Arch/Matheos - Sympathetic Resonance

Arch/Matheos
Sympathetic Resonance
2011 Metal Blade Records
This year saw what could well be the biggest event in prog metal history ever. I'm not talking about Mike Portnoy's exit from Dream Theater. I'm of course referring to something much more important. That, of course, is this album. This collaboration between Jim Matheos and John Arch. It was big news when John put out that two track disk a few years ago. But let's face it. That was only two songs. What we've got here is a full album. There's a few ways to look at this album. On the one hand, it sounds virtually nothing like the first three Fates Warning albums. So it's not a straightforward metal album. But it's also nothing like what came after "No Exit" once Ray Alder took up the vocalist spot in FW. At least for me, FW became far too progressive, and were, well, ...boring. While still in the prog vein, the songs here manage to stay on the level and are fairly focused, or at least they have a decent flow to them. Given how long some of them are, this is no small feat. John doesn't sound like he lost anything vocal-wise and is still as powerful and instantly recognizable as ever. With any luck, this won't be a one-off release and we'll hear more from John Arch sooner rather than later.

Portrait - Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae

Portrait
Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae
2011 Metal Blade Records
When Portrait virtually exploded onto the scene a few years ago, everyone was struck with two things about the band. First, singer Phillip Svennefelt's voice bore an uncanny resemblance to that of King Diamond. Second, Portrait's song structure was very similar to that of the original Mercyful Fate albums, and KD's "Fatal Portrait" release as well. Here on album number two, that structure is even more prevalent, but Phillip Svennefelt has been replaced by Per Lengstedt. The band is better for the change in frontmen. Phillip Svennefelt seemed to be locked in the pattern of singing one line in a high KD style voice, and singing the next line in a low, more sinister KD style voice. He would then repeat this style not only for the rest of the song, but for the rest of the album as well. As much as I like the debut, this really became grating after awhile. New frontman Per Lengstedt has a more subtle style, where he does not instantly sound like KD. Indeed, at first he doesn't really stand out from other power metal singers of this era. But as you listen more, the more you realize that he takes quite a few queues, not from King's exact sound, but from his phrasing, vocal flair, and the ability to create one hell of a macabre picture with his voice and lyrics. That said, on "Darkness Forever," he does use a specific phrasing that King used on "Into the Coven," and I promise you that you'll know it the first time you hear it. But that aside, his vocals combined with songs that have a strong similarity to old Mercyful Fate (but with far better production) makes for the kind of package that most other bands can't even conceive of, let alone compete with.

Hell - Human Remains

Hell
Human Remains
2011 Nuclear Blast Records
It's been a long road for Hell. Originally formed back in the glory days of the NWOBHM, they've been little more than a cult favorite for many years. And truth be told, the number of those who had even heard of the band was small indeed. Virtually everyone here was an original member except Andy Sneap, and sadly Dave Halliday, who committed suicide in 1987. As main songwriter and vocalist, the loss of Dave was a huge one, but as heard on this album, the rest of the pieces are in place, and the players are all in top form. For those lucky enough to buy the 2CD version, all of the songs are on the second disk, but in their original demo form, with Dave Halliday on vocals. Other than the album versions having David Bower on vocals instead, and better production, not much is different or has been changed in their occult metal sound. While this album holds its own against young newcomers like In Solitude, Enforcer or Portrait, it remains to be seen if Hell can maintain this level of greatness with another album, one containing new material.

Entrails - The Tomb Awaits

Entrails
The Tomb Awaits
2011 Dark Descent Records
There's a reason why Entrails sound like they're straight out of 1990s Sweden. It's because they are. Things didn't go so well for them the first time around, but they're giving it another shot. And what a shot it is. The debut, "Tales from the Morgue" was awesome. But "The Tomb Awaits" blows it away in every conceivable way. I'm sure that to write music like this, Entrails had to follow the left hand path. The songs here will drag you down into the grave, where you'll have many indecent and obscene dark recollections. The songs here are a reflection of the band's darkside, and it's plain to these ears that for them, nothing but death remains. None of these tracks are unorthodox. They're all in a very traditional Stockholm-era styled sound that cuts through the nocturnal silence with ease. No one can call the music of Entrails soulless, and when it comes to old school Swedish death metal in 2011, you'll never see ... or hear anyone doing it better than this. As we Americans say, they knocked it out of the park with this album, and they did it on every level. Old school brutality, old school death metal... it just doesn't get much better than this.

Deceased - Surreal Overdose

Deceased
Surreal Overdose
2011 Patac Records
Five long years after "As the Weird Travel On" (and for those keeping score, 20 big ones since the release of "Luck of the Corpse"), Deceased are finally back with the long-promised "Surreal Overdose" album. There have been some big changes in the Deceased lineup over the last few years, so let's get caught up on those first. Gone is guitarist Mark Adams, who left the band and never looked back. Mike Smith is still in the band, but just for writing and recording. No touring. Shane Fuegel is the new guy on guitar, formerly of Biovore. Les Snyder is still on bass. As for the drums, here's the biggest news of all... Dave Castillo is out, and King Fowley himself is back in. At least for recording. Live, he's still out in front on vocals. So now that you've got your scorecard filled out, let's move on to what's on this new album. As the core writing team of Mike and King is still intact, things don't sound much different. The death metal days are still long behind them, and it's still next to impossible to slap a label on Deceased other than "metal." If you really do feel the need to push the issue, then you should be able to pick out all kinds of elements in their sound... from classic heavy metal to real 1980s thrash (not that retro-rehash stuff... and King will probably backhand me one for mentioning the resurgence, even though I'm trying to make a distinction for all the fans in the younger set out there), to maybe a little doom with gloom. There's fast parts, melodic parts, frantic as all hell parts, moody and dark pieces, and all of it with the horror background (think "Twilight Zone") that Deceased have become known for. Bottom line, this is "metal," plain and simple. No apologies asked for and none wanted. Has it been worth the wait? Of corpse it has. Any hipster who picks this one up is in for an asskicking, plain and simple. No, really. Deceased will come to wherever they live and kick their ass personally. Because while Manowar may proclaim "Death to false metal!" Deceased follow through on those words. Always have, always will. In music, there are few bands you can trust to never let you down. Deceased are one of those few.

Revolting - In Grisly Rapture

Revolting
In Grisly Rapture
2011 F.D.A. Rekotz
Rotten Rogga really outdid himself with this one. Do I say that with every review of one of his bands? Probably. But is it the truth? I'd have to say so. So far, the man has not run out of killer guitar riffs, and I've got a feeling that his castoffs are better than a lot of other bands keepers. The distortion on both guitars and bass are cranked to 11, with the result that there's a thicker, heavier sound here than I remember hearing before. On top of all that, Revolting Rogga's vocals are up there with the best of the class of 1990 and 1991. As ever, the lyrics are tales of horror, gore, and the occult. Fans of the old school will find everything here to their liking. One thing about the old Swedish death metal sound, it never gets boring. The Gothenburg sound kind of came and went, with a lot of bands either experimenting too much or getting lighter in sound. But the Stockholm sound and those who follow it still chugs along the same as ever, much like the proverbial unstoppable force. Given that the style is now a good twenty or so years old, that's a testament to the untrendiness of it. Let's put it like this... as long as Repulsive Rogga is writing and recording it, I'm buying it.

