PRAY U PREY - "Figure the 8" (Selfmadegod Records, 2017)

Band: PRAY U PREY
Title: Figure the 8
Genre: Death Metal/Crust Punk with Thrash Metal influences
Year: 20th January 2017
Time: 42 min
Rating: 75/100












It's been a very long time I reviewed a release of the Polish label Selfmadegod Records, and I think PRAY U PREY are perfect to break this looong silence thanks to their debut album "Figure the 8", preceded by the "Black Light of Time" EP (2015). But now it needs a clarification: we are talking about an emerging band but it is composed of true veterans of the extreme British scene considering that Shrew and Shrub played together in Prophecy of Doom (a crust/grindcore band of the early '90s) but now are into Alehammer while Simon and Colin comes from the crossover/thrashers Suicide Watch.

Shaarimoth - "Temple of the Adversarial Fire" (World Terror Committee, 2017)

Band: Shaarimoth
Title: Temple of the Adversarial Fire
Genre: Black/Death Metal
Year: 13th January 2017
Time: 48 min
Rating: 90/100













Shaarimoth is a very strange band! Firstly, they belongs to the roster of World Terror Committee but they don't plays that religious black metal loved and supported systematically by the aforementioned label, despite their very occult themes spotted even into their tendency to release albums characterised always by 11 songs (it seems that the number 11 has a strong esoteric meaning) . Secondly, Shaarimoth aren't a prolific band considering they realized since their foundation (2004) only two productions, both full-lenght albums. The last of these ones is the here reviewed "Temple of the Adversarial Fire", released recently. But what isn't strange is that this album, as it happens for many productions of W.T.C., deserve the whole attention of the extreme metalheads. And don't forget that Shaarimoth (that contains ex-Disiplin members) comes from Norway, that was the promised land of black metal in the '90s while now it's full of the wilder death/thrash metal bands of the entire world like Deathhammer, Reptilian and others.

Acrimonious - "Eleven Dragons" (World Terror Committee, 2017)

Band: Acrimonious
Title: Eleven Dragons
Genre: Black Metal
Year: 20th March 2017
Time: 66 min
Rating: 88/100













For me, the Greek black metal is always an uninterrupted and fascinating discovery, also because its bands are able every time to amaze me. These Acrimonious aren't an exception, a great trio (but a quartet 5 years ago with the Swedish vocalist ar-Ra'd al-Iblis), born in 2002, guided since the early days by the singer/guitarist Cain Letifer and composed also, since the 2012 full-lenght titled "Sunyata", of the drummer C. Docre (Thy Darkened Shade's live member) and the guitarist/bassist Semjaza 218 (the mastermind of the same Thy Darkened Shade).Together, they released recently a fantastic third album named "Eleven Dragons", underlining curiously with this title one of the features typical of the albums edited by the German label World Terror Committee considering that many of them contains, in fact, eleven songs.

Bestial Warlust - "Storming Bestial Legions - Live '96" (Hells Headbangers Records, 2017)

Band: Bestial Warlust
Title: Storming Bestial Legions . Live '96
Genre: Bestial Black/Death Metal
Year: 17th February 2017
Time: 36 min
Rating: 86/100













To summarize: the last my two reviews were about the debut EP of the Danes Vomit Angel and the split album between the Chileans Black Ceremonial Kult and the US duo Genocide Beast, and all these are 3 very young bestial black/death metal bands also if the first ones are composed of (ex)-Sadomator/Sadogoat members. Now, this new review is about a band that has made seriously the story of the bestial black/death metal genre: Bestial Warlust. Born in 1990 as a death metal band named Corpse Molestation, Bestial Warlust released in 1994 and in 1995 two very influential full-lenght albums before splitting-up in 1997. Now, their moniker is back because Hells Headbangers Records has unearthed an old gig of these Aussie maniacs, recorded in its entirety during in 1996. So, here you are "Storming Bestial Legions - Live '96", a live album able to show definitively to the entire world all the ferocity and hate on stage of Bestial Warlust.

INTERVIEW TO ABHORRENCE!!!

For this small 'zine, the interview to a very important band isn't an everyday event. So, it's a true honor for me interviewing the cult Finnish death metal band Abhorrence through the very interesting words of their singer Jukka Kolehmainen!
No other bullshits, read the interview and enjoy it!

Black Ceremonial Kult/Genocide Beast - "Demo XXIV/Demo XXV" (Old Temple, 2016)

Bands: Black Ceremonial Kult/Genocide Beast
Title: Demo XXIV/Demo XXV
Genre: Bestial Black/Death Metal
Year: 11th November 2016
Time: 35 min
Rating: 60/100













I remember when, 10 years ago (I was 18 years old!), the bestial black/death metal bands were relatively few and many of them had still do to release their debut album despite a discography yet full of demos and splits (in this sense, I think to Necroholocaust or Goat Semen). Instead, the bestial black/death metal genre is now enough popular in the underground, so new bands see the (black) light almost every day to clone Blasphemy or, maybe, to extremize, if possible, their incorruptible verb. In fact, this day it's the turn of two new bands devoted to Blasphemy since the Polish label Old Temple has wanted to gather the very first demo of Black Ceremonial Kult and Genocide Beast into a sole split CD released the previous year. For the record, it's Marcin of Mythrone Promotion that has sent to me, through that list of promo kits composed also of the yet reviewed "Eight Cardinal Sins" of Hellias, this split titled "Demo XXIV/Demo XXV".

Vomit Angel - "Sadomatic Evil" (Headsplit Records, 2016; Iron Bonehead Productions, 2017)

Band: Vomit Angel
Title: Sadomatic Evil
Genre: Bestial Black/Death Metal
Year: 9th October 2016 (Headsplit Records)/10th March 2017 (Iron Bonehead Productions)
Time: 18 min
Rating: 70/100










I think that the bestial black/death metal genre, now enough popular, is the realm of the purest metal orthodoxy. This is shown by many bestial bands like Blasphemy (obviously!), Black Witchery or James Read, all people so faithful to the exterminating fury of their genre of reference to play it for years WITHOUT true variations to their unwavering formula! Among all these heroes devoted to this kind of orthodoxy with few rivals, there are also the three Danish demons known as Sadomator, once named as Sadogoat from 1998 to 2005 and authors of 3 full-lenght albums adored by their fans. Now, their singer/guitarist Seventh Blasphemer (renamed this time as NecroDevil), along with the old Sadogoat's drummer Lord Titan, has founded in 2014 Vomit Angel, a kind of continuation of the original project responsible, for the moment, of the "Sadomatic Evil" EP, initially conceived in October 2016 on cassette format by the US label Headsplit Records but recently reissued on vinyl by Iron Bonehead Productions. Good fuckin' move! I am sure that "Sadomatic Evil" will be a true collector's item for every bestial/war metal cultist!

Abhorrence - "Totally Vulgar: Live at Tuska Open Air 2013" (Svart Records, 2017)

Band: Abhorrence
Title: Totally Vulgar: Live at Tuska Open Air 2013
Genre: Death Metal
Year: 10th February 2017
Time: 34 min
Rating: 75/100












The history of the (extreme) metal is literally full of bands existed only for 6 months but some of them, despite their very short existence, belongs now to the legends of this music maybe after realizing one only demo. For example, this is the case of Abhorrence, a death metal band from the Land of a Thousand Lakes born in 1989 to die in 1990 after the release, during the same 1990, of the "Vulgar Necrolatry" demo and the "Abhorrence" EP, both very acclaimed into the underground scene so to become soon true collector's items but without forgetting the never officialy released "Macabre Masquerade" demo (recorded in May 1990) and the 1991 posthumous split by Seraphic Decay Records. Fortunately, the end of Abhorrence led, also thanks to their guitarist Tomi Koivusaari, to the foundation of the very known mainstream band Amorphis. Now, as you know, Abhorrence, pushed by the success of their "Completely Vulgar" compilation released by Svart Records, were reborn in 2012 with every original member (excluded the drummer). The result of the comeback of this very cult band was the reunion show in occasion of the 2013 edition of the Tuska Open Air, immortalized forever for posterity only recently by Svart Records with the live album titled "Totally Vulgar: Live at Tuska Open Air 2013".

Hellias - "Eight Cardinal Sins" (Thrashing Madness Productions, 2017)

Band: Hellias
Title: Eight Cardinal Sins
Genre: Thrash Metal with many Modern/Experimental Metal elements
Year: 10th February 2017
Time: 55 min circa
Rating: 77/100












I have to admit that I knew nothing about the Polish band Hellias but two months ago Marcin from Mythrone Promotion sent to me their last album "Eight Cardinal Sins", released through their compatriot label Thrashing Madness Productions. In fact, Hellias is a true veteran band born even in the now far 1987 realizing its very first album "Closed in the Fate Coffin" in 1991, when thrash metal, the genre of reference of Hellias, was practically dead because supplanted at time by the prevailing death metal. I think that this delay into the thrash metal scene influenced decisively the international recognition of Hellias. It's also true that many veteran Eastern Europe metal bands, also in the case of a rich discography, are very respectable into their national borders but often very unknown to the rest of the metal world. Despite this, you know that especially Poland has become, at least during these last 15 years, an excellent breeding ground for (extreme) metal, and, surely, Hellias continue this tradition through their 5th album "Eight Cardinal Sins".

Panikk - "Discarded Existence" (Xtreem Music, 2017)

Band: Panikk
Title: Discarded Existence
Genre: Thrash Metal
Time: 40 min
Year: 15th March 2017
Rating: 70/100













Panikk are back! I knew this Slovenian thrash metal band at the time of its first album titled "Unbearable Conditions" released in 2013, when these 4 angry guys were still into the roster of the now defunct compatriot label Metal Tank Records, which sent to me the aforementioned album to review it. Now, the things are a bit changed for Panikk: in fact, they have a new drummer (Ĉrt Valentić) and a new lead guitarist (Jaka Ĉrešnar) while, after many efforts, they have also a good international reputation especially since they played at the Slovenian 2015 MetalDays Festival to open for a band like Behemoth. Hence, now strong of a deal with the powerful Spanish label Xtreem Music (which reissued "Unbearable Conditions" on 2014), here you are Panikk with their sophomore album titled "Discarded Existence" with which they have added some new features to their sound.