Vader: Dark Age (2017)

Sticking with bands from Poland, here we have Vader, who is one of the most famous Polish metal bands.  Likely just second to Behemoth at this point and that is due more to Behemoth's recent opening slot on Slipknot's Knotfest tour.  But enough about Behemoth, let's talking about Vader.

To begin with, it is a little difficult to think of too much to say about Vader that has not been said thousands of times before.  Vader is one of the most consistently excellent bands in metal.  They have never put out a bad song, much less a bad album.  And they remain steadfastly committed to the sound that they developed way back in the late 1980's.  This album is their most recent release and it sounds so much like their first album.  But there is a reason for that.

So why is that?  Well, because Dark Age is essentially a re-recording of the band's first album The Ultimate Incantation.  Even the album artwork is the same.  I am not sure why the band bothered to change the album title, except maybe to make it seem like a brand new album.  Usually I do not care much for this kind of cash grab, except it is not like this particular band is mainstream enough to take much advantage of a cash grab, so this seems kind of non-sensical.  The songs were also re-recorded at completely different points in time, so again, this is just kind of bizarre.

Now, I am not complaining that much about this.  I do not own Vader's first album, so this is a good way to hear all of the songs.  And quite frankly, the album is fucking awesome.  It is clear that Vader's foundation was in thrash metal branching out into death metal.  The riffs are punishingly heavy and intense.  The songs are short, but immensely powerful.  And Piotr's vocals are top-notch growls.  There is a reason Vader is as renowned as they are in underground circles.

So, while this is kind of a pointless release, it comes across well enough that it does not really matter.  Vader rules and that is all anyone really needs to know.

Mgła: Exercises in Futility (2015)

A few months back I reviewed a compilation by the Polish black metal band Mgła and lamented that I had actually bought the wrong release when I was looking for this album.  That worked out well though because I actually loved the compilation.  So, eventually I knew I had to track this one down as well and that finally did happen.

Mgła's sound is not really anything new.  If anything they sound like a more misanthropic version of Inquisition.  It is black metal stripped down to its core essence.  It relies on constantly repeating riffs with the occasional solo to bring a brief glimmer of melody.  But besides that, the music is dark and intense with a feeling of desolation. 

The lyrics are just as dark and hopeless as the music.  The songs are all titled after the album title with only Roman numerals afterwards to distinguish them.  The first lines are "The great truth is there isn't one and it only gets worse since that conclusion".  This bleakness and nihilism continues throughout the album. 

Honestly I think I prefer the compilation from earlier to this album.  That one had more of a raw feel to it, while this is much more refined.  That being said, this is still a terrific example of true black metal without any of the outside elements that have been brought into the genre recently.  There is a lot of great black metal in the last few years and Mgła is at the top of the list.

Death Angel: Relentless Retribution (2010)

After being blown away by some of the recent Death Angel releases after their reformation, in particular their 2019 album Humanicide, I decided to dig a little bit deeper into their music.  I targeted this one first because it was the first of the "Wolf Trilogy" and the only one I had not previously owned.  It made it a necessary pick-up.

I am probably going to repeat myself quite a bit in my praise of this album.  A lot of the things that make this album great are also present on Humanicide.  And let me be clear, these albums are indeed great.  Death Angel is one of the few thrash metal bands from the 1980's to reform and actually be BETTER than they were previously.  The band has always been noteworthy for having a terrific vocalist and an exceptional lead guitarist and, if anything, their respective skills have improved significantly, which is really saying something. 

There are some oddities here.  There is an acoustic guitar interlude performed by the famous flamenco guitarists Rodrigo y Gabriela.  And "Volcanic" is a rare ballad for the band.  Death Angel did these a little more often in their first incarnation, but have moved away for the most part, preferring relentless aggression (see "Death of the Meek"), though they remain capable of softer moments.  It is just rare for them to stretch it into an entire song any more.

I really think there is an argument to be made for this album being Death Angel's best.  The heavy tracks are truly monstrous and the lighter tracks are extremely powerful.  This is as consistently amazing as this band has ever been.  For a long time, they were kind of afterthoughts in the Bay Area thrash metal scene, but they have had a truly impressive second career that has catapulted them into the conversation with Exodus as the best the Bay Area has to offer.  And yes, they are better than Metallica now, that's just plain obvious. 

Frosthelm: Pyrrhic (2019)

Hailing from the frozen wastes of North Dakota, Frosthelm takes their cues from such frost-bitten black metal bands as Immortal, with a little bit of Skeletonwitch thrown in for good measure.  And given that their first album was titled The Endless Winter, Frosthelm is definitely steering into the skid.  Plus, this is one of the best album covers of the year.

As alluded to earlier, Frosthelm's sound is built around influences from second wave Norwegian black metal bands with a fair amount of European-style thrash metal thrown in.  The music is fast-paced and aggressive with swirling, cold riffs.  And the vocals are delivered in an icy rasp that would make Abbath proud.  The songs are generally fairly lengthy, throwing a variety of different riffs at the listener.  That keeps things interesting and makes the album well worth the listen.

This is another one of those random albums I picked up on Bandcamp recently.  It is a very impressive album and one would be forgiven for thinking this was a band from Norway in the mid 1990's.  It is downright shocking that something like this would come from North Dakota, which is not exactly a metal hotbed.  Of course I should talk, living in Northeast Nebraska.  But if something this impressive can come from North Dakota, I guess location really does not matter.

