Vorage - Vorage [2015] (Demo)

I still find it surprising how claustrophobia isn't a commonplace occurrence among heavy metal throngs with the growing evocation of these monstrous, murky cavern-core acts in the underground. What started with Portal, Mitchondrion and Ulcerate is now a hit trend among youngsters who practice this irretrievably clamorous brand of death metal that fans seem to so fond of, even though the initial gloss of the sound has arguably worn off within last 3-4 years. In fact, propagators of these cavernous antics have become so formidably numerous that I'm starting to think if I spend just a little more time in their nullified vacuums, I'm going to end up starting to acknowledge the low-tuned vocal mantras of these bands as a veritable means of communicating with the Old Ones, who, without a shadow of a doubt, are just eagerly awaiting for one of their metallic emissaries to conduct the action necessary for us to enter into their threshold where there's no coming back....

And this is where Vorage comes in. One of the newest entrants into this field of disheartening evil and murky abrasion, the UK duo lets loose on the same brand of malefic music practiced by some of their larger forebears, bashing neanderthal death metal that resonates with the reticent insanity of some Lovecraftian elder thing sipping up the Earth's oceans and then regurgitating them back along with all the culinary excess of its interior. Bombastic, thick fucking guitars rule the mix almost entirely, and the riffs revolve around a more syncopated, semi-technical refurbishing Incantation, Rottrevore and late Gorguts, and these drilling tremolos that spiral like cranial whirlwinds. Granted, if you've been exposed to this style, you won't be immeasurably shocked by the discord of it all, and I should note that Vorage keep things fairly 'death metal', without going far into these more atmospheric, chord-driven exercises in dissonant chaos redolent of Portal or the New Zealanders Vassafor, sticking to the groove rather than outright chaotic madness, but in any case the material offered here is freakish enough to impress upon the mind of any cavern-core or black/death aficionado. Ballistic grooves are abundant, especially with the title track, adorned here and there with nervous snippets of technicality, and the overall impact leaves just as much life in the listener after one spin as after a 4-hour roller coaster ride.

I could compare this to the Malthusian EP, which I also heard this year, although Vorage certainly retain a more dynamic approach to their inherent claustrophobic overtures, dredging bountiful tremolos and eerie fringes of complexity rather than sticking to the death/doom motif. That said, the title track, also the longest in this 3-track demo, flirts with the sludge of bands like Malthusian around half way through. Just bear in mind that none of the material presented here can really hold a candle to the acknowledged masters of the genre, and that ''Vorage'', despite its initially dark appeal, is merely an addendum to the earlier, less intricate work of these bands. Whilst bombastic, the Brits aren't really doing anything to challenge the book here: the brief ambient outro is frightening enough, and there one or two decent moments I'd cite from this demo, but nowhere is this as fibrous or unhinged as, say, their peers Abyssal, nor does it completely wallow the listener in as Portal or Antediluvian with the soup-bowl trope of ungodly hymnals. The vocals are there, these ultra low grunts and growls that are excellent set-pieces for the lexicon of the Necronomicon, but once more, there are dozens of vocal practitioners out there who can produce the same, tremulous inflection. Vorage somehow ends up in this oblique spot where it has the choice to either expand upon riffs or atmosphere; or, if they're aplomb enough, both. The demo itself showcases that they have the rudiments in both, but not only is the sound too primal, but there are already hundreds of similar cave-dwellers working on it. Even so, this is archaic paranoia of the murkiest, fuzziest kind, just another solid gateway into cosmic fright and abyss.

Highlights:
Vorage

Rating: 70%

Ossuaire - Le Troubadour Necrophageophile DEMO [2005]

It's not everyday that you unearth French death metal - in fact my knowledge of the genre's existence in France doesn't go too far beyond Massacra - since France's 21st century output has been marked by a colossal weaving of uncanny black metal acts more than anything else, but find you may, and trust in Ossuaire we do. This triad had independently released a debut back in 2010 (back when bare bones old school death metal revivalism was still fairly popular) but naturally it passed almost unnoticed. But before even that, they actually had a demo, buried under the nether of lost OSDM recordings, and I had the chance to uproot it. The funny thing about it is that while wildly falling to the thrill of their salacious fantasies in a rather funny way, the trio manages to cultivate a death metal sound that doesn't serve as an immediate carbon-copy of any other niche I can name; a strangely proficient brew of Bolt Thrower, Death and Finnish obscurity a la Demigod, Convulse and Depravity.

So let's be straight: this isn't something that will change the fundamentals for death metal, far from it. Through unwavering research and quests into the obscene, I've been thankfully able to discover some real 'game-changers' in the field, even at a time where the glorious pungency of Autopsy and the force-fed awesomeness of the Swedish chainsaw have expired; Ossuaire's queer little demo basically draws upon the Bolt Thrower of 1988-1992 and Finnish putrescence, not as a contender for reinventing the wheel, but as a tasty reminder of some of the ugliest records of the 90's. The tone and production on this demo is fairly outstanding because they've managed to captivate the fuzzed-out soniscape of the early 90's, but beyond that the riffs are anything if not old school, huge, cantankerous bulks of disgusting rhythms and chug fests driven with the prosaic blasting of the drums. It doesn't knock you right across the park, but it's filthy and titular enough to enjoy the sight of dislocated bones while reveling in bowels and grime. Ossuaire take paunchy sound from the American scene as well. ''Le Fleau'' is overflowing with thrashy sways and hypnotizing tremolos redolent of Immolation, Cannibal Corpse and even Morbid Angel, and unlike Bolt Thrower, they don't always stick to being 'slow', since the demo is speed-wise (and aesthetic-wise) not very far from ''Eaten Back To Life'' or something of that vein.

The Finnish influence is buried between the less noticeable tremolo patterns, like in ''Necrofistum Prima Nocte'' where they extricate a gruesome, sinister aura, though I wouldn't have minded if they had some more substance to them. The vocals aren't really too distinguished here, but if you're into the kind of timber championed by Craig Pillard or Karl Willets, they should fit your bill. The lyrics are all in French, so it's an odd delight to be hearing the same tales of gore and bloody requital sang in the language renowned for its posh extravagance. This is 'posh' death metal, and haters can fuck off. But that aside, this is hardly an introspective brand of music (in case the cover art didn't do the work) with implications that don't go far beyond your 'stock' old school death metal offering, and while it would be interesting to hear what the Frenchmen would sound like if they got on a level with, say, Trbiulation or Putrevore, the demo is solid a piece of work, but nothing I'll be listening to consistently.

