Call me a chauvanistic assbag or what have you, but aside from the likes of Landmine Marathon, I’ve never really been one for female-fronted bands (especially one with clean vocals). That said, I cannot get this damned Christian Mistress album out of my stereo. It rocks too goddamned much.

The Olympia, Washington band’s full-length debut (only 6 songs), Agony & Opium, has two things going for it. First, the dual guitars that trade off from one another throughout each track are ridiculously amazing. At one moment galloping along in a late-70s/early-80s era hard rock groove (Judas Priest), the next dive bombing one another with well timed hooks and infectious leads, guitarists Ryan McClain and Oscar Sparbel are the driving force behind the music on this album. There’s a bit of a stoner vibe that infects their riffs occasionally, but the overall vibe is a perfect distraction from all the death metal I’ve been reviewing as of late.

The second, and most important, thing the band has going for them is front woman Christine Davis. Her voice is one part husky Janis Joplin, one part trippy (but not too trippy) Grace Slick and enough Joan Jett for a bit of an aggressive edge. Mesmerizing and honest, Davis, backed by the slick guitars, rumbling bass and pumping drums, has one of those voices that just cannot be ignored.

Together the collective that is Christian Mistress deliver one hell of a debut effort. It’s raw and honest without any superfluous bells and whistles that would ultimately only distract from the catchy and fist-pumping music on Agony & Opium.

Riding on the Edges
Christian Mistress open up with rollicking guitars and plenty of galloping groove. Davis’ voice comes in shortly after with her mix of Joplin/Slick/Jett that fits the driving music perfectly. There’s a good bit of bass underneath it all that’s got a nice rumble to it. The trading leads at 2:48 shred mightily as the rhythm keeps chugging along. “Riding on the Edges” is one hell of a way to open an album.

Desert Rose
“Desert Rose” starts off with some creative drum work as thudding bass and building guitars slowly take over. The overall vibe of this song is a bit darker and more solemn with a slower pace than the galloping opener. The chorus is soulful and honest. The first lead pipes up around 1:48 into the song. This is one of those songs that’s slower paced, but will have your head nodding along with the band quicker than you think. The second, and more aggressive, lead appears after the 3:30 mark with a great rock vibe.

Home in the Sun
Wow. I love the higher energy that “Home in the Sun” brings to the table. It’s got a more upbeat rhythm with galloping guitars, thick bass and quicker delivery from Davis. All of those elements comes together in a memorable, infectious song that’s hard to get out of your head after it’s done. At 5:37 in length, the song is also the lengthiest on the album, but not by much. The second half of the track is probably my favorite as Davis let’s loose with her voice as some searing leads come in to play.

Poison Path
“Poison Path” certainly isn’t poison for your ears as more upbeat tempos come charging out of your speakers with shredding riffs and driving drum work. Next to the following song (“Black Vigil”), it’s the hardest rocking track on this joint. It’s got a denser overall feel, as well. Be sure not to miss the dueling guitars around 2:25 as they transition into some truly memorable lead work. The vocals that follow that initial burst of guitar work has a very Grace Slick vibe to them that fits the end of the song perfectly.

Black Vigil
Looking for something a little more raucous on this short disc? “Black Vigil” is your song as it charges out of the gate with excellent guitar work and thundering drums. Man, this is as head banging as a track as your going to find on Agony & Opium especially during the layered leads at 1:30. It’s just too bad that the song only lasts another minute or so after they’ve passed.

Omega Stone
“Omega Stone” is a deceiving song of sorts as it starts off with acoustic guitar and lightly presented vocal work. You get the feeling that the band is going to end the album with a soft ballad of sorts — which, let’s be honest here, would have been disappointing. Thankfully, that’s not the case. It may take a couple of minutes to build up to, but once Christian Mistress get going, the song swells with a series of leads around 2:20. After that, it’s on like Donkey Kong with galloping riffs, rumbling bass and some of the more infectious vocal work on the album. Amazing song that shows some impressive musicianship and song writing. Love it!

~ ~ ~

Additional Notes:
n/a

Artist: Christian Mistress
Album: Agony & Opium
Rating: 4/5

Label: 20 Buck Spin
Release Date: Aug 24, 2010
User Rating: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Track Listing

1. Riding on the Edges
2. Desert Rose
3. Home in the Sun
4. Poison Path
5. Black Vigil
6. Omega Stone

Guild of Destruction‘s third full-length heaping of death metal, We Are Vermin was originally released back in the Summer of 2009, but I only just recently received a promo for it. And having never heard of the band — and really liking the nastiness flowing from my speakers at the moment — I felt it necessary to give these guys some props for a hell of an album.

I’m not sure if it just took a year to make it across the water to the U.S. or if it was only just released in the states and, frankly, I don’t give a fuck why it took so long. These Australians lay down nine tracks of bestial death metal with tinges of black metal and elements of thrash thrown in for good measure — all with a technical flair. From the scathing opening track through to the epic finish, We Are Vermin is a bruising, ambitious and frightening (in a good way) indication of what kind of blasphemous hell we can expect in the future from the land down under.

Brutal As Cunt
As far as opening songs go, I don’t think I’ve heard one quite as ferocious as “Brutal As Cunt” in a good while. Right from the start blasting drums and driving riffs force growling and snarling vocals down your throat with uncaring force. Throughout this three and a half minute track you’ll encounter some technical oriented riffing and bludgeoning drums. I love the low/high vocal presentation that the band is utilizing thus far.

Mutating The Gene
For as ferocious as the previous song was, “Mutating The Gene” is ambitious. With a much slower overall pace, the song is still fierce, but has a more structured vibe to it with less of a straightforward death metal approach. When the guys do erupt into frenetic blasts, it’s got a bit more of a black metal vibe. The guitars carry a technical vibe to the riffing, but with more groove. It’s a really catchy track at times with some of the more memorable moments of the album. This nearly six minute beast is chock full of excellent musicianship, searing leads and bruising rhythms. I want more.

