Pale Cremation “Communion [Soviet Tapes 1984]”

    Having snuck some recordings out of a secret underground base similar to the one from Resident Evil: Retribution minus the Russian zombie soldiers that knew how to operate motorcycles, Pale Cremation was able to obtain these never before heard recordings from 1984. Titled, “Communion [Soviet Tapes 1984],” the latest Pale Cremation album is one of the most diverse sounding releases to date and the plethora of different influences perfectly captures the dynamic mindset of the artist behind this release. 

    The mastermind behind Pale Cremation, Matt Lasserre, conjures up yet another out of this world sounding creation by bringing together a variety of different musical styles on each of the eight tracks. Pale Cremation’s early releases were very much grounded in old school doom metal and hard rock, but with the last few releases I feel as though Matt has incorporated more old school progressive rock elements into his music along with more experimentation with synths and ambient noises. On “Communion [Soviet Tapes 1984],” Matt really embraces the sci-fi horror world by composing some very cinematic synth arrangements that pays homage to the film scores from 70’s and 80’s sci-fi horror movies. The most notable movie being, John Carpenter’s The Thing, which is referenced on the tracks, “Mimic” and “Indistinguishable to Human Eyes.” During the song, “Indistinguishable to Human Eyes,” you can hear audio clips from the movie while Matt unleashes a decimating doom onslaught mixed with hypnotic synth breaks wedged between the heavy sounding riff barrage.  

    On this album, Matt has drummer Anders Wienerholden handling the drum parts and coming up with some punishing rhythms to complement the bombastic metallic sounding riffs. The opening track, “Walls of Ice,” is very surreal sounding with this frantic build-up of drums and guitar that seems to create an atmosphere of sheer terror and suspense. I would even say that there are some trippy industrial arrangements sprinkled throughout the album, which definitely strengthens the album’s sci-fi horror/government cover-up theme. “Indistinguishable to Human Eyes,” is a great example of a horrifying industrial/doom metal like track, especially when you hear Kurt Russell’s voice from The Thing being heard right before a savage arrangement shatters the soundscape. 

    Speaking more on the cinematic emphasis that seems to be very prevalent throughout the album, tracks like “Eldritch Prophecy” and “”Shodan,” are both very futuristic sounding synth wave style tracks that I could almost see being used as the music for video games. “Shodan,” especially reminded me of something from a haunting sci-fi video game, or even an 80’s horror film John Carpenter might have worked on, because the song has that utterly bewitching synth sound. For listeners who prefer more hard hitting riffs Matt has you covered with tracks like, “Malevolent Cosmic Forms” and “Communion,” that contain some heavy sounding psychedelic progressive rock structures. I have to say that, “Communion,” was one mind-altering listening experience and the lead guitar parts provided by Eric Doyle were down right mesmerizing as the notes rang out over the cataclysmic compositions. 

    Overall, “Communion [Soviet Tapes 1984],” has to be one of the most creative releases from Pale Cremation that vividly demonstrates Matt’s talents, as well as his eclectic musical influences. I think this album can be something a wide range of people will find fascinating given the mixture of heavy metal, progressive rock and synth wave used to strengthen the album’s themes about malevolent extraterrestrial lifeforms trying to overtake humanity. One day when the world meets it’s inevitable fate at the hands of some superior galactic race, they will discover Pale Cremation’s “Communion [Soviet Tapes 1984],” and realize that humans were not all useless sacks of insufferable crap like that damn Hawk Tuah Girl, or those douchey frat boy podcasters. 

Check out the entire album below via 666MrDoom's Channel:

Link to Pale Cremation's Bandcamp:

https://palecremation.bandcamp.com/album/communion-soviet-tapes-1984

Cathexis - S/T Demo

    Sometimes you don’t need a plethora of technical riffs and complex arrangements to make a profoundly compelling extreme release. The debut self-titled demo from Cathexis is a prime example of how taking savage crust punk mixed with some ruthless sounding metal elements can lead to a ferocious listening experience. 

