Posted on

THLURM – The Thlurm Must Die & Dungeon Scum

 

Thlurm bills itself as, “Metal Punk from the dungeons of Indiana,” which is quite an accurate description for their contribution to this month’s subscription. “The Thlurm Must Die and Dungeon Scum,” is part of Wise Blood Records demo series that highlights up and coming and promising new artists.  This recording, combining 2 separate demos is raw and punk as fuck, covered in chunky layers of pure filth.

” Instantly you hear influences of Toxic Holocaust and Midnight and like those bands, Thlurm is a solo product brought to you by Austin Sipes. Thlurm though has a much more punk and grind approach to their style. Songs come in fast and filthy with a certain unpolished charm that is comparable to early Napalm Death. This recording reeks of the lo-fi production of the the mid to late 80’s.

The vocals are sick, the guitars have more of a punk then metal feel and the while the drumming does not include any blast beats, the first demo, “The Thlum Must Die,” is some killer Grindcore. “Disease,” is punk rock kick to the jaw and the following track, “Imaginary Hell,” is a straight up banger that reminds me of Ghoul.

The second demo, “Dungeon Scum,” is much more raw in sound than the first. This half shows more of a Black Metal influence which can be felt the most on “Serpent Master.” “Illusions of Chaos,” and “Human Waste,” even slow things down a bit with even adds more of a haunting vocal feel.

For a demo release, Thlurm are already a band to watch.

Posted on

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!

Posted on

HELLRAIZERR- Life After Death – REVIEW

Here is another ass kicking release courtesy of our fine fiendish friends at Reaper Metal Productions. Hellraizerr is the new solo project from Cursed Moon’s Sal Hellraizerr.  “Life After Death,” is full of 80’s soaked speed metal with a touch of blackened thrash resulting in a surprisingly melodic approach to a usual chaotic assault. As the name would suggest, most songs are inspired by horror films such as 1987 classic, Hellraiser.  Does anything go better together than metal and horror? The first half of the album will leave you banging your head to the blistering solos and early thrash inspired vocals. Retro styled thrash and speed metal have been quite popular in recent years but not many bands have added another well loved 80’s element; synth. “Hellbound” is an incredible instrumental that fully feels and sounds like it was pulled from a mid 80’s Italian splatter film. The second half of the album brings back more balls to the wall speed metal with a little more variation. Chris Hellking who laid down much of the drums for this recording, provided some excellent clean vocals on “Seeing Red,” that contrast perfectly with Sal Hellraizer’s gruff vocal delivery. Overall this is a great release that is full of speed laden hooks, blistering solos and some great synth mixed in for a fist pounding journey in nostalgia.