This Singaporean horde returns after a hiatus with a new EP, exploring darker atmospheric soundscapes coupled with their familiar blistering style of Blackened Death Metal.
Mixed and Mastered by Zoteng at Masterplan Studio and displaying an obscure artwork by the band’s own bassist Firdaus Kadir, Veins is the brand new three-track EP by Singapore-based Dissonant/Technical Death Metal horde Nafrat, following up on their 2018 full-length opus Abnegation after the band went on a hiatus due to personal reasons. Formed in 2003 and currently comprised of Han Shah on vocals and guitars, Iskandar Zul also on the guitars, the aforementioned Firdaus Kadir on bass and Islam Falmi on drums, Nafrat venture through new territories in their new EP with the exploration of darker atmospheric soundscapes coupled with the familiar blistering style of Blackened Death Metal that they produced in previous releases, turning such short and sweet record into a must-listen for fans of bands the likes of Hate Eternal, Immolation and Svart Crown.
Sinister sounds permeate the air in the Stygian instrumental intro Veins, dragging our souls to the obscure realms ruled by Nafrat before the quartet begins hammering our heads with In Absentia, a brutal, malignant Death Metal onrush spearheaded by the venomous beats by Islam while Firdaus extracts rumbling tones form his bass, all of course spiced up by the visceral guttural by Han in a solid, straight-to-the-point display of the band’s core sonority. Then more of their primeval, tribalistic music comes in the form of Oculus, with the guitars by Han and Iskandar decimating our ears while Islam sounds like a demented beast on drums, feeling absolutely bestial from start to finish with Han roaring deeply just the way we like it in Death Metal. Put differently, this might be a very good sign of what to expect from Nafrat in their upcoming releases.
You only need 12 minutes of your time to let Nafrat crush your cranial skull with their music by either streaming the EP in full on Spotify or by purchasing it from their own BandCamp page (or click HERE for all locations where you can buy or stream the album, among other cool links). In addition, let’s show our support to underground metal made in Singapore by giving the guys from Nafrat a shout on Facebook and on Instagram, showing them how much we appreciate their devilish music. Veins might be short in duration but the quality of the music found in it is outstanding, which leaves me wondering what those Singaporean metallers will bring to our avid ears next, especially if they release a full-length album, always in the name of our good old Death Metal.
One of the most interesting names of the underground Finnish scene returns to action after almost 13 years with a brand new album of stunning and symphonic Doom Metal.
Established in Pori, a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland, in 2005 by vocalist and composer Otto Salonen, the amazing Symphonic Death/Doom Metal act known as Depressed Mode is set to release their long-awaited third full-length album Decade of Silence, almost 13 years after ..for Death.., released in 2009. Recorded by the band’s guitarist Teemu Heinola and the aforementioned Otto Salonen at Ansa Studio, mixed by the same Teemu, and mastered by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios, Decade of Silence will bring a humungous dosage of symphony and doom to your avid ears, showcasing all the talent and passion for heavy music by Otto and Teemu together with their bandmates Henri Hakala on bass and Iiro Aittokoski on drums.
Death Walks Among Us is sinister and obscure from the very first second, with the orchestrations by Otto giving it a cinematic vibe while his deep guttural will haunt your damned souls for all eternity, all spiced up by the vicious riffs by Teemu. Then featuring Veronica Bordacchini of Fleshgod Apocalypse as a guest vocalist, Endless November starts in the most lugubrious way possible, evolving into a sluggish, phantasmagorical Doom Metal song with Blackened Doom nuances, not to mention all symphonic elements sound and feel majestic; whereas back to a heavier and more symphonic mode it’s time for Iiro to dictate the pace with his pounding drums in Dissociation of the Extinguished Mind, featuring a guest guitar solo by Jarkko Kokko of Mors Principium Est. Veronica is back in As the Light Dims, another bold, multi-layered creation by Depressed Mode that starts in a serene way to the sounds of the piano and cello, offering our ears nine nocturnal minutes of stunning Doom Metal.
Just as imposing and grim as its predecessors, Parasites of Mind explodes into a brutal fusion of Symphonic and Death Metal led by the venomous riffs by Teemu and the inhumane roars by Otto, smashing your cranial skull without a single drop of mercy, whereas drinking from the darkest fountain of Doom Metal you can think of, Kaamos (Land of Winter) brings forward the pounding beats by Iiro and the crushing riffs by Teemu, penetrating deep inside your soul while more of their sluggish, grim sounds permeate the air in Serpents, with sheer darkness flowing from both Otto’s vocals and Henri’s hammering bass. Eternal Darkness is another stunning creation featuring Veronica’s mesmerizing vocals, with the orchestrations by Otto sounding beautifully haunting while Iiro pulverizes his drums in a lesson in Symphonic Doom Metal. Finally, prepare your senses for 12 minutes of atmospheric passages, darkened skies and endless heaviness in the form of Aeternus, where Otto’s deep guttural brings a touch of Blackened Doom to the overall result, flowing darkly until its climatic and Stygian ending.
In a nutshell, the guys from Depressed Mode definitely know how to blend the heaviness of Doom Metal with the finesse of symphonic and orchestral music, and Decade of Silence is not only the perfect representation of that stunning fusion of sounds, but also a beyond strong comeback by those Finnish metallers. Hence, don’t forget to follow the band on Facebook and on Instagram to know more about their music, to stream all of their wicked creations on Spotify, and of course to purchase Decade of Silence from the band’s own BandCamp page or from the Inverse Records webstore sooner than you can say “doom”. After over a decade of silence it’s a pleasure to witness the return of such interesting name of the underground Finnish scene, and let’s hope that we don’t need to wait another ten years to listen to more of their awesome music.
Best moments of the album: Endless November, Eternal Darkness and Aeternus.
Worst moments of the album:Serpents.
