 Written by: Blackie Skulless
Imagine trying to follow up perfection; you really can’t. But you can bring forth something nearly as incredible, especially when it still blows minds thirty years after its release. Overkill had hit their peak complexity in songwriting in 1989 (regardless of how you feel about the songs themselves), and really had to come up with something mind-blowing on Horrorscope. While that may be tough in the eyes of some, they could at least offer something different, and with that I open by saying that the guitar tones alone here are what likely led to what we ended up with on The Killing Kind. Except the thrash metal angle was still in full control, and the attitude was amped up a step from before. Though the guitars may feel a bit warmer than before, that allows them to cut with a smoother sweep due to how sharp they are. The fact that there’s such a clear space between the notes while still holding the speeds that were present on Feel The Fire is impressive beyond belief. The way they tie it all together with little licks, such as the backing ring in opener “Coma” kicks some serious ass, and this song is also a fantastic example of how they cram so much density into such warm speed-riffing.
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To assess Cerebral Rot's latest offering, two Village-dwellers took up the pen, making for a (somewhat) rare double review 'round these parts. Enjoy! - Ed.
Written by: Blackie Skulless
After occupying many rotations on my turntable with their debut album, Cerebral Rot have come back with another vile and fucking putrid cut of rotted metal meat. Their brand of doom/death has always had an extreme focus on all things body fluid, gore, decay, and stench. Adding tighter hooks and spreading it across a sizable platter made it stand out a little bit. Excretion Of Mortality has come by for a second serving of just that, pairing very well with the banger of a debut. Working off of something that I loved so much, that usually guarantees that it will be solid at minimum. I was a bit worried it’d be a carbon copy of Odious Descent Into Decay, and while it’s pretty similar, there is enough here to sift from the sewage. For starters, I think they align a little more with the cavernous bands of this style than before (but not entirely stepping into it). Picking up some booming bass rumbles that the likes of Spectral Voice or Carcinoid crank out was easy enough. Some of the song construction adds that little taste of “the space between the notes” as well, if you will. “Spewing Purulence” serves that with a side of pinch harmonics to let it stand out more. Its tremolo-ridden bridge back into the main riff is a nice touch too. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Coming from the hot plains of Corona, California, are a death metal outfit known as Masochist. They only have this one release from a couple years ago, but they appear to be alive on the horizon. Chaos Of World Possession is the title of the EP, and early on they display a strong ear for groovy chops. It’s also pretty concise for the stage that it’s in. That of course helps and hurts. Usually I have a tougher time with cleaner death metal. The drumming comes through in a vibrant manner because of their crushing speed, but it can sometimes feel less-than organic because of the sheer clarity. Vocally, it takes a bit of a hit as well for the same reason. Thankfully, neither thing really stops it from being pleasing overall. It also on the other end helps because of how nicely you can pick up on this mean riff machine.  Welcome back, weary traveler! Firstly, if ye missed Part 1 of this mid-year extravaganza, we highly recommend checking that out first. If you're already familiar with what this is all about, however: thanks so much for reading and returning for more! As always, we appreciate your patronage and your support, particularly now that our humble halls are filled with an exciting array of guest writers who deserve to have their words read.
Again, this collaborative list is far from exhaustive, and represents but a fraction of our collective favorites. As such, please feel free to leave a comment with a recommendation or two! List season is a great time to show the musicians that we love a little well-deserved support, and if you wanna shout someone out, this is as good a time as any. In that spirit, I'd like to once again offer thanks to everyone who helped make this list a reality and a success. Without further ado, let's dive in! Today's list is a tad longer than the first, so pull up a chair, put up yer feet, and stay a while. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Extirpate (verb): to root out or destroy completely. Nothing cooler than when the band name’s meaning fits so comfortably in the musical shoe. Extirpation are an Italian black metal band that formed in 2009, releasing several albums in that time. Their latest, entitled A Damnation’s Stairway To The Altar Of Failure, dropped in early 2019 (with a cassette release via Redefining Darkness in late 2020 - Ed.) and boy, is everything about this just painful and unlovable. Strap yourselves in, it’s a nasty ride. Building their craft around uncontrollable chaos involving madness and discomfort, this release will come in quick with a piercing delivery under mildly degraded quality. That includes the riffwork and the vocals alike. Musically, it’s somewhat thrash-oriented regarding the riffs, hearkening back to the first wave of black metal. But the clashing echo of the hate-fueled drums and the unique, shattering vocal performance brings this to far higher extremes. The vocals alone are a grower for sure, but should even stand out for the seasoned listener of this style.  Written by: Blackie Skulless
Truly, I have picked an incredible year to dive into black metal. Between the latest Wode release, and now this devastating beast of a group known as Craven Idol, I can’t have found a better time to jump balls-deep into this horrendous style of extreme metal. Craven Idol has been around since the early 2000s, hailing from London, England. Their third effort Forked Tongues follows the tales of the ancient serpentine beast known as Typhon, a titan of Greek mythology. I was not ready for this. With a cover depicting Earth on the cusp of burning to nothingness, we’re met with music that blasts the Olympian narrative deep into your ears with unforgiving black metal riffing, erupting drum-blasts, and varying vocal shrieks. The occasional dropping of a death-tinted growl and oh-so subtle falsettos work in an even broader scope of madness. To be even more over-the-top, the constant use of a noisy riff gradient keeps the bottom hot. On the upper levels, you’ve got wailing passages that introduce some signs of melody, making this a monster you have to submerge your attention in to catch it all. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Ever wonder what Hatebreed would sound like if they were more metal-oriented and less hardcore-oriented? Solanum are basically here to give you a taste of exactly that. Hailing from Canada, this is a crossover group that pounds old-school thrash riffs into a cemented hardcore aesthetic in the vocals. The result is Into The Sinner Circle or I.T.S.C, which is exactly what I described, constructed with longer song runtimes. Actually, that was the first thing that surprised me. Anymore, you don’t find bands with this style that crank out longer tunes over a beefier backbone. The vocals have such sharp speeds, spitting out line after line with a vicious attitude over intense riffing. The sheer fact that they could run with this for so long on some of these songs is pretty impressive as is. Granted, a lot of this has several different approaches within each song, but the fluidity of it caught me off-guard. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Wow, let’s talk about some God-tier death metal! Taking formation last year during the hellish times of a global pandemic, Finland’s Morbific have come forth a year later with a full-length to follow up last year’s debut demo. Ominous Seep Of Putridity is a raw, sophisticated pitcher of bile meant to ooze into your pores as you slowly immerse into the harsh noise. Good luck crawling out of this mess! Most notably, this disc has some of the chunkiest riffing I’ve heard on a death metal album in such a long time. The doomy presence that keeps things mid-paced without falling into full doom/death territory is a tactic pulled off tremendously. Groovy rhythms are doused in this aesthetic, served alongside some disgusting guttural vocals that bury ever-so-slightly beneath the sand for sharper leads to grate your skin. If that isn’t enough, these drums pop out with a mechanical click, giving the snare such an elementary feeling for all the right reasons. The drumming itself is excellent, so that’s like a two-for-one standout. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Boy howdy, what fun it is when you find something that reeks of a gory bloodbath taking place in the kitchen! Just the album cover to Cartilage’s 12-minute offering Gore-Met was about enough to sell me, and the music sounds exactly what you’d picture. Grindcore riffs with blistering, incomprehensible vocals, all themed around body-horror in the kitchen is what we’re in for. Get your apron and chef hat ready, this is a wild ride! “Enough To Make Your Skin Crawl” starts us off on the most conventional note, based around a failed experiment making beings become mutant and disgusting. The actual music is pretty death metal oriented, but the double-tracked vocals and smashing speeds are loads of fun. Helps it fit the overall idea as well. “Deranged Delikatessen” rails on with a bit more abrasion, tossing around guts and gore with slam-like rhythms and sharp blasts from the drumming.  Written by: Blackie Skulless
Back in 2013, I was pretty new to metal and the vast pool of bands and subgenres that it held. UK thrashers Evile, however, was one name that I was familiar with, and recall being blown away by Skull. Seeing how I still love it to this day, you can imagine my excitement upon hearing that, after eight years, we’re getting a new album. Take longtime lead guitarist Ol Drake and hand him the vocal duties in place of Matt Drake, enter Adam Smith, and you’ve now got another angle to look at this from. The end product is Hell Unleashed. So how different does the band sound with such a significant time gap and lineup change? Well, the musical direction is more or less the same. Speed remains the biggest selling factor, cranking out lightning fast riffs under crackling drums, all finished with some tight clear-coating. I’ve admittedly grown to dislike that kind of production in thrash, but it can be overlooked when the songwriting is extra stellar. The issue is, I don’t particularly think that’s the case here. |
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We provide thoughtful reviews of music that is heavy, gloomy...and loud enough to wake us from slumber. Written by a highfalutin peasantry!
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