Death Metal – Page 192 – Wonderbox Metal

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.

Moanaa – Descent (Review)

Moanaa are an Atmospheric Sludge Metal band from Poland and this is their début album.

This is an interesting and multi-faceted release that combines elements of Sludge, Post-Metal and Progressive Metal together into an overarching framework of Atmospheric Sludge lasting just under 60 minutes.

Soft acoustics and Post-Metal melodies clash with harsh Sludge and Progressive workouts. Heavy riffs and ethereal melodies create soundscapes that merge the best of both. This is a richly textured and layered album and the songs have a lot of depth and dark energy. Even when the tempo drops there’s a brooding undercurrent of repressed power and understated grandeur.

The vocals snarl and gnash their way through the songs. Ugly, vicious and essentially Death Metal in style, they’re juxtaposed against cleaner vocals nicely, in the same way that the music trades brutality with transcendence, darkness with light. There’s a lot of shading here though and the vocals pretty much run the whole spectrum from ethereal cleans to deep growls and everything in the middle.

The playing is tight and the recording perfectly judged. The album sounds great in every way.

I love albums like this. Quality songwriting and flawless execution combine to result in an album that’s an engaging journey and a real treat for anyone into atmospheric music, be that Sludge, Doom or Post-Metal.

Loved it.

Wombbath – Downfall Rising (Review)

This is the second album from Swedish Death Metallers Wombbath.

I knew I had to review this one as soon as I saw the band name. Wombbath. Womb. Bath. Well, that got my attention.

Here we have 32 minutes of gore-soaked Death Metal. Yes, they’re Swedish, and yes, they play Death Metal, so yes, this is Swedish Death Metal, chainsaws and all.

After a pointless intro we get some immediately tasty guitar brutality and I’m instantly reminded of why I have such a soft spot for this particular Death Metal sub-genre.

In addition to the requisite chainsaw sound of the crushing guitars, the macabre melodies are also present and correct. Old-School Swedish Death Metal may not be for everyone, but if you are partial to it then Wombbath certainly have all the right moves.

The vocals are daemonic-sounding growls that seem to scrape through into the world from a throat that has been to all of the dark places in existence. It’s an impressive roar and a little different from the generic deathgrunting that populates most Death Metal albums.

The songs tear and rip their way through the playing time and have a good diversity of speeds and tempos, from blast to crawl. The songwriting is good and if you’re into the style this is a good example of how it’s done right.

Wombbath. Womb. Bath. Time to test the waters.

Thy Art Is Murder – Holy War (Review)

Thy Art Is Murder are from Australia and this is their third album. They play Death Metal/Deathcore.

Thy Art Is Murder have produced a mature and interesting record that brings Deathcore and Death Metal together in such a way that both styles are enriched. Deathcore, as I’ve said before, is really, really easy to do badly. With this in mind, Holy War is somewhat of a different beast to that of the Deathcore masses.

Heavy riffs and breakdowns are in attendance, make no mistake, but the more Death Metal side of things ensure there’s enough straight-ahead brutality on display to please the most virulent Metal maniac.

More interestingly, however, are the Post-Metal and Black Metal influences. “What?”, I hear you ask? Well, these are not the biggest part of their sound, admittedly, but they’re an important component of the songs here as these two influences help raise Holy War up from an enjoyably brutal listen to an enjoyably brutal listen that has more to offer than is normal for the style.

The Post-Metal influence shows in the melodies. Alongside the blast beats and the chugging beat downs are the occasional transcendently resplendent melodies, which are not normally associated with Extreme Metal of any kind, unless you’re the likes of Fallujah, of course.

The Black Metal influence is more subtle, more subversive than the Post-Metal element. This manifests itself through some of the riffs, lending a Blackened bite and atmosphere to the proceedings where another band might go for un-emotive blandness.

Both of these influences are second to the Death Metal/Deathcore side of the band, of course, and ultimately Holy War is an aggressively heavy and nastily brutal listen that takes no prisoners and expects nothing but total domination.

I have yet to mention the vocals. Suffice to say that the singer positively roars his way through these 40 minutes like a man possessed by an urge to kill everything possible. Supplemented with higher screams, his performance cannot be faulted.

