skip to main |
skip to sidebar
TWISTED TOWER DIRE - Wars in the Unknown
No Remorse Records
I guess including a bias alert is required here since I'm a fan and those of us in my neck of the woods consider these guys locals. TWISTED TOWER DIRE have been true metal titans since starting out in the late 90's. I consider myself fortunate to have seen em a couple of times during their mid-period when the amazing Tony Taylor (who passed away in 2010) sang for em. And anyone into their style of metal knows that their 2003 full length, Crest of the Martyrs, is a classic.
But that was then and when Tony left the band in 2006 Jonny Aune of the local band VIPER stepped in. Yeah tough shoes to fill but Jonny is also an amazing vocalist in his own right. So in in 2011 when the band released Make It Dark it showed that TWISTED TOWER DIRE were strong as ever and in capable hands in the frontman position. That was a while ago and since the band members are all involved in other projects it makes sense why it's taken eight years for a new release. But it was worth the wait.
If you're a fan of true metal, US power metal or whatever you want to call it jerky then Wars in the Unknown is going to be one of the greatest albums you'll hear in 2019. We're talking ten high energy, catchy songs with singalong chorusses, none of which are longer than five minutes. Once again the vocals are amazing whether Aune is in that gutsy singing style or hitting the high notes. Add to that the twin guitar melodies pushing the MAIDEN-esque worship. The rhythm section is thunderous as needed and finally the guitar soloing just slices through like a scimitar.
All in all Wars in the Unknown is one of those infectious metal releases. It reminds you of why you got into the damm music in the first place. It's a fun listen with songs that could be considered campy but hey if you sing about swords I'm all in. Now for those of you die-hard TWISTED TOWER DIRE fans clutching your copies of Crest of the Martyrs or The Isle of Hydra (because it has a cool cover) to your chest. Loosen up a bit because this is the best thing this band has done in ages. It's definitely one of my favorite albums of 2019.
https://www.noremorse.gr
https://twistedtowerdire.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TwistedTowerDire/
DRAGHKAR - Beyond Despair, the Dawn of Rebirth demo
Nameless Grave Records
You reap what you sow. In my case it was a review of DRAGHKAR's Eternal Abyss compilation which came out earlier this year on Horror Pain Gore Death Productions. In my subtle praise of that release said "hoping they do rip out some newer stuff this year or the next. The band has the tools and direction now create something better." And so here we have it and I kinda feel nostalgic for my old print zine days since I'm writing about two song metal demos again.
DRAGHKAR, from California, are finally coming out with a full length this year. It's title is At the Crossroads of Infinity and at the moment they're shopping around for a label. These two cuts are demo versions of what will be on that release. It's definitely a step up from the material of there's I heard before. Sound wise this comes across like old Finnish death metal with some melody and a minor DEATH influence. They still have the cavernous bestial vocals. On these two cuts the riffs have a galloping melodic style moving for em which the rhythm section backs up well. There's more fluid lead guitar soloing then before. Looking forward to hear the whole album.
https://draghkar.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-despair-the-dawn-of-rebirth
https://www.facebook.com/DraghkarBand/
VLEDDERMOS - Worshippers Of The Unholy Gather Under The Full Moon
Tribulacion Productions
Self identified as Black Horror Metal, here we have a one man (?) act from Holland doing his best to creep you out. After giving this release a few spins I'm to the point that this is inspired by Bach and Poe more so then the typical Lovecraft. The Bach part comes in by way of the use of the organ, as well as other keyboard parts. The black metal parts are channeled in part through the keyboard driven veil. Add some church bell effects and you've got the offshoot numbers from a 1960's Roger Corman horror flick.
Worshippers Of The Unholy Gather Under The Full Moon sounds like BLACK FUNERAL with keyboards. We're talking about old school black metal made more organic with t he climatic Baroque styled keys enhancing the horrific medium. Given the screamed/cried vocals, some primary blast-beat drumming and lack of guitars (?) this is an intentionally lo-fi dread release.
https://www.tribulacionproductions.com/home.html
https://vleddermos.bandcamp.com/album/worshippers-of-the-unholy-gather-under-the-full-moon
FUNERAL WINDS - The Unheavenly Saviour
Necromanteion
Just to paraphrase something I had written last year about this Dutch band. FUNERAL WINDS are unapologetic about being old school black metal. That's something from a review I did for their 2018 full length Sinister Creed. Just like all genres of extreme music you're going to have certain fan bases that are dedicated to the early sounds. Now sure there's plenty of newer acts recreating the past. But as far as actual recordings from originators, well the numbers of those undiscovered filth covered gems is dwindling.
So for you connoisseurs/collectors of black metal's bygone days this is for you. The Unheavenly Saviour is a compilation of FUNERAL WINDS' first couple of demo’s from the early nineties plus two more songs added on the end to, and I'm guessing, fill up space. One cut is live by the way. Just to calm your fears there's absolutely no symphonic or progressive moments on here. This is old school black metal in all it's underground raw demo quality beauty.
What's cool is that the music here holds up well against similar demo releases from that time period. Of course you can imagine what this would sound like with some better production. Then you would be hearing the later acts that copied from the original. There's a couple of songs like "Crypts of the Black Fog" and the title cut which appear on here more than once. Pick your favorite version. The songs themselves are mid-pace as far as aggression. The vocals have that bestial quality. The only downside is the drum work as far as sound quality.
As we all know, Dutch black metal has never made a huge impact outside of their nation, something which their artists are proud of. Fact is it's always been overshadowed. Be that as it may it's always had a fierce attitude. So this compilation would probably be vital to anyone out their still seeking out the old ways.
https://www.necromanteion.eu/
https://funeralwinds.bandcamp.com/album/the-unheavenly-saviour
https://www.facebook.com/FuneralWindsBM
GOATKRAFT – Sulphurous Northern Bestiality
Iron Bonehead Productions
It's time again to get yer goat on. No I'm not kidding. I have a thing about bands with words like "goat" and "wolf" in their names. As far as GOATKRAFT, who by the way hail from black metal's mecca Bergen, Norway, they're so kvlt they don't even have a Facebook page. Now in all honesty I've heard about GOATKRAFT via their pretty cool 12" EP Angel Slaughter from last year. That was five cuts (one of which was a cover of "Unholy Vengeance of War" by BLACK WITCHERY) and an intro. This full length is a little over twenty eight minutes in length with eleven tracks, one's an intro and two other cuts are less than a minute long instros. You can do the math.
With all of that said this is straight up bestial black metal circa early 1990's. Fans of the old wave will rejoice in that. The vocals have that scorched throat sound. Music wise it's basically a guitar riff and drum pounding assault. As far as the guitars go it's your standard pissed off hornet's nest buzz with a few leads added in for amusement. Drum work is standard blast beat fair. For lovers of low-fi, demo quality sound this is for you.
https://ironbonehead.de/
https://goatkraft.bandcamp.com/album/sulphurous-northern-bestiality
https://goatkraft.com/
PANZERFAUST - The Suns of Perdition I: War, Horrid War
Eisenwald
So when I saw this in the emails I was kinda excited to hear this new one. A few years back I picked up this Canadian black metal band's third full length, Jehovah-Jireh: The Divine Anti-logos, used on a chance. Damm if that one was an eye and ear opening experience in a band pushing genre limits while still standing firm on the platform. I really wanted to take that dink and slice the face of a local hipster scribe who years before said "Black Metal needs to progress in order to be taken seriously." Yeah well history has proven me right and the hiptards wrong.
PANZERFAUST are modern black metal with touches of death metal as well as industrial sounds. Their essence lies in how they take the face of humanity. Make it stare into a mirror and then take a sharp scalpel to slice the facial skin in order to expose the ugliness underneath. On this one here we have the first chapter of their new trilogy which covers war. They're not holding back at all. PANZERFAUST set a horrendous pace which is part full on blackened attack and another being the violent carnage. Aside from the music which comes across like a mix of BEHEMOTH meets DEATHSPELL OMEGA inside 1349's practice space. The vocals alternate between rasps, howls and dominating throaty spoken word paths.
The only downside here is that it's more like an EP in length than a full length. Maybe that's a smart move by design since this is such an epic construct. Now they have to take on a second chapter which will be no easy feat.
https://www.eisenton.de/
https://panzerfaust.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/PANZERFAUST.BM.OFFICIAL
SWAMP WITCH - Dead Rituals
Transylvanian Tapes
You know that feeling you get when you're at the dentist and the guy or gal is drilling deep into one of your cavities while they're blasting old SABBATH in the background. Yeah that's what this reminds me of except this has a blast furnace for vocals instead of Ozzy. Dead Rituals is the second full length by this Oakland, CA, based sludge act. The skinny on them is that they're old school sludge ritualists. Well sound-wise it leans more towards death doom.
It's there's a ritual at hand it's the band's use of heaping low end distortion, straight up heavy riffs and long monotonous cuts. This release has four of em. All of which are good and stick with the formula which fans enjoy. Punish me with your demonic sounding crushing noise because I'm drunk, wearing an EYEHATEGOD shirt and I'm gonna slam that hipster looking motherfucker into a wall. I bet that happens a lot at their shows. I heard NEUROSIS likes em also. Well they should.
https://www.facebook.com/TransylvanianTapes/
https://swampwitch.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CosmicSludge
SLOMATICS - Canyons
Black Bow Records
Regular readers of SFM666, and frankly who isn't, will know that I always say nice things about the SLOMATICS. OK fine I have my bias opinions based on heritage as well as they're amazing sound. But getting back to the heritage part, I'm Dutch on my Father's side and I'm Irish and German on my sainted Mother's side. And yes she was a saint until she had a few whiskey shots. Then she turned into a belt swinging harpie. But anyways I'm a big mean Dutchman who drinks like an Irishman and barks orders like a fuckin German. Yeah I have no problems in life.
But anyways here we have the latest full length by Ireland's premiere sludgey yet more so doom act. I've always considered them to be an Irish version of YOB. And if ever, as appears on this full length. they've followed the same progressive moments. I'm gonna sit back and think about this one. The SLOMATICS are a good doom band to play late at night. For me it's perfect since I don't get home from work till around 2:30 AM. Yeah if you live nearby and hear loud music being blasted in the early morning hours, that's me and no I refuse to wear headphones.
So on this release, which is this trio's sixth full length, yes they've taken some progressive steps. But since becoming a fan of theirs I've gone through their back catalog (the buying process will commence soon enough) and learned after playing one area of doom laden-ed madness they move onto another. Yeah this does remind me a lot of modern day YOB whom I don't care for at all. Yet the SLOMATICS still hold true to their patented down tuned delivery that you know they're not selling you some trendy bullshit.
Canyons has been my go to music over the past week as an after work relaxation. There's a psych vibe here but not in that cliche overdone style. Vocals are that shouted from the other room style. The music crushes but in a relaxing way. Put this on, break out the beer or whatever you're into that's not speed and enjoy. I wanna shake these guy's hands for creating some doomy sludge metal that has a relaxed vibe and yet is still heavy as fuck. Sometimes you need a softer touch when you're in that mood which doesn't require a crush, kill, destroy explosive sound.
http://www.blackbowrecords.com/
https://slomatics.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Slomatics/
LUNAR SHADOW - The Smokeless Fires
Cruz del Sur Music
Over the past decade I've gotten to the point where I don't care to dis on bands. On the other hand I have no problem dissing people who push over hyped horseshit. Case in point here we have Germany's LUNAR SHADOW who I never heard of till today. I must have a life because according to some promo info, as well as quotes from other music scribes, they've been the "IT" band since their debut, Far from Light, came out a few years back. Obviously I must have been picking my nose at the time in order to have this second coming over looked.
Give me a fuckin break! OK so this is supposed to be classic metal meets Scandinavian black metal. Excuse me but a few tremolo picked riffs during two songs does not make this DISSECTION influenced. What we have here is simply, and symphonic at times, Euro power metal. They're from Germany OK. Somebody call BLIND GUARDIAN and tell em there's some upstarts biting at their heels as well as their Nuclear Blast record contract.
