GROND - The Temple review

 

GROND - The Temple

Xtreem Music

So here we have the third full length by this Russian Death Metal / Death Doom act. Trust me right now I'm thinking of that Fawlty Towers episode where you don't mention the war. Be that as it may the tag line on this is Lovecraftian inspired Death Metal / Death Doom. In all honesty I've heard / seen this tagline starting back a few decades ago. It was originally a hipster tagline. I'm still waiting for a Steven King inspired Death Metal / Death Doom act. 

But hey H.P. Lovecraft, who I read in my mid twenties and scared the crap out of me, is gonna be the influence in modern day Death Metal, again then let's give it a real check out. I mean for two decades Dark Descent Records has been pumping out releases by bands who consider themselves H.P. Lovecraft influenced Death Doom. So here's a fucking shocker. GROND are pretty damm good on this album.  

There are plenty of things which I like about this release. First off is the drum work which is phenomenal. The vocals are of that savage beast wanting to tear your ass apart. The guitar work as far as the dense riffage is diabolic. But the guitar solos are insane. Combined this is a whole package of greatness in hatred. GROND is the band every SOB Extreme Metal nut bag should be listening to right fucking now.   

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LISTEN HERE:

https://xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-temple

PAGANIZER - As Mankind Rots review

 

PAGANIZER - As Mankind Rots

Xtreem Music

In all honesty my favorite Rogga Johansson affiliated band is PAGANIZER. It's the one that introduced me to him (aka 2009's Scandinavian Warmachine full length) and his obsession to keeping Swedish Death Metal alive and well. He's done it for me at least and for fans with all of these offshoot bands / projects he's been involved with over the years. 

But last year with another RIBSPREADER full length, As Gods Devour, sounding kinda borring. And the previous year you had the REVOLTING full length, Night of the Horrid, which was so fucking great. I had to wonder if Rogga was out of riffs. Well on this new PAGANIZER full length he's at his best again. I'll give em that.

So this fourteenth full length by PAGANIZER is everything you'd expect it to be or in other words it's Old School Swedish Death Metal. But on here Rogga and company seem to be more into beast mode than previous outings. As far as Rogga's vocals go he's gotten more evil sounding with age. And the riffs are fairly diabolical sounding throughout these eleven cuts. 

Obviously one key reason for this release sounding so damm good is the people Rogga has surrounded himself with in the band. For over a decade bassist Martin Klasen and drummer Matthias Fiebig have been the rhythm section from Swede DM hell. As far as lead guitar work goes it's Kjetil Lynghaug who's also been with Rogga for a decade.

So yeah this is a great fuckin album. I say that because 2024's Flesh Requiem was a let down. I haven't listened to that one since it came out. But this one hell yeah! If you still like that savage Old School Swedish DM sound brought up to modern times then PAGANIZER's As Mankind Rots is the release in 2026 to grab onto. 

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https://xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com/album/as-mankind-rots

DETERIOROT - Awakening review

 

DETERIOROT - Awakening

Xtreem Music

First off there's a lot to unpack here. So as far as history goes back in the late 1980's there was a Death Metal band out of New Jersey called MORTUARY. Now since that name has been used by more than a few other bands this one changed their name to DETERIOROT. That was in 1990 and the band continued onward. It wasn't until 2001 when the band released their debut full length, In Ancient Beliefs, on a small California label. Interested parties should check out the 2016 reissue of this album on Xtreem Music. 

Now fast forward to 2010 which is when I first picked up a CD by DETERIOROT. It was their second full length which also came out on this label. Basically it was old school Death Metal which at that time was making a come back after many years of bullshit alterations. The band did come out with a third album, The Rebirth, in 2023 but I never heard it. 

Which brings us to the now and this the band's fourth full length over all. Basically you've got the mainman Paul Zavaleta from the old days, who now lives in Charolette, North Carolina, on vocals and guitar. With him are are a  bunch of younger die hards who've rercently joined him on this Old School DM journey. You've got Arthur Reid on guitar, Travis Meredith on bass and James Goetz on drums. 