Highlights:
Le Fleau


Rating: 63%

Ancient Crypts - Devoured by Serpents [2013] (Demo)

Given the obvious visual preferences of the band, Ancient Crypts is bound to erect a superfluity of speculations concerned with the band's lack of motivation, and these speculations will arise even before someone actually listens to the 22 minute tape, and hell, most of them will be accurate judgments, because this Chilean death metal horde is in no way giving birth to a new genre complete with all its technical and aural fulfillment, but that doesn't mean the group can't pack a punch with this ancient, decrepit sophomore demo. I would have hoped that, being in the same league with their ambitious label-mates Bolzer, ZOM, and Beyond, the Chileans could have embarked on something even only marginally different from a classic rehash, but the contrast between this, and creativity, is the virtual equal of the contrast between night and day. However, all is not in vain. Despite the sheer simplicity of their efforts and compositions, Ancient Crypts have somehow conjured a subterranean vortex of murk, complete with raw recording qualities, smashing, abusive riffing, and a one-time ticket to an abysmal land that's fairly frightening and vivid in its depiction of darkness and all things ominous.

This is actually some great stuff; the Chileans might not have tried too hard to tweak the aspects of the originality department, but they sure have some horrid, wrangling riff work ready at their disposal which they diversify in accordance with the varying tempo of the tunes, carnal, decomposed conformity that will make death/doom fans rejoice to enjoy altogether. It's easy to point at Ancient Crypts' influences, because whether you're an experienced OSDM connoisseur or some kid just newly starting to explore the beleaguered genre's fundamentals, ''Devoured By Serpents'' has some scary, tempestuous material hidden in its deathly vault that will easily make your bowels rumble with anticipation and enthusiasm. It's almost as if the Chileans just randomly snatched a handful of tags from a box of influential names, and proceeded to play by the rules of those acts. There's Finnish death metal aplenty, a ghastly exposition of Convulse, Demigod and even Abhorrence when you're listening to the more eerie variations of the blasting tremolo sequences, Incantation, which should be obvious by now, some Death circa 1987-1988, and an occasional admiration for death/doom acts in the vein of Winter (slightly less evil), Asphyx, Cianide, and less known Finnish obscures Rippikoulu. Some of my favorite moments include the mingling, tingling death/doom harmonies on the title track which sound like interpretations of early Autopsy, and the blasting, ruinous chord progressions of ''Between The Mortuary Remains''.

With such brevity and a mere lack of diversity there's not really much to say about Ancient Crypts. The demo is indubitably a bred of the previously mentioned acts in every possible way; the riffs, the drum patterns, the colossal, heaving density of the atmosphere, and the guttural snares of the vocalist, which, at faster picking moments resemble a somewhat bulbous version of your atypical death/grind barking. Yes, I did occasionally get a sense of repetition seething through wretched pits of the demo, and to be honest there are many other groups that are producing A+ material that tops this in so many ways, but the band's youth and eagerness negates utterly stark criticism. Besides, all those excellent OSDM acts that we venerate and adore today were, in fact, quite like these gentleman at some early point of their career. Thus, I can do no more but recommend this to fervent tape collectors - it hardly deviates from the norm but kicks copious asses while sticking to the safe route - so give them a chance and what do you know, one day, they might blossom into one of your doppelganger favorites.

Highlights:
Deep Into the Ancient Crypts
Devoured by Serpents

Rating: 75%

Krownn - Hyborian Age [2013] (Demo)

Considering my lack of history with both Italian metal and doom metal itself, I honestly wasn't tempted to approach Krownn's ''Hyborian Age'' demo (which, at first, I accidentally took for a proper full-length) with a sense of zeal when I first found it in my mail, partly because of a simple apprehension that suggested the band's offering would turn out to be an appalling experience. My knowledge and more importantly love for doom doesn't go very deep, and my knowledge of Italian doom bands make harsh stop at Paul Chain. However, my recent and pleasant experiences with other new traditional doom bands like The Gates Of Slumber somehow urged me to dive into the demo, and after only a couple of tracks, I must say that I became very content with what I heard. Krownn is marginally rougher around the edges as far the most traditional values of doom goes, with a small and fairly versatile range of influences sticking to band members' preferences of traditional doom masters, but all around, ''Hyborian Age'' still follows the ways of its precursors at trudging gaits.

As stated, ''Hyborian Age'' is, above all, a homage to such old school mavens as Candlemass, Pentagram or even Sabbath picked up at a much heavier tone. The riffs are mostly muscular and granular and tightly composed, with a variety of harmonies and twists used to grab the attention of a wider spectrum of listeners. The bulldozing simplicity and sheer primal power of the riffs have a wonderfully coherent, mystically ancient feel to them, as if they were spawning right out of the beguiling, spectral silhouette of cover art, and these churning, heavy stomps are so wondrous that they have a heavy tinge of stoner rock and doom, which just another representation of how wide a net these guys can cast. The vocalist ragged vocal style is both a thing of enigma and enjoyment for stoner fans. Especially in tracks like ''The Woodwose'', he plunge into a deep, unpredictable vocal inflection, which, infused with the titular riffing that rock in the open, sounds like the perfect stoner/doom tune to blast through the stereo on a drunken afternoon. The balance of the tone is incredible; it's stuck somewhere between a grimy, filth-doused old school inclination and another, more more overt and modern texture, ultimately brought forth in western-sounding theatre.

The rhythm is great, the punches accentuated through the heavy manifest of husky riffage, and the bass just plods on, bearing its bombastic tone with pride. ''At The Cromlech'' was probably my favorite piece here; a feast of both desolate and memorable traditional riffs intertwining with that of a more traditional facet, rumbling as the vocalist takes on a more cleaner, NWOBHM-esque toning. However, ''Stormborn'' has to be the most entrancing of all with over seven minutes of chugging and doom-y goodness, and fairly brief stop near the middle where the Italians literally transport you into this western ambiance of stoner/doom psychedelia with moody, resonating medleys of guitar work swaying gently between everything. We're also exposed to plenty of experimental touches on ''Stormborn'', revealing the band's penchant to rarely erupt into a more creative complex of music. Krownn got me where I wasn't expecting it at all. An unprecedented ambush of stupendous, creative traditional old school stoner/doom that rocks so much harder than all the rehashing drones that you'd be astounded. Surprisingly, despite having nearly 40 minutes of brilliant content, Krownn dubbed their debut release as a demo. Well, that just means we'll get something even better and more extensive when the full-length comes. I'll just leave you with your beer and stereo now.

Highlights:
At The Cromlech
For The Throne Of Fire
Stormborn

Rating: 86%

Solothus - Ritual of the Horned Skull [Demo] [2013]

Last year I had the pleasure to carry the burden of Finnish death/doom monstrosities Solothus' ''Ritual Of The Horned Skull'' EP, and endeavor I felt was one of the better death/doom interpretations of the last 4-5 years with bustling, semi-cavernous index and busy, climatic riffs that were placed in sort of the milieu of primitive death/doom circa 1989-1994 and a more established, polished offering of the same sub-genre that was substantially upgraded and polished by late to mid 90's connoisseurs Runemagick, Paradise Lost, etc, and even more modern projects of melodious, cavern-dwelling disembowelment projects like Hooded Menace or Coffins - a certainly copious range of macabre influences that all have their places secured in a gnostic burial ground near the local cemetery. Yet, there will undoubtedly be a handful of scoffers, demanding to know what the Finns have to top their already prodigious predecessors which have spawned in the last 5 years or so. Yes, Solothus are nothing quite out of the ordinary, bearing minor contrast only thanks to their larger intake of Runemagick influences, but there's much more to this hillock of bones than the eye meets.