A few times these guys are interesting like when they're stealing from MAIDEN on songs like "Laurelindorenan" or the even more epic "Hawk of the Hills". The bottom line here is they're following a power metal formula of MAIDEN-esque dual guitar harmonies as well as song structures minus the Steve Harris bass. Add to that a vocalist with a decent yet commercial sounding falsetto. Worse yet is their piano interplay which makes me cringe. Look it's power metal, nothing wrong with that if you're a fan of the genre OK? Get A Life!
https://www.cruzdelsurmusic.com/blog/
https://lunarshadow.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/lunarshadowband
AGGRESSIVE PERFECTOR - Satan's Heavy Metal
Dying Victims Productions
Never let some demo recorded material go to waste. At least that's what the major metal labels swear by even if the material is shit. But in this band's case we have something better. AGGRESSIVE PERFECTOR are an English three piece act who are devoted to old 80's hardcore/speed metal. They'll have their debut full length, Havoc at the Midnight Hour, out in October on Dying Victims Productions. Before you grab onto that they have something here as a teaser.
In 2016 the band released their demo Satan's Heavy Metal. It was just a four song effort. So just for fun the good people at DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS decided to re-release the demo with a fifth track. So if you're one of those people who has the original and limited demo. Now you've got to get this as well.
Satan’s Heavy Metal is a decent release because it has that past era feeling going for it. Sound wise it has a direct link to the past and I should know because it's my era of music. Ya know there are plenty of well known acts out there pushing the whole crossover vibe and acting as if they're the next generation to the bands from the glory days. Well BULLSHIT because I'll take AGGRESSIVE PERFECTOR over those poseurs any day. Nuff Said, now where's the full length?
https://www.dying-victims.de/
https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/aggressive-perfector-satans-heavy-metal
https://www.facebook.com/AggressivePerfectorBand/?ref=ts&fref=ts
ELBOW DEEP - Bodily Fluids
Horror Pain Gore Death Productions
Some band names you never forget like this act from Chicago, Illinois. I was first introduced to ELBOW DEEP a few years ago with their debut full length Sexually Offensive. Seriously if your album cover art displays a Transformer (you know those cartoon/movie robots who turn into various vehicles) fucking a kiddie car (with kids riding in it) at the park while parents look on in horror. It's gotta be something worth checking out.
Musically the band was like The MENTORS meets IMPETIGO. It was not an unusual combination but definitely a win in my sicko department of extreme. A year later, to my amazement, they did a split release with The MENTORS (Sickie Wifebeater and Dr. Heathen Scum's revived version). Now a year later we have this their second full length.
I can't say much has changed with this band but then again you're not expecting progression with this style of music. It's still lyrically sick and twisted death metal with plenty of added moments of grind, thrash and a touch of doom. While the easily offended crowd will look at this with disgust. I on the other hand weigh it's value via the humor content. It also reminds me of a metal version of an old band I'd seen years ago called STOOL SAMPLE. I've still got their 7"er "Suck My Dick While I Take A Shit".
If you wanna take the ELBOW DEEP plunge then you'll be covered in bile with the likes of "Afterbirth Slip-N-Slide" or all thirty six seconds of "Shit in My Mouth and I'll Puke It All Out All over Your Face". Another favorite of mine here is "Curdled Preteen Breastmilk Smoothie" which in all honesty did invoke some gagging. And of course what I'd call the crack bum anthem "I Shat When I Came". Naturally music like this does contain various sound-bites all of which are hilarious.
In a way listening to this reminds me of days long passed when I'd go to K-Mart on weekends wearing a G.G. ALLIN shirt with the words "Suck My Ass It Smells" written on back. I'd be in their with friends picking up some staples for a cookout or the house. Plus to pick up the Saturday night party essentials as in a gallon of Crisco oil, three heads of iceberg lettuce, a pack of blank VHS tapes and the small plastic kiddie pool. I loved the looks the ladies at the check out counter gave us. Priceless!
http://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/
https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/bodily-fluids
https://www.facebook.com/elbowdeepofficial/
NUCLEAR REVENGE - Let the Tyrants Rise
Evil Spell Records / Undercover Records
As for me I haven't heard a lot of what I'd define as traditional black metal which kicks fuckin ass this year. On the other hand it's been it's sub-genres which have been enjoyable as hell. Case in point here we have the debut full length by Spain's NUCLEAR REVENGE. This four piece act are full on blackened thrash.