So musically yeah this is an Old School Death Metal bone being gnawed upon by a beast from the underworld. Paul Zavaleta is probably one of the better DM vocalists out there who's never gotten the credit he's due. His singing style is bestial, sinister and downright creepy. I like it a lot mainly because it reminds me of what others I like have been doing over decades. 

Next up there's eleven songs, although the opening cut is an instro. As far as the songs go what you clearly have is a massive amount of Death Doom brutality joined with diabolical atmosphere. It's a combo of early USDM and early Finnish DM. The riffs are sinister, the guitar leads cut through the eeerie fog like knives stabbing an unknowing victim. Sometimes they're slow and foreboding but will kick into a speedy run. 

All in all it's an amazing release. In my type of world it would be one of the best US Death Metal albums of the year. Better yet it's a down right classic which should sit beside all of the others which came before. Nuff Said!

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https://xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com/album/awakening

RIBSPREADER - As Gods Devour review

 

RIBSPREADER - As Gods Devour

Xtreem Music

Well it wouldn't be a good year in Extreme Metal without a release by a Rogga Johansson affiliated band. The guy is the most hardest working Swedish Death Metal musician of all time. You know him from bands like PAGANIZER and REVOLTING plus a ton of other bands and side projects. Of course RIBSPREADER is a long time Death Metal act he's been in since the early 2000's. 

What we have here is RIBSPREADER's 11th album. I'm surprised that Rogga came out with this release with RIBSPREADER so fast since they had an album last year. 2024's Reap Humanity, which also came out on this label, was a damm good release in my not so humble opinion. Albeit I'm bias because I like the guy. But I thought the REVOLTING album was better. 

Anyways this time around the big change is Jon Rudin (who's played with Rogga in another project) replaces Jeramie Kling on drums. Rogga is still creating the guitar riffs, playing bass and delivering those beast like vocals. Also Hakan Stuvemark, from WOMBBATH fame is still laying done lightning strike lead guitar work. 

Musically this time around it's still a homage to Swedish OSDM but not so old. When I listen to this release I'm reminded of latter day GRAVE albums. I'm talking about GRAVE circa the late 2000's when they were like hey remember us type of stuff. That's what this album reminds me of. 

Still songs like "The Pig in You", "Rotten Soil Serenade" and "As Corpses Cry" are cool. The rest of this album is pretty much their last album lite. Sadly this is the first time I'm giving a negative review for a Rogga Johansson affiliated band release. Yeah this album is decent only which bums me out because I am a fan. 

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https://xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com/album/as-gods-devour

DEATHGOAT - Dragged into Realms Below review

 

DEATHGOAT - Dragged into Realms Below

Xtreem Music

OSDM is on display here by this Finnish five piece act. I'll just say they love Sweden's DISMEMBER and frankly who doesn't? This is the band's second full length. I was looking forward to this because years ago I heard their debut Regurgitated into Existence from 2021. That came out on the Finnish label Black Soul Productions as a download. 

Granted the early Finnish DM scene copied the Sweden DM style / sound with a few exceptions. I listen to this now in 2025 and think well DISMEMBER don't sound this good anymore. So yeah this rules in so many ways. The opener "Alkulima" is boring but don't let that dissuade you. "Pestilent Retribution", "Congregation of Disease" and "Dying to Be Dead" will kick your fuckin ass!

And that goes forth to the rest of this album. DEATHGOAT nail all of the cool points. You've got the crunchy Boss pedal guitar sound. Great riffs throughout backed by a rhythm section on speed. Out from the sky dive bomb soloing and the vocals are by a brutal sounding Neanderthal. This is a nine song head fuck with the opener being the only low point. Yeah this album fucking rules!

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https://xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com/album/dragged-into-realms-below

MORTAL SCEPTER - Ethereal Dominance review

 

MORTAL SCEPTER - Ethereal Dominance

Xtreem Music

MORTAL SCEPTER's second album answers the question which is what if SODOM continued on the evil path instead of shitting the bed. Yeah I'm serious. Look I'm old and so are the bands I remember from back in the day. Instead of just hoping for nostalgia from my faves I look for some new acts who will carry the torch to the future. 

