Jungle Rot - A Call To Arms

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

#FOR FANS OF: Death Metal, Obituary

Very good compositions which is notorious for this band. It's not as though they're duplicating previous releases. They've been coming up with some FRESH riffs on the guitars. The vocals are about the same as they were on previous recordings. It fits well with the music. The songs are pretty tight in respect to how the riffs are catchy and brutal at the same time! I enjoyed this entire release. The leads are pretty well constructed in addition to the rhythms. I like how the tremolo picking on the guitars fit and made the songs even tighter. These guys have a lot to offer the death metal community!

I like how they were able to make the rhythm guitars flow with the voice. And the songs are very noteworthy. I liked everything about this release. The music, the vocals and the production quality. The only caveat was the duration of the album. It's only about 33 minutes.

I wouldn't be surprised if their music shows up on Ultimate-Guitar.com. The riffs are that good! And the vocals fit well, they seem to have everything going on here. The music is what I admired the most. Just all aspects of it.

As I said, the production quality was top notch making the music identifiable and clear. I'm not a huge fan of the vocals however, that's the reason for the "73" on this release. It's just an acquired taste for them. But the music was mostly moderate tempos with double bass kicking furiously. The riffs are very fresh and noteworthy (as previously mentioned) and that's what's so admirable about this release. They're not duplicating riffs in the past they made a new onslaught of songwriting this time around. This is one of their more solid releases and let's hope that they continue on this path of great making of their music! (Death8699)

(Unique Leader Records - 2022)
Score: 73

https://uniqueleaderrecords.bandcamp.com/album/a-call-to-arms

Rings of Saturn - Lugal Ki En

BACK IN TIME:

#PER CHI AMA: Slam/Deathcore

Diarroici schizofrenismi batteristici stocasticamente alternanti trrrrrr e tktktktktk, schizofrenici diarroismi chitarristici stocasticamente alternanti gdgdgdgdgd, gnaaaaaaugn e semibiscromatici pilipilipilipili iper-metal-decerebro-progressive, un basso impercettibile, probabilmente inesistente, immaginifici vocalismi cloaca-gorgoglianti, per cui si favoleggia che Ian Bearer sia in grado di imitare con la voce il vomito di qualunque specie vivente del regno animale, con tanto di virate bronto-gorgoglianti (almeno in "Infused"). Contrastano, una produzione assurdamente limpida, sintetica, extrasensoriale, al cui confronto gli ultimi Dream Theater vi sembreranno il primo demo-tape dei Mummies: una sensazione che individuerete con maggior facilità nei rari momenti infra-slam ("Godless Times", una specie di versione RoS del concetto di new age) è nelle iperspaziali code clean di "Beckon", "Senseless Massacre" o nei pre-finali di "Eviscerate" e "Unsympathetic Intellect", per esempio. Ciò che vi farà ragionevolmente pensare che, in fondo in fondo, il sedicente aliencore ultraterreno espresso dai RoS altro non sia che una specie di banalissimo synth-metal anni duezero punto dieci. Una specie di Milli Vanilli, ecco. (Alberto Calorosi)

(Unique Leader Records - 2014)
Voto: 58

https://uniqueleaderrecords.bandcamp.com/album/lugal-ki-en

Rings of Saturn - Embryonic Anomaly

BACK IN TIME:

#PER CHI AMA: Deathcore/Techno Death

Il vocalist Peter Pawlak passa dal growl simil maiale-sgozzato-con-un-grosso-fermacarte allo screaming tipo pitbull-malauguratamente-attaccato-al-tuo-polpaccio con la medesima disinvoltura con la quale il giallino diventa marronechiaro nelle mutande di un metallaro accampato da quattro giorni al Wacken Open Air. Il batterista Brent Siletto passa con altrettanta animalesca disinvoltura dal trrrrr velocissimo al trrrrr ancora più velocissimo al trrrr ancora più veloce dell'ancora più velocissimo. Il chitarrista Lucas Mann passa dai ghghgh-ismi ai laserchitarrismi con la disinvoltura con la quale il sottoscritto, notoriamente afflitto da sindrome di Tourette, passa dall'espressione "colgo l'occasione per porgerle i miei più cordiali saluti" appena prima di riattaccare all'espressione "mavaffan*ulo stron*odim*rda porcodun*io di quella puttanama*onna" subito dopo aver riattaccato. L'alien-prog "Seized and Devuored", in apertura, risulta l'unica canzone vagamente intelligibile. Il deathcore manieristico di "Grinding of Internal Organs" è inopinatamente introdotto da un suono dichiaratamente ottobìt. Forse reminscenze di una vecchia versione di Guitar Hero che girava su Commodore 64? (Alberto Calorosi)

