“Following a lengthy period of derivative stagnation, old school death in its various, insidious forms has gained significant traction and momentum in recent years. Ripped to Shreds are primed to make their own impression, bringing the heart and hardware on sophomore album 亂 (Luan), beefing up their rising status as a formidable force in the current death metal scene.” Rip roaring.
“Eating is metal. We survive by threshing matter to an unrecognizable paste, forcing it down a lightless cavern and then, in the darkness, boiling it in acid. The act of feeding ourselves encapsulates the blend of violence, intensity and profundity we reach at when we use ‘metal’ as an adjective. Horrisonous drive this point liver-deep with their debut full length, A Culinary Cacophony. Its members have been slinging death around the Sydney scene in bands such as Temple Nightside, Backyard Mortuary, and Illimitable Dolor, and they’ve put their overstuffed CVs to work chopping, searing, and seasoning a viscous trough of old school death metal.” It’s a gutter buffet.
More lists for the list machine! The men who unwisely go by their real names, Mark Z. and L. Saunders boldly proclaim their best albums of 2018.
Ferrous Beuller and GardensTale need to unburden themselves and share all their picks for the best of 2018. Be polite and sit quietly until they’re done, then you can go outside and get a cupcake.
“We all know AMG‘s policy on supergroups, but if ever there was an act that continues to entice, it has to be the Swedish Modern Prometheus, Bloodbath, a band responsible for creating two of my very favorite death metal albums and reliably catering to all my HM2 needs. Our very own Steel Commander saw fit to furnish their previous release with a favorable review, and while I didn’t enjoy it quite as much, I can’t say they have ever truly disappointed me. Four years drinking deeply of the grave has re-energized the quintet to return and beguile those of a buzzsaw bent with another foray into the old-school.” Bloody arrows of death.
“To most people, the word ‘carnation’ refers to a frilly colored flower. Belgium’s Carnation aren’t most people. In fact, if the music on this death metal quintet’s debut is any indication, to them a ‘carnation’ is a 14-foot Venus flytrap-esque monstrosity with teeth like steak knives and vines that could crush your puny little ribcage like a bag of potato chips.” Morbid flora.
“At what point does death metal qualify as “old-school?” It’s odd to think that an entire sub-genre is predicated, in part, on how long it happens to have existed, and in this world of hyper-convenient immediacy, surely that span is shrinking at a rapid pace. One day, some poor fuck will be mooning over a Suicide Silence record telling his mates how the classics are always the best, and I will spin in my grave so fast I’ll bore into the center of the Earth. Rather than simply exhuming the dead, fortunately, Oakland’s Extremity lean more towards the Frankensteinian school of science.” Build-An-Abomination.
“Vibrant old school death releases from Lik, Skeletal Remains and Ripped to Shreds have highlighted 2018 so far, and with an upcoming full-length from Extremity on the horizon, things are looking bright for fans of the retro style. That said, can Down Among the Dead Men raise the bar and lay waste to the standout competition?” Old dogs, deadly tricks.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m genetically predisposed towards some kind of Pavlovian response when faced with a death metal band called Extremity flaunting an album entitled Extremely Fucking Dead. And, frankly, if a package like that doesn’t pique your interests, then you, sir, are a swine and a cad, and no friend of mine.” Extremity in defense of fucking death is no vice.