MORTAL SCEPTER, a four piece Blackened Thrash act from Dunkirk, France are oddly enough carrying the torch of Teutonic Blackened Thrash to the hilt on this release. This is their second full length on the Xtreem Music label. And just for the record Xtreem Music is the go to European label for Extreme Old School Metal. Yeah that's a free plug. 

But anyways musically these guys really take the SODOM & DESTRUCTION influences then add in their own flavor which makes this a great release. The vocals come across sounding like a young Angel Ripper. The riffs are dark and maniacal. The guitar soloing is like lightning from Valhalla. The drum work is actually perfect. It's just solid with the song structures. You can barely notice the bass. 

Oh yeah MORTAL SCEPTER write good songs that are memorable which in 2025 is unusual. Personally I'd rather have a band like this playing music I remember from the past then certain old acts hanging on just for name recognition. 

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https://xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com/album/ethereal-dominance

AVULSED - Phoenix Cryptobiosis review

 

AVULSED - Phoenix Cryptobiosis

Xtreem Music

So last year I gave a huge amount of praise to the CHRIST DENIED - Christopsy full length. And here I am again ready to do the same for the eighth full length by AVULSED. Now aside from the music, what both bands have in common is that they are fronted by probably the most important man in Spain's Extreme Metal scene. 

I'm talking about Dave Rotten (aka: David Sanchez Gonzalez). Now I'll get to the music portion in a few but Dave Rotten is respected for starting Repulse Records back in the mid 90's to the early 2000s. And after that he started one of the best underground Extreme Metal labels that's been around for over a decade. I'm talking about Xtreem Music. If you love Extreme Metal and especially Death Metal then max out your Pay Pal account when you check out that website. 

So onto the music, AVULSED are, I think, the longest running Death Metal act from Spain. The band started out in the early 1990's releasing just demos. Their first full length came out in the mid 90's which was Eminence in Putrescence. In all honesty I first got into em in 2006 when I found a promo CD in the dollar used bin at a local record store. That release was Gorespattered Suicide which officially came out the year before. 

After hearing that one I became a fan and the feelers came out to find anything else by AVULSED. I will say some of the releases I've picked up over the years are good (full lengths and a compilation of demo material). But the best by far was 2016's Deathgeneration. That album is a DM masterpiece. 

So here we are a decade later with the band's new one and Dave Rotten has gathered together a new league of extreme metal musicians on guitars, bass and drums to continue the fight. So first impressions, well the opening instrumental "Limbs Regeneration" kinda sucks. Then again I hate opening instrumentals in the first place. After that the brand new AVULSED appears and it's pretty cool. 

To me this album sounds like a culmination of this band's musical history. The main line is always going to be aggressive sounding old school DM. But you're gonna hear some death thrash as well as death doom. There's certainly some melodic touches which I cringe at. But over all it's a damm good album by a legacy leader. 

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https://xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com/album/phoenix-cryptobiosis

UNBOUNDED TERROR - Something Is Rotten In Humanity review

 

UNBOUNDED TERROR - Something Is Rotten In Humanity

Xtreem Music

Can I just say this album rules, you should buy it and move the fuck on? OK I guess not but hey this album rules. When it comes to Death Metal from Spain then UNBOUNDED TERROR are the epitome of that nation's greatness as well as heavy as fuck, kick your ass sounding DM.

The band started out back in 1991 and put out their debut full length, Nest of Affliction, the following year. Unfortunately things didn't go so well after that. It wouldn't be till 2020 when the band, with 3/4th's of a new line-up, returned with their Faith in Chaos full length. Mainman Vicente Paya (vocals & guitars) keeping the DM faith of hate alive for another decade.

So here we have the fourth full length by UNBOUNDED TERROR which is just diabolical sounding. The riffs are fuckin killer and Vicente Paya has a perfect blast furnace vocal style. The few guitar solos are like fireworks and have a beautiful fluid style. 

