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.