EARLY MOODS - Self Titled review

 

EARLY MOODS - Self Titled

RidingEasy Records

The sad thing about getting old is becoming jaded. Even if you're into extreme music the prospect of discovering something actually exciting is few and far between. So when a new band comes along that blows you away it's a damm good feeling. It's a feeling that makes you feel young and excited. Especially when it's unexpected which is the case here.

I saw this California band open up for SAVAGE MASTER earlier in the year at a club in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I was absolutely floored on how great a performance they put on that night. I picked up their debut five song EP Spellbound which was pretty good. But it did lack some of the fire and high energy which was featured in their live set. But their singer announced from the stage that they'll have a new full length out soon.

So this was easily one of my most anticipated albums of the year. Actually after the first listen I was like damm I like em better live. But hey this is everything I thought of when I first saw them. This is metal for of us and you true believers. You've got your TROUBLE / PENTAGRAM style of doom delivered with a youthful enthusiasm. Toss in some NWOBHM (yeah like WITCHFINDER GENERAL) and you've got it.

The highlights of EARLY MOODS are many but here's a few key points. You've got these clean, up tempo vocals by Alberto Alcaraz. The guy is an amazing vocalist. Add to that the twin guitar attack of Eddie Andrade and Oscar Hernandez. These two guys are schooled in the SABBATH riff, add on fuzz and classic blues rock soloing of the early 70's days.

Finally you've got a rhythm section of Elix Feliciano on bass and drummer Chris Flores. These two guys know doom out the wazoo. Whether it's Elix Feliciano heavy handed (and CANDLEMASS style plucking) or Chris Flores' perfect as well as classic drum style. They are are the end package to this gift of doom.

This full length debut by EARLY MOODS is an obvious salute to the past but with youthful enthusiasm. Add to that great riffs and soloing out the wazoo! Yep that's two wazoos! In this era where you've been sludged, stoned and death doomed to hell. It's a breath of fresh air. It's also one of my favorite albums of 2022 and should be your's. This debut is a perfect album. 

https://ridingeasyrecs.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://earlymoods.bandcamp.com/album/early-moods

MEDIEVAL DEMON - Black Coven review

 

MEDIEVAL DEMON - Black Coven

Hells Headbangers Records

Decades ago Greece had a fairly cool black metal scene. I'm not about to name drop my way into a history lesson. If you're into BM then you know the facts. MEDIEVAL DEMON was actually part of that early Greek BM scene. Unfortunately while their contemporaries put out albums that we BM fans call classics. MEDIEVAL DEMON farted around until 1998 when they finally released a full length titled Demonolatria. 

If you've got that release, and I'm betting it's the reissue with the tame cover art. Then you know that MEDIEVAL DEMON were different then their fellow Greek BM acts. They were more towards the symphonic horror side of the scene. And then after that they split up. 

Now normally MEDIEVAL DEMON would've fell into that for sale pack of "obscure black metal". But no because in 2018 they came back and with a self released album Medieval Necromancy. Since then they've put out two more with this one, Black Coven, being the third and second one to come out on Hells Headbangers Records. 

Musically MEDIEVAL DEMON create old school melodic yet symphonic black metal. Their use of keyboards gives things a ghastly gothic touch. They're also one of the few BM acts to include saxophone in a few songs which comes off kinda cool. But the band cover the basics. Tortured vocals, melodic riffs with a few scorching solos. The rhythm section is solid. And when they kick into high gear it's cool as fuck.

Overall I believe since MEDIEVAL DEMON's resurrection a few years back that this is their best album. 

https://shop-hellsheadbangers.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://medievaldemon.bandcamp.com/album/black-coven

ACID WITCH – Rot Among Us review

 

ACID WITCH – Rot Among Us

Hells Headbangers Records

Well with Halloween 2022 a few weeks away it's a perfect time for ACID WITCH to release something new. Here's the shocker it's a full length, their fourth and it's been five years since their last one. Yeah for the past couple of years it's been EPs and comp releases. 

I'll admit that I liked this Detroit act's early stuff. You had sludgey stoner doom mixed with all the horror shtick. While they always utilized the synths in their songs to a horrific creepy accent. 2017's Evil Sound Screamers brought their use to the forefront. That was a decent album but I'll always reach for 2010's Stoned as my go to ACID WITCH album.

So with this new one I'm kinda disappointed. Sure the band is still in full on cheesy horror mode. But overall it's like they're more influenced by King Diamond then the SAB 4. There's some cool old style headbanging tracks like "The Sleeper" and “Devil’s Night Doom”. But there's more of a prog-like psych style on other cuts with the added demonic screech howled vocals. 

If I were on drugs then yeah I'd be freaking out. "5508 Martin St" which is supposed to be a Detroit folklore cut is not scary or rocking at all. The opener "Gather Each Witch" as well as the title cut had me bored. How do you open an album without some excitement? Of course the latter half of Rot Among Us is no prize either. Yeah like I said earlier this is a disappointment with repetitive riffs throughout. And I thought missing the NUNSLAUGHTER show the other night was a bummer. This made things worse.

https://shop-hellsheadbangers.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://acid-witch-detroit.bandcamp.com/album/rot-among-us

LIVE BURIAL - Curse of the Forlorn review

 

LIVE BURIAL - Curse of the Forlorn

Transcending Obscurity Records

LIVE BURIAL has easily become my favorite English extreme metal band of late. Well someone had to take over the mantle from BOLT THROWER and NAPALM DEATH. I got into em on their second full length, Unending Futility, which came out in 2020. That one was a tour de force of old school death doom mixed with death grind and tech death elements. 

