Tag Archives: old-school death metal

Bloodbath – The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn

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Despite being established as Death Metal stalwarts, and already perhaps even close to attaining legendary status, the road for Bloodbath has often been seemingly a little bit bumpy. Admittedly a band that wasn’t always the main priority for its various members, over their time Bloodbath has had to lurk in the shadows waiting for busy schedules of to align. With alumni from the likes of Katatonia and Opeth, and more recently Paradise Lost, it has meant live shows are a rarity and album release schedules somewhat inconsistent. However, with Katatonia now on hiatus, it feels like Bloodbath can become a more prominent concern, which certainly seems evident with the fact that The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn (Peaceville) is quite possibly their most vibrant and strongest effort to date.Continue reading →


Death Metal Round Up: Cast The Stone, Stillbirth, Siege Of Power, Monstrosity And More

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It may have taken thirteen years to follow-up their sole release, but with a cast that includes Misery Index, Cattle Decapitation and Scour alumni, the trials of time can be forgiven with Cast The Stone, and new EP release Empyrean Atrophy (Agonia) shows that this band has a lot more worth than simply being a side dabbling for them.Continue reading →


Thyrant – What We Left Behind…

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Despite their infancy as a band, the story of Thyrant is one that stretches for a couple of decades in the local metal scene of Malaga, Spain. Having been friends for a long time but in various different bands, the group finally came together and began jamming and forming ideas in 2015, all with a love and passion for metal in many of its styles; a diversity that is clearly showcased on début What We Left Behind…(Indie), which despite requiring refining, definitely shows some potential and real passion throughout.Continue reading →


Morta Skuld – Wounds Deeper Than Time

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The name Morta Skuld may ring familiar to the seasoned extreme metal fan. You know the type. The nameless ghouls on the edge of the pit armed with their grimy battle jackets and salty disposition at Summer Slaughter every year. For the denim-less, know that Morta Skuld were one of the dozens of death metal bands lost in the mid-90s shuffle, but reanimated in 2012. Oh, and Wounds Deeper Than Time (Peaceville) is their first proper LP since 1997.Continue reading →


Tomb Mold – Primordial Malignity

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Take one swig of Tomb Mold’s debut LP, Primordial Malignity (Blood Harvest) and it’d be permissible to believe it was a lost recording from great death metal stock boom of the nascent 1990s. Somehow the young duo of Max Klebanoff (drums, vocals) and Derrick Vella (guitars, bass) made their way through time to scavenge Morrisound Recording studio archives and found untapped reserves of grimness.

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Memoriam – The Hellfire Demos (I & II)

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With Birmingham-based Death Metal act Benediction on a seemingly indefinite hiatus, and fellow Midlanders Bolt Thrower having officially called it a day, it doesn’t come as any great surprise to find the two regional bands putting their creative heads together to produce some good old fashioned, balls out Death Metal. Combining the sound of both bands and adding the cantankerous thrash of criminally overlooked Brummies Sacrilege into the mix, Memoriam have arrived to make your neck wish it had never been born.Continue reading →


Gruesome – Dimensions of Horror

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Gruesome - Dimensions of Horror album cover ghost cultmag

In the world of death metal, there are few bands who are well respected as the band who set the foundations the whole genre, Death. To this day, the death of Chuck Schuldiner remains one of the biggest losses in the metal community, but the spirit of Death never really died. The Death to All tours kept Death a relevant part of the genre even after the death of Chuck, and this is where Gruesome becomes relevant as well.

Anyone listening to this band will instantly connect their sound to Death’s as there is some heavy influence in their sound. Gruesome are a death metal supergroup, with guitarist/vocalist Matt Harvey and drummer Gus Rios toured with Death, with both members playing on Death to All tours previously. So if any band is worthy of picking up where Death left off, arguably it’s them. They already showed why they are a force to be reckoned with on their 2015 début album Savage (Relapse Records), but they solidify their excellence on their follow-up EP Dimensions of Horror (Relapse).

Simply put, if you like classic death metal, you will like this EP. It’s a six track onslaught of everything that makes this genre what it is. From the shredding guitars, throat tearing vocals, pounding drums and dark lyrical content; this band does it all so well. But this release does showcase a small issue with the band, that being that they really don’t have their own identity due to how much they rely on trying to bring back the sound of Death for a modern era.

Despite that one minor gripe though, this EP is a total banger. I can’t recommend it enough, and I hope this band grows into the beast they can become, but they will need to form a unique identity first.

8.0/10

MATTHEW BLANCHARD

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Cannibal Corpse – Obituary – Cryptopsy: Live At the Paradise Rock Club

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February 18th, 2016 will be a day that most Boston death metal fans will not soon forget. The Paradise Night Club was jam-packed for a tour package that consisted of death metal veterans Abysmal Dawn, Cryptopsy, Obituary, and Cannibal Corpse. Unfortunately, Abysmal Dawn did not make it out to this stop on the tour as they were apparently stuck in New Jersey. But, as the cliché goes, the show must go on!

Cryptopsy, by Ebil Robb Photography

Cryptopsy, by Evil Robb Photography

Cryptopsy was up first which was probably my most anticipated band of the night as they were the only band I had yet to see live. It was nice to say I had finally seen the long time technical death metal band, but it just did not seem the same without hearing Lord Worm’s vocals. Even with a set list that was a majority of old material from None So Vile (Century Media) and Blasphemy Made Flesh (Century Media), I just found myself disinterested in Matt McGachy’s vocals. The mix was also a little off as the bass was clearly overpowering the other elements on stage.

