Tag Archives: death metal

Album Review – Phobiatic / Fragments Of Flagrancy (2014)

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Get ready for a technical and blustering sonic havoc by this terrific Death Metal band from Germany.

Rating4

COVERThere’s only one word that comes to my mind after listening to Fragments Of Flagrancy, the second full-length album by German Technical Death Metal band Phobiatic, and it’s DEVASTATION. That’s what this awesome band from Essen, Germany, offers us with their new album: a violent sonic war full of complex riffs and devastating drums, perfect for fans of the atrocious music by old school icons such as Morbid Angel, Dying Fetus and Suffocation, with an extra dose of modernity that intensifies their musicality even more.

Perhaps the most noticeable difference from their first album, disregarding of course the fact that all band members are a lot more mature and experienced now, is the change in vocals from the deeper guttural by Christian Markwald to the more technical and sharper voice by Sebastian Meisen. This change reminds me a lot of what happened to the music by American Death Metal masters Cannibal Corpse when Chris Barnes was replaced by George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher, which in my humble opinion was indeed a very positive change for the band.

It seems that Phobiatic wanted to send a message to all listeners as soon as the opening track starts, the raging Bugging Operation, telling everyone something like “this is what we do, and if you don’t like it just fuck off”. It’s a devilishly technical and violent song, similar to what Brazilian Death Metal monsters Krisiun do and highly recommended for all lovers of extreme brutality, or in other words, not for the faint of heart. In Downward Spiral they were able to accelerate things even more, with an outstanding chorus and drummer Kai Bracht showing no mercy for his drum set, while Ripped To Shreds showcases an impressive synchronicity between guitars and drums, with the demonic and boisterous vocals by Sebastian Meisen perfectly fitting all that music havoc. Furthermore, I’m pretty sure bassist Michael Stifft is a huge fan of Cannibal Corpse’s one and only Alex Webster due to the complexity of the bass lines throughout this song.

Then this nonstop Death Metal machine brings us House In Cleveland, which despite being slower than the previous tracks is as heavy as it can be, with focus on deeper guttural vocals, and the superb A Genius Of Manipulation, where the complexity in its very technical and fast drumming and guitar lines is truly above average. Not only that, the violence found in its chorus is another highlight of this extreme metal composition, contributing to elevating it to the status of best song of the whole album. The following tracks, R.A.T.T. and Suitable Method, sound totally inspired by the music of Deicide and Krisiun and remind you that you need to be in really good shape to keep up with their speed and brutality, especially the latter where we have another awesome performance by drummer Kai Bracht, with all music variations making the song even more complex and disturbing. I’m sure you’ll love the last part of this song, it is an amazing lesson in Death Metal.

phobiatic-photo3But before you can raise your white flag amidst all the rage and violence bred by Phobiatic, the band still has time to deliver us some more awesomeness in form of Death Metal: in Abnormal Dilation, vocalist Sebastian Meisen adds some desperate high-pitched screams to his vocal range, while Like Pigs In The Dirt goes straight to the point with its old school approach (and don’t forget to pay attention to the “beautiful” message in the lyrics). And lastly, we have Metropolis (Of The Dead), a more obscure track with a melancholic intro that suddenly turns into another pure Death Metal tune, with highlights to the excellent job done by guitarist Robert Nowak.

You can find Fragments Of Flagrancy on sale here, and I’m sure it will soon be available in other places such as iTunes and some physical stores. Let’s help this amazing brutal band spread their infernal music all over the world and torment our souls for many years to come. After all, that’s what traditional Death Metal is all about.

Best moments of the album: Downward Spiral, A Genius Of Manipulation and Suitable Method.

Worst moments of the album: House In Cleveland and Metropolis (Of The Dead).

Released in 2014 Unundeux/Cargo Records

Track listing
1. Bugging Operation 2:50
2. Downward Spiral 2:41
3. Ripped To Shreds 2:53
4. House In Cleveland 4:41
5. A Genius Of Manipulation 3:38
6. R.A.T.T. 2:42
7. Suitable Method 4:22
8. Abnormal Dilation 2:20
9. Like Pigs In The Dirt 1:45
10. Metropolis (Of The Dead) 5:40

Band members
Sebastian Meisen – vocals
Robert Nowak – guitars
Michael Stifft – bass
Kai Bracht – drums

Album Review – Octainium / Suffer The Clock (2014)

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These South African metalheads bring us a vibrant Metalcore album full of heavy riffs, violent lyrics and lots of melody.

Rating4

Album Front CoverIt’s time to travel to the “Mother Continent”, more specifically to Centurion, in South Africa, an area located about 20 minutes from the city of Pretoria, to enjoy the music offered to us all by South African Metalcore band Octainium in their new album, Suffer The Clock, a very interesting mix of violence, harmony and melody tailored for all guys and girls that are fans of a more modern version of heavy music.

Octainium might be highly influenced by bands like Killswitch Engage, Lamb Of God and Hatebreed, but their music is not limited to what those bands do only. Although labeled as a Metalcore band, their music is much broader that than, as those guys incorporate lots of elements from more brutal genres such as Thrash Metal and Melodic Death Metal, and sometimes even traditional Hard Rock from the 80’s.

The excellent mix of Death Metal and Metalcore present in the song that kicks off the album, The Writing’s on the Wall, perfectly exemplifies what I’m trying to say in regards to the range of Octainium’s music, with highlights to the awesome deep guttural vocals blended with melodic clean vocals and riffs as heavy as hell. Moreover, the polished production allows us to clearly listen to all instruments making the overall experience even better, which can also be noticed in Dethrone, a song that gains a lot of strength due to all its elements from Melodic Death Metal bands such as Arch Enemy and In Flames, the excellent job done by drummer Gerhard Booysen (which I’m sure will inspire you for some good headbanging) and its violent lyrics (“I believe the time has come to fight back / So are you man enough? / Are you up for the task?”).

