Angry Metal Guy

Bonded by Blood // Exiled to Earth
Rating: 2.5/5.0 — Re-run of the mill
Label: Earache
Websites: myspace.com/bondedbyblood
Release Dates: EU: 16.08.2010 | US: 08.10.2010

Here comes another entry into the retro-thrash movement, for better or worse. Exiled to Earth is the second album by California thrashers Bonded by Blood and much like their debut, it’s firmly rooted in the 80’s thrash movement. Back in the days of the original thrash invasion, for every top-notch band like Slayer or Exodus, there were ten sub-par, generic clones like Atrophy, Devastation and Gothic Slam. Sadly, this release falls closer to the latter category. Continue reading

And Hell Followed With // Proprioception
Rating: 1.5/5.0 – Painfully medio-core
Label: Earache
Websites: myspace.com/andhellfollowedwith
Release Dates: US: Out Now | EU: 26.07.2010

Steel Druhm likes NOT this whole “deathcore thing.” There, I said it! Now, all you deathcore teen weenies can pull your collective jaws off the floor and prepare to dismiss the following review as biased, or perhaps, “reviewed in bad faith,” whatever the fuck that means. However, before you do so, kindly consider that the reason for my dislike of Proprioception, the second album by Michigan’s And Hell Followed With is way more because of how bland and average the material is and less because of its regrettable deathcore style. Sadly, this material isn’t good regardless of the genre.

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.

Evile – Infected Nations
Rating: 3.0/5.0 – Pretty good, but certainly nothing revolutionary
Label: Earache
Website(s): evile.co.uk | myspace.com/evileuk
Release Date(s): Out Now in the EU and US

Thrash revival has been a big deal of late.  I mean, thrash is the biggest thing since.. well, thrash, in the metal scene right now.  Bands from all over the world, particularly in the underground, are donning tight jeans, jean jackets, Kreator and Exodus patches and looking for the next big thrash prodigy.  Earache is not the only label releasing thrash revival stuff, it’s coming from everywhere (Candlelight has been particularly prolific with the thrash revival).  Evile is on that bandwagon, whether they like it or not, but they have a different take on it.  That is: they sound a lot more like the mature Bay Area.

Infected Nations is a pretty solid album, with excellent riffing in the classic thrash style that so many of us grew up.  With riffs that bring to mind …and Justice for All and The American Way (by the ever-overlooked Sacred Reich), UK metallers Evile have really brought back a sound of thrash metal that has been missing in the revival.  While bands like have been ripping it up in the old school style of Slayer, Kreator, Destruction and bands of this sort, Evile sounds a lot more like late-80s/early 90s thrash than that.   The introduction to the title track should be a dead give-away for most listeners: beautifully harmonized clean guitars that fade in and lead to a kick ass thrash triplets.

And the whole record is chock-full of kick ass riffs and headbanging monstrosities that bring a guy back to being 9 and discovering Metallica.   There is definitely a certain charm in this and many have lauded praises on the band for “carrying the revival” on their shoulders and stuff like that.   And yeah, Evile is good at what they do!  They really are.. but where’s the progress that we’re supposed to be finding in new metal bands?  Why are we always looking back instead of forward.  Bands like Evile and Havok are almost evidence for a metal scene that doesn’t have anywhere new to go and a generation of metalheads that are disappointed with the state of modern metal: so they’re imitating what’s already been done.

Of course, why stop them?  Metallica quit making good music years ago and even Megadeth has only just regained its glory with a good album: but Evile has put out its second critically acclaimed record in a row and somehow manages to keep a 20 year old sound fresh, for the most part.

Of course, there are some things I’d change about this album.  I like the faster, heavier and techy-er parts, but I find a lot of the mid-paced riffs to be a little bit mind-numbing and I tend to lose myself in them.  Another issue that I have is the vocals, which are classic thrash and also very, very monotonous.  Matt Drake (rhythm guitar / vocals) does his best classic James Hetfield/Chuck Billy impression over every track and after a while it just feels like droning.  There are way better thrash vocalists out there, and I strongly suggest that Drake work on varying his vocals a little.

Honestly, Infected Nations is a good album, but it’s not a whole lot better than that considering everything.  The production is fantastic, the song-writing is pretty good, but it’s missing out on the originality that I’m always hoping for.  Maybe it’s just me, but I like to see bands that use their thrash metal roots for new things.  Even looking at a band like Dragonforce or Luna Mortis that obviously have thrash metal influences, but are able to blend them into other styles to make them new and interesting gives a road-map to thrash influenced bands, because I have trouble imagining how a lot of these bands are going to survive the trend.