Immolation – Page 9 – Wonderbox Metal

Drowned – Idola Specus (Review)

This is the début album from German Death Metallers Drowned.

With an album cover that gives nothing away I was, for some reason, expecting Old-School Death Metal. What we get, however, is far more interesting.

Their brand of Death Metal is complex and mature. Elements of both Doom and Progressive Metal have evidently taken root in their sound and have blossomed on this release.

Drowned have a warm, organic sound that allows the riffs and melodies to come to life and virtually jump out of the speakers. The guitar tone is thick and syrupy and the entire production is satisfyingly heavy and well-judged.

Deep growls punctuate the journey into Drowned’s world as the guitars breathe tar into your lungs and the drums assault from all angles. It may be atypical Death Metal in some respects but this is to be applauded.

Idola Specus reminds me of a Proggier Incantation; Incantation crossed with Death, Gorguts and Immolation perhaps. Either way, it’s a great thing to hear and Drowned have certainly made an impression.

This is a class example of esoteric Death Metal that may have a firm base in the genre but is not afraid to incorporate more Progressive/Doom elements to enhance the core substance of the band.

It may have taken the band a considerable amount of time to put this album together but the end result has been worth the wait.

Have a listen to Drowned. Just remember to hold your breathe before wading in.

Lago – Tyranny (Review)

Lago are a Death Metal band from the US and Tyranny is their début album.

Lago play a mixture of Old-School and New-School Death Metal and manage to reach a comfortable medium between the two. Think Morbid Angel and Immolation meeting Behemoth and Wormed.

Dark melodies and rampant brutality hold sway here, although the band allow themselves room to experiment a bit with some longer songs and nice touches here and there, (Reckoned features an almost, gasp, Folk section!).

The songs are well-written and feature a good recording that gives the band a wonderfully heavy sound. All of the instruments sound really good. The drums, guitars, bass and even the vocals; they all stand out which effectively means that everything stands out. As I listen to this the old “everything louder than everything else” phrase comes to mind. It’s a class production all round and lends the songs the power they need to make their mark.

The drums pound away nicely and there are a bucketfuls of tasty riffs to get stuck into. They play the heavy, brutal riffs well but also mix things up with darker melodic riffs, some of which have a nice Blackened edge to them.

Tyranny has some good solos on it which stick out against the pitch black rhythm guitars and spice things up a bit.

I keep coming back to the rhythm guitar riffs though as they feature the kind of darkly melodic brutality that makes Immolation so compelling and individual. The wonderful thing is that it may be reminiscent of Immolation but it doesn’t actually sound like them; in other words Lago share a similar stylistic space with the masters rather than ripping them off, which is brilliant as I love Immolation and now I love Lago also.

The vocals are so deep it almost hurts and seem to dominate everything else with their presence. Higher screams are also used for a bit of variety.

Lago have impressed me no end with this release. It’s a strong collection of Death Metal tracks that showcase a powerful new band who have arrived on the scene with the force of a meteor strike.

Highly recommended.

Solace of Requiem – Casting Ruin (Review)

This is the fourth album of Technical Blackened Death Metal from Solace of Requiem. They come from the US.

It’s fairly unusual for Technical Death Metal bands to have anything to do with the Black Metal style. It’s not unheard of of course, just relatively rare, so I was looking forward to hearing this band to see what they did with the style.

Straight away it’s apparent that they are very technical and they do wear their Black Metal influences on their sleeves.

The music is a dense, twisting affair. Technical Death Metal riffs fly everywhere at the speed of thought whilst Blackened keyboards and sounds add to the cacophony. High pitched Blackened screams add a further layer of evil and the entire thing reeks of a complicated rot.

It’s impressively harsh and the addition of the Black Metal influences to the Technical Death Metal core is atypical and done rather well.

The higher screamed vocals are joined by more traditional growls, once again sealing the deal between genres.

There are some great riffs here and the technicality doesn’t become overbearing or done just for the sake of it. Sometimes the band hits upon a great sounding mid-paced riff and they just let it settle in for a while and lot it flow naturally, which is a great thing to hear. This is frequently added to by keyboards and solos and the end result is very satisfying. As songs they work, and the entire album is top work by this band.