Holier Than Thou is even heavier than the previous two tracks, especially the vocals, which sound truly furious here and lead all the spiteful brutality in the song, while Grist To the Mill, which has Scott Wareham (HOKUM) as a guest musician, is pure Metalcore with a good balance of guttural and clean vocals again. Then we have the title-track, Suffer The Clock, a song that talks about how you must take control of your life before it’s too late (“Free your senses, just for a moment / So light your candle and watch it burn!”), with a rhythm a lot faster than all previous songs and highly recommended for circle pits, followed by another one of the top moments of the album, Skeletons, where the addition of the beautiful female voice by guest vocalist Alicia van Wyk makes the entire song even more melodic and pleasant.

PosterAnd there’s still a lot more to come: in Another Day, Another Death, pay attention to the very technical and melodic guitar lines, which truly elevate the overall quality of the song, while in Ineptocracy the focus is on the strong lyrics about the current political, social and economic state of South Africa. What’s Your Poison? is a good heavy song but less inspired than the others, despite its interesting (but really  short) acoustic part in the middle, and in The Devil Take The Hindmost the band flirts once again with Melodic Death Metal, with guest vocalist Andrew Duggan (Cutting Jade) giving the song an amazing Hard Rock sonority. Would I be exaggerating if I said this song could easily become a radio hit?

The last two songs in Suffer The Clock are If The Shoe Fits, which riffs remind me of some of the recent songs by Trivium, and Vs. The World, another song that focus heavily on strong riffs and melodic vocal lines, closing the album on a high note. Unfortunately there isn’t a link available yet with any of the songs from Suffer The Clock, but you can keep checking the band’s official Facebook page, Twitter, YouTube, ReverbNation and SoundCloud for news and other information about their new album. Well, if you check their profile you’ll see they’re absolutely crazy for Jägermeister, which is a really good sign of how thrilling their music is. Think about it, have you ever seen a band or musician that loves having shots and shots of that awesome German digestif playing lounge or elevator music?

Best moments of the album: The Writing’s on the Wall, Holier Than Thou and Skeletons.

Worst moments of the album: What’s Your Poison? and If The Shoe Fits.

Released in 2014 Independent

Track listing
1. The Writing’s on the Wall 3:30
2. Dethrone 4:58
3. Holier Than Thou 3:55
4. Grist To the Mill (feat. Scott Wareham) 3:17
5. Suffer The Clock 3:48
6. Skeletons (feat. Alicia van Wyk) 3:33
7. Another Day, Another Death 4:04
8. Ineptocracy 5:04
9. What’s Your Poison? 5:02
10. The Devil Take The Hindmost (feat. Andrew Duggan) 3:29
11. If The Shoe Fits 3:43
12. Vs. The World 4:40

Band members
Maritz Booysen – vocals
Kyle “Sikes” van Wyk – guitars
Sven Anderson – guitars
Arno Grundling – bass
Gerhard Booysen – drums

Metal Chick of the Month – Trish Doan

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trish01

Trish, A Flower Of Flesh And Blood…

The Headbanging Moose is proud to announce that our Heavy Metal babe this month does not only kick some ass as the bass player of the all-female Canadian Alternative Metal band Kittie, from London, Ontario, but she also has a beautiful and motivational story of recovery in her life.

Although she was born in Gwangju, South Korea (about 270km from the capital Seoul), we can say that the beautiful Trisha Jai-Mee Doan, better known as Trish Doan, is a proud “Canuck” that built her life and career here in Canada. Trish joined Kittie back in August 2005 along with guitarist Tara McLeod. In addition to bass, she has also played guitar since the age of 13, and in 2006 she graduated from Sheridan College, earning a diploma in Media Arts: Film and Television Production.

However, after recording the digital EP Never Again, in 2006, and the full-length album Funeral for Yesterday, in 2007, with Kittie, she announced in mid-2007 she was leaving the band for personal reasons, being replaced by Jeff Phillips (Thine Eyes Bleed) during Kittie’s Sweet Revenge tour. It was only in the beginning of March 2008 that it was officially announced she had left the band due to the eating disorder anorexia-athletica-nervosa, which she had been struggling with for almost two years. After leaving Kittie, Trish spent some time at home with her parents recovering, before moving to Toronto to live on her own and work for CTV. She mentioned in an interview that one of the funniest moments in Toronto happened when she was walking down Queen Street and saw a girl with a Kittie T-shirt on, and then suddenly both stopped and stared at each other in shock.

Then back in 2009 she decided to move to Australia for a year to get a degree and try to surf, before moving back home in 2011 and start working for Corus Entertainment, doing some interactive stuff for radio. Our Korean/Canadian beauty sadly mentioned she barely touched a bass or guitar for the first two years after leaving Kittie, as some kind of post-breakup traumatic experience or like an emotional pain from having felt like she abandoned the other girls in the band.

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Fortunately, Trish fully recovered from her condition and was called back to be the bassist for Kittie in the beginning of 2012, when former bassist Ivy Vujic parted ways with the band. In order to get back to the band with full force, Trish had to start learning the songs from the two albums Kittie recorded during her absence: In the Black and I’ve Failed You. She mentioned that despite loving both albums, her favorite one ended up being I’ve Failed You.

