The Altar Of Death

Akercocke- Antichrist

2010-01-02T17:29:00.005Z

Tracklisting:
1. Black Messiah
2. Summon the Antichrist
3. Axiom
4. The Promise
5. My Apterous Angel
6. Distant Fires Reflect in the Eyes of Satan
8. Man Without Faith or Trust
9. The Dark Inside
10. Epode

Since 1998 Akercocke have been one of the must unique and exciting extreme metal bands in the scene. They combine elements of black and progressive metal into their own extreme styled death metal to create an original and truly memorable sound. After hearing the progressive masterpiece that was Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone I had high hopes for their 5th album Antichrist. I had bought the limited edition with covers of Morbid Angel and Death from the Earache Eurostore. When I inserted it into my CD player the sound that emerged completely blew me away. The experimental and progressive parts and the blasting riffage come together to make this one of my favourite albums in my CD collection.

The high level of musicianship in all Akercocke’s albums has always impressed me, but Antichrist took it to the next level. The brutal riffing of Jason Mendonca and Matt Wilcock is simple and not technically difficult, yet the sheer speed and the way it contributes to the overall atmosphere is incredible. David Gray never fails to disappoint with his fast technical drumming and blast beats. New bass player Peter Benjamin also gave a great performance; the bass is audible and skilfully played for the duration of the album.

Mendonca has an incredible vocal range. He can do death metal growls, black metal screeches, shouts and clean melodic vocals. This massive range is a manger contributor to Akercocke’s awesome sound. The lyrics, mainly written by David Gray deal with the standard Akercocke theme of Satanism. These lyrics however are nothing like ‘I Hate God’ or ‘Burn Jesus’ lyrics that bands like Deicide come up with, they are much more subtle which make them seem sinister and all the more effective.

Song Writing on this album is good, but not quite up to the standard of Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone. The songs may have slightly too much emphasis on the progressive and experimental side of their sound rather than the blasting that they are so good at. However when you absorb the masterpiece that is Summon the Antichrist you don’t really care about this. Another downside to the song writing is the transaction from blasting to melodic and vice versa is no where near up the standard it was on Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone. On their previous album the transaction was smooth and it flowed but if you listen to Axiom, or Summon the Antichrist they have not achieved this on this album. I am only saying this to find something bad about the album, seriously its only a tiny problem an no ones really going to care about it.

The production on this album is much sharper and better than the other albums. Their other albums had a slightly muddy sound but its much clearer on this album and the bass guitar is much more audible. All the different tracks are mixed perfectly in order to create an album that is full of atmosphere.

For me standout tracks include the two openers (not counting Black Messiah) for the diversity in sounds and styles that come through in them all. If you’re going to buy this album I would highly recommend getting the limited edition. The covers of Morbid Angel- Chapel of Ghouls and Death- Leprosy are really worth having.

Overall this is a great album, and if you like progressive music, Akercocke, or enjoyed Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone go out and buy it. Its different sound types from different genres of music make it a great listen and you will never get bored of it.

9.5/10

Cannibal Corpse- Tomb of the Mutilated

2009-11-19T16:37:00.004Z

Tracklisting:
1. Hammer Smashed Face
2. I Cum Blood
3. Addicted to Vaginal Skin
4. Split Wide Open
5. Necropeadophile
6. The Cryptic Stench
7. Entrails Ripped for a Virgins Cunt
8. Postmortem Ejaculation
9. Beyond the Cemetery

Cannibal Corpse is on of the biggest death metal names in the metal scene today, and in my opinion one of the most overrated. They seem to have one goal; to play as loud, as brutally, as heavily and as fast as possible. Their third album Tomb of the Mutilated is no exception to this rule, with raw growling vocals, machine gun drums and blast beats and phenomenally heavy guitar riffs.

When you think Cannibal Corpse, you immediately think Tomb of the Mutilated. When you think Tomb of the Mutilated you immediately think of Cannibal Corpses biggest hit, album opener Hammer Smashed Face. Despite everything I’ve written abut Cannibal Corpse already, and everything I’m going to write, I actually love this track. Its heavy, and I love the bass solo at the end of the intro. The growling vocals fit perfectly with the guitar and the riffs are amazing. This truly a classic death metal track! However after you’ve listened to this, the good points of the album stop dead. Once you’ve absorbed the brutal classic of Hammer Smashed Face you are bowled over by pointless blasting riffs and repetitive vocals. Absolutely awful!

I’m going to devote a whole paragraph to Cannibal Corpse lyrics. They’re absolutely ridiculous! Admitted the first time I read them I was shocked, however they quickly lost their shock factor, now when I read them I actually find myself laughing. Chris Barnes has tried so hard to be brutal and shocking that he has achieved anything but brutality. Just read the lyrics to I Cum Blood, or Necropaedophile. He’s tried so hard to be shocking, but quite frankly they sound like something a twelve year old wrote to shock his parents! Absolutely appalling, they should take a lesson for Obituary or Carcass who can actually write lyrics.

Chris Barnes growls aren’t bad. I’m not the biggest fan, however I have nothing against them. The growls are incredibly raw, but if you listen hard enough you can still make out the lyrics. His screams are appalling. Chris Barnes screaming complete kills the whole point of death metal screams. This is one of the major downsides of this album.

After all this having a go at Cannibal Corpse I’m going to say something nice for a change. The guitars are awesome. Jack Owen and Bob Russay are extremely talented musicians. In my opinion their brutal riffing is one of the major selling points for this album. This album probably has the best guitar sound on any Cannibal Corpse album, it really does rule.

The production on this album isn’t bad, however I’m not sure if that wasn’t a lucky fluke. The sound is rough and is not of the highest quality, but it works with album. Like I said, I’m not sure if this rough sound was intentional or not. I also find the drum kit (specifically the snare drum) to be slightly overpowering. The bass is well balanced with the rest of the instruments, however in the more brutal parts it can be quite tricky to make it out.

When I’ve added up the good points and the bad points I came to the conclusion that this was an OK, but incredibly overrated album. Seriously, if your thinking about checking out Cannibal Corpse, buy Eaten Back to Life, or one of their later releases, there’re so much better.

5.5/10

Napalm Death - Harmony Corruption

2009-10-23T18:56:00.006+01:00

Tracklisting:
1. Vision Conquest
2. If the Truth Be Known
3. Inner Incineration
4. Malicious Intent
5. Unfit Earth
6. Circle of Hypocrisy
7. The Chains that Bind Us
8. Mind Snare
9. Extremity Retained
10. Suffer the Children
11. Hiding Behind (bonus track)

Napalm Death are on of the biggest names in death metal and are the godfathers of grindcore and until Harmony Corruption was released in 1990 they were famous for their grindcore style of playing, many of their songs being shorter than one minute. Harmony Corruption is completely different, a traditional song structure seems to be used and the shortest song on the album is over two minutes in length, the longest being over five. It cannot be called death metal; it is a fusion with elements of death metal and grindcore combined.

This change in direction may have been in some part due to the massive change in line-up between Harmony Corruption and their previous full-length release (From Enslavement to Obliteration). Vocalist Barney replaced former vocalist Lee Dorian (who had left in 1989 to form Cathedral) and guitarists Jesse Pintado and Mitch Harris were brought in when the previous guitarist, Bill Steer, quit to concentrate on his other band, Carcass.

The new vocalist definitely has a different style, which changes the mood of the entire album. In From Enslavement to Obliteration a good mix of growls and screeches were included. This is not the case with Harmony Corruption, only growls and roaring are used on the entire album - this gives the album a darker feel and makes it more of a death metal album than grindcore. The lyrics focus on standard Napalm Death topics, dealing with: Political Unrest, Hate, Aggression, Social Issues.