Released in 2022 Inverse Records
Track listing
1. Death Walks Among Us 5:53
2. Endless November 7:43
3. Dissociation of the Extinguished Mind 6:56
4. As the Light Dims 8:58
5. Parasites of Mind 6:39
6. Kaamos (Land of Winter) 6:16
7. Serpents 5:50
8. Eternal Darkness 5:46
9. Aeternus 12:09
Band members
Otto Salonen – vocals, orchestrations
Teemu Heinola – guitars
Henri Hakala – bass
Iiro Aittokoski – drums
Guest musicians Veronica Bordacchini – vocals on “Endless November”, “As the Light Dims” and “Eternal Darkness”
Jarkko Kokko – lead guitars on “Dissociation of the Extinguished Mind”
From the morbid purgatory that lies between the edge of sanity and the shores of madness comes a vicious Death Metal entity bringing forth disease, destruction and death.
From the morbid purgatory that lies between the edge of sanity and the shores of madness comes the furious, brutal Death Metal of a vicious entity known as Sijjeel. Hatched in the desert sands of Saudi Arabia nearly a decade ago, more specifically in 2013 in the city of Damman, the capital of the Eastern Province, the eyes of Sijjeel soon turned to Europe to find the warped souls that could complete the three-headed beast, with vocalist Floor Van Kuijk (Carnifloor, Focal Dystonia, Korpse) and bassist Lukas Kaminski (Stillbirth, Placenta Powerfist) being chosen to join guitarist Hussain Akbar and bring forth disease, destruction and death. Mixed and mastered by Floor himself at GLDCHN Studios, and displaying a hellish artwork by Indonesian artist Rudi Gorgingsuicide, the hellbound tour de force of terror Salvation Within Insanity is the first full-length effort by such demented trio, following up on the insanity found in their 2020 debut EP Cyclopean Megaliths and, therefore, being highly recommended for admirers of Defeated Sanity, Incinerate and Twitch Of The Death Nerve, among other bands that worship brutality above all things in heavy music.
The thunderous, menacing bass by Lukas will hammer your head mercilessly in the opening track Isolation Behind Unrealism, bringing forward pure, unfiltered Death Metal for lovers of the genre, with Floor barking rabidly amidst the band’s sonic devastation, whereas Inverted Contentment in Salvation is a beyond infernal display of the band’s ruthless aggression in the form of Death Metal, with Hussain firing razor-edged riffs from his axe while the programmed (but very organic) drums sound like a stone crusher. There’s not a single second of peace as those metallers keep pulverizing our ears in The Affliction of Deteriorating Minds, another solid display of Brutal Slammin’ Death Metal by the trio spearheaded by the sick guttural by Floor; and get ready to be smashed like an insect by the bludgeoning riffs and drums by Hussain in Mental Paralysis, also showcasing tons of progressiveness and groove flowing from Lukas’ demented bass jabs.
The trio continues to crush our senses in Climbing Into the Abyss, exhaling brutality, rage and speed, with Hussain once again displaying a spot-on job done on the guitar, and the music gets darker and more infernal as time goes by ending in a thrilling manner. Then they show no mercy for our souls with the fulminating Departing from Human Nature, where we’re treated to the demented beats by Lukas while Floor roars deeply nonstop, resulting in the epitome of the band’s brutality and gore; and their second to last explosion of vile Death Metal, entitled Indignation Overcame Me, brings forward endless savagery thanks to the infernal riffage by Hussain, smashing their sonic weapons like true beasts in the name of extreme music. Lastly, intricate, Stygian sounds ignite the closing hurricane Inflection to Thee Smut, offering us all another very good reason to slam into the circle pit, with Floor’s inhumane growls walking hand in hand with the blast beats by Lukas.
You can get to know more about Sijjeel, their tour dates, plans for the future and so on on Facebook and on Instagram, and of course in order to support the underground you should definitely purchase a copy of Salvation Within Insanity from Comatose Music’s BandCamp page or webstore. Relentless and absolutely punishing from start to finish, Salvation Within Insanity is indeed a fantastic display of Extreme Metal made in Saudi Arabia, proving once and for all our beloved metal music knows no barriers, inviting people from all over the world to slam into the pit and to raise our horns to bands like Sijjeel forever and ever. That’s how Death Metal is supposed to be, and if the band keeps firing albums like Salvation Within Insanity in the coming years such intense genre will get even stronger than what it already is.
Best moments of the album: Inverted Contentment in Salvation, Mental Paralysis and Departing from Human Nature.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2022 Comatose Music
Track listing 1. Isolation Behind Unrealism 4:31
2. Inverted Contentment in Salvation 3:14
3. The Affliction of Deteriorating Minds 3:49
4. Mental Paralysis 4:04
5. Climbing Into the Abyss 4:33
6. Departing from Human Nature 3:25
7. Indignation Overcame Me 4:18
8. Inflection to Thee Smut 6:04
Band members Floor Van Kuijk – vocals
Hussain Akbar – guitar, drum programming
Lukas Kaminski – bass
There’s nothing better than ending another fun weekend and getting ready for a cold and rainy Monday than a night of pure Thrash and Death Metal, and that’s exactly what several Torontonian metalheads were able to enjoy last night at Lee’s Palace thanks to the ruthless Diabolical North American Tour 2022, with the bands VX36, SUNLORD, NERVOSA and the iconic DESTRUCTION offering their fans exactly what they needed to slam into the pit and raise their horns nonstop. The first band to hit the stage was Geyserville, California-based Thrash/Groove Metal band VX36, led by vocalist and guitarist Nate Klug, who inspired all thrashers at the venue to bang their heads to great songs such as Satan’s Fury and Blood War. That was an excellent start to the night, and I just wish the band had new material to present as everything they played, despite being awesome, was from over seven years ago I believe.
