PONTE DEL DIAVOLO - De Venom Natura review

 

PONTE DEL DIAVOLO - De Venom Natura

Self Released

PONTE DEL DIAVOLO is an Italian band I learned about in 2024 with their debut full length Fire Blades from the Tomb. That one came out on Season of Mist records. This new one is a self release which to me seems crazy because this band is killer. Musically PONTE DEL DIAVOLO answer the question as in what if Siouxsie Soux from the old English Post Punk band SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES fronted a Blackened Doom / Post Punk act. 

I liked their debut album a lot. They also have a compilation of their three early EPs which came out in late 2024 on Time to Kill Records. That's something I really wanna pick up but for now we have this seven song full length. You've got six originals and a cover of BAUHAUS's "In the Flat Field". Ah hell yeah on the BAUHAUS cover. 

For me this is better than their debut. The songs come across as more intricate whether they be Blackened Doom or the Gothic Post Punk stuff. They even throw in a trombone player on one song. There's also a duet on "Silence Walk With Me" featuring Gionata Potenti from the Italian Black Metal band NUBIVAGANT. Of course for me it's the amazing vocals by Erba del Diavolo which wins me over along with the overall sound and atmosphere the whole band produces. 

In the end yeah this is a winner. Of course I'm shocked this release is not on a label whether small or large. I mean what the fuck is going on here?  

LISTEN AND BUY IT HERE:

https://pontedeldiavolo666.bandcamp.com/album/de-venom-natura

WITCH PISS - The Devil Doesn't Burn review

 

WITCH PISS - The Devil Doesn't Burn

Ardua Music

Well with a name like WITCH PISS how could I not check em out. Now in all of my years I've never tasted Witch Piss. But I've certanly had my face into some Witch cunt. Be that personal acknowlegdement out of the way here we have the second full length by Belguim's WITCH PISS. They are a five piece Stoner Rock / Doom act.

 

Musically it all comes across as popular bluesy sounding Metal. If Belguim has a Grammy thing then this band would win. I'm joking on that point seriously with a name like WITCH PISS? But musically this band comes across like mainstream rock and it's very US oriented in sound. If I could pick an influence I'd say they like CORROSION OF CONFORMITY. 

If that floats your boat then here ya go. Great album cover which would be cool on a t-shirt. 

https://www.arduamusic.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://witchpiss1.bandcamp.com/album/the-devil-doesnt-burn

MONSTROSITY - Screams from Beneath the Surface review

 

MONSTROSITY - Screams from Beneath the Surface

Metal Blade Records

So if you're into Death Metal then you know that MONSTROSITY was the band George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher was in before he joined CANNIBAL CORPSE. Now in my not so humble opinion I'll say that the band's full length debut, Imperial Doom, which came out in 1992 on Nuclear Blast Records and it's follow up, Millennium, which came out in 1996 on some obscure label got more sales after George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher left to join CANNIBAL CORPSE. 

There are people out there who think MONSTROSITY's debut is better than George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher's debut CANNIBAL CORPSE album, Vile, from 1996. I tend to have a different opinion on that idea. Be that as it may as far as post "Corpsegrinder" era MONSTROSITY releases go there's five in total. Of that I own only 2003's Rise to Power and my copy is a reissue. I thought album was OK and vocalist Jason Avery did a decent job. 

Fast forward to now and of course MONSTROSITY has gone through more changes. Of course original drummer Lee Harrison is keeping this band alive. Original bassist Mark van Erp returned in 2022. On guitar you've the great Matt Barnes who joined in 2010. Finally there's new vocalist Ed Webb who joined the fold in 2021. So even with all of that I still had my preconceived opinion on what this album was gonna sound like. 

Now if you listen to the opening track, "Banished to the Skies" then yeah you'll think this album is gonna suck. I mean that's what I thought. But then when the second cut "The Colossal Rage" kicks in things really change. Be that two people in this band use to play in MALEVOLENT CREATION I was not shocked to where the sound structure developed into. 

