Degial - Death's Striking Wings

Degial
Death's Striking Wings
Sepulchral Voice Records
I listen to a lot of metal.  But for all the bands I listen to and like, I find that very few of them really truly manage to strike a chord in my soul and stick with me.  Degial are just such a band.  Without a doubt, they are as dedicated to their music as they are to living.  You've probably heard the notion that someone "bleeds for their art"?  Well, I am positive that Degial do just that.  Not surprising though.  The guys in this band are also either in or have been part of acts like Undergång, Repugnant, Die Hard, Watain and Unpure.  And here they've banded together to form Degial, which can be summed up as what might have happened if Morbid Angel had come out of Sweden instead of Florida.  Seriously, this is the Swedish answer to "Altars of Madness" and "Abominations of Desolation." High praise, but more than well deserved.  Any true fan of death metal who has been disappointed with the direction Morbid Angel have taken in the last several years (especially in the case of their atrocious "I" album, the full name of which will be unspoken here), will be more than satisfied with the songs on "Death's Striking Wings."  Which isn't to say that Degial should be written off as just a clone of older Morbid Angel.  They're more than that.  It's just that their main influence can be heard so plainly.  Definitely one of the real finds of 2012.

Binah - Hallucinating in Resurrecture

Binah
Hallucinating in Resurrecture
2012 Dark Descent Records
Back in the early 1990s, the UK was rife with death metal bands... Bolt Thrower, Carcass, Benediction, and the unholy triumvirate of doom death:  My Dying Bride, Anathema and Paradise Lost.  Many of these have since taken different paths.  Some have stayed true to their roots, others added some experimentation, and still others have given up any resemblance to death metal entirely.  Recently though, there has been a resurgence.  It may well be that alongside their brethren of Grave Miasma, Spearhead and Cruciamentum, Binah is at the forefront of a revival of the spirit of old.  The ancient feeling can be heard throughout all of the songs here, as Binah channel the likes of Autopsy, Asphyx and Demigod.  In fact, the old Finnish scene plays heavily into their influences.  The same kind dark vibes can be found here.  The Finns had a real talent for taking what the Swedes in Stockholm were cranking out in 1990 and 1991 and putting a more twisted spin on things.  Entombed may have pointed us to the "Left Hand Path," but the likes of Demigod and Abhorrence were the bands that strayed off that path and led us to even darker depths of sonic brutality.  To put it bluntly, Binah learned from those bands, and learned their lessons well.  They've taken the old school sound to heart and given us something that evokes those old feelings, but at the same time is not just a simple derivative of them.  "Hallucinating in Resurrecture" is an album that could not have been written or even conceived of in death metal's golden age.

Mongrel's Cross - The Sins of Aquarius

Mongrel's Cross
The Sins of Aquarius
2012 Hell's Headbangers
Mongrel's Cross is a trio of Aussie maniacs who just happened to have come up with one of the best newer bands from down under, specifically Brisbane.  That would be the same area that Vomitor, Spear of Longinus and Portal hail from.  Old gods Misery came out of there as well, so the scene has a good amount of history to it.  As far as their sound goes,
think of a slightly more Bathory influenced Bestial Warlust, and you've pretty much got Mongrel's Cross nailed (any pun intended).  This is one of those bands that understands how to mix things up in their songs, going from full speed to slower breaks built for headbanging, and then right back to blasting away.  In doing so, their songs tend to be longer than you might expect.  The shortest here is 4:32, with the other six being over five minutes, and the longest at 7:22.  So at seven songs, it's definitely a full album, and not an ep like you might have gotten from other bands.  The production is nice and dirty, but not to the point where it sounds like it was recorded in a highway rest stop.  It's lo-fi enough to give that good old primitive feeling and not sound like a demo.  I want more already.  Yet another fine example of why Australia has some of the top-notch metal on the planet.

Ectovoid - Fractured in the Timeless Abyss

Ectovoid
Fractured in the Timeless Abyss
2012 Hellthrasher Productions
Alabama?  Seriously?  Not only is Ectovoid an American band, but they're from Alabama?  Not exactly one of the states that's known for metal, but that could very well be seen as an advantage.  Without a well known or sprawling scene like those of Florida, California or New York, Ectovoid have been able to simply exist as a band and find their own path without distractions.  Yes, it's true that Incantation and Immolation both form the base of their sound, and yes, they could be called at least somewhat derivative.  And most of the reviews I've seen write them off because of it, with claims that whatever "old school revival" that's going on is without real merit or creativity.  Well, anyone with that attitude can just fuck off, because those same reviewers go on to praise bands that lack something very important to anyone creating music:  soul.  I don't care how technical a band can play.  Music like that tends to be technical for the sake of just showing off.  There's no real soul in it.  No emotional investment by either the musician or their audience.  If you don't have any passion, then you have nothing.  That's something that people who put down the old school revival don't have and don't understand.  They never will either.  Which is fine, because those of us who live and breathe the old ways don't need them.  But I digress, and chances are that Ectovoid could really give a shit about what those people think.

Pseudogod - Deathwomb Catechesis

Pseudogod
Deathwomb Catechesis
2012 Hell's Headbangers
Pseudogod hail from Russia, a country from which my metal knowledge is sorely lacking.  I'm familiar with Ария, Teitanfyre, Korrozia Metalla, Тиран, E.S.T. and a handful of others (as well as bands that I know the names of but have not actually heard the music).  But in what I have encountered so far from there, I have never heard anything even remotely like Pseudogod.  Without a doubt, they are Russia's answer to the Canadian so-called "war metal" scene, of which Blasphemy is the best known band.  Other similar bands hailing from all corners of the globe would be Proclamation, Diocletian, Beherit, Archgoat... you get the idea.  Bestial, vomitous, evil... all good adjectives for Pseudogod.  They are absolutely the type of band that when someone says they listen to "everything," you know damned well that they've never even imagined music like this exists.  Everything about this band just reeks of hateful intent and total conviction to what they do.  Not just in the music, but in the coverart of the album and the overall layout.  One of my favorites of 2012 for sure!

Resurgency - False Enlightenment

Resurgency

False Enlightenment

2012 Hellthrasher Productions
Somehow or another, my collection and knowledge of Greek death metal is woefully lacking.  Black metal? No problem... I can give you names like Varathron, Necromantia, Nergal, Rotting Christ and Dark Messiah. Death metal... well, there's Dead Congregation and...uh.... That's about all I can come up with. Until now, at least. Resurgency are doing their best to make Greek death metal more known, and to get it out of the shadow of their more popular black metal scene. And they're doing it with one hell of an apocalyptic sound, drawing off influences such as Morgoth, Massacre, and Atrocity's masterpiece, "Longing For Death" (Todessehnsucht for those of you in Europe).  I won't go so far as to say that this is the album that the former death metal masters of Austria should have released instead of "Blut," but... oh what the hell... why not? ... This is the album Atrocity should have released instead of "Blut."

Coffin Texts - The Tomb of Infinite Ritual

Coffin Texts

The Tomb of Infinite Ritual

2012 Dark Descent Records
This album has been a long time coming. Coffin Texts' debut was released in 2000, and they've been very quiet since. I suppose that's not much of a surprise, since bassist/vocalist Robert Cardenas (who just happens to be the driving force in the band) both has been and still is involved with a variety of other projects, including the reactivated Malice, a short stint in Diabolic, Agent Steel, as well as his other band Engrave. At the same time, drummer Emilio Marque has been busy with Sadistic Intent, Asesino and Possessed.  During all this time, there have been a lot of rumors about the second Coffin Texts album. It's being released next year, they're in the studio right now, they've signed to such-and-such label. None of that matters anymore, because we've finally got the second album.  Is this what would have been released ten years ago? Or even two years ago? I know not the answer to that, and it is irrelevant anyway.  Chances are that a lot of reviews are going to again focus on the lyrics about ancient Egypt. All I'm going to say is that I don't give a fuck that Nile does the same thing, or that they arguably do it better.  Mercyful Fate, Metallica and Iron Maiden all had songs about the pharaohs, mummies and the afterlife long before anyone else did.  So fuck off to that subject. Let's talk about the music instead. If there's one thing I hear when I listen to Coffin Texts, it's this:  they play a wholly American sounding style of death metal. I'm talking in the purest sense here. No thrash metal, no black metal, and no doom metal has made its way into their sound. There was a point in time at the dawn of the 1990s when you could tell where a band was from by their sound. This is sometimes still true today (like with Swedish bands).  But a sound like this one? Unmistakably American in origin, and since we're talking early 90s here, that would mean a combination of Florida and New York. In other words, the bastard offspring of early Morbid Angel, Immolation, and Incantation.  I'm well aware that such combinations have been heard before. But very rarely are they done so well, with a result of a band greater than the sum of its influences, rather than being merely a derivative of them. In closing, I'm going to appeal to the members of Coffin Texts and ask that they not wait until 2024 to release a third album.