Band members
Nate Klug – vocals, guitar
Gage Higgins – lead guitar, vocals
Nick Altenburg – bass
John Lorence – drums
After a really, really quick break, it was time for Jackson Heights, New York’s own Heavy/Speed Metal trio SUNLORD to kick some ass on stage. Comprised of vocalist, guitarist and founder Alfonso Ferrazza, bassist Ashely Wells and drummer Lamar Little, the band delivered a solid show including the fun songs Forbidden Witch and Turn Me Loose, with Lamar stealing the spotlight with a beyond professional and thrilling performance behind his drums, adding an extra touch of groove and heaviness to the band’s music. In the end, Sunlord might not be as thrash as the other bands from the night, but they definitely proved why they were chosen to open for Nervosa and Destruction with their energy and passion for heavy music.
Band members Alfonso Ferrazza – vocals, guitars
Ashely Wells – bass
Lamar Little – drums
Finally, after years and years waiting, I was able to see for the first time ever the all-female thrashing machine NERVOSA pulverizing everything and everyone live on stage. One of the most multinational bands of the current metal scene, as the band is now formed of Spanish frontwoman Diva Satanica, Brazilian guitarist and founder Prika Amaral, Italian bassist Mia Wallace and Greek drummer Eleni Nota, the quartet was infernal with their fusion of Death and Thrash Metal from start to finish, with the stunning Diva Satanica not only showcasing a breathtaking vocal performance, but her stage presence was also a thing of beauty. Still promoting their 2021 opus Perpetual Chaos, Nervosa made a lot of awesome noise playing songs the likes of Kill the Silence, Masked Betrayer, Into Moshpit, Guided By Evil and Under Ruins, as well as my favorite ones of the night, Genocidal Command, Time to Fight and Rebel Soul, where not only Diva Satanica was flawless on vocals, but Prika, Mia and Eleni were also smashing their instruments in great fashion. I just wish the girls had some time to interact with their fans at their booth (which apparently was reduced to just a few random items as their shirts couldn’t be delivered on time), but again, what really matters is what they do on stage, and they more than succeeded by inflicting that nice pain in our necks due to all headbanging involved.
Band members
Diva Satanica – lead vocals
Prika Amaral – guitar, backing vocals
Mia Wallace – bass
Eleni Nota – drums
Another short break and there they were, German Thrash Metal institution DESTRUCTION, ready to show everyone at Lee’s Palace what old school thrash is all about. Anything I say about the band’s frontman and mastermind Schmier won’t be enough to depict his energy, his charisma and his onstage performance, kicking ass from the very first second and showing absolutely no mercy for our souls armed with his metallic bass and raspy vocals. Blending classics the likes of Nailed to the Cross, Born to Perish, Mad Butcher, Thrash Till Death, Bestial Invasion and The Butcher Strikes Back with songs from their recently released album Diabolical, including the amazing title-track and the pulverizing No Faith in Humanity, Schmier and his henchmen Damir Eskić and Martin Furia on the guitars and Canadian beast Randy Black on drums gave a lecture in Thrash Metal to their fans, showing why they’ve been alive and kicking since their inception in the distant year of 1983. By the way, close to the end of the show, Schmier had some very nice words to say about a guy that was present at the venue who was their first ever North American fan, being the first person in the US and Canada to purchase their 1984 demo Bestial Invasion of Hell. That was a really cool moment, and that guy, who was not too far from where I was standing, seemed deeply touched by such amazing tribute by one of his favorite bands of all time. That’s pure Thrash Metal, and after all was said and done (already past midnight, by the way), we were all certain those Teutonic metallers will return to destroy Toronto once again in a not-so-distant future.
Band members
Schmier – vocals, bass
Damir Eskić – lead guitars
Martin Furia – guitars
Randy Black – drums
An earthquake of different influences blended together through proficient musicianship by an up-and-coming Pakistani Death Metal horde.
Formed in 2016 in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, out of love for both old school and modern Death Metal, the up-and-coming five-piece horde known as Azaab (which is pronounced “aa-zaab” and translates roughly as “calamity”) is proudly unleashing upon humanity their excellent debut effort, entitled Summoning the Cataclysm, highly recommended for admirers of the music by Morbid Angel, Decapitated, Nile and Abysmal Dawn, among many more. Recorded, mixed and mastered by the band’s own guitarist Shahab Khan at Fractal Flow Studios, and displaying a demonic artwork by Ardha Lepa, Summoning the Cataclysm is an earthquake of different influences blended together through proficient musicianship by the aforementioned Shahab Khan on the guitars together with Saad Latif on vocals, Afraz Mamoon also on the guitars, Waqar Ghayas on bass and Adhytia Perkasa on drums, as well as a handful of guest musicians including former and current members from Death, Chthe’ilist, First Fragment and Worm, with the album’s lyrical themes spanning topics such as horror, politics, human nature, the end of days, war and even sci-fi.
The somber, acoustic guitars by Shahab and Afraz in the intro Pandemonium Twilight set the stage for Azaab to smash our senses in Carbon Plague, featuring additional vocals by guests Nick Mkhl (Brutal Sphere) and Aissam El Hassani (Vile Utopia), with Adhytia hammering his drums in the name of Death Metal while Saad roars deeply like an inhumane creature. More of their Technical and Progressive Death Metal is offered to us all in A Hollow Pact, where once again the band’s guitar duo extracts sheer electricity from their axes supported by the unstoppable bass jabs by Waqar, whereas Preachers of Hate is absolutely heavy and menacing from the very first second, with the guttural roars by Saad penetrating deep inside your mind mercilessly in a first-class fusion of modern-day Technical Death Metal with the band’s own Pakistani twist.
