Sangus - Vengeful Brutality [Demo] (2013, Self-released)

Holding high the tatteret banners of thrash-encrusted black metal are Sangus of Rhode Island, USA. Vengeful Brutality seems a fitting title for the kind of furious black metal ablaze with the naked flames of crust punk that we find under their moniker. But the intensity of the raw abrasions comes at the cost of the atmosphere often found inherent in black metal, gambling with the wholesomeness and entirety of the debut, often making it a cacophonous mess of blasting drums and hostile guitars.

It is neither sophisticated nor majestic. Rather, it is clandestinely concrete, dirty and almost graphically visceral. Without any of the subtleties of black metal, and with all the hard-wired tropes of crust, the general thinking seems to be "go fast or go home", and as such Sangus makes a convincing case of what a bulldozer going 100 mph would sound like. For a 10-minute dose of face-blasting black-thrash-crust, look no further than Vengeful Brutality by Sangus. 6/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Bonecollector
2. Gaspipe
3. Si Brucera

SANGUS official Facebook page

Uroboros - Misantropía & Blasfemia / Herejía & Exilio [EPs] (2013, Self-released)

Straight from Buenos Aires in Argentina comes a roar of thunder through a night as black as tar. This uproar from the underground go by the name Uroboros, and right off the bat their debut duo of EPs make most other newcomers of the genre seem like taciturn murmurs in comparison. Respectively entitled Misantropía & Blasfemia and Herejía & Exilio (A translation shouldn't be necessary), these EPs show merrit both as a whole and as two separate outbursts. While the first EP, Misantropia & Blasfemia, shows reckless ruthlessness that culminates in the 10 minute opus En Las Fauces de Uroboros, the follow up EP - released only a few days later - shows another side of the band which ends in a distressing piece of obsidian acoustics.

Mantar showed us in 2014 that the mammoth riffs of sludge with a deathly approach can easily become tired quicker than a fat person competing at the Olympics, even if sternly powerful and delivered with an abundance of energy. But through greatly varying songwriting, spanning both no-compromise death-infused sludged with all the heavy riffage and recklessness that comes with it, and sombre acoustic tones with a considerable ambient presence, the Argentinians burst the bubble of boredom that so often plagues these types of bands.

The powerful riffing that serves as the duo's hallmark is underlined by excellent drumming that is neither too tight or too sloppy. All the little imperfections makes the music come alive - Uroboros show it's not about soaring production with lots of head room, it's about songwriting. And the songwriting rules. There's not one single beat squandered on lacklustre filler, and the focus on huge cyclopean riffs comes with a massive payoff. In many ways they subscribe to the same school of doom as groups like Conan, using minimalistic and beastly riffs to create a feeling of energy even if the tempos are slow. They show that a the coupling of death metal and sludge, while done many times before, can still be well done by newcomers. Their hearts are as black as coal, their sound is as rough as a savage beating. 8/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
Misantropía & Blasfemia
1. El Último de Nosotros
2. Paz Para Los Idiotas
3. Ars Goetia
4. En Las Fauces de Uroboros

Herejía & Exilio
1. K'Zulu
2. Arcano Devorador
3. Holocausto
4. Somos el Pueblo de Dios

UROBOROS Facebook
UROBOROS Bandcamp

Non Opus Dei & Morowe - Dwizki Dwie [Split] (2013, Witching Hour Productions)

Since the late 90's Non Opus Dei have graced Europe with several albums of black metal from their stronghold in Poland. They represent the old school of the genre, but aren't shy of pushing the boundaries a little every now and then - Something that they make evident on their split with country-mates Morowe. And when I say that Non Opus Dei are more old school I mean that strictly in the sense that their approach to song writing is more straight forward. Morowe hail from a different part of Poland, and in the same manner as Non Opus Dei, their approach is tinged by the tendencies of the time in which they started out. In Morowe's case, that means a much more modern take on black metal, often lending them the definition "post-black metal".

Using the split-release format for something particular is always more interesting than two bands that sound exactly alike or that are worlds apart making a split for no apparent reason. On the Dziwki Dwie split-release, we find two bands from the same country, but from two different currents of the black metal subgenre. While not entirely removed from one another, the stylings of Morowe and Non Opus Dei compliment each other sufficiently to communicate the general idea and to promote each band and their individual strengths.

Both bands offer up three choice cuts created especially for the split. And both offerings are good for quite a few listens.
I suppose you have to be into simple song progression with a clinical edge for it to have lasting appeal, because mostly I found especially the songs of Non Opus Dei to be a little too ordinary. The highlight on Dziwki Dwie for me remains Kat Kota by Morowe after many a listen. The riffs presented there are unique and interesting while being easily recognizable and different - Something that precious few bands master. This, coupled with their unusual rhythm section has swayed in their favor, which is something that isn't easily done as I find the whole "progressive-posty-wosty black metal" thing to be usually more of a shitty gimmick than a descriptor that holds any real merit. What it usually means is riffs starting and stopping awkwardly to the sound of poorly timed drums and drugged out vocals, or extremely long stretches of useless noise or acoustic guitar. Yuck.

