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Showing posts from October, 2015

The Hudson Horror - Nemesis

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The Hudson Horror is a four piece band consisting of Dan Kelly (Vox), Marcus Hedwig (Guitars), Tyreek Jackson ( Bass), and Anne Buchwald (Drums). Genre described as Melodic death metal. Band origin New York. Nemesis self-Released album on 15 September 2015. First thoughts, complex and catchy material. The band definitely raise levels of aggression while maintaining progressive passages. The title track Nemesis is a good example of those elements. The song leads you in with a moderate eerie build up them creates dissonant rhythms that are very memorable. I would have to say one of my favorite tracks is Heretic, this song makes you want to stand up and punch walls, indeed powerful riffs and aggressive vocals are crushing, while the double kick work pummels the senses. Wolf's Blood is an interesting track, slightly different than the rest, it contains more of a mid pace style of riffing and catchy choruses.    In conclusion, the band can project aggression while creating progres

Cryptic Realms - Eve of Fatality

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Cryptic Realms is a four piece band consisting of Kostas Analytis (All Vocals), Tersis Zonato (Lead Guitar), Victor Varas (Bass Guitar), Uriel Aguillon (Guitars & Drums), Genre described as Death Metal. Band origin Intl; Greece, Romania, Brazil, Mexico  Eve of Fatality demo released on September 2015 Weed Hunter Records (Germany), Bloody Productions (Spain). Upon lending my ears to this demo my first thoughts hark back to the early days of death metal, even the production contains that essence. Indeed flashes of early Pestilence, Morbid Angel, Grave and Malevolent Creation come to my head. This newly formed group come from other well know projects such as Abyssus (Greece), Necrorite (USA/Mexico), Offal (Brazil) and Tritton (Mexico). But their aim seems to be to bring forth the early roots of the genre which is pleasant to my ears since I grew listening to this exact style. The most stand out tracks to me would have to be Necrophagous for its creepy horror movie style intro that g

Veld - Daemonic: The Art of Dantalian

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Veld is a three piece band consisting of Kirill Bobrik - All Guitars & Vocals, Tomasz Wawrzak - Bass,  Wojtek Slavinsky - Drums, Genre described as Blackened Death Metal. Band origin Vitebsk/Poznan. Daemonic: The Art of Dantalian album on Lacerated Enemy Records released on 8 April 2015. Brutal and devastating, the music crushes. The production is great, solid distorted guitars, thunderous drum sound and demonic vocals. The album contains ten tracks and never gets boring. It is one of those albums I can listen to from beginning to end and still feel the same aggression over and over again. Songs like "Merciless And The Innocents", "Constant Suffering" and "World In Obscure" deliver punishing riffs and destructive double bass kick assaults. Among all the sweet chaos, the band manages to add dark melodic passages such as the track "Lost But Never Forgotten" which is a favorite of mine from this release.   In conclusion, the solid production

Odetosun - The Dark Dunes of Titan

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Odetosun is a three piece Progmetal/Postmetal band from Augsburg. Members are Luke Stuchly - vocals, Gunther Rehmer - drums, percussion, Benny Stuchly - electric/acoustic guitar, bass guitar, keyboards. The Dark Dunes of Titan LP self released on October 23, 2015. I remember obtaining my hard copy of their first release "Gods Forgotten Orbit" and how enthralled I was after experiencing this band. You can read the review here odetosun-gods-forgotten-orbit . So, it has been two years and this is their latest creation. To be honest, I am very excited to hear this LP. From the opening track "At the Shore of the Ammonia Sea" which totals ten minutes, I was already moving my head. Seems like all the elements of the previous compositions are exhibited here but with much better production and reaching another level in their writing process. "Machine Horizon" comes in and it kills, it is heavy, catchy, thunderous and makes me want to punch things, well executed

Fractal Generator - Apotheosynthesis

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Fractal Generator is a three piece Atmospheric Death Metal from Sudbury, Ontario Canada. Members only go by numbers. Apotheosynthesis album Self-released 2 October 2015. Explore the universe with extreme brutality. Nine tracks to mesmerize and melt your brain. The production is very good, solid guitar distortion, killer vocals and pummeling drums. Not sure what I was expecting but ended listening to the entire album several times and finding new elements to enjoy each time. Many aspects of death metal riffing that go into technical parts effortlessly along with some grinding, like in the song Human. The song Face Of The Apocalypse will make you feel like you were just got pushed out of a spaceship into a spinning black hole. Some of the bands that come to mind are Rings of Saturn, Gojira and Gigan. Honestly, I really liked the entire album, but the track that resonated the most in mind was Reflections, it conjured up many images of black holes and exploding stars somewhere in the uni

