Drako’s Corner – Volume 4
All reviews below are written and executed by Drako
Deadnight – The Black Scourge
Blackened Death/Thrash with a slight melodic edge.
Up next on my review list is this Blackened Death/Thrash act that’s named Deadnight and this is a band that formed in Illinois, US and they’ve released their sophomore full length a few months ago named “The Black Scourge” and they formed in 2003. This full length has compositions of icy melodic tremolos with bouncy riffs underneath, this then transitions into technical and melodic sweeps as harmonies, then, the bouncy grooves continue and there’s lots of groovy riffs and the production is a little fuzzy at times here. A couple of melodic harmonies come into the equation and there’s a lot of instrumental passages throughout this and it can sometimes lose its flow; abrasive and aggressive tremolos are done on this with some whammy bar dive bombs and accents and behind the mix in the title track, you will be able to hear chimey synths in the background that reminds me of Tryblith. There’s hints of thrashy riffs and chugs here and there as well; then, some groovy tremolo riffs come in and the drumming on here is full of ferocious blasts and tong hits.
This is FFO: Marduk, Skeletonwitch and I’d add subtle elements of Death as well.
There’s groovy gallop sequences and they include the typical cold and bleak diminished chords with epic synths behind them with the rhythm guitar that grooves with it that’s layered and my favourite track on this full length is called “Riders of The Black Wind” that has lots of tremolos in it too, of course that sounds eerie with the choir behind it. The vocals have this traditional black metal fry scream that’s done by Mike and there’s choirs added into more than one song on here; there’s sick thrashy riffs and there’s lots of bouncy harmonies in it, next, they include very fast descending riffs and now, the solos throughout this is mad and technical with tapping, shredding, whammy bar accents, shredding and sweeps that melt faces. They include more than one solo in a single track and I definitely don’t mind that one bit, as it’s awesome. They have an interlude track that has wind sound effects and this song is full of acoustic harmonies too and then, as we approach the back half of this album, there’s an extremely heavy, thrashy track “Storm of Sorrow” that has trills in-between groovy parts and there’s definitely Kreator style riffs all over this full length. If you’re into groovy, ripping atmospheric and technical Black/Death/Thrash, then definitely give this one a spin!
Rating: 8.45/10
Bandcamp // Instagram
Gregorious – Footsteps To Nihilism
Chaotic Death/Thrash that has awesome riffs all over it.
This is a band called Gregorious in my next review that I have, and this band is set to release their new upcoming album, as to which I don’t know the date yet, but I’m sure it will be posted up soon. This band formed in Canada, and they will release their sophomore full length that will release in five days’ time (10th of July, found the date.) This upcoming offering is titled “Footsteps To Nihilism” and this album features a short synth intro, before chugging grooves come in and you can hear the bass sliding and riffing for a time, then, this explodes into tremolo riffs and pulverizing blast beats and the bass gets isolated and Ben plays these sick groove lines, more tremolos enter the equation with riffs and harmonies; these harmonies are also groovy too. They drop everything out apart from the drums for a short time, as some distorted spoken word vocals are done over it before they dive back into the madness and this has palm-muted chugs, they drop the guitars and bass out again and they bend the strings in a tremolo section or two.
This is FFO: Death, Psycroptic and hints of Possessed as well.
There’s a couple of pull-offs added in for thrashy aggression; this is so chuggy at times too and I sometimes at points hear Slayer influence too. There’s some hints of D-beat influences and this is at a pace between being mid-paced and thrashy as fukk, this has awesome grooves all over it that will hopefully get your necks spinning and there’s a few fast paced harmonies on here at times and my favourite track on this upcoming ripper is named: “Coffin Worm” as it has abrasive, fast tremolos, thrashy riffs and harmonies, palm-muted chugs, breakdowns that are fukking killer, there’s alternate picked power chords added into the middle of this track and a few d-beat sections to boot also. This ends with a piano track that gets more epic with violins and orchestrations behind it to close this off and the vocals on this album are very diverse from spoken word, hardcore barks, shouts, high screams and growls. If you’re into Death/Thrash, then check this out in five days’ time!
Rating: 8.25/10
Bandcamp // Facebook // Instagram
Dogtak – Shattered Reflection (EP)
Brand new underground Death/Thrash band that is promising!
Alright, so I have got a list of five reviews on this cycle, this time around and this is Dogtak, a Death/Thrash outfit that’s newly formed and it has lots of groovy elements to their style. They’ve released their sophomore EP overall, which is called “Shattered Reflection” this drops on the 21st of August (eleven days after my birthday) back on track, these guys formed in Germany in 2025, last year and they had to change their name from Dogtag. This EP offering features an acoustic and clean guitars from the get-go and some violins come into the equation before crushing groovy riffs hit you in the face, then some harmonies are heard along with some tremolo riffs; there’s lots of chuggy palm-muted stuff on this and they use an organ for atmosphere, even some harmonies are chugged too on occasion. They throw in a couple of melodic ones and the title track has bouncy rhythms, grooves that will be perfect to form a pit with; they don’t always thrash either, as there’s a few doomy riffs on here that they let breathe for a short time with a harmony or two as well; this will want to make you bang your head until your neck is sore.
This is FFO: Kreator, Sepultura and there’s some hints of old Pestilence (official) also.
The guitars once or twice have this fade in static effect on them, until they start grooving again and the guitars sometimes follows the synths and orchestrations. Some of these are big and epic sounding and the drums on this are mostly going at a mid-paced clip and then in some sections, there’s blast beats and double kicks that will pound you. They add in some eerie and somber harmonies at one point with some vibrato behind it until they go into a crushing breakdown for a short time; there’s quite a lot of solid d-beat elements added it at points as well to give this short offering even more punch. There’s another filthy breakdown on the last track and we get a solo on it too to round it off and this then closes off with slower harmonies. If you’re looking for mid-paced, crushing Death/Thrash, then check this out.
Rating: 7.85/10
Bandcamp // Facebook // Instagram
Continue reading “Drako’s Corner – Volume 4”