Death Metal – Page 177 – Wonderbox Metal

Heretique – De Non Existentia Dei (Review)

This is the second album from Heretique, a Polish Death Metal band.

This is solid old-school Death Metal that takes additional influence from older Metal and proto-Black Metal, making for a well-rounded release that creates its own atmosphere and character with ease.

Snatches of melody appear here and there in the leads and solos; played well and thoughtfully constructed, they add colour and feeling to the otherwise heavy old-school thrashings that the band produce. I love me some good soloing and there are some real crackers on here.

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Interview with Imperium

Imperium’s second album is the ferocious Titanomachy; fast-paced, brutal, savage and memorable. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable album and I can’t imagine anyone into Death Metal failing to like it. I interrogated vocalist Doug Anderson as to the current state of the war machine that is Imperium…

For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!

We are Imperium, a two piece, death metal studio band from the UK. The next one…

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Fister/Teeth – Split (Review)

Fister and Teeth are both bands from the US, and they’ve teamed up for this split release.

Fister start us off with one track – We All Die Tonight. Although they’ve never graced this site before, Fister’s brand of Sludgy Doom is most enjoyable, and this song is no different.

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Phazm – Scornful of Icons (Review)

Phazm are from France and this is their fourth album. They play Black Metal.

Phazm’s brand of Black Metal is influenced by the Death ‘n’ Roll style as well as old-school Black Metal. These elements combine to produce a very likeable collection of songs that focus on being a catchy and enjoyable combination of blast beats, groove and inhuman vocals.

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Imperium – Titanomachy (Review)

Imperium are a technical Death Metal band from the UK. This is their second album.

Ahh, Death Metal, most reliable of all musical styles in many ways. All you need is some decent blasting, aggressive vocals, a production with punch and you’re in business. Enter Imperium.

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The Zenith Passage – Solipsist (Review)

The Zenith Passage are a Technical Death Metal band from the US. This is their début album.

Featuring former and current members of The Faceless, Oblivion, Fallujah and All Shall Perish, you already know that there’s a wealth of talent behind this band before you even press play.

The aforementioned bands also give you an idea of what type of material that The Zenith Passage play too; combining the modern/futuristic Death Metal of The Faceless and Fallujah, complete with keyboards/electronics and otherworldly atmospherics, gets you a pretty good idea of how Solipsist sounds.

The music is mostly frenzied extremity combined with seasoned atmospherics that’s both highly melodic and brutally sharp. Guitars shift and turn while the drums are an endless exploration of blast beats, double bass and maniacal rhythms.

As should be expected from the people involved in this, the level of musicianship is absurdly high. With so many complex guitars parts, twisting melodies and outright mind-ripping axe-shredding, Solipsist doesn’t leave the listener wanting in the technicality department. That the mayhem is occasionally punctuated by more atmospheric and relaxing moments just serves to make the extremity all the more powerful.

The singer has the kind of rapid-fire bark that suits this type of frenetic music. He seems almost in a race to keep up with the speed of the guitars, and although he’s always destined to fail at this, it doesn’t matter as the trying is the important part.

If you’re a fan of the style of music that The Faceless play, but prefer their earlier material which had less/no clean vocals, then I would heartily recommend you check this out. Hell, if you’re a fan of techdeath at all, I would recommend you check this out. Basically, check this out.

Job for a Cowboy – Sun Eater (Review)

Job for a Cowboy are a US Death Metal band and this is their fourth album.

On this release Job for a Cowboy have refined their Death Metal further, adding a progressive sheen to their technical assault. Ambitious and bold, this is a game-changing release for the band in many ways, demonstrating that they are willing to do what it takes to reinvent themselves on their own terms.

The solid and modern Death Metal core of the band remains, but on Sun Eater this is complemented by additional ideas and different flourishes to what they have tried before, including nicely wandering basslines and progressive Metal explorations that truly flesh out their sound more than in the past. On Sun Eater it seems they have really pushed the envelope with their experimentation.

It’s really good to see a band that are not content to stay the same with every release; while still retaining their own identity the band have moved forwards with their style and embraced a more Death/Cynic aspect in addition to what they have previously done. This enhanced songwriting is apparent throughout this album.

The songs are complex, varied, layered and have a lot going on. Entwined melodies and eccentric grooves create all manner of intriguing soundscapes. The bass, which is always something I love to hear, is a major player in the band’s updated sound.

Note should also be made of their singer. Although he’s always had a charismatic growl, his performance on Sun Eater is probably his most diverse and enjoyable yet, with his growls and screams being flawlessly delivered and well-judged. His engaging vocal rhythms remain intact, even though the music has morphed and mutated around them.

