Track Review:Corpse Garden-“Suspended Over the Abyss”

 

   Costa Rican death metal madmen, Corpse Garden, strike yet again from the unholy musical depths. Their old school technical death metal style strongly shines through on this new single called, “Suspended Over the Abyss.” Not only does the song title sound brutal and epic, but the music will have death metal fans head banging and causing all sorts of moshing chaos. The introduction riff is very intense and makes way for a sinister double bass drum attack. As the instruments continuously follow the forceful rhythm, the vocalist narrates the song’s haunting lyrics with a brutal old school death metal growl. His growl is consistent and it maintains a massive sounding low tone. Still, what I enjoyed most about this entire song was the relentless heavy guitar riffs. The guitar parts sound mean, as if they will tear your soul apart in extreme technical fashion. Also, the thick heavy distortion guitar tone easily amplifies the unholy riffs to an even greater level of musical chaos. For the full 4 minutes and 21 seconds, I constantly felt the band's extreme musical passion. 
    Now, I reviewed an album from these guys a couples years back, so I was aware of what they had to offer musically. Their overall sound is tight and the passion that they put into their music helps make them really standout from the thousands of other death metal bands who wish they could be Morbid Angel, Nile, Obituary, Pestilence or Death(There shall never be another Death!). If you enjoy old school technical death metal and want some music to help release plenty of rage and frustration, well you need to check this song out! Hopefully these guys put an album together, because the more extreme music I have to listen to, the more time I have to piss off my neighbors...

Link to the track below!
Corpse Garden-"Suspended Over The Abyss"

At Dusk-"Anhedonia"

   

   As the dusk set, the sound of black metal filled the air and an album lay forth for all to hear. The one man black metal project from California, At Dusk, definitely presents a haunting vibe with the album, “Anhedonia.”
    The music tells lengthy dark tales filled with tortured screams from black abysses unknown. The four songs on this album are no simple black metal pieces, but long atmospheric tracks that average around fourteen minutes. There are plenty of slow drawn out crushing riffs and moments of eerie silence which are broken up by bone chilling sound effects. This style of black metal definitely takes from Burzum and Darkthrone, but travels deeper into those painful shadowy sounding musical landscapes.
    The opening track, “Anhedonia,” begins with a soothing piano piece. As the piano glides through a solemn sounding scale, dark sounds of ghostly quality begin to make their presence heard. After a while the piano fades and the loud chaotic black metal music takes over. The drums pound with aggressive force, laying down a forceful main rhythm. Following the slow ominous rhythm is a guitar riff that is recorded with massive amounts of sharp distortion. The vocals, those haunting tortured vocals, just complete the dark ambiance so darn well. As the track continues I feel as though I am being sucked into this dark world of fascination. The song changes musical directions a couple times and leaves me curios to the future possibilities that are contained on this album.
    Song two, “Agonia,” does not hesitate to jump into the chaotic black metal world. Right away the drums start building up a fast paced rhythm as the guitar and vocals sinisterly follow up. The guitar riff maintains a consistent dark edge and the chord progression tends to change tempo as the music becomes almost dreamlike in certain areas. “Agonia,” is full of unique timings and seems to travel on an endless cosmic atmosphere.
    After “Agonia” fades out, track number three, “Miseria,” silently builds up. There is an organ piece which make me instantly think of the Phantom of the Opera or some other old black and white horror movie. On this track I like how the black metal was incorporated into the haunting atmosphere. The instruments are composed really well and tell a long story of pain, suffering and misery. The final song, “Melancholia,” continues to travel along that road of epic dark sounding musical landscapes. One part during the song that really stood out was when the vocals were screaming over the chaotic black metal composition, a soft piano piece could be heard in the background. It was a pleasant musical contrast to finish this album off.
    At Dusk’s, “Anhedonia,” perfectly sums up what atmospheric black metal is all about. The music constructs endless dark landscapes of instrumental wonder and fierce musical expression. This is music that you really have to be in a certain mood for, because the purpose of this style of music is to let go all expectations and welcome the calming darkness. Also, these songs are not for the impatient mind that expects the song to be simple and straight forward. Ultimately, I recommend this album for those who are willing to suspend their preconceived musical attitudes and enter the dark seas of unknown sounding wonder.

