In Silent - Potêpienie [Full length] (2013, Self-released)

Having been formed in 1996, In Silent will soon be able to celebrate their 20th anniversary. The Polish band has 4 demos to show for it, the latest being from 2009. Most of the early members of In Silent are long gone from the lineup, with the two guitarists being the only original members, and the core of the band's sound.
The very nucleus of the death metal genre is searing guitar work, scorching vocals and ferocious drumming. In Silent's modern incarnation is ripe with the familiar sound of that classic death metal technique, giving off the feeling that they're old timers within the genre. Potêpienie exudes an atmosphere of devotely following the stipulations of death with thick production values and grooving riffs.

The heavier guitars that make up the majority of the album are at the very forefront of In Silent's behavior. The Polish band twist and wrangle the stringed instruments into submission, accompanied by a powerful veil of merciless drumming, the raw and articulate vocals efficiently tying the whole thing together into the 22 minute opus that it is.

The straightforward musical craftsmanship that the album mainly portrays is obviously where the group have their comfortzone. This, however, leads to very little fluctuation in sound and constitution, the essence of the band being efficiency. What I mean by this is that there is absolutely no effort wasted, and everything is mechanically precise to the point where there's no soul to the music. The pseudo-technical adventures into the higher frets on the guitars come off as choppy and over-simplified, and while the groovy parts work well in their protected environment, almost every track sounds like it needs a few surprises. Most tracks sound like they're roughly the same speed as the previous, and the parts that would normally mix things up a bit aspire to be little other than soft-spoken, anonymous left-over particles.

I find that the albums that grow on me the most are the ones that have incredible depth and intricate songwriting, not necessarily from being overly technical or lengthy, but rather from paying attention to every minor detail in the sound image. In Silent's debut album, Potêpienie, stands out as a piece that is mostly too simple, but without the much needed memorability and hooks that make simpler music enjoyable. The tracks Necro Fucker and Czerwony Parszywy Cheam have the gist of what it takes, but the slowly lumbering pace with oddly placed blastbeats doesn't quite do it in the end. Morbid features one of the album's most ambitious main riffs, but quickly switches to a boring chug rhythm. The album is almost insultingly simple at times, to the point where it actually becomes sort of annoying, and it holds little merrit in the long run, the only real value being that In Silent are sufficiently immersed in their Polish lyrics and groovy rhythms for it to be a fun listen once in a while. Unfortunately, the recipe fails to impress.

Tracklist:
1. Tydzieñ Patriotów
2. Potêpienie
3. Czerwony Parszywy Cheam
4. Necro Fucker
5. Morbid
6. Amputacja
7. Pedofiluzzkleru

Visit the band on Facebook

Despot - Satan in the Death Row [Full length] (2013, Self-released)

The South American continent has long been one of the big players in extreme metal, and bands like Sarcófago and Sepultura are household names in metal today. Picking up the mantle in 2008 is B.A.V., formerly of Necrocult and Unholy Massacre, when he created Despot, a militantly crude black metal project through which he released 3 demos until laying the finishing touches upon his biggest opus yet, Satan in the Death Row.

Right off the bat Despot and the associated album Satan in the Death Row gives off a somewhat schizophrenic vibe with the colourful and vibrant cover art leading the thoughts more toward hipster-indie stuff rather than the savage black metal tunes that inhabit the disc. The intro track, too, supports the notion that Satan in the Death Row is an effort quite dissimilar to the traditional approach many bands take, its electronic ambience sounding more akin to certain European pioneers. But at the very core of it all is the raw bulk of black metal coarseness, a more obvious product of Despot's national ancestry. And like many of the Despot's South American predecessors the music itself - the riffing in particular - has an inherent tinge of thrash metal, turning songs like Purified by Fire into relentless Sodom-esque tunes.

The weirdness and ambiguity of Satan in the Death Row doesn't end with the perculiar choice of artwork or the ambient intro. The beginning of the album's eponymous track also feels a bit out of place along with the same track's oddly melodic solo and the epic aftermath of same, and the closing track of the album neatly ends the experience in much the same way as it began. Fact of the matter is that all these elements serve to subtract from the often cheesy sense of self-worth and arrogance inherent to some black metal acts. The commanding beats of the programmed drums to which B.A.V. plays his militaristic riffs and rasps his belligerent lyrics grants Despot's music a militant and vigorous sound, and the marching habit of his compositions could well have devolved into mediocrity.

Not knowing Despot's previous demo work it's hard to say for sure, but Satan in the Death Row feels like an ambitious endeavor. The riffs aren't too shabby but often feel lost in a hostile environment of ferocious drum machines where the strings don't quite come into their own. Classical elements and computerized choires lend a certain amount of melody to the mix, which in turn once in a while makes it harder to discern individual elements. Not always does the compositions follow the tide of battle, but it can generally be said that the 9 tracks on Despot's debut album present a different take on modern, South American black metal. 6/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Introduction: Divination
2. Matriarch
3. Auto-da-Fé
4. Purified by Fire
5. Satan in the Death Row
6. Forbidden
7. Le Roi Nu
8. Egregious
9. Outro

Visit Despot's official Facebook
Listen on Bandcamp where the album is also available as pay-what-you-want

Wall of the Eyeless - Wimfolsfestta [Demo] (2013, Self-released)

Sweden and Russia aren't exactly neighbouring countries, but still Simon from Sweden and SL from Russia found a way to collaborate through the band Wall of the Eyeless. Their previous demo, 2011's Through Emptiness, was generally well-received by critics, and thus 2013 saw the release of the second demo from the hands and throats of the Swedish drummer and the Russian string-rider slash vocalist.

