Death Metal – Page 140 – Wonderbox Metal

Deathrite – Revelation of Chaos (Review)

This is the third album from German Death Metallers Deathrite.

This is Old-School/Classic Death Metal that’s filthy and dirty as Hell. It also has a poisonous mixture of both Doom and Hardcore influences pulsating through its infected blood.

Yes, this is an interesting mixture of different types of extremity all wrapped up in a Death Metal giftbox. There’s an air of the Swedish style to their attack, as well as a whiff of a chainsaw in their sound; there’s a Doomy Asphyx/Incantation vibe going on; there’s a Hardcore/Grindcore energy à la Nasum; and there’s plenty of balls-ahead Death Metal fun for all of the family!

The songs are heavy and nasty, with plenty of bite and a substantial presence. This is a compact little album lasting 35 minutes that doesn’t outstay its welcome and is in fact the kind of thing you’ll find yourself playing again almost straight away.

The singer has a throaty growl that’s malignant and rabid. It complements the aggressiveness of the music perfectly.

This is a top quality album full of decent Metal tunes and plenty of big riffs, with everything you see and hear being covered in filth, of course.

Highly recommended.

Antropofago – Æra Dementiæ (Review)

Antropofago are a French Death Metal band and this is their second album.

Antropofago’s latest release is based around the concept of dementia and is a mixture of brutality and technicality.

The Brutal Death Metal influences propel the band’s carnage forward effortlessly while their Technical Death Metal side allows them to experiment with all manner of interesting ideas. The two warring sides complement and rein each other in so that the songs don’t go too much in ether direction.

It’s also important to note that the songs are, in fact, actually songs. A lot of Death Metal has a tendency to focus on the individual riffs or sections of a track with only a superficial regard for the song as a whole. Antropofago take a holistic view of the tracks and each song is recognisable as such. The album benefits from this consistency of vision and the tracks on Æra Dementiæ are memorable, surprisingly catchy and actually individually identifiable as distinct entities.

The band have a decent heavy sound that complements their style. The groovy bits sound meaty, the fast bits sound unstoppable and the technical wizardry and lightning melodics sound hot enough to burn. The bass is just audible enough to make an impression and the drums are crazily inhuman on occasion.

The singer has a classic Death Metal growl that seems to suck all of the air out of the room.

Antropofago have unleashed a very strong album on the world. This is some quality Death Metal that combines songs, brutality and depth into an appealing package. In a world of disposable music this one has some longevity to it.

Highly recommended.

Intravenous Contamination – Drowned in Human Fluids (Review)

This is the début album from German Brutal Death Metal band Intravenous Contamination.

Intravenous Contamination play USDM/Slam style Death Metal with plenty of chug, groove and blast.

The vocals are guttural pigsqueals that are as inhuman as any in the genre. The singer has a voice that’s as brutal as the music and she sounds utterly deranged.

The songs are the equivalent of boulders dropping form the side of a mountain. Unsubtle, blunt-edged and dangerous to get in front of.

The recording is dense and thick, layered with violence and ill-intent. This gives the songs a squirming, alien feeling that makes their aggressive assault all the more effective in some ways, but curiously muted in others.

Heavy riffs abound and there are no flashes of colour or melody. Everything is blood-red and determined to cause maximum damage.

This is one for hardened Death Metal fans who only care about the ugliest music. Brutal carnage and bloody rage resides within. Dare you listen?

Favourite Track: Carnal Incitement.

Kataklysm – Of Ghosts and Gods (Review)

Kataklysm are from Canada and this is their twelfth album. They play Death Metal.

Veteran band Kataklysm have returned with another 46 minutes of music that continues with their trademark vision of Death Metal as a balancing act between brutality, melody and groove.

After decades of practising and perfecting their art Kataklysm have their formula nailed down. Their Death Metal combines blasting brutality with a melodic sensibility that means these are actual songs first and foremost. Kataklysm were never going to put out a dud album, and Of Gods and Ghosts once again shows why they’re at the top of the Death Metal pile.

As with all of their work it’s very riff-heavy, with colossal grooves a way of life for the band. Their songwriting has been perfected to the point now where these riffs merge seamlessly into their more melodic counterparts and Of Gods and Ghosts is so incredibly catchy and full of hooks it’s just a surefire winner for anyone how likes Melodic Death Metal.

