Hey dudes, I’ve got one hell of a column for you all this June with tons of great stuff is flooding the underground this month! It feels wonderful to be back in my pajama pants after a hellaciously long The Black Dahlia Murder tour. Now, I can get back to my duties of playing NES as well as combing the annals of the underground the world over for more sick music, new and old.
Thanks as always to anyone who reads this shit and goes out and contributes to the cause, the scene needs you; passivity will get underground nowhere.
Age Of Agony – For The Forgotten
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSRcoCUPUoI[/youtube]
I was coming into this one blind… no experience with these guys before but I quite like them. The first track is pretty slow, sounding like a slightly melancholic version of Bolt Thrower the vocals are of a sick old school variety… very dry… somewhere between Chris Barnes and Scott Reigel from Brutality. The second track comes out of the barrel blasting… It's faster than the opener but still retains its old school charm… it reminds me slightly of Konkeror. The third song is another blaster… It has some punkish beats that remind me of Vomitory… I enjoy the slight injections of punk here and there… I think it adds a lot of energy to the material. No sign of brutal death in sight and definitely a world away from slam…. there are no real signs of modernity here and I quite like that… any of these songs could have been written between 1996-2000. If you like straight up death metal in the vein of Vomitory, Anasarca, Spawn, These Are They, or Toxocara these straight forward bulldozers will flatten you just right.
Grab it here
Amnesian – Amnesian
Awesome futuristic skronky grind from Vancouver Canada influenced by Discordance Axis and a wealth of other forward thinking grindcore outfits… these guys rage! I’ve been digging these violent sickos since the release of their mini album No Atonement a while back and this is surely an improvement… I’m liking the inclusion of some black metal flourishes here and there. I like the vocals a lot here, they were my only real beef with the older output; they used to have a sort of Suicide Silence screaming-through-the-nose thing going on with the high scream that has thankfully morphed into a Converge-esque birdman voice here… much preferred. If you like the aforementioned gods Discordance Axis or Gridlink, Blurring, Antigama, Atomck, Syntax, or Bungus, grab this now and support these hardworking grinders.
Grab it here
Architect Of Dissonance – Vile Mechanical Origin of Human Virulency
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfh7cDoVuCw[/youtube]
Architect Of Dissonance bring seriously slamming brutal death from Germany here on this quick two songer of the absolute highest order entitled Vile Mechanical Origin of Human Virulency, following up last year’s well received full length Realm of the Deviant Throne. Easily eclipsing their past output, AoD sound just perfect here… it’s huge, well produced and professional… slam hounds will flip for this. There is a good bit of hardcore style beatdown incorporated within these savage tracks… it’s as tough as it is brutal. Vile Mechanical Origin of Human Virulency is a stompy, meaty ass kicking although brief snack of brutality that will hopefully be the precursor to a face crushing album so wickedly good that it’ll see these young guns rise to the top of the crowded slam heap. Fans of Acranius and Ingested will likey.
Grab it here
Baalsebub – The Sickness Of The Holy Inquisition
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1CeLNokWmk[/youtube]
Well this is definitely the most depraved thing I’ve heard this month… you brutal pretenders might just wanna skip over this one and save your underwear from being browned. Complete and utter fucking brutality here from this Estonian camp. The snare sounds like an anvil being hammered in the middle of a prison yard in the depths of hell… it’s unreal… one of the most obnoxious I’ve ever heard put to record. Musically, there’s a good bit of old Devourment as well as a pinch of Brodequin; its raw blasting savage brutal death metal that fans of fellow Estonians Hymenotomy would likely appreciate. If you can take the snare abuse of brutal death’s more notoriously pingey albums such as Brodequin, Total Rusak, Tools Of Torture, Exaltation and the like, man up and grab this now.
Grab it here
Carnifloor – Process Of Disorderly Conduct
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3lmr7YxU3A[/youtube]
FUCK YES! It's albums like this one from one man murderer Floor van Kuijk (Korpse/Fermented Masturbation) that keep me coming back to slam… ones that sprinkle a little extra fairy dust into the creativity department. It seems like it's hard to stand out in slam and I find that this Dutch badass has done just that. Rotten Vomit, Abominable Putridity, Gravitational Distortion… this is every bit as good as my favorites of the genre. Seriously these are some of the hardest riffs I've ever heard on a slam record but it also possesses enough variety to warrant a listen deeper than 2 tracks… it's that goddamn sweet. Sick slamming intro instrumental track that’s actually well thought out and worth your time and then BAM! everything goes to hell. Slam hell, that is. Process Of Disorderly Conduct is host to sick absolutely guttural vocals that rotate through a few different disgusting sounds including some reeeee stuff. Muscular dinosaur grooves lumber forth, trampling all in their wake… if you slam, you need this… right now!