Musically this reminds me a lot of the Bret Hoffman (RIP) era of MALEVOLENT CREATION. At least as a strong influence of course because they still wanna be Florida 1990. To me the combination works well. And as I partially mentioned before Matt Barnes is not just good. I mean the riffage is damm good on these songs. But as far as soloing goes he is a fucking amazing guitarist. 

Finally I have to say Ed Webb is a great vocalist. He comes across almost as if he was from Poland doing Brutal Fuckin Death Metal. But hey he can scream like a motherfucker. Which is why in the end this album is damm good. 

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

LISTEN HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73wELS7JayY

MERCULISTARYA - Arado fajdalom a tunodes medreben review

 

MERCULISTARYA - Arado fajdalom a tunodes medreben

Pest Records

I was gonna call this late night Black Metal but as this release progressed I was like no this fucker will see the sun rise. Here we have the debut full length by MERCULISTARYA who hail from the great nation of Hungary. MERCULISTARYA is also a one man act. The one man being multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Arpad Szenti.

Arpad Szenti is also not some lone wolf. He's been a major player on drums with a few other known Hungarian acts such as the Black Metal bands AHRIMAN and ATHAME. He's also in the Death Metal act DAMMNATION and the Gothic Doom Metal act EVIL TEARS. In other words Arpad Szenti is the Hungarian version of Norway's premier drummer Hellhammer. The guy has got his fishing lines out everywhere to get a bite. 

Now as far as this release is concerned Arpad Szenti is an amazing songwriter who on here has come up with some damm good cuts. If you're knowledgeable about Hungarian Black Metal then listen as this guy nails it. I mean there's beauty, horror and out right destruction. As a vocalist Arpad Szenti brings forth a huge array of vocal styles which are subtle spoken word, harsh as fuck screaming and bellows from a beast. 

Musically it's tranquil at times then intense Black Metal surfaces to a point where it's symphonic, brutal or operatic. Yes listening to this album is a worthwhile endeavor, an experience to say the least. Arado fajdalom a tunodes medreben is a concept album which I have no idea what it's about. All the lyrics are in Hungarian. But worth checking out. 

https://pestrecords.ucoz.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://pestrecords.bandcamp.com/album/merculistarya-rad-f-jdalom-a-t-n-d-s-medr-ben

CORPSEMANGLE - Eating the Damned review

 CORPSEMANGLE - Eating the Damned

Self Released

I know it's only March but when I saw the cover artwork for this release I was like, I don't care what this band sounds like because this is definitely a contender if not an all out winner for Album Cover of the Year. I mean look at it! Seriously it could've been a CANNIBAL CORPSE album cover back in the day. Dammit I need it on a T-shirt, double X please. And a poster wouldn't hurt either because Extreme Metal artwork rules. 

So with all of that said this is the debut full length by CORPSEMANGLE (cool band name by the way) who are a  two piece Brutal Death Metal act from the great nation of Bulgaria. This two piece consists of Antoan Bozhkov, who started the band in 2015 on guitars and lead vocals. Along with him is Martin Aleksandrov who plays bass and adds backing vocals. The drum work is obviously programmed. Note to band, get a human drummer. 

With that said CORPSEMANGLE's full length debut comes across as a lot of early CANNIBAL CORPSE and DEICIDE worship which to me ain't a bad thing. Overall it's a brutal maniacle sound being produced. The production here is raw as fuck. Someone could call this a long lost demo from 1991, package it as a reissue on double vinyl, sell it for a hundred bucks and Extreme Metal collectors would buy it in a heartbeat.

As for me I like this a lot but I wanna hear their next album which I feel will be cool as fuck. I mean Antoan Bozhkov is good on the riffs and his solos are decent in that dive bomb style or in a melodic vein. He's got the damm good vocals as well. So yeah Brutal Fuckin Death Metal from Bulgaria rules! Now let's hear your next album.

