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KRYPTS - Cadaver Circulation
Dark Descent Records
Sometimes the third time is the charm. Case in point because this is KRYPTS a Finnish death doom act that's been around for a decade now. I've been following them since their debut full length, Unending Degradation, came out in 2013 on Dark Descent Records. All these years this label has stuck with em. Early on you could call them a HOODED MENACE clone and you would be right. So now we have their third full length and I believe they've finally stepped out of the influence shadows.
The greatest thing about this release is how the band has married the heaviness with the atmospheric arrangements. Add to that a good sense of deathly groove as well as neck breaking violence. Now with that said, long time fans of releases by Dark Descent Records will be like "ah heard it all before". Yeah the whole Finnish death doom scene has become incestuous to say the least.
Still I listen to Cadaver Circulation and am captivated by it's sound, it's dragged out structure and the claustrophobic atmosphere. The music just reverberates off of my walls from the speakers as if I were in a cavern. The blast furnace throat vocals are on par with the best. There's nuance throughout these cuts that never leaves you bored. All in all it's a fantastic release.
http://www.darkdescentrecords.com/
https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/cadaver-circulation
https://www.facebook.com/Kryptsdeath
MORBUS GRAVE - Abomination demo
Redefining Darkness Records
Meanwhile in Italy we have a five piece act who love some late 80's Swedish death metal. Add to that some evil incarnate keyboards on their last cut and a weird opening sound bite. The three songs by this Italian DM act are straight up OSDM. It all makes me feel like it's 2008 again. Yeah that's when the whole revival of the old ways of death metal came back to smiles from old fucks like myself.
MORBUS GRAVE deliver musically with some low end hatred and an acid tongued vocalist. No name dropping on my part but they do sound exactly like a Swede band from the late 80s who only put out one demo. Love the BACH like keyboard ending on "The Horror".
https://redefiningdarknessrecords.bandcamp.com/album/morbus-grave-abomination
SCULPTED HORROR - Festering Death demo
Redefining Darkness Records
Yes a death metal demo oh now the nostalgia is really kicking in. I say that since this really kicks fuckin ass but it's the story behind this release which will really knock you over. SCULPTED HORROR is a one man DM act.
The one man is Tim Rowland who hails from Athens, Georgia. I'll give you a minute to pick yourself off the floor from that revelation. Yes Athens, Georgia the home of hipster sludge stuff for a decade and thankfully is dead. What you have here are four cuts of pure early GRAVE worship. You have the guttural vocals, distorted riffs via the boss pedal and some raging to slow burning cuts. Honestly I like this better than GRAVE's last full length.
https://sculpted-horror.bandcamp.com/album/sculpted-horror-festering-death
CRUSH THE ALTAR - Abhorrent Oblation demo
Redefining Darkness Records
OK I'm feeling nostalgic now, actually been so for two weeks now. I've gone from playing old demo stuff to now writing about new demo stuff. Thankfully I'm not still doing print. So here we have a three piece thrash act from New Jersey who forgot it's 2019. Now I won't call this retro-thrash because they employ some mold breaking moments.
Although CRUSH THE ALTAR do carry some influential baggage from past masters. They break clean on their own with gruff almost death metal vocals, phenomenal drumming and some choice ways to carve in a guitar solo. There's three cuts on here, cue nostalgia. These guys deserve a full length.
https://crush-the-altar.bandcamp.com/album/crush-the-altar-abhorrent-oblation
ROGGA JOHANSSON - Entrance to the Otherwhere
Transcending Obscurity Records
Here on Rogga Johansson’s second solo release he seems to have changed gears a bit. Fans know of his many bands which totally follow the old school Swedish death metal theme. Then there's his more crust/hardcore influenced acts which you could say are experiments. Entrance to the Otherwhere shows him still waving the Swedish DM flag proudly but in a melodic sense.
Now a few things I need to admit. The first is that I'm a fan of a lot of Rogga Johansson’s bands. Seriously the guy is prolific and musically he's damm good. But I never heard his first solo album Garpedans from 2017. Secondly I've never been a huge fan of melodic death metal. Sure I've got some releases which some people call classics. I've also got some new stuff that's cool. But dammit I still don't understand why people go apeshit over IRON MAIDEN meets death metal. If that's bad well then I still don't get AT THE GATES.
