VIOLENT HAMMER - Riders of the Wasteland Hells Headbangers Records The children of BEHERIT are among us again. Say hello to VIOLENT HAMMER, a Finnish five piece blackened death act who've been around since 2006. Other than some previously released demos this is their official debut release and a full length to boot. After giving this one the many play treatment I'm wondering what those demo's sound like? When it comes to their style of blackened death, VIOLENT HAMMER are on the primative sounding side. I mean it's a reworking of early 90's blackening of death metal as well as some thrash and plenty of grindcore. You wanna believe that on their off hours these guys get drunk as fuck on vodka then go out and kill reindeer for kicks. After that they probably go "Hey lets find the guys from ROTTEN SOUND and kick their ass." To me musically it's pretty much noise for the sake of noise. A poor man's blackened grind act that's twenty or even thirty years too late. Sure there are times when some of that Scandinavian 80's hardcore crunch comes into play. There's some decent solos here and there. The vocalist sounds like a drunken priest with throat cancer. I give the drummer and the riff maniacs props for beating the shit out of their instruments for a whole twenty five minutes. But hey the cover artwork is cool. https://shop-hellsheadbangers.com/ https://violent-hammer.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/violenthammer
TYRANT - Hereafter Shadow Kingdom Records TYRANT are back, from where is up to speculation. But hey we're talking about a band who back in the late 80's put out two decent albums for Metal Blade Records. They're collector items now as well. With that said, a while ago this true metal four piece from Pasadena, California came out with a comeback album, King of Kings, in the mid 90's. Unfortunately no one was listening. Fast forward to the now and guess what, TYRANT still exits with original bassist Greg May and guitarist Rocky Rockwell. The drums were picked up by Ronnie Wallace in 2010. And now on vocals is none other than Robert Lowe (formerly of SOLITUDE AETURNUS and CANDLEMASS) who joined in 2017. And yeah it's because of Robert Lowe as to why I was excited about this release. Yes dear old time loving metalhead, this is not your old riotous version of TYRANT with screaming Glen May on vocals. The best way I could describe this new version is subdued compared to their past classics. Musically this is classic 80's era metal with some fiery solos, catchy riffs, the vocals obviously perfect and song structures compelling. Since Lowe is involved you could catch some doom elements. I'd say TYRANT has moved away from JUDAS PRIEST and are leaning towards SOLITUDE AETURNUS or dare I say HEAVEN AND HELL which ain't a bad thing. Rocky Rockwell seems to be leaning hard on the Iomni riff school as well as laying down some solos that'll cut a throat or two. The more I play this release the more I like it. TYRANT has reinvented themselves much like SABBATH did when Dio joined the team. Unfortunately we've worked this path before so there are some points where things tend to lack. It has some great tracks which jump out at you. Then there's these tracks which you wanna like but end up being a drag in the doom sense. It's a decent release. https://www.shadowkingdomrecords.com/ https://shadowkingdomrecords.bandcamp.com/album/hereafter https://www.facebook.com/TYRANT-172515856798/
PARADISE LOST - Obsidian Nuclear Blast So if you're a long time fan of PARADISE LOST then you know to expect the mood twists they do every once in a while with their releases. I'm not going to lay out an album history for ya. Lets just say sometimes they're death doom then it's gothic doom and there were those times when they thought they were SISTERS OF MERCY. Which in my opinion, sucked. 2017's Medusa was a return to their death doom days and I thought it was a masterpiece. Obsidian is another return to their gothic doom style and it's an obvious masterpiece. Many bands in metal who've been around for over three decades are not putting out dynamic sounding albums like this. Sure some keep with their program to please the masses. PARADISE LOST takes what they know and moves it a pace further. On this their sixteenth full length things start out mediocre with the opening cut "Darker Thoughts". It's what follows which makes things flow more into the whole gothic doom genre. "Fall From Grace" just explodes at you with Nick Holmes' patented pairing off of his harsh baritone bursts with the cleans spoken word like clean vocals. Musically the dynamics are cool in the doom style and having new drummer, Waltteri Vayrynen, really showing off with plenty of fills. It's from that point on where everything on Obsidian just flows with perfection. Greg Mackintosh has some amazing melodic guitar soloing on here. Steve Edmondson gets a few chances to remind us he's alive with a few cool bass runs. Aaron Aedy still notes on riffs that can be re-used and refined. I'm sure some people will think it's all a redux of past patterns. Not really in fact it's the past effort redone for the now. Songs like "Hope Dies Young" or "Forsaken" just show a more nuanced approach to the genre. Seriously PARADISE LOST are the experts when it comes to this sound. Listening to this I just came away thinking why bother with anyone else. Perfect and one of the best for 2020. https://www.nuclearblast.de/en/shop/index.html https://paradiselostofficial.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/paradiselostofficial
CARRION VAEL - God Killer Horror Pain Gore Death Productions For those of you who know me well, and I feel your pain, the genre term of Tech Death is not a favorite of mine. If I were to turn around and look at the two book cases which are just for death metal CDs. (Yes I segregate by genre. What are you gonna do, protest? Fuck You!) Let's say there's five hundred CDs there OK. Out of that I'd bet you'd find maybe ten which are from bands who are Tech Death.