In a world where Deathcore is ruled by a handful of top quality bands who oversee a multitude of mediocre ones, Thy Art Is Murder have definitely ascended to the upper echelons of Deathcore royalty. Like most Deathcore bands, they’ve achieved this through a combination of good songwriting skills and by moving away from the core of the genre itself, (pun intended), and into more individual waters.

Holy War is positively divine.

Carnivora – The Vision (Review)

Carnivora are from the US and this is their latest EP. They play Modern Melodic Death Metal.

This new 18 minute EP showcases Carnivora’s blend of Modern Death Metal and Groove Metal to good effect.

Carnivora’s début album Eternal was a great listen, and this latest release cements their up-and-coming status in the modern heavy music scene.

They successfully mix brutality and melody, without sacrificing either; kind of like an (older) In Flames meets Lamb of God meets Death Metal sexiness.

The songs blast and groove their way through the playing time and each one has a good grasp of melodics, heaviness, choruses and dynamics. There’s a Thrash Metal influence on display too, but this is usually buried under the melodies, covertly adding to the sharp energy that the band exude.

The music is not without subtlety when it needs to be. The band have an ear for a decent riff and there’s plenty to hook and snare the listener into their world, as well as some good ideas too.

The vocalist grunts, shouts and screams depending on what the music calls for. He has an obvious passion and works with the music to get adrenaline pumping, heads banging and fists smashing.

Carnivora have followed up their impressive début album with a quality little EP that definitely signals big things for the future.

Into the pit!

Coffins – Craving to Eternal Slumber (Review)

Coffins are a Death Metal band from Japan and this is their latest EP.

This cult band have returned once more with another 30 minutes of Doom-infused Death Metal that’s pretty much essential listening for anyone who likes their Death Metal grim, Sludgy and heavy as Hell.

Their prolific nature means they already have a number of releases under their belts since 2013’s The Fleshland, and on this new one they continue to refine the style that has made them so revered in Death Metal circles.

Their formula is straightforward enough – take the rotting core of Death Metal, add a Doom/Sludge influence and play everything as heavy as possible. Simple! What they excel in most though is not just this in isolation, but rather the fact that they manage to imbue everything they do with such a nasty, gritty evilness that the music comes alive in malevolent raptures.

The vocals are still as pitch-black as midnight and growl their way from underneath the songs like an ominous shape rising through the waters. The singer has what can only be described as a great Death Metal voice.

Coffins seem to manage to concurrently embody the essence of Death Metal and Doom; Craving to Eternal Slumber lives in both worlds and masters both of them too.

This is a must.

Shrapnel Storm – Mother War (Review)

This is the début album from Finnish Death Metallers Shrapnel Storm.

Ever since I first heard of this band I’ve been looking forward to hearing them as I really like their name.

This is Bolt Thrower-inspired War Metal that lives in the no man’s land between Bolt Thrower, Obituary and Six Feet Under. This is 38 minutes of carnage that carries off the familiar themes with a grim determination.

The formula may be recognisable, but one of the things I like about Mother War is that it has a certain youthful charm and energy about it. Sure, the War Metal sub-genre may be firmly rooted in the Death Metal Old-School, but this is played with such passion and enthusiasm that it seems to jump out at you, weapons in hand and ready to fight.

Although War Metal may not be as commonplace a thing as, say, Swedish Death Metal, it’s still a well-worn sub-genre and if you’ve had your fill of it I imagine you’ll stay away from Shrapnel Storm. This is a shame though, as there is a lot of enjoyment to be had on Mother War and I urge you to give it a try.

The production is solid and the riffs chunky. The singer has a decent growl and everything works together to bring the sounds of the battlefield alive with distortion and pounding drums. It ticks all of the boxes for this kind of music, but as I say; there’s something else here, animating this war-torn corpse with an unholy, unnatural life. Shrapnel Storm have come to make war and I won’t be standing in their way that’s for sure.

Top marks for this, I really enjoyed it.

Sanzu – Painless (Review)

Sanzu are an Australian Death Metal band and this is their début EP.

