CHUFFED - Demo 2025 review

 

CHUFFED - Demo 2025

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

So this is pretty cool and it's because the band shows promise in a style of music I really like. Basically it's Old School Death Metal in the Swedish vein crashing head long into 1980's Hardcore ala England's DISCHARGE. Now there are a few older bands, yeah from Sweden, who have done it all before. But in recent years I discovered two cool new bands from Sweden, CRAWL and FERAL, who nail the sound to perfection. 

Sorry but they're not on this label. This act here hails from the mountains of Pennsylvania. OK like where? Are we talking the Catskills, the Poconos or the fucking Allegheny Mountains which is Bigfoot country. I mean maybe those mountain towns are an influence in like boredom. 

Which brings us back to this five track release. CHUFFED is actually a one man band. The one man being Deron Christman who performs all the instruments and vocals. Supposedly he'll have a full band the next time we hear from em. I hope so because this is raw sounding killer fucking Extreme Metal. I like Deron's guttural vocals. The riffs on here are crunchy as sin. And of course the drum work is hardcore as fuck. 

I'll be waiting for CHUFFED's full length debut in the future but for now damm pick this fucker up. 

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/demo-2025

GORE MACHINE - Congealed and Foaming review

 

GORE MACHINE - Congealed and Foaming

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

Here's the second full length by this one man Brutal Death Metal / Goregrind act hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Yeah that place is also known as the city of brotherly love. Your opinion will change once you give this one a listen. Then you'll know why I call Philly "Hostile City, USA." The one man involved here is named Druesome and is responsible for the usual aka: all instruments, vocals, and sampling duties.

On the band's debut, Macerated & Liquified from 2024, Druesome pretty much created a concept album dedicated to The Darwin Awards. Basically it was all about individuals who did totally fucked up things which not only defy common sense. But end up having the people either dying or totally fucking themselves up. 

This new one follows the same vein to a point. The Ten songs on here are all dedicated to people fucking them selves up. I'll give Druesome some credit because he does do research into all of these grizzly tragedies. That's better than your generic wannabe goregrind BDM act these days. 

Of course the one problem I have with this album as well as the debut is the production. I can only imagine what this would sound like if everything was amped up a touch. So for me I can just blast this in the music room till the windows shake. Hopefully the neighbors don't call the cops on me, again. 

Yeah this is another winner from Druesome. I like his altered vocal intros to each song. The hellish screams, pig squeals and grunting which pass for vocals are cool. The guitar riffs have that sick tone. The drums sound like someone beating on a plastic pickle bucket. I mean this is the real deal.   

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/congealed-and-foaming

FUATH - III review

 

FUATH - III

Northern Silence Productions

For some cool reason January always has some cool as fuck Black Metal releases. In just the past couple of weeks I've heard two amazing releases which will be remembered in December. Here's another one which needs attention. This is the third full length release by FUATH which is a one man band from Glasgow, Scotland. The one man is Andy Marshall who performs everything. 

Musically this is Atmospheric Black Metal in the same vein as early DRUDKH. In fact the four cuts on here are very similar to what DRUDKH has done. You've got two long tracks that bookend the release with two shorter tracks inbetween. Now with that said it is an amazing release as far as Atmospheric Black Metal goes. Andy Marshall channels DRUDKH through his Scottish lens. 

You have to appreciate the cascading and painful tremolo picked melodic riffs, harsh vocals and pummeling drum work that runs throughout this release. It's a renewed sound by someone else which fans from the past will congregate too instead of being jaded. All in all it's an amazing piece of work. One of the best of 2026 easily unless you're a jaded piece of shit. What's funny is I'm the 60 plus year old guy who's supposed to be jaded and I'm not. So yeah buy this one and then back track to this band's previous releases.    

https://northern-silence.de/en/

LISTEN HERE:

https://fuath.bandcamp.com/album/iii

ENDLESS DISMAL MOAN - Lord of Nightmare Reissue review

 

ENDLESS DISMAL MOAN - Lord of Nightmare Reissue

Hessian Firm

I am not a fan of Japanese Black Metal. Now I've got a couple of SIGH CDs but overall I saw them as being weird just for the sake of it. ENDLESS DISMAL MOAN from Japan were not weird. The past tense is important because this one man Japanese Black Metal band, the one man being Chaos 9 (aka: Takuya Tsutsui) is dead. He killed himself in 2008 using a gun. So much for those strict gun laws in Japan. Pictured below is what he looked like. 

