Comaniac - Instruction for Destruction

Artist: Comaniac
Release Title: Instruction for Destruction
Year: 2017
Label: SAOL
Genre: Retro Thrash Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Coal
2. Suborned
3. Bow Low
4. Guarding Ruins
5. How to End It All
6. Self Control
7. Shattered
8. Heart of Stone
9. Forever More
10. Instruction for Destruction

Continuing to spread their thrash roots, Swiss thrashers Comaniac has spread their old-school intensity and formula throughout their career as the band has grown in stature and technique in the intervening years following a lot of special touring and shows. Following up their debut offering, the quartet’s sophomore effort was released through SAOL on April 7, 2017.

Much like their previous work, the band offers a stellar mixture of dynamic old-school influences into their attack for a generally solid approach. Driven by the chunky mid-tempo riffing, the general emphasis here is on tight rhythms offering that explosive charge into the faster, more frenzied sections of the tracks. Balancing these styles together doesn’t always work, but it hits more than enough here to feature a fine mid-tempo chugging as a main source of attack for the majority of the album which keeps the energy level going strongly for the most part. It’s when the album deviates from these efforts which manages to cause this one to stumble where it goes into a series of abstract ideas, featuring jangled riffing or semi-ballad that really just sticks out so much against the rather fun thrashing on offer here that highlights the fact that some of this feature bland, uninteresting riffs. Basing a large majority of the patterns and arrangements off of the simplistic chug-rhythms featured here tends to make several of the tracks come off as bland and lifeless which is quite problematic when this one clearly shows an ability to cope with energetic chugging patterns, so the sporadic, hit-or-miss nature of these is a bit troubling. It's less of an issue as it was on the debut, which shows some solid growth to fix this but it still pops up here which causes this to come off a bit better overall even with this issue coming into play once again.

Still prominently featuring an issue that popped up from before but also managing to fix it in some regards, there’s an obvious growth featured here that makes this come off rather nicely for fans of their previous work or fans of less dynamic old-school thrash who can stomach the flaws here.

Score: 81/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
https://comaniac.bandcamp.com/album/instruction-for-destruction

Freakings - Toxic End

Artist: Freakings
Release Title: Toxic End
Year: 2017
Label: Self-Released/Independent
Genre: Retro Thrash Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Hell on Earth
2. Future Vision
3. Violent Disaster
4. TxWxNxD
5. Toxic End
6. Friendly Fire
7. Brain Dead
8. Price of Freedom
9. Wave of Pain
10. Beer Attack
11. No More Excuses

Continuing to charge forward in their quest, Swiss thrashers Freakings have spent their existence wallowing in the belief that their honoring of the old-school gods of the genre will give them the necessary strength to forge a new path for themselves. Now finally able to make their most comprehensive take on the style, the power-trio prepares it’s third full-length effort self-released March 6, 2017.

Channeling their old-school heroes, it’s patently obvious throughout this one that there’s a major focus on them homaging the works of the past efforts in the genre. That gives this one plenty of incendiary thrashing riff-work full of frenzied, chaotic rhythms in short bursts of speed that makes for a fiery showing of old-school thrash worship. With the majority of these efforts going through blazing full-throttle tempos that exploit these wild and charging rhythms, the effort comes off even more like the old-school scene with these being given such a suitable background to propel these fiery, frantic rhythms pummeling along to the utterly pounding drumming and scorching soloing. For the most part, that leaves this with a lot to really like even though it does highlight a minor issue with this one in that the album’s short, frenzied attack doesn’t do much for the album as a whole. The tracks oftentimes have a tendency to blend together into a blend of ravenous thrashing that’s all in the same general tempo which can make for a great time although it comes off way too familiar way too quickly as there’s no variation or let-up at all. Given the frenzied energy and utter competence on display, this goes a long way towards overcoming that issue but it’s still prominent enough to be noticeable.

With a lot of rather impressive thrashing on display and only a few minor quibbles that for the most part do hold it back some but are not altogether detrimental, this comes off rather nicely for fans of the bands’ past works or ardent revivalist thrash fanatics although those looking for more originality in their thrash should heed caution at best.

