The Horde

Hey Ben, a couple of requests please:

Slimelord - death/doom from UK

Mortuary Spawn - UK

Vacuous - UK

This month's feature release for The Horde has been chosen by myself.  It is the sixth full length from New Zealand's Ulcerate, Shrines of Paralysis.

https://metal.academy/releases/2421

I am a big fan of everything these guys do and so thought I would give myself an early Xmas present by using my nomination wisely.

I have first pick, so I'll go for Dischordia's Triptych album. Don't know anything about it, but decent ratings for a Technical Dissonant Brutal death metal release.

Here are my submissions for the January playlist:

Edge of Sanity - "The Sinner & The Sadness" (from "Purgatory Afterglow", 1994)

Dying Fetus - "Killing On Adrenaline" (from "Killing On Adrenaline", 1998)

My Dying Bride - "God Is Alone" (from "Trinity", 1995)

Carcass - "Ruptured In Purulence" (from "Symphonies of Sickness", 1989)

December 2022

01. Chaotian – “Gangrene Dream” (from “Effigies of Obsolescence”, 2022)

02. Desultory - "Life Shatters" (from "Bitterness", 1994)

03. Heaving Earth – “Flesh-Ridden Providence” (from “Darkness of God”, 2022)

04. Amorphis – “Moon and Sun Part II: North's Son” (from “Black Winter Day” E.P., 1994)

05. wecamewithbrokenteeth – “Crack Heads Run Into Wallz” (from “We’re Packing Are You?”, 2006)

06. Blind Equation – “:reconnect:” (from “Life Is Pain”, 2021)

07. Merciless – “The Land I Used To Walk” (from “Unbound”, 1994)

08. Coffin Mulch – “Septic Funeral” (from “Septic Funeral” E.P., 2021) [Submitted by Vinny]

09. Ripped To Shreds – “Peregrination to the Unborn Eternal Mother” (from “劇變 (Jubian)”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

10. Cloud Rat – “12-22-09” (from “Threshold”, 2022)

11. Faceless Burial – “Dehiscent” (from “At the Foothills of Deliration”, 2022)

12. Necrot – “The Blade” (from “Blood Offerings”, 2017) [Submitted by Vinny]

13. Gigan – “Still Image Symphony” (from “The Order of the False Eye”, 2008)

14. Pharmacist – “Cadaveric Osseous Stalactite” (from “Forensic Pathology Jurisprudence”, 2020)

15. Phobophilic – “Nauseating Despair” (from “Enveloping Absurdity”, 2022)

16. Ulcerate – “There Is No Horizon” (from “Staring Into Death & Be Still”, 2020) [Submitted by Daniel]

17. Morbid Angel – “Thy Kingdom Come” (from “Blessed Are The Sick”, 1992) [Submitted by Vinny]

18. Triumvir Foul – “Presage” (from “Onslaught to Seraphim”, 2022)

19. Vacuous – “Voluntary Immurement” (from “Katabasis” E.P., 2020) [Submitted by Vinny]

20. Mortuous – “Carve” (from “Upon Desolation”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

21. Haggus – “Plastic Mince” (from “Straight From The Slaughterhaus”, 2020)

22. Sepsism – “Surgical Atrocity” (from “Purulent Decomposition”, 1998)

23. Deicide – “Revocate The Agitator” (from “Legion”, 1992) [Submitted by Daniel]

24. Misery Index – “Manufacturing Greed” (from “Overthrow” E.P., 2001)

25. Skinless – “Tampon Lollipops” (from “Progression Towards Evil”, 1998)

26. Phyllomedusa – “Postmortal Cophixalus (Choking on Super Worms)” (from “Molesting The Frog Eater”, 2010)

27. Vulvectomy – “Gangrenous Testicular Deformity” (from “Post-Abortion Slut-Fuck”, 2010)

28. Cryptopsy – “Carrionshine” (from “Once Was Not”, 2005) [Submitted by Daniel]

29. Abaddon Incarnate – “I Will Nail You In” (from “Nadir”, 2001)

30. Antigama – “Debt Pool” (from “Whiteout”, 2022)

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0R0a3qxSe1XkOMxBN6gkwi?si=c97439a4291545a2

Tracklisting:

