Death Metal – Page 137 – Wonderbox Metal

Voros – Diseased Deity (Review)

Voros are a Death Metal band from Australia and this is their début album.

If heavy Death Metal with good riffs and pacing is your thing then look no further. Voros feature a thorough approach to Death Metal that sees them take the Classic style and infuse it with a modern energy.

Believe it or not, but Diseased Deity covers a lot of bases; Death, Thrash, Progressive, Technical and Modern Metal are all thrown into the blender and feed into this Death Metal feast.

The vocals are savage shouts full of anger and hatred which seem to lash out of the music like diseased barbs. The singer has a touch of the Meshuggah about him, giving his voice a different edge to that of the normal Death Metal vocalist.

The songs are well-written and see the band showing off what they do, whether it’s riff-hungry, mid-paced Thrashing, faster complexity or blasting destruction.

I like the combination of older and modern influences that give this a feel of Lamb of God and Gojira conspiring together to cover Morbid Angel, Death and Immolation tracks. It’s a really good way to approach this album; modern fire with tried-and-tested Old-School steel. On Diseased Deity it all comes together perfectly and the songs are an interesting, varied and engaging vision of what the band want to achieve.

The various influences work together very well to produce an album that takes from several different styles, with the band having enough skill and talent to make it all their own. Diseased Deity is very impressive and these songs have both immediate appeal and longevity of delivery.

This is a great find. I recommend you get hold of this immediately.

Ripping Death – Tales of the Ripper (Review)

This is the début release from Ripping Death, an Old-School Death Metal band.

A mere 13 minutes in length, this release is the first calling card for their thoroughly morbid take on Old-School Death Metal.

Here we have three original tracks and a Cianide cover. The music has a resolutely 80s feel and the songs are simple, catchy and full of vigour.

Fast riffs and furious solos fly out over pounding, warm-sounding drums and a singer that sounds like he has been unearthed from some long-lost crypt.

There’s something very satisfying about this kind of music. It’s an authentic take on an earlier version of the genre, focusing on a time when songs were more important than speed and feeling was valued higher than technicality. Ripping Death succeed very well in achieving what they set out to do with Tales of the Ripper, and this a ripping, (ahem), collection of songs that are chock full of riotous, catchy hooks and distinctly morbid atmospheres.

Yes, we’ll have some more of this, please.

Affliction Gate – Dying Alone (Review)

This is the latest EP from French Death Metal band Affliction Gate.

This is strong, slick Death Metal with a good sound and plenty of nice riffs.

The singer sounds like he’s moving rocks around in his throat; there’s no issues in this department.

Meaty riffs and headbanging grooves feature strongly, as do the darkened melodies that seem to roll along with the double bass drums. Solos are included too, which are always nice to hear, and along with the lead-work the tracks on Dying Alone are given an emotive edge to go along with the brutality.

Affliction Gate have released a short-but-strong EP that is full of that timeless brand of Death Metal; it’s hard to ever get tired of the style and the band play it with ease and skill. It features elements from many different eras of Death Metal in its roiling make-up, but ultimately a band like this is mainly concerned with the songs themselves and how they hammer themselves into your brain.

A recommended listen.

Confrontation – Aggregat 4 (Review)

Confrontation are a Death Metal band from the Netherlands. This is their début album.

On their first EP, Fieseler Fi 103, I stated – “This is Old-School Death Metal with a malignant Doom influence. Think Swedish Death Metal meets Incantation”. That description stands so I thought I’d go the lazy route and just reproduce it here.

Here we have 42 minutes of Doom-filled Death Metal that hits the mark for both styles in many ways. The thick, heavy riffs are flattening and the deep growled vocals sound hungry enough to cause anyone to question whether getting closer is a good idea or not. It’s a great combination that leads to the songs having a very satisfying quality to them.

The pounding rhythms are as methodical and relentless as a bombardment, while the pummelling drums hit like explosions, causing aftershocks to reverberate through the ground.

The songs seem to trample the war-torn battlefields like a prowling menace, eager for the kill. The Swedish and Doom influences merge together naturally and Aggregat 4 is a fulfilling and entertaining release, all crushing guitars and eerie melodies.

I really quite enjoyed their short EP, and this full-length more than meets the expectations that I had because of it. I’m a bit of a sucker for Death Metal that has both Swedish and Doom influences, so it’s no wonder that I enjoy Confrontation so much really. However, it would all be for nothing if the quality of the songs wasn’t up to scratch, but thankfully that’s not an issue as the quality control levels on Aggregat 4 are set quite high.

Recommended for fans of slow, heavy Death Metal.

Bloodstrike – In Death We Rot (Review)

This is the début album from US Death Metallers Bloodstrike.

Their first EP Necrobirth showcased massive potential and, as I said at the time, indicated that their first full-length would probably be very good indeed.

So, have these claims been vindicated?

In a word; yes.

Bloodstrike play Death Metal that takes the Old-School style, adds a bit of a Swedish flavour and then drags it through a cemetery to get that authentic graveyard feeling. They even cover Soulless by Grave, a Death Metal classic if ever there was one.

The songs are of the aforementioned style, resolutely from the 90s era. The production on In Death We Rot follows suit and the entire album has an Old-School feeling that uses the Swedish style well but doesn’t completely confine itself to it.

Riffs, riffs and more riffs, alongside creepy leads and gloom-filled atmospheres. There are lots of good riffs on here that hit the spot nicely, with both faster sections and slower ones working out well together. The leads contribute to atmosphere-building, especially when combined with a more Doom-ier section, although the band are no slackers when it comes to speed either.

The singer has a beastly voice that sounds completely monstrous. Her vocals were damn good on their earlier release and on In Death We Rot she simply sounds inhuman. Kudos.

This is a really solid album that caters easily to fans of morbid Death Metal. Be sure to check it out.

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.