MORS SUBITA: “HUMAN WASTE COMPRESSION”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Oct 212011
 

For a band I like as much as Finland’s Mors Subita, I’m inexcusably late in reviewing their debut album Human Waste Compression. I’ve been listening to it off and on since long before the September 21 official release by Violent Journey Records, and it hasn’t worn out its welcome.

The band’s winning formula combines elements of thrash, groove, and Bodom-style melodic death metal. The music moves like a racehorse burning up the track, with slamming beats, frenetic riffs, and swarming guitar solos. Antti Haapsamo snarls like a really pissed-off bobcat, backed by bear-like roars. Put all that together and you get 11 tracks of modern metal that are electrifying and head-whipping.

The musicians can all really fly, the guitars and the heavy metallic sound of the bass generating rapid, jabbing pulses, their rhythms working seamlessly with the heavy artillery blasting away from the vicinity of the drum-kit. The rhythms have a pneumatic, almost industrial quality to them. The band also benefit from a talent for creating short melodic choruses via the lead guitar (or through dual-guitar harmonies) that are catchy and invariably will get your foot tapping and your head nodding. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

REVISITING THE CLASSICS: WINTER’S “INTO DARKNESS”

 Album Reviews  4 Responses »
Oct 192011
 

(TheMadIsraeli contributes another look-back at a classic album of metal.)

Winter are a band who have remained unfairly underrated and unrecognized in the metal landscape.  These guys virtually created the deathdoom style, and on the basis of their only full-length album, they still qualify as the heaviest, most morbid, and most brutal band in the entire sub-genre; AND THIS ALBUM IS 21 YEARS OLD NOW!

What I am revisiting today is the original version of the album.  Winter’s Into Darkness can be purchased on disk along with an EP called Eternal Frost that was released in 1994. Despite being a whole new batch of material, the EP feels perfectly at home on the same disc with Into Darkness.  But for those who are interested, you can get Into Darkness from Southern Lord Records on its own without the EP.

Into Darkness is so dank, so dark, so putrid and vile you can literally feel and imagine yourself walking through sewage and corpses as you listen to it.  Winter were only a three piece, a small band for the time and still small by modern convention, but the three of them produced such unheard of sounds that the music must have come as a shock in contrast to the rest of what was going on in 1990.  Tuning their instruments down to A for fucking abysmal was something that had to have sounded nuts back then, at least in the States, though we know that even by this time, Swedish bands were tuning their instruments down to the same or similar keys. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: BRAIN FAMINE

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Oct 172011
 

Brain Famine is a studio project that was formed in 2011 by two guys named Chris Leamy and John Gillis, both of them veterans of other bands in their community. On October 1, they self-released a six-song, self-titled EP. Gillis played drums on the recording and Leamy did everything else, including the engineering and mixing work. The EP is now available for free download at Bandcamp. You can get there by following this link. And that’s pretty much all I know about Brain Famine.

Except for the music, of course. The music is a goddamned weapon designed to shred the contents of craniums and leave the listener cross-eyed and drooling. Generally, it’s faster than your average greyhound, but it obeys no rules of metric consistency, darting from one time signature and tempo to another with oodles of technical skill. Pulverizing riffs churn your fuckin guts while the drums go off like guns firing semi-automatic bursts of lead. Leamy barks like a big, rabid death-metal dog that wants to use your jugular as a chew toy.

The longest and probably most interesting song, “Ingest”, backs off the flamethrower pacing of the first two tracks, but it’s equally berserker in its use of schizophrenic rhythms and unpredictable, unsettling guitar leads. “Citizen Solution” starts as another similarly mid-paced marauder, driven by thick, sludgy riffs and frenzied drums, but it grows in complexity and builds in speed until it becomes just as whacked out as the more abrupt, grind-centric blasters like “Die Off” or “Ignorant Dopes”, and it includes a beautifully diseased guitar solo. The EP’s closer, “N.F.O.”, commences like another hair-on-fire grind beast, then drops into a ghoulish crawl, before ending the festivities in a burst of cacophonous noise.

