Old-School Death Metal – Page 41

Abjvration – The Unquenchable Pyre (Review)

Abjvration are from France and this is their début EP. They play Death/Doom Metal.

Imagine the most hideously disgusting type of Doom that’s congealed around some sickening Death Metal to form an unholy mass of evil…this is The Unquenchable Pyre.

Huge, heavy-as-Hell riffs populate this release like disaster sites, almost relentless in their assault. Colossally slow guitars crush all before them and faster, more-Death Metal riffs punctuate the blackness like knife wounds.

The vocals are a thing of beauty, albeit a very warped and disturbing type of beauty, of course; utterly deep and pitch-black in their delivery of rolling, growling terror. They sound immense and ancient, just like the music.

The music oozes and seeps along, like some sort of infectious disease. There’s a real rank feeling of a wet, unhealthy underworld to this release and that’s an entirely complimentary comment. Abjvration have created something disturbingly special here.

The Doom riffs keep flowing and it’s only when the Blackened Death Metal parts break out that you remember they’re not just a pure Doom band.

What little melody there is on this EP is aimed at increasing the listener’s unease and the entire 27 minute playing time is a masterclass in creating rotting, noxious, heavy music.

This isn’t Black Metal but it shares a lot in common with the more foetid styles of the same. A deep, dark, miasma of Blackened pestilence hangs over this release like a funeral shroud and Abjvration milk this for every last drop of feeling that they can.

This is unapologetically Old-School Death/Doom that’s flawlessly delivered and expertly realised.

France continues to keep its reputation for producing high quality Extreme Metal intact. Abjvration are a dark revelation.

Entrails – Obliteration (Review)

This is the fourth album from Swedish Death Metallers Entrails.

Upon pressing play you’re greeted with some ominous bells. What follows is authentic Old-School Swedish Death Metal, and everything that this much-loved/maligned sub-genre offers.

Obliteration has a crushing sound and features the full compliment of chainsaws, as is normally expected from the style. Everything sounds great and the music immediately sucks you in.

I do have a soft-spot for this type of Death Metal it’s true, but this is such an honest style of brutality that it’s hard not to be captivated by it.

The band write good songs and good riffs. That alone should be enough to endear them to most metalheads in my opinion. Add to this the strong production and vocals that sound like they’ve been dredged up from the deepest pit and Obliteration is a very well-rounded album.

The best thing, though, is the songs themselves. They have an energy to them that cannot be denied and it’s clear that the band still have a healthy passion for the style even though this is their fourth full-length outing.

Coupled with the quality riffing is the Swedish Death Metal melody that we know and love. Then there’s the catchy songs with decent choruses; this is a recipe for a winner, not to mention what I can only imagine is a phenomenal live show.

A very impressive album. Entrails demonstrate once more why they’re at the top of the heap when it comes to Swedish Death Metal.

For fans of Grave, Dismember, Unleashed, Entombed, and the like.

Ululate – Back to Cannibal World (Review)

Ululate is a one-man Chinese Death Metal band and this is his second album.

His take on Death Metal is one drenched in horror and cannibalism. It’s an Old-School brand that has lost none of its teeth despite its age.

Ululate play Death Metal as it was originally intended and infuses dark melodies with enough morbidity and graveyard rot that in some ways it’s hard to believe it’s 2015 when you listen to it.

Classic riffs and winding melodies work their way into your mind and soon the Metal is all that matters once more. There is some quality riffage on display here and the songwriting skills of the brain behind the band is highly polished, even if the music is not.

Back to Cannibal World combines a few different Old-School sub-genres into one thoroughly foetid release. It’s a difficult sound to pin down in some ways, as it incorporates elements of bands such as Immolation, Autopsy, Incantation and Cannibal Corpse.

Ultimately this is just a really good Death Metal album, regardless of how one chooses to classify or talk about it. It has a whole bunch of interesting riffs, flawlessly delivered deep growls and songs that hit the spot. When you want an Old-School Death Metal fix that sounds fresher than most, Back to Cannibal World is where it’s at.

