Tag Archives: united states

Album Review – Kuujeojabenojujanomiashikushija / The Hunting Boar! The Hunting Tyrant! (2020)

Posted on by
Reply

A solitary man on a mission seeking self-emptying and seeing the violent animal within brings to our ears his brand new experimental musical journey.

“You can kill it, but you must see it.”

If you throw  the expression “Kuujeojabenojujanomiashikushija” into Google Translator just out of curiosity like I did, you’ll see the app recognizes it as Swahili, translating it to “Come on in, take a look and enjoy yourself!” I have absolutely no idea if that was the intention of the mysterious American vocalist and multi-instrumentalist R.P. when he originally named his Experimental Death Metal project Kuujeojabenojujanomiashikushija, a solitary man on a mission seeking self-emptying and seeing the violent animal within, but just like its name, this extreme music entity offers a weird, uncanny and absolutely experimental musical journey to the listener in its second studio album, beautifully entitled The Hunting Boar! The Hunting Tyrant!, following up on all the madness found in the project’s 2014 debut EP 82121 and its 2017 full-length opus Hheoalle. In addition, as you might suspect based on the uniqueness of the project, absolutely everything in the album was done by R.P. himself, giving it an additional touch of lunacy and rawness and, therefore, sounding very organic from start to finish.

A mix of Industrial and Avantgarde Metal kicks off the album in the wicked intro Ripped Apart Under Glimmering Constellations, before R.P. slashes his raw, dirty guitar and crushes his drums like a maniac in the excellent Christ’s Descent Into Hell, and let me tell you that the song’s lyrics couldn’t have been more insane than what they already are (“Words accursed: mutational and eclipsed / Iron disc, zwarte zon / Coma of the soul from death to death / I wring the neck! It’s finished. / Poison diplomacy”). You better leave your mind and ears wide open as rumbling bass punches, cryptic vociferations and a sense of hopelessness and despair permeate the air in Vision Of Spinning Golgotha, uniting the sickness of Industrial Death Metal with the finesse of Progressive Metal, whereas R.P.’s demented riffs and beats are the main ingredients in Predator Reconfigured As Prey, another disruptive, dissident metal extravaganza that will make your head tremble throughout its less than three minutes of intense obscurity. And extracting sheer rage and insanity from his razor-edged guitar, R.P. offers our ears more of his Experimental Death Metal in Lycanthrope Before God, resulting in a headbanging tune tailored for admirers of the genre.

Then eerie noises ignite three minutes of industrialized sounds and tones in the instrumental (and lengthy) aria titled Entry, setting the stage for R.P. to roar venomous words (“If they can see me, I will kill them”) nonstop in They Can See Me, while the music remains as paradoxal to anything that can be called mainstream as possible, making an instant bridge with the also eccentric Murderer Swings The Censer, one of the most progressive of all songs, taking his innovative Death Metal to a whole new level of heaviness and fury and ending in a truly sick manner before R.P. comes ripping once again with his austere riffs and low-tuned bass in Scent Trail Under Arched Sconces. Blending the most visceral elements from Death, Groove and Industrial Metal with tons of feeling and darkness, this is one of the best songs of the album hands down. Lastly, are you ready for another round of sick guitars, pounding drums and wicked background noises? That’s what you’ll get in Do You See Over That Mountain?, sounding like an industrialized and instrumental version of the progressive madness blasted by Mastodon, and morphing into the idiosyncratic Epektasis, starting in an atmospheric and ethereal way before becoming a Progressive Rock and Metal exhibit by R.P. until all fades into the void.

I guess after all is said and done, the aforementioned translation to the project’s name, “Come on in, take a look and enjoy yourself!”, makes total sense, as if R.P. is indeed inviting us all to enter his wicked realm of experimentations and violence, take a very good look (or maybe I should say listen) around, and have a good time to the sound of each one of his multi-layered creations. Hence, in order to do that and show him your support and admiration for the underground, you can start following R.P. and his Kuujeojabenojujanomiashikushija on Facebook and purchase a copy of The Hunting Boar! The Hunting Tyrant! From the project’s own BandCamp page. As R.P. himself likes to cryptically say, “you can kill it, but you must see it”, or in the case of his newborn opus, you can kill “it”, but of course you must listen to his entertaining new album first.

Best moments of the album: Christ’s Descent Into Hell, Predator Reconfigured As Prey and Scent Trail Under Arched Sconces.

Worst moments of the album: Entry.

Released in 2020 Independent

Track listing
1. Ripped Apart Under Glimmering Constellations 1:09
2. Christ’s Descent Into Hell 3:20
3. Vision Of Spinning Golgotha 1:55
4. Predator Reconfigured As Prey 2:45
5. Lycanthrope Before God 2:14
6. Entry 3:00
7. They Can See Me 1:30
8. Murderer Swings The Censer 3:23
9. Scent Trail Under Arched Sconces 4:03
10. Do You See Over That Mountain? 3:13
11. Epektasis 4:33

Band members
R.P. – vocals, all instruments

Album Review – Helion Prime / Question Everything (2020)

Posted on by
Reply

A stunning concept album of Power Metal with each song revolving around different figures throughout human history who had the courage to question the status quo of their respective worlds and societies.

Two years after the release of their sophomore album Terror of the Cybernetic Space Monster, the unstoppable Sacramento, California-based Sci-Fi Power Metal entity Helion Prime returns with their third effort (and the much shorter title) Question Everything, their first album with new vocalist Mary Zimmer, from bands like Luna Mortis, The Ottoman Empire, Earthen and White Empress, among others, who has also accompanied the band on two separate tours of the United States. Not only that, Question Everything also sees the band’s original singer, Heather Michele, returning in a writing capacity and contributing in all lyrics and melodies, supporting guitarists Jason Ashcraft and Chad Anderson, bassist Jeremy Steinhouse and drummer Alex Bosson in their quest for science and heavy music. Mixed by Chris Collier and mastered by Brett Caldas-Lima with additional mixing, drum edits and reamping by Alex Nasla of Gear Gods Studio, and featuring a stylish cover art by American artist Marc Whisnant, Question Everything is a concept album with each song revolving around different figures throughout human history who had the courage to question the status quo of their respective worlds and societies, in some cases even dealing with harsh persecution as a result.

