GRIM LEGION - Harbingers of Death review

 

GRIM LEGION - Harbingers of Death

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

If you're gonna play Extreme Metal than the opening assault of your release must be devastating. If ya wanna slow it down later on that's fine. But I come from a military background and as an expert in ambushes you just want to start by an explosion to fuck their asses up. Then follow with sustained fire into the kill zone. After that run across the field and make sure no one is living.

I look at a Death Metal release the same way and what we have here is pretty cool. The cover art on this release is damm good. Musically it's Old School Death Metal / Death Doom. If I was gonna name drop hell it's Sweden's GRAVE meets USA's INCANTATION. But of course we have to look who is in this band to get a better picture. 

GRIM LEGION is a five piece act from the great state of New Jersey. I can say that because I was born and lived there till 1976. Both guitarists of this band are also in EVOKEN as in John Paradiso and Randy Cavanaugh. The other band members are drummer Ryan Donato, bassist Markus Misery and damm good Death Metal vocalist Devlin Bane (aka: Carmine Vincent Matteliano).

Originally GRIM LEGION started out in 1988 and called it a day by 1991. To their record they did produce three demos. In 2011 the band reformed and eventually released a debut full length, Unholy Resurrection, in 2014 and also on this label. Fast forward to now and yeah if you're into the whole old school formula of Death Metal and some Death Doom then you'll like this one a lot. It's a punishing MFer, Nuff Said!

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/harbingers-of-death

ORGAN DEALER - Visceral Infection Reissue review

 

ORGAN DEALER - Visceral Infection Reissue

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

When it comes to Extreme Metal I not only believe in second chances and sometimes thirds. I also believe they're extremely necessary. I say that because of the fact that bands can release all of the stuff they want. But if there's no real promotion behind what they do, no good reviews or no scene trend that garners interest. Then some bands get lost in the whole scheme of things.

With all of that said here we have a Grindcore band from New Jersey, the place I was born in and raised up to my teens. That was a long time ago. But ORGAN DEALER is a band who came out at a time, in 2013, which was post all of the hipster bullshit into Grindcore. I mean as a fan of Grind this their debut album, Visceral Infection, from 2015 was a refresher course into real fuckin Grind. 

I know some purists will say "well I hear some Death Metal influence". Well OK fine but don't be an A-Hole about it. I mean you've got the savage vocals by a guy who sounds like he's being tortured by the Spanish Inquisition at some point. At other times it's a complete revolt against everything. The drum work is absolutely amazing. The song structures are chaotic. The guitar work is fucking amazing as well as chaotic. It's not mind blowing Grind but it's damm good.

I mean this came out in 2015 and here's your chance to get it again. I took the deep dive and looked up Best Grindcore albums of 2015. This wasn't even listed and the ones that were? Well I did own one from a famous UK Grindcore band and I sold it because it was boring. So there you go. If you're a Grind-head then this fucking reissue by ORGAN DEALER is mandatory.

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/visceral-infection-lp

MORTAL DECAY - Sickening Erotic Fanaticism Reissue

 

MORTAL DECAY - Sickening Erotic Fanaticism Reissue

Hells Headbangers Records

Well here we have another unholy grail from the past finally getting a decent reissue treatment and it's put out on vinyl. This is MORTAL DECAY's debut full length which originally came out in 1997 on Pulverizer Records on CD. Ah yeah his is definitely something which needed a damm good reissue for a long ass time. It would be nice if there was a CD reissue as well. 

For those of you who don't know, MORTAL DECAY were (well they're still around) a brutal / evil sounding Death Metal act from New Jersey in the 1990s. Their original claim to fame is really the first three demos the band put out from 1992 to 1995. I doubt it's still available now but years ago the band put out A Gathering of Human Artifacts which was all three demos on CD. That's a must have and also needs a reissue. 

But MORTAL DECAY's debut full length was different from their demos because the band brought in a new singer in Kelly Izquierdo. What's funny is their original vocalist John Paoline rejoined the band later on. And the band's last full length The Blueprint for Blood Spatter came out in 2013 on Comatose Music. By this time dear fuckin reader you're obviously realizing that I am a fan. 

So let me explain, back in the day MORTAL DECAY where contemporaries of the other New York City / New Jersey Death Metal scene bands. While a few of them were already signed to major labels. MORTAL DECAY relied on word of mouth advertising and tape trading. I mean these guys played shows with the well known bands but never got their due respect. 