    Cathexis is a one-man project that recently put out this debut demo on cassette via RoachLeg Records. The demo is a conjuring of raw punk elements that reminds me a bit of gritty old school crust acts like Amebix and Extreme Noise Terror, but then you also have this deafening primitive metal side that I thought sounded a almost like the early Hellhammer demos. Overall, the music is utterly intense and comes rushing out of the speakers with this supercharged level of adrenaline pumping distorted energy. The vocals paint these haunting and bleak dystopian scenarios as the riffs thunderously chug away. Throughout demo I felt that the music was very consistent sounding, yet the tracks never come across as painfully repetitive, which I would attribute to the feverishly relentless raw energy.

    There are four songs featured on the demo, and all of them are merciless sounding cuts of unapologetic chaos. Upon hearing the opening drum part on the song, “Revulsion,” as well as the guitar chords cutting through the rhythms with such malice, I knew instantly that I was going to be thrown into a maelstrom of ruthless punk/metal aggression. Also, the vocals during the song perfectly match the bellicose sounding instrumental compositions, thus creating a very hostile sounding nightmarish landscape. On the second track, “Xenogenesis,” the mastermind behind this project known as the, Neuromancer, continues to offer up these blistering rudimentary thrash/punk riffs that evoke an old school sound that I feel you hear rarely expressed these days on most modern records. Sometimes over produced releases can take away from what the artist is trying to express, so I'm glad that this demo found a way to preserve the anarchistic and chaotic musical mentality. 

    The third track, “Nightfall,” was a very unique sounding track that featured some sharp sounding chord strikes as well as these science-fiction like noises towards the end. I liked the creativity that went into this track, as the overall recording definitely stood out from the previous two. The final song, “Deadly Reign,” was an utterly abrasive conclusion to an already decimating demo. This track definitely contained some fearsome headbanging riffs and the rough production made for a killer old school sounding extreme piece of music. 

    After listening to this demo from Cathexis, I am eager to hear more given what was presented on each of the four tracks. The raw and unyielding energy that was displayed on this demo can definitely be used to fuel the flames of a future release, so I look forward to that potential creation. To me there are a ton of riffs and musical ideas that can be explored further, which is something most artists should strive for when creating a demo, as it can serve as the beginning of more complete musical vision. In the end, I highly recommend checking out this demo and keeping an eye out for more music from Cathexis. 

Check out the full demo below from the Felopunk Youtube Channel:

RoachLeg Records Bandcamp:

https://roachlegrecords.bandcamp.com/album/demo-27

Cathexis Bandcamp:

https://cathexis646.bandcamp.com/album/demo-2024

Top Ten Albums of 2024 / Rob "The Metal Guy" Awards

As the year 2024 comes to an end and we are all left wondering how in the world did people like The Costco Guys and Hawk Tuah Girl get famous along with all the other whacky shit that happened in 2024, it is time to look back on all the great music that came out this year. I felt that 2024 was a solid year overall in terms of new hard rock and metal releases, the battle for the number one spot was not as competitive as it has been in prior years. Sentient Ruin once again dominated in terms of underground extreme music labels, and the owner of the label does not need to run a Youtube Channel complaining like a toddler when bands are unwilling to do interviews with him like some other labels (cough...J-Dawg). Now, in regards to my pick for the number one album of the year, I am already expecting the self-proclaimed "true" metal readers to start calling me a poser as well as begin a petition to revoke my "Metal Guy" status. Honestly, just get over it and accept the fact that the best album of the year wasn't some obscure kvlt band that wears Party City vampire capes, or is a tech death band writing songs about aliens installing solar panels on The Great Pyramids. Just like how those cackling hens on The View had to accept the results of the Orange Man's victory, the metal community can chill out for one year as I give the number one spot to a non-metal band. Alright, enough of my blabbering, here is the list for my Top Ten Albums of 2024, plus the Rob "The Metal Guy" Awards at the end...

10. Örnatorpet “Fordomdags”

This just wouldn’t be a top ten list if a dungeon synth/ambient artist was not featured. As someone who has been a massive fan of dungeon synth music over the years, I always seem to come across some very creative artists. Örnatorpet is a Swedish artist who has really created some gems over the years, and this latest album “Fordomdags,” being yet another captivating dungeon synth tale. I like the Scandinavian folk elements that are sprinkled throughout the release, as well as the soothing melodies and bewitching synths. Even without words you can paint these vivid landscapes in your head while following along to the captivating noises. I highly recommend checking the album out if you enjoy dungeon synth and ambient music similar to that of Secret Stairways and Jim Kirkwood.  

9. Low Moments “Escape Artist/Ship Has Sailed” 

I just don’t think the world could have endured if we did not get another new Low Moment’s release and this new one that came out in 2024 was one that easily could have been nominated for a Grammy if only there was a way to payoff the officials like in the NFL. Actually, the music on this release is extremely catchy and the lyrics can be very relatable, which sometimes is scary if you really think about it. I would say that if you are a fan of gloomy post-punk then you will definitely want to listen to this album, as Low Moments just seems to fill that void which is missing in the music world today. Also, they sure do provide great background music for when you walk around the mall by yourself dressed all in black eating taiyaki and pondering as to why life keeps kicking you in the balls. 

8. Bütcher “On Fowl of Tyrant Wing”

I found out about this Belgium based speed metal/back metal band through an awesome friend who knows a thing or two about killer metal music. Bütcher’s latest release “On Fowl of Tyrant Wing” is down right badass from the album cover to the music. The album features a plethora of blistering riffs and skull crushing rhythms. Once you start listening to it, you cannot stop! This is definitely a band that I would like to see live one day, especially given the punishing and brutal energy that they were able to conjure up on this album. 

7. Deicide “Banished by Sin”

When it comes to older bands that are considered iconic and influential in the world of metal music, I personally feel as though some of them have really put out some sterile and overproduced sounding releases. Without sounding too harsh, I personally believe there are a handful of acts that just need to hang it up. In the case of Deicide, I definitely find that they have been consistent over the years and this new album “Banished by Sin” actually surprised me. Glen and the boys delivered a truly crushing death metal album featuring some down right brutal riffs. I would say that this album by far surpasses the last two albums, which I thought were just very average sounding releases. Songs like “Bury the Cross... with Your Christ,” “Woke from God” and “The Light Defeated” feature killer lyrics mocking religion, while showing that these guy still know how to pump out utterly agonizing extreme death metal compositions. 

6. Maudissez “Self-Titled Album” 

This debut self-titled album from sinister extreme metal maniacs, Maudissez, was sure one hellish listening experience. I thought this album was sonically decimating from the very start. It came as no surprise when I found out the that the band was working with Sentient Ruin on the release of the album. This group definitely fits in well with all the other bands on Sentient Ruin, especially considering the band’s haunting and profane musical identity. A lot of metal bands can dress-up and act evil with their chains and upside down crosses, but few can actually deliver an utterly malevolent sounding creation. Maudissez is a band that I would keep an eye out for in the future, as they are extremely talented when it comes to crafting long blasphemous sounding tracks with very terrifying atmospheres. 

5. Hemotoxin “When Time Becomes Loss”

A local Bay Area band that I have been following ever since seeing them live in 2013, Hemotoxin continues to push the technical thresholds with each new release. Guitarist/singer Michael Chavez is an unbelievably talented player who has also really evolved as a songwriter. “When Time Becomes Loss” takes a step into a more progressive direction, while still conveying a vicious old school death metal and technical thrash feel at times. I thought the album contained some very profound tracks with my favorite being, “Reborn in Tragedy.” Also, for the album Michael brought in a few talented guitarists to provide guest solos and give the music an even more blistering dynamic sound as well. 

4. Diabolic Oath “Oracular Hexations”

The savage blackened death metal horde known as Diabolic Oath once gain delivered a punishing full-length album to follow-up what was a very impressive debut album. This sophomore release, ““Oracular Hexations,” demonstrates the band’s savage nature, as well as their insane musicianship. From the apocalyptic blast beats and abhorrent riff structures, to the inhuman death growls, Diabolic Oath knows how to arrange some vicious tracks. Yet another band on Sentient Ruin which demonstrated tremendous extreme creativity to unleash upon the metal world an unfathomably deafening assault.  

