DISCOG DISSECTION: Death - "A Legacy in Death Metal"

 

Often considered as the first “true” death metal band  and the early pioneers of the genre, Death was formed in Orlando, Florida under their original guise of Mantas by the legendary Chuck Schuldiner. Creators of what is (widely considered) the first “true” death metal album, 1987’s debut “Scream Bloody Gore”, Chuck Schuldiner remained the band’s driving force, sole consistent member, and principal songwriter until his untimely death in 2001.

Schuldiner's vision and musicianship not only helped shape the band (from their raw and more primal beginnings) but evolved the genre itself into something more technical and progressive, utilizing different time signatures and incorporating his varied influences into the mix. 

With each subsequent release following their debut, each album would evolved and with it brought about line-up changes (seemingly the more technical it became, the talent needed to fit the style) until their final release of their final album and (arguably their best) “The Sound of Perseverance (1998)”

Admittedly, when I started to get into metal (back in the early nineties) when Death were beginning to establish themselves, I was very much stuck in one lane in terms of musical tastes and perhaps my ears just weren't ready for death metal at the time and so almost 40 years later since “Scream Blood Gore”, I have rectified my error and can only reinforce what is already widely known, Death are indeed true pioneers and it is testament to the brilliance of Chuck Schuldiner that his discography sounds as fresh and unique today as it did back in the day.    

Check out my favourite Death albums below, let me know your thoughts, do you agree and how would you rate them?

7).
 
⚔️”Leprosy” issued November 16th, 1989

🩸Stand out track(s) “Leprosy”, “Forgotten Path”, “Left to Die”, “Open Casket” “Primitive Ways”

6).
 
 
⚔️ “Scream Bloody Gore” March 25th, 1986

🩸Stand out track(s) “Infernal Death”, “Zombie Ritual”, “Denial of Life”, “Sacrificial”, “Mutilation”, “Regurgitated Guts”, “Baptized in Blood”, “Torn to Pieces” “Scream Bloody Gore”

5).
 
⚔️ “Spiritual Healing” issued February 16th, 1990

🩸 Stand out track(s) “Living Monstrosity”, “Altering The Future”, “Defensive Personalities”, “Within their Mind”, “Spiritual Healing”, “Low Life”, “Genetic Reconstruction”, “Killing Spree”

4).
 
⚔️ “Symbolic” issued March 21st, 1995

🩸”Symbolic”, “Zero Tolerance”, Empty Words”, “1,000 Eyes”, “Without Judgement” “Crystal Mountain”, “Misantthrope”, “Perennial Quest”

3).
 
⚔️” The Sound of Perseverance” issued September 15th, 1998

 
🩸 Stand out track(s) “Scavenger of Human Sorrow”, “Bite The Pain”, “Spirit Crusher”, “Story To Tell”, “Flesh and the Power it Holds”, “A Moment of Clarity”

2).
 
⚔️ “Individual Thought Patterns” issued June 22nd, 1993
 

🩸 Stand out track(s) “Overactive Imagination”, “Inhuman Form”, “Jealousy”, “Nothing Is Eveyrhing”, “Mentally Blind”, “Destiny”, “Out of Touch”

1).
 
⚔️ “Human” issued October 22nd, 1991

 
🩸 Stand out track(s) “Flattening of Emotions”, “Suicide Machine”, “Together As One”, “Secret Face”, Lack of Comprehension” “See Through Dreams”, “Vacant Planets”

DISCOG DISSECTION: Gojira - "The Evolution of a French Metal Titan"

Whilst admittedly, I am not the greatest fan of their output over the last decade, Gojira (hailing from Bayonne, France),  certainly carved a lasting impression upon my metal DNA during their 3 album run of “From Mars to Sirius”, “The way of all flesh” and “L’Enfant Sauvage”.  Indeed, over the subsequent years, Gojira have forged an amazing career for themselves, carving a unique niche in the world of heavy metal since their formation in 1996 and are arguably France’s greatest musical export.

As my musical tastes shifted, Gojira’s evolution and artistic ambition grew. Once revered for their intricate musicianship, environmentally conscious lyrics, and progressive style, over the last decade, we have seen Gojira shed their death metal skin in favour of melody and even accessibility, resulting in  what we see today, “The Evolution of a French metal Titan”. 

Check out my favourite Gojira albums below, let me know your thoughts, do you agree and how would you rate them?

7).

