Worm Gear

Playlist 11/23/10 Marty Rytkonen

martyworm — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:48:42 +0000

An eternally long delay this time. Life gets busy… especially when a child is born. Our son Parker is 7 months old now and kicking ass and as we continue to establish a routine, the reviews and eventual interviews will finally begin trickling back on this site. Thanks to all of you who keep checking and have been supporting Worm Gear since 1995. It is greatly appreciated.

Playlist:

Arcturus -Sideshow Symphony
Weapon – From the Devil’s Tomb
Zuul – Out of Time
Internment – WHere Death Will Increase 1991-1994
Wardruna – Runaljod – Gap Var Ginnunga
Skinny Puppy – Bites and Remission
Jumalhamara – Resignaatio
Grave – Into the Grave
Triptykon – Shatter EP
Forbidden – The Omega Wave

Megadeth – Rust in Peace Live DVD

Filed under: PLAYLIST

Adversarial – All Idols Fall Before the Hammer

martyworm — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:37:57 +0000

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

Filed under: A-reviews, ALL REVIEWS Tagged: Adversarial, All Idols Fall Before the Hammer, Dark Descent, Death Metal

Denouncement Pyre – World Cremation

martyworm — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:35:08 +0000

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

Filed under: ALL REVIEWS, D-reviews Tagged: Australia, Denouncement Pyre, Destroyer 666, Hells Headbangers, World Cremation

Fir Bolg – Paganism

martyworm — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:33:33 +0000

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

Filed under: ALL REVIEWS, F-reviews Tagged: Fir Bolg, Paganism, Schwarzdorn Productions

Godless Rising – Trumpet of Triumph

martyworm — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:31:46 +0000

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

Filed under: ALL REVIEWS, G-reviews Tagged: Godless Rising, Jeff Gruslin, Moribund Records, Trumpet of Triumph

Haeresiarchs of Dis – Denuntiatus Cinis

martyworm — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:30:01 +0000

“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

Filed under: ALL REVIEWS, H-reviews Tagged: Denuntiatus Cinis, Emperor, Haeresiarchs of Dis, Moribund Records

Hell Militia – Last Station on the Road to Death

martyworm — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:27:51 +0000

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

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

Jumalhamara – Resignaatio

martyworm — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:25:19 +0000

Jumalhamara execute layered and dense Finnish black metal that strays from their counterparts by avoiding the grit and grimy rock fueled fuzz often attached to the BM movement in Finland. This allows the music to take on a much more down trodden and at times depressive fog of melody and moments of noisy shoegaze clean guitar. The background swarms with feedback and at times an experimental atmosphere of effects that offer up a very schizophrenic vibe that put me in mind of the 2^nd half of Godflesh’s “Streetcleaner”. When you strip away the atypical elements that comprise the music of Jumalhamara to look at the black metal foundation, what shines through is a rock solid platform of dissonance, layered/screaming vocals and wandering riff ideas that are obviously intentional and formed, but come off as improvised over an unrelenting blast beat. Everything I have described takes place in the very fresh sounding, even nightmarish opening track, “Ecstasy in Blood – A Ballad”. Even though the overall sound canvas of this recording strikes me as having a bit too much high end rolled off the top, I found the roomy drum tone and varying degrees of distortion on the guitars to hurl Jumalhamara even further into a realm that makes them difficult to pigeonhole stylistically. Black metal and a very dark take on alt rock without adhering to the often abused “suicidal”/woe is me trappings of both genres is what you should go into Resignaatio expecting and just let the experience of listening to this brave wash of sound overcome and inspire you, for Jumalhamara are a truly unique band worthy of your attention. I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to listen to a piece of music and really not know what’s going to happen next.

Ahdistuksen Aihio Productions

Filed under: ALL REVIEWS, J-reviews Tagged: Ahdistuksen Aihio Productions, Finnish Black metal, Jumalhamara, Resignaatio

Malhkebre – Prostration

martyworm — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:23:15 +0000

Previously seeing the light of this doomed planet as a 10″ via Battlesk’rs, “Prostration” from France’s Malhkebre is a well produced and sufficiently agonizing dose of fervent black metal. Draped with a sharp harshness in the guitar tone, the overall delivery and excellent/wandering screaming style possesses a very straight forward clash of aggression up against a weird (for lack of better term) edge in the vocal structures and musical delivery that is somehow quite common among French bands. Antaeus had it. Mutiillation had it. So did Vlad Tepes and countless other black legion bands… that slightly off sense of songwriting, whether it be timing, odd vocals, or backwards sounding riffs, the French benefit for making something touched in the head sounding that is undeniably their own. “Prostration” is strengthened by a busy/technically proficient drummer that takes the dissonant, though often simplistic riff ideas, and lifts them up to be a lot tenser with his perplexing, nearly tribal patterns. The production is very clean allowing the unique guitar tone to really carry this band, as well as some innovative songwriting, making it so that Malhkebre does indeed arrive at a style that is atypical and strong. In the end, “Prostration” contains 4 well developed tracks of sickly black metal that left me interested in hearing how they continue to grow into this style as they continue. I wish this MCD was longer.

