Annihilated are from the US and play Brutal Death Metal. This is their début album.
Straight from the off we’re treated to Annihilated’s aggressive style of Brutal Death Metal. The double bass roars and the guitars shred as the vocalist seemingly makes a mess of his insides in an attempt to growl harder.
Tight riffs and furious riffing power the band’s main method of assault alternating between blasting or mid-paced sections to allow for variety of attack. Annihilated are not without groove either; Annihilated know how to knock your teeth down your throat and have many ways to do this.
This may be Brutal Death Metal but it’s nice to see a band like Annihilated who know that blasting is not the be all and end all of the style. Annihilated can blast with the best of them, of course, but they mainly use groovier, energetic mid-paced assaults that are done really well and showcase the band’s devastatingly heavy use of effective dynamics.
The drums are particularly fun, with plenty of rolls and fills breaking up the blasting and mayhem.
Leads and solos make appearances and they all sound good. It’s especially nice when played over a solid rhythm section and the band frequently do this to get themselves into a nice groove.
The guitar work is exemplary and their choice of riffs is crushing. The songs also have lots of nice little things to keep the listener engaged, this is certainly not an album that sounds tired or stale in any way. This is fresh, vigorous and full of energy. This is music to bounce around to like a maniac.
I love Death Metal like this. Annihilated take the primal power of the style, rip it apart and then vomit it all back over you. And I love it.
Emeth are from Belgium and play Technical Death Metal. This is their fourth album.
Emeth tread that fine line between brutality and technicality and manage to successfully incorporate both into their savage Death Metal assault.
Ultra-aggression and lightning speed riffage work together to melt faces whilst fretboard wizardry takes the technical side of the band to new heights of carnage.
Emeth can certainly play and play well, and they’re no stranger to brutality, but what sets them apart though is that they don’t purely rely on speed and technicality; they know when to inject a bit of atmosphere and quality instrumentation into the proceedings via some sharply written riffs and colossal guitar work.
The guitar work as a whole is a particular highlight of this record; there is plenty of inventive and interesting riffs and whether they are playing fast or easing off the speed slightly everything is precise, crisp and dynamic.
The singer does a great job and has a focused growl. He picks and chooses his vocal patterns well and knows when to let the music do the talking. This is not an album where the singer is the vocal point; rather the riffs take centre stage and the vocals are an enhancement, (albeit an important one), to the songs.
What an album! A whirlwind tour of destruction and creativity. Emeth have clearly put a lot of hard work into Aethyr and have been rewarded with an extremely strong album.
Coraxo are from Finland and play Industrial Death/Black Metal. This is their second EP.
Their first EP was not without its charms and this latest release sees them expand on their earlier efforts.
The sound has improved this time around with the songs sounding fuller and more polished. The band are clearly becoming more comfortable with their style and are even more confident in their approach these days.
The music continues to be a cross of bands like Dimmu Borgir and Neurotech. This means we get a good combination of dance-floor beats and faster, more aggressive sounds as the band uses both methods of attack to get their story across.
The vocals are sharp, high-pitched screeches that lash out at the listener like wires in a storm. These have improved on the previous EP and sound really good.
Keyboards and effects lurk just behind the central music and provide highlights and accompaniment to the Blackened tunes.
This is a band that continues to develop nicely and this EP should see them winning over a slew of new fans.
Horrified are a Death Metal band from the UK and this is their début album.
With vocals that sound like they belong to an unhinged psychopathic murderer, this is rotten Old-School Death Metal with a Swedish influence and a fair few chainsaws stashed away with the bodies.
It’s a shambling, stumbling corpse of an album but not without its charms. Fans of polished, ultra-technical, modern Death Metal can look away now; this is atavistic, grotesque Death Metal from the bowels of history played with passion and a will to kill.
The songs are straightforward, ugly tracks that hack and slash their way through the crowds with maniacal glee.
This is not an album without flaws; indeed, if the band can tighten up their performance a bit then their next release will be even better. However, focusing on this too much is not the point. Horrified is about the base, underground rawness of Death Metal and although I do believe that they would benefit from a tighter delivery Descent into Putridity is not ruined by the lack of this.
The very rawness and underground brutality of this maggot-filled album is its own reward. Yes, I’m a sucker for Swedish-influenced Death Metal at the best of times, but I still like this.
Horrified have arrived. Let’s support them and let’s listen loud.
Kвіти Знедолених Берегів is a solo project from Ukraine that plays Atmospheric Death/Doom. This is his début demo.
