Wildhunt - Descending

Artist: Wildhunt
Release Title: Descending
Year: 2016
Label: Metal-on-Metal Records
Genre: Technical Thrash Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Age of Torment
2. Terror Right Below
3. Lifeless Birth
4. Death Spares (N)one
5. Erlkönig
6. The Wild Hunt
7. History Deletes Itself
8. Thrill to Kill
9. Crystal Death (U.M.D.A.)
10. Descending

From their start in 2011, Austrian thrashers Wildhunt have clearly been indebted to their old-school influences and have brought them along only with a great bent towards technicality. Now finally ready to unleash their debut album  April 29, 2016 from Metal-on-Metal Records after a successful EP and a split release, this showcases their style and intensity to the fullest and starts them off on a great note.

From the onset this here is such a dynamic and appealing old-school sounding album that it really could’ve been brought forth from the 80s with it’s approach here. Ranging from tight, speed-metal crunch that permeates the tracks with a steady pounding charge that’s incredibly infectious to a strong series of blasting, full-throttle thrash and coming complete with some melancholic intros enhancing the song-lengths quite well, this attack is so enthusiastically old-school that it really should’ve been recorded back in the genre’s heyday. Even better, though, is that this approach is utterly mosh-worthy by itself before adding in the swirling technically-challenging riff-work that accompanies these rhythms which makes for a rather engaging experience with a frantic amount of speed-drenched patterns that also manage to show-off the kind of overt sense of showmanship within the music by being able to introduce all these different wildly-extravagant riffing patterns into the tracks which gives them incredibly varied tempos and pacing that gives off a wholly dynamic approach. This intense, calculated and varied approach is quite classy and manages to get quite a lot of positive marks for its overall performances yet does seem a little too clean and sterile to really fall in line with the aggressive and intense thrash acts, preferring mostly to adopt that mindset without taking on the attitude of those old-school groups that laid the foundation for their sound. While this is mostly just grasping at straws, it is a force that does need to be mentioned here since this does come up here.

For the most part this here is an incredibly enjoyable and dynamic debut that takes all the best qualities of old-school thrash and whips them into a highly enjoyable blend of technicality and class that this will undoubtedly quench any thrash fans thirst for more or those looking for technically-proficient acts without being egregious about it.

Score: 94/100

Does it sound good? Order from here:
http://metalonmetalrecords.bandcamp.com/album/wildhunt-descending

Vredehammer - Violator

Artist: Vredehammer
Release Title: Violator
Year: 2016
Label: Indie Recordings
Genre: Black/Death Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Light the Fucking Sky
2. Spawn Tyrant
3. Violator
4. Deadfall
5. Ursus
6. Cyclone
7. Blodhevn

Originally conceived as a studio solo project, Norwegian black/death metal stalwarts Vredehammer have since grown into a fully-fledged unit as a revolving door of musicians have joined mainman Per Valla’s project, Backed with a new rhythm section of bassist Stone and drummer Felix and a March 18, 2016 release on Indie Records, this pounding second album carries the high stamp of quality they’ve been known for from the beginning.

Essentially this here is a strong and imposing effort that manages to mix together the traditional old-school second-wave of Norwegian black metal with a strong, defining death metal crunch that produces some devastating results here. This mixture of work ends up giving this the steady tremolo-picked rhythms and majestic mid-tempo sprawling sections loaded with atmosphere prevalent in numerous black metal bands of that time while mixed together with the deep churning rhythms of death metal. It’s a fantastic mixture that gets some devastating work out of it, and is one of the better parts here, as the more relentless tracks are furious and boundless being filled with the rage and intensity usually found there yet still retaining a few select appearances of melodic sprawling to offset the chaos when it slows down the tempos. This gives the album some really enjoyable tracks here, though there is some minor flaws found here when the tempos change over into those sections with the noticeable drop-off in intensity being so obvious that it brings down the tracks slightly with the loss of energy from these sections. Other minor flaws show up in the series of jangly, discordant rhythms that pop up in a few tracks which is just so off-beat and jarring that they stick out and really aren’t that appealing overall, but it’s not nearly enough to off-set the more pronounced positives featured.

