I really gave these Six Feet Under-worshipping Finns a hard time about the lack of catchiness and poor sound quality on last year’s I Chose Death EP, and deservedly so. Fucking up Death Metal this simple is like fucking up a can of SpaghettiOs. But I am still a huge fan of theirs —everything that bears their name circa 2003-2009 is tits— and was truly hoping for Phobia to be a bounceback effort. For the most part, it is. I don’t know about that Stella cunt, but Torture Killer certainly got their groove back. The production is still clown shoes —I actually had to double-check my stereo to make sure the EQ was set properly— but aside from sounding like it was recorded in John Wayne Gacy’s crawlspace, Phobia’s highs significantly outweigh its lows. Go ahead and skip over opener “Devil’s Reject.” It’s essentially a mediocre appetizer for the raw meat main course of the next three songs to follow. The title track and “Await His Third Arrival” are pure Torture Killer. Stomping, headbangable beats, ham-fisted chug, catchy choruses… simple, simple, simple, but it works. While he’s still far from my favorite Torture Killer vocalist, I’m starting to warm up to Pessi Haltsonen’s ultra-basic low growl this second time around. Truth be told, tunes this instantly infectious don’t need much behind the mic to seal the deal. Speaking of infectious tunes and former Torture Killer vocalists, Chris Barnes drops by to lend his guest gargle to Death ‘n’ Roll anthem “Written in Blood.” It seems as though the quintet penned the track with Barnes’ storied appreciation of AC/DC in mind, but again… it works. Elsewhere, “March of Death” features the best Obituary riff we’ve heard in ages, while the tandem of instrumental “Epitaph” and closer “Voices” recall the band’s depressive melody dabbling found on 2009’s Sewers. As alluded to, the record isn’t entirely filler-free —wake me up when “Faces of My Victims” ends, and has anyone seen “The Book of a Dying World“‘s hook?— but overall, you’ll need to ice your neck down after the majority of this monster. It’s good to have Torture Killer kicking ass again. If it’s too simple, you’re too gay.

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with the music of Cathedral. Sure, I love the bleak, warped atmosphere of 1991’s legendary debut Forest of Equilibrium. Who doesn’t? But I hated 1993’s major-label follow-up The Ethereal Mirror at first. I would warm up to the album years later, as my contempt for those slick, cheesy grooves seemed to recede right along with my hairline. 1995’s The Carnival Bizarre was an instantly addictive success. Still to this day, some of Lee Dorrian’s finest storytelling and Gaz Jennings’ best overall riffs. Comparatively speaking, their next two LPs —Supernatural Birth Machine (1996) and Caravan Beyond Redemption (1998)— were garbage. However, 2001’s Endtyme was a total triumph. In my opinion, the darkest and most depressive material of Cathedral’s career. Sadly, they’ve laid three more eggs since then, and now they’re calling it a day. That’s right, The Last Spire will reportedly be the last hoorah for these UK Doom pioneers. How will they go out on their swansong? The love boat? The hate tank? Ironically enough, it’s really a bit of a mixed bag. On the musical side of things, the band sound like they could go another 24 years. Jennings’ playing in particular is truly inspired as he waxes nostalgic on the Forest-like dirges of “Cathedral of the Damned” and “Tower of Silence.” Meanwhile, drummer Brian Dixon seems as though he’s found his rhythm section soulmate in new bassist Scott Carlson (Repulsion, ex-Death). Dorrian’s vocals are another story altogether. On the contrary, he sounds more than ready to throw in the towel. It’s not like the man has ever possessed the most gifted singing voice, but unique and clever go a long way with the right amount of dedication. On The Last Spire, his patterns simply refuse to sink in. Whether trudging lifelessly through the muck on “An Observation” and “This Body, Thy Tomb,” unleashing his inner tone-deaf drunken pirate on “Infestation of Grey Death,” or going batshit wacky all over the place on the career-encapsulating “Pallbearer,” his delivery is consistently hookless, robbing this final chapter of a much-needed anthem. (In other words, I just don’t feel the groove.) I have a ton of respect for the former Napalm Death frontman —not only as a vocalist but as a label head and all-around decent human being— but he definitely didn’t save his best for last. In summary, it’s been a rollercoaster ride for these guys. Looking back at their body of work, the good far outweighs the bad. I won’t recall any of their forgettable slop years from now. I’ll only remember how high the highs were. Unfortunately, The Last Spire isn’t one of them.