⚔️ “Fortitude” issued April 30, 2021

🩸 Stand out track(s) “Born For One Thing”, “Another World”, “New Found”, “Sphinx”, “Into The Storm”

6).
 
⚔️ “Terra Incognito” issued March 19th, 2001

 
🩸 Stand out track(s) “Clone”, “Lizard Skin”, “Deliverance”, “Rise”, “Fire is Everything”, “Love”

5).
 
⚔️ “Magma” issued June 17, 2016

🩸 Stand out track(s) “The Shooting Star”, “Silvera”, “The Cell”, “Stranded”, “Pray”, “Only Pain”

4).
 
⚔️ “The Link”, issued 18th April, 2003

 
🩸 Stand out track(s) “The Link”, “Death of Me”, “Remembrance”, “Embrace The World”, “Inward Movement”

3).
 
⚔️ “L’Enfant Sauvage” issued June 26, 2012

🩸 Stand out track(s) “Explosia”, “L’Enfant Sauvage”, “The Axe”, “Planned Obsolescence”, “Mouth of Kala”, “The Gift of Guilt”, “Pain Is a Master”

2).
 
⚔️ “The Way of all flesh” issued 10th June, 2008

🩸 Stand out track(s): “Ouroboros”, “Toxic Garbage Island”, “A Sight To Behold”, “Yama’s Messengers”, “All The Tears”, “Adoration of None”, “The Art of Dying”, “Esoteric Surgery”, “Vacuity”, “Wolf down the Earth”, “The way of all flesh”,

1).
 
⚔️ “From Mars to Sirius”, issued 27th September, 2005

🩸 Stand out track(s) “Ocean Planet”, “Backbone”, “From The Sky”, “Where Dragons Dwell”, “The Heaviest Matter of the Universe” “Flying Whales”, “In The Wilderness”, “To Sirius”
 

ALBUM REVIEW: Pestilence, "Levels of Perception"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length (Re-Recordings)

Date Released:26/04/2024
Label: Agonia Records

“Levels of Perception” track listing:

1. Horror Detox (re-recording)
2. Mvlti Dimensional (re-recording)
3. Mobvs Propagationem (re-recording)
4. Sinister (re-recording)
5. Dehydrated (re-recording)
6. Dominatvi Svbmissa (re-recording)
7. Land Of Tears (re-recording)
8. Necromorph (re-recording)
9. Deificvs (re-recording)
10. Twisted Truth (re-recording)
11. Sempiternvs (re-recording)
12. Ovt of the Body (re-recording)

The Review: 

Pestilence are one of the greatest death metal bands ever. The greatest death metal band from mainland Europe, certainly. They were progressive before others. They embraced the melding of genres when others wouldn’t or couldn’t. In Patrick Mameli, there exists a contradictory and bullish figure. A man capable of extreme music and music of extreme complexity and beauty. The martial arts enthusiast looks and lives like his music sounds; uncompromising, full on and intense. Make no mistake, Mameli is Pestilence in the same way that Lemmy was Motorhead or Dave Mustaine is Megadeth.

Re-recordings by bands of older materials are usually done for one or a couple of several reasons. It can be that the band was screwed by their label(s) and need to reclaim their own material. It can be to improve on the sonic quality- or lack thereof- of the original. It can be to re-work/re-imagine the songs and give a fresh reading to the fans.

Or it can be, simply, unclear. Much like the production and mix deployed across this set of 12 excellent pieces of music. While the Cavalera brothers can easily point to the lo-fi production values for their reasons to re-record “Morbid Visions” (fair enough) and Testament can put out “First Strike Still Deadly” as a kind of updated-smorgasboard of their earlier work, the fact is that Pestilence albums have always sounded, for the most part, excellent (criticisms for “Doctrine”s tuning and use of eight string guitars aside). “Consuming Impulse” still sounds raging to me. “Testimony of the Ancients” sounded great. “Hadeon”, decades later, is just crystal clear and beastly.

Mameli has served this up as a kind of re-recorded best of and as a compilation, I can’t fault the song choice.

Their latter-day work is expertly produced and written. Patrick Mameli is a musical visionary, no doubt. He is an innovator in the death metal genre and can be seen as a musical genius without living peer in the tech/prog/fusion-metal world. It’s only with the benefit of hindsight that “Spheres” has been understood as a brilliant melding of death metal and jazz. Similarly, albums like “Hadeon” and “Exitivm” are just incredible; vicious, dissonant, atonal, strangely memorable and featuring inhuman dexterity from the musicians involved.

