What a year. Here is a summary of my most pleasurable listening experiences. Quick shout outs to Gaza, Eldrimner, Acrania (Mexico), Disfiguring the Goddess, Gods of Eden, Trash Talk, Xibalba and TesseracT who just barely missed the cut. Sorry guys.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy my list. I didn’t mess around. Just meat and potatoes. Also, I’d love it if you left a comment validating my list or insulting me for terrible taste! Either way, happy doomsday!

10. Woods of Ypres – Woods 5: Grey Skies and Electric Light

It’d be a shame not to mention the swan song of David Gold. His bellowing swoon will live on in our hearts and his talent will continue to be revered and adored by the metal community. I think it was the most emotional experience this year. I choked up when I heard the lyric “A moment for the dead, but not a moment more. The dead are to be forgotten, we are here to be adored.” Nothing like the gift of life to make you feel grateful. With melancholic and uplifting hooks, a beautiful exploration of themes of death, fame, and love make this album extremely potent.

Highlights: Lightning & Snow, Adora Vivos, Kiss My Ashes (Goodbye)

9. Cut Your Teeth – 2 Hot 3 Handle

Why does a 5 track EP of semi-sarcastic party-thrash beat out a multitude of stellar more legitimate releases and earn a spot on my year-end list? Well, to put it simply, it’s hard to listen to this and not have blast. More often than not, this EP puts me in a good mood and has me shouting along, playing a wicked air guitar and turning a seemingly vanilla day into a one-man mosh party. “It’s a Party” was my anthem this summer with it’s insane solos, break neck shout alongs and fiery slide guitar. “Ice Cold Beer” always has me contorting the air in front of me into the best guitar I can imagine. “Touchdown” and “Kegwar” always finds me thrashing about which in retrospect is quite embarrassing. It’s simply the best party music and I can’t stop listening.

Highlights: It’s a Party, Touchdown, Ice Cold Beer

8. Art by Numbers – Reticence: The Musical

Most loved last year’s Digital Veil by classical metalcore quintet The Human Abstract. Though, for others such as myself, it was boring and predictable. It wasn’t the proper follow-up that Nocturne deserved (in terms of releases AJ Minette was involved with). So when I found out that Art By Number‘s guitarists were trained by AJ, my curiosity piqued. Lo and behold, Art By Numbers didn’t disappoint  It has the same kind of classical tendencies that THA have but it fleshes out the sound with some minor genre mashing, an outstanding vocal performance and virtuosic fun with every track.

Highlights: Delusions of Grandeur, Best Laid Plans & Panacea

7. Between the Buried and Me – The Parallax II: Future Sequence

What more can I say? Any avid Between the Buried and Me fan chomped at the bit to sing this record praise and deservedly so. It’s a great album. I find myself in the lesser-than-Colors-and-Great-Misdirect camp, but releasing such an expansive and eloquently flourished album is no failure. The story is incredibly engaging and it’s simply a stunning album through and through. I don’t think I listened to an album more than I listened to the Parallax II.

Highlights: Lay Your Ghosts to Rest, Melting City, Bloom, Astral Body

6. The Odious – Joint Ventures

Literally released hours before this post, The Odious‘ sophomore effort was a tough inclusion. However, first impressions point to an outstanding album and only time will tell if it holds up. That doesn’t stop the fact that I can’t stop listening to it though. With it’s Alice in Chains-esque clean vocals, psychedelic prog sections, head turning experimentation and crushing death metal filled to the brim with hooks The Odious blew all progressive metal albums out of the water this year. Worth noting is it’s lack of filler. “Fail Science” is arguably a filler track and there are samples throughout, but these elements are used liberally and spaced out well enough that the experience isn’t hampered. Unlike the similar Parallax II which in terms of structure, had needless filler and that’s essentially the main reason why this is number 6 on my list aside from it being so damn perfect.

Highlights: Mer/Ka/Ba, Nuchal Chord, A Sheep in Wolfs Clothing

5. Death Grips – The Money Store

Have you ever been to a Sporting Goods Store and found yourself in the Fishing & Baiting section? Have you ever look at the bait and thought to yourself “now that’s a lot of hooks”? Me too. That’s the kind of impression experimental hip-hop group Death Grips gives off. Ballsy and super catchy. Rarely is hip-hop so captivating, but this record is a real gem. Everything is unconventional. The delivery, the beats, the samples. It’s all wierd and left field. “Get Got” is like a Snoop Dogg track taking a forray into psychedelia whereas “I’ve Seen Footage” sounds like a Fatboy Slim beat with a sweaty dude shouting “Stay noided” over it. I mean it’s got it all and being the only hip-hop album that yanked my chain enough to keep me coming back to it is a welcome change of pace.

