Death Metal – Page 197 – Wonderbox Metal

Infernal War – Axiom (Review)

Infernal War are from Poland and play Black/Death Metal. This is their third album.

This is ultra brutal Extreme Metal that takes no prisoners and is utterly relentless in its taste for killing. It’s heavy, nasty and downright evil.

Infernal War play a hybrid of Black/Death Metal that’s right on the line between the two styles. Blackened Death Metal, I find, usually leans in favour of Death Metal rather than Black Metal, but occasionally a band appears who gets the mixture just right and we end up with a band that’s hard to categorise into just one of the two. Extreme Metal is an apt description for this reason.

Mixing influences from bands like Behemoth, Marduk and Satyricon, Infernal War proceed to spread spite and bile across these 11 tracks.

Bestial drumming and sharp riffing collide to create fast songs where the band spread their nefarious message with a distinct aggression.

The tracks mainly hover around the 3-4 minute mark and this is ample time to blast their wares out.

It’s enjoyable to hear a band take the direct approach and at the same time merge the two genres in such a competent way. This album is perfect for when you want something that’s hyper-aggressive but can’t decide whether to listen to Death Metal or Black Metal. Infernal War fill the gap and Axiom is a highly recommended listen.

Embrional – The Devil Inside (Review)

Embrional are a Death Metal band from Poland and this is their second album.

If the album cover alone doesn’t make you want to listen to this album then I don’t know what will.

This is evil and sinister Death Metal that blasts and thrashes around with the best of them but still keeps an air of the malevolent occult.

The sound is one of a good quality underground band; professional enough to do the music justice yet loose enough to allow the band’s black light to shine through.

Decent growling vocals are ably performed and the singer has a satisfying roar.

The songs are enjoyable slices of dark death and the band have enough ideas and variety within their brutal assault to provide something a little different from a straight ahead Brutal Death Metal band.

Strewn around the rubble of the main Death Metal assault are moments of bleak atmosphere and surprising detail. Elements of near-Black Metal introspection occur and are swiftly combined with the Death Metal assault to create interesting songs that definitely have their own personality.

The band clearly have a good grasp of pacing and know how to follow a good line of riffing to its (un)natural conclusion. In pretty much every song there are a few choice moments where you sit back and think “Ooooo this is a good bit”.

If you’re looking for some occult Death Metal that’s a little different and has more to offer than just pure brutality then The Devil Inside is definitely worthy of your attention.

Favourite Track: Hard to pick, but maybe Funeral March; it’s one of the more Black Metal/Doom inspired songs here yet still finds time for some blasting brutality and a breakdown-style section that would do Decapitated proud. Essentially, like the album as a whole, it’s just really damn good.

Offal/Zombie Cookbook – Dementia Trash/Motel Hell – Split (Review)

Offal and Zombie Cookbook are both from Brazil and both play predominantly Old-School Death Metal.

Offal are first up, with two tracks lasting 5 minutes.

The first song consists of some nice Old-School battery, with plenty of murk and the stench of the crypt about it.

It’s a very well written song with some really good riffs and a thoughtful structure. Good leads enhance the foetid aura and it shows that Offal have learned a thing or two from listening to their old Autopsy and Impetigo records.

Cavernous growls are the vocals of choice, sounding ancient and terrifying with their ominous presence.

The second song, Spinal Extractions Fiend for Blood, is much shorter, with more of a Grind influence, but even this is delivered in an Old-School style.

Zombie Cookbook are next, with two tracks lasting 6 minutes.

First song Motel Hell has an Old-School vibe as well, recalling a rotten mix of old Obituary and Death with a hint of Thrash Metal thrown in for good measure. The vocals lash out as if in pain and the sense of the underground is strong.

The second song, Eredità Maledetta, is shorter, faster and altogether tighter.

Zombie Cookbook sound like an undiscovered band from the late 90’s. That’s a compliment, of course.

A short and brutal split that reeks of the underground and revels in its Old-School nature.

Listen if you dare.

Ichor – Depths (Review)

Ichor are from Germany and play Death Metal. This is their third album.

Who doesn’t love a bit of Modern Death Metal? I know I do. Sharp and tight, played with just the right hint of Deathcore and heavier than a barrelful of spanners? Sign me up!