LISTEN TO AND BUY IT HERE:

https://corpsemangle.bandcamp.com/album/eating-the-damned

TEMPLE OF DECAY - Profanus review

 

TEMPLE OF DECAY - Profanus

Old Temple

A few years ago when I heard Poland's TEMPLE OF DECAY's full length debut Rigor Mortis. I thought it was a damm good album. Musically it was what I'd call a traditional Polish Black Metal sound. You had the Thrash portions mixed in with the melody. The stand out point for me was the vocals which were pure hate filled vile attacks. 

Here we are a few years later with the third album by TEMPLE OF DECAY. Before I get into this I must admit that I missed out on their second album, Anti Deus, which came out in 2024 on Black Death Production. Also TEMPLE OF DECAY is a one man Black Metal band. That one man is Mortt who is responsible for everything. Also Mortt lives in Poland but also in Ireland. Must be a work thing. 

Anyways this new TEMPLE OF DECAY is fuckin amazing. Mortt's opening screams on this release could easily be "hell yeahs". Marching boots, sirens wailing and a ferocious guitar attack with savage sounding vocals and spoken worded insults. Everything is sung in Polish but you get the antagonized attitude. 

This new release is six cuts in just over thirty-four minutes in length. Within all of that you've got this tremolo picked wall of riffs that act as an atmospheric axe of destruction on some cuts. Other times it's a slower cold harshness that envelopes your mind. Mortt's vocals driving along either at screamed aggressive tempos or just bleak fucking demented doom. 

In the end it's releases like this that keep me a Black Metal fan even though they're few and far between. The five tracks on here are perfect. The last cut is spoken word and background sounds which is a loss in my book. Still it's far better then a lot. 

https://www.oldtemple.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://oldtemple.bandcamp.com/album/temple-of-decay-profanus

MAYHEM - Liturgy Of Death review

 

MAYHEM - Liturgy Of Death 

Century Media

So let me get some things out here which you'll understand. I am a MAYHEM fan in that I own 99.9% of all of their releases whether they're official or bootleg. Crazy enough my bootlegs have gone on to be official releases later on. Not only is MAYHEM one of my all time favorite Black Metal bands. But I still say their De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas full length from 1994 is the greatest Black Metal album of all time. But before someone screams "Bias"! Let me be honest by saying not all of their releases are that great in my not so humble opinion. And two of em are stinkers. 

Now with that said back in 2019 when the band released the Daemon full length I called it the real follow up of De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. Along with Necrobutcher on bass, Attila Csihar on vocals and Hellhammer on drums. You had two cool guitarists Teloch (aka: Morten Bergeton Iversen) and Ghul (aka: Charles Edward Alexander Hedger). These guitarists recreated the sound which Euronymous and Snorre Westvold Ruch did back in 1993. I mean the sound on Daemon was perfect. 

And here we are seven years later with the follow-up / seventh studio full length. The term "follow-up" fits this one perfectly because it's in the same vein as Daemon. The opener here, "Ephemeral Eternity", is definitely a great horrific way to start things off. From there onward it's either great or decent tracks. "Despair" and "Weep for Nothing" are damm good and worthy of being included in their new live set.

One thing I have to mention is that Attila Csihar has become iconic with his vocal style. There's no one like him and he proves it once again on Liturgy Of Death. Also huge props to Teloch and Ghul for their guitar work which is basically icy dark melodies and a barrage of cruel riffs. A perfect example is "Aeon's End". I like the twisted atmosphere of "Funeral of Existence". The rest of the tracks are good as well. 

MAYHEM are on a roll here especially being the last Norwegian Black Metal band from the early days that actually puts out great albums of late of course. Liturgy Of Death is a quality follow-up from Daemon. If I had the band's ear I'd say your next live set should just include songs from those two albums plus a few cuts from De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. Because they all fall together. Hey I can hope but the bottom line is that Liturgy Of Death is great.  

https://www.centurymedia.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAidgwVV3VI&t=921s