Death Metal

Decaying – The Last Days of War Review

By Steel Druhm on May 17, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, Death Metal, Finnish Metal, Hellthrasher Productions, Reviews, Death Metal, 2 comments

“I’m not one to suggest there can ever be too much war metal, and while Bolt Thrower has ground to a halt for the time being, there are plenty of bands trying to keep the flame of strife and global conflict alive. Hail of Bullets may be the most prominent at the moment, but the recent Just Before Dawn debut is good enough to challenge them for world domination. Finland’s Decaying also have a tank in this battle, and their 2012 Encirclement album was a well done, Bolt Throw-y dose of ugly death metal with a heavy war theme and vocals that could easily pass for those of the great Martin Van Drunen (Hail of Bullets, Asphyx, ex-Bolt Thrower, ex-Pestilence etc.). Now they’re back with The Last Days of War and hoping to carve off a bigger piece of the war market.” Steel Druhm loves him some war metal, so what does he think of the new battle-ready opus from these Finnish vets?

Entrails – Raging Death Review

By Steel Druhm on May 11, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, Death Metal, Metal Blade, Swedish Metal, Death Metal, 7 comments

“In the retro Swedish death sweepstakes, you can’t get much more committed than Sweden’s Entrails. Having been around in one form or another since the original wave of Swede death, they weren’t able to release anything until 2010s Tales From the Morgue. While I went quite gorilla shit over that platter and its 110% pure Entombed worshipping awesomeness, I was let down by their The Tomb Awaits follow-up, which seemed watered down and lacking in the raw charm of its predecessor.” Can Entrails recapture the glory of their (of more accurately, Entombed’s) debut? Does anyone even care that they changed their logo?

Immolation – Kingdom of Conspiracy Review

By Steel Druhm on May 8, 2013 in 2013, 3.5, American Metal, Death Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, 7 comments

“New York’s own death metal juggernaut, Immolation have seen their stock rise steadily over their lengthy career, to the point where they’ve become one of the most consistent and impressive units in the field. Their ability to blend technical proficiency with savage and broootal, groove-based death has developed and blossomed through the years and rarely have they disappointed the metal masses with a dud of an opus…” Immolation is about as close to a sure thing as one gets in the metal world. Does Steel Druhm think their new ten ton opus is up to snuff or not quite enough? Only one way to find out….

Paganizer – World Lobotomy Review

By Steel Druhm on May 7, 2013 in 2.5, 2013, Cyclone Empire, Death Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Death Metal, 3 comments

“More Rogga?? With Mr. Johansson being involved in one of every three reviews I write lately, maybe we should change the website name to Rogga o Rama. I’ve recently examined his Megascavenger and Just Before Dawn projects and here he is again with his main outfit, Paganizer (he also has a collaboration with Paul Speckmann of Master coming in a few weeks). The man is an omnipresent force in the Swedish death scene (hell, he IS the Swedish death scene) and he’s been responsible for lots of rich, creamy death metal. In all honesty though, I’ve always found Paganizer to be a pretty spotty act. Some of their early output was solid and some of the more recent stuff was less so.” So does World Lobotomy cause brain damage or suffer from it? Our resident Rogga expert Steel Druhm is back from the nervous hospital to provide his diagnosis.

Tormented – Death Awaits Review

By Alex Franquelli on May 3, 2013 in 2.0, 2013, Death Metal, Listenable Records, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Death Metal, 1 comment

“Talk about stereotypes. Let me provide you with the keywords: Swedish, death, metal, riffs. You get the picture: forty minutes of carefully packed distortions and growls to dance the night away, while remembering the good old days. Days when the underground was a truly transnational parallel world (trust me: I’ve seen it) connecting the various scenes at a sub-level: one carefully avoided by the majors, the media and almost all of your friends (the cool ones, at least).” Join Alex as he reminisces about the good old days, where death metal was … well… underground and uncool.