This is woe-filled Atmospheric Doom with deep growling and swathes of desolate feeling.
The singer has a very powerful growl. It sounds quite primal in its force and carries a strong presence against the backdrop of the mournful music. This is backed up by occasional spoken word sections which are also performed well and have a good place in the mix, as I find spoken word parts are usually too high when most bands employ them. Soft, low-key cleans also unexpectedly appear, greatly enhancing the already varied vocal package. Neither the cleans or the spoken word sections are over done though and the deep growls eclipse them both.
The music shows good composition and everything is played well. The dark melodies have an air of longing to them and really drive the music forward.
Both of the songs on this release slowly build their funeral dirge over the course of about 10 minutes and the winding, plaintive guitars have just the right tone to connect viscerally with the listener without becoming overwrought. Subtle keyboard/piano is used here and there to further add feeling and I like the style of songwriting in general; it’s mainly about heaviness, both musically and emotionally, but there’s enough subtlety and nuance here to satisfy fans of all tastes and preferences.
For what is, apparently, a demo release, the production is very professional sounding. Everything is balanced and in its place; everything sounds crisp and punchy.
I’m very impressed with this. Hopefully we’ll see a full album from Kвіти Знедолених Берегів in the future and if it’s even half as good as За небокрай мрій it’ll be very good indeed.
This is the latest EP from “supergroup” band Nader Sadek.
The project features contributions ex- and current members of such notable bands as Cryptopsy, Aura Noir, Decapitated and Cattle Decapitation.
This is dark Death Metal with an aura of evil and a Classic Death Metal feel to it without it ever becoming overly Old-School in nature.
The general vibe is one of a cross between Morbid Angel and Deicide, although there is more going on here than just this, notably so on closing track Descent which features more of a Doom/atmospheric influence.
There are four songs on this EP, clocking in at just under 21 minutes in total, and each one of them has clearly had a lot of work put into it.
It’s very well recorded and the drums in particular sound thunderous. Everything is tight and well-played, as one would expect from musicians of this calibre.
The songs are enjoyable flights of Death Metal fancy and do a great job of delivering the goods.
Just Before Dawn is an international “supergroup” of sorts. This is their second album.
This is a war-themed Death Metal album in the Swedish style, replete with Chainsaw sound and harrowing melodics. This is combined with a good Bolt Thrower influence to produce the mother of all War Metal sounds.
The album features contributions from members of bands like Megascavenger, Massacre, Bolt Thrower, God Macabre, Bodyfarm, Aeon, Puteraeon, Morgoth and Demonical. Due to this, you know it’s going to be played and performed well, which it is.
As this is essentially Swedish Death Metal there are no real surprises here, content-wise, but that’s not important; what is important is the songs themselves and how good they are.
The calibre of the musicians involved and their collective experience means that they are not found wanting in this regard, of course. The songs are as warlike and bloodthirsty as you would expect.
The tracks pound and demolish their way across the battlefield like an armoured steamroller; heavy, relentless and unstoppable.
In some ways there’s not a lot to say about an album like this. If you like the Swedish style, if you like Bolt Thrower, if you like good riffs and good songs…you’ll like Just Before Dawn.
If you’re looking for a perfect example of a Death Metal band that combines emotive destruction with wanton slaughter then you’d be hard pressed to better Arroganz. Their third album Tod & Teufel is a must for all fans of interesting, individualistic Death Metal everywhere. I quizzed their guitarist -P- to find out more…
Give us a bit of background to ARROGANZ!
ARROGANZ are – K – (vocals / bass / guitars), – P – (guitars / vocals) and – T – (drums / vocals). The bands origin is the city of Cottbus (Ger). Nowadays we live in different cities.
What are your influences?
Life and death. A lot of dark arts and music are given to us and we have a heart for all its being as long as it is honest and filled with spirit. Surely you could hear some of the influences – but we don’t like to be compared with these and other bands all the time.
What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?
Just to reduce it to actual (2014) albums: Tryptikon – Melana Chasmata, Morbus Chron – Sweven, Ophis – Abhorrence In Opulence, Deathronation – Hallow The Dead, Dark Fortress – Venereal Dawn, Woods Of Desolation – As The Stars, Herder – Gods, Stench – Venture
What are your opinions on the current state of the Death Metal genre?
German death metal is growing more and more as t is recognized by the international underground better than ever.
Your take on Death Metal is a bit more individualistic and interesting than the norm and includes, to my ears, shades of atmospherics, Black Metal and My Dying Bride-esque melodics. What are your thoughts on this?