01. Chaotian – “Gangrene Dream” (from “Effigies of Obsolescence”, 2022)

02. Desultory - "Life Shatters" (from "Bitterness", 1994)

03. Heaving Earth – “Flesh-Ridden Providence” (from “Darkness of God”, 2022)

04. Amorphis – “Moon and Sun Part II: North's Son” (from “Black Winter Day” E.P., 1994)

05. wecamewithbrokenteeth – “Crack Heads Run Into Wallz” (from “We’re Packing Are You?”, 2006)

06. Blind Equation – “:reconnect:” (from “Life Is Pain”, 2021)

07. Merciless – “The Land I Used To Walk” (from “Unbound”, 1994)

08. Coffin Mulch – “Septic Funeral” (from “Septic Funeral” E.P., 2021) [Submitted by Vinny]

09. Ripped To Shreds – “Peregrination to the Unborn Eternal Mother” (from “劇變 (Jubian)”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

10. Cloud Rat – “12-22-09” (from “Threshold”, 2022)

11. Faceless Burial – “Dehiscent” (from “At the Foothills of Deliration”, 2022)

12. Necrot – “The Blade” (from “Blood Offerings”, 2017) [Submitted by Vinny]

13. Gigan – “Still Image Symphony” (from “The Order of the False Eye”, 2008)

14. Pharmacist – “Cadaveric Osseous Stalactite” (from “Forensic Pathology Jurisprudence”, 2020)

15. Phobophilic – “Nauseating Despair” (from “Enveloping Absurdity”, 2022)

16. Ulcerate – “There Is No Horizon” (from “Staring Into Death & Be Still”, 2020) [Submitted by Daniel]

17. Morbid Angel – “Thy Kingdom Come” (from “Blessed Are The Sick”, 1992) [Submitted by Vinny]

18. Triumvir Foul – “Presage” (from “Onslaught to Seraphim”, 2022)

19. Vacuous – “Voluntary Immurement” (from “Katabasis” E.P., 2020) [Submitted by Vinny]

20. Mortuous – “Carve” (from “Upon Desolation”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

21. Haggus – “Plastic Mince” (from “Straight From The Slaughterhaus”, 2020)

22. Sepsism – “Surgical Atrocity” (from “Purulent Decomposition”, 1998)

23. Deicide – “Revocate The Agitator” (from “Legion”, 1992) [Submitted by Daniel]

24. Misery Index – “Manufacturing Greed” (from “Overthrow” E.P., 2001)

25. Skinless – “Tampon Lollipops” (from “Progression Towards Evil”, 1998)

26. Phyllomedusa – “Postmortal Cophixalus (Choking on Super Worms)” (from “Molesting The Frog Eater”, 2010)

27. Vulvectomy – “Gangrenous Testicular Deformity” (from “Post-Abortion Slut-Fuck”, 2010)

28. Cryptopsy – “Carrionshine” (from “Once Was Not”, 2005) [Submitted by Daniel]

29. Abaddon Incarnate – “I Will Nail You In” (from “Nadir”, 2001)

30. Antigama – “Debt Pool” (from “Whiteout”, 2022)

Here's my list for the year...

1. Inanna - Void of Unending Depths

2. Immolation - Acts of God

3. Artificial Brain - Artificial Brain

4. Ataraxy - The Last Mirror

5. Pharmacist - Flourishing Extremities on Unspoiled Mental Grounds

6. Hath - All That Was Promised

7. Cosmic Putrefaction - Crepuscular Dirge for the Blessed Ones

8. Allagaeon - Damnum

9. Aeviterne - The Ailing Facade

10. Schizophrenia - Recollections of the Insane

11. Shadow of Intent - Elegy

12. Esoctrilihum - Consecration of the Spiritüs Flesh

13. The Chasm - The Scars of a Lost Reflective Shadow

14. The Halo Effect - Days of the Lost

15. Undeath - It's Time... to Rise From the Grave

16. Imperial Triumphant - Spirit of Ecstasy

17. Needless - The Cosmic Cauldron

Acephalix - Theothanatology (2022)

Meat and potatoes death metal from the San Francisco horde.  Nothing to set the world on fire here and not a lot of difference from what has come previously in all honesty.  The riffs and vocals are quite predictable and they have in fact lost some of the darkness that they exuded on previous releases.  Still prefer the vocalist Dan's work in his other band, Vastum but there is nothing wrong with Theothanatology other than it just being very predictable.

