Obituary

Obituary – Dying of Everything Review

By Steel Druhm on January 11, 2023 in Reviews, Death Metal, 59 comments

“Obituary are one of those death metal legends with a capital L. Their early releases like Slowly We Rot and Cause of Death helped shape the fledgling genre and send it into darker more extreme places. John Tardy’s one-of-a-kind anguished wails/shouts/roars set the template for a generation of death metal frontmen and their legacy is an important one. That all being said, much of what Obituary did after those initial groundbreaking releases has been uninspired and ham-fisted. As much as I love their classic era, I’ve struggled to care about much of what they’ve done since.” Another death, same causes.

Strychnos – A Mother’s Curse Review

By Carcharodon on November 1, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Heavy Metal, 9 comments

“Martin Leth Andersen has been active on the Danish extreme metal for years. The Undergang—no, not that one, this one—bassist is in at least five active projects, with Strychnos, where he handles bass and vox, ticking along since 1998, without releasing an album. Until now. A four-piece combining death metal with a black’n’roll vibe, Strychnos seems to rear up every decade or so, putting out a demo and a single around the time of its inception, an EP and appearing on a compilation in 2011, and then going quiet again until 2021, when another demo dropped. Now, here we are with A Mother’s Curse. Inspired by the ending of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Tale of a Mother.” Mother’s murk.

Grave Infestation – Persecution of the Living Review

By Steel Druhm on June 2, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 17 comments

“There’s a very particular set of sounds one expects to hear when spinning an album by a band called Grave Infestation. You certainly don’t go in looking for polish or subtle compositional finesse. With all that fully known, I was still surprised by just how raw, nasty, and grisly the music was that hit me upon diving into Persecution of the Living. As the band’s debut offering, it’s quite the ferocious death statement, stitching together the rotting carcasses of Autopsy, Obituary, Consuming Impulse-era Pestilence, and Hellhammer. Upon this wretched rock they build their evil church, layering eerie atmospheres and coating it all in noxious, scabby murk, and the result is sub-basement tier old school death loathsome enough to curdle fresh moonshine.” Grave yourself.

Obscene – From Dead Horizon to Dead Horizon Review

By Steel Druhm on May 26, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 14 comments

“Obscene’s debut The Inhabitable Dark hit in the midst of a grand revival of old school death worship at the House of Steel. It packed a big, ugly punch and mined the rarefied territory of Obituary, Hail of Bullets and Asphyx for all they were worth. It had just the right amount of nastiness and extremity and the songs were short and sweet too. The WAY over-the-top vocals by Kyle Shaw were a win for me, but some of my AMG colleagues thought they were too WAY over-the-top. That was nonsense of course, and I spent a lot of time with The Inhabitable Dark. This month we got the followup, From Dead Horizon to Dead Horizon and I found myself giddy to hear what kind of vile charms they had in store.” Bring me the Dead Horizons.

Jungle Rot – A Call to Arms Review

By Steel Druhm on May 15, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 28 comments

“In the time of caveman death metal, Jungle Rot was a monkey. Since 1995 they’ve continued to bang out the most rudimentary death metal imaginable, perpetually aimed at that sickly sweet spot right between Obituary and meatheaded quasi-hardcore like Pro-Pain and Hatebreed. Eleventh album A Call to Arms is a rallying cry for those yet to see the value in their brand of low-brow, gym-friendly death with an IQ of 13.” Keep on rotting in the tree world.

Demiricous – Chaotic Lethal Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on May 10, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 43 comments

“When you listen to Demiricous’ first two records, they clearly didn’t know what sound, style, or production they wanted. One is more At the Gatesy and relatively dynamic in the mix. The other is a Hatesphere punishment that makes your ears scream in pain. Back in the saddle, Demiricous has brought all their death/thrash influences together on Chaotic Lethal.” Chaotic good or chaotic bad?

Mortify – Fragments at the Edge of Sorrow Review

By Felagund on April 10, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 28 comments

“South America has an enviable metal pedigree. Like the early 90s Floridian filth we know and love, or the Gothenburg school that scratches that brutal yet melodic itch, the South American scene has delivered its own unique set of sounds, approaches and atmospheres to the heavy metal maelstrom. Perhaps that was why I was so eager to pick up Fragments at the Edge of Sorrow, the sophomore release from Mortify, a Chilean group who specialize in a murky, bass-forward death doom concoction verging on the technical.” Life on the edge.

Embryonic Autopsy – Prophecies of the Conjoined Review

By Ferox on February 16, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, 20 comments

“Listen to this record and it might just put a baby in you. Not by the traditional means, interesting though it might be to imagine those mechanics. Instead, Arizona’s Embryonic Autopsy debut with a concept album about the experiments, designed to birth human/alien hybrids, that may or may not have been performed at Area 51. With songs like “Telekinetic Insemination” and “Craving of the Mutated Fetus,” these gentlemen have a very specific kind of breeding on the brain. The sci-fi milieu, and some elements of the music, put this offering of brutal death metal squarely in Artificial Brain territory.” Newgenics.

Abyssus – Death Revival Review

By Steel Druhm on January 19, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Speed Metal, 33 comments

“Steps to ensure Steel Druhm throws his dirty ape cash at your old school death metal album: 1) Make it sound like it came from between 1987 and 1992, 2) Be as riffy and aggressive as possible, 3) Tie together nods to Obituary, Asphyx, and Death circa Leprosy / Spiritual Healing, 4) Cram some Possessed influence into all the cracks like so much snot grout. Greek death metal act Abyssus do all these things on sophomore platter Death Revival, and what’s more, they make it fun and mindlessly enjoyable to boot.” Abyssus for all of us.