“Prisons of Flesh” was first unleashed upon the masses in 2000, by the band themselves, limited to 1000 copies. Having signed to Open Grave Records last year, the band celebrated this union by re-birthing their debut with slightly different artwork, a fresh re-master job, and 2 new tracks to whet their old fans appetites in anticipation of full-length #2 “With Fire”, due out later this year. Having not spun this disc in quite a while, I am pleasantly surprised at how well the material has held up over the years. Expect “Warmaster” era Bolt Thrower meets older In Flames, spun with Feast Eternal’s own unique gift for sensible song structures and riff writing that is as memorable as it is bloated with an old school death metal affinity. The 2 new songs closing this CD out (“Serpents Proclaim” and “Rage of Angels”) take the core foundation of Feast Eternal’s writing style and inject even more harmonies and even some well done solos to further elevate this material into a higher classification of death metal that stands out in 2007 amongst a genre full of lifeless turbo death and goregrind fiends. Tasteful songwriting, monstrously brutal vocals, and an all around well-executed slab of death is available again for consumption! -Marty
OPEN GRAVE
Hardcore toilet vocals? Check. Triggered drums? Check. Guitar chugging? Check. Self-righteous lyrics? Check. Mosh breaks? Check. Ladies and gentlemen, what we have here is a grind album. A totally average, forgettable grind album. From the outside it looks all right – good logo, good cover art, typical (if tired) grind track titles (“Life Among the Lifeless”, “Prorated Peace of Mind”, and “Belligerent Rage”) – but if you’re expecting quality grind ala Phobia (as their ad sheet purports them to ‘sound like’), you’ll certainly be disappointed. Every track on here sounds essentially the same. I’m so bored I can’t even talk about this album anymore. Total snoozefest. Avoid. -Christine
I bet these guys are/will be huge in Europe. This disc reminds me of every nameless ‘dark’ band I was exposed to living in Germany. They were all totally forgettable, incorporating all the same elements. You have your electro/EBM bits, your keyboards, your crunching guitars, and male/female vocals. It’s all the same. That said, there’s an audience for this stuff, as evidenced by the glut of similar acts and their relative popularity. That audience just doesn’t include me. I guess this stuff is what would come out if Das Ich, Wumpscut, and Dimmu Borgir were mixed together and heavily watered down. If the German goth rock scene is your thing, this probably will be too. Interestingly, these guys are from Italy, but everything down to their awkward accents reeks of Germanophilia. While Europe has some excellent exports, I can’t wait for this whole gothrockelectrometal to die out and be replaced by something fresh. -Christine Lett
I never understood why Silencer’s Death-Pierce Me got such great reviews, but for those who somehow did find that release groundbreaking, this is the same guy. This time, Nattram tries his hand at power electronics. At least, that’s what it sounds like an attempt at. A crude, misinformed, pathetic attempt at that. Actually, those are kind words. Transformalin is so mind-bendingly awful, that I’m honestly not sure whether to laugh or punch Nattram in the face. Or both. At the same time. The track “Transformalin”‘s lyrics provide some good ideas as well: “Steal my voice, it can not be heard… Drill a hole in my skull/Fill me up (and) I’m sterile/with a stench of purity and ethyl”. Did he just rhyme skull, sterile, and ethyl? Speaking of words, the vocals themselves are cringeworthy at best. Half-sung, half-said, all melodrama. On “Upon the High Horse of Destruction”, the vocal cue seems to be ‘use scary Halloween voice’, which is especially noticeable on lyrics like ‘throw my bones to the pigs’, which in practice sounds like ‘throooooow…. my booooooooooones….. to the piiiiiiiigs’. According to the liner notes, the album was ‘recorded during 2004-2005 as a therapy and rehabilitation process’, which to me sounds like a :Stalaggh:-esque gimmick, but its truth doesn’t concern me. What concerns me is the absolute lack of redeeming factors. From the forced ‘atmosphere’ of “Flaggan Paa Halv Staang I Droemmens Vaestergaard” to the contrived ‘military’ feel of “Situazion: Lebensgefahr”, Transformalin fails over and over. I had relatively high hopes for this album, because although I didn’t think Silencer was anything original, I thought a noisier direction would suit the emotionality of the project. The album is marketed as a mix of industrial drone and dark ambient. Don’t be fooled. This is a painful mix of Ordo Tyrannis and As All Die. If you like those acts, this is something to seek out. Anyone want my copy? -Christine