Highlights: I’ve Seen Footage, Hacker, Get Got

4. Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas – All That We Have Now

Bringing me back to my formative years in the best way possible. Back in middle school, I listened to a lot of Attack Attack and Maximum the Hormone. What a better way to celebrate my youth than with a japanese metalcore band with a strong desire to be radio-rave whatchamacallit? At first, I was definitely against this album. I wanted nothing to do with it’s autotune and electronica. Though one of my cohorts continued to rave about them (no pun intended) and eventually I converted. It was so worth it. A plethora of technical, interesting riffs, some incredible vocal melodies and the best electronic music I’ve hear incorporated onto an album that’s undecidedly metal. It’s a great trip and I encourage people that have any kind of tolerance to give it a shot. Don’t be put off by the electronics and autotune. That’s what makes this album so great.

Highlights: Ley-line, Scream as Hard as You Can, Defeat and Beat

3. Carthage – Salt the Earth

Hold on keyboard warriors! Don’t go flying to the comments to call me out for being biased! Now allow me to preface this entry before I start talking about how good it is. My friend Noyan who contributes to this particular blog had minimal involvement in the record (as far as he lets on) and although I was hopeful for my friend that the record was good, I did not expect it to be the next big thing. Salt the Earth is an incredibly catchy groove laden deathcore album littered with memorability. The production alone makes this leagues above their djenty-deathcore contemporaries, but it hardly sets them apart. What makes this release so engaging is that instead of trying to be something, or re-invent the wheel, it simply just is. No goals or aspirations. Just a great record (I guess that was the goal). It grooves harder than your favourite Meshuggah song at times, and it’s more brutal than your favourite Whitechapel track at others. Not to mention the little things that lead guitarist Tre Watson can pull off can be particularly fascinating like the slap guitar on “Destroy the City” or the breakdown I find myself humming on “Continuous“. Also noteworthy are the destructive vocals of Eric Hendricks (with support from Tre and Noyan Tokgozoglu) akin to Phil Bozeman at times, Eric has perfected the tunnel throat style and he just sounds so huge on the album. To put it simply though, it’s the best deathcore album of the year and a contender for the best deathcore record of all time.

Highlights: Blackout, Continuous, Years & Darkness

2. Black Breath – Sentenced to Life

Arguably the heaviest album of the year, Sentenced to Life is an outstanding display of blackened crust. Blatantly worshipping their progenitors Entombed (and Slayer), it’s easy to dismiss this band as derivative. Jokes on them though, Black Breath rule!  Every riff weighs a metric ton and their vocalist is one of the best in the genre. Not to mention the production and guitar tones are nigh prolific. Crushing in every respect Black Breath have solidified themselves in my rotations and I proudly bring them up in conversation as “one of my favourite bands”.

Highlights: Feast of the Damned, Sentenced to Life, The Flame

1. Converge – All We Love We Leave Behind

I’m relatively new to the Converge camp, however I’ve had the privilege of getting on the hype train for their latest effort All We Love We Leave Behind. There is something I find notable about the first release you are involved with when it comes to a group that you haven’t been actively following or interested in. After investing a substantial amount of time into their back catalogue though, I definitely had my doubts about this record. Obviously they didn’t dissapoint. Instead they took their foot off the brakes just enough to make the turn into the next chapter of their career without stagnating and proved that they still had an amazing record left in them.

I know for a fact that I’ll be sitting in front of a computer in 5 years arguing on a facebook thread about which Converge album is better and why. I know for a fact that I’ll be coming back to this album in 5 years and I’ll be enjoying it the same way I do now. That kind of confidence warrants the number one spot on my list.

Highlights: Sadness Comes Home, Vicious Muse, All We Love We Leave Behind, Trespasses, Aimless Arrow, Sparrow’s Fall

-CD

Agnus Dei

01. Agnus Dei
02. May God Damn All Of Us
03. Violent Infection
04. Geometric Power
05. Post Mortem Nihil Est
06. Daily Lies
07. Love Your Enemy
08. Vermin of Dust
09. Darkness I Became
10. Heretic Temple
11. The Bottomless Pit
12. Obscure Dogma
13. Seven Billion Graves

[10/23/12]
[Southern Lord Records]

There is a certain perverse irony behind the title of The Secret’s fourth album, Agnus Dei. The Italian metallic hardcore outfit’s latest offering bears the title of the peaceful Christian symbol of a holy lamb, yet presents itself as a wolf amongst the flock devouring the innocent beasts. While initially an intriguing and entertaining endeavor, repeated listens quickly reveal that this analogy would be more appropriately adjusted to describe Agnus Dei as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. For while The Secret provide a solid performance of the recent trend of sludgy, grind influenced hardcore, this lycan ferocity is padded down by certain wooly missteps.

