LISTMANIA 2020: A BRUTAL YEAR-END LIST FROM VONLUGHLIO

 LISTMANIA 2020  4 Responses »
Dec 282020
 

 

(For the 9th year in a row, here’s our friend Vonlughlio’s list of the best brutal death metal albums of the year that’s about to end.)

That time of year has arrived again for the year-rnf list and like every year I start by thanking Islander for letting me share my lists since 2012. As some of you might know (duh!!!) one of my favorite genres is BDM, and even though I listen to other genres as well, I want to focus more on BDM for NCS, since the staff does a great job in covering other genres.

I thought that this year would be different and that I would have an easier time doing my top 25 BDM albums for NCS. but no!!! It has been a difficult task like every other time. I have 30 or so releases that I enjoyed and not all of them would make the list.  Some will like what I’ve named here, and others may hate it, but that is life. Continue reading »

SUFISM: “REPUBLIK RAKYAT JELATA”

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Dec 172020
 

 

(This is Vonlughlio’s review of the debut album by the Indonesian brutal death metal band Sufism, which was released on December 13th by the Brutal Mind label.)

As some of you might know, one of my favorite BDM scenes is from Indonesia, due to the everlasting passion and commitment to the music from fans, labels, and bands in that area.  Someday I would love to visit the country and meet some of the musicians/projects I enjoy (one can dream).

Today I have the opportunity to review the debut album of the Indonesian band Sufism, entitled Republik Rakyat Jelata, which was just released via Brutal Mind on December 13th. The band were formed in 2014 and the following year released their first EP, Reptilia Buas, which consisted of five songs that were well-crafted and showcased impressive musicianship.  I will say that it was not groundbreaking nor made waves, but overall it was a good EP that I enjoyed quite a bit. Continue reading »

DEEDS OF FLESH: “NUCLEUS”

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Dec 162020
 

 

(This is Vonlughlio’s review of the new album by Deeds of Flesh, which was released by Unique Leader Records on December 11th.)

I have the honor to write about a band who are considered a classic act by fans of Brutal Death Metal, a band who came to life back in 1993 in Los Osos, California, and whose music has transcended the test of time and inspired many bands in both the BDM and Tech scene.

I remember while living in the Dominican Republic discovering their 1996 debut album Trading Pieces and being blown away as the music started. It left an everlasting impact on my life. Continue reading »

ABHORRENT CASTIGATION: “ON THE SHORES OF HELL”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Dec 102020
 

 

(Here’s Vonlughlio’s review and recommendation of a new EP, released in August, by the German extreme metal band Abhorrent Castigation.)

Some releases has come out of nowhere and hit us like a ton of bricks in the face (in a very good way), and such was the case for Germany’s Abhorrent Castigation and their new self-released EP On the Shores of Hell.

This band was founded back in 2012 and in the same year released their demo Enthralled by Abysmal Delusion, which took the scene by force and showcased the prodigious musical talent of this project. The cover of Cerebral Effusion’s “Into Morbid Obesity” on that demo was just godly from start to finish.  Two years afterward they released their debut album Throne of Existential Abandonment, which included as session drummer the mighty Lille Gruber (Defeated Sanity) and Anton Zhikharev as session bassist (also an amazing musician). Along with Torso (guitars) and Al (vocals), they created one of my favorite BDM debut albums ever. Continue reading »

DEATH VOMIT: “DOMINION OVER CREATION”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Nov 252020
 

 

(Today Vonlughlio’s recommendation for hungry fans of brutal death metal is the latest album by Indonesia’s Death Vomit, which was released in July by Demented Mind Records.)

As some of might you know, one of my favorite genres is BDM (you don’t say! lol) and I love the different scenes around the globe that embrace and live for it. Indonesian Death Metal (IDDM) is a prime example of a scene that loves death metal in general, and BDM is particularly huge in that country.

Lots of projects/fans from the region are passionate about the music. For them it is a form of love that a lot of people from other parts of the world should take note of. Maybe one reason I appreciate this so much is that other fans who show a similar level of passion are from Latin America, and I am Latino, so I can relate to the IDDM scene. Continue reading »

GORATORY: “SOUR GRAPES”

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Nov 192020
 

 

(Here’s Vonlughlio’s review of Goratory’s new album Sour Grapes, which is out now on Everlasting Spew Records.)

