DEGRAVE - Volume review

 

DEGRAVE - Volume

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

For the past couple of decades metal bands have had an easier route to explore. If you want to, a band can pursue a genre style that has a huge ready made fanbase. Or you could include variety to your music and forge ahead. The latter path is the hardest and honestly half of the bands which do that make it. Unless twenty years later some label reissues their music and you get schmucks in music groups posting "Dude this band was under rated."

Which brings us to this four piece act hailing from Jefferson City, Missouri. This is the third full length from DEGRAVE who started out back in 2016. I actually learned about them in 2018 with their second album which was their self titled full length. At that time DEGRAVE were a full on thrash revival type band, think METALLICA and MEGADETH. They wore their influences on their sleeves as well as their music. But the bottom line, unless you're jaded, is that it sounded cool. 

Fast forward to today with this latest release and sure the tagline is still thrash but they sound much more than that. The influences they've taken on since I last heard em are still old school but into a different direction. Still there's plenty of props to give em because of respect. For starters DEGRAVE have the audacity to open off this release with a two and a half plus minute instrumental. I mean whatafuck is this 1987? I'll give em props for that. 

Second prop is calling your album Volume. Yes as ironic as it may be you have to blast this release. Yeah this band has balls for that one. But next up comes the wild part. Their vocalist has taken on a more caustic hardcore singing style. He now reminds me of Kurt from DRI. "Volume" is a great cut which is more amazing hellish metal than a tagline to a genre. And after that it gets all crazy.

DEGRAVE switch around from hardcore to thrash and toss in plenty of bass lines for pit action. The metal guitar soloing is a defining compromise to the competing styles. Add to that some death metal touches as well as proggy tech elements. For the most part this album comes across as a precursor to an amazing live set. I believe this is more in the vein of MUNICIPAL WASTE then MEGADETH.

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

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

MORDANT RHED - Fuck Your Feeble World EP review

 

MORDANT RHED - Fuck Your Feeble World EP

Self Released

In all honesty when I see a photo of a band wearing ski masks these days I think they're into terrorism or they're antifa (yeah same thing). Normally I just think "no thanks". But hey thankfully this band, who hail from the great state of Texas, are neither. 

MORDANT RHED are a four piece black metal act who started out a few years ago. To their credit they've put out an EP from 2018, Live at the Z Bar, and three releases in 2023. Prior to this four song EP the band released a four song demo in January, to which a couple of tracks are on this EP. Add to that there's the "15 Winters" single. Once again that song appears on this EP. So the bottom line is don't buy their back catalog because it's all on this release. 

Musically MORDANT RHED might be from Texas but sound like they're from mid 1990's Europe. The fun part is where. The vocals  have a combo of banshee screech and guttural vulgarity. The guitars have that typical old school pissed of hornet's sound. There's a bass player but he's keeping rhythm. And the drum work is blast beat basics. So actually this sounds kinda cool. 

I have no idea if this band wanted to sound like a 90's black metal band from parts overseas but they nail it. The production is actually cool as fuck. I feel like I'm writing about a European black metal demo in 1995 then from Texas 2023. What's really cool is that MORDANT RHED are not into homage. This is them and I like it a lot. 

LISTEN AND BUY HERE:

https://mordantrhed.bandcamp.com/album/f-ck-your-feeble-world-ep

CEMETERY URN - Suffer The Fallen review

 

CEMETERY URN - Suffer The Fallen

Hells Headbangers Records

I got into Australia's CEMETERY URN a few years back just because they had band members who were in BESTIAL WARLUST, HOBBS ANGEL OF DEATH and ABOMINATOR. I mean that's three aces of Australian extreme metal right there. The first album I heard by CEMETERY URN was their self titled album from 2017. That also came out on Hells Headbangers Records. 

Here we have the fifth full length by this old school death metal act and honestly I think it's their best. Since getting into em years ago I now have all of their releases. So what makes this their best is a masterful attack. First and foremost is that D. Bloodstorm (aka: Damon Burr) is back on vocals. This guy gives forth some of the best blast furnace vocals around in Australian extreme metal. 

Add to that the guitar duo work of Andrew Undertaker (aka: Andrew Gillon) and Dan Maccioni. We're talking about a riff package which is punishing with solos that dive bomb like lightning from the sky. The drum work from Brandon Gawith is savage as all hell. New bass player, Bo Remy, carries the weight.

