The Lord Weird Slough Feg: New Organon (2019)

It has been a little while since I checked on these San Francisco-based metallers.  Last I knew they were still going by the abbreviated, yet still bizarre, moniker Slough Feg.  This is the first album since 2003's Traveller that the band's complete name was on the cover.  And no, I still do not totally understand the reference.  There really has been no difference in the sound of the band under either name, so it is more or less just an aesthetic choice.

Anyway, this is the first album I have heard since 2009's Ape Uprising!, and I was looking forward to hearing them once again.  At the foundation, the music really has not changed much at all.  It is still based around Thin Lizzy-esque, Celtic folk-tinged riffs and the husky vocals of Mike Scalzi.  And there are some great songs here as well, including the galloping "Being and Nothingness" and the epic "Uncanny".

If there is a complaint to be made it is that some of the earlier songs, particularly "Headhunter" and "The Apology" seem like they are trying to build to something great, but never quite get there.  It almost feels as if the band is holding back at times.

Obviously I cannot really say this is a return to form.  The Lord Weird Slough Feg has been shockingly consistent throughout their career.  I have truly enjoyed every single album I have heard from the band.  That being said, I can say this is probably my second-favorite album by the band, behind only Hardworlder.  I have not heard everything from them though, so take that recommendation with a grain of salt.  It is damn good though.

Hulder: Embraced by Darkness Mysts (2019)

Hulder is one-woman black metal band that is the project of former Bleeder vocalist/guitarist The Inquisitor.  The Inquisitor, despite being based out of the metal hotbed of Portland, Oregon, is originally from Belgium and calls on Belgian folklore as an influence for the lyrical subject matter.

This is a very short, two-song EP, Hulder's second release in 2019.  I was a little surprised given the album cover that this release does not have much, if any, folk influences.  There are some short moments, such as acoustic introductions and chiming bells that have some very minor influence, but by and large, this is a straightforward black metal release that seems to draw on influences from second wave Norwegian black metal bands like Mayhem, along with some LLN influence as well.  The riffs here are cold and raw, and are the primary highlight here.

I picked this up as a short introduction to a band I was not familiar with and came out impressed.  I will be checking out more from Hulder.

Fetid: Steeping Corporeal Mess (2019)

With the band name and album title here, it is pretty obvious what kind of music this is going to be.  Hint: it is definitely not going to be pretty.  Fetid is yet another band from the Pacific Northwest and features a member from Cerebral Rot, which just makes sense.

This barely qualifies as a full-length, lasting five songs and a little over 30 minutes, but it is some of the most disgusting and filthy death metal there is outside of the slam subgenre.  The riffs are tuned down to the floor and there is a big, meaty bass sound.  The vocals are deep and gurgling, like an undead monster screaming with its mouth full of human flesh.  The band positively rips through these songs making some truly inhuman noise.

I am not going to mention yet again how great 2019 was for death metal.  Fetid is a very new band, and this is their debut full-length, sort of.  They will be another band to follow.

Deteriorate: Rotting in Hell (1993)

I have mentioned many times (to the point that I think I am repeating myself a lot) that one of my favorite things about the metal community is the continued desire to unearth albums that may have gone by unnoticed.  That brings me to this not-quite-classic album by Pennsylvania death metal band Deteriorate.  The band released this album in 1993 then made the bizarre decision to change their sound to black metal for the follow-up.  They were never heard from again.

As might be expected from their geographical location, Deteriorate's sound is rooted in the New York bands like Immolation and Incantation, with some Cannibal Corpse thrown in for good measure.  It is a rotted, decayed sound which was perfect for the time period.  The songs are ridiculously catchy for death metal with some memorable riffs and decent, if somewhat sloppy at times, drumming. 

This is an album that has achieved something of a cult status, though not to a major extent.  I know I had not heard of the album before grabbing it, and honestly I was not aware of how old it was when I bought it.  It is not necessarily a lost classic, but it is pretty damn good. 

Exhumed: Dissecting the Caseated Omentum (1992)

I picked up the reissue of Exhumed's second demo when I saw the band live during a co-headlining tour with desert death metallers Gatecreeper.  As I mentioned in my writeup of that show, I have not been the biggest fan of Exhumed, but they blew me away at that concert.  So, even though this was one of the band's earliest recordings and not necessarily representative of their current sound, I snatched this up.

