BURIAL - Relinquished Souls Reissue Redefining Darkness Records Raw Skull Recordz Ask a devoted death metal fan if the know the band BURIAL. Chances are they'll say yeah they've heard of em. Then again there's been a dozen or so bands who've used that name. Now if you are a fan and collector of Dutch death metal (like me because of my heritage) then you'll be like oh yeah they only put out one album. A great album actually but unfortunately it was a one and done affair. I have a CD reissue version myself, sue me. Now the good people at Redefining Darkness Records here in the states and Raw Skull Recordz over in Europe also have a fond love for this album. So much so that they're giving it another reissue on multiple formats. Personally I think that's cool as fuck. Metal should be for the fans and not high end collectors who don't look at something like this for it's enjoyment value but as an item with a price tag. Secondly it's a release that really deserves to be reissued and given it's due for the sheer quality of the music. BURIAL's short career was due to band member issues. But something else which needs to be mentioned is that the band's sound a few years too late. This originally was released in 1993 and you don't need to be a historian to know what was going on in metal at that time as far as genres and the directions they were taking. But as far as death metal was concerned the whole melodic thing was going on. Many of the early greats either split up, changed gears are limped along until later years revived their careers. So basically BURIAL was OSDM before the term was coined.
So why do you need this release? Well first off BURIAL were a unique band in that their sound favored more toward the style by death metal bands here in the states then their European counterparts. I've seen people toss out plenty of names for influences in the past. Personally I say early DEATH and OBITUARY had to been big influences to them because just fuckin listen to the damm thing. The riffs are familiar but I won't goes so far to say it's copycat. Song structures are great along with that there's the steady rhythm flow. Percussion is totally satisfying. Plus the leads have that fluid like exposure. Vocals are a combination of deep growls and high pitched screams. Yeah that's familiar as well. I never knew why exactly this never got the credit it deserved back in the day. I certainly don't remember a thing about em back in the day. And to be honest I learned about em and this album ten years after it's original release. Yeah I know, so sue me. Be that as it may, after a decade of old school death metal revisited appreciation. I'm still shocked that this release never got attention other than a few diehards. In an era when I've seen things reissued and scratching my head wondering why. This one right here is waiting for you to enjoy. A masterpiece from 1993 and that's not a boast. https://redefiningdarknessrecords.bandcamp.com/album/burial-relinquished-souls https://rawskullrecordz.com/en/cds/323-burial-relinquished-souls-cd-pre-order.html https://www.facebook.com/Burial-197098597012384/
LORD VICAR - The Black Powder The Church Within Records As far as Christian Linderson's career goes he's been fondly respected as the vocalist for COUNT RAVEN and also being the guest vocalist on what I'd call SAINT VITUS' least favorite album, COD. But for the past decade he's fronted LORD VICAR with ex- REVEREND BIZARRE guitarist Kimi Karki. Now let's get this out front, LORD VICAR will always be Karki's vehicle even though Linderson and drummer Gareth Millsted have been along for the ride since day one. On this latest one Rich Jones takes over on bass duties from long time member Jussi Myllykoski. I remember when LORD VICAR's debut full length came out in 2008 (after a decent three song EP, The Demon of Freedom). It wasn't the second coming of REVEREND BIZARRE meets SAINT VITUS. It was something lighter and loose. The same can be said about this their fourth full length. The heaviness will always be there but the songs leave room for nuance which is needed since this thing spans over an hour in length. I must admit it took plenty of listens for me to fully get into this one. Most of that was getting through the seventeen plus minute opener.
