Eliminator - Krieg Thrash

Review written by James Goatfukk.

In all brutal honesty, there hasn't been a whole lot of newer Thrash Metal bands that have impressed me a great deal with the exception of a few good ones here and there. For me, REAL Thrash is supposed to be straight-forward and absolutely merciless in its delivery. Now, if you can associate with my thoughts and you absolutely fucking loathe the shitty retro crap of bands like Bonded by Blood and other homosexual-inspired shit of the same ilk, then look no further; I present you with the German-based riff machine—ELIMINATOR—a band that have opted for a more 80’s influenced sound with a pure dose of much needed aggression. No, seriously...these guys are the real deal as far as the new wave of Thrash is concerned. Fuck, I don’t even know if I’m comfortable associating ELIMINATOR with the new wave. ELIMINATOR might as well be from the 80’s, but maybe they are what the modern scene needs? Bands like ELIMINATOR to keep the old school flame alive and burning which I believe, will be burning for a very long time. Expose your ears to the brutal sounds of ELIMINATOR. They will reveal that the band isn’t about showcasing their musical skills or infusing nice melodies to impress little fangirls—instead; ELIMINATOR goes straight for the throat and delivers straight-forward, vicious Thrash Metal reminiscent of the classic Teutonic sound and 80’s/early 90’s American Death/Thrash. The tempo is for the most part quite fast and furious with a strong implication to albums like ‘Endless Pain’ and ‘Infernal Overkill’ . The album opens with the instrumental ‘Raging Shrapnel Hail’ and right from the beginning the fucking riffs are absolutely shredding your skull to pieces. The second track ‘Merciless Beast’ storms forth to proceed on the aural assault on your senses with vocals that sounds nothing short of ballistic. There’s nothing really “fresh” about Krieg Thrash; nothing the Thrash Metal aficionados haven’t heard all before— but boy, do they rip it up with the best of their abilities. Without a doubt, the band’s sound is archetypal of what Thrash today should sound like. These maniacs possess the spirit of the 80’s and are here to claim your soul.

Attacker- Giants of Canaan Review

There must be something in the air lately, as another lesser-known metal band has released an album this year. Here we feature New Jersey power metallers, Attacker. Those that are familiar with them might remember their cult classic albums, The Battle at Helm's Deep and The Second Coming, and those that aren't I highly recommend you do so! Their new album, Giants of Canaan, doesn't leave much room for disappointment.

The first track is a short instrumental with a slight chorus-y effect and warbling synth. It's subtle and has none of the pomp as you would hear from other power metal bands. It gives a dark undertone before the fury is unleashed in the first full song, "Giants of Canaan."  Really, the first three songs ("Giants of Canaan," "Trapped in Black," and "The Hammer") just punch you in the teeth. Hell, the entire album shakes you up and asks for your lunch money.

Another upside to this is that it doesn't sound like an old band trying to recapture their youth. None of the songs sound tired and rehashed. Granted, 3/5s of the lineup are new members -only Pat Marinelli (guitars) and Mike Sabatini (drums) are original members- but the sound has so much fire to it. Guitar work is an integral part of heavy metal, especially for genres like power metal, and Pat Marinelli and Mike Benetatos don't leave you hanging. Aggressive and chunky riffs are apparent, along with classical-esque harmonies. The solos are great, like little pieces of shredding epicness, but they're nothing to put on a list of Best 10. The vocals, done by Bobby Lucas of Overlorde and Morbid Sin, are phenomenal. He sounds like a cross between Halford and Dickinson, aggressive and high-pitched but operatic.

There aren't many weak tracks. The album starts off strong, gives you a breather in the middle -barely-, and ends strong. Many of the choruses are catchy enough to chant along to, riffs are headbangable, and there are plenty of opportunities to break out your air guitar. For those that are interested in lyrical matter, Attacker has always been one of those bands that has had more-than-decent subjects. Nothing Tolkien-inspired like their first album, but here we see lyrics taken from history battles (Franks fighting the Moors in Spain), biblical matter (the gory parts that a lot of people tend to skip over), war, vikings, and then that one metal anthem. Nothing campy here.

In short, it's a solid, above-average album that actually went above my expectations. I expected sub-par playing and was very wrong. Do you feel like buying a power metal album without the fluff of modern symphonic bands? Listen to this!

Vagabond's Band of the Month: Denouncement Pyre

Band: Denouncement Pyre
Year of Formation: 2003
Country of Origin: Australia
Genre: Black/Death Metal

Denouncement Pyre are from Melbourne and have been toning their craft since 2003. Their style is black/death in the vein of Deströyer 666, Watain and the like. To date they've put out 3 demos, 4 EPs, 1 split and 2 full lengths. While not the most original band in existence, there has been plenty of variety throughout their discography, they have a killer sound and all of their releases are worth owning.

You can contact the band and purchase their music and merchandise here.

Expect a review of their new album, "Almighty Arcanum" soon!

Into Darkness - Into Darkness

Who's up for some crushing old-school death doom from Italy? Into Darkness' self-titled demo dropped on tape through Unholy Domain Records in September last year, then was followed by an LP release via Iron Bonehead in December and will be released on MCD by Hellthrasher Productions in March this year.

Into Darkness sound like a mixture of Asphyx, Derketa, Dream Death, Celtic Frost and Bolt Thrower. Crushing doom/death is contrasted by mid-paced pure old-school death metal fury, allowing for plenty of variety in the compositions presented by these Italian ladies (and one man). The guitar parts are heavy and gloomy, as one would expect from this type of music, the vocals are, in a word; demonic, the bass is crushing and the drumming, excellent.

The self-titled opening track is my personal favourite on this demo, because it stands as a fine introduction to the bands sound and shows exactly what Into Darkness is all about musically. These girls (and guy) aren't doing anything new or innovative with their music, rather just playing some old-school doom/death worship and doing a damn good job at it.

If doom/death or old-school death metal is your thing, then you definitely shouldn't sleep on this band!

Chapel of Disease - Summoning Black Gods

Chapel of Disease formed back in 2008 in Cologne, Germany. Prior to releasing this, their debut album, the band put out  a demo and a split, all within the year 2012.

Chapel of Disease make no bullshit secrets about where their influences lie; their music is pure early 90's death metal music, akin to bands such as early-period Death, Asphyx, early Pestilence, early Sepultura, Pentacle, Grave, Bolt Thrower and Obituary. Chapel... aren't just your average clone-band, however, as they manage to inject their own flavour into an ancient musical recipe, mixing dark and sinister atmospherics with a morbid guitar sound acentuated by killer bass tones, subtle melodies and a very organic drum sound.

Yeah, they will sound like a "copy" band to a lot of people, but that's not always a bad thing, if the music is presented as well as this. Most OSDM fans won't be able to resist the infectious riffs, Van Drunen-esque vocals, varied drum work and killer solos presented on this collection of well-writen material.

No true death metal maniac will be able to argue with tracks like " Summoning Black Gods", "Dead Spheres", "Evocation of the Father", "The Loved Dead" or any other song featured on this release. These Krauts are definitely not breaking any new ground, but with "Summoning Black Gods", they have released a strong album worthy of standing alongside killer "new-OSDM" acts such as Ataraxy, Voids of Vomit, Dead Congregation,, Excoriate, Omision, Vanhelgd, Gorephilia, Insepulto, Terminate and the like in my collection, hopefully you find them worthy of your collection, too!

Obsession- Order of Chaos Review

 

The 80s were full of forgotten -and sometimes forgettable- metal bands. Many bands, if they weren't major label or at least had a huge following, would release an album or two and fall off the face of the Earth into obscurity.  Obsession, although they were with Metal Blade, could probably fall into that category for most metal fans. They released two noteworthy albums, Scarred for Life and Methods of Madness, before breaking up and later reforming in the early 00s. They made an album in '06 with the reformed band, Carnival of Lies, and just the past year released another one, Order of Chaos.

Like the past albums, this one is full of no-bullshit tracks. They're old school power metal, no frills-all thrills with no synthy beginnings, just heavy guitar work. The first three songs, including the title track that introduces the album, shreds you from ear to ear from the start before slowing down a bit with "When the Smoke Clears." Catchy choruses with "Wages of Sin" and "Twist of the Knife" and guitar noodling in "Cold Day in Hell"... Hell, there's super cool guitar work in all the songs! The highlights of this album are the fast-paced "Order of Chaos," the trodding riffage of "License to Kill," the galloping "Cold Day in Hell," and "Dark Shadows" ends it with a mid-paced smash.

For a thirty-year old band, the album was well done. It's definitely in the same vein of the older albums, but it's still fresh sounding, it doesn't feel like an old band trying to rehash their youthful days. Which brings me to the next bit: unfortunately, it's not exactly the same band. The only original member left is Michael Vescera. Yes, the other members were part of some other decent bands, mostly other bands (Stygia, Michael Vescera,) that included Vescera though. However, they still manage to sound like a "classic" USPM band.

The album hardly has any filler, even the lower quality tracks are decent to listen to. The guitar heads would be satisfied with the amount of fret-burning solos and riffs. There are few singers that can say they have improved over time, I think Vescera is one of the few. Compare his singing with his earlier work and you can hear the difference.

Anyone that wants a good, solid heavy metal album from a  cult classic, this is definitely a good pick.

Nocturnal Vomit - Cursed Relics

Nocturnal Vomit is a Greek band that formed in 1999 who finally released their debut album last year, following a lot of demo and split releases. The material featured on "Cursed Relics" is quite a departure from threir earlier works, which reeked of primitive death metal a la Sarcófago, Blasphemy, Beherit and Corpse Molestation, among others. The songs featured on this album follow a path more akin to ancient death metal bands such as Asphyx, Pentacle, Sadistic Intent and Grave....

Although I mentioned many influences above, Nocturnal Vomit is not the type of band who lazily copies their idols. They are a band who play with the passion and aggression needed to make good, honest death metal and while there may not be a particular "stand-out" track on this album; each song is skillfilly crafted to the same high standard and there is not a dull moment to be found and one can see why the band took their time working towards a full length release.

The analog production on this record can be described as; massively heavy, allowing the old-school brutality and warped, twisted melodies to shine through, with everything being highlighted by the totally ancient guitar sound. The music, whilst being staunch old-school death worship, is drenched in a similar atmosphere to the old Greek black metal acts (Necromantia, Rotting Christ, Varathron, etc), which helps to set the band apart from the "new-OSDM" crowd and allows Nocturnal Vomit to stand out from the pack.

"Cused Relics" seems to have been overlooked by a lot of metal fans last year, however, I think that in years to come it will be remembered as one of the more effective albums of 2012.