SIGN OF THE JACKAL - Heavy Metal Survivors review

 

SIGN OF THE JACKAL - Heavy Metal Survivors

Dying Victims Productions

So imagine if you will ENFORCER, who are a NWOBHM revival act, also influenced by early MOTLEY CRUE (pre Shout at the Devil) and with a female vocalist. Does that sound fuckin cool or am I crazy? Alright just for the record I've been called crazy multiple times in my life. And a lot of that came from people I consider close friends, work colleagues and veterans I've served with in the military. I'm not going to get into that latter part.  

But anyways this is the third full length by Italy's SIGN OF THE JACKAL a five piece true heavy metal act that's been around since 2008. The first time I blasted this album my thoughts were that these people love it all metal from both sides of the pond. And they have found a way to combine two totally different styles of classic 80's metal into one strong sound. 

There's plenty of NWOBHM influences as well as 80's US metal signature sounds. Almost every song on here has this opening where you're guessing what's gonna hit ya. Historically that's what we loved back in the 80's and it's cool now in the 2000's. I mean good rockin stuff with cool guitar soloing. The lead vocals are falsetto with gang vocal chorus's, hello 1980's. 

In the end this is a surprise release which makes the metal head in you go holy shit! I wanna see this band live. I mean fuck all of their early  releases. I wanna see em on stage now. Be that as it may on this album SIGN OF THE JACKAL just fuckin rules.    

https://dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/heavy-metal-survivors

MITOCHONDRION - Vitriseptome review

 

MITOCHONDRION - Vitriseptome

Profound Lore Records

A few years back when I learned about this Canadian blackened death four piece it was via their second full length Parasignosis from 2011. In all honesty I thought the band's sound channeled the early days of PORTAL, VASAELETH, and HOODED MENACE. There's probably a few more obscure bands included in their influence but I should let it go. So here we are thirteen years later with their third full length release. 

There's some cool things and not so good things to say about Vitriseptome. Let's start with the cool stuff. If you blast this release on your back deck speakers after midnight your neighbors will call the cops on ya. You're left standing there at the front door smiling to the officer and explaining that you were in the bathroom and didn't know the outside speakers were on. It was my second complaint this year so I got a pass. 

But hey MITOCHONDRION continue where they left off in 2011. You've got the sickening bestial cavernous vocals. Their song structures are one part riff roaring death metal and the other a type of sick metallic opera of diabolic proportions. I love how it all blends into chaos. Yes this is an album where you let the musical destructive forces over take your senses. Yeah this is late night music, fierce and obscene, only to be heard by a shared few who are of the extreme music kind.

The not so good things are that MITOCHONDRION did all of that in 2011 with their second album. This one here is a good album but it doesn't push the boundaries of the band's they're influenced by. I mean the influential acts named above kinda blow these days. So these Canadians have the torch handed to em in order to keep the flow of this blackened death style going or progressing. In the end it's a cool album.   

https://profoundlorerecords.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://mitochondrion.bandcamp.com/album/vitriseptome

WITCHTRAP - Hungry as the Beast review

 

WITCHTRAP - Hungry as the Beast

Hells Headbangers Records

WITCHTRAP are a three piece blackened thrash act from Colombia who I got into with the split they did with NUNSLAUGHTER in 2014 and their Evil Strikes Again full length from 2020. The band has been around since 1997 and has a ton of releases out be they full lengths, EPs and splits. By the way their last split release with NUNSLAUGHTER from 2014 is probably a collector's item by now.

Hungry as the Beast is their sixth full length and musically it's a throwback to the early days of thrash. When I blast this through the house speakers it's pretty damm cool. Listening to this, as an old schooler, it's totally enjoyable. I mean this was blasting while I was doing the dishes. So if you're an old thrash fan then I highly recommend this one.

https://shop-hellsheadbangers.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://witchtrap-official.bandcamp.com/album/hungry-as-the-beast

HORNA - Nyx (Hymneja yolle) review

 

HORNA - Nyx (Hymneja yolle)

World Terror Committee

I've been a HORNA fan since 2000 when I got a split 7"er they did with another Finnish Black Metal band MUSTA SURMA. And no that release is not for sale. So I've followed (AKA: bought everything they've put out) the band ever since then. Yeah I'm a fan but bias alert ain't warranted. 

So here we have the band's twelfth full length (I think) and it's still sounding filth ridden in Finnish black metal. But things have changed so much over time with HORNA and not just with their line-up. We've gone from some pretty damm good black metal releases like Sanojesi aarelle from 2009. Every split they did before that was cool as well as frosty and barbaric. And then of course the EPs were killer as fuck. The albums were decent. 

