Yeah, yeah, been a long time. Shut up.
Longtime readers of this blog (I suppose there might still be a few of you out there) know that I generally am not a big fan of metal genres fused with hardcore. I have never been the biggest metalcore fan, outside of a few bands, even in the mid-2000's. Very little deathcore has caught my attention. The only one that I am a big fan of is crossover, and that's mainly because thrash already had a major hardcore influence. I haven't done a major deep drive into the genre, but I have enjoyed Nuclear Assault, the relevant Corrosion of Conformity material, and the Power Trip. That brings me to this EP. The riffs are undeniably more on the metal scale, but played with a punk ferocity. The only issue is that the shouted vocals are a bit too far on the hardcore side for me. Occasionally, it gets switched up with more death metal-esque growling, but those moments are not real common. It's a short EP though, so it doesn't wear out it's welcome.
BENIGHTED: OBSCENE REPRESSED
This is the French brutal death metal band's ninth release, but the first one that I have heard. I have been aware of Benighted, I just never really bothered to check them out. Not sure why. It's not an anti-French bias. I enjoy Gojira and Yyrkoon, and particularly the black metal scene. Yet here we are. This is a blasphemic and gory good time. The music easily matches the album art, absolutely grotesque. There is nothing pretty here and the lyrics are just as grimy and foul. This one is largely considered one of the band's best, so I am getting in at the right moment. I will probably look into more of this band's discography.
WITCHY: WITCHY
This is kind of a fascinating, short little EP. Witchy appears to be a one-man doom metal project with next to no information out there about its sole member. The sound is traditional, slow-moving doom metal with an occult atmosphere, some heavy use of organs and hypnotic vocals. Think Pentagram for a reference point. Witchy doesn't reinvent the wheel here, it's just good, old-fashioned doom metal. Thus far this is the only release by the band.
RIPPED TO SHREDS: LUAN
Ripped to Shreds is a band I have been in on since the beginning. They are an old-school-sounding death metal band with an emphasis in Chinese history and folklore. Their influence is clearly out of the old Swedish death metal scene, groups like Dismember and Entombed. Most of their album titles appear on the covers written in Chinese. I will not speculate as to whether it is Cantonese or Mandarin, or possibly something else, that's not an area I have any knowledge in and I don't want to get it wrong. There are moments the band incorporates Asian melodies into their sound, which is overall an incredibly caustic and violent one. Ripped to Shreds lives up to their name because that is exactly what they do. I will be continuing to follow this band. They should be more well-known by now.
AFKSY: OFTE JEG DRØMMER MIG DØD
Saving the best for last today. I love this album. If I ever get my shit together and do Best Albums posts for the last few years, it is likely this album takes the top spot, or maybe second to the Testament album. Afsky is another one-man band, this time a black metal band from Denmark. This is one of the most emotional black metal albums I have heard in years. The riffs and drumming, while thunderous, have a warm feeling to them that conveys a deeply somber atmosphere. The vocals are intense shrieking wails that are at the same time powerful and forlorn. This is an absolutely incredible album and I highly recommend it.
No comments:
Post a Comment