Angry Metal Guy

Hate // Erebos
Rating: 3.0/5.0 — Good, but Behemoth wants their skirts back…
Label: Listenable Records
Websites: hate-metal.com | myspace.com/hatepoland
Release Dates: EU: 2011-02-25 | US: 11.15.2010

In the early days Hate was a death metal band. A pretty solid one, sort of in the same vein as Vader, pretty blasty and not super melodic. As they developed with time, they actually got arguably better and started putting out some pretty good stuff—groovy, a little bit more black metal influenced but still solid death metal. This development pretty much peaked in 2005 with Anaclasis – A Haunting Gospel of Malice and Hatred, which is widely considered their best record. While 2009′s Morphosis was a pretty good follow-up it didn’t live up to Anaclasis for many fans. However, Erebos offers some new life for the band, but also some unfortunate and appropriate comparisons to Poland’s biggest heavy metal phenomenon. Continue reading

Crucifyre // Infernal Earthly Divine
Rating: 3.5/5.0 — “Wictory and death!”
Label: Pulverised Records
Websites: myspace.com/crucifyre
Release Dates: EU: 17.01.2011 | US: Unknown

The late 2000s have seen a resurrection of the old school Swedish death metal that Sweden became so well known for in the underground before the Gothenburg sound took the world by storm. In the last year we’ve had releases by tons of bands waving the flag of true Swedish death metal—and it’s been fun as hell to hear! Crucifyre is another band that is doing something that I would definitely not describe as new, but something I would describe as ultimately ridiculously entertaining and worth a listen if for no other reason than to experience this “all star group’s” vision of the old school. Continue reading

Necronomicon // The Return of the Witch
Rating: 3.5/5.0 – Epic death metal that doesn’t sound fruity.
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: myspace.com/necronomiconmetal
Release Dates: EU: 04.06.2010 | US: 06.08.2010

There was a time where I loved all death metal and I mean all of it! When the death metal explosion started up in the mid to late 80s, I couldn’t get enough of the stuff whether good, bad or really awful. I just loved those Cookie Monster vocals. Over time however, as more and more bands glommed onto the style, my tastes refined and I steered toward those bands that were trying something different or unique within the genre. Canada’s little known death metal three piece Necronomicon (not to be confused with German thrashers of the same name) was always a band that did things a little differently and always earned my respect. In fact, Necronomicon helped jump start the whole “Egyptian themed death metal” style alongside Nile with their debut album Pharaoh of the Gods in 1999. Happily, their efforts to create unique death metal continue on their third album The Return of the Witch.

Continue reading

Order of Ennead // An Examination of Being
Rating: 3.0/5.0 — Enjoyable
Label: Earache
Websites: myspace.com/orderofennead
Release Dates: EU: 19.04.2010 | US: 05.04.2010 (Import?)

Order of Ennead is the side project of the venerable Steve Asheim, better known as the drummer and primary writer of death metal legends Deicide. While it’s hard to a review like this, particularly on a newer project like this, without referencing the guy’s older work, the responsible reviewer in me thinks that one should probably draw a line here. Instead, I’d like to focus on the content and quality of An Examination of Being, the second record from these Floridians blackened death metallers without taking cheap shots at Glen Benton. So I’ll just take one: Order of Ennead is better because Glen Benton isn’t in it.

Order of Ennead is, indeed, a blackened death metal band. They sound like the kind of thing that could easily be signed to Regain Records these days. A mix of death metal brutality, black metal trem picking and blasting, and the very At The Gates kind of vocal approach that one wouldn’t expect so much from Florida death metal, but instead from the coast of Sweden.  However, unlike some of the misfires in this area over the past few years, An Examination of Being feels extreme and honest while still appealing to individuals who like a bit of melody in their metal with solid hooks and excellent guitar work.

The writing here isn’t revolutionary by any extent of the imagination. This doesn’t necessarily make the album any less enjoyable. Songs like “Conduits to Eternity” and “Lies Upon the Lips of Judas” showcase the groove-based death metal that can still be seen at the root of the music, while “…In the Mirror” and “A Portal to Rapture” sound like they wouldn’t be out of place on a 1349 or Ragnarok CD. These pieces are very well tied together in the best of songs, and sometimes they feel a bit foreign in the same arena, but this is very few and far between. Particularly the piece tying these things together is the guitar work of one John Li who is a highly competent guitar player who litters most tracks with phenomenal solos.

While Order of Ennead does a very strong job of building dark, entrancing songs this record does feel a tad repetitive and long. The problem with that critique is that An Examination of Being clocks in at 39 minutes long. This speaks for itself, I think. After hearing the first few tracks and really liking them, it wasn’t until the final song on the album “A Betrayal of Self” that I  felt really engaged in what was going on again (there’s a really great solo in a clean part that I really liked). Structurally this lull kind of kills the album for me, slipping in one ear and out the other.

So, I have mixed feelings about Order of Ennead, while I certainly like it better than later Deicide, this lands nowhere near the territory of a band like Dissection or Necrophobic. I suspect that these guys could definitely get better, particularly given the obvious skills of the band involved. But if you check out this record and you can’t get over the feeling that you’ve heard this all before and you can’t quite place it, don’t be surprised.

Trident // World Destruction
Rating: 2.5/5.0 — OK, but not special
Label: Regain Records
Websites: trident666.com | myspace.com/tridentofficial
Release Dates: EU: 22.03.2010 | US: 04.06.2010 [?]

An outgrowth of the ideas of a former Dissection guitarist (Johan Norman) and a couple of members of the band Necrophobic, Trident hits the stores on the 22nd of March throughout Europe and hits a totally virgin audience. These guys pretty much came out of nowhere—having basically played locally in Sweden and apparently they circulated a demo or something that got them picked up by Regain. Formed in 2007, Trident is a blackened death band in the veins of the aforementioned bands and is yet another Swedish assault on Christendom and the senses that will surely inflame passion in some corners.

World Destruction is not a revolutionary record that is going to make you want to drop everything and jump on the new wave of Swedish blackened death or anything. It is that good blend of black metal and Swedish death metal that bands like Necrophobic and Dissection have done extraordinarily well over the years. The vocals are raw and evil, high in range and they match the blast beat laden rhythm section well. The guitar work is well done, fast, sweepy with lots of trem picking and staccato riffing and it’s pretty much par for the course. However, the dynamic nature of the record is pretty much fast, faster and fastest. There are very few slow parts, but when they do come up they are more than welcome—interrupting what, at times, can start to lose its extremity because of its uniformity.

Let’s cut right to the core of this record, though: you have totally heard this before and you’ve heard it done way better. While there are standout tracks (particularly toward the end of the record), World Destruction is not a standout record. The riffs are good, the players are excellent and the production is solid. But often times the guitar melodies are weak, the song structures are standard and there are only a few moments that break away from this monotony. Which is sad, because there are excellent ideas on World Destruction. But instead of being executed well and offset by something a little bit more unique or technical, it pretty much just feels like run of the mill blackened  death metal.

Fans of the aforementioned bands and the Swedish black metal scene will probably find things they like on World Destruction. Particularly the tracks “Stockholm Bloodbath”, “Slaves to Anguish” are strong and the title track “World Destruction” is a total fucking scorcher, with amazing riffs, vocal performance and feel. But sadly enough, World Destruction, unlike its title track, is largely unmemorable and uninteresting. We know what the guys in this band are capable of, and therefore look hopefully to future releases—but this isn’t going to replace any of your Dissection or Necrophobic records in your playlists.

Belphegor – Walpurgis Rites: Hexenwahn
Rating: 3.5/5.0 – Great, but not stand out
Label: Nuclear Blast (EU | US)
Websites: belphegor.at | myspace.com/belphegor
Release Date(s): EU: Out Now | US: 10.20.2009

Austria’s Belphegor are evil. Really, really evil.  They have long been the darlings of the underground for a lot of people and had a reputation for  being that old school brand of blackened death metal that was raw and evil as hell.  Of course, as big evil pissing contests have never been my thing personally, Belphegor is a band that I have no personal experience with.  This is actually the first album I’ve heard from these guys and so I’m coming at this from the perspective a total n00b.   That’s right, I used the word n00b in my blog.

Walpurgis Rites: Hexenwahn was fortunately not a disappointment at all.  In fact, Belphegor has convinced me of why they got signed to a label like Nuclear Blast in the first place: great song-writing and excellent riffing. Despite being eeevil, these guys are also pretty technically interesting and write really solid riffs.  The things that really stand out from this album are not the blasty parts, but instead the old school groove riffs that litter this album and make it very fun to listen to.  In ever track, offsetting the black metal stuff, is a riff or two that harken back to Morbid Angel with their sluggish approach, but their undeniable groove.  Tracks like “Hail the Blood,” despite some sort of silly lyrical moments, still totally rule because of the righteous riffing and killer hooks that won’t let go.

Belphegor are also obviously veterans, as Walpurgis Rites is a well-paced album without wasted space or unnecessary bullshit. Instead, in your face riffs, pummeling blasts and groove characterize every minute of this album and utilize it to never leave the listener bored with what the band is doing.  This approach is solid and enjoyable and Walpurgis Rites is a good record with standout moments and, surprisingly, a fantastic guitar approach.  I was surprised at the melodic contest of this album and the  virtuosity of the leads, these things stood out.

Unfortunately, Walpurgis Rites didn’t convince me completely.  While I enjoyed the album for what it was, it wasn’t exactly ground-breaking, and it wasn’t exactly new.  Other bands have meandered down this path, and while I’m sure that Belphegor is among the best, they didn’t wake that excitement in me that we all know when we hear something that is really excellent.  Walpurgis Rites has good riffs, good musicianship and approach, but in the end it’s lack of novelty leads me to think that there are better records that I should be listening to right now.

Fans of blackened older death and black metal will probably love this album for it’s straight forward, in your face approach, but if you’re looking for something progressive or technical (beyond the solos), Belphegor is definitely not the place to look.