But as far as this release goes, OK it's infectious as fuck because I like the guy. But then you think "well this song sounds like (place band name here)" and so on. And I'm not holding it to just Swede Death because there's times when I'd hear PARADISE LOST or early AMORPHIS. But hey when you're a guy who can deliver some chunk and groove riffs as well as great vocals then you can't complain about that.
https://tometal.com/
https://roggadeathmetal.bandcamp.com/album/entrance-to-the-otherwhere-death-metal
https://www.facebook.com/roggaofficial
TRENCH WARFARE - Hatred Prayer
Transcending Obscurity Records
What we have here is the debut full length by this Texas five piece act who delve in blackened death territory. If you're confused well so was I thinking this was a long time grind act also from Texas. But no and that would've been easier to write about. Still these guys are also from Texas.
TRENCH WARFARE remind me of South American blackened death performed by people involved in Satan worshiping death cults. They have that crass crunchy punishing speed which touches on death grind. Some times they toss in some death doom which comes across as meat and potatoes.
There are two basic components which make TRENCH WARFARE as well as this release worthwhile. First are the vocals by Jay Gorania. The guy has a singing style which comes across more like someone giving a sermon. Then again he puts forth something like a satanic hardcore/grind vocal with added curses.
The second component is the punishing riffs with come across as scraping the sides of a granite wall. The genre tag line might say blackened death. But these guys are forging through grind, some death doom and even a straight up 80's style hardcore feel. Hey they're from Texas so what would you expect.
https://tometal.com/
https://trenchwarfaremetal.bandcamp.com/album/hatred-prayer-black-death-metal
https://www.facebook.com/trenchwarfaretexas?fref=ts
WARCRAB - Damned In Endless Night
Transcending Obscurity Records
So sludge and death metal is nothing new but when the Brit's get involved yeah we can take some notice. The key word here is "some". WARCRAB is a six piece act, yeah three guitarists, who started out a few years back and have consistently been putting out releases since 2012. This is their third overall and my introduction to em.
Obviously you can't help but think BOLT THROWER meets sludge via the USA. I mean look at their promo photo. They look like a bunch of dudes prepping for a hurricane party in New Orleans. By the third or fourth listen you might want to check their passports as far as their origins.
For me Damned In Endless Night has some highs and OKs. The highs are when their death groove hits maximum intensity. For example "In the Arms of Armageddon" plunges you into a SABBATH-ian state of mind minus Ozzy but plenty of Iomni worship by guitarist Geoff Holmes. In fact it is he who adds so much electric solos to some cuts on here which makes em worth waiting for.
Add to that Martyn Grant's vocals which come across as venomous filth being spewed forth by a human sized viper. Of course the basics here are the riffs whether collected as doom, death or sludgey. To me that's the OK part and it's well executed to say the least. I found myself pushing replay on songs like "Abyssal Mausoleum", "Fields Collapse," and "Kraken Arise" strangely enough all appearing in the middle of the release. Yeah I'd call em the marrow inside of this decent size bone.
https://tometal.com/
https://warcrabuk.bandcamp.com/album/damned-in-endless-night-death-sludge-metal
https://www.facebook.com/WarCrab666
MYSTICISM - Arcane Forest Rites
Self Released
Hailing from Albuquerque, New Mexico but after one listen you would think mid-90's Norway. MYSTICISM is a one man black metal act. The one man is multi-instrumentalist Daniel Jackson who also has plenty of other side projects. As far as this one goes it falls into the latest sub-genre category of atmospheric black metal. Yeah well it's old school sounding as fuck. One of the most enjoyable black metal releases I've heard this year.
