All reviews are written and executed by Drako
Gorod – The Ember Gone
Gorod are back with another killer full length!
Up next that I have for you is the well renowned French Progressive/Tech Death outfit that’s called Gorod, and this band formed back in 2005, but before that, they were known as another killer band from 1997, called Gorgasm. This is the band’s eighth upcoming offering overall and this one is named: “The Ember Gone” and this starts out with pleasant piano notes before the guitars come in with grooves and palm-muted riffs and they keep grooving with mid-paced riff structures, then, they include some harmonies into this before putting in some sci-fi synths behind them and the chuggy harmonies return for a period of time. Some of these harmonies are quite bouncy and catchy too at a couple of points and there’s stop-start harmony sections and riffy ones in addition to the others. Then, there’s alternate picked power chords going on here as well too. Next, they then add in dissonant and melancholic clean passages, then, there’s a consistent string bend before the distorted harmonies and a lead section comes in. There’s tapping too going on that’s isolated and these become a tapping duel for a short time, as they go to doing syncopated harmonies and a couple of these soar as well; there’s a lot of clean guitar passages throughout this upcoming full length and they can get a bit repetitive over time.
This is FFO: IATT, Obscura and Allegaeon also.
Fast grooves then are a focal point, as towards the middle section of this full length, there’s a lot of them and they use these blackened harmonies that are also catchy too and my favourite track on this new upcoming album is called “Crimson” which, again, has it’s repetitive clean guitar passages, but palm-muted riffs and chugs happen in-between them. A clean guitar solo then comes in and the solos in this are technical, shreddy and melodic and this track is an instrumental one full of awesome shredding solos. There are more alternate picked harmonies going on in here and there’s a few djenty riffs towards the back half of this one and there’s a few shreddy leads in-between harmonies; next, they add in some straight up Revocation influence on the track ‘Ignite’ with their phrasing and some Hawaiian clean harmonies come in now and then. The interlude on here is atmospheric and melodic; the last track though, is a breath of fresh air, as it’s mostly groovy and melodic. This is some really good Prog/Tech Death, but the issue that I had with this that I didn’t give it a 90, is because at times, it can get too repetitive and recycled, as there’s FAR too much clean harmonies in this and personally, I would have liked more technical elements to be going on. Anyways, if you’re a huge Gorod fan, then you definitely should check this out.
Drops on the 28th of August.
Rating: 8.6/10
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Venomous Echoes – Nvęŧs: Violator of Mater
Ben Vanweelden and Venomous Echoes Return with his best yet!
Alright, so I have got a total of four new reviews for you guys that are all high scorers for this cycle and we’re starting things off here with a former band mate of mine with his own one man project named Venomous Echoes and this project by Ben started in a point just before COVID and this is his project’s upcoming fourth full length album, which is titled: “Nvęŧs: Violator of Mater” this one man Death/Doom outfit is from Ohio, US. This album kicks off with an intro track that’s full of creepy industrial style synths to open things up and then, a melodic synth passage that’s melodic appears towards the end of this; then, there’s these driving mid-paced drums that come in before they get blasting for a period of time. Everything drops out to an acoustic guitar and ride hits before doomy synths and bass come in with some synths behind it and this then goes into eerie, fast tremolos that sounds mean and catchy too; there’s some absolutely ferocious transitions in here with crushing blast beats and tremolos that are fast as hell. There’s some catchy riffs going on too here and there, next, he adds creepy synths over top of these catchy riffs and tremolo harmonies before fading out to diminished passages and you can hear the bass on some of this album as well.
This is FFO: Mechina (but with a lot more growls and screams), Portal and it has elements of Ulcerate in places too.
There’s also a plentiful amount of creepy harmonies on this one and there’s kinda a tad influence of trap/house music towards the end of a few tracks. Some of this album has absolutely blistering speed on it that’s aggressive and unrelenting, track 4: “Cire” which is my favourite track on the album is one of the fastest and grooviest tracks on the album, as it keeps on punching you in the face without mercy. It does slow down a tad though to transition to these nasty chugs and then, this has a pretty pleasant interlude with acoustic guitars that’s kind of melancholic and towards the end, these fade out and have some sort of synthesized effect on them.
There’s tapped riffs in this that are fast and chaotic, then, Ben puts in these spiraling type of tremolos in that’s catchy also; there’s some black metal influence on here with the chord progressions and vocal types and he does a lot of dominant death growls, but then he adds in blackened screams and synthesized spoken word sections to make it more eerie and atmospheric. There’s some female spoken word vocals towards the back half of this upcoming mind-boggling full length and there’s some choir parts on here too and the solos are atmospheric and at times shreddy with some tapping done into them and the last track is a mix of the eerie sounding riffs and the synth sections. This kinda warped my mind and if you love bands like Portal, Altarage, Ad Nauseam and Khonsu, then you’ve definitely got to give this absolute unique listen a spin!
Rating: 8.8/10
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Oracle of Worms – Cult of Suffering
Blackened Death That’s Buzzsaw?
