Death Metal – Page 232 – Wonderbox Metal

Exhumer – Degraded by Sepsis (Review)

Italian band Exhumer play brutal Deathgrind, and they play it well. It’s not a very long album, but with this style of music that’s a given. It’s not necessary either; too long and it could outstay its welcome. As it is the running time is just right for the dose of brutality that is dished out here. And brutal it is.

After a perfunctory intro; first track proper “Vapours of Cadaveric Mucilage” sets the scene perfectly. Straight out of the gate they lay their cards on the table and go for the kill. The song blasts out of the gates like a rabid attack dog that knows exactly where all of your weak points lie.

A tendency sometimes for bands such as this can be to go for the ultra-ridiculous pig-noise vocals. Thankfully that isn’t the case here. The vocalist acquits himself nicely, having a nice and satisfying deep growl which is used to great effect across the album. The overall sound is not a cold and clinical one as you may expect either; rather it is warm and pulsing – like you can feel the blood coursing!

It’s not all blast though. They do throw in the odd brief respite from the carnage as well, in the form of “Misery” and “Scent of Decomposition”, and then we’re back to the mayhem once more!

For a short album with short songs the tracks are remarkably well composed. As well as the blasting carnage there are also slower paced parts occasionally, as well as some nice meaty riffs to get sucked in by.

All in all a superior deathgrind release for sure – a lot of bands could learn from Exhumer.

https://www.facebook.com/exhumer.official

http://www.last.fm/music/Exhumer

Eye of Solitude – Sui Caedere (Review)

UK-based Eye of Solitude play slow, dirge-y funeral doom. Imagine a band like Esoteric only with some Paradise Lost-esque riffs/melodies, topped off with some very nice vocals. Ahh yes; the vocals. The vocals are absolutely relentless – pure, deep, utterly uncompromising growls. The vocals fit the music perfectly and almost act as another instrument used to flatten the listener with their oppressive aural assault.

As well as the slow, crawling, very-heavy nature of the music, Eye of Solitude display a welcome grasp of songcraft and melody. This means that the songs don’t get boring or outstay their welcome, as well as having an emotional content which enhances the general feeling of the album to the point where even on the first listen you know that this is going to be a ‘grower’ of an album; the more you listen to it the better it gets.

Interspersed with all of the heaviness are also some quieter, more introspective moments that allow the listener a brief respite before being steamrollered once more by the crushing doom on offer here. It all works very well. “A Note to Say Farewell” is a great example of this.

This is the kind of album I can just sit back; turn up loud; and just let the soundscapes wash over me. The sheer feeling of the tracks on display here; the combination of songwriting, melody and atmosphere that gives the album something special and definitely makes it stand out from its peers.

Highly recommended. If you even vaguely like this genre of music then you will enjoy this band.

Ad Patres – Scorn Aesthetics (Review)

I am a fan of all types of extreme metal, although I definitely go through phases where I favour one particular genre or other for a while. Sometimes it may be Black Metal; sometimes Grindcore; recently I went through a massive Doom-favouring phase. At the moment it’s Death Metal; specifically Brutal Death Metal. Which brings me to Ad Patres; a French band who fill this need of mine perfectly.

The songs are well constructed, well played and the album has a good clear sound. Ad Patres not only have great energy in their songs, but they also display an above-average grasp of dynamics and songwriting skills which makes for an album that is very enjoyable but that also has longevity and won’t simply be forgotten in a couple of weeks. And let us not forget the riffs! Plenty in abundance.

Some Death Metal can be very one dimensional, but this isn’t just pure blasting brutality; there are also slower sections as well as some nice solo’s and melodic sections. A perfect example of this is a song like To the Fathers which is as brutal as anything for the most part, but has a section near the latter end of the song where the brutality eases off and we get a slower, more melodic and emotive section that is very well done indeed.

A top quality album – I highly recommend this to anyone who likes their Death Metal.

Xul – Malignance (Review)

From Canada; Xul play a bludgeoning brand of blackened Death Metal, with plenty of confidence and assurance. Xul combine both Black and Death Metal in a meaningful way – imagine a sound that is half-way between Behemoth and Dimmu Borgir, sans symphonics, (if that makes any sense).

At about 38 minutes in duration the album is just about the right length. Gritty and raw but still sounding tight and professional – the songs zoom by in a whirlpool of brutality and dark melody.

Sit back, hit play and hold on!

Coffins – Buried Death (Review)

Doomy Death Metal from Japan is the order of the day here. Imagine the doom-death of a band like Incantation, and combine this with the swagger of a band like Orange Goblin – you get the idea. This formula may sound a little unusual at first but trust me it works and makes for a very enjoyable album to boot.

