Black Pestilence: Urban Hell Rhythmics (2018)

A trend that I have noticed of late is bands re-combining black metal with punk influences.  I say re-combining because it is clear from some of the earliest black metal bands that punk has been a big influence on the genre.  One of the biggest examples of this was Devil Master, who I covered a few weeks ago.  It was partly based on my enjoyment of that particular album that I decided to check this out.  And the other reason was the terrific cover art.

I would argue that Black Pestilence is more of a hardcore/punk band who happens to incorporate black metal elements moreso than the other way around.  At least for most of the songs.  Songs like "D.I.Y. 666" and "Hymns for the Black Mass" have a kind of up-tempo punk bounciness, particularly in the bass lines.  Most of the songs follow that general pattern with the only real black metal elements being the raspy vocals and the occasional tremolo riff.  But the energy is absolutely infectious and the songs are often fun to listen and bang the head to.  The songs also fly by and a frantic pace and the album is over quickly.  Every once in awhile, some other element comes in.  "Vertex" kicks off with an almost industrial crunch and there are the occasional noise influences that come in at times as well.

This is definitely an interesting album.  There's some great songs on here and it is a lot of fun to listen to.  The disparate influences come together and the sound works out quite well here.  The best part is that it is short enough that it never overstays its welcome.  Good workout music.

Acid Witch: Stoned (2010)

The other day I covered Vanik and referenced Acid Witch.  Now that was not because the bands are musically similar, they are not, but because both bands have a similar aesthetic.  They are old-school-sounding bands with a fascination for horror themes.  But where Vanik is more of a speed/heavy metal band, Acid Witch plays a much slower form of psychedelic doom metal.

Probably the best comparison for Acid Witch is a more aggressive, snarling Electric Wizard, without the affinity for lengthy trance sections.  While both bands' drugs of choice are likely marijuana, Acid Witch prefers it laced with cocaine and LSD. 

The album kicks off with a suitably creepy intro featuring a Halloween-sounding keyboard melody and some voiceover talking about Satanic masses.  It then segues into "Witchfynder Finder", a song that pays tribute to Cathedral, a major influence on the band, and the classic Vincent Price movie.  It sets the tone for the rest of the album.  The songs are usually somewhat fast-paced, simple and never carry on too long, which is a significant departure from Electric Wizard's sound.  The riffs are generally fuzzy with a lot of reverb and awash with doom and gloom.  The vocals are typically delivered in an almost black metal-sounding growl, which is an interesting stylistic decision that is somewhat unique to such a doom metal band.

This is now the second album I have heard from Acid Witch.  I think I probably prefer the previous one, Witchtanic Hallucinations, but this is still a damn fun ride.  It would make the perfect soundtrack for a Halloween night in.   

Eternity's End: The Fire Within (2016)

I have been covering a lot of bands that inhabit the darker corners of heavy metal recently.  Brutal thrash metal bands like Blood Feast, filthy and Satanic death metal bands like Vital Remains, cold black metal bands like Uada, etc.  Of course there are much more melodic styles of metal, such as power metal.  Unfortunately, finding decent new power metal bands is not nearly as easy for reasons that have never been quite clear to me.  Maybe it's just me though.  It is somewhat telling that in the last year, the only power metal bands I have covered were Sonata Arctica and Visigoth.  Only Visigoth is relatively recently-formed.

One day I was able to find some decent power metal recommendations from someone and went about trying to find the releases.  Which leads me to German group Eternity's End.  Germany has always been one of the leading exports of power metal from the very beginning.  After all, Helloween, Running Wild and Blind Guardian were all born in Germany.  Eternity's End play a very fast-paced style of power metal.  The best reference points are probably the bombastic melodies of Dragonforce, mixed with the pop sensibilities of Firewind, and the progressive tendencies of Symphony X all thrown together in a blender. 

Eternity's End is something of a supergroup.  The guitarist is Christian Münzner who has previously served with groups like Defeated Sanity, Necrophagist and Obscura.  Sort of odd to find a tech death metal guitarist in a power metal band, sure, but he is fantastic on this release.  Most of the other members have also spent time in similar groups.  Yet these technical death metal musicians make it work.  The biggest impact of these members is in the virtuosic riff work and solos.  Münzner absolutely shreds throughout the entire release.  There are some damn good keyboard solos as well.

