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This is 'Liberation through Amplification.'
To put out an album that stands out in what feels
like a tidal wave of high quality releases is no small achievement, and the
band should feel immense pride in what they’ve created here. This is mandatory
listening.
‘Coffin Birth’ CD//LP//CS//DD track listing:
1. Coffin Birth / A Million Witches
2. Where Evil Dwells
3. Grave Mistake
4. Umbilicus
5. For Want of a Nail
6. Occision
7. Like Father like Son
8. Misbegotten / Coffin Death
The Review:
As seems to happen every so often, we’re in the
midst of a gigantic death metal resurgence. Top notch albums are coming out
from across the globe and the songwritings as good as it’s ever been. The added
benefit this time around is that it isn’t all from one particular sub-style. In
the past we’ve seen resurgences in early Incantation worship, Stockholm sweddeath, and others beyond. This
time around, it just seems as though death metal as a whole is experiencing an
uptick, with a number of bands putting it all together at the same time, across
a range of styles.
In a way, Extremity embodies the entirety of death
metal’s 2018 rebirth. The sonically massive recording, the inclusion of a wide
range of influences, but all under death metal’s larger umbrella. As the album
goes along, the songs invoke something familiar, but never outright worshipping
a specific band. You’ll hear something that would feel at home on a Bolt Thrower
album, or something that would feel at home on a Carnage or Unleashed album, and even early Death
rears its head in some of the harmonized guitar leads. On ‘Coffin Birth’, Extremity takes all of these different sounds,
and brings them together into a single, cohesive whole, and it fucking rules. Each song on ‘Coffin
Birth’ feels like a journey, rather than a compilation of great riffs. The
band rarely ever dwell on the same idea for long, and each new place a song end
up keeps the song interesting. Just looking at “For Want of a Nail” as an example: the song opens up with a
lurching, climbing double kick section, before the tempo kicks up somewhat as
twisting, limber riffs keep up with Aesop Dekker’s thrashy beat. After that,
the song launches into an utterly crushing breakdown, in which Aesop Dekker’s
masterful sense of groove and feel take center stage, the moment made all the
more powerful by a breakdown riff that’s up there with “Master Butcher’s Apron” off of Carcass’ ‘Surgical
Steel’, meaning it’s among the best of this decade. That’s not to mention
the fantastic solo work that immediately follows, though I’m not certain which
guitarist to credit Marissa Martinez-Hoadley or Shelby Lermo for it. There’s so much going on in each and every song,
and none of it ever feels forced, nor do the transitions ever feel unnatural.
Each song is an ever-mutating creature unto itself and yet unified as one
greater whole. ‘Coffin Birth’ is the
work of musicians who’re at the height of their creative powers, standing out
and claiming their own piece of an exceptional time in death metal history. To
put out an album that stands out in what feels like a tidal wave of high
quality releases is no small achievement, and the band should feel immense
pride in what they’ve created here. This is mandatory listening.
‘Coffin
Birth’ is available digitally on CD, LP, or Cassette here.
On
August 11 2017, Black
Bow Records will release “Forest Of The Impaled”
by UK death
metal band SUBSERVIENCE.
Drawing influence from the classic death metal bands of yesteryear as well as
the recent breed of modern greats, brutal Sussex quartet Subservience are gathering a
good reputation across the country and beyond with their corrosive blend of
groove laden extreme metal. You will find no self-indulgent displays here; Subservience
put on a stage show that certainly pulls no punches
Their live show has earned them a reputation as one of the heaviest bands on
the south coast, and has rewarded them with slots at Download Festival and Hammerfest, as well
as support slots with underground heavyweights Blood Red Throne, Xerath, Bloodshot Dawn,
Hour of Penance, Demonic Resurrection, Flayed Disciple and Eye of Solitude
Brimming over with concentrated fury and a taste for chaos, they have released
several increasingly brutal EPs that had been met with a great reception among
their ever growing fan base. Their debut album has been mixed and mastered by
Paul “Win” Winstanley and is set for release on August 11 2017.Today and only at THE SLUDGELORD you check out a
brand new track below.A must for fans
of Old
School Death Metal, Entombed, Deicide and Bolt Thrower.