As I stated, Solothus' entire bevy of groove-laden riffs fall somewhere between the more ''epic'' and edgy facet of death/doom and the more grotesque, and veritable churning of melodic exhibitions delivered through a manifest of horrendous old school depictions. Solothus are simply fantastically authentic, equating the masterful measure of doom, gloom and harmony into one versatile, bone-laced package, with an unrelenting undercurrent of vulgarity seething underneath it all. There's an elephantine slurry; a punching, ghastly monster of a tone that splashes around wildly in accordance to the medium tempo of the bruising drums, and like on ''A Call To War'', the band injects minor dozes of clamorous, distorted chords which instantly render the orchestration a morbidly defiant serpentine, belching bile and vomit as it stampedes. The songs are all shrewdly arranged; they're not stretched into drudging funeral doom epics of over 7 minutes; they're kept at the optimum length of about 4-5 minutes, and Solothus are obviously more keen in conversing at mid-tempo gait than turtle-slowness. They also tend to stick to a lesser flock of riffs than many of their peers incline to do, supposedly to turn the whole experience into a more absorbing one, but Solothus exceed many of their counterparts in both quality and distribution, each song a successful homage to sweltering death and doom.

Simply put, the Finns are more enthralling than the majority of their cavern-dwelling peers, deeply punging into the macabre without weaving superfluous quantities of complexities while doing so, and simply keeping the listener at bay throughout 20 minutes by continuously craving similar but very enjoyable, grooving riffs. Undeniably, there could have been a tidbit of more variation to embody an even more gruesome manifest of horror, but I'm still hardly malcontent with my current reservoir. The first two songs, ''A Call To War'' and ''Throne Of Bones'' mostly represented what the band's savager ideas clustered around, but ''Embrace Of Cold'', and even more so, ''Darkness Gathers Here At Night'', were fully turning on the more melodious inflection on, and barely Gothic interpretations made tangible with the use of vibrant, fibrous collections of melody, so they're definitely heading for a more solemn and harmonious approach; something quite akin to Hooded Menace and what they achieved with their latest full-length. Well, these Finns have captured the true grooving essence of old school death/doom, a horrific congealment of bones and mourn, so a full-length will definitely be welcome.

Highlights:
Darkness Gathers Here At Night
Embrace The Cold
A Call To War

Rating: 83%

Into Darkness - Into Darkness [Demo]

Death/doom is a genre that has not been cultivated as frequently as its notorious counterpart, old school death metal, and this is not because it is not preferred among bands, but because few are able to fabricate it in it's ways of being gory, obsessed and stretched upon dark imagery. There has been a few acts in latter times, such as Undergang or Anhedonist who have worked these mysterious and ghastly nuances of death/doom as if contemplating a multi-threaded web, but the majority of the genre, as far as I can see, focuses on the inclinations of death/doom that developed after the primal beginnings of its aesthetics, mainly having a bloodline on par with such Gothic death/doom bands like later Paradise Lost or As I Lay dying; and even that vein of bands are now tainting their efficiency with modern influences, and thus a handful of long-lasting heroes are now left to carry this archaic art. Fortunately, after bastardizing thrash metal with a horrid and substantial wave of retro-thrash acts, Italy kicks in, with a brand new face in the cemetery - Into Darkness, probably one of the brightest hopes of the revival of old school death/doom.

This one-year-old trio does not rupture into an assertive display o completely fresh material, instead, as I said, it's a concise offering to the olden masters themselves. Mainly the band fluctuates between Derketa and Mythic, boiling in bleak broth of early Asphyx, and I was also surprised to hear no trace of Incantation here, because, after so many gimmicks the legend has become the trademark sound of countless albums, yet here, there's no infatuation with those indulgent inclinations, which is, in a way, a breath of fresh air. Into Darkness like cosmic and esoteric horror, galactic evil, and stuff like that which can pull you further in to the primeval coordination of the daunting gears that get the formula of the album going. Into Darkness can be ferocious at times, abruptly breaking into carnal and ruinous assaults, but the band likes to channel between heftier and sludgier riffs, keeping the pace volatile and fresh.

The demo has another upside besides its astronomic adoration. The tone is crisp but slightly cavern-riddled, which is perfect in bestowing that crisp and slightly haunting sense upon the listener, and the vocals, fierce and uproarious in their own voracious manner, are perfect for ripping flesh out of deaf ears, settling somewhere between Van Drunnen and John Walker of Cancer, and inimical overtone possessing the gutturals. With it's atmosphere, it's canal efficiency and every other dark aspect it possesses, Into Darkness have truly won my respect. It's a long way from here to composing a full-length, but already they're mustering a fairly convincing audience, and have signed with the great Unholy Domain Records for further trudging damage, perfecting their rather shortly anticipated kill streak. Well, almost. The band will still need to strive to obtain dominance over the gory seat of death/doom, but I have hope, that one day, the combo shall be complete.

Highlights:
Into Darkness
Shadows

Rating: 82%

Metal Minis - Vilifier - Okkulta

Vilifier - Rehearsal MMXI [Demo]

Vilifier are a rather intriguing black/death act to appear from Australia. Their material is does not defy the Australian traditional of gore soaked raw bestiality, but their three track rehearsal demo provides a little more than standard, compulsory black/thrashing onslaughts or fluent, dissecting raw black metal inclinations that seem to be getting popular every day, simply by exposing the music with almost sophisticated touches. Think of a slower Teitanblood or a more chug laden Antediluvian, fuse it with glimpses of unbridled ruptures, and you have Vilifier. The band excels at constructed well-maintained bridges to fluctuate between monotonous death/doom trudges and voluptuous moments of festering precision, blasting out rancid, piercing tremolos here and there. While it is short, the fifteen minute demo introduces and introspective channel that finds its way through darkness and chaos, and therefore there’s plenty of variation here, with the cherry on top of the cake being the abrasive, ear-shattering growls of the vocalist, a cavernous experience. Even amongst the more seasoned and professional acts to emerge from Aussie, Vilifier somehow stands out, and any resident war metal fan should have no problem welcoming this demo.

Okkulta - Witch [Demo]

Okkulta hail from Sweden and they’re yet another traditional heavy metal act to embrace the old school fervour they possess. However, their inclinations lean towards a somewhat eviler brand of traditional heavy, as stated on the title of the demo. The occult, evil, blasphemy and sorcery all seem to be themes that interest the young outfit, but queerly, they don’t fail at projecting that fervour onto their music, and all of a sudden you have two concise tracks, darker than any usual aspect to emerge from Sweden, and the slight deviation serves as the fulcrum of the demo. ‘’Devil’s Truth’’ leads the listener viscously with a visceral guitar tone and a couple of catchy tremolo passages, ultimately finalizing too quick for the listener to properly appease /himself/herself. Almost black metal-esque chords disseminate as they melt into a hooking verse and the vocals sing along truculently, a little immature but still decent. The following piece ‘’Witch’’ keeps a slightly more intricate persona, and scatters the demo into a more ritualistic hymn. Perhaps not all the aspects of the demo were well done, but I still enjoyed it. This may augment into something more promising in the future.

