UPON THE ALTAR - Descendants of Evil review

 

UPON THE ALTAR - Descendants of Evil

Godz ov War Productions

OK so they're a blackened death metal three piece from Poland. This their second full length is called Descendants of Evil. And there's a black and white drawing of a hydra on the cover. So of course you want this one. If you saw this in a record store you would grab it. Of course you would. So can I just stop there? Well I guess not. 

So everything important which I previously mentioned is true. As far as this album goes it starts off as a face ripper with some decent intensity. Opener "Baneful Benediction" and the follow-up "Horror Vacui" just show that this band is fairly well versed in bestial blackened filth. But afterwards the sound structure of this release takes a down turn into the fuckin abyss. It's like the demons arise from the pit, reek havoc and then drag victims into the pit for torture. 

I give kudos to the guitarist who has to have been in some Grindcore / Death Grind band previously. I mean hey the band's from Poland one of the greatest Grindcore nations in the world. But anyways the playing style has a huge hint of grind especially on the solos. And has a nasty cold and cruel tone when it sinks to more icy but slithering blackened tones. 

Speaking of slithering there's the vocals which come across reptilian as hell. It's well fitting since the music constricts the listener. The drum work is adequate overall. But hey the bottom line is that you've got these three guys who are not wearing make-up or wearing costumes and are delivering an album of blackened death evil. Now nothing against the costumed reference. But hey look at these guys.

UPON THE ALTAR's second full length is a worthy standout in a genre full of average. Nuff Said.

https://dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/descendants-of-evil

INTOLERANCE - Waking Nightmares of an Endless Void review

 

INTOLERANCE - Waking Nightmares of an Endless Void

Godz ov War Productions

This is the second full length by this four piece Death Metal act from the great nation of Spain. Just for the record I thought their debut Dark Paths of Humanity from 2022 was amazing in my not so humble opinion. That release was great but this one is better which is what you want. Their debut showed they knew how to do the genre. On this latest full length INTOLERANCE kick in some charactor that takes em into a cool direction.

As I've always say I don't mind new bands doing the old school ways. But it's far better when the bands inject some personal original ideas into the tried and true genre. INTOLERANCE does that in some cool ways on this release. First off half of this album is some killer chugging riffage then the band kicks down into some death doom. But it's their interpretation which makes things exciting. 

Vocalist / Guitarist Pedro Moscatel comes across sounding like a fuckin neanderthal. Now nothing against neanderthals, I've worked with some. But it sounds like his vocal style has devolved since their debut album. Which is a good thing. I mean the lyric sheet should look like "howls, growls, screams and grunts" on some of these songs. 

Next up is the amazing guitar work by W. Now sure this guy knows him trudging riffs as well as ice pick to the face soloing. But better yet this guy those in some thick toned non extreme metal soloing. Dare I say the guy injects diabolical melody into the realm of dungeon lyre. Once again there's an original take. 

The rhythm section is dynamic. There's fine bass work by J but it's drummer Daniel Berges who shines not only in his classic drum style as far as DM goes. But the way he's so in sync with the guitar melodys. It just shows how close this band is with one another. 

In the end wow I could say a lot of things. Back in 1993 I'd hear something like this and go "This is great! I'm gonna go out and beat somebody up." Nowadays, at 61, it's more like "this is cool but I'll drink a few more beers, make something to eat and then go to bed." But I'll remember this one.    

http://godzovwar.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/waking-nightmares-of-an-endless-void

ADORIOR - Bleed on My Teeth review

 

ADORIOR - Bleed on My Teeth

Dark Descent Records

For those of you who don't know (and you probably don't). ADORIOR were a cool blackened death / thrash band from England back in the late 1990's. What was great about em, obviously their sound was cool as fuck, is that they had this female vocalist named Jaded Lungs (aka: Melissa Gray). Her vocals were filth ridden hate pure and simple. But it was her singing style as in cursing and just roaring in a harsh scream or spoken wording over the music which was unique. 

The band were sporadic when it came to putting stuff out. I have their two previous full lengths; Like Cutting the Sleeping from 1998 and Author of Incest from 2005. They do have handful of splits out but I'm waiting for the compilation. Be that as it may I'm guessing the reason they are sporadic on releases is that they care about perfection. 

As of now Jaded Lungs (aka: Melissa Gray) is the only original band member. Along for the ride you've got guitarists S. Assassinator (who joined the band in 2019) and RC (who joined in 2022 as a bassist but now plays guitar). The rhythm section is filled by GRAVE MIASMA members. On drums is D. Molestor who's been in the band since 2001. And you have bassist Tom McKenna who joined ADORIOR last year. 