Aside from that everything afterwards is good sounding doom minus the boredom which tends to set in with Karki's heavy handed over indulgences. I still think Linderson sounds best when he's doing his Ozzy impersonation. He delves into that a few times on here but his mournful voice is fairly prominent as well. Personally I like the shorter powerful cuts versus the long drawn out repetitive riff ones. Still overall it's a great album. It would be tough not to say it's their best to date. Although their debut is still damm good. http://www.doom-dealer.com/ https://lordvicar.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/lordvicar
ALTARAGE are a blackened death metal act from Spain who I've known for some time now. The four piece started out not long ago. Their debut full length release, Nihl, came out in 2016 on Doomentia Records (are they still around?). A year later they came out with their second full length, Endinghent, on Season of Mist. So here we have their third one and second for the label. Since I've been following this band for years now I'm not going to say they've progressed within their chosen style. To me they're just on a good roll. Calling this one The Approaching Roar is as appropriate as it gets. Now for those of you who don't know, ALTARAGE are one of many newer acts out there who are influenced by PORTAL and have taken the genre to noisy and destructive heights. That's kind of an oxymoron since the sound here in deeply cavernous, churning sounds from the bowels of the earth and with inhuman vocals. Also this blows away their last album. As always the four members of this band are masked anonymously. Their influences have been stepped slightly away from in order to emphasize their own identity. Amongst the onslaught of bludgeoning riffs with duel drum punishment, ALTARAGE allows more space for an unnerving atmosphere to envelop you. This is a release that draws you in to the hostility. In the end I love this shit. http://www.season-of-mist.com/ https://altarage.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ALTARAGE/
HATE THEM ALL - Goat Tormentor EP Old Temple Hey how could I not like a band called HATE THEM ALL? OK yeah I have written about their full length, Defender of the Black Throne, from 2018. If that one was raw, old school and satanic black metal then this one goes even lower. We're talking about a slab of rotten meat here. Fast songs with sick filth vocals and not much else. No wonder they won't reveal their identities to the public. All we know is that they're from Poland.
Of course they don't mind exposing the names of their guest vocalists. One of em is Hellscreamaross from the band WITCHFUCK who I believe I'm familiar with. How could I not? The second guest singer is someone who goes by the name Beer Drinker. I would not be surprised in the least if this recording came about under the influence of some alcoholic beverages. Hell I'm drinking right now. Be that as it may what we have here is no thrills black fuckin metal which could be a rehearsal but who knows? Sound wise its a rough recording but then again isn't always that way for certain bands and makes releases like this all the more wanting. Got some hate in your gut? Here you go.
EMPHERIS - The Return Of Derelict Gods Old Temple For some reason I feel like I've heard this band before. Now that's not surprising since this Polish act has been around since the early 2000s and have a ton of releases out in either short form (EPs and Splits) to a couple of full lengths. Speaking of which The Return Of Derelict Gods is the band's third full length to date over their long career. EMPHERIS are a five piece blackened thrash act, emphasis on the blackened part. Their vocalist reminds me of a cross between Don of the Dead from NUNSLAUGHTER and Mille from KREATOR. The guy sorta has that harsh singing style as if he's on fire. Musically the band also has some NWOBHM influence which pops up once in a while through these ten cuts. But of course it's the fast thrash style which dominates. As far as that matters it's done well. EMPHERIS does not fall into the generic style which has become modern blackened thrash. I'll be nice and won't mention a producer's name who has become synonymous with carbon copying bands. Instead I'll say this has it's raw sides of the genre. Add to that some more explosive second wave BM surprises via good rhythms, tremolo picked runs and dueling blast beated segues. All in all it's definitely better that your average stuff and worth checking out to relieve boredom. http://www.oldtemple.com/ https://oldtemple.bandcamp.com/album/empheris-the-return-of-derelict-gods https://www.facebook.com/empherisofficial/
SERPENT SEED - Death And Decay Considerations Old Temple