Now for those readers of SFM666, you all know my thing with blackened thrash. As far as it's role in modern times it's become generic mainly by half ass acts being cookie cutter produced. That is not the case here. We're talking fierce and fast cuts ripping with bloodletting vocals, decent riffs and a no care rhythm section.
Musically this is a combination of KREATOR, SLAYER and SODOM. You will love every second of this one. It's totally low fi as fuck as far as production goes. The drums have that Tupperware sound as well as cymbal rides sounding like pans being pounded. Yeah it's 2019 but this comes across as Teutonic Thrash 1990. An amazing release from a band you need to keep an eye on.
https://shop.undercover-records.de/
https://nuclearrevenge.bandcamp.com/album/let-the-tyrants-rise
https://www.facebook.com/NuclearRevenge/
BASTARDIZER - Dawn of Domination
Evil Spell Records/Undercover Records
There are three styles of extreme music Australian bands do well and that's black metal, thrash and hard fuckin rock. Now even though this band's genre tagline is blackened thrash I think they combine all three previously mentioned styles well. Frankly that just makes this great intense sounding metal.
Now aside from the intro, which sounded like early MAIDEN and I won't count, this release is ten fuckin cuts of head-banging and at times slam pit action inducing metal. BASTARDIZER are not re-inventing anything. It's basically SLAYER, MOTORHEAD and VENOM influenced speed metal with some mild breaks for rocking it out. Every song on here is cool as fuck! Hails to this Australian four piece act and this their second album.
https://shop.undercover-records.de/
https://bastardizer.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/bastardizer666
MIDNIGHT PRIEST - Aggressive Hauntings
Metal on Metal Records
The PRIEST is back! Yeah I know this is a different PRIEST. This one here hails from Portugal, has been around for a decade and here we have their third full length. Actually I am familiar with this band since a year ago I had written about the band, TOXIKULL, which is a side project of MIDNIGHT PRIEST's frontman Lex Thunder. After that I checked out one of their past releases and became a fan.
This one starts out with "The Law", an instrumental intro sounding similar to Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D minor". From that point onward the band kicks into their brand of KING DIAMOND worship. Lex Thunder's vocals are the key element here. He has an amazing falsetto as well as that speak/sing voice just like the master himself. You could also toss in some Halford, or any other high note singer's style as well.
Add to that their duel guitar attack with Iron Fist and Steel Bringer (great names) bring about some fiery riffs and cool soloing which is extremely important to this style. There are a few times they move away from the whole KING DIAMOND thing and come across being more Painkiller era PRIEST like. Since I like all of that stuff from the past it's obvious I'm gonna love a fresh take on it all. To put it simply this is a great fuckin album.
https://metalonmetalrecords.com/
https://metalonmetalrecords.bandcamp.com/album/midnight-priest-aggressive-hauntings
https://www.facebook.com/midnightpriest
FEN - Stone and Sea EP
Eisenwald
For the past bunch of years I've repeated the same jargon about every new release by FEN. This time I'm gonna cut it back some. I really liked their debut The Malediction Fields back in 2009. Then every release afterwards devoted too much emphasis on shoegaze influences than black metal. But in 2017 their full length Winter won me back over.
So here we are now with a new three song EP and my first thoughts are that the middle appearing title song sucks. A neo folk ditty which deserves to be on an EP or at least a throwaway track for filler on a full length. Third song "The Last Gravestone" is reminiscent of the material on their last album. The opener, "Tides of Glass" is total shoegaze worship from their mediocre releases. I think these tracks are studio throwaways albeit enhanced to a degree which gives em a demo pass. I guess I'm back to hating FEN again.
https://www.eisenton.de/
https://records.eisenton.de/album/stone-and-sea
https://www.facebook.com/fenofficial
WERIAN - Animist EP
Eisenwald
I remember the whole black metal meets early PINK FLOYD psychedelia shtick years ago. For the most part I kinda thought that genre experiment died and the bands/artists went on to incorporate SONIC YOUTH style into their blackened roots. Then I saw a band from Richmond, VA doing it and threw up. So here we have a band from Germany on a similar path.
