Death Metal – Page 172 – Wonderbox Metal

Mental Killing Spree – Centrifuge of Man (Review)

Incredibly muscular Death Metal from Germany from a band with big ambition and a refusal to be run-of-the-mill.

The sound is rock solid; both the drums and guitar sound like slabs of concrete and the vocalist sounds like he’s gargling granite. The riffs are thick and sinuous; twisting, turning, chugging and shredding their way straight to your ears.

The band play forward-thinking, modern Death Metal but performed in a traditional way; so none of the hardcore/djent additions that some bands have – just pure Death Metal played honestly and brutally. But there’s more.

The band also has a refreshing ear for dynamics and structure. Although undeniably brutal there is more than just that going on here. Songs like Equal Zero Coincidence, for example, displaying some very well composed parts with good ideas shining through – tension-raising sections and similar emotive passages all raising the standard above the average.

Taking a standard Death Metal template and improving it with good songs and good ideas, band like Mental Killing Spree need to be supported. Do yourself a favour and check them out today.

Disfigured Dead – Relentless (Review)

This is the second full-length album from US Death Metal group Disfigured Dead. Boldly named Relentless – does it live up to its name? Pretty much, yes.

Blasting out of the speakers comes the Relentless, (ahem), statement of intent – no intro, no messing around; just straight up brutality and heaviness. As well as plenty of blastbeats we are treated to some punishing slower and more mid-paced segments that make the most of the good guitar sound that they have.

They also have some riffs. Everyone likes a good riff. They know how to write some very mosh-friendly sections and I can imagine them going down extremely well in the local pit.

The vocals are very accomplished – just the right side of cookie-monster vocals for the most part, with some nice vocalisations and patterns used. On the whole the vocals are satisfying and a definite asset to the band.

At its heart this is US-style brutal Death Metal, but they do introduce elements of complexity into the equation that help hold interest and keep you along for the, (brutal), ride.

If you haven’t already met your kill-quota for this month then invite Disfigured Dead to the party and watch those corpses rack up.

Ferocity – The Sovereign (Review)

Hailing from Denmark, Ferocity play Death Metal with style and skill. This is contemporary Death Metal that combines intricacy, brutality, melody and controlled aggression to get its message across.

There are blastbeats aplenty, but also mid-paced and slower sections showing off The Chug and other assorted riffs that make this album instantly familiar but also most welcome. Relatively diverse, (within the Death Metal genre of course), Ferocity display influences from various different sub-genres of Death Metal without ever being confined to just one of them. Here and there you’ll find elements of modern, US, brutal, technical, mid-paced and hyperblast Death Metal all sharing the same album, and even the same song. In my book this can only be a good thing, especially as in the case of Ferocity it works and doesn’t sound just mashed together.

There are some very nice riffs on this release and some good moments in the songs – a welcome grasp of dynamics by the band of when to go melodic, when to go full throttle, when to ease off, when a solo is required, etc. all within a solid Death Metal framework.

Ferocity live up to their name but are not limited to it – there is more than just blind brutality here and that makes The Sovereign a better album. Recommended.

Merciless Terror – Vile Extinction (Review)

Hailing from the UK – Merciless Terror play Thrash-heavy Death Metal and it’s a joy to listen to; they don’t make them like this very often any more!

This album has a real late 90’s/early 00’s feel to it that fills me with a sense of nostalgia; at the same time however this is a modern take on it as the sound and energy is distinctly 2013 and exists purely to demolish the listener with its brawny bludgeoning.

An old-school vibe with a modern production, (reminiscent of Malevolent Creation as a reference point), this absolutely crushes everything in its path. Plenty of speed and brutality, but with a matching grasp of dynamics and the need for songs and hooks; this harks back to an era when brutality was not the be all and end all of this genre.

With many stomping riffs to be had and a general feeling of strength-through-guitar-power everything seems in place to worship the riff, fast or slow. And why not?

Vocals are not standard cookie-monster style, more a shouted-bark. This works well and also has a nice amount of variety, incorporating screams and some almost Black Metal-ish shouting at times.

Do yourself a favour and check out Merciless Terror as soon as you can.

Harm – Cadaver Christi (Review)

Germany’s Harm play old-school Death Metal, with chainsaw guitars and an uncompromising attitude.

There is some excellent, malevolent riffing on this album and the sense of 90’s Death Metal is strong. A time when constant blast and hyper-technicality were not important, and instead you have songs, riffs and brutal Metal. In fact if I had been told that this was a lost gem from the 90’s recorded at Sunlight Studio I could believe it.

Strength and persistence are key attributes to Harm; the old adage about slow and steady winning the race…well not slow perhaps but they certainly know how to settle into a malevolent groove and make the most of it. All of this is wrapped up in a strong sound that lets you hear every instrument individually and lets everything breathe nicely.

This may be an album steeped in Death Metal’s past, but it’s a past I’m quite comfortable visiting, and Harm are the perfect, brutish guides.

Also; the vocalist sounds like he’s trying to kill himself by vomiting up his insides. What more can you say? Nice work!

Colosso – Abrasive Peace (Review)

The music is state-of-the-art bleeding-edge Extreme Metal, but the vocals are pure Death Metal; powerful and going straight for the throat. Colosso combine the best parts of bands like Behemoth and Nile, add a sprinkling of cyber-Metal akin to Fear Factory at their heaviest, and cap it off with focused brutality.

The songs tear themselves out of the speakers with razor sharp claws and venomous fangs ready to slay everyone in sight. This is music not to be messed with. The album boasts a thoroughly modern production and sound, and all of the benefits that 21st century technology can offer. In fact this is a perfectly judged combination of technological and traditional Metal – rather than swamping the metal with bleeps and break-beats to create some hybrid that is neither techno nor Metal, here the cyber-Metal influences serve to merely accentuate the relevant parts of the songs, while the very Metal guitars, drums and vocals take centre stage.

Eight tracks of thundering Metal later and the album is done. Oh, apart from the obligatory throwaway techno-Metal remix track of course, which does somewhat dilute the essence of the main album by being a rather poor closure after the last track proper has faded away. Nonetheless, this is a minor quibble in what is otherwise an exemplary album and a perfect example of what modern Extreme/Death Metal should sound like in 2013.

As a side-note there is also an instrumental version of this album out there named Peaceful Abrasiveness. That should tell you a lot about the quality of the music here and its ability to stand alone. And with the vocals added…well, that just makes it even better.

Warmaster – The End of Humanity (Review)

Warmaster play old-school Death Metal in the style of Bolt Thrower, Obituary and the like. This style comes from an era when playing as fast/technical as you possibly can just wasn’t necessary and this really shows in the songs, as songs is exactly what we get. Unconcerned with these added-on extras to the Death metal repertoire, Warmaster play Death Metal as it originally was intended – with menace and skill.

Vocals are measured, good quality and are in the classic Death Metal vein. The drums hammer a steady beat to the relentless riffing and punishment metered out by the guitars. The odd solo or two also adds a splash of colour to proceedings while not sounding out of place. The songs are generally mid-paced with the occasional faster bit, but there is enough quality and variety of riffing to keep you engaged throughout the album.

Challenging all who hear them not to be carried away in a rapture of calls to war and destruction; I can imagine that these songs would translate extremely well into the live environment. Groove, melody and heaviness combining to make the foot tap, fist clench and head bang. And that’s just in the privacy of your own speakers. The more volume the better! Listening to this album it’s easy to get carried away with it. The End of Humanity is a respectable length at just under 47 minutes long bit it seems shorter than this as it passes by in such an agreeable way that I could, (and did), quite happily start it again from the beginning upon completion.

There’s more to Death Metal than just blasting. Discover the banner of Warmaster and let them lead you to victory.

Master – The Witchhunt (Review)

Having a legacy spanning the better part of 30 years Master need no introduction. It’s heartening to see that after all this time they are still releasing records of a high calibre and keeping up with their peers and the new breed.

Tight playing, good songwriting, top-quality recording – all of the things you would expect from this release – all accounted for.

And of course the vocals; Paul Speckmann’s distinctive growls are accounted for also. A kind of sliding, slithering, snarling sound. Quite distinctive, especially in an age where generic-cookie-monster vocals are ubiquitous. In a way this is Master’s USP and can be make-or-break for some people. Love or loathe; it’s readily identifiable and adds a unique edge to the band that so many others lack.

This is old-school Death Metal played with conviction and skill, with no regard whatsoever for what is going on in the wider Death Metal scene. And why should it? As one of the originals Master can pretty much do what they like. Thankfully, rather than sully their legacy by changing styles, experimenting, or any other number of potentially dangerous things; they have chosen to release another album chock to the brim with blasts, riffs, and honest-to-goodness Pure Death Metal.

Listen to Master – what’s not to like?

Noisem – Agony Defined (Review)

Old-school Death/Thrash Metal with some distinctly hardcore influences. Not Deathcore, not Metalcore; hardcore. Old-school hardcore. Old-school hardcore mixed with a dirty Thrash/Death. There we are then.

This album is short and to the point. Thrash/hardcore inspired Death Metal riffs lash out at the listener, while the simple-but-effective drums pummel you into submission and the shouted Death Metal vocals roar and gnash angrily. Like a crazed, starved and disfigured attack dog and twice as ugly. This is not music for passers by. This is music for people that live it. For people that want a gritty realism to their songs; a brutality of awareness and apathy to destruction.

A great album for when you want a no-frills approach to aggression, and a stark reminder of all that made you like extreme metal in the first place. It’s not perfect or pretty, but that’s the entire point.

Years of Tyrants – Leading the Blind (Review)

I believe the appropriate response upon pressing play and hearing the blasting, shredding brutality here is “holy shit”. Their sound is somewhere between technical Death Metal and technical Deathcore. And what a sound it is. Explosive doesn’t do it justice. If you like bands such as Beneath the Massacre and Infant Annihilator then this is for you.

Another French band worshipping at the altar of bruality and being rewarded handsomely by the Gods of Heaviness. One thing this album has in abundance is energy. The kind of energy that makes you want to flail around ripping anything and everything to shreds and then stomping on the remains. Riffs, licks, leads, drums – it all flies past in a blur of bloody fingers and broken drumsticks.

The sheer weight of aggression here is staggering, and thankfully there are strong songwriting skills on display; otherwise this could have been just a mess of riffs and shouting whereas what we actually have is a cohesive, albeit very short release. Too short really. Will we get more? Only time will tell but I for one do hope so.