The Horde
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Blood Incantation - Absolute Everywhere (2024)
Genres: Prog Death Metal
This is it, the conclusion of my Blood Incantation marathon. This is the album that gave me reason to check them out, and I finally have room for them on my albums log as my need to explore other genres made me late to this party. A death metal album taking influence from the 70's German rock and electronic scene? For a wacko like me, that's a dream to good to be true. But what with all the dick-sucking going around for this album, one can't help but wonder, does it live up to the legend, or is it overhyped?
Immediately the prog rock and prog electronic influences are used as key ingredients in the hyperactive death metal, but the album also makes a point of switching genres mid-song from death metal to prog rock two minutes into Stargate Pt. 1. I have to admit, while the instrumentation was beyond magnificent, rivaling the best aspects of their incredible debut, the sudden genre switch was a little jarring. I would've preferred a little more buildup and a little more death in the beginning. Was this a bad omen, or would I learn to accept that after hearing the rest of the album? Stargate Pt. 2 was an intriguing and powerful prog electronic track that recalled all the best aspects of Tangerine Dream and Vangelis while remaining a Blood Incantation song, proving that they've mastered the art of electronics after having struggled so much with it on their previous ambient EP, Timewave Zero. In the last two minutes, it carefully turns into a prog rock song with some beautiful Tullian flute. Even the last bit of death metal feels pretty naturally handled. Pt. 3 makes for some fantastic death metal in both technique and production. There's this middle section of acoustic guitars mimicking the worldbeat vibes of The Tea Party, but it doesn't last long enough, unfortunately. And some of the electronics that make the album so unique are present at the end, but not for long.
The next epic, the three part Message, begins with a more upbeat, melodic and almost alternative take on death metal, one that recalls the noisy but anthemic and somewhat aquatic atmospheres of Biomech. But after 50 seconds, they switch back to the same old death metal. Thankfully, the extremities are met at a capacity I have only ever dreamed about! They go back to the original format after another 50 seconds or so, which is an interesting take and makes me glad there's more of that new sound involved. But once again, the standard but impressive death metal sound overtakes the balance. I mean, they're playing some excellent riffs that make me wanna rip my shirt off and fly into the sun with a bottle of whiskey, but shouldn't they take the time to really expand on the new tricks? Part 2 goes right into the prog rock, pulled right out of the 70's British scene with surprisingly authentic melodies that blend with the death sound on occasion. It even has vocals that sound way too much like Roger Waters. But if they could do that all along, then they SHOULD'VE used them a little more in previous tracks to expand on the various tricks they were trying to play. Still, this one revived both the Pink Floyd prog and the more conventional kind of prog in one go while maintaining the atmospheric strengths of previous Blood Incantation albums.
And then... Part 3 took me by 100% surprise by introducing itself with a power metal riff of all things. It has a tendency to switch things around though, as, once again, the power metal was not lived up to. But it DID do an excellent job of maintaining many of the past sounds and tricks at a reasonable balance beyond that while delivering on of their best epics since Vitrification. This one is easily the most epic-feeling song on the album, recalling the whole spirit of the band and its improved sense of effects and reverberations, as well as Faulk's wonderful drumming. This song is also an excellent example of how our two guitarists have impeccable synchronization. All is a relatively perfect harmony until in fades into aquatic sound effects, bringing our epic to a close.
This also closes my epic adventure in the Blood Incantation catalog. What with this genre-tagging including space rock and Berlin school, I was stunned that a death metal album was finally attempting these things. It's been 30 years since Emperor put synths in black metal, so an album like this is way late. However, was it perfect? While I admire a band for trying to reinvent the genre, there were some areas where the unique tricks and extra genre choices needed a little more balance. If they fix that on the next album, you may end up having the greatest death metal album in the world.
97
Brutal Truth - "Need to Control" (1994) (
I picked up the 1992 "Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses" debut album from this popular New York deathgrind outfit upon release & really got into its superbly brutal & relentlessly savage attack on the senses so when I heard that Brutal Truth had released a follow-up I was straight down to the local record store to pick myself up a copy. "Need to Control" saw the four-piece act changing the ratio of death metal to grindcore a little bit with the death metal backed off a touch & the grindcore playing a stronger role. There's also a little more experimentation & variation than we heard on the debut with the slower, sludgier material being the strongest inclusions on the album. Guitarist Brent McCarty & bassist Dan Lilker (Anthrax/Exit-13/Holy Moses/Nuclear Assault/S.O.D./The Ravenous/Venomous Concept) combine beautifully with the riffs sounding tight & thick, buoyed by a very strong production job from Colin Richardson. The contribution of front man Kevin Sharp (Lock Up/Venomous Concept/Damaged/Winter) is outstanding too, particularly his more gutteral death metal moments. Incredible fast drummer Scott Lewis (Exit-13/Winter) had left the band after Brutal Truth's first record due to a reluctance to tour &, while his replacement Richard Hoak does an excellent job with the more hardcore based beats, his ability to play blast beats is extremely poor with each blast section sounding like a typewriter being thrown down a hill & it's this flaw that limits the success of "Need to Control" more than any other. He simply can't keep his kick drum in time with his arms which is further highlighted by the clickiness of the drum sound! Still... the consistency of the material is very good with no weak tracks included. Perhaps there aren't as many obvious classics as there were on "Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses" & I have to admit that the stronger death metal component of their first outing was always gonna be a little more appealing to me personally but I don't think that "Need to Control" is all that far behind its elder sibling these days, perhaps due to my having developed a much stronger taste for hardcore over the many years since. Both records should be essential listening for fans of the deathgrind hybrid & are all that needs exploring as far as Brutal Truth's back catalogue goes.
