I have mixed feelings about Circle of Dead Children. While they do a good job of carving out a niche for themselves in the grind scene, and have a nice diverse range of influences and a decent vocalist, in the end they just don’t really do it for me. Human Harvest has a nice, clear but not sterile production courtesy of Today is the Day’s Steve Austin, and the tones, guitar in particular, somewhat resemble that of his own band. It’s hard to consider Circle of Dead Children as anything other than a grind band, although they do have subtle elements of “death, crust, doom thrash, hardcore, black and noise” (that’s what their bio says, and I can’t argue). In their synthesis of styles and multifaceted vocal attack they sometimes resemble Colorado hydrogrinders Cephalic Carnage, but nowhere near as progressive or “wacky” sounding. This is the third album from these Pittsburgh diehards, and the first to feature this bass guitar-less lineup. The riffing and structures are actually pretty creative for this sort of band, and I’m thinking that this album might grow on me after a while. However, since the vocals are not that appealing and my grind listening is fairly limited, I’m not sure it will get the chance. I will say though, that Circle of Dead Children really have their moments, and they really sound like they “mean it.” There are times during Human Harvest where they truly capture their malevolent musical intentions well, but those times are too far between to keep me listening. – Aaron J. Klamer
MARTYR MUSIC GROUP
Circle of Dead Children – Human Harvest
•January 3, 2009 • Leave a CommentChaos Breed – Brutal
•January 3, 2009 • Leave a Comment
It seems like one of the many current trends in metal is the “supergroup” phenomenon, where several guys from established bands get together to “have some fun”, “go back to their roots” and crank out some “old-school” death metal (or black metal, or thrash metal, or whatever). Real death metal isn’t something that just anybody can decide to play on a nostalgic whim, and I’m not convinced these 5 Finns realize this. One look at the main bands of Chaosbreed’s members is all you need to know: Gandalf, Mannhai, Moonsorrow, Amorphis, and The Black League are not exactly names I associate with greatness, except perhaps early Amorphis. Taneli Jarva was also in Sentenced of course, which should definitely be mentioned if their label has any hopes of attracting older fans to this CD. And it seems strange that this band would choose to play Swedish sounding death metal which always overshadowed the smaller (but equally devastating) Finnish scene of the early ’90s–Finland may not have had Entombed, Grave, or Grotesque, but they did have Demigod, Disgrace and Funebre, each great in their own way. Anyway, back to the music of Chaosbreed–it’s all pretty standard stuff “influenced” by the great releases of the early ’90s and repeated plays will probably yield plagiarisms galore if you bother to listen long enough (for example, the main riff in ‘Rotting Alive’ is a total rip-off of Unleashed’s ‘Onward Into Countless Battles’). This CD would be mildly acceptable if it was recorded by a bunch of kids who “discovered” death metal last year, but coming from these guys (at least some of whom were around “back in the day”) it’s hardly impressive. – Brian Woodworth
OLYMPIC / CENTURY MEDIA
Cerebral Effusion – Violence In Motion
•January 3, 2009 • Leave a Comment
Who’s ready for CD #4,356 of typical, redundant, and generic death/grind? It’s hard to believe that so many people still thirst for this style of music even though very few bands have really done anything innovative or unique with it in the last ten years. Spain’s Cerebral Effusion are slightly better song writers than many others in this genre, but we’ve heard plenty of bands playing this style and plenty of them did (and do) it better. As is the case with most of them, the stupid vocals ruin anything positive in the music, which is about average for this genre. Unfortunately, all the songs sound virtually interchangeable with one another which makes for a very tiring (though fairly brief) listening experience. – Brian Woodworth
UNMATCHED BRUTALITY
Celestiial – Desolate North
•January 3, 2009 • Leave a Comment
Desolate North is the debut album from one-man project Celestiial (Tanner Anderson), and if this is any indication of future releases, it’s a name to remember. Typically branded as ‘funeral doom’, Celestiial transcends the sub-genre and creates an individual sound that simply has to be experienced instead of described in the typical ‘this band meets that band’ way. The dirge elements are still there – depressingly slow tempos, inhumanly low vocal growls and rumbles, ever-present drones, minimalist musical structure – but instead of stopping there, Anderson adds a layer of realism. Whereas most funeral doom releases seem to exist in their own twisted universe, Desolate North transports the listener to an earthly, more familiar (but no less