Venom Prison – Animus (Review)

Venom PrisonVenom Prison are a UK death metal band and this is their debut album.

Mixing heavy death metal with a whiff of the hardcore good stuff, Venom Prison are an aggressive and nasty piece of work.

The band seem to have quite a few strings to their bow. We mainly get high-energy brutality, powered Continue reading “Venom Prison – Animus (Review)”

Keitzer – Ascension (Review)

KeitzerKeitzer are a death metal/grindcore band from Germany and this is their sixth album.

Keitzer’s previous album, The Last Defence,  was one that I particularly enjoyed and have returned to again and again since its release. It was a top display of angry grindcore mixed with death metal rhythm. Ascension picks up where The Last Defence left off, and then goes further down the sonic avenues of extreme metal.

Ascension’s songs are, on average, Continue reading “Keitzer – Ascension (Review)”

Razor Sharp Death Blizzard – You Will Burn (Review)

Razor Sharp Death BlizzardRazor Sharp Death Blizzard are from the UK and play hardcore.

The UK seems to have such a knack for producing some of the angriest, filthiest, nastiest extreme music out there, and Razor Sharp Death Blizzard are a great addition to the wealth of talent that’s available from the country.

This is 36 minutes of hardcore punk and ugly sludge metal that recalls a good mix of Continue reading “Razor Sharp Death Blizzard – You Will Burn (Review)”

Sea of Bones/Ramlord – Split (Review)

Sea of Bones RamlordSea of Bones and Ramlord are both from the US. Sea of Bones play doom, while Ramlord play hardcore.

Sea of Bones have produced some monolithic, crushing doom/sludge metal in their time, so it’s with great joy that I prepared to listen to their half of this split – a single track named Hopelessness and Decay, lasting just under 11 minutes.

Slow and full of apocalyptic inevitability, the track unfolds at minimal speed, Continue reading “Sea of Bones/Ramlord – Split (Review)”

Trap Them – Crown Feral (Review)

Trap ThemTrap Them are a hardcore band from the US. This is their fifth album.

Trap Them play dark hardcore, full of raw nastiness and rabid bite.

The singer has the perfect voice for this kind of thing; completely feral and utterly aggressive. His high-pitched screaming shouts lash out from the music like dangerous bladed weapons, eager to draw blood. With compelling rhythms and engaging, memorable vocal patterns, his voice is the driving factor and focal point for the dark music. Continue reading “Trap Them – Crown Feral (Review)”

Six-Score – Lebensräume (Review)

Six-ScoreSix-Score are an Austrian Grindcore band, and this is their second album.

This is modern-edged grind with plenty of aggression and attitude.

Hardcore and punk influences can be heard alongside quite a few d-beat and crust ones, all mixed in with some metal and grinding ferocity. The parts that are injected with more d-beat and punk stylings are quite energetic, Continue reading “Six-Score – Lebensräume (Review)”

Cara Neir/Wildspeaker – Guilt and His Reflection (Review)

Cara Neir WildspeakerCara Neir are a black metal/crust/grind/whatever band from the US. They have teamed up with Wildspeaker, a blackened sludge/crust band, also from the US.

I’m a big fan of Cara Neir, so as far as I’m concerned any release of theirs is well worth giving a listen to. On this split they contribute seven songs spread over 21 minutes.

You never quite know what you’re going to be getting with Continue reading “Cara Neir/Wildspeaker – Guilt and His Reflection (Review)”

Interview with Forty Winters

Forty Winters Logo

Rotting Empire is the second album from US metal band Forty Winters. Chock-full of heavy riffs and meaty beatdowns, this is metallic hardcore in its original 90s/00s incarnation, all stomping riffs and attitude, but with modern delivery. And do you know what? It’s great to hear.

Jeff Stevenson (Guitar) & Xavier Vicuna (Vocals) filled me in a bit more on all things Forty Winters…

Introduce us to Forty Winters!

Xavier: We’re Forty Winters, metal band from South Florida. We play pissed off music for pissed off people. It’s actually a lot of fun. We love to tour, so make sure you come check out a show if we’re in your area. Continue reading “Interview with Forty Winters”

Myteri – Myteri (Review)

MyteriMyteri are a crust/punk band from Sweden and this is their debut album.

Myteri combine crust and punk influences into 27 minutes of roiling hardcore, recalling a mix of Poison Idea, Fredag Den 13:e and Martyrdöd.

With a very unassuming cover, along with the brief intro track, this seems to Continue reading “Myteri – Myteri (Review)”

Existench/Deboned – Split (Review)

ExistenchThis is a split between two Canadian grindcore bands – Existench and Deboned.

First up we have Existench, with just under 7 minutes of intensity.

This is old-school grind that takes no prisoners and just wants to rampage. With punk intent and hardcore ferocity, Existench rage through these short songs with the assured confidence of a predator that knows its kill is near. Continue reading “Existench/Deboned – Split (Review)”