Author: Andrew Risch

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VHS – Gore From Beyond the Stars – REVIEW

If you are a fan of cheesy B-movies horror, then VHS has you more than covered. With song titles such as, “From Crystal Lake to Space,” “Earth Girls are Easy,” and “Space Jam,” (yes, you read that correctly, it is not a typo.) “Gore from the Stars,” is oozing with plenty of film references to your favorite interstellar horror and science fiction films.

Have you ever noticed once a franchise starts to become a little stale, setting the next movie in space always seems to be the next option? Jason, Pinhead and even the nasty little Leprechaun have all taken the trip beyond the stars for better or worse. (mostly worse) So, how does VHS fair on their 4th album? Are things starting to go stale? Have they run out of any fresh ideas?

Thankfully Gore From Beyond the Stars delivers all of the maniacal and brutal fun that we have come to expect from VHS while still remaining fresh and memorable. For those unfamiliar with their insanity, VHS sound like a blended version of old school punk, Grind, Thrash and Death Metal with deep guttural vocals and an infectious sense of humor.  Most of this release is hostile and brutal but VHS also delivers some diversity on this album to keep things interesting. The somber synth filled intro track, “Blast Off,” starts the album off with a nostalgic nod to 80s Sci Fi.  The tracks only intensify from here as VHS stomps your skull in with a blitzkreig of horror mayhem with most tracks well under the 1:30 mark. “Earth Girls are Easy,” breaks this mold with an extremely Glam Metal feel compete with some ridiculously funny falsetto vocals and almost power ballad feeling solos. Another highlight are the movie samples that proceed most of the songs giving you a little break in their blood soaked audio onslaught. “Space Jam,” is an instrumental track that takes a moment to slow things down with some incredible grooves and solos that may leave you asking yourself, is the same band? If you are a fan of the humor of the legendary Macabre but need something a little more hard hitting, this CHUD is for you.

 

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SIX OF SWORDS – Regime Decay – REVIEW

 

 

Ontario’s Six of Swords bring some heavy, groovy and brutal punishment with their latest beast, “Regime Decay – Polar Vortex.,” which is a pairing of their first two EPs. While playing old school Death Metal has become popular in the extreme metal scene in recent years, Six of Swords manages to retain the old school vibe while still managing to include plenty of modern Death Metal elements. Think Morbid Angel meets Gatecreeper and you’ll get a good idea of what Six of Swords is trying (and succeeding) to accomplish.

What makes this a great listen is the amount of variety with each track. With that being said, there is not anything fancy or over the top to be found here. No blast beats, no break downs and no overly complicated or technical guitar riffs. No. This is just some down and dirty Death Metal. Sometimes, simpler is better. Some songs are full of complete brutality, while others chug along with some fantastic grooves. This is where Six of Swords excels. When they slow things down, they lay down some incredibly heavy stuff with great riffs and sick vocals. Vocalist Josh Gordon kills it on this release.  If you dig on Doom Metal, you are gonna love some of this serious sick and sludgy material. If you aren’t a fan of Doo, there is still plenty of Thrashy and speed to keep you raging here and sending you straight into the pit.

 

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STENCH COLLECTOR – Effluviatorium – REVEIW

The selection of music in this month’s coffee subscription is full of incredible and brutal and ripping bands. I have heard nothing about Stench Collector prior to this review but I was already loving the band by their name alone, add the gross and gruesome cover art and I’m sure I would have pick this up to satisfy my morbid curiosity alone.

The EP starts off with an eerie narration of a young child talking about boiling a cat followed by some realistic (and nauseating) chewing sounds. Now that’s a start! Adding thick and meaty grooves with sick and twisted lyrics belched out with some impressively deep guttural vocals, you have a band that has clearly earned the right to call themselves Stench Collector.

“Effluviatorium Du Jour “serves up a full meal with their debut EP. Riffs and grooves rip through each track while the drums perfectly hammer in the chaos and deliver a well balanced debut EP. For those who like like their Death Metal raw, gory and dripping with power, this gross out group out of Rhode Island deliver the goods. While most of their material here is sludgy and mid tempo, Stench Collector is not afraid to put in a few bursts of speed as well, which can be  heard most notably on the track, “Eye Socket Maggots. Production is slick and is reminiscent of the Scott Burns days at Morrisound. Redefining Darkness Recordsare bringing old school Gore Metal to the next generation.

