ALBUM REVIEW: Azaab, "Summoning The Cataclysm"

By: Richard Maw
 
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 15/04/2022
Label: Maxima Music Pro |
Satanath Records
 

 
“Summoning The Cataclysm” CS//CD//DD track listing:
 
1. Pandemonium Twilight
2. Carbon Plague
3. A Hollow Pact
4. Preachers of Hate
5. When Worlds Collide
6. The Infernal Citadel
7. Trophies of Flesh
8. The Empty Throne (Decapitated cover)
9. B.L.O.O.D.B.O.R.N
 
The Review:

Death metal and Pakistan may not seem to be immediately obvious bed fellows, but the more you think about it… the more it makes sense.
 
Azaab set the scene with an atmospheric intro that is melodic and foreboding. From there, you get vocals reminiscent of Glen Benton’s lower register, technical drumming courtesy of Indonesian Adhytia Perkasa and a real spread of death metal influences and approaches.
 
“Carbon Plague” blasts effectively, “A Hollow Pact” is a gnarled beast and the band show their slower chops with the doomy and deathly “Preachers of Hate”. There’s plenty of melody here, along with half stepping riffage the likes of which Morbid Angel applied in their slower moments- see “When Worlds Collide” for proof. Lovely lead guitar work here, too. The band have some great grooves and riffs up their sleeves and while the feel may be fairly old school, the sound is polished and ultra-modern- a killer combination.
 
“The Infernal Citadel” has a wonderfully evocative fantasy type title and the band run through some impressive chops while creating a great DM atmosphere. This could equally be applied to “Trophies of Flesh” which runs a wide range of death metal sounds- dreamy atmospherics, feral blasting and so on. It’s great stuff.
 
The band throw in “The Empty Throne” by deathly Poles Decapitated to give a hint of what they are aiming for overall and it is a solid track- well executed. “B.L.O.O.D.B.O.R.N.” finishes off this nine track feast of unearthly delights in style. This is a good death metal record which is thoroughly convincing throughout. Recommended for any fans of the genre.
 
“Summoning The Cataclysm” is available HERE 

Band info: Bandcamp || Facebook || Instagram || YouTube

ALBUM REVIEW: Tribal Gaze, "The Nine Choirs"

By: Richard Maw
 
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 16/09/2022
Label: Maggot Stomp
 

“The Nine Choirs” CD//CS//DD//LP track listing:
 
1). Cold Devotion
2). And How They Wept for Eternity
3). With This Creature I Return
4). To Gather in its Presence
5). As a Thousand Voices Sing
6). Jealous Messiah
7). Shapeless Sovereign
8). Jungle Rituals
9). Worthless Offering
 
The Review:
 
Dallas, Texas -not Florida- this time around for your death metal… This is nine tracks of death metal but with a distinct hardcore vibe. Think Obituary jamming with Nails and Hatebreed with a whole lot of early Morbid Angel thrown in for good measure.
 
It goes without saying that this is weighty- the mid-tempo sections hit particularly hard across all the tracks. The blasting sections are effective and while opener “Cold Devotion” may run past the six minutes mark with an intro etc… the rest of the album is down to business with three to four minutes of violence each and every time.
 
There are some serious neck snapping riffs throughout- listen to that head-stomp in “And How They Wept For Eternity”! The Morbid Angel vibes are cranked up for “With This Creature I Return” and from there, well, there is no let up. Old school DM vibes abound in “As a Thousand Voices Sing”- it has that ‘out of control’ riffage that Deicide did so well.
 
As the album plays out, the old school squeals and tempo changes of Trey et al are in full effect and with “Jealous Messiah” and “Shapeless Sovereign” bringing the noise, the album turns out to be anything but a “Worthless Offering”.
 
I’d pick “To Gather In Its Presence” as a stand out as it has that perfect headbanging tempo going for it, but there is something to enjoy on every track here. Recommended for fans of all mentioned bands.
 
