Nidsang - Into the Womb of Dissolving Flames

#FOR FANS OF: Black Metal, Enthroned, Marduk, Dark Fortress

The second full-length from these Swedish black metallers is yet another strong band that utilizes the classic mold to great effect throughout here. This is for the most part simply traditional-styled black metal based on the ever-present swirling tremolo riffing offering plenty of dark atmospherics that are perfectly in line with their Norwegian brethren, compiling a strong series of riffs here that take full advantage of this style. Capable of landing either mid-tempo or lightning-fast tempos with ridiculous ease, the overwhelming up-tempo assaults here make for a much better attack as these tremolo-based riffs come off with a greater sense of urgency packed into tight, frenetic pockets that gel together quite comfortably with the restrained-yet-still-energetic work elsewhere in here while also being more than suitable for the droning melodic riffing also present. Adapting those restrained, mid-tempo sections more as mid-round breathers where the tremolo-picked riffs slow into a more spacious sprawl offers another wholly competent area of attack here alongside the more charging, blasting drumming that maintains an appropriately dark and chilling attack. Sure, it’s another cog in an ever-growing number of second-wave worshipping acts without much originality, but the urgency and infectious riffing here trumps that handily and almost makes it a non-factor here as the tracks are that enjoyable and compelling. Intro ‘Black Void Revelations’ features a lengthy soundtrack collage of scraping metal and distorted effects leading into a swirling tremolo riff with blasting drumming bouncing along with the frenzied up-tempo rhythms and buzzing riff-work through scorching tempo changes as the dark rhythms continue on through the melodic final half for a spectacular opening assault. ‘The Gathering Shadows’ opens with blasting drumming and utterly chaotic tremolo riffing at a truly frenzied pace that keeps this blasting along quite nicely with a few scant melodic breaks before delving back into the frenzied patterns and stylish tremolo rhythms that augment the blazing drum-work in the finale for another stand-out effort. The unrelenting ‘The Burning Beyond’ uses a droning mid-tempo rhythm and clanging drumming that soon blasts into frenzied and furious tempos with tight, frenetic tremolo riff-work buzzing through scorching fast tempos with plenty bombastic riffing and full-on blasting drumming taking this through the more melodic and mid-tempo final half for one of the album’s best efforts. The twisting ‘Layil’ uses a more restrained and melodic tempo with stylish tremolo rhythms and furious drumming that meshes nicely with the plodding pace that rarely kicks into higher tempos until the furious, frenzied riffing buzzing through the tremolo rhythms alongside the blasting drumming into the more melodic finale for a scattershot but still enjoyable effort. ‘Veneration of the Fiery Blood’ offers a full-throttle series of scorching tremolo patterns and frenzied, chaotic rhythms bursting through blistering paces with the odd melodic interlude to offset the frantic rhythms and charging mid-tempo work that slowly fades into a droning fadeout final half for what is still a blistering, chaotic blast of a track. ‘Eschatonic Catharsis’ features a slow-building droning riff and plodding drumming within a lethargic pace before firing through the blasting drumming and frenetic riff-work that picks up the speed considerably as the melodic patterns gives way to the relentless energy throughout the furious rhythms in the finale for another strong stand-out offering. Album closer ‘Abysmal Origins’ blasts forth with a ravenous tremolo riff with pounding, savage blasting drum-work at a furious tempo with the slow-down section offering an extended melodic break with sprawling riff-work carrying through the enlarged segments into a twisting solo section as the scalding tremolo riffs back the relentless energy throughout the final half for an utterly walloping finish overall. It may play a little too much like others, but there’s so much to like here that the familiarity is more than welcoming. (Don Anelli)

(Pulverised Records - 2014)

