Cosmic Void Ritual: Vitriol Tablet Instructions: Rehearsing Speeches for When You Die (2018)

This is my third release from Cosmic Void Ritual, including another demo and a split that the so-called "Unknown Entity" did with Fetid Zombie.  The band has six releases, none of which is a full-length, since forming in 2017.  So Unknown Entity has been pretty busy.

The title to this demo is probably longer than the actual runtime of the demo.  There are just two songs here.  The band seems to like to title their songs in such a way as to lead the listener to believe that they are continuations of prior songs.  For instance, the second track is called "The Veil of Space Prevails (Dead Stars: II)", but I cannot find reference to a "Dead Stars: I".  Kind of confusing.

The music is riff-heavy death metal with something of a progressive bent to it.  The songs usually focus on one or two riffs, but do not seem to have a real conventional structure.  It sounds kind of spacey and weird, which is what the band is quite obviously going for.  My only real issue is the lack of bass.  The releases of Cosmic Void Ritual would sound a little better with some hefty bottom end that is lacking.

As could probably be guessed by the fact that I already have three releases from this band that has yet to issue a full-length, I quite like the band.  This is probably their best release yet.  I have a feeling the best is yet to come though.

Malevolent Creation: Stillborn (1993)

Ah, the days when Roadrunner Records actually had legitimate metal bands on their roster.  The early '90's saw Roadrunner as one of the leading labels in releasing death metal bands.  And Malevolent Creation was one of many.  Malevolent Creation was always one of my favorite band names, but I have not really gotten into much of their music.  Not really sure why that is. 

I decided recently to check out one of the band's earlier releases to see if I could see why they are revered in the death metal scene.  This is the band's third release, and it does not have very good reviews on the Metal Archives, so I may have missed the boat here, but if this is a bad early Malevolent Creation album, then I definitely need to hear the good ones.

I love this album.  The riffs are rabid and hard-hitting and the vocals have an incredibly aggressive bark that is captivating.  There are some damn impressive riffs here that stand out from a lot of the other bands in the Florida death metal scene and the solos absolutely slay.  The vocals are not the typical early death metal fare, bearing more resemblance to brutal thrash metal than death metal. 

The only real issues with this album are fairly minor.  The production is a little murky, but that is not unusual for death metal of this time period.  And the album tends to sound a little too much the same at times.  There are not a lot of melodic moments, with Malevolent Creation preferring to just bludgeon the listener.  But again, these are minor complaints.

This is just the third album I have picked up by Malevolent Creation, and I think I need to check out more.  Next stop will be the first two albums I think.

Funebre: Cranial Torment (1989)

Here is one of the earliest Finnish death metal recordings.  Funebre was one of the first Finnish death metal bands and this is the band's first demo.  Unfortunately, Funebre did not last very long, releasing just two demos, an EP, a split and one full-length album, which was released in 1991.  None of the members appear to have done much in metal after the band was done either. 

This is a quick and dirty five-song demo.  None of the songs appear on the band's full-length.  The band's sound is pure gory death metal with meaty riffs and deep, guttural vocals and an absolutely massive bass sound.  The sound is based on early death metal bands from the U.S. with more of a gore focus, such as Obituary and Autopsy.  The songs are generally more complex than one would expect with such an early demo in a band's history too.  Not to say this is super technical death metal, but there is generally a few riffs and some damn impressive soloing.  The lyrics are standard gross death metal fare, but cannot really be understood anyway.

This is an extremely impressive demo.  It is hard for me to comment about how essential or historical it may be, because the fact is that Funebre did not last long and do not seem to have a massive lasting legacy.  Their only full-length only has three reviews on the Metal Archives, so I suspect that Funebre's legacy is as a hidden gem.  That's really not so bad.

Slugathor: Circle of Death (2005)

Of course I'm going to pick up an album by a band called "Slugathor".  What a great name.  Slugathor is a death metal band from Finland, which has produced a number of off-kilter death metal bands.  Demilich is the best example of this with their tech-leaning riffs and frog croak vocals, but there is also the cavernous sound of Convulse to consider.  Slugathor is another in a line of such death metal bands.