The exciting opening track The Final Theory kicks off in full force to the strident guitars by Jason and Chad, setting the stage for Mary and her smooth, powerful vocals and offering our avid ears some good classic Melodic Metal to start their 60-minute journey through space and science. In Madame Mercury, a beautiful song in honor of American mathematician Katherine Johnson (who sadly passed away earlier this year), whose calculations of orbital mechanics during her 35 years as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent US crewed spaceflights, we’re treated to strong lyrics declaimed by Mary (“Born in a time defined / By bias in our laws / Held to a standard of / Injustice with no cause / Came a mighty force of reckoning / A gale of objectivity / One with the audacity / To know where she belonged”) while the music remains solid, cohesive and epic from start to finish; followed by Prof, a headbanging tune led by the galloping bass and beats by Jeremy and Alex, with the music growing in intensity until reaching a truly epic rhythm and vibe, and with its background keys also making an interesting paradox with the slashing riffs by the band’s guitar duo.

In The Gadfly, based on the one and only Greek philosopher Socrates, a serene intro explodes into a fusion of modern-day Power Metal with Symphonic and Melodic Metal, resulting in one of the most progressive of all songs, with the solos by Chad being absolutely incendiary. Then we have the breathtaking Photo 51, based on the life and discoveries of English chemist and X-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin, showcasing their most Iron Maiden/Helloween-inspired vein and with Mary living up to the legacy of grandiose female vocalists the likes of Brittney Slayes and Floor Jansen, not to mention how bestial Alex is behind his drums, whereas strident guitars ignite another Heavy Metal extravaganza titled E Pur Si Muove, where its keys add an extra touch of finesse to the overall result while Jason, Chad and Jeremy blast their stringed weapons in great fashion. And featuring guest vocals by American singer John Yelland (Judicator, Dire Peril, Principium), Words of The Abbot is another fast-paced, epic creation by Helion Prime, with the amazing job done by both Jason and Chad on the guitars providing Mary all she needs to shine on vocals once again.

Based on the fictional character Dr. Cornelius from the 1968 masterpiece Planet of the Apes (and I must say how much I love this movie, having watched it for the first time when I was just a little boy with my dad), The Forbidden Zone brings forward dark and epic lyrics (“What lies beyond / Those barren mountains / Hiding on that shore / I refrain”) with the music remaining absolutely loyal to the band’s foundations, offering us all their purest display of Symphonic Power Metal; followed by the title-track Question Everything, featuring the band’s former vocalists Heather Michele (Graveshadow) and Sozos Michael (Planeswalker), something I believe only Helloween had done before in the song “Pumpkins United”, with Michael Kiske, Andi Deris and Kai Hansen sharing the vocal duties. And let me tell you that the Helion Prime vocal triumvirate kicks some serious ass throughout the entire song, while Jason, Chad, Jeremy and Alex breathe fire, adrenaline and speed through their respective instruments. Then despite it’s 80’s inspired rhythm and vocal lines, as well as the soulful solos by Chad, Reawakening never really takes off, falling flat after a while, but fortunately for all of us the band closes the album with their cover version for Kong at the Gates/Forbidden Zone, from their 1999 album Famous Monsters by the Misfits (check out the original version HERE), with Helion Prime’s version sounding amazing (and very melodic) while presenting the band’s own twist, speahrheaded by the rebellious vocals by Mary.

“This album has truly been amazing to work on. The idea behind it is something I’ve been holding on to since around the time I started the band. Aside from writing some of what I consider to be Prime’s best work it was a great experience getting to work with Heather again on an album as she once again contributed her talents for the lyrics,” said Jason about the band’s newborn opus, and we must all admit it’s indeed their most complex and detailed about since their inception back in 2014. Well, when a Sci-Fi Metal band is named after an alien planet featured in the film The Chronicles of Riddick, you know their music will have a lot of content to support all their noise, right? It’s like if we could call their style “Nerd Metal” in the best way possible, and if you want to experiment their nerdy and thrilling music you can stream Question Everything in full on Spotify. In addition, don’t forget to also follow the band on Facebook and on Instagram, and above all, to purchase your copy of their new album from their own webstore, from Apple Music or from Amazon. Those Helion Prime chose to write about in Question Everything faced prejudice, mockery and persecution, yet through it all they held true to their beliefs and ideas, serving as an inspiration for all minds to continue thinking outside the box and staying true to themselves, and of course for Helion Prime to unleash upon us one of the best Symphonic Power Metal albums of the year.

Best moments of the album: Photo 51, Words of The Abbot and Question Everything.

Worst moments of the album: Reawakening.

Released in 2020 Saibot Reigns

Track listing
1. The Final Theory 4:20
2. Madame Mercury 4:19
3. Prof 3:55
4. The Gadfly 6:35
5. Photo 51 5:13
6. E Pur Si Muove 5:48
7. Words of The Abbot 4:55
8. The Forbidden Zone 4:32
9. Question Everything 5:56
10. Reawakening 6:54
11. Kong at the Gates/Forbidden Zone (Misfits cover) 3:39

Band members
Mary Zimmer – vocals
Jason Ashcraft – rhythm guitars
Chad Anderson – lead guitars
Jeremy Steinhouse – bass
Alex Bosson – drums

Guest musicians
John Yelland – vocals on “Words of The Abbot”
Heather Michele – vocals on “Question Everything”
Sozos Michael – vocals on “Question Everything”

Album Review – Lord Almighty / Wither (2020)

Posted on by
Reply

Transcending genre norms, the new opus by this amazing Progressive Black Metal band from Boston showcases an epic world that will surely be loved by all types of metalheads.

Formed in the grimy artist spaces of Rugg Road in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States in 2013 by vocalist and guitarist Keenan Carroll and guitarist Samuel “Goose” Willgoose, later enlisting bassist Phill Gelinas and drummer Christopher Narainen to complete the line up and hit the road, the unrelenting Progressive Black Metal unity Lord Almighty continues to play a crushing mix of Black Metal blasts and Rock N’ Roll melodics in their newborn opus entitled Wither, the follow-up to their 2015 full-length album Paths. Recorded by Goose himself at Murder Box Studios, mixed by Phillip Cope at Jam Room, mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege, and featuring a Stygian cover Art by Adam O’Day, Wither transcends genre norms, showcasing an epic world that will surely be loved by all types of metalheads. “Wither is an album that really was written over a few years. There were plenty of experiences along the way that continued our descent into madness. It was a hazy time looking through smoke and double vision. Conceptually we had a lot of different emotions and life experiences that culminated to what you hear. If you listen hard enough, you might even hear the crackle of the fire in our building where we lived or the cops pounding on the doors. Or maybe even the dreams in which we envisioned when we found ourselves without homes,” commented the band about their new album.

Their sonic onrush of sounds begins in full force with the opening track Cry of the Earth, where Christopher already presents his heavy artillery while the guitars by both Keenan and Goose bring a thrilling fusion of Black Metal and Punk Rock to the music, building an instant connection with the also progressive, multi-layered Sundown, with their strident guitars and intricate beats providing Keenan all he needs to vociferate with tons of anger, alternating between more rhythmic moments and sheer brutality. After such exciting start to the album, the quartet invests into a classic Black Metal sonority, offering our ears Mercy, with Phill and his Marduk-inspired bass punches adding an extra touch of evil to the overall result, sounding imposing and grim from start to finish and suddenly morphing into a incendiary tune titled Rise, where the Jazz-ish guitars by Keenan and Goose grow in intensity until exploding in a bestial Progressive Black Metal feast led by the crushing beats by Christopher. Then we have V, an instrumental intermission spearheaded by Christopher’s tribalistic beats, setting the tone for the neck-breaking and utterly progressive Despite, showcasing devilish riffs and solos, low-tuned bass lines and the always hellish growls and snarls by Keenan, also bringing forward hints of classic Heavy Metal and Rock N’ Roll, therefore demonstrating all the band’s versatility and range.

Stifled is another one of their cryptic instrumental creations, this time offering our ears a somber atmosphere and background voices, keeping everything as dark and heavy as possible before they come crushing our spinal cords with the Doom Metal-infused aria titled Adrift, also adding a touch of Atmospheric Black Metal to the song’s already pulverizing sound. Moreover, all band members are on fire throughout the entire song, exhaling obscurity and hopelessness; and after some inspired jamming the quartet fires the demonic Black Metal extravaganza entitled Hour By Hour, where Keenan and Goose sound beyond infernal with their razor-edged riffs, not to mention Goose’s blazin’ guitar solo. Their second to last blast of malignancy comes in the form of the title-track Wither, bringing forward their core progressiveness with Phill’s bass jabs hammering our heads mercilessly in a vicious display of contemporary Melodic Black Metal, whereas closing the album the band brings forth the also strident and piercing Hooded Three. The song actually takes longer than expected to take off, but when it does it’s another display of brutality by Lord Almighty with the thrashing riffs by the band’s guitar duo inspiring us all to slam into the pit.

The beyond progressive and demolishing creations found in Wither can be better appreciated in full on YouTube, but of course as usual if you want to truly demonstrate your support to the guys from Lord Almighty and keep the fires of underground extreme music burning bright forever and ever, go check what the band is up to on Facebook and on Instagram, subscribe to their YouTube channel, stream more of their music on Spotify, and above all that, grab your copy of their sulfurous new album from their own BandCamp page or webstore. As already mentioned, Wither is not only a very cohesive and vibrant album of extreme music, but it also translates into Black Metal all obscure experiences from each band member in their own descend into madness, which means you should definitely use the entire album as the soundtrack to your own downward spiral into the pits of the underworld. I’m sure the band would love to be part of that unique experience in your damned life.

Best moments of the album: Sundown, Rise and Hour By Hour.

Worst moments of the album: Hooded Three.

Released in 2020 Independent

Track listing
1. Cry of the Earth 3:51
2. Sundown 4:05
3. Mercy 2:31
4. Rise 4:20
5. V 0:51
6. Despite 3:43
7. Stifled 1:34
8. Adrift 3:55
9. Hour By Hour 3:57
10. Wither 4:49
11. Hooded Three 5:11

Band members
Keenan Carroll – vocals, guitars
Samuel “Goose” Willgoose – lead guitars
Phill Gelinas – bass
Christopher Narainen – drums

Album Review – Crystal Spiders / Molt (2020)

Posted on by
Reply

Bang your heads to the debut album by this amazing American duo of doom, dripping with fuzzed out riffs, thundering drums and dynamic, smoky vocals.

It didn’t take long for Raleigh, North Carolina’s own Hard Rock/Doom Metal unity Crystal Spiders to draw attention to their crushing fusion of heavy and groovy styles after their inception in 2018. Comprised of Brenna Leath (of Lightning Born) on vocals and bass and drummer Tradd Yancey, with the support of session guitarist Mike Deloatch and guest guitarist Mike Dean (of Corrosion of Conformity), who also produced the album, the band returns in full force in 2020 with their debut album Molt, following up on their highly acclaimed 2019 demo. Mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege Mastering Studio and featuring a stylish artwork by American tattoo artist Tyler Pennington, Molt showcases their deep devotion to riff-worship, dripping with fuzzed out riffs, thundering drums and dynamic, smoky vocals and, therefore, being highly recommended to fuzz-addicted legions from all four corner of the earth.

