Goatfyre - Goatfyre (2022)

If you've ever wondered what the missing link between, say, Venom, early Slayer and Motorhead may have been with female vocals, look no further. The shouted vocals, seriously dark and grim atmosphere, lyrical concepts of war and killing, the aggression and overdriven basslines, it's all here. Goatfyre took the power of Motörhead and Venom, the lyricism of Slayer and combined it with their own hardcore punk background and created extreme music. Goatfyre easily can be listened by a thrash, grind, black metal, hardcore punk and dozens of subsequent genres followers. How can any fan of extreme music resist the chainsaw guitar sounds? No matter your depth of metal knowledge and history, if you don't know and respect Goatfyre you know nothing. Loud and ferocious music, All of these songs for the most part are the best representation of youthful energy, anger when it's dealt with properly and productively, this is a must-have album for any self-respecting metal head, or fan of extreme music in general !!

jawbreakerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/goatfyre

jawbreaker.se

Review by Paul Caravasi

Blasphemaniac - Bestial Occult Ceremony ( 2022)

This is ther first full length from Brazil's finest extreme metal band Blasphemaniac. Though the band has gained notoriety for their most recent demos and compilations, this eight track chunk of rabid raw old school worship set the tone for Blasphemaniac's career to come. Raw and savage in all of the right ways,  plain and simple. While Whipstriker also from Brazil brought Hellhammer tone to Motörhead these maniacs brought thrashing, blackened, bastardized thrash metal. Despite being quite raw and rambunctious, the album is extremely listenable. Everything is remarkably clean and surprisingly upbeat. The guitars deliver punkened heavy metal riffs loaded with tons of classy double stop fills and blazing solos, vocals are delivered as a cleaner, raw shout instead of the deeper growl, "Bestial Occult Ceremony" is basically a homage to classic southamerican metal with a bit of metalpunk flair: Motörhead; Tank; Warfare; Venom; you name it. The music is catchy as hell and all but requires the listener to headbanging. The album's lack of polish only serves to enhance it's charm, this is pure savagery debut album. Any fan of the style owes it to themselves to find this brutal gem!!

blackheartsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/bestial-occult-ceremony

jawbreaker.se

Review by Paul Caravasi

Armory - Mercurion (2022)

The 80s was a great time for metal. Judas Priest, Helloween, Maiden were all releasing career-defining work, and alongside death, thrash, black and hair metal, speed metal emerged with good bands all forming and gaining fame. It is for this reason that upon first hearing - and indeed seeing - Armory you'd be forgiven for thinking you were in the 80s. This band sounds like just the sort of fast-paced, gritty metal you'd expect from such long-haired, denim-wearing metalheads, and this is no bad thing. The band wear these influences on their sleeve  full-length "Mercurion" is an excellent homage to one of metal's most crucial time periods. 'Message from the stars' sets the scene for much of the album, both in name and sound. It's Judas Priest style double-guitar assault is a metalheads dream, while the loud pounding drums and screeching vocals complete the Armory sound. The 80s may have been great for metal, but let's not pretend there isn't a ton of high-quality metal around today. In Mercurion Evil Invaders combine these two truths to emerge with a strong-as-hell album. It's dirty, thrashy and in-your-face, it's also pretty brilliant.  Essential listen, especially if speed/thrash are your forte!!

armory417.bandcamp.com/album/mercurion

jawbreaker.se

Review by Paul Caravasi

Overlord - Fake Salvation (2023)

I really hope this review will give this album all the praise it deserves. The killer riffs makes this album an absolute stand out record for me. The song writing is excellent and the arrangements are well chosen which makes it easy to listen to the album as a whole. The song topics range from atrocities of war and the dark side of the human mind to straight out gore and horror, there are so many great riffs that it is almost insulting to highlight only a few examples. In other words, this isn't technical death metal, this is brutal death metal. Another thing that I like about this album is its structure.  The drumming is really awesome on all of the tracks. There is not one moment on this album where the drums sound bad. The blast beats are done with such great precision, they executed extremely well. If you’re looking for an album with the best blast beats, get this one. You will know what I mean. Production-wise, this album is clear keeping its brutality, clear enough to hear every note, which is nice since there are a lot of them.  Overall, "Fake Salvation" is an album that anyone who is a fan of extreme death metal that recalls an old-school vibe should check this out. It packs one hell of a punch with the interesting nature of its riff work and has more than enough variety in it to keep you interested. In the vein of CANCER , MASSACRE , early DEATH & BOLT THROWER !!