On here their latest the band has matured a thousand fold. Instead of throwing everything at you like standing in a hurricane (trust me I know what that's like). The band has molded their sound to fuckin perfection. Jamie Brown delivers these amazing blast furnace style vocals. The fuckin riffs are either vicious or melodic. The guitar soloing is full on dive bombing. Many of which had me siting here going holy shit that's fuckin killer.

But I gotta give a thumbs up to drummer Matt Henderson. This guy, whether it's his dramatic fills or pounding snare action, this man is the metal drummer of our time. As far as the song structures go on here. Well as I mentioned earlier LIVE BURIAL has matured in that area. Instead of just kicking your ass the songs on here invite you in to a great DM time. 

I have to say the closing cut "This Prison I Call Flesh", which is an eleven plus minute opus, is my favorite cut on here. But when you've got clobbering numbers like "My Head as Tribute" and "Exhumation and Execution", plus every song on here. Yeah this release just fuckin rules. 

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://liveburialdeath.bandcamp.com/album/curse-of-the-forlorn-death-metal

INCANTATION - Tricennial of Blasphemy review

 

INCANTATION - Tricennial of Blasphemy

Relapse Records

So what we have here true believers is a compilation which is not only cool for death metal purists. But it's also a huge thank you to us dedicated INCANTATION fans. Tricennial of Blasphemy is a 2xCD (3 LPs if ya want it on vinyl) 30th anniversary collection of rarities, demos, previously unreleased tracks and live stuff. 

Now if you have all of this stuff (I doubt it) then good for you. Here it is all in one package. But if you don't, hello me, then this is gold. I won't expose all of what you get on here, bullshit I will. For starters I'll just say that the unreleased stuff is cool as fuck. Add to that I've heard their version of SLAYER's "Hell Awaits" before as well as the REVENANT cover “Degeneration” which was on a Decibal magazine flexi. All good stuff.

Plus there's the tracks from INCANTATION's 7"ers Entrantment of Evil which I have on a Relapse comp CD as well as the two cuts from their Deliverance of Horrific Prophecies 7"er which I have on another Relapse comp CD. But for me the really cool stuff are the demo cuts of Impending Diabolical Conquest songs sung by Will Rahmer of MORTICIAN. Yes I'm a MORTICIAN fan, and frankly who isn't. 

After all of that death doom and gloom greatness there's the various live tracks seven in all. In the end I just wanna shake John McEntee's hand and say thanks. I'll be blasting this for months to come. Most likely before work to get me in the mood. This could or should be my favorite album of the year but it's a compilation of old and rare stuff. Still it's of the best. 

https://store.relapse.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://incantation666.bandcamp.com/album/tricennial-of-blasphemy

VARIOUS ARTISTS - Faster Than the Fucking Devil review

 

VARIOUS ARTISTS - Faster Than the Fucking Devil

Wise Blood Records

So this year hasn't been great for compilation releases except for the typical label comps. But when I saw this one come in for review and recognized one band that I liked well why not give it a chance. And I'm glad I did. 

First off Faster Than the Fucking Devil is a four band compilation of blackened thrash. The first band on here is WRAITH from Indiana. They're the band I knew about and have been a fan of since their Absolute Power full length from 2019. Since then they've also released a full length, Undo the Chains, last year which was damm good. 

As far as their three song contribution here it's pure blackened thrash in the same vein as many past blasphemers. "Seven Serpents" is a real ripper and their best cut of the three. Next up are BLACK KNIFE from Lexington, Kentucky. This band was a cool surprise. They've been around since 2016 and have a bunch of releases out. Musically they're blackened thrash with a punk edge to em. I like their three cuts on here a lot. 

Third on this comp is GRAVERIPPER from Indiana and are a fairly new band. Musically their three song contribution is more of a tough guy vocals with some decent traditional thrash attack. And finally there's UNHOLY NIGHT from Russia. Musically, and production wise, this is low fi blackened punk. Their contribution here is two songs worthy of an old cassette demo. 

As always when it comes to split releases, whether it's two bands or in this case four, I treat it like a wrestling match. There has to be a winner. Now overall I think Faster Than the Fucking Devil is a damm good comp for people into blackened thrash. To me the best of this bunch is BLACK KNIFE.

https://wisebloodrecords.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://wisebloodrecords.bandcamp.com/album/faster-than-the-fucking-devil

ENTRAILS – An Eternal Time of Decay review

 

ENTRAILS – An Eternal Time of Decay

Hammerheart Records 

I got into ENTRAILS back in 2010 with their debut full length, Tales from the Morgue. They were part of that whole old school death metal revival back then. Their second album, The Tomb Awaits, from 2011 was pretty good as well. So on the weight of those two albums I became a huge fan. 

Then after that things got hit or miss. The four albums they did while on Metal Blade Records were cool. 2017's World Inferno being the best. In my not so humble opinion it's the difference of being an influenced band and taking those influences and creating your own path which has been ENTRAILS problem. 

On this latest one you've got the same newer line-up as on Rise of the Reaper from 2019. I'm talking about mainman and Boss HM - 2 worship guitarist Jimmy Lundqvist. Plus there's Pontus Samuelsson who early on was on guitar but now handles bass and vocals. And then newest members Markus Svensson on guitar and Arvid Borg on drums.

While that last album was decent this one definitely clicks into a higher level of greatness. Dare I say the band are finally their own. This is ENTRAILS' version of Swedish DM, sure the familiar, but damm powerful and welcome to 2022. The savage-ness as well as atmospheric breaks is their in some song structures. Sweet solos dive in and out. Yeah this is cool. May the Boss HM-2 be with you!

https://www.hammerheart.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hammerheart.bandcamp.com/releases