While the early Death influence is certainly strong, the band also heavily recalls Morgoth and early Pestilence, mostly due to Chris Monroy, who nails a Marc Grewe and Martin van Drunen wail and howl, and in part to a more primal, raw approach. Sure, there are some clever nods to Schuldiner’s work (i.e. the neat solo in “Euphoric Bloodfeast”) but the overall tone is dirtier and thrasher, and less cerebral that Death’s mid era/latter work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M40ZhVoyJmk

Unlike Gruesome’s Savage Land and even the band’s debut, Condemned to Misery does not rely completely on blatant, clear cut comparisons to their peers’ songs (though the aforementioned “Euphoric Bloodfeast” comes really close to “Spiritual Healing”), and make you play ‘name that tune’, but rather develop tier own songs with a clear  and obvious influence in mind. To these ears, the production seems to be a little more raw and analog than the debut, further cementing the old school vibe, which is also then aided by some classic 90s keyboards here and there (“…Still Suffering”).

That all said, while a kickass old school death metal album from start to finish, there’s no ‘wow’ moments or truly memorable riffs or songs that make my blood curdle and command that I hit play again and again. The two tracks I already mentioned and ‘Ethereal Illusion” come close, but still I’m feeling that Condemned to Misery no more than a solid album of  well done, musty old school death metal and might actually even be s slight step back from the debut.

Thus was the case of Germany’s veteran death metal act Discreation, whom I was not familiar with despite existing since 2001 and having three previous albums under their belt. It’s a classic example of a band that left a pretty ‘meh’ initial impression from the album’s first few tracks, but as other tracks from the album’s second half randomly popped up on my ipod, the band warranted further investigation and in the end I ended up really enjoying the band’s no frills take on death metal.

Immediate comparisons are clearly Vader, largely due to the vocals of Kai Müller-Lenz, which have a authoritative gruff, but clear bellow akin to Piotr Wiwczarek. The music has some similarities as well being thrashy, burly and percussively dominant but with just a shade of clever melody and restraint, which imbues a bit of Hypocrisy.  One could also look to label mates Weak Aside for similar delivery, though not as war mongering or simplistic.

Either way, there’s a handful of tracks on Procreation of the Wretched that bring the pain, especially in the later two thirds of the material, where things seem to get in to more of a stern groove and march, as opposed to sheer blasting. After the album’s first two rather forgetful tracks, “Planetary Punishment” and “Descending to Abysmal Darkness”, things start to pick up about halfway through “Megacorpse”, signalling the improvement in the album. Then the fucking beefy trundle of the title track really gets things going and it’s ON for the rest of the album as each of the following 6 tracks just seems more confident, destructive and memorable, and thusly the whole album becomes so as well.

Don’t get me wrong, like the bands I’ve mentioned as comparisons, this isn’t changing death metal , but it sure does everything pretty well perfectly within the paradigms so staunchly championed in the 90s. No techy noodling , no sweeps, no intellectual prose, just , bludgeoning double bass backed beefy riffs and lyrics about war, fire, skulls and destruction and all that other negative shit that death metal extolled in its formative years. The likes of “To Cosmic Shores”, steam train chug of “Decapitation Marathon” and the moody pummeling of closer “Dead Certainties” is just the very epitome of what death metal was and should be. No frills, no gimmicks. Just… Death. Fucking. Metal.

Other than the name everything about The Next Offensive is pretty damned good. It does not take a genius to figure the band’s style and influence when you see the cover and song titles like “Siren”, “The Tank” and “Broken Frontline”. But to simply call these guys a German Jungle Rot would be a disservice to both. You can also hear strains of Bolt Thrower, Humiliation, God Dethroned and Hail of Bullets in the oft somber, war themed chugs and blasts. Also, vocalist Thomas Zorn injects a solid Asphyx/Obituary vibe with his old school growls and rasps.

The largely mid paced steady chug is powerful and hefty with a few melodic leads here and there and a few more urgent salvos (fueled by veteran drummer Marc “Mücke” Dieken who has been in Dew Scented and long time German death metal stalwarts  Obscenity). It’s not fancy, its not flashy, but it hits that perfect death metal sweet spot that made the 90s so awesome without being a mere dusty throwback. But what else would you expect from FDA Rekotz?

The blistering title tracks opens the blitzkrieg, signalling the next 10 songs and one intro’s intentions and sound before arguable standout “Gods of Pain” delivers a more tempered, martial mood and two songs in, you’ve pretty know what to expect from here out as both machine gun bursts (“Broken Frontline”, “Spawn of Hate”) and hefty tank like trundles (“Storm of Violence”, “Death Waits”, “Rapture and Disease”) are covered amply and enjoyably. And then there is a  track like “Siren” or “Alive” where Bolt Thrower hue is thick for “Siren” which manages to mix both.

After apt interlude “The Tank”, “Bloodstorm” ends the album with a 5 and a half minute romp of classic, mid paced death metal showing Weak Aside, aside from the non threatening band name are in fact a force to be reckoned with in German death metal and another solid release from FDA Rekotz joining Chapel of Disease and making  for the rather lackluster from fellow Germans and label mates, Obscure Infinity.

While Deserted Fear had a little more modern, chunky thrashing vibe on their sophomore effort, Kingdom of Worms, Chapel of Disease as with their debut, Summoning Black Gods, continues their more musty old school Death/Pestilence/Morgoth inspired take on death metal, albeit with a little more expansive, experimental hue sneaking in here and there.