Sludgecore trio EARTHGRAVE summon a
crawling miasma of growling guitars, hoarse screams and driving drums on their
debut album 'The Verge Of Human
Abyss' fit to make Eyehategod proud.
The
band move between grooving mid-tempo doom-tinged sludge into chugging hardcore
breakdown territory with ease and competence, with the occasional punk outburst
and d-beat bringing the tempo back up, almost in places touching on old school
death metal akin to “Realm Of Chaos”
era Bolt
Thrower.
Art
on this release mirrors the lyrics and vocals; bleak, monochrome imagery
collaged together with ragged edges hinting at themes of suffering and the
worst elements of human nature.
'The Verge Of Human Abyss' drops on the 7th of July
via WOOAAARGH
on CD/MC and digital download. The limited Cassette Edition is a co-release
with Black
Omega Recordings.Today ahead
of the album’s official release we’re debuting two blistering tracks which you can check out below.So if
you’re fans of Seven Sisters of Sleep, Crowbar,
Integrity, Eyehategod and Bongzilla then this is a band not to be
missed.You
can order the record here
All in all it’s another good album that
sees the band dishing out shorter and faster songs than we’re used to getting
from them, while not losing the razor sharp edge of that classic Vallenfyre
musical mastery and might.
“Fear Those
Who Fear Him” CD//DD//LP track listing:
01. Born To
Decay
02. Messiah
03. Degeneration
04. An Apathetic Grave
05. Nihilist
06. Amongst The Filth
07. The Merciless Tide
08. Dead World Breathes
09. Soldier Of Christ
10. Cursed From The Womb
11. Kill All Your Masters
12. Temple
Of Rats
The Review:
Vallenfyre is a band that should
need no introduction. The group has been kicking all kinds of ass since their
2011 debut and continue to release quality albums approximately every three
years, up to and including this year’s new release, “Fear Those Who Fear Him,” which just dropped on June 2,
2017.
This
third full length instalment consists of twelve songs, half of which are under
three minutes in length, which is somewhat of a departure from their usual
repertoire. The album opens with slow-burner, “Born To Decay,” which gradually warms up and lasts for only about a
minute before all cylinders are firing and “Messiah” rips in full force with a classic grindcore blast of
spinning buzzsaws that make you feel like you’re trapped in the middle of a
drug induced late night knife fight. Then “Degeneration”
comes in like a lion and pounds your meat into a tenderized patty with repeated
blows of led boots to the head. These first three songs blend together for me,
even after repeated listens, seeming as if the three parts make up one mass
movement amounting to a seven minute long frenzy. This is most likely due
partially to very brief gaps between songs with the best possible outcome. I
actually found myself going back several times to figure out exactly where one
song ended and the other began. I don’t know if this was the intended effect
the band was looking to portray when they laid out the songs of the album but I
thought it was a pretty cool experience which left me a bit bewildered in a
good way.
When
“An Apathetic Grave” kicks in as
song number four, this is when the album noticeably shifts gears for the first
time and gets down to that sweet and sour Swedeath molasses that Vallenfyre
is always able to lay down so masterfully. This one song is just about as long
as the flurry of the first three combined. It puts the album right where it
needs to be and not a moment too soon as it leaves you with an uneasy feeling
in your stomach and radiation poisoning in your mind. Shortly thereafter, “Nihilist” chimes in for a two minute
blast like Napalm
Death high on a fistful of Swedish crack. “Amongst The Filth” is a dastardly mid-paced head bobber that gallops
and grooves over trampled, broken bodies, and gives us a few minutes to reflect
on the previous hail storm before the madness returns with the dying world
anthem, “Kill All Your Masters.”