The eight songs on here are a monstrous bunch of savage to have you sitting on a chair waiting for your execution. The album starts off subtle but ends in a ferocious maniacal way. This is punishing OSDM with a sadistic smile. Yeah it's their best album as well as bestial to the hilt. 

https://shop-hellsheadbangers.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://cemetery-urn.bandcamp.com/album/suffer-the-fallen

SAVAGE - Glory Riders review

 

SAVAGE - Glory Riders

Dying Victims Productions

You wanna talk about irony? I'm in this FB metal group (yeah I know, laugh if you want to) and last week we were discussing how metal in the 80's was pretty damm good overall as well as groundbreaking. Anyways here we have the debut full length from SAVAGE hailing from Germany. This band is a total throwback to the mid-80's metal era. 

This Bavarian act started out in 2019 as a three piece. Later on they added a rhythm guitarist and here they are today. Musically SAVAGE are more of a homage to that West Coast USA 80's era of metal. No they're not hair metal rock. To me this is in the vein of early WASP, minus the hits. Albeit there are some cuts on here which could've been 80's anthems. "Nightmare Invaders" could've been on the Nightmare on Elm Street 3 soundtrack. Add to that the title track "Glory Riders" is pure 80's heavy fuckin metal and pure WASP worship. 

Honestly this eight song LP doesn't have one bad track. I mean the sound and production oozes 1980's Sunset Strip style metal/hard rock. Pawel Nemkovic (vocalist/guitarist) sounds like a young Blackie Lawless. The riffs are rock solid on these songs. I was shocked that the song structures never really showed copycat appreciation or thievery. I mean the opening track, "Carcass on your Shoulders", obviously shows an influence but yet has a distinct original feel. 

In the end I can only say that SAVAGE are fuckin amazing. This is no STEEL PANTHER bullshit. There's no "lets shock the parents" shtick (aka: WASP's "Fuck Like A Beast"). Although their cut "Master Bator" might come as close as it gets and yeah it's a cool anthem track. But yeah SAVAGE fuckin rule! I want to see this band live. It's definitely one of the best albums of 2023.

https://dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/glory-riders

MAYHEM - Daemonic Rites Live album

 

MAYHEM - Daemonic Rites Live album

Century Media Records

Yes here we have another live MAYHEM record. This one was recorded during the band's Daemon World Tour. Just for the record I do think Daemon, which came out in 2019, is the best thing the band has done since De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas from 1994. 

The first half of their set is all newer songs. I think this shows how proud the band is of their new material to showcase it for half a set. And of course it's damm good. Not many bands who've been around this long would dare trying that. So hats off to MAYHEM for having some balls. 

The latter half is all old stuff which is in part expected and on the other hand a surprise. Of course I expect to here some De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas cuts like "Freezing Moon", "Pagan Fears", "Life Eternal" and "Buried by Time and Dust". Personally I'd like to have heard the title cut from that album. But that was on their last live album. 

What comes next is a surprise since the next bunch of cuts are all pre-Attila Csihar vocals era. I'm talking about "Deathcrush", "Chainsaw Gutsfuck" "Carnage" and "Pure Fucking Armageddon". Yeah to me this is a "Whoa, Holy Shit" moment. It was great to see MAYHEM going into a deep past dive for cuts which the Maniac era use to do.

As far as the band's performance goes Attila Csihar, after all of these years, sounds like a maniac whether it's his tried and true grim goblin singing style or the fuckin hellish screaming. When the De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas cuts are played you can actually hear the bass lines, this time provided by Necrobutcher. Of course Hellhammer is the greatest black metal drummer of all time. But guitarists Teloch and Ghul nail the MAYHEM sound to perfection. 

The only problem I have with this release is that it's not a document of a show. The first two official MAYHEM live albums, I also have some bootlegs, were documents of those shows with banter inbetween songs. This one is simply songs we played live on that tour. Be that as it may I'm a MAYHEM fan so I like it, to  point.

https://www.centurymedia.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS3M3XWHlXU&list=PLvsYXqtYjMYeo3UQ04R0kI1YG2G6QtgbM&index=2

FARSCAPE - Purged and Forgotten review

 

FARSCAPE - Purged and Forgotten

Dying Victims Productions

I've got a WHIPSTRIKER release from a few years back which came out on Hells Headbangers Records. It's a damm good speed metal release. WHIPSTRIKER (aka: Victor Vasconcellos) already had a long standing band with FARSCAPE as their bass player but I never got into em until recently. So hailing from Brazil here we have FARSCAPE a four piece band which started out back in 1998. Albeit their first demo came out 2001.   

