HATCHEND - Summer of 69 review

 

HATCHEND - Summer of 69

Selfmadegod Records

So I'll get the obvious out of the way. Let's give the artist who came up the cover of this release some due. Re-imagining Andy Warhol's famous pop art Marilyn Monroe painting and supplementing Charles Manson's face on to it is interesting. Although if I saw this in a store I'd think it was a punk band release. Also a punk band who thought they were being cute. Then again I might think they're some indie / hiptard band trying to be ironic with the cover and the title. Thankfully there's music involved ahead of it. 

So what we have here is HATCHEND a four piece act from Sweden who are, in their words, a Thrash and Hardcore band. Hey guys ya got plenty of grindcore influence to which is why I gave this a second and third listen. That last listen sealed the deal for me. If anything HATCHEND's goal on this their debut full length is to rip off your head and shit down your neck. That is evident with their violent guitar riff attack and their vocalist who has a sheet metal roar that'll leave scars. 

This eight song album from start to finish is a full on assault to your senses. And not just mine I mean the neighbors dogs started barking and their motion lights went on. Whatafuck? By the way Sweden what happened to Death Metal? Be that as it may yeah this pounds, grinds and also rocks like a 'sumbitch' (that's a Southern US term). HATCHEND also include in their sound some Death n Roll influence which is wild. They're like the sixth band this year I've heard pushing that style and I like it. 

Get this one, blast it at a party and watch as a slam pit erupts in your living room. Who cares if your expensive flat screen TV goes flying out the front window. That'll happen by the third song of course. I can only smile in a sadistic way when I listen to this release. Yeah this one rocks your ass off. 

https://selfmadegod.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://selfmadegod.bandcamp.com/album/summer-of-69

CRUSHUMAN - Self Titled review

CRUSHUMAN - Self Titled

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

A few years back there was a Death Metal act hailing from Washington, DC called SNIPERS OF BABEL. Despite having a bunch of short form releases to their credit. The band's only claim to fame their 2022 full length Gabriel which also came out on Horror Pain Gore Death Productions. 

This band, CRUSHUMAN, has two former members from that band. You've got Mike Bossier on guitar and bass plus drummer Mike Lumer. Their vocalist is Danny Boiko. So on this their debut full length the band's a three piece. But on a handful of songs they do have some invited guests adding vocals. 

Musically CRUSHUMAN create an extreme sided mix of Death Metal, Grindcore and post 90's Hardcore. Now given all of that, out of these seventeen songs I'm gonna go out on a non extreme metal limb and say I like their Hardcore sounding stuff. Thankfully I don't have a comments section or I'd be pillared for that. 

But hey when you hear songs like "Champions of Ruin", "Syko", "Slock", "Assassin's Special" and "Lose Face", just to name a few from the first half of this album. You can just feel that slam pit worthy energy. Now trust me, this is not Metalcore or Deathcore like the stuff we remember and cringe at. This is metal or maybe Death & Roll to a point. 

Now of course the band lays out a lot of other punishment via the crushing and atmospheric death doom of "There Was Blood Everywhere". Add to that they do the whole aggro-grind stuff. I mean yeah CRUSHMAN has created a real apocalyptic genre defying sound which would probably be a hit with anyone under thirty. 

Since I'm beyond that age group I'll just keep an eye on a neighbor who has a teenager into Metal and a basement. Ya never know, when he and his wife are out of town I'll probably see a bunch of cars parked outside, hear a fuckin racket and will know you've got a house show going on. But hey I might be that cool guy ya see down the street and wave to when I'm out front ranking leaves wearing a NAPALM DEATH shirt. But I ain't buying ya beer. 

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/crushuman

 

CARNOPHAGE - Matter of a Darker Nature review

 

CARNOPHAGE - Matter of a Darker Nature

Transcending Obscurity Records

Over the years I've kinda accepted the fact that I'm not a real tech death metal fan especially when the tag line is Brutal Tech Death or BROOTAL. Personally I like the repulsive style of BDM. Hey it makes me laugh. But when this came in the emails I recognized the band name because I have one of their CDs. 

Now if you're a fan of the whole brutal sounding tech death style and don't know about CARNOPHAGE well you're lacking something truly cool. I learned about em back in 2016 with their Monument full length which came out on Unique Leader Records. I was buying stuff from them at the time which was also cool. That was their second full length and I never got their debut. 

So here we have their third full length from this Turkish five piece act. They started out back in 2008 so yeah they take their time between releases. But hey give em props because they're playing this extreme style of metal in a country that has some religious things going on which might be difficult. 

Moving on from there CARNOPHAGE sound-wise still have one foot cemented in with classic BDM. Oral Akyol still does that patented bestial BDM vocal style. Guitarist Serhat Kaya who came in with their last album creates this heavy handed static style riffs. Of course Mert Kaya is still in charge of the guitar tech wizardry of accented riffs and schizo leads. 

Also cool is that the original rhythm section of bassist Bengi Oztürk and a human octopus of a drummer Onur Ozçelik keep that area of sound so insane. I mean from the opening cut "In My Bones" to the final song "From Possibility to Actuality" this duo kicks fuckin ass. It's one thing to get hit by one person with a bat. Imagine five people beating you down with bats. 

