Fabricant - 2010 Demo [Demo] (2010, Self-released)

You know when you just get a certain feeling from a band or a particular album? That's what happened when I put on Fabricant for the first time. I was at once rushed by visions of dystopic industrial landscapes, Gigeresque biomechanics, Lovecraftian themes and suggested topics of borderlining mental illness. Fabricant seems like a band sick of the typical death metal that relies so heavily on brutality, offensive lyrics and disgusting imagery. The very name "Fabricant" fits their concept of almost mystical, atmospheric technical death metal.

Let's get down to basics. Fabricant's demo CD from 2010 consists of 4 songs, the first of which "Prelude to Aberration" serves as a rather well fitting mood-setting intro. Right from the demented voices of the intro and the toning in of Legacy of Thine Delirium the listener is sent on a journey through industrial soundscapes that reminded me of early Morbid Angel, Nocturnus, early Decrepit Birth and Timeghoul, Gorguts and Demilich in their general disposition, but ultimately Fabricant has been succesful in creating their own unique sound. The roughly 14 minutes of the demo provide diverse experiences as heavy as cyclopean and ancient pistons of forgotten industrial complexes with a fitting dose of dementia.

According to the band's biography Fabricant actually started out as a small project to learn recording technique, and from what I'm hearing right now the involved parties are very able in producing the perfect sound required to complete the atmosphere that dominates the American band's demo. Everything from the eerie, exentric piano part in Staring at the Imprisoned and the weird, outré guitar pieces in Legacy of Thine Delirium and Sojourn just reeks of cosmic annihilation without relying on pinball machine sounds or in-your-face high speed tabbing.

In reference to my previous comparison between Fabricant and the Swedish death metal band Timeghoul I think Fabricant's demo is the kind of material that you will see re-issued on a large label in 15-20 years time. The absolutely otherworldly composition and songwriting of this demo means I'll have to give a 9/10. Truly memorable and astonishing.

Tracklist:
1. Prelude to Aberration
2. Legacy of Thine Delirium
3. Sojourn
4. Staring at the Imprisoned

FABRICANT official facebook

Listen for yourself

Deus Otiosus - Murderer [Full length] (2010, FDA Rekotz)

Death metal is by far one of the most popular metal genres in Denmark. The legends of the scene like Iniquity, Illdisposed, Dominus, Konkhra, Exmortem, Panzerchrist and Corpus Mortale were in more recent years followed up by equally prolific bands such as Hatesphere, Dawn of Demise and Thorium, and bands like Cerekloth and Undergang have given old school death metal a resurgeance in recent times.

Playing that very style we have another Danish band, which is more or less an allstar lineup. Featuring members from Church Bizarre, Cerekloth, Victimizer and Hideous Invasion the band DEUS OTIOSUS is by no means comprised of newbies, and their heritage from the other bands really shines through on this 2010 debut album. The album "Murderer" is an 8-song showcase of how you write fucking awesome old school death metal without shitty production.

There are catchy riffs aplenty when the primal roar of the first track sets the tone. Immediately Deus Otiosus make it clear what they're about: Death metal like our moms used to make it (well, not really, but you catch my drift) with a twist of thrash and a production that makes the music heavy as fuck but still has plenty of room for crystal clear sound. Only rarely have I heard a debut album with as good a flow as Deus Otiosus' Murderer. I admit it took me more than one listening to get into the album, but when I took the time to really listen I was rewarded with a beyond satisfying listening experience.

Production-wise every is as it should be. Audible and perfectly balanced, the vocals neatly binding it all together in a writhing mass of noxious death. Normally I would say 8 songs is a bit short for a death metal album, but the length of the tracks fully justify the small number of songs as most clock in at more than 5 minutes.
Despite all my praise, there is one thing Murderer lacks. I said there are plenty of catchy riffs, and I stand by that statement, but ultimately the album isn't as memorable as some of the albums that Deus Otiosus have likely listened to. But Murderer is an album that is so masterfully put together, so solid and so deserving of appraisal that I'm forced to give it an 8/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. I Have Seen Him Slay
2. Thousand Arms of the Dead
3. Wall of Violence
4. Ye Pigs of Little Faith
5. Whore Limbs
6. No Life
7. Ash World
8. Murderer

DEUS OTIOSUS official site
FDA Rekotz official site

Empatic - Gods of Thousand Souls [Full length] (2010, Wydawnictwo Muzyczne Psycho)

Thrashy semi-melodic death metal is more or less the national metal genre of my home country Denmark, so listening to the Polish band Empatic's newest album, 2010's Gods of Thousand Souls, was almost like listening to bands from home like Hatesphere or Aphyxion.