2011’s The Godlike Inferno took the Metal world by storm with its dark ‘n’ pretty, acoustic-driven hymns to Lucifer. The list of artists able to make an acoustic guitar sound “heavy” is a short one. However, Ancient Vvisdom won’t have the luxury of surprise with follow-up Deathlike. We, bloodthirsty hounds at their door, know what to expect now, and have been eagerly craving more of it. The safest, smartest choice in this situation is probably to duplicate, and that’s more or less what AVV has done here. It’s really quite unfair to expect re-reinvention of the wheel from a band who’ve already carved themselves a quick niche with their relatively unconventional approach, comparisons to acoustic Alice in Chains EPs aside. When you strip everything down to this level —acoustic guitar, minimal electric guitar, minimal percussion— it’s basically the same terms as Folk/Rock from the ’60s: if you have a good singer, you have a hit. And these guys have one hell of a great singer in Nathan Opposition. I don’t often use the word “dreamy” to describe vocals within the Metal Curse forum, but I’ll be damned if that doesn’t sum it up perfectly. Of course it helps that this eargasm-inducing croon is consistently a vehicle for odes to the Dark Lord and the end of humanity. In all honesty, this man could probably make a decent living off his voice if ever he decided to seek an Alternative route. Satanic Chill Wave, perhaps? Something to think about. Seriously though, I’d prefer he stay put. Other than the album’s off-putting intro-song-intro beginning and the Blues cheese of “The Last Man on Earth,” Deathlike is a smooth, flawless ride. Spine-shivering choruses grace “Let the End Begin,” the title track, and “I Am Rebirth,” while brooding apocalyptic ditties like “Look Alive,” “Never Live Again,” and “Here Is the Grave” bring the darkness. Consider dawn officially cast upon the grave of the angel. Where is that pale bitch now? A little light and shade go a long way on this campfire and brimstone affair. A first-listen record from a first-listen band. Tough to beat instant gratification these days, isn’t it? If given a fair shot, Ancient Vvisdom’s irresistible charm should easily seduce even the most distortion-addicted among us. Tear down the walls of your ego.

This is my first encounter with New York City’s Batillus, and it isn’t at all what I expected. Don’t believe everything you read, children. Unfounded comparisons to bands like Ministry, Pitchshifter, and Godflesh had me anticipating a fistful of Industrial Metal. In truth, this quartet’s sound couldn’t be more organic. To be fair, these guys do go about their business in a cold, unfeeling, mechanical manner, with a thick smear of urban decay that can’t help but recall the grimy feel of early Godflesh, but what I’m hearing is far more Doom-based, with Sludge undertones and occasional Blackened tint. A very natural drum sound and a pure, heavy-as-fuck guitar tone are welcome surprises, indeed. This band’s modus operandi is minimalism on top of minimalism while minimalism watches. They tend to latch onto a simplistic drone and ride it until the wheels fall off. Doing more with less, as Fade Kainer’s tortured snarl swirls around the proceedings like a pack of hungry wolves encircling the wounded. If Concrete Sustain has one flaw, it’s that its soulcrushed, meditative vibe is significantly more memorable than any of its actual songs. A lot like the day after filthy, drunken sex with a random barwhore, you remember it being good but can’t seem to recall specific details. I get the sense on album #2 that this fresh act is still finding its feet. I’d like to hear more of the Deathly, bestial rumble found on “Beset.” I’d like to see them expand on the Helmet influence that permeates “Rust.” I’d like to hear more of the haunting, somber melancholy that graces “Thorns.” I believe they have the ability to craft spells within their ominous, hollow void. I think their best songs may yet be closely ahead of them. Still, few albums will set a better tone for a night of cheap vodka and prescription medication abuse in the dark. A very easy 37 minutes for the heavy-hearted, hopeless and broken to get lost in.

