NEKKROMANIAC - Plague Eater review

 

NEKKROMANIAC - Plague Eater

Gates of Hell Records

So the skinny on this one from the new German four piece blackened thrash band is that they are inspired by classic extreme acts like BATHORY, MERCILESS and SODOM. OK that's fine but now let's take note. Inspiration is one thing, influence is another. So this act have relatively nothing in common musically with those above mentioned bands to a point. Trust me I learned that on my first listen. 

But don't let that deter you away from this band. This is their debut full length. Prior to this they've released a couple of short form releases since starting out in 2013. And personally I'm glad that they don't rehash the sounds of the above name dropped bands. Although I'll give em the MERCILESS touch and there's one cut, "“Bleed for the Master”, which does give some homage to BATHORY.

Basically NEKKROMANIAC are just good at what they do. Which is creating some old school blackened thrash that sounds actually threatening. Their songs are a mix of full on thrash assaults, some black n roll plus there's some mid-tempo melody. They're not trying to be like some band from 1989. Instead they're bringing back a past sound and adding their own personality to it. To me that's a cool thing especially since they're not generic sounding.

There's eight cuts on here, all great. There's some savage sounding guitar riffs throughout. Their vocalist has a crazy range as far as going from screams to gruff singing. And the rhythm section are some real savage sounding bastards. I've heard plenty of blackened thrash acts this year, go figure? As far as I'm concerned this one by NEKKROMANIAC is the absolute best. I mean when this release blasts away I wanna hurt people. Nuff said!

http://www.gatesofhellrecords.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://nekkromaniac.bandcamp.com/album/plague-eater-new-mastering

HOLOCAUSTO CANIBAL - Crueza Ferina review

 

HOLOCAUSTO CANIBAL - Crueza Ferina

Selfmadegod Records

Personally if an album starts off with a minute's worth of hog squeals I'm the type to turn it off. Hey I like my pork but not singing to me in an album's intro. When the second song commenced things looked better. Especially when that cut included a solo by Bob Vigna from IMMOLATION. Then again that was only a couple of seconds. 

Speaking of hog squeals this band's vocalist, Orca, is not far from the mark. But what you expect from a band doing brutal death and grind. HOLOCAUSTO CANIBAL are a four piece act hailing from Portugal. They've been on a massacre since starting out in the late 1990's. This is their fifth full length and they also have a slew of small formats releases as well.

Musically yeah this is brootal which makes sense since the album title translates into English as ferocious cruelty. On it the band delivers nineteen cuts, most of em short songs. Personally I like their longer songs (aka: the ones lasting more than three minutes). But in the long run all of the material on here is done well as far as the sub-genre demands. Very good.

https://selfmadegod.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://selfmadegod.bandcamp.com/album/crueza-ferina

IN SEANCE - Corporeal Desecration review

 

IN SEANCE - Corporeal Desecration

Self Released

This is the second full length release by this USBM two piece act from Portland, Oregon. Now if you are thinking this is going to be more of that Cascadian black metal (a hipster scribe term which I've always laughed at) then no it is not. Yes be thankful all you kvlt types. 

In fact be thankful that this band here actually embraces early 90's Norwegian BM. More specifically it's the whole THORNS / MAYHEM style which I find unique for any act from wherever to copy. As far as this band goes the two piece consists of Wraith on vocals and someone who goes by 104 who performs all instruments. 

As far as the vocals go Wraith has a very high pitched rasp style. He's decent sounding in his roll. But for me personally it's 104 who steals the show on here. His riffs are amazing and very reminiscent of the whole Euronymous / Blackthorn combination from 1992/93. Certain cuts like "Vampiric Bloodlust Slut", "Adorned with Bones" and "The Decapitator" are amazing in their fury and song structure. As far as 104's drum work he's good at that too. In the end it's damm good.

LISTEN TO & PURCHASE HERE:

https://inseance.bandcamp.com/album/corporeal-desecration

MISCREATION - Miscreation MMXXI EP review

 

MISCREATION - Miscreation MMXXI EP

Self Released

Well frankly I kinda like a promo that comes in with the words; "Hi Mr. Wolf. Prepare to have your face melted, your skull crushed, and whatever else can happen to the human body over the course of three, extremely brutal songs." Ah yeah well after three listens I've still still gotta shave and I've still got a head on my shoulders. But don't take that in the wrong way because if I hated this then after one listen I'd be gone. 