Lunar Shadow: Triumphator (2015)

Lunar Shadow has been making a little bit of noise in the underground as one of the better example of a new wave of traditional heavy metal bands.  The German band has released two full-lengths and this EP, which was their debut, to impressive accolades.  I first heard about them after being randomly sent the J-card from the cassette release of this album in another order.  Not the tape mind you, just the J-card.  Well, that was not going to stand, so I tracked this release down.

From the album title and the cover art, it is pretty obvious this band ascribes to the swords-and-sorcery fantasy themes that are fairly common in a lot of early 80's metal styles and to the power metal and epic doom metal genres in particular.  The music here is a terrific take on NWOBHM bands like Angel Witch and Blitzkrieg, with soaring dual guitar melodies and decent, if not great, vocals.  The music is generally fast-paced with infectious hooks and melodies.  And the bass takes strong influence from the galloping bass work of Iron Maiden.  There is definitely a lot going on here musically, and even though Lunar Shadow does not break the mold or present anything truly new or original, they are incredibly proficient at what they do.

This is a terrific EP of a band who seems to be rising.  The band has recently changed their vocalist and I am anxious to hear what effect, if any, that has had on the band's sound.  This is a very short introduction to a damn good band.  I will have to track down their full-length albums.

Bethlehem: Dictius Te Necare (1996)

This is a very weird one.  Bethlehem takes their cue from a number of other metal bands by taking a positive biblical reference and putting a very dark sound to it.  Bethlehem was an early German black metal band taking shape at the time that the second wave of black metal was ruling in Sweden and Norway.  I believe I have discussed previously that Germany has not been a major place for black metal, but this is a very good exception.

Bethlehem has a more experimental structure with a lot of doom metal influences in their sound.  The band frequently goes from fast-paced, rumbling riffs to morosely slow chord progressions.  It is extremely dark and unsettling music that very likely had a massive influence on the depressive black metal wave of the late 90's/early 2000's.  But as interesting as the music is, this would likely not move the needle all that much if it were not for one other element.

When discussing this album, the major thing that must be mentioned above all else is the vocals.  Quite simply, they sound absolutely psychotic.  Going from a malevolent whisper to a blood-curdling shriek and tortured wailing comes unsettlingly easily.  It is the vocals that really make this album what it is.  The fact that the lyrics are in German makes them that much more terrifying, because let us face it, German is kind of a an odd language.  Combined with the vocal style here it is horrifying.

This album should be a classic.  It reminds me a lot of Silencer's Death - Pierce Me, though maybe not quite as extreme.  It is masterfully creepy and eerie, but it does not seem to have quite the following it deserves. 

Enforcer and Warbringer in Omaha: September 19, 2019

It has been kind of a rough week and I have been exhausted all week.  As such, my wife and I chose not to stay for the entire concert here and we actually missed Warbringer.  That's okay though because I have seen Warbringer twice before (opening for Overkill and then Dark Tranquillity) and we were originally planning to go to see Enforcer anyway.  The show was at the Lookout Lounge in Omaha, where I have previously seen groups like Goatwhore and Bell Witch, among others.

The concerts at the Lookout Lounge often have local bands and this one was no exception.  It is one of my favorite things about concerts at this location.  The bands opening up for Enforcer and Warbringer were Ungoliant, Dopecorpse and Inner War, none of whom I have seen before.  It was actually quite the eclectic group of bands.

Ungoliant was first and they are a black metal band from Omaha.  They were terrific, playing a particularly fast-paced and heavy black metal that is exactly the kind of black metal I love.  This was apparently the bassist's last show, but the band is continuing.  Hopefully a physical release is coming, because I would definitely snatch one up.  Dopecorse was next and they play a heavy stoner/doom with harsh vocals and slow, monolithic riffs.  They were pretty decent, but the songs tended to drag a little bit.  Finally, Inner War was the last band before the headliners.  Their sound is an unholy concoction of hardcore, thrash metal and black metal and they made a lot of noise with some excellent riffs.  They were also able to work the crowd into a frenzy.  All three bands were terrific and are good examples of the improving metal scene in Omaha, Nebraska.

The band that we were there to see was Enforcer, the Swedish retro metal band whose sound is based completely in the early 1980's speed and heavy metal scene.  I have been listening to the band for years now and they have never released a bad album.  Their recent album Zenith is not my favorite, but is by no means a disappointment either.  Enforcer had some sound issues, particularly with the vocals, which is a shame because that is frequently one of the best elements.  However, their intensity was infectious and their speed metal riffing was balls to the wall.  Enforcer played a number of songs that are favorites, including "From Beyond", "Katana" and "Live for the Night".  I was only disappointed that they did not play "High Roller", which was the major song that really got me into Enforcer.

It was a lot of fun seeing Enforcer.  They play a hyperactive, exciting and catchy form of metal that owes a lot to the 1980's metal scene.  It was disappointing to not stay for Warbringer, but it was a late night as it was.  I am sure I will catch them again.

Xentrix: Bury the Pain (2019)

The U.K. is not really known for thrash metal.  Despite being the birthplace of heavy metal as we know it, for all intents and purposes, and being a major breeding ground for punk, the two major ingredients in thrash metal, there are not a ton of U.K. thrash metal bands who have made a long-lasting impact.  Basically, there is Onslaught, Sabbat, Xentrix, and in recent years, Evile.  Xentrix released a couple of great albums in the heyday of thrash metal, then disappeared for awhile.  But, like many other metal bands, they have re-formed recently with a new singer, and this is their first album since 1996.

