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Album Review – GraveRipper / Seasons Dreaming Death (2023)

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The dead will rise and chaos will take over the entire world to the sound of the first full-length album by this venomous American Blackened Thrash Metal horde.

The dead will rise and chaos will take over the entire world to the sound of Seasons Dreaming Death, the newborn beast by Indianapolis, Indiana-based Blackened Thrash Metal horde GraveRipper. The first full-length album in their career, following up on their 2020 debut EP Complete Blinding Darkness and on their 2021 EP Radiated Remains, Seasons Dreaming Death showcases all the dexterity and passion for extreme music by Corey Parks on vocals and rhythm guitars, Keegan Hrybyk on lead guitars, Chris Pilotte on bass and Jacob Lett on drums, all spiced up by the top-notch engineering, mixing and mastering by Wesley Heaton at Postal Recording, and the sick artwork by one of the best illustrators of the current scene, Adam Burke of Nightjar Illustration, offering fans of bands like Skeletonwitch, Toxic Holocaust and Wraith everything they crave in heavy music and more.

Corey and Keegan begin their ruthless stringed attack in Into the Grave, a frantic fusion of Black, Thrash and Death Metal that will certainly inspire you to slam into the pit like a headbanging bastard, followed by Ripped and Torn Apart, a hard-hitting, no-shenanigans creation by the quartet where Jacob is relentless on drums adding his share of violence and heaviness to the overall result. Let’s keep hammering our skulls inside the circle pit to the sound of Divine Incantations, with Corey barking rabidly while his riffs together with the sounds generated by his bandmates will pierce your damned soul mercilessly; whereas Chris’ bass and Jacob’s drums will make the earth tremble in the Thrash Metal feast Seasons Dreaming Death, once again presenting the band’s animosity infused with intricate and dark sounds. And it’s nonstop action in the high-octane tune Premeditated, again blending the rebelliousness of Thrash Metal with the aggressiveness of Death Metal, spearheaded by the venomous roars by Corey.

The quartet adds hints of Hardcore, Grindcore and even Melodic Death Metal to their core sonority in An Influx of Fear, bringing forward the always caustic riffage by Corey and Keegan, and the complex but demented drumming by Jacob, and it’s then time to speed things up and generate a hurricane of thrashing sounds in Resist Against the Light, by far one of the most breathtaking songs of the album with the low-tuned bass by Chris brutally smashing your cranial skull. As you might have notice, it’s one demented tune after another, and the band keeps crushing our frail bodies in Red Skies, where their riffage sounds utterly acid and incendiary inspired by our good old Punk Rock. Back to a more traditional Thrash and Death Metal mode, Jacob takes the lead with his intricate beats in And I Curse Reality, simply perfect for some vigorous headbanging; and closing such pulverizing album we have Only Coldness, offering more of their gripping hybrid of extreme styles, with Jacob’s Black Metal drums matching perfectly with the riffage by the band’s guitar duo.

“The album title is my take on Halloween/Samhain,” commented Corey, “the day of the year where the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead is the thinnest.” Well, let’s say the band truly captured the essence of such mysterious and adored day in Seasons Dreaming Death, which is already available for pre-order from their own BandCamp page and will be unleashed upon us before we can say “death”. Hence, don’t forget to also follow the band on Facebook and on Instagram for news, tour dates and all things GraveRipper, and to stream their sick creations on Spotify. As mentioned, the dead are about to rise when the excellent Seasons Dreaming Death is officially released, and you better be armed with GraveRipper’s demented new album in your hands if you want to join such deadly party.

Best moments of the album: Ripped and Torn Apart, Premeditated and Resist Against the Light.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2023 Wise Blood Records

Track listing
1. Into the Grave 4:11
2. Ripped and Torn Apart 3:58
3. Divine Incantations 2:19
4. Seasons Dreaming Death 3:05
5. Premeditated 4:08
6. An Influx of Fear 1:53
7. Resist Against the Light 3:43
8. Red Skies 3:28
9. And I Curse Reality 3:31
10. Only Coldness 3:31

Band members
Corey Parks – vocals, rhythm guitars
Keegan Hrybyk – lead guitars
Chris Pilotte – bass
Jacob Lett – drums

Album Review – Demiricous / III: Chaotic Lethal (2022)

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An epic collection of tracks exploring a dark narrative of the barbaric and grotesque, marking the return into the battlefield by an old school Death and Thrash Metal horde from Indianapolis.

