SADISTIK FOREST - Obscure Old Remains EP review

 

SADISTIK FOREST - Obscure Old Remains EP

Transcending Obscurity Records

SADISTIK FOREST is a cool band from Finland that I learned about a few years ago with their third full length Morbid Majesties. That one came out in 2018. Here we have a follow-up four song EP to savor. The great nation of Finland has produced some amazing extreme metal over the decades. Personally I'm a huge fan of the various death and black metal acts that have come from there. This four piece act is pure death thrash.

Their opening salvo "Mandragore" will rip your head off and you'll still be smiling as it bounces across the floor. We're talking savage man on fire type of screamed vocals. Old school death metal riff guitar tones with some very cool soloing. Strangely enough there's a touch of progressiveness in their approach, especially on "Barbarian". 

The second half of this release has some amazing touches. The song "Nihil" is a mix of trudging brutality and yet there's some melody as well as off kilter moments. And the fuckin guitar solo on here is a ripper. Basically SADISTIK FOREST know how to create interesting song patterns that go against cliche death thrash norms. The last cut, "Waters Black" is a sludgey blackened CELTIC FROST style doom number, albeit with better drum work. It also has a torturous guitar solo.

Yeah it's just four songs, almost twenty minutes but hey every second of it rules. Normally I don't mention cover art work of a release but this is definitely cool to look at. Would make a good t-shirt as well. Nuff Said.

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://sadistikforest.bandcamp.com/album/obscure-old-remains-death-metal

EREMIT - Bearer of Many Names review

 

EREMIT - Bearer of Many Names 

Transcending Obscurity Records

This is my second time writing about a full length by this sludgy German doom band. I left off back in 2018 with their debut, Carrier of Weight. That was a three song, one hour experience. This new one is the same as in three songs spanning a few minutes past an hour in play time. 

When it comes to song craft EREMIT, on this as well as their last full length release, give you two choices. The first is tranquil atmospheric sounds that lull you into a comfortable setting. You kick back in the chair. You don't need headphones so you turn up the volume, relax and then all hell breaks loose. 

EREMIT are at their best when they break loose. We're talking something akin to YOB with painful blackened vocals. Hellfire and brimstone is failing from the sky. Your neighbor's car alarm is set off. And twenty minutes later the police show up at your home asking if you've got a band playing in your house. Yes it's heavy, it's crushing and mean as fuck.

I will say this, their debut album was much more explosive to me. Nothing against this one of course. The sounds are amazing, the vocals are horrific to say the least. I think the album cover is similar to their debut. Maybe we're looking at a trilogy. Either way it's good.

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://eremitdoom.bandcamp.com/album/bearer-of-many-names-sludge-doom-metal

SYMBTOMY - Demo #1 review

 

SYMBTOMY - Demo #1

Self Released

Hey look I'm writing about demos, what year is this again? Well to this band, who have a duel hail from Czechia and the United Kingdom, it's 1990 and we're talking death metal. What we have here is a three song release which could've made a great 7"er. Maybe when they put out their debut full length they'll either re-record these songs or save em to be tacked onto the tail end of a future re-issue. 

So am I suggesting that SYMBTOMY has a career ahead? Ah yeah because old school death metal never gets boring at least to me. Plus it also helps when your sound is influenced by some past Swedish greats. The guitars on here have that Boss-HM2 crunch. The lead work is tasty and rhythm section powers things along. It also doesn't hurt to have some cool friends contribute on vocals. 

We're talking about the likes of Ralf Hauber from REVEL IN FLESH and HEADS FOR THE DEAD plus WOMBBATH's Jonny Pettersson  and Johan Jansson of INTERMENT. Not a bad bunch of friends to have. This is sure to be a collector's item in the future.

LISTEN TO AND BUY IT HERE:

https://symbtomy.bandcamp.com/releases

LUCIFUGE - Infernal Power review

 

LUCIFUGE - Infernal Power

Dying Victims Productions

The name of this band is familiar and no I'm not talking about DANZIG's second album. I think I've seen the name on a black metal site/discussion group. But that was a few years ago and it could've been a different band. As far as this LUCIFUGE goes the band started out a few years ago. Originally it was a one man outfit. That one man is Equinox who for years was responsible for all the instruments and vocals on the first 3 full lengths. 

Now on this one he enlisted three band-mates to handle drums, bass and second guitar. Musically this one is VENOM worshiping blackened thrash. It has a low-fi production which gives it a cool feel like it's something long lost from the 80's. As regular readings of this blog know I'm not a fan of that beefed up, cliche sound of most modern blackened thrash. So this is a winner in my book. Love the album artwork as well. 

https://www.dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/lucifuge-infernal-power

INSANE - Victims review

 

INSANE  - Victims

Dying Victims Productions

What we have here is some pure gutter thrash. Think opening band on a four act bill at some dive bar in 1986. This release could've been a demo tape with a hand drawn cover. Yeah I'm feeling nostalgic because I still have some cassettes from the 80's by thrash/speed metal acts that made it no where. Now as far as INSANE goes they're somewhat reminiscent of those late 80's era acts who were not SLAYER, METALLICA or any other one at that level. But that's not a bad thing.