There's been a five year space between this album and their debut which came out in 2014. I've never heard this Polish band's debut but I'm liking this one a lot. The genre tagline to this is blackened death metal. I don't agree with that one fully. As far as the song structuring goes the vocals really stand apart from the music as if it's the star. Musically there's a great mix of melodic blackened atmospheric cuts. Add to that some straight up brutality that Polish extreme metal excels at. Thunderous riffs, blast beats, mildly picked solos and a bellowing voice is what you get for the most part. As far as the death metal aspects go they're very subtle. There is a melodic elegance low in the mix on a few cuts. If the production was more even handed then this would be completely different. Like I mentioned earlier the vocals are so upfront. It's as if the guy is in your face sermonizing to you. If you allow your imagination to kick in then you're looking at a uncomfortable scenario. The Swedes might hold the keys to the whole blackened death metal genre. But the Poles just come across as more ferocious when they tackle the same genre. And the evidence is right here for your enjoyment. http://www.oldtemple.com/ https://oldtemple.bandcamp.com/album/serpent-seed-death-and-decay-considerations https://www.facebook.com/SerpentSeedofficial/
WITCHFINDER - Hazy Rites Black Bow Records Are you someone who is pining for some ELECTRIC WIZARD / WINDHAND worshiping stoner rock? Yes I've given away the surprise here by giving you the facts up front. Here we have a French trio who are not subtle at all about a sound which they love as well who they sound like. Influenced you say, ha! Lets review, fuzzed out riffs, check as well as being extremely similar. Airy ghostly styled vocals, oh yeah but thankfully there's a few moments when some harsh angry screaming kicks in. I'll give em a break on their cover artwork choice. Is that supposed to be a witch or Captain Marvel after dawning Green Lantern's power ring? I'll give these guys their due. At a time when ELECTRIC WIZARD has been recording the same album over and over since 2007 this emerald beauty comes across as decent. This is WITCHFINDER's second full length since starting out in 2016. They sound cool as far as standard stoner rock goes. But, and this is important, they are a small fish swimming in a big genre ocean. At least they're not so cliche as to have a female vocalist. For the doom head who just needs another release that sounds exactly like every other one in his collection. http://www.blackbowrecords.com/ https://witchfinder.bandcamp.com/album/hazy-rites https://www.facebook.com/witchfinderdoom/
APPALLING - Inverted Realm Redefining Darkness Records Before I posted this review I contacted some local show promoters and shared this band's music with them. They're from Richmond, Virginia so if they plan on coming on a journey south, please book em. Yes Richmond, you can boast about a variety of bands leading the way in various metal genres. Now you have a great blackened death metal act. APPALLING are a five piece act that started out in 2015. They put out their self released debut full length Secrets of the Adept in 2017. I never heard it but I'm liking this one.
Now when it comes to the sub-genre of blackened death metal there's still plenty of room open in order to define it. Some bands use purely harsh screamed vocals or tremolo picked riffs as a rhythm mixed along side melodic death metal structures. Of course the Europeans, mainly the Swedes, dominate and have trademarked the genre. Here in the US we had our day back in the 90's when various burgeoning black metal acts still carried plenty of death metal brutality and musicianship. It set us apart from the Scandinavians.
APPALLING are in between all of that which I learned on my first listening to this. And just to be honest I believe they found a unique sound structure which they've tapped into. Each of the seven tracks on here stands on their own. In other words they're not mining a style and punching the repeat button. They can be rough and thrashy but will slow down to a death dirge and insert a damm good sharp solo. Other times it's straight up blackened death then they're move onto a structure more towards death metal or black metal swiftness along with some atmosphere thrown in for a break. Vocal wise, imagine a sick demented and inebriated minister giving a sermon. It also is a perfect match for the style of music being created plus a touch of the theatrical as far as points where vocals should dominate and not. All in all APPALLING has something immensely important and that's a character all their own. It's subtle but undeniable. If you're into a DM shock to your senses then here you go. http://www.redefiningdarkness.com/ https://appalling.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Appallingmusic
