By the time Autopsy's 1992 "Fiend For Blood" E.P. was released I'd already been listening to them for a few years. I'd been lucky enough to discover the Californian death metal deviants through their 1989 debut album "Severed Survival" & had also investigated a couple of their 80's demo tapes but it was really Autopsy's excellent duo of 1991 releases that saw me standing up & paying attention, buoyed by their stronger focus on the band's doomier side which I found to be their most attractive (or repulsive if we're being entirely transparent) element. I purchased the band's sophomore album "Mental Funeral" on cassette immediately upon release & gave it a royal thrashing for many months which has not only seen it still residing at the very pinnacle of my Autopsy pile but also drove me to repeat the dosage by picking up a cassette copy of 1992's "Fiend For Blood" E.P. shortly after it hit the shelves. Much like Autopsy's 1991 releases, I remember finding it to possess a really unique sound that has rarely been captured or even attempted since & recall hired gun fretless bass virtuoso Steve DiGiorgio's contribution being one of the major drawcards so I've been busting to give it a revisit for some time, not only to recapture my enthusiasm for the record itself but also to see where it sits versus "Mental Funeral" & the very solid doom/death of 1991's "Retribution For The Dead" E.P.

"Fiend For Blood" is the very definition of the sick, serial-killer inspired, intentionally filthy death metal sound. Even the cover artwork is kept fairly simple with the production job being handled by the band themselves & resulting in a strangely bass-heavy mix that further highlights Autopsy's tendency to back the distortion off a bit in the interest of giving the release a less polished feel. Everything is MEANT to feel a little sloppy & grimy in order to further exacerbate Autopsy's imagery & it works a treat, providing a wonderful platform for the angular style of DiGiorgio (my favourite bass player) to work its magic & become a real highlight of the release. Even the strange discrepancies in where the guitar solos are positioned in the mix seems to buy into this idea while the absurdly over-the-top vocal delivery of drummer Chris Reifert (Static Abyss/Abscess/Death/The Ravenous) sounds almost appropriate when plonked down over this sickly orchestra of the damned.

The six tracks fly by in quick succession with the short twelve minute runtime seeming entirely appropriate as it leaves me wanting more which can't be a bad thing. A couple of those songs are very short with the opening title track & the outstandingly doomy "A Different Kind of Mindfuck" clocking in at under a minute. The other four songs see Autopsy consistently switching between their faster tremolo-picked, early Death inspired death metal riffs & their seriously dark doom metal sections, the faster parts not having nearly the same sort of impact on me as the masterful doom riffs. Autopsy seem to have this real knack for hitting on some particularly eerie atmospheres when they slow things down & this talent is rarely seen in a more effective format than it is here with the unique production job only providing them with further weight.

Perhaps "Fiend For Blood" isn't the most significant release in the grand scheme of the death metal genre but it's a damn enjoyable one nonetheless. There's no time for filler here with every one of the six tracks packing a punch but it's the atmospherics & sickening imagery that are the real drawcard as Autopsy successfully manage to make my skin creep once again. "Mental Funeral" is still the band's finest hour but "Fiend For Blood" should most certainly come into the discussion for runner-up in my opinion. In fact, I've actually been surprised to find that I may even place it slightly ahead of "Retribution For The Dead" these days so fans of Asphyx, Obituary & Abscess should definitely check it out.

4/5

Up until 1992, Birmingham grindcore godfathers Napalm Death had represented more of a novelty than a major player in my musical life. I'd happily purchased all three of their albums for that pleasure but found their two seminal 1980's grindcore full-lengths to be nothing more than a bit of fun. And while 1990's "Harmony Corruption" third record may have added some of my beloved death metal to the equation, it didn't exactly blow me away either. There had been a few pretty decent E.P.'s released between them too & I'd greedily lapped them all up, buoyed by the sheer extremity of it all, an attribute that I was actively seeking out in my music at the time (& no doubt still are). I have to admit though, nothing the band had done had quite stuck the landing up until that point with possible exception of their short 1988 "The Curse" single which I really dug. 1992 would mark somewhat of a new era for Napalm Death though with long-time drum legend Mick Harris having departed after 1991's "Mass Appeal Madness" E.P. & been replaced by Danny Herrera (Venomous Concept). This change probably would have had a few diehard fans on edge a little as Harris had played arguably the most major role in the creation of both Napalm Death & the grindcore sound in general. For me personally though, 1992's "Utopia Banished" album would be the first Napalm Death album that I'd purchase immediately upon release & it's arguably remained my favourite release from their entire back catalogue for all the years since so I think it's fair to say that Herrera's induction into Napalm Death was a rousing success.

