THE SYNN REPORT (PART 113): IMPLORE

 Album Reviews, THE SYNN REPORT  1 Response »
Sep 302019
 

 

(For this month’s Synn Report, Andy delves into the discography of the German band Implore, including their latest full-length, just released by Century Media.)

Recommended for fans of: Nasum,Trap Them, Ancst

Sometimes the self-imposed restrictions I’ve put in place around this column do make things a little difficult.

Case in point, simply picking three bands for the “Recommended for fans of…” section above proved to be a surprisingly difficult task, as Implore’s sound could potentially appeal to a wide range of listeners.

At their heart the quartet are a belligerent Death/Grind act, but this description doesn’t tell the full story, as while the speed and structure of the tracks recalls Grindcore godfathers like Nasum and Rotten Sound, and their meaty, Swe-Death guitar tone is equal parts Grave and Dismember, there’s also a distinct Crust/Hardcore element that would appeal to fans of everyone from Earth Crisis to Martyrdöd, as well as a touch of blackened spite reminiscent of Anaal Nathrakh at their grindiest, and some hook-heavy riffs and melodies that aren’t a million miles from At The Gates or Darkest Hour at their punkiest.

But Implore don’t actually sound exactly like any of these bands when all is said and done. They just happen to hit that sweet spot where fans of these bands, if they’re open-minded enough, will be able to appreciate what they do, no matter whereabouts on the Metal spectrum they come from. Continue reading »

HIGHER CRITICISM: SLAYER (PART 10) — “GOD HATES US ALL”

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Sep 302019
 

 

(Forging ahead with a series devoted to a retrospective chronological analysis of the discography of Slayer, today TheMadIsraeli has made his way to the band’s 2001 album God Hates Us All. Links to all preceding segments of the series are at the end of the writing.)

God Hates Us All is a great album.  If you disagree, you’re wrong.  If you are the type to make assertions that it’s nu-metal or Slipknot-esque, wrong again.  If you disagree that this is the most brutal and unrelenting Slayer have been in their entire career (yes really) you are wrong one more time.

You can dislike the more personally grounded lyrics and the degree of profanity, sure, but no sane person who likes metal should dislike the music itself, and if you once did, maybe it’s time to revisit and reconsider.  God Hates Us All is about the most bitter, belligerent, and intense album the band have ever written.  It certainly isn’t their best, but it’s a fantastic record with an uncompromising dedication to being as violent and oppressive as possible, and I love it for that.  Tom Araya has never sounded better than on this album, and it includes some of the band’s best material, period. Continue reading »

…OR GIVE ME DEATH!

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Sep 272019
 


Photo by Rahul Raveendran

 

(In this article Andy Synn reviews new albums by the Texas band Creeping Death (due for release today via eOne) and Denmark’s Baest (out now on Century Media).)

2019 has, I think we can all agree, been a banner year for Death Metal.

Old bands have rekindled their flames, new bands have exploded into life, and several bands previously on the cusp of greatness have finally stepped up to seize the torch for themselves.

Just off the top of my head the past nine months has seen us graced with albums from (deep breath)… Abominism, Blood Red Throne, Witch Vomit, Gomorrah, Entombed, Krypts, Vitriol, Venom Prison, Disentomb, Devourment, Nucleus, Nocturnus, Tomb Mold, Fuming Mouth, Towering, Iron Flesh, Misery Index, Altarage… with new albums from Hour of Penance, Hideous Divinity, Cattle Decapitation, Konkhra, and more still to come… and that’s barely even scratching the surface!

But there are two albums not mentioned on the above list, one of which came out a few weeks ago, the other which is being released today, that you shouldn’t let pass you by, and those are Venenum by Danish death-dealers Bæst and Wretched Illusions from Texan tormentors Creeping Death. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): NEKROSITY — “VOID GAZER”

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Sep 272019
 

 

After a decade-long life that until today had yielded only two demos in 2913 and 2015, the Swedish death metal band Nekrosity have at last released a debut album, the name of which is Void Gazer. It’s the kind of release that obviously reveals not only a deep affection and understanding of death metal’s golden age (as represented on both sides of the Atlantic) but also a level of song-writing and performance skill that displays maturity (three of Nekrosity’s members are also current or former participants in Sadistic Grimnness, whose roots go back 20 years)… and a hell of a lot of hard work. It’s such a damned good album, and so capable of appealing to even jaded fans of old school death metal in its differing formulations, that we enthusiastically seized on the opportunity to help spread the word through this feature.

The reference points are indeed varied — from Grave and Asphyx to Autopsy and Death, from old Entombed and Necrophagia to Morbid Angel and Slayer (and a mention of Demonical among more latter-day bands isn’t out of place either) — but the proficiency with which Nekrosity fluidly combine those influences in Void Gazer makes the album stand out in the vast pack of bands that have been part of the death metal revival over the last decade. Continue reading »

HIGHER CRITICISM: SLAYER (PART 9) — “DIABOLUS IN MUSICA”

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Sep 272019
 

 

(This is the ninth installment in a series by TheMadIsraeli devoted to a retrospective chronological analysis of the discography of Slayer, and today’s subject is the band’s 1998 album Diabolus In Musica. Links to the preceding installments are at the end of this post.)

While people point to God Hates Us All quite often, I’ve always felt that the real black sheep in Slayer’s body of work (even more so than the album covered yesterday) is this album right here, new logo and all.

