Death Metal Briefs: Clearing the Docket

Thrice Dead

I've had some of these waiting for review for far too long, so let's get to it.

Concrete Icon: Perennial Anguish (2013)
3.5 out of 5 stars

Concrete Icon play lumbering death metal in the vein of Domination-era Morbid Angel. It's sort of like being slowly crushed by a steamroller from your legs on up to your skull, with some great halting rhythms and a big, burly sound.




Cemetery Fog: Towards the Gates (2014)
3.5 out of 5 stars

Cemetery Fog is doing something different. They sound like a run-of-the-mill death metal band taking a crack at My Dying Bride circa As the Flower Withers. The synths/organs are a nice touch, and the interplay between fast and slow parts is great. But they approach a subtler type of death metal perhaps a bit too bluntly.



Athanatos: Unholy Union (2014)
3.5 out of 5 stars

A death metal version of Jaz Coleman roars over death metal with loads of energy and ugly, brutal atmosphere. They seem possessed of a serious dedication to being evil motherfuckers. I can't help but think they would be most at home sharing a stage with Antediluvian or Dragged Into Sunlight.