“Now if there’s one thing I love more than needless pedantry, it’s death metal, and since this band knocked off the first without playing so much as a note, I’m particularly well-disposed towards Ruinous Ensoulment. But Gravewards hardly need the boost. The Greek trio’s winding riffs and gritty, old-school attitude makes Ruinous Ensoulment an engaging debut and earns them a respectable spot among this year’s bevy of solid underground death metal releases.” Death in Greece.
“Italy and Greece seem to be accounting for a much greater percentage of our fetid promo sump of late. It’s like the Mediterranean region is vying to knock Scandinavia off the map as the key locus of metal, and they’re putting their collective back into it. Part of that sweaty collective back is Greek act Null’O’Zero, who play a kind of beefed up brand of traditional metal akin to Iced Earth, with a touch of the heavy prog of Symphony X.” Set gyros to pummel.
“You’ve all heard the adage about variety and spices, right? Variety keeps things fresh and interesting. After all, if Colonel Sanders only used one herb and/or spice for his fried chicken, would it taste as lively? What am I getting at? Greece’s Embrace of Thorns dropped off their fifth album, Scorn Aesthetics, into my hot little paws. I’ve listened to this album at least five times. I’ve listened to it on my way to and from work. I’ve also lit candles, darkened my living room, and rotated the house cats for freshness and spirit-warding. What did I find?” The spice must flow!
“Hello darkness, my old friend, I’ve come to talk about you again. Try though I did to abandon my pursuits ov the fabled black dragon, there is only so much one can do to wrest themselves from the hands of their own addictions. There is also only so much one can do when the Madam herself slams the needle directly into your feeble, velvety arm and says “you’re going for a ride, ready or not!” Addiction is an ugly, fearsome thing, and so are Greece’s Nigredo.” While Behemoth Sleeps.
“Being that I don’t listen to Greece’s Firewind, the first time I heard of guitarist/songwriting Gus G. was when he replaced Ozzy Osbourne’s Zakk Wylde. So, naturally, I hated the guy. I know, it’s not his fault, it’s the circumstances. Like when the Yankees dropped Don Mattingly in favor of Tino Martinez. He filled the position well and achieved some great things, but it’s hard to replace someone who’s been the face of an organization (or a band) for so long. At the end (as far as the Yanks go), it wasn’t a complete bust. And, for Ozzy, it didn’t fucking matter anyway. Regardless, both sets of shoes are big shoes to fill. But, before all this, Gus G. was the dude that released the guitar wanking “masterpiece,” Guitar Master.” G is for guitar-gasm.
“The creeping regularity of life has toppled many; for some, it’s the barrel of the next coffee-fueled third shift staring them down; for others, it’s another dreary adventure in cubeland. For me, it’s every death metal band that I’ve never heard of from Southern Europe.” South of the blunder.
“When I saw the name On Thorns I Lay pop up in the fetid muck of the AMG promo sump, I was more than a bit surprised. I’d followed this mercurial Greek act pretty closely back in the early aughts as they steadily evolved from primitive doom death to goth metal, and on to something like a heavier Radiohead on their 2003 album, Egocentric. The band then promptly imploded and were not heard from again. Apparently they reformed and released an album in 2015 which I completely missed, and now they’re back to deliver Aegean Sorrow. And what a different beast they’ve become since 2003.” Gyros of sorrow.
“Everyone pictures themselves as the protagonist. Ask one hundred people what they’d do in a zombie apocalypse and they’ll all give you the same answer: survive. And yet, someone has to be that guy who gets mauled right near the beginning of the outbreak, or who foolishly stands near a window and is promptly eaten alive by the horde, squirming helplessly for their last miserable minutes. Nobody thinks they’re cannon fodder; that is something proven and earned by an individual. Paroxysm of Hatred, the sophomore release from Greece’s Rapture, have proven themselves to be just that.” No, not THAT Rapture.
“As a card-carrying member of the unpaid, overworked Metal Reviewer’s Guild, I’m forced to squeeze my music listening into the small deadly spaces between a full-time job, commuting, family responsibilities and the oft heard of, seldom experienced phenomenon of sleep. This means a goodly portion of my time with any given album is spent while riding trains and subways to and fro New York City. Rare are the albums that allow me to press play and drift away into sonic bliss, removed from my commuting tedium as I’m transported to a new world. Greek upstarts Ocean of Grief have given me just such an album with their brilliant debut, Nightfall’s Lament.” Last train to Sad Town.
“Ectoplasma might be new to the game, but the resolutely old-school Cavern of Foul Unbeings would never betray the fact. Their first LP since a 2016 debut, Cavern plunders all manner of late ’80s and early ’90’s death metal from Obituary to Death acquiring riffs and inspiration, complete with the B-movie samples and a noticeable absence of bass guitar.” Old death dies hard.
