Unique Leader Records

Dawn of Demise – Into the Depths of Veracity Review

By Saunders on April 18, 2019 in 2019, Danish Metal, Death Metal, Reviews, Unique Leader, Death Metal, Slam, 37 comments

“Dawn of Demise are the death metal equivalent of comfort food; they’re high in calories, addictive and provide an unhealthy dose of tasty goodness that proves difficult to resist. The Danish veterans have been plugging away with their beefy, groove-laced brutal death formula for well over a decade. And while they may struggle to hit truly great heights, I’m always eager to dive into the thick, gooey depths of their simple and bludgeoning formula. Fifth album Into the Depths of Veracity largely offers more of the same as a follow-up to 2016’s solid The Suffering LP.” Brutal buffet.

Applaud the Impaler – Ov Apocalypse Incarnate Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on April 7, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Deathcore, Reviews, Technical Death Metal, Unique Leader, Deathcore, Technical Death Metal, 32 comments

“Drum patterns emphasize velocity, above which electric guitar promulgates a chaotic aesthetic — not infrequently utilizing dissonant scalar patterns — to complement, to the point of a studious avoidance of juxtaposition, the aesthetic of furious speed cultivated herein. A huge breakdown hits right after, rattling skulls and seething with adrenaline. Complexity is easy, simplicity is hard — just look at academic writing. The difference between these two sentences — the first overtly if not needlessly complex, the second easy to read and appealing to those who grew up enjoying the deathcore boom of the mid-to-late 2000s — is a good picture of my reaction to Applaud the Impaler’s new record Ov Apocalypse Incarnate.” Tip your impaler.

Truth Corroded – Bloodlands Review

By Saunders on March 25, 2019 in 2019, Australian Metal, Death Metal, Metalcore, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Unique Leader, Death Metal, Metalcore, 12 comments

“Right off the bat, the name Truth Corroded rang a bell. Further investigation reveals the band hail from my homeland of Australia, lurking in the metal scene since their formation way back in 1997. Yet despite the familiarity and possibility that I’ve caught them live before, Truth Corroded have never landed on my radar. So I was curious to hear what the veteran act could muster on their sixth full-length album and first since 2013.” Badlands, Bloodlands, no man’s lands.

Continuum – Designed Obsolescence Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on February 21, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Reviews, Technical Death Metal, Unique Leader, Technical Death Metal, 115 comments

“The internet has created an interesting world where, no matter how esoteric what you do or like is, someone else is doing or enjoying the very same thing. On the one hand, this is great; it’s easier than ever to get recommendations on obscure Brazilian goregrind bands, because there’s a small online community devoted to just that. On the other hand, it’s a bit haunting to some types of people to be not whatsoever original in their tastes.” Fetish-tech.

Cognitive – Matricide Review

By Akerblogger on October 28, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Death Metal, Reviews, Unique Leader, Death Metal, 30 comments

“Glaring faults have surfaced after revisiting Cognitive’s 2016 release Deformity. At the time of my 2016 review, I was taken aback by Deformity’s barrage of brutal death metal merged with playful yet apt spurts of technicality. I complimented the vocal approach, too — using disgusting hyperbole I labeled vocalist Jorel Hart a monstrous vocal shapeshifter. However, upon my recent revisit, Deformity’s mix sounds dense in an obscuring, impenetrable way, the vocals are way too forward in the mix and carry a distracting monotony at times, and the technical escapades are either too brief or twist a song into an unnatural gait. Still, moments of exciting power remain, but they’re not as prominent or convincing as when experienced in 2016. I’ve become much more jaded since then. Fast forward 24 months and Cognitive are back with Matricide, their third full-length.” Time does not heal.

Internal Bleeding – Corrupting Influence Review

By Saunders on October 18, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Death Metal, Reviews, Slam, Unique Leader, Death Metal, Slam, 33 comments

“Unfortunately, there’s a tragic side story around the album’s conception, bringing a deeper emotional depth to Corrupting Influence. In 2017, founding member, powerhouse drummer, and veteran New York firefighter Bill Tolley sadly passed away while bravely performing his duties during a complicated emergency. Determined to press on and honor Bill’s memory, Internal Bleeding forged ahead with their latest opus of slammy, hardcore-tinged death.” Once and future heroes.

Obliterate – Impending Death Review

By Master of Muppets on May 30, 2018 in 2018, Canadian Metal, Deathcore, Reviews, Slam, Unique Leader, Deathcore, 95 comments

“Though the list of bizarre shit to be experienced and eventually incorporated into the norm only continues to grow, there are still some things that you just don’t expect to actually encounter for yourself. Cheese-stuffed fried chicken, lapdogs that aren’t insufferable yippy shits, an album brutal enough for Kronos… each of these wonderful oddities exists, but they’re hard at work being hard to find and proving my point. Among this list of wonderment and rarity is deathcore that I can tolerate beyond 15 seconds.” Buried treasurecore.

Ingested – The Level Above Human Review

By Kronos on April 26, 2018 in British Metal, Death Metal, Deathcore, Reviews, Unique Leader, Deathcore, Slam, 46 comments

“Slow year for death metal though it has been, things are speeding up — metaphorically, that is. Manchester’s finest slamongers are back with their fourth full-length insult, The Level Above Human, and as always they’re peddling their trademark combination of deathcore and brutal slam. It’s an influential mix and one that plenty of today’s slam-purveyors like Vulvodynia and Abominable Putridity owe their success to. Yet as fun, as the beatdown combo can be, quality control has never been a hallmark of either genre. Ingested navigate the bloodied, goopy waters of brutal deathcore as well as any crew of veteran slam sailors, and though The Level Above Human won’t change your world, it will change the position of your head in relation to that world with great regularity.” Level up or die.

Krosis – Solem Vatem Review

By Kronos on March 13, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Deathcore, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Unique Leader, Deathcore, 58 comments

“It seems as if the late-2000s progressive deathcore scene is still strong, with stalwarts like Born of Osiris still putting out albums while newcomers like Shadow of Intent drop new and exciting explorations of the style. Perhaps it’s the years lost to the flash-in-the-pan djent experiments or the people playing the music simply growing older, but the oft-maligned microgenre seems to have become a bit more self-aware in the decade since its inception. And while gauged earlobes and squeaky-clean production die hard, good songwriting lasts forever. Do Krosis have what it takes to keep it moving forward?” Death and songcraft.

Dyscarnate – With All Their Might Review

By Mark Z. on September 22, 2017 in 2017, British Metal, Death Metal, Reviews, Unique Leader, Death Metal, 72 comments

“If there’s one thing Dyscarnate have taught me, it’s that other modern death metal needs to step up its collective shit. Formed in 2004, this British trio first caught my attention in 2012 with sophomore full-length And So It Came to Pass, a record which may as well have invented the term “chunky riff.”” Hammer time.