Chalk it up to me partaking more in the reefer these days and revisiting professional wrestling as a hobby again, but I feel like I took a chair shot to the back of the skull. Why am I feeling discombobulated? Have you tried listening to Blood Incantation‘s Hidden History of the Human Race (Dark Descent)? No? Then why don’t you go to your nearest highway and attempt to run across during rush hour traffic? Best of luck. Continue reading
Is post-Death Metal a thing? I’m sure there’s some Metal forum that can vindicate that subgenre, but who’s got the time for that. On second thought Gorguts’ Colored Sands probably has already nabbed the coveted best post-Death album title, but I digress. Fallujah’s latest LP Undying Light (Nuclear Blast) certainly seems to fit the post-Extreme label as well, seeing that it’s an album equal parts Death and Deftones. Continue reading
Oh look, Hate Eternal has a new album on the way. Sweet, let’s see how long it takes before I run out of adjectives to describe brutal Death Metal. On Upon Desolate Sands (Season of Mist) I think I made it to ‘Portal of Myriad’ only to realize I was running on fumes. I’m not sure what kind of pact Erik Rutan struck up with Cthulu, but it’s given him access to enough pulverizing song ideas to power seven long-players and produce countless Death Metal standouts. Continue reading
In case you were caught unawares, the “tech” in the tech death sub-genre of metal means technical. It’s an important distinction to make since death metal can be many things, not all of it deserves the lofty label. The earliest purveyors of the style might have been extreme, and well accomplished at playing their instruments, but not living up to the name. Later bands definitely upped the ante on what could be accomplished and now we are talking about an umbrella of bands that could mean Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus, Death, Beyond Creation, Gorguts, Neuraxis, Obscura, Cryptopsy, and many more. Hailing from the small island nation of Malta, comes Abysmal Torment, who want you to know in no uncertain terms they can carry the weight. Their new album The Misanthrope (Willowtip) is a brutal exploration of the style in every track. Continue reading
In contemporary terms when we think of Progressive Metal, often the first thought (and arguably nowadays the most prevalent style) is of the overtly technical, calculated and near mechanical sounding; that or the likes of Opeth with their marriage of extremity and growled vocals with progressive rock’s expansive structures and complex arrangements. Beforehand, years ago, progressive metal was arguably spearheaded by a vastly different type of beast; the likes of Queensryche with their thoughtful yet anthemic nature and armed with towering, often falsetto vocalists. Howling Sycamore certainly remembers this time well, as their self-titled début (Prosthetic) shows a love and influence from such time period as much as it marries with more modern stylings; creating a sound which in today’s progressive metal climate, actually stands out effectively. Continue reading
Here’s my plea to anyone who’s ever passed on Cannabis Corpse because they thought it was a joke: listen to the fucking band. Let me sweeten the deal, Left Hand Pass (Season of Mist) is a fantastic jumping off point to this odd, yet technically ferocious outfit. The album art and song titles like ‘In Battle There Is No Pot’ are firmly tongue-in-cheek, but the strain of death metal is very much deadly serious. Continue reading