So, I had to do some looking to figure out the meaning of the title here.  Apparently, the "omentum" is a fold of membrane connecting the stomach to other abdominal organs and caseation is a form of necrosis in which the tissue forms a firm, dry mass.  So what I have learned here is that Exhumed come from the Carcass school of grinding death metal in which they use some real medical terminology to talk about some truly disturbing stuff.

This is disgusting and raw goregrind with big, meaty riffs that sound like a meatgrinder and gurgling vocals.  It is a fairly short release, with six songs encompassing just over 18 minutes and the songs do kind of run together, but the foundation for what the band would eventually become is there.  While this is a bit different than what the band sounds like now, it is still recognizably Exhumed.

I was impressed by this demo, but it is not exactly required listening for anyone who is not either a huge Exhumed or goregrind fan.  It is competent goregrind, but there are certainly better releases in the genre and in the discography of Exhumed.  

Ossuary: Supreme Degradation (2019)

Not to be confused with Ossuarium who released a fantastic debut full-length in 2019, Ossuary is a death metal band from Wisconsin.  Two of the members were in doom metal band and rejected Star Wars character Jex Thoth.  This is the band's second EP and consists of just four tracks.

The sound here seems to be based in old school Finnish death metal, stuff like Funebre, Convulse and Demilich.  It is completely brutal and entirely fucked up.  This is ugly and depraved-sounding death metal with massive riffs and an artillery barrage of a rhythm section.  And the vocals are just as desiccated and decayed as the rest of the music. 

This EP blew me away.  It came very close to making the Best of 2019 list but narrowly missed out.  I have mentioned many times just how much great death metal was released last year.  This EP is yet another example of that.  I am looking forward to a full-length.

Cloak: The Burning Dawn (2019)

Cloak is a band who I heard for the first time when they were opening for Uada along with Wormwitch.  I was incredibly impressed the first time I heard them and grabbed a vinyl from the band at the time.  I still have not gotten around to reviewing that one, because it's harder for me to get time to listen to those.  Not exactly portable.  Anyway, this is the band's second album and I am going to once again spoil things.  This was my runner-up to the Album of the Year.  So, I kind of like it.

Cloak's sound is sort of unique.  It is a mix between black metal and rock with some definite Southern rock influences.  The songs are all catchy as hell with infectious hooks that keep the listener coming back for more.  The frequent, smoldering guitar solos are the primary Southern influence.  One could easily imagine a band like Corrosion of Conformity or Down playing them, if not for the freezing cold vocals that call to mind former tour-mates Uada.

Seriously, check this album out, this is well worth it.  Every song on here is amazing.  All killer, no filler.  This band should be barreling toward stardom right now.

Vastum: Orificial Purge (2019)

Over the last several years there has been a large movement of bands recapturing the sound and fury of early forms of death metal, whether that be the Florida sound, the Swedish sound, or the New York sound.  One of the best of these bands has been Vastum, a Bay Area band filled with members of a vast array of other bands, including the decidedly non-death metal Hammers of Misfortune.  They really made an impact with 2013's Patricidal Lust, a monster of an album that made it into my Top 10 list that year.

This album is a bit different than the previous releases by Vastum.  It does not quite have the same raw savagery as previous releases, though their brand of Immolation-meets-Autopsy death metal is still largely present.  The vocals still have the same characteristic venom, but the songs themselves are a bit more atmospheric.  This has largely been interpreted by a number of reviewers as the band spinning their wheels.  While it is true that Vastum seems to have developed a formula to follow on their albums (similar number of tracks and total runtime), each release has been sufficiently different as to be worth listening to over and over again.

This may not be quite as aggressive as Vastum's earlier material, but that does not make it bad.  It is probably not going to be the first album I go to when I want to listen to Vastum, but it is a damn good release in its own right.  It is yet another example of a great death metal album from last year.

Coffin Rot: A Monument to the Dead (2019)

Like yesterday's post, the subject of today's post also made my Top 10 albums of 2019.  Coffin Rot's debut full-length made it to #4 on my list of the best albums of 2019.  Coffin Rot is another of those terrific bands congealing in Portland, Oregon and features members of doom metal band Tar Pit, who has been reviewed here previously.  As good as Tar Pit is though, I much prefer Coffin Rot.

