Henry Kane – Den Förstörda Människans Rike (Review)

Henry KaneHenry Kane is a one-man deathgrind/death metal/crust project from Sweden.

This is quite hard to classify, but essentially Den Förstörda Människans Rike is a festering, ugly mix of Swedish death metal, hardcore/crust and Swedish grind.

This is deathgrind of the highest, yet filthiest variety. Think of a mutant mix of Dismember, Nails, Anaal Nathrakh, Nasum and Martyrdöd. Continue reading “Henry Kane – Den Förstörda Människans Rike (Review)”

Unborn Suffer – Nihilist (Review)

Unborn SufferUnborn Suffer are a deathgrind band from Poland, this is their fifth album.

Nihilist is 28 minutes of brutal death metal and grindcore, both mixed together and boiled alive to create a particularly dirty strain of deathgrind. It’s also quite a non-standard release – not because the band do anything wildly original, but because they’ve firmly stamped their music with their own mark.

To expand on this; the band have a rather unusual Continue reading “Unborn Suffer – Nihilist (Review)”

Urobilinemia – Wriggling Chrysalis of Metaphysical Grudge (Review)

UrobilinemiaUrobilinemia are a Japanese brutal death metal/deathgrind band. This is combination of their split with 妖神楽 (Ayakasi Kagura) and their debut EP.

Featuring a hard-to-decipher band logo and some quite striking cover artwork, the band make a good impression before you even listen to them. And once you do, all Hell breaks loose.

The songs on this release are short, brutal and technical, just what the evil doctor Continue reading “Urobilinemia – Wriggling Chrysalis of Metaphysical Grudge (Review)”

Bent Sea/To Dust – Ascend/Descend – Split (Review)

Bent SeaThis is a split release between Bent Sea and To Dust, both of which play grindcore and both of which feature a plethora of members/ex-members of bands such as Aborted, Megadeth, Soilwork, Napalm Death, (Bent Sea), and Abigail Williams, Vintage Warlords, Humanity Is Cancer, Grave Plague, Fountain of Piss, Severed Remains, The Black Dahlia Murder and Phobia, (To Dust).

Phew. As you can see, there’s a lot of experience here.

The first half of the split is provided by Bent Sea, who give us almost 10 minutes of state-of-the-art ferocity. Continue reading “Bent Sea/To Dust – Ascend/Descend – Split (Review)”

Cicatrix – Suffocated Faith (Review)

CicatrixCicatrix are a Polish deathgrind band, and this is their second album.

Featuring 10 originals and 2 covers of Dead Infection and Terrorizer songs, Cicatrix wear their influences on their collective sleeves and deliver 29 minutes of utter carnage.

This is a mix of brutal death metal and ugly grindcore. The band know how to play fast, but Continue reading “Cicatrix – Suffocated Faith (Review)”

Necroptic Engorgement – Realms of Incessant Bloodshed (Review)

Necroptic EngorgementNecroptic Engorgement are a death metal band from the US. This is their latest EP.

This is brutal death metal with a touch of deathgrind added for extra flavour.

Vocals are either high pitched screeches or deep, guttural growl-barks that sometimes sound unusually legible, but always sound unusually evil. Continue reading “Necroptic Engorgement – Realms of Incessant Bloodshed (Review)”

Carnifliate – Slaughterlust (Review)

CarnifliateCarnifliate are a Slovenian death metal band and this is their début album.

Carnifliate play death metal with a bit of deathgrind and a sizeable chunk of huge grooves.

The songs are brutal and straight to the point, but they’re probably not quite what you Continue reading “Carnifliate – Slaughterlust (Review)”

Morgue Supplier – Morgue Supplier (Review)

Morgue SupplierThis is the second album by US Grinders Morgue Supplier.

This is rabid, brutal Grindcore that takes some Death Metal influences into its nasty embrace, resulting in 41 minutes of punishing Deathgrind.

Fast and intense, the band launch into their assault with glee and these tracks are not for the weak.

An album of this length could get quite boring though in the wrong hands, which is where the Death Metal influence comes in; there’s more than enough tempo changes and slower, groovy riffs to provide additional variety and substance to the aggressive mix.

Scathing screams, sickening shouts and ugly growls provide the vocal contribution and, alongside the well-recorded music, makes for a very satisfying listen.

This is a really enjoyable album. The songs are well-written and provide much more depth and content than a lot of Deathgrind bands aspire to. It has the chaotic mayhem of unhinged Grindcore and the controlled slaughter inherent to Death Metal. Blend these two together and you have a recipe for a winner. It doesn’t stop there though; also add in some atypical, interesting riffs and ideas, and you end up with an album that has far more staying power than most.

A success.

Holocausto Canibal/Desecration – Intravisceral Necropsia – Split

DesecrationHolocausto Canibal are a Portugese Deathgrind band who have teamed up with Desecration, a Death Metal band from the UK, for this short-but-bloody split.

Desecration are a band who I’ve been a big fan of for years, although I must confess I haven’t heard their newer material. As such, I was looking forward to hearing them again on this split. Desecration have always been one of the absolute best Death Metal bands not just in the UK but in the world, and this seemed like the ideal time to get reacquainted with them.

Here they offer us a new song – Intravisceral Exhibition – combined with a remix of Grave Secrets off their Cemetery Sickness album.

Well, as usual, they don’t disappoint. Straight off the bat it’s blasting Death Metal mayhem, with the vocals sounding harsher and more vicious than ever. The band retain the ability to be extreme and, (relatively), catchy at the same time, with the music and vocals working well together rather than off doing their own things, as seems to be the case with a lot of bands.

In addition to speed they always manage to throw in a decent amount of heavy grooving, which is always good to have a bit of a bounce along too, if you’re so inclined.

I’m very happy with their contribution to this split, and in my mind it merely cements their status as a legendary Death Metal band, one of the best in the business.

Holocausto CanibalHolocausto Canibal are up next. Unlike Desecration, I haven’t heard these Portugese veterans before. They offer up one song – Necropsia Cadaverina – and it makes a good impression.

Deep growls and sickened screams herald the onset of something ugly and rotten. They’re not quite as polished as Desecration, nor do they need to be. This is visceral music for bloody-minded people.

This song is a Death Metal-infused, gore-soaked few minutes and the dark rhythms, chugging heaviness and intense riffs make for a most enjoyable track. Proceeding with the intensity of an inhuman killer, utterly focused on its task, Necropsia Cadaverina is a worthwhile introduction for me to the band and definitely makes me happy enough to want to check out their other work.

A top quality split, showcasing two veteran bands that sound as fresh as a dead body. A must-have release.

Norylsk – The Catholic Dictatorship (Review)

NorylskThis is the second album from Polish Grinders Norylsk.

This is ugly Grind for fans of Regurgitate, Brutal Truth and Squash Bowels. It’s fast, brutal and the epitome of savage.

Norylsk largely have an Old-School sound but they do have some modern elements and ideas here and there. This is enhanced by a heavy, modern production.

Growls, screams and something that sounds like gargled broken glass are the main forms of attack from the singer. I worry about the health of his throat.

Norylsk blast, groove and tear their way through these tracks with clinical precision and furious focus. It’s a near-unrelentingly heavy assault and the band clearly know what they’re doing.

This is Deathgrind for people who like the Old-School style delivered in a modern way. It’s an impressively brutal album but one that doesn’t become too one-dimensional thanks to good songwriting and a few non-standard ideas in places, (including clean female vocals and spoken word on Mental Selection).

For Grindcore with weight and substance, look no further.