Interview with Kim 'Dvergur' Brandhøj and Thor Sejersen 'Krieg' Riis from Innsmouth

 Here is an interview with a couple members from the Technical Death Metal band Innsmouth. Their debut album is out this coming October, and the title for the album is, "The Shadow Over Innsmouth."

1. Hello Guys! Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. Are you excited to have your first album finished and soon to be available for everyone to hear? When is the exact date so people can know when to mark their calendars, or type it into their phone calendars?

Hello, this is Kim (vocals) and it’s my pleasure to answer your questions!
 We are really excited to reveal the entire album for all of you guys really soon, it’s gonna be a blast! We have had such a great response on our newly released single, “The Shadow over Innsmouth”, and we can’t wait, to show you guys even more of our album - and it will be available for preorder the 10th of September and release date a month later, through Crime Records, Norway.


2. When I first listened to the album I was really impressed by the insane technical compositions. Each song is full of diverse brutal creative pieces and demonstrates sharp technical death metal knowledge. How hard was it to record the album? Were there any songs that presented a challenge when recording the album? Did you break any chairs?

Thank you! It wasn’t really that hard to record the album, time wise. Thor (guitar), had some recording equipment in his apartment, so whenever we had the time to record the album, we simply just did it at his place.
 We also didn’t really have a deadline, except for the one, we sat for ourself.
Personally for me, the hardest part of the album, to record, was the part with the ”raped angels”, in “Vomiting A Hole In The Soul”. That took forever for me to record, haha!
 No chairs were hurt during the record!


3. With a sound like yours that takes on so many different styles of extreme music, I was wondering what bands you guys listen to/ what bands are some of your all time favorite that you could not live without?

We listen to a lot of different bands, and some we can agree on, is Death, Obscura and Necrophagist.
 Martin(bass) is into the more melodic parts of metal, deathcore and bands like The Black Dahlia Murder, and Beyond Creation.
 Thor is into all the technical stuff like Nevermore, Dream Theater, and of course the old school 80’s shredding scene!
As for me, i’m really into death metal and black metal. At the moment, I listen a lot to Behemoth, Taake, Angantyr, Kampfar, but I guess my all time favorite band is Pantera.


4. Now, your band's name is taken from an H.P. Lovecraft story, as is the title of your album, The Shadow Over Innsmouth. I too enjoy Lovecraft's works and find them to work well with heavy metal music. I was wondering what are some of your favorite Lovecraft stories, and why do you think his writings make for great heavy metal songs?

I haven't read that many Lovecraft stories, so I will let Thor answer that question:
Thor: It's very hard to choose just a few of his stories to mention as my favorites, since they're all so good! But from the top of my mind I would probably choose ”The Colour out of Space”, ”The Haunter of the Dark”, ”The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”, and ”At the Mountains of Madness”. For some reason Lovecrafts writing just triggers my creativity and I usually get inspired to write both music and lyrics after reading his stories. I am obviously not the only one who gets inspired by reading his novels, as a lot of people have written Lovecraftian music throughout the years. One of the best Lovecraft inspired songs that i have ever heard is ”The Thing That Should Not Be” by Metallica. This was also the song that got me into Lovecrafts writing in the first place. Back to Kim.


5. One of my favorite songs on this album, "The Colour out of Space," also my favorite Lovecraft story, is a brilliant instrumental. You guys did some things different on that song, such as use a piano to accompany the guitars and drums. I was wondering if you could talk about your inspiration for that song musically and how does that track compare to the other songs on the album in your opinion?

Once again, I will let Thor answer the question:
Thor: Thank you so much, I am very glad that you liked the song (and the rest of the album!). ”The colour out of space” is one of my favorite Lovecraft stories as well. For some reason, this song was really easy for me to write. I felt really inspired one evening and i wrote the whole song in one go. We use synth, keys and piano parts occasionally on some of the other songs, but on this one we went a step further. Coming up with parts for piano, choir etc. is something I think is very fun. I am a big fan of classical music, so writing a song such as this with lots of orchestration parts, is something that I've always wanted to do. Other than that, I was listening to ”The Faceless” non stop at the time, so they ended up having a huge impact on the guitar/bass/drumming of that song. Now back to Kim´s answers!


