Death Metal – Page 155 – Wonderbox Metal

Lago – Tyranny (Review)

Lago are a Death Metal band from the US and Tyranny is their début album.

Lago play a mixture of Old-School and New-School Death Metal and manage to reach a comfortable medium between the two. Think Morbid Angel and Immolation meeting Behemoth and Wormed.

Dark melodies and rampant brutality hold sway here, although the band allow themselves room to experiment a bit with some longer songs and nice touches here and there, (Reckoned features an almost, gasp, Folk section!).

The songs are well-written and feature a good recording that gives the band a wonderfully heavy sound. All of the instruments sound really good. The drums, guitars, bass and even the vocals; they all stand out which effectively means that everything stands out. As I listen to this the old “everything louder than everything else” phrase comes to mind. It’s a class production all round and lends the songs the power they need to make their mark.

The drums pound away nicely and there are a bucketfuls of tasty riffs to get stuck into. They play the heavy, brutal riffs well but also mix things up with darker melodic riffs, some of which have a nice Blackened edge to them.

Tyranny has some good solos on it which stick out against the pitch black rhythm guitars and spice things up a bit.

I keep coming back to the rhythm guitar riffs though as they feature the kind of darkly melodic brutality that makes Immolation so compelling and individual. The wonderful thing is that it may be reminiscent of Immolation but it doesn’t actually sound like them; in other words Lago share a similar stylistic space with the masters rather than ripping them off, which is brilliant as I love Immolation and now I love Lago also.

The vocals are so deep it almost hurts and seem to dominate everything else with their presence. Higher screams are also used for a bit of variety.

Lago have impressed me no end with this release. It’s a strong collection of Death Metal tracks that showcase a powerful new band who have arrived on the scene with the force of a meteor strike.

Highly recommended.

Stench – Venture (Review)

Stench are from Sweden and play Death Metal. This is their second album.

Opening with a wowzer of a riff, Archways sets the bar high straight off the bat and continues in this vein for the whole 39 minute running time.

Stench play Old-School Death Metal that may be influenced by the Swedish sound but isn’t defined or limited to it. Theirs is a more varied sound that incorporates elements of Black, Heavy and Doom Metal into their Death Metal core.

Subtle aural enhancements are added at strategic points throughout the album to create an extra layer of mood to these songs. Combined with the emotive nature of the riffs and the half-growl, half-shriek of the vocals it means that Stench have somewhat of a Blackened feel to their songs.

There is somewhat of an eerie, otherworldly feeling to these tracks. It’s as if they’re channelling some nameless horror and are acting as a lightning rod for all things mysterious, dark and rotten.

It would be a mistake to dismiss this band as a standard Death Metal band, as although this is exactly what they appear to be on the surface of things the reality of the situation is quite different. They have a further depth to them that is made up of the extra influences and added parts of their sound as mentioned above. These work together to create a true journey of an album that straddles multiple genres in its quest for Metal perfection.

This is a band who have produced an album that’s just so much more than I was expecting. Stench bring something powerful and dangerously individual to the Metal table. I cannot recommend this album enough.

Favourite Track: Road. Quality riffing, infectious bass and atmospheric mood.

Puteraeon – The Crawling Chaos (Review)

Puteraeon are from Sweden and play Death Metal. This is their third album.

Old-School Swedish Death Metal will never die, and I for one am happy about this.

So what of Puteraeon? Think early Entombed with dirty great Doom riffs and some punkier influences to boot. They faithfully reproduce That Chainsaw Sound as all real purveyors of this style must and the concentration is firmly on the songs and the heavy-yet-melodic riffs.

As you can see this is the usual fare for Swedish Death Metal, but that’s not to denigrate the band at all. They may have chosen a well-trodden route but they’re not without ability; the songs here are enjoyable romps through the blood-soaked Swedish landscape and the vocals in particular sound more bestial than most.

Also; Puteraeon do inject a few influences outside of the standard Swedish template – hints of Carcass, Pestilence, Autopsy and Bolt Thrower can be found here and there, buried beneath the chainsaws. That’s the beauty of Death Metal, no matter which particular subgenre a band specialise in there’s always room to throw in other influences.