Ahdistuksen Aihio Productions

Filed under: ALL REVIEWS, M-reviews Tagged: Ahdistuksen Aihio Productions, Black Metal, French, Malhkebre, Mutiilation, Prostration

Mr. Death – Death Suits You

martyworm — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:20:43 +0000

Decent, though a bit uninteresting Swedish death metal from this project band with a stupid name. Really, one tends to overlook bad band names as the years go on, since there are many out there past and present. We let the music do the talking right? But Mr. Death? Yeah… it’s hard to pass that by without at least making a comment. This band features several members that spent some time in Treblinka/Tiamat in the past, so you’d think there would be more of a unique take on the DM genre being executed here, but “Death Suits You” is simply a rehashing of over a decade of detuned and heavy riffage, with the strong benefit of a thick and imposing sound. Having been recorded between 3 studios, one of which being Studio Sunlight, being engineered by Tomas Skogsberg and mixed by Fred Estby (Ex-Dismember), the deep and churning tone of this MCD is pure Sweden. The songs themselves really aren’t that bad, but again, completely predictable. The vocals fall in the proper spots and the riffs alternate between tremolo speed and crushing music breaks right when you’d predict they would. Such a safe plotting of songs takes any edge or excitement away from the listening experience even though the power and technical ability of Mr. Death is undeniable. A decent, though uninspired release.

Agonia

Filed under: ALL REVIEWS, M-reviews Tagged: Agonia, Death Suits you, Fred Estby, Mr. Death, Studio Sunlight, Swedish death metal, Tomas Skogsberg

Nightbringer – Apocalypse Sun

martyworm — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:18:10 +0000

Yet another band fueled by a theologically advanced conceptual descent into the dark arts both musically and lyrically. If one were to try and peg Nightbringers sound and overall style, I would say it were a bastardization of the Watain meets Deathspell Omega’s (newer) take on dense musical foundations, though less melodic than Watain, and less technically convoluted than Deathspell. To their credit, Nightbringer defy geographical classifications, which allows this band to have a very non USBM, or anywhere for that matter, sound. The gapless bleedthrough (was it there? Or was I spacing out?) of the first 3 tracks ends up being a rather tiring offensive of wandering chord structures and even more bizarre tremolo picked “harmonies” that buzz along on higher register notes. Nothing sounds overly complex singularly, but these simple lines all seamlessly combine to form a wash of uniqueness that is interesting to behold. But, the absence of melodies that make sense to me, makes “Apocalypse Sun” a bit alien to the senses (Especially on the nightmarish track “Upturning the Seventh Chalice”) and hard to fully embrace. To keep the guitars clean, the drums sound almost completely synthetic which does suck the life out of this recording. Some of the room ambience periodically returns in the form of atmospheric synth and soundscapes that intermingle with the waves of guitar lines. The harsh vocals act as the anchor to return to should your mind drift off into the quagmire of sound/attack as many of these tracks sound as if they don’t adhere to any set structure, rather drifting off into a linear outpouring of conscience. I’m sure this was the intention of the music and the album, and for creating a very dreamlike state within the listener, it achieves this and more. But for a casual listen, the material comes off as being very pretentious. Having said that, keep this one off the car stereo, or from playing in the background while executing other tasks. “Apocalypse Sun”…if you’re going to get it… feel the full effect, and ultimately enjoy this body of work, you need to be an active participant. Go ahead and invest an hour of your time in front of the stereo to experience something a bit more advanced than executed by your typical BM bedroom warrior. Definitely an album designed to grow on you over time and deeper inspection.

Ajna

Filed under: ALL REVIEWS, N-reviews Tagged: Ajna, Apocalyspe Sun, Black Metal, Deathspell Omega, Nightbringer, Watain

Perversor – Demon Metal

martyworm — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:15:54 +0000

With an EP title like “Demon Metal” and the fact that this band hails from South America, I shouldn’t even need to press play to tell you what this release sounds like. Hitting play… yep… completely bestial war/death/black metal with a focus on reverb washed chaos riffs, barbaric blast beats, and a blood spewing razor demon behind the mic who is equally drowning in reverb. To my surprise, this release isn’t all main by way of nuclear destruction, for some decent thrash breakdowns enter the fray for a much needed shot of diversity and reprieve. Perhaps this element isn’t enough to make much of a difference, but at least they are trying. For all of Perversor’s faults stylistically and sloppiness in the playing, tracks like “Victory of the Legion of the Damned” and “March of the Temple of Doom” are just too well done and filled with that infectious energy to be tossed to the side as completely uninteresting. Perversor do what they do well with an obvious lust for upholding the musical tradition of their homeland and even though this really isn’t a style of death that I listen to often, I greatly appreciate the attack and heart placed behind it. If you’re into the rabid stuff, you’ll likely not even blink a eye at the blatant lack of originality and appreciate the 5 tracks on this EP. If you need something a bit more adventurous and have plenty of war metal in your collection, I really don’t think you’ll miss out on much skipping this one.