Blastbeats, riffing, harsh vocals – is this what the ‘extreme metal’ scene has become? Bang your head for Satan? At this point, it’s moving past ‘derivative’ straight into self-parody. In fact, Ravenous Deathworship is so blandly typical, it could easily pass as satire. Song titles like “Merciless”, “Genocide”, and “Purity of Hate” are so obvious, it’s hard to believe that The Deviant expects to be taken seriously. So I’ll assume that they don’t. As a comment on all that is wrong with ‘nowadays’ black metal, Ravenous Deathworship achieves its purpose. The overblown, triggered drums rarely vary rhythmically, illustrating the adolescent nature of most black metal drumming. The pristine, big-budget production only amplifies the utter lack of creativity on display, as evidenced by so many recent releases. The burped-up vocals spouting clichés represent the ridiculous lyrics on display in the genre as a whole. To top it off, these guys are from Norway – perfect! Ostensibly the origin of the ‘scene’ (what? I said ‘ostensibly’), Norway has been churning out black metal diarrhea for years now. The genius of this disc is that its very lack of any redeeming features redeems it – as a cautionary piece, reminding us that we don’t have to keep listening to this tripe. It reminds every musician that there IS a lowest common denominator. -Christine Lett
Formed in 1988 by members of Root and Denet, Crux is very much a product of its time. A thrashing, black metal attack can be found on this re-release by I Hate Records, featuring demo material remastered from the original tapes, a band history in the liner notes composed by the band themselves, along with expanded photos from the original releases. Having never heard this band before, the overall look of this release is very unsuspecting, featuring just a poor band photo for the cover, but the music as it turns out is very well produced and indicative of the late 80’s, early 90’s evil side of thrash metal. Less technical than the German’s (who undoubtedly reigned supreme during this era), this Czech trio concentrated on sensible song structures that weren’t without their fair share of surprises and solos, but the riffs themselves just instantly make a lot of sense and are flowing with a dark aura often found in the Euro scene of yore. I imagine a lot of this evil enchantment flowed over into Root’s (yet another band that I’ve never taken the time to fully explore) music since Crux was more or less disbanded so that 2 of its members could concentrate on Root, but this re-release re-opens the gate on what appears to be a rich glimpse into Crux’s sadly overlooked history. The mid-ranged vocal snarl offers the blackened charm for very dense riffs and masterfully plotted tempo shifts to be leaning more towards post thrash worship. You know… that early era of death metal where thrash was quietly dying and death metal releases focused more on well written music/riffs, rather than relying on unbridled blast beats. Crux were very skilled musicians, making sure that each track possessed a character and direction all its own, reveling in the aforementioned mystical elements, probably inspired by fellow countrymen Master’s Hammer. Nice acoustic guitar accompaniment further adds to the atmosphere of this material. I went into this release totally unaware and uncaring of this classic band, and by the mid-way point, I have been completely won over by the songsmithing ability and furious lust on display for a style of sinister music that encompasses several different metal sub-genres and just never seems to grow old with the passage of time. Fans of Root, Torr and Masters Hammer take note! -Marty
This album has a bizarre power over me – it makes me headbang. Seriously. I don’t headbang. Ever. But listening to Klagelieder – Grabesgesang I find myself headbanging without even thinking about it. It makes me nervous. I think Cerberus is turning me into a headbanging, horns-throwing metal zombie. That said, this album really isn’t all that fantastic, which makes the inadvertent headbanging that much more perplexing. It’s catchy – one of the catchiest albums I’ve heard in months, in fact. Every track has a riff that gets stuck in your head for hours. Trust me. So because this album begs for it, I’m gonna write the rest of the review in the style of a typical mainstream metal magazine reviewer: Horns up!!! German grimsters Cerberus are back with another fist-pumping slab of blackness!! Robed fuckers be warned – these anthems will beat themselves into your skull and not let up until the last track is done! With two axe-wielders (the mighty Dawn and Nebiros), the sound is heavy as fuck! This shit’s so typical I can’t figure out who to compare it to so I’ll compare it to Darkthrone and Gorgoroth! So grab a beer from dad’s fridge, throw this in the doombox and rock the fuck out!! Hail Satan n such! -Christine Lett