If you’re fed up of this style then there won’t be much here to convince you otherwise, but if you still enjoy this particular brand of Death Metal then The Crawling Chaos hits the spot. It’s also a release that gets better the more you listen to it, which is always a good thing to be able to say about an album. It has top cover artwork too.

Check them out.

Internal Bleeding – Imperium (Review)

Internal Bleeding are from the US and this is their fifth album. They play Brutal Death Metal.

This is Death Metal that prizes brutality and heaviness above all else. Internal Bleeding were one of the earliest bands who took a so-called Slam approach to Death Metal and this latest album continues this trend.

This means they play heavy Death Metal with lots of chugging and groove mixed in with the blasting; plenty of double bass and mid-paced mosh-friendly chugfests to get you moving around and bouncing like a loon. It’s infectious stuff.

The obvious comparisons would be bands like Dying Fetus and Suffocation, but Internal Bleeding cradle their own inner monster and deliver a collection of songs that really just want to be let loose to rip your face off.

The songs are rabid and nearly unhinged; there’s a very real impression of a band being hungry and wanting to prove themselves. After all it’s been 10 years since their previous album and there’s now a lot more competition in the Brutal Death Metal world than ever before. Based on the evidence here though Internal Bleeding have a made a more than welcome return to the fray and can easily still cut it amongst the newer breed.

Play Imperium at full volume, then quickly get out of its way as it destroys everything nearby.

Recommended.

Crucifyre – Black Magic Fire (Review)

This is the second album from Sweden’s Crucifyre. They play dark Death Metal full of personality and great songs.

The first track starts in a very unexpected fashion, with darkly melodic Doom riffing and clean female vocals that sound quite ritualistic. It’s a bold start to the album and when the song starts “proper” it doesn’t disappoint.

Calling Black Magic Fire Death Metal is a bit of a disservice in a way, as there’s a lot more going on here than just a straight ahead Death Metal album. Bringing to mind a mix of bands like Usurper, Venom, The Meads of Asphodel, Cathedral, Celtic Frost, Gravehill, Black Sabbath and Dismember this is a strong release that captures an occult feeling and channels it through a Heavy Metal core with a Death Metal exterior.

The band have that Old-School Death Metal style going on but there’s also more than enough Classic, Heavy and Doom Metal touches/riffs to go around. This means that the album is incredibly well-rounded and complete. Back this up with a set of very solid songs and you have an album that is extremely impressive in nature.

When I mentioned The Meads of Asphodel earlier it was because I hear echoes of this band in the vocal department and the vocal patterns/rhythms; Crucifyre have the same talent for catchy rhythms and Blackened shout/growls that have a similar character and personality. Semi-clean vocals even make an appearance and these are just great.

Albums like this are more than just one style; this release has a plethora of weapons with which to ensnare the listener and hook them in. The brutality is rhythmic and this is very song-oriented so that each track has an actual identity rather than just taking up space. The personality and character of the vocals spills over to the music as well and the passion and fervour of the band for all things Metal is never in doubt.

This passion is backed up by talent though and they ably pull off everything they try, whether this is the cleaner sections, the ugly brutality, the catchy songs, organs, sound effects, impressive solos or the female enhancement; it’s all performed and delivered at a masterly level.

There’s enough here to appeal to almost any Metal fan. This is Metal as it should be done. I love it.

Get this.

The King Is Blind – The Deficiencies of Man (Review)

This is the début EP from UK Death Metallers The King Is Blind.

This 16 minute EP is brimming with solid Death Metal that is brutally melodic and darkly Metallic.

The band come off as a cross between Bolt Thrower and Morbid Angel with a touch of Behemoth and even a bit of Celtic Frost to some of the riffs. As you can imagine, it’s a heady combination.

The vocals are deep and have an air of the occult about them, as if there’s more going on here than just mere vocalisations and maybe, just maybe, something is being summoned. They sound otherworldly, venomous and nasty all at the same time.

The recording is clear and heavy. There are some lovely riffs on this release. When the band hit their stride, be this with blastbeats or mid-paced riffs, they sound colossal and meaty in all the right places.

