TOWER - Let There Be Dark review

 

TOWER - Let There Be Dark

Cruz del Sur Music

I like when newer bands start out strong with that fury of the past and then recreate it all in their own image. On this TOWER's third full length they've forged something powerful and slightly different then last time I heard em. And just from the beginning here I'm gonna say this fuckin album rules.

I first got into this New York five piece act with their second album Shock to the System. I saw em on that tour and they were amazing. It was great female fronted Metal as far as contemporary acts go these days. They were very rock influenced but had plenty of NWOBHM influence within. So that album was one of my top favorites of 2021. It still is in fact I'd label it a classic album of the 2020's decade.

So with this new one yeah it's forged in a different and better way. Starting with the obvious, Sarabeth Linden's vocals are over the top. I mean she has that operatic high style plus some hard rockin vocals to boot. I thought she was captivating to hear last time around. But on this album I'd say Sarabeth Linden is one of the greatest vocalist in Metal right now.

The second thing which is great about this album is the amazing rocking guitar duo of James Danzo and Zak Penley. The riffs are in that speedy NWOBHM style and the solos just bite yer head off. Along with that the band has new drummer Keith Mikus who joined in 2022. This guy is pretty fuckin dynamic in his playing. Also there's original bassist Philippe Arman who also came back into the fold in 2022. So this is like a super fuckin line-up. 

Now when the opening cut "Under the Chapel" hits then you know, if you're a fan, that this is not exactly the TOWER you knew. Since the album title is Let There Be Dark then yeah TOWER has moved slightly to the darker side. Also this album has more of a metallic edge as well as still being melodic and aggressive sounding. 

This album is just fantastic as in one of the best albums of 2025.

https://www.cruzdelsurmusic.com/store/

LISTEN HERE:

https://towernyc.bandcamp.com/album/let-there-be-dark

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. 

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

LISTEN HERE:

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

GRAVE INFESTATION - Carnage Gathers review

 

GRAVE INFESTATION - Carnage Gathers

Dark Descent Records / Invictus Productions

I learned about GRAVE INFESTATION last year with their split EP with NOROTH. That release came out on Carbonized Records. I liked the band so much that I got their debut full length, Persecution of the Living, which came out in 2022. While I'm still keeping that one in the frequent play stack, out now is their second full length. And I have to say this one is even better. 

GRAVE INFESTATION are a Canadian four piece act who's whole reason for existing is to create old school sounding Death Metal. Sound-wise it's four knuckle dragging Neanderthals with instruments recording in their cave. It's first generation sounding Death Metal meaning you're gonna hear some thrash parts. 

For an old fuck like me this is like old fashioned candy. This release is a perfect throwback to 1987/88 when the first era of Death Metal really got going. The riffs are morbid as fuck. The rhythm section is pure diabolical. The guitar soloing is so sick sounding it would make a new school kid puke. And of course the vocals are ghastly. 

Now some lame ass piece of shit would thumb their nose at something like this. Not me because I don't care if there's a song that sounds like it could've been on the Scream Bloody Gore demos. Or that they're Canadians but sound like early USDM. Fuck that shit! GRAVE INFESTATION's second album is hate that's their handshake to the world. It's an amazing album. 

https://www.darkdescentrecords.com/shop/

LISTEN HERE:

https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/carnage-gathers

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

VULVECTOMY - Aberrant Vaginal Gestation review

 

VULVECTOMY - Aberrant Vaginal Gestation

Comatose Music

Well obviously anyone who reads this blog will not be shocked that not only do I know who they are but I own their two previous releases. VULVECTOMY are a four piece Brootal Death Metal band from Italy. Their second and third full lengths, the ones I got, came out on Sevared Records years ago. Now this full length, their fourth, is out on Comatose Music which is a label from my home state. They also specialize in lo-fi, heavy as fuck, filthy brootal sounding metal. 

Obviously VULVECTOMY has found a new home since being silent for the past twelve years. The only difference over time has been a switch on drums with Marco Coghe (from DEVANGELIC) taking charge. No more drum machine shit. The new guy is damm good and adds a better dynamic to the band's sound / style. Guitarist Mario Di Giambattista is also in DEVANGELIC. 

