Sunday, June 28, 2015

Vulcano-Bloody Vengeance (Cd/Dvd 2015)

There was an amazing era in Brazil for extreme metal (84-89). To name a few: Sepultura, Sarcofago, Mx, Mutilator, Chakal, Holocausto and many more..attacking with their sinister overtones and brutality, and there's Vulcano crushing and pancaking everything on their path with their fearless-barbaric attitude. The first difference is this has more attention paid to evolve and expand a song than nearly blazing right through.The music on 'Bloody Vengeance' sounds more inherently thrash, of course with touches of ambiguous '80's death and chaotic black metal in the likes of Blasphemy, Beherit, Impaled Nazarene and others who mixed a heavy-handed sacrilegious outlook with what's been established musically at that point in death and grind. Though it's like Sarcofago were so ahead of their time on their debut "INRI" still maintained a tone that is dingy and devious sounding through other musical outlets but by Vulcano standards the guitars here are technical in a way. They take advantage of the lower strings and use more rapidly played open and closed riffs that would be recognized and related to thrash techniques, crunching, they can be simultaneously aggressive and catchy. To get a closer idea of Vulcano's mind-set here, their lyrics bring evil, witches and Vengeance and their music further unravels the rest of their abuses in particular motions and actions. The music delivers the unbalance that the everyday person doesn't need: too much of this or that might kill you. In some of the delivery, they treat the moment like it might be their last breath by screaming in a tortured way or pound the drums as if comets are going to come crashing down and take out the populace, never to be there again. So if I have to relate ''Bloody Vengeance" to "evil," it is essentially evil along the lines of cruelty, barbarity, sadism, selfish excess, and of course vices, where would this release be without those temptations that they give into at every chance and are just dripping with them? I don't know exactly but I can't imagine a better experience without them, and in turn it does give this recording a certain feel and atmosphere. A must have !
www.greyhazerecords.com
www.facebook.com/VULCANOMETAL
Review by Paul Caravasi

Mystifier-Goetia (2015)

Another great Re-issue by Greyhaze records. This classic album was released in 1993. The music is not what one may expect from a black metal album that was released in 1993. This sounds quite unique when compared to what was going on in Norway and Sweden at that time. The guitar riffs, often, take on a secondary role and join the percussion and vocals to create a wall of sound. There are moments where the savage melody is utilized to drag the listener toward the infernal gates of hell; however, in general, the guitars are heavier and more violent. The legacy of Sarcofago and Blasphemy remains a strong part of this music, yet Mystifier has taken it even further, such a barbaric approach while also creating a truly dark and evil atmosphere. The fast-paced, chaotic parts are still there, but now accompanied by mid-paced riffs, making the entire experience the equivalent of a Satanic ritual. That is really what this feels like, and the demonic vocals add to that as much as anything else.The quality of the sound is pretty clear and far better than the garage atmosphere that is found on the demos. While the guitars do not stand out very much, it seems that this is exactly how the band wanted it, as it suits the music well. The guitar tone is very thick and kind of muddy. "Goetia" is highly recommended for those seeking truly evil black metal. This is neither beautiful nor depressive. It is ugly, primitive and consumed with darkness and fkn hate. To get the full effect, one should listen to this with only the light of black candles and a cold breeze coming through the window. Remove all distractions and simply offer yourself to the malevolent spirits that this music conjures up. This digipack features 3 live bonus tracks. Buy it or dieeee!
www.greyhazerecords.com
www.facebook.com/mystifier666
Review by Paul Caravasi

Impurity-Into The Ritual Chamber (2015)

Originally released in 1996. Now reissued by Greyhaze Records.Brazilian black metal Combining the speed of grindcore, the hardness and grit of first wave death metal, and the evil of early black metal (such as Mayhem – Deathcrush), "Into the ritual chamber"  showcases Impurity’s unique take on extreme metal in its rawest, most unrefined form. This is  an undeniable classic. The vocals are heavily influenced by the old school black metal style, fast-paced grunts and snarls that will remind the listener of Blasphemy, Beherit and why not Marduk; however there is also a bit of a more typical black metal rasp to them. The lyrics are the best kind of black metal lyrics, songs about genocide and satanic rites. Impurity is not to be missed, this album is still a great offering that not only rises above nearly every black metal album, EP or demo released back in the 90's, but its influence can be heard in nearly any black metal album these days. Instead of thinking like everyone else seems to “Wow, I wish I could find another band like Beherit/Demoncy/whoever,” you need to check the brazilian bands first. This is pure evil !
www.greyhazerecords.com
www.facebook.com/impuritybrasil
Review by Paul Caravasi