This time around I have the opportunity to review Goratory’s new album Sour Grapes, released by Everlasting Spew Records on October 16th.

For those who are not familiar, this Brutal Death Metal band from Boston, Massachusetts was born in 2000 and released their debut demo that year. Their debut album arrived in 2001 and was well-accepted in the scene and stamped their name into our souls since then. Just a year after, they released their second offering, which went into new territory (sort of) when the technical aspects of their music became more prominent, and that went along very well with the brutal delivery they were going for.

For their third offering, they took more time in releasing it. It saw the light of day in 2004 and continued on the same path as its predecessor. This release was amazing, no doubt in my mind, but for me the second release remained my favorite. Continue reading »

FATAL CASTRATION: “DIVERSED PARADIGM OF LUNACY”

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Nov 132020
 

 

(In this post Vonlughlio recommends the second album by the Filipino brutal death metal band Fatal Castration, which was released on November 6th by Sevared Records.)

One of the joys of the internet is that moment when out of the blue you find a new band that just blows you away the moment you push play and the first notes emerge. This is the case of FC from the Philippines, who released their second offering Diversed Paradigm of Lunacy a week or so ago via Sevared Records.

This project was born back in 2009, and as they were deep underground there was not much information about them, not until the release of their debut album Perishan Grinder back in 2014. The release included songs from a 2008 demo that I could not find. But I’m not going to dwell on that album, but will say that it’s straight-forward BDM with a raw sound that’s capable of captivating from the get-go. Continue reading »

DEAD AND DRIPPING: “PROFANE VERSES OF MURDEROUS RHETORIC”

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Nov 102020
 

 

(This is Vonlughlio’s review of the new album by the New Jersey death metal band Dead and Dripping, which was released last month.)

I just love the feeling when discovering a new band that captivates you from the first note and hooks you in for the rest of your existence. That was the case for the one-man project Dead and Dripping,  born in 2016 in  New Jersey, USA.

They released a demo that same year entitled Disillusioned by Excessive Human Consumption, a 22-minute effort that reminded me of the late ’90s and early 2000s golden age of BDM. I discovered the band a year after its inception and got a re-press of that demo, and after all this time I have the same positive reaction as when I heard it the first time. It is aging very well, to say the least. Continue reading »

BASIC TORTURE PROCEDURE: “DOMINATION THROUGH TORTURE”

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Oct 292020
 

 

(Vonlughlio has unearthed a blast of buzzsaw d-beat goregrind and gives it a hearty recommendation in this review.)

One of the best things for me is discovering music out of the blue, either by a recommendation from a friend, scrolling on the internet, Bandcamp, or seeing a FB post. That’s what happened in the case of Basic Torture Procedure, a goregrind act formed this year whose three members are spread across Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

They independently released  their debut album Domination Through Torture on May 17th, but of course yours truly only discovered them like a month ago and went on their Bandcamp to purchase the tape version (the only available physical format). This for me is one of the best music discoveries of 2020. I am somewhat picky in the goregrind department and their music captured me right away. Continue reading »

SCATOLOGY SECRETION: “SUBMERGED IN GLACIAL RUIN”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Oct 262020
 

 

(This is Vonlughlio’s enthusiastic review of the new album by the Spanish brutal death metal band Scatology Secretion, which has just been released by Pathologically Explicit Recordings.)

Today’s subject is the second offering, titled Submerged in Glacial Ruin, by the international band Scatology Secretion. It has just been released by the Spanish label Pathologically Explicit Recordings. I previously reviewed their 2017 debut album The Ramifications of a Global Calamity here, and it ended up being on my list of top BDM albums of that year at No Clean Singing.

As time passed since then, no news regarding the project came to light and I was worried that it had ceased to exist. But early this year it was announced that they had signed with Pathologically Explicit and they released the cover of the new effort. I was truly excited, as the art suggested they would continue their theme of world apocalypse but set it in a cold realm of nothingness. Continue reading »

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