Napalm Death's first two albums represent some of the purest & rawest examples of the grindcore genre you're likely to find so there was unsurprisingly a little bit of a mixed response when they incorporated some of the death metal sounds they were hearing around them on "Harmony Corruption". It wasn't, however, a clear-cut death metal record as such with grindcore still playing a strong enough role in the outcome to see me tagging it as deathgrind. "Utopia Banished" sees the grind component being drawn upon a little more than it was on its predecessor & resulting in a more extreme & relentlessly savage deathgrind record that's buoyed by a stellar production job from Colin Richardson. Everything simply sounds so in-your-face with the riffs maintaining definition under some of the most violent drumming the world had heard to the time & with the iconic Mark "Barney" Greenway (Benediction/Extreme Noise Terror) producing some his finest signature barking over the top. The sheer energy of this material saw it immediately grabbing my attention but it also possessed a class that we hadn't heard from a Napalm Death full-length before too. The riffs of Jesse Pintado (Brujeria/Lock Up/Terrorizer) & Mitch Harris (Defecation/Meathook Seed/Righteous Pigs) are more sophisticated & very capably executed while the song structures offer a touch more complexity. The blast beat sections are beautifully positioned to ensure maximum impact with Herrera producing a stellar performance in his own right &, in doing so, putting any fears that the loss of Mick Harris would derail the Napalm Death train to bed.

The cover art is some of Napalm Death's best with the striking red & blue image coming across as both rebellious & shocking at the same time. It brilliantly depicts what the band were all about at the time in my opinion with a collage of social injustices being layered in a way that presents the band as the leaders of the resistance. The tracklisting kicks off in emphatic style too with the industrial noise of "Discordance" proving to be the perfect aural equivalent of the image I just mentioned & when the band blast in with one of their finest works in "I Abstain" I find myself being delightedly crushed under the weight of sound being projected out of my speakers at extreme velocities. The brutal "Dementia Access" follows in quick succession & at this point I'm thinking that we might have a genuinely classic metal release on our hands but things do settle down a bit from there with only the spectacular "Upward & Uninterested" seeing those levels of quality revived. The remainder of the 15-track album is all very solid & unwaveringly consistent in its execution but I can't say that it reaches the same sort of euphoric levels as the tracks I've already mentioned. Each song contains a number of exciting sections but invariably has them offset by some more hardcore-inspired sections that offer me a little less appeal & that's always been a bit of an issue for me with grindcore as I can never quite get the best releases up into my top rating bracket due to my inability to get as excited about the bouncier punk beats. "Utopia Banished" is no doubt one of the stronger examples though as it doesn't present the listener with any real weaknesses, instead choosing to flex its muscles & embrace the sound that the band had been so instrumental in creating in the first place.

At the end of the day, "Utopia Banished" was a unanimous success in my opinion & it still feels like the record that best reflects Napalm Death's sound to me. I just wish that it had lived up to the potential that it hinted at from the commencement of the tracklisting as I really (& I mean REALLY) dig the violence & extremity but can't quite overcome my issues with grindcore's hardcore roots. If the band had opted for a shorter release that dropped that component & simply focused on the half-time, tremolo-picked death metal riffs & the ultra-brutal blast-beat grind sections then we'd probably have my ultimate extreme metal album but, as it is, "Utopia Banished" is still a very fine representation of what Napalm Death have brought to the world & fans of bands like Terrorizer, early Brutal Truth & mid-period Extreme Noise Terror should definitely stand up & pay attention.

It's been a few years since I was last interested in Septicflesh. But that's just my modern heavy side of metal talking. Sometimes I just want to focus on what my metal heart really wants. Right now, my heart is in the mood for melodeath and symphonic death metal. And with that Mayan album I've reviewed making me up for more of the latter subgenre than before, let's see what we got from revisiting Septicflesh's transition into their new era...