With all of this being said, I like the fact that there’s still extremity here; this is Death Metal after all. Kataklysm can still blast with the best of them and there’s plenty of Northern Hyperblast alongside the slamming riffs and melodic refrains.

The vocals are shouted growls that are a little higher on occasion than some of their past releases, but still do their job well in providing a focus point other than the frenetic riffs or pummelling drums.

For Death Metal that’s straightforward, instant, heavy, melodic and very, very catchy you can’t get better than this.

Macabre Demise – Homicidal Parasites (Review)

Macabre Demise is a solo Brutal Death Metal project from Germany and this is his second album.

This is just over 26 minutes of chug-friendly Brutal Death Metal that’s guaranteed to get the blood pumping and the head moving.

There’s a good mix of blast beats and slower/mid-paced heaviness on Homicidal Parasites. It’s a mix of the USDM and Slam styles, touched up with a bit more of a European feeling in places.

The songs don’t shy away from a bit of melody when needed, which is a nice thing to hear. It’s not a common part of Macabre Demise’s sound, as the songs largely opt for a more direct, brutal, chugging assault, but it’s an added facet to their sound on occasion.

There’s a lot of mosh-friendly sections that are bouncy and groovy. The tracks specialise in aggressive destruction that’s strangely accessible for a band of this style.

The vocals sound like someone wiping the floor with the Cookie Monster. Deep growling is complemented by higher screams when necessary to add that extra bite.

The production is decent and the album benefits from a good recording. It sounds, and I believe this is the technical term, PHAT. Or something. In any event, it’s a very satisfying sound that the songs make the most of.

So, quality Death Metal from this German outfit. Me like.

Vorzug – Call of the Vultures (Review)

This is the début album from US Death Metal band Vorzug.

This is Old-School Blackened Death Metal that takes the brutal nature of Death Metal and adds a Blackened sheen via the guitars and high screaming.

The vocals primarily consist of deep grunts and are backed up by the aforementioned screams. The singer sounds like he’s gargling acid and his cookie-monster style is quite monstrous.

The guitars have a deeply ingrained Blackened edge to them that combines dark melodies with an older Death Metal influence. This results in a pleasing selection of riffs that provide a fresh perspective on the Old-School style.

The band have a good ear for a catchy riff and the Black/Death style means that they have just the right ratio of brutality to melody. The songs harken back to an older era where a good song was worth more than being the fastest/most technical/most brutal/etc.

Vorzug appear to be very talented at what they do and Call of the Vultures is notable for providing an Old-School fix but in a fresh-sounding way. Their passion is apparent for all to see, and in that way they remind me of the recent album from Gruesome, even if stylistically we’re in more Blackened waters here.

The music is propelled forwards by a strong drum sound, though all of the instruments sound good. It’s nice to hear the bass too, especially as it’s used to enhance the songs and is allowed to make its own mark on the tracks.

A very strong album, made a very enjoyable listen by the songwriting skills and catchy Blackened riffing. Definitely worth 33 minutes of your time.

Vorage – Vorage (Review)

This is the début release from UK Death Metal band Vorage.

This is dense Death Metal that’s akin to a churning maelstrom of distortion and abyss-like darkness.

Vorage can be compared to similar bands such as Portal, Mitochondrion and Ævangelist; they specialise in creating nightmare soundscapes in which horrors come to life. Mix this with a Morbid Angel influence and you have a band that means business.

Vorage are dirty, murky and impenetrably evil. The music sounds like it has been dredged up from the darkest, dankest pit in order to savage Death Metal’s soul, corrupting it to its malevolent will.

There’s only three songs on this release, but it’s still 20 minutes of music that will be too off-putting for most to stomach, but if you can hack it then it’s a grime-ridden gem of a release.

There are a few tasty riffs here, hidden beneath the swirling gloom, but it’s mostly about the atmosphere and things that lurk in the fog. Obscure melodies occasionally add sick, warped light to the cacophony, only to disappear again shortly after being birthed.

The vocals are indecipherable guttural incantations, bereft of humanity and rich with malice. It’s all very enjoyable, as far as these things can be enjoyed, of course.

