Sunday, June 25, 2017

Szept/Hunger- Split Cd

These Split is from Poland....very much interested in hear to these two bands. Szept is a piece of quite enjoyable black metal. The early blackened metal influences are well stuck in the sound, doom parts taking dominion on the sound with a good alternance of fast up tempo. The blast beats are rare and quite raw in technique and speed…they are like faster up tempo. The guitars work is quite good and violent. Anyway, the song structure is  quite simple with few, main riffs. The production is quite essential and reminds me the one of those occult, early black bands like Samael. Anyway it is quite good and all the instruments can be heard quite well. It's perfect for old school black metal followers.
Hunger is another interesting band In terms of black metal, while even fewer will support the ventures into simpler directions under the name of black metal. This Duo seems to keep the flame alive, it can be described in much the same terms, that song illuminating the surrounding landscape more intensely than the other band. Attempting to push the envelope, Hunger find a way to fuse storming fast riffing and blasting with some atmospheric and emotional scope, allowing to sound primal and incensed without losing its sense of magnificence. It should be enough of an incentive for anyone to experience this!
hungerofficial.bandcamp.com
www.hellishereprod.republika.pl
Review by Paul Caravasi

Indignity-Demo 2015

This demo, is a great offering from these guys, Indignity has exceeded what I have come to expect from an unknown band (well for me at least). While many of the old school US death metal bands have evolved into something cheesy, Indignity remain true to their old school sound even if they're a young band. Musically, the demo rom 2015 is brutal without going for the effect on purpose...which is usually a good mark. The vocals are convincing...The guitar work is strong and memorable. I've actually played some of these songs up to 10 times after the initial listen.... Overall, the demo isn't groundbreaking, but it is strong and i can't wait to hear the ful lenght album soon.
facebook.com/indignityofficial
Review by Paul Caravasi

Antropofagus-Methods of Resurrection through Evisceration (2017)

You have to respect extreme bands for the consistency in death metal or at least keep it alive.This release sounds surprisingly fresh and highly calculated. The production is a bit on the raw side in the guitar tone but it sounds awesome. The production truly creates a wall of sound that makes Antropofagus memorable. These impenetrable melodies are hard to beat.What makes a death album achieve a brutal status is one unalterable fact: every song must dominate. And dominating their instruments is one thing this band are certainly capable of doing. The voice sounds demonic with the growls on the lower end of the mid range spectrum. The bass is very technical and only adds to the complex mind fuck this band creates.The drummer is the fucking man . He seems to find the best balance between unrelenting blast beats and elite cymbal work but never grows repetitive. The guitar work is nothing short of phenomenal and there really aren't many guitar solos at all. All in all, there are really no flaws on this album. It keeps you interested, and you want to keep coming back to it. I know I've listened to it a good number of bands classics and new ones, and i'm proud to received this one for a review. A brutal death metal release from 2017 ladies and gentlemen.
facebook.com/antropofagus.official
comatosemusic.com
Review by Paul Caravasi

Aborted Fetus-The art of Violent Torture (2017)

When I got the promotional copy of this in the mail the first thing I noticed was the stunning nature of the artwork. The album itself is constructed extremely well in terms of layout and relevant to this year. It's obvious that this is not just a group of musicians who decided to do this just because they couldn't figure out anything better to do. This record, to my pleasent suprise, is a masterwork for the death metal genre.Thankfully, the music is just as stunning as the artwork. Triple-speed drum hits and thick-and-brutal guitar work is all in place...the riffwork complex, the production well-spaced and the drumming diverse and battering...not for all humans! A beastly performance given by the vocalist. This is a nessesary record for the death metal genre in a broad sense. It challenges a past legacy of bands without even attempting to rewrite it. The vibe, the musicianship and the intelligent construction that existed in the early years is alive and well on this release.
facebook.com/Abortedfetusbrutality
www.comatosemusic.com
Review by Paul Caravasi

Logic of Denial-Aftermath (2017)

Logic of denial have made a modern day death metal gem. It appears as though they tried to step into the shoes of the most depraved beings on the planet. The result is a very heavy, death metal assault led by an ungodly drumming. He seems to purposefully play some of the rhythms in a very non-standard way and the result is refreshing, very unique drum patterns which you're not likely to find on any other death metal release, the lower tuned guitars fit the music perfectly.There seems to be a lack of solos on this album on first listen, but that is not an issue because it is neutralized by the fact that the riffs are incredible technical and mind bending. The riffs, in conjunction with vocalist, incredibly brutal death metal vocals, form a violent canvas for these technical death metal maniacs. Even when they try slower doom-like riffs, the results are excellent, because they know when to speed it up just the right amount at just the right time. This is Death Metal at their most pissed off. This album feature some insanely technical riffs accompanied by insane drumming. It is just that fucking good. If you like brutal/technical death metal of the highest order with insane instrumentation, look no further.
facebook.com/LogicOfDenialBand
www.comatosemusic.com
Review by Paul Caravasi