But musically MORTAL DECAY were brutal and technical but down right fuckin evil sounding. I mean the stuff you hear today as far as Brutal Tech Death really pails in comparison. In fact even to their DM scene contemporaries at that time, late 1990's, I think these guys were far more interesting and evil sounding. Yeah this is a must have. 

https://shop-hellsheadbangers.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://mortaldecay.bandcamp.com/album/sickening-erotic-fanaticism

REPLICANT - Infinite Mortality review

 

REPLICANT - Infinite Mortality

Transcending Obscurity Records

While listening to this New Jersey band's third album I couldn't help but think how some of these cuts would've made a great soundtrack to a 2023 year in review video. I mean this is what you get with dissonant death metal. No matter the lyrics you'll hear music with sounds reminding you of other things on your mind. Yes current events are troublesome but when amplified by a three piece death metal band it can get worse.

For example the trudging riffs remind you of the sounds of mechanized military war machines. Add to that the concussive percussion and dive bomb solos comes across like artillery blasts. Then again we are a world at war. The angry vocals or those wails of pain remind one of the turmoil we face in the wars over culture and politics. You'll have one side screaming at one another. While on the other side it's people screaming to just stop and leave us alone. Then when the band dials down to some death doom atmospherics just wait till you feel the walls are closing in on you. 

Yeah music like this gives you plenty to ponder but then that's what REPLICANT is all about. I learned that a few years back when I heard their second album, Malignant Reality, which came out in 2021 and also on Transcending Obscurity Records. What they did on that record was definitely interesting as well as memorable (more like nightmarish). On this latest one they've taken their formula and pushed it further into the diabolical abyss of one's imagination. But before I go on about their formula there's a reassessment I need to make since last time around.

If you live by an ocean then you'll understand. You ever stand on a shore line and look out to the sea to view some rock formation at low tide. Then when the tide comes in those rocks are covered from view. To me that's what this whole Avant-garde tech death metal scene has become over the past few years. So as much as I'd like what REPLICANT is doing on here. In a short while they'll be a few more coming in with the tide. And nothing against Transcending Obscurity Records but they do have a roster full of bands doing the same thing. There's another label who I won't mention but I use to love until almost every release they've put out in the past two years sounds like the same band.

But hey to give REPLICANT their due on here they're still a tech death band that doesn't drive me into an ADD frenzy (says the guy who loves grindcore). Infinite Mortality is like staring into a vortex but instead of being greeted by brutality it's more comforting. Instead of a reached out hand it's still a horned fist but you're like cool I'll come in. Then comes the punishment of riff variety, a background of atmospheric lead work as well as dive bomb solos. Add to that the various vocal styling between pain, more pain, absolute misery and gutt-wrenching anger. Yeah it's like watching the news albeit comforting.

Every night when I get off of work. I sit down at the bar with one of my co-worker friends. We drink a beer or two (or three) and talk about the shift, the next day's worth of bullshit and laugh. While this is going on the bartender is playing horrible fuckin music. That's when I look at my friend and say "this is why I go home and listen to death metal." Tonight I came home and listened to REPLICANT's Infinite Mortality for the tenth time and the year is looking good for Death Metal until.......

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://replicantband.bandcamp.com/album/infinite-mortality

CHAINED TO THE DEAD - Discography of Debauchery

 

CHAINED TO THE DEAD - Discography of Debauchery

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

I was born and raised in New Jersey. I grew up in Fairview, NJ in the 70s and back then if I met someone from Passaic I'd tell them I'm sorry. Yeah back then the town of Passaic was a shithole along with plenty of other places in East Jersey. So when my family split up in the late summer of 1976 I was moved to Pennsylvania and never saw Jersey again except for holiday visits. 

So here we have a band from Passaic, New Jersey. I would figure that Passaic, along with plenty of other East Jersey towns, would be fuckin gentrified as well. But hey DEATH came from the Sunshine state of Florida so go figure. This is my first time hearing New Jersey's CHAINED TO THE DEAD. Who are a death metal band. And it makes me wonder whatafuck is going on in Passaic?

Be that as it may what we have here is a compilation of the band's whole musical out-put since starting in 2014. Yep this release has every thing released by the band as far as short form releases, full lengths and previously unreleased live tracks. Musically it's death metal with a foot in old school territory. While the other foot stands in almost screamo / brutal death metal territory plus death grind and death doom. 

