Istapp – Sól Tér Sortna (Review)

Istapp - Sól Tér SortnaThis is the fourth album from Swedish black metallers Istapp.

Brought to us by current/ex-members of bands such as Entrails, Necrophagous, Soijl, and Visceral Bleeding, Sól Tér Sortna contains 45 minutes of sharp and fast melodic black metal. Continue reading “Istapp – Sól Tér Sortna (Review)”

Retromorphosis – Psalmus Mortis (Review)

Retromorphosis - Psalmus MortisThis is the debut album from Swedish death metallers Retromorphosis.

Well, this was an instantly enticing proposition. It’s death metal brought to us by ex-members of Spawn of Possession, (four out of five of Retromorphosis’ members), and an ex-member of Decrepit Birth, which is enough to get anyone’s notice. However, when you look at their collective history though, you realise just how much experience they bring to the table – Alkaloid, Blood Red Throne, Deeds of Flesh, Defeated Sanity, Eschaton, Obscura, Necrophagist, Visceral Bleeding, and many others. What a list! Considering this, expectations are high for Psalmus Mortis, perhaps unfairly so. Continue reading “Retromorphosis – Psalmus Mortis (Review)”

Necrophagous – In Chaos Ascend (Review)

Necrophagous - In Chaos AscendThis is the debut album from Necrophagous, a death metal band from Sweden.

Featuring ex-members of Visceral Bleeding and Entrails, In Chaos Ascend contains 45 minutes of groove-laden, blast beat-driven timeless death metal.

The promo blurb compares Necrophagous’ sound to a combination of the above two bands, along with Continue reading “Necrophagous – In Chaos Ascend (Review)”

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

Visceral ThroneVisceral 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.