Tag Archives: death metal

Album Review – Just Before Dawn / The Dead And Those About To Die EP (2016)

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Put on your military gear, give no quarter and bang your head to the excellent Death Metal crafted by these belligerent men-at-arms.

Rating5

CR-043CD_ARTWORKI must warn you that the first review of 2016 will be as devastating as a blitzkrieg, leaving you completely disoriented after this 27-minute bloodthirsty onslaught is over. I’m talking about The Dead And Those About To Die, the brand new EP by Swedish Death Metal infantrymen Just Before Dawn, who above all things are here to lead us all into the battleground with their refined and belligerent metal music.

Formed in 2012 and having already released the full-length albums Précis Innan Gryningen (Swedish for “Just Before Dawn”) in 2013 and The Aftermath in 2014, Just Before Dawn are back with a more solid lineup, also including some guest troopers armed with their screams and guitars (including Swedish musician Benny Moberg, who was also responsible for the artwork). As a matter of fact, the EP was already “released” in 2015 as a cassette under the Till You Fukkin Bleed label, but the official release as a CD by Chaos Records and by the band itself on BandCamp  (also in digital format) is set to January 2016, which means now it’s the right time to get to war.

And let me tell you that the warfare bred by Just Before Dawn will be brutal based on the opening track, the old school Counterbattery, where heaviness is taken to a higher level thanks to the carnivore growls by Jonny Pettersson, the demonic riffs by Jonny and the band’s mastermind Anders Biazzi, and the imposing beats by drummer Brynjar Helgetun. Next, the voice in the background only adds more wickedness to Otnumbered, slightly faster than the previous song but as heavy as hell, with Jonny getting insanely aggressive on vocals while the song’s riffs drag the listener to the battlefield.

Inlaysheet.epsThe following tune, Graves Without Crosses, presents hints of Doom Metal, which end up making the atmosphere a lot denser in its 7 minutes of obscurity, therefore sounding like a deadlier version of Blackened Doom. Besides, how not to get excited with its warlike lyrics (“A war is fought by man / At the gates of every battle / He stands strong / Stand his ground and face his enemy face on / Defeat is not an option / Surrender, he will never do”)?

Anyway, it’s time to accelerate the rhythm and consequently add more fuel (and blood) to the battle with Into The Iron Mist, an amazing composition showcasing how metallic this army can be. Simply put, it’s top-notch Death Metal, with highlights to the impactful combination of its hawkish growls and headbanging riffs. And the last tune, beautifully entitled Through A Rain Of Fire, keeps up with the offensive ambience generated by the rest of the EP, breaking your neck mercilessly. Bombs explode into pure Death Metal in this hellish chant, not to mention its chorus which, albeit being excellent already, gets even more electrifying due to the song’s pounding drums.

You can find more about Just Before Dawn and their music at their Facebook page, and order your copy of The Dead And Those About To Die at the Chaos Records’ official BandCamp page or webshop. What are you waiting for? Put on your military gear, give no quarter and bang your head to the excellent Death Metal by these unstoppable men-at-arms from Sweden.

Best moments of the album: Into The Iron Mist.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2016 Chaos Records

Track listing
1. Counterbattery 5:30
2. Otnumbered 5:17
3. Graves Without Crosses 7:03
4. Into The Iron Mist 4:38
5. Through A Rain Of Fire 5:12

Band members
Jonny Pettersson – vocals, guitars
Anders Biazzi – guitars, bass
Brynjar Helgetun – drums

Guest musicians
Rogga Johansson – vocals
Håkan Stuvemark – lead guitars
Vesa Kenttäkumpu – lead guitars
Marko Palmér – lead guitars
Benny Moberg – lead guitars, artwork

Metal Chick of the Month – Lena Abé

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Your presence here astonishes us, Lena!

Another year, another fantastic female bass player to reignite The Headbanging Moose and thaw all the ice and snow accumulated in the past few weeks. Coincidence or not, she’s also a “doom” bassist just like last year, corroborating the darkest side of music always welcomes any metal chick that chooses to ride the four-strings with arms wide open. I’m talking about Lena Abé, the awesome bassist for British Doom Metal icons My Dying Bride and a woman that, above all things, loves her family, friends and heavy music.

Lena was born on January 4, 1983 in Tokyo, Japan, but moved to the UK with her family when she was still a little baby. Half Japanese and half British, she was raised in Yorkshire and, according to Lena herself, she has the proper accent to prove it. Coming from a musical family and seeing her family as one of her major influences, Lena started in the world of music when she was around 10 years old, having keyboards and other creative toys instead of the usual dolls. She started playing the guitar then, watching her father play his own and wanting to be like him. She mentioned during one of her interviews that the rest of her story is quite typical for most musicians, as she played with some bands in high school, got more involved with the metal scene, and then finally joined My Dying Bride.

Being so close to family has brought lots of benefits to Lena, especially in terms of her inner strength and perseverance, never giving up on her dreams and projects. Our badass bassist believes learning is a never-ending cycle, saying she’s always learning new things by herself or from other people and musicians. By the way, Lena said she has a drum kit in her cellar, which she’s determined to master at some point in her life. With that said, it’s easy to understand why she truly hates things like selfishness, rudeness and inconsideration, and why one of her favorite quotes is “What matters is not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog.”

She said she doesn’t remember exactly when she got to know My Dying Bride before joining them, but she remember seeing the band in magazines such as Kerrang and Terrorizer and on MTV. She really got into them around 2004 by listening to their album Songs of Darkness, Words of Light and by seeing them live, and that was more than enough for her to begin exploring the rest of the band’s catalogue.

In regards to her career with them, Lena replaced Adrian Jackson as the band’s bassist in 2007, which was around when Dan Mullins replaced John Bennett on drums. She used to live just a couple of streets apart from the band’s guitarist and founding member Andrew Craighan and they had some friends in common, so when Adrian left the band Andrew asked her to audition. I don’t need to say Andrew and the rest of the band loved her style and skills, right?

So far she has recorded with My Dying Bride the live album An Ode to Woe (2008); the full-length albums For Lies I Sire (2009), A Map of All Our Failures (2012) and Feel the Misery (2015); the EP’s Bring Me Victory (2009), The Barghest o’ Whitby (2011) and The Manuscript (2013); and the single Hollow Cathedra (2015), with For Lies I Sire being her favorite album by My Dying Bride, including all their previous releases from even when she wasn’t their bassist. She also played rhythm guitar for British Death/Black Metal band Severed Heaven between 2011 and 2014, but didn’t record anything with them except for their live performances. Some excellent options for the ones who want to listen to Lena kicking fuckin’ ass with her powerful bass guitar together with My Dying Bride are the songs Like a Perpetual Funeral, And My Father Left Forever, Bring Me Victory and Feel the Misery.

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Our Nippo-British diva believes that spending time with the other band members on tour is one of the best things about being in a metal band, and among her most memorable moments on the road are meeting Adam Jones from Tool and him inviting her to their Manchester show as a VIP, and playing with Metallica and Mastodon in Athens, Greece in 2007. One important detail about this is that, according to Lena, that was only her sixth or seventh show with My Dying Bride, so you can imagine how much adrenaline was rushing through her veins then. In terms of her favorite cities and/or countries to visit or to perform with the band, she mentioned Moscow, Romania, Mexico City, Florida and, of course, Japan. And although being raised in the UK, she considers the UK metal scene very weak and depressing, where people are not willing to spend any money on local bands or travel any distance to see them live.

During her early teens, when she was a fan of alternative music such as Portishead, Janes Addiction and Weezer, she started looking for more powerful music, finally connecting to Heavy Metal. Among her favorite bands we can find dark and progressive acts like All Shall Perish, Behemoth, Tool, Septic Flesh, Tomahawk and Whitechapel, and as a fan of witch house she also enjoys the dark beats by bands like Salem, Mater Susperia Vision and RVT$TVX. In addition, one of her favorite most recent albums is Weighing Souls With Sand, from 2007, by The Angelic Process. Take a listen at this album HERE and you’ll see how dark the music enjoyed by Lena is. And if you want to know her list of the 11 most miserable songs in the world, simply click HERE. You will find amazing bands such as Nine Inch Nails and Type O Negative, especially this one with the song Red Water (Christmas Mourning), very powerful and, obviously, miserable.

Lastly, in terms of hobbies and other activities in her personal life, Lena mentioned she simply loves Wii, Xbox and video games in general, including retro gaming too, as well as she’s a fitness fanatic and likes to spend her evenings at the gym. Also, she reads a lot of true crime and lists Lost Highway as her favorite film. And guess what her favorite food is? Sushi, of course! She might have been raised in the UK, but her Japanese blood gets stronger and speaks up at least in this case.

Equipment
Mayones Be 4 Gothic bass guitar
Mayones 5-String Patriot
Mayones Slogan custom 5-string
Trace Elliot AH600-12 Head amp head, 1518 + 1048H cabinets

Lena Abé’s Official Facebook page
Lena Abé’s Official Twitter
My Dying Bride’s Official Facebook page
My Dying Bride’s Official Twitter

“Prepare yourselves for failure after failure. If you can survive the disappointment and hardship you might just make it with some sanity intact.” – Lena Abé

Album Review – Against The Plagues / Purified Through Devastation (2015)

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The devastating new album by this Blackened Death Metal band from Chicago is undoubtedly the perfect soundtrack for the total extermination of our species.

Rating4

ALBUM_COVER_2015We all know that the human race has proven countless times to be a failed experiment of Mother Nature and that, consequently, there’s only one last resort to restore balance to the world, which is the total extermination of our species. Thus, as there’s no other way out, why not conducting that mandatory purge to the sound of the demolishing music found in Purified Through Devastation,  the brand new release by American Blackened Death Metal act Against The Plagues?

Based in Chicago, Illinois, this brutally heavy and technical band has been pulverizing the world with their Blackened Death Metal since their inception in 2005, mixing speed and slower tempos in a precise and explicit way for the delight of fans of extreme music. Featuring another first-rate artwork by renowned Swedish artist Pär Olofsson (you might remember him from some of our previous reviews such as the latest albums by Exodus and Irreversible Mechanism), six of the nine tracks in Purified Through Devastation were already part of either their 2012 EP The Quaternion or their 2015 EP Extermination Event, which altogether offer the listener a concept album that will leave you disoriented after its 47 minutes of annihilation are over.

