Category: Album Review

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NIGHT DEMON – Darkness Remains – REVIEW

For the last couple of years, Night Demon have kept the traditional Heavy Metal flag flying high with their incredible and distinct retro inspired style. “Darkness Remains ” was released back in 2017 and if you haven’t gotten into this power trio from California yet, this album will serve as a perfect introduction to the band. If you are a fan of the more classic years of Metal with Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Diamond Head, you will find much to bang your head to on “Darkness Remains.”

In the last 10 years or so there have been plenty of bands that perform classic styles of Heavy Metal, Thrash or Death Metal. So many that we may need yet another Metal genre (Retro Metal?) Night Demon, however, may be the absolute best when it comes to capturing the feel. Songs like “Black Widow,” and “Life on the Run,” will have you feel like you just stepped out of a DeLorean into 1985.

This feeling comes from Night Demon’s incredible song writing. There are tons of killer riffs and melodies that will get your head banging and memorable choruses that are guaranteed to get stuck in your head. There is plenty to love here from the technical guitar work to the vocals that blend in perfectly to each song. If you are looking to give your ears a break from extreme metal but still listen to something that is gonna kick your ass, give this one a spin.

 

 

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INSINNERATOR – Hypothermia – REVIEW

This one is for the Thrashers. Instantly from the first track, “Burned Alive,” Insinnerator assaults the listener with a battery of blazing riffs, intense solos and some killer vocals that give off an early Exodus vibe. Tons of falsetto screams and group vocals are added throughout the album that hammer home the Bay Area metal vibe that Insinnerator expertly pull off.

Curiously, the title track, “Hypothermia,” is a vast departure from the rest of the album. It is a short and somber instrumental melody that feels much more like the opening of  a longer piece than a title track. “Elemental Ice Dragon” has all of the makings to be an epic Thrasher. It’s a longer song that adds more technical flair than the pure Thrash fury displayed on the rest of the EP. It has a real Metallica meets Slayer vibe. This is a nice change of pace that showcases that the band can add a little more variety to their sound beyond straight aggressive Thrash. (Not saying that there is anything wrong with that!)

“Curse (Horror of Dracula)” is a banger and a great way to end this EP with tons of angry speed, great vocals and a nice haunting feeling vibe to close things out. Another win from the next generation of Thrash Metal!

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DEADYELLOW – Self Titled – REVIEW

Deadyellow is a post Black Metal band from New Jersey who are just getting started and are already bringing the noise. Their debut self titled effort contains only 6 tracks but is meaty enough to satisfy any palate. The guitars are low and murky with some great riffs and solos amongst the tremolo picking. The vocals are a little less harsh than your typical Black Metal fare but blend in well with the rest of the band.  Most of the music on this release runs on the slower to mid tempo side. Don’t let that worry you, there are still plenty of blast beats included here and the overall sound is still heavily rooted in Black Metal. Deadyellow’s tracks are multifaceted and include the use of pianos and clean vocals for a truly epic journey.

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SNOGG – Dan, ko jer vrag salo – REVIEW

Snogg’s offering to March’s subscribers is an epic 20 minute single track. The song, titled “Dan, ko je vrag vzel šalo,” translates to, “The Day the Devil Took the Joke.” Throughout the song listeners will be treated to several tempo and vocal changes. There are elements of experimental Black Metal, noise and general strangeness on this track. Despite the different styles included in this piece, it connects and flows well into each style without any jarring changes.

If you are looking for something to different and far from the norm, “Dan, ko je vrag vzel šalo,” is unquestionably worthy of your attention. With so many musical changes and styles coming at you, this track just begs for multiple listens. So pour yourself a cup of your favorite Trve Kvlt coffee, kick off your shoes and take a journey with Snogg.

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NO COFFIN – All Life Must End – REVIEW

No Coffin waste no time getting their point across in this short but brutal 4 song EP.  “.45” starts out the EP like a shot from a …well… It’s fast and ferocious but also slows the tempo a bit and adds some nice Doom elements as well “Fire is the Cleanser” is a killer thrash fest that instantly grabs you by the throat and doesn’t loosen its grip with a pummeling chorus, fast and dirty guitars and destructive drumming. “All Life Must End,” is a fitting selection for the title track with some great dual vocal work and throbbing guitars that smack you straight in the forehead. The last track gives you a moment to pick yourself off the floor. No Coffin slows things down to a crawl with a slow, sludgy cover of Portishead’s “Over.”

