Classic Death Metal – Page 13

Carnivorous Voracity – The Impious Doctrine (Review)

This is the début album from Spanish Brutal Death Metal band Carnivorous Voracity.

Making a strong opening statement of intent with their album cover, Carnivorous Voracity proceed to deliver almost exactly what you might expect over these 36 minutes.

It’s very hard for me to dislike Death Metal like this. It’s savage and nasty, but with enough songwriting savvy to make sure that the music doesn’t become too one-dimensional. This is an important point, as a lot of bands of this ilk are essentially one-trick ponies, no matter how enjoyable.

With The impious Doctrine the band have ensured that there are enough elements of a few different types of ugly brutality included to keep things fresh and interesting. Brutal Death Metal forms the core of the release, but there’s sprinklings of Classic, Modern, Slam and Technical Death Metal thrown into the blender. It all makes for a very satisfying album.

The songs hit the mark, they really do. Although not a band who are primarily about hooks and catchiness, there’s a surprising amount of good hooks on here regardless, and overall this is a very strong album.

The recording is solid and everything sounds slick and professional. The blasting drums and face-smashing riffs are in-your-face, tight and focused.

The vocalist veers between lethal growls and ugly pigsqueals; being very proficient in both he never puts a foot wrong in his delivery.

Yes, this is a very, very nice release. TIME FOR FULL VOLUME CARNAGE!

For fans of Cannibal Corpse, Cryptopsy, Origin, Defeated Sanity, Coprocephalic, Analepsy, etc.

Insanity – Visions of Apocalypse (Review)

Insanity are a Death Metal band from the US. This is their second album.

Featuring a sharp Old-School sound, Insanity’s brand of Death Metal is from a much older era, harking back to the 80s period. Death are a clear influence, (pre-Progressive Death Metal), and Insanity are equally as sharp in their delivery. Add this to a simpler, more straight-forward Death Metal style, à la early-Deicide, and you have honest songs that hit the spot more often than not.

Shining leads and solos make frequent grabs for the limelight and the drummer keeps a machine-like performance going throughout.

There’s decent variation within their musical framework and the songwriting concentrates on songs first and foremost. The combination of simple riffs with more-complicated solos, leads and guitar parts makes for a compelling listen. There’s also a slight Thrash Metal influence which means that Visions of Apocalypse has a lot to offer the listener.

The singer’s voice is somewhere between a scream and a growl, nailing down the feeling of Classic Death Metal in my mind.

This is a really satisfying album that I’ve enjoyed more than I expected to; a convincing display of Classic Death Metal in 2015 from a band who were around and active when it was all originally happening. In hindsight, how could this album be anything other than a victory?

Avulsed – Altar of Disembowelment (Review)

Avulsed are a Death Metal band from Spain. This is their latest EP.

Avulsed are one of the best Death Metal bands in the world. Sorry, but that’s just a fact. Ever since I first got Stabwound Orgasm in 1999, I’ve been hooked, and that album still remains one of the best of the genre.

Their last album Ritual Zombi was full of gruesome goodies, and on this latest EP, we get a short 23 minutes of brutality, comprising 4 originals and a Black Sabbath cover.

The Avulsed seal of quality we’ve come to expect from these veterans is firmly stamped all over these tracks and the music is full of well-written songs that are catchy, memorable and filled with meaty Death Metal morsels.

Their venerated singer still sounds like the father of all Cookie Monsters and his voice, as usual, is cavernous with aggressive growls sounding larger than life and twice as deadly.

If you don’t know Avulsed, (tsk tsk), then just know that they play Classic Death Metal with plenty of catchy riffs, licks and brutal heaviness.

The production is heavy, clear and wrapped in an odour of entrails. The instruments all shine when they need to and everything is balanced and perfectly covered in blood.

Another top-quality release from Avulsed. Let’s hope they reign in bloody chunks for many years to come.

Decrepid – Osseous Empire (Review)

Decrepid are a UK Death Metal band and this is their second album.

This is Death Metal for all of the purists out there. It’s Old-School in nature and takes a good influence from USDM greats like Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel and Deicide, as well as elements of UK legends Desecration.

Featuring a decent sound and plenty of good riffs, the songs on Osseous Empire make an immediate impression. The combination of well-thought out guitars and Death Metal heaviness makes the album an easy listen to anyone familiar with the style.

The songs are very rhythmic and riff-heavy, with the band seemingly conscious of the necessary ingredients for a working, holistic song rather than just a collection of guitar parts.

Leads and melodies are few and far between, although solos are included to add colour and spice to their attack.

The vocals are deep growls that are extremely satisfying in their delivery. The singer’s performance is faultless and there’s even the odd scream included to add flavour.

If you’re a fan of Death Metal then it’s hard for me to understand how you wouldn’t like Decrepid. I suppose if all you care about is the ultra-modern, ultra-brutal, ultra-fast or ultra-technical then they might not be for you, but if you like well-constructed songs that have all of the components of timeless, Classic Death Metal then Decrepid are an excellent choice.

This really is an impressive album. Undeniably Old-School without sounding stale or irrelevant, Osseous Empire has massively impressed me with its charismatic songs and atavistic Death Metal personality.

One to get hold of immediately.

Deathrite – Revelation of Chaos (Review)

This is the third album from German Death Metallers Deathrite.

This is Old-School/Classic Death Metal that’s filthy and dirty as Hell. It also has a poisonous mixture of both Doom and Hardcore influences pulsating through its infected blood.