For fans of Napalm Death, Terrorizer & Pig Destroyer.
4/5
Here's my updated Top Ten Deathgrind Releases of All Time list:
01. Napalm Death - "Utopia Banished" (1992)
02. Cattle Decapitation - "Monolith of Inhumanity" (2012)
03. Brutal Truth - "Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses" (1992)
04. Full of Hell - "Weeping Choirs" (2019)
05. Brutal Truth - "Need to Control" (1994)
06. Exhumed - "Dissecting the Caseated Omentum" demo (1992)
07. Lock Up - "Necropolis Transparent" (2011)
08. Cephalic Carnage - "Misled by Certainty" (2010)
09. Damaged - "Passive Backseat Demon Engines" E.P. (1995)
10. Napalm Death - "Harmony Corruption" (1990)
https://metal.academy/lists/single/223
How's it going, fellas, as it is my turn to nominate the featured release for The Horde, I've decided to select the 1993 E.P. from Colombian death metallers Masacre, "Barbarie y sangre en memoria de Cristo". Lately, I've been spending a shit-ton of time with the Medellin legends' discography to cure myself of the burnout I've experienced after spending a big chunk of 2024 challenging myself to explore mostly new music (something very out of character for me). 'Twas a nice challenge and I cannot say I haven't found some gems along the way, but on the risk of weakening the fire of my metal passion I had to retreat to the comforting sounds of my beloved late 80's-early noughties era, although one thing that stood out to me while digging through the '24 stuff was the relative strength of the Latin American releases, which made me hungry to explore more of the earlier music from the continent.
I've selected this particular E.P. as I think it's a great entry point into the Colombians' catalogue, striking a nice balance between the untamed rawness of their 1991 debut LP, "Requiem" (my absolute favourite from them), and the more polished death metal sound of 1996's "Sacro". If you are interested, I recommend you seek out one of the re-release versions containing bonus live tracks - the sound quality is surprisingly good, and it's an opportunity to experience even more of Alex "Trapeator" Oquendo's absolutely demonic vocals, which are a big highlight for me personally. Let me know what you think & happy listening!
https://metal.academy/releases/11981
Amorphis - "Black Winter Day" E.P. (1994)
A four-song E.P. that was released four months after the Fins' highly celebrated 1994 sophomore album "Tales from the Thousand Lakes" & was clearly taken from the same sessions. The title track was one of the highlights from the album & is the clear standout here two with the other three previously unreleased pieces all playing more of a supporting role. I quite like the short "Folk of the North" as well as the doomy "Moon & Sun". Closer "Moon & Sun Part II: North's Son" doesn't do a lot for me though as it errs a little too far over towards the melodic side of Amorphis' sound. There's a fair bit of doom/death here as was the case with a lot of their early material & it's those parts that make for the more compelling material. If you're into the full-length then you'll probably want to give this release a couple of listens too as they kinda go hand in hand.
For fans of Barren Earth, Paradise Lost & Sentenced.
3.5/5
Phlebotomized - "Immense Intense Suspense" (1994)
I picked this unusual Dutch debut full-length up through the tape trading scene after hearing the outstanding album highlight "Dubbed Forswearer" on a compilation record back in the mid-1990's & found it to be pretty decent. Phlebotomized were a seven-piece band that championed a symphonic death metal sound complete with full-time keyboardist & violinist. They sound very much like a more up-tempo version of My Dying Bride here so I'd imagine that the Englishmen were a major influence. The production isn't amazing & neither is the majority of the song-writing but Phlebotomized have enough about them to keep me well & truly interested. Ben fucking loves this release so perhaps they'll offer more appeal to some of our more open-minded members of The Horde. Boy, that cover art is crap though, isn't it?
For fans of My Dying Bride, Pan.Thy.Monium & Disharmonic Orchestra.
3.5/5
Sarmat - "Upgrade" E.P. [New York avant-garde/technical death metal]
So with the start of a new year it's once again time to have a look at the covers for all the releases for each clan. I personally like to rate a whole stack of covers all at once, rather than doing them one at a time throughout the year, as it allows me to get a better feel for where each cover sits in comparison to others. With that in mind, I've just rated every cover for releases in The Horde for 2024.
Below are some of the releases that are currently competing for the prestigious 2024 The Horde Cover of the Year Award. The winner will be announced on the 1st of February, so there's still time to get your ratings in.
The following link will take you to the Gallery, displaying the top Horde releases that you have not rated yet: CLICK HERE
