Ruin
Spread Plague Hell
2015 Nero One Records
Somewhere, deep down within the sewer system of Los Angeles, past the strung-out druggies, past the alligators (yes, NYC... we have them too), past where your shit goes to die, lies the rehearsal room and home of Ruin. This mysterious three piece has unleashed a demo tape (because only analog is real!) of four tracks of the most down-tuned, sludge-filled, heavy metal of doom-filled death that you're likely to hear this year. For reasons known only to themselves, Ruin have decided to not only keep their true identities somewhat of a secret, but to also forego any kind of social media presence, save for any that their label may use. In fact, it's surprising they're even on a label. Whoever set them up with a contract is probably lucky to not have been cooked over an open pit and devoured. Musically, Ruin lies somewhere at the intersection of Incantation and early Mortician, where the Happy Toyz truck has gone into maximum overdrive and mowed down innocent pedestrians. Indeed, vocalist Mihail Jason Satan comes across as a less gutteral version of Craig Pillard. Just to prove the band doesn't play slow all the time, the last of the four tracks is a cover of Discharge's "The Final Bloodbath." Listening back to the previous three tracks, one then realizes that Discharge and d-Beat in general have as much of an influence on Ruin as the aforementioned bands. Hoping to hear more from this sonic crime against humanity soon.
Archgoat
The Apocalyptic Triumphator
2015 Debemur Morti Productions
One has to wonder what might have been if Archgoat had not lain dormant for ten or so years. As it stands, they are making up for lost time in some regards, with this new full length after several splits and eps. I guess this was released all the way back in January, but as it is on a very small but strong label, not many are aware of its existence. Plus, their last album was in 2009, so they may have been off the radar for many. Archgoat are still doing black metal in their own distinct way. Generally mid-paced with occasional bursts of speed, downtuned, and no shrieking vocals. At times, such as on "Grand Luciferian Theophany," you could even consider them death metal. This track in particular has almost a Bolt Thrower kind of feel to it, with its slow and heavy drone. Bottom line here is that they were around before any "rules" of black metal were written, and any such rules do not apply to them. Yes, one does have to wonder what might have been. But I think that even if they had never broken up, Archgoat would have never become the flavor of the week like so many others have been... whether by accident or design.
Bonehunter
Evil Triumphs Again
2015 Hells Headbangers
It's a rare thing these days for me to see a band before having heard their album. This was the case with Bonehunter. I attended the 2015 edition of Hell's Headbash, and had the extremely good fortune to enter the venue just as these crazy Finns were starting their set. Despite being a young band (having formed in 2011), they didn't just play on that stage, they owned it. So does their album live up to their live show? Hard to say, but it's a damn good time regardless. The production is pretty fuzzy, so those expecting a clean and polished sound should look elsewhere immediately. This is not the kind of music that was meant to be recorded on a multitude of tracks with a shiny and chrome sound. No, this was dragged through the dirt and was banged up by rocks along the way. A little muck and grease never hurt anyone, and that's the case here. All three of these guys (guitarist Witch Rider in particular) push their instruments as far as they will go and then push a little further. This is death thrash played loud and ugly like it's supposed to be, always on the verge of going completely off the rails and falling apart. They also know enough to keep things short and to the point. Most tracks run between three and four minutes. Bonehunter come in, do their thing, and then get out. Leaving you wanting more of course, but that's the nature of the beast.
Power From Hell
Devil's Whorehouse
2015 Hells Headbangers
Brazil's Power From Hell has been kicking around for a while now, and "Devil's Whorehouse" is their fifth album. Much like the USA's Midnight and Norway's Nocturnal Breed, Power From Hell have a sound built around dirty rock and roll and heavy metal with a strong punk feel and attitude. Also, all three bands have a penchant for including images of topless women in their albums. I keep using "they," but in reality Power From Hell is the devilspawn of a warped individual named Sodomic. He's aligned himself with various likeminded people over the years, who either came in as session members or joined for a while and then left. Not surprisingly, Power From Hell focus on such time-honored subjects as booze, metal music and horny sluts. That list is in no particular order, and a given track may include one or more of them. In all cases though, the shadowy spectre of Satan looms above. I think the production has gotten better over time, as "Devil's Whorehouse" has a sound that is at least somewhat slicker than that of "Sadismo." You'll have to decide if that's a good or a bad thing, as the older releases have a more unbridled sound. But really, it's not like Sodomic has strayed far from the formula of the previous albums. Power From Hell is still raunchy raucous rockin' metal in all its ugly glory, the same as it ever was.
