This is the latest EP from Polish Blackened Death Metallers Nomad.
Here we have 4 songs, 16 minutes of music; a glimpse into the world of Nomad. This world is brutal and ugly, but surprisingly nuanced and with an interestingly Blackened Sheen. The songs seems to barge out of the darkness to commit heinous, blasphemous acts before disappearing back into the night once more.
This is solid Death Metal, corrupted by Black Metal influences to tinge the riffs a shade darker than they would normally be and infusing the songs with dark atmospheres and an occult presence. They kind of remind me of a band like Blood Red Throne if they were more of a Blackened Death Metal proposition and were mixed with a band like Zyklon.
Nomad’s songs seem to be less about the individual riffs or parts and more about holistic atmosphere and feeling. This is an approach more commonly used by Black Metal bands than Death Metal ones, and thus befits their hybrid status. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t some choice riffs on display here though; there are, and the overall impression that Tetramorph makes is extremely positive.
Dark growls that are more emotive than the norm for this style are combined with sickly screams and all kinds of other incantations to produce a focal point for these Blackened hymns.
Having never heard Nomad before, this is not what I was actually expecting. It’s always nice to be surprised and hear Blackened Death Metal done well, especially when the two styles are blurred so well like they are here.
This is the fourth album from Finnish Doom-laden Death Metallers Hooded Menace.
Hooded Menace are well-known for playing Death Metal that’s heavy on the Doom influence, and just heavy in general. On this latest release this is taken to its logical conclusion, and the four songs on Darkness Drips Forth really blur the line between Death and Doom Metal, so much so that this is equally for fans of Incantation as it is for Esoteric.
The shortest song here is just under 10 minutes in length, with all tracks being stretched out to their maximum capacity for crawling, sinister, evil Metal.
Dark melodies creep into the thick, crushing music so that the band really foster the ancient Death/Doom influences that sit at the core of music like this. It’s not as overpowering or centralised as some who play similar styles though, allowing the heaviness and pure dirt of a band like this to remain at the fore. Old-school Anathema/Paradise Lost/My Dying Bride fans will be proud.
The singer’s cavernous growls are slow and drawn out, keeping pace with the unhurried music and reminding everyone that ultimately this isn’t pretty music; this wants to drag you down into the murk and consume your soul.
When they’re not playing at a snail’s pace the band have a rhythmic quality to them that’s almost Rocking, albeit one that’s coated in filth and grim intent.
These songs are veritable slabs of monolithic Metal, seemingly passed down through the ages in sealed tomes of forbidden lore, only to be discovered and unleashed by Hooded Menace. Each one is an impressive foray into Doom/Death, only much more malignant and nasty than a lot of the style normally is.
Highly recommended for both Doom and Death Metal fans alike.
Necrocosm are a Death Metal band from the US. This is their début album.
Necrocosm play Melodic Death Metal with plenty of riffs, licks and shredding leads. The music is fast, furious and has bite. Think a more modern spin on the style, à la The Black Dahlia Murder, mixed with a bit of Aborted and even some Dying Fetus.
The band have a strong sound and the guitars sound nicely meaty for a band of this style. Everything sounds slick, professional and honed to a killing edge.
The vocals follow the style of a band like Aborted; deep growls backed up with more of a shouted bark and the odd scream.
These songs have been written with high-energy in mind and manage to keep the aggression and intensity up for these 45 minutes. I like fast music with a sharp melodic edge and Necrocosm have certainly produced an album that does what it sets out to do very nicely indeed.
Who said Melodic Death Metal had to be weak and wishy-washy? Anyone? No, that’s right.
Haiduk is a one-man Black Metal project from Canada. This is his second album.
This is an album full of distorted blasting and hate-fuelled invective. It’s Black Metal with a pinch of Death Metal added for good measure. Although you could call this Blackened Death Metal, Black Metal is very much the main star of the show.
The Death Metal influence raises its ugly head in the added brutality and forcefulness of some of the riffs, as well as, more blatantly, the growled vocals.
The music is fast, well-constructed and hits the spot like a knife hitting its target. The riffs are full of Blackened melodies and harsher rhythms. Energetic and not afraid to add streaks of colour to its grimness, the music pummels and lacerates the listener at the same time.
The songs still manage to create atmosphere on occasion, so it’s not all a one-dimensional assault. This is the exception rather than the rule though, and to be honest, it’s good enough and well-played enough not to matter, regardless.
