This record is wedded to the corpse of early to mid 90's old school DM and is all the better for it
“Regime Decay” CD//DD track listing:
1). Eye for an Eye
2). No Amnesia
3). Malodorous
4). Hunted
5). Hells Messiah
6). Hedonistic Gluttony
The Review
Six of Swords, Canada's finest death metal troupe, return with this beastly collection of six prime cuts. “Polar Vortex” was an EP release that ran surprisingly hot, reviewed on the blog a few years ago. This record has taken all elements present there and ratcheted them up a notch.
Once again, the production is clear and powerful and the opener “Eye for an Eye” demonstrates that there is more to the band than out and out speed. The main refrain is straight out of the classic Morbid Angel playbook and the band keep things reined in tight- the expected blast never comes and instead this track is a crawling wretched beast. “No Amnesia” changes gear but not style- very pleasingly, this record is wedded to the corpse of early to mid 90's old school DM and is all the better for it.
Once again, the vocals alternate a little with lows as the main course and highs as the extra. “Malodorous” is a fetid exhalation of doomy breath, but the band also switches up to much faster pacing here as well. Excellent lead work and unexpected dynamics come up for air here too- great track. “Hunted” continues the tar-thick vibes and brings with it an Entombed-esque rhythmic approach.
“Hells Messiah” and “Hedonistic Gluttony” continue with some Euro/Swe-Death flourishes and it is clear that SOS have built upon the great “Polar Vortex” to hone and expand their sound. There are some great riffs here, some great leads, an excellent production and nothing that goes too over the top- no endless blasting, no pointless tracks that go nowhere. This is a focused and lean release that I heartily recommend to fans of any band mentioned in this review.
71TONMAN absolutely bludgeon the listener with hammer blows of relentless doom
“Earthwreck” CD//DD track listing
1. Lifeless
2. Negative
3. Phobia
4). Zero
5). Torment
6). Spiral
The Review:
Subtlety isn't something usually associated with sludge/doom, realistically, why should it? Poland's 71TONMAN, the latest to signing for Jon Davis' Black Bow Records, show no sign of straying from the well trodden path with 'Earthwreck'.
'Lifeless' sees 71TONMANlet you take a deep breath before absolutely bludgeoning with hammer blows of relentless doom. The death growl vocals make the songs reminiscent of Winter but have more in common with the likes of Dismember and Entombed with the way they echo into the psyche. 'Negative'has more to offer melodically than most doom bands do on entire albums, without losing the malicious, pummeling heaviness. 'Phobia'toys with the sensibilities of the traditional doom fan; this is extreme metal chump, save your talk of pentatonic scales for the millions of Kyuss/Church Of Misery rip offs! The sheer weight of the track makes you hyper aware of gravity and just when you think you can nod your head to the groove, they mangle the formula and have you gurning with glee.
'Zero'offers brief respite as the industrial noise is penetrated by clean guitars and syncopated drums before going whole hog with devastating riffs. 'Torment' makes great use of atmosphere to season the heaviness and 'Spiral'chops at your ear drums with its tremelo picking before smashing the weighty yet wonderfully catchy, riffs. Excellent stuff.
I don't like to write negative points about bands, and I'm not going to here, my only mild criticism would be that with 6 songs lasting 9 minutes each, the slog can be difficult to manage. Luckily there are plenty of intricacies throughout to keep your attention. I had the fortune of playing with these guys in Warsaw a few weeks back and I can confirm that they absolutely slay. A gem of a release.
“Not Everyone Deserves a Happy Ending” is full of riffs; riffs that pummel, slow-to-a-crawl, and riffs that grind everything to dust. Occvlt Hand have really created an exercise in the variety of heavy riffs one can employ on a record without ever repeating themselves, or creating a similar experience.
“Not Everyone Deserves A Happy Ending” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1). Intro
2). Smash My Bones, Inhale The Dust
3). Michael
4). Total fucking Absence of Light
5). He Who Walks Behind The Rows
6). Interlude
7). Long Live The New Flesh
8). Not Everyone Deserves A Happy Ending
The Review:
Occvlt Handhave unleashed their slab of Crowbar/Entombedworship sludge metal. This album has one goal, to be a crushingly heavy experience for the listener. Although it is the bands first full length record, the pacing and sonic flow of the album is spot on. This is not merely a collection of heavy tracks, but a logical flow of ideas. Playing this record in a different order would almost cheapen the experience. Very few young bands appreciate the experience of an album, so it is impressive the way Occvlt Handis able to write with this in mind.
