Death Metal – Page 216 – Wonderbox Metal

Interview with Deus Otiosus

Deus Otiosus have recently unleashed the monster that is Rise on the world. After getting my fill of this very enjoyable album I asked Jesper Holst, bassist of the band, some pertinent questions to find out a bit more about it…

Give us a bit of history to Deus Otiosus

The band started off as a studio project by Henrik Engkjær (guitars) and Anders Bo Rasmussen (vocals) back in 2005. They recorded a demo called Death Lives Again in 2007 and 2009 saw them gathering a full line-up with Peter Engkjær (guitars), Søren Bentsen (drums) and Jens Nepper (bass guitars) and start performing live. Shortly before I replaced Nepper on bass in 2010 the first album Murderer was released in South America and later world wide. Then, for the recording of the second album we brought in a dedicated drummer in Jesper Olsen as our ambitions grew and the band became a more serious and time-consuming project for all involved. As an old friend of some of us, Jesper was quickly integrated and we recorded and released our second album Godless in 2012. With the same constellation we recorded the third album Rise in January 2014 and released it world wide just last month.
What are your influences?

We are influenced by classic metal acts such as Death, Morbid Angel, Deicide, Pestilence and so on. However, while maintaining an old school approach to song writing, we are not just copying what the forerunners of the genre created. We use the elements and the creativity of classic death metal song writing and produce our own, original and potent songs.

What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?

Right now, my playlist is varied. I have got Unleashed, Dark Funeral and Iced Earth on at the moment. I especially enjoy and recommend Unleashed.

Deus Otiosus Band 1 What did you want to achieve with your new album?

Every time we release an album we strive to take a step forward and upward. Up the quality since the last album so to speak. And this pertains to all aspects of the album; the song writing, the riffs, the drum patterns and fills, solos etc. The overall goal is to create a coherent album packed with memorable songs that make up a whole yet retain their own identity. I believe this goal is achieved with Rise and it stands out clearly in our discography. This is the best Deus Otiosus to date and truthfully will be hard to top in the future.

Are you happy with how it turned out?

I grow increasingly fond of this album by the day – even now, several months after I first heard the mastered version. From the drum recordings that were perfected by Rasmus Toftlund at Fast Beat Studio to the mastering by Tore Stjerna at Necromorbus Studio, this album has surpassed all of our expectations. I also gather from the reviews that I have read so far that Rise seems to grow on people from a good first impression to something that they really appreciate. Moreover, it seems that people really grasp what we want to achieve with this album and it feels great to not just reach out to your audience, but to actually reach them. So yes, the entire band is more than thrilled by the outcome.

What can you tell us about the lyrics?

The lyrics, like the songs play in to a greater whole that binds the album together. We cover sinister and dark concepts using philosophy, mythology, history and prose (e.g. Poe, Lovecraft) and put them on edge do describe a guide-less, godforsaken world, as the band name also implies.

Tell us about the album cover

The cover artwork was created by artist Claude Witt who is a friend of Anders. He created the entirety of it over a few weeks and we were completely thrown aback by it. The level of detail is really jaw dropping. Our idea was to show a monster rising from the abyss as an analogy for the band and the album title. Claude did an awesome job depicting just that.

Deus Otiosus Band 2 Give us a bit of information on the songwriting process.

The main composer is Henrik Engkjær who co-founded the band with Anders Bo Rasmussen. The way we go about song writing is that Henrik writes the main framework for each song, the riffs, the drum patters and the lyrics. Then we arrange the songs in rehearsal and the drums are refined. I will add bass to the riffs at this stage. We keep adding improving details to the songs, even at the studio stage when we are recording. Other than that, on Rise, I have partly written the lyrics for the song Vultures.
How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?

We are still rising and we are already now working full steam with new material. As said, we always strive to top our last release and this will not change. We use the descriptor outlaw death metal because we refute genre-talk and we stick to this. So people can expect original, boundless yet coherent death metal.

What’s next for Deus Otiosus?

As of now, in conjunction with the release of Rise, we have already been on a Danish tour and played at a Copenhell Festival Warm Up event as well as at Metal Magic Festival, all in Denmark. We aim to take our presence abroad as we have done in the past. In particular, Germany and Scandinavia should look out for Deus Otiosus, but our ambitions go beyond as well. Meanwhile, we are hard at work with new material and we promise great deeds in the future!