When Angels Fuck Demons
After the minute long acoustic guitar intro, the guys open up with some melodic death riffs to a huge scream that introduces a nice black metal feel and some sweet grooves to the riffs. The vocals seem to be a bit more powerful on this one, as well. There’s a good deal of tempo shifts (from smooth grooving death metal to blasting black metal) and technical aspects to what the guys are cranking out on this evil song. The lead around the 3:30 mark shreds nicely. I’m digging the layered vocal work, as well.

Death Of Man
“Death of Man” opens up with a big growl and dives head first into a wood chipper powered by blasting death metal. After the previous two, more technically inclined tracks, it’s nice to get back down to bare bones, bludgeoning brutatlity — with some great groove and inventive drum work to top it off. This is definitely a fun, yet badass song to get lost in. Fucking love it!

Suffering The Beast
A much more dramatic beginning to this next track sets it apart from the rest of the album. The guitars that get it going have a bit of a blackened tinge to them. The dramatic atmosphere doesn’t last long however, as G.O.D. erupt from the calm with blasting drums and vicious vocals. The track then descends into technical chaos with elements of grind and black metal coming together in a calamitous climax. This is another badass track that cannot be missed.

Plague Elixir
With little fanfare, “Plague Elixir” fades in smoothly from the previous track with catchy guitar work and some seriously nasty, snearing vocals. The lead at :40 is just as nasty as those growls and lasts a good while. There’s a large black metal influence on the remainder of the song as the guys blast and pummel their way through your wretched soul.

My Ruins
Ambient noise quickly gives way to catchy guitars and a good groove as the vocals come growling in. The groove is quickly pounded into submission with unrelenting drums and technical riffing. This is one hell of a song that encompasses rapidly shifting tempos along with that guttural growl to great effect, reaching screaming heights and plummeting depths.

The Abyss
I love the opening guitar work to “The Abyss.” It’s simple, yet you know it’s going to build to something so much more, especially with the inclusion of a more melodic tone. Yup. I was right. After the one minute mark the drums amp up their pace and ferocity as the guitars inject an ass load of technicality into their playing. Man, these guys could go any direction with their music — they’ve got the talent to do it, that’s for sure. Yet, the groove and vocal patterns around 2:20 are fucking infectious as hell! Awesome song.

Vengeance or Salvation
“Vengeance or Salvation” wraps up We Are Vermin nicely with a bit of a Slayer like vibe to the opening few seconds before the guys settle into some beefy riffs and guttural mayhem. The pace is a bit slower than most of the stuff on the album initially, but it steadily increases in speed to a pounding ferocity that’s only tempered by some creative drumming and sweet guitar work. No matter how brutal these guys can get they never cease to mix things up, keeping the album varied , enjoyable and devoid of any sort of stagnation. I’m going to have to find their other discs after this listening to this beast.

~ ~ ~

Additional Notes:
n/a

Artist: Guild of Destruction:
Album: We Are Vermin
Rating: 3.5/5

Label: Grindhead Records
Release Date: Jul 25, 2009
User Rating: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Track Listing

1. Brutal As Cunt
2. Mutating The Gene
3. When Angels Fuck Demons
4. Death Of Man
5. Suffering The Beast
6. Plague Elixir
7. My Ruins
8. The Abyss
9. Vengeance or Salvation

Hailing form the cold, dark nether regions of Poland, Blasphemy Rites erupt out of now where with their hellishly raw debut album. Hideous Lord bucks any new trends and tears through an angel’s ass (see “Sodomize Holy Angel”) with unrelenting, reckless abandon. The black/death metal these guys are spitting is venomous, violent and, for lack of a better word, blasphemous.

Blasphemy Rites invert your favorite deity for 32 minutes of utter and complete hell (12 original songs and 3 covers). Thrashing guitars are raw with just the right amount of distortion and the thundering and often times chaotic drumming pummels you senseless. And if you’re going to spew forth lyrics praising Satan and raping angelic beings then you better have one hell of a vocalist. And these guys do. The evil screams and growls that slither out of this disc fit the music perfectly.

So put down your Bible and kiss your ass good bye — Hideous Lord is here.

Bestial Necromancy Sex
It’s always good to let new listeners know exactly what you’re all about with your first song… but, uh, this might not be the best song subject matter-wise to start off with. At any rate, “Bestial Necromancy Sex” is a blasting song that takes almost a minute to get going, but when it does, it’s guttural and violent as hell. Clashing drums, rumbling bass and caustic riffs dominate the rest of the song. Not a bad album opener.

Genocide
This 19 second eruption of peace, love and understanding (yeah, right) has more in common with grind-core than black metal. I’ve played it several times in a row now and it never gets old. Hell yes!

Hideous Lord
The title track is chock full of rumbling bass, distortion and chaotic, blasting drum work. The production for this disc fits the evil music perfectly — it’s raw, a bit messy and downright sadistic. The deep guttural growls to higher end shrieks help keep the vocals from becoming stagnate amidst the whirlwind of riffs and crashing symbols. There’s almost a bit of a punk aesthetic to this song’s overall vibe.

Beergoat of Sodomy
What’s a beergoat and can I get one with stout instead of sodomy? “Beergoat of Sodomy” has a good deal of ambient noise over the first 30 seconds or so before the guys come in with dense, galloping rhythms. The pace is quickly ramped up to a blistering cadence as the tortured vocals come. This song feels like it’s constantly on the verge of losing whatever little control it may have over itself — teetering on sheer chaos.

Don’t Need Your Guts
More chaotic, pounding drums greet you at the onset of this next track as a brief, yet sick lead screams amongst the dense rumblings. I’m not sure that these guys can get any more aggressive with their delivery, but I’ll be damned if they haven’t ratcheted up the vehemence on this song. It’s just too bad that after a minute the track is gone.

Alcoholic Sabbath
“Alcoholic Sabbath” has a nice bit of drum work and rumbling bass to get it going before the vocals come shrieking in. Snarling and vicious, this track will leave you grinning maniacally for more. Man, that was a dark and dirty song.

