IMPERISHABLE - The Perennial Desire review

 

IMPERISHABLE - The Perennial Desire

Hammerheart Records

Swedish Death Metal, yeah some of you fans out their clutch the originals of the trident (and maybe two others) as if they were your first born's protecting them from the outside rigors. and you know what that's fine. But for me I realize that some of those bands are GONE. Sure there's a few who made it good in the 2000's but honestly they're not their former selves. And that's why I embrace the new comers. 

Here we have the debut album by IMPERISHABLE a new band with seasoned musicians from the Swedish extreme metal scene. I mean three of the band members here where in the band INVERTED CROSS which was an act that was part of the whole old school DM revival in Sweden a decade ago. I have the INVERTED CROSS "Summoning the Dead" cassette from 2012 (of course I do). But IMPERISHABLE is a step up from just reviving the past. 

The Perennial Desire is not a rehash of the past by the numbers. Instead it's a cacophony of greatness with Swedish DM that touches on the blackened elements, the cool melodic touches as well as the brutal crunch sounds. I mean it's a great fuckin release. The opening cut "Venomous" sets the stage as to what will follow. We're talking savage heavy Boss HM pedal riffs with a savage vocal delivery and added melodic fluid guitar soloing. 

This all follows through on songs like "Infernal Lust" and  "The Perennial Desire". Afterwards it's all a mix of blackened death fierceness and ferocity with some melodic breaks. All in all I love it all. Give me something to look into the abyss with and this album rocks enough for ammunition.

https://www.hammerheart.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hammerheart.bandcamp.com/album/come-sweet-death

LYCANTHROPHY - On The Verge Of Apocalypse review

 

LYCANTHROPHY - On The Verge Of Apocalypse

Horror Pain Gore Death

For those of you in Europe or maybe Euro grindcore aficionados here in the states the name LYCANTHROPHY is probably old hat. But for those of you who are not then here ya go This band from the Czech Republic started out way back in 1998. Prior to this one here the band has released to prior full lengths. But throughout their career the band is known for releasing split releases. And they do have a shit load of em. 

I learned about LYCANTHROPHY about five years ago when I by chance got a copy of their self titled full length from 2010 which was reissued in 2018. Just for the record it's the only release I have of there's. Be that as it may I kinda liked what they had done. Musically they're old school grind leaning more to the punk/hardcore scene than metal. In fact I'll bet they think NAPALM DEATH are corporate sell-outs. Well maybe?

Their shtick is songs that are a short sharp shock to your cranium. I'm talking fast like a cheetah late for supper. I'm talking stop / start drumming and song structures, a lot of blast beats and no guitar soloing. Another claim to fame is their duel male / female vocal attack which is definitely a throwback to late 80's / early 90's political punk/HC acts. 

So about half way through listening to this their latest full length I'm wondering that there's something different going on vocally. I'll get to that in a moment but first. Musically this album is like a mile ahead of what was on their self titled full length. Dare I say the band has embraced metal and joined the ranks of their Eastern European peers? Sound-wise this is far more heavy and brutal sounding. 

As far as the vocals go yeah there's still two people sharing the mic. One person is clearly deep brutal DM and violent shouted vocals while the other is full on shrieking. So whatafuck happened to Zdisha? I'm mean sure it's been a while but it sure doesn't sound like her singing (oops I mean screaming) on here. Be that as it may On The Verge Of Apocalypse is still a fucking amazing grindcore release. 

I mean by the fourth time this was blasting through my speakers I felt like I was going through a change. I wanted to be in the audience of a show by LYCANTHROPHY. I saw myself slam dancing throughout their performance. Drinking copious amounts of beer and afterwards going out to smash the elitist political bullshit state. Then waking up in the morning with torn up clothes, covered in blood, hungover as dogshit and having a Lon Chaney Jr. moment. Hmmm, must have been a full moon last night.

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/on-the-verge-of-apocalypse

ENFORCER - Nostalgia review

 

ENFORCER - Nostalgia

Nuclear Blast

I became a fan of ENFORCER back in 2007 with their two tracks on the Speed Kills Again comp CD on Heavy Artillery Records. I got their debut full length Into the Night a year later and sometime after that I saw them live. It was ENFORCER and this Canadian band playing a local bar. The place was called The Dive Bar and if 60 people where inside it was overcrowded. But the ENFORCER show was fuckin amazing. 

Of course your's truly was amazed so I've bought every full length these Swedes have put out since then. I'll be the first to admit I'm surprised that ENFORCER are still the only successful band left from the late 2000's who kicked the whole retro NWOBHM thing going. Add to that they're still on Nuclear Blast Records. And of course every album after Diamonds from 2010 followed a formula. Albeit I will say their last full length, Zenith from 2019, was a let down. 

Be that as it may I checked out Nostalgia as a new way to look at ENFORCER and I'm happy for it. This album rips of course after a boring opener instro. "Coming Alive" is a ripper! "Heartbeats" is a classic 80's Metal radio blaster (think DEF LEPPARD). Yeah most of this album is filled with cool fuckin fluid guitar solos. Sonic screams from Olof Wikstrand are just cool as fuck for this old metal head. 

Yeah Nostalgia is a return to form for these Swedes. If you thought that their last album, Zenith, was a bad experiment in glam rock and walked away. Well come on back.

https://www.nuclearblast.com/eu/

LISTEN HERE:

https://enforcer.bandcamp.com/album/nostalgia

TO DESCEND - Mindless Birth EP review

 

TO DESCEND - Mindless Birth EP

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

And yet another Rogga Johansson, the most prolific death metal artist in Sweden, side project. So regular readers of this blog, and frankly who isn't, will know I'm probably the biggest Rogga Johansson fan here in the states. It all goes back to hearing PAGANIZER's Scandinavian Warmachine from 2009. To me Rogga just keeps the Swede Death fun alive and he's willing to switch things up once in a while. 

Case in point here we have the third release by this Rogga project. The first was a short four song EP, People of the Abyssfrom, from 2018. After that we got a full length in 2021 titled Exorcism of Hope. Both of those releases are decent but I really like this new five song EP. I mean musically this one has a rougher sound. A meatier production that's old school Swede Death with a punch to the face. 

Of course Rogga delivers the riffs but then again he's always better settled when recording with familiar musicians. On here he's got guitarist Dennis Blomberg again laying down fierce lead work. Blomberg worked with Rogga in PAGANIZER and DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN. Also along for the ride are bassist Peter Svensson and drummer Marcus Rosenqvist. Both of whom also play in a host of other bands. Finally there's singer Jens Johansson who lays down some amazing barked vocals.

All in all and like I said earlier, this is better than the band's previous releases. We're talking about savage sounding old school Swedish DM with a touch of filth that could easily bring back the fans of old and should. Nuff Said.

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE: 

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/mindless-birth

WORLD EATER - An Insidious Remedy review

 

WORLD EATER -  An Insidious Remedy 

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

So here we have a death metal band who hail from my birthplace, New Jersey. Along with being born there I spent my first thirteen years of life in that state. I was also the only 11 year old kid in school in 1974 who listened to BLACK SABBATH as well as some other heavy hard fuckin rock bands from back then. 

Be that as it may I'm always willing to give some love to a Jersey band as long as their good. So this is the debut full length by WORLD EATER who are a five piece act. To be honest it took a few listens to appreciate this band. Nothing against them of course. Of late I've just been bored with a lot of newer releases this year. So I've been listening to plenty of older stuff. 

But the second time I played this the band's music got a hold of me and of course by the third time it won me over. WORLD EATER (by the way great band name) are obviously old school death metal influenced to the hilt. They're not going to rip your face off or drag you down into the basement for the torture treatment. Basically this band has put together an album that's good.

