Morbus Chron - Sleepers In The Rift

Man, what is it about Swedish death metal bands that don't sound Swedish? From Gorement to Wombbath, they pretty much universally kick ass. Carrying that torch into the 21st century are Morbus Chron, a Stockholm quartet who have been turning some heads with their own brand of mordantly humorous Autopsy inspired death metal.

Their debut Pulverized Records full length, Sleepers In The Rift, sounds like Severed Survival with a sense of fun. Look at that fuckin' cover art! What the fuck even is it? It doesn't even have a fucking title on it!

Featuring song titles like "Creepy Creeping Creeps" and filthy, squealing guitar leads that sound like the solo from Charred Remains played by BB King, this is some very catchy and yes, FUN death metal. The vocals are are somewhere in between Chris Reifert and Chuck Schuldiner; any death metal fan should know the kind of gravel throated howl I'm referring to. The songs range from thrashing Scream Bloody Gore death to blatant Autopsy worship, but maintain their own uniform sneering, wild eyed identity.

Though they are sonically closest to Autopsy, the fun lovin' corpse rapin' attitude of Morbus Chron owes a lot to Impetigo. Did I mention there are Lovecraftian themes as well? I haven't read the lyrics, but I know my H.P. and I imagine "Red Hook Horror" is a pleasantly grisly little number.

All in all, I'm very excited about Morbus Chron because I can't think of any other recent death metal band that combines this style of death metal, a wicked sense of humor, and such utter QUALITY in one package.

4.5/5

Arisen From the Crypt Monthly Special #4: Excruciate – Passage of Life

Well, it’s that time of the month once again. Since there seems to have been a bit of a death metal thing going on here at camp Witching Metal recently, I figure it’s about time I bring one of Sweden’s greatest, yet lesser-known death metal albums to your attention. Excruciate were one of those bands that put out a few demos and a full length then disappeared off the map almost entirely. It’s unfortunate that they never released much material, but the material they left us with is, to sum it up in a word, excruciating.



“Passage of Life” is a rather interesting album when you put it up against the usual Swedish death metal suspects; there’s not much in the way of driving d-beat rhythms shrouded in chainsaw guitar madness, as the band opts for a melting pot mixture of death metal sounds. Often within the same song you will find mid-paced Bolt Thrower/Asphyx moments alongside sloooow and suffocating Incantation-esque sections, all out thrashing riffs, NWOBHM style gallops and a few straightforward Nihilist/Dismember parts scattered here and there.

The production is absolutely perfect for Excruciates’ brand of old-school death metal, you can hear absolutely everything that is going on, but it’s still shrouded under a layer of darkness. The guitar sound is fantastic, and rather unusual for OSDM, as there are a lot more clean guitar parts then one would expect. The bass and vocals (special mention should be made for the vocalist, who has a great mid-low pitched growl that sounds very natural and menacing) are very high in the mix which adds a lot to the overall heaviness of the album and makes things that much more interesting. The drummer is quite talented and does a brilliant job holding things together throughout.

The songwriting is top-notch and you can tell the band spent a lot of time working on each song, there are plenty of tempo changes, interesting guitar solos and not a boring moment to be found during the whole 42 minutes that “Passage of Life” runs for. This is one of those albums that I just can’t fault or choose a favourite track from as every second is sheer old-school death metal darkness at its’ finest.

5/5

Erebus Enthroned Interview

Erebus Enthroned are a Sydney black metal outfit who have recently released their excellent debut album "Night's Black Angel". I got in contact with Nihilifer for an interview...



Wayde:
Greetings Nihilifer! To start this interview off, I was hoping you could give the readers a bit of background info on Erebus Enthroned; who’s in the band? When was Erebus formed? What have you put out so far? And so on…

Nihilifer:
Salve! Erebus Enthroned was formed in the year 2006 and since has been growing as an entity through several released recordings and intensive live performance both aggressive & magickally charged. The band has undergone a rather transformative process over the last few years in terms of the lineup. A handful of individuals have entered and been expelled in order for the alignment of the right creative minds (being the current and wyrdly achieved lineup) to reside with the proverbial temple walls of the entity. The outward importance of who is in the band is close to very minimal except for their involvement on a creative and spiritual level.