Truth is, I’m sold on every one of the songs on Brain Famine, The EP is a solid mix of tech-death, grind, thrash, and even a prog tendency every now and then. I’m sold on the band, too. There’s some serious talent on display here. Fans of Napalm Death, Magrudergrind, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, and Pig Destroyer, this is an EP you’ll want to grab while the grabbin’ is good. Get your drool cup handy and check out a couple of the tunes after the jump. You can stream all of them at Bandcamp.

Continue reading »

DEUS INVICTUS: “STAGED IN AWAITING”

 Album Reviews  6 Responses »
Oct 162011
 

(TheMadIsraeli returns to Deus Invictus with a review of their most recent album, Staged in Awaiting.)

Featured in a random music post I did fairly recently, Deus Invictus are an Atlanta band I stumbled upon in one of the downloading sprees I go on every so often to see if I strike gold. When I found out they were Christian I was even more intrigued, since I’m a Christian who thinks Christian music SUCKS THE BIG ONE IN SPADES, including most so-called Christian metal. Yes, I know, there is Extol, Mortification, Living Sacrifice; all three of them are excellent and legends in what they’ve done, especially for the more religiously inclined who love metal as much as any non-believer, but we need more bands like those.

Deus Invictus impress me with their combination of Cynic-like experimentation, Pestilence-like songwriting, and Death-like riffing and mood. A rather ambitious debut awaits hearing in Staged In Awaiting (2010), bringing torrential hailstorms of riffs of almost every sort within a progressive death metal framework. You won’t hear many albums this well put-together and well thought-out these days that are this diverse and this jarring.

Opener “Alas, The Anvil” starts out with a jazzy, clean intro that then drops like an atom bomb straight into an assault of Cynic-style dual guitar interplay and counterpoint. The rest of the song, like the rest of the album, is a total blur of awesome. My head is still spinning from it, but I think there was, like, a shitload of tempo changes or something. Lots of distorted-to-clean transitions and uh, tasteful use of sparingly utilized clean vocals, but mostly a pretty set-in-stone death growl with some serious power behind it. There are even some Opeth-ish-like-esque sections on this album that change the mood up nicely. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

BANDS YOU NEED TO HEAR: DEMISERY

 Album Reviews  6 Responses »
Oct 152011
 

(TheMadIsraeli provides a quick alert about a two-man, old-school death metal project that includes Keith Merrow.)

Keith Merrow has been slowly working his way up the ranks of metal supremacy. You’ll know him for his unique style of instrumental groove metal, and if not… well… get on checking that shit out.

Demisery is Keith’s first venture (that any of us will have heard) into a different style of music, old school death metal. Teaming up with his friend and vocalist Gord Olson, this two-man project is set to take the world by storm with their coming debut Hive Of Mutation”. I’ll let the band’s mission statement speak for itself.

“This collaboration is extremely fun, and the music is in the traditional Death Metal vein. It’s pretty much a blatant tribute to old (and some newer) Death Metal tunes. Fans of bands like Grave, Death, Obituary, Malevolent Creation, Cannibal Corpse, Monstrosity, etc… will find a familiar sound and traditional DM feel. We’re currently in pre-production of our first full-length album at the moment. It’s packed full of blast beats, trem picking, guitar solos and guttural vocals. There’s no core, no prog, no “djent”, this is a 100% Death Metal album.”

Sound good to you? Does to me. Demisery have released two songs thus far called “Thralldom” and “The Enlightener”, included after the jump, as well as a trailer of Keith Merrow recording various chunks of the album. Definitely expect a review of this down the line when it’s out. Continue reading »

ARCHGOAT: “HEAVENLY VULVA (CHRIST’S LAST RITES)”

 Album Reviews  24 Responses »
Oct 132011
 

We get our fair share of e-mails every day from record label representatives and PR folks. The most intriguing ones are those offering promo’s of new albums for review purposes, especially albums from bands whose music I don’t know anything about. I wish I had time to download and listen to everything that comes our way, but I don’t. So I can’t help but be influenced by what the e-mails say about the music, and how they say it. There’s an art to doing it well.

