Happy Halloween: Here's Some Lovecraftian Album Art

I love the works of H.P. Lovecraft.  I know that I am not alone among metalheads in that.  So here is some cover art clearly influenced by the works of H.P. Lovecraft.  Some of these are obviously Lovecraft's creatures, others just have the same feel.

Bands That Would Sound Just as Good Without Vocalists

My wife and I were driving home late last Sunday night from the State Fair and Kamelot was in the CD player. I mentioned that Roy Khan, the vocalist was no longer with the band and that I wondered what they would do. My wife said that she felt the band really did not need a singer and that she would be very interested in hearing them without one. So that got me thinking.

What are some bands that would sound just as good without vocalists?

Here's a few off the top of my head and I would like to open this up to some discussion.

DECREPIT BIRTH
I mentioned in my review of their last album that they really did not need a singer. I stand by that. Decrepit Birth's music is technical and complex and it would not suffer at all without a singer. In fact, their singer really holds them back because he is somewhat of a one-note grunter and his vocals do not add anything at all to the music.

FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE
I happen to like their vocalist, but I really do think this band has the technical and melodic chops to go full-on instrumental. They symphonic elements would be allowed to seep into the listener's attention even more. It would be a very interesting experiment and drive that orchestral death metal sound even farther.

METALLICA
Some of Metallica's best songs are instrumentals. "Orion" and "The Call of Ktulu" are the most notable examples. Obviously James Hetfield is not going anywhere, but what would the band sound like without him on vocals and just playing music? I think it would be pretty damn good actually.

AHAB
Or really any funeral doom metal band, but I list Ahab because they are my particular favorite. This is similar to Decrepit Birth in that the vocals really do not do much to add to the music. Things would be just as depressing and atmospheric without the vocals, and indeed possibly moreso.

Anyone I am forgetting?

My 100 Favorite Metal Bands Pt. 32: Decrepit Birth

This one to me is a bit of a surprise. I am not much of a technical death metal fan, but there is something truly amazing about Decrepit Birth that cannot be found in most other technical death metal bands. They do not sound soulless. Yes the riffs are technical, but there is a much more organic feel to Decrepit Birth. Decrepit Birth concoct actual songs that just happen to be technical. They are not worried about cramming as many riffs into a song as humanly possible. Decrepit Birth really do sound like a death metal orchestra at times. That is why they make this list.

FAVORITE ALBUM: POLARITY

Initial Impressions: Decrepit Birth: Polarity

I won this album in a contest. My fiancee unknowingly won a copy too as I used her email address to enter the contest as well, so she's not entirely sure what to do with hers. The contest was on Metalsucks and was one of their Completely Unreadable Band Logo of the Week contests where they present a very difficult-to-read logo of a relatively-unknown band and give out a prize for guessing correctly. In case you're wondering, the band is Vertical Section Dismemberment of Sexual Crotch.

Technical death metal is one of the harder genres for me to review. It's a difficult genre to get into as the music is often technical to the point of losing emotion and soul. Nevertheless, there are bands out there that have the ability to focus on technicality, but still write coherent music. Decrepit Birth is one of these bands.

Decrepit Birth sounds like a death metal band playing symphonic music. The music is very technical, but it sounds clearly classically-influenced. There is a lot of soul involved in the music. The guitar leads soar throughout the album and provide most of the melodies. The rumbling bass and blasting drums keep things in check.

The vocals are probably the weakest point on the album. With as much going on musically, one would probably prefer more than a one-note growler. The vocals seem almost superfluous at times. Here's an idea: instrumental technical death metal. It's been done before and this band could easily pull it off. However, the band's lyrics are surprisingly good and border on the mystical, so perhaps just doing more with the vocals is the answer. I don't know.

I like this album even more than Decrepit Birth's previous album, which I enjoyed quite a bit. The band has really captured a unique sound here. It's brutal, yet melodic, and very intense.

Strange Album Covers Pt. 4: Horror Again, Only One More After This

I promise, tomorrow will be the last one of these, I just wanted to cover some of my favorite scary album covers.

DECREPIT BIRTH: DIMINISHING BETWEEN WORLDS

Decrepit Birth is a technical death metal band in the vain of Origin and Necrophagist, with perhaps better songwriting ability. This is another cover that reminds me of H.P. Lovecraft. I can't tell if that thing in the middle is supposed to be alive or not, somehow not knowing makes it even more unnerving.

NIFELHEIM: ENVOY OF LUCIFER

Nifelheim is a Swedish band very similar musically to Dissection, in that the band plays a blend of death and black metal. The band utilizes tremolo riffs and blasting drum beats similar to their mentioned countrymen. The band is also blatantly Anti-Christian as shown on the cover featuring the Reaper (not my dog, the Grim Reaper) entering the gates of Hell.

PATHS OF POSSESSION: THE END OF THE HOUR

Paths of Possession is a death metal band with an emphasis on some melodic ability. The band is much more similar musically to groups like Amon Amarth and Dismember than other Florida death metal bands. The band features Cannibal Corpse's Corpsegrinder on vocals. The album is a concept album about a soldier coming back from the war and slowly losing his sanity from the horrors he witnessed and participated in while at war. I can't even explain the artwork, but it is incredible.

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER: NOCTURNAL

The Black Dahlia Murder is a band from the metalcore movement, that is perhaps unfairly labeled as such. Having heard the band, I am not convinced that they are not more of a melodic death metal band similar to At The Gates. There is not much hardcore present in their sound. The cover is reminiscent of second wave black metal bands such as Emperor and Dark Funeral. It is atmospheric and cold and a little forbidding.

PORTAL: OUTRE

I can't even explain this artwork or this band. All I know is that musically and visually, this band is strange. That's really all there is to say about this.