I am not overly familiar with the previous Xentrix releases.  I have heard them, but do not own copies of them, though that's not due to not wanting them.  This is a terrific return to the form that made those earlier albums (I am not talking about the 1992 and 1996 releases) so great.  

The music sounds like a combination of Practice What You Preach-era Testament and ...And Justice for All-era Metallica.  It is aggressive thrash metal with staccato riffs and a lot of intensity.  The vocals sound like a gruffer version of James Hetfield's AJFA shout.  Xentrix generally do not waste time doing acoustic interludes or melodic sections.  The band simply goes out and makes as much harsh thrash metal as possible.  It's thrash metal that recalls the spirit and anger of the genre in its early years, before a bunch of bands started incorporating humor and progressive elements.  Some of the highlights of the album include the blistering title track and the punishing "Let the World Burn".  

A lot of thrash metal bands from the genre's golden period have reunited over the last decade or so, but not many have done so as convincingly as Xentrix.  This is a terrific comeback album and cements the band as one of the best thrash metal bands to come from the U.K.  There is not a lot of competition, but still.

Goatpenis: Live in Brazilian Ritual - Third Attack (2016)

Goatpenis huh? 

Yep, Goatpenis. 

Goatpenis is a Brazilian blackened death metal band whose sound fits in well with the "war metal" moniker.  It certainly helps that the band uses a LOT of militaristic imagery and lyrical content.  I have actually been attempting to track down a Goatpenis release for some time, after seeing their admittedly awesome-looking logo everywhere lately.  I figured the universe was trying to tell me something.  However, their stuff is not easy to find in my preferred format.  This was the first one I could find.

Now, this is a live album and it is my first listening experience with Goatpenis.  Live albums are not normally the best way to introduce yourself to a band.  The last one I did this with was Black Witchery, and that live album was kind of a mess, though I later discovered how great that band is.  Unfortunately, this is the only Goatpenis release that has popped up so far so I took a shot at it. 

Unfortunately, this is likely to be one of those live albums that does not do the band justice.  I'm assuming that anyway.  The biggest issue is not the songs, but the sound quality.  It is quite clear that these songs are supposed to be punishing and intense, reflecting the harsh subject matter.  But there is a complete lack of any bottom end that saps the energy that is likely there.  In addition, the vocals can hardly be heard and there is some sort of odd pitch-shifted effect to them.  That might sound okay in a studio-recorded release, but does not really work here.

It is not all bad though.  The latter quarter of the album is filled with some songs whose intensity manages to shine through anyway.  "Roman Revenge" featuring Impurath of Black Witchery on vocals is probably the best of these songs, with a terrific opening riff.  The rest of the release follows suit.

So, this is probably not the best representation of Goatpenis's sound.  I will keep my eyes open for some of the other releases in the future.

Split: De Profundis vs. Velm

I am going to do splits a little bit differently from now on.  I have always treated them as a sort of competition before, now I am just going to make that a little more explicit.  This one is a little different because both sides of the split were actually previous releases by each respective band, rather than new material specifically produced to be part of the split.  This is exemplified by the fact that both sides have their own title and their own cover.

DE PROFUNDIS - HAUNTED BY ILL ANGELS ONLY

Disappointingly, this is not the U.K.-based De Profundis that released the terrific The Emptiness Within in 2012.  This one is a black metal band from Hungary.  This was originally released as a demo in 2009 before being collected on this split.  The band has gone on to release just one full-length to date.  The De Profundis side is significantly shorter than the other side.  There are three traditional black metal songs and a shorter instrumental one.  The basic black metal songs are generally fast-paced with fairly standard tremolo riffing and some random Eastern European folk elements.  There are frequent keyboard melodies adding to the folk elements and making things interesting.  It is an interesting release, but not terribly ground-breaking.

VELM: SONGS OF AUTUMN

Velm is also a Hungarian black metal band, but their music veers more toward the pagan black metal sound.  This was originally released as Velm's first EP in 2012, which is kind of shocking given how good this sounds.  A lot of the same elements that are present on the De Profundis side are here as well, but for whatever reason, Velm does a much better job with it.  The music is atmospheric and organic-sounding, but with some powerful riffs and generally an uplifting sound, which is rare in black metal.  Of particular note is the brilliant title track.  And when the band is playing something more sinister, it comes out extremely bleak and discomforting.  

THE WINNER: VELM

Pretty obvious that was going to be my pick.  The Velm side is leaps and bounds better than the De Profundis side, and it is not at all like I disliked the De Profundis side.  Velm just sounds much more professional and advanced.  I liked it so much that I picked up both of Velm's full-length albums recently.  Those reviews are to come later.

Sabbat: The Devil's Sperm is Cold (1989)

And we come to the final post in this series of reissued early Sabbat EPs.  This one came the year before yesterday's subject and features one of the other characteristics of Sabbat that has been present in a lot of their material.  And that is their somewhat bizarre sense of humor.  Seriously, why would else would they use that title?

This is the EP that saw the band take a massive step forward in their musicality, which can be seen on yesterday's post.  They were no longer taking the simple thrash metal route, injecting a number of creative ideas and stretching the length of their songs to pull it off.  There are only two songs on this EP and they both break the six-minute mark. 

"Hellfire" is the more straight-forward of the two tracks, with riffs that would not sound out of place on a pre-Master of Puppets Metallica album.  "Immortality of the Soul" is the highlight here with some amazing shredding riffs and chilling solos.  It is a huge step forward from the band in a musical sense and showcases how talented these musicians really are.  It takes a number of twists and turns, and is one of the more memorable songs from this era in the band's history.