The primary flaw of Agnus Dei can be summed up with an aforementioned adjective: solid. A grand majority of the tracks are neither exceptional nor egregious, but merely acceptable exercises of what Entombed accomplished with Wolverine Blues to inspire the sect of hardcore that The Secret subscribe to. ‘The Bottomless Pit’ is the only track that pays proper homage to the Swedish death metal legends, but unfortunately arrives near the conclusion of the album. Additionally, contemporary bands such as Trap Them or Rotten Sound have exhibited far more refined examples of this trend, either through exemplifying the style with a knack for excellent songwriting or expanding upon the sound with outside influences.

The Secret attempt to supplement their music with the latter method but do not achieve overwhelming success. The band’s additive of choice: black metal flavorings in the vein of Emperor’s riffing and non-symphonic based atmospheres on In the Nightside Eclipse. To the band’s credit, these elements work well on tracks like ‘Vermin of Dust,’ ‘Darkness I Became,’ ‘Heretic Temple,’ and ‘Seven Billion Graves.’ However, what allows these tracks to flourish is the prominence that the band places on their blackened influences, almost as if they momentarily channel Bathory rather than Entombed. This strength is lost when other blackened sections fall short elsewhere on the album due to their brevity and lack of development.

It truly is a shame that The Secret don’t develop these elements more, as it becomes clear that they could compose some promising black metal. And if that route is one undesirable to the band, they must at the very least focus on the core of their sound. Otherwise, The Secret will find themselves lost in a sea of other bands far more talented than they are. While Agnus Dei is not a horrendous album, it will most likely be eclipsed by much stronger releases from Converge (All We Love We Leave Behind), Gaza (No Absolutes in Human Suffering) and Black Breath (Sentenced to Life), all of whom utilized Entombed’s blueprint to some degree and created strong efforts with it. Perhaps with their next release, The Secret could create an album of the same caliber as those previously mentioned, but if relevance is something the band wishes to maintain, time is of the essence.

The Secret – Agnus Dei gets…

3/5

- SM

[09/25/12]
[Scion A/V Metal]

Revocation is not only wholly incapable of writing boring material, but seem to alter their sound in a slightly more interesting way for each release. Enter Teratogenesis, the group’s new metal-thrashing-mad lightening shredfest released through the unexpected kings of kickass metal, Scion A/V. Teratogenesis is Revocation’s most focused release yet. It doesn’t jump about between riffs and constantly try to keep you guessing, but holds you down and continuously beats the crap out of you for the full twenty-one minutes. Songs like the title track showcase a little bit of an old-school thrash flair with its lumbering, lurching, 7-stringed grooves that lock in to your arms and force you to mosh about, while ‘Bound By Desire’ is there to remind you that speed is everything. The stand out track is the opener ‘The Grip Tightens’ by quite a bit. If there were ever a song that grooves along with the ferocity of a runaway freight train smashing right into a nitroglycerine plant, it’s this. Not to mention the inhuman guitar duo of David Davidson and Dan Gargiulo rip a solo that can only be described as terrifying. Teratogenesis is something for faithful Revocation fans and potential fans looking to get in to the band alike. Happy thrashing! – GK

4.5/5

Over Your Threshold – Facticity

[08/28/12]
[Metal Blade Records]

Over Your Threshold are a German progressive/technical death metal band.  Their sophomore album Facticity, which came out on Metal Blade earlier this year. Their style sounds like a combination of Atheist and Death, which sets the bar very high for anyone to achieve.  They are clearly very skilled and good at their instruments, and they even have a production that puts them somewhere between the aforementioned two bands and German giants Obscura. Their songs would definitely satisfy fans of either band. The album is chock full of technical riffs, time signature changes and all that good stuff. But they do suffer from the curse of being too technical in that their songs aren’t as individually memorable as Atheist or Death songs. The riffs tend to blur between each other and a sense of boundary between songs is lost. That’s not to say that they aren’t good songs, it just goes to show that Over Your Threshold still have room for improvement. They have good production, great skill in instrumentation and are very promising at songwriting. So you should take Facticity as a stepping stone by a very talented band who are on their way to success. And if you’re starved for some old school technical progressive metal, this should definitely satisfy you. - NT

3/5

Grave – Endless Procession Of Souls

[08/28/12]
[Century Media Records]

