“Fornicus was a name I never expected to see in our promo bin again. Formed in 2012, this Kentucky group first came to my attention with their terrific 2014 debut Storming Heaven, a sweaty and dynamic piece of blackened death metal that at times reminded me of other great American acts like Ares Kingdom and Abominant.” What’s burning? YOU!
“Though Angelcorpse were only active for five years in their initial run, in that short time they managed to release three terrific albums and establish themselves as one of the most iconic blackened death metal bands of all time. After reuniting and releasing 2007’s Of Lucifer and Lightning to mediocre reception, the Kansas City group would split up again, with guitarist Gene Palubicki going on to showcase his ideas in Blasphemic Cruelty, Apocalypse Command, and Perdition Temple. It seems odd considering their slow rate of output, but Temple have easily been the most prolific of these three projects, with the band now on their third album since their 2009 inception.” Temple ov Anger.
Mark Z. and L. Saunders have their moment in the blackened sun to proclaim their Top Ten(ish) preferences for 2019. Fear the words.
“There’s so much music out there that it’s easy for good bands to get lost in the shuffle. Enter Ares Kingdom. Formed in 1996 by guitarist Chuck Keller and drummer Mike Miller shortly before the breakup of their famed blackened death metal band Order From Chaos, the Kansas City group soon added vocalist and bassist Alex Blume (Blasphemic Cruelty) to their ranks to become the ultimate death-thrash power trio. Their 2006 debut Return to Dust and 2010’s Incendiary are two of my favorite albums the genre has ever produced, with the latter still reigning as one of my favorite records of this decade. The band’s frantic and melodic riffing, dynamic songwriting, and empowering lyrics about warfare and history have always reminded me of a death-ier Destroyer 666, which is about the highest compliment that can be given by a slobbering D666 fanboy like myself.” Gods of War (metal).
“Anyone who’s seen The Wire knows Baltimore can be a rough place, but on Memorial Day weekend every year, things get especially brutal. Hundreds of rabid metal fans from all over the world descend on ‘Charm City’ to participate in Maryland Deathfest, and the result is four days of moshing, headbanging, and partying like it’s 1989.” Death to all.
“First, we have Fronch fries. And Fronch dressing. And Fronch bread. And Fronch death metal. And to drink, ta-da! Peru! As with most bands with old guys like me in them, I have a long history with Mercyless. I received a cassette promo of 1993’s Coloured Funeral right after losing access to a free copy machine that put a nail in the coffin of the print version of Unchain the Underground. While I never got around to reviewing it, that particular slab of adventurous Fronch death metal stayed in regular rotation and made the cut through upgrades to CD right into the digital age.” Mercyless is about to activate your dental plan.
“Abominant seem content to continue churning out sweaty Midwestern death metal with a big old melodic kick in the ass until the day arthritis makes that impossible. With a band this seasoned, it’s no surprise they weren’t out to redefine themselves on their eleventh full-length Napalm Reign, but that’s not a bad thing.” Olde and wise, they are.
“In the case of Order From Chaos, the band’s demise wasn’t due to ego or vague musical differences, it was by design. The plan was to release three full-lengths and then fold and that’s precisely what they did. Rather than even remotely overstaying their welcome, they went out on the highest and grimiest note possible.” And their heroic decision begat this face ripper.
“Vrath has fingerprints all over the place, so I suppose it’s not much of a surprise it’s taken nearly six years for us to get Hubris In Excelsis, Scythian’s long-awaited sophomore album. Working in earnest since around 2012, Vrath stated it was his intent to absolutely destroy the debut, but To Those was a beast of an album – death-thrash that was primal, huge in scope, and savagely catchy.” Six years in the making? What does he think this is, a funeral doom project!
“The internet is all around us. People can hear an unfamiliar song, click a button on their phone, and be told what that track is in mere seconds. To the younger me, that would’ve been sorcery! I took advantage of precisely none of the limitless information constantly available to me when listening to Blasphemic Cruelty’s latest EP Crucible of the Infernum, and instead uttered verbatim what the venerable Al Kikuras said in his initial impression of the latest Perdition Temple record: Holy Shit, this sounds like Angelcorpse.” Another Angelcorpse hybrid falls to the ground, is it worth shedding a tear over?