I’m gonna need to vent a little here, so bear with me. You see, I thought I was getting a surprise new release from the ultra-brutal Maltese Death slammers known as Beheaded. You know… the well-known, well-respected, underground-beloved, kick-ass-to-the-max Beheaded that gave us the ridiculously good Ominous Bloodline album? The Beheaded that you’d have to be a complete poser douchebag not to be aware of? Yeah, that Beheaded. Turns out this is the Venezuelan Beheaded (est. 2012), and the two bands couldn’t be more diametrically opposed. Now, if you’re gonna call your stupid fucking band Beheaded, you’d better fucking bring it on the real Beheaded’s level if not harder. After all, I’ve got room in my heart for two Disgorges, two Hanging Gardens, two Covens, etc. This Beheaded isn’t even as good as the 79 other Beheadeds that came before the true Beheaded. A better name for this Beheaded would’ve been Clown Penis. As if the choice of moniker wasn’t a dead giveaway, there’s a high novice factor on Gates of Suffering. Total cookie-cutter Melodeath-for-beginners. Weak riffs, generic growls, lackluster drumming, exhausted themes, recycled melodies, pathetic solos… Here I was expecting a steak and I got an 18-year old sausage McMuffin that Ronald McDonald and Grimace took turns cumming on. I’m tempted to say the world doesn’t need a 14,346th band that sounds like At the Gates, but I just can’t give these guys the benefit of the doubt that they even know who At the Gates is. There’s probably a few shitty local bands that play the rape festivals near their village that sound like At the Gates, and they’re trying to sound like them. After listening to their laughable cover of “Defensive Personalities” —ahh yes, Spiritual Healing… the go-to album for Death covers— I’m not even 100% sold that they’ve heard Death. My guess is they were going to call themselves Death, and someone was kind enough to send them a link. Again, I could have forgiven the ignorance of these neophytes had this demo been worth a sloth’s piss, but this is just completely worthless, forgettable, lightweight, poorly-recorded slop from a band formed out of boredom that no one who’s been into Death Metal longer than an hour needs to hear. Now if you need me, I’ll be starting a Sludge/Powerviolence/Techno/Bluegrass band called Angelcorpse.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the staggering amount of NWOOSSDM bands crawling out of the woodwork these days. What started out as a few groups with Boss HM2 pedals paying a little well-deserved homage to the early ’90s Swedeath greats has turned into a nostalgia epidemic. It’s easy to lose track of all these new old-sounding bands, and it’s difficult not to become disinterested by their sonic sameness. But do not make the mistake of lumping Tormented into this cluster of also-rans. Sure, they’ve only been at it since 2008, with just two full-lengths, an EP, and a split 10-inch under their bulletbelts, but their rich pedigree holds far more clout than the average rehashers. In particular, I’m referring to Swedish scene workhorses Roberth Karlsson (bass) and Andreas “Dread” Axelsson (guitar/vocals). They’ve been involved with a few bands over the last couple decades that maybe you’ve heard of? Edge of Sanity? Marduk? Infestdead? Facebreaker? Any of these ringing a bell? Scar Symmetry? Total Terror? Pan-Thy-Monium? Devian? I could keep going, but I think you catch my drift by now. This is a new wave band with first wave credibility, and you can definitely hear it in the music. The sound they achieve is fantastically authentic to the period, because… well… they were there. Dread’s vocals are especially late-’80s raw, sounding even filthier than they did on Marduk’s legendary Dark Endless. The only thing wrong with Death Awaits is the same hindrance that plagued the band’s 2009 debut: only three great songs. Just as Rotten Death (by now I hope you’ve grasped their primary lyrical theme — eight career songs with “death” or “dead” in the title to this point) gave us “Vengeance from Beyond the Grave,” “Come Back from the Dead,” “Tomb of Corpses,” and not much else, Death Awaits opens with the unholy trinity of the title track, “Blood Orgy,” and “I.O.T.D.” (guess what the “D” stands for) and then rides autopilot the rest of the way. It’s not like the remaining six songs of either album are terrible, just not in the same anthemic league as the aforementioned gems. Tormented’s Nihilistic throwback appeal never wears off, but they don’t attain memorability with enough consistency to maintain “essential” status. Still, when their riffs and vocal patterns are firing on all cylinders, it’s something every self-respecting fan of Swedish Death Metal probably needs to hear.

This is yet another compilation album of all the Old Funeral recordings out there. This might be recommendable if it hadn’t been done four or five times already. Face it, the only reason anybody cares about Old Funeral is because Varg Vikernes (back when he was known by his birth name, Kristian Vikernes) was in this band. Varg, of course, gained fame as Count Grishnackh of Burzum. Other members included Abbath of Immortal and Jorn from Hades Almighty/ex-Immortal, all of whom had short stints in the band. Musically, Old Funeral can best be described as Thrash. It isn’t harsh or brutal enough to be Death Metal (though some might call their music that) and it certainly doesn’t sound like Black Metal. Their later stuff had some Black Metal and more Death Metal elements but they never strayed beyond Thrash most of the time. The musicianship on this compilation is very loose. Old Funeral never got beyond the demo/7-inch EP stage of their career and only existed for four or five years. All of the recordings here are from demo, rehearsal or live tapes except for the Devoured Carcass EP, which was on vinyl. The earliest material, from The Fart That Should Not Be demo (yes, that was really the title…), is very rough and shows the band at their formative stages. You can tell that they were a bunch of guys who liked to fuck around in the studio and played Metal for fun back in those days. The later material, most notably the Abduction of Limbs demo and the Devoured Carcass EP, shows more musical maturity and focus. The playing is still a bit sloppy in places but there was definitely more thought put into the music. The “rare and unreleased” material that would be the main selling point for this compilation is okay. Given that it is mostly rehearsal and live stuff, the sound quality isn’t the best. If you’re a hardcore fan of old Norwegian Black Metal and must have everything, this might have some value. For me, the appeal of Old Funeral ended after the first compilation, The Older Ones, that was released in 1999. Once I heard the main recordings (the Abduction of Limbs demo and Devoured Carcass), everything else was filler as far as I was concerned. If you don’t already have a version of this already, it’s interesting as a historical document more than it is a great musical release. It shows what some of the more notable members of the early Norwegian Black Metal scene were doing prior to becoming famous. For those looking for a lost legendary recording, you’re going to be disappointed.

Evil seed, injected / Demos freed, the calling / Demon Lord, master / Satan Spawn, the stack o’ demos!
Yes, it’s time once again for the dubious task of demo duty. The unenviable chore of trying to find an unsigned act worthy of more than two or three sentences. It’s never easy, but I must admit a band from Finland catches the eye and piques the interest far more than a band from Ballsweat, Arkansas. Especially when their 6-song offering is packaged in a sleek, all-pro digipak versus handwritten CD-R with Post-It note tracklist. That might be unfair, but… welcome to life. In addition to looking good, Predators Among Us is also graced with fantastic, big-league production quality, and the material suggests this quintet may not remain unsigned for long. Intro/track “The Ocean of Perdition” quickly unveils the influence of fellow countrymen Insomnium, as piano and acoustic guitar set the stage in atmospheric fashion. This leads into the best overall track, “They Play Dead.” Distress of Ruin waste no time showing the listener they have all the tools to create convincing and passionate melodic Death Metal. Energetic, Thrashy riffs, soaring melodies, good drumming, and a solid growler. But their ace in the hole might be the inclusion of highly impressive clean vocals. Many Melodeath groups don’t bust out the clean voice until their second or third full-length. These guys are going for it in their infancy stage. The singing here is a good balance — not too Power Metally, not too Radio Rocky. They really take the song next-level. “Deadly Nightshade,” “Bystander Effect,” and “Harbinger of Ravage” don’t stand out quite as much. Decent, well-performed cuts, but significantly lacking the punch and memorability of “They Play Dead.” Filler… it happens. Luckily, “Terminal Alteration” saves the day. Another heavy verse/clean chorus gem that ensures Predators Among Us won’t be slapped with the dreaded “one good song” tag. And hey, two out of six ain’t bad when it comes to demo duty. Especially when those two so powerfully display this fresh meat’s awesomeness capability. (Plus, the other four could potentially grow on me. Let’s not forget one of them is a serviceable introduction.) Ultimately, Distress of Ruin proves to be a pleasant surprise and undoubtedly a band to keep an ear on.

This Los Angeles-based band is one that I’ve actually seen live once but for whatever reason, I didn’t remember much about them. I think the main reason is that they had a Black/Thrash sound that is pretty mundane here in San Francisco. In the home of Bay Area Thrash, having a core sound that is essentially the same as everyone else isn’t exactly something that will make you stand out, even if you’re from out of town. A lot of local bands draw their influences from Slayer, Exodus, Possessed and Metallica, even to this day. Thrash isn’t “different” here. It probably explains why I never bothered with them in the past. With two previous albums and a split-LP with Valdur under their belts, I thought it might be time to check them out. The most interesting bits of Baphometic Chaosium are the atmospheric parts, such as the Ambient interlude, “Cloven Shields.” It has a dark and eerie sound that is very much in the vein of Horror Movie soundtrack music. This track segues into “Chained to Decay,” which is slower and heavier on the atmosphere. “Epicyclarium” is another cut that has interesting atmospheric elements. It’s the straight-forward Black/Thrash tracks that are the most generic and uninteresting parts of Baphometic Chaosium. When these guys ditch the atmospheric stuff for the basic guitar-based brutal Thrash attack, they lose a lot of what distinguishes them from other generic Death/Thrash bands. Songs like “Oaken Chrysalis” (I consider the last two minutes of that track to be an outro and unrelated to the rest of the song) and “R’Lyeh Wuurm” are just okay sounding and have little about them that sticks out. This LP is a 50-50 split between songs that are really good and ones that are just “blah.” When Lightning Swords of Death are on their game, they fucking kick ass. When they go the safe route with basic song structures, they lose a lot of their identity. One thing I have to mention, though, is that the sound on this LP is amazing. The fact that you can hear the bass guitar and that each instrument is clearly discernible puts Baphometic Chaosium near the top of the heap when it comes to good production. The studio engineer really knew what he was doing when this album was produced. If Lightning Swords of Death can meld the darker atmospheric stuff in with their Black/Thrash style a bit more, we could be looking at an epic next album. Baphometic Chaosium is good, but there are still tracks that are lacking in identity.