This is probably the best of Sabbat's early EPs before they started releasing full-length albums.  With the tape-trading culture at the time, it is somewhat surprising this band was not better-known.  This is an essential Sabbat release.

Sabbat: The Seven Deadly Sins (1990)

This is the third in a series of four posts covering Sabbat's early EPs that were recently reissued.  This is the last one before the band finally released a full-length album and is the most complete-sounding one I have covered. 

This one opens up with the six-minute "Possessed the Room (Kanashibari)" which features a blazing guitar solo in the opening strains, before launching into a mid-paced thrash metal riff.  It is an incredible song, and easily one of the band's best songs during this time period before the release of their first full-length.  There are a number of solos shining through and some neck-breaking galloping riffs.  It builds a dark and evil-sounding atmosphere through its lack of speed and the use of ominous guitar melodies.  The other two songs are much faster, more typical thrash metal songs. 

Unlike the last two EPs, this one I do recommend for people looking into the band.  It is a nice, short introduction to what the band was doing without getting into an entire full-length.  "Possessed the Room (Kanashibari)" is an incredible song and possibly one of their best ever.  The others are much more standard, but still sound good.  This is a decent starting point to see what Sabbat is all about.

Sabbat: Born by Evil Blood (1987)

This is the second of four days exploring some of the very early Sabbat demos.  Again, this is the Japanese band.  This is actually the band's first released EP, coming out only after a single and a split.  So this one is even earlier in the band's discography than the one in yesterday's post.

This is a very raw recording, but the guitars have an impressively evil tone to them.  There are just three songs on this particular EP, and the first one is an instrumental.  The band's Venom influence is very clear, as any of these songs would fit in well on Venom's Black Metal.  "Curdle the Blood" is probably the highlight, with its frenetic riffing and Gesol's shrieking vocals.  It also has some damn meaty riffs in it.  "Poison Child" is basically a standard thrash metal track, but the vocals definitely take some getting used to here, which is unfortunate because it detracts from some impressive musical ideas.

Again, I cannot really recommend this release for anyone but a huge fan of the band.  I am becoming such a fan though, so I do enjoy it.

Sabbat: Desecration (1988)

The next four posts will cover some very early Sabbat demos.  This is the Sabbat from Japan, not the U.K.  Sabbat has generally been a very prolific band and a lot of their early material has recently been reissued.  I first picked up four of the demos, but later added three of the early albums as well.  This string is just the demos.  None of these posts is going to be terribly long, because none of the releases are very long.

This was just the fourth release Sabbat put out and is a quick and dirty four-song EP.  It starts out ominously with the song "Welcome to Sabbat", which is actually a nice way to introduce the band in general.  It lays the groundwork for what is to come, which is some damn impressive blackened thrash metal that owes its existence to Mercyful Fate and Venom.  This particular release veers much closer to thrash metal in the faster-paced riffs and howling vocals, but it is easy to see where the style was heading in the blackened thrash direction.  The best song here is probably "Crest of Satan", which is the longest and features some great riffs that belie the fact that this band is so young at this point.  "Darkness and Evil" is the closest the album comes to a defined black metal song.

It is obvious Sabbat was still finding themselves here, but this is a damn impressive release for something so early in their vast catalog.  I do not know if I recommend it to people discovering the band for the first time, but it is interesting nonetheless.

Maniac Butcher: Invaze (1999)

Here we have the third album I have picked up yet from Maniac Butcher, the uber-kvlt black metal band from the Czech Republic.  And of course the first thing I want to point out about this album is the ridiculous album cover.  Looking at it, one would be forgiven for thinking that this was not a serious project.  It looks like a parody cover.  But nothing could be further from the truth. 

Sounding like a mix of early Mayhem and Transilvanian Hunger-era Darkthrone, Maniac Butcher have always been clear about what they believe black metal should sound like.  And that is raw, aggressive and bestial.  The songs here are fairly simple and stripped down with no frills.  Few, if any, guitar solos, no keyboards or strings, and no clean singing.  This particular release tends to be more based around Mayhem's De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, with cold and hostile atmosphere taking center stage over the aggressive riffing.  Though there is still plenty of that in the album. 

Of particular note on this album is "Řemeslo válečné, to jest mi chlebem všedním i taktéž kratochvílí sváteční" with its driving, punky center riff.  It is one of the catchiest songs Maniac Butcher has ever released.  Of course, with a name like that, it is pretty easy to deduce that the band does not speak English in their songs.  So singing (or screaming) along is not an option. 

This may be my favorite Maniac Butcher album I have heard so far.  There is a lot more musically going on in this one than some of the others I have heard.  And they balance this improved musicality with the typical bestial rawness that has made the band so compelling in the past.  They do all of this without sacrificing their ideals of what black metal should be.  And it is all the better for it.

Death Angel: Humanicide (2019)

Earlier this year I went back and checked out the first two albums released by Death Angel, after long meaning to do so.  I enjoyed those releases quite a bit, in particular The Ultra-Violence.  Frolic Through the Park was very much a product of its time however and does not hold up nearly as well.  Afterwards, the band released the dynamic and genre-bending Act III before splitting up.  But Death Angel eventually reformed and are noteworthy because I think their second stage material is even better than the albums they released in their first go-around. 

This brings us to Humanicide and this release is a fucking monster of an album.  It is part of a trilogy of albums that has come to be known as the Wolf Trilogy, mostly because each of the albums has a wolf on the cover.  This trilogy includes the 2010 release Relentless Retribution (which I also just recently picked up) and the 2013 release The Dream Calls for Blood.  It skips the 2016 release The Evil Divide. 

