Death Metal – Page 227 – Wonderbox Metal

Warfather – Orchestrating the Apocalypse (Review)

Warfather sees the return of ex-Morbid Angel growler Steve Tucker; he of the amazing Death Metal Premier League lungs.

His voice doesn’t disappoint on Orchestrating the Apocalypse and he puts in a fine performance full of character and passion. He has a clear, deep growl that nonetheless retains legibility of the majority of the lyrics.

Warfather play Morbid Angel-influenced Death Metal with a lot of ideas and interesting touches. Inventive rhythms, melodies, effects/sounds and even some choral vocals all appear in places. It’s clear that even though they play what is at its core Brutal Death Metal, they are not interested in limiting themselves and instead take the time to add a bit of experimentation into the mix. All of which is very welcome and adds a kind of pseudo-operatic theme to the album.

The tracks are full of expert guitar work; complex riffing, chaotic time-changes and a plethora of solos and flourishes. Each song is seemingly cobbled together from random bits of an Extreme Metal nightmare, and somehow given coherence by a sheer force of will of the musicians involved.

A challenging album that I feel is destined to be misunderstood by many; this is varied, interesting and recommended to anyone who likes a little bit of something different with their Metal.

Interview with Lay Down Rotten

In Deathspell Catharsis Lay Down Rotten have released a monster of a Death Metal album that does the genre proud. With the precision of veterans and the passion of youth it’s time they answered some questions about how this came about.

For those unfamiliar with your band, introduce yourself!

Hello guys. My name is Jost and I am the vocalist of the Death Metal band Lay Down Rotten that was founded 15 years ago. Deathspell Catharsis is our 7th album to date!

What are your influences?

We have our roots in the Death Metal of the early 90s. Influences and inspirations were and are bands such as Death, Edge Of Sanity, At The Gates. But we have developed a lot since we started out and now we got our own style and sound. We see ourselves as an unique autonomous Death Metal act rather than a copy of a plagiation or trendbands which are very common nowadays.

What are you listening to at the moment that you want to recommend?

I constantly listen to Danzig´s Lucifuge at the moment. But also Woods of Ypres is one of my favourites at the moment. I cannot get enough of this band. Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light is a fantastic album and “Travelling Alone” is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. R.I.P. David Gold!!!!!!!

The songs on the album are longer than “standard”. Do you have any guidelines when writing songs?

Over the years we developed an instinct for laying down the right length of a song. We didn´t pay any attention to this aspect with the new record as everything suited us just fine. Even longer sounds do not sound boring. The dynamic and tempo changes make every song interesting and worthwhile listening to.

How did the lyrics come about?

Me and my brother Elmo (singer of the Pornrockband Kamikaze Kings) write the lyrics for Lay Down Rotten. We have been working for years together and wrote the lyrics for 5 albums so far. We wanted pure fucking Death Metal lyrics for this album as we love Death Metal… lyrics about zombies and human sacrifices included. The lyrics can be seen as a homage to our heroes and our view on some topics as well as an expression of our passion for Metal.

How did the recording progress? Any issues?

No problems at all. We worked with T-Low from the Desert Inn studios again because he knows who we are and what we need as he produced the last 6 albums. It is a perfect match and we are a dream team.

You’ve had many releases now, what keeps you motivated to keep playing Metal?

Music and first of all Metal of course. It´s the best thing in the world. What I love the most is being part of this band, to create music. The music that I love: Death Metal. We always look forward. We do not need motivation or anything. We do what we love and we never stop.

The album is very accomplished – are you happy with it or is there anything you’d change?

I feel like this album is a step further in the right direction. We accomplished a fine balance between brutality and melody. This is a fundamental we can count on.

I love the album cover. How important is the artwork to you?

Thanks! It represents the band and the content of a record to the outside world. The album cover is the first thing you notice even before you hear the first riff. Toshihiro Egawa did a great job again on doing this tremendous cover artwork for us. He and our guitarist Nils worked very hard to develop the concept and achieved outstanding results.

What’s next for Lay Down Rotten? What does 2014 bring?

We will support and promote the new record. We want to play as much open air’s, festivals and club shows as possible. We are planning right now and a tour with our heroes Massacre has been confirmed for May in Germany. Please check our Facebook page and website http://www.laydownrotten.com for further details.

Your Last Wish – Desolation (Review)

Canadian band Your Last Wish play Melodic Death Metal.