My first thought while listening to this was imagine Kabooki theater meets Wes Craven. In other words the whole atmosphere Chaos 9 produced on this his debut full length from 2006 is horrific. The tremolo picked riffs are savage as well icy cold and cruel. There's keyboards which add in a symphonic element. The drum work is actually programmed which surprised me because they sound organic. Finally Chaos 9's vocals are a cross between a the shrieks of banshee and a blood curdling vampire bat / human hybrid.  

This is a sickening six song release that will have you liking every second of it while the music destroys your mind or it will be something fun to play to piss off friends or neighbors. I'd choose the latter always because my neighbors are assholes especially the one right nextdoor. Otherwise this is not something that would fit in my wheelhouse. 

But if you're a fan of Japanese Extreme Music then this is a second chance to pick something up by an artist who unfortunately decided to take his own life a few years after it was originally released. You might even consider this a masterpiece. Nuff Said! 

https://hessianfirm.bigcartel.com/product/endless-dismal-moan-lord-of-nightmare

LISTEN HERE:

https://endlessdismalmoan.bandcamp.com/album/lord-of-nightmare

GRAVE SPEAKER - Rays of the Emerald Sun review

 

GRAVE SPEAKER - Rays of the Emerald Sun

Electric Valley Records

Irony is my door step in life. Case in point I was talking with a worker (bartender / waiter) at my restaurant the other day about music. This young guy is getting into non modern music. According to him his parents were turning him onto a lot of 70's Hard Rock, Prog Rock and Psych. I mentioned the term Stoner Rock and he said yeah I'm into that. So I named a few bands aka: SLEEP & ELECTRIC WIZARD and he didn't know about em. But he said he'll check em out. 

So with that said welcome to the second full length by GRAVE SPEAKER. This is a one man Stoner Doom project by John Steele who hails from Massachusetts. John Steele is / was the guitarist of the band HIGH N' HEAVY who are also on this label. Musically speaking here's where the above mentioned irony comes in. GRAVE SPEAKER weighs heavy on influences by SLEEP and ELECTRIC WIZARD worship. But not the whole way through.

Now be that as it may I'm not gonna shit on this for two reasons. The first reason is that ELECTRIC WIZARD hasn't released a good album in twenty years. Also is SLEEP really a band anymore? I mean if you just get together to play festivals without releasing new music then you're not in a band anymore. 

The second reason I'll give this release it's fair due is because it just sounds cool as fuck. At least John Steele can write some off beat songs that are not of the cliche above mentioned style like "Sword of Life". To me that's the outlier track on here. Add to that the Psych mania of "Tower" which combines great classic 70's Hammond organ with thunderous bass, decent drum work and bluesy guitar lead work. 

In the end if you're a connisuer of Stoner Doom then here ya go. This is right up your alley with six cuts worth passing the bong around to friends under the light of a lava lamp. I guess that's a Spencer's Gifts reference. Damm I'm old, you people don't even know what a bong is. Oh well get this release you're like it a lot. 

https://www.electricvalleyrecords.com/\

LISTEN HERE:

https://evrecords.bandcamp.com/album/grave-speaker-rays-of-the-emerald-sun

DIVINE SOVEREIGN - Autaxia Chronicles: Dawn of a New Age review

 

DIVINE SOVEREIGN -  Autaxia Chronicles: Dawn of a New Age

WormHoleDeath

Just for the record this is a concept album which made me think back on my thoughts of them. I have to admit I do own many concept albums going back to the 1970's with RUSH 2112 to a handful of ABSU full lengths and so on. This is also what I'm guessing is part one of many more to come. So let's get into this. 

DIVINE SOVEREIGN is a one man band. The one man is Cezary Rochnowski who hails from the great nation of Poland and performs all the instruments and sings. As far as the music goes this is a mix of Atmospheric Black Metal and Doom. Sound-wise Cezary does a good job merging the two genres. The Black Metal touches are standard melodic while the Doom is thunderous. Cezary's vocals are a deep baritone which also keeps in the Doom aesthetic but he does let out a harsh deep blackened vocal scream once in a while. 

As far as the concept of this release goes it's basically a science fiction narrative which is actually a metaphor of religious fanatisism. Now those of you who read this site (and frankly who doesn't) know that 99.9% of the time I don't mention politics or religion. Obviously the artists I write about do mention it in their lyrics and I let the reader / listener make up their own mind about it. 

As for myself I've been a history buff for all of my life and when it comes to religious fanaticism I can say since the dawn of recorded time we human beings have been victims of it. I mean something which is/was supposed to be beneficial is corrupted by people seeking power over the individual. Cezary Rochnowski's epic music on this release is certainly a metaphor. I say that because there are modern day religious fanatics that would kill him if actually named names, in modern day Europe. 

In the end this is a decent sounding release. I'm not overwhelmed by it in the least. It's the perfect blend of that beauty and bestial sound which is cool for late night listening. I will say Cezary Rochnowski has his work cut out for him on part two of these chronicles.  

https://wormholedeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://divinesovereign.bandcamp.com/album/autaxia-chronicles-dawn-of-a-new-age

MALUMMORTEM - Volume I review

 

MALUMMORTEM - Volume I

Black Mass Prayers

While I was first checking out this release it dawned on me that I've been listening to Black Metal, especially off the beaten path Black Metal, for a very very long fuckin time. Now obviously the genre has grown over the decades and shout out limbs all over the place. Two limbs or sub genres of Black Metal which I've always found fun / interesting are the Suicidal and Depressive BM sub-genres. Now when I say "fun" let me explain. 

Obviously I'm not the target audience for anything suicidal or depressive. Hey I'm a happy guy and yeah hate is the handshake I give to the world. The thing with me is how can you be a suicidal BM artist and still be around for twenty years? Next as far as the depressive BM stuff goes after listening to two of a artist's full lengths I get depressed. Thankfully these people are not on anti-depressants or they'd be involved in mass shootings. So yes stay off the meds and just play Black Metal.

Be that as it may there's some blackened beauty in these BM sub-genres which you cannot deny if your a fan. Case in point here we have the second full length from Italy's MALUMMORTEM. This is a one man band (ain't they all) with Valentino Aragues performing everything (as usual) which is electric & acoustic guitars, drums, maybe bass but I can't really determine that on listening to this. 

Valentino Aragues started this act back in 2023. His first full length came out the following year. Since then he's released some short form releases. From what I see most of them appear on this release like "Hate God and Kill Yourself", "Awaiting for my Death" and "You Were My Angel". 

With that all said yeah musically it's the usual I love BURZUM effect with the cold riffage sound structures and pain filled vocals. But I give Valentino Aragues credit for introducing some of his own cultural touches especially with the acoustic passages. BM music like this these days needs a twist to be inviting. Along with the before mentioned acoustic stuff there's good straight up guitar solos. Obviously there's a melancholy vibe once in a while. 

In the end it's been a while since I've blasted something like this other than a few Moribund Records favorites from years ago. But on the good side it's been a while since I've heard a decent artist do DSBM well enough to enjoy. MALUMMORTEM's Volume I full length should be a modern day start for all DSBM fans. Also we can all look forward to Volume Two unless he offs himself.

