Lifeless - The Occult Mastery

http://www.secret-face.com/

#FOR FANS OF: Swedish Death, Dismember

Definitely more brutal than 'Godconstruct' just not as catchy, I felt. But still a good album. A lot of screaming and brutality. Some really good melodies as well. They didn't earn this "70" rating for nothing! I just thought that it was their more extreme side to them. And the leads were solid. Pretty clean and fast! I just felt this evil vibe to this one but it's the direction that they wanted to take on here. Everything on here is super intense and tight. I just felt that they should've slowed down a little but the Swedish type of guitar tone is that of other bands that have this vibe on the guitars such as Dismember, Entombed (old) and Entrails (to name a few). However, they're from Germany acquiring this taste in guitar sounding Swedes. Fleshcrawl is another German band with the Swedish sounding guitars. They use the same pedal.

This album spews forth anger and aggression. They really are over-the-top on here. It's something to listen to when you're angry. The music is fast and the vocals are ferocious. I would venture to say it's without a doubt their most extreme release.

They don't change it up much in terms of their brutality here. It's just over-the-top noise-terror! They have a little variety here in clean guitars but not much. They're overall release is utterly uncompromising. It's one of those albums that is just balls out intensity.

They haven't been actively releasing albums since 2017 when this one came out. Maybe they're going to re-assess and slow down a bit. But I'm not sure if they're going to venture on that route. Maybe or maybe not. Overall, the guitars were devastating and the vocals totally blaring in your speakers! They fit the music pretty well. The guitars featured a lot of tremolo picking and other fast melodies. Can they reenact this intensity I'm not sure. But this album deserves some recognition for being extreme as it is. I'm surprised there have been no reviews for this release. It's baffling, what an intense and melodic yet evil vibe. What are you waiting for? Check it out! (Death8699)

(F.D.A. Records - 2017)
Score: 70

https://fda-records.bandcamp.com/album/the-occult-mastery

Entrails - Tales From the Morgue

http://www.secret-face.com/

#PER CHI AMA: Death Metal

I didn't hear any flaws on this release. The music, the vocals, the guitars, the production/mixing quality all are top notch. Surprised this is 12 years old. It's even better than its follow-up. It's a dynamic release. The Swedish sound is totally there. But they have their own sound especially on this one. It's a little different than early Swedish death metal bands but it's got the same vibe to it. Definitely their own sound and creation. The guitars are totally spewing out original riffs and likable, too! All different tempos they change it up a lot. So it never gets stagnant or boring. A lot of tremolo picking going on!

Every song is unique in its own creation, nothing on here is duplicated by them or anyone else. The vocals are brutal and they can shift a little like the guitars but not much. I like the fact that they keep the guitars going smoothly changing tempos some songs start out slow that end up being a lot faster. And they fiddle around with some clean guitars but not much. The leads are slow for the most part. I felt that the combination of intensity and easing it up a bit at times gave the album a lot of diversity. Not only that but they're still spewing out the same death metal that they absolutely are invigorating in doing so.

I thought that the production sound quality was top notch and they give the music a sort of fresh atmospheric sound. It's different than others, it's a bit softer. But the vocals are mixing in a little lower, they don't over-dominate the music. It's just about right! I thought that what sets this aside from other Swedish death metal acts is that they have a similar guitar sound but the riffs and quality of music is just different. I don't know an album that I've heard that was coming from the same origin that as concise and ever changing than this album. It's totally in a league of its own. Entirely!

If you've never heard this band before, check this album out on YouTube or Spotify because it's on there. Don't jump to their new one because it's got negative reviews. I myself haven't heard it nor do I want to. So just check this out and make your decision whether or not you want this in your CD collection (if you have one). And yes, the band needs your support! Give them that much in this pandemic! They will not disappoint. From the beginning till the end this one is always getting a different sound on the guitar front and the vocals not so much. But I made sure to give it a high rating. Get it!

(F.D.A. Records - 2010)
Score: 80

https://www.facebook.com/Entrails666