Though there’s some minor, slightly detrimental flaws to be found here, there’s more than enough positives found which are far more impactful to the album as a whole anyway that this stands as a fantastic effort for those looking to explore more old-school black metal or to see what else the second-wave inspired in the genre.

Score: 90/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
http://www.indie.tigernet.no/item/142156--vredehammer--violator--cd

Mortuary (Fr) - Nothingless than Meaningless

Artist: Mortuary (Fr)
Release Title: Nothingless than Meaningless
Year: 2016
Label: Gorgeous Productions
Genre: Death/Thrash Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Only Dead Witness
2. Empty
3. Tube
4. Above
5. Pleasuffering
6. U-Man Splet, K-Os Crawled
7. Yesterdead
8. K
9. Morbid Existence
10. Kingdom

From the beginning back in the 80s, French death/thrashers Mortuary have steadily created a framework that makes them one of the unsung and underrated efforts in the style with plenty of rather fun times in their discography. With this being the last recorded output featuring guitarist Paul before his leaving the band, their fifth full-length effort released January 8, 2016 on Gorgeous Productions shows the band at the height of their powers after a six-year break between releases.

For the majority of the album’s running time, this here is a truly ferocious and relentless death/thrash offering showing a decidedly energetic and rousing thrash attack with simplistic riff-work and tight rhythms galloping along here. This is a really engaging and rousing effort with the explosive tempo changes forcing this into an endless series of simple thrashing riff-work and a focused intensity on charging along at the fastest possible tempo throughout here which really helps to make for a strong and confident attack. That’s apparent when the band slips in slightly down-tempo rhythms that takes on a rather sluggish cadence with the deep, churning groove-styled patterns that gives it a death metal touch with it’s rather frantic thrashing madness alongside the material here for some rather impressive dynamics and variances in the arrangements to further make for a wholly appealing effort. The fact that there’s such a one-sided attack throughout here does end up leaving this one with the impression that it really only knows one trick since it manages to feature not too much differences in terms of it’s overall approach and style beyond merely dropping the tempos which it does nicely but can get lost in the shuffle for those unfamiliar with this approach. There’s little need for that to be an issue, as the material is quite impressive and enjoyable for the most part.

Despite popping up with a somewhat minor and rather useless flaw for the most part, this here is one of the better releases not only of the genre but also in their catalog as their consistency and competence makes for an album that will appeal to any fan of old-school death or thrash metal as well as any fan of the bands’ previous works.

Score: 94/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
http://mortuarynancy.bandcamp.com/album/nothingless-than-nothingness

Exanimatvm - Dispersae et Tormentvm

Artist: Exanimatvm
Release Title: Dispersae et Tormentvm
Year: 2016
Label: Dunkelheit Produktionen
Genre: Retro Death Metal
Tracklisting:
1. La apoteosis de todos los errores
2. Vae Victis
3. Danza impura
4. Dispersiones y tormento
5. Exanimatvm
6. Oscura propagación del linaje de toons
7. Nocturnas luminiscencias
8. Abominabilis Conditio
9. Shoort

Formed in February 2013, Chilean death metal troupe Exanimatvm have steadily fought their way out of the underground with plenty of attitude and a ferocious concept for their style. With long-time frontman Ivan Barraza gone and bassist Dennis Ferreira taking over vocal duties with the addition of second guitarist Jorge Tréllez filling out their ranks, this debut effort released June 18, 2016 on Dunkelheit Productions shows these guys really understand what’s so special about South American death metal.