In her free time, Trish loves going out for sushi with her bandmate Morgan Lander, the lead singer and guitarist of the band, and also catch up with the other members of the band as much as possible. She also enjoys doing some photography and web design for fun, and as she has never been that much into Heavy Metal, she has also been working with one of her friends on an electropop music project (maybe due to her Korean blood, as Koreans absolutely love this type of music).

And finally, Trish seems to be a body modification lover: she has several body piercings and tattoos, including a very special tattoo on her left wrist symbolizing Gwangju, the city in which she was born. However, it seems she’s not that brave when having her tattoos done, as you can see HERE. But don’t worry about that, Trish: we all know how painful a piercing or a tattoo can be, and we surely admire and respect you a lot for all you’ve gone through in your life.

Trish Doan’s Official Facebook page
Trish Doan’s Official Twitter

“I still play guitar in my spare time and since re-joining the band I’ve played a lot of bass. I missed it for sure and when I got back into jamming with the girls I realized how much I love it!” – Trish Doan

Album Review – Arch Enemy / War Eternal (2014)

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More melodic than ever, less brutal than usual: this is the new album from one of the most important Swedish bands of all time. But isn’t their music getting too melodic to the point it fails to deliver?

Rating5

CoverWhen Swedish Melodic Death Metal icons Arch Enemy released a statement earlier this year about the unparalleled and irreplaceable diva Angela Gossow stepping down as the lead singer of the band to become their business manager, I must say I was truly shocked, not to mention I felt really worried about the future of one of my favorite bands from the past decade. However, when they announced the also amazing Alissa White-Gluz (from Canadian Melodic Death Metal/Metalcore band The Agonist) as her replacement, I knew the band was going to be in very good hands, which is proven by the good War Eternal, their ninth studio album and, more important than that, the beginning of a new phase in their extensive history.

Another very significant change in the band was the departure (for the second time) of Michael’s brother, the superb guitarist Chris Amott, replaced by American guitarist Nick Cordle in 2012, because although Nick has been with the band for two years now, this is his first studio album with them. I’m a huge fan of the Amott brothers playing together, and again I was a worried about the final result in War Eternal. Guess what? Once again I was “happily wrong”, as Mr. Cordle showcases an excellent performance throughout the whole album. So this means there’s nothing wrong in War Eternal? Well, let’s say the album is far from being a failure, but it has lots of highs and lows which you’ll be able to notice as soon as you take your first listen to it.

War Eternal kicks off with the interesting intro Tempore Nihil Sanat (Prelude in F minor), which is the Latin for “Time Heals Nothing”, before the band strikes the listener with the reverberating havoc named Never Forgive, Never Forget. This song is way better than I expected, especially after listening to the singles released earlier this year: this is the true Melodic Death Metal we learned to love from Arch Enemy, with the always bestial riffs and solos from Mr. Michael Amott and a totally inspired Daniel Erlandsson pounding his drums. On the other hand, War Eternal shows us a more contemporary Arch Enemy, which means less brutal and more melodic than ever. Moreover, the lyrics and chorus are annoyingly cheesy (“Try to tell you what to do / They love to have control of you / Back against the wall / In danger of losing it all / Search deep inside / Remember who you are”), which is kind of the same issue found in Khaos Legions, but thanks to its traditional riffs and Alissa’s excellent performance the song is not a complete disaster.

The following track, As the Pages Burn, is the Arch Enemy most fans want for sure: it is A LOT better than “War Eternal” in terms of rhythm, lyrics and creativity, with highlights to the beautiful solos by Michael and Nick at the end; while No More Regrets is the perfect example of how Michael Amott masters the art of starting songs with quick and efficient guitar solos, and by here you’ll be able to notice Alissa won’t use her clean vocals in Arch Enemy, at least not in this album, which in my opinion is completely understandable, expected and correct. Although I’m also a fan of The Agonist, simply remember the band here is and will always be Arch Enemy.

Then we have the biggest disappointment of the entire album, the unbearable You Will Know My Name, a song that cannot be considered Arch Enemy, but a totally disposable track that sounds like a rip-off of “No Gods, No Masters” with less intensity and horrible lyrics. Fortunately, after a traditional instrumental bridge called Graveyard of Dreams, the band gets back on track with the good Stolen Life, a song that reminds me of the musicality from their last two albums, especially its heavy groove, and the even better Time Is Black, with an excellent start, lots of shredding and some keyboard parts, sounding like some of their songs from Doomsday Machine.

arch enemyThe last part of the album is a music rollercoaster that starts with On and On, which despite its very cohesive sonority, lacks a lot of creativity and ends up falling flat; Avalanche, a good song with more keyboards and quick but awesome guitar solos, which should sound a lot better if played live; and the excellent Down to Nothing, where Daniel Erlandsson is kickin’ fuckin’ ass one more time. In addition, the bad chorus prevents it from being really awesome, but it’s one of the best songs of the album anyway (especially the guitar solos). Michael & Co. still have time for the instrumental Not Long for This World, a very traditional way to end an Arch Enemy album.

One might ask why I gave it only a 3.0 if I said so many good things about the album. Well, there are two main issues for me in War Eternal, which I do not expect everyone to agree 100% but at least acknowledge them: first of all, the lyrical themes are too cheesy and shallow again. Where’s all that obscurity and violence from their old records? And secondly, although some of the songs sound very strong, there isn’t a single one with that “wow factor” found in masterpieces such as “Enemy Within”, “Nemesis”, “Diva Satanica” or “I Am Legend/Out for Blood”. It’s not Alissa’s or Nick’s fault, though, it’s the lack of brutality that bothers me in War Eternal, not to mention the fact that the whole album seems to have been done a lot faster than it should, which probably hampered more in-depth and complex compositions.