Damned Bastard of Hell
Here’s another of those oh-too-short blasts of frenzied fury. “Damned Bastard of Hell” has a bit of a groove too it as the guys thrash their way through your skull with driving riffs, rollicking drums and thick, rumbling bass. This is the shit that gets me stoked on an album.

Apocalyptic War
Featuring a pretty standard black metal title, “Apocalyptic War” starts off slowly with some ambience and sound effects before finally exploding in your ears with crushing blasts of drumming menace as the snearing vocals spit vitriol. The guitars swirl and dive all over the place, adding more than enough dynamic layers to an already dense sounding song. The slow down before the two minute mark is a nice change of pace.

Sadistic Blacking Metal
Tortured wails and big rumbling bass open up this next track as a belching scream gets the rest of the guys into it with thick, chugging guitars and bludgeoning drums. This one isn’t as straightforward as the other tracks have been. There are some nice tempo shifts peppering it’s brief two minute span.

Drink The Poisoned Piss of Baphomet
This sounds like some sort of vile cocktail that’s served regularly at all the watering holes in Hell. Yeah, get me a Miller Lite and a couple of shots of Poisoned Piss of Baphomet. No thanks. As for the music on this track, it’s unholy as all get out. Pounding drums and slithering leads show up here and there amongst the chugging blackened thrash.

Sodomize Holy Angel
Man, this is as aggressive and as caustic a song as you can find anywhere this side of an inverted cross. It’s blasphemous, raw and without a doubt, a full on “fuck you” to all religions across the globe. The drums on this short track are blasting and, at times, a bit messy, but that’s what makes it so damned good. It’s all over the fucking place.

Atomic Discharge
I suppose atomic discharge is what happens at the climax of a good angel raping, but I could be wrong. At any rate, this one minute (and then some) track is actually 45 minutes of blistering blacked thrash and then plenty of static and reverb to end out the remaining moments. Next up, the cover songs.

Empty Chalice (Blasphemy cover)
I’m not entirely familiar with the orginal song, but Blasphemy Rites seem to be playing this mid-tempo chugging monster pretty well. It’s a bit slower than their original material, but still fits in nicely.

Satan Bless You (Sabbat cover)
Again, not another track I’m wholly familiar with, but I love the galloping cadence the song carries. Pretty damned good.

Dethroned Emperor (Celtic Frost cover)
Now, this one I do know. It’s been a good while since I last heard it, but it appears as though the guys are handling it well enough. It’s much slower a song than they have played so far on this impressive debut. It just goes to show that the band is capable of playing all sorts of malevolent styles.

~ ~ ~

Additional Notes:
n/a

Artist: Blasphemy Rites
Album: Hideous Lord
Rating: 3.5/5

Label: Pagan Records
Release Date: Apr 23, 2010
User Rating: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Track Listing

1. Bestial Necromancy Sex
2. Genocide
3. Hideous Lord
4. Beergoat of Sodomy
5. Don’t Need Your Guts
6. Alcoholic Sabbath
7. Damned Bastard of Hell
8. Apocalyptic War
9. Sadistic Blacking Metal
10. Drink The Poisoned Piss of Baphomet
11. Sodomize Holy Angel
12. Atomic Discharge
13. Empty Chalice
14. Satan Bless You
15. Dethroned Emperor

Listening to Interment‘s debut full-length (22 years in the making, by the way), Into the Crypts of Blasphemy, is like opening some long forgotten time capsule from the early ’90s. Everything about this album — the buzzing chainsaw guitars, the growling vocals, even the song titles — are straight out of the then-burgeoning Swedish death metal scene.

And that’s to be expected from an album like this.

The last time Interment released anything before a 2007 split with Funebrarum was back in 1994, right before they disbanded. They probably drank with Entombed, more than likely swapped riffs with Dismember and hung out with Grave. I mean, these guys are as old school as you can get with the release of any modern day album. Every note on Into the Crypts of Blasphemy oozes the distinct sound and evil of the death metal that was storming out of northern Europe at the time.

If these guys had released this album back then, we might be considering them one of the forefathers of the genre. Now, however, they’re seen as a talented group of death merchants slinging some really well crafted old school death metal. The thing is, it’s perfect! It’s a sound I grew up with. It’s a sound I want to hear 24/7 — flooding my ears with burly, buzzing riffs in only the way that Entombed could have done in their early days.

Eternal Darkness
“Eternal Darkness” jumps out of the album right from the get go with pounding drums and riffs straight off of Left Hand Path or Clandestine. I love the Johan Jansson’s vocals on this album. They’re raw, aggressive and pushed back in the mix to just the right degree that everything is well balanced and natural. Two slick, searing and evil leads bookend the brutal bludgeoning you’re gonna take on this one.

Torn from the Grave
Man, this one chugs like an out of control locomotive careening down a steep grade, aimed right for your ass. It starts off slow and slowly builds momentum with crushing riffs and a catchy as hell d-beat rhythm. The slow down just after the midway point is a nice touch to keep you from being bombarded too much too early in the album — have no fear, though, it’s quickly followed with a sweet lead and increased pace.

Dreaming in Dead
“Dreaming in Dead” is as aggressive a song as you’re going to find in this style. The drums are hellbent on pulverizing your skull as quickly and as violently as possible. The guitars have that classic Entombed sound and the vocals are tinged with malevolence. This is one of those songs that you just hope will randomly come up next on your iPod while at the gym. It’ll have you so freakin’ pumped for anything that comes your way.

Stench of Flesh
Holy Hell! Each song just seems to get better as the album progresses. The eruption of blasting drums and vile riffing will surely be enough to wake the dead, allowing the stench of (rotting) flesh to permeate the air. This is a raucous, unrelenting song complete with raw production, buzzing guitars and vicious vocals. I need more of this.

Where Death Will Increase
After a brief clip of some chick telling me where to go, the guys open up with a high tempo, chugging rhythm and buzzing riffs. Jansson’s no-nonsense vocals are raw as hell and in your face on this one. The music, however, steals the show with a sound right out of the epicenter of Swedish death metal. This thing rumbles, shaking the earth to its core. The lead at 2:35 is appropriately evil.

