In this new installment of the column, the San Antonio Heavy Metal Examiner will review four unrelated extreme metal albums to keep readers informed about newer bands, or bands that may have slipped under their radar (see: the entire purpose of this column). The reviews will be a lot shorter than usual, hence the title "Rapid-Fire Reviews". We'll start off with an album from black/death metal outfit Blasphemous.
Blasphemous, "Incineration of the Cult"
Genre: Black/Death Metal
Hailing from the Northeast, Blasphemous play a gritty mixture of black and death metal with a lot of melody, although the raw production and throat-splitting vocals guarantee that this is no saccharine, soulless metal album. There is all manner of guitar work on this album, from the strangely catchy high-end riffage of the opening track, "Invocation of Belial" to the vile harmonies of "Catholicaust" to the chunky riffage of "Warriors of the Wasted Lands", whose intro could almost be described as classic Suffocation as covered by a Norwegian black metal band. When guitar solos are present, they are very well done, building off the aural chaos of the rhythm work. The drumming is also a great part of this album, constantly changing beats to varying tempos, and while the bass isn't heard too often, it does its job backing the guitars. Black metal and death metal are presented in roughly equal portions, and the songwriting style remains relatively consistent throughout the album.
San Antonio metal fans will find special interest in "Incineration of the Cult", as the music contained on the album is very reminiscient of hometown heroes Hod (albeit with much more melodic sections). Vocally, R.K. sounds a good deal like Hod croaker Vladibeer Reebs, while the thin production is also similar to Hod's "Serpent", although the two bands are unrelated and Hod's "Serpent" was actually released a year after "Incineration of the Cult". In any case, "Incineration of the Cult" comes highly recommended for fans of extreme metal of all genres, especially for those who like the idea of melodic death or black metal but think the genre could use a little rawer approach.
Yob, "The Illusion of Motion"
Genre: Stoner/Doom Metal
Yob's "The Illusion of Motion" is an album of astronomical proportions that comes highly recommended to stoner/doom metal fans. Although there are only four songs on this album, they are lengthy as well as grandiose. Instrumentally, this is a fantastic album. Many times, the guitars play chords that give off a psychedelic vibe, adding to the otherworldly atmosphere of this album. The bass is often distorted, and the low fuzzy rumble adds significant "oomph" to the crunch of the guitars. The instrumentation is enough to instill visions of astral spirits, and if one closes their eyes and relaxes, this album will take them to another planet (not literally, of course). The vocals alternate towards guttual shouting and Dave Mustaine-like nasally singing, which accompanies the mood of the songs quite well, although the shouting sounds a lot better than the singing (although that may be personal perference on my part).
Obviously, you can't mention this album without referencing the 26-minute magnum opus that is the title track. The song is a constant dirge that undoubtedly puts the "stoner" in "stoner doom metal", and while the sludgy, snail-like pace of the song may be off-putting to many metalheads, the extremity of the tempo really works well for those who prefer their metal to induce a trance-like state through repetitive playing of bludgeoning riffs and chords. The song eventually builds to a chaotic, wah-soaked crescendo that is outright terrifying, and one would imagine those listening to the album in a state of inebriation (this is stoner doom, after all) would be scared senseless by the jarring change. The outro is a perfect end to the album, and it should go without saying that "The Illusion of Motion" is an album highly recommended for those looking for some spacey, psychedelic, but still crushingly heavy, metal.
Urgrund, "Unchangeable Fate"
Genre: Black/Thrash Metal
Whenever you're a black/thrash band from Australia, comparisons to Destroyer 666 are pretty much inevitable, and while Urgrund may have some similarities with the Satanic speed metallers, they still bring their own savage touch on their "Unchangeable Fate" album. The material on "Unchangeable Fate" is mostly a fusion of black metal and thrash, although there are a few moments on the album that pay homage to straightforward black metal, most notably in "Foredoomed" and "Desert Fox", both of which contain some of the slowest playing on the album. However, this album is at its strongest whenever the grimy thrash riffing takes over, which is the case for most of this album.
This album is outstanding in the vocal department, as the wolven growls and shrieks of the vocalist compliment the razor-sharp guitar riffs perfectly, and even though all of the songs on the album clock in at around five to six minutes, the songs don't drag on due to the sheer number of riff changes that keep things exciting. The production is solid, owing more to the clear sound of thrash metal as opposed to the rawness of black metal, which works perfectly with songs like "Saga of Redemption" and the title track. The kick drum sound is very reminiscient of the typewriter sound of Morrisound Studios, which may be bothersome to some, but any fan of Florida death metal (which should be everyone reading this column) shouldn't mind it in the slightest. If you like riffy black/thrash metal , you should definitely look in to purchasing "Unchangeable Fate".
Necrophobic, "Satanic Blasphemies"
Genre: Black/Death Metal
Sweden is a land filled with glorious death metal from the late eighties and early nineties, including bands like Unleashed, Grave, and Dismember, as well as lesser-known luminaries Exhumed and Eructation, among others. One such act was blackened death metal act Necrophobic. Although their name would lead one to believe they are a Slayer worship band (not that there's anything wrong with that), there isn't anything thrashy about the material on this compilation. Rather, the sounds of raw guitars laden in effects are perfectly representative of old-school death metal with a blackened edge (hence the term "blackened death metal", thank you Captain Obvious) while the vocalist brings forth sickening growls with lyrics that cover your usual death metal subjects. There guitar solos manage to utilize minor-key compositional styles to add to the haunting atmosphere of this release, and there are also high-pitched guitar melodies that still manage to be quite eerie.
In terms of highlights, it's difficult to say which song is best since excellent songs are omnipresent on the release. As this is a compilation of seperate releases, there are slight differences between the songs on the album as the listener shifts from the "Slow Asphyxiation" and "Unholy Prophecies" demos and the "The Call" EP, and the sound definitely gets darker as one ventures further into the abyss that is this compilation. Even the intro to "The Call" EP, "Shadows of the Moon" manages to be one of the evilest-sounding songs on the album even if it is only a minute long! The effects used on the guitars in certain parts only enhance this ambience, and such an atmosphere is necessary to create the best kind of old-school death metal.
This compilation may be fairly short (it clocks in at forty minutes), but it is well worth a purchase, especially when one factors in the historical context. Necrophobic played at last year's Maryland Death Fest, although this reporter did not get to witness them, a review of their performance courtesy of Brooklyn Metal Music Examiner Zeke Dundon can be found here.
For more info: San Antonio metal fans can acquire these albums locally at Hogwild Records. You may have to have Hogwild specially order it, but rest assured, all of them are worth the effort to track down.
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