Their pulverization begins in less than five seconds in Man’s Modern World, where lead singer Shaun Albro delivers potent screams and growls (hence leading the band’s dense musicality) while drummer Varyen Chylinski shows no mercy for mankind, sounding like a machine gun behind his drums. The brutal and atmospheric All Flesh Had Corrupted, showcasing a more modern version of Death Metal due to its background sounds, continues the band’s carnage and also presents some amazing guitar lines by Jon Corston and Aaron Covarrubias, especially their solos. And what can be said about Praetorian Icon, slightly faster, heavier and more demonic than the previous tracks, reinforcing their impressive technique to sound so destructive and tuneful at the same time?

photoThe next song, Theokratia, is a magnificent neck-breaking chant perfect for admirers of Melodic Death Metal but with sharper instruments, in special the bestial drumming by Varyen and the even deeper growls by Shaun. And their heavy artillery doesn’t give any sign of slowing down as seen in TerrorForm, where hints of Symphonic Black Metal blend perfectly with their traditional shredding, beats and screams, making it a highly-recommended tune for getting smashed in the circle pit. The same is valid for the awesome chant Extermination Event, where its initial siren alerts a scathing bloodshed is about to begin in the form of demented Death Metal.

Let’s say the album needed a short break from all extermination going on with the instrumental track Falling Further, but it’s just for less than two minutes before the psychotic tune Enblightened comes crushing your skull with its Black Metal elements, enhancing the already amazing harsh vocals by Shaun. And lastly, we have the threatening Enemy Herein to close the album, with all instruments getting darker than usual and Jon and Aaron firing more of their striking guitar solos.

Against The Plagues can be found on Facebook and ReverbNation, and there are so many awesome versions of Purified Through Devastation available for sale I don’t know where to start. You can grab your copy of the album at their BandCamp page, a limited edition CD signed by all members at their Big Cartel page, and both the regular version of the album or a special combo CD + T-shirt at the Non Serviam Records webstore. If the brutal extermination of mankind deserves a proper soundtrack, Against The Plagues are indubitably the ones to help us with that gruesome task.

Best moments of the album: Man’s Modern World, Theokratia and Extermination Event.

Worst moments of the album: Enemy Herein.

Released in 2015 Non Serviam Records

Track listing
1. Man’s Modern World 7:06
2. All Flesh Had Corrupted 4:58
3. Praetorian Icon 5:25
4. Theokratia 7:47
5. TerrorForm 5:12
6. Extermination Event 3:56
7. Falling Further 1:39
8. Enblightened 4:46
9. Enemy Herein 6:49

Band members
Shaun Albro – vocals
Jon Corston – guitar
Aaron Covarrubias – guitar
Milo Kovacevic – bass
Varyen Chylinski – drums

Album Review – The Prophet / Dying (2015)

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A consistent and striking album full of hatred, suffering and death, by an up-and-coming Russian band that aims at redefining Melodic Death Metal.

Rating4

the prophet_dyingIf you look up in any dictionary for the definition of the word Dying, you’ll find a few different meanings such as “on the point of death”, “occurring at or connected with the time that someone dies” or even “gradually ceasing to exist or function; in decline and about to disappear”. However, from now on there should be a new definition added to that list referring to the brand new release by Siberian Melodic Death Metal band The Prophet, a consistent and striking album overflowing hatred, suffering and, obviously, death.

Dying is the third full-length album by this talented band formed in 2010 in the city of Tomsk, Russia (one of the oldest towns in Siberia), and it’s by far their most solid and professional one in terms of its overall production, quality of the compositions and connectivity among its nine hostile tracks. The album’s cadaverous artwork, designed by Armenian artist and multi-instrumentalist Mark Erskine (GraveDealer Studio), is just the icing on the cake, effectually complementing what the music by The Prophet proposes throughout the entire album.

Just a few seconds after their metallic cavalry arrives in the opening track Killers, The Prophet already start detonating their fast and furious Death Metal through the harsh screams by lead singer/guitarist Doctor and a high-octane rhythm brought forward by guitarist Jo-Sound, bassist Bathone and drummer Raziel, reminding me of the massacre that old school Arch Enemy used to present. The following track, On The Path, is perfect for banging your head like a maniac due to its Black Metal riffs and its darkened ambience, which is also present in Incantation Of Sorrow, with the slight difference that now it’s the drums that get closer to a Black Metal sonority.

Band-1Although Amid The Fogs Of Nothing has the most beautiful name of all songs in the album, it is just an instrumental tune that prepares the listener to “die” with the title-track, the heavy and crisp Dying. It’s yet another song with a strong Arch Enemy-ish vibe, or in other words, it’s very melodic and lethal at the same time, with highlights to the always desperate growls by Doctor and the razing riffs by both Doctor and Jo-Sound.

Relying on a truly unhappy and dark atmosphere, Let My Soul Out will not bring any joy or hope to your miserable life, especially due to the addition of elements from Blackened Doom and Doom Metal to its musicality; while Infection, a lot faster and more violent than most songs of the album, sounds as if Behemoth meet In Flames, therefore kicking you in the jugular without mercy. A Voice From Nowhere follows a similar pattern, offering sheer brutality and nonstop beats that morph into an eerie ending, whereas Bathone and Raziel guide the funereal Last Mourning Waltz, with its guitars acting like one last scream of agony before a sinister piano concludes the band’s journey to the other side.

There are many ways you can join The Prophet on their road to death and doom, including their  official Facebook page, VKontakte, YouTube and SoundCloud. And in case you want to purchase Dying, you can find it for sale at their BandCamp page or at the Russian label Musica Production’s page on eBay. Now all that’s left to do is adding the suggested new definition of “dying” to the dictionary, especially because the words “dying” or “death” have never made more sense in Melodic Death Metal than through the music by The Prophet.

