The Death Metal Thread
Asphyx - "Last One On Earth" (1992)
The sophomore album from this legendary Dutch death metal outfit is often spoken of alongside the true greats of the genre but I've never been onboard with "Last One On Earth" being heaped with that sort of praise. It's simply not sophisticated or extreme enough for that in my opinion. Don't get me wrong. I certainly enjoy it but I've never thought it was anything particularly special or worth returning to all that regularly. Essentially we've got a pretty basic old-school death metal back-bone combined with some slower doom material, a few up-tempo punk beats & a raspy & slightly psychotic sounding front man in Martin van Drunen. It's all pretty effective with no weak tracks included as such but I never find myself considering classic status.
Asphyx were always best served by their slower material & that's definitely the case here with several sections being truely crushing. I think Martin's vocals work better over the slow stuff as they add to the anguished atmosphere. Their more up-tempo moments tend to cross over with the punky drumming though & I don't find it to be anywhere near as effective. At the end of the day "Last One On Earth" is a meat-&-potatoes death metal record that probably should have been lost to the annuls of time as far as I can see however it tends to evoke greater reactions from the underground scene than I'm able to muster.
For fans of Autopsy, Cianide & Grand Supreme Blood Court.
3.5/5
Dragged Into Sunlight - "Hatred For Mankind" (2009)
OK, so this is a fucking awe-inspiring masterpiece of extremity right here. I'd dare say that I'm probably the only member that will think so though as it sits in an ultra-abrasive realm that's rarely touched upon. I already rated it extremely highly back at the time of release however this revisit has seen me elevating it into a space that only the death metal gods dare wander. You honestly won't find a more extreme record than this. It's completely over the top! The production has been tailor made to make it as noisy as possible too with the crash cymbals searing themselves into your cranium. I've never heard anything quite like "Hatred For Mankind" in all honesty. I'd describe it as blasting deathgrind crossed with the most abrasive sludge metal & an insane pig-squealing vocalist ranting about serial-killers. The intensity is almost unbearable at times & the long track lengths only work to prolong the highlights as there's never a dull moment with another serving of fucked-up brutality being only seconds away at any point across the tracklisting. It's an utterly superb record that's made me rethink my top five death metal records of all time this afternoon.
For fans of Lord Mantis, Coffinworm & Autokrator.
5/5
So I decided to put together my top ten conventional death metal records of all time this week. Here's the outcome:
01. Morbid Angel – “Altars Of Madness” (1989)
02. Death - "Human" (1991)
03. Immolation – “Close To A World Below” (2000)
04. Dragged Into Sunlight – “Hatred For Mankind” (2009)
05. Carcass – “Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious” (1991)
06. Obituary – “Cause Of Death” (1990)
07. Dead Congregation – “Promulgation Of The Fall” (2014)
08. Morbid Angel – “Blessed Are The Sick” (1991)
09. Deicide – “Deicide” (1990)
10. Hate – “Erebos” (2010)
https://metal.academy/lists/single/143
What's yours?
OK, not my area of expertise this one but for what it's worth here's mine:
1. Incantation - Diabolical Conquest (1998)
2. Entombed - Left Hand Path (1990)
3. Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness (1989)
4. Baphomet - Dead Shall Inherit (1992)
5. Dead Congregation - Promulgation of the Fall (2014)
6. Disma - Towards the Megalith (2011)
7. Bolt Thrower - The IVth Crusade (1992)
8. Incantation - Mortal Throne of Nazarene (1994)
9 Benediction - Transcend the Rubicon (1993)
10. Tomb Mold - Planetary Clairvoyance (2019)
Cannibal Corpse - "Tomb Of The Mutilated" (1992)
This was such a huge record in my life at the time but I'm afraid it hasn't aged as well as I'd hoped so I've been forced to relegate it back to being simply a very strong & entertaining death metal album rather than the genuine classic I've always thought it to be. "Tomb Of The Mutilated" definitely relies pretty heavily on pure shock factor to draw it's audience in but it's influence on the more brutal end of death metal can't be denied. I guess it's just that the flaws are far more evident now that I've heard ten thousand records that rival it in the extremity stakes. Chris Barnes' super-deep vocals may have set new levels of gutteral brutality however he struggled noticeably with his phrasing. Paul Mazurkiewicz really only had three beats which he alternates throughout the album with very few interesting fills while his bouncier thrash moments detract from the atmosphere a little at times. The tracklisting is very top heavy with the two genuine CC classics opening the album in "Hammer Smashed Face" & "I Cum Blood". It's the half-time sections that show where Cannibal Corpse's real strength lies though & there are some absolute belter riffs going on within the bridge sections of most songs & the song-writing is generally always really catchy. I never thought I'd say this but I'm now finding that I give "Butchered At Birth" a slight edge over "Tomb Of the Mutilated" in what was historically a pretty convincing win to the younger challenger.