So why would I write about this because the genre tagline is straight by the book combo of tech death and thrash? Well it's that this five piece band, who hail from Indiana, include a few surprises in this their second full length which got me interested. For starters CARRION VAEL do cover all of the familiar bases as far as this genre combination has done before. You've got a vocalist who handles the death metal growled parts and the harsh blackened thrash like screechy tones well. There's plenty of bass runs and and of course the drumwork is phenomenal.
But what got my attention the most were the amazing fluid and hard rock influenced guitar solos which jump out at you on a few cuts. Sure the riff work is decent as far as the genre standard goes. But when the leads make their mark it's like something uncanny breaks through the death thrash abuse. And that's why I believe this band's tech death/thrash release is worth checking out even for non-believers like me. http://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/ https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/god-killer https://www.facebook.com/CarrionVael
AMBUSH - Infidel High Roller Records While years ago the states had a mainstream metal appreciation revival of new bands playing old school metal influenced by late 70's or NWOBHM. There were hundreds of bands already doing the same thing. But while they were overlooked in their own nation. They were big in Europe and it's because that genre of metal never needed a revival over there. It never went away. Take for example AMBUSH a fairly new band out of Sweden. They started out in 2013 and quickly made their true metal mark with their 2014 debut Firestorm. A couple of albums later and here we are with their third full length. Now the lay person will think NWOBHM and Sweden equals ENFORCER. Well AMBUSH have a lot more going for em. For starters on this release the band splits hairs between their fondness for the old NWOBHM and classic power metal sounds. Yeah there is a difference. For my appreciation of such acts they have to top a few categories. First off are vocals and AMBUSH has a great one in Oskar Jacobsson. This man has a great range when it comes to highs, lows and straight up clean vocals. Follow that up with great chunky riffs, fluid solos as well as catchy song structures. AMBUSH has all of that plus a solid rhythm section which powers everything along. All in all this release has an infectious quality to it. A true metal fan/friend of mine has already cast AMBUSH as his favorite new band as well as this album being superb. He's right as usual, AMBUSH's Infidel is one of the best albums of 2020. https://www.hrrshop.de/ https://www.facebook.com/Ambushsweden
WILCZYCA - Horda Godz Ov War Productions Attention all true kvlt black metal fans, if there are any left, here's your release for 2020. Yeah I know leave it to the Poles to represent BM in it's rawest old school form this year. I am not fucking around here people. This release by this Polish two piece black metal act sounds like an unearthed demo from 1993. In my not so humble opinion that's a good thing. This two piece act consists of Nidhogg on vocals and Louve as the multi-instrumentalist. On this, their second full length this year, you've got five tracks total. The first two cuts, "Wnyk" and the title track are just short fast abrasive and strangely enough rocking old school BM. Totally fuckin raw with venomous vocals by Nidhogg. From there we get into a haunting instrumental "Echo" which is definitely a break from the tremolo picked rage. But next up is "Miecz na pomazańca" a track that has it's rocking BM traits along with some somber atmospheric movements. It's my favorite cut on here since it reminds me of some classic stuff from the past.
The final cut on here, "Demon" is a sixteen minute opus of fast tremolo picked anthem riffs, straight up blast beats and harsh tortured screams. Again it's familiar territory from the past by an artist I've always liked but name dropping is not needed here. This band's ode to that artist and their amazing piece itself is worthy of watching this band for years to come. http://godzovwar.com/ https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/horda https://www.facebook.com/wilczyca.kult
Remember the days when you listened to a black metal act and could tell where they were from? The reason there were differences in sound and style was because there was no internet. What sounds from other places were known through tape trading and later on you had releases showing up. What bands in all these different places did was learn the blackened template and improvised with their own musical formula. Yeah not anymore and that's the case with this band here. ODRAZA are a two piece black metal act from Poland who've been around since 2009 but only started releasing material in 2014 with their debut full length, Esperalem tkane. This is their follow-up full length and it covers the blackened bases. It has your face ripping fast blasts of anger. There's plenty of chilling atmospheric moments. It also has the unconventional song craft of Sweden's SHINING.