Vicente Paya got this line-up together in 2019, put out two decent albums but here we have the perfect one. Something Is Rotten In Humanity is Death Metal perfection whether it's bludgeoning riffs or some slam pit action rhythms. Who they remind me of from the past doesn't matter. Putting out great Death Metal in 2025 does matter and UNBOUNDED TERROR do it.

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https://xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com/album/something-is-rotten-in-humanity

REVOLTING - Night of the Horrid review

 

REVOLTING - Night of the Horrid

Xtreem Music

Rogga Johansson, who I always refer to as the hardest working metal musician (well as far as Death Metal goes) in Sweden, has been quite prolific this year as far as quality goes. Back in the spring he came out with another cool sounding solo album, Otherworld. Add to that in the fall the new PAGANIZER album, Flesh Requiem, was released. Then earlier this year you had the new full length by RIBSPREADER titled Reap Humanity. 

Just for the record the three releases mentioned above are in my list of Death Metal full length favorites for the year. I mean they are great albums. And now this one comes out with some amazing cover art work to boot. This is the ninth full length by REVOLTING since starting out in 2008. Another amazing thing is that the line-up has always been Rogga Johansson (aka: Revolting Rogga) as vocalist & guitarist. Then there's Grotesque Tobias on bass and Mutated Martin on drums.

Now I might've said it before but it bare's repeating. Rogga Johansson over the past bunch of years has created the purest as well as truest form of Swedish Death Metal throughout his various bands / musical projects. Yes we've got the past and then it ended. Rogga took it and continued onward. The result is some of the greatest Death Metal ever to come out of Sweden. 

With that said checking out this latest REVOLTING album is like handing a loaded pistol to a drunk. I always thought that REVOLTING was Rogga's version of DISFEAR. Going back to their debut album, Dreadful Pleasures from 2009, it was more death thrash and hardcore (or crust) influenced than PAGANIZER. Be that said over the years the band's sound has become a guarantee of relentless rather than obvious repetition. 

Listening to this one I kinda forget the past and wish I could still slam dance to the opening track "Seven Severed Heads" or it's follow up "Blades Will Cut". But hey blasting this one while hearing the amazing melodic guitar soloing work it's way through some dynamic pounding beats is still cool. Rogga's harsh meets beast like vocals always rule. There's a melodic thread tagging on a savage pattern which works well as always with modern day Rogga stuff. In the end this rules.

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https://xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com/album/night-of-the-horrid

CHRIST DENIED - Christopsy review

 

CHRIST DENIED - Christopsy 

Xtreem Music

They're Back! Yes Spain's most brutal Death Metal band returns with a new album after a decade of silence. Well there is also AVULSED but anyways. I got CHRIST DENIED's Cancer Eradication CD back in 2013, also on Xtreem Music, and was totally floored by this four piece extreme act. I mean this is a style of Death Metal which can be abrasive even to DM fans. But done right it is incredible. CHRIST DENIED are one of those bands that hits perfection. 

After all of these years Dave Rotten (who's in AVULSED and runs Xtreem Music by the way) still has the most morbid insufferable vocals around. Roger Infected (from INFECTED FLESH) is still around on guitars and other stuff. But the newbies to this band are drummer Fabio Ramirez (formerly in INTERNAL SUFFERING) who joined in 2017. He's a fuckin amazing drummer to say the least. Also there's bassist Roger P who joined in 2015. All around this line-up is the most punishing ever. 

The insanity of the riffs by Roger Infected, which have that crunchy Boss-2 HM pedal sound, add to the blatant brutal attack upon your senses. I'm smiling right now and I can't help it. Nothing is the boring run of the mill here which some Brutal DM acts, especially some of my US bands, tend to do half the time. Be that as it may CHRIST DENIED rule. Nine cuts plus they end this release with a cover of CRYPTOPSY's "Mutant Christ". Hell Fuckin Yeah! Yes this one of the best albums of 2024. 

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https://xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com/album/christopsy

RIBSPREADER - Reap Humanity review

 

RIBSPREADER - Reap Humanity

Xtreem Music

How does a band creating a genre-centric sound/style of music (in this case Old School Swedish Death Metal) stay relevant after slightly over twenty years of existence? Well in this case you have mainman Rogga Johansson (vocals, guitars, bass) who has an unrelenting passion and conviction towards the music. It also helps to have some associates who care just as much as you in creating the music. 

