Death Metal – Page 172 – Wonderbox Metal

Lay Down Rotten – Deathspell Catharsis (Review)

When you have an album cover this awesome the actual music doesn’t matter right? I jest of course but the fact remains that the album cover made me really look forward to listening to this.

So once we get past the album cover what have we got here then? This is the seventh album from Germany’s Lay Down Rotten and they present us with a very solid and competent slab of Death Metal that probably has more to offer than you might think.

Most of the songs are longer than typical Death Metal offerings giving the band the space to pursue all of their ideas to their natural conclusions and therefore delivering an album that is interesting and has some depth to it. There is brutality and hatred in abundance in these songs but there is also more than that. The songs are long and relatively involved, but thanks to the deft songwriting they retain attention and do not get boring.

After so many releases these butchers have refined their chosen method of slaughter and Deathspell Catharsis is surgical in its precision. There are no wasted movements or unnecessary padding, providing state-of-the-art modern Death Metal with a nice melodic bent. The recording is suitably huge as would be expected and shows the band in the best light.

Songs and ability; hatred and precision; harshness and style; Deathspell Catharsis should be experienced loud.

https://www.facebook.com/laydownrotten

Amon – Liar in Wait (Review)

As many of you will know; Amon started out life in 1987 and eventually morphed into Deicide. Now, a mere 25+ years later, we have their début album!

If you are familiar with Deicide then you know the general style here, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. Among Us is the first track and sets the scene perfectly; muscular, rhythmic Death Metal with a strong sound and some excellent riffs and leads. I wasn’t sure how good this release would be, but this song instantly set my mind to rest. The remaining tracks follow this trend.

It’s clear that the passion and intensity that Eric and Brian Hoffman have for Death Metal is alive and well. This is not diluted or pasteurised in anyway – this is the real deal. What we get is riff/song-focused Metal that is effortless in its delivery and flawless in execution.

Being a very guitar-oriented album there are solos aplenty. Anyone who has been following my reviews for a while now may have noticed that I’m partial to the odd solo, so you can imagine how much I enjoy this.

The recording and general sound of this album is first-rate, as you would expect. The guitar tone is enough to bring me out in fits of excitement alone as it’s just so damn sexy, and the blazing solos on top of it is like listening to liquid gold.

It’s not all about the guitars of course, vital as they are. The drums are blasted out with passion and technique, and the vocalist is, quite frankly, excellent.

With Deicide being such a high-profile band I can imagine Amon causing a split in opinion between those that love the consistency of a familiar sound done extremely well, and between those who were hoping for something different and are disappointed. I am firmly of the former camp and I just can’t stop listening to this.

Aborted Fetus – Private Judgement Day (Review)

Aborted Fetus – Russian Brutal Death Metal that’s guaranteed to give you a shock in the arm early in the morning. Who said Caffeine is better than Death Metal?

This is ultra-brutal, almost-Deathgrind music that takes no prisoners and probably doesn’t even know what the word mercy means. As a point of reference think early Severe Torture, and then think how much of a compliment that is.

The songs are largely short and sharp with plenty of blast to remove the cobwebs and get the, (bloody), juices flowing.

Vocals are unintelligible and coarse – almost pure pignoise, but just the right side of this so rather than sounding stupid they actually sound pretty damn great!

I have a soft spot for this kind of ultra-brutality. Yes it’s never going to win any awards for originality but being unique is overrated sometimes; sometimes you just want to blast and grind it out, and when you’re in this kind of mood Aborted Fetus hit the exact right spot.

You can hear a track streamed from Comatose Music here.

https://www.facebook.com/Abortedfetusbrutality

Down from the Wound – Violence and the Macabre (Review)

Down from the Wound hail from the Philippines and play a rippingly brutal brand of Death Metal.

This is music to snap necks to. Wasting no time they’re straight into it with squealing barbarity in the first track Ill Fated Annihilation. The entire album is a viscous assault on the body. The sense of being crushed under a great weight pervades these songs, so dense is the guitar sometimes.

