Metal – Page 625 – Wonderbox Metal

Ragestorm – The Thin Line Between Hope and Ruin (Review)

Italian Death Metal band Ragestorm chainsaw their way out of your speakers with enough introductory brutality and modern Thrashy Death Metal know-how to raise the odd eyebrow or two. Then the vocals kick in and you know you’re in for a wild ride. Alternating between deeper and darker, and higher and sharper, the singer can strip paint and cut skin at 100 paces.

This release boasts a tight, precise sound that helps the carnage come alive as it rips and tears everyone around it with a surgical slaughter. The songs are heavy and the band can play.

This is the kind of Metal that excites as it bludgeons. Death Metal it may be but there is also a firm Thrash sensibility at play that informs the songwriting dynamics with more than just mindless brutality. I can also hear a Lamb of God influence; particularly in the vocal department on occasion in certain vocalisations and vocal rhythms and patterns. As for the music I can hear similarities to Byzantine in places. So; imagine Lamb of God and Byzantine coming together to play some tasty At The Gates-style Melodic Death Metal; this should give you a good place to start with the sound they have. They also have guitar solos, which immediately makes me like any band just that little bit more.

This is just their début album and there is already plenty of ideas and talent on display to last them a few albums to come. These ideas are spread out over the entire album, but find a focus in Hari Seldon’s Speech.

A really good collection of songs and a really good start to what will hopefully be bigger things to come.

Top stuff.

Gutslit – Skewered in the Sewer (Review)

Brutal, slamming Death Metal from India with lashings of gore and a sprinkling of torture.

This is a nicely barbaric release. Plenty of blasting and chugging to set the heart racing. They’re not afraid to inject some nice leads into the mix on the odd occasion to augment the punishing rhythms and slamming nature of the rest of the music.

The vocals are low and guttural, descending to the level of pure pig-noise on occasion. Sometimes it sounds like the vocal equivalent of taking a sander to someone’s face. It may not sound pleasant but it works.

Sometimes this form of Brutal Death Metal/Death Grind/Gore Grind/etc. can sound quite generic and average, but Gutslit are better than that. It’s not due to a radical departure in sound or style, but simply a good ear for dynamics and songs. This is Death Metal that is almost catchy while it’s pulverising you. Think Gorerotted for the right kind of idea.

I like this, a lot. It has all of the ingredients of a satisfying album, and at 26 minutes long it’s a quick, easy listen. Of course these things are all relative. To the average person on the street this would be a Hellish torture session of epic proportions. But that’s just the way we like it. This kind of music was not designed for the wider public. This is Death Metal and this is for us.

Favourite Track: Haemorrhoidal Brain Custard. I defy you to sit still when this is playing.

Disfigurement – Soul Rot (Review)

Death Metal from the USA usually has plenty of muscle and brawn, and Disfigurement are no exception. This release has a physicality about it that just sounds solid; utterly immovable. It’s like the characteristics of a thick, heavy guitar tone have become corporeal and are daring you to try and knock it down or push past it. Which is impossible. Something this dense and massive is not going anywhere unless it’s on its own terms.

These five songs of USDM may be in the old-school style but they can match anything the new-school has to offer in terms of brutality and sheer ability to crush. Classic Death Metal has rarely sounded so vital, fresh and hungry. Thick, rhythmic guitars, pounding non-triggered drums, scathing vocals – Disfigurement have the full package, especially when highlighted with melodic leads and more-than-capable solos.

These are quality songs. They grab your attention with their muscularity and physical presence, and demand you listen to them through choking vocalisations and short, sharp stabs with their leads. At 24 minutes this is a decent length EP, but now we want more. Album please?

Kuazar – Wrath of God (Review)

Kuazar are a Thrash Metal band from Paraguay with a good Death Metal influence in their sound; they have the bite and aggression of old-school Kreator mixed in with some old-school Death Metal from the likes of Death.

The important thing here is the songs. The recording may be relatively low-budget compared to some, (but that’s not to say it sounds bad, quite the reverse), but no expense has been spared in the songwriting. Each track has good riffs, tight drumming and a thought for dynamics and structure.

This is an almost-relentless Thrash attack. But not completely. They may be aggressive but they still have some melodic flourishes and solos aplenty, as well as some moments to catch your breath such as Inner Prison.

The vocals for the main part are raspy and full of bile. Mixed with some almost-clean passages and Death growls the singer offers more than might have been expected and overall puts in a very good performance.

This is undeniably a high-quality album. It’s a couple of years old now so I’m hoping they may have something new to unleash on the world soon. To my mind the world can never have enough great Thrash. Highly recommended.