ominous) location. Whenever I hear “Desolate North” (which, at this point, is over a dozen times) the feeling I get is of autumn in a forest. Leaves turning, fires burning… which isn’t exactly ‘desolate’. My only complaint about the album is that the title seems to be a slight misnomer. The icy bleakness that goes along with a desolate landscape just isn’t present here. But that’s a completely personal interpretation, and may have more to do with the reviewer than the artist. As I said, rather than winter I get the feeling of autumn – in fact, this release reminds me of Nargaroth’s “Herbstleyd” in that it conveys effectively the feeling that winter is coming and you can almost smell it. Anderson’s use of less common (that is, less common in the metal genre) instruments such as the harp and celtic flute add to the individuality of the project, separating it from any genre album. In fact, “Desolate North” isn’t like any album I’ve ever heard. If this album doesn’t go down as one of the best of the year, it’s due to lack of name recognition or complete inability to discern brilliant musicianship and concept. “Desolate North” has become one of my favorite albums and I recommend it to anybody looking for something intense, fresh, and one-of-a-kind. If this album doesn’t rejuvenate the tired extreme metal genre, it’s not due to lack of quality. This is an absolute must-hear. – Christine Lett
BINDRUNE RECORDINGS
Cattle Decapitation – To Serve Man
•January 3, 2009 • Leave a Comment
Unfortunately for Cattle Decapitation, generally death/grind bands are only as good as their drummer. And I don’t know if it’s the horrible triggered snare sound, the fact that said sound is mixed way too loud, or if it’s just the overall non-creative nature of his drumming, but David Astor really ruins this band for me. And since he and bassist write all the music, I guess that’s unlikely to change in the future. To Serve Man does have some cool riffs and vocals – almost like a more straightforward/oldschool Cephalic Carnage meets Suffocation and Cannibal Corpse, but the whole affair just stinks of mediocrity. Track five “The Regurgitation of Corpses” is the highlight, with some tight triplet rhythms and stops culminating at a short two minutes. Maybe I’m looking for too much here, but next to bands like Corpse Vomit, Exuviate or Mortal Decay, this stuff sounds safe and sterile. Cattle Decapitation have nothing really new to offer but they do what they do well for the most part. One of their biggest weaknesses as with many bands of their ilk is that their vocal patterns are sometimes too predictable. Another common problem of theirs is formulaic, uninspired drumming that sounds like it was touched up in the studio. It’s a shame their music is so run of the mill because their lyrics are really interesting and mostly well-written. They seem inspired by the bemused, educated observer lyrics pioneered by Carcass and philosophized by Exit-13. This is pretty good stuff, just nothing new and with a sketchy production that isn’t raw enough to capture the crazed vibe death metal requires. -Aaron J. Klamer
METAL BLADE
Catacomb – We Shall Inherit
•January 3, 2009 • Leave a Comment
With better production, more diversity, and slightly faster tempos this band would have some potential. But as it stands right now, this is a pretty shoddy effort. The style is basically atmospheric metal with sneering black/death metal growls that sound sort of like a powerless Angelcorpse mixed with every typical Scandinavian black metal singer. Musically most of the songs are moderately paced, leaning towards the slower side, with lots of heavy chord progressions and synth textures alongside a few tremolo picking riffs that bring in some more black metal influences. The black metal riffs are really weak, so I would focus on adding some more excitement to the moderately paced areas (which often employ some interesting solos that suggest more ability than is being taken advantage of rhythmically), but they won’t be able to do that without nailing a better sound. Right now vocals and drums stick out the most. The vocals because they’re loud, the drums because they’re rigid and sound like a bad and inconsistent drum machine. The guitar tone is incredibly muddy, and the guitars lack volume (because they’d fuck up the entire mix if they were any louder) so there’s no clarity. They need to rework the guitar tone, balance out all of the instrumentation, and drop the vocals back in with the music. I don’t particularly find this high, snarling vocal style to fit in very well with the stronger aspects of the music, but… what can you do? The layout is really cheesy. The front cover has some sort of image of a statue or something (I can’t tell) covered by an enormous band logo complete with plenty of satanic symbols and skulls. Everything else looks even worse. There’s a poorly executed collage of band photos, a lot of shitty 3-D computer imagery and background textures, poor typefaces… all that mess. Lyrics? Try to choke this one down: “Nutriting himself with human food, Human victims trapped in tentacles, And digested by this shapeless mass…” What the hell does “nutriting” mean? That’s not even a word! I don’t know. At least the songs are pretty short, so… they’ve got some positives working for ’em. “Time’s Lurker” and “Adoration” definitely have some creative riffing going on, but I honestly don’t expect to see this band work hard enough to get to where they could and should be. – Andrew Westerhouse
