Hooded Menace - Never Cross the Dead (2010)

Full Length, Profound Lore Records
2010


With the sudden upsurge of bands playing the old school style of death metal over the years, it's practically difficult to come across bands who really are something worth listening to. Bands whom you can call as fairly genuine and not just another imitation of the older hordes. The mighty Razorback Records has been a sort of hub for most of these neo-old school death bands with constant releases from the abysses of US, Sweden and Finland. The label has given a lot of cherishing audial devastations to the staunch aficianados of the ancient death reign and Hooded Menace is no exception.

The band is no stranger in the death metal underground since their frontman Lasse  has been a formidable part of the Finnish death wagon from the past 2 decades or so. He started off with the underrated death/thrash band Phlegeton in 88 and released a few demos and a compilation album till date. But his fetish for the macabre didn't seem to cease as he has associated himself in a number of old school death metal projects namely Acid Witch, Claws, Vacant Coffin, Shrouded, Hooded Menace etc. He roared back into the scene with élan through the debut CD of Hooded Menace entitled as ''Fulfill the Curse'' which was a gargantuan lesson in true horrific death metal typically fashioned in the 90
s and cult horror sounds-capes influenced by the Blind Dead and other classic horror series. But the recent release ''Never Cross the Dead'' which saw a change in label to Profound Lore Records, is even a step ahead than the first edition in terms of the compositional prowess which the trio unleashes upon the listeners.

Clocking around almost 51 minutes, the album oozes with a sludgy and extravagantly doomy slab of death metal reminiscent of the epochal American and Finnish doom/death sound sauced up with a fairly modern production which actually provides an ominous shrill to the delicious down tuned riffage. Lasse's vocals are something which I find pretty unique and interesting among most of the death metal vocalists. I remember reading a recent interview where he stated that growling isn't really something which he cherishes doing and hence went for a more ''lazy'' and creepier sounding growling tone. But this reluctant laze has certainly been a blessing in disguise for the overall music of the band since the dense growling patterns lay a bizarre and ''zombified'' impact on the listener which can be perfectly related to the style of music they play.

The riffs are pretty lush and crushingly heavy with the grooves reminding of Cianide's A Descent into Hell juxtaposed with subtle melodic leads in vein of more traditional acts like Sabbath and Cathedral. Tracks like ''Never Cross the Dead'', ''Terror Castle'' and ''The House of Hammer'' are dripping with solid Iommi style leads which enhance the heavy demeanor to a great extent.

Pekka's drumming has been pretty minimal and straight forward as per the musical needs and it has just been a necessary support to the musical onslaught. Their obsession with the horrific realms have been again displayed to a good extent with their version of ''Theme from Return of the Evil Dead'' which manages to sound spooky and grotesque enough pretty much like what the original them but with a death metal tinge. A fantastic cover art by Putrid and great lyrics from the Razorback honcho Billy and Lucio provide an added dimension to the tenebrus atmosphere of Never Cross the Dead and makes it a perfect sountrack to listen to on a funeral night by the old cemetary and invoke the embalmed entities infested beneath earth's abyss.

Check out their tunes here - http://www.myspace.com/hoodedmenace




Final Verdict : 8.7/10

Twilight - Monument to Time End

Full-length, Southern Lord
April 27th, 2010

What month is it? April? Seems early to claim that this release would be one of the top 5 releases of the year. But to be honest, the more I hear it, the more I feel this will be right up at the top of the pile come the end of the year.

Twilight is known as a USBM super group with members from the most prominent bands playing for them. The band roster consists of Blake Judd (Nachtmystium), Wrest (Leviathan, Lurker of Chalice), N. Imperial (Kreig), – and new recruits Stavros Giannopolous (The Atlas Moth), Sanford Parker (Minsk, Buried At Sea) and Aaron Turner (Isis, Old Man Gloom). The band released a self titled album in 2005 with members of Nachtmystium, Leviathan, Kreig, Xasthur and Draugar to some rave reviews, only to disband a year later. With no reunion in sight, I was pleasantly surprised when I heard in early 2009 that some members decided to resurrect the band with a modified lineup. And the ‘modifications’ are the main reasons why this release has turned out to be nothing short of a masterpiece.

While the debut was very good, it lacked something. It appeared disconnected and incoherent at times; and that led to its downfall. Thankfully, these hitches have been ironed out in this release and the results are staggering. What we have here is one of the most impressive “dark” black metal albums to be made in a long time. It consists of the best of all of the aforementioned bands: An oppressive atmosphere screaming of despair and anguish, pounding riffs, intense psychedelia and a sick, filthy torturous layer of vocals. The band manages to create a blizzard of emotion and torment without compromising on any of the brute force.

Any inhibitions regarding this release were put to rest after listening to the opening track, ‘The Cryptic Ascension’- the song is descriptive of what the right lineup can do. It starts in a mid tempo pace until around 6 minutes in and it is extremely detailed in its structure. The vocals are tortured screams and are used excellently. Melodic and harmonic, without disrupting the overall atmosphere of the song. This track helps in setting up a perverse vicious mood for the rest of the album.

‘8000 years’ is intense. As the sound explodes from the speakers, you cant help but be smothered by the atmosphere of pure suffering and torment and you will struggle to get out of the state of emotional limbo imposed by the atmosphere. The mood is evil, yet so frantic and beautiful, its hard to escape.

‘Convulsions In Wells Of Fever’ and ‘Decaying Observer’ are similar to the songs in the debut album. They feature the speed and the atmospheric texture of the songs from the debut album. Although they are a lot more experimental, they are the closest to the primal sounding songs in this release.

Probably my favorite song on the album would be the closing track ‘Negative Cell Omega’. It leads to a change of direction, to a mood of depression, hopelessness and despondency. You are transported to a cold harsh place. A place where time stands still. A place where there is no light at the end. A place where there is only one escape –Death.

‘Monument to the End’ is a stunning release. Throughout listening to this album, the listener is made to step into the demented, maniacal realms of madness. It is mesmerizing and powerful. It is devastating and the feeling is of having the soul sucked out of your body as you listen. By the end of it, you are in a state of emotional emptiness. A state where happiness and joy is replaced by nothingness and vacuum. A state of nonexistence and nonbeing.

This release is not for the elitists who scorn experimentation in Black metal. If you approach this with an open mind, you will love this.

9/10

Interview with Matti Way [Disgorge (US), Pathology, Cinerary etc)

Infernal Dominion unleashes an interview with the legendary Matti Way, a charismatic persona without whom it'd be sacrilegious to even think about today's brutal death metal scene. 


Conducted by
Ankit Sinha

ID: Hello Matti, how are you? What are you doing these days?


Matti: Good bro thanks…get ready for the Pathology tours and the release of our new album "Legacy of the Ancients" on Victory records coming July 6th...


ID : Fans of Pathology are stoked to hear about your dramatic comeback after a pretty mysterious exit after ''The Age of Onset. Would you throw some light on the phenomenon’s responsible for those events?

Matti: Really nothing exciting to tell…Iam moving back down south with a lot more time available for music…Dave hit me up and asked me to come back and after hearing the new material I was in, and I brought Diego with me too...

ID : What are the current projects which you are working on?

Matti: Pathology, To Violently Vomit & Obscured Secretions…

ID :You achieved a cult status ever since Cranial Impalement saw the light of day back in the mid 90's with your disgusting and innovative gurgling vocal style. It was almost unbelievable to accept the fact that there weren't any vocal effects used to enhance those gutturals. How did you achieve such kind of a vocal tone and what was the inspiration behind it? And do you use any kind of drinks  to keep your throats in good shape?

Matti: I don't really use any drinks…And inspiration wise Carcass Symphonies of Sickness, Broken Hope & Cannibal Corpse all were something I was really into and I just kept going to try and take it to another level

ID: The Disgorge camp later recruited vocalists like AJ and Levi who did a great job in carrying forth the guttural mayhem which you made as a trademark for the band but I still think that the peak days for Disgorge were with your vocal services. So I was always curious to know as to what reasons were behind your departure?

Matti: Thank you for the kind words…We were touring a lot and I just wasn't able to keep up with my bills and responsibilities at home to make it work…

ID: What thought process do you undergo before recording an album? 

Matti: I  always have a concept and write all the lyrics around that subject matter...

ID: What is the news with Cinerary? Is the band still active?

Matti: We are currently in the process of writing another album now...

ID: It was pretty appalling to know the untimely demise of Infantiphagia. I had a lot of expectations after hearing the 3 track promo which kicked ass! What reasons were behind the dissolving of that band?

Matti: All the guys moved to different places and just didn't want to do it anymore…Dain and Alexandre remain very close friends of mine so who knows what the future might hold...

ID: Disgorge is revered as the band which revolutionized the modern guttural brutal death metal scene and has got countless admirers and musicians who idolize your music but there are also some puritans who detest this ''trend'' altogether and condemn it as nonsense. What are your views on this criticism?

Matti: People tend to criticize anything they don't understand…Just because they don't like it doesn't mean its not good…Almost all music is created from inspiration(trends), to me we've touched people in a positive way to give them inspiration to write music…

Iam truly thankful for the countless fans and bands that support us, without them this music is nothing...

ID: Which vocalists inspired you the most and made you recreate the monstrous rumble in an extravagantly vile manner?

Matti: Bill Steer , Joe Ptacek & Ross Dolan

ID: Have you ever visited India? Any thoughts about doing a gig here?

Matti: I have never been there but would be honored to play some shows down there…Hopefully that will happen…

ID: What other types of music do you like to hear apart from death metal?

Matti: Classical & old jazz mostly...

ID: Who would be your favourite vocalist/vocalists from the current BDM underground?

Matti: Konni - Despondency, Corey - Flesh Consumed, A.J - Defeated Sanity, Angel - Condemned, Obie - Inherit Disease, Mike - Devournment...

ID: Five bands/albums which you have been listening to lately?

Matti: Inherit Disease, Flesh Consumed, Condemned, Slaughterbox & Despondency...

ID: Well, thanks a lot for spending your precious time to answer this questionnaire. It was a great honor for me to have your interview for my petty blog. Cheers and best of luck for the future!

Matti: Thank you very much and it was a honor for me as well…And thanks to all the fans that keep this great scene alive…Thank you..

Indesinence - Noctambulism (2006)

Full Length, Goat of Mendes Records

2006

Noctambulism is the Ist full length by British death/doom ensemble Indesinence. The band started off during late 2001 with mutual influences ranging from old school thrash, black, doom, heavy and European style death metal along with ambient music. With a common aim to spew out some of the most uncompromising extreme metal from UK, they released their first release ''Ecstatic Lethargy'', a demo CD in 2003 and later an EP entitled as ''Neptunian'' in 2006. The very same year, ''Noctambulism'' saw the light of day and took the UK underground with storm. Raging like a vile beast, the album architectures  somber scenarios for over an hour and extinguishes the burning flames of sanity with its cold and morbid ecstacy. 

Featuring some of the best death/doom symphonies you'd ever hear during this decade, this record is a straight-forward Evoken and diSEMBOWELMENT worship and yet it greatly manages to be not just another shameless ''clone'' but instead. a very intelligent and inspiring collection of cacophonous dark rhythms. The amount of heaviness which it boasts off is awe-inspiring with insane riffs, blasting straight off on your ears and giving no room to recover from their menacing onslaught. What really intrigues me is an avid usage of darkened acoustic riffs which flow beautifully along with the abysmally heavy rhythms which adds a subtle dimensionality to the overall musical feel. Juxtapositioned with an enduring vocal and percussive devastation and a sharp and crispy production, it comes out to be an overwhelming listening experience. An experience which would rape your happiness and drown you in surreal state of melancholy which would continue to haunt you forever and ever! 

So If you like your doom criminally underrated and uncompromisingly heavy, Noctambulism would be just the perfect erotic pleasure for your ears. 

8.5/10

Immolation - Majesty and Decay (2010)

Full Length, Nuclear Blast Records
2010



Immolation, the unholy messiahs of death metal have returned with their 8th studio full length album which is christened as ''Majesty and Decay''. A change in label from Listenable Records to Nuclear Blast Records has certainly reaped good benefits for the band as there have been some innovations in the way the band used to write their music. The first major thing would be a pre-production which has been attempted by Immolation for the first time and secondly, covering a brief yet intimate footage of the song writing and recording procedure for all the die-hard fans like me to have a proper insight into the bestial ideas behind those staggeringly dark sounds. The recording took place at the Milbrook Recording Studios handled  by long time producer Paul Orofino and later mixed and mastered by Zack Ohren of Castle Ultimate Studios. These two gentlemen have played a pivotal role in giving shape to this abominable beast which was being nurtered in the respective wombs of their studios.
A zealous graphical output by the talented Par Olofsson has given a perfect imagery which the band really required for the new album. The artwork was really a breather for me and certainly par above than whatever the band had after Failures of Gods. Though I wish that they come back with the old logo which might be the wickedest ever created!

Now, after all the teasers, its finally time to do the ultimate revelation. So hold your hearts and numb your brains to await for the rupture which this evil progeny is going to cast upon your mortal figurines! Its something which is exclusively offered by Immolation, a macabre dosage of everything baleful and impious.

Ever since they shook the death metal underground with their cult debut Dawn of Possession, they haven't left any stone unturned in adding numerous feathers to their caps after each passing album and this one is no exception. I'd say that their previous installment, ''Shadows in the Light'' had a little ''accessible'' sound as compared to their earlier masterpieces but was yet able to create ghoulish scenarios with some aggresive song writing although the production had played spoilsport. But they have dutifully overcome these minor flaws on the newer album. It was pretty surprising to see an intro and an interlude being included with the album, something which hasn't been done ever by Immolation, but I later understood the purpose behind after giving it enough listens and I am sharing the same impressions which I perceived throughout the epic voyage.

After popping in the CD into my player, a shortlived yet effective intro welcomed me to the carnage which was about to follow and I got its first impression as soon as ''The Purge'' started. A sinister riff kick-started the proceedings to be followed by Ross' bowel churning growls and an epochal breakdown made my room tremble violently.
The rest of the track continued in a royal fashion, intertwined perfectly with dilligent instrumental ecstacy. Moments after I realized the amount of destruction the opening track had caused, I was exposed to the fury of ''A Token of Malice'', the opening lead of which left me chewing my nails with an extravagant jolt. Despite of being a shorter track, it left a deep seismic effect which would have easily shook the richter scale with its sheer ferocity. My already squashed brain began to ponder in a deep thought about this nefarious onslaught and the necessary light was provided by the upcoming tremors from the title track itself. Its grand opening was pretty similar to the raging cacophonies which follow an omniscient battle, a battle to remove the most despicable entity - mankind.

Very soon, I began to visualize this as a a catastrophe. Vigna and Taylor all prepared to tremble the earth with their sharpened axes and swords, Shalaty ready to tear apart the ears of the enemy with his menacing beats and Dolan leading the pack with his fiendish guttural roars warning the masses to stay prepared for tremendous annihilation. A few seconds after I had attained 'nirvana', 'Divine Code'' blasted off my senses and carried forth the battle wagon in a pretty similar fashion to its predecessor and unleashed a venomous contempt which ultimately left the throat of mankind pierced with the daggers of tyranny.
''A Glorious Epoch'' seemed ike a brutal ballad describing the glorious conquests and the suppression of betrayal after which the war march took  a brief pause with the ''Interlude'' after immense ruination but still creeped my ears with the bells of impending doom. ''A Thunderous Consquence'' began  with panache, reminding me  of the ancient rhythmistic slaying of Incantation, Immolation's brothers in blasphemy and malice. I was astounded to learn that the warriors still managed an inhumane hold on their weapons, not letting them go off control even for a single moment and hence creating a blissful flurry of sonic onslaughts which cuts through the lands and took control with might.

This bizarre devastation lead to a horrendous end and creating ''A Rapture of Ghosts''. Starvation, decay and merciless beatings dance around the endless shadows and rotting grandeur of humanity. ''Power and Shame'' and ''The Comfort of Cowards'' were pretty much like the testimonies of the failure of the majesty of the highest decree and announced that his glorious days were now about to end as the blinded masses would now fight free of possession or else die an inevitable death. And then, this compelling saga finally came to a dramatic end which paved way for an excruciating silence. A silence which was more disturbing than the cacophonies which had earlier slammed the veins of my sanity.

But this doesn't mean that the war has ceased. This sempiternal rage is a neverending havoc which would return to life once again as our illustrious warriors would raise their arms to envelop the world under the shadows of darkness and despair.

Till then, stay enraptured by this aural blitzkrieg and await for more such onslaughts to follow.


Final Rating - 9.5/10

Aderlating - dying of the light

EP.
Jan 2010
FREE DOWNLOAD ONLY: http://www.archive.org/details/dying_of_the_light

Aderlating is a project of Mories, the disturbed, twisted artist behind the overwhelming ‘Gnaw Their Tongues’ and ‘De Magia Veterum’. He has always been one to take extreme music to a new level with an exceptional catalog or original and diverse releases. So, when I heard about this project, I decided to check it out as soon as I could and try to keep my expectations as low as possible lest I be disappointed. But surely, Mories could do no wrong…right? RIGHT. What we have here is Mories delving into a gruesome and corrosive atmosphere with Aderlating playing a mixture of Black Noise, drone and black metal thrown in to create an oppressive environment of torture and vengeance.

The sound here is murky. Murky to the point where you feel its been submerged in a never-ending pit of murkiness, creating a pulse of ugly black noise. Buzzing black metal guitars are submerged into the blurred landscapes. You will find some heavy distorted bass which gives a harsh discordant, noisy tone. The drums are primitive and drive the music brilliantly. There is a section in the second song ‘Soul Harvest’ in which all you can hear is some dark ambiance, slow plodding riffs but fast and bizarre drums. Sounds peculiar and very different and pretty much depicts the madness of the artist. The vocals range from high torturous screams to some mysterious chanting and outright creepy voices. They complement the claustrophobic and the torturous sound of the music perfectly and at times, even add a sense of dread to the overall sound. The synths are stunning. Depicting pain and torture, they are used to awaken fear, psychosis and the agony that has been lodged deep beneath the human soul.

The music here is aimed at total emotional obliteration. You are immediately transported into the mind of a maniacal, unstable individual devoid of reason or logic. You can experience a plethora of emotions ranging from fear to misery. It grabs the attention of the listener. There is never a moment when the listener would be able to draw his breath over a long period of time. Never a moment where he would be calm. This is the total darkness. Highly recommended to people who like chaotic black metal, noise or dark ambient music.

Squash Bowels - Grindvirus

Full Length, Willowtip Records
October 22nd, 2009 

Polish grindgods Squash Bowels returned to action with their 5th studio full length entitled as ''Grindvirus'' which was released in October 2009 on Willowtip Records. The band has been emanating nauseous fumes of goregrind mayhem since the past 15 years now and have developed a cult following of dedicated grind freaks from all over the globe. Them along with Dead Infection are undoubtedly the two best offerings from the Polish underground scene. 

At the time of their inception, the band played an unadulterated brand of old school grindgore with influences ranging from Napalm Death and Carcass but with the progress of time and certain line-up changes, their sound has evolved into a dexterous and upstanding version of awe-inspiring grindcore. 

These days when you have zillions of bands coming up with tasteless and redundant sounding records,  its great to see old bands like Squash Bowels still quenching the thirst for true grindcore with albums like Grindvirus. Going down the memory lane, we have had some spectacular SB releases like ''No Mercy'', ''The Mass Rotting, The Mass Sickening'' and ''Love Songs''; all of them adequately spiced with groove and relentless cacophonies but the new one is a tad different and a step forward from all these above mentions. 

The band followed a staunch goregrind decorum by incorporating your typical pitch shifted gurgles, snarls, ample groove and crushing blasts until their previous album ''No Mercy'' but they have seemed to explore a newer horizon with their latest progeny ''Grindvirus'' where they have dropped the usage of pitch shifted gurgles. Yes! The sonic assaults on the new album rely heavily upon deep growled vocals in-synced perfectly with high pitched snarls and shrieks. The vocal attack is so abrupt and fluent that you wouldn't even consider the absence of the vomited gurgles which we love so dearly. While speaking of the instrumentation, these guys have been able to create their tightest and most subtle record till date in my opinion. Everything on the album sounds spot on there is hardly a dull moment. 

Taking their trademark grooves forward and incorporating more frenetic blasts than before, Squash Bowels have managed to create a mammoth offspring in Grindvirus. Andrez and Artur's individual string attacks have been merciless and insane. The bassline is pretty audible and it works great with the oozing riffage. Carrying forth their trademark style, they have dexterously raised their musical fundamentals to a newer height. Speed hasn't been given away for spontaniety and the instrumental carnage has been dutifully arranged into a proliferating splendor. Even the production is very thick and heavy which plays a prominent factor in making the 28 minutes of pandemonium so enjoyable.  

Its great to see that a band like Squash Bowels isn't afraid of doing some experimentations even after being firmly footed in the grindcore underground and are still getting better with each release. Its a quality possessed by a few bands and its a stern exemplary of the fact that grindcore is still alive and kicking butts. And after playing this menacing record repeatedly and devotedly, I can firmly declare that it has to be one of the best grind albums been released in a long while and would be stuck on my music player for a good amount of time. 

A good advise for all the maniacal grindfreaks:

If you like your grind crunchy and chaotic, then come up, join the fun and spread this terrific virus- The virus of true grindcore.

Official Links:

http://www.squashbowels.prv.pl/
http://www.myspace.com/squashbowels