Death Metal – Page 154 – Wonderbox Metal

Emblazoned – Eucharistiae Sacramentum (Review)

Emblazoned are from the US and this is their début album. They play Blackened Death Metal.

This is music with an evil feel created by minions of some Dark Lord or other who worship and defile their way through 8 tracks of daemonic Death Metal.

The deep growls and high screams call out hymns to darkness whilst the crushing production allows the music to be both heavy and precise.

All of the instruments are clear and played with surgical steel. The drums have an especially crisp sound to them, the bass is audible and worthwhile and the guitars have a crunchy, crushing edge.

The riffs have a Blackened feel to a lot of the melodies which adds a touch of the underworld to the songs; they already have a malevolent feel to them as it is and as the band are mainly interested in creating a brutally evil atmosphere it’s only to be expected that a Black Metal influence should make its way onto the album.

The songs are very enjoyable and make the most of their relatively short playing time by effortlessly blending the brutality of streamlined Death Metal with the dark feeling of Black Metal.

Emblazoned combine parts of bands like Deicide, The Black Dahlia Murder, Satyricon, Behemoth, Arsis and Lvcifyre into their merciless sound and the result is a very strong album indeed.

It’s time for you to check out Emblazoned and join them in their war against the forces of light.

ART 238 – Atavism (Review)

ART 238 are from France and play Industrial Extreme Metal. This is their latest EP.

Here we have three tracks lasting almost 22 minutes in total that showcase the band’s harsh blend of Industrial sounds and Death/Black Metal know-how.

Usually when bands attempt to merge these two genres the result is some half-hearted Death Metal with keyboards on top. ART 238 don’t fall into this trap, as the Extreme Metal they play is actually extreme, and the Industrial influences seem coded into the band’s make-up at the genetic level and then hybridised with cybernetics to create this fascinating beast.

ART 238 manage to merge ultra-brutal blast beats with more atmospheric Industrial workouts in a way that recalls Aborym if they had gone the Death Metal route rather than the Black Metal one.

Another thing I really like about this EP is that the songs take the time to explore their surroundings, like they’re genuinely trying to find the best fit for their various component parts. In a feat of ingenuity the band manage to work with both sides of their sound expertly and incorporate them into an Industrial Extreme Metal whole.

It’s a musical framework that not many bands try, as most that do usually sound weak, incoherent or like some 80’s synth parody. ART 238 sidestep all of this by going straight for the jugular with their creative brand of urban Metal.

For fans of and mixing influences from – Aborym, Mithras, Red Harvest, Axis of Perdition, Blut Aus Nord, Ministry, Dødheimsgard, Kekal, Invertia, etc.

Highly enjoyable and highly recommended. This is the sound of a mechanised apocalypse.

Circaic – False Prophetic Roads (Review)

Circaic are from the US and this is their début EP.

The band play Technical Melodic Death Metal.

The singer has a great voice – when he’s being aggressive he either slices things up with his razor sharp shrieks or utterly destroys with his deeper-than-Hell growls. The growling I especially like. And when he’s not being aggressive? Cleans are used and they sound good – no radio-friendly commercial-tainted cleans, just decent singing in a European style.

This is for fans of bands like At The Gates, Soilwork, In Flames, Darkane, etc. – this is the stylistic area of Metal we’re in only Circaic are a touch more extreme.

The music is melodic and intense, with lots of technicality and complexity marking them out from similar bands who might largely use more simplistic riffs.

Well-played guitars and rhythmic drums provide the basis for the varied vocals and the music is accentuated and enhanced by the sometimes-subtle, sometimes-overt keyboards. Indeed; the keyboards and the nature of the music in general sees the band courting Melodic Black Metal territory on many occasions.

This is a very accomplished release with mature songwriting and tracks that feel finished and substantial. The problem with this style is that it was ransacked for ideas years ago by Metalcore and has never quite recovered. Thankfully Circaic show no signs of this; there are no breakdowns, no posturing and no selling out; what we have here is Metal through and through and it’s a joy to hear.

I heartily recommend this. Listen loud and enjoy.

Pyre – Human Hecatomb (Review)

Pyre are from Russia and play Death Metal. This is their début album.

This is Old-School Death Metal with swagger, confidence and a feeling of grim determination mixed with a sense of graveyard fun.

The singer snarls and growls his way through the carnage and there’s more than a touch of Obituary about him.