This is a great collection of songs from a band who may be relatively new but have a lot of collective experience to their members, (Extreme Noise terror, Entwined, The Blood Divine, Cradle of Filth). This means that The King Is Blind have bypassed the early getting-to-know-our-sound stage and emerged fully-blooded into the Death Metal killing pits.

An album from these will be eagerly awaited I’m sure. Ones to watch.

Voodoo Gods – Anticipation for Blood Leveled in Darkness (Review)

This is the début album from International supergroup Voodoo Gods. They play Death Metal.

Featuring members of bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Sceptic and Severe Torture you know that a lot of talent and experience has gone into making this release.

This is song-oriented Death Metal with plenty of hooks, solos and a Thrash influence.

The tracks are catchy and memorable. They roll along enjoyably and the Thrash aspect gives the riffs an extra energy. There are frequent solos which are played well and it’s always nice to hear the colour and interest that a good solo brings to a song.

The dual vocal approach works a treat and provides nice variety to the tracks, as well as some good rhythms and vocal interplay. George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher is, of course, immediately recognisable. The second singer Seth Van de Loo certainly shouldn’t be discounted, however, and holds his own against the seasoned Cannibal Corpse veteran. Together they growl, grunt and shriek their way across these songs with power and conviction.

Coming from the people involved this is not as brutal as you might be expecting. The Thrash influence and the emphasis on songs means that this is more catchy and mid-paced than brutal and blasting. It’s still Death Metal and still heavy, of course, but not as much as you might think.

There are also moments of lighter reprieve and a good Death influence to some of the riffs. It all adds to their palette and the end result is a rich, sumptuous Metal meal.

Enjoyable and accomplished, this is the kind of album you throw on when you’re in the mood to be aurally beaten around the head by a band with a bit of groove who know how to write a good tune.

Highly recommended.

Cannibal Corpse – A Skeletal Domain (Review)

Cannibal Corpse are a Death Metal institution. If they need any form of introduction then you’re probably reading the wrong site.

This is their 13th album. Unlucky for some, maybe, but not this long lasting band of bloodthirsty veterans. A new Cannibal Corpse album is always something to get excited about and this one is no different.

There’s a reason that Cannibal Corpse are the biggest Death Metal band in the world. They know their stuff and they always deliver. Even the weaker of their albums is better than what most other Death metal bands can even dream of releasing.

So how does A Skeletal Season hold up against their sterling back catalogue? Pretty damn well is the answer. They’ve managed to release yet another class album of quality material.

By now any long-term fan of the band will know what to expect. Cannibal Corpse are remarkably consistent. Some see this as a failing, but the simple fact is that the Cannibal Corpse song formula is a winner and they always deliver the goods.

Cannibal Corpse are the very definition of timeless Death Metal. If you take any of their albums you can pretty much listen to any song and imagine it coming from almost any era of Metal. If you take any of their old songs they don’t sound particularly Old-School even today, (If you ignore the obvious differences in production), and if you take any of their new songs you can imagine them coming out decades ago, (again, production values notwithstanding). This, I think, is part of the Cannibal Corpse appeal – they always sound simultaneously established and fresh. That and the great songs of course.

This doesn’t mean that nothing ever changes though as each album brings something slightly different to the table. With A Skeletal Season the band have incorporated a hint of the more modern style of Death Metal into some of the riffs as well as some more atypical drum beats.

These are not things that stick out like sore thumbs or anything. You’ll never, ever mistake this for Deathcore, for example; but it’s apparent on a couple of tracks, most noticeably on the opener High Velocity Impact Spatter.

George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher is on great form as always. He sounds especially harsh on this album but also very catchy. Songs like Kill or Become show him at his visceral best; interesting vocal patterns, memorable hooks and stand out moments you just don’t forget – “Fire up the chainsaw! Hack their fucking heads off“. It’s a hairs on the back of your neck moment.

The instruments are all played to perfection, as always. Infectious riffs, solid bass, pounding drums. The album has it all. To pick just one example; Vector of Cruelty showcases all of these, with audible underpinning bass, catchy rhythm guitars, screaming solos and quality growling sailing over the top of it all.