ENCOFFINATION - We Proclaim Your Death O' Lord Selfmadegod Records I want you to think about death, your death for a second. Think about it and do it, you are dead. Boom! You're probably breathing harder and trying to remember that utter darkness that you felt. Fucked up isn't it? Now think about people you knew who died and you saw them in a coffin at their funeral. I'm old so I get to see plenty of it whether it's family or friends. Think about that for a second. You're dead and in a coffin being buried in crappy dirt. Where I live we've got smelly red clay. So yeah life doesn't suck so bad. Aside from that I know this sinister death doom band well. I got their 2010 debut, Ritual Ascension Beyond Flesh. After that I kinda missed out on all of their other burial treats to say the least. Maybe that's because this duo of Elektrokutioner (aka: Wayne Sarantopoulos) who performs drums on here and was once in a number of other bands I like aka: BEYOND HELL, FATHER BEFOULED, WOODEN STAKE and TOMBSTONES to say the least, had something else to do other than play the drums here. Natch that one on other member Ghoat (aka: Justin Blake Stubbs) who handles the guitars, bass and vocals. That latter area is questionable since what emanates from his mouth could never be described as vocals. Imagine what sounds you would hear emanating from the bowels of the dark lord of chaos after a long night of partying he decided to scarf down two or three of those cheap convenience store burritos? Come on who hasn't had The Bomb Burrito late at night only to pay for it in the morning. If I haven't given away the store yet, yes ENCOFFINATION are an extreme death doom act. We Proclaim Your Death O' Lord is this duo's fourth full length over their decade long career. They've got plenty of short form releases out as well and a compilation Necros Obscuritas which came out in 2017 also on Selfmadegod Records. There's a free plug. But hey what about the music you ask? OK it's ghoulish, yes a descriptive term I rarely use, as far as death doom goes. Sound wise this has an ominous, ghastly vibe. An atmosphere which creeps along throughout these seven cuts. Put on your ashen-ed face and join the wake. https://selfmadegod.com/shop/en_US/index https://selfmadegod.bandcamp.com/album/we-proclaim-your-death-o-lord https://www.facebook.com/templeofencoffinment
MONASTERIUM - Church of Bones Nine Records Meanwhile in Poland we have four guys who love early CANDLEMASS. Although I will say that their vocalist Michał Strzelecki has a similar range as Messiah Marcolin. The musicianship is close but SOLITUDE AETURNUS will always be closer. Be that as it may MONASTERIUM's second full length carries with it memories more so than originality or inventiveness.
The song structures on here plod along the epic doom metal template well. But the guitar work as far as good riffs go is far from heavy handed. Actually this falls into something more power metal say later day DIO. Nothing wrong with that and the soloing is totally in line with that style.
The band knows their doom but their era's as far as style goes leaves me wondering. This reminds me of HEAVEN AND HELL's only album minus Iommi's guitar work and CANDLEMASS's Tales of Creation which is not a classic in my book of favorites. This is for purists or wannabes only because I got bored after five listens. http://shop.nine-records.com/ https://monasterium.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/monasteriumdoom
AXIS OF DESPAIR - And The Machine Rolls On 7" EP Selfmadegod Records
Ah yes the love of seven inch vinyl. There was a time in my past when I probably had just as many 7"ers as 12" LPs. Yes we're talking in the hundreds. Of course most of those 7"ers were from punk and hardcore bands but some were metal related and of those there was a bunch of grindcore stuff. Then a friend told me how much money he was getting by selling his stuff on E-Bay. So I needed the money at the time and most likely there's some guy in Europe with my collection of late 80's/early 90's grindcore 7"ers. With that in mind it's good to see some bands and labels still using the short format. For example AXIS OF DESPAIR put out a great full length in 2018 titled Contempt for Man. Yes you should get it. But anyways they had some songs left over so they put those six cuts on here for us fans. For those of you who don't know, maybe a few, AXIS OF DESPAIR are a cool as fuck grindcore outfit from Sweden. Three of their four band members were once in the death metal act COLDWORKER. Trust me they made the right choice. Now I've said it many times before but it bares repeating. When it comes to grindcore I like the old face ripping style that's more metal than the early hardcore beginnings. And I also like when NAPALM DEATH and TERRORIZER made death metal an ingredient to enhance the intensity. That's what AXIS OF DESPAIR does well. They're punishing and yet install some cool slam pit groove to some songs. Others are out right exercises in painful torture and all done within eight minutes. Ya gotta love it. https://selfmadegod.com/shop/en_US/index https://selfmadegod.bandcamp.com/album/and-the-machine-rolls-on https://www.facebook.com/axisofdespairsweden
SLASHING DEATH - Off compilation Selfmadegod Records
SLASHING DEATH were (?) a grindcore act outta Poland who started out back in late 80's. Over their short career they managed to put out four demos. Their last one came out in 1990. Since then there's been a couple of compilations of the band's material released. Here we have a third compilation.