So with this line-up Jaded Lungs (aka: Melissa Gray) has come away with an intense extreme metal release. Musically the song structures are all over the place when it comes to blackened death with plenty of thrash thrown in. This is extreme metal opera with dive bomb guitar soloing which slice through layers of flesh. There's a bounty of trudging riff styles. A handful of death influenced blackened blast beats. Welcome to controlled chaos via extreme fuckin metal.

The bottom line is that this is now my favorite ADORIOR full length and it took a while to get here. This is extreme metal insanity which will blow you away and demand multiple listens. I just love Jaded Lungs (aka: Melissa Gray) singing over deathly musical chaos. 

https://www.darkdescentrecords.com/shop/

LISTEN HERE:

https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/bleed-on-my-teeth

DEMON SPELL - Evil Nights EP review

 

DEMON SPELL - Evil Nights EP

Dying Victims Productions

Let me explain something to ya. Years ago when you had underground bands doing the whole classic heavy 80's metal revival thing. The singers of those bands would do the whole heavy metal scream style which was either an influence of Halford, Dickenson or somewhere in between. No one would ever touch King Diamond because well he's fuckin King Diamond. 

Now in the past decade because things have changed. These days you've got some great bands channeling old MERCYFUL FATE. For example you've got ATTIC from Germany, MIDNIGHT PRIEST from Portugal and now you have DEMON SPELL from Italy. I mean while listening to this I felt it was a MERCYFUL FATE demo. 

Now DEMON SPELL are a four piece act. Vocalist Federico Fano sounds like 80's era King Diamond. Guitarist Francesco Bauso is damm good with the catchy riff action. Plus the rhythm section of drummer Dario Casabona (this guy is damm good) and the bass thunder of Riccardo Liberti (this guy is also damm good) keep these songs interesting and powerful. 

When I first checked out this four song EP, the opening cut / title track didn't win me over all the way. But next up was "Black Wings" followed up by "Dark Deceiver (Woman of the black Oath)" and these two cuts are the best of the four. The last track "Evil Nights" is a decent rocker. But the two inbetween tracks rule the most. So this Italian band needs a full length. But until then this one rules!

https://dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE: 

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/evil-nights

PRIMITIVE WARFARE - Extinction Protocol review

 

PRIMITIVE WARFARE - Extinction Protocol

Godz ov War Productions

Hate is the handshake I give to the world. But hey I'm sure this band knows about that as well. Now I'm a Yankee living in North Carolina and has adopted Southern ways. This band here is from our Southern neighbors who are supposed to be nicer than us NC people. In other words holy fuckin crap this shit is insane. Welcome ladies & gentlemen, and you confused types, to South Carolina blackend brutal death metal. Yes their band name is all about what they represent plus more. 

Supposedly this was recorded at a bunker in an undisclosed location. Ah yeah right but hey look at this duo of chaos. Why are your faces covered?

Anyways this is the full length debut by this two piece act. I've seen plenty of two piece blackened death metal acts this year so here we have Jason Leach who contributes the drums and vocals. Also you've got Brian Parker who is responsible for the guitar riffage and vocals. Together this duo creates a predictable barrage of hate filled blackened death noise with some grindcore aesthetics thrown in for kicks. 

I would love to say this release adds up to a dozen similar acts I've heard this year. But no it's only been ten and there's still months to go. Be that as it is PRIMITIVE WARFARE are damm good at producing a sound that's all about ripping your head off and shitting down your neck. They are "Brootal" in every cliche way with eight cuts that'll kick your fuckin ass. 

You've got caustic screamed vocals which also transition into the genre centric beast sound. The riff work is savage to say the least. The drum work is full on grind and insane. I mean half of this album just blows me away with a huge smile or an evil smirk. I know it's 2024 and this has all been done before. But you blast this one and forget about all of those who done it previously. This release rules! 

http://godzovwar.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://primitivewarfare.bandcamp.com/album/extinction-protocol

SULLY - Self Titled review

 

SULLY - Self Titled 

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

If you're a young person than this album will take a few listens to get into. But for older grindcore heads it's fuckin music to our ears. As I always try to point out histirically Grindcore started out from the late 1980's Hardcore scene. Metal picked it up right afterwards. And they've done a great job of expanding the extreme nature of the genre world-wide. But as much as I like the metal era of the genre I always go back to the beginning as a fan. Now not all the way because most of these new punk/HC Grind revival bands blow. But some....  

SULLY, who hail from Rochester New York and have a bunch of music veterans, are doing their best to remember the late 80s / early 90s Grind. Basically you've got guitarist Erik Burke (who use to play in BRUTAL TRUTH for six years). On vocals there's Adam Frappolli who use to be in this Tech-Core band called PSYOPUS. Filling out the rhythm section is Alex Perez on drums and Ed Jusko playing bass. 