Well, at the end of the day this is Cannibal Corpse, what can you say? This is yet another fantastic album from the masters of Death Metal. I fail to see how anyone who likes Death Metal can dislike this band.

Essential listening.

Solace of Requiem – Casting Ruin (Review)

This is the fourth album of Technical Blackened Death Metal from Solace of Requiem. They come from the US.

It’s fairly unusual for Technical Death Metal bands to have anything to do with the Black Metal style. It’s not unheard of of course, just relatively rare, so I was looking forward to hearing this band to see what they did with the style.

Straight away it’s apparent that they are very technical and they do wear their Black Metal influences on their sleeves.

The music is a dense, twisting affair. Technical Death Metal riffs fly everywhere at the speed of thought whilst Blackened keyboards and sounds add to the cacophony. High pitched Blackened screams add a further layer of evil and the entire thing reeks of a complicated rot.

It’s impressively harsh and the addition of the Black Metal influences to the Technical Death Metal core is atypical and done rather well.

The higher screamed vocals are joined by more traditional growls, once again sealing the deal between genres.

There are some great riffs here and the technicality doesn’t become overbearing or done just for the sake of it. Sometimes the band hits upon a great sounding mid-paced riff and they just let it settle in for a while and lot it flow naturally, which is a great thing to hear. This is frequently added to by keyboards and solos and the end result is very satisfying. As songs they work, and the entire album is top work by this band.

Everything is recorded well and the music is crisp and clear. These songs whirl by at lightspeed and you can’t fault the performances. As this is their fourth album they clearly know what they are doing by now and have the talent to achieve their goals.

This band remind me of someone like The Black Dahlia Murder if they had a lot more blazing technicality and Black Metal in their sound. It doesn’t completely describe Solace of Requiem of course, but it’s a good starting point; throw in some Spawn of Possession, Immolation and Arkhon Infaustus and you’re on the right lines.

Casting Ruin is a monster of an album and quite an achievement. By incorporating Black Metal into their sound they successfully differentiate themselves from hundreds of standard Technical Death Metal bands and immediately set themselves apart.

This is an album that is better than most and won’t settle for being ordinary. Solace of Requiem have their own identity that serves them well and they’re just waiting for you to discover them.

Do it now.

Unwilling Flesh – Between the Living and the Dead (Review)

Unwilling Flesh is a one-man project designed for a single purpose only – massive killing capacity…

Immediately as the first track starts it’s apparent this is Swedish Death Metal and it has That Sound in spades – the trademark Swedish Chainsaw Assault is in full swing. Blood and carnage is everywhere.

This is closely modelled on the early 90’s Old-School Swedish Death Metal style and this album is essential pure devotional worship of this. Even the album cover screams SWEDISH DEATH METAL at the top of its lungs. With all this in mind, your tolerance for this style of Metal will largely dictate how well you get on with this album or not.

As for me, long-standing readers of this site may have noticed that I have a giant, gore-stained soft spot for this style of music. Yes it’s been done to death and yes there’s little innovation to be had here, but all of this misses the point really. Albums like this from Unwilling Flesh just plain ROCK. I mean, here we have lots of chainsaw riffs; deep, evil growling; creepy, darkened melodies; drums that want to destroy; what’s not to like?

The songs on this release are as competent and enjoyable as any in this style. There is the odd effect and added interest to enhance the core sound and the riffs and vocals are perfectly judged. The melodies, leads and solos are all played well and the guitars drive this album forward with nothing but destruction in mind.

This is obviously a labour of love though; this is not the sound of someone slapping an album together quickly just for the sake of it. Time and effort has clearly been spent ensuring that this has an authentic sound and, more importantly, that the songs are as good as they can be. Top marks for this.

If you decry the state of modern Death Metal, (I don’t), and/or just love the older Death Metal sound, (I do), then Unwilling Flesh offer a time capsule of delights on this album.

Listen loud, and get ready to dig out that chainsaw that you have packed away somewhere. You’re going to need it.