First off MISCREATION are a new four piece tech death band hailing from Canada. Actually the four band members have past experience in other bands so there's experience here. Musically this is what I'd call stuff I hear on the local college radio station on the Friday night program Chainsaw Rock. It's modern day tech death without the wankery or core thrown in for stupid reasons. 

This was recorded, mixed, and mastered by CRYPTOPSY guitarist Christian Donaldson. Yeah well he has plenty of time on his hands nowadays. But anyways this is pretty much a three song demo by a band who could fall in with all of the generic sounding stuff out there. But with a keen ear and knowledge then you know they're better than that. 

MISCREATION has some major strengths going for em. Their guitarist, Jack Lascelles, is not only a fast and frenzied riff master. But he knows when to toss in lead tweaks as well as a formative solo break. Reminds me of another great Canadian guitarist of old. The rhythm section is in a perfect blend with the guitar work. It's not just keeping a beat. It's playing ala one side and adding a touch of it's own. 

Finally there's the vocals which are deep screamed / barked. Sure it's generic but combined with the music it becomes far more savage. Imagine some lunatic jumping into a slam dance pit wearing brass knuckles. That's MISCREATION in a nutshell. Three songs of aggressive maniac metal are cool. Interesting to hear a full LP's worth.

LISTEN TO & PURCHASE HERE:

https://miscreationofficial.bandcamp.com/

RISE TO THE SKY - Every Day a Funeral review

 

RISE TO THE SKY - Every Day a Funeral

Meuse Music Records

There are many facets to doom metal. The one we're here to discuss falls under the saying "misery can be beautiful." RISE TO THE SKY is a one man death doom act from Santiago, Chile. The one man here is Sergio Gonzalez Catalan. He performs the synths, all string instruments and sings (more on that part later). The drum work on this release is performed by Emidio Alexandre who hails from Portugal and also plays in the thrash metal band ADAMANTINE.

According to the info about this release, it was recorded at recorded in Sergio´s Castle in Santiago. I fuckin believe it since there's plenty of gothic / romanticism touches on here as well as cold cruel agony that only old stones can handle. This is the first release by RISE TO THE SKY I've heard. So far since starting out in 2019 Sergio has come out with now five full length releases, a slew of short form releases and two compilations. After giving this a few listens those two comp releases are very alluring.

Sergio's take on the genre is similar to MY DYING BRIDE. The seven cuts on here, with a running time of around forty-plus minutes, are all powerful and majestic in the sorrow atmosphere. Of course there's plenty of your standard crushing guitar riffs. But it's when Sergio adds some acoustic guitar or all of the non electric stringed instruments. That is when the charm of this release envelopes you like a warm blanket from the cold. 

Aside from the balance of melancholic atmosphere of the music and song structures there's Sergio's vocals. The man sounds like a great beast in agonizing pain. It coincides well with the sounds be they heavy riffs, picked melodies or the keys. Just to make sure this is not all slow plodding material. The music flows like a ragged landscape with peaks and valleys of despair. 

After listening to this release multiple times I came away thinking that Sergio Gonzalez Catalan is not just a great songwriter and musician. He's a composer who paints, with music, a black and white picture of a painfully sad scene and yet inserts a red rose to signify beauty. I absolutely love this album. 

https://www.meusemusicrecords.eu/

LISTEN HERE:

https://meusemusicrecords.bandcamp.com/album/rise-to-the-sky-every-day-a-funeral-mmr023-2

KROD / CRUCIATUS INFERNALIS - Storming the Gates of Heaven Split EP review

 

KROD / CRUCIATUS INFERNALIS - Storming the Gates of Heaven Split EP

Kvlt und Kaos Productions

Underground black metal ain't what it use to be. I mean the quality is much better while the sentiment is still the same. Case in point here we have a split release from a fairly new label out of Austria. Just looking at some of their other releases I can see they must believe "if it ain't kvlt it's crap."

So on this split you've got for starters KROD, a one man BM act that hails from Santiago, Chile. That one man being Zabulus Valtakunta who sings and plays everything. Sound-wise this is disturbing jangled melodic yet doom tinged black metal. It's main feature happens to be Zabulus' torturous screaming. Three songs of raw and murderous sounding stuff. 

Next up to the sacrificial altar is CRUCIATUS INFERNALIS, a two piece act that hails from Austria. The genre tag line on em is also black metal with added synths. Musically it's primitive icy riffs mixed in speed with eerie synthesizers. Albeit I liked the Vincent Price voice-over soundbite from the movie The Pit and the Pendulum on one song. there's three cuts in all.

As always with split releases I treat em like a wrestling match to see who wins out. This was a tough one to decide. Although KROD come off as sheer fuckin terror. CRUCIATUS INFERNALIS give off more of a creepy sound, especially on the vocals. And the synth use works perfect. 

Plus the third song by CRUCIATUS INFERNALIS, "Auferstehung" comes off like a blackened surf song. So both bands are decent but I'd rather hear more from the Austrians.   

http://www.kvltundkaos.at/

LISTEN HERE:

https://kvltundkaosproductions.bandcamp.com/album/storming-the-gates-of-heaven

PAGANIZER - Beyond The Macabre review

 

PAGANIZER - Beyond The Macabre

Transcending Obscurity Records

Well I was kinda expecting some new music from Rogga Johansson, the most prolific Death Metal artist in Sweden, this year. A new PAGANIZER album fits the bill perfectly. Obviously if you're a regular reader of this website, and frankly who isn't, then you know for years now I've promoted every single thing Rogga Johansson has been involved in. No I'm not friends with the guy. He just creates music which I really like.

Which brings us to this latest PAGANIZER album. Now if you're a fan and thought 2019's The Tower of the Morbid was a fuckin beast then you're really gonna like Beyond the Macabre. Normally when a band is around for over twenty years sure you can expect a new release to be good or decent especially if your a bias fan. But no PAGANIZER now on their 12th full length, not counting all of their short form releases, just sound stronger. 

It also helps to have a consistent line-up for success and Rogga (guitars/vocals) has had drummer Matte Fiebig, bassist Martin Klasen and lead guitarist Kjetil Lynghaug working along side him for quite a few years now. That's the evidence because on here you've got this punishing batch of songs. There's also some melody worked in plus some dive bomb soloing. I think the Swedes invented that latter point. Add to that some headbanging groove. Plus with all the musical devastation you've got Rogga's raging beast like vocals plus he can even give ya a scream as well.

All in all you have to give credit where it's due. PAGANIZER, well Rogga Johansson, has never wavered when it came to flying the proud flag of Swedish death metal. While his influences and peers have silently stepped down Rogga kept going and strived to be the very best. Beyond The Macabre is a perfect example, it's genre perfection. It also doesn't hurt to have special guest Karl Willets of BOLT THROWER sing on the final track. 

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://paganizer.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-the-macabre-death-metal

ELBOW DEEP - Homeschool Shooter review

 

ELBOW DEEP - Homeschool Shooter

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

Chicago's ELBOW DEEP are frequent acquaintances to me and this website. This is the third full length of their's I've had the pleasure of writing about. They have four altogether and a split EP with the MENTORS, more on that later. 

The skinny on ELBOW DEEP has always been that they're a decent sounding death metal act with sick yet funny songs. Which brings us back to THE MENTORS reference. ELBOW DEEP is basically doing what El Duce and Co. were doing decades ago but in a brutal DM style.

Look you have to laugh when you hear songs like "She Sells Sea Shells by the Way She's A Whore" or "Whatever I Got, You're Getting". There's a few more titles that'll have ya laughing out loud. But you should get the idea that your SJW types are gonna despise this. But hey Fuck Them.

Musically like I said this is straight up death metal which sometimes has groove or just trudges along. There's parts of thrash and grind added to the mix. The vocals are varied between standard barks, growls and of course the brootal singing. In the end it's a good follow-up from 2019's Bodily Fluids.  