While retaining the aura of the old school, those familiar with stylistic shifts by the likes of Tribulation, Stench, Morbus Chron, and Usurpress might recognize the shift into more off kilter territory. Now don’t get me wrong, this is far from a full Tribulation -like paradigm shift as Chapel of Disease is still ripe with dusty old school riffs, simple percussion and echo-y distant throaty shouts, but the subtle shift in the structures of the songs are a little more twisty yet rocking and unpredictable and solo laden. Look to third track “Masquerade in Red”, to hear the band’s more creative varied delivery of old school death metal complete with acoustic bridges and rank Execration/Autopsy-ish crawls.

While the band employed slightly longer songs on their debut, that has even been tweaked as evidenced by the presence of 8 minute standout “Lord of All Death” which rarely settles into any sort of pace over its convoluted but deft and interesting delivery (including rollicking, rock n roll final 3 minutes which carries over to the sultry southern rock inspired start of “Symbolic Realms”) and 10 plus minute closer “…Of Repetitive Art”. This beast lopes and staggers with undead determination and shifty, doom crawls, again imbuing Autospy with an LSD spiked miasma.

Fear not though, as the band can still bear down and knock out some good ol’ fashioned death metal as heard on “The Dreaming of the Flame” or “Life is But a Burning Being” (even with its psychedelic interlude). However, Chapel of Disease have entered into a more creative, experimental phase with their second album and it shows some real promise and development from the now saturated Asphyx/Death/Pestilence worship that is now pretty common place.

The production and song writing has vastly improved from My Empire, making Kingdom of Worms a much more dynamic and memorable record. The production is bigger and beefier and the songs, while still straddling old school structures (Vader, Asphyx and country mates Morgoth still come to mind), there’s a sense of confidence and growth. The change could be attributed to new vocalist /rhythm guitarist Manuel Glatter who replaces Mahne and his Marc  Grewe/Martin van Drunen worshiping rasps. His voice is a little deeper and more commanding and it effects the whole release.

There’s also a slightly heavier thrash influence on Kingdom of Worms, but it’s still certainly good old death metal. The riffs hammer and stagger with energy and precision and just a little more added dynamics to make them stick a shade more than the debut. And just those subtle improvements and changes elevate Deserted Fear from merely OK to pretty damned good.

Tracks like the title track and the rather impressive chunky standout “Call Me Your God”, offer up faster,  visceral, thrashing death metal, while the likes of “Wrath on Your Wound”, “Shattering the Soil” and “Last of a Fading Kind” offer up a more restrained and even melancholic sense of war mongering  melody and some down right catchy groves for “With Might and Main” and “Mortal Reign” At times, I even get a bit of a God Dethroned vibe as heard on the fiercely melodic “The Agony”.  There’s even the obligatory atmospheric interlude in “Torn With Hatred” to break the album up a little bit. None nne f it truly breathtaking or groundbreaking but a

Of the label’s  recent releases (Considered Dead Thornafire,and Arroganz), the improvement made on Kingdom of Worms by Deserted Fear makes it one of the labels better late 2014 releases, a nice change from musty old school nostalgia and a band certainly on the upswing.

As with all of the bands playing this style, it’s not about reinventing the wheel, but rather delivering homages to a classic sound, and Summoning is pure Left Hand Path/ Like an Ever Flowing Stream /You’ll Never See...worship. Despite the band’s name, this isn’t a more doomy moody take as you’d expect, though there is some atmospherics here and there that harken to Gorement and God Macabre. This is more about galloping riffs, crawling, murky melodies and that oh so sweet guitar tone, a tone that’s not overdone or forced and certainly an honest, real nod to the classics rather than a more processed louder, modern take on it.

Some old school keyboards are scattered around, cementing the 90s homage as heard in opener “Black Death”,  and “Evocation of Carnal Flesh”  and some of these moments along with the wailing/haunting solos (i.e “Voice”) reminded me of Cemetery’s underrated An Evil Shade of Grey, and this is one of the first revival albums to to so. But for the most part, this is all about riffs and more riffs that along with the deep, throaty dusty bellows  recall the aforementioned bands and albums . The likes of “Sumerian Invocation”, “Eradicate”, “Evocation of Carnal Flesh” and “Exalted and Fireborn” buzz and canter with catchy raging restraint and a real grasp of the genre’s dynamics, not just the guitar tone. Which makes sense as the trio started as as mid range cover band for a number of years and serve in old school death metal band Desolator.

Though not a game changer,  Summoning is a lot like Unwilling Flesh‘s upcoming Between the Living and the Dead in that it does everything perfectly in mid range Swedish homage homage and is a thoroughly enjoyable nostalgic trip down memory lane, in Stockholm.

And let me be clear a very specific era of Death: Largely (Ok, mostly Leprosy and a little Spiritual Healing, not Scream Bloody Gore or tech era Death. I could really flesh out this review and milk it for several hundred words, but I don’t need to. One simply needs to go to the last track on Inoculation to hear a note for note, growl for growl rendition of Leprosy‘s seminal title track to hear all you really need to hear. It’s almost indistinguishable from the original and that’s how good of an homage Morfin is. Right down to the  basic Rick Rozz guitars Terry Butler bass and sloppy Bill Andrews styled drumming.

That’s probably all you need to know about Inoculation. Vocalist/guitarist Jesus Romero has the early Schuldiner growl down to a goddamned T, and all of the songs, riffs, solos, lyrics and structures and production all harken to those two classic Death albums, no bones about it. It’s not even subtle, heck “Lethal Progeny” contains the line “Born with Diseases, Living Monstrosity”. But to the band’s credit, none of it comes across as a tired or lazy rip off, but a really dedicated, almost cover band-like homage and the fact tracks  like “Dark Creator”, “Inoculation”,  the aforementioned “Lethal Progeny”, “Cryostasis”,  and Viral Mutation” sound like lost Death tracks from those albums, is a testament to the grasp Morfin have on that sound.Kudos.

Chuck would have been proud. Or maybe sued. I’m not sure.