Dwizki Dwie is a great example of exactly how to make a split. The bands compliment each other without overlapping too much in regards to style and purpose, and it certainly helps when the songs don't sound like throwaway garbage that wasn't good enough for the upcoming album. While the great old ones of the genre are busy reinventing themselves as a speed metal outfit or playing opera houses accompanied by huge orchestras and choirs, this is the part of the scene that still knows what it's all about. Ass-kicking blast beats and gruesome riffs. 7/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Non Opus Dei - Dziwki Dwie
2. Non Opus Dei - Kres Hanby
3. Non Opus Dei - Szaleniec Glupiec Opeetany
4. Morowe - Czij to Glos
5. Morowe - Kat Kota
6. Morowe - Obustronne Oczy Patrza

MOROWE official site
NON OPUS DEI official site

Rape on Mind - Downwards [Full length] (2013, Self-released)

Experimentation is the essence of progress. Some musicians take this to heart and always seek to push boundaries, and some are content to just fine tune what has been done before. What is worth remembering is that experimenting with no real goal or purpose probably won't yield any usable results.

My initial reaction to Downwards by Rape on Mind was something along the lines of "huh, I wonder where this is going". These notions of experimentalism were however quickly exchanged with a feeling of disappointment. Downwards starts out with some atmospheric saxophone, which I tought was pretty interesting, bringing to mind darkjazz groups like Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation. But I found that these fleeting moments of intrigue were few and brief. Before long the music of Rape on Mind degrades into mindless chugs with late-era Max Cavalera vocals, like a thugged-out Soulfly. To me, Downwards seems like a rancid misinterpretation of what death metal and grindcore are about, jazzed up with aweful groove-core elements.

It's not like chugging riffs are the bane of all that is holy. But chugs only work if they're used as interludes between more meaningful songwriting. Otherwise the music will just be an amorphous mass of start-stop pseudo-riffs with no real merrit. Deathcore bands usually take the heat for being too chuggy, using downtuned strums at irregular intervals at every possible climax, but at least most deathcore has climaxes, varying intensity and temper. Instead, Rape on Mind just jerks around on the floor in a half-hour seizure to the sound of a malfunctioning jackhammer, making even the simplest deathcore acts seem like gracious ballets.

Perhaps I'm being unfair. The second half of Downwards shows a more varied approach to songwriting, and bands like Portal (Which I quite like) have very little variation in intensity, and their music is exactly just an amorphous mass of riffs. But at least their music has wanderlust, purpose and atmosphere, which is something that can't be said of this Polish group. Keep in mind that I don't particularly care for this kind of music at all, so take that into consideration whilst reading this. But I think Downwards by Rape on Mind is complete rubbish. 4/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Downwards
2. Remorse
3. Steps
4. ......
5. Nothing
6. Lost
7. Memories Always Burn
8. Break or be Broken
9. Question

Rape On Mind on Bandcamp
Rape On Mind on Facebook

Defilementory - The Dismal Ascension [Full length] (2014, Torture Music Records)

After three long years it's time to revisit a prominent Danish death metal band. Finally, Defilementory have released their debut full length album, after having teased death metal fans with their 2-song EP "Infatuated with Deformity" from 2011. What made them stand out to me was the prominent bass work, and the fact that they so finely balanced elements from brutal, technical and "regular" death metal in a mix that was both impressive and extremely enjoyable. Needless to say, I've looked forward to this release.

Though the Danish band has always flirted with the more technical aspects of death metal, those elements have now become much more dominant on The Dismal Ascension, leaning closer to bands like Gorguts or even Deathspell Omega than ever before. In that regard their previous release, 2011's demo EP "Infatuated with Deformity", was more straightforward in its usage of technical passages. As an example, the track "Misanthropic Emancipation" features some fairly interesting use of sliding riffs and popping bass amidst ruthless slams. The Dismal Ascension has it all, and the four title-tracks that serve as the pièce de résistance more or less serve as a condensed presentation of everything the band is capable of. From raw quarries of primitive slams and structures that may at first sound like basic chug-a-chug diddley-diddley type affairs to sprawling deltas of blazing melodies and weirdly dishamornic themes, Defilementory's debut album is a release that both hails the greats of the genre and seeks new territory.

Where brutal death metal can often come off as clumsy and thuggish, Defilementory are deliberate and precise. Where technical death metal can become too intricate for its own good, the Danish band prove themselves as masters of flow. But - and there always is a "but" - there are a few scattered occurances where things tend to get a bit out of hand, with the usual groove and flow of the band being beaten down at the hands of overly atmospheric harmonies. The track "In Soullessness - Supremacy" is one such occurance. However, those brief moments are vastly outnumbered and outclassed by the much more memorable passages that make you wish for more. I'll be returning for more. 8/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Misanthropic Emancipation
3. In Soullessness - Supremacy
4. The Mask of Anatomy
5. Endless Abjure
6. The Horrid Reflection
7. Abhorred Veracity
8. The Dismal Ascension - Vengeance
9. The Dismal Ascension - Despair
10. The Dismal Ascension - Sovereign
11. The Dismal Ascension - Departure

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DEFILEMENTORY on Bandcamp
Torture Music Records official site