Well the band has apparently matured since then with one album since, that have not heard, called Purge and Purify, that gets rid of those tongue in check vibes on favor of more serious traditional metal tropes. And that appears to continue for album number 3, the very seriously named Acheron.

With this more mature attitude (songs titles like “Rotting Crows”, “Salem”, “Mass Grave” and “Holy Venom”) comes improved song writing and evolution as Acheron is pretty darn solid. It still has a bit of an Unearth /Shadows Fall thrashy metalcore ‘modern metal’ vibe but with an added element of pure melodic death metal and regular death metal. I think they could now be compared to the likes of Sylosis (though I have not heard the new one).

Big crunchy guitars deliver a wide array of thrashing, blasting and grooving riffs and a couple of the songs I’d even go so far as to say are really fucking good, like “One Way Overdose” with its furious blast and nice thrash jaunt or lumbering “Mass Grave” with surprising cello/orchestral outburst.

The album avoids clean whines or ballads, sticking to a pretty thunderous approach from start to finish, resulting in a solid album from a band I didn’t think I’d hear from again, and certainly not this impressively.

Devin Townsend – Epicloud (Inside Out Music)
I’ve only recently gotten into Strapping Young Lad, so I’m pretty late to the Devin Townsend party, but after one listen of “Liberation,” the soaring, big, brash, rollicking metal opera track from Epicloud, I was hooked. Both Epic and Loud, this was the feel-good release of 2012 and gave way to many happy, headbanging sessions in the car with my daughter. Addictive, catchy and uplifting – Epicloud was a welcome change to my usual fare and shows that Hevy Devy isn’t so heavy all of the time.

Beyond All Recognition – Drop=Dead (Napalm Records)
2012’s guilty pleasure for me was a dubcore album from a Swedish band released on Napalm Records. Full of huge bass drops and massive breakdowns while delivering competent, heavy-ass deathcore – but without the silly dance parts, clean vocals or annoying elements that bands like Skip the Foreplay or Eskimo Callboy have – Beyond All Recognition tested the limits of my car stereo and garnered themselves a new fan, despite the image and label the band function under.

Before the Dawn – Rise of the Phoenix (eOne)
Before they split up, Finland’s Before the Dawn delivered their finest effort. Dropping the clean vocals and upping the heaviness and melody, Rise of the Phoenix was an album that could give Insomnium and Be’lakor a run for their money in the realms of somber, melodic death metal. Supine but heavy harmonies, blastbeats and some simply killer riffs made this a really solid album that should have cemented the band on the Finnish metal map, but instead ended up being a damn fine swan song.

The HAARP Machine – Disclosure (Sumerian)
Between the Buried and Me‘s 2012 opus was a let-down for me. Luckily, the UK’s The HAARP Machine stepped up and delivered their own version of progressive, experimental and challenging metal that washed away The Parallax II. With less self-indulgence and more actual metal as well as a heavy Middle Eastern vibe by way of Al Mu’min’s sitar, The HAARP Machine, despite the Sumerian label sound, delivered one of 2012’s most interesting releases.

Samothrace – Reverence to Stone (20 Buck Spin)
I’m still upset at myself for not getting around to reviewing this in 2012. After absolutely loving 2008’s Life Trade, the 4-year wait and massive 2 track release never initially hooked me like the debut did. And based on the lack of coverage and press for the release, I wasn’t the only one. After a few dedicated listens, the album truly sunk in and revealed itself to be a real grower, despite being initially intimidating. The 2 songs really unfurl and develop, and while lacking the immediacy of say, “Awkward Hearts” from the debut, Samothrace appear to be a real heavy hitter in the US doom scene – if they can just hone their sound a smidge.

Sylosis – Monolith (Nuclear Blast Records)
I know metalcore is a dirty word in metal, but these Brits knocked it out of the park with their aptly titled and massive third release. I remember reviewing their 2008 debut, Conclusion of an Age, for Metal Maniacs and hearing a dull Unearth clone. With Monolith, a line-up change and a fiercer thrash-based sound has resulted in an album that blows the likes of All That Remains out of the water and and shows these guys to be a real contender in the US-dominated metalcore scene.

JORDAN ITKOWITZ

Ancient Ascendant – Into the Dark EP (Forepoint Records)
I just heard about these guys recently ’cause Enslaved is touring with them in the UK. What a show that’s gonna be. These guys mix chunky melodic death riffing with Swedish melodic black metal for an At the Gates-meets-Dissection assault which kicks all kinds of unholy ass. Tons of groove, smartly written songs, great guitar tone and snarling vocals, plus the occasional moody interlude (shades of early Opeth). Expect big things when these guys drop their debut, but for now, seek this out immediately. This would have been my EP of the year had I heard it in time.

Psilocybe Larvae – The Labyrinth of Penumbra (Buil2kill Records)
Finland may be the world’s melodic death/doom capital, but head further east and you’ll find that Russia has its share of excellent acts as well. Venture into this labyrinth to find slow lurching segments chased by faster gallops, ragged growls and screams cresting to soaring cleans, and an overall exceptional sense of pacing and dynamics. Had I given this one more listens last month, it would have made my year-end list, no question. (Credit to Shane for posting this in the Now Playing thread).

Threshold – March of Progress (Nuclear Blast)
I was very sad to hear that Threshold vocalist Andrew “Mac” McDermott passed away in 2011. He was one of my favorite prog-metal vocalists, with a smooth and soaring delivery that meshed perfectly with the band’s chunky guitars and hook-filled songwriting. The band returned to their original vocalist, Damian Wilson, who has a slightly more operatic style (no surprise, the guy played Jean Valjean in Les Miserables for awhile), but I think I was so thrown by not hearing Mac again that I only gave this new album a few spins. After returning to it, it’s another really strong Threshold album. It’s not as infused with smooth 80’s AOR hooks as Subsurface was, but it’s still packed with lovely melodies and intricate proggy fireworks.

In Mourning – The Weight of Oceans (Spinefarm Records)
Lots of love for B’elakor this year, but no one paid much mind to the third effort from Finland’s In Mourning. Too bad, as they’re another strong voice in the melodic death/doom arena, with clear and keening melodies, gruff vocals and elegant atmosphere. Great stuff for fans of Insomnium, Opeth or old Katatonia.

Kälter – Ubuntu (Maple Metal Records)
This Canadian melodic/progressive death act may have started as a Children of Bodom cover band, but they’ve sinced grown into their own unique beast – and it’s a weird one. Judging from the artwork and title here, you might expect a prog-metal take on Sepultura’s Roots. Instead, you get thrashy melodeath, lots of burbling, symphonic and vaguely Eastern synths and the odd 70’s Genesis prog freakout. Oh and some tribal drums. Perhaps the confusion comes from the fact that Ubuntu is a South African term, but this artwork depicts a Central American (Maya? Aztec?) warrior. Whatever the intent, the end result is still an exuberant and unpredictable entry to the melodeath scene.

KEVIN  E.

ADAM PALM

After Death/Unaussprechlichen Kulten – Dwellers of the Deep/The Madness from the Sea (Proselytism)
This elaborate split includes a disc for each band and a huge fold-out poster/lyric sheet housed in a giant double gatefold digipack with cover art for each half and extensive liner notes on the concepts behind each song. And, the music is more than deserving of its packaging. After Death is led by Nocturnus mastermind Mike Browning, and carries the atmospheric, technical death/thrash sound of classics The Key and Thresholds into more mystical realms. Unaussprechlichen Kulten hails from Chile and sounds like a raw, Lovecraftian Immolation. It may seem like an unlikely pairing, but their shared themes, attitude, and masterful songcraft make this one of 2012’s most all-around unfuckwithable releases.

Weapons to Hunt – Blessed In Sin (Vic Records)
Despite the facts that Sinister never completely broke up and this band existed as Infinited Hate until recently, this feels like a Sinister comeback album. The band is now comprised entirely of former and current Sinister members and the music resurrects the vigor and twisted guitar work of Cross the Styx more than any other album since, except with a hint of early Comecon.

Leukemia – Love (Vic Records)
This eccentric, varied Swedish death/thrash album was recorded in ’94, but didn’t see the light of day until just last year. Swedeath with this much character is hard to come by nowadays.

Darkified – Cthulhu Riseth – The Complete Works of Darkified (Vic Records)
A long-overdue reissue of everything ever recorded by this tragically short-lived Swedish band from the early ‘90s who specialized in uniquely deranged, atmospheric death metal. The remastering job by the mighty Dan Swano makes it all sound better than ever.

Evadne – The Shortest Way (Solitude Productions)
These despondent Spaniards take full advantage of every past development in melodic death/doom, painting a bleak picture with shades of Rapture, My Dying Bride, Slumber, Revelations of Rain, Swallow the Sun and Funeral. It won’t win any awards for originality, but its flawless execution more than makes up for that.”

CHUCK KUCHER

Nadja – Dagdrøm (Broken Spine Productions, Daymare Recordings)
The prolific drone/doom duo returned for another sublime slice of their patented buzzing magic. Dagdrøm may be familiar territory for the band, with a sound so lustrously thick and warm you could wear it like a parka, but the execution is as good as ever. Dagdrøm is a fine entry point to newcomers and a welcome return to form long time fans.