After an instrumental intro “Into the Depth of Time”, comes out the starting gates and I’m instantly reminded of classic Morbid Angel, Brutality and Deicide. The blast beats though leave a bit to be desired though. They’re sloppy/not tight and this creates some of the songs to sound messy, which brings the album down a notch or two for me. The 2 minute mark to the song, though, features a fabulous James Murphy inspired guitar solo. Song has some great riffing that is catchy. “Cryopreservation” begins with a pace that is well suited for this band. Nice mid pace crunchiness, than it bursts into a sloppy blast beat and I was a bit let down again. The mid paced section to this tune is ferocious with some good drumming during this part.

The title track has a killer bass guitar moment and the vocals sound outstanding on this particular track. About halfway through the song is a killer Obituary influenced part. “Foretold in My House of Seance” begins with a vintage 90’s like bass guitar section before the songs kicks into high gear. This is a fun trip walking down memory lane and the band has the Floridian tone down pretty well. The band tries to fit a few too many time changes into their structures. The 90’s Floridian bands benefited from memorable songs that were not too complicated and the brutality was in creating scorching riffs while not going into overkill with numerous rhythm changes. Derogatory needs to scale back their approach in placing the kitchen sink in their songs.

The drummer also needs to take some lessons to tighten up his blast beats or else he risks loosing his job behind the kit. I’m not trying to be mean here, just realistic, since this band has a promising future. The cd contains pictures, lyrics and a cool Dan Seagrave inspired album cover. The cover, though, is a bit blurry and I wonder what the hell happened at the printing plant. Whatever the case may be, Above All Else is a real good debut album, from a young band, that will hopefully be around for future releases.

Named after an actual Autopsy song, with Slaughterday, the influence is unashamedly front and center. Sloppy, sinewy old school death metal drenched in the stench of slow, musty crawls and loose, off kilter, twangy, visceral blasts. The only thing missing is more deranged vocals, as Bernd Reiners has a fairly standard old school death metal growl that never quite veers into Reifert insanity.  Look no further than the second track, the title track which opens with a near rip off of Autopsy, but does it so well you can’t help but enjoy the fetid musk. And that is pretty much the gooey recipe for the whole album.

There really isn’t that much more to add. If you like Autopsy, you will get engorged by Nightmare Vortex. The production is a slightly cleaner take on that sloppy tone,  and the lyrical themes aren’t as comically B movie, but song wise, each of the 8 tracks deliver a mix of all the above.  All eight are great fun, like the the mid album trio of slower burn of “Addicted to the Grave” or more up tempo “Cosmic Horror” and “Morbid Shroud of Sickness” with its nice mid song creep. “Cult of the Dreaming Dead” also has a nice variety of sickly crawls and off kilter punky blasting that makes if recall many of Autopsy’s longer, sicker songs. The only thing missing is a real standout or monolithic track to define the album a little better, though 5 1/2 minute closer “Cryptic Desolation” comes close.

Like label mates Skeletal Remains, Morfin, Massive Assault, Funeral Whore and others, Slaughterday is a band that said “fuck it, we like (insert old school classic death metal band here)” and cloned the heck out of them with a sense of homage and respect and with enjoyable, nostalgic results. Good stuff.

I personally have not really actively listened to Master since 1990’s  self titled debut and a passing listen to 1998’s Faith is In Season after finding it in a bargain bin. But like Incantation and Immolation, after hearing so many bands copying the style in my rreviewing days (Bones, Terminate, Lair it the Minotaur, Morgengrau, Besieged, etc), , I thought I’d better go back and revisit some of the source material of the “Chicago” sound.

And here it is in all of its Venom and Motorhead infused glory. As grizzled and grey as Speckmann’s beard, nothing has really changed in the Master camp in 23 years. Speckman still sounds like a gruffer, more gravelly Lemmy (check out “Wipe Out the Aggressor”) , the music is still sort of blustery, punky, thrash/death metal mix with an earthy, rough ‘n’ ready sound and  and it’s still relatively unimaginative and basic with many of the songs having the same gait, but at 51 minutes its a bit long . Tracks like “Plans of Hate”,  ‘The American Dream”,  and “Raise Your Sword” are all ‘s unquestionably Master, but that’s about it

And that is where folks will need to decide if they want to shell out their hard earned money and buy or download this release. It’s not groundbreaking, it’s not particularly memorable and it really needs to have the dust blown off it to really appreciate it. But it is what it is- nothing more, nothing less, like the last 11 albums-it’s simply  a Master album.

All of of the above mentioned bands, Harm is the catchiest with a crisper, cleaner Stockholm sound and lots of melodic, cantering riffs akin to Dismember’s classic material. Even with a more rough and off kilter Autopsy-ish vocal approach, and Hail of Bullets like war-mongering themes,  the material on Cadaver Christi is generally a little lighter and ‘nicer’ than their peers and label mates, but it makes for a pretty solid , nice little album of the style that does not try to over do the tone or influence but rely on catchy, bouncier riffs rather than beat you over the head with buzz saw guitars and heavy handed Entombed-isms.

Though still armed with a familiar buzz, the airier, lighter tone makes the riffs come alive rather than a dusty, musty presence so the songs have a little less old school, oomph, but plenty of memorable riffs akin to US act Terminate. Case and point, second track “Burn the Saints”, which has a ridiculously addictive, rollicking main riff. The same can be said for “Divers of Death” and riotous bass line intro for “Blood for God” and cantankerous “When the Tigers Roar”.

A few grooves litter the generally more uptempo pace such as ‘Mustard Gas Terror”,  Autopsy crawl to start  “Harmageddon” or start of following track “Nuclear Holocaust”, but they never quite reach  a massive Hail of Bullets, presence  and Harm is far better galloping along at a more frenetic pace like punky closer “Cross Desecration”. In all, not a world beater or game changer, but still a pretty solid, fun release and example of the genre.

Consisting of an intro, two rather needless interludes and 5 actual songs, there is a little filler on this 21-minute EP, but the 5 actual songs are pretty stout and intense displays of no-nonsense blistering death metal. It’s nothing new or original, but that’s the beauty of it. The guitars have a perfect modern punch without being over produced, the vocals are deep and powerful, but not completely brootal, and the songwriting on the 5 tracks finds that perfect balance between blast beats, controlled, memorable aggression, twisty grooves and a few frenzied solos.

None of it is truly great, but it’s a quick, fun and intense listen that’s interrupted somewhat by the demon voiced interludes “Invocation I Black Seed” and “Invocation II Scorched Earth”. Still, skip those and dive right into the meat of the EP with the likes of “Extinction Machine”, “Irreversible Soul Consumption”, “Starring Beyond the Edge of Time”, “Veil of Ignorance” and blistering and fairly lengthy (compared to the other four songs) closer “Masks of Sorrow”, which ended up being my personal favorite on the EP. All deliver relatively similarly paced levels of speed and brutality, but with that unmistakeable sense of Floridian slightly technical, polished riffery.

Though not a ground breaking release that heralds a new king of death metal, Destructive Intent fulfills its namesake with no bullshit death metal as it should be and another solid release from FDA Rekotz.

Whereas for most of this wave of retro bands, the primary influence is Entombed and/or Grave, Wound have a slightly different approach, going for a more melodic and up tempo sound akin to latter Dismember (Where iron Crosses Grow, Dismember, The God That Never Was) mixed with some slight, slicker, black metal (much higher register vocals, pacing) of Necrophobic‘s Bloodhymns. They have the requisite mid-range Sunlight guitar tone, but it’s cleaner and punchier with more slice and dice than classic heft ‘n’ buzz. They also seem to have a little more of a pure d-beat/crust influence going on here and there as well (i.e. “Forever Denial”, “Corroded From Within”). It never overrides the Swedish death metal throes, but is certainly noticeable.

After a brief instrumental intro “Odium”, Wound gets right to it with “Codex Arcanum”, a high octane, high energy romp followed by “Echoes”, a catchy track that could have come from Comecon‘s first album. “The Unsolved Obscurity” adds some nice groove into the fray before the aforementioned “Forever Denial” adds some feedback and some rollicking solos to a more d-beat based attack. “Confessed to Filth” delivers a more traditional, expected old-school Swedish death metal romp. “Corroded From Within” opens with a classic d-beat drum and bass line while “Among You” and “The Prize of Tyranny” go right back to more mid-paced, groove-laden Swedish death metal, especially the latter, huge 6-minute track which delivers a very sturdy Wolverine Blues-ish groove, and is one of the album’s standout tracks, just for the reason that it’s the most pure Stockholm sounding.

There are no real standout or classic tracks on Inhale the Void, but all of them are damn solid listens. They are not quite up there with label mate Revel in Flesh, but by the same token they are doing something a little different within the context of old-school Swedish death metal.

For those of you familiar with that brief era, Shadows of Life will immediately transport you back to the days of Wildhoney and Tales from the Thousand Lakes. However, more recent converts to metal’s dark side may not know exactly what to make of it. There’s no attempt to be either oppressive and bleak, trendy and accessible, or innovative and genre-bending. So, don’t expect to find any of the post-rock/shoegaze influence that pervades a large part of ambient metal nowadays. It’s also far from the dark, cavernous death/doom that’s been making a bit of a comeback lately. It could be considered middle-of-the-road, but that’s actually part of what makes it special. There aren’t many bands traveling down that part of the road nowadays. But, what really makes it worth your ear is its genuine emotion and rich atmosphere.

The album greets you with an intro of lush, serene synths, which flow throughout the entire album, rising and falling opposite the explosions of grand, melancholic guitar melodies. Unlike a lot of current death/doom, these guys aren’t afraid to write some huge melodies that can even feel uplifting at times. The dreamy, spiralling of “Follow Me” is more likely to get your head swaying than drooping. In fact, most of the songs never stray far from mid-paced. There’s the steady march of the title track and “Dreaming of Some Day to Awake,” but songs like “Memories of the Future (We Are)” and “Dead Earth” are relatively energetic. The only exception is ethereal closer, “There Will Come Soft Rains.” I can’t tell if the drumming is from man or machine since it doesn’t really stand out, but it gets the job done. What you’re listening for is the atmosphere anyway, and this certainly delivers in that regard.

Comparisons could be drawn to prominent ‘90s releases like Mandylion, Icon, and Wildhoney, but the albums that came to my mind the most were a little more obscure. Anyone like me who has been looking for something else resembling Nox Mortis’s Im Schatten Des Hasses and Dark’s Endless Dreams of Sadness, or wished that As Divine Grace and Darkseed had never evolved beyond the style of their debut EPs, this is the album you’ve been waiting for. That’s not to say Graveyard of Souls is an exact clone of any of those bands, but the spirit of those recordings can be strongly felt.

There’s an endearing rawness and singular devotion to their craft much like that of the many retro death metal bands around today. Even the vocals never waver from a regal growl similar to that of early Theatre of Tragedy and My Dying Bride. Their cover of the Tears for Fears classic “Mad World” sounds a little awkward for this reason, but I’d say it’s the best that a death/doom version of the song could possibly be and I commend them for trying. Maybe next time they could take on something more goth, just so long as they don’t emulate the path of the bands that inspire them too closely and take their entire sound too far in that direction, losing the balance that makes them special. But, something tells me I have no need to worry.

Sulphur Aeon‘s style of death metal is multifaceted. Though their lyrics and themes focus on Cthlulu/Lovecraftian mythos, their chosen style isn’t quite so cornered. While much of Lovecraftin based metal is steeped in the more unsettling side of metal such as oozing doom or cavernous, atonal death metal, Sulphor Aeon‘s sound is one that pulls from many tenets of death death; Immolation, old school Swedish death metal and even melodic death metal (I imagine in part to members involvement with melodic death/black metal act December Flower). The end result of churning but still structured and memorable death metal that results in something akin to the likes of Immolation, Maveth or Vorum‘s robust imposing chaos crossed with the melodic clarity of Amon Amarth.

Some may decry the Amon Amarth analogy, but just listen to the crisp melodic solos and rousing percussive marches that litter the otherwise murky, muddy likes of standout opener (after intro “Cthulu “Rites”) “Incantation”, “The Devil’s Gorge” or “From the Stars to the Sea”. But for the most part, Sulphur Aeon deliver a blistering, well crafted and intense collection of death metal. From the ferocious “Where Black Ships Sail”, the pummeling “Those Who Dwell in Stellar Void”, to the filthy regal march of the title track, every song is engaging and thrilling in the ability to mix these immense, cavernous, tentacled moments and pristine moments of surprising melodic clarity. There isn’t a single wasted note or riff on the entire album as it enthralls for its full 47 minutes. And while the mix overall is a bit lagging, it fits in the scheme of things and the themes, but I wish the guitars had a bit more polish and punch as they are a bit mushy when just delivering riffs. However, things perk up for the solos and more singled out moments.

The album closes with a cover of Fulchi movie composer Fabio Frizzi’s’ “Zombi” composition, showing yet another aspect of the band’s large arsenal of influences that has resulted in arguably one of 2013’s most impressive and exciting death metal releases. With this and the likes of ADE, Krypts, Lantern, Abyssal and others in 2013 already, the future of death metal appears to be in some very capable hands and offering some truly exiting new bands for the foreseeable future.

If anything, Manifested Darkness has an increased sense of pacing and urgency, with more galloping, blasting riffs as opposed to mid paced trots. But there is no arguing that these guys have the style absolutely nailed, and Entrails had better deliver to remain the kings of the style. Revel In Flesh isn’t reinventing the wheel, and those who are growing weary of this retro saturation might heave a tired sigh at yet another release of this style, but for genre diehards like me, this is about as good as it gets.

Above the fat, perfect guitar tone, the songs make no bones about obvious Entombed, Dismember and Grave influences. Catchy, hooky, with some slight atmospherics and Ralf Hauber’s (who also helps out with the upcoming Just Before Dawn release) deep vocals all come together for a complete homage. The raucous opener “Revel in Flesh” sets the tone with a bouncy gallop as does the blastier “Dominate the Rotten”, and familiar title track but even with what appears to be some increased, enjoyable aggression (i.e. “Torment in Fire”), where Revel in Flesh really stand out is the slower, more lumbering songs. Case and point “Deathmarch”, the seven minute “Operation Citadel” which imbues Hail of Bullets, and the album’s apex, “Rotting  in the Void”, a six minute monster with an opening riff so heavy it actually bottoms out of hearing range and is destined to be one of my favorite songs of the year.

As with Deathevocation, which offered a cover of Benediction‘s “Subconscious Terror”, Manifested Darkness contains a cover song, the CD version having a cover of Autopsy‘s “Twisted Mass of Burnt Decay” from the classic Severed Survival album. And don’t get too excited, the track titled “Warmaster” is alas, not a Bolt Thrower cover song but a sturdy track of its own, though it does a Bolt Thrower nod contained within.

After a few tasty appetizers from the likes of Abysme, Megascavenger, Kingdom, Sorcery, Terminate, Ulcer, Lifeless and such, Revel In Flesh, Entrails and Just Before Dawn look to serve the main course, and Manifested Darkness is the first gristle laden bite that tastes so familiar yet so good.

I was moderately impressed with the bands first outing, Beyond the Threshold of Death, it was 2 years old by the time Ibex Moon re-released in 201, and it sounded a bit dated, but with Godconstruct, Lifeless has fixed the thin sound of the debut as well as increased the quality of the song writing, resulting in a very solid album of Stockholm homage.

After a brief intro, the title track opens with a riff that I swear was going to be a cover of Hypocrisy‘s “Reincarnation” (from The Fourth Dimension) but goes in a different direction and the band never look back as they deliver 10 tracks and one more interlude of pure Entombed/Dismember/Grave worship. The improved, thicker, bigger production and mix is pure Sunlight buzz and rumble, and the songs make no bones about the bands primary influences with buzz saw riffs, a few nostalgic synths, scrawly haunting solos and a fair amount of  grooves that do a little more than recall some of the genres landmark albums and songs.

Admittedly though , for me Godconstruct is not going to compete with Entrails or Revel in Flesh‘s upcoming efforts as the song writing and dynamic isn’t quite there yet. As enjoyable as the album is, I’d have to lump it in with the likes Ulcer, Zombified, Icons of Brutality, Mass Burial, Abysme and such. Solid, enjoyable but hardly classic example of a well worn style. Tracks like ‘The Truth Concealed”, “Sworn to Death” (which even drops ‘Massive Killing Capacity’ in the lyrics as well as some Martin van Drunen-ish vocals) and “Blindead”, while standouts on the album don’t really stick with you and just are not quite on par with some of the bands peers despite the energy and honest, rigid homage to the style.

That being said, as a sucker for this style, the sound and presentation of the band make up for the lack of truly killer songs and if they can continue the gradual improvement with album number three, Lifeless might be able to climb up into the upper echelon of the movement.

