BLESSED OFFAL Tape

(No Visible Scars - Scar016)
Release date: 2011

Review: I'm sorry it took me this long to actually listen to this. It might be because the last time I played a cassette tape my tape-deck regurgitated it with its insides out; So I was actually scared to put this in... But this label decided to resurrect the accursed format and I had to dive back in...
Blessed Offal is playing a superb melding of multifarious death metal styles... I can't help but think they're conjuring up a few older bands, especially early Grave (in terms of the deep guttural growling vocals, the thick guitar tone & tight riffage), Winter or Incantation (for the chilling atmosphere of the slower passages) and perhaps also Vomitory for the few face-ripping blastbeat sections that are thrown in there. The intermittent echoey shrieking backing voice also lends the band a grindcore edge at times. Songs unfold into all these different death metal "moods" masterfully. The fast parts are incredibly tight and brutal but the Doom parts are equally effective in a gloomy, depressive way.
Song-writing is actually pretty impressive and ambitious; sound production is also pitch perfect, this sounds more old school than alot of the old school stuff! Despite having only 5 tracks this is pretty much a full length album, most of the tracks are just really long. Quite honestly some of the best death metal I've heard in years, this is unmissable... It's a tape but the cover artwork is actually EP sized. Out on No Visible Scars.
http://www.myspace.com/blessedoffal
Tracks: 1)Bottomless Grave 2)Seasons in Sepulchral Depths 3)An Unnatural Ending in Excrement 4)Ancient Realms of Anti-Anthropocentrism 5)A Means to an End

Label Contact: http://nvslabel.blogspot.com/

ELDERS OF THE APOCALYPSE Tape

(No Visible Scars - Scar015)
Release date: 2011

Review: Right away the cover art to this looks familiar... This is borrowed from a poster of Umberto Lenzi's Ironmaster, which was an ultra-cheesy and bizarre cross-over/rip-off of Conan and Quest for Fire, the kind only italians would dare to produce back in the early 80's. The awesome poster actually makes the film look a lot better than it actually is, but it's insanely entertaining all the same. Musically Elders of the Apocalypse is an equally entertaining and lowfi-sounding thrashing death/black metal in the style of obviously Blasphemy from whom they cover a song right here on this very release. Maybe Angel Corpse was another cool band in this vein, but this is rougher, really chaotic, aggressive-type death metal in the old school Hellhammer vein except with a lot more Morbid Angel type grinding speed. It's really fast stuff with loads of blastbeats and mercilessly pounding rhythms, wild thrashing guitar riffs, absurdly noisy solos, and vicious, gnarly shrieking vocals! But the sound production is utterly raw and unpolished, it genuinely feels like an old dusty 80's demo. It's got almost no low-end, you can barely discern the bass parts... Actually maybe they went a little overboard with the whole unmixed aspect but it sounds intentional and it fits the style completely; (it reminds me of Sepultura's sound on "Bestial Devastation" a little bit, stuff like that, fuck I know I'm abusing the name-dropping in these reviews, it's like a sickness). Songs are also punctuated with a bunch of choice dialogue, hysterical stuff, mostly sampled from Ironmaster too I think, although I haven't watched it in years... The concept might sound like a joke but this is good death metal, not badly written at all, totally old school sounding and tightly executed (the drumming especially kicks ass) and it's a nice homage to italian b-movies as well. This put me in the mood to finally have a look at Blastfighter and Hands of Steel (George Eastman double bill!), both of which I haven't been brave enough to watch yet.
This was put out by No Visible Scars but limited to 100 copies and it's apparently sold out now (?). But you can check out this band anyway at www.myspace.com/eldersoftheapocalypse and also No Visible Scars tape/vinyl label at http://nvslabel.blogspot.com/
Tracks: 1)Ritual Sodomy 2)Warriors of Holocaust 3)Mass Murder of Believers (3:32) 4)angelripper
5)Plague Lords 6)Beneath the Boot of a Conquering Force 7)Spell of Desecration 8)Berserkers for the Goat-Horned Dominion 9)The Thrashing Horde 10)Your Kingdom Now in Ruins 11)Atomic Nuclear Desolation

Label Contact: http://nvslabel.blogspot.com/

KALI/ULTIMATE BLOWUP Split 7" Ep

(7 Degrees Records - 7DR007)
Release date: 2010

Review - KALI: Comes from Canada; this is the really angry, shrieking kind of grindcore or whatever you want to call it... With pissed off lyrics being screamed out and shouted, very incisive guitar riffs and whirlwind blasts of drums, I can't tell if this is a drum machine or real but it's damn fast anyway and the sound production is very sharp. Songs always go straight for the jugular, and when the pace slows down, it's never for too long, you can expect another sensory assault around the corner; you can tell by the tone of voice getting angrier and angrier things are getting fast again soon... Anyway, I really love this kind of high energy stuff, if you need to pass your nerves on something this is record a nice alternative to punching a wall... This managed to somewhat electroshock me out of my usual apathethic stance anyway. I'm not sure what's the right way to categorize this, fast hardcore, grindcore or whatever... but it reminds me of very cool bands like Enemy Soil's drum machine days and definitely DropDead too.
www.myspace.com/kalialberta
Tracks: 1)Bloodsport 2)Proverbs 30:5 3)Impostor 4)What Man Has Made of Man 5)Weasel

ULTIMATE BLOWUP: This one is much more hardcore sounding to me than grindcore, especially because of the dual shouted vocals, so this is also a fast hardcore/grind kind of thing but more like a Lärm type, not quite as intense and mindblowing as the Kali side but pretty nifty nonetheless. This style is not my area of expertise but I can dig this... The fucking fast riffing, cool distorted bass sound and the drumming can be blazing fast at times to. These guys sound ultra tight, and well, they seem to know what they're doing! I didn't know these 2 bands at all so this is a awesomely refreshing split Ep...
www.myspace.com/ultimateblowup
Tracks: Halted by the Shackles...

Label Contact: www.myspace.com/7degreesrecords

HAEMORRHAGE "Hospital Carnage" Cd

(Relapse Records)
Release date: 2011

Review: I totally forgot this new Haemorrhage full length was coming out so this came as a nice surprise to me... Album starts off with "Open Heart Butchery" a catchy moderately paced tune with a sick breakdown chorus that reeks of "Emetic Cult" era style stuff. Clear-cut, powerful riffs. The pace accelerates on the second song with more slightly more ferocious material, some blasts, thrashing guitars and aggressive vocals. So it's a mix of midtempo and faster grind numbers all throughout... This is the first album Haemorrhage puts on Relapse Records but musically the band remains pretty much unchanged... Musicianship has tightened a lot since the band's beginning but this is pretty much the same old Haemorrhage churning extremely catchy and groovy Grind-Gore! Vocals are as sickening as ever, at some points the album actually contains some of the most vomiteous pitch-shifted gurgling noises I've ever heard from the band! Plenty of extremely memorable and dinstinctive songs in there, some genius riffing that really stick in the mind. My favorite song in the whole cd is probably "Fomite Fetish", this song's got such a catchy chorus, this is stuff worthy of "Grume", and it almost seems like Haemorrhage is going back to their roots there. "911 (Emergency Slaughter)" is another extremely fun tune. The band continues to basically exacerbate the catchiest elements of "Symphonies of Sickness" and General Surgery's "Necrology", and why not? These are two of the best albums ever! Mastering by Scott Hull doesn't make a dent in the band's sound, the Haemorrhage trademark sound in intact. Some very nice artwork overall, my only criticism will be the lyrics which are printed black on a green background which makes for a difficult read... But all I can say is this is another awesome Haemorrhage release and I think I even like this one slightly better than the last few...
www.haemorrhage.es

Tracks: 1)Open Heart Butchery (3:07) 2)Traumaggedon (1:54) 3)Resuscitation Manoeuvres (1:48) 4)Flesh Devouring Pandemia (1:48) 5)Fomite Fetish (1:36) 6)Amputation Protocol (2:30) 7)911 (Emergency Slaughter) (2:51) 8)Doctors Of Malpractice (1:51) 9)Tumour Donor (1:56) 10)Hospital Thieves (2:21) 11)Splatter Nurse (1:47) 12)Hypochondriac (3:30) 13)Ingreso Cadaver (2:37) 14)Necronatology (4:45) 15)Intravenous Molestation Of Obstructionist Arteries (O-Pus VI) (0:55)

Label: www.relapse.com

HAEMOPHAGUS "Slaves To The Necromancer" Cd

(Ignorant Worm - IWR 000)
Release date: 2009
Running time: 35:09

Review: Haemophagus plays some of the best throwback to the golden years of death metal, influenced by early Death/Pestilence for the flesh-ripping riffage/soloing, Autopsy in the agonizing doom moments, Nihilist/Entombed in regards to the groove/heaviness factor as well as maybe Repulsion for the blastbeat elements and vocals. Somewhat in the line of what Death Breath has been doing too (can't fucking wait for the new Death Breath album, argh!). The riffs are quite memorable and cool as hell, obviously not the most original, but you don't hear old school death metal that pure so often anymore, this album feels like it could have come out in the early 1990's! And the song-writing is very solid, a band that is actually trying to write catchy tunes! Skilful and dense guitar work, really infectious kind of stuff, tight and brutal drumming and a mix of (like I said) very Repulsion-esque burly vocals and Pestilence-style roaring gnarls... Cool to see a band actually write old school death metal horror inspired lyrics without too much humor or irony (although the Death Breath punning writing style is pretty hilarious and awesome too)
My only criticism would be that the sound production lacks a certain old school "rawness", but with modern recording techniques nowadays it can be really difficult to achieve I guess. Otherwise the mixing is great, really clean, all instruments are well-balanced and come across perfectly clearly; and the listening experience is absolutely pleasurable. This is one of the most successful band at recreating the "old school death metal sound" nowadays and definitely my favorite band out of Italy! This album is quality shit!
Also out on vinyl LP with a cooler looking cover art through Jennifer Grind Records: http://jennifergrindrecords.blogspot.com/

Mp3: "Remember To Dismember"

Tracks: 1)La Garrota (Intro) (1:24) 2)Slaves To The Necromancer (2:06) 3)Remember To Dismember (1:23) 4)The Mark Of Madness (3:34) 5)Sniffing The Cremated Rests (0:59) 6)Dead Eater (2:44) 7)Red Diabolical Eyes (1:28) 8)Consecration (3:15) 9)Traumatic Defecation Of Pus (1:12) 10)Goddess Of Malice (4:04) 11)Cataleptic Murders (3:39) 12)Witches' Doom (2:59) 13)Sunrise Over Fields Of Dust (4:26) 14)Extirpating Life (1:56)

Band Contact: www.myspace.com/haemophagus

GROTESQUE ORGAN DEFILEMENT/ARCHAGATHUS Split Ep

(Primeval Sounds)
Release date: 2010

G.O.D. Review: This canadian band G.O.D. plays goregrind the way it should sound... Musically this is blistering, fast & sharp grindcore in beautiful early Napalm Death fashion, energetic riffing, relentless, extremely aggressive percussions... These tunes are going at furious speeds and never letting up... This is awesome stuff! Vocal-wise you've got a lot of high pitched shrieking and best of all, low, Regurgitate-style pitch-shifted gory gnarling growls! This stuff always manages to bring a tear to my eye... In simple words this is goregrind perfection! This sounds close to a band like Roskopp in most recent memory... Lyrics are pretty gory too but quite darkly humorous, maybe with a social undercurrent (=not as sleazy/scumbag-like as most goregrind lyrics)... Keeping with the tradition of Carcass/Reek of Putrefaction or Dead Infection's "Chapter of Accidents". Definitely one of my new favorite goregrind bands, I really hope more will be coming from them...
Archagathus Review: More canadian grindcore on this side! Very basic and very effective grindcore, in the vein of Agathocles (at their best) & Rot (Brazil)... Alot of really grotesque caveman guttural growling vocals on the forefront and shrill screaming backing vocals too... Grinding and pounding drumming and catchy grind riffs. This is very tight shit and it definitely it packs a punch! Fans of Agathocles should eat this up without problem... I still have a slight preference for G.O.D. (because of the gore aspect!!!) but this is solid junk all around. Cover artwork is fucking amazing, totally replicating the style and spirit of the old Napalm Death & Carcass cover art (I'd say a cross between Scum, Mentally Murdered & Reek of Putrefaction). A must-have for any self-respecting grind freak.

Mp3: "G.O.D. - Head Transplant.mp3h"

Tracks: G.O.D.: 1)Involuntary Experimentation 2)Head Transplant 3)Human Vivisection 4)Biosolids 5)Mulched Beyond Recognition 6)Dissected...at her Leisure 7)The Plasticity of Living Forms
Archagethus: 1Mandatory Janitor 2)Tipsy Widow 3)Indoctrined Recidivist 4)Pessimistic Alchemist

G.O.D. Contact: www.myspace.com/grotesqueorgandefilement
Archagathus Contact: www.myspace.com/archagathus

ATOMCK/PAUCITIES Split 7" Ep

(7 Degrees Records - 7DR008)
Release date: 2010

Review - Paucities: The intro sample to this side is from my favorite Fulci giallo, "Non si Sevizia un Paperino", I'm staring at an original italian poster of it hanging on my wall right now as I'm writing this. Oh and the intro to the second song is from Fulci's City of the Living Dead too... I also have a 2 meters high poster of this one, but I can't find wall space to put it up too... So right away I'm into this band since they're Fulci fans... Ok I'll cut the geeky crap (I have to fill up these review columns don't I?) Musically this Paucities band is very rough, very raw, thrashy midtempo, growling kind of grind... I see it's got only one guitar and one set of drums so yeah, this is very basic sounding kind of stuff. Agathocles might be an influence and since they're from Illinois I'm thinking early Impetigo too, they've got a similar of rhythm to their songs.
www.myspace.com/paucities
Tracks: 1)Tyrant Mania 2)Solitaire

Atomck: This is weird one. Crazy disjointed thrashing riffs and solos spiralling out of control, drum blast-o-rama, growls and a hysterical type of bitch shrieks... Absolutely original atypical stuff... A mix of primitive raging fury and more mathematical kind of guitar riffing and structure. Pretty eerie and extreme in a listenable way... Not sure what else to say about this... The artwork is very cool looking I think, but this doesn't have any inserts so not much info on there...
http://www.kcmota.com/
Tracks: 1)Finite Crisis 2)Dark Prism Strategy 3)Difference Maker 4)Invincible Phoenix Discharge

Label Contact: www.myspace.com/7degreesrecords

dasKRILL / KEITZER Split 7" Ep

(7 Degrees Records - 7DR008)
Release date: 2010

Review - Keitzer: Plays hardcore-type heavy kind of stuff with slight modern grind influences (maybe latest Napalm Death, Rotten Sound, that type).... Shrill, aggressive vocals, some effective blastbeat action, very metallic riffs, rather high tuned guitars and somewhat melodic flowing riffs, and some palm-muting thrashing stuff. Overall this is very powerful stuff, very tightly executed but I must admit the over-abundance of sickly melody turns me off a little personally...
Tracks: 1)Signs of Armaggeddon 2)No Remorse
www.myspace.com/keitzer

dasKrill: This side is much heavier, lower register stuff, low-tuned guitars... Vocally, there is a variety of high pitched shrieking, low guttural growls and weird ass vocoder effect at times... This band seems to be using a sort of synth background sound, Korg keyboard or something similar. Gives them a pretty unique and eerie sound. Raw, brutal, noisy but also groovy and catchy at times. This is very listenable kind of stuff. Solid Split Ep here, with a slight preference to the dasKrill side here.
Tracks: 1)Dirt Needs No Luck 2)Don't Wiz on the Electric Fence 3)Erected Burning Man in Love Sequence 4)Chew
www.myspace.com/daskrill

Label Contact: www.myspace.com/7degreesrecords

MACHETAZO "Necrocovered" Mcd

(Living Dead Society)
Release date: 2010
Running time: 22:07

Review: Here we have a pretty noteworthy cover mini-album, not only Machetazo pays homage to classic old school bands but each song features a different guest vocalist including a few death metal legends starting with Chris Reifert on the opening Carnivore cover. Johan Wallin (General Surgery & ex-Scurvy/Repugnant guitarist) takes care of the Master cover. Sound production on this release is supremely heavy. The Corrupted version is vocalized by Tim Call (Ok, I had to google this guy, but he's in Splatterhouse & black metal band The Howling Wind) then Kam Lee (Massacre!) gives a great performance for a great "Tormentor" Kreator cover. The band fully embraces their thrash influences but also the black metal ones tackling a Darkthrone cover. And the whole thing is rounded off with a nice Obituary/Septic Death combo cover with Santi of Nashgul. All in all this ep is an interesting and successful idea and the different vocalists offer a welcome variety to the usual dark and gritty Machetazo sound.

Mp3: "Machetazo - Sex and Violence"

Tracks: 1)Sex And Violence (3:25) 2)Pay To Die (3:11) 3)Arrastrandose Solo (4:57) 4)Tormentor (2:48) 5)Skald Av Satans Sol (3:52) 6)Dying / Demon (3:54)

Lael Contact: www.livingdeadsociety.com
http://www.machetazo.org/

BLOOD FREAK "Mindscraper" Cd

(Willowtip Records)
Release date: 2011
Running time: 44:55

Review: Well, good to hear new Maniac Neil stuff! The whole booklet artwork looks awesome, like a handmade cut & paste kind of scrapbook... I like how this album evacuates all their usual 80's horror movie samples into one psychedelic acid trip of a opening track... Then the rest of the album is pretty much uninterrupted music throughout. It's an interesting idea but I'm not sure the result is completely successful as I liked how Blood Freak albums were usually ponctuated with weird movie samples which injected energy throughout...
Anyway the actual metal kicks in then... Guitar tone totally reminds me of Dead (Germany), ultra downtuned with a very metallic ring to it. This is still highly listenable, fun death metal. Chock full of Blood Freak's usual meaty, thrashing guitar riffs and unstoppable brutal beats. Guitar work is pretty fast and technical... But I've got to say the sound production seems slightly off, I'll blame that guy Scott Hull for this, this stuff sounds a bit too much like Pig Destroyer at times. Song structures are a little too complex and not focused enough on more basic, catchy riffs. But I guess bands need to musically evolve to keep things interesting for themselves... Maybe it'll get a few more listens to get into it. But I kind of miss the simple, more straightforward feel of the first Blood Freak which remains my favorite, maybe it's because it had more of a stupid goregrind flavor to it. But this new album is still sounding pretty sweet, it's always great to hear new stuff from this band.

Mp3: "Merchants of Sleaze"

Tracks: 1)Psychoplasmics (3:04) 2)Merchants of Sleaze (3:40) 3)Sleeping in Hell (3:14) 4)Pink on the Inside (3:29) 5)Scared Stiff (3:55) 6)Slaughterhouse Recollections (5:18) 7)Mindscraper (3:40) 8)Sex Trash Princess (4:03) 9)Paralyzed by the Medusa Spider (2:21) 10)Death Trip...In the Dryg Den of the Damned (2:57) 11)We Kill Cause We Care (3:32) 12)Gobble Up Your Guts! Pt. 3 (5:43)

/www.slashermetal.com/bloodfreak
www.myspace.com/bloodfreakband
Label Contact: www.willowtip.com