Death Metal – Page 141 – Wonderbox Metal

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.

Kronos – Arisen New Era (Review)

Kronos are a French Death Metal band and this is their fourth album.

I’ve heard enough French Death Metal by now to expect good things from bands who are from there, and Kronos don’t disappoint.

This is Brutal Death Metal that wastes no time in crashing into your life as soon as you press play, ready to take over and ruin everything with its aural destruction.

This is precise, modern and professionally executed Death Metal. The band have a top quality production and everything sounds razor sharp, massively in-your-face and as deeply satisfying as only Death Metal can be sometimes.

Crisp solos, hyperspeed riffs, rhythmic guitars and pummelling licks all rage and tear their way through the 37 minutes of music. As undeniably impressive as everything guitar-oriented is on this release, the rest of the instruments are equally important, with the drums in particular sounding especially nicely done.

The vocals are impenetrably deep deathgrunts that are as impeccably delivered as the rest of the musical onslaught.

I love this kind of Death Metal, I can’t deny it. It has enough modern verve to be cutting edge but enough components of Classic Death Metal to have longevity and depth. Couple that with the insane blasting brutality that the band do so well and I’m sold completely.

A Brutal Death Metal masterclass.

Wombbath – Downfall Rising (Review)

This is the second album from Swedish Death Metallers Wombbath.

I knew I had to review this one as soon as I saw the band name. Wombbath. Womb. Bath. Well, that got my attention.

Here we have 32 minutes of gore-soaked Death Metal. Yes, they’re Swedish, and yes, they play Death Metal, so yes, this is Swedish Death Metal, chainsaws and all.

After a pointless intro we get some immediately tasty guitar brutality and I’m instantly reminded of why I have such a soft spot for this particular Death Metal sub-genre.

In addition to the requisite chainsaw sound of the crushing guitars, the macabre melodies are also present and correct. Old-School Swedish Death Metal may not be for everyone, but if you are partial to it then Wombbath certainly have all the right moves.

The vocals are daemonic-sounding growls that seem to scrape through into the world from a throat that has been to all of the dark places in existence. It’s an impressive roar and a little different from the generic deathgrunting that populates most Death Metal albums.

The songs tear and rip their way through the playing time and have a good diversity of speeds and tempos, from blast to crawl. The songwriting is good and if you’re into the style this is a good example of how it’s done right.

Wombbath. Womb. Bath. Time to test the waters.

Thy Art Is Murder – Holy War (Review)

Thy Art Is Murder are from Australia and this is their third album. They play Death Metal/Deathcore.

Thy Art Is Murder have produced a mature and interesting record that brings Deathcore and Death Metal together in such a way that both styles are enriched. Deathcore, as I’ve said before, is really, really easy to do badly. With this in mind, Holy War is somewhat of a different beast to that of the Deathcore masses.

Heavy riffs and breakdowns are in attendance, make no mistake, but the more Death Metal side of things ensure there’s enough straight-ahead brutality on display to please the most virulent Metal maniac.

More interestingly, however, are the Post-Metal and Black Metal influences. “What?”, I hear you ask? Well, these are not the biggest part of their sound, admittedly, but they’re an important component of the songs here as these two influences help raise Holy War up from an enjoyably brutal listen to an enjoyably brutal listen that has more to offer than is normal for the style.

The Post-Metal influence shows in the melodies. Alongside the blast beats and the chugging beat downs are the occasional transcendently resplendent melodies, which are not normally associated with Extreme Metal of any kind, unless you’re the likes of Fallujah, of course.

The Black Metal influence is more subtle, more subversive than the Post-Metal element. This manifests itself through some of the riffs, lending a Blackened bite and atmosphere to the proceedings where another band might go for un-emotive blandness.

Both of these influences are second to the Death Metal/Deathcore side of the band, of course, and ultimately Holy War is an aggressively heavy and nastily brutal listen that takes no prisoners and expects nothing but total domination.

I have yet to mention the vocals. Suffice to say that the singer positively roars his way through these 40 minutes like a man possessed by an urge to kill everything possible. Supplemented with higher screams, his performance cannot be faulted.

In a world where Deathcore is ruled by a handful of top quality bands who oversee a multitude of mediocre ones, Thy Art Is Murder have definitely ascended to the upper echelons of Deathcore royalty. Like most Deathcore bands, they’ve achieved this through a combination of good songwriting skills and by moving away from the core of the genre itself, (pun intended), and into more individual waters.

Holy War is positively divine.

Carnivora – The Vision (Review)

Carnivora are from the US and this is their latest EP. They play Modern Melodic Death Metal.

This new 18 minute EP showcases Carnivora’s blend of Modern Death Metal and Groove Metal to good effect.

Carnivora’s début album Eternal was a great listen, and this latest release cements their up-and-coming status in the modern heavy music scene.

They successfully mix brutality and melody, without sacrificing either; kind of like an (older) In Flames meets Lamb of God meets Death Metal sexiness.

The songs blast and groove their way through the playing time and each one has a good grasp of melodics, heaviness, choruses and dynamics. There’s a Thrash Metal influence on display too, but this is usually buried under the melodies, covertly adding to the sharp energy that the band exude.

The music is not without subtlety when it needs to be. The band have an ear for a decent riff and there’s plenty to hook and snare the listener into their world, as well as some good ideas too.

The vocalist grunts, shouts and screams depending on what the music calls for. He has an obvious passion and works with the music to get adrenaline pumping, heads banging and fists smashing.

Carnivora have followed up their impressive début album with a quality little EP that definitely signals big things for the future.

Into the pit!