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/homeschool-shooter

GRAND BELIAL'S KEY - Kohanic Charmers review

 

GRAND BELIAL'S KEY - Kohanic Charmers

Weltenfeind

So early this year when I read that GRAND BELIAL'S KEY was finally putting out an album after seventeen years my reaction was why? Maybe there's some left over pictures from The Illustrated Bible that need corpse paint on the characters for an album cover? I doubt they have more blasphemy to rain on the listeners. We're talking about a US black metal band that went too far before it was considered too far. And yet they kept a status which was below underground levels. In other words this band couldn't fill a mid size venue. 

Now don't get my lack of enthusiasm as an indicator of an upcoming opinion. I'm an average fan of GRAND BELIAL'S KEY. I've got their three full lengths. I also have the double CD comp with their first two demos which came out in 2017. Seriously that release must have pissed off the collector scum and Myspace morons of old. To those internet bullies, if you didn't own those demos then you weren't kvlt. Yeah I know, go fuck yourself punk! 

But anyways GRAND BELIAL'S KEY are back. In truth it's long time guitarist Gelal Necrosodomy (aka: Alexander Halac) and bassist Demonic who are keeping this train going. Along for the ride is drummer Ulfhedinn who joined in 2009. Also there's vocalist Unhold (aka: Sven Zimper) who came on board in 2009 replacing Grimnir Wotansvolk (aka: Richard Mills) who died in 2006.  

After giving this one a spin I went back and pulled out the band's last full length Kosherat from 2005 for a comparison. To the band's credit this new album is not a stretch from their last one. Musically it's basic 90's era low-fi black metal. Guitarist Gelal Necrosodomy has always been known for some slightly off kilter riff patterns. On here he keeps tossing in those twists and tweaks while stiff giving some good riff packages. Of course the bass playing follows suit.

Newer drummer Ulfhedinn, who's also the vocalist for the death metal band ARGHOSLENT, does a decent job. The same can be said of vocalist Unhold. His style is a low-fi harsh quality which he adds a few shrieks. In all honesty he's no Black Lourde of Crucifixion or the late Grimnir Heretik. Which brings me to the final verdict. 

Kohanic Charmers is the long awaited return for this Virginia based USBM act. If you were a fan of them then well it's fuckin perfect. As for me it's been almost two decades and a bunch of kids from Bumfuck, Wherever could've recorded this and with some better production. This goes on the shelf. 

http://weltenfeind.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTvzL9bOaYI

AZOTHYST - Blood of Dead God EP review

 

AZOTHYST - Blood of Dead God EP

Godz Ov War Productions

This EP originally came out last October on the Vault of Dried Bones label. I'll guess and say the good people (well they do put out evil sounding good music) at Godz Ov War Productions decided hey let's give it more exposure. Hmmm? 

Anyways this is the debut release by Canada's AZOTHYST. The band is a four piece act pushing back the extremities of blackend death metal. Yeah there's nothing new under the floor in the basement here. Musically this is a six song release. BUT two of the cuts are basically studio dungeon sounds. Both slightly over a minute cuts and would've been better as bookends.Not that I'm a fan of misused recorded time on a release.

Anyways AZOTHYST are generic purists sound-wise when it comes to blackened death metal. But they do it well. The riffs and rhythms are on par with a savage onslaught. "Eradication Altar" is definitely worthy of ripping heads off and shitting down necks. Their vocalist makes well with a haunting maul of a voice. But three good songs by these Canadians isn't enough. We need a full length.

http://godzovwar.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/blood-of-dead-god

TEMPLE OF DECAY - Rigor Mortis review

 

TEMPLE OF DECAY - Rigor Mortis

Godz Ov War Productions

Nothing like some new Polish blackened death metal on a sunny afternoon. Ah yeah and after giving this a spin the clouds came in and then a thunderstorm rolled through. Wow, kinda cool. So this is the debut album by this Polish one man band. The one man of course is Mortt who does everything. That's a gimme these days. 

Prior to this full length Mortt came out with the Last Manifestation of Life EP in 2020. That was a five song release which came out on the German label Wolfmond Production. I never heard it but now I wish I did and I just might. 

Now even though this is tagged as blackened death, to me it's pure black fuckin metal. The vocals are psychotic and the music is chaotic aka: Polish extreme metal at it's finest. First off I like how this release starts off. There's no subtle instro intro to lure you in. Just push play and hell is unleashed in your face. 

