A decade ago (Jesus Christ...) I tried (and failed) at running my own record label. I have done it again for fun once or twice since, but cutting out tape covers in my house is a bit different from trying to press vinyl and organising massive splits. Anyways, I failed miserably at it, but I did get my hands on some awesome music. This here was a CDr re-issue of an atmospheric Italian death metal demo by the band Dead Twilight that I released before I went into fully-fledged vinyl and CD releasing.
Some of you long time readers may remember these guys from Myspace; their gothic-tinged drum machine death attack stood out to me a country mile over all the usual boring bedroom grindcore that was filling my feeds at the time (remember those Bulletins? Jeez...) . It is only a couple of tracks long, but its a fucking stormer.
It should feel like I've been waiting since the dawn of time for new Akercocke material, but with the Antichrist Imperium and the incredibly excellent Voices, my fix has been kept somewhat at bay. However, to the die hard Akercocke fanatic, I imagine this is somewhat akin to taking methadone instead of heroin, so it is an enormous sigh of relief that I can now lose myself in the blissful, all-encompassing abyss of the group's satanic, blackened death metal once more.
Akercocke feel fresh and revitalized by their break, which is a massive relief, what with a lot of bands "coming back" as pale shadows of themselves, often motivated by cash. The sound here is a lot more refined, where the frenetic chaos of earlier Scanlan-like tracks can now enjoy the breathing room of the sprawling production work akin to the Deeds... era, or later Voices material (yes, Scanlan was on Choronzon, but despite how hard that record hit, it was a very dense production).
Akercocke have carved their own niche in the intricate world of progressive death metal, and now that I've listened to this record several times over and really let it set in, it genuinely feels like they never really went away. Just like, don't go anywhere soon, yeah guys?
Stand out tracks: "Dissappear", "First To Leave The Funeral", "A Final Glance Back Before Departing" and the epic "A Particularly Cold September".
This is a thousand fucking lightyears away from the previous steaming pile of turd that the band put out. Credit is due where credit is due, and I must admit that Kingdoms Disdained is absolutely crushing; miserably heavy riffs meet inhuman drumming and a solid, dense yet full of life and clarity production. One should look to the latter half of "Garden of Disdain" for the perfect example of all these elements working together in the harmony of pure death.
If one was to highlight a criticism it would be with the treble heavy, slightly over-compressed sound, which results in the riffage getting a bit lost in the middle, but allows the drumming by newcomer Scott Fuller to shine through in their intricate glory. I probably don't have to remind you that Dave Vincent is out (again) and Steve Tucker is in (again), but it is worth mentioning that age has added a gnarled throatiness (lol) to Tucker's subhuman growl. All in all, it works really well, and it is a pleasure to see Morbid Angel alive and kicking with pure, disgusting energy.
World Ov Worms is a lesson in razor sharp, sadistic death metal, taught by purveyors of the "other side" of the school: that being some of black metal's most revered elite. Couple this with a dodgy name, very long trench coats and similar bizarre electronic passages to those on Mayhem's A Grand Declaration Of War, and you have the icing on the cake to what is Zyklon's Wormy World.
I remember World Ov Worms coming out when I was just a nipper getting into the world of alternative music. The track "Deduced to Overkill" appeared on a Kerrang! Compilation CD and I could not process nor understand what I was hearing - it was truly too extreme for me at the time, bless. The overall production here is astoundingly clear; there is crystal transparency, an equilibrium between the extremities of brutality and listenability that is rarely so well traveled and executed. Honestly, the electronic passages would probably put a few purists off but Zyklon is definitely under-rated in the death metal world.
Some of the more chaotic riff patterns remind me heavily of 1349, and Trym's drumming is on point, as per usual. Great stuff.
Yesss here we fucking go; the long-awaited third album from gore/death metal maniacs Basement Torture Killings has finally dropped on Grindscene Records, and fuck me it's a corker! I can honestly say, this has to be my favourite BTK album so far, I'm just sorry that the LIW downtime got in the way of me telling you all, not that my opinion really matters or anything. The production here is on point, literally. Everything is balanced perfectly, and those fucking drums sound absolutely amazing.
