Kult of Taurus: Divination Labyrinths (2014)

Without a doubt, one of my favorite black metal scenes of all time is the Hellenic scene. Groups like Rotting Christ, Varathron, Ravencult, Thou Art Lord, and others bring a unique melodicism to an otherwise bleak and miserable sound. The bands have a unique style all to themselves and it is a sound that other regional scenes simply do not possess. Kult of Taurus is another of these bands and has been around since just 2007.

The album begins in fairly typical fashion with a largely ambient track. There is some voiceover discussing the nature of mankind that probably comes from some horror movie or other, which lends a nice creepy vibe to kick things off. From there, we are off to the races with the kind of dark riffing this breed of black metal is known for. Musically, Kult of Taurus is probably most similar to Melechesh. There is a strong Middle-Eastern element to the band's sound, though Kult of Taurus do not use the constantly repetitive riff structure that Melechesh uses to great effect. The structure of the songs is very progressive as well, leading to room for experimentation.

The vocals should be discussed. These are not typical black metal vocals in that they are not the typical raspy shriek. Rather, they are delivered in a harsh, but mostly clean manner that is clear and easy to understand. That is not to say that the vocalist is crooning at all. It is still an aggressive and threatening style, it is just not the more typical black metal style.

This is a highly enjoyable release that fits in well with the Hellenic black metal scene. That is one of my favorite styles of black metal and this album is a perfect example of why.

Cannabis Corpse/Ghoul: Splatterhash (2014)

Originally reviewed here.

Oh boy, this is quite the combination of bands to share a split. To be fair, I am actually not very familiar with Cannabis Corpse, but I am a big fan of Ghoul. Both bands are known for their outlandish lyrical content and their obsession with gore. The name of the split is a play on the album Splatterthrash by Ghoul. It of course references Cannabis Corpse's obsession with marijuana.

Cannabis Corpse kicks things off on the split. The band is a marijuana-based parody of Cannibal Corpse, which can probably be ascertained by the band's name. The band was created by Land Phil of crossover/thrash metal band Municipal Waste. He does do a fairly competent impression of Corpsegrinder Fisher. Many of the band's song names are direct knockoffs of Cannibal Corpse songs, such as "Inhalation Plague" from "Evisceration Plague". The references to Cannibal Corpse are pretty clear, though Cannabis Corpse does a pretty solid job of presenting their own style. The dual vocals are an impressive addition that is apparently new to the group these days. I have been previously reluctant to check out Cannabis Corpse. The fact that they were originally a parody band and their obsession with marijuana were turnoffs. However, the music is very strong death metal. I would be willing to give them another chance based on this.

Ghoul is a band that I am familiar with and like quite a bit. Their manic, horror movie thrash/death metal is a unique style that no other band has quite been able to replicate. Ghoul unfortunately is not very prolific with releasing music. It is likely that Ghoul is a side project for various members. They also add some different vocal styles, catching listeners off-guard with some black metal-style shrieking to go along with the typical gruff vocals. The two tracks here are a very good representation of Ghoul's sound. It is gory, intense, and surprisingly catchy, with the occasional oddball moment thrown in for good measure.

I still hate how short these splits are on occasion. Particularly with an inspired pairing such as this. There are only four songs on the whole thing with each band having just two tracks. Nevertheless, this is a good sampling of what to expect from both groups.

Godhunter: City of Dust (2014)

Originally reviewed here.

It seems like I have been reviewing an awful lot of sludge lately. That is fine with me. When sludge is done right, it sounds incredible. The heavy riffs, gruff vocals, and angry lyrics are a combination that speaks to me, particularly after a long day at work dealing with clients. Unfortunately, over the years sludge has become bastardized into an almost radio-friendly style by the likes of Mastodon and Baroness. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy Mastodon and Baroness at times, however their effect on the style has continued to be felt to this day and few bands play the style the way Crowbar, Acid Bath, and others played it. But we seem to be seeing a resurgence of sorts very recently with groups like Lord Dying and Godhunter.

Godhunter are a Tucson, AZ-based band that plays a style of sludge similar to that of Crowbar. The songs are frequently moderately-paced, with thundering riffs and angry, shouted vocals from singer David Rodgers. The songs do possess some progressive structures keeping things varied and interesting. Godhunter is not concerned with making things simplistic, but at the same time, the songs do not linger longer than they should. There is something to be said for that.

