This is the second EP from Engulf, a death metal solo act from the US.
This 11-minute EP wastes no time in establishing the dominance of its brutal death metal assault. This is music that takes no prisoners in its quest to lay waste to everything and everyone around it. Continue reading
This is the debut demo from Pandrador, a death metal band from Poland.
Śmierć Baldura contains three songs, along with an intro track, and lasts 13 minutes in duration. Continue reading
Neter are a Spanish death metal band and this is their third album.
I have fond memories of 2015’s Idols, so it’s good to see the band return with some new material. I very much like the striking album art for this release too. Continue reading
Dyscarnate are a UK death metal band and this is their third album.
Dyscarnate play heavy, modern, aggressive death metal. With All Their Might in general can probably be described in a cursory fashion as a mix of Deicide, Job for a Cowboy, Kataklysm, and Decapitated, although this is only a starting point and there’s a lot more to this album than this might lead you to believe. Continue reading
Inferum are a death metal band from the Netherlands and this is their debut EP.
This is modern death metal that contains elements of both groove metal and deathcore. Continue reading
Decapitated are a Polish death metal band and this is their seventh album.
I’ve always really enjoyed Decapitated’s work, and this latest album is no exception, despite the band being quite a different proposition to the one that produced albums that were techdeath stunners like The Negation. Continue reading
This is the début album of these French death metallers.
This is modern technical death metal that will easily find fans in people who like bands such as The Faceless, Gorod, Decapitated, Aborted, Wormed, First Fragment, etc.
Algorithm of Destruction has a clean, precise sound that Continue reading
Neter are a Spanish Death Metal band and this is their second album.
This is well-recorded and precise Death Metal that mainly shies away from the faster, more brutal end of the spectrum and instead concentrates on rhythmic execution and melodic accompaniment.
This isn’t to say that the band don’t know how to knock out a blast beat when they need to, (there are plenty of these), it’s just that this isn’t their only or even main mode of assault.
Sharing aspects of bands such as Bolt Thrower and Morbid Angel, Neter combine this with elements of the Polish scene like Decapitated and Vader. As such, Idols covers quite a bit of ground, all in a solid, proficient manner.
The rolling double bass and pulsating guitars are clipped and efficient, lending a vitality and instant-appeal to the music. The guitars knock out riffs with ease and these roll out of the speakers in a very ear-friendly fashion. Solos and leads are done well and add to the songs.
The singer seems more than qualified for his position and growls his heart out alongside the pummelling drums and undulating guitars.
The entire album sounds familiar enough to be instantly appealing, yet not too similar to the band’s Death Metal heroes that it becomes off-putting or derivative.
Idols is competent Death Metal played professionally. Check it out.
Amenthes are a US Death Metal band and this is their début EP.
Amenthes play Modern Death Metal with a hint of Grind and even Black Metal.
Vocals are various growls with added screams. Duties are shared between the main singer and a guitarist/bassist; they’re ably done and not without personality.
The music is darkly brutal and there’s enough character and passion to the riffs to help Amenthes stand out from the pack.
On this release Classic Death Metal riffing has been combined with more modern chops to create a blend of the old and new. This is added to on occasion by a Grindcore influence that allows the band to let their focused assault slip off and get a bit more frenzied. Some of the riffs have a slight Black Metal flavour to them, lending the band a dark feeling to some of the parts of the songs.
I can hear shades of Cannibal Corpse, Martyr Defiled, Decapitated, All Shall Perish, Job for a Cowboy, Hiss from the Moat and others in their sound. It’s a good mixture that allows the band freedom to do what they want without losing the core brutality that all Death Metal has.
Blast beats and energetic riffs lead the way while the vocals snarl their way through the carnage. I enjoy a good solo and the band have got me covered in this respect too.
I like that there are a few different things going on here, with some nice ideas sharing space with the heavy Death Metal.
This is a very enjoyable release from a band who have real enthusiasm and the songs to match.
Highly recommended.
Embrional are a Death Metal band from Poland and this is their second album.
If the album cover alone doesn’t make you want to listen to this album then I don’t know what will.
This is evil and sinister Death Metal that blasts and thrashes around with the best of them but still keeps an air of the malevolent occult.
The sound is one of a good quality underground band; professional enough to do the music justice yet loose enough to allow the band’s black light to shine through.
Decent growling vocals are ably performed and the singer has a satisfying roar.
The songs are enjoyable slices of dark death and the band have enough ideas and variety within their brutal assault to provide something a little different from a straight ahead Brutal Death Metal band.
Strewn around the rubble of the main Death Metal assault are moments of bleak atmosphere and surprising detail. Elements of near-Black Metal introspection occur and are swiftly combined with the Death Metal assault to create interesting songs that definitely have their own personality.
The band clearly have a good grasp of pacing and know how to follow a good line of riffing to its (un)natural conclusion. In pretty much every song there are a few choice moments where you sit back and think “Ooooo this is a good bit”.
If you’re looking for some occult Death Metal that’s a little different and has more to offer than just pure brutality then The Devil Inside is definitely worthy of your attention.
Favourite Track: Hard to pick, but maybe Funeral March; it’s one of the more Black Metal/Doom inspired songs here yet still finds time for some blasting brutality and a breakdown-style section that would do Decapitated proud. Essentially, like the album as a whole, it’s just really damn good.