This is absolutely filthy, grimy and disgusting death metal done right.  It hits all the right notes for what one should be looking for in a proper old-school sounding death metal album.  The cover art is gory, the song titles ("Saw Blade Suicide", "Necrotized") are hideous, and the music is monstrous.  Featuring meaty, fetid riffs and gurgling vocals, this album is a reminder of the early, dangerous days of death metal.  Reference points are likely the early days of Swedish death metal greats Grave, the highly underrated Benediction, and a little bit of Broken Hope.  The songs chug by at a medium pace, but are packed to the brim with riffs and thunderous bass. 

There really is not more to say.  If you like your death metal filthy and disgusting, this album is absolutely perfect.  2019 was an amazing year for death metal, and Coffin Rot's debut is up there with the best of them all.  Perfect on a playlist with Tomb Mold, Ossuarium and Blood Incantation.

One and Done? Pt. 14: Satan's Hallow

Satan's Hallow was a band out of Chicago, IL riding the traditional metal wave.  To be more specific, they were one of the many recent traditional metal bands with a female lead singer, joining groups like Smoulder, Iron Griffin, Lady Beast, Savage Master, Huntress and many others.  Satan's Hallow though may have been the best of the bunch. 

Satan's Hallow's sound was rooted in the early 1980's NWOBHM and other speed/traditional metal of the time period.  It is of course obvious to draw comparisons to other female-fronted bands from the time period like Warlock, Bitch, Chastain and others.  Musically though, I think they sound much more like Angel Witch with a bit of Omen thrown in.  But with a woman singing.  Which is just freaking awesome.

The music here is terrific, no-holds-barred true heavy metal with some ripping solos and catchy-as-hell choruses.  And the vocals provide a lot of melody to the riffs.  The result is some blood-pumping, full throttle metal.  The best tracks are the title track, "Still Alive" and "Beyond the Bells".

Well there's bad news and good news.  The bad news is that Satan's Hallow is no more.  The good news is that four out of the five members (only guitarist Von Jugel is absent) have formed the band Midnight Dice.  I will have to check them out to see if they will be carrying on the torch from Satan's Hallow.

Impure: Satan's Eclipse (2019)

At the risk of repeating myself (once again), 2019 was a fantastic year for death metal.  Quite possibly one of the best years since the 1990's.  And no, that is not in the least bit scientific, or really based on anything other than pure gut feeling.  There were plenty of established bands that put out great albums, but there were also great debuts.  Impure's full-length is an example of the latter.

Impure has been making some noise in the metal underground for a few years and their full-length lives up to the hype.  This is blasphemously nasty and dirty death metal with some black metal influences, just in case it was not evil enough already.  The songs creep and ooze by, leaving everything blackened and charred in their wake.  With song titles like "Danse of Slaughtered Cherubs" and "Satyrranical Desecration", each song is more evil than the last.

Impure hits all the right notes with their instrumentation, vocals and production.  This is brutally evil and chaotic.  This is a truly impressive debut from a band from whom I am very eager to hear more.

Baroness: Gold & Grey (2019)

I have very complicated feelings about Baroness.  I really want to enjoy everything they do, because when there is a song I like from them, I often find myself obsessed with it for awhile.  But I just cannot get into their full albums for the most part.  That has not always been the case.  In the beginning when they were something of a Mastodon-esque sludge metal band I could easily get into them.  That describes Red Album and Blue Record.  The shift occurred with Yellow & Green, a massive double album that only had one song I truly enjoyed.  But "Take My Bones Away" is such a terrific song.  Then Purple dropped and I loved "Shock Me", but the album completely lost me in the second half.  And so it goes. 

I was somewhat reluctant to check this album out, because I had actually not heard anything prior to doing so.  But seeing as it was a Baroness album, I knew there would probably be at least a couple of songs that I really loved.  And that is definitely the case.  The album starts off very strong with the first couple of songs, highlighted by opener "Front Toward Enemy" which captures that rumbling, rollicking sound that is typically characteristic of the songs I most enjoy by the band.  The first half kind of peters out after awhile with songs that lean dangerously close to indie rock, but it does occasionally roar back, like on "Throw Me an Anchor", which starts off a little chaotically but morphs into another very strong track. 