The band kicks things off with "Despite All" which starts off with a spoken word segment explaining a lot of the ills of the world, including lawyers destroying justice, which I take a little offense to. It is a common complaint about my chosen field however and I certainly understand that. "Snake Oil Dealer" is clearly the best song on this release with the terrific guitar work and crawling riffs. The vocals work much better on this track as well. "Shooting Down the Sun" stands out as well due to the acoustic guitar melodies and generally somber tone. The non-spoken vocals are incredible on this track with a lot more emotion than the rest of the album. I could have done without the spoken parts though which tend to detract from the rest of the song.

The only real issue I have with this album is a small one. Apart from "Shooting Down the Sun", there is almost no variation in the vocals. Occasionally the backing vocals kick in, keeping things interesting for awhile, but for the most part, Rodgers is a fairly one-note vocalist. That is not unusual in sludge metal, or a lot of metal in general, but for some reason it seems much more pronounced on this album.

Apart from that one minor squabble, this album does a lot to recapture the feel and style of old sludge metal. And that is definitely a good thing.

Ass to Mouth: Degenerate (2014)

Originally reviewed here.

You just know what to expect with a name like "Ass to Mouth". Hint: it's not radio-friendly. It is not the kind of thing that is going to be heard on pop radio or MTV. It's going to be nasty, it's going to be extreme, and it's going to be very short.

It's grindcore of course, though not the overly noisy, chaotic type. There is a pretty obvious structure to the songs here and actual riffs. Ass to Mouth incorporate a lot more thrash metal elements into their particular brand of grind. Thrash riffs and shouted vocals are utilized frequently. What results is grindcore in which the vocals can actually be clearly understood and there is a coherent rhythm to the songs. That is pretty rare in this style.

Occasionally, Ass to Mouth throws in something completely out of left field, such as the almost funky bass rhythm at the end of "You Have 0 Friends", the cowbell opening to "One Shot Too Far", and the almost upbeat beginning to "Here Comes Mr. Pig". Those are the moments that stick in the brain. It is clear as well that Ass to Mouth have a sense of humor, based on the above song titles, among others. Plus, their name is Ass to Mouth. Come on.

The vocals are the element that stands out the most to me. As I mentioned, they are presented in a thrash metal-style shout rather than the death metal grunting. There are the occasional pig squeal vocals, but they are used mostly as backing vocals on the occasional track. It is much more of an extreme punk style than a brutal death metal style.

This album flies by in just over thirty minutes. With twenty tracks on it, it is pretty obvious that Ass to Mouth do not really attempt to do anything progressive. In fact there are only a couple of songs on the album that are even more than two minutes long. Most of the rest fall in the minute and a half range. Ass to Mouth simply scream and thrash their way through a couple of verses and call it a song.

Ultimately, this is a fine grindcore album. It is interesting enough to me, though grindcore is not a favorite style of mine. It remains varied enough to maintain interest and is something I could listen to again and again.

Fear of Domination: Distorted Delusions (2014)

Originally reviewed here.

Seriously? There are still bands like this out there? Not to mention newish ones? Immediately when this album began I felt like it was 2000 all over again. I would have loved this early in college. Jaded, lawyer me is not nearly as impressed. That is to say, I found this barely listenable. I was even more annoyed with the band photos which portray a group looking like a cross between Mushroomhead and Hollywood Undead.

Musically this band sounds like a cross between Spineshank and mainstream-leaning In Flames. There is some melodic death metal present in there but the industrial tinges overwhelm them frequently to the point where the keyboards are about the only thing that can be heard. The music sounds incredibly juvenile, the kind of thing that 16-18 year olds would play loudly on their car stereos to freak out the neighbors. I know this, because I was once one of those kids. But now that my tastes have matured I find myself avoiding schlock like this.

The vocals are not impressive, pretty stereotypical melodeath shrieking. There are a lot of samples used and the riffs, when present, are as basic as could be. This is basically nu-metal, folks.

That's really all I want to say. I did not make it through the whole album.

Lord Mantis: Death Mask (2014)

Originally reviewed here.