Sacrificial Torment
While each of the previous five songs have slayed it, “Sacrificial Torment” is classic in every sense of the word. From the memorable opening to the chugging, Entombed-inspired overall vibe, this track is easily one of my favorites on the album. It’s a bit slower paced than most of the previous material, but it reminds me so much of listening to the Stranger Aeons EP in my bedroom after class. Awesome. Love it!

Night of the Undead
Interment bring things back up to speed with the pounding drums and driving riffs of “Night of the Undead.” It’s a pretty straightforward, bruising and morbid affair that will leave you breathless and a bit sore in the neck region. The lead at 1:45 has a classic vibe to it as it weaves its evil sound through your soul.

Morbid Death
One of the two longer tracks on the album, “Morbid Death” starts off dark and slow before a big growl and sick lead come in seconds after the song starts. Right from the start this one has an ominous feel to it as it slowly picks up the pace over the first minute or so. Once the meat of the track gets underway you’re at full speed with bludgeoning drums, buzzing guitars and Jannson’s snarling growls. There are some seriously memorable bits of guitar work throughout this song, including the brief lead around 3:20. Tempos shift all over the place during “Morbid Death,” but the track still flows smoothly like crimson from a freshly opened jugular.

The Pestilence
I’m pretty sure that this is a cover of a Kreator track, but can’t be 100% sure because it’s delivered with such ferocity and malevolence that it sounds like an Interment original. At any rate, it’s a full throttled, high paced, peel-your-face-back affair that only takes a moment to slow down about half way through before putting a boot into your chest with rapid fire drumming and a sick lead. And like that, it’s over.

Wow. I’m going to have to listen to this album again.

~ ~ ~

Additional Notes:
n/a

Artist: Interment
Album: Into the Crypts of Blasphemy
Rating: 4/5

Label: Pulverised Records
Release Date: Aug 2, 2010
User Rating: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Track Listing

1. Eternal Darkness
2. Torn from the Grave
3. Dreaming in Dead
4. Stench of Flesh
5. Where Death Will Increase
6. Sacrificial Torment
7. Night of the Undead
8. Morbid Death
9. The Pestilence

The EP format is one of those that fans either truly love or truly hate. I generally could take ‘em or leave ‘em myself. For one, they allow the band to experiment in a brief format. On the other hand, they allow the band to experiment.

Luckily for us, three of the four tracks on The Binary Code‘s latest EP, Priest kill it while the final track sees the band in a lighter frame of mind, having some fun — albeit annoying fun.

Priest, like most EPs, serves as a nice interlude before the band’s next full length. It showcases the band’s growth in terms of musicianship and their continued willingness to reign themselves in for the good of the song. Sure, the guys still let loose with frenetic flurries showing off their technical and progressive chops like no tomorrow, but there’s also a sense of restraint to the EP’s overall vibe.

The band’s mixture of technical death and progressive elements come together in the two strongest songs, the title track and “Encircled.” Jumpy, yet flowing both songs have enough tempo shifts, starts, stops and eruptions to keep you fully entertained throughout.

Ocean Light
Album opener, “Ocean Light,” sits in the corner of the room like some brooding, moody gorilla. You fully expect it to explode in a fury of territorial rage, but it simply sits there staring at you — much like the doom oriented, crushing riffs that dominate this all too brief instrumental. The Binary Code also inject a nice touch of melody to the guitars in this one.

Priest
A bit of a spastic start to the guitars and and drums greet you at the onset of the title track. Once the vocals come in the song settles down for a short bit before jumping into that staggered feel the song opened up with. Vocally, the delivery ranges from a mid-range growl to a more guttural and deeper delivery, often layered with backing growls to give some depth. My only problem with the song is that it doesn’t really seem to go any where. Sure it’s catchy and technical, but there’s no peak to it.

Encircled
“Encircled” is the more aggressive of the two tracks. The overall feel to the song is much fuller with dense riffs that allow the band to then branch out for a few technical/progressive outbursts. So far the drums for the two tracks have felt a little flat and not too organic, but that could just be me. Between this and the title track, “Encircled” is the bigger of the two with more of a thought out song structure and variety thrown into the mix, including a good bit of piano to close it out.

Priest (8-bit version)
Here’s where EPs aren’t so great — the experimentation part I mentioned previously. Now, I know that this isn’t the direction the band is going to be heading and it’s probably done for shits and giggles, but seriously… One listen is all you need for this, though you’ll probably only make it into the first 15 seconds before bailing.

~ ~ ~

Additional Notes:
n/a

Artist: The Binary Code
Album: Priest
Rating: 3/5

Label: n/a
Release Date: Aug 10, 2010
User Rating: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Track Listing

1. Ocean Light
2. Priest
3. Encircled
4. Priest (8-bit version)

Lo-fi, raw and bestial to its rotten core, the debut full length from death doomsters Beyond Hell harkens back to the early days of the U.S. death metal scene — back to the primordial rising of Death, Obituary and Autopsy. The Sleeper Awakens is a dark, brooding and crushing first full length effort from this Missouri/Texas trio that, while built on an Old School Death Metal base, does incorporate aesthetics of doom and Swedish death metal nicely.

Thick buzzing guitars dominate the slow to mid-paced aural bludgeoning found throughout the first nine tracks (the last four are from the band’s EP …And Evil Crept Through) while flourishes of tortured leads and arpeggio sweeps explode from the album’s classic sound here and there. Rhythmically, the momentum of the disc can be described as a slow descent into the thick tar pits of La Brea. For the most part the pace is steady, chugging along at a mid-tempo gallop, but the guys are easily capable of slowing it down to a doomy crawl just as much as they are able to deliver a quick burst of frenetic goodness. Building on the group’s doom inspired death metal are vocals that also have that old school vibe, menacingly barking out tales of horror and evil.