Grab it here
Coffin Dust – Everything Is Dead
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eabuuNIIaTY[/youtube]
Good ol’ Coffin Dust… yet another band I can thank my old lady Casey for turning me onto… she loves raw old school death metal more than anyone I know. These sick Pennsylvanian underground dwellers have dropped another fine release chock full of rotten, grave dirt covered Death/Thrash with some punkish crossover sensibilities… think a more raw, homegrown and ready-to-shred-your-house-show version of Ghoul and you’ll be in the right hood (see what I did there?). Fans of Impaled and older Exhumed would surely dig this one. It’s raw, obnoxious, monstrous fun… Razorback records fans should get on this immediately. Out now on CD and LP through Casey’s fav new label, Unholy Anarchy.
Grab it here
Dark Winter – Grim Utterances
Remember good ol' Darkthrone before their punk phase? Under A Funeral Moon, Transilvanian Hunger? These guys sure do! I’ve actually heard people call these guys a Darkthrone clone and I guess I can see how it may seem like that at first glance but I hear a lot of similarities to other raw outfits as well. While this two man outfit from Michigan do play their frosty brand of blackness on drums and guitar alone as a two man ensemble, just as Darkthrone would (if they actually played live), there is a certain level of competence and professionality to the vocal patterning and delivery that.. it makes the songs a more professional and satisfying listen whereas Darkthrone always struck me as just spur-of-the-moment ramming together of whatever they wrote down on the toilet into a song… reading a sheet of lyrics over the music they tracked like a grocery list. Not Dark Winter… they approach the vocals very seriously patterning each section and working the lyrics around the parts, maximumizing the drama for each little bit of the way… more of a Jon Nödtveidt than a Nocturno Culto. This stuff is just timeless… it has a nice classic sound and friendly predictability to it… they always seem to know just what to play next to make it headnod worthy all the way through the EP. The production is very cold and dreary sounding guitar and underproduced natural drums. A few small clean string breaks really stand out… they are somewhat unsettling. I appreciate the dynamics… these guys are good with them. Overall this is really nice, a competent black metal release that will be sure to please fans of Baptism, Throne Of Katarsis, Witchcraft (Hungary), and Tangorodrim.
Grab it here
Defeated Sanity – Disposal of the Dead / Dharmata
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jobk-fR9E5s[/youtube]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mepBZqjhPHw[/youtube]
It’s no secret that I fucking love this band… they are the absolute sickest of the sick, the sultans of slamming technical brutal death, the crème of the cranium crushing crop… just the last word in utter savagery. Their coming into popularity with their Psalms Of The Moribund album and subsequent Willowtip Records releases has seen their masterful sound change the face of brutal death almost overnight into something more progressive, challenging, and musical… their influence can be heard widely from New Standard Elite to Permeated on down there are tons of bands taking a nod from DS and reaching to be better players and songwriters… it’s a good thing these gods have come along to show us all what’s up. Defeated Sanity exist on their own terms, they do what they want, how they want and (like me) thousands of brutal heads await their every move with bated breath. Defying convention is what DS does best, and this peculiar new “Split with ourselves” album is bonafide proof: one half of the album, Disposal Of The Dead is savagely brutal, without much of their trademark fusion elements, and the second half, Dharmata is completely progressive in an old school way, sounding something like Human era Death, Pestilence and later Sadus. Disposal Of The Dead is raw and relentless, reminding of the filth of their classic Psalms album… “Suttee” is absolutely crushing. I didn’t expect to like the prog side as much as I do, it was really a surprise at how insanely good they are at this style. Each side has a different singer to help differentiate… the now departed Konstantin Lühring lends session guttural madness to the brootz and Cynic/Death To All member Max Phelps highlights the tech side with a nice old school midrangey voice very much in the vein of Chuck Schuldiner. I’ll have to admit, I was at first a little put off by this concept… “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” was my initial thought, although my fears were soon quelled when I dove into both preview songs released, one from each ‘ep’… they are both undeniably phenomenal and I couldn’t be more excited to check out the rest of the album. I’ve included a song from each half here so you can grasp what I’m on about… be sure to check them both out they are incredibly different.