Fjorsvartnir - Mzoraxc' Forbandelse

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Fjorsvartnir is Danish Melodic Black Metal project by Fjorgynn - Rhytm/lead Guitar, bas, vocals, keyboard programming, composer, mix/master/sound engineer. Live session musicians are Fjorgynn - Lead/rhytm guitar & vocal , Helgarm - Lead/rhytm/ guitar , Arent - Drums, Onslaughter - Keyboard -  Mzoraxc' Forbandelse album released on Grom Records August 1, 2015. I spent a considerable amount time listening to this album. This is a deep exploration of dark passages and journeys. Every song holds its on characteristics and I ended up enjoying every single note. The compositions exhibit acoustic guitars and cryptic keyboard elements that are all arranged elegantly. The vocals are traditional black metal style with some spoken word and occasionally female vocals joining in, like on the track Krigssat. Honestly, this is one of those albums I can listen to from beginning to end and not get tired of it. If I had to pick favorites, it would have to be Riget, for its simple yet very effe

Nervous Impulse - Time to Panic

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Nervous Impulse is a five piece death/grind band from Canada. Members are; Vocals-Éric Fiset,  Guitars-Bruno Mercier, Guitars-Francis Cousineau, Drums-Yan Chamberland, Bass-Félix Bourcier Time to Panic album released on  February 15th, 2015, Blasthead Records. Expect to be punished and crushed from the moment you hit play. High levels of aggression is what I expected and the band delivered the goods. Good production quality. Heavy distorted guitars, blast beats and guttural vox are part of the recipe. Thinking of bands like Brutal Truth, early Cryptopsy, Terrorizer, Napalm Death, Pig Destroyer and others in the same vein of grind madness. There is a lot of songs contained in the opus, fifteen tracks to be exact. I enjoyed killing my ears through each one but some of my favorites would have to be, Eclipse of Personality, The Neighbor's House is on Fire and Prorogued Democracy. In conclusion, shredding riffs, engaging lyric content and devastating drums. Fans of extreme brutal gr

Hypermass - Clouded Visions EP

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Hypermass is a five piece death metal band from Trondheim, featuring members Markus Sundet - Vocals, Sindre Dagestad - Guitar, Thomas Pedersen - Guitar, Marius Grindflek - Bass, Brage Kråbøl - Drums. Clouded Visions EP Self-Released 1 September 2015. The album draws me in from the opening track. The music builds from melodic to progressive effortlessly. The guitar arrangements are well thought out and catchy to my ears. Reminiscent to bands At The Gates, Revocation, Bloodshot Dawn, Gojira and Dissection. The group manages to blend several aspects of death metal and making sound cohesive. I normally would name a couple of stand out tracks but to be honest I enjoy the entire album. Every songs hold its own characteristic and its worth spinning several times. In conclusion, the production quality is awesome, these are highly skilled musicians and this release reflects those talents. ~Artemortifica facebook-hypermassmetal

Bloodlust - Cultus Diaboli

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Bloodlust is black/thrash metal band from Perth Western Australia. Two members include Spectre and Disaster. Cultus Diaboli released on limited edition cassette through Iron, Blood & Death Corporation 2015. Formed in 2011 the group first released a demo "Thrashing Black Devil Worship" and "Death Magic Rites" 2013. My first impression, raw and chaotic. The fires of hell have been conjured up and brought forth the fury of the early days of black/thrash. Think of groups like Venom, Devastator, early Sepultura and Sodom. Plenty of gut shredding solos and pummeling drum beats like tanks rolling through the streets. The songs that stood out the most would have to be Crowned in Black Fire, Spell of the Raven Witch and Rex Inferni in Terra (The Antichrist Enthroned). The production is not the best but it sure does add to the early era feel of the sounds. Final thoughts, if you like your metal raw and devastating with the hell fires raging all around than this is a