A few years ago I said that RIBSPREADER is Rogga Johansson and anyone else he can get to play the other instruments. On this tenth studio album it's Rogga still singing, doing the guitar riffs and playing bass. Along for the ride is still Jeramie Kling on drums (formerly of VENOM INC. and did drum duties in that last line-up of MASSACRE.) Add to that you've got guitarist Taylor Nordberg from DEICIDE (who was also amongst that last MASSACRE line-up. 

So with one Swede and two Americans playing death metal in 2024 what would you expect. Well for me it's like Rogga Johansson takes over MORBID ANGEL and shows em how to play death metal again. Obviously when Rogga was doing the whole MASSACRE thing a few years back he was taking notes. One basic principle he got was a good mix of atmosphere, brutality and fuckin speed. Reap Humanity is all of that. I wish that I was standing in the audience watching the band play this album in full. I could see the crowd going apeshit crazy. 

Musically this is full on slam pit action whether just moshing along or hell bent violent pit action. You've got nine songs in thirty six minutes which is perfect for attention time. Every song grabs your attention to the hilt. Rogga, as always, relies on a mix of DM vocal styles whether it's the brutal grunts, the hate filled baritone screams or the diabolical almost spoken wordings. Of course his guitar riffs are powerful, sick as well as twisted. 

Add to that Jeramie Kling's drum work on here is amazing. Then again I thought that when he was pounding for WOMBBATH as well as VENOM INC. I might've said it before but it bares repeating. Jeramie Kling is one of the most versatile drummers in Metal today. Now as far as the lead guitar work goes, Taylor Nordberg (who's in DEICIDE now) lays down some lines which are more of a background atmospheric take. While other times he's firing on along side with the rhythms or adding some wicked solos that add to the sinister sound. 

All in all as much as I like what RIBSPREADER has done in the past. I really like this album a lot. It's one of those albums that ten years from now you're gonna still wanna blast till the neighbors call the cops on ya. Hell Fuckin Yeah!

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KORGULL THE EXTERMINATOR - Built to Kill review

 

KORGULL THE EXTERMINATOR - Built to Kill

Xtreem Music

Whenever something this cool comes my way I always wonder why they're not on top of the Metal food chain instead of some stuff that gets pushed upon us fans. I mean hey if you like thrash with an amazing female vocalist then this is right up your alley. 

Here we have the sixth full length from Spain's KORGULL THE EXTERMINATOR. The band has been around since 2004 although their first full length, Dogs of War, didn't come out until 2009. They've been a Xtreem Music catalog staple since then. 

What makes this album great in my book is the band's relentless savage thrash attack on your senses. The riffs come across like diabolical gallops across your mindset. A couple of times there's a blood curtailing solo which gives you a poise. But in the end the guitars, bass and drums are so in sync in their attack. You feel brutalized and enthralled at the same time. 

Next up are the vocals by singer Lilith which are in the harsh black metal variety. I mean this woman is spitting bile with each verse. Every word out of her mouth comes across as a curse. Years ago I use to call em "witch vocals". In all of the years I think Lilith has perfected this vocal style. Seriously she's better than my ex-wife on a bender. 

The tagline on KORGULL THE EXTERMINATOR has always been blackened thrash. The final cut, "Count Estruch", is about as black metal as it gets on here. For the most part this is just amazing thrash. Lilith will add in a high pitch squeal or a Tom G. Warrior grunt at times. The musicianship is perfection. I mean this is a perfect album period. 

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https://korgulltheexterminator.bandcamp.com/album/built-to-kill

DETERIOROT - The Rebirth review

 

DETERIOROT - The Rebirth

Xtreem Music

Back in 2010 we had the rebirth of bands doing the whole old school death metal revival thing. It was cool I loved it and I've got a shitload of CDs and vinyl from it. But here we are in 2023 and now the whole old school thing is more like an afterbirth. I mean it's cool to hear younger musicians repeating what was done before. But it's also cool to hear about bands who actually started out back in the day, never got their due but are back to kick some ass. 