Musically I won't call this straight up grindcore. There's plenty of punk/hardcore influence running throughout their early songs from their first demo from 1988. You can also hear more development into a metal sound and structure with their future demos Irrevocably And With No Hope from 1989 and Kill Me Cause I Can't Stop from 1990. For the most part this is for collectors / connoisseurs only. This band's claim to fame is that their former drummer Krzysztof "Doc" Raczkowski, who passed away in 2005, ended up in VADER for a handful of years. If that's your bag then here you go. https://selfmadegod.com/shop/en_US/index https://selfmadegod.bandcamp.com/album/off https://www.facebook.com/SlashingDeathDEALER/
SKULLSMASHER - Rocket Hammer Brian Surgery Selfmadegod Records I had this playing, actually blasting, outside while I was working on my garden one Saturday morning. What, you don't listen to extreme music while gardening? Anyway the neighbor's granny was on their back deck watering her plants then I heard their back door slam shut. A week later they went on vacation at least that's what I'm guessing. Then again they could be over in the house dead and rotting because of the power of SKULLSMASHER blaring from my speakers. As I always say when it comes to grind core or death grind, I'm always gonna be a fan of the old ways. The music has to be totally destructive and threatening. So here have the debut full length by this California act. Basically it's Andrew Lee of RIPPED TO SHREDS and a drum machine. What's cool here is that Andrew creates short songs with skin shredding riffs. His vocals are either burning cauldron of hell low and gruff or higher pitched wails of pain. Oh yeah the drum machine has been programmed well. Rocket Hammer Brian Surgery is sixteen tracks in around fifteen minutes. It's sound and style, which is amazing, leans towards the classics of the past but not that good. Sure Andrew Lee probably loves early NAPALM DEATH and REPULSION but then again who the fuck does'n't? Oh you? Then why are you here? I love listening to this release and so glad it pissed off my neighbors. https://selfmadegod.com/shop/en_US/index https://selfmadegod.bandcamp.com/album/rocket-hammer-brain-surgery https://www.facebook.com/Skullsmashergrind/
BEWITCHER - Under the Witching Cross Shadow Kingdom Records The more I listen to this the more it reminds me of the MURDERDOLLS doing a first wave black metal album. Opener "Savage Lands of Satan" will give you that impression. Now that's not a bad thing. Actually it's kinda cool to hear some blackened speed metal with a touch of rock n roll. I take that back, how bout a lot of rock. This three piece from Portland, Oregon know their VENOM, BATHORY and classic NWOBHM. Whethor it's their use of bluesy leads or the over the top power riffs (check out "Heathen Woman"). They've got their finger on the button. Under the Witching Cross is BEWITCHER's second full length since starting out in 2013. Their songs carry that whole tongue in cheek nod to the satanic side. Say you love Satan and hand me a PBR. https://www.shadowkingdomrecords.com/ https://bewitcher.bandcamp.com/album/under-the-witching-cross https://www.facebook.com/BewitcherOfficial
VELDES - Flameless Self Released VELDES is a one man Slovenian black metal act which I got into some years ago by accident. I thought it was another band but anyways I liked the sound kinship it had with Ukraine's DRUDKH. The one man multi-instrumentalist is Tilen Simon who's musical influences come from the lands around him. VELDES is an old word to describe the low lands beneath the mountain regions of his homeland. We're talking about low lying forests and lakes, peaceful places to contemplate cool atmospheric black metal. Which is the whole shebang here as far as the music goes. With the exception of a keyboard led intro instrumental, this is full on melancholy black metal which draws upon the dream state but with some savagery harsh vocals by Simon. To me it's majesty meets sorrow which the song structure sequences suggest. I kinda feel the same way as I watch the fuckin city workers tear down some wooded areas near my home to expand a school grounds. Repetitive riffs which break into tremolo picked agonizing hell accompanied by even more agonized screamed vocals. I feel a touch of doom, which is really a bucket of misery, should come with this release. Like previous stuff I feel if I'm smiling then a flagellation is required. Rhythm patterns from past releases repeat themselves with added keyboard melodies/interludes as if this is a religious ceremony. I've heard it all before yet it's beautifully done and I won't knock it much. But the whole I feel cool then I'm miserable theme wear's on you. https://veldes.bandcamp.com/album/flameless https://www.facebook.com/VeldesBand