Throughout the Wimfolsfestta demo unfolds dream-like melodies veiled in thick shrouds of colorless distortion, which only on special occassions lets anything shine through. A few holes in the curtains of distortion are divulged every so often, laying bare the inner workings of Wall of the Eyeless. The best examples of the duality of their sound is the folk-like interruption in Revulsion Fever, which in turn is taken over by one of the demo's best and most original riffs. Another example is the ferocious blast in Longest Winter, and at this point it becomes apparent that what gives this band appeal is this type of bipolar songwriting. The weird bends in the ponderously melodic introductory track "Flicker" leaves a small aftertaste of Inquisition's newer offerings, albeit with quite a different atmosphere.

The generally cold atmosphere of their songwriting contrasts nicely with the warm guitar sound, and while there's nothing wrong with the way they bend the instruments to their will it all feels a bit soulless. Wimfolsfestta is completely effortless in the sense that it's missing boldness. SL's growls are a bit on the hollow side, and while his and the band's efforts are at the very least highly consistent, it is a consistency that in the long run comes off as a bit shy and underfed.

This kind of Agalloch-inspired atmospheric post metal sound has really gained ground in these last few years with everyone pairing it with a genre and calling it progressive. The parts of Wall of the Eyeless that are actually death metal are mostly incredibly well-crafted, but the atmospheric parts on the other hand often come off as lazy attempts at a melodic approach that are, for the most part, poorly executed and bland. Some bands are experts in utilizing these riff types to their utmost extent, but with Wall of the Eyeless I feel it is poorly implemented. 6/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Flicker
2. The Longest Winter
3. Revulsion Fever
4. Piercing Mist

Visit Wall of the Eyeless on Facebook and Bandcamp

Legionary - Path of Tyranny [EP] (2013, Self-released)

Legionary is a band that has always been plagued by line-up changes, the only constant member being drummer Frank D'Erasmo, the creator of Legionary. The members have had ties to New Jersey thrashers Condition Critical as well as the death/thrash group Strychnia from the same area. First of all, I'm a little sad to see the departure of their previous vocalist, Tim Rocheny, from the lineup. After the release of Arcane Divisions, Legionary's debut album from 2012, Rocheny went on to become the vocalist of the Razorback-signed death metal band Mausoleum.

Legionary hail from the North Eastern parts of the US, but if there's anything northern about their sound it's the inspiration they've taken from Scandinavian melodic death metal. Their modus operandi is melody-based death metal with thrashy tendencies, fueled by D'Erasmo's ferocious drumming and the guitar leads of main riff-smith Rory S. Robinson, who is new to the band. The new vocalist, Kevin O'Laughlin from Strychnia, is a nice addition to the line-up and fills the shoes of Rocheny adequately. The familiar sound of thrashy tremolos fills the ears once again when Path of Tyranny is put to the test.

The recipe works pretty well overall, though what was previously only a refreshing dash of melody added to the mix is now full-blown melodic death metal, albeit executed in a thrashier way than most. Tracks like Disgrace of the Union has a Kataklysm-esque feel to it during the fastest part where the O'Laughlin roars over the sound of D'Erasmo's ridiculously fast blast beats, which speaks volumes of their skills as musicians whether or not you like Kataklysm. I feel compelled to make the comparison between their debut album and this EP; On Arcane Divisions the earlier incarnation of the band were busy showcasing every aspect of their sound and songwriting, boldly displaying everything they could muster in terms of brutality and speed during the almost 50 minutes the album spanned, but this newer embodiment of the band seems more inclined to the more melodic side of their music. It seems to rely more on a sound that would invite showmanship - something that is especially noticable in the riveting Media Complex and through their incredibly flashy guitar solos - rather than musicianship.

While the Path of Tyranny EP is more melodic than Arcane Divisions it is also more controlled, releasing its violent outburts in a more disciplined fasion. This in turn makes room for compositions that are principally more technical in their nature, but I can not help but notice how the presence of only one guitarist has trouble filling the void left by another guitarist. The sound on the album simply felt more layered and wholesome, and it would seem that while the songwriting itself hasn't changed much, the musical approach has. Path of Tyranny, in all its glory, misses a little punch and doesn't feel as ruthlessly uncompromising as the band's previous efforts. 6/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Freedom's Demise (Intro)
2. Disgrace of the Union
3. Media Complex
4. An Inconvenient Lie

The EP and the album can be listened to and purchased through Bandcamp
Visit Legionary on Facebook

Apocryfal - Ravens [Demo] (2012, Self-released)

In regards to death metal Finland is primarily known for the filthy, doom-laden kind, but Apocryfal from Jyväskylä go in the opposite direction. Featuring the classic lineup of 5 people - you guess their respective roles - 2012 saw the release of the band's first demo, one that had been underway for 3 years. The result? 3 songs that add up to 12 minutes all in all of full-throttle death metal.

The style on Ravens is hard to pinpoint. It's somewhere in the grim borderlands between decisively old school and shamelessly modern without leaning to heavily on either. Their sound is centered around heavy guitars and bass forming the core with sprawling 6-string melodies changing things up a bit every so often, once or twice leaning on some technical and blackened elements giving the demo a few ounces of variation. The rhythm section itself feels well-rehearsed with the drums forming a laudable basis for the rest of the instrumentation through a fast and modern approach. The guitars have the spirit of the early-to-mid 90's about them while at the same time augmenting the modernized sound of the vocals.

This brings me to my next point. When the vocals work and the singer is creaming his lungs out it sounds fine, but once or twice his superficial growls made me physically cringe because they sounded like weird groans painfully wrenched from the vocalist's throat. The vocals aren't as such bad, but they're just bland. Some more definition and vocal variation could really bring some depth to the Apocryfal demo that the smooth transitions that otherwise permeate the music can't do by themselves.