WERIAN, who like their identities to be incognito, started out around a decade ago. Technically this three song EP is their debut release after years putting out demos. They also have a compilation album out with said demos which, if you're interested in this band, is something worthy of having. Now without repeating all of the promo info verbatim, what you have here is basically what I described in the previous paragraph. It's partly black metal, stoner doom and early psych all rolled into one. Imagine a blackened version of OM, who I kinda like at least two of their releases.
Now if you wanna go beyond the music and delve into the band's mystique then here you go. Basically (as in I'm not using Wiki as a lie to show off how intelligent I am) in ancient cultures, or even some that still exist today, every day activities to survive were incorporated into a religiousness meaning. For example hunting as in if you wore the skin of an animal and included the use of mind altering substances then you would receive that creature's spirit. That's where their band name comes from.
Now I'm sure you could look up the idea meanings of this release's title and examine it further but that's the skinny. The majority of the time I really don't go into the subliminal meanings or lyrical themes of bands. It's usually .0001% of music fans that really delve into that depth. Secondly on a personal note my days involved with mind altering substances probably pre-dates the average age of you the reader. I also find it down right hilarious that so many people today who in the past never knew when to quit pumping various drugs into themselves for fun. Are now the ones sickly, mentally and physically, because of it and want someone else to pay for their health care aka: prescription drugs.
https://www.eisenton.de/
https://werian.bandcamp.com/album/animist
https://www.facebook.com/Werian666
L'ACEPHALE - Self Titled
Eisenwald
When I saw this in the emails coming in for a review I was like Hey I remember this band. Years ago they put out a release which was like black metal opera. That's not a bad thing except in their case the fat girl(s) started things off. They were a decent enough black metal act that included some of that neo-folk influence. Their name is French but they were, in my not so humble opinion, Northwest US mushroom heads looking for a blackened trip to the latest hipster fad. The mainstream metal media, which was full of hiptards, went along with it.
So here we are many years later with their first full length in a decade. Musically when they're finished trying to be neo-folk (again) and trying to be Ukrainian or Norwegian black metal (flip a coin) hey this sounds pretty good. Tie this one to atmospheric black metal. The woman speaking to start things off is phenomenal. Then the music just rips you into a new one. What we have here is a beautiful display of black metal as an artist's concept and somewhat adherence of Cascadian ideals. The amazing female vocals on "Gloria in Excelsis Mihi" in a acoustic melodic folk cut is probably worth the purchase of this release just for it's hypnotic touch. But overall its a good listen throughout.
Another track, "Runenberg" screams "I Wanna Be Norwegian but I'm from Oregon and not into cultural appropriation because they're white people too." That'll keep the cowardly fascist masked goons off their asses. As far as the blackened touch goes it's a worthwhile track that's followed by more neo-folk ala "Hark! The Battle - Cry Is Ringing". Strangely enough this one reminds me of modern day GRAVELAND, imagine that. Strangely enough the best blackened track on here is the nineteen plus minute "Winternacht". The band could've built an EP around this cut alone. The synthesizer solos paired with the riffs is not something new to this genre but they come away with it well.
All in all this is a welcome back to a band whom I had in the past questionable opinions of. This release here should be looked upon as a concept of the blackened neo-folk idea. I don't want to say genre because do we really need another one of those? Turn this on late at night and allow it's vibe to remind you of your every day life. Afterwards you smile profusely. It's like a friend who you poke fun out only because you like em.
https://www.eisenton.de/
https://lacephale.bandcamp.com/album/lac-phale
https://www.facebook.com/lacephale/
BURIAL REMAINS - Trinity of Deception
Transcending Obscurity Records
For all of you readers of SFM666, and frankly who isn't, you know my love of Dutch death metal. Basically it's all because of my Dutch heritage (I'm also Irish and German on my mother's side). Some years ago I decided to collect every thing there was about death metal from Holland. Let's be honest here, as far as extreme metal goes it's death metal which is that nation's biggest export.