DELIRIUM - Urkraft MDD Records Well there's nothing I like better than to start my weekend off with some pagan metal. OK that might be a stretch but seriously this act's sound caught me in a good way. DELIRIUM are a five piece band that hails from Germany. They've been around for over a decade, 2006 to be exact. According to some promo info they started out as a simple death metal act. They still carry some of that genre with em. The band finally got going with this pagan metal style a few years later. So far they've released a full length, Frankenblut in 2011. Plus they've done some short form releases, two EPs, since their debut and this their second full length. So there's a couple of things I like about this album. First and foremost is that the vocals are sung in German. To me that gives it a more authentic feel. Do I understand what they're singing about? Hell no! I've got a chef's understanding of French and a tourist's vocabulary of Dutch. I tried to learn Norwegian once but quit after a month. Still the vocals carry that forceful aggressive touch which adds to the band's sound. Speaking of which yeah musically this is blackened melodic death metal with a huge touch of the pagan metal genre. But the melodies produced by the epic riffs and the tremolo picked runs are amazing, hell I'll call em grandiose. Listening to this reminds me of similar acts that I love like early AMON AMARTH and TYR. Of course there's always going to be that FALKENBACH name drop as well because of those backing pagan chorus like vocals. But there are times when DELIRIUM incorporates some rocking moments that are for headbanging purposes. All around this is cool as fuck. https://mdd-records.de/ https://frankendelirium.bandcamp.com/album/urkraft-2019 https://www.facebook.com/DeliriumFranken
DARKTHRONE - Old Star Peaceville Records OK in all honesty yeah I'm a DARKTHRONE fan as in yes I have all of their full length releases. No compilations of course, fuck those things. But I must say that their past couple of albums (2013's The Underground Resistance and Arctic Thunder from 2016) were definitely lacking in memorable substance. Obviously this is what happens when you mine the fuck out of a genre for all it's worth while trying to maintain your identity. That seems to be the case after their blackened speed metal trilogy was done where do you go next? Go back to second wave black metal? Ha! Yeah right like that was gonna happen. So The Underground Resistance was basically a hodgepodge of the speed metal trilogy plus a taste of straight up blackened 80's metal. To me it was boring. Next came Arctic Thunder which despite what it's title suggested was just the band trying to work out that blackened heavy metal/doom sound out. Unfortunately I thought the results were once again poor. But hey it's DARKTHRONE we're talking about here and I can honestly say their early 2000's output wasn't so memorable either. But they came back and that's what you hear on this their eighteenth album. Despite some of the early assumptions that this was going to be all doom album, from the early teaser track release of "The Hardship of the Scots". It's really not. It's mining of the HELLHAMMER/CELTIC FROST style which they've done before, albeit this time around it's better. Basically you've got some good quality rocking numbers with simple beats, good steady riffs and of course Nocturno Culto's patented rasps which by this point in the game should be trademarked. "I Muffle Your Inner Choir" is one of the best openers they've done in years. There's also the doomier cuts like the a fore mentioned "The Hardship of the Scots", the title cut as well as "Alp Man". You could probably throw TROUBLE and PENTAGRAM in to their influential mixture for this album. Old Star is DARKTHRONE's latest genre experiment done right. https://peaceville.com/ https://www.deezer.com/en/artist/7641 https://www.facebook.com/Darkthrone-101075189934422/
Aside from a few exceptions, the only black metal from the large nation north of me I truly find exceptional is the stuff coming out of Quebec. Basically you hear bands that incorporate a lot of cultural and historical aspects to their overall sound. Also I do respect their Quebecois nationalism which is all about preserving a heritage. They're not that different from some bands in Europe but this stuff is on my side of the pond. Of course one of my favorites is FORTERESSE, an atmospheric black metal act from Quebec. I first got into them around ten years ago and I've been a fan ever since. Another name to drop is CHASSE-GALERIE who I got into the same time but they only had one full length release. There's a few other BM bands from Quebec have releases by but I'm not down right now to search the stacks. But I will say that MOULIN BANAL is now added to my list of Quebecois black metal favorites.
