“Walking the line between old school death metal and blackened speed-thrash, Atomwinter are barely fucking around. I say ‘barely’, rather than ‘not’, because there is the obligatory one-minute instrumental opener to skip on Sakrileg. The album would’ve opened far stronger had the band just ripped straight into “Ov Blood and Flesh,” which tells us immediately that these guys have listened to a lot of early Incantation and taken that as their creative starting point.” Up and Atom.
“The trio has hovered in the background of a reliably scuzzy death metal scene, falling short of even the modest notoriety achieved by fellow Danes like Undergang, Phrenelith, and Hyperdontia. Apotheosis consists of nine more loogies of old school death, hawked up at the aptly named Phlegm Studios and spat upon the sidewalk in front of your home with consideration for neither property values nor your delicate constitution.” BLEEAARGHH!
“Finland’s Morbific returns with their second offering of music(?) in as many years, and it’s the sonic equivalent of a message written using scabs that have been arranged on the killing floor of an abandoned slaughterhouse. Here are ten tracks of caveman death metal that fetishize the pursuit of ugliness to a borderline-absurd degree.” Squirming in absurdity.
“California’s Ripped to Shreds ascended to underground prominence on the back of a couple of killer LPs, 2018’s 埋葬, and 2020’s quality follow-up, 亂 (Luan). The brainchild of prolific guitarist/vocalist/composer Andrew Lee (Azath, Houkago Grind Time & a ton of other projects), Ripped to Shreds exhibit old school death metal soul and bloodthirst for carving a path that values the past, yet aims to forge ahead and cleave the opposition.” Shreddy McShredface rides again.
“I have been in a weird space with death metal in 2022. While quality releases have trickled in at a reasonable rate, not much has really blown me away and shaken me to the core. In fact, I’ve spent ample periods revisiting the past, leaning on old favorites, while the latest dominating platter from reliable legends Immolation has remained in solid rotation. Yet as the last chunk of 2022 dawns upon us, optimism is high due to the often-fruitful later-year riches. Belgium’s Bones intend on bludgeoning their way into focus on their debut full-length, Sombre Opulence.” Lovely bones?
“The Rotheads formula may have been tweaked, but this fetid draught retains its signature nose. Here are seven songs spanning forty-three minutes, each one chock-a-block with death riffs played at a tempo often verging on thrash. The band still has songwriting talent in spades, and a penchant for stretching that talent to the breaking point.” Slime to kill.
“An OG band from the golden era of Swedish death metal, Entrails mastermind Jimmy Lundqvist didn’t manage to release an album until 2010’s impressive Tales from the Morgue debut. Along with powerhouse follow-ups Tomb Awaits (2011) and Raging Death (2013), Entrails elevated themselves to the upper echelon of the throwback Swedeath scene. The last several albums have got the job done solidly, however, the band has been coasting in a comfort zone and struggled to reach the heights of their earlier trio of prime platters. A line-up shake-up occurred in 2019 and now the band returns with their anticipated seventh LP, entitled An Eternal Time of Decay.” Guts check.
“Do you remember when Blood Incantation was the poster-boy of radical and boundary-pushing death metal? Pepperidge Farm remembers. Since then, however, it’s become cool to hate on the hype, and your favorite ancient alien-loving Denverites have become the flavor of “ugh, those pretentious bastards?” in spite of Hidden History of the Human Race earning a roaring 4.0 from the illustrious L. Saunders and earning acclaim from across the metalverse. Their use of OSDM with cosmic themes and enough psychedelic flourishes to get you to start smelling space colors was ambitious and thoughtful, and I believe, undeserving of the hate. I hope you like Blood Incantation, because Devoid of Thought does.”” Stare into devoid.
“Lovable Norwegian oddballs Diskord make their long awaited return with Degenerations, their third LP and first recorded output since 2014’s mind-bending Oscillations EP. Easily one of my most anticipated albums of 2021, long ago I fell hard for Diskord’s strange amalgam of old school death metal, experimental flair, and ability to crank out killer death tunes, chopped up with psychedelic and prog experiments. My first exposure was on their monumental 2012 LP Dystopics, an incredible album I consider a modern classic. However, as the years passed I began to wonder whether we would hear more from the band. Well the moment has arrived, Diskord fittingly popping up on the Transcending Obscurity roster to land another mindboggling clusterfuck of weird arse death.” Degenerate to evolve.
“When life is kicking you in the arse, death is a comforting antidote. Death metal of course, I’m not that fucking morbid. My prior experience with Italy’s Helslave is minimal, however, I’ve caught up on the Italian worshippers of Swedish death in whetting my appetite for their latest platter of old school splatter. After compiling an impressive slab of ’90s inspired melodic death on debut LP, An Endless Path, Helslave channeled some old timey Stockholm goodness on 2017’s Divination EP. Returning after an extended recording gap, Helslave continue channeling the classic, buzzsawing Swedeath brand on From the Sulphur Depths.” Tastes like burning.