3/5 

Carcass - "Symphonies of Sickness" (1989)

Carcass' classic sophomore release was hugely influential on my conversion from thrash-obsessed madman to death metal lunatic back at the time of release however I have to say that I've been shocked by just how far it's come down in my estimations in modern times. I think it was easy to overlook the faults when I didn't have a lot to compare it to but now that I have that knowledge I've struggled to see it in the same light. It's still unquestionably my favourite goregrind release & in hindsight the freshly introduced death metal component is significantly out-weighed by the goregrind one. Ken Owen's drumming is very loose & the production is absolutely filthy but that's kinda in line with the disgusting atmosphere & both are still significant improvements on their first-up effort. Jeez, Bill Steer couldn't have got himself a worse lead guitar sound though & I have to wonder if it was intentional as he didn't fair any better on the debut. The three-pronged vocal approach is undoubtedly a major differentiator but some of it sounds pretty try-hard to be honest. I find that the A side is much stronger than the B side with most of the highlights residing there but there aren't any weak tracks as such. They tend to range from pretty good to excellent but these days I find the pretty good stuff outweigh the higher quality material. The pure grind sections where Owens goes for relentless blast-beats are great & went a long way to defining an entire genre but I can no longer say that I regard this as the classic I always have. What a shame it is when you have your childhood illusions overwritten. It's depressing!

For fans of Exhumed, Impetigo & Pharmacist.

3.5/5

Dying Fetus - "Killing On Adrenaline" (1998)

Another Dying Fetus release that brings you exactly what you expect with eight brutal death metal tunes chock full of hardcore grooves & techy sweep-picked wankery. As usual I find it hard to fault but rarely fully connect with it. It's not a bad record but I'd probably reach for albums like "Reign Supreme", "Destroy The Opposition" or "Wrong One To Fuck With" before this one.

For fans of Aborted, Benighted & Suffocation.

3.5/5

Here's my review:

For someone that’s built such a long & passionate history with the death metal genre, I have to say that my relationship with Swedish melodic death metal outfit Edge of Sanity has never been anywhere near as strong as that of most of my extreme metal loving peers. I first became aware of them very early on in their recording career through their 1991 debut album “Nothing But Death Remains” & continued to be kept up to date as they continued on their musical journey via an Aussie tape trading colleague of mine who was utterly obsessed with the Swedish death metal phenomenon. Edge of Sanity’s 1996 fifth full-length “Crimson” (a forty minute single track progressive affair) would obviously become their pièce de resistance & I do have some time for that particular release but I still can’t say that I regard it as anything particularly special so I think it’s fair to say that Edge of Sanity’s true value has always managed to elude me, even though I’m across pretty much their entire back-catalogue to some extent. I was reminded of this fact a couple of weeks ago while contributing to a conversation with a couple of very enthusiastic fans on Twitter & that encounter got me wondering if it might be time to take another crack at Edge of Sanity’s highly regarded 1994 fourth album “Purgatory Afterglow” as it certainly seems to have grown in stature over the years & I can’t say that I’ve listened to much from the band in the last decade or so outside of “Crimson”. This month’s The Horde feature release seemed like a good way to open up some healthy discussion with listeners who will inevitably have differing opinions too so here we are.

The production job on “Purgatory Afterglow” is full & bright which gives the album every chance to impress the listener right from the offset. It’s interesting that Bathory mastermind Quorthon’s father Börje Forsberg is credited as the executive producer & it begs the question as to whether band leader Dan Swanö took any significant learnings away from his time with Börje given the long & illustrious production career that Dan's created for himself since. The sound of the album is quintessentially Swedish as it straddles the two major strands of death metal the country is known for with the melodic death metal sound of At The Gates & Hypocrisy being offset by glimpses of the classic Dismember/Entombed crunch. The use of clean vocals seems to draw influence from gothic rock legends Sisters of Mercy in their phrasing (although admittedly nowhere near as deep) while there are several rockier beats employed across the tracklisting. We even see the band tackling an alternative metalcore sound on closer “Song of Sirens”. Despite the attempts at creative variation, I’m not sure I hear too many signs of the progressive direction that Edge of Sanity would employ in the near future although I've admittedly been known to question how progressive a record like "Crimson" really is at times.