Not only that, it looks like the main goal with their two official videos so far has been to literally showcase Alissa’s physical attributes to the fans instead of focusing on the music, as they were by far the worst songs of the whole album. Alissa is extremely hot, but I’m pretty sure all Arch Enemy fans prefer a more rampant musicality than fancy music videos. At least the excellent artwork for the album, created by Romanian artist Costin Chioreanu, lives up to Arch Enemy’s legacy.

To sum up, War Eternal is good, but not memorable, and I don’t believe that’s because Alissa is new to the band: she’s a superb singer and performer, and Arch Enemy couldn’t have found a better person to replace Angela. As I said a couple of times in this same review, it’s the extremely melodic (and sometimes too commercial) path the band has chosen to take that concerns me. For instance, I personally consider Johan Liiva just an average vocalist, but the music Arch Enemy used to play with him was so much more intense that lots of fans still miss him nowadays, even after the outstanding work done by Angela. I’ll keep loving Arch Enemy and headbanging to their music as always, but unfortunately most of the songs from War Eternal won’t be missed on my personal playlist in a couple of months.

Best moments of the album: Never Forgive, Never Forget, As the Pages Burn and Down to Nothing.

Worst moments of the album: War Eternal, You Will Know My Name and On and On.

Released in 2014 Century Media

Track listing
1. Tempore Nihil Sanat (Prelude in F minor) 1:12
2. Never Forgive, Never Forget 3:43
3. War Eternal 4:16
4. As the Pages Burn 4:01
5. No More Regrets 4:05
6. You Will Know My Name 4:37
7. Graveyard of Dreams (Instrumental) 1:10
8. Stolen Life 2:58
9. Time Is Black 5:23
10. On and On 4:04
11. Avalanche 4:38
12. Down to Nothing 3:47
13. Not Long for This World (Instrumental) 3:29

Band members
Alissa White-Gluz – vocals
Michael Amott – lead guitars
Nick Cordle – lead guitars
Sharlee D’Angelo – bass
Daniel Erlandsson – drums

Album Review – Vanhelgd / Relics Of Sulphur Salvation (2014)

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Death Metal from Sweden has never been so amazingly tormenting.

Rating4

vanhelgd_relicsWhile some bands are on a mission to bring love and peace to our hearts, others were simply born to torment our souls with their dark and obscure music. That’s exactly the case with Swedish Death Metal band Vanhelgd, who have just released their third full-length album, the furious Relics Of Sulphur Salvation. And believe me, this Mjölby-based band reached such a bestial musicality in this album that they make all Melodic Death Metal bands from Sweden sound like Babymetal.

Recorded back in November 2013 at Studio Underjord and mastered in Necromorbus Studio, Relics Of Sulphur Salvation is a lesson in old school Swedish Death Metal. Let’s say there aren’t many music variations or creative breaks throughout the entire album, but the band’s powerful performance and the intensity found in each song will prevent the listener from getting tired after a while. Quite the opposite, it will be hard for you to not remain totally excited from start to finish.

To begin with, Vanhelgd couldn’t have chosen a better way to open the album: the strong and evil sonority found in Dödens Maskätna Anlete, with its devilish vocals, awesome riffs in the background and the addition of many Black Metal elements (moving its musicality closer to what’s known as Blackened Death Metal) is 100% effective in informing the listener this album is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Then we have the good The Salt in My Hands, which is even heavier due to its fast beats and a very raw instrumental; the extremely dark Where All Flesh is Soil, where it’s impossible not to love its obscure intro, Black Metal riffs and captivating rhythm; and Ett Liv I Träldom, another good song, albeit not as powerful as the previous ones, with a good chorus anyway.

vanhelgdThe sickness continues with another very traditional track “beautifully” named May the Worms Have Mercy on My Flesh, showcasing an excellent performance by drummer Björn Andersson and vocalist/guitarist Matttias Frisk, with highlights to the cool “slowdown” at the end of the song. And if you still think this album is not that heavy, simply listen to the title-track, Relics of Sulphur Salvation, the most demonic of all songs that will disturb the ears and minds of the less courageous for sure with its totally boisterous riffs, harsh vocals and thrilling chorus.

Lastly, Vanhelgd offer us another sonic massacre, Sirens of Lampedusa, one of the fastest songs of all with desperate vocals, drummer Björn Andersson truly on fire and a very melancholic ending. I’m pretty sure after 2 minutes or even less you’ll already feel tormented, in a good way of course, but in case you consider yourself a tough person you’ll have to face one last song, the fast and direct Cure Us from Life, full of Thrash Metal elements, which will surely leave you eager for more of Vanhelgd’s dark and evil music.

Even the album art, designed by Mattias Frisk himself, is very old school and represents what the band’s musicality is pretty well. In conclusion, if you’re a fan of that primeval Swedish Death Metal that conquered the world many years ago, Relics Of Sulphur Salvation (which is already available in different formats at Pulverised Records, 20 Buck Spin and Ljudkassett) is an awesome choice for you to go absolutely crazy and bang your head nonstop. As I mentioned before, their Death Metal was created to torment your life the best way you can imagine.

Best moments of the album: Where All Flesh is Soil,  Relics of Sulphur Salvation and Sirens of Lampedusa.

Worst moments of the album: Ett Liv I Träldom.