Due to the above, Sun Eater offers less instant gratification than its predecessors, but repeated spins shows this to be a positive thing as the album grows on you like a plague, (in a good way).

Having successfully fully transitioned to this new progressive Death Metal style, this album is hugely impressive.

For fans of Obscura, Gorguts and the like, this is damn near essential.

Fleshgore – Denial of the Scriptures (Review)

This is the fifth album from this Ukrainian Death Metal band.

Here we have 39 minutes of brutal Death Metal in the USDM style, influenced by the likes of Suffocation, Dying Fetus, Severe Torture, etc.

This is a release that has a satisfying and dense sound, crushing and maiming all around it. The band can play too, and are given ample opportunity to show off what they can do.

The vocals on this release are just the right side of pignoise, so that the singer still has power to his voice rather than just sounding like he’s got a bad case of the burps. He sounds on top form.

The songs are ultra-brutal exemplars of the style and unless you’re just not a fan of this kind of stuff then it’s hard to find fault with their delivery. With decent riffs and good structuring, the tracks on Denial of the Scriptures make for an enjoyable listen and this timeless form of Death Metal is easy to get on board with.

Blast beats are accentuated by mid-paced aggression and even small hints of barbaric melody here and there; these are few and far between though, added to some of the riffs on occasion to sharpen them up to a killing point.

This is a solid and gratifying Death Metal release from a band that have honed their craft over time. Denial of Scriptures has had the excess fat mercilessly chewed off so all that is left is a lean, mean killing machine.

Recommended for all fans of brutality.

Whitechapel – Our Endless War (Review)

This is the fifth album from US Deathcore/Metal band Whitechapel.

Whitechapel have progressed over the years from their more Death Metal/Deathcore roots to something these days that is half Deathcore and half modern Metal, taking influence from the NWOAHM and djent styles and infusing them with a Deathcore aggression and heaviness.

They’ve generally slowed things down a bit too, emphasising catchiness and rhythm rather than speed and brutality, as was once the case, (although even back then they had a certain level of catchiness that was lacking in their peers). Due to their background though they’re more than capable of speeding up when they need to, adding that extra edge to the delivery, and I’m pleased that the blast beats haven’t been totally dropped from their repertoire.

As mentioned above, there’s more of a djent influence on their albums of late, and this is still true on Our Endless War. I’ve stated in the past that djent is a very easy style to be mediocre at, and I’ve said the same about Deathcore too; it’s a testament to Whitechapel’s ability that they take the strengths from one and use it to offset the weaknesses of the other. The result is music that blurs the line between both, taking the best aspects and combining them with the aforementioned NWOAHM parts to create memorable songs that pound and smash their way through the playing time.

Although Whitechapel are mainly about the chunky grooves and heavy riffs, the included melodies and leads should not be discounted or dismissed. These frequently provide a more emotive hook for the listener and add a lot to the songs in comparison to the more obvious rhythm guitars. This side of the band also serves to remind that when they’re not unleashing huge breakdowns and the like, Whitechapel can really play.

The singer’s clipped growls are still deep and roaring, and he shows a nice rhythmic awareness a lot of the time that fits in well with what the music is doing. Occasionally he slips into the even deeper deathgrowls of old, and it’s a joy to hear.

For me, this album is definitely a grower. For all of the immediacy of a band like this, it takes time for the rhythms and melodies to properly infiltrate your brain. When they do you’ll find that the band have produced a surprisingly memorable and enjoyable album.

Highly recommended.

Dead Eyed Sleeper – Gomorrh (Review)

This is the fourth album from German Death Metallers Dead Eyed Sleeper.

This has a very tasty sound, thick and heavy without losing clarity or definition.

The singer’s expressive growls and screams are ably performed and have an energy to them that’s undeniable. Powering along with passionate aggression and meaty delivery, he leaves an impression.

The same could easily be said of the music, actually; energetic, passionate and aggressive. The band’s take on Death Metal is familiar enough to be instantly satisfying yet differentiated enough to sound interesting and fresher than most similar bands. Elements of brutality rub shoulders with more involved technical and progressive flourishes that leave the band standing separate from a lot of their peers, which in my mind is no bad thing at all, nor is it an easy thing to achieve.

These five tracks are expansive forays into Death Metal, making the most of what the base genre has to offer, but fleshing it out with extra influences and snatches of mournful and dirge-like melody. These Doom-influences serve the band well, providing ample opportunity for them to show off their emotive side. When this is combined with the technical and/or progressive aspects of their sound it’s a heady combination that marks the band out for great things as far as I’m concerned.

At the end of these 29 minutes the play button is pressed again. It’s a hallmark of good music that you immediately want to hear it a second time and you also want more than just what’s contained on this album.

Very impressive and very recommended.