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GRAVERIPPER – Radiated Remains – Review

Indiana’s Blackened Thrashers, Graveripper’s latest effort, “Radiated Remains”, is going to spend a lot of time on your favorite streaming services, record player, tape deck or anyway else you may happen to enjoy music. It’s that good. While 80’s inspired Thrash and Speed Metal crossing with Extreme Metal is nothing new, Graveripper manages to feel fluid and fresh as well as sick and savage on “Radiated Remains.”  Fans of Midnight and Toxic Holocaust are sure to find themselves loving this release. In fact, the EP itself was produced by non other than Joel Grind! The band has only been around since 2018 and is already riding some impressive waves.

One thing that all Thrash fans can agree on, is that nothing compares to a killer riff and this EP throws more riffs out than the listener knows what to do with. This EP was bred for multiple listens as you will discover and fall in with something new with each spin. (or stream) The vocals are another strong selling point that Graveripper have going for them. Lead vocalist Corey Parks does a tremendous job of straddling the lines of Thrash and Death Metal, melding together perfectly.

While Graveripper certainly aren’t offering anything innovative or new here, their sound feels much fresher and more organic and natural than many other bands that attempt to capture the beloved early 80’s Thrash sound. If you have around 20 minutes to spare and just feel like banging your head to some raw and angry Metal crammed with some amazing riffs, this one’s for you.

 

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INHUMAN CONDITION – Rat God – REVIEW

 

 

It is often said that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but I can’t help myself with this one. I would pick this album up based on its artwork alone. With one quick glance at this retro throwback looking cover it looks and feels like it came out of the 1988-1991 golden era of Death Metal where Death, Obituary and Deicide were kings. But holy fuck! Rat God have nailed the old school Death Metal sound. Riffs are filled with hooks, heavy grooves and mid tempo to skull crushing beats. If you are in any way a fan of Death, specifically the “Spiritual Healing era”, this is a must for your collection.  The opening to Gravebound sounds like Schuldiner himself some how appeared on this album. Hell, if you are just a casual fan of Death Metal, this is required listening for the nostalgic factor alone. Hundreds of Metal bands have been riding the retro wagon for years, but Inhuman Condition not only excels well above others but their sound feels true and genuine and not forced.

“Rat God” was originally intended to be a new Massacre album (Notice that logo font?) that was conceived by Jearmie Kling and Taylor Nordberg.  Death Metal god, Terry Butler whom has been a part of more Death Metal bands than I have room to include, teamed up with the duo to help finish the album.  Rat God will pull you in from the opening screams of “Euphoriphobia” and leave you savagely salivating for more by the time you hear the last notes of “Fait Accompli.” Man. What do they put in the (swamp) water in Florida? If you enjoy meat and potatoes, tried and true, classic Death Metal, this one is for you. Highly recommended.

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EMPTY THRONE – Review – GLOSSOLALIA

 

The debut EP from Empty Throne only contains 3 tracks, but with over 20 minutes of incredible and unrelenting blackened Death Metal, your extreme musical appetite will be satisfied. There is little question as to why this EP slaps so hard given the pedigree of the band members involved. Abbath, Possessed, Draconis and Angelrot are just a few of the past or current bands that members of Empty Throne has played for. In fact, if they didn’t come up with something awesome with this lineup, it would have been a crime against not just Metal, but music itself.

The band plays extremely well polished Death Metal that has a hard traditional 90’s feel to it with thrashy riffs and strong melodies. All the hooks are in the right places and tied together with some impressive guitar solos. While there are plenty of old school vibes, Empty Vibe includes a few Black Metal elements that give this EP a darker feel, like the haunting piano intro on, “The Day has Come,” that adds some great variety to an already impressive debut.