Lord Mantis have never been exactly politically correct. That has been the point. They had a very vile cover on their last album and this one is possibly even worse. The album itself, and most certainly the cover, has been called "transmisogynistic", which is a word I think was just made up for this album cover. It certainly sounds like a thing, but probably not one which gets bandied about very often because it has an extremely limited scope. Essentially hatred of trans-women. Okay, sure. I am not sure Lord Mantis is really making a statement here other than just to piss people off or disgust them. I definitely do not believe there is anything really political here, but I could be wrong. Maybe I just listen to music just to listen to it. I do not go out of my way trying to find any messages in art really. I just enjoy it for what it is.

I recently reviewed an album by a band called Drug Honkey, and I thought that was an extremely hateful and vile sound. Lord Mantis is similar in that they play the same type of sludgy, doom metal, but they are quite a bit more conventional in their sound. This is much more obviously metal, with a focal point on the riffs rather than the vocal effects. It is not pretty, not by any means. The music is suffocating and pummelling. It is extremely harsh and violent. But the band does actually get locked into a groove at times, so while it is certainly unforgiving and malevolent, it is surprisingly infectious. Which means it is listenable and has that replay factor. That comes into play particularly toward the end of "Death Mask" and "Negative Birth".

The only real respite from the spiteful sound is the track "Coil" which sticks out quite a bit for its much more laidback groove and Cynic-like mechanical vocal effects. It is a welcome change of pace and makes the final track that much more effective.

This is unfortunately an album that could get a lot more attention for the odd choice of artwork than for its musical merits. That would be a shame, because this is actually a very well-crafted sludge metal album. The type of sludge metal that the genre was originally known for, think Acid Bath, Eyehategod, and the ilk rather than the much cleaner, radio-friendly stylings of the earlier works of Mastodon, Baroness, and any other band with a John Baizley cover. This is quite likely a Top Ten album for me. It really is that good.

Drug Honkey: Ghost in the Fire (2012)

Originally reviewed here.

Yep, Drug Honkey. I think it is pretty obvious right from the get-go what kind of music Drug Honkey plays. Sludgy, stoner-y doom metal with lots of feedback and lots of almost psychedelic sections. But this is one really bad trip. This is vile, hateful, and crushing. It is the soundtrack to an overdose of heroin and crack combined, with a little bit of methamphetamine for good measure. It is a dark and twisted album that lurches and crawls and heaves itself at you. It's a nightmare.

The sound of this release is spacey, yet malevolent with a lot of reverb and tortured screaming. This album is basically full of the kind of bad moments from Eyehategod, when they were at their most drug-fueled, alcohol-soaked antagonistic. The difference here is that Eyehategod would occasionally snap out of it and provide some lighter moments. Drug Honkey never does this. The entire album is full of that kind of spiteful, twisted malevolence.

The vocals do the most effective job at conveying how bad of a drug trip this is. The effects given to the vocals cause them to sound at times echoing, at others almost as if they were in slow motion. They are never pretty, often shouted, and always angry. They have a very strong hallucinogenic property to them. I have never done any type of illegal drugs in my life, but have been around enough people that have that I have a vague idea of what it feels like to have a drug overdose. This album conveys that.

Musically, Drug Honkey is fairly simple with plodding drums and dissonant chord progressions. The vocals are definitely the star here. Not to suggest that the band is not capable musically. They are, but they are not really doing anything remarkable other than conveying atmosphere at any point.

This is definitely not an album to listen to in the dark. It really is a nightmarish, hallucinogenic mindfuck of an album.

Halahkuh: Desecration (2013)

Originally reviewed here.

I'm not totally sure how a band can claim that their music is influenced by a historical figure.  Maybe I just don't understand.  But here we are with Halahkuh, an Indian melodeath/thrash metal band who claim that their influences are Genghis Khan and his son Hulagu Khan.  I admit to being a little in the dark as to Genghis Khan's son, but I am certainly aware of Genghis.

Halahkuh take influences from extreme thrash metal bands from the 1980's and mesh them with earlier Swedish melodeath, prior to the softening and bastardization of the Gothenburg sound.  Think heavier At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity meeting Kreator.  It is a heavy and aggressive sound.  Much like their historical influences the music is relentless and driven with fast-paced riffs and abrasive vocals.