Musically when I say old school we're talking slightly above DEATH demo days. The riffage is about as basic as you can get. The bass exists if you listen really hard. The drum work is decent, plenty of blast beats. For me the vocals are the most interesting. This guy has a caustic pitch to his singing style which comes across as someone being slashed with razor blades. 

This compilation is 27 tracks in all and they're not all short cuts. On average most of the songs are two plus minutes or more in length. Just for the record this comp contains the band's first EP Born To Rot from 2015, the three songs they contributed to a split EP with a band called DUTCHGUTS (I missed that one). And their 2019 A Gruesome Encounter album. Add to that there's three previously unreleased live tracks to end it all. 

I honestly find this release to be a cool document from a Jersey extreme metal band. An all out full listen is not for me but in small doses (aka: ten tracks here) it's a cool blast at a time. "A Graveyard Without Corpses" should be the words underneath on the sign that says Welcome to New Jersey. Nuff Said.

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/discography-of-debauchery

DEAD AND DRIPPING - Blackened Cerebral Rifts review

 

DEAD AND DRIPPING - Blackened Cerebral Rifts

Transcending Obscurity Records

Well I must say this one starts off with a quick punch in the face and then settles down to a wrestling match. I'm not surprised since this one man death metal act is from New Jersey. By the way I was born in Jersey many years ago and lived there till my early teens. We didn't have death metal back then. In fact the evil band around then was SABBATH and yeah I was a fan. I wore a SABBATH Sabotage shirt to school in the 8th grade one day and got sent home because I wouldn't turn it inside out. 

Which brings us up to today, as I mentioned earlier DEAD AND DRIPPING is a one man band. That one man is Evan Daniele who is responsible for all the instruments and vocals. Musically Evan covers a lot of DM territory. Now here's the fun part. This release, Evan's third full length since starting out 2016 under this band name, is probably the most progressive, tech death and brutal DM release I ever heard. 

Vocally whether it's the satanic frog, the brutal DM pig or the cavernous beast, Evan sings it perfectly and maybe beyond. Is it real or computer generated I'll let you decide. What you can't question are the song structures as well as the long song titles and psychotic lyrics. I mean I'll go with pushing the line when it comes to brutal death metal but this release goes beyond my sickness level.

Evan Daniele is either a genius or a soon to be mass murderer high on prescription drugs. In that case DEAD AND DRIPPING's Blackened Cerebral Rifts is definitely something of a challenge to even the hard core BDM fan. If you're welcome to that challenge then here ya go. 

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://deadanddrippingus.bandcamp.com/album/blackened-cerebral-rifts

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

SENTIENT HORROR - Rites of Gore review

 

SENTIENT HORROR - Rites of Gore

Redefining Darkness Records

I was gonna make some New Jersey jokes to start things off since this band is from the Garden state as I once was. But the music is too good to fuck around with. This is the third full length by this four piece death metal act. I got into em years ago with their debut full length Ungodly Forms from 2016. Their second one, Morbid Realms, from 2019 was damm good. But this new one I think is their best.

SENTIENT HORROR are full on 90's style old school death metal. And on Rites of Gore this band displays DM perfection. Musically there's a touch of early Swede DM with an aggressive Polish DM punch to the head. Yeah I know they're from Jersey and there's no NYDM influence. But hey that's the way us Jersey people are, fuck New York. 

Right from the opening you've got great riffs via HM2 Boss pedal and in that diabolical style. It's just fierce sounding. The vocals are the same way, fierce low end caustic. The guitar solos are dive bombing slices that could cut solid steel. And of course the rhythm section just bludgeons along to a sick grin delight. 

I don't care what year it is. This is the way death metal is supposed to be played. Ten cuts on this opus of hate and the final song is an ENTOMBED cover "Supposed to Rot". Yeah I think that's appropriate. By my third listen this album just shot to my favorite DM album of 2022. 

http://www.redefiningdarkness.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://sentienthorror.bandcamp.com/album/rites-of-gore

FRIGHT - Self Titled EP review

 

FRIGHT - Self Titled EP

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

So this release came under the genre moniker of Hardcore. Now as someone who knows what hardcore was in the original 80's era I cringe these days whenever I see a band is supposed to be it. 99.9% of the time they're metalcore or a mixed soup of genres with grindcore being the strongest ingredient. Then this one comes down the pike and I'm like, hmmmm?