Vilifier: 8.50/10

Okkulta: 8/10

Dead River Runs Dry - Winter 2012 [Demo]

Dead River Runs Dry is a freshly forged, and burgeoning new black metal project by Dan Nahum, the man behind many other Australian black metal projects, including the newly flowered Azoth and Bleakwood, all of them successful churnings of reliable, consistent and somewhat aggressive qualities of accessible black metal of high calibre, despite the lack of attention they are all receiving. Although all of Dan’s projects are relatively new to the scene even though the mastermind himself remains a veteran of the genre’s aesthetics, and with his talents he is able to construct yet another demo for his newest project Dead River Runs Dry, four tracks of constant black metal, each overflowing with vigorous catharsis, erupting into brusque, disseminating rupture and keeping the trail they flow along pure and unmarred, avoiding many of the genre’s deterrent clichés.

The name of the demo suits the brevity of its musical traits, being simply entitled, ‘’Winter 2012’’, which obviously calls upon the frigid windstorms and environing bleakness that it projects. The demo is not exceedingly concise, and thus within that short time it captures a good amount of attention. The most entertaining thing about this demo is that it simply reflects bleak, desolate landscapes and blasts out garrulous black metal franticness at the time, leading to a diverse anatomy, one that neither too arduous to comprehend nor too simple. The demo serves swerving, overt black metal without hesitation, and the production supports the angular changes in the atmosphere, having a somewhat dry, yet loud consistency, and in order to tighten the grasp on the vivacious, frenetic authenticity of the aura, the demo will often switch abruptly into a hooking chug, or perhaps a less intense chord attack.

Dead River Runs Dry embraces its gelid, solemn expanse but exploring through deep, grandiose feelings where the level of emotion reaches its climax. Although such patterns are rare amongst the blazing barrage of brazen tremolos and harried outbursts, the band does give a fair measure of room for such sections, and the most emotionally tainted track is probably ‘’Dying Gleam Of The Sun Eternal’’, sombre and entrancing while delivering a mournful array of lurching, ponderous tremolos, dispersing the atmosphere into a fragile landscape, all of a sudden. All in all, Dead River Runs Dry is a very worthy release and a considerable alternative to the waves of black metal bands, and thus, the power of the Australian metal scene has once again been proved, crushing all the competition with an iron fist. Along with this demo, Dan Nahum’s other projects are also highly recommended, each of the same nature, but surprisingly variant. 

Highlights:

Way Of The Plunderer

Dying Gleam Of The Sun Eternal

Rating: 80%

Devil Ancestry - At the Seat Of Evil Ecstasy [Demo]

It’s nice to see so many bands embracing the sluggish characteristics of old school death metal, but let’s be honest; too many bands trying to re-activate the genre’s apathetic, droning and ponderous elements by simply rehashing the instrumental aspects of Asphyx, Rottrevore, Autopsy and the like, which is admittedly nothing more than simply a monotonous version of the brutal emphasis of crunches and chugs of death metal; a poorly innovated brand to excel in. And as although I’m not scoffing at these death/doom trends, there is simply no room for the evil, bleak aura to consume and desolation to utterly aggravate the listener’s emotions, so frankly the focus of the true evil, monotonous atmosphere captured by the mighty ‘’d’’ and Winter is something we death/doom fans are devoid of. Australian act Devil Ancestry fabricate four compositions of lugubrious queerness ranging at only eight minutes in order to capture that sound which is redolent an utterly alien din of bizarre ghastliness, reeking of befouled and molested cadavers.

The main reason this act seemed so appealing to me is that their compositions are not pungent or fleshy, and such a perfect, brief demo that emphasises on nothing but the drudging ooze of the rotten, dismal sludge that it belches is certainly not something you often hear in today’s scene. In fact even the scene in the 90’s did not support such dissonant and grotesque calamities, and the closest thing I can relate this is the black/doom outfit, Mordor, a short lived group, yet incredibly disturbing and evil, calling fourth a monstrous aura upon the field. Devil Ancestry does not take on all the traits of Mordor, because some of its attributes incline towards Demilich, as the Finnish legends also had a penchant for delivering swerving pageantry, completely alien, and yet our Australian newborn does not entirely resemble Demilich either, taking on simpler chugs and queer chord progressions, dispersed and underpinned by the hefty bumps of the base.

‘’The Rib Of Adam Created Shit’’ is the demo’s starter. Once it commences the listener is indulged in a lethargic orgy of bowel transitions and all sorts of awkward quivers, and yet although it’s an alien experience from start to beginning, it’s obvious that the band does not try to pen compositions that are arduous or convoluted. The diverse spectrum of the music is actually maintained with interesting tactics. The band does not travel underneath cavernous and subterranean monoliths the whole time, but rises to the surface every now and then during its concise lifespan, and simply utters out almost indecipherable low growls whilst keeping the field dissonant and deceptive by continuously harassing the listener with discordant beats and volatile guitar thrills, simply enchanting as they rot. The final track ‘’Curious Potion’’ goes on for two and a half minutes, serving some spikier death/doom chords, all occasionally backed up by synthesizers. The guitar tone is not spiking, nor is it crunchy, but it does not fail to crush the listener while swaggering ponderously. In all its dismal, brooding and bowel-shaking sense, ‘’At The Seat Of Evil Ecstasy’’ is an intriguing listen, albeit the band doesn’t reinvent the wheel here. The demo was shamefully short, and it leaves waiting for the release of and Ep or full-length. A recommended experience for those who enjoy the dissonance of blackened death/doom.

Highlights:

The Rib Of Adam Created Shit

Keeper

Rating: 82,5%

Metal Minis #3 - Horrid - Slaegt

Horrid - Kingdom Of Decay [Demo]

Horrid’s demo ‘’Kingdom Of Decay’’ actually got me by surprise. I hadn’t anticipated it, because I didn’t even know the band was carving out new material. Horrid impressed me beyond belief with their malicious self titled album last year, a reeking slab of desolate, carnal blackened death/thrash, and the thing that I love even more about Horrid is that they don’t stick to the cheesy retro thrash antics, and instead display some top notch blackened death/thrash, reeling away from all modern senses the thrash genre has fabricated along the way. ‘’Horrid’’ was notably well-bestirred, ill-natured and fatal, embracing certain queer tactics that the death and black metal genres forged alongside their union, and the demo follows the same path that the album left, but there still seems to be a few changes in the sound. I was glad to hear the bizarrely dissonant solos that really left their mark from the previous record, but besides that, ‘’Kingdom Of Decay’’ supports a rawer production and an even dispersed, chubby tone. Horrid don’t redefine their sound with this two track demo, but they set the basics of an upcoming full-length which can be relatively capricious due to certain changes that will grow in time.

