Death Metal – Page 140 – Wonderbox Metal

De Profundis – Kingdom of the Blind (Review)

This is the fourth album from UK Death Metallers De Profundis.

After 2014’s EP teaser Frequencies, (two tracks of which make an appearance on Kingdom of the Blind), this album fleshes out their Progressive/Technical Death Metal sound to a fuller 52 minutes.

The band continue with their technical Death-worship and have created an album that’s a comprehensive overview of their Death Metal worldview. Like their heroes, De Profundis make sure that the song is never lost within the technical framework and have the talent necessary to play such ambitious music. Like the wonderful Execration, they are doing their best to keep the spirit of Death alive while putting infusing the style with their own personality and spin.

De Profundis like their songs technical and involving, with plenty of syncopation and off-kilter ideas amidst the blast beats. The songs are all around the 5-minute mark, or longer, giving the band ample time to show off what they can do. The performance levels are high and the entire package is very accomplished. I must also mention the bass, especially; I really like what the bassist contributes to these songs.

The deep vocals are like thunder claps and punctuate the songs like bruises. These help to provide a different identity for the band than if they had opted for higher, more Death-esque vocals, and act as a blunt counterpoint to the sharpness of the music.

Kingdom of the Blind is an impressive release from a band who are not content to be average.

Highly recommended.

Sarpentra – Supernova (Review)

This is the début album from Russian Death Metal band Sarpentra.

If you think of bands such as Nile, Behemoth, Melechesh and Septic Flesh you’ll be on the right lines. This is aggressive, atmospheric and dark Death Metal that’s further enhanced by choirs, orchestration and operatic vocals.

The core of the band is fast and brutal, with deep growls and blast beats leading the way. This is tempered by the atmospheric side of the band, which reins in the brutality, (or tries to), so that the band’s grander and more cinematic side can come to the fore.

The technical brutality of the band blurs by as they indulge their atmospheric side and the two taken together merge into something really special. They may not be the first band to play this style but they sound like they’re doing it on steroids. While some Death Metal bands dabble in their Classical components, here they’ve been taken to the nth degree. It’s as if Therion had created reinterpretations of Nile songs and then asked Behemoth to perform them.

These are songs that have real presence to them. It’s undeniable. There are so many stand-out moments on this album that it’s hard to credit. The lightning-speed playing combined with the exotic melodies and the orchestral bombast…it’s a heady mixture and Supernova is nothing if not ambitious.

A lot of hard work has clearly gone into writing and recording these songs and it’s all paid off handsomely. This is an album that feels like a tour of a strange new land, one that’s ripe with danger but worth exploring nonetheless.

Very impressive and very, very good. Make this a high priority listen.

Estuarine – Lucid/Entheogen (Review)

Estuarine is a one-man band that’s currently based in Sweden. This is the second album from his project.

This is Extreme Metal that’s rooted in differing elements of Death Metal with a pinch of Black Metal to produce a concept album that deals in the subject of psychoactive substances. The first 6 tracks are regarding their modern use, while the last 4 tracks deal with their traditional usage.

The music is a mix of Progressive and Technical Death Metal with a subtle modern Black Metal influence. If you think of Extreme Metal bands such as Zyklon, Between the Buried and Me, (minus clean singing), and Mithras then you’ll have an idea of the kind of landscape that Lucid/Entheogen inhabits.

On the first half of the album the songs have a delightfully brutal method of attack that sees the Technical Death Metal aspect take the lead, with the Progressive Death Metal aspect coming second. Slower/lighter introspective parts, occasionally bordering on Post-Metal territory, add flavour and depth to the music, although the extremity is never far behind.

On the second half the roles are reversed somewhat, with the Progressive Metal aspects shifting to the fore and the Technical mayhem relegated to a close second place. It’s a subtle shift in many ways, but it is noticeable and results in songs that are longer, more expansive and a bit less brutal, (although this is relative as everything here is still highly aggressive and technical overall).

The vocals alternate between growls and screams. The growls are convincing enough, but it’s the screams that sound particularly good to me.

The recording is a good one and everything sounds solid and in your face. Sometimes the production on one-man projects can sound a bit flat or one dimensional, but this is certainly not the case here.

Although by no means perfect, this is still better than most. Ambitious, forward-thinking and brutally proficient; Lucid/Entheogen is an impressive accomplishment and anyone who has a penchant for interesting and individualistic Extreme Metal should make a beeline for it as a priority.

Really, really enjoyable and extremely highly recommended.

Favourite Track: Towards Infinite Kaleidoscopic Dimensions.

Cattle Decapitation – The Anthropocene Extinction (Review)

This is the eighth album from veteran US Death metal band Cattle Decapitation.

Based on the concept of humanity dying out due to its own actions, Cattle Decapitation return once more to show that Death Metal can be savage and intelligent at the same time.

Cattle Decapitation’s take on Death Metal is an ever-developing one that seems to only improve over time. Pretty much a Progressive Death Metal band at this point, they still have a core of Brutal Death Metal with a touch of Grindcore, but this has been expanded upon and augmented by Progressive and melodic components, all without sacrificing the essential extremity of the band.

The vocals are impressively delivered and the singer proves he has a versatile and vicious palette of vocalisations to work from, be that grunting nastiness, utter pignoise, hateful screams or strange, mutant, melodic semi-cleans that sound like a strangled Devin Townsend. This latter statement may not sound very complimentary but it is; they’re very emotive in an inhuman way.

The music ranges from the ultra-brutal, to the meaningfully melodic, to the Progressively expansive, to the dynamically riff-heavy, to the atmospherically apocalyptic. It’s a multifaceted and interesting sound that manages to surprisingly accomplish two very important and hard-to-do-tasks – the first is that it manages to remain extreme, regardless of all of these other additions and excursions; the second is that it manges to do this while having an emotional depth that is simply lacking in a lot of bands, never mind Death Metal ones. These are songs that can actually cause an emotional response from the listener, as well as simply being great to bang your head and stamp along to.

This is 46 minutes of quality Death Metal that’s not afraid to do its own thing. Cattle Decapitation are one of those rare bands that really do just get better with age.

An essential listen.

Fully Consumed – Incendium (Review)

Fully Consumed are a Death Metal band from the US and this is their second album.

This is Technical Death Metal that also features a good amount of syncopated groove, resulting in an album that is weighted towards the former but still maintains a good balance between technical mayhem and head-banging bounce.

Blast beats and time changes work alongside mid-paced bruisers to create an album that contains a huge amount of speed and brutality but also knows when to slow it down a notch to really drive things home.

Vocals consist of dark growls and slithering screams that play second fiddle to the music but would still definitely be missed if they weren’t present.

The band have some good ideas in the songs and these tracks deliver a satisfying hit of chaotic violence. It’s an unrelenting assault and the band don’t show any signs of fatigue throughout these 37 minutes. Even the mid-paced sections are quickly swallowed up in a tide of blasting or technicality and the band are nothing if not persistent in their quest for carnage.

This album was originally released in 2014, but as the band felt the original recording did not do it justice they have now remastered and reissued it in 2015. I don’t know what the original sounded like but this has a solid sound that allows the band to show off what they can do.

Recommended for all Technical Death Metal fans.

Ogotay – Dead God’s Prophet (Review)

Ogotay are a Death Metal band from Poland and this is their second album.

This is muscular Death Metal that has a touch of the mystical and the mysterious about it. There’s an occult vibe that hangs around the tracks like a dark aura, infusing them with the feeling that there’s more going on here than just mere music.

The songs share some elements of fellow Polish band Behemoth, as well as, (to a lesser extent), Vader and non-Poles Nile. There’s brutality and extremity on display but Ogotay also manage to foster those occult atmospheres, as mentioned previously, and these lend the tracks an extra level than if they were purely standard Death Metal; like something feral restrained by ritual.

Bands like Behemoth, Nile, Immolation, Morbid Angel, etc. are a huge influence in the Death Metal world because they are doing something a bit different with the style and do it very well indeed. Due to this, when bands are influenced by them this can easily be to their detriment as it usually ends up coming too close to the original.

What I like about Ogotay is the fact that while they are reminiscent of bands like these genre-leaders they have enough of their own personality and character to step from out of the shadows and into the light on their own merits. Yes, there may be shades of other bands in their style, (as with all bands), but they are definitely their own beast.

To this end, Dead God’s Prophet is full of interesting ideas and well-developed themes and concepts. The band understand what’s needed to write a good song and use this within the Death Metal framework to unleash eight quality tracks in 37 minutes. Each song is identifiable as its own entity and holistically the album flows and fits together very nicely.

I also like the way that they manage to flip between a riff-based approach and a more emotive, atmospheric one, yet they still retain that core of brutality that we demand from the best death Metal.

I’ve been very impressed with this release. Ogotay have managed to stamp their own personality and identity onto the Polish Death Metal scene seemingly effortlessly.

I’m sure we’ll be hearing more from this band in the future, as Dead God’s Prophet is strong enough to easily fight its way to the top of the pile.

Essential listening.

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.