Score: 85

https://pulverised.bandcamp.com/album/into-the-womb-of-dissolving-flames

Vanhelgd - Relics of Sulphur Salvation

#FOR FANS OF: Swedish Death Metal, Entombed, Grave, Fleshcrawl

The third full-length from Swedish Death Metal band Vanhelgd, this is prime-era early-90s worship that manages to be quite faithful to the sound and origin of the scene without doing anything really new or distinguished that would’ve set them apart. This is really Swedish paint-by-numbers style of Death Metal where the band seems to be going through the checklist of what needs to be included, which means we get that unmistakable churning, grinding buzzsaw guitar patterns and loud, thumping bass working throughout the whole album which augments the hoarse, raspy growls quite well which inevitably starts sounding quite similar to the retro-sounding “cavernous” vocal approach that many modern Death Metal bands employ in an attempt to sound “Old-School.” Thankfully, it’s not as common as that approach but remains more faithful to their forefathers which adds a defined old-school approach to their music which really sells their influences quite well and endears them to the old-school crowd if only to really make them devoid of their own identity. This is mostly due to the rather restrained tempos on display here as the band doesn’t really get up in the faster realm all that often and tends to meander around in the mid-tempo more often and only infrequently preferring to speed things up, and while this makes for a fine round of heavy riffing, pounding drum-work and the welcome amount of melody within, the identity of the band tends to get lost in a sea of mid-paced patterns and plodding rhythms that really could’ve come from any band in the genre and don’t really put them through any unique or creative patterns beyond the more Black Metal-influenced melodies it starts playing with the later in the album it goes. This results in many of the songs having a sprawling, churning pace to them that manages to compliment the attack well surprisingly, for the lack of speed in the compositions initially comes to help them in providing a natural foundation to hang the slow, droning crawls that tend to pop up through most of the tracks here and really brings up the album in places as the two elements go well together. Intro "Dödens Maskätna Anlete" pretty much gives the listener what to expect from the outset with grinding buzzsaw rhythms, pounding drums and hoarse screaming vocals that wind through multitudes of tempos from speedier sections to more down-beat, atmospheric patterns that through in some melodic buffers by nature of their downbeat tempo against the faster sections. Follow-up "The Salt in My Hands" is actually one of the better numbers when it slows down the tempo in favor of stylish tremolo-picked rhythms and a chugging rhythm section that plods along quite nicely but knows when to pick up the energy in spurts even if it spends most of the time heavily chugging away. "Where All Flesh is Soil" tends to be even more restrained and down-tempo with a lot of plodding, sluggish sections driven by the tremolo-picked riffs and blasting drum-work that becomes more influenced by Black Metal as it goes along without too much of the traditional Swedish-styled riffing. The sprawling epic "Ett Liv I Träldom" gets it right with a sparkling mixture of chugging riff-work, tremolo-picked melodies and sprawling tempo changes that keep the tight, brutal riffs in check while furthering the attempts at including the faster tempos into the epic, sprawling music and comes off incredibly well because of that. The album’s best track, "May the Worms Have Mercy on My Soul," seems to encapsulate everything about the album in a defined package, offering charging buzzsaw riffing, tight drumming and thunderous paces alongside sprawling tempos and slower melodies, a relatively fine mix that puts everything together in one place for a truly enjoyable track. Many of these elements find themselves repeated in the title track which causes this to become a secondary highlight and form a devastating back-to-back-to-back threesome of great tracks in the middle of the album. As well, "Sirens of Lampedusa" is another mixture track that highlights the more slower sections with fine up-tempo riffs and the final rattling closer "Cure Us from Life" is one of the harder tracks with an absolutely furious approach and stellar assaults. In the end, while it doesn’t really do much to isolate itself from the community their attack manages to sound decent and oddly engaging for many listens, creating a rather enjoyable if indistinguishable mark. (Don Anelli)

(Pulverised Records - 2014)