Bones - Bones

Bones
Bones
2011 Planet Metal
The demise of Usurper was a blow that hit me heavily. I had been a fan since their demo days after all, and it led to a long-standing friendship. Almost immediately following the breakup, guitarist Rick Scythe formed Nightshade, and the rest of the guys disappeared from the scene. Other than Jon Necromancer's stint in Kommandant, things have been quiet. Until now. Jon has resurfaced along with drummer Apocalyptic Warlord and guitarist Chris in a new project called Bones. Lately, I've been getting my death metal riff fix from the crust punk scene, with bands like Wolfbrigade and Hellshock. Based on what I'm hearing on this album, I'd have to say that I'm not the only one. Bones comes across as what we might have gotten if Tom Warrior had moved to Sweden and joined Anti-Cimex after Hellhammer broke up. Bones is loud, rude, abrasive and above all else, metal to the fucking bone. I can honestly say that I'm finally OK with Usurper's end. With a new band like Bones coming out of the grave, how can one not be?

Demonaz - March of the Norse

Demonaz
March of the Norse
2011 Nuclear Blast
With the opening track, "Northern Hymn," that set the mood, and then into "All Blackened Sky," I have to admit that for a moment, I believed. I honestly believed that the voice we would hear on this album would be that of Quorthon. Of course, it was Demonaz, but those two tracks have such a "Hammerheart" feeling to them, that this album could almost be seen as a continuation of later Bathory. I would have to disagree with anyone who says that I'm just exaggerating. I'm completely serious. On later songs though, the Bathory-isms go away, and there's much more of a straightforward heavy metal vibe. Definitely not orthodox black metal, but then even Demonaz's former band, Immortal, is no longer a typical black metal sounding band. If what I've heard is true, and that Demonaz still writes for them, then I think he saved some of the better ideas for this semi-solo album, because "March of the Norse" is far, far better than anything that was on Immortal's "comeback" album. Hopefully this is not the last we'll hear from him. And you want to know something? Once I finished listening to this, I put it back on... and damned if I didn't once again believe I'd hear Quorthon!

Maim - Deceased to Exist

Maim
Deceased to Exist
2011 Soulseller Records
Between their first album and this one, it sounds like Maim changed the core of their sound at least a little bit. The blatantly Autopsy-inspired riffs are gone for the most part, and instead is something that sounds like the bastard child of Entombed circa the "Crawl" ep, and maybe Morgoth's "Cursed" release. Kind of along those lines at least. Throw in some Celtic Frost-styled touches and a focus on writing in as brutal of an old school way as possible, and that's Maim for 2011. No sophomore slump here, and it's plain to hear that unless something goes seriously wrong, they'll be playing death metal in the ancient vein for a long time to come.

Sabbat - Sabbatrinity

Sabbat
Sabbatrinity
2011 RIP Records / Iron Pegasus
A lot has been written and said about this album... now it's my turn. Somehow or another, Japan's Sabbat have gone from a very little known cult underground band to an extremely popular but still underground and cult band. I'm really not sure at all how this happened. They've been around since roughly 1983, but only recently gained a significant amount of fame. I was fortunate to discover them just before Sabbat-mania hit, and score just about all of their CDs at reasonable prices. Right after that, it seemed like everyone else found out about them and prices soared. Sabbat of course are also known for doing a lot of vinyl releases, and along with Nunslaughter have managed to dethrone Venom in that department. But enough of the history lesson! "Sabbatrinity" is the first studio album 2003's "Karmagmassacre." In between, there have been a lot of live albums of various sound quality, and of course more vinyl than anyone could hope to collect. This album also features the debut of new guitarist Damiazell, who has replaced Temis Osmond. The ten tracks here are all one hundred percent pure Sabbat, and that means thrashing metal of the highest order. Yes, the production is a little on the rough side, but that's to be expected and even adds to the band's charm. I'll take a lo-fi 80s style production like this over a super-slick one like Def Leppard's any day of the week. Not surprisingly, there are differences between the pressings of this album. First, you've got three covers. Second, there are two versions of "Witches Torches." They're not remixes, they're entirely different recordings. Not having heard the Iron Pegasus press, I can't say if that means they're played exactly the same or if they have any major differences. I wouldn't put it past the band to put out a 7" with both versions at some point. Anyway, this album is one for all the Sabbat-maniacs out there. Here's to hoping the next one will be out before 2019!

