A standout week for extreme metal, as we’ve got a plethora of stellar death-, black- and hash thrash metal released upon the world.
Asking Alexandria – Where Do We Go From Here?
Genre: Pop metal/metalcore
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Immaculately produced, catchy and well-performed metalcore with strong pop and electronica leanings.
Asphodelus – Sculpting From Time
Genre: Avant-garde doom metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Sullen, alternative-sounding doom draped in disharmonious tragedy.
Atoll – Human Extract
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Morbid, bloodthirsty stuff with elements of brutal death metal, but doing it in a more classic, manageable style.
Augurium – Unearthly Will
Genre: Symphonic death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Spooky-toned symphonic death metal that feels like metalcore beneath the brutal-melodic surface.
Blut Aus Nord – Disharmonium – Nahab
Genre: Black/avant-garde metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
The machinations of chaos are on naked display on this one, pumping dissonant waves of oily madness through your speakers. Blut Aus Nord yet again delivers pure nightmare fuel, but with a distinct, all-enveloping gloom this time. There is no light on the horizon, only a perpetual descent into various forms of half-organic, half-industrial horror.
Highlight: “The Endless Multitude”
Celestial Sanctuary – Insatiable Thirst for Torment
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5
This is death metal with an old school kind of tone and production, but an evolved ferocity and sense of instrumental creativity. Whether flirting with thrash, speed, doom or melodeath, the band’s intentions for an overall sound to the album shine through as clear as day. There’s hardly a single part that sounds conventional or low effort, and you get both groove and crypt-dust brutality in spades.
Highlights: “Biomineralization (Cell Death)” and “The Lurid Glow of a Dead, Burning Body”
Colony Drop – Brace For Impact
Genre: Thrash metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
A cool meld of old school, rowdy thrash and punky hardcore that ignites a energetic sense of a good time.
Dethklok – Dethalbum IV
Genre: Melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Dethklok (aka. Brendon Small) returns with more delicious death metal ear food consisting of catchy riffs and tight drum- and solo work. It’s thoroughly enjoyable.
Exmortus – Necrophony
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Here’s a good slice of adventurous thrash with a mean, raspy edge. Virtuosic, almost neoclassical playing, lofty, classic-metal-style melodic work, and an appetite for speed boosting tasty riffs and precise drum work. The harsh vocal style fits it all quite well, contributing a whiff of tech death, but in essence this is an album for the thrash and traditional heavy metal enthusiast.
Highlights: “Oathbreaker” and “Storm of Strings”
Grand Cadaver – Deities Of Deathlike Sleep
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Mikael Stanne and his gang of (mostly) non-melodic death metallers are back with more serrated riffs and grooves, and it doesn’t disappoint. Solid, if not outstanding.
GraveRipper – Seasons Dreaming Death
Genre: Thrash/black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Like the grim reaper riding a Mad Max-style monster truck, this is all adrenaline-pumping, high speed, killer riffage with an aftertaste of nihilism. Sure, it’s a s aggressive and rowdy as you might expect, with all the right tonal ingredients, but also with the entertainment factor turned way up. In short: It’s killer!
Highlights: “Into the Grave” and “Resist Against the Light”.
Heimdall – Hephaestus
Genre: Power metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
If you ignore the fact that a band named after a Norse deity made an album named after an ancient Greek deity, this is pretty fun and well-performed stuff.
Marc Hudson – Starbound Stories
Genre: Power metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Bright, Anime intro song-inspired (I’m pretty sure) power metal with speedy drum and synth work from the Dragonforce frontman.
Incantation – Unholy Deification
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
If crushing, old school, doom-laden death metal is your thing you know that these guys have you covered. There’s both punishment and reward aplenty in the mix of dragging, abyssal heaviness and rhythmic, menacing riff work. No one part overstays its welcome, and the balance of disharmony and systematic pounding is very well realized.
Highlights: “Chalice (Vessel Consanguineous) VIII” and “Convulse (Words of Power) III”
Kallias – First Ascent
Genre: Progressive/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Highly proficient technically-driven progressive metal with a moderate tech death presence. It’s a bit unfocused, but has several really strong songs.
Knife – Heaven Into Dust
Genre: Speed/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Yet another solid release from these German speed metallers, although even if the ferocity is there most all of the way, the “speed” part is not quite as prevalent, giving way to their classic heavy metal and mid-tempo thrash side.
Lepra – Devil’s Blood in Her Tongue
Genre: Black/gothic metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
A promising first full length from a band experimenting with dissonant, gothic atmosphere lashing out with black metal harshness.
Lions At The Gate – The Excuses We Cannot Make
Genre: Alternative metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Delivering some early punches with heavy, nu-metal riffs, this quickly descends into pop-oriented, well-trodden, alt-rock-like territory.
MDMA – Organic
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
Brutal, tight-rhythm death metal played at such a non-varied pace that it’s hard to distinguish one song from another.
Meurtrières – Ronde de Nuit
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
Low-key, medieval-styled heavy metal with distinctly atonal female lyrics.
Monasteries – Ominous
Genre: Technical deathcore
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Percussive, technical, odd-rhythmed deathcore that’s mostly devoid of melody in favor of an all-out slam and breakdown factor.
Nixil – From The Wound Spilled Forth Fire
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Dark, writhing black metal that reaches out from a perpetual gloom.
Noveria – The Gates Of The Underworld
Genre: Symphonic/power metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Grand, yet technical symphonic metal with an engaging, energetic power metal backbone and prog aspirations.
Orphalis – As The Ashes Settle
Genre: Technical death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Mostly settling with a modern death metal pace, there’s still plenty of instrumental sidesteps, varied tone and light experimentation to earn the tech death mantle.
Shepherds Reign – Ala Mai
Genre: Heavy/groove/folk metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Sheperds Reign strikes back with what feels like strong step in the direction of full musical maturity, mixing heavy metal melody with thrash and groove riffs, and, of course, a good dose of Polynesian traditional elements, which fits their style very well.
Sinheresy – Event Horizon
Genre: Heavy/symphonic metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
Catchy, well-performed symphonic metal with heavy metal and hard rock energy.
Tegmentum – Evolvement
Genre: Technical/progressive death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Tech death striking out on indiscriminate, prog-led detours into the cosmic void, delivering potent aggression, yet not quite landing a tonal or melodic cohesion.
Till The Dirt – Outside The Spiral
Genre: Death metal/grunge
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
A strong influx of grunge and prog elements makes this death metal project stand out from the masses, even as it proves to be the strongest when leaning on classic rhythms and groove-oriented death riffs.
U.D.O. – Touchdown
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Whoa! I did not expect U.D.O. to sound this reinviogorated. Going in with lukewarm expectations, this proved to be a solid good time. If only the whole album could be as energetic as the title track (and have an actually decent album cover), this would be truly great.
The Unity – The Hellish Joyride
Genre: Power/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Classic melodic power metal with lots of heavy metal feelgood vibes. But guys, don’t call your song “masterpiece”, unless it’s some sort of joke.
Vision Master – Sceptre
Genre: Heavy/speed metal/punk
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Powered by a distinctly punk “whatever goes” kind of attitude, this band pumps out barebones heavy metal that’s loaded with elements of speed, thrash and black metal. It’s weird and surprisingly cohesive.
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band or need to give an album another shot, do feel free to express yourself in the comments section below.
The Metal Dispatch 