The vocals come off as mournful cries to agonized screams. They're also sung/screamed in his own language which of course adds to the creative quality. Musically you've got a good classic mixture of song structures that either push the thrash side or even melodic blackened template. 

The major keys to this album consists of amazing riffs which are aggressive and pummeling. And then there's the tremolo picked leads which come across as death by a thousand cuts. Mortt's drum work (or it could be computerized) works well in a basic sort of way. But the end result is still an amazing release from start to finish. And the ending happens to be a VENOM cover "Leave Me In Hell". 

http://godzovwar.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/rigor-mortis

WOMIT ANGEL - Sadopunk Finland review

 

WOMIT ANGEL - Sadopunk Finland

Godz Ov War Productions

Remember when you would buy an album or CD in a store and there would be a sticker on it saying "PLAY IT LOUD"? Well this release should have one. So if you haven't figured it out from the title of this release. WOMIT ANGEL hail from Finland. Now as far as the Sadopunk thing goes well yeah there's metallish punk grooves but for the most part these guys are blackened thrash. 

WOMIT ANGEL are not a new band. They started out back in 2010. Since then they've put out prior to this a bunch of demos, a couple of short form releases, a compilation album and four full lengths. And I'm just getting into them now? Fuck me running because this is some of the best stuff from the genre you'll hear today. 

So what you have here is a band pumping out, for the most part, some fuckin blistering riffs. The vocals are hellish as well as diabolical. And of course the rhythm section is a blackened force of speed to be reckoned with. The guitarist will toss in a dive bomb solo once in a while that will leave scars. 

Overall this is an amazing release. Ya know if it wasn't for bands from Europe or South America then the whole blackened thrash genre would suck. I'm from the states and for years now I've heard nothing good from my countryman. It's all generic and predictable crap all produced by the same guy. That's why this is a favorite album for me in 2022.

http://godzovwar.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/sadopunk-finland

THE SCUM - The Hunger review

 

THE SCUM - The Hunger

Wild Noise Productions

In all honesty everything about this release appeals to me. First off their name now for those of you who remember this blog was once called Scumfeast Metal. That was until some cocksucker doxxed me. But I digress. The album cover depicts a werewolf feasting on a victim. Well my name is Wolf. Finally they're Colombian death metal and it should be noted that some of the world's most extreme metal hails from the Southern continent. 

This is the second full length by THE SCUM who started out in 2013. Musically this band is not trying to break new ground with their brand of old school DM. More than likely they wanna bury you in the ground. Soundwise it's a combination of DISMEMBER, INCANTATION and NUNSLAUGHTER. Yeah their vocalist reminds me of Don of the Dead. 

The ten cuts on The Hunger pretty much run the gambit of OSDM. You've got the crunchy fast numbers paired with some slight death doom. The band has a touch of head banging groove. Plus once in a while there will be a solo that'll either dive bomb into your skull or break the punishment with some melody. The production here is on the raw side which it should be. All in all THE SCUM are cool as fuck.

https://wildnoiseprod.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://thescumband.bandcamp.com/album/the-hunger

SKUMSTRIKE - Deadly Intrusions review

 

SKUMSTRIKE - Deadly Intrusions 

Selfmadegod Records

The first time I checked out this release it was after a long hard night at work, three-thirty in the morning and I had a few beers in me. The sound coming out of the speakers had me thinking I'm not ready to deal with hell unleashed right then. Two days later I returned to this release in the afternoon and still I was like WTF?

Ya know for years I've mocked the whole modern scene of punk/hardcore because it's a fuckin joke. It started being a joke in the 1990's. So since then anything that had some excitement from that style usually came from bands that had some metal in their sound. So now it's 2022 and welcome in SKUMSTRIKE to the fold.

Here we have the debut full length by this two piece act from Quebec. Musically this is blackened speed metal, hardcore to the fuckin hilt. Imagine listening to HELLHAMMER on 78 speed. You push play on this release and the maelstrom is there to knock you on your ass. This is a far more dirty style than any blackened thrash act could muster. The band even covers a POISON IDEA cut, good stuff. 

https://selfmadegod.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://selfmadegod.bandcamp.com/album/deadly-intrusions