Some of the most effective pitches we get come from Earsplit PR, an outfit run by Liz Ciavarella-Brenner and Dave Brenner. They represent an extraordinary range of metal bands and labels, and they seem to have a chameleon-like ability to adapt their prose to each band’s music. Liz, in particular, seems to have my number, maybe because the e-mails I get from her trend more toward the very nasty end of the metal spectrum that I like best (and yes, I know she’s not writing these messages for me alone, though sometimes it seems that way). Now, I don’t know who wrote this message I got yesterday, because this one wasn’t specifically signed by Liz or Dave, but shit . . . you have to read this:

“ARCHGOAT’s new mini-album Heavenly Vulva (Christ’s Last Rites) goes straight for the throat of the self-proclaimed messiah and his wretched mother. Featuring six trademark God-slaying tracks torn directly from the Virgin’s violated womb, this brand new EP is gloriously crude, divinely tumultuous and deliciously deviant, as we have come to expect from the filthy, fearless Finn black crusaders. Defiled, invasive unsanctified black/death delivered in a corrupt, vile and demonic fashion, these anti-epiphanies embed themselves in the sacred flesh, spilling blood from the demised dog’s quivering body, funeral bells chiming as paradise is ransacked and the deceptive lie of centuries is exposed. Pounding, ripping, gurgling and mocking, the truth reveals itself. Blood-soaked, battered and humiliated, the deposed former denizens of Heaven cower in a corner. A frantic, blasphemous onslaught on the blind, deluded fraud-worshippers and knee-bending whoremongers who follow the path of the Liar!
The band is not available for interviews.”

(more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

BLOTTED SCIENCE: “THE ANIMATION OF ENTOMOLOGY”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Oct 112011
 

(We welcome to the site an NCS guest contributor who calls himself The Baby Killer, and he makes his debut with a review of the new EP from supergroup Blotted Science.)

Have you ever listened to an album and thought to yourself, “Wow, I never thought these guys would outdo the last one, but they just did”? Some albums, at the time of their release, such as Anaal Nathrakh’s In the Constellation of the Black Widow or Nile’s Annihilation of the Wicked, and more relevantly Blotted Science’s debut effort The Machinations of Dementia, seem like they just can’t be topped.

The technicality, atmosphere, or even just the sheer level of brutality seem so daunting when the albums come out, and when word later surfaces that the band is working on the follow-up, people tend to get polarized about the subject. Some say they can’t wait to hear what’s next, some say either it’s not going to be as good or it will just be the same album recycled for the fans, and the rest usually fall somewhere in the middle. And then when the next release does come out, everyone puts aside their differences to help pick up each other’s jaws off the ground. Such is the case with Blotted Science’s new EP, The Animation of Entomology.

Ron Jarzombek & co. don’t seem to have lost any of their momentum from their last full length, and instead have only gotten tighter.  The addition of tech-death drum veteran Hannes Grossmann (ex-Necrophagist, Obscura) has given the band just the right shot of adrenaline they needed to really stand head and shoulders above their peers, worthy opponents of Animals As Leaders, Fleshwrought and Sleep Terror.

The Animation of Entomology‘s backbone is still the fluid combination of jazzy drums and rhythms over Jarzombek’s signature free-form weedily-weedilies, but the songwriting and structures are much more varied and diverse this time around, with the tempos ranging from slow and eerie to holy-fuck-my-arms-are-gonna-fall-off. I even found certain parts comparable to djent, but much heavier of course. It’s a veritable musical roller coaster, and the guy who designed it was probably on shrooms. Continue reading »

INSOMNIUM: “ONE FOR SORROW”

 Album Reviews  15 Responses »
Oct 112011
 

(NCS writer Andy Synn reviews the new album from Finland’s Insomnium.)

Expectations are funny things. Sometimes they set us up for a fall. Sometimes they serve to prepare us for disappointment. Sometimes they serve only to disappoint us further. But sometimes the simple fulfilment of your expectations can be a wonderful thing.

With their fifth album, Insomnium once again offer you everything you’ve been expecting. Cleanly and powerfully. Proudly and confidently. Consider yourselves satisfied. Consider your expectations not simply fulfilled but effortlessly surpassed. And do not for a moment imagine that you know everything about this album already. Not this time.