”Summoning Black Gods” immediately indicates that ambiance ain’t lost on this bunch and I do think that in the case of this one album, it doesn’t overstep. This intro induces chills in this 80s splatter gore horror film type of cool manner and doesn’t even require a body being decapitated to give me the impression a couple dead fellas are gonna pile up in one corner of this turf soon. The guitar sound is razor sharp from the minute it hauls ass around. This doomy intro riff is catchy and absorbing. The riffage at 2.08 has a great sense of groove, additionally to being tight as fuck. The drumming is very frenetic, and the frontman’s screams are awesome to listen to. This truly is a well-oiled machine right out the gate. I’m digging the proggier riffs around 3.07, for the simple reason that they sound like downright filth, and that shift in pace at 3.25 is nicely calculated. The downtempo tendencies these guys have every now and again are good news, I tell you – they’re engrossing rather than tiring or totally aggravating. The solo section is eerie and technical (without being some over the top eye roll). It has plenty of vitality. ”Descend to the Tomb” is a favorite of mine, and sure doesn’t lack on the Urgency front. The drumming is tempestuous and the main riff is anxiety-filled, scoring major points in the Feel Your Craft department. Actually, I’d even go as far as saying that the riffage paving the way to the first verse reminds me of old school Slayer (this ain’t the only time I had a thought for the Kerry King style of playing over the span of this one listening session). On the flipside, the downtempo (yes, downtempo) pacing of the first verse is pure despair. 2.44 goes straight back into this gnarly old school thrash we all love. The solo is yet again stylish and just skillful enough. It wails and bleeds and plows on. The vocal is intense as ever. This track’s chorus also happens to be incredibly loyal to the earliest incarnation of the death-thrash genre, which is only one of ’em traits that make it a focus track IMO.

”Dead Spheres” has a suspenseful intro, with a clear direction in terms of melody. I’m liking the color of the riffs in the first verse, building up to a peak at 1.41 that just happens to be very evil and organic in spite of not being original at all. Even though some riffs in this tune sound choked, they gotta be fucking great to mosh to. The drumming, at 2.25, truly goes for another kick ass prog moment, slaying the mid-tempo frame of mind. It’s a section that takes a while to fully develop, but it’s still quite interesting to me. The main issue with this track is the rushed ending – it’s like them tv shows that end up on the chopping block from the minute they build to the best story arc the writers could possibly figure out.

”Evocation of the Father” has so many shades and different approaches all rolled up into one single delivery, it’s tough not to dig in with an eagerness that gets constantly renewed as it morphs on. The contemplative bass work in the intro is rad, to begin with. The vocal is more and more gripping at this point. The background riffage goes for this really airy vintage doom schtick which I find absurdly enjoyable (at all moments of this record, really – I was floored by that surprise, I don’t like doom in death metal much, as I might’ve over-repeated before). 1.06 introduces this sub-par, but still effective riff, leading into a mid-tempo stroll that works, without playing circles around much of anything let alone the other (superior) tracks. It’s not a bad one by any stretch, and the variations keep it improving, but I still wouldn’t go back to this one the most often. It’s more like some sort of a jam-out rather than a compact and staccato delivery of mind-blowing acrobatics. It’s still enjoyable for what it is though, if solely for the feel. The soloing gets more interesting 2 minutes in, and the groovy riffage 19 seconds later seems to be just the right U-Turn this tune needed to start rocking harder. The bass drum here sounds really mint. Things really get more hectic and mental as the track closes out. The atonal half-melodies at 4.10 truly invoke an unstable mood clearly, and the cinematic licks ’bout 5 minutes are original and intricate.

”The Nameless City” is old school and engaging. The prog-thrash riffs are, yet again, groovy, and well-built. The verse riffs are a tad too repetitive, albeit reasonably good. I gotta admit the main thing about this track that stuck right out at me was the seriously cool retro rock-sounding rhythm section at 3.11. It’s a ballsy turn-around that genuinely feels Sabbath’y. ”Hymns to the New Land” has a true voice in terms of feel and the biggest intent to fucking slay. The proggy riffage and the technique switches of the drummer’s – it all creates suspense with just the right touch of technical geekism. The riffs know just how to avoid sounding dated, taking direct advice from the previous tune. It’s a well-balanced track shifting between some of the best thrash on this record so far, the aforementioned prog route, and the groovy riffage+sledgehammer drumming death metal fury. ”Exli’s Heritage”, on the other (read: opposite) plane of thought, heads straight back to the 80s Slayer terrain. It’s not the kind of song that wastes any time- both the riffage and the drumming are teethy as hell. It’s an apocalyptic and sincerely fucking freeing modus operandi. It’s all a simple, but very venomous and effective structure built on fast and slicing chugging.

The main downer for me in ”The Loved Dead” is def that the slightly goofy and very retro downtempo doom riffage in the beginning of the tune could’ve reared its head a few more times along the way. This turned into a bit of a sub-par and deja-vu death-thrash song quicker than it should’ve. The soloing seems to be hellbent on following its instinct, and that’s the only part of this cut I think really stands the test of time. All else in this one structure was certainly done better over the rest of the album’s length, no hesitation on that statement at all.

There ain’t a single trace of a doubt in my mind that this will quench the thirst of many. It’s a mighty fucking fine album, a cool band, and a rad label backing it up to boot. Fetch the package and enjoy it for what it is instead of worshiping over polished death metal that strives to be something it ain’t. Nothing beats Organic, and this is the type of record that doesn’t end up as the weak link in your collection after 3-4 spins – it’s solid,and takes on a life of its own. Feel is very important in all genres of metal, and Chapel of Disease do show they know that very well, and that’s also something that should get old schoolers like me talking for a bit.

