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.