The various listens I had over the previous week, first staying up-to-date on current releases before going through the ages to listen to an older release.
First up is the newer releases:
Devoured Elysium-Void Grave (96/100)
The sophomore album from the Turkish Brutal Death Metallers. Blistering series of whirlwind technical rhythms, compact challenging patterns, and relentless drumming propel this along at tight, steady grooves. Rumbling forward with ripping guitar-work running the gamut from buzzing grooves laced with thunderous chugging slams to steady, mid-tempo rhythms with compact, complex arrangements throughout, the focus on dynamic and varied offerings here is quite effective. The prominent rhythm and tempo switches keep this one changing up the style and approach constantly which lets the frantic blasting become all the more ferocious which fuels the album along in the brutality featured on display. It almost feels too short for its own good but it's such a minor quibble in the grand scheme of things.
Dysmorfectomy-The Last Eightful Bastards (90/100)
The fourth full-length from the one-man French Brutal Death Metal project. Tight pummeling grooves, pervasive blasting, and frantic arrangements provide plenty of steady old-school violence throughout here. Fueled by the tight chugging riffs, sprawling slam breakdowns, and aggressive drum-work laced with ferocious blastbeats and frantic arrangements, the straightforward brutality makes for an impressive impact due to the thick production giving this an enjoyable sound. The short, compact structure and lack of variety here in favor of straightforward rhythms throughout offers a pummeling if generally indecipherable attack where it's entirely possible to not only lose where you are in the running order but also makes it tough to pick the band out of the crowd of a sea of similar-sounding acts in the genre, but the overall competence of the arrangements offers something to make up for that.
Schizophrenia (Bel)-Recollections of the Insane (90/100)
The debut album from the Belgium Death/Thrash Metal group under the name. Furious raging riff-work, tight rumbling rhythms, and frantic drumming offer a fun mixture of the two genres incredibly well. Structurally a Death Metal style of riffing with thick, choking rhythms, tight grooves, and a dynamic variance with both full-speed rating patterns and sprawling mid-tempo chugging, this overall style and atmosphere comes off with the dirty old-school tone and feel. Rather than stay in the darker setup, the lighter production and rumbling rhythms offer a Thrash-based approach that offers an infectious cross of dirty Death Metal atmosphere in a Thrash Metal rhythm for frantic, violent series of tracks that are highly enjoyable if generally formulaic in this style. They're quite familiar-sounding and don't bring anything unique to this genre, but they're so much fun regardless that it helps this one tremendously.
Fetal Blood Eagle-Indoctrinate (93/100)
The debut release from the all-star international Brutal Death Metal supergroup. Thick chugging patterns, furious blasting drum-work, and steady mid-tempo charges offer a solid, violent mix charging along quite nicely. Featuring a strong combination of whirlwind technical arrangements with the thick chugging riff-work, the inclusion of those complex scales alongside the straightforward rhythms creates a strong overall charge. As the steady chugging patterns and drumming focus on the brutal edge due to the suffocating atmosphere, the use of the swirling complex arrangements and leads brings about a dynamic modernized approach to the genre with the production offering plenty of tight, vicious arrangements to be featured here. Although none of this would be out-of-place on any of the member's other projects which raises the redundancy of the album somewhat, it's really all that stands out here.
Hatred (It: II)-Hateful Extermination (88/100)
The second full-length from the retro Thrash Metal act from Italy under the name. Straightforward rattling riff-work, pounding drumming, and blazing energy throughout offer all the hallmarks and features of the old-school Bay Area scene. The tight, compact structures built around this format offer a full-throttle charge of furious riffs and frantic drum-work in simplified yet aggressive rhythms, focusing more on blasting speed than variation or dynamics. Taking very little change-ups or spices in here with the vast majority of this one riding a select series of admittedly impressive rhythms throughout without much else, this is an aggressive mix of tracks that doesn't do much of anything else for the style much less anything else on the album. For those who only want the same style, it's an enjoyable and easy fix while most others might be turned off by the same-sounding material so take that into account here.