I actually have a soft spot for Diabolus In Musica. I like MOST of it.  It has some awful songs, but the good songs on it are VERY good.  What I respect first and foremost about this album is just Slayer’s willingness to try new things.  I will say, the fact that the album plays to the particular bents it does shouldn’t be a huge surprise, looking at the band’s preceding discography. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: VENEREAL BAPTISM — “REPUGNANT CORONATION OF THE BEAST”

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Sep 262019
 

 

On the surface (and it’s the kind of surface you don’t want to touch without wearing surgical-grade antiseptic gloves), the South Texas black metal band Venereal Baptism is naaaasty. From their band name to the outrageous song titles on their new album Repugnant Coronation of the Beast, they just blare filth and depravity (and a complete disregard for modern mores and tender feelings) straight out of a bullhorn. It’s all so over the top in its offensiveness that it might even make you dubious about listening.

However, if you choose not to subject yourself to the full album riot that we’re premiering today on the eve of the record’s release by Osmose Productions, you’ll be missing a balls-to-the-wall thrill-ride, and one that proves to be fiendishly addictive. Continue reading »

ASAGRAUM: “DAWN OF INFINITE FIRE”

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Sep 262019
 

 

(The Dutch black metal band Asagraum released their second album digitally on September 13th and Edged Circle Productions  will release physical editions on September 27th. What follows is a review of it by TheMadIsraeli.)

Over the last few years I’ve really made a turn-around on black metal as a style and have come to love it, but I’ve only settled on a particular bent. It has to really engage in that very meta-spiritual vibe of melancholic and enigmatic melody while retaining a sense of brutality and mercilessness.  This has led me to more concise, more  “lean” (for the lack of a better word) riff-driven black metal like Old Man’s Child, Nidingr, Naglfar, Dark Fortress, and so on.  I like my black metal to definitely strive for peak musicianship, instead of relying on the gimmicks and the edginess the style sort of has a reputation for.  If you can channel the sensation that your music is an attempt at invoking some kind of ritual or summoning, then that’s even better.  That’s the sort of ritualistic take on black metal I’m very fond of.

Which brings me to Asagraum. Continue reading »

VISCERAL DISGORGE: “SLITHERING EVISCERATION”

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Sep 262019
 

 

(This is Vonlughlio’s review of the long-awaited second album by the Baltimore brutal death metal band Visceral Disgorge.)

This time around the subject is Slithering Evisceration, the long-awaited sophomore album by Visceral Disgorge (Baltimore, Maryland), released via Agonia Records on September 13th. This project was formed back in 2007. They released their debut album Ingesting Putridity in 2011 and that was well-received, gaining the band a lot of fans worldwide.  One of my favorite aspects from that record was the riffs of Steve Rosenzweig (R.I.P.), such an amazing musician who left us too early.

Thanks to the overall reaction to the first album and the massive following it produced, the band was able to tour quite a bit, and I was fortunate to see them at Chicago Domination Fest III in 2016. To say the least, their performance was among my favorites from that fest. They leveled the placed. That was not an easy task — Gorgasm, Lividity, Inherit Disease, and Malignancy played as well, and their performances were also among the best. So, I was quite impressed with the stage show of Visceral Disgorge. Continue reading »

HIGHER CRITICISM: SLAYER (PART 8) — “DIVINE INTERVENTION”

 Album Reviews  9 Responses »
Sep 262019
 

 

(This is the eighth installment in an extensive series of posts by TheMadIsraeli devoted to a retrospective analysis of the discography of Slayer, and today’s subject is the band’s 1994 album Divine Intervention. Links to the preceding installments are at the end of this post. Our plan is to continue posting the remaining Parts on a daily basis until the series is completed.)

I’ve always perceived Divine Intervention as Slayer’s black sheep sort of release.  It’s an odd album to be sure, seeing Slayer write more tempo-complex songs, explore more death metal sorts of sounds, and adopt some of the other sounds they themselves had inspired in others.

But I like Divine Intervention quite a bit.  It’s weird, and Slayer have always been pretty good about being weird the few times they’ve done it.  There’s something unhinged about this album, and that lines up with a lot of the really bleak and depraved lyrical content.  There’s a lot of shit about serial killers on this album, and the album SOUNDS like the subject matter it addresses.  It’s sick.  It also helps that Tom Araya just sounds PISSED on this record, a tonality he’s never had before. He also sounds unhinged. Continue reading »

CRANIAL: “ALTERNATE ENDINGS”

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Sep 252019
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by Germany’s Cranial, which will be released on September 27th by Moment of Collapse.)

It’s either an incredibly ballsy, or completely coincidental, move for German sludgemongers Cranial to put out Alternate Endings just one week after Post-Metal titans Cult of Luna released their new, long-awaited album, A Dawn to Fear.

After all, there’s only so much time, money, and mental energy available to potential listeners, and big releases like ADtF do tend to monopolise people’s attention for a long time both before and after they come out (heck, this is exactly why you often see movies getting pushed back or bumped up… no-one wants to go up against Star Wars at the box office unless they really have to after all!).

I’m inclined to think that it was a purposeful move by the Bavarian quartet though, as not only did they explicitly select CoL’s Magnus Lindberg to master their new record, but each of the four songs presented here is written and performed with such brash, bullish confidence that I can’t imagine any of the members of Cranial were at all worried about being compared to their Swedish brethren! Continue reading »

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