Released in 2014 Pulverised Records/20 Buck Spin

Track listing
1. Dödens Maskätna Anlete 5:43
2. The Salt in My Hands 4:25
3. Where All Flesh is Soil 4:22
4. Ett Liv I Träldom 6:07
5. May the Worms Have Mercy on My Flesh 5:24
6. Relics of Sulphur Salvation 5:23
7. Sirens of Lampedusa 6:21
8. Cure Us from Life 3:21

Band members
Mattias Frisk – vocals, guitar
Jimmy Johansson – guitar, vocals
Jonas Albrektsson – bass
Björn Andersson – drums

Album Review – Heisenberg / Heisenberg (2014)

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Say their name, because they are the ones who slam.

Rating5

heisenberg_coverDirectly from Long Island, New York, comes a band which specialty and purpose are pretty straight-forward: having fun and slamming into the pit. Not only that, they have chosen an excellent name for the band, honoring one of the most outstanding fictional characters the world has even seen from the cult series Breaking Bad, the chemist teacher and drug lord Walter “Walt” Hartwell White Sr., or simply Walter White (who doesn’t love his most famous quote, “SAY MY NAME”?). I’m talking about American Brutal Death Metal/Deathslam band Heisenberg, who have just released their self-titled debut album and are ready to slam as much as possible.

Heisenberg, which is the  clandestine pseudonym used by Walter White in the show (as if you didn’t know that already), was formed by members of other Deathslam bands: Two Shells Left, The Forrest Gump Mile High Marathon and Ellery Park, and they list among their biggest idols many important Death Metal bands such as Devourment and Suffocation, and other less crude but still heavy names like Industrial Metal band Fear Factory. Those influences are easily noticed throughout the entire album, which despite being short will surely disturb your neighbors’ peace and provide you some bruises and that unique pain in the neck after listening to it.

One of the best things in the music by Heisenberg is that you can actually listen to all instruments, which means you can also enjoy the musicians’ abilities instead of only slam like a motherfucker. That’s the case with the opening song, Plecostomus Prime, with its brutal guttural vocals, and riffs and drums as heavy as hell, followed by one of the top songs of the album, the violent Meth Shots, where the excellent vocals and chorus match perfectly with the instrumental parts. The following track, Explosive Innards, is as explosive as its name says, with highlights to its good riffs.

The band doesn’t let the ball drop, offering us another massacre named Glory Hole Confession Session, with its strong bass lines and drums showing why they cite Fear Factory as one of their biggest influences. And pay attention to the vocals on the last part of the song, they’re gruesome (in a good way, of course). Then we have what in my opinion is the best track of the album by far, the brutal The Pantera Factor: the “Beavis & Butthead” intro as a tribute to the mighty PANTERA is so cool, and the song itself is so heavy (especially the riffs), that I’m pretty sure wherever Mr. Dimebag Darrell (R.I.P.) is he might be really proud of Heisenberg now.

heisenberg_bandThe last part the album kicks off with Black Metal Joe, the longest track of all and also the one with the most melodic riffs, and I have to admit this song sounds extremely professional for an independent band, with highlights to the changes in rhythm and breaks which give it an extra level of energy. Then we have Razorblade Enema, a very Death Metal tune perfect for slamming like crazy, and finally Fulminated Mercury closing the album, which despite being an extremely heavy track, lacks something to put it in the same level as the rest of the album.

I have some trouble understanding the lyrics in all songs, but who cares?  As I said, the objective of Heisenberg with their music is providing the fans an awesome soundtrack for slamming, nothing else. In addition, the album art by American bassist, singer and artist Mike Majewksi, showing a very violent and merciless Walter White butchering all those rotten corpses, is more than awesome and becomes a crucial part of the album.

In summary, Heisenberg, which can be streamed and purchased at the band’s bandcamp page, is a recommended album for all fans of old-fashioned Deathslam and even for metalheads that want to learn more about this music genre. And if you’re also a huge fan of Mr. Walter White, you’ll surely “remember his name” while slamming with Heisenberg’s music.

Best moments of the album: Meth Shots and The Pantera Factor.

Worst moments of the album: Fulminated Mercury.

Released in 2014 Independent

Track listing
1. Plecostomus Prime 2:49
2. Meth Shots 2:14
3. Explosive Innards 1:57
4. Glory Hole Confession Session (feat. Joe Marchese) 2:22
5. The Pantera Factor 2:12
6. Black Metal Joe 3:05
7. Razorblade Enema 1:56
8. Fulminated Mercury 1:59

Band members
Paul McGrath – vocals
Brandon Moran – guitars
Billy Haiduk – bass
Tim Schmidt – drums

Album Review – Voice of Ruin / Morning Wood (2014)

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Time to have fun, bang your heads and get into circle pits with some crazy motherfuckin’ Death Metal “farmers” from Switzerland.

Rating4

VOR-MorningWoodAccording to the most reliable source of information in the world, the always detailed and precise Wikipedia, morning wood is “an informal term referring to the phenomenon of nocturnal penile tumescence (erection) during and immediately following sleep.” However, the “morning wood” I’m about to discuss here won’t probably have that effect on you, but instead some headbanging, beer drinking and an urge to get into violent circle pits. I’m talking about the new album by Swiss Death Metal band Voice of Ruin, affectionately called Morning Wood, the second in their career.

This crazy Nyon-based band was born in 2008 and since then have spread their explicit heavy music all over the world, releasing an EP named The Crash in 2009 and their self-titled debut album Voice of Ruin in 2011, leading them to share the stage which big names such as Entombed, Tankard, Fleshgod Apocalypse and The Black Dahlia Murder. Let’s say the whole idea behind Voice of Ruin is quite similar to what American Hard Rock band Steel Panther do, but taking it to the next level of heavy music, which is speeding up things a little more and using guttural vocals instead of high-pitched screams. In other words, they replaced that sexist Hair Metal for a more brutal Death Metal/Metalcore, or as Voice of Run say about themselves, “Horny Farmer Metal”.