Sulaco – Build & Burn (Review)

Inventive, modern Grind is what Sulaco have in store for us here, with the odd dashing of Death Metal thrown in for good measure. Think longer-song-style Grind, rather than the shorter-song-style. Like somewhere between Cephalic Carnage and Gorguts or Gorod. Only not quite like that…

This is harsh music and not for the unwary. Choppy, changing, discordant guitars lead the way challenging the listener at every turn, while the drums both set the pace and hold everything together. Needless to say these are skilled musicians who know their Grind, which is only to be expected as they contain a now-former member of Brutal Truth.

The vocals are mostly halfway between a scream and a more hardcore-style shout, which immediately gives the band more of an individual slant than a lot of generic Grindcore bands. It works well here and complements the harshness of the music with an almost Drowningman-type intensity that adds an extra layer of depth to the tunes.

With plenty of ideas, some sharp technicality and the odd flourish of melody and sustained aggressive Metal this is a most enjoyable album.

Wan – Enjoy the Filth (Review)

Dirty Black Metal from Sweden, brought to you with raw punk attitude. Halfway between crust and Darkthrone. If you enjoy bands such as Black Witchery and Watchmaker this is for you.

Short, sharp songs are the order of the day, but they are not the blast-fests you might expect. Mid-paced malevolence rules the roost here for the most part. This is almost like a hardcore band discovering some black metal riffs to go alongside their normal fare and then recording it in a distinctly Black Metal way. Not too far removed from Teen Cthulhu in that respect, only with more of a Darkthrone-esque influence here I suppose.

Obnoxious, Satanic underground evil seeps from the speakers as you play this. You can actually feel the grime. This is the perfect album to stick on when you’re in a foul mood and want everyone around you to just fuck off and die. What more can be said?

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Hi-gh – Night Dances (Review)

Speed Metal played with plenty of melody and punkiness. With a low-rent album cover and low-rent sound, will the songs be similarly low-rent? No! It seems that all of the effort has gone into the songs to make them as pleasurable and memorable as possible.

The recording is not a bad one, it serves its purpose and allows the tracks to roll along on their speedy way. This is Speed Thrash made for the love of all things crossover, and not without talent either. This band know how to play as hard as they know how to have fun. Technicality added to an ease of riffing that combines to create something truly enjoyable, that seems to just slip into your consciousness and act like it’s always been there.

If they can keep this up for their next release then there should be a bright future in store for this band.

Ilsa – Intoxicantations (Review)

Well, isn’t this the proverbial hidden gem. Filthy, dirty sludge Metal with elements of thrash and death ‘n’ roll mixed in. Quite simply this is brilliant.

The overall feelings and structures of the songs are composed in such a way that this is a very complete album. Each song easily identifiable from the rest and together forming one of the most enjoyable albums I’ve listened to in a while. I haven’t been able to stop listening to this the last few days.

Very insipid; the riffs crawl their way into your subconscious and refuse to dislodge. The production miraculously manages to sound both dirty and clear at the same time. The guitar tone in particular is strong and powerful. Crushing in fact.

Each track has its own character and personality, comprising of top-shelf riffs and attitude. There is no filler here; each song is its own entity and more than capable of standing on its own merits.

Snarling, vicious vocals accompany the metallic mayhem and perfectly suit the musical vision of the rest of the band. As a reference point they are sometimes reminiscent of the Darkest Hour vocalist and have the same level of passion and legibility. The singer of Ilsa gives an excellent performance in all ways.

This album is first-rate. If you are a fan of metallic sludge and like plenty of depth and longevity in your music then this will certainly be a must for you. So far, alongside the first album by Morality Crisis, this is a very strong contender for album of the year as far as I’m concerned.

Fell Voices – Regnum Saturni (Review)

Another Black Metal tour-de-force from Fell Voices, purveyors of epic-length underground Black Metal.

This album is like a whirlwind; a veritable Black Metal maelstrom of razors and ice. Dark, haunted screams pass by in a blur of pain. The impenetrable walls of sound and fury permit only the most desultory of lifeforms to exist and any hope of release is scoured away by the sandblasting of elemental force.

Dotted around at various points in the proceedings are calmer moments. However, these can hardly be described as pleasant and their main purpose is to build up to the inevitable storm.

Three songs of blackened misery and hate lasting one hour. Not for the weak of heart, this album is calling out to those that would hear. Will you answer the call or will you be found wanting?

Woslom – Evolustruction (Review)

This is thrash Metal played mainly in a more modern style but with a real feel for the old-school nonetheless. Think somewhere between the Teutonic thrashings of Kreator and the more US style of Testament.

This album certainly has some bite, with the guitars alone having plenty of attack before you even factor in the other instruments. Songs are well played and recorded, with juicy Thrash riffs, liquid solos and a vocalist that can compete with the best of them.

The songs are memorable and full of nice hooks and vocal lines. Walking the line between melody and aggression they successfully straddle both worlds delivering an album that any Thrash fan would happily bang their heads and fists too.

These songs have grown on me, as all good music should, and I do not hesitate to recommend this band to you. Thrash will never die; bands like Woslom won’t let it.