Best moments of the album: Killers, Dying and Infection.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2015 Musica Production

Track listing
1. Killers 3:23
2. On The Path 4:14
3.Incantation Of Sorrow 3:31
4. Amid The Fogs Of Nothing 2:05
5. Dying 4:05
6. Let My Soul Out 5:25
7. Infection 3:43
8. A Voice From Nowhere 2:52
9. Last Mourning Waltz 4:48

Band members
Doctor – vocals, guitars
Jo-Sound – guitars
Bathone – bass
Raziel – drums

Album Review – Dendritic Arbor / Sentient Village // Obsolescent Garden EP (2015)

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Follow the exploratory path of madness by a talented five-piece band whose main objective is to provide us distinct extreme music from multiple perspectives.

Rating5

“Different music from multiple perspectives.”

Dendriticarbor_Svog_cover-page-001If you visit the official Facebook page by American Progressive Black Metal quintet Dendritic Arbor, that’s the short and sweet description you’ll find about the eccentric music by this band hailing from the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the United States, and let me tell you there couldn’t be better words to describe their challenging and lunatic creations and experimentations. I myself consider labeling them as “just” a Progressive Black Metal band a limitation to their unique scope and creativity,  but that’s something I’ll leave up to you to decide after you take a listen at their brand new EP entitled Sentient Village // Obsolescent Garden.

Formed in 2012, the band composed of Maxwell Beehner (guitars, vocals), Adam Henderson (guitars, vocals), Thomas Bittner (bass), Chris McCune (drums) and Kyle Lambert (responsible for the “noise”, or whatever that’s supposed to mean) is on a hot streak since their inception, releasing high-quality extreme music no matter if it’s just a single, a full-length album or an EP like Sentient Village // Obsolescent Garden. Featuring a more-than-unusual album art designed by Hannah MacAulay and Maxwell Beehner (Ageless Christian Records), this avant-garde four-track album will demolish you like a wrecking ball in its 20 minutes of psychedelic rage.

The weird noises in the beginning of Cotard Delusion (a rare mental illness in which an afflicted person holds the delusion that they are dead, either figuratively or literally) might deceive you a bit, making you think the music by Dendritic Arbor is not as heavy as promised, but as soon as the sonic carnage arises with an explosion of blast beats, absurdly demented guitar riffs and disgruntled howls and barks by both Maxwell and Adam, sounding like there’s a horde of hideous trolls making noises behind the band, you’ll realize these guys are not fooling around. However, things get even more demonic (and therefore better) in Failed Manifestations, a top-notch mix of Black, Death and Thrash Metal, all at once in a powergrinding turmoil, not to mention the “trolls” who keep vociferating their evil spell against mankind. In other words, it’s a complex, progressive and totally destructive nightmare for the faint of heart.

Dendritic Arbor band pictureKeratoconus, which by the way is the name of a degenerative disorder of the eye in which structural changes within the cornea cause it to thin and change to a more conical shape than the more normal gradual curve, offers the listener brutal slamming Black Metal with no shenanigans, with drummer Chris McCune simply crushing everything with his inhuman beats. And what the hell are those wicked lyrics about (“Ruby moonlight harvesting the growth. / golden fishbone, lodged into the throat. / guess whose eating from the trash again?”)? Anyway, Latex, the most progressive of the four tracks, is an eldritch canticle forged in the pits of hell, where the whole band focuses all their strength and vileness to generate an idiosyncratic sonority until it becomes just a fading eerie noise to put an end to the album.

In a nutshell, Dendritic Arbor are not among us to provide us relaxing or charming songs, but a disquieting tsunami of Extreme Metal aiming at your ill-fated soul and your filthy heart. And with Sentient Village // Obsolescent Garden, available at their BandCamp page, they continue their exploratory path of madness that will send to your ears, as aforementioned, distinct heavy music from multiple perspectives.

Best moments of the album: Failed Manifestations.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2015 Independent

Track listing
1. Cotard Delusion 3:44
2. Failed Manifestations 3:25
3. Keratoconus 6:08
4. Latex 7.37

Band members
Maxwell Beehner – guitars, vocals
Adam Henderson – guitars, vocals
Thomas Bittner – bass
Chris McCune – drums
Kyle Lambert – noise

Album Review – Mastication Of Brutality Uncontrolled / Preemptive Space Warfare (2015)

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Do you have what it takes to survive a flesh ripping Brutal Death Metal Slam Alien Apocalypse attack?

Rating5

MOBU -Preemptive Space WarfareAre you ready for a flesh ripping Brutal Death Metal Slam Alien Apocalypse attack? Well, at least that’s how German/Swiss Technical Slamming Death Metal band Mastication Of Brutality Uncontrolled, also known as M.O.B.U., define the sonic dementia found in their debut full-length album, entitled Preemptive Space Warfare, and they’re not kidding when they say their music will rip your flesh off so bestial it is.

Formed in 2007 as a side project by members of other brutal slamming bands from Germany such as Incesticide and Provocation, this Death Metal steamroller became a full-bodied band by the end of 2009, reaching their apex of devastation now in 2015 with Preemptive Space Warfare, curiously and properly released this Halloween to haunt the souls of those who don’t have the required dexterity or competence to see beauty behind all the cruelty disgorged through the band’s merciless instruments.

Preemptive Space Warfare is probably one of the coolest intros I’ve ever heard in my life, where M.O.B.U. courteously give us around two minutes for stretching our muscles before their psychotic slamming extravaganza takes off, starting with the visceral Mother Earth Abortion, an extremely technical and noisy tune. I truly love how poetic the lyrics in Brutal Death Metal are and how easy it is to follow them, especially when they sound just like “beeh beeh beeh beeh beeeeeh” almost all the time. Of course, that wouldn’t be possible without the deep growls by lead singer Manuel, one of the main catalysts of their musical holocaust.