In the end Apocryfal sound like a band with lots to offer and a band that are sure of themselves. A certain feel of confidence imbues the demo and with good reason - The songs are well-crafted and it is a first effort worth being proud of compared to those of countless other bands. The production is a bit too compressed and as a result lacks the kind of punch and definition a wider sound spectrum would give, but in the grand scheme of things it's a small thing. 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Dark Matter
2. Ravens
3. The Script

Visit APOCRYFAL on Facebook

The Infernal Sea - The Crypt Sessions [EP] (2013, Self-released)

Some may argue that black metal has never had much of a hold in the UK, apart from a few well-known black metal influenced bands like Cradle of Filth, Bal-Sagoth and Anaal Nathrakh. In recent years though, a large number of worthwhile acts within the genre have emerged from the British scene, a few of which I have previously reviewed. Bands like Winterfylleth, Wodensthrone and Fen have garnered many a positive review, and the tendency in the scene leans heavily on the atmospheric and pagan kind.

Though The Infernal Sea belong to this new wave of british black metal their style is far removed from the folky, celtic or pagan tendencies and atmospheric moods of their brethren, relying more heavily on a crusty, chaotic and gritty mode of musical expression. Their second release, "The Crypt Sessions" EP from 2013, takes - like their music - a rather unorthodox approach to the structure of a release, with every actual track being preceeded by a sort of introduction track. The way British quartet breaks with the norms of how to build up an EP makes it a more interesting listening experience, being thoroughly underlined by the pulsating abrasive nature of their riffs and the hoarse screams of the lead singer.

The crustier elements brings to mind some recent efforts by Darkthrone - barring The Underground Resistance - but it is far from the same prevailing quality as it was with those Darkthrone albums. On The Crypt Sessions it's a much more subtle influence, accentuating the indigenous coarse aspects of black metal.

There is something cathartic about the psychosis-like rambling structures of the blasting, chaotic parts of The Infernal Sea's music. At times they can go from completely unhinged anarchic torrents to pieces of a more composed disposition. These variations serves as means to release the tensiouns created by the British group, and mostly it works. But at times these shifts in temperament can be a bit flow-breaking and anti beneficial to the wholesomeness of the release, and I feel that it is only in Skinwalker that these changes work ideally.

The Crypt Sessions seems at the same time both highly experimental and like a tribute to the traditions of the genre. It is this ambiguosity that, along with the unusual flow, makes it tempting to start it all over when the EP is done playing. 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Stumpp
2. Skinwalker
3. The Scourging
4. The Circle Closes
5. Desolation
6. Into the Unknown

Visit The Infernal Sea's official facebook
Get the EP on their official Bandcamp

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Distress of Ruin - Predators Among Us [EP] (2013, Self-released)

From Joensuu, Finland, comes Distress of Ruin - A bastard child of melodic death metal origin, fused together with copious amounts of metalcore tendencies. Five man strong the Finnish band makes use of a classic lineup of two guitars, a lead vocalist and backing vocals provided by guitarist Simo, and a strong rhythm section courtesy of drummer and bassist Sami and Riku.

Distress of Ruin's first published EP "Predators Among Us" features 6 tracks of varying disposition, but the gist of their music, should you choose to lump it all together, is a mix of Scandinavian melodic death metal evident in the overly melodic guitar tunes with the added thrashy elements over a groovy rhythm section borrowed from the metalcore scene. The EP has a very distinct melancholic temperament, which is highly evident right from the start with the despondent intro "The Ocean of Perdition". We quickly change pace to a lurching groove with They Play Dead. Or rather, we don't, because the entire EP only rarely ventures beyond the mid-tempo grooves put down by the drums and the deliberate guitar.

The overall sound is highly polished and as such doesn't leave much to the imagination, which is not entirely surprising in this type of music. What I mean by this is that every aspect of Distress of Ruin is just sort of... Out there. The production is entirely immaculate, and this means that you most likely won't be making new discoveries while listening to Predators Among Us. It is something that sort of numbs down the listening experience, and it doesn't invite further delving into the details of the band's music.

Predators Among Us makes good use of the dual guitars provided by Harri and Simo, and the band as a whole work well as an ensemble - albeit in a very clinically over-polished way. But what Predators Among Us is missing is for Distress of Ruin to move beyond their gray comfort zone once in a while. The way the EP is written and put together makes it seem like the same clichés over and over again. There are a few welcomed changes of scenery with the backbreaking breakdown in Deadly Nightshade, or the thrashy attitude of the closing track Harbinger of Ravage, but it is not enough to create a sufficiently varied experience. Bystander Effect has a spark of this with its faster parts which then give way to the EP's heaviest and slowest part, but it feels as though Distress of Ruin were so uncomfortable with these alternate paces that they change it back to their ordinary mood too quickly.

Distress of Ruin's first EP is a grower. At first it seems way too melodic, and the clean vocals that are continuously used in the choruses get old really quick. It might be Stockholm Syndrome, but somehow you learn to mildly appreciate the easy-to-follow structures put forth by the Finnish band. You come to expect nothing surprising from the band, and this is exactly what they deliver. But then again this isn't enough for you to put away your In Flames and Whitechapel CDs in order to listen to Distress of Ruin instead. 6/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. The Ocean of Perdition
2. They Play Dead
3. Deadly Nightshade
4. Bystander Effect
5. Terminal Alteration
6. Harbinger of Ravage

Check out Distress of Ruin at Bandcamp and Facebook
Also be sure to check out Distress of Ruin's official website for a free download of their EP

Please leave a comment here on the blog - Tell me what you're thinking, and feel free to share if you want to support underground metal!

Tod Huetet Uebel - Morte e Caos [EP] (2013, Self-released)

Tod Huetet Uebel. An unusual name for an unusual band. Portuguese musician Daniel C. created the band alone in 2012, quickly producing and releasing the 3-track EP "Morte e Caos", Death and Chaos, in March 2013.

