Death Metal – Page 196 – Wonderbox Metal

Dawn of Azazel – The Tides of Damocles (Review)

Dawn of Azazel are from New Zealand and play Death Metal. This is their fourth album.

Dawn of Azazel play Progressive Death Metal with enough brutality to keep people happy.

They have a very satisfying production with the guitars sounding heavily distorted and full of fuzz. Combined with the blasting drums and vocals it’s a good solid sound.

The vocalist has a the kind of shouted growl that’s forceful and savage. His voice tears out of the music with fury.

Their music is a wonderful combination of the Progressive, Modern and Brutal Death Metal subgenres, so much so that there’s a lot on offer on The Tides of Damocles.

A multitude of inventive riffs and interesting ideas are tried and tested throughout these 10 songs. It’s an impressive melting pot that the band create and they forge it into a cohesive attack over the course of just over 48 minutes.

The guitars are a highlight for me as they lead the assault and you never quite know what they’re going to do next. That’s not to imply that they’re a hyper-chaotic Techdeath mess, far from it; it’s just that Dawn of Azazel pour so many different riffing styles into the mix that you might be listening to a Morbid Angel section at one point only to have it change into something Meshuggah-inspired, or maybe a riff Immolation would be proud of.

Ultimately though it all flows together quite naturally and The Tides of Damocles is a very striking record.

Yes, I look forward to listening to this more and more over the years and getting to know it really, really well. This one’s a keeper.

Vasomortus – Instrument Torture of Pyramid (Review)

This is the début album by Indonesian Death Metallers Vasomortus.

Vasomortus play Death Metal that’s raw and brutal. There’s no subtlety, nuance, niceness or any form of nod to anything progressive or forward thinking; this is relentlessly ugly, aggressive Death Metal. Vasomortus’ only concern is a murderous assault and how much damage they can do.

This takes me back to mid-90’s USDM and the album has a production to match. Everything about this band harks back to this time really and the brutality is completely authentic. For fans of Suffocation, Deeds of Flesh, Devourment, etc.

Blasting riffs, chugging heaviness and groovy carnage are the meat and potatoes of the band, so it’s time to tuck in and get your fill.

Eschewing any shades of colour in the form of solos or leads, and stripped of technicality, progressive elements, modern polish, etc. this is Death Metal that is utterly single minded in its intention. What we’re left with is Brutal Death Metal that only cares about brutality and death-dealing, nothing more.

Although this does leave Vasomortus sounding a bit one-dimensional compared to a lot of other Death Metal bands who may have more variety in their attack, it does mean that they are free to focus purely on what they do best – embodying underground brutality.

For times when only pure barbarity will do.

Six Feet Under – Crypt of the Devil (Review)

Six Feet Under are a Death Metal band from the US, although it’s highly likely that they need no introduction. This is their eleventh album.

This album is slightly different to previous releases as it’s somewhat of a collaboratively written effort between Six Feet Under main man Chris Barnes and Cannabis Corpse’s bassist/vocalist.

How has this changed things? At first glance not a lot, but on closer inspection there are some subtle alterations to Six Feet Under’s Death ‘n’ Groove style this time around.

Some of the riffs are a little more complicated, (just a little), there’s a little more aggression, a pinch of extra speed and a little more fun. Not fun in the ridiculous, novelty way, but fun in the Autopsy-covered-in-bowels style of macabre fun. You know, graveyard fun.

Also, some of the riffs just have a bit more Metal to them, Death-style almost. Not all, but it’s noticeable in places.

These ten tracks are catchy and laden with enough barbed hooks to stick into anything. The songs continue to batter and bruise their way through the running time with all of the finesse of a wrecking ball, of course. But would we want it any other way? No way.

Ultimately Six Feet Under are the kind of band you either take to or don’t. Of course you can realistically say that about any band, but Six Feet Under certainly do seem to be one of those groups that people either love or hate.

I think that Crypt of the Devil will do very little to convince those who have already decided they don’t like the band. For those of us who are fans though, it’s similar enough to the normal Six Feet Under output to sound reassuringly familiar; however the small but important alterations to their sound due to the collaborative songwriting mean that they come across fresher and hungrier than ever.

After two decades of Death Metal Six Feet Under are still going strong. Crypt of the Devil is yet another solid slab of mid-paced Death Metal that’s meaty enough to satisfy that craving for rotten, putrid flesh that I know you all crave.

Turn the volume up and get ready to bang your head once more.

Demonical – Black Flesh Redemption (Review)

Demonical are from Sweden and this is their latest EP. They play Death Metal.

I’ve always got time for a bit of Swedish Death Metal, and this latest EP by Demonical serves as a suitable ambassador of the style for anyone who’s unlucky enough to be unfamiliar with it.

That Swedish chainsaw presence is accounted for, as are the dark melodies and heavy grooves that so endear the style to so many.

Demonical do this proud sub-genre justice and these four songs are exemplars of the style.

The riffs are superb and everything is heavier than Hell. The drums crash like explosions and the vocals are so deeply satisfying it’s a joy to hear.

Each track here is very well-written and really hits the spot. Swedish Death Metal gets by on songs, rather than speed/brutality/extremity/technicality/etc. just for the sake of it, and these songs are tight, precise, very heavy and instantly appealing.

Swedish Death Metal has its detractors of course, and as such not everyone will be as gushing about this as me. The thing is though, even if you have had your fill of the style, I fail to see how this can’t relight the passion you must surely have felt at one point for it. I mean, deep down, everyone likes this kind of stuff really, I know they do. What’s not to like?