DECIBELS STORM
Castrum – Mysterious Yet Unwearied
•January 3, 2009 • Leave a Comment
This disc opens with some sort of wind/storm sample that bring to mind the intro to Gilligan’s Island. I’m sure that is not the desired effect, but it sounded more cheesy than spooky or whatever. Then the music starts in and I swear it sounds just like the beginning of Cannibal Corpse’s “Hammer Smashed Face” for the first few seconds. After the first few moments though things fall into place a little better and Catrum begin to play their melodic Gothenburg style death metal for the remainder of album. For the most part this sounds fairly typical for the style and is really neither spectacular nor shitty. They do inject a sort of cleanish vocal at times that doesn’t really help or hinder the songs. They seem to be at their best when playing at the edge of their speed threshold, as only there do they gain some much needed intensity. Three of the ten songs are instrumentals, which I usually don’t like, but it did not seem to bother me hear. I guess the closest comparison I can think of for this band would be Cenotaph on their “Epic Rites” CD, but without the sorrowful feeling of that release. Some decent stuff here, but nothing I couldn’t easily live without. – Lance Rogers
BLOODBUCKET
Casket – Dark Frequencies
•January 3, 2009 • 1 Comment
With so many dark ambient projects coming out of the woodwork and many of them falling to the wayside because of the lack of imagination and creativity. It seems that finding the good ones is like digging through countless releases just to obtain the gems. Casket is very much one of those gems. Dark Frequencies lurks out of nowhere with monumental levels of dense leveling drone, space ambience, and a world full of ghostly samples resonating behind layers of heavy low end drift. This mixture conjures demented visions of despair and madness, ingesting the listener into a realm of dire helplessness. There are times when throbbing bass driven frequencies elusively fade in and out accompanied by textures of fiendish sinking echoes in the backdrop. In the track Take My Pulse unearthly electronic rumbling is abused by a static induced electronic gong. As the track moves smoothly and ghoulishly along, a black letter of gothic ahs begin to haunt the listener at an extreme level. Frequently Casket takes a less is more approach with “Dark Frequencies.” You’ll find with projects like Lull, Rapoon, and even Aidan Baker, this approach has amazing outcomes. With 5 tracks clocking in just under 35 minutes, Casket’s Dark Frequencies has a lot going for it. I myself would think that with this kind of approach and commitment, this North Carolina project can make a very good future for itself. – K
GRANULAR RECORDS
Carnal Forge – The More You Suffer
•January 3, 2009 • Leave a Comment
This one was a pleasant surprise. I’ve been unimpressed with the few tracks I’ve heard from this band, so I approached this with trepidation. And lo and behold, what sounded before like another faceless pseudo-thrash At the Gates type band with hardcore vocals actually sounds relatively impressive and vital on this, their 4th album. These guys definitely aren’t just going through the motions, they are improving vastly with time and effort. And while they still owe quite a bit of their sound to the Bjorler Bros. and Co., they have managed to keep a tight stranglehold on their own sound as well. The vocals of Jonas Kjellgren are a big part of this, he somehow manages to sound like nobody else while utilizing a fairly common style of hardcore yelling meets extreme metal rasping. He seems to be toning down the hardcore element a bit, which suits me greatly as I am not a big fan of that style. The bio claims this is his “most varied and punishing vocal performance to date,” and based on my admittedly limited exposure to this band’s earlier work I’d have to agree. The riffing is fairly typical of the whole “Gothernburg metal” movement with its stuttering melodic slashing riffs, but somehow Carnal Forge manage to put their own stamp on it. The overall quality of the guitar work and the inherent intensity of the more thrash-inflected style allow me to overlook the gross overexposure of this subgenre to an extent, but I’m still pretty burned out on it, and I know a lot of other people are too, so I don’t see this getting loads of listening time. Still, an impressive album from a band I’d pretty much written off, and way better than most albums of this ilk. – Aaron J. Klamer