There seems to be two main types of guitar riffs on this album. Heavy slow death metal riffs and faster grindcore riffs, usually accompanied with blast beats from the drummer. The two new guitarists have a different style to Bill Steer, this adds another dimension to the album. Shane Embury's bass guitar does not particularly stand out on this album, I personally find it very hard to hear in the music.

The production on this album is poor. At the start of album opener Vision Conquest there is a lot of random crackling, I am unsure if this is poor recording or intentional. When the music finally starts I have to turn my CD player up to full volume or I struggle to hear it. The aforementioned bass guitar is poorly balanced with the other instruments so it is near impossible to hear.

The musicianship is of the highest quality. Barney's vocals are some of the best death metal vocals around - his roaring at the start of aforementioned Vision Conquest is great. The drums are to a good standard on this album, Shane Embury never fails to impress me with his bass guitar and the new guitarists filled their predecessors shoes perfectly, providing brutal fast riffs.

Standout tracks on this album include album opener Vision Conquest, If the Truth be Known and the awesome Suffer the Children.

Personally I wasn't bowled over by this album - I’ve listened to it a few times and its got slightly boring - but many people won’t agree with me. Its an OK death/grind album with good musicianship, but it is somewhat spoiled by poor production.

6.5/10

Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger

2009-10-15T20:59:00.002+01:00

1. Transilvanian Hunger
2. Over Fjell Og Gjennom Torner
3. Skald Av Satans Sol
4. Slottet I Det Fjerne
5. Graven Takeheimens Saler
6. I en Hall Med Flesk Og Mjød
7. As Flittermice as Satans Spys
8. En as I Dype Skogen

If you know anything about black metal then the chances are you’ve heard of Darkthrone. One of the leaders of the Second Wave of Black Metal, which started in Norway in the early 90s, the band originally played death metal but, after being introduced to the style by Euronymous of Mayhem, switched to black metal, a style which has influenced all of their music since. Although the band were never involved in any of the church burnings, murders or suicides which the scene is famous for they did court controversy with the “Norwegian Aryan Black Metal” print which appeared on the back covers of some of their albums. Transilvanian Hunger, their fourth album, is a classic and one no self-respecting black metal fan should be without.

By the time this album was recorded the band was down to a two piece. On previous albums the two core members of Fenriz and Nocturno Culto had been joined by guitarist Zephyrous and bassist Dag Nilsen. Nilsen had left after the second record and Zephyrous after the third. Instead of trying to recruit new members the band made the decision to sacrifice playing live and remain as a two piece. On this album Fenriz plays all the instrument s and Nocturno Culto does all the vocals.

The musicianship on this album is fairly simple. Songs mainly consist of repetitive, tremolo picked riffs, high speed drums and tortured shrieks and shouts. The great thing about this album is that although the musicianship is simple it doesn’t get boring. Instead, when coupled with the lo-fi production, it creates a great atmosphere, something which all god black metal should do.

The vocals on the album also contribute to the excellent atmosphere. Some of the lyrics on the album deal with the satanic themes prevalent on many black metal recordings but the band also cover other topics such as death, darkness and nature. One factor which may have partly influenced the lyrical direction the band took on this release is that Varg Vikernes wrote lyrics for four songs on the album. The Burzum main man is well known within black metal for his extreme and often controversial beliefs as well as for the part he played in the church burnings and the murder of the aforementioned Euronymous. These views and experiences definitely impacted on this album and the scene as a whole.

The production values of black metal divide opinion amongst both fans and artists. Should bands stick with the lo-fi production coveted by the “true” and “kvlt” bands, the sound that was used on early, seminal second wave recordings like Mayhem’s “De Mysteriis” and Burzum’s self-titled or should bands evolve with the times and use improve their production like bands such as Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth have done. Darkthrone definitely fall into the former group and personally this is the side I take on black metal. In my opinion, as soon as you make the production clear you kill some of the atmosphere. Clean production has been done well in some cases but personally I think the lo-fi bands will always have more meaning and atmosphere. This album is no different. You may not be able to hear everything crystal clearly but what you do get is the overall feeling.

One thing that I think is great about black metal is the aesthetic and this album is no different. From the second you get this album you are confronted by the black metal aesthetic and ideology. From the black and white cover photo of Fenriz, horrifying in full corpse paint, to the “True Norwegian Black Metal” imprint on the back cover, to the moonlight picture of mountains on the inside, wherever you look on the packaging you are visually assaulted by the imagery, and this is even before you’ve put the album on.

That’s one of the main reasons why I think you need to buy this album on CD (or vinyl) and listen to it as a whole. When you have the packaging in front of you and the music blaring in your ears then you get the entire experience. There are some standout tracks on the album such as the title track and “As Flittermice As Satans Spys” (one of the Vikernes tracks) but to fully experience the album you need it as a whole.

So turn off the lights, turn on your CD player, put your CD in and sit in the dark and listen to the black metal masterpiece which is Darkthrone’s Transilvanian Hunger.

9/10

Deicide- The Stench of Redemption

2009-10-15T20:10:00.005+01:00

Tracklisting:
1. The Stench of Redemption
2. Death to Jesus
3. Desecration
4. Crucified for Innocence
5. Walk with the Devil in Dreams you Behold
6. Homage for Satan
7. Not of this Earth
8. Never to be Seen Again
9. The Lord's Sedition

I bought the Earache Records death metal pack (Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness, Entombed - Left Hand Path, Napalm Death - From Enslavement to Obliteration and Deicide - The Stench of Redemption) for Morbid Angel, Napalm Death and Entombed. The Deicide album was an added bonus - I hadn’t heard any of their music before and I wasn’t that bothered about owning it. When I put it on I was very pleasantly surprised - It was brutal, fast, heavy and absolutely awesome. It has swiftly become one of my favourite death metal albums.

The first two tracks (The Stench of Redemption and Death to Jesus) are simply fantastic. They are two of the best death metal tracks I have ever heard. They are classic examples of fast, brutal, technical and heavy music that does not get boring. The other tracks are all good songs but the first two really stand out for me.

Deicide use a good mix of slow and fast guitar riffs. This variety is one of the factors that make the album such good Death Metal listening. All guitar parts are played skilfully and the players have an impressive level of musicianship. The guitar solos on this album are quite lengthy. They are more melodic which contrasts well with the feel of the band- the first impression you get is brutal, heavy and fast.

Deicide's vocals standout in the entire death metal genre. They use an excellent mixture of growls and screams to great effect. These two types of vocals fit perfectly together and are often done at the same time. This shows that the album has been well edited. The lyrics are typical Deicide- dealing with satanic (Homage for Satan) and anti Christian themes (Death to Jesus). These lyrics are well written and don’t sound really cheesy, which is a trap a lot of death metal bands have fallen into.

Deicide drums are insane. The drummer seems to have one question in his mind, “How fast can I play?” The drums are pretty predictable; you know exactly what you’re going to get, an incredibly fast beat with not much variety. I would not normally particularly like this drumming, however it works well with this album. Not having heard any other Deicide however I can't comment on how well this style works with their other albums, or how much their style has changed over the years.

This album has great production. In fact I would go as far as saying it has the best production of any death metal album I have ever heard. The balance is just right, no instrument is overpowering or can’t be heard, you can easily make out every single part, the brutal vocals, and the heavy pounding guitar have a perfect balance. The production on this album is not something you will hear every day.

The Deicide line-up has changed a bit over the years. They still maintain the same drummer and vocalist, however Jack Owen and Ralph Santolla, both guitarists, were both new additions to the band in 2004 and 2005 respectively. This means that this was Jacks Owens debut studio album with Deicide and they both did a very good job.

Overall this is a heavy brutal masterpiece, from opener “The Stench of Redemption” to final track “The Lords Sedition”. It has great production, great musicianship, well-written songs and original lyrics. For me this is a standout death metal album and if you are a death metal fan and have a few spare quid, go and buy it. If you don’t have a few spare quid save up and buy it as soon as possible, you’re really missing out. This is truly one of the best albums in the whole extreme metal genre.