Score: 82/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
http://www.freakings.ch/merch

Atropas - From Ashes EP

Artist: Atropas
Release Title: From Ashes EP
Year: 2016
Label: WormHoleDeath Records
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Rapture
2. Burn It to the Ground
3. Orchids
4. Ashes
5. Redeem the Lost
6. My Oath

Attempting to expand their horizons, Swiss melodic death metallers Atropas have carried on from their past works which has taken their older influences into a stronger, more vicious attack that begins adopting more of a metalcore-influenced sound into their sound. Following up a little over a year from the last full-length release, this new EP was originally released December 2, 2016 on WormHoleDeath Records.

Charging along quite intently, the group offers quite an impressive overall attack here with their metalcore-inspired influences even more in the forefront of their sound. That becomes apparent immediately here with the influx of short, stuttering-style pattern sections alongside the sharp, chugging-based riffing utilized here which gives this a far stronger appeal for that particular style throughout here. Still, that doesn’t deter the fact that the jagged, angular patterns and pleasing melodic runs aren’t featured here as they’re still quite prominently displayed which get far more total running time throughout here which makes this one feel more intense and dynamic than most metalcore groups with their inclusion of these more traditionally-minded melodic death metal stylings that offer fluid rhythms that are charging in their intensity while still leaving plenty of room for their lengthier arrangements as the few epics come off rather nicely with the group able to shift from the tight chugging metalcore style into sprawling, furious melodic ragers together in a cohesive whole. Although this drops a little with the squealing vocals not really being all that intimidating and dropping some of the songs somewhat with their high-pitched screaming coming off grating more than anything, it’s not nearly enough to deter this from being quite the enjoyable mini-album.

As there’s not a whole lot really wrong here with this one and instead featuring plenty of enjoyable elements coming from a great understanding of their infusion of tight chugging metalcore into their sprawling melodic death metal that leaves this a solid pick for fans of either style or those curious to see where the band is heading.

Score: 88/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
http://atropasshop.bigcartel.com/product/from-ashes-new-ep-out-now-via-whd

Bloody Blasphemy - Total Death Celebration

Artist: Bloody Blasphemy
Release Title: Total Death Celebration
Year: 2016
Label: Via Nocturne
Genre: Old-School Black Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Introduction
2. Summon the Beast
3. Free from the Pain of Salvation
4. From the Blood of the Christians
5. Des Feindes Tod
6. Total Death Celebration
7. Dawn of the Equinox
8. To the Eternal Fields of Infernal Blasphemy
9. (Un)heiliger Krieg
10. Resurrection of Darkness
11. Outroduction

Formed way back in 1999, Swiss black metallers Bloody Blasphemy have taken their time to hone and perfect their blackened, raw sound as the decade-plus gap from their demo releases until now has given them the chance to finally offer it in the fullest old-school sense. Fully unleashing their massive first offering, their debut full-length was originally released April 26, 2016 on Via Nocturne.

For the most part here, this one seems to dwell in the same rather typical air of the second-wave worshipping acts that are pouring out at the moment. Filled with ravenous tremolo-picked riffing and plenty of tight, constrained rhythms that offer forth plenty of raw, dripping rhythms that are granted wide berths here due to their blistering tempos that are found here. That keeps these relatively speed-driven bursts of tremolo-packed cold, darkened black metal bursts and as the dominant feature here does pack enough of a punch to really generate that kind of furious rhythm sections to back the album’s more melodic quotients. Those are much more straightforward in their structure and offer much more simplistic riff-work and less frenetic patterns as the stylish melodies are thrown into the fiery, cold rhythms and they’re quite enjoyable as a result, but manage to highlight the first minor flaw to this one. The album is so simplistic in its delivery anyway that it manages to highlight these sections as quite problematic anyway that it really does seem to just offer up more of the same in terms of being a tremolo-blasting throwback with quite wonky rhythm changes. This has a habit of simply switching on a dime into rather dynamic variations within the tracks almost without any kind of warning or build-up, and the result doesn’t mesh with their intentions of blazing along these well-tread patterns. A much cleaner series of change-overs would’ve made for more dynamic material here rather than the straightforward, simplistic manner done here, which also applies to the massive eleven-plus minute epic that feels it’s weight quite often throughout it’s running time. Otherwise, this one wasn’t that bad.

With some stronger writing, which is a possible recurrence that can come with experience since this is still considered a debut release regardless of the bands’ longevity, this could become quite a fun genre offering that will still have quite a lot of appeal to fans of raw, cold-style old-school black metal or the second-wave worshippers that fall in line with the bands’ stance as well.

Score: 84/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
https://vianocturna.bandcamp.com/album/total-death-celebration

Waldenesis - Skies of Deception EP

Artist: Waldensis
Release Title: Skies of Deception EP
Year: 2016
Label: Sepulchral Silence
Genre: Melodic Black/Death Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Point of No Return
2. Unfounded Hope
3. Overtaken by the Tempest
4. Skies of Deception
5. Elusive Hydrometeors

Wasting little time getting started, Swiss melodic black/death metallers Waldensis quickly managed to have their first work issued out to the public after their formation. The three-piece outfit’s first release, out June 1, 2016 on Sepulchral Silence, shows off the bands’ strong musical prowess on this dazzling instrumental effort of fiery old-school black/death metal.

As would be expected given this strong style, the music here is predominately a mixture of blazing black metal-styled tremolo riffing set to the deep, churning blasts of death metal, given an especially epic feel here with the rather extended arrangements on the tracks. There’s a more pronounced melodic tendency running throughout the tracks, though, as the swirling rhythms and relaxed leads here make this quite evidently focused on the melody-driven leadwork with the effort rapidly descending into slow, plodding tempos that are seemingly specifically designed to showcase the furious guitar-and-keyboard melodies, and they’re pretty competently played and performed which makes this stand out nicely against the less-prominent blasting patterns. That does bring up the incredibly minor issue of this one really not utilizing those blasting patterns to it’s fullest since they’re barely on the album and would’ve been much better served on a much more fully-realized setting, taking on a much more prominent total of their sound which doesn’t mean all that much when the fact that it’s clearly not all that much of a priority. Perhaps a more pressing one is the lack of actual tracks here with the shorter running time and then featuring the bland outro which gives them even less time to work their magic like most EPs are.

Though it does have the usual problems associated here with EPs in not really having enough material to really showcase their sound to it’s fullest, this is still a wholly appealing blend of fiery melodic black metal and death metal which is a fine first start for the group and makes this solid enough for those who appreciate this style.

Score: 76/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
http://sepulchralsilencerecords.bandcamp.com/album/skies-of-deception

Omnicide (Swiss) - Constants and Variables

Artist: Omnicide (Swiss)
Release Title: Constants and Variables
Year: 2016
Label: Self-Released/Independent
Genre: Death/Thrash Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Failure to Die
2. Municipal Holocaust
3. Welcome to Misery
4. Knowledge Is Ignorance
5. In Burial Clouds
6. Molotov Cocktail Party
7. Leviathan
8. Tod u Hass
9. Convinced by Superior Firepower
10. Dalai BlaBla

Formed in 2010, the Swiss death/thrashers using the name Omnicide immediately unleashed a demo that sets the stage for a debut that arrived two years later. Now four years after this release, the group unleashes their self-released second collection of tight, crunchy death-laced thrash metal on April 1, 2016.

Overall the album manages to generate the kind of mostly mid-tempo style work that mixes these two particular genres together, offering a rather vicious crunchy throughout here. Taking tight, technical thrash leanings and the swirling rhythms here that give the music an overall strong thrash identity, it gets balanced out rather nicely with the a blasting death metal vibe offering plenty of short, blasting breakdowns which evoke far more modern brutal death metal work than true thrash bands. By opting for a slightly more groove-based chug in these sections, it changes away from the thrash sections into more of a Deathcore-styled attack with the emphasis on swirling -core riffing featured alongside these tight thrashy patterns. This is quite a fun overall attack with a lot of overall effective moments, but does tend to feature a somewhat troubling element here. By adding a strong Deathcore style series of riff-work into these thrash-laced patterns, it causes this come off with a seriously stilted series of tempos and paces here that’s quite discordant and rather puzzling. Rather than go in for the more cohesive collection of material that’s normally expected of such inclusions it seems to stutter and trip over itself by slowing the tempos down unnecessarily which results in tracks which usually have great elements to them but hardly remain consistently enjoyable all throughout in order to really maximize their potential.

Though it somewhat stumbles at times with the different paces and rather clunky rhythm changes that appear throughout here, the basic attack is still a vicious, hard-hitting effort that manages to work overall well\-enough to make this an appealing-if-unessential listen for fans of the hard-hitting death/thrash mixtures usually found in the genre.

Score: 77/100

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