https://voidritual.bandcamp.com/album/arcane-forest-rites
EXUMER - Hostile Defiance
Metal Blade Records
Back in the day, aka: the mid to late 80's when some of you were still in your dad's balls, this German thrash act were SLAYER wannabes. They also put out two great albums to prove it. But then they called it quits. A few years back they returned with a renewed vigor along with sounding like the actual successors to SLAYER. 2012's Fire & Damnation was a decent comeback but 2016's The Raging Tides solidified their greatness as true resurrected 80's thrash. After listening to this latest one all I can say is any of you new bands recreated 80's thrash need to take a seat. This is the best thrash album you'll blast in 2019.
https://www.indiemerch.com/metalbladerecords
https://exumerofficial.bandcamp.com/
GRAND MAGUS - Wolf God
Nuclear Blast
Pardon the pun but I was once a huge fan of this Swedish metal act but ended up throwing them to the wolves. That was some years ago when they went from being a doomish metal act to full on power metal via their releases after the decent Iron Will album from 2008. Trust me when I saw this in the store a voice inside my head was saying "NO". But the price was marked down so hey I took the chance.
I'm glad I did since Wolf God sounds like these Swedes have taken a step back. In fact this is what should have come after Iron Will. There's some power metal antics but their devotion to slower classic doom is on point here. Of course the album cover is killer.
https://www.nuclearblast.de/en/shop/index.html
AMON AMARTH - Berserker
Metal Blade Records
Being a fan of AMON AMARTH is one thing. Liking all of their releases over the years is another thing altogether. Yes early on they were great even though some in the metal media thumbed their noses at em as well as their Swedish melodic death metal viking shtick. I still say With Oden on Our Side from 2006 is their best album. For me it was Surtur Rising from 2011 where I felt they started getting generic.
Look you know what you're getting when you pick up a new AMON AMARTH release. Berserker just exemplifies the simplicity to which they've turned into. You've got your chunky riff oriented cuts with viking mythology laced lyrics and some chant along chorus'. I'm sure it works well during open air festivals. Years ago I started seeing plenty of bands all becoming generic versions of these guys. Funny how it finally worked out. Liked the album cover though.
https://www.indiemerch.com/metalbladerecords
FORLET SIRES - Holy
Cruel Bones Records
Someone once asked me if I play my type of music at work and I said no. The other people I work with play their stuff and I ignore it. So the next question came if I could play music at work what would it be? My answer was death doom because it suits the job. Be that as it may I'm off from work listening to some death doom from a Swiss four piece act.
Of course the sub genre of death doom has it's own template stretch point. There's either the adherence to death and destruction or a lean towards elegance. These guys are pushing towards the latter at least with one foot while the other is firmly planted in the mainstay. The first two cuts on this band's second full length push the atmosphere part of the phase. We're talking long drawn out riff packages with growled vocals. At times it reminds me of MY DYING BRIDE minus the violin.
The third cut "Dead Skin", which is the best out of the four long songs on here, is a bestial punch to the gut. It's like getting into a fight with a grizzly bear with some subtle tremolo picked rhythms as accompanying back ground music. Still there's that elegance but paired with the vicious execution of blast beats. Final cut, "We Roam This World Alone" least favorite since it rehashes most of the first two cuts . In the end FORLET SIRES don't do a bad job at emulating others.
https://cruelbones.com/
https://forletsires.bandcamp.com/album/holy
https://www.facebook.com/forletsires
CEPALUSS - Death Fantasies Rise EP
Self Released
From the onset of reading the promo info I was in for some death metal by one guy. Now I know some people still don't get the bit but I do. Sure black metal has plenty of one man acts because it's easier to create atmosphere. One man death metal acts need to produce intensity through good riffs, growls and of course a structured song pattern.
I have been a fan and supporter of a couple of one man death metal acts. For instance locally we had BLOODSOAKED who I always supported. Then there was GORE OBSESSED from Holland who I had written some nice things about in the past. Those bands survived on being influenced by past greats. CEPALUSS which is A. Autio from Finland casts his way through the past and present as far as death metal goes.
This EP is a four song release with each cut carrying it's own signature imprint. The only thing which carries over from song to song are A. Autio's vocal style. He's either in bear growl mode or harsh screams mode. As far as the music well you'll get one cut like "The Sacrificial Feast" which reminds me of VADER at their best. Another song, "The Observer" starts off in a death thrash mode then pushes the chug riff approach to the hilt. Slam pit action must ensue while this is playing.