Here we have slow, (mostly), sludgy Death Metal with plenty of atmosphere and attitude. The production fits the sound perfectly – strong without being clean, murky without being sloppy. Each song has a definite old-school vibe that is missing from a lot of Death Metal these days and contributes to the enjoyment factor. Even on the first listen it sounds like an old friend, but not in a bad, heard-it-all-before way; rather the familiarity is welcome and adds to the overall feeling of a high-quality release with enjoyable songs.

I highly advise you have a listen as soon as you can!

Suffocation – Suffocation (Review)

Suffocation have been around for some time now and are relatively well known, so this band needs no real introduction I feel. Suffice to say that technical and brutal Death Metal is the order of the day here; and Suffocation do what they do very well in deed.

This album is well-written and composed, and has a very good production with all of the instruments clear and well-recorded. The vocals are nice and deep, as you’d expected from a band of this style, but still remain legible in cases as they are not of the bowel-loosening-low variety.

Probably their slowest release, (but still with more than enough speed and blast); this is an album of riffs. Riffs galore, riffs aplenty, riff-driven. The riffs alone are enough to justify getting this album, let alone everything else.

A strong album; this should be a comfortable fit as part of any Death Metal fan’s collection.

https://www.facebook.com/suffocation

The Black Dahlia Murder – Everblack (Review)

There is something innately enjoyable about The Black Dahlia Murder. Essentially taking all of the best bits of bands like At The Gates and adding extra speed and bite with some deeper vocals, this is the absolute best that Melodic Death Metal has to offer the world. And the offering is goooood!

One of the things that like most about this band is the combination of good songwriting, good solos, and just good energy. This is the closest you can probably come to “happy” extreme music without being ridiculous. It’s not “happy” music of course; it has a dark edge and it has bite, but the energy is there in spades and it’s sometimes hard to stay still when listening to them!

Having said all of this though it’s important to remember that although this is a great album, they have released better in the past. That should not diminish this album at all of course; it just means that whatever they do next could be even better as they continue to develop and refine their sound. Until then I’ll be listening along and thrashing out!

Check them out –

http://metalblade.com/bdm/

Cut the End – Dawn’s Death to Dusk

After their good-but-rather-average 2008 release The Beauty is Inside, Cut the End returned in 2011 with something very special indeed.

Death Metal gone post-rock. Post-Death Metal? Cut the End could very well be to Death Metal what Enslaved are to Black Metal. Here we have some epic length songs that rely on solid writing and delivery to entrance the listener in each and every turn.

Imagine a band like Cult of Luna if instead of a hardcore/post-rock background they had a Death Metal one with some nice thrash-y riffs sprinkled liberally around. The songs grow and grow, twist and turn, in the pleasing manner of old-school thrash epics such as The Call of Ktulu, etc. High praise I’m sure you’ll agree, but this band are something a bit different and more than live up to it.

If you are a bit tired of Death metal and are looking for something a bit more, yet still within the Death Metal genre then this is the band for you. Or maybe you like your post-rock and shoegaze, but wish is had a bit more bite? This is the band for you.

Have a listen and I’m sure you’ll be hooked.

https://myspace.com/cuttheend

Hypocrisy – A Taste of Extreme Divinity

I have been a fan of Hypocrisy since their 1999 self-titled album, and since then I have been hooked. Across their many albums they have been quite diverse; playing everything from brutal Death Metal, to Black Metal and everything in between.

This album, from 2009, can best be described as melodic Death Metal – catchy songs with good choruses are abundant here. Comparisons can be made to bands such as Amon Amarth in this respect; as this album follows in a similar vein to their output. If you like this style of music, or indeed Amon Amarth; then it’s a safe bet you’ll like A Taste of Extreme Divinity.

With Peter Tägtgren behind the helm you should already know that the sound on this album is suitably huge, with his voice complementing this nicely.

Strongly recommended for some good headbanging fun!

https://www.facebook.com/hypocrisy

Birth Through Gore – Reign of Depravity

Here we have some brutal Death metal from Greece, and my my is this a brutal affair! Sticking within the constraints of the genre; they nonetheless do a very good job of creating a very satisfying Death Metal experience. Everything is in place here – massive, full-production sound; faster-than-everything drums; guitars that bite; and vocals that are deep enough to be brutal as hell, but not so deep as to descend into comedy pig-squeals.

The songs whizz by in a blur of technical riffage and brutality, but they are also not afraid to slow things down a bit now and again to break what might otherwise become monotony, (although this is a relative term of course – their slower bits would still be faster than a lot of other bands).

All in all a very satisfying release that grows in enjoyment on subsequent listens and as the nuances of the songwriting and guitar riffs start to make themselves known. Recommended.

https://www.facebook.com/BirthThroughGore

http://www.last.fm/music/Birth+Through+Gore