Hey brutalbangers,
the pure heavy metal has been covered very few times on this 'zine (I remember, for example, a review about October 31), so this new appointment with "Honorable Mentions from the Abyss" is very special. In fact, today you'll read about 3 bands playing traditional metal and/or speed metal (speaking about this last one, check it out my articles about the proto-speed/thrash metal) and, plus, all of them comes from USA. It's possible that I'll talk about similar bands in the near future because ultimately they are sending me a lot of this stuff but, for the moment, read this article and enjoy it!
Do you want a band that bring the pure speed metal at its insane extremes? Well, Seax (FB page) are for you! Founded in 2009 by the will of the Brazilian guitarist Hel, they come from Worchester, Massachussets. After a lot of efforts, they have now a very good reputation within the maniacs not only for playing plenty of gigs but also for having released so far even 4 full-lenght albums. The fourth one is just "Fallout Rituals", published under the auspices of a label well rooted in the purest classic metal: Shadow Kingdom Records.
Tremendous high pitched vocals, a dynamic guitarwork, some heavy metal melodies (already listenable in the epic intro "Fallout") and only fast tempos ALL THE FUCKIN' TIME! Believe me, if there is a speed metal band in its purest form, that's named Seax! But this is obvious since songs titled as "Killed by Speed" (check out the promotional video that the band made for it!) and "Born to Live Fast" are a whole program! Maybe, the slower tempos are sometimes necessary because, after a while, this non-stop speed metal onslaught is a little bit monotonous but, at the end, the sheer energy is unquestionable. So, do you want a band in the vein of classics such as Acid, Warrant (the German band, not the fukken glamsters!) or Exciter? Well, Seax are for you again!
It was a loooong time that, on these putrid pages, there wasn't an album released by Hells Headbangers Rec! So, this label finally is back today through "Uncivilized", the debut album of Pounder (FB page). Surprisingly, they are a new band from Los Angeles consisting of veterans of the death metal scene with past and/or current experiences in acts of the calibre of Nausea, Exhumer, Repulsion, Cretin and even Carcass. But before I said "surprisingly" because "Uncivilized" show them when they play another sort of metal...also a ultra-melodic sort of metal!
In brief, "Uncivilized" is pure heavy metal characterized by a great creativity and variety. In fact, among its 8 different tracks, there are speed metal explosions ("Fuck Off and Die"...), tough heavy metal numbers citing Judas Priest's "Painkiller" (the titletrack), more epic and creepy episodes ("The Mists of Time"), and rockish anthems ("We Want the Night"). If all this wasn't enough, there are not one but even two ballads, that are "Long Time No Love" and the more tearful "Answer the Call", that are very strange for death metal maniacs like Matt Harvey (the guitarist/singer) and co., included the Venezuelan session drummer Gus Rios (Gruesome...)! Nothing else to say, this is a heavy metal that, played through imagination, great arrangements (especially in the guitarwork) and with some acoustic parts also during the faster tracks, offers surprises in every song!
From the Big Apple comes this power trio known as Fatal Curse, another band into the roster of Shadow Kingdom Rec! Thanks to this US label, Fatal Curse published their debut album "Breaking the Trance". We're talking about a young band that's very active in the live front, so check out their FB page for their next live gigs!
Said this, also Fatal Curse are speed metal headbangers but with an approach completely different from Seax. In fact, "Breaking the Trance" is a 7-track album in which there is basically a raw speed metal that reminds me a fuckin' lot of the early Jaguar (also vocally speaking) with some rockish tunes à la Motörhead, and without forgetting some '70s influences. Very good is the alternation between the fast songs with the slower ones. Among this last type of songs, I can particularly mention "Priestess of Fire", a mid-tempo a little bit sui generis (for the standards of Fatal Curse, at least) because it's really haunting and doomish from time to time. A promising debut album for a band that soon will play on the same stage of bands like Razor, Destructor and Savage Master in the occasion of the Metal Immortal Festival, scheduled on 29th June at Millvale, Pennsylvania!
SEAX - "FALLOUT RITUALS"
Tremendous high pitched vocals, a dynamic guitarwork, some heavy metal melodies (already listenable in the epic intro "Fallout") and only fast tempos ALL THE FUCKIN' TIME! Believe me, if there is a speed metal band in its purest form, that's named Seax! But this is obvious since songs titled as "Killed by Speed" (check out the promotional video that the band made for it!) and "Born to Live Fast" are a whole program! Maybe, the slower tempos are sometimes necessary because, after a while, this non-stop speed metal onslaught is a little bit monotonous but, at the end, the sheer energy is unquestionable. So, do you want a band in the vein of classics such as Acid, Warrant (the German band, not the fukken glamsters!) or Exciter? Well, Seax are for you again!
POUNDER - "UNCIVILIZED"
In brief, "Uncivilized" is pure heavy metal characterized by a great creativity and variety. In fact, among its 8 different tracks, there are speed metal explosions ("Fuck Off and Die"...), tough heavy metal numbers citing Judas Priest's "Painkiller" (the titletrack), more epic and creepy episodes ("The Mists of Time"), and rockish anthems ("We Want the Night"). If all this wasn't enough, there are not one but even two ballads, that are "Long Time No Love" and the more tearful "Answer the Call", that are very strange for death metal maniacs like Matt Harvey (the guitarist/singer) and co., included the Venezuelan session drummer Gus Rios (Gruesome...)! Nothing else to say, this is a heavy metal that, played through imagination, great arrangements (especially in the guitarwork) and with some acoustic parts also during the faster tracks, offers surprises in every song!
FATAL CURSE - "BREAKING THE TRANCE"
Said this, also Fatal Curse are speed metal headbangers but with an approach completely different from Seax. In fact, "Breaking the Trance" is a 7-track album in which there is basically a raw speed metal that reminds me a fuckin' lot of the early Jaguar (also vocally speaking) with some rockish tunes à la Motörhead, and without forgetting some '70s influences. Very good is the alternation between the fast songs with the slower ones. Among this last type of songs, I can particularly mention "Priestess of Fire", a mid-tempo a little bit sui generis (for the standards of Fatal Curse, at least) because it's really haunting and doomish from time to time. A promising debut album for a band that soon will play on the same stage of bands like Razor, Destructor and Savage Master in the occasion of the Metal Immortal Festival, scheduled on 29th June at Millvale, Pennsylvania!
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