Death Metal

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    Howls of Ebb – The Marrow Veil (2015)

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    Hailing from San Francisco, CA, today we have the miscreants of Howls of Ebb and their crushing “The Marrow Veil” EP. Being on the longer side of what people call EP’s (over 34 minutes); this is one dense release that wills truly challenge your musical preconceptions. Crafting a sickening mixture of Death/Black Metal with a thick atmospheric component this music is superbly raw and punishing.

    Opening with the 19-minute dissonant piece “Standing on Bedlam, Burning in Bliss”, this trio projects a very dense and raw sound that is quite hard to find. While some times they sound like old Sepultura and even Deiphago, the band also reminds us a bit of early The Ruins Of Beverast. There basic structure behind this track is quite catchy and enjoyable, making it a very unique and disturbing experience at the same time.

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    Hands of Despair – Hereafter (2015)

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    Hailing from Canada, today we have Hands of Despair 2011 debut release “Hereafter” finally pressed on CD by Deathbound Records. Featuring a very unique mixture of Death/Doom/Black Metal, this release is truly a gem as it has tons of replay value just to discover all little elements thrown into the mix by the band. Featuring Egan O'Rourke of Daylight Days handling clean vocals in two of the six songs, this album has something for everybody and will appeal a wide variety of listeners.

    Opening in a doomy and atmospheric manner, “The Departure” nicely sets a very melancholic mood that is quickly unsettled by the harsh growls of David-Alexandre Brousseau but perfectly offset by Egan’s clean vocals. Clocking in around 10 minutes, this is one hell of an opener. Nearly with a 180 degree twist, “Shattered Memories” blasts off with some furious Black Metal-esque riffs and very dramatic atmospheric elements. While having plenty of atmospheric passages, this track is also quite heavy and rooted with Death/Black Metal elements.

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    Kataklysm – Of Ghosts and Gods (2015)

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    Continuing with their crafty melodic but brutal brand of Death Metal, today we have Kataklysm and their twelfth studio release “Of Ghosts and Gods”. In this ten-song album, the band dwells between mesmerizing melodic passages and punishing onslaughts keeping this release very fresh and well balanced. Releasing one music video per track, this is Kataklysm’s most ambitious album to date.

    Opening with the album with the pummeling drumming of “Breaching the Asylum” sets a very high note for the rest of this release. As “The Black Sheep” and “Marching through Graveyards” roll in we notice a certain melodic tempo that reins the first three songs, which greatly enhances the band’s unique and punishing sound. This last track sounds like a very interesting mixture of Cannibal Corpse with some Swedish Death Metal.

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    Kronos – Arisen New Era (2015)

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    Hitting the listener like a bag of bricks to the face, today we have Kronos and their demolishing release “Arisen New Era”. Delivering over 36 minutes of sturdy Brutal Death Metal, this is by far the heaviest band we have heard come out of France. With a heavy focus on making traditional Death Metal elements heavier and more violent, this release will ravage your speaker system and will have you begging for more.

    Opening with the Cannibal Corpse-esque “Infernal Abyss Sovereignty”, the band sets a very intense mood with crushing riffs and inhuman drumming courtesy of Anthony Reyboz. The meaty hooks of “Zeus Dethroned” and “Soul-Voracious Vultures” brings back memories of the good old days of Kataklysm and Suffocation… but faster and more brutal. As the band delivers neck-snapping anthems like “Rapture in Misery” and “Aeons Titan Crown” we are constantly impressed by the crystal clear production behind this ambitious release.

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    Immortal Bird – Empress/Abscess (2015)

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    Brilliantly pivoting between Death and Black Metal, today we have Immortal Bird and their crushing debut release “Empress/Abscess”. Pummeling through five tracks and over 30 minutes of material, this band’s sound is very unique and powerful, making them one of the freshest sounding artists of 2015. If you are a fan of music that is challenging, brutal, and melodic, this is one of those rare releases that will satisfy your cravings.

    Opening with the dissonance of “Neoplastic”, the band sets the mood with piercing riffs and massive drums. With a certain melodic flair to a mixture of Death/Black Metal riffs that weaves back and forth between old-school Entombed-like Death Metal to Watain-caliber riffage, the band instantly grabs your attention. With Rae Amitay delivering a punishing vocal performance, it allows the band to deliver brutal tracks like “Sarophyte”.

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    Embrional – The Devil Inside (2015)

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    Delivering waves of neck-breaking Death Metal, today we have Embrional and their crushing sophomore release “The Devil Inside”. Hailing from Poland, this three man outfit produces some of the most clinical and hateful Death Metal we have heard in a while. Forget about all that virtuoso Tech Death stuff, this is exactly what dreams of brutality are made from, and we have around 43 minutes of it.

    Stepping up to the plate with the demolishing drumming of “Evil's Mucus”, the band makes an instant splash thanks to their raw power. Nothing extremely fancy, but high on surgical precision, this band produces piercing moshing moments like nobody’s business and tracks like “The Abyss” and “Funeral March” are perfect examples of this. A personal favorite is the decadent “In Darkness”, a piece that punishes the listener with Kamil’s inhuman double kick skills.

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    Kera – Kera (2015)

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    With a flourishing Metal musical scene in France delivering very diverse bands like Gojira, Dagoba and Alcest among many others, it is quite refreshing to hear a promising Progressive Death Metal band named Kera. With this self-titled EP, the band explores an interesting experimental take on Death Metal with some solid progressive elements and a knack for melodic brilliance.

    Opening with the pummeling “Masters Enslaved”, we are treated to excellent riffing that is quite crafty in nature and perfectly rounds of the well-tailored drum patterns. The vocals have that old-school raspy vibe, not necessarily the cleanest growls, but they get the job done. The second track, “Architect of Chaos” is probably the band’s most straightforward song blistering leads and a very playful melodic approach.

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    Pestifer – Reaching the Void (2014)

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    Greatly improving from their 2010 debut release, today we have Belgium’s Pestifer and their sophomore effort “Reaching the Void”. In a scene as competitive as Technical Death Metal, there are always bands that are clearly better than the ‘known alternatives’ and one of those is Pestifer. Cranking out nine brutal hyperactive headbanging anthems, this album will blow you away since the first song.

    Showing their insane musical skills since the opener, “Witness of the Loss”, the band demonstrates immense improvement since their previous release. Filled with hateful growls, acrobatic riffing and sick bass guitar lines, the album demolishes its way through tracks like “Exiled to the Abyss”, “Tree of Thorns” and the personal favorite “Abominations”. It is immediately evident that the dual guitar onslaughts by Antoine Paterka and Emerson Devresse will be responsible for multiple sore necks.

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    Necrotted – Utopia 2.0 (2014)

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    While cleaning up stacks of CD’s from our review table we found this little hidden gem from 2014. Necrotted is a German outfit that produces some crushing Deathcore/Death Metal and on their sophomore release “Utopia 2.0”, they state their case for being one of the best German bands in the genre.

    Opening with the pummeling “Utopia (We are the light)”, we get a classical DM vibe at first, and it suddenly morphs into more modern sounding Deathcore brutality. This mixture of styles is quite engaging and sets them apart from the majority of bands that just abuses the traditional formulas of modern Deathcore music, more evidence of this perfect blend can be hear on the intricacies of “Rebuild and Revive”, “Assimilation”, and the punishing “Xenophobic Attitude”.

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    Six Feet Under – Crypt of the Devil (2015)

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    Leaving us wanting more after their last release, Six Feet Under returns with another opus of catchy and grooviness inspired Death Metal with “Crypt of the Devil”. Led by Chris Barnes and Steve Swanson, this band has been refining their sound over the last 10 years and is far from sounding like any other Death Metal band in the scene. Dividing 37 minutes of music through 10 tracks, this release has enough catchiness to send you to the hospital from a neck injury after a day of extreme head banging.

    Kicking off with the traditional sounding “Gruesome”, the band gradually increases their effectiveness through tracks like the hyper catchy “Open Coffin Orgy” and the brutally titled (and crushing) “Broken Bottle Rape”. The Six Feet Under signature sound is always present in the tracks in this release as Chris Barnes iconic vocals shine through. There are killer guitar solos and funky riffs in all tracks, but we particularly love the insane solos on “Broken Bottle Rape”. The band can switch up the tempo quite effectively with the chugging “Break the Cross in Half”.

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