Love it. Love it so much I’m wearing the T-shirt. I only wish that my reviewers copy came with the three-song demo. But then, Blood of the Black Owl’s debut is a full 70-minute crushfest, so I can’t really complain. As if Chet Scott’s output as Ruhr Hunter weren’t impressive enough, the debut disc of Blood of the Black Owl places him in the top tier of one-man projects. In two genres full of boys with effects pedals and tortured vocals, Scott reminds metal and noise fans not to settle for the typical masturbatory fare we’ve been so inundated with. Slow buzzing riffs combine with rumbling atmosphere to create a transcendent piece that can be neither described as black or doom. Elements of both are present, complementing each other. The crushing despair of doom and the bleakness of black metal birth an audial black hole. Void metal, perhaps? But then, nomenclature is beside the point here. What matters is that every track can stand alone as an abyssic opus, yet the cohesion of the seven tracks is unmistakable. Bindrune Recordings is by no means a prolific label, but each release is so singularly stellar that one can be sure that if Marty signed ’em, it’s essential listening. – Christine Lett
It’s rare that I absolutely love and absolutely despise tracks on the same album. Devotional Hymns… has its moments of brilliance, but the third track (“Slow Morning Eyes On Fire”) nearly made me give up on the CD entirely. It’s nearly 13 minutes of filler with incredibly trite spoken word layered in – and the worst part is, it’s not even amusing enough to quote! I’m pretty sure the words ‘death’ and ‘dead’ appear about a dozen times, but I’m sure as hell not going back and counting. I can’t get through the damn thing. The next track, “A Sonata for Lillian Reardon” is also a throwaway track, incorporating vocals and background noise to form a muddled whole that’s neither impressive nor expressive. Moving on, though, “Cry Me a River, Elizabeth Nietzsche” is a post-rock fuzzed-out bass-heavy doom track that changes directions and builds on itself without climaxing or coming to a definite conclusion. Instead of being off-putting, however, the ambiguous ending is in itself effective and more appropriate to form than an unsatisfying pat ending so often found at the end of a track. Another highlight is “SS fuck puppets of the She-Wolf Ilsa” (I’m still trying to decide whether these track titles annoy me or impress me), a plodding collage of feedback notable for its persistent yet gravid march toward its linear end. Most of the tracks on Devotional Hymns… are linear in that instead of following the literary formula of exposition-rising action-climax-falling action-denouement, the songs follow a straight path without reaching a conclusion. To be more concrete, it’s like being thrown suddenly into a room where a concert has already begun but not all instruments have made their musical entrance. There’s no real preparation or greeting. One must take in what’s already extant and experience the layers as they appear. Instead of truly ending, the songs just trail off, as if the musicians merely abandoned their instruments. It’s a refreshing take on compositional structure, usually so rooted in conventionality. Perhaps it’s autodidacticism in action. However, with that fresh ‘unschooled’ take come unfortunate mistakes. First, they need to eliminate all vocals unless done wordlessly for effect. Nobody needs the lyrical meanderings of the desperately (but lyrically impaired) earnest guy experiencing existential crisis. Second, find a real artist to do the artwork. Seriously. Lastly… did I mention ‘take out the bad lyrics’? That’s the biggest issue here. Go forth and fix these errors, Autodidact. Then I may have something I can conclusively and concisely describe as good instead of wasting words explaining what’s not. -Christine Lett
No, this is not the technical German death metal band that you may remember from the late eighties or early nineties. This is the more obscure US act that began in the mid eighties with the release of their “Toxic Death” demo. They also released two other demos, a seven-inch and two full-length albums. None of which I have heard. I do have a copy of the “Toxic Death” demo though and as one might expect, it is far thrashier than the death grind found on “Contaminated”. Apparently “Contaminated” is an ep consisting of alternate versions of previously released songs that were recorded in 1990 during the “Infected” sessions. As previously stated, this material falls solidly in the realm of early nineties death-grind ala Repulsion, Terrorizer or Napalm Death. There are alternating patters of fast blasting and slower catchier parts with intermittent soloing. None of the material is excessively fast or overly brutal so it would either be fairly easy for most people to get into or it would simply not be enough to draw them in all depending on what they are looking for. This ep was released mainly due to the fact that the original Atrocity line-up is back together and writing new material and “Contaminated” should help to get their name back out there and give people a chance to see what they are all about for a relatively low price being that it is just an ep. – Lance Rogers
Poland’s Abused Majesty’s first album is impressive in its combination of complex concept coupled with straightforward execution. For a band to make their debut a concept album about a little-known Polish myth is brave – they’re certainly not trying to be overly accessible. However, the music itself is structurally simple: blast beats, chugging rhythms, harsh death/black vocals, occasional keyboard lines and guitar riffs. Comparisons to early Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, and Cradle of Filth will inevitably be drawn, and the melodic elements and epic concept justify them. However, this is more polished than early Emperor, less bombastic than Dimmu, and the laughably contrived nature of Cradle is thankfully absent. Abused Majesty is nothing new, but there’s something to be said for taking the best elements or your predecessors and combining them into a cohesive whole. The album flows naturally, each track a chapter in the Serpenthrone tome. There are no throwaways here. If you like your metal straightforward but not brainless, give Serpenthrone a try. -Christine Lett
Fans of older Dimmu Borgir take note, for this 5 song EP from Brazil’s Zargof is a definite nod of appreciation for the more atmospheric yesteryear of the aforementioned band from Norway. Keyboards are the main mood generator for this bands sound and even though their progressions are often mid-paced and airy, it all boils down to the synths following the riffs, only to offer a moment of separation during a music break. Perhaps this is a tired formula, but when all the elements on “Departure for the Cosmic Twilight” come together, I find myself acknowledging the lack of originality, yet becoming lost in the gathering mist created by this bands expansive sound. Harsh, mid-ranged black metal screams suit this material well. Even though the guitars are often lost in the keyboard haze and the drums come off as a bit thin – perhaps even a synthetic drum kit – Zargof aren’t afraid lift up their influences with musical praise, while offering their own passionate ideas to the final mix, even if the outcome lumps them in with hundreds of other bands all fighting for the same slice of Dimmu pie. Once again… this 5 song EP (3 full songs along with and intro and outro) is enjoyable for what it is, yet falls short in the essential conquest department due to Zargof’s lack of individuality. – Marty
France’s Yyrkoon really offer a bit chomping dose of death metal by combining both the old and new school’s of brutality… not to mention unbridled technical flair. The speed of the new school is here in spades, but Yyrkoon rarely dip into nonsensical turbo blast fills and this allows a much-needed injection of melody to drip in and benefit the catchiness and motion of each track. A lot of old school crunch chords fill in the bottom end for dueling harmonies to destroy the senses with well played hooks that will linger on the brain. Even though Yyrkoon maintain a pleasing Euro death affinity by way of punishing mid tempo breaks and the aforementioned use of melody, there is a definite US brutal death sense of aggression and the occasional groove element that gives their overall presentation a touch of interesting movement. Thankfully the guttural vocal delivery of guitarist Steph doesn’t tip the scales into the US death cupped mic barking ala Chris Barnes, for his lower to more colorful mid ranged scream highlights the well sculpted music nicely and his higher range also allows a bit of a German thrash of old influence to enter “Occult Medicine.” Well structured, produced and focused, “Occult Medicine” strikes me as one of the best modern death metal albums that I have heard (not to mention, actually listen to again), in a long time. Yyrkoon succeed because they poured a lot of class, interesting depth and love for the old staples of a death metal scene into this album. That element alone seems largely forgotten in light of all the faceless turbo speed freaks out there clotting the wound gashed wide open by time and the technological advances (both in regards to human and machine) that come with any musical styles evolution. “Occult Medicine” was a nice surprise indeed. – Marty
The only real shocker on “My Swan Song” is that Your Shapeless Beauty, with a band name, album title and overall booklet design that screams romantic doom, blasted out of the gate with intensity and technically precise musicianship. After making that initial adjustment that I wasn’t going to be bored to death by the trappings of doom, the trappings of the death/black metal crossover world quickly seeped into this album, even though the guitar sound was very full/interesting and the overall songs seemed very well considered. But let’s look at the basics. Harsh black metal screams offset by a deeper death delivery? Check. Largely technical, note oriented riffs with the occasional hint of groove? Check. Airy synth accompaniment to give the plastic illusion of atmosphere? Check. On