RITUALS OF THE DEAD HAND - With Hoof And Horn review

 

RITUALS OF THE DEAD HAND - With Hoof And Horn

Dunkelheit Produktionen

Time to kick back, relax and allow the sounds of atmospheric black metal to carry you to another plane of existence. Let me tell ya people that's exactly what I need after last fuckin month. Maybe you might need it as well. RITUALS OF THE DEAD HAND is the perfect prescription. 

This is the second full length by this Belgium three piece act. Their debut, Blood Oath, came out a few years ago. Musically overall this is death doom which has been thoroughly blackened. The atmosphere projected is gloomy with a touch of horror. There's a suffocating presence which runs throughout this release.

With five cuts, one of which is the opening instro intro, the band twists the soundscapes which are mostly mid-tempo into a blackened cult ceremony. Everything about With Hoof And Horn is sinister and definitely a late night listen.

https://www.dunkelheit-produktionen.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://dunkelheitprod.bandcamp.com/album/with-hoof-and-horn

BURIAL INVOCATION - Abiogenesis review

BURIAL INVOCATION - Abiogenesis

Dark Descent Records



Normally I like everything this label puts out but here is one which was a tough sale. BURIAL INVOCATION are from Turkey and play death metal which worships at the altar of latter period DEATH. The slight differences here is that the vocals are more brutal sounding and the production is rough. But otherwise it's homage that's spot on if not absolutely incredible.


So call me names all you want but when it comes to the band DEATH I like the first two albums a lot and that's about it. Sure their other releases were good but over the years I just stopped listening to em. BURIAL INVOCATION have embraced that early style of brutal yet technically proficient old school death metal.


Guitarist / vocalist Cihan Akun’s lead work would make Chuck Schuldiner proud. Along with lighting up this release with the fiery of leads that rage from fluid to electric shocks the guy knows a good rhythmic riff which pummels. The rest of the band just keeps up. 


Like I've made clear I'm not a big fan but damm if this is not some of the best tech death I've heard since the 90's. I say that because all of that ADD crap gives me a headache. But one thing I've gotta ask is how can you put this out let alone be this type of band in a country which has a religious controlled government that wants to kill you for producing this music?


http://www.darkdescentrecords.com/

https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/abiogenesis

https://www.facebook.com/burialinvocation

BESTIALORD - Law Of The Burning review

BESTIALORD - Law Of The Burning 

Symbol of Domination Prod.




OK so with a name like BESTIALORD I thinking this was going to be black metal. Ah no it's not at all. The tagline on this band turned out to be death / doom. Alright I'll give em that. But after listening to a couple of cuts, well three to be honest, I got this huge devious grim going. This really sounds like fuckin NUNSLAUGHTER albeit not as funny. Right now there's a reader in Bumfuck, Ohio going "You think NUNSLAUGHTER is funny? You have a sick sense of humor."

But seriously folks this band's vocalist is a dead ringer for NUNSLAUGHTER's Don of the Dead. As far as the music goes forget the whole death doom idea. This is a straight up metal act that touches upon those genres but is not diving in head first. This release just rocks while you're giving the horned fist of approval. I bet there's plenty of those flying when this band plays live. This band, a three piece by the way, hails from Wichita, Kansas. For you non Americans that's the Midwest which is full of sickos. 

Look people I'm as honest as the day is long. I'll tell ya when writing about bands there are times when it feels like I'm painting the same portrait but using a different brush hoping that someone sees a difference. Yeah it feels like work but then a band like BESTIALORD comes along with cool songs like "Vermin" (my favorite cut on here), "Marduk Kurios" (with a great guitar solo from a guy who was in MANILLA ROAD for two years, yeah why bother mentioning that namedrop in the promo) and of course "Loathed Be Thy Name". 

Listening to this release, which basically en-tales I just can't stop, is the equivalent of getting off of work after a long hard schedule. I don't wanna talk about fuckin work. Just give me a good beer, something decent to eat and cool music to blast. After all of that well a good fucking will suffice. Everything about Law Of The Burning reminds me of that except for the fucking part. This album has already earned it's place in the SFM666 2018 Favorites List. I just don't know what category to put em in. Fuck it I'll just say Death Metal to piss people off.


http://satanath.com/sodp

https://symbolofdomination.bandcamp.com/album/sodp104-bestialord-law-of-the-burning-2018

PARADISE LOST - Medusa review

PARADISE LOST - Medusa

Nuclear Blast




Can I just say this is better than the last two albums they put out this decade? Ah I guess not, alright then I'll start out by saying something you don't normally see. I am not a huge fan of PARADISE LOST. Hey over their long career (what is it like thirty years now?) they've put out some great albums. They've also put out some mediocre ones and some crap. I only like the albums that are actually metal sounding and I think I'm in the majority on this topic.

Be that as it may, I think Medusa is a great album which is about fuckin time. I'm thinking Gregor Mackintosh's work in his old school death metal side project, VALLENFYRE, has finally made these guys kick it up a notch. This is death doom but not in the sorrowful sense of "oh look it's raining out. I'm so sad." No this is death doom as in two red eyes staring at you from the darkness.

Medusa is an evil sounding album. Nick Holmes has his growling voice back better than what's been done previously in recent years. Sure he's clean speaking/singing too but that's a gimme. The guitar tones are dense and crushing. The way the album starts off giving you three heavy upbeat cuts: "Fearless Sky", "Gods Of Ancient" and "From The Gallows" is a benefit in my not so fuckin humble opinion. Aggression and anger is alive in this band's belly.

The really epic cuts, which remind ya of the past, come in at the mid point on "The Longest Winter" and the title cut. The former is the better of the two especially with Mackintosh's kinda psych tremolo lead work. The title cut hearkens back to the band's more depressive and melodic death/doom days with Nick Holmes in clean vocal mode. This cut goes out to the Goth guys out there in black eyeliner and SISTERS OF MERCY t-shirts they bought at Hot Topic ten years ago. They probably still live with their parents as well.

"No Passage For The Dead" and the final cut, "Until the Grave" are a return to the evil death doom hate which is more in line with what these guys have been doing off of their more recent releases. The songs are gritty and intense plus that old school death metal guitar tone running throughout. Then in between those two the band pulls one out of no where with "Blood & Chaos". This one rocks like it was a throwaway from In Requiem that they gave a second chance.

That's basically the release but I got the digibook version with two extra tracks and they're very good as well. All in all Medusa is a great album as far as my PARADISE LOST tastes go. Although I think they're due to put out a mediocre one next time. Then all the goth whores who've been complaining will be happy and stop their incessant whining which they've been doing for the past ten years. 

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

https://www.facebook.com/paradiselostofficial