So after giving this their fourth full length plenty of listens I'm like hell yeah this is cool. Welcome back to the primitive days of thrash with pissed off beehive sounding guitar tones and riffs that are part first wave black metal and Teutonic thrash. Add to that some melodies that are a surprise value in between the violent song structures. Take your pick of each of these seven cuts and you'll be shocked, shocked I say, on how this release is a sick throwback to the cool old days. 

I mean the vocals are sick sounding. The solos are primitive as in a fuck you sense. This all comes across as something which could've came out in 1988 as a demo. Strangely enough there's a punk vibe going on here which I like a lot. This band's music would easily start a slam pit. In the end I have to say this is cool.

https://dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE: 

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/purged-and-forgotten

BOTTOMLESS - The Banishing review

 

BOTTOMLESS - The Banishing

Dying Victims Productions

Yes I am a Doom afficinado so when I first heard this second release by BOTTOMLESS I was like yeah they're from Italy and may have grown up watching a few Mario Bava films. Be that as it may BOTTOMLESS are a three piece act who are all about remembering the past. This is doom which has a real touch of 70's hard rock. I mean their song "By The Sword Of The Archangel" would've fit easily on SABBATH's Technical Ecstacy. 

But there's more and not so much to what BOTTOMLESS does on here. "Illusion Sun" sounds like US doom from the midwest. Their first couple of cuts come across as a light hearted approach to  PENTAGRAM. It's definitely catchy especially the opening cut "Let Them Burn". It's likeable to a point. They're definitely a band I'd love to see live. I'll predict that their third album is gonna be a blast. 

https://dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/the-banishing

VENGEANCE - Sewer Surge review

 

VENGEANCE - Sewer Surge

Dying Victims Productions

Here's a band I'd love to see live in a small local venue for a variety of reasons. First off they remind me of a past when you'd have some bands with a sound that could appeal to many people. VENGEANCE have a sound that mixes speed metal, 80's hardcore as well as some NWOBHM sounds. I mean what's not to like about that?

Sound-wise this, their debut album, almost sounds like it was recorded live in the studio or a club. I mean it is a raw sounding recording. And ya know I like it for one obvious reason. I'm old and kinda sick of hearing slick sounding over produced thrash. Seriously I love going back in time to hear amazing music. It makes me feel younger.

Hats off always to Dying Victims Productions who specialize in showcasing the raw talent of bands like Poland's VENGEANCE. From start to finish on this eight song full length. The vocals are punk fuckin rock, most of the cuts are a blitz of NWOBHM rockin stuff with great guitar interplay. Hell this band must like England's RAVEN a bit as well as Canada's RAZOR and maybe England's ANGELIC UPSTARTS. 

Either way band's like Poland’s VENGEANCE (their also known as FUKKIN VENGEANCE, how cool is that) should be a linchpin to us older fucks but also the new school crowd. When I listen to this album I think "Seize the Day". This is music to blast in the morning after you wake up, take a shit, grab some coffee and rock the fuck out.  

https://dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/sewer-surge

INCANTATION - Unholy Deification review

 

INCANTATION - Unholy Deification

Relapse Records

So it was about a month ago when I watched a podcast / interview with John McEntee (guitars & vocals) and Kyle Severn (drums) discussing how this their new full length was a concept album. Of course the question came up on how fans would react to it. Well as a long time fan of INCANTATION I'm here to say yeah it's great and then there's a "but" involved which I'll get into later. 

Musically this is one of the most fiercest and profound sounding releases INCANTATION has ever done. Hey look I'm a fan and have everything by em. But this release is not a bunch of death metal songs to rip your head off and doom stuff to shit down your neck. This is a death metal opera. It's a composition with death doom peaks and valleys. 

First off on this release John McEntee has some of the best vocals he's ever done. His voice is a maul from a blast furnace beast howling and cursing. The riffs and song structures performed are a combination of blatant torture and more bludgeoning torture because you want it more dammit. And of course there's the blackend atmosphere with chaotic guitar solos diving in. 

Kyle Severn, his drum work on here is beyond magnificent on here. His combo work with the riffs is excellent. All in all this release is a masterpiece in death metal. There are no cool songs to jump on. You listen to this from beginning to end because it's a full on piece with punishing twists and crunchy doom lurches. Add to that atmospheric breaks. 