Featuring a sick guitar solo by guest Bobby Koelble (Death), it’s time for more savagery, gore and hatred by Azaab in When Worlds Collide, where Adhytia sounds infuriated behind his drum accompanied by the always metallic bass by Waqar; and Shahab and Afraz deliver incendiary, crushing riffs in The Infernal Citadel, with a guitar solo by guest Phil Tougas (Chthe’ilist, First Fragment, Worm) this time, inviting us all to slam into the pit to their pulverizing Death Metal. Then a serene, acoustic intro explodes into sheer brutality in Trophies of Flesh, where all band members add tons of progressiveness to their core sonority, therefore turning it into the most intricate of all songs of the album. Azaab still have a lot of fuel to burn offering us all their venomous rendition for Decapitated’s The Empty Throne (check the original version HERE), showcasing an amazing job done by Saad on vocals, followed by B.L.O.O.D.B.O.R.N, a hellish, demolishing creation by the quintet with Adhytia sounding like a stone crusher on drums while Shahab and Afraz keep slashing our ears with their ass-kicking riffage and solos.
This unrelenting, vile horde hailing from Pakistan is waiting for you on Facebook and on Instagram to crush your senses with their top-of-the-line Death Metal, and of course if you want to show your total support to the underground you can purchase Summoning the Cataclysm from the band’s BandCamp page or from the Satanath Records’ BandCamp page (or click HERE for different locations where you can buy or stream the album). After all is said and done, Azaab were not joking when they said they had something for all types of Death Metal fans with their debut opus, as Summoning the Cataclysm indeed brings an amalgamation of elements from the past, present and future of Death Metal, all of course sounding very cohesive and as brutal as it can be for our total delight, positioning Azaab as one of the most interesting name of the Pakistani scene and, consequently, paving a fantastic road ahead of those death metallers.
Best moments of the album: Carbon Plague, Preachers of Hate and B.L.O.O.D.B.O.R.N.
Worst moments of the album:A Hollow Pact.
Released in 2022 Maxima Music Pro/Satanath Records
Track listing
1. Pandemonium Twilight 2:04
2. Carbon Plague 4:11
3. A Hollow Pact 4:39
4. Preachers of Hate 3:58
5. When Worlds Collide 4:49
6. The Infernal Citadel 5:02
7. Trophies of Flesh 4:11
8. The Empty Throne (Decapitated cover) 4:34
9. B.L.O.O.D.B.O.R.N 4:40
Guest musicians Bobby Koelble – guitar solo on “When Worlds Collide”
Phil Tougas – guitar solo on “The Infernal Citadel”
Nick Mkhl – vocals on “Carbon Plague”
Aissam El Hassani – vocals on “Carbon Plague”
Denmark’s own Doom Metal institution returns with a masterful sophomore offering, doubling down on the band’s songwriting talent and brutal, heavy sound.
Two years after taking the entire Doom and Heavy Metal scene by storm with the release of their boisterous debut full-length album Puritan Masochism, Copenhagen, Denmark’s own Death/Doom Metal institution Konvent returns with a sophomore offering entitled Call Down the Sun that doubles down on the band’s songwriting talent and brutal, heavy sound. Recorded and mixed by Lasse Ballade at Ballade Studios, mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege Studio, displaying a Stygian artwork by Mads Berg, and undoubtedly inspired by recent dark times, the ongoing pandemic and cancellation of live performances, the new album’s thunderous apocalyptic sound is impossible to escape, with the four-piece entity formed of Rikke Emilie List on vocals, Sara Helena Nørregaard on the guitars, Heidi Withington Brink on bass, and Julie Simonsen on drums unleashing hurricanes of Blackened Death and Doom Metal upon us all, sounding even more pissed-off, fast-paced and pitch-black than ever.
The cryptic words barked by Rikke (“Climb into the distance / Aiming for the price / Seeking a device / Climb into the distance / High”) are the main ingredient in the sluggish and atmospheric Into the Distance, darkening the skies to the slow and steady beats by the talented Julie, whereas Sara and Heidi hammer their stringed weapons mercilessly in Sand is King, sounding utterly perfect for breaking your neck headbanging in the name of doom, not to mention Rikke’s roars get even more demonic and obscure. Julie continues to deliver her trademark tribal beats in In the Soot, another solid fusion of Death and Doom Metal where Sara’s Black Sabbath-inspired riffs will penetrate deep inside your lost soul; and Stygian clouds keep blocking all sunlight in Grains, with Heidi providing those low-tuned bass lines we darkly love so much while Sara keeps slashing her axe in great fashion for our total delight.
And the reverberating bass by Heidi kicks off the superb Fatamorgana, with its somber, poetic lyrics being powerfully vociferated by Rikke (“Time to venture out again through the sand to Neverend / Every step is poorly cast / Leave them in the past / Forever, the orb is a guide / Endeavour from morning till night”) while the music flows flawlessly in a lecture in contemporary Doom Metal, all spiced up by its cult-like backing vocals, morphing into a massive, sinister instrumental Interlude for the also venomous Never Rest, bringing forward the quartet’s undisputed heaviness spearheaded by another brutal work done by Julie on drums, with Rikke once again haunting us all with her inhumane, deep gutturals. Then adding hints of Stoner and Sludge Metal to their core sonority, it’s time for the thunderous Pipe Dreams, where the synchronicity between Sara and Heidi is superb form start to finish as usual. Lastly, we’re treated to Harena, perhaps the band’s deepest and most detailed composition of all time. The melodic but extremely sharp riffs by Sara are a thing of beauty, supported as always by the demolishing kitchen by Heidi and Julie while Rikke roars from the bottom of her blackened heart, resulting in a stunning, dense and climatic ending to the album.
Such delicious masterpiece of Death and Doom Metal can be fully appreciated on YouTube and on Spotify, but of course I highly recommend you purchase your favorite copy of the album by clicking HERE, adding an amazing touch of darkness to your private collection. Also, don’t forget to follow the girls from Konvent on Facebook and on Instagram, staying up to date with news, their plans for the future and their tour dates, and I’m more than sure that watching Konvent playing live might be a fantastic experience. Who knows, maybe one days they’ll tour across Canada? Anyway, having said all that, let’s all call down the sun to the undisputed doom played by those four Danish metallers, and enjoy their beyond sweet companionship in darkness for all eternity.
