Old-School Death Metal – Page 44

Lavatory – Morbid Terror (Review)

Lavatory are a Death Metal band from Malaysia. This is their début album.

Just like the shambling, rotten monstrosity that graces the album cover, Lavatory’s brand of Death Metal is a putrid and corpse-ridden ode to that oh-so-satisfying of sub genres – Old-School Swedish Death Metal.

The album is aptly named as the band use all of the chainsaw-shaped tools available to them in their box of chainsaws to create Death Metal that’s heavy in both guitar tone and deathly dread.

If you know Swedish Death Metal, (and I know you do), then you know what to expect here; the chainsaw riffs, the haunting melodies, etc.

It’s all delivered by a band that sounds a little bit more unhinged than is the norm for the style though. It’s almost like the levels of rot have taken hold so much and so deep that they’re in danger of falling apart.

It’s like they’ve mixed Old-School Death Metal with an equally Old-School brand of Hardcore and taken the energy levels from the latter and messily transplanted them into the former. Well, the operation may have killed the patient but it’s been a success anyway.

The singer sounds like he’s going to rupture something and the guitars sound like the chainsaws haven’t had maintenance in a very long time.

The album reeks of the grave and sounds as ancient as a curse. The songs are primitive and stubbornly refuse to be anything other than what they are; there is no pretension here and the band are completely true to their decaying roots.

Check out Morbid terror; just make sure you bring clean underwear.

Pyre – Human Hecatomb (Review)

Pyre are from Russia and play Death Metal. This is their début album.

This is Old-School Death Metal with swagger, confidence and a feeling of grim determination mixed with a sense of graveyard fun.

The singer snarls and growls his way through the carnage and there’s more than a touch of Obituary about him.

Quality solos and playing all-round make for an enjoyable listen. The sound is balanced and the drums in particular sound quite satisfying. I also like that you can hear the bass. Hurrah for bass!

This is an album of good songs and good riffs; an album celebrating the time when songs were more important than how fast or how technical you could play.

Slow, mid-paced, fast; Human Hecatomb uses all tempos, speeds and paces well demonstrating Pyre’s good grasp of dynamics and songwriting.

A healthy Swedish Death Metal influence can be heard throughout this album, but it’s not an overbearing one and certainly not one that would give people who are sick of that particular sub-genre enough reason to avoid Pyre. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that there are very few reasons to avoid Pyre if you’re a fan of Classic Death Metal.

This really is great stuff. If you love Death Metal you’ll love Pyre.

Deathronation – Hallow the Dead (Review)

Deathronation are from Germany and this is their début album. They play Death Metal.

This is morbid Old-School Death Metal with dark malevolent feelings rubbing shoulders with some nice graveyard tunes.

Their brand of Death Metal has a few influences from the Doom, Black and Thrash Metal genres mixed in with their Deathly attack, which makes for a nice, well rounded album that has good pace and variety.

Doom? Some of the riffs are superbly downbeat, slow and mournful. These sections typically don’t last long but they’re there and they sound good.

Black? A slight Blackened tinge to some of the guitar licks and leads lends a slightly Old-School Blackened feel to the songs on occasion. It’s not overly blatant but it gives the band an extra depth than just employing pure Death Metal influences.

Thrash? This part is apparent in some of the riffs; sometimes they just Thrash out and an older, crusty vibe is brought to the fore.

All of these are worked around an Old-School Death Metal base that places songs, heavy riffs and horror-fuelled melodies firmly in the limelight.

Hallow the Dead is an impressive collection of tracks that remind the listener that it’s not all about the hyper-blast or the Slamming grooves; the most important thing about Death Metal is the songs themselves and the feelings they invoke.

It seems Deathronation have made a great start to their career. It’s definitely worth checking this out.

Stench – Venture (Review)

Stench are from Sweden and play Death Metal. This is their second album.

Opening with a wowzer of a riff, Archways sets the bar high straight off the bat and continues in this vein for the whole 39 minute running time.

Stench play Old-School Death Metal that may be influenced by the Swedish sound but isn’t defined or limited to it. Theirs is a more varied sound that incorporates elements of Black, Heavy and Doom Metal into their Death Metal core.

Subtle aural enhancements are added at strategic points throughout the album to create an extra layer of mood to these songs. Combined with the emotive nature of the riffs and the half-growl, half-shriek of the vocals it means that Stench have somewhat of a Blackened feel to their songs.