Highly recommended.

Creeping Flesh – Rising Terror (Review)

Creeping Flesh are from Sweden and play Death Metal. That’s right, it’s Swedish Death Metal time again! This is their latest EP.

Well, you just can’t keep a good sub-genre down, despite what some may wish. I have a bit of a fondness for this particular style of Death Metal so I was looking forward to checking this out.

War Metal. Swedish Death Metal. Old-School Death Metal. Whichever way you cut it, this is this stuff, right here.

Straight away the chainsaws are revved and the macabre melodies are introduced. Creeping Flesh waste no time in making their intentions known.

Heavy riffs are dropped like bombs and a deep growling bellowing is unleashed on an unsuspecting populace. Like all Swedish Death Metallers, Creeping Flesh recognise a good marching groove when they get themselves into one.

This EP boasts a strong recording and everything sounds crushing. More importantly, the band show themselves to have some good songwriting skills and the 5 tracks on Rising Terror hit the spot.

Dark melodies, chugging riffs and decent leads/solos mean this is a very satisfying way to spend 23 minutes and a very solid lump of Swedish Death Metal.

Highly recommended.

Killing Addiction – When Death Becomes an Art (Review)

Killing Addiction are a Death Metal band from the US. This is their latest EP.

This is a short, two track EP that lasts 8 minutes and showcases Killing Addiction’s brand of brutality.

They open up with the first song Promethean. The style is that of Old-School Death Metal and the band sound suitably heavy and gritty.

Deep, growling vocals share their time with higher, rasping screams, and both are performed well.

The rolling guitars and double bass lay a firm bedrock for the band to do their stuff. A few melodic leads poke out here and there and there’s a good solo about two thirds of the way through.

Top work for track one. What’s next?

Well, after that we’re onto the final track Legacies of Terror. This song is shorter than the first and starts off with some nice drumming before launching into its mid-paced assault.

The higher screams start us off and some thunderous chugging follows soon after. The deep growls once more sound quite cavernous and do a good job of sounding rough and gruff.

Overall both of these songs are solid slabs of Death Metal and hold a lot of promise for the future.

Nice work!

Austerymn – Sepulcrum Viventium (Review)

Austerymn are a UK Death Metal band and this is their début album.

This may be a UK band but there’s a definite whiff of Sweden about them; it’s Old-School Swedish Death Metal in the familiar style and with a roaring sound.

I’ve said this before, but your tolerance for this sub-genre will essentially dictate your response to Austerymn. Had enough? Then move along. Can’t get enough? Lap this up.

This is such a faithful recreation of the classic style that you almost have to double-check who you’re actually listening to and what year it was released in.

Dark melodies that are a hallmark of the style are peeled off with ease and the crushing rhythms are equally effortless. The harsh, molten-metal vocals seem born for the music.

The songs on the album have a strictly no-frills approach and concentrate on being heavy while creating macabre atmospheres with the melodic guitars.

Fat chugging and aggressive drumming make for songs that have an edge to them and the general structuring of the tracks mean that they’re surprisingly memorable and enjoyable affairs.

If you can’t get enough of the sound espoused by the old days of Entombed, Dismember and the like, then Austerymn are here to sate your bloodlust.

Spawned from Hate – Accelerated Butchery (Review)

Spawned from Hate are a UK Death Metal band. This is their latest EP.

This is raw, evil Death Metal with an Old-School sound and enough brutality to kill 1000 pigs. (Poor pigs).

But the piggy sacrifice has at least resulted in some Death Metal capable of waking you up in the morning.

This may be from the UK but it has a distinct USDM feeling circa the mid 90’s.

I particularly enjoy the vocals, as they have the kind of ultra-deep growl that’s incredibly satisfying. It just sounds so prototypical and pleasing.

The archaic melodies and riffs may be rooted in an older pedigree but they’re delivered with a modern passion and lust for blood. This is such a pure stain of Death Metal, you can’t really go wrong with it.