After the usual perfunctory opening, first track proper Crisis To Creation opens with a much more impressive dual display of melodics slipping into heavy chugs, repeating over and over until the appetite is well and truly whetted.

Their brand of Melodic Death Metal is fast and sharp, which matches the high-pitched screams of the vocalist who has a rasp to challenge the best of them, although she also does deeper vocals when required.

A starting reference point for this album would be someone like At The Gates or early In Flames. These are only as reference points though as Your Last Wish are not merely wishing to repeat past glories of the masters. They have something of their own to offer.

The riffs are enjoyable and substantial and the crisp, professional sound makes the most of them. Well played solos pour out of the tracks, the vocals are scathing and the drummer provides a backdrop to the carnage.

This is the kind of Melodic Death Metal that they rarely make any more. There is no pretension or leanings of commerciality; no clean harmonies of radio-friendly compromises. This is Metal through and through, and I for one can’t help but like this very talented band.

Give them a listen and give them your support.

Hiss From The Moat – Misanthropy (Review)

Hiss From The Moat play a modern brand of Blackened Death Metal.

After a perfunctory intro we’re straight into the action with Conquering Christianity which is full of solid blasting and evil mayhem. If you think of a band like Goatwhore and have them take their cues from the New-School rather than the Old-School you’ll be in the right ball-park for Hiss From The Moat.

Deep, guttural vocals and higher rasps steer the songs towards their logical conclusions, while well-played, hyperspeed drums anchor everything and allow the guitars to concentrate on the ultra-brutality or blackened rhythms, depending on how the mood takes them. Additional orchestration heightens the atmosphere in select places, and is strategically used for surgical strikes rather than mass slaughter.

Depth and carnage are the watchwords, for the songs stick around long after they have stopped playing, filling you with the urge to experience their nihilistic bludgeoning once more.

The riffs seem to flow like pulsating tar through veins of blackened darkness and spewed out into the unsuspecting light to corrupt and infect everything they touch. The songs offer nothing but hatred and want nothing in return but your demise. Misanthropy in more than just title.

The album is 30 minutes of extremity wrapped in malevolence and served up by a talented group of individuals and guests who know how they like their Extreme Metal, and I heartily agree with their obvious good taste.

Top marks for a top band. More please.

Annihilation – Against the Storm (Review)

Portuguese band Annihilation play Death Metal. This album came out a good few years ago now and judging by what happened when I pressed play it’s a sin that I’ve overlooked them for this long.

When the first track Tortured With Hate started I involuntarily exclaimed “ooooh yeaaah!” under my breath. This is the stuff that keeps me returning to Death Metal again and again and again! After the excitement of the cataclysmic opening I calmed myself and tried to listen objectively, but it was no good; the sheer wanton brutality, infectious guitar melodies and multi-layered demonic-Deicide vocals had me hooked. Bye bye reason, hello Death Metal passion.

The rest of the album doesn’t disappoint. Mechanized drum brutality and sinuous, malevolent guitars battle each other for pride of place. All the time the vocalist, who appears to be blessed with Satan’s own lungs, is giving Glen Benton a serious run for his money in the Top Growler competition that I’m sure is running somewhere in the world as we speak.

It’s not all focused brutality though; there is an evil melodic streak to the band when they want to show it. They also throw in some guitar solos; especially enjoyable are the ones that sound almost lazily played; meandering over the thick chaos of the rest of the song .

This is somewhat of an unexpected revelation; Annihilation have certainly made me a very happy bunny. Can they do the same for you?

Northern Plague – Manifesto (Review)

Northern Plague are Polish and play Blackened Death Metal.

Poland has a high quality pedigree when it comes to Death Metal, and Northern Plague do not let the side down. They play scathing Death Metal with a Blackened sheen; the vocals in particular are more Black than Death.

The guitars have a strong Death Metal focus, with some influence from the Black Metal side of things showing now and again. The song writing is exceptional and the feelings of depth of mood the band evoke is truly something. It’s a very satisfying listen. Brutal yes; but subtle also.

The musicianship all-round is top quality, and I should point out as well that there are some lovely solos and leads on this album. Exquisite.

Each song seems to slide out of some alternate reality ready to strike with a prolonged barrage of attacks. Once the target has been subdued it then slithers off back through the cracks in the world to wherever it came from.