The songs throughout are damn impressive.  They are catchy as all hell with terrific hooks and shredding guitar work.  The lyrical content is typical fare for the genre.  Fantasy themes ("Demonblade" and "Twilight Warrior") fit in alongside horror literature ("The Dark Tower" and "the Fall of the House of Usher") and glorious warfare ("Eagle Divine").  So yeah, the album definitely has the typical power metal cheese factor, but when the music is this damn good, it is very easy to overlook.

This is one of the best power metal albums over the last several years.  All of the musicians are absolutely top-notch and the songwriting is extremely impressive as well.  These songs really stick with the listener long after the album is over.  Power metal is probably one of the most difficult metal genres to really get right, but this collection of technical death metal musicians pull it off.  Eternity's End did release another album last year, but I have not yet checked it out.  It will be interesting to see what this band decides to do in the future.

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.

Cataphract: The Witchpower of Invisibility (2017)

Arising out of the icy depths of barren and hellish Kansas is this two-man black metal band, which includes Cauldron Pest, the current drummer for Lightning Swords of Death, and a singer/guitarist named Hagged.  I first heard about this one on a Youtube video and it sounded interesting enough so I decided to take a flyer.  That is where I have been discovering a lot of good music these days.

It is true that great black metal comes from pretty much anywhere and that is once again proven here.  Kansas is not exactly known for its great metal scene, but this is a terrific little demo that shows that these guys know what they are doing.  The music is steeped in old-school Norwegian and Swedish black metal, sounding like an unholy brew of Marduk and Mayhem.  The atmosphere comes off cold and foreboding, with swirling tremolo riffs, blast-beating drums, and some seriously deranged vocals courtesy of the aforementioned Hagged.

Unfortunately, this is all we have from Cataphract to date.  Just one 20-minute, four-song demo.  Hopefully we get something else at some point, because this is terrific.  But if not, they certainly made the most of it.

Blood Feast: Chopped, Sliced and Diced (2018)

Blood Feast is a seriously underrated thrash metal band who came a bit late to the scene.  They dropped their first full-length, Kill for Pleasure, in 1987 right at the height of thrash metal's popularity.  Unfortunately, due to their much more brutal approach to thrash, they were looked over.  They put out one more full-length (the excellent Chopping Block Blues) in 1989 then went on hiatus until reuniting in 2007.  They have recently begun putting out new music, including this EP last year.

The only returning member of Blood Feast still with the band is guitarist Adam Tranquill.  But the band sounds the same as they did in their original incarnation, that is to say, fucking savage.  This is some absolutely brutal thrash metal with razor-sharp riffs and sneering, angry vocals.  The album lasts less than half an hour, but it is sure to leave the listener breathless as it steamrolls over them. 

I only have very minor complaints.  Vocalist Chris Natalini tends to sound a little shrieky at times, which does not always fit the music well.  It would sound better with more of a death metal-style singer personally.  The other one is that the live track at the end ("By the Slice", which is not about pizza) sounds out of place.  I know EPs generally do not follow any particular convention, but I would have preferred another studio track.

This is the third release I have picked up by Blood Feast, and I love every single one of them.  This type of brutal thrash is absolutely underrated.  This band would fit in well on a play list with Rigor Mortis, Demolition Hammer, Morbid Saint and others.

Nekrofilth: Worm Ritual (2018)

Here is another typical Hells Headbangers band.  Nekrofilth plays an unholy concoction of death, thrash and hardcore punk with psychotic zeal.  The band is a power trio featuring a former member of both Nunslaughter and Crucified Mortals and two members of Weapönizer.  They have been around for more than ten years and have put out a number of releases, yet just two full-length albums.  This is the second of those full-lengths.

Nekrofilth is basically a dirtier and rawer version of Toxic Holocaust.  Where Joel Grind's band has the benefit of being on a decent-sized metal label with a little more money for production costs, Nekrofilth has no such advantages.  The resulting music sounds nasty and extremely angry and grimy.  The band's lyrics also fall into this extreme filth, with tracks like "Severed Eyes" and "They Took My Skin" showing that subtlety is completely out the window here. 

The Venom and Motörhead influences are obvious here.  The band even covers "Poison" by Venom.  The riffs are generally just the same kind of dirty punk-infused riffs those bands built their careers upon in the early 1980's, only covered in so much distortion and reverb to sound utterly disgusting. 

This album is a lot of fun.  It's fast and short at just a hair over 30 minutes in length, just the kind of thing to get the blood pumping during a workout.  Hopefully we don't have to wait another six years for another full-length.  Nekrofilth is playing at a concert I am considering attending in early June.  This album helps make that decision a little clearer.