Wintercoffin-Forest Of Blitzkrieg (7" Ep)

Recorded in the basement of the Armory on 4 track, mastering by Röckel Science Aüdio Memphis TN. This is the side project of Rob Evil (evil army)and Jimmy Blitzkrieg  (jay passed before he and rob could reactivate wintercoffin), so this is their only recording by them. These guys took the rawest of black metal and fuses it with an intense "thrash metal" style of playing. The result was something extreme and violent to a point that it would start it's own trend. The song set the stage for what would be typical for a black metal band. Brutal beats, thrashing guitars and a suprising and subtle amount of variety in the playing style. When they blast...they BLAST...when they thrash...they fkn thrash There is no doubt that these boys take their metal as seriously as they do their brand of world-hatred. If you can find this 7" ,buy it! This is high quality face-thumping at it's best.
blackskulrecords@gmail.com
robevil83@yahoo.com
Review by Paul Caravasi

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Ecthyma-Necromancia (Demo 2014)

The opening charge of the first track really had me excited for this demo, because it showed more energy than anything, violent black metal.There are still some real blazers here, and while there are several things to admire about this, it's the return to insanity in metal."Necromancia" is just a straight attack, with female growling. I will say this: Ecthyma sounds fairly amazing, with a punchier tone. The brutal attitude is here and this demo can be equally good, looking forward to hear their full lenght album. Cheers to that!
www.facebook.com/pages/ECTHYMA/497235776988285
www.facebook.com/pentagramrecs
Review by Paul Caravasi

Deicidios-Rincon de Muertos (2015)

The ambiguity that exist between death, black and thrash metal in the current scene pretty much goes without saying for anyone casually familiar with the big influences of Sarcofago. Deicidios from Peru attack like a raging beast with an arsenal of influences comparable to contemporaries such as Bathory, Sodom, Possessed, Slayer, and their death/thrashing compatriots Sepultura, they offer some of the most truly twisted and brutal material in 2015, primitive songs that embody the respective characteristics of brazilian bands. It's replete with hyper-speed thrash beats and has a frequency of blasting. For all the wild variation in tempo going on and the radically differing characteristics of each section within a given song,this album has a fair amount of repetition to it that is actually quite characteristic of this brutl style and i like it, big influences of earliest black/thrash offerings from 1984-86. It makes for an album that has a massive impact on me, also is a bit disorganized at times. Having said that, the level of musicianship going on here is at least as advanced as anything that thrash metal or death metal is dabbling with collectively at this point outside of maybe a few progressively tinged acts, coming with a healthy dose of complex riffing and wild shred fests.If you're a fan of 80's death/black/thrash, check these guys out. It's about as insane of a thrash-oriented album as can be found in the late 80's, and even upstages Sepultura's early offerings in terms of overall intensity, though it falls a little bit behind in terms of cohesiveness. If early Messiah, Possessed and Bathory are on the radar, Deicidios definitely can be found at their border. Killer band!
www.facebook.com/deicidios.ayacucho
www.facebook.com/pentagramrecs
Review by Paul Caravasi

Akrateia-Legado De Odio (2015)

The guitar riffs are memorable here, and the guitars also have  variety to the songs. The album features fast to mid paced songs.The drums are good, and sound killer, in terms of skill are special and I love the energy the vocalist puts into his vocals that adds to the intensity of the band. "Legado de Odio" is my favorite track. Other than that, I greatly enjoy Akrateia from Peru and it's one of my favorite old school death metal albums of 2015 so far. This is a real beast and will make you headbang 'til you die. Good job maniacs!
www.facebook.com/pages/Akrateia/267605113365909
Review by Paul Caravasi

Sunday, June 14, 2015

DECEASED 30 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TOUR-JABBER JAWS 06/12/15

The opening act for today is the local band Sakrilejist, they play black/death metal, with clear influences from bands such as Venom, Emperor,Sarcofago and Morbid Angel. Despite the band playing very early in the evening, the audience is still pretty tame, but the band manages to get some people to bang their heads to the songs. In my opinion, Sakrilejist couldn’t have been a better opener for the day, because the songs are raw and up-tempo, and are diverse enough to stay interesting for a crowd that is yet to be fired up. The band put up a convincing performance, and made a great opener for a great day full of metal.Dick Vomit was next, a  number of people were headbanging all across the room. The band makes fast and rawThrash metal tunes, which are perfect for an event such as this one, the band managed to put up a cool performance, the band makes up for with enthusiasm. The performance was rather short, but enough to get the audience fired up this early in the evening. All in all, a kick ass performance by Dick Vomit!
Chinga and company attracted the audience, the setlist was very diverse, and featured a lot of old work as well as new songs. The music was truly powerful, and the acoustics in the venue contributed greatly to this. All of the instruments were properly adjusted, and they created a brutal atmosphere in all of the songs. It wasn’t just the instrumentation that was great however, the vocals were also a great addition to the performance. Vocalist is responsible for both the grunts and growls of the band, which creates a nice variety in all of the songs. All in all, the band has given us an interesting performance, the crowd liked it, and people were fervently banging their head and moshing along to the songs. March To Victory makes a combination of  melodeath, creating a  contrast between their songs. The music was pretty standard, nothing we haven’t heard before, but amusing nonetheless. The band had a good performance and the crowd was pretty enthusiastic. All in all a decent performance as far as we could tell, not forget to mention they did two covers by Kiss and the legendary Death!
Dying Eyes of Sloth did a great performance as well demostrating that they love what they're doing, good musicianship and performance as well, easily combines modern elements with traditional metal.The band is clearly a great crowd-pleaser.Definitely a great performance by these guys from Jersey.

Deceased took the stage by storm, the band has always surprised me with fantastic live performances, the quality of their albums are great and somehow always sounds more brutal every time. Nevertheless, I am excited to finally see the band live on stage again. Deceased is hard to describe in terms of genre, since it balances somewhere between Death and Thrash metal. However, this always makes for varied setlist, as is the case today. The band starts off with "Night of deceased" followed by "The premonition" some of the more raw and violent songs. Halfway through the set we are being treated to a wonderful rendition of ‘Tormentor’ (Kreator). From here on out, the madness begins, and the rest of the set has the audience fervently headbanging like beasts and singing along. Once again the band proves that they have wonderful stage performance. the last song of the night was "Black metal" (venom) Well done King Fowley and the legendary Deceased, damn my neck still hurts. What an Amazing show that was!

Setlist-Jabber Jaws, Pa 06/12/15
Night of deceased
The premonition
Fading survival
A witness to suspiria
The triangle
The silent creature
Psychedelic warrior
Tormentor
The mausoleum
Craving illness
Robotic village
Haunted cerebellum
Shrieks from the hearse
Fearless undead machines
Black metal

Review by Paul Caravasi
Soulgrinder Zine

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Demonic Manifestation-World Of Horror (2015)

A furious album “World Of Horror”. In my opinion this is a great album, because they play a form of Swedish death metal. Well, extremely brutal and straightforward extreme metal.The production is raw and clearer at the same time. The first track is the true killer song here. The riffs are awesome for some pure headbanging and the extremely rotten break in the central part is incredible. With the dark guitar lines and dismembering up tempo we reach the way out to this nightmare. An incredibly obscure album…one of the gloomiest and insane I’ve ever listen to. A pleasure for every death metal fan…buy it without fear. Mexican death fucking metal !!
www.facebook.com/Demonicmanifestation666
www.danscrypt.es
www.danscrypt.bandcamp.com
Review by Paul Caravasi

Survival-"Shayda" (2015)

This is a Crossover band. It has every element of the genre that harbors greatness. Speedy riffs, spastic drum beats, Hardcore vocals in the right places, and clean/spoken word vocals in others. Every track on this cassette kicks ass. Each track flows right into the next perfectly. As one ends, you can't wait until the next begins. "Pose"opens with a great riff, and then the vocals come in, with some back-ups. The fury of the vocals perfectly accent the guitar work, a catchy thrasher that will have you headbanging from start to finish. My favorite track on the cassette is "Under The Knife" and the lyrics are amazing. This track starts off with a killer riff and never lets go. Easily one of the best Crossover tracks in 2015. After each verse, that heavy riff comes back in and out, this is an addicting cassette. Overall, this is a masterpiece of Crossover. I'm glad I had the honor of giving this band a review. Dudes (and chicks), go out and pick this one up...if you can find it.
www.facebook.com/SurvivalBayArea
www.facebook.com/clawhammerpr
Review by Paul Caravasi