paper, it adds up to make Your Shapeless Beauty look like just about every other band arising out of the European and Scandinavian territories. In the bands defense… even though just about every tool in their arsenal is a hand-me-down, the overall sound production is very full and flattering and Y.S.B.’s songs hold up really well. The bands use of melody and dynamics both in playing and speed textures is quite advanced as is the urgency in all the vocal deliveries. The synth work seems a bit thin in tone up against the power in the guitars, but the overall keyboard placement never comes off as intrusive. Granted, I’m not totally blown away by this album (this is a sadly common occurrence), but I can foresee hanging onto this disc after this review is finished which at least says something about Your Shapeless Beauty’s song birthing skills. – Marty
Punishing death grind that’s fun to listen to? Not “fun” as in humorous or kooky, rather Poland’s Yattering have progressed into this super unique band that seems completely free in their songwriting abilities and that must be a refreshing place for an artist to be. Yattering mix atypical blasts with even more disjointed moments of brutality that are a challenge and exciting to listen to. Somehow amidst the choppy transitions and incorporation of twisted musical styles (jazz?), Yattering keep the music memorable and hook laden. This is an abominable feat for such a style as unashamed death grind. The vocals remain sick and deeply abysmal with caustic screams thrown in to add to the intensity. Guitar effects clip and fan out (“Non Adapted Socially”) along with the beat to once again break up the onslaught of precision blasts and offer the listener something new to digest. Amazingly technical and creative drum work pushes the mathematical guitar work over the edge with organic abandon. “Genocide” is leagues beyond the Vader worship that was the basis for Yattering’s “Human’s Pain” full-length debut and the insane level of development tells me that they will become even more bold in their open minded experimentation as they progress. Damn good material from a genre that was all but dead to me. – Marty
This material initially came out on Profound Lore Records in 2004 as an LP only release. Upon selling out at an insane rate, a year past where the hounds of ebay would re-mortgage their homes to try and get a copy of this collectible material for their very own. The CD is a Battle Kommand Records re-issue of said LP, to appeal to a wider, seemingly rabid audience of both popular US bands. I’ve said it time and again, but I tend to like only a small handful of both bands material due to the general sameness that infects their catalogs, but even though the predictability and rehashed nature of this music is a given, I do like the vibe and overall dedication to the core sound both created by Xasthur and Leviathan. The Xasthur side of the split, to my surprise, actually sounded like it was either recorded on newer gear, or in a studio, for every element on this side of the split is audible and sharp, when most of Xasthur’s tunes are draped in this reverb soaked wash of lo-fi misery. Other than that, this is Xasthur 101. The drum machine leads the charge into the smoke filled den of sonic torment. Mid-paced agony bleeds into clean, drumless passages that offer up a bleak atmosphere. Predictable, but still enjoyable if you’re in the proper headspace for it. 7 tracks in length, including a rehearsal track, a bonus track and an interesting cover of the Katatonia song, “Palace of Frost”. For the Leviathan tracks, I must admit that I am impressed with the laid back and depressive nature of the long “Unfailing into Naught” track with it’s brooding tempo/riffs and slow decay into a very introspective synth instrumental. With this band, less is more. The more simplistic his music is, I feel it’s far more effective than when Wrest tries to cram in too many ideas both rhythmically and musically. The other Leviathan track is a bit quicker paced, yet just as stripped down and cryptic with ghostly harmonies swirling off in the distance. A nice touch really. Leviathan closes out this split with an accurate cover of Judas Iscariot’s “Where Winter Beals Incessant”, making this an enjoyable release that does help in easing my burn out for both artists. This is another reason why it took me so long to review this CD… it came during a time when it seems like a lot of both bands titles were pouring in to my collection and I simply had enough. So… for dedicated fans and people sitting on the fence like me, this split CD turned out to be something that I’ll definitely hang onto and dig out of the pile on occasion. -Marty