A very promising release from a band who know how to weave terror into the fabric of their Death Metal assault. Recommended.

Bowel Stew – Debridement (Review)

Bowel Stew are an Italian Brutal Death Metal band. This is their third album.

Bowel Stew like their gore and their buckets of blood. But what they really like, of course, is huge helpings of Brutal Death Metal.

Across these 25 minutes, the band give us nine tracks of unrelenting brutality, including a Brodequin cover.

This is not for the faint of heart, nor is it for fans of pretty, polished Death Metal. This is as underground as it gets and Bowel Stew are interested in impressing no-one but themselves with their butchery.

The vocals are so low as to be almost inaudible. Almost. What we actually get is a voice that growls like an oncoming storm rumbles in the background. It’s inhuman and menacing.

The music is a murky and impenetrable mix of fast guitars and metronomic drums. There’s little in the way of songs here. Instead, Bowel Stew are essentially being as brutal as they can for the love of it. This is just a couple of steps away from completely unhinged Grindcore, and it’s only an undercurrent of Death Metal structuring that prevents this from happening.

This kind of ugly, atavistic Brutal Death Metal will appeal only to a small subset of a small sub-genre of a small genre, etc., but if you do want a fix of no-questions-asked raw barbarity and carnage then I would suggest you check them out, as Debridement is not without its gory charms.

Amputory – Ode to Gore (Review)

Amputory are a Death Metal band from Finland and this is their début album.

Amputory play Old-School Death Metal, and they play it very well indeed.

The singer has a deep guttural growl that sounds like concrete breaking. He uses enjoyable vocal patterns and his voice is just the right side of illegible.

The music has a good groove and there are some nice chuggy riffs that are fat and brutal enough to get the head banging easily. The riffs come thick and fast, making the tracks thoroughly engaging. They also know when to put their foot on the accelerator where necessary and just give it some blasting.

The songs are strong and memorable. The Old-School style lives or dies by its songs as it doesn’t have the pure brutality/technicality/whatever of other sub-genres to fall back on. In this respect it’s a very honest style and Amputory shine due to the well-structured and well-written songs on Ode to Gore.

The band have a very satisfying production and Ode to Gore sounds great. This gives the songs the necessary freedom to crush and maim with impunity.

Some Old-School Death Metal can sound a bit stale, but Amputory have perfected their mixture it seems, as Ode to Gore has a brightness and spring in its step that belies the classic nature of the sub-genre. Amputory may be Old-School but they sound born of the here-and-now; this is still bloodily relevant music.

I heartily suggest that you give this a listen, you won’t regret it.

Immortal Bird – Empress/Abscess (Review)

Immortal Bird are an interesting Death Metal band from the US. This is their début album.

This is not a typical Death Metal album. In fact it’s only Death Metal in the loosest sense really. Elements of Black Metal’s darkness and Grind’s chaos infuse it like diseases, while the brutal core only gets stronger and stronger due to these infections.

The singer has an absolutely scathing voice and her vocals seem to lash out of the venomous music like angry barbs.

The songs are an extremely impressive collection of styles and sub-genres. Fusing the atypical Death Metal of Gorguts, the emotive Grind of Cloud Rat, the Hardcore fury and aural inventiveness of Converge, the classic-style aura of Death and the Blackened taint of Ludicra – this is a real merging of different aspects of Extreme Metal, underpinned by a Death Metal core, resulting in an album that really is an incredibly impressive release.

As well as having a certain soft spot for some well-worn and classic genres/sub-genres, I also absolutely love it when you encounter a band that are doing something a bit different. Immortal Bird are the perfect kind of band for this, and I love that they throw so many Extreme Metal influences into their melting pot. The important thing, though, is that they’re doing it extremely well. This release is well-realised and sounds completely natural and unforced. The songs are just that well-written.

These tracks have it all, from blasting to angularity to atmosphere to melody to high-energy. For all the extremity on display here they still manage to throw in some hooks and the entire thing is actually very memorable, quite quickly.

This is the kind of music that causes you to take a sharp intake of breath and say to yourself, “holy shit”.

What more is there to say? You absolutely need Immortal Bird in your life.

This is going in my end of year list, make no mistake.