Everything is recorded well and the music is crisp and clear. These songs whirl by at lightspeed and you can’t fault the performances. As this is their fourth album they clearly know what they are doing by now and have the talent to achieve their goals.

This band remind me of someone like The Black Dahlia Murder if they had a lot more blazing technicality and Black Metal in their sound. It doesn’t completely describe Solace of Requiem of course, but it’s a good starting point; throw in some Spawn of Possession, Immolation and Arkhon Infaustus and you’re on the right lines.

Casting Ruin is a monster of an album and quite an achievement. By incorporating Black Metal into their sound they successfully differentiate themselves from hundreds of standard Technical Death Metal bands and immediately set themselves apart.

This is an album that is better than most and won’t settle for being ordinary. Solace of Requiem have their own identity that serves them well and they’re just waiting for you to discover them.

Do it now.

Unaussprechlichen Kulten – Baphomet Pan Shub-Niggurath (Review)

Unaussprechlichen Kulten are from Chile and this is their third album of Death Metal.

HP Lovecraft-themed Death Metal is never going to be completely run-of-the-mill and Unaussprechlichen Kulten are no exception. This is Death Metal with an evil, occult feel to it.

They superficially draw comparisons with Incantation/Immolation, (only with shorter songs), as well as the odd bit of Morbid Angel. They have the kind of interesting songwriting that seems to be more related to the Old-School than a lot of current Death Metal, which gives them a Classic Death Metal sheen to their gloriously nefarious sound.

The relatively short songs add up to a relatively short album, so Unaussprechlichen Kulten definitely don’t outstay their welcome. What is here, however, is a very enjoyable collection of tracks that mix the aforementioned bands/styles into a melting pot that’s probably to be used as the basis of a potion or concoction that will end up summoning some long lost god or other. Until that time of our ultimate demise, however, we are free to enjoy the Death Metal that these Chileans have unleashed on the world.

The dark, heavy riffs and eerie leads are propelled by solid drumming and a singer who is doing his best Incantation impression. The songs have a darkly dynamic feel to them and the malevolent aura they exude is toxic to the touch. I also like that the bass is actually audible and provides a useful backdrop to the rest of the music.

If you’re bored of the same old generic Death Metal then have a good listen to Baphomet Pan Shub-Niggurath; for fans of well-played, interesting Death Metal that’s far too wicked and corrupt to be normal.

Highly recommended.

Oath of Damnation – The Descent (Review)

Oath of Damnation are from Australia and play Blackened Death Metal.

This release features a heavy and dense sound, as if the band condensed a planet’s worth of matter and used it to fuel the recording process.

The deep vocals sound equally impressive, with a depth of guttural growling seldom seen. This is coupled with higher Black Metal shrieking that offsets them.

The music is fast and furious, combining the intricate riffing of Nile, the claustrophobia of Immolation and the Blackened bite of Arkhon Infaustus. It’s a heady mix and the resultant cocktail is as intoxicating as it is venomous.

The band also incorporate symphonic elements into their brutal repertoire. These are used to punctuate and accentuate the churning maelstrom of chaos that the band create. These are used sparingly to good effect and never sound over the top or out of character with the rest of the music.

Oath of Damnation have released something special here. Seek them out and listen to them today.

Inhuman Remnants – Inattentional Blindness (Review)

This is the second EP from Australian Death Metal band Inhuman Remnants.

The band play their Death Metal incredibly tight with the drumming sounding particularly inhuman. But just when you think it will be a one dimensional blastfest they slow down into modern USDM-style mid paced riffs or change to a more atmospheric section. They certainly have their songwriting heads on right.

As well as the thick rhythm guitars there are a lot of leads winding their way through the songs adding extra levels to the very brutal music. This enhances the sense of dynamics that the band already have from the rest of the instruments and the song structures.

The recording is muscular and lean, with all instruments very clear.