“The Nine Choirs” is available HERE 

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

REVIEW: Black Hole Deity, "Lair Of Xenolich" [EP]

By: Richard Maw
 
Album Type: EP
Date Released: 05/02/2021
Label: Everlasting Spew Records
 

“Lair of Xenolich” CD//DD track listing:

 
1). Razor Earth Edict
2). Railgun Combat
3). Hypersleep Dementia
4). Multiverse Incantations
5). Lair Of Xenolich

The Review:

Right. Science-fiction and supernatural themes meet in this outstanding death metal release. I'm not familiar with the members' previous/other bands (Chaos Inception and Malignancy) but that didn't stop me getting into this straight out of the gate.

This is a razor sharp and brutal five track EP of the finest quality death metal. No blast or solo is wasted, no moment without enjoyment. It's quite reminiscent of Steve Tucker era Morbid Angel to these ears. It's speedy, dark, violent and really quite stunning.

Of the four tracks, “Hypersleep Dementia” acts as a pretty clean/acoustic bridge between the other four tracks of unrelenting heaviness. If I had to pick a favourite, it would be the raging “Railgun Combat”, but equally I like the interesting pacing of “Multiverse Incantations”.

Between this and Fractal Generator's latest beastly album, I have been spoilt for death metal these past couple of weeks. This is superlatively played, composed and produced and I urge all fans of the death metal genre (particularly those with an interest in the more technical end of the genre) to check this outcheck this out. Five stars for sure.

“Lair of Xenolich” is available HERE 

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Terrorizer, "Caustic Attack"

By: Elliot Paisley


Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 12/10/2018

Label: The End Records

On “Caustic Attack” Terrorizer at times sound positively apocalyptic.

“Caustic Attack” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Turbulence
2. Invasion
3. Conflict And Despair
4. Devastate

5. Crisis
6. Infiltration
7. The Downtrodden
8. Trench Of Corruption
9. Sharp Knives
10. Failed Assassin
11. Caustic Attack
12. Poison Gas Tsunami
13. Terror Cycles
14. Wasteland

The Review:

There are few bands in the history of grindcore as significant as Terrorizer, and yet they remain unsung heroes. Napalm Death lay the foundations, alongside contemporaries such as Extreme Noise Terror and Repulsion, but one could argue Terrorizer’s work has seen more of a direct influence.

The band is perhaps most acclaimed for their wildly savage debut, 1989’s “World Downfall”, which famously featured extreme metal demigods, David Vincent of Morbid Angel and Jesse Pintado, who would later join Napalm Death. With the incorporation of a more guttural vocal style as well as more technically accomplished riff work, while still maintaining the necessary socio-political aspect, this interpretation of the style has shown longevity, present in bands such as Wormrot, Nasum, and Insect Warfare. The album was more arcane and menacing than any grindcore album that had come before, and tragically, for 17 years it appeared to be the sole, defiant statement this band would make.

The band has since reformed twice. Firstly, in 2005 to release the so-so “Darker Days Ahead”, which displayed the band performing in a more linear fashion, instead of performing more of the straight-forward death metal Sandoval had been producing with his long-time day-job, Morbid Angel. The album would prove to be the final release featuring Jesse Pintado to be released in his lifetime, and while many look back on it as a fairly unimpressive swansong for an extraordinary character, the album still had moments which would please any fan anticipating their return. The 2012 follow-up

“Hordes of Zombies” proved to be a further disappointment, virtually disregarding the savage hardcore that is so vital to impressive grindcore, and instead striving for a sluggish take on death metal. All hopes appeared dashed in relation to Terrorizer, as many began to forgivably disregard interest in their future.

When a long-standing band releases an album, fans often struggle to resist comparing it to their classic works, for better or for worse. In most cases, it is a valid comparison to make.  However, in the case of Terrorizer, it is important to make such a distinction; on “Caustic Attack”, they are down to just a single original member. With the exception of Sandoval, everyone on this album is making a debut performance. This could lead one to question the chemistry of this group; a band with a 30-year legacy ought to have remarkable chemistry, and this could prove difficult when 2/3rds of the band joined in 2013. However, it immediately becomes clear this is not an issue for Terrorizer, as “Caustic Attack” proves to be their most artistically successful album since their 2005 reformation.