Pathology- Pathology (2017)

A good production and mix. If you ask me, this is the new sound of death metal bands these days. I mean, I do love the grindy beefy tone  but the guitar tone on this album is perfectly sludgy and grinding enough to be brutal but the vocals is something i don't dig it, the style is fkn brutal but vocals like that ?c'mon.The production cuts everything into this super mucky, but still kind of clean, and heavy wall of brutality, but becomes tiring.So, the album; the guitars and drums drive this album, leaving the vocals aside ,this band has excellent musicianship.The drumming is perfection, superb drumming. He knows exactly when to place an ultra fast double bass fill or an intense blast section to bridge those brilliant riffs. So, we've already discussed the musical aspects and technical aspects of this album. Now, how does the album as a whole hold up? Well, considering it’s vocals, the style of brutality lends itself better to casual listens, but is still a bit tedious after five or six songs with that kind of vocals.This album is definitely recommended to any and all new fans od death metal , slam metal or whatever you call it. I really enjoyed the music but not the vocals.
facebook.com/PathologyMusic
www.comatosemusic.com
Review by Paul Caravasi

No prayer of the Dying-Banished from Death (2017)

Ahhh, Prayer of the Dying's full length album, a solo man project influenced black/doom, but this recent material which uses a more straight-forward black metal foundation, with the doom elements being utilized much less often. Here, we see this band at their most mature... and in the end; we have quite the beast of an album. The songs stay down tempo and rarely go beyond that. You've got sort of slow, slow, and real slow. While the music here isn't flashy or technical, the song structures are well thought out, and very effective at generating a lush, dark & somber atmosphere. The guitar tone here packs a lot of punch, and the riffs are heavy as all fuck. They pummel its listener with slow, monstrous blows until every bone in their body is crushed. On a couple of occasions, they will break into acoustic passages in which they do a fantastic job of creating a beautiful, haunting atmosphere. This sets it up for the heavy parts to hit even harder and feel much more aggressive. The guitar tone carries itself well already as it is, and the bass is still able to at least do its job as far as complimenting the guitar goes.The drumming is top notch. While not doing anything over top, it still does a great job at maintaining a powerful, precise rhythm throughout the entire album. It delivers a strong, gut wrenching vocal performance as well, his harsh vocals would improve over time, and especially his cleans, yet his performance is still brutal as hell, and he does a pretty good job of pronouncing the lyrics so they can be somewhat easily understood. I highly recommend this for any fans of Black/doom metal, as well as anyone who doesn't really know much about the genre and wants to see what it has to offer.
facebook.com/Prayer-of-the-Dying-206096002734228
Review by Paul Caravasi

Saturday, June 24, 2017

Paralysis-Life Sentence (2017)

This young band has been leaning more and more towards a thrash metal style of music. The music itself has progressively gotten much more complicated in terms of structure and overall performances by the band members themselves. This album is an excellent example of what Thrash Metal should sound like. This album is incredibly strong in terms of both riffs and drum patterns. The lyrics are very cool as well and although, the seriousness of the topics cannot be denied. One of the more unique things about this album is the drumming it is a fucking bulldozer, it almost sounds as a destructive machine, and for a young band the good thing about it, is that there is no signs of nu-metal shit laden trendy faggot rock, just pure undeniable Thrash. Overall, this is probably their best work so far. The song writting is top shelf and the thrash/groove is strong and prevalent throughout this entire onslought of pristine Bay Area styled tunes. (even though this is a Jersey band). Highlights on this album are..."Life sentence", "Deepest Void" , "All your lies" and "Karma"....Highly recommended thrash album by Paralysis!
facebook.com/paralysisnj
Review by Paul Caravasi

Unblessed-Killing your last drop of Innocence (2017)