What we have here is the debut EP by a Philadelphia/New Jersey outfit which is kinda a seminal supergroup of sorts with experience from the past. The band's drummer was once in CITIZENS ARREST. They were an ABC-No Rio hardcore band from late 80's/early 90's. I've still got a 7"er comp which they're on. This band's singer was in the thrash act A.S.D. Plus the guitarist here was once in the hardcore band DEVOID OF FAITH back in the 90's. Their bass player is the only band member without any baggage.

So what you got here are six tracks of actual hardcore with a late 80's influence. Add to that there's a touch of thrash. The vocals by Ian Thompsen are sung clean yet emotionally caustic and are down right cool. The drum work by Derik Moore is fuckin amazing. You really can't hear the bass player, wow how metal is that. 

Then there's the guitar work that really pushes this release to the hilt. Nate Wilson can play some wild and vicious riffs. You pack in the talent by these individuals and you've got a damm great release. This reminds me of the past in a good way but with better production and song writing chops. This is probably the best Punk/HC EP you'll hear this year and you should get it. 

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

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

COME MIERDA - Demo 2021 review

 

COME MIERDA - Demo 2021

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions 

I feel like I'm checking out a new 7"er from 1990 or some time around then for the old Scumfeast print version zine. Good times, yeah forty words maximum for a seven inch release review because of space limitations. A hundred words for an LP/CD review but with some leeway. Print media/Fanzines must be looked at now as ancient times.

Anyways here we have a punk/hardcore act from, according to their PR info, "the mean streets of New Jersey". Well they can't be from the part of Jersey I grew up in because that's all been gentrified. So if I were to guess I'd say COME MIERDA are from Camden, NJ which is a shit hole across the river from Philly, PA. 

By the way COME MIERDA is Spanish for "Shit Eater". That's one of many other derogatory words I know from working with Hispanics over the decades. But anyways musically this is full on noisy insane style hardcore meets grind. It kinda reminds me of some stuff from Japan. I mean psychotic vocals, chaotic riffs and tupper-ware drum snare sounds.

In a way I like this and believe the five cuts on this release just don't do em justice. Maybe next time they'll do a 12"er with ten songs on it. But anyways COME MIERDA come off as something circa West Coast HC circa 1989. That's around the time bands started getting chaotic enough and got to grind. Then again there's that Japanese fast core stuff style to be aware of. In the end it's good. 

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/demo-2021

REPLICANT - Malignant Reality review

 

REPLICANT - Malignant Reality 

Transcending Obscurity Records

There's that feeling you get whenever hearing a new band and they remind you of someone else. But you just can't come up with the other band's name. When I first listened to this release the feeling of being dumbfounded went on till about the halfway point of it's play through. That's when I finally gave in and read the PR info on the band. Of course that's when you wanna smack yourself upside the head and go "Duh"?

So for the record this is the second full length by REPLICANT a three piece act who hail from the great state of New Jersey. I say great state because I was born there. I left there when I was 12 but hey according to many people I still retain some of the accent. And I still call people "Douche-Bags". Be that as it may REPLICANT's sound / style is rooted in the early days of tech death. But instead of repeating the US variety, these guys take their cues from beyond US shores. 

I won't spoil ya with name dropping past greats. But if you want your conservative metal mind blown to bits then check out "The Ubiquity of Time". It's an eight plus minute opus of jazz influence, dissonant atmosphere, feedback, violin and groove laden death metal. Sure they left that till the end because the rest of the album blows away your conformity to the genre. 

But seriously Malignant Reality leaves no doubts to what they're all about with shocker opener "Caverns of Insipid Reflection". If it wasn't for my appreciation of some older tech death bands hailing from places like Quebec, Finland and France then I might've past on this. I never cared for what tech death later turned into which for me was music for those addled with ADD. 

REPLICANT are far from that hideous style. And despite what their name might suggest they're not copycats. You can take an old style of music, learn it well and then progress onward as if it's your own. The bonus points are that they nail the angular riffs. The whimsical bass lines flow in well on certain cuts. The vocals are just as tortured as their guitar strings. Finally their songwriting is compelling enough to keep you glued. Great stuff.

