Angry Metal Guy

For me 2011 was a year devoid of a death metal record that really knocked it out of the park. While Vomitory produced a pretty damn solid album, and Diocletian and Ulcerate were really good, but they didn’t exactly get me writhing around on the ground in ecstasy like a lot of other people seemed to have experienced it. So when I was digging through my unopened promos, I stumbled upon Nader Sadek‘s debut record which came out in 2011 from Season of Mist Records. And let me just say that I wasn’t even mildly prepared for what I was going to get. I’ll give you a hint though: it was 100% win. Continue reading

Entrails // The Tomb Awaits
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — Quality barbarism from beyond the grave
Label: F.D.A. Rekotz
Release Dates: Out Worldwide!
Author: Nemesis

This has been the year of death metal. Evidence is very much apparent if you look at the bulk of releases so far. Try to forget Morbid Angel and Decapitated for a moment. Quality albums from the likes of Hate Eternal, Vomitory, Supreme Pain, and Vader… even Autopsy – have made the genre stronger than ever in 2011. Sophomore album The Tomb Awaits is an attempt from these Swedish veterans of gritty old-school death metal to join those hallowed ranks. Continue reading

Vader // Welcome to the Morbid Reich
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — They’ve got the reich stuff!
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Websites: www.vader.pl | myspace.com/vader
Release Dates:  EU: 13.08.2011 | US: 09.13.2011

When one thinks of Polish death metal, the names Vader and Behemoth immediately spring to mind as the standard bearers. Both gained enormous exposure and both have been pretty consistent in output over the years. While I admit that not every Vader release has blown me away, more often than not they delivered heavy, satisfying death to the unhinged masses. 2009′s Necropolis was a one of their better albums and found them sounding hungry and hostile. Now, along comes Welcome to the Morbid Reich to steamroll it in short order. Featuring an overhauled, revamped lineup including a new guitarist and bassist, Vader seems to have a large chip on their collective shoulder and aim to prove they’re the one true lord of Pol-death. This is a WAY faster, heavier album than Necropolis, with way more blasting and pummeling. Its almost uniformly played at blistering speeds and aggressive to the point of exhaustion. In fact, its pretty much a companion piece to the new Hate Eternal album with a lot of similarities in style. There’s also some stylistic nods to countrymen Behemoth and even some throwbacks to old Deicide and Malevolent Creation. Its real nasty business from start to finish and its gives out way more of a ferocious beating than I expected. Continue reading

Bodyfarm // Bodyfarm EP
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — A great start!
Label: Abyss Records
Websites: myspace.com/bodyfarmnl
Release Dates: EU: 2011.04.26 | US: 01.01.2011

Amidst the sea of breakdowns, pig squeals, and all things core, comes a band that’s traditional and non-conforming. Bodyfarm, named from the institutions that examine and study the deceased and decomposition of dead flesh, is a straight up no BS death metal project with pure energy and substance. Along the same lines as Vader, Vomitory, or Cannibal Corpse in that there sound is stripped away aggressive death metal. No Gimmicks so to speak, just the music free from the pressures of mediocre innovations and the rising deathcore movement. I’m pleased to say these guys might have accidentally stumbled upon something refreshing. Continue reading

Eternal Silence // The Arsonist
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — Smokin’!
Label: Unsigned
Websites: eternaldeath.com | myspace.com/eternalsilence
Release Dates: Available now on Band Camp | iTunes, etc., 26th of March | Out on CD this summer

Eternal Silence is a death metal band that hails from New London, Wisconsin and has been around as long as this Angry Metal Guy has been into death metal. They started out in the late 90s, released a record in 98, an EP again in 2002 and then went silent—though they’ve been playing shows around Wisconsin and Illinois consistently. Like so many bands, they’ve suffered from issues surrounding labels, studios and band members, but somehow the core of this group has managed to stick together and stick it out. Sometimes stubbornness is really the best friend of a musician. Eternal Silence has shown that years of patience and hard work can pay off.