The end result is an album that sounds and feels as if it were recorded in death metal’s heyday.

Unlocking the Gates of Slumber (Intro)
The opening intro incorporates some nice acoustic guitar work before an over-the-top-cheesy squeaking door sound clip (which fits the overall theme of the album nicely) brings us to the first proper song on the album.

The World Burns Forever
“The World Burns Forever” gets underway with a series of arpeggio sweeps over the first minute as big riffs build to the intro of the fairly deep, gruff gutturals vocals. The pace to this song is pretty slow, but when combined to the buzzed out riffs this song sounds huge with a massive head-banging groove.

Approaching Doom
Another sickly evil, yet melodic bit of guitar work accompanies the slower, gloomier vocals for the first half minute before the guys pick up the pace to a decent gallop. Man, the lo-fi, recorded-in-my-garage vibe to this album is awesome. Sounds like the early Death tapes I used to hide from my folks back in middle school. My only issue with this song and the album as a whole is that the lead work often sounds repetitive — well delivered and evil, but similar to the lead before it. At any rate, I love this song.

The Way of Death
“The Way of Death” has some of the quicker drum work found on the album after another monolithic and methodical pace opens the song up. The buzzing guitars have a huge doom influence injected into them throughout this three and a half minute song. The lead at 2:04 is a bit in the background, but no less vehement in it’s delivery. We also here a little more variation in the vocal presentation, as well. It definitely helps the album from becoming monotonous with the slower pace it contains.

Spawned in the Stars
I love the Obituary vibe to the opening riffs on this next track. It sounds like it could have been taken out of The End Complete. Beyond Hell keep it their own, however, with the slight addition of a melodic feel. The vocals also appear to have gotten a bit deeper and more varied as extended, higher-pitch screams are used well. The pounding drums toward the latter half of the song are barbaric as all get out.

Apocalyptic Dreams
“Apocalyptic Dreams” opens with a rather raucous (for this band) start as crushing drums and meaty riffs get the blood flowing immediately. This is one of the more standout songs on the album, mostly for it’s pace, but also for the varied vocal delivery (perhaps two vocalists this time around) that gives the song a nice change of direction. It’s too bad this is one of the slower songs on the album — there’s a lot in this song that I would love to hear more of (the distorted leads being just one of them).

The Sleeper Awakens
The title track has a more dramatic and instrumental vibe to the first minute and a half with plenty of melodic guitar lead work and steady drum work. The solemn vibe that the first half of the song delivered is quickly swallowed with excellent Swedish death metal inspired riffs and bludgeoning drums as the dual vocals are used quite effectively again. For a relatively short (3:39) song, there’s an epic feel to the track.

Embrace the Eternal Darkness
This six and a half minute long monster is easily the longest song on the album by more than a couple of minutes. It also has one hell of a doomy riff to open with. Man, this is a massive track with loads of slowly moving, burly riffs to accompany the straight-from-an-open-grave vocals. This sounds like some sort of nightmare, especially as the layered vocals come into full effect. The tempo does pick up at the half way point with a slick bit of guitar work and chugging riffs before descending once again into a solemn, melancholy swirl of guitar and suffocating atmosphere.

Outro
Another short instrumental to end out the album before moving onto the bonus EP tracks.

The album’s last four songs are from the band’s limited run EP …And Evil Crept Through. They’re pretty darn good in their own right and a nice to have since most everyone reading this probably won’t have the release in their collection. I’d suggest skipping the intro and getting right into the meat of the band’s brand of OSDM.

~ ~ ~

Additional Notes:
n/a

Artist: Beyond Hell
Album: The Sleeper Awakens
Rating: 3/5

Label: Dark Descent/Skeleton Plague
Release Date: July 2, 2010
User Rating: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Track Listing

1. Unlocking the Gates of Slumber (Intro)
2. The World Burns Forever
3. Approaching Doom
4. The Way of Death
5. Spawned in the Stars
6. Apocalyptic Dreams
7. The Sleeper Awakens
8. Embrace the Eternal Darkness
9. Outro
10. Invoking the Elder Beasts (Intro)
11. Summoning the End
12. Fall to Thy Knees in Fear
13. Starving for More

Raging, crushing d-beat hardcore isn’t anything new. It’s a sound that’s been aped and beaten into boring submission by many a wannabe-Discharge. That, however, is anything but the case with the debut effort from this Cleveland band of miscreants. Masakari throw in a solid helping of sludgy crust and somber melodies to deliver a truly fresh and energized take on the sub-genre. The Prophet Feeds sees these guys dive deep into themselves and the social/political landscape to deliver heart-felt, honest and suffocating atmosphere with a fierce, driving backbone of d-beat mayhem.

Rumbling rhythms, charging guitars and an aggressive vocal attack are met with a brooding overall vibe that gives this band’s freshman effort a memorable and intense experience. The melancholy melodies that weave in and out of the bruising rhythms only add to the denseness contained within these ten songs.

Be warned, though, this isn’t some scenester-haired, tight jean wearing, whiny, sniveling emo interpretation of the style. This is a ferociously delivered, gritty album full of heavy guitars, pummeling drums, vehement vocal growls and thick textures. Throw this fucker in the disc player and rage like no tomorrow.

XVI Rapid Dominance
The scathing opening track starts off with some sweet guitar work before slowing down to a crushing, sludgy bit of mosh as the vocals come in. Once the pace picks back up these guys do their damnedest to overwhelm you with buzzing guitars, bruising rhythms and a nicely injected bit of melody. Talk about one hell of an introduction. Wow.

X Pain Conceived As

We hear the first of several audio clips that the band uses throughout their debut. Once the brief clip is gone, the suffocating shroud of sludge and beefy rhythms fill the air around you with dizzying ferocity. The lighter, melodic elements to the guitars help keep the song from becoming overly dense, but not too much. So far these songs are flying by.

XI Nausea
“XI Nausea” has some thundering drum work from start to finish as the guitars crush and lift through the song’s duration. The vocals so far have been raw and guttural, yet keep pace with the rest of the band perfectly, driving the band’s message deep into your soul. The guitars at 1:12 have a melancholy and soulful vibe to them before descending into the sludgy quagmire one more.