Rottrevore - Blind Sided Attack

Rottrevore

Blind Sided Attack

2012 Self Release
After all these years, Rottrevore have crawled out of the festering slime pit that spawned them. The lineup has changed a little bit from that of the "Iniquitous" album, but that's about all that has changed. This three song demo (actually six, as the three tracks also appear without vocals) still fits the description of the band I remember seeing in an old Relapse mailorder list (it was two pages, double sided, filled with mostly underground 7" vinyls), that called Rottrevore, "tractor-pull death metal." Always sounded accurate to me, whatever the hell it meant. The songs on "Blind Sided Attack" are still in the same vein as the older material, so don't be concerned that they went off and turned into Dimmu Borgir or Behemoth. Still heavy as ever, with that Immolation\Incantation sound you remember. Actually, that description is very unfair to Rottrevore. They were part of the old New York scene, and were obviously inspired by the same bands as Incantation, Immolation, and even Suffocation. But anyway, the sound is still extremely brutal, and the members of the band have each gotten better when it comes to their craft. In fact, some of the slow doom vibe has given way to a little bit of speed in the guitar solos of all places. But that's really a minor change in the scheme of things, and it's obvious to my ears at least, that Rottrevore did not reform with the intention of doing something completely different than what their cult status dictated that they should do.  Hell, the demon from the debut album is on the cover of this one too!

Decaying - Encirclement

Decaying

Encirclement

2012 Hellthrasher Productions
I was all set to write up a review of Decaying's debut, "Devastate," but then "Encirclement" was released.  So we'll talk about it instead (although if you haven't yet heard "Devastate," you should pick up a copy and correct that). Now it's true that Sweden is the king when it comes to death metal from the far frozen north, but there is one thing that bands from Finland have that Swedish bands lack:  darkness. Whether it's Demilich, Depravity, Rippikolu, or Decaying, Finnish death metal has always had a darker, murkier, more sinister sound. Maybe this comes from them not using a guitar tone that has the distortion set to "heavy steroid use." Or, it might be the weather. Whatever it is, Decaying have a whole lot of it.  Subject-wise, the album focuses on World War II. This isn't really a dig at the band, but that ground has been trod heavily on over the last several years. Hail of Bullets, God Dethroned, Pentacle... those are just a few of the names of bands that have done albums centering on The Big One. Enough. It's all but played out. Pick a different war if possible. Hrrmmm... Looking at those three names I just mentioned, perhaps this appeal should be to Dutch bands. It's like they're attempting to gain a monopoly on the subject. As I'm writing this, I'm also hearing that Decaying are starting work on their next album, and are sticking with the WWII theme.  I guess whatever my feelings may be for the subject matter, let's hear it for consistency!

Angel Witch - As Above, So Below

Angel Witch

As Above, So Below

2012 Metal Blade Records
I think for a lot of people, including myself, this album came as a complete surprise. If you look at the backcatalog of Angel Witch, you'll find that there's only a couple of studio albums, a few rarities and demo collections, and a whole slew of live albums. I can't fathom why this is the case, and the only thought I have on the matter is that when your debut album comes as close to NWOBHM perfection as Angel Witch's does... well, where do you go next?  But all that aside, here we are with this release that came at us out of left field, and I'm damn glad to own a copy. The simple fact is that all eight songs here are in the classic Angel Witch style, and I think any of them would not have been out of place on their fabled debut. I really don't know how any band could manage to do that, unless these songs were all written a long time ago and only recently released from the vault. I seriously doubt that's the case, but after Sodom put out "The Final Sign of Evil" with several never-before-heard tracks from their earliest days, I suppose anything is possible. Well, whatever the case may be, I'm enjoying the album a lot, and I hope Kevin Heybourne and company don't take another twenty some-odd years to do another one.