Acolyte – Alta Review

By Natalie Zed on April 30, 2013 in 2013, 3.5, Black Metal, Death Metal, English Metal, Mordgrimm, Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal

“Alta is the debut full-length released from progressive black metal band Acolyte. Their sound is slightly challenging to put a finger on; their primary influences are clearly extreme, blackened metal bands like Deathspell Omega, Enslaved, and even French black metal experimenters Blut Aus Nord, but the sound they produce has a groove-based, classic heavy metal simplicity that belies their more progressive interests.” Natalie gives a quick breakdown on the debut from progressive black metallers Acolyte and how their old sound matches their new style. On an unrelated note, that’s one ugly cover!

Shade Empire – Omega Arcane Review

By Madam X on April 23, 2013 in 2013, 4.5, Black Metal, Candlelight, Death Metal, Finnish Metal, Rating, Releases, Black Metal, Death Metal, Symphonic Metal, 20 comments

“When you hail from Finland, a country teaming with metal giants (cast your mind along the lines of Finntroll, Amorphis and Ghost Brigade to name but a few), you have two choices: Option 1, you up your game, you mature as a band and you write epic tracks. Option 2, you keep on keeping on, you join the unknown masses and you sink into obscurity. On this their fourth release and a solid five years in the making, Shade Empire went with option 1.” Madam X is big on lists, notations and options, so find out where she ranks the new Shade Empire in her arcane filing system. She’s like Conan the Librarian.

Just Before Dawn – Precis Innan Gryningen Review

By Steel Druhm on April 17, 2013 in 2013, 4.0, Chaos Records, Death Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Death Metal, 4 comments

“Another project from Rogga Johansson? When does the man sleep and find time for the finer things in life, like beer and Mexican wrestling? These questions plague me as I peruse the list of bands, side-projects and side-side projects which Rogga has his paws on (The 11th Hour, Paganizer, Demiurg, Megascavenger, Ribspreader, etc. etc.). Now you can add Just Before Dawn, which is his collaboration with Anders Biazzi (Blood Mortized, ex-Amon Amarth) and a gaggle of friends from bands like Puteraeon, Zombification, Revel in Flesh and Godhate. Together they’ve churned out a crusty, thick and vicious ode to all things Bolt Thrower and Asphyx, which is similar to Rogga’s recent work with Megascavenger, but better and more consistent.” Do you like Bolt Thrower? Do you think metal and war go hand in hand? Are you okay with retro Swedish death? If the answer to all these questions is yes, join Sgt. Steel Druhm on the front lines as he examines Just Before Dawn.

Amorphis – Circle Review

By Steel Druhm on April 9, 2013 in 2013, 3.0, Death Metal, Finnish Metal, Heavy Metal, Nuclear Blast, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal, 34 comments

“If Amorphis fanboyism was an infectious disease, the AMG offices would surely be quarantined due to the terminal cases both AMG and myself suffer from. I’ve always regarded their Tales From the Thousand Lakes as the greatest melo-death album of all time, and few bands can boast a run of releases as consistently brilliant as Eclipse through Skyforger. The Beginning of Times had some great songs, but was overlong, a bit bloated and dragged badly on the back-end. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in expecting a big bounce back from the Finnish titans, and it was with typically high expectations that I welcomed the Circle promo when it finally arrived.” Amorphis is the big fish in the thousand lakes of Finnish metal, but will Circle keep them at the top of the food chain or consign them to the role of bottom feeder? Join Steel Druhm as he fishes for answers.

Aeternus – …and the Seventh His Soul Detesteth Review

By Steel Druhm on April 4, 2013 in 2.0, 2013, Black Metal, Dark Essence Records, Death Metal, Norwegian Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, 2 comments

“Over the course of their career, Aeternus have taken me on a sonic ride full of dizzying highs, crushing lows and Milquetoast middles. Their highly acclaimed Beyond the Wandering Moon opus is a truly special album with an atmosphere and mood all its own and I find myself going back to it regularly over time. Their unusual blend of Norwegian black metal and symphonic death came to be known as “dark metal” and that summed up their original sound rather nicely.” But like all true love…one day it withered on the vine. Steel Druhm is bitter, but he’s still going to detail the trials and tribulation of the typical Aeternus fan. Give him your support and beers.