Score: 75

https://www.facebook.com/vanhelgd

Zombiefication - At the Caves of Eternal

#FOR FANS OF: Death metal, Grave, Dismember, Obliteration

Certainly, Sweden’s worldwide reputation as one of the prime instigators of metal in any form has meant that whatever originality exists there will be undoubtedly copied and expanded upon by legions of other acts around the world, which brings us to the Mexican Zombiefication. Taking even a precursor spin through any of these tracks and you’d be forgiven to think this was a prototypical Swedish Death Metal band from the late 90s as the attack employed here is so spot on in regards to the influence and worship of that style that it’s almost an outright crime of thievery. You have the nasty, slicing buzzsaw-like riffs that charge at you like a runaway bulldozer pinched with the right amount of melody to make the attack bearable while pounding drums and thumping bass-lines create an atmosphere of doom and dread that seems ripped from right out of Sweden’s top-secret playbook. There’s a few wrinkles to the formula, though, that whilst not fully original does make for some rather intriguing listening at times. Rather than the traditional Swedish-styled rhythm section that builds off a groovy Thrash pattern with blistering drumming and a clanky bass-line, Zombiefication opts for more of a traditional Death Metal assault that recalls more of the retro death metal movement with the gloomy, cavernous atmosphere, and when merged with those pristine Swedish styled riffing patterns this does have a lot to like about it. Indeed, the album opening title track sets the stage for this one incredibly well with both of those influences in pristine placement to give a crystal clear emphasis on what’s going to happen throughout the course of the album. Other efforts like "Disembodied Souls," "Soul Collector," "In the Gallery of Laments" and "The Crypt" continue on this theme of traditional Swedish Death Metal guitars atop pounding rhythms and creating an overall sense of despair in the atmosphere. Thankfully, we also get a few rather impressive instances of change-ups to break the monotony. "In the Mist" drops the old-school rhythm section and becomes so blatantly Dismember-influenced the band could be held liable for plagiarism, while "In the Shadowed Garden" attempts to pass itself off as more of an atmospheric death metal song with some high-level melodies flowing throughout the blistering punishment delivered. All the while, the plodding atmospheric "Passages into Darkness" really brings down the energy level considerably and makes for a rather disappointing offering that seems like filler until the frantic final half, somewhat lowering this one. Still, this is a solid-enough outing that will definitely please the more discerning death metal fans out there who aren’t so concerned with out-and-out ripping off other bands and focus on how good they are at what they do, as this band does the Swedish sound pretty well. (Don Anelli)

(Pulverised Records - 2013)

Voto: 80

http://www.zombiefication.com/

Wombbath - Internal Caustic Torments

#FOR FANS OF: Brutal Death, Incantation, early Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse

Among the plethora of death metal releases in the early '90s, at the time when the genre was still new-ground ready to be explored and seemingly everyone went at it with a copy of ‘Altars of Madness’ and a book on Lovecraft, few managed to survive this early pillaging of this genre and are now resigned to the thought of “If only they could’ve followed it up…” much like Sweden’s Wombbath. Dripping with that primordial flavor that landed so many albums in the classic status in terms of tight, vicious guitars that effectively alternate between dense, thrash-based patterns that were found all over the US at the same time or some evocative, more spacious riffs that feel almost doom-like in execution with the emphasis on power over the speed yet mixed in that glorious production job that fills the whole album with a sense of doom and primal evil as if the darkness over the next bend contains a myriad of creatures awaiting for your soul. It’s surprising how evocative this music for this time period as this makes for a stellar album had it been done by seasoned professionals, but as a debut it’s far more powerful than expected with nuances that veterans would make and shows they’ve learned this lesson incredibly well and might even surpass the teachers at select points. Opener "Prevent Anemia" sets off the appropriate tone with a series of fantastic rapid-fire riffs that show a strong ear for deep, guttural rhythms, primal rawness and a vicious streak that would be suitably echoed in further stand-outs "Intestinal Bleeding," "Conceal Interior Torments" and "Several Shapes". "As Silent As the Grave" offers the chance for some stout technicality to creep into the material with more dynamic riff changes and tempo variations than expected, while "Corporal Punishment" starts off a select few tracks like "Performed in Depth" and "Beyond the Gloomy" which contains more of a doom influence with those sprawling riffs and slower paces. A few tracks may be hit or miss with some repeating patterns or a lame riff thrown into the mix, but generally this is among the top-tier mark of the generation of death metal that never found a break and is thankfully available again in a fine re-issue for those that miss the good old days. Mark up a few extra points of the score if you consider the package as well as the song quality for purchasing as you get their entire discography in a demo and EP as well as the full-length which are basically rawer, simpler forms of songs already on this CD (and several in fact are re-recorded on the album anyway) and more for connoisseurs than anything else. (Don Anelli)

