Frozen Realm - Frozen Realm [EP] (2013, Self-released)

Once the acoustic guitar intro to Frozen Realm's debut EP of the same name breaks into an orgy of flashy guitar melodies, there can be no doubt as to the nature of the Swedish band. Balls deep in the long-standing tradition of the Gothenburg sound, Frozen Realm break into full-fledged melodic death metal complete with everything the definition entails.

In that regard, the Swedish band's EP is a textbook example of the modern take on melodic death metal. And by that I mean that it has very little in common with actual death metal, save perhaps the growled vocals. The pompous drumming greatly accentuates the rest of the musical body, which consists of about fifty-fifty amounts of ill-composed melodies and mindless chugs.

The main problem with most melo-death bands is the lack of hooks. When you add substantial amounts of melody to your music it subtracts greatly from the heaviness and brutality, so you'd better make damn sure your melodies are catchy as fuck. As a result, the tracks on the Frozen Realm EP don't stand out from each other - There are plenty of melodies, though none of them are particularly catchy. The hookless compositions bring to mind a watered down In Flames, a less edge-seeking Dark Tranquility, or a less epic Wintersun.

What really sets bands such as Frozen Realm apart from the heroes they worship is their lack of flair for the flow and focus of the songwriting in itself. Where In Flames perfected the straight-to-the-point approach with groovy riffs satiated with the adding of melodies on top, Frozen Realm fool around with melodies at the helm, only relinquishing it's weak grip to allow equally uninspired chugs to take over. 4/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Iceshaper
2. Thirst
3. The Pawn
4. Abandoned by the Sun

Should you want to listen for yourself, you can do so by following the link below
http://frozenrealm.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/FrozenRealmMalmo

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

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

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

Soliloquium - When Silence Grows Venomous [Demo] (2012, Self-released)

Soliloquium (say it five times fast) started out in Sweden in 2011, and already by 2012 they had released this demo. The band consists of two people, Jonas Bergkvist and Stefan Nordström from the death metal bands Ending Quest and Desolator. For Soliloquium they have kept some of the death metal elements, but chose to mix it up with melancholic and cold doom metal much in the same vein early Katatonia, Swallow the Sun, Ghost Brigade and October Tide. The thing these bands have in common other than the music style is location - All of them are from Northern Europe, and like them Soliloquium has that very destinct melodic and desolate sound.

The demo is rather short with only two songs, but the songs are well-composed and pretty lengthy. Often with doom metal the songs become too long and tedious because the band simply hasn't got enough to offer, and the songs just become bland repetitions of the same two or three parts. With that in mind I was at first reluctant regarding the whole demo, but I quickly found that the two tracks are more than worthwhile getting into. Once you sit down and really listen to Soliloquium their music will grow on you and you will notice the duo's skills in writing.

As with many other doom metal bands Soliloquium has one problem: The music has a tendency to feel unclimactic. Garden of Truculence and Autumn State never really build any momentum and thus you can never really tell how far along in the track you are. Some might argue that momentum and climax has nothing to do in doom metal (especially death/doom metal), but in the end this element is what makes a song come together and gets it from a 9 to a 10.
However, the slowly churning double kick drums in Soliloquium trustily forces the compositions onward, and helped along by the gloomily melodic guitars "When Silence Grows Venomous" isn't a half bad effort. Soliloquium are succesful in creating a truly doom-worthy atmosphere along with perfectly murky production. If there were 20 years earlier they would've been among the most known bands of the genre today. 8/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Garden of Truculence
2. Autumn State

SOLILOQUIUM official Facebook
SOLILOQIUM official Bandcamp

Download the demo for free and listen for yourself HERE
You can also download their newest EP "The Concept of Escape" HERE

Six in Line - U Shud Hev Invtd Me [Demo] (2011, Self-released)

I like when a band doesn't take itself all too seriously. If a musician takes everything a bit too seriously it often results in coming across as self-important or pompous, but on the other hand it can easily go the other way too. In most cases so-called "comedy" or "humour" bands are too busy living out their own inside-jokes to produce good, worthwhile music, so in essence what I'm saying is that it's all about finding a middle way.