The album starts off with a bang with the electrifying title track and refuses to let up on the throttle for the rest of the album.  Of particular note is the frenetic, punky speed metal of "I Came for Blood" and "The Pack".  Death Angel have crafted an incredible collection of songs once again on this release, getting seemingly better with each new release.  The band has long been highlighted by the duo of vocalist Mark Osegueda and guitarist Rob Cavestany and these two continue to be the heart and soul of Death Angel.  They play off each other incredibly well and continue to drive this band forward. 

Death Angel is one of those rare bands that actually seem to be getting better with age.  Unlike a certain other Bay Area thrash metal band, Death Angel continues to get heavier and release unrelentingly powerful albums thirty years after their supposed prime.  This is quite possibly my favorite Death Angel album so far.  And that is really saying something.

Memoriam: Requiem for Mankind (2019)

Memoriam is the band created by former members of Bolt Thrower formed as a tribute to former drummer Martin Kearns.  The band has now released three albums and the cover art on all three releases seems to tell some sort of story.   The band has been reasonably well-received, though there are a lot of Bolt Thrower fans out there that do not seem taken with the band.  I have never quite understood that.

The major criticism of Memoriam seems to be the mid-paced riffing style that the band seems to get locked into at times, instead of the more dynamic style of Bolt Thrower.  That seems to have fallen by the wayside with this release.  This is the kind of album fans have really been waiting for since the announcement of the formation of this new group.  The band does a fantastic job of recapturing the spirit and aggression of the old band.

The improvement is evident from the very beginning of opening track "Shell Shock", which would have fit in well on Those Once Loyal.  The riffs are melodic and aggressive and even Karl Willetts's vocals have improved, after being somewhat lackluster on the previous two albums.  That intensity continues throughout the album, with highlights being "Undefeated", "Refuse to be Led" and the title track.

I am a big fan of Memoriam personally.  Obviously they will never truly be able to get out of the shadow of Bolt Thrower and will likely never eclipse the best albums by the legendary forebears, but Memoriam is quite good in their own right.  And this is their best album so far.

Drudkh: Autumn Aurora (2004)

Here we have another Dread Records reissue of an album by the Ukrainian black metal band Drudkh.  This is the band's second album and it expands on some of the ideas presented in their first release.  This is now the fifth release I have picked up by the band, and there are a couple more coming.  It is safe to say that I have found a band that I thoroughly enjoy.

Autumn Aurora starts off with a short instrumental introduction track before getting into "Summoning the Rain".  The album appears to be a concept album about the change in the seasons from Autumn to Winter.  And honestly the music captures this atmosphere perfectly.  It is organic and breathtaking all at once.  There are long periods where there are no vocals and the band is just repeating an atmospheric riff, but these are generally the best parts of the album.  Nothing against the vocals, they are fine, but this is one of those albums that would almost sound better being just an instrumental release.  Sometimes the blackened screaming contrasts a little too sharply with the almost beautiful music.

I am still kind of exploring the Drudkh albums, so I do not have a real great handle on where this album ranks in their discography.  I like it better than the debut, though not as much as Blood in Our Wells or They Often See Dreams About the Spring.  Nevertheless, it is definitely not a weak album, there seems to be no such thing in the Drudkh discography.  At the very least, it is an appropriate album to listen to as the days shorten and become colder and Autumn overtakes the countryside.

Vulcano: Bloody Vengeance (1986)

I have mentioned Vulcano on this blog many times, but this is the first time I have gotten around to reviewing an album.  Vulcano emerged from the same Brazilian scene as Sepultura and Sarcófago, but they remain even more underground and obscure than the latter band.  That is a shame because Vulcano is just as impressive as the early works of those bands.

This is Vulcano's first album and the similarities to the early works of the aforementioned bands is obvious.  This is very brutal and fast-paced thrash metal that often borders on first-wave black and early death metal.  The music is fairly simple, but what it lacks in complexity it makes up for in pure unbridled aggression and raw attitude.

This album is incredibly short, not even making it to 25 minutes and most of the songs are short and incredibly fast.  There are not really any melodic moments though and most of the songs are not terribly memorable beyond the aggressiveness.  "Holocaust" is one of the better songs with a an interesting driving riff and a bit of a breakdown toward the end.

This release is not that dissimilar to Sepultura's Morbid Visions or Sarcófago's I.N.R.I., but Vulcano's album is much more obscure than the other two.  Vulcano continued to put out records and are actually still active, but they have never attained the status of their more famous countrymen.  That's too bad really.

Iced Earth: The Dark Saga (1996)

That's Spawn on the cover isn't it?  I am no big comic book fan, and certainly not of most superheroes, but even I can recognize Spawn when I see him.  The major reason for that is that I have actually seen the live-action movie with Michael Jai White, Martin Sheen and John Leguizamo.  It was bad.  The name of the album does not really give much away, but listening to the album it becomes pretty clear that this is a concept album revolving around the Spawn comic storyline.  At least I am pretty sure, based on my limited knowledge.

Well, let's not waste any more time talking about the concept.  It is what it is and I have no problem with an album covering that storyline.  It is admittedly somewhat compelling.  Let's talk instead about Iced Earth, a band I have enjoyed for something like 20 years.  Yet, I have not done much looking into their works prior to Something Wicked This Way Comes, which is an album I love.  Recently, I picked up second album Night of the Stormrider, but the Iced Earth on that album bears only a passing resemblance even to this album.  The biggest change is the inclusion of vocalist Matt Barlow who joined for Burnt Offerings, the album preceding this one and the most popular vocalist of Iced Earth's tenure.  His rough-edged, deeper-voiced vocals fit well with bandleader Jon Schaeffer's Iron Maiden-esque galloping riffing style.  That style is in fairly short supply on this album however, which is kind of odd.