As with so many melodic death metal records, I unfortunately find myself struggling with the more melodically inclined & accessible material included here. I’m kinda used to this with the melodeath subgenre after all these years & it’s no surprise at all that I find the most popular tracks like “Twilight” & “Black Tears” to offer the least appeal while the songs that steer closer to the conventional death metal model (see “Of Darksome Origin” or album highlight “The Sinner & the Sadness”) got my ears pricking up the most. The better melodic moments offer hints at the quality of a record like Amorphis' classic "Tales From The Thousand Lakes" album from the same year but these glimmers of hope are sadly nowhere near as consistent as the Fins were able to achieve. The length of the album seems appropriate at 44 minutes & there’s definitely enough variety on offer to see the individual songs owning their own unique character but the whole thing just seems to feel a little bit short of the final product due to a lack of focus & perhaps the subsequent existence of “Crimson” has proven that statement to be true. It doesn’t explain the significant following that “Purgatory Afterglow” seems to enjoy these days though & I have to wonder whether that would be the case if “Crimson” had never eventuated. I suspect not but then this album was always going to see me being dragged from my musical comfort zone kicking & screaming so what would I know.

For fans of Hypocrisy, At The Gates & “Tales From The Thousand Lakes”-era Amorphis.

3/5

I've had to drop Gorguts' "From Wisdom To Hate" out of my Top Ten Technical Death Metal Releases of All Time after revisiting Ulcerate's "Stare Into Death & Be Still" this week:

01. 7 Horns 7 Eyes - "Throes Of Absolution" (2012)

02. Death - "Human" (1991)

03. Suffocation - "Despise The Sun" E.P. (1998)

04. Suffocation - "Pinnacle Of Bedlam" (2013)

05. Ulcerate - "Stare Into Dead & Be Still" (2020)

06. Death – “Individual Thought Patterns” (1993)

07. Gorguts – “Colored Sands” (2013)

08. Ulcerate – “Everything Is Fire” (2009)

09. Ad Nauseam - "Imperative Imperceptible Impulse" (2021)

10. Death – “Symbolic” (1995)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/148

Ulcerate - "Stare Into Death & Be Still" (2020)

New Zealand death metal trio Ulcerate have been somewhat of a mainstay at the top of my musical ladder since first discovering them through their classic sophomore album “Everything Is Fire” back in 2009. It may have taken me some time to fully come to grips with the dissonant arm of the death metal scene at the time as it still sounded fairly foreign to my old-school ears but once I’d become accustomed to the more textural sonic palate with which these artists draw from I quickly became engulfed in a journey of discovery that found me ultimately placing the niche subgenre up on one of my higher musical pedestals. Ulcerate haven’t released anything that wasn’t of a sublime quality since those initial impressions either which certainly hasn’t hurt. The more traditional brutal tech death of their 2004 “The Coming of Genocide” E.P. may not have been anything terribly flash & their 2007 debut album “Of Fracture & Failure” might well have been more of an interesting transitional release than a record to be particularly revered but ever since that time the band have been in devastating form & have destroyed a great many fragile minds in the process.

Dissonant death metal bands like Ulcerate will inevitably always be at a higher risk of sounding “samey” than bands from other genres. When you make extreme music that doesn’t conform to traditional theoretical structures or melodic sensibilities then it can often be hard to give the song-writing the unique elements required to differentiate themselves from one another. I have to admit that I’ve kinda been waiting for Ulcerate to fall over in that regard but they just never seem to even stumble. With their 2020 sixth full-length “Stare Into Death & Be Still” we find Ulcerate sticking to their tried-&-tested dissonant model but infusing it with enough melody to make it appear to be a complete contradiction of terms. The use of open strings & dissonant chords is undeniably still the root of the band’s evil however they’ve managed to make it sound almost beautiful at the same time which is really pretty remarkable. There’s plenty of variation in tempo with a number of exploratory & introspective post-sludge sections adding layers to the glorious atmosphere. In fact, the slower & more stripped back post-metal sections are inevitably my favourite parts of the album & are responsible for giving each inclusion in the tracklisting its own identity.

The production job on “Stare Into Death & Be Still” is nothing short of splendid with the layers of dissonant guitars sounding full & lush & the drums offering plenty of clarity, power & brightness. If I had to be critical, I’d suggest that the bass guitar could have been louder in the mix but I don’t think it detracts from the overall product. The composition & execution are simply stunning with the three musicians being given the freedom to take expansive & quite intricate excursions through some of the band’s most ambitious yet strangely accessible material.