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://replicantband.bandcamp.com/album/malignant-reality-dissonant-death-metal

EVERDAWN - Cleopatra review

 

EVERDAWN - Cleopatra

Sensory Records

 

So imagine a NIGHTWISH type of band from New Jersey. Want more extraordinary info, the legendary producer Dan "The Man" Swano was involved in the mastering of the band's release. Oh year it's also some damm good sounding Symphonic Metal. Yeah regular readers of this blog, and frankly who isn't, kinda know I shy away from writing about this metal genre. I have my reasons but this sounded pretty cool.

But before we begin I must point out the baggage EVERDAWN comes with. A few years ago the band went by the name MIDNIGHT ETERNAL. The band members were the same except for their first vocalist, Raine Hilai. Because of some problems between the vocalist and the rest of the band the simple answer was to separate and change their name. They also got a better vocalist in Alina Gavrilenko but more on that later. 

One band member's name that sticks out is bassist Mike LePond. If you're an uber-fan of power metal then you know him from SYMPHONY X as well as ROSS THE BOSS. Someone else who needs credit here is guitarist Richard Fischer. This guy comes from the Yngwie school of guitar mastery. Some of this release's amazing moments come about when he kicks in with some tasteful yet technical soloing that's so fluid you could float a boat on em.

Next up is the band's newest member Russian born operatic soprano Alina Gavrilenko. Since I'm an old NIGHTWISH fan I can easily say she's the second coming of Tarja Turunen. And with all of that said I really like listening to this release. You've got amazing guitar work, epic arrangements and vocals that warm the soul. Eleven amazing cuts on here from a band that has caught my attention as far as this genre goes. 

LISTEN HERE:

https://lasersedge.bandcamp.com/album/cleopatra-2

OXALATE - Infatuating Sickness EP review

 

OXALATE - Infatuating Sickness EP

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

Can I just say that 2020 sucks. Now I don't mean on the whole extent of it although I have been pissed for months now. But even on the music front it's been kind of a boring year. I've listen to so much stuff that a year or two ago I would've been excited about. But compared to the lock-downs and other bullshit going on, I've just been bored.

Then something like this falls through the depressive cracks and I'm psyched. OXALATE is a four piece act from the New York/New Jersey area. To me that location proximity is strange because I grew up in NJ years ago and we hated New York as well as New Yorkers. And they hated us as well. But hey times have changed with one exception, OXALATE play some cool sounding Northeast death metal. 

There's just four songs on here but they all come at you with this raw intensity and bite. Part of it lingers in death doom sewers of old while other times it's thrash pit intensity in a local club with heshers going apeshit. Give this band a full length because they've got the death chops.

http://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/infatuating-sickness

SKUZ - Death Mince Discography compilation review

SKUZ - Death Mince Discography Compilation

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions




I've said this before and I know it needs repeating. Writing about music on a blog or website does not make you an expert. In fact for me personally doing this blog is always a great learning experience. For example here we have the full output by this band from New Jersey who I never heard of before but damm I'm glad I did because it's good.


SKUZ are a duo consisting of Trevor Pason (guitar & vocals) and Josh Walton (drums & vocals). They originally started out in New Jersey which is from where I was born and raised. But from what I gather they now live in Portland, Oregon. Wow that's a fuckin culture shock. I wonder how long it's going to take them to stop peppering their language with words like Fuck, Fuckin, Motherfucker, Cocksucker, Douchebag, Sonovabitch and Asshole in order to appease the Portland PC crowd. 


But anyways this is a complete discography of what this band has released since starting out in 2014. The thirty one songs here are from their output of demos, split releases (3) and their Endless Grief EP. Why so many songs? Well that's because SKUZ is musically a fuckin death doom and grind act. As far as influences go there's a litany I could mention. But better yet SKUZ could easily stand toe to toe with em. Plus if you do an anti hipster song, in their case it's "Total Hipster Extermination", you're automatically a winner in my book. 


But for the sake of some of you questioning types. SKUZ falls in line with the likes of CIANIDE and MORTICIAN for the most part. Once in a while they're kick it into high gear with some headbanging and slam pit inducing death groove. Strangely enough it always ends in a doom dirge. But then again people don't slam dance like they use to when I was young. All in all this compilation is a MUST HAVE for sick fucks who crave this kinda stuff.


http://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/death-mince-discography

https://www.facebook.com/SKUZNJ/

CRUSH THE ALTAR - Abhorrent Oblation demo review

CRUSH THE ALTAR - Abhorrent Oblation demo

Redefining Darkness Records




OK I'm feeling nostalgic now, actually been so for two weeks now. I've gone from playing old demo stuff to now writing about new demo stuff. Thankfully I'm not still doing print. So here we have a three piece thrash act from New Jersey who forgot it's 2019. Now I won't call this retro-thrash because they employ some mold breaking moments. 