XII Abandoned
For as thick as the previous songs have been, they’ve had a bit more of a chugging groove than this next track. “XII Abandoned” still has some crusty thickness to it, but it’s a whole hell of a lot more chaotic with tortured guitars, manic drums and vicious vocals. There are a couple of opportunities for you to shout along with the band as they slow things down a bit before building back up with massive riffs.

VIII Echoes
This 54 second burst of d-beat hardcore is a frenzied attack on the senses. It’s quick paced, aggressive and gone before you know what hit you. Awesome song!

XIV The Voiceless
“XIV The Voiceless” has a much slower pace and sludgier vibe than the first five songs — well, the first minute and a half is. After that point, the tempo is picked up with buzzing guitars and unrelenting drums that build to a swirling peak as another audio clip comes in around 2:45. Damn, man. This is another killer song with great layering of all elements.

IX Tempt Providence
As the reverb of the previous track fades along with it’s sound clip Masakari unleash a back alley mugging with this next song. The vocals seem to be that much more aggressive and violent as drums pepper your skull with everything they have to throw at you. The thing that has really made this album stand out for me so far, is the excellent song writing. These guys know when enough is enough and shift tempo, tones and delivery at just the right moment. Well done!

XIII Rise Or Fall
“XIII Rise Or Fall” explodes out of the gate with ferocious barks and discordant guitars as the drummer seems hell bent on destroying his equipment in the first 30 seconds. The guitars are all over the place throughout this song, but seem to keep cohesive, teetering on dissolving into chaos. The subtle melodies that permeate the air give this song a great vibe.

XV Echelon
I love the opening bit of guitar work that starts off this next song. It’s solemn, yet deceptively aggressive. The rolling drums come in along with guitars that are doing their best to drown out the barked and screamed vocals. This is a dense-ass song if ever there was one. The last 25 seconds or so are up-tempo and will leave you breathless after your one-man circle pit comes to an end.

Outro
This nearly seven minute long track utilizes a lengthy sound clip as guitars and drums start off slowly and eventually swell to a crescendo as everything dissolves into suffocating noise at the peak of the song. This is one of the better outros I’ve heard in a while and fits the overall tone of the album perfectly.

~ ~ ~

Additional Notes:
n/a

Artist: Masakari
Album: The Prophet Feeds
Rating: 4/5

Label: Southern Lord Records
Release Date: June 8, 2010
User Rating: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Track Listing

1. XVI Rapid Dominance
2. X Pain Conceived As A Tool
3. XI Nausea
4. XII Abandoned
5. VIII Echoes
6. XIV The Voiceless
7. IX Tempt Providence
8. XIII Rise Or Fall
9. XV Echelon
10. Outro

Don’t let the acoustic and melodic nature of the opening track to Dew-Scented‘s eighth studio album, Invocation, give you the wrong impression. The band hasn’t given up their ferocity one iota. “Downfall” is just the calm before the storm — a storm that never seems to get old with these guys. In fact, I’d say this is some of the tightest, most well written stuff they’ve ever put out.

Invocation (all the band’s albums begin with the letter “I”) is chock full of menacing riffs that are catchy and searing, being driven along by thundering, bruising rhythms. Just about every riff on the album is unique and memorable as the guys pile-drive their way through your skull with hardcore and death metal tinged thrash metal akin to the likes of All Out War or a less melodic The Haunted. Vocally, the lyrics are barked with a ferocious delivery that’s aggressive and in your face.

Even after 14 years, these German sonsabitches are still bringing it with everything they have. I hope you’re ready to head bang your ass off, cause there’s no sitting still with Invocation.

Downfall
Just under two minutes of momentum building is just the what the doctor ordered for the jump into the pummeling mosh that starts off “Arise From Decay.”

Arise From Decay
Ah hell yeah! This is what I want to hear. Pummeling drums that are barbarically simplified in nature accompany thrashing riffs and barking vocals throughout this blistering track. This thing is full of meaty riffs, heavy drums and ferocious vocals. I can’t think of a better way to get the blood flowing first thing in the morning. The lead at 2:50 is pretty slick, as is the brief flourish at 4:12.

The Invocation
“The Invocation” picks up right were the last track left off as reverb leads quickly to manic drums and a memorable series of riffs before jumping into a galloping rhythm as the vocals come in. There are some nicely layered deeper, more guttural growls to accompany the main vocals that adds some nice depth to the track. Man, this is one aggressive song that’s only lightened up by the lead at 2:16 before diving head first into the hardcore-like shouts and barks.

Have No Mercy On Us
I love the groove that sits behind the first batch of riffs before the guys dive head first into a thrash-fueled wood chipper. Pile driving drums and driving riffs push you along to the precarious edge of some nasty-ass cliff with reckless abandon. The groove does return later on within the track and it’s a welcome break from the unrelenting attack these guys never seem to get bored with (which is probably a good thing).

Artificial Life
The opening to “Artificial Life” is probably one of the more memorable on the album. The staggered drum attack and distant riffing leads right into catchy riffs and more barking ferociousness. With the constant attack like the one you’re experiencing thus far with the album, you’d think the band’s sound would grow stagnant quickly, but it surprisingly doesn’t. We’re only five songs in and the album still sounds fresh and varied. Speaking of varied, there are some slick leads over rolling drums midway through this song that simply shred balls.

Condemnation
Just when you though the album couldn’t get any more fierce, the opening riffs to “Condemnation” will give you a swift kick in the junk before peeling away your cranial flesh with buzz-saw efficiency. Man, this is a bestial track with pounding drums that should be enough to cause partial deafness in at least one ear. There’s a small amount of melody that slips in here and there with the guitars, but it’s not nearly enough to take away from the ass-kicking your receiving.

Totem
“Totem” is a one minute long breather that’s got some sweet guitar work in it’s short duration.

