Venom – Page 3 – Wonderbox Metal

Sabbatory – Endless Asphyxiating Gloom (Review)

Sabbatory are from Canada and play Death Metal. This is their début album.

Sabbatory have an Old-School sound that recalls Celtic Frost if they were a Death Metal band.

The production has that classic timeless feeling and the songs maximise this, playing their morbid Metal with enthusiasm and intensity.

The vocals are deep and disturbed, but remain legible for the most part. They have character and are instantly differentiated from most modern Death Metal vocals by this and by borrowing some Old-School quirkiness from the likes of Celtic Frost and Venom.

Each song has its own identity. There are only 7 of them but they each have a role to play in making up the 33 minutes playing time. There is not a filler in sight.

Like the best of the classic Death Metal bands Sabbatory are interested in songs and know how to write a good tune. They play the riffs well and even push out the odd solo. I hear a healthy Death influence here and there.

Recommended listening. After all, this is Death Metal through and through, what’s not to like?

Cauldron Black Ram – Stalagmire (Review)

This is the third album from Australian Death Metal band Cauldron Black Ram.

The band have a very striking sound that instantly forces you to sit up and pay attention. Sort of like Six Feet Under crossed with Venom and Celtic Frost.

There is an air of Sludge to the songs; a foetid whiff of mouldy corpses long sealed in a basement. Add to this a decent Black Metal influence on occasion, and you have a bumpy ride over the screaming bodies of countless poor passers by as this Metal juggernaut rolls into town.

They have a very fluid sound in the sense that the songs can morph into different shades of Metal quite quickly, with different riffs, vocals and drumming patterns all asserting themselves dominantly depending on the song. All of this happens within the Death/Black/Sludge Metal framework of course, but it does mean that there’s never any chance to get bored when the band have so many tools to club their way into your attention.

Although I wouldn’t call them Old-School per se, there is a definite Old-School streak to them and they even have some prime Heavy Metal, almost Iron Maiden-type moments now and again.

This is an interesting and gratifying Metal album. All the more so for the fact that it’s a little different from the norm. A lot of talent and effort has gone into these songs, and it shows.

Get your fix of Cauldron Black Ram today.

Voidhanger – Working Class Misanthropy (Review)

Black/Death Metal with a Thrashy edge from Poland. Or Thrash Metal with a Blackened Death edge. Either way it’s a bit of a killer.

The first thing you notice is the granite-heavy sound and the utter crushing demolition job that goes along with it.

The songs are mainly fast and pounding but they also have good taste in their choice of slower riffs. This is quality Metal that’s pretty much half-Black and half-Thrash with an extra helping of Metal.

Chock full to bursting of Old-School riffery with a vague Punk air; these are class songs that know they’re good and can afford to have a cocky swagger about them.

The vocals have a lot of character and individuality. Think of singers such as those of Celtic Frost, Venom, Usurper, Cathedral, et al who manage to infuse their voices with both aggression and personality; the singer of Voidhanger is of their ilk, and it really works wonders.

This is a quality Metal album with a crushing sound that’ll have you reaching for the bulletbelt and spikes faster than you can say “blastbeat”.