Rising from the depths of the abyss in Indianapolis, the state capital and most-populous city of the US state of Indiana, Death/Thrash Metal horde Demiricous is unleashing upon humanity their most monstrous record yet, entitled III: Chaotic Lethal, following an extended hiatus of 15 years since the release of their last album, Two (Poverty). An epic collection of tracks exploring a dark narrative of the barbaric and grotesque, the album presents to the listener a revived and restored sound by Nate Olp on vocals and bass, Ben Parrish and Scott Wilson on the guitars, and Dustin Boltjes on drums, as the band have evolved into their next chapter, delving into heavier instrumentation and sinister moods while releasing a plethora of hard-hitting sounds for the delight of admirers of extreme music.

The gates of the underworld are open wide in the opening tune Unconditional Hate, with Dustin smashing his drums with endless violence while Nate roars manically from start to finish in a lecture in modern-day Thrash Metal; and it’s time to slam into the circle pit to the blazing riffs by Ben and Scott in Terminal Future, living up to the legacy of Bay Area Thrash while its backing vocals provide a spot-on support to the visceral screams by Nate, all spiced up by Ben’s devilish solo. In Smoke Chaser we face nonstop adrenaline and action in the form of Thrash Metal where once again Dustin steals the spotlight with his classic, unstoppable beats, accompanied by the incendiary riffs by his bandmates, whereas The Follow is a hybrid of old school Thrash Metal with Crossover Thrash and Hardcore that will please all fans of speed and violence, with Ben and Scott setting fire to the atmosphere armed with their guitars.

There’s no time to breathe as the quartet keeps hammering our heads with their aggressiveness and rage in Fuck The Fire, perfect for breaking your neck headbanging while growling together with Nate, followed by the title-track Chaotic Lethal, bringing to our avid ears a dark and sinister atmosphere led by the doomed beats by Dustin, and that heaviness and obscurity goes on until the very last second. Then a cryptic intro morphs into the high-octane, demolishing Merciless Slut Cult, a no-shenanigans, in-your-face Thrash Metal onrush spearheaded by the visceral riffage by Ben and Scott, blending the best elements found in the music by Slayer, Anthrax and Suicidal Tendencies; while Choke is another rumbling creation by Demiricous presenting their trademark violence amidst tons of melody and dexterity, with Nate bursting his lungs roaring. And the band generates a somber ambience one last time in Faith Crime, evolving into a nine-minute thrashing behemoth where Dustin shows no mercy for his drums, not to mention how hellish and demented the growling by Nate sounds and feels.

Like a phoenix arising from the ashes, Demiricous are back in action with the fulminating III: Chaotic Lethal, highly recommended for thrash metallers from all over this doomed world who enjoy a balanced fusion of the past and present (and even future) of the genre. Hence, let’s show our support to the guys from Demiricous by following the band on Facebook and on Instagram, by streaming more of their pulverizing music on Spotify, and by purchasing a copy of their newborn beast from their own BandCamp page, as well as from the POST. Recordings’ webstore in CD or LP format, or from Apple Music. “It’s been 15 years since we’ve released a record. We are so unbelievably proud of this one, and this is the Demiricous record we’ve always wanted to make. Prepare yourselves. It’s a fucking monster,” commented the band, who won’t hopefully go into another hiatus in the nearby future, continuing to smash our senses with their Thrash Metal for many years to come.

Best moments of the album: Terminal Future, Merciless Slut Cult and Faith Crime.

Worst moments of the album: Chaotic Lethal.

Released in 2022 POST. Recordings

Track listing
1. Unconditional Hate 5:07
2. Terminal Future 3:50
3. Smoke Chaser 5:10
4. The Follow 4:05
5. Fuck The Fire 4:54
6. Chaotic Lethal 5:57
7. Merciless Slut Cult 3:36
8. Choke 3:59
9. Faith Crime 9:19

Band members
Nate Olp – vocals, bass
Ben Parrish – lead guitars
Scott Wilson – rhythm guitars
Dustin Boltjes – drums