The Arsonist is the culmination of an 8 year wait and, while it’s a hell of a lot shorter than I would’ve expected after 8 years of silence, the record is smoking (no puns intended). Playing death metal in the style of Vader and Impious and rooted in the very foundations of the death metal scene, these cheeseheads have written 6 heavy, engaging and all around kick ass tracks. Normally one would try to highlight the best tracks on this record in order to explain what it was exactly that one liked or didn’t like: but to be honest every track on here is stand out. The excellent blend of old school death metal song writing, i.e., a little bit more verse/chorus than a lot of modern bands, with melodic riffing and no fear of groove results in evenly, smartly written tracks with a lot of dynamics that keep the listener hooked in for the entire length of the record.

The band is tight and long gone are the weaknesses that marred the 2002 release The Dawning of Chaos. While that previous EP was well-recorded, the rhythm section was tricky and weak at times and the writing of the tracks was a bit repetitive at times. The time down, and lots of live shows has definitely done Eternal Silence a lot of good and The Arsonist exhibits the kind of tightness and punch that one expects from good death metal. The situation on the low end especially has markedly improved since the 2002 EP and it’s nice, too, that the production leaves room for “new” bassist and bearded fiend Jake Fredrick to shine on nearly every track.

As you can tell, there aren’t a lot of weaknesses on The Arsonist. Probably the most stand out is that some of the riffing on “Centuries of Blood” is weak, and that’s probably the weakest track on the record. But honestly, the biggest weakness might be that this record is a few years too late. While the tracks here are strong, The Arsonist isn’t exactly blazing new trails. I’m sure that the well-schooled fan of death metal, the type that’s always looking for new stuff, could write this record off as being “rehashed” and could argue that case. Eternal Silence isn’t exactly coining “The Wisconsin Sound” or anything. They’re just making good, honest death metal that will induce headbanging and the throwing of horns. No pretentiousness involved.

While pretty well known among the scene in the Midwest, Eternal Silence has suffered from a lack of attention outside of their home turf. The Arsonist will give them a chance to expand their audience, touring territory and hopefully get picked up by someone who can really give them what they need, or at least help them expand in the whole DIY field that so many bands are taking these days. Fans of death metal of almost any stripe should check these guys out as they have music that could appeal to almost everyone but the most entrenched fan of certain sub-genres. This Angry Metal Guy is planning on spinning the hell out of this record, anyway.

Impious // Death Domination
Rating: 3.5/5.0 – Very good!
Label: Metal Blade
Release Date(s): Out Now Worldwide!
Website: myspace.com/impiousofficial

Impious is one of many elite death/thrash bands to come out of Sweden during the mid-late 90s and they are still ripping it up in full force in 2009. As pretty much one of the last records of the year, this is probably going to be overlooked on the grand scheme of thing, but I think this album deserves a serious examination.

Death Domination, as I have said of many records before, is nothing you haven’t heard before. Swedish-style death metal, fast and pretty melodic, but brutal enough that it puts a lot of the Gothenburg bands to shame. This isn’t Swedish death metal like In Flames, but instead like Demiurg or Hypocrisy. And the record is a blinder. Clocking in at about 36 minutes long, it’s also reminiscent of the new Vader record, which was also a highlight this year.

And really, there are some stand-out tracks on here. “And the Empire Shall Fall” exhibits a band that is keenly aware of composition and building, as well as heavy riffing, while “Legions” rocks out Nile at its own game with a killer primary theme that sounds pretty Egyptian. Actually, “Legions” is probably my favorite track on the album and definitely shows smart, old school composition style with a strong theme and a catchy chorus (something that few death metal bands ever do with any skill). “Legions” is followed by another outstanding track (“As Death Lives in Me”) and finally, when the album reaches its final track (“Irreligious State of War”), you’re not ready for this album to end.