It appears Terrorizer (or perhaps just Sandoval) have acknowledged they are a far more impressive grindcore band than they are a death metal band, and for the first time since coming back, they are leaning on that crutch. This provides an immediate refreshing quality to the album; gone is the continuous dirge of low-energy death metal the band have been pedalling for years, and present instead is a more violent, splintered attack. While still not as savage as the band's contemporaries, with Napalm Death and Pig Destroyer still proving they can be more menacing and grotesque than ever, there is an obvious improvement here. The band is clearly superior when they focus on 1-minute displays of brutality, highlights of the album including “Turbulence”, “Invasion”, “Poison Gas Tsunami”, and the intoxicating title-track.

The album is by no means flawless; firstly, some of the tracks are still overly long. Numerous tracks approach 5 minutes, and all of them prove to be the most tiresome moments on the record. The attacks feel dulled when they’re stretched out in this nature and these longer songs are simply not warranted.  The production is also a curiosity; it sounds more sharp and well-shaped than any of their past albums, and yet it feels lacking in the low-end and, in some moments, almost sparse. Were this given a production job courtesy of Kurt Ballou, Will Yip or Arthur Risk, this album would see an immediate improvement, and perhaps the tiresome ‘long songs’ would feel more digestible.

Overall, Terrorizer and their fans can call “Caustic Attack” a success; the band has cured some of the glaring ills present on their post-reunion works, as well as writing some songs that fans can genuinely look forward to hearing live and have earnt a place in their set list on merit alone. Grindcore is at its best when it feels like a disaster and on “Caustic Attack”, even if only for brief moments, Terrorizer sound positively apocalyptic.

“Caustic Attack” is available now

Band info: facebook

REVIEW: Six of Swords, “Regime Decay” EP

By: Richard Maw


Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 19/10/2018

Label: Independent

This record is wedded to the corpse of early to mid 90's old school DM and is all the better for it

“Regime Decay” CD//DD track listing:

1). Eye for an Eye

2). No Amnesia

3). Malodorous

4). Hunted

5). Hells Messiah

6). Hedonistic Gluttony

The Review

Six of Swords, Canada's finest death metal troupe, return with this beastly collection of six prime cuts. “Polar Vortex” was an EP release that ran surprisingly hot, reviewed on the blog a few years ago. This record has taken all elements present there and ratcheted them up a notch. 

Once again, the production is clear and powerful and the opener “Eye for an Eye” demonstrates that there is more to the band than out and out speed. The main refrain is straight out of the classic Morbid Angel playbook and the band keep things reined in tight- the expected blast never comes and instead this track is a crawling wretched beast. “No Amnesia” changes gear but not style- very pleasingly, this record is wedded to the corpse of early to mid 90's old school DM and is all the better for it.

Once again, the vocals alternate a little with lows as the main course and highs as the extra. “Malodorous” is a fetid exhalation of doomy breath, but the band also switches up to much faster pacing here as well. Excellent lead work and unexpected dynamics come up for air here too- great track. “Hunted” continues the tar-thick vibes and brings with it an Entombed-esque rhythmic approach.

“Hells Messiah” and “Hedonistic Gluttony” continue with some Euro/Swe-Death flourishes and it is clear that SOS have built upon the great “Polar Vortex” to hone and expand their sound. There are some great riffs here, some great leads, an excellent production and nothing that goes too over the top- no endless blasting, no pointless tracks that go nowhere. This is a focused and lean release that I heartily recommend to fans of any band mentioned in this review.

“Regime Decay” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Morbid Angel - "Kingdoms Disdained"

By: Daniel Jackson

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 01/12/2017

Label: Silver Lining Music

This album is a statement of intent, placing the focus on convulsive rhythm changes and dissonant, jagged riffs over accessibility.  ‘Kingdoms Disdained’ is Morbid Angel's most uncompromising album of their career and their best album in nearly twenty years, and I don’t consider that light praise.

‘Kingdoms Disdained’ CD////DDLP track listing:

1. Piles of Little Arms

2. D.E.A.D.

3. Garden of Disdain

4. The Righteous Voice

5. Architect and Iconoclast

6. Paradigms Warped

7. The Pillars Crumbling

8. For No Master

9. Declaring New Law (Secret Hell)

10. From the Hand of Kings

11. The Fall of Idols

The Review:

‘Illud Divinum Insanus’ was a fucking disaster. I’ll never begrudge artists testing new waters or feeling like they need to do something different. But when the end result is shitting the bed, the best you can do is take it as a learning experience and head back to the drawing board. In Morbid Angel’s case, that meant Trey Azagthoth scrapping the entire lineup from ‘Illud Divinum Insanus’ and starting over completely. Replacing that lineup here is Steve Tucker, returning to the bassist/vocalist role he held for most of the period from 1997 through 2004, along with current Annihilated/ex-Abysmal Dawn drummer Scott Fuller.