Skeletal Remains is a few notes away from being a classic 90s death metal cover band as all of their songs and overall sound cull heavily from Leprosy, Consuming Impulse, Resurrection Absurd and Death Shall Rise (I really thought “Reconstructive Surgery” was initially a cover of Cancer‘s “Back from the Dead”). But there is an honesty and focus that makes Beyond the Flesh utterly enjoyable, especially for a death metal fossil like me, and the fact it’s doing the nostalgic death metal thing with a different lean makes it even better.

Everything on Beyond the Flesh is so retro, I can almost smell the white, high top sneakers. The vocals of Chris Monroy are pure Grewe/Van Drunen howl, the bass has a steady, audible ‘boing’ to it,  the guitars are early 90s analog with a crisp (the guitar tone actually reminded me of classic 90s US act Brutality) but dusty tone and the drums have a simple Bill Andrews steadiness that understands the drums are to keep a beat, not be be full of flashy fills and shit. And like I said, while the  each of the 8 songs are a few chord progressions away from simply being cover songs, you can’t beat this sort of nostalgic delivery as Skeletal Remains utterly NAIL this sound to the point where they sound like an unearthed Dutch band from 1990, not a group of Californians 20 years later. That’s a testament to two things; Skeletal Remains ability to really hone in on the classic sound without sounding contrived, and of course, the timelessness of the source material.

With song titles like “Traumatic Existence”, “Desolated Isolation” and “Extirpated Vitality”, even the songs titles are dug up from 1990.  And speaking of covers, rather than the obvious Death or Pestilence cover (which still would have been awesome) the band still close out the killer little album with a different 90s classic with a cover of Gorgut‘s “Disincarnated” from the bands 1991 debut Considered Dead, a time when Gorguts themselves were a simple Death clone and it puts a perfect end note on an album that shows there’s more to death metal nostalgia than plugging in a HM -2 pedal.

It’s no surprise the ultra productive Johanssen has another Revolting release out so quick, but what’s surprising is how good it is. Adorned with the same striking Desmond Root artwork and essentially having the same playful and melodic take on Swedish death metal, Hymns of Ghastly Horror ups the level of melody and catchiness to truly impressive levels making for a really fun death metal album.

Even though most of the songs have the same overall gait and pace, each song has some sort of melodic lead running through the main riff or chorus that’s just catchy as all get out.  Even the albums most ‘brutal’ track, “Ravenous Alien Spawn”, settles into a melodic little ditty later on. But all the other tracks simply gallop along with the same semi D beat canter and rumble laced with a harmonic melody. It’s simple and often repetitive, an never quite death n roll or campy horror metal (i.e recent efforts by Rocking Corpses or Splatters) as it retains a gruff and tangible Swedish death metal tone,  but boy is it addictive and fun.Even with the typically horror themed and gruesome subject matter, you will find yourself humming or whistling along to the likes of opener “The Mother of Darkness”, “The Black Queen”, groove and sample laden instrumental “The Thing the C.H.U.D Not Be”, “Pray to Katahdin”, and “The Hatchet Murders”.

Hymns of Ghastly Horror is far better and memorable than anything  Rogga’s other 2012 releases by Ribspreader (though this years Kult of the Pneumatic Killrod is still worth it, as you get virtually every Ribspreader release in one package) or The Grotesquery and hopefully will become his main focus band and put a little something extra into an already enjoyable formula.

Sound wise, My Empire goes for a more modern, polished American sound with just a hint of Hail of Bullets crunch, so there’s no full on  throwback buzz or hum, but song writing/riff (and logo/artwork) wise, the band has certainly has some more retro bands as their primary influence. Guitarist vocalist Mahne is obviously a fan of Martin Van Drunen/Marc Grewe with his oft use growl and howl though the riffs he plays are more a mix of Vader and Morgoth.

This mix comes together pretty well and delivers and solid death metal album that’s neither pure old school or a soulless modern death metal album. The songs have energy and oomph and stand confidently astride old school moments of rumble and groove, with a few modern blasts and solos here and there wrapped in a very modern, if slightly overly clean sound.

However, I’m not utterly blown away. As competent as the band are and as enjoyable as this release often is, I just haven’t felt the need to reach for it voluntarily (unlike the labels new Revolting album) . Despite some cool moments here and there such as the grooves in “Battalion of Insanities”,  end of “Pestilential”, opening rumble of “Nocturnal Frags” and “Scene of Crime” , it seems plonked in the middle of solid but familiar blasting. I get the impression that these youngsters were so excited to write and record and show their influences they simply got a little too crazy with the songs to where they are a little…..rushed? Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot to like here, but it’s pretty disposable. I just want to grab the band a say ‘settle down’, ‘cos there is a ton of potential here if they can just hone in on their sound a reign things in a bit.

This release reminded me a lot of Fisthammer’s album from earlier this year. A group of talented and energetic guys wearing there influences on their sleeves but with a modern edge, but like a teenager getting some action, it’s a little over excited, a bit all over the place and over too quickly despite the enthusiasm.

Of course, sharing members with Malfeitor as well as former members of Amon Amarth and Crypt of Kerberos helps the band’s legitimacy, but what carries Blood Mortized is their sense of place within the genre. They aren’t reinventing it, nor completely calling it in with a lazy homage. They have a sense of nostalgia without forcing it and an energy that invigorates the potentially tired corpse of the genre.

The usual suspects are the primary influence as Grave,  Entombed, Dismember and Unleashed come together in Blood Mortized’s sound and guitar tone, but there’s never a sense they they are ripping any of them off. The guitar tone of course has that buzz saw tone, but its not overdone or forced, having a more rough, raw sound, but still ‘that sound’.  The songs vary from a crunchy, classic d-beat canters (“The Heretic Possession”, “To Murder a God”), burly double bass trundles (“Doomsday Architect” ) menacing, doom riddled numbers (“Only Blood Can Tell”, “Bringer of Eternal Death”) and a few all all raging moments littered amid both (“Dead & Rotten”, “To Murder a God”, personal favorite, “The Key to a Black Heart”). All of it convincing and enjoyable and par for the genre’s course in tone and presentation.