LISTEN TO & BUY IT HERE:

https://blackmassprayers.bandcamp.com/album/volume-i

FELGRAVE - Otherlike Darknesses review

 

FELGRAVE - Otherlike Darknesses

Transcending Obscurity Records

Someone here is a fan of that Robert Fripp's solo album where he went really Metal as well as some KING CRIMSON. That person who I'm thinking of is FELGRAVE main man M. L. Jupe who is responsible for vocals, guitars, bass and the keyboards. On drums there's Robin Stone who does an amazing job with that. 

So what we have here is the second full length by M. L. Jupe under the band name FELGRAVE who hails from Norway. The tag line on this is Death/Doom but that's a mild way of putting it. This album has three long tracks which are actually horrific soundscapes which no one on prescribed medication should attempt to check out. I mean I like my beer but I'm almost ready to call a friend about some low dose mushrooms while listening to this one. 

When I listen to this I'm thinking real Prog Metal. I mean this release makes DREAM THEATER sound like a fucking joke. FELGRAVE combines Black Metal (especially with the harsh vocals) Death Metal (a lot of heavy riffs) Doom and Prog Rock. Alright fuck the mushrooms, can ya still get acid these days? I mean the good stuff like we had in the past. We'd drop acid and listen to BLACK SABBATH at 78 speed on the turntable. 

Be that as it may this is probably the most exciting non generic genre sounding release I've heard in a long time. This is not mere music. It's an experience in forty-eight and a half minutes. After my first listen I needed a ten minute break before I continued. And it felt like I was deaf for that whole time. 

As I mentioned before Otherlike Darknesses is three long tracks. You've got two eighteen minute numbers book ending a twelve and a half minute cut. Each cut is a mega opus of Extreme Metal mayhem that gives forth to a variety of shifts and tones. It's like going psycho to somber all the way through. Even better is that it's addictive because repeated listens is a must. 

Obviously this release won't appeal to the straight forward genre purists. Which it shouldn't because this is a release for psychos, hey how ya doing? I've heard bands in the past try to get to this level of sophistication in extreme sound structures. But as for now FELGRAVE has reached that summit and it sounds amazing. 

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://felgrave-label.bandcamp.com/album/otherlike-darknesses

MUSKEG CHARNEL - Decomposition Part 4: Livor Mortis review

 

MUSKEG CHARNEL - Decomposition Part 4: Livor Mortis

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

This might be an investment because MUSKEG CHARNEL still has three more releases to go in their seven-part series of albums. Now in all honesty I wasn't too fond of this act's Part three release aka: Decomposition Part 3: Rigor Mortis which came out in 2023 on this label. But hey things change sometimes and after checking this one out they have. 

MUSKEG CHARNEL is a one man Black Metal act from Erie, Pennsylvania. The one man is named Wretch and of course he performs all instruments and sings. Don't mock where this guy is from. I know it's been decades for me but the last time I was in Erie, Pennsylvania (I was riding with "friends" on motorcycles, nuff said) the place was a shithole. It might be better now I don't know but then again it still might be a shithole to inspire this type of Black Metal composition. 

With that said this latest release by MUSKEG CHARNEL is far better than the last one. Sure there's still that cool mid-1990's Swedish Black Metal influence or template which Wretch is dependent on. And of course that's the brutality meets melody part. I mean the tremolo picked riffs, icy sounding keyboards, the background guitar distortion and yeah the vocals which vary from harsh to sort of Death Metal growls are all there.

But then Wretch does the unthinkable (aka: what us old fucks want) he puts in some originality which makes things more interesting as well as engaging to the listener. I mean three songs in and you're hit with a title track that's cold, cruel and repellent to human beings. Wretch also knows how to work well with atmosphere, which is what Black Metal is all about, and make the best of scary human feelings. 