One-man Black Metal bands frequently take the less aggressive route, but Haiduk has proven that there’s no real reason for this to be the case. Demonicon is ugly, nasty and has enough quality riffs and dark melodies to be a dangerous proposition.
Like being hunted down in the dark and lashed at with razor-whips; this album somehow makes this prospect appealing.
Biopsy’s début EP Fractals of Derangement is a solid slab of USDM-style Brutal Death Metal that has enough ugly surgical scars to cause the staunchest of Death Metal fans to take note. Curious to learn more about them, I caught up with their vocalist in his operating theatre…
For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!
Hi, I’m Shomeresh, vocalist of the band. I’ll be answering your questions today, most of our opinions about the band and the industry are rather unanimous so I’m quite confident I can do justice to do this interview by myself. Well, let’s get into it.
We’re Biopsy, a brutal death metal band from Bombay. We started off as three teenagers with a passion for this genre of music and that eventually evolved into us jamming, then composing our own music and finally recording an EP.
Give us a bit of history to Biopsy
The three of us met back in 2010, Keshav (drums) and Akshay (guitars) were already jamming with each other a few others, I (Shomeresh – vocals) came into the picture a few months later and joined the lads for a jam session and we really seemed to connect on a musical level. We initially began covering and composing music as a death metal act but over the years our musical interests shifted towards brutal death metal. The sheer aggression, intensity and versatility of the genre is something that appealed to us and we then decided to stick with this genre and began composing several tracks out of which a few of them made the cut to what is now called ‘Fractals of Derangement’ our EP.
What are your influences?
Our musical influences come from a variety of genres. We love listening to music outside of just metal or even rock. So to answer this question I would like to say our influences come from the entire music eco-system as a whole, which would include genres like drum & bass, psychedelic trance, electro-house, rock, post-rock, classic rock, metal, funk, techno etc. Pretty much any track that sounds good, we don’t like limiting our musical tastes to the genre our band plays – that’s like restricting yourself from enjoying all this amazing talent out there. When it comes to Biopsy’s influences in particular, I’d say bands like Disgorge, Defeated Sanity, Gorgasm, Cephalotripsy, Dying Fetus, etc. helped us shape our sound into what it is today.
What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?
Well, I can’t speak for the rest of the guys on this one but personally I have been listening to a lot of hip-hop of late (best music for the drive to work), along with that I’ve always been a passionate lover of electronic music (psychedelic trance, electro-house, glitch, trap etc.) and metal of course. Among the metal bands on my current playlist, Betraying the Martyrs and Of Mice & Men are two bands that feature more often than not.
As this is your début EP, is there anything you would do differently if you had to do it all over again?
Not really, we’re really happy with how it sounds and the way it’s been accepted and appreciated by peers and professionals around the world. If anything we’d probably like to change my profile picture in the EP booklet, according to the guys I look like a queer ‘Persian prince’.
What’s your favourite song on your EP and why?
We each have different favourites, because each track has different levels of contribution from the various individuals in the band. My favourite would have to be ‘Surgical Symmetry’ as I deeply enjoy the extremely synchronised synergy between guitar and vocal lines throughout the track. There were several segments of the track where the vocal lines fit so well with the guitar lines that the three instantly knew we would never find a better alternative. It was one of those tracks where everything just seemed to come together, and we probably brainstormed the least on vocal, guitar and drum lines for this one and I love it when that happens, because otherwise you’re constantly second-guessing your decisions.
What are the subjects/themes of the songs?
The theme of the band is a deranged surgeon killing individuals who he deems unworthy of existence. People with contagious diseases or tainted characters. A quick read of the booklet in our EP case should explain this in elaborate detail.
Give us a bit of information on your songwriting process.
The song-writing process for this EP consisted of Keshav and Akshay sitting together and ironing out the instrumentals, then sending over the track to me after which we’d brainstorm on appropriate vocal lines which was followed by me penning down lyrics and selecting a good title for the song. Sounds really simple when I lay it out like this, but there are several complications that come up along the way which you have to deal with on the fly, but I suppose that’s the journey every set of artists go through while composing something as a group, there are always individual preferences and tastes it’s about how you can best accommodate everyone’s opinions without compromising on the integrity of the final output.
How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?