Quality solos and playing all-round make for an enjoyable listen. The sound is balanced and the drums in particular sound quite satisfying. I also like that you can hear the bass. Hurrah for bass!

This is an album of good songs and good riffs; an album celebrating the time when songs were more important than how fast or how technical you could play.

Slow, mid-paced, fast; Human Hecatomb uses all tempos, speeds and paces well demonstrating Pyre’s good grasp of dynamics and songwriting.

A healthy Swedish Death Metal influence can be heard throughout this album, but it’s not an overbearing one and certainly not one that would give people who are sick of that particular sub-genre enough reason to avoid Pyre. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that there are very few reasons to avoid Pyre if you’re a fan of Classic Death Metal.

This really is great stuff. If you love Death Metal you’ll love Pyre.

Unanswered – Heliosphere (Review)

Unanswered are from Poland and play Djent/Deathcore.

This is energetic and suitably face ripping in nature. It blasts out of the cage with a strong sound and no qualms about who it attacks.

I’m not a massive fan of Djent as I think it’s too easy to be mediocre, but this only has a sprinkling of Djent mixed with the Deathcore and it works for me.

The band have a nicely heavy sound and aren’t afraid to layer melodies over the heaviness, further distilling the Djent-isms and adding depth to what otherwise might be random riffs strung together.

These melodies have a Post-Metal quality to them that’s nice to hear when juxtaposed against the heavier, chunky riffs that make up the bedrock of the band’s output. Added electronics/keyboards further enhance their sound and it’s a credit to their songwriting that it all congeals together into a cohesive whole.

These songs have a good groove to them and there’s enough bite to satisfy. It’s distinctly non-commercial, with the main aim of the band to destroy what lies in their path.

The singer has a brutal set of lungs and shouts and growls himself hoarse as he keeps up with the rest of the music. Some semi-cleans appear on the last song and it seems that Unanswered have even more potential than we might have seen so far.

This has surprised me and I’m pleased to say it’s surpassed my expectations. Both Djent and Deathcore are much maligned in a lot of people’s minds, but Unanswered give a good account of themselves and it would be a shame if they were dismissed out of hand due to this.

Heliosphere is an enjoyable twelve and a half minutes of modern Heavy music and Unanswered are definitely one of the better bands to play this style.

Give them a listen and see if their immense groove and spectral soundscapes can impress you as it has done me.

Tantal – Expectancy (Review)

Tantal are from Russia and this is their second album. They play Progressive Melodic Death Metal.

This is upbeat and Melodic Death Metal in the vein of Arch Enemy, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Nightrage, etc. Tantal differentiate themselves though by having more of a Progressive edge to their sound.

The vocals consist of harsh male screaming and clean female vocals pairing off against each other. Both sets of vocals are performed admirably and the clean melodies in particular are quite enjoyable and remind of classic Lacuna Coil back when they were still a rising power to contend with.

The band’s progressive influences mean this is a relatively lengthy album and the songs have some good meat on them due to this. Everything is played well and the songs make an impression.

This has a strong European flavour to it, (despite originating in Russia), and takes me back to a time when European Metal still sounded quite exotic and had a unique flavour to it. Although this is still quite true in many respects, it no longer feels new to me any more, having heard it for decades now; Tantal remind me of a time when it all was still new and exciting, so that alone endears me to them even before you take into account the fact that they actually write good songs too!

If you like the more modern, melodic style of Heavy Metal yet eschew the more commercial tendencies of a lot of bands that play in this genre and want something a bit meatier to sink your teeth into, you could do a lot worse than check out Tantal.

A recommended listen.

Gory Blister – The Fifth Fury (Review)

Gory Blister are from Italy and as the name of the album suggests, this is their fifth album.

The band play Technical/Progressive Death Metal and take the listener on a whirlwind journey.

On The Fifth Fury we hear influences from bands like Carcass, Death and Morbid Angel. Gory Blister make these their own and use them throughout the 35 minutes playing time to create an album that is involving and complete.

The band manage to be sharp and aggressive in their assault whilst tempering this approach with restraint and more considered passages that show their Progressive Metal influences. Although they have plenty of Technical Death Metal in their sound the Progressive edge and the Carcass influence never let this side of the band get in the way of the songs themselves.

This is music that likes to explore itself. For a relatively short album there is plenty of variation around the central theme and lots of nice ideas scattered around to engage the listener such as the subtle synths that add further feeling to some of the tracks.