There is somewhat of an eerie, otherworldly feeling to these tracks. It’s as if they’re channelling some nameless horror and are acting as a lightning rod for all things mysterious, dark and rotten.

It would be a mistake to dismiss this band as a standard Death Metal band, as although this is exactly what they appear to be on the surface of things the reality of the situation is quite different. They have a further depth to them that is made up of the extra influences and added parts of their sound as mentioned above. These work together to create a true journey of an album that straddles multiple genres in its quest for Metal perfection.

This is a band who have produced an album that’s just so much more than I was expecting. Stench bring something powerful and dangerously individual to the Metal table. I cannot recommend this album enough.

Favourite Track: Road. Quality riffing, infectious bass and atmospheric mood.

Puteraeon – The Crawling Chaos (Review)

Puteraeon are from Sweden and play Death Metal. This is their third album.

Old-School Swedish Death Metal will never die, and I for one am happy about this.

So what of Puteraeon? Think early Entombed with dirty great Doom riffs and some punkier influences to boot. They faithfully reproduce That Chainsaw Sound as all real purveyors of this style must and the concentration is firmly on the songs and the heavy-yet-melodic riffs.

As you can see this is the usual fare for Swedish Death Metal, but that’s not to denigrate the band at all. They may have chosen a well-trodden route but they’re not without ability; the songs here are enjoyable romps through the blood-soaked Swedish landscape and the vocals in particular sound more bestial than most.

Also; Puteraeon do inject a few influences outside of the standard Swedish template – hints of Carcass, Pestilence, Autopsy and Bolt Thrower can be found here and there, buried beneath the chainsaws. That’s the beauty of Death Metal, no matter which particular subgenre a band specialise in there’s always room to throw in other influences.

If you’re fed up of this style then there won’t be much here to convince you otherwise, but if you still enjoy this particular brand of Death Metal then The Crawling Chaos hits the spot. It’s also a release that gets better the more you listen to it, which is always a good thing to be able to say about an album. It has top cover artwork too.

Check them out.

Unwilling Flesh – Between the Living and the Dead (Review)

Unwilling Flesh is a one-man project designed for a single purpose only – massive killing capacity…

Immediately as the first track starts it’s apparent this is Swedish Death Metal and it has That Sound in spades – the trademark Swedish Chainsaw Assault is in full swing. Blood and carnage is everywhere.

This is closely modelled on the early 90’s Old-School Swedish Death Metal style and this album is essential pure devotional worship of this. Even the album cover screams SWEDISH DEATH METAL at the top of its lungs. With all this in mind, your tolerance for this style of Metal will largely dictate how well you get on with this album or not.

As for me, long-standing readers of this site may have noticed that I have a giant, gore-stained soft spot for this style of music. Yes it’s been done to death and yes there’s little innovation to be had here, but all of this misses the point really. Albums like this from Unwilling Flesh just plain ROCK. I mean, here we have lots of chainsaw riffs; deep, evil growling; creepy, darkened melodies; drums that want to destroy; what’s not to like?

The songs on this release are as competent and enjoyable as any in this style. There is the odd effect and added interest to enhance the core sound and the riffs and vocals are perfectly judged. The melodies, leads and solos are all played well and the guitars drive this album forward with nothing but destruction in mind.

This is obviously a labour of love though; this is not the sound of someone slapping an album together quickly just for the sake of it. Time and effort has clearly been spent ensuring that this has an authentic sound and, more importantly, that the songs are as good as they can be. Top marks for this.

If you decry the state of modern Death Metal, (I don’t), and/or just love the older Death Metal sound, (I do), then Unwilling Flesh offer a time capsule of delights on this album.

Listen loud, and get ready to dig out that chainsaw that you have packed away somewhere. You’re going to need it.

Horrendous – Ecdysis (Review)

This is the second album from US Death Metal band Horrendous.

Firstly; what an album cover! Top marks for that for a start.

But what of the music? Horrendous play Traditional/Old-School Death Metal with a good bit of the Swedish style chucked in, although they are certainly not limited to this one particular subgenre. Their style is a wider one that encompasses pretty much all of the Classic/Traditional/Old-School Death Metal sounds and delivers them wrapped in entrails as a horrendous, (heh), package of delights for the listener to chew on.

