Sinister - Diabolical Summoning

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#FOR FANS OF: Death Old School

This is vintage old-school death metal. It varies in the degree of brutality it has to it. Killer line-up! The production quality is good too for a 1993 release. It might seem kind of "hollow" though. It's worth taking a listen to though. That is, if you are a fan of underground music. The vocals are guttural, the guitars are heavy and distorted to the nth degree, tempos are all over the place. Definitely worth checking out they remind me a little bit like Suffocation's early days. The blast beats, the music, and the double bass drums. This is a strong album in terms of their transformation. Their newer stuff is solid as well.

These riffs on here are beyond good, they're phenomenal. The vocals fit the music, totally! The songs are full of energy and originality. I really enjoyed this release. I'm surprised that I learned about this band till much later in their days!

I'm glad that I did learn about Sinister. I bought the CD because I chose to support the band, not just load up on streaming services. The music on here is hyper intensity! They speak to the listener on how they've come together as musicians and dominating the scene!

The leads on here are good as well! I don't think there's a pause in any of this that equally slows down, it exceeds everyone's expectations. The vocals stay brutal and the music just overly compensates the production quality. The tempos are fast and furious at times. But they have a certain groove to them that only death metal bands have to offer. What a magnificent release that will not let you down. I thought it good enough to buy that's how good I thought of it. I'll admit that I downloaded this before I bought it. But I'm so glad that I did! It was never boring or repetitive. It always held extraordinary tempos and the drums did it justice! (Death8699)

(Nuclear Blast/Cosmic Key Creations - 1993/2023)
Score: 80

https://sinisterofficial.com/

Vital Remains - Dechristianize

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#FOR FANS OF: Death Metal

I got this on my digital release before I decided to buy the album. I still like their latest more, but oddly enough I'm scoring it the same as that one. The main beef I have with the album is the snare drum, other than that I thought it was an impeccable release. The songwriting is amazing. I love the riffs and intensity. It seemed like this one did well but I'd have to say that 'Icons of Evil' was more suitable to my pallet upon listening to and times I've listened to it. However, I thought that this one was a bit faster tempo-wise and aggressive. I don't care much for the early stuff and I have no idea what the new stuff is going to sound like when it's complete.

I'll probably just stick with the two Vital Remains releases not the old. I think the newer is less raw and more likable. This one is downright amazing. The riffs are just everywhere and brutal. They really hit-home with this one. I think that they just are great with having Glen via Deicide voluntarily in for lead vocals on here. He sounded more like the "newer" Glen on his vocals. The lineup is forever changing and I don't think there are going to be any of the original members on the new stuff. All of it is pretty much 21st century members. Time will tell when the new album arrives (if ever) and we'll see how it pans out.

The production quality is quite good, a little bit raw though. But the music sounds top notch despite that. The guitars are fantastic. I felt that overall an impeccable album. They got better than the older (quite fast) and seemed to be the most mature on 'Icons of Evil'. I think that they deserve all the praise they seemed to on this album. Really innovative songwriting (as I say) and wicked leads. Overall, a very dark and depressing album. And the perfect lyrics for Glen right up his alley with the Satanism. If you might want to not read the lyrics to this release if you're bound by religion, but just maybe learn the titles of the songs.

Like I did, I downloaded this album first but didn't check it out right away. I waited a while. I thought that the new album was just more suitable to me. But most were in disagreement. I think that both are just amazing death metal. I don't think that anything on here was done wrong, I though that all the songs were solid. And the leads were top notch. Glen sounded brutal, just applicable to the music of this release. He did them justice both albums. So yeah, this was unrelenting and amazing, I wouldn't change much of any of it except the snare drum! Other than that, check it out! (Death8699)

(Olympic Recordings/Cosmic Key Creations - 2003/2020)
Score: 80

https://www.facebook.com/vital.remains.official/

Old Man's Child - Ill-Natured Spiritual Invasion

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#FOR FANS OF: Symph Black

I don't think this album is "boring" at all. Sure maybe to other critics but not to me. I thought that this was a total monument. Such a great follow-up from 'The Pagan Prosperity'. It has better music and production quality. I liked the songs on here more than their predecessor. The vocals are still solid on here matches up with the music. Kind of guttural Galder but still GOOD! He's done great things for his project here. I think maybe nowadays he's spending too much time in Dimmu Borgir where he should be capitalizing with this project. Dimmu hasn't had a good album since maybe 'In Sorte Diaboli'. On here, he dominates on all instruments!

Every song is good and they are somewhat lengthy. But that's good, he has so much to offer musically. A true legend in every respect. I like his vocals too they're dark and the screams are totally fathomable. He really topped his musicianship on here. I think that this is one of his best releases out of all of them. The music, the production, sound quality, vocals and overall effort was ingenious. This guy knows exactly how to make music that's within a somewhat dying genre: melodic black metal. Naglar is tops on their genre like this one. But I like Old Man's Child more. They aren't all about speed.

This album is super catchy. I liked every single song on here but just to give you an idea, here's some: "Towards Eternity", "Demoniacal Possession" and  "My Evil Revelations." These are just to give you an idea of what this album is like. He has such catchy capabilities on this release. I think more so than 'The Pagan Prosperity', he just stepped it up a notch and the fact that the sound quality is much better he had it made on here. No need to criticize the album and coin it as "boring." He did a great job on the songwriting and overall musicianship. Totally dominated!

Check out those songs or the other tracks too and see what you think. This album was recorded about 25 years ago and still holds weight in the best albums category. Galder has spent a lot of time with Dimmu and I think that if Old Man's Child is still active he should release a new album. Dimmu hasn't done many good albums for a long while. He should take a step back from them and record an album with this project! He founded this band and has shown us his amazing talent on all instruments not to mention vocals that totally crush! He tears it all up on here. Have a listen! (Death8699)

 

(Century Media/Cosmic Key Creations  - 1998/2020)

Score: 80

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFyoA1M-MXg