Hails,

Jesper Holst
Bass guitars
Deus Otiosus

Fallujah – The Flesh Prevails (Review)

Fallujah are from the US and this is their second album of Death Metal.

But this is not your normal, run-of-the-mill Death Metal by any standards, this is something truly special. Fallujah play Technical/Progressive Death Metal with expansive melodies, daring structures and bold ambitions.

A huge production is a prerequisite for anything like this in order for everything to be clear and exact, and this is what we get.

The songs are hugely impressive both technically and song-wise. There’s a lot packed into these tracks and every second of music seems to have been considered and planned to complete precision before anything has even been played. It’s tight, proficient and worthy of the title master-crafted.

Their material has its brutal side of course, (this is Death Metal after all), but they mainly deal in atmospheres and moods. For example; it often seems like two songs are being played at the same time, with an intricate Death Metal song being played over the top of a haunting Post-Metal track. Fallujah’s genius is to make this fit together flawlessly and with utter precision so that the juxtaposition of styles sounds whole and complete.

Somehow the band manage to be rhythmic, brutal, spacey, melodic and colourful simultaneously, with the songs positively dribbling emotion and atmosphere.

The album is laden with effects and additional instrumentation providing so many layers of depth that it’s almost easy to overlook the phenomenal playing of the core instruments and the rather impressive noises that they make. There’s too much going on here to take in in only one sitting, and like the best albums it grows on you like a welcome disease.

Fallujah have produced a stunning album that raises the bar so high that most other bands will fall by the wayside just trying to keep up.

You need this album.

Giant of the Mountain – Moon Worship (Review)

This is the latest album from US Blackened Progressive Death Metal band Giant of the Mountain.

Blackened Progressive Death Metal? Sure it’s a bit of a mouthful but it is a more-or-less adequate description of Giant of the Mountain’s music.

Their songs have distinct Progressive tendencies with complex riffs and structures congealing around an exploratory Metal core.

Death Metal serves as the largest percentage of that core, albeit a form of Death Metal that relies on melodics and technicality rather than sheer brutality.

And the Blackened part? This is sprinkled on top of everything really. It’s not as if Black Metal is a massive part of their sound, but it’s definitely a feature and they would sound quite different if this aspect of their music was removed. It’s a quality of some of the riffs, it’s in some of the vocals and it’s apparent in the distinctly non-Death Metal recording.

Couple all of the above with a bit of Sludge and a DIY attitude and you have Moon Worship.

Apart from the Blackened vocals we also get Death Metal grunts and some Viking-esque epic cleans.

The involving songs make the most of their play time with melodies and passages that seem to draw you in before going off on another tangent. These tracks really have been well written and the underground production enhances the feeling of listening to something special. This is a very creative and enjoyable release.

If you combine parts of bands like Enslaved, Opeth, Death, Gorguts and a whole slew of others then you’ll have an idea of the Giant of the Mountain sound. It’s refreshing. My only slight complaint is that even though the production on the album is adequate for the most part and for some instruments, (like the bass), it’s perfectly judged; for me the drum sound is a little weak and timid sounding. This is very subjective of course, (like all things music-based), and it’s not enough to spoil my enjoyment of this album, it’s just that it sounds a little flat to me and for a band that are as good as this I would prefer fuller-sounding drums.

Slight sound issues aside though, this really is the kind of album you want to take your time to get to listen to; absorb and repeat. It’s well worth the time.

As you can see, this is not your average release and certainly stands out from the pack. Get your fill of Giant of the Mountain and get worshipping the moon as soon as you can.

Pyrexia – Feast of Iniquity (Review)

Pyrexia are from the US and play Death Metal. This is their fourth album.

The band play Brutal Death Metal which has a Slam/Hardcore/Groove side to it; Suffocation-style USDM gone the way of Kataklysm.

An acid-etched sound with pounding drums and guitars like stone; the band kick up a maelstrom of dust and leave devastation in their wake.

As the album progresses it reminds me strongly of the aforementioned Katakylsm and their combination of blasting and groovier rffing. Pyrexia employ pretty much the same formula and even the vocalist is similar in style; raw growls that are obviously Death Metal but not quite deep enough to be truly extreme.