This is Progressive Death Metal with a modern slant – kind of like a more extreme Gojira; Gojira mixed with Morbid Angel would be a good starting descriptor.

The grooves and heavy rhythms are immediate and effective, but there is more than meets the eye here and subsequent spins reveal deeper layers to the songs.

The meaty guitars pummel and destroy and the production on this release is absolutely immense. With this recording they could be playing anything and they’d still demolish buildings. As it is, combined with these huge, monstrous riffs they seem to peel off with wild abandon, Sanzu sound unstoppable.

They have the songs to back this up though, otherwise it would be all sonic carnage but no longevity. Gojira have such a distinctive sound that it’s easy for any band that even comes close to their style to sound like a rip off; although Sanzu are clearly influenced by Gojira they avoid sounding too much like them due to the more aggressive delivery and the other Death Metal influences in Sanzu’s sound.

Well. Listening to this for the first time on a Sunday morning I can faithfully report that it blew all of the early-morning cobwebs away and left me feeling energised. This is an EP that bears repeated listens though, as the first time around it’s all too easy to get fixated on the colossal guitars and miss a lot of the other stuff that’s going on.

If this is just their début EP, what’s next for Sanzu? For their first album I hope for the same huge sound and a further development of their Progressive Metal side, while still keeping the Death Metal brutality. If they can pull this off then we may just have a modern masterpiece on our hands.

Until then we have Painless. It is enough. For now.

A must listen.

The Big Jazz Duo – Enemy (Review)

The Big Jazz Duo arre from Italy and this is their début album.

Looking at the album cover and knowing the band’s name, you’d probably never guess that they play Death Metal. But they do; Experimental/Atmospheric Death Metal/Deathcore.

This is sickeningly heavy with grooves and breakdowns aplenty. Speed and brutality are also present, as are pignoise vocals and scathing screams.

There’s a Djent aspect to their sound too, which seems to go hand-in-hand with a lot of Deathcore.

The band also include orchestral interludes, atmospheric sections and the like in their sound, which immediately makes them more interesting and raises their game.

Deathcore and Djent are two sub-genres that can get very stale, very quickly, if not handled well. The Big Jazz Duo avoid this trap by mixing these up with more traditional Death Metal and a melodic edge, as well as the more experimental aspects of their sound.

The songs are well written and the band understand the need for dynamics and pacing. A very polished and strong production rounds off the package and ensures that the songs have the best chance to shine.

These songs may be largely quite short but they’re packed to the rafters with goodies. Heavy groove, blasting carnage and atmosphere all merge together to create a listening experience that, in all honestly, makes me really fucking happy. I can always tell when I’m getting into an album when I start spontaneously bouncing along to it without realising. As you do.

If you imagine a cross between The Black Dahlia Murder, All Shall Perish and Xehanort then you’ll be on the right lines.

So, Brutal Death Metal, Djent, Deathcore, melody, atmosphere, orchestration…all in 31 minutes and all very well-written? I’m sold!

An extremely impressive album, especially considering the oft-dreaded Deathcore/Djent aspects of their sound.

Very highly recommended.

The Vintage Warlords – The Invisible Foe (Review)

The Vintage Warlords are a Doom/Death Metal band from the US and this is their début EP.

The Vintage Warlords play old, ancient Death Metal that’s slowly consuming the rotten husk of Doom.

The band’s sound is cavernous and heavy, yet a lot cleaner than I was expecting for this style. It’s Old-School and Doom-laden but a lot more polished than is usually the way for some similar bands.

The professional veneer of the music carries over to the vocals too; the singer has a tight, focused growl that is more like a surgical slaughter than a shotgun message. It’s a really satisfying voice and he uses it well.

The songs merge the best parts of Death Metal’s songmanship and Doom’s cranky demeanour. As such, slower parts vie for place with groovier sections and there’s enough rhythmic mayhem here to get the listener bouncing around quite nicely.

The Vintage Warlords are adept songwriters and there are plenty of good ideas on these three tracks. Each song has its own identity and the band capitalise on this well.

I’ve really enjoyed this release. If they can translate this success into a full-length then it’ll be a real treat.