I mean if you think about your death it's always a wow holy shit moment like waking up from a nightmare. Which brings this album into a more cool focus. This is a total late night Black Metal type of release to play. Wretch is all about the process of decay and death. In the end yeah this is a investment like Black Metal insurance. After hearing this one I'm cool with my blackend 401K. 

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/decomposition-part-4-livor-mortis

KOSUKE HASHIDA - Outrage review

 

KOSUKE HASHIDA - Outrage 

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

I described this guy's debut album, Justifiable Homicide, from last year as "just short of seventeen minutes of audio Japanese murder mayhem". I'm sure it's still available on HPGD Productions for you to check out which you should for good reason. 

This is Death Grind pure and simple. It's also another great album by Kosuke Hashida from Tokyo Japan , a one man manic when it comes to this type of music. In the past he played guitar for the Death Metal act WORLD END MAN. But nowadays, obviously, he's putting out solo albums where he performs all instruments. 

On Outrage ya got just eleven savage cuts which is really full blown Death Grind with a little Thrash influence. To me it's all about Kosuke Hashida's fuckin guitar riffs which are so evil so crazy diabolical sounding. I mean this is something you wanna hear right before you leave your home to face the world whether it's going to work or to the store. 

All I can say is stick this in my veins! Sick sadistic music is so fuckin cool especially when it sounds so raw. Kosuke Hashida's vocals come across as one pissed off individual who's covered in blood and has a few issues other than the obvious ones you can see.  

So I have to tell ya this. I know I've got a crazy ass smile going on. Then I remember working with this one guy who was telling me about people in the hood who walk around with the "crazy face". Then he would give us this weird facial expresion and me plus the other co-workers would laugh our asses off. So while this album was blasting I went into the bathroom to look in the mirror and holy shit I've got the crazy face. 

So yeah this second full length by Kosuke Hashida rules and it'll give ya the crazy face. 

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

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

SATANIC WARMASTER - Exultation of Cruelty review

 

SATANIC WARMASTER - Exultation of Cruelty

Werewolf Records / Hells Headbangers Records

So here we have SATANIC WARMASTER's seventh full length since starting out back in the late 1990s. And if memory serves me I believe the last album, Aamongandr, from 2022 came out in late December as well. Then again what would you expect since it's grim and frosty right now in various parts of the world especially in Finland where SATANIC WARMASTER calls home.

After a few listens to this new one I have to say that Werwolf (the main man / multi-instrumentalist) is probably the last man with integrity from Finland when it comes to creating true Black Metal. Look I've been a fan of SATANIC WARMASTER since the first album, Strength & Honour, from 2001. But I have to say Werwolf's more recent out put has become my favorites from him. Aamongandr, from 2022, became my new favorite album by SATANIC WARMASTER. This one continues on to that same territory.

Musically of course for fans of old you still get plenty of that patented cold, cruel sounding necro blackened brutality. It's a tremolo picked ice storm of riffs with Tupperware drum blastbeats and that blasphemic acid tinged vocal style. But then modern day Werwolf cuts in with the slow atmosphere breaks, tosses in beautiful melodies and dare I say it, sounds like some synths are added in the far background. 

But hey blast "Harken the Bells of Damnation" to the hilt and tell me in ain't twenty years ago sounding and better. Tell me that "As Blood Snarls a Macabre Silhouette" is not a head-banging Blackened rocker which turns into a slam pit frenzy? Tell me that "I Inhale the Cruelty of Winter's Breath" is not one of the best BM cuts you've endured in the past decade? Notice that there are no trend hopping bullshit going on. No stupidity, no hiptard bullshit and no weakness is what you find on this release. Yeah this one rules!!!!

https://www.werewolf.fi/

https://shop-hellsheadbangers.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzL7q29tASo

MORBID GRAVE - The Slime Crawlers Reissue review

 

MORBID GRAVE - The Slime Crawlers Reissue

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

I was telling a friend the other day that I'm getting bored again. In other words nothing new coming in for review really (I mean really) excites me. I'd say ten percent is really cool as well as fuckin great and the rest is OK. Obviously the releases I ignore (whether I give em a listen or not because of their descriptions) don't count. That's why I end up go to the shelves and blast older stuff. And without a doubt as much as I like my Black Metal the fact is Death Metal is my go to sound in order to feel good. One of my favorite lines at work after listening to the crappy music they play is "this is why I listen to Death Metal". 