3. Aberration “Refracture”

Ever since I reviewed Aberration’s first EP for Sentient Ruin back around 2021, I had been looking forward to hearing them come-up with a full-length release. The band’s sound takes on an old school death metal approach, but also incorporates some sonically defiling noises to create insidious atmospheres. There are a lot of dynamic and dissonant riff structures, which keeps you listening intently as the music viciously evolves. Aberration was determined to leave an impact with the release of this album, and I definitely think they accomplished their goal to create a purely evil sounding release. 

2. Nekus "Death Apophenia”

On their sophomore full-length release, "Death Apophenia,” Nekus once again unleashes a leviathan sized helping of death doom to shatter your ears and drag you mercilessly into the gruesomely distorted dark depths. The riffs on this album sound unbelievably deafening with monstrous amounts of reverb to send shockwaves across the musical landscapes with unapologetic force. Also, the thunderous drumming stands out as everything about this album evokes such a cataclysmic feel, which is why I really think this album is one of the best sounding extreme metal releases to come out in 2024. Nekus does not need to mindlessly shred through random scales to capture the listener’s attention. The band’s surrealistically profound delivery hooks you from start to finish by hitting you square in the gut. 

1. The Cure “Songs of a Lost World”

When I first heard that The Cure was going to be releasing a new album, I was not freaking out like most diehard fans, but I was interested to hear how it would sound. Although the album is not hard rock or metal, I made the decision to add it to this list because the album's overall production is phenomenal. From the opening song with its mesmerizing chords to the final track which hits you with a tremendous amount of profound emotional force, this album is just sonically impressive. Robert Smith sounds amazing as well compared to a lot of singers his age who have started to sound like utter trash and should check themselves into he retirement home (Morrissey being one of them!). I know a lot of my hardcore metal fanatic readers are going to scream poser when they read this, but all I can say to them is to get over it and acknowledge that even if you do not like The Cure, at least respect the quality of what this band was able to accomplish. The Cure could have easily just dialed it in and wrote an album full of gimmicky tracks that are cheap copies of previous material. However, “Songs of a Lost World,” actually takes elements from the band’s early years, but somehow ventures into even more grandiose post-punk atmospheric directions. Something that I think all bands young and old can learn from this new album from The Cure is that taking your time to compose a complete and profound listen experience is definitely important, and leaves an impression on your listeners more than a band cranking out albums mindlessly year after year which all sound the same to where why spending money when the music becomes utterly forgettable. 

The Rob “The Metal Guy” Awards

Label of the Year: Sentient Ruin

Best Live Performance: The Mission in San Jose at the Ritz and Kreator in SF at The Warfield for Klash of the Titans (Both get the award because both were amazing!) 

EP of the Year:  Cemetery Filth “Senses of Detriment”

Album Cover of the Year: Cemetery Filth “Senses of Detriment”

Music Video of the Year: VOID - “Return of the Phantom”

Music Venue of the Year: Brentwood Emporium

Best Punk Releases of the Year: Dollhouse - “I Hate You, Don’t Leave Me” and Yellowcake "A Fragmented Truth"

Most Badass Wrestler of the Year: Stephanie Vaquer

Biggest Douches of the Year: Taylor Swift, The Women on The View, and Dave Meltzer 

Örnatorpet - “Fordomdags”

    For those who are in search of a mesmerizing dungeon synth album to playing during these cold winter months, I would strongly recommend checking out Örnatorpet's latest full-length release, “Fordomdags.” Örnatorpet is a one-man dungeon synth project based out of Borås, Sweden that draws inspiration from Scandinavian folklore and nature to create these majestic sounding compositions. The enchanting synth arrangements along with the haunting melodies replace words with captivating sounds to paint serene fantasy themed landscapes. 

    Örnatorpet has been putting out a lot of solid material over the years and for this new album the one-man act is once again working with Nordvis to release the new album on CD and vinyl. I think what stood out the most about the album when I started listening to the first track was the ethereal synth tones that also captured this spectral feel as if the music was emanating from some ancient Scandinavian forest. Örnatorpet's sound and style is very similar to that of artists like Lustre, Secret Stairways and Jim Kirkwood, especially when pertaining to the way that the synths are utilized to create strong breath taking atmospheres. On this new album compared to some previous Örnatorpet releases, I feel the music really encapsulates the breath taking natural world in which the artist draws inspiration from to create these magnificent ambient tales, and sounds less like a fantasy themed video game soundtrack which has been done rather often in the world of dungeon synth. 