Six in Line from Sweden are at heart a thrash metal band, but with the aesthetics of a comedy band. The three tracks on their second release, the demo "U Shud Hev Invtd Me", are primarily comprised of mid-to-high tempo thrash riffs, pounding drums and vocals that can probably be best described as "unique". I'll get back to this later.
The demo starts off with a sort of spooky halloween-ish riff, and I found that this was more or less a recurring theme on U Shud Hev Invtd Me with that type of melodies being prominent in both "You Should Have Invited Me" and the gangshout-ridden "We Intend to Hang You". It works fairly well for the Swedish band, and when all is said and done this element is what to me sounds like their strongest point. Their vein of thrash metal works pretty well for them, but if it wasn't for the melodic riffs to top it all off their material would be an unmemorable, incoherent mess.

My main complaint with Six in Line's second demo is the vocals. Remember that I said they were rather unique? That's a nice way of saying they suck tremendously. Kaptajn Nuke's raw, discordant screaming is simply too out of place and annoying to the main form of singing in such a band.
The music in itself isn't completely terrible, but something about it just makes me get tired of it really fast. Probably the fact that it sounds pretty undynamic - I'm not saying that they lack variation, but the music really does go on and on in the same vein all the time with no clearly defined verse, chorus or anything else that might resemble structure.
Let's compare Six in Line with Hellhammer. Hellhammer's sound is completely raw and awful, they could barely play their instruments, Tom Warrior's vocals were pretty amateurishly done and their sense for song writing was at times pretty unmatured due to their inexperience. And yet they were fuckin' awesome. I'd like to credit that awesomeness to memorable song structures. Riffs like the one in "Reaper" and choruses like in "Crucifixion" make Hellhammer really easy to remember, and while Six in Line definitely have the upper hand when it comes to technicality, playing skill and production, they simply lack that memorability created by having a great sense of songwriting, which Tom Warrior later proved with Celtic Frost.

Six in Line may yet come through and prove their worth as a band. Their latest demo to me isn't much in terms of musicianship, but they do have their moments. Perhaps they still need to find their style, but right now I can only give "U Shud Hev Invtd Me" 5 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. You Should Have Invited Me
2. Plato O Plomo
3. We Intend to Hang You

SIX IN LINE official Facebook site

Listen for yourself

Malfeitor - Dum Morior Orior [Full length] (2012, Hellthrasher Productions)

Malfeitor is an old death metal band hailing from Sweden. Despite their early year of creation they've had a lot of down-time and as such didn't start releasing material before 2011. Now, what if I told you that Malfeitor is a Swedish death metal band that DOESN'T have the famed Sunlight guitar-sound, would you believe it? Nowadays it's almost hard to come by Swedish death metal bands that aren't Grave-clones, but it would seem that this band has chosen to move in a different direction, which still involves plenty of the malevolent melodies that Sweden have become known for.

At first the album Dum Morior Orior didn't really do anything for me. It sounded like mundane, garden-variety death metal without anything out of the ordinary. And to be honest, Malfeitor really isn't that special, but the fact that they are old-timers in the terms of death metal shows greately on Dum Morior Orior, and after turning that shit way up on the stereo the straight up solid quality of the album hit me like a brick in the nuts. I cannot stress enough that the production of this album makes it worth listening to very loud.

However, Malfeitor's Dum Morior Orior is an album filled with tracks that are only moderately enjoyable on their own. The band have crafted a malicious sound aswell as a grim recipe for song writing, but on their own the tracks pale in comparison to the highly memorable opuses of other bands such as Bloodbath.
The album lacks hooks and as such is mostly enjoyable as a whole. The otherwise good songwriting simply can't do it on its own. If I were to point out a few tracks that one should listen to in order to get a fulfilling view of the album I would recommend Scenes from a Slaughterhouse, Rolling with Corpses and Beyond the Horrorizon, which despite its name is actually a really great song.
In closing Dum Morior Orior is 11 tracks, roughly 40 minutes, of death metal that WILL serve its purpose if you give it the chance to do so. 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Conversation in Minor
2. Beyond the Horrorizon
3. When Last Breath Fades
4. Exile from Sanity
5. To Hell, Farewell
6. Death, the Dead and Me
7. Rolling with Corpses
8. And the Sky Turned to Rage
9. Psychosis
10. Scenes from a Slaughterhouse
11. Sojourn Hell

MALFEITOR official site
Hellthrasher Productions official site

Hear for yourself!