greatdanerecs.com/eshop/web

greatdanerecords.bandcamp.com/album/fake-salvation

Review by Paul Caravasi

Victim - Planets of Graves (2022)

Debut self-release from this thrash band. It's not bad and thank god no Pantera or nu-metal shit passing itself off as thrash. I think the guitar sound and crunch the band has and the singer has a strong good voice as well. Powerful and vicious. I don't like the bass sound on this though. The drums are fine too. No screeching neither vocalwise. Check out a video of them and ordering info below:

victim666.bandcamp.com/album/planet-of-graves

Review by Chris Forbes 

Death In Your Yard - Bears Against Humanity (2023)

I'm amazed how good this band is. Death in Your Yard from Israel unleashed this Crossover album, 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 album kicks ass. Each track flows right into the next perfectly. As one ends, you can't wait until the next begins. Prisilia 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. Attack of the drunks is a catchy thrasher tune that will have you headbanging from start to finish. Honestly, this is an addicting album. Overall, this is a kick ass Crossover album. I'm glad I had the honor of giving Death in Your Yard a review in Soulgrinder Zine. Go out and pick this one up!!

facebook.com/TheDIYY

Review by Paul - Soulgrinder Zine

Rumor Kontrol - Here are The Facts (2023)

 

This is chaotic music, an artistic brutal expression in their own way. To get a good idea of how this cassette sounds, picture yourself in a stressful day at work or caught in the middle of traffic in a hot/humid summer day with no AC in your car....that's the vibe I get when I hear this band. I just can’t explain it, but it really gives this release some character. Extreme Music is about fury, about fighting, when it comes to emotion. There’s an enemy, or some form of injustice, or some monster, or simply acts of perversity. I wanted to give this album a chance, and i listened to it 4 times and compared to most modern day bands, this album is  energetic, don't get me wrong but modern digital recordings with triggered drums isn't my thing. The fury is there, but they can do better!!

facebook.com/LetThemEatTapes

Review by Paul Caravasi

Obituary - Dying of Everything (2023)

Here we are in 2023 with Obituary’s latest album and where do you begin? Well, for a start, Obituary are back, kicking off with the brutality of 'Barely Alive', it may not be 'Slowly We Rot'  but it is a fantastic way to announce that Obituary have returned to kick your fucking skull, Tardy’s voice is on point and never mind the foot tapping that goes along with it, before too long you’ll notice that the head starts to bang too! Tardy has a distinct voice, that clawing shout to growl which make Obituary instantly. Obituary never lets up, it clocks in at around 45 minutes making it short, sweet and difficult to lose your attention; all the hallmarks of a brutal album. The ever present Trevor Peres’ guitar claws through the mix, chugging away like a chainsaw swallowing down its gasoline, helped along with the insane drumming of Donald Tardy which make tracks such as 'The Wrong Time', the superb 'War' and 'Weaponize The Hate'. The lead guitar slot is still taken by Kenny Andrews, even though Andrews has been a solid part of the line-up for a while now, it is 'Obituary' where Andrews comes into his own with some sick solos. When you think about it, Obituary have possibly recorded one of the best albums for this new 2023 and certainly it is their best work since 'Cause of Death' in 1990. Obituary are back and doing what they do best. If you happen to be one of the lucky few enlightened death metal enthusiasts in this world, but have not yet explored the grisly wonders of Obituary, do so now and waste not another minute of your decaying, rotting existence on this Earth and go get this album.... NOW!

obituary.cc

obituary.bandcamp.com/album/dying-of-everything

Review by Paul Caravasi