HORNA now, as far as this album goes, are far removed from their past greatness. On Nyx (Hymnejä yölle) it's a relentless thrashy attack. I could see a slam pit going on with the opening cut. Overall the songs are simplistic compared to their past works. I'll give em props for the filth ridden Finnish fury they've produced on here. But to me this is Black Metal for kiddies. "Hymni II" is an amazing song out of the six cuts on here and hints at the bands explosive past efforts.

In the end yeah this is a decent album but I do miss when HORNA were more into the filthy grim and frosty mode.  

http://www.w-t-c.org/

LISTEN HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoSC4w0mLF4

PERSECUTORY - The Glorious Persecution EP review

 

PERSECUTORY - The Glorious Persecution EP

Godz ov War Productions

This Turkish blackened death metal act have been a favorite of mine for a few years now. I can't speak about their debut EP but their last two full lengths: Towards the Ultimate Extinction from 2017 and Summoning the Lawless Legions from 2022 are in my not so humble opinion are amazing. I thought that 2022 full length was a flawless masterpiece. So now they give us fans a three song EP which really makes you like em three times as much more.

The Glorious Persecution is pretty much a showcase of extreme greatness from PERSECUTORY. You've got three long tracks which length wise is their song craft trademark. Within that territory the band displays a lot of blackened fury, the death metal destruction and breaks of sinister atmosphere. The arrangements are just fuckin perfect. The guitar work is exciting to say the least. 

But of course it's vocalist Pervert Profanator (aka: Çagatay Yetik) who sounds like a very angry man on fire. So with his vocals combined with blackened death chamber music from hell ah yeah you're just in fuckin awe of what this band is producing. My favorite cut on here is "Ecstatic Demonlords" because it's the pure embodiment of what this band does musically. The other two cuts are great as well. Overall this one leaves blisters on your ears and that's a good thing. 

http://godzovwar.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/the-glorious-persecution

THE CROWN - Crown Of Thorns review

 

THE CROWN - Crown Of Thorns 

Metal Blade Records

I got into THE CROWN with their second album Deathrace King from 2000. I liked that album so much that I hit the record store a week later and got their debut full length Hell Is Here which came out in 1998. Back then the band was thrown into the whole Swedish Melo-Deth scene. But musically they were a great death thrash band. I still love those two releases. Unfortunately everything that came out afterward was questionable to me. 

I've had or heard every release THE CROWN has released in the past twenty four years. In all honesty I just don't care for em and I especially hate 2002's Crowned in Terror. You bring in Tomas Lindberg from AT THE GATES to completely fuck up your sound and style. Since then and even with the return of original vocalist Johan Lindstrand they've become melo-deth boredom. 

But hey I gave this new album a chance, three listens, and it's generic and boring. Now sure if you're into the whole generic melo-death stuff then you'll love this album. There's a couple cool tracks on here but for me that's not good enough. They've taken back their original name with the album title but not the early death thrash style. To me it's just boring.

https://www.metalblade.com/us/

LISTEN HERE:

https://thecrownofficial.bandcamp.com/album/crown-of-thorns

FUPA GODDESS - Fuckyourface review

 

FUPA GODDESS - Fuckyourface

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

Actually I'm somewhat shocked, SHOCKED I SAY, to see this label put out a full length by this band. Now don't get me wrong. Horror Pain Gore Death Productions does specialize in some sick shit that no other label would touch and I'm glad for that. But this one takes their standards to a point less traveled. 

Just for the record FUPA GODDESS are a three piece act hailing from the beach or coast of two states. I'm talking about Elizabeth City, North Carolina and Virginia Beach, Virginia. We're talking tourist towns with no reason for live extreme music venues. And I might be wrong but I think this band did play an underground show here where I live, Raleigh, NC. Underground meaning a non club show as in a house show. And they pissed off the woke punk rock pussies there. 

Now I don't go to those types of shows any more. I'm too old and look it. But every once in a while I'll hear some news about all of that nonsense. I hope I'm wrong but judging from FUPA GODDESS's style of brutal death metal / gore grind as well as their lyrical subject matter. Yeah I can see how they would really piss off a bunch of modern day wanna-be punks at a house show. Now as far as I'm concerned yeah I love my BFDM / Goregrind. But FUPA GODDESS's sound / style is scraping at the bottom. 

Which also makes me shocked, SHOCKED I SAY, to see they have a discography that looks like what NUNSLAUGHTER has. Since starting out in 2021 they've got a shit ton of short form releases aka: EPs, Splits and singles. I'm kinda curious who would do a split release with this band. In a few words yeah they're fuckin prolific. So obviously yeah a compilation is in order. I mean this is low bottom psycho distorted stuff, more punk fuckin metal / grind than true death metal. If you have no standards, and that's coming from ME, then here ya go. You just might become a fan. 

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE: 

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