MOBU Bandpic_300dpiIn the also calamitous Brutal Laser Devastation, drummer Basti M. sounds like a machine gun while Manuel keeps grunting like a wild boar being dissected alive, not to mention how cool the riffs by guitarist Flo are. Then we have Milkstreet Mass Collision, a brutal Death Metal onslaught with some amazing riffs that remind me of old school Cannibal Corpse, and Life-Form Adoption, which confirms this is kind of a “concept” album as all songs are about alien invasions and the outer space (although I don’t think you will care about that as soon as you start being smashed inside the sick circle-pits generated by this song). And Human Resources keeps slamming nonstop, with highlights to its killer drums guiding the seismic activity caused by the band.

Manuel takes a quick break to recharge his snarling while the rest of the band displays their skills in the instrumental Prophecy Of The Apocalypse (Interlude), and as soon as the demolishing chant Orbital Corpses begins, showcasing great synchronicity between its heavy riffs and brutal beats, you can have a pretty good idea of all the bruises you might get all over your body during one of their concerts if this song is played live. Infrastructure Destruction, a high-octane tribute to Death Metal, offers the listener the band’s unique vomiting growls and harmful beats, turning this sick chant into a nightmare for the faint-hearted, but it’s in New Space Order that M.O.B.U. go above and beyond. How can a brutal slamming band like this have a 7-minute song in their repertoire? The only thing I can say about this song is that it’s the end of the world in the form of music.

Now that you have a better understanding of what a “flesh ripping Brutal Death Metal Slam Alien Apocalypse attack” is, go show your support for M.O.B.U. at their Facebook page, and of course purchase the unrelenting Preemptive Space Warfare at the Rotten Roll Rex BandCamp page or webstore, as well as on eBay. And if you’re not convinced yet of the disturbing firepower spawned by the music by M.O.B.U., or if you think you can easily survive their slamming assault, simply take a quick listen at the album teaser and be prepared to have your mind brutally swarmed with alien swine fluids.

Best moments of the album: Mother Earth Abortion, Brutal Laser Devastation and Infrastructure Destruction.

Worst moments of the album: Milkstreet Mass Collision.

Released in 2015 Rotten Roll Rex

Track listing
1. Preemptive Space Warfare 2:10
2. Mother Earth Abortion 3:36
3. Brutal Laser Devastation 3:04
4. Milkstreet Mass Collision 2:04
5. Life-Form Adoption 3:48
6. Human Resources 4:16
7. Prophecy Of The Apocalypse (Interlude) 1:45
8. Orbital Corpses 2:22
9. Infrastructure Destruction 3:32
10. New Space Order 7:42

Band members
Manuel – vocals
Flo – guitars
Basti S. – bass
Basti M. – drums

Album Review – [EVERTRAPPED] / Under The Deep (2015)

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Do you want to know what lies under the deepest and darkest regions of the human soul? This vicious and ruthless album might have all the answers you’ve been searching for.

Rating4

Album Cover - Evertrapped - Undert The DeepEveryone knows how fertile and multifaceted the metallic scene in Montreal, Quebec, Canada has always been. There are so many excellent bands hailing from all parts of the city it’s hard to pick just a few, and since 2007 there’s another amazing act added to that distinct group delivering heavy and groovy chants for the delight of fans of Melodic Death Metal, peculiarly named [EVERTRAPPED]. That’s right, this five-piece band has their name intentionally written with enclosed brackets, which according to the band members signifies the trappings of modern life for all of us and how people, despite their best attempts to break out of the mold, are still affixed to a simple controlled existence and futility.

If you’re a fan of the cataclysmic sounding by bands such as Arch Enemy, Whitechapel, Mnemic, Lamb Of God and Threat Signal, among others, you’ll definitely enjoy what [EVERTRAPPED] have to offer with their brand new album, entitled Under The Deep, an exploration of the deepest reaches of human madness, the darkest regions of the soul and the blackest part of the human heart. Both the music and the lyrics in Under The Deep follow that modern and obscure concept, elevating the impact of the sharp venom blasted by this talented quintet throughout the entire album.

Under The Deep kicks off with the sinister and calm intro […], offering some piano notes before the guitars and a charming female voice appear to help build the ambience for the devastating Arise From The Ashes, sounding like almost pure Death Metal so heavy it is. James Brookes comes crushing everything with his deranged growls, whereas it’s easy to notice how technical drummer Eric Lemire is even amidst all the destruction crafted by the whole band. The massacre goes on in the sick tune entitled Underneath The Deep, one of those songs to break your fuckin’ neck headbanging where James gets even more demonic on vocals, but at the same time with the melodic guitar lines by Frederick Dupuis and Vincent Benoit giving more balance to the final result.

Evertrapped - Press Photo - credit - Luc DelormeIn Palace Of Injustice, [EVERTRAPPED] get closer to the musicality by Lamb Of God, firing merciless beats and huge doses of anger and insanity in an extremely dense and dark way, ripping your heart and soul until the song’s eccentric ending; while in Hypnotized By Hatred, a kick-ass tune that flirts with Black Metal in some instances, the band adds thrashier and darker elements to the music, switching from sheer speed to neck-breaking riffs and vice-versa a few times before the song is over. And there will be blood in the following song, another blackened chant entitled Blood Of The Fallen, where James growls like a beast while the other band members smash their instruments, creating a truly brutish atmosphere. It’s incredibly heavier than any Melodic Death Metal band on earth, with highlights to its spot-on guitar solos.