Let me put it in context some of you readers might understand better. So you go to the club to see a show. You're there for the headliner but the opener, or second band on the bill, sounds kinda cool. By the end of their set you're thinking yeah I'm headed to their merch table to buy a release and a fuckin t-shirt. Well that's what listening to WORLD EATER reminds me of. Trust me on that one. I've got a ton of CDs and vinyl by bands who I didn't know anything about at first. Some went on to greatness and some of did not. 

 

Musically WORLD EATER are all about death doom but not in the traditional New York / New Jersey DM style. This is not MORTICIAN or early INCANTATION worship. The band utilizes a crushing atmospheric of DM sound which not only envelopes but drowns you. The vocals are bear like roars of pain, agony and defiance. Add to that there some harsh blackened shrieks. There's uplifting thrash influenced melodies within the overwhelming bludgeoning of riffs. 

In the end this one is pretty cool especially for a late night having a few beers type of release. WORLD EATER are just one of those bands who remind ya of great things from the past but put forth in a modern texture with plenty of conviction. I hope they get known by more than just their local Northeast fans.

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/an-insidious-remedy

EDKH - Conspirashit review

 

EDKH - Conspirashit

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

So a little history for ya. Back in the late 80's the hardcore music scene broke up into genre specific styles much like we talk about in metal today. Some bands because of their political/social reasons decided to call themselves one thing while others just did songs about reality or fun. As the years moved on a metal influence got involved. You had some that metal core stuff, speed metal and the beginning of grindcore. 

While listening to this debut album by EDKH I thought this totally reminds me of the beginning of early grindcore. Although the influence varies from song to song. Basically it's old school hardcore infused with some grind. Most vocals come across with harsh serpentine singing. The seven cuts are smothered in speedy riffs and some quality non hardcore drum work. 

Quality stuff here then again I can't help but like a band that makes fun of Hillary and likes wrestling.

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/conspirashit

ALL HELL - All Hail the Night EP review

 

ALL HELL - All Hail the Night EP

Terminus Hate City Records

It's always good to see a local band do well especially one I've followed for a while. ALL HELL are a three piece blackened speed metal / black n roll act from the western part of my home state of North Carolina. If you're into bands like MIDNIGHT, HOT GRAVES or TOXIC HOLOCAUST then their music is definitely up your alley. ALL HELL have been around for a decade now and have four full length releases to their credit. I highly recommend you check out their 2017 release The Grave Alchemist as well as 2019's The Witch's Grail. 

There's only been one change to the band since I last heard em. That would be the new addition of Cameron Micham on drums. Cameron also played in a local blackened thrash band from my town called SUPPRESSIVE FIRE from 2017 to 2019. ALL HELL is still helmed by Jacob Curwen (vocals/guitar) and Erik Ballantyne on bass. Since I'm a fan (yeah bias alert) this new one has some cool highlights.

All Hail the Night is a six track EP. Three cuts are new and the other three are re-makes of songs from their debut full length The Devil's Work. As far as the new songs go the opener "Black Leather Wings" includes a guest solo and additional vocals by guitarist Nate Garnette of SKELETONWITCH. There's a band name I haven't heard in a while. The next two cut's; "Neon Babylon" and "Let the Night Run Red" are standard fair for the band. I think "Let the Night Run Red" is the better of the three. 

As far as the re-done cuts aka: "Suffer for Me", "Breaker" and "Devilwolf" go. Jacob Curwen adds better blackened serpentine style vocals. The riffs and bass work are the same as the originals. But you can feel that the drum work is better recorded. All in all I like it and I'm looking forward to what comes next. I always thought ALL HELL were one of those bands that should've, could've been better known to fans of blackened speed metal, black n roll, etc. I'm still hoping. I'm also seeing em in Aug.

https://www.terminushatecity.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://allhell.bandcamp.com/album/all-hail-the-night