The Catalyst – Voyager (Forcefield Records)
A bad acid hardcore/noise rock trainwreck. Scalding vocals, face shredding blasts of bad trip psychedelia, and angular Unsane-by-way-of-Converge riffs mark Voyager as one of the most caustic and belligerent releases of 2012. It’s the perfect album for the end of a shitty day, or the beginning of an even worse night.

Ehnahre – Old Earth (Crucial Blast)
Old Earth is to doom what Obscura was to death metal. Ehnahre dragged Khanate through a jazz-infused death metal blender and produced a challenging, disjointed and atmospheric journey through the earth’s blackest soil. Old Earth is even more discordant, more abrasive, more immersive and ambient, and altogether more impressive than their excellent debut.

Kowloon Walled City – Container Ships (Brutal Panda Records)
San Francisco’s Kowloon Walled City took a bit of the noise out of their sound for their newest album, but that doesn’t mean Container Ships is any less heavy. The cleaner tone is coupled with slower, sludgier, and more emotive songwriting that calls to mind Pelican and Disappearer. This additional emotional heaviness adds depth to their sound and magnifies the heft of their bursts of discordant noise rock.

LUKE SAUNDERS

Bell Witch – Longing (Profound Lore)
The Seattle duo may not have shared the acclaim of some of their more experienced contemporaries in the funeral doom field, but fans of the style would be wise to check out this monstrous slab of painful, crawling extremity. Comprised of a mere six tracks but clocking in over an hour’s worth of despair and funereal melody; Longing is the perfect companion piece to Loss’ Despond album. Like that particular album, Longing plumbs the darkest depths of the human psyche, and although it’s not quite as compelling or razor-to-the-wrist inducing as Despond, Bell Witch has crafted a sparse yet weighty debut that is a powerful, emotional piece of extreme artistry.

Ne Obliviscaris – Portal of I (Aural music)
This Australian band’s stunning debut escaped my radar upon its mid-year release. In the catch-up period of late 2012/early 2013 I came across a track on a sampler and the full-length has since proceeded to amaze and mesmerize. Floating around in the Aussie metal underground for several years, Portal of I is the culmination of relentless hard work and craftsmanship in sculpting this monster (and at times bloated) 71-minute epic. Ne Obliviscaris’ highly inventive progressive metal has shades of Opeth and Focus-era Cynic, but their sound transcends easy classification. Portal of I is further embellished by a blackened, classical edge and their ambitious formula avoids sounding derivative or awkward in delivery. The jazz inflections, clean vocals and use of violin are not overdone, instead adding a rich and complex new dimension to their intricate progressive metal arrangements. Capped off with a stellar production job, this fucker oozes class and comes highly recommended.

The Levitation Hex – The Levitation Hex (Quadrum Records)
Another Aussie release that didn’t get the attention it deserved. Essentially a supergroup of sorts, The Levitation Hex are comprised of ex and current members of Alchemist, Alarum and Aeon of Horus. The brainchild of vocalist/guitarist Adam Agius (ex-Alchemist), The Levitation Hex is a natural extension of his vastly underrated former band, but with a different enough vibe and angle to sound like a fresh new adventure. The progressive and psychedelic elements are balanced by a taut and muscular groove-based approach, while the mildly experimental song-writing threads hypnotic passages and tribal rhythms into the mix. In short, The Levitation Hex crafted an intriguing debut, well-worth checking out.

Windhand – Windhand (Force Field Records)
This is another low-key gem that got plenty of airplay during the earlier part of the year. Without any strong label backing and long delays in the pressing of this release, it appears destined to fall through the cracks. It’s a shame too as this is an excellent piece of earthy stoner-doom, shrouded in a druggy haze and bookended by the chilled-out, ethereal vocals of Dorthia Cottrell.

Goatwhore – Blood for the Master (Metal Blade)
Yeah I know, Goatwhore aren’t exactly in need of extra promotion with the Metal Blade juggernaut behind them; but another solid album from the band, released in early 2012, was buried under a slew of top-notch releases. Goatwhore are the kind of band required in every metal collection. Their lack of musical and emotional depth is counteracted by a no-frills, unpretentious dedication to metal, and the gift of creating a skull-crushing black/death/thrash hybrid that is undeniably heavy, catchy, and above all, fun to listen to. Complete with another robust Erik Rutan production, Blood for the Master is not their finest hour (that honor goes to A Haunting Curse), but is another consistently solid and enjoyable album that rocks hard and pulls no punches. Let’s hope Ben Falgoust finds the time to crank out a new Soilent Green album in 2013.

Electrocution – Inside the Unreal (Aural Music/Goregorecords)
Originally released in 1993, this old-school death metal gem from the sub-genres golden period was resurrected for the reissue treatment in 2012. Having missed it the first time I was stoked to become acquainted with this excellent effort from the Floridian-influenced Italian unit. Although I can’t provide a comparison with its original recording, the stout (and remastered) production is respectable for its era, offering ample punch and clarity. The addictive songs follow a basic blueprint and are fast, catchy and brutal old-school DM workouts.

King Parrot – Bite Your Head Off (Third Verse)
A recent discovery, the young Australian band dropped this high-energy, maniacal slab of punk/thrash/grind madness during the latter stages of 2012. In the process they emerged as a band to keep a close eye on.

Now clocking in at just over 8 minutes this EP is a long way from an hour, but it drops the hammer regardless of brevity.  Anyone familiar with their sound knows what’s on the menu: the aforementioned guitar nastiness, Keijo Niinimaa’s trademark growl, blast-beats-a-plenty served up by Sami Latva, and a side helping of “FUCK YOU” delivered by bassist Kristian Toivainen.  “Cause” begins the beating, with following track “The Game” showing off the restraint this band so masterfully has worked into their sound in order to keep it from becoming stale, which can be a pitfall of this genre.  “War” sees the same break about halfway through, but if you’re listening to this you know what you’ve came for, and Rotten Sound’s punishment is one your hollow metal heart can’t get enough of.

This is most likely an appetizer for an upcoming full length, and a good excuse to break your New Year’s Resolution of not listening to so much grind metal this year.  Wait… who the hell would actually make THAT New Year’s Resolution?!?

The band cites Exodus, Sepultura and Megadeth as influences, with their German metal origins not really infiltrating their sound.  The Sepultura influence is especially detectable and the core of their sound comes across like a mix of Sepultura’s earlier material with the South American tribal influences and groove-based ethics of their Chaos AD/Roots era.   Coupled with some rather unconventional song structures and a mid-paced, groovy death metal influence the final product is at the very least an interesting if not overly compelling album.

At the heart of New Tribe is a flat, dry and oddly mechanical production that has a certain unique quality but can also have a flattening effect that stifles the heft and range of the recording.   Of course at higher volumes through a decent system greater potency is achieved and it’s nice to hear the bass play a notable role.  The guitars have a nasty sound that goes well with the more aggressive aspects of the material, and the rawer production and gruff vocals lends the songs a rougher, meaner edge.   However, the song-writing is too uneven for the band to achieve any great consistency and potency, although there are glimmers of the band’s potential and accomplished musicianship peppered throughout the album.  Ritual Killing has a particularly solid grasp of groove, while the lead work and faster thrash tempos work effectively.  Unfortunately many of the song structures don’t gel together all that well and they would be wise to explore the angrier, speedier dimensions of their formula.   The somewhat haphazard structures lend the album individual character, but the execution lacks cohesion and a deft touch.

The vocals lean towards a deep, guttural grunt interspersed with an odd and occasionally distracting high-pitched shriek.  The vocals definitely stray towards the death metal side of their sound but they sometimes sound a bit hokey and forced.  They are fairly well enunciated but not necessarily in a good way, as some of the understandable lyrics border on the lame and clumsy.   The environmentally-friendly lyrical slant of “Liar” is a refreshing change; however it’s difficult not to smirk at the repeated gruff refrain of, “You. Kill. Earth… You. Kill. Yourself!”

The instrumental title track is well-paced and composed, featuring tidy drumming, including some effective tribal percussion, catchy mid-paced riffing and excellent lead work.   Elsewhere, the mid-later album tracks generally hold up better than the earlier stages of the album, while they could have sliced 3 or 4 songs from the playlist to firm up the overall quality.   The formulaic intro/outro combination is particularly unnecessary.

On the brighter side several songs hit the mark and show what the band is capable of.   “Silent Earth” has a chunky lurch spliced with ample amounts of mid-paced thrashy groove and blast beat sections; complete with high-pitched shrieks.   The rumbling grooves, ballsy aggression and busy drumming highlights “Headhunter”, as it hits thrashy-overdrive at its climax.   The robust “No Total Control” is one of the finer examples of their groove-based death/thrash formula working a treat.

In the end, it’s hard to know what to make of Ritual Killing.  There seems to be potential lurking within but they certainly need to work on smoothing out the song structures and creating some fluency and cohesion in their unconventional song-writing to create something truly worthy.