9.5/10

Hellwitch Interview

2009-10-11T10:33:00.012+01:00

Hellwitch are on of the most inventive and unique death metal bands out there. After 19 long years they're back with a great new album Omnipotent Convocation which was released in August on Xreem Music. I interviewed guitarist Pat about the history of the band and about his views on the metal scene of today.

Can you just give a quick overview of how and when the band was formed?
HELLWITCH arose from the depths in October of 1984. Founding members (college roomates at the University of Florida) Patrick Ranieri and Harry Tiyler recorded the first demo, a one track venture, in the living room of their apartment in Gainesville, Florida. The track, Nosferatu, consisted of Pat on all guitars, and Harry on drums (i.e. a seat cushion and a textbook) and vocals. Pat composed the music and the two of them penned the lyrics.

When you formed the band who were your main influences?
Slayer, Metallica, Possessed, Destruction, Mercyful Fate and Raven!

The death metal scene in Florida in the late 80s and early 90s seems to have gone down in metal history as something mythical. Since you were there at the time of it can you tell us a bit about it? Was it really as legendary as people who weren't there seem to think it is? What was it like to be playing and listening to metal in that area and time?
Well, as with anything you are in the midst of... it seems like no big deal while it's happening... passage of time makes it "mythical" in retrospect. It was a "down-to-earth" time, no bands had albums out really... when we played together it was just guys hanging out enjoying the metal! Just regular metal dudes hanging out at shows. Nothing earth shattering. Again, "legendary" is a relative term. One day in 2020 someone will read this interview and say IT is legendary! haha! The one thing I recall about that time is that EVERY band sounded completely different from each other! I thought nothing of that fact at the time. NOW, sooo many bands sound alike, it's a fuckin' joke! The downward spiral of originality began with the Suffocation clones, and the Cannibal Corpse clones, I think. Nowadays, all bands are just rip offs of other older bands. I really think HELLWITCH has retained it's "unlike all others" sound!

Was there ever any competition between you and the other technical bands in the scene, such as Brutality, Cynic and Atheist, to be the most technical?
No, never. We all just did our own thing. No band really cared what the others were doing. Each band was in it's own little world. Slayer was the "bar", the standard so to speak in Florida.

In 1990 you released your debut LP Syzygial Miscreancy on Wild Rags records. Wild Rags had released albums by cult extreme metal acts such as Impetigo and the aforementioned Brutality. How did the deal to release the album come about and what were your experiences of working with the label?

We were already distributing the '87 demo through the Wild Rags mail order business. A friend of both ours and Ricardo Campos (Wild Fag!) put us in touch with talk of an album. The label was a RIP OFF! NEVER got any royalty $$. The fucker lied and said we only sold 2000 albums when we were getting mail from all over the world saying our VINYL, CASSETTE AND CD versions were in most record stores in Europe and the US! Total rip off asshole!

The album was engineered by Scott Burns and recorded at Morrisound. What was it like to work with Scott and record at such a famous (in the death metal world at least) studio?
Well, first of all, that trademark production is not really found too much these days. It was a "blip" in time! The whole thing was 25 hours total! We spent 3 days there. A few highlights were when Scotty gave us a list of nuts and bolts we had to go to the hardware store and buy for Joe's rickety drum set! Haha! Also, the mixing of the GODZILLA soundtrack into the "M.D." intro. That was magical when we first heard it replayed in the studio. And, Scotty's opinion NOT to use some "wind" sounds on the "Ascent". I had wanted some wind FX mixed with the 12 string guitars, but Scotty said, "Every band uses wind with acoustic guitar these days, I think just the guitars ALONE would be more original/effective". He was right I think! Finally, I remember being soooo tired during the mix that we basically just set it up quickly and went for it. No long involved debates or fine tunings. We just set it up and let it rip! Frank Watkins (Obituary / ex-HELLWITCH bass) spent some time with us as well then. That was fun!

Syzygial Miscreancy? Sentient Transmography? Mordirivial Dissemination? You've always had a way with words. Were you constantly trying to beat past song/release titles or did they come naturally?
Again, my main goal was/is to keep the music/lyrics/titles UNLIKE ALL OTHERS! HELLWITCH is alone in it's own catagory. I purposely created/dismembered/altered words to specifically fit my ideological concepts.

Something that's kept me thinking for a long time: What does Syzygial Miscreancy actually mean?What about Mordirivial Dissemination?
"Syzygial", according to Webster's New World dictionary, is two opposite points, as existing in the universe, as in good and evil. "Miscreancy" means to serve evil, to do things that are evil/destructive/malicious.
So, "Syzygial Miscreancy" is a concept I envision in which an all powerful evil in the universe descends to conquer Earth. The cover art is a very BASIC illustration of this concept. "Mordirivial Dissemination" is purely fabricated. Derived from the "Mor". The Mor are a group of upper cretacious creatures (Godzilla, Rodan, Ghidorah, Mothra, etc.). The power of pure destruction that these creatures "disseminate" has always fascinated me since childhood. See?

Is there a story behind the cover for Syzygial Miscreancy? What about the cartoon strip?
See last answer. The cartoon strip is a collection of our TRUE life adventures in 1990!

Looking at your discography your output seems to stop after 1994 until the Final Approach best of in 2003. When and why did the band split up originally?
Basically, the lack of a suitable drummer ended things in '98.

During the years when Hellwitch were inactive what did you do? Where you involved in any other bands or even the extreme music scene?
I played tennis a bit, traded/collected concert videos more aggressively, explored opiates, went to shows. No, didn't even play the guitar for many years then.

What motivated you to reform the band?
In early 2004 I started speaking with Joe "Witch" again and we two started playing again just for fun in his garage. After a few months I phoned Craig (bass) to join us. Then a few months after that JP (guitar) rejoined and we were on our way again! We began playing shows every couple of months and even some festivals in Alabama. No real "motivation", just fun times.

Your latest album is out on Xtreem Music. This label has released loads of great bands as well as rereleasing albums from the likes of Rottrevore and Demilich. Are you pleased to be signed to them? What do you think of their other output?
Yes, we are happy with Dave and XTREEM! Great guy! I like some of their bands, others I don't care for. DEMILICH is the best band they've ever signed! Avulsed is pretty good too.

Omnipotent Convocation is much longer than Syzygial Miscreancy was. Why was Syzygial. so short and why did you decide to make the new one longer? Was there any intention behind the length of either album?
WE had to pay to record "S.M" ourselves! We could only afford 25 hours at Morrisound with Scott Burns. The new album had a good sized budget, thus a longer album. No intentions about length in either case.

The new album also features a cover of Infernal Death by Death. What made you decide to cover this particular song? Is there a special reason behind it?
In '86 I was really a total DEATH fanatic! We actually had BOTH Kam Lee and Chuck sing Infernal Death at different live shows in '86. My favourite recordings are the '84+'85 demos. Scream Bloody Gore was downhill in my opinion. Back in our earlier days, HELLWITCH played, "Infernal Death", "Corpse Grinder", "Zombie Ritual" and then a bit later "Archangel". Basically we covered the DEATH songs I liked the best. Honestly, I wanted to do "Archangel" on O.C., but after the band discussed it, we felt "Infernal Death" was more recognizable and would be more appropriate. By the way, "Infernal Death" was actually recorded foremost to be on an upcoming MANTAS tribute CD for Ibex Moon Records (with Kam Lee doing the vocals!).
Kam Lee is going to sing along WITH me on this track for that release. BUT, we've now been told that the tribute CD will be delayed for some time.