But I digress. I’ve not encountered Demonical before, but based on Black Flesh Redemption it seems like this has been a crying shame as this EP is really damn good.

At only 17 minutes in length and containing more quality Death Metal than most bands manage in twice that, this is an EP that you must add to your collection.

A firm essential purchase for all Swedish Death Metal fans. For all Death Metal fans, in fact.

Gruesome – Savage Land (Review)

This is the début album by US Death Metal band Gruesome.

This is a supergroup of sorts, featuring members of Exhumed, Possessed, Malevolent Creation and Derketa. Gruesome exist purely to pay homage to Old-School Floridian Death Metal, with specific reference to the early work of Death.

It’s clear from the very start that they have everything in place to achieve this.

The sound is an authentic Morrisound one, only polished up a bit and without actually being recorded there.

The music is straight out of the Old-School Death handbook, complete with galloping drums, sharp riffs and leads/solos aplenty.

Savage Land excels in the songs though; without good songs this album would fall flat as being rather pointless. Thankfully though, listening to all of those Death Metal albums from an early age has done wonders for the band and this is a really enjoyable album that almost seems to reanimate the corpse of Death, if only for a little while.

In fact the spirit of Death is felt strongly throughout these 36 minutes. It seems to be lurking wherever you look, the riffs, the drums, the solos, the vocals, the choruses, everything really; deeply infused into the songs.

In another band this might be seen as a bad thing, but in Gruesome it’s so honest, so pure, so well-realised that Savage Land just comes off as a triumph.

Turn the volume up and give this a listen. If you’ve ever been a fan of early Death then I defy you not to enjoy this.

Ataxia – Calignious (Review)

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.

Mindscar – Kill the King (Review)

Mindscar are from the US and this is their début album. They play Death Metal.

This is an interesting release. The band play Death Metal that’s brutal and is not without technicality, yet also features a good amount of melodic and atmospheric sections and even clean vocals on occasion.

It’s a winning combination. The blasting brutality of the Death Metal core mixes surprisingly well with the more restrained, melodic parts.

The band seem to be talented musicians and there are no shortage of solos or technical wizardry.

The more atmospheric sections have the aura of Nile or Behemoth if they experimented with background clean vocals a bit more. They definitely have an exotic flavour to these parts and it’s great to see a band spread their wings to incorporate wide influences as well as the more traditionally brutal aspects of their sound.

They’re not afraid to show their Classic Metal heritage either, with a few riffs that would do Iron Maiden proud lurking here and there, albeit heavied-up some.

Sort of a cross between elements of Behemoth, Nile, Atrocity, Orphaned Land, Melechesh, Gorguts and Misery Index. Quite an eclectic mix in some ways when you see it written down, but when you hear it it all slots together quite naturally.

You’ve gotta love an Extreme Metal band who are willing to push the boundaries a bit. Kill the King fuses blasting extremity with melodic abandon and exotic atmospherics to great effect. Importantly they get the ratio correct. It’s mainly heavy and brutal, contains a good amount of flashy solos and leads, with the more atmospheric sections used sparingly for maximum effect.

Very good stuff indeed. Listen and enjoy.

Profanity – Hatred Hell Within (Review)

Profanity are from Germany and play Brutal/Technical Death Metal. This is their latest EP.

The band have a strong presence and their Death Metal is tight and precise.

Profanity have a sound that combines the Brutal, the Technical and the Progressive all in three songs, 20 minutes. As they’ve been around since 1993 they clearly know the sound they want and are experienced enough to achieve it, (even if this is the band’s first release in over a decade).

They manage to combine these aforementioned sub-genres in such a way that the end result borrows from both the New School and a more timeless brand of Death Metal.

The songs are intelligently composed and the extended, (for the style), running time of the songs, (or two of them at least), allows the band the space to really work themselves into a Technical/Progressive frenzy.

The vocalist is blessed with a deep, growling roar and he sounds utterly inhuman.

The production is strong and the band can all really play. I also love the bass; I love a band who actually use the bass as an integral part of their sound and here it has a chance to shine like the rest of the instruments. There’s even a bit of a bass solo!

Let me calm myself down a bit before I continue. The excitement is too much.

However, exciting is a good word for Profanity. Not in a high energy way, (although they have plenty of that), but just from the sheer rush of speed, brutality and technical mayhem that the band so easily and effortlessly dish out.

I must confess I’d never encountered Profanity before this. If Hatred Hell Within is anything to go by it’s definitely my loss as this EP is a sterling release by this band. It promises extremely good things for the future and here’s to their next album!

Incinerate – Eradicating Terrestrial Species (Review)

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.

For fans of Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Deeds of Flesh, Defeated Sanity, etc.

Veld – Daemonic: The Art of Dantalian (Review)

This is the fourth album from Belarus Death Metallers Veld.

Sometimes, only Death Metal will do. Sometimes, it’s the only thing you want to hear. To someone like me an album like this is right up my street, so to speak.

Here we have a flawlessly produced album that has a shockingly strong sound and contains Death Metal that’s non-generic and padded out with interesting enhancements and ideas.

The press blurb touts similarities to Nile, Behemoth and Hour of Penance; all hard hitters and all equally hard to argue with.

Veld are a talented band it seems as they’re equally at home creating an impressively brutal noise or revelling in dark atmospheres. The fact that they can equally play these differing styles of Death Metal and do it well makes this album very listenable and enjoyable.

Some top riffing and melodies accompany the skilful drumming. Quasi-Black Metal influences make the cut too and it all adds character to the assault.

Veld have created some involving music here. Blasting Death Metal with enough variety and interest to make them interesting and enough core violence so they don’t lose their edge.

Highly recommended.