Necrogod - The Inexorable Death Reign

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Necrogod is a death metal band from Sweden/Costa Rica featuring members Rogga Johanson swedish musician and The Master Butcher Costa Rican Death Metal singer. The Inexorable Death Reign album released on Iron, Blood & Death Corporation middle of 2015. Upon lending my ears to this onslaught, my first thoughts were, straight to the chaos, intense drumming and brutality. They waste no time setting the speed to destroy. Strong and crushing compositions of DM . I am reminded of bands like Bolt Thrower, Monstrosity and Decapitated. Some of the stand out songs would have to be Human Misery, I found myself jammin to this track several times, catchy verses and cool chorus. The Death Provokers, this song invokes violence and I prefer it. Back in the day, when Six Feet Under first appear on the scene they had similar sounding arrangements and this track harks back to that era which was a pleasant surprise and great to turn on to full blast. Final thoughts, a pure, intense and destructive

Hoth - The Black Goddess Return

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Hoth is a Black Metal band based out of Portugal. Member J.A. (aka Decayed and Alastor) is the creator of this project. The Black Goddess Return album released middle of 2015 on Iron, Blood & Death Corporation. The band info is limited, very obscure. The music is blackened death metal, early metal, not to many blast beats and a lot of solos, which I enjoy listening to. Some of the most notable tracks would have to be Shades of Black, Upon the Sacred Hill and Demons Enthrall All Deceivers. The early roots of BM are evident from start to finish. There is no new ground being broken, just a visitation to the early days, think of bands like Bathory, Marduk, Samael, or early Satyricon.  In conclusion, the entire experience was a flashback to another era but, I did not find anything that could linger in my mind. I recommended for die hard fans of the genre from late 80s to early 90s. ~Artemortifica metal-archives-Hoth    

Rectified Spirit – The Waste Land

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Rectified Spirit is a five piece metal band from Guwahati India and features members Vocals-Rainjong Lepcha, Guitars - Samudragupta Dutta, Guitars - Dishankan Baruah, Bass - Himangshu Borah, Drums - Nishant Hagjer. The Waste Land album released on Transcending Obscurity India September 20 2015. My first thoughts, progressive, engaging and epic. Excellent production, all the instruments are clear and dynamic on all levels. Comprised of eight tracks, with very good vocals and lyric content. Many melodic passages and progressive guitar riffing can be heard. Some of the more stand out tracks to me were "Afterthought", catchy to the ears and well contained harmonies like old Dream Theater style which I enjoy very much. "The Waste Land" is the longest song on the album and another favorite for me. It is about thirteen minutes long and for most groups this would be hard to pull off and not get boring. They do it really well, I enjoy the build up and the many soundscapes

No More Room In Hell - No More Room In Hell

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No More Room In Hell is a brutal death metal newly formed project from the UK, featuring members Mark Gleed - Vocals (Amputated). Anil Carrier - Drums & Guitars (Throes / Binah / Towers of Flesh / The Solemn Curse / Theoktony). The self title album released through  Morbid-Generation  October 5 2015. I spent a considerable amount of time listening to this album. Although I have heard many other groups with the same "horror sample then song" through out the years, this album slowly grew on me and ended jamming along to it on my long travels via my mp3 player. Heavy distorted guitars and punishing drums in full effect. So the recipe here is a familiar one, but certain songs like "The Soil of A Mans Heart", sample from the movie Pet Cemetery, has some catchy and mosh inducing riffs, heavy brutalizing vocals with skin ripping highs. Never Sleep Again, sample from A Nightmare on Elm Street, the drums on this song are intense and I am sure they would crush in a li

Soulgrinder Zine issue 3 review

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Soulgrinder Zine #3 2015. Editor, Paul Caravasi. Front cover/interior art by Mortuus, Mark Riddick, Cuba Thomas, Menfis Paul, and distribution by Daniel Thrash. Plus numerous contributors of metal. This is the third installment and it is 100 pages of pure underground metal. Paul added a few other artist to this issue making it super gory, full of corpses and dripping monstrosities. Interviews with Reino Ermitano, Mazo, Nightprowler, Necromesis, Torturer from Chile, Peruvian Black Metal band Misa Lugubria, a very interesting interview with Vanessa Nocera of Razorback label. Interview with South Peru band Mandagora, Cryptic Slaughter, Metal Crucifier, Colombian metal band Detriktuss, Sadistic Intent speak on everything they have done since 1987, Brazilian legends Ratos De Parao, Ente, Sepulcro, Frightmare, 80s thrash band Sacrifice, Alcoholic Rites, Lifeless, Krow, doom/death act Psicorragia, Cemetery Lust, Horror Grind Cropsy Maniac, Haemorrhage, legendary band Deceased, Dead Horse