They play both fast and slow very well, but for me it’s the massive chug-squeals that they throw into the mix occasionally that really get me bouncing around in my seat, (and gathering some funny looks in the process).

The vocals are of the deep cookie-monster-style that do the job well and are vomited forth with precision and intent.

This music is full of effortless, almost casual brutality. The songs are long, on average, with most approaching or over the five minute mark, allowing the band to squeeze the maximum and optimal combination of blast and slower chug-squeals. The middle section of the title track has a particularly oppressive slow part that one imagines hordes of gorillas just leaping around and smashing things to. Which of course would be the appropriate reaction if they were ever played this album.

I have really enjoyed this. The combination of speed and groove perfected by the band and then shot through with heaviness and more squeal-y bits than you can wave a severed arm at; this is an album to return to.

Want to get your ears wrapped around some tasty, slamming Death Metal played well and executed like only true fans of the genre can? Look no further.

Favourite Track: Contesting the Sacred. Like a roller-coaster of pain.

Zealotry – The Charnel Expanse (Review)

Zealotry are from the US, and play an ambitious brand of Death Metal that attempts to offer something a little different from the run-of-the-mill USDM hordes.

It succeeds. They kick their début album off in epic style with Avatars of Contempt. A twisting, turning odyssey into the realms of horror; this is a very strong way to open an album and sets the scene perfectly.

Mere brutality is not enough for Zealotry, nor should it be as they are blatantly capable of delivering so much more. And they do; they make good use of eerie melodies as part of their sound and are clearly more interested in creating an atmosphere for the listener rather than just blasting them into submission. They also know when to utilise calmer moments of restraint amidst the Deathly goings-on.

This is a very musical album; one that you could imagine listening to if they released an instrumental version. The vocals are important though and elevate the album higher than would be possible for a purely instrumental version, but for me the emphasis of this album is squarely on the music, and specifically the guitars. These guys know how to play and use their talent to fashion some impressive atmosphere/emotion-based riffing that tells a tale without a single word. The swaying, winding riffs in Decaying Echoes – one gem amongst many.

This is one of those exceptional albums that I particularly enjoy because of the sense of being taken on a journey through the soundscapes to places unknown and sights unseen.

It’s a great feeling when you discover a band that is attempting to do something a little out of the ordinary with a genre, and it’s an even better feeling when they do it well. The Charnel Expanse is a success; now all it needs is a wider audience. Let’s see what we can do about that, eh?

Omnivore – Omnivore (Review)

The intro alone gets the blood pumping and really builds expectations for the first track Dead. These Italians play an Old-School Thrash/Death Metal hybrid and wield an artisan’s knowledge of both genres to create a Thrash-heavy release with a rabid Death Metal core. Dead thunders out of the speakers and the expectations are met.

The bass is quite prominent on this album and it’s a very welcome change from most bands – it lends another level of sound to these thrashing monsters of songs. So here we have all of the ingredients of a great album – audible bass; galloping riffs; relentless drumming; shredding solos; dynamics; memorable songs; Thrash Mania!

The vocalist presumably has a side-job of stripping paint, as he certainly sounds capable with his Old-School Death rasping.

It’s like the last couple of decades or so didn’t happen; this is of the time of the classic Thrash and Death greats and even boasts a production sound similar to that era. Old-School this may be but this kind of Metal will never die so it’s right that there are bands out there still producing Thrash/Death of this calibre.

Oh, and did I mention they cover Sepultura’s Arise…?

If you like your Thrash pounding with a heavy dose of Death then Omnivore are for you.

Slaughterday – Nightmare Vortex (Review)

Slaughterday hail from Germany and play Death Metal. The Old-School is strong with this one! I also love the album cover. I’m a sucker for this kind of otherworldly-landscape type stuff.

The first song Unearthly Evocation sets the scene with a no-fills entrance and some solid riffing. The Old-School Death Metal vibe is apparent throughout, as well as some good Slayer-esque guitar parts that sound quite creepy.