Wayde:
How have fans responded to your recently released full length “Night’s Black Angel”? I personally thought it to be the best new black metal release I’ve heard all year!

Nihilifer:
The response to “Night’s Black Angel” has been quite positive and together with live performances held throughout Australia has greatly expanded the awareness of what we are doing both within the metal underground and in the general music scene.

Wayde:
What ideologies are behind Erebus Enthroned? How do these manifest themselves within the music? What does “Satan” represent to you?

Nihilifer:
The inherent concept behind Erebus Enthroned is indeed a Satanic one. The notion of Him as the living opponent and vessel of transgression through Death; the vessel of transformation is the Alchemy reflected and expressed through our music. Satan to us is the engendered divine participle of destruction, undoing, evolution and becoming. Satanism is the path; it is the journey and not the highest object of aspiration. For where the aspiration is attained one/all has entered the state beyond any description or reasoning. “Harken the fiery union of God – Devil – Man. The Void Wyrm winding widdershins toward the Night of Pan”.

Wayde:
What short and long term goals and plans lie in Erebus Enthroned’s future? Are there any plans for tours or releases following the album yet?



Nihilifer:
The goals that lie ahead now that the debut album is released and creating its own momentum via a recent Australian tour and other shows, are to complete the year with one last show in November which will see the beginnings of a paradigm shift for us. We are currently working on the composition of our second full length album of which the writing/recording time we seek this time to not deliberate nor delay. If all goes to plan a split 7” will be released this year involving Erebus Enthroned and a Russian band of an ardent Satanic nature. Plans are in play to extend the live ceremonial aspect of the band internationally.

Wayde:
What do you feel you have achieved with the band so far, and what do you hope to achieve in the long term?

Nihilifer:
The first chapter of an endless book has been opened with the release of “Night’s Black Angel”. I feel we have revealed enough of this band’s loathsome countenance to make its initial impact. In the long term we are aspiring to bring the live ceremony to as many witnesses as possible.

Wayde:
Have you, or any of the other members of the band been involved in other musical outlets? If so, what are/were they and what have you (or they) achieved with these projects?

Nihilifer:
Many of us have been involved in other musical outlets. Involvement has ranged from session musicianship in Pestilential Shadows and Drowning the Light and personal projects like Ignis Gehenna. All relevant information on these can be found on the internet, but bear in mind that Erebus Enthroned is the pinnacle of each member’s creative endeavors, the knowledge and understanding of this is mutual and if one wishes to work on music on their own or with another band, they can in time that does not inhibit Erebus Enthroned’s work.

Wayde:
Where did the name “Erebus Enthroned” come from and what does it mean? Why did you choose this name for the band?

Nihilifer:
The name was thought of by an original member. I would personally like to think the name wyrdly presented itself to the band in its original form and not the other way around. Erebus in Greek mythology was the personification of Darkness and Shadow, and the son of Chaos. It is also said to be a region of Hell or Hell itself. When we think about this in terms of the band’s name Hell is a manifestation of Chaos still within the confines of a causal world. The enshrinement of Hell in a visual and symbolic sense is to upturn the world and sever the emanation of God allowing for a new Chaos to reign.

Wayde:
What are Erebus Enthroned’s influences, musical and non-musical? What music do you and the other band members listen to on a day-to-day basis?

Nihilifer:
When we compose music we always try to look deeper into a more profound source of inspiration for both music and of course lyrics. As musicians and also fans of music it is hard to escape the subconscious influence of that which you hear and are moved by. Our musical tastes and day to day listening ranges from Black, Doom and Death metal to Goth rock to 60’s/70’s Psychedelic and Hard Rock to Classical music (both of the old timeless composers and contemporary composers) to Dark Ambience and Harsh Noise.

Wayde:
I would like to thank you for taking the time for this interview. Any last words?

Nihilifer:
AVE CHAOS – PANGENETOR ET PANPHAGE!

Decrepitaph- Profane Doctrines Unburied

Decrepitaph are a NWOSDM band from Dallas, Texas, comprised of multi-instrumentalists Elektrokutioner and Sinworm. They've been around for six years, but have two previous full lengths as well as a TON of splits and EP's; I would assume that a two man band would be less prolific, but these guys must have some great chemistry.

Profane Doctrines Unburied is their third full lengeth effort, and right off the bat it gets credit for staying away from both of the strong trends that have developed in the new wave of old school death metal movement; HM-2 drenched Sunlight Studios clone band and Incantation worship. They also score a few points for not being a gimmicky campy stereotypically Razorback Records band like so many of their labelmates in Frightmare, Ghoul, etc.

I would venture to say that Decrepitaph sound more like UK underground heroes Cancer, through their very chunky, aggressive, punky riffing and guitar sound. That said, Decrepitaph's approach to death metal is probably a bit more varied than Cancer's, perhaps taking some influence from Bolt Thrower as well. They don't just go for the throat the entire album, sticking to a measured mid pace on average but not shying away from slower sections, especially during their slow, creepy leads. Speaking of those, they're great. The leads and solos on this album sound like horror movie themes played on the electric guitar.

Every second of this album is strictly old school, from the strictly non-blasting drumming to the ambiguously horrifying subject matter. If you're tired of endless Swedeath neophytes and Incantion plagiarists, but want to hear great new death metal, Profane Doctrines Unburied is for you.

4/5

Maim - Deceased to Exist

Maim is a death metal band from Sweden who formed in 2006. “Deceased to Exist” is their second full length release and to put it simply; it’s a good one!



“Gravedigger Sacrifice” opens up the album with all the flavours of Swedish death metal; the usual chainsaw tone and grinding d-beat rhythms are both there in spades, but, this is not the case for every song on this album and “Deceased to Exist” is actually a rather varied offering. The album is a mixed bag of straightforward Swedeath driving goodness, mid-paced Hellhammer-esque grooves, melancholically beautiful atmospheric doom sections and chaotic death metal madness.

The mix is a near-perfect blend of old-school and new-school production values that works exceedingly well with the music on display here. The songwriting is rather simple but Maim clearly know how to use this simplicity to full effect as each track keeps your attention without boring the listener and you can hear a great deal of thought has gone into each song; the catchy riffs blend in with the more chaotic sections while the melodic solos and slower sections compliment the extremity very well.

All in all, this ripper slab of Swedeath madness slays.

4/5

Miasmal - Miasmal

What if Wolfpack got together with Dismember and drank a shitload of beer while listening to the early works of Autopsy, then went and recorded an album together? Well, you would have Miasmal.

Formed in 2007, these Swedes have been honing their craft for a couple of years now, having released a demo, and EP, and now a full length (all 3 of these are self-titled, heh, and if you’re lucky enough to score the CD release from Dark Descent, the demo and EP come packaged with the album).



Miasmal easily ticks all the boxes for a killer Swedish death metal album; ugly as fuck guitar tone? CHECK. Driving D-beat rhythms? CHECK. Melodic guitar solos? CHECK. Menacing vocals? CHECK. But they also incorporate a large crust influence into their sound, and touches of some of America’s filthier death bands (Autopsy is a clear influence).

The songwriting is top-notch here, going from driving d-beat madness to slow dirges within seconds. There really is not a single bad track or boring moment to be found. Production is murky yet clear and audible so I have no complaints there either! The opening track “Mesmerized” sucks you in straight away with its rampant warlike aggression and catchiness, while songs like the intense as hell “Toxic Breed” keep you wide awake and don’t stop the madness.

I think I may have found my new favourite death metal release of the year with “Miasmal”. This album is fucking disgusting and I love it. It may derive a LOT from the early death metal and crust masters, but give “Miasmal” a listen and tell me it doesn’t sound fresh.

5/5

Don't be a wanker, BUY IT!

Coffin Dust – Ancient Rites of Buried Evil

Coffin Dust is a young death metal band from Philadelphia over in the US who formed last year. So far they have released a split, which was put out in September 2010, and an EP entitled “Ancient Rites of Buried Evil” which was released in May this year.



The EP starts off with a cheesy guitar intro more akin to a traditional metal band rather than a thrashing death metal band which leads into the song “I: March of the Machete Militia”, but it works with the music somehow. The bands sound is an odd mix of Swedish death metal and really punky thrash metal. I’m not quite sure how they pull this off, but they execute it really well and it makes for a very fun listen. The production is a bit muddy but you can still hear everything that’s going on, the drums and bass are high in the mix, which adds a nice heavy punch to their sound. The guitar tone is more of a thrash tone rather than a death metal type, but it’s made “darker” by the higher mixed bass. The vox are low-mid range and perfect for their sound.

The pace on the songs varies from fast d-beat Entombed worship to slowed down “Autopsy-ish” sections and everything in between. There are more than enough tempo changes to keep even the most Ritalin-addled thrasher happy and enough murky yet catchy riffs to keep the filthy death metal bastards banging their heads.

Coffin Dust are not playing anything “fresh” or “new” at all, but their style is still rather refreshing in today’s oversaturated death metal scene and I really look forward to hearing more of their stuff. I don’t really have any complaints about this release at all, although I would like to see a slightly better production job done next time, as I think it would allow the songs to stand out from each other a bit more.

3.5/5

Get it in ya!

Blaspherian Interview

Blaspherian are a blasphemous Texan death cult who have gained quite a following in the underground in the last couple years. I had the opportunity to speak with guitarist Wes Weaver about the band's past, present, and future...

Sam:

Hey Wes, welcome to Witching Metal! First thing's first, tell us a little bit about Blaspherian. Who's in the band, what other bands have you guys been in, any other trivia you want to include.

Wes:
Hails! Thanks for the interview and the support!
Wes Infernal-guitars
Joe Necro-guitars
Matt Mayhem-drums
Death Dispencer-bass/vocals
We recently let our vocalist, Lord Apollyon go, he is no longer in the band.
As for former bands... Hahaha no comment! No need to promote them!!!!!!!!

Sam:
So, your debut full length, the virulently evil "Infernal Warriors of Death" dropped earlier this year. What kind of feedback are you getting? How do you feel about it? It seems like it was pretty hotly anticipated in underground circles after the stellar "Allegiance to the Will of Damnation EP". Do you think it lived up to the hype?

Wes:
Positive so far, in fact way more positive than I could have imagined or hoped for. Yes I do think it's lived up to the 'hype', I think its better than 'Allegiance...' for sure.

I think it all came together nicely... Good songs,killer labels [Deathgasm in the U.S. and Deathrune in Europe] as well as the maniacs at Clawhammer PR doing a great job, and the layout came out sick!!!!!!!! So yes so far it's been more than we could have asked for.

Sam:
Is there any concrete ideology behind Blaspherian, or do you simply find blasphemous themes suitable subject matter for death metal?

Wes:
Basically it's very simple: blasphemous satanic death metal.... There's no underlying clever hidden meanings etc... We're a very 'to the point' band! That's the way we started this band and that's the way it'll stay, as well as the music.... Very straight forward, no technical fake death metal.... Just old school evil and heaviness.....

Sam:
What does the name Blaspherian mean?

Wes:
The name Blaspherian is a combination of the words blasphemy and luciferian. In a previous band I had an idea for a song called 'Blaspheria', so when that band broke up it came up as a possible name for this band,f or whatever reason I decided to add the n at the end, and we came to the conclusion it sounded fairly original, and we liked the concept...... I looked it up on google and nothing came up so I was fairly certain it was unused.....

Sam:
What bands influence Blaspherian, and what are your favorite bands?

Wes:
Influences range from all old school killer heavy metal,thrash,death metal and even some black metal. I totally worship old Slayer, Possessed, Exodus, Venom, Mercyful Fate, even early Metallica.. Hahahaha, among many more. As well as a shitload of current 'old school' death metal bands.... That's a huge list as well.

As for pure death metal I think a few bands are obvious.... Incantation and of course Immolation, not forgetting Morpheus Descends... early Obituary, Death and of course old Morbid Angel. Let's not forget Necrovore, that band was sick!

Sam:
What are your thoughts on the death metal scene today? Particularly "new old school death metal" bands like Dead Congregation, Funebrarum, Disma, Ignivomous, Miasmal, etc.

Wes:
I think it's killer. A lot of really good music is being released, unlike 10 years ago. And, so far none of the killer bands have signed to a bigger label, that's a really good thing... I think this music needs to stay underground completely to keep some sort of honesty, and integrity for sure... Honestly with how things are going I thought for sure some bands would have been picked up, but as I write this it hasn't happened. Hopefully it won't .... so many killer bands.... I also like Poisonous [Brazil].... Grave Miasma, among many many more.....

Sam:
Are yourself and the other members of Blaspherian looking forward to playing Rites of Darkness III in December? Any bands you're particularly excited to see or play with? I know I'm fucking psyched for just about everyone on the lineup!

Wes:
Yes! Unholy Hell there's so many... Cianide, Ignivomous, Hour of 13, Sadistic Intent, Dead Congregation... and you're right, almost every band is killer.... It's the sickest fest in the U.S.fFor sure and an honor to share the stage with so many killer bands!!!!!!! Hail!

Sam:
Can you tell us what Blaspherian will be doing in the future? Any plans for another record?

Wes:
Our next release will be a split 7" with the mighty Imprecation, that will be released through Dark Descent Records... Also we are working on material as we speak for a split 12" with Chile's Godless..... As well as other split releases, and yes also we want to release another full length in 2012, we write very slow... So we'll see if it comes out by 2012, we hope so because we want to carry the momentum a little longer.....

Sam:
Thanks a ton for answering my questions Wes! Best of luck to Blaspherian and I'll see you in San Antonio this December! Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Wes:
Thanks again Sam for the support!!!!!!! We appreciate it! Looks for our C.D. Through Deathgasm Records or in Europe through Deathrune Records and also the vinyl is available now! Limited to 300 copies on black vinyl and 200 die hard red vinyl a shirt and a poster!!! Hails to the warriors of death worldwide!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vastum-Carnal Law

Vastum are a death metal band from San Francisco, boasting three members of established crust-death act Acephalix. Though Carnal Law is only their first demo, it's generated such a shockwave in the underground that it's been re-released on CD by 20 Buck Spin, and is due to come out on vinyl this month.

I don't say this often about death metal albums, but before listening to Vastum's Carnal Law, I would really recommend reading the lyrics. They're fascinating, both cryptic and crudely poetic, and I feel they unlock the proper state of mind with which the music should be approached. The liner notes include a couple long quotes that elaborate on the thinking found here, so a physical copy is neccessary to really satiate one's curiosity! From what I am able understand, they dwell on the carnal, violent, and unrestrained true nature of man, and express disdain for frivolous societal structures and status quos. No gore, Satan, or less stereotypical but still common esoteric, abstract, and fantasy themes to speak of. Vastum shine a light into the darkest, most primal corners of the human mind, and strip away all hypocrisy and pretention.

Musically, the band is equally stellar. Though they've frequently been labeled death/doom, this is to my ears simply mid-paced death metal with absolutely no blastbeats. On second thought, simply is probably the wrong word. Subtle, dark, primal mid paced death metal would be more apt. The riffs ooze a suffocating atmosphere, and instantaneously leap from a slow lurching pace to galloping but controlled violence. Occasionally, a guitar solo shines through the thick black murk, and god damn do they rule! There are a few squealing, dramatic solos, such as the two in "Devoid", and a couple more melodic numbers, such as the one that ends the title track, which is coincidentally my favorite track on the album. The vocals alternate between a mid-pitched, almost black metal rasp, and a deeper growl, nimbly delivering the lyrics in between ominous slabs of riffage, and really accentuate the atmosphere nicely, especially if one reads the lyrics. This doesn't especially sound like any other bands, but I suppose it could be compared to early Grave, and maybe even Six Feet Under if they didn't suck. I really don't want to discredit Vastum by comparing them to Six Feet Under, so I'd like to reassure any picky death metal snob reading this that Vastum are MUCH better than Six Feet Under, boasting more memorable riffs, a darker atmosphere, and sharing only their propensity for crushing mid-paced riffage.

Frankly, I can't stop listening to this. Carnal Law is quickly becoming one of my favorite death metal releases this year, and may even be my overall favorite of 2011. I can definitely see myself coming back to this again and again, the same way I do classic masterpieces like Altars of Madness and Into the Grave. Not to be hasty, but with the amount of attention this band is receiving after a single demo, I wouldn't be surprised if there are big things waiting for them in the future.

4.5/5