But it’s when the intro Welcome To The Stud Farm starts that you realize the band is far from being a joke:  Voice of Ruin play a very professional and melodic Death Metal, with a sonority similar to bands like Arch Enemy and Carcass, which can also be verified with the first actual song of the album, Party Hard. Let the party begin with this fuckin’ heavy song and its smashing drums and melodic riffs in the background, while singer Randy Bull screams lots of “beautiful” words! However, things get even better (and heavier) with their tribute to the greatest anti-hero of all time, Machete Cortez. The excellent song Through The Eyes Of Machete is a fuckin’ furious track with more fast drumming and even some Black Metal moments, with highlights to the totally funny lyrics full of poetic moments such as “Even Steven Seagal can’t beat him at this game / Don’t hire a hitman: no one will ever hurt this name”. Check their official lyric video for it below and you’ll be able to see what I’m talking about.

The farm party goes on with Day Of Rage, a nice mix of modern American Thrash and Death Metal (with the lyrics this time having a regular message); The Rise Of Nothing, with its Melodic Death Metal riffs and totally “meaningful” lyrics; the title-track Morning Wood, a very Metalcore track, especially due to the clean vocals, with excellent instrumental; and another top moment of the entire album, the awesome Viols Désinvoltes:  not only the entire song is sung in French, which adds an extra touch of energy to it, but the excellent job done with the guitars by Nils Bag and Tony Cock is way above average.

VOR_picture_webThe following track, Cock’n Bulls, has a pretty heavy sonority with good riffs and guitar solos, and a very “romantic” music video tailored for the whole family, while the excellent instrumental Today Will End sounds very similar to what Arch Enemy enjoys doing and really pumps the listener up to the fuckin’ heavy and amazing Sex For Free, with its French and English lyrics and great chorus. This is a song that surely proves those farmers were born for playing Heavy Metal instead of just milking some cows in Switzerland.

Finally, we have what can be considered the band’s “circle pit anthem”, Big Dick, with riffs similar to some stuff from Austrian Death Machine, together with nice music breaks and guitar solos throughout the song; and the song Dirty closing the album, which despite its interesting lyrics (“Sadism and masochism / Perverse and obsessed / Lovers and romantics / Sodom and Gomorrah”) sounds a bit generic compared to the rest of the album. The album art showing a bull and some girls, created by Chromatorium, complements the message the band wants to send to the listener, with the bull representing their heavy music while the girls are portraying the lyrics.

In short, Morning Wood is a very fun album that will please most fans of heavy riffs, explicit lyrics and brutal vocals for sure, and also an excellent option for headbangers who are looking for new bands full of energy to get into some wild mosh pits with their friends. Furthermore, you can stream the entire album and check the album art and lyrics at Voice of Ruin’s bandcamp page, and of course purchase it if you enjoy what you listen to. And to be fair, those guys deserve a shot, especially because high-quality Death Metal from Swiss farmers is not something we can find everywhere we go.

Best moments of the album: Through The Eyes Of Machete, Viols Désinvoltes and Sex For Free.

Worst moments of the album: The Rise Of Nothing and Dirty.

Released in 2014 Tenacity Music

Track listing
1. Welcome To The Stud Farm 1:27
2. Party Hard 3:58
3. Through The Eyes Of Machete 3:55
4. Day Of Rage 4:30
5. The Rise Of Nothing 4:30
6. Morning Wood 4:20
7. Viols Désinvoltes 4:17
8. Cock’n Bulls 3:27
9. Today Will End 2:41
10. Sex For Free 4:06
11. Big Dick 4:27
12. Dirty 4:09

Band members
Randy Bull – vocals
Nils Bag – guitar
Tony Cock – guitar
Erwin Van Fox – bass, clean vocals
Oli Dick – drums

Album Review – Insomnium / Shadows Of The Dying Sun (2014)

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Insomnium provide us high quality Melodic Death Metal just the way we like it, directly from the land of ice and snow.

Rating4

insomnium_sotdsAfter the huge disappointments from Ahola and Sonata Arctica this year, we’re finally able to enjoy some decent Finnish Heavy Metal with the album Shadows Of The Dying Sun, from Melodic Death Metal band Insomnium. Although this is the sixth full-length album from this Joensuu-based dark and gothic band formed in 1997, it’s only the first with guitarist Markus Vanhala (Omnium Gatherum), and the final result is so professional and enjoyable that it might soon be considered by fans the best so far in the band’s career.

Their lyrical themes may not be the happiest in the world, as Insomnium usually sings about pain, loss, darkness, and especially how we cannot beat time, which in the end is the main connector of all those elements, but that doesn’t make their music less exciting. Quite the contrary, when a band is capable of awakening inside us a feeling that time is passing by and that we should do something about our lives, in other words, when a band makes us THINK about our lives, that’s when their music deserves to be listened, shared and truly appreciated.