Good riffs and good melodies are apparent from the off; this is band that knows how to rip your face off but also knows how to show restraint and take the slower, more considered route to its slaughter. Some of the guitar leads and solos on this release are sublime, enough to take your breath away. There really are some impressive moments here.

A warm, organic sound means you can almost feel the breathing of the Metal as it clobbers you to death. Even the bass is audible. The guitars have a bit of That Swedish Sound, but not oppressively so. Instead the whole thing has a Classic Death Metal stomp.

The vocalist falls somewhere between an Obituary and a Covenant-era Morbid Angel style. He has a relatively varied voice as he ranges deeper or higher than his core voice as necessary.

The songs chug and churn, flatten and demolish their way through the 44 minutes playing time with the confidence of a killer and the talent of a professional. These are diverse and dynamic songs with strong songwriting clearly stamped all over them in a big, bloody mess.

This is an album that every fan of Death Metal should get their greasy mitts on. Play loud and play repeatedly.

Death Vomit – Gutted by Horrors (Review)

Death Vomit are from Chile and this is their début album. They play Death Metal.

Now that’s what you call a band logo!

This is brutal underground Death Metal played in the Old-School style.

As would be expected from a band named Death Vomit, the music is ugly and unrepentant. It’s filled with malevolent riffing and hateful drums. Savage vocals echo with the afterthought of torture and bloody carnage.

These tracks have a primitive presence; they have an almost atavistic existence as paragons of raw, underground Death Metal as was. Death Vomit play the kind of timeless, Classic Death Metal that no matter what mood you’re in it can’t help but raise a rictus grin to your face.

The songs are strongly written and it’s hard not to enjoy them as they’re so earnestly and honestly played.

If you’re looking for the latest, newest thing then this is not for you; here we have Traditional Death Metal that could honestly have come from almost any era. Suffice to say that it’s good and that’s all that matters.

Play them loud.

Coffinborn – Beneath the Cemetery (Review)

Coffinborn are from Hungary and play Death Metal. This is their début EP.

This is Old-School Death Metal through and through. The band rip, tear and shred through these 4 tracks with morbid fervour.

This is rotten, stinking Death Metal that’s clawed its way out of the depths of the foetid crypt in search of brains and fresh body parts.

Cavernous vocals fill the air and one can almost imagine some ravenous, giant maw being opened ready to suck in all light and matter.

The dirty, filthy sound they have fits the music perfectly and the tracks pummel and bash with pleasing brutality.

Some good riffs and melodies stick out and there’s a good chug and groove in parts.

Mixing elements of the Old-School from bands such as Autopsy, Dismember, Incantation and Death; Coffinborn’s Classic Death Metal is played well and with good songs.

There are only 4 tracks on this EP but at just under 21 minutes in length it’s a good hit of Death Metal for Old-School fans. This is a very enjoyable release that promises good things for the future of this band.

Their début album could be one to watch. Check them out.

Those Who Bring The Torture – Piling Up (Review)

Those Who Bring The Torture are from Sweden and this is their fourth album of Death Metal.

This is the latest album featuring Rogga Johansson, who we’ve met before in Megascavenger. This should already tell you a little something about the quality levels on this release.

According to the promo text, Those Who Bring The Torture play their Death Metal in a style that will suit fans of Grave, Hypocrisy and Malevolent Creation; it’s hard to argue with this description.

This is Swedish Death Metal at its core but with a few additional elements that prevent it sounding generic. Imagine Hypocrisy if they created a Swedish Death Metal album but with their own, older sound.

The songs are heavy and strong, and like its Swedish Death Metal heritage it’s strong on melodies. These melodies are memorable and provide a focus point for the songs to move around. There are some great riffs here and each track demonstrates a band who are capable of combining Death Metal brutality with sterling melody and songwriting.

Vocally the deep growls are bowel loosening and very satisfying. Higher screams are added to this when necessary and it’s a faultless performance all round.

This timeless and classic approach to Death Metal pays real dividends and Piling Up is an easy album to like. The songs carry themselves with an air of familiarity but just enough to evoke a smile and not enough to roll the eyes like you’ve heard it all before.

Those Who Bring The Torture have got their killing style down to a fine, bloody art. Anyone who’s into Old-School/Classic/Swedish Death Metal will have no cause to complain when they hear this.

Time to raise the flag for proper Death Metal once more. Let the slaughter commence.