Best moments of the album: Sand is King, Fatamorgana and Harena.
Worst moments of the album:In the Soot.
Released in 2022 Napalm Records
Track listing 1. Into the Distance 5:23
2. Sand is King 4:12
3. In the Soot 4:52
4. Grains 6:05
5. Fatamorgana 5:54
6. Interlude 2:00
7. Never Rest 5:39
8. Pipe Dreams 4:05
9. Harena 7:13
Band members Rikke Emilie List – vocals
Sara Helena Nørregaard – guitars
Heidi Withington Brink – bass
Julie Simonsen – drums
Despite the heavy rain that decided to hit Toronto only a couple of hours before the fantastic tour named The North American Siege 2022 took the city by storm, the venue chosen for such metal attack, the spacious Rebel, was almost packed already when the first band of the night hit the stage exactly at 6:30pm, American Heavy Metal/Gothic Rock act UNTO OTHERS, and let me tell you I feel a little ashamed for not knowing those guys before last night. Promoting their 2021 opus Strength, vocalist and guitarist Gabriel Franco and his henchmen put on a sensational show, with songs such as Give Me to the Night, Summer Lightning and When Will God’s Work Be Done inspiring all fans to dance, slam into the pit, or simply raise their horns in the name of Rock N’ Roll. It was a short and sweet performance by such talented band, and I hope to see them again in Toronto (or anywhere else in the world) in a not-so-distant future.
Setlist Subdivisions (Rush song) Heroin
Give Me to the Night
No Children Laughing Now
Can You Hear the Rain
Nightfall
Summer Lightning
When Will God’s Work Be Done
Band members Gabriel Franco – vocals, guitars, keyboards
Sebastian Silva – guitars
Brandon Hill – bass
Colin Vranizan – drums
Right after a bathroom/beer break (not necessarily in this order), it was time for the iconic Barney Greenway and his Grindcore/Death Metal institution NAPALM DEATH to show Toronto what noise is all about for the delight of admirers of the heaviest and most demented side of music who attended the concert. Having released earlier this year the album Resentment Is Always Seismic – A Final Throw of Throes, the band was on absolute fire from start to finish, with Shane Embury and John Cooke hammering their respective bass and guitar mercilessly throughout their entire set. Amidst a hurricane of infernal tunes the likes of Fuck the Factoid, Contagion, Scum and the one-second masterpiece You Suffer, Barney had time to distill his opinion about controversial topics such as illegal immigration, being always of course on the side of the less fortunate. Closing their boisterous setlist, the band smashed our faces with their rendition of Dead Kennedys’ all-time classic Nazi Punks Fuck Off, sending a message of love and peace, and warning us it won’t take long for those four British noisemakers to return to our beloved city.
Setlist Unchallenged Hate
Fuck the Factoid
Backlash Just Because
Hung
Contagion
Continuing War on Stupidity
Everyday Pox
Invigorating Clutch
Suffer the Children
Breed to Breathe
Scum
Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism
You Suffer
Smash a Single Digit
Deceiver
Dead
Nazi Punks Fuck Off (Dead Kennedys cover)
Band members Mark “Barney” Greenway – vocals
John Cooke – guitars
Shane Embury – bass, backing vocals, noises, effects
Danny Herrera – drums
Precisely at 8:35pm Sweden’s own Melodic Death Metal army ARCH ENEMY (although we can say the band is now 60% Swedish, 20% American and 20% Canadian) hit the stage and delivered exactly what the crowd wanted, which was a fusion of some of their best classics with the new songs Deceiver, Deceiver, House of Mirrors and Handshake With Hell, from their upcoming album Deceivers (to be released in July), spearheaded by the unstoppable Alissa White-Gluz and, of course, by one of the best guitarists of the Scandinavian metal scene, Mr. Michael Amott. It was clear in their faces how much they missed playing in front of an audience during the pandemic, in special Alissa who always gets very emotional when playing for her Canadian “family”, which translated into sheer adrenaline for our vulgar delectation. As a longtime fan of the band I was obviously more inspired to bang my head to songs such as Ravenous, Dead Bury Their Dead and Nemesis, but I must say their entire performance was awesome. How long will we have to wait to see Alissa and the boys again in Toronto? Massive circle pits like the ones we witnessed yesterday are not created out of silence, you know. We need Arch Enemy!
Setlist Set Flame to the Night Deceiver, Deceiver
The World Is Yours
Ravenous
War Eternal
My Apocalypse
House of Mirrors
The Eagle Flies Alone
As the Pages Burn
Handshake With Hell
Dead Bury Their Dead
Nemesis
Fields of Desolation (Outro) Enter the Machine
Band members Alissa White-Gluz – vocals
Michael Amott – lead guitars, backing vocals
Jeff Loomis – lead guitars, backing vocals
Sharlee D’Angelo – bass
Daniel Erlandsson – drums
And at 10:05pm the gates of hell opened once again and the almighty Blackened Death Metal horde BEHEMOTH emerged from the underworld with another flawless and very theatrical performance, darkening the skies of Toronto and putting a huge, devilish smile on the faces of everyone at Rebel (at least on the faces of the ones not wearing masks). Kicking off their demonic concert with one of my favorite Behemoth songs of all time, the incendiary Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer, the multi-talented Nergal, Seth, Orion and Inferno did not disappoint their fans, sounding utterly heavy, dark and blasphemous until the very last second. Their brand new song, entitled Ov My Herculean Exile, from their upcoming (and still untitled) new album, sounded amazing live, but of course there’s nothing like raising our horns in the name of evil to masterpieces such as Ov Fire and the Void, Christians to the Lions, Chant for Eschaton 2000, and the hymn to Satan himself, O Father O Satan O Sun!, proving why Behemoth are one of the best and most obscure bands of the current metal scene. And when the night was over and those Polish blasphemers left the stage, it was time for us Torontonians to keep some of that darkness inside our hearts, face the cold and rainy weather outside again, and return to our lairs waiting for the next time Behemoth come back to crush the infidels in Toronto with their undisputed music.