The short songs and relatively short nature of the album mean it’s over quickly and overall leaves a positive impression.

If you like a bit of heavy groove with your Death Metal then look up Pyrexia and give them a try.

Necropoli – I (Review)

Necropoli are from Italy and play Funeral Doom. This is their début album.

This is heavy Funeral Doom Metal with a strong Death Metal foundation underpinning everything.

There is background orchestration, keyboards and effects; these are not flowery or ostentations but rather eerie and aura-enhancing.

The long songs slowly unfold with the heavy barrage of slowed down brutality mixing with Dark Ambient sounds and faint glimpses Industrial Electronica.

The colossally deep vocals drive everything forwards like a relentless taskmaster.

Akin to recent releases from the likes of Eye of Solitude, Doom:VS and Decembre Noir, this is just as bleakly emotive and atmospheric but with longer songs and a lot more brutality and harshness on display.

This album reminds of the constant onslaught of a band like Esoteric if they had more Funeral Doom influences and keyboards.

Rich, layered and with a definite gloomy texture, this is an evocative release that mixes the best of the crawling slowness of Doom and the heavy crushing nature of Death Metal.

Nearly an hour of demolishing desolation for your consideration.

Interview with Monumentomb

Monumentomb have recently released their début EP Ritual Exhumation. This is a glorious Old-School Death Metal release that manages to seriously impress, especially for such a new band. I decided to get a bit more info on this rough gem…

Tell us about Monumentomb and where you came from?

We’re based in Kent in the south east of England. We formed less than a year ago, to start from the beginning: I was drinking at a metal pub in my local town of Maidstone. The Beherit shirt I was wearing prompted conversation very quickly when Alex noticed it, and we’ve been good mates since. Then after a long time later, years in fact we met again and decided to form a band with our strong agreement in musical tastes. At the same place a little later, I met Gaius while drinking at a mutual friends birthday, we got totally hammered and stayed in touch. Since Alex left the band earlier this month to concentrate on Infected Dead, Gaius has now moved over to guitar duties. I met Lee at a local gig that Alex was playing with his band Infected Dead. He heard that Lee was a decent and freed-up drummer and introduced us that night, we’ve been doing Monumentomb ever since.

What are your influences?

The primary influence is old-school death metal, I listen to a lot of 80’s metal ranging from Yngwie Malmsteen to Cacophony, Razor, Racer X, Infernal Majesty, Sacrifice etc. Bands specifically that we take a lot of influence from are Bolt Thrower, Autopsy, Grave, Dismember, Morbid Angel, Carcass, early Entombed/Obituary/Death to name a few. Our influences always have a bearing on our development as players. Lee is ever aiming to reach the same ability level as George Kollias and Gaius listens to a lot of technical metal too, which constantly fuels improvement individually, as well as overall as a band.

What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?

Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of Vinnie Moore, Tony MacApline and Paul Gilbert Racer X era. Also been listening to ‘The Cleansing’ by Nominon which I highly recommend, it has a great atmosphere and production. Morbid and filthy sounding release and has to be one of their best to date. And have been re-visiting Beneath the Remains, simply, it’s an album that never leaves my CD rotation.

How did you decide on the style of Death Metal that you wanted to play – what appeals about the Death Metal sound?

I’ve always had a leaning toward the Old-School sounding bands for as long as I can remember. The feeling and readiness of the style always screamed out to me and stood out over the extremely clean sounding releases, the style always deserves preservation in my opinion. We’re not aiming to be an overly technical band, as the fundamental idea at inception was to maintain the essential feeling and simplicity of most of the old-school death metal bands. The paramount appeal to me is the sheer aggression, the riffs, imagery and relative versatility of the genre.

Non-standard for Death Metal but judged perfectly – tell us about the clean vocals in Perpetual Execution Torment

They were performed by a good mate of mine – Chris Simmons who plays in a well-known band from our area called Wretched Soul, and exceeded the intentions of that section for the track. It was an idea that formed while watching the film Reanimator, not a direct attempt to sound like a revived corpse, but to bring a bit of humanity into the lyrical content of being reanimated as slave for the sole purpose to kill, to live and die constantly in complete agony forever.

Do you have any goals for Ritual Exhumation?