Then of course enters MORBID GRAVE and this release here is a savior. To me this kinda rules because it's lo-fi sounding (aka: a cool demo) death metal with some death doom touches. Yes this is cavernous chaotic sounding stuff from Denmark. Just to get some info out of the way MORBID GRAVE is a one man band. The one man is multi instrumentalist Michael Huhle. While looking up his history he's been a former member of a lot of bands. I saw that he use to play with DENIAL OF GOD as a live musician so I'm like yeah that's cool.

But anyways this release sound wise is a hideous beast of bludgeoning riffs, smashed cymbals, diabolical song structures that would make Cthulhu, INCANTATION or PROFANATICA proud let alone a whole lot of fanatics in Brazil. Yeah this is the kind of music you wanna blast on your outdoor speakers while you're sitting out on the back deck with a beer. Unfortunately the neighbors would call the cops. They'd come into the back yard with guns drawn thinking Satan has emerged from behind a two bedroom home. Nah I'm just playing it loud to keep the deer away from my tomato plants. 

Whatever, the story here is that this full length release here, The Slime Crawlers, originally came out in 2022. So the good people at Horror Pain Gore Death Productions (I'm lying because they're evil) reissued the full length plus tagged on MORBID GRAVE's six song EP, Pandemic Mutations, which came out in 2021. In the end this is ugly fuckin death metal which to me is a treat. 

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/the-slime-crawlers-ep

ILDFAR - Sorrowful Echoes Of Perdition review

 

ILDFAR - Sorrowful Echoes Of Perdition

Wolfspell Records

So when was the last time you heard some new black metal from Norway that wasn't from an established artist? Yeah I'll wait a few minutes. Times up and in all honesty off the top of my head I cannot name one. But of course here we have the third full length by ILDFAR. Basically this is a one man black metal act. The one man is Favn (aka: Thomas Aamodt) who is responsible for everything as in the vocals, guitars and keyboards. 

While listening to this I obviously got the notion that Favn is an accomplished pianist (check out the instrumentals "Til graven" or "Emptiness") who also likes DARKTHRONE, MAYHEM as well as BURZUM. In other words to be obvious yeah he's into classic early 1990's True Norwegian Black Metal. This is my first listen to his material and I'm like yeah it's a complete throwback to the past. Blast "Kulden som river i mitt sinn" or "Raa og kald" and get dragged back into a tremolo picked guitar frenzy. Add to that Favn's aggro yet harsh vocal style. 

"We Fall" is probably my favorite cut on this release. It's the longest cut on here with a run time of just over eight minutes. It packs in the full aggressive nature plus harsh atmosphere all at once. Most of the songs on Sorrowful Echoes Of Perdition (there's ten cuts in all) run in the three plus to five minute range. I like how Favn's song writing style doesn't linger on into repetitive boredom. In the end yeah musically it's familiar territory being traveled but I cannot deny it's appeal for someone who's not entirely against the idea of reviving something cool. 

https://wolfspell.pl/

LISTEN HERE:

https://ildfar.bandcamp.com/album/sorrowful-echoes-of-perdition-2

KOSUKE HASHIDA - Justifiable Homicide review

 

KOSUKE HASHIDA - Justifiable Homicide

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

I know a friend who's heavily into what I'd call "gore cinema". In other words he's a collector of the really sick stuff that's made it's way in film. I remember him once telling me he was into watching a lot of Japanese serial killer films. Hey I didn't know that was a thing. But I believe this is an album that could sum it all up. 