After a beautiful, somber ambient/violin instrumental that sounds like something from an Aronofsky film, “Lykaria Hecate” hits you with a vicious flurry of biting guitars, spiralling riffs, powerful vocals, and whirlwind drumming with some thunderous fills. It all sounds great, but not at all what I was expecting. The track becomes more melodic and morose when it slows after a brief interlude of low clean guitar plucking and organs. It’s still nothing unique, but it’s passionate and flawlessly executed. This is the case for most of the album. In each track, tempos shift between blistering and mid-paced segments that are often no less intense due to rapid double-bass drumming and tremolo riffing. No hint of rock influence or what I would consider to be ritual-driven black metal ever surfaced. And, the only moments resembling classic metal were the ending of the aforementioned “Lykaria Hecate,” which sounds eerily similar to the very end of Metallica’s “Creeping Death,” and the highly-melodic mid-sections of “The Sloughted Scales of Seperation” and “Black Kundalini.” So, I don’t know how Agonia dreamed up their description because it definitely wasn’t from listening to this album.

The band’s most unique aspect is actually the vocals of Cain Letifer, which play a larger role here than in most black metal. Instead of just rasping over the music, Letifer uses his varied and impassioned voice to and add depth and shape the atmosphere of the music. His style ranges from typical black metal shrieking, gruff, forceful shouting, and clean, distant chanting that sounds like Saruman’s fell voice on the air. (Maybe they could get Christopher Lee to join in on their next album. He is a metalhead after all, but I digress.) Letifer is aided by a production that’s clean and sharp, but not artificial. I’m not privy to the lyrics, but based on the album and song titles’ references to Buddhism, I’m guessing they’re not your typical black metal themes.

It seems like Acrimonious want to do something special, but don’t quite know how yet. Nevertheless, what they have created is a slightly different take on Swedish black metal that’s thoroughly enjoyable for what it is once you accept that it’s not the off-kilter journey you might be expecting. I look forward to seeing where they go on their next album. It would be great to hear them expand upon their more melodic and emotional elements. Maybe then their label’s claims won’t be so unfounded.

“The Gravity Of Impermanence” is an original mix of Avant-garde Death Metal featuring pummeling blast beats, haunting female vocals, violins, saxophone, harmonica and a barrage of other eclectic surprises, all brought together into one melting pot of misanthropic darkness.

The cover art was once again done by AZURE EMOTE’s own creator and frontman Mike Hrubovcak, who is known for illustrating artworks for SINISTER, GRAVE, CATTLE DECAPITATION, HATE ETERNAL, DECREPIT BIRTH, MORTICIAN, and many others. The album was Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Ron Vento of AURORA BOREALIS at NIGHTSKY STUDIOS.

“The Gravity Of Impermanence” contains 14 songs and over 1 hour of music.
The track list is as follows:

1. Epoch of De-Evolution
2. Carpe Diem
3. Marching Forth
4. Sunrise Slaughter
5. Conduit of Atrophy
6. Veils of Looming Despair
7. Dissent
8. The Living Spiral
9. Obsessive Time Directive
10. Patholysis
11. Destroyer of Suffering
12. Annunaki Illuminati
13. The Color of Blood
14. Puppet Deities

“The Gravity Of Impermanence” lineup is as follows:

• Mike Hrubovcak – Vocals, Lyrics, Keyboards, Electronic Programming,
Samples, Harmonica
• Ryan Moll – Lead and Rhythm Guitars
• Mike Heller – Drums / Percussion
• Kelly Conlon – Bass Guitar
• Pete Johansen – Violin / Electric Violin
• Sandra Laureano – Female Vocals
• Melissa Ferlaak koch – Female Vocals
• Bruce Lamont – Saxophone
• Jonah Weingarten – Keytar solos
• J.J. Hrubovcak – Guest Guitar Solo
• Jason Ian-Vaughn Eckert – Guest Electronic Programming

DECIBEL MAGAZINE – “PUPPET DEITIES” song streaming here:
http://www.decibelmagazine.com/featured/streaming-azure-emote-puppet-deities/

SELFMADEGOD RECORDS RELEASE TRAILER:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2rBkLb3Sf4

STUDIO REPORT VIDEOS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xKFUTqvBT4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jpKvRzT8vE

www.azureemote.com
www.facebook.com/azureemote
www.reverbnation.com/azureemote
www.azureemote.bandcamp.com
www.myspace.com/azureemote

Initially, I didn’t find much to connect with. Most of the genre’s tropes seemed absent. There were no emotional melodies to latch onto or miserable feelings to get lost in. I thought they might expand upon the Disembowelment-esque leanings of their previous works, Noctambulism and Neptunian, but I wasn’t getting that feeling either. The attitude I did get was more like that of death metal, but not the variety of the groups they share members with, Binah and Cruciamentum, as would be expected. Surprisingly, the first band that came to mind was Demented Ted. That may seem like an unnecessarily obscure reference, but the guitar work and general tone made me think of Promises Impure on a few occasions, albeit at a more subdued tempo. I was also surprised to hear elements of Akercocke in the use of dissonant chords and occasional strained, shouted vocals. Several moments throughout the album – such as last few minutes of “Paradigms” and the mid-section of “Vanished is the Haze” – had me thinking of tracks like “Leviathan” and “Verdelet.” At times, I also had flashbacks to the slower passages of the underrated Morbid Angel album, Gateways to Annihilation.

So, comparing this to other contemporary death/doom is a bit of an “apples and oranges” situation. However, there are some aspects that plant it firmly in that genre. The majority of the tracks range from around 8 to 15 minutes in length, and their pacing and linear, serpentine structures hark back to the early days of My Dying Bride. Also, I hear some Evoken and Dusk (US) influence in the keyboards/synths sprinkled throughout and the plodding, whispered, clean-guitar-driven three-quarters of album closer, “Unveiled.” Plus, the ambient instrumental, “La madrugada eterna,” while obviously not metal, is still doom-related with its strong Trial of the Bow-like atmosphere.

All of this together creates a sound that’s immediately familiar, but reveals many different layers upon repeat listens. The influences may be discernible, but they’ve never been combined in this way before and with such subtlety, which can be fully appreciated thanks to the clear, heavy, natural production.

Another interesting facet of this release is its packaging. The beautifully illustrated, slightly cartoonish cover art and digibook case gives the appearance of some kind of pernicious kids book. It doesn’t quite match the music and atmospheric photography on the internal pages, but I appreciate its execution and creativity. It’s certainly different than pretty much every other metal cover I’ve seen.

For their Profound Lore debut, Indesinence have composed an imposing, sophisticated work of anger, strength, and desperation, but with none of the sorrow that often comes with this style. It took some time to get my head around its insidious intricacy, and I’m still not sure I have entirely. I look forward to hearing where they go next. I just hope I don’t have to wait another half-dozen years to find out.

Much like Jungle Rot , Humiliation and such, theme is war and the delivery is steady, deliberate and full of mid paced chunky riffs, and of course plenty of war reference and samples (war through the ages specifically) . Though littered with a few sloppy blast, the bulk and better side of War Possession is slower, steady mid paced and beefy. The guitar tone is superb and suited to this style, and the vocals are gruff and deep.

While there are some salvos of  a more brutal and fast style of death metal, War Possession is at their best when imbuing the British war masters with a slower, more developed double bass backed march such as “Medieval Bloodlust” and “World War Domination”, as the pace and patient twang of the bass is far more satisfying than piece  meal blast beats.

The other two songs aren’t bad either but as there are only 4 songs, and one 2 minute outro, there isn’t quite enough to get exited about any future full length, although I might still check it out.

After perusing their professional-looking website (hindered by some vague and rather scant information) it reveals that several members of the 5-piece have collectively been involved with various small, underground and admittedly unfamiliar metal bands such as The Reckoning, Setsthetime, Obscurum, Thorax Serpenti, Gorash and Flesh Mould.  Alpha Matter is the beginning of a new chapter for the band members, and the focus is on meshing different styles together into an accessible modern metal palette akin to Lamb of God, Sylosis and other modern crossover bands of similar ilk.

“Children of Destructology” has a catchy opening riff, chugging slower parts and some upbeat and melodic faster moments.  It’s further embellished by occasional blast beats, thrashy bursts of speed and a decent guitar solo.  And most of it works a treat within an interesting structure, although the mid-paced grooves and faster tempos work more effectively then the slower chugs.    “Vortex Vultures” has an aggressive, thrash metal pulse coupled with some melodic inflections and a swaggering southern metal groove.  It’s probably the most complete track on the EP, benefiting from a more aggressive, straight-forward approach.

The remaining two tracks are solid enough but essentially Alpha Matter sound like a band in its early phases and not quite equipped with enough truly killer riffs and blood pumping intensity to really make the listener sit-up and take notice.   That said, this is a concise collection of solid tunes from dudes that clearly enjoy what they do, and there is enough potential brimming beneath to suggest they could deliver a full-length of greater substance and memorability down the track.

Sound-wise, the production has a professional polish with an emphasis on clean and heavy tones.  .  The clicky bass drums sound a bit weak but are offset by the otherwise robust drum tones and the heavy slice and chug of the twin guitars.  Vocalist Ruben has a nice variety of screams and guttural outbursts that occasionally straddles the line between the convincing and the contrived, but generally fits well.  And elsewhere the musicianship is accomplished and well played.    The drumming is especially tight and varied, with a strong sense of groove and dynamics.