There is something sinister and oddly ancient about the sounds of Tod Huetet Uebel. The Portuguese project emanates a substantial know-how of black metal history and as such bears a resemblance to some well-known and highly influential acts from the genre while also taking in abundant influences from more modern acts where the tremolo riffs, treble sound, abysmal drumming and foggy raw vocals are just a byproduct of an experimental blackened death metal recipe. Naysayers will say that Morte e Caos is merely a product of circumstance, following in the wake of the success of bands like Teitanblood, Antediluvian or Mitochondrion. True, Tod Huetet Uebel may well be inspired by these acts, but the project features considerably less elements of decay and cessation, relying more on the misanthropic and emotionally depressing moods of black metal rather than the primal brutality of death metal.

The fact that the Portuguese band is a solo-project doesn't shine through. Daniel C. brandishes an impressive talent for production and songwriting. The force with which the riffs are delivered makes Morte e Caos a passionate attempt at an old genre in a modern way while definitely still paying homage to some of the originators of the second wave of black metal. But the supposed downfall of Tod Huetet Uebel is a lack of variation and taste. The drums seem to mostly be blast beats thrown in for good meassure, but in the long run this is something that becomes rather tiresome to listen to. It's a minor thing, really, and it does accentuate the weirdly melodic solo in the middle of the first track, Caos. It suggests that there's an idea behind every action and composition on the EP, and it really does exude an aura of violent and malevolent purpose.

Morte e Caos is an intense soundscape of, dare I say, lovecraftian disposition. Tod Huetet Uebel succeeds in portraying cyclopean arrangements in a classic yet contemporary way, and in this way takes a well known modus operandi and gives it new form. Contemporaneousness is a keyword in the discussion of Tod Huete Uebel. To put it simply, it's an extant piece of new music with an old sound. While there are many time-tested aspects of the concoction that is Morte e Caos it is not something that would be seen or heard in, say, the 90's. The band aspires to be something great and achieves some form of that magnitude by the sheer force of this EP. 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Caos
2. Decaída
3. Odor a Morte

Visit TOD HUETET UEBEL's official Bandcamp for news, downloads and such

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Cryptodira - Recursions [EP] (2013, Self-released)

From Long Island, New York, hails a four-piece band named Cryptodira. Their style includes many elements from different genres and as such could best be described simply as progressive metal. The band is a young one, having been created in 2011, they've already managed to put out two EPs with a professional sound. In January 2013 they released their second EP, "Recursions", which has an astonishingly good production for a self-released EP.

Recursions greets you with a pounding piece of progressive death metal, machinegun drumming, roaring hardcore-inspired vocals and heavy riffing and melodic melodies over the djenty rhythm-section all included. Continuing in a more melodic style "Either Fly or Fall Faster" comes on in continuation of "The Birth of a King", and while this is a good track in itself the entire last minute feels completely out of place and stupid. The bass and drums are keeping some weird rhythm while someone shouts incredibly inane lyrics with a voice that can be described as little else but annoying.
The rest of the EP continues with 3 additional tracks of varying melodic disposition, but the rest of the material is generally more centered around melody rather than heavy rhythms.

They strike me as a band that want to be a few things too many. There's some death in there, some djent, metalcore and progressive melodies. They do some of these elements alright, but ultimately the Recursions EP seems a little too schizophrenic. There are times where a part of a track will stand out, but the merrit of these parts is overshadowed by the weird way the parts are pieced together. It's a shame, because the entire EP is produced really well and sounds exactly like it should, but in regards to the songwriting itself there's still a way to go. Not a long way, but a way nonetheless. I'm missing some uniformity, thereby not saying all the songs should be the same, but there aren't as such any recurring "Cryptodira elements" to keep it all together. 6/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. The Birth of a King
2. Either Fly or Fall Faster
3. On Sleepwalking
4. Allies to Ignorance
5. The Affirmation

CRYPTODIRA on Facebook
Buy Recursions for pay-what-you-want on Bandcamp

Old Stuff: Excision - The Drowning Tear [Demo] (1993, Self-released)

For some reason there aren't many Dutch bands in the international metal world. The few that have made it are mostly great, but the Netherlands has a virtually untapped reservoir of awesome underground metal. A band such as Excision never really got an international break and as such are more or less completely unknown to the vast majority of metal fans around the world despite the vast quality of their material. The few that do know them most likely do through Excision's split with Paul Speckmann's Master from 1996.

Excision only had a few demos, an album and a split under their belt, and the release in question here is the last demo before releasing their only full length "Dreamality". The demo is entitled "The Drowning Tear" and in congruency with that title does have some minor melancholic doom influences, but for the most part the four tracks on the demo consists of semi-progressive death metal - Progressive for the early 90's anyway.
The demo has unusually good production for a dutch demo tape from '93. Do you expect a dutch demo tape from '93 to be any good? Hell no you don't, but Excision hit the nail right on the head with tracks like Melancholy and My Black, Shining Sun. They had a pretty heavy sound and a unique mix of melody and death metal for their time, rivalling most of the contemporary American bands in brutality.

It is the little things on in the big picture that makes Excision's demo stand out. The little things such as in The Burning Mirror where they gradually increase the speed. Unfortunately it is also the little things that in turn subtract from the greatness of The Drowning Tear. The Dutch band has a small tendency to put in some pretty cheesy stuff amongst all the goodies, such as a bland piece with clean guitars in Melancholy (which are luckily screamed away by the masterly growls of the lead singer after a short time), and My Black, Shining Sun took some getting used to with the cheesy synth intro. Again, Excision comes through by sporting some seriously groovy death metal riffing that they made their trademark on The Drowning Tear. Definitely a hidden gem worth checking out if you're into early Deicide, Morbid Angel and Nocturnus.