The second half starts slowly with the crooning "Emmett - Radiating Light" before catching up with another rocker, "Cold-Blooded Angels".  After that the band loses a little bit of momentum by alternating songs with instrumentals that frequently do not really go anywhere.  This is kind of the experimental side of Baroness, which is perfectly fine, but it comes across as unnecessary filler most of the time.  And this is a long album because of it.  Cutting these would make a stronger album, because most of the last few songs are really damn good.

I do like this one a bit more than Purple.  It still does not rise to the level of Blue Record in my mind, but it is probably the most consistently good album since that one.  There is still quite a bit of filler and the album is longer than it should be, but it is a very strong Baroness album.  I guess I am not done checking out their new stuff yet.

Initial Impressions: Testament: Titans of Creation (2020)

I am interrupting my current and ongoing pile of albums to review to jump this one way ahead.  Why?  Well, because it's fucking Testament.  That's why.  As longtime readers know, Testament is my favorite band.  I came to this realization a few years back, though they have always been high on the list.  I just love everything from the band.  And they are one of the few bands whose every new release I grab right away.  This was no exception.

So how is it?  Fucking.  Awesome.  I love this album.  This is quite possibly Testament's best album since The Gathering, which was an absolute monster itself.  To begin with, the current iteration of Testament is one of the greatest collections of talent in metal right now.  The rhythm section itself is peerless, consisting of human metronome Gene Hoglan and fretless bass master Steve DiGiorgio.  And then there is the guitar duo of Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson who play off of each other better than anyone since Iron Maiden's heyday.  Skolnick deserves special mention as a one-of-a-kind talent.  Finally Chuck Billy has one of the most distinctive voices in thrash metal and sounds better than he has in years.  Probably again since The Gathering.

A band can have all of the talent in the world, but if the songs are not great, the album will be a failure.  Luckily here we have some amazing songs.  Each one of them dynamic and intriguing in their own ways.  The standouts are "Night of the Witch", which is reminiscent of the aforementioned The Gathering.  That is to say an exceptionally dark song.  "Catacombs", the album closer, is a short instrumental built around the opening riff to "Low", which is a nice callback.  And finally, and most importantly, "Dream Deceiver" is quite possibly Testament's best song in years.  With a Priest-esque chorus and an exceptional Skolnick solo, it makes an immediate and lasting impact.

I have loved every release by Testament, but it is clear that the band has been on an upswing over the last few years.  Each release since their reunion album The Formation of Damnation has been better than the one before.  The biggest improvement on this one is Skolnick's playing.  He seems rejuvenated somehow.  And what results is an absolutely terrific album from the thrash titans.  This album will be tough to beat at the end of the year.  An early contender for Album of the Year.

On a personal note, Steve DiGiorgio, Chuck Billy and his wife have apparently recently tested positive for COVID-19.  I wish them all the best of luck getting through this.

Savage Master: Myth, Magic and Steel (2019)

Just one look at the album cover here and you can pretty much guess what this album is going to sound like.  How a band like this came about in Louisville, Kentucky is the only real question.  Kentucky is not exactly a metal hot spot, and certainly not for the kind of swords-and-sorcery classic heavy metal that Savage Master represents.

Savage Master is a traditional heavy metal band with one foot planted firmly in the early 1980's.  Think groups like Manilla Road, Cirith Ungol, Omen, Manowar, Dio and more.  They are fronted by a ferocious female singer, so the obvious comparisons to Warlock, Chastain and Bitch will be made.  Stacey Savage has a strong voice, not necessarily a pretty one, but it works to her advantage in this style of metal.  It fits in quite well with the raw, traditional metal riffs.

The songs all have an epic traditional metal feel to them, with elements of doom metal sneaking through at times.  Many of the choruses are anthemic ear-worms that will be stuck in the head for a long time after the album is over.  This is especially true of "Flyer in the Night" and the title track.  The best song on the album is "Lady of Steel" which features guest appearances from two more female metal singers who trade off verses through the song.