“Not Everyone Deserves a Happy Ending” is full of riffs; riffs that pummel, slow-to-a-crawl, and riffs that grind everything to dust. Occvlt Handhave really created an exercise in the variety of heavy riffs one can employ on a record without ever repeating themselves, or creating a similar experience. What is perhaps the most exciting thing about the record is to see where Occvlt Handgoes from here. It seems that the possibilities for this band going forward are endless.
“Not Everyone Deserves A Happy Ending” is available here
On August 11 2017, Black Bow Records will release “Forest Of The Impaled”by UK death metal band SUBSERVIENCE.
Drawing influence from the classic death metal bands of yesteryear as well as the recent breed of modern greats, brutal Sussex quartet Subservience are gathering a good reputation across the country and beyond with their corrosive blend of groove laden extreme metal. You will find no self-indulgent displays here; Subservienceput on a stage show that certainly pulls no punches
Their live show has earned them a reputation as one of the heaviest bands on the south coast, and has rewarded them with slots at Download Festival and Hammerfest, as well as support slots with underground heavyweights Blood Red Throne, Xerath, Bloodshot Dawn, Hour of Penance, Demonic Resurrection, Flayed Disciple and Eye of Solitude
Brimming over with concentrated fury and a taste for chaos, they have released several increasingly brutal EPs that had been met with a great reception among their ever growing fan base. Their debut album has been mixed and mastered by Paul “Win” Winstanley and is set for release on August 11 2017.Today and only at THE SLUDGELORD you check out a brand new track below.A must for fans of Old School Death Metal, Entombed, Deicide and Bolt Thrower.
I can't find any fault with this album from intense opener to epic closer of “The Blood Breed”, the band don't put a foot wrong. This is raging death metal, plain and simple
“World Inferno” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. World Inferno 2. Condemned to the Grave 3. Serial Murder (Death Squad) 4. The Soul Collector 5. Dead and Buried 6. Insane Slaughter 7. Into Eternal Fire 8. Suffer 9. The Hour of the Casket 10. The Blood Breed
The Review:
Hot on the heels of the latest Paganizer album comes this absolute treat of Swe-death from the 100% reliable Entrails. This is raging death metal, plain and simple. If last outing “Obliteration” was finely crafted and even a little (just a little) restrained in places, this is feral and completely unfettered by any kind of restraint.
That's not to say that there aren't songs here, there most certainly are. The title track opener is catchy and perfectly honed in terms of riffs and hooks. That Boss HM-2 sound is firmly present and correct. Sound wise, this perhaps harks back to “Raging Death” more than “Obliteration” as it features bludgeoning drums, chainsaw guitars and distorted bass of monumentally gnarly proportions. Once again, there are no weak tracks here; “Condemned to the Grave” is a chugging beast that offers a slight change of pace, while elsewhere there are genuinely catchy moments in “Serial Murder (Death Squad)” with its echoes of ATG in the riffage, neck snapping rhythms on “Dead and Buried” and outright carnage on “Insane Slaughter” after the atmospheric intro.
There are slower stomping moments here and there and the band can swing when it wants to; “The Soul Collector” and “Into Internal Fire” are both fine examples. All tracks are focused and none stray below three and a half minutes or beyond six. Always exponents of thrash pacing and mid tempos rather than insane blasts, Entrails can concentrate nicely on the songs and vibe instead of out and out speed- refreshingly old school to my ears.
Of course, the shadows of Entombed and Dismember are ever present, but so what? If you are going to operate in a sub-genre, only the best references are relevant. The likes of “Suffer” would slot perfectly onto anything great recorded by the aforementioned bands. Honestly, I can't find any fault with this album from intense opener to epic closer of “The Blood Breed”, the band don't put a foot wrong. Between Paganizer and Entrails, we are being spoilt by the quality of Swedish death metal right now. Buy both records and head bang non-stop.
All in all it’s another good album that sees the band dishing out shorter and faster songs than we’re used to getting from them, while not losing the razor sharp edge of that classic Vallenfyre musical mastery and might.
“Fear Those Who Fear Him” CD//DD//LP track listing:
01. Born To Decay 02. Messiah 03. Degeneration 04. An Apathetic Grave 05. Nihilist 06. Amongst The Filth 07. The Merciless Tide 08. Dead World Breathes 09. Soldier Of Christ 10. Cursed From The Womb 11. Kill All Your Masters 12. Temple Of Rats
The Review:
Vallenfyre is a band that should need no introduction. The group has been kicking all kinds of ass since their 2011 debut and continue to release quality albums approximately every three years, up to and including this year’s new release, “Fear Those Who Fear Him,” which just dropped on June 2, 2017.