“The Merciless Tide” comes in with more
grimoire and groove-laden layers of lightning bolt guitars and “Dead World Breathes” unapologetically
jams your face into the bench grinder with no mercy shown. Drums and bass crack
the whip and sink your ship as they shove you down further with powerful rage
for the most punishing forty seconds of your life. “Soldier Of Christ” has some really interesting shuffled grooves
with galloping hooves. The new drummer really shines with an abundance of
creative beats and fills on this one.
“Cursed From The Womb” brings us back to
that menacing Swedoom and gloom for what is only the second instalment of
slowness on the album. This is the longest song; the epic proportionately
speaking, the lyrics of which are where the album title comes from. This is one
cruel slab of menacing death doom with an abrupt ending that leaves you empty
and questioning your own shallow existence. Album closer, “Temple Of Rats”
just feels like the perfect album closer. It’s a belligerent blast of
eloquently expressed brutality. It feels like the band put down some serious
thought when it came to laying out the order of the songs.
Vallenfyre are masters of combining
elements of death, doom, crust, grind, sludge, and all other things we hold
dear. They put it all in a blender and then regurgitate the slurry into a
delightful elixir that many metal heads regard as divine ambrosia. I would say
that in general, this album comes off as being faster and punchier than
previous efforts, and that the overall tone of the mix is a bit more on the
thin crust side with considerably less bottom end than the previous two full
lengths. All in all it’s another good album that sees the band dishing out
shorter and faster songs than we’re used to getting from them, while not losing
the razor sharp edge of that classic Vallenfyre musical mastery and might.
Rogga Johansson shows no sign of
letting up at all; another album, another line up, another master class in
Swedish death metal. This is absolutely business as usual for Paganizer,
possibly the finest and purest exponents of this type of metal around. Highly
recommended.
“Land of Weeping Souls”
CD//DD//LP track listing:
1). Your Suffering Will
Be Legendary
2). Dehumanized
3). Forlorn Dreams
4). Land of Weeping
Souls
5). The Insanity Never Stops
6). Selfdestructor
7). Death Addicts
Posthumous
8). The Buried Undead
9). Soulless Feeding
Machine
10). Prey to Death
The Review:
Paganizer return with this first
full length since 2013. This pleases me immensely, as they have been consistent
purveyors of the finest Swedish Death Metal for close to twenty years. This
record does not disappoint at all. After the exhaustively excellent “Twenty Years In A Terminal Grip” best of
and the superb “On The Outskirts of Hades”
EP, I thought the band were going to deliver.
Sure
enough, they have. Impressively. You get rolling blasts, thrash pacing,
chainsaw riffing and reassuringly deathly vocals, and all that in opener “Your Suffering Will Be Legendary”! The
band don't put a foot wrong over the course of these ten tracks; “Dehumanized” is as dark as it is
pacey, rolling bass drums are a feature of “Forlorn
Dreams”, the lead work is fantastic throughout, the sound is great and
vicious.
Truly,
Paganizer
are still at the top of their game and are as devastating as ever. What shines
through on the album is the song writing. Paganizer know how to write great death metal
and also to make some oddly catchy hooks here and there, to go with
surprisingly catchy riffs. The title track is an effective demonstration of the
band's power, while “The Insanity Never
Sleeps” has got everything any fan of real Swe-death could want- including the
sound of a gun being cocked (essential to a death metal album).
The
latter half of the album is just as intense and just as gnarly; “Selfdestructor” allows for a slithering
opening riff before more choppy fair comes in. There is no let up through the remaining
four tracks, either; “Death Addicts
Posthumous” is thrashy stuff and “The
Buried Undead” is very deathly indeed (kind of like Bolt Thrower, but sped up a
little). “Soulless Feeding Machine”
and “Prey To Death” deliver two
sharp shots of deathto finish this
impressive set.
Rogga
Johansson shows no sign of letting up at all; another album, another line up,
another master class in Swedish death metal. This is absolutely business as
usual for Paganizer,
possibly the finest and purest exponents of this type of metal around. Highly
recommended.
There is no huge introduction needed here. Bolt
Thrower may be over, but Memoriam are very much here and ready to take up where
Karl Willett's previous troop left off. You know what to expect from the names
involved: crushingly slow grooves, like a tank rolling over piles of bones,
bursts of thrash tempos and a sound that is thicker than tar.