Lethal District shows us all that the band never gets tired at all of being so brutal, despite this being a more progressive song with interesting breaks thanks to the excellent job done by bassist John Yates and drummer Eric Lemire. Then we have another solid and technical display of their boisterous metal named Burning Through Vengeance, offering us relentless beats enhanced by its background atmosphere together with a very melodic and imposing rhythm, followed by the rhythmic and dark Reaper, with the harsh screams by James leading the music to a total state of dementia while Frederick and Vicent keep discharging powerful riffs and solos through their guitars. And last but not least, there was no better way to close the album than piercing our ears and lacerating our minds with the deadly tune Embrace The End. Simply bang your head nonstop to this awesome riff until the song’s climatic ending, it’s definitely worth the pain.

Do you want to know what lies under the deepest and darkest regions of the human soul? If you’re up for this thrilling challenge, all you have to do is visit the band’s Facebook page and YouTube channel, as well as their BandCamp page in case you you want to take a better listen to Under The Deep and obviously purchase the album. And when you get deep down there, be ready to have your heart poisoned (in a good way) by the music by [EVERTRAPPED] and have your soul unleashed from your hollow existence.

Best moments of the album: Underneath The Deep, Hypnotized By Hatred and Blood Of The Fallen.

Worst moments of the album: Lethal District.

Released in 2015 Hellstorm Recordz

Track listing
1. […] 1:58
2. Arise From The Ashes 5:40
3. Underneath The Deep 5:50
4. Palace Of Injustice 6:06
5. Hypnotized By Hatred 5:26
6. Blood Of The Fallen 5:05
7. Lethal District 6:28
8. Burning Through Vengeance 5:36
9. Reaper 5:30
10. Embrace The End 5:55

Band members
James Brookes – vocals
Frederick Dupuis – rhythm and lead guitars
Vincent Benoit – rhythm and lead guitars
John Yates – bass
Eric Lemire – drums

Album Review – Dzhatinga / Black Wings (2015)

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Spread your black wings and fly away to the dark realms of Death Metal constructed by these excellent Belarusian metallers.

Rating4

coverThe Republic of Belarus is usually known for its enchanting culture, its pristine forests and nature, and obviously for its historical importance as part of the imposing Soviet Union. However, the country has been turning into a mandatory stopover in recent years for fans of heavy and complex music, as previously seen with Progressive Death Metal band Irreversible Mechanism and now with Deathcore/Death Metal newcomers Dzhatinga, who are releasing in 2015 their debut full-length album Black Wings.

Hailing from the city of Minsk, Belarus, like their countrymen from Irreversible Mechanism, the band was formed just earlier this year by brothers Alexey Krapitsky (vocals, guitar) and Dmitry Krapitsky (bass), but their music sounds so solid and professional it feels like they’ve been on the road for a good time already. Furthermore, another interesting fact about Black Wings is that the way the songs (or “acts”) are named and sorted gives the idea the album is a theatrical play, which is reinforced by the ominous and beautiful artwork by Belarusian artist Elena Zharkova. And don’t expect to find any clean singing in the entire album, as Dzhatinga is a lot heavier than almost all Metalcore, Deathcore and Melodic Death Metal bands you might know.

The eerie intro Into The Abyss kicks off Black Wings by setting the stage to the extremely heavy Act I: Faith Devourer, which I personally wouldn’t call Melodic Death Metal but a more modern version of Death Metal, with the outstanding production of the album enhancing the impact of each instrument. Not only Alexey Krapitsky is a talented guitarist, but the way he uses his voice as an eldritch instrument, going from deep guttural to maniacal screams, truly adds a lot of kick to the song. Keeping the level of aggression high, Act II: Neverwhere showcases a futuristic sounding with an old school vibe and tons of brutality, not to mention the excellent guitar lines by Alexey Krapitsky and Alexey Yalovsky, followed by Act III: Bearpaw, an amazing tune that sounds like a heavier version of the Industrial Metal played by Fear Factory. Its lyrics might be simple but are indeed very precise (“My fur is like armor, my claws like blades. / The colour of your hope was lost in the shades. / Show me your fear, give me your life! / Your turn to die!”), and the additional harsh vocals by the awesome singer Anastasia Palamar (Exist M), being sexy and beastly at the same time, turn it into the best act of Black Wings in my opinion.

dzhatingaPassion To Kill (Prelude) is even more obscure than the album intro, being the perfect bridge from the first three acts to the following three, starting with a groovy massacre named Act IV: Their Knock, with highlights to the great job done by drummer Denis Kozyrev by adding hints of progressiveness to the music with his intricate beats, and to the vocals by Alexey Krapitsky, slightly more guttural than before. Then we have Act V: Seasoned With Pain, a hefty assault of Groove and Death Metal focused on its cannibalistic/vampirical lyrics (“Your flesh, your blood is so sweet for me. / My teeth are sharp. They will make you free. / Your taste is so subtle, so delicious. / Your heart and your brain is seasoned with your pain.”), and finally Act VI: Black Wings, featuring additional harsh vocals by Vitaly Shalak (Stanmarsh, Andrea Gail), where Dzhatinga keep devouring our souls with their wicked musicality despite being more introspective than the other acts, with the resonant bass lines by Dmitry guiding the song to its desolate ending.

