Death Metal – Page 231 – Wonderbox Metal

Ferocity – The Sovereign (Review)

Hailing from Denmark, Ferocity play Death Metal with style and skill. This is contemporary Death Metal that combines intricacy, brutality, melody and controlled aggression to get its message across.

There are blastbeats aplenty, but also mid-paced and slower sections showing off The Chug and other assorted riffs that make this album instantly familiar but also most welcome. Relatively diverse, (within the Death Metal genre of course), Ferocity display influences from various different sub-genres of Death Metal without ever being confined to just one of them. Here and there you’ll find elements of modern, US, brutal, technical, mid-paced and hyperblast Death Metal all sharing the same album, and even the same song. In my book this can only be a good thing, especially as in the case of Ferocity it works and doesn’t sound just mashed together.

There are some very nice riffs on this release and some good moments in the songs – a welcome grasp of dynamics by the band of when to go melodic, when to go full throttle, when to ease off, when a solo is required, etc. all within a solid Death Metal framework.

Ferocity live up to their name but are not limited to it – there is more than just blind brutality here and that makes The Sovereign a better album. Recommended.

Merciless Terror – Vile Extinction (Review)

Hailing from the UK – Merciless Terror play Thrash-heavy Death Metal and it’s a joy to listen to; they don’t make them like this very often any more!

This album has a real late 90’s/early 00’s feel to it that fills me with a sense of nostalgia; at the same time however this is a modern take on it as the sound and energy is distinctly 2013 and exists purely to demolish the listener with its brawny bludgeoning.

An old-school vibe with a modern production, (reminiscent of Malevolent Creation as a reference point), this absolutely crushes everything in its path. Plenty of speed and brutality, but with a matching grasp of dynamics and the need for songs and hooks; this harks back to an era when brutality was not the be all and end all of this genre.

With many stomping riffs to be had and a general feeling of strength-through-guitar-power everything seems in place to worship the riff, fast or slow. And why not?

Vocals are not standard cookie-monster style, more a shouted-bark. This works well and also has a nice amount of variety, incorporating screams and some almost Black Metal-ish shouting at times.

Do yourself a favour and check out Merciless Terror as soon as you can.

Harm – Cadaver Christi (Review)

Germany’s Harm play old-school Death Metal, with chainsaw guitars and an uncompromising attitude.

There is some excellent, malevolent riffing on this album and the sense of 90’s Death Metal is strong. A time when constant blast and hyper-technicality were not important, and instead you have songs, riffs and brutal Metal. In fact if I had been told that this was a lost gem from the 90’s recorded at Sunlight Studio I could believe it.

Strength and persistence are key attributes to Harm; the old adage about slow and steady winning the race…well not slow perhaps but they certainly know how to settle into a malevolent groove and make the most of it. All of this is wrapped up in a strong sound that lets you hear every instrument individually and lets everything breathe nicely.

This may be an album steeped in Death Metal’s past, but it’s a past I’m quite comfortable visiting, and Harm are the perfect, brutish guides.

Also; the vocalist sounds like he’s trying to kill himself by vomiting up his insides. What more can you say? Nice work!

Colosso – Abrasive Peace (Review)

The music is state-of-the-art bleeding-edge Extreme Metal, but the vocals are pure Death Metal; powerful and going straight for the throat. Colosso combine the best parts of bands like Behemoth and Nile, add a sprinkling of cyber-Metal akin to Fear Factory at their heaviest, and cap it off with focused brutality.

The songs tear themselves out of the speakers with razor sharp claws and venomous fangs ready to slay everyone in sight. This is music not to be messed with. The album boasts a thoroughly modern production and sound, and all of the benefits that 21st century technology can offer. In fact this is a perfectly judged combination of technological and traditional Metal – rather than swamping the metal with bleeps and break-beats to create some hybrid that is neither techno nor Metal, here the cyber-Metal influences serve to merely accentuate the relevant parts of the songs, while the very Metal guitars, drums and vocals take centre stage.

Eight tracks of thundering Metal later and the album is done. Oh, apart from the obligatory throwaway techno-Metal remix track of course, which does somewhat dilute the essence of the main album by being a rather poor closure after the last track proper has faded away. Nonetheless, this is a minor quibble in what is otherwise an exemplary album and a perfect example of what modern Extreme/Death Metal should sound like in 2013.

As a side-note there is also an instrumental version of this album out there named Peaceful Abrasiveness. That should tell you a lot about the quality of the music here and its ability to stand alone. And with the vocals added…well, that just makes it even better.

Eye of Solitude – Canto III (Review)

And it begins – the start of the apocalypse is soft and gentle; slowly building and eventually giving way to a torrent of Doom so monolithic it’s almost overbearing. The sheer oppressiveness of the deep, deep vocals washing away all resistance to the new world that this depressive, bleak, yet wonderful music heralds.

First comes the Doom, and then comes the blast, but Eye of Solitude even manage to infuse blastbeats with a sense of hopelessness and despair. It may not sound like it, but for this kind of music that’s a compliment. 15 minutes in and the first song has finished. The second starts with no intro; it goes from silence to destruction in the space of a heartbeat. The sense of majesty is terrible to behold.

The nature of Eye of Solitude songs is one of a constant oppressive misery, spiked with the occasional uplifting, hopeful moment, only to have this hope removed and crushed without comment. The songs are long, the emotions deep. There is also a sense of frustration at play here; as if there is a railing and thrashing against the inevitable, before final acceptance takes place.

One of the clever aspects of this album is the simultaneous appearance of uniformity and linearity while at the same time having dynamics that are merely disguised by the highly emotive atmosphere that Eye of Solitude foster. This is a masterful stroke as it adds a layer of depth and complexity to the songs that is not always apparent on first listen – the very definition of discovering something new every time.