Like mentioned above, Empatic plays some nice and heavy thrashy half-melodic death metal with a good sense of pace and structure. The 10 original tracks of the album feature some pretty snazzy chunks of metal that beg to be headbanged to. But what the Polish band have in talent for flow they lack in hooks and memorable riffs. Though they are obviously talented musicians I'm missing something truely memorable about the music. The songs simply blend in too much with each other, making the album a bit repetitive because it's hard to distinguish the tracks from each other.

That said their Randy Blythe-esque vocalist goes great with their more ruthless riffs and the tight-as-fuck drums. Songs like False Friend or The Game start out really heavy but then mellow out during the middle until they climax in the end. After a few listens I get the feeling that Empatic has only two settings: Crushingly heavy and melodic flowy stuff, mostly because all their songs have these two modes incorporated in some way. Though this tendency isn't very noticable or prominent, it's still enough so that it can halt an otherwise great pace.

In general I'd say that Gods of Thousand Souls is an honest, down to earth piece of death metal with varying musical tendencies. It's not something blindingly special, and Empatic don't seem like they're trying to create something new and exciting, but they've succeeded in compiling a solid set of songs for metalheads to enjoy. Apart from the hideously out-of-place cover song in the end of the album, Gods of Thousand Souls is pretty good work. 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Green Mile
2. G.O.T.S.
3. False Friend
4. The Game
5. Tomorrowland
6. VS
7. So What
8. Dreamer
9. Fulfilled Dreams
10. Empatic
11. Enola Gay (OMD Cover)

EMPATIC official site
Wydawnictwo Muzyczne Psycho official site

Vielikan - A Trapped Way for Wisdom [Full length] (2010, Self-released)

Progressive death metal is a rare sight compared to technical death metal. Some would say that all technical death metal is progressive or vise versa, but I disagree.
Many bands sacrifice accessibility for progressiveness and as such become rather esoterical. But with the Tunisian death metal band Vielikan this is not the case. Their personal style of metal is enjoyable to fans of regular death metal and progressive metal alike.

Comprised of seven otherworldly tracks of alien horror "A Trapped Way for Wisdom" is a collection of Nocturnus-esque death metal with lots of progressive undertones aswell as showcasing great skill in both songwriting and sense of pace. The talented growls of the vocalist leads me to think of such singers as Mikael Åkerfeldt in his hayday and the other Swedish growler Peter Tägtgren.
As I mentioned earlier I don't think progressiveness and musical technicality needs to go hand in hand, and Vielikan perfectly demonstrates that progressive death metal doesn't need to have billion notes per minute or run in speeds of 230 BPMs. The album has everything you could ever want from a death metal album, maybe except for blistering speeds. They've got malevolent aggressiveness, eerie chilled out slow parts and ominous atmospheres all around.

The third song, Zero Affection, to me is the absolute climax of the album. Some might say it's an early climax, but it works great as a mindsetter for what's to come. The mighty ascending roar around 2 minutes into the 7 minute song is plain genius. As far as album art goes the cover sets the mindset of how the music sounds: Eerily dark, spacey and esoteric. Vielikan are obvious masters of lengthy songwriting leaving almost nothing to be wanted. During the time where I listened intensely to the album I never got bored. After having listened to the album a few times it really grew on me, especially as I started noticing the bass that always seemed to linger in the background, adding to the sense of dread and intensity.
Listen to this if you're into Bloodbath, Nocturnus, Augury, Obscura or Gorguts. Give it a few listens and you will not be disappointed. 9/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. The Beginning of All Remorse
2. A Shelter of Flesh in the Void
3. Zero Affection
4. Black Marsh
5. A Vertiginous Fall
6. A Trapped Way for Wisdom
7. Celestial Autumn

VIELIKAN official site

Dissolution - Plague of Violence [Full length] (2010, Self-released)