In order to spread your black wings and fly away to the dark world constructed by Dzhatinga and their music, go visit their Facebook page, VKontakte and in special their SoundCloud page, where you can listen to Black Wings in its entirety and enjoy some high-end Death Metal directly from Belarus, a country that, as aforementioned, is gaining more and more significance and respect in the world of heavy music.

Best moments of the album: Act II: Neverwhere and Act III: Bearpaw.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2015 Independent

Track listing
1. Into The Abyss (Intro) 1:13
2. Act I: Faith Devourer 3:49
3. Act II: Neverwhere 3:54
4. Act III: Bearpaw (feat. Anastasia Palamar) 4:11
5. Passion To Kill (Prelude) 1:21
6. Act IV: Their Knock 4:12
7. Act V: Seasoned With Pain 3:41
8. Act VI: Black Wings (feat. Vitaly Shalak) 4:31

Band members
Alexey Krapitsky – vocals, guitar
Alexey Yalovsky – guitar
Dmitry Krapitsky – bass
Denis Kozyrev – drums

Guest musicians
Anastasia Palamar – additional harsh vocals on “Act III: Bearpaw”
Vitaly Shalak – additional harsh vocals on “Act VI: Black Wings”

Album Review – Extirpation / Wings of Decadence (2015)

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If the sonic cataclysm brought forth by this demented Italian band doesn’t wake you up, you should definitely go see a doctor.

Rating5

extirpation_wings of decadenceIn case you’re having one of those sluggish and monotonous days that seem to last for the whole eternity, I have the perfect remedy to cure your boredom and make you feel so electrified you’ll even start banging your head against the wall in exultation. Open up some space in your room or wherever you are, take a deep breath, do some good stretching and finally hit play and enjoy Wings of Decadence, the brand new music havoc by Italian Black/Thrash Metal act Extirpation.

Bred in the darkest catacombs of Milan, Italy in July 2009, Extirpation have been growing in the underground scene with each of their releases, gaining some considerable recognition internationally and therefore leading them to start playing outside the Italian territory in countries such as Switzerland, France, Belgium and Romania. Judging by the speed and heaviness found in Wings of Decadence (including the sick old school artwork designed by their own vocalist/bassist Darak), I believe we can all have a very good idea of how cataclysmic their concerts around Europe might be.

Extirpation open the album with a merciless massacre entitled Controlled By Rage, where its razing riffs build a raw and obscure sounding enhanced by the harsh vocals by Darak (who actually sounds like an enraged goblin) and by drummer Elia smashing his drum set like there’s no tomorrow with a Punk Rock/Hardcore vibe added to his beats. If you don’t go into shock after listening to this ode to dementia, you’ll have your spinal cord smashed by Thrash The Enemy, a visceral Thrash Metal tune straight to your face where Eros and Magikk make sure their riffs and solos keep puncturing your ears without rest, followed by Sick Life, a brutal Thrashcore/Goregrind feast darkened by its deranged vocals, perfect for slamming into the most insane mosh pits you can imagine.

extirpationOath Of The Death, with its amazing infernal intro, offers the listener sheer devastation blending Black, Death and Thrash Metal with the meanest and most disturbing form of Punk Rock possible, not to mention the hot streak of destruction Darak and Elia are on; while Desires of Dust, despite slowing things down a bit, is still dark and putrid, with highlights to another devilish performance by Darak. And get ready for humongous dosages of hardcore riffs and bestial beats and growls in Consumed System, which not only keeps up with the musical consistency found in all previous tracks, but also presents guitar lines that are perhaps the closest to the purest form of Black Metal you will find in the whole album.

Not a single moment of peace or tranquility is present in Fall in The Dark: it’s violence taken to the extreme, where Elia continues his belligerent onslaught on drums while the rest of the band keeps breathing fire through their instruments and harsh vocals. The same can be said about Daily Struggle, an unrelenting display of Blackened Thrash Metal blended with Hardcore and Death Metal highly recommended for the soundtrack of the apocalypse, which makes me wonder how many people will have serious injuries if they slam into the pit whenever this immoderate tune is played live. In the short and sweet Eternal Moments, they truly sound like a band formed by evil entities like orcs or trolls shredding everything to pieces so inhuman it feels, maybe one of the most carnivorous tunes I’ve ever heard, before the title-track Wings of Decadence closes the album sounding as if the music is coming from the pits of hell, with Darak barking like a demon while the entire band is simply destroying whatever crosses their path with a mix of heaviness, feeling and anger.

In summary, the music in Wings of Decadence might be too harsh or pugnacious for the majority of the society we live in, but for fans of old school Black and Thrash Metal it’s indeed a bundle of joy with its ten hellish chants. You can get more details about the music by Extirpation at their Facebook page, and you can find their new album for sale at their BandCamp page or at the Nightbreaker Productions webstore. And if even after taking a listen at Wings of Decadence you still find yourself yawning of tiresomeness, I’m sorry but you should desperately see a doctor.

Best moments of the album: Thrash The Enemy, Oath Of The Death and Daily Struggle.

Worst moments of the album: Desires of Dust and Wings of Decadence.

Released in 2015 Nightbreaker Productions

Track listing
1. Controlled By Rage 3:35
2. Thrash The Enemy 2:43
3. Sick Life 4:08
4. Oath Of The Death 3:24
5. Desires of Dust 2:48
6. Consumed System 3:45
7. Fall in The Dark 4:03
8. Daily Struggle 2:50
9. Eternal Moments 1:58
10. Wings of Decadence 4:42

Band members
Darak – vocals, bass
Eros – guitars
Magikk – guitars
Elia – drums

Album Review – Vingulmork / Chiaroscuro (2015)

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Surrender to the dark side of Thrash Metal, offered to you by one of the most promising Scandinavian bands of the past few years.