This album does not really reinvent the wheel for traditional metal.  Everything here has been done before, but this is a highly competent and enjoyable release nonetheless.  Just do not go into it expecting anything original and it will be fine. 

Municipal Waste: The Last Rager (2019)

Municipal Waste's 2019 EP already made it to number three on my Top EPs of 2019, so it is pretty easy to see what I think of it.  I was pretty late getting into this band, for reasons I am not sure about.  A crossover/thrash metal band would seem to be up my alley, yet it took a long time before I checked them out.  This is only the second release I had heard from the band.

The Last Rager is a short, crunchy EP that flies by in just a hair over ten minutes.  There are four songs on the album led off by the repetitive, but fun "Wave of Death" which sounds like an S.O.D. track.  "Car-Nivore (Street Meat)" is my favorite song on the album as it speeds by at 100 mph with the best riff on the album and some furious back-and-forth shouting between the two vocalists.  Plus, the pun is just awesome.  "Rum for Your Life" is a bit more groove-oriented but still packs a punch and generally features the best vocal performance and a blazing solo.  Finally, the title track hits hard to close things out with some more terrific thrashy riffwork.

This is a short, but fun release from a band that has made a career out of beating down the door, thrashing hard and leaving just as quickly.  This will not be my last Municipal Waste release. 

Exhorder: Mourn the Southern Skies (2019)

Reunion albums can be hit or miss.  Sometimes, the band gets back together and it is like nothing ever changed and some great music results.  Personally, Testament is one such band for me.  Other times, it can be a massive flop, the band has changed so much that the result is basically pissing on the band's legacy.  I'm looking at you, Sadus.  I was certainly intrigued when I had heard Exhorder was going to release a new album.

Exhorder is a noteworthy band in that they may have been one of the founders of the oft-maligned genre groove metal, which sound Pantera took and ran with in the early 1990's.  Exhorder released two terrific albums in the early 1990's: the thrashier Slaughter in the Vatican and the much more straightforward groove of The Law.  Despite their status as groove metal pioneers, they have largely been exempted from criticism for the genre's failings in subsequent years.  Perhaps that is because they did it so well.  It was going to be interesting to see what the band could do, 17 years after their last album.

Of course, before I begin, I must caveat any talk of a reunion by stating that only one member of the defunct band has returned.  That member is vocalist Kyle Thomas.  The rest of the band is filled out with entirely new members, so this is not really a true reunion album so much as a comeback album with a bunch of new members and the original singer.

Well, so how is it?  Quite simply, the band picks up right where the former Exhorder left off.  The album is an incredibly dynamic one, with the kind of Southern-style groove that made the band's earlier material so damn good.  The album features several blazing fast thrashers, such as the appropriately-titled face-melting track "Ripping Flesh".  It closes on a high note with the bluesy title track.  And there are of course those tracks that call back to The Law, such as the stomping groove of "Asunder".  And every single track on this album is fantastic. 

While this is not exactly a reunion album, it is all killer and no filler.  This album came really damn close to my top ten of the year.  It really is that damn good.  There are very few truly great groove metal albums out there, but this is definitely one of them.

Acheron: Those Who Have Risen (1998)

This is the last of the three straight Acheron posts, and possibly the last one.  I have not been blown away by this band as I thought that I would be.  That's a shame, but not unheard of.  This is the band's fifth album and seems to have a general concept of vampirism. 

Yesterday's subject was pretty damn good, but somewhat hard to get into.  This is a much more straightforward album, ditching most of the intro tracks, though there are occasional keyboard-driven interludes.  In fact, that brings me to my overall complaint about the album: the over-reliance on keyboards.  I am not such a metal purist that I despise the use of keyboards in metal, but I generally prefer them to be in more of a supporting role.  They kind of take the lead on this one, playing almost constantly, but generally playing the same riffs as the guitars which gives the sound kind of a murky, otherworldly feel to it.  I suppose it works well given the vampire subject matter, adding a gothic feel to the music, but it does get a little overbearing at times.

Beyond the keyboards, I am just not really blown away by the compositions here.  The songs generally fail to make much of an impact and sound clumsy at times.  There are some decent tracks on here, but most of it is just kind of generic.