Setlist Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer
Wolves ov Siberia
Ov Fire and the Void
Evoe
Christians to the Lions
Bartzabel
Conquer All
Ov My Herculean Exile
Decade of Therion
Slaves Shall Serve
Chant for Eschaton 2000
O Father O Satan O Sun!
Band members Adam “Nergal” Darski – lead vocals, guitars
Patryk Dominik “Seth” Sztyber – guitars
Tomasz “Orion” Wróblewski – bass guitar
Zbigniew Robert “Inferno” Promiński – drums and percussion
An epic collection of tracks exploring a dark narrative of the barbaric and grotesque, marking the return into the battlefield by an old school Death and Thrash Metal horde from Indianapolis.
Rising from the depths of the abyss in Indianapolis, the state capital and most-populous city of the US state of Indiana, Death/Thrash Metal horde Demiricous is unleashing upon humanity their most monstrous record yet, entitled III: Chaotic Lethal, following an extended hiatus of 15 years since the release of their last album, Two (Poverty). An epic collection of tracks exploring a dark narrative of the barbaric and grotesque, the album presents to the listener a revived and restored sound by Nate Olp on vocals and bass, Ben Parrish and Scott Wilson on the guitars, and Dustin Boltjes on drums, as the band have evolved into their next chapter, delving into heavier instrumentation and sinister moods while releasing a plethora of hard-hitting sounds for the delight of admirers of extreme music.
The gates of the underworld are open wide in the opening tune Unconditional Hate, with Dustin smashing his drums with endless violence while Nate roars manically from start to finish in a lecture in modern-day Thrash Metal; and it’s time to slam into the circle pit to the blazing riffs by Ben and Scott in Terminal Future, living up to the legacy of Bay Area Thrash while its backing vocals provide a spot-on support to the visceral screams by Nate, all spiced up by Ben’s devilish solo. In Smoke Chaser we face nonstop adrenaline and action in the form of Thrash Metal where once again Dustin steals the spotlight with his classic, unstoppable beats, accompanied by the incendiary riffs by his bandmates, whereas The Follow is a hybrid of old school Thrash Metal with Crossover Thrash and Hardcore that will please all fans of speed and violence, with Ben and Scott setting fire to the atmosphere armed with their guitars.
There’s no time to breathe as the quartet keeps hammering our heads with their aggressiveness and rage in Fuck The Fire, perfect for breaking your neck headbanging while growling together with Nate, followed by the title-track Chaotic Lethal, bringing to our avid ears a dark and sinister atmosphere led by the doomed beats by Dustin, and that heaviness and obscurity goes on until the very last second. Then a cryptic intro morphs into the high-octane, demolishing Merciless Slut Cult, a no-shenanigans, in-your-face Thrash Metal onrush spearheaded by the visceral riffage by Ben and Scott, blending the best elements found in the music by Slayer, Anthrax and Suicidal Tendencies; while Choke is another rumbling creation by Demiricous presenting their trademark violence amidst tons of melody and dexterity, with Nate bursting his lungs roaring. And the band generates a somber ambience one last time in Faith Crime, evolving into a nine-minute thrashing behemoth where Dustin shows no mercy for his drums, not to mention how hellish and demented the growling by Nate sounds and feels.
Like a phoenix arising from the ashes, Demiricous are back in action with the fulminating III: Chaotic Lethal, highly recommended for thrash metallers from all over this doomed world who enjoy a balanced fusion of the past and present (and even future) of the genre. Hence, let’s show our support to the guys from Demiricous by following the band on Facebook and on Instagram, by streaming more of their pulverizing music on Spotify, and by purchasing a copy of their newborn beast from their own BandCamp page, as well as from the POST. Recordings’ webstore in CD or LP format, or from Apple Music. “It’s been 15 years since we’ve released a record. We are so unbelievably proud of this one, and this is the Demiricous record we’ve always wanted to make. Prepare yourselves. It’s a fucking monster,” commented the band, who won’t hopefully go into another hiatus in the nearby future, continuing to smash our senses with their Thrash Metal for many years to come.
Best moments of the album: Terminal Future, Merciless Slut Cult and Faith Crime.
Worst moments of the album:Chaotic Lethal.
Released in 2022 POST. Recordings
Track listing 1. Unconditional Hate 5:07
2. Terminal Future 3:50
3. Smoke Chaser 5:10
4. The Follow 4:05
5. Fuck The Fire 4:54
6. Chaotic Lethal 5:57
7. Merciless Slut Cult 3:36
8. Choke 3:59
9. Faith Crime 9:19
Band members
Nate Olp – vocals, bass
Ben Parrish – lead guitars
Scott Wilson – rhythm guitars
Dustin Boltjes – drums
Born and raised in the city of Brasília, inaugurated as Brazil’s capital in 1960, but currently residing in the charming city of Montreal, in the province of Quebec, in Canada, our metal lady of the month of April is here on The Headbanging Moose to embellish the airwaves with her distinguished music, bringing us the joy of the spring that has just started while still sounding as metal as she can be. If you’re a fan of progressiveness, groove and experimentations in Rock N’ Roll and Heavy Metal, get ready to be stunned by the multi-talented Bruna Wanderley, a songwriter, vocalist and cellist who’s taking the world of heavy music by storm with her brand new project, entitled Kapitur. You’ll certainly fall in love for the thunderous sound of her cello, placing her among the most interesting new names of the independent scene in Canada. Having said that, are you ready to rock together with Bruna and her incendiary cello?