A. Given the fact that we’re currently in different countries, I’m in UAE (Dubai), Akshay is in Michigan (USA) and Keshav is back home in India (Bombay) composing music is quite the challenge, but we plan to exchange stuff over the internet and try to put together a few more tracks then hit the studio and record another EP in the near future.
Thanks a lot for this great interview! We enjoyed it very much!
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!
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?
Cryptopsy are a Death Metal band from Canada and this is their latest EP.
The Death Metal veterans return with 17 minutes of brutality, and ohh what brutality it is!
Cryptopsy’s impressively nuanced take on Brutal/Technical Death Metal has inspired legions of copycats and imitators, but there’s nothing like returning to the source to find that they still have what it takes to blow most of their now-peers out of the water.
Their Death Metal blueprint may have helped to lay the foundation for Modern Death Metal, so it’s no surprise to hear elements of this and even a splash of Deathcore on occasion, all liberally sprinkled throughout the hostile chaos.
These songs have a sparkling, deviant energy to them. Whether it be powerful blasting or choppy, grooving riff-monstering, (it’s a thing…), the band devastate with ease.
The sound is crisp, nasty and clear. I’ve always loved how Cryptopsy have used the bass in their songs and on this EP it makes its presence felt in no uncertain terms.
Their singer has an incredibly impressive voice. Their original singer had some pretty massive boots to fill, and their current vocalist is definitely heir to this particular throne. His voice is a raw, guttural, shrieking, screaming, growling delight. Much variety and range, much aggression and burning venom, much greatness.
This EP is an essential listen as far as I’m concerned.
Arkaik are a Technical Death Metal band from the US. This is their fourth album.
Now this is the stuff. Technical Death Metal that’s complex and forceful yet still manages to retain a sense of song and purpose. Class.
Arkaik merge insane brutality and technicality with a Modern Death Metal sensibility that allows them to reap the benefits of both styles. The combination of complexity and catchiness makes for songs that have both immediate appeal and longevity; the perfect combination in my book.
The vocalist doesn’t drop the ball either. In the face of such impressive musical extremity his deathgrowls are perfectly judged. They are consistent and of the type you would expect for a band like this, but with an emotive and deeply satisfying quality to them that only the best Death Metal vocalists attain.
The songs are wrapped in a production that plays to all of their strengths; balanced and clear, yet without becoming overly sterile. Arkaik sound vibrant and alive, surrounded by serrated riffs, technical workouts, energetic songs and passionate performances.
The potential housed on an album like this is huge. Where else can you find Technical Death Metal that’s accessible, (relatively speaking), interesting, catchy and powerfully wrought? Not many places, that’s for sure.
This is a split between two French Death Metal bands, Crusher and Mercyless.
Both veterans of the French scene, Crusher open up proceedings with four songs, 14 minutes of high-energy Death Metal.
The songs are unashamedly Old-School, with a suitable sound to go along with it. Simple and effective, the riffs and drums pound out unfashionable rhythms while the singer shouts himself hoarse.
Featuring Death Metal that’s concerned with basic structuring and covering the needs of the song first and foremost, it seems that the split is appropriately titled as this really is like stepping back in time about 20 years. This is, of course, not a criticism.
These songs are all about the riffs, and some of the band’s grooves are almost Hardcore in nature, recalling Old-School German band Ryker’s in some respects.
It’s hard not to like music this atavistic and Crusher’s songs are both enjoyable and pleasing.
The second half of the split is Mercyless; another four songs, (one of them a live track), 16 minutes of solid Death Metal carnage.
Mercyless’ music also has an Old-School slant, but this is mixed in with more of the timeless Traditional Death Metal style.
These songs are more layered than Crusher’s stripped back approach. Faster and fuller than their fellow countrymen, Mercyless also have an air of the occult about them that seeps into parts of the songs like a malignant evil.
Mercyless have a collection of stonking riffs here, although they’re more wrapped up in mood than Crusher. There’s also lots of solos, which I heartily approve of.
It’s really interesting comparing these two bands, as both are very strong on their own merits and share similarities despite their differences. Which I prefer depends on my mood. Crusher’s 90s simplistic riff-heavy approach is catchy, energetic and nostalgic, whereas Mercyless have a more well-rounded and holistic approach that I prefer at other times.
Ultimately though, this is confident music played by people who know what they’re doing and how to do it well; this is a quality release from two very good Death Metal bands, and I urge you to check it out.
This is the latest EP from Polish Blackened Death Metallers Nomad.
Wonderbox Metal 