They're definitely different in their delivery. There's a fair use of acoustic instruments within their songs. You get the gist of that early when the spoons are used in the opener, and in the final cut. They also employ the use of some acoustic guitar, mandolin and a merlin which is like a miniature 4-string guitar. Along with all of that the black metal portions are basic second wave in style. Plenty of icy tremolo picked riffs to play down your spine. Vocals are of a cavernous variety. There's six tracks on here, 3 of which are instrumentals. The lyrics are in French but from what I can gather the basics behind this release is the life and hardships faced by the early French settlers of the land. Like I mentioned earlier, it's all about the history and culture of their people. Also even though it's a short release the songs on here do invoke a feeling in which you understand the hardships of those old pioneers. By the way MOULIN BANAL is a two piece act Comte Bergaby who is responsible for the electric instruments (guitar & bass) as well as the vocals, drumming and last but not least the playing of spoons. Believe it or not but I use to know a girl who use to play the spoons. Carabinier Carignan is the second member of the band and specializes in all the acoustic instruments. I'm gonna take a guess and say this is a side project since both of these guys are also in a blackened speed metal act called WARSLAVES who have an EP out called Whips, Whips, Whips... I'll have to check that one out as well. https://greymatternoise.bandcamp.com/album/le-rythme-du-mar-chal-ferrant
PULVER - Kings Under The Sand Gates of Hell Records Here in the States if a handful of bands put out releases echoing the days of traditional heavy metal, a bunch of music scribes in the media will declare it a "newer wave". But over in Europe it's just another typical year in metal. Case in point, here we have the debut full length by Germany's PULVER. They're a new band that wants to rock you like it's the late 70's / early 80's. Now this five piece act is not about reliving a past they never had by copying some classic metal act's great style. Instead PULVER take the influences and go their own way with it. To me that's what makes this exciting. First off the vocals are a cross between Lemmy and TANK's Algy Ward. Actually there's a lot of TANK influence on here. I mean those riffs, simple and grimy, the shout out backing vocals and dirty lead work. In the long run these Germans love BUDGIE, PRIEST, SCORPIONS, UFO, MOTORHEAD and of course the previously mentioned TANK. Still they've combined their influential love of the past to bring it all forward a bit. We're talking great rocking melodies tempered with steel. The production on here is very 70's. The artwork on here looks like a BUDGIE album cover. Frankly I would believe ya if you said this was a long lost classic from years ago. https://www.gatesofhellrecords.com/ https://pulverheavymetal.bandcamp.com/releases https://www.facebook.com/PulverHeavyMetal/
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Attention
In Jan. 2020 some not so nice person(s), who obviously don't care for Metal, decided to complain to a social media platform about something I posted. That got me banned from posting links there under the former blog title Scumfeast Metal 666. Fine I just changed the name to what you see now. Hey I'm still here and, under our present day situation, will be more extreme then before.
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Extreme Metal or Music is generally a form which is accepted by 1% of all of the music loving public. It is elitist in every way and that's important to those of us who call ourselves fans. The 99% of people who will not like it are Not Supposed To. The music wasn't made for them, "the masses". It's music that's for those who take things to that "other" level. There is nothing hip or fad about it. In fact I treat those two notions very harshly.