INSANE hail from Sweden of all places and have been around for a dozen years now. To their credit they've got a bunch of small format releases and one full length besides this one. I think my explanation in the opening paragraph pretty much covered what this four piece is all about. There's 10 cuts of that although once or twice the band breaks from the past and injects some odd intro to a song, a short yet dark instrumental or just coming off as a late 80's hardcore outfit with better guitar leads. Get into the pit. 

https://www.dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://www.dying-victims.de/

SEIDE - Auakistla review

 

SEIDE - Auakistla

Throats Productions

Black Metal from France, hey will I be one of the few to write about this release? I mean seriously it was not long ago that whenever a French black metal act put something out. You'd have mainstream metal scribes climbing over one another in order to be the first to post a review of it. Nowadays things have changed. Those same people see the words "French Black Metal" and they immediately do a background check on the band. Also including a demand from them to answer the question under oath; "Have you ever in your lifetime did or said something which would be considered naughty?"

Thankfully I'm not one of those woke-tards. We're talking about Black Metal here. It's supposed to be naughty. Now be that as it may here we have the third full length from this French four piece black metal act. It's my first time hearing them so I kinda absorbed every second of this release. Plus it's not everyday that you'll hear some saxophone played within music in this genre. Albeit the sax addition only appears on two songs and it's short. Still I thought it was tastefully done. 

Musically this falls into what I've liked about some post 1990's French black metal acts. Take the basic second wave of the genre's template as a foundation. Then add plenty of atmospheric touches without going too far out on the avant-garde limb. And finally bring about some dark doomish melodies. When it comes to the harsh moments keep em savage. Make sure the vocals convey disgust as well as sorrow. That's this album in a nutshell and it's well done.

LISTEN TO & PURCHASE HERE:

https://throatsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/auakistla

TORVUS - The Innate Disease review

 

TORVUS - The Innate Disease

Self Released

They're from Maryland, they play doom and they're damm good. Someone tell all of their peers that they need to retire. I'm joking about that latter part of course especially if you check out this album. I mean there's some really cool things going on with this release that would make a Wino fan or a Bobby fan (aka: PENTAGRAM) sit back and go "cool". Add to that their modern touches and extreme mechanics will grab the rest of you as well.

The first time I listened to this release I thought it was the musical equivalent to Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five. The tagline to this band is death doom but let's throw that one away. There are times when this band sounds like 70's hard rock (or what hipsters call proto-doom). Then they'll kick into the 80's thrash era only to be surpassed by some touches of black metal, death metal, hardcore, sludge rock and if I missed something then my sincerest apologies. But the bottom line is that you get the feeling you're bouncing around through the decades.

By the way TORVUS are a three piece band from the a-fore mentioned state of Maryland and why aren't then signed yet? This is their second full length after being around since 2014. So yeah musically they're all over the place which to me adds to some excitement. While they do pummel the listener for the early part of this release. It's when "Stone Bearer", the fifth cut, gives you some atmospheric break although just for a few minutes. After an instrumental the latter half of the release just gets heavier. 

I will say that the production on here sounds like a live record as if it was recorded in a club minus the crowd of course. So with that said I wanna see TORVUS perform at a local club. At times there's some savage riffs being laid upon you. The song structures toss in some uncanny moments like on "Pallor Eyes" which is almost a twelve minute epic. The vocals are a mix of harsh screams of agony to full bore death doom howls. The rhythm section is exceptional and the added but subtle use of keyboards gives some cuts that Euro death doom feel. 

I'll repeat what I said earlier. Why isn't TORVUS signed to a decent label? 

LISTEN & BUY HERE:

https://torvus.bandcamp.com/album/the-innate-disease

GRIEF COLLECTOR - En Delirium review

 

GRIEF COLLECTOR - En Delirium

Petrichor

So in my not so humble opinion I think the Robert Lowe era of CANDLEMASS was pretty good. That's all I'm gonna say about that subject. So on tonight's episode of "where are they now?" this is Robert Lowe's latest project. For those of you hoping for a SOLITUDE AETURNUS reunion nah that wasn't gonna happen. 

GRIEF COLLECTOR is a band he's in now with Matt Johnson from SIGNS OF RAIN on guitar & bass plus Brad Miller from AMONG THE SERPENTS. The music is still doom. What else is there for Lowe? Now obviously because it's Lowe you might feel compelled to comparing his past efforts to this. Well don't because this is their debut full length but a few years ago they came out with an EP.

Musically Matt Johnson's guitar style is slightly sludgey at times on the slower moments. Other times his riffs give off that 80's metal underground feel. Maybe it's the production but either way it's a dirty sound and cool. When he dives in with his leads they come out delicate yet overwhelming and powerful.

Brad Miller's drumming definitely provides a good back drop and his fills are a compliment to every cut on here. Of course you wanna know how Lowe sounds on here. Well obviously he's in perfect form. Once in a while he comes off somewhat menacing which I like. But for the most part he's the same great vocalist as ever. 

In the end this is a damm good doom release. And yeah to be cliche, if you're a fan of Lowe's work in his more familiar past bands then you'll want this. Hopefully this will be a steady project for these three individuals. Although there's still that thing Lowe is doing with TYRANT. Nuff Said.

https://www.hammerheart.com/petrichor/

LISTEN HERE:

https://griefcollectorpetrichor.bandcamp.com/