Hells Headbangers

Filed under: ALL REVIEWS, P-reviews Tagged: Black Metal, Demon Metal, Hells Headbangers, Perverson

Royal Arch Blaspheme, The – The Royal Arch Blaspheme

martyworm — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:13:59 +0000

The Royal Arch Blaspheme is the side project of Imperial (Krieg) and J. Gelso from Profanatica, executed to perfection and in the musical realm of a slightly more complex Profanatica. For me, this album is all about the sickly vocals of Imperial. After all these years and what seemed like a slight break away from the mic, the man still has it… that tortured, cancerous, phlegm erupting vocal upheaval that is just downright foul and perfect for this simplistic style of blackened death. Drum machine driven, the musical side of this project is exactly what you’d expect… simplistic and sinister, though very effective riff ideas and equally potent/malevolent harmonies that arise in tremolo tormented madness. The clean production was a surprise, but allows every delay effected gurgle and note to be felt. This is drinking, old school inspired cult. For close minded fans of blunt, evil and driving black/death metal only.

Hells Headbangers

Filed under: ALL REVIEWS, R-reviews Tagged: Black Metal, Havohej, Hells Headbangers, Kreig, Profanatica, The ROyal Arch Blaspheme

Sacrilegious Impalement – Cultus Nex

martyworm — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:10:16 +0000

The saving grace of “Cultus Nex” is the overall lively warm tone in the production and Sacrilegious Impalement’s solid (this is a kind way of saying “familiar”) songwriting formula. What this band does, execute a non threatening blend of death and black metal, gets them by, along with some unfaltering musicianship and the occasional catchy riff. The thing is, even though the music is largely predictable and easy to pick up on (the musicians out there shouldn’t have too much trouble figuring out the guitar lines on this album), I found myself spinning this all the way through on several occasions. Midrange vocals heave forth the necessary blasphemies and phlegm. The drums are full on double bass most of the time, but heating up the blast work when the riffs need an extra charge of aggression. A nice and warm guitar tone does somehow inject a blackened metal atmosphere for these songs to soak in. All the riffs sound perfect… meaning nothing feels out of place, or odd. Every part of every song flows into one another seamlessly with no surprises, no tempo variations, or bizarre music breaks to drag the listener out of this musical hypnosis brought on by redundant compositions. This is where Sacrilegious Impalement falters. They never stray from the well worn path. Everything is too perfect and without a sense of excitement or experimentation. I’m not asking for wacky sounds or a level of technicality that would make the members of Nile give up their instruments, just a bit more of a challenge when it comes to songwriting. So why do I keep listening? It’s hard to fully hate this band, for they are effectively doing what many bands strive for. They have a meaty sound and can write solid songs. BUT, when you’re musically saying nothing overly special, or speaking in sonic tongues already well spoketh countless times by better bands out there, it’s hard to champion a release on the merit, “they don’t suck” alone. Sacrilegious Impalement doesn’t suck, but neither do they incite that creative fire that demands the necessary kindling to consume the listeners’ heart and ears with fury. If I was rating this out of 100%, I’d have to settle on 50%.

Hammer of Hate

Filed under: ALL REVIEWS, S-reviews Tagged: black, Cultus Nex, Death Metal, hammer of hate, Sacrilegious Impalement

Stench – In Putrescence

martyworm — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:05:53 +0000

Members of Tribulation have stepped out of their thrash influenced mindset with Stench, to revel in the tradition of pure Swedish death metal on their debut full-length, “In Putrescence”. I’ve been spinning this one quite a bit, for it is obvious that this power trio was attempting to tap into the vibe originally set in motion by Grotesque (the forefathers of the Swedish DM scene), though their material doesn’t come off as evil or twisted as the aforementioned band. Micke’s vocals often remind me of Tomas Lindberg from the Grotesque era… again, not as evil or twisted. Some rock elements do enter into the riffs making Stench’s songs even more memorable. Simple melodies rise to the surface, breaking the crust of the power chord encrusted earth, like a brain starved cadaver crawling to freedom. The songs on this slab are well written and demand repeated listens. My only complaint is that the guitar tone itself is too tidy sounding and not the best compliment to Micke’s excessively sick screaming style. He really is a potent vocalist whom doesn’t appear to have been in any other band previous to his performance here. Production moans aside, “In Putrescence” is far from original, but upholds an always vital musical genre that seemingly never gets old to these ears. Death fiends will devour and praise the rising of Stench.

Agonia Records

Filed under: ALL REVIEWS, S-reviews Tagged: Agonia, In Putrescence, Stench, Swedish death metal, Tribulation