There are a few breakdowns throughout this release.  I am not someone who completely opposes breakdowns, as long as they are used sparingly and written reasonably well.  Sodom did them well on occasion and of course Suffocation does as well.  Halahkuh does incorporate them well into their music.  They come at a decent time and are not overused.

The songs are mostly on the shorter end but they pack a lot of energy into them.  This is an EP, so there are only four tracks here.  Again, not really a problem.  It is enough of a teaser to whet the appetite for more.  I have to say I am kind of surprised that this is a release from an Indian band.  It really does sound more like the kind of thing you would expect from a European band.  It is impressive, just sounds out of place.

Albatross/Vestal Claret: The Kissing Flies/Black Priest (2012)

Originally reviewed here.

If you can parse this title then I am impressed.  I think I represented it correctly.  Essentially, this is a split album from Indian heavy metal outfit Albatross and the former vocalist of Hour of 13's new band.  Now Indian metal is not something I am overly familiar with.  I was not aware there was much of a scene in India.  I have a lot of mental associations with India, mostly due to my first real girlfriend being from there, but metal music is not one of them.  Anyway, enough of that.  Only one band from this split is Indian anyway.

Albatross kicks things off with four out of the five songs on the split.  Why so many?  Well Vestal Claret's song is 18 minutes long, that's why.  Albatross's music strongly resembles King Diamond's solo work and that seems to be the major influence.  The songs generally tell some sort of horror story and feature very impressive lead guitar melodies weaving through traditional heavy metal riffs.  The vocals are higher-pitched and include a lot of wailing and the occasional blood-curdling shriek.  Singer Biprorshee Das does not have the range of King Diamond, but his voice is effective enough to match the horror atmosphere produced by the eerie melodies.

As previously mentioned, Vestal Claret is the new band from Philip Swanson, formerly of Hour of 13.  I am well-familiar with Hour of 13, being one of my favorite recent traditional doom metal bands.  They had a strong gift for songwriting, putting out some truly catchy material.  I am not sure what happened to them but seeing Swanson in a new band makes me feel better.  Sure enough, that is exactly what this song is, catchy, traditional doom metal.  It is slow but demands attention.  Swanson's voice is terrific, exhibiting the gothic horror quality it has always had.  The song is a trip.

I enjoyed both parts of this split.  Vestal Claret probably did a little bit more for me on initial listens, mostly due to the fact that Das's vocals are definitely a grower.  Both bands are impressive though.

FMA: Vardan: The Woods is My Coffin (2013)

Originally reviewed here.

As a metalhead, I try to immerse myself in as many different types of metal as I can. I find there are styles I like more than others of course, but I usually try a little bit of everything. One style that I have done only minimal exploration of is depressive black metal. I have heard Xasthur, Leviathan, Silencer, and a few others, but that's really about as far as I have gone. Most of it is a little tedious to listen to, long and very slow songs without a lot of direction. So I was a little reluctant to look into Vardan when the first song started.

Vardan is a one-man black metal band from Italy lead by Vardan, of course. This is as basic as black metal gets, minimalist riffs which are typically very slow, drums doing little more than keeping time, and tortured wailing vocals. The songs are quite long, with the shortest being just over six minutes. Vardan does do a decent job at changing up the riffs to keep things from becoming too monotonous. There are only five songs so it makes the length of each song a little more bearable.

Vardan is not, as it turns out, a depressive black metal act, despite the extremely slow-moving opening track. He does slow things down frequently and there is a little bit of depressive influences in the music, but he also throws in the occasional faster-paced riff just to keep things a little more interesting.

Ultimately this is probably a little too raw and simple for me. I like my black metal to have a little more going on than a couple of endlessly repeating riffs. I could see being able to listen to this in the dark alone, but it is not something that would have frequent playbacks in it.

FMA: Tiger Junkies: D-Beat Street Rock 'n Rollers (2008)

Originally reviewed here.

I had seen mention of Tiger Junkies quite a bit but I never really looked into them. Part of that is probably due to the band's ridiculous name. It is the kind of name you might expect for a hair band. And the "D-Beat" in the album name is more of a reference to something hardcore, rather than metal. I never really looked much farther than that and certainly not enough to see who was attached to the project.

