“Metalheads know very well their favored genre is among the most complex and the deepest music composed today. Getting lost among intricate compositions and soundscapes both atmospheric and complex is all in a day’s listening for us. Maligner doesn’t concern themselves so much with intricate soundscapes, though. No, this Swedish trio is more concerned with fucking shit up as hard and fast as they can, and Demon is their declaration of war.” War is swell.
![EP Edition [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Cuervo-2.jpg)
“Another year, another influx of new readers and writers at this mighty blog. Yet compared to those previously, this year has seen a significant growth in the consistency of our posts. A sad consequence of this is that EPs have increasingly fallen by the wayside as reviews of shitty full-length albums are summarily assigned to the probationary writers with reckless abandon.” We fixed the glitch.
“Ingar Amlien is a persistent fellow. Having formed Crest of Darkness in 1993 to pursue darker fare than his progressive main band Conception would allow, Amlien weathered line-up changes and several fine-tunings of their blackened thrash formula. Their last album, 2013’s In The Presence of Death, impressed our very own Madam X with their rifftastic blasphemy, goofy cover notwithstanding. Now it’s my turn to enjoy deep of Norwegian black-thrash with their seventh album, Welcome the Dead.” Welcome…to your grave!
“Metal fans collect sub-genres like Barbie dolls: in a huge assortment of flavors, often mildly disturbing, and most pleasant when pulled apart and recombined. It’s almost strange when a band plays a sub-genre straight and usually we cover up our embarrassment by transforming ‘death metal’ into something like ‘old school Swedish death metal.’ Luckily, I have no such problems, because Krepitus play one of the more prevalent genre combos: death thrash.” Mix n’ thrash.
![Gravehill/Mordbrand – Skullbearer/In Nighted Waters [Split] Review](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Gravehill-Skullbearer-and-In-Nighted-Waters-Split-768x768.jpg)
“Strap on the gauntlets and prepare to get dirty. Two years after their last album, California’s Gravehill are teaming up with Swedish trio Mordbrand to bring you nine tracks of teeth-gnashing, no-apologies death metal to get your head banging and your roommates finding somewhere else to live.” Take your rock tumbler and get out!
“For a quality so inextricably linked with metal, at times heaviness can be a difficult characteristic to define. For some it’s all about sheer volume and noise, whereas for others, myself included, attitude and the weight of feeling behind the music are key components. Every now and then, however, a record will come along dripping with such malice and vitriol that it nullifies any need for a debate on the matter entirely.” 8 out of 10 Witchfinder Generals recommend this.
“Much like their home country, Distant Sun are composed of contrasts. The same country which sired Tchaikovsky, Tolstoy, and Mendeleev also gave rise to Stalin, turned a blind eye to mass rapes and has one of the most corrupt political systems in the developing world. While not so controversial nor violent, this Moscow-based trio draws equally from both thrash and power metal, pushing their sound a little further on this, their sophomore record.” From Russia with thrash-power!
“It shouldn’t surprise you that Dead Conspiracy plays the sort of death metal that has little in common with modern incarnations of it or even Morbid Angel, but rather sounds like over the top thrash. My first impression was a less punky war metal or Possessed on speed but with less cool solos.” From the days when every town had Seven Churches.
“Are you ready? Are you prepared? It doesn’t matter really, Conceived by Hate are coming for you and your sacred cows with their sophomore album Death & Beyond. Ready to prove that this death/thrash quintet from El Salvador can melt your face just as well as your beloved favorites. There’s no time for frivolous introductions nor loquacious asides, no respite or shelter either. Only the snapping of bones under boots. This is music that kicks in your door, shaves your cat, and screams at your furniture. ” Our furniture had it coming.
“Look at that album title. Look at that art. Now that is a gimmick! Forgive my exuberance, but after only just overcoming the trauma-induced tinnitus from my previous attempts at thrash, Witchtrap prove that good things come to those who scour the promo sheet with a fine-toothed comb.” Nasty things come to those who dumpster dive.