Damn, this is cool. Death Metal from chile.I haven’t heard everything they’ve done for a while, but this is an album that continues this glorious trend. Classic Death Metal sound, demonic savagery to the already devilish formula? Oh hell yeah. More structure than is usual. It is not too much, as the band still sounds vicious as fuck, but there’s definitely a more calculated feel to how this is put together, it fucking rules! Bands like this are just the best – they’re consistent enough to where one is never truly disappointed in them. They are so dedicated to their craft of book-burning and dancing around fires and sacrificing virgins to Cthulhu in their brand of vicious metallic misery that you would think they would eventually get bored with it, but they don’t! They are reliable, but also energetic, making this release sound like the end of the world, never resting on their laurels. This album is a supreme entry into the band’s grimoire of visceral intensity, and if you haven’t heard it yet, what are you waiting for?
www.unblessed.cl
facebook.com/Unblessed-44071969223/
Review by Paul Caravasi

Tormented-Natural Immortality Doctrine (Demo Tape 2017)

Raw and savage.I can listen to it?  fuck yeah.It is a bludgeoning, nihilistic ride to Hell for certain, it does have an infuriating energy and attitude, from the frantic "Impious Assumption" and the infectiously catchy "Henchmen's Cave". Song structures are simplistic and generic, in the vein of Death in "Scream Bloody Gore", enough riffs changes to hold things together well.
The music ejecution itself is very much full of life and enthusiasm, and shows promise, We also have here vocals frighteningly intense. The demo as a whole is pleasingly dark, from the dank, murky cover artwork, to the brutal and nasty sound. If you are new to death metal, this would be a very good place to begin your journey. Killer demo by these Peruvian maniacs !
facebook.com/TormentedPeruDM
Review by Paul Caravasi


Terravore-Apocalyptic Impact (2016)

An excellent album nonetheless, sounds very harsh, vocals are great and the chaotic solos are present. The drumming on here is very tight and very enjoyable, quick and furious. The riffs are also something of a very big highlight on this album. There are tons of them, and they are all so very catchy. I don't think I've listened to an album with at least half as many catchy riffs as this album, well besides Terrible Certainty by Kreator back in the day. This is definitely a riff heaven and the biggest advantage of this album. And if I could think of a negative on this album it would only be that this album is pretty short, although it does make up for it in quality. Some excellent songs and highlights of the album are definitely "Abominable Rancor" with its quick and harsh melodies and " Dark side of the Force"  is also one of the best songs here with its excellent drum and riffs intro.The album sound is fkn raw and that's a good thing in Thrash Metal. Other than that this album is loaded with cruelty and power as anything else.  If you like early Kreator and Massacra this band is definitely worth to listen !
facebook.com/Terravore.Thrash.Bg
terrav0re.bandcamp.com
Review by Paul Caravasi

Deus Otiosus-Opposer (2017)

Then I finally heard Deus Otiosus "Opposer". Holy shit. This is a fantastic album in pretty much every aspect. Considering this just came out this year, when most death metal bands are still fighting to distance themselves from the extreme-thrash from which they were birthed, this album stands, a clear example of pure, full-on death metal. Sure, there is still some traces of thrash here. But the influence lies more in the tone of some of the riffs (check out “Haunter“ for an example of this), rather than the song structures, which consist of all the blasting speed, brutal slowdowns, and deranged solos that would define much of death metal. But what really stands out about this release is how fundamentally catchy and well-written these songs are, every song on "Opposer" bursts with energy and enthusiasm. Pretty much every riff on this one is a winner, and each track has enough hooks to not only make the songs memorable but fucking addicting. These guys obviously put a lot of time into making these songs as good as they could be, and it shows in every aspect of the album, blasting drumming, this is old-school death metal at its absolute finest. The more primitive playing on this album (though still pretty damn technical) definitely works in the band’s favor on this release, allowing the members to stop tripping over themselves to write music as technical as possible and just play the damn songs. Drummer’s unique reliance on the “backwards blast” gives the songs a great, off-kilter feel that suit’s the riffs perfectly, and raspier, higher-register vocals are way catchier and more effective than the endless grunting in Death Metal. Guitar and bass work are top-notch of course, and the production on this album is surprisingly good; with its hefty tone and instrument clarity. Deus Otiosus is a brilliant death metal band. Well played, well produced, innovative and catchy as fuck. And in old-school death metal, what else do you really need? A fucking great album!
www.deus-otiosus.com
facebook.com/deusotiosus.dk
www.greatdanerecs.com
Review by Paul Caravasi

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Aneurysm-Life of Evil (2016)