Witching Hour: ...And Silent Grief Shadows the Passing Moon (2018)

As a huge fan of the Hells Headbangers label, I tend to pick up a number of their releases each year.  Usually the releases are some kind of old-school-sounding combination of black, thrash and speed metal.  Occasionally there is a death or doom metal album in there.  And so when I saw the Witching Hour release, I had at least a reasonable idea of what to expect.  Their Metal Archives page lists them as black/thrash metal, so I had an idea what this would sound like.

I was wrong. 

Witching Hour refers to their sound as "ancient black metal", but I am guessing that refers more to their earlier material, because this album is pretty far removed from typical black metal.  Upon a superficial first listen, I would have called it more doom/heavy metal.  After a few more spins, my opinion is more that it is the hypothetical result of if Manilla Road started covering Venom.  It is an epic, dynamic and melodic album with slower-paced thrash-esque riffs and pained, wailing vocals.  The songs are mostly lengthy, and overall tell a cohesive story. 

The highlight is the opening title track which is something of a microcosm of the album as a whole.  It begins in grandiose fashion and splinters off into several movements with some very impressive riffwork, warbling leads and the vocalist's breathy yowl.  From there the remaining songs follow a similar pattern without ever becoming too predictable or boring.

It took a few listens to fully digest this album.  It was not what I was led to believe it would be.  It is so much more.  I will dig deeper into Witching Hour's discography, but I doubt I will find anything quite like this one.

Vanik: II - Dark Season (2018)

I still like to check albums out on occasion without knowing much about the band.  I have discovered some great albums that way.  I have also had a few real big disappointments.  But more often than not, I find a band that I enjoy that I may not have gotten a chance to check out otherwise.  And so it was with Vanik.  I picked up the album based on the intriguing cover art.  I was expecting something maybe like Acid Witch, another such band that I checked out based on strong cover art, and absolutely loved.

Featuring a number of metal veterans, including Shaun Vanek, for whom the band is named, Vanik is a traditional heavy/speed metal band, which I did not expect.  They do have a fair amount of punk influence that shines through in the vocal style and some of the stuttering riffs.  The songs are generally very fast-paced with catchy hooks and choruses and an infectious groove.  It is very clear that the band is having a blast playing these songs.  Some of the songs do come across a little darker than others, such as the foreboding "Witch Rites", with it's incredibly creepy vibe.

One thing I was correct about that the band shares with Acid Witch is their penchant for horror themes.  This comes through well with song titles like "Jack's Lantern", "Beyond the Closet Door" and "Tear You to Pieces".  The best example though is the anthemic "We Like to be Frightened", which attempts to explain our fascination with horror movies and stories.  It's also just damn true. 

This album is a lot of fun.  It would be a great album to put on around Halloween.  And to think, I likely would not have had an opportunity to check them out had it not been for taking a chance on them due to the album cover.   

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.

Tar Pit: Tomb of Doom (2018)

Here we have the debut full-length from true doom merchants Tar Pit.  The band hails from the fertile metal breeding ground of Portland, Oregon and features two members of underground death metal band Coffin Rot.  Always on the lookout for some fresh doom metal bands, I decided to take a flyer on the band.  Plus, the album cover caught my attention.

The first thing to note is the appropriateness of the album's title.  This is a very slow-paced album for the most part.  And with just five songs, but a near 40 minutes run-time, the songs are quite long, as well as being slow.  That being said, there are moments where the band speeds things up or gets locked into a Sabbathian groove, and those are definitely the highlights of the album.  Tar Pit's sound reminds me of a kind of combination of The Reverend Bizarre and The Gates of Slumber, with a little Cathedral thrown in for good measure.

Opening track "Rune" features several movements where the band alternately plays a slow section, followed by a stoner-esque groove riff, followed by another slower section.  It also features a lengthy almost psychedelic instrumental section.  The best songs on the album are "Bruja" and the title track, both of which tend to be a little faster in pace and catchier. 

This is an extremely impressive debut from a young band.  I am looking forward to hearing more from them.   

Uada, Wormwitch and Cloak in Omaha: April 16, 2019

On Tuesday night, I decided to head to the Slowdown in order to catch an underground black metal concert.  I'm not sure how Omaha managed to get such a lineup, but I'm not complaining.  I just discovered Uada earlier this year, after missing out on a couple of albums.  I saw Wormwitch opening a concert with The Black Dahlia Murder as the headliner.  Cloak was completely new to me.  Well, cheap ticket prices and the opportunity to see the kind of bands that I rarely get to see drew me in.  And I'm damn glad I went.

