Friday, October 22, 2010
Encoffination – Ritual Ascension Beyond Flesh (Selfmadegod Records 2010)
Already having circulated in the underground and having been released previously on both tape and vinyl, the Polish hell lords of grind and brutality at SMGR have bestowed upon us the cd version of this debut release of US death/doom metal Encoffination. Gutteral bowel rupturing deep growls come out from behind an eerie atmosphere of classic death/doom sounds that take that incredible genre to another sepulcheral dimension altogether. This is visceral and demented horror coming out at a slug shit pace that’s absolutely heavy and undeniably awesome.
This bands sound is somewhat of a mix of funereal doom like Evoken crossed with slow and burning death metal like Incantation, and current US based death/doom bands of Spun in Darkness and Mental Funeral, and classics like Winter and Autopsy. The purest brutality of death metal with the abysmal death and torture atmospheres of eternal suffering and postmortem vengeance is what lays in wait with “Ritual ascension Beyond Flesh”.
www.myspace.com/encoffination
www.selfmadegod.com
myspace.com/selfmadegodrecords
Agathocles – This is not a threat, it’s a promise (SelfmadegodRecords 2010)
OOOH shit is this stuff hard, swift, and heavy like a hydraulic automatic sledgehammer giving repeated blows to your skull!!!!! I’m back in my death/grind/filth/crust mood again and alongside my usuals: Abscess, Autopsy, 324 and my personal fave, Bathtub Shitter, this band recently caught my attention with this fresh stench of Grindcore savagery that’s more sobering then being trappedin an airtight room filled to capacity with ammonia.
This is my first actual listen to this notorious grind band and will definitely scar me mentally in favor of listening to them from here on. The thing that stands out is the rumbling growl almost doom/sludge tone in the anthemic punk-like riffs alongside some killer d-beats that gives the tracks that ideal wrecking ball effect as they crash straight into your brain. Definitely brutal and unforgiving old school blasts that will make anyone stop and go “What the Fuck?” before responding in favor or against.
www.agathocles.com
www.selfmadegod.com
www.myspace.com/selfmadegodrecords
Monday, October 18, 2010
Hammer of Hate Records releases 2010
Hammer of Hate Records has come at us hard and fast this year with several triumphantly aggressive releases from the Finnish black metal scene that push the boundaries of the cult and nihilistic to new and welcome extremes (Sacrilegious Impalment, Vitsaus). These are set for November 10th release so here’s brief look at the innards of some of these fermenting audio assaults approaching on the horizon:
1) Anguished – Cold
This is the debut release of this female solo black metal act from Finland that cuts into you with her banshee shrieks until your gashes are as raw and stinging as this albums sound will. No ethereal female symphonic shit here, this is adulterated, vindictive and torturous stripped down cult black metal pure and simple. Possessed Demoness handles all instruments herself with the exception of a session drummer and the classic black and white S&M cover art is the perfect accompaniment to the sounds heard within this dark lair.
These skeletal songs have a great melodic sound and depth to them as they perfectly compliment the isolationist and oppressive vocals and the result is a fresh leather induced gash across your bare ass. In terms of production, although deliberately raw, the sound comes out really clean for this type of sound and the mild delay effects in the guitar and vocals really define the layers of sound into something more physical and encompassing. After a few listens the lyrics really come out as on “Depart this Life” where you can actually here her agonizing rants of that exact phrase like she’s on some lunatic ramble on the verge of death.
2) Valoton – Beastificate
Set out to inflict a deadly blow to Christian dogmas and represent through sound and lyrics the theistic Satanic philosophy of mans passage through beast toward ascension, they succeed in capturing an atmosphere of turbulent trials and tribulations, often haunting and violent through these 9 glorious tracks.
The melodies and song structures are really unique and asymetrical, but are so addictive in the way the swerve, coil, and strike like a venomous serpent such that just when you realize you’ve been struck form a certain angle you’re being nailed from another direction. The amount of chaos and heaviness in these tracks is analogous to the power of a massive black cyclone coming out from some abyss that just opened up in the earth and within seconds whips everything up and desecrates into dust.
3) Evangelium – Nightside of Eden
Evengelium is the first signing of a non-Finnish band to the label and is also the debut of this Russian band as they release their poisonous aura through unrelenting and searing firestorms of hateful vocals and a maelstrom of low-end distortion and explosive percussion battery. The atmosphere here is dense and foggy through the noise and spite like the gathering of a million tortured souls set on exacting vengeance on the worthless mortal beings. It’s bands like this one that remind me of what makes this style so powerful and allows me to relive that initial chilling sensation of hearing something that just makes your viscera squirm and your heart skip a few beats because it’s so intense. This is some seriously vicious shit and absolutely one that will invoke continual listens for years to come.