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KARMANJAKA – Gates of Muspel – REVIEW

 

Karmanjaka and their metal as fuck unreadable band logo come to us from the land of great melodic metal, Sweden. That Swedish influence of melodic, rocking and catchy riffs can be felt throughout the entirety of this recording. Black Metal is often seen as the grimmest of the grim but this album has an almost, “fun” feel to it. Listen to the standout track, “Sorcerer King,” and judge for yourself. With its outstanding guitars and howling vocals it feels like a mix of classic era heavy metal and black metal. With such a melodic approach to their sound Karmanjaka have put together a very accessible black metal listen to many who may not be a fan of the genre. In addition, the production on this album is slick and crisp making it even easier to pass it on to your friend who still hasn’t given a black metal band a fair listen. The themes on this album are still bleak, evil and pagan, so purists should night be scared off by Karmanjaka’s diverse sound. Easily one of the more engrossing and energetic black metal album to come out in some time. Highly recommended!

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CULTIC – High Command – Review

 

 

The production on Cultic’s, “High Command,” is as thick and murky as the material itself. The album starts out with “The Conqueror,” that plods along with raw riffs that perfectly blend in with the old school production on this album. This song sets the tone for the rest of your listen, so if you are looking for some sort of studio polished banger, you may want to skip this one. However, if you dig your doom raw and with all of the production values of an old school cassette recording from a friend’s basement, this one’s for you. The rawness of this recording, however works perfectly for the Doom and Sludge sound that Cultic are going for here. The primitive and early Celtic Frost vibe work both for and against what Cultic are trying to achieve here, as the album can tend to become a tad bit repetitive causing some of the songs to blend together. There still is plenty to enjoy here and is not a bad start for their first album.

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AUTOKRATOR – Persecution – REVIEW

Autokrator are  back and ready to rattle your eardrums with some intense dark, murky and plodding Doom Metal to get the new year started off on the right path. The vocals are low and inhuman matching perfectly with they muddled guitar tones present on this release. Tracks like “DCLXVI, ” and “The Great Persecution”pick up the pace and send the sound into more of Black/Death combo with punishing blast beats and haunting solos giving the album some more variety. “Caesar Nerva Traianus,” was the real stand out song for me. Starting out with an epically powerful march with some really cool battleground sound effects thrown in for good measure that sounds like it belongs on the score of a big budget movie. The droning guitar tones and eerie chanting vocals make a haunting and eerie listen. The album in full hits like a bulldozer thanks to how smooth the tracks blend into each other.  “Persecution,” is raw and punishing with enough mix of style to remain fresh and accessible to all fans of Extreme Metal.

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MYRDOD – The Mourning Hollow – REVIEW

The Pennsylvania duo unleash a portal into a dank a swampy void of Hell with their latest release, ” The Mourning Hollow.” Myrod provide plenty of thick Black Metal atmospheric chaos that warps the mind as they take you with them beyond this realm. The recording is just as thick and murky as any good ol’ classic Black Metal sound should be with echoing rasps and tortured screams oozing through each track. “Orb Weaver,” starts the album with a somber and eerie tone that gradually adds in blast beats drums and guitars like a rolling storm. “Drom,” is the standout song here with sick guitar riffs that make you want to put your fist through a wall, inhuman garbage disposal sounding lyrics  It’s a brutal assault on the senses that will leave you scrambling to pick your brains off of the floor. (Naturally, in a good way.)  “Diabolical Ancient Blessing,” closes things out with enough adrenaline and speed to leave you thirsty enough for another spin.

Myrod’s blending style of raw Black and touch of Death Metal is a brutal and spiritual assault that is as melancholy as it is savage. A must listen for this Holiday season.

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VHS – I Heard They Suck…Blood! – REVIEW

Canadian horror monsters, VHS are back from the crypt once again with more thrashy, trashy and blood splattered tracks based on films from the great video store era of the 80’s and 90’s. This time the band focuses its  theme on the most rocking creature of the night; vampires. VHS plays a killer style of death and roll that is part thrash, part death metal, part grind and so on. If you are a fan of Carcass, Midnight and Ghoul this is a can’t miss. Being a band of each of them, this album has already received heavy rotation in my collection. VHS even managed to snag a few guests on this album as well. Trevor Strnad and Dave Ingram lend their unholy howls to tracks, “Horror of Dracula,” and “Immortality Comes with a Price,” Not only is music here top notch the sound bites included are worth the price of admission alone. If you are a horror film fanatic, you’ll be impressed with some of the films that VHS include in their undying homage to bloodsuckers. From classics like “The Lost Boys” and “Near Dark” to cult classics “Martin” and “Monster Squad,” this release will make you want to go back in time and visit your local video store.