Case in point DETERIOROT a band who started out in 1992. Yes that's fuckin right, over 20 fuckin years ago when you were still sucking yer mommy's tits. But they didn't put out a full length until 2001's In Ancient Beliefs. Nine years later they put out their follow up The Faithless. And now, after thirteen years, we have their third full length The Rebirth. 

The band's only original member is guitarist / vocalist Paul Zavaleta. This guy started out in Paterson, New Jersey which was a shithole in the late 70's from my recollection. I lived in Fairview, NJ in the 70's. It probably got worse in the fuckin 90's. Now he is in Charlotte, North Carolina which probably still reminds him of Jersey to a point but with different food. 

Be that as it may Paul Zavaleta hooked up with some other musicians in the past few years who like the old stuff and this is the fuckin rebirth of DETERIOROT. Now I know a couple of bands who started out in the 90's and never got where they wanted to go. But in the latter 2000's they revived themselves and sound damm good. DETERIOROT is doing just that and sound fantastic.

Yes this is old school death metal which comes across like an past undiscovered gem. Musically this is a cross between INCANTATION meets DISMEMBER meets CIANIDE in a dark alley and all hell breaks loose. For someone like me it's a hell fuckin yeah. I mean the tone of the riffs are damm cool. The soloing is fluid at certain times and lighting bolts at others. And of course the vocals are ghastly. I mean this is one of the best death metal albums of 2023 which should've come out in 1992. 

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LISTEN HERE:

https://deteriorot.bandcamp.com/album/the-rebirth

COFFINBORN - Cadaveric Retribution review

 

COFFINBORN - Cadaveric Retribution

Xtreem Music

Ya know I don't care how old I get, I'm 60 now by the way. But I'll always love old school death metal whether it's the original masters or some new school talent. It's just the fuckin killer sound which makes me go nuts and I crank the volume up. I'm sure these Hungarians feel the same way. This is their debut album and from what I've read about em they've got extreme metal history.

Originally COFFINBORN started out in 2013. A year later they released their debut EP Beneath the Cemetery which came out on this label. And then they disappeared into a flux of other bands. MORBID CARNAGE is one of note. But finally these guys regrouped to put this album together. 

Musically this is like GRAVE meets MORTICIAN and INCANTATION in a back alley in Budapest for a rumble. Yeah this is pure death metal performed in the old ways. I mean we're talking about thick, heavy handed riffs that shake your foundation. Add to that fuckin dive bombing solos, cavernous vocals, amazing drum work, etc. 

COFFINBORN pretty much take what was great decades ago and make it all sound fresh today. Old School Death Metal will never fall out of fan appreciation when you have musicians like this keeping it alive. Cadaveric Retribution is obviously one of my favorite releases for 2023. I got stuck listening to it for a few weeks now.

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LISTEN HERE:

https://coffinborn.bandcamp.com/album/cadaveric-retribution

DEAD SUN - Soul Diseased review

DEAD SUN - Soul Diseased

Xtreem Music

For those of you who are regular readers of this blog (and frankly who isn't) you know for years now I've touted the greatness of Sweden's Rogga Johansson. In my not so humble opinion he is the most prolific death metal artist from that nation. You know him from bands like PAGANIZER, REVOLTING, RIBSPREADER, DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN as well as a whole bunch of other bands & side projects. In the mid 90's Rogga started DEAD SUN which was a side project where Rogga (guitars, bass, keyboards and vocals) took a side step away from the traditional old school Swedish DM mold. I've got a couple of those releases and they're damm good. 

Fast forward to the present and here we have the eigth studio album by DEAD SUN and it's pretty damm amazing. Sure I'm bias but fuck it. On this one Rogga pairs up with drummer Jon Rudin from HEADS FOR THE DEAD. On Soul Diseased the duo create a tour de force of melodic death metal which is catchy, adds atmospheric touches and even hints at some power metal bravado.