What do you think of the metal scene today? Any particular bands you think we should check out?
I think the scene in the U.S. is really in shitty shape. Overseas it seems to be quite healthy! Originality is pretty much dead. Lately I'm listening to Devastation (IL.), Fearless Iranians From Hell, Elizium (pre-Devian), D. Zero, COC "Animosity", new Sacrifice (w/Dave from Slaughter on guest vocals! GODLY!), Vision of Disorder, and some old faves like Possessed '84+'91 demos, Insanity "Death After Death" and Wehrmacht "Shark Attack". "Haunting the Chapel" EP too! I Do really LOVE bands like DEW SCENTED, CORPORATION 187, DIMENSION ZERO, DEFLESHED, GARDENIAN (old!), UNANIMATED, and CONVULSE ("Reflections" is SUPER GOD!). Check these out!

Any plans for a touring? Ever considered coming to Britain or Europe?
No and yes, respectively.

Is there anywhere I can get a Syzygial Miscreancy t shirt?
I've seen some Mexican bootlegs on Ebay recently. They were selling for about $20 or so.

And finally, what are your five favourite metal albums of all time?
DEMILICH -"NESPITHE"
Morbid Angel -"Altars of Madness"
Insanity -"Death After Death"
Slayer -"Hell Awaits"
Raven -"Wiped Out"
Death -"Scream Bloody Gore"

Any final words?
Thanks for the coool interview Alex! Best of luck to you and Altar Of Death! To all your readers, check out the UG bands! The ones on small labels especially! Rule of thumb: the bigger the label, the shittier the band! Check out "Omnipotent Convocation"! It's unlike all others and will fuck you up, Florida style! Contact me for merch and over 12,000 concert videos! Keep on KILLKILLKILLin'!!!

Hellwitch Official Websites
www.hellwitch.com
www.myspace.com/hellwitch

Darkest Soul Promotions (D.S.P.) (OVER 11,000 video titles!)
www.thrill.to/dsp

Contact Pat:
patvideo@netzero.net

Contact Hellwitch:
Hellwitch
P.O. Box 2341
Hollywood, FL. 33022 USA

Buy Hellwitch's New Album Omnipotent Convocation From Xtreem Music
www.xtreemmusic.com

Obituary - Left To Die

2009-10-09T17:54:00.005+01:00

Tracklisting:
1. Forces Realign
2. Dethroned Emperor (Celtic Frost Cover)
3. Slowly We Rot (2008 Rerecording)
4. Left to Die

One really boring weekend I was walking through town when I came across a CD shop with an ‘Everything £3 Sale’. I was looking around inside when I came to the Metal section and found an EP by a band called Obituary. The album Art, The Tracks and the name sounded cool so I thought I'd buy it. I am really glad I did because it has four fantastic Obituary tracks, two of them brand new, and it only cost 3 quid!

The thing I really like about Obituary is that they aren't just mindless fast heavy thrashing. They are certainly heavy, and there is some mindless thrashing, but a bit of mindless thrashing is good and the songs on this EP show a lot of evidence of being clearly thought out.

John Tardy's vocals are great. There are no other death metal bands with vocals quite like Obituary and they work perfectly with the guitar sound used on the EP. The lyrics deal with the typical Obituary themes of gore and death.

This EP contains two brand new tracks. ‘Dethroned Emperor’ is a Celtic Frost cover who Obituary seem to take a lot of influence from. For me it is one of the standout tracks on the release. The second is a rerecording of the Obituary classic ‘Slowly we Rot’. In my opinion this version is nowhere near as good as the original.

The guitar on this album is fantastic. The solos are short and sweet and fit perfectly with the rest of the music and the guitar playing in the song intros is great- slow and heavy or fast and heavy- they are both equally as good.

The overall feel of the album is quite slow and gloomy. This effect is created by a combination of guitar effects and their unique vocal style. This is what make Obituary so different to other Death Metal bands, most of them want to be as fast and brutal as possible (a great example of this is Cannibal Corpse), this definitely not the case with Obituary. That is what makes me like them so much, they are different- not your typical Death Metal.

Overall this is a good EP, it will never be recognized as a classic of the genre, having said that you should probably buy if you are an Obituary fan. If you're not then it probably won't seem anything special to you. Personally I really like it- I've listened to it loads and it hasn't got boring yet.

8/10

Bolt Thrower - Realm of Chaos

2009-10-04T15:36:00.008+01:00

Tracklisting:
1. Intro
2. Eternal War
3. Through the Eye of Terror
4. Dark Millenium
5. All That Remains
6. Lost Souls Domain
7. Plauge Bearer
8. World Eater
9. Drowned in Torment
10. Realm of Chaos
11. Outro

Bolt Thrower is one of the biggest names in death metal, and there’s only one to describe them. Heavy. This superb band from Coventry combines growling vocals with their unique style of guitar playing to great effect, making them one of the most recognizable bands in the business.

In 1988 Bolt Thrower released the album “In Battle There Is No Law”. This album is an absolute classic, a must have for any death metal fan. Karl Willets vocals come together with Gavin Ward and Baz Tompson’s guitar to make a superb album, a classic of the genre. “In Battle There Is No Law” really is something special.

In 1989 when Bolt Thrower released their second full-length album “Realm of Chaos” they had a hard job of making this album live up to its expectations as many expected it to exceed its predecessor. They not only succeeded, they made a fantastic job of it. “Realm of Chaos” is a fantastic album and incredibly heavy, containing fantastic metal classics such as: “Eternal War”, (which uses a slow heavy introduction and a fast pounding middle and end) “World Eater” (which has a long low guitar solo at the start and fast high solos towards the end) and Through the Eye of Terror.

One thing that can be said about Bolt Thrower is that they are predictable. They rarely change their style- and it works. This is one of the only bands that this can be said for- in a lot of others the same style in each album can be become boring- this is not the case with Bolt Thrower. The biggest change in their style was the jump between “In Battle There is No Law” and “Realm of Chaos”. There was less of the punk influence in “Realm of Chaos, it contained more of the heavy grindcore influenced riffs and solos.

Bolt Throwers line up is that of a typical death metal- drum, guitars, bass and vocals. However the album opener “Intro” contains no instrumentation, only sound effects and Karl Willets’s growling vocals. This is the perfect opening track to this album, it adds to the atmosphere of the whole world at war theme of the album and sound incredibly effective.

The aforementioned World Eater is the first death metal track I ever heard and is a clear standout on the album. It clearly illustrates that fact that a song does not have to be fast to be brutal. The start of the song is effects similar to the opening track of the album, with Karl Willets growling the song title. A long, slow and heavy introduction then starts that lasts for around two minutes. This is an incredibly well written song and is a classic of the death metal genre.

Bolt Thrower use typical death metal growling vocals in all their music. This, when coupled with Karl Willets lyrics based on the bands common lyrical themes of war and violence create an awesome effect that no other death metal bands has been able to reproduce as well as Bolt Thrower.

Overall this album is a brutal, heavy metal classic. It contains fast elements; slow elements, fantastic lyrics and guitar riffs- Bolt Thrower excelled themselves with this album. It is a personal favourite of mine, and the first death metal album I purchased it- I recommend it on the highest possible terms to any death metal fan.

9/10

Akercocke - Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone

2009-10-03T15:29:00.011+01:00

Tracklisting:
1. Verdelet
2. Seduced
3. Shelter From the Sand
4. Eyes of the Dawn
5. Abadonna, Dying in the Sun
6. Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone
7. Intractable
8. Seraphs and Silence
9. The Penance
10. Lex Talionis

Akercocke are one of the UK’s most exciting extreme metal bands. They combine elements of death metal and black metal and add their own unique, progressive touch. Over the past 12 years and five albums they have evolved into one of the most extreme and interesting bands in the scene today. Their fourth album, Words that Go Unspoken, Deeds that Go Undone, is one of their best releases so far.

