Tag: Extreme metal

Hybrid Nightmares – Hybrid Nightmares (Review)

hybrid nightmaresHybrid Nightmares are an Australian Extreme Metal band with Black Metal and Progressive leanings.

This band are clearly talented at what they do, and what they do is craft Extreme Metal songs. These songs have a solid foundation in Black Metal but have embraced Progressive Metal tendencies that lift the tracks outside of the original genre and into a wider arena. In fact the main thing that’s Black Metal about them is the vocals and logo really.

The Second track Upon the Cursed Wings is a perfect example of this. It starts with a Metal, almost rocky swagger before slowing down to a nice groove with the Black Metal vocals kicking in. The double-bass sections, solid melodies and nice chuggy riffs reveal a real knack for songcraft. Bands like Septic Flesh, Agathodaimon, certain bits of Dimmu Borgir, (sans orchestration), and even Amon Amarth spring to mind.

The recording is as good as anything out there at the moment – everything sounds crystal clear and full of life. There’s been no slacking in this department, or any other. This is a consummately professional release in every way. This doesn’t leave the music sounding soulless and clinical however. Actually the opposite is true as the songs are presented in an appropriate format that allows the listener to take in everything that is going on, and that’s quite a bit. Special mention should indeed go to the riffs – there are some stormers here! Ashes of an Astral Winter is a veritable riff-fest of top Metal calibre.

A really good EP. If they get their foot in the door of the international stage they could go far.

Mortal Decay – The Blueprint for Blood Spatter (Review)

Mortal DecayMortal Decay are veterans of the USDM scene having been birthed in 1991. This is their 4th album and their first in 8 years. And it’s good. Very good.

Blasting USDM in the classic mould with plenty of brutality, blastbeats and harmonics to satisfy even the most jaded Metal fan. Quite simply this album dares you not to bang that head and just destroys anyone foolish enough to get in the way of this juggernaut.  This is Death Metal for Death Metal fans, pure and unadulterated.

They deal in precise, choppy songs filled with blasting and gore-soaked vocals professionally delivered and wrapped in skin. The stench of the last victim still present as they rip, tear and shred their way through the next one.

If you’re a fan of Death Metal then you can’t go wrong with this.

Corrupt Moral Altar – Whiskey Sierra (Review)

Corrupt Moral AltarUK based Corrupt Moral Altar play dirty sludgey Grindcore with lashings of filth and passion. This is ugly music for people who know what they like and couldn’t care less what the latest trends are.

The first song blasts out of the speakers like a ferocious angry animal; all teeth, claws and invective. It’s only three minutes long but it’s amazing how much content they cram into it.

Blasting, mid paced, sludge, atmospherics – all raise their bruised heads and have their time in the sun. It’s amazing that they find the time to slow down and inject quality Doom and sludge into their sound – this band are certainly not a one-trick blast pony.

Throughout these four songs the vocals lash and rage in high-pitched screams, as well as deeper shouts and even a nice bit of pig-noise depending on the whims of the Grindcore muse.

Ten minutes is all we get, but ten minutes of highly-inventive grinding extreme Metal that manages to pack more ideas into its short running time than a lot of bands do in a career. If you like Grind or just top quality extreme Metal then this is as near to essential a ten minutes as you’re going to find anywhere.

Ferocity – The Sovereign (Review)

FerocityHailing 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.

Colosso – Abrasive Peace (Review)

ColossoThe 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.

Warmaster – The End of Humanity (Review)

WarmasterWarmaster 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.

Master – The Witchhunt (Review)

MasterHaving 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)

NoisemOld-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.

Acrania – The Beginning Of The End (Review)

AcraniaAcrania are from the UK and play Death Metal that although shares ground with Deathcore, I see it as more in the vein of the bouncy, chuggy, Dying Fetus-style of Death Metal rather than the more generic, break-down infested style that most people seem to associate with Deathcore. Either way this 5 track EP is enjoyable, nicely written, and suitably heavy and brutal that I fail to see what there isn’t to like really. Play it loud and feel the groove.

The sound is well-recorded and sounds suitably huge and heavy for a release such as this. As well as The Blast this album has The Chug all over the shop. This is where things could, in theory, get a bit pedestrian; but I am pleased to say that this is not the case as everything fits together nicely within the structure of the song. They don’t heavily rely on done-to-death chugs/breakdowns and instead keep things a bit more interesting, lively and full of energy. In fact I’d say that there aren’t any real Deathcore-style breakdowns here as such in any case. As mentioned previously; think more Dying Fetus-style Death Metal and you’ll get the idea.

The vocals on this EP are excellent. The range, diversity and quality all deserve praise and certainly add the icing on top of a very brutal cake.

A short release that bodes very well for things to come. If they can come up with a full album of this type of material that allows them to retain the energy and focus that is displayed here then that will be something I look forward to.

Abominant – Onward to Annihilation (Review)

AbominantAbominant play blackened Death Metal – theirs is primarily a Death Metal style that mixes both brutality and melodies but also has enough elements of Black Metal to be considered blackened rather than just pure Death Metal. Genre pigeon-holing notwithstanding; this is a premier release by these USDM veterans.

I was hoping that this album was going to be a good one, but in all honesty I was unprepared for how much I actually liked it. The songs have a certain feeling that allow them to rub shoulders with the best that Death Metal has to offer and not feel out of place. They may rarely be uttered in the same breath as bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Nile, (etc). as titans of the genre, but then to the trained listener Abominant actually sound very little like those bands. They do, however, stand quite nicely on their own laurels.

This release should satisfy any fan of extreme metal. Strong musicianship? Varied vocals? Songwriting skills? Dynamics? Brutality? Powerful melodies? Hypocrisy cover (Left to Rot)? Unexpected-80’s-speed-metal-song (Hold Your Ground)? All of these and more are the treasures awaiting the unprepared listener!

Along with the recent release by Nephren-Ka this is the strongest Death Metal album I have heard recently. You need this.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Abominant/152430868173200