The low-tuned, creepy bass by Brenna kicks off the Stoner Rock and Metal feast titled Trapped, with Tradd smashing his drums powerfully while the song’s  obscure lyrics are darkly declaimed by Brenna (“There’s no one out here, just wild dogs and dust / Fill up the empty space with unholy sound and deathly grace / There’s something slithering away on a greasy belly / We’re trapped here in this place, drying up like old blood”), whereas the title-track Molt is a faster and more dynamic Rock N’ Roll party led by Tradd’s classic beats while Mike and Brenna slash their stringed weapons in great fashion, being perfect for banging your head nonstop while the band kicks ass on stage at a rock pub anywhere in the world. After such breathtaking tune we have Tigerlilly, one of the three songs from their 2019 demo, getting back to an old school, Black Sabbat-inspired Doom Metal mode, with Tradd being once again unstoppable on drums, providing Brenna all she needs to shine with her piercing vocals and dirty bass jabs. And eerie, minimalist sounds permeate the air in the grim Chronic Sick, where the sluggish beats by Tradd together with the acid riffage by Mike generate a neck-breaking ambience, with Brenna once again mesmerizing us all with her potent voice.

It’s time to speed things up once again and ride with Crystal Spiders on a highway to hell in C.U.N. Hell, where it’s impressive how devilish and sexy Brenna’s voice can sound at the same time, while Tradd dictates the pace with his wicked beats, followed by Gutter, another lecture in Stoner Rock and Doom Metal by the duo, with Brenna being on fire with both her high-pitched screams and metallic, fuzzy bass, taking us all on a journey back to the glory of the 70’s. Then let’s embark on another thunder-driven Rock N’ Roll journey together with Crystal Spiders in The Call, where Brenna, Tradd and Mike are on absolute sync, consequently making our blood boil in the name of the riff, not to mention the song’s addictive guitar solos. In the tribalistic, hypnotic tune entitled Headhunters the talented Brenna steals the spotlight with her witch-like vocal lines, setting the tone for Fog, featuring the aforementioned Mike Dean and his visceral riffs, a bestial, dark and delicious way to end such powerful album of doom. It’s slow and atmospheric from start to finish, with Brenna, Mike and Tradd building a damned wall of sounds with their respective sonic weapons, dragging us all into their foggy and somber lair before all is said and done.

If you want to experience Molt in its entirety you can enjoy the full album on YouTube and on Spotify, but of course in order to show Brenna and Tradd your honest support and admiration you should definitely purchase the album from their own BandCamp page, as well as from Ripple Music’s BandCamp page or Big Cartel (in digipak CD or deluxe vinyl format), or simply click HERE to have access to all locations where you can buy or stream the excellent Molt. Hence, don’t forget to follow Crystal Spiders on Facebook and on Instagram, keeping the fires of underground doom burning bright for many years to come. The name of the album itself is already very suggestive and points to an amazing future for Crystal Spiders, as if the duo has just shed their old feathers, making their way to a new growth stage in their career, and based on the high quality of the music found in Molt it looks like not even the sky is the limit for their doomed wings.

Best moments of the album: Molt and C.U.N. Hell and The Call.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2020 Ripple Music

Track listing
1. Trapped 5:09
2. Molt 3:37
3. Tigerlilly 5:38
4. Chronic Sick 6:49
5. C.U.N. Hell 4:09
6. Gutter 3:58
7. The Call 5:47
8. Headhunters 2:26
9. Fog 6:14

Band members
Brenna Leath – vocals, bass
Tradd Yancey – drums, vocals

Guest musician
Mike Deloatch – guitars (session)
Mike Dean – guitars on “Fog”

Album Review – The Glorious Dead / Into Lifeless Shrines (2020)

Posted on by
Reply

Ranging from blasting intensity to a more down-trodden doom crawl, enjoy over 50 minutes of “Filthy Northern Death Metal” by this talented Michigan, US-based act.

Founded by T.J. Humlinski (Feast Eternal) and Marty Rytkonen (Prosthesis, Slaunchwise, Charnel Valley, Bindrune Recordings) in Traverse City, a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, Death Metal four-piece act The Glorious Dead is a band that finds its roots planted somewhere back in 2008 and 2009 with the three-song demo The Burdensome Ceremony of Internment. Upon suffering a few line-up changes the band went dormant until 2017, when drummer Chris Fulton (Reasonable Deception, Neither) relocated to the area and agreed to join the band. With Chris Boris from the Northern Michigan band and forest metal stalwarts Pan permanently joining the ranks on bass, the band finalized a two-year quest and all necessary material for their debut full-length album Into Lifeless Shrines, offering the listener songs that range from blasting intensity to a more down-trodden doom crawl. Highly influenced by ancient Death Metal and the 80’s darkened thrash movement, The Glorious Dead focuses on memorable and diseased sounding riffs lurking at its core in Into Lifeless Shrines, resulting in the rise of what they like to call “Filthy Northern Death Metal”.

The eerie, cinematic intro Solium Mortis opens the gates of hell to the putrid and violent Vitreous Hemmorhage, a solid and straightforward Death Metal song with no shenanigans where T.J. roars and growls like a creature of the underworld while his bandmates generate a venomous ambience with their instruments, whereas Chris Fulton pounds his drums nonstop in the heavy-as-hell The Noise of Gravediggers, another bestial Death Metal feast with T.J. and Marty extracting sheer savagery from their stringed axes, living up to the legacy of renowned acts like Cannibal Corpse, Deicide and Morbid Angel. And they keep smashing our skulls with their brutality in Cranial Festering, where Chris Boris and Chris Fulton generate a dense and menacing base perfect for T.J. to thrive with his gruesome gnarls, maintaining the album at a high level of aggressiveness and obscurity.

The band then ventures through the realms of Doom Metal and Blackened Doom, and the final result is a sluggish and grim creation entitled Tenebris Arca, with the slashing sound of the guitars bringing an extra touch of malignancy to the overall result, while the crushing beats by Chris Fulton dictate the rhythm in the venomous Putrefactive Adoration, a brutal display of classic Death Metal shredding by the band’s guitar duo, all spiced up by the always vile guttural by T.J. After such high level of dementia, it’s time for the quartet to arise from the pits of the netherworld and fire one more round of bestiality in the form of Reunite in Grotesque, a lecture in old school Death Metal with no artificial elements, just plain, unfiltered violence, tons of shredding and the unstoppable beats by Chris Fulton. And even darker than its predecessors, Celebrate the Corpse blends Death and Doom Metal with subtle nuances of Black and Thrash Metal, presenting a great job on the guitars by both T.J. and Marty while Chris Boris keeps delivering endless groove through his bass punches.