What we have here is just short of seventeen minutes of audio Japanese murder mayhem. This is the debut full length by Kosuke Hashida from Tokyo, Japan. On here he's a one man act performing everything obviously. But from I've learned he was / is a guitarist in a death metal act called WORLD END MAN. I can't say that I'm familiar with them.  

Be that as it may, on Justifiable Homicide Kosuke Hashida has created a slash and burn concoction of death grind which is totally punishing to say the least. Not only should this release contain a warning label. But I'd also add recommended dosage instructions. Repeated listening could result in fits of anxiety as well as paranoia. 

Musically this guy provides a fuckin relentless wall of angry, threatening riffs, punishing drum work and barked vocals. Hell he even finds space to fit in some thunderous bass riffs. I thought that was cool being there's an absence of guitar soloing. So if ya got seventeen minutes to kill (pun intended) this one is definitely recommended for a search. 

What's really funny is the fact that what music I have from Japanese extreme music acts whether they be grindcore, black metal or hardcore. My favorite band from Japan has always been GUITAR WOLF. 

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/justifiable-homicide

DRUNK THRASHER - Raining Vomit EP review

DRUNK THRASHER - Raining Vomit EP

Godz ov War Productions

Back in 2022 this Polish one man act self released this EP on vinyl with a very limited run. Fast forward a few years and Godz ov War Productions took the original four songs from that release. Then they added a newer song from 2023 and here you have a sort of debut. 

Now let me be honest with ya. With a name like DRUNK THRASHER and your release is titled Raining Vomit well of course I have to check it out. Now after listening to it I'll tell ya this comes across as really low-fi blackened speed metal. But in a way that's kinda cool. 

The one man behind this is the Drunk Thrasher (aka: Piotr Palej) who's responsible for the usual all the instruments and vocals thing. Actually as far as the music goes I can only hear the guitars and drums. But hey I like Piotr's vicious black metal style vocals and ya know the songs are actually cool. 

Hey ya never know, this guy could become Poland's answer to MIDNIGHT, TOXIC HOLOCAUST or the Scottish fuck who had a big album last year. Hey DRUNK THRASHER has my vote as the next big thing in blackened speed metal. Nuff Said and now I'm gonna have a beer. 

http://godzovwar.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/raining-vomit

 

FATHOMAGE - Autumn's Dawn, Winter's Darkness review

 

FATHOMAGE - Autumn's Dawn, Winter's Darkness

Northern Silence Productions

The two times of the day when I like to write about music are late at night after work and mid mornings. Basically I'm winding down or getting wound up. Listening to this release from Australia's FATHOMAGE is a two fold. I could easily end my evening with it or wake my ass up to it. Obviously I've given up my hand to the thoughts I have on it. 

FATHOMAGE is a one man black metal act from Australia. The one man multi-instrumentalist is named Akul. Musically this is a black metal pantheon of beauty and the bestial. BM textures abound while melancholy guitar picking, whether it's acoustic or electric, take the listener on a atmospheric journey. Akul provides painful screams from some very depressive bowels. But then there are other times when he screams out with a terrifying banter. either way his vocals command attention.

Overall musically the introduction segments to these cuts, there's eight in all, really drag you in but a few drag on too much. I mean if I was high on drugs I wouldn't mind but I don't do that stuff anymore. I drink a bit but still not as much to assume I'm on an astral plane. Opener and title cut "Autumn's Dawn, Winter's Darkness" is amazing. Follow that up with "The Majesty and Beauty of a Fallen World" which is truly epic atmospheric BM. I love the keyboards on this one. 

A big surprise for me is liking the acoustic guitar instrumental "In the Twilight of the Night". It's a complete break from the BM norm and I think an album of this majestic BM attitude needs it. Carrying on "Light of the Eternal Dawn" is a beautiful ode to Norwegian BM.

