Death Metal – Page 214 – Wonderbox Metal

Inanimate Existence – A Never-Ending Cycle of Atonement (Review)

Inanimate Existence are a Technical Death Metal band from the US.

An exotic intro and equally exotic album cover set the scene for this otherworldly adventure in brutality and technical wizardry.

Long songs and fretwork dexterity are the order of the day here, although the band never lose sight of the aggression and brutality that is the hallmark of Death Metal.

A good sound means that all of this frenetic widdling can be appreciated and the drums are punishing, proficient but not overpowering. I mustn’t neglect the bass either, as it’s actually audible and has a part to play in these tracks. There are also some shredding solos and leads.

The singer’s vocals growl and grunt like a windswept vortex causing destruction wherever it goes.

Slower parts occasionally appear, allowing the band to show restraint and to maximise the moments of atmosphere they foster. They also experiment with percussion, lighter moments, Progressive Metal and even some female vocals. These parts enhance the songs making them more than they might otherwise be, as well as stopping them becoming too repetitive or predictable.

The songs are highly enjoyable and expertly crafted.

Top quality.

Defilementory – The Dismal Ascension (Review)

Defilementory are from Denmark and play Brutal/Technical Death Metal.

The album starts with a melodically-brutal intro that shows off some sludgy riffs with frenetic blasting drums. It’s an unusual piece and a welcome turn of events to the usual lacklustre album intros that a lot of bands peddle.

As the album unfolds it becomes clear that the intro is no mere anomaly and Defilementory are a band who are not afraid to throw in some more experimental riffs and atypical sections to their songs. Taking cues from an unholy mixture of bands like Gorguts and Severe Torture, this is a seamless blend of Technical Death Metal and wanton Brutality.

Atmospheric riffs rub shoulders with heavier, chugging sections whilst the drums and bass gel everything together into a rotting mass of putrid gore.

Bands like this are a joy to listen to as they’re taking the standard Death Metal template and invigorating it with good ideas; it sounds fresh yet at the same time staying true to what Death Metal is all about.

The singer is no slouch either; as the band riff and heave their way around the savagery he produces a very satisfying deep growl.

Sometimes the technicality/experimentation gets in the way of the actual song, but rather than this be a fatal flaw it merely refocusses the attention so that the atmosphere and mood of the tracks become more important than traditional song structures. This becomes even more apparent on subsequent spins; the warped melodies and twisted structures come into their own as you become more familiar with the material.

Defilementory have produced an interesting, ambitious and enjoyable record. May they continue on this darkened path less-travelled for many an album to come.

Favourite Track: The Mask of Anatomy. The different influences click perfectly into place on this.

Vastum – Patricidal Lust (Review)

Vastum are from the US and play Death Metal; Patricidal Lust is their second album.

How’s that for some album artwork, eh? What’s all that about then? Top work.

Vastum specialise in Old-School Death Metal with a dollop of Doom and Crust thrown in for good measure. Incantation and Autopsy should be your first reference points. Vastum are their own entity of course and they play this style of Classic Death Metal remarkably well.

The songs are harrowing tales of the dark side of humanity and the music is the perfect representation of this.

Each track is well-written and everything on this release sounds powerful and ancient. The singer bellows with fervour and the music rages and dirges in equal amounts.

The solos are well executed and add spice to the Doomy riffing. Leads add colour and overall these songs have a lot of substance to them, with the longer length of the songs allowing the band to cram a lot in.

As the Classic Death Metal style goes this is a strong album full of good songs. Put this on your list of albums to get this month, you won’t regret it.

Monumentomb – Ritual Exhumation (Review)

This is the début EP from UK Death Metallers Monumentomb.

After the usual perfunctory intro we’re into the title track and straight into some glorious Old-School Death Metal with a sound to kill for.

What’s so special about it? It just sounds fat, tight and recalls Dismember without overtly ripping off that chainsaw sound.