Into Lifeless Shrines, one of their oldest compositions, comes smashing our heads mercilessly, showcasing a violent pace boosted by the song’s austere lyrics while once again bringing to our avid ears classic Death Metal spiced up by the most Stygian elements from Doom Metal, and the rumbling bass by Chris Boris kicks off the also visceral Leave it with the Worms, where the guitars by T.J. and Marty will pierce your ears while Chris Fulton gives us all a very good reason for slamming into the pit. Following this ode to darkness, Cannibal Corpse-inspired riffage and intricate and berserk beats are the main ingredients in the Death Metal extravaganza titled The Ruin of Flesh, with T.J. demonstrating all his skills as a growler once again, and there’s nothing better than a huge dosage of gore and violence to end a Death Metal album, which is exactly what you’ll get in Exordium of Decay, with its wicked guitar solos and hammering drums keeping the music vibrant and grim until the song’s climatic finale.

If you consider yourself a fan of underground Death Metal, then you should definitely give the guys from The Glorious Dead a try, as their raw and pulverizing creations might be exactly what you’re looking for in extreme music. Hence, don’t forget to follow them on Facebook for news, tour dates and other details about the band, and purchase a copy of Into Lifeless Shrines from the Bindrune Recordings’ BandCamp page or webstore, fueling The Glorious Dead to keep demolishing our heads and disturbing our peace with their frantic and heavy Death Metal for many years to come. Put differently, let’s all hail the northern hordes of Death Metal together with the talented metallers from The Glorious Dead, with Into Lifeless Shrines marking the most cohesive and detailed step in their career so far.

Best moments of the album: The Noise of Gravediggers, Tenebris Arca and Reunite in Grotesque.

Worst moments of the album: Celebrate the Corpse.

Released in 2020 Bindrune Recordings

Track listing
1. Solium Mortis (Intro) 1:42
2. Vitreous Hemmorhage 4:17
3. The Noise of Gravediggers 5:02
4. Cranial Festering 3:16
5. Tenebris Arca 5:27
6. Putrefactive Adoration 4:21
7. Reunite in Grotesque 4:14
8. Celebrate the Corpse 5:33
9. Into Lifeless Shrines 4:20
10. Leave it with the Worms 4:11
11. The Ruin of Flesh 5:25
12. Exordium of Decay 4:37

Band members
T.J. Humlinski – vocals, guitars
Marty Rytkonen – guitars
Chris Boris – bass
Chris Fulton – drums

Album Review – Texas Murder Crew / Everyone’s Last Breath EP (2020)

Posted on by
Reply

Capturing the music of the flies buzzing to the sight and stench of inhuman cruelty, this Dallas, Texas-based act will pulverize your senses with the boiling, filthy sound of their debut opus.

Capturing the music of the flies buzzing to the sight and stench of inhuman cruelty in their wicked creations, Dallas, Texas-based Brutal Death Metal/Deathslam six-piece act Texas Murder Crew will pulverize your senses with the boiling, filthy sound of their debut EP entitled Everyone’s Last Breath, drowning you as you reach in agonized desperation for a hand held out in pity. Featuring the dual guttural vocals of Logan Ross and Brent Wells, offering differing shades of sickening brutality, a thick wave of riffs by guitarist Kevin Clark (Devourment, Kill Everything), crushing foundations by bassist Timothy Dewayne Ratcliff and drummer Benjie Quezada, and hallucinatory shadows and the buzzing of the flies by Terry Burleson and his samplers, Everyone’s Last Breath is a must-have album for fans of underground brutality and rage, sounding absolutely verminous and gruesome, and having your body twitching, hungry for violence throughout its 17 minutes of unrelenting extreme music.

As soon as you hit play, a truly cinematic, somber intro grows in intensity until all hell breaks loose, preparing the listener for the pulverizing Curse of Humanity, with Brent and Logan making a bestial vocal duo with their sick gnarls and screeches while Kevin and Timothy decimate their stringed weapons mercilessly, resulting in a Brutal Slamming Death Metal avalanche infused with tons of groove and infinite aggressiveness. Destroy the Witness is another devastating lesson in Death Metal where Logan fires his Cannibal Corpse-inspired riffs while Timothy and Benjie shake the foundations of the earth with their thunderous instruments, not to mention how inhumane the vocals by both Brent and Logan sound, and if you thought they were going to slow down their savagery you’re utterly wrong, as the band keeps smashing our skulls in Beneath My Feet, offering us all three minutes of putrid, wicked Death Metal where Kevin once again takes the lead with his sick riffage. The band’s demented vocal duo continues to bark and vomit their gruesome words in the title-track Everyone’s Last Breath, with Benjie sounding like a stone crusher on drums, or in other words, this is a dense and cohesive Death Metal feast that perfectly represents the band’s dexterity and passion for brutality. Finally, Terry kicks off the closing tune Stronghold with his sinister samplers, being gradually joined by the violent sounds blasted by his bandmates, requiring only a little less than two minutes to annihilate us all.

There are multiple locations where you can put your dirty and blood-soaked hands on Everyone’s Last Breath, such as the band’s own webstore, Comatose Music’s BandCamp and webstore, Amazon, and other alternative options such as Randy’s Record Shop and Saturn. Also, let’s show the guys from Texas murder Crew our total support by following them on Facebook and on Instagram to know more about their music, tour dates and plans for the future, keeping the fires of Brutal Death Metal alive for many years to come and, of course, making sure those talented death metallers will keep delivering their wicked and brutal creations until their very last breath.

