LETARGO – The Power Of Genetic Manipulators

How long has it been since a band tapped the early melodeath vein where IN FLAMES’ "The Jester Race", DARK TRANQUILLITY’s "The Gallery" and AT THE GATES’ "Slaughter Of The Soul" bled to become a floodgate for that new genre in death metal? If you miss those days, that sound, those stylings, the Chilean quartet…

RELEASE THE BLACKNESS – Tragedy

Out of the 3 chosen releases from the Italian stable, Cult Of Parthenope: Gates Of Doom, Vilemass and Release The Blackness, that last one is definitely the most interesting. Essentially, their debut full length, "Tragedy" could have been written by Matthew Kiichi „Matt" Heafy somewhere between his CAFERNAUM and TRIVIUM’s "Embers To Inferno" days, that…

GATES OF DOOM – Aquileia Mater Aeterna

Italy gives birth to many worthy acts in extreme melodic metal, need we but mention Hideous Divinity, Sadist or, most pertinent in this case, Fleshgood Apocalypse. A fair newcomer, Gates Of Doom, they may be somewhat symphonically similar sounding to FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE but they are more akin to Germany’s HEAVEN SHALL BURN or to the…

MORPHIUM – The Fall

The Spanish metallers Morphium spew forth a high-energy brand of pounding yet varied metalcore with plenty of influences from death metal and goth metal to it, and there is groove, crushing breakdowns and atmospherics aplenty here, my friends. Lots of clever details and intriguing layers present themselves throughout and the members of the quintet clearly…

TERMINAL CARNAGE – The Sickening Rebirth

Here is yet another quality death metal release from the ever-reliable Great Dane Records and what we have here is a lean, concise 31-minute onslaught by the German duo known as Terminal Carnage. With an emphasis on thick grooves and dark, rumbling riffs, these grumpy-looking fucks deliver some hard-hitting passages and heavy blows here with…

GOLGOTHA – Remembering the Past/Writing the Future

The Spanish doom metal outfit Golgotha, which was conceived nearly thirty years ago and hails from Palma de Mallorca, recently unleashed this EP of theirs, but although only five tracks are listed on the sleeve, there are in fact eight pieces present on the disc. The last three songs are simply orchestral renditions of the…

CULT GRAVES – Strange Customs

Hailing from San Jose in the US and dabbling in filthy, rumbling, and dissonant death metal, Cult Graves are the sound of an awful nightmare (think a Fulci movie in overdrive) and that is obviously a compliment and a good thing in this case. There is a wildly unnerving vibe shimmering underneath it all and…

EVULSE – Pustulant Spawn

Yes, this is just what the good doctor ordered, namely a short, concise slab of raw and filthy death metal spawned in the deepest pit of hell (or in this case Oakland as that is where Evulse hail from). I was quite fond of their previous demo/EP, the ear-splitting "Call of the Void", and this…

DECEPTION – The Mire

Often bands which go through more than one life, usually under a different name, end up worse than their original self. The Norwegian melodic blackened death metal act, Deception, are an example of the opposite, on their 3rd full length, in the 9th year of their existence, with only 2 founding members and under a…

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