If I had looked at the two individuals responsible for Tiger Junkies, I would have felt a lot different about checking them out. That is because Tiger Junkies is made up of Joel Grind from Toxic Holocaust (a favorite of mine) and Yasuyuki Suzuki of Abigail (who I am not as familiar with but still enjoy). The band began as a tradition between the two in which Grind would play with Suzuki whenever he happened to be in Japan. I am a big Toxic Holocaust fan and also enjoy Grind's work with Yellowgoat, even though both projects are basically the same thing. This is a re-release of the project's 2008 album with some extra material thrown in and one song removed.

With Grind's involvement, it is pretty clear what style of music this is going to be. It is a fast-paced thrash/crossover style that owes a great deal to the music of Motörhead, Discharge, Agnostic Front's Cause for Alarm and early Corrosion of Conformity. It is hardcore punk played with a lot of metallic riffs and a punk attitude. The songs are all fast and short with sneering vocals provided by both Grind and Suzuki oftentimes in a call-and-response style. The songs are not overly sophisticated, the riffs are simple and straightforward and the lyrics are typically about sex, partying, and booze.

Ultimately this is a dumbed-down, simplistic crossover album. There is something to be said for music that you can just put on and trash everything in sight while listening to. This is not for people who want their music to say something as it really doesn't. It's hardcore mixed with metal. That's it. There's nothing wrong with that.

FMA: Profanatica: Thy Kingdom Cum (2013)

Originally reviewed here.

Here we have the infamous Profanatica, one of the U.S.'s early black metal acts that took shock and extremity to vile new heights. For instance, in their live video, the band's bassist ejaculated onto a Bible and vocalist Paul Ledney licked it up. See? Vile.

Profanatica originally formed when death metal stalwarts Incantation broke up with John McEntee continuing as Incantation and the other members forming Profanatica. Profanatica lasted for about two years in the early 1990's before re-forming in 2001. Despite the fact that the band has existed in some form or other since then, Profanatica did not release their first full-length until 2007, relying on a steady stream of demos and splits until that time. Since then though, they have had three full-lengths.

Profanatica's music is hateful and dark, with an emphasis on the blasphemous. This is shown clearly with song titles like "Ruptureholyhymen" and "Thy Kingdom Cum". Their music is not terribly sophisticated, typically relying on one or two riffs per song, blasting drum beats, and raspy roaring vocals. The music is also highly repetitive. It is fairly clear that Darkthrone's early black metal releases (Transilvanian Hunger in particular) are the principal influences on the work of Profanatica.

Despite the repetitiveness and simplicity of the music (which let's be honest is fairly typical of this type of black metal), Profanatica succeed in bringing about the evil atmosphere and blasphemy that they work hard to create. Darkthrone's albums are considered classics in the genre and Profanatica is not really that far behind. The production is better, with a lot of bottom end and the songs are memorable, at least partially because of how repetitive they are.

The real problem with this release is that most of the songs kind of blend together. Sometimes a song leads directly into the next one, making it hard to identify which song is which.

I had not really heard much Profanatica before this release. I had heard songs here and there, but not a whole album before. I came away fairly impressed. I enjoy old school, hateful black metal and Profanatica is nothing if not hateful.

FMA: Convulse: Evil Prevails (2013)

Originally reviewed here.

In the early 1990's, a couple of death metal bands formed in Finland that would prove to have a very unique style. Demilich was an extremely unusual band with oddball riffs and frog croak vocals. And then there was Convulse. There was just something unsettling about Convulse's sound. It was not massively different from other bands, but their ability to develop a frightening atmosphere was uncanny.

Unfortunately Convulse did not last long. They had just two albums, including the amazing World Without Godbefore breaking up in 1994. With the resurgence of old school death metal and the multiple reunions going on, it came as no surprise that Convulse came back together in 2012. Original members Juha Telenius and Rami Jamsa re-formed the band in 2012 and already have a two-song EP that released that year. The band followed that up with this album.

A lot of the problem with bands re-forming is that they are unable to capture the sound and atmosphere that they once defined them. Some bands achieve notoriety for the brevity of their careers and the few releases they have are lionized. This is unfortunately the fate of Convulse here. There is nothing really wrong with this release but it feels like a desperate attempt to capture the sound of their beloved 1990's albums. Since that time, a number of bands have attempted the same sound to the point that it is not really that unusual any more. Convulse comes out sounding like another copycat.