At the moment, it’s a case of getting the name around and networking as much as possible. We currently have ongoing dealings with a label to release it on CD and other formats, but that’s yet to be confirmed officially. Hopefully soon!

How did the recording process go?

The EP was recorded in 5 days, so bearing that in mind it was a very focussed effort, and fortunately with a very minimal amount of set-backs. As with most sessions the drums were recorded first within 2 10 hour days, then the guitars, bass and vocals were tracked. I was overseeing and present every day of the recording process , myself and the Engineer (Graham Waller) were totally wiped-out after that one week of little sleep and relentless concentration. We took a few moments to kick-back and chill with some music, food and some funny youtube stuff. The whole thing was a learning curve, and am very pleased with the results that were achieved within the time constraints.

Is there anything on the release you’re not satisfied with?

I think anyone who says they wouldn’t change anything in hindsight is kidding themselves, to be honest. You are your own worst critic, thus naturally there will be tiny changes you would make personally, for example a particular note on a solo, or a vocal or drum pattern you think could have been performed better. Unnoticeable to anyone else who listens to it but only picked-out by yourself really. So in essence, there are one or two things I would change but fortunately we can live with them!

Do you want to discuss any of the lyrics on the album and any themes/hidden meanings/etc. that might be there?

Yeah, sure. The lyrics are very straightforward, no hidden or subliminal meanings behind them as such. They’re simply inspired by morbid horror stories/movies and matching the visual themes for us. The themes are essentially all based around necromancy and death rituals/rites with an apocalyptic goal, with narratives and side-stories in between. A lot of inspiration comes from the Necronomicon by Lovecraft and related grimoires in terms of direct literary inspiration. I’m an avid fan of 80′s horror and splatter films and comics, it’s usually easy enough to write lyrics to these themes but it’s tough to attempt a new angle when a lot of the subject matter has been broached upon before. So just sticking to familiar territory lyrically just fits and suits the sound we’re trying to achieve.

What’s your songwriting process?

Majority of the writing in the early days started as just me and Alex bouncing ideas off each other and listening to a ton of music. The writing process sped-up dramatically when Lee joined, which then transpired into just the two of us meeting-up every weekend and continually getting a better sense of how the structures should form. The latter part of the writing process is still the same to this day, and we are currently writing new material too.

How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?

In the near future, the direction intends to remain on the same plateau as the EP in terms of style, atmosphere and riffs. Still taking huge influence from classic releases and present releases too.

What does the future hold for Monumentomb?

At present, we are playing our first festival in August in the UK with Onslaught. After that, we have 2 London dates in September with Krow and October with Gravecrusher. And after that, we’re focussing on getting a full-length released and alongside that, we’re looking to and hoping to get onto a tour in the future as well. We intend to remain as an active live band as much as possible, so, touring is always at the forefront of our minds!

Thanks!

Usurpress/Bent Sea – Split (Review)

Usurpress are a Death Metal band from Sweden and for this split they have gone halves with International Grindcore supergroup Bent Sea.

Usurpress give us three tracks, the first of which is an intro.

The second song, A Tidal Wave of Fire, is the main meat of their split and is 7 minutes of impressive death-dealing, whilst the third is shorter but no less rabid.

The band play Crusty Swedish Death Metal with an underground swagger and a healthy groove. Rather than adopting that famous chainsaw sound though, the band have opted for a dirtier, less-produced sound. It’s raw and nasty but suits the nature of the music.

The vocals are grim growls that alternate with infected screams, as well as a bit of semi-sung spoken word.

Bent Sea are up next with 8 tracks of furious Grind.

In contrast to Usurpress’ rawness, Bent Sea have a more professional sheen, albeit one that’s still heavy and very aggressive.

Taking cues from Napalm Death, Terrorizer and Repulsion, they savagely hack their way through the songs with aplomb and violence.

That the band is comprised of seasoned veterans is never in doubt, as their mastery of the genre is apparent from the start.

Each song is expertly executed and delivered with venom and bile. I’ve always loved the singer of Aborted’s voice and to hear him on these tracks is a great pleasure.

A very enjoyable split, with the Bent Sea tracks in particular shining bright.

Worth it.

Morthus – The Abyss (Review)

This is the début EP from Polish Blackened Death Metallers Morthus.

