Catching Up: 2020 Pt. 9

ACCEPT: TOO MEAN TO DIE

I have developed a greater appreciation for Accept over the last several years.  I think they are a highly underrated band that was extremely important not just to the German metal scene, but the metal sound in general.  They should be considered a formative band.  The band is deep in their second life at this point since their return after a 15-year hiatus in 2010.  This is their fifth album since the return, and though Udo Dirkschneider has long since left the band, they still sound just as fresh and vital as they did when they returned.  The formula is mostly the same, but they are still capable of "Balls to the Wall"-style fist-pumping true metal anthems.   

CRYPT DWELLER: THE FORBIDDEN DARK ARTS

I remember being sort of underwhelmed by this release the first couple times I heard it.  This is one I bought because of the album art.  I am not sure what the issue was before because I really got into this when I was listening in preparation for this blurb.  The band this reminds me most of is Acid Witch.  It's death/doom with absolutely disgusting riffs and decayed and rotting vocals.  The horror vibes are loud and clear.  There are samples from various movies that add to the atmosphere.  The songs do tend to sound a little too much the same and it makes it kind of a difficult listen for nearly an hour, but this has grown on me.

CURSE: THE AWAKENING...AND THE OLD

I am a big fan of blackened thrash metal, and so of course I am going to grab something that I come across, especially one from Sweden, the country that brought us Nifelheim.  And that is definitely the starting point for comparison's sake.  This is a fairly short six-song EP.  The band is at its best when they are playing fast, most notably on the title track.  There are a couple of slower tracks which are not nearly as impressive.  I was hoping to hear something more from this band, this is a very promising EP, but they have yet to release anything else.

RUIN LUST: CHOIR OF BABEL

Ruin Lust is the sound of chaos.  The band does an excellent job of building up this atmosphere of complete and utter annihilation.  There is nothing pretty here between the rampaging riffs, thunderous drumming and sepulchral vocals.  These are not songs, they are anthems to violence.  This is not a release for the weak of heart.  It is not a particularly enjoyable listen, but it hits on a primal level.

MIDNIGHT: REBIRTH BY BLASPHEMY

After nearly 20 years toiling in the underground, Midnight managed to achieve attention by Metal Blade Records and Decibel Magazine.  This did not come at the expense of their sound thankfully.  Raised on an unhealthy diet of Venom and Motorhead, Midnight retained their fast as hell, blasphemic style.  And with song titles such as "Fucking Speed and Darkness" and "Devil's Excrement", their rise to the sort-of-big-time hasn't softened their edge either.  Longtime listeners (and I am one) know what to expect from a Midnight album and this absolutely delivers.  

Catching Up: 2020 Pt. 8

Yeah, yeah, been a long time.  Shut up.

COLLISION: THE FINAL KILL

Longtime readers of this blog (I suppose there might still be a few of you out there) know that I generally am not a big fan of metal genres fused with hardcore.  I have never been the biggest metalcore fan, outside of a few bands, even in the mid-2000's.  Very little deathcore has caught my attention.  The only one that I am a big fan of is crossover, and that's mainly because thrash already had a major hardcore influence.  I haven't done a major deep drive into the genre, but I have enjoyed Nuclear Assault, the relevant Corrosion of Conformity material, and the Power Trip.  That brings me to this EP.  The riffs are undeniably more on the metal scale, but played with a punk ferocity.  The only issue is that the shouted vocals are a bit too far on the hardcore side for me.  Occasionally, it gets switched up with more death metal-esque growling, but those moments are not real common.  It's a short EP though, so it doesn't wear out it's welcome. 

BENIGHTED: OBSCENE REPRESSED

This is the French brutal death metal band's ninth release, but the first one that I have heard.  I have been aware of Benighted, I just never really bothered to check them out.  Not sure why.  It's not an anti-French bias.  I enjoy Gojira and Yyrkoon, and particularly the black metal scene.  Yet here we are.  This is a blasphemic and gory good time.  The music easily matches the album art, absolutely grotesque.  There is nothing pretty here and the lyrics are just as grimy and foul.  This one is largely considered one of the band's best, so I am getting in at the right moment.  I will probably look into more of this band's discography.

WITCHY: WITCHY

This is kind of a fascinating, short little EP.  Witchy appears to be a one-man doom metal project with next to no information out there about its sole member.  The sound is traditional, slow-moving doom metal with an occult atmosphere, some heavy use of organs and hypnotic vocals.  Think Pentagram for a reference point.  Witchy doesn't reinvent the wheel here, it's just good, old-fashioned doom metal.  Thus far this is the only release by the band.

RIPPED TO SHREDS: LUAN

Ripped to Shreds is a band I have been in on since the beginning.  They are an old-school-sounding death metal band with an emphasis in Chinese history and folklore.  Their influence is clearly out of the old Swedish death metal scene, groups like Dismember and Entombed.  Most of their album titles appear on the covers written in Chinese.  I will not speculate as to whether it is Cantonese or Mandarin, or possibly something else, that's not an area I have any knowledge in and I don't want to get it wrong.  There are moments the band incorporates Asian melodies into their sound, which is overall an incredibly caustic and violent one.  Ripped to Shreds lives up to their name because that is exactly what they do.  I will be continuing to follow this band.  They should be more well-known by now. 

AFKSY: OFTE JEG DRØMMER MIG DØD

Saving the best for last today. I love this album.  If I ever get my shit together and do Best Albums posts for the last few years, it is likely this album takes the top spot, or maybe second to the Testament album.  Afsky is another one-man band, this time a black metal band from Denmark.  This is one of the most emotional black metal albums I have heard in years.  The riffs and drumming, while thunderous, have a warm feeling to them that conveys a deeply somber atmosphere.  The vocals are intense shrieking wails that are at the same time powerful and forlorn.  This is an absolutely incredible album and I highly recommend it.