Worm Gear

Did Adversarial’s drummer sneak into the studio at night and remix this album? The snare drum steps all over what sounds like some very deadly and technically charged death metal writhing within a pleasingly evil and old school atmosphere. The drum mix itself is all snare and toms. The kick drums are just as lost as the guitars and vocals. What seems like a solid and gutturally sick vocal performance, rarely do the screams peak through the suffocating hold the snare has on this release. In fact, it’s painful to listen to on headphones. What I can discern from the few riffs that surface in the rhythmic blunder that is the production of All Idols Fall Before the Hammer, the songwriting perfectly walks the line between malevolently dissonant riff ideas that snake through sinister atmosphere, before scorching the world with perplexing technicality. All this and Adversarial seem to not lose sight of memorable songwriting. The cover art and title of this release, along with the music herein strikes me as really good with a lot of potential to rank right up there as one of the few releases that embraces the ancient ways of death, AND the slicker teched out insanity of modern death metal that I actually like. Slower tracks like “In a Night of Endless Pain, War came to Flood his Heart” expertly build with intensity and excitement, while the slower tempo and less drumwork actually allows the listener to hear the music. In this respect, Adversarial teases us with what could have been and makes me eager to hear what they can accomplish in a proper studio. Just as long as they maintain that evil atmosphere… that’s all I ask. SO much potential here… pissed away on a crap mix.

Dark Descent

Posted in A-reviews, ALL REVIEWS
Tags: Adversarial, All Idols Fall Before the Hammer, Dark Descent, Death Metal

Featuring the attitude and vigorous blackened death antagonism worthy of their Australian homeland, Denouncement Pyre strike with their first full-length since their inception 6 years ago. EPs and split releases litter their wake, but it seems this building and sculpting their sound has strengthened the output found on “World Cremation”. 8 tracks of poison tongued and expertly paced music pulses with potent riff work and dignified song structures that keep the listener interested and on edge due to the tension in the attack. Decaylust’s (Also in Hunter’s Moon and Nocturnal Graves) vocals are a breathy and harsh hiss that injects the sickness into this other wise tight and smooth production. It’s almost surprising at how clean this album sounds, rather the grit and barbarity making its presence felt in the actual compositions and intensity in the performance. With well executed tempo changes fueling memorable and simplistic riffs that envelop a death metal edge with blackened thrash nuances, “World Cremation” stands as a genre spanning entity with an overall feel that is indicative of the Australian sound. Moments of this bare resemblance to Destroyer 666 in the verse riffs and firey attitude of tracks like “Purification” and “Engulfed Temples”. Some very anthemic and stately movement can be found on this release and the overall vibe begs for repeat listens. Be sure to check out Decaylust’s other band Hunters Moon for you’ll witness just as much conviction and well written music to immerse yourself in.

Hells Headbangers

Posted in ALL REVIEWS, D-reviews
Tags: Australia, Denouncement Pyre, Destroyer 666, Hells Headbangers, World Cremation

As we await the release of France’s Fir Bolg’s debut full-length for Schwarzdorn, the label has re-released this one man projects “Paganism” demo as an MCD. This is no frills black metal with obvious Scandinavian qualities and a very simplistic songwriting style that centers around very memorable riffs and powerful movement in the tempos for each song. Nothing on display here is new or necessarily that surprising, but it all somehow works well and clicks perfectly for me. In fact, I wish this was a full-length, for sole member Dagoth is a skilled performer with a unique screaming style that is coherent with often interesting lyrical phrasing. Acoustic guitars and subtle synth lines offer an effective “times of old” quality, and for a demo, the production is quite warm sounding which keeps the vibe of this material airy and full of life. I often slam on bands that do little to stay off the path cleaved by countless bands before them, mainly because it is easy to become bored of the same old mindless rehashing of Burzum and Darkthrone characteristics. Again, Fir Bolg may be wandering around on said path, but creates enough interest in sound and songwriting body to make me take notice and applaud such a nice blend of traditional black and pagan metal genres.

Schwarzdorn Productions

Posted in ALL REVIEWS, F-reviews
Tags: Fir Bolg, Paganism, Schwarzdorn Productions

I have been out of the loop with excellent vocalist Jeff Gruslin since the Vital Remains days of old, but he’s still belting out the blasphemy with Godless Rising. “Trumpet of Triumph” is this 2 man projects 3^rd full-length and it once again features the excellent songwriting skills of one Toby Knapp, who used to be in the sadly overlooked 2 man band, Darken. Toby’s influences obviously range in the Morbid Angel and Vital Remains realm of tastefully melodic when it needs to be, and brutal when the hammer has to come down style of songwriting. Built on ultra melodic layers where melodic riffs roam between soaring lead riffs, to more dense moments of technical aggression, “Trumpet of Triumph” is filled with memorable songs that beg for total immersion once they sink in. Even the inclusion of a drum machine/computer doesn’t hinder this material due to the care placed in programming lifelike patterns and the fact that the guitar work is powerful enough to overcome any moments of sterility that could potentially be offered by the drums. Gruslin’s vocals are also the perfect fit to Toby’s deathly exploration, for the man can still dig deep into guttural lows, and effortlessly praise the sacrilegious with his throaty higher register screams. Even though his performance may stick out a bit too much in the overall mix, and the overall recording of this album could use a touch of reverb to create a bit of atmosphere, “Trumpet of Triumph” is a well done slab of satanic death metal that fearlessly upholds the old school with powerful and destructive songsmithing.