Best moments of the album: Curse of Humanity and Everyone’s Last Breath.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2020 Comatose Music

Track listing
1. Intro 1:39
2. Curse of Humanity 3:31
3. Destroy the Witness 4:00
4. Beneath My Feet 2:50
5. Everyone’s Last Breath 4:19
6. Stronghold 1:29

Band members
Brent Wells – vocals
Logan Ross – vocals
Kevin Clark – guitars
Timothy Dewayne Ratcliff – bass
Terry Burleson – samplers, backing vocals
Benjie Quezada – drums

Album Review – Xythlia / Immortality Through Quantum Suicide (2020)

Posted on by
Reply

Enjoy this visionary soundtrack for our brutal, mutant universe, pushing the boundaries of Extreme Metal through the horrors of space vacuum.

The solo project of Minneapolis, Minnesota-based vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Nick Stanger (also active in the ranks of black metallers Ashbringer), the distinguished entity named Xythlia brilliantly blends the most extreme Technical Death Metal and Grindcore with Voivod’s progressive and experimental approach and the mind-shattering guitar acrobatics of Krallice and Ocrilim, resulting in the perfect visionary soundtrack for our brutal, mutant universe, constantly changing its shape and skillfully alternating complex concatenations of schizoid death-grind riffs with short atmospheric interludes and space noises, dissonant and slanted melodies and crushing slow tempos. Engineered, mixed and mastered by Nick himself at Sound of the Northwoods in Minneapolis, and featuring a creepy and fascinating artwork by Mexican illustrator Carlos Agraz (The Art of Asty), where an alien creature performs a suicide ritual through the space and time continuum, furiously stabbing itself to death, the project’s debut album, entitled Immortality Through Quantum Suicide, testifies the birth of a new talent capable to look beyond the narrow confines of Extreme Metal, and to push it through the horrors of space vacuum. “When quarantine started, I had nothing but time to kill with a myriad of frantic uncertainty and anxiety,” explained Nick. “This record is a reflection of that. It’s a concept album that follows a character experiencing the full extent of isolation throughout infinite time.”

In the visceral opening track Death Unyielding, we already face a vile sonic devastation led by Nick’s infernal shredding, while at the same time he barks the song’s demented and chaotic lyrics (“Collider, a force that could wield the aeons / The secret to transcending time / Death will always show / Rearing its ugly head / Chaos, the beast unfolds / Devouring what’s left of this world / Day of reckoning / Waking nightmare / Chaos reigning / Death unyielding”), flowing into the also demolishing To Defy Inevitability, a lesson in Grindcore the likes of Napalm Death which also presents groovier and more atmospheric moments than its predecessor. In Initiation: Void we’re treated to thirty seconds of insanity in the form of sick riffs and blast beats, morphing into a Technical Death Metal havoc titled Tachyon Malnourishment, where Nick’s growls get more and more violent as the music progresses, with his riffs and bass punches sounding utterly metallic. Then in Antidream serene guitar lines work as the calm before a metal storm titled Ablation of Subconscious, starting in a more introspective way with Nick of course roaring like a beast while at the same time smashing his guitars and bass mercilessly, accompanied by his programmed but very organic drums in the most technical and progressive form of Grindcore you can think of.

Flesh Prison sounds infernal, rumbling and hammering from start to finish, with Nick’s riffs setting fire to the music, boosted by his thunderous bass jabs and the song’s wicked words (“Damnation / An eternity of peril / No end to suffering / Clench my fist / One more click / Body frail / Frantic mind”), whereas Post-Ironic Indoctrination is probably one of the most insane and disrupting minutes you’ll ever experience in heavy music. And that musical madness goes on in Schrödinger’s Foreskin, bringing elements from bands like Slayer and Exodus to Nick’s already hellish sound, not to mention the demented progressiveness he extracts from his violent bass, followed by The Eye Bath, another atomic bomb delivered by our lone wolf in a little over three minutes where he doesn’t stop slashing his guitar not even for a single second, therefore making your head tremble vigorously. After another round of sheer dementia titled Mutagenic Growth, it’s time for the closing tune Fester in the Nether, showcasing an eerie intro gradually evolving into more of Nick’s Technical Death Metal, blending furious riffs and beats with a reverberating bass sound. Furthermore, Nick definitely knows how to make the earth shake with his technical Grindcore, always vociferating rabidly to make things even heavier and more sinister.

Nick and his wild Xythlia are waiting for you to exterminate your senses in Immortality Through Quantum Suicide, and in order to show such insane entity of Technical Death Metal and Grindcore your support simply follow Xythlia on Facebook and purchase your copy of the album from the project’s own BandCamp page, from the I, Voidhanger Records’ BandCamp page, or from the Metal Odissey webstore. Nick might be one single man enduring isolation just like the rest of us, but we must admit he made an excellent use of his time alone to bring his unrelenting Grindcore beast to life in Immortality Through Quantum Suicide, condensing all the horrors, darkness and fears from space vacuum into a massive wall of sounds that will leave you absolutely disoriented after the album’s 23 crushing minutes are over. Let’s hope we can witness a second round (or maybe I should say reincarnation) of Xythlia in the near future, pushing the boundaries of extreme music more and more into the unknown, exploding our heads with his austere sounds for centuries to come.

Best moments of the album: To Defy Inevitability, Flesh Prison, Schrödinger’s Foreskin and Fester in the Nether.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2020 I, Voidhanger Records

Track listing
1. Death Unyielding 1:06
2. To Defy Inevitability 1:38
3. Initiation: Void 0:27
4. Tachyon Malnourishment 1:32
5. Antidream 0:45
6. Ablation of Subconscious 3:04
7. Flesh Prison 2:05
8. Post-Ironic Indoctrination 1:04
9. Schrödinger’s Foreskin 2:55
10. The Eye Bath 3:04
11. Mutagenic Growth 0:41
12. Fester in the Nether 4:45

Band members
Nick Stanger – vocals, guitars, bass, drum programming

Album Review – Vampiric / Supernatural Tales (2020)

Posted on by
Reply

Phoenix, Arizona’s own lone wolf returns with more of his blood-soaked Symphonic Black and Thrash Metal in a tribute to darkness and the supernatural.