Cloak was the opener and they were massively impressive.  They play a kind of blackened heavy metal/rock music.  They are extremely catchy with great hooks and rollicking riffs.  They played a few songs, primarily off of their 2017 album, which I picked up at the show.  They were definitely one of the more impressive bands I have discovered live.

Wormwitch was next and they impressed me yet again.  I never got around to picking up an album after seeing them for the first time two years ago.  I was not going to make that mistake again, because their ferocious brand of black metal/punk was utterly devastating. 

And last came Uada.  Even though there was a band called Cloak on the bill, Uada was the only band who actually took the stage wearing cloaks.  They also used the hell out of a fog machine and had bright lights on the stage.  The effect of all of this was that the band looked like shadows playing on the stage.  They were terrific, pulling songs from each of their terrific albums.  I was slightly concerned going in that they would not play "Mirrors", my favorite track from last year's Cult of a Dying Sun, but they played it very close to the end. 

This was one of the best concerts I have been to in quite awhile.  I was initially unsure of attending, but am damn glad I did.  All three groups were terrific, and I picked up albums from each of them from the merch tables as a result.  Amazing concert.

Vanvid: Hol (2017)

This is another one of those releases I have picked up ostensibly to check out a band from a country that does not have many metal bands.  Vanvid is from Iceland.  And like Tunisia's Ayyur from a couple of weeks ago, Vanvid is a black metal band.  Not surprising as I discussed at the time.

Hol is Vanvid's debut demo, their first and thus far, only recording.  The group is made up of just two members: a singer and one person who plays all of the instruments.  The release was apparently recorded in the span of one ten-hour session, which is insane enough, but it was also largely improvised. 

This thing sounds extremely dark and twisted.  It is largely based on second wave Norwegian black metal (primarily Burzum) with a little bit of stuff like Silencer and Shining thrown in.  The riffs are mostly simple, but there is an incredibly dark and malevolent atmosphere surrounding everything.  The almost psychotic shrieking of the vocals certainly helps.  The ambient sections are particularly unsettling.  The last track is 14 minutes of extremely eerie noise, for instance.  I probably could have done without it, but it fits well with the rest of the disturbing sound.

This is an interesting release.  I would not recommend it to someone just getting into black metal, it takes a seasoned ear to understand it.  It's a very unsettling release.  Be warned.

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. 

Vomit Remnants: Indefensible Vehemence (2001)

It's been awhile since I did a slam release, so here is Japan's Vomit Remnants.  This is a band I am fairly familiar with, although I did not quite realize just how familiar with this particular release I was.  I have a CD compilation from Vomit Remnants as part of one of my early sojourns into the genre.  That compilation collected this EP along with another release and a couple of covers.  So I have actually heard everything here before.  No matter, I enjoy it quite a bit.

After a brief, almost electronic intro, the band breaks into "Prodigy of Solitude", which is a pretty good indication of the kind of stuff to expect from the band going forward.  Ruthlessly brutal with pounding riffs and crashing drums, Vomit Remnants is one of the best bands out of Japan's surprisingly great slam scene.  They are generally more dynamic than a lot of other slam bands with a high-energy approach that is somewhat unusual for the genre.  They also vary speeds quite often beyond the typical band of the style.  Of course there are the breakdown (or slam) parts that Vomit Remnants does quite well, but by and large this is not quite your run-of-the-mill slam band.

The only real issue I have with this release is the live tracks thrown in at the end.  The production values of those tracks is just ridiculously awful.  The drums can be heard, but very little else.  They are also kind of superfluous and were not on the original release.

I remain a fan of slam death metal, though finding good bands these days is not easy.  Vomit Remnants was one of the first slam bands I discovered and they remain one of my favorites.  This EP is a good example of why.

Immortal: Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism (1992)

This is the third entry in a short series of black metal classics that have recently shown up in my collection.

Immortal is one of the most consistent Norwegian black metal bands of the second wave.  They have never really altered their sound over the entire course of their history.  They did slow down somewhat in the early 2000's, mostly as a result of injuries to Demonaz, who simply could not play as fast anymore.  But even though they slowed down their songs, does not mean they were any less intense.  They have re-formed a couple of times in recent years to put out a couple more great black metal albums.  But this time, we are going back in time, to their debut album.

