Vagabond’s top 10 albums of 2011.

Yeah, I decided to do one of these silly list things that every other blogger and their grandma does. Keep in mind this “top 10” is subject to change because I haven’t properly digested or even heard every good release from this year yet. Enjoy.

10. Horrid – Horrid



One of the first bands to REALLY impress me with their debut album this year, these maniacs play a ripping blend of old-school Sarcofago, Possessed and Sadistic Intent worship. It’s a shame this release was limited to a small number of units.

09. Vanhelgd – Church of Death



Swedish death metal that has more in common with bands like Asphyx and Bolt Thrower rather than Entomed, Grave and Dismember. Easily one of the best albums emerge from Sweden in recent times.

08. Antichrist – Forbidden World



Thrash album of the year, hands down. These Swedes are one of the few newer thrash bands who actually have their own sound and don’t come across as a direct rip off of their 80’s thrash heroes, and I salute them for that. Great album!

07. Erebus Enthroned – Night’s Black Angel



I haven’t been following black metal as closely as I used to, but Sydney’s Erebus Enthroned definitely caught my attention with “Night’s Black Angel”. This is the best BM release I’ve heard in a while.

06. Autopsy – Macabre Eternal



Old-school US death metal legends reunite and put out an EP in 2011 then blow everyone’s heads out of the water with their best release since “Mental Funeral”. Well done, gentlemen, well done.

05. Portrait – Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae



It seems Sweden is dominating this list and with good reason, too. No other traditional metal album released this year touched the brilliance of Portrait’s sophomore effort. In Solitude (also from Sweden, gasp!) came close, but not quite close enough.

04. Assaulter – Boundless!



With “Boundless!” Assaulter improved on every aspect of their sound and have shown us that they can’t be pigeonholed into any specific sound or genre. Definitely the best Australian metal album to come out in 2011.

03. Miasmal – Miasmal



Death metal album of the year for me. Miasmal takes the regular “TURN THE HM-2 UP TO 11 GO FOR THE THROAT D-BEAT D-BEAT D-BEAT UUURRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH” sound that Swedish death metal is known for and injects it with a healthy dose of crust punk, sounding like Wolfbrigade (my favourite punk band) gone metal.

02. Blasphemophagher – The III Command of the Absolute Chaos



About time I featured some war metal in this list. Blasphemophagher definitely didn’t fuck around when writing songs for their third album. This slab of warmongering black/death destroys everything in it’s path.

01. Midnight - Satanic Royalty



What else was it gonna be? I’ve been waiting years for these filthy bastards to deliver a full length, and fukk, do they deliver! By far my favourite album of the year. Motorcharged Venom-worshipping metalpunk at it’s finest. You can’t stop steel!!!

So there you have it, my top 10 of 2011. If I’ve missed anything, I either haven’t given it a proper listen or something on the list was just better. Now let’s see what 2012 has in stall for us…

Vallenfyre - A Fragile King

Vallenfyre are somewhat of a death metal “supergroup” from the UK featuring current and former members of Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and At the Gates. Their sound can best be described as early Paradise Lost mixed with some early Swedeath influences and a bit of Bolt Thrower and Asphyx-esque mid-paced riffage thrown in for good measure. So far they’ve put out an EP entitled “Desecration” and their debut full length “A Fragile King”.



The guitars have that early death/doom “gloomy” feel to them, as well as a Swedish buzzsaw feel in the faster tracks, the bass plods along and mostly just follows the guitar but still has an immense presence, the drums are quite varied and do their things well and the vocals are deep and menacing, sounding like a more developed Nick Holmes in the early Paradise Lost years. The production is great, it’s pretty clean yet suitably dark and murky at the same time.

As you probably gathered when I mentioned the influences, the album is rather varied and no two tracks sound the same. Lots of contrast between the doom and gloom moments and the more neck-breaking parts, which keeps things interesting. My favourite tracks off this would be the opening track “All Will Suffer”, “Desecration” (which totally reeks of Paradise Lost), “Ravenous Whore” (which wouldn’t sound out of place on a newer Swedeath album) and the mid-paced stomper “Cathedrals of Dread”. I realize I did just name the first 4 songs in a row as my faves, but there’s a reason behind that; it gets a bit stale on the second side and I can’t help but think they should have made the album 10 minutes or so shorter, but in saying that, the second half still has it’s moments and shits all over a lot of the younger bands out there.

All in all this is a pretty solid release and I’m really surprised that I only heard of this band a week or so ago and never really heard/read any buzz about them. It’s a great mix of death/doom and straight up death metal. Sure, the album should have been a smidge shorter but I’m not one to let that sort of thing ruin it for me.

4/5

SHARKBASTARDTERRORCULT Interview #4: Cannabis Corpse

SBTC:
Oh shit! Andy Horn!

Cannabis Corpse:
Hellish trip-outs and tormented brain-leakings, fellow death-rattled weedian bangers!

SBTC:
We all know CANNABIS CORPSE has been following a line when it comes to album titles, most specifically tweaking original CANNIBAL CORPSE album titles into weed themed tales of death. But my question is: Why didn't you start with Eaten Back To Life?

Cannabis Corpse:
When we began recording 'Blunted...' we didn't think we'd be recording a full LP, let alone several. We didn't want to approach this band as a complete chronological mimickery, but rather as a death metal homage to all of Cannibal Corpse's brilliance and to all Tampa Death and beyond. The altar had merely been prepared! The sacrifice was only starting to scream and a pulverizing string of musical murders became imminent.

SBTC:
I saw you guys posted an unreleased Cannabis Corpse song on MySpace for free download some time ago, "Covered With Seeds". Which I personally think is a fantastic song. Why wasn't it included in Tube of the Resinated?

Cannabis Corpse:
It was demoed out when we began writing for TotR, but we withheld it along with other songs and deposited them in our Ganj-vaults. We liked it a lot too, but just decided on the tracks that appear on the album. Maybe one day we'll blow the keefy dust off of some of these lost nugs and reveal them on an LP.

SBTC:
Who created the awesome bud monster? I met that monstrosity at your Halloween show in Oakland and it hugged me, it was pretty mindblowing. How did he come to be?

Cannabis Corpse:
The dude that runs Robotic Empire (who released the TotR LP) is married to an awesome gal who custom builds 'Furry' costumes for Fur fetishists. One day when we were over at their place, she surprised us with what she had made, and we nearly plummeted into madness with psychedelic excitement! Since then the bud-monster has become increasingly thrashed from the relentlessly crushing live death-pits!

SBTC:
What has been your favorite Cannabis Corpse performance and why?

Cannabis Corpse:
That's a tough call to make; every one of them has a charm of some sort attached. Brainsqueeze was a total obliterator, especially since we got to play with and see all our buds!

SBTC:
You have been a vocalist for quite a long time now, and your style ranges from VERY high pitched and original black metal vocals to low as fuck growls. What are some your main influences for these, and how have you perfected them? Are there any vocal exercises you do before singing?

Cannabis Corpse:
Nah, no exercises or anything like that, I just do whatever. Maybe if I did, I'd be a bit better, but I've always thought 'metal vocal training' (or whatever) was weak and wimpy. I'm just a dude who loves punk and metal, not learning lessons and music schooling. It’s probably good to warm up before a show so that you don't destroy your voice, but between drinking and smoking and headbanging for the other bands- there isn't always a lot of time to do that. I'm influenced by both Barnes and Fischer (of course!), David Vincent, Benton, Mike Beams and Chris Reifert to name just a few American Death metal influences for CC. To shout off just a few for Battlemaster: TG Warrior, Tom Araya, Proscriptor McGovern, Apollyon, and Mikko Aspa.

SBTC:
In forming Cannabis Corpse, which came first: the concept or the music?

Cannabis Corpse:
Concept then shortly after, the music.

SBTC:
It’s a proven fact that Cannabis Corpse will be releasing their 3rd full length album this year. What can we expect from it?

Cannabis Corpse:
Senses-slapping, uncompromising Richmond death metal with enough filthy licks and brain-bashing beats to send your corpus callosum into reeling narcotic disarray! This new LP WILL fucking penetrate!

SBTC:
Landphil is best known for his work in MUNICIPAL WASTE, how is the time divided between these two bands? Do you ever work on songs without him?

Cannabis Corpse:
Yes, Landphil is a busy banger! We all have a bunch of projects we all work on, but we all make sure to get together in order to wage weed war on the regular! We all dig doing it so much, sometimes we end up practicing even when one of the 4 of us is on tour with another band.

SBTC:
In addition to your cannibalistic weed obsessed death metal outfit, you also play in the Virginian techy black metal powerhouse known as BATTLEMASTER. "Warthirsting & Winterbound" is a real masterpiece, and I also loved the last few demos. Are there any future plans for a second full length?

Cannabis Corpse:
We all love raging Battlemaster whenever we can and write new material constantly, so you can expect a hellhorde of fervorous dementia from us soon! The newest stuff is definitely our most pestilent to date.

SBTC:
Even if you're not a part of it, is there any chance you could tell us what is DEATHCRUSH (VA) and who is involved in it?

Cannabis Corpse:
It’s a Mayhem tribute band that Hallhammer, Landphil and a bunch of other demonically damaging musicians put together for a more recent annual evil metal fest in Richmond called "Heart of Winter". They played songs from 'Deathcrush' and 'De Mysteriis...' and were certainly a crushing homage to two infernally timeless records!

SBTC:
Finally, although we might be missing the obvious, none of our inner circle can figure out which Cannibal Corpse songs the title of 'Shit of Pot Seeds' is based around, would you please enlighten us on the subject?

Cannabis Corpse:
'Pit of Zombies' is the number you're talking about. It's about having weed growing in your guts and its inevitable violent exit, fuck!

Krypts- Self-titled EP

Krypts, next to Swallowed, have probably the most underground buzz of any newer death metal band out of Finland, and for good reason. Perhaps MORE so than any other newer death metal band, Krypts have a very unique sound, and completely avoid the classification "worship band". As much as I love acts like Miasmal, Ritual Necromancy, and Vasaeleth, I have to give Krypts credit for not emulating Entombed or Incantation. One could conjecture that Krypts may be influenced by Incantation, as well as Finnish acts like Convulse and Demigod, but they take influence without using Mortal Throne of Nazarene as a tablature book.

The style on this EP is very similar to that of their previous release, the demo "Open the Crypt". Weighty, eerie, death metal with prominent lead guitar melodies. Creepy, otherworldly riffs abound, floating above the rhythm section and slithering in between vocal patterns. The rhythm section underpins the megalomaniacal riffage with unceasing precision, never getting too "brutal", never blasting, always complimentary to the guitars. The result is as a hypnotic as a will'o'wisp beckoning from the marsh. My only complaint about this EP is that it's too short. At 2 songs and 12 minutes, I can think of shorter EP's, but this is just so good that I crave more. Luckily, Krypts are due to release a full length in 2012...

4.5/5

In Solitude - "The World. The Flesh. The Devil"... The Review!!

In Solitude are a 5 piece heavy metal  band hailing from the Viking lands of Sweden. They released their newest LP “The World. The Flesh. The Devil” last spring and I can’t stop listening to it! If you’re a fan of ass-kicking heavy metal you’re in for a treat!

The sound is a blend of Candlemass and Mercyful Fate; there are a lot of up-tempo riffs and doomy vibes in the songs.  Hornper’s vocals are very much like Messiah Marcolin, deep and emotional with a good range to boot.  The riffs are like a dark and doomy Iron Maiden (early Iron Maiden), they’re melodic and yet pound the ground like a 10-ton hammer. The songs have plenty of noodly solos and widdly-woo to keep you air-guitaring in front of your mirror.

I honestly can’t say there is a bad song on this album, a rare find in these days! My favorites would have to be “Serpents Are Rising,” “To Her Darkness,” and “We Were Never Here.” The tunes are catchier than the clap; you’ll be humming along with the choruses in no time.  The way they keep things melodic but so heavy and evil is amazing! Sorcery! You feel like summoning up dark storms and yet… there’s no urge to paint yourself like an evil KISS knock off and run around in the woods. It’s a perfect capture of 70s heavy metal, pretty much taking the same torch from Black Sabbath’s debut and reigniting it with a new flame.

Probably one of the best new heavy metal bands I’ve heard in a long time, Sweden sure is coming out with a lot of good bands! I may sound like I’m having a textual orgasm, but it’s hard for me to find a band (especially a new band) that really gets me  going. All the tracks are solid, it’s a perfect essence of 70s heavy metal, and it kicks more ass than a room full of stampeding donkeys.

Now go get off your fat arse and nab this album!

5/5

Heresiarch – Hammer of Intransigence

Heresiarch is a 5-piece bestial black/death metal band hailing from New Zealand and featuring a couple of members from Diocletian and Witchrist, among others. Fans of those two bands in particular should have a rough idea what to expect from this war mongering horde’s first EP and second release “Hammer of Intransigence”…



One thing that I should mention firstly about this release is the production: it’s really clear and crisp for this type of music and you can hear every note played on the bass, every bash on the kit, the furiously belched vocals and the crunchy guitars. Nothing overshadows anything else and the EP is mixed really well.

The songwriting is top-notch chaotic and bestial war metal with slowed down doomy passages spread throughout. The band sounds like a mix of Diocletian, Conqueror and Bolt Thrower… a bit of an odd mix, but they pull it off. If there’s one thing this horde knows; it’s the balance between all out fury and slowed down crushing darkness. The best songs on here would have to be “Carnivore”, Iconoclasm”, “Thunorrad” and the title track.

All in all, this is a killer little EP and I can’t wait to catch these guys live at Evil Invaders IV in June 2012.

4/5

SHARKBASTARDTERRORCULT Interview #3: Massgrave

SBTC:
Hails and thanks for taking the time to do the interview. For those who have not heard of you guys, how and why did you guys get started as a band?

Massgrave:
Goat and Woody started the band around 2001 with Goat on drums and woody on bass.
They later added Lenny on Vocals and me on drums with goat moving over to guitar. We went like that for a few years and then got Dave in to play bass so Woody could focus on vocals.
The line up is Lenny/Vocals, Woody/ Vocals, Goat/Guitar, Dave/Bass, Hesher/Drums. As for why we all love punk music and grind/crust. We are influenced by bands like Napalm Death, Disrupt, Extreme Noise Terror, Doom, Rudimentary Peni.

SBTC:
You last releases where in 2008, the splits with In Disgust and Stormcrow, and the compilation “5 years of Grinding Crust Core”. Why such the long time since any new release and is there any thing planned for 2011?

Massgrave:
It can be a slow process but we aren't in any rush to pump out new tunes. We have a new LP that we recorded in March 2010 that is going to be coming out on Haunted Hotel Records any day now. Since then we have done a 6 week Euro tour, a 2 week east coast tour and tons of local shows. We definitely haven't been slacking.

SBTC:
If you had to pick one release that you have under your belt, which one would you say you are most pleased with and why?

Massgrave:
I think we would all agree that the split with Stormcrow is up there. I think it’s our best batch of tunes and we are dear friends with the Stormcrow guys, it was cool to do a record with them. The art and layout also turned out killer. Goat did the layout and Dan Sawblade from Texas did the cover.

SBTC:
On a similar note do you guys plan to do a tour any time soon? The last time I saw you guys perform was at Murderfest a few years ago.

Massgrave:
We are flying to Texas at the end of April. We are going to play 4 shows down there with PLF. We got asked to play with Doom in Seattle in May and that is going to be sick. In 2011 we are going back to Europe for another tour. Probably 4-6 weeks. We are all really looking forward to that. Murderfest was really fun. I remember playing right next to Phobia and Rotten Sound which was deadly. It was my first time seeing Eyehategod which is one of my favorite bands.
Cheers to Adrian from What Shame for hooking that weekend up for us.

SBTC:
Are their any notable humorous/interesting experiences you have had playing shows or touring?

Massgrave:
Oh man there are shit loads. One of the funniest was in 2007 we were touring the US with Catheter and we had an overnight drive through New Mexico.


Earlier Lenny had fallen sleep and we were fucking with him. When he woke up we told him that we had rubbed poo on his upper lip. He was choked and we kept bugging him about it and he really thought we did it.
Somewhere along the way someone scratched in the dust on the window “Lenny has poo on his lip.” So anyways we are driving through New Mexico late at night and we get pulled over by Highway Patrol.

They asked us a few questions and everything was fine.

The cop was letting us go and said something like “You guys are free to go, and tell Lenny to wipe the poo off of his lip.” We cracked up hard.
We really fuck with each other on tour. It gets pretty out of hand sometimes.


SBTC:
A lot of great bands come from Canada. How do you feel the scene is over there?

Massgrave:
It's pretty good. We have been getting a lot more US and foreign bands up here lately. We have recently started doing shows at our practice spot that have been awesome.

It’s called Garbage Mountain. It’s a space we share with some of our friends bands. There are 4 rooms in it and we clear out the main room for shows. It is the perfect size for a punk gig.

SBTC:
Obviously you are influenced by grindcore and crust, but are their any bands that people would not expect that you listen to?

Massgrave:
A couple of the dudes are into the Beatles. Lendawg listens to hiphop. I like a lot of assy rock like Airbourne and Nashville pussy. Woody listens to real old blues and country. We are all over the place.

SBTC:
When did you really start getting into the more extreme forms of music?

Massgrave:
We all started off the same listening to pretty mainstream stuff like Nirvana when we were really young then gradually getting into punk and crust later on. I started off as a metalhead listening to Metallica and Sepultura. Through them I heard about underground bands like Doom and shit like that. It just went from there. I think one of the big things for me was hearing the Bleeeeaaarggh!!! 7 inches as a teenager. It just blew my mind that there were bands all over the world playing this stuff. It's how I heard about Assuck, Man Is The Bastard and those types of bands.

SBTC:
D-beat or blast beat?

Massgrave:
That’s a tough one but I would have to say D-beat because nothing gets the fists pumping like it.

SBTC:
How should folks who want get merch and other goodies get in contact with you?

Massgrave:
Get in contact with Goat at theuglyclub@hotmail.com

Thanks for the interview. Write us at massgravebc@yahoo.ca Listen to Inepsy. Up the punks! MG

SHARKBASTARDTERRORCULT Interview #2: Morbus Chron

SBTC:
Okay, let's cut the crap and jump into the interesting cool shit going on with Morbus Chron.
I've read that the debut album recordings have been completed and that there are new shirts released on Dybbuck. So far, so good.
As of now, you've signed with Pulverized for the release of your debut album, right? Give us some details regarding this and what we can expect from it (the album, that is).

Morbus Chron:
Thanks for cutting to the crap! The album contains nine songs of paralyzing sexiness. A sexiness that is only beaten by the cover-art by Raul Gonzales (I'm serious, if you haven’t got a hard-on when you see it you can go and kill yourself). If you've listened to and digged the Splendour-demo or Creepy Creeping Creeps you're not really in for a big surprise (a couple of the demo/EP-songs also made it to the full-length). We play the same way, although I dare to say there's been some progress. A few of the songs are trying to distance themselves from the typical old school death metal masturbation and venture somewhere we haven't been before. But in the end it all sounds like we've always sounded, like a disturbing mixture of shit, piss, puke and a stolen autopsy-riff. More info will come shortly. Finishing the layout as we speak.

SBTC:
The Swedish scene has puked several GREAT new acts and most of these have released at least one album. Now, this is by no means a competition, but would you say Morbus Chron's debut will be right there next to stuff like Cult of Lazarus, The Horror or even Breed Deadness Blood?

Morbus Chron:
I'm a big fan of Breed Deadness Blood and that's the one of the three I hold the highest. We're satisfied with the album and it's the best we've ever sounded, but if people will put us up there with Vanhelgd or Necrovation I really don't know.

SBTC:
I loved the random short intro growls at the start of each song on the EP. This attitude is some of the weird shit I definitely dig. Is there gonna be stuff like it on future releases?

Morbus Chron:
Haha, we haven't got a growl-introduction to every song on the album if that's what you wanted. There's some bizarre humor in the texts though that'll satisfy your sick pleasures. We like to keep it not so serious. But that doesn't mean we're good people.

SBTC:
There's an online video clip for the song "The Hallucinating Dead". I suppose the burlap sack cultists featured in it are the band due to the YouTube account connections. Is this an official video clip? Or was it made just for shits & giggles?

Morbus Chron:
We're really proud of that fine piece of art. It was actually a friend of Dagge (the bassist) that wanted to film us for a school-project. He had an idea for a music-video and we totally went with his vision. It was a great time, Morbus Chron playing in the Swedish snow. We bought lamb hearts, made our own torches and sacrificed a dude to the devil. I mean, if that isn't a candidate for the MTV's video awards I will be very, very angry.

SBTC:
Who's the fucked-up-in-the-head numbskull who draws your art? It looks like it was drawn by a 7 year old under the influence of drugs, Lovecraft and zombie movies. Genius.

Morbus Chron:
We've had our fair share of fancy artist working on our stuff. Everything in Splendour of Disease was drawn by Mille Hökengren of the band Whore (You should check them out, great shit! myspace.com/whoreflesh). I guess that he is the 7-old you're talking about 'cus he has got that childish feel to everything. Totally dig his stuff and he's a close friend. For the EP we wanted something else and we crossed paths with Rafal Kruszyk (Although Edde did the inside-art!). Who hasn't worked with that guy? You can see his work everywhere. Anyway, he's great and easy to get along with. The album-cover is drawn by the dude Raul Gonzales. We found him when we were out hunting for an artist to do the full-length. The first thing I saw was this fucking psycho painting of some weird as netherworld with eyes, fissures and fire in the weirdest colouring you ever saw. That became the cover-art. Another guy who draws amazingly sickening stuff is that fella named Putrid, we chose between him and Raul. Next time maybe!

SBTC:
I am not sure about this, but you've only played inside of Sweden. Are there any plans for a tour elsewhere? Have you got any offers yet?

Morbus Chron:
Yes we've played a bunch of times, but only in Sweden. And yes, people have offered us gigs elsewhere. The other guys (this is Robba writing by the way!) want nothing else than to tour the world. So the problem has always been me. I have a terrible stage-fright and to be honest I don't like playing live. A couple of months ago, just after the album was recorded, I took a well needed band-break. We sat down and I told them I didn't feel alright, cus I didn't... We had two shows in about a week and man I was down and stressed and felt like I had the world on my shoulders. So in the end I (we) canceled the shows. Right now I'm trying to work out myself, I want to be able to do this fully but at the moment I can't. The psychological torture I go through before each show is something I can't take... Ye, it sucks and I've gone to fuckin' therapy for this crap.. But enough about my fuckin' personal problems. I get mad just talking about it. Next question.

SBTC:
Name 5 of your current favorite albums.

Morbus Chron:
Aaah, this was more relaxing. My current top 5. Lets see... I hope this doesn't only count for death metal albums? Anyway, here goes. I'll even do a list. They are so good I don't have to explain why.

1. Darkthrone - Goatlord (Frostland tapes-version)
2. Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
3. Obliteration - Nekropsalms
4. Anal Cunt - Picnic of Love
5. Arzachel - Arzachel


SBTC:
10 ravioli cans or old school death metal? Pick one.

Morbus Chron:
That's not fair... That's like giving free pork to a Jew. Overload of the mind. If I really had to choose I'd pick the death metal. I can still buy spaghettiOs.

Necrovorous – Funeral for the Sane

Necrovorous is an old-school death metal sounding band hailing from Greece who have been around since 2005 and been steadily releasing material since their formation. “Funeral for the Sane” is their first full length.



There is a variety of influences evident on “Funeral for the Sane”, the obvious ones being Autopsy, Incantation and Entombed, so it’s a bit of an OSDM melting pot. Slow dirges mixed in with all out filthy blastfests and ugly d-beat driven groovin’ sections. The production is pretty clean but still raw enough that even the most lo-fi obsessed death head will find their head banging along to the tunes.

The guitar has a classic death metal tone to it, the bass is audible, the vocals reek of John McEntree and the drumming is varied as all fuck. This album ticks all the boxes for a completely solid death metal album and I find it rather strange that I haven’t heard much about it when discussing 2011 releases with other metal fans. I guess these guys have flown under the radar a bit, due to all the other killer DM that’s been put out this year.

If you consider yourself a fan of old-school sounding death metal at all, do yourself a favour and look up the tracks “The Vilest of All Dreams”, “Deathknells”, “The Spawn of Self Abhorrence”, “Dwellers of my Flesh” and the title track. You’ll regret missing out on one of the best death metal releases of 2011 if you don’t!

4.5/5

SHARKBASTARDTERRORCULT Interview #1: Fornication

As some of you may know (although most of you probably don't), earlier this year I was going to collaborate on a printed 'zine with the guys from Gorphyryac. Unfortunately due to money issues, this 'zine has not been printed, and it has been decided that the interviews done (not by me, by the way) for the first issue aren't as relevant now as they were at the time, so it would be unfair to charge money for them, so instead, I will be posting them on here for your reading pleasure. Up first is Canadian black/speed metal maniacs Fornication...




SBTC:
Thanks for taking the times to do this sickos, for those who have never heard you how would you describe your sound?

Fornication:
First wave black metal... black thrash. Rotten, unholy, fast, evil relentless metal.

SBTC:
I see you enjoy candle-lit alcoholic sewer rituals. How did these ventures into subterranean filth begin?

Fornication:
When I was about 13 me and my friends stumbled upon the entrance to the sewers in this forest around here. We never really went far in them before, never brought the lights or anything, since its pitch black, but we always went back and fucked around the entrance. Eventually we traveled through them, after about 20 minutes of walking you find a giant room, which is where the sewer rituals began. Many fucked up times in there! The depths of the underground, blacker then night! Acoustics sound wicked down there, I have recorded a few things down there.

SBTC:
What do you think of the Calgary metal scene?

Fornication:
75% pure garabage, 25% real music. Good bands from here like The Cadavor Dog, Gatekrashor, Ominosity, Epi-Demic, Martial Law... thats about it. My other band is deathrash - Savage Streets. The Edmonton scene is pretty good as well.

SBTC:
Has Fornication performed outside Calgary? Any plans on touring?

Fornication:
Just around the Province. No plans to tour now, around September we are playing live for Barbatos on a west coast USA tour, so that’s enough for this year, unless something comes up.

SBTC:
How did your split with the legendary Japanese sleaze/thrash group ABIGAIL come to be?

Fornication:
I did a trade with Yasuyuki of our demo "Hell Metal" for some of his stuff. Then we just talked about doing a split.

SBTC:
Are there any plans for a Fornication full length record in the works?

Fornication:
Only demos/eps/splits for a while is my plan. But you never know. As of now, there are no plans at all.

SBTC:
There are a handful of other Fornications (obviously false) out there, what sets you apart from these hacks?

Fornication:
The act of Fornication can be Blasphemous, Unholy, Primitive, filthy, rabid, dirty... which is our sound.

SBTC:
Have you ever encountered trouble for your perverse lyrics, imagery etc in your native land?

Fornication:
No. Well I went to this radio station a few years ago when we just started, and our drunk/high antics made them cut us off, said some fucked up shit, fought in the radio room and ruined all their equipment. It was indeed fucked.

SBTC:
What are your top 5 favorite records of all time?

Fornication:
Venom - Black Metal
Bathory s/t
GISM - MAN
Sarcofago - INRI
Inquisition - can’t even pick one...
Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance....
Can't just pick 5... these are just my classic favorites, I always have a different album I’m going most nuts for... lately lots of Force of Darkness and Bestial Mockery.

SBTC:
What are your thoughts on Sharks?

Fornication:
Fuckers are scary, just like the ocean. Deep ocean shit is so fucked.

SBTC:
If you were to get drunk and lay waste to a crowd with any active band, who would it be?

Fornication:
Lots. My rage is at its max for shitty bands when I'm drunk.

SBTC:
Thanks again! Any parting words?

Fornication:
Worship the darkness, drink, fight, fuck and do drugs till you cant do more! Thanks for the support!

Prosanctus Inferi – Red Streams of Flesh

Prosanctus Inferi have been around since 2005, but I didn’t expect to hear anything new from these ripping black metal bastards following the suicide of their drummer Antichristus in 2009 and the post-humorous release of their debut album “Pandemonic Ululations of Vesperic Palpitations” in 2010, but main man Jake Kohn has soldiered on with new drummer Jeremy Spears and put together a killer follow-up EP entitled “Red Streams of Flesh” on Nuclear War Now! Productions.

This EP is so straightforward it’s almost ridiculous, but that’s the beauty of it. Fast paced tremolo riffs, evil as fuck vocals that bring to mind Paul Ledney’s work on Profanatica’s full lengths and songs that are always running along at full speed. Fans of intense bestial bands such as Archgoat, Revenge, Blasphemy, Angelcorpse and (very) early Morbid Angel will love this; anyone else will probably hate it, but fuck those guys.

The production is filthy as ever yet weirdly accessible and fits the music immensely. Running at 19 minutes, the listener doesn’t have time to get bored and will just find them self lost among the primitive brutality. “Red Streams of Flesh” doesn’t differ much at all from their previous efforts, but I do personally consider it an overall improvement to their most recent release.

4/5.

Insinnerator- Stalagmite of Ice

Insinnerator are a lil’ ol’ three-piece thrash band from Texas.  They’ve finally released their debut album, having released only EPs and demos previously, and DAMN, it’s an ass-kicker!

The first track just cuts right in. There’s no fancy-shmancy introduction music, it just goes off with a riff that socks you right in the jaw and spits on you as you go down. There are riffs abound, very tasty riffs I might add. I think the riffs really make this album; they leave you shitting your insides out like your mother’s chili. Gary Holt and Kerry King would wet themselves in jealousy. Lots of good circle-pitting riffs and plenty of ones to go nutty and mosh your brains out with.

 There are quite a few  Araya-screams, although at times they’re grating to the ears, like in “Rites of Execution”, and others they fit in perfectly such as “Face the Insinnerator”. The vocals at times are usually speed talking garbles of words with a slight sneer; it’s a lot cleaner than what you could expect as they aren’t very gruff. Think Hetfield meets Baloff.

The tracks flow very smoothly one after another, probably to keep your attention as they pummel you through your speakers. It’s pretty much an album of thrash metal blitzkrieg. There is a 7 minute track, but the music has the dynamics to keep your attention. Musicianship seems to be emphasized on this record. However, it’s not to the point of being a proggy-egghead band, but they really know how to construct a well-written tune. I haven’t heard such well composed tunes from a thrash band in a long time. Besides the great riffs, the solos are tasteful and aren’t rope-pissing guitar wank fests. The drummer keeps in the pocket while adding fills to spice up the song, with very little jackhammer blast-beats, too.

Overall, this is one solid debut. If the riffs don’t start making your neck moving and groovin’ then you might as well be dead. It’s not for those that are brand-new to thrash as the vocals wouldn’t be appealing to fresh ears. Whilst they didn’t set any new standards in thrash, nor do I think they were aiming to, it certainly is just good, “classic” thrash metal. They don’t rehash anything or sing about pizza, beer, and bongs. I would definitely say these guys stand apart from the rest of the New Wave of Thrash; if they can keep it together they can easily become the cream of the crop in a few years. If a zombie apocalypse were to commence soon, I would definitely recommend you to pop this in your music player and get crackin’!

4/5

Introducing a New Member of the Cast

Hello fellow metalheads!

It's Sean here, Ambrosius to those from Thrash Unlimited. I've finally started to do some reviews. I'm collaborating with Wayde's webzine here, I'll be throwing in a few reviews from time to time. I'm new, but  I hope you take the time to open your eyes and enjoy!

Short and Sweet 7” and Splits from 2011 that flew under my radar...

There have been some really cool split and 7” releases put out this year that I’ve only recently become aware of and since your average split or 7” is generally short and to the point, I’ve decided to compile a few short and to the point reviews in one post for convenience and a bit of fun. Please, feel free to let me know if I’ve missed anything else that should be checked out in the comments section of this post…

Deiphago – XCIII



First up is anti-Christ Filipino war metal maniacs Deiphago and their 7” EP “XCIII” which dropped back in February but I was unaware of until just last week. On display here are a brief 41 second intro track and two tracks of blistering chaotic war metal that sounds like Bestial Warlust taking a vacation in the Philippines. Lots of blastbeats, crazy riffs, undecipherable vocals and lo-fi production are what you can expect from these guys, and honestly; I would never expect anything else from them. Both songs are killer and this is a very worthy purchase for your bestial vinyl collection.

3.5/5 Good stuff, but I’m not quite convinced it lives up to their latest full length.

Morbosidad/Witchrist



A split between my favourite Mexican band and my favourite New Zealand band? How did I miss this one when it dropped back in September?!

The two Morbosidad tracks are exactly what I’ve generally come to expect from this Mexican horde: straightforward bestial black/grind that’s fun as hell and doesn’t muck around with silly gimmicks or blatantly ripping off Blasphemy or Conqueror.

The Witchrist songs are just as good as everything we heard on their excellent full length “Beheaded Ouroboros” but a bit more on the straightforward death metal side. It’s a lot more stripped down than the full length was, but it fits in well on a split with a band like Morbosidad who stick to the whole “no bullshit, just metal” attitude and it’s nice to hear them doing something like this after releasing such a dense and crushing full length. The second song, simply entitled “II” is the longest on the split and takes the cake as the best track.

5/5 both bands are at the top of their game and this split is proof of how relevant each of these underground hordes are.

Cruciamentum/Vasaeleth – Eroding Chaos unto Ascendant Flesh



Time for a change of pace and some crawling mid-paced Incantation worship of the highest order. Here we have two of the most solid up-and-coming young death metal acts doing the whole “ancient dark death metal” thing. Cruciamentum from the UK and Vasaeleth from the states.
A
nyone who has heard either band will have a bit of an idea what to expect here; from Vasaeleth, it’s all about distortion soaked thick doom laden occult death metal. This track is a bit weak compared to some of their material but still a very solid track either way and I’ve got no complaints about it. The Cruciamentum song is a bit cleaner than what they have put out so far but still dark and heavy as ever. The biggest change on Cruciamentum’s part is the vocals, which now resemble more of a Bolt Thrower influenced mid-low range growl that sits comfortably higher in the mix than on previous efforts.

This split isn’t exactly gonna make waves among the underground crowd but it’s a solid release with two good tracks and my only real complaint is that it left me drooling for more from each band.
4/5

Grave Upheaval/Encoffination



Keeping with the trench of ancient and dark sounding death metal, we come to a split between two incredible bands; Australia’s Grave Upheaval and Encoffination from America. I’m telling you right now kids, this split is not for the faint of heart…

Both bands deliver a unique brand of ritualistic occult death metal that crawls along at a snails pace and suffocates the listener under their intense musical weight. Each of the two songs on this split reek of filthy blasphemous crushing terror. This is one for the true death metal diehards only.

4/5 A bit pricey and painfully short, but absolutely crushing. One of the heaviest releases I’ve ever heard.

Cerekloth – Halo of Syringes



This dropped back in July and I had no idea until I unexpectedly came across it while browsing Hells Headbangers not long ago. Denmark’s Cerekloth really impressed me a couple of years back with their debut EP “Pandemonium Prayers” so it goes without saying that I purchased “Halo of Syringes” instantly when I found it.

“Halo of Syringes” is a MASSIVE departure from the early Deicide worship the band conjured on their earlier release, which is a good thing indeed. The band have undergone a complete change in direction, one filled with dissonant and eerie riffs played at lumbering paces, sinister cackling vocals that reek of the manic Attila Csihar in the midst of a heroin bender, well thought out drum patterns and an overall aching sordid vibe. And that’s just the first track! The second song “Shattered Hourglass” is a rerecording of a track from the earlier EP and it still reeks of Deicide worship but now the song actually fits the band and doesn’t sound like a generic death metal filler (so in other words, it doesn’t sound completely like a Deicide song anymore). The outro track is a very clean and soothing instrumental track when compared to the other two tunes, think of an early Katatonia interlude and you get the idea.

5/5 These guys have progressed a ton and truly caught my attention with this release. I’m eagerly awaiting more.

Masada - Suffer Mental Decay

Masada are a pretty new (formed in 2008) death metal band from the US featuring members of Immolation, Gorephobia and Grand Belial’s Key among others. Judging by the bands that Masada’s members have previously played in, obviously you should not let yourself be fooled by the logo and album art into thinking this is just another generic throwback thrash metal album… Masada play pure and unique old-school death metal without compromise.

Most of the demo crawls along at a creeping mid-pace, but at times they pick up into furious speeds. The production here is excellent for a demo, every instrument can be heard but there is still an eerie sense of murkiness lurking in the mix. Catchy bass lines and varied unique drum patterns are used to create a sense of technicality not unlike Finnish legends Demilich.

Not much more can be said about this 2 song, 6 minute demo except that it’s a killer slab of OSDM drenched in a dark and moody atmosphere that leaves you wanting more. I, for one, will be eagerly awaiting more from these guys.

4/5

Resurgency/Desolator Split

What we have here is an untitled split featuring two demos from two killer up and coming death metal bands. Side one is a Greek band called Resurgency who feature members of Necrovorus and Stagnate and this is their first demo entitled “Dark Revival”. Side two is the second demo of Swedish band Desolator entitled “Mass Human Pyre”. I’m not going to compare the two bands and say one is better than the other, because that would be fucking stupid when both sides are of such high quality. What I am going to do, however, is discuss why this split is an excellent homage to all the things that make old-school death metal great and hopefully convince you, the reader, to check out these two bands.



Side 1. Resurgency – Dark Revival

It seems these Greek fellows are influenced from just about every OSDM scene there is, and to my ear they most resemble the sound of early Vader, Sinister and Morbid Angel. So you can pretty much guess the kind of riffage and tone Resurgency delivers. This side of the split has a better production job than the Desolator side although the bass is pretty vague and often drowned out by the guitars and vocals. The best of these 4 songs would have to be the opener “Where Despair Dominates” in my opinion. All 4 tracks are stellar and leave you hungry for more Resurgency.

Side 2. Desolator – Mass Human Pyre

Now for Desolator, who bring forth a filthy Swedish death metal assault. Chainsaw guitars, d-beats and an all-around grittiness is the order of the day here. The intro track “Conjuration of the Watcher” gives off a distinctively medieval feel with it’s chanting and cries of “Arise! Arise! Arise!” leading into the opening riff of “Mass Human Pyre” which really gives the feel of some foul beast arising from the depths of the earth. This side is raw old-school Swedeath, nothing more, nothing less. And it’s fucking brilliant.

In a nutshell; neither of these bands are trying to do anything new or grab your attention using wanky show off tactics. They simply conjure up the old death metal spirits and do a damn good job of it. This is everything I could ever want from a death metal split.

5/5