This is an album that should be high on your list of wants for 2014.

SystemHouse33 – Depths of Despair (Review)

Indian band SystemHouse33 play a forward thinking brand of Metal.

After a typical perfunctory intro we get a nice brand of heavy modern Metal with speed, bounce and vocals that sound like they’re going to jump out of the speakers and beat you to death.

There are some good riffs on this album that take some of the best parts of modern Metal but manage to avoid all of the riff-recycling and At The Gates-pillaging that a lot of modern Metal bands end up doing. The drums underpin everything with a relentless backdrop of pounding and punchy beats.

Across the album the band use tools from the Metal, Thrash and even Death Metal toolboxes to build their sound. This is then combined with quasi-Industrial sounds and effects to spice up their music, meaning that a lot of the time there’s more going on than just the Meshuggah-heavy guitars trying to alternately flatten or slice you to death.

A diverse and effective album that is over far too quickly at only 22 minutes. The band seem to have plenty of ideas and no shortage of inspiration in how to apply them.

A quality release that promises bright things for them in the future. For a good blast of non-cliché Metal you can do a hell of a lot worse than this. Listen up.

Necrambulant – Infernal Infectious Necro-Ambulatory Pandemic (Review)

Well well. If this isn’t one of the heaviest starts to one of the heaviest songs ever. Epoch of Nihilistic Cosmic Failure has quite the opening. US band Necrambulant play Brutal Death Metal of the Slammiest Slam variety that ever did Slam. Or something. You get the idea.

The sound of this début album is absolutely huge. You can almost feel the zombies pressing into your flesh like a physical presence.

The riffs are so fat, bloated and outright heavy it’s amazing that the speakers don’t sink into the floor just by transmitting these festering, dense sounds.

The tracks are all about finding the heaviest and most brutal ways to play Death Metal, and everything else is of secondary concern. That’s not to say that all of the other elements to the songs are unimportant or poor, it’s just not the priority here. I mean, they even find ways to sound heavier than normal when going fast. Most of this album is a complete chug-fest though, and it would sound boring if it weren’t for the fact that it’s just done so well.

Slam-style Death Metal garners a healthy amount of criticism in general, for various reasons including a lack of perceived variety, etc. To me any criticism of Necrambulant is missing the point; if you can’t get on board with the sheer level of gleeful ultra-brutality they dish out then I can’t help you. All I can do is recommend that you turn the volume up enough to make your ears bleed and sit in a darkened room until the music just takes you. Once infected by their zombie-plague you’ll be bouncing around like a motherfucker with the rest of us.

Dementia Senex – Heartworm (Review)

Dementia Senex are from Italy and play complex Death Metal with elements of Doom and Sludge mixed in.

Heartworm comes from a dense, murky place where atmosphere and mood are just as important as heaviness and brutality.

The band themselves state their sound as a cross between Gorguts and Cult of Luna, and I’d agree that this is a fair assessment. They combine intricate riffing and complex blasting with wall-of-sound atmospherics and pacing.

The vocals are mainly halfway between a shout and a growl, while third track Heartworm mixes this up a bit with the vocalist trying a few different styles.

This EP only has 3 songs but there is 17 minutes of music here, and quality music too. I also love the EP cover.

I am genuinely excited to hear a full-length from them eventually. The phrase “one to watch” was invented for bands like this.

Gaped – The Murderous Inception (Review)

This is the début EP of Australian Death Metal band Gaped.

Gaped play powerful-sounding Death Metal with lots of emphasis on the heaviness of the guitars and the quality of the riffs.

Mixed in amongst the brutality are snippets of melody and added flourishes, as well as some effective lead work and solos.

There is a fair degree of versatility in the sound, from Six Feet Under-style groove to Bloodbath-style melody to Avulsed-style blasting. In fact, a mix of Bloodbath and Six Feet Under with a hint of Avulsed – probably a good description for how Gaped come across.

The vocals are deep and menacing, but understandable. They chomp and chew their way through the chunky guitars and compete with them for the highest impact.

They end the EP with a cover of Stripped, Raped and Strangled by Cannibal Corpse. It’s very good.

This album is a lesson in focused, structured and planned Death Metal murder. There’s only 23 minutes of music on this album, 20 if you discount the cover; however this is a great release for the discerning Death Metal fan and one can only wait for an album now. Great stuff.