Arising from the depths of his lair less than one year after the release of his debut full-length album The Magic of the Night, the Phoenix, Arizona-based one-man army Nik Williams, the mastermind behind Symphonic Black/Thrash Metal entity Vampiric, is back with more of his blood-soaked, dark and captivating music in his brand new opus entitled Supernatural Tales, bringing to our ears more of his fusion of extreme and symphonic sounds while singing about vampires, wolves and other creatures of the night. Not only that, Nik once again did everything by himself, including all music, lyrics, artwork and so on, proving how passionate he is about heavy music and vampirism, and how his undeniable talent allows him to unite those two distinct topics into a collection of dynamic and obscure compositions.

Phantasmagorical synths and a stench of blood permeate the air in the opening track Endless Night, where Nik generates a bold atmosphere with all instruments, also firing both harsh growls and cryptic clean vocals and uniting Black and Thrash Metal in the name of darkness. In Bloodthirst we’re treated to sheer brutality, with Nik barking the song’s vampiric lyrics manically (“Do you hear it? / Does it not sound like the shadows calling your name? / At midnight’s strike, piercing the dark / Calling to you as if in dream / His presence made known / His shadow crawls across the wall”) while the music brings a fusion of Second-Wave Black Metal with classic Bay Area Thrash, all spiced up by its background keys; and blasting a more straightforward and rockin’ sonority, Nik offers us all the dark and dancing tune The Wolves Of Winter, showcasing slashing riffs and massive beats and bass punches, being tailored for admirers of Gothic Rock and Metal from the 80’s and 90’s with a more venomous twist. Then Nik continues to blast his drums and extract sheer malignancy from his guitar, resulting in a hybrid of Blackened Death Metal and Symphonic Black Metal entitled Heart Of Fire, where our lone wolf sings about how fear sometimes controls our lives (“Rise from the fire whose flames burn you not / Become the fire / It matters not the fear that lives inside of your heart / But how you go forth and face that fear / Times of turmoil beget times of peace”).

Melodic guitars ignite the also frantic and obscure The Embrace Of The Vampire, with Nik growling and gnarling while at the same time generating a truly wicked ambience with his Phantom of the Opera-inspired keys, also presenting some elements found in the music by the almighty Cradle Of Filth, whereas an exciting ride through the lands of Rock N’ Roll, Black Metal and symphonic music is condensed into the multi-layered The Darkness Reborn, where Nik does a superb job with all instruments, in special with his demonic riffage and vicious roars. A Descent Into Madness is a visceral, in-your-face Extreme Metal tune where the bass sounds are absolutely metallic and thunderous, making a solid paradox with all the ethereal keys in the background, while Fall From The Sky leans towards the rawer musicality from his 2019 album, also bringing forward a spot-on balance between aggressiveness and melody while the drums sound as Black Metal as they can be. It’s a bit lengthy, though, despite all of its breaks and variations, but nothing to worry about, before the cinematic outro The Dawn Is No More puts a melancholic and at the same time epic conclusion to this bloodthirsty album.

Not only Supernatural Tales represents a healthy and interesting step forward in the career of Nik Williams and his Vampiric, but it’s also a solid statement that Nik is an unstoppable force of the underground, always working on new material and always eager to release original music to fans of that more extreme side of metal, having released so far two excellent albums in less than one year, and I’m not even counting his debut EP Death Tore Through, also released in 2019. Hence, you can show your support to such up-and-coming, hardworking artist by following him on Facebook, by subscribing to his official YouTube channel, and obviously by purchasing Supernatural Tales sooner than you can expect from his own BandCamp page (where you can by the way take a listen at a couple of his new songs already, as well as his previous releases). In a nutshell, in praising darkness and the supernatural with his new album, Nik is also carving his name in the metal underworld, leaving us eager for more of his vampiric tales and extreme sounds until the end of days.

Best moments of the album: Bloodthirst, The Wolves Of Winter and The Darkness Reborn.

Worst moments of the album: Fall From The Sky.

Released in 2020 Independent

Track listing
1. Endless Night 5:28
2. Bloodthirst 2:50
3. The Wolves Of Winter 5:40
4. Heart Of Fire 4:51
5. The Embrace Of The Vampire 5:31
6. The Darkness Reborn 3:36
7. A Descent Into Madness 3:20
8. Fall From The Sky 6:22
9. The Dawn Is No More (Outro) 2:31

Band members
Nik Williams – vocals, all instruments

Album Review – Feral Light / Life Vapor (2020)

Posted on by
Reply

An infernal American duo is back with more of their sonic madness in their vicious new opus, instantly pulling you in with its killer mix of melodic and dissonant riffing.

Formed in 2015 in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States by vocalist and guitarist Andy Schoengrund (Coagulate, Empires, Wolvhammer) together with drummer Andrew Reesen (Censer), Feral Light are a mysterious enigma playing grim and sorrowful Black Metal entwined with savage and unyielding Crust Punk, resulting in what can be labeled as “Blackened Post-Metal”. After a demo, an EP and two full-length albums, this unyielding force of darkness returns in 2020 with their third full-length installment titled Life Vapor, building up on the foundations of its predecessor while increasing the intensity of the music displayed. Recorded and mixed by Kyle Kaliszewski, mastered by James Plotkin (Plotkinworks), and featuring a minimalist and obscure artwork by Unexpected Specter, Life Vapor instantly pulls you in with its killer mix of melodic and dissonant riffing, combining and incorporating various styles including elements of Post-Metal, Black N’ Roll, Doom Metal and Second-Wave Black Metal, materializing as a downcast howl of war-torn vocals funneled through a lyrical content dealing with mysticism and inner struggle.