Death Domination has a lot of strengths. The riffing is tight and brutal, the drums sound real and are well-produced with a good bassy sound (no obvious triggers). The record is littered with awesome groove and a great vocal performance. And actually, the opposite of the new Vader, I was actually really pleased with the guitar soloing on here. What there was for guitar soloing was solid, melodic and well-composed. This is a band that despite its long tenure isn’t losing much pace.

Another fine addition to the legacy of Swedish death, Death Domination is worth your time and money.

Claustrofobia - I See Red
Rating: 2.5/5.0 – Drop the scale runs and make it shorter, and this would be a better album
Label: Candlelight
Website(s): myspace.com/claustrofobia
Release Date(s): EU: 19.10.2009 | USA: Release date unclear

Anyone who’s ever been a guitarist knows that guy who shames you.  Well, maybe not everyone, ’cause sometimes you are that guy who shames people, but for the most part, we all know that guy.  He’s really good, I mean.. really good. He basically runs circles around the competition, he makes even your best work look like totally sloppy shit and if he doesn’t have a seriously out of control ego, you probably are trying like a madman to get him into your band, even though you’re embarrassed by how bad you are compared to him.  Of course, what I never understood when I was younger was why so many of these guys worked at Guitar Center.  Sure, these guys can play anything that you play back at you, but they can’t write.

Claustrofobia‘s guitarist is one of these guys.  This guy is good.  Actually, he’s not just good, he’s great.  This man is one of those guys that you want in your band.  I mean, the dude can seriously play.  But does that make Claustrofobia‘s new record, and Candlelight debut, I See Red worth picking up?  No.  Instead, proving the rule of why guys who play like this work at Guitar Center, I See Red is an exercise in mediocrity.

Claustrofobia has basically thrashy death metal in the vein of old Sepultura and Vader.  Death metal as you know it, and not much more, is what you get from I See Red.  The approach is mildly novel at points, relying on good technical riffs to interrupt what would normally be pretty straight forward thrash riffing.  The sound is thick and the band is talented, and a markedly old school production (but still clean) brings out the drums in a way that doesn’t make them sound fake and over-produced, giving this record a good thickness that a lot of modern metal lacks.

On the other hand, this record is filled with riffs that don’t leave an impression and solos that are pretty much just any guitar teacher’s ideas of scale-runs.  While tracks like “Tira de Meta” stand out, tracks like “Discharge,” “Our Blood” and “Warstomp” underwhelm the listener with their re-hashed riffs and prepackaged solos. The record does get markedly stronger as it goes on.  But the guitar work that is supposed to impress and be interesting, is often just chromatic scales and intentionally dissonant approach for the sake of dissonance that doesn’t seem to serve any purpose or really fit into the particular idiom that the band has set themselves in.

There are definitely high points on this album and were this record half the length of what they released, I think it would be a much stronger album.   To be honest, I was excited for this album when I first hear the technical approach that they were using at certain parts.  But over time it began to blend together, and I was so distracted by the guitar work and unimpressed with the writing, that I think I lost that excitement.

Claustrofobia could be a markedly better band, if they would wander further into the technical side of things, and use each part of the song to their advantage.  With players like they have, and a keen understanding of good rhythm, they could produce something that is far more unique than what I See Red offers.  This band has practically unlimited potential, but unfortunately this album doesn’t showcase it.

Vader – Necropolis
Rating: 4.5/5.0 – Excellent, color me pleasantly surprised
Label: Nuclear Blast (USA | EU)
Websites: vader.pl | myspace.com/vader
Release Date(s): USA: 9.22.2009 | EU: 21.08.2009

Vader doesn’t have the star power of other Polish bands on their labels (whose CD I just reviewed here), but they definitely have the talent and the drive after all this time. To give the reader a little disclaimer: I haven’t ever been a big Vader fan, in fact, this is only the second full Vader album I’ve heard and I wasn’t terribly impressed with the earlier one–though one never knows how it would sit today. What I remember is thinking that the band lacked a few things that made me wonder why I should even be listening to them at all. Apparently I was having a bad day or something, either that or Vader has had a phoenix-like rebirth from the flames. No matter what happened, Necropolis fucking rules and I’m stoked about it.