 

Obituary, by Evil Robb Photography

Obituary, by Evil Robb Photography

Next up, the legendary Floridian death metal outfit, Obituary. I, for one, was very excited to see them again since my first experience seeing them at Maryland Death Fest last year was limited (hey, a guy has to find food, even if that means sacrificing time in the pits). From the start of the set until the final note (which seemed like they were cut short), the fans had the floor moving violently and very well stole the show. Prior to this evening, I already considered myself a fan of Obituary. However, after this set which seemed to fly by was over, I realized that I liked them a lot more than I initially had thought. One of the better sets I have ever seen from a death metal band.

Cannibal Corpse, by Evil Robb Photography

Cannibal Corpse, by Evil Robb Photography

Finally, it was time for the biggest name in the death metal scene, Cannibal Corpse. Having seen this group countless times, I had most of the set list figured out going into the night. Staple tracks such as ‘Scourge of Iron’ , ‘Stripped, Raped and Strangled’ , and ‘Make Them Suffer’ were scattered into the sixteen song set. As for some surprises, we were lucky enough to catch ‘Death Walking Terror’ , ‘Pit of Zombies’ (my personal favorite) , and ‘Born in a Casket’. I had not yet seen any of those three songs live yet so it is safe to say I was very happy with Cannibal Corpse this time around. For a band that tours as much as they do, it must be hard to try and promote new material while also playing some older tunes but have about 30 years of material to cover in a short window. Having said that, switching up a few songs here and there to pull out some rarely played live tracks is always a crowd pleaser. Obviously the biggest pit of the night went to ‘Hammer Smashed Face’ which even included a few female participants!

Cannibal Corpse, by Evil Robb Photography

Cannibal Corpse, by Evil Robb Photography

Overall, I was very pleased with the show even after being let down by Cryptopsy and Abysmal Dawn not making it out of New Jersey in time for this show. Obituary and Cannibal Corpse proved to the Boston fans in attendance how they have stood the test of time as death metal bands and can still bring it on a live setting.

Cannibal Corpse, by Evil Robb Photography

Cannibal Corpse, by Evil Robb Photography

 

Cannibal Corpse, by Evil Robb Photography

Cannibal Corpse, by Evil Robb Photography

Cannibal Corpse, by Evil Robb Photography

Cannibal Corpse, by Evil Robb Photography

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WORDS BY TIM LEDIN

PHOTOS BY EVIL ROBB PHOTOGRAPHY

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Vastum – Hole Below

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Vastum’s second album Patricidal Lust (20 Buck Spin) made quite an impact when it was released in 2013, offering Death Metal fans who weren’t convinced by the Portal-inspired trend towards abstract dissonance a more conventional but equally engaging alternative. It also made waves due to Vastum’s unorthodox use of sex and relationships as lyrical content, though it has to be said that they address those topics in a straight-forwardly Death Metal way – when their new album opens with a track called ‘Sodomitic Malevolence’, you know we’re talking World’s Greatest Love Songs.

After two years of waiting, Hole Below (20 Buck Spin) continues both the band’s fascination with the dark side of human relationships (‘In Sickness And In Death’, ‘Empty Breast’) and their mastery of cavernous but melodic morbid Death Metal. Vastum’s sound is much more rooted in DM orthodoxy than Portal and their imitators, but this is no crude exercise in “Old School” revivalism, either. A thick, powerful production enhances song-writing that forges Autopsy’s murky melodies to solid, punishing grooves and even a touch of the abyssal atmospheres explored by many modern Death Metal bands.

Hole Below sees Vastum explore their Doom and atmospheric elements more deeply than they did on Patricidal Lust, and the result is an album that perhaps lacks a little of its predecessors instant appeal, but which rewards perseverance. Big, decayed riffs drown in treacly feedback are still the core of their sound, but songs are structured less for violence and more for a slow-building of atmosphere.

Along with Cruciamentum, Vastum have produced some of the best straight-up Death Metal of the year. Not as brutal, as abstract or as alienating as some, but firmly treading a path which embraces Death Metal’s past as well as its future.

 

8.0/10

 

RICHIE HR


Autopsy – Skull Grinder

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Autopsy_Skull-Grinder

One of the simplest yet strongest arguments against modern bands playing “Old School” Death Metal is that they’re not Autopsy. With one of the most seminal bands of that style putting out at least one high quality release every year since 2010’s The Tomb Within (Peaceville), it’s perfectly reasonable to ask whether we really need imitators, even highly skilled ones.

Reviewing an Autopsy release almost seems pointless (but I’m going to do it anyway, so shut up) – by this point their style has become so clearly defined that I need to say little more than the band name. The tracks on this EP perhaps tend towards the groovier, slower end of their range more regularly, but overall there are no surprises here – and fortunately, that applies to the quality too. Their reunion still shows absolutely no signs of slacking or running dry.

It has, of course, been a very long time now since Autopsy could be considered the most brutal, or the most “extreme” (that shifting, nebulous quality that means so much less than both journalists and politicians think it does) of Death Metal bands, but they still somehow manage to sound the most… sick. There’s something genuinely diseased in Autopsy’s sound, a creeping unpleasantness that goes far beyond who tunes down the most or whose drummer is the fastest. A big part of this, of course, is Chris Reifert – both his lolloping, ugly drums and genuinely tormented vocals sound genuinely nasty – but it’s the song-writing too. Autopsy have always put Death Metal’s eternal war between Brutal and Melodic to shame by reminding us that real old school DM always had both, and it’s the twisted, cloying melodies here that make Skull Grinder (Peaceville) sound so genuinely distasteful.

It’s an Autopsy EP. Seriously, what else can I say?

 

7.0/10

 

RICHIE HR

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