One of the most interesting characteristics in Shadows Of The Dying Sun is that it’s not only Melodic Death Metal, but a substantial mix of other genres such as Doom, Black and even Folk Metal, which can be noticed since the very beginning of The Primeval Dark, with its enticing atmospheric instrumental, heavy riffs and deep vocals, working like an “intro” to one of the highlights of the album, the 6-minute melodic masterpiece While We Sleep, an awesome track with clean and guttural vocals blending really well, intense lyrics (“When all you ever wish for is to go back once more / When all you ever wish is to open that cage and long / When all you feel is remorse, pain and regret / When you brought on curse unable to move on?”) and a stunning riff in the background that gives the song an even more melodic sonority. Not only that, the smooth passage together with a nice guitar solo after 4 minutes until the end of the song is great, and don’t forget to check its superb official music video at the end of this review.

insomniumAnd that was only the beginning of the album, which goes on with Revelation, a song that constantly varies from raw to more melodic Death Metal and back again, with the instrumental always being very clean despite the heaviness of the music; and Black Heart Rebellion, a very melancholic and brutal track where drummer Markus Hirvonen abuses his double bass. The guitar duo and riffs are also amazing, and add to that some thoughtful lyrics and Niilo Sevänen’s above-the-average performance, and you have another memorable moment in the album.

Lose To Night is a more gothic song with some Paradise Lost-ish elements, moving it closer to Doom Metal rather than the band’s traditional Death Metal, while Collapsing Words brings the album back to a heavier sonority, again with awesome vocals by Niilo. These two songs are followed by The River, which has many elements from Black Metal (especially drums and riffs), with highlights to the semi-acoustic and very melodic ending; and the more commercial (but not less pleasant) single Ephemeral, with its amazing lyrics (“Darkness is ignorance / Knowledge is light / Fight only with yourself / Or the shadows of the night”) and a totally catchy chorus. Unless you have a very good reason for hating Insomnium, there’s no way you won’t get addicted to this song.

Finally, in order to end the album in a high note, the band offers us the beautiful ballad The Promethean Song, where the guitar riff works perfectly with the acoustic guitar, and Shadows Of The Dying Sun, with a dark bass tune to start it in an excellent way, a great chorus, and more powerful bass lines by Niilo along the whole song. Furthermore, if you’re a fan of the band, don’t miss the special limited digipak edition of Shadows Of The Dying Sun, which includes a bonus CD with four bonus tracks.

And was the album art inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s classic The Birds, or by the zombie birds from Resident Evil? Anyway, although it can be relatively simple to our eyes, it’s darkly delightful and very effective in translating into images all the musicality in the album. In short, this is the high quality Heavy Metal we always expect from any band that comes from the cold and marvelous Finland, and as previously mentioned the intensity the band puts in their music and lyrics is commendable, elevating them to the status of one of the best active Finnish bands today.

Best moments of the album: While We Sleep, Black Heart Rebellion, Collapsing Words and Ephemeral.

Worst moments of the album: Revelation and The River.

Released in 2014 Century Media Records

Track listing
1. The Primeval Dark 3:16
2. While We Sleep 6:20
3. Revelation 5:15
4. Black Heart Rebellion 7:03
5. Lose To Night 4:56
6. Collapsing Words 4:38
7. The River 7:57
8. Ephemeral 4:01
9. The Promethean Song 6:41
10. Shadows Of The Dying Sun 6:32

Limited Digipak bonus tracks
11. Out to the Sea 5:17
12. The Emergence 1:46
13. The Swarm 2:54
14. The Descent 3:11

Band members
Niilo Sevänen − vocals, bass
Ville Friman − backing vocals, guitar
Markus Vanhala − guitar
Markus Hirvonen − drums

Album Review – Sectesy / The Shreds Of Oblivion (2014)

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Good old school raw Death Metal from Czech Republic that fans of the genre will surely enjoy.

Rating5

sectesy_sooThere’s nothing like enjoying a good beer while listening to Heavy Metal, don’t you think? And if you’re in the Czech Republic (or anywhere else in the world, of course) and would like a rawer Death Metal to go together with your delicious Pilsner Urquell, I recommend you take a listen at The Shreds Of Oblivion, the debut album from Czech Death Metal band Sectesy.

It’s nice to listen to a professionally recorded album like this that didn’t lose that necessary rawness of Death Metal during the process, and although the overall result lacks some more creativity, the first impression of what this Kolín-based band formed in 2011 can produce was very good. While listening to The Shreds Of Oblivion, you’ll notice a lot of influences from very traditional Death Metal bands such as Dismember, Unleashed, Death, among others, with the difference that all songs are a bit longer than what we usually get with this type of music, with a few tracks even going over the 6-minute mark. Maybe that’s due to some influence from Thrash Metal masters Exodus, especially from their latest albums, who knows? Thrash and Death Metal, despite being different genres, have lots of characteristics in common, and navigating from one to another is always healthy for any band.

The opening track also seems to be the one Sectesy are using to promote their album: after a short but fun intro (“Oh, shit!”), the band offers us a havoc named Blood Red Path, a traditional Death Metal song with no modern shit added to it, only pure fuckin’ old school with excellent guttural by singer Roman “Bárny” Tygl, good guitar solos, and to make things even more fun they recorded a music video for it full of one of the most trendy topics worldwide, zombies, including the band itself as living dead corpses. It’s not the best music video in the world, but it’s pretty decent for a new band like that.

Homicidal Premotions, which starts with some kind of choir intro, is heavier but slower than the previous song, with really nice drumming and guitar solo. By the way, pretty much all guitar solos in the album seem to have an extra purpose of not letting the songs get tiring after a while (most probably because of the length of the songs), which also happens in the following song, Soul Erosion, with lots of good shredding and riffs, and vocals that remind me of some of the stuff recorded by Death Metal icon Glen Benton with his band Deicide.

sectesyWe then have the excellent Crushing Humanity, one of the best tracks of the album with an interesting acoustic intro that evolves to a clean but brutal riff, and even deeper guttural that perfectly blends with the guitar solo and the acoustic guitar parts; and the powerful Inside of Red Anger, another track with an atmospheric and smooth intro that after 3 minutes turns into pure traditional Death Metal. It’s another one of the top moments in The Shreds Of Oblivion, and I’m sure it will work even better when played live.