6. There eight songs on this album, but if you could pick only three, which are your favorites and why?

Hmm, “Under the Pyramids” has this really angry, aggressive vibe that I really like and so does “Reanimator”. The lyrics in “Reanimator” are hilarious as well!
 As for my last, but not least, favorite song on the album, I guess it is “Dream of Slowly Drowning”. It has a dark and gloomy feel to it, that kicks your ass, and makes you weep!

7. Being from Denmark, I was wondering if you could tell the global metal readers about your local metal scene?
Does the band play shows often? Are there plenty of venues for you to play?

We currently don’t have any plans of playing live shows, but there is a lot of great venues for underground bands to perform here.
The scene here in Denmark is stronger than ever! A lot of new great bands are flourishing in the underground, just waiting to be unleashed!


8. What are some of your future plans once the album is released? Any tour plans?

Our goal from the start, was to write music that we would be proud of and not play any gigs. Also, we are in the brainstorm phase of the next album. It’s gonna be awesome, trust me! Unfortunately, as it is right now, we don’t have any plans for touring, or even playing a single gig, but who knows, what will happen in the future!


9. Well guys, congratulations on the album and keep unleashing your technical talents with fierce pride! All readers need to check out Innsmouth’s debut release, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, NOW! So technical and brutal Cthulhu would even be impressed!

Thank you, it was my pleasure to answer your questions!
We will keep releasing assaults from the forthcoming album in the future!
 Thanks to all who have supported us, friends, Cthulhu and you!
 Keep supporting metal!

Innsmouth Official Facebook: www.facebook.com/frostkoldmetal
Thor Sejersen Riis Official Facebook: www.facebook.com/thorshred
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/thorsr

Innsmouth-"The Shadow Over Innsmouth"

    May the Great Old Ones be praised with insane brutal technical death metal! Innsmouth, a name taken from an H.P. Lovecraft story, is a band with a very complex death metal sound. This group of Danish metal musicians demonstrates some extreme technical musical abilities, and references plenty of H.P. Lovecraft stories with their debut release, “The Shadow Over Innsmouth.” They approach their music in a similar fashion to groups such as Nocturnus, Nile, Origin and Vile. There is a mix of old school death metal and more modern technical death metal. Innsmouth cleverly alters their tempos and time signatures to keep the music constantly evolving. Also, the technical guitar fills display some amazing guitar shredding talents. 
    Now, lyrically all the songs on this album convey a science fiction horror vibe, and they draw noticeable influence from H.P. Lovecraft writings. I personally enjoy H.P. Lovecraft stories, but find too many metal bands use his works to write lyrics. Sometimes I wish bands would create their own science fiction horror themed lyrics while maybe taking influence from how Lovecraft came up with his ideas. However, I guess bands just decide it is easier to take the themes directly from his stories. Although I seem to find this trend overdone, I cannot deny that the music is enjoyable and compliments Lovecraft’s stories rather well.
    The beginning to this album commences in chaotic technical brutal style with the song, “Vomiting A Hole in Your Soul.” Right away the guitarist rips through a variety of scales in maximum overdrive speed. For some reason the drumming seems to lack passion and did not provide a strong rhythmic backbone. Vocally, the singer does a decent job presenting the lyrics with a loud thunderous death growl. His vocals at times seemed to get drowned out by the chaotic guitar shredding. “Dreams of Drowning,” is a prime example of this band’s insane technical sound, but the song is also an example of how the music becomes very overwhelming. I must credit Innsmouth for exploring the extreme music spectrum. Still, they do get carried away on this album with the random guitar shredding and complex compositions.
    Song number four on this album, “Under the Pyramids,” is one my favorite songs on this album and contains some really good solid death metal riffs. The fills are more strategically placed compared to the previous songs. Also, I like how the tempo fluctuates as the singer presents the science fiction themed lyrics with his brutal death growl. Another great track to take away from this album is the instrumental song, “The Colour Out of Space.” Taking the name of one of my favorite Lovecraft stories, this song surprisingly begins with a soft piano piece. Soon the piano is accompanied by a heavy guitar riff and there are moments of pleasant melodic guitar shredding. The final song on this album, “The Shadow Over Innsmouth,” is another track that I enjoyed and features more fluid technical death metal riffs.
    Even after hearing numerous bands write music about H.P. Lovecraft stories, Innsmouth found a way to keep me interested. Their guitar playing abilities deserve high praise and the musicianship on this album only comes from hard work and dedication. I think people who enjoy technical death metal will really gravitate towards this release, while those who prefer less complicated extreme music might be left scratching their heads. No matter what your preference happens to be, “The Shadow Over Innsmouth,” is an album full of amazing technical death metal surprises. I think even the Great Old Ones would be impressed by Innsmouth’s technical musical abilities. They might even let the band live...