Tracklist:
1. A Light Without Shadows
2. The Burning Mirror
3. Melancholy
4. My Black, Shining Sun

Listen for yourself

Minus One World - Sewage [EP] (2013, Self-released)

Finland has a long and proud tradition of doom-laden death metal centered around the gloomy and atmospheric aspects of death metal. Many great bands portraying this style has emerged from Finland in both the 90's and more recent times, but leave it to Minus One World from Salo to break the traditions. Minus One World was created in 2008, but we would write 2013 before hearing any actual releases from them.

Where tradition dictates that Finnish death metal would be filthy and abrasive, Minus One World are upbeat and almost pleasant. When traditional Finnish death metal is slow and churning, Minus One World are fast. Among the thrashy riffs and roaring vocals there's really only a few things tying them to the Finnish scene. Obviously all regional scenes have deviations and new tendencies, but with Minus One World's first EP "Sewage" it is primarily the thick production that lets the mind wander to the gloomy forests of the land of a thousand lakes.

It may sound strange to some that the young Finnish band have waited 5 years before releasing anything. But this has a certain benefit; The Sewage EP doesn't really have those inferior, juvenile and undesirable qualities that many young bands have on their early material and as such feels a lot more polished, something that is clearly evident in the material they present on the EP. It doesn't suffer from many common birth defects like shitty production, half-assed songwriting and riffs that go nowhere.

But even so there are a few unsavory things present on the EP. Minus One World focus on a more melodic and groovy approach than many other bands, and especially when you throw in thrash riffs you really have to make sure your riffs are rock solid, and unfortunately they aren't. The fledgling band deliver their material with much energy and fervor making it hard not to get dragged in and carried away and just enjoy the music, but I think that it is an EP one wouldn't be enticed to return to. It has its fast and slow parts, it has groovy parts and more brutal parts, but overall Minus One World's Sewage EP is an uninteresting effort when compared to other bands of the same type. 6/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Kalli Halki Maahan
2. Target
3. Empire Strikes Back
4. Sewage

MINUS ONE WORLD official homepage
MINUS ONE WORLD official Facebook

Listen for yourself below

Old Stuff: Redrum - Power Corrupts [Full lenght] (1989, Self-released)

Redrum from Sacramento, CA, though not a band with a very original name, are by connisseurs considered to be a classic underground American thrash band. They only ever released a handful of demos of varying quality, but the main attraction here is their one full length album "Power Corrupts", which was re-released in 2007 by Evil Legend with new artwork (and thank god for that, 'cause the old artwork was terrible).

Redrum is as 80's as they come. Thrash riffs coming out the ass, d-beats aplenty and raw vocals with affinity for USPM-esque screams aswel and powerful basslines. All in all a great recipe for political thrash metal straight from the states. Unfortunately the otherwise classic songwriting gets a proverbial kick in the groin by one of the most tinny and flat productions I've ever heard. Many thrash bands of the mid 80's had terrible production, and often this added a certain flavour that connected all the American bands of the time, but with Redrum it can sometimes be hard to focus on anything but the hihats which are being brutally punished repeatedly. It's a terrible shame because the riffs and solos are fantastic. The band's genuine thrash riffs could pull teeth, and songs such as the title track Power Corrupts and Greenhouse are well worth a spin.

If you feel a need to get back to basics with thrash and you can get around the shoddy production, Power Corrupts is a gem of American metal often overlooked.

Tracklist:
1. Frontline
2. Into the Ovens
3. Commando
4. M.I.A.
5. Power Corrupts
6. P.T.L.
7. Greenhouse
8. Smear
9. Disarm and Survive
10. World War III
11. Aftermath
12. Random Violence
13. Evil's End

Listen for yourself

Serpenthia - Beyond [EP] (2012, Self-released)

Scandinavia is rich with black metal history. A country that has always been a bit overlooked when talking about the history of the black metal genre is Finland. A lot of good bands like Satanic Warmaster and Horna originate from this country, but they have always been overshadowed by their Swedish and Norwegian counterparts aswel as Finland's tremendous export of folk and power metal bands.
The Finnish style of black metal is often associated with a very tinny and raw sound, but Serpenthia from Joensuu are pretty far removed from this tendency. Since they formed in 2002 they have had somewhat of a revolving door lineup but have in spite of this released a steady flow of demos, ultimately culminating in the release of their 2012 EP "Beyond".

With a name like Serpenthia and a genre description going something along the lines of "melodic dark metal" I was half expecting some female-fronted symphonic metal atrocity, but what Serpenthia actually present on Beyond is a fairly diverse take on melodic black metal. While the majority of the material can be described as black metal with various melodic and symphonic inputs there are places where the riffs and vocals in particular border more on death metal while at the same time keeping the same feeling as the rest of the EP.

The guitar sound has a thick tone to it which is pretty unusual for most black metal. It goes great with the swarming riffs and further accentuates the tenebrous death metal feeling that some of the parts have, and the riffs in particular are what makes the Finnish band noticeable. Serpenthia have a tendency of taking a riff or melody that sounds mostly simple and then turning it inside out which makes for some really interesting songs.

Beyond is actually really long for an EP being almost 40 minutes long. If I recall correctly Slayer's magnum opus Reign in Blood is only about 28 minutes, and this is considered a full length album. It's by no means a bad thing that Beyond is a lengthy release, because the band manages to keep renewing their black metal efforts throughtout the EP (or album if you will). Beyond sometimes misses a bit of consistency, but the divergent flow of their songs are at the same time one of the strongest points of Serpenthia. 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Them
2. The Spectre
3. Nightbringer
4. Beyond the Veil
5. Tragedy
6. The Fall (Deception pt. 2)

SERPENTHIA official Facebook
SERPENTHIA on Bandcamp

Filsufatia / Twilight Fauna - Fallen Leaves in a Tide of Sorrow [Split] (Self-released, 2013)

Black metal's reputation for being badly produced and easy to play has brought with it a ton of "bedroom black metal bands", often of the one-manned kind. In continuation of this there are a lot of below-bootleg quality EPs, demos and splits in general cirkulation.
On the "Fallen Leaves in a Tide of Sorrow" split two one-man black metal bands with a token appreciation for the origins of atmospheric and depressive black metal give their own impressions of how to emulate that familiar sound and feeling of bands such as Burzum, Drudkh and Alcest. Though Ravenwood's Twilight Fauna and Deep's Filsufatia don't resemble the afforementioned bands as such there is definitely the tinge of clear influences among their compositions.

Hailing from a place as unlikely for black metal as Malaysia, Filsufatia has since 2006 released a steady stream of demos with Fallen Leaves in a Tide of Sorrow being the first split. Filsufatia's music consists of a myriad of decent guitar melodies accompanied by sombre piano tones, but the music is ultimately dulled down to near unlistenable garbage because everything is more or less programmed or at the very least hugely processed through a computer. The melodies come off as alright, but the tunes themselves can't bear the weight of the music. The amount of horrendous FL Studio-sounding instrumentation really numbs the experience to the point where it almost seems like it was made for someone else to practice to.

With Twilight Fauna from Tennessee, USA, we're back in a familiar setting this time more appropriately billed "atmospheric" rather than "depressive". Twilight Fauna started out in 2011 and has since released a few albums and splits. Ravenwood's compositions in Twilight Fauna consists of a ragtag collection of drums with some monotone unthoughtful pseudo-riffs thrown into the mix. To top it all off are his harsh vocals which are delivered at such a whispering volume that they hardly qualify as such. The end result is a rather unmelodic collection of chaotic bedroom "black metal" with little rhyme or reason and little consideration for rhythm.

All this aside the two bands go well together. Though they are billed as depressive and atmospheric black metal respectively their music is rather similar. Perhaps even too similar. If I didn't know any better I would be inclined to think the two one-man projects were one and the same, because the small differences in the songwriting aren't that big. Filsufatia is more melody oriented, and Twilight Fauna more inclined to atmospheric riffs, and these qualities are also made manifest in their different sounds. I suppose this is where they distinguish between atmospheric and depressive black metal.

The best track on the split is by far A Silent Agony by Twilight Fauna. It's mostly text book guitar chord compositions with a few haunting melodies and vocal parts thrown in the mix (think Diablo II's soundtrack). It's not something entirely out of the ordinary, and it certainly isn't metal, but it works rather well compared to the additional contents of the split. It's not much, but it's something. Fallen Leaves in a Tide of Sorrow is bland and straight up boring. Filsufatia doesn't make depressive black metal sound melancholic, emotional, painful or beautiful and Twilight Fauna doesn't manage to put enough atmosphere into atmospheric black metal (or maybe the problem is that it's so atmospheric it stopped being music). 3/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Twilight Fauna - The Cold Air of a Solitary Night
2. Twilight Fauna - A Silent Agony
3. Filsufatia - Laverne (A Million Miles Nowhere)
4. Filsufatia - The Grand Eulogy (Welcome Home)

Twilight Fauna official site
Filsufatia official site

Phidion - Flesh of the Forsaken [EP] (2012, Self-released)

Ominous aggression, menacing fury, focussed anger. These are the moods Phidion, a 5-man strong death-thrash outfit from Sweden's capital city, set on their third release, the Flesh of the Forsaken EP from 2012.

Exploring a lyrical universe of the recurring history of humanity's affinity for warfare and other fitting topics the Swedish band has a barbaric way of delivering mid-paced death metal with a few thrash riffs here and there to spice things up. Flesh of the Forsaken gives the impression that Phidion are a band of well-versed songwriters, and as such there's no time wasted on lackluster melodies or bland gimmicks. The Flesh of the Forsaken EP is heavy when it needs to be, and fast when the flow demands it.

Though the songs are generally well written and easy to follow, the same cannot be said about the guitar riffs. They work well with this kind of no-bullshit thrash-infused death metal, and helped along by some surprisingly interesting bass lines the riffs provides a fine platform for a good EP, but it's missing that extra something. The riffs are generally bordering on banality, but they're played with enough fervor and precision to provide a sort of quality. I'm tempted to say that the same goes for the drums, without going into too much detail because these are programmed.

In closing it can safely be said that Phidion have procured an ample set of songs for an EP that doesn't leave much to be wanted, but at the same time has room for improvement. The band's skills in songwriting and flow definitely work to their advantage, and that ever so familiar tinge of Sweden's rich metal history is also highly present on Flesh of the Forsaken. The great bass-work is a great bonus as well. 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Warzone
2. Slaves to Eternal Insomnia
3. Monomanic Mind
4. Anthropophagus
5. Dr. Butcher, M.D.
6. Strontium Dog

PHIDION on Facebook
PHIDION official website

Available for purchase on Bandcamp

Dèigh - Nothingness [Track] (2013, Self-released)

Spain has its fair share of black metal bands, but hardly any have ever achieved any form of international success. From Madrid comes Dèigh, a musician focused on creating "abrasive black metal". Dèigh released a demo in 2012 entitled No Life Flickers, and Nothingness, I think, is supposed to be one of a few tracks featured on a new EP with the same name.

Whether the 5:40 minutes long track is supposed to be the entire EP or just one track from it is a little unclear at the time of writing. I'm pretty sure 5 and a half minutes doesn't quite qualify as an EP, and if you could at all justify calling it such it would be because the track itself could well be separated into two parts. The initial part of the song is ripe with distorted guitars and is by far the most active part of the track, whereas the latter part of Nothingness is dominated by clean guitars and crash cymbals.