Mostly a release has to grab my attention immediately for me to stay interested. First impressions are always immensely important.
The first 5 seconds of Thrash Hammer, the first song, I was afraid Dissolution's Plague of Violence wouldn't be as evil as it looked. Immediately thereafter my face was destroyed by an explosion of thrashing riffs and completely inhuman vocals.
Other than the obvious early thrash influences Dissolution's style features some minor death and black metal tendencies. One might even say they're much like Morbid Saint or early Kreator, though their particular style isn't quite as chaotic as Kreator's earlier albums.
Often you see unknown bands having maybe only one or two selling points, such as awesome riffs but shitty everything else, but the horrendous torrents of filth-laden vocals lain by singer and bassist Brett McKersey goes great with the well-defined thrash riffing and 80's soloing of the band's two guitarists Courtney Marr and Jake Skinner aswell as drummer Mike Tobin's flood of D- and blastbeats.

Let's get one thing straight: Dissolution's first album is completely straight forward fist-to-the-face-in-a-mosh-pit thrash metal. Like a muscle car overtaking on the inside they speed their way through the rush hour of mediocrity with their blistering solos and mostly fast-paced thrash fucking metal. I could've gone without the boring acoustic piece "Evil Belle", but I will admit that it does make the insane speed and ferocity of the next song "Necrowitch" even more ripping. The New Zealandean four-man monster will tear you a new one with an unrelenting sense of pace. This review is a bit shorter than what I usually do, but when there's little to complain about it just gets that way... 9/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Thrash Hammer
2. Two Fires
3. Plague of Violence
4. Winters Dawn
5. Evil Belle
6. Necrowitch
7. Vermin Song
8. Bi Polar
9. The Purging

DISSOLUTION official facebook
Download the album "Plague of Violence" for free and experience for yourself HERE

Rise of Malice - Coronation of Liar / Rise of Malice [Demo] (2010 / 2012, Self-released / War Productions)

To me it's always interesting to see and hear the way a band progresses and evolves between releases. Some bands develop a completely new style between albums while some stay with what they know.

The Greek black metal act Rise of Malice, originally created by Satwe, Norlander and Storfeth in 2009, are now two demos into their career of blasting black metal. 2010's demo "Coronation of Liar" features 4 original songs aswell as a Darkthrone cover; The 4 tracks are a manifestation of 90's black metal worship, sounding very akin to Norwegian legends like Darkthrone, Gorgoroth and at times even Immortal. Vocals, drums and guitars all come together in a greater unity to nourish the incredibly cold atmosphere that many bands of the genre have come to embrace. The vocals are a classic display of the trademark distorted raw screams, and the guitars present wholesome tremolo-ridden riffs that are mostly very catchy aswell as giving the impression that the music is not something that the band just does as a hobby.
Rise of Malice's first demo is an overall magnificent interpretation of the classic black metal bands, and while they aren't trying to hide who they're taking inspiration from they still manage to give their own personal touch.

Narrowly avoiding the stereotypical lyrics about satan it seems Rise of Malice have gone for more interesting and esoterical themes, which is more commonly seen with depressive and often non-Scandinavian black metal bands. I've found that this tendency to abandon the now-cliché topics of satanism and anti-christianity in black metal is on the rise in more reasent years.

When Silent Echoes, the first track of the second demo, 2012's Rise of Malice, toned in on my speakers I thought for a moment that the Greek band had taken a turn toward depressive black metal like Xasthur, Wedard or Nortt. But as soon as the intro track faded into the second track, the mystically magnificent "Forest of Mist", those ideas were blasted to hell by a torrent of guitars, drums and vocals.
What hit me first thing was the more progressive riffs. With their self-titled demo Rise of Malice have developed a more destinct riff-sound aswell as moved into turf more unorthodox. The progression from Coronation of Liar to Rise of Malice, while subtle, is noticable. Their newfound more untraditional niche of black metal has also brought a rawer sound with it.
I was surprised to find that their sound has changed from their old material to the new. I already mentioned the rawer sound, but the general balance between instruments isn't quite the same anymore. The drums sound like they've been downplayed a little, though certain fills are marginally louder than the rest. The vocals also seem to have been altered and made less distorted.
The second demo offers 4 new tracks written by Rise of Malice and another cover, this time of Immortal's Withstand the Fall of Time. The 4 new tracks, while much the same as the 4 on Coronation of Liar, still show a certain amount of musical evolution within the band. It sounds more like the band has found their own sound on the self-titled demo.