For fans of Deicide, Cannabis Corpse & Monstrosity.
4/5
Dead Congregation - "Graves Of The Archangels" (2008)
The debut full-length from this Greek death metal band is a dark, swampy mass of deathly decay that reminds me heavily of Incantation meets "Covenant"-era Morbid Angel. The light-speed blast-beats are beautifully executed & are a real highlight while the vocals come from the deepest bowels of hell where they've been meticulously trained by the likes of Incantation & Immolation. This shit is right up my alley but isn't a patch on Dead Congregation's 2014 follow-up "Promulgation Of The Fall" which is utter death metal perfection. Still... "Graves Of The Archangels" won't disappoint a single fan of your darker brand of death metal.
For fans of Incantation, Immolation & Cruciamentum.
4/5
Infester - "To The Depths, In Degradation" (1994)
I became aware of Seattle-based death metal outfit Infester (a side project for super-offensive goregrind band Meat Shits) very early on in their recording career after receiving their 1992 "Darkness Unveiled" demo through the tape trading scene. It didn't do a lot for me to be honest however the underground buzz around their 1994 debut album "To The Depths, In Degradation" saw me giving them a second chance shortly after release. Honestly, I couldn't see what all the fuss was about then & I still can't today as this album simply sounds like a thousand other also-rans that were out there in the death metal scene at the time. If I had to describe Infester's sound I'd suggest that they take the grimey graveyard/serial killer aesthetic of Autopsy, combine it will the brutality of early Suffocation & then throw in some of the atmospherics of Finnish bands like Demilich only the result isn't nearly as exciting as it sounds. An awful production job is probably my biggest concern with the fuzzy guitars being much too far back in the mix to allow them to be effective. Jason O's monstrous & unintelligible vocals are probably the highlight for most fans though as they have a lot of similarities to the early works of Suffocation's Frank Mullen only they don't sit nearly as well over the instrumentation. The level of the musicianship & execution is generally pretty poor too. On the positive side though, Infester have the most success when they focus on their more atmospheric side which is often accompanied by their doomier riffage. When they get more technical they're a bit too messy to pull it off. I guess I just like the idea of Infester far more than the reality & are surprised that this record has become a cult classic over time.
3/5
Behemoth - "The Satanist" (2014)
I gave the eleventh album from Polish extreme metal superstars Behemoth a revisit over the last couple of days & found that it's held up well. "The Satanist" was generally regarded as a serious player by most of its target audience at the time & with good reason too as it's arguably the band's best record. I do have to question it's credentials as a genuine classic though as I don't think it's anything above a very solid outing that highlights all of the things that make Behemoth one of the more popular death metal artists on the planet. But there's more to "The Satanist" than just death metal as you can comfortably hear the band's black metal roots throughout the tracklisting, especially the Bathory worship that borders on being a tribute on tracks like "O Father O Satan O Sun!" which borrows from Quorthon's classic "Under The Runes" more obviously than front man Nergal would like to admit. The blackened death metal tag is more than appropriate for the task here in my opinion.
So why aren't I onboard with the feelings of Behemoth's fan boys out there then? Well there's a few reasons. Firstly, I don't think there are enough genuine classics on offer here. The exciting "Furor divinus" is my clear favourite but I'm not sure any of the other inclusions manage to breach the top echelon of extreme metal anthems. I also find that one of the more popular tracks on the album "Ora pro nobis Lucifer" offers me very little in the way of appeal while the title track isn't all that it's cracked up to be either, despite taking off & recovering things in the back end. When Behemoth are at their best it's when drummer Inferno is blasting away at full throttle & his performance here is nothing short of devastating, particularly his precision blast beats & double kick work. Morbid Angel has clearly been a major influence here with similar riff structures being employed quite often. But when the band start to lose momentum is when they consciously keep things simpler & more accessible, at which time they can sometimes sound a little flat & generic. Despite this though, it's hard to deny that "The Satanist" is a high quality example of the blackened death metal sound. It's just not the game-changer that it's so regularly reported to be.
4/5
Cannibal Corpse - "Bloodthirst" (1999)
I thought the quality dropped a touch with 1998's "Gallery of Suicide" album which was mildly entertaining but a step down from the previous four Cannibal Corpse albums. They stepped things back up with their 1999 seventh full-length though & I still find it to be another professionally produced example of the modern death metal sound. It's not quite as consistent as the band's early 90's material but it's solid enough to draw similar ratings from me. It kinda defines the George Fisher-era sound in my opinion with a touch more technicality than you'll find on some of their albums. Paul Mazurkiewicz' drumming is always a bit of a limiter for me as he really does only have three beats & his blast beats sound particularly repetitive given that he doesn't add any sort of variation. You know full well what to expect from George's vocals these days & he delivers on those expectations in fine style. He's very much the postman of death metal front men. Yes, if you've already got three Cannibal Corpse albums then you've unquestionably heard this all before but I can't deny how much I enjoy this style of precise & aggressive US death metal.
4/5
My updated Top Ten Conventional Death Metal Releases of All Time list sees Hate's "Erebos" succumbing to The Amenta's "Flesh Is Heir":
01. Morbid Angel – “Altars Of Madness” (1989)
02. Death - "Human" (1991)
03. Immolation – “Close To A World Below” (2000)
04. Dragged Into Sunlight – “Hatred For Mankind” (2009)
05. Carcass – “Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious” (1991)
06. Obituary – “Cause Of Death” (1990)
07. Dead Congregation – “Promulgation Of The Fall” (2014)
08. Morbid Angel – “Blessed Are The Sick” (1991)
09. Deicide – “Deicide” (1990)
10. The Amenta - "Flesh Is Heir" (2013)
https://metal.academy/lists/single/143
Sadistic Intent - "Ancient Black Earth" E.P. (1997)
As most diehard extreme metal fans will know, there’s a rare & highly desirable brand of metal that is destined to forever bubble away beneath the service of the underground scene, leaving its blackened mark on only a chosen few who share knowing nods in dark, smoky dungeons of metal worship without ever daring to give up their unholy secret to those deemed to be unworthy. This particular brand of metal isn’t about glossy production jobs, technical prowess or pushing genres into previously untraversed territories. It’s about presenting extreme metal in it’s most evil & primal form & generally resides within the confines of the unholy trio of extreme metal subgenres i.e. thrash metal, death & black metal. The exact ratio of an artist’s composition isn’t important but it dare not step outside of those three. Additionally, there needs to be an element of mystery about the artist in question with much left to the listener’s imagination. It also helps a lot if these artists have never released an album but existed for just a relatively short time, releasing only a few crude demos, 7 inches or limited edition EPs so that the audience can always be left wondering what could have been & if the most pure realization of metal should stay in the underground forever. Sadistic Intent is one of these acts & I love them all the more for it.
I first discovered this underground Los Angeles death metal outfit back in the early 1990’s through the tape trading scene. From memory I found their 1990 “Impending Doom…” E.P. to be pretty interesting but it wouldn’t be until their 1994 “Resurrection” E.P. that they’d really get me raising an eyebrow or two with their talent for creating raw, dark & authentic old school death metal falling right in line with my musical preference at the time. I followed them onwards in the hope that I’d eventually see a full-length album being released at some stage. I’m glad I didn’t hold my breath because that’s still yet to eventuate but they did manage to release another excellent E.P. before drifting out of my sight in 1997’s highly regarded three-track effort “Ancient Black Earth”.
To cut to the chase, Sadistic Intent are a pure death metal band in the traditional sense of the term. They don’t provide a good imitation of late 80’s death metal here. "Ancient Black Earth" IS late 80’s death metal. It’s just that it was written, recorded & released in 1997. See what I’m getting at? These dudes simply get it. They understand what’s required to create a genuine old-school death metal atmosphere as they’ve clearly lived it. This sort of approach has become somewhat of a trend over the last decade or so & has seen lesser bands elevated to much higher levels of acclaim & fandom than Sadistic Intent can ever hope to achieve. They really are their own worst enemies as not releasing a full-length is never a great marketing ploy but one gets the feeling that they don't really care. The quality of their material however is very hard to deny.
It won’t take you long to figure out who Sadistic Intent were listening to around 1989. I’ll give you a hint. They start with “M” & end with “orbid Angel”. Ya with me? The short 16 minute duration of the “Ancient Black Earth” E.P. sounds almost exactly like “Altars Of Madness” & “Blessed Are The Sick” at times which certainly can’t be a bad thing now, can it? Are they as good as Trey & co? Well… in a word no but then who is? I mean “Altars Of Madness” is the still the greatest death metal release of all time in my opinion so I’ll take whatever I can get. Very few artists have been able to accurately replicate the riff structures that Trey Azagthoth created back in Morbid Angel's hey day but Rick Cortez & Vince Cervera make a really good fist of it here & even do a pretty decent job at the insanely chaotic guitar solos too even though they’re not in the same league as far as technical ability goes. The blast beats at the start & end of the title track (my personal fave) sound like they’ve been torn straight from Morbid Angel’s “Blasphemy” & I frankly lose my shit when that happens. Then you toss in some super-evil yet easily intelligible Dave Vincent-style death growls of pure darkness & I’m 100% in… hook, line & sinker. There are also a few riffs tossed in that remind me more of the early 90’s Swedish death metal sound but they’re very well done & still manage to maintain a blasphemous & undeniably evil atmosphere.
If you’re a fan of 80’s & early 90’s death metal then you probably owe it to yourself to give this E.P. a spin or four. “Ancient Black Earth” provides categorical proof that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel to make high quality extreme metal. Sadistic Intent deliver on their promise with passion, substance & an unquestionable pedigree & in doing so prove themselves worthy of standing alongside their idols. This is underground death metal of a very high quality.
For fans of Morbid Angel, Repugnant & Mortem.
4/5
The Chasm - "Deathcult For Eternity: The Triumph" (1998)
Admittedly I didn't get to this underground cult classic until just over a decade after its release but I have to say that it was a disappointing experience at the time & it still is today. The musicianship on display is pretty dismal & the vocals can be laughable at times. Of course the sheer quantity of riffs crammed into each track is a part of the attraction for fans but I can't seem to get past the poor execution to be honest. Also, how in the hell does anyone not hear this record for what it really is i.e. a melodic black metal record? There's a bit of melodeath about a few of the songs but this is far more Dissection than it is Morbid Angel with a consistently strong focus on melody & atmosphere. Of course, my favourite song on the tracklisting is the LEAST popular one (i.e. "No Mercy (Our Time Is Near)") & the one that I have the most trouble with is the MOST popular (see "In Superior Torment...") but that's kinda par for the course with me these days. It really hasn't helped that all of the weakest material is lumped into the back end of the album either. I generally think The Chasm are overrated but records like "Procession to the Infraworld" (4/5) & "The Spell Of Retribution" (3.5/5) have more than enough quality to keep me interested. This one? Not so much.
3/5
Obituary - "Cause Of Death" (1990)
Back in the day this record definitely would have received an instant 5 stars from me as it was simply that influential on me at a very young & impressionable age when I was just freshly converted to the wonders of death metal. These days I can see it through an unbiased lens & it's definitely not without it's faults but it was certainly a revelation at the time & the highlights are truly gargantuan. John Tardy's monstrous vocal performance is arguably the best in all of death metal in my opinion. He's certainly the most unique vocalist the scene has ever produced as there's no one that comes close to touching the sheer ferocity of his talent. The recruitment of hired gun shredder James Murphy was a master stroke too as his highly melodic & technically dazzling contribution really does take this record to another level from anything the band would have been able to produce previously. The trademark Obituary rearranged-5th chords have never sounded so good while the cover artwork is my personal favourite of all time & goes a long way to maximizing my passion. The weaknesses of the album are the faster sections where the rhythm section draw upon "Leprosy"-era Death for inspiration as those parts tend to sound a little tame in comparison to the ridiculously heavy & doomy slow sections which are Obituary's real forte if you ask me. It's often a matter of less is more with Obituary as their controlled restraint is possibly their biggest strength & that's not something you can say about too many extreme metal acts. The song structures sound pretty loose & pieced together at times but thankfully every track includes at least one or two monlithic riffs of pure death to draw you in & Obituary understood how to create that authentic graveyard atmosphere as well as any death metal band that's ever picked up an instrument.
Looking back it's not difficult to see why "Cause Of Death" not only set a new standard for the band but also took them to the top of the Florida tree with Morbid Angel. The album reeks of underground credibility but it also manages to stay accessible enough to draw in a sizeable fanbase. I can't say that I regard it as highly as I did when I was a kid but it's clearly Obituary's finest work & stands as a key piece of death metal's historical puzzle. Even the cover version of Celtic Frost's "Circle Of The Tyrants" is a strong inclusion & represents one of the rare occasions when I actually think the cover may eclipse the original. The huge influence of Frost on Obituary's signature sound certainly helped in that regard as it doesn't sound anywhere near as out of place as many extreme metal cover versions do. When I look back on my youth in years to come I doubt my brain will ever forget to attach a soundtrack that includes belters like "Infected" or "Memories Remain" to the images in my head & this last 24 hours has seen me relishing the chance to regain an awareness of a time that I regard as one of the best of my entire life, purely through the sounds that played such a huge role in it.
For fans of Autopsy, Jungle Rot & Asphyx.