Take a look at the album cover – you know what you’re getting yourself into. If you like bands such as The Kennedy Veil, Wormed, Alterbeast, Job for a Cowboy, Bloodtruth, Deep in Hate, etc. then this is another must.

This is brutal music played for the love of carnage and all things destructive. Lightning riffs and chugging menace work alongside inhuman drumming and lethal intent.

The vocals are aggressive growls that trade off with scything screams. The vocalist clearly knows his business and puts in a top-rate performance.

These songs have the requisite speed and brutality to them but I also like the energetic riffing and dynamic nature of the guitars. There’s also somewhat of a Morbid Angel/Behemoth feel to some of the guitar parts, which is a different angle that differentiates them from some of their similar peers.

There are some nice ideas and interesting enhancements on this, a good example is the added orchestration that infuses some of the songs and creates another layer of atmosphere to the proceedings. Top work.

I particularly enjoy some of the lead guitarwork and there are plenty of solos to satisfy as well, which is something I really like too. These chaotic melodics work well with the hardened brutality of Ichor’s core and the songs come alive with a darkness that sometimes even borders on the edge of Blackened Death Metal.

Yes, yes; much like Swedish Death Metal I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff, but this really is a damn fine album. The cutting riffs, growling hatred and superior songwriting mean Ichor will be with me for some time to come.

Here’s to plumbing the depths…

Sulphur Aeon – Gateway to the Antisphere (Review)

Sulphur Aeon play Death Metal. They are from Germany and this is their second album.

I love a good album cover, and this one is just brilliant.

Sulphur Aeon are not your standard Death Metal band. Sure, the ferocious riffs and brutal delivery are there, but they also add a lot more on top of this. Sound enhancements, effects, interesting vocals and chants, etc. add to the feeling of something special, mysterious and subtly disturbing.

A strong feeling of the underworld pervades this release, with mysterious sounds and otherworldly echoes aplenty.

The vocals are bowel-shakingly deep and sound as evil as they do inhuman. Added to this there are various shouts and chants also included that ratchet up the atmosphere and feeling as well as the aura of otherworldly darkness that these songs exude.

Musically this is interesting Death Metal in the grand tradition of bands like Behemoth and Nile; bands that are not content to play generic Death Metal and instead infuse their style with atmosphere and character. Sulphur Aeon have both in spades.

These songs are heavy and brutal yet still manage to make room for atmosphere and no small amount of melody and leads. The musicianship and songwriting skills of the band are all top-drawer and these 53 minutes speed by in a blur of remarkable Extreme Metal.

This is a very impressive release that is guaranteed to make waves in the Extreme Metal scene. There’s not enough individuality and differentiation in the Death Metal scene, (why fix what largely isn’t broken?), but thankfully Sulphur Aeon have produced an album that builds on all of the strengths of Death Metal and takes the genre further than most.

Essential listening. Go and get this now.

Psycroptic – Psycroptic (Review)

Psycroptic are from Australia and play Technical Death Metal. This is their sixth album.

Psycroptic’s brand of Death Metal is sharp and finely edged, honed to a fine killing point through years of mastercrafted precision and expertise.

As such, they offer us 9 tracks of advanced-level Technical Death Metal over 39 minutes.

They’re not a band to get overly technical at the expense of the song though, as there are plenty of songwriting skills on display here too.

They also know how to write some emotive passages that have a kind of modern Blackened feel to them, almost akin to some of the harder, faster sections that bands like Enslaved do so well.

The vocals are aggressive shouts that also bring in semi-cleans and screams as appropriate. It’s typically the semi-clean parts that are the most emotive and remind most of a Technical Death Metal version of Enslaved, if you can imagine such a thing. Well, imagine no more!

They’ve incorporated a decent amount of variety on this release too, which, alongside the well-composed song structures, stops the album from becoming a one-dimensional blur of technicality.

I love the Progressive Metal elements of these songs, which help impart the feeling of a journey through Hellishly complicated waters with only the band as guides.

The playing is impressive all-round, of course, but I feel compelled to give special mention to the drummer as he puts in an astounding performance, especially for someone with, (presumably), the normal number of limbs.