Slugathor's sound on this release is heavily reminiscent of Bolt Thrower's Realms of Chaos with a little bit of Asphyx thrown in, particularly in the opening salvo of "Cycle of Destruction" leading into "Slow and Painful Death".  It is a down-tuned, grinding guitar riff that sounds like a massive war machine headed into battle.  The vocalist utilizes a dual vocal technique.  The primary vocals are deep and guttural, but underneath throughout the album are black metal-esque shrieking.  It is a technique used frequently by Deicide among other groups.

The most interesting aspect of the album is Slugathor's ability to fuse disparate sections together.  Not content to stick with just one riff throughout a song, the songs on this album ebb and flow into a variety of unpredictable movements.  Add to that the amazing guitar soloing and no two songs sound the same.  Slugathor is constantly shifting and never standing pat for more than a minute or two at a time.

I love this album.  This is an overlooked gem from a country and scene that has a lot of them.  Slugathor was not around for very long, but they definitely made a statement when they were around. 

Possessed: Revelations of Oblivion (2019)

We are kind of beyond the point where it is surprising when bands reunite.  That has been a trend over the last 10-15 years or more so the only surprising reunions would be groups like Death and Dissection where the principal member is currently dead.  Even then, Static-X pulled it off.  So it is unsurprising that Possessed is back with their first album of new material since 1986's Beyond the Gates.

Truthfully, this is not a complete reunion.  Bassist/vocalist Jeff Becerra is the only original member.  Most of the other band members have been in other death metal bands like Sadistic Intent and Gruesome.  Possessed is of course notable for being one of the earliest death metal bands, and many would argue the first.  Their debut Seven Churches is a landmark for the death metal genre.  With so much time passed though, it was questionable how new material would sound from the band.

The album starts off in similar fashion to their previous releases, with an ominous bell ringing and atmospheric sound producing a dark and sinister tone.  Eventually this gives way to some classical-sounding music that would be at home in The Exorcist.  That then is punched through by one hell of a death metal riff and we are off.  The first song is called "No More Room in Hell" and possesses all of the hallmarks that one would expect from a Possessed song, including fast, razor-sharp riffs, pounding drums, Becerra's rabid snarl and blasphemous lyrics.  From that point forward, it is clear that even though a lot of time has passed, Possessed still sounds as fresh and vital as they did in the mid 1980's.

Some of the lyrics on this album are a little ridiculous.  Obviously in this genre we have a lot of lyrics that attempt to sound evil and scary.  This would have turned some heads in 1985, but it is no longer ground-breaking.  I am not really singling Possessed out because this is fairly normal for the genre, but sometimes it does sound a little tired.  Luckily I can overlook that when the music is as good as it is on this album.  This really does sound like something the band would have released to follow up their last proper full-length.

I was much more impressed with this album than I thought I was going to be.  It is a terrific return of a legendary pioneer in death metal and a worthy follow-up to the band's prior work.  It is also possibly an Album of the Year contender.

Nocturnus A.D.: Paradox (2019)

Taking a cue from Entombed, whose members re-formed after several years' hiatus under the same moniker plus "A.D." at the end, Nocturnus has returned with their first album since 1999.  Due to legal issues with ownership of the name "Nocturnus" several original members (who were not on Nocturnus's last album) have re-formed, adding "A.D." to the end of the name to distance themselves from the original band.  Sounds complicated, but essentially this is Nocturnus.  The sound is generally the same and this is a sequel to the concept album found on the Nocturnus The Key.  And I could not be happier about it.

Nocturnus is a highly-underrated band from the Florida death metal scene and The Key is quite possibly my favorite album from the entire scene.  It was just so different from anything else out there, combining Morbid Angel-style riffs and leads (Browning was Morbid Angel's original singer and drummer) with lots of keyboards and a science fiction theme, Nocturnus stood out among all of the death and brutality in the scene.  The Key told the story of a cyborg sent back in time to assassinate Jesus, thus preventing Christianity and beginning a new empire.  Sure it borrows from Terminator, but it was different than what the other death metal bands were doing.

Paradox tells the story of Dr. Magus who, ravaged by disease, creates a bio-suit in order to survive.  The music is a return to form of The Key.  It features tons of riffs, leads and solos and keyboard lines that sound like the soundtrack to a bad sci-fi b-movie.  It really does sound like a continuation of the band's debut album, almost like the last 20 years never happened.  Browning's voice has weathered a little bit and he delivers most of the lyrics in more of a harsh grunt, but otherwise it sounds as if absolutely nothing has changed.  Sure it's ridiculous and cheesy, but it is so damn much fun.  And that is something that is often missing in today's death metal.