The traditional introductory track “Inertia” commences the album in a wholly untraditional manner, its floating, ethereal style and omnipresent keyboard ambience initially bringing to mind their Finnish brethren in Ghost Brigade as it slowly builds in intensity, growing from a tiny seed of melody into a forest of stars and wind-swept harmonies.

From its rolling gait the song transitions naturally into “Through The Shadows”, a powerful number whose thunderous metallic might and grandiose melody is buoyed up by an ocean of shimmering keyboard orchestration. The riffs and vocals strike a potent balance between overwhelming power and restraint, never knowingly aggressive yet effortlessly confident and assured, leading right up to a strident chorus where the clean vocals of guitarist Ville Friman are offset against the familiar, rumbling growl of Niilo Sevänen, offering a tantalising glimpse of a band who have still yet to unfurl all the facets of their glorious wings. A transcendent solo and some magnificent duelling guitar leads crown the second half of the song in majestic grandeur, leading seamlessly into the lengthy and epic vibe of “Song Of The Blackest Bird”. Continue reading »

CIPHER SYSTEM: “COMMUNICATE THE STORMS”

 Album Reviews  6 Responses »
Oct 102011
 

(TheMadIsraeli has been a busy metalhead. Here’s his second album review for this Monday.)

Cipher System from Gothenburg, Sweden, were something of an adored cult band in the early 2000’s with their debut Central Tunnel 8. Loved for its complex melodic layers with sci-fi synths, intricate guitar interplay, and excellent changes in tempo, the album delivered a sound and feel all its own. Now Cipher System are back with a new album after 7 years of hiatus. How does it hold up? I’m happy to tell you that it brings back the classic formula of Central Tunnel 8 with some very welcome improvements. This is Communicate The Storms.

Cipher System definitely know how to deliver the melodeath sledgehammer to the face. Opener “7 Inch Cut” is a slow choice for an album starter (I seem to be reviewing albums with non-conventional opening tracks lately), with staccato’d chugs conveying stoic solitude, while Blade Runner-styled synths hang overhead. It conveys a mood of deep sorrow, a theme that persists throughout the song in its musical approach. The anguished vocals of new vocalist Karl Obbel tear away at your soul, like a hungry abyss waiting to consume you. The waltz-like cadence of “7 Inch Cut” makes the song feel like an extended intro, like the opening credits-roll of a movie, and THAT is really cool to me.

“Forget To Forgive” is where the album really “starts”, as it were. A thrashy riff in very Soilwork-ish fashion blows up in your face and ignites the stage. The verse is a badass, full-steam-ahead, machine-gun chug-fest, complemented by totally awesome synth work, which changes in tone every time the verse rolls around. The chorus on this song is one of my favorites, with clean vocals and anguished screams delivered exactly in unison. Continue reading »

A MASTODON FANBOY UNPACKS THE HUNTER – It’s Not What You Think

 Album Reviews  6 Responses »
Oct 102011
 

(NCS writer BadWolf provides his take on Mastodon’s new album, The Hunter.)

A whole lot of misconceptions are flying around about Mastodon’s The Hunter. There is so much bullshit coming from so many remote corners of the metalliverse that conversation about The Hunter matches the album—scattershot.

People, including Mastodon themselves, would have you think The Hunter is some sort of radical departure from their past. It’s not. It doesn’t even break the ‘element’ theme Mastodon has been using—the cover art is a wooden structure, and many songs mention plants, wood, or the woods in general.

The press has called it a pseudo-successor to Remission, but those people have got to be on the brown acid. The Hunter resembles Blood Mountain more than anything. Both records take their predecessors as templates and run them through a million experiments. Traditional rock structures save these various experiments, otherwise they would spiral into incomprehension.

And the greatest insanity—people are calling this a bid for radio success. Yes, it’s an album of singles, especially “Curl of the Burl,” but there is a distinct schizophrenia to Mastodon that mainstream America just won’t accept. The album is an insane jumble of mellowness and aggression, electronic and organic. EG: “Thickening,” where delicate melodies play over turgid downbeat sludge. The choruses have gotten more decipherable and feel-good, but the verses are still abstract. Without an overarching storyline to anchor them, individual songs flicker from genius to batshit and back. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

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