Yes, this is an interesting mixture of different types of extremity all wrapped up in a Death Metal giftbox. There’s an air of the Swedish style to their attack, as well as a whiff of a chainsaw in their sound; there’s a Doomy Asphyx/Incantation vibe going on; there’s a Hardcore/Grindcore energy à la Nasum; and there’s plenty of balls-ahead Death Metal fun for all of the family!

The songs are heavy and nasty, with plenty of bite and a substantial presence. This is a compact little album lasting 35 minutes that doesn’t outstay its welcome and is in fact the kind of thing you’ll find yourself playing again almost straight away.

The singer has a throaty growl that’s malignant and rabid. It complements the aggressiveness of the music perfectly.

This is a top quality album full of decent Metal tunes and plenty of big riffs, with everything you see and hear being covered in filth, of course.

Highly recommended.

Kronos – Arisen New Era (Review)

Kronos are a French Death Metal band and this is their fourth album.

I’ve heard enough French Death Metal by now to expect good things from bands who are from there, and Kronos don’t disappoint.

This is Brutal Death Metal that wastes no time in crashing into your life as soon as you press play, ready to take over and ruin everything with its aural destruction.

This is precise, modern and professionally executed Death Metal. The band have a top quality production and everything sounds razor sharp, massively in-your-face and as deeply satisfying as only Death Metal can be sometimes.

Crisp solos, hyperspeed riffs, rhythmic guitars and pummelling licks all rage and tear their way through the 37 minutes of music. As undeniably impressive as everything guitar-oriented is on this release, the rest of the instruments are equally important, with the drums in particular sounding especially nicely done.

The vocals are impenetrably deep deathgrunts that are as impeccably delivered as the rest of the musical onslaught.

I love this kind of Death Metal, I can’t deny it. It has enough modern verve to be cutting edge but enough components of Classic Death Metal to have longevity and depth. Couple that with the insane blasting brutality that the band do so well and I’m sold completely.

A Brutal Death Metal masterclass.

Deserted Fear – Kingdom of Worms (Review)

This is the second album from German Death Metallers Deserted Fear.

Deserted Fear sound absolutely huge. Their sound is crisp, punchy and as solid as a slab of granite. They play a blend of Classic and Modern Death Metal which sees them taking the best from the old and new to create songs that are brutal but not just for the sake of it.

Here we have a band who remember the importance of actual songs. Remember those? The tracks on this album are full of hooks, catchy melodies and memorable riffs.

The musicianship is first class and the band know how to translate good songwriting into results.

The riffs rumble along like a steamroller. The band combine aspects of Swedish Death Metal, Bolt Thrower, Vader and more modern influences to create their trademark sound.

The combination of chunky rhythm guitars and more melodic leads work well together and bring out the Swedish influence in their sound. A mid-paced assault shows their Bolt Thrower influence and the faster sections have more of a Vader edge to them. All of this is wrapped in a state-of-the-art production.

The vocalist knows his stuff and uses his voice to beat and batter the listener into submission before the crushing music deals the deathblow.

Kingdom of Worms is a solid album of destructive Death Metal that could happily sit in any Metal fan’s collection.

Try them out today.

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.

Horrendous – Ecdysis (Review)

This is the second album from US Death Metal band Horrendous.

Firstly; what an album cover! Top marks for that for a start.

But what of the music? Horrendous play Traditional/Old-School Death Metal with a good bit of the Swedish style chucked in, although they are certainly not limited to this one particular subgenre. Their style is a wider one that encompasses pretty much all of the Classic/Traditional/Old-School Death Metal sounds and delivers them wrapped in entrails as a horrendous, (heh), package of delights for the listener to chew on.

Good riffs and good melodies are apparent from the off; this is band that knows how to rip your face off but also knows how to show restraint and take the slower, more considered route to its slaughter. Some of the guitar leads and solos on this release are sublime, enough to take your breath away. There really are some impressive moments here.

A warm, organic sound means you can almost feel the breathing of the Metal as it clobbers you to death. Even the bass is audible. The guitars have a bit of That Swedish Sound, but not oppressively so. Instead the whole thing has a Classic Death Metal stomp.

The vocalist falls somewhere between an Obituary and a Covenant-era Morbid Angel style. He has a relatively varied voice as he ranges deeper or higher than his core voice as necessary.

The songs chug and churn, flatten and demolish their way through the 44 minutes playing time with the confidence of a killer and the talent of a professional. These are diverse and dynamic songs with strong songwriting clearly stamped all over them in a big, bloody mess.

This is an album that every fan of Death Metal should get their greasy mitts on. Play loud and play repeatedly.

Death Vomit – Gutted by Horrors (Review)

Death Vomit are from Chile and this is their début album. They play Death Metal.

Now that’s what you call a band logo!

This is brutal underground Death Metal played in the Old-School style.

As would be expected from a band named Death Vomit, the music is ugly and unrepentant. It’s filled with malevolent riffing and hateful drums. Savage vocals echo with the afterthought of torture and bloody carnage.

These tracks have a primitive presence; they have an almost atavistic existence as paragons of raw, underground Death Metal as was. Death Vomit play the kind of timeless, Classic Death Metal that no matter what mood you’re in it can’t help but raise a rictus grin to your face.

The songs are strongly written and it’s hard not to enjoy them as they’re so earnestly and honestly played.

If you’re looking for the latest, newest thing then this is not for you; here we have Traditional Death Metal that could honestly have come from almost any era. Suffice to say that it’s good and that’s all that matters.

Play them loud.