This is a return to the form of a band who created one of my absolute favorite death metal albums, even though it is technically a different band.  I am thrilled to death that Nocturnus A.D. has managed to recapture that magic.  This is an Album of the Year contender.  It is that good.

Gatecreeper: Sonoran Depravation (2016)

This is technically the second time I have acquired this album.  I bought it a couple of years ago but apparently lost it during the course of moving into my new office (a lot of CDs found their way into my office and just stayed there).  I enjoyed it quite a bit, so I wanted another copy.  And since I never covered it on the blog, it works out to get it in here.

Gatecreeper is pure Swedish death worship.  In particular, Gatecreeper worships at the altar of the great Dismember, taking some of their d-beat riff-o-rama and expanding upon it.  Gatecreeper is primarily interested in the more melodic-leaning middle-era Dismember stuff.  Though Dismember was never exactly melodic, they just incorporated a bit more in some of their material.  Massive Killing Capacity is probably the album I would point to as the primary reference point.  Throw in a little Bolt Thrower and that is a pretty good idea of what Gatecreeper sounds like here.

There is nothing terribly original here.  Gatecreeper is another in a long line of bands trying for that old-school Swedish death metal sound.  Obviously I referenced Dismember.  The songs are loud and heavy, with very little breathing room.  But Gatecreeper generally does a better job of playing Swedish death.  Just look at "Desperation" for an example.  It is fast, intense, and has a terrific riff at the center.

There are a lot of bands trying hard to sound like the old Swedish death scene when Nihilist, Dismember, Grave and others were starting out.  Not many pull it off as convincingly as Gatecreeper.  There is a reason I have now bought this album multiple times.

Question: Question (2018)

The oddly-named Question is a death metal band from Mexico.  Why they did not name themselves "Pregunta" or something like that, I am not really sure.  It is a somewhat bizarre name for a death metal band.  I have lots of questions about it.  Maybe that's the point?

Mexico does not have a real well-known metal scene, though there have been some great bands from south of the border.  Cenotaph and The Chasm are personal favorites.  There is also the blackened death metal band Hacavitz.  Of course the most well-known Mexican death metal band is Mortuary, whose album Blackened Images is an underrated classic.  So with the bands named, there are about four different styles represented.  Cenotaph is a razor-sharp melodeath band.  The Chasm is more of a cerebral technical/progressive death metal style.  Hacavitz, as mentioned, has more to do with black metal.  And then Mortuary is more of an old-school death metal band.  So then, the question is, what is Question? 

Not to try to read Question's members' minds, but their influence seems to be more closely Mortuary.  This is a decidedly murky-sounding death metal album that owes a lot to the early material by groups like Obituary and some Immolation thrown in for the old school crowd, but with some impressive melodic passages and some nice solo guitar work.  The bass is probably the most impressive instrument in the band, doing some very unique lines and generally doing a lot more than just keeping rhythm.  The whole thing is awash with a very sinister atmosphere that is helped along by the occasionally atonal leads.  The gruff vocal style also helps. 

This is a very intriguing EP from a young band from a country not really known for its metal.  I am definitely looking forward to hearing more from the band.

Ruin: Human Annihilation (2018)

Ruin, or as they are also known, Ruin Death Metal Cult, is a group of musicians determined to bring back the old sound of death metal.  Back when it was intense and scary, and much more of an underground phenomenon.  It is the death metal that was spreading its ghastly wings in the early 1990's.  Filth-ridden and disgusting death metal, long before the mainstream media ever picked up on it.

The members that form Ruin know the sound, because Ruin existed during the time period.  In one incarnation, Ruin released a disgustingly depraved demo back in 1991.  The band went on a lengthy dry spell before re-emerging from the grave in 2015.  Since then, the cult has released a number of demos, EPs and more upon an unsuspecting public.  This is just the band's second full-length.

This is gritty and grimy death metal at its most decayed, most desiccated, and most foul.  There is absolutely nothing pretty here.  It is lo-fi, with a production that calls to mind the sound of early death metal when there were no slick production values.  Everything sounds coated with a layer of grime.  The riffs are ugly and mostly fairly simple, but add to the grimy feel.  The vocals sound like the singer gargled a bottle of acid prior to stepping to the mic. 