As I said, there is nothing really wrong here. The songs are well-crafted slabs of sepulchral death metal. The vocals are still as desiccated as ever, sounding as if the vocalist had just risen from the crypts. The riffs are impressive and the leads and soloing adds some nice flair. Some of the songs are downright vicious. These are definitely some great songs and a worthwhile addition to the recent old school death metal wave, especially coming from a revered act like Convulse. The only problem is that it just does not feel like Convulse. It feels like an imitator.

I think this is a decent album, but it feels more like a World Without God imitator rather than a follow-up. I wonder if I hold it to a higher standard because it is a Convulse album. If it were a different band's name on the cover would I give it a higher score? I don't know the answer to that question.

FMA: Satan's Host: Virgin Sails (2013)

Originally reviewed here.

I love Satan's Host. I have made absolutely no secret of that over the years. Their last full-length of original material nabbed the top spot on my end of the year best albums list. I even enjoyed a lot of their black metal material when their Satanic lyrics and image were overwhelming. Of course Patrick Evil's stunning guitar work was the star attraction, as it has always been throughout the band's history. Their blackened power metal style of their last album is still my favorite. So I was pretty excited when Satan's Host released a new album.

This is the long-running evil Colorado band's second album since Leviathan Thisiren, aka Harry Conklin of Jag Panzer, returned to the band for the first time since their 1987 EP. His return had brought back a clean vocal style instead of the blackened rasp of former vocalist L.C.F. Elixir. This change in vocal style brought a significant amount of attention back to the band, even though their black metal material was actually pretty strong.

This album is a continuation of the blackened power metal sound that reared its head on Satan's Host's last album. There is still definitely some black/death metal style riffing that can be heard on occasion, hearkening back to the band's older material before the return of Conklin. Every once in awhile, I expected a song similar to their re-recorded album. But the band would quickly return to the more traditional metal style in both riffs and vocals.

Of course the real stars on this album, as with the last album, are guitarist Patrick Evil and Conklin. Evil's songwriting and riffs continue to be top-notch. He is definitely at the top of his game, even in his 50's. He does a terrific job of combining traditional-sounding riffs with much heavier blackened-death riffing style. What results is an album that is powerful and yet extremely dark. He also throws in some impressive solos.

Conklin's voice is as strong as it has ever been. His soaring wails and harsher backup vocals during call-and-response moments truly drive this album. Conklin is easily one of the more underrated vocalists in metal as his work in Jag Panzer and on this album can attest. Even more impressive is the fact that this is likely his best work.

Satan's Host has definitely continued their excellent string of albums. The only knock is that this album does not have one truly standout track on it. It does not have a "Fallen Angel" like the last one did. But it is an overall excellent release.

FMA: Revocation: Revocation (2013)

Originally reviewed here.

Recently I covered Havok. I was a little disappointed with their most recent album and cited them as a reason that a lot of people are disenchanted with the retro thrash metal movement that arose in the last decade. They just do not really do anything new with their obvious influences, content to rehash ideas that were a little stale 25 years ago. Thankfully not all bands from Havok's peers fall into the same trap. Enter Revocation.

Revocation is a band that easily takes their old-school influences and makes an intriguing, unique sound that stands out from their retro thrash peers. Revocation does not entirely fit within that movement as their sound is much more modern and refreshing, but they obviously still have a lot of old-school thrash metal influence.

The Boston-based band melds face-melting riffs, incredible guitar leads, and blazing solos with technicality and skill that has not been seen often in other bands that have come from the same scene. Their songs are often complex and progressive but remain listenable. Their sense of songwriting remains sharp.

There are some kind of odd moments here that just seem to work surprisingly well. The most obvious example of this is the use of a banjo on "Invidious". It is a rather bizarre use of an instrument that causes chills for anyone who has seenDeliverance. But despite its non-metal associations, the banjo actually fits in well with Revocation's sound.

Then, of course, there are the more standard ripping songs on this. Tracks like "Fracked", "The Hive", and "Archfiend" are typical Revocation songs, complete with ultra-fast tempos and technical riffs.

Revocation is one of the more talented bands to come out of the retro thrash metal scene and they once again prove why that is on this release.

FMA: Pyrexia: Feast of Iniquity (2013)

Originally reviewed here.

