Hey brutalbangers,
I was very busy in these last times, so I've had very little time to publish new articles for the 'zine. To remedy this, today the new appointment with "Honorable Mentions from the Abyss" (a special column made of simple bands' mentions without real reviews nor ratings) is literally full. In particular, it is focused on some 2018 releases of Satanath Records that its boss Alexey send me in digital format many months ago. But waste no other time, so...
ENJOY THIS ARTICLE AND DISCOVER ALL THE FOLLOWING BANDS!!!
Let's start with Automb (FB page), a young trio from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that has a huge line-up consisting of ex-Necrophagia members (the Ukrainian guitarplayer Serge Streltsov) while their session drummer is even Scott Fuller from Morbid Angel, that, for the live gigs, is replaced by Jarrett Wann. Well, Automb released in 2018 their debut album "Esoterica", without publishing anything before it, through Satanath Rec along with the German label Final Gate Rec.
The band, that's really active in the live front, plays a good black/death metal with growling vocals performed by the bassplayer Danielle Evans. Mainly influenced by bands like Dissection, Belphegor and Behemoth, Automb plays in a very aggressive and furious style dubbed by them as "Esoteric Black Metal" because of their lyrics focused on occultism, paganism, witchcraft and nature. The band promoted their album through the video of "Horned God" while they are preparing another one for "Into Nothingness".
From Russia with atrocious love comes these Hekata (FB page), 4 angry guys that released "Ruin" (Satanath Rec/More Hate Prod/Hecatombe Rec), a debut album comprising only 6 songs for 25 minutes of assault.
Basically, Hekata, that now has a new bassplayer in the line-up, plays a savage old-school Swedish death metal with bulldozing slow/mid-tempos à la Bolt Thrower. But, by listening to the titletrack that opens the album, you'll realize already that Hekata offers a bunch of different solutions so to range from crust punk parts perfect for the wildest moshpit to obscure black metal riffs also in arpeggio, or from a good sense of melody to ripping guitar solos. Many guests as lead guitarists in the persons of Serge Ivanov (Blazing Rust, Portfire), Serge Kashirsky (Truth That Kills) and Alex Konstantinov (Iron Driver). Shame that, by judging on their FB page, so few people likes Hekata!
What a very fascinating moniker! In fact, Agos comes from an ancient Greek word and indicates who is cursed by the gods. So, it really fits for a one-man band (FB page) guided with absolute power by Van Gimot, a merciless demon with past experiences in bands like the mighty Acherontas and others. Well, Agos is his new project and this "Aonian Invocation" (Satanath Rec/Deathhammer Rec/Heathen Tribes) is his debut album under this moniker. Fuck, are there only debut albums in this article!
But what can you expect from a Greek musician strong of the aforementioned experiences? Nothing but black/death metal in the most classic Hellenic tradition! This means that this black/death metal form has strong occult and ritualistic tunes with the addition of growling vocals and themes mainly focused on mythology, in a style that reminds me a lot of Varathron. Don't expect pure violence here because the pace is mostly in mid-tempo with some tribal drums but expect surely some strange solutions from to time. Discovering all this is up to you now!
Now it's finally the turn of a sophomore album, not of another debut album! We are talking about "Of Twilight and Evenfall..." by Indesiderium (FB page), a US duo from the sunny Los Angeles, California.
"Of Twilight and Evenfall..." (Satanath Rec) is a very happy 7-track album that ranges from a brutal black metal attack worthy of the Swedish masters ("Ascending the Serpent Throne") to a more melodic approach in mid-tempo with melancholic guitars and mysterious keyboards ("Upon the Shores of Acheron"). In brief, unholy and occult black metal played with variety and including also vaguely thrash metal parts. And, to close the legacy with the Swedish black metal, the album is ended through a cover of the majestic 9-minute opus "The Knell and the World" of Dawn. Well done!
How many Filipino bands are on this 'zine? I guess none. So, today I'll cover this gap by presenting you these Comatose (FB page), a blasphemous quartet born in 2003 as a Hypocrisy cover band that released their first album only in 2015 through the usual Satanath...even though it was ready to be published years before! Yes, there was unfortunately a notable delay for its release! At the contrary, no delay for the second album of Comatose entitled "The Ungodly Lamentations", released under the auspices of Satanath Rec along with Grinder Cirujano Rec and Rebirth the Metal Prod. Yes, the co-productions are mandatory for Satanath!
Okay, "The Ungodly Lamentations" shows a pure Satanic death metal à la Morbid Angel/Decide that presents plenty of tempo changes, an evil atmosphere as it should be for this kind of productions, and devastating guitar solos. The levels of wickedness are right, even though I used to skip the intro of this album but it's because I'm literally allergic to the intros! Can't wait to listen to the new stuff that Comatose are preparing in these days! They have already published on their FB page a preview of their new 2019 demo "Fallen Ones of Dead Light", so check it out!
Last but not least, it's time now to talk about Degragore (FB page), a sick duo from Hungary leaded by the multi-instrumentalist (but not drummer) Jøzsef Tøth. Recently, the vocalist Norbert Nemes, that gave his unhuman throat for the Degragore's debut album, has been replaced by a certain Gábor Sütő, who'll play in the next album whose details will be soon revealed.
Speaking about "From Sin to Redemption" (Satanath Rec/Metal ör Die Records/Rebirth the Metal Prod), this is a 12-track album in the sign of a severe and disgusting slamming brutal death metal played with a drum-machine instead of a real drummer. Among the interesting features, I can mention the (really parsimonious) use of a lead guitar able to play even melodic solos ("Book of Sin"). But, obviously, you mustn't forget the classic torturing series of pig squeals, samples taken from somewhere that often opens the songs, and the alternation between (ultra)-fast parts at a demented speed and frequent mid/slow passages. In the meantime that the new album is waiting to be released, you can check out the Degragore's new single "Cadaverous". Are you ready for another slam orgy?
AUTOMB - "ESOTERICA"
The band, that's really active in the live front, plays a good black/death metal with growling vocals performed by the bassplayer Danielle Evans. Mainly influenced by bands like Dissection, Belphegor and Behemoth, Automb plays in a very aggressive and furious style dubbed by them as "Esoteric Black Metal" because of their lyrics focused on occultism, paganism, witchcraft and nature. The band promoted their album through the video of "Horned God" while they are preparing another one for "Into Nothingness".
HEKATA - "RUIN"
Basically, Hekata, that now has a new bassplayer in the line-up, plays a savage old-school Swedish death metal with bulldozing slow/mid-tempos à la Bolt Thrower. But, by listening to the titletrack that opens the album, you'll realize already that Hekata offers a bunch of different solutions so to range from crust punk parts perfect for the wildest moshpit to obscure black metal riffs also in arpeggio, or from a good sense of melody to ripping guitar solos. Many guests as lead guitarists in the persons of Serge Ivanov (Blazing Rust, Portfire), Serge Kashirsky (Truth That Kills) and Alex Konstantinov (Iron Driver). Shame that, by judging on their FB page, so few people likes Hekata!
AGOS - "AONIAN INVOCATION"
But what can you expect from a Greek musician strong of the aforementioned experiences? Nothing but black/death metal in the most classic Hellenic tradition! This means that this black/death metal form has strong occult and ritualistic tunes with the addition of growling vocals and themes mainly focused on mythology, in a style that reminds me a lot of Varathron. Don't expect pure violence here because the pace is mostly in mid-tempo with some tribal drums but expect surely some strange solutions from to time. Discovering all this is up to you now!
INDESIDERIUM - "OF TWILIGHT AND EVENFALL..."
"Of Twilight and Evenfall..." (Satanath Rec) is a very happy 7-track album that ranges from a brutal black metal attack worthy of the Swedish masters ("Ascending the Serpent Throne") to a more melodic approach in mid-tempo with melancholic guitars and mysterious keyboards ("Upon the Shores of Acheron"). In brief, unholy and occult black metal played with variety and including also vaguely thrash metal parts. And, to close the legacy with the Swedish black metal, the album is ended through a cover of the majestic 9-minute opus "The Knell and the World" of Dawn. Well done!
COMATOSE - "THE UNGODLY LAMENTATIONS"
Okay, "The Ungodly Lamentations" shows a pure Satanic death metal à la Morbid Angel/Decide that presents plenty of tempo changes, an evil atmosphere as it should be for this kind of productions, and devastating guitar solos. The levels of wickedness are right, even though I used to skip the intro of this album but it's because I'm literally allergic to the intros! Can't wait to listen to the new stuff that Comatose are preparing in these days! They have already published on their FB page a preview of their new 2019 demo "Fallen Ones of Dead Light", so check it out!
DEGRAGORE - "FROM SIN TO REDEMPTION"
Speaking about "From Sin to Redemption" (Satanath Rec/Metal ör Die Records/Rebirth the Metal Prod), this is a 12-track album in the sign of a severe and disgusting slamming brutal death metal played with a drum-machine instead of a real drummer. Among the interesting features, I can mention the (really parsimonious) use of a lead guitar able to play even melodic solos ("Book of Sin"). But, obviously, you mustn't forget the classic torturing series of pig squeals, samples taken from somewhere that often opens the songs, and the alternation between (ultra)-fast parts at a demented speed and frequent mid/slow passages. In the meantime that the new album is waiting to be released, you can check out the Degragore's new single "Cadaverous". Are you ready for another slam orgy?
che scoperta questo blog, messo tra i preferiti ^_^
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