Veonity-Elements of Power (95/100)
The fifth full-length from the Swedish Power Metal unit. Tight buzzing Speed Metal patterns, steady drumming, and bombastic melodies focus around plenty of raging high-energy sections with a wide variation between them. Offering thumping mid-tempo charges, blistering melodic charges, and heartfelt ballads after the more energetic rhythms throughout here, the overall experience follows the bright, harmonious sections popularized by the genre's forebearers early in the millennium. Featuring enough keyboard accents alongside the melodic diff-work to balance out the speed-driven sections raging prominently throughout here as well as majestic vocals soaring over the rhythms, technically extravagant soloing, and finely-tuned professionalism with its production job, this stands as one of the finest efforts from the genre overall.
Vendetta (AUS)-Have Demons, Will Travel... (45/100)
The fourth full-length from the Australian metallers under the name. Hard rocking riffs, steady straightforward rhythms, and plodding drum-work offer more of a sprawling low-energy chug than most general hands in the style. Featuring swirling guitar patterns with the simplistic drumming and rumbling bass-lines for the majority of the tracks manages to offer a generally sluggish and lethargic series of tracks that are increasingly uninteresting as it goes along due to the lack of dynamic variety and arrangements on display. The attempts at energetic outbursts focus on a series of moderately swirling rhythms that are supposed to evoke a Thrash Metal style but come off as a half-hearted and misguided effort at Southern swagger style of rhythms. It's all competent enough but is so low-energy that it's hard to get into and remain invested in.
Gravelust-Passage to the End (89/100)
The debut release from the US Black Metal project. Steady old-school patterns, fiery tremolo riffing, and cold majestic melodies offer a sparkling sample of the Norwegian second-wave movement. The influx of rhythms variation within the rift-work with an equal measure of sprawling mid-tempo swirling patterns alongside brimstone-accented sections create a straightforward approach to the style that allows the frantic drumming to blast throughout here into highly effective up-tempo arrangements. Given the series of chugging mid-tempo styles in place to balance these more furious setpieces, there are a lot of impressive atmospheric touches to go alongside these features for a highly enjoyable if not too original offering, although the lack of originality isn't that important in the long run.
Those Who Bring the Torture-Cosmos Osmosis (88/100)
The eighth offering from the Swedish Death Metal unit. Swirling chainsaw grooves, tight rhythms atop frantic drumming and choppy arrangements as well as a steady variety between straightforward patterns and groovy mid-tempo churning grooves. Employing a more melodic bent with the riffing patterns than focusing on a sprawling mid-tempo section with the grinding rhythms over the top of it all, making for a highly impressive experience featuring these melodic accents over the energetic grooves. All of this is pretty much typical and expected of anything in the old-school Swedish scene here with an endless array of riffs and patterns that take their cue from the genre's originators, so despite the effectiveness of the genre's approach and their infectious energy for the material, it does stand out slightly here.
Powertryp-Midnight Marauder (90/100)
The debut full-length from the German Metallers. Blistering Speed Metal rhythms, thick mid-tempo grooves, and a meaty, chunky production give the riffs a weightiness that offers quite a lot to really like. As the majority of the tracks alternate between the two distinct styles here with raging up-tempo section full of tight Speed Metal chugs and steady drumming to a more measured, mid-tempo feel with sluggish, plodding riffs with equal drum-work, the general approach offers a solid old-school foundation. This makes for a solid crunch that makes for a highly enjoyable melodic backdrop that can pick up the speed at points while also offering solid traditional rhythms at play where the Traditional Metal rhythms keep this focused on a straightforward drive with the inclusion of Power Metal melodies for a highly likable and enjoyable time here.
And for our classic release:
Paradox (Gr)-Product of Imagination (90/100)
The debut full-length from German power/thrash metallers under the name Paradox. Led by vicious early Speed and Thrash Metal riffing with the lack of technical variation, the writing takes on a grand, epic sense of scale that recalls the burgeoning US power metal scene at the time which manages to make use of a pronounced sense of melody within the riffs that keeps the songs from ranging into the extreme territory. This is echoed with the inclusion of wailing, high-pitched vocals, and an epic grandeur that’s wholly lacking in thrash and feels more at home with the Traditional/Power Metal crowd and maintains the bands' ability to mix all their influences together into a tight, energetic core. These are elements that would in fact be present for the band throughout their career and allows the band to remain familiar throughout their discography as there’s never been a big change from the early days to now with their brand of full-throttle thrashing speed metal riffs, making a lasting impression more often than not.
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