Category: Review

The Devil’s Due- December 15th- Abnormality- Mechanism Of Omniscience- Review 10/10 \m/

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Abnormality

Mechanisms Of Omniscience

abnormality

Released April 29, 2016

Mallika Sundaramurthy: Vocals
Jay Blaisdell: Drums
Josh Staples: Bass
Sam Kirsch: Guitars
Jeremy Henry: Guitars

 

 

 

Today we listen to Abnormality’s 2016 crushing album of pure unfiltered aggression titled Mechanisms Of Omniscience. This album is the type of album that when you push play you shut the fuck up and listen with a barrage of emotions ranging from anger, anxiety, and pure metal thirst.  Swarm will not be the track that’s got a nice little intro to help warm you up and get you ready. Nope they fucking blow the doors off with this explosive album from second 0:01. I will admit one of my favorite elements form this album is Jay’s drums, I love the sound of his snare, and on songs like the title track you can hear that from blast beat to a regular beat.  The snare sounds the same, all that means is Jay has some sick fucking  power behind his blast beats.  He’s not pulling his punches, he’s the real deal and that dude can play. But let’s look at a few of the other misfits that make up Abnormality and this album. You have Josh staples who could teach a college course on metal, the guy lives eats breathes metal, and the metal culture and is a pretty down to earth dude.  But the same can be said for the entire band, and what you really have here is a group of some really ambitious and driven individuals that are out to make killer metal, and kick ass.  This album is brutal as hell and really gets you amped up.  Mallika’s vocals are absolutely punishing, with her honed and brutal delivery, people may throw out that it’s a female fronted band.  Female fronted bands get a lot of hype because it’s a woman on the microphone, but that’s not the case here. I don’t think anyone has hyped them up because of who their vocalist is. scratch that, no one has, they dont care about that.   People are just blown away by the music, and Mallika’s vocals are fucking awesome and add that Abnormality flavor. They surprise you because yea it’s not what you expect, and shit she can sing some metal better than me, and most of the people i know.  Granted I am a drummer, but she has some pipes on her, and they are heavy fucking metal pipes because hearing the vocals on tracks like the title track and  she fucking comes in with these growls and it hits you. Damn near crushes you underneath the sheer velocity and power of her voice.  Abnormality are playing a caliber of metal that is almost on another level.  When you think of death metal Abnormality might not be the first name you think of, but I’d be damned if they didn’t take the death metal genre and extract all that is heavy, blend that up with some infectious hooks,  blistering drums, and charisma and you have a sound all their own.  That sound is what makes Mechanisms of Omniscience one of my favorite death metal albums of 2016.  I will forever have a biased opinion towards New England metal and hardcore bands because I feel that the music from that region has the biggest fuck you attitude on the scene. And it all dates back to the revolutionary war times. New Englanders wanted to do their own thing, and the metal coming from that region is very much the same. Mechanisms of Omniscience is one of those albums that every single track on it, kicks ass.  This album has so much packed into it for sound, and intensity.  I have not been able to listen to this without tapping my foot head bang or get amped up.  When you listen to the title track they come out swinging right away but get to the twenty second mark and they have already gotten their hooks in you. But keep listening to the one minute mark and you see the set up for something cool, sure as shit at the 1:22 mark Mallika lets out a growl and how do you not get fucking ripped at that point.  The song literally gets better with each second, and every transition. That’s the way the entire album is, it just gets better, and better and fuels you and gets you ready to throw hay makers. Not only does it get better as you listen to it, the more you listen to it, the more you appreciate the sound they have pulled off.  If you are looking for a solid album, something that would be the apex predator of death metal albums.  Do yourself the favor of checking out Mechanisms Of Omniscience, it will not disappoint. It may cause you to inflict damage to the surrounding structures, so proceed with caution, because once you hit play, you my metal head friends are going for a fucking wild and fun ride.

Mechanisms Of Omniscience has been a major part of my playlist for 2016, I absolutely love this album, everything about it, sounds great, music is very impressive, the driving rhythms. Everything about this album has impressed me 10/10 \m/ If for some reason you haven’t listened to this, well you fucked up. But your pal Badger is here to make sure you don’t go into 2017 without at least listening to it, so check it out below.

 

 

 

 

 

If you like what you are hearing check out their BANDCAMP PAGE and grab your copy of this awesome album.