CENTURY MEDIA
Aborted – The Haematobic EP
•January 3, 2009 • Leave a Comment
This is my first exposure to this band, and never really figured I’d bother at all, but here we are. This is a 6 song MCD, 4 studio and 2 live, which also includes 4 bonus live video tracks. Aborted, to no ones surprise, play Gore soaked Death Metal. There is a Carcass influence to some of this in the writing, but the guttural vocals speak more to the inspiration, or rather contamination, from bands a bit more mundane. There is a second raspier vocalist who helps reinforce Carcass vibe though when he comes in. There is a lot of energy to these tracks, the tempos are mixed up pretty well, and they can write a good hook when they want to. If this is a style you can really get behind, “The Haematobic EP” does a solid job of it and there are things here I like. In final judgment though there are too many cliché’s for me personally to get that excited. The deep low vocals are all too familiar, and the production while loud and powerful is a bit too clean for my tastes. This was given to me for review because of my affection for some of the Razorback Records releases. The two big differences between this and some of those, as I see it anyway, is that bands like Splatterhouse or County Medical Examiners come across as not taking themselves too seriously and Aborted doesn’t. The other is that the production isn’t sterilized like this is, it’s raw and dirty and has some character. This production is indistinguishable from a million other bands. I didn’t flat out hate this, which is what I expected, but at the same there was nothing about this that would lead me to be able to pick them out of the crowd either. The energy is there, and for the fan the extras on the disc are probably worth it, but it just didn’t feel like anything new to me. – Scott
LISTENABLE RECORDS
Brodequin – Methods of Execution
•January 3, 2009 • Leave a Comment
Apparently this is the third full length release for Brodequin, and no, I am not familiar with their back catalogue in case you were wondering. In fact, the only exposure I have had to this band was their appearance at the 2001 Ohio Death Fest. I do not recall them being this fast back then, but I could be mistaken as I imbibed copious amounts of Becks Dark at that event and therefore cannot recall much of what transpired at The Flying Machine that year. Anyway, this shit is really fuckin brutal man, if you get my drift. I guess my main problem with bands of this nature is the total lack of personality in the vocal department, I mean whoever is doing the vocals here just doesn’t matter because he sounds exactly like every other guy doing vocals for this type of band. Now old Cryptopsy is really brutal, but when you hear Lord Worm, you know damn well that that is Lord Worm because Lord worm has a style and delivery all his own and therefore sounds like no other. Cryptopsy continued on after his departure and still remained similar musically, but the replacement vocalist was sure as shit not Lord Worm even though he too had a sound all his own that was fairly unique in the underground metal community if not the hardcore community. I guess the bottom line is that for me to get any enjoyment whatsoever out of a band like Brodequin, the monotone sewer belch vocals have either got to go or at least be mixed up a bit with other types of vocal deliveries because a half an hour of this shit non stop is really, really annoying to me. – Lance Rogers
UNMATCHED BRUTALITY
Brave – Searching for the Sun
•January 3, 2009 • Leave a Comment
Brave are an excellent bunch of musicians who have learned to craft some captivating music in their past life as Arise From Thorns, and under their new moniker present an enjoyable if ultimately not completely fulfilling album under the name Searching for the Sun. The music is sort of a mix of dark heavy rock and adult contemporary, mixing distorted guitars and big chords with progressive rock and folk influences and glossing it all over with the pretty vocals of Michelle Branch. While her simple melodies dominate the band’s sound, it is the instrumental framework which gives the music its strength, each member understanding his role well and filling it perfectly. Special mention should be made of bassist Chris Welborn, a solid pocket player who is obviously an accomplished and diverse musician, something that could really be said of the entire band. The main hindrance to Brave is that there is not much differentiation between tracks, partially due to Michelle’s limited range and vocal lines, but also due to a lack of rhythmic dynamics and progression within the songs. This being the case, the strongest tracks are those that stick out for one reason or another – either because of infectious hooks (the first few tracks) or because of an atypical vocal line (“Bleed Into Me,” which features harmonies that are too rare throughout) or guitar sound (“New Beginning,” for example, builds from a clean muted