Over all I guess you could say that the first demo is more catchy and easy to approach while the second is a tad bit more esoterical. If you are one of those people who think black metal can't be about great riffing, then Rise of Malice may very well be the band that changes your mind. 8/10 guitars.

Tracklist (Coronation of Liar):
1. There is no God
2. Voice of Profligate
3. Coronation of Liar
4. Chalice of Blood
5. Unholy Black Metal (Darkthrone Cover)

Tracklist (Rise of Malice):
1. Silent Echoes
2. The Forest of Mist
3. Bones to Dust
4. Bloodshed
5. Withstand the Fall of Time (Immortal Cover)

RISE OF MALICE official site
War Productions official site

Ancient Obliteration - A Menacing Reality [Full length] (2010, Self-released)

It's very VERY hard to come up with something new and to stand out in metal. Starting in the early 70's with roots as far back as mid-to-late 60's metal has been made in so many different ways with so many different elements, themes, ideas and atmospheres that to bring something new to the table is close to impossible. Since the 80's we've seen bands introducing completely foreign and weird elements to classic metal genres, like crazy instrumentation, uncanny time signatures and components that would usually be called either unfitting or down right stupid.

A band that can be said to completely disregard traditions and the conventions of metal is Ancient Obliteration. With a handful of releases under their belt the Canadian quartet have proven that alien elements in traditional death/thrash metal isn't necessarily just there to stand out. But stand out they do, and it took a few listens to the album "A Menacing Reality" to get used to the strange tendencies of their truly unearthly tunes.

Equipped with strong and interesting riffs and completely ignoring the vocal tendencies of modern bands Ancient Obliteration manage to carve a small niche for themselves in the dark depths of metal. Incorporating lots of traditional death and thrash metal constituents like thrashy bass lines and vocals that take from both death metal and crossoverish thrash the four-man band has found several elicit ways to evoke my interest with they utter weirdness.

The very heavy focus of the grittily produced album has a certain way to make the listener slighty rock one's head to the music without even noticing. While the 10-tracked album isn't exactly rich in detail it makes for interesting listening. The wholesome flow and mostly well-fitted songs makes me think of bands like Macabre, Nocturnus, Ghoul and occassionally even Gwar and if you're a fan of any of those bands you should probably give Ancient Obliteration a listen. 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Radiated Overlords
3. Look Inside Yourself
4. Seeking the Slimegod
5. Professor of Black Magic
6. Intermission
7. Giant Devilfish
8. Lust for the Curse
9. Pagan Rape
10. Hunted and Deranged in this Bleak Zone

Visit Ancient Obliteration on Facebook and Bandcamp

Aortic Regurgitation - Aortic Regurgitation [EP] (2010, Self-released)

Thrash metal is by far one of my favourite genres. Not as versatile as other genres, it originates from hardcore punk and has had a huge influence on modern metal. Among one of the more aggressive subgenres, thrash metal is also quite popular and has been so since it was pioneered by American bands like Metallica and Slayer in the early 80's.

China is not a country usually connected with metal music, let alone thrash, and indeed this is the first Chinese metal band I've ever heard. The Hong Kongese thrash band Aortic Regurgitation released their first material, the eponymous five-track EP "Aortic Regurgitation". Thrash metal, to me, needs the following ingredients to work: Fast and ripping riffs, rapid drumming, throat-tearing vocals and gritty production. This EP has all of those things. Vocals not entirely unlike those of Morbid Saint vocalist Pat Lind and a hellishly dirty sound make up for an outstanding 22 minutes of utter destructive thrash from the fiery pits of hell.

The filthy vocals of the female singer Cynthia "Syn" Yim infect the mind of the listener with absolute brain-rupturing sonic terror combined with the thrashy riffs, reminding me mostly of the beastly thrash metal of South America. The Chinese duo succeeds in producing demonic fast-paced metal with elements of both black and death metal, creating a bastard child of clear malevolence and evil.