“For The Fallen” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. Memoriam
2. War Rages On
3. Reduced To Zero
4. Corrupted System
5. Flatline
6. Surrounded By Death
7. Resistance
8. Last Words
The Review:
There
is no huge introduction needed here. Bolt Thrower may be over, but Memoriam
are very much here and ready to take up where Karl Willett's previous troop
left off. You know what to expect from the names involved: crushingly slow
grooves, like a tank rolling over piles of bones, bursts of thrash tempos and a
sound that is thicker than tar. If you combined Cerebral Fix, Benediction,
Napalm Death
and Bolt
Thrower, surprisingly enough... you may well get a band like Memoriam!
From the title track through “War Rages
On” and “Reduced to Zero” all of
those traits are delivered in spades. The emphasis here is on the slower end of
the tempo spectrum and the band are never less than devastatingly heavy.
At
only eight tracks, but with half of that number tipping well over six minutes
or more, the record is perfectly paced and does not out stay its welcome. It
seems almost a moot point, but for fans of Bolt Thrower, this is a must. It also presents
a curiously British take on the death metal genre; it has a punk vibe and
delivery and certainly none of the tech traits of American bands. This is a
master-class in grinding, doomy death metal with a distinctly old school
flavour.
“Corrupted System” would be a fine example
of the band's crustier side- albeit that the running time and changes it
encapsulates lend themselves to more metallic territory. “Flatline” makes for more Bolt Thrower-esque sturm and drang and is very
heavy indeed; skull crushingly so. The tracks just keep coming, one as heavy as
the next: “Surrounded By Death” has
that caterpillar track groove down pat and is head banging heaven. “Resistance” is heavy and dark in equal
measure before the finale of “Last Words”
brings an emotional depth and weight that is perhaps unexpected from a band
operating in this genre.
It
would be churlish to find fault here. This is exactly the record you would
expect from the persons involved and it delivers on every level that you would
expect it to. Many will perhaps dismiss this, or bracket this, as a Bolt Thrower
knock off, but there is more here than that and also... you have to expect more
than a few shades of that classic band here. Memoriam are only playing one
date in the UK for all of 2017 at Manor Fest in Keighley, West Yorkshire on May
13th, so I strongly advise you to get a ticket, get the album and
check the band out for yourselves. I will be going and can't wait to hear these
tracks played in a live setting.
This is finely honed death metal, referencing all
the greats of the genre from this side of the pond and managing to create an
identity all of its own. Deserted Fear are ones to watch for sure: feral stuff,
crushing all in their path. This album puts 2017 off to a great start for death
metal!
“DeadShores Rising” CD//DD//LP
track listing:
1). Intro
2). The Fall of Leaden Skies
3). The Edge of Insanity
4). Open the Gates
5). Corrosion of Souls
6). Interlude
7). Towards Humanity
8). The Carnage
9). Face Our Destiny
10). Till the Last Drop
11). Carry On
12). A Morbid Vision
13). The Path of Sorrow
The Review:
Deserted
Fear
specialise in the kind of death metal so beloved of Scandinavian and European
bands. Don't think Nile or Immolation. Think Asphyx
and Entombed.
This is the band's third full length and they bring their Teutonic terror to
the masses in fine style here. The tanks roll, the sound is pleasingly clear
and bright, but with the right amount of grit to make this sound... real.
No
super fast blasting here, no so-low-you-can-barely-hear-them vocals. This is
honest to goodness (not much goodness) death metal from Germania.
“The
Fall of Leaden Skies” is the first track after a scene setting intro
and it really sums up the record: if you like this one then “The
Edge of Sanity” will get your neck snapping in similar fashion.
The
band offer up their own sound, but the aforementioned bands, Revel in Flesh,
At The Gates,
Dismember
and so on are all valid reference points. “Corrosion of Souls”, “Towards
Humanity” and “The Carnage” offer up concise and
rocking workouts; the song writing is lean and effective: riffs, changes, good
vocals. Some tracks are pacier than others, but this is all head nodding stuff.