The fruit of these extensive changes is ‘Kingdoms Disdained’, and the obvious point of interest here is whether they were able to put something together worthy of the Morbid Angel name after such a brutal fall from grace. The answer is a resounding yes. At this early stage, ‘Kingdoms Disdained’ feels like Morbid Angel’s best work since “Formulas Fatal to the Flesh”. Of course, there will be some that prefer ‘Gateways’ or ‘Heretic’, but to these ears, this album beats them both. Those two albums took a lot of time and effort to appreciate, with a lot of attempts made to try to hear what other people liked so much about them. By contrast, ‘Kingdoms Disdained’ clicked immediately despite being an incredibly dense piece of work. This album is a statement of intent, placing the focus on convulsive rhythm changes and dissonant, jagged riffs over accessibility.

“D.E.A.D.” might be the song most emblematic of the whole of the album. It’s a three-minute death metal freakout, rarely staying in one space for more than a repetition or two, completely unwilling to sit still. Azagthoth’s guitar work and Fuller’s drumming alternate between maniacal swarming and spasmodic outbursts of galloping rhythm and stabbing musical punctuation. Throughout the rest of the album, these themes are explored in others songs in longer forms, but “D.E.A.D.” gathers them all into one place and condenses them.

Even the album’s low points never drop below the “fine” threshold, though I think a case can be made that the album would be better-served at forty minutes rather than forty-eight. Really, the only song worth cutting out altogether is “The Pillars Crumbling”, which is only able to offer a less interesting version of everything else going on around it. “Declaring New law” gets hung up on one rhythmic idea for too long, and would have benefitted from having at least one other major section to keep things from being monotonous. But even with these faults, the greatness outweighs the skippable moments by a gigantic margin.

If I had to guess, I’d imagine that fan reaction will be mixed for ‘Kingdoms Disdained’. I can see this album being difficult to get into for some fans, if only because it’s so hellbent on being a complete repudiation of the album that came before it, that it throws just about any kind of accessibility by the wayside. You’re not going to find any instantly memorable riffs like those of “Maze of Torment” or “Where The Slime Live” here. In that sense, ‘Kingdoms Disdained’ overcompensates for the indiscretions of Morbid Angel’s recent past, but in the process makes the most uncompromising album of their career. For my money, that’s enough to make this their best album in nearly twenty years, and I don’t consider that light praise. Now all we can do is see how well an album like this stands the test of time.

“Kingdoms Disdained” is available to order  here.

Band info: Official || Facebook

ELEVEN IS ONE LOUDER: Philadelphia shamanic sludgers Got Root discuss their favourite riffs

Former Sadgiqacea vocalist/drummer Fred Grabosky brings us his new project God Root and what a project it is, following up their 4 track EP released last year, the band have roared back with their debut full length released on the 11 July and to put it simply, “Salt and Rot” is one of the best records we’ve heard this year, and a uniquely disorienting listen.  With its balance of inhuman tones and ritual chants, it feels simultaneously outside of history and utterly indebted to it.  Packing such epic arrangements into a 33 minute record feels impossible, as lesser acts have failed to deliver similar ambitions into double disc efforts. 

As with Sadgiqacea, these Philadelphia avant-garde sludge shamans accentuate the heavy parts with quiet moments to create their own brand of primitive and tribalistic sludge, with doomed cinematic soundscapes.  Each element is added very carefully as to not over saturate the compositional structure of the record, with songs often building tension until you are served with a crushing finale.  

Today with the album but a few weeks old, we invited the band to talk about the lifeblood of all bands worldwide, the might of the riff.  So come with us as we take our weekly trip into the extreme and turn the volume all the way up to eleven, as God Root choose some of their favourite riffs of all time.  