Torn To Shreds
“Torn to Shreds” is an apt title for a track that’s sure to leave many eardrums in tattered ruins. This is a great song with plenty of aggression, massive riffs, catchy rhythms and enough shifts in pace to keep you fully entertained. Man, these dudes sound angry as fuck on this track.

Revel In Contempt
The sound clip that comes along with the big guitars and slowly building drums in the first 40 seconds is a new element that the band hasn’t used so far on the album. It’s a simple, yet effective way to change things up a bit. This mid-tempo beast of a song has some nice eruptions of drum and riff activity that hits at just the right spots and is, as a result, one of the more eclectic sounding tracks on the album.

A Critical Mass
Another memorable opening series of riffs and drums starts off “A Critical Mass.” The military precision of the drums just after that start is a nice touch as the band gets down to business with churning riffs and a steady rhythm. This is another mid-tempo, bruising song that takes its time in pummeling you into submission, only stepping on the accelerator when needed. Holy hell the lead at 2:55 is technical and fast as fuck. There’s also plenty of opportunity for you to shout along with the band toward the end of the song.

Global Hysteria
Beefier than all get out riffs that eventually settle into a chugging beast of a delivery gets this next track off to a ridiculously burly start. There’s a bit more of a hardcore feel to this song — like a bit of The Hoods got tossed into the mix. It’s a big song with plenty of aggression and vehemence.

Slaves Of Consent
“Slaves of Consent” starts off with light guitar work before speeding things up with some pretty technical riffs and rapid fire drums. This is an unrelenting beast of a song, like heading down the Autobahn at top speed and suddenly realizing your brakes are out. I guess you could consider the riff/drum combo around 2:40 to be a breakdown of sorts &$151; it’s not huge, but it’s a nice touch for sure. The lead around 3:25 is all over the place, yet fits the song perfectly.

~ ~ ~

Additional Notes:
n/a

Artist: Dew-Scented
Album: Invocation
Rating: 3.5/5

Label: Prosthetic Records
Release Date: May 25, 2010
User Rating: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Track Listing

1. Downfall
2. Arise From Decay
3. The Invocation
4. Have No Mercy On Us
5. Artificial Life
6. Condemnation
7. Totem
8. Torn To Shreds
9. Revel In Contempt
10. A Critical Mass
11. Global Hysteria
12. Slaves Of Consent

Let’s make no mistake here and try to sugar coat what Path of Fire may or may not be. The eleven tracks on Aeon‘s third full length aren’t revolutionary. They don’t push boundaries. They probably won’t be in Decibel’s Hall of Fame any time soon. But… these burly songs, however, will no doubt leave a malicious, blood-crusted boot print stamped across the back of your scrawny ass neck with ferocious, barbaric, stripped-down Swedish death metal without any of that melodic bullshit.

Think Malevolent Creation, Deicide and Cannibal Corpse then strip that unholy union down to nearly it’s bare essentials and that’s what you have from these Swedes — immediate, fierce and bludgeoning death metal with only the slightest twitch of variation between tracks to keep the album from becoming stagnant. The dueling guitarists jump from fairly technical and bruising riffs to flay the flesh from your bones with shredding leads and hooks. The vocalist must gargle arsenic before bed every night. His growls bellow from the depths of fiery Hell and his cadence fits the bruising rhythms perfectly. Get ready to shatter your spinal column with Path of Fire.

Forgiveness Denied
If you were at all unsure of which side of the cross Aeon sat on, “Forgiveness Denied” will surely enlighten you of their stance on religion. The band opens up Path of Fire with blasting drums, fairly technical riffing and growling vocal destruction. This thing has the accelerator floored right from the start and rarely lets up. There’s a nice bit of layered vocals during the chorus that gives the song some nice depth. And don’t miss the two sweet leads that transition from one to another about midway through the track.

Kill Them All
“Kill Them All” keeps the blood flowing at a good clip with beefier riffs and more of that unrelenting drum work that we first heard on the opening song. There’s a pretty sweet pattern to the vocals that ebb from a bestial, evil chorus to the main, barking delivery that accompanies galloping guitars. The first lead shows up at 1:42 and it shreds like no bodies business for a good few seconds before the guys shift into a series of groove fueled riffs. Man, if you’re neck isn’t sore by the second song you need to turn in your metal credentials.

Inheritance
I love the first minute or so of this next track — the guitars are absolutely massive. Overall, there’s a much darker vibe to the slower start of “Inheritance,” but that more methodical pace doesn’t last long as the layered vocals and blasting drums decide to take off. There’s a bit of a Middle Eastern flare to the lead at the two minute mark that gives the song a nice variation in sound. The short-lived technical highlights from the guitars are a nice way to break up the marching, bruising riffs that dominate this song.

Abomination to God
Now, this sounds like a wholesome, family oriented song. Yeah, right. This is one of the more violently delivered tracks on the album. It’s blasphemous, aggressive and catchy as hell with excellent vocal patterns, technical riffs and plenty of opportunities for you to growl along with the crew. It’s a dark and brooding song, that’s for sure.

Total Kristus Invictus
This minute and a half long instrumental has some nicely played acoustic guitar with a Mediterranean vibe that’s carried on the constant wind sound effects added to the track.

Of Fire
Ah crap. Are those keyboard samples at the start of “Of Fire”? Damn. Well lucky for me, they have no real affect on this monster of a song since the blasting drums and massive riffs do their best to drown them out of my memory. After a vicious scream that sets off the rest of the band, this four minute long song is packed full of bruising, buzz sawing guitars, barbaric drums and slick vocal patterns. The trading, layered leads at 2:30 is slick as hell.

I Will Burn
There’s a pretty memorable batch of riffs opening up “I Will Burn,” as the vocals come in with a classic death metal cadence that’ll have you head banging along in little to no time. This is a straight-forward, bludgeoning track that left me grinning ear to ear with it’s simplicity and groove. I love songs like this. In fact, hold on while I play it through one more time.