Finally, the last part of the album is composed by Self-Deterioration, a direct heavy track that lacks more originality; Beyond the Gates of Doom, with its drums, riffs and vocals functioning very well together, plus another interesting clean solo halfway to the end; and In the Blazing River, a cover version for one of the the oldest Czech Death Metal band of all, Krabathor, which ends up working more like a tribute than just a cover song. Moreover, if you listen to the original version of it, you’ll see how good the job done in the new version by drummer Václav Paštyka was in keeping all that awesome groove from the original drums.

The album art couldn’t be more traditional or more Death Metal than that, and even the band logo is old school. In summary, we have another good Death Metal band from Eastern Europe in the market, and consequently another good option to bang our heads and get into some crazy circle pits with our friends while having a beer. Sectesy are definitely not trying to be innovative nor modern with The Shreds Of Oblivion (which can be purchased HERE): all they want to do is play some good old Death Metal for the fans, and if they keep working hard and being honest with what they do, they will go places indeed.

Best moments of the album: Blood Red Path, Crushing Humanity and Inside of Red Anger.

Worst moments of the album: Homicidal Premotions and Self-Deterioration.

Released in 2014 Nice to Eat You Records/Blast Head Records

Track listing
1. Blood Red Path 5:02
2. Homicidal Premotions 6:40
3. Soul Erosion 5:09
4. Crushing Humanity 4:54
5. Inside of Red Anger 5:23
6. Self-Deterioration 5:04
7. Beyond the Gates of Doom 6:05
8. In the Blazing River (Krabathor cover) 5:32

Band members
Roman “Bárny” Tygl – vocals
Ladislav Zahradník – guitars
David “Dejvy” Krédl – guitars
Ondrek “Rip” Helar – bass
Václav Paštyka – drums

 

Album Review – Cauldron Black Ram / Stalagmire (2014)

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The music from Down Under has never been so obscure and devilish.

Rating5

CoverIt’s time to visit our friends from Down Under in search for some well-executed heavy music. However, this time our focus is not the traditional Hard Rock from AC/DC or Airbourne, but the extreme music from Australian Black/Death Metal band Cauldron Black Ram and their new album, the 100% evil Stalagmire.

The band has been on the road for quite a while, more specifically since 1996, having already released a couple of demos and full-length albums, but of course due to their raw, unpolished and gruesome musicality, it was pretty hard for them to reach a bigger and more diversified audience in the past. At least the Internet has evolved a lot in the past few years  and nowadays even headbangers from the other side of the world (like here in Canada) are able to enjoy the music from bands like this obscure Australian crew.

The opening track is a very good sample of what Cauldron Black Ram are capable of doing:  Fork Through Pitch is a diabolic mix of Death and Doom Metal, with traditional instrumental and harsh vocals that will please all fans of extreme music, especially because of the band’s previously mentioned rough production. The following track, Maw, goes on with the obscurity with its melancholic intro, good old-style riffs and vocals even more devilish than the previous song, while Discarded Death is a more Black Metal tune, where the good pace of drums and the deeper growling make it pure evil.

A Litany of Sailors Sins is a really slow-paced and dark tune, sometimes so macabre and heavy that I think people who are not really into Death and Black Metal will feel bad after listening to it. Well, that’s one of the main objectives of this type of music, right? Anyway, the nice guitar solo mixed with fast drumming by the end of the song gives it an extra dose of energy, which ends up preparing us for Bats, the fastest track of the album, full of awesome screaming and twisted riffs heavier than hell, and in my humble opinion one of the best songs of Stalagmire.

Cauldron-Black-RamCavern Fever is pretty decent instrumental track similar to Cannibal Corpse’s “Relentless Beating”, showcasing the talent of the musicians, while From Whence the Old Skull Came should be chosen as the perfect soundtrack to apocalypse: it might have a very simple and repetitive riff, but it’s at the same time extremely effective in sending the message desired by the band.

Finally, we have another extremely rudimentary track, The Devil’s Trotters, which not only sounds like the Devil himself is singing in it, but it also has some excellent rude bass lines that make it stand out from all other tracks of the album; and the obscure Speliogenesis, a song that could easily summarize pain, agony, sadness and despair in music if someone asked you to do that. Moreover, its pure Doom Metal vocals and extremely dense riffs help closing the album in the most demonic way possible.

The album art is as primitive as their music, and besides that, one interesting characteristic I could notice in their music was the addition of many elements from Stoner Metal the likes of Down and Crowbar, and even some hints of the Doom Metal played by Danzig and Black Sabbath, which in the end is undoubtedly healthful for the band and its future in heavy music.

In short, if you enjoy “evil” music, Stalagmire is a very good option to invest your hard-earned money, which can be done at the 20 Buck Spin official webshop (both the CD and the LP versions of the album are available there) or you can stream it and download it at the 20 Buck Spin Bandcamp page.

Best moments of the album: Fork Through Pitch, Bats and The Devil’s Trotters.

Worst moments of the album: Maw and Discarded Death.

Released in 2014 20 Buck Spin

Track listing
1. Fork Through Pitch 3:19
2. Maw 3:20
3. Discarded Death 4:07
4. A Litany of Sailors Sins 4:16
5. Bats 3:37
6. Cavern Fever 2:35
7. From Whence the Old Skull Came 3:13
8. The Devil’s Trotters 4:13
9. Speliogenesis 4:23

Band members
Esh – drums, vocals
Alim – guitar, vocals
Ben Newsome – vocals, bass