 

 

Don’t be a dummy, check out their FACEBOOK page and give them a “LIKE” and stay up to date with all Abnormality news.

you can check out their Metalblade artists PAGE by clicking HERE

 

-Badger \m/

 

Visit our FACEBOOK page \m/_(><)_\m/

http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

 

 

The Devil’s Due- December 13th- My Missing Half- A Proper Hangman’s Knot 8/10 \m/

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My Missing Half

A Proper Hangman’s Knot

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Released June 10, 2016

Bijan Hennessey-Vocals/Guitar
Alex Elwell-Bass
Erik Matthews-Drums

 

 

 

Today the Devil brings us A Proper Hangman’s Knot by Mass metalers My Missing Half. The way this E.P. starts out, the first track, “The Cell I Call Home” has a very melodic and subtle beginning, but don’t let that fool you, because after a deep breath they slam the MMH mobile to death mode and blow the doors of when the vocals come in. For a three piece band they fucking kill it, the drums are perfect, no over the top showmanship.  Erik holds the beat down, and knows when the right time and place to add some cool fills are. I like the fact that when it’s time to play a basic beat,  he does that, allowing for the guitars to be doing cool sounding shit like the hammerons around the three minute mark.  There is no shortage of cool riffs on this E.P. every track satisfies my metal thirst, and these guys are a bunch of cool bastards. I got a chance to see them a few months back, and they played their entire set with YouTube cat videos playing in the background, they really embrace the metalhead culture and seem to really play off of the influences of the great acts from the 90’s and blend those sounds with a more current model of melodic death metal.  They have played with bands like Dark Tranquility, Overkill, Revocation, Havok, and Suffocation. These guys grind out the old school method of being in a metal band.  You can hear it in their music that they are giving 100%, and have even given up big opportunities for the sake of metal.  They didn’t just put out a 5 track E.P. they put out five tracks of unwavering melo-death with a thrash metal attitude and together form a brilliant E.P. that will appeal to so many listeners.  While it may only be five tracks, this E.P. is a solid release and worthy of positive feedback it gets. We really like the whole thing, but if you really need some tracks to check out to give you a taste of whether or not you will like it,  The Cell I Call Home, Another Illness, and Erase Me are all solid tracks.  But I gotta say, this E.P. is right in line with the intensity of their previous album released in 2014 titled “The Lives I’ve Ruined”. I strongly encourage you to check out both and get an idea of their musical evolution and you will see. These guys have no desire to cut corners, do things that are popular, and strive to put out only their absolute best work possible. The production quality of A Proper Hangman’s Knot is superb, one listen and you will be thinking this is a metalblade records band with an E.P. that took years to finish.   These guys came in, and kicked ass with this E.P. We have been listening to this gem for most of the summer and what we liked the most about it, beside the intensity, and the sound quality. But the fact that not many bands sound like these guys, and if you are looking for something cool with a shit load of talent just overflowing form these musicians, and an abrasive vocal delivery that cuts deep.  Check out A Proper Hangman’s Knot and find out why My Missing Half are on the fast track to becoming a band that’s coming out of everyone’s mouths, and selling out some big shows.  These guys are the real deal, and have given a lot up to become the band that they are, and will become.  A proper Hangman’s Knot- 8/10 \m/ fucking awesome and you wouldn’t believe me if I told you anything higher than 8/10, but it’s up to you to decide where this E.P. ranks. But we fucking love it.

 

 

 

Like what you hear, well then check out their BANDCAMP page to order your copy of this stellar E.P.

 

Don’t forget to give these guys the friendly thumbs up on their FACEBOOK page.

 

 

-Badger \m/

 

Visit our FACEBOOK page \m/_(><)_\m/

http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

The Devil’s Due- December 12th, Defeated Sanity- “Disposal Of The Dead/ Dharmata” Split 9/10 \m/

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Defeated Sanity

Disposal Of The Dead / Dharmata

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released July 22, 2016

Lille Gruber – Drums
Jacob Schmidt – Bass
Christian Kühn – Guitar
Josh Welshman – Vocals

Today the Devils has brought us a truly unique and mind blowing release in the form of self split CD. Yea a split CD with Defeated Sanity, and themselves. This album is fucking mind blowing, it’s a split cd, with half being the brutal death metal that Defeated Sanity is known for and then some really cool jazz infused progressive death metal on the latter half of the CD and titled Dharmata.  This album is brilliant, the way that this album opens up. The tribal ritual like intro on Remotio Mortuorum. It’s a subtle way of allowing the listener to acclimate oneself to the music that is about to be projected from speakers or headphones. Into the Soil comes in hard and fucking fast, with the blast beats being surgically precise and just the slightest ping on the snare.  I’m loving just how brutal this album is for the first half of it, consuming the grief is a great track. In particular the way it starts out, fast and those gravity blasts sound great. I think that this album is truly one of the best albums of 2016 mostly due to the sheer talent that these guys are delivering in this one album. But it’s essentially a split with themselves. And the latter half of the album with the jazzed up progressive death metal is truly top notch.  And I think it’s an important part of the music process also, for the people that “don’t understand” metal. Especially brