Psycroptic: The Inherited Repression (2012)

Tasmanian Devils Deliver Again

Reviews of technical death metal albums usually include a lot of criticisms. It's too sterile. It's just wankery, without any real songwriting. They can play their instruments, but they can't make you feel anything.

Similarly, reviews of bands from out-of-the-way places usually say something along the lines of, "If they were from (London, New York, Oslo, etc.) then no one would care."

Psycroptic, of course, is a technical death metal band. They are from the ass end of the world, in Tasmania, better known for the Looney Tunes character Taz than anything else. And yet, none of those criticisms can possibly be leveled at them.

Horrendous: The Chills (2012)

Old-School Death Metal Release #838175

I've talked about old-school death metal at least two dozen times on this blog, but even after two-plus years of its resurgence, I'm still interested in the best the style has to offer. Horrendous has birthed debut The Chills. It's the best one since Disma hit us last year.

I've done so many reviews of this genre the formula should be familiar by now. If you're a regular reader or a fan of the style yourself, you should be aware of the various permutations of OSDM. True to their spread-out geography (they hail from all over the east coast), Horrendous have created a blood-slick crossover between the best Floridian death and the best Swedish death, both circa 1991. It's as if they camped out somewhere in the mid-Atlantic on a ship full of zombies for the last two decades, surviving on canned beans and live rats.

Through Emptiness v. Demo 2012

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There are probably still a few people out there who are confused about the difference between technical music and progressive music. Two demos recently submitted to me perfectly illustrate the difference.

The international (Swedish/Russian) duo Wall of the Eyeless gave me a copy of Through Emptiness, their four-song 2011 demo. The first thing I noticed was the kind of cool abstract/surrealist art, which is pretty disturbing despite the not-so-metal color tones. Behind that art is a fine example of what progressive death metal can sound like. They have a nice growl, a traditional death metal tuning (not ultra-downtuned) with a somewhat blackened tone, and a raw production. Their songwriting is dynamic, with plenty of soft/acoustic/clean sections, tempo shifts, and riff changes.

Ancestors Blood: When the Forest Calls (EP 2009)

Grammar Nazi, Genre Nazi

I am a grammar nazi. As such, the name Ancestors Blood drives me crazy. I try not to think too much about it while listening to the music. Their EP When the Forest Calls was submitted to me by Heidens Hart.

Aside from being a grammar nazi, I’m also a bit of a genre nazi. This is yet another Viking metal band miscategorized as “pagan black metal” on Metal Archives. It’s fairly standard Viking metal at that, with a straight-forward black metal spine, girded with ribs made of steady drumming, and flesh made of synth, all working together to create an epic-sounding body flowing with, of course, the blood of ancestors. Their standout features are the desperate-sounding vocals and bass that’s very prominent in the mix. The latter is especially endearing to me, as one who used to fancy himself a bass player.

Farsot: Insects (2011)

More Plausible than Twinkie Domination

Everyone says that only two things will survive a nuclear apocalypse: roaches and Twinkies. I can tell you for a fact that’s bullshit. Hostess is having serious financial troubles, and we’ll probably run out of Twinkies before the bombs drop. Plus, there’s a Twinkie that’s been sitting at my desk for less than four months, and it’s not looking too hot. It’s sucked the cellophane into itself and is starting to get some serious discoloration.

Farsot's Insects is based around the idea that bugs will continue to thrive in a radioactive environment, and is peppered with samples suggesting that we will destroy ourselves, ultimately making the insects masters of the world.

Sphere: Homo Hereticus (2012)

Working Title: Going Through a Blasphemous Phase

Sphere’s Homo Hereticus is another submission by Godz ov War Productions. As opposed to my other recent Polish death metal review (Pandemonium), Sphere is more in line with what you expect. In other words, they’ve heard their fair share of Vader and Behemoth, and they’re not afraid to show it on their sophomore full-length.

You already know exactly what to expect from this band. It’s mostly fast-paced death metal riffs with a modern production. (What is it with Poland and modern production, anyway? Didn’t they get the “raw is better” memo?) The mix has everything exactly where it should be, and the band plays with precision and energy. The vocals are a hoarse death growl, somewhere between Nergal and your average Swe-death gut-belcher. In other words, pretty much exactly like Vader's vocals.

Countess: On Wings of Defiance (2011)

Technically, They Outrank Baroness

Countess is a black metal band out of the Netherlands who have been kicking around since 1993, a feat which is in itself astounding. They are number 127 on the Metal Archives, out of over 83,000, which is pretty significant in itself. The band has released a whopping 13 full-length albums, as well as a couple EPs and a split. Sole current member Orlok contacted me with a review copy of their latest, On Wings of Defiance.

Naming your band after another band is a tried-and-true metal tradition, going back at least as far as Saint Vitus choosing their name after a Black Sabbath song in 1980. While it may seem rash to jump to the conclusion Countess are named for Bathory, it becomes pretty obvious when you see the font and the album art. And when you hear the music, it’s proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

A band that started in 1993 could have been at the forefront of black metal. They could have shaped the sound. But instead, this sounds like a second- (or third-) tier Bathory clone, with strong Venom influence.

I wish all the best to them. It takes a true metal warrior to keep at something like this for 20 years. But I don't need to listen past the third song to know that I've heard this before, and heard it better. I issue summary judgment against On Wings of Defiance.



Buy: The Basar

Black Pyramid: II (2012)

Better Than Gray Cylinder

Black Pyramid is a Massachusetts stoner doom band that I first learned about from a stellar review over at That’s How Kids Die. That article makes a distinction between “rock-influenced” metal bands and “metal-influenced” metal bands. The former are the only ones, it is argued, who can make their riffs swing.

Whether that distinction is true or not, Black Pyramid definitely know how to make it swing. Based purely on sound, it’s tough to place them geographically. I first thought of traditional doom via Finland, but then I thought they sounded more like southern swing. But then I thought, no, they sound English. The truth is, they’re not strictly following any one accepted formula, regional or otherwise.

Satyros: Riven (2011)

Too Extreme?

The German band Satyros contacted me to point me to their sophomore full-length, Riven, available as a free download on their Bandcamp page.

They introduced themselves to me as a blackened melodic death metal band. As I was first listening to it, I was really struggling to find anything to compare it to. It's far more melodic than any blackened death metal has a right to be. I kept struggling, until about track 9, and then I realized why I was so confused.

It's not extreme metal at all.

40 Pushups

I've been playing the Wii Fit almost every night for the past two months, in addition to my normal weight-lifting routine. I hit 40 pushups tonight in the Pushup Challenge, and I feel pretty good about it.

Fitness, like metal, should always be a challenge. What challenges have you faced, and beaten, in recent weeks?