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:
Decrapted-Bloody Rivers of Death (89/100)
The debut release from the two-piece Spanish Death Metal supergroup. Simple churning riffing, deep pounding rhythms, and thick, murky atmospheric touches here effectively combine into a devastating old-school effort. Focusing on straightforward patterns with more of a forceful impact than dynamic technicality, the overall impression is something not entirely unoriginal but highly effective and evocative of the scenes' originators which employed similar approaches to the rhythms. Speeding up into dirty thrashing sections with pounding drum-work or slowing down into sprawling atmospheric patterns that bring about a more prominent chugging-based series of riffing, the overall appearance here is of a vicious, old-school throwback as befitting their members' status in the scene. It's mainly that unoriginal touch that holds it back compared to the rest of the engaging material on display.
Crisix-Full HD (92/100)
The sixth full-length effort from the Spanish Thrashers. Tough rumbling riffs, clanking rhythm sections and violent pounding drumming create a highly explosive mix of crunchy traditional-leaning Thrash. The intensity throughout here provides a dynamic blend of full-throttle rhythms with an engaging mid-tempo groove added alongside to break up the speed into manageable sections that combine into a vibrant high-energy attack. The technicality is rarely that much of a factor in the rhythms but adds an extra spice to everything along with the fun-loving lyrics that, along with the lighter atmosphere created in the riffing, add more of a bouncy tone rather than the darker, more oppressive tones commonly found here. There's the potential for this to be somewhat off-putting for those who aren't into this setup and find the whole approach didn't and silly, but it's not too much of an issue overall.
Saidan-Onryō II: Her Spirit Eternal (98/100)
The second full-length effort from the US Black Metal two-piece. Vicious thrashing riffs, haunting ethereal melodies, and steady rhythms offer an aggressive yet immensely engaging experience. Rather than feature a cold, frosty environment that's typical for the genre, the focus is on using the sprawling riff-work at a straightforward gallop-like tempo with some mildly-technical variations to offer a warmer Thrashing attack that's firmly unyielding without going overboard on theatrics or excess histrionics. As this is broadened by a bouncy and outright lively series of tremolo melodies that are a far lighter experience into the mix that pushes the melodic sensibilities here into an exotic flair with the raging fury and makes for one of the most explosive yet still memorable efforts in the genre. You almost want more tracks here and a longer album than what's offered which is not really a drawback.
Purgatory (Gr)-Apotheosis of Anti Light (89/100)
The ninth full-length from the German Death Metallers under the name. Churning grooves and vicious, violent blasting rule the day here with an explosive combination of steady, mid-tempo rhythms and intense drum work. Despite initially appearing somewhat sloppy, the sprawling riffing soon emerges into a rather straightforward series of old-school patterns that offer more of an atmospheric bent with the churning arrangements favoring the dark, murky setup. Shifting from hard-hitting thrashing sections to majestic mid-tempo sprawling patterns, the focus on atmosphere from the riff-work makes the drumming carry the intensity throughout here which comes off incredibly well here as the balance between the two is quite effective while offering enough variation dynamics. It does create a point where you lose yourself in the running order with the tracks blending into noise at points, but it's not too bad.
Corpsessed-Succumb to Rot (93/100)
The fourth full-length effort from the Finnish Death Metallers. Heavy churning riffing, thunderous drumming, and frantic mid-tempo paces create a solid mixture of sprawling grooves and vigorous primitive thrashing rhythms. With the churning riffs providing that mixture of styles, the resulting thick, murky old-school atmosphere through the riffing patterns and the dynamic production offers a fantastic grounding of steady, straightforward work here. Offering up an explosive counter to that with hyperviolent blasting and double-bass beats within this kind of churning atmosphere manages to leave this one with either the steady grooves or vicious, intense violence required in the style. Only dipping into extravagant technicality on the melodic lead-work full of atonal rhythms atop the vicious thrashing arrangements adds more to the old-school vibe felt here and leaves quite a lot to like with this one.
Skull Fist-Paid in Full (91/100)
The fourth full-length from the Canadian Metallers. Rattling rhythms, tough chugging patterns, and steady drum-work form the basis for this one to rampage along at a generally likable pace throughout here. With the majority of this one thrashing along at a steady mid-tempo gallop full of chugging riff-work and thumping rhythms that are tight and confined in fantastic compact arrangements for a generally dynamic setup, this ends up favoring old-school raging Speed Metal with the chugging patterns bringing this down into a more melodic space. While still fully charged in more up-beat and rocking tempos, those chugging patterns bring about a fine sense of tempo variation which is needed here with the whole affair maintaining a classier appearance in the style that keeps this quite enjoyable if quite obvious about its shorter length being the main drawback here.
Reaper (AUS)-Viridian Inferno (47/100)
The debut full-length from the Australian Black/Thrash/Speed Metallers under the name. Dirty thrashing riffs, compact rhythms, and generally sloppy patterns create a raw and disorganized affair with plenty of energy but very little else going for it. This is built on short, punk-laced riffs and drum-work for a series of simplistic, rather unimpressive attacks at the upper end of the temple that is quite rocking mainly for the straightforward energy from the primitive riff-work but not much else. When dropping the temple into sprawling mid-tempo sections with rattling drumming and clanking bass lines, this doesn't come close to matching the energy or aggressive rhythms from before which creates a highly uninspiring series of meandering patterns undone further by the compact nature of everything that makes for a full experience. Knock off a few points more if a raw, under-produced sound becomes irritating after a while.
And for our Classic release:
Elderblood-Son of the Morning (95/100)
The debut offering from the Ukrainian Symphonic Black Metallers. Raging riff-work, blistering drumming, and majestic, cinematic-style keyboards that appear as if they’re scoring the battle to an epic Fantasy/Adventure film make for a commanding, impressive release. Filled with tough, muscular rhythms bristling with technical patterns and blinding speed, there’s a majesty and grace afforded that nicely off-sets the swirling keyboards and makes this all the more enjoyable. With all this impressive material up-front of the album, there’s little reason why the spectacular drumming holds up or the dynamic bass-lines keep this going but there’s just so much to like here that this one really gets a lot to like about it. While some of the epics could’ve been trimmed down, there’s still not much to dislike here as the most expansive epic here is the most enjoyable and blistering piece of music on the album so there’s little to not like here.
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