What makes this album special is how it includes the different elements of Akercocke’s sound in just the right amounts. Choronzon is alright but it seems to focus on the heavy, blasting death metal and raw, destructive black metal side of their sound. There are some progressive touches on the album, such as the magnificent Leviathan, but the majority of the album is what seems to be mindless blasting. “Words” however is a progressive metal masterpiece full of rich, textured sounds capes, excellently constructed pieces of music and extraordinary musicianship.

This change of direction may be in some part due to the introduction of new guitar player Matt Wilcock, who was brought in after Choronzon to replace Paul Scanlan. He fills his predecessor’s shoes perfectly providing brutal riffage and some excellent solos. The other members exceed expectations as they all exhibit a high level of skill in their instruments and all give an incredibly tight performance. Drummer David Gray gives an outstanding performance, never missing a beat whether he’s playing high speed double bass, machine gun blast beats or complex cymbal work.

Jason Mendonça, as well as playing both lead and rhythm parts for guitar, performs vocals. He utilises a good mix of growls and screams as well as clean vocals (another feature of Akercocke’s sound which was not as prominent on Choronzon). The vocals, written mainly be David Gray, deal with standard Akercocke subjects such as the band's satanic beliefs. These lyrics don’t get boring as Mendonça delivers them perfectly, no matter what style they’re in.

One thing that is impressive about Akercocke is their song writing ability. Most songs have several sections and it’s not uncommon to find that a song will have many different moods and feelings mixed together in it. For example, album opener Verdelet starts of with a heavy and brutal introduction but soon develops into a technical masterpiece which combines every element of Akercocke’s sound to perfection. This, when coupled Gray’s lyrics, provides essential Akercocke listening and one of the highlights of the album.

One great thing about the album is the production. All instruments are captured clearly including the more unusual ones such as the ones used on Eyes of the Dawn and the instrumental dying in the Sun. The mix has been done so that no instrument is overpowering and so that the different sections of the songs fit seamlessly together. All the different tracks are mixed perfectly in order to create an album which is full of atmosphere.

The album is best listened to as a whole so that you can absorb all the different parts of the sound from the Choronzon style blasting of Seraphs and Silence and The Penance to the more melodic stylings of the title track and album closer Lex Talionis. This said the album does contain two standout tracks in the form of the aforementioned Verdelet and the epic Shelter from the Sand. It’s these songs encompass all the great things about Akercocke and make the album so good.

Overall, this album is a progressive masterpiece and any fans of Akercocke or extreme metal at all that don’t have this should go out and get it today. There’s something for everyone on this album and that’s what makes it such a great listen.

10/10

Hellwitch - Syzygial Miscreancy

2009-08-23T11:38:00.005+01:00

Tracklisting:
1. The Ascent
2. Nosferatu
3. Viral Exogence
4. Sentient Transmography
5. Mordirivial Dissemination
6. Pyrophoric Seizure
7. Purveyor of Fear

In the late 80’s and early 90’s Florida was a hotbed of death metal bands many of whom were releasing great records. 1990 in particular was a great year for the Florida scene; as well as great records from Death, Deicide and Obituary there were also a small number of bands who were pushing the boundaries of what could be done with the death metal formula. Atheist were playing their brand of jazzy/progressive death metal, Nocturnus were making use of keyboards to create atmospheric sci-fi themed death metal and of course Hellwitch were using their immense instrumental skills to create some of the best thrash infected death metal ever written. In my opinion their debut album Syzygial Miscreancy doesn’t get the recognition it deserves, although with Hellwitch returning with a brand new album this may be about to change.

The first track, “The Ascent”, is a melodic, acoustic guitar solo which goes on for little over half a minute. This track creates a mysterious atmosphere which is perfect for the album, especially on a first time listen, and, because it is not very long, it never verges on the boring.

The album proper kicks off with Nosferatu, a song which perfectly sums up the album with its maniacal solos, pauses, time and tempo changes and vocals from guitarist Patrick Ranieri which sound as if they’re being spat out. If their ever was a quintessential Hellwitch song, it would be this one.

The next song, “Viral Exogence”, has more great examples, especially in the intro, of the start-stop-nature and acceleration/deceleration of the songs. This, like all songs on the album, is driven along at breakneck speeds by the drumming of Joe "Witch" Schnessel who somehow manages to keep up with Ranieri’s frantic riffing and soloing.

What follows is possibly my favourite song on the album, Sentient Transmography. An extremely fast guitar intro leads in to the erratic riffing typical of most Hellwitch songs. Soon after the solos kick in but this time something is different. Amid the high-speed technical axe mastery that is used consistently throughout Hellwitch’s solos Ranieri has included some great melodies that continue the tune whilst still giving him the space to show off his skills. A slow (relatively) and heavy part comes in towards the end whilst Ranieri preaches his tales of brainwashing, deceit and mystic visions.

The next two songs, “Mordirivial Dissemination” with its march like intro and tortured vocals and “Pyrophoric Seizure” with its strange vocal effects and lyrics about burning internally, both keep up the high standards set earlier on the album before we reach the album finale: “Purveyor of Fear”. This song is interesting because it uses very similar riffs all the way through but just played at different speeds. But that’s the great thing about Hellwitch’s music; the basic songs themselves are quite simple, what makes them good is how the band can use they’re skills to turn them into technical masterpieces. An example is “Nosferatu”. The lyrics to this song seem to follow a simple verse-chorus pattern but because the band play things at different speeds and add plenty of great solos the final product is one great and extremely complex song.

All the songs on the album are finished with a great production. My only problems with the album are that it’s too short (the seven songs last just 25 minutes), the bass is in audible and the vocals. Ranieri’s style is very distinctive and I’m sure it takes a lot of skill to sing like that but sometimes it can get slightly annoying (but since he also plays all the great guitar solos on the album I’ll let him off).

The overall mood of the album is very interesting. I maybe influenced by the silly cover but I can’t take this album seriously at all. That isn’t a problem because if I’m in the mood for some light-hearted shred then I can just chuck this on and really enjoy it. The thing is that I’m not sure if the band were looking to create a serious album. The lyrics seem fairly serious but the overall feel and atmosphere of the album is not.

All the musicianship on this album is of the highest quality. It’s obvious that all the band members are very practised at their instruments and their performance is extremely tight.

Overall, if you have listened to technical death metal and liked it or ever thought about checking it out and never got round to it then this is a great album which should be in your collection. Recently rereleased, the new version has three of the demos that Hellwitch released before this album came out and these provide a fairly interesting insight into previous incarnations of the band.

8.5/10

Evil God - The Deeds of the Antichrist

2009-08-19T18:02:00.017+01:00

Tracklisting:
1. Introduction
2. Dissociative Fugue State
3. Malignant Narcissist
4. Sleeping Sickness

Evil God are a fairly new extreme metal band from Austin, Texas. They play a highly technical brand of blackened death/thrash metal. I recently received their debut EP The Deeds of the Antichrist, which was released in 2008 on Negativity Records, free when I ordered the rerelease of Impetigo’s Horror of the Zombies and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. When I first saw the CD, read the bands name and the title of the EP I expected that, when I put it into my CD player, I would be confronted with some poorly produced, and quite frankly awful, black metal that was near impossible to listen to. Instead I heard well written and well produced extreme metal songs with an impressively high level of musicianship, these guys were good and the songs were, dare I say it, catchy.

The album opens with a minute long instrumental/atmospheric intro track witch perfectly sets up the atmosphere for the rest of the album. We are then launched into the high speed riffing of “Dissociative Fugue State” with its machine gun style drumming and “melodic” guitar. This song, like the others on the EP, is well structured with plenty of nice guitar licks and an even faster paced section in the middle. This is extreme metal but it is actually quite easy to pick out the tune as well. The vocals are interesting. They’re sort of black metal screeches but they sound more like they’ve been done with effects and they’re not extremely raw so if you wanted you could try and get the lyrics.