Unlike a lot of other black metal bands from the time period, Immortal always knew they were inherently silly.  Just look at the video for "The Call of the Wintermoon" in which the band members, dressed in corpse paint and resembling professional wrestlers, ran around aimlessly in a forest, oddly enough in what appears to be Spring.  Immortal never seemed to take themselves too seriously, even if the music did not often convey that.  Instead of singing about evil and Satanism, Immortal created their own mythology, which was starting to show here.

The recording quality, as could be expected is very raw here.  It would be several more albums before Immortal achieved some decent production values.  That's a shame because the music here is great.  It is not as chaotic as Immortal would soon become and there are some genuinely terrific riffs on full display.  There is a very evil atmosphere to the entire album, aided by the snarling rasp of Abbath and the sinister guitar tone.  "A Perfect Vision of the Rising Northland" is the big highlight here, with an epic feel to it, particularly in the breathtaking guitar solo.  This song forecasts what Immortal was capable of producing.

This album sounds quite a bit unlike any other early Immortal album.  It would not be long before blinding speed became the band's calling card.  There is probably not a lot here that really separates Immortal from the other Norwegian black metal bands of the time period.  But that does not mean that the album is bad.  Far from it.  This is a terrific album that would stand on its own better if it was not an Immortal album.  Very underrated.

Marduk: Opus Nocturne (1994)

This is the second in a short series about classic black metal albums I have recently acquired.

Yep, Marduk again.  I just got done yesterday talking about how Marduk is typically a much more aggressive, blast-beat-driven band.  Well, that is not quite the case with this particular album.  This is Marduk's third album and it came out at a time when black metal was really getting noticed.  This was the same year that Mayhem (De Mysteriis Dom Satanas), Darkthrone (Transilvanian Hunger) and Emperor (In the Nightside Eclipse) all released landmark black metal albums.  And it is the year Marduk released one of their best albums as well.

As alluded to, this album is quite a bit different than Panzer Division Marduk.  It is more melodic with some genuine atmospheric parts to it.  That is not always the case however, as songs like "From Subterranean Throne Profound" features blast beats and rampaging riffs galore.  And it is not the only one.  It is just the case that Marduk does occasionally veer away from the intense aggression for short periods of time, giving the album a bit more diversity that yesterday's subject lacked.  This is most evident in the slower-paced "Materialized in Stone", which is one of the best tracks on this album and quite possibly one of the best tracks Marduk has ever recorded.  And then there is the stunningly beautiful title track which features a scintillating guitar lead and clean vocals.  That's right, clean vocals on a Marduk album.  Unfortunately that track is more of an interlude than anything.

If I had one complaint, it would be that the production is very thin and weak.  There is almost no bottom end.  That unfortunately is not unusual for black metal recordings, particularly from this time period so it is tough to hold it against this album here.

This is probably one of the better Marduk albums I have yet heard for the pure reason that there is much more depth and diversity here.  It is more than just another punishing aural assault.  There is some real impressive musicality happening here.  Obviously there are the aggressive moments as well, but this has more of a complete album feel to it.  And the album is all the better for it.

Marduk: Panzer Division Marduk (1999)

Over the next few days I am going to be covering some classic black metal albums that have only recently found their way into my music collection.  This is the first of those posts.

Black metal captured a lot of attention in the early 1990's.  There were two major scenes that produced a large number of the bands that are now considered legendary in the genre.  Norway's black metal bands were primarily interested in showcasing atmosphere.  On the other hand, there are the Swedish black metal bands who were aggressive and intense and more concerned with making as much unholy noise as possible.  There were exceptions on both sides.  Immortal from Norway would have fit in well with the Swedish groups.  From Sweden, Dissection's Storm of the Light's Bane is the best of both worlds and is considered by yours truly to be the greatest black metal album of all time.  Marduk is a Swedish black metal band and is probably the best example of the Swedish take on the genre.

This is Marduk's sixth studio album and it is an uncompromising, full-on assault on Christianity, with collateral damage to any listener's ears.  It is some of the most hateful, extreme and aggressive black metal out there.  There is nothing pretty here, no atmospheric moments, no interludes, no clean singing.  It is 100% intensity.  The songs are all short, none lasting even four and a half minutes, and are just a barrage of riffs and blast-beat-driven drumming. 