(Unique Leader Records - 2011)
Voto: 45

https://www.facebook.com/RingsofSaturnband/

Abominable Putridity - The Anomalies of Artificial Origin

BACK IN TIME:

#PER CHI AMA: Brutal Death, Cannibal Corpse

Per combinazione mi viene in mente quel super coglione di Lester Bangs che nel sessantanove si (re)inventa la definizione "heavy metal" per raccontare una esibizione live dei Blue öyster cult. Esotermia, sudore, energia, reggiseni. Il rock trasmuta l'anticonformismo in emanazione. Si isola, in un certo senso. Vent'anni dopo salta fuori il death metal, la frontiera estrema dell'heavy metal. E poi il brutal death metal, la frontiera estrema del death metal, e infine lo slam brutal death metal, la frontiera estrema del brutal death. Letto questo articolo decidete di aprire youtube e mettete su il secondo album delle Abominevoli putrescenze. Slam metal moscovita, dalla Russia. Non è strano: lì c'è una fervida scena underground, pare. Il disco dura meno di ventisei minuti. Il tempo di una cacata senza fretta. Controllato la carta igienica? Ok, andiamo. Per tutto il tempo basso-chitarra-batteria faranno la stessa cosa all'unisono, cioè TRRRRRRRRR. Come il vostro deretano, del resto. Poi c'è la voce. Un ibrido tra un maiale che viene sgozzato, un tombino rigurgitante merda liquefatta, il rumore del modem ISDN che vi si è rotto nel novantanove e, naturalmente, il vostro deretano. Mettete su "Remnants of the Torture" e ascoltatela seguendo il testo disponibile su darklyrics.com. Vi divertirete, ve lo assicuro. (Alberto Calorosi)

(Brutal Bands - 2012/ Unique Leader Records - 2015)
Voto: 60

https://abominableputridity.bandcamp.com/album/the-anomalies-of-artificial-origin

Dawn of Demise - The Suffering

#FOR FANS OF: Death Metal, Suffocation

With Death you had a band able to create an album that brought you through a series of emotions and tied it all together with a singular thesis. Death was a band that was brilliant at naming and fleshing out a theme that could be found in each song while making each song stand alone as a facet of the overarching ambition into which the album coalesced. Death and Schuldnier's unforgettable music laid the groundwork for a sub-genre of most extreme music and saw death metal as more than just a moniker, but a style that could only progress. Unfortunately, you'll never see that in this Dawn of Demise album, instead you'll see tepid tempos and vitriolic variations with emasculated exploration both in the instruments and the vocals.

While this band isn't as genre-defining as Immolation or well-known as Deeds of Flesh, Dawn of Demise's noticeably formulaic style is adept at delivering the sort of sedation that many bands can mistake for brutality. Immolation can make their music sound like a gearbox moving backwards through intricate breakdown sound intermixed with insane swinging riffs and precise indulgences in blast beats. Deeds of Flesh is a steady hammering on the senses meditating in technique where premeditated delivery results in an aggressive pummeling. Dawn of Demise can get quite rhythmic in its form of death metal but the brutality is only in the guitars and doesn't have the kind of response in the drum section that could really lay down a serious ferocity or bring a kind of technicality that would keep a listener from tuning out their guitar-led sound after a minute or so into each song. The only standout parts on this album are in the solo sections. “Sadistic Gratification” is a demonstration of how not to use your money track. It's a strong start with a good groove at the end that is thrown away far too early despite the lacking lead up. This track is then followed by such overproduced banality through too many tepid tracks to really realize any antagonizing form. Dawn of Demise had a good run at the end of “Deride the Wretch” but cut it off too quickly. This band seems to favor breaking down through nearly the entire song with very little to keep things going, turning the death metal style on its head, and making it less encouraging than the standard model. There are some standout moments through this threadbare album of diet Suffocation emulation including the groove in “The Process of Killing” which combines with a great solo creating a fantastic few seconds of brutality. However, you have to wait through minutes of buildup for something that you would miss if you blinked while the band showers you with a cumbersome attempt to capitalize on Skinless' chug and give Suffocation's distant solo sound to it. This band has the uncanny ability to grab you out of the blue, make themselves heard, and then force you to lose interest in their cry for attention in the space of twenty seconds. Another example is the nice soling in “Those Who Deserve My Wrath” after an endless series of uninteresting riffs and breakdowns that blend together so effortlessly and enchant so little that the listener tunes the album out, forgetting he was listening to music, until this solo. Awakening from the slumber of a thousand chugs, this solo gets you back listening long enough to hear a somewhat satisfying blast beaten run in the oh so uniquely titled “As the World Dies”. I'm sure that song title took hours of agonizing creativity to concoct. Whatever Dawn of Demise has in the beginning of each song is lost far too early to overly abundant structuring, a glaring lack of creativity, and too little variation. This is a straightforward style without the understanding that they could expand on what they do well instead of beating around the bush when bands like Morbid Angel twenty before this band were doing more in one song than this band does in a full album. How am I supposed to believe that this is today's style of 'brutal' and 'heavy' music, let alone death metal? The only suffering happening on this album is that of the fan's because shelling out any money for an album so bland and one-dimensional is supporting the stereotype of death metal rather than the method and artistry of the style.