Musically SULLY come across fairly interesting as something guitarist Erik Burke knows too well. So basically we're looking at BRUTAL TRUTH - lite. Now I say that because I'm a BRUTAL TRUTH fan at least from the early days. The first time I saw em was in the mid ninties and there was like thirty people in the audience. The second time I saw em there were less then that. The last time I saw em Erik Burke was in the band and there's was at least a hundred people in the audience but at a hall that could fit three hundred. 

And I have to say that the BRUTAL TRUTH releases Erik Burke was playing on were not my faves. So be that as it may this is basically Erik Burke's solo thing. Honestly it's a cool release with twelve cuts that could've been heard on a BRUTAL TRUTH release. The guy has a perfect rhythm section that does an amazing job. The vocals are cool. But it's all about the song structures and that, along with the riff package, which makes this pretty cool. 

But honestly I'm not keen on the name SULLY. I mean it reminds me of a mechanic's name from the 1980's. for example "Hey Sully there's an extra ten in it for ya if the Buick passes inspection, if you know what I mean". Or "Hey Sully I need you to check out my brakes. I almost hit some cocksucker the other day." Or "Hey Sully my tranny is still fuckin up, like my o'l lady. Could you check it out or I'm going down to that (racial slur) place and give him my fuckin business." 

With all of that said I wanna hear their next album because this is a cool start heading in a good direction. SULLY are the future for any old BRUTAL TRUTH fan.

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

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

TYR - Battle Ballads review

 

TYR - Battle Ballads

Metal Blade Records

OK bias alert, I'm a huge fan of TYR. I first got into em in 2006 with their Ragnarok full length. From that point onward I was buying older releases while keeping up with their new ones. I saw em twice over a decade ago when the whole Pagan Metal thing was a trend as far as tours go. I stood around at one show and talked with Heri Joensen for close to an hour. We had an amazing conversation which I promised was not an interview. 

Fast forward a few years and it was in the second decade of the 2000s where TYR shed the cliche Viking Metal tag and went full blown amazing. Some people wanna call it Power Metal while others say Progressive Folk. All I know is when I listened to 2019's Hel full length the cliche stuff was far over. Heri Joensen was always pushing the band to this standard and it works. 

So here we have Battle Ballads the band's 9th full length. To me as a fan this is the epitome of standing in Valhala. Yes it's Power Metal out the wazoo with a battle ready hammer wielding warrior ready to fight for the cause. The guitar work on here is exceptional as well as the vocals. The song structures on a couple of tunes are folksy as hell and headbanging. 

I have to say TYR's live album, A Night at the Nordic House, from 2022 has been one of my fave releases from them as in I only listen to that one for a while. But this new one is a magnum opus. But Battle Ballads goes beyond what they've done before as being a magnificent piece of work incorporating the folk, the Viking influenced ballads and the aggressive nature. They've reached their mountain top.   

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

LISTEN HERE:

https://tyrband.bandcamp.com/album/battle-ballads

HUMAN INFECTION - Gravesight review

 

HUMAN INFECTION - Gravesight 

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

Here's another release that came out a few months ago which at first for some reason I wasn't into writing about. But going back to it I'm like holy shit this is cool. Now I'm wanna say this is a reissue because of the following. This album was originally recorded in 2017 but was de-laid and wasn't released until 2019. That was a self released CD by the band.This year Horror Pain Gore Death Productions decided to reissue it with extra tracks. So fuck it because it's new to me and it's damm good.

HUMAN INFECTION hail from Roanoke, Virginia and are old school death metal stalwarts. I've probably seen em at some Wednesday night show downtown years ago or the old local Death Fests (with 20 bands on the bill) back in 2010/2011 and I didn't get anything by em. The band started out in 2009 and has now three full lengths to their credit. Yep I probably missed em. 

Now there's plenty to like about this release by HUMAN INFECTION but I'll start with the over the top drum work by CJ Giles. This guy is a maniac behind the drum kit. And it's his musicianship that gives this band a different take on the old school style of the death metal genre. I'll go out on a limb and say they're a US version of VADER. 

HUMAN INFECTION has a lot more going for em along with drummer CJ Giles. But hey let's go for the combo of drum coordination with the riffs. And that brings in guitarist Andrew Mathews who rips out diabolical riffs all of the time. He does the dive bomb insane solos once in a while. But for me this is a riff master general. Whether it's head banging stuff or just mesmerizing riffs that have your mind saturated this guy does it.

Add to all of that you've got a evil bassist, Jeremiah Tuck, who joined a few years ago. The guy pushes the diabolical heaviness needed plus adds in some tech death bass leads which are cool. Finally there's vocalist Andrew Brown who has a maul baritone vocal as well as cool screams. 