As you’ve probably gathered there is a Swedish Death Metal influence at play here, but that’s not all Monumentomb get up to. The Swedish greats might be well represented, but UK bands like Bolt Thrower and Carcass get a look in also.

The riffs are strong and the solos shred. The drum sound is especially satisfying and the growls of the singer make me warm in my secret happy place.

The vocals are deep growls that work perfectly. Also, the few seconds of clean vocals in Perpetual Execution Torment are unexpected and brilliant.

You can really feel the weight of Death Metal history while listening to Ritual Exhumation, but Monumentomb bear this responsibility with ease and perform admirably.

Amazingly this band have only been around since 2013; how they’ve managed to cobble together such a strong package so quickly is beyond me, but I’m glad they have.

Looking for some Old-School Death Metal that doesn’t sound stale? Look no further.

Warlord UK – We Die As One (Review)

As you can probably guess, Warlord UK are from the UK…this is their third album of Death Metal.

After a perfunctory intro we get a surprisingly Doomy start to Human Inner Core that slowly builds itself up into a nice groove.

The sound is crisp and the drums have weight to them. The bass is audible and is actually used for things worthwhile.

The vocals are savage in a mechanistic way, as if they’re being uttered by some kind of undead cyborg, or maybe even by the chap on the cover? Who knows. I’m not sure I’d like to meet him in a dark alley though, (or a frost-swept plain of skulls for that matter).

A hint of Thrash sensibilities adds an edge to the spiky songs and riffs are thrown around with complete abandon, as if the band have an inexhaustible supply of them.

There’s a lot of mid-paced chuggery going on here; it sounds good and is the perfect backdrop to the gritty future cyber-war that I imagine is going on behind the scenes.

The band are capable of more than just heaviness and brutality though, as they show a pleasantly surprising penchant for added melody and grandeur during some of the tracks; this gives the album more depth and longevity than it might otherwise have.

Imagine, if you will, if Bolt Thrower and Amon Amarth combined forces to crush their assorted enemies…Warlord UK sound like that amalgamated War Metal strike force.

The songs are good, the Metal is good and the severed heads are banging. Warlord UK have more to offer than you might think at first glance.

Goatwhore – Constricting Rage of the Merciless (Review)

This is the latest album from US Black Metallers Goatwhore.

A new Goatwhore album is always something to be excited about. They may be loosely Black Metal, but they actually combine that with elements of Death and Thrash Metal to create something distinctly Goatwhore.

10 songs in 37 minutes; short, catchy and so very Metal. All the familiar ingredients are here – great sound, poisonous riffs, relentless drums, characterful vocals, dynamic and exciting writing…I could go on but won’t.

Each song takes elements of the aforementioned genres and mashes them together to create a collection of dark wonders. This also means that the album is surprisingly varied within the genre it inhabits; riffs and ideas from all manner of guitar-based styles are crushed up, swallowed and regurgitated as prime Goatwhore-stamped meat.

The grim riffing and fast drumming never cease to be inspired and despite the overall extremity of the release it has lots of hooks to grab your attention and help make the songs memorable.

Goatwhore have shown once again why they are in a league of their own and why very few bands even come close to touching them in terms of sheer quality of songs and passion of purpose.

My advice? Get this. Get this now.

Ending Quest – The Summoning (Review)

This is Old-School Swedish Death Metal from Ending Quest.

Swedish Death Metal played by actual Swedes? Yes please!

Instantly That Sound assaults your ears and we’re off into the realm of chainsaws and bright red arterial blood.

The brutal guitars and the ferocious melodics conspire to activate all of the pleasure centres in my head at once…I think I need to have a sit down now.

Yes, yes; I have a soft spot for this type of Death Metal. Over the years it’s just kind of crept up on me. I just really, really like this style of music. It may not be anything new but who cares? It hits the spot right where I need it to.

