Suffocation – Page 6 – Wonderbox Metal

Fleshgore – Denial of the Scriptures (Review)

This is the fifth album from this Ukrainian Death Metal band.

Here we have 39 minutes of brutal Death Metal in the USDM style, influenced by the likes of Suffocation, Dying Fetus, Severe Torture, etc.

This is a release that has a satisfying and dense sound, crushing and maiming all around it. The band can play too, and are given ample opportunity to show off what they can do.

The vocals on this release are just the right side of pignoise, so that the singer still has power to his voice rather than just sounding like he’s got a bad case of the burps. He sounds on top form.

The songs are ultra-brutal exemplars of the style and unless you’re just not a fan of this kind of stuff then it’s hard to find fault with their delivery. With decent riffs and good structuring, the tracks on Denial of the Scriptures make for an enjoyable listen and this timeless form of Death Metal is easy to get on board with.

Blast beats are accentuated by mid-paced aggression and even small hints of barbaric melody here and there; these are few and far between though, added to some of the riffs on occasion to sharpen them up to a killing point.

This is a solid and gratifying Death Metal release from a band that have honed their craft over time. Denial of Scriptures has had the excess fat mercilessly chewed off so all that is left is a lean, mean killing machine.

Recommended for all fans of brutality.

Inherit Disease – Ephemeral (Review)

Inherit Disease are a US Death Metal band. This is their third album.

Combining some technicality and lots of brutality, Inherit Disease play a classic USDM style that allows them to showcase their love of the genre and all things brutal.

The music on Ephemeral combines speedy aggression with some chunky slam riffs, producing 39 minutes of utterly depraved brutality.

The singer’s vocals are sickeningly deep, stopping just short of descending into the kind of ridiculous pignoise burping that tends to ruin bands. His voice is as ugly and as gruesome as the music.

Ephemeral is unrelenting and harsh, rarely stopping for breath as it chops, hacks and carves its way through the tracks. There’s something very satisfying about this kind of music. It’s just so timelessly appealing; despite what other musical trends and moods might take you, Death Metal will always be there. Waiting. Lurking. Ready to strike.

I like that the more you listen to this, the more you enjoy it. It’s an unstoppable juggernaut of groove and blasting, easily absorbed by anyone who has a taste for bands like Deeds of Flesh, Suffocation, Cannibal Corpse, Severe Torture, Dying Fetus, Defeated Sanity, etc.

For a solid fix of heavy brutality and death-dealing, Inherit Disease have got you covered.

Check them out.

Strangulate – Catacombs of Decay (Review)

Strangulate are an Indian Death Metal band, this is their début album.

Strangulate’s Death Metal is raw and brutal, going straight for the throat with their direct assault.

The gruesome riffs and bloody vocals sound like they were recorded about 20 years ago and then sealed in a crypt and forgotten about. Until now. It seems that some hapless victim has stumbled upon these ancient recordings and unleashed them on the world.

The band’s ugly approach to Death Metal is not polished, not state-of-the-art, not technical and not precise, and once they have you in their grip you wouldn’t want it any other way. This is 33 minutes of murderous, nasty music that knows a thing or two about how best to go about causing as much damage as possible.

Music like this is very honest and the passion of the band comes through in the delivery. The songs may be raw and unyielding, but they play the classic style well and the songwriting is on point. There’s a pleasing mix of blast beats and the mid-paced, with plenty of tasty riffs along the way that are catchier than you might think, too.

I hear elements of bands like Cannibal Corpse, (old) Hypocrisy, Gorerotted, Incantation, Severe Torture, Suffocation and a host of others in their sound. They pick and choose their influences with care and Catacombs of Decay is enriched by the band’s knowledge of their Death Metal heritage.

I mustn’t neglect to mention the singer, either. His clipped barking growls are performed flawlessly, perfectly capturing the essence of the style.

Mixing the old-school and classic styles of Death Metal to provide us with a great combination of blasting brutality and well-thought out riffs, Strangulate’s début is a winner and definitely rough and fierce enough to scrape your skin off.

Highly recommended.

Display of Decay – Dust of Existence (Review)

Dust of Decay are a Canadian Death Metal band and this is their second album.

This is Brutal Death Metal that wastes no time on pointless intros or messing around; the album starts with a bang and is all about the aggression and violence.

Display of Decay’s brand of brutality involves nods towards the Old-School as well as worshipping at the more timeless brand of thick, groove-laden Death Metal skullduggery so beloved of bands like Deeds of Flesh, Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation.

The album has a good production; it’s raw and dry enough to fit nicely in with the underground, but strong and focused enough to have a powerful presence. I love the sound of the bass too; scratchy and omnipresent without being overpowering. It’s as if it’s saying “Yes, I’m here. I’ll be the end of you, too”.

There’s a good combination of blasting, mid-paced groove and slower sections that have a definite Doom vibe to them, akin to bands like Incantation, Zombiefication and Hooded Menace. The songs are well-written and there are plenty of decent riffs hanging around, like torture implements waiting to be used.

Dust of Existence is a really enjoyable Death Metal album that succeeds in avoiding being a faceless drone in a sea of similar bands and instead has a personality and character that’s very pleasing to see.

Blow the dust away and crank out Display of Decay at full volume.

Visceral Throne – Those Who Have Fallen Beyond the Grace of God (Review)

Visceral Throne are a Death Metal band from the US. This is their second release.