Suffer the Soul
And… we’re back. “Suffer the Soul” is packed full of rapid fire drumming, burly riffing and just the slightest tinge of melody. The leads that show up throughout the song have a great technical, yet flowing vibe to them. This is an unrelenting beast of a song that does it’s best to pulverize your very soul. You’ll be a better person for it. Trust me.

The Sacrament
Man, Aeon has certainly amped up the technical aspect of their playing with this wildly delivered guitar showcase. Overall, the song is fairly straight-forward with a catchy chorus, but the real highlight that you need to pay attention to throughout the song is the exemplary guitar work. They guys are busting their ass on this one.

Liar in the Name of God
We have here one of the catchiest choruses I’ve heard on a death metal album all year long — you’ll be growling and shouting along with the band like a good little sinner each and every time the passages emerge from the bludgeoning din of rapid fire drums and crushing riffs. The layered vocals are nicely timed throughout the song, adding the right punch at all the right moments. Man, the series of leads after the three minute mark are adventurous and outstanding.

God of War
“God of War” closes the coffin that is Path of Fire with an epic demonstration of crushing riffs, barbaric drums and more. While “Liar in the Name of God’ was a fire tinged spit in the face of religion, this song is a bit more restrained and delivered with a measure of strategy to it. It’s no less violent or aggressive, but it’s definitely a little more thought out in terms of it’s structure. It’s a big song and couldn’t be more apt to close out a damn good album.

~ ~ ~

Additional Notes:
n/a

Artist: Aeon
Album: Path of Fire
Rating: 3.5/5

Label: Metal Blade Records
Release Date: May 25, 2010
User Rating: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Track Listing

1. Forgiveness Denied
2. Kill Them All
3. Inheritance
4. Abomination to God
5. Total Kristus Invictus
6. Of Fire
7. I Will Burn
8. Suffer the Soul
9. The Sacrament
10. Liar in the Name of God
11. God of War

Hailing from the barren, frigid regions of… what the fuck?… Los Angeles!? Really?… Uh… so, these dudes are from the land of spray-on tans, fast women and celebrity stalkers. What the hell are they doing playing violent as hell, barbaric black metal?

To tell you the truth I don’t care, just as long as they keep doing it. Lightning Swords of Death lay waste to the shiny people of California (and the rest of the world for that matter) with cold, buzzing guitars and a bestial low-end full of thick bass and maniacal drumming. There’s nothing fancy behind the band’s sophomore album, The Extra Dimensional Void, except maybe a more polished production, but don’t let that lead you astray. This is a beast of an album, with an excellent vocal delivery from Autarch, rabid rhythms and a suffocating atmosphere.

The Extra Dimensional Wound
The title track gets us started off into our journey with six plus minutes of mid-tempo black metal that’s got a thick, bass heavy feel (which I totally love) and unrelenting riffing. The band delivers the goods with ferocity as the vocals run the gamut of guttural growls, mid-range barks and higher-end shrieks. There are some nicely timed shifts in rhythm throughout the song that keeps it from becoming too lengthy or overbearing. In fact, this song goes by pretty damned quickly.

Nihilistic Stench
“Nihilistic Stench” is a blasting and fiercely delivered three and a half minutes of scathing black metal. The vocals are as raw and evil as they sound on the album while a thick low-end delivers rumbling bass and thundering drums. Amongst the buzzing guitars and dense rhythms there’s a decent groove flowing that will have you head banging along quickly enough. This very well could be my favorite track on the album.

Invoke the Desolate One
This next song starts off with a bit of a staggered opening before descending into unholy desolation and blackness with a huge scream and pile-driving drums. The riffs settle down enough for a nice groove to emerge as the vocals really kick in. I like the more chaotic, random feel to this song as it progresses. The vocals are outstanding on this song.

Zwartgallig
This two minute long ambient noise/instrumental helps you catch your breath briefly before jumping head first back into the blackness.

Damnation Pentastrike
I love the opening to this song as big riffs join rumbling bass and massive drums for about 30 seconds before settling into a crushing groove as the vocals arrive. There’ s no one thing that makes this song truly memorable, but I’ll be damned if it’s not catchy as hell. This mid-tempo song moves along nicely.

Venter of the Black Beast
“Venter of the Black Beast” is a slow moving, creeping song with burly bass and discordant guitar tones working together to crack what little left of your sanity you may control. This is a vile and bleak track that’s disturbingly dark and suffocating. It’s a good thing it’s not too lengthy (5:54), or there’d be patches of mass suicides across the land. Then again, looking at the news now, this might not be such a bad thing. Man, the vocals on this song are sick.

Vorticating into Scars
Distant guitars quickly fade in as rabid drums and vicious, raspy screams open up this next song with a fury unlike anything else on the album (although it may just seem that away after the plodding “Venter of the Black Beast). At any rate, this sub four minute long song is scathing and served at a blistering pace with only the slightest slow down here and there to break up the attack a bit.

Paths to Chaos
“Paths to Chaos” wraps up the album in epic fashion. It starts off slowly as the song builds dramatically over the first 40 seconds before erupting into chugging riffs and thick rhythms. There are plenty of ebbs and swells of the tempo throughout this lengthy track to keep you from getting bored 3 Autarch’s vocals certainly don’t hurt either. There’s a solid two minute filled with nothing but ambient noise before a nice combination of bass, guitar and drums come in that ultimately lead to the catchiest and most memorable riff on the song. Things quickly erupt into violent drumming and tortured screams while that riff maintains its course for the next minute or so. The final couple of minutes are filled with more ambient noise to end out the album.

~ ~ ~

Additional Notes:
n/a

Artist: Lightning Swords of Death
Album: The Extra Dimensional Wound
Rating: 3.5/5

Label: Metal Blade Records
Release Date: May 25, 2010
User Rating: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Track Listing

1. The Extra Dimensional Wound
2. Nihilistic Stench
3. Invoke the Desolate One
4. Zwartgallig
5. Damnation Pentastrike
6. Venter of the Black Beast
7. Vorticating into Scars
8. Paths to Chaos