Extrakt - Stuck in the Trash [Demo] (2012, Self-released)

In 2010 yet another thrash band was created in Sweden. That band was Extrakt, and their brand of blackened thrash metal was first incarnated in March 2012 on their first demo "Stuck in the Trash". The terrific trio created a short, straight to the point thrash demo with nothing more than three ripping tracks, entitled appropriately "Bitch", "Extraktified" and "Stuck in the Trash".

Being a young band, I was told that Extrakt were mostly beginners. But judging from the sound of their first demo "Stuck in the Trash" they're better than some bands consisting of seasoned musicians. Their style bears a certain tinge of early Sodom and Fear of Tomorrow and Terror Squad era Artillery and as such features some of the elements that made early European thrash metal stand out. True, nowadays the world is flooded by second- or third-grade blackened thrash metal with little appeal, but Extrakt's recipe for simple thrash is really effective in creating hugely enjoyable metal which is easy to imagine in a dark and energetic live setting.

Though the first song "Bitch" consists mostly of a repeated chorus, it has a realyl awesome thrashy riff right before a solo that just reeks early 80's thrash metal, and the other two songs "Stuck in the Trash" and "Extraktified" are fully up to par with many other excellent thrash demos. The young band has an excellent ear for riffing and thusly never become tedious or monotonous to listen to. 8/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Bitch
2. Extraktified
3. Stuck in the Trash

EXTRAKT official site

Snaegr - The Hordes of Chaos [Demo] (2011, Self-released)

To me Swedish death metal is probably the most easily recognizable branch of death metal. From the chainsaw-guitar sound, the slow, thrashy riffs, the menacing atmosphere and the filthy production makes it stand out anywhere.
Without reading the band biography beforehand I casually put on Snaegr's newest demo "The Hordes of Chaos", and before the one minute intro song was even half over I thought to myself "they're definitely Swedish". And correct, Snaegr is a Swedish death metal band doing their best to follow in the footsteps of bands like Entombed, Grave and Dismember.

Other than their blatant worship of the Swedish legends you can also find hints of other bands, namely the British band Bolt Thrower. This is evident in both the way they construct their riffs and their inspiration from the fantasy boardgame Warhammer, from which their name is also taken.

For a 4-song demo one cover-song and a pretty straight forward intro track is just too little effort. It's almost impossible to get a complete view of the band on what is essentially two real tracks. If the band's other two demos are equally short I would've preferred if they had compiled all the tracks and put them on one release. What I got from the rather short demo was really what I also mentioned above: That they've listened to a LOT of Swedish death metal, and that they've played a lot of Warhammer.

In terms of musicianship the band's riffmaker Christofer Davidsson is a moderately good guitar player and riffateer, and band's second member, the vocalist Fredrik Johansson, is a pretty decent growler. The production is like it should be: Gritty, filthy and at times you can even catch the fragrant stench of death in your nostrils if you let the music take you to the bands' insane state of mind.

Ultimately The Hordes of Chaos feels like a half-assed effort with too few tracks that don't always seem as worked-through as I have come to expect from demos nowadays. While Snaegr have some cool things going for them, they're still just clinging a bit too much to a genre that has seen hundreds, if not thousands, of bands of varying quality come and go without really doing anything out of the ordinary. 6/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Risen from Below
2. End of All Things
3. The Hordes of Chaos
4. Born for Burning (Bathory Cover)

SNAEGR's facebook page

Putrified - Neurotic Necrotic [Full length] (2012, Hellthrasher Productions)

Mostly the bands of the modern metal world can be divided into two groups: Traditional revivalist bands and modern bands. You see tons of bands that do nothing but copy their favourite bands from the 80's, and especially death and thrash metal have had a huge resurgence in the scene these last few years.

Old school Swedish death metal is no exception. There are numerous great bands who have their inspirational roots in the old Swedish bands like Grave, Dismember and Entombed, but of course there are also a lot of really mediocre bands, and even some that downright tarnish the otherwise good name of Old School Swedish Death Metal.
Putrified is more or less one of those bands. For a band that has a demo, an EP and now two full length albums on it's record you would expect them to have found a good and solid recipe for metal, but unfortunately the one man project that is A.Death's Putrified is a sad husk of uncreative 80's worship.

