France – Wonderbox Metal

Insain – Spiritual Rebirth (Review)

Insain are a brutal Death Metal band from France. The album starts with a nice, slow, ease-in before entering full-on brutality mode proceeding to pummel the listener into submission, in a thoroughly enjoyable way that only this style of music can do.

This album has a very nice sound – the best way I can describe it is satisfying. As the songs play and the brutality unveils, it feels like a very satisfying listen. This is the kind of album that reminds you why you first got into Death Metal in the first place, and makes you hungry for more.

This is an album that grabs you immediately but it’s also clear that it will stand the test of time and still remain an enjoyable listen down the line. Riffs, beats and (brutal) melodies are in abundance with both simplicity and technicality being displayed.

Special note should go to the vocalist, who I feel has done a particularly good job and whose vocals are very satisfying (there’s that word again) indeed.

Apparently there’s a new album in the works for the near future – after hearing Spiritual Rebirth I can safely say that this is something every Death Metal fan should be looking forward to.

Nephren-Ka – The Fall of Omnius (Review)

There seems to be an upswell of talent in the extreme metal world in France of late. Nephren-Ka are one such band.

Easily boasting enough talent, ideas and skill to propel them to the upper echelons of the Death Metal world; given the chance this band could, (and should), go far.

Although this is, in essence, brutal Death Metal; there is so much more going on here. Elements of most styles of extreme metal are included in the mix at some point or another, (all within a Death Metal framework), with plenty of small touches, flourishes and individuality to make this release stand out head and shoulders above the pack.

The band know how to blast, but crucially also when not to. “Mastering the Voice” for example contains some lovely slow, crawling bits that rival the best similar parts that Cryptopsy have ever done. Some nice solos are scattered around, as well as enough atmosphere to give the album enough variety and interest but never allows it to go off-track and become something it shouldn’t.

The songwriting is top-notch, with plenty of dynamics and riffs to hold the attention and differentiate the individual songs from each other. The vocals also show a pleasing amount of variety, spanning the spectrum from deep to high, as necessary for the requirements of the song.

This is without a shadow of a doubt one of the best Death Metal albums I have listened to in a while, and I unreservedly recommend it for any and all fans of extreme metal. Top stuff.

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.