The riffs are largely inventive, with plenty of leads and solos to sink your teeth into. Melodies and Progressive tunes punctuate the brutality in a way that works with the flow of the songs rather than against them.

Serrated screamed vocals are the main mode of attack but satisfyingly deep growls are also used.

A strong sound and strong songwriting means this is a strong album. Strongly recommended.

Septycal Gorge – Scourge of the Formless Breed (Review)

Septycal Gorge are from Italy and play Technical Death Metal. This is their third album.

Ahh I love a good bit of Technical Death Metal. I mean, who doesn’t? The insane time changes, the technical wizardry, the fretboard workouts, the sheer, flattening hurricane of intricate chaos that such bands typically unleash.

Well, Septycal Gorge aren’t as brain-searingly chaotic as some bands in this genre but this is because they also have a firm love of all things utterly brutal. This is a devastatingly aggressive record which combines intricate technicality and pure heavy Death Metal into a scorcher of an album.

This album features satisfying brutality and technical depth which means that it’s a release to savour over multiple listens as you get to fully appreciate all the different things going on here. Yes it’s mind-numbingly brutal, but there’s more than just that.

These songs have what it takes to stand out in a sea of Technical Death Metal bands all struggling to get noticed. As this is their third album the band clearly know what they want to achieve and have the talent and know-how to do it.

Scourge of the Formless Breed owns a stellar production that allows both aspects of the band to shine. Whether the riffs are fast, slow, simple or complicated, the guitars never lose their bite and everything continues to sound on form.

The vocalist deserves a mention also; he has the kind of deep growl that is surprisingly expressive for someone who essentially sounds like he’s trying to vomit ghosts.

This is a top-rate, top-drawer, top quality Death Metal release. You should hunt this down and listen to it today. Go on. Now.

Innsmouth – The Shadow Over Innsmouth (Review)

Innsmouth are from Denmark and play Technical Death Metal. This is their début album.

This is Technical Death Metal with programmed drums and added subtle keyboard highlights.

Think bands like Nile, Necrophagist and Obscura and you’ll be in the right place.

The musicianship is impressive with shredding guitar solos peeling off all over the shop. The solos feel like an integral part of the band’s identity and they make a good impression.

The music is nicely varied with a healthy amount of brutality offsetting the technical capabilities of the band. Quality riffs and some good atmospheric sections rub shoulders with moments of chuggery and melodic leads. Inssmouth seem more than capable of keeping the listener interested and the songs on this album show a high degree of maturity of delivery and composition whilst simultaneously keeping things aggressive and direct.

The band have plenty of energy and show that they can use dynamics to good effect. These songs actually feel like songs rather than stitched together riffs, which is always a danger with the more technical side of Metal. Thankfully they seem to realise that the song comes first and everything else is just enhancement.

The vocals are quite daemonic and evil sounding, both deeper growls and higher screams.

The album’s production values are good and the music has a satisfying sound that hits the spot.

A most enjoyable release. This is Death Metal with interest, depth and a whole bucket-load of guitar shenanigans. I Like.

Bloodtruth – Obedience (Review)

Bloodtruth are from Italy and play Brutal Death Metal. This is their début album.

This is Brutal Death Metal played with passion and delivered with a storm. Crisp, crunchy riffs and blasting drums lead the charge with relentless growls and surgical strikes following up. Oh yes, and Gregorian chanting.

The band boast a crushing sound where everything sounds sharp and ready to maim. It’s heavy and it’s adrenalin soaked.

The singer has a gruff, satisfying growl that fits the music like a glove and he mainly spends his time shouting vicious diatribes and barking like a chained attack dog.

The songs are focused and brutal, with blast beats aplenty and light speed melodics and solos added in at all of the right places. The melodic guitar leads are nicely fused with the music so that they don’t detract from the brutality at all. Even though they frequently do use melodies in their songs this is not a band who would ever be described as Melodic Death Metal, and rightfully so. This is all about crushing, Brutal Death Metal and how they can demolish everything around them.

Obedience has a good pace to it and the guitars alternate between heavy chugs and ultra-blasting speed assaults in a way that flows naturally from one riff to the next. Each track is an enjoyable ride through mayhem and carnage as the band deal out punishment and pain with every precise turn through the Death Metal landscape.

If you like punchy Death Metal played with sheer brutality and clinical precision then there’s nothing not to like here.

Listen. Destroy. Obey.