Both members of ODRAZA are also in another Polish BM act, MASSMORD. Now that's a great fuckin band you all need to check out as far as explosive sounding Polish black metal. It's obvious by listening to Rzeczom that these guys have branched out away from that style. Personally I like this even though it reminds me a lot like SHINING who I have every full length release by. First off this is a release which I'd call hot and cold, that's in a good way. The hot part is when these blistering riff attacks commence. It's like some maniac attacks you with a kitchen knife he's has sitting on top of a stove burner for an hour. The colder parts are like brooding. Go ahead poke me with a stick because I'm a menace and just wait what happens next. In the end it all sounds great to me.
THE DEVIL'S SERMON - Rydwany Ogni EP Putrid Cult Well it's not every day a black metal comes along opening their release with a BATHORY cover. Wow what a bunch of brave fucks they are. This is my introduction to THE DEVIL'S SERMON who are a band with some interesting baggage. First off the're from England but they're Polish, hmmm are they on work visas? Just kidding, no I'm not, but anyway this band put out a full length last year which I wished I would've checked out before this EP. Musically THE DEVIL'S SERMON have a pretty cool sound that's more, dare I say it, blackened hard fuckin rock with some touches that will make you scream "Holy Fuck"! OK I don't care for the spoken word parts on the third cut. Reminds me of latter day BURZUM a lot. At least these three original cuts showcase some variety in their command of black metal which reaches for texture over genre standards.
SEPULCHRAL CURSE - Only Ashes Remain Transcending Obscurity Records Ya know what, I knew this was coming sooner or later. At first I noticed it with some smaller label band releases which were cool as fuck. Then I saw it growing all across the board as well as the world. I tried to ignore it like I do with tech death. But I know sooner or later the second and first tier labels were going to be putting this out. Yes people it's the return of old school melodic death metal. Did you hear that loud crash? Yeah that was me falling out of my chair. Look people I'm not against some melody in my death metal. Plus I always wanna hear some guitar solos ripping through the death doom like lightning in a cloudy sky. My beef is when it all becomes generic and boring which with every revival happens.
As far as Finland's SEPULCHRAL CURSE and this their debut full length go. It's fuckin fantastic and that's even putting it mildly. It reminds ya of those times when your favorite heavy as fuck band from back in the day started to tweak their sound a bit. Sure the old ways are respected here as in death, doom and a touch of blackened seasoning. But add in the melodic guitar harmonies, the saturating lead work and captivating song structures. It's like you never want this release to end. There's two vocal styles going on here as well. You've got the one traditional deep throat-ed awakened from hibernation bear vocal and a more higher pitched caustic one. The PR info on this one pushes the idea of this being influenced by some classic Finnish death metal acts. No name drops from me but there are a few names who's influence is on here slightly. But from the opener to the closer on this release, SEPULCHRAL CURSE have created something worthwhile and re-imagined to make it exciting as fuck. You know a release is one of the best fuckin releases of 2020 when you never want it to end. Which is why you've got repeat. https://tometal.com/ https://sepulchralcurse.bandcamp.com/album/only-ashes-remain-death-metal https://www.facebook.com/SepulchralCurseDM
ENSHADOWED - Stare Into the Abyss Odium Records Although this black metal band hails from Greece their sound on here is pure old school Scandinavian. ENSHADOWED are not a new band at all. The band originally started out back in the late 90's. It wasn't until the 2000's when the band started putting out some official releases, as opposed to demos. It wasn't until the mid to late 2000's when the band finally got a cohesive line-up of N.e.c.r.o (aka: Dionysis Dimitrakos) on guitar. Golgotha (aka: George T.) on bass and Serpent on vocals. I'm already familiar with Dionysis Dimitrakos work in another Greek black metal act, BURIAL HORDES. Just for the record this is not the first time I've heard a Greek black metal act pay tribute to the Scandinavian hordes of old. Although personally I like the classic Greek black metal sounds of old aka: Hellenic Black Metal. I'm talking about bands like early VARATHRON and ROTTING CHRIST to just name a few. There are so many more on my fave list. But here we are with ENSHADOWED's fourth full length and it does conjure up the dead souls or yore. Right from the start you realize you're in for something truly cold and unforgiving. Throughout the album you're treated to sounds reminiscent of early Swedish as well as Norwegian acts. There's plenty of thrashy guitar blasting. You've got your typical blastbeat drum work along with some decent fillers. Toss in a vocal performance which is totally harsh some times while doing that speak/chant style. Honestly this sounds like a cross between FUNERAL MIST and MAYHEM. Also I'm thinking more towards the latter as far as influences go. As the title says, Stare Into the Abyss, but for me I've dived in head first. http://www.odiumrex.com/ https://enshadowedofficial.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/EnshadowedOfficial