Musically this is their best album overall. Instead of treading along as just another BDM band. VULVECTOMY now come across as a Death Metal band which is slow, trudging and heavy as fuck with a mutated beast from some abandoned mine-shaft on vocals. Speaking of which Diego Fanelli's vocals are way better on here. No full blown pig squealing this time around although he comes very close. Giorgio Cavaliere's bass sound still seems buried in the mix. But Mario Di Giambattista's guitar riffs are fuckin incredible. 

Years ago VULVECTOMY were like a little fish swimming in a huge Brootal Death Metal pond dominated by sick fucking US bands. With this album I'm not gonna say they're the shark eating everything in sight. But I will say this is damm good. The album artwork might be tame as far as what they put out in the past. But their song titles and lyrics are still sick as fuck which would make CARCASS blush and MORTICIAN proud. 

https://www.comatosemusic.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://comatosemusic.bandcamp.com/album/aberrant-vaginal-gestation

OBSCUREVIOLENCE - Refuting the Flesh EP review

 

OBSCUREVIOLENCE - Refuting the Flesh EP

Transcending Obscurity Records

Back in early January when I was checking out the Transcending Obscurity Records 2025 label sampler this was one of many bands that I really was interested in hearing more from. The song from that compilation was "Pulse of Subconscious Cruelty" which is the last cut on this release. 

OBSCUREVIOLENCE are a three piece Blackened Death act from Russia. Hey I hope they're alright. I mean there's a fuckin war going on over there. As much as I love my violent metal I wanna see the musicians playing instruments and not running around with assault rifles. 

Let me indulge you all in a rare moment of honesty. I am former military. I've seen and participated in warfare. With that said I think if there was a huge Metal Fest over in the battle ground zone with bands from Russia and Ukraine all playing Metal it would bring some peace. Put down the guns, pick up the instruments and rock. I want your metal not your causalities. Nuff Said. 

Now as far as this debut EP goes OBSCUREVIOLENCE are not breaking any new ground as far as modern day Blackened Death Metal goes. But on all of these six tracks there's not only an attention to detail but there's a ferocious sound that demands attention. I like how Sergey B's bass lines are thick sounding in the mix. He also has that Russian bear like vocals. 

Add to that the drum work by Dmitry L falls into that octopus arms insanity of playing. This guy is a fuckin maniac on the kit. It's a sound of total punishment. Finally there's guitarist Sergey T who knows how to produce some savage riffs and sometimes in the dissonant style. His lead work is definitely in the dive bomb realm.

All in all yeah OBSCUREVIOLENCE do Blackened Death Metal right. It's brutal, diabolical and inviting which is what want these days. 

https://tometal.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://obscureviolence.bandcamp.com/album/refuting-the-flesh

DEFENDER - City Ad Mortis reissue review

 

DEFENDER - City Ad Mortis reissue

Hammerheart Records

Just for the record I think the good people at Hammerheart Records are killing it with their series of reissues. I mean if you're into cool sounding stuff from the past which was never properly recognized then here ya go. Obviously the people at this label know how to read the scene. 

Case in point DEFENDER were a Dutch five piece speed metal band from the late 80's. Aside from their Tales of the Unexpected four song demo put out in 1985. The band's only vinyl output was this five song EP from 1987. Now for those of you who have read this blog for a long time (and frankly who doesn't?) you know that my heritage is Dutch. Add to that for decades I've always supported my Dutch Metal. 

So in my not so humble opinion DEFENDER's City Ad Mortis EP is the holy grail of Dutch Metal. Go see how much an original copy of it is selling for on Ebay. But for me musically DEFENDER was a band that falls into that could've / should've been huge catagory. I mean they had all of the classic chops. 

Sound-wise the band had a melodic touch to speed metal with the obvious NWOBHM / early MAIDEN influence. Simon Menting was a great vocalist who could do a killer "heavy metal" scream. Their songs were actually complex as far as randon speed metal was at the time. I mean you could say that DEFENDER were better than their contemporaries. 

As well as the original EP cuts this reissue has three tracks which I believe were supposed to be part of a DEFENDER full length which never happened. These three cuts are more in the vein of early Euro Power Metal. Yeah go figure right. They're pretty cool but it also begs the question of what if? Be that as it may this reissue is a must have. Nuff Said!  

https://www.hammerheart.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2fYB-YIKrE