vamp to a big-chord chorus, and a catchy one at that). Listening to Searching for the Sun in its entirety is satisfying insofar as there’s nothing really wrong with it, but ultimately I find myself thinking that they could have done better and hence find myself a bit disappointed. However, even with that being the case I enjoy this album a lot, much more than I would have expected to had someone described it to me ahead of time. If they keep the somewhat dark or sad vibe to their music I’ll be interested to hear their next effort, but if they got much more commercial than this I don’t think I could stand it. Even here “Candle in the Dark” sounds like it should be playing over the credits of the latest Disney movie. But Brave are actually a bit heavier than Arise From Thorns ever was (it’s all the same members, and a similar sound – just slightly different – more rock, less folk), so perhaps the future looks bright. Er, dark. – Aaron J. Klamer
DARK SYMPHONIES
A Crown Of Amaranth – Shave
•January 3, 2009 • Leave a Comment
This is a 4 song CDR limited to 50, with each copy having unique artwork created by the artist, though I do believe each copy does contain some of the artists hair. ACOA is a curious project because you never know if you are going to get his humorous side or his serious side, and that doesn’t even take into account the varied sonics he’s got in his barber satchel. “Dirt Off Ya Hova” opens the disc, a two minute deconstruction and distortion of what I assume is a pop song, the beat does sound vaguely familiar. The track moves from the eradicated beats, to a flurry of spastic electronic squirms and squalls, before ending similarly to where it started. “Str8 Outta Innsmouth” (that made me laugh) begins with a crisp and caustic Harsh Noise blast that becomes overtaken with what sounds like fluttering tape manipulations that eventually find a slow ambient synth drifting behind them. Erratic blasts of noise and cut up dart around like those flies that appear in your doorway in the summer for no obvious reason. The synth tones give it a nice steady foundation beneath the spastic nature of the rest of the track and keep it together well. “Stumbling From The Darkest Shadows” is next, this piece uses acoustic guitar melody with an country blues feel, and intermittent industrial style beats as the core for much more subtle hums and buzzes and distant sampling. Nicely done, I don’t know if the guitar is sampled or not, it has a cut of element to some of the flow that suggests it could be, but I don’t recognize it, so he may just be messing with his own creation here. The final track, “Monster (answering) Machine” is also the longest at about nine and a half minutes. This again works in guitar manipulation and fractured melody, though of a different feel, it is more swampy sounding thanks to the effects used and the lower octave. Snarled beats and a humming, dirty synth drone rise up and nearly consume the guitar melody. It’s a nice thick drone, with just enough fluctuation to give it a real uneasy feeling to it that swells up and recedes, giving the spotlight back to the melody, this juxtaposition happens a couple more times, with good effect because it is handled very slow and smooth and there are new sounds that are added in and out with it. The track ends with some odd sproinging sounds, slide whistle, and some more tape manipulation Another well done release from ACOA. The production is strong, the edges of the harsh sounds are all sharp and rusty, and the curves of the ambience very subtle. And there is nice definition between everything even in the most chaotic moments. This is a project that will surprise you in that he has done a wide variety of styles over his few releases and often within releases as here, so you can never be sure what’s going to happen next, and that’s something that we could use a little more of. The compositions use these varying styles and sometimes curious sources fluidly, and don’t come off is a hodge podge, but rather quite cohesive even if at times unconventional. – Scott
AUDIO SAVANT
Bodies Lay Broken – Eximinous Execration of Exiguous Exequies
•January 3, 2009 • Leave a CommentI’m sure you can guess what kind of music this is based on the album title – trendy symphonic black metal. No, it’s basically Carcass worship through and through, even possessing a touch of that band’s academic humor. The liner notes resemble a Master’s thesis on Bodies Lay Broken and their relationship to the history of grindcore, with lines like:
“Grindcore is precisely concerned with the bestowal of a phantasmagorical reality upon ‘the objective form of thing[s] outside the midbrain.’ To elevate and make more complex the signifying and narrative possibilities of grind, and yet also to arrive at a new artistic visuality that would transmit the heightened sensory experience of the flux of reality: these two seemingly contrary impulses perpetually inform and challenge one another in Body Lay Broken’s work,” etc.
