Master Fury - Circles of Hell [Compilation] (2013, Contaminated Tones Productions)

When you say thrash metal most people think 1980's USA. There are the essential giants like Slayer, Overkill, Testament and Metallica, and the hidden and forgotten gems like Holocross, Heretic and Powerlord. Formed in 1986 they only ever released 2 albums, the rough Hell Party album from 1988 and the barbarous Circles of Hate album from 1989. They went on hold for an unknown number of years and then had a brief reunion in 2010, but it wasn't before 2013 we would see another Master Fury release, the two albums compiled on Circles of Hell by Contaminated Tones Productions.

Master Fury has a very abrasive sound. Their approach to thrash metal is on the chaotic side of things and more focussed on speed and coarseness than anything else, making them probably one of the fastest bands at the time. Through the metallic din of Master Fury's aggressive guitars the amazingly precise riffs shine. Where Hell Party thrives on a coarse, simplistic thrash recipe building up to and colliding in the final mosh-inducing track "Riot" the second half of the compilation, the Circles of Hate album, takes a more technical and commonplace approach to the genre. The early material is distinguished by the near constant speed with which it is furiously provided. On Circles of Hate Master Fury were progressing as songwriters and were more comfortable with slowing down once in a while in order to build up momentum for a particularly epic solo or building atmosphere.

The band seems to have always favoured a trio-lineup consisting of the guitars and vocals of Digg Rouze and various bassists and drummers. As mentioned above Master Fury evolved as a band even if their was only 1 year between the 25-minute Hell Party and the slightly longer Circles of Hate. On tracks like Corporate War and Life's a Bitch they give way for their crossover tendencies fuelled by ferocious d-beats and gang-shouts, a style that wasn't at all present of Hell Party. I could imagine a song like Road Hog off of Hell Party being an early example of the Motörhead/Venom-inspired punky speed metal that has recently made a comeback, and there are more examples of songs that fit the bill as really good metal songs, but with the production being so muddy and deranged it's hard to make out anything other than a few riffs here and there, making the tracks hard to tell apart.

Master Fury already perfectly sum up their material with their name. Furious, fast as fuck thrash. The extremity of the albums put Master Fury somewhere in the grey area between thrash and death metal that had a couple of years prior been completely dominated by bands like Death and Possessed. Master Fury may not be the authors of the most original or memorable kind of thrash metal, but if you feel like getting your skull pounded by uncompromising riffs, powerful drumming and screaming vocals The Circles of Hell compilation is as good a way get your needs fulfilled as any. The combination of the two tracks celebrate an above-average band, though their material never quite achieves true classic or gem status. 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Hell Party
2. Crash
3. Are All Men Blind
4. Time is Right
5. Semper Furious
6. Flat Against the Wall
7. Road Hog
8. Riot
9. Die In Your Sleep
10. Lies
11. Circus of Hate
12. Son of Man
13. Corporate War
14. The Way
15. Life's a Bitch
16. V.O.H.

Track 1-8: Hell Party
Track 9-16: Circles of Hate

MASTER FURY on MySpace
Contaminated Tones Productions official site

Anatomia - Dead Bodies in the Morgue [Compilation] (2013, Memento Mori)

Anatomia. The very name reeks of death and gore. To connoisseurs of Japanese metal and death/doom Anatomia should be synonymous to great metal. Though not as widely known as Coffins they have for over 10 years now - since 2002 - produced some of the heaviest, most filthy death/doom in the world with a couple of albums and quite a few splits, demos and EPs under their belt.

For those too late to pick up their demos or those just hungry for more gut-wrenchingly sick death metal in the most gory doom-laden way, Anatomia's two demos - Demo 2003 and Human Lust from 2009 - as well as a few songs from various splits and a few live tracks are collected on the 2013 compilation "Dead Bodies in the Morgue".

The music on Dead Bodies in the Morgue are every bit as brutal as other well known bands like Autopsy, Asphyx, Undergang, Coffins and early Carcass. It's churning, heavy death metal with the gory aesthetics of Carcass' Reek of Putrefaction and the putrid, crawling atmosphere of doom metal. If you can't tell, I'm loving every second. The songs picked are probably more aimed at collectors rather than people wanting to get to know the band, and in that way the tracks might scare some people off. They are mostly pretty low quality, and while some dislike this element I think it only adds to the gruesome putresence of the music.

Knowing the band's other material I can't help but feel that this compilation doesn't really do them justice, but then again Dead Bodies in the Morgue isn't a greatest hits kind of deal, but rather a collection of rare tracks for gorehounds already familiar with Anatomia or the Japanese death/doom scene. Also given the nature of the release there are huge gaps in recording quality between some of the songs, but it all fits together to form a picture of the band. 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Morgue of Cannibalism
2. Funeral Feast
3. Drowned in Sewage
4. Suicides
5. Dead Body Art
6. Human Lust
7. Dying Agony
8. Carnal Mutilation
9. Severed Infant Waste
10. No Way to Live
11. Oozing Child
12. Charred Remains
13. Fiend for Blood

ANATOMIA official Facebook
Memento Mori official website

100th Review Anniversary

Not long ago I wrote my 100th review here on the blog. It's been in the works for about a month and a half and I've hinted a bit at it on certain forums, but here it finally is. I wanted to commemorate my 100th review with a compilation showcasing some of the songs that made the biggest impression on me, be it because it's seriously rocking or because it's just catchy as hell. The 20 songs I chose are featured on this compilation, complete with front- and backcover and booklet.