Slaegt - Demo [Demo]

Coming from the frigid lands of Denmark come Slaegt, a completely fresh new act out of Copenhagen present a concise demo of four tracks of bleak and mournful raw black metal of high quality. The one man army establishes a turbulent atmosphere and launches and assault of thinny, piercing black metal tremolos, fluent and dynamic melodies writhing and slicing the listener as they ascend and descend, channelling vigorously through the freezing cold atmosphere he creates. Slaegt’s direction is quite unequivocal, as the piercing riffs are always heading towards a certain direction, but the demo also shows some defiance in the raw and savaged sound, and a hope of the riffs to sprint away from their current position is always there, even though the event never actually occurs. The demo has its hooks, and it likes to pull the listener slowly with an interesting array of groovy patterns, seasoned with the extreme shrillness of the ear-piercing cries of the tortured rasps. Though it is short, Slaegt’s demo eventually proves to be efficient as the cold and entrancing fibrous waves that it spews fourth eventually suffuses over the listener, engulfing him/her in a ghastly aura of spectral and frozen splendour. One of the finer raw black metal demos I heard this year, I must say, and I’m anticipating a second release impatiently.

Horrid: 8/10

Slaegt: 8.25/10

Convent Guilt - Demo 2012

Australia’s great and growing metal scene has no doubt left its mark on many metalheads, and especially in the last five years, it housed scores and scores of bands ranging from bestial black metal to occult death to blackened thrash. So the bands excel at fabricating extremities, but what of some traditional heavy metal? During the last five years I’ve found myself continuously searching for traditional heavy bands in Sweden or the US, meandering and losing myself in their vast hosts of heavy metal bands, but if truth be told, Australia has never been the hotbed for traditional heavy metal acts, as it was far too plagued with demented extremists for the genre to breed. Convent Guilt, though, quite surprised me with their demo, released on the Australian Abysmal Sounds Records, a catchy slab of old school heavy metal goodness.

As the band does not have any history behind it, I can’t really make a robust comparison about its roots and whether it’s an anomalous release or not, but I can say that I was definitely impressed to hear such classy material from such a young act. Convent Guilt’s brand of heavy is bluesy, classy, and even hardcore-driven at times. Most of the riffs are simplistic but dynamic chord progressions with a few strands of harmonic melodies scattered here and there, and they mainly support massive amplifications, augmenting and enlarging the spaciousness of the heavyweight guitar ton even further. That being said, the clarity of tone can’t be questioned because it has such a straightforward edge to it. Despite being genuinely clean and kilter and even melancholic at times, the demo does not follow the same trail as Priest or Maiden, but injects a far more drowsing feel to listener, with certain moments being strong reminiscent of western music even. Maybe that’s just the way I recognize the music, but with interesting variations spread out in four tracks at twenty two minutes, there can never be a strict repute about the band’s approach.

The self titled track starts the album off with a pretty vigorous start. With the song being the shortest and most brisk on the whole demo, you experience a handful of what the whole demo has in store for you with the song’s catchy, hardcore-tinged plodding chord elevations and the frantic shouting of the vocalist. The vocals are also an oddball of an aspect of the album, gathering influences from Motorhead just like the riffs. They could have been done better, because I feel he suffered detonations at certain moments, but such tiny flaws are not really crucial to the balance of the demo. ‘’Bailed Up’’ serves an even larger portion of the bluesy heavy metal riff fodder, with some beautifully melodious sections jumping in brusquely at the riffs. ‘’Killer Virgins’’ also delivers a catchy blast, similar to the previous songs, but the most passionate track is ‘’No Dawn In Lucifer’s Light’’ – whose chorus has been stuck in my head for a good while now.  Convent Guilt serves utterly great heavy metal on this demo, and it is my dearest hope that they continue on this path incessantly. 

Highlights:

No Dawn In Lucifer's Light

Bailed Up

Rating: 84,5%

Outre - Tomb

Outre are a band which hail from Canada, playing a brand of pretty simplistic raw speed/thrash. I wouldn’t call their style numerously repeated, or gimmicked, but considering there much more arduously constructed songs out there, they fall short of original, nonetheless, they still deliver a bristly covered slab of solid old school speed/thrash, hinted with some hardcore punk madness.

Yes, Outre’s demo ‘’Tomb’’ is vociferous, raw and inept in technical skill. Fortunately, though, such an endowment is not the intention of the demo, therefore, you’re left alone with thirteen minutes of punkishly raw speed/thrash, nothing else. Warsenal, another Canadian band which left us with a catchy demo, offered a better demo than Outre if truth be told, although they played a similar branch of speed/thrash. Outre draws heavy influences from the early thrash/punk, but the thick, sparse guitar tone enables the riffs just a pinch heavier.

The riffs are savage and they’re not meagre, rather prolific actually. They’re simple, though, usually crusty chugs and meandering chord progressions, but they’re webbed together with strong links and joints that establish a robust structure, which is more than I could ask for. But although it’s savage revulsions will gravitate people towards it, but riffs suffer from occasional inaudibility, caused most likely by the unnecessary amount distortion that the tone is doused with. The vocals are punk driven as well, savage and rough barks, but like the riffs they tend to suffer casualties from their lack of spike and enlightenment.

‘’Tomb’’ is not at all a bad demo, only a very raw one. It bares the materials needed construct a far more intense and pummelling force of punk oriented speed/thrash that could augment into a thorn far deadlier, and far more substantial. Outre will need to endeavour in order to achieve that sound, and they will need time to make their raw material more credible. We shall wait and see.

Highlights:

Commando

Les Chiens De Tindalos

Rating: 72%

Gaunt - Demo

Spiraling through impious segments of corruption and disharmony, England’s Gaunt present us three smothering tracks of raw and primitive black metal. Gaunt’s immediate surge is absolutely sudden to all, as the acolytes drill their way silently towards the light of the day, and in the end, they are somehow triumphant from the unknown battle that was ongoing in the underground, thus, their presence is finally illuminated. Bedecking the raw and primal textures of gritty black metal with both atmospheric and noisy touches, Gaunt spew out some of the finest black metal the year has offered yet, and maintain their grip by impetuously pursue the listener without flaunting or showing off any cleansed skills, but simply greet him/her with an absolutely smothering barrage of abrasive spikes.

Gaunt are sometimes predictable, and totally direct, angular, yet they’re sometimes awry and tangling, sending fibrous waves of cunning black metal tremolos and razor sharp slashes within the entire duration of the album, without exerting much effort in the process. The riffs are the definition of raw, unpolished and croaky, but as much as they’re vicious and ripping, they also possess an atmospheric touch, adding melancholy to the savage outburst.  To point out direct influences would be wrong, because there’s a little bit of everything on Gaunt’s debut demo, so the only thing appropriate to say is that the music will certainly not seem alien to many resident black metallers, but rather primitive, and even (I daresay) amateur-sounding, but then again the whole point of its angular incursions is to give the listener a little taste of that. The guitars are spread sparse, and for some queer reason, the drums and vocals sound even sharper than the guitar tone.