"Morgue Love" takes on a different style which actually adds some melody plus intense riffage as well as a brutal death metal pedigree. The final cut "Burnt Under the Eyes of a Dying Warrior" is a metered death doom styled cut but branches out into a cacophony of genre styles. Damm thing ends in a grandiose way as well. Basically A. Autio lays out meat of various cuts on a board and lets you choose what you like. Then slices, dices, saute's, grills and damm well grinds it up for every DM listener to enjoy.
https://cepaluss.bandcamp.com/releases
CRESTFALLEN QUEEN - Queen of Swords
The Church Within Records
Warning, there's prog rock ahead so proceed with caution. More to the point this is doom with certain aspects of prog rock from the 70's. Mainly that's placing many arrangements in a long song to make it one epic piece. Add to that certain non-metal or doom sound structures. Now for you regular readers of SFM666 (and frankly who isn't) you know I don't dabble much at all with prog metal acts. The reason why is that I grew up in the 70's when prog rock was huge. I'm still a fan of those bands, in that I'll get in a mood and break out some ELP, YES or KING CRIMSON. The problem with metal acts getting into prog is that they haven't learned the song writing craft to keep things interesting within an eight to ten minute song length.
Which brings us to CRESTFALLEN QUEEN a five piece act out of Stuttgart, Germany. I don't usually do good points versus bad points reviews but in this band's case I will. So first good point is that their vocalist, this woman, is damm good. She's got this commanding soulful vocal style which conjures up visions of a warrior woman. She also adds in some harsh blackened style vocals as well. The bad point is that she's not singing enough. You've got a great vocalist and she's probably standing in the back playing the keyboards which you really don't hear much of. Her best performance is on "Eurydice's Lullaby"
Next up out of the six cuts on here you've got two worthless instrumentals, one's a two minute plus opener and the second sits in the middle. That's a sad bad point as well as a waste of space. Good point, "Ghost Warriors" with it's SABBATH-ian influence. Bad point, SABBATH would have cut it shorter than it's nine plus minute time line. Also as far as decent prog influenced doom goes, the title track probably covers that base well. "Lethean Bed", which has an eerie vibe also works well in a WINDHAND sort of way.
In the end if I was a pothead instead of a hop-head I'd be sitting on my back deck blasting this through the speakers while kicked back in a chair. Unfortunately the last time I got high on pot was probably before some of you readers were conceived. As far as my neighbors go with me blasting music outside, Fuck Them! It's not that loud when I blast it anyway so stop calling the cops. Sound-wise what we have here is a decent release, after multiple listens and some beers on the back deck. This is their debut full length so I'd expect the next one to be not so cliche.
http://www.doom-dealer.com/sites/start.htm
https://crestfallenqueen.bandcamp.com/album/queen-of-swords
https://www.facebook.com/CrestfallenQueen/
BAT - Axestasy EP
Hells Headbangers Records
There are many good things you can say about the members of MUNICIPAL WASTE. One that's obvious is that they are always in a creative flux. When their day job is off they're coming out with cool side bands that are always cool. BAT is Ryan Waste's latest side project. Sadly I didn't get into BAT's debut full length, Wings of Chains, from 2016 until a year after it came out. It's a damm good release and so is this new EP.
BAT is Ryan Waste handling vocals and bass along with MUNICIPAL WASTE's second guitarist and newest member Nick Poulos. They're rounded out on drums by former DRI member Felix Griffin. As far as the music goes, it's tagged as speed metal but there's some old style hardcore influence that's well played plus touches of NWOBHM. The highlight for me is hearing Poulos but in with an incredible solo that slices.
Not so strangely I like this EP better than their full length album. This style of music always works well as a short sharp shock. Once again Ryan Waste proves himself as a great vocalist for this style of extreme music. He even lets in a Tom G. Warrior grunt a few times. All in all BAT fuckin rule.
https://shop-hellsheadbangers.com/
https://bewareofthebat.bandcamp.com/album/axestasy
https://www.facebook.com/bewareofthebat