Experimental and futuristic sounds kick off the scorching opening tune Blood in Sand, with Andrew blasting his drums with tons of rage and precision while Andy barks the song’s grim, austere lyrics rabidly (“A way forward scrawled on obscure hands / Scorched by the touch of the expanse / Grasp past the sun, tethers unravel / Pull from the dark and carry forth”). Then leaning towards classic Norwegian Black Metal we have the massive Assuage, with Andy not only vociferating like a demonic entity but also firing sharp and acid riffs accompanied by Andrew’s infernal drums, also bringing forward an amazing balance between Andy’s strident guitar and his low-tuned bass; and displaying a huge dosage of Doom Metal added to the band’s core sonority, we’re treated to the ominous and heavy-as-hell Walking Tomb, alternating between otherworldly, lugubrious moments and sheer savagery, with Andy’s guitar riffs once again cutting our skin deep without a single drop of mercy.

Exhaling progressiveness, obscurity and harmony, the duo jams in the lands of doom in Last Gasp Invocation, generating an enfolding atmosphere before all hell breaks loose, with the music gradually morphing into a visceral Black Metal onslaught, whereas modern-day Black Metal sounds and tones permeate the air in Hex of Inverses, where both Andy and Andrew sound at the same time venomous and very melodic with their respective weapons. Needless to say, their music will mercilessly penetrate deep inside your psyche and make your skull tremble. And finally, Andy’s slashing riffage and Andrew’s vicious beats will invite you to slam into the pit in the closing tune In Summation, presenting a sulfurous hybrid of old school Black Metal with more contemporary stiles the likes of Post-Metal and Melodic Black Metal, ending the album on a high and Stygian note.

If you want to give Life Vapor a shot, you can enjoy the album in its entirety on YouTube and on Spotify, but as usual in order to truly support underground metal music I highly recommend you purchase a copy of the album from the band’s official BandCamp page, from the Hypnotic Dirge Records’ BandCamp page or webstore (in regular CD format or as a fantastic bundle including the CD, an exclusive T-shirt, a patch and a sticker), as well as from Apple Music and from Amazon. The infernal Minneapolis-based duo known as Feral Light, who are also waiting for you on Facebook, are definitely paving a very interesting path ahead of them with the constant evolution found in their music, with Life Vapor being undoubtedly their most cohesive and multi-layered work to date. Having said that, you might be asking yourself “what’s next for Feral Light?” Well, only darkness will tell.

Best moments of the album: Assuage and Last Gasp Invocation.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2020 Hypnotic Dirge Records

Track listing
1. Blood in Sand 7:32
2. Assuage 6:36
3. Walking Tomb 7:18
4. Last Gasp Invocation 7:26
5. Hex of Inverses 5:30
6. In Summation 5:03

Band members
Andy Schoengrund – vocals, guitars, bass
Andrew Reesen – drums

Album Review – Hearts & Hand Grenades / Adrenaline EP (2020)

Posted on by
1

Bang your heads nonstop to this fresh breath of Hard Rock that is not just built around the youth of today, but for all generations of true rock addicts.

In striving to create a true rock revival, and up-and-coming female-fronted Hard Rock unity that goes by the name of Hearts & Hand Grenades was formed in the beginning of 2019 in Buffalo, the second largest city in the state of New York, in the United States, focusing on creating a fresh breath of Hard Rock that is not just built around the youth of today, but for all generations of true rock addicts. After the release of their 2019 EP’s Wait and Nothing Left, it’s time for lead singer and bassist Stephanie Wlosinski, guitarists Kenny Blesy and Mike Bress, and drummer Tom Lafferty to showcase all their passion for rock music and dexterity with a new EP entitled Adrenaline, drawing influences from the likes of Metallica, AC/DC, Flyleaf and Halestorm, among many others. “We have been working very hard to bring our collective efforts to create a true hard rock sound with some meaningful lyrics. There is an undertone of frustration, desire, hope, and self- examining on these tracks. The agenda is to have something that anyone can relate to, no matter what walk of life you come from,” stated the band, aiming at filling the hole where true rock used to live with their new EP.

And our hearts begin beating to the rhythm of their classy Hard Rock in the title-track Adrenaline, where Stephanie and Tom will make the earth shake with their respective bass and drums while the band’s guitar duo extracts sheer electricity from their stringed axes, all spiced up by Stephanie’s thrilling vocals. Put differently, simply bang your head nonstop together with those talented rockers, just the way we love it in first-class Rock N’ Roll. Kenny and Mike keep hammering their guitars in great fashion in For the Weakened, bringing elements of Southern Rock and hints of Doom Metal to their already crushing musicality while Stephanie ventures through more aggressive lands with her piercing vocal lines. Then drinking from the more metallic fountain of NWOBHM, but still loyal to their Hard Rock foundations, Stephanie and the boys kick some serious ass once again with Daggers, a born-to-be-a-hit extravaganza where Kenny and Mike are on fire with their riffs, and there’s no sign of the band slowing down as they keep putting the pedal to the metal in the also headbanging Turning to Ashes, with its thrilling rhythm being dictated by Tom’s old school beats while the rest of the band fills out every single space in the air with the magic of Rock N’ Roll.

If you want to increase the amount of adrenaline in your life you can listen to such fun and vibrant EP in its entirety on YouTube, on Spotify and on Pandora, and of course purchase it directly from the band’s own webstore, as well as from Apple Music and Amazon. Also, don’t forget to follow Stephanie and the boys on Facebook and on Instragram, and to subscribe to their YouTube channel, to let their electrifying rock music penetrate deep inside your minds and your hearts each and every day where our good old Rock N’ Roll is required to lighten up our humor and make our lives a little better. After three awesome EP’s in just one year, Hearts & Hand Grenades are more than ready to focus their energy and passion for rock music in the creation of their first full-length opus, and as long as they keep loyal to their foundations, which means as long as they keep delivering more of the vibrant and fresh music found in Adrenaline, we can rest assured classic Hard Rock and Rock N’ Roll will never die.

Best moments of the album: Adrenaline and Daggers.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2020 Independent

Track listing
1. Adrenaline 5:29
2. For the Weakened 4:05
3. Daggers 3:31
4. Turning to Ashes 4:17

Band members
Stephanie Wlosinski – vocals, bass
Kenny Blesy – lead guitars
Mike Bress – guitars, keyboards
Tom Lafferty – drums