Let’s look to the music first: a version of “Dehydrated” from “Consuming Impulse” is here! Versions of “Land of Tears” and “Twisted Truth” from “Testimony…” are here. “Necromorph” from “Obsideo” is here… the track listing is eclectic and career spanning. A strong start.

“Horror Detox” from “Resurrection Macabre” kicks things off and is a vicious burst of death metal. “Sinister” from “Doctrine” is a real rager, as well. “Multi Dimensional” from “Hadeon” and “Mobvs Propogationem” from “Exitivm” are both really strong tracks. In fact, the song selection is great- I mean, all Pestilence albums are at the least good. Some are simply incredible.

I can confidently state this: the songs are excellent. The musicianship is jaw dropping at times. Some of the passages in tracks like “Land of Tears” blow my mind, thirty years plus after I first heard them. However, and this is a big however; the sound of this record does not compare- in any way- to the sound on any album I have mentioned so far.

When I first listened to the version of “Horror Detox” here, I thought it was a demo. It’s weirdly muffled and boxy. Through headphones, it sounds like everything is competing with everything else in the centre of your head. It almost has a mono like quality to the sound. This is at its most glaring when listening to it next to any competently produced/mixed/mastered album of the metal genre. I’d been listening back through the back catalogue prior to listening to this and when I finished “Hadeon”, I pressed play on this and… wow. It’s a huge step down and a real lo-fi shock to the system. It sounds like it hasn’t been mastered at all, such is the lack of brightness and lack of listenable sheen. It’s also quiet. Really quiet.

It really is the strangest thing, you get world class musicianship and material paired with the production values of an incompetent death metal band in the mid 90s- and I should know; I was in one.

The genesis of this album has been a troubled one- the controversy over the original AI art (I thought it was a cool cover, to be honest, but I appreciate the arguments for and against) and then the collective head-scratching as to why this exists. On a more positive note, once you are a few tracks in and have adjusted to the sound/mix/production, this is a very strong collection of songs.

Honestly, I can’t find fault. It’s not possible for me to pick a kind of ‘best of’ Pestilence comp, but I can’t really argue with the choices here. It’s 12 lessons in death metal mastery in just under 45minutes. No issues there. For a death metaller who has never heard Pestilence? I mean, they could start here- but they probably shouldn’t. Just stick on… any studio album. You’ll get quality all the way.

Here, you get great music, great playing and awful production- which is a gripe I feel almost churlish for making. Take “…AJFA” by Metallica as the most obvious example of this issue- a flawed experiment, a classic album, a terrible mix. BUT, that was an album that stood alone and had no peer. The material on “Levels of Perception” does have a peer- every song has been recorded, released and heard before and they are all excellent in their original form.

Maybe there is an over-arching concept here that I’m missing. Maybe Patrick is planning something, I just don’t know. As always though, don’t take my word for it. Have a listen for yourself.

If you do start here, I urge you to listen to the music and take the compositions on their own merits- forget the production and enjoy a masterclass in progressive death metal from a unique band. No other band sounds like Pestilence, they are a unique proposition. Let’s hope the forthcoming studio album of original material (“Portals”) gets everything right- not just the songs and playing. In conclusion, I recommend all Pestilence albums and advise anyone who has never heard the band to listen to them all. If you are a long-term fan, by all means pick this one up as well- but expect differences that you may not appreciate.

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Rivers of Nihil, "The Work"

By: Richard Maw
 
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 24/09/2021
Label: Metal Blade Records

 
“The Work” CD//DD//LP track listing:
 
1. The Tower (Theme From “The Work”)
2. Dreaming Black Clockwork
3. Wait
4. Focus
5. Clean
6. The Void From Which No Sound Escapes
7. MORE?
8. Tower 2
9. Episode
10. Maybe One Day
11. Terrestria IV: Work
 
The Review:
 
Rivers of Nihil are certainly one of America's most interesting metal exports these days. Their last album, “Where Owls Know My Name” was positively avant garde- bringing new sounds and textures in a way not heard since perhaps Opeth or Celtic Frost to the death metal genre.
 