Satan's Host - By the Hands of the Devil

Satan's Host
By the Hands of the Devil
2011 Moribund Records
With the news that Harry Conklin had rejoined the band, I have to say that I was not exactly sure what to expect. Would Satan's Host go back to the heavy metal sounds of the debut? Or would Harry have to learn to sing in a black metal voice? As it turns out, neither of these ended up as the answer. Satan's Host 2011 sounds like a classic heavy metal band with a traditional sounding singer, but with black/death metal tuning and distortion. What that means is that this incarnation of the band has a sound that you've probably never heard before. On first listen, it may take your ears a song or so to adjust to what you're hearing. In fact, you're going to want to actively listen to this album, rather than put it on as background music for whatever you're doing. The opening song, the title track, kind of sticks out in my opinion, as it's the most black/death styled song on the album. Is this better than "Metal From Hell"? I'd have to say it's not. But that album is a true underground occult metal masterpiece that gains more of a cult following every year. So really, a comparison is unfair. It's like comparing the original Mercyful Fate releases to the ones they did after they reformed so many years later. It just can't be done, due to the high regard the originals are held in. But the simple fact remains that this album by Satan's Host is most likely the sleeper hit of the year and should not be overlooked.

Necrophagia - Deathtrip 69

Necrophagia
Deathtrip 69
2011 Season of Mist
It has been one long, Long, LONG time since Killjoy and crew unleashed "Harvest Ritual Vol. 1" on us. But finally, here's "Deathtrip 69" to serve as followup to that album of unbridled insanity. I'm not sure how many copies will have the special "bloodpack" packaging, so you might want to get this sooner than later if odd collectibles are your thing. I just hope mine doesn't dry up like the one Slayer did years ago. Lyrically, "Deathtrip 69" is a very loosely based concept album inspired by everyone's favorite psycho, Charles Manson. Killjoy's vocals are as savage as ever, and where "Harvest Ritual Vol. 1" acted as a gore-encrusted bludgeon, "Deathtrip 69" is more of a rusty blade. It has a little more finesse, but the cuts it leaves are a lot more damaging and painful than being hit over the head multiple times. Really, the only thing that's missing here would be if they'd included a cover of one of Charlie's songs. Remember, he was working with The Beach Boys at one point. That would have really put this over the top, but I suppose you can't have everything. One thing I really do need to point out is that every Necrophagia album has a different sound and slightly different style, but is still instantly recognizable as Necrophagia. As ever, you'll need a shower or twelve to try to get the stench of Necrophagia's music off of yourself. Even a good scouring with a wire-bristled brush might not do the trick.

Ribspreader - The Van Murders

Ribspreader
The Van Murders
2011 Vic Records
If the opening riff of the first track of this album, "The Beginning of Their End," doesn't get your head banging and neck snapping, then you're just not into death metal. The ever-prolific riff-master Rogga Johansson is back yet again, this time with songs that form the tale of two charming fellows, The Cleaner and Mr. Filth. These two delightful characters travel around the country in their van, picking up women... and then take their time carving them up on the putrid mattress in their vehicle that always seems to have a strange, unfamiliar odor emanating from it. Our two heroes have all kinds of nasty adventures, and end up with the hilarious problem of what to do with all the bodies when they're done. As is the case with virtually all of Rogga's different projects, Ribspreader of course is chock full of the old Swedish vibe from the early 1990s. "The Van Murders" is yet another testament to the fact that while the glory days were twenty years ago, the style and sound from that time are still full of vitality and can easily get the blood pumping and the body thrashing, regardless of whether the band in question is from that era or from the new breed keeping it alive.