The vocals are done exceedingly well, ranging from the ultra low to the ultra high with no drop in quality at all.

Inattentional Blindness is that rarest of beasts; a release that combines brutality with songwriting skills and parts that gel together to create a greater musical whole rather than simply being a collection of riffs stuck together.

I can hear elements of a fair few bands in their sound, including Cannibal Corpse, Immolation, Dying Fetus, Kataklysm and Aborted. Such a wide variety of Death Metal should demonstrate that Inhuman Remnants are their own masters and are faithfully treading their own path.

I think we’re more than ready for a full album now, as this is just great.

Angist – Circle Of Suffering (Review)

Angist are from Iceland and play Death Metal.

This is Death Metal with mood and presence, as is instantly apparent from the first couple of minutes of the opening track Circle Of Suffering. Also apparent is the band’s Old-School song philosophy and an ear for a good riff.

Taking elements of Morbid Angel, Immolation and Obituary, the band steer a course through paths well trodden but still manage to offer something worthwhile to the discerning listener. They have a good line in some quite Doomy riffs as well; a real sense of melancholy flows when they want it too.

The songs impress with their melody as well as their dynamics and atmosphere. A collection of riffs is not enough for Angist, they demand flow and song structure to be present too, and rightly so.

The vocals are resolutely Old-School in the sense that they are extreme but not overly so and they have that vibe about them; that indefinable something that says “yes, this is the real deal”. They are legible in places and always work well with the music.

This EP is a few years old now, so I look forward to what Angist offer us in the future. Hopefully they will release a blinder of an album.

Give this band your support.

Near Death Condition – Evolving Towards Extinction (Review)

This is the third album from Swiss Death Metallers Near Death Condition.

This is very brutal and very heavy, just as we like it. Coming across as a mix of Hate Eternal, Immolation, Behemoth and Morbid Angel; Near Death Condition have all the essential ingredients of a very filling and very tasty meal.

The vocalist is the proverbial icing on the cake. Whether he is growling or screaming his voice is immense and immediately engaging.

The songs are ultra-brutal with the blast beats played to precision and the guitars aiming to utterly destroy. They have lots of slower riffs that speak of an Immolation/Morbid Angel influence of slightly unusual structures that work very well. The band also throw in some more restrained sections with solos and even a bit of Behemoth-style orchestration here and there.

Near Death Condition offer us the complete package and Evolving Towards Extinction is the kind of album any Death Metal fan should relish getting their teeth into.

Beyond Mortal Dreams – Dreaming Death (Review)

Beyond Mortal Dreams are an Australian Death Metal band treading their own path on their own terms with this 18 minute, 4 track EP.

Three original songs and a Beherit cover are what we get, and this EP is over far too quickly as Beyond Mortal Dreams deliver the goods.

And those lead guitars! I love a good solo and there’s plenty of fretwork on these songs to keep me happy. The guitars generally are both aggressive and atmospheric, in the way that Nile manage so effortlessly; yet also take aspects of bands like Immolation. These are the bands that are not just concerned with aural bludgeoning, but who are also interested in immersing the listener in the mood of the song as well.

The drums form the bedrock on which everything else is built and it’s clear that the drummer is not human but rather some form of multi-armed cyber-mutation that’s been programmed to pound skins for all it’s worth. Impressive stuff.

This EP is a fantastic listen and I can’t wait to hear more from them in the future.

Odem – The Valley of Cut Tongues (Review)

Brutal Death Metal with a malevolent, blackened underlay. Somehow underneath the brutality and blasting the band have managed to inject a level of constant tension and uneasiness into their sound. It’s quite unusual, the closest comparison I suppose is certain Immolation songs, or maybe Arkhon Infaustus, but this doesn’t quite do it justice.

This is undeniably brutal, but it is also very, very evil-sounding. It’s as if someone has distilled the essence of Black Metal, created a foul-smelling tincture and upon consuming immediately vomited forth Odem’s style of Death Metal.

How to describe the vocals? Imagine a condemned, wretched and broken slave dragging a tombstone to his own grave. That is what they sound like.

Exceptional and savage.