Although CRUSH THE ALTAR do carry some influential baggage from past masters. They break clean on their own with gruff almost death metal vocals, phenomenal drumming and some choice ways to carve in a guitar solo. There's three cuts on here, cue nostalgia. These guys deserve a full length.

https://crush-the-altar.bandcamp.com/album/crush-the-altar-abhorrent-oblation

BLOOD FEAST - Chopped, Sliced and Diced EP review

BLOOD FEAST - Chopped, Sliced and Diced EP

Hells Headbangers Records




BLOOD FEAST, a band that denizens of old school thrash remember well from the late 80's. Later on it was connoisseurs of the old ways generated by the thrash revival in the late 2000's who caught on to these New Jersey legends. The band, which called it quits in 1989, resurfaced in 2007 with last original member guitarist Adam Tranquilli. Since then this thrash beast from the northeast has found ways to stick around. The culmination of dedication came in 2017 with the comeback full length The Future State of Wicked.


Here we are a few years later with a follow up EP. Back in the day I thought of this band as the East Coast version of EXODUS with some SLAYER influence. Nowadays with the newer lineup they're cranking out, on here, re-recorded material from early releases. Most of the cuts are from 1989's Chopping Block Blues full length. The vinyl version has four cuts. The CD has six, one of which is a live version of "By the Slice", so get em both. 

On a whole BLOOD FEAST have stuck to their old thrash ways. Chris Natalini's vocals remind me of Tom Araya's on the first couple of SLAYER albums. He has this harsh electric delivery which is far different then his predecessor Gary Markovitch. Musically this is blazing fast thrash that snap the necks of those young ins who are of the revival sort. It's rare that'll I'll be kind to a re-recording of old songs by a new band lineup (hello EXODUS). But as far as this goes it's great stuff.


https://shop-hellsheadbangers.com/

https://blood-feast.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/bloodfeastlegions

OVERKILL - The Wings of War review

OVERKILL - The Wings of War

Nuclear Blast




Just to be honest, I look at OVERKILL the same way I looked at MOTORHEAD. Basically you've got a long standing band who carved out their own niche in music history early on and stuck with it. Now sure mid-way through their career OVERKILL did deviate slightly into groove / metalcore. But they came back to what made them great in the first place. Now they're glued to a formula which makes them happy. And even over all the years you the fan still get excited by a new release and sure they sound good. But in all honesty you still go back to their early releases because they're the best.


For me the last time I got excited about a new OVERKILL release was in 2010 with their Ironbound full length. Obviously the band really liked that release as well because they've put out three more that sound just like it and here's the fourth. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not being mean but just being obvious. The Wings of War is a good release because it reminds you of the past handful of releases. Blitz and company deliver with some solid chunky thrash with powerful and speedy cuts. They also balance those out with a few slower groove tunes.


Opener "Last Man Standing" is definitely going to be a crowd pleaser when played live. So is the follow-up "Believe In The Fight" which is a sing a long affair that breaks into a slam pit groove. Other fave cuts on here I liked is the home state hails of "Welcome to the Garden State" (by the way I am from Jersey), "Batshitcrazy" just because it's a great fuckin song title, plus "Where Few Dare to Walk" and "Out on the Road-Kill" because they're probably the most powerful songs on here.


So yeah The Wings of War is another great release by New Jersey's best metal band. But then of course it is because (WARNING BIAS OPINION AHEAD) OVERKILL is the Greatest Thrash band from the East Coast. They blew away their contemporaries from across the Hudson River back in the day. Presently OVERKILL are still, STILL putting out great fuckin thrash and those other guys are on That Metal Show or appearing in VH1 metal memories documentaries. I'll still take this over that other shit any day. 

https://www.nuclearblast.de/en/shop/index.html

https://www.facebook.com/OverkillWreckingCrew

HIGH COUNCIL - Held in Contempt review

HIGH COUNCIL - Held in Contempt

Via Nocturna



Power Metal from New Jersey and they're on a Polish record label. Gee could the hipster douche-bags in Brooklyn like em? I guess that would be answered by the band. HIGH COUNCIL, who are a South Jersey four piece act, have delivered probably the best power metal album I've heard in 2018. 