The next track “Malignant Narcissist” carries on in the same way. I love the intro to this song. It starts with just a guitar on its own before the other instruments kick in. Yet again we are treated to theses guys’ instrumental skill as the guitars solo over the light speed drumming. The assault finally slows towards the end to give the guitarist yet another chance to show of his skills.

A keyboard intro leads into the final song “Sleeping Sickness”. I like this song and in places the use of the keyboard does work out but at some points it seems to be at an awkward juxtaposition to the other instruments. Fortunately this section of the song it is not long before this section of the song is over and we get to hear a great, considerably slower song. In this song the bass is slightly more prominent and although it is mainly used in accompaniment there are a few sections where we get to see what the bass player can really do with his instrument, it’s safe to say that he doesn’t disappoint. In the second half of the song the keyboard makes further appearances, this time to a considerably greater effect. The second half is again slower and it grinds along until a final guitar lick and a fade out to the end of the song and ultimately, the EP.

Overall this is a great EP which, if you have a few quid, you should definitely pick up. The clear production of the songs really gives the instrumental ability of the band a chance to shine through. I am eagerly anticipating the release of their debut full length which, according to the Negativity Records website, should be released sometime fairly soon.

8.5/10

Check out Negativity Records. Underground Extreme Metal Record Label.

www.negativityrecords.com

Brutality - Screams of Anguish

2009-08-19T17:05:00.015+01:00

Tracklisting:
1. These Walls Shall Be Your Grave
2. Ceremonial Unearthing
3. Sympathy
4. Septicemic Plague
5. Crushed
6. Spirit World
7. Exposed to the Elements
8. Cries of the Forsaked
9.Cryptorium
10. Spawned Illusion

Brutality were true masters of technical death metal. Released in 1993 their debut album “Screams of Anguish” is a classic of the genre, a combination of well written songs, instrumental ability, high speed aural assaults and of course brutality. But that’s the great thing about this album, unlike some of their contemporaries Brutality did not sacrifice good song writing in order to be the heaviest or fastest band in existence, they understood that to make a good album you had to combine many different elements. This album is an extremely strong debut and it allowed the band, then made up of vocalist Scott Reigel, bassist Jeff Acres, guitarists Don Gates and Jay Fernandez and drummer Jim Coker, to show the underground what technical death metal could be.

The album opens with “These Walls Shall Be Your Grave” a song which really sets the mood for the rest of the album and gives a taster of the instrumental skills of the band. It also demonstrates Brutality’s use of not just high speed blasting but also slower sections in songs often with impressive soloing over the top. The lyrics on this track also begin a theme that will be continued on other songs on the album. Although some standard gore/torture lyrics are present on the album, most notably on songs “Septicemic Plague” and “Cries of the Forsaken” the lyrics on some songs seem a bit more well thought out or at least dealing with alternative themes such as magic, lunacy and what happens after death.

After the opener there is another great song in the form of “Ceremonial Unearthing” and then we reach “Sympathy”. This is one of two instrumentals on the album along with the sixth track “Spirit World”. Now, I don’t mind instrumentals if they enhance the atmosphere of the album and I can see where they were coming from when they wrote these but they just don’t work for me. If I’m listening to an album and the instrumental comes on I should be able to listen to it but with these I just find myself skipping them. I absolutely hate the annoying keyboard sound on “Sympathy” and, although “Spirit World” does show some promise I still aren’t keen.

The best thing about Brtuality’s songs is the slow intros which lead in the solos. These solos, courtesy of axe masters Don Gates and Jay Fernandex, then continue through most of the song only stopping to allow Scott Reigel to spit out his tortured vocals. The next for proper songs after “Sympathy” have this great element. Another great thing about Brutality is that all their proper songs are very well written something which can be quite unusual for a technical death metal band. I mean, I love Atheist and I can’t deny that they are amazingly talented musicians, but when it comes to song writing I would say that Brutality beat them every time.

The album closes with two songs which are slightly different. Yes, they are still Brutality and they are still great songs but they are slightly faster paced than the rest of the album. This is great because it means that the album keeps going until the very end.

All songs on the album are great but my personal favourites are probably album opener “These Walls Shall Be Your Grave”, “Septicemic Plague” and the mighty “Crushed”. These songs really stand out to me but, this said, I do think that the album is best listened to as a whole, although possibly with the two instrumentals missed out.

Overall this is a great album. If you like soaring leads, blasting drums, brutal vocals with plenty of melody and brutality then this album is for you. On top of that the album has been finished off with great production from none other than Mr. Jim Morris of the legendary Morrisound Studios. With the rerelease by Metal Mind Productions barely a year old it should be fairly easy to pick up a copy but as it’s limited to only 2000 copies you should get one as soon as possible.

9/10

Gorguts - Considered Dead

2009-06-14T10:40:00.018+01:00

Tracklisting:
1. ...And Then Comes Lividity
2. Stiff and Cold
3. Disincarnated
4. Considered Dead
5. Rottenatomy
6. Bodily Corrupted
7. Waste of Mortality
8. Drifting Remains
9. Hematological Allergy
10. Inoculated Life

On their fourth album, Obscura, Franco-Canadians Gorguts would push the boundaries of what was meant by technical/progressive death metal. However, their debut album, which although not as progressive or technical was by no means simplistic, has become a classic of Old School Death Metal.

The Gorguts line-up was made up of Luc Lemay, the only band member present on all their releases, and Sylvain Marcoux on guitars, Eric Giguere on bass and Stephane Provencher on drums. Luc also performed vocals on the album and the accoustic guitar on ...And Then Comes Lividity and Waste of Mortality.

It says something about the obvious potential of the band at that stage, as well as the influence of their record label, that on this, their debut offering, they were able to secure to extreme metal legends to do guest performances. Then Cannibal Corpse and now Six Feet Under vocalist Chris Barnes provides brutal backing vocals on three tracks and guitar virtuoso James Murphy (Obituary, Testament, Death) plays an epic guitar solo on album closer Inoculated Life.

It’s a wonder Gorguts even bothered to get James Murphy in to do a solo when they are graced with two highly proficient guitarists. Yes, their solos are not as complex or theorised as Murphy’s but they still give the guitarists chance to show of their fret board skills. The riffs on the album are, in my opinion, some of the greatest death metal riffs ever written. Just listen to Stiff and Cold and Disincarnated and I guarantee you will be humming the extremely “catchy” riffs for hours to come. All the guitar parts on the album are very rhythmical, which is great, but it’s really Gorguts sense for weird harmonies that set them apart from their contemporaries.

Finally, an album where I can actually hear the bass guitar without having to sit there for five hours trying to pick it out, there are parts in this album where all the other instruments stop to leave the bass to do a solo. Check out the bass solo at the start of Rottenatomy and you’ll know what I’m on about when I say that Eric Giguere means business. Much like Steve DiGiorgio on Autopsy’s Severed Survival, Giguere’s bass playing provides nice accents to the songs which just enhance the overall effect of the album.

I just love the drum sound on this album. The guys at Metal Inquisition (if you don’t know this blog you already you should definitely check it out) are always complaining about how crap bass drums sound when recorded at Morrisound (I believe the terminology they used was typewriters) but the drums on this album sound perfect to me. The bass drums have a really chunky sound and they are always perfectly timed so you get really heavy beats. This fact alone just makes me love the drums on this album.

Luc Lemay, as well as being a great guitarist, is also a great growler/vocalist (whatever you want to call it). The vocals are all powerfully delivered and if you listen carefully you can even hear what he is on about. This is usually something about death or disease or decomposing bodies, the lyrics don’t really stand out but hey, it’s Old School Death Metal where it was about being as disgusting as possible, and the lack of initiative in the lyrical themes is more than made up for by the instrumentation.

I don’t really have anything negative to say about this album. Sometimes technical/progressive death metal can verge on the silly. There’s nothing wrong with that but I just prefer it a bit more down to earth. That’s the reason this is my favourite Gorguts album out of the ones I have heard: they used their imagination and instrumental skills whilst retaining brutality and all the other qualities that make Old School Death Metal so enjoyable.