It’s hard not to admire a band like Grave. Despite Ola Lindgren being the sole original member remaining in the group, the band itself has had nearly 26 years of dedicated service in it’s various incarnations and, other than a brief hiatus in the late nineties, they’ve never stopped churning out uncompromising traditional death metal. Here, on their tenth and latest studio album, not much has changed. Endless Procession Of Souls ticks all the right boxes; Entombed-fuzz riffs, Autopsy dirges and even the occasional nod towards d-beat — it’s nothing you haven’t heard before, but at this stage in the game, anything else would probably be a disappointment. Opener ‘Amongst Marble And The Dead’ sets the precedent straight away by rushing downtuned Kreator riffs and grooving sections that bring to mind all the first moments of Left Hand Path. Follow up ‘Disembodied Steps’ follows a similar protocol, but it’s ‘Flesh Epistle’ that really hits hard and makes a discernible impression  — it’s twists and turns are tried and true but that doesn’t blunt the impact enough to make it unenjoyable. From thereon, Endless Procession… continues upon a similar thread, only really deviating for 8 minute closer ‘Epos’ which crawls along at a sluggish tempo, leaving plenty of room for lingering and decaying riffs to command themselves. Consistency abound, Grave once again prove themselves to be one of the most reliable death metal acts around — all hail the simple and punishing power of the riff we’ve all heard before. - DL

 3.5/5

Hardcore fans everywhere rejoice. The legendary bands Converge and Napalm Death have teamed up for a split EP, and it is now available for digital download at Deathwish, Inc. Here’s the information and tracklist on the release:

Recorded as part of their new album sessions, Converge offer up the blazing new song “No Light Escapes.” Already a staple of their live set, this whirlwind of an emotional charged song is a soon to be a discordant hardcore/metal anthem for the band. Also on the release, Converge offer a “We Are The World” styled rendition of the influential Entombed classic “Wolverine Blues“. Joining them in tribute is a number of friends including Tomas Lindberg (Disfear, At The Gates, Lock Up), Aaron Turner (Isis, Old Man Gloom, Split Cranium), Kevin Baker (APMD, The Hope Conspiracy), Brian Izzi (Trap Them), and more. A new Converge album will surface later in 2012 on Epitaph/Deathwish.

On the flip side, metal pioneers Napalm Death offer up two new aural monsters. First, “Will By Mouth” erupts in classic grind fashion. A buzz of brutal guitars and a crushing blast beat lay a foundation for Barney Greenway’s vicious vocal attack. All of it uniquely bleeding together to paint a vivid picture of social unrest. Also on the release, Napalm Death offer the slower and textural new song “No Impediment To Triumph (Bhopal)”. A deeply resonant number that lyrically sheds light on the horrific Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1984. Without question, “No Impediment…” is truly a powerful and poignant moment for this legendary band.

TRACK LISTING:
01. No Light Escapes – Converge
02. Wolverine Blues – Converge
03. Will By Mouth – Napalm Death
04. No Impediment To Triumph (Bophal) – Napalm Death

You can purchase the split for a measly $3. Don’t even act like you can’t afford it. Check out some samples below if you’re curious or somehow wary.

- JR

With a signing to Southern Lord and members list that includes stints in Trap Them, Shai Hulud, Misery Signals and, of all things, Fallout Boy, it’s probably fair to say that Enabler have a pedigree. And while the idea of a ‘supergroup’ tends to bring out the cynics in flocks, upon first listen of their new album All Hail The Void it’s hard to deny that they do themselves justice. Comprised of crusty, metallic hardcore that seats itself in the same school of ‘Entombed-core’ as bands like All Pigs Must Die and the aforementioned Trap Them — it’s exactly the kind of violent aural massage I needed to start this week and you can catch the full album stream too over at BlowTheScene.com before it drops tomorrow!

- DL

Black Breath‘s Sentenced To Life has been one of those albums that initially got lost in the noise of the early releases this year. However as the smoke has cleared and a lot of the bigger names have stepped aside, it’s become somewhat of a hidden gem, full of crunchy and crusty riffs and hugely infectious ‘shout-a-longs’. So given Scion’s track record so far, it’s not surprising that they also picked up on this criminally underrated slab of Entombed-core and whilst it’s not the in-depth masterpiece that graced the recent Atlas Moth video, the rough around the edges veneer it takes on suits the track perfectly and does justice to the ‘No Sleep ‘Til Death‘ mentality that seems to surround the album.

I seriously have to wonder how much money Scion are throwing into these bands and videos. Surely they can’t be making much of a return? However, with the recent announcement of this year’s Scion Fest it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop any time soon. And as for Nick Frost? Well it was the first comment on the Youtube page and now I can’t un-see it, it’s literally uncanny.

- DL

Cycles of Light

01. XI
02. Gods Of Atlantis
03. Halo Of Vultures
04. Lifeless
05. Parades
06. Thorn Feeders
07. Amongst Wolves
08. Kingdoms
09. Baptists

[01/17/12]
[Lost Shepherd/Prosthetic Records]

Crossover, metalcore, metallic hardcore, all these are subgenres of heavy metal, which combine the various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. Now like most genres of music, it’s flooded with mediocre and lackluster drivel, but every once and a while a band comes along and reassures you that everything will be alright, and that the genre hasn’t completely fallen into disarray. And for one such band that hails from St. Louis, and who play a straightforward brand of fast and heavy aggressive music, Everything Went Black not only pay homage to the hardcore/punk sensibilities of the 80′s and 90′s, but are also able to satisfy the metalhead in all of us.