I do not hate this album, and I am not even sure it is safe to say I dislike it.  It just does not make much of an impact one way or the other.  It is listenable, but it is not likely one that I will clamor to listen to over and over again.

Acheron: Lex Talionis (1994)

This is the second of three Acheron posts.  This one will be covering the band's second full-length album, released in 1994.  It is kind of surprising to find a release with this kind of sound in the early 1990's.  Both death metal and black metal were still fairly new at this point, so to find a band that could blend the genres so early is a little bizarre. 

As mentioned in yesterday's post, Acheron's primary member is one Vincent Crowley who was for a time a reverend in the Church of Satan.  Lex Talionis is the law of retaliation, which is something of an important principle in Laveyan Satanism.  As Anton Lavey, writer of the Satanic Bible, has said, "if a man smite thee on one cheek, smash him on the other".  And this album is something of a tribute to Satanism, featuring occasional spoken word sections that seem lifted from the Satanic Bible.  It has been awhile since I have read it (and I no longer have a copy), but I am almost sure. 

The album's sound is primarily a particularly brutal form of death metal, borne out of the sound of groups like Morbid Angel, Deicide, Incantation and Immolation with a very dark and evil atmosphere.  The vocals are delivered in a gruff, yet easily understood style.  The proper songs on the album sound great, and if the album were just those songs, this would be a fairly impressive release.

Unfortunately, for some reason, Acheron has chosen to completely frustrate the ability to truly get into this album by including a minute-long intro before every single song.  Usually these are keyboard sections, but occasionally take another form.  The result is an album that sounds really choppy and can sometimes be hard to get into.  That is unfortunate, because when Acheron is playing a full song, it can oftentimes be great.

Acheron: Tribute to the Devil's Music (2003)

The next three posts will cover albums by the long-running blackened death metal band Acheron.  Acheron is primarily the project of Vincent Crowley, who was once a reverend in Anton Lavey's Church of Satan.  The band started out in Tampa, Florida around the same time as the beginnings of the death metal scene, then later moved to Ohio, of all places.

This album, as could be surmised from the title, is a cover album.  Acheron is paying tribute to a number of their musical influences and it is also more of a compilation as the tracks were not all recorded at one time, but rather over the course of the band's history.  As such, the recording quality varies wildly, as does the musicianship.

Unfortunately, there is a little bit of an issue here that makes the covers concept a bit difficult for Acheron to pull off.  Acheron has never been the most dynamic of bands.  Their typical sound is more of a bludgeoning monster and is decidedly one-dimensional.  So when Acheron is covering songs from groups like Judas Priest ("Devil's Child"), KISS ("War Machine") and Iron Maiden ("Wrathchild"), they kind of fall flat.  It's not all bad, their covers of Celtic Frost ("Dawn of Meggido") and Kreator ("Flag of Hate") are pretty decent.

This is absolutely not an essential release among Acheron's discography.  Only hardcore fans will really appreciate this, and even then, I'm not so sure.

Nunslaughter: Wrath Unleashed (2017)

I am not 100% sure why this release exists.  It is a demo and essentially a rehearsal recording.  Nunslaughter had been active for thirty years when this was released and had released a number of EPs, splits and even a handful of albums (though not as many as one would think for as long and as active as Nunslaughter has been).  So it comes as somewhat odd timing to release a rehearsal demo so long into the band's career.

Still though, this is Nunslaughter and I try to grab their lengthier releases.  If I tried to grab every single split and EP, I would go completely nuts, but I do try to grab the longer ones.  Most of these songs are re-recorded Nunslaughter songs with somewhat new arrangements.  For some reason "Hex" (which is still one of my favorite songs by the band) is on here twice.  I have no idea why.  The production is crisp and clear though, giving the songs a little extra punch, which is kind of saying something for this band. 

This is Nunslaughter we are talking about, and not much has changed about the music.  Nunslaughter plays short, sharp death metal tracks with a lot of hardcore influence.  The band has not changed much in thirty-plus years they have been around and I would be shocked if they ever do.

This release is far from an essential Nunslaughter release.  For those, I would stick to the four full-length albums.  But this is still a lot of fun and would be a decent introduction to the band.  Those full-lengths are not super easy to find.