Dark Descent Records

Cryptborn – Into the Grasp of the Starving Dead

Cryptborn – Into the Grasp of the Starving Dead

My oh my, more rancid, raw and caustic Swedish retro death, this time by way of Finland. Into the Grasp of the Starving Dead is the debut EP by Cryptborn and as with any proper Swedish retro death, it sounds as if it should have come out in 1990 along with the big releases from their obvious influences Entombed and Grave. It has that classic unrelentingly raw, buzzing guitar tone and vocals so low and phlegmy they almost rattle your speakers off the stands. Both Angry Metal Guy and myself have been eating up this particular trend while wondering when we would start to grow weary of it. While I can’t speak for AMG on this, I’m still enjoying it fully and most of the bands currently involved in this retro Swedish death wave are quite good. Now you can count Cryptborn among those doing it right and doing it crusty, rancid justice. Although its an EP, you still get seven tracks worth of face peeling, zombie attacking, brutal goodness and it packs everything you could want from this style (except originality since its retro).

Things You May Have Missed 2010: Adversarial – All Idols Fall Before the Hammer

Things You May Have Missed 2010: Adversarial – All Idols Fall Before the Hammer

Adversarial are a ‘blackened-death’ band from Toronto who’s 2010 debut is out on Dark Descent Records. This is one record that I’d been meaning to get to since I got the promo months ago, but you know, no rest for the angry, so I never got there. Well, not until this week, when I was duly impressed by this band’s chops on their debut record All Idols Fall Before the Hammer. The tracks on here go between blistering and atmospheric, and it’s worth checking out if you’re a fan of death metal.