There is no subtlety here.  Marduk expresses exactly how they feel and they are extremely pissed off and full of hatred.  The lyrics border on the silly with song titles like "Christraping Black Metal" and "Fistfucking God's Planet".  Of course none of that is a surprise from the band whose first release was called Fuck Me Jesus.  

It likely does not come off as much of a surprise to long-time readers that I like this quite a bit.  Marduk has never been a particular favorite band of mine, though I have always enjoyed their stuff.  I just tend to like the more extreme, blasting black metal.  Sure some atmosphere is nice and this wall of sound definitely does not provide much above all of the blasting.  It takes some time to get into an album like this, at least for new listeners.  It is simply a brutal listening experience.

Arsis: Visitant (2018)

Melodic death metal is primarily thought of as a European style of metal.  It of course arose primarily out of Sweden with bands like At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, Soilwork and others.  It has recently taken hold in Finland with groups like Omnium Gatherum, Mors Principium Est and Insomnium.  The U.S. by and large has not produced a ton of great melodic death metal bands, but Arsis has always been one of better examples. 

I have been a big fan of Arsis since United in Regret.  I missed out on their last album and have not heard them since Starve for the Devil, frontman James Malone's therapeutic album about his struggle with anorexia, was released in 2010.  Malone dealt with some other issues at one point as well and I honestly did not know Arsis was still around at all.  So I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this album released.

Arsis has always been a fairly technical and progressive band, with a strong influence from latter-era Death, both in the vocal delivery and in the constantly-evolving riffwork.  That propensity shines through here with each song delivering riffs galore and Malone's tortured shrieking.  This is an album that must really be listened to closely and with headphones on.  There is so much going on in it that it is difficult to pick up on without focus.  The first couple of times I heard it, I did not listen to it properly and the album did not really do much for me.  Upon hearing it with headphones though, it grabbed my attention and refused to let go.

The lyrical theme this time around deals with horror stories, which is not overly original.  However, Malone's biggest strength is his shockingly good lyrics.  He is a master storyteller and his songs are damn near poetic.  Look at the opening lines to "Death Vow":

To watch and wait in whispers
Within the scald of blisters.
Once interned in the dust below
The vengeful one has risen, cold.

I am not sure yet where this album falls among Arsis's albums I have heard.  The way that it has been growing on me, it is entirely possible it may turn out to be my favorite.  Only time will tell.

Rotting Christ: The Heretics (2019)

2007 saw Rotting Christ release Theogonia.  That album was my introduction to the world of Rotting Christ, though I had heard of the band previously, and I was absolutely blown away by it.  This blog did not exist at the time, but if it had, it is highly likely that it would have been my Album of the Year.  It was that good.  2010's Aealo made it to third on my Best Albums list that year.  The band had quickly become one of my favorite bands.

Unfortunately the last two releases have seen the band treading water, basically playing the same thing over and over again.  Rotting Christ has essentially been playing the soundtrack to a Greek action-adventure video game for the last several years.  So when this album was announced, I was not sure what to expect.  I was cautiously optimistic however when I saw that they had returned to the previous logo, a jagged script befitting a harsh black metal band instead of their more gothic take. 

The album is, more or less, a return to the Aealo form and is certainly their best full-length since that album.  There is still a fascination with playing overly drawn-out atmospheric black metal numbers that do not really go anywhere and the band overdoes the spoken-word sections that still give the impression that they are doing a soundtrack more than a full-length album.  Tracks like "In the Name of God" and "Hallowed be Thy Name", which are the two tracks that had videos made, are mostly boring songs that are too similar to the last two albums.

Luckily, most of the remaining tracks sound terrific.  "Ветры злые" features a scalding tremolo riff and terrific guest vocals of Irina Zybina of Russian folk metal band Грай (Graj) and "Heaven & Hell & Fire" has one of the most spine-tingling guitar solos Rotting Christ has ever recorded.  Ashmedi of Melechesh also provides guest vocals on "The Voice of the Universe".  This album did not immediately speak to me, but after a few more close listens it began to truly sink in.

One time when the spoken word elements really worked out well though is "The Raven".  As might be guessed, this song features excerpts from the classic Edgar Allan Poe poem that is a horror mainstay.  The sections fit in quite well with the band's unique gothic take on black metal and it is one of the best tracks on the album.

I am thrilled that this album is so good.  I do not yet know if it is a contender for Album of the Year, though it may be up there right now.  It seems to get better every time I listen to it.  There are some weak moments on the album but they are outweighed by the great songs on the album.