Going back in time to an album that officially dropped last April and this is a band that’s based in Germany that’s called Oracle of Worms and they in that month released their absolutely pummeling debut offering that’s named: “Cult of Suffering” and this Blackened Death project formed in 2021 and this debut from them features the likes of an intro track, of course that’s creepy and atmospheric, it’s unsettling and monstrous. Then, it transitions into power chords, and you can hear that sneaky HM2 just about that’s been dialed back, there’s trills in here and they put in blistering tremolos and crushing blast beats too, before harmonizing them. This isn’t all fast, as they do slow down the tremolos quite a bit and then, they put in blackened, cold and icy diminished chords before adding in a sick blackened bridge harmony that will get you headbanging; then, the melodic tremolos come back in and there’s finally some groove that isn’t just all tremolos for a time with bouncy riffs and palm-muted chugs. These grooves get more frequent and consistent too the more this goes on and the drumming in here is frantic and ferocious, done by Freddy.
This is FFO: Angerot, Deicide and I’d dare say early The True Mayhem as well.
When they let that guitar tone breathe – filthy! I also like the occasional melodic harmonies on here, as they execute the cold and bleakness style that blackened death is known for and when they get a little doomy, urghh, I love how they let a couple of riffs breathe like before at points. They change key now and then mid-song too and then, they manage to give the bassist/vocalist, Chris some spotlight, as you can hear his bass behind the mix occasionally and they put in these nasty and creepy harmonies that are mid-paced in tempo and for a time in addition to these other riffs, they briefly put in a couple of awesome grooves and they add in a couple of trilled sections into a chuggy breakdown that sounds sick. My favourite song on here is named: “Acolytes” as its full of pummeling palm-muted chugs and grooves all over it and in-between these, they throw in tremolos and killer harmonies too; with some quick string bends before they get to the crushing blast beat sections. There’s a slight couple of d-beat influences also on this song towards the end; there’s dissonant and scary sounding riffs that are isolated before the bass comes in behind them and the vocals in here predominantly sounds like Glen Benton and the few solos that are in this are melodic and atmospheric. If you guys love buzzsaw Death Metal, then definitely check this out!
Rating: 8.85/10
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Fleshcrawl – Epitome of Carnage
One of the more obscure OG’s of Death Metal have unleashed the buzzsaw!
Alright, so, I have more buzzsaw Death Metal here with one of the OG’s of the genre that have been around since the 90’s. This is a band that releases an album around once every several years like Monstrosity, but this is about Fleshcrawl and their brand new crushing offering that’s named: “Epitome of Carnage” and once again, this band formed in Germany in 1991 and before this, they were known as the legendary Morgöth in 1987 and then in 1990, they changed their name to Suffocation. A year later, they changed to Fleshcrawl. Anyways, this full length is the band’s tenth overall and it starts out with absolutely crushing tremolos and frantic double kick mayhem and blasts that continue until they slow the tremolos down slightly for a time and they change to doing more of these riffs and then, they transition to some power chord grooves and pinch harmonics. They add in palm-muted chugs with power chords between them and they then include a melodic riff that’s catchy that the drums follow behind and then there’s some fast explosive riffs for a short time before bouncy grooves come in that will make you bang your head to in enjoyment.
They let that absolutely sick and filthy tone breathe by slightly putting in doomy elements and on top of this, they add this creepy harmony just after this riff section. There’s some bursts of thrashy energy that isn’t too blasty at points, but when they do add those in, they show absolutely no mercy and will kill everything! They add in some meaty and hefty power chords and riffs in addition to the catchier ones too and they add in some absolutely sick harmonic minor lead sections over some awesome riffs and the guitars drop out for a time and the drums, leaving the bass to rumble on.
This is FFO: Dismember Sweden, WILT and add some LIK – Sthlm too.
There’s plenty of thrashy bursts on this one and they add in a pretty brutal chuggy breakdown section in the middle of track five and they let it repeat a little later on too. They even put in a few melodic and eerie harmonies towards the end of this track that they isolate, next, they add in sicker grooves and tremolos that will get you doing the windmill to a couple of these riffs and they then go to a little breakdown section before bringing the intensity back in. When they isolate that guitar, it’s disgusting and awesome as fuck and the interlude in this pulverizing new offering is eerie and melodic with acoustic guitars and it has a marching drum beat to it also; they have a couple of sliding riffs when they go into the next part and they have some At The Gates riffs and harmonies towards the back half of this and that did surprise me a little bit. My favourite song on this absolute ripper is named: “Heralds of Death” because it has this absolutely creepy and sick harmony that I just can’t get out of my head and it has crushing riffs to boot. The guitar solos on here are eerie, atmospheric and shreddy and this is a fucking sick OSDM band and offering. I need to check more of these guys out when I get the time, so check it out!
Rating: 9.35/10
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Bloody Valkyria – Requiem: Reveries of The Dying
Bloody Valkyria returns with another epic and triumphant offering!