WOORMS - Twitching, as Prey Sludgelord Records WOORMS are a three piece sludge (and much more) band from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I learned about em last year via their debut full length, Slake. I thought that album was decent with the exception of their overuse of samples and other extras. You had a good band underneath all of the shiny wrappings. Plus they were not going to be defined by that whole NOLA sound. This their second full length is probably a true personification of this band. The first album showed promise and this one let's their character show. Lots of cool things going on here. A good portion of this ten track album is filled with muck covered, swamp thing like MELVINS' style sludge. I'm talking about heavy handed bass riffs, tribal drumwork, decent enough guitars but vocals that are seething with comtept as if a head rose from the depths and cursed you. Other times there's some acid head jamming which I think is cool as long as it's heavy. Next the SABBATH - ian grooves kick in on some cuts and then it's basically a return to that Desert Sessions stuff from their first album. Throw in a hint of good WHITE ZOMBIE and you've got headbanging plus slam pit action. In the end this falls into that category as a great listening experience. https://thesludgelord.bandcamp.com/album/twitching-as-prey https://www.facebook.com/WOORMS-820255734812259/
APOSENTO - Conjuring the New Apocalypse Xtreem Music Here's something which comes in at a perfect time for me. I deem the month of June as "Death Metal in June". Yeah it's a play on a band name so go away hipster. But something else of note, when you talk about death metal bands as a whole as far as major scenes and releases go. The great nation of Spain has been overlooked. Yes I'm sure there are many people out there who, during the stealing (oops, I mean free downloading) days of the internet, who will make claims of Spanish death metal knowledge. Whatever people, because the bottom line is that if you just glanced at an average list of the greatest death metal albums of all time. You won't find a Spanish band release. So yeah they've been overlooked.
Which brings us to APOSENTO, a Spanish death metal act who originally started out back in the early 90's. Yeah that's back in the heyday of death metal. The band was only around for a handful of years. Their early releases consisted of a few demos, a split release and a five song EP titled Welcome to Darkness from 1997. After that the band called it quits. Fast forward to 2012 and the band's sole original member, guitarist Manolo Saez, decides to bring APOSENTO back from the dead. And even with filling up various line-up positions. He and the band have managed to put out an EP and two full lengths prior to this latest one. Yeah dedication and conviction is their strong suit. After giving this one a bunch of listens I'll add attention to detail as well. Conjuring the New Apocalypse is not just old school death metal done right. It just doesn't remind you of the revival band style which many other genre acts employ. Basically it comes across like an unearthed gem of the past. All the essentials of death metal enjoyment are in place. You've got a good mix of speed and death doom songs plus a few chaotic structured cuts which really stand out. Vocals are of the blast furnace throat variety. Lead guitar work is decent but not a stand out here. Oh well that's the American in me but in the end this is damm good. No let me correct that, this is perfect. http://shop.xtreemmusic.com/english.main.index.php https://xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com/album/conjuring-the-new-apocalypse https://www.facebook.com/Aposentodeath/
IKU-TURSO - Pakana Wolfspell Records Well it's always cool to hear some black metal from the pagan vastlands of Finland. OK sure their vocalist is Dutch but in the greater overview it's always good to hear some pagan black metal. Especially in this band's case because they're old school influence abounds. This is the second full length by IKU-TURSO, a band who's been around since 2017. It's my first time hearing their music and honestly it's been a damm good time. No surprise here that Pakana is a concept album. Most of the classic BM albums of the 90's were that and more. This one is about a journey into the unforgiving wilderness of ancient days and of the old Gods. Yeah we've been there before. Sound-wise this is completely second wave black metal with some folk moments which are really cool. It has a duel influence going on. One is pure old school Finnish pagan influenced metal and the other is total Norwegian BM. Honestly the two should never meet but on here it works. In this instance I'm gonna name drop some familiar favorites like ULVER, early SATYRICON and MOONSORROW as influences on high here. Aside from their folk approaches and subtle keyboard touches IKU-TURSO employ your standard blast beat, icy tremolo picked rhythms and one sick sounding screamer Lafawijn the Dutchman. I like how the keyboards are applied as a backdrop which keeps it from being symphonic. Song structures vary from rhythmic violence to more atmospheric melancholy. Interspersed between the vocal rasps are some spoken word parts as well as good ol' Finnish style gutturals and gang shouting. Oh well, someone broke out the vodka on that cut. Pakana is everything for someone who has been listening to black metal since it's inception. I'm sure somebody with less than meaningful intentions could picked this apart like de-boning a chicken. Personally I find this release to be fantastic simply because it contains moments which remind me on why I still like black metal. https://wolfspell.pl/ https://iku-turso.bandcamp.com/album/pakana https://www.facebook.com/ikutursobm
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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.