It starts out ridiculously radical and harsh with some cool tremolo picked riffs. Then introduces some tranquil melody to cool things off for a minute or two. Next all hell rips loose with tremolo picked melodies. This is a total wall of BM fury which almost had me shifting to the outdoor speakers just to piss off the neighbors. The closing song, "We Wept Under the Moonlight Shadow" which is a fourteen minute plus epic piece. Good stuff all around on this one. 

This is the seventh full length by Akul under the band name FATHOMAGE. The first album, Portraits of an Illustrative Mania, came out in 2018. Here we are years later and Akul gives us a well balanced atmospheric black metal album. 

LISTEN TO and BUY IT HERE:

https://fathomage.bandcamp.com/album/autumns-dawn-winters-darkness

GATEWAY - Galgendood review

 

GATEWAY - Galgendood

Transcending Obscurity Records

This is the second full length by GATEWAY, a one man death doom act from Belgium. The one man is Robin van Oyen. Just some history for you. Robin started GATEWAY back in 2014. After one well received demo, Aeternae, which was three cuts. He followed it up with the self titled full length in 2015. After that well things got shortened. From 2016 to 2021 Robin released four EPs. 

So here we are in 2023 and the death doom Robin has produced is good and has been around for well over a decade or so. Finnish bands doing the same thing for a long time. Now with that said I have to say the production on here is immense. The bestial vocals are part cavernous part painful. The riff package consists of diabolical rhythms, pounding riffs and once in a great while some tremolo excitement. 

Like I mentioned before this is nothing new to anyone, yeah like me, into modern European sludgy horrific sounding death doom. And hey how bout what's come out of Australia for example over the past fifteen years. Be that as it may if this is the only album this year doing this kind of destructive mind fuck on reality then I'm in the dark dungeon with it's torture. Hails!

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://gatewayband.bandcamp.com/album/galgendood

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

HAXANU - Totenpass review

 

HAXANU - Totenpass

Amor Fati Productions

Well this is kinda interesting. This is the second album by Alexander Poole under the band name HAXANU. Alexander performs all instruments but vocals are left up to the one who goes by L.C. For those of you who might know Alexander Poole has been involved with quite a few bands in his illustrious BM career. 

Most notably he was in KRIEG for a while. I have a split EP with KRIEG and LEVIATHAN in which Alexander Poole is the guitarist in KRIEG. As far as this release goes it's total blast-beat frenzy of wannabe atmosphreic BM. Add to that someone involved here loves Sweden more than USA as far as BM goes. Cool stuff if your're late to the BM party. And I'm not.

https://shop.amor-fati-productions.de/en/

LISTEN HERE:

https://amorfatiproductions.bandcamp.com/album/h-xanu-totenpass

THORN - Evergloom review

 

THORN - Evergloom

Transcending Obscurity Records

Around fifteen years ago the thought of a one man death metal act was considered a rarity or to some degree mockery. Nowadays that's not the case especially with all of the technical tools available. It also helps when the one man is also in another band and this is a side project.

The one man here is Brennen Westermeyer from Phoenix, Arizona who performs all instruments. While doing some research I found out that Brennen is also the singer for the band FLUIDS. I have a NUNSLAUGHTER / FLUIDS split cassette which came out last year on Hells Headbangers Records. Well of course I fuckin do, it's NUNSLAUGHTER dammit. 

But anyways as far as this third album by THORN goes. This is what I like to call late night death doom. Brennen's vocals are the brutal package while the music is mostly atmospheric to tranquil heavy. The riffs are fine but the soloing creates a harmonic feeling almost as if this is psych. I mean "Thanatos Basileos" pushes the gambit on the peyote induced DM idea. The final cut and the title track reinforces the whole trip idea. 

In the end I wished I'd smoke weed nowadays instead of still being a speed freak and beer drinker. This THORN  album is perfect for a death metal pot smoker. 

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://thorndm.bandcamp.com/album/evergloom