In the end HUMAN INFECTION are like VADER meets CANNIBAL CORPSE in a back alley, has a fight and then decides to drink a few beers afterward. This is a great death metal album. 

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

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

DARKTHRONE – It Beckons Us All review

 

DARKTHRONE – It Beckons Us All

Peaceville Records

A few years back I said that DARKTHRONE's Astral  Fortress full length will be the last release I'll ever buy by em. I stuck with that promise because I'm streaming this new one for review. And hell yeah I'm saving money because this one blows as well as the last one. Now I say that because I've stuck with this Norwegian duo for so many years, great and not so good. 

DARKTHRONE's last great album is 2007's F.O.A.D. period end of story. They carried on with the whole blackened speed metal / hardcore thing for a while which was decent. But after that they went on this tangent of we're DARKTHRONE and we don't know where we're going but who cares? Which led us through a bunch of albums that were boring.

  

Nocturno Culto and Fenriz just go through the motions on here much like they've done on their past few albums. There's a couple of catchy tracks and then the rest is filler. I could put together a bunch of cool DARKTHRONE album tracks from 2013's The Underground Resistance to this new one and still not fill up a CD. 

DARKTHRONE have given their fans a big fuck you so I say let's give it back. Fuck You!

https://peaceville.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://peaceville.bandcamp.com/album/it-beckons-us-all

HACAVITZ - Muerte review

 

HACAVITZ - Muerte

Moribund Records

Just for the record HACAVITZ, a blackened death metal act from Mexico, are a band I learned about years ago from this label. Yeah I've got more Moribund Records releases then you've got (choose something stupid because I'm not in the mood). Now with that said the PR report on this release states that this is "the triumphant return of the #1 Hispanic Black / Death Metal band!!!" Well I wouldn't go that far.

HACAVITZ are/were a cool band to blast some Mexican blasphemy across borders. I thought their 2007 full length, Katun, was fuckin amazing. But everything since that one has been decent to say the least. You also have to remember that mainman Antimo Buonnano (vocals, guitars & bass) and Cesar Sanchez on drums have been the true creative duo over all of these years.

So with that said what we have here is the band's sixth full length. Their last one, Nex Nihil, came out in 2017. Now as far as this one goes Muerte does deliver on the band's past style of blackened fury, creepy late night atmosphere and thunderous riffs. Unfortunately the production on here is muted or better yet muddied. 

What made me a fan of HACAVITZ years ago was that their sound was raw with a devastating attack whether it was the the guitar riffs or the vocals. In other words it was alive and screamed in your fuckin face. To me I can hardly like this with it's muddled sound. I mean it's 2024 so you can have a decent sound while still being cool blackened something or other. 

In the end I'm not happy with this return.

https://www.moribundcult.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hacavitz.bandcamp.com/album/muerte

ORANGE GOBLIN - Science, Not Fiction review

 

ORANGE GOBLIN - Science, Not Fiction

Peaceville Records

England's ORANGE GOBLIN has come a long way from just being a "stoner rock" band. Now in all honesty my favorite album by em has always been their second full length Time Travelling Blues from 1998. I mean that's a stoner rock classic. But as time passed the band didn't play repeat with ever other album, like some of their peers, ahem? Instead ORANGE GOBLIN has been one of the few bands from that English Doom sub genre that actually showed progression as well as integrity with every new full length. That's why they can hold the sub genre close to their vest but then go crazy with it. 

Here we have the band's tenth full length since starting out back in 1997. Of course what makes things great is keeping a creative line-up together. And on here you still have original members Ben Ward on vocals, guitarist Joe Hoare and drummer Chris Turner. Their newest member is bassist Harry Armstrong who joined in 2021. With this line-up ORANGE GOBLIN has put out another damm good release. 

Musically this full length is a continuation of the band's sonic journey over the past decade. We;re not talking stoner generic doom. Instead yeah there's plenty of groove laden riffs but not in a peace love dope sense. It's more punch you in the face. Ben Ward still has that roaring baritone vocal. Joe Hoare still comes up with head banging & fist pumping riffs while also crawling into the psych landscape. To me the guy is one of the best guitarists in English doom.

Ya know when I first gave this latest album a listen I was like OK it's cool. Then I think it was a week later where I was playing some of their previous releases. I was getting hyped up on ORANGE GOBLIN's previous releases. So I listened to this one again a few times in a row. You could tell how the band took all of what they did previously and amp-ted it up a thousand fold. ORANGE GOBLIN ain't a stoner rock act. They're Hard Fuckin Rock and Metal. And they're one of the best out there.

https://peaceville.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://peaceville.bandcamp.com/album/science-not-fiction