So, up next I have for you all is this Melodic Black Metal one man project that’s called Bloody Valkyria and this project formed in Finland and this is the third full length by the man behind the project that’s called Jere Kervinen. I reviewed his last offering that’s called “In Our Home, Across The Fog” and it was a masterpiece and how does this new one fare better? This third full length is titled: “Requiem: Reveries of The Dying” and this full length features the likes of tweeting birds and animal calls, along with the flowing of water and crackling fire, then some medieval style strings come in with some synths that sounds lush and kinda pretty and pleasant too. These get triumphant and sad in tone and style. The guitars come in with big power chords behind the synths, it has tremolo riffs and power chords behind them and when Jere’s vocals come in, he does these tremolo harmonies and orchestrations. A piano melody comes in that’s melancholic in tone and then, he includes some folk instruments like a flute and lute and it’s absolutely fucking epic and awesome. He fades some things out and then, violins and a slight choir comes in and then tremolo riffs and harmonies come at the forefront of this too; this increases in speed at times as well now and again.
This is FFO: Enslaved, Stormkeep and add in hints of Summoning also.
There’s some awesome and melodic harpsichord sections in here and plenty of melodic harmonies to boot; my favourite song on this is named: “Life’s Worth” as its got a super melodic intro to it with blisteringly fast and pounding blast beats and the riffs in this crush, they’re catchy, riffy and they definitely will make you headbang. The melodies in this carry the song throughout and then this fades out with some chiming synths; then, this goes into dark violins that straight up reminds me of the interior music when you go into the palaces of Skyrim and then, some clean guitar comes in over them. There’s blisteringly fast and crushing sections on here that are very thrashy and intense with tremolos and blast beats, then, we get some clean guitar passages for a time and when he slows this down, it sounds pretty and the drum work can go from light ride hits to full on double kick blasts. Jere puts in chuggy and catchy grooves too from time to time also and there’s a few catchy harmonies in here going on in addition to the others; he isolates piano and violins and lets them breathe and it all sounds very somber and there’s some spoken word vocals done from him in this triumphant full length as well as growls and high screams too. You also have more soundbites done on this, like the cawing of crows and the few guitar solos on this are melodic and atmospheric and the last track on this is a fast, blistering and epic closure to this masterpiece of a melodic black metal offering. Absolutely don’t sleep on this stellar release!
Rating: 8.8/10
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Cryptorium – Through the Bowels of Ceaseless Dissonance
A return to a crypt so vile!
This is my final review for the day and we’re ending things here with this absolutely vile and disgusting OSDM outfit. This is the Swedish Death Metal outfit that’s called Cryptorium and I reviewed their absolutely stomach churning debut when it came out; this band formed in 2022 and this is their sophomore full length album overall and it’s named: “Through the Bowels of Ceaseless Dissonance” and it has a pretty somber and sad piano in the intro track that gets a bit eerie as it goes on and then we go straight head first into aggressive tremolos and then some power chords come into the equation, these are groovy and then this gets even more catchy, as they isolate these sick riffs for a time, before they bring everything back in and then, there’s some absolutely blistering thrashy sections going on. Then, they put in a few blistering tremolo harmonies and riffs and there’s even some sick tapping harmonies happening also; in-between these riffs, they add in pinched harmonics too.
There’s plenty of chuggy, chunky palm-muted riffs going on and there’s plenty of bouncy grooves on here, then, on my favourite track “Malodor” there’s this doomy sick riff that they add in trills in-between them to make it sound nasty and then a surprising whammy bar dive bomb happens before they blast into tremolos and pulverizing drum work and there’s some layered vocals happening in here that sounds twisted and there’s bouncy grooves happening in this song too, they isolate the bass playing and then, there’s this creepy voice that comes in briefly under the tremolos and they throw in a couple of pinch harmonics too.
This is FFO: Dismember Sweden, Nocturnal Hollow and add elements from Undeath as well.
There’s some outright flat out thrashy songs on here to crack your skull to and headbang as much as you want, as this is so fucking sick! It has some very aggressive tremolo riffs that are so catchy as well and the riffs are very fast, but they groove a lot as well and when they slow things down, that tone is perfect for doomy stuff and there’s more pinched harmonics added in again for flair and then, there’s almost a couple of groovy sections that are kinda like breakdowns appearing occasionally on here. There’s the return of an eerie piano melody at a point and you have the sound of flies and screaming soundbite wise along with eerie whispers too and they never stop thrashing throughout this; the doomy looming riffs are just ewww, disgusting and then at times, they harmonize them and, in some parts, I hear Immolation type of song structures in terms of influence. There are even some really creepy symphonic violins that appears on here and there’s a section where they stop and do some simple dissonant strumming with the bass ending the section; there’s even a bass groove in this and the drums are artillery-like.
These are on the track ‘Concrete Interment’ which has one of my favourite riffs in the album period and they bring it back even faster and the guitar solos on this sounds eerie, sinister and are shreddy with tremolo bursts and tapping sections at times and they’re not in every song either. They add in some Death-like harmonies that are a lot slower than the rest of them on this absolutely devastating full length that will give you whiplash. You’ve definitely got to add this to your lists, as it’s an absolutely feral and outstanding OSDM full length, it drops on the 30th of October, don’t sleep on this!
Rating: 9.5/10
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