“When I look at the cover art for the sophomore full-length, God Has No Name, by Spain’s Hex, I see a hyperbolic metal label distribution PR blurb made pictorial. ‘Riffs so heavy, so scorching, they splinter the Earth’s crust into black obsidian shard,’ it declares. Straight-faced, it adds ‘A sound so singularly malignant, it tears a hole in the very heavens above. As it rends the firmament, fire erupts from blah blah blah,’ you get the point.” Sounds of an apocalypse fading.
“If there was ever a genre of extreme music my library woefully under-represents, it’s anything tagged with the term ‘crust’ or ‘punk.’ Why, you may ask? Because I just don’t listen to it often. Punk and many of its sibling genres find little purchase with me. Which is funny, since I like grindcore and powerviolence, two of punk’s more extreme descendants. My suspicion is that at this point in my musical evolution I remain a tad stubborn as it pertains to things I don’t want to like, and crust-punk is one of those things.” Eat the crust!
“Grief can seemingly last forever. Whether you’re actively working through it or just passively experiencing its various stages, grief is a marathon, not a sprint. Excitement, on the other hand, is always fleeting. Moments of joy, fright or rage flare up and burn out quickly. Excitement is not a state that can be sustained for long. Grief, sorrow, despondency, these can last indefinitely. There’s a reason grindcore albums never break 30 minutes while funeral doom albums stretch well past an hour. If it takes time to experience, it will take time to express. But listening to the genre at its best isn’t about being patient, as if there’s some reward at the end. It’s more about allowing yourself to be borne along by the slow process. Minneapolis, Minnesota’s Chalice of Suffering—612, represent—is here to take you on a long journey through the deepest despair.” Playing the long winter game.
“Two years ago I reviewed the self-titled debut of Australia’s Illimitable Dolor, a project carved from the members of The Slow Death to illuminate the loss of their friend and band mate Gregg Williamson. It was a feast of death-doom delights with a bold sense of atmosphere to truly define the plundered depths. Now, the band have returned with Leaden Light and a mind clearly bent on expansion. But a broadening of such bereaved horizons requires mass. And sometimes too much is simply too much.” When heavy isn’t enough.
“I never get sick—except during Christmas and New Year’s. It never fails. Every. Single. Holiday. Season. Thankfully, I have Feral with their latest drop to keep me warm and energized as I cough my lungs out. Flesh of Funerals Eternal is the band’s third full length effort, and these Swedes are here to prove that they are exactly as their name suggests: frantic, vicious and unrelenting death metal.” Cat scratch blood fever.
“Cipher is a black metal release that operates like a death metal record. This is not to say that Imperialist is merely a blackened death metal act, as doing so would be to grossly undersell their potency. Rather, they offer pure black metal, supplemented with riff techniques derived from death metal and thrash, to craft a richly textured riffscape.” Genre bend, style blend.
“Vibrant old school death releases from Lik, Skeletal Remains and Ripped to Shreds have highlighted 2018 so far, and with an upcoming full-length from Extremity on the horizon, things are looking bright for fans of the retro style. That said, can Down Among the Dead Men raise the bar and lay waste to the standout competition?” Old dogs, deadly tricks.
“Death metal, in all of its fevered furor, tests us with many of life’s most potent questions. Spanning such pleas as ‘why, David Vincent, why?’ to simply ‘why did Chuck never change his surname to Skulldiner?’ Whatever the line of inquiry, we can all agree that one question remains more pressing than all others combined. What happens when the Cannibal Corpse itself is cannibalized, its putrid properties mingled and made stock for only the most sadistic of stews? Such death-ception demands to be acknowledged and Australia’s very own Depravity have the answer — debut, Evil Upheaval.” Meat n’ greet.
“I’ll begin with what Fragarak get right. Their music is a hodgepodge of influences from Opeth, Vektor, and Obscura, two of whom are really worth being influenced by.” We don’t discuss influences with fans.
Thanks to divine intervention and a quark-sized attention span, I find myself faced with my second super-dense slab of black metal in two weeks. I could take responsibility for this and actually look at my upcoming review calendar from time to time, but I’m American and my right to complain about things I have total control over is in the Constitution. A disclaimer on MRTVI’s bandcamp warns that “Negative Atonal Dissonance is not an album. It is a statement.” Under this guise, it’s quite easy to recommend this eclectic work of art. For many, myself included, it will be one of the most memorable experiences of the year.” Hold onto something firm.