Death metal, as I live and breathe!
“Face Our
Destiny”,
“Till
the Last Drop” and “Carry On” cap off the album in
grandstanding style; so consistent are the band in their sound that the record
just flies by. The album also comes with two bonus tracks, both of admirably
high quality and a nice touch from Century Media to include them.“A Morbid Vision” was my favourite of
the two, with its' Bolt Thrower esque pacing. There is absolutely
nothing to complain about here. This is finely honed death metal, referencing
all the greats of the genre from this side of the pond and managing to create
an identity all of its own. Deserted Fear are ones to watch for sure:
feral stuff, crushing all in their path. This album puts 2017 off to a great
start for death metal!
In October 2016, Arizona
newcomers GATECREEPER
delivered their stunning new album, 9 colossal tracks of low-end, old-school
death metal that would form the basis of their ferocious 'Sonoran Depravation' album.
Having devastated the underground since their formation
less than three years ago, GATECREEPER unleashed their first full-length
to widespread acclaim.Produced by Ryan
Bram at Homewrecker
Studios and mixed by the master Kurt Ballou (Converge, Nails, Black Breath) at God City
Studios.
'Sonoran
Depravation' is a 30+ minutes infusion of crusty, doom-soaked
death metal at its most infectious and uncompromising, indeed when they use melodies
they're more creepy than pretty. They seem to only be there to allow you to
catch your breath before they sit on your chest and start punching you in the
face again.With a sound
that calls to mind the classic Swedish death metal bands Dismember and Grave
mixed with the impeccable groove of Obituary and Bolt Thrower. Anybody into extreme music should be able to
enjoy the simple brutality and groove this band offer.
With the band slowly carving a name for themselves within the scene, we caught up with
front man Chase aka Hellahammer to talk through his top 5 Death metal albums,
as we take things to the extreme, by cranking it to 11.Why do we go to 11, “It’s one louder, isn’t it?”
Grave – “Into The Grave"
Grave
came out swinging with this debut LP. Caveman death metal from Sweden. Simple
heavy riffs with just enough groove on top of some very entertaining drumming.
This album taught me that it’s ok to throw in some low-key mosh riffs once in a
while.
Dismember
– “Massive Killing Capacity”
I know this one isn’t commonly considered Dismember’s finest work, but it’s definitely
my favorite. They changed their song writing a bit on this one to adopt more of
a “rock” approach and the vocals are a little more “shouty” but I think it all
works perfectly. So many catchy riffs! Every song has multiple sections where I
can’t help air guitar-ing or singing along. I listen to this album at least
once a week and it never gets old.
Deicide
– “Once Upon The Cross”
Perfect death metal album. It’s blasphemous, hard, and most importantly,
catchy! It’s not an easy feat to make things catchy in death metal without
sounding corny and this record has hooks all over the place.
Sentenced
– “Shadows of Past”
I feel like this album doesn’t get the recognition that it deserves. Finland put out
a lot of good death metal, but this one is definitely my favorite LP. It is the
perfect mix of Obituary,
Bolt Thrower,
and “Leprosy”-era Death. There are huge chunky riffs
combined with catchy and memorable leads. I love everything about it including
the title’s poor grammar and the Middle School art class colored pencil cover (both
of which were changed for the re-issue… shake my head). This album is a
definitely a huge influence on what we do in Gatecreeper.
Death
– “Leprosy”
“Leprosy”is what I would consider THE classic death metal album. This album will
continue to be emulated as long as death metal exists
Critically
acclaimed doom/death/sludge band Warcrab
returned with their new album “Scars of Aeons”, a five track
masterpiece that was released on digital formats on October 15th via Black Bow Records.
Warcrab have been making a name
for themselves in the UK
underground Metal scene since 2011. Hailing from the South West of England, the
six piece have played the length and breadth of the country wowing audiences
with their carefully crafted blend of Death, Sludge and Doom Metal.