When the colossal groove of "Life of Evil" first emanated from my stereo, it was a revelation. Raw Metal from Italy. Headbanging Riffs and crusty hardcore punk attacks that bordered on death metal without transgressing over, blew me away. I find Aneurysm to be a reckless force of barbarian indifference -- they clearly don't give a fuck about you and what you think about what they do. It absolutely fuckin' slays! Primitive but effective. A complete head snapper, the songs hit with insane riffs and vocalist just bellowing his lungs out.This whole record is basically psycho-addictive and I've become more hooked with every listen.  Scintillating headbangable riffage and a raw primal swagger that runs a gauntlet of styles and tones with ease -- the residual after-effect equivalent to several tons of pure cocaine, a straight-up adrenaline shot and one of my favorite musical experiences. But I truly feel it can appeal to fans of everything from Exodus to Autopsy and I cannot see how that is a bad thing. Narrow minded opinions don't appeal to me as much as the direct musical connection. And personally speaking, i'll be discovering new bands playing Metal and will forever do so. Sickeningly vicious, and heavy as hell, "Life of Evil" tips the scale as a great and enduring metal record.
facebook.com/Aneurysmdeathmetal
Review by Paul Caravasi

Gravered-Coffins Graves and Tombs (Ep 2016)

The starting track says it all, with the intro and the killer riff playing, to the vocal patterns, to the drum tracks that are primitive yet captivating, this recording will be looked back on from hundreds of years in the future as a prime example of Southamerican death metal fully matured and devastating. Even if you do not like old school death metal sound this EP should be picked up, it is only four tracks, and demonstrates where this great genre is all about. The Ep sounds like much like the dungeon days in general, being creepy and eerie as all hell, cryptic sounding, this EP is absolutely penetrating. I really enjoy this band for being one of the more aggressive Death Metal out there.  The production is dense and warm but also captures the sharp spots in the drumming. (The guitars have quite the bass oriented sound…nice and thick.) growls are deep and brutal. The clanging drums add a much night bright sound balancing the attack with perfect aplomb. I say that this Ep is DEATH METAL and this Ep is GREAT. If you like the OLD school of classic death metal this is a band you simply MUST own. They keep the bloody nature of death metal true to itself. Beers for these men!!! Now GO…BUY IT!!!
facebook.com/gravered.deathmetal
gravered-deathmetal.bandcamp.com
Review by Paul Caravasi

Friday, June 16, 2017

Ruin (Usa)-Drown in Blood (2017)

Old school death metal at its finest. Loud, fast, heavy and just full of sick little riffs all over the place. This is a very sick sounding album and I love it. It's always a pleasure to hear an album that completely surpasses my expectations of it. This album is one of those that just brings a smile to my face. I prefer early death metal solely for the fact that it sounds like really brutal thrash without the bullshit. Most metal albums in general put so much emphasis on the guitars that it drowns out the bass a lot of the time so it's great to hear such a powerful bass on this one. Not to mention the fact that it makes the songs sound a lot heavier. Pretty good guitar player too, brutal solos. As for song writing, it's pretty much what a  death metal should sound like. I can't get enough of it though. These guys can write some insanely ass kicking songs, very enjoyable none the less. Some of the riffs on here remind me of stuff you'd hear in a gore flick or something. Very twisted sounding and creative. So far this is the most brutal album I've heard in 2017. I look forward to hearing more of Ruin. If it's as brutal and sick sounding as "Drown in Blood" then I'm sure I'll love it. Awesome!!
facebook.com/neroonerecords
Review by Paul Caravasi

Malevolence Records-Volume 3 (2017)

Great album from start to finish; I found this album thanks to Nathan Mcleod of Malevolence Records. This is worth getting for the Eternal Breath's track "Mass Domination" as well as Terravore's "Abominable Rancor". You'll find on this  compilation great Thrash metal bands, this compilation stands as a testimonial to what is the current Thrash metal scene, the new genre of  those who would become the successors to the metal gods of the past and expanded the metal genre now. This is the third metal compilation by Malevolence Records, the highlights of this compilation are  Zafakon from Puerto Rico, Terravore from Bulgaria, Eternal Breath from Belgium, Sanity's rage from Belgium, Golpe Devastador from Brazil. I would highly suggest this to anyone who has already explored the Thrash metal scene  and is delving into more bands. All in all, a good collection of kick ass Metal. I consider this album to be a feast of extreme music that any Metal fan will certainly enjoy. So pick up your copy today!
Track Listing:
Sanity's Rage-Product of Calamity, Leave Scars-Devil's Room, Terravore-Abominable Rancor, Eternal Breath-Mass Domination, Zafakon-II. Sirens, Black4-50yds of Darkness, Golpe Devastador-Retorno Ao Reino Das Sambras, Normalice-IDK (I Decay), Kaos-United we kill, Sanity's Rage-The wheels keep Grinding, Leave Scars-Stay Down
malevolence-records.us
Review by Paul Caravasi