Drawing from a young life in Brazil, living in an environment of violence, fear and contrasting beauty, artist and multi-instrumentalist Bruna Wanderley grew up in a conservative Evangelical milieu, which has led her to tease her family’s most beloved boundaries and, since her solo arrival to infamously libertine Montreal in 2015, she has actively performed and recorded as a cellist in a wide array of contexts. For instance, until the beginning of 2019 she was part of an Art Punk Rock band from Montreal named Spectroom, before the band called it quits in February that year. Bruna played cello with Spectroom together with vocalist and bassist Angelo Carocci, guitarists Branco De Souza and Raya Traboulsi, and drummers Matisse Chan and Emixam Maxime Gaboriault, having recorded with them the 2018 five-song EP Kissing Garbage, available for a full listen on Spotify. Although not being metal at all, the music by Spectroom can indeed provide you with very nice and relaxing moments while listening to it, and of course you can enjoy each note played by Bruna on her stylish cello.
Apart from her time with Spectroom, Bruna can be seen playing live with Canadian Death Metal band Infección as their bassist (not cellist) together with vocalist and guitarist Diego, drummer Andrés, and also guest guitarist Jean Bélanger, since 2021. She might not have recorded anything yet with the band, but if you want to have a taste of their fury and aggressiveness you can enjoy their debut demo on their BandCamp page. Furthermore, Bruna was also a guest vocalist for Canadian Progressive Death Metal band Messora on their 2019 album The Door, recording additional vocals for the songs The Veil and The Tide. And if you want to see Bruna Wanderley “multiplied” by four, you can enjoy Bruna’s cover video of Making a Murderer’s full theme by composer Gustavo Santaolalla, who’s largely known for his original score for The Last of Us, with all effects on the electric cello achieved with Line 6’s Helix LT.
Before we talk about Bruna’s brand new endeavor Kapitur, it’s important to mention that, besides her career in the Arts and Culture industry working mainly as a cello instructor and performer in Montreal, where she currently resides as already mentioned, she also studied Sociology and Anthropology at UnB – Universidade de Brasília in Brazil from 2010 to 2015, Music at Escola de Música de Brasília from 2007 to 2013, and Music at Vanier College in Canada from 2016 to 2018, and has not only obtained several certifications in web programming and development such as Programming in HTML5 with JavaScript and CSS3, Regex and jQuery, but she also has experience working to some companies in Montreal in that segment, as well as volunteering experience as a barista and also running art workshops for Coop Le Milieu, also in Montreal.
However, as this is an underground metal webzine let’s focus on what really matters, and that’s the fusion of extreme music with the whimsical, thunderous sound of her cello in her new project, entitled Kapitur, formed in 2020. Under the up-and-coming Montreal, Canada-based Kapitur she composes, sings, performs guttural vocals and plays the cello, while Sam Neumann’s unyielding drumming presents a strong contrast with the her unbound vocal and cello lines, also supported by guitarist Zach Dean and bassist Bruno Coe. The music is filled with soundscapes and hammering repetitions with bleak cacophony followed by heavenly melodies, being therefore highly recommended for fans of the music by Opeth, modern Swans, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Saltland, and Tina Guo, among others. Bruna and her Kapitur will release an EP of original songs in the upcoming months, and while we wait for such distinguished experiment let’s stay in touch with the band on Facebook, on Instagram, on BandCamp, and on Spotify, where by the way you can find her first-ever releases, those being the demo song Decay, and the cover version for Sepultura’s all-time classic Roots Bloody Roots (or click HERE for all locations where you can buy or stream the song).
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
“Twenty-six years ago, Roots Bloody Roots pleaded for the preservation of Brazilian cultural diversity. Today, Kapitur’s distinctive revisit of the song revolves around the historical alienation of common people regarded as different, the Bloody Roots of us outsiders. It grips on the struggle of finding oneself estranged from one’s original and adoptive cultures, to the ongoing murder and colonization suffered by many people in a land that was theirs for centuries; from immigrant, racial, religious intolerance to the global, modern alien anxiety suffered by African descendants and their relationship to an inaccessible homeland. Roots Bloody Roots is about you, or someone you know and care for,” commented Bruna about her newborn beast. Recorded and mixed by Jonathan Lefrançois Leduc, Kapitur’s rendition for such undisputed metal classic will surely put a huge smile on the faces of Max and Igor Cavalera, Andreas Kisser and Paulo Jr., not just because of its rawness and aggressiveness, but also because Bruna is proudly carrying the flag of Brazilian metal to the four corners of the earth with her talent and hard work.
There are a few fun facts about Kapitur and the recording of Roots Bloody Roots that are definitely worth sharing with everyone reading this tribute to Bruna. First of all, when Kapitur’s music video for the song was still unpublished, someone Bruna knows sent a private link to it to Sepultura, and they loved it so much that Derrick Green himself contacted her to say it’s very creative, that it sounds incredible and that he looked forward to meeting her in person, which happened during their concert in Montreal on March 17 this year. In addition, Bruna mentioned that shooting the music video for the song was one of the most demanding and fun experiences the band has had so far. “It was a very cold Fall day, we set up a tent on the sandpits and unexpectedly spent 13 hours outdoors on the first day. As soon as we got there, one of the cars got stuck in the mud, and only after greatly shoving, did a guy on a tractor appear to tow the car in a few seconds. The photographer was buried naked in the sand at 5°C – he did say he liked it. For the entire time, I was cold from shooting in a thin dress and being barefoot on the sand. At night, we had to beware of the coyote sounds coming our way – it was so reassuring to have combustible material available, just in case. Finally, all the team left the site at 3 a.m., with our gear frosted by the dew and fake blood stains on our clothes and shoes. That whole night felt really special though. Will do it again next year, once we get rid of all the sand stuck in our stuff,” said our skillful cellist.
