Epping Forest - Lebabvoid

Artist: Epping Forest
Release Title: Lebabvoid
Year: 2017
Label: Unexploded Records
Genre: Death/Black Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Inception: Everblasting Doom
2. Though-o-Matic: The Pyramid and the Exodus
3. Affair: The Curse and the Heal
4. Kria: Resistance Is Useless
5. Lebab Void: The Universe in a Machine
6. Foretoken: A Mountain-Gorges Lullaby
7. Summoning: Three Hundred Out of the Sky
8. Demise: Twelve Times Twelve Sars
9. Hereafter: We Are Alone in the End
10. Cruel with Us

Certainly taking their time on releases, Portuguese blackened death metallers Epping Forest have always been more interesting in unleashing quality darkened material as evidenced by their two releases in nearly twenty years of existence honing their core sound. Following up after nearly a decade of silence with new bassist Trevash, the groups’ sophomore release was originally released March 10, 2017 on Unexploded Records.

Bringing their full intensity to bear, the band offers up plenty of furious and utterly dynamic work throughout here which allows for a lot of positives. This one tends to go for rapid-fire tremolo-picked riffing that is added nicely to the churning rhythms beneath so that the swirling riff-work takes on a frantic tone, offering up plenty of up-tempo sections that brings out the crimson-soaked accents in those tremolo patterns. By offering the majority of the tracks in this up-tempo manner, the riffing becomes even more dynamic with the blackened crunch taking centerstage for the majority of the album and giving this a blistering overall sound. Elsewhere throughout here, there’s a fine display of melodic brought to bear with the usage of exotic middle eastern melodies and rhythms to add a different dynamic to the album. These are mainly in the more down-tempo, slower sections which are balanced out incredibly well with the crushing rhythms alongside as the frantic blackened intensity dropping into sprawling melodic accents creates a perfect balance here. For the most part, it’s really only the sections here where they adopt a more ethereal, somewhat clean crooning that the album dips somewhat into softer realms that are quite an odd contrast against the raging blackened cacophony on display during these sections. Beyond this issue, it’s a wholly explosive offering.

Without too many issues to detract this one from it’s more enjoyable elements, this explosive comeback offering brings about just about all the classic elements expected from the band which makes this a wholly worthwhile offering for fans of their previous work or fiery death/black metal in general.

Score: 97/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
https://eppingforest.bandcamp.com/album/lebabvoid-deluxe-golden-digipack

Rebel Souls - The Forces of Darkness

Artist: Rebel Souls
Release Title: The Forces of Darkness
Year: 2017
Label: Art Gates Records
Genre: Death/Black Metal
Tracklisting:
1. The Awakening
2. Descent
3. Acrimony
4. Decay of a God
5. The Elementar
6. Dark Forces
7. Fourfold Wrath
8. Doomsday

Formed back in the year 2000, German death/black metallers Rebel Souls initially never made it past the demo stage before splitting up, only to reform under a reenergized lineup a full decade later which has re-recorded most of their first demo for their newest release. Finally getting their full-length debut released, the effort was originally released February 24, 2017 on Art Gates Records.

For the most part, this is an exceptionally enjoyable outburst of quite a decent mixture between black and death metal that comes off rather nicely. Featuring plenty of churning riff-work and a rather strong, dynamic crunch that gives this one a pretty ferocious assault, the main attack featured here is given a strong enough base to work alongside the rumbling rhythms at play. This makes for a crushingly modern style of the genre which is then aided by the album’s twisting haze of rhythms that gives this a slight blackening of their riff-work, refreshingly opting for this approach rather than tremolo riffing to create that particular atmosphere. This clunky set of patterns comes off rather nicely overall here with the tight running time enabling the album to run by incredibly quickly, which is perhaps its’ one minor failing as there’s the feeling that this one really could’ve used an extra track or two to help round out the running time here as the compact manner of the album makes this one go by so quickly that it needs the six-minute epic to bring this even close to a half-hour album and it leaves the listener wanting more tunes more than anything. It’s the only thing really wrong here, and that’s not even that much of an issue at all compared to the enjoyment elsewhere throughout here.

While there’s a lot to like here overall, the fact that it’s over too quickly does hold this one up slightly so that it does feel too brief with all the quick, compact rhythms does manage to hold this back enough that this one is really recommended to fans of modern death and black metal.

Score: 87/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
http://www.artgatesrecords.com/store/index.php?id_product=49&controller=product&id_lang=5

Sepulchral Curse - At the Onset of Extinction EP

Artist: Sepulchral Curse
Release Title: At the Onset of Extinction EP
Year: 2016
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Genre: Death/Black Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Envisioned in Scars
2. In Purifying Essence
3. Gospel of Bones
4. Disrupting Lights of Extinction

Advancing leaps and bounds, Finnish death/black metallers Sepulchral Curse have not entirely left behind their old school death metal past to incorporate Scandinavian black metal influences, merging it with their irrepressible Finnish brand of death metal. Taking a two-year gap to get the release out, the groups’ second effort is released December 16, 2016 on Transcending Obscurity Records.

As befits their newfound influences, the group displays a rather damaging and utterly impressive attack within here that brings their work together into a cohesive whole. Still raging through the old-school death metal realm, the dominance of the deep, churning rhythms and swirling patterns throughout here keeps this one barrelling forward with the utterly dominating atmosphere that’s helped along tremendously by the mainly furious, up-tempo attack featured. That high-speed attack makes the churning riff-work all the more impressive here, and with the newfound influences of melodic tremolo-picked rhythms that are interspersed along the way it creates a nice balance to these raging rhythms by allowing the tempo to drop into sprawling melodic sections that still retain a dense bite while owning to the charging ferocity displayed. This does strike as a minor point of annoyance as there are only four tracks on the release and it strikes as leaving it wanting more in that regard but as a primer for an upcoming album it’s quite impressive overall.

Without a whole lot of real flaws in the music and charging along with plenty of positive points gleaned from their rather impressive introduction of enjoyable elements to their sound, this is a wholly worthwhile effort for any fan of their past work, old-school death metal fans or the style in general.

Score: 89/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
https://sepulchralcurse.bandcamp.com/album/at-the-onset-of-extinction-blackened-death-metal

Division Vansinne - Dimension Darkness

Artist: Division Vansinne
Release Title: Dimension Darkness
Year: 2016
Label: Black Lion Productions
Genre: Death/Black Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Intro
2. Första terror pergamentet
3. Goathorns Rising
4. Helt åt helvete med allt
5. Sadistic Love Session
6. Ändlöst jävla galenskap i blod
7. Ritual
8. Flyende under solens pest
9. När allt har brunnit ner
10. Dimension Darkness
11. Outro

Originally formed in 2008, Swedish black/death metallers Division Vansinne have come together with the idea to keep the old spirit of early 90’s black/death metal alive through their desire to build their work around those old-school aesthetics. With their line-up finally being solidified around mainmanTortureXvidian on vocals and guitars, a returning Likh on bass and Ljusebring Terrorblaster on drums, the groups’ debut album was released September 20, 2016 on Black Lion Productions.

Once the group gets going, there’s a highly prominent and devastating old-school tone throughout here that’s quite prevalent in the different attempts to display their riffing prowess. This is mostly evident in the fact that there’s quite a feverish and prominent outpouring of traditionally deep, churning riffing present that adds a nice selection of tempo variation throughout here, ranging from a series of tight blasting patterns to majestic, sprawling rides. This not only allows for the album to deftly switch styles here but also manages to include the darkened swirling tremolo patterns to the rhythms which is quite impressive and wholly dynamic as a whole that gives this the ability to mesh those styles together into a strong whole so that the darkened, crawling old-school atmosphere gets a chance to be more prominent and present in the overall album’s feel. While there’s a lot to enjoy about this one, there’s the one lone factor here in that the album’s rather overlong length here stemming from way too many tracks dwelling in the  mid-tempo range when it really could’ve stayed more in the faster blasting sections that are far more lively and energetic here. Due to the tracklisting that enables more of these to be featured in order to reach that length, it highlights those even more and leads to a tide of rhythms throughout here rather than a consistent tone, though being a debut offering this is somewhat less of an issue than expected.

Despite featuring a few moments here and there that aren’t all that enjoyable, there’s more than enough elements at work here that is impressive and exciting that it manages to overcome a lot of it regardless of this being a debut that gives this a great appeal for fans of old-school death and black metal as well as fans of Scandinavian extreme metal in general.

Score: 89/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
http://divisonvansinneblp.bandcamp.com/album/dimension-darkness

Demonic Obedience - Nocturnal Hymns to the Fallen

Artist: Demonic Obedience
Release Title: Nocturnal Hymns to the Fallen
Year: 2016
Label: Satanath Records/Sevared Records
Genre: Death/Black Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Create the Shapeless
2. Portal of the Sacred Kan
3. Forced Obscenity
4. Impermissible Irreverence Pt. 1
5. Nocturnal Imagery
6. Godmade Beast
7. Impermissible Irreverence Pt. 2
8. Gehenna

Now finding residence in Scotland, Greece-based one-man death/black metallers Demonic Obedience have brought their intensity and explosive fury to the forefront while trying to hold a connection to both places involving the projects’ residency. Taking a two-year gap between releases, the second full-length album was originally released May 18, 2016 in a co-release between Sevared Records and Satanath Records.

Combining their styles into one wholesale effect, this here manages to take on quite a few elements of each element here into creating a dark whole. That is primarily based around the album’s predominantly dark, churning riff-work that keeps this one charging along with plenty of ferocious death metal-styled rhythms as the majority of the tracks fall into agonized sprawling patterns or thumping chugs which keep the focus of the album firmly rooted in the death metal realm. The tighter, blackened rhythms featured here top off this effect with a stylized sense of controlled fury that accentuates the darkened atmosphere rather well as it  keeps alternating rather nicely between these variations and offers the album quite a generally positive experience by not getting bogged down in the one-note approach so many efforts who attempt this style also make. Flying between faster, more up-tempo numbers with churning riffing alongside the slower, more agonized sprawling sections does manage to give this a distinct variety within itself, but it also manages to highlight the fact that there’s not a whole lot of differentiability within the tracks themselves, which tend to focus on the same few select rhythms within here and never changes the overall rhythms or approaches here, ending up causing the album to run together quite easily here especially in the second half where it’s entirely possible to lose where you are in the running order as the tracks have already yielded their surprises and don’t really offer the surprise variations that were featured in the top half. Otherwise there’s not a whole lot to dislike here.

Though it’s quite familiar and tends to run itself into the ground without much variation throughout here, there’s still such a prominent and powerful attack at the core of the film that it manages to overcome a lot of those issues and manages to hold itself up enough to make for a worthwhile choice for any fan of the style or his previous works as well.

Score: 82/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
https://satanath.bandcamp.com/album/sat149-demonic-obedience-nocturnal-hymns-to-the-fallen-2016

The Pete Flesh Deathtrip - Svartnad

Artist: The Pete Flesh Deathtrip
Release Title: Svartnad
Year: 2016
Label: Critical Mass Recordings
Genre: Death/Black Metal
Tracklisting:
1. In Ruinam Iniquitas
2. Burial Shore
3. All the Serpents
4. The Sun Will Fail
5. Melting the Frost from Your Eyes
6. The Winter of the Wolves
7. She Dwells into the Dark
8. Svartnad

Though once a prolific artist, Swedish one-man blackened death metal project The Pete Flesh Deathtrip has quickly become the sole focus of the artistic namesake and forged a fearsome live line-up to compliment his vision and spread the project out to the masses. Bringing aboard the mighty Henrik Borg as a session drummer on the new material, the bands’ second full-length was originally released May 16, 2016 on new-label Critical Mass Recordings.

As befits the hard-charging sound present here, this is mostly a blistering, blasting assault of old-school inspired riffing that includes plenty of charging riffing scattered throughout here. Running the fine line between the churning buzzsaw patterns of the traditional Swedish scene with a furious blackened spark here with a series of fiery tremolo riffing that’s employed quite nicely here, the bands’ mainly mid-tempo approach lets both of these styles come into play here. The album generates more of a sprawling, mid-tempo charge here that takes the Swedish style influences to the forefront by offering up a strong charge with the chugging rhythms and plenty of blackened melodies to offer up a much more extreme charge than would be present on such traditional death metal styled affairs even with this one dropping that in favor of going for the explosive up-tempo thrashing typically found in the normal Swedish death metal scene with the crunchy guitars and utterly ravenous drumming. Still, it’s the epic nature generated by the sprawling black metal melodies here that make for quite a strong overall attack here with the main attack coming together into a strong mixture of the two, and it doesn’t have much overall really wrong with this one as a result. The album’s main stumbling block here is the overly-familiar and rather overused series of riffing styles which really tends to make this one come off as yet another in a long line of overly-melodic and familiar Swedish-influenced death/black metal acts. That’s not the biggest detrimental factor here, though, which does come up even with other factors to hold this up over this bit.

Despite a minor stumble with the rather familiar and somewhat overused riffing patterns that come into play quite frequently, there’s a lot to really like here with this one in terms of that overall attack and it’s certainly a really enough effort for anyone remotely into the blackened death metal scene or melodic extreme metal in general.

Score: 86/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
http://criticalmassrecordings.bandcamp.com/releases

Necronomicon (Ca) - Advent of the Human God

Artist: Necronomicon (Ca)
Release Title: Advent of the Human God
Year: 2016
Label: Season of Mist
Genre: Death/Black Metal
Tracklisting:
1. The Descent
2. Advent of the Human God
3. The Golden Gods
4. Okkultis Trinity
5. Unification of the Pillars
6. Crown of Thorns
7. The Fjord
8. Gaia
9. I (Bringer Of Light)
10. Innocence and Wrath (Celtic Frost cover)
11. Alchemy of the Avatar

The fifth album from Canadian death/black metallers Necronomicon shows that their rigid schedule of releases is certainly working for them as this is perhaps their best effort yet. From the onset this here is set-up mostly around their dynamic mixture of blackened death metal that’s been at the forefront of their sound for so long. Taking the deep churning rhythms and frantic blasting patterns normally associated with more death metal efforts while offering technically-challenging rhythms to run alongside them, it usually gives this a wholly dynamic and appealing taste before it adds on the addition of the swirling tremolo patterns to add on a rather impressive black metal aesthetic against the tight rhythms. With all that riff-work being quite enjoyable, it’s the nicely-handled usage of the cinematic-sounding keyboards peppered throughout the tracks as this one doesn’t relying heavily on them at all, keeping them to select sections or omitted altogether which is highly enjoyable here and keeps this running along very well. The main problem with all of this is the fact that there’s just no real variation here with this one tending to sound quite similar to each other at times as this one just tends to go through rather route and familiar patterns without really changing up all that often except to offer some minor symphonic accents. That’s a minor note against this one which does tend to hold it back, as well as the constant instrumental interludes that pop up here that really hurts the feel and pacing here. These here are what hold this one down slightly.

The first half here sets this one up incredibly well. Instrumental intro ‘The Descent’ features grandiose symphonic keyboards and choirs leading through dramatic build-up patterns leading directly into the title track carrying the grandiose symphonics alongside blistering drumming and tight, ravenous riff-work swirling through tremolo-pitched rhythms as the clanging symphonic keyboards continually dive through surging tempos that carries along into the majestic finale for a wholly impressive opening offering. ‘The Golden Gods’ whips through utterly pounding drumming and unrelenting technically-challenging tremolo riff-work marching along at a feverish pace with plenty of intense rhythms twisting along through the driving riff-work and bludgeoning drumming throughout the final half for another impressive highlight. The instrumental interlude ‘Okkultis Trinity’ offers extended cinematic keyboard samples and noise that builds a majestic vibe with the choirs into ‘Unification of the Pillars’ as the frenzied riffing and crashing drumming blast into a fervent, blistering tempo with the blast-beats bringing the chaotic patterns along into the scorching up-tempo riff-work buzzing along with dynamic stuttering rhythms and epic keyboards washing along into the final half for a stand-out track. ‘Crown of Thorns’ an epic symphonic chorus leads into deep, charging riff-work with blackened melodies and tight, frenzied drumming blasting throughout the frenetic technical riff-work with the swirling rhythms and darker atmospheres keeping the frantic patterns along through the symphonic finale for another strong track.

The second half here is much like the first half overall. ‘The Fjord’ uses a light acoustic intro with plenty of rolling drumming and deep churning riff-work holding the steady pace as the added symphonic keyboards add a majestic quality to the simplistic riffing that kicks into higher gear in the solo section leading through the final half for an enjoyable and more laid-back effort. The interlude ‘Gaia’ features a light rumbling noise and haunting keyboards that leave a majestic air that leads into ‘I (Bringer of Light)’ that blazes through tight, rumbling drumming and mid-tempo tremolo riffing through frantic paces keeps the tight rhythms alongside the brimstone-fueled riff-work taking the tight thumping drumming in lockstep with the mid-tempo rhythms as the frantic buzzing riffing leads through the finale for another overall strong effort. Their Celtic Frost cover ‘Innocence And Wrath’ offers bombastic keyboards and pounding rhythms running along the plodding pace, yet doesn’t capture the real tone of the original and really doesn’t serve much of a purpose being there. Album-closer ‘Alchemy of the Avatar’ brings tight, swirling tremolo riffing and blistering drumming marching along at a frantic pace as the dynamic drumming brings along the thunderous blasting with plenty of tight, steady riff-work with the symphonics leading into the bombastic rhythms of the steady final half for a strong lasting note.

Though this one does tend to run into overly familiar patterns from their past and the frequent interludes can disrupt the flow somewhat, this is still a wholly strong and impactful collection of tracks that stands as their best effort yet and makes for an easy pick for fans of the band or this style as a whole.

Score: 88/100

Does it sound good? Order from here:
http://necronomiconbm.bandcamp.com/releases

Stillborn (Pol) - Testimonio de Bautismo

Artist: Stillborn (Pol)
Release Title: Testimonio de Bautismo
Year: 2016
Label: Godz ov War Productions
Genre: Death/Black Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Martwo urodzony - rozdział trzeci
2. Ancykryst
3. Upiór
4. Człowiekowstręt
5. Odezwa
6. Obłęd
7. Modlitwa poganina
8. Burst Command til War (Sodom cover)
9. Apocalyptic Hymn of Satanic Warriors

The fifth full-length from Polish death/black metallers Stillborn is a truly enjoyable and full-throttle effort that really offers a lot of enjoyable elements present from their career. Blasting away with dynamic black metal-styled tremolo pattern riff-work that adds a darkened, hell-fire-and-brimstone atmosphere to the proceedings, the fact that these rhythms all offer the kind of full-throttle tempos throughout here really makes these quite enjoyable with their full-throttle and openly dynamic paces that makes for quite a fun time amidst all the blackened riffing. Still, the death metal segments here are even better with the kind of blasting, brutal form of riffing that makes for a truly killer framework here that keeps things rolling along with the kind of twisting, varied rhythm styles here as this offers up several impressive stylings. Ranging from the intense, buzzing rhythms full of frantic speed-driven stylings to a more relaxed mid-tempo thrash-style pace and a sprawling, chugging variant as well, which is all tied together with their tremolo-styled riff-work, this one has plenty of truly enjoyable elements that come from a wide variety of influences which makes them all the better overall. With each of the songs quite enjoyable and not really featuring too many negatives overall, this is a truly scorching effort with a lot to like about it.

The first half here really sets this up as a fun, seething blast of metal. Album-opener ‘Martwo urodzony - rozdział trzeci’ features ravenous blasting among swirling tremolo pattern riff-work with tight, frantic rhythms bringing the entire speed-driven rhythms along with plenty of rapid-fire dexterous riffing and the tight, pounding drumming thumping along to the raging final half for an outstanding opening blast. The incendiary ‘Ancykryst’ utilizes the bleed-through riff-work raging through blasting thrash-fueled rhythms and scorching brimstone-scented tremolo patterns with frenzied drumming and utterly frantic blasting taking the raging rhythms along through the frenzied riffing with the chaotic energy of the finale for the album’s highlight offering. ‘Upiór’takes a steady stream of swirling mid-tempo riff-tempo that quickly turns into raging, thumping rhythms with a steady, plodding rhythms fueled with intense double-bass blasting which leads into the frantic, pummeling drum-work and raging tremolo riffing of the final half for an enjoyable enough track. ‘Człowiekowstręt’ blasts through with frenetic tremolo riff-work and stellar blasting drumming charging through the frantic up-tempo paces with unrelenting drum-work bringing the mid-section through plodding rhythms and chugging riffs that returns to the swirling tremolo patterns in the finale for a varied and enjoyable effort. ‘Odezwa’ starts with swirling razor-wire riffing plenty of furious pounding drumming along with the frenetic riffing taking on a series of diving, technical rhythms with the tremolo-picked patterns alongside full-throttle blasting drumming into the final half for a short, sweet enjoyable blaster.

The second half here is just as much fun with a lot to like about it. ‘Obłęd’ takes on frantic, tight riffing with intense buzzing tremolo patterns and furious blasting drumming through varied, dynamic rhythms with dizzying speed-driven paces swirling around throughout the choppy mid-tempo section that carries the speed on through the swirling finale for a rather frantic and enjoyable highlight. ‘Modlitwa poganina’ uses pounding, dynamic drumming and dizzying tremolo-picked riff-work with plenty of varied rhythms taking on the plodding mid-tempo rhythms alongside the sprawling riff-work throughout the mid-section as the charging drumming brings the intensity throughout the final half for a fine and enjoyable effort. Their cover of Sodom’s ‘Burst Command til War’ manages to effectively carry the speed-driven rhythms nicely while allowing the intensity of the original to carry through as it blasts away as an enjoyable and faithful cover version. Lastly, instrumental album-closer ‘Apocalyptic Hymn of Satanic Warriors’ brings out a studio-jam session with simplistic rhythms, loosely-connected patterns and a much more chaotic and over-the-rails feeling than their other material which is still fun enough to end this on a high note with all the other positive work here.

For the most part this is yet another strong, immaculate collection of snarling blackened death metal from one of the best groups in a scene utterly loaded with talent and offers forth another sure-to-be-classic recording for the Polish death/black metal scene which makes this an easy choice for aficionados of the scene or simply high-quality death metal in general.

Score: 95/100

Does it sound good? Order from here:
http://godzovwar.com/shop/en/main/498-stillborn-testimonio-de-bautismo.html