Now I've got all the releases by the big names as well as a few unknowns. But the thing I tout the most is owning the complete discography of PROSTITUTE DISFIGUREMENT because I know it pisses off the PC hipsters. About a year ago I posted something by PROSTITUTE DISFIGUREMENT on Facebook and this musician who's in a band local hiptards like commented like this, "Only a horrible human being would like a band like this. I can't believe you're one of my Facebook friends." He deleted me not soon after. Oh well?
So here we have some new Dutch death metal and it's killer as fuck! BURIAL REMAINS are a four piece act consisting of some extreme scene veterans. Their singer, Sven Gross, was in FLESHCRAWL. Two band members were in DIMAEON (and I'm glad they left). Two guys were/are in GRIM FATE, who have a split release out this year. And one member of this band was/is in the brutal Dutch death metal act SOAKING IN ENTRAILS and I have their 3 song demo. Yeah I know touch me I'm sick.
Musically this is totally old school crunchy guitar sounding beat people up type of death metal. The style leans more towards (sorry) a mix of GRAVE and VADER territory. Nothing wrong with that mind you. The vocals are in a total deep bark mode with an accent at times on the hiss. You've got some powerful riffs that make you clinch your fists to. The drum work is good for straight up headbanging plus the fills are over the top. Song structures push things towards a more thrash style until the break downs kick in with some atmospheric touches. Once again lets hit VADER up for that influence. Trinity of Deception is this band's debut full length with seven cuts. At around twenty five minutes it's a fast play leaving no room for filler. That's a good thing.
https://tometal.com/
https://burialremains.bandcamp.com/album/trinity-of-deception-death-metal
https://www.facebook.com/burialremains/
HUMANART - (Further) Into the Depths
Dark Age Works
I've listen to so much blackened metal of late that I have blisters on my arms and my face looks sun burned. And so here we are again with another one. This band HUMANART hails from Portugal and according to their promo info are the oldest (or one of) black metal act from that great nation. Really, they're older than CORPUS CHRISTII and MOONSPELL? Well in all honesty I can't say I'm up on knowledge of all Portuguese black metal goings on. I did pick up an old ALASTOR CD last year.
Moving on, HUMANART started out back in the late 1990s but their first full length didn't come out until 2014. Prior to that they had a couple of short form releases. Five years later we have this their second album. Now there's some good points about this release as well as some cliche moments. But the reason why black metal has survived so long is because it broke up into various sub-genres. Each of those segments have a huge dedicated fan base. That's something which the nay-saying elites in the mainstream metal media never understood. They simply went with whatever their advertisers paid them to say as well as the latest watered down hiptard trends they followed.
So for starters HUMANART sound like they're still in the 90's as in pre-symphonic BM days. The music has a completely raw vicious feel to it which once was an imposing sound. Their vocalist has a spot on Maniac singing (actually a venomous rasp) quality. There are also a few times there sound crosses paths with old MAYHEM. Even with that said the guy who mastered this at Sweden's Necromorbus Studio,Tore Stjerna, has also worked with a few big name Finnish and Swedish BM acts. So there's a heavy cliche Scandinavian black metal style going on here.
There are a few nuanced moments where the band steps out of the box. With the exception of the tremolo picked rhythms, blast beated drum assaults and ear piecing vocals there's a few straight metal guitar solos. Later on in the songs the band taps into some rocking groove. As far as the music's subject matter goes they're truly a hateful bunch and can add some slower ambiance (behind some hellish wailing) to break the cliche monotony.
All in all this is a decent release which held my attention simply because I was expecting it to go down hill but it never did. To all of you black metal aficionados of the old ways. HUMANART are still holding onto the torch albeit not in some snow covered Nordic wilderness.
https://humanart.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Humanart/