My favourite tracks are probably Stiff and Cold, Disincarnated and Inoculated Life (mainly because of James Murphy’s solo).

Scott Burns has again, in my opinion, done a great job with bringing out the best of Gorguts in order to create and album which I believe will be a classic Death Metal release for use to come. The sound quality is fine and all instruments can be heard.

If you’re going to get a Gorguts album then buy this one. It’s a classic of death metal with great instrumentation, plenty of brutality and a massive amount of imagination and originality.

9/10

Autopsy - Severed Survival

2009-05-17T12:55:00.008+01:00

Tracklisting:
1. Charred Remains
2. Service for a Vacant Coffin
3. Disembowel
4. Gasping for Air
5. Ridden With Disease
6. Pagan Saviour
7. Impending Dread
8. Severed Survival
9. Critical Madness
10. Embalmed

When Chris Reifert left Death, after playing on their debut Scream Bloody Gore, he wanted to continue to make music and so he needed to create a vehicle to do this. The result was Autopsy, a band who took what Death had done on their debut to the next step, incorporating increasing amounts of doom and hardcore punk into the equations on later albums. Their first album though, Severed Survival is a filth ridden classic of Death Metal.

After leaving Death, Reifert was keen to recruit new members for his own group. With Reifert handling drums and vocals he decided to recruit both Eric Cutler and Danny Coralles to play guitar. After trying out several bassists Reifert decided to hire Steve DiGiorgio to play session bass on the debut. DiGiorgio played bass and the thrash band Sadus and had also played in Death at the same time as Reifert. With Cutler, Coralles and DiGiorgio on board Autopsy were ready to record their debut album Severed Survival.

Reifert and Cutler wrote most of the music on the album combining killer riffs, high speed drumming, slower doomier passages and sick lead guitar. The guitarists manage to pull of everything with ease including some excellent solos. These solos are some of my favourite parts on the album; no heartless guitar acrobatics here, just some sick, well played leads that help to accent the songs. Nothing on the album is overly complex but this isn’t a problem as Autopsy have written some truly memorable riffs. All the songs have a great atmosphere; they’re played with an almost punkish attitude (something Reifert would explore later on in his post-Autopsy project: Abscess). The drums again are fairly simple, though not in a bad way, although Reifert can reach some high speeds. My favourite sections of the drumming though are the parts on the slower parts. These slower parts help to create the great atmosphere present through the whole album and it was these doomier sections that Autopsy would expand on in their second album Mental Funeral. It’s a rare occasion that I can pick out bass in music, I’m awful at t hat sort of thing, put on this album the bass is quite high in the mix, and it’s great. Steve DiGiorgio lives up to his reputation, giving us a great bass line and some odd little technical thingies (not sure what to call them, just listen to Disembowel).

Chris Reifert wrote all the lyrics for the album and, as well as handling drums, also manages to spit them all out. I’m not sure two the man manages it (I can’t multi-task) but I can only imagine it must take a lot of practice. His vocals are quite hard to describe, they’re high pitched – but not screams, they’re guttural – but not growls. Anyway, whatever the styles called, the vocals work really well with the instruments. The lyrics are pretty standard gore/death/torture ones and because of the vocal style you can actually understand what the guys on about.

I don’t really have anything bad to say at all about this album. Its mix of filthy riffs, disturbing vocals and technical leads seems to have all bases covered.

My favourite track on this album is Disembowel. To me the sound seems to be ever so slightly different and they just got it spot on in this song. It has got all the things that make me love this album including some great bass parts.

The album was recorded at Starlight Sound and produced by John Marshall. I’m not familiar at all with either the studios or the producer but I have no criticisms of the atmosphere or the quality. I actually really love the filthy, punk atmosphere on this album; it’s actually similar to Pungent Stench (who I also like).

Overall this is a great album. It has everything that makes Death Metal so enjoyable, and more!. If you can, pick up the 2009 version of this release, it has some new Autopsy tracks and older versions of the songs and is probably worth getting.

8/10

Massacre - From Beyond

2009-05-16T12:25:00.017+01:00

Tracklisting:
1. Dawn of Eternity
2. Cryptic Realms
3. Biohazard
4. Chamber of Ages
5. From Beyond
6. Defeat Remains
7. Succubus
8. Symbolic Immortality
9. Corpsegrinder

After some members played on Death’s second and third albums, Leprosy and Spiritual Healing, Massacre decided to record their debut album. The result was From Beyond a definite Death Metal classic that told the world that Massacre weren’t just “those guys that used to be in Death”. They were a proper Death Metal band and they meant business.

The line-up of the band on this album is a mixture of Death members who played on Leprosy and Spiritual Healing, Terry Butler (bass) and Bill Andrews (drums), and some members from a pre-Scream Bloody Gore incarnation of Death, Rick Rozz (guitars, which he did also play on Leprosy) and Kam Lee (vocals, drums in Death). As you can probably guess from the members previous credits, Massacre sound like the early Death style of thrashy – death metal, although the guitar sound is slightly different and the vocals are much lower (some credit Kam Lee as one of Death Metal’s first growlers).

A few of the songs such as opener Dawn of Eternity and Chamber of Ages start with sound effects. To be honest these do sound a bit cheesy but they help to build up the atmosphere and probably do enhance the songs slightly, even if that isn’t necessary. Slow riffs start the songs proper before the high-speed drumming kicks in and the full on aural assaults begins. Some of the riffs are fairly memorable, I found myself with the intro to Defeat Remains playing in my head for a while after listening to this album. The main staple of the songs are high speed riffing but mixed up with a few slower sections but this is one album where I didn’t find myself getting bored with the faster sections. Most of the songs on this album I didn’t find repetitive and boring but listenable and dare I say it, sometimes “catchy”, these aren’t extra short two minute compositions but whole songs, the shortest being three minutes and the longest being over five. The drums are good they drive the songs along and are mostly in time.

Kam Lee can really growl. These vocals are considerably lower than Death, although not as low than those in bands such as Suffocation, but the great thing about them is that if you listen carefully you can still understand the lyrics. These lyrics, although not your standard Death Metal ones, still deal with fitting subjects for the genre evil spirits and demons and sometimes death. All the vocals are delivered in Lee’s trademark death growl although he sometimes changes to screams or screeches which are also delivered perfectly. Overall, no problems in the vocal/lyrical department and in fact applause must be given for the incredibly tasteful lyrics in the song Corpsegrinder (a song written by some of the members whilst they were in Death).

I have only a two criticisms of this album. One would be the lack of solos. I’m not one to go for endless showing off on guitar but surely Rick Rozz would be capable of throwing in an extra solo or two? My only other criticism is that although I like this album it doesn’t stand out as an excellent Death Metal album. As you can see from the rating I like this album a lot but when you put it next to albums like Leprosy and Cause of Death it just doesn’t seem to have any absolutely excellent songs.

This said there are some great highlights to the album namely Defeat Remains, my personal favourite and Cryptic Realms. These songs have memorable riffs and are constructed excellently so that you don’t get bored.

The album was recorder at Morrisound Studios in Florida, produced by Colin Richardson and engineered by the one and only Scott Burns. I love much of the music that was recorded at Morrisound and as a producer Scott Burns produced many great albums. I’m not familiar with Colin Richardson (although a quick Google search and a reading of sleeve notes revealed he engineered the Gorguts album The Erosion of Snaity) but he seems to have done a good job on this album. The production is clear and you can here most of the instruments clearly although I can’t manage to pick out the bass (but I’m rubbish at that sort of thing anyway so maybe it’s just me).

Overall this is a great album that anyone who is a fan of Death or Old School Death Metal in general should own. The album has been rereleased with a different cover and The Inhuman Condition EP. This version is well worth buying as the EP has some killer tracks on it, as well as an entertaining cover of Venom’s Warhead.