“Each of us has immense respect for the song writers who push riffs with their hearts. We like to think we take after that mind set in our own writing. We want to feel it. “Salt and Rot” contains a lot of riffs that we really feel in our loins. Here's a list of some of all-time favourite riffs that we've been inspired by and aspire to live up to”.

The Mars Volta – “Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt” (chosen by Jordan)

I can't think of a band that mixes intricate guitar parts and noise any better than The Mars Volta. At 3:40, after being taken on what is already an insane sonic journey, the song quiets and out of this King Crimson-esque mellotron part starts to bubble this stumbling, idiotic riff that sounds like it's had a little too much to drink. The riff seems like it was written by a toddler smashing their toy truck into a step sequencer at first but then you start to realize that this is a riff and "oh shit, it's angry." before you have enough time to say "I get it" this phaser of death swallows it up and the rest of the band joins back in to form this ultra-noisey super groove.

Runner up: “Red” by King Crimson

The Melvins – “Boris” (chosen by Ross)

This riff is the grandpappy of 10,000 bands and 100,000 songs. A riff you name your band after. A riff I named my cat after. A riff so heavy you laugh at it when you first hear it. Like "what the fuck is this... he's basically playing 3 notes for 9 minutes." And then you find yourself craving it. Always wanting more. Chasing that riff dragon. But no other riff comes close. Never like that first time. Extra props to the live version with the Big Business boys joining in for insane 4 part harmonies.

Runner up: “Christbait Rising” by Godflesh

Morbid Angel – “God of Emptiness” by (chosen by Keith)

The opening riff of this song is perfect. The snaking, unpredictable, and totally crushing guitar immediately conveys blasphemy and total evil. Morbid Angel has a way of finding the perfect "wrong" notes in their riffs and it makes them sound completely sinister and alien like pronouncing the name of some ancient Lovecraftian beast. It's just the most pulverizing thing I've ever heard.

Runner up:  “Sight Beyond Sight” by Rwake

Neurosis – “The Doorway” (chosen by Fred)

This is kind of a no-brainer for most people that love heavy music I guess, and maybe even an unoriginal answer to some, but I don't care. I honestly would like to lump this whole damn song into one "favorite riff", but if I had to choose a specific riff in this song, it would have to be the breaking point riff with an epic crash at 3:20 in. This riff is so damn good it's stupid. It's set up perfectly to pummel you after 3 minutes of 2 swirling riffs that seem to send you into a daze from violent electric shock. A haunting and intense stupor washes over you as you hear both Scott and Steve bark and howl at you...and then it hits. Holy fuck, it's like the earth is being split open only to send your body hurling into the abyss. As you're free falling through the earths core at disgusting speed, the mid tempo riff evolves with clever harmonic palm mutes...and then you're legally dead, you smash into the surface below, but the next riff violates your obliterated corpse even further... the song is an all out assault on the psyche for a solid 7 minutes. I have so much love for this band, this album and this riff.

Runner Up: “Set the Controls for the Heart of The Sun” by Pink Floyd 

James Brown – “Ain't it Funky Now” (chosen by Joe)

The teeth-grinding single mindedness that this riff is played with is something I think about a lot. The whole rhythm section is on board with that attitude and the tension is physical. The way they just lean into it unceasingly for minutes at a time never fails to make my muscles tense up involuntarily. This riff is a great example of the power of sheer repetition in music. 

Runner up: “Journey Into Satchidananda” by Alice Coltrane 

Band info: bandcamp || facebook  || Instagram

ALBUM REVIEW: Immolation - "Atonement"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 24/02/2017

Label: Nuclear Blast

Eleven focused and taut tracks of atmospheric death metal is what you get and it is delivered superbly,  this is an interesting and engaging listen with a heart of absolute darkness.

“Atonement” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. The Distorting Light (3:14)

2. When The Jackals Come (3:54)

3. Fostering The Divide (3:27)

4. Rise The Heretics (3:41)

5. Thrown To The Fire (4:04)

6. Destructive Currents (4:26)

7. Lower (4:01)

8. Atonement (4:32)

9. Above All (4:55)

10. The Power Of Gods (3:58)

11. Epiphany (4:22)

The Review:  

Immolation are something of an East Coast death metal institution these days. Ross Dolan and his not so merry men have perfected a kind of “rolling tank” style of death metal which is quite distinct from many other US death metal masters. Certainly, the atmosphere and texture on offer here is different to anything from Florida.