Blood Mortized - The Key to a Black Heart

Blood Mortized

The Key to a Black Heart
2012 F.D.A. Rekotz
For me at least, the debut album from Blood Mortized was the true sleeper hit of 2009. It was very quietly released, and I think I took a chance on it when I saw it listed in a distro. Old school Swedish death metal, done by guys about my age, who were around for the original glory days of the Stockholm scene. Sounded like a sure thing to me, and I was not disappointed. Neither were any of my friends who I turned on to the band either. After that, we had the "Bestial" ep to sink our teeth into, and finally there's a new full length in the form of "The Key to a Black Heart." A no-brainer to pick up if there ever was one. Stylistically, it follows in the same footsteps as the previous releases, but with a slightly cleaner sound in the production.  But fear not, there's still plenty of distorted heavy riffs as only the Swedes can do them. At times, I hear some melodies similar to what Amon Amarth have become known for.  Vocals? Oh yeah, they're as savage as ever, and not at all in that stupid indecipherable gutteral noise that's still all the rage on this side of the Atlantic even after all these years. I have to wonder if anything was left of Mattias Borgh's drumkit after this album was rehearsed and recorded. His playing is so heavy and devastating, that at times you'll swear he gave up his drumsticks for a pair of cudgels. This will go down as a favorite of mine for 2012, and being the greedy fucker that I am, I'm already wondering when the guys will go back into the studio to record the next album.

Anguish - Through the Archdemon's Head

Anguish

Through the Archdemon's Head

2012 Dark Descent Records
Dark Descent is really making a name for themselves when it comes to doom/death metal, and this album by Anguish is yet another example of that.  In this case, it's the vocals and distortion on the guitars and bass that give Anguish the death metal feeling to their sound. Take that away, and this is pure doom metal that stems from the slowest parts of Candlemass' earliest material. While I don't hear any influence from Asphyx at all in these songs, Anguish did borrow one concept from the Dutch doomsters: a general disdain for guitar solos. I don't think I heard a single one on this recording, or at least nothing that I would have considered a solo. This makes sense to me, as doom is supposed to be all about the lows, and guitar solos tend to be the exact opposite of that.  They're too uplifting. You seriously can't call your band something depressing like "Anguish" if your music includes some potentially "happy" elements. Another thing that strikes me is the level of torture I hear in the singer's voice. "Anguish" could well be an understatement. He comes close to the feeling of absolute despair that made Katatonia's "Dance of December Souls" the classic that it is. We're talking a level of torment on a par with "I am the dog that Satan kicks when he comes home after a bad day". Yeah, that's really bad. I don't want to be that guy (or that dog). But all of that makes for some extremely powerful music, and that's something we all crave.

Derkéta - In Death We Meet

Derkéta
In Death We Meet
2012 Self Released
The saying goes that the female is the deadlier of the species.  That may well be true, but the music of Derkéta  gives one the idea that all-female death metal bands could be the more brutal as well.  But I really don't want this review to come across as some kind of "battle of the sexes," because in the end all that does is cheapen things.  So first, some background and then we'll move on to the nuts and bolts ... or blood and guts as the case may be.  For the most part, Pittsburgh's Derkéta has always been an all-female band.  Guitarist/vocalist Sharon Bascovsky has been their main driving force for the past twenty-plus years, with drummer Terri Heggen (also of the legendary Mythic) being a semi-regular in the lineup.  At the time of this recording, Derkéta  consisted of Sharon, Terri, Mary Bielich (guitar, but perhaps best known for her basswork in Mythic and Penance), and Robin Mazen (bass, from Demonomacy).  In my own not-so-humble opinion, I'd have to say this qualifies as a supergroup.  Apparently, since this album was recorded, Terri has again departed, and has been replaced by one Mike Laughlin, who now holds the distinction of being one of the few male members in Derkéta's history.  So there you go.  For those unfamiliar with Derkéta's sound, they play a kind of doom/death, with most of the emphasis being on the doom side of things.  I would not term them "funeral doom" though.  They may play slow, but not that slow!  Even so, the eight songs here -- and did I mention yet that they're all brand new, no old demo cuts! -- do give the listener that uncomfortable feeling of being buried alive.  Or perhaps more accurately, you'll feel like you survived a cave-in, but come to the realization that there's no way out of your situation.  Those hoping for speed and fancy fretwork would do well to look elsewhere, because it's not here.  At best you'll get some mid-paced material, and that's just fine.  This album is all about old school brutality and a never say die attitude.  I hope this isn't the last we'll hear from Derkéta, and I also hope it won't be another decade before they return.