Each song is a relevant follow-up to its predecessor, each maintaining the perfect position between atmospheric and raw, but with the whole demo going for a mere twelve minutes, intriguing links in between songs are not likely to affect much. Oddly, Gaunt sounds rather organic to me, which probably makes a huge difference and separates it from many other acts, and their coarse jumble of rough riffs and crude patterns certainly impressed me. I can just hope that the underground breeds more of Gaunt’s kind and shares them with us. I devoutly hope so. 

Highlights:

Under The Sun Of Torture

Ministry Of Reconstruction

The One In The Void

Rating: 84,5%

Xpulsion - War Is Imminent

Thrash  has been gimmicked and manipulated so many times that at times I find it hard to separate each band from each other, and even worse, I’m pretty sure what the ‘’Old school thrash’’ sounded like, that was, until Belgium’s most latter brigands knocked against my door. Belgium was a chest full of treasures in the past, housing great old school acts like Patriarch, Target, Cyclone and Yosh, but let us put all those aside, for Xpulsion sound nothing like their forefathers and fellow countryman, driving their crusty edge towards the classic Bay Area sound with a tinge of vicious 80’s speed/thrash, and their demo, ‘’War Is Imminent’’ bears for tracks encrusted of atomic aggression and sordid chugging, nothing more, nothing less.

I’m actually quite content with the ‘’old school’ worshiping done here, because melodic and modern thrash is becoming an increasingly popular trend these days, and one which just does not boast the family name. Technical/progressive elements have been scattered throughout the majority of the scene forcing them to slowly bend their knee to it, omitting the rigorous and sordid sound of the 80’s and early 90’s, and even when a band can join gritty guitar tones with propulsive, interactive textures, the execution is not done properly for the most part, and the experiment finalizes itself miserably once again. The number of thrash bands who take their job seriously have also diminished rapidly over the years, and so, many of the acts sew old school traits together are obsessed with beer and party, resulting in yet another fail. Xpulsion, however, sound surprisingly solid and crunchy for one that looks exactly like its peers, but looking down, with only a few minor tweaks and adjustments, the frantic spectrum of riffs expand into a much more versatile and savage nature,  disentangling itself from the cheesy roots it was once plagued with.

Honestly, it’s not an arduous job to carve out these riffs, because they lack for originality and the song writing process obviously did not take too long, but there’s a really propulsive spray of callous riffs, sharp and fresh, so you really can’t go wrong with these four songs. Influences are blatant as well, as the band hints the massive Exodus and Slayer influences quite frequently, but while you indulge yourself into the record, you’ll also notice a nice speed/thrash touch, forcing the album to sometimes take angular, sharp turns and twists. The four songs are packed with such massive and piercing riffs, but what surprised me is that the songs rang at over five minutes each, with two of them pending at eight minutes. This demo is fresh and dynamic, constant and shattering, and it sticks to the ‘’old school’’ sound of thrash (which is a notion I find queer), and while it’s devoid of the technical prowess that it requires to reach another level, it’ll punch through your skull with ease.

Highlights:

Anaconda Plan

Welcome To Yourself

Rating: 82,5%

Metal Minis #2 - Doombringer - Wormridden

Doombringer – Sevenfold Pestilence [Ep]

Polish death metal vandals Doombringer are new to me. They’ve had a couple of demos before exhaling this, their two track debut EP; an engrossing splatter of well balanced and chugging death metal with a nice, witty black metal overtone engulfing it. Unlike some other black/death bands I’ve encountered in previous years (Antediluvian, Impetuous Ritual, Muknal, Portal, etc), they don’t really bore and drill into your brain deep enough to leave a permanent mark, meaning they exclude ethereal, cathartic expressions of black metal, and formulate a rather simpler, more direct style of crunchy death metal, with a sprinkling of black metal to add a bit of a spice to the aura, as I stated. Nonetheless, the music is still not something to be interfered, for its wroth and wrath is deadly and cunning once released. The sound is really not arduous or complex, but I still can’t relate it to a singular sound. Few segments remind me of classic Incantation tremolos that even fall into early Morbid Angel territory at times, while some sections are doused with a pungent, chaotic black/death stench, like a reminiscent of Blasphemy or Gospel Of The Horns, but again, not relation is fully accurate. All I can really say is that sound is buttery and dark, old school and cryptic, and many death and war metal fans will fall for this. No doubt.

Wormridden – Infesting The Graves [Demo]

I came across with some very efficient death/doom acts this year like Undergang, Witchrist (even though it’s not purely death/doom) or Macabra, and even a few other like Funebrarum which left their mark in the previous years, and although Japan’s Wormridden display only eleven minutes of their work on their debut demo, the music I heard was sufficient enough to convince me. You can call it a crusty Autopsy, a second Rottrevore or and even filthier version of Incantation; you can call it many things, but the one thing that you can be certain of is that Wormridden produce an ultra heavy slab of festering, cauterizing death/doom, still reeking of filth and abominable 90’s death metal. The sheer level of putrefaction on this two track demo is enough carve you anew nose hole, and the whole of the riffs are so dipped and drenched in murky grittiness and fermenting grossness, that you’d probably be overwhelmed by its heft only. The demo has wide arsenal of crushing, monolithic riffs, and you’ve got the tempo variation set as well. First you’re dealing with gigantic doom metal stomps, while all of a sudden, a rambunctious outburst of buzzy tremolos split your torso wide open, and then the riffs make final, excruciating descent into a mid paced riff, slithering and spreading vile stench all around. This demo is top notch, even though it only lasts for near ten minutes, but I’ll guarantee fans of Winter, Disembowelment, Salem, Asphyx, Autopsy, Rottrevore and Purtenance a totally crushing and enjoyable listen.

Doombringer: 8/10

Wormridden: 8.50/10

Witch In her Tomb - Witch In her Tomb DEMO

Emerging from an obscure covenant in Illinois, Witch In Her Tomb, a collection of barren aesthetics, exposed by the blighted hollowness of its own muffled surrounding, come to blast me away with a furious stream of teeth-gritting punk oriented black metal. Many, and I mean many, are probably not aware of the existence of the shadowed US black metal act, and few is known about them, as this demo stands as their sole release, and a murky piece of abrasive black metal, ranging at no more than fifteen minutes, unfortunately. Maybe if you're well acquainted with Burzum, Mayhem or the likes, you might not be offered anything new here, and that's pretty much the point since ''Witch In Her Tomb'' does not focus on the originality sector of the music, but this bleak expression of caustic atmosphere and the numerous strata that make up the cantankerous anatomy and structure of this demo will surely allure many a black metal fan.

