This is the debut album from international grindcore band Kill Division.
Kill Division boast current and ex-members of bands such as Aborted, Bent Sea, Gruesome, Inhuman Condition, Malevolent Creation, Megadeth, Soilwork, and Venom Inc. in their ranks, so you know a lot of experience has gone into this album. Continue reading “Kill Division – Peace Through Tyranny (Review)”
This is the debut album from one-man Norwegian blackened extreme metal project ILLT.
This solo act is rounded out by session musicians from such notable bands as Megadeth, Soilwork, Nile, and Chrome Division. There’s 36 minutes of material on Urhat containing a modern blackened mix of death metal, thrash, hardcore, and splashes of doom and hard rock. Continue reading “ILLT – Urhat (Review)”
This is the debut album from Void Vator, a heavy metal band from the US.
Great Fear Rising is a modern take on a very old style. Void Vator play old-school heavy metal; it’s presented with a modern recording and delivery, but this is mainly a product of the 80s, make no mistake. Continue reading “Void Vator – Great Fear Rising (Review)”
Eugenic Death are a thrash metal band from the US and this is their second album.
Here we have 40 minutes of uncompromising old-school thrash metal. Prepare to bang your head furiously. Continue reading “Eugenic Death – Under the Knife (Review)”
This is the sixth album from Skeletonwitch, a blackened metal band from the US.
Well, this is not what I was expecting to hear from Skeletonwitch. I confess that I’ve only ever really heard a small amount of the band’s prior material, and what I did hear was kind of a thrash/melodic metal affair, from what I recall. I approached this Continue reading “Skeletonwitch – Devouring Radiant Light (Review)”
This is the fourth album from UK metal band Savage Messiah.
Savage Messiah specialise in modern melodic metal, while combining elements of both old and new into their sound. Hands of Fate contains over 45 minutes of this anthemic, personable metal. Continue reading “Savage Messiah – Hands of Fate (Review)”
Ice Age are a Swedish thrash metal band and this is their debut album.
This is old-school thrash metal, with some elements of power metal thrown in for good luck. Having said that, with songs as strong as the ones on Breaking the Ice, luck is not required here. Continue reading “Ice Age – Breaking the Ice (Review)”
This is a split release between Bent Sea and To Dust, both of which play grindcore and both of which feature a plethora of members/ex-members of bands such as Aborted, Megadeth, Soilwork, Napalm Death, (Bent Sea), and Abigail Williams, Vintage Warlords, Humanity Is Cancer, Grave Plague, Fountain of Piss, Severed Remains, The Black Dahlia Murder and Phobia, (To Dust).
Phew. As you can see, there’s a lot of experience here.
The first half of the split is provided by Bent Sea, who give us almost 10 minutes of state-of-the-art ferocity. Continue reading “Bent Sea/To Dust – Ascend/Descend – Split (Review)”
Repulsor are from Poland and play Thrash Metal. This is their début EP.
This EP is a little over 21 minutes long and Repulsor make every second count. This is high speed, high aggression Thrash.
A good sound means that the band make the most of the time given to impress. This is Old-School Thrash Metal that would have been comfortably at home in the 80’s.
Megadeth are the most obvious reference point, although splashes of Testament and Exodus are also to be heard.
The band play the music well and the tracks are nicely written. The guitars are a particular high point and there are some tasty riffs thrown out, especially on R.M.D.H.
I still feel kind of saturated on Thrash Metal at the moment, but that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy this; Repulsor have enough talent to be eminently listenable and Trapped in a Nightmare is anything but nightmarish.
Overall, I’d say good work. A nice sound, good solos and some catchy songs mean Repulsor are welcome to visit any time they like. Good band logo too.
Give them a listen.
Untimely Demise are a Canadian Thrash Metal band and this is their second album.
Straight from the go we’re into high octane Thrash territory with solos shredding and drums clanging. Technical riffing and rasped vocals lead the way while the rest of the music rips things up.
Musically this is Thrash Metal with a Megadeth/Testament/Death/Arch Enemy flavour. Extremely competent and played with feeling, Untimely Demise show from the off that they have talent.
The singer mainly uses a harsh rasp, but also uses some rougher semi-cleans that shows he’s capable of depth. It adds texture to the impressive playing of the rest of the band. A cross between Death and Arch Enemy, it fits the music well.
The band avoid the issues of the over-saturated Retro-Thrash scene by just being themselves and adding some harsher/technical/more European elements to their sound. It’s honest, direct and more worthwhile than 100 Retro bands trying to recapture old glories without any real feeling. Untimely Demise have come to show them how it should be done; a nod to the past, a spotlight on the present and a battle-plan for the future.
Wonderbox Metal 