Morbus Chron - Sleepers in the Rift

Morbus Chron
Sleepers in the Rift
2011 Pulverised Music
Although they're getting a lot of attention now, "Sleepers in the Rift" is probably the best album you didn't hear last year.  Sweden's Morbus Chron are 100% old school death metal, but they don't play it completely straight like most other bands do.  They definitely have their own vibe going on.  The songs here are hardly "orthodox" or "traditional." If anything, I'd point to Afflicted's classic "Prodigal Sun" for a comparison, and the more I listen to this album, the more valid that comparison gets.  Without a doubt, this is one of the more creative sounding new breed of death metal bands with their feet planted firmly in the old school.  This is really what it's supposed to be about:  taking your influences and using them to create something that hasn't been done or heard before.  A lot of bands, even good ones, completely miss or flat out ignore this idea and are seemingly content to just be a knock-off of a band that has gone before.  Not Morbus Chron.  Already looking forward to hearing how they'll top this debut.

Zombie Inc. - A Dreadful Decease

Zombie Inc.
A Dreadful Decease
2011 Massacre Records
Somehow, this flew under my radar last year.  I'd like to think that I'm aware of all the old school death metal out there, especially when it's on a big label like Massacre, but the fact is that I'm not.  It's OK though.  I'm not the only one who missed this, and now in 2012 it's thankfully been unleashed stateside.  Zombie Inc's lineup features members and former members of some fairly well-known bands.  Most notably, Martin Schirenc (Don Cochino) of Pungent Stench fame.  Musically, it's some old school death metal stuff with a lot of very wet sounding samples from various zombie movies.  The instruments are all downtuned with that dirty kind of distortion we've all come to know and love.  Every track is like a chainsaw cutting through bone.  Not all of the tracks are lyrically from the panicking-out-of-their-mind human side either.  Songs like "We Must Eat!" are definitely from the hungry undead point of view.  Martin's vocals tend to be very understandable, and being able to hear just about every word makes "A Dreadful Decease" far more horrifying than almost all (and chances are that "almost" is just me being nice) of Cannibal Corpse's albums.  I'm hoping they record a followup in the very near future.  If I were to have a wishlist for their next one, it would be that they get both Killjoy and Kam Lee to do some guest or backing vocals, as both of them do horror themes better than practically anyone else.

Horrendous - The Chills

Horrendous
The Chills
2012 Dark Descent
This is the reason why Asphyx's "Deathhammer" isn't a slam-dunk for best album of 2012 (so far). Horrendous is an unholy US-based three piece that really managed to tap into something here. You might not catch it on the first listen, but on the first two tracks, they've kind of gone back and explored what might have been if Darkthrone had stayed a death metal band. The tone is pure death metal, done with the kind of distortion that usually can only be found within Scandinavia, but the overall style of the music has a lot in common with what Darkthrone has done over the years. There is a very strong black metal riffing style combined with the frostiest of cold vibes. But, starting with the third song, "Altars," things go in a more straightforward death metal sound with either Damien Herring or Matt Knox doing their best Martin van Drunen impression. Picture him fronting Entombed back in their "Clandestine" days, and you'll have a good idea what to expect. That's not a bad thing, mind you... but I really would have liked to hear more of the Darkthrone-inspired sound from those first two songs.

OZ - Burning Leather

OZ
Burning Leather
2011 AFM Records
We all hope to see certain bands reunite and release new music. Yet when they do, we inevitably end up disappointed each and every time. The magic just is not there. Maybe the result is that while the new music is good, it just doesn't stand up when compared to the original material. Probably the biggest exception to all of this is Deep Purple and their "Perfect Strangers" album. Another might be Celtic Frost's "Monotheist." It's a short list for sure. We can now add one more name to that list: Finland's OZ. Granted, five of the songs here are re-recorded versions of old tunes (and three of them are off the legendary "Fire in the Brain" album), but here's the thing... they didn't piss all over them and do some half-assed versions. The same fire and spirit are there, just as they were in the originals. Even more important to take note of is that the new songs measure up to the same standards. This is definitely not an album with a "crappy new song" followed by an "awesome remake of an old song." OZ still have the same fire in the brain, and hopefully this is the start of a new successful chapter in their career.

Asphyx - Deathhammer

Asphyx
Deathhammer
2012 Century Media
Asphyx waste no time on their latest album. No atmospheric intro, no movie samples, just a headlong dive straight into their style of death metal. Personally, I would have switched the order of the title track and opener "Into the Timewastes," just because Martin van Drunen's exclamation of, "This is true death metal, ya bastards!" would have been better right up front at the start, rather than on the second track. But that's just me. both of these songs are fairly fast for Asphyx, and it's not until the third track, "Minefield," that we get into the death/doom aspect of the band. Finally. This is where things get heavy. One thing I love about Asphyx is that they don't progress. Or at least they don't progress in the usual sense of the term. Here, "progress" means going darker and heavier. Yet at the same time, if you had no knowledge of the band, but were handed this album along with "The Rack" and "Last One on Earth," you wouldn't be able to tell what order they were released in.  That's the mindset the members of Asphyx have. Stay true to what you've done before. I thank them for it.  About the only real true complaint I have here is that the production on "Deathhammer" is a little too much on the bright side of things. I expected a much murkier production, and I know I'm not the only one who has noticed this. All in all though, 2012 has barely begun and we've already got a strong candidate for album of the year.