My short description above gives you a vague image of what you're to hear, but I'm still going to try and extend my definition with some more detail. The strident strength and heft of the music is quite unusual for any black metal aspect, but that's what you have here in this demo. A thumping, crunchy tone with corrosive acid sprayed all over it, and I can't even describe how shattering the riffs feel at times, jolting with a gritty punk attitude, and at the same time, the rattling crashes of the simple are only bonuses for this experience. I actually felt that Witch weren't highlighting the atmospheric aspects of their music, which is a bit of an odd situation since that's what presented to you generally as an imperative of the music in black metal, but here's aggression is maintained throughout and the attained tone is enough to erode all the flesh you have, like frantic chainsaw, slowly gnawing against your skin. The band's capabilities in producing and writing explosive, yet complex material is evident by every element it possesses, but I think the real feeling of satisfaction comes when you notice that blurred tone doesn't outshine the artistic proficiency.

I really can't explain how much I enjoyed this, even though it's still not going to effect established thought of the ''Witch In Her Tomb'' demo. It's not anything only a virtuoso could pull, I'll guarantee you that, but that scarce seems to matter once you've found the perfect overtone that sets itself simple, and brain teasingly intriguing, and the arrival of this demo gets my hopes up for many, many other black metal releases that I've shunned and shadowed in the past. No, every aspect is not perfect, but every aspect is as solid and sturdy as the other once you're lost in this gritty vortex, there's really no getting out easily. It's copious guitar tone is still shredding my body and dicing away my intestines as we speak, and the sheer accessibility of ''Witch In her Tomb'' enables itself to surpass a great number of other is quality. Fleshy, fleshy black. A grinding treat indeed.

Highlights:
III
I
IV


Rating: 85,5

Hellige - Demo

There are just so many demos popping out that I just can't keep up with their speed, and even though most of these demos are mostly pretty mediocre, and stand as just terribly standard, there are a few finds that you'll discover that will cheer you up and give you strength to continue your conquest. Hellige's so called ''DEMO'' is to be taken seriously and with great precaution, for the monstrosities that this demo possesses can be eternally numbing. Among tens and thousands of mediocre thrash and death metal demos I finally come across this mega demo, an oppressive monolith of haunting decrepitude, a cavernous monolith that represents all things abhorrent and all things depressive, sending tremulous waves of shattering evil and oppression through its spiral vortex of subterranean power. No, this is not a death metal demo. Nor is it a thrash metal demo, or black metal demo. What Hellige created on their misery laden effort is something that you just do not come across easily, and the execution is stunning, shunning all others who have tried yet failed miserably at this task.

Hellige combine black and doom metal, the most extreme genres of extreme metal in my opinion, and it holds such strength and such insanity within itself that it's an absolutely troubling task for me to explain with words, let alone explain it by writing. This is transcendental black/doom. Hellige have perfectly bestirred the darkest, most abysmal aspects of both genres and they have eagerly pursued the music until it reached its uttermost peak in evil, oppression and heft. This demo's burden consists of two essences for the main part; the atmospheric, haunting feel of black metal, a looming lament of despair, obviously borrowed by acts like Darkthrone, or Burzum and even recent groups like Vattnet Viskar or Obolus, and the crushing, most depressing force of doom metal soaked in a deep, dense liquid that intensifies everything that is possesses. I've heard a very similar drowning aspect on Helvetron's latest album, and the mighty obelisk ''Netherwards'', produced by the death/doom act Anhedonist, but even if we consider these mutants were both excellent in every way possible, the eternal, fathomless crater opened by Hellige manage to surpass these records.

And just like the records I mentioned previously, Hellige drown the listener within a chaotic hole, while sludgy black metal chords slowly inundate, then grind and gnaw. The expression on your face after you experience this album is priceless, and I doubt face expressions will be the only thing that will change after you hear the demo. Demo. What an unnecessary way to call this an album, while it obviously is, consisting of  forty minutes of sheer brain crushing black metal devastation, with a fine yet murky production quality engulfing it. The guitar tone is as twisted and cavernous as it can get, incredibly hefty and blunted, and the vocals are similar to what you would hear on a typical black metal record, eerie rasps that echo and then slowly become one with the hollow monolith. Thus with that eerie, raw touch they have, their importance in the demo's efficiency is no doubt crucial.

Just cause I dubbed this as black/doom doesn't mean that its exactly the mixture of traditional doom and black metal. The doom influence is a drowning mixture that you scarcely hear on traditional doom albums, and perhaps a bit like the hefty impacts on Paul Bearer's most recent album, and the black metal sound is swarming array of splintering arrows, callous and diverse. I also mean to brag about the excellent usage of clean guitars swaggering drowsily upon the distorted black metal chord sequences as their execution is perfect an they're used in pretty much all the riffs, drowning slowly into the dense mixture, much like the vocals. ''The Rotten Waste'' has to be my personal favorite among the other three tracks that encircle it. It's beginning is not dissimilar to the other tracks, but the vocals have interesting guttural death metal twist to them that garnishes the riffs, and towards the ending sequences thousands of power laden riffs start ignite around the inundating riffs and slowly take over the song--until a blood chilling acoustic interlude enters the cavernous aura, only to be ceased by the atmospheric assault of the black metal tremolo pickings and planting an entirely different mood into the music within mere seconds. The last two tracks lean more towards the doomier side of things, disposing of the rare increase in speed that was present in the first two tracks.

I'll follow any band which follows pieces that Hellige carves out, and I'l follow them to the death. This tops everything that has been released so far and crushes so much more, opening new gateways to metal and also showing that small things can achieve huge things. Although I loved this four track masterpiece, I must admit that I won't be listening to frequently. This a drowning vortex that can suck me whole before it's even concluded, and even if I had the strength to bear the its crushing calamity for a few spins, I'll suffer terribly afterwards. Therefore, I offer this to people who have built up their stamina for such cavernous releases, inhuman releases almost as they swallow what is in front of them whole with no hesitation and this will be ranked as both the most tormenting and the most sorrowful release of the year. This mournful manifestation of heft and darkness is not to be missed, for the ones who can bear it, of course.

Highlights:
Degraded To Mortals
Rotten Waste
Obnubilum


Rating: 95%


Free download of the demo: http://helligearg.bandcamp.com/

Exorcised - Reflections Of Horror DEMO

Although I can't seem to dislike any of the new bands which carry out the essence of death and thrash metal in of 80's and 90's, there are just scores and scores of bands, that you just loose count and lose your self in an infinite vortex of filthy, grinding metal. Many bands achieve queer sounds by flourishing the already present sound, thus resulting in a sort of peculiar aroma of death metal, something which can grab hold of a good number of listeners from the start, whilst numerous bands fail to add a sturdy spice to their music, managing to sound very simple and basic, nonetheless still very efficient. Exorcised are quite a young band, and judging by their simplistic approach to death metal with typical tremolo progressions, hefty mammoth riffs and relatively basic song architecture, we could really dub them as basic old school death metal, like Ominous Crucifix, only a little more evil and with a larger hint of thrash metal. I already heard the same ''Da Da Da Dum, Da Da Da Dem'' style chugging riffs millions of times, and since the originality department is incredibly futile and decrepit I'll take ''Being Creative'' with a grain of salt.