The band play Brutal Death Metal, for fans of bands such as Defeated Sanity, Internal Bleeding, Suffocation, Visceral Bleeding, Birth Through Gore, Abnormality, etc.

This latest EP features 5 tracks, three of which are original songs, one is an intro and the last is a cover of an Internal Suffering track. At 14 minutes in length it’s short, but who needs it to be any longer when it’s this ripping and slamming and blasting and stuff?

The songs get in, do their damage, and then get out; quick, clean and efficient. There are quite a few meaty chops to go around and the guitarist seems to know his stuff. The bass sound warms my heart too, as it’s always nice to hear this oft-neglected instrument. Little spikes of melody do appear here and there, but these are very few and far between.

The singer’s brutal growling is quite daemonic and inhuman, exactly as we would expect from a band like this. He’s clearly had plenty of practice, and it shows.

This is a good introduction to a band I didn’t know before. It’s a small-but-satisfying release that showcases a Brutal Death Metal band who play the classic American style well.

Check them out.

Abhorrent Deformity – Entity of Malevolence (Review)

This is the début album from US Brutal Death Metal band Abhorrent Deformity.

With an album cover that lets you know exactly what the band are going to sound like, Abhorrent Deformity proceed to brutalise you with 35 minutes of powerful USDM for fans of Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Deeds of Flesh, Dying Fetus, Defeated Sanity, Severe Torture, etc., as well a s touch of a more modern approach to some of the riffs, somewhat akin to Molotov Solution.

Savagely deep grunts are unrelenting in their vocal attack. The singer has a classic Deathgrowl that’s quite satisfying and utterly guttural, (say that five times fast).

Entity of Malevolence is ugly, brutal, full of blast beats and has just enough chug-and-squeal to be pleasing without getting boring. I imagine that some may have had their fill of this style and might want more from a Death Metal band in 2015, but it’s hard to complain when the band stamp a boot on your throat and knife your insides.

These songs use a good combination of speed and heaviness with which to beat the listener into submission. It’s music that’s not for everyone by any means, but then Brutal Death Metal never is. If you favour the style though, Abhorrent Entity play it with a purity and honesty that I haven’t heard in quite a while.

Definitely one for all fans of brutality, everywhere.

Obedience to Dictator – Hogzilla (Review)

Obedience to Dictator are a Death Metal band from Italy. This is their second EP.

The band have a tight and precise approach to their music, with everything sounding balanced and where it should be.

These songs have faster sections as well as slower, groovier ones. There are some good riffs on these tracks and they’re arranged well, showing that the band have a grasp of songwriting rather than just stringing bits together.

Modern Death Metal meets an older style, settling for something that’s closer to the latter, but with a nod to the former. Dark melodies are sometimes used to improve the tracks and the band show that they are not interested in recreating just one style of Death Metal. The songs are relatively diverse, with quite a few different ideas and themes being explored throughout, all within the Death Metal framework, of course.

The vocals are mainly deep growls, although screams and other vocal effects are used to add a bit of variation.

In their sound I hear bits of Immolation, Malevolent Creation, Suffocation, Morbid Angel and even a bit of aggressive Thrash similar to Dew Scented in a couple of places.

I enjoyed this and look forward to what they might do next.

Favourite Track: Megabong.

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.

Vasomortus – Instrument Torture of Pyramid (Review)

This is the début album by Indonesian Death Metallers Vasomortus.

Vasomortus play Death Metal that’s raw and brutal. There’s no subtlety, nuance, niceness or any form of nod to anything progressive or forward thinking; this is relentlessly ugly, aggressive Death Metal. Vasomortus’ only concern is a murderous assault and how much damage they can do.

This takes me back to mid-90’s USDM and the album has a production to match. Everything about this band harks back to this time really and the brutality is completely authentic. For fans of Suffocation, Deeds of Flesh, Devourment, etc.

Blasting riffs, chugging heaviness and groovy carnage are the meat and potatoes of the band, so it’s time to tuck in and get your fill.

Eschewing any shades of colour in the form of solos or leads, and stripped of technicality, progressive elements, modern polish, etc. this is Death Metal that is utterly single minded in its intention. What we’re left with is Brutal Death Metal that only cares about brutality and death-dealing, nothing more.

Although this does leave Vasomortus sounding a bit one-dimensional compared to a lot of other Death Metal bands who may have more variety in their attack, it does mean that they are free to focus purely on what they do best – embodying underground brutality.

For times when only pure barbarity will do.

Ataxia – Calignious (Review)

Ataxia are a Canadian Death Metal band and this is their début album.

This is sharp Death Metal with a technical twist.

The band have a well-produced sound that’s tight and focused. Good musicianship means that the band know how to widdle and lots of technical muscles are flexed.

The singer has a decent growl that seems to come straight from the depths of somewhere dark and evil.

Ataxia are a band who are trying to do something slightly different with the Death Metal template. Yes, to the untrained eye this is essentially Death Metal, but to the connoisseur of such things Ataxia have enough of their own personality and ideas that are manifested in Calignious to cause you to sit up and take notice.

The band seem to prefer to embed their technicality into the very brutal essence of the songs as a general rule, as there are surprisingly few solos or leads on this release. Most of the time the complicated fretwork makes up the bulwark of the rhythms and snakes around the blasting drums.

This is brutal, Technical Death Metal which takes its cues from the experimental sides of Atheist and Death as much as Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation.

I think it’s time to support the Metal underground once more and lay your hands on this.