Ending Quest sound absolutely huge and have a big sound in every sense. Awesome melodies and crushing guitars are powered by a percussive backbone and deep, coarse vocals.

Ah yes, the vocals; like a rabid dog barking. Guttural, unhinged and rough like something inhuman. They’re the icing on this very delectable cake.

The songcrafting is top of the range and the band seem to be having a whale of a time throwing out huge riffs and spookily heavy atmospheres.

As I sit and write this on a wet Sunday morning Ending Quest are the perfect wake-me-up to get the blood flowing and the energy levels moving.

Unless you’re absolutely sick of the Swedish style and think it’s been done to death, then this should be high on your list of things to get. And if you are sick of the Swedish style? Well, get this anyway as it might just be the refreshing tonic you need.

Redemptor – The Jugglernaut (Review)

This is the second album from Polish Technical Death Metallers Redemptor.

A brief Classical intro segues into frenetic technical mayhem with blastbeats, guitar craziness and harsh growls dominating the airwaves.

The band are controlled chaos with lots of ideas and sounds harnessed into their arsenal of impressive musical wizardry.

Take a band like Gorguts as your starting point, throw in a bit of Iniquity and Meshuggah and the starting blueprints are in place for a band who are not destined for mediocrity.

They have a skilled drummer and the songs are very percussive. The remaining musicians are also suitably talented and if it wasn’t for a good grasp of dynamics and some well thought out songwriting the songs could easily collapse in on themselves in a frenzy of technicality; this is avoided though by judicious use of restraint and energetic riffs.

They allow a bit of Jazzy, seemingly free-form experimentation to creep in on occasion, although I imagine it’s far more thought-through than it sounds. It does the trick though.

Quality Death Metal with depth and character.

http://redemptor.8merch.com/the_jugglernaut_digital_version-id4378

Vomiting Corpses – Coma: The Spheres of Innocence (Review)

Vomiting Corpses were from Germany and played Death Metal.

This is a reissue of their 1995 album and their 1994 demo Cold Blood.

This is brutal and heavy; blast beats and crushing riffs paired with deep growls that menace and bully.

Apart from these guttural growls the band also throw in the odd surprise, with ethereal female vocals and someone who sounds exactly like the singer of Obituary both making appearances.

The songs, especially the demo ones, are rough and raw, but perfectly listenable and bristling with aggression. Even so, it’s a very satisfying listen with the music connecting on a primal level.

Vomiting Corpses clearly weren’t interested in just copying the bigger Death Metal names in the early 90’s; they had their own ideas about what Death Metal should sound like and who can argue with their vision when presented in such a good way?

There’s a clear sound progression between the demo and the album, although both are recognisable as the same band.

An enjoyable listen.

Cemetery – Enter the Gate (Discography 1991-1993) (Review)

Cemetery were a German band who were active between 1986 and 1993.

This reissue is two discs of Death Metal, played with passion and interest. This compilation holds all of their recordings between 1991 and 1993, including their lost album that was recorded but never released.

There is an hour and 40 minutes of music here and all of it is top quality. With more exposure this band could easily have been a leading light in the Death Metal scene.

This is powerful material, played and written very well; it shows up a lot of bands these days who have half the creativity that Cemetery display.

The longer songs show that the band were pushing the boundaries of standard Death Metal at the time. Who knows what they could have released eventually?

What we have here though is ample evidence to show that they knew what they were doing. Occasional effects and acoustics are combined with brutality to make interesting songs that all have that special secret ingredient; these songs satisfy, deeply, in ways that only the best Metal can.

Solid playing, melodics, solos, riffs; all of the necessary elements to make a strong album.

It should be noted that the sound is surprisingly good. Everything sounds balanced, clear and crushing.

This is a lost gem of an album; 20 years buried and now unearthed to give pleasure to all who would listen. Forget whatever latest flash-in-the-pan nonsense you’re thinking of buying this month, invest in Cemetery and listen loud.