Moribund Records

Posted in ALL REVIEWS, G-reviews
Tags: Godless Rising, Jeff Gruslin, Moribund Records, Trumpet of Triumph

“Denuntiatus Cinis” is hands down one of the more advanced and creatively twisted albums created by a one man project that I have heard in some time. I used to be a complete fanboy for this genre when it first began with it’s DIY aesthetic, but the Xasthurs, Striborgs, and endless stream of Darkthrone/Burzum teet sucklers of the world successfully slayed the suicidal angst appreciating specter haunting my oversaturated CD collection. What sole sinner, Cernunnos, does so effectively to set Haeresiarchs of Dis apart from the bloated throngs of “woe is me” 1 man bands is that he composes very dense riffs and doesn’t shy away from working with many different layers of both dark ambient sound, and multiple guitar lines to arrive at a very nightmarish vortex of music. For example, Emperor strikes me as being a very sturdy influence for Haeresiarchs of Dis to brace itself up with a similar high register screaming style (sounds very much like Ihsahn during the demo and Nightside era), not to mention the thinned yet grating guitar tone that leaves a lot of sonic ceiling for all the layers to poke through this nebulous lo-fi production. The programmed drums are also a bit thinner sounding than I would personally go for, but again, the lack of room ambiance keeps the end result tidy, while straining hard on the senses. What I noticed right away is how challenging and engaging the whole of Cernunnos’ compositions are. He’s a very advanced songwriter as he typically shies away from the traditional pop structures and digs down deep with torturous journeys in his song structures that often leave me puzzled at where the song is going to end up, yet very eager to hear how he ties it all together. And tie it all together he does every time. In a lot of ways, a vast majority of this material comes off as sounding almost linear in structure, but I’m sure this is due to the fact that I’ve only spun “Denuntiatus Cinis” 3 times. Many more dark nightmares will surface out of this beast I am certain as I make it a more normal entity in my listening rotation. Hailing from San Jose, California, I can tell you I was not expecting something so frost bitten and pleasingly troubled stylistically to arise out of that sector of the US. Along with the obvious Norwegian BM influence, expect peaceful choirs, an odd acoustic Celtic number, and waves of unsettling blackness ripe with a conviction often forgotten these days.

Moribund Records

Posted in ALL REVIEWS, H-reviews
Tags: Denuntiatus Cinis, Emperor, Haeresiarchs of Dis, Moribund Records

The French black metal super group, Hell Militia has re-emerged 5 years after their debut with 9 new sermons to the sonic disease that dwells within the finer geographical qualities of FBM. Mutiilation in particular… there was always something slightly off and unsettlingly creepy about certain musical moments in that bands career, and vocalist Meyhnach, to a lesser extent of insanity, bleeds his tortured misery and uniqueness over to front Hell Militia as well along with other members who are/were also involved in the bands Arkhon Infaustus, Antaeus, Secrets of the Moon, and Temple of Baal. There is a noticeable polluted undercurrent found in segments of the riff work that instantly put me in mind of Mutiilation as found on the enjoyable tracks “The Ultimate Deception” and “Et Inferno Ego”, but Hell Militia use these traits somewhat sparingly to sour (in a good/necessary way) an otherwise “in time” performance with more typical black metal aesthetics. Dissonant chord structures and fuzzed out notes fill in the cracks of decently written black metal with an underlying “rock” foundation somehow arising from the mix as the 2^nd half of this album unfolds. The latter stylistic trait works, but feels a lot more “normal”, if not a bit sillier than I think the band would have hoped for on tracks like “Fili Diaboli” and further perpetuated by the well done cover of GG Allin’s “Shoot Knife Strangle Beat & Crucify”. Amidst the filth and grimy facade of an otherwise well produced release, Hell Militia have created a solid album that really does nothing to revitalize lo-fi underground black metal, nor do they strive to embrace the modern conveniences and trappings of a post 1996 BM sheen, which I can respect, but the songs on their own really don’t offer much flair or overall excitement to snag the listeners ear for long term enjoyment. As it stands, “Last Station on the Road to Death” rode around in my vehicle on the road to my crappy job and kept me interested for a week after it’s arrival. Beyond that brief window in time, the prognosis isn’t favorable, for a lot of the music on this slab has gone to places others have already treaded with a lot more vigor and intensity.

Debemur Morti

Posted in ALL REVIEWS, H-reviews
Tags: Antaeus, Arkhon Infaustus, Debemur Morti, Hell Militia, Last Station on the Road to Death, Mutiilation, Secrets of the Moon, Temple of Baal