Interview with Jason "brainsplitter" Gluck from Rude

Hi, thanks for taking the time to do this email interview. Great job on “Soul Recall.” That album really captures the essence of old school death metal. Now that the album has been out for a while, what are some of the reactions that you have been receiving from fans? How satisfied are you with the album overall?


Jason: No problem dude! Thanks for the kind words. So far we’ve got almost nothing but praise. We ran into some bumps in the recording process that forced us to rush a bit to make the release date, but overall I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out.

I actually saw you guys open for Morbid Angel in SF at Slims. Being my first introduction to Rude, I was impressed by your very old school death metal sound and have to say you were the perfect opener for Morbid Angel. As fans of Morbid Angel, what was the experience like opening them? Do you think that helped get you exposed to a larger audience?

Jason: It was truly an honor. We really couldn’t have asked for a better show to play- it proved that to us that our work was paying off and gave us exactly the exposure we needed. Not only that, but people began to take us very seriously.

I was wondering if you could give the people out there a little background history on Rude. Is this the original line-up? How long has this current line-up been together?

Jason: Far from the original line up. Rude existed in 2008 with different members aside from Yusef. They played different music too, darker and dirtier metal, more primitive to what it is now. My old band played a show with them once which is how I met Yusef. Ended up bumming burgers off of him at his job in Berkeley for years to come... In those years, Rude kind of evolved into a short lived thrashier band called Forsaker, with a new line up including current Rude drummer Tony. When that ended, Yusef joined a band called Scolex, and eventually in 2012 he hit me up to record some new stuff he was working on that didn't quite fit with Scolex. Of course I was surprised how good it was!! That material became the Haunted demo, and since then its been the same drummer Tony and lead guitarist David along with Yusef. I joined the band just before the Morbid Angel show. But you can say I've been there along the way.

Also, what other bands have any of you played in before Rude, and what is different about those bands compared to Rude?

Jason: I also play guitar in a band called Limbs, a pretty looney death/grind band with some powerviolence and noisecore thrown in, so it's different from Rude in that we don't take ourselves very seriously, and the songs are shorter, more frantic. Before that I was in high school, playing guitar in a band called Lobotomizer. That project had a lot of old school death metal influences, but especially more technical bands like Atheist. It had some funky and groovy riffs with a lot of real heavy slap bass. When it comes to Rude, I don't write much of what I play, so the style is different. I like the style the band had before I joined, so I'd rather adapt to it than try to inject my own style and make it all funky and weird. I'll save that for when I get my own project going again.

Of course it does not take a rocket scientist to tell that you guys enjoy death metal. What are some of your favorite bands? Also, what is the one death metal album you could not live without?

Jason: I enjoy the technical and quirky stuff. Atheist is a favorite for sure, along with Gorguts, Ripping Corpse, Demilich, Edge of Sanity. Of course we all worship the classic masters like Morbid Angel, Pestilence, Entombed, etc. The album I could not live without is probably Piece of Time or Unquestionable Presence. It's not often you hear such heavy music played with such depth. And the BASS!!

Time to talk more about what I consider to be one of the best death metal albums of the year. When I first listened to “Soul Recall,” I noticed how all the songs sounded solid and there were absolutely no fillers. How long had you guys worked on those songs? Also, how long did it take to record the album?

Jason: Thanks so much for the regards!! Most of the songs are from the Haunted demo, so they've had plenty of time to develop. Although, newer tracks like Internal Ascension we kind of worked out as we recorded them. So there's really both sides of the spectrum!

To record the album, it took a few months total. The first sessions were done in Yusef's basement and we didn't really get the sound we were hoping for. Later we did everything again in our rehearsal space where everything went smoothly over a few days worth of tracking. By then we were under a lot of pressure from our label, so I spent a week or two mixing it and sent it off with a pretty rushed mastering job. Some things I would have liked to change, but again, pretty satisfied overall.