Pyrexia used to be amazing. The band formed in New York in the early 1990's and helped usher in the slam, technical, and brutal death metal scenes. They were part of the same scene as Suffocation and Internal Bleeding and their debut album Sermon of Mockery is cited as one of the principle influences on the slam death scene in particular. That was then, however.

Since that time, more and more groove influences have crept their way into Pyrexia's sound. I enjoy a strong groove in death metal, but sometimes bands can take it too far. Just look at the latest Obituary album for proof of that. But then Jungle Rot pulls it off quite well. Unfortunately this album by Pyrexia falls a little bit closer to the Obituary example than the Jungle Rot.

The first track starts off great and features a lot of energy and some killer riffs. But then every song after that is basically the same. Pyrexia is just rehashing a bunch of old ideas that sounded a lot better by the many bands that they are trying to sound like. It's unfortunate to see the once-great Pyrexia come to this, but here we are.

The vocals are another problem. I like my death metal vocals brutal. These are not nearly brutal enough. In fact it is far too easy to understand the lyrics here, and that is a problem when they are particularly juvenile. Death metal is not well-known for its complex lyrics, but these are pretty laughable.

Pyrexia has run out of ideas and now sounds like a Six Feet Under knockoff. That is a big problem.

FMA: Havok: Unnatural Selection (2013)

Originally reviewed here.

Ah yes the retro thrash metal scene. This movement rose to prominence around 2005 to 2009 or so. There were a lot of people who loved this, myself included, and a lot of people who just wanted nothing to do with it. I think the scene resulted in a number of good bands who continue to put out excellent releases, such as Warbringer, Evile, Revocation, and the amazing Vektor. But there have been a number of short-lived or forgettable bands as well, such as Merciless Death and Bonded by Blood. After their first album I was pretty convinced Havok would end up in the first category.

I am not really sure what happened with this release. I never did hear the band's sophomore album Time is Up, so I am not sure if there were any issues at that time, but I did hear their EP from the next year and I was still very impressed then. The song compositions are still reasonably impressive and Havok still plays with a lot of speed and intensity, most of the time. It just does not sound as fresh and invigorating this time around.

The first two tracks, "I am the State" and "Give Me Liberty...Or Give Me Death" are definitely impressive, old-school Exodus-style romps. Things get a little weird after that though with the kind of strange riffing of "It is True", which still reminds me of Exodus, but much more of their experimental Fabulous Disaster era. That added to the Voivod-esque group vocals at the chorus lead to kind of an uneven track. And that's before the rap section completely derails everything.

From there the band has several more ultimately forgettable tracks. There are some nice moments, but there are some strange ones as well. The first two tracks hold up as surefire repeat listens, but most of the rest of the album is just too uneven or middling. The vocals get a little annoying at times. I am not sure why this is much more of a problem on this release than on others, but it is. Also the "Children of the Grave" cover is weird.

Havok does sound very much like Bay Area bands of the 1980's. The problem is that they do too good a job of sounding like those bands and they picked the era when many of those bands were doing some kind of weird things which was leading to the demise of the scene. We already had Forbidden, Death Angel, Exodus, and others. For a band to really thrive, they need to take their influences from those bands and deliver something new and interesting. This does not do nearly enough of that. I feel bad saying that because I really did like Burn. This just does not hold up to that standard.

FMA: Exhumed: Necrocracy (2013)

Originally reviewed here.

Exhumed perfectly captured their sound with the title of their 1998 album Gore Metal. The California-based bashers have long played a disgusting, blood-soaked mix of death metal and grindcore with lyrical themes running the gamut from gore to death and everything in between. Not exactly subtle, but then some bands can get away with that.

My only real previous experiences with Exhumed have been with their covers album Garbage Daze Re-regurgitated and the fact that two former Exhumed members are in Ghoul. Not the most helpful foundation to get a feel for their real sound.

At this point in the band's existence, Exhumed is mostly a pure death metal band. Some grinding riffs continue to sneak in now and again, but this is basically unadulterated death metal, with all of the expectations that that entails. Thick, nasty bottom-end, bone-crushing riffs, and deep, guttural roars. The band does use some impressive melodic guitar leads and solos that complement the crunching riffs well.