This is the first record with new(ish) vocalist Beryl. She brings a nightmarish dynamic to the razor-sharp death metal sound; her lows are incredibly punishing, and act as the perfect foil to Tarquin's Walker-esque growls.
Check out the video for "Rat Catcher" below. Any death metal band that sings about Wensleydale is 10/10 in my books.
When I first heard of this weed-based tribute to Cannibal Corpse I was somewhat annoyed that I hadn't come up with the idea myself. It is a funny twist that I actually prefer the music of Cannabis Corpse to Cannibal Corpse, and The Weeding EP is a perfect and concise sample as to why I love this band so much compared to the latter (and before I spark off any purists; I am aware that Cannibal Corpse's early output is somewhat untouchable, but if we put Cannabis Corpse up against the majority of the stuff that Cannibal Corpse has churned out over the last decade or so, then I believe I have a valid case, not that this is about slating Cannibal Corpse at all).
Can we at least get a round of applause in for that album title? And then a standing ovation for the album sleeve? Haha! Anyways, RazorRape play a bludgeoning, thick'n'creamy variety of goregrind that is more akin to shades of death metal than the primordial ooze of say, Last Days Of Humanity. This particular "cross-over" style is very popular at the moment, as it blends the lines with pornogrind, which all the metal kids seem to dig in lieu of shit like Haggus or Hyperemesis etc. etc., but irregardless of that fact, Revenge Of The Hermaphrodite Whores (it was surreal typing that out, even after 7 years of doing this shit) is a solid record in this style.
the density of the drum production reminds me of the most recent Grunt album, whereas the rest of the music is very similar in the vein to 5 Stabbed 4 Corpses - which shares members with RazorRape - give or take the odd jazzy passage, of course. All in all, this is a solid metal album, one which I'm sure you are probably already familiar with if you wallow in these decrepit circles of the underground.
Towards The Megalith is a bludgeoning epic in explosive, doom-laden, monolithic (or is that megalithic?) death metal. I've gotta be honest, I had never heard of these guys until they were announced for - and then controversially dropped from - the first edition of Netherlands Death Fest, due to accusations that the vocalist is involved in some national socialist noise project. Whether he is or not, I couldn't really give a fuck (that style of project is so puerile it isn't even worth acknowledging) - the only thing that the whole fracas achieved in my view was that a whole bunch of people who had never heard of Disma were now checking them out. Great work, kids!
Think Disembowelment meets Hooded Menace, or something along those lines. Drawn out, torturous and bleak, yet not boring or droning on. Great stuff!
O.A.P. (or Onanistic Anti-Peristalsis for short) were a death metal band based in Newport, Wales. I believe they finally kicked the bucket sometime around 2013/14 and Human Milkshake was their only album release. They featured members of death metal bands Necrocest and Cryptophile, as well as having local promoter / general all round good egg Sam Wall as one of the vocalists.
Human Milkshake gets better as it goes on; personally I find the opening track "Jeremy Kyle" hilarious yet a bit repetitive, but the guys quickly fall into a gurgling groove which should satisfy the nastiest of death metal bloodhounds. The inclusion of shouted vocals alongside the gutturals and inhales is an interesting choice but adds a fresh dynamic to a tried and tested formula of music. A tidy production job as well, rounds the whole thing off with a surprisingly heavy hit for a drum machine band. Top stuff!
Easily one of the best slices of death metal I've heard in the last few months, Cease Of Breeding's only album, entitled Sounds Of Disembowelment, literally has the definitive death metal production sound, giving all of these massacres (I'm talking about the songs, geddit?) the room they need to breathe, and more importantly, brutalize, like a hundred daggers to the face and a thousand punches to the stomach all at once, or something equally as ridiculous.
