Cenotaph - "Perverse Dehumanized Dysfunctions" (Hammer Müzik, 2017)

Band: Cenotaph
Title: Perverse Dehumanized Dysfunctions
Genre: Brutal Death Metal
Year: 16th June 2017 (CD);
          7th July 2017 (LP)
Time: 31 min circa
Rating: 80/100












After even 7 years from their 5th album, the "Turkish kings of brutal death metal" Cenotaph are finally back with their new full-lenght! Titled "Perverse Dehumanized Dysfunctions", I received it 5 months ago by Enis of Hammer Müzik, the label responsible of its release. So, let's start already with the review without other useless words!

All My Sins - "Lunar/Solar" (Black Death Productions, 2017)

Band: All My Sins
Title: Lunar/Solar
Genre: Black Metal
Year: 15th January 2017
Time: 21 min
Rating: 80/100













By listening again and again to the rawest black metal bands from Portugal, I was almost forgetting that black metal is also able to deliver pure poetry! The poetic force of this genre is strongly shown today by All My Sins, a Serbian duo born in 2000 that, after two demos between 2002 and 2004, literally disappeared from the scene until their comeback with "Lunar/Solar", an EP released at the end of this year by the Polish label Black Death Production. And already now I say to you that "Lunar/Solar" is became one of my favorite discs of 2017!

Gravewards - "Subconscious Lobotomy" (2017)

Band: Gravewards
Title: Subconscious Lobotomy
Genre: Mid-tempo Death Metal
Year: April 2017
Time: 22 min circa
Rating: 55/100













The greek maniacs Gravewards, as bands like Acedia Mundi and Draghkar, contacted me after my incredibly successful review about "Primordial Malignity" of Tomb Mold. They sent to me their debut demo "Subconscious Lobotomy" for a review, released in demotape after 2 years from their foundation. Now, I don't know if the connection is wanted or not but the title of this demo is the same of the first full-lenght album of the known Swedish death metal band Centinex. So, are we in presence of a death metal holocaust in Swedish-style? Not exactly...

Deadhead 'zine (6th number, 2015, Afterlife Productions; 2017, Schattenmann Publishings)

Title: Deadhead #6 (The Sixth Devilry)
Genre: Fanzine
Year: 2015 (Afterlife Productions);
2017 (Schattenmann Publishings)
Pages: 154 in A4
Rating: 85/100

















The second appointment with the fanzines here on Timpani allo Spiedo is now about Deadhead, a literally monumental 'zine ran by Wan Syamsul, a Malaysian guy owner of the small label Afterlife Productions. If I say correctly, the very first issue of Deadhead was released even in 1997, so we are talking about a long-term 'zine. What I hold in my hands is the 6th issue, released in 2015 but recently reissued by the German Schattenmann Publishing for the European market after the great success of the first pressing. Personally, I bought it 2 months ago from Dunkelheit Produktionen for the "modest price" of 14.90 Euros but, said frankly, all that was money well spent!

Ordem Satânica - "Monte da Lua" (Signal Rex, 2017)

Band: Ordem Satanica
Title: Monte da Lua
Genre: Raw Black Metal
Time: 48 min
Year: 4th July 2017
Rating: 56/100













This album was released in full Summer but it's blacker than the same black metal! Apart these bullshits, "Monte da Lua", released by Signal Rex, is the long-held debut album of Ordem Satânica , another totally mysterious Portuguese kult, that belong to the Aldebaran Circle along with Trono Alem Morte, Voëmmr and Occelenbriig (how many fuckin' black metal circle exists in Portugal?). Of Ordem Satânica, I've listened some time ago to their split with the infamous Ruach Raah but I have to say that I received a bad impression from the band today reviewed. And, unfortunately,  Ordem Satanica did it again with "Monte da Lua".

Samot - "Across the Abyss" (Unspeakable Axe Records, 2016; Ex Nihilo Music, 2017)

Band: Samot
Title: Across the Abyss
Genre: Death/Doom Metal with Black Metal melodies
Year: 20th May 2017 (Unspeakable Axe Rec)
9th April 2017 (Sentenced to Grave Prod)
13th July 2017 (Ex Nihilo Music)
Time: 14 min circa
Rating: 66/100










At the end of my review about the Occult Pantheon/Profound Grave split, I anticipated the second release by the Chilean/Canadian label Ex Nihilo Music and, finally, it is here. It is "Across the Abyss", the debut EP by Samot, originally edited on the evergreen tape format by the US Unspeakable Axe Rec but without a real cover artwork since it consisted simply of the band's logo. After that, this EP has been reissued two times during 2017: the first one on digital way thanks to the Chilean Sentenced to Grave Prod, that created an evocative bloodred cover artwork changing also the logo of Samot fulfilling it of various details like an inverted cross and a tomb; and then on the long-held CD format by, indeed, Ex Nihilo Music, resuming both the cover artwork by Sentenced to Grave (but purple-colored this time) and the original logo of Samot, and this review is based just on this last version. In brief, "Across the Abyss" is only their second release after a demo in 2015, and it has been reissued in different versions yet! But how are the rituals leaded by this Chilean duo (now a trio due to the new bassplayer Franco B.) in this EP?