In summary, the multi-talented Bruna Wanderley can sing, play cello and bass, compose, write lyrics, act, and so on, which proves how focused and talented she is and, at the same time, showcases all her passion for music in general. I won’t be surprised if in a not-so-distant future we start seeing partnerships between Bruna and both underground and mainstream rock and metal bands, and I would love to see what she could do together with renowned bands the likes of Cradle of Filth, Triptykon and Tristania, adding her own touch of darkness, doom and heaviness to their already venomous music. Having said all that, let’s raise our horns to the “Cello Metal” blasted by Bruna Wanderley, resting assured she’ll always remain loyal to heavy music and to her roots, bloody roots.
“It’s uncommon to hear a classical instrument like the cello in heavy music that isn’t Melodic or Symphonic Metal. My intent is to explore creative ways of using my instrument in heavier contexts.” – Bruna Wanderley
An album of sheer darkness masterfully brought into being by a Black and Death Metal horde hailing from Turkey in honor of the seven deadly sins.
Forged in 2014 in the scorching fires of Kadıköy, an older settlement than most of those on the Anatolian side of the city of İstanbul, Turkey, the demonic Black/Death Metal horde known as Persecutory will darken your minds and souls with their sophomore full-length opus, entitled Summoning the Lawless Legions, the Stygian follow-up to their 2016 EP Perversion Feeds Our Force and their 2017 album Towards the Ultimate Extinction. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Can Gelgeç at Studio Sirri, and displaying a devilish artwork by Alex Shadrin of Nether Temple Design, Summoning the Lawless Legions is an album of sheer darkness masterfully brought into being by Tyrannic Profanator on vocals, Infectious Torment and Vulgargoat on the guitars, Deathbed on bass, and Kyle on drums, living up to the legacy of the most obscure and infernal form of extreme music.
The piercing riffs by the band’s guitar duo will penetrate deep inside your psyche in As The Serpents Ascend while Tyrannic Profanator vociferates the song’s wicked words like a creature form the underworld (“Beneath the blackened seas which elder ones take breath / Their primal strength summons, the lords of Shammash / Resided in the fixed stars, infernal serpent’s pride / Burnt embers of the fire, splendor of the unholy light”), therefore offering our ears a modern but at the same time primeval form of Black Metal; and Kyle shows no mercy for his drums in Thou Abyssic Fire In Rebellion, a vicious, hammering aria by the quartet where the gnarling by Tyrannic Profanator gets even more satanic and visceral. Put differently, it’s old school Black Metal with a Turkish Death Metal twist, and the music remains acid and vile until the very last second with Infectious Torment and Vulgargoat embellishing the airwaves with their dark and very melodic guitar riffs and solos.
Another explosion of brutality, obscurity and rage comes in the form of Adorned In Primeval Seas, where the blast beast by Kyle are accompanied by the massive, thunderous bass lines by Deathbed, generating an imposing wall of sounds perfect for Tyrannic Profanator to growl like a beast. Then Deathbed makes the earth tremble with his beastly bass in Circle Of The Spirit Devourers, a darker tune with hints of Doom Metal added to its core sonority with the wicked roars by Tyrannic Profanator walking hand in hand with the inhumane beats by Kyle, whereas lastly we face more of the demented lyrics growled with tons of anger by Tyrannic Profanator (“Forlorn mistress of the circle embraced spheric daughters / Forlorn queens of suffering screamed at their presence / Forlorn servants are chained below the seas of cavities / Forlorn goddess of grief dances on seven storeyed mountains”) in The Blazing Spheres, while the music remains as hellish, heavy and disturbing as possible until the very last second.
Summoning the Lawless Legions, which is available for a full and detailed listen on YouTube, is indeed a lecture in contemporary Blackened Death Metal by Persecutory while remaining loyal to the foundations of the genre, proving those Turkish metallers are not only extremely talented, but also true servants of the darkest side of music. Hence, in order to show them your support and to join them in their quest for extreme music, go check what they’re up to on Facebook and on Instagram, and purchase a copy of their newborn beast from their own BandCamp page, as well as from the Godz ov War Productions’ BandCamp page or webstore as a CD, a blue cassette or a red cassette. Let’s all toast in honor of Summoning the Lawless Legions and of the seven deadly sins, and rest assured that while Persecutory are among us the fires of evil will keep burning our damned souls to the sound of their infernal music.
Best moments of the album: Thou Abyssic Fire In Rebellion and Adorned In Primeval Seas.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2022 Godz ov War Productions
Track listing 1. As The Serpents Ascend 7:15
2. Thou Abyssic Fire In Rebellion 7:27
3. Adorned In Primeval Seas 7:06
4. Circle Of The Spirit Devourers 8:23
5. The Blazing Spheres 7:40
Mixed and Mastered by Zoteng at Masterplan Studio and displaying an obscure artwork by the band’s own bassist Firdaus Kadir, Veins is the brand new three-track EP by Singapore-based Dissonant/Technical Death Metal horde Nafrat, following up on their 2018 full-length opus Abnegation after the band went on a hiatus due to personal reasons. Formed in 2003 and currently comprised of Han Shah on vocals and guitars, Iskandar Zul also on the guitars, the aforementioned Firdaus Kadir on bass and Islam Falmi on drums, Nafrat venture through new territories in their new EP with the exploration of darker atmospheric soundscapes coupled with the familiar blistering style of Blackened Death Metal that they produced in previous releases, turning such short and sweet record into a must-listen for fans of bands the likes of Hate Eternal, Immolation and Svart Crown.
You only need 12 minutes of your time to let Nafrat crush your cranial skull with their music by either streaming the EP in full on Spotify or by purchasing it from their own BandCamp page (or click HERE for all locations where you can buy or stream the album, among other cool links). In addition, let’s show our support to underground metal made in Singapore by giving the guys from Nafrat a shout on Facebook and on Instagram, showing them how much we appreciate their devilish music. Veins might be short in duration but the quality of the music found in it is outstanding, which leaves me wondering what those Singaporean metallers will bring to our avid ears next, especially if they release a full-length album, always in the name of our good old Death Metal.
THE HEADBANGING MOOSE 