Bloodstrike – Necrobirth (Review)

Bloodstrike are from the US and this is their début demo. They play Death Metal.

For a demo the production is very good indeed; strong and heavy. They have a very dark sound and the songs sound better than some albums.

The band play aggressive Death Metal with a preference for the Old-School and a nod towards the Swedish style. It’s an addictive sound and the band play it with an expertise that belies their short existence as a new band.

The vocals are cavernous guttural roars that sometimes are straight growls and other times have a snarling quality to them. She is capable of a fair degree of diversity as higher vocals are also used on occasion as well. They all sound very good.

The music is straightforward Death Metal with some good riffs and melodies. Combining blasting and groove, the band have birthed three very enjoyable tracks that show a maturity of songwriting and an intimate understanding of the Death Metal genre and of what makes a good song.

This demo showcases the massive potential of Bloodstrike. Their first album should be very good indeed if this is any indication.

Apocrophex – Wheels Within Wheels (Review)

Apocrophex are from the US and this is their début EP. They play Technical Death Metal.

This is only a short release; 2 songs in just under 5 minutes.

With such short tracks it’s a brutal and dense affair straight from the start.

The band make a good impression with their deep vocals and rhythmically pummelling brand of Death Metal, all backed up with some fretboard wizardry and blastbeats.

The second song Halos of Light surprises by having some interesting melodic riffing and some semi-cleans in amongst the blasting and brutality. It’s unexpected and shows that Apocrophex are willing to experiment with areas not typically of the Death Metal template. This is to be encouraged, of course.

For a first release the production is functional but could do with giving the band a bit more room to breathe next time. Only a small thing but something they could benefit from.

Other than that this is an all-to-brief hint at what this band is capable of. My interest is peaked. Bring on the full length.

Oath of Damnation – The Descent (Review)

Oath of Damnation are from Australia and play Blackened Death Metal.

This release features a heavy and dense sound, as if the band condensed a planet’s worth of matter and used it to fuel the recording process.

The deep vocals sound equally impressive, with a depth of guttural growling seldom seen. This is coupled with higher Black Metal shrieking that offsets them.

The music is fast and furious, combining the intricate riffing of Nile, the claustrophobia of Immolation and the Blackened bite of Arkhon Infaustus. It’s a heady mix and the resultant cocktail is as intoxicating as it is venomous.

The band also incorporate symphonic elements into their brutal repertoire. These are used to punctuate and accentuate the churning maelstrom of chaos that the band create. These are used sparingly to good effect and never sound over the top or out of character with the rest of the music.

Oath of Damnation have released something special here. Seek them out and listen to them today.

Reciprocal – New Order of the Ages (Review)

This is Reciprocal’s second album of Technical Death Metal. They are from the US.

A strong start introduces the band and their heavy, sprawling sound to the listener. It’s complex and interlinked whilst retaining a brutality and nastiness a lot of Technical Death Metal bands are lacking in.

This is Technical Death Metal mixed up with the modern, New-School breed of crushingly Brutal Death Metal. It’s a heady combination that immediately makes you sit up and take notice of them.

The songs are long, (for Death Metal), and the band use this time to explore the labyrinthine riffs and to show off their musical chops.

They appear to have quite the mixture of influences on this release. I hear elements of Cephalic Carnage, Carcass, Spawn of Possession, Arsis, Gorguts, Decapitated and many more crammed into the technically dense songs. There is too much going on here to absorb in one listening, which is a good thing as it increases the longevity of the album.

Vocally the band incorporate pretty much all styles in the album somewhere, although high-pitched Carcass-esque screams are the most used.

The sound is absolutely immense. It sonically shines and the tracks hit home like hammers. It doesn’t get stale or boring as the band have enough variety within their framework to introduce elements of several Death Metal sub-genres; Brutal Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal and Deathcore being the main ones in addition to the core of Technical Death Metal.

New Order of the Ages is an ambitious album; 68 minutes of music with plenty of ideas and enough talent to hold it all together. Piano and samples are used liberally to help spread the band’s message and to provide breaks between bouts of swirling riffs and widdly fret-wizardry.