The drumming is incredible, the guitars are ripping and the balance between the instrumentation is nothing but pure class. The vocals...well, maybe you should press play. Death metal always comes with some levels of discomfort but this is entirely and sickeningly indulgent; a total pleasure to listen to. Fucking awesome stuff.
Jesus, what a glorious fucking mess. I am instantly reminded of the Pissgrave review I did recently; these guys are really, really similar, only Portal has a more dark and eery vibe, rather than the terrifyingly vivid, gory splurge of Pissgrave. It would not surprise me if the bands shared members or something (edit: I just found out how old this album is, guess that Pissgrave relation was wishful thinking).
Anyway, this is some spooky shit. It can be difficult to successfully blend a theatrical element into death metal, especially without it seeming hammy or corny as fuck, but Portal's racket (and image) is genuinely sinister and terrifying. It is almost as if the essence of death metal itself is being sucked through some other-worldly tear in the fabric of time and space; siphoned off to some unknown existence beyond the material plane, where it is subjected to inhuman and incomprehensible levels of horror, before being spewed back to us for our listening pleasure. Yeah.
Urine Junkies is a Relapse compilation CD featuring three of Abscess' earliest releases and demos. It was put out in 1995 under the label's Underground Series, and brought Abscess to a whole new level of exposure. One of the downsides of listening to a compilation is that the sound is all over place, but it is a small price to pay when you get to check out a cross-section of stuff that a band has to offer. Hey, this shit is nowhere near as fucking terrible as that Nunslaughter compilation I got last year. Abscess, thankfully, seem to lack in the nauseatingly bad live recordings department.
My favourite thing about Abscess though has got to be the vocals; incredibly nasty gargles, shouts or even lows. Also, I get the feeling that a lot of this older stuff just got tarred with the grindcore brush at the time because it was, for some surreal and brief moment in history, the "in" thing to do; Abscess' cheeky lullabies of filth are more akin to some bizarre world of punk mixed with death metal (I get a Pungent Stench vibe, if that is applicable?) than anything grinding. Regardless, this is fucking excellent.
Look Past The Gore... is the long awaiting debut album from Barrow-based death metallers Repulsive Vision. It is to my knowledge that RV have been around for quite some time in various different line ups, with the most recent incarnation of the band solidifying suitably enough for a much-overdue full length to finally gestate. I am pleased to say that it has been well worth the wait, as this is a serious slab of death metal we are dealing with here.
Man, this is fucking good (once you look past (see what I did there?) the cringey rock 'n' roll intro to track 2); the drumming is tight as fuck and the guitars are literally weeping Carcass blood. To say Repulsive Vision is melodic would be a lie, but there is definitely a progressive edge to this record; the band are not afraid to stray from the gurgle'n'blast death metal template, there is definitely a heavy punk and thrash influence here, and this only adds to the overall nuance and dexterity of the album (the production too, helps immensely with making this stand out from the bogs of typical death metal).
My favourite track has to be the closer, "Credophilic", although through the rasp of the vocals it kinda sounds like something far less savoury is being shouted about...
You'd think that given the opportunity, I would do everything in my power to throw mud at this band, but the reality here is that I have to admit that this is a decent fucking record. The production is solid, the riffs are intense and the vocals are on point. As with the previous release, Vorarephilia, the main downside is that for some godforsaken reason the band used a drum machine in lieu of their actual, real-life human equivalent, essentially making Verses of Putridity a solo record from a guy that isn't even in the band any more. A pretty accurate representation of the band's sound, then?
Objectively though, as above, this is a wicked slab of metal, it's just a crying shame that it doesn't feel like a coherent band recorded it. I'll leave it at that before I get ahead of myself.
Luciferion were a band from Sweden that played an interesting blend of genres that I can only describe as symphonic death metal. Like Dimmu Borgir, Emperor and the like did for black metal in the 90s, Luciferion apply the same logic to brutal, unrepentant old school death metal. Obviously, there is a lot of variation in death metal now and a lot of different angles to the style, especially as incorporating certain aspects of melody and atmosphere have become quite common. Nevertheless the clash of ripping death metal and the pomp of the symphonic elements is a bit jarring at first, kind of as if you are playing two different albums at the same time by mistake.