If you’ve become jaded with the Death Metal scene then it’s unlikely that Accelerated Butchery will set your world fire. For the rest of us though who still love Death Metal in all of its wonderful, myriad forms, Spawned from Hate play a timeless Death Metal style and it’s hard not to enjoy it.

This is a very gratifying release and promises good things for the band in the future. If they can capitalise on this EP then I look forward to what their début album will bring.

For fans of Suffocation, Deeds of Flesh, Dying Fetus, Devourment, etc.

The Grotesquery – Curse of the Skinless Bride (Review)

This is the third album by this Death Metal supergroup, featuring members and ex-members of Massacre, Death, Edge of Sanity, Mantas, Bone Gnawer, Paganizer, Ribspreader, Liklukt and This Haven.

First off, I want to acknowledge the album title – now that’s a Metal album title. Top work!

But anyway…onto the music. Here we have some Old-School Death Metal with plenty of groove and mid-paced heaviness. This is 90’s-style Death Metal from an era when songs still mattered and each track was thought of in a holistic manner.

As such, the songwriting here befits the music and the Metal flows nicely from track to track. Or interlude, as the case may be. This is a Horror-themed release so there are numerous interludes to progress the story.

The guitar riffs are appropriate to the style, of course, but the melodies and riffs chosen also seem to further the atmosphere as espoused by the narrative. The result is not just a trip down Death Metal memory lane but an immersive experience into the realms of Horror Metal.

Good sound, good Metal. Here’s to The Grotesquery.

Gruesome – Savage Land (Review)

This is the début album by US Death Metal band Gruesome.

This is a supergroup of sorts, featuring members of Exhumed, Possessed, Malevolent Creation and Derketa. Gruesome exist purely to pay homage to Old-School Floridian Death Metal, with specific reference to the early work of Death.

It’s clear from the very start that they have everything in place to achieve this.

The sound is an authentic Morrisound one, only polished up a bit and without actually being recorded there.

The music is straight out of the Old-School Death handbook, complete with galloping drums, sharp riffs and leads/solos aplenty.

Savage Land excels in the songs though; without good songs this album would fall flat as being rather pointless. Thankfully though, listening to all of those Death Metal albums from an early age has done wonders for the band and this is a really enjoyable album that almost seems to reanimate the corpse of Death, if only for a little while.

In fact the spirit of Death is felt strongly throughout these 36 minutes. It seems to be lurking wherever you look, the riffs, the drums, the solos, the vocals, the choruses, everything really; deeply infused into the songs.

In another band this might be seen as a bad thing, but in Gruesome it’s so honest, so pure, so well-realised that Savage Land just comes off as a triumph.

Turn the volume up and give this a listen. If you’ve ever been a fan of early Death then I defy you not to enjoy this.

Offal/Zombie Cookbook – Dementia Trash/Motel Hell – Split (Review)

Offal and Zombie Cookbook are both from Brazil and both play predominantly Old-School Death Metal.

Offal are first up, with two tracks lasting 5 minutes.

The first song consists of some nice Old-School battery, with plenty of murk and the stench of the crypt about it.

It’s a very well written song with some really good riffs and a thoughtful structure. Good leads enhance the foetid aura and it shows that Offal have learned a thing or two from listening to their old Autopsy and Impetigo records.

Cavernous growls are the vocals of choice, sounding ancient and terrifying with their ominous presence.

The second song, Spinal Extractions Fiend for Blood, is much shorter, with more of a Grind influence, but even this is delivered in an Old-School style.

Zombie Cookbook are next, with two tracks lasting 6 minutes.

First song Motel Hell has an Old-School vibe as well, recalling a rotten mix of old Obituary and Death with a hint of Thrash Metal thrown in for good measure. The vocals lash out as if in pain and the sense of the underground is strong.

The second song, Eredità Maledetta, is shorter, faster and altogether tighter.

Zombie Cookbook sound like an undiscovered band from the late 90’s. That’s a compliment, of course.

A short and brutal split that reeks of the underground and revels in its Old-School nature.

Listen if you dare.