This album really feels like one drawn-out song with very little variance in the riffing or vocal styles.  Most of the songs are somewhat mid-paced with crunching riffs and Barlow's captivating vocals.  There is one ballad on the release that stands out quite a bit because of how different it is to the rest of the album.  It is really the storyline that drives this album moreso than the music.  Schaeffer sought more to create a cohesive story with music to match than to write anything groundbreaking musically.  Thus, the album comes across as cinematic, but not terribly interesting from a musical standpoint.

Ultimately, I would not recommend this album to someone looking at getting into Iced Earth.  There are some interesting ideas present, but it is not overly representative of the band's general musical style.  I like the album and Barlow's vocals are great, if a little overwrought, but a lot of the other elements that I have come to expect in an Iced Earth album are simply not present.  I am curious to know what Spawn fans think about it though.

Tad Morose: A Mended Rhyme (1997)

Several years ago, I checked out an album by Swedish power metal band Tad Morose called Modus Vivendi.  Simply put, I loved it.  I have always had a difficult time finding new, decent power metal bands.  Obviously there are the well-known leaders in the genre, groups like Blind Guardian, Sonata Arctica and others, but as a whole, the genre can be difficult to find other bands that are not too cheesy and overwrought.  So it was a welcome discovery to find Tad Morose.  Unfortunately, it took until just recently for me to find another album by the band.

Unfortunately, this album just is not doing it for me at this time.  I am hoping that this album is just taking some time to sink in.  There are definitely elements to this album that I love, but there are some things that I do not care for as well.  It is an earlier album in Tad Morose's discography and it is possible the band was still finding themselves.  It was their third album and it is apparently a transition album as it is the first one with Urban Breed on vocals and the riffs are generally heavier.  So maybe it is just an album where the ideas were there but the execution was not.

Let's start with the things that I love.  Breed's vocals are incredible.  He has a stunning, melodic voice that can hit some high notes and then can take a harder, gruffer edge as well.  The keyboard melodies are also quite impressive and the songs that rely on them for the primary melodic lines are generally the better songs on the album, such as opener "Circuit Vision" and the title track.  And finally, I really appreciate the song "Goddess of Chaos" which is directly about Alien, my favorite movie of all time.

And now for the primary thing I do not care for.  The heavier riffs are not terribly interesting most of the time.  Tad Morose does not break any new ground, which is fine, but most of the riffs here are rather pedestrian.  They cover that well with the use of keyboards and Breed's vocals, but there are times ("But Angels Shine") where there is nothing concealing the unoriginal riffing.

So there are good moments and bad moments, but the truth is that this is a bit of an uneven release.  It pales in comparison to Modus Vivendi.  It is possible that it will grow on me as I have liked it more and more with each successive listen. 

Thanatos: Realm of Ecstacy (1992)

I now have three releases from Thanatos: this album, their 2008 album and a seven inch EP.  All three releases have "And Jesus Wept" on them.  I am beginning to wonder if that is a requirement for Thanatos.  I really have no idea why it is that every single release I have has that song on it.  It is a kickass song though.

Thanatos is a Dutch thrash/death metal band.  That is to say that the band is much more of a thrash metal band whose riffs are occasionally dripping with so much heaviness and bottom end that it borders on death metal frequently.  Add vocalist Stephan Gebédi's deep, grunting vocals and the band does sound much more like the groups that were beginning to cross over from thrash to death in the mid 1980's, such as early Death, Morbid Angel and Possessed.

This is the band's second album and it is really a shame that this band has flown under the radar for so long.  This album is full of great songs and excellent riffs.  It is a truly heavy album with several memorable moments.  The band manages to keep things interesting by balancing the blazing fast riff-fests like "Tied Up, Sliced Up", with slower dirge-like tracks like "Perpetual Misery".  But Thanatos never lets up on the intensity.

Thanatos is a terrific band who has been unfairly relegated to obscurity.  Every release I have heard from them has been amazing.  They were every bit as good as many of the leading bands in the early death metal scene.  It is likely due to the band's origin, as Netherlands have never really been a major metal hotbed.  It is a shame.  Thanatos is terrific.

The Abyss: The Other Side (1995)

I really have no idea why it is that I am just recently hearing about this band.  The Abyss is the black metal project of members of Hypocrisy, including the legendary Peter Tägtgren, Michael Hedlund and Lar Szöke.  Of course Hypocrisy was not quite as big as they are now (still pretty damn important though), but still, it is surprising that such a project remained somewhat obscure.

The music here is fairly representative of Swedish black metal in general, rather than sounding like Hypocrisy playing black metal.  There is obviously the dark and evil-sounding atmosphere that groups like Dissection perfected and it is generally much more focused on the riffs and the music, with fairly fast-paced songs.  It is similar musically to groups like Lord Belial, Naglfar, Marduk and Dark Funeral.  Just for good measure The Abyss tosses in a cover to Hellhammer's "Massacra". 

Where this release really surprises is it is not all punishing riffs all the time.  There are moments of genuine beauty and melancholy.  There is an extended sequence during "Tjänare Af Besten" where it is simply keyboard and guitar playing a tender and extremely pretty melody.  It happens more often than that, but those are the moments where this album truly shines. 