This third full length instalment consists of twelve songs, half of which are under three minutes in length, which is somewhat of a departure from their usual repertoire. The album opens with slow-burner, “Born To Decay,” which gradually warms up and lasts for only about a minute before all cylinders are firing and “Messiah” rips in full force with a classic grindcore blast of spinning buzzsaws that make you feel like you’re trapped in the middle of a drug induced late night knife fight. Then “Degeneration” comes in like a lion and pounds your meat into a tenderized patty with repeated blows of led boots to the head. These first three songs blend together for me, even after repeated listens, seeming as if the three parts make up one mass movement amounting to a seven minute long frenzy. This is most likely due partially to very brief gaps between songs with the best possible outcome. I actually found myself going back several times to figure out exactly where one song ended and the other began. I don’t know if this was the intended effect the band was looking to portray when they laid out the songs of the album but I thought it was a pretty cool experience which left me a bit bewildered in a good way.
When “An Apathetic Grave” kicks in as song number four, this is when the album noticeably shifts gears for the first time and gets down to that sweet and sour Swedeath molasses that Vallenfyreis always able to lay down so masterfully. This one song is just about as long as the flurry of the first three combined. It puts the album right where it needs to be and not a moment too soon as it leaves you with an uneasy feeling in your stomach and radiation poisoning in your mind. Shortly thereafter, “Nihilist” chimes in for a two minute blast like Napalm Death high on a fistful of Swedish crack. “Amongst The Filth” is a dastardly mid-paced head bobber that gallops and grooves over trampled, broken bodies, and gives us a few minutes to reflect on the previous hail storm before the madness returns with the dying world anthem, “Kill All Your Masters.”
“The Merciless Tide” comes in with more grimoire and groove-laden layers of lightning bolt guitars and “Dead World Breathes” unapologetically jams your face into the bench grinder with no mercy shown. Drums and bass crack the whip and sink your ship as they shove you down further with powerful rage for the most punishing forty seconds of your life. “Soldier Of Christ” has some really interesting shuffled grooves with galloping hooves. The new drummer really shines with an abundance of creative beats and fills on this one.
“Cursed From The Womb” brings us back to that menacing Swedoom and gloom for what is only the second instalment of slowness on the album. This is the longest song; the epic proportionately speaking, the lyrics of which are where the album title comes from. This is one cruel slab of menacing death doom with an abrupt ending that leaves you empty and questioning your own shallow existence. Album closer, “Temple Of Rats” just feels like the perfect album closer. It’s a belligerent blast of eloquently expressed brutality. It feels like the band put down some serious thought when it came to laying out the order of the songs.
Vallenfyre are masters of combining elements of death, doom, crust, grind, sludge, and all other things we hold dear. They put it all in a blender and then regurgitate the slurry into a delightful elixir that many metal heads regard as divine ambrosia. I would say that in general, this album comes off as being faster and punchier than previous efforts, and that the overall tone of the mix is a bit more on the thin crust side with considerably less bottom end than the previous two full lengths. All in all it’s another good album that sees the band dishing out shorter and faster songs than we’re used to getting from them, while not losing the razor sharp edge of that classic Vallenfyre musical mastery and might.
This is finely honed death metal, referencing all the greats of the genre from this side of the pond and managing to create an identity all of its own. Deserted Fear are ones to watch for sure: feral stuff, crushing all in their path. This album puts 2017 off to a great start for death metal!
“DeadShores Rising” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1). Intro
2). The Fall of Leaden Skies
3). The Edge of Insanity
4). Open the Gates
5). Corrosion of Souls
6). Interlude
7). Towards Humanity
8). The Carnage
9). Face Our Destiny
10). Till the Last Drop
11). Carry On
12). A Morbid Vision
13). The Path of Sorrow
The Review:
Deserted Fearspecialise in the kind of death metal so beloved of Scandinavian and European bands. Don't think Nile or Immolation. Think Asphyxand Entombed. This is the band's third full length and they bring their Teutonic terror to the masses in fine style here. The tanks roll, the sound is pleasingly clear and bright, but with the right amount of grit to make this sound... real.
No super fast blasting here, no so-low-you-can-barely-hear-them vocals. This is honest to goodness (not much goodness) death metal from Germania. “The Fall of Leaden Skies” is the first track after a scene setting intro and it really sums up the record: if you like this one then “The Edge of Sanity” will get your neck snapping in similar fashion.
The band offer up their own sound, but the aforementioned bands, Revel in Flesh, At The Gates, Dismemberand so on are all valid reference points. “Corrosion of Souls”, “Towards Humanity” and “The Carnage” offer up concise and rocking workouts; the song writing is lean and effective: riffs, changes, good vocals. Some tracks are pacier than others, but this is all head nodding stuff. Death metal, as I live and breathe!
“Face Our Destiny”, “Till the Last Drop” and “Carry On” cap off the album in grandstanding style; so consistent are the band in their sound that the record just flies by. The album also comes with two bonus tracks, both of admirably high quality and a nice touch from Century Media to include them.“A Morbid Vision” was my favourite of the two, with its' Bolt Thrower esque pacing. There is absolutely nothing to complain about here. This is finely honed death metal, referencing all the greats of the genre from this side of the pond and managing to create an identity all of its own. Deserted Fear are ones to watch for sure: feral stuff, crushing all in their path. This album puts 2017 off to a great start for death metal!
This record is a simple proposition: death metal, of the old school Euro/Scandy variety- done well with vicious conviction and one that demands attention from even casual fans of the genre.
“Emissary of all Plagues” CD//DD track listing:
1). Emissary of all Plague
2). Casket Ride
3). Fortress of Gloom
4). Servants of the Deathkult
5). Torture Throne
6). The Dead Lives On
7). Lord of Flesh
8). Sepulchral Passage
9). Dead to this World
10). Doctor, Doctor (UFO cover)
The Review:
Revel in Fleshmay sound like a throwback to the early 90's with the Dismember and Entombed(you could tell from the name, right?) buzz saw sound and aggression- but their melodic riffing hints at later genre examples and if you know that they have actually only been around for half a decade, well, it makes even more sense.
Revel in Fleshhave quite the work rate and this full length beast follows up their last album from 2014 and several splits since then. This record is a simple proposition: death metal, of the old school Euro/Scandy variety- done well with vicious conviction. There are hooks here; the song and phrase “Fortress of Gloom” will enter your consciousness after only one listen and there is no mindless blasting. This is a dark record, but not without catchy elements. The opening title track sets the tone perfectly and there are nods to prior work on “Servants of the Deathkult”.
The band even throw in a cover of “Doctor Doctor” (yes, by UFO!) to close out the album- this is a lot better than you may think it would be, but still with alittle too much novelty factor for my liking. The heads down thrashing and blasting of “The Torture Throne” is where the band's strengths really lie and when Revel in Flesh really lay things down, they do so with aplomb. “The Dead Lives” on is another prime example of the band's furious sound.
The band keep things tight and focused, even on (relatively) longer songs such as “Lord of Flesh”- which is a doom laden delight worthy of Asphyx. Through faster material such as “Sepulchral Passage” through the latter stages of the record, the band don't ease off the gas. This isn't a front loaded record- it remains strong throughout. For my money, these guys along with Entrails are the best out there at this kind of death metal these days. Cyclone Empire have an ear and nose for this type of thing- the label has delivered quality albums again and again (when is the next Icons of Brutality album coming out?!) and this is another addition to their sterling back catalogue.
The album's closing original material is “Dead to This World” which utilises a longer playing time to good effect and allows the band to run through the gears while creating a deathly atmosphere. This is a very fine death metal record, quite simply, and one that demands attention from even casual fans of the genre. All hail Revel in Flesh- long may they reign.
When they use melodies they're more creepy than pretty. They seem to only be there to allow you to catch your breath before they sit on your chest and start punching you in the face again
“Sonoran Deprivation” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. Craving Flesh 2. Sterilizing 3. Desperation 4. Rotting As One 5. Stronghold 6. Patriarchal Grip 7. Lost Forever 8. Flamethrower 9. Grotesque Operations
The Review:
"In defence of hm-2 death metal"Frankly I find it a little dismissive to reduce this new wave of death metal to nothing more than a type of distortion pedal produced in the early 80's. Gatecreeperdoes have that buzzsaw tone, they also conjure the spirit of the 90's, but they add much more of a doom metal vibe to it. At the same time the composition of these songs reminds one of traditional hardcore, the fat is stripped; the goal is simple, brutality.
When they use melodies they're more creepy than pretty. They seem to only be there to allow you to catch your breath before they sit on your chest and start punching you in the face again. The vocals are harsh barked death grunts that sit perfectly in the mix so as to compliment the crunching chugs rather than overpower them. Also, the cover art is a breathtaking oil painting of what appears to be some sort of intergalactic horizon which also wins them some points in the "cool shit I'd like to display on my record rack" category.
Anybody into extreme music should be able to enjoy the simple brutality and groove this album offers, I'd also recommend it to fans of; Nails, Trap Them, Obituary, Entombed, Kataklysm, Harm's Way.
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