We just don’t go along with any trends. The construct of ARROGANZ contents and expresses a special philosophy and spirit. You can hear that certain combination of black/death/doom/rock’n roll elements and we feel free to do whatever we want to do! I don’t see anything ARROGANZ has in common with My Dying Bride. It is a great band but it serves a different style of music.
What did you want to achieve with your new release?
By releasing “Tod & Teufel” we manifest the line-up and its being in 2014.
We just made another big step!
Are you happy with how it turned out?
100% yes. You wouldn’t have been able to listen to it if it was different. We are satisfied as fuck and can’t wait to release that bastard. Our new label FDA REKOTZ is doing a great job and we get the support for “Tod & Teufel” that we need.
Talk to us about the lyrics
-K- writes the lyrics. The lines of “Tod & Teufel” are deep and dark philosophical – as well as spiritual. They are a strong outbreak of an inner being and very open. But instead of talking about them: Read them!
What’s the meaning of the title?
We don’t want to translate it into English. It is about freedom – the will and want to do, what you want and need to do.
How do you go about writing your songs?
-K- writes the songs. Then we arrange them together and try to get the best out of them. When we’re done doing this, I (-P-) make a preproduction. We all try to give the best amount of atmosphere, darkness and dirtiness to the songs. It is not only important to write it perfect, it is always about how to play it, too!
How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?
We are a very creative band – of course we already got ideas for the next onslaught. We will go the way we started to go – the songs will sound like ARROGANZ and probably will be different…that’s our attitude.
What’s next for Arroganz?
The first shows and festivals are confirmed. After the release we’re going to play gigs and in 2015 we’re going to have a split EP with three other German death metal bands.
This is the début album from Serbian Progressive Thrash Metal band Alitor.
Alitor play Thrash Metal with bite and a Death-esque Progressive edge. Straight out of the gate it’s high-octane stuff and has an immediate charisma to it.
The musicianship of the band is first-rate. There is some very skilled and technical playing going on here. This is true of all of the instruments, even the oft-neglected bass.
The songs combine snappy Thrash riffs with piercing Progressive melodies and hybrid Thrash/Death Metal vocals. The singer is quite varied in his approach and frequently veers into more Death Metal territory than that of classic Thrash.
These are involving and complex songs. The drums, bass and guitars are all played and executed at an advanced level and the strong recording makes the most of this. Imagine a classic Thrash band, mix this with Death at their Proggiest, add a splash of Death Metal and Alitor will be the result.
With every song, (bar the first), being longer than 5 minutes this is an album that has plenty of depth and a lot to offer. Eternal Depression is somewhat of a misleading title as there is nothing to get depressed about here.
Have a listen to Alitor and let them blow you away.
Temple of Void are from the US and this is their début album. They play Doom with an infusion of Death Metal.
Temple of Void’s 2013 Demo was a really enjoyable 3-track taster for the band, and this début full length takes those three songs, adds 5 more and results in Of Terror and the Supernatural.
Their sound is one of Doom Metal mixed with an Old-School Death Metal influence, which manifests in the faster sections, the deep vocals and the general air of rotting heaviness that the band exude with every diseased pore.
Opener The Embalmer’s Art is like a microcosm for the album as a whole. It has faster, gritty sections which are tempered by largely slow and Doom-y main parts and morbid, grim vocals. The guitar melodies are haunting, downright miserable and very, very powerful.
Somehow, even though this is only a début, Temple of Void have managed to produce a piece of rotten artistry that sounds as if it has taken decades to coalesce into being. The songs sound mature and so full of atmosphere and dark tidings it seems impossible that these are new songs and not long lost tracks from the vaults of Peaceville history.
Upon first listening to the album it sounds instantly welcoming and familiar without sounding stale or old-hat. Upon subsequent listens this feeling is reinforced and very quickly the album shapes up to be both an old friend and a stunning new discovery.
The vocals are deep growls that have an instant presence and charisma. Somewhat reminiscent of the singer of Opeth at his expressive, malevolent deepest; the singer of Temple of Void has a phenomenal bellow that really clears the cobwebs away.
I’m incredibly impressed with this. The quality of the riffs, the depth of feeling that they evoke and the whole structure of the songs in general speaks volumes about the talent of the band.
Crawling Death Metal-laced Doom has never sounded so good.
Annihilated are from the US and play Brutal Death Metal. This is their début album.
Wonderbox Metal 