Compilations: Metalhit.com Sampler

Recently, when I won a contest on Metal Maniacs' website, I received two CDs from Lithuanian black metal bands. Also included in the usual mess of promotional materials for various small, underground labels was a gift card for a free download of sampler tracks from Metalhit.com. Not being one to turn down free stuff, I downloaded the album, thinking maybe it will convince me to pick up a few of the albums.

ALDAARON: "NIRNAETH ARNOEDIAD PT. 1"
Melodic black metal with a heavy use of tremolo riffing. I actually really like this. The vocals could stand to be a little higher in the mix, but the tremolo riff is very interesting and catchy. The blasting drums behind it is a little stereotypical, but sounds pretty good. There's a slower interlude that keeps things from becoming boring. Definitely interesting.

CARDIAC ARREST: "HAUNTED REMNANTS"
This one is good old-fashioned death metal. The song is absolutely filthy and raw. It truly sounds nasty. The band is on Ibex Moon Records which is a very trustworthy label for death metal. This is the way that death metal should sound. I will definitely have to get this one.

COLONIZE THE ROTTING: "REGURGITATED CARRION"
This is off an album called Composting the Masticated. So yeah, if you guessed slam death you're right. Somewhat interesting band. There really are not a ton of really good slam death bands out there, but this one sounds moderately interesting. I can see why this wouldn't be everyone's thing but slam death is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine.

DIABOLIC: "HELLISH WORLD"
Another great old school-sounding death metal song. This one sounds a little closer to groups like Morbid Angel and Immolation. That is, very heavy, with sick riffs and dessicated vocals. It's also very fast, eschewing the sludgy feel of their influences, but keeping the same downtuned guitars. Very interesting indeed.

GRAVES OF VALOR: "LOCUSTA"
I was expecting some type of deathcore. While the band certainly does have deathcore elements (breakdown about halfway through), they're not quite as bad and obvious about it as some of their contemporaries. It's still definitely deathcore, but it's a little better than groups like Suicide Silence and Arsonists Get All the Girls. The guitar tone is interesting. Listenable, but not much more.

HAIL OF BULLETS: "WARSAW RISING"
Already familiar with this band, the project of members of Asphyx and Thanatos. Already a huge fan. Don't need to listen to this song to further prove that. I will just say Martin Van Drunen is one of my favorite death metal vocalists, if not my favorite, and Thanatos is very underrated. Great to hear a new song from them, even if it is just from an EP.

NOMINON: "KEVORKIAN EXIT"
I'm also already familiar with this Swedish death metal band and already enjoy them. This is off their newest album and this thing sounds like it will be awesome. This is another backward-looking band, focused on the early 1990's sounds of Grave, Nihilist, Carnage, and Nirvana 2002 among others.

ORTHRUS: "AGENTS OF ASSYRIAN WIND"
This one surprised me. I was expecting black metal, but what I got was a frenetic coupling of black and thrash metal. Blackened thrash being a particularly favorite subgenre of mine, I really enjoyed the hell out of this. Definitely interested in hearing more from these guys.

PENTAGRAM: "BUZZSAW"
Quite possibly the U.S.'s oldest metal band, forming in 1971, Pentagram still plays fuzzed-out doom metal with heavy riffs and sleazy vocals. For some reason, I have not looked too much into Pentagram. One of these days, that will change. This is off their 2001 album that was recently reissued.

REVOCATION: "DISMANTLE THE DICTATOR"
I am familiar with this new technical thrash outfit. I loved last year's album and this track comes from that album. So I'm already ahead of the game on this one.

SACRILEGIOUS IMPALEMENT: "MARCH OF DOOM"
This is black metal with something of a dark, epic feel to it. The whole thing sounds like the sound of a particularly harsh winter. It's angry and cold and blustery. Not bad at all. My curiosity is piqued.

SECTIONED: "LONLIEST MAN"
This is kind of interesting modern death metal. I'm not sure they've quite got everything together. The guitar riffs are very fast, but the vocalist kind of lumbers through the lyrics, holding individual words for quite awhile while the music blasts away. It's a little disorienting. The music is good, the vocals just need to match them. This is a fairly raw recording too, the guitars could use a little boost in the production. A decent start, but needs improvement.

THE CRINN: "SYZYGY"
I don't know what that word is. This is uber-technical shredding, without any coherent ideas. I'm not even sure if it's metal or not, there don't seem to be any discernible riffs or structure, it's just shred after shred. Fans of The Dillinger Escape Plan may be interested. I am not such a fan, so no, I don't care at all for it.

VULVECTOMY: "GANGRENOUS TESTICULAR DEFORMITY"
I bet these guys are a blast at parties. Apparently they have something against both male and female genitals. From their album Post-Abortion Slut Fuck, this is more slam death, this time from Italy. This one has a thicker production than the last band, but the vocals are unfortunately kind of buried in the mix. The drums are higher, which are usually the more interesting feature of slam death, so this is a good thing. I don't know if I would look further into this band or not. Possibly if I have another desire to get some more slam soon. I haven't done that for a little while.

WATAIN: "REAPING DEATH"
Hell yes. I really enjoy Watain so I am really looking forward to their new album. This song is great. Very fast and chaotic black metal with a dark atmosphere. Watain has often been called the heirs to Dissection's throne, while I still don't believe that's possible, they have quickly become one of the leading black metal bands. I will definitely check this out.

WORMROT: "EXTERMINATE"
Wormrot has created a bit of a stir lately. The grindcore band from Singapore was signed to Earache immediately after one of the label's heads heard a sampler download from the site Invisible Oranges. This is very interesting death/grind. One I may have to check out. The song is extremely short, fast, and angry. No wonder this band is making waves.