Tag: Death Metal

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THE HUMAN RACE IS FILTH – Echo Chambers – REVIEW

 

You gotta love that band name. Straight to the point and utterly complete statement. The Human Race is Filth or THIRF for short,  was formed back in 2017 by a bunch of veterans of the Maryland and Pennsylvania extreme music scenes. With a shit load of experience between the band members, THRIF deliver exactly what you would expect on this short EP.

THRIF does a great job playing blistering old school Grind. The closing track, “Shit States USA,” is just a little over 30 seconds and length but starts out with a cool groove before going into full blown blast mode. It’s one of those tracks that remind of the early days of Napalm Death where you would want repeat the shortest tracks over and over.  The group does take time to slow things down a bit in parts. “Mindless Thoughts,” starts with a groovy crawling bass that is followed by a creeping guitar before the blast beats hit What sets THRIF apart is their ability to blend in some Sludge and Doom elements that perfectly fill out a song. It dosent feel at all out of place and still delivers a meaty hook to the jaw.

At less than 10 minutes in length, you can spin Echo Chambers a few time before clocking in to work.

 

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DRIVE BY BUKKAKE – Bastards of Slime – REVIEW

 

The band name alone,  Drive by Bukkake, was enough to pique my interest in the band. Then I checked out some of the song titles; “CumBum,” “Spank Bank,” “Meth Nachos.”  I knew this was going to a fun review.

The movie and TV samples the band uses as intros and throughout some of the songs are funny as hell and perfectly work with each song. Extra points for including my heroes Creed Bratton and Frank Reynolds. Drive by Bukkake are undeniably having a ball on this recording and hopefully the listener is in on the joke. I spent half of my time on this review recalling where the samples used came from. Personally, I find these cats funny as fuck.

Musically, this is a nice mixture of grind, thrash and some sludge thrown in for extra measure. Tons of blisstering guitars and blast beats help Drive by Bukkake get their message across. The higher end vocals hit just right with the perfect amount of savagery.  The gang vocals have a real “Ghoul” feel to them and beg you to scream along.

This is a great listen when you need a little palate cleanser after listening to too much metal that takes itself way too seriously.

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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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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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PUKE MUTANT – An Unsightly Desecration – REVIEW

With a name like Puke Mutant you get a feel for the band before you even manage to hit play. Not much is known about the band other than they formed in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 2020 and claim to be the #1 Adult Contemporary Artist for citizens of sewers across the nation. They guys in Puke Mutant play some nasty no frills Death Metal with a heavy dose of gross out humor added to the chaos. Gross out humor and Death Metal? That’s always a winner in my book. If you are a fan of Pungent Stench or early Carcass, this is one for you to check out. The vocals are regurgitated and spewed perfectly melding with the bands dark and vile lyrical themes. The twin vocal attack reminds me of the grinding my garbage disposal does whenever a spoon is accidentally  lodged in the drain. The guitars provide some thick, chunky and punishing riffs with a few biting solos thrown in for good measure. With only 6 tracks, “An Unsightly Desecration,” is a short and satisfying listen.

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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.

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HATEMONGER – The Vile Maxim – REVIEW

Hatemonger’s “The Vile Maxim” is simple, short and savage as fuck. The Chicago based group performs a killer style of no frills, no fads, no holds barred Death Metal that is set to stomp your skull into the soil. Their sound is fresh and familiar without the “retro” Death Metal sound that many bands are trying to emulate these days. Vocals are are vicious, the guitar work has plenty of thick and heavy riffs and the drums are filled with great blast beats, all the ingredients you need in your Death Metal stew. If you listen carefully enough, you’ll notice a hint of some early Swedish Death Metal style amongst the carnage. The songs within are both brutal and on topic with such titles as, “Plague for Days,” and “Disinformation Campaign.” If there is at least one good thing to come from the Pandemic, it has provided plenty of material to keep bands busy for years to come.