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

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

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

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

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

VIELIKAN official site

Endometritis - Dehiscent Purulent Abdominal Viscera [EP] (2012, Self-released)

Thing's are going great for slam all over the world. The scenes in the US, South America, Japan, Southern Asia, Germany, Russia and even Scandinavia are doing great with numerous talented bands doing their part with great EPs, demos and full lengths to further fucking SLAM.

Tracks of a length of more than 3 minutes is more or less an unusual sight in slamming brutal death metal. However, of the three tracks on Endometritis' demo "Dehiscent Purulent Abdominal Viscera" two of them are of a length greater than that benchmark, the longest one clocking in at a stunning 6:09 minutes. This track, which insidently is also the first one, sets the tone for the next 13 minutes with a murderously slow exhibition of brutal death metal.
Continuing in the same crushing manner the German band delivers a gorey torrent of killer riffs and some of the most well-performed and most varied vokills I've ever heard in a slam band. The second track "Squelching Postcoital Contraception About Ovarian Cysts" is a monumentally fearsome piece of slamming brutal death metal and really is the EP's main centrepiece, where it feels like Endometritis have really given it all they've got.

The last track, Ulcus Durum, is probably the EP's weakest track, and it feels like it's only there as a kind of filler track.
Despite all the commendable features of the "Dehiscent Purulent Abdominal Viscera" demo EP I wish they had a more aggressive, heavy and organic guitar tone. The drums could also be a little more crispy without losing brutality, and I feel Endometritis' music deserves the best sound available.

In short, Endometritis might be one of the next big things in German slam. They're playing a death metal/grindcore festival in Denmark this summer (2012) and, if I remember correctly, have some new material coming out soon. 8/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Disgorging Foul Excrements
2. Squelching Postcoital Contraception About Ovarian Cysts
3. Ulcus Durum

ENDOMETRITIS official site
Download the EP and listen for yourself HERE

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

Digging Your Tomb - Demo(lition) [Demo] (2011, Self-released)

Slams all around! That's the feeling you get when you listen to Digging Your Tomb's 4th demo, the not-so-originally titled "Demo(lition)". The brutal Spanish trio delivers supreme guttural might on three masterfully crafted songs with more goresoaked vocals and slam riffs than you can shake a stick at.

Digging Your Tomb are pretty similar to the Norwegian butcherers in Kraanium in terms of the thugget-out-ness of their slams aswell as the way they build up their songs and the guttural style of the vocals. Like any good slam demo, Demo(lition) features cripling slams and breakdowns at both high and low tempoes, and compared to other upcoming bands of the genre they seem to have a little better understanding of song flow.

One thing about slamming brutal death metal bands though... I find it hard to be really enthusiastic about them, probably because there are so many of them. You wouldn't get excited over someone who had a nice ball-point pen either, would you? It's beginning to feel the same way with slam bands, even if Digging Your Tomb display an obvious expertice in the field.

All in all Digging Your Tomb isn't crazy technical, but one of the great things about this genre is that the music doesn't need to be blistering fast and hard to play. In a way I'd call Digging Your Tomb's demo the easy listening of slam. Though "brutal" is a descriptive term every scene kid and their dogs throws at every band who's lyrics are about gore or death I think that Demo(lition) is mighty brutal in every sense of the word! 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. 666 Deads
2. Inhuman Hostility
3. Weaponized
4. Outro

DIGGING YOUR TOMB official site
Listen for yourself HERE

Wendess - Nuée Noire [Full length] (2011, Self Mutilation Services)

Depressive and atmospheric black metal, often chriticized for being a way too "easy" genre that every babboon can play, is mostly seen in conjuction with lenghty black metal tunes with tortured vocals, a truckload of highly distorted tremolo riffs and drums that range from simple 4/4's to blistering blast beats.

Hailing from Canada Wendess is in all aspects a traditional atmospheric black metal band with some tendencies toward depressive themes. Already from the first of the five it's obvious that their focus lies with the melancholic feelings invoked by the pain-filled vocals and the foggy atmosphere occassionally created by the heavy ambiance and huge contrast between peaceful parts with clean guitars and the chaotic cacophony of the more traditional black metal parts.
Wendess is one of those bands that master the change from violent blast beats and aggressive tremolo-riffs in the spirit of true black metal to scenic soundscapes of a dovish nature that are so frequently associated with atmospheric bands. Just when you thought they had nothing more to add they come back with yet another detail or hitherto unseen part that makes for an overall enjoyable listening experience.

Nuée Noire offers just over one hour of sombre music for you to enjoy. The unending songs just keep going on and on and the production work is near perfection. There is just one thing, though... It's hard not to compare them to other bands of the rather crowded genre. One could compare them to both Shining, Silencer, Xasthur, Wedard aswell as newer bands like Ash Borer and Fell Voices. What purpose does this serve? Well it show that Wendess, good or not, haven't exactly invented the wheel per se. They do their thing well but unfortunately lie in the deep shadows of those who came before them.
I had a hard time choosing a rating for Wendess' 2011 album "Nuée Noire". I enjoyed the album very much, but then again they're not bringing anything new to the table. 7 or 8? The benefit of the doubt says 8/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Intro&Seroquel
2. Xanax
3. 8915
4. Lithium
5. Outro

WENDESS official site
Self Mutilation Services official site