Sulphur Aeon
Gateway to the Antisphere
2015 Imperium Productions
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!! Germany's Sulphur Aeon rise from the depths once again, with their follow up to 2013's "Swallowed by the Ocean's Tide." Those expecting another fairly straightforward death metal album may find themselves disappointed though. The unholy triad of T, M and D have gone in a different direction, following more in the conceptual footsteps of a band like Necros Christos. Not in their sound, mind you... but more where music, image, atmosphere and presentation all become one, to create something that transcends all of them. Even before you put the album in to hear it, you can tell you're in for something different from the norm. The packaging for the CD at least consists of a silver embossed slipcase, featuring the occult merging of a necrogram and the symbol of chaos on the front, and the logo, album title and songs on the back. Then you have a three-panel digipak featuring a bloated tentacle rising from the depths, a glued-in booklet and of course the disk itself. About the only thing they could have done that would have been more impressive (but not cost-effective) would have been to release this as a leather-bound book with the lyrics and such printed on parchment. The overall music and concept behind it has gone beyond the more typical death metal sounds of the debut, in favor of a much more twisted and meandering style that wanders hither and yon along paths that before now were never set upon by the foot of man. The world of Lovecraft is to Sulphur Aeon as ancient Egypt is to Nile or the human condition is to Napalm Death. It is the totality of their being and is that which drives them to create. it is also perhaps their one flaw as well. Sulphur Aeon owe so much to Lovecraft, that they might well have never existed to create such music if he had never existed. This leaves me to wonder what they might have done if they had created their own mythology and based their art on that instead. Even so, this may well become one of the top albums of 2015, at least for those of us in the know... for those of us who dig deeper and are not afraid to let the abyss gaze back into them.
Obeisance
Appetite for Desecration
2015 Old Cemetery Records
The album title may say "desecration," but this album is more about obliteration, devastation and nihilism. Hell Paso's own blasphemers of Biblical proportion are back, and they don't care what your religion is; they're going to call it out for the pack of lies that it is. Most satanic death metal bands focus on either Judaism or Christianity, but Obeisance go where most others won't go, and direct most of their hate on Islam. Just check out "Hail to the Great Satan" if you need proof. If you're easily offended, then this is not the band for you. These guys are against any and all pussification and political correctness. But then metal was never supposed to be politically correct, was it? As far as the production goes, the band has maintained the same level they had on "666 War!" The trashcan drum sound from the second album is still just a memory. Vocally, Martin von Fah-q has more or less made himself even more understandable. Where some vocalists go for the more gutteral and unintelligible, he's opted to be less gutteral in order to get his message across better. At times, his style is more akin to just the spoken word, rather than sung. Somewhere in the distant past, Deicide was the go to band for pure hatred against religion. They've since become a virtual self-parody, and many bands have laid down claims to their now vacant throne. Without a doubt, Obeisance have presented one of the most valid such claims in this album.
Ashcloud
Abandon All Light
2015 Xtreem Music
Ashcloud is somewhat of a relatively new band, featuring the duo of Gareth Nash from the UK and Johnny Petterson of Sweden. I say "somewhat" new, because these two originally got together in 2005 under the moniker of Skinbag. They split up and reunited in 2013 with the new (and much improved!) name of Ashcloud. For the most part, the music here is in the vein of the old Swedish masters, but with a darker vibe... especially in the vocals department. Both members handle that duty, although Johnny is more at the forefront. That's not too surprising, considering he's also the frontman of the reconstituted Wombbath. While they don't reinvent the death metal genre, it is great to hear yet another band that decided to add some balls to their music. Lately, things have been headed more and more in this direction, steadily reversing the recent past of musical castration in order to... shall we say "appeal to the masses and gain a deep market penetration?" It all just boils down to what we've always known. Be true to yourself, be true to your music, and the fans will follow. Failure to do so results in immediate rejection by those who supported you in the first place. Ashcloud put the totality of their souls in their music, and it shows. Well done!