The talk online of Xasthur’s sell out due to this union with Hydra Head Records is comical. Granted, it is a weird union, but the music seeped out by the ever prolific Malefic remains true to form down to the last note. I’ve made it no secret that this musical specter has long since wore out its welcome with far too many substandard releases, never really recapturing the spirit and agony found on “A Gate Through Bloodstained Mirrors” and “Nocturnal Poisoning”, I was quite surprised as of late to have enjoyed the recent output by this suicidal entity. “Subliminal Genocide” is what you’d expect from this “band” in every aspect…. in fact, for more of a widespread release, the production remains bleak and off in the distance, yet the music just seems to bleed with the misery found in Malefic’s back catalog. The whole of this album is slow to mid paced and very depressing making it almost calming/hypnotizing to listen to as waves of nausiating notes drift together like the smoke rising from a blood stained cigarrette after a nasty evening of self mutilation. Distant screams feel displaced and full of regret, like cries from the ghost of a residual haunting. Dismal sounds and the unshakable emotions of loss and dread are at the center of “Subliminal Genocide” and even though I have grown to tire from the collective output of Xasthur, Malefic’s sound and vision remains unique to itself, regardless if select releases simply come off as rehashed. “Subliminal Genocide” is more of the same, yet somehow a definite step back into his own catalog to a time where his music seemed so much more vital and truly scary. – Marty
Xasthur is easily one of the best underground black metal entities on US soil. To think that such a potent release was scribed by one man and his passion to pollute the world with all the dread it has bestowed upon him, is impressive. One listen to the bleak and agonizing “Nocturnal Poisoning” should be enough to hurl you into a downward spiral of despair as waves of melodic and layered dissonance tare at your soul as if the possibility of you taking your own life would somehow benefit this recording… or make it grow more powerful. The fact that this was recorded on a 4-track (in the spirit of older Maanes material) seems to heighten the cryptic atmosphere as the caustic sonicsphere of “Nocturnal…” adds to the depravity and overall enchantment. Keyboards and buzz sawing guitar tones are mixed together perfectly as they drone off into the realms of the dead within a hypnotizing march. The synth work isn’t orchestral which is why I think I like it so much, rather, the moods sculpted by the keys are skillfully built upon simplistic and unique melodies that act as a more ambient guitar line. Malefic’s screams are dismal and also benefit from the sizzling distorted tone that envelops this recording like a cloud of noxious gas. His shriek paints mental images of a specter struggling to shift back into the dimension of the living and somehow getting caught in-between which intensifies his torment. Even the impressively programmed (though noticeably buried) drum machine fits perfectly within Xasthur’s world which seems to be only one razor blade away from achieving the ultimate escape. Do you possess the willpower to deny the insistent call of “Nocturnal Poisoning”? It doesn’t get much more cult, or brilliant than this. – Marty
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France’s Vehementer Nos is a 2 person project that have poured a lot of thought and preproduction tinkering into their songs before making them known to the black metal wolves hunting for fresh blood in this often creatively depleted genre. This project features a nice and effortless mixing of the old school and modern black metal eras. Thankfully keeping their music sufficiently underground in execution and color, V.N. just centers all their efforts on writing solid songs that unfold as they progress, actually building into something more developed than just a handful of riffs and some knucklehead screaming his brains out. With the use of piano, cello, flute, and violin sensibly interspersed throughout their compositions, this eclectic mix interacts with the mighty wall of atypical harmonies and other such well sculpted riff ideas. V.N.’s skilled ear for creating songs with depth is further explored by the bands excellent pacing of tempo, from slower progressions that build with patience, into more urgent mids, before exploding in a climax of blasting precision. The vocals follow suit, alternating between your typical BM mid-range retching, to some pitch sung segments and other spoken/shouted moments that adds a theatrical flavor to the body of this album. Whether this broader scope and pension for the dramatic was indeed intentional or not, this self titled CD comes off as sounding very innocently genuine. Looking at all the elements that comprise this material, Vehementer Nos could have easily dipped into more of a commercial medium of black influenced metal, but I appreciate them even more for sticking to their obvious passion for the dark side of life/art and arriving at a sound that is challenging, yet very easy to embrace due to the pure songwriting skills found very much alive at the core of this duo. – Marty
Worm Gear 