The
first release, a Self-titled EP, came in late 2012 and was very well received.
Showcasing the bands heavy, sledgehammer approach to songwriting. The band
began 2014 with a string of dates across the UK with London-based doomsters Diesel King, this provided great exposure for
some of their crushing and dynamic new material from their eagerly awaited
second EP “Ashes of Carnage”. This was premiered and the EP
released when the band played to a huge audience on the New Blood stage at Bloodstock 2014 which was swiftly followed by
a UK
tour with Brazilian death mongers Krow.
This second offering was a step up for the band as they strived to hone their
sound and enhance what they had previously written.
In
late 2015 the band entered Skyhammer Studios,
with Chris Fielding (Conan) at the
desk to embark on recording the third release “Scars of Aeons”.
2016 looks to be very promising for Warcrab,
so following our exclusive reveal of a brand new trackentitled
“Conquest”, a few weeks
back, today we have invited guitarist Budgie from the band to choose his top 5 death
metal albums, a genre that Warcrab are not strictly known for,however they certainly do have elements of
the sound in their music .It’s time to
turn the volume up to 11, because after all “11 is one louder”
"Hey guys. I’m Budgie from Warcrab
and I’ve been asked to provide you all with my top Five Death Metal albums of
all time. To be honest this is gonna be tricky for me as I rarely listen to any
newer Death Metal and when I do listen to Death Metal it is always albums from
when I was a kid ya know? I kinda also don’t do the genres and sub genres thing
to well, to me its just all metal except that some is more extreme than others.
So my list of my all time fave albums might not all be Death Metal as such."
1)
Slayer-“Raining Blood” (1986)
Bought
this when it very first came out from Rival Records in Plymouth. We all used to go there on a Saturday
to see what was new in and hang out (sadly it closed many years ago). I
remember getting it home and putting it on in the front room and my Mum hitting
the bloody roof. I also though what the fuck is this!!!! But just to be a pain
in the ass I stuck it out to annoy her more than anything......Didn't play it
for a few months after that. But that age my musical tastes were changing so
quickly that when I had the guts to put it on again.......it never left me
again.
2)
Bolt Thrower- “Warmaster” (1991)
This
is purly because at the time to me it sounded so sonic, with the never too fast
chuggy riffs that were never too complicated and that sinister undercurrent of
War running through it. Without really meaning to I think this has had a fair
influence into Warcrab
now. I used to live with an old friend of mine called Sicky, he used to live
with Bolt
Thrower in Leamington Spa when they were releasing “In Battle
there is no Law”. If you look at the cover of it there is a standard being
held above the battle with a guy holding a staff. Well Sicky drew that and also
painted it on the back of my leather.....it looked cool as fuck.
3)
Deicide-“Deicide” (1990)
Bought
this home on a Saturday afternoon with my mate John, dropped acid and had a
smoke then remembered what we had bought......stuck it on......freaked the fuck
out.....turned it off.......listened to it when we were straight. Sounded so
fucked up haha. Just an amazing album. Saw them in London around that time and they were
staggering.
4)
Sabbat-“Dreamweaver” (1989)
Thrashy
dark magick entwined with amazing vocals/lyrics from Martin Walkyier and such
good musicianship. Used to love the first two albums so so much.
5) Obituary-“Cause of Death” (1990)
When
this album came out death metal was just exciting, we were all at that age
where we just fell over each other to listen to new stuff that was coming out.
Back then the market for extreme metal was nit flooded like it seems to be now.
So when something hit it all felt like your eyes and ears had been opened to this
new level of brutal sickness.....and i couldn't get enough of it. This album
sums up for me the bands that were coming out of Tampa at the time and the
guitar sound is just so fucking heavy, the solos are just fluid smooth liquid
and John Tardy's vocals!!!!!!! Saw them on this tour and always remember John
Tardy windmilling and every time you saw his face he had a massive fucking
grin......that is what being in a Metal band is about right there.
Warcrab’s new album “Scars of Aeons” is available here