I heartily recommend this album to anyone who enjoys bold, challenging, heavy, technical music. If this is you then this is a must listen.

Invidiosus – Malignant Universe (Review)

Invidiosus are from the US and they play Death Metal.

After the usual pointless intro we get dirty Death Metal with a Grind influence. It’s foetid, riffy, and full of rotten warmth.

The singer has an impressive growl. Deep and satisfying, straight from the bowels. Nice. The higher screeches are good too.

This is a kind of timeless Death Metal that might take cues from the past but is quite content in the present also. It’s heavy and fast, but also allows moments of technicality into the fray as well as slower, more considered parts.

The riffs rip and the drums pound. The gritty nature of the recording works in the band’s favour and overall this is a most enjoyable ride down the Death Metal canal of grisly delights.

Check them out.

Athanatheos – Alpha Theistic (Review)

Athanatheos are from France and play Blackened Death Metal.

This is a bold and ambitious release that’s as impressive as it is unexpected. As a concept album of sorts it naturally reserves the right to be different from the norm and the band make the most of their artistic freedom. Great album cover too.

First off though, before looking at the music itself, I feel compelled to applaud the production. A strong sound benefits the songs and allows the band free reign to create something with personality.

The music itself is brutal and harsh but also includes many moments of interesting ideas and standout parts. This is not simple music and it has obviously been put together under a labour of love and meticulous care. This level of quality is rare, and extends right down to the originally-recorded Gregorian chants that feature on this release.

The songs are varied and utilise pretty much all of the weapons in the Extreme Metal arsenal at one point or another, be this blast beats, slow/mid/fast sections, groove, Doom, etc. as well as the more unconventional parts also.

The tracks are all played well and solos/leads/melodies are put to good use. Everything is tight and focused. Songwriting skills are on top form and the band clearly understand the requirements for dynamics and energy.

Within its chosen Blackened Death Metal style this is a wonderfully diverse and creative release that explores all kinds of Extreme Metal territory before culminating in the final 16 minute track.

This really is a superlative album, and one which would almost certainly have featured in my best of year list if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s already a couple of years old. The fact that such a quality band can produce such a quality album yet remain in complete obscurity is disheartening to say the least.

It’s time to remedy this shocking turn of events. Go seek out Alpha Theistic and include it in your collection with all haste. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

Funeral Whore/Obscure Divinity – Summon the Undead – Split (Review)

Funeral Whore are from the Netherlands and Obscure Infinity are from Germany. Both bands play Old-School Death Metal.

Funeral Whore start proceedings with two tracks. Traces of Death begins with a menacing riff and an intimidating growl. At this point I know it’s going to be good.

Ultra-low vocals preside over the top of a slow and evil riff before the band become a bit more mid-paced and heavier guitars start playing. The song merges elements of Bolt Thrower and Incantation to create an enjoyable track.

The second track East Area Rapist has a killer Old-School riff that shows the band has an ear for a good tune. Stylistically we’re in the same territory as the first song although this one has a bit more melody and chugs along happily as the drums roll and the vocals make deep, dark noises.

After these we have Obscure Infinity with the song Maniac Destroyer. In contrast to Funeral Whore’s side, Obscure Infinity have a stronger production and more of an immense feel.

Maniac Destroyer has blastbeats and is a more upbeat proposition overall. A touch of the Swedish Death Metal feel is on the track, (sans That Sound), and the deep vocals punctuate the thick guitars like giant exclamation marks.

Obscure Infinity are like a shot of adrenaline and their track has all of the requisite components of a winner. The main riff is excellent and gives me the same thrilling feeling as when I was first getting into this type of music oh so long ago. One of my favourite parts of the song is the solo section with the rhythm guitars just laying down some excellent backing riffs.

A fine taster for a fine couple of underground bands. For the length this is damn near essential I’d say.

De Profundis – Frequencies (Review)

De Profundis are from the UK and this is their latest EP of Progressive/Technical Death Metal.

The band have a deep sound that showcases the technical riffing and aggressive nature of their music.

The drumming is all over the shop, but in a very good way; they’re not afraid of using unusual rhythms and off-kilter beats.

