Catacobs - In The Depths Of R'lyeh

Genre: Funeral Doom

Year Released: 2006

Label: Moribund Records

Tracklisting/Song Length

1. In The Depths Of R'lyeh (11:16)

2. Dead Dripping City (16:36)

3. At The Edge Of The Abyss (13:27)

4. Where No Light Hath Shone... (But For That Of The Moon) (12:39)

5. Fallen Into Shadow (16:14)

6. Awakening Of The World's Doom (Reprise) (2:11)

Review:

This is amazing. It's slow, it's dark, it's atmospheric and IT'S FUCKING HEAVY. This is truly funeral doom. Slow as hell, long songs and just full of unrelenting atmosphere that threatens to steal your soul and pull you down into a dark abyss. The songs sound so fucking creepy, so disjointed and so disturbed. It could literally be described as the zombie of death metal. Slow, unrelenting, disgusting and full of hatred. This is not an album for everyone, the songs are almost drone-like in quality. They're insanely slow, the songs often repeat for long amounts of time and it really takes a keen listener to get into it. This isn't the type of music you can play and get into around your friends, especially if they're not into metal.

The guitars are slow, droning and and just filthy, well thought out and atmosphere ridden. They're deep, crunchy and can very easily pull you head first into this album if you're not paying close enough attention. Just the weird and disjointed way the songs are written make you feel odd, it just gives off a sense of unease and fear. Whatever the hell they're tuned to is great, I wish I could do that. This is honestly one of the first albums to ever actually give me shivers down my spine, it's really THAT atmospheric!

The drums, those are the most disjointed of the album. They're played in a very weird and slow way that really keeps you off guard. It's very hard to drum at a pace as slow as Catacombs is going, it's very easy to lose the beat, get distracted or even just plain out forget what you were doing. None of these ever bother Catacombs, it's precise, slow and truly unnerving.

The vocals are the key to just how deep and dark this album is. They're really, really low growls that can last an amazingly long time and never fail to add atmosphere to the album.If anything they manage to make this one of the most odd and crazy musical experiences I've ever had.

Overall if you don't pick this album up ASAP you'll be missing out big time. This is what Funeral Doom is all about, this is the embodiment of funeral doom in 6 slow and dripping songs. If you ever listen to doom then this is a must have, it's a true funeral doom masterpiece.

BUY IT FUCKING NOW!

Final Rating:

5/5

http://www.myspace.com/catacombsfanpage

http://solitude-prod.com/index.html

Infanticide - From our Cold Dead Hands

Genre: Grindcore

Year Released: 2010

Record Label: Willowtip Records

Tracklisting/ Song Length:

1. Domestic Warfare (2:25)

2. Inside The Box (0:46)

3. Militant Resentment (1:21)

4. Change! (1:06)

5. Lifeless (0:52)

6. Illusion of Purpose (1:26)

7. Puzzles Of The Flesh (0:56)

8. A Worse Today (1:06)

9. Tvärvägra (0:33)

10. Shock And Awe (2:23)

11. Shitfaced And Armed To The Teeth (0:40)

12. Crisis Point (1:11)

13. #(&%#)7 (0:39)

14. Demerol Deity (1:26)

15. Dödligt Självförsvar (0:47)

16. Under Dumhet Digna Ned (2:08)

17. A World of Opportunities (1:40)

18. It Ends Here (1:25)

19. The Alliance (1:21)

20. Within Inches (0:38)

Review:

This is grind! This is badass! This is SWEDISH! it is all those things and more, this is a very well pulled off grindcore with some Swedish death metal elements and it's fucking awesome. The songs are short, well written and fast as hell! The structure is very reminiscent of Nasum and well actually... thats the bad thing, this album does sound and look like it could've been a rejected Nasum album with a "not as good as Nasum but still decent" drummer. But this is grindcore, it is very hard to be original and NOT SUCK in grindcore these days. The album is pretty short, another downside there while most albums these days easily surpass the 30 minute mark these guys come limping in with a Full Length that is just under 25 minutes, it could've used more songs thats for sure.

The guitars are pretty good, basically if I ever listen to Nasum you know what to expect. It's not bad, not great, just decent and unoriginal guitar riffs with the exception of a few brief moments where their Swedish Death Metal influence comes shining through. Then they grown into their own thing, but after that it's straight back to unoriginal political grindcore.

The drums aren't bad either, not great but they don't suck by any means. The drum beats are very familiar and you've heard it all before but they're tastefully pulled off and skillfully done. The blastbeats are very well done and the D-Beats are really nicely done as well. This is grindcore so i'm not going to hold the fact that they were very repetitive against them, thats grindcore drumming for you right there. It's decent.

The vocals are pretty good as well, just like i've said with the guitars and drums they're very average and unoriginal. While not by any means bad they're just very plain death growls. Nothing new, nothing cool and weird, no variety just well done (if not a little boring) mid-pitched death growls with a few random moments of George Fisher styled vocals.

Overally this really isn't a bad band and I know it sounds like I was really harsh on them, but you know what? That's because it's what they are. They really aren't bad, they're just a decent and forgettable Nasum clone. I did like the album, it was fun to listen to, I just there was some more variety and that maybe they could've made the album a little bit longer.

Give it A Spin!

Final Rating:

3/5

http://www.myspace.com/InfanticideTerrorUnit

http://infanticidegrindcore.cjb.net/

http://www.myspace.com/willowtiprecords

http://www.willowtip.com/

Scaremaker - What Evil Have They Summoned

Genre: Death Metal

Year Released: 2010

Label: Razorback Records

Tracklisting/Song Length:

1. Dark Night Of The Scaremaker (1:34)

2. Demonic Infestation (3:20)

3. The Hatched (2:40)

4. Carpathian Breed (3:14)

5. In The Shadow Of The Matriarch (3:14)

6. Burning Inquisition (3:46)

7. Diabolical Metamorphosis (3:18)

8. Gore Shriek (1:08)

9. The Possessor (2:13)

10. Nocturnal Bloodbath (2:51)

11. Fatal Eve (Instrumental) (2:31)

12. Archaic Offerings (2:36)

13. Devil's Son (DC Lacroix Cover) (2:48)

Review:

Well... it'll be nice to call this a review, but it's not. This here is a bashing session, plain and simple. This horrible excuse of a band is fucking atrocious. The music is uninspired, boring, badly played, badly written and a waste of time. The riffs sound fucking horrible, they're trying to call this shit old school death metal and they have fucking Static-X riffs in a few songs! The lyrics are shittily written and based "loosely" on horror movies, and while the moviees may have been cool, this isn't. If anything this roving group of fags are actually giving horror movies, metal and music itself a bad name. I feel embarrassed to say that I listened to the whole thing, I feel embarrassed for the ENTIRE metal genre for having this shit released.

The vocals are fucking horrible, they sound like a retard doing fucking Darkthrone vocals mixed with a "Steveo on Meth" type vocal that honestly make you want to strangle whoever the fuck was making those "sounds". The guitars, bass and everything is fucking horrible as well, the riffs are completely and utterly shitty, they sound like one of the more forgettable 90's death metal bands thrown in a blender with Static-X pureed, deep-fried, buried, shat on and lit on fire just to be put out with some fucking aids infested faggot blowing a load all over it. The drums are equally bad, with the SAME EXACT BEAT being played over and over and over again with a SLIGHTLY different fill thrown in for good measure every now and then.

This is shit that'll make any metal fan worth their life cry and beg for it to stop. And think this over, i've given ultra brutal guttural shit better ratings then this, i've actually given harsh noise a better rating then this will ever get.

If you buy this you might as well go and pick up the next Lady Gaga or Jonass Brothers album because that is what you'll be dooming yourself to.

FUCK THIS SHIT.

Final Rating:

-1/5

I'm not putting links up for this gay shit.

Pus Vomit - Degrade The Worthless

Genre: Brutal Death Metal

Year Released: 2009

Label: Bergudo Records

Tracklisting/ Song Length:

1. She Died A Virgin (3:06)

2. Soaked In Her Own Blood (2:46)

3. God Help Me Rape The Dead (2:15)

4. Pungent Rotting Flesh (2:28)

5. Self Inflicted Wound (3:17)

6. Dead For Rent (2:58)

7. Your Dead Body I Molest (3:21)

8. Dead Remains (2:23)

9. Retching Lacerated Entrails (3:11)

10. Dismembered Virgin Limbs (4:11)

Review:

I'm not a huge brutal death metal fan, I never really have been, but I know good music when I hear it and this isn't bad at all! Pus Vomit is a fairly unoriginal BDM band with obviously really talented members, they may not be very well known but they know what the fuck they're doing! It's not often that I can sit down and listen to something from a genre that I don't like all too much and end up enjoying it, this is one of those cases.

The guitars, while well done are very bland, usually they usually choose four rifs and stick with those for that certain song, then get rid of two of the riffs and add in two new ones for the ext song, it gets fairly annoying actually. While yes, that does annoy me quite a bit I can still say that those riffs were VERY well and skillfully played (except the breakdowns, but i'm not getting into that).

The drums, now this is where the album really shines, the drums are really well played and are full of badass fucking drum fills, their drummer knows what toe fuck to do on the drums and precisely how the fuck to do it! The blasting is great also, he never fucks one up, never loses a single beat (which is a real danger with blastbeats). The double base is also amazing, very well pulled off and throw in some fancy cymbal play and we've got the main reason why i'm not giving this album a really bad rating!

The vocals, the vocals... Shit they're not bad for what they are, the gutturals are fairly skillfully done and sound deep and well.... guttural. The gutturals are all nice and whatnot but what really got to me were the pig squeals. Those sounded horrible! Thank god he doesn't use them too much dude, if this were mainly pig squeals I don't care HOW good the drumming is, I would fail it. Thats about it for the vocals, if he sticks purely to the gutturals and maybe throws in some mid-range death screams this would be a LOT better!

Overall this is a fairly decent BDM band that has an amazing drummer but needs to work on song-writing and NOT DOING PIG SQUEALS.

Final Rating:

2/5

http://www.myspace.com/pusvomit

http://www.myspace.com/berdugorecords

Dusk - Majestic Thou in Ruin

Genre: Death/Doom

Year Released:1994

Label: Requiem Records

Tracklisting/Song Length:

1. ...Majestic Thou In Ruin (8:04)

2. Paled (7:58)

3. Thy Bitter Woe (9:08)

4. The Transfiguration (And It Was So) (7:57)

Review:

Wow, this is DOOM. It's slow, crushing, heavy and creepy sounding! It's atmospheric like a Dario Argento film and just a really nice listen. All the instruments are pulled off very well and the vocals sound great! Those sound very reminiscent of earlier Kam Lee vocals, which is a fucking compliment and a half right there! If you're into death metal and don't mind your death to be a slow one then by all means check this band out, they're gruesome, atmospheric, comprised of very good musicians (especially the drummer) and is just overall a very good album to listen to on a dark, gloomy, foggy night.

The guitars are very well played but you really can't tell just good of a guitarist he is by listening to this album. The guitars on this one, they're just not flashy at all, usually its a chugging, slow death metal riff or a few very brief moments of tremolo picking followed by.... another chugging, death riff. Don't get me wrong, it certainly isn't bad, I just wish it could've been more varied and change up a bit more often, it's good for the style they're playing but not much other then that.

The drums on the other hand are just fucking awesome! Full of weird fills, original cymbal work, really odd drum patterns and beats and just all around masterfully pulled off! The double bass thats thrown in there every now and then sounds really good, very precise, and fucking ungodly when mixed with the cymbal play (you can hear what i'm talking about in the song The Transfiguration). The rolls can last for a very long time and are very tastefully pulled off. There is nothing bad to say about the drumming at all!

The vocals are nice as well. They sound almost pained, very creepy and they always help the music go along. Like a mixture of Kam Lee and Soulside Journey era Darkthrone. They're very well done, the lyrics are very creepy and strangely haunting and just the overall lay-out of the vocal pattern is something that is not usually this noticeably cool. They must've taken a decent amount of time as to mapping out the vocal sections in the songs.

Overall this is a very good album from a US death/doom band that most people ignore for one reason or another. This is what we call badass death/doom dudes, i suggest that if you ever see this CD for sale at a used CD store or something, don't fucking hesitate to buy it!

Give it A Spin!

Final Rating:

4/5

http://www.myspace.com/duskofficial

Suffocation - Blood Oath

Genre: Tech/Death Metal

Year Released: 2009

Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Tracklisting/Song Length:

1. Blood Oath (3:55)

2. Dismal Dream (3:17)

3. Pray For Forgiveness (3:40)

4. Images Of Purgatory (3:28)

5. Cataclysmic Purification (4:54)

6. Mental Hemorrhage (3:55)

7. Come Hell or High Priest (4:07)

8. Undeserving (4:11)

9. Provoking The Disturbed (5:19)

10. Marital Decimation (4:16)

11. Pray For Forgiveness (Instrumental, Bonus) (3:40)

12. Dismal Dream (Rough mix, Bonus) (3:16)

Review:

YES! This is great! Fucking wonderful drums, guitars, bass, vocals... the whole nine yards are fucking badass! It's not often I have this much fun listening to a band ever! Everything about this album is outright metal and full of technical changes. Blood Oath's best thing going for it is that you can sit there listening to the album and try to work away at the depth of it, the many different riff changes, the bass lines, the amazing drumming and the ass kicking vocals!

The guitars are astounding! They are constantly changing, molding around the drum beats, forming shapes and images of death with they're constant variety of riffs, solos and tremolo picking. The solos are really badass, they're blistering fast, technical almost to the point of "wankery" but they pull it off tastefully and it really ends up adding to an already killer album!

The drums are even better, with the complicated, technical drum patterns and beats going all over the places. The blastbeats are amazing, the weird ass cymbal play throughout the album is fucking awe inspiring, the double bass is fast and fucking furious and the fills/rolls are very well done, technical and full of brutal fucking surprises. No complaints here!

The vocals are great for different reasons here. The vocals are very, very well pulled off and they're different from all your other tech/death bands out there, these actually sound good. They're not uber guttural shit, they're well done mid pitched death growls/yells and add to the music very well, the lyrics are very well written (just to make things even better).

overall, this is a really good album from a really good band, these guys have been out and about in the music scene since the late 80's and they still know how to kick ass like none other! My one negative comment that keeps this album from getting a pure five star rating is this: the breakdowns. There are a few breakdowns throughout the album, some of them are rather well done and actually add to the music, but a few of them just sound like the band is trying to sucker in "new" fans by throwing in a few unoriginal breakdowns. Don't let that keep you from buying the album though, those parts are VERY shortlived and the overall experience that this album gives you is truly worth the 10$ or so you'll be paying for this motherfucker.

Fucking Buy IT!

Final Rating: 4.5/5

http://www.suffocation.us/

http://www.myspace.com/suffocation

http://www.myspace.com/nuclearblastusa

Malignant Christ - Into The Pits Of Cremation Demo

Genre: Death Metal

Year Released: 2009

Label: Self-Released

Tracklisting/Song Length:

1. Thrones Of Golgotha (5:08)

2. Forever In Chaos (5:36)

3. Torches Of Sodomy (5:24)

4. Into The Pits Of Cremation (5:37)

Review:

Well now, whats this? A drum machine band that doesn't suck? Damn right you are! These guys are a fucking insane chunk of death metal heaven (or hell). They have great song titles, awesome songs and just all around seem to be a cool band. The guitars are really nice, very downtuned and crunchy, the fucking guitar tone is just a fucking monster on it's own! This sounds like a combination of the truly disgusting and the outright brutal! Heavy ass riffs and a sound that is literally dripping pus and rancid sewage! The drum programming for what it's worth seems to actually have had some thought put into it (unlike most bands), it's not a great drum machine, but it's very wel thought out, they just need a better program. The vocals are really dark, really eerie sounding and just fucking gore drenched!

This is a badass four song demo that you need to pick up, it's almost perfect dude!

Give It A Spin!

Final rating:

4/5

http://www.myspace.com/malignantchrist