 

Every song on here, from the opening track "Sjuk Sjal" to closer "Premature Burial" is damm good. With a running time of just over thirty six minutes there's no wasted moment with these ten songs. Rogga has that rough baritone vocal which is cool as fuck. Add to that his amazing solo work whether he's ripping it or generating a melodic rhythmic tone that carries on in an epic fashion. The keys of course add that symphonic touch here and there. Great job Rogga!

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LISTEN HERE:

https://xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com/album/soul-diseased

 

RIBSPREADER - Crypt World review

 

RIBSPREADER - Crypt World

Xtreem Music

I must admit that I'm a Rogga Johansson fan. If I cared to move some stuff around. I could probably dedicate a shelf space alcove to just CDs by the bands he's been in over the past couple of decades. I mean I've said it before but it bares repeating. Rogga Johansson is the most prolific musician in Swedish death metal. 

But I believe it's time to access the present day stuff in a clear light. After listening to this latest release which is their ninth. I went back and pulled out their last one to compare. That release was Crawl and Slither from 2019 which came out on Horror Pain Gore Death Productions. That one was pretty damm good. But the comparisons are fairly obvious. 

Crypt World is basic death metal 101. Sure Rogga Johansson is amazing coming up with decent and powerful riffs. He also again plays bass on here which you can't hear. But hey the vocals are classic Rogga aka: deep blunt roars mixed with higher pitched screams. Those parts will never get old to my old ears. And I'll bang my fuckin head and raise my fist. 

But the down side on here is the basic drum work by Jeramie Kling. Sure he's been in the band for a while now as well as VENOM INC., INHUMAN CONDITION and the new version of MASSACRE. On here he sounds like programmed drums. 

As far as guitarist Taylor Nordberg, another INHUMAN CONDITION and MASSACRE alum, is concerned well if those are his solos then they have to be phoned in out of boredom. But hey I'll give this album it's due. Rogga is at his amazing best. There's some really cool songs on here like "Nocturnal Sanguinator", "Good Hatchet Fun" and my favorite "Into the Morbid Pits". 

My biggest problem with this album is that it reminds me of that piece of crap MASSACRE Resurgence album from last year. Maybe this is all the rejected material that Rogga brought to the table. Which is far better than that MASSACRE album. In the end if you're a Rogga fan then yeah you need this for the collection. Afterwards you'll say come back to Sweden.

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LISTEN HERE:

https://xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com/album/crypt-world

APOSENTO - Conjuring the New Apocalypse review

APOSENTO - Conjuring the New Apocalypse

Xtreem Music




Here's something which comes in at a perfect time for me. I deem the month of June as "Death Metal in June". Yeah it's a play on a band name so go away hipster. But something else of note, when you talk about death metal bands as a whole as far as major scenes and releases go. The great nation of Spain has been overlooked. 


Yes I'm sure there are many people out there who, during the stealing (oops, I mean free downloading) days of the internet, who will make claims of Spanish death metal knowledge. Whatever people, because the bottom line is that if you just glanced at an average list of the greatest death metal albums of all time. You won't find a Spanish band release. So yeah they've been overlooked.


Which brings us to APOSENTO, a Spanish death metal act who originally started out back in the early 90's. Yeah that's back in the heyday of death metal. The band was only around for a handful of years. Their early releases consisted of a few demos, a split release and a five song EP titled Welcome to Darkness from 1997. After that the band called it quits.


Fast forward to 2012 and the band's sole original member, guitarist Manolo Saez, decides to bring APOSENTO back from the dead. And even with filling up various line-up positions. He and the band have managed to put out an EP and two full lengths prior to this latest one. Yeah dedication and conviction is their strong suit.


After giving this one a bunch of listens I'll add attention to detail as well.  Conjuring the New Apocalypse is not just old school death metal done right. It just doesn't remind you of the revival band style which many other genre acts employ. Basically it comes across like an unearthed gem of the past. 