All the songs on the album are great in my opinion, but if you could only pick three, which would you say are your favorite songs? Also, what song is the most challenging to play?

Jason: My favorites are all the new ones! Soul Recall, Last of Us, Internal Ascension. I recorded the Haunted demo and listened to those songs over and fucking over mixing them. I'm too tired of them to like them so much! Not to say they aren't any good of course. The most challenging one for me is probably Haunted. Those long 16th note sections are tough on bass, using 3 fingers to play notes in groups of 4. Alternate picking is a piece of cake, but that kind of stuff trips me up a bit, and my fingers get pretty tired whenever we play it later in the set.

As much as I keep saying how great the music sounds on “Soul Recall,” I must not forget how amazing the album art work looks. Dan Seagrave did one spectacular job. How pleased are you guys with the album cover art?

Jason: Um, its god damn amazing. Thank you Lord Seagrave. It helps us fit in with the old school classics! Can't wait to see what he might do for us next....!!

Now practice makes perfect, unless you are Allen Inverson, so I was wondering how often do you guys practice together? Do you come up with most of your songs when you all practice together?

Jason: We don't practice enough if you ask me. But its okay, cause the style we play doesn't exactly call for surgical precision or anything. We're only starting to write songs together more recently, after Soul Recall. Before it was mostly Yusef with some input from David. Of course Tony is there laying down the most pummeling rhythm section to support their ideas.

Now, Rude is signed to FDA Rekotz, a great German label specializing in some of the best new extreme bands. How did you guys get in contact with FDA Rekotz? What have you liked most about working with them? 

Jason: Man, Yusef sent those tapes everywhere. He is relentless. I guess the demo just ended up in the right hands! It's been nice seeing so much recognition in Europe. They seem to be making great connections for us that we hope to utilize soon. Its awesome, seeing our pictures and interviews in magazines with languages I can't even read, haha.

Recently Rude just finished up a west coast tour with Derogatory and Skelethal. Overall, how did the tour go? What was your favorite venue to play at on the tour?

Jason: It was a lot of fun! The crowds weren't very big, but people really enjoyed the music bought a lot of records. And the West was introduced to Skelethal, who are doing a killer job bringing old Swedish style. My favorite venue was the Metro in Oakland. 3 tours all crossed paths that night making for one hell of a show. Also the biggest and most comfortable stage!

I know touring is becoming extremely difficult for bands. However, do you have any future tour plans in the works, or are you still working the local scene for the time being?

Jason: We are hoping to tour Europe next and reunite with Skelethal over there! It will be nice to play for people that have been waiting to hear us live. The local scene here is pretty apathetic.

Well, I guess that is all the questions I have. Thanks again for taking the time to answer these questions. Can’t wait for the next release, and highly recommend everyone reading this who has not yet listened to “Soul Recall,” do so now!

Jason: No problem!! Cheers! If you dig the sound of the album, check out my studio website www.brainsplitterstudios.com - I have killer deals for recordings and I'm happy to travel.

Northern Crown- "In the Hands of the Betrayer"