Now don't get yourselves in a wack out mode, OK. I rarely listen to this style of music because I find it boring as well as generic. Now with that said I like a few bands that do this style of metal.  HIGH COUNCIL have risen to that level on this their debut full length. Amazing vocals, galloping riffs, sweet leads and a rhythm section that makes you break out the fist of metal pummeling.

HIGH COUNCIL started out back in 2005. Since then they've put out four EPs. So this is something of a high water mark for this act. Good for them.


https://vianocturna.com/

https://highcouncil.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/highcouncilband/

PARALYSIS - Life Sentence review

PARALYSIS - Life Sentence 

Self-Released 




Well I'm originally from New Jersey so seeing that these thrashers were from there as well made this worth a listen. No one told PARALYSIS that the old school thrash revival has long since been over and has been replaced by the latest trend, old school crossover. I guess we should be thankful for that because this four piece act are in no way trendy sounding. I mean honestly this sounds like some long lost release from those early days. 


OK so it's the closing days of 2017 and we all know what old school thrash sounds like so lets just forgo the obvious. What makes PARALYSIS stand out is the most important part. First off the vocals by founder and guitarist Jon Plemenik are in that angst ridden old hardcore vein. The second key thing here is the lead guitar work by Ron Iglesias. This guy finds ways to slice open a song and insert a fiery solo that really doesn't come off sounding typical.

The third and final point about Life Sentence is the sound as a whole. The ten songs on this their debut remind me old New York Hardcore (later Metalcore) meets MEGADETH. You've got your gang chorus shouts via a song structures that Dave Mustaine reminisces about. But even with that said hey these guys are from Jersey so they must own every damm album by the speedier acts from New York. 


All in all I'd call this a win win for PARALYSIS as well as any fan out there who yearns for modern interpretations of old Thrash / HC / Metalcore sounds that don't come over as contrived. I also like this band's history and dedication to their craft. It started out in 2010 via band leader Jon Plemenik's love of metal and wanting to recreate it. After putting out a couple of EPs they finally have this debut under their belts. Hopefully 2018 will see this band get a label deal which after listening to this they easily deserve.


https://paralysisthrash.bandcamp.com/album/life-sentence

https://www.facebook.com/paralysisnj/

KALOPSIA - Angelplague review

KALOPSIA - Angelplague

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions 





Ah New Jersey, my birthplace and where I spent my early childhood. What an experience that was and so many memories. The one place where all standing water as well as streams had a petroleum product sheen. Ed Fricky's Seafood Restaurant was closed because it had rats in the lobster tank. Not only would you see tires floating in the Hackensack river but the occasional dead body of course that was when the river wasn't on fire. A place where English was a second language for adults and you could still meet someone named Adolph. 

But that was many years ago. I was born in Hoboken and grew up in Fairview. This band here hails from New Brunswick, New Jersey. When I was growing up if you came from New Brunswick you were thought to be rich. Well I can say that KALOPSIA are rich in the tradition of death metal. The band has a convoluted history which is surprising considering the pummeling sound and fury they pull off on this release. KALOPSIA originally started out in 2000, put out their debut full length Exquisite Beauty of the Defiled in 2003 then stopped. Almost a decade later the band puts out Amongst the Ruins. Then five years later we have this platter. Whatever the case something wicked is going down in New Brutalsville.

The first thing I noticed on Angelplague is that the band is not totally part of that northeast death metal style (aka: NYDM). In fact they remind me of VADER (with a technical edge of DECAPITATED) be it the cavernous vocals of singer/guitarist Matt Medeiros, who use to be in another great Jersey DM band FUNEBRARUM. Add to that the complexity of the compositions, it's not all about bludgeoning. The band allows in some melody in-between the bloodletting. There's some CANNIBAL CORPSE influence here and it's prevalent on the latter cuts. I believe this to be just a perfect death metal release. The soloing is more inviting than throat cutting. There's a good balance of face rippers vs cuts that stretch out to allow some somber moments. Yeah great record.

http://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

https://www.facebook.com/KalopsiaMetal

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