All the essentials of death metal enjoyment are in place. You've got a good mix of speed and death doom songs plus a few chaotic structured cuts which really stand out. Vocals are of the blast furnace throat variety. Lead guitar work is decent but not a stand out here. Oh well that's the American in me but in the end this is damm good. No let me correct that, this is perfect.



http://shop.xtreemmusic.com/english.main.index.php

https://xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com/album/conjuring-the-new-apocalypse

https://www.facebook.com/Aposentodeath/

GRIM FATE - Perished in Torment review

GRIM FATE - Perished in Torment

Xtreem Music




Once I saw in the promo that this band here was Dutch death metal, it was like hell fuckin yeah let's hear it. Something else which is cool and that's this band is fairly new. GRIM FATE are a three piece act who started out three years ago. To their credit they've come out with a handful of short form releases. Finally here we have their full length debut.


Now for someone like myself who for years has admitted to being a huge fan of Dutch death metal (it's a heritage thing). I found it very interesting that GRIM FATE, who are full on death doom, have a sound and style leaning towards similar US acts. I'm not going to name drop here. If you're a fan of the US version of the genre then throw any name up against the wall and it will stick.


Let me use a driving analogy for ya. You ever get behind some asshole who is slow as shit? You're following the slow bastard then suddenly they'll pick up the pace for a bit. But of course the next thing you know is the fuck head hits the breaks and goes right back to the slow crawl again. That's pretty much of what Perished in Torment sounds like. Minus me cursing, honking the horn and giving the other driver the finger.


Obviously I like this a lot. The band crushes with their doom passages but actually succeeds in adding what I think is melody with the riffs. Other times there will be a savage rush of riffage which hits you out of nowhere. The vocals are your basic cave dwelling beast variety. I noticed that two guys in this band are also in BURIAL REMAINS, who are damm good in their own right. 


For the most part on here GRIM FATE cover the basics well which is what you want from a death doom release. Then they include some really cool nuances to their songs which no way in hell would you think boredom or generic. In fact I found it exciting. But then hey they're Dutch, so am I and you can go fuck yourself. 



http://shop.xtreemmusic.com/english.main.index.php

https://grimfate.bandcamp.com/album/perished-in-torment

https://www.facebook.com/grimfatedeathmetal/

DEATH VOMIT - Gutted by Horrors reissue review

DEATH VOMIT - Gutted by Horrors reissue

Hells Headbangers Records




Well even though these Chilean death metal merchants have a new limited edition EP out titled Pyre, I believe it's this reissue to truly be worth talking about. It was just a few years ago, 2014 to be exact, when this release first dropped. Originally put out on CD by the Spanish label Xtreem Music (who I use to get a bunch of stuff to review years ago). This was their debut full length. 


Now musically DEATH VOMIT were not doing anything new on this release. In fact Gutted by Horrors is just another example of a new band worshiping old school DM of the past. But the fact here is that they did it so fuckin well. Imagine a mixture of BLASPHEMY, PORTAL, DISMEMBER and INCANTATION all culled in a cauldron of black bubbling sulfurous liquid. You just might need asbestos gloves to hold this less you'll receive festering blisters.


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https://death-vomit.bandcamp.com/

KILLING ADDICTION - Shores of Oblivion review

KILLING ADDICTION -  Shores of Oblivion

Xtreem Music 


Ok I'm going to get mean now. KILLING ADDICTION, according to the promo material, were a legendary Florida death metal band. Correction, they were a third tier act that climbed onto the whole death metal wave in 1990 but couldn't make the cut unlike their peers. Their EP from 1991, Necrosphere, is worth a listen but once they put out their full length, Omega Factor in 1993, the whole chunky death metal thing was dead for them. They eventually broke up but got back together in 2006 to a fanfare of none, except for maybe their local circle of friends. 


Look I could go on with their history but I'll stick to this newest EP. It's decent old school death metal weighing heavily on the GRAVE side on OSDM sounds as opposed to their Florida peers. Production wise this sounds like an old demo which could be predictable. Yeah it's heavy handed sounding but no memorable moments to carry it over into the realm of iconic blasting yer head off. Sure play it loud as fuck. Even mediocre acts sound well that way. Save the "legendary" shtick when you're trying to pawn it off to some unsuspecting shlep on Ebay.

Rating: 1/5


http://www.xtreemmusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/killingaddiction