Exhumed changes things up a bit by including two vocalists. Bud Burke handles the more stereotypical death metal growls while Matt Harvey (not to be confused with the New York Mets pitcher) contributes shrieking, almost hardcore style vocals. The vocal dichotomy is one of the reasons that Exhumed stands out from their much more one-note peers.

Exhumed perform all of this with tongue planted firmly in cheek, much like Cannibal Corpse, proving that death metal can still be a lot of fun. And this album is definitely fun.

FMA: Deeds of Flesh: Portals to Canaan (2013)

Originally reviewed here.

There are so many bands that I hear good things about that I keep meaning to check out. The problem is I often simply do not have the time. It is kind of depressing sometimes. Deeds of Flesh was one of those bands. The band has been around for about twenty years now and I just have not gotten around to them. Their albums are typically well-reviewed, but it is just hard to listen to everything.

When I saw this album art, I knew I had to get it this time. Deeds of Flesh is one of a number of bands to combine brutal death metal with a fair amount of technicality. I would not go so far as to call them a technical brutal death metal band, because their sound is so much more organic than that. There is enough technicality in the riffs and progressions to keep things from being too dumbed down, but not so much that it takes away from the music and becomes extremely difficult to listen to. The band is far more similar to groups like Spawn of Possession, Psycroptic, and Origin, than Brain Drill. The songs are complex, but they are actually songs.

The songs on here are typically longer and filled with tons of riffs, some occasional solos and swirling guitar leads, and deep, guttural vocals. There is the occasional odd moment, such as the bizarre effects toward the end of "Entranced in Decades of Psychedelic Sleep". I am not even sure what was being used there, whether it was a vocal effect or some type of keyboard/guitar instrument. I can not even describe it other than to say it sounded like a mechanical buzzing. There is also the introduction to "Celestial Serpents", which sounds like an otherworldly communication to Earth. But strange moments like that are few, yet they add a little bit of color to what is otherwise a fairly typical, slightly technical brutal death metal album.

The songs are mostly sci-fi/horror driven, as clearly shown by titles like "Xeno Virus", and "Hollow Human Husks." "Rise of the Virvum Juggernaut" features samples of dialogue from "The Thing", one of my favorite movies, and is otherwise about an alien creature. The music fits in with the theme quite well.

It took me quite a while before finally checking out Deeds of Flesh, but I am glad I finally got around to it.

FMA: Coffins: The Fleshland (2013)

Originally reviewed here.

Coffins is what you would get if you played Hellhammer at half speed on your record player. Seriously. The Japanese death/doom trio plays a slow, sludgy, dirgey style of metal that sounds like the soundtrack to the darkest, most disgusting zombie movie imaginable. Coffins is one of the most prolific bands going and releases multiple recordings every year. It has to be exhausting to have to write and record new music this often, but it does not seem to bother Coffins much. Each new album sounds fresh, in a rotted, exhumed corpse sort of way.

This is actually only Coffins' fourth full-length album since their formation in 1996. They typically release their material in the form of EPs and splits. This is also the band's first full-length on a label with a wider audience as Relapse has picked up the band for this release. Whether this results in the band becoming more well-known remains to be seen.

Coffins presents their typical album here. Their songs tend to alternate between the slow deathy dirges with a ton of distortion and a tense atmosphere to songs with more of a galloping, faster-paced crunch. The one constant is the decayed, rumbling croak of band mainstay Uchino. The best songs are typically the ones that combine the groove-driven, faster sections with the disturbingly creepy atmosphere present in the slower tracks. "No Saviour" stands out as one such track. Then there is "Dishuman", which is the fastest track I have yet heard from Coffins, and comes perilously close To Mega Therion-paced Celtic Frost early in the track before descending into the murky sludgy pace the band typically uses.

This is one of the tighter recordings that I have yet heard from Coffins. Oftentimes the band tends to drift a little with the slower tracks into an almost hypnotic, trance-inducing sound and long drawn-out sections. Those are largely absent on this release. Instead each song flows about as well as this type of metal is capable of. The band has a better grasp on what they want to achieve this time around and are able to do so effectively. That makes this a much more enjoyable overall listen than albums past.

I have been a fan of Coffins for quite a long time, but this is undoubtedly one of the best albums I have heard from the band. Coffins has ceased to be a band in search of an identity. They have embraced their Hellhammer-laced-with-valium style and tightened up their sound.