Based on the strength of their previous releases this is an album that I have been looking forward to, and I am very pleased to say I am not disappointed. Essential.

Warmaster – The End of Humanity (Review)

Warmaster play old-school Death Metal in the style of Bolt Thrower, Obituary and the like. This style comes from an era when playing as fast/technical as you possibly can just wasn’t necessary and this really shows in the songs, as songs is exactly what we get. Unconcerned with these added-on extras to the Death metal repertoire, Warmaster play Death Metal as it originally was intended – with menace and skill.

Vocals are measured, good quality and are in the classic Death Metal vein. The drums hammer a steady beat to the relentless riffing and punishment metered out by the guitars. The odd solo or two also adds a splash of colour to proceedings while not sounding out of place. The songs are generally mid-paced with the occasional faster bit, but there is enough quality and variety of riffing to keep you engaged throughout the album.

Challenging all who hear them not to be carried away in a rapture of calls to war and destruction; I can imagine that these songs would translate extremely well into the live environment. Groove, melody and heaviness combining to make the foot tap, fist clench and head bang. And that’s just in the privacy of your own speakers. The more volume the better! Listening to this album it’s easy to get carried away with it. The End of Humanity is a respectable length at just under 47 minutes long bit it seems shorter than this as it passes by in such an agreeable way that I could, (and did), quite happily start it again from the beginning upon completion.

There’s more to Death Metal than just blasting. Discover the banner of Warmaster and let them lead you to victory.

Weapon – Naga: Daemonum Praeteritum (Review)

Oh this is wonderfully dirty underground Black Metal! Gritty and raw. The kind of sound that can garrotte the unwary listener at 100 yards.

This is a collection of three demos, (Within the Flesh of the Satanist, Violated Hejab and Para Bhakti…Salvation), all remastered by Lars Broddesson of Marduk. The sound is brutal and distorted; filthy and fuzzy. This is the sound of a band expressing themselves with whatever means at their disposal – straight for the jugular.

For the main the vocals are guttural shouts – almost what you’d expect from old-school Death Metal rather than Black Metal, but it suits the style well. There is also some variety in places; from almost-spoken harshness to slightly higher-pitched-but-still-quite-deep; enough to keep the listener interested.

The music is slithering, sharp and surprisingly rhythmic in the drum department on occasion. The riffs are simple and classic for the most part, but they are not afraid to experiment as the needs of the song dictate, with plenty of interest and ideas to be had throughout. The emphasis here is on expressing feelings of darkness and hate and vomiting them forth into the recording, a tone which is captured well.

The sound may be primitive but that shouldn’t put you off – here we have some perfect examples of aggressive underground Black Metal that any true fan of the genre can’t help but appreciate.

Overall I would rate this release very highly indeed. It’s non-generic, interesting and has plenty of feeling and passion. What more could you want?

Master – The Witchhunt (Review)

Having a legacy spanning the better part of 30 years Master need no introduction. It’s heartening to see that after all this time they are still releasing records of a high calibre and keeping up with their peers and the new breed.

Tight playing, good songwriting, top-quality recording – all of the things you would expect from this release – all accounted for.

And of course the vocals; Paul Speckmann’s distinctive growls are accounted for also. A kind of sliding, slithering, snarling sound. Quite distinctive, especially in an age where generic-cookie-monster vocals are ubiquitous. In a way this is Master’s USP and can be make-or-break for some people. Love or loathe; it’s readily identifiable and adds a unique edge to the band that so many others lack.

This is old-school Death Metal played with conviction and skill, with no regard whatsoever for what is going on in the wider Death Metal scene. And why should it? As one of the originals Master can pretty much do what they like. Thankfully, rather than sully their legacy by changing styles, experimenting, or any other number of potentially dangerous things; they have chosen to release another album chock to the brim with blasts, riffs, and honest-to-goodness Pure Death Metal.

Listen to Master – what’s not to like?

Noisem – Agony Defined (Review)

Old-school Death/Thrash Metal with some distinctly hardcore influences. Not Deathcore, not Metalcore; hardcore. Old-school hardcore. Old-school hardcore mixed with a dirty Thrash/Death. There we are then.

This album is short and to the point. Thrash/hardcore inspired Death Metal riffs lash out at the listener, while the simple-but-effective drums pummel you into submission and the shouted Death Metal vocals roar and gnash angrily. Like a crazed, starved and disfigured attack dog and twice as ugly. This is not music for passers by. This is music for people that live it. For people that want a gritty realism to their songs; a brutality of awareness and apathy to destruction.

A great album for when you want a no-frills approach to aggression, and a stark reminder of all that made you like extreme metal in the first place. It’s not perfect or pretty, but that’s the entire point.

Lycanthrophy – Lycanthrophy (Review)

Grindcore! Pure, unadulterated, no-frills grindcore.

The guitars have a very punk/hardcore feeling to most of the riffs and this is just a joy as it almost feels like a band such as Madball have gone all grind – an aural beating but one where you ask for more. The drums are a relentless battering when going all-out, but also know when to hold back and provide a just a back-bone to the music and supply the groove for the punky riffs.

The vocals alternate between shouting (essentially) and screams. Basic but performed well; it fits the music perfectly.

There’s no great mystery or secret to this style of music – you either like it or you don’t. Me? I like grindcore. I especially like grind that’s done well. This is grind that hits the spot perfectly. Simple, stripped-down and rabid. 17 minutes, 20 tracks, perfection.

If you like grind you should get this. It really is that straightforward.

https://myspace.com/lycanthrophy