Bones - Bones

Bones are a crusty death metal group from Chicago consisting of a few “veterans” of the Chicago metal scene, all three of which are former members of the relatively well-known black/thrash outfit Usurper.



“Bones” is a consistently unrelenting album that bludgeons from start to finish. You can expect heavy, hard hitting riffs with a cool tone that lies somewhere between early Master and many straight up d-beat/crust bands. The vocals are more on the thrash/crust side of things, delivered in a shouty and aggressive manner. I find the drumming to be quite varied and not just relying on using the d-beat as a lot of bands who play in this style tend to do.

Don’t put this album and expect complex mind-bending metal, because that’s not what you’re gonna get. Bones are clearly influenced by bands such as Motörhead, Discharge and their legendary hometown heroes Master. These guys rely more on sheer volume and brutal force rather than catchy riffs and beats (although the songs are still catchy, in my opinion) to grab your attention. This album really is a case of “everything louder than everything else”, and it shows in the killer production job as well.

Every track on here is a pure bludgeoning representation of the term “death metal”, fast, loud and relentless. It’s difficult to choose a favourite track here, as I don’t feel the urge to skip through any of them and enjoy listening to the whole album in a single setting pretty regularly but the songs that I think stand out the most are the opener “March of the Dead”, “Bitch”, the Devastation (Chicago Devastation, not Texas) cover “Apocalyptic Warrior”, “Good Die Young” and “666”.

Get this album to fill that crusty, ugly and evil death metal void in your life.

5/5

Vomitory – Opus Mortis VIII

Can you expect an old-school Swedish death metal band that’s been pumping out consistently solid releases for around 20 years to disappoint? If you’re answer is “yes”, then stop reading, because you won’t find what you’re after here. If it’s “no”, read on my friend…



Vomitory haven’t really changed much at all since they began back in death metal’s early days, but they have been reasonably consistent over the years, and from what I’ve heard of their discography, you can put on just about any album and have a good ol’ time. “Opus Mortis VIII” is their eight studio album, and it’s one hell of a riff-fest!

Each song on “Opus” flows on from the last into the next rather seamlessly and is generally chock full of quality riffs, interesting Swedeath style breakdowns, ripping solos, pounding beats, heavy basslines and evil as fuck vocals. My favourite tracks would have to be the opener “Regorge in the Morgue”, which grabbed me by the short hairs instantly and got me into the groove, “The Dead Awaken”, which is a perfect example of a good Swedish-style death metal song done right, and “Hate in a Time of War” which is a more mid-paced and “epic” sounding number that stands out from the rest. I personally don’t think there are any filler tracks on here, either.

The production job is damn good, with a nice bass-heavy/muddy-guitar type mix that suits their sound perfectly. All in all, you can expect a well-mixed old-school death metal album that ticks all the boxes for your macabre needs.

4/5