Grab it here
Dehuman Reign – Ascending From Below
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4Je6fsg4e4[/youtube]
Sick darkened death metal from Berlin Germany pulling a lot of influence from masters of depravity Incantation. It’s hellacious, catchy, raw and energetic; think of Incantation’s more blast happy Infernal Storm era with some good ol’ headbangable Deicide thrown in the mix… it’s got a really angry vibe to it. If you enjoy the old school stylings of Dead Congregation, Resurgency, Destroying Divinity, or Heaving Earth, Berlin bad asses Dehuman Reign could rock you like an undead hurricane.
Grab it here
Disclaimer – The Recluse
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHxw-RDSDOQ[/youtube]
Andrew Scott Grace and his merry band of downtempo deviants are back with The Recluse, an album chock full of hateful beatdown and subwoofing heaviness. Now based in Austin Texas, Andrew’s retooled line up sounds as crushing as ever… this is great follow up to Force Fed, which I played a lot of. This is how I like my deathcore… no tenth generation wannabe Swedish metal riffs and no high monosyllabic Suicide Silence vocals… just straight Meshuggah-goes-to-jail heaviness… all of the cool parts of the genre and none of the poorly aped death metal that had me jamming my fingers in my ears back in 2006. The Recluse has all of the requisites downtempo is known for: lumbering grooves, z tuned string chugs, bass drops, 10bpm LOL inducing breakdowns and “bleagh!” galore. Throw in a few cool guest spots, one of which is a particularly crushing appearance by Duncan Bentley (Vulvodynia, Operation Cunt Destroyer) and you’ve got one dense batch of jams here. Fans of Black Tongue, Traitors, Feign, XKINGX, or The Acacia Strain will be all over this.
Grab it here
Eximperituserqethhzebibšiptugakkathšulweliarzaxułum – Prajecyrujučy Sinhuliarnaje Wypramieńwańnie Daktryny Absaliutnaha J Usiopahłynaĺnaha Zła Skroź Šaścihrannuju Pryzmu Sîn-Ahhī-Erība Na Hipierpawierchniu Zadyjakaĺnaha Kaŭčęha Zasnawaĺnikaŭ Kosmatęchničnaha Ordęna Palieakantakta…
Haha, I love magic words in my death metal lyrics and song names, but this new band from Minsk, Belarus is taking things to ridiculous heights! This has to be one of the most ungoogleable bands to ever emerge the world over. What’s the point of this shit I wonder… the goddamn band and album name doesn’t even fit on the side of fucking CD… they say it’s in an archaic Belarusian language… kudos for the unbridled weirdness. It’s a good thing no human could ever properly pronounce the name Eximperituserqethhzebibšiptugakkathšulweliarzaxułum because its apparently a magic spell in itself… the utterance of which “opens the exile gates of The Dark Lords תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ”… which is from the sounds of it, is probably a bad thing to do. From the name and concept I had predicted an alien and experimental type of sound and on some levels my expectations were met… these guys have incorporated some Eastern melodies, mystical atmospherics and cool Nile type flourishes to their brand of incessantly blasting technical death, but when it comes right down to it, there are a lot of bands out there that sound more strange than these dudes. If you dig Hate Eternal, Near Death Conditon, or Decrepit Birth I’d recommend giving these druids a try.
Grab it here
First Fragment – Daisen
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXatzvJgNc8[/youtube]
Phil "Pat" Tougas (you may remember him from my Chthe'ilist, Serocs, and Zealotry entries) and his band of merry French Canadian tech death hitmen First Fragment have returned to the fold in 2016 with their first full length effort and inaugural release for cali based label Unique Leader records. This album is definitely going to make some noise this year… I've already seen a lot of favorable reviews calling them the next Necrophagist. My only real beef with this is that the lyrics are in French… it'll never be as catchy as Necrophagist without those awesome choruses like “Mutilate the Stillborn!” to get lodged in your head. Join the French Canadian takeover or die friendlessly in your own poo.
Grab it here
Garroted – In The Court Of Nyarlathotep
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yjvavz2I7LU[/youtube]
Garroted recently dropped this fine demo of dark twisted old school death metal of mainly Finnish influence from Massachuesetts, at times recalling the heyday of dungeon dwellers Adramelech or Vomiturition. Echoey, cavernous low bellowing vocals frighten how they should as the music ranges from a slow food poisoned crawl to blasting wildly; even then retaining its old schoolness… the drums sound live as fuck and junky in a cool way that screams of the classic era of death metal. The cover art is kinda gangster; it’s crummy in a cool ‘on purpose’ retro way… I can dig it. All in all, this is a good demo and a cool band to keep your eye on in the future.