Necropolis is old school in several ways. First, it’s just old school death metal. It’s groovy, fairly technical but it’s not blasty or core-y in any way. It doesn’t have the “thick” tone and grindiness that so many have come to expect from modern death metal. This is a good thing, as far as I’m concerned. Instead, these guys rock an old school sound with tremendous skill and, dare I write it, grace. Nothing on this album overstays its welcome, including the record itself. Clocking in at about 33 minutes long, Necropolis shows up, rocks your face and then is done before you have time to get bored or sick of it. Every riff is perfectly timed to stay just as long as it needs to, keeping everything fresh and fun to listen to. That, too, is old school. A lot of bands seem to have forgotten that just because you’ve got 80 minutes on a CD doesn’t mean that you need to use it all. Short records that leave the listener wanting more are often way better than a long record with tracks you never listen to because you’re moving onto something new after an hour.

Not only that, but the riffing is fantastic. There are only so many variations on metal riffs that one can possibly do, and yet somehow Vader manages to avoid the clichés and just fucking rule. From the mid-paced groovery, like the opening riff on “Dark Heart” to the mosh inducing riffs on “Impure,” this record is full of killer music that should make any death metal writer jealous at the pure skill and riff-crafting genius that was involved in the construction of this exceptional record. And I reiterate, the only track on here that goes over about three minutes and thirty seconds is the final track, which is nearly doom metal given the speed.

So, in case you hadn’t noticed, Necropolis is awesome and you should go out and buy it. For old school death metal fans, like the guys who really dig the classics Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Malevolent Creation, and so forth, this probably won’t be an issue, but I do have one complaint about this album: anonymous death metal solos. Seriously, guys from Vader, write more interesting solos. You are not, nor will you ever be, Kerry King, that means that you don’t have to suck! Given how great your riff writing skills are, you should be able to also write really interesting solos. They do actually manage it on the last track on the album “When the Sun Drowns in Dark” has an amazing solo and a great lead. But the rest of the album is littered with anonymous death metal solos. They’re tedious and Necropolis would be a 5 out of 5 record without them.

Death metal has become a hard genre to review, in my opinion. With the plethora of core bands and other things, the dynamics and groove seem to be falling to the wayside in lieu of bands that can play fast and technically, but don’t seem to be able to write a really good groove riff that doesn’t sound like a hardcore breakdown. Vader defies the trend and has written what I would say is one of the strongest death metal records I’ve heard in a long time. Buy Necropolis, you won’t regret it.

Life has been busy for this Angry Metal Guy lately, and therefore not as much music listening has been happening as I would like.  However, I’ve been rockin’ out to some stuff and some of the stuff on here will also show what I’ll be reviewing in the upcoming weeks.

I just want to say that things have been going really well here.  I’ve been consistently getting a flow of visitors, and I hope that these things continue picking up.  It seems like I’m getting lots of Germans on here (Wie gehts!?), and I hope that I can continue getting a worldwide audience.  That’s the goal—appeal to everyone who can read it (and even those who can’t, thanks to everyone who translates my posts in Google).

Weekly Recommendation: Watch for the new Vader record, I was fucking blown away.  More info coming soon, but let’s just say it’s everything you’re looking for in death metal: balls-to-the-wall, short and sweet and groovy as hell.  Will not disappoint.

Fleshgod Apocalypse – Oracles
Vader – Necropolis
Fen – The Malediction Fields
Sonata Arctica – The Days of Grays
Amorphis – Skyforger
Æthereal – Through Inhuman Eyes
Cobalt – Gin
Burial Ritual – Tower of Silence
Behemoth – Evangelion
Suidakra – Crógacht
Crimfall – As the Path Unfolds…
Born Under Sirius – Born Under Sirius
Luna Mortis – The Absence
Anathema – Hindsight
Shining – VI/Klagopsalmer
Sigh – Hangman’s Hymn