Indeed, the band are now quite some distance from 'death metal.' I would hazard that this is best described as progressive metal. There are death metal building blocks here and there- Adam Biggs' growl, the riffage in places, blasts etc... but, really, this is progressive fair. The album is a series of movements and soundscapes (in common with Opeth), and a mixture of clean singing and growls (ditto) but there are many touches of classic rock, prog and even industrial music in the rhythms, synths and so on.
 
The lead work is uniformly good, the production is solid but a little homogenous for my tastes. There is a sheen throughout that is not perhaps entirely welcome and the drums thud rather than crack- belying their processed nature. These are small gripes, really, as there is nothing wrong with the album at all. As a collection of musical pieces, it's adventurous and daring. Fans of Opeth, Mastodon et al will find much to enjoy here.
 
I first got into the band for album number two- “Monarchy”- and truthfully it is still my favourite as it is techy, brutal and pretty straight up death metal. That said, there is once again saxophone on this record, there is huge variety and a lot of lateral movement within each composition. That could not be said of the music on “Monarchy”, so the band have legitimately evolved, softened and expanded. It's to be commended, as they could have stuck with what they did and just kept doing it.
 
The brutal moments here (right next to the sax on one occasion) serve to highlight how sparsely they are used. This is not a death metal album- it just incorporates elements of the genre. It's impressive, varied and wide ranging in scope.
 
How you feel about all of this will probably be informed by where you climbed aboard the Rivers of Nihil Train- if you liked the progressive elements of recent albums, this is assuredly for you. If you are looking for tech death- look elsewhere. If you are looking to sample this, pick the track “More?” for brutal death. Pick the track “The Void From Which No Sound Escapes” for progressive experimentation and try out “The Tower” (the opener) for a bit of a flavour of a few elements in one. Overall, this is impressive and probably worthy of the plaudits that will be heaped upon it.
 
“The Work” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Ageless Oblivion, “Suspended Between Earth and Sky”

By: Richard Maw
 
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 30/04/2021
Label: Apocalyptic Witchcraft

“Suspended Between Earth and Sky” CD//DD track listing:
 
1). In Media Res
2). From Ash and Sulphur
3). All Was Froze
4). Anvil Chorus
5). The Sun Surrenders It’s Crown
6). Cohesion
7). Eldmessa
 
The Review:
 
Album number three for these Hampshire death metallers, sees the band return after an extended absence from the UK scene. For reasons unknown to me, this album comes seven years after their sophomore record. Pleasingly, though, this is a strong album... and it has something a little different.
 
This is death metal, but as opener “In Media Res” makes clear, this is not your standard chug/blast/growl fare. Well, all those elements are present- certainly- but this is not in any way a cookie cutter (monster?) release. The riffing owes a good deal to atmospheric black metal in places- as does the guitar tone. The time changes, beats and drums are very much death metal- but with a very neat progressive and technical element that lends the band a sound all their own.
 
It is certainly technical, it's progressive and it's angular and jarring- but it all hangs together very well. It is smooth through its twists and turns and expertly played. When the band chooses outright speed (“All Was Froze”) it is ferocious and clinical. When they slow down it is unpredictable, well-crafted and even melancholic in terms of the sounds produced. Speaking of which, the production is very good, crystal clear and powerful as well. Gone are the days of a muddy mix ruining death releases.
 
The sheer scale of “Anvil Chorus” allows the band to spread their wings, the short run time of “The Sun Surrenders It's Crown” is not to allow an all-out blasting assault- quite the opposite, in fact. To reference another track here, the whole thing is remarkably cohesive for a record with this many different elements. Ageless Oblivion must be commended for such an ambitious record after such a long time away.
 
It is unusual enough for me to not really reference any one or few bands that this sounds like- because that would be reductive and inaccurate here. Yes, it is death metal, but there are elements of black, sludge and so on within. It is technical and progressive- as noted- but that technicality is not the focus of the album; just one of its facets.
 
Ageless Oblivion have made a great album; it is deathly, daring and different
 
“Suspended Between Earth and Sky” is available HERE 

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: Ulcerate, "Stare into Death and Be Still"

By: Josh McIntyre

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 24/04/2020

Label: Debemur Morti Productions

“Stare into Death and Be Still” CD//DD//2LP track listing:

1). The Lifeless Advance

2). Exhale the Ash

3). Stare into Death and Be Still

4). There is No Horizon

5). Inversion

6). Visceral Ends

7). Drawn Into the Next Void

8). Dissolved Orders

The Review:

My love for Ulcerate is no secret. I truly feel that they are the best death metal band since Immolation and Gorguts at the turn of the century, both bands which are crucial influences. Ever since 2009’s landmark record “Everything Is Fire”, Ulcerate have explored their twisted-yet-atmospheric sound with great consistency in terms of quality and earned much acclaim as a result.