Relentlessness, mind-terrorizing vocals and intricate riffs altogether make up for the obvious use of computer drumming, and Aortic Regurgitation - though the name sounds like death metal - delivers straight to the point filthy thrash metal from the far east. I'm looking very much forward to hearing more from this Asian duo. After listening to this manifestation of evil I'm definitely Damned to Serve. 8/10 guitars.

Tracklist:

1. Damned to Serve

2. Infestation

3. Dementia

4. Alien Worlds

5. Silent Night

Aortic Regurgitation - Aortic Regurgitation is available for free download HERE
Visit Aortic Regurgitation on Myspace

Commissioner - What is Commissioner? [EP] (2010, Self-released)

Big Chocolate, the very active brain behind Disfiguring the Goddess, former lead vocalist of Burning the Masses, Abominable Putridity, Misericordiam and Malodorous, and producer, and Mitch Lucker, lead vocalist of the deathcore titans Suicide Silence, got together in late 2009 and created Commissioner. Soon after they released their first track entitled Consume, and in 2010 they released the first EP called "What is Commissioner?"

So what exactly is Commissioner? In order to answer that question, we must examine the release closer. Their musical style has been referred to as "Deathstep", supposedly a mix of death metal and dubstep, but to me it sounds more like a unique blending of deathcore like Suicide Silence and Disfiguring the Goddess and various electronic genres, not strictly limited to dubstep, but also borrowing elements from such genres as house and electro. As an example, the second track of "What is Commissioner?", entitled Pray for the Sun, has some very distinct dark electro tendencies, while The March has more dubstep elements. The deathcore elements too are very noticable and you can easily hear the influence from Suicide Silence and Big Chocolate's work with Disfiguring the Goddess.

This five song EP delivers over 15 minutes of greatly varied electronic deathcore. The tracks are greatly different from one another, in no small part thanks to the myriad of electronic genres masterfully incorporated into the music. Though I am no fan of Big Chocolate's electronic soloproject it is obvious that he knows what he's doing. Although the guitars are rather monotonous and uncreative, the drumming and vocals easily make up for this. The ever-changing programmed drums have a high level of detail and the five tracks are riddled with nice fill ins. The compositions are diverse and varied and all songs bring something else to the table, and thusly the release is far from the same over and over again, and it seems like they've worked painstakingly to finetune all the minor details to make the EP more wholesome, creating a magnificent flow throughout the entire release.

That being said, I feel that Consume is by far the best track on there, and it seems like the duo used more time and care on that particular song than on any of the others. An expection to the otherwise great flow and detail of "What is Commissioner?" is the fifth and last track, which is a Big Chocolate remix of Consume (A Big Chocolate remix of a Big Chocolate song? Seems rather redundant). I find this last track completely unnecessary and flow-breaking. While the other tunes fit very well together, this remix is completely out of place and doesn't really live up to the high level of detail and quality of the other four tracks.

Other than that I'd say the about 20 minutes of the EP are well spent. There are close to no kinks to be worked out, and I'm looking forward to the next release of Commissioner. I only wish the coverart wasn't so damn boring.

Overall this experiment of entwined genres is well made. The production and overall sound fits Commissioner tremendously well and the EP has proven that electronica and death metal is not as irreconcilable as one would otherwise think.

Mitch Lucker and Big Chocolate's COMMISSIONER project is like a mix of Suicide Silence and a version Psyclon Nine that doesn't suck. The generally high level of quality and detail grants this release 8/10 guitars.

Tracklist:

1. Click Click Flash

2. Pray for the Sun

3. Consume

4. The March

5. Consume (Big Chocolate Remix)

COMMISSIONER official site

Krotchripper / Mass Murder Messiah - Split (2010, Sevared Records)

Krotchripper from Illinois, who formed in 2009, have already since their creation released one five-song demo and this split, both in 2010. Mass Murder Messiah from Wisconsin formed in 2007 and released one demo in 2009 and this split in 2010. Brutal death metal as a genre has had a huge surge in popularity in the last few years and has experienced much musical advancement and has changed from the lo-fi production of the 90's to a more clean sound during the 00's. Krotchripper and Mass Murder Messiah, to me, represent the epitome of modern brutal death metal.

Right from start to finish this split delivers the unrelenting blast-brutality that you have come to expect from the slamming brutal death metal bands of today. Seldom does this release ever slow down, and mostly only because of the few samples that are scattered around the tracks. Krotchripper delivers great slamming parts with groovy headbang-forcing riffs and guttural throat-shredding vocals. While the riffs are not very varied or memorable, they still fit really well into the tracks.