Septicflesh was originally formed with a slightly different name, Septic Flesh (with a space between the words). Their sound was originally death metal/death-doom with several orchestral suites. Soon they started combining those two separate sounds into one, and after a few-year hiatus, here we are in their comeback album Communion!

Introducing listeners to the band's new improved sound is "Lovecraft's Death". Not even the earlier heavier fans would fear the orchestration. "Anubis" is a more memorable track starting with clean guitar melody with its Egyptian vibe fitting with the mythology. The title track blasts through deathly chaos as ominous verses alternate with f***ing earth-shattering drumming and background choir. Though it's a little hard to take that seriously when it sounds like Meow Mix (thanks for pointing that out, Rex).

"Babel's Gate" carries the new formula further. Same with "We the Gods", though a bit half-baked while still good. In the next track "Sunlight/Moonlight", there's more positive atmosphere to break up the spookiness. That's what I enjoy here!

Next track "Persepolis" is the longest track of the album and one of the most enjoyable. However, it leads to the worst song here, "Sangreal". I enjoyed this track when I was still listening to this band a few years ago, but now, not so much. The lyrics in the chorus are so cringe, "Sangreal, how real..." It's just way too atrociously poppy when sung. The closing "Narcissus" also doesn't fit too well. It's just straight-up melodeath, which is fine, but not in this album, with only the midsection soloing being its saving grace.

If we can ignore those final two tracks, we have an album filled with emotional greatness that is Communion. Septicflesh have proven their place in the Greek metal league alongside Nightrage and Rotting Christ, and I would recommend this album for anyone up for a blend of epicness and heaviness. Or at least the first 7 tracks....

Favorites: "Lovecraft's Death", "Anubis", "Communion", "Sunlight/Moonlight", "Persepolis"

Earlier this week I went about the process of revisiting the 1992 sophomore album “Buried Secrets” from unusual New York avant-garde jazz metal trio PainKiller. It had literally been decades since I last heard the three PainKiller full-lengths but I was really surprised to find that their second album offered me a level of appeal that I’d not received from it before. I guess I’m just a lot more open-minded with my music these days. That’s not to say that it wasn’t inconsistent because it most certainly was with the short grindcore sections adding no value to anyone’s life whatsoever. It was the lengthier, more restrained & slightly less consciously abstract material that floated my boat with all of the more significant tracks hitting the mark. From memory, I think I devoured all of PainKiller’s albums within about a week & I recall them getting better with each release so I had visions of their 1991 debut album “Guts of a Virgin” being an absolute abomination (& not the good type either). Given my newly found positivity for “Buried Secrets” though, I thought I’d challenge myself by giving it a few spins too.

There are similarities & differences between PainKiller’s first two albums. They both contain the screeching alto saxophone of John Zorn over almost every track, there’s a grindcore component to many of the tracks that pops up & disappears as quickly as it came & the band explores a number of different styles & genres around those core elements. There’s no doubt that “Guts of a Virgin” is the more extreme of the two records though. It’s twelve songs clock in at just 24 minutes in duration with the grindcore elements being drawn upon a little more readily. I still wouldn’t call this a grindcore record though as the combined length of those sections is really quite short with the remainder of the album feeling better suited to a few alternate genre tags in avant-garde jazz, avant-garde & experimental rock, the last of which is a little different from “Buried Secrets” which tended to explore more metallic genres like sludge metal & industrial metal whereas “Guts of a Virgin” dips its toes into rockier & jazzier sounds at times. The debut also includes some psychotic vocal screams from former Napalm Death drummer Mick Harris which are pretty harsh & abrasive on the ears to be frank. As with “Buried Secrets”, the album finishes with a pretty decent drone metal number too although this one sits quite a distance beneath the classic “The Toll” in terms of being a truly transcendental experience.

Both albums certainly contain their fair share of absolute rubbish. The difference between them is that “Buried Secrets” has a lot more meat on its bones & the crap on “Guts of a Virgin” tends to be… well… crappier. In fact, there are really only three songs that I enjoy here & I don’t think it’s any surprise to find them corresponding with the more traditional sounding pieces on the tracklisting because I’m simply not the guy for intentionally whacky music that offers more in the way of novelty value than it does from a musical standpoint. I really enjoyed Bill Laswell’s dubbier influence on a couple of tracks from “Buried Secrets” too but it’s nowhere to be found on “Guts of a Virgin”.