Throneum - Death Throne Entities

Throneum
Death Throne Entities
2011 Pagan Records
Looking back, "Deathcult Conspiracy" was a little different for Poland's Throneum. Those songs had a lot more Hellhammer/early Celtic Frost influence than what had come before. I think that's something the band took notice of in retrospect, as "Death Throne Entities" has a completely different tone to it. The production is darker, with the instruments all a little murkier in sound mostly the guitar and bass), with a little graveyard dirt thrown on top for good measure.  But vocalist The Great Executor (Tomas Hanuszkiewicz) is mixed in slightly above it all. I don't hear a lot of influences from the works of TG Warrior here. "Death Throne Entities" features more of a return to their older, more chaotic style, with vocals blasphemies hurled forth from an ever-churning hurricane of cacophony. It's almost as if Throneum felt they were becoming too mainstream (which they are definitely not, despite the sheer volume of releases they seem to crank out), and took measures to turn off any trendy followers they might have picked up (although I'm sure that none ever existed). This is an underground band for underground fans, and forever will remain that way. Primitive thrashing death/black for followers of the old ways.

Chemical Disaster - Third Wound

Chemical Disaster
Third Wound
2011 Violent Records
This was a complete and welcome surprise I found while browsing through the Hell's Headbangers catalog recently. I had no idea Chemical Disaster were still around, much less with a new album. I don't think you can blame me though. Their last album, "Scraps of a Being," was released back in 2000, and before that, their debut, "Resurrection," was released in 1993. While I have yet to hear the debut (I'm waiting on a proper reissue... come on already, Cogumelo!), I became an instant fan when I heard "Scraps of a Being" many years ago. Even managed to interview drummer Arthur Justo back in some issue of Metal Nightmare. So obviously, this was an immediate purchase for me, no questions asked, no samples checked out online first. Once it arrived in the mail, I found that the band was still the same as they were eleven years ago. Pure death metal, nothing more, nothing less.  They've been around long enough that they can't really be compared directly to any other Brazilian band from the old school, much less the new school. In fact, whatever influences they have, I can't name outright. They've managed to incorporate their influences into their sound to the point where it's next to impossible to say, "Oh, this part sounds like ..." or "That reminds me of...." Or at least I can't. But then I've also never been one to go in and really try to analyze music. I like what I like, and I hate what I hate. This I like. A lot.

Bastard Priest - Ghouls of the Endless Night

Bastard Priest
Ghouls of the Endless Night
2011 Blood Harvest Records
Dammit. The debut album, "Under the Hammer of Destruction" from Bastard Priest, ripped my face clean off when I first heard it.I've only just now healed from that, and the scars from the plastic surgery were starting to fade. So here comes "Ghouls of the Endless Night," and I'm back to square one with no face. These guys really took things to the next level on this album. Their mix of old school Swedish death metal and crust was dirty and filthy to begin with, but this... this is even dirtier and filthier. I have no idea what kind of equipment the band uses, and I don't know where this was recorded, but it has a real DIY feeling to it. It's like the instruments they're playing were borrowed and beat to shit, the amps and speakers had blown out a few times, and they did the recording in someone's garage. In other words, it has the feeling of real death metal, played with passion and a love for the music instead of worrying about crap like their "marketing demographic" or similar nonsense. This is real brutality (not brootality), and this is the way it should be done. Ugly music can be so beautiful, and here's a prime example. Only question I have is whether I should bother to get my face sewn back on, since I'm sure the next album will rip it right off again. If I'm lucky, that is. I've got a feeling that next time I'll be splattered all over the ceiling.

