Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Soul Devour - Apocalyptic Anti-Human Annihilation (2010)


Band: Soul Devour
Genre: Old School Death Metal
Country: Singapore

I'll admit, the Singapore death metal scene has never been a focus for me outside of a handful of bands like Rudra and Wormrot. It just seems to be one of those countries that shows a few promising acts but is so far behind the rest of the world, it could barely register a blip the size of a pigeon on the global death metal radar. Soul Devour is a relatively new death metal trio, having formed in 2006 and released one demo in 2008 before this, their full-length debut. They state their main influences lie mainly in American death metal bands, specifically Massacre, Monstrosity, and Morbid Angel which sounds very accurate when you listen to them (especially In Dark Purity-era Monstrosity).

Devoured and Daemonoz handle the vocal duties, one performing a low scream (in the vein of Deteriorate) and the other, a slower, deep guttural growl. This combination fits well with the varying tempo of the music which changes from mid to fast paced throughout the album. Even with the apparent revival of old school death metal that's been going on for the last two years or so, there are few new bands that I'd be comfortable putting in the American death metal scene in its hay day and saying that, not only would they survive, but flourish as well. With Apocalyptic Anti-Human Annihilation, Soul Devour proves that they deserve to be one of those select few bands and that they could turn a pigeon-sized blip into one the size of a small plane.

Apocalyptic Anti-Human Annihilation [Full-length](2010)

Monday, June 28, 2010

Severe Torture - Slaughtered (2010)


Band: Severe Torture
Genre: Brutal/Technical Death Metal
Country: Netherlands

Severe Torture redeem themselves with Slaughtered, their latest follow-up to 2007's relative disappointment Sworn Vengeance. Brutality isn't exactly the main priority here, as there is a greater amount of focus on melody and solos than their previous albums. Sure, there are a few more conventional Severe Torture tracks like "Unholy Misconception" or "Grave Condition", for example, where the music is about as unrelenting as possible and there isn't a moment's rest. This is, most certainly, a welcome improvement over their last album which didn't provide for too many distinguishable moments and, instead, relied on a technically sound but technically boring assault on the listeners' ears. With more lead guitar fills and more memorable solos, Slaughtered may be Severe Torture's most balanced work yet and one that should prove to be one of the top brutal death metal records come the end of the year.

Slaughtered [Full-length](2010)

Deteriorot - The Faithless (2010)


Band: Deteriorot
Genre: Old School Death Metal
Country: United States

Deteriorot is back with their second full-length, The Faithless, which has been a long wait for the cult following the band developed in the 90's and then bolstered with their debut, In Ancient Beliefs, in 2001. While the album does has some killer riffs, both standard, mid-paced death metal and slower, death/doom riffs, I still have the same problem with this album as I did with their last: the vocals. Don't get me wrong, I've always had a great amount of respect for Zavaleta as a guitarist, but the vocals are very similar to that of the half-clean, half-growled, not-quite-deep-enough style of Dave Ingram-era Benediction which is one I've just never found particularly appealing. Personal gripes aside though, The Faithless is well worth more than a few listens and proves that, even after eight plus years of inactivity, Deteriorot can still get it done.

The Faithless [Full-length](2010)

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Chronicle of Tyrants - Nemesis MMIV (2004)


Band: Chronicle of Tyrants
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Country: Germany

It's rare to see a modern melodic "death metal" band actually pay homage to one of their supposed influences like Carcass or At the Gates without castrating the sound and making metalcore in the process. While telling them that their music, in no way, reflects what the original bands of the Gothenburg and Swedish death metal scenes brought to the table but, on the contrary, makes a mockery of them, might provoke a look of utter disbelief, there is, or was, at least one band out there that hadn't misplaced their sense of modern musical interpretation: Chronicle of Tyrants. Having never been signed and splitting up after releasing just one full-length, Chronicle of Tyrants isn't exactly a well-known name in the melodic death metal community but it should be. Putting the death metal back in melodic death metal, Chronicle of Tyrants does justice to many bands like Hypocrisy and Dismember, to name a few, by combining their subtle melody and relentless brutality all in one album. In every sense, Nemesis MMIV is a vastly overlooked, melodic death metal diamond on the rough.

Nemesis MMIV [Full-length](2004)

Svarttjern - Misanthropic Path of Madness (2009)


Band: Svarttjern
Genre: Black/Death Metal
Country: Norway

Svarttjern succeeds where so many other bands fail: weaving death metal into a true Norwegian black metal sound without watering down the two and becoming pedestrian. With one of the best vocalists in all of black metal (HansFyrste of Ragnarok), Svarttjern is evil with balls.

Misanthropic Path of Madness [Full-length](2009)

Interment/Funebrarum - Conjuration of the Sepulchral (2007)


Band: Interment
Genre: Old School Death Metal
Country: Sweden


Band: Funebrarum
Genre: Old School Death Metal
Country: United States

Conjuration of the Sepulchral [Split](2007)

Interment - Into the Crypts of Blasphemy (2010)


Band: Interment
Genre: Old School Death Metal
Country: Sweden

Into the Crypts of Blasphemy (2010)

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Nerlich - Defabricated Process (2007)


Band: Nerlich
Genre: Death Metal
Country: Finland

Pulverizing Finnish death metal with Slugathor-esque riffs and, on occasion, the tendency to sound like both Psychostasia and Slumber of Sullen Eyes.

Defabricated Process [Full-length](2007)

Ignivomous Discography


Band: Ignivomous
Genre: Old School Death Metal
Country: Australia

Does not include the split with Tzun Tzu.

Path of Attrition [Demo](2007)
Eroded Void of Salvation [Ep](2008)
Death Transmutation [Full-length](2009)

Portal Discography


Band: Portal
Genre: Experimental Black/Death Metal
Country: Australia

Music so thick and evil you'll think it's from the other down under.

Seepia [Full-length](2003)
The Sweyy [Ep](2004)
Outre' [Full-length](2007)
Swarth [Full-length](2009)