Which brings me to my final point and that's if you're really into the BROOTAL Tech Death stuff then CARNOPHAGE is the band you should be checking out as opposed to whatever the lame-stream is handing you. Now as I've said it's not my favorite thing. Actually I'm waiting for this label to put out the new PAGANIZER album. Be that as it may this new one by CARNOPHAGE fuckin rules.   

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://carnophage.bandcamp.com/album/matter-of-a-darker-nature

OFFICIUM TRISTE - Hortus Venenum review

 

OFFICIUM TRISTE - Hortus Venenum

Transcending Obscurity Records

So if you're into Euro style Death Doom with a heavy slant towards the inbetween of a melodic / gothic sound then maybe you've heard of this Dutch band. Then again if you haven't well you're forgiven and I'll explain why. First off since the Dutch Death Doom scene already has some high profile acts. You can see why OFFICIUM TRISTE might get pushed to the back of the line for a listener to check out (more on that later). 

Secondly OFFICIUM TRISTE are not the type of band who'll pump out releases on a regular basis. For most of their career (and they did have a short break up in the late 90's) they've taken their sweet time. Now if you're a fan then that's a plus because you want the best musical offering from the artists. So here we have their seventh full length release in a thirty year career.  

Now in all honesty I didn't get into OFFICIUM TRISTE until I'd say 2012. That's about a close proximity. But anyways I have three heritages aka: Dutch, Irish and German (yeah the tough ones) and of course if I see some Dutch extreme metal I'm gonna check it out. But hey I'm one of those people, mentioned earlier, who checked out other acts first. 

So yeah over a decade ago I got three of their releases which came out on Displeased Records all because they were highly recommended. Two of which were the full lengths Reason from 2004 and Giving Yourself Away from 2007. The third release I got was a compilation from 2009. Now as much as I liked those releases I never invested into their early stuff nor did I bother to check out what came afterwards. In fact I didn't check out their last release The Death of Gaia which came out on this label. But hey life allows for second chances. 

Now I alluded to OFFICIUM TRISTE's musical style within the genre earlier but let me give you a better analogy. If you're familiar with Death Doom from England and Finland then OFFICIUM TRISTE's sound is right inbetween. In fact it's always been like that which might've been why they've never been a house hold name. 

I just wanna say after my first listen to Hortus Venenum I went back to the stuff I have by em and compared. Now sure I like the releases I have but this new one in this year is really fuckin good. I mean Pim Blankenstein's bear/beast vocals (he also does spoken word stuff) is classic as far as the style goes. But when you blast this inside a room (actually my office) it comes across at times as if he's there talking / singing to ya. Which can be a little freaky. 

Add to that musically the riffs are not a main crushing focus. The keyboards helmed by former drummer Martin Kwakernaak are one part of the atmospheric sound structure. The other part is the melodic guitar soloing which runs throughout this six cut album. Listening to this is like waking up in the morning with the sun shining through the window onto your face. 

In other words it's a melodically uplifting sounding release. I mean sure some people consider Euro Death Doom to be like sitting in a dark room, dressed in black and staring at a bottle of vodka and a loaded hand gun. That would be Finnish Death Doom. As far as the English version then that would be thinking vampires are real and you haven't been laid. 

So in my not so humble opinion right now yeah this is my favorite OFFICIUM TRISTE album. I think it's one of the most amazing albums of 2024 (says the guy who loves old school DM). I'll also say if you're looking for something accessible to your adventurous musical tastes then this is a great starting point. The beast and beauty meet perfectly when it comes to Death Doom.

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://officiumtristedoom.bandcamp.com/album/hortus-venenum

CASTLE - Evil Remains review

 

CASTLE - Evil Remains

Hammerheart Records

Here we have the sixth full length by CASTLE and it's been a six year wait. Bias alert, I'm a huge fan of CASTLE. I got into em with their debut full length, In Witch Order, from 2011. And from that point on I was hooked. Their debut and their next two albums are amazing. We're talking cool ass Doom that rocks. Their last two albums I thought were decent.

So after a long wait they're back and this album is better than the last two. First off guitarist Mat Davis is probably one of the best Doom guitarists around. If Tony Iomni is the king of riffs Then Mat Davis is in line for knighthood because he creates his own SABBATH-IAN style riffs and rarely copies. 

Next up is one of the best vocalists and bassists in Doom or just Metal aka: Elizabeth Blackwell. She just has that perfect vocal range as in not over the top, not subtle or airy. Elizabeth Blackwell is a rocker and her vocal performance is exceptional especially on this new one. 

CASTLE are technically a two piece act but they do enlist drum work from people. This time around they've enlisted Mike Cotton a Canadian who balances out the sound with some great work. 

With that all said I think Evil Remains is the threshold where their past two albums were pushing towards. CASTLE on here kick out a damm good sounding album that rocks in their own way. They've reached the summit and this is the CASTLE sound period, not a band influenced by. Then again I always thought they were pushing for their own voice.  

https://www.hammerheart.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hammerheart.bandcamp.com/album/evil-remains