4.5/5
My updated Top Ten Conventional Death Metal Releases of All Time list sees Obituary's "Cause Of Death" dropping out while Morbid Angel's "Covenant" makes a long-awaited return:
01. Morbid Angel – “Altars Of Madness” (1989)
02. Death - "Human" (1991)
03. Immolation – “Close To A World Below” (2000)
04. Dragged Into Sunlight – “Hatred For Mankind” (2009)
05. Carcass – “Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious” (1991)
06. Dead Congregation – “Promulgation Of The Fall” (2014)
07. Morbid Angel – “Blessed Are The Sick” (1991)
08. Deicide – “Deicide” (1990)
09. The Amenta - "Flesh Is Heir" (2013)
10. Morbid Angel - "Covenant" (1993)
https://metal.academy/lists/single/143
Marduk - "Dark Endless" (1992)
I've never been the biggest fan of Swedish black metallers Marduk's 1992 debut album & this weekend's revisit hasn't seen that position changing much. "Dark Eternal" doesn't have much to do with black metal to be honest. The band were still experimenting with the classic down-tuned Swedish death metal sound at the time & there are only a couple of sections that see the black metal genre being represented. I think some fans use Andreas Axelsson's screamy (& not especially effective) vocal style alone to make the link to black metal shriek but it's not all that different from At The Gates' front man Tomas Lindberg's approach & there's a lot more to black metal than that. There's actually significantly more doom metal on "Dark Endless" than there is black metal & the doom parts are really the best parts of the album in my opinion. The more conventional death metal material isn't all that special to tell you the truth & 1993's defection to black metal for their sophomore album "Those of the Unlight" was most welcome for me personally.
For fans of early Darkthrone, At The Gates & Absu.
3/5
Marduk - "Dark Endless" (1992)
I've never been the biggest fan of Swedish black metallers Marduk's 1992 debut album & this weekend's revisit hasn't seen that position changing much. "Dark Eternal" doesn't have much to do with black metal to be honest. The band were still experimenting with the classic down-tuned Swedish death metal sound at the time & there are only a couple of sections that see the black metal genre being represented. I think some fans use Andreas Axelsson's screamy (& not especially effective) vocal style alone to make the link to black metal shriek but it's not all that different from At The Gates' front man Tomas Lindberg's approach & there's a lot more to black metal than that. There's actually significantly more doom metal on "Dark Endless" than there is black metal & the doom parts are really the best parts of the album in my opinion. The more conventional death metal material isn't all that special to tell you the truth & 1993's defection to black metal for their sophomore album "Those of the Unlight" was most welcome for me personally.
For fans of early Darkthrone, At The Gates & Absu.
3/5
Despite being a fan of Marduk in general, I was never much for their debut either. I own it on CD but very rarely play it. I also agree that it is principally a death metal release with little to no black metal present.
The Chasm - "Conjuration of the Spectral Empire" (2003)
Once again I find myself significantly underwhelmed by a revisit to a supposedly classic album from Mexican death metallers The Chasm. I haven't heard this one since 2009 & I can see why now. As is usually the case with The Chasm, people find it very hard to pigeon hole them into any obvious subgenre but I find it very strange that the melodic death metal tag isn't dished out far more often because this record comfortably fits into that category. Much like its follow-up "The Spell Of Retribution" though there's a noticeable black metal component to this material, particularly in the arpeggiated riff style. In fact, I once again see myself wanting to call this blackened melodeath which is probably why I struggle with it more than most extreme metal fans. As usual, The Chasm smash as many melodic riffs as possible into every song, rarely giving them much time to breathe. There's inevitably some gold in there somewhere but no sooner than you've discovered it you'll find it disappearing again never to return. Also, there are many people who rave about the musicianship on The Chasm albums but the truth is that their performances are generally always pretty sloppy. It's like their technique has never caught up with their ambition & the dodgy production doesn't help either. In saying that, I do enjoy a good half of the tracklisting so it's not all doom & gloom. The lengthy & fairly flat instrumentals placed at either end of the album don't do it any favours though.
For fans of Cenotaph, Shub Niggurath & Adramelech.
3/5
Bölzer - "Aura" E.P. (2013)
A 23 minute, three track beast of an E.P. from this Swiss duo. I really dug this record at the time of release & it's still ticking my boxes today with it's thick & murky brand of death metal.
For fans of Grave Miasma, Malthusian & Lantern.
4/5
Deicide - "Legion" (1992)
The 1990 self-titled debut album from notorious Florida death metallers Deicide came into my life at a time when I had only recently become infatuated with the genre so it enjoyed the perfect conditions to maximize its impact on my life & I think it’s fair to say that it couldn’t have been more influential on this young metalhead. I’d certainly never heard anything so evil before but despite the utter blasphemy & devastating brutality of the music, the song-writing was some of the catchiest you’ll find in death metal which gave “Deicide” the endurance to still reside in my top ten for the genre today. So by the time the follow-up album was released in 1992 I was absolutely chomping at the bit to throw myself into it. “Legion” certainly had a hard act to follow but I was very confident that it would deliver & there's no doubt that it did to an extent.
It’s probably been over a decade since I last revisited “Legion” but I listened to it enough in my teenage years to know very well what to expect. I’ve traditionally always regarded it as a classic death metal record but have never placed it alongside the debut at the very pinnacle of the genre. This revisit was something I’d planned for some time with the intention of being able to more accurately place “Legion” within the myriad of early 90’s classics & I had a little inkling that it might not be as good as I’d once thought. I knew it’d be full-on & confronting but would it be complete enough to play with the Morbid Angels of the world? Let’s see, shall we?
The first thing I noticed upon digging my teeth into “Legion” was the messy production which is a little surprising given the involvement of Scott Burns behind the mixing desk. The rhythm guitar tone is pretty noisy which makes the whole album seem a little more chaotic than it might otherwise have appeared & this is amplified by the exhilarating opening track “Satan Spawn, The Caco-Daemon” which is completely off the hook from a structural point of view. Each song possesses a number of drastic tempo-changes with chuggy mid-paced riffage giving way to blast-beat driven annihilation & returning again quite often. The riff structures are much more technical than the debut which seems to have been a conscious decision but I’m not sure that Deicide were quite up to the task just yet as there are number of sections across the tracklisting that find the song structures falling apart. Drummer Steve Asheim is the main culprit here & (despite the fact the Steve was held up on a pedestal by most of the extreme metal scene at the time) he struggles a bit for control across the whole duration of the album. He’s certainly not helped by the production but I tend to think that he’d pushed himself a little farther than his capabilities could support at the time with some of this material.
On the positive side though, the enraged vocals of head Satanist Glen Benton sound positively demonic on “Legion” as he leads his band to Hell & back multiple times during the short 29 minute run time. The screamed backing vocals aren’t as effective but are helped by the intelligent use of delay for some cool effects at key moments. The rhythm guitar work is actually very solid & there are some ripper death metal riffs on offer with Deicide's real strength being in the mid-paced chuggers which sound genuinely evil. The highlight of the album for me though is the controlled chaos that is the lead guitar work. I’ve always loved the lead tone these boys achieved on the early Deicide albums & you won’t find a better example than the searing mid-range of these ultra-shredding efforts. In fact, I’d suggest that the solos represent the climax of many of the eight tracks included & I’m often reminded of Slayer & Morbid Angel in the way both brothers maintain their focus on face-ripping insanity rather than complementary melody.
Despite the flaws I mentioned above, there can be no denying that “Legion” slips very easily into my musical comfort zone & I don’t have to try very hard to get my jollies out of it. However the reason that it doesn’t compare all that favourably alongside the debut can be found in its consistency. None of the tracks are weak as such but I can’t deny that there are some lighter-weight sections in “Behead The Prophet (No Lord Shall Live)” & “In Hell I Burn” that see me dropping my score from the lofty heights of a good half of the album. The shorter & more focused tracks are the strongest with the unwavering brutality of “Trifixion” & “Revocate The Agitator” being the most successful in their unholy mission. There's no time for mucking around on those tracks which makes it clearer that Deicide's weaknesses generally appear when they have more time on their hands & become guilty of trying too hard to sound evil (see the unintelligent chorus from "In Hell I Burn" for example).
So, ultimately I think my suspicions that I may have overrated “Legion” were pretty accurate even though I still very much enjoyed revisiting this high quality death metal release from my youth. It’s not the classic I tried so hard to make it into back in 1992 (& I do remember really wanting it to be just quietly). It’s an over-the-top & relentless experience that will satisfy the vast majority of its audience though & shouldn’t be scoffed at by any means. It’s funny how sloppy it sounds when I listen to it today but that element also gives it an endearing quality that reminds me of a simpler time in my life when such concerns weren’t worth bothering about.
For fans of Vital Remains, Cannibal Corpse & Amon.
4/5
Qrixkuor - "Zoetrope" E.P. (2022)
Single track E.P.'s are often found to be guilty of over-indulgence but this 25 minute piece from English death metal duo Qrixkuor has cast aside any potential for musical wankery by creating a unique & (at times) quite frightening soundscape that takes the listener through uncharted territory. The basis for Qrixkuor's sound sits in the darkest & swampiest depths of the death metal spectrum however they've managed to differentiate themselves from the crowd through the incorporation of symphonic elements in such a way that it reminds me of a horror movie soundtrack rather than any cheesy attempt at atmosphere. You see, Qrixkuor's dense wall of darkness is far more complex & possesses a lot more integrity than the vast majority of bands that are linked to the term "symphonic". The guitar & bass work is highly complex & layered, the drums are used in an almost military fashion at times & the growled vocals are as deep & cavernous as you could want. As the song structure runs its course, you'll encounter several acts that make up the overall piece but it's unquestionably the crescendo that takes place during the last 5 or 6 minutes that's the kicker here & it represents the culmination of all of the band's hard work during the build-up of the first 20 minutes or so. You'll rarely hear something more unnerving or genuinely scary.
"Zoetrope" isn't the perfect piece of art however. The drumming isn't as accomplished as it could be which is a shame because there's definitely some unfulfilled potential left here. I do feel that the piece could have been a little snappier & a little culling could have gone a long way here but it's hard to be too critical when as artist has created an horrific world that sounds like nothing you've experienced before. The purely death metal component will likely draw comparisons to the likes of Teitanblood, Portal & Antediluvian but it's presented in a way that pulls Qrixkuor away from their peers by giving them their own identity. I have to admit that I can't pick up any of the black metal influence that's seen Qrixkuor being tagged as blackened death metal on many competitor's sites. "Zoetrope" is as death metal as they come as far as I'm concerned & it comes highly recommended for devotees of the darker end of the genre (Vinny, I'm looking at you).
4/5
So, inspired by Vinny's assault on The Fallen, I have got my arse in gear and decided to continue my attempt to complete The Horde's Death Metal - The 1st Decade clan challenge and secure myself that coveted fourth clan (after only four years on the site!) So here we go:
Obituary - Cause of Death (1990)
Obituary's debut Slowly We Rot was an exceedingly solid slab of death metal and was a decent calling card for the Floridians. However, the improvement from that album to Cause of Death is marked. With this Obituary made their most significant contribution to the development of death metal and in so doing laid down a stone-cold classic.
Cause of Death retained the things that the debut did well - John Tardy's vocals remained equally as evil-sounding and depraved and the guitar tone that dominated Slowly We Rot, derived as it so obviously is from Celtic Frost's classic sound, was honed to virtually the perfect death metal guitar sound that, for me, defined what OSDM riffs should sound like. On top of those good things from SWR, this time round Obituary upped their songwriting skills and the tracks on Cause of Death are far more memorable than those found on the debut, Body Bag and the title track, for example I find still rolling round my head long after the disc stops spinning. There aren't as many doomy, slow sections, but when the pace drops, I would say they are better done and are more effective for their sparseness. The most obvious upgrade from Slowly We Rot is the addition of transformative lead guitarist James Murphy whose contributions here, similarly to those he made on Death's Spiritual Healing from the same year, made an enormous difference, his solos being far more skillfully executed and interesting than those of his predecessor, Allen West. I don't think the improvements his involvement entailed can be underestimated as he is obviously an exceptionally gifted axeman and he managed to bring the soloing style of classic heavy metal gods like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest into the gnarly and foetid world of death metal without it sanitising the filthiness of the band's death metal sound but instead celebrating and bestowing it with a classiness it previously lacked. Drummer Donald Tardy also seemed to have upped his game and the addition of new bassist Frank Watkins solidified the rhythm section and they seem more on point with the pacier material of Cause of Death.
Once more, however, the band were determined to include a Celtic Frost cover and even though their version of Circle of the Tyrants is actually pretty awesome, it seems kind of redundant when you think that the band were one of the pioneers of a newer, more brutal style of metal, so why did they feel the need to reference back to earlier material that they had usurped and superceded? This is the only negative I can think of with regard to Cause of Death though and even that is kind of half-hearted because, as I said, the cover is actually excellent. I've not heard a lot of Obituary after this release, but consensus seems to be that they were never this good again, but to have been this good even once is an achievement not to be sniffed at.
5/5
Cannibal Corpse - "Kill" (2006)
You can rely on two things in life: taxes & Cannibal Corpse delivering a quality death metal product. We’re now thirty-five years & fifteen albums into their career & the Buffalo death metal legends are still going strong with their last album proving to be as popular as anything they’ve released in more than two decades. My experience with the band began right back at their debut album “Eaten Back To Life” & has taken me through the majority of my life. Back in the early-to-mid 1990’s I counted them as a major influence on me as a musician &, despite the fact that they’ve tended to steer away from delivering any surprises over the years & have subsequently earnt a reputation for being the AC/DC of death metal in that their albums sound predominantly the same, my respect for Cannibal Corpse as an artist has proven to be unwavering. I hold a lot of admiration for their undying commitment to never selling out, staying brutal & pushing themselves technically & 2006’s tenth album “Kill” is no exception. In fact, it may just be some of the band’s finest work.