Which brings me to the "buts". I'm sure there will be some who'll not get into this because it's a fuckin death metal opus performed by one of the greatest USDM bands of all time. There's no catchy songs that'll draw you in. So you'll have to (choose one) drop the needle, push play or do whatever you do on your fuckin phone and listen to it from beginning to end. Enjoy the greatness because that's what you got here.  

https://www.relapse.com/

LISTEN HERE: 

https://incantation666.bandcamp.com/album/unholy-deification

CANNIBAL CORPSE - Chaos Horrific review

 

CANNIBAL CORPSE - Chaos Horrific

Metal Blade Records

CANNIBAL CORPSE, where do I start? OK so I liked everything they did aka: the early albums with Chris Barnes on vocals and then the first couple of releases with George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher singing for em. But for me their Gore Obsessed album from 2002 was when I got bored. But hey I'm a fan so I kept on buying. Now sure they put some albums with a few killer cuts but not enough for me to call em great. 

But then in 2017 they put out Red Before Black and that was a kick ass album. CANNIBAL CORPSE were back but with a slight technical approach plus the riffs crushed and Corpsegrinder's vocals just hit you in the chest as a force to be recconed with. In 2021 they put out Violence Unimagined which in my not so humble opinion was the best thing they've done in a long time. How could they beat that one?

Chaos Horrific does just that. You've got ten cuts that are part an artillery barrage of destruction. Add to that the most killing Erik Rutan style soloing posible. Corpsegrider's vocals are punishing. The riffs on here are on fire. The rhythm section is on par with a mortar battalion sending rounds down range to kill em all. This is face ripping, head banging shit and the apocalypse is coming. 

Who would've thought that in 2023 CANNIBAL CORPSE would put out one of the most ferocious and greatest death metal albums of the year. Hmmm? Ah yeah.

https://www.metalblade.com/us/

LISTEN HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq4ePAHTsrA

BLOOD CEREMONY - The Old Ways Remain review

 

BLOOD CEREMONY - The Old Ways Remain

Rise Above Records

After a seven year hiatus Canada's BLOOD CEREMONY return with their fifth full length since starting out in the late 2000's. Now in all honesty I am a fan of their first three albums. The band were part of that whole occult retro doom trend (that never existed in the 70's at all) from a decade or so ago. They basically took a touch of 70's hard rock, added in some psych as well as folk melodies and took off.

The game changer was Alia O'Brien's amazing wispy, sultry, bluesy vocals. Toss in her use of keyboards and the flute. It was some damm good sounding music at a time when we needed a break from the norm. But of course you had to listen to it with open and experienced ears. The comparisons to SABBATH meets JETHRO TULL as a way to describe em were all over the place. I must admit that every time I listen to BLOOD CEREMONY I wanna pull out JETHRO TULL's Stand Up album. Which is a more hard rock / blues sounding album then Prog. 

Now as far as their last one goes, 2016's Lord of Misrule, was a decent release if you put aside the fact that they pretty much ripped off a lot of riffs and melodies from PINK FLOYD, The BEATLES, SABBATH and some one hit wonders from the past. Hey you can fool those ignorant hipster clowns. But I grew up back then and remember stuff. So when I listen to this one it's more about who are they ripping off then how good the song sounds. 

So with that said, after listening to this new one I can say they got the title correct. The Old Ways Remain is a throwback to this band's early days to a point. There's some great songs and a few stinkers. Now the good stuff features the cool riffs by Sean Kennedy who's been the iron man behind this band since inception. Yes good riffs and solos reminiscent of the past that are never over indulgent. Opener "The Hellfire Club" and "Ipsissimus" are impressive. The third cut "Eugenie" actually reminded me of 70's era TRAFFIC with it's R&B beat plus that Hammond organ run with the saxophone solo by guest Joseph Shabason. Of course Alia O'Brien's flute work is key to the opening to the song she does give way to everyone else in the end. 

"Lolly Willows" is a decent melodic rocker cut with a cool guitar / drum interplay reminiscent of SABBATH and JETHRO TULL. From this point on as far as this release goes it's hit or miss. The band ventures more into wannabe Prog territory on this album's second half and it's not well done. The bottom line is that this album is packed with good stuff on the front end. The latter half is boring to me. Nuff Said.

https://riseaboverecords.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltFmQqmi4PE&list=PLQzhhluNlimr66my6CO9_9NkhwX9X-os2