Grab it here
Gevurah – Hallelujah!
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WTnX3W8uSA[/youtube]
Ceremonial French Canadians Gevurah are back with one hell of a frightening journey in Hallelujah!, a dark dismal spiral to the blackened depths of insanity. Raw, swirling and atmospheric, you can really sense an actual intent of evil here; it’s very ritualistic and starkly authentic. If you enjoy the stylings of Deathspell Omega, Nightbringer, Aosoth, Acherontas, or Dodsengel I wholeheartedly recommend these frightening fiends of the nether void.
Grab it here
Ghoulgotha – To Starve The Cross
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9to57DD9eyw[/youtube]
Goddamn, this is foreboding stuff. On their second album, Ghoulgotha excreted old school darkened death metal that’s part Autopsy, part early Therion, and part Incantation… a bubbling black cauldron of seething horrific bliss! It’s slow to midpaced with a lot of ugly harmonies culled from the 1990s and a doom ridden atmosphere. I like how each song takes a lot of turns and has a ton of different feels… things are always kept interesting in the way. The vocal is deep and gruff yet understandable… the repetition of certain phrases is quite catchy. Loving this cover art… I really like when there is a glowing lava or fire element on an otherwise nighttime blue based design… it really pops and creates awesome shadows. Fuck man, get on this… it’s huge in every way.
Grab it here
Goreshack – Tombstone Tide
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pld-vfHHYU[/youtube]
Ghoul is one of, if not my longtime girlfriend Casey’s very favorite band in the universe. She has seen them a million times, sometimes travelling to go to their shows, and even has a Ghoul tattoo on her foot. I remember when I showed her undead surf obsessed Californians Goreshack and she almost spit her gum at me… the likeness to her beloved was so great, she was couldn’t believe it! Californians Goreshack are back with more fun and hilarious tuneage to get your zombie blood pumping and scratch that classic early 2000s Razorback records itch that I definitely get once in a while. When I say they are influenced by Ghoul, I put a lot of emphasis on the surfy kinda songs the band have done like on Splatterthrash. Grab this cartoony, humorous hijinx filled EP from their bandcamp.
Grab it here
Inherit Disease – Ephemeral
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0Ac64jWLnY[/youtube]
Wow has it really been that long since Visceral Transcendence? Time flies when you’re old and dumb! Finally, after much delay Inherit Disease has returned to the fold with Ephemeral and it absolutely dominates as expected… there is a reason they are still one of the most talked about brutal bands in the world. Obie Flett unfurls his signature froggy gutturals with aplomb… he sounds better than ever here… he is a master of that croaky wet style. The intense drumming by New Standard Elite head Dan Osborn is raw yet tight and upholds his labels credo of keeping the drums real… I love that woody sounding snare… not as thin as some of the high tuned snares out there. The music is technical, chunky brutal death metal done right… it has a really heavy low end subwoofy quality to it that was slightly missing on the last album… this sucker chugs like it should and will put a hurtin’ on your home stereo. Outstanding artwork by Chinese sicko Yang Guang is in a class of it’s own… the guy is just incredible at what he does. This is without a doubt the bands finest hour, so be sure to check this out if you like technical and brutal death metal.
Grab it here
Involuntary Convulsion – Tempus Edax Rerums
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l3riE-WB7c[/youtube]
These sick international brutal sons feature members from both Australia and the US; boasting the incredible drumming talents of current Imperial Triumphant, ex-Pyrrhon skinsman Alex Cohen; also known as ‘the guy who fills in for Malignancy when Mike Heller is out with Fear Factory’… he is a talented bastard and proves it again here on Tempus Edax Rerums. These unorthodox freaks combine an endless barrage of stream of thought brutal palm muted riffing that owes a bit to Disgorge with the prog "jazziness" of Malignancy and Defeated Sanity. There's a lot of spiraling and crazy technicality to chew on… It makes for an interesting ride. The production is pretty raw… raw enough to send some of you wimps packing right from the get go. It has a demo type quality to it… I really enjoy how the drums sound… I find the toms to be particularly awesome and a lot of what I'm hearing from behind the kit as a whole seems heavily influenced by Defeated Sanity's incredible Lille Gruber… I approve. The breakdowns are of the sideways Malignancy variety, choosing to hurl prices of twisted metal shrapnel at the listener rather than some open string slams… everything these guys do is just warped. This continues New Standard Elite’s reign of brutal death perfection… nothing less than the finest brutal bands the world over… all real, all the time.