Indeed, this album is a very different proposition to “Kingdom of Conspiracy” from a couple of years back. Opener “The Distorting Light” brings a pitch black atmosphere, echoing vocals and a distinctly modern death metal approach to sound and production- reverbed, bassy and big sounding. Much of the material here is not lightning fast- sure there are fast blast beats, but the melodies (if that is the right word) are often quite slow moving, as are the vocals. “When The Jackals Come” is a good example, and in this way the record shares something in common with the best black metal- but is way heavier. “Fostering The Divide” is slow and steady, with the distinctive rolling style that we have come to know and love from Immolation.

There are no epic tracks here, so the arrangements are tight and focused with plenty of riffs and changes, but not so many that the album is hard to follow. Running consistently through the album is a very dark atmosphere, though; it permeates “Rise The Heretics” and “Thrown To The Fire” and even when things are faster, as they are on “Destructive Currents”, the bleakness is all consuming.

There is clean guitar to be heard on “Lower” (and at other points in the record), but only for the intro as things then get very weighty and very, very dark. The title track is a bit of an album high point for me; frenetic changes, dissonant riffage and lovely soloing (as per). The final three tracks (taking the count all the way up to eleven) continue the atmosphere, but “Above All” is more straightforward fare in terms of delivery, as is “Power Of The Gods”. The track placement is solid- more experimental stuff early on and more straightforward death metal down the back stretch to keep the listener interested via direct heaviness and weight of riffs.

As is standard with death metal, by the time “Epiphany” rolls around the album has run the right length. Too much of music this heavy is, indeed, too much. Eleven focused and taut tracks of atmospheric death metal is what you get and it is delivered superbly, as usual. Time will tell if this matches the heights of “Kingdom...” as that was one of my top albums of 2013, but on the first few listens this is an interesting and engaging listen with a heart of absolute darkness.

“Atonement” is available here

Band info: facebook

FFO: Incantation, Morbid Angel, Suffocation, Dead Congregation

“11 is one Louder”: Construct of Lethe guitarist Tony Petrocelly chooses his Top 5 Death metal albums

Construct of Lethe's intense form of death metal traces its roots through the old school with songs that also display hints of tech death, thrash and black metal. The band released their punishing debut LP 'Corpsegod' to critical acclaim on New Years Day 2016 and would go on to  release their new EP 'The Grand Machination' EP on October 7th 2016. Once again anchored by the furious riffwork of Tony Petrocelly and raging drums of Kevin Talley (Dying Fetus/Misery Index), “The Grand Machination” marked the debut of lead guitarist Patrick Bonvin (Near Death Condition), whose playing brings an extra dimension of atmosphere and aggression to an already vicious sound.

One of the few extreme metal bands who place equal emphasis on lyrics as well as riff-writing, Construct of Lethe presented “The Grand Machination “EP as a concept album, with lyricist/vocalist Dave Schmidt reinterpreting and perverting Mark Twain's "Letters from the Earth" to tell the tale of Lucifer after the fall as he views the rise and fall of Christ.

Today Contruct of Lethe guitarist Tony Petrocelly gives us an insight into favourite death metal albums, as we turn things up to 11,  in this weeks crushing edition of “11 is one Louder” where our favourite choose their favourite records from the very genre they crafts their own music.  Here is Tony with the lowdown

Hi, Tony Petrocelly, guitarist of Construct of Lethe here. Picking my top five death metal albums is an exercise in hand-wringing to be sure; I've whittled it down to the following, though I really need to include some honorable mentions: “Pierced from Within” by Suffocation, “Turn Loose the Swans” by My Dying Bride, “Sickening Erotic Fanaticism” by Mortal Decay, “Considered Dead” by Gorguts, “None So Vile” by Cryptopsy, “Todessehnsucht” by Atrocity, and Hypocrisy's self-titled album. And all of Hypocrisy's other albums. I need to stop myself there, or I'll be going on all day.

Scarve – “Irradiant”

I'm not sure how to quanitify this album, other than to say it's inimitable. I had picked up their previous album “Luminiferous” on a whim around 2003, and was really struck by how strange and powerful it sounded. When Listenable Records announced “Irradiant”'s release, I could barely wait to get my hands on it; the wait was worth it and then some. The sound is simply massive, yet the songs have an almost ethereal quality to them--they weave perfectly between passages of subtlety and intense aggression, and their ability to build and release tension is second to none. In addition to the overall sound of the record, the songs are structured for maximum impact, feeling epic without overly-long runtimes. Scarve featured two vocalists, and they complimented each other perfectly, providing dynamics when the other instruments were charging hard forward. Check out “Hyperconscience”, a great representation of all the things Scarve brings to bear on “Irradiant”.

Angelcorpse – “The Inexorable”

The riffs...good god, those riffs. Those riffs, and that unadulterated speed. And those vocals. I'm no friend to all this over processed, sound replaced, quantized, perfect production bullshit that's been dominating metal for years now. The less edited and processed an album is, the better the performances captured need to be; “The Inexorable” is pretty much as stripped down as a death metal album can hope to get, and it's pretty much flawless. I'm a sucker for a great riff, and this album is choking with them. Every single song is a violent, guitar driven assault, and it's all catchy and memorable. Tony Laureano's drumming is relentless throughout and really pushes the album into warp speed. Pete Helmkamp's vocals suit the music perfectly, a proto-death metal, almost black metal croak that's just soaking in viciousness. Album opener “Stormgods Unbound” goes straight for the throat, and the album doesn't let up until it's finished. Highly, highly recommended.

Bloodbath – “Nightmares Made Flesh”

Bloodbath started as a side project for Dan Swano, Mikael Akerfeldt and a couple of the guys from Katatonia; the idea was to play dirty, old school death metal as an homage to their countrymates Dismember, Entombed and others. Early on they put out an EP and an LP, both fun, sure...but in 2004 they really came into their own with “Nightmares Made Flesh”, an absolute monster of an album. The most immediate differences are Hypocrisy's Peter Tagtgren taking over on vocals, the more polished (but still dirty) production, and the eschewing of hackneyed Swedish death metal melody. Tagtgren's inclusion gives the album a much more visceral feel, which plays directly into the much darker atmosphere this album has compared to its predecessors. And holy shit, is it heavy. The riffs really take on a life of their own; though Bloodbath was really the impetus for the HM-2 movement/revival we're seeing these days, their musical sense really separates them from everyone else. Check out “Eaten”, quite possibly the heaviest song ever recorded.

Morbid Angel – “Altars of Madness”

There's a lot of contention as to who the first death metal band was, Death? Possessed? Does it matter? “Altars of Madness” might not have invented the genre, but it blazed a trail and made the roadmap for countless bands to follow (including my own). Morbid Angel is one of the first bands to eschew the thrashier aspects that death metal was still clinging to so tightly. This is death metal's “Reign in Blood” to me--an album that in hindsight seems so obvious because of its effective simplicity. All of its parts are perfect. The lyrics, atmosphere, riffs, drumming...everything. Even the parts that aren't perfect are perfect in their imperfection because they're what needed to be done. So hard to pick just one song, but I'll go with “Suffocation”, if only for the riff that starts at 2:06.

Theory in Practice – “Colonizing the Sun”

It might seem hard to imagine nowadays, but there was a point in time where not every death metal band was stuffed full of virtuoso musicians and because of that, Theory in Practice stood out like a sore thumb during their initial run. Their first three albums are all great in their own right, but “Colonizing the Sun” is really where they perfected their approach. I'd hesitate to call this tech death because of the subgenre of the same name; in 2002 it was an adjective, not a genre. Technical death metal bands weren't homogenized and samey like they are now, their sounds were varied, and Theory in Practice (And Quebec's Martyr) were at the top of the heap for me. “Colonizing the Sun” features the impeccable guitar work of Peter Lake; their riffs aren't just riffs, they're spiralling, maddening adventures worthy of Watchtower's finest moments...but better. Jazzier, but not overwrought. The whole affair stands tall on a foundation of semi-melodic Swedish death which acts as glue to keep it from getting away from itself.

Construct of Lethe’s latest record “The Grand Machination” is available via their bandcamp page

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