An exceptionally good album.

Garroter – Identity (Review)

Garroter are a Polish Death Metal band and this is their second album.

This is sharp and tight Death Metal that features a modern style and sound, but not overly so.

The songs feature lots of chug and groove alongside the faster sections. This is a band that has plenty of crunch and knows what to do with it.

Think of a cross between Decapitated and Malevolent Creation with a touch of Cannibal Corpse, Hate Eternal and even Behemoth; this is the Garroter sound, and it sounds pretty good.

The band has a slick, professional production that serves them well. Everything has bite and you can even hear the bass, which is always nice. The band can obviously play and there’s a good amount of technical wizardry on display.

Each song is a muscular collection of riffs that are shredded together into a coherent structure and then handed over to an inhuman monster to growl and roar over.

Their music is very precise, with a fair few objects of interest, atypical ideas and areas of mechanical playfulness strewn throughout these 11 tracks.

If you enjoy your Death Metal rhythmically mechanical like a well-oiled killing machine yet still full of infernal life, then Garroter fit the bill. They’ve created a crunchy, catchy album full of Death Metal devastation.

Listen at full volume.

Gian – All Life Erased (Review)

This is well-written Death Metal with some nice melodic streaks thrown in for good emphasis.

The band have gone for a song-oriented approach that is part Swedish Death Metal and part Modern Death Metal, not a million miles away from Illdisposed’s 1-800 Vindication in some ways; frequent infectious melodies with a firm heavy backbone to stop things from ever veering into Melodic Death Metal territory.

Gian frequently trade off crunchy, heavy riffs with melodic passages, all the time retaining an overall muscular presence.

The vocals are deep growls and angry shouts for the most part, but I must say that I was completely unprepared for clean vocals to appear on the second track Bloodstorm! They are performed extremely well and only appear on this song, but for a band who have a firm Death Metal sound with blast beats aplenty I was quite taken aback. Their scarcity works in their favour though, as when they do appear it’s just another aspect of the melodic delivery that appears among the brutal carnage that their music alternates between.

Gian have created a very enjoyable album that delivers something that’s an uncommon treat; songs that are equally brutal and melodic but without falling into the trap of losing their bite.

This is one to definitely check out.

Piah Mater – Memories of Inexistence (Review)

Piah Mater are from Brazil and play Progressive Death Metal. This is their début album.

This is Progressive Death Metal that’s expertly played and produced.

If you take Opeth (old) as a base template and then add in some more Progressive influences, (Wolverine and some aspects of Anathema spring to mind), then you’ll have a good idea of what Piah Mater sound like.

The singer has a top notch voice. His clean vocals are well performed and have the requisite amount of personality to them. His growls are deep with a slight rasp and work well with the melodic music.

The songs twist, wind and curl their way through the playing times. Quasi-melodic angular riffs meet Progressive melodies and it’s clear that Piah Mater obviously know exactly how they want to sound.

Memories of Inexistence is a very enjoyable 58 minutes of Progressive Death Metal that is easy to like and easy to recommend.

If you dislike the direction that Opeth have taken over the last few years then Piah Mater can help to soothe your discontent. This is an album that’s a return to the roots that Opeth put down, only updated for the present day.

Give them a listen.

Biopsy – Fractals of Derangement (Review)

Biopsy are from India and this is their début EP. They play Brutal Death Metal.

Biopsy take their influences from the USDM scene and even though they’re from India would fit in rather well over there.

The vocals are as deep as any I’ve heard, full of pignoise and bile. The singer is clearly interested in chewing your face off.

The music is nicely brutal with some good grooves and tight riffs amongst the butchery. An impressive amount of chuggery, (it’s a word), takes place here, enough to knock you over.

Moments of melody are few and far between, but there are some brief moments here and there incorporated into the brutality.

There’s enough skill and talent here to avoid dismissal as mere Suffocation-clones and based on this release Biopsy could have a bright future ahead of them in the underground Death Metal arena.

Each song hovers around the 3 minute mark, so the band make an impact without overstaying their welcome. The tracks are solid examples of the style and if you like USDM then Biopsy are waiting for you, surgical table at the ready.

Support the underground!