Acheron
Kult Des Hasses
2014 Listenable Records
Without a doubt, the most noticeable thing that immediately hits you with this album are the vocals of Vince Crowley. I don't know if his woman left him, if his dog was shot by cops, if his car was t-boned while on the way to the studio, or if he's just tired of burying the bodies of the Jehovah's Witnesses who knock on his door. The dude is ANGRY. Seriously very, very angry. Nothing but pure venom and rage in his voice. About the only thing I can possibly compare this absolute fury to would be that of Kratos in the God of War video game series. Anyone who's played any of those games will know exactly what I am talking about. As far as the music on this album goes, I have not a single complaint. Production is awesome, everything sounds strong, nothing rides roughshod over anything else. I'm not sure on what the division of labor is when it comes to writing the music, but it's amazing to me that even with a completely new guitarist, "Kult Des Hasses" still sounds exactly like Acheron should. I honestly believe this is one of their best works ever, and that's coming from a guy who has been listening since the "Rites of the Black Mass" days. This is one of those albums that will most likely slip under the radar for many, and that's a damn shame because it's far, far better than virtually all of the "high profile" releases we've seen so far this year.
Just Before Dawn
The Aftermath
2014 Chaos Records
Mr. Anders Biazzi is back with album number two of his World War II themed project, Just Before Dawn. Overall, it's another great sounding death metal album in the early Stockholm-sound vein. Heavy as all hell, with as much distortion as possible. You know the drill by now. But there is an issue that might cause some contention. More on that in a bit. Once again, Anders has opted to go the "different singer for each track" route. This time he's recruited the likes of Dave Ingram (you might remember him from a little band called Benediction), Mattias Lodmalm (Cemetary), Marc Grewe (Morgoth), Jonas Stålhammar (God Macabre, Bombs of Hades), Jonas Lindblood (Puteraeon) and Thomas Wouters (Bodyfarm)... plus a bunch of others. Now I'm not against this, but it does make a person wonder just what he'd do if Just Before Dawn got a tour offer. Music-wise, prepare for machine-gun guitars, lumbering tank bass, and thundering artillery drums. Now for that one small issue... for whatever reason, it was decided that this album would be released in two different versions on CD. They have different artwork, and each has a bonus track that differs from the other one. Now I can understand (intensely dislike, but understand) putting a bonus track on a certain format, like a digipak, but to do two versions with two different songs? That's something I neither like nor understand. So, minor gripe aside,you'll just have to decide which cover art you like better, or be a total maniac and buy both!
Countess
Ancient Lies and Battle Cries
2014 Barbarian Wrath
Countess has been around for a long time now (since the start of the second wave of black metal in the early 1990s in fact) and have released a lot of albums, yet they've never managed to get much in the line of critical acclaim. Perhaps they've never wanted it, and have preferred to remain an underground band. That's something I respect. It means their integrity has never been challenged, and they've always done as they've wanted, making music their way without concern for what others may think. They must be doing something right, considering they've still been going for so long, and have had a long relationship with Nazgul's Eyrie/Barbarian Wrath. On to the album now.... Headman Orlok's voice is just as recognizable as ever with his trademarked "croaking raven" sound, and the lyrics he sings are very understandable. The songs still have the the same qualities we've come to expect. Some are depressing mini-epics, others are fast movers. All have that lo-fi recording and tuning that Countess fanatics have come to expect. In other words, they have their own instantly recognizable sound and style, and they're sticking to it, ignoring any and all trends. When everyone was throwing in massive amounts of keyboards, Countess didn't. When everyone was going for a post-black metal industrial sound, Countess didn't. When everyone thought adding some thrash metal was the way to go... you guessed it... Countess didn't. What you get with "Ancient Lies and Battle Cries" is more or less the same as other albums released by Countess. Black metal strongly influenced by the old heavy metal masters you'd expect (do I really need to list them?), and also by lesser known cultish bands you might not expect. Manilla Road come to mind almost immediately. If I had to sum up Countess in one word, I'd go with "consistent." Being consistent is a good thing. It means you know what your fans want, and you're more than happy to give it to them. As for the detractors,
they can suck it!