Unlike the vast majority of the Cannibal Corpse back catalogue, “Kill” doesn’t come adorned with ultra-gory & cartoonish cover artwork. This time the band wanted to let their music do the talking & that’s backed up by a very serious & professional musical approach that sees the band pushing their techniques to their limits. The album marks the return of guitarist Rob Barrett (Solstice/Eulogy/Malevolent Creation) who had previously played on 1994’s “The Bleeding” & 1996’s “Vile”, a move that brought with it great promise for me personally as I consider myself a fan of both records. It also saw Hate Eternal/Morbid Angel/Ripping Corpse/Alas guitarist Erik Rutan taking on the production duties for the first time, a responsibility he’d continue to own for most of Cannibal Corpse’s subsequent releases. You can see why too as “Kill” sounds great with the heavily down-tuned guitars achieving perfect clarity & the drum kit punching through with precision. I regard this as quite an achievement given the band’s brand new super-low tuning of G#.
The thirteen song tracklisting offers a solid level of consistency throughout with no weak tracks included. The riff work is exceptionally angular & expansive & represents one of the highlights of the album with bassist & songwriter Alex Webster having come up with a truck-load of interesting spider-handed runs that keep me on my toes throughout. It’s a very technical album actually & I think the return of Barrett has helped to enable that along with the unquestionable skills of his partner in crime Pat O’Brien. The guitar solos are the other major talking point as they invariably represent the peak of each track. Some are spectacularly shreddy while the use of wah-pedal is employed to great effect in the more atmospheric moments. Webster’s performance is outstanding as usual & once again shows him to be one of the elite bass players in the extreme metal scene.
I don’t think there’ll be any surprises when I mention the albums limitations though. Front man George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher does what he does, nothing more, nothing less. You know exactly what to expect from George as he’s built a career on doing largely the same thing on every album. He’s no doubt a wonderful asset in a live environment with his ultra-masculine, metal-as-fuck persona dominating the show but in the studio he can sound a touch monotonous after a while & this does limit the levels that a modern Cannibal Corpse record can reach. The other (& more significant) limiter can be found in Paul Mazurkiewicz’s repetitive blast-beat style which sounds pretty tame by today’s standards. The rumours of him only possessing three beats in his repertoire are somewhat justified in my opinion & it’s been a long-time annoyance of mine. His strength though, lies in his contribution to the slow-to-mid-paced material where he utilizes double-time ride cymbal work to great effect & I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this also correlates with the band’s strength. Cannibal Corpse’s more up-tempo & brutal passages can sound a little unsophisticated & thuggish but when they slow things down a bit they achieve the complete opposite effect with slower tracks like “Death Walking Terror” & closing instrumental “Infinite Misery” (my personal favourite) representing some of the high points of Cannibal Corpse’s entire career.
“Kill” may not be a tier one death metal record but it is a damn solid one nonetheless & I can see very few fans of the genre complaining too much. It’s nice to have a band that can so regularly & so consistently deliver a product of invariable quality as the extreme metal scene seems to gravitate towards the more progressive & adventurous artists over the last decade or two. I probably wouldn’t have thought it possible many years ago but I do tend to favour a record like “Kill” slightly over childhood faves like “Butchered At Birth” & “Tomb Of The Mutilated” these days, perhaps due to the increased maturity, consistency & sophistication in the band’s sound. In fact, it may be one of Cannibal Corpse’s more successful ventures overall.
4/5
It has been over a year and a half since I last posted a dearh metal top ten and I have done a fair bit of exploration of the genre since then, so here is my updated list.
1. Immolation - Close to a World Below (2000)
2. Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness (1989)
3. Death - Human (1991)
4. Incantation - Diabolical Conquest (1998)
5. Autopsy - Mental Funeral (1991)
6. Obituary - Cause of Death (1990)
7. Incantation - Onward to Golgotha (1992)
8. Benediction - Subconscious Terror (1990)
9. Death - Spiritual Healing (1990)
10. Gorement - The Ending Quest (1994)
It's very different to my earlier list, which is an indication to how my appreciation of death metal has evolved I suppose. I know it is principally better known stuff, but I have barely scratched the surface yet, so hopefully there are plenty more awesome releases that may muscle their way into future lists.
This reminds me that I need to check out that Gorement album. I don't think I've ever heard it.