Affliction Gate

For whatever reason, France has always been overshadowed in the metal scene. England, Sweden, and of course the USA all have extremely well known bands, many of whom have become giants in their respective genres. But France also has a rich tradition of metal, dating back to the likes of SORTILEGE and STRATTSON, and then on to LOUDBLAST, and finally the French Black Metal Legions. So it’s really no surprise that with the recent revival of the old death metal sound, that France too has a new band playing in that style. I present to you, AFFLICTION GATE, and guitarist Grief.

Was the band formed with a love of early 90s death metal in mind, or was that just what came out of you as you started writing?

Yes, our aim with the creation of AFFLICTION GATE was to play this former traditional death metal sound as we knew it and experienced it in 1991. We are not really newcomers as you can see and I actually formed my first local death metal act back in 1993 -- I once composed the song “Our Evil Legacy” that you can find on our album during my time in this band -- so, to play in the old school vein is not something we chose by chance. It’s rather a matter of circumstances that such a band became concrete and a reality in 2006 only. Late 80’s / early 90’s death metal is the only death metal that matters to us and the quintessence of the genre.

Most of your sound comes from the European scenes. But what about the old Florida scene? Any bands from there in particular that you pull a lot of influence from? ... Acheron, perhaps?

Obviously, we can’t deny the old US Death Metal scene with bands like MASSACRE -- we cover the song “Corpsegrinder” on stage, by the way -- MANTAS / DEATH, MASTER, ACHERON or MORBID ANGEL who all had an impact on us. It’s a real honour to have Vincent Crowley to guest on our debut album, as you can imagine. The early stuffs of all those bands are immortal classics that we worship and pay tribute through our music, as we always clearly state.

To me, Herostratos' vocals also sound somewhat like those of Vince Crowley of Acheron. Do you get that comparison a lot?

Yes, some people pointed out that comparison as well and I can agree that their vocals are sounding quite close sometimes but I think there is a little difference between him and Vincent, though. I would rather see Herostratos’ vocals at a crossroad between LG Petrov, Barney and Vincent, depending of the intonations he can use to give some variations to fit the atmospheres of songs.

He's also very understandable... which was also an old school thing. Was this deliberate?

This is the vocal style that came “naturally” for Herostratos the first time we rehearsed together. AFFLICTION GATE is his very first musical experience, actually. Of course, it’s also the kind of vocals we prefer and that suits better to our music anyway. Powerful and brutal yet still audible unlike some bands that should not bother writing lyrics as their vocals are so ultra deep and low that it becomes so ridiculous. Many say that Herostratos is one of the strongest elements of the AFFLICTION GATE sound and there is no doubt that we are lucky to have such a great vocalist.

What led to the decision to be a 3-piece with a session bassist, session studio guitarist and session live guitarist? Why not have the live member also do the studio work, or have the studio guy play live?

It simply appeared to be impossible to find suitable permanent members with the same motivation and inspirations as us. We had several line-up changes and we got tired of wasting our time so, we instead asked some close friends coming from other local bands to help us on recordings and gigs. However, some line-up updates recently occurred again: Wayne -- our session bassist since the EP-- has left the band because he had to move to another part of France relating to his new job. He was replaced by P.N.G. --who is another long time friend of ours -- since we started again to play live in April. By the way, we finally decided to add our session live lead guitarist as an official member of the band now: Bobby, member of old school thrash metal band HUNGRY JOHNNY -- showed a real involvement, interest and dedication to AFFLICTION GATE, so we came to the conclusion that he was the best for this job more than ever.

Did you re-record or just remix the songs from the debut ep for their inclusion on the Aeon of Nox album? If you re-recorded them, did you change the arrangements at all?

The songs from the EP Severance have been completely re-recorded, of course. Those new versions were captured in real professional studio conditions and sound really much heavier and crushing as ever. The EP was a home made recording with limited equipment but I think the sound / result is quite decent for demo type stuff. Concerning new arrangements compared to former versions, there are no major changed, only few details such as solos which have been re-worked and we added a second one on “Mirror Breakdown”.

None of your songs have lyrics in French? Most of the old heavy metal bands from your country, like KILLERS or SORTILEGE sang in French - in fact I prefer those versions to the English ones!

French lyrics in hard or heavy bands as KILLERS, SORTILEGE, TRUST or ADX sound ok, but it’s not something I’d like to experiment with in AFFLICTION GATE. To be honest, I’m not really fond of “un-English” language in metal in general. I think English is definitely more appropriate, especially for death metal.

Do you feel that the French death metal scene has been overshadowed by that of black metal? Or was the death metal scene in France small to begin with?

The former French Death Metal scene was really active and solid back in the early 90’s with killer leading hordes as AGRESSOR, LOUDBLAST, MASSACRA, NO RETURN, MERCYLESS, SUPURATION, CATACOMB, CRUSHER or MUTILATED / ABYSSALS. Those bands were of a very high quality and they had nothing to envy to international bands. Unfortunately, some of them finally split up while others started to change their musical orientation, sailing away from death metal for the worst. So, everything went down hill or died in 1994… Then, black metal started to get more and more attention and it’s the most popular extreme metal genre in France for over a decade now. The rebirth of death metal happened also in the very late 90’s / early 2000’s through the brutal and technical style which is still strong too here. No wonder that I miss the “good old times”….

Are there any old French death metal bands that you feel were overlooked? Even LOUDBLAST never got much of a push, at least not here in the US.

LOUDBLAST, AGRESSOR, MASSACRA and MUTILATED have a cult status worldwide, yet it’s mainly in the underground related scene. It’s really a shame that, most of the time, those names are nowadays forgotten or ignored by people and sometimes even in France too... LOUDBLAST recorded their two best albums Disincarnate and Sublime Dementia at Morrisound Studios – the same for NO RETURN with their essential Contamination Rise -- but as far as I remember no French bands toured there back at the time. Maybe, it probably explains why they never got exposed nor really became “big” in the US.

What do you find lacking in today's death metal?

Basically, I’d say hooks, atmosphere, soul... over all the technical & blast beats bullshits around in which the present death metal scene is sadly drowned in!

Do you feel that this "retro death metal" thing going on now is the next trend?

Well, we are witnessing an obvious revival but we can hardly speak about a real trend at the moment, if you want my opinion. It’s still an underground thing and minority. France is the best example of my words. By the way, mainstream labels don’t give a shit about this new wave of old school death metal it seems. Maybe, it will be the next trendy music of the 2010’s, who knows? I guess it won’t be a bad thing if it could wipe out all the fake nature of today’s black metal circus and the ultra boring sound of 2000’s death metal! [laughs]

What's your opinion on the return of some of the early bands that never got big like INTERMENT or NIRVANA 2002? Is there anyone you'd like to see return that has not done so yet? How about a band that should have stayed dead and buried?

If those bands are doing it for a real passion for the old death metal style and days and it’s done as a return to their musical roots as Nicke Andersson did with DEATH BREATH, I think that’s great. On another hand, a band like PESTILENCE re-uniting was really not necessary....

What are the plans for the rest of 2010 and maybe early 2011?

We have started again to compose new stuff and we plan to record a couple of tracks, some covers, and a slightly alternate version of “The Worst is Yet to Come,” respectively for a possible EP, bonus material for the LP version of Aeon of Nox, and a promo compilation for Metal Inquisition Records. We might also work on a collaboration track with Rogga Johansson – of PAGANIZER, BONE GNAWER, ex-EDGE OF SANITY -- as it’s an idea we had in mind for some time now. We could do a video clip for the song “Knights of Scorn” too, but it’s not a priority. Of course, if we have some offers to play more live shows, we will go ahead and do that too.

- Final comments belong to you!

Thank you very much for your support and for giving AFFLICTION GATE the possibility to be a part of Bulldozer Mag.