Death Metal

Henry Kane – Den Förstörda Människans Rike Review

Henry Kane – Den Förstörda Människans Rike Review

“There are a handful of obscure record labels that I’ve learned to pay attention to when their output finds its way into our promo bay; the aptly named Transcending Obscurity is one of them. In recent months they’ve distributed some seriously weird novelty projects that, though not always great, typically provide something fresh that stands out in the crowded sphere of extreme metal. Thus, when I saw they had delivered us a Swedish death metal album, I was immediately intrigued.” You deserve a Kaning.

Six Feet Under – Torment Review

Six Feet Under – Torment Review

“As anyone whose late teenage years were lost in a fog of Jägermeister and regret will tell you, lessons learned the hard way often stay with you the longest; fuck things up badly enough and you won’t repeat the same mistake again anytime soon. There are, however, a few hardy souls upon whom this principle is destined to be forever lost—people to whom common sense and reason are just meaningless buzzwords dreamt up by the establishment. People like Chris Barnes.” Fight the power!

Haxxan – Loch Ness Rising Review

Haxxan – Loch Ness Rising Review

“Aleister Crowley: occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, and chess player. The shroud of the occult followed his blackened coat-tails like an obedient dog. Was he really a prophet sent to guide humanity? Was he really a spy working for the British government? Was he really one with the spiritual world or were the drugs he siphoned into himself just a tad too potent? Whatever your view, the stories and philosophies of Crowley and others of his ilk brighten up the dullness of our material lives; their obsessive attraction to the weird and wacky of this world has unearthed a plentiful abundance of material for musicians and writers to utilize.” Don’t play chess with the Devil.

Benighted – Necrobreed Review

Benighted – Necrobreed Review

“After scaling back the blackened and melodic tendencies that marked their 2000 self-titled debut, French loonies Benighted rapidly morphed into the finely-tuned deathgrind butchering machine they are today, releasing a consistent string of high-quality albums drenched in blood-spattered brutality, while keeping the fun and creepy factors cranked. Their sound may be set in stone, but the beauty of Benighted is the distinctive quirks and curve balls they splice into their brutal and musically dynamic brand of pig-squealing lunacy.” Hurls before swine.

Invasion – Destroyer of Mankind Review

Invasion – Destroyer of Mankind Review

“War…war certainly changes. Whether it was the Crusader’s use of the crossbow against their enemies’ inferior longbows, the subversive tactics of the Cold War, the intellectual dispute between the thought of Martin Luther and Francisco de Vitoria on the justness of combat (the latter was right, by the way), or the modern West taking Plato’s Republic one step further and treating everyone as the great philosopher did Greeks in our international war laws.” What’s it good for?

Morta Skuld – Wounds Deeper Than Time Review

Morta Skuld – Wounds Deeper Than Time Review

“The process of quantifying quality is always a capricious thing. Contrary to nature, what I might allow for one band, I may use to vilify another, and we haven’t even begun to touch on the perils of genre favoritism — because, despite any reviewer’s very best attempts to consider a product on its individual merit, there will always be some material that I’ll subconsciously allow an extra furlong of leeway.” Media bias!

Curse of Denial – The 13th Sign Review

Curse of Denial – The 13th Sign Review

“I, like a lot of you, I’m sure, have an uncanny, savant-like memory of where I was and, more often than not, what mischief I was up to when I first heard a particularly evocative album. I remember, clearly, being 17 and hearing Rust In Peace for the first time and how I sat open mouthed as “Tornado of Souls” bombarded me with the sonic equivalent of Gamma rays, cursed forevermore to Hulk out whenever a sweet thrash riff graced my ears. Categorically, I will never forget first hearing Bolt Thrower’s “World Eater” whilst I sat in my friend’s room, dispatching copious amounts of cheap beer.” Beer, bros, brutality.

KforKill – The World is Broken Review

KforKill – The World is Broken Review

KforKill is either one of the most on-the-nose monikers for a death metal band you’ve ever seen or a segment on Sesame Street devised by a writer trying desperately to get fired. In this case it’s the former and as a mechanism for establishing listener expectations it does an effective job of priming you for what’s to come. It did get me thinking: can this rudimentary but direct approach to band names be applied to other styles? Black metal? CforCorpsepaint. Speed? BforBulletbelts. Power metal? DforDon’tbotherwastingyourtime.” That’s cold, man.

Ritualization – Sacraments to the Sons of the Abyss Review

Ritualization – Sacraments to the Sons of the Abyss Review

“Listening to Sacraments to the Sons of the Abyss fills me with equal parts excitement and dismay. Excitement because, for a fan of Angelcorpse-style blackened death metal, Sacraments is a pretty impressive debut. Dismay because, let’s face it, trying to convey the value of an album like this can be a daunting task. It’s a bit like listening to your beefy friend describe a particularly good hamburger he had last week.” I take mine blackened with extra hot sauce and Satan on the side.