The Abyss did not last long.  They only put out one more album, but when Hypocrisy is the main band the members are in and one of the members is the incredibly busy Tägtgren, I guess that makes sense.  I do intend to check out that other release.  I am not sure why I have not heard of this band before, but I am glad I found them now. 

DreamLongDead: MadnessDeadGrave - Invocations Three to the Ones that Lurk at the Threshold (2012)

Well, speaking of bizarre album titles, here we have one that definitely calls to mind the Cthulhu Mythos and Lovecraft (the cover art is another clue).  The band name and initial titles are not typos by the way, that's really how the band presents them.  Personally, I feel music like the material presented by Howls of Ebb from yesterday works best with Chthonic themes.  DreamLongDead is a bit different though, yet it still works out pretty well.

DreamLongDead are a Greek death/doom metal band.  There are three songs on this album, but each one is rather lengthy with the shortest one just a hair under ten minutes in length.  With such lengthy songs then it is no surprise that DreamLongDead take their sweet time getting through the songs.  The riffs are huge, but incredibly slow, though this is no funeral doom or drone band.  The band obviously takes cues from Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, but tends to play such riffs incredibly slowly, something like Celtic Frost on severe depressants.  The only exception is the latter portion of second track "The Dead Dream Under Our Skin" which takes off like a jet with the fastest riff on the album.

The music here is certainly entertaining.  I enjoy listening to the album when it is playing, but I do not think it is an essential release.  The band does some very interesting things and the Lovecraftian themes work surprisingly well with this style of doom metal, but other than the really fast riff mentioned above, there are not a lot of really memorable moments here. 

Howls of Ebb: Cursus Impasse: The Pendlomic Vows (2016)

No, I do not have a clue what the hell that title is all about.  I feel like there should have been required reading before picking up this album.  A google search for "pendlomic vows" only turns up stuff about this album.  So, no clue what is going on here.  What I do know is that the album cover is awesome and that was enough to convince me to give it a chance.

This album is creepy as fuck and almost indescribable.  I suppose it probably falls within the umbrella of blackened death metal, but that description is a massive oversimplification.  Howls of Ebb is much more experimental, to the point that it is difficult to tell if these songs were written or were improvised by members on some heavy hallucinogenic substances and/or the influence of dark forces the likes of which we cannot begin to comprehend.  There is some clear influence from such bizarre-sounding bands like Ulcerate, Portal and Ordo ad Chao-era Mayhem, but that too fails to truly capture the very unique and absolutely terrifying sound that Howls of Ebb have crafted.  I cannot even begin to describe the way the band sounds, it is just so unsettling.  There is no real structure to the songs, oftentimes the instruments are playing wholly disparate musical ideas.  The "lyrics" too seem out of place and do not hardly sound like real words.

Think of what the soundtrack to your worst nightmare is.  This is worse.  This is truly nightmarish music.  It captures perfectly what it would sound like to be pursued by some otherworldly eldritch monstrosity.  If this was playing in a dark room at night, I doubt anyone would ever fall asleep again.

This is one of the creepiest albums I have ever heard.  It is absolutely worth listening to.  The more I listen to it, the more I hear.  It really is an album that has to be experienced listening to headphones to truly capture all of the crazy shit that is happening.  It is a grower and sounds better each time I listen to it.  I have not gotten up the courage to listen to it in the dark though.

Gambanteinn: Nielevä Pimeys (2014)

"Gambanteinn" seems like it would be kind of a badass word.  Apparently though it means "magic wand" in old Norse and appears in Norwegian mythology.  So, not the most thrilling of explanations.  The band Gambanteinn though is a Finnish blackened thrash metal band.  Much more entertaining.  This is the band's only release so far and it is a five-song EP.

The music here is much closer to traditional thrash metal, but with some tremolo riffs and blackened shrieking vocals.  It is generally a much more brutal form of thrash metal, closer to the German and Swedish thrash metal sound than to the Bay Area.  The result is a whirlwind of riffs and a lot of speed.  As stated, the band does utilize some tremolo riffing as well, typically in moments when there are no vocals. 

One thing I do thoroughly enjoy about this album is the production.  In particular how well each instrument can be heard.  The bass is the biggest reason for this because it is playing some interesting riffs alongside the guitars and it is shocking how well it can be heard. 

This release is fast.  Did I mention that?  The songs fly by at shocking speed, other than a few moments on the third track, which is the most dynamic on the EP.  Overall this is a lot of fun to listen to and will definitely leave listeners breathless when it's over.  Hopefully a follow-up is coming.

One and Done? Pt. 15: Transgressor

I could easily echo most of the same statements that I made in the first paragraph of the Nuctemeron post two days ago.  Transgressor is a very obscure death metal band from Japan whose only full-length release came in 1992.  What I picked up is not the original release of the album, rather it is a reissue from Hexed Cemetary from 2015. 

Japan, for whatever reason, is not a country that produces a lot of death metal.  There is quite a bit of black metal (Abigail), including some avant-garde stuff (Sigh), a lot of thrash metal (Sabbat, King's-Evil), even doom metal (Coffins).  And then there is the traditional metal (Loudness) and the visual kei/traditional metal weirdness that could only come from Japan (X-Japan).  But not much death metal, at least not much traditional death metal, there are slam bands.  So it was kind of interesting to find such a strong death metal release from a band who apparently just did not keep going.

Transgressor's sound is murky and weird.  There are a lot of well-crafted, progressive structures and a very strong doom metal influence.  The band does a terrific job of creating an eerie, creepy atmosphere through the use of dissonant chords, seemingly out-of-tune guitars and slowly creeping riffs, but then suddenly lurches into a fast-paced death metal riff.  Think a doomier combination of Death and Autopsy. 