This year is starting off strong in the metallic hardcore department, with the recent Iron Cages demo and the Skin Like Iron/NAILS split completely devastating my aural canals, it was only a matter of time until another band came along to continue the onslaught. Enter; Everything Went Black, a band thats name is not only based off a Black Flag album, but who also share similarities to Black Flag as well as The Hope Conspiracy and Entombed. Since their formation back in 2009, they’ve only released a handful of material, so it became apparent either they would eventually release a full-length album, or fade away into oblivion. Luckily for them as well as the fans, with their recent signing to Lost Shepherd/Prosthetic Records, the band took the summer to record their debut full-length album, Cycles of Light.

You know the old saying, quality over quantity, well it rings true with Cycles of Light. With only nine tracks, and each one never reaching the five and half minute mark, this album doesn’t feel the need to make its mark in long strides. Instead, they crafted an album that dishes out the aggressive nature of hardcore, with the tone/mood of black metal, while even incorporating a bit of groove. However, there are moments throughout the album that take a more melancholic approach, such as the opening of ‘XI’, in which the two guitarists, Chris Moore and Chris Stanton slowly immerse the listener in a wave of distorted chords as they build up in a foreboding manner. Under the ringing of the chords an audio track enters, which is typical of bands to do in scenarios like this, and in many ways it helps in setting the tone of the album.

The build up pays off, as ‘Gods of Atlantis’ kicks in and maintains the slow trudge set up by the previous track, but this time the band shows off their ability to keep things flowing smoothly, while also adding to their already established sound. What I’ve come to enjoy about this band is their ability to have a full and encompassing feel to their songs, but they also know when to quicken the tempo and switch to a faster, more hardcore/punk-like pace. The band also knows when it’s fitting to insert a breakdown and how to execute it well within the confines of a song, which ‘Gods of Atlantis’ showcases perfectly as the song comes to a crushing close.

Between the heavy and groove induced melody of ‘Halo Of Vultures’, to the more faster and devastating sounds on ‘Thorn Feeders’ and ‘Lifeless’, both of which are hardcore rooted, Cycles of Light gives the listener a taste of the different facets the band took with this album, and rather than dishing out the same song over and over again, they balance the tracks throughout to keep you engaged. At the midpoint of the album is where we come to the first highlight of the album, and what I feel is the best song on the entire album, ‘Parades’. The song is drenched in dissonant chords, heavy breaks and some of the strongest vocals from Brandon Hoffman. This track has a major Entombed feel to it, especially the ending, as the instruments slowly play out, and the sinister riffs are soon meet with an orchestra of violins and violas to bring the song to a climatic end.

The only other song to rival ‘Parades’, would be ‘Kingdoms’. This time around the band brings in a more post-rock feel to their sound, which is a nice touch, as we get to see a more mellower side of the band. The instrumentation is vast and enveloping, as it builds up to the songs inevitable punch. And sure enough after about a minute or so, the song bursts into a blistering, punk-rock pace, as the frenzied riffs and impassioned vocals further carry the desolate tone of the album. This grinding assault soon comes to a halt mid-way through, as the band delves back into post-rock territory, this time slowing down the pace and incorporating subtle effects to give the track a somber feel. This continues until the chorus kicks back in and the band just goes all out bringing the song to an emotionally heartfelt close.

There is one thing that bothers me, and I’m not sure if this was the bands intentions, but the production, which isn’t bad by any means, it does come off sounding very low. While it does have that old school cassette-tape appeal to it, I find there are times when I need to turn it up really high just to get any sort of affect of the bands fury. Luckily this isn’t enough to dissuade me from listening to the album, but I just wish the final mix was a bit louder.

Despite my nitpicking, Cycles of Light is a great debut, and it showcases the genuine and raw energy of the band. With recent support on the Converge, Trap Them and Burning Love tour, it’s clear to see Everything Went Black are getting noticed, and further proof they have a long and promising career ahead of them.

Everything Went Black – Cycles of Light gets…

3.5/5

- DA

Hatred For Mankind

01. Boiled Angel/Buried With Leeches
02. Volcanic Birth
03. To Hieron
04. Lashed To The Grinder And Stoned To Death
05. I, Aurora
06. Totem Of Skulls

[01/18/11]
[Prosthetic Records]

It’s November the 11th, 2011. It’s around 5pm and I’m at Damnation Festival, killing time inbetween bands. I’m drunk. Naturally.