The second song Nightmare Vortex, and the rest of the album, continue this trend. There are some well constructed solos and leads on this release, as well as some considered songwriting. Slaughterday are arguably at their best when going slower; the start of Cult of the Dreaming Dead is a great example of this – twisting, turning riffing building up and crashing down again until the faster section and growls kick in.

Even the vocals have an Old-School feeling – classic Death Metal-deep, without going over the top; you can still make out some of the words.

My favourite track is probably Addicted to the Grave. A nice slow burner with a catchy chorus.

If you have a taste for Old-School Death Metal played well then you could do a lot worse than Slaughterday. This is Metal, played well and enjoyable. I’m sold.

Bones – Sons of Sleaze (Review)

US group Bones’ second album doesn’t mess around; no silly intros or anything just straight into a simple guitar riff and then into the action. They play a primitive brand of Death Metal and Crust that is positively rabid.

They bang, crash and wallop their way through twelve songs, (including a Terrorizer cover), and at the end of it still have giant maniacal grins on their faces that lets you know they’re in this for the long haul and they aren’t going away. And nor should they.

This is a band who don’t care about sounding polished. This is proper, raw, underground music for people who know what they like. The weakest link for me personally in most bands with a rawer sound is usually the drums, but here they have an organic, analogue sound that propels these mangy tracks forwards and upwards so the rawness works in their favour and not against them.

Bones do slow and mid-paced perfectly well, but for me they really shine when going all out in top gear. Snarling and foaming at the mouth; these are the songs that make you sit up and take notice.

This is music that just couldn’t care less. It’s not for everyone, but nor should it be. If you are in the mood for some no-frills aggression in a very raw, old-school Crust style then you could do a lot worse than popping this in the player.

Joyless Jokers – Taste of Victory (Review)

Joyless Jokers play Melodic Death Metal with the odd atmospheric flourish and the right amount of aggression and bite.

These days the term Melodic Death Metal can sometimes evoke images of wannabe stadium-fillers all Hell-bent on copying In Flames, et al, but here it is played in its purest form – Death Metal that is full of melody! This is more aggressive and more Metal than most bands of the aforementioned ilk and there are no clean vocals busting out into anthemic choruses on this album.

What we get is well-written/recorded/played Metal with a strong vocalist who keeps the intensity up all the way through. He is backed by a very-able band who perform with gusto. Melodic leads; heavy riffs; keyboard and classical flourishes, (nicely understated); and a strong rhythm section that keeps everything together; these are the things that keep you returning for another listen.

I enjoyed this much more than I was expecting to, (cynic that I am!), and was pleasantly surprised by the content and quality this album shows. This is the perfect release for people looking for something more melodic, but aren’t interested in something overly-commercial. Victory tastes good.

Preludium – Redemption (Review)

We have some Polish Death Metal from this band and they wear their influences on their sleeve; so much so that it’s instantly recognisable as being from the Polish scene even before I knew that this was actually the case. As such we get quality, solid Death Metal with plenty of blasphemy and the occult, all in a mid-to-fast paced assault, depending on the song.

Chances are when you think of Polish Extreme Metal the first name that comes to mind is Behemoth, probably followed by Decapitated, etc. This is more in the Behemoth vein, but that does not mean that they are mere copycats or pretenders to the throne.

Preludium offer the listener a very satisfying experience with the blastbeats coming thick and fast. There are also underlying melodies that are quite subtle so that there is actually more going on in the music than you may otherwise think at first glance. Certainly after repeated listens there are hidden gems to be had.

This album is not 100% pure Death Metal though; there is the odd sneaky Black Metal part here and there. There’s just enough darkness to some of these riffs to earn the title of Blackened Death Metal I think. It’s a welcome addition that allows another facet of their sound to be heard.

This is the bands fourth album so it’s safe to say that they know their trade by now which is why everything here is top quality, confident and assured. This is also a real grower; the more you listen to it the more it gets its meaty claws in you.

Favourite track: The Seven Gates of Hell. Highly enjoyable song, with some excellent leads that turn up the atmospheric dial to 10.

Give Preludium a try.