    The opening song serves as the beginning of this musical exploration, “Fordom i Sagor om Trolldomskult,” and the music casts a spell over you as the synth chords blare out of the speakers. I would say that the second track, “Över Ensamma Leden,” takes on a more solemn sounding approach with slower melodies ringing out to lull you into a drowsy state of mind. Throughout the album the diverse synth textures are very noticeable, which is why the music never loses its vividly compelling nature. For example, “Bland Stigar Fördolda,” really caught my attention when I first heard the song, because the music featured such brilliant Scandinavian folk-like elements. The last song on the album, “Den Bleka Dager Faller,” is another very well constructed fantasy themed epic tale with more triumphant synth arrangements. I felt as though I was walking through the halls of an ancient kingdom lost in time as the melodies lit forth a pathway of which I continued to followed until the music slowly faded away at the end of the song. 

    Overall, I would say that, “Fordomdags,” is definitely an album worth checking out if you are fan of dungeon synth music that draws inspiration from fantasy, nature and Scandinavian folklore. In this modern age where the natural world is becoming lost due to over development and the insane pace of modern life, I find that this music allows us to escape to a phenomenal sounding world as if we are stepping through some mystical gateway into a realm where we can let go our daily fears and stresses. Örnatorpet continues to be a powerful musical force in the dungeon synth and ambient music world, so I highly anticipate more music to come from this extremely talented artist. 

Check out the entire album below:

Nordvis Website:

https://www.nordvis.com/

 Örnatorpet Bandcamp: 

https://ornatorpet.bandcamp.com/

Concert Review: T.S.O.L., Toxic Energy, Knocked Down and Blunt Force Trauma at the Brentwood Emporium (11/10/2024)

 

    For those living in the Bay Area, it is always enjoyable to see a show promoted in a city where you don’t have to deal with chaotic traffic, costly parking fees, crackheads throwing cups at you with unknown liquids and of course, douchebags breaking your car window. When I saw that Southern California punk legends T.S.O.L. were going to be playing in Brentwood at the Brentwood Emporium, I knew this was a show I did not want to miss. 

    I had previously attended a show at the Brentwood Emporium back in March of this year and really liked the venue’s setup. Plus, the venue puts on all ages shows, which is great to see since a decent number of all ages venues have gone away in Contra Costa County over the years. What I noticed right away about this crowd when I first entered the venue was that you really did have fans of all ages, so to me it sort of spoke to how punk music can connect with a extremely diverse group of people. 

    I thought the three opening bands did a solid job supporting T.S.O.L. as well as getting the crowd going from the very beginning. The first opener, Blunt Force Trauma, is a local Bay Area trio that mixes metal and punk together to come up with some crushing riffs, while also turning up the intensity to get the people moving. Definitely could hear some hardcore influences at times, along with a few slow doomy metal sounding riffs thrown into the mix to get people to bang their heads. For a young bands I thought they played tight and their singer/bassist really had strong stage presence when interacting with the audience. They’re definitely a band that I feel will benefit from having more opportunities to play live, which will allow them to better develop their sound. Overall, I was very impressed by their passion, and I could tell the crowd was enjoying the band’s set that even included a killer cover of “Bloodstains” by Agent Orange. 

Blunt Force Trauma

    The 2nd opening band was another trio called Knocked Down from Stockton, CA. This group of punk rockers had more of a pop punk sound, so right away I will address that their music was not exactly something that I personally listen to. However, I am not as judgmental as I've gotten older and decided to listen to their entire set. They seemed to be playing with a lot of exuberant energy and during their performance a young fan was frantically rocking out with his dad in front of the stage. Actually, I must admit that the members of Knocked Down seemed to really appeal to this young punk who was constantly banging his head to their songs and throwing up devil horns. Seeing kids like that having a great time listening to music in the front of the stage is a truly awesome sight, unlike seeing a drunk woman in her fifties grabbing at Wayne Hussey of The Mission’s mic stand until the venue security finally has to escort her out. 

Knocked Down

    After Knocked Down finished their set, the third band took to the stage and started setting-up. Coming all the way from Orange County, Toxic Energy brought the raw old school sounding punk rock spirit with a ton of killer angsty hardcore punk songs. The band's frontman had tremendous stage presence and knew how to whip up the crowd when delivering his vocal parts. One of the band’s guitar players even had a wireless guitar to where he would jump off stage and start playing in the pit and then quickly run back on stage. As much as a liked the band’s originals I was extremely impressed by the two covers they did of, “Neat Neat Neat,” by The Damned and, “Just What I Needed,” by The Cars. I particularly liked, “Just What I Needed,” because they took this classic song and infused their own style to give the song a more punk rock vibe. All of the members seemed to be having a killer time and the audience was very receptive to their music as well. 

Toxic Energy 

    The final band of the night which caused everyone to make a rush to the front of the stage, was the mighty T.S.O.L. that I consider to be an extremely important part of punk rock history. Their debut album, “Dance with Me,” is a truly brilliant release with its mixture of punk and deathrock. The band opened to a thunderous cheer from the audience as they tore into the first song and the pit started moving. Jack Grisham is an amazing frontman and looked like he was having a blast up on stage and wore a jacket with The Creature from the Black Lagoon on the back. Also, he is a funny dude and his comments in-between songs definitely drew out some laughter from the audience. Ron Emory’s guitar playing was a sight to behold as he jammed away at such classic riffs on song like “Sounds of Laughter," “Dance with Me” and “World War III.” The drummer and bass player did a solid job, and I respect the drummer who was having to battle issues with the monitor volume while Jack was busting his balls about it. For their encore the band played, “Code Blue,” and seeing people singing along to song about necrophilia is a glorious sight to behold. I think my only complaint is I wished they could have done a few more songs, but I thought that the set they played sounded solid from start to finish. 

T.S.O.L.

    In the end, I definitely felt as though all the bands delivered, especially when I look back at home the crowd responded throughout the night. Now, I did notice that the show ended earlier than most shows, but I can understand that since the show was all ages and Brentwood has a curfew law for minors. Then again, I respect the venue and promoter for putting on an all ages show that offered a safe and enjoyable environment for everyone in attendance. All around, the spirit of punk continues to be fueled by the desires of those looking for something that rebels against the system and can be appreciated by people of all ages. 

Nekus "Death Apophenia"

    Emerging once again from the dark subterranean depths of the German underworld, Nekus returns with an utterly monstrous sounding sophomore release titled, “Death Apophenia.” These shadowy death doom musicians conjure up some cataclysmic sounding tracks drenched in copious amounts of punishing reverb and ear shattering distortion on this new album. 

    After first hearing their debut album, ““Sepulchral Divination,” which Sentient Ruin released last year, I knew this band still had more to offer the extreme metal world. There is no denying this band’s monolithic death doom sound, which allows them to come up with extremely suffocating arrangements. Compared to some of the other current death doom acts that have left me underwhelmed after hearing the same riff structure repeated over and over again without much thought, I find Nekus constructs these surrealistic and profoundly haunting arrangements which takes you into the horrifying depths of a nightmarish musical realm. A their core, Nekus is an act that does not mess around, and you can hear in their songs a band reaching into the darkest depths of their fiendish artistic minds to craft some inhumanly brutal sounding music.   

    As with most death doom bands, Nekus does not write short two to three minute songs, but at the same time the band does not try to test the listener’s patience by cranking out twenty minute slabs of lackluster material. I think the songs actually flow together perfectly, and that is what makes this album a solid listen from start to finish. The opening track instantly captures your attention with the sounds of ritualistic drumming slow building-up to a malevolent riff accompanied by some gruesome vocals. “Cadaverous Periphery,” is a very dynamic piece of music and shows how Nekus can transition from a slow bone crushing style of extreme metal to a more thunderous sounding onslaught without sounding disorganized. I would say that the music is well procured and whoever did the recording for this album perfectly amplifies the band’s monstrous vision. On the track, “Noxious Furor,” I thought the band hammered out some unfathomably fearsome riffs, and the vocal parts added to the vile atmosphere which sort of evokes a primordial feel at times. 

    Songs like “Accursed Murmur” and “Unutterable Prophecies,” descend further down into the caverns of unspeakable madness and continue to send these deafening shockwaves through the speakers. The drummer compliments the brutal tribalistic energy by coming up with mesmerizing rhythms from behind the kit. During the the end of "Accursed Murmur" the drums echo over the other instruments like thousands of boulders crashing down during an rockslide. On the final song, “Erichthea,” the band once again traverses across these bombastic death doom musical  landscapes, but I would argue that Nekus comes up with even more profoundly loud spellbinding arrangements to conclude an album already full of constant aural punishment.  

    Although Nekus may not be baffling listeners with whacky technical arrangements, dressing up in clown suits and singing about aliens running a solar farm, I would argue that the atmospheres and arrangement featured on their sophomore release are unfathomably profound. “Death Apophenia," is a truly hellish offering in terms of unapologetic and sadistic sounding brutality. In the end, Nekus has proven to be yet another insanely creative extreme metal artist to be a part of the Sentient Ruin family, and I hope they continue to record more insidiously heavy death doom releases in the future. 

Check out the song "Accursed Murmur" below:

Sentient Ruin Bandcamp (Album comes out November 15th, 2024) :

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/

Yellowcake "A Fragmented Truth"

 

The savage Arizona based d-beat/crust punk band, Yellowcake, continues to show beyond a doubt why they are one of the most sadistic sounding bands around with their new release, “A Fragmented Truth.” Following up their profoundly vicious debut release, "Can You See The Future,” the band dives even further down into the entropic sounding anarchistic punk abyss to unleash a punishing firestorm of distorted hostility. 

Right away, I would consider the songs on, “A Fragmented Truth,” to be even more intense, more antagonistic sounding and just down right deafening. "Can You See The Future,” in my opening had an extremely impactful sound, as well as captured the band’s ferocious nature perfectly. I felt as though on this release the band was a little bit more untamed at times and that allowed the feverish instrumental compositions to really buildup this overwhelmingly fearsome momentum. In terms of the vocals and how they were executed, I think the band’s singer once again delivered a strong performance, and from the first track you become instantly hooked by her undeniably confident presence when emphasizing lyrics. 

Once again, the band’s drummer hammers out some monstrously primitive rhythms from behind the kit to give songs like, “Maelstrom” and “Blood Soaked System,” an extra boost of raw aggression. Also, I thought the riffs on this new release ventured in some different directions at times, like on the song, “When Night Comes Around,” which had a slight crossover punk/thrash sound. On the fifth song, “Vinyl Chloride Rain,” the bass player and drummer slowly built-up the music with a catchy sounding jam that gets eventually washed away by an incinerating hardcore sounding onslaught. The singer injects a tremendous amount of rage while shouting out the lyrics over the chaotic soundscape, which I must say allows you to easily remember the title of the song. 

The last song, “Mind Scabbed Over,” happens to be the longest track on the release with a total run time of 3 minutes and 15 second. Yellowcake does not need an extensive amount of time to make an impact and that can be proven with their debut demo as well as these new songs. I thought, “Mind Scabbed Over,” was a crushing old school sounding hardcore offering that will appeal to wide range of ravenous punk fanatics. My only complaint is that I wish there were more songs and I look forward to the day Yellowcake compiles enough songs to make a full-length album. 

My final thoughts on this new Yellowcake release, “A Fragmented Truth,” are that the band shows no signs of stopping their fiendish push to offer up some blistering sounding hardcore/d-beat/crust punk tracks, while coming up with ways to hit the listener straight in the gut with a fistful of sonic devastation. Still, “Visage of the Flame,” is the best Yellowcake song to date in my opinion, but the songs on the new release definitely do not disappoint and I bet will be utterly insane to hear when performed live. I'm glad Yellowcake was able to still demonstrate that uncompromising mentality on this new release, as I do believe that their unrelenting mindset in terms of writing and recording material will really propel them as they fight their way into the future. 

Listen to "A Fragmented Truth" below via Felopunk's Youtube Channel :

Link to where you can buy/order the album :

https://totalpeace.bandcamp.com/album/a-fragmented-truth

Yellowcake Instagram: 

https://www.instagram.com/yellowcakephx/