Allow me to elaborate; Other than being nothing out of the ordinary, "Neurotic Necrotic" from 2012 is a collection of not-too-thoroughly worked through tracks of varying quality. The guitars are way too fuzzy for a non-stoner band and doesn't leave much room for aggression or the morbid power that imbued the old death metal classics. Some of the tracks can have good bits, like a nice riff or something like that, but ultimately Neurotic Necrotic lacks flow and a climax. It's like the songs individually and the album as a whole never really get to their respective climaxes, and that's what I meant by not thoroughly worked through.

A.Death presents little to no variation and the tracks mostly sound the same as every song sound like small variations of the same riff. The vocals are terribly unvaried and just not good enough to justify not doing anything else. If I would have to mention two good things about the album it is that the slow headbanging parts are alright and some acceptable riffs now and then. But it's not nearly enough to warrant more than 4/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Neurotic Necrotic
2. They Speak
3. Behold the Butchered
4. Havoc
5. A Chamber Beneath
6. The Flesh of God
7. Temple of Vomit
8. Await the Slaughter
9. The Arrival
10. Monolith
11. The Land of the Pharoes
12. These Forsaken Lands
13. The Return of Ashes

PUTRIFIED official site
Hellthrasher Productions official site

Benalthel - Reach Towards the Sky [Demo] (2011, Self released)

Melodic Death Metal is probably one of the most popular subgenres of metal. Prominent melodic death bands like Amon Amarth, In Flames, Dark Tranquility, Dethklok and Arch Enemy, who are all immensly popular, make it clear that it is a genre that is both commercially succesful and also a genre that many young people use as a gateway into the fiery depths of metal.

With a name like "Benalthel" and a demo titel like "Reach Towards the Sky" I didn't know what to expect. It might aswell have been atmospheric black metal or orchestral power metal. But what I got was some severely shredding instrumental melodic death metal.

Benalthel is a one man band from Sweden and as such features little more than ear raping guitars and gut pounding drums. But other than the very Dethklok-esque guitar work, and I mean that in a positive way, and the very complex drums I noticed the production. The production is incredibly boomy and muddy, rendering some of the deeper tones on the guitar almost inaudible. Fortunately most of the shreddin is audible and actually also pretty good. The first track contains some pretty solid, unusual and memorable riffs.

I'm making it sound like Reach Towards the Sky is nothing but fast paced shredding, but it is far more than that. As I mentioned above, the drums are very diverse and intricately programmed, giving the feeling that Benalthel used a lot of time on each song. A trap that many one man bands fall into is depthless songs of short length and little variation, but this debut demo has lenghty songs (the longest being 7 minutes and 13 seconds) with constantly changing song structures. The fact that the demo is instrumental can be both a pro and a con. While it can be tiresome to listen to nothing but guitar and drums all the time, vocals would also take away much of the focus from the impressive guitar and drum work. But if vocals were left out in order to create focus on the music, the production had better damn well be good enough! But the thing is, it isn't. The production is really bad and makes it hard to distinguish individual sounds and therefore makes it harder to enjoy the music.

Though production means a lot, flow means just as much, if not more. The three tracks on Reach Towards the Sky has incredible flow, both internally in each song and between the songs. All the tracks have the same feel, although they change alot in heaviness and amount of shredding.

While the demo sports a generally high level of detail and overall quality (expect production wise), the last track does have one element that feels alien. Choir. We all know it, that cheesy Casio-synthesizer choir chorus that reeks of the 80's. It can fit in in some types of music, but melodic death metal is not one of them. Another thing that seems weird. The last two song titles. "To Infinity" and "And Beyond". Does that sound familiar? That's because it's the catchphrase of Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story. Really? I mean, REALLY? It doesn't fit in at all, and it sounds to me like a joke.

Overall Benalthel's "Reach Towards the Sky" debut demo has some bad elements, namely the last two song titles and the horrendous production. This three track demo has enough good things about it to pull up to a 6/10 though. The lengthy, worked through tracks with memorable riffs and forcefully pounding drums are an absolute plus and makes me want to hear more from this band in the future.

Tracklist:

1. Reach Towards the Sky

2. To Infinity

3. And Beyond

Visit Benalthel on Bandcamp and download the demo for pay-what-you-want