Listening to the band feels like falling into a whirlpool, not knowing where you’ll end up. The guitar lines pull themselves apart and together again, backed by a foray of beating drums which are full of tricks and fills even at the quietest moments. The band sways back and forth, up and down in almost jazz-like fluidity while the vocals and bass serve as an anchoring point to grab onto.

“Stare into Death and Be Still” is absolutely a continuation of these elements yet it also comes off as more melodically focused. Guitars still warp around but certain harmonies sound more doom metal than in past material. As a result it comes off as more sorrowful, appropriate for an album themed on death. All of their key influences appear the same and the complex layers are still there, just in a slightly less dissonant format. Ultimately, the band sounds as if Neurosis played two Morbid Angel songs simultaneously. 

The other noticeable change is in the production. The guitars in particular sound EQ’d more on the high end with this record which has added some more clarity than usual, as if a bit of smog has been lifted. I find it to be a slight improvement in terms of sound quality. Everything sounds really punchy and direct, with only the vocals being appropriately drenched in reverb like a damn beast in a deep cavern. Thanks to the mix the beast sounds like a hole has been made for him to shout into rather than him being drowned out by the insanity of the music. 

If someone asked me to rank Ulcerate’s discography I don’t think I could do it. However, “Stare into Death…” is absolutely another gem to be added to the collection and another achievement that shows why New Zealand hosts the greatest death metal band of the 21st century. Seeing the band on their 2016 tour (where I was also introduced to the amazing Zhrine) left me wondering how the hell humans can write this music and perform it. I still don’t quite get it but I’m damn glad that these three have somehow figured it out.

“Stare into Death and Be Still” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Contrarian, "Their Worm Never Dies"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 15/03/2019

Label: Willowtip Records

if you miss latter day Death, feast your ears on Atheist or love the Cynic debut then this will be music to your ears, because this is impressive stuff.

“Their Worm Never Dies” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Vaskania (The Evil Eye)

2. Exorcism
3. My Curse
4. The Petition
5. Among The Misled
6. Their Worm Never Dies
7. Whomsoever Worships the Whiteworm

The Review:

Technical and progressive death metal is surely an acquired taste- particularly when it comes with the jazzy inflections that bands such as Contrarian deliver by the bucketload. I reviewed the debut “Polemic” back in 2015, but I missed their sophomore effort, “To Perceive Is To Suffer”. 

So, what have the Rochester, New York, based outfit come up with this time around? Well, it once again references the past greats of the niche genre; latter day Death and Cynic are both in there. Naturally, George Kollias being behind the kit is a huge draw for many DM heads anyway. However, this is no Nile re-tread as he plays technical and jazzy; he's using brushes at the start of “Exorcism” for satan's sake! The sound is pretty great- quite spacious and not too slick. In fact, there is audible hiss and an almost demo like quality to the sound. It's not compressed beyond believe and it sounds authentic, old school and “real” in a way that albums made on pro tools grids alone do not. The drum sound may take a little getting used to, but that is for the listener to decide on. Don't expect boxy and muted sounds... but don't expect zero triggers either!

As the record progresses, it's clear that a fan of the first album will like this one; the leads that open “My Curse” are great, the vocals are another selling point; closer to Schuldiner than Corpsegrinder and they help by dialling down the brutality- this is not hyper-aggressive stuff. The riff passages are excellent and the clean intro of “The Petition” segues perfectly into some mesmerising riffage.

The progressive riffing of “Among The Misled” coupled with the off kilter rhythms does a great job of making the listener pay attention (cracking bass work, too). The title track is three minutes of melancholy vibes and keen lead work- an unexpected twist in the album's tale. The closing eight minutes of “Whomsoever Worships The Whiteworm” is the most extreme track on here, in terms of structure, delivery and sounds. The bass is super dexterous the time changes come thick and fast and the playing is sublime. 

To sum up, then, this third album is a highly credible slice of technical and progressive death metal. This is for all fans of any of the bands mentioned here in comparative terms. Just like the debut, if you miss latter day Death, feast your ears on Atheist or love the Cynic debut then this will be music to your ears. Impressive stuff. 

“Their Worm Never Dies” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook