Wallachian Cobwebs "Hearken to the Moon Whisper"

    Imagine walking into a crypt and seeing a coffin slowly opening with mist swirling around the lid as you begin to become hysterical from fright. If there was a soundtrack for that experience, Wallachian Cobwebs would be the perfect artist to compose some terrifying music.

    The artist’s debut release, “Hearken to the Moon Whisper,” is a dungeon synth release which explores the vampiric themes known to spawn nightmares and inspire frightening legends. Dungeon synth is all about establishing strong ambience and also requires the ability to create a world driven by sound instead of lyrics. This artist I find offers a unique approach by creating a truly malevolent cinematic sounding environment. The overall mood is extremely ominous with sounds of wolves howling in the background and of coffins creaking as if the undead are slowly coming out of the shadows.

    Similar to a horror film, the album flows seamlessly through different pieces to create a sinister tale. The opening audio clip begins the journey into a dark misty world of frightening howls accompanied by grim sounding synth arrangements. When listening to the album one will take notice right away to how the synth is the main driving force leading the listener deeper into the catacombs of despair. The song, “An Abandoned Room Full of Dust,” really captured my attention with a solemn melody that eventually evolves into a fascinating cinematic like composition.

    One of my favorite songs off the album, “Uprising of the Green Skeletons,” features more malignant sounding elements, yet the haunting atmosphere is extremely welcoming. You become lost in the musical world of eerie sounding horror and can see yourself walking in a trance like state through a Transylvanian graveyard under a full moon. Also, the song does a great job leading into the final track, “The Stars Touched Midnight,” which is a captivating arrangement where the synth conjures up some vivid sounding notes until the music disappears into the windy and cold Wallachian night.

    Wallachian Cobwebs did a brilliant job with this release, especially in terms of how the album was composed and recorded. It is unique dungeon synth album that breaks away from the pack by exploring and experimenting with a creative concept that I found to be very interesting and engaging. Dungeon synth fans should really check this release out, along with anyone who is a fan of cinematic sounding horror music. Similar to a black and white horror film, the music pulls you out of reality and into a realm of sheer fright to become engrossed in a forbidden tale of terror. 



Check out the entire album below:

Wallachian Cobwebs Bandcamp:

https://wallachiancobwebs.bandcamp.com/releases

Top Ten Albums of 2019 / Rob "The Metal Guy" Awards

I remember at the start of 2019 saying that this would be a great year for metal. Actually, I think that this year even took me by surprise with how many quality releases came out. Looking at a lot of the albums I considered to be the year's best, a majority of them are debut albums, so that tells you the talent right now amongst your younger rock and metal acts is extremely impressive. Due to the strong year we had here in 2019, I am already predicting that 2020 is going to bring us even more killer albums full of headbanging glory. So, read and enjoy this top ten list along with the Rob "The Metal Guy" Awards. Maybe leave a comment at the bottom if there are albums you thought stood out this year, or nominate people for an award you think should be given



10. Decoherence “Ekpyrosis”

If you want some high quality extreme music, then a band that is on Sentient Ruin is always a prime choice. Decoherence proved that they know how to construct abysmal sounding landscapes filled with terrifying blackened sounding compositions. The entire release is a nonstop ride into dark dimensions where malevolent forces lurk with sinister ambitions. Overall, a blistering album recorded in such an unapologetic fashion that I can’t speak enough about.

Complete Album Review: https://rockandmetaltemple.blogspot.com/2019/11/decoherence-ekpyrosis.html


9. Malfet “The Way to Avalon”

Taking the Arthurian legend and constructing a soundtrack to lead listeners through a world of epic fantasy, Malfet proved to show tremendous talent on this debut release. Dungeon synth is a style of music I find to be extremely cathartic and this release is a vibrant sounding offering that can put your mind at ease as you drift into the magnificent musical world created by this one-man band.

Complete Album Review: https://rockandmetaltemple.blogspot.com/2019/06/malfet-way-to-avalon.html


8. Pale Cremation “Grimoire”

Sometimes it only takes one man to make a killer doom album, and sure enough Matt from Pale Cremation did just that on his debut release. I really dig the riffs and overall songwriting style, because this is the type of doom metal that kicks you right in the balls with a blast of reverb and a smack of heavy grooving rhythms. A total psychedelic doom avalanche of reverb to drown your mind and blow out your speakers.

Complete Album Review: https://rockandmetaltemple.blogspot.com/2019/11/pale-cremation-grimoire.html


7. Nucleus “Entity”

All these people who are tripping over Blood Incantation’s new album need to understand that Nucleus had the technical science fiction death metal style down earlier this year. I found Nucleus “Entity” to be an amazing release where the technically came across so crisp and perfectly complimented the overall songwriting approach. These guys knew how to write an album that flowed with brutality, yet also offered these magnificent progressive elements to create an atmosphere of galactic death metal splendor.

Complete Album Review: https://rockandmetaltemple.blogspot.com/2019/04/nucleus-entity.html


6. Mournful Cries “Bad Taste”

This doom metal trio from Santa Rosa, CA did not miss the mark when they released their debut full-length album. After releasing a few demos to get people acquainted with their brand of heavy grooving bone chilling doom, the band put out an album that was bad ass from top to bottom. Solid songs that contain monumental sounding riffs and instrumental compositions for you to just float into a smoke filled land of epic doom.

Complete Album Review: https://rockandmetaltemple.blogspot.com/2019/07/mournful-cries-bad-taste.html


5. Saint Vitus “Self-Titled”

The doom metal icons really did a great job on their 2019 self-titled release. Also, this was the first Saint Vitus release to feature original singer Scott Reagers since “Die Healing” which came out in 1995. I felt like the band sounded tight and the overall production was another high point. Dave lays down some wicked sounding riffs and solos, while Scott narrates these haunting tales of terror.

Complete Album Review: https://rockandmetaltemple.blogspot.com/2019/05/review-saint-vitus-self-titled-2019.html


4. Nocturnus AD “Paradox”

Mike Browning told me when I interviewed him a few years back that he wanted to continue where the, “The Key,” left often by bringing together some extremely talented musicians and keeping the Nocturnus legacy alive. I believe Nocturnus AD did an excellent job pulling all those elements together that made, “The Key,” one of death metal’s most ambitious releases and then writing some wicked new material. I really enjoy the guitar compositions on this album along with how the keyboard creates these unconventional sounding noises to make a truly malevolent science fiction death metal themed release.

Complete Album Review: https://rockandmetaltemple.blogspot.com/2019/06/nocturnus-ad-paradox.html

3. Pathetic “Rat King”

Sometimes I don’t want a band to baffle me with technical structures and claim to be the future of death metal. Personally, I just want some straightforward vicious brutality that hits you like hammer to the face. Pathetic is a trio that does not mess around by writing some thunderous death metal tracks that also convey some doom and speed elements to give you one HEAVY release. “Rat King,” is an entire package full of great headbanging moments, so you need to check it out if you have not.

Complete Album Review: https://rockandmetaltemple.blogspot.com/2019/06/pathetic-rat-king.html


2. Venom Prison “Samsara”

I think Venom Prison redeemed themselves after I listened to their debut album, which was not horrible, but did not do much for me when I listened to it. Most bands that do not impress me with their debut release tend to fade away, however, Venom Prison “Samsara” was an unbelievable album. The guitar riffs, vocal delivery and musicianship all around was dialed upon to an insane level of unforgiving energy. From start to finish I can’t find one issue

Complete Album Review: https://rockandmetaltemple.blogspot.com/2019/03/venom-prison-samsara.html

1. Iron Griffin “Curse of the Sky”

Iron Griffin’s sophomore release, “Curse of the Sky,” is a classic metal sounding tale of glorious vintage sounding riffs and captivating vocals. Arguably one of the best vocal performances I heard on an album in a long time, singer Maija Tiljander is able to inject such raw emotion into the triumphant sounding instrumentals. Unlike those classic metal acts who end up sounding gimmicky and write the same damn song over and over again, Iron Griffin displayed a bold confidence throughout this album. I cannot think of one dull moment when listening to this album, because the songwriting is simply majestic sounding. Definitely a group that needs to keep the ball rolling and forging more epic sounding releases down the road here.

Complete Album Review: https://rockandmetaltemple.blogspot.com/2019/02/iron-griffin-curse-of-sky.html

Rob “The Metal Guy” Awards 

Best EP/Demo Release of the Year: Chthonic Deity “Reassembled in Pain”

Best Split of the Year: Black Fucking Cancer / Gloam “Boundless Arcane Invokations”

Best Hardcore Punk Release: Jackal (Self-titled 7”)

Best Live Performance: Unlucky Theta at the Lister Bar in SF

Label of the Year: Sentient Ruin

Up and Coming Artist of the Year: Enshrouded

Most Ridiculous Announcement: Mötley Crüe coming out and saying they will tour again after promising all of us they were done…

Album Recommendation: Geddy Lee "My Favorite Headache"

    If you were to ask me who is my favorite band on this planet and in the history of music, I would answer Rush without any hesitation. For many years I have been a devout fan of Rush and even did my high school senior project on the importance of their music.

    Now for this recommendation I decided to actually go outside the Rush catalog and will be recommending Geddy Lee’s solo release, “My Favorite Headache.” Recorded in 2000, “My Favorite Headache,” was released when Rush was on hiatus due to Neil having gone through some personal tragedies in his life with the loss of his wife and daughter. During the break Geddy decided to continue to write music and collaborated with different musicians in the making of this album. Since 1974 Geddy had been playing with Neil and Alex, actually Alex and Geddy had know each other since teenagers, so stepping out and doing a solo album was a bit of a shock.

    Although this is not a “Rush” album I think one can hear some similarities, especially in how the instrumental compositions are written. I find Geddy’s writing style to reflect his keen sense for writing melodies, which can definitely be heard in Rush’s entire discography. Lyrically Geddy does a tremendous job as well on this album by writing some very catchy and thoughtful lyrics. I would say that this album mirrors Rush’s, “Test for Echo,” which happens to be the last Rush studio album before the band’s hiatus.

    The album begins with the title track and features Geddy’s unmistakable bass playing that provides a burst of fast grooving energy as the drumming picks up pace and the guitar parts come booming into the picture. This is definitely one of the more heavy sounding songs off the album and one that could have easily appeared on a Rush album. Now the second song, “The Present Tense,” opens with a strong chord punching riff and then transitions into one of Geddy’s uplifting verse sections containing these sweet sounding bass melodies.

    Looking at the middle of the album you see quite a few well written tracks that all convey a unique and pleasant sounding identity. “Runaway Train,” is one of my favorite tracks off of the album. The full guitar chords used in the beginning create this massive sounding explosion as the bass tracks in the background pull you along this ever evolving musical landscape. Geddy’s vocal delivery is exceptional when pertaining to how his voice compliments the instrumental structures. Another song worth mentioning is, “The Angel’s Share,” which is an acoustic piece that is perfectly layered. I think the production value on this album is a major reason as to why the music comes across so profound.

    The final part of the album is just as interesting with more well crafted and impressively recorded songs. I believe, “Still,” is one of the most powerful cuts off this album along with, “Grace to Grace.” There are both unique songs with dynamic compositions, however, they harmoniously compliment the album’s overall identity.

    As a fan of Rush you would like Geddy to be playing with Alex and Neil, but I do believe that this solo album released during the band’s hiatus before they made, “Vapor Trails,” allowed Geddy to offer fans a great glimpse into his musical mind. After listening to this album you find a new found respect for what Geddy has done in Rush by realizing his sharp ear for writing such phenomenal music. If you have not listened to, “My Favorite Headache,” you are really missing a gem right here. The music still holds up today, because any music written with substance and integrity can withstand the test of time.

I do know that there is a special Record Store Day vinyl version of "My Favorite Headache" that came out recently. Hopefully they see the demand for this album and decided to press more vinyl copies, but if you somehow find it at your local record store...get it! I know I am going to be searching! 

Dismembered Carnage "Blasphemed Betrayal"

    No remorse and no salvation shall be delivered upon those who think about questioning Dismembered Carnage’s blasphemous death metal skills. The band’s new album, “Blasphemed Betrayal,” is a savage onslaught of behemoth brutality featuring ten tracks of unholy devastation.

    The Concord, CA based band captures the essence of old school death metal by writing songs that waste little time getting straight to the gory point. I felt as though the production and overall recording quality on this release helped achieve that bold and abrasive old school death metal sound. There are a lot of bands who can write blasphemous sounding material, but unfortunately most of them end up repeating themselves by writing the same damn song over and over again. I do believe Dismembered Carnage took their time with this release and each composition is executed with tremendous confidence and aggression.

    The opening track, “As Jesus Burns,” is a wicked cut of intense blast beats and sinister riffs that show no mercy. On the next track, “Denial of Christ,” the band crafts such monstrous sounding riffs to compliment the singer’s gruesome sounding demonic death growls. I thought the opening two tracks did a great job establishing the band’s brand of iniquitous songwriting skills, along with showing their ability to create bone crushing instrumental compositions.

    The middle of this album is also very strong and songs like “Pastor of Disease”, “Devour in the Tomb” and “Fester in the Grave,” continue to fuel the band’s ravenous death metal approach. Although the band is not shredding their balls off and trying to overload listeners with technical compositions, they keep the music tight by writing very menacing tracks with riffs that just get the job done.

    I believe the album’s final three songs “Rape the Priest,” “Morbid Molestation” and “Into the Eternal Underworld,” are extremely damaging pieces of corpse carving debauchery. “Rape the Priest,” is a vile song with a venomous chorus section and I find it to be a great example of artistic freedom. Some individuals might take offense to the lyrical content, but I think that the song is a perfect example of how heavy metal music is used to challenge social norms and breakdown the barriers of censorship. Dismembered Carnage is not the first band to write blasphemous lyrics, however, they are keeping that malevolent spirit alive, which is much needed in our current society.

    In the end, if you are a fan of ruthless death metal that will strike terror into the hearts of religious zealots, then you might want to give Dismembered Carnage’s, “Blasphemed Betrayal,” a listen. I’ve seen the band live a couple years back and I can honestly say that the hard work and dedication paid off, because I think they “nailed it” with this release.



Listen to the song "Your Lord Dismembered" below:

Dismembered Carnage bandcamp:
https://dismemberedcarnage666.bandcamp.com/album/blasphemed-betrayal

Concert Review: Sepsis, Spectre, Enshrouded and Mefitis (11/22/2019)

  Saturday night in Castro Valley was a morbid gathering of four ruthless underground metal acts. Sepsis, Spectre, Enshrouded and Mefitis all proved to be sinister sounding bands with plenty of malicious sounding recordings to appease a group of ravenous metal fans.

  The show was held at a place called, The Shop, located just off of Castro Valley Blvd. This was a solid location for an underground metal show and although there was no massive stage with an over the top light setup and private dressing rooms for each band with bowls of brown M&Ms, the setting proved to be all that was needed for each band to deal out some devastating headbanging riffs. The crowd showed up in full support and throughout the night the audience was fully engaged during each performance.

  Opening the show was Sepsis, an up and coming death metal act from Santa Cruz that dealt a fiendish assault of old school death metal. I thought the band played with a tremendous amount of raw energy to get people hooked right away. If you enjoy that corpse crushing old school style of death metal where the riffs coming at you like an axe wielding demon high on speed, then you want to check this band out. Plus, major respect for their drummer and singer who handled both duties quite well. It is not an easy task playing drums and then having to lay down some venomous death growls, but this guy seemed to be up to the challenge.

Sepsis 

  The second band of the evening, Spectre, would be performing live for the first time, and you would not know it once they tore into their first song. This Oakley based tech death outfit demonstrated blistering extreme metal talent by coming up with these scorching technical compositions. Usually for a band’s first show there is always going to be some nerves when taking the stage, however, I can honestly say that Spectre played with great confidence and the band sounded very tight. Definitely interested in hearing some recordings from them, because I liked their dynamic sound that allowed them to write these unique cuts of mind bending death metal.

Spectre

  After Spectre finished, Enshrouded began setting up for their onslaught of diabolic sounding death metal. This local band does not perform that often, so I was interested in hearing them live especially after reviewing their debut demo. The band played with an unforgiving attitude and delivered their material in a vicious manner. All around the musicianship from each band member vividly stood out and together they conjured up such a ferocious selection of songs. From the intense blast beats and pulverizing rhythms to the hellish vocals that complimented the cranial crushing riffs, the band’s entire set flowed with a profound malevolent synergy. Definitely an act to I would recommend seeing live if you have the chance.

Enshrouded 

  The final act of the night was, Mefitis, a black metal group from the dark depths of the Bay Area. I thought they put together a decent set overall, even though I was having a hard time hearing the vocals due to the guitars and drums drowning them out. I will say that the drummer sounded extremely talented and in my opinion his playing stood out the most during each song. After the first song the band’s bassist and singer stated that they had backing tracks, but unfortunately due to technical issues could not use them. Even without having those backing tracks, I still believe they played a solid set. Sometimes shit happens and you have to make the best with what you have, backing tracks or not you play with that same amount of energy.

  If you are looking for some impressive up and coming extreme metal acts to check out, all four bands I think proved to be rather gifted in the art of making blasphemous sounding extreme metal music. As of recent there are not as many venues available for extreme metal bands to perform, so I think the bands who played did a spectacular job taking advantage of the opportunity by giving the audience one blistering and devastating show.


Links to their bandcamp pages:

Mefitis:

thetruemefitis.bandcamp.com/album/emberdawn

Enshrouded:

https://enshrouded.bandcamp.com/album/sanctum-of-the-shadows-2019-demo

Sepsis:

https://sepsisdeathmetal.bandcamp.com/track/facial-deformities

Decoherence "Ekpyrosis"

    Creeping through the cosmos in a destructive and ominous manner, Decoherence is an act capable of conjuring up some catastrophic recordings. Their debut album, “Ekpyrosis,” is an unapologetic blackened assault pulling listeners into a void with terrifying disoriented twists and turns that leaves you floating through realms of mind bending dimensional horror.

    After working with Sentient Ruin earlier this year for the release of their self-titled 7” EP, the band is teaming up with the label yet again to release their monstrous debut album. The band’s unconventional style of songwriting and chaotic sounding musical landscapes allows them to step away from your typical extreme metal acts. Decoherence is another example of Sentient Ruin finding a band that does not look to be a straightforward cookie-cutter metal band.

    The opening track, “Rearrangement Collisions,” is a gritty explosion of scorching guitar work accompanied by tormented unworldly sounding growls. You feel as though the drums and guitar parts collide to create a dark cluster of utter doom and despair. The overall atmosphere is a behemoth slab of malevolent sounds that spreads a blanket of unfathomable darkness. During the second track, “Primordial Replicator,” the band unveils a more punishing style of blackened aggression where the guitars seem to be ripping through the other instruments in a merciless frenzy.

    I found the third song, “Collapse,” to be less abrasive and more ambient than the first couple songs. The song’s distorted atmosphere is recorded in such a way that makes you feel like all light around you is being swallowed up into a dark oblivion. Track number four, “Vestiges of an End,” begins with a grim sort of tone and the entire track contains these haunting sounds used to amplify the cosmic chaos which the band executes extremely well.

    The final song, “Dimensionless Angular Momentum,” combines a lot of the common musical themes heard throughout the album and the main guitar parts seem to be the driving force of this cataclysmic onslaught. As a listener you succumb to the disorder and find yourself intently listening as the band constructs these unfathomable compositions.

    I do believe that Decoherence’s, “Ekpyrosis,” is one of those releases you either find fascinating, or you are completely overwhelmed by the album’s chaotic landscapes where there is no predicable song structures. In my opinion, what makes this such an impressive release is that the band writes music without giving too much away and their approach to crafting dynamic atmospheres allows ones mind to become fully engaged. I highly recommend this release for fans of harsh sounding atmospheric entropy with enough force to inflict galactic sized destruction.

Sentient Ruin Bandcamp:

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/album/ekpyrosis

Sentient Ruin Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/SentientRuin/

Goat Terror "Unholy March"

    Goat Terror’s debut 7” EP, “Unholy March,” is a blasphemous three song bludgeoning of merciless blackened death metal. The Belarusian based outfit demonstrates barbaric and uncompromising songwriting skills, crafting three tracks of gruesome skull smashing brutality.

    Drawing influence from bestial satanic war metal acts like Blasphemy, Impiety, Archgoat and Bestial Warlust, one can hear where Goat Terror captures the blasphemous spirit while also making their own devastating brand of apocalyptic sounding chaos. Those who relish in monstrous riffs, demonic vocals and tormenting instrumental compositions, will definitely want to check this release out.

     The opening song, “Thou I Proclame (III Nails to Each God),” is a bombastic explosion of distorted malice and feverishly hammers away at a brutal sounding main riff. Each member provides a morbid touch of sinister talent to construct an unholy sounding assault that has the potential to cause a priest to shit his pants. Track number two, “Unholy March (Death to All Alive),” focuses more on that relentless aggression with a vicious main riff that is accompanied by frantic and ear shattering blast beats. The singer’s ferocious vocals echo across the gory instrumental battle field to compliment the song’s abysmal sounding atmosphere.

    “World, Sacrifice to Satan,” is the final track off of the EP and presents a devil-worshipping landscape of unapologetic sounding terror. Overall, I would say that this band does not mess around and masterfully executes their destructive musical vision. Although I can name bands who sound similar, I find that this band is able to present the music in such a manner that I am really impressed by their brutal ambition.

    I am not surprised that Sentient Ruin will be releasing this EP through their label. They always seem to find those bands who have a knack for writing wicked cuts of extreme music. Goat Terror is definitely a band to keep an eye out for and I expect to hear more abominable offerings of brutality from these guys in the future.

Listen to  “World, Sacrifice to Satan” below:

Link to where you can purchase the album: 

http://sentientruin.com/releases/goat-terror-unholy-march

Concert Review: Unlucky Theta Invades the Bay Area

    For up and coming bands, touring serves as an opportunity to conquer new lands and build a larger fanbase by captivating a new audience with some killer music. People do not understand that even though we can sit on our computers and listen to bands from all around the world, a live show is more compelling and you will never be able to replace that intimate setting.

    Unlucky Theta, a trio from LA with a unique hard rock and metal sound, decided to take their music and venture up to the San Francisco Bay Area to play at the Lister Bar. The band also visited Santa Barbra and Santa Cruz before making their way up to the Bay Area. Unlucky Theta would be joined by San Francisco locals Sting Raze making this a two show bill.

    Upon arriving at the Lister Bar, I knew this would be an interesting venue experience. The bar seems to be very accommodating and before the show had a group of people painting, which I have never seen at a bar before, but I think shows how the venue is open to different artistic groups. I thought the stage was rather suitable and compared to some SF bars I’ve been to in the past, it did not look like it was falling apart.

    Opening the show was Sting Raze, a trio of hard rock psychedelic maniacs who enjoy jamming out some groovy sounding cuts of music. The band started their set off with a trippy instrumental piece that flowed in such cosmic and ethereal fashion. The band’s guitarist Kazuki did a great job constructing these progressive psychedelic chord progressions.  Bassist Abbas and drummer Terrance did a solid job holding down the rhythm section and added to that heavy jamming atmosphere. Overall, I liked how they crafted their songs and I felt like band was very tight.

Sting Raze

    The final act of the night, Unlucky Theta, may have been the out of town band, however, the band received a strong reaction from the crowd once they took to the stage. Their music instantly clicked with the audience, which I would attribute to the band’s overwhelming musical passion and dedicated drive as performers. The opening song, “Thrown Off Olympus Mons,” was a crushing piece of savage riff carnage. Singer and bassist Daniel Goodman played with raw emotion while guitarist Nick Kontje hammered out glorious headbanging riffs complimenting drummer Rel Bleiberg’s juggernaut sized rhythms.

Unlucky Theta 

    Another enjoyable moment during their set was the song, “Psalm,” a very powerful piece of music with Rel on lead vocals. Unlucky Theta’s ability to write dynamic pieces of music is one reason why I believe the crowd responded quite positively throughout their set. The overall musicianship was on point and the songs never seemed to lose that potent punch. Also I want to point out how the band was extremely thoughtful and although they enjoyed smashing out some ear shattering riffs, they offered free ear plugs to people in the audience.

    In the end, both bands exhibited tremendous amounts of impressive musical talent and even though you only had a two band bill, I think the audience enjoyed ever minute of the show. I recommend checking both bands out, because their passion for writing hard rocking mind bending music deserves much praise.

    So for all the young band’s thinking about just sitting around and playing their local scenes, get out and take a chance, because you never know who you might be able to meet and who might become a new devoted fan.



Unlucky Theta Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/unluckytheta/
Sting Raze Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/StingRaze/

Chthonic Deity "Reassembled in Pain"

    Prepare to be overwhelmed by sheer brutality and perpetual devastation with this debut demo from Chthonic Deity. “Reassembled in Pain,” is a carnivorous death metal offering that completely annihilates from start to finish.

    Featuring members from Scolex, Ascended Dead and Blood Incantation, Chthonic Deity is a group of death metal musicians who know how to write some vicious cuts of extreme music. The four songs on this demo are perfectly recorded to capture that raw and blistering style of old school death metal. There are plenty of gruesome sounding riffs and chaotic solos accompanied by pulverizing drums with enough force to send seismic shocks of unholy destruction throughout the world.

    The opening track, “Drained,” pulls listeners down into the hellish sounding depths by slashing away at a malicious sounding composition. I think the vocals provide such a profound touch of terror and the singer’s delivery really compliments the song’s haunting atmosphere. The second track, “Disintegrating Organs,” is yet another punishing piece of music that displays the band’s relentless drive and unforgiving attitude.

    Song number three, “Echoes of Death,” is a sadistic slice of death metal taking listeners on a joyride into utter oblivion with more crushing riffs and bombastic sounding drums. The final song, “Blood Ritual,” is where the band really comes together to craft a ferocious sounding track. When listening to this song I felt as though the guitar and bass parts were extremely well written. The entire song is what you want in terms of malicious sounding old school death metal and the band's sound really stands out compared to a lot of current up and coming death metal acts.

    As it stands, Chthonic Deity’s debut demo is my favorite demo to come out this year and one of the strongest death metal releases to come out this year for that matter. If these musicians continue to write and record songs like how they did on "Reassembled in Pain," I think the future of death metal is going to be looking great. In this crazy world where consistency and quality seem to be lacking, Chthonic Deity is a group to put your faith in without question.



Chthonic Deity Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chthonicdeitydeathmetal/
Link to Bandcamp:https://carbonizedrecords.bandcamp.com/album/reassembled-in-pain

Pale Cremation "Grimoire"

    Pale Cremation’s debut album, “Grimoire,” is a psychedelic doom journey through a trippy and heavy world of occult themed lyrics. The one-man doom band from Cleveland, Ohio cranks out some tasty jams of glorious doom with enough reverb and blasphemy to knock a god fearing Midwest granny off her porch.

    The album is rough, raw and pays homage to classic doom metal acts while still offering its own unique flair of savage riff filled debauchery. I like the heavily distorted and fuzzy sound of the guitars which adds such a groovy yet sinister element. The album begins with a blasphemous Lovecraft inspired sermon and jumps into the fiery second track, “The Serpent Mounds.” There is an emphasis placed on loud and bombastic riff compositions to where you feel each guitar and bass note hit you square in the gut.

    Throughout the album songs like, “Bastard Legions of the Devil,” and “Paimon, 8th King of Hell,” decimate your eardrums and deal out these monolith sized helpings of doom by never losing that pulverizing sound. The instrumental pieces on this album are also extremely well composed with my favorite being, “Monolith of Phobos.” The song’s dynamic atmosphere is a nice deviation from the other songs off the album and the overall sound creates such a cosmic euphoria that makes you feel like you are drifting into other dimensions.

    The final song, “Ceremonial Magicians of the Near East,” is long odyssey of pure doom drawing inspiration from bands like Sleep, Church of Misery and Electric Wizard. As the music flows in a hypnotic rhythm you just never get tired of hearing that main driving riff. The song is simply a really well written piece of music that does not sound sloppy, or comes at you with too many unnecessary parts.

    For a one-man band there is a lot to be said about Place Cremation’s, “Grimoire.” I like how this album was written and find that the artist has laid down a solid foundation to continue with more stellar doomy jams. If you are a fan of classic Sabbath like doom that will take you on a trip into smoke filled dimensions with demons and killer riffs, then you need to give this a listen!

Listen to the entire album below:

Pale Cremation FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/palecremation543/
Pale Cremation Bandcamp: https://palecremation.bandcamp.com/album/grimoire

Blood Incantation "Hidden History of the Human Race"

   

    Blood Incantation takes listeners on an intergalactic exploration through a brutal vortex of cataclysmic chaos with the release of, “Hidden History of the Human Race.” The Denver, Colorado based band deals out some vicious sounding death metal to compliment their science fiction rooted themes.

    I find that the Blood Incantation’s first album, “Starspawn,” was the beginning of what the band looked to accomplish when pertaining to their whole science fiction death metal approach. In the past there have been numerous bands who have crafted extraordinary albums that present fascinating science fiction themed concepts with some brilliant sounding death metal. Blood Incantation is trying to establish themselves as a band who is capable of conveying that same ability.

    This new album, “Hidden History of the Human Race,” is written in a solid manner, however, it fails to really break through the barriers of what has already been done. The band seems to fall flat at times and drifts around these simplistic tech death structures, which keep the music in a state of repetitive and mundane delirium.

    The opening song, “Slave Species of the Gods,” wastes no time in throwing listeners into a fire storm of musical entropy with plenty of blistering guitar riffs and blast beats. I felt like the band hastily jammed together the intro section, but I will give the lead guitarist credit for his ability to sneak in some fluid technical leads, especially considering how the other instruments seem to overload the song’s atmosphere. The second song, “The Giza Power Plant,” is far more interesting and incorporates some dynamic tempo changes that are not sloppily executed. In my opinion, probably the best sounding song off of the album.

    Track three, “Inner Paths (to Outer Space),” begins with a cold sounding cosmic atmosphere similar to something you would hear when watching 2001: A Space Odyssey. The band’s approach on this track is to slowly build up the song with an instrumental section and then out of nowhere hit the hyper drive button. The final song, “Awakening from the Dream…(Mirror of the Soul),” is an eighteen minute extreme sounding piece of music that looks to push the boundaries to infinity and beyond. Unfortunately it takes a certain type of band to really keep people listening for that long of a time. I drifted away into the black abyss of space about seven minutes into the song. The guitar playing is decent, but the riff compositions did not have what it takes to keep me fully engaged for eighteen minutes.

    In the end, Blood Incantation did not construct a heaping pile of monkey feces, however, they sure as hell did not inspire me to what to play this album over and over again. One must credit the band for attempting to write a creative and unique album, although the execution could have been slightly better. Production wise not a horrible sounding release, but then again, nothing I haven’t heard before. I will say this, if Riley Martin from the Howard Stern Show was still alive, he would love these guys.




Listen to “Inner Paths (to Outer Space)” below:

Blood Incantation FB: https://www.facebook.com/astralnecrosis/

Black Fucking Cancer / Gloam : Boundless Arcane Invokations

    Sentient Ruin deals out yet another sinister sounding release, this time bringing together two venomous black metal entities that know how to deliver some malevolent sounding music. Black Fucking Cancer and Gloam prove to be masters of the extreme metal dark arts by taking listeners on a hellish journey through realms of atmospheric terror on their spilt, “Boundless Arcane Invokations.”

    I find both acts to be skilled in their songwriting styles and even though each band only contributes one song to the split, they deliver some strong dynamic sounding cuts of extreme metal ferocity that do not disappoint. Also, both bands use the same name for their songs, which  also happens to be the name of this split. There seems to be an unholy unity between these two acts and their styles really compliment each other quite well. In terms of production, both bands construct monumental sounding atmospheres that convey a ghastly world of catastrophic horror.

    San Jose’s, Black Fucking Cancer, unleashes a malefic assault that pulls listeners into a realm of total darkness on their side of the split. I might be a bit biased since I was born in San Jose, however, Black Fucking Cancer is a band that really knows how to compose a vicious sounding landscape of black metal savagery. The opening part of the song spews out these ominous noises that eventually get swallowed up by a blanket of distortion and blistering riffs. Their singer provides tortured growls of demonic sounding agony as the other musicians hammer away at their instruments. Overall, the band executes an unforgiving vision for about twenty-two minutes, but never loses their potency or ability to keep listener’s intently listening.

    The other band on the split is, Gloam, a Santa Cruz based black metal act that wastes no time by fiercely jumping into a flurry of blasphemous riffs. As the band’s drummer lays down some raw sounding rhythms the guitarist and bassist take the opportunity to hack away at their instruments with no remorse. Gloam captures that old school black metal sound, although they are able to pay homage to old school black metal without sounding gimmicky, or falling into that pit of generic black metal rubbish. Once again, solid production and an attention to detail in terms of songwriting helps shift them past most of your modern bands who can dress the part, but can’t write songs to save their lives. 

    This split proves to be another brilliant Sentient Ruin release that sounds extremely well done from start to finish. I think the label did a great job bringing together two ruthless and impressive black metal bands. There is no denying that Black Fucking Cancer and Gloam are bands who have tremendous talent and should not be overlooked. I hope people really check out this split, because this is the type of release that I want to see more of from the metal community.



Check out the split below:

Sentient Ruin FB:

https://www.facebook.com/SentientRuin/

Gloam FB:

https://www.facebook.com/gloamshroud/

Black Fucking Cancer bandcamp:

https://blackfuckingcancer.bandcamp.com/

Sarinvomit / Eggs of Gomorrh : Encomium of Depraved Instincts

    Talk about two extreme forces teaming up to unleash eight tracks of uncompromising brutality! Sarinvomit and Eggs of Gomorrh lay waste to the metal world with their split, “Encomium of Depraved Instincts."

    Both bands are tremendous extreme metal acts that deliver a sheer destructive sound full of intensity and monumental amounts of instrumental carnage. I also thought adding live tracks to the split was a great idea and gives the listener a chance to hear how these bands sound in a live setting.

    Istanbul’s Sarinvomit starts the split off by launching into a fire storm of black metal mayhem. The singer provides such a raw and malevolent sounding delivery to compliment the unholy sounds of the other musicians who feverishly play their instruments. Songs like “Screwing the Nailed Prophets” and “Spreading VX Gas Over Kaaba” are great blasphemous pieces of music that show no mercy in their disdain for organized religion.  I truly believe Sarinvomit is an act with devastating potential and a musical attitude much needed in our world.

    The second half of the split contains material from, Eggs of Gomorrh, the Geneva based extreme metal maniacs who know how to annihilate an audience with their brand of hellish sounding blackened death metal. The band's drummer is a rapid fire blast beat monster behind the kit and plays with tremendous amounts of brutal force. Songs such as “Shrine of Disgust” and “Whore of Sodom,” demonstrate a malicious bunch of musicians looking to drown listeners in a tidal wave of distorted terror. Another solid track from the band is, “Redemption Martyr,” a savage onslaught of riffs and drums containing some gruesome and unworldly vocals.

    “Encomium of Depraved Instincts,” serves as a statement made to the entire metal community, which is that these two bands are not to be taken lightly and passed off as average extreme metal acts. Although they are playing styles of metal that are not new to the metal world, both bands bring a raw and uncompromising attitude that is sure to draw fans to their extreme metal visions. If you have not checked this split out yet, well you need to do yourself a favor and get some much needed extreme music in your life.



Check out the split below:

Sarinvomit FB:
https://www.facebook.com/sarinvomit

Eggs of Gomorrh FB:
https://www.facebook.com/eggsofgomorrh/

Aludra "Mass Stellar Graves"

    Aludra’s new album, “Mass Stellar Graves,” is a raw sounding black metal journey into pure and unforgiving atmospheric sounding entropy. Just imagine being sucked through a black hole where you cannot escape and drift endlessly through darkness for all eternity.

    The Oklahoma based black metal duo constructs abysmal sounding raw pieces of music and explores lyrical themes relating to space. “Mass Stellar Graves,” is definitely an album written to hook the listener from beginning to end with its unique concepts. The overall atmosphere throughout the album is raw and grim, perfect for dealing with topics concerning destructive cosmic forces. The drums create a very bleak sounding rhythmic backbone while the guitars wash over with melancholy chord progressions. As much as I feel like this formula is very repetitious in black metal, Aludra is able to executed it to where you are drawn into he calming chaos of blackened stellar wonder.

    Opening the album is the song, “Imprisoning Light,” which happens to be a suitable name for a song containing some harsh sounding instrumental compositions. The singer’s vocal delivery compliments the musical landscape with cries of anguish and despair. Black metal vocals can sometimes be a bit gimmicky if the instrumental structures are not very interesting, however, I think Aludra is able to make everything work together in a solid fashion. “Coma B,” is another example where the song’s atmosphere is able to break away from the typical black metal style.

    Track number three, “Sagittarius A,” takes listeners on a tormenting ride through hellish sounding arrangements of extreme chaos. I felt like the vocals were the main area of emphasis, while the instrumental compositions provide a frantic and unorthodox sounding musical backbone. “Out of Chaos,” is more of a traditional style black metal song with more of a slow frost bitten sounding delivery. Tracks five and six, “Black Void Damnation” and “Mass Stellar Graves” continue to push forward in unforgiving and chaotic directions of pure extreme prowess.

    Overall, the album is a solid effort and attempts to explore the extreme concepts of black holes and voids of endless damnation. I feel like on future efforts Aludra should continue to explore their interest in the cosmos, while also not falling into those repetitive and gimmicky black metal songwriting traps. Make the music standout and have a unique presentation instead of writing the same recycled riff while you continuously sing about worshipping Satan.

    If you want a solid release that creates grim sounding atmospheres full of raw black metal attitude, then I recommend this release.




Check out the album below:

Aludra Bandcamp:
https://aludrabm.bandcamp.com/

Aludra Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Aludra-19659...

Ripper "Sensory Stagnation"

    Scorching the metal world with a vicious strike of merciless metal, Ripper proves once again they are a band that does not mess around. This group of metal musicians from Chile demonstrates great technical ability and raw aggression on their new EP, “Sensory Stagnation.”

    After teaming up with Unspeakable Axe records for the release of their 2016 release, “Experiment of Existence,” Ripper has really grabbed the metal world’s attention. Their style of extreme thrash combines a variety of influences, yet is presented in a unique and confident manner. The EP once again captures the band’s exceptional thrash metal making abilities and helps them break away from the gimmicky thrash worship acts that think by having long hair and dressing like they're from the movie Wayne’s World it makes them a great thrash metal band.

    The EP opens with a short instrumental piece full of technically and ravenous sounding attitude. The bass and guitar playing is well executed, while the drumming provides a ferocious kick. For their second track, “The Unreal,” Ripper unleashes an all out blitzkrieg of destructive sounding thrash sure to conjure up devastating circle pits during live shows. Once again, the guitar and bass parts construct these bombastic sounding riff compositions that give the song a sinister edge.

    For the album’s title track, the band exhibits more wicked sounding arrangements which are accompanied by the singer’s hellish delivery. The next song, “Like a Sacrilege,” is a blasphemous offering of musical terror that will scare the crap out of those Jehovah’s Witnesses who go around from door to door pedaling nonsense. If those people come to your door, I recommend playing this song for them. After hearing it I guarantee they will stop coming to your house!

    The final song off the album, “Terror Streets,” is a blistering cut of music right from the very beginning with rapid drumming and vicious guitar work. Each musician contributes to the attack by playing with tremendous amounts of energy throughout the song by hammering out some savage compositions of music to keep listener’s continuously banging their heads.

    Ripper’s new EP is yet another example of how this band has become a formidable and impressive force within the metal community. Their dedication and drive has allowed them to write some strong material over the last few years. I think that if this EP is a glimpse into the future of what is to come, fans of high quality thrash metal music should be extremely pleased. If you have common sense when it comes to good music, well then Ripper is a band you should be listening to right now.


Ripper "The Unreal" :

Ripper Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ripperchileoficial/

Screamer "Highway of Heroes"

    Get ready to pull out those denim jackets, jump on your motorcycle, and go racing down the highway with the police in hot pursuit while Screamer’s new album, “Highway of Heroes,” is blasting at full volume. The Swedish based band’s new release is a powerful dose of classic metal and hard rock that is focused on capturing the metal world through relentless force.

    The album is the fourth full-length release in the band’s discography and definitely brings together a variety of classic hard rock and metal elements. As of recent there has been a strong surge of up and coming classic metal worship acts who have really made an impact with some brilliant new releases. I believe Screamer recorded a solid album with, “Highway of Heroes,” and compared to some of the band’s earlier works I think that this release raises the bar. The guitar work is extremely fluid and the melodic riff compositions are very catchy. Overall the production is rather impressive and compliments the group’s songwriting style.

    Listening to the first few songs on the album you get a sense of what Screamer brings to the table. “Ride On,” is a rebellious anthem featuring some meaty guitar riffs and anvil pounding rhythms. The song, “Shadow Hunter,” keeps the adrenaline pumping with a powerful main driving riff that compliments the singer’s triumphantly soaring vocal delivery. I think the singer has strong voice and gives the music that extra boost of confidence and epic attitude.

    Overall, the album flows with a decent repertoire of fierce sounding metal tracks taking listener’s back to that glorious period of heavy metal music, a time before suburban kids decided it was cool to walk around with their pants below their asses. The title track off of the album is probably my favorite song, especially the main chorus section. I liked how the band put great amounts of triumphant sounding emotion into the delivery of the chorus and you feel the words vibrantly jump out through the speakers. Two other tracks worth mentioning are, “Out of the Dark” and “Towers of Babylon,” both containing tasty melodic riffs and undying heavy metal passion with each note.

    Screamer did an honorable job on this album by keeping the spirit of metal alive and by delivering their own brand of headbanging and fist raising metal. My one recommendation would be to keep pushing themselves to write those memorable and strong pieces of metal music, because that is what will keep listener’s coming back for more. Heavy metal continues to thrive and unlike most of the garbage you hear from major labels, you know bands like Screamer will be waiving the metal flag for many more years to come.


Screamer "Highway of Heroes" :

Screamer Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/wearescreamer/

Enshrouded "Sanctum of the Shadows (Demo 2019)"

    Bay Area blackened death doom maniacs, Enshrouded, demonstrate their unforgiving and destructive nature with the release of the band’s new demo, “Sanctum of the Shadows.” The band lays down some tormenting sounding pieces of music to achieve an extremely malevolent creation, culminating into an offering of malicious sounding chaos.

    Compared to most modern extreme metal bands that claim to push the edges of extreme music, Enshrouded simply goes for the jugular by crafting these monumental recordings of pure devastation. What stands out on this demo is the band’s ability to construct these massive sounding atmospheres, which allows them to transition into a variety of nightmarish sounding directions. There is thought put into their compositions along with a dynamic approach that helps to expand the band’s vicious and uncompromising vision.

    The album begins with a gruesome sounding death doom riff, establishing a monstrously slow and heavy foundation. Eventually the band dials in on a more intense onslaught of old school sounding death metal ferocity. I like how the drummer provides such a raw and bombastic background for the guitars to savagely hammer out sinister chord progressions. The production and recording quality is really solid for a demo release, especially pertaining to how it compliments the band’s songwriting style.

    The second track off of the release, “Transcendental Depravity,” is a song that begins with a more gritty sounding blackened assault, opening the gateways of instrumental annihilation and ushering in some haunting vocals. Each musician executes their parts with precision and the band sounds very tight throughout the song. Tracks like, “Sanctum of the Shadows” and “Gates of Awareness,” are delivered in blistering old school death metal like fashion and it reminds me a bit of Morbid Angel’s “Formulas Fatal to the Flesh.” The music is delivered with sheer chaotic brutal force, yet the overall compositions flow with a certain synergy.

    For the final song, “Awakened Through Desolation,” the band once gain constructs hellish sounding guitar riffs that effectively send seismic shockwaves through the musical landscape. You just get a sense that these musicians took their time writing this material and did not want to slap together some sloppy sounding riffs and vocals in an attempt to dress up like David Vincent and put on a show for their buddies at the local truck stop.

    Overall, Enshrouded has me interested in what they plan on doing next following the release of, “Sanctum of the Shadows.” I think there are some death metal releases I’ve heard that don’t even compare to the production of this demo, so Enshrouded is definitely on the right path. If you are a fan of extreme music then you need to check this out, because unlike those bands where they dress like douches and continuously play breakdowns, Enshrouded does not mess around and knows how to write extreme metal music.



Check out the entire demo below:

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/EnshroudedDeath/

Mournful Cries "Bad Taste"

    Like three wisemen traveling across a desert in a smoke filled caravan, Mournful Cries bestows upon the metal world a gift of pure DOOM with the release of their debut album, “Bad Taste.” The Sonoma County based trio delivers an album containing plenty of killer riffs and seismic jams powerful enough to rattle the Earth’s core.

    Mournful Cries is band that I am quite familiar with since I’ve reviewed a few of their previous demos for the blog. Those demo releases were great starting points and the band was able to build off those past songs and form some truly crushing tracks. The new songs written for the album are extremely well produced and the overall sound is very addicting. Once you starting listening, you do not want to stop.

    The album contains seven tracks, all of them delivering a mighty punch of unapologetic doom making you feel like you are traveling into a misty world of haunting distortion and bombastic rhythms. “Sea of Trees,” is a great opening track which sets the tone by unleashing a groovy main riff that welcomes a blizzard of reverb and thunderous drumming. Guitarist and singer Luis Olguin along with bassist Matt Lasserre feverishly hack away at a tasty main riff, while drummer Alex Hernandez assaults his kit with precision and great feel throughout the song. The band continues that same approach on the next song, “Hallowed Tomb,” taking listeners into a crypt of classic doom like horror.

    “Evil Confessor,” conveys a more gritty and raw attitude where the bass sound really captures your attention. Matt seems to hit the notes at the right time causing you to feel the impact of each note striking your eardrum. Track number four, “Angelic Envy,” is a blasphemous tale containing a sample from the movie, Dogma. I really like how Luis delivers the lyrics and I find the song’s overall instrumental composition to be very well written. Songs like, “Sinner’s Pyre” and “Bad Taste,” are great examples of track that feature these simple yet catchy riffs and can eventually evolve into these monolith sized jams.

    The album’s final song, “Witches’ Herbs,” is the longest song on the album and runs about nine and a half minutes, allowing the band to throw in quite a few devastating riff compositions. Right when Luis hits that first chord, you know that the band means business. Throughout the song you feel drawn into this endless void of hypnotic sounds that are heightened by the relentless drive of each band member as they conjure such raw power through their instruments.

    Although the metal world has been saturated with bands trying to sound like Black Sabbath and other legendary doom bands for many years, few are able to standout and develop a strong musical identity. Mournful Cries did an impressive job molding their influences together and achieved a unique sound that compliments their songwriting style.

    Out of all the albums I've heard this year, I believe, “Bad Taste,” has a certain quality that really stands out, especially considering it being their first album. You can hear how each musicians put a lot of effort into the recordings and each song is played with true dedication and passion. The goal on the next album should be to keep that same drive and passion alive, because that is how you can take the music to an even greater level.

    In the end, I highly recommend this album for fans of doom along with anyone who is looking for an album that will leave you tripping out of your mind on some HEAVY goddam riffs!

Mournful Cries bandcamp:
https://mournfulcries.bandcamp.com/album/bad-taste