And then the in-house music shuts off and the lights go down. The smoke machines begin to work overtime, pushing out gallon upon gallon of dry ice into the already cloudy room. Where there was only murmurs , an intro-tape suddenly lurches into life with a dry vinyl hiss and mechanical screeching jostling for space. I’ve never before seen such a large group of people snap into such a relentless concentration but all eyes are fixed expectantly on the cloudy haze that was once a stage.

At this point the only thing separating this from some kind of psychological torture scenario is the few sources of light emanating from the candles on stage. The buzzing and hissing becomes more violent. A metronomic low pulse pushes to the forefront, testing the ear drums of everyone present. Minutes go by whilst the endless aural abuse continues before suddenly 4 silhouettes make their way onto the stage and face away from the crowd.

‘It pleases me to serve you‘

Launching straight into the sludgey start of ‘Boiled Angel‘ they force together trashy drums, Portal style guitars and liberal amounts of feedback by mixing the best elements of Eyehategod, Entombed, Coffinworm and early Mayhem. Dragged Into Sunlight manage to create a lumbering monstrosity of sound that picks and chooses it’s influences without ever really crossing the border into disjointedness. Even the appearance of Charles Manson’s famous ‘Sneaky-ville Speech’ feels entirely necessary, alongside the inhuman vocals of a man known only as T, it brings the whole song to an unnerving level of reality that feels way too close to home.

“Buried With Leeches” and “Volcanic Birth” take a slight different approach in that much of the time is focused on faster tempos with elements of both black and death metal vying for space. The use of blastbeats is more along the lines of the swirling tempest that accompany the faster sections from bands such as Mitochondrion or Ulcerate, however Dragged Into Sunlight manage to set themselves apart from those bands not overdoing it. Large sections of  both tracks could easily have become a blur but drummer J toys with styles that bring to life both slow swamp trudges and monotone blasts.

Unsurprisingly, Hatred For Mankind is a draining record — you just can’t listen to this kind of distilled hatred every day. It’s unfortunate but this aptly titled 50 minute collection of doom, black and death can sometimes cross the border into incomprehensible noise if you’re not giving it your full attention. Overall though, Dragged Into Sunlight have created a challenging but rewarding listen that demands your time and that’s as interesting as it is unsettling, much like the aforementioned Mitochondrion it creates a tar thick atmosphere that they effortlessly recreate live and that feels entirely unique. Whilst I may be late off the mark for this 2009 reissue, I’m glad I found it even under the strange circumstances…

And they were gone as suddenly as they appeared. Never once gracing us with their hateful gaze.

The strobe light blinks out and the smoke machines pause for breath. The room carries on their business and order is restored…

Dragged Into Sunlight’s Hatred For Mankind gets…

4/5

- DL

Ad Nauseam

01. Anarchogram Sun
02. Rex Oblivione
03. Surrounded By Skulls
04. Non Serviam
05. Just Add Nauseam
06. Entering The Arena Of The Unwell
07. The House Of Bedlam
08. Apathy In The UK
09. Motorbastards
10. The Hammer Of Witches
11. Put Me Out Of Your Misery

 [10/31/11]
[Candlelight Records]

The Rotted (formerly Gorerotted) area London band, through and through. You could hear it distinctly on their 2008 full-length Get Dead Or Die Trying - stories of drug abuse, fist fights and even tour bus surfing nestled peacefully alongside a style of punk-y death metal that owed as much to Motorhead and Discharge as it did to Cannibal Corpse. Whilst The Sex Pistols shambled through most of their material in the name of ‘punk’, The Rotted shifted effortlessly between d-beats and blastbeats to show that you could retain all the sneering swagger of a punk band while still playing competently. Ad Nauseam is, however, a little different to what we’ve come to expect.

Maybe it’s down to last August’s disturbances, where the seedy underbelly of The Big Smoke showed itself in all it’s bare-faced, pockmarked glory by rioting, burning down small businesses and generally making the rest of us lose faith in humanity. London was the unfortunate scene of a grand display of selfishness that showed how dark a place it can be and Ad Nauseam feels the exact same way. For instance, the humour in from Get Dead… has been scaled back dramatically and replaced by a vibe that is more raw and unsettling than anything else, tracks like “Non Serviam” and “Surrounded By Skulls” take on the fairly heavy topics of serving a God and  life after death – a world away from the same band who wrote the track “It’s Like There’s A Party In My Mouth (And Everybody’s Being Sick)”.

Maturing is hardly a bad thing though. The Rotted still make great tracks; “The House Of Bedlam” is a downtempo jaunt into the deranged world of the mentally insane that would make a great live track and the straight up homage to Motorhead in the form of “Motorbastards” is nothing short of genius, from it’s distinctly catchy and brutal chorus to the “Ace Of Spades“-esque ending. To be fair, there isn’t a track on Ad Nauseam that’s prominently terrible, The Rotted sure stick to a formula throughout the running length (only really deviating for the funeral dirge of “Put Me Out Of Your Misery“) and they proudly wear their influences on their sleeves but it works.

Essentially, Ad Nauseam is the equivalent of the trawling through the best teenage record collection ever. Entombed rub shoulders with Discharge and Electro Hippies to make a record that is as much a step backwards as it is forwards. The Rotted have matured simply by enveloping their favourite influences even more but I can’t help but feel, that in doing so, they lost some of the identity that shone through so clearly on Get Dead…. However, a great record is still a great record despite any of my prejudice and Ad Nauseam is exactly that – well crafted, well thought out and well done.

The Rotted’s Ad Nauseam gets…

4/5

- DL

God Is War

01. Death Dealer
02. Pulverization
03. Sacrosanct
04. God Is War
05. The Blessed Void
06. Third World Genocide
07. Extinction Is Ours
08. Sadistic Vindicator

My first run in with All Pigs Must Die came about during a recent gig which involved them and Trap Them playing a ‘versus set’ where they would switch out every few songs and alternate periodically. With only low quality footage available online, it was doomed to only be documented with a hugely over driven sound that meant everything became a smear of distortion. So, in the end, both bands sounded extremely similar… Thankfully, due to the wonders of modern technology in being able to take a snapshot of a bands sound at any time (in this case, in the form of recent release God Is War) we can now all bear witness to the fact that in the studio both bands sound extremely similar…

But please, don’t me wrong. I really enjoy listening to God Is War. It’s one of those records where any attempt to describe it essentially devolves into blubbering as many synonyms for the word ‘brutal’ as you can think of before finally giving in, shouting ‘SLAYYYARGHHHH’ and beating your chest like a Manowarrior. But I shall persevere on and try. God Is War rages through half an hour of crusty Entombed-core in the vein of Nails that goes by far too quickly and takes no prisoners. Quite honestly, it’s one the most angry records I’ve heard all year and, in the world of metal, that’s feat not to be sniffed at.

If you don’t believe me, then have a listen to “The Blessed Void” or “Sacrosanct“. Drummer Ben Koller, of Converge fame, simply perfects the idea of a ‘drum introduction’ twice, on one album. It’s a dizzying assault of battery that perfectly encompasses the aim of All Pigs Must Die; to disorientate, desecrate and destroy. That’s not to say that Koller didn’t impress on his work with Converge but I feel like he really cuts through succinctly on God Is War and I also don’t want to insinuate that the band are held up simply by the pedigree of Koller because each member holds their own easily – it’s quite satisfying to hear a band that can seem so fluid in making such a caustic sound.

Whilst it’s the briefer tracks that make up the majority of the album, All Pigs Must Die attempt to break the mould a few times most notably by toying with slower tempos and more intricate changes. The title track and 8-minute epic “Sadistic Vindicator” being prime examples of this, they outstay their welcome a little by focusing too long on a couple of less interesting ideas but for the most part it’s a jarring and unnerving slow burner with a vibe more akin to Eyehategod than anything else. However, when an album barely just scratches half an hour then any filler is unfortunate at best and both these tracks are guilty of it.

To explain the differences between God Is War and Darker Handcraft is unfortunately simple. Darker Handcraft is a blisteringly good record from a band that has refined and streamlined it’s sound over many albums and splits. God Is War is the rough and ready sound of a band wading straight into the water with mixed but mostly positive results and, to be entirely fair to them, not many bands could create a debut like this.

All Pigs Must Die – God Is War gets…

3/5

- DL

PS: This band is also a funny example of the Encyclopedia Metallum’s rules on a band being included. Both Trap Them and Black Breath have a page but All Pigs Must Die and Nails don’t. Very strange.

Bleeding The New Apocalypse (Cum Victriciis In Manibus Armis)

01. Iesus Nazarenus, Servus Mei
02. They Shall All Be Witnesses
03. A Revelation Of Desecrated Heavens
04. Summoning Majestic War
05. The Serpent Crowning Ritual
06. Bring Forth Purgatory

[02/22/11]
[Season of Mist]

With a name like The Project Hate MCMXCIX [That's 1999, for those too lazy to work it out - Ed.], I was lead to believe that these guys were just another brutal death metal band. How wrong I was; this is death metal with industrial influences, with both male and female vocals, featuring alumni from some great bands including Dark Funeral, Grave, Entombed, Torture Division and God Among Insects. Pretty impressive repertoire, but it’s far too easy to get caught up in past glories and forget the present.