This is a particularly nasty release from death metal veterans that still remember how scary death metal was in its formative years.  They take that sound and continue to perfect it.  This thing is disgusting and rotten.  I love it.

Altarage: The Approaching Roar (2019)

One of the more fascinating death metal albums of 2017 was Altarage's Endinghent, which showed some intriguing evolution for the genre.  It was dissonant and dark, sounding like the soundtrack to the void.  It was incredible.  And so, when I saw that Altarage was releasing a new album this year, I wanted to see where the band would go from there.

There is absolutely nothing pretty or melodic about the music of Altarage.  This album is ugly, abrasive, chaotic and absolutely crushingly brutal.  This is death metal taken to an absurd extreme cutting out all semblance of humanity and becoming a massive wall of sound.  There are riffs present, this is metal after all, but there is so much dissonance and distortion that the riffs sound murky.  Occasionally, there are softer moments, but those just highlight how brutally intense the rest of the album is.

There are vocals on this, but they too are often buried in the rest of the sound.  The vocals are delivered in a deep growl.  The lyrics deal with heavy topics like existential dread, horror and chaotic evil.  The atmosphere of the album fits in quite well with the lyrical topics.

This album does not fit in neatly with any well-known subgenres of death metal.  Rather, it sounds more like a cross between the genre-defying bands Ulcerate and Gojira, yet heavier and more intense than both.  It is a complete mindfuck of an album that should probably not be listened to in the dark for fear that it may just open a portal to The Void.  We wouldn't want that, would we?

1914: Für Kaiser, Volk und Vaterland! (2016)

Okay, so this one is a little odd.  1914 is another Ukrainian band who is named such because of their obsession with World War I.  Of course WWI began in the year 1914.  Before anyone gets any ideas after reading the Drudkh post the other day, I have not gone deep down the NS rabbit hole.  This is a band who has developed their entire sound and content around WWI.

This is an EP, but it is a long one and actually comes close to the length of a full-length album, but there are several demo tracks included and a remix, and the whole thing is just kind of strange.  I picked it up when I was having problems tracking down the band's highly regarded 2018 album The Blind Leading the Blind, which I picked up just a few days later anyway.

So what do we have here?  Well the first track is kind of a weird electronic intro that is not at all a harbinger of things to come.  Most of the proper songs on here are doom-laden death metal that reflect the horrors of warfare.  The second track is a very long one that features a Nirvana cover buried in there somewhere.  Seriously.  "Something in the Way" is a heartfelt song that some feel was about Kurt Cobain's time being homeless.  In the hands of 1914, it is less poignant and more horrifying.  The next track is the aforementioned weird-ass remix, complete with keyboard and techno-esque programming.  It is bizarre and out of place on this release.  Then, we get a collection of demos which are easily the best parts on the entire EP.  The recording is raw on the demos, but you get a real feeling for what this band is all about.  They are devastatingly heavy and shockingly emotional.

So, like I said, this thing is really weird.  It is kind of tough to really get a feel for what this band really sounds like when the songs include a cover, remix and a bunch of demo tracks.  I am not sorry I picked this up, but when looking to listen to 1914, I will likely go for The Blind Leading the Blind far more often.

Astriferous: Raise High the Scepter of Indulgence (2019)

Hailing from Costa Rica, of all places, is Astriferous.  The death metal band has released their first demo earlier this year, and has been getting high praise from Decibel, among other underground metal media.  So, of course, I decided to check it out as well.

Astriferous features two members of the impressive Bloodsoaked Necrovoid, so they are not brand new to the metal game.  The band's name means something to the effect of bearing stars and it fits the band well.  The sound of the riffs and the lyrics bring to mind Lovecraftian cosmic horror.  It is a cold and merciless sound with brain-melting riffs and desiccated vocals.

The band's sound is an unholy concoction of old-school Finnish death metal, such as Convulse or Demilich, and some of the dirtier early U.S. death metal bands like Autopsy, Immolation and Incantation.  It is an extremely caustic and volatile mix that results in an otherworldly sound on this short demo. 

The length is the only downside to this demo, but that is to be expected with a quick demo.  Astriferous is extremely impressive.  I am looking forward to more.