All the tracks featured have been approved for the compilation by the band or the label in writing.
Thanks to all who helped realize this free release, and feel free to spread it around as much as you'd like. That's the whole idea after all.

The link can also be found in the Downloads section.

Download it HERE




Probably won't fit on one CD though

The tracklist is as follows:

1. Desiderium - Desolation / Forest of Forgotten Memories 

2. Agga - Neo Sumerian

3. Escarnium - Rex Verminorum

4. Dissolution - Thrash Hammer

5. Encephalopathy - Cut Her Lips Off

6. Endometritis - Ulcus Durum

7. Sphere - Forever Sworn to Blasphemy

8. Stillborn - Overture .966 / Hymn of Destruction

9. Outliar - Another Surrender

10. Inferius Torment - Agnus Dei

11. Deus Otiosus - Pest Grave

12. Legionary - Embracing Trauma

13. Fabricant - Legacy of Thine Delirium

14. Defilementory - Infatuation with Deformity

15. Sewercide - Seismic Annihilation

16. Darkend - Spiritism: The Transmigration Passage

17. Nordland - Thule

18. Malichor - Demonic Power to Infinity

19. Skinfather - Succession

20. Arescet - The Crackling of Embers

Diseased Oblivion - Portals of Past and Present [Compilation] (2012, Contaminated Tones Productions)

From the dismal darkness of some obscure, long forgotten chasm in the depths of the earth came Diseased Oblivion in 2009. With them the duo brought ominous duo brought several incantations of enigmatic, arcane droning metal in the forms of black- and funeral doom metal. The sixth incarnation of Diseased Oblivion's music is found on the 4-track demo from 2012 entitled "Portals of Past and Present", which features songs from the very initiation of Diseased Oblivion in 2009 to some of their newer material from 2011.

The four tracks on Portals of Past and Present feature everything you could expect from a band of this type: Winter-like funeral soundscapes, eerie black abysses and abstruse ambience from the vastness of space. By pairing highly distorted guitars with profoundly cryptic noises the band achieve the bizarre atmospheres that their songtitles such as "Ghosts of Nuclear Winter" and "Blackhole Funeral III" paved the way for in the mind of listeners, and  throughout the retrospective experience of Portals of Past and Present does indeed see an interesting evolution in the band's sound.
As we progress back in time through the increasingly eerie, murky waters that are the sounds of Diseased Oblivion, the imposing blackened doom tracks grow ever more filthy, tenebrous and oddly threatening from the newest track "Unquenchable Hurt" through Blackhole Funeral III and Ghosts of Nuclear Winter and ultimately coming to a grinding, funeral-like halt with the death/doom-ish Reclusa Eternus, which is also the oldest song on the demo.

I recon that Diseased Oblivion are succesful in creating effectively mind-invading black-laden doom metal. The demo gives a fulfilling look into the still short career of the american duo and their compelling but very traditional take on the genre, but through competent songwriting (if their is such a thing in funeral doom metal) they manage to keep their music, all 3 years of it, convincingly decent to make it worth listening to. 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Unquenchable Hurt
2. Blackhole Funeral III
3. Ghosts of Nuclear Winter
4. Reclusa Eternus

DISEASED OBLIVION official facebook
CONTAMINATED TONES official site

Deviator - Way of Warriors: Hymn to Immortals [Compilation] (2011, Glorious North Productions)

Most depressive or ambient black metal bands have very little going on structure-wise. Simplistic guitars and repetitive drumming is abundant in the genre aswell as lengthy tracks, mostly with few layers of instrumentation. Ukranian black metalist Lord Hastner of "DEVIATOR" is among these traditionalists, though to say this band is a deviation would be an overstatement.

I've been rather harsh on this summary of Deviator's rather short carreer, and it's always very difficult to grade a compilation like this, especially when it's from an unknown band like this Ukranian project. One thing is certain though: Way of Warriors gives a fair and satisfactory look into the pretty extensive and gloomy back catalogue of Lord Hastner's band. It's always enjoyable to hear how a band evolves and how musicians go from playing one style to another.

Deviator started out playing ambient black metal with a twist of depressive black and ended up playing a more death-like style of black metal. Seeing the transcendence between genres and styles is fun, and in all the periods of Deviator it seems there are both good and less enjoyable tracks. One thing I found out while listening to Way of Warriors is this: Deviator, like so much metal, must be enjoyed loud. You'll get the best sound and be able to hear the best details if you turn up those speakers.

Production-wise the material's great. It gives a great sense of atmosphere and emotion while still maintaining the raw sound of black metal. But regarding the recordings themselves I am completely baffled by what sounds like off rhythms. In a few select tracks it sounds like the guitar is playing a LOT slower than the drums, as if the guitars were recorded without a click-, ghost- or drumtrack. This botches up the rhythm and flow of the entire song and I find it really difficult to enjoy a track like this.
Overall Way of Warriors - Hymn to Immortals is a fair overview of Deviator's discography, portraying both the good and the bad elements. It's (almost) always nice to see and hear a band evolve and take in new elements and styles. 6/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Old Melancholy
2. Forgotten Hope
3. The Last Day of Mankind
4. Mighty Black Inner Flame
5. Mesmerized by Blood
6. Raw Symphony of Sorrow
7. Undying Darkness
8. To Forgotten Path - Triumph of the Will
9. Thy Blood in my Veins
10. Black Sorrow
11. Funeral Future Bells
12. Primordial Darkness pt. 1
13. Primordial Darkness pt. 2
14. Way of Warriors - Hymn to Immortals

DEVIATOR official site
Glorious North Productions official site