Vulcano - Drowning in Blood

Vulcano
Drowning in Blood
2011 Renegados Records
The name "Vulcano" and the term "Brazilian death metal" go hand in hand. Sure, Sarcofago might be the first Brazilian deathmetal band that comes to mind, but Vulcano have been going strong for quite some time, while Sarcofago have long since splitup. Vulcano's place in the underground was all but set in stone with the release of "Live!" and "Bloody Vengeance," but the later years were not quite so kind. "Ratrace" remains what is probably their worst album, and I found that "Five Skulls and One Chalice" was very lackluster. But dammit, I knew I'd still buy anything new they put out after that one, simply because it's "Vulcano!" So here's "Drowning in Blood," and all is again well in the Vulcano camp. Vocalist Angel is gone, now replaced with Luiz Carlos Louzada, also in Chemical Disaster. I think the change has been a good one, although one can't deny that Angel ruled all back in the "Bloody Vengeance" days. Luiz has more of a death metal kind of voice, while Angel sounded more like he was just yelling with a very hoarse voice last time around. "Drowning in Blood" is a huge improvement over "Five Skulls..." on all levels, and it shows all these new school kids just how death thrash is supposed to be done. But guys... what about doing a reissue of "Who are the True?" That's the ony album of yours that I'm missing!

Mausoleum - Back From the Funeral

Mausoleum
Back From the Funeral
2011 Razorback Records
The fact is, I've had a copy of this album for months before it was released. By pure chance, a pleasantly buzzed Rick "Slim" Boast [drums, vocals] struck up a conversation with me at the 2011 Maryland Death Fest, and he handed me a promotional copy of this album. I think it's been recorded and done for a while., as I'm fairly sure I saw a review of it sometime in the previous year over at Metal Core Fanzine. I decided to hold off on reviewing it until I had the actual real pressed CD with all the artwork in my hand, because it pisses me off when I read a review of something not officially released, and I know I can't get a copy of it for that reason. I'm sure it pisses off many of you as well. But at long last, eight years after the debut "Cadaveric Displays of Ghoulish Ghastliness," we finally have the followup, "Back From the Funeral." Nothing but old school worship here, complete with all kinds of similarities to the first two Death albums, Massacre, Autopsy, even Unleashed at times.Production-wise, things have a much brighter sound to them, than what was heard on the murky debut. But there's also a"thinness" to it, something that I'm not used to hearing in 2012. Twenty years ago, maybe. It could be that this was intentional on their part, or not. Either way, while not sounding all that "modern," "Back from the Funeral" also doesn't sound like a recently unearthed artifact from the early 1990s either. It lies somewhere between, much like the zombies that are in the lyrics to the songs. Not alive, not dead, instead it is somewhere between the two but belonging to neither. Fortunately,I don't think they're out to eat our brains. But do give them some money out of your wallet and buy this album.

Ritual Necromancy - Oath of the Abyss

Ritual Necromancy
Oath of the Abyss
2011 Dark Descent Records
The revival of old school death metal (for some of us, it's the only school) appears to be in full swing, and there is a definite division between how Sweden and the United States is going about it. You'd think that after all this time that maybe the Stockholm sound would have migrated to the US, and our sound would have popped up there. The thought being, of course that the grass is greener on the other side. While we were dreaming of seeing bands like God Macabre or Utumno, overseas they were dreaming of Sadistic Intent. But no, Sweden still retains their signature sound, while here in the US, bands are intently focusing on the sludgy sound of old Incantation. Disma and Father Befouled being two of these. Ritual Necromancy though, are at least trying to take a bit of a different road. Vocally, you may have a guy doing his best Craig Pillard imitation, and the mix may lend itself to the suffocating atmosphere of Incantation, but the guitar tunings have even more distortion, while the drummer likes to blast as often and as much as possible. These guys really went for a production that sounds like the album was recorded in a cave, under the supervision of Cthulhu himself. Didn't know the Great Old One was an engineer, did you? At times, things do get almost a little too heavy, and the sound suffers a bit for it, as if the equipment just couldn't handle the devastation. While I don't believe that the band was going for the same deliberate stereo destroying sound that Exit-13 did many years ago, I would still recommend that you proceed with caution in how loud you play it.

Krisiun - The Great Execution

Krisiun
The Great Execution
2011 Century Media Records
This was a nice way to wrap up 2011. The mighty Krisiun threw this grenade at us just before the end of the year, when record labels usually wind their operations down before starting anew in the coming year. Make no mistake, this album is no mere bone tossed at us to sate our metal appetites for the short-term. This is Krisiun at the top of their game (or at least the current top ... they may well not have reached their peak). I've heard others say that this band of brothers has really stepped up their songwriting for this album, and I'd have to agree. If you're concerned about the "flamenco" parts you may have heard about, don't be. At least for me, they sound like the usual flourishes that Moyses Kolesne is already known for. This is also one of Krisiun's longest albums, so you get a whole lot of metal for your buck. Between Krisiun and Vader in 2011, a lot of the damage done to the hearts and minds of the death metal community by Morbid Angel's failed abortion has been undone. Our faith is restored, and one of our fallen idols has now been replaced by some of the demigods of the scene.

Midnight Priest - Midnight Priest

Midnight Priest
Midnight Priest
2011 Stormspell Records
There are worlds other than this one. There exists an entire multiverse of infinite worlds with limitless possibilities. My point? I'm getting to that. Have you ever wondered what might have happened if Iron Maiden had a different pair of well-known guitarists back in their early days? Instead of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, what if Hank Shermann and Michael Denner had joined Iron Maiden? The answer to that question of course cannot be conclusively answered, but Portugal's Midnight Priest do give us an idea of what might have been in this little hypothetical question of ours. We are, of course ignoring the vocals in all of this. Singer "The Priest" does have a good voice, but he comes much closer to Kai Hansen than Dickinson or Di'Anno. The nine tracks here all have that well-known Maiden "thump" to them, but in terms of the guitar team, their tunings, soloing style, and just overall sound are right in line with the old Mercyful Fate albums. For the best proof of all this, look no further than "Segredo de Familia." This track sounds like it could easily have been written by Shermann back in the glory days of Fate. In fact, the further into this album one gets, the more it begins to sound more like a Mercyful Fate album than an Iron Maiden one (although "Cidade Fantasma" has the most Maiden-like sound of any track on the album). So it might even have been that Steve Harris would not be the main songwriter in this theoretical band of ours. Lucky for us, Midnight Priest then, is a real band! One small interesting point of note: on their debut ep, Midnight Priest displayed little or no similarity to Mercyful Fate's sound. Had I written this review at that time, we'd be talking a lot about Running Wild instead!

In Solitude - The World, The Flesh, The Devil

In Solitude
The World, The Flesh, The Devil
2011 Metal Blade Records
As the years go on, it seems that more and more bands are becoming content with merely imitating their influences, rather than letting those influences actually do what they're supposed to do. Which, of course is to play a part in the direction of a band's sound, and not be the sound itself. If you really need an example, just throw a rock at a gathering of black metal bands formed ten years ago or less. There is no doubt in my mind that you'll hit one that sounds like a pale imitation of one of the bigger bands in the scene. So what's that got to do with In Solitude? Simple. While a good portion of their sound is based off of the 80s releases of Mercyful Fate, they don't sound exactly like Fate. Singer Pelle Åhman's (aka "Hornper") voice may have a bit of a resemblance at times to King Diamond's mid-range, but he's not hitting the impossible highs, or the almost gutteral lows. No falsetto to be found here. As for the lyrics, if anyone was afraid they' tone down the satanism because of signing to a major label (major, that is, by the standards of the metal underground), let me allay your fears with this simple statement; those elements are still very much present, but in a more esoteric form. Subtlety is the key. All in all, these guys are fairly young, and if the two albums they've done so far are any indication, we can expect big things from them in the future.

Goreaphobia - Apocalyptic Necromancy

Goreaphobia
Apocalyptic Necromancy
2011 Dark Descent Records
I don't know the current status of Bloodstorm, but judging what I hear on "Apocalyptic Necromancy," I'd have to think that Chris Gamble is folding much of that band into the now resurrected and revitalized Goreaphobia. The songs on this album have a lot more in common with black metal than death metal. The songtitles, lyrics and philosophy are also much more in line with the mythology of Bloodstorm. The production doesn't focus on the same heavy side of things as before, and the whirlwind drumming is going to come as a shock to some. This is not the same vile beast of abomination that we've become used to. Only once you realize and accept all of that will you be able to begin appreciating the direction Goreaphobia have chosen to go in.

Mordbrand - Necropsychotic

Mordbrand
Necropsychotic
2011 Deathgasm Records
Per Boder, where the hell have you been all these years? After the breakup of the utterly brilliant (and much missed) God Macabre, just about all of the members disappeared. Ola Sjoberg has popped up again in Space Probe Taurus, and now vocalist Per Boder has resurfaced in Mordbrand. Of course this is an old school death metal band, and the songs remind me a lot of something other than just the old Stockholm sound. Listen closely to the faster parts, and you may recognize some similarities to the almighty Massacre. For those who are unsure of what is meant by old school brutality, these six songs are all perfect examples.