Fetid Zombie/Cosmic Void Ritual: Manifestations of Sacrificial Macrocosms (2018)

I have not done a split review for a while.  I love splits but I do not come across them real frequently.  Even less often are those in which I am familiar with both groups.  I have covered Fetid Zombie several times in the past, and will very likely cover them many times in the future.  I love this band.  Cosmic Void Ritual is a band whose demo I covered a year or so ago.  This is a very short split as both bands contribute just one song.

Cosmic Void Ritual is first and their song titles (particularly this one) are shockingly longer than their band name.  The band's song mostly revolve around Lovecraftian horror and their song here, "Omnipresent Tetramorph Oracles (Coliseum for the Dead Astronaut V)" is no different.  The band continues to sound like old-school death metal from Finland with Demilich and Convulse being the primary points of reference.  The composition is fairly simple with just a few riffs in the song, mostly endlessly repeating.  There is no bottom end, the song consisting of just some rudimentary drums and the guitar riff, but it feels cavernous and dark.  We are still waiting on a full-length release from Cosmic Void Ritual.

Fetid Zombie checks in with "Graven Image" and this song is terrific.  It hits the right notes to sound like the kind of song Death or Morbid Angel would have put out on their earliest releases.  The riffs, vocals and even the wailing guitar solo all sound authentic.  Fetid Zombie does a terrific job of paying respect to their influences without sounding like utter copycats and that continues to be true here. 

As is typical of split reviews, it is time to pick which band won the split.  It is perhaps not shocking that that band is Fetid Zombie here.  They usually do win their splits. 

Sangue: Sangue (2017)

Okay, this is going to be a short review, because this is a very short release.  There are just two songs here and neither one even reaches three minutes in length.  Yep, super short. 

I have never been able to really get into too many bands from Italy.  I enjoy Rhapsody of Fire a little bit and there are a number of up-and-coming power metal bands there.  Necrodeath was awesome in the 80's.  There's Lacuna Coil's old stuff and Graveworm.  Their best band is probably Fleshgod Apocalypse.  There seems to be something of a lack of identity when it comes to Italian metal bands.  I'm not sure a two-song demo is going to be enough to find that identity, but damn it, I'm going to try. 

Sangue is a newer band and this is their debut recording.  They have a full-length album coming out this year that I may be checking out, because this is some killer stuff.  It took a few listens to fully digest what is going on here, but luckily that all took less than half an hour. 

First track "The Rite of Cosmic Void" is the highlight here.  It has one hell of a dark and suffocating atmosphere to go along with the death metal riffs.  The production and vocals give off a cavernous vibe.  The effect is that the song sounds like something that would have been done by Tiamat around The Astral Sleep.  Second track "Il sudore delle catacombe" is more of a straight-forward rager with shredding riffs.  Unfortunately, it feels more like a work-in-progress without being completely fleshed out.

Sangue has potential.  I will probably consider checking out that full-length.

Vital Remains: Dechristianize (2003)

Happy Easter everyone!  Today we get to talk about a Satanic death metal band!  Because it's Easter of course!

Vital Remains is a band that never really clicked with me.  I have always heard great things about the band and death metal fans in particular seem to really love them.  I had checked them out a couple of times, and though I did not mind them, I did not see them as anything really special.  They seemed to be a band whose primary draw was their ability to shock, just look at the Icons of Evil album cover (it is Easter today, it is appropriate again, so look to the right).  What I knew of Vital Remains was that they had terrific guitarists in Dave Suzuki and Tony Lazaro and they frequently collaborated with Deicide's Glen Benton on vocals.  But these elements resulted in music that was often overwrought, long and often difficult to get into, particularly on what is now known as the band's final album.  So I just did not really get them...

Until I finally picked up Dechristianize.  This was always the album that people pointed to when discussing Vital Remains.  It took me some time to find it though, and honestly I was not really trying all that hard after not being totally blown away by the couple releases I did check out.  But just recently I did finally pick it up and I have been able to see what I was missing all that time. 

It is clear to me now that Icons of Evil was an album that was trying desperately to be a continuation of this one, and it is the next album chronologically so that makes sense.  All of the ideas on that release can be found here, but they are much better executed.  The songs are lengthy with progressive song structures and with a ton of riffs per song.  Vital Remains is also blessed (probably not the BEST term due to the band's stance on religion) by the inhuman drumming ability of Suzuki.  Then there are the deep roaring vocals of Benton, and this is easily one of his best performances.