Denmark's Dawn of Demise could do well when opening for Skinless or Severe Torture who would later open for Dying Fetus or Suffocation. Yet on its own Dawn of Demise doesn't have too much going for them. The gutturals are what's to be expected, the breakdown beats are far too simple. Primal is a good way to go but it has to keep the listener wanting more if it's going to last in one's mind. This is far too average and the simplicity is utterly unoriginal, the band is trying to pave its own way across paths that have been so trodden into mud that it makes Six Feet Under sound good. Boring breakdowns, milquetoast metal, and tedious treads into threadbare grooves are what this humdrum death metal AC/DC does without the personality to make an impression. (Five_Nails)

(Unique Leader Records - 2016)
Score: 45

https://uniqueleaderrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-suffering

Omnihility - Dominion of Misery

#FOR FANS OF: Brutal Technical Death Metal; Internal Suffering, Deeds of Flesh

The third full-length from Oregon-based brutal/technical death metallers Omnihility once again manages to contain their ravenous and utterly pummeling assault into a whirlwind of technical and brutal death. This is mainly a finely-acute mixture of swirling, dive-bombing technically-challenging riffing that hurtles forth at rather frantic tempos that adds an overt brutality as the band whips up a frenzy of complex arrangements alongside the mechanical patterns. With an occasional dip into a more mid-tempo chug-based pattern, this serves as a nice buffer to off-set the more brutal moments here with the tightly-wound, frenzied rhythms here containing a rather charging, chaotic focus with this series of riffing coming together incredibly well. There’s only a slight issue with this one, as the album sounds way too mechanical and triggered at times to really breathe like the material really calls for here as the guitars really offer no depth or variety in their tone and stay on the same format for the album’s duration while the drumming is rather one-note choppy blasts without much deviation as well. It’s really the only thing to dislike here as the rest of the material is quite fun. The instrumental intro ‘Morte Aeterna’ uses it’s eerie lullabye-style to set-up proper first track ‘Psychotic Annihilation’ which carries many of the album’s traditional stamps here of utterly schizoid rhythms swirling through blazing tempos in a tight, frantic charge that readily overwhelms with it’s dive-bombing patterns and razor-wire riff-work that gets this off to a fine start. ‘Immaculate Deception’ slows down the tempo for more of a mid-tempo chug with it’s blasting mayhem as the twisting rhythms and full-throttle drumming continuing the assault with plenty of ravenous patterns throughout that kicks into more technical realms for another standout effort. ‘Dementia Praedox’ and ‘Dead Eden’ both carry more of the same in regards to whirlwind patterns of swirling, complex patterns diving around a frantic, frenzied rhythm augmented with plenty of technically-challenging and complex riffing, blasting drumming and brutal rhythms throughout. The instrumental ‘Within Shadows’ works as a fine mid-album breather that leads into ‘Reflections in Blood’ as the return to a more mid-tempo filled pattern in the riffing and drumming makes for another rather heavily-mechanized charge with the steady blasting and swirling riffing keeping this moving along quite nicely with plenty of fine brutality offered up in a solid enough track. ‘Parasitic Existence’ offers utterly blasting drumming and frantic swirling riff-work firing off plenty of stellar complex rhythms as the frantic, utterly straightforward pummeling tempo keeps the blazing intensity featured non-stop for a true highlight offering. ‘Necrotic. Consumption. Obsession’ is yet another rather enjoyable burst of charging twisting rhythms and frantic rhythms holding the technical patterns in line throughout the frenetic tempo as the blasting drum-work alongside the swirling brutality makes for a stellar offering as well. Finally, the album-closing instrumental title track offers another series of fine swirling rhythms and technically-challenging patterns to really generate a rather impressive closing note for this one. It’s really only the troubling issues already-mentioned that really hold this one back. (Don Anelli)