    Prepare for massive haunting melodic doom metal that will send chills down your spine. Northern Crown’s, “In the Hands of the Betrayer,” is an album that summons up plenty of dark melodic sounds.
    This debut EP features five songs that represent classic sounding melodic doom metal. Northern Crown builds enormous haunting musical atmospheres and comes up with a variety of sinister guitar riffs. Vocally, the singer presents the material with a loud melodic voice that also creates a chilling vibe. As he narrates melodic tales of terror, the band follows along by constructing even darker sounding musical landscapes. One area that really caught my attention on this album, was the band’s use of keyboards. Just imagine if Jon Lord was playing doom metal. Each keyboard progression perfectly compliments the song’s overall atmosphere.
    Once the album begins, the growing doom sound washes over like a gigantic wave and drags listeners into a sea of pleasant darkness. The opening song, “In the Hands of the Betrayer,” instantly kicks into a fast past heavy jamming riff. When the singer enters his vocals echo with fierce melodic presence. About midway through the song, the band slows down tempo and creates a cosmic sounding atmosphere. Also, the guitarist unleashes an intense guitar solo that deviates from the slower cosmic like section.
    “A Perfectly Realized Torment,” begins with a really slow tempo and throughout the song, the rhythm picks up pace. However, the band never departs too far from that haunting overall tone. I find the slower riffs to be extremely heavy and the sound gives the lyrics an extra emphasis. Song three, “Crystal Ball,” is a Candlemass cover, and works well with the other material on this album. Northern Crown sounds very similar to Candlemass, so the song could be mistaken as an original from Northern Crown.
    Now the track, “Approaching, Encroaching Storm,” is a bit bizarre, yet still works with this album’s haunting theme. The track features some fierce wind noises and a short spoken monologue. If anything, the storm piece sets up the final song, “To Thee I Give an Orchid.” This final song is the longest track on the album and continues to present that dream like melodic doom sound. Northern Crown even sounded a bit like Type O Negative with this song, especially during the keyboard parts. Towards the end of the track, the contrast of heavy sounding riffs and rhythms is matched by a soothing piano piece. The finale is magnificent and solemnly fades into the doom horizon. 
    “In the Hands of the Betrayer,” is highly recommend for all fans of melodic doom metal. Northern Crown constructed this EP with brilliant musicianship and the band faithfully follows the doom metal formula. The music is a great blend of haunting melodic sounds that welcomes all listeners into its dark harmonious realm. Don’t be afraid, and let the band guide you through this amazing five song musical creation.

Fornicus-"Storming Heaven"

Review:

    I don’t think Heaven will be able to handle this Black/ Death Metal assault that Fornicus has to offer up on their debut album.
    “Storming Heaven,” is a vicious sounding release with plenty of glorious sinister sounding riffs and of course, blasphemous lyrics that would make an elderly church going woman faint. These Kentucky based extreme music makers deliver the haunting and aggressive goods. The band combines traditional Black Metal with face ripping old school Death Metal. I definitely get a Dark Funeral vibe from these guys and would also say they even sound like a black metal version of Morbid Angel. When approaching a song the band really tries to come up with diverse parts that maintain an extreme aggressive tone.
    The opening track on this album is called, “The Pledge,” and is just an audio recording of women pledging their allegiance to Satan. Good choice for a black metal band and soon after the audio clip ends, Fornicus introduces their extreme brand of metal. “We Are Sin,” expresses truly sinister sounding compositions and lyrics. The song has a solid driving rhythm that can be very catchy yet still haunting. The third track on this album, “Pallium Mali,” is definitely more straight forward black metal. There are some minor alterations to the black metal formula and the band even incorporates some splatter thrash riffs in the song. Fornicus’s lead singer sounds gruesome as he changes from deep gutter growls to a tortured shrieking traditional black metal style.    
    Also to point out, the guitar playing on this album is unbelievable at times and constantly changes. On certain songs you will get the Slayer like random shredding, but then there are songs that feature some melodic minor scale shredding. From intense speed picking black metal riffs to slower sludgy death metal break downs, Fornicus really presents a diverse array of guitar riffs. “Into Obscurity,” was one example where I thought the guitar playing took on many different forms. Another song that I find the band did well on was their cover of Sepultura’s, “Antichrist.” Fornicus applied their own extreme sound to a black/ thrash classic and the overall track continued the band’s aggressive musical tone.
    The last two tracks on this album do a smashing job ending a release that was intense, brutal and down right unholy. I really enjoyed the title track, “Storming Heaven,” which was a fierce piece of music. Once the drummer starts blasting away on his kit, the song maintains pure extreme attitude. Towards the end of the song there is this chugging riff section that gets the head banging and sounds very ominous. “The Beckoning,” which is the final song on this album, is about six minutes of sheer musical insanity. Fornicus lays down all they have left for an enormous sounding sinister finale.
    For the most part, I have heard this style of black metal meets death metal before. All these guys think Satan is on their side and the lyrics on this album are typical for a black metal band. The overall sound however won me over, because I am a sucker for bands that mix up different genres of extreme sounding metal music. Plus, the guitar playing is solid and there are plenty of tasty extreme distorted riffs. If you enjoy black metal, death metal or a sound track for when Heaven gets attacked by demons, this is the album for you.

Fornicus Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/fornicus666