This description also applies to the rest of the music, although the band do throw in some melodies and leads here and there when needed.

Apart from the vocals, which are low and deep, the band remind of Death at their most Progressive and Experimental. Indeed; the last song out of the 4 tracks here is a Death cover of the song Crystal Mountain.

Brutality is still a factor in their sound though; this is Death Metal after all. This brutality is offset with sharpened riffs and fretboard exploration that never allows it to become too bludgeoning; rather this is extreme in a different way. It’s technically precise and musically demanding.

At 20 minutes in length this is a decent showcase for the band and allows them to display their musical wizardry to good effect.

A worthwhile listen.

Fallujah – The Flesh Prevails (Review)

Fallujah are from the US and this is their second album of Death Metal.

But this is not your normal, run-of-the-mill Death Metal by any standards, this is something truly special. Fallujah play Technical/Progressive Death Metal with expansive melodies, daring structures and bold ambitions.

A huge production is a prerequisite for anything like this in order for everything to be clear and exact, and this is what we get.

The songs are hugely impressive both technically and song-wise. There’s a lot packed into these tracks and every second of music seems to have been considered and planned to complete precision before anything has even been played. It’s tight, proficient and worthy of the title master-crafted.

Their material has its brutal side of course, (this is Death Metal after all), but they mainly deal in atmospheres and moods. For example; it often seems like two songs are being played at the same time, with an intricate Death Metal song being played over the top of a haunting Post-Metal track. Fallujah’s genius is to make this fit together flawlessly and with utter precision so that the juxtaposition of styles sounds whole and complete.

Somehow the band manage to be rhythmic, brutal, spacey, melodic and colourful simultaneously, with the songs positively dribbling emotion and atmosphere.

The album is laden with effects and additional instrumentation providing so many layers of depth that it’s almost easy to overlook the phenomenal playing of the core instruments and the rather impressive noises that they make. There’s too much going on here to take in in only one sitting, and like the best albums it grows on you like a welcome disease.

Fallujah have produced a stunning album that raises the bar so high that most other bands will fall by the wayside just trying to keep up.

You need this album.

Giant of the Mountain – Moon Worship (Review)

This is the latest album from US Blackened Progressive Death Metal band Giant of the Mountain.

Blackened Progressive Death Metal? Sure it’s a bit of a mouthful but it is a more-or-less adequate description of Giant of the Mountain’s music.

Their songs have distinct Progressive tendencies with complex riffs and structures congealing around an exploratory Metal core.

Death Metal serves as the largest percentage of that core, albeit a form of Death Metal that relies on melodics and technicality rather than sheer brutality.

And the Blackened part? This is sprinkled on top of everything really. It’s not as if Black Metal is a massive part of their sound, but it’s definitely a feature and they would sound quite different if this aspect of their music was removed. It’s a quality of some of the riffs, it’s in some of the vocals and it’s apparent in the distinctly non-Death Metal recording.

Couple all of the above with a bit of Sludge and a DIY attitude and you have Moon Worship.

Apart from the Blackened vocals we also get Death Metal grunts and some Viking-esque epic cleans.

The involving songs make the most of their play time with melodies and passages that seem to draw you in before going off on another tangent. These tracks really have been well written and the underground production enhances the feeling of listening to something special. This is a very creative and enjoyable release.

If you combine parts of bands like Enslaved, Opeth, Death, Gorguts and a whole slew of others then you’ll have an idea of the Giant of the Mountain sound. It’s refreshing. My only slight complaint is that even though the production on the album is adequate for the most part and for some instruments, (like the bass), it’s perfectly judged; for me the drum sound is a little weak and timid sounding. This is very subjective of course, (like all things music-based), and it’s not enough to spoil my enjoyment of this album, it’s just that it sounds a little flat to me and for a band that are as good as this I would prefer fuller-sounding drums.

Slight sound issues aside though, this really is the kind of album you want to take your time to get to listen to; absorb and repeat. It’s well worth the time.

As you can see, this is not your average release and certainly stands out from the pack. Get your fill of Giant of the Mountain and get worshipping the moon as soon as you can.