This is a 3 track EP that contains such wonders in its short playing time!

It starts with the track Torment; suitably titled, it seems to be the usual kind of perfunctory intro until it redeems itself with some actual music about halfway through. This segues into the second track Beast from the Abyss and it’s clear that although this is their first non-demo release, it’s impressively professional and has a great sound.

The band play with a Death Metal core while adding some melodic Black Metal influences to the riffs and the occasional scream that enhances the main growling vocals. Merging the two genres of Black and Death can sometimes create mixed results, but they have distilled their influences into the right measures it seems.

The guitars take the Death Metal base and throw in some tricks from both Black and Classic Heavy Metal, including some duelling guitars and some excellent leads/solos.

Stylistically they remind of Hypocrisy in the sense that they combine these three elements quite naturally and seamlessly, although it should be stressed that they don’t actually sound too much like Hypocrisy except in a very superficial way.

The third song is named In the White Wolf’s Kingdom and is another master-crafted combination of the various Metal styles. It slowly unfolds with a Blackly melodic Metal riff into a mid-paced jog before introducing faster elements. They also add additional choral elements to their repertoire and these work very well. It’s another win for Morthus who suitably demonstrate their talents on this all-too-short EP.

Morthus are a perfect example of why the Extreme Metal underground deserves so much support – there are hidden gems tucked away everywhere in plain sight, all you have to do is go looking for them and you will be rewarded.

This is an absolute top-notch release and I cannot wait until they release a full album. If it’s even half as good as this it will be better than most.

Essential listening.

Morbidity – Revealed from Ashes (Review)

Morbidity are from Bangladesh and play Death Metal. This is their début album.

Wow! The first track Decaying Souls immediately has my attention! Only 2 minutes long; it’s an intro essentially, but a damn good one! Bleakly tuneful bass, horror-filled melodics and a creepy vibe enhanced by an ominous church bell, this is a brilliant start to the album that catches and holds the attention straight from the off.

The second track is named Incarnation of Death and picks up where the first one leaves off, introducing the more brutal side of the band. The eerie, creepy riffs are still there, they’ve just been made heavier. Holy shit this band knows how to write some good riffs.

The vocals are deep and cavernous, sounding like something inhuman that’s pulled itself up from The Pit.

The sound this album has is just amazing. It’s deep, heavy and warm. Although it’s an immensely strong sound it doesn’t come off as over-produced and still reeks of the underground and of things left to rot.

The songs are exactly that; songs. They have character and personality, with each song being memorable. There is no filler.

Revealed from Ashes has an element of Swedish Death Metal to its sound in the sense of the creepy, grave-tinged melodics and the heavily tuneful songwriting. All achieved without resorting to That Chainsaw Sound or straying too far into Sweden’s territory.

This may be Old-School Death Metal but this is one decaying cadaver that smells as fresh as the day it died. I can’t write enough good things about this album without it coming off as some form of hyperbole, but suffice to say I love this release.

Morbidity have created an outstanding slab of pure, uncompromising Death Metal. If other bands had even a pinch of their songwriting skills and sense of dynamics and pacing then the Metal scene would be an even better place than it already is.

Okay, so if there’s just one Death Metal album to get this month this is it.

MORBIDDIITTTYYYYYYYYRRRGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Omnihility – Deathscapes of the Subconscious (Review)

Omnihility are from the US and this is their second album of Technical Death Metal.

A top quality album cover is backed up by an album capable of living up to its promise.

Winding, cavernous Death Metal unfolds at speed to create a tangled network of technical riffs, deep growls and intense drumming.

The brutality is firmly in attendance but the technical side of the band makes for sprawling, exploratory songs that expand the potential of the band and draw the listener in.

The riffs are plentiful and abundant, with many flavours to taste. The songs seem to be fashioned from complex weaving of the guitar, threaded through with highly competent drumming and seasoned with a vocalist who has just the right amount of guttural brutality in his voice.

I really enjoyed this album; the Technical meanderings and guitar wanderings combined with the fact that the band simultaneously keep an eye on the overall song structure of each track means that they capably merge impressive playing with actual songs.

This is the kind of album it takes a while to fully absorb and appreciate. So sit back, play loud, and brace yourself for the journey.