The eight tracks by Krotchripper all fit well together. The flow throughout Krotchripper's part is great and the only interruptions are the samples. The consistency of the songs is remarkable and most of the tracks are outright awesome, although they are not exactly memorable. The vocals and songs in general feature very little variety, and some tracks are somewhat mediocre and standardized. Structure-wise the tracks are not very different from each other.
Only the last track "Echoes of the Trollish Wake", which sort-of serves as an outro for Krotchripper's part, really stands out from the rest of the material by being more intricately composed than the rest of the tracks. There does seem to be a tendency to just do chug-a-chug riffs during parts of some of the songs, but generally the riffs are okay.

The production is fitting for the genre, but sometimes it can be a little muddy.
Overall Krotchripper's part of the split is a magnificent show of brutal force, but it features no surprises whatsoever. Krotchripper is 100 % straight forward drummachine powered slamming brutal death metal, and if that is what you're expecting, you won't be disappointed.

With gurgling guttural vocals, more intricate song structures and fast as fuck blasting drummachine, Mass Murder Messiah continue the same fast-paced brutal death metal that Krotchripper started out with. The few samples seem somewhat wellchosen and are better incorporated into the tracks than what is customary for brutal death metal bands. The modern sound is representative of the newer sound of slam and the tracks are generally well composed and have a sort of technical expression.

Compared to Krotchripper, Mass Murder Messiah's part of the split is more varied, both tempo-wise and songstructure-wise. The groovy riffs make this part very enjoyable. The last of the ten Mass Murder Messiah tracks, "Kiss the Muscle", features guest vocals from Shaun Lacanne of Putrid Pile fame and from the producer of the split, Scott Creekmore. A nice touch, but not something you would notice if you didn't know it was there.

The tracks by Mass Murder Messiah are mixed much louder than Krotchripper's and it seems a little wierd that the volume rises when Krotchripper's part is over.
The production of Mass Murder Messiah is more clean and less muddy than Krotchripper, providing a more clinically precise sound.

There's no doubt that Mass Murder Messiah deliver exactly what you would expect after having listend to Krotchripper. More of the same kind of fast and heavy brutal death metal with incredibly deep vocals. Unfortunately Mass Murder Messiah suffer from some of the same problems as Krotchripper. Many of the songs flow together and aren't very varied, but this band has more intricate compositions which make the tracks a little more interesting.

All in all it's a great split. The bands fit together perfectly, as they are very similar but without sounding the same. The tracks flow along excellently and there are no tracks that except themselves from the general brutality of this split.

The very fitting coverart of Mike Majewski from Devourment is only ruined by poor printing. The back cover looks like it was xeroxed on a 15 year old printer and the front cover just doesn't have a very high resolution.
If you are into bands like Putrid Pile and Insidious Decrepancy you will definitely love this split.
Despite the slight lack of creativity and variety, this split has so little bad about it that it deserves a staggering 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Krotchripper - Krotchripper
2. Krotchripper - Here Kum the Troll
3. Krotchripper - Putrescent Pools of Piss and Bloody Chunks
4. Krotchripper - No Escape
5. Krotchripper - Bloodbath (feat. Goremonger)
6. Krotchripper - Terrorfucked (feat. Devon)
7. Krotchripper - Rotten Meat Rottisserie
8. Krotchripper - Echoes of the Trollish Wake
9. Mass Murder Messiah - Live Human Dissection
10. Mass Murder Messiah - Parasitic Bacterial Infections of America
11. Mass Murder Messiah - Trache Fuck
12. Mass Murder Messiah - Left for Dead
13. Mass Murder Messiah - Suffering Through the Suffocation by Means of a Gore-Filled Colostomy Bag
14. Mass Murder Messiah - Frozen Torture Tomb
15. Mass Murder Messiah - Purification Through Uncreation
16. Mass Murder Messiah - W.A.M.W.
17. Mass Murder Messiah - Penance Through Dismemberment
18. Mass Murder Messiah - Kiss the Muscle

KROTCHRIPPER official site
MASS MURDER MESSIAH official site
Sevared Records official site