Bleeding The New Apocalypse definitely contains influences from all those aforementioned bands, but the most interesting parts are definitely dominated by electronics and female vocals. Ruby Roque pulls off an amazing performance; I’m not normally a fan of female vocals in metal, but where they normally rely on an operatic style, Roque utilizes a far more direct and aggressive method. Don’t take that as she couldn’t manage it – she clearly has a huge range in her voice – just think more Tuesdae of Huntress than say Tarja Turunen in terms of the effect it gives off. As far as I can tell, I’m in the minority on this one.

The electronics are a little more hit and miss, unfortunately. There are a few forays into the cheesy synth world where rave music rules supreme: I mean just listen to the mid-section at the 7 minute mark in “Summoning Majestic War“; you’re one brass stab away from a Ministry Of Sound Ibiza collection. But you only need to skip back one track to instantly hear how the keyboards can be used to their advantage: the introduction of “A Revelation Of Desecrated Heavens” weaves in dramatic piano, pompous strings and huge riffing to good effect. The bombastic leanings even remind me a little of the more expressive moments of Dimmu Borgir because whether you like them or not, they’re on par with Behemoth and Nile when it comes to making music sound grand and majestic.

One thing I feel like I should mention is the length of the songs. These are no 3 minute pop-metal songs; the shortest song just falls short of the nine minute mark and the entire album tops an hour. Long songs are pretty risky business in the modern ADD-infested musical world, however Opeth are doing pretty well for themselves. So in that respect,  I guess crafting songs of that ilk is all about knowing when a part is outstaying it’s welcome and the distribution of new sections and ideas. Although I’m sure many would disagree with me, I just don’t feel there’s enough going on here to justify those type of song lengths. Sure there are plenty of changes but for every huge Morbid Angel invoking riff there’s three or four drab and middle of the road ones; not the best ratio.

And therein lies the problem. Project Hate are clearly made of some amazing musicians with incredible talent but I just don’t think that Bleeding The New Apocalypse is the forwards conclusion of that. Tracks like “Iesus Nazarenus, Servus Mei” stand out mostly because they’re more cohesive and keep up a good standard throughout but the majority of the tracks flick between progressive goodness and disappointingly bland. Far be it from me to say that’s a reoccurring theme throughout their extensive back catalogue, but it just doesn’t have the same kick that a really good album does; after I’m done listening I don’t feel to seek out more of their material or even listen to it again.

The Project Hate’s Bleeding The New Apocalypse gets…

2.5/5

- DL

Here’s the playlist for the affair:

Coffinworm- Spitting In Infinity’s Asshole
Aurelius – Hemlock (Download at their PureVolume page)
Nachtmystium – Addicts  (Download at Metalsucks.net)
Entombed – I For An Eye
Archons – Wandering The Burning Land (Download At Last.fm)

The Number Of The Blogcast (Episode 5)

- JR

Clocking in at just under 14 minutes, the new album by Southern California hardcore band NAILS is nothing short of awesome. Every one of the album’s ten tracks will pummel into you unrelentingly, as good hardcore and grindcore should. The Six Feet Under Records website describes NAILS as sounding like “Entombed covering Napalm Death and Drop Dead“, which is damn near spot on. Interesting enough, the album was recorded at Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou’s Godcity recording studio, with Kurt producing. That should already tell you that this album will be good.

The album opens to immediate chaos and aural violence with the 32 second “Conform”. The term “powerviolence” becomes perfectly clear. Before you even realize that song’s over, you’re under hell-fire with more pummeling blasts, maniacal screams, and grinding and screeching guitars that continue throughout the next three tracks, nonstop. This album doesn’t seem to want to let up.

Amidst the pissed off chants of “Suffering Soul”, NAILS step back from the chaos just a bit and play some hardcore riffs with some slower groove. Nails continues the pace into the title track “Unsilent Death”.

NAILS knows how to make 14 minutes feel like a long time, and they make good use of their time. The songs blend together seamlessly at times, giving the illusion of lasting much longer. Speaking on the album’s structure, I’d believe it if this album was written as one piece of music broken up into tracks.

The album is still pummeling away in fury like a jackhammer. A short guitar solo is thrown out in “No Servant”. Now it’s back to business as usual with “Scapegoat”, which leads into the album’s longest song and closing track “Depths”. The guitars are the main voice here. Layered screeches, noise, and feedback take over a lot of the song, creating the sonic equivalent of disaster. A considerably slower and heavy as fuck riff with proper use of pinch harmonics lead the track to close with a mood if impending doom, ending the album in guitar feedback. What a perfect closer.

NAILS – Unsilent Death is a great grind album. Although short, it does exactly what it’s supposed to. If you’re a fan of Pig Destroyer, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Napalm Death, and Brutal Truth, you need to check out NAILS right away. You can stream the tracks “Your God” and “Suffering Soul” here, as well as buying the album on preorder.

NAILS – Unsilent Death gets

4/5 – Great

- JR