Ataxia are a Canadian Death Metal band and this is their début album.
This is sharp Death Metal with a technical twist.
The band have a well-produced sound that’s tight and focused. Good musicianship means that the band know how to widdle and lots of technical muscles are flexed.
The singer has a decent growl that seems to come straight from the depths of somewhere dark and evil.
Ataxia are a band who are trying to do something slightly different with the Death Metal template. Yes, to the untrained eye this is essentially Death Metal, but to the connoisseur of such things Ataxia have enough of their own personality and ideas that are manifested in Calignious to cause you to sit up and take notice.
The band seem to prefer to embed their technicality into the very brutal essence of the songs as a general rule, as there are surprisingly few solos or leads on this release. Most of the time the complicated fretwork makes up the bulwark of the rhythms and snakes around the blasting drums.
This is brutal, Technical Death Metal which takes its cues from the experimental sides of Atheist and Death as much as Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation.
I think it’s time to support the Metal underground once more and lay your hands on this.
This is the third album from US Technical/Brutal Death Metallers Incinerate.
With a quality Death Metal album cover, this is the kind of band that it’s easy to like. Once the usual pointless intro is out of the way, we get lots of brutally satisfying USDM-esque carnage with plenty of chugs and squeals to keep fans of the style happy.
This is a well-oiled Death Metal machine that chews you up and spits you out with a mechanistic relish.
Ultra-guttural vocals are the order of business although some variation is added by some screaming. They hit the spot nicely.
The playing is precise and surgical, with enough technicality to please and enough straight-ahead brutality to satisfy.
If you like your Death Metal in the classic US vein then Incinerate have what it takes to scratch that deep, bloody, sore itch.
Garroter are a Polish Death Metal band and this is their second album.
This is sharp and tight Death Metal that features a modern style and sound, but not overly so.
The songs feature lots of chug and groove alongside the faster sections. This is a band that has plenty of crunch and knows what to do with it.
Think of a cross between Decapitated and Malevolent Creation with a touch of Cannibal Corpse, Hate Eternal and even Behemoth; this is the Garroter sound, and it sounds pretty good.
The band has a slick, professional production that serves them well. Everything has bite and you can even hear the bass, which is always nice. The band can obviously play and there’s a good amount of technical wizardry on display.
Each song is a muscular collection of riffs that are shredded together into a coherent structure and then handed over to an inhuman monster to growl and roar over.
Their music is very precise, with a fair few objects of interest, atypical ideas and areas of mechanical playfulness strewn throughout these 11 tracks.
If you enjoy your Death Metal rhythmically mechanical like a well-oiled killing machine yet still full of infernal life, then Garroter fit the bill. They’ve created a crunchy, catchy album full of Death Metal devastation.
Extinctionist have a good line in groove, chug, technical flourishes and pure demolition-style blast beats. It’s enough to keep any Death Metal fan sated and full.
The recording is clear and strong, with everything sounding crisp and tight. The sci-fi theme does them no harm either, and interludes like Selection sound genuinely malevolent.
Deep, guttural vocals ride alongside the heavy music. The growls are just a shade or two above pignoise, (mainly), and the singer sounds totally committed to the cause.
The songs are largely short and to the point; this is about battering down all defences and causing as much destruction as possible in as short a timescale a possible. The band make good on this threat too.
This is enjoyable Brutal Death Metal that will groove, chug and blast its way into your collection.
Infested Entrails are from Australia and this is their début album.
Ahh this is just the thing for a lazy, wet, Sunday morning. Brutal, heavy Death Metal with plenty of blasting, rhythm and aggression.
Taking their cues from Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus, Severe Torture, Suffocation and Deeds of Flesh; the band rip, tear and carve their way through 33 minutes of grade A Death Metal.
Defiling a Piece of the Deceased features a sound that’s strong enough to bruise. The band have a great production that does their crushing music justice.
Chunky rhythms and bouncing riffs explode out of the speakers as Infested Entrails do their best to flatten everything around them.
This is Death Metal with a lot of energy and boundless passion for the cause.
A thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying blend of brutality and murderous intent. Infested Entrails have created an album that is very good indeed.
This is the début album of Death Metallers Convictors who are from Germany.
Convictors play Old-School 90’s-style Death Metal with a crushing production and raging beats.
The melodic leads and heavy riffs work with the solid drumming to create enjoyable songs. Blast beats pound and guitars rage; Convictors play song-based Death Metal where a lot of thought has clearly gone into the formulation of the songs and the riffs.
Songs like Angel of Impurity show that the band can slam and groove their way with the best of them. It’s also a good example of their bassist being heard too, which is always a nice treat.
There really are some solid riffs here. It all sounds huge and as mentioned previously the band are not without songwriting talent. The end result is an enjoyable Death Metal album that shows how the style easily blows away lesser forms of music.
The vocals are deeper-than-deep growls that seem to blank out everything else when they’re present. He has the kind of voice that sends posers and wannabes running for safety.
I’ve really enjoyed this album. Check them out and see what you think.
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.
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.
Torn the Fuck Apart are from the US. They play Death Metal and this is their second album.
Torn the Fuck Apart combine Brutal Slamming Death Metal with Technical Death Metal to sound like the bastard offspring of Dying Fetus and Cannibal Corpse.
Heavy riffs collide with widdly guitar leads to create that Dying Fetus-style mix of brutality and technicality that works so well for them. Torn the Fuck Apart then add into the mix a bit more Cannibal Corpse influenced riffs a well as elements from the Slam school of thought.
The songs are good, with heavy riffs flying around and leads slicing through the chaos like knives. There’s plenty to get caught up in and the double bass and blast beats flow freely.
The vocalist uses very deep, guttural growls; his is a very good voice for this kind of music.
Musically the album has a maturity that belies the image you might get of the band from their songtitles, etc. This is advanced-level Death Metal with lots to keep the listener hooked as the band bash you around the head with their aural assault.
Have a listen and I’m sure you’ll get drawn into their technically brutal world.
Hate Division are from Canada and this is their second album of Death Metal.
No crappy intro and no messing around; the band launch straight into a blastbeat. This is Brutal Death Metal that is played fast and loud with plenty of double bass and twisting, crunching guitars.
Slower, more melodic sections and solos make appearances also and add spice to the flavour of the album.
There are elements of bands like Origin and Misery Index mixed with bits of bands like Cannibal Corpse and Severe Torture. It’s loud, substantial and uncompromising.
Hate Division are a funny band in a way, as this is a surprisingly subtle album. It’s all relative of course as we’re still talking about Brutal Death Metal here, but what I mean is this; the album grows on you over time and the band may be heavy, angry and in your face but they’re not flashy or gimmicky; they’re content to let the music do its stuff.
This is the kind of album that upon first listen it’s like, “yeah it’s good”, but then without even realising it you’re playing it again. And again. And again. Before you know it you have a much more intimate relationship with it than you were expecting. The band don’t take no for an answer.
So give this a listen and let the blastbeats and the riffs explode over you. It’s time to join the Hate Division.
Ataxia are a Canadian Death Metal band and this is their début album.
Wonderbox Metal 