There are several things worth talking about regarding Dèigh and Nothingness. I don't exactly know where the "abrasive" tag fits in, because all I hear is poorly written and sloppily executed bland as fuck black metal. Nothingness does not possess the atmosphere and feeling a slow track can produce. It does not have the energetic headbang-inducing riffs a mid-paced tempo can invoke. And it certainly doesn't have the abrasive aggravation that high-tempo black metal can cause. The track (or EP or whatever) is mostly low speed "metal" with a really simple 4/4 riff accompanied by horrific bedroom production. After a minute or so the track completely changes to an equally simple clean guitar melody, this time chaperoned by some of the worst programmed drums I've ever borne witness to. When the distorted guitars set in again the image of bedroom black metal is completed with endless crash cymbals ad nauseum and no sense of timing whatsoever. To be honest it sounds a lot like the guitars were recorded with little to no attention to the drum track.

Dèigh has so little attention to detail that it sounds like he didn't even listen to the song before uploading it online. I have no idea if the rest of his material is of equally inadequate quality, but listening to Nothingness doesn't make me want to find out. I have seldom seen such a blatant disregard for the final product, and the fuck-it-all change from one part of the song to the next and the way the track jsut stops at the end as well as the near-constant crash cymbal only empasize this notion. The only thing even remotely redeeming on the demo are the completely run of the mill raspy black metal vocals sporadically found on the track. 2/10 guitars.

If for some reason you want to torture yourself or test your faith in the future of metal you can find Dèigh - Nothingness on Bandcamp here

DÈIGH official Facebook

Listen, if you dare



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Durvasag - EP Promo 2012 [Demo] (2012, Self-released)

From the cold wastes of Canada comes Durvasag, a highly productive band of the black/thrash subgenre. Having existed for only 3 years at the time of writing this review they've already released an EP and 3 demos, one of which I have previously graced with my attention. Their leanings toward certain elements of extreme metal means they have a lot in common with the early Teutonic thrash scene, and at times this demo EP reminds me a bit of Kreator or Sodom.

What goes on with Durvasag is they went from sub-par blackened thrash with boring, repetitive riffs, annoying vocals and vocal patterns, sloppy playing, horrendously muddy production and most of all bland songwriting. They haven't changed any members since last time (though lead singer Mark Arruda has since left the band), but what we find on the 2012 EP promo is entirely different quality-wise to their first demo. Durvasag pretty much turned up the dial on everything on this promo. It's faster, it's tighter, it's barbaric. The 2012 incarnation of Durvasag has the forceful aggression and tightness that the previous demo lacked, and the songwriting itself is clearly better as if they went from using the same bland rehashed riffs over and over to actually writing worthwhile material. If only the production had followed suit in this increase of quality we would be left with a great fucking thrash dem.

A gritty production can serve in a band's favour, and I've heard good demos with worse production that Durvasag's EP Promo, but overall it gets tiresome having to listen to cymbals and hihats so much, and it feels like the riffs don't really come into their own with the current state of things.
You can easily tell that the band is still in every way Durvasag. They have the same aggressive vocal patterns, insistent drumming and fast guitar playing that you know them for, but their music has become much more varied. They show their flair for easy to follow choruses which mostly consists of a few shouted words, and it works. As a release on its own, without comparing it to their previous efforts, I'd say it's a solid 7/10.

Tracklist:
1. Nuclear Winds
2. Sacrifice

DURVASAG on Bandcamp
DURVASAG on Facebook


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Haiduk - Spellbook [Full lenght] (2012, Self-released)

A lot of one-man projects suck. Adding black metal to the mix mostly doesn't help. Haiduk is the project of Canadian metalhead Luka Milojica, and this band has only been active since 2009 releasing a demo entitled "Plagueswept" in 2010. When the time had finally come to release another torrent of epic blackened death metal we had entered the year of 2012, and this incarnation of Haiduk is entitled Spellbook.

Haiduk could well be described merely as extreme metal. The Spellbook album offers a great many variations of the same mix: Black, death and thrash metal. The way Milojica holds a chord on one level while playing a more vivid thrashy melody on top of it on another level gives the music a lot of depth, only encouraged by the adding of hoarse growls straight from the grave. Haiduk is in essence lightning fast with epic riffs coming out the ass, and ultimately there's something kind of honest and pure about the music on Spellbook. It's not trying to be something it's not and as such comes across as a flow of something that comes natural to the mastermind behind it all.

There are very few things this album misses, but one of the areas it is found lacking is in the vocal department. The Bolt Thrower-esque vocals sound awesome whenever they're applied, but the problem is the scarcity. It'd be a shame for the vocals to overshadow the riffing, which is by far the album's strongest point, but throwing in some more vocals once in a while couldn't hurt and would probably also relieve the problem of some of the melodies blending together a bit.

Haiduk's Spellbook is good for what it is. The black metal-infused torrents that make up the riffs, the abyssmal vocals and the machinegun-drums form a straight up gratifying album that is sure to please any fan of blackened death metal with a tad bit of melody. If you're looking for originality or technical prowess you won't find much of either on Spellbook, but what you will find is tight as fuck metal without any acoustic interludes, overly long atmospheric intros, outros and/or intermissions and generally no bullshit. The melodic riffs tend to get a little bland with time, and for the most part the lack of vocals for variation makes some of the tracks a tad bit tedious to listen to, just short of becoming a chore. It's a problem limited to a few tracks, but it feels like the vast momentum Milojica builds up in certain songs remains unresolved for the most part. But all in all it's a phenomenal effort, and the negatives aren't even close to amounting to the positives. 8/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Lich
2. Stormcall
3. Black Wind
4. Maelstrom
5. Forcefield
6. Hex
7. Tremor
8. Fire Wield
9. Lightning
10. Vortex

HAIDUK on Facebook
HAIDUK official website

Manifestor - Old Monster [Demo] (2012, Self-released)

A death/thrash band from Gothenburg, Sweden... "Oh boy, here's another wannabe old-school Swedish death metal band" was my immediate thought regarding Manifestor when their newest demo "Old Monster" arrived in the mail. "A two-man band? Yeah, this is gonna be great" I thought sarcastically to myself. I could just imagine sloppy, fuzzed out guitars, the trashy bass sound, bland vocals and programmed drums. I was in for a surprise.