There are some damn impressive songs here and this should have been a cult death metal classic.  It really is that damn good.  Unfortunately it is an album largely forgotten to time. And a big part of that reason is the fact that Transgressor only released the one.

Decayed: Chaos Underground (2010)

I have discussed Decayed a couple of times on this blog.  They are a terrific underground black metal band from Portugal who is prolific at releasing albums.  I have maybe six or seven of their albums, and that is just scratching the surface.  I am always on the hunt for more.  This is the band's 2010 album, their eighth full-length.

With the name of this album, I was actually kind of expecting a covers album.  I was a little surprised to see mostly new material, other than a cover of Mercyful Fate's classic "Black Funeral".  Unfortunately that is not a terribly impressive version of the song.  If you are going to cover Mercyful Fate, it better damn well be good.  The vocals are delivered in a much more typical black metal shriek, with the exception of some falsetto backing vocals.  And the change in vocal style just kind of ruins it.  It is an ambitious song to cover anyway and the band is just not quite up to the task.

The rest of the album is impressive as always.  Decayed definitely do not reinvent the wheel.  They just do what they do best: craft hateful and dark black metal with some thrashy-sounding riffs.  The production leaves a little to be desired on this release.  It is just a little too murky.  None of the other albums I have heard have this issue.  This album is a bit doomier than some of their other releases, with a few more slower, more deliberate tracks, particularly in the first few songs.  They can still bring the speed on some tracks though, such as on "Hail Sathanas".  Other highlights include "At the Strike of Midnight", one of the best songs I have heard from the band.  It sounds like a lost Deströyer 666 song. 

Decayed is an interesting band to follow.  I like bands who put out a lot of releases and Decayed is probably second or third on my list of favorites (Fetid Zombie and Drowning the Light are the challengers).  This is yet another great album by the band, though the Mercyful Fate cover was a mistake.  One of these days I will have to rank the albums.  Maybe once I add a few more.

Nuctemeron: Legacy of Swirling Blackness (2013)

One of my favorite things about the metal scene is the effort by underground labels into unearthing obscure bands who released material that was seemingly lost to time.  I have no idea if this is common in other forms of music, I am not qualified to say one way or the other.  But it is common in metal.  This can take a few forms: re-releasing the material in its original state, re-mastering material if the original sources can be found, or compiling the material and releasing it new.  That brings us to this release, which is a compilation of the two demos and a promo released by Singapore's Nuctemeron.

Nuctemeron was mostly active in the late 80's/early 90's in the underground extreme metal scene of Singapore.  They were one of the earliest such bands and the first to release a demo.  Singapore has never really been a metal hotbed, and at the time extreme metal was very rare in the very conservative country.  But one band has risen from Singapore's extreme metal scene to become an underground legend.  That band is Impiety, whose primary member Shyaithan helped to compile this release and write a brief band history in the liner notes.

That brings us to this release.  The first thing to note is that the production is not terribly great, which is not surprising.  None of the releases compiled here are professional releases.  This was a very DIY band.  It is a little surprising that the songs from the first demo generally sound better than those from the other two releases.  And the promo songs from the third release sound really rough, with the vocals almost completely buried in the mix.

The band is an extreme take on thrash, bordering on brutal thrash and even death metal.  The sound would fit in quite well with the South American scene at the time, in particular Morbid Visions-era Sepultura and Sarcófago.  It is not terribly musical, existing more to simply make as much noise as possible.  The riffs are fairly simple and the drums even moreso.  The vocals are delivered in a shrieking growl similar to the aforementioned bands.  The band gradually added more solos in the second and third releases, but retained the more straightforward aggression otherwise.

Overall, this is a far from an essential release.  It is more of a curiosity than anything.  It is certainly interesting that such an extreme metal band was able to find any sort of foothold in a country like Singapore.  Nuctemeron did not exist for very long, but their influence can be heard in Impiety.  That is something at least.

Municipal Waste: Slime and Punishment (2017)

For reasons that are not at all clear to me, this is actually the first time I have checked out Municipal Waste.  Based on my typical listening habits and my love of crossover/thrash metal, it would seem like Municipal Waste would be high on my list of bands to check out.  Hell, I'm perplexed as to why this has taken so long.  It is not as if I was unaware of the band.  I have been aware of them since 2007's The Art of Partying.  And yet, here we are.

As mentioned, Municipal Waste plays a crossover, though much more on the thrash metal side of things.  Given my love of Nuclear Assault, S.O.D., Suicidal Tendencies and Power Trip, among others, this would be an ideal band to check out.  I don't know why it has taken so long, but I will be going back after hearing this release.

The songs on this album are all fast and short.  Not a single one makes it to the three minute mark and the entire album is over in less than half an hour.  In the meantime, Municipal Waste makes sure to fully utilize as much of that time as possible, filling it with riffs upon riffs and the manic shouting of vocalist Tony Foresta.  There is not much time for melody, though the band does throw in some blazing guitar solos at times.  The punk energy of the band is on full display throughout and there is not a dull moment on the album.  It is true that the songs kind of blend together after awhile as Municipal Waste do not really change up the tempo much throughout. 

Municipal Waste does not reinvent the wheel on this album.  There is really nothing here that cannot be found on other crossover bands' albums.  Yet, their manic energy is infectious and this is a fun album to listen to, and I have found it makes good workout music.  It may be formulaic, but it is still damn fun.