Despite the slight roster shake-up, for the most part this here is still a rather enjoyable and really rousing effort that manages to effectively channel and reproduce the rather frantic approach of the old-school death metal sound. Filled with a darkened, raw atmosphere that brings out the type of dirty, murky tone and feel here while ripping along to the steady riffing buzzing along when it’s ripping through the frantic styles or generally carrying along at a steady mid-tempo range that has a rather enjoyably decrepit feel thumping along to the rest of the material. This sludgy, swampy concoction is quite enjoyable with this one really generating the kind of charge through the old-school that really makes for a dynamic approach with the sprawling riff-work and steady rhythms providing the perfect raucous background for that particular brand of stylish homage and revival of the genre. With the competence of their attack out of the question, the fact that this constitutes yet another band in the ever-growing trend of trying to play homage to the past causes this one to stand-out somewhat as the album’s real lone flaw by simply playing a mostly unoriginal brand of music. This particular brand of buzzing, steady style of death metal doesn’t really strike as the most varied type out there and it does leave the band not only playing through the past efforts of the genre but also more recent bands going for this style of old-school worship, and while the band is a lot more competent at it than most this does cause the band to lose themselves into the scene somewhat with this type of attack.

Though there’s a few minor issues to be had with the overall originality and creativeness of the bands’ style, there’s little wrong with the rest of the bands’ attack leaving them to quickly approach the top of this crowded field as this will undoubtedly appeal to any fanatic of old-school death metal or the South American scene in particular.

Score: 86/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
https://dunkelheitprod.bandcamp.com/album/dispersae-et-tormentvm

Veldlokk - Crescent in Flames

Artist: Veldlokk
Release Title: Crescent in Flames
Year: 2016
Label: Sworn Malice Productions
Genre: Old-Schhol Black Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Venerated Pillars of Ash
2. Embraced by Bestial Spears
3. Incessant Flesh Dominion
4. Vanguard of Our Western Keep
5. Fealty to Our Will
6. Crescent in Flames
7. Divine Birth of Rapacious Stars

Continuing to walk through the underground, Wisconsin-based black metallers Veldlokk have been at the game for a while now since their 2003 formation and that decade-plus experience has honed their craft significantly. Released March 30, 2016 on the band’s own Sworn Malice Productions, this sixth release features some of the trios best work yet.

As has been the bands’ style from the beginning, there’s a decidedly old-school bent to the material here as there’s a rather impactful and dynamic series of tremolo-picked rhythms which follow suit of the old-school style. Galloping along at quite up-tempo measures and given a rather enjoyable boost here with the varied tempos where it rages along at a fast, frantic set with plenty of ravenous, swirling tempos keeping the energy up with the ferocious, blasting drumming, to a more generous mid-tempo charge which is favored far more often here as there’s a far greater preponderance for the steady, marching rhythms and buzzing tremolo patterns here while given a slight boost with a few slower, sluggish tempos sprinkled around throughout the album. This work overall gives the album a great sense of dynamics and variety that’s quite appealing and generally quite worthwhile for the most part, though it does tend to bring up the all-around important issue here in that by playing that style of music here it doesn’t really generate much in the way of overall originality by once again going for a mostly familiar attack and not really doing much to differentiate themselves from the pack. Being yet another band with a raw, gravelly old-school sound, dynamic tremolo riff-work and varied tempos and pacing makes for a pretty common style of attack throughout here and it does seem to get somewhat tiresome with it repeating itself here.

Despite being plagued by unoriginality, this isn’t so much of a detrimental crime here as rather it places them as a rather enjoyable face in that particular cog encompassing the underground and makes this a solid, erstwhile choice for those looking for more traditional black metal or those who appreciate the American take on the style.

Score: 83/100

Does it sound good? Get it for free here:
http://veldlokk.bandcamp.com/

Adversum - In the Sign of Satan

Artist: Adversum
Release Title: In the Sign of Satan
Year: 2016
Label: Inferna Profundus Records
Genre: Old-School Black Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Open the Flesh
2. Left Hand Theosis
3. Force of Faith and Fire
4. Raining Salvation
5. Until Death We Sing Thy Name
6. Incipit Khaos

Founded by mainman S. in 2014, the German black metal band Adversum was from the very beginning an overt and blasphemous Satanic act beginning with the first songs composed at the act’s infancy. Joined by drummer MDB  and session member R. the is finally ready to unleash their debut album released June 30, 2016 by Inferna Profundus Records.

From the onset this here is a tried and true old-school black metal act with plenty of traditional elements found there. Firing away tight, intense tremolo rhythms around a buzzing, mid-tempo gallop while occasionally getting up into a more fiery, energetic realms gives this a rather dynamic appeal to the old-school crowd while generally making the album quite nice overall. There’s plenty of sprawling, atmospheric accents along the way with the kind of slowed-down charges that come across nicely as well by acting as solid buffering segments against the infernal blasting on-display as there’s a generous amount of those rhythms featured here when the album also gets back into the traditional trappings with the swirling tremolo-picked patterns and blasting drum-work. All told, this creates a nice, infernal mixture that’s quite appealing and generally rewarding of it’s old-school approach, though the album does have a few minor issues. The brief running time is something to take into consideration, feeling much more like a demo release or even an EP with the few tracks here which is slightly problematic as the album is really getting going and finding the band just beginning to hit their stride with some great tracks leading up to the finish only for the album to suddenly be over, and while it does work in wanting the listener to want more it does feel short-changed as a result. Again, so effectively calling out the old-school way of doing things here might be a little tiresome though not as tiresome as the album’s final track which is a pointless noise collage that sounds more appropriate on an ambient or industrial release and seems too out-of-place on the album as a whole. Still, for the most part this one isn’t that bad of a release.

Despite a few minor missteps here and there, the fact that there’s a lot of good, solid work to be found here on this one really does make it a far more engaging and enjoyable first-offering than expected making this one a rather appealing listen to all who appreciate and support the second-wave old-school style groups in the underground.

Score: 78/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
http://infernaprofundusrecords.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-sign-of-satan

Onirism - Cosmic Dream

Artist: Onirism
Release Title: Cosmic Dream
Year: 2016
Label: Self-Released/Independent
Genre: Symphonic Black Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Purple Sky (Introduction)
2. Beginning of a New Era
3. From the End to the Origins
4. Ephemeral World I
5. Ephemeral World II
6. At the Heart of the Desert for the Eternity (Introduction)
7. The Curse of Ahriman
8. The Old Man
9. Darkness
10. Weavers of Time
11. Baneful Glows in the Night Sky (Introduction)
12. Cosmic Dream

From the inception in 2014, French one-man symphonic black metal act Onirism has utilized founder Antoine Guibert’s penchant for writing about lucid dreams on epic symphonic black metal music with many atmospheres throughout the music. Now, he presents his epic full-length release independently January 2, 2016 with nearly eighty minutes of symphonic madness.

Regardless of anything else, what’s most apparent on this album is it’s epic scope and ideals here which run the gamut from extreme symphonics to their penchant for atmospheric rhythms and patterns. The symphonics come from the expected sources here with plenty of over-the-top majestic keyboards running rampant across the release not only supplying plenty of dynamic and charging tempos that are given plenty of room to incorporate the utterly blistering riff-work here raging along in perfect time here with these savage rhythms cutting along throughout the whole of the album. This is a truly fast and up-tempo effort with plenty of really impressive works here when he gets up to speed and can work his faster rhythms here to rumble alongside the keyboard works, and with the drumming blistering away with their hard-hitting patterns featuring plenty of dynamic tempo changes that are entirely possible within the epic song-structures on display. Still, even with all that fast and hard-hitting music what really undermines this one is the epic-ness and generally overlong arrangements that are oftentimes filled with excessive elements from the folk interludes to majestic sprawling sections that are just so lifeless and draining that it sometimes takes the track awhile to get back into the proper swing of things. That in itself is aided along by the fact that the album’s simply way too long, especially for a band’s debut release as the overwhelming amount of material here becomes a struggle to listen to as time goes on and really struggles with retaining its attention in the second half as the length of the material but also the girth works against it.

Though not nearly as troubled as it makes itself out to be here with it’s rather overlong presentation and just generally being way too bloated for it’s own good, there’s still more than enough at work here to make this a stylish and somewhat impressive effort that should mightily appeal to fans of all styles of symphonic black metal who can look past the flaws here.

Score: 75/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
http://onirismband.bandcamp.com/album/cosmic-dream

Dark Haunters - To Persevere is Diabolical

Artist: Dark Haunters
Release Title: To Persevere is Diabolical
Year: 2016
Label: Revalve Records
Genre: Symphonic Black/Death Metal
Tracklisting:
1. In Perseverance...
2. The Burning Eyes of Vengeance
3. Legend of Pai Mei
4. Blood Wolfen Hunger
5. In My Fortress
6. The Tigress & the Prophecy
7. Rising Through the Curse
8. ...Towards the Realm

Born in Atri in 1999, Italian symphonic black/death metallers Dark Haunters initially came together with the intention of playing a gothic black metal with a symphonic classical designs before settling on a more cohesive symphonic design. After years of lineup struggles and numerous concert appearances honing their craft to perfection, the sextet finally unleashes their full-length debut May 5, 2016 on Revalve Records.

What becomes immediately apparent throughout here is the band’s competence and impactful attack, which takes a large dose of inspiration from the symphonic scene with the omnipresent and impactful keyboards that are featured alongside the raging music here. Bouncing along through the music with a cinematic style of accents washing over the blackened soundtrack underneath which manages to merge the raging tremolo-styled rhythms leading along through the deeper, heavy-hitting chugging that comes off as the finest combination of these styles. The riff-work is tight and technical to match the blasting drumming hammering away in the attack, and there’s a nice, heavy-handed sense of fury and intensity in the tracks which makes for a rather immersive symphonic attack within the music, especially when the band fires off into the higher intensity levels. It’s mostly when the band drops down slightly when it stumbles slightly as the group’s tendency towards the slightly sluggish, plodding paces tend to show off it’s rather troubling natures as the riffing isn’t that lively and the symphonics get muted when it’s galloping along, leaving it to feel a little lighter and less dynamic where this appears more often in the second half of the album which does leave it ending on a slightly down-beat ending. As well, this general style doesn’t really leave the band open to explore much in terms of variety causing it to stick to the same general well of attacks for the majority of the time so it can tend to wear itself out through some familiar work at times. Otherwise, this one really does get some enjoyable times in here.

Though it’s not necessarily the most original or consistent act in the scene, this is a solid debut effort that initializes them into the scene in a rather appealing way that at the very least will get those into symphonic black metal to check them out though those who prefer the more traditional works won’t be as impressed.

Score: 83/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
http://revalverecords.bigcartel.com/product/dark-haunters-to-persevere-is-diabolical

Rotting Repugnancy - Harbingers of the Last Judgement

Artist: Rotting Repugnancy
Release Title: Harbingers of the Last Judgement
Year: 2016
Label: CDN Records
Genre: Brutal Death Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Desert Storm
2. Exhalted Throne
3. Despised and Rejected
4. Hollow Beast
5. And the Day Shall Dawn with Fire
6. Tears that Fill My Bones
7. Godless World
8. Koventrieren

Founded in late 2010, UK brutal death metal upstarts Rotting Repugnancy has established themselves as one of the finest British death metal bands with plenty of solid releases through Sevared Records and a relentless tour schedule. This second full-length album, initially an independent release December 21, 2015 before a March 25th, 2016 reissue on new-label CDN Records, this release packs another strong punch for the group on their way to the top of the genre.

There’s a lot to really like overall about this one, and it takes centerstage here with the explosive and dynamic riffing. Featuring the tight swirling rhythms and deep, frenetic paces that offer up plenty of rather dynamic churning patterns that go along mixing the schizophrenic blasting with a thrashy, old-school attack in terms of tempos and cadence. That’s a far more pummeling attack than would be expected here as the steady paces keeps the churning patterns flowing along into the album’s varied approaches with those up-tempo thrash-like paces or into slower, deep churning grooves which take the brutal rhythms into a sluggish realm which is quite fun when it rev up those slower patterns into far more impactful and blistering realms. This slow, churning approach alongside the tight riff-work makes for another solid plus in that there’s more variety than expected here rather than just the blitzkrieg approach of most modern brutal death metal acts is a rather nice approach and really sets this one up with a heavy yet brutal approach for an overall fun time. The biggest problem here is a common one that plagues a lot of these albums in the fact that there’s just not enough tracks here, with the running list finishing off when it gets enjoyable with the band setting into a solid groove on the second half. Choosing only eight tracks overall does make this fly by in a blur and really doesn’t cause this one to really work to it’s overall potential since it’s just over when it’s getting good. However, with this being the main problem here leaves this one with a rather enjoyable attack overall.

As it’s another rather fun and enjoyable effort that really does have a lot to like overall here in terms of the music but which runs afoul of the slightly-detrimental action of not having enough music really isn’t that big of a deal and puts this into high regard for fans of brutal death metal or those looking for more old-school-flavored acts.

Score: 86/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
http://www.cdnrecords.com/product/rotting-repugnancy-harbingers-of-the-last-judgement/

Caveman Cult - Savage War is Destiny

Artist: Caveman Cult
Release Title: Savage War is Destiny
Year: 2016
Label: Rotting Chapel Propaganda
Genre: Black/Death (War) Metal
Tracklisting:
1. F. F. F. (Intro)
2. The Bludgeoning
3. Iron Scourge
4. Ceremonial Disembowelment
5. Altar of Crushed Enemies
6. La eterna guerra sangrienta
7. Caveman Cult
8. Barbaric Bloodlust
9. Death Before Surrender
10. Supremacy of the Savage Hordes
11. Caverns of Atrocity

From the sunny side of Florida, war metallers Caveman Cult has done nothing but raised hell throughout the land as they bring their savage attack out of the underground. Released May 17, 2016 on Rotting Chapel Productions, this power-trio continues to bring the goods as they capitalize on their previous demos with their full-length debut.

Despite the sunny disposition of their home-state, this here is anything but as there’s a lot of bleak, ugly work on display here as the group’s focus on war metal aptly demonstrates. Tight, militaristic marches and ferocious rhythms are the hallmark of the groups’ focus here, swirling around ugly riffing and short, blistering tracks filled with lockstep drumming alongside frantic and utterly devastating rhythm patterns filled with truly pummeling, quite raw-styled riffing for the majority of it’s work here and it really conjures a bleak, ugly soundscape. This relentless, air-tight assault doesn’t give up one iota throughout here nor does it allow there to be any breathing room at all with the condensed tracks and ferocious patterns giving this such a full-on frantic attack which scores quite well here, though it does manage to prop up several minor areas within this one. The biggest issue is that the album is so short with only a few tracks here that really manage any kind of significant length out of them as so many of the songs are short, barely a minute long and go by in such a blur as is common-place in the genre that it doesn’t really allow for any kind of chance to let the music really stand out. Though the primitive attack here does come off rather well, it’s not all that well developed to really allow it the kind of chance that soaking in the rhythms allows here because this is such a short release and it doesn’t make for a truly immersive attack with the effort really failing to distinguish itself here. Otherwise, this one doesn’t really have much else wrong with it.

Though the brevity might be a small problem for this one, the fact that there’s quite a bit more that it gets right makes this a rather pummeling and somewhat enjoyable debut release that sets them off on a solid note that will appeal wholeheartedly to black/death metal fanatics as well as war metal aficionados who can’t get enough of the style.

Score: 78/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
http://cavemancult.bandcamp.com/album/savage-war-is-destiny