“As a youthful cheeky-chappy, I missed death metal the first time round. The wonders of Google have permitted me to research that which I lacked, thus purging myself of the vim and vibrancy with which I was once characterized. I now regularly murder my family and desecrate their burial chambers in the name of such legends as Entombed and Dismember, a sentiment obviously shared by Stockholm’s latest recruit: Lik.” It’s Throwback Friday (again)!
“Yes, folks, there’s a band called Housebreaking, and their second full-length, Against All Odds, is here, and is promoted as a cross between Amon Amarth, Rammstein, Dark Tranquillity, and… Soulfly?” If they pull off that epic mix, you may need to put some newspapers down.
“Like every reviewer on the face of the planet, my first thought when seeing the title of The Black Dahlia Murder’s latest full length was Wayne’s World: “Shitty Beatles? Are they any good?” “They suck.” “Then it’s not just a clever name.” To be honest, in the case of Detroit’s finest, I had a hard time believing that this was any kind of In Flames-esque “naming this record based on its meaning for the band” logic. That’s not really TBDM’s style, and well, let’s be honest, even at the very worst these guys have always put out very good music that I consistently get into fights over.” And said fisticuffs shall continue for the foreseeable future.
“There are few things more certain in life than ending up in a grave – whether it’s of the watery, earthen or concrete variety, we’ll all end up interred somewhere. In much the same way, you can almost guarantee a new Grave album will offer a quality dose of old timey Swedish death, heavy on the heavy and light on the frills.” Back from dead, chillin at the beach down at Club Med.
“If 2015 has been skimping on anything (other than good death metal), it’s spheres. Whereas I researched for months in order to compile a list of 2014’s roundest and most symmetrical album art, we haven’t seen enough roll past this year to play a game of nine-ball with. They’re so infrequent that even semi-spherical album covers, like this one for Apotheosynthesis, the debut of Canadian tech-death outfit Fractal Generator, have started to ping on my radar.” Sphere today, gone tomorrow.
“Cheesesteaks are a big deal in Philly and as I understand it, there’s a ‘right way’ to go about ordering them. Firstly, you place your order for said cheesesteak with the cashier. Secondly you make your cheese selection and lastly you opt for or against the fried onions. The key and most crucial step though, is PLACE YOUR ORDER CONCISELY. Philly’s Die Choking approach their hypergrind in the same way – concisely.” Ready for 14 minutes of choking?
“While other bands focus on heavy hits and constant pummeling, Gorod have made themselves the Muhammad Ali of death metal: light on their feet and surgically precise, and incredibly fun to bear witness to.” But will this be a Thrilla in Manilla or fall flat on its face? Anything can happen in a fight.” Kronos vs. Tech-death. FIGHT!
“As Voices guitarist Sam Loynes says “yes to anything that comes [his] way, metal or otherwise,” his growing list of projects are quite numerous. Shrines (formerly Diminished Fifth) is the third of Sam’s bands I’ve reviewed, and one I’ve been very much looking forward to listening to.” The Voices and Voices related love continues unabated.
“Back when I was a snot-nosed college senior rolling around with my windows down and blasting Black Breath’s newly released Sentenced to Life. At the time, I felt so hip for listening to this so-called “Entombedcore” right as it was catching on, when bands like All Pigs Must Die, Early Graves, and Black Breath themselves were at the forefront of a sound that combined the throat-shredding fury of mid-aughties hardcore with a guitar tone and riffing style heavily inspired by Swedish death.” Remember those carefree days of youthful metal elitism?
“In the case of Order From Chaos, the band’s demise wasn’t due to ego or vague musical differences, it was by design. The plan was to release three full-lengths and then fold and that’s precisely what they did. Rather than even remotely overstaying their welcome, they went out on the highest and grimiest note possible.” And their heroic decision begat this face ripper.