Alpha Matter have not yet developed their song-writing enough to create any great waves in the metal underground, but if they can continue to improve and hone their craft they may just have the potential to make a greater impact in the future.  They avoid aping any one particular band or sound and generally manage to steer clear of clichéd, derivative trappings.  And the EP is free (!) so at the very least it’s worthy of a listen, and maybe next time they might rethink the band photo on the cover style of artwork.

In an expected venture down a familiar path, The Constant is overflowing with sweeping atmosphere and emotion, not unlike the work the three men have helped create in their main bands. The mournful sounds of October Tide and the mighty Katatonia are all over the six songs that comprise The Constant and anybody who fancies himself a fan of either of those bands (or similar artists) will inevitably enjoy what Aoria has created.

As expected, the songs are moody and depressing yet tied together in a beautiful bundle of musicality, a talent for which these cats are known. Slower, melodic passages are the norm on The Constant and the trio has captured the very essence of sorrow and loneliness on each of the tracks. Without a hint of abrasiveness or heavy riffs anywhere to be found, Aoria has taken the formula that has made their proper bands successful and channeled it into this and it works very well.

Naysayers might gripe that they’ve essentially taken elements from their main bands and simply added them to their own album, but that’s not entirely the case. Granted, listeners will immediately pick up on the Katatonia/October Tide trappings, but it’s not like Nisson, Sandin and Bergh have taken an easy route with leftover or castoff ideas from their bread and butter. Though the album does follow the same sort of blueprint their main bands do, they’ve slowed down their approach and made them even more mournful at times. Album closer and absolute highlight “An Overwhelming Calm” demonstrates this perfectly.

The Constant is not a revelation of sorts and it’s not like the three men have reinvented the wheel here. They’ve branched off into their own world and created an album that will most certainly appeal to the depressive rock/metal crowd, a sub genre of metal that has seen an explosion of sorts over the past few years.

Does it sound a bit too similar to Katatonia and the like? Of course it does. But it doesn’t mean The Constant is a cheap store brand version of the band or any others. It’s a solid album of beautifully depressing moments created by three men who are masters at this sort of thing. And for fans of this type of music, it’s the perfect partner for anybody with a propensity of sitting alone in the dark and wallowing in their own misery.

That being said, the debut album by UK band Continents definitely falls into the latter category, and also is mixing in more of the stop-start djent style guitar work that’s all the rage.  A lot of metal/hardcore bands have incorporated this into their sound over the past year or so, and it seems to be an obvious choice to breathe some life into a genre that has kind of plateaued for a while.  It’s pulled off pretty well here, and helps to add a dose of heft to their already massive sound.

Track 3, “Pegasus, Pegasus”, starts off with aforementioned djent intro, and then some God Forbid style clean vocals lead back into pound-the-walls territory.  Ending with a punk/crust bridge just before the outro, there’s a good mix of genres on display here.  A minute into the next track, “Inhale”, you see the obvious Emmure influence, with spoken vocals buffered by more gruff shouts and group yells.  They show up again on “Regrets”, and are so close in style I had to double check that Emmure’s Frankie Palmeri didn’t make a guest appearance.  Oddly enough one of the best tracks on the album is also the shortest, “Sheeps in Wolves’ Clothing.”It’s an instrumental save for the vocals in the first 30 seconds, with the final minute featuring a groovetastic chug riff that would no doubt start a spin-kick war in the pit.

One negative of this album is the band’s overuse of F-bombs, which while ok when used sparingly, show up way too often here.  Now I have no issue with swearing whatsoever, but in hardcore it comes across as a weak attempt to sound “hard” or add some manufactured anger to your album.  That aside the vocals of Phil Cross aren’t bad, and there’s enough variety to keep the tracks from blending together.  Victory has found another band that should likely move some units when this one drops at the end of January.

It begins with an ambient piece that sounds like dark energy echoing from the deep abyss. The words, “Maybe we’re in Hell,” rise to the surface, and hell sure doth follow. You’re dragged down slowly at first. Then, sturdy drums methodically hammer and churning guitars grind your feeble soul as waves of deep echoed growls rise and crash over the entire writhing mass. Moments of monolithic doom are interspersed throughout, but offer no respite. The death to doom ratio is reversed on the third track, “Œnemic Subjugation,” but that doesn’t mean it’s any less punishing. The demo closes with a simple experimental track composed of low-frequency surges and distant ringing. It’s not a climactic ending, but somehow seems appropriate.

This is Incantation worship taken to its ultimate conclusion. If it were any more dense, it would implode in on itself. If it were any more unfeeling, it would be completely inhuman. Even now, it’s easy to forget that there really is an actual human being creating these sounds, and that human is Justin Stubbs, aka Ghoat, of Father Befouled, Encoffination, and other old-school-minded projects. He handled every aspect of this demo himself, even the design and packaging. I look forward to hearing what future horrors may await from this new project.

Vex was originally formed in San Angelo by Bill and Ciaran many years ago under the name F.U.K. Back then, it was sort of crust punk I guess you’d say, but I don’t want to completely trust my childhood memories cause I was still a kid the last time I would have heard them. The band spent years gigging in San Angelo, and gradually started to embrace more extreme metal influences right around the time I joined. We’ve been jamming with our current lineup for about two years now.

Lets talk about the weather. You’re in Texas. Where I live it hits 35’C, in your terms that would be the 90’s.

Yea that would be a normal warm day for us, a little low for the summer probably. in 2011, we had the worst drought on the state historical record–I wanna say it was over 100 days straight of 100+ degree weather. Really hellish. But the weather is getting really ugly everywhere recently, so I guess we’re no worse off than anywhere else is really.

Have you been compared to Amon Amarth much?

Yes, several times. That’s a comparison I enjoy hearing, because I think Amon Amarth is a great band, but it’s one I don’t really agree with. It’s hard for me to hear other groups in Vex’s music, but I know we’ve all spent a lot of time with Amon Amarth records so I’m sure that influence makes its way into the sound whether we intend it to or not.

I kinda hate when that happens, but I get sent a lot of stuff to listen to, and majority of the time the bands end up ‘sounding like’. Depending on frame of reference most people will compare. But in the case of Memorious, the approach to arrangement would be the only similarity to Amon Amarth.

Yea, I see what you mean in terms of the arrangements. I don’t mean to sound like I have a problem with people comparing us to Amon Amarth; I certainly don’t. In fact, I think it’s a pretty generous comparison. It’s just that it was never a conscious thing on our part–we never sat down and said “let’s make our arrangements kind of like Amon Amarth for this record.” But we’ve all been fans of Amon Amarth at one time or another, so their music certainly informs what we do whether we’re aware of it or not. And it’s fascinating to me to hear that kind of thing from other people–hearing about the music Vex reminds people of, hearing what bands they compare us to. As you say, everyone has a different frame of reference.

Well, I hear a bit of a Ghaal era Gorgoroth atmosphere in there as well. And both take their names from LOTR.

Yea, I guess it’s sort of the same thing with Gorgoroth. I know we used to listen to ‘Destroyer’ and ‘Incipit Satan’ a lot back in the day. But in terms of directly influencing the song arrangements and atmosphere, I think these days we probably take a lot more influence from weirder, kind of non-metal influences. Ciaran is always talking about taking songwriting and arrangement ideas from Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland,’ or Thin Lizzy or Weather Report–not in the sense of writing music that sounds like these bands but in terms of using their techniques for building tension in the music and structuring songs.

I so passionately dislike that Graceland album. I’m in South Africa, we had that album rammed down our throats because ‘Ladysmith Black Mambaso’ sang on the title track, like they invented acappella choir music or something, and it was mostly produced here. But then I grew up listening to Simon and Garfunkel.

Haha–yea I see what you mean. I guess it was different for Western audiences who felt that that music was so exotic, but it’s interesting to hear your perspective on it. Actually the other night I saw a documentary on TV about the political controversy in South Africa that followed the release of that album–that some members of the ANC felt that Simon’s going to South Africa and working with South African musicians was a violation of the UN cultural boycott.

It helped create a lot of awareness in the outside world. In the 70/80’s, South Africans traveling overseas were shocked at what was in the news about their own country, because we were kept in the dark at the time. But screw that, people should be able to express their creativity regardless of politics.

Absolutely. That was ultimately Simon’s argument in the documentary–that it’s not the role of musicians to be enlisted in political conflicts on behalf of one side or the other. He had found a group of musicians that he loved and wanted to work with, and celebrating that collaboration was above all of the petty political conflicts. That’s a viewpoint I’m inclined to agree with. In ,en though we all follow politics and have strong opinions, as a band we end up being more or less apolitical. To me, making music is so much more important that whatever petty political conflicts dominate this age or the next age or whatever else.

Would you feel obliged to deliver to the expectations of the fans?

Not in particular. I often find it kind of strange when bands put pressure on themselves to deliver music that their fans will expect or that they will find palatable, like when you hear a band say something like, “we finished our new album but it’s not what our fans expect or deserve, so we’re gonna scrap it and write something else.” I think that’s kind of a cop out in a way, because people expect of musicians that we will deliver an artistic experience that will give them an emotional reaction. The only way you can really give that to people is by expressing yourself honestly and genuinely–not by trying to tweak your music according to what you think your fans may like or dislike. It would be disingenuous of us to go out and make a typical grindcore record or a typical black metal record or whatever else, because that would mean ignoring all of our other influences outside of metal. So instead we just present our ideas in all of their weirdness and people can either take it or leave it. That’s true of any artistic medium, I think. A genius chef isn’t going to sit around and only cook food that she thinks her demographic won’t be too weirded out by. She’s going to put her whole personality into it so that it’s a complete and honest statement of her personality and her passion.

Do you feel you have enough freedom to experiment or is extreme metal a restraint?

I think as a style extreme metal provides excellent opportunities for musicians and bands to be experimental and unorthodox. It’s such an enormously diverse genre. I mean when you consider that Katatonia, Marduk, Dying Fetus, My Dying Bride and Cynic could all be considered as belonging to the metal idiom. I mean I think jazz is really the only style that’s as expansive and diverse as metal. That means that bands like us have a lot more space to get weird and explore some of our musical eccentricities without losing the emotional intensity and the immediacy that makes metal music what it is. That’s one of the things I’ve always enjoyed about playing in Vex. As a rule, we try to never put any constraints on ourselves stylistically. If a part feels right and doesn’t sound like shit then that part belongs in the song, no matter how metal or un-metal it might seem.

You did your first east coast tour toward the end of 2012:Which band member got fall off the stage drunk?

We were all pretty hammered in Knoxville. It was a small venue built onto someone’s house. The owners were completely accommodating and great; they promoted the hell out of the show but the weather turned shitty and there was another metal show across town so we ended up playing to three people and a dog. We had gotten into town so early in the day that we just picked up a case of the cheapest beer we could find and made a night out of it. I wanna say we ended up playing ok, but we were shit faced so who knows.

Who missed the bus/van?

Well the morning we left, we all piled into the van but didn’t do a headcount until we were already out of town. So we left behind our singer Joe and he had the whole house to himself. See, the night before he had gotten into a fight with his oldest brother Buzz so we sent him to his room–that’s why nobody saw him when we left. He tried after shave for the first time, but it hurt really bad. Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci tried to break into the house but he used his Talkboy and a bunch of contraptions and booby traps to stop them. In the end, we all reunited for Christmas. It was beautiful.

Who left their clothes behind?

As far as I know nobody, but Ciaran left a duffle bag with a bunch of stuff at our last gig in Charlotte. So if anybody finds a bag loaded with guitar gear, Irish literature and red hairs they should mail it back to us.

Do you practice the art of ‘pee bottle’. I understand Gatorade bottles are the best.

Actually I’m glad to say we never had to resort to this. Which is good, because we were all generating enough stench on our own so I can only imagine how the van would have smelled had we been pissing into bottles.

Moving on. For the next album I’d like to order more clean vocals please.

I think that’s likely to happen. We were cautious about using clean vocals for a long time, because I think it’s very hard to use clean vocals in metal in a way that doesn’t sound cornball and that hasn’t been done before. But Bill and Mike both have backgrounds in choir, and Joe has been developing his clean voice a lot, so we decided to kind of dip our toe in the water with some clean layers on a couple of tracks. We were really happy with the way they turned out, so I think we’re most likely going to explore that a lot more on the new record.

My only criticism of the new album is it’s a bit of a headphone mix.

Interesting. Do you just mean it sounds better through headphones than through speakers? I wouldn’t agree personally, but again it’s always interesting and instructive to me to hear other people’s reactions to our music and production and mixes and everything else. Overall, we wanted a mix that was kind of dirty–something that would stand apart from the super-compressed, over-produced, polished  sound that you hear on a lot of metal mixes these days. We wanted something a little more gritty and organic, like ‘Heartwork’ or ‘Blackwater Park.’

It does have a nice raw almost grinding sound when it’s rolling, and I especially like how the bass and drums sit in the mix, almost enhancing each other, but the vocals sit in a bit of an odd place that is typical of a headphone mix.

Thanks. Locking in the rhythm section was something we really wanted to focus on for this record, and I’m really happy with the way the bass and drums turned out. As far as the vocals, our guitarist Mike did pretty much all the mixing. I just did some engineering here and there, so I probably wouldn’t be the best person to talk to about the vocal mixing.

I did an interview with another band from Texas where I mentioned the ‘Bible Belt’, which resulted in a rant from the guy I questioned.

Yea, religion is a huge part of the culture here. It is what it is–religion and the political influence that it has causes a lot of problems, but of course it isn’t anything like the kind of power that religious groups have in places like Israel or Saudi Arabia. Parts of Texas (particularly San Angelo, where Vex first started) tend to be extremely religious and orthodox. That certainly had an effect on me growing up, and I would guess it did for everyone else in the band too. I remember in junior high when I was first starting to question religious doctrine, feeling pressure from my friends in school not to admit that I didn’t believe in God or go to church. But I was lucky to be raised in a family that didn’t push any sort of religion onto me or my brother, so it was easier for me than it was for a lot of people. Of course Texas is also a big state; it’s a lot more complex and diverse than people outside of Texas sometimes think. For instance most of us live in Austin now, which is a lot more liberal and less religiously conservative than other parts of Texas.

What is the current plan with the album, I see you’re releasing it via Horror Pain Gore Death Productions.

A: Yes. Our relationship with HPGD over the years has been great. They’re a small outfit, but they really bust ass for their bands and every experience we have had with them has been great. They released our first full-length album ‘Thanatopsis’ and a vinyl split we did with Divine Eve a few years ago. So it was an easy decision to go with them again for the release of Memorious. As far as plans, the album will be officially released on February 5th. People will be able to order hard copies from HPGD’s website and digital or hard copies from our Bandcamp site, which we are in the process of putting up right now. So in the short term, we are focusing on promoting the album and playing a few gigs around Texas to help promote the release. Hopefully we will be doing another tour this summer but that is still up in the air. In the meantime, we have just started demoing some new songs for the follow up to Memorious.

Where do we go to keep up to date with the future plans for Vex?

The best place right now is our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/vexhomepage. Or you can become an official Vex Loser by following us on Twitter: @VexLosers

We’re currently in a bull market, and the commodity of choice is metal, more specifically Vex’s new album Memorious. Release date set for February 5. Order your copy here.
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Gene Hoglan handles the drumming here (guy’s been having a particularly busy summer; he’s the type of cat that takes a few hours to learn a new tune, which makes me less than surprised he’s been having his hands full), Chris Valagao (from Zimmers Hole, that I never learned to appreciate much, but am now tempted to look more deeply into) makes one hell of an impression going through all the possible metal vocal ranges known to man, Steve DiGiorgio sports his genius basswork proudly, especially around the end of the album, and last but not least, Ralph Santolla, (Obituary, Deicide) & Ilias handle the guitar duty. The latter didn’t satisfy me at each and every turn of the album, especially the lead section – but I gotta admit those two work their asses off to improve their attack from song to song. A clear improvement is noticeable as each number goes, and the end round-up is particularly stampede.

”Nations on Fire” starts off with contemplative string work that got me thinking of modern MAIDEN, as it seems impossible of late to start a modern thrash record without the obvious nod to NWOBHM. Still, in this case, it’s only a slight acknowledgement, as the track morphs into more of an aggressive ordeal pronto. The high range vocal from Chris’ end is very uplifting. The lead section is calculating and incredibly engrossing. The galloping drumwork keeps on getting punchier as it goes without encountering any sort of a problem. The riffage also happens to have plenty of bite. The first verse sounds more like modern, unclassifiable metal than anything I could’ve possibly expected after this type of intro. The chorus is powerful, the vocal enhancing that quality in a striking way. The riffage in that one section is touch-and-go, but the licks are fucking magnificent. Actually, I’d say the focus is mostly on those in the case of this track. At 3.50, there’s a bit of a useless proggier section that over-recycles one lame riff right into oblivion, but the solo following this is wondrous, even with the rhythm guitar background being weak at best. Still, overall, this is a catchy tune, and the tiny letdown smack in the middle does little to ruin it. ”Where Hate Lies” has this pounds-heavy intro, which seems to be the general line of thought every time a tune comes in from that moment and on. The riffs are easy, but on the dial. The feel is old school and particularly filthy, with a pretty damn good chorus. There’s nothing complex about this track at all, but it rocks fucking hard. It also has an interesting section at 1.53 that houses some state-of-the-art thunder from Gene’s end and a progressive solo that, whilst being a tad linear, still showcases blinding skill that’s gonna satisfy most geeks among us. The melodies we have here also nail it; those guys really fly high above the lot in that department. They especially shine when they go all-out with the original turn-arounds. Direct proof would be that this song starts off as an Overkill -worship circle, and ends as a progressive, and massively stompier affair. ”The Break” goes to support the statement that this vocalist got seriously overlooked by my good self the last couple years. He’s a fucking phenomena. The huge drum sound gets vastly abused in this tune and that’s all well and good; it’s more of a progressive and slicing number, tagging along with the general idea of the end of the previous cut. The attack has plenty of meat on those bones. It’s suspenseful and hooky, with a chorus that will bite you on the ass all across the board. ”Circle”, though, as the title underlines it, chases its own tail. It offers a whirlwind of an intro with a fucking TON of layers to boot, with a very frenetic first verse laying on a bit of a repetitive riff. The transition to the chorus is smooth, but the lead is following the vocal throughout, and the latter happens to sound pretty damn tired on this one. The solo sounds very off too. By 2.03, everything is on nosedive-mode. There’s a tiny groovier section around 2.29 boosted by an energetic enough signature Hoglan delivery, but I’m still floored by how weak the rest of the song panned out.

”Misery” starts with this hooky main riff that seems to place all of its bets on groove. The intro is a nifty build-up. The first verse is crap though; it seems to attempt semi-melody on a timidly thrashy roll. 1.21 seems to gain more direction as the return of the main groovy riff backs up the melodic vocal real well. The chorus is heartfelt and a hook in itself. It’s really simple, but also works fine. By the time the second verse hits though, if it wasn’t for the kickass drumming switching techniques and being this crushing, there wouldn’t be much of an interest nugget anywhere. The rhythm guitars are too boxed up in absolutely all sections, and the vocal is tired. The chorus is the best thing around these parts. It forges one solid maze of melodies. 3.18 is more or less of a tight section. It only truly goes for something at 3.43 as the solo bleeds more than its usual, regardless of being half-buried in the mix. ”Rules of Engagement” promptly goes into a kickass hyperspeed fit with powerful drums and a swirly rhythm section. The vocal approach reminds me of Mustaine here. The chorus, on the other hand, is more like solo Halford material. It’s powerful, hooky, and full of ‘tude. The drumming is punchy with a whole lotta timeous technique switches. It also seems the rhythm guitars do more elaborate yard work here. 2.05 is a badass section with razor-sharp riffs. The soloing also sounds good in this setting. 2.44 brings up yet another solo that sounds fucking badass this time, mainly thanks to the background elements being completely fucking ape. The vocal goes towards the Ronnie feel by the end. The switches between song patterns are truly original and this whole track didn’t stop flourishing ’til the last note hit. By now, I’m pretty goddamned impressed.

The Overkill-type vocal is back on board in ”Death Shop”, which is a very typical thrash attack. There’s plenty of urgency to the riffage; it’s truly dirty and speedy and focused. The drumming is linear though, but it still does its bulk of work to make this a huge-sounding track. The leads are barely original though.The chorus is groovy, nasty, and also happens to bite. 2.26 is an ace section housing a particularly solid drum gallop, and the soloing strives to go in all directions, and there’s a hell of an organic quality to that practice.”Destiny Found” starts on a mighty nice melody which eventually goes into a stampede drumming section atop a groovy riff.It’s all quick to kick into one highly thrash gear. The first verse is yet again in the Overkill branch with it’s lot of accessible riffage. 1.19 is definitely an interesting twist in things. It’s smoothly melodic, but seems mis-proportioned production-wise, which is the major kicker of a problem in this one tune. It ruins practically the whole thing except the verses, in which the sound is oddly more stable. Anyhow, 1.39 comes up with dyzzing licks for a nice touch. The bass sound, on the flipside, is way too muffled and misplaced in the mix. I’d even go as far as saying that all the instruments sound too damned separated; like none of them are in the same building.

”A New Era” doesn’t have that problem at all, for no reason at all, but I’m friggin’ relieved. This chaotic intro has an unmistakable Strapping Young Lad ring to it. 0.37 suggests a cool buildup, chock full of slightly progressive riffage and drumming. It all quickly goes into the coolest groove-riffs. 1.10 sounds like an old school Metallica type of build. There’s some very epic switches between patterns; I’d even say this is transcendental from front to back. At 2.07. kickass basswork dives into a heavier and crunchier section with soloing going atop which simply sounds out of control in the best imaginable way. No doubt, those cats nail the instrumental cuts perfect. ”Power Out” has the coolest (and tightest) fucking groove in the rhythm section dueling with a mint series of doodlings from the low-end. The vocal delivery is nice n’ raspy, over some neat semi prog-thrash riffs. There’s a neat drum gallop going on over a very old school main riff afterward. Actually, this whole track works as a linear buildup; there’s no sign of a chorus anywhere. It all seems to keep on increasing in terms of anger though, and the riffs never lose their focus. Even the licks are state of the art. At 2.54, the riffs lose some impact, although that’s short-lived and the solo is thankfully fine. The return of the main song pattern is bombastic enough to make that a minor, forgettable flaw. ”Scratching the Surface (5th Hour)” is hooky, groovy, and fucking spot-on. It bets on its main horses (essentially comprised of a smooth transition between a top-class melodic section, a heavy as hell chorus, and a steamroller of punches courtesy of Sir Gene). It also happens to introduce parts that are as progressive and technical as ever, and Steve’s bass work gets a well-deserved greenlight here. He definitely should’ve been more audible from the start. The soloing flies its own plane now too, switching between enough techniques to stay entertaining. ”Methods of the Past” is Gene’s moment without a doubt, as he takes over the whole thing in an apocalyptic manner that closes the album the exact way it should.

There’s so much going on in each of those tracks, it’s pretty goddamned fitting to call this band a super group. They sure as hell brought out a super album. There’s too many details to mention to possibly write a review short enough to pop up on a site, so I’ll wrap this by stating the obvious: goddamn it, if you wanna do yourself a favor, pop the champagne and let this one come alive.

Formed by two members of the now defunct Burial Invocation, who themselves released a nice little EP on Dark Descent Records (one of the label’s very first releases)  a couple of years ago, Engulfed‘s sound is not surprisingly,  similar to Burial Invocation‘s sound; Old school, churning, murky death metal with major nods to Bolt Thrower, Incantation, Immolation and such. Its dirty, raw and murky with lots of moldy, filthy riffs and with a respectable 25 minute run time for its 4 songs, pretty good value.

While not as full on Bolt Thrower worshiping as the Burial Invocation sound (I imagine the third member, bassist vocalist Sirkan Niron of Decaying Purity has diluted that influence a bit) , and the tone is more of the two US band mentioned above, the overall sound is still pretty killer with a some great moments of undulating brutality and some earthy, muddy slower moments mixed in. It’s hardly unique, but it fits right in with the current trend of old school death metal that is kicking so much ass. Its not quite up there with some of the genre’s truly monstrous sounding acts like Disma, Desolate Shrine or Indesinence as it isn’t quite as cavernous, doomy or chaotic, but it’s certainly in the same zip code. And if you were a little disappointed with Incantation‘s reunion effort, Vanquish in Vengeance, it might ease some of the sting.

The 4 songs all deliver ample blasts and slower, oozing moments which are the better segments of the songs.  The almost doomy girth that ends “Supreme Lord of Blasphemy” and the mid section of  “Inseminated with Demon Seed”, make the other wise piecemeal  if  convincing atonal blasting much more memorable and atmospheric.

Hellthrasher is releasing some pretty good stuff, becoming a solid old school death metal label, and while they haven not  released any real mind blowers like Dark Descent Records, they are definitely becoming a very reliable , consistent player in the genre as this and the War Possession EP show to round out their 2012 releases.

Firstly, the production and accompanying mix must be touched on, as the sonically strange foundation provides a source of frustration.  As expected of the style, vintage tones and a rough, lo-fi aesthetic is applied but the mix sounds all wrong and the drum production leaves much to be desired.  It’s a shame too as P. Tosher creates some interesting drum patterns within the plodding compositions and some of the lively, energetic drumming breaks up the otherwise lumbering pace of the songs.  Unfortunately the snare drum has a cheap, horribly distracting and lifeless tone, while the drums are mixed way up high.  The effects are quite jarring to say the least and to these ears they put a real black mark through the EP.   It’s disappointing to harp on about production issues but in this case it proves detrimental and limiting to the quality of the music, which all in all is a decent example of the style.

On the positive side, the bass has a nice buzzing tone and is reasonably expressive, though expectedly limited, and the keyboards are carefully integrated into the mix; creating some spooky atmospheric touches and livening up the minimalism of the recording.   Again the bizarre mixing cripples some of the power of the bass riffs as they often lurk in the background and don’t have the presence they should demand.

“Greate Python” lumbers forth through the murky atmosphere with a funereal gait.  The keyboards are used effectively during the song, sliding unobtrusively in and out of the structure, adding depth and working as an atmospheric backbone.  The real ace up their sleeve is the smoky vocals and alluring melodies of V-Kaos.  Her vocals have a haunting quality that fits the music well and provides the songs with a deeper emotional and melodic punch.

“Red Lune” tinkers with the tempos and explores some refreshingly rocking territory on the back of catchy, upbeat doom riffs.  The song supplies some of Salt’s catchiest moments and structurally and musically is one of the more interesting tunes on offer.   Overall the song-writing on Salt is not particularly ‘hooky’ or memorable enough to stick in the brain, but each song does contain its share of enjoyable moments, and the structures have an unconventional and therefore unpredictable quality.  However, A Tree of Signs sound all the more interesting when they mix up the tempos and explore a greater dynamic range.  This will be one of the challenges the band will face in order to take their music to a new level and build more consistent and compelling musical frameworks to support the enticing vocals of V-Kaos.

A Tree of Signs display potential and enough individuality to please die-hard fans of the style, but they don’t quite have the songs, or the production, to compete with the big guns.  Perhaps a rethinking in the studio and a sharpening of their song-writing chops could reap benefits in the future, while surely a guitarist and a few ripping leads would give them some added heft and spark.

Also, with current Blood Red Throne drummer, Emil Wiksten in their ranks, that also give you some basis for Fetus Stench’s sound and while it’s a energetic, tight and deftly played listen, it fails to really grab me or be anything other than a solid slab of US styled death metal.Of course, this type of no frills death metal has its time and place, and I’m perfectly content to listen to Stillborn should it randomly play on my Ipod, but I’m never actively craving it. Much like this years efforts from Deadborn, Fisthammer, Marasmus , Deserted Fear and such, it’s just competent but run of the mill, intense death metal, nothing more, nothing less.

Wiksten certainly has a presence behind  kit, the production is full and clear, the riffs are razor sharp and vocals of Bjorte are a solid, throaty almost thrashy mid range growl making all the elements of death metal here in spades. But there’s nothing that makes Fetus Stench stand out. The songs both structurally and thematically are all culled from Cannibal Corpse with the likes of “Meat Grinder Flesh Obliteration”, “Severe Suffering”, “Bashed, Defaced and Disfigured”  and “By Butchery Divorced” all blasting and grooving by with B movie stylings and a well delivered American tone.  A few squeal-y solos and a couple of slower marches break up the pummeling, but they are nothing too memorable.

In all, a competent if disposable Floridian styled death metal album that does everything it sets out to, but nothing more.

Mass V remains stylistically similar to Mass IIII (No, that’s not a typo). The four lengthy tracks plod along in a steady rhythmic gait, wrapped in slow, purposeful riffs and textures. Amenra are often lumped in with Neurosis, Cult of Luna, and Isis, but in reality they are simpler and not as musically busy as their more prominent peers. The riffs are more spacious and doomy, the shifts in tempo are slighter, and there’s less variation between the songs. Each track opens quietly before detonating into steady streams of riffs and shrieks, never progressing beyond a deliberate saunter, but each with moments of big sludgy riffs. The final track “Nowena 9.10” stands out in particular as it erupts from a quiet spoken intro to a shrill blast of blackened fury made all the more effective by the slow, trudging drums before it shifts quickly back to spacious notes and doom atmospheres.

Where Amenra nail it is in the oppressive atmosphere and the mountainous riffs. They keep the music spare where other bands seem intent on adding synth, piano, organ, and other instrumental detritus in the name of variety, or atmosphere, or possibly just plain old pretension. The straightforward approach has its downfalls, the songs are all rather similar and perhaps could use some more variation, but it’s also ultimately more satisfying. The riffs, highlighted by Billy Anderson’s production, get to shine and that’s what going to keep me coming back. Mass V provides a bludgeoning counterpoint to the ornate and progressive output of their highly lauded peers and a heavy handed reminder of the roots of the genre.

Cory Andrews has made no bones that this band is still basically Cephalectomy  but with a different name. It’s complex yet somehow catchy and dare I say melodic grindcore, that the band has themselves termed as ‘melodic horrorgrind’. The Kataklysm hues are readily abundant in the insane dual vocals and the busy, swirling grindcore/death metal, but Barra Xul as they did in Cephalectomy add some killer layers of melody that are very un-grindcore-like.  Even with the horror based themes and lyrics, the whole effort- like 2011’s Beaten to Death debut, or even the latest Gorod release have playful, yet brutal nuances that are unlike anything you’ve heard since Sorcery or The Mystical Gate of Reincarnation.

Heck, The first track “Imitating Infection” opens with a few bars of a classic rock riff, being pretty misleading for a few moments before exploding into a vortex of shredding melodi-grind. Other moments of blissful melodic clarity amid the maelstrom of chaos or blistering stomp include about 2:20 into  “Resonating Darkness”, last minute of “Nyturan Demonta”, and the albums most direct seethingly melodic track “Illusion of Murder”. The albums longest cut, “The Lament Configuration” saves the best for last with a killer, slower melodic squeal and chord progression before peeling out with barrage of time changes and blasts, closing  with a classic Pinhead quote.

 In Darkness We Wait has a crisp and clear production and  is a brisk but engaging and entertaining 35 minutes with no let up or moments of reprieve contained within- it’s either a full on Kataklysm-ic styled blasting vortex or some sort of harmonic, otherworldly squealing salvo that will bring a grin you your ear.

The first disc contains their two EPs, Stigmartyr and Mysterium. These recordings are where they made the transition from rather generic speed/thrash to their distinct take on death metal characterized by strong, driving mid- to thrash-paced rhythms and a subtle classic metal slant. Their approach was professional, concise, and accessible, but with a stern, evil tone that even the most underground aficionado could respect. Some comparisons could be made to early Samael and Rotting Christ in terms of atmosphere and riffing style, but with a beefier production. Even though everything has been remastered, you can tell it was recorded in the early ‘90s. But, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. A little more separation of the instruments could have been nice, but it all sounds pretty good overall. Despite the two-year difference, the two EPs work fairly well together with the Stigmartyr tracks sounding only slightly more raw and primitive. Although, it’s obvious that they really hit their stride on Mysterium. These six tracks just ooze confidence as they alternate between sturdy mid-paced marching and aggressive thrashing. The obvious stand-out is their hit song (if you can call it that), “Enigmatize,” which is one of the more memorable and addictive death metal songs ever recorded. If it doesn’t make your head bang involuntarily, your ears must be broken. The doomy, Sabbathian instrumental closer, “Elegy,” hints at what was to come next for the band.

The second disc is comprised of their ‘80s demos, Wings of Death and Communion, followed by their unreleased 1995 demo. It would’ve made more stylistic sense to include the ‘95 demo material on the first disc after the Mysterium tracks, but I can understand wanting to keep all of the demos together. Their ‘80s material is a competent mix of American speed metal and German thrash, but it’s not really anything to write home about. Song titles like “Crush, Kill, Destroy” and “My Fist, Your Face” should give you some idea of what to expect. They’re fun for the nostalgia factor, but nothing you haven’t heard before. However, the last four tracks on this disc are something you’ve most likely never heard before. These are part of what was supposed to be their full-length debut. “Thy Blood Eterne” hits your years with a sound that’s unusual even by today’s standards. It has the vocals and spirit of death metal, but the riffs and groove of stoner rock. It’s what Kyuss might sound like if they had tried their hand at satanic death metal. It could also be compared to what Xysma was doing on their first two full-lengths, but with a more sinister attitude. Just when you’ve settled into this new approach, “Gulka” kicks you in the teeth with two minutes of the most aggressive material the band ever wrote. Then it’s back to more stoner death with “Way of Sorrows.” They take another surprising turn on the final track, “Oriar,” which is replete with keys and a folky feel that would’ve fit in perfectly on the Amorphis classic, Tales from the Thousand Lakes. If these final four tracks are any indication, the complete album would’ve been groundbreaking.

The liner notes include lyrics for every track and several promo shots of the band, but unfortunately there’s no history or words from the band members like you get in some other compilations of this kind. It would be interesting to read their thoughts on these recordings. The inclusion of the music videos for “Enigmatize” and “Elegy” (which looks more like a making-of video) on the first disc was a nice touch, though.

It’s a shame these guys weren’t able to stick together long enough to fully realize their potential. If they had, they might now be mentioned in the same breath as Entombed, Amorphis, Sentenced, and other bands that pushed death metal in new directions in the mid-’90s. At least we now have this chronicle of their developmental years to enjoy and speculate on what could’ve been.

Teethofthedivine reviewed almost 400 albums in 2012. I reviewed over 150 of them. Here are the highlights and a few low lights as well.

1) Binah – Hallucinating in Resurrectre (Dark Descent Records). Best label right now.
2) B’elakor – Of Breath and Bone. (Kolony Records). So smoothly heavy and somber.
3) Gorod – A Perfect Absolution. (Listenable Records). Catchy tech death done right.
4) Anaal Nathrakh – Vanitas (Candlelight Records). Vicious return to form.
5) Beyond Terror Beyond Grace – Nadir. (Willowtip Records). Best style shift in recent memory.
6) Downfall of Gaia – Suffocating in the Swarm of Cranes (Metal Blade). Great new band.
7) Horrendous – The Chills (Dark Descent Records). Better than Asphyx’s Deathhammer.
8) Liberteer – Better to Die on Your Feet Than Live on Your Knees (Relapse Records). Napalm who?
9) Indesinence – Vessels of Light and Decay (Profound Lore Records). Good year for Binah lads. Amazing packaging too.
10) Stagnant Waters – Stagnant Waters (Adversum). Utterly insane brilliance.
11) Pallbearer – Sorrow and Extinction (Profound Lore Records). Gorgeous melancholy.
12) Chaos Inception – The Abrogation (Lavadome Productions). Did Nile better than Nile.
13) Revel in Flesh – Deathevocation (FDA Rekotz). FDA is Europe’s Dark Descent.
14) Ævangelist – De Masticatione Mortuorum in Tumulis,(I, Voidhanger). Nasty.
15) Daylight Dies – A Frail Becoming (Relapse Records). US doom metal’s best kept secret.
16) Incantation – Vanquish in Vengeance (Listenable). Reclaiming the throne indeed.
17) Desolate Shrine – The Sanctum of Human Darkness (Dark Descent Records). Finnish death metal is killing it.
18) Pseudogod – Deathwomb Catchechesis (Hells Headbangers). Filthy.
19) The Great Old Ones – Al Azif(Les Acteurs de l’Ombre Productions). Blut Aus who?
20) Eis – Wetterkrutz (Prophecy Productions). glorious rise from the ashes of Geist.
21) Murder Construct – Results (Relapse Records). Good year for Travis Ryan with this and Cattle Decapitation.
22) Dying Fetus – Reign Supreme (Relapse Records). So consistent.
23) Black Breath – Sentenced to Life (Candlelight Records) Early 2012 release almost made me forget about this.
24) Gorephilia – Embodiment of Death (Dark Descent Records). Got lost in Dark Descent’s awesome slew of releases
25) Dordeduh – Dar De Duh (Prophecy Productions). Not Negura Bunget.
26) Cult of Fire – Triumvirát (Demonhood Productions). Wicked 70s laced black metal.
27) Sophicide – Perdition of the Sublime (Willowtip). More tech death with killer melodies.
28) Maveth – Coils of the Black Earth (Dark Descent Records). See Desolate Shrine, Gorephilia
29) Krallice– Years Past Matter. How was this self-released? Did HHH fuck it up for everyone else?
30) Finsterforst – Rastloss (Napalm Records). Epic.

2011 Releases that would have been on 2011 list if I had heard them sooner: Cormorant– Dwellings, Omit – Repose, Beaten to Death – Xes and Strokes

Most Notable Omission: Between the Buried and Me

Best Reissue: Desecrator– Subconscious Release

Awesome Album that I’m pretty sure I’m the only one in the US who heard: Desert Beneath the Pavement – Transit

Best LP: Bréag Naofa – Bréag Naofa(Panic Records), Panopticon – Kentucky.

Best Label : Dark Descent Records- seriously, look at the above list. And then realize they also released albums by Father Befouled, Paroxsihzem, Weregoat, Anhedonist, Coffin Texts, Emptiness and the Timeghoul, Morgion and Cianide compilations.

WTF??????: Sigh – In Sominphobia (Candlelight Records).

Best EP: Spectral Lore/Locust Leaves, Warseid – Where Fate Lies Unbound.

Biggest Letdowns: Nile, Wintersun, Necrovation, Undergang

Enjoyable but overrated : Napalm Death, Blut Aus Nord, Asphyx, Neurosis.

Time to Hang it Up: Grave. Funeral Whore did Grave better than Grave.

Guilty Pleasures: Beyond All Recognition – Drop=Dead, The Acacia Strain – Death is the Only Mortal, Whitechapel – Whitechapel.

Best Reunions/Comebacks: Dehumanized/Antropofagus. Comatose Music killing the death metal comebacks.

Worst Album of 2012: Babylon Mystery Orchestra –  Poinium Cherem. Seriously- google that shit, its comically bad.

First off, all four members deliver vocals at some point from gruff, throaty shouts to gravelly clean croons and they amount a familiar Brent Hinds-ish delivery. Second, the songs structures are the same sort rocking, angular, percussion based, slightly crusty, slightly progressive, but undeniably metal. It all comes together for a pretty solid offering that comes across as a highlight reel of early Mastodon, without any of the self indulgence – think and album full of “Iron Tusk” and “March of the Fire Ants” with a dash of Helmet.

While Tim Lynam isn’t  as fill happy as Brann Dailor, he is a solid force behind the kit  fill, as are the rest of the members and when they settle into a nice groove or lurch, it’s oozes confidence. All of the short direct tracks deliver a darkly, groovy vibe with equal parts thrash, punk, groove and typical Philadelphia sneer. There’s ample heft  and busy angular grooves and occasional moments of slightly moodier loping. It’s all pretty short and to the point with only one of the songs going over 4 minutes or straying to far from the Mastodon-path. But overall I enjoyed the effort, as it’s full of great riffs  and at time borders on the heavier side of things reminding me of recently covered bands like Century, Encrust or Hummune, with  standouts being “Rustmaker”,”Floaters”, the excellently named “Little Marching Vipers”, and the more moody, lengthy closer “Breath of the Hourglass”, being a somber patient number.

There’s an honest, blue collar vibe to the band and this CD, so I’m glad they sent it to me for release- so you should go ahead and head to the band’s band camp page and pick up a copy of the digipack or do the whole download thing and find your self a nice little no frills, no bullshit metal record from a band who wont be on Warner Brothers any time soon,  thank goodness.

Remastered by label owner Chad Kelly (Excommunicated, Catholicon) , both bands sound suitably grimy and buzz with a nasty tone and fuzzed out bass- the only down side to the remaster, as good it sounds, is that both bands have pretty identical guitar tones as a result, even if the overall sounds , especially the bass are different, but I’m sure that that’s better than what they originally sounded like.

Ophidian Forest‘s 3 longer tracks are up first and they present an slightly more doomy and depressive take on black metal with a few flourishes of experimentation and atmospherics  by way of some chants, a few haunting keys and some more drone-y ambient segments. It’s a very varied and serpentine journey that has a lot of German/French flair to it, with odd ball time changes and discordant malevolence lurking around every corner, just go to the last of their tracks, “Verschwiegenheit” for a glimpse into the eclectic nastiness. Its a much more disturbing  and neurotic take on black metal that creates a unique mood and off kilter atmosphere.

Hæresiarchs of Dis is the brain child of one Cernnunos, and his approach, even on this early material is more in line with Moribund records, as well you’d expect. His 9 tracks are more in line with traditional Norwegian black metal from the early 90s with a few moments of one man despondency here and there. I Like what Kelly did with the remaster here, as the there’s a nice twangy bass presence even if the vocals are a bit too Donald Duck-y for me. The songs are much more riff based with some traditional,  impressive and blustery black metal such as “Chaos Plague”, “Manifestation” , standout  “The Devil’s Whoremonger” and the stern march of ‘Tangible Hatred”. I’m not hugely familiar with the artist’s Moribund catalog, but it appears the depressive atmospheric one man black metal elements appear to flesh themselves out later on compared to this early material. There are a few piano tinkles and warbling atmospherics (i.e  “Densest Green”, “Heritage of the Night”, “Blood and Souls”), but even on the last three, longer tracks the focus is still rollicking black metal riffs and very little despondency.

In all a pretty cool release considering the large content, and I hope Ophidian Forest get snatched up by a label like Ahdistuksen Aihio Productions (Saturnian Mist, Ava Maria) as they seem to fit that labels collective, while I might have to check out some of Hæresiarchs of Dis‘s other releases as decently produced,  riff driven black metal is just what the doctor ordered for this time of year.

At first, this is about what I expected from an album with a bombed-out city for its cover art – air raid sirens, martial drumming, and grimy, corroded guitars like coils of barbed wire. And then Lord Worm’s vocals come in – harsh, industrialized grind-shrieks, like a virus-riddled cyborg. The yowling, maniacal delivery is pure Anaal Nathrakh, but the insectoid buzz, on the verge of degrading and breaking up into static, is just different enough to add that je ne sais quoi. However, it’s the music and melodies that are the real surprise here. Given the dystopian, post-apocalyptic concept and the caustic vocals, I expected something along the lines of The Amenta or even Ministry, and yet what we have here sounds more like mid-to-late 90s melodic black metal.

The pace is relentless and the drumming is clinical and mechanized, but the synth choral voices that lay the foundation in tracks like the creatively-titled “Hunt with Murderworms, Sculpt with Flies” or “The Sorrow Children at Morningside” could be Shadowthrone-era Satyricon, or something off the first Old Man’s Child album. And it’s not just those choral effects either – the repeating, streamlined and blackened melodies throughout the album recall other bands as well. From the moans and dirge-like cycles of “Endziel,” I get Windir, like something off of 1184. From “30 Seconds in the Killhouse” or “Fields of the Crucified,” it’s Thy Serpent. After returning to the press notes, I saw that the band references Mysticum, a little-known band from the mid 90’s who also had a pounding, industrialized feel to complement their cold, frigid melodies. And so there you have what appears to be the chief inspiration for this odd hybrid.

As the album hurtles by, it’s both enjoyable and somewhat familiar, though those vocals – occasionally deteriorating to little more than vomited barks – disrupt the nostalgia just enough so that the experience is not completely derivative. Still, remove the dystopian, mechanized vibe, the shouted German samples and those Insecticon shrieks and barks, and you’re left with a decent blasting black metal album that’s more melodic than your average Marduk war-metal blitzkrieg. And compared with Anaal Nathrakh’s mastery of pacing, composition, and terrifying majesty as well as full-on annihilation, Rage Nucléaire comes off as merely relentless. In other words, both the T-800 and T-1000 will hunt you down and reduce you to a smear in time, but one of them will do it with a far more deadly and devious arsenal.