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SHROUD OF VULTURE – Upon a Throne of Jackals – REVIEW

Indy’s Shroud of Vulture’s debut release, “Upon a Throne of Jackals,”  overflows with plenty of oozing, sludgy, thick monstrous Doom/Death Metal. Starting things off with the dark and plodding instrumental, “Final Spasms of the Drowned” The faint screams heard in the background of this song really give it a haunting pulse and perfectly set up the mood and feel for the rest of the album. “The Altar,” has an incredible groove that you’d have to be dead not to bang your head to. (even then, that’s not much of an excuse.)”Perverted Reflection,” starts of with a creeping crawl before changing things up and adding some Black Metal influenced blast beats. Clearly the guys in Shroud of Vultures are comfortable in experimenting by adding many different styles and elements to their Doom fueled rage. “Invert Every Throne,” includes some elements of Thrash with its sickened and nasty riffs. “Stone Coffin of Existence,” finds the band at their sickest and darkest. There are still plenty of heavy, plodding caveman riffs to found out throughout this release that keep the album thick heavy and nasty. The vocals are deep, haunting and full of unhuman anger that pair up perfectly with the songs on this album. Perfect listening to pair with a nice black cup of Trve Kvlt Coffee.

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GIRSU – Rotten Earth – REVIEW

Coming out of Philadelphia is the debut EP from Girsu, “Rotten Earth,” the group dosent waste anytime trying to reinvent the wheel with their sound and instead use that time to unleash some brutal and riff heavy songs. From their pummeling opening track, “Remains,” Girsu lay down some killer Progressive Black Metal that slams right through your skull.  “From Blood to Ash” adds some thrash elements to the mix that showcases some impressive guitar work. “Bodies Upon the Tide,” slows the temp down a bit and brings the heavy, vocals become a little more desperate and full of despair at the midpoint, the track takes a turn and ups the tempo and finishes with a fury. The EP closes with the final track, “The Carcass of Consciousness,” a nearly 8 minute long epic that comes in with a frenzy and slows down to a heavy groove before going into some hard hitting blast beats. This song is a great showcase of what Girsu is capable of by highlighting their Progressive Black Metal style as the guitar work here is clean and technical but clearly deeply rooted in the Black Metal vein. Is that even allowed? This EP is worthy of a few spins and Girsu should remain on your radar.

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HUMANITY IS CANCER – Humanity is Cancer – REVIEW

Maybe we are a little biased here at Trve Kvlt Coffee but some of best and nastiest extreme metal music is coming out from our home state of Ohio. Straight out of Cleveland, Humanity is Cancer have just released their incredibly hard hitting debut self titled EP. It took a few years for this project to be released as all band members are involved in various different projects. If there ever was a time to make a statement that “Humanity is Cancer,”with the pandemic, social injustice and environmental worries, now is the perfect time to remind people that humans for the most part suck.

With so much talent and experience in this group, it comes as little surprise that this is a well polished recording. It hits, rips and shreds where it needs to, it’s simple no nonsense, take no prisoners death metal. Guitars are plentiful and powerful packing tons of heavy riffs and down and dirty rhythms. The bass is right there down in trenches delivering a murky beat and blends in perfectly with some incredible drum work on “The Punishment Due.” Now, let’s not forget the vocals. Vocalist Noah Buchanan’s (Nunslaughter/From the Hellmouth) screams and growls create an intense performance on this release that varies enough to keep things moving, exciting and fresh. With a run time of roughly 17 minutes, this is worth a couple of spins at a time. 

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CELESTIAL SANCTUARY – Soul Diminished – REVIEW

 

To start off the band bills themselves at the top of the game in  “The New Wave of British Death Metal,” In addition, the group’s name comes from a track off of the legendary Bolt Thrower’s 1992 masterpiece, The IVth Crusade. Before even starting to listen to the album, Celestial Sanctuary come across hard and heavy with some rather boastful claims. Thankfully, the album lives up to the hype. Having formed only recently in 2019, this is a surprisingly solid debut release that is full of killer brutality from start to finish. If you dig skull splitting, knuckle dragging classic Death Metal, make sure not to let this one slip past you. All the songs are killer with absolute no filler. Opening track, “Rid the Gormless,” comes out with  hard old school, mid tempo Death Metal brutality that instantly hooks you in. “Wretched Habits,” is a great showcase in the slower is usually heavier way of thinking and has some immensely  savage riffs. “Mass Extinction,” is perhaps the standout track here that really showcases the band’s strengths with brutal riffs and savage vocals that will leave you wanting crank it up well past 11. It’s refreshing to hear that Celestial Sanctuary still manage to make their sound their own even as they pay heavy tribute to bands like Obituary and Bolt Thrower. If you are still curious if the underground is able carry the torch and continue the sick mission of classic Death Metal, give this one a spin.