Angelus Apatrida - Hidden Evolution

Artist: Angelus Apatrida
Release Title: Hidden Evolution
Year: 2015
Label: Century Media Records
Genre: Retro Thrash Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Immortal
2. First World of Terror
3. Architects
4. Tug of War
5. Serpents on Parade
6. Wanderers Forever
7. End Man
8. Speed of Light
9. I Owe You Nothing
10. Hidden Evolution

Having broken through the international market, Spanish thrashers Angelus Apatrida have gathered a formidable live reputation on the back of countless touring in their home state and abroad which has honed their razor-sharp thrash to a fine whole. After a three-year gap between releases, the consistent and long-running group prepares its fifth full-length release January 15, 2015 on Century Media Records.

As has been the case for their previous albums, this here is a ripping and furious blast of revival thrash that brings about a rather enjoyable attack throughout here. The fact that this is based on frantic swirling thrash patterns filled with plenty of furious rhythms and a strong adherence to the arrangements of the old-school scene that readily makes for a rather explosive effort here ranging from the blistering full-throttle tempos to the more relaxed and laid-back tempos. This approach is greatly enhanced by the band’s penchant for strong melodic leads woven throughout the main riff-work as well as the dexterous soloing and gives this a rather dynamic balance to counter the strong crunch of their traditional thrashing at the forefront of the bands’ attack. Given that the ravenous thrashing here makes up the majority of the album, those varied approaches are at the forefront of the album’s relentless and intense charge that gets featured strongly here at times, and that makes the melodic interjections all the more impressive and dynamic. Still, it’s the bands’ fiery charge here that makes the most impact even with these melodies sprinkled throughout here, and work incredibly well in giving this a wholly vicious and ravenous attack that gives this one so much to really like. That said, there is a lot to really like here with the album being a bit bloated with tracks a bit too long for their own good, especially in the second half with several epics that could’ve been trimmed down some and not really lost a lot of their impact at all. This, though, is really all that bothers it.

Despite having some minor issues here at keeping the rhythms as confined as they could be, this is still a ripping and thoroughly enjoyable surge of modern revival thrash that manages to work more often than not and makes for a rather appealing effort for those who satiate over the revival scene or simply thrash in general.

Score: 91/100

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Malevolent Creation - Dead Man's Path

Artist: Malevolent Creation
Release Title: Dead Man's Path
Year: 2015
Label: Century Media Records
Genre: Old-School Death Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Dead Man's Path
2. Soul Razer
3. Imperium (Kill Force Rising)
4. Corporate Weaponry
5. Blood of the Fallen
6. Resistance Is Victory
7. 12th Prophecy
8. Extinction Personified
9. Fragmental Sanity
10. Face Your Fear

With a legacy back to the genre’s inception, Floridian death metal legends Malevolent Creation have endured harder and longer than most with one of the strongest collection of albums in the scene that truly continues on here. Graced with returning drummer Justin DiPinto and a charged focus in the five-year gap between releases, the groups’ celebrated twelfth full-length album is released October 2, 2015 on new label Century Media.

As is to be expected here, this one is a crushingly heavy and dynamic old-school style death metal album straight from the swamps of Florida, giving this a mostly stereotypical sound and approach. The album has the rabid, fervent near-thrash riffing that manages to evoke plenty of technically-proficient rhythms and ferocious charging patterns that are given plenty of room to breathe within the tight patterns. This old-school approach is quite prominent as the band dives through rabid thrash rhythms at frantic tempos, and is merged with a tight backbone of sprawling tempos to offset the aggression with deep, churning riff-work and relentless drumming. This is the essential part of the band’s core sound where it's a strong overall mixture between the rabid thrashing with some crushingly heavy yet slowed down rhythms that give their riffing plenty of room to breathe and yet still remain a vital part of their charge as it all wraps itself within that identifiable tone in the music featuring the agonized swampy patterns of the genre’s creators. With such a strong, even mixture between these styles and generating quite an enjoyable attack by alternating these tempos so well in the running order that the album tends to swarm through its paces with seeming ease, it’s quite an effective blast that offers up very little to dislike overall here except in one minor area that continually showcases itself in the music. This one is so strongly and effectively evocative of their sound that it’s really hard to tell the tracks apart at times as they loose themselves within that familiar blur of swampy riffing and technical thrashing that’s been a part of their work from the beginning, and it can cause this to drop off at times. Still, it barely registers at all and doesn’t impact it much.

By getting this overall stylistic and fervent approach to the forefront in yet another utterly strong and dominating release, there’s so little to dislike here which mainly comes from being too similar to their past works that it still remains a top choice for any fervent fan of their past catalog, old-school death aficionados or those looking for more of the same from these legends.

Score: 96/100

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Aborted - Retrogore

Artist: Aborted
Release Title: Retrogore
Year: 2016
Label: Century Media Records
Genre: Brutal Death Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Dellamorte Dellamore
2. Retrogore
3. Cadaverous Banquet
4. Whoremageddon
5. Termination Redux
6. Bit by Bit
7. Divine Impediment
8. Coven of Ignorance
9. The Mephitic Conundrum
10. Forged for Decrepitude
11. From Beyond (The Grave)
12. In Avernus

As has been the case for a while now, Belgian brutal death machine Aborted has been one of the most consistent and impactful bands in the genre with a slew of impressive releases and full-lengths that continues here. The group’s ninth full-length release, which sees Ian Jekelis join in on second guitar to round out the group to a quintet now, follows up the anniversary EP with an April 22, 2016 release on Century Media Records.

With what has been released so far in their catalog, it’s pretty easy to tell what’s going to be at play on the groups’ albums. What we get here is the same utterly frantic riffing full of dynamic razor-wire technical rhythms that generate a flurry of tight, mechanical-sounding patterns that simply ooze forth with brutality that comes off all the more impressive when added alongside the surgical rhythms and lasting drumming raging along at inhuman speeds that continues throughout here. That technicality extends beyond the main rhythms into the jagged, slicing soloing on display which helps to make for a more complete, encompassing display of complexly-played rhythms and charging brutality that makes the group so potent and destructive. Still, what makes the band so engaging is when it drops the technicality in favor of more traditional death metal patterns coming complete with dramatic sprawling sections offering melodic buffers between the utterly frantic patterns featured within here, slowing the tempo down into a mid-tempo chug that breathes a little extra life into the proceedings which then only makes the brutality stick out even further. This mix of brutality filled with hyper-speed rhythms with the more traditional elements alongside a slower, more melodic side is a highly impressive display that’s expected of the group when they’ve been at this for that amount of time, coming across with a sense of professionalism and competence that’s engrossing and impressive. There’s not much really wrong with this type of attack, as it’s mostly down to a listener’s endurance matter on this kind of effort about how much can be taken before it tends to descend into the same guttural noise that signals the end of it all that does creep up here, as once it gets to the second half the album’s already displayed all it’s tricks and can bring the material into an overly familiar route where it just blends into the same guttural noise which is the only real problem here.

Considering the professionalism and competency on display with this one, it’s not much of a surprise that it’s as good as it is here with this one really managing to only be too quick to pull out the same tricks for its only real flaw making this one a wholly worthwhile addition to any fan of brutal death metal or those of the bands’ past work.

Score: 94/100

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Aborted - Terminal Redux EP

Artist: Aborted
Release Title: Terminal Redux EP
Year: 2016
Label: Century Media Records
Genre: Brutal Death Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Liberate Me Ex-Inferis
2. Termination Redux
3. Vestal Disfigurement upon the Sacred Chantry
4. Bound in Acrimony
5. The Holocaust Re-Incarnate

Continuing their reign of slaughter, Belgian brutal death machine Aborted have been on fire ever since they decided to adopt a more ferocious and unrelenting charge into their music nearly a decade ago. To mark the 20th anniversary of the group’s founding, they present this ravenous assault with three new tracks plus a re-recorded bonus effort released January 8th, 2016 on Century Media Records.

For the most part this here is simply just a short, blistering account of the band’s signature sound in celebration of its big anniversary, and in this case, it certainly works quite nicely. The tracks are the usual blistering, short and hyper-frenetic bursts of vomitous-sounding death while managing to add a touch of technicality and mechanical-sounding drum-blasts to simply enhance the chaos. This is accomplished in a short-form manner which works well at showcasing the group’s sound while allowing the significance behind its origins to play out quite well. As a short primer for the upcoming full-length and a special anniversary present for fans, this succeeds exceptionally well while also managing to sound a little short for its own good as if it could’ve gone for more tracks here which is a common complaint about this type of release but doesn’t detract it too much.

With nothing really wrong with it from a technical standpoint and the historical matter behind its release serving as a proper explanation for the brevity of its overall length, this here is a perfectly suitable entry point for fans who are new to the group, longtime fans needing to soothe their appetites between releases or those simply looking for a slice of brutal death metal carnage.

Score: 89/100

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Havok - Conformicide

Artist: Havok
Release Title: Conformicide
Year: 2017
Label: Century Media Records
Genre: Retro Thrash Metal
Tracklisting:
1. F.P.C.
2. Hang 'Em High
3. Dogmaniacal
4. Intention to Deceive
5. Ingsoc
6. Masterplan
7. Peace Is in Pieces
8. Claiming Certainty
9. Wake Up
10. Circling the Drain
11. String Break
12. Slaughtered (Pantera cover)

Trying to lead the charge for the genre, Colorado thrashers Havok have been at the forefront of the revivalist scene since their formation a decade ago as they set out to carry the ideals and intensity of their forefathers to the current trend of thrashers. With the addition of new bassist Nick Schendzielos to replace Mike Leon, the group springs forth it’s fourth full-length effort March 10, 2017 on new-label Century Media Records.

Much like their previous efforts, this one tends to dwell incredibly heavily in the realm of worshipping the old-school classics of the genre with a more modern touch. The riffing here is a direct touch on the original forms of the genre, from the raucous high-energy affairs that bring along the tight, rapid paces they follow through, and with the blistering rhythms carried along quite nicely. With these in fine array throughout here already, the album’s penchant for slowing down into a crushing mid-tempo style brings about a nice variety to really balance out the furious and intense blasters throughout here, and with the album as a whole carrying on between these distinct styles as it ranges from the furious, massive thrashers to the spindly, mid-range grooves there’s a nice degree of separation and distinction to the tracks that can be found here. That said, the album generally doesn’t come off as intense or sharp as it could when it’s not focused on the rousing thrash-work featured and staying more on those mid-tempo efforts here as they’re simply dry, mechanical and meandering far more than they really should be. It could be due to these making the album feeling more stretched out than it really should, but whenever the album isn’t bringing the speed and ferocity the song dips as a whole whether it’s the whole track or just a snippet. That is somewhat disappointing but considering the fact that it’s vicious far more often than not it’s not terribly crippling as is expected.

While it’s not as vicious and hard-hitting as expected due to the rather disappointing nature of it’s less ferocious material, the fact that the majority of the album tends to remain nicely on point in regards to its rather frantic energies makes this a solid choice for all revivalist thrash fanatics or fans of the previous work in general.

Score: 84/100

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Grave (Swe) - Out of Respect for the Dead

Artist: Grave (Swe)
Release Title: Out of Respect for the Dead
Year: 2015
Label: Century Media Records
Genre: Swedish Death Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Intro / Mass Grave Mass
2. Flesh Before My Eyes
3. Plain Pine Box
4. Out of Respect for the Dead
5. The Ominous "They"
6. Redeemed Through Hate
7. Deified
8. Trail of Ungodly Trades
9. Grotesque Glory

Living through the ups and downs of the genre, Swedish death metal legends Grave have persevered through the trenches of the scene and have persevered for the most part to have now survived close to three decades of existence. Now after a three-year gap between releases bridged by a compilation EP, the powerhouse four-piece offers their eleventh full-length effort October 16, 2015 on Century Media Records.

This one is quite an easy and refreshingly simple release to get a handle on as it’s once again a simplistic take on the Stockholm death metal sound brought to life by one of the genre’s inventors. This is full of the prototypical approach and style found throughout the genre with this one going for the blaring buzzsaw-style grind so heavily popularized here with the swirling riff-work throughout with the pummeling thrash rhythms keeping this one fast, vicious and thoroughly intense which gives the band it’s staying power. There’s a loudness and immediacy to these tracks that makes for a highly enjoyable section on the album letting the striking rhythms taking centerstage with it never really deviating much from this style under only a few select circumstances. These minor variations are where the group drops out of the relentless bashing to deliver more of a swirling mid-tempo grace to the tracks that offer up a strong, plodding pace and more dynamics in the riff-work which makes for a more dynamic attack by meshing the viciousness with the cool-down periods. It’s a highly-familiar and unoriginal approach yet here’s it’s not that big of an issue as this is a band that started it all and is in fact among the bands being imitated. The fact that they’re one of the groups that launched this particular style and have given rise to dozens upon dozens of other bands not only in their home country but also abroad must be taken into account so it’s not all that big of a detriment here with the familiar ring blaring throughout this one.

Still going strong and still churning out top-notch, high-quality Swedish style death metal the old-school way, this is still one of the strongest bands in the scene and with this legacy still has the final word on the matter when all is said and done which not only makes this a strong release for those into the Swedeath style but also old-school death in general.

Score: 93/100

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