ARES KINGDOM - In Darkness at Last review

 

ARES KINGDOM - In Darkness at Last

Nuclear War Now! Productions

OK so a little history for ya. Years ago I learned about a band called ORDER FROM CHAOS. They were this cool sounding blackened death metal act from Kansas City, Missouri. Unfortunately by the time I got two of their full lengths (An Ending in Fire from 1998 and Dawn Bringer from 1995) the band had broken up.

A few years later I learned that two members of ORDER FROM CHAOS (aka: guitarist Chuck Keller and drummer Mike Miller) started a new band called ARES KINGDOM. They enlisted Alex Blume (who also plays now in PERDITION TEMPLE) to sing and play bass. I got into them with their second album, Incendiary from 2010. And I immediately was a fan. We're talking insane sounding blackend death thrash to the fuckin hilt.

So after years of being a fan and buying their releases (full lengths and EPs) the band puts out By the Light of Their Destruction in 2019. Now in my not so humble opinion By the Light of Their Destruction was a tour de force of blackened death thrash. Think VENOM, ABSU and POSSESSED all rolled into one extreme bag. 

So here we are with their new album and is it better or at least equal to it's predecessor? Well this one is slightly better in a barbaric way of torture metal. All the cool stuff about their last release is taken a click higher. This trio is so meshed together they create an amazing sound. 

Chuck Keller puts out these psycho riffs as well as distorto solos. Mike Miller's drum work is relentless and at times he's the fucking lead sound amidst the riffs. Finally Alex Blume's bass lines bludgeon plus I think he's a great extreme metal vocalist. He's got this thick harsh scream / yell that reminds me of King from DECEASED. 

All in all In Darkness at Last is one of my favorite albums of 2022. This one gets ranked high. Even better is that I finally got to see ARES KINGDOM this year downtown with Italy's BULLDOZER. 

 

http://www.nwnprod.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://nuclearwarnowproductions.bandcamp.com/album/in-darkness-at-last

MARASMUS - Necrotic Overlord review

 

MARASMUS - Necrotic Overlord 

Transcending Obscurity Records

I'm sure people will debate this one but just for this moment's sake. Let's say death metal started thirty four years ago. So looking at the genre today I think it's obvious that death metal has reached it's boundaries. In fact it's been pressing against the walls for a while now. That's not a knock against the genre because I'm a fan. If you go beyond it's template then you're gonna dilute it which is what hiptards did with black metal for a while. 

So for us fans we're left to picking out what we like in the death metal genre because there's gonna be some generic stuff. Obviously if you're a fan of this blog (and obviously who isn't?). Then you know I'm a 100% OSDM fan. Following that I really like bands who can balance the genre's brutality with some precise technical excitement. MARASMUS is definitely the type of DM band that fits perfectly into that category.

Here we have the third full length by Kansas City, Missouri's MARASMUS. This is also their first release since 2015. It's also my first time hearing them, sorry about that. But anyways this band here reminds me of what Polish death metal acts have been doing for decades now. I'm not saying they're copying the Poles. Instead this band takes that ferocious attitude and technical prowess into themselves to create a powerful sounding release. 

The title cut on here speaks volumes to my point exactly. It's heavy sounding with jackhammer drum work, deep baritone like commanding vocals and of course riffs plus solos all over the place. That's what I want in modern death metal. The band also likes to fool you with some atmospheric touches then crashes through the walls to surprise the fuck out of ya. Check out "Voices of the Wailing Deceased" for a perfect example.  

Necrotic Overlord is overall an evil sounding piece of chaotic torment. The band throws so many twists at you that you need to repeat listen in order to recapture the surprise you were hit with. Midwest US death metal has a legacy. MARASMUS are the perfect band to hand the torch over to.

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://marasmusdeath.bandcamp.com/album/necrotic-overlord-death-metal

DEGRAVE - Self Titled review

DEGRAVE - Self Titled 

Self Released




A few weeks ago a kid at work was playing METALLICA. It was a couple of songs off of Ride the Lightning. He was also playing some other thrash acts of the past. I was like, "hey cool finally some decent music." Then the inevitable comeback ensues as in "Yeah I only like their first three albums and that's it." I wouldn't argue against that point. But there is something significant in that stance.


The original reign of thrash metal lived and died by it's own rules; aka: loud hard and fast. After four years that was about it. The bands moved on to explore other avenues or just called it quits. The thrash revival from a decade ago was shorter lived obviously since they were copying the past. Albeit some were not that bad at it and allowed for a few enjoyable moments.


And so here we are a decade later and I'm listening to the second album by DEGRAVE, a four piece thrash act from Jefferson City, Missouri. Well moreover I'm listening to a band highly influenced by MEGADETH and VOIVOD. Not an odd pairing of influences at all and obvious noticeable from their first song onward. Still as the release played out I have to say it never got boring. 


I give em credit for capturing the essence of their predecessors without wanting to turn them off and reaching for the original thing. The power components here are wild soloing, inventive song craft and basic thrash style riffs that are familiar. One cut even has a opening bass solo. The vocals have that early hardcore harshness sound to em. Yeah I bet their live shows involve a lot of slam pit action. Some big label should sign these guys. As far as that kid from work, well after the thrash he put on some rap so fuck him.


https://degrave.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/degravethrash/

DEGRAVE - Self Titled review

DEGRAVE - Self Titled 

Self Released




So if you are a friend of mine on Facebook, and you're probably not for good reasons, then you would know that I've been getting nostalgic in August for 80's era metal. In fact on one Wednesday after I posted a song from WASP a friend coined the term "WASP for WEDNESDAYS". That lead to me listening to their first two albums as well as their infamous first single. Ironically enough it's August and I'm listening this, a thrash revival act.


DEGRAVE hail from Jefferson City, Missouri a place I've never been to on all of my travels. It's the state's capital and is rumored to have a dive bar / club scene. After listening to this their second full length I'm guessing DEGRAVE has paid many dues in bars / clubs in their burg. The thing is do they realize the thrash revival (aka: new bands reprising carbon copy sounds from the past) is long over? Or hey maybe they just don't give a flying fuck?


OK so lets go for the obvious, do you still like old METALLICA, MEGADETH or early VOIVOD? Yeah I know, who doesn't? Well for old fuckers like me nostalgia is a good thing because back when it was all going on we were getting fucked up, thrashing in the pit and looking to get laid. Oh yeah and we listened to extreme music. But I sporadically delve into the past that's why I was a huge fan of the thrash revival years ago.
  

DEGRAVE might be eight years too late for that and their use of trigger drums is upsetting. Still when I listen to em I'm more impressed with their dedication to song craft. There's ten cuts on here and each one carries with it an approach that's part of reprising what one gets from opening a time capsule after decades. Hey lets do that too but lets do it as us in the now.


There's a hypocrisy going on in the mainstream metal media. Old school is cool if it applies to certain genres which are approved by the new school older hipsters (They're in their late thirties now which they consider to be old). A band like DEGRAVE, who do not hail from a "cool" burg, might not pass their muster. As for me well I will not be in the pit but if I were to be at one of this band's shows I'd be a guy in the back with the grey beard smiling. Yes this band is cool as fuck thrash.


https://www.degraveofficial.com/

https://degrave.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/degravethrash/