Hey brutalbangers,
in these last days I listened to a lot of death metal, so this new episode of "Honorable Mentions from the Abyss" is entirely dedicated to this genre. Sure, every band featured here plays death metal in an old-school approach (the better one, undoubtedly), as it's regular for this 'zine. And, in addition, this time I touched also exotic countries like...but no spoiler, so please read this article and enjoy it!
This compilation, named very briefly "The Apocryphal Paths of the 8th Vitriolic Transcendence", see 8 tracks characterized by an anguishing death/doom metal style full of torturing vocals, some blast-beat explosions from time to time, a very raw production (especially in the second demo) and a sort of a terrifying cosmic mood. But, in addition to all this, don't forget the songtitles, that are so long to be very difficult to remember! In brief, this is a promising compilation for these Bloodsoaked Necrovoid (Bandcamp page) that plays a inhuman combination between Disembowelment and Grave Upheaval! Ha, important to say: the band will release a split with Ratlord from Germany on 1st August 2019 through Testimoy Records!
As their moniker suggests, Pestilent Death plays a very dark, malign and heavy death metal with joyful themes focused on horror, gore and various perversions. The style, dubbed by the band as "Filthy, Disgusting West Coast Death Metal", is truly inspired by US masters of the calibre of Autopsy, Incantation and Immolation, so this kind of death metal has frequent abyssal doom sections, already listenable in the first song "Chamber of Wretched Souls". There is also an instrumental titled "Emanation of Despair", even though it's a bit useless. Definitely "Chapters of Depravity" is a good album but without being a masterpiece.
Self-released as their first album (instead, the second album was edited by nothing else than Satanath Records), the new full-lenght "Death is Dead" (2018) show 11 tracks per 34 minutes in which there is an old-school mid-tempo death metal played in a way similar to Gravewards, but with some technical death metal elements determined, for example, by the basswork (like in the bass solo of "Swamp") or by complex guitar riffs ("Mortal Fear"). This style is interesting but I don't like so much the drums (the sound of the snare is a bit weak) while this mid-tempo approach is too controlled for my tastes, so it needed more fast tempos than now. Finally, I suggest to the band to develop better the technical death metal elements because, for the moment, they are only hinted. A curiosity: some songtitles reminds me of classic thrash metal tracks such as "Tormentor" (Destruction) and "Black Magic" (Slayer). Is it a mere coincidence or something else?
In fact, "Mental Turmoil" is the classic death metal work that I love without any stupid doubts! Why? But because it's raw, chaotic and truly violent with many Autopsy influences, and it reminds me some of the newer bands like Morbid Messiah. So, this album is pure intensity, also thanks to a short lenght since the tracks are only 6 per 23 minutes of devastation. But this "pure intensity" is greatly supported by a putrid mood typical of the genre, that's perceivable also in the guitar solos, that can be slow and atmospheric or noisy and out of control, in according to the different situations. In addition, I literally adore the production, that's so fit for a live performance to give to the album a more chaotic and raw feeling. Nothing else to say, this is death metal as it should fukken be!
BLOODSOAKED NECROVOID - "THE APOCRYPHAL PATHS OF THE 8TH VITRIOLIC TRANSCENDENCE"
In these times the worst metal nightmares have no boundaries in the world. In fact, the band called Bloodsoaked Necrovoid (what a fuckin' great moniker!) comes from Costa Rica, a country that's surely not so known for its metal bands...except for some notable sonic terrorists like Deiphago or Corpse Garden! Certainly, Bloodsoaked Necrovoid deserve to be featured into that list of sonic terrorists because, throughout their still short career, released two outstanding demos that have ben now edited in a single compilation by Iron Bonehead Records.
This compilation, named very briefly "The Apocryphal Paths of the 8th Vitriolic Transcendence", see 8 tracks characterized by an anguishing death/doom metal style full of torturing vocals, some blast-beat explosions from time to time, a very raw production (especially in the second demo) and a sort of a terrifying cosmic mood. But, in addition to all this, don't forget the songtitles, that are so long to be very difficult to remember! In brief, this is a promising compilation for these Bloodsoaked Necrovoid (Bandcamp page) that plays a inhuman combination between Disembowelment and Grave Upheaval! Ha, important to say: the band will release a split with Ratlord from Germany on 1st August 2019 through Testimoy Records!
PESTILENT DEATH - "CHAPTERS OF DEPRAVITY"
Los Angeles, California, will be sunny and also overlooks the sea but it spews forth some very dark and repugnant bands! This is the case of Pestilent Death (FB page), a quartet of Latin-American demons that this year released their second album "Chapters of Depravity". It was edited in different formats through two labels: Rotted Life (digital, CD and tape) and Blood Harvest (vinyl, digital).
As their moniker suggests, Pestilent Death plays a very dark, malign and heavy death metal with joyful themes focused on horror, gore and various perversions. The style, dubbed by the band as "Filthy, Disgusting West Coast Death Metal", is truly inspired by US masters of the calibre of Autopsy, Incantation and Immolation, so this kind of death metal has frequent abyssal doom sections, already listenable in the first song "Chamber of Wretched Souls". There is also an instrumental titled "Emanation of Despair", even though it's a bit useless. Definitely "Chapters of Depravity" is a good album but without being a masterpiece.
VISTERY - "DEATH IS DEAD"
After a lot of time, there is another band from Belarus on these pages! And, just as Sodomic Baptism, also these Vistery (FB page) plays death metal. Their story is very tormented: born as a studio one-man band in the August 2010 by the will of the guitarist (and once vocalist) Aleksey "Wicked" Kirillo, Vistery became a full line-up act after their debut album "Procreation of the Wicked" (Celtic Frost, anyone?), self-released only after 6 months from their foundation. And from that moment on, they became a quintet for their third and, so far, last album "Death is Dead" but suffering many line-up changes. These ones seem to be endless, since both the drummer Sergey "Def" and the guitarist Kirill left recently them for different reasons.
Self-released as their first album (instead, the second album was edited by nothing else than Satanath Records), the new full-lenght "Death is Dead" (2018) show 11 tracks per 34 minutes in which there is an old-school mid-tempo death metal played in a way similar to Gravewards, but with some technical death metal elements determined, for example, by the basswork (like in the bass solo of "Swamp") or by complex guitar riffs ("Mortal Fear"). This style is interesting but I don't like so much the drums (the sound of the snare is a bit weak) while this mid-tempo approach is too controlled for my tastes, so it needed more fast tempos than now. Finally, I suggest to the band to develop better the technical death metal elements because, for the moment, they are only hinted. A curiosity: some songtitles reminds me of classic thrash metal tracks such as "Tormentor" (Destruction) and "Black Magic" (Slayer). Is it a mere coincidence or something else?
THROMBUS - "MENTAL TURMOIL"
Few months ago David from La Caverna Records (a very young label from Colombia just founded in 2018) contacted me to review its releases. Well, I am here to talk about the second release by La Caverna Rec, that is a reissue of an unknown death metal album produced during the golden years of the genre: "Mental Turmoil" by Thrombus. This band had a short story lasted between 1991 and 1996, in which they managed to create only the aforementioned debut album in 1993. Unfortunately, "Mental Turmoil" had a little response at the time because it was self-released through cassette in only 100 copies. But what a fuckin' album!
In fact, "Mental Turmoil" is the classic death metal work that I love without any stupid doubts! Why? But because it's raw, chaotic and truly violent with many Autopsy influences, and it reminds me some of the newer bands like Morbid Messiah. So, this album is pure intensity, also thanks to a short lenght since the tracks are only 6 per 23 minutes of devastation. But this "pure intensity" is greatly supported by a putrid mood typical of the genre, that's perceivable also in the guitar solos, that can be slow and atmospheric or noisy and out of control, in according to the different situations. In addition, I literally adore the production, that's so fit for a live performance to give to the album a more chaotic and raw feeling. Nothing else to say, this is death metal as it should fukken be!
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