Of course the humor is that when you put the disc in, it’s just plain ol’ grindcore. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, Bodies Lay Broken are just having some fun with the fact that grindcore is what it is and nothing more. There is nothing really unexpected about what you hear here, other than perhaps the level of sincerity/quality to the music and the bludgeoning, sick guitar sound – you’ll get short songs, blast beats, bloodsoaked gurgling vocals, even a steaming, quivering smorgasbord of movie samples appearing before most of the tracks. Carcass is an obvious reference point with song titles like “Edacious Florid Vacciniform Prurigo” and “Ichorrhemia (Excernent Practalgic Excrescency Part 2,” but many other grind legends are referenced in the riffing as well, with Terrorizer, Pungent Stench and Impetigo comparisons springing to mind throughout the disc. There is even what seems to be a Pig Destroyer influence working its way into the mix, with precision harmonic infused riffs springing up quite often. The weak point here, as is often the case in bands of this nature, is the vocals. The pitch shifted/heavily effected vocals work well, as do the retching high register chokepukevox, but the more typical grunts (which sound a lot like the really deep vocals in short lived Relapse band Embalmer) are annoying in that each vowel sound sounds the same and there is little in the way of consonant sounds. The result is an irritating one dimensional distraction to the otherwise powerful sonic wreckage, a problem which also plagues Peaceville’s Akercocke. Unfortunately this vocal style seems to be used more than any of the others, and will probably limit my listening time. However, if you’re a fan of bands like this you should probably give this a listen, as the drumming is organic and crushing, the guitar sound huge, and the riffing tight and creative. A solid debut into the grind world from this Minneapolis trio – I just wish they’d drop that one vocal style. – Aaron J. Klamer
DEATHVOMIT RECORDS
Blood Red Throne – Altered Genesis
•January 3, 2009 • Leave a Comment
Norway’s Blood Red Throne is one of those bands that I have heard of, but have never actually heard. Now that I have heard them, I must say that I enjoy their music much more than I had thought I would. Although they are from Norway and feature a prominent member of the Old Norse scene in Tchort, they have chosen to focus on creating visceral death metal rather than treading down paths that must seem more familiar to them. I cannot say Blood Red Throne present the most original sounding material that I have ever heard, but oftentimes originality is highly overrated anyway. I for one would rather listen to something that I enjoy, even if it is not exactly ground breaking than something that is ground breaking that I am just not into at all. Getting back to the point, to me “Altered Genesis” sounds a lot like another Scandinavian band that I thoroughly enjoy, namely, Vomitory. The pacing of the tracks, the drums, the razor sharp riffs that continue to build upon one another until they are forced to erupt by songs end, and perhaps most of all the vocals of “Mr. Hustler” all bring to mind that Swedish band mentioned above. This is a solid album that probably won’t blow you away but could give you a lot of enjoyment if you have spun all of your old Scandinavian classics to the point of having them committed to memory. – Lance Rogers
EARACHE
A Crown Of Amaranth – The Gorgeous Dawn Of The War
•January 3, 2009 • Leave a CommentThis is a 5 song self released CDR from this new Dark Electronics project. There are no titles listed… The disc opens with a melodic ambience and sparse percussive low end making up the first track. There is a nice atmosphere here, and while it’s simple it conveys its intent well. There seems to be some genuine guitar woven in to it, but used somewhat abstractly. Track two has a hallucinatory wilderness feel to it, strange beasts crowing from tree tops and moaning beneath the rocks. Strange vocalizations, rhythmic accents, drifting electronics and a fluid development make for a nice track that disorients as it draws you in. The third piece combines some dissonant guitar melody with minimal ambience and simple loops. The fourth track picks up similarly to the third, but begins to incorporate additional sounds that eventually gives way to a deep sub bass throb to meet the changing tone of the loops. This fades and a warm echoing melody rings out. The final piece approaches the 10 minutes mark that opens with a pastoral sort of ambience and light melody, this spawns a drum beat with a nice hook to it as the dreamlike synth melody plays out atop it. This eventually drops away and more tension laced electronics emerge. It is still rather ambient, but it almost sounds like an approaching starship battle or something of that nature. This is a pretty solid and diverse release, I think the second track was my personal favorite, but the way the guitar is used on the first and fourth tracks was nice as well. The way the pieces develop is handled nicely and I like that there are different types of sources that are utilized through out. – Scott