Even though the music is pretty simple, Exorcised manage to consume bits and pieces of the listener along the way by varying slightly at certain points, and swiftly channeling between different kinds of riffs to capture some attention. And they do. Due to the demos short longevity, Exorcised manage to successfully spurt out some catchy riffs and keep the level of dynamics at a steady course by continuously harassing the listener with the vicious spikes that spawn from the riffs. A diverse tactic, though let me inform you that this strategy is nothing completely new and will start to loose efficiency along the way for veteran listeners. People who have rarely tasted such disgusting, abominating metal can have the sublime joy of diving in this ocean of filthy death metal. Since the demo's short, many people would probably find it easy to enjoy the simplistic chugs and distorted tremolo pickings, but I'm alert that unless Exorcised step up their game in near time, a full-length album may not interest larger audiences, but so long as they keep the spike sharp and polished, and as long as it can grind flesh and tear down internal organs, these guys have it covered.

Swift and agile movements can guide the listener with ease, and even death/doom sequences that can be found on the title track have a pleasuring groove and flashiness to them. ''Oppressed By Unreal'' is rather long and a little depressing, and the gateway of boredom in never too far, but some top notch drumming, another robust aspect of the music, even mid paced stompers can carve fairly large holes into a listeners skull. Exorcised have even constructed robust yet vivacious bridges between those doomier riffs and faster riffs, and I have to say they've done a good job on that part as the tempo change doesn't rapidly evolve, and nor does it escalate in the speed of a turtle, something in between. Despite my adoration for all of those bands who conjure a vile sound with ease, the ''Reflections Of Horror'' demo did have some flaws and for the most part, there was no stimulating innovation to boast the quality of the album, and more elaborate song structures would also never hurt, with tiny decorations encircling the music. A pretty good start for a young band, but let's just hope that the bacteria infested tooth doesn't decay.

Highlights:
Pestilent Curse
Unholy Awakening


Rating: 76,5%


More Exorcised on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ExorcisedOfficial

Morbidity-Pits Of Eternal Torment DEMO

Death metal is spawning from every single hole, every crypt it can find and fit in, and finding some old school death from Bangladesh was no huge surprise to me. Singer Defiler of Morbidity contacted me and I received this monster of a demo, totally by luck. What I love about certain new death metal bands is that they keep the main essence of old school purity in themselves and project that unto the listener in the most ghastly, most horrifying way, and Morbidity is no exception in this concept. Just take a look at the cover art. It's raw, it's grim, it's morbid - it's what old school is all about. What's more that while scores of bands worship either Autopsy/Incantation, and many others emit that groovy thrashiness of Swedish death metal, Morbidity sink even lower than these bands, exhaling some utterly grotesque, indecipherable death metal that may bring acts like Nunslaughter or early Morbid Angel to mind.

As I said, the cover reflects what the album is in the most vivid way, a morbid death metal ghoul with shackles strapped to its arms, screaming, suffering, urging to devour and contaminate. Unless your ears are well hardened for this sort of distorted production quality, I advise you listen to something rather raw before you listen to this, as every aspect of ''Pits Of Eternal Torment'' is raw and unpolished, the way it ought to be.  The riffs are thunderous and even groovy for some reason, and the the rapid current of vicious death metal never culminates, thus attaining great speed and velocity and at all times. The introduction track ''Morbidity'' kick the album off in a fast, thunderous and vicious manner, and thus the main material and essence of the demo is born right from the start. Although Morbidity is not primarily influenced by Swedish death metal, there is very thick and noticeable odor in the air that undeniably reeks of old school Swedish death metal. The deliverance of the riffs are also super sharp despite the muffled, distorting production quality engulfing it, there is a totally sinister, brooding atmosphere encircling the riffs that work they way through the thickest, most inundating sections of the atmosphere by cutting through it. The only complaint I can think of is that the demo is far too short to enjoy to the fullest, and the hopefully the arrival of a debut album.

Being so sharp and agile has scarcely sounded so downright evil and chaotic, and the modern old school Swedeath monsters Tribulation instantly come to mind, only they had a better production and thrashier riffs. The main basis of that evil sound that I praise so much comes from the chaotic riffing, the mangled production and the cavernous growls of the vocals, all three elements that are actually quite simple, but sound ultimately callous and evil once they collide and Morbidity even put a Nunslaughter cover song to indicate that they were influenced by such acts. Creative riffs with a substantial amount of groove, the sheer grisliness of the music which make your blood curdle and an excellent, sturdy delivery showing the band thrives in the art that they produce, the art of archaic death metal, lost and buried within centuries of mainstream insults and mockeries, yet know the night has returned and the caskets have cracked. The grave is readying itself, readying armies of monstrous ghouls and macabre entities that will soon awaken from their dreams and rise from their cemetery to besiege Earth and all things good and positive. Morbidity will most definitely take part in this most gruesome incursion, and lead the assault from the front line. Well done gentlemen, well done.

Highlights:
Let There Be Chaos
Morbidity
Pits Of Eternal Torment


Rating: 85%


More morbid death metal on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Morbidity/133630130030339

Sewercide-Severe Trauma DEMO

Just when I was talking about the new thrash scene, more bands spawn from hideous sewers, and bring forth highly praised influences, from the most devastating acts of thrash metal. Australia, who never ceases to deliver mighty fine black and death metal, offer me Sewercide this time, a fairly new band, perfecting the disastrous formula of Demolition Hammer and alike. Sewercide's influences are blatantly obvious and there's nothing new brought to the table, but just the sheer level of energy and crushing riffs are enough to persuade to review this two-track demo.

Sewercide basically sound like a slightly lighter version of ''Epidemic Of Violence'' circa Demolition Hammer. All their aspects and influences sum up to a gigantic death/thrash attack, a relentless butcher, fueled by an unending fire, ignited by the relentless assault of the storming, grooving drums. To be completely honest, Sewercide can't be really dubbed as death/thrash, because there's really no death metal influence existent here, just plain, stomping thrash. Although I'm never displeased with standard thrash aesthetics, I can't deny that Sewercide has borrowed a little too much from D-Hammer, and unless you're totally new to the band or other typical aggressive thrash outfits, I can't really say that this demo will provide much contrast for you, and instead you'll only have the momentary joy of re-listening to the thrash bands that dominated the metal underground during the early 90's and late 80's. There's little diversity and technical prowess, but other than that, I doubt that any thrasher won't like this slab of old school thrash atrocity.

Since there are just two tracks on this demo, don't completely rely on my verdict, because on the next release Sewercide may come stronger, and more inundating. ''Pyrocataclysm'' is one that totally decimates as it could have easily been an extra track on D-Hammer's tormenting debut masterpiece. Everything is firmly placed on this demo, yet it's certainly not an upheaval of creativity. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those nerds who only listen to music that constantly strays from the path, but I just want Sewercide to take that huge infleunce, twist and turn it into their own thing without turning the formula into utter garbage, and then display it with all they've got, and hopefully on the next release, something like will occur.

Highlight:
Pyrocataclysm


Rating: 83,5%


Free download of Sewercide's demo: http://sewercide.bandcamp.com/album/severe-trauma