(Unique Leader Records - 2016)
Score: 80

https://uniqueleaderrecords.bandcamp.com/album/dominion-of-misery

Fallujah – The Flesh Prevails

#PER CHI AMA: Death Progressive, Cynic

Dopo il cambio stilistico ravvisato con il precedente EP, il brillante 'Nomadic', si è creata una certa attesa per il nuovo album degli americani Fallujah, anche da parte del sottoscritto, che non aveva particolarmente amato gli esordi della band, ancora impastati da una buona dose metalcore. Invece sono curioso di ascoltare il nuovo 'The Flesh Prevails' che promette di portare una bella ventata d'aria fresca al genere. E la opening track, “Starlit Path”, mette subito i puntini sulle "i" offrendo sonorità dotate di classe e una buona dose di melodia, quasi del tutto inattesa. Notevole l'impatto dei nostri con una song che non rinuncia al roboante ardore del deathcore, alle sue ritmiche al fulmicotone, alle growling vocals di Alex Hofmann, ma che aggiunge articolati giri di chitarra, ariose linee melodiche e ne garantisce una notevole accessibilità. Il suono si fa ancor più articolato con la seconda “Carved From Stone” che affianca alla furia dei nostri break dal forte flavour progressivo in pieno stile Cynic. Pazzesco. La violenza dirompente esplicata da una ritmica schiacciasassi e da brutali vocals vengo mitigate da semplici delay di chitarra. Forse è con la successiva “The Night Reveals” che i nostri prendono ancor più le distanze con il passato, certo non a scapito della pesantezza dei suoni, che vengono meglio convogliati e arricchiti da arrangiamenti che rendono il sound dei Fallujah più pieno e completo. Con la title track, la musica dei Fallujah completano definitivamente la propria conversione con un sound di fatto più vicino ai Cynic, piuttosto che agli esordi burrascosi dell'ensemble californiano, e questo non può far altro che giovare alla nuova immagine dei nostri. Non conosco il perché di questa svolta, sinceramente me ne frego e anzi me ne compiaccio visto che ho trovato una nuova band che mi faccia vibrare con la propria musica ricca, complessa e cinematica. Non me ne vogliano i vecchi fan della band, ma io i Fallujah li preferisco cosi e quando in “Levitation” compare in sottofondo una voce femminile, non mi sconvolgo e confermo nel vedere i nostri come potenziali e degni eredi dei già citati Cynic. Ci vorrà ancora tempo, consapevolezza e il raggiungimento di una maturità consolidata, per arrivare là dove sono arrivati Paul Masvidal e soci, ma posso dire che quella imboccata dai Fallujah è una strada tortuosa, irta di ostacoli, ma sicuramente illuminante. Ben tornati ragazzi. (Francesco Scarci)

(Unique Leader Records - 2014)

Voto: 85

https://www.facebook.com/fallujahofficial

Deprecated - Deriding His Creation

REISSUE:

#FOR FANS OF: Brutal Death Metal, Suffocation, Broken Hope

One of the most legendary and important releases in the history of brutal death metal, this four-song EP is still held in high regard by the majority of old-school metallers from the scene’s birth. The most glaring option about this album is that it’s far more technical than expected, as there’s a slew of complex rhythms and patterns at play within this, not just from the blazingly-fast guitars but the bass as well which has a few dynamic areas within the music to showcase it’s chops effectively. Of course, the drumming is the real key here as there’s just absolute devastation left after this one gets going, filled not just with complex patterns and blastbeats but also managing to roll throughout the different tracks with a reckless disregard for the number of hits being played on the kit, giving the music an extra intensity and speed that doesn’t come naturally in the genre. Top it off with the ever-familiar gorilla-grunting and pig-squeal vocals that permeate the genre and this is a rather impressive outing in the genre. The opening title track absolutely slays with dynamic waves of technical drumming, tight riff-work and a dedication to pummel all who stand in the way that there’s no let-up at all in the pace or tempo here as it just flat-out rips with ruthless aggression throughout. Follow-up "Mentally Deprived" is just as good with even more dynamic technicality displayed with some absolutely ferocious break-downs as the tight, swirling guitars buzzing in complex variations throughout with absolutely pummeling drum-work. "Realization of Betrayal" and "Induced Deception" really flow together in much the same way, dazzling technicality for the genre matched with devastating drumming, tight patterns and vicious rhythms that don’t really match the speed or urgency of their counterparts on the first half of the disc, but the brutality within still holds up to this day and they remain one of the more important acts in the genre as this one release attests to. (Don Anelli)