Grab it here
Katalepsy – Gravenous Hour
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCfF3qFnx3A[/youtube]
I once played a couple shows with these guys out in Russia. They were nice fellas, sick live and looked a bit more like Merauder than your average slamming death metal band… bandanas, braids and all. Russia is a tough place and these guys have been thoroughly seasoned by their environment… Gravenous Hour is as mean as death metal comes. Its modern, slick, huge, various brutal death metal music with a technical edge… there are some impressive chops by all parties at hand and that spidery bass playing that is just stellar. There are slams when there needs to be, they are never gratuitous and some decent soloing to help break things up… at times they sound like Skinless on steroids. I’m finding it hard to pinpoint the bands exact influences… they are very stylistic in their approach… it’s a super professional amalgamation of styles with impressive results. See why these guys are heralded as one of Russia’s greatest and most brutal exports.
Grab it here
Obscenity – Retaliation
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkCcWJyTNCQ[/youtube]
Goddamn, the legendary German horde known only as Obscenity are back in 2016 with what might be their best work yet! These long standing German murderers have been churning out straight forward death metal that is meaty, groovy and memorable for aeons and I’m glad to say that they’ve stayed the course here in 2016. Retaliation fires on all cylinders with a completely professional sound somewhere between later Malevolent Creation, Behemoth, and Sinister with a slick recording and artwork to match. Gotta love that Paulo Girardi skill… looks like some Cthulhu-esque stuff… can’t lose with Cthulhu, IMO. Some clichés will always have weight, in my book… lovecraft is as tied to metal as the horns themselves. Obscenity is not a band concerned with reinventing the wheel, but they are absolutely great at what they do. If you like middle of the road tried and true death metal without apology ala Supreme Pain, Panzerchrist, or Corpus Mortale, Retaliation will have you manning the tanks in no time.
Grab it here
Phobocosm – Bringer Of Drought
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz8nN6z-6Ms[/youtube]
Montreal’s young sons of dark matter death metal Phobocosm return with a monolithic affair in sophomore album Bringer Of Drought… it’s host to slow, dense and nightmarish blackened death certain to crush any hipster that should step to them… you’ve been warned! Dissonant and dripping with hellish atmosphere, this longwinded four song maelstrom is thinking man’s death metal to die for. Fans of subterranean death metal purveyors Abyssal, Portal, or Nightmarer will flip for these guys. Out now through the always top notch Dark Descent Records.
Grab it here
Poison Headache – Poison Headache
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VrEds4egkE[/youtube]
Wow this KILLS. I still can’t believe this is Phil from As I Lay Dying… I’m sincerely very impressed by this Molotov cocktail of fuzzed out HM-2 fueled hardcore madness. I didn’t know that he had a mean bone in his body, let alone a whole vitriolic skeleton… 20 seconds from this audial scrotum kick and you’d think he’s the one who that’s been doing time (haha). Ol’ Tim Lambesis would be smart to listen to this album when he’s hitting the benches… these tunes are like a staunch rip of the most stankiest smelling salts… they just scream major gains. Fans of Nails, Ringworm, Tragedy and Wilderness Dream should snatch this up yesterday… it’ll get your blood pumping.
Grab it here
Putrisect/Scorched – Final State Of Existence
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bajIZn0z7UE[/youtube]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCS70adLZ-U[/youtube]
I’ve got to admit I’ve been digging all of these splits and four way eps lately… there’s been a lot of good collaborations recently in the world of real and raw old school death metal and this split EP is definitely one of them worth mentioning. Maryland’s Putrisect is dope as fuck… I remember Dom from A389 recommending these young bucks to me some time ago but I guess I’ve slept on these guys somewhat as this somewhat surprised me…it is really good! They kinda remind me of german horde Torchure with a touch of early Gorguts and Seance for good measure. Nice grooves with some cool harmonics, which I’m always a sucker for… this shit is nice and dark… I’m loving every second of this. The latter half of the split belongs to Delaware’s Scorched and it is just monstrous… I was already in love with them prior to this release after jamming their demo tape a lot of times and their track from the 4 ways split with Gatecreeper, Outer Heaven and Homewrecker. Their brand of wretched midpaced old school death metal is second to none… I love the muted sweeps (harmonic rakes? I dunno, I’m no musician) in their first track and the semi-melodic Bolt Thower type accenting leads… very clever indeed. I love that there are a lot of young people forming old school style bands that are willing to take risks and try to do new things within the sound rather than blatantly ape someone else… bravo to both of the bands at hand for sucking me in and the sick folks at Unspeakable Axe for delivering the goods… this label is just on fucking fire right now as far as I am concerned. Put Unspeakable Axe on your check out everything they put out auto-fucking-matically list… you’ll thank me later.