Perhaps I’m not the target audience for a record like this one but I have to ask… is there really one & are they actually music fans? Look… “Guts of a Virgin” is nowhere near as bad as I first thought it was but it’s a long way from an enjoyable listen either. In saying that, I get the distinct feeling that PainKiller’s third album “Execution Ground” might be the one to offer me the most appeal based purely on my past scores & its general genre-tagging which sees dark ambient & ambient dub playing a strong role at the expense of grindcore. Perhaps I should hook myself up with some of them apples shortly, huh?

Swedish metal stalwarts Taimat have gone through a number of musical transformations over the years & it depends on your musical taste & background as to which you prefer. Personally, I’ve always favoured Tiamat’s mid-90’s gothic releases with 1994’s “Wildhoney” being their clear pièce de résistance. Their 1997 fifth album “A Deeper Kind of Slumber” saw them moving away from metal altogether with most of that record favouring a progressive goth rock sound over the band’s more sinister roots but it was still a very strong release in its own right. Tiamat’s pre-“Wildhoney” albums tend to be a little more divisive though & not without justification either.

Tiamat’s 1990 debut album “Sumerian Cry” took more of a death metal direction which didn’t do much for me to be honest but its follow-up “The Astral Sleep” was a doomier affair that was where the band started to becoming interesting to me with 1992’s third album “Clouds” seeing Taimat moving even further down that rabbit hole. Ben & I owned “Clouds” on CD back in the day & I remember quite liking it but it wasn’t a release that I’ve returned to all that often which is likely more of a reflection on just how strong Tiamat’s next two albums would turn out to be than anything else. It’s been decades since I last investigated “Clouds” though so I was looking forward to refreshing my memory a bit this week.

Although “Clouds” is generally touted as being a doom/death release, I’ve never agreed with that sentiment. As a death metal musician myself, I can tell you that there’s bugger-all genuine death metal on the album. Even the vocals of rhythm guitarist Johan Edlund don’t come close to anything particularly deathly, instead taking the form of an awkward hybrid of clean & growly styles. There’s not much that resembles death metal in the instrumentation either other than some sporadic up-tempo parts that seem to have been haphazardly inserted into the tracklisting at random intervals, a feature that I regard as the clear weakness of “Clouds” as an album. Actually, I’d go so far as to say that the best moments on “Clouds” are when Tiamat completely leave their past behind & forge ahead with their newer influences which results in an attractive brand of gothic doom metal that offers a lot more crossover appeal than the band’s earlier works.

The production job & instrumental performances are very good for the time with the riffs possessing a thick, tight & completely unified tone that takes a great deal of influence from classic Celtic Frost. The lead guitar work of Thomas Petersson is of a high quality & shows him to not only possess some pretty reasonable chops but also to have a good ear for melody. Edlund’s vocals are the clear talking point for those that dislike “Clouds” though & it’s not hard to see why as he’s not the most talented front man you’ve ever heard but I find that I can accept him for what he is & get on with enjoying the album most of the time.

The eight-song tracklisting is pretty consistent with only the very ordinary “Smell of Incense” failing to maintain my interest. Doomy closer “Undressed” is the clear highlight for me personally as it possesses a wonderful atmosphere that engulfs the listener &, in doing so, has gone on to become a genuine classic from my teenage years. Opener “In A Dream” & the one-two punch of “A Caress of Stars” & “The Sleeping Beauty” are also very solid with only those annoying accelerated bursts I mentioned earlier managing to taint Tiamat’s good work. I really enjoy the use of keyboards which provide further melodic support for the heavy riffs & give the album a dreamy feel that would foresee the direction the band would take on their next record.

Much like “The Astral Sleep”, I find “Clouds” to be a generally entertaining listen but I can’t say that I feel like returning to it all that often. It certainly contains some pretty solid material to sift through for inclusion in your weekend playlist (particularly if you’re into bands like Paradise Lost, Katatonia & Lake of Tears) but it lacks enough genuine highlights to see it becoming a regular fixture when I feel like reaching for Tiamat as the next two albums simply feel superior. Now that I’m discussing all these old records though, it’s made me realise that I haven’t heard anything Tiamat have released since “A Deeper Kind of Slumber” so perhaps I should rectify that at some stage.