Album review: Detest - We Will Get What We Deserve (2021)

Detest - We Will Get What We Deserve

Denmark

Emanzipation Productions

Back In 1994, Danish death metallers Detest released a classic album entitled "Dorval," which is an underrated gem in the pantheon of '90s death metal that embraced sci-fi themes before it was even a thing. 27 years later, the band returns with an updated line-up, save for the bassist, who is the only original member left. The new album "We Will Get What We Deserve" is quite different compared to "Dorval", although one thing is certain: the lads made absolutely sure that the record lives up to the Detest name and crush the listener without mercy. The compositions on "We Will Get What We Deserve" are well put together and display a good deal of compositional depth. The production is somewhat modern sounding, although the music is pure old-school death metal through and through, as the band continuously belch out an array of pounding grooves and frenzied solos. References can be made to bands like early Grave, Obituary and Asphyx. The whole album is chock full of pulverizing riffs, heavy low-end and bludgeoning tempos that will leave you bloodied and bruised. Interestingly, the lyrics on this album seem more social in nature and a departure from 1994’s sci-fi themes from “Dorval.” Admittedly, I haven’t heard their 2019 EP yet, although I intend on giving it a listen soon. Overall, "We Will Get What We Deserve" is a pretty excellent return to form and comes recommended to fans of chunky, old-school death metal, especially fans of the bands mentioned earlier in this review. I also highly encourage the reader to check out their classic “Dorval” album from 1994 if you consider yourself a fan of death metal at all. (HT)

Split review: Thornspawn / Maledictvs – Guided by Vengeance & Bloodlust (2021)

Thornspawn / Maledictvs – Guided by Vengeance & Bloodlust

USA / Mexico

Inhuman Assault Productions

The split in question is the first release to feature new Thornspawn material since their last split with Singapore's Istidraj in 2013. The two new Thornspawn tracks 'Under The Illustrious Eminence of Satan's Doctrine' and 'Clairvoyance with the Dead' are both killer slabs of raw and vicious black metal, boasting a powerful production while maintaining that malicious and bestial edge they are known for. Blackthorn's vocals are visceral as ever with a fair amount of distortion, giving the music a menacing effect paired with the vicious buzzsaw guitars and thumping drums. The atmosphere is evil enough to draw me in, and has that apocalyptic ambience that is typical of their sound, although one thing missing from these tracks are guitar solos. They have always had them in the past; nevertheless, I am quite impressed with the new songs and hope to hear more of the same on their next recording. (Although it’s like I said, they need to throw some solos in the mix to give the music that extra oomph.) Interestingly, Blackthorn is the only remaining member from the original line-up and that really says a lot about his dedication to black metal, as the band has been around since 1993.

Maledictvs from Juarez, Mexico, is the manifestation of Hella, the mistress of Blackthorn, which consequently features Blackthorn on drums. The Malevicvs portion of the split is quite well crafted, with an an array of chaotic riffs and hellish, high-pitched vocals that sound like they come from the depths of Hella's black soul. This music is above the standard pedestal and exudes pure devotion to the dark arts, as this is raw, underproduced black metal at its finest. All in all, a solid split all around and recommended for aficionados of blasphemous underground black metal. (HT)

Album review: Black Winged Goat Messiah - Satanic Morbid Lust (2021)

Black Winged Goat Messiah - Satanic Morbid Lust

Cuba

Mara Productions

Black Winged Goat Messiah is an evil manifestation from the blackest depths of Cuba, playing bestial Satanic Black Metal. There's some great bands coming out of Cuba and Black Winged Goat Messiah are part of that phenomenon. From the get-go, the music continually assaults the listener with sadistic riffs, profane vocals and hard-hitting drums, conjuring up an atmosphere that is utterly unholy – this is 100% pure Satanic Black Metal with absolutely no reprieve. There are notable references to bands like Archgoat, Urgehal and Von. They also cover "Watain" by Von, and I have to say, it's pretty damn good. There's also a good bit of traditional metal influence, especially with the guitar solos throughout. Everything was recorded by Conspirator, who is also behind other great bands like Shrine ov Absurd and Skjult. Everything that Conspirator touches turns to gold, and Black Winged Goat Messiah is no exception. Fans of the aforementioned bands should definitely give Black Winged Goat Messiah from Cuba a listen – you will not be disappointed. The album is due for release on CD by Mara Productions from Poland. (HT)

Album review: Adventum Diaboli - Ο Λόγος Του Σκότους: Chapter I (2021)

 

Adventum Diaboli - Ο Λόγος Του Σκότους: Chapter I

Greece

Independent

Aventum Diaboli from Greece plays atmospheric black metal with occult themes. The music emphasises atmosphere and sometimes borders on post-black metal with its ambient guitar sensibilities. The vocals are heavily distorted and sound kind of cool. The music is not particularly captivating, as I have heard dozens of similar sounding bands before, but it's not bad either. What I like about it is that the atmosphere gives off this ancient feel reminiscent of second wave black metal. The songs are pretty simplistic in structure, but still well put together and easy to get into. There's definitely a good bit of Norse black metal influences in their sound despite the fact they're from Greece. If the lyrics were not in Greek, I would probably have thought the band was from Norway. I had the patience to sit through the record in its entirety, so that itself should attest to the fact that the music isn't terribly offensive, although I've definitely heard better sounding black metal bands from Greece. (HT)

Split review: Infesticide / In Obscurity Revealed (2021)

Infesticide / In Obscurity Revealed – Split

Mexico

Blood Harvest

I haven't heard a good split in a while and this release here is just what the doctor ordered. Both bands hail from Mexico and play menacing death metal with an evil intonation. A lot of death metal bands these days tend to suck due to the fact that they are too content to regurgitate old styles without adding more emotion to the compositions, and then label it "old school", leaving little to be desired. That's not the case with Infesticide and In Obscurity revealed. These guys are completely obsessed with their craft and let the devil emanate from their music. One listen to the material on this split is enough to convince you of the quality of these bands. Infesticide seems to be one of those bands that gets better and better with each release, as they kick it up a notch with the two tracks presented here: fast, vicious and filthy death metal at its best, with definite echoes of early Morbid Angel (Altars era). In Obscurity Revealed is no less impressive, melting brains with their relentless onslaught of bestial riffs, harsh vocals and hard-hitting drums. All in all, the split is a thoroughly enjoyable release and once again shows just how passionate those maniacs are about metal from Latin countries. 16 minutes of pure underground Death Metal insanity! Highly recommended. (HT)

EP review: Aempyrean - Fireborn (2018)

 

Aempyrean - Fireborn

India

Cyclopean Eye Productions

Aempyrean joins the ranks as one of India's better extreme metal acts with this pretty solid debut EP titled "Fireborn". Four tracks packed to the brim with odes to hell and old-school black/death/thrash can be heard on this release. The band unleashes a barrage of throat-cutting riffs, frantic solos, feral vocals and pounding thrash beats. The atmosphere is permeated with a rather rancid stench, with a sound reminiscent of early Morbid Angel, Possessed, Destroyer 666 and the like. There's no doubt as to the prominence of the musicians, as the music bombards the listener with a series of pungent riffs and solos that drill right through your fucking skull. In other words, riffs are in abundance. The production is suitably raw, giving this EP a profoundly menacing feel. The cover version of Morbid Angel’s "Chapel of Ghouls" is a nice surprise and quite well done, doing justice to the original. "Fireborn" is a must for fans of killer Black/Death. Especially if you're one of those maniacs with a penchant for discovering obscure bands from the hellish depths of the underground. Aempyrean delivers. For fans of: Weapon, Bestial Mockery, Communion. (HT)

Interview: Skulmagot (2021)

Skulmagot hail from Finland and are true purveyors of old school, rotten death metal. Their latest album "Kill And Die" is a murderous offering of pure, maggot-infested decay and will please fans of bands like (old) Cannibal Corpse, Morgue, (old) Incantation, etc. The following interview with the band was conducted by death metal maniac Catacombs Walker.

Hails maniacs! A little over a month ago you released your second album, “Kill And Die,” and the influences are clear. From your perspective, what bands influenced you to carry out this project?

Hails and thanks for reaching out!! And sorry for being super late with this interview! Let’s be honest here, Cannibal Corpse IS the holy grail! None heavier.. We share common love and respect towards all early 90’s Florida- and US-Styled death metal. But yeah, early Cannibal Corpse is a huge influence and impulsion for Skulmagot and for its sound. You can ofcourse hear other titans there as well, Immolation, Monstrosity, etc. Skulmagot was spawned in 2014 to play old school US style death metal.

Is there a specific reason that led you to move away from your Finnish influences in favour of a sound more in the American vein?

For me and Spider it was all clear from the get go to play US style death metal. We had no intention to play "Finnish Death Metal" and such, more likely the aim was to create our own unique sound and take the influences from the US style death metal because we're both huge fans of this sound and genre, and it still dominates and rules our playlists! The Finnish DM sound is more known abroad than here in Finland actually.

The production sounds raw, yet totally dark and brutal. What can you tell us about this album and how does it stand compared to the previous one? Did you get the sound you wanted?

We didn't change anything this time around either.. Our ways of recording are pretty primitive and lo-fi.. Spider plays all the instruments and we record the vocals in 2-3 sessions. Spider also does the mixing and mastering and the trademark sound is really bass-laden murky and evil. We try to keep it that way, as the overproduced digital crap is overrated anyway. The only upgrade in the latest session was a different mic for the vocals. It turned out really good.. We have created this kinda unique way of recording these albums and we don't want to change anything. Of Course it's bad for your health and liver but it has worked out just fine so far, hah!

I understand that Spider takes care of all the instruments, while Ulti-Make handles the vocals. What plans do you have regarding the future of the band? Will you remain as a duo or will you incorporate other members in order to perform live?

There's been a lot of pressure to do live shows and we get a lot of requests for shows etc... However we like to keep things simple and Skulmagot will stay as a two man operation for now. We've had active bands in the past (Spider still has plenty: Ratface, Goatburner, Bloodlands, Pikakassa) and Skulmagot is more laidback without any rehearsal pressure or other mandatory stuff related to that. If the pressure for the live setup gets unbearable, we will of course do some moves...maybe :D

You come from Helsinki – the capital and largest city in Finland. How do you see Finnish death metal today and what do you think were the factors that contributed to the emergence of a completely unique scene back in the ‘90s?

The Finnish sound Is very well known globally, and it also receives a lot of worship/attention again. Finland is a cold, dark and distant place where it really is dark almost 8 months per year! So maybe the dark and depressive sound comes from there.

We have also the highest suicide-rates in the world so go figure, ha! Local scene is active and there are new bands surfacing who keep things real with their sinister OSDM sound. A lot of gigs and smaller festivals are ongoing also throughout the year but now the Covid-19 has put everything on halt. Local scenes with smaller events, gigs and festivals are resurrecting again, but nobody knows what is going to happen with this COVID-plague. I think the unique 90's scene was more across the whole country actually and it grew from there. Tape trading, small shows and zines & letters kept it going..

How did you initially come up with the band name and what’s the idea behind it?

The first name for the “band” was actually Toilet Skul, but this one ended up as a song for our first EP. The name “Skulmagot” does not actually have anything to do with Cannibal Corpse’s A Skull Full Of Maggots, although there’s a reference to it.

The spelling (missing letters) was just a thing with the typography of the logo, and it has a Scandinavian vibe to it. We get a lot of questions about this, but it actually works out really well. So, there you have it!

How was the experience of working with a label like Headsplit Records?

Without these small labels Skulmagot wouldn't have gained so much attention globally, that what we have now. And we are truly thankful for all the attention we have gained globally..it’s amazing! Working with these small tape-labels is really rewarding for both sides, as the cost stays rather small and the product is also reasonably priced. Headsplit Records is run by Reverend Laviolette who really knows his shit. He has released alot of old and newer Finnish bands on his label. Working with Headsplit is smooth and straight forward! And the end product is really good in quality.

The world is immersed in a state of chaos. That being said, how is the whole pandemic situation in Finland, and what do you think of everything that has happened lately?

I think that Finland got the least worst parts of this Pandemic.. we're isolated anyway and dont want to be with other people so this was nothing new to anybody! We didn't have any strict lockdowns here as in other parts of Europe, no curfews or anything like that. We've all been working or living the hermit life in the woods remotely for 18 months now, so it is really getting boring... maybe the virus will stay with us forever and we just learn to live with it. For the music writing part this pandemic was actually really good, we managed to create a dark and obscure record and in no hurry.

Because of the internet, everything has become immediate and disposable. Do you think this has had a pernicious effect on the essence of metal or do you view it as something favourable?

There's alot of everything available online and people's concentration is on the state of a fruit fly! This feeds the urge to collect more records and paraphernalia.. in the metal scene i think most of the people are into merch, records and other stuff you can touch and feel. Cover-art and like plays still a big role in records and collecting them. There's still these old school cats who order their records with a letter from the distros... so we're not doomed yet!

What does the term underground mean to you?

It's revealing to know that "it's there" no matter what ever happens globally. It's something that it is a bit challenging to explain.. you have to feel and breath that shit. Underground is doing good, always has.

Share with us some albums that have surprised you this year, and also tell us what you regard as the great classics of Death Metal?

The latest Witch Vomit is really good.. and be sure to check out also SNĚŤ. Alot of good and mediocre stuff has been released.. I find myself getting more and more back to the older stuff all the time.. One great classic is Deicide's Legion from 1992. Never get's old!

To end the interview, tell us about your future plans for the band and leave a battle-cry for our readers! Bestial greetings!

You will hear Skulmagot in the future as well! We have one EP underway and some shit cooking all the time. I miss live shows and meeting with other dorks who share common interests! Got to keep healthy and avoid stupid shit to stay away from the COVID-plague! Stay strong people! Buy records. Go to shows. Drink (good) beers and keep in touch with your friends. Support the bands, zines, labels and the distros for what they do, as the flame is burning strong. Support the true underground always!! Cheers & beers from Finland!!

EP review: Orv – A Crowning of Misery (2021)

Orv – A Crowning of Misery

Hungary

Independent

Orv from Budapest plays an interesting style of black metal that sounds more or less modern thanks to a rather clear production, although the production does not sound plastic in any sense. This release is their debut EP and contains 4 tracks that last 20 minutes in total. The band's sound is quite fresh, but also retains that fundamental essence idiomatic to black metal. The band manages to evoke a rather compelling atmosphere that draws the listener in. The riffing is par excellent and you can hear that the band is still finding their feet, although there are clear signs of innovation. The vocals are typically raspy, but perfectly balanced in the mix. There is a certain morbid aura to "A Crowning of Misery" and it does not come across as superficial either. The music is full of emotion and exudes an apocalyptic atmosphere drenched in blackness. Admittedly, the music on this EP is pretty excessive, and while that can be a bad thing in some cases, it does not detract from the quality of the music. According to the band, the lyrics are about the self-indulgent tyrannical nature of man and his journey from ascension to self-sufficiency to the inevitable decline. All in all, If you're on the lookout for some good underground black metal with melodic sensibilities, then Orv from Hungary is the right band for you. (HT)

Album review: Maze of Terror - Offer To The Fucking Beasts (2021)

Maze of Terror – Offer To The Fucking Beasts

Peru

Xtreem Music

Peruvian death thrash maniacs Maze of Terror release their second album and follow up to 2016's ripper "Ready To Kill". The latest work is a convincing and ferocious display of skull-shredding thrash infused with sheer aggression as well as some new dynamics at work. 

It seems the band have evolved their sound a little and added more atmosphere this time around, although the vocals are still as hostile-sounding as ever. Each track is packed with pounding riffs, hard-hitting drums and heavy bass lines, while hateful vocals are belched over the explosion of noise.

There are also plenty of lethal guitar solos scattered throughout the album, lightning fast and full of morbid emotion. I really like the way the drums are played and sound on this album. It does not sound overproduced or too dry, but has just the right amount of bite for a thrash album. Also, the main tempo of the music is a little faster than mid-paced and pairs well with the ferocity of the music. 

There is an abundance of head-banging riffs, indicating the band's propensity for violent, old-school metal. The band cites bands like Massacra, Sarcofago, and Protector as influences, so that alone can attest to the fact that this is no pussy thrash. 

Overall, “Offer To The Fucking Beasts” is a deadly album on all fronts and comes highly recommended to fans of gritty and uncompromising Death/Thrash. (HT)

Album review: Kaeck – Het Zwarte Dictaat (2021)

Kaeck – Het Zwarte Dictaat

The Netherlands

Folter Records (CD) / Hessian Firm (Cassette)

The Dutch trio Kaeck strikes again with their second album "Het Zwarte Dictaat" featuring two members from the mighty Sammath. Those with a penchant for second wave black metal will undoubtedly find solace in the hellish overtones of "Het Zwarte Dictaat" as the band churns out a series of hefty riffs and scornful vocals. The atmosphere conjured on this album brings to mind something profane and utterly malevolent, coupled with a simplicity that is true to black metal. There is nothing overly technical on this album, though everything is executed exceptionally well as the band shows their knack as songwriters. Keyboards are used sporadically throughout the album to add an extra layer of ambiance, giving it a rather sinister twang. At its best, "Het Zwarte Dictaat" is primarily a black metal album, somewhat reminiscent of war metal with its volatile and crushing atmosphere. The music manages to incorporate a variety of dynamic tempos while maintaining a good balance. The bass is prominent and adds to the heaviness of the album, while the drums are mostly mid-tempo but well executed. I have always been of the opinion that music sounds better (and more expressive) when performed in one's native tongue, and that's exactly the case here, as the vocals are performed in Dutch. If you are a fan of good black metal, then you should listen to Kaeck! (HT)