Grab it here
Sewercide – Immortalized In Suffering
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI-DHTBWHfQ[/youtube]
This is really cool! Australia’s old school worshipping Sewercide have dropped their first contribution to the awesome Unspeakable Axe records in the aptly named Immortalized In Suffering; a shit hot album seeing these young slimeballs move away from their death-thrash past to more murky and mid paced territories (at which they excel greatly). Part Autopsy… part early Gorguts… there are sickened harmonies a plenty and a lot of cool bendy riffs and harmonics… I am very pleased with this new sound. This shit has balls to spare… it has that awesome “WE DON’T GIVE A FUKK” Australian attitude. Damn, the opening to “Snares Of Carnality” is quite headbangable… one of the many catchy as fuck million dollar riffs throughout this disgusting death metal romp that’ll surely keep you coming back. The cover is perfectly bad, one of those throw back covers that would have come out in 1994 on Repulse Records all the way down to the album name in italics… I love it. The album drops June 13th… preorder it now and join the Unspeakable Axe revolution!
Grab it here
Torturous Inception – Void
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSqX3n6pfHQ[/youtube]
These sick tech death slayers from Staten Island New York are back with a slick punch-in-the-face of an ep entitled Void, giving us fans an eager glimpse of the next step in the bands evolutionary growth while loosening those pesky teeth. Headfirst Into Oblivion was good but this leads me to believe the best is yet to come and has me eager for a full length offering… these dudes have ramped up the spacey elements here and its freakin’ cool. I like the constant groove that is maintained through much of the songs… shit is huge. I am surprised by the monkish clean chanted parts at the end of the first song… shocked mostly that it works so well… way to think outside of the box, guys. The latter day works by Job For A Cowboy and Waking The Cadaver are channeled; this is death metal seen through a modern deathcore lense with a good dose of slam to round it all out. The low vocals are pretty nice and range from a tough, dry low vocal ala Frank Rini to some reee reee stuff but the highs have a very deathcoreish sound to them that might turn off some old schoolers. I like what they’ve done here and I think most of you will too, grab it for free or throw them a couple bucks… physical copies are said to be in the works.
Grab it here
Various Artists – University Of Brutality
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_ZXsxJJerY[/youtube]
If you like slamming music, you simply cannot fuck with this INSANE international two disc comp released by up and comers Kings Of Decay records. I am really impressed by this… there are some great bands I’m familiar with and a few that I was new to, as well, all sick! It must’ve been one hell of an undertaking to get in contact with all of these bands and arrange this whole thing… it’s fucking massive! Carnifloor, Analepsy, Murtad, Sentenced (UK), Architect Of Dissonance, Operation Cunt Destroyer, Disfigurement Of Flesh, and Visceral Decay are all here, and in good company. Don’t miss this.
Grab it here
Witch Vomit – A Scream From The Tomb Below
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U4NX96RzAs[/youtube]
Portland’s Old school necrophiliacs Witch Vomit are newly signed to Momento Mori out of Spain and back with a new macabre tinged full length offering… these guys really know how to ramp up a horror movie-esque feel in their death; they’ve got those evil riffs that are just oh so right. The vocals are deep, dry, and booming… they are flipping awesome and channel Will Rahmer and Craig Pillard to powerful effect. There are a few ghastly high screams scattered throughout to help mix it up as well… scary! Guitar wise they seem to have scaled back the level of HM-2 involved since their last outing… a bit more mature sounding this time but not without some of that classic fuzziness. They are still very dark but sounding less similar to Entombed and the like overall in favor of Sadistic Intent and later Morpheus Descends. It’s a cool mix of sounds of styles, it works well. It feels good that I’ve been doing this column so long now that I am starting to see bands I’ve posted in my early entries making it to their next releases… if you’ll recall I mentioned these guys a while back in a previous entry some time ago and here they are signed and taking over shit. Congrats to Witch Vomit for their success and to Momento Mori for realizing their potential… this is a brilliant addition to their old school centric roster.
Grab it here
That’s the end for now my little deviants, thanks for your readership. Please tell your friends about this column and these talented bands. Thanks to Clawhammer PR for hooking me up and my friends at all of the wonderful labels out there, you know you are and I appreciate you, muchly.
Read previous entries by The Obituarist, Trevor Strnad right here.