8/10

Death - Scream Bloody Gore

2009-04-18T10:56:00.040+01:00

Track listing:
1. Infernal Death
2. Zombie Ritual
3. Denial of Life
4. Sacrificial
5. Mutilation
6. Regurgitated Guts
7. Baptized In Blood
8. Torn To Pieces
9. Evil Dead
10. Scream Bloody Gore

Chuck Schuldiner was a musical genius and visionary who was throughout his career was always trying to push the boundaries of music. With Death he helped to define the Death Metal genre and then, on later albums, extend its limits by bringing increasing amounts of progressive influence into the equation. Death’s first album, Scream Bloody Gore, has been called the archetypal Death Metal album. Some think it should be called the first Death metal album whilst others say that title belongs to Possessed’s Seven Churches. One thing that no one can deny though is that Scream Bloody Gore was an extremely important album that has influenced many generations of metal heads.

Schuldiner was always changing around the line-up for Death in order to be able to make the best record possible. Although this meant that Deaths line-up was not stable Schuldiner seems to have picked the right people for the job as the musicianship on the albums always sounds great. On this album Schuldiner plays guitar and bass, as well as doing vocals. To play drums Schuldiner recruited Chris Reifert (now famous for his work in Autopsy/Abscess).

The guitar work on this album is very thrashy but slightly heavier. Schuldiner has two main guitar playing speeds which he uses throughout the album which are fast and very fast but the album does have a few slightly slower sections, mainly on the choruses of songs. The riffs are mostly simplistic but they are memorable and will stick in your head for ages. The solos are also great; they’re not insanely fast but give Schuldiner a chance to show off his guitar skills and technicality (something he would expand on in later albums). The guitar work is driven along by Reifert’s drumming. There’s nothing special in the drum area but a nod must be given to Reifert for being able to keep his drumming up for the duration of the songs and for being able to keep up with Schuldiner two speeds.

Most of the lyrics on the album are mostly your standard Death Metal fare, although of course back then there was no standard Death Metal, with zombies, blood, gore, death and pain all making an appearance although the lyrics on Denial Of Life do seem to have slightly more depth to them. Most of the vocals on the album are mid – pitch screams which Schuldiner delivers with precision. On most songs the lyrics aren’t even necessary as the sounds coming out of Schuldiner’s mouth do the job perfectly.

The only real problem I have with this album is, that like so much death metal, after the great memorable riff, the light-speed drumming and guitar work kicks in and then that’s all there is in the song until the solo. Although not great this is forgivable though as most of the songs on the album do have catchy riffs, great solos and at some points do even slow down for some more mid-paced guitar.

The album was recorded in LA at the Music Grinder studios. Although not the cleanest production ever I have no problems with the sound on the album at all as most of the time you can hear everything that is going on. The producer was Randy Burns (did he produce Megadeth’s Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? album) and he does a great job at getting the most out of both Schuldiner and Reifert.

Every song in this album is a classic but the standout tracks for me are Infernal Death and Zombie ritual for the sick opening riffs and the excellent Baptized in Blood for its great chorus.

Overall, this is a great album with some great songs on it. Later on in his career Schuldiner went more progressive but the early Death albums, even if more simple, can still match, if not exceed the greatness of the later albums. If you like Death Metal at all you should definitely buy this album.

8/10

Obituary - Cause of Death

2009-01-31T13:08:00.039Z

1. Infected
2. Body Bag
3. Chopped in Half
4. Circle of the Tyrants
5. Dying
6. Find the Arise
7. Cause of Death
8. Memories Remain
9. Turned Inside Out

I strode purposeful into my local HMV store. I headed towards the back of the shop and into the metal section. I flicked through the meagre selection of items on offer. I stopped and picked the gleaming album of the shelf. Returning to the front of the store I walked up to the counter and presented it triumphantly to the man at the till. I rushed hurriedly home, put the disk into my CD player and pressed play. The sound which blasted out of the speakers blew me away. The year was 2007 and Obituary had just released their seventh studio album Xecutioner's return. It was my first Obituary album and my introdcution into the wonderful world of death metal. Ever since that fateful day two years ago Obituary have been one of my favourite bands and I have been a big fan of death metal.

Xecutioner's Return is a good record but it was not long before I was hungry for more. I picked up a double pack of the band's first two albums Slowly We Rot and Cause of Death on Amazon. Slowly We Rot was a great debut record but Cause of Death really stood out for me. I had enjoyed both Xecutioner's Return and Slowly We Rot but Cause of Death took things to the next level. Even today, after listening to countless other death metal records from around the world, this album is still one of my favourite records of all time. Nineteen years after its original release it is still stands up as one of the greatest death metal releases of all time.

The reason that I like this album so much becomes apparent when you compare Obituary to other bands in the genre. Don't get me wrong, they're not original by any means, but what they do is play great mid-paced death metal. They know that fast does not always equal brutal. Instead they play at a relatively slow pace speeding up and slowing down when necessary. This mid-paced speed makes for great songs because you can actually hear and appreciate what the band is playing. And it's what the band is playing that matters, right?

Another thing that makes this album great is the presence of James Murphy on guitar. Well known in the death metal scene for his virtuoso guitar skills as well as for his work on Death's Spiritual Healing, Cancer's Death Shall Rise and with his own band Disincarnate, I think it's Murphy's influence which give this album it's more progressive edge. Again, don't get me wrong, this isn't Unquestionable Presence or Focus, but on this album the band do experiment slightly more than on their debut, although they never stray far from the formula which makes them so successful as a band.

Completing the line-up on this record is John Tardy on vocals, Trevor Peres on guitar, Frank Watkins on bass and Donald Tardy on bass. Frank Watkins was another new arrival for this record replacing original band member Daniel Tucker who had been in the band since the Executioner days. He fills his predecessor’s shoes perfectly; providing crushing bass which rounds out the Obituary sound. With drums from Donald Tardy who, although never playing blast beats still manages to play brutal, the rhythm section on Cause of Death is complete.

Trevor Peres, one of the original band members along with John and Donald Tardy, writes, I believe, the majority of the riffs on all the Obituary records. The riffs are simple, mainly consisting of only a few chords repeated over and over but they’re extremely effective, catchy and head crushingly brutal. Although not as technically proficient as Murphy, Peres is an excellent rhythm guitarist and when coupled with Murphy’s solos and licks his riffs just sound great.

John Tardy is well known for his killer vocals. As vocals they’re pretty hard to categorise; they’re not as guttural as Bolt Thrower or Blessed are the Sick era Morbid Angel but they’re not as high-pitched as Possessed or Death. Anyway, however you categorise them they’re pretty sick. The lyrics are your standard death metal gore/death/torture lyrics but because of Tardy’s particular vocal style you can begin to decipher what he is on about and when you have lyrics like the ones on Chopped in Half that’s a good thing|:

“Chopped in half,
Feel the blood spill from your mouth.”

The production on the album really helps to make it special. Some people have said that the album’s production could have been better but I think it works just fine. Produced at Morrisound by the (in)famous Scot Burns the album has a heavy and well rounded sound although the bass could have been just a bit higher in my opinion.

It’s really hard for me to pick out the highlight tracks on this album as it is so good. One track that I have never really enjoyed as much as the others, although it is still good, is Find the Arise. I’m not sure why this is, it just doesn’t stand out. The album does have a nice cover in the form of Celtic Frost’s Circle of the Tyrants. Celtic Frost were obviously a huge influence on the band and the cover version is good, showing that the band can give songs they’re own particular touch.

Overall, this album is one of Obituary’s best and if you don’t have it then you should get it today. The version on the Roadrunner Two From the Vault edition with Slowly We Rot that I have also has some nice demo tracks which give a taste of where the band was coming from.

10/10