Soulgrinder Zine issue 2 review

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Soulgrinder Zine #2 2014. Editor, Paul Caravasi. Front cover/interior art by Mortuus and distribution by Daniel Thrash. Plus numerous contributors of metal. Let me start by congratulating Paul Caravasi on another edition of Soulgrinder Zine. I absolutely enjoy every page. The layout for this one is well thought out and retains the feel from the old school death metal borders similar to early 90s Zines. The artwork is sick, gory and brutal. Mortuus continues to delight my eyes with all the horror and comedic touch he brings to the pages. Ninety six pages stocked full of underground death metal from around the world. Feature interviews with Artillery, Sinaya, all female death metal band from Brazil an interesting read on their point of view of the metal scene in their neck of the woods. Legends Napalm Death, Madrost from California, Kraken interview with Jhonny Villacorta, Corsair, Sunlord from NYC, Amon interview with Eric Hoffman, Desarme, the legendary Nocturnus AD talk about

Ephyra - Along The Path

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Ephyra is a six piece Melodic Death/Folk/Epic Metal band from Italy. Members are Nadia Casali – Vocals, Francesco Braga – Vocals, Matteo Santoro – Guitars & Choirs, Paolo Diliberto – Guitars & Choirs, Alessandra Biundo – Bass, John Tagliabue – Drums. Along The Path album to be released through Bakerteam Records on November 20 2015. My first thoughts are, captivating and adventurous sounds, an exploration of deep emotions. Strong vocal choruses can be found in every song. The production sounds great. Every instrument is clear and defined. Progressive guitar work but not over the top. After a long period of listen to this album on my distant and short travels, it really began to grow on me. At first only a few of the songs resonated in my mind, but now, I can honestly say every track has something special to delight my ears.  The harmonies and complex arrangements of acoustic guitars and keyboards in the song "Hope" make it a composition I keep coming back to. The

Acrania - Fearless

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Acrania is a Latin Metal band from Mexico City. Members are Luis F. Oropeza-Rythm Gtr. & Vocals, J.C. Chavez S.-Drums, Alberto Morales G.-Bass Gtr, César A. Gallegos.-Lead Gtr & Saxophone. Fearless album self released on April 25 2015. Now here we have some flavorful music. Progressive, Jazzy and Metal to name a few of the the emotions being projected on the album. Indeed, something for everyone. If you only stick to a certain genre then this may not be for you. However, if you like you Metal like a mixed salad, then this will delight your ears. Songs like "Poverty is in The Soul" encapsulate the variety of styles happening from moment to moment. Catchy guitar riffs, trumpets and a vast array of drum fills to keep the listener engaged and attentive as to what's coming next. Overall the music moves the spirit while texturing the aggressive parts with metal. ~Artemortifica facebook-acraniaofficial

Ditheist - Eternity of Nothingness

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Eternity of Nothingness self released debut album on October 2015. Ditheist current line up is Konrad Lysak- Guitar, Narcyz Fortuna- Drums, Jason Dienethal-Vocals, Jarek Badzioch-Bass. Dorian Rainwater guest guitar solos on the songs Crippling Vexation and Eternal Corridors.  My first impression, good production and straight forward death metal. I had the chance to review their EP ( Ditheist- Seduction Of Demons EP ) back 2013. This is the bands debut full length album. Although a considerable amount time has past since Seduction of Demons they have improved upon the ground work of that EP. Eight tracks of solid performance. The drums in particular sound really good in this production. Not overpowering or in the background, but steady and brutal through out every composition. There are eight songs, the most stand out tracks to me are the title track Eternity of Nothingness, it offers a total old school dm vibe and catchy verse riffs. Blind Dead, because it sounds like a combination o