With all of the above elements present, it is still likely that this would have been merely an above-average death metal release.  Where this album really excels is in the amazing neoclassical guitar solos.  The solos and leads are played by Suzuki.  No, that is not a mistake.  Suzuki plays bass, drums, and lead guitar on most of the Vital Remains releases, yet is no longer in the band.  The band later covers Yngwie Malmsteen and it is very clear from the sound of the solos that Malmsteen is a major influence on Suzuki.  He is truly amazing throughout this release.

I finally understand the appeal of Vital Remains.  That being said, I am not sure how much of their previous material I will still be checking out.  I will give them a chance, but it is hard to imagine them being better than this one.

Deicide: Overtures of Blasphemy (2018)

Deicide has had one of the more interesting careers among the Florida death metal bands of the late 1980's/early 1990's.  They have always been completely over-the-top about Satanism and Anti-Christianity which is their primary lyrical topic.  Their early albums are classics in the formation of death metal, but sometime in the late 1990's they began a downward spiral.  2006's The Stench of Redemption resurrected their career, but they were not really able to build on it, releasing one particularly disappointing album ('Till Death Do Us Part) and a couple of so-so albums.  So their latter career has been inconsistent to say the least.

The sound that made Deicide so important in the early formation of death metal was their simplistic, high octane riffs and uncompromising brutality, as well as their juvenile evil lyrics.  The only thing really clever about Deicide in the early days was the band name.  Over the years however, there has been a concerted effort to strengthen their songwriting chops.  The Stench of Redemption was probably their most mature and melodic album and they have been waffling back and forth for years since.

Which brings us to Overtures of Blasphemy.  Last year's album presents a return to the Stench form that resurrected the band.  As the album's title suggests, this is a very classical music-oriented album, not to suggest that fans of Wagner or Bach or even Orff are going to be impressed with it, it is a death metal album after all.  But there is a very real classical element to the leads and the solos that is very impressive and melodic.  The best example is the opening solo to "Excommunicated".  The current individual responsible for lead guitar is Mark English, also of Monstrosity and he is consistently amazing throughout the entire album. 

This is a truly monstrous sound from Deicide.  Everything feels massively huge and heavy with crushing riffs and bombastic solos.  Of course no Deicide album would be complete without the deep guttural roars of main man Glen Benton.  The songs are well-written and much more complex than the band's earlier works.  It is also an extraordinarily catchy death metal album, which is sort of a rare thing these days. 

This is easily the best Deicide album since The Stench of Redemption, at the very least.  It is at least possible that it is even better than that.  A few more listens should settle that.  For now, it is worth noting that this is an incredible return to form for a band many have written off.  We shall see if they still have more left in them. 

Misery Index: Rituals of Power (2019)

Somehow, without me really paying attention, I have accumulated a number of Misery Index albums.  I just sort of buy them when they come out without even a second thought.  And I have been doing this for more than ten years now.  I must really like them or something.

Of course I like Misery Index.  Who the hell wouldn't?  The band hits that sweet spot between death metal and grindcore where it is just pure fucking brutality.  They never release a bad album and they keep to a fairly simple formula: make as much noise as possible.  Their last album, The Killing Gods was quite possibly their best, which is an impressive feat given how long the band has been active and how great albums like Traitors and Heirs to Thievery were.  And so, obviously I was going to grab their newest album.

This one seems to have taken a tiny step backwards.  It is still a fucking monster of an album, but something just seems a little bit off about it.  It was kind of evident from the beginning.  Opening track "Universal Untruths" just is not the kind of rampaging track that should be opening a Misery Index album.  It feels like it is supposed to be building to something, like the entire track is supposed to be leading into something absolutely enormous, and then it just does not get there.  Well, technically it builds into "Decline and Fall", the next track, but it definitely does not stand on its own.  From there though, the band basically returns to the sound that has made them one of the most punishing bands in metal today.  Songs like "New Salem" and "The Choir Invisible" are up there with some of the best songs the band has ever done.  Unfortunately, in general the band just does not reach the heights that they have previously hit.

This is still a damn fine album though the band seems to be a little less intense this time around.  It would have been very difficult to top The Killing Gods even if the band was on top of their game.  Unfortunately they just do not quite deliver it all here. 