Rating3

VINGULMORK - Chiaroscuro cover artAlthough the year of 2015 is almost coming to its end, it seems there are still tons of awesome metal bands with considerable amounts of fuel to burn, providing us fans unbounded reasons to keep banging our heads nonstop like maniacs. This is precisely the case with Norwegian Blackened Thrash Metal desecrators Vingulmork, who before the curtains of this chaotic year close are releasing their cataclysmic debut full-length album entitled Chiaroscuro. The name of the album might be the junction of the Italian words “chiaro” (clear or bright) and “oscuro” (dark), but don’t expect to find any light in their music. It’s sheer darkness, architected in such a thrilling and virulent way you’ll be mercilessly knocked out like Ronda Rousey before the album is over.

Forged in 2012 at the very depths of Oslo, Norway, Vingulmork released their debut EP named The Long March at the beginning of 2014, but it’s now with Chiaroscuro that this talented quartet aims at conquering the world of heavy music with their inhumane combination of the unquestioned verve from Thrash Metal with the evildoing and perversity of Black Metal. If you hold true passion for the music by bands such as Skeletonwitch, Old Man’s Child and Dissection, the music by Vingulmork (which translated from Old Norse means “the forest of fescues”) brings forward all the elements needed to foster that darkest side of yours.

And Vingulmork don’t give you a single second to breathe before their sonic devastation begins in the magnificent Collapse and Rebuild, a brutal composition that summarizes their music style by blending the riveting riffs from Thrash Metal with the obscure growls from Black Metal. In addition, Frontman Jostein Stensrud Køhn sounds like he’s possessed by an evil entity so aggressive his vocals are, while drummer Simen Kandola delivers beats inspired by the greatest drummers from the Bay Area Thrash. As destructive as the opening track, Hold Your Ground provides an accelerated feeling as if a heart attack is about to come, with guitarist Martin Kandola offering the listener his evil-inspired riffs amidst pure Thrash Metal music. And that’s just the beginning of Chiaroscuro, my friends.

Don’t get deceived by the calm acoustic intro from the chant beautifully entitled (I Am) The Darkness You Can Touch, as it quickly morphs into a dark sounding with elements of Death Metal that will violently kick you in the head. Jostein growling like a demon, together with some interesting breaks leading into some pure Black Metal moments and its lugubrious lyrics (“I will lay waste to your sense of belief / Replace all pleasure with anguish and grief / I will demolish all ways to control / I will take hold of and bury you”), turn this ode to obscurity into one of the top moments of the album without a shadow of a doubt. In The Haunting, the band delivers a melodic and ferocious onslaught of metallic music in less than 3 minutes, reminding me of the high-octane Thrash/Death Metal by Skeletonwitch, while Old Hate flirts with Melodic Death Metal but with extra dosages of wickedness added to the sounding, not to mention the great job done by Martin with his sick guitar riffs accompanied by the intricate bass lines by Steffen Grønneberg.

VINGULMORK band photo (3)With an enraged Simen on drums, their dark metal machine keeps rolling and smashing everyone and everything in From Promise, a straightforward tune that will ignite some serious mosh pits during their live performances, with highlights to the beyond bestial vocals by Jostein, and don’t stop banging your head or slamming into the pit because Vingulmork offer us all Painting Lives, another insane track where there’s even time for a catchy chorus that will stick into your mind for a long period of time (“Every moment counts / And everything amounts / To pull apart is not an art / And so we count all that amounts”).

The two last arias in Chiaroscuro are just as nefarious as the rest of the album, starting with the striking White Dress, Black Heart, with yet another demented performance by the entire band, in special by Jostein and Simen. This is at the same time the most Thrash Metal and the most Death Metal of all tracks, which obviously elevates its quality to a whole new level of carnage, also presenting thoughtful lyrics that make total sense if you know how harsh the winter can be (“The winter is grinding knives / It will take another life / Cutting through frozen flesh / Claims a mark in every bone”). And closing this top-notch album we have their most obscure and disturbed tune, It Will Suffice, where the band definitely embraces darkness by showcasing their strongest Black/Doom Metal vein. A lesson in extreme music by this incredible Norwegian act, where the music cuts like a sharp razor until it fades away into a melancholic and demonic finale.

To get a taste of what Vingulmork have to offer in Chiaroscuro, you can visit their Facebook page or take a listen at the official album preview by Crime Records, but I’m pretty sure you’ll almost instantly go grab your copy of the album at the Crime Records webstore or at CD Baby. Forget about the never-ending war between darkness and light, simply surrender to the dark side of Thrash Metal offered to you by one of the most promising Scandinavian bands of the past few years. You will not repent that.

Best moments of the album: Collapse and Rebuild, (I Am) The Darkness You Can Touch and White Dress, Black Heart.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2015 Crime Records

Track listing
1. Collapse and Rebuild 3:38
2. Hold Your Ground 3:17
3. (I Am) The Darkness You Can Touch 5:24
4. The Haunting 2:36
5. Old Hate 2:59
6. From Promise 3:29
7. Painting Lives 3:34
8. White Dress, Black Heart 2:23
9. It Will Suffice 5:45

Band members
Jostein Stensrud Køhn – vocals
Martin Kandola – guitar
Steffen Grønneberg – bass
Simen Kandola – drums