The vocals of Paul Kelland are aggressive & powerful, perhaps more so than I remember them being which is a nice contrast to some of the more stripped back material. Sole guitarist Michael Hoggard must have some major challenges on his hands when it comes to live performance as I’m honestly not sure how he could pull off the many layers of dense guitar work that are presented here. I really love the interplay between the different guitar tracks actually & find them to possess an artistic flair that’s pretty rare in extreme metal. While it may be Hoggard who ensures that Ulcerate always maintain some level of accessibility while never losing an ounce of integrity, it’s drummer Jamie Saint Merat that steals the show in no uncertain terms as he’s quite simply unparalleled in skill & creativity. Sure, he can blast 99% of the opposition away with relative ease but it’s the more subdued moments which offer him the most room to move & his cymbal work during these more atmospheric sections is nothing short of astounding. What a drummer this guy is! I’m not sure we’ve seen better in metal music to tell you the truth.

“Stare Into Death & Be Still” is yet another wonderful example of modern death from one of the absolute elite exponents of the craft. It's undoubtedly Ulcerate’s most melodic album to date but its also their most creatively advanced too. I count myself as being a big fan of the dissonant death metal sound these days but I’m not sure I’ve hear a better example of it than this one right here & that includes Ulcerate's most highly celebrated releases like "Everything Is Fire".

For fans of Gorguts, Portal & Baring Teeth.

4.5/5

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0R0a3qxSe1XkOMxBN6gkwi?si=c97439a4291545a2

Tracklisting:

01. Deathsiege – “Throne Of Heresy” (from “Throne Of Heresy”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

02. At The Gates – “The Swarm” (from “Terminal Spirit Disease”, 1994)

03. Nocturnus – “Possess The Priest” (from “Nocturnus” E.P., 1993)

04. Brujeria – “Marijuana” (from “Marijuana” E.P., 1997)

05. Cynic – “Celestial Voyage” (from “Focus”, 1993) [Submitted by Daniel]

06. Genghis Tron – “Thing Don’t Look Good” (from “Board Up The House”, 2008)

07. An Abstract Illusion – “In The Heavens Above, You Will Become A Monster” (from “Woe”, 2022)

08. Autopsy – “Stab The Brain” (from “Morbidity Triumphant”, 2022)

09. Drumcorps – “Botch Up & Die” (from “Grist”, 2006)

10. Pharmacist – “Gardening On Human Soils” (from “Medical Renditions Of Grinding Decomposition”, 2020)

11. Demilich – “When The Sun Drank The Weight Of Water” (from “Nespithe”, 1993) [Submitted by Daniel]

12. Rotten Sound – “Dominion” (from “Under Pressure”, 1997)

13. Hypocrisy – “Reborn” (from “The Fourth Dimension”, 1994)

14. Rectal Smegma – “Hitler Only Had One Ball” (from “Keep On Smiling”, 2009)

15. Metrorrhagia – “Animalistic Defecation of Partially Digested Human Remains” (from “Metrorrhagia”, 2020)

16. Tribal Gaze – “And How They Wept For Eternity” (from “The Nine Choirs”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

17. Celestial Sanctuary – “Trapped Within The Rank Membrane” (from “Perilaxe Occlusion/Fumes/Celestial Sanctuary/Thorn” split E.P., 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

18. Portal – “Omnipotent Crawling Chaos” (from “Outre”, 2007)

19. Negativa – “Chaos In Motion” (from “Negativa” E.P., 2006)

20. Houkago Grind Time – “Bakyunsified (Moe To The Gore)“ (from “Bakyunsified (Moe To The Gore)”, 2020)

21. Mortuous – “Graveyard Rain” (from “Upon Desolation”, 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

22. Short Bus Pile Up – “Ball-Peen Beating” (from “Repulsive Display Of Human Upholstery”, 2010)

23. Brutal Truth – “Stench of Prophet” (from “Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses”, 1992) [Submitted by Daniel]

24. 1 Body 6 Graves – “Cleaved In Half” (from “1 Body 6 Graves” E.P., 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]

25. Dying Fetus – “Ideological Subjugation” (from “Wrong One To Fuck With”, 2017) [Submitted by Daniel]

26. Pathology – “Code Injection” (from “Legacy Of The Ancients”, 2010)

27. Mortician – “Zombie Apocalypse” (from “Zombie Apocalypse” E.P., 1998)

28. Deeds of Flesh – “Feeding Time” (from “Inbreeding The Anthropophagi”, 1998)

29. Extreme Noise Terror – “One Truth, One Hate” (from “Being & Nothing”, 2001)

30. Inhume – “Gargling Guts” (from “Decomposing From Inside”, 2000)

31. Nails – “No Surrender” (from “Abandon All Life”, 2013) [Submitted by Daniel]

32. Fluids – “Hounded” (from “Nunslaughter/Fluids” split E.P., 2022) [Submitted by Vinny]