Fetid Zombie: Carrion Christ (2011)

I have become a huge fan of Fetid Zombie over the last year or so.  The one-man (with session musicians) death metal band is the brainchild of Mark Riddick, a well-known artist who has provided artwork for a huge number of metal albums, t-shirts and much more.  He even did a Justin Bieber t-shirt, but we won't hold that against him.  Riddick and his brother Mike previously had a band called Excrescent who was also quite good, but Fetid Zombie consistently blows that project out of the water.

This is one of the earlier full-length Fetid Zombie albums, the band's third in fact, and was a bit harder to find.  I ended up ordering it from a distro out of Malaysia (who didn't even charge shipping).  Fetid Zombie does not release many full-length albums, just six to date, but does do an amazing number of splits with other bands.  It is not unusual for the band to release two or three splits a year (last year Riddick had two and an EP). 

The music here is fast-paced old-school, gritty and grimy death metal, though not with ultra-low riffs and tons of distortion.  This has much more in common with the time period when death metal was just rising out of thrash metal.  It has much more in common with groups like Hellhammer, early Death and Possessed than Incantation or Immolation.  That is typically the Fetid Zombie formula, though they do change things up occasionally depending on who guest stars on the album.  For instance, Don of Dead from Nunslaughter appears on the title track, which is a punk-esque death metal romp in the vein of Nunslaughter.  Mark's brother Mike, who is currently in a number of other bands, adds additional guitar and bass to "The Great Pestilence". 

The guitar and galloping bass riffs are terrific and really suck in the listener and the frequent lead solos add infectious melodies to the songs.  The leads occasionally border on a black metal-ish tremolo style.  The vocals are often delivered in a sepulchral growl and spout out some of the most over-the-top evil and blasphemous lyrics imaginable.  This is an album that is not to be taken ultra seriously.  It is clear that Riddick is just having an absolute blast with it and that comes across well.  It is a hell of a fun listen too.

I have accumulated quite a large collection of Fetid Zombie releases in the last year.  The band has quickly become a favorite of mine.  More people should be aware of Fetid Zombie.  This albums is just one reason why.

Massacre: Back from Beyond (2014)

This is a lesson in not making snap buys.  I saw the band name "Massacre" and words in the title "From Beyond" and thought that this was a reissue of the Florida death metal band's classic debut album which I have yet to find.  It helped that the artwork was superficially similar to the debut album cover.  But in fact it was not the reissue, it is the reunion album (of sorts) from Massacre.  Only guitarist Rick Rozz and bassist Terry Butler are actually back on this album.  Notably absent is vocalist Kam Lee and drummer Bill Andrews.

I do not dislike this album, and there are some good songs on here that I do legitimately enjoy (at least while it is playing), it is just not what I expected.  Ultimately this is a fairly run-of-the-mill, cookie-cutter death metal album.  All of the typical elements are present: heavy riffs, thundering drums, deep-throated roaring vocals.  And yet it just feels like something is missing.  It is just too generic.

The other big problem with the album is that it seems very long.  That is not actually true, despite having 14 songs on the album, it is just over 45 minutes in length.  But it just SEEMS long.  Perhaps this is due to the fact that there is nothing that really stands out all that much.  I mentioned before that there are songs that I enjoy, and for the most part I do not dislike any songs on this album.  Unfortunately, they do not really stick with me after the album is over.  That is perhaps the biggest problem here. 

It is unlikely that I would have picked this album up if I had been paying greater attention to what I was doing.  I was hoping for the reissue of a classic, I got a pretty safe reunion album. 

Aseptic: Senses Decay (2018)

This was originally an EP that was sent to me as a promo to review from the label Redefining Darkness Records.  I liked it so much after listening to it that I decided to support the band and order a physical copy.  I do frequently do that.

Aseptic is a death metal duo from San Jose, California (a drummer and a vocalist/guitarist).  Given their roots, it is not surprising how much they sound like Possessed.  In fact it is more of a grimier, dirtier Possessed, sort of like if the band decided to start covering Obituary songs.  It is a call-back to a simpler time.  When death metal was truly deadly. 

This is a very short EP, just four songs and just over ten minutes in length total.  The songs fly by quickly, only one of them breaks the three-minute mark.  They usually consist of a slower swampier section, followed by a much faster riff that takes up much of the rest of the track.  There is not a lot of room for frills here, it is just pure, unadulterated, face-melting death metal. 

Aseptic has been around for a little while now and have released a couple of full-lengths.  I would not have heard of this band if not for the promo that was sent to me.  Now I have some more stuff to look into.