Hatetriot and Asbest, the two minds behind Manifestor, released their first demo in 2010 and followed up with Old Monster in 2012. 2 years to write and record 3 tracks may seem like a long time, but what the long period has resulted in speaks for itself. Manifestor may not be innovative in the traditional sense, but it goes against most current trends regarding death and thrash metal. Sure, they could have taken the obvious route and paid tribute to their legendary countrymen, or they could've jumped on the 80's thrash revival band wagon. But what they've chosen to write is death/thrash with heavy hints of early 80's grindcore. Sound familiar? One might connect this description with other acts like Frightmare, Ghoul, Macabre or Blood Freak, but in reality Manifestor is quite different from these groups. Manifestor's focus lies on a thick atmosphere of old school death metal with the rioting guitar riffs of thrashier bands like Morbid Saint which makes the demo both heavy, hard hitting and fast. But the main attraction for me is when they throw in some good old grindcore for good measure. The grindier parts of Old Monster bring to mind classics like Brutal Truth, Terrorizer, Repulsion, Extreme Noise Terror and especially early Carcass, and it's this kind of variation that makes Manifestor stand out.

The way they handle their instruments isn't exactly virtuosic, but it is completely ruthless and adds that certain element of aggression that many bands lose in their quest for a clean production. There's something honest about the way Manifestor mix the three genres and show blatant disregard for current trends. I feared that Manifestor's music would be ruined by programmed drums, but with Asbest playing drums Old Monster has the necessary amount of authenticity to be good. I love how the band never linger too long on one part of a song, and the dual vocal efforts from the band's two members grants the demo great variation. Their mix of grind, death and thrash is a fun mix indeed and stands out as a focussed effort. My only complaint is that the demo is too short and sometimes sounds a bit too chaotic for my tastes. They don't mess around lingering with the same two or three riffs in every song, but listening to the demo I sometimes wish they would've cared a bit more for the flow of the individual tracks and perhaps a greater concern for the delivery of each part of the songs. 8/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Black Sabbath (Note: Not a cover of Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath)
2. Old Monster
3. Manifestor

MANIFESTOR on MySpace

Only a Shadow Remains - The Grinding Stone [EP] (2013, Self-released)

With today's level of technology and the accessibility of it one-man projects are far from rare. Where one once had to rely on session musicians or having to play everything by one self, you can nowadays get machines that can do most things for you. What machines still can't do for you is write your material, and the lack of varied input and feedback means that some, if not most, one-man bands suck uncontrollably. I was surprised to find that Only a Shadow Remains is a band that not only has a good sound for a solo-project but also has a relatively solid and varied output.

I was originally supposed to review Only a Shadow Remains' second EP, Premediated, but I ended up reviewing The Grinding Stone, the band's newest EP, instead. Now, I did listen to Premediated before listening to The Grinding Stone, and honestly not much has changed in the time between the two EPs were released. It's not necessarily bad that the band has a steady and consistent output, but the only real surprise I got with The Grinding Stone was that this release consists of 21 tracks of relative short length. Only a Shadow Remains centers around gory vocals, growled vocals and heavy but melodic guitar riffs, and this is definitely still the case with The Grinding Stone, even if the riffs have gotten much heavier than previously, but naturally I thought, given the title and the length of the songs and the sheer amount of tracks on the EP, that the band had adopted a more grindcore-inspired aspect. However, I found that this simply wasn't the case, even if the band has gotten heavier. Premediated featured songwriting that bore a heavy nod towards the old classics of death metal, but on the Grinding Stone EP the band has switched to a much more modern and brutal focus.
On The Grinding Stone EP Only a Shadow Remains leaves a little less room for melodic riffs and hooks, but the vocals have become more varied, varying from traditional growls to hoarse screams. The riffing was what attracted me to the earlier material from the band, and because this new incarnation of Only a Shadow Remains focus less on those aspects, it is far less personal and sinister than the previous EP.

The EP is well executed, but it is at the same time pretty generic. The songs are generally too short, meaning that only rarely does a song achieve any momentum, and I found that most songs seemed to end rather abruptly. Armon Nicholson has previously proven that he is no novice songwriter, but his talents aren't properly showcased on The Grinding Stone as they were on Premediated. As such I think the longer songs on this EP are by far the best, and all in all the songs fit well together. But ultimately The Grinding Stone feels unfinished, and the amount of short songs makes it feel like the EP consists of mostly unfinished ideas for songs. It shows potential, but the overall picture needs work. The songs don't show enough individuality to justify having so many short tracks on one release. I would much rather have had an EP where the songwriting is condensed into 4-6 songs rather 21 like on The Grinding Stone, such as it was on Premediated. 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Broken Glass in Your Eyes
2. A New Mask
3. Autocannibalism
4. I Despise Humanity
5. Burned
6. Corpsemeat
7. Pee Hole Torture
8. Asphyxiating on Feces
9. Extirpation of Necessary Organs
10. Filth
11. Fornicated Stab Wounds
12. Sewn Together
13. Infanticidal Urges
14. Carved Open
15. Vomit, Consumed
16. Punched in the Prolapsed Rectum
17. Skinned and Salted
18. Testicular Mutilation
19. Swimming in Used Needles
20. Orgy of Decomposition
21. The Meat Grinder

ONLY A SHADOW REMAINS on Facebook
The Grinding Stone is available for pay-what-you-want on Bandcamp HERE