REVIEW: Six of Swords, “Regime Decay” EP

By: Richard Maw


Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 19/10/2018

Label: Independent

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.

“Regime Decay” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Entrails - “World Inferno”

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 16/06/2017

Label: Metal Blade Records

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.

“World Inferno”is available now

Band info: facebook

FFO: Entombed, Grave, Dismember, Paganizer

ALBUM REVIEW: Paganizer - "Land of Weeping Souls"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 05/08/2017

Label: Transcending Obscurity

Rogga Johansson shows no sign of letting up at all; another album, another line up, another master class in Swedish death metal. This is absolutely business as usual for Paganizer, possibly the finest and purest exponents of this type of metal around. Highly recommended.

“Land of Weeping Souls” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Your Suffering Will Be Legendary

2). Dehumanized

3). Forlorn Dreams

4). Land of Weeping Souls

5). The Insanity Never Stops

6). Selfdestructor

7). Death Addicts Posthumous

8). The Buried Undead

9). Soulless Feeding Machine

10). Prey to Death

The Review:

Paganizer return with this first full length since 2013. This pleases me immensely, as they have been consistent purveyors of the finest Swedish Death Metal for close to twenty years. This record does not disappoint at all. After the exhaustively excellent “Twenty Years In A Terminal Grip” best of and the superb “On The Outskirts of Hades” EP, I thought the band were going to deliver.

Sure enough, they have. Impressively. You get rolling blasts, thrash pacing, chainsaw riffing and reassuringly deathly vocals, and all that in opener “Your Suffering Will Be Legendary”! The band don't put a foot wrong over the course of these ten tracks; “Dehumanized” is as dark as it is pacey, rolling bass drums are a feature of “Forlorn Dreams”, the lead work is fantastic throughout, the sound is great and vicious.

Truly, Paganizerare still at the top of their game and are as devastating as ever. What shines through on the album is the song writing. Paganizer know how to write great death metal and also to make some oddly catchy hooks here and there, to go with surprisingly catchy riffs. The title track is an effective demonstration of the band's power, while “The Insanity Never Sleeps” has got everything any fan of real Swe-death could want- including the sound of a gun being cocked (essential to a death metal album).

The latter half of the album is just as intense and just as gnarly; “Selfdestructor” allows for a slithering opening riff before more choppy fair comes in. There is no let up through the remaining four tracks, either; “Death AddictsPosthumous” is thrashy stuff and “The Buried Undead” is very deathly indeed (kind of like Bolt Thrower, but sped up a little). “Soulless Feeding Machine”and “Prey To Death” deliver two sharp shots of death  to finish this impressive set.

Rogga Johansson shows no sign of letting up at all; another album, another line up, another master class in Swedish death metal. This is absolutely business as usual for Paganizer, possibly the finest and purest exponents of this type of metal around. Highly recommended.

“Land of Weeping Souls” is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

FFO: Grave, Down Among The Dead Men, Ribspreader, Entrails