Incantation – Page 9 – Wonderbox Metal

Contaminated – Pestilential Decay (Review)

Contaminated are a Death Metal band from Australia and this is their first release.

This is ugly, noisy Death Metal that lies somewhere between the Swedish Death Metal style and Incantation-worship. Like gathering Blackened clouds on an otherwise fresh and clear horizon, Contaminated come to ruin your day.

The vocals are so deep it’s almost painful. The vocalist has a powerful growl that seems to be all encompassing when he is doing it, like an endless maw opening up to swallow all life.

The music is brutal and heavy, but not without elements of atmosphere or the odd bit of melody. The tracks rumble along seemingly pushed by the depthless growls to their conclusion. The band can blast as good as any but it’s the more mid paced and Doomy Incantation-style parts that really hit the spot.

The sound is primitive and Crusty, as one might expect from the début demo of a band, but it doesn’t hinder them in their relentless march forwards.

Enjoyable Death Metal – let’s see what they do next.

Reckless Manslaughter – Blast Into Oblivion (Review)

This is the second album from German Death Metal band Reckless Manslaughter, and they’ve released what could easily be a genre-classic.

It opens with a thunderous onslaught that eventually morphs into a Hellishly good groove and from there onto heavy-as-hell chug territory; all the time sickened vocals belch out hymns of war over the top of it all. And this is only the first couple of minutes of the first track Storm of Vengeance. Oh this is going to be good.

The sound is professional and near-perfect, even the bass is audible. The drums are solid and engaging and the vocal delivery is spot-on.

The songs are intelligently written and cleverly crafted. Although they do pick up the pace when necessary a lot of it is just a mid-paced exercise in Death Metal demolition and twice as heavy as that. Unexpectedly there are also a good number of hooks and catchy choruses on offer. It really is that good.

I love Death Metal like this – good sound, good songs, good ideas. Taking their cues from bands such as Bolt Thrower and Incantation, they have produced one battle-tank-heavy album. This is a punishing and rewarding listen.

Reckless Manslaughter have produced an overachieving album that perfectly embodies all that is great about crushing Death Metal. Hopefully it will help them garner the recognition they richly deserve.

A deeply satisfying listen and one for your “I must get this now” lists.

Church of Disgust – Unworldly Summoning (Review)

After a perfunctory intro we’re into the album proper. The first thing that strikes the listener is the powerful sound – thick, heavy guitars and drums that drop like a hammer. This band play filth-heavy Death Metal with an atmosphere and tone so covered in grime and dirt as to become one with it.

So adept at channelling all things Necro are they that most underground Black Metal bands would kill for this sound. Imagine a band like Anaal Nathrakh if The Codex Necro was diseased Death Metal instead of Black Metal.

Add to this some nice Incantation-isms; the odd dash of Obituary and Autopsy; a small sprinkling of Usurper; an injection of sludge; cover this all with a rotten layer of offal and leave to decay for 100 years and you have something close to what Church of Disgust resemble.

And the vocalist – what’s all that about? How did the band manage to convince a real demon to front the band? I mean, it’s not a human being right? I can only assume that the Unworldly Summoning was a success and something dark and evil that time forgot came slithering out of the dankest crypt to be held in thrall to Church of Disgust and do their bidding. Their bidding, of course, being to produce the sickest, most evil Death Metal noises heard for some time. I just hope they feed it regularly.

Unworldly Summoning is ugly, hostile and wants everything dead. In other words it is one of the best death metal releases heard in a while.

If you want the latest in clinical, state-of-the-art, precision-laser-produced Death Metal hot off the production line then this is not for you. If, however, you’re not scared of a bit of blood and muck on your Death Metal then there is nothing to not like here.