I'm not sure what it was exactly that kept me listening, but very quickly everything fell into place and what Luciferion were trying to do made perfect sense to me. Anyways, The Apostate gathers together all of the material the band released asides from their debut album (Demonication (The Manifest)), and asides from The Apostate material, contains their Demon of 1994 demo (although the tracklist is different from the Demo 1994 listing on Discogs...confusing?), and a Celtic Frost cover.
From Crotch To Crown is the latest offering from long-running Dutch death metal group Prostitute Disfigurement. Honestly, when I first heard this, I thought it was an older release, as it isn't as polished as the previous album, Descendants of Depravity. It isn't exactly a step backwards though, as personally I prefer a bit of a rougher edge to my death metal, despite the clinical execution of Descendants... being pretty incredible stuff.
As always with Prostitute Disfigurement, you can expect a high-grade of solid death metal, with excellent guitar work, intense drumming and ferocious vocals. This has been on my "to-do" list for bloody ages, but there's not much I can say about it really, other than the fact that its fucking awesome. As this was out in 2014, I'm hoping there'll be another slab of death coming from these guys in the near future. In the mean time, check this out below.
Before we start can we all just take a moment to bask in that truly awful album art? Why did the zombie guy take the time to keep his pants on? Oh, the mirth! Maybe one day when I'm old and dying alone in sheer misery I will make an archive of awful record covers to stave off depression and an early suicide. But anyway, as usual, I have digressed...
Thankfully the music isn't as nearly as fucking dreadful as the image chosen to represent it. Dead, Rotten And Hungry is a punishing lesson in mixing Entombedcore with modern death metal; heavier than a sack of dark-matter-coated iron bolts, yet crisper than a slap to the face whilst in Siberia, in the middle of January. The band also draw subtly from slightly more melodic strains of metal, and even the stylings and structures present in something altogether more deathcore. An interesting mix!
Planet Of The Pigs is the final (?) album from long-running Czech grindcore band, Pigsty. I think to still call Pigsty a grindcore band by this point is pushing it a bit; Planet Of The Pigs has a whole world of other influences building on the grinding template, from thrash to death metal, to the kooky ongoing concept ("Inspection Report" kicks this thing off with GWAR-grade sci-fi storytelling) and even the insane djent moments that randomly crop up through the chaos.
The band have had an almost exclusive relationship with Bizarre Leprous productions, and I sincerely hope that one day they shall return from the Planet Of The Pigs to blast us with more perplexing space grind.
Henker are absolutely lightening fast! Imagine Meshuggah-meets-Braindrill in the same studio Cattle Decapitation recorded their last few albums in. Maddening drumming performances meet technical yet brutal guitar playing and dexterous bass movements that completely fuck with your head. I mean, those drums....Jesus Christ. I know they are triggered into oblivion, but you gotta be impressed by this shit.
Honestly though, due to the sheer speed and technicality of this thing, all the songs do kinda blur into one big brutal mass, which strikes an interesting duality with the fact that it is incredibly listenable; it is hard to get off the ride once it has begun. For those of you who like death metal to be a little bit cleaner than the old school stock, and with a progressive element; this comes strongly recommended.
Hour Of Penance are an intensely fast and technical brutal death metal band from Italy. They have been going since 1999, and whilst their style has changed somewhat over the years (there are also, quite unusually, no remaining original members in the group) they have retained a relevance in the worldwide death metal scene. With regards to the sound on Regicide, think razor-sharp riffery but with a refreshing melodic edge, savage guttural vocals and lightening fast drum attacks.
If you like your metal with plenty of twists and turns, but also brutal as fuck, then by all means, do not look any further. Regicide is not the most recent release from this group, but it is my favourite (out of what I have managed to hear so far, at least!). On a side note, the band are also playing Bristol Deathfest, which is a fairly-local festival to us at LIW HQ. Check it out!