(Pulverised Records - 2013)
Score: 90

http://pulverised.bandcamp.com/album/internal-caustic-torments

Putrefact - Of Those Who Were Deceased

#FOR FANS OF: Death metal old-school, Grave, Dismember, Unleashed, Morbid Angel

This two-track EP from Mexico’s Putrefact is a shining example of old-school death metal that has a lot of elements at work in the different underground sections of the genre. There’s elements of cavernous-sounding primitive Death, Swedish styled influences and even sections replete with doom influences though those are on the backburner, and normally, these are simple, primitive tracks all slung through those Swedish sounding riffs at various tempos, from straight-forward chugging to thrashing death metal or slow-paced doom offerings that keep the Swedish guitars rattling along nicely as it burns through its paces. You really can’t tell much about a band with such a small window of critique, though it definitely seems apparent the band is hungry, energetic and definitely willing to play around with the clichés, as the opener "We Were Deceased", tends to roll through far more up-beat tempos and thrashes more often than not, meshing really nicely with the simply massive, cavernous vocals that really give an aura of dirty, mucky howls corresponding to the guttural tone of the guitars. Second song, "II" is slightly more doom-oriented as it’s a little slower, contains far more spacious patterns and kicks up the energy rarely, which isn’t a shocker since more than half of it is taken up with an ambient noise outro. It’s hard to see where they’re going, but this definitely seems like a fine band to watch in the scene if they can give us a little more to handle on future releases. (Don Anelli)

(Pulverised Records - 2013)
Score: 65

http://www.facebook.com/putrefact

Autumnblaze - Every Sun is Fragile

#FOR FANS OF: Gothic atmospheric rock/metal, Katatonia, Alcest, AnathemA

Autumnblaze formed in Saarland, Germany back in 1996, after releasing a demo in 1997 and an EP in 1998 they release their first long player 'DammerElbenTragodie' in 1999. Somehow this band has flown under my radar for fifteen plus years. When asked if I would like to review the album, I accepted the challenge with open arms and an open mind. However, because of my ignorance to their previous works, I will not be able to talk about how they have or have not progressed as band. But, this is a review of their current release, so that's exactly what I will do. 'Every Sun is Fragile' is the sixth full length release from Autumnblaze. The style of music played here is "gothic, atmospheric rock/metal". The bands that come to mind when trying to describe their sound would be Katatonia, Anathema, and Alcest. Autumnblaze walk the line between rock and metal, jumping back and forth with varying amounts of success. There are some clunkers on this album, but they do succeed at creating some memorable songs as well. After a nice little instrumental intro, the first proper song on the album, "New Ghosts in Town", has a 'Viva Emptiness' era Katatonia vibe to it. It maintains this vibe throughout most of the songs seven plus minutes, however the last minute of the song builds into a Alcest-esc finish. This is a good song and it peaked my interest and excitement of the band it took me all this time to hear. "Im Spiegel" draws the listener in with it's punchy riff that has very jumpy feel to it. Probably being the most metal song, with hits heavy distorted guitars and harsh vocals, shows how these guys jump from rock to metal with relative ease. This track is followed by the balladish "Mein Engel, Der Aus Augen FileBt". This song shows the band doing what it does best. I believe they feel at home and most comfortable playing the softer rock style tunes. This is very apparent on "How I Learned to Burn My Teardrops". This is my favorite song on the album. An absolutely beautiful song that leaves the listener somewhere between tears of sorrow and joy. Another definite winner on the album is "A Place for Paper Diamonds". This song has all the feel and beauty of the previous song mentioned with a little of their heavier moments sprinkled in. This works perfectly here, where it seems to fail elsewhere on the album. 'Every Sun is Fragile' is a good album with hints of greatness. I feel that at fifty-four minutes it's a little too long. There is some filler here. I would like to see Autumnblaze craft more songs like "How I Learned to Burn My Teardrops" moving forward. Even though there are some clunkers here, there are enough good moments that make this a worthwhile purchase. (Brian Grebenz)

(Pulverised Records - 2013)
Score: 70

http://autumnblaze-kingdom.com/