Gravehill
Death Curse
2014 Dark Descent Records
Third full-length from Anaheim's Gravehill, still playing their own heavily disfigured style of death/thrash metal. Lots of different influences on this one though, coming across as an ungodly mix of older Napalm Death, early Exodus, and early (sense a trend here?) Death, with a good amount of punk (and not the bubble-gum pop shit) thrown in as well. "Death Curse?" No doubt. But if we're talking about a spell of pure evil, consider this incantation to be "Scream Harmony Corruption Bonded by Bloody Gore." Mike Abominator's phrasings and vocal style (or maybe rantings?) at times remind me a whole lot of the late Paul Baloff's, especially on "Open Their Throats," which immediately brought to mind the line "use a rusty knife" from "Exodus" off the "Bonded By Blood" album. At the same time, he also evokes the sound of Barney Greenway off his earliest output in Napalm Death. But enough about that ugly bastard. Let's talk about the deranged guitars of Hell Messiah and CC DeKill, both of whom are new to the band and combine to kick a serious amount of ass. Let's see if they stick around for a while, because having a rotating door when it comes to members really sucks. The simple fact here is that if you were into the band before, there's everything here you've come to expect and more. If you weren't, then hopefully you'll be newly converted. And if you end up not liking what you hear at all, then go listen to some wimpy power metal and fuck off. You're not wanted and not needed. Gravehill - keeping the underground ugly since 2001.
Autopsy
Tourniquets, Hacksaws & Graves
2014 Peaceville Records
Seems like Autopsy are making up for lost time, not that they have to. I may be in the minority on this opinion, but I've felt that Abscess turned into Autopsy back on the "Tormented" album. It was back then that the punk/speed aspects of the early Abscess releases faded away, replaced by the filthy death-sludge of Autopsy. (As a side note, Abscess had originally started to make its presence known as far back as Autopsy's "Fiend for Blood" ep) As it is, with an ep, a compilation, a DVD and three albums released over the last four years, Autopsy are vomiting forth the material like a bulimic at a casino buffet. All of it has been just as vile as ever, and the core trio of Reifert, Coralles and Cutler is still in full effect. Combined with stalwart Joe Allen on bass, the cadaverous quartet (no relation to the band of that name that hailed from Arizona -- for all you trivia buffs) are just hellbent on releasing metal as obscene and dirty as scat porn. In other words, it's business as usual with very little changed from their old classics. With a sound as twisted and churning as your intestines after a bad bean burrito, Autopsy still manage to make listeners as uncomfortable as ever... and we love them for it.
Sabbatory
Endless Asphyxiating Gloom
2014 Unspeakable Axe
I think Sabbatory sound like what you'd have gotten if Morgoth had recorded a couple of Hellhammer/Celtic Frost covers for their first two eps... while ramped up on cocaine. This is very much prevalent on the opening track, "Being, Thy Eternal Perplexor," which has that fast Morgoth-y type feel, along with a total Hellhammer "Aggressor" type chorus part in the middle.
Shit... works for me. I'm also hearing more use of a China cymbal in one song than I think I've heard in everything I listened to last year. Or at the very least, its use is much more pronounced by Sabbatory. I'm actually writing this while listening to the album, and ... check it out... total "Circle of the Tyrants" riff on "Corrosive Decay." I won't say that Sabbatory are derivative, but they really need to keep that kind of thing to a minimum even if I do enjoy it. If they toss in "Cherry Orchards" next though, I'm out. At times, they do get a little technical with the playing, but we're talking about mid-period Death here, not Origin. The production is a little on the dry side, but it works. Nothing really blocks anything else out. It's not like someone sounds like they're playing in a room two doors down and to the left. As debuts go, this is a good one. I just hope they don't decide to go and "progress" or "evolve" on their next album. A little change is good, but keep it old school death metal and nothing but, please!