(Unique Leader Records - 2013)
Score: 75

https://www.facebook.com/DeprecatedUSA

Pyrexia - Feast of Iniquity

#For Fans of: Brutal New York Death, Suffocation, Skinless, Immolation

The fourth release from New York bruisers Pyrexia, 'Feast of Iniquity,' brings about another mark for a band without much in the way of originality this deep into their career. Basically, this is pretty much one speed all the way throughout, which is hyper-speed drumming with overbearing fills thumping away with tight, oppressive rhythms executed by the blazing guitars with the occasional burst of fluid riff patterns but far too often relies on the dynamic breakdown associated with the NY side of the Death Metal scene. Filled with Hardcore-like chugging, thunderous drumming and a near scream/growl vocal style, this band fits in pretty heavily with that side of the country that produced such music early on which obviously comes from the heavy Hardcore/Punk scene that inspired those early users that gave Pyrexia their motifs. Tracks like "The Pendulum," "Death Wish" and "Cocoon of Shame" all pretty much follow the same path of brutal guitar riffs, breakdowns into vicious chugs and non-stop pounding drumming that takes on a different dynamic due to how loud it is in the mix. This is pretty much the standard for how the album works, even though there’s a few surprises here and there. "Thy Minion" does offer up a few different change-ups with some decent guitar flurries mixed into the bunch, "Cryptic Summoning" has a fine up-tempo vibe that recalls the more fluid riffing patterns of Immolation in select spots and certainly "Panzer Tank Lobotomy" generates a few special dynamics with its creepy pace and blistering performances. The main selling point here, though, is undeniably "Wheel of Impunity," which has more technical riffing than anything else on the album, full-on riff changes and a dynamic, unrelenting attitude that’s utterly pulverizing as it blasts through its opposition. This is most certainly the best song on here, and does help to save this from too much repetitious riffing and patterns that can make this blend together into one huge blur of noise and screaming grunts, but for the fans who eat this style of metal up this is certainly fine material overall. (Don Anelli)

(Unique Leader Records - 2013) 

Score: 75 

https://www.facebook.com/pyrexia

Deeds of Flesh - Portals to Canaan

#FOR FANS OF: Brutal Death Metal, Technical Death Metal

Having been somewhat inactive the past five years, California's brutal death metallers Deeds of Flesh roar back to action on their eighth full-length, 'Portals to Canaan', and it is every bit as vicious and pummeling as their past works. Filled with over-the-top technical riffing that seems impossible to create in such a short space being buffeted against the previous rhythm creating a suffocating atmosphere of non-stop unrelenting guitar work and over-the-top drumming that has long been associated with the band, the songs are packed with lots of energy and rarely falter from an up-tempo pace that really lets the guitars focus on executing fascinating riffs throughout. This is best viewed on "Rise of the Virvum Juggernauts", where the guitar patterns are just mind-blowingly complex and technical throughout yet due to the nature of the blasting drumming it becomes a brutal onslaught of riffs that overwhelm the listener. Elsewhere, tracks like "Entranced in Decades of Psychedelic Sleep", "Hollow Human Husks" and the title track the brutality is lessened slightly to make for a more overall technical presentation, where the different patterns and riff variations employed are more the favor of the track rather than the relentless drumming, which adds a different flavor to the album overall. Still, the overwhelming vibe taken from this is the more brutal moments, where tracks like "Amidst the Ruins" and "Xeno Virus" run rampant with simply pummeling rhythms dished out by guitarist Craig Peters who shows a fine sense of keeping both areas in check with each other and when to forsake the brutality in letting the more technically-precise riffs in focus. If one is to find fault with this one, it’s the monotony that comes in rather constant form when dealing with this brand of death metal, for it’s almost impossible to say that this kind of music will be noticeable and distinctive the deeper into the album it gets. There’s only so many ways you can write riffs in this style without coming up with the same structure and pattern numerous times over, and while the band does do a decent job of making the songs stand-out in some sense, the fact that they can blend together is something of a hurtle to get over. The one lone needless track is the brief instrumental collage of ambient noise mid-way through, which does break up the monotony of the songs but just serves odd as a mid-album breather rather than a final fade-out outro, but nonetheless these two qualms aren’t enough to stop this from being one of the better DM releases of the year. (Don Anelli)

(Unique Leader Records - 2013)
Voto: 85

http://deedsoffleshmetal.com/