General info and purchasing: www.hammer-of-hate.com
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Vex – Thanatopsis (Horror Pain Gore Death 2010)
Right from the opening track “Thanatos” it’s completely crystal clear that this is no ordinary death metal band as they play off slight progressive rhythms, black metal riffing, and purely melodic yet unrelenting dark metal. I’m slightly reminded of the truly timeless sound of Deathevokation on Chalice of the Ages, where band takes what’s already dark, brooding and heavy then somehow pushes the boundaries even further.
“Motionless” showcases some blackened death vocals and scathing buzz chords that take an old school sound and recycle it into a simple yet complicated track. The pace is steady as this track induces a sense of chaos. The guitar solo and melodic leads remind of classic death metal stripped down and charred rather than purely rotted, like the ones that are timeless and completely stick with you for years to come.
“Apocalyptic Dream” is pure gutteral, almost Incantation-like blackened death that reeks of plague and rabies, the way the rhythm spirals around and the guitar work chug along like a war machine. The lead and rhythm play off each other to give a thundering clamour that instantly feels like the moment before the apocalypse as the sky turns black.
“Erosion” is plain eerie!!!! The proper use of synth effects just reminds me of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow as the headless horseman rides through lifeless trees in the cold darkness of night to terrorize villagers. The riffs are death metal assaults that eradicate your consciousness within the first few strikes to your undivided attention. The rhythm pattern is circular, which is where the slight prog feel comes in, as it whips around with the fury of a barbaric demon swinging its mace with the sole intention and momentum to shatter whatever it hits in one blow.
There’s an essence of so many things familiar in this bands sound that makes it comfortable and at the same time they take those elements out of context a bit to where they are new and thrilling again. Prepare to be steamrolled by nihilism, chaos, and a melodic holocaust with Vex. Alongside this release I highly recommend their split 7” with Divine Eve also on HPGD and available through their site. With the likes of Vex, Divine Eve, Sectioned, and Dimentianon my endless need for the best and the darkest will continue to thrive.
Seriously whipping and furious, dark and moody Thanatopsis will make your skin crawl right off your bones from the chilling sensation they will bring down upon you. This is another album that you have to hide away after a while because it just dominates your listening when it’s right there in front of you or within reach. The depth and melody they capture is impossible to describe accurately because it’s just so hard to wear the shock off, this is one big motherfucking beast to capture without bringing the person face to face with it to experience it for themselves.
http://hpgd.comoj.com/indexmain.html
Dimentianon – Collapse the Void (Paragon Records 2010)
Expect nothing less than the sound of chaos and turmoil as you spiral through this black void of blackened death metal experience. This NY based act has been a brute force within the NY underground scene since 1995 and unleashes their strongest effort yet with Collapse the Void, their third release to date. There’s a similarity in their sound to current Kult ov Azazel and Dissection as the buzzing hornet swarm of distorted guitar chords surround classic death metal angular melodies and jagged rhythms to give this sound the weight and destructive force of the sun exploding. There’s even this really ethereal instrumental symphonic track, “Fragmented Nostalgia” right in the middle of the album that adds that extra element of some sort of dark cosmic sensation. I can see and hear why Dimentianon has gained the status that they have as they take dark metal and audio chaos to the next level and show that the multidimensional sound that only the truly skilled can create.
I also highly recommend Sectioned alongside these guys if you’re looking for brutal, dark, sophisticated, and melodic metal without being losing the essential gnashing and gnarling beast of death/extreme metal. If bands like this keep going I’ll never grow out of my love for this stuff!!!!
http://www.dimentianon.com/
http://www.myspace.com/dimentianon
Maniac Butcher – Masakr (Negative Existence 2010)
After a decade hiatus this Czech horror storm or bile and contemptuous black shredding metal and completely char everything in their path. I’d be hard pressed to find something better as of lately to rip my skullcap off through scathing fury and unabashed distorted chainsaw riffing. Masakr is the sound of total aggression and horror that have been festering and accruing for an entire decade, the old school sound and feel of Celtic Frost and a bit of crusty blackness has only improved with age. Absolutely awesome and worth picking up either to finish your MB collection or just to have your balls ripped off by something vicious.
http://www.maniacbutcher.com/
http://www.negative-existence.com/
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