Black Witchery – Upheaval Of Satanic Might
•January 3, 2009 • Leave a Comment
This is Black Witchery’s second full-length album overall, and their first for France’s Osmose productions. In this particular case, the term “full-length” is being used a bit loosely though since this European version of “upheaval of satanic might” clocks in at a mere twenty-six minutes, with around two minutes of that time being dedicated to dark/evil sounding intros to a couple of tracks. I noticed that the US version of the album is slightly longer courtesy of an unlisted cover version of Blasphemy’s cult track “ritual”. Perhaps Osmose saved this track for a vinyl only bonus, but I am not certain. What I am certain of, however, is that the sound on the bonus track urinates on the sound that was achieved on the rest of the album. This is rather unfortunate and greatly disappointing. I cannot understand why Black Witchery would purposely want to sound so terrible. Their previous full-length was raw as fuck for sure, but it still sounded far superior to this. In my opinion the sound found on “upheaval of satanic might” almost completely ruins what would otherwise be an album that I would immensely enjoy. They have the demo-level Beherit / “fallen angel of doom” era Blasphemy sounds down, sped up a bit to modernize it of course. I love that type of material, but this is just a case of above average blackened-war metal suffering from below average production. On a final note, Chris Moyen provided the cover art, so you know it is a pleasing eye-catcher to the more darkened souls out there. – Lance Rogers
OSMOSE
A Days Refrain/Neil Perry – Split
•January 3, 2009 • Leave a Comment
A Days Refrain are first up with 3 tracks of dissonant noise rock complete with grinding breaks and emo interludes. The band tightly weaves raw chord structures and screaming vocals with a variety of tendrils stretching out from that base. Clean guitar melodies, sung vocals, off time riffs, an almost jazz like rhythm section at times, blast beats, heavy grooves and so one all coiled taught for a great emotional ride. Neil Perry is next up with their 3 tracks… Screaming discord, layered heaviness and obscured off kilter melody. Dominant bass and drums provide the foundation for more abstracted guitars, whether clean or raw distortions the guitar lines lead in more esoteric directions and provide a disharmonic nest that swells up around you. Passionate screams flush out the vocal realm. All six tracks here are excellent. – Scott
ROBOTIC EMPIRE
Bestial Mockery – Evoke the Desecrator
•January 3, 2009 • Leave a Comment
It’s always something of a treat to watch a band that you’ve followed since their demo days come full force and deliver a strong album that should cement their place within the scene. This is BM’s second full-length release (not counting the 12″ on Sombre which was a compilation of demos) and first for the Osmose label. Their debut on MetalBloodMusic had some really brilliant moments of execution, but seemed to faulter when it came to the actual songwriting. The riffs were chunky, but weren’t always memorable. This time around Bestial Mockery have found a way to string together the most outrageous elements of late 80’s German thrash with early 90s Swedish Black/Death metal. Opener “Chainsaw Demon Returns” has actually appeared on previous demos and a comp 7″, but this version is a perfect opener to kick in the door and begin the assault. You just haven’t lived until you’ve heard a dueling guitar and chainsaw solo! With less than 25 minutes of music, BM also knows how to make an impact and not overstay their welcome. Hail the chainsaw demon! – Craig Schlanger
OSMOSE PRODUCTIONS
Benighted – Insane Cephalic Prod
•January 3, 2009 • Leave a Comment
For not expecting much from this album when I pushed play I sure got my fucking face kicked in by it. New school death metal doesn’t usually impress me much, but these French psychos have crafted one hell of a diverse and impressive slab modern extreme metal. There are ten tracks showcased here, each being superbly crafted and flawlessly executed. Songs that stand apart from one another and are played as tight as you can get with outstanding production to boot… I must be dreaming. I don’t want to sound like this is the best thing ever or anything, but it has been a while since something new stood out to me this much. After spinning this several times it has yet to become boring, probably due to the well placed tempo changes and the presence of five to ten different and distinctive vocal deliveries. That might sound like it makes for a chaotic mess, but these guys not only pull it off, but make it sound natural, even easy. Comparisons would be somewhat pointless, because this material is all over the place, yet without ever lingering in one place for too long. Unless you are a staunch old school fanatic or just plain don’t like death metal at all I highly recommend you check this out. – Lance Rogers
ADIPOCERE
Worm Gear 