On the down side, I’m not utterly blown away as say the Entrails or Binah releases as the tracks seem to be a bit restrained, two of the tracks the 6+ minute slow burner “Rekviem” and “Shadow of the Quarter Sun” from the Bestial EP re-appear here and the ‘Lemmy coming back from the grave’ artwork was a but silly. But those are my superficial nit pickings on an otherwise excellent addition to the genre from Dark Dark Descent Germany, I mean FDA Rekotz.

So it does not take a genius to figure out Revel In Flesh‘s chosen sound, all you need to know is that they do it really well. And while I have not heard the upcoming Blood Mortized album (also on FDA Rekotz), Deathevocation is the best of a recent impressive run of the style (Horrendous, Funeral Whore, Massive Assault) and even gives Entrails a run for their money as far as the current resurgence’s best band.

While the Entombed/Dismember influence is up front, I actually get a heavy Bloodbath vibe from Revel in Flesh. In part due to the HUGE guitar and drum tone which of course has the requisite sunlight buzz (thanks to a superb Dan Swano mastering effort- further cementing the Bloodbath ties), but the effort seems like a cohesive, collaborative homage to the genre, with excellent song writing rather than a simple cover band.

I imagine there are two schools of thought for this genre- people like me who either utterly adore it, or those that enjoyed its first iteration but are a bit tired with the current resurgence. Those in the first frame of mind should love Deathevocation as all 10 songs deliver the best snippets and elements of the genre’s original throes down to a T. And with the aforementioned production rendering each riff, groove and gallop with a thick retro musk, the end result is pure old school bliss. While I love each of the 10 tracks, a few really stood out; the Kamikaze themed “Wings of Death“, the thick lurch of the album’s longest cut “Iron Coffin” which both remind me of Hail of Bullets and the duo of  “Opus Putrescence” and closer Crowned in Darkness”  have a perfect retro stomp and trot while “Black Paled Elegy” delivers simply classic pace and structure with a very cool, classic melody line in the chorus.

Rather than close the album with a safe, predictable  Entombed or Dismember cover, instead Revel In Flesh deliver an old school curve by way of Benediction‘s “Subconscious Terror” the title track from the band’s 1990 debut of the same name with a very young and raw Barney Greenway on vocals. And with the slick production and tighter delivery (the original album had an honest and primal but terrible production and quality) it sounds killer (though I would have preferred “Grizzled Finale” as my song of choice from that album). It puts a great retro end note on a great retro album that show’s the resurgence is as good as ever.

Death Strike‘s sound then of course has a killer buzz and canter, though more compact and tight then some of the current peers, and also a hint of melody amid the strong song writing. Those looking for a quick, immediate Dismember reference should head straight to about 1:22 of opener “Driven Towards Death” or mid song track “Pride”. Yeah, that’s Death Metal and beyond era Dismember right there,  even down to Carl Cristian’s Matti Karki -ish bark and most if not all of the albums other tracks also contain the same strains of killer riffs. I also detect a bit of inherent Consuming Impulse era Pestilence sprinkled about also. And that only makes Death Strike even better.

For fans of the sound such as me, you are probably already looking at Amazon or The Metal Detektor ordering this, but if you want a slightly more thorough breakdown, I’ll oblige; the 10 songs are all very well done, only slow burner “Dismal Life” really doesn’t get my blood flowing. The better tracks are the ones that feature some killer stop start riff or chug and trademark Swede-buzz’n’gallop. The likes of the aforementioned “‘Driven Towards Death”, “Pride”, “Aggressive Depression”, galloping “Cycle of Violence”  and rollicking personal favorite “Charred” fit the bill perfectly while “Finished Sympathy” and “Turning Tides” feature a more controlled march, though it’s not the band’s forte as they have not caught up with Hail of Bullets in that crushing regard yet

So, those lamenting the break up of Dismember can take some measure of solace that the sound is being carried on in a most competent fashion by Massive Assault. Another great find Dark Descent Eastern Europe, I mean FDA Rekotz.

Granted, the mood and tone here is spot on with Mortal Throne of Nazerene melding of muddy blast beats and more loose doomy passages and distant cavernous bellows. But other than a couple of moments here and there, the songs just don’t quite fully flesh out the overall feel of nostalgia, even with titles like “Defiling the Altars of absent God” and “Repulsive Sanctification of the Absurd”.  Of course, The Spell of Damnation is in the unfortunate situation of competing against the likes of Blasperian, Disma, Funerus, Corpsessed and other like minded acts, so the bar is set pretty high, but even without the weight of those comparisons, Ominous Crucifix fall a bit short.

That being said, if you really crave something to hold you over until the upcoming Incantation reunion album, you could do worse. At times, Ominous Crucifix have the sound and structure pretty well nailed, and occasionally pull everything off convincingly. After the shaky start of “Third Day Resurrection” which serves as sort of an intro and actually sounds like a different band, the loping chorus of “Putrid Purity” is the album’s highlight along with the slower “Secular Omens of Death” teasing at a band that could be something pretty good in this crowded genre. But the rest of the tracks just don’t really do anything or go anywhere. The same drum pattern pretty much fills each song and there’s no real sense of dynamics to make any of them stand out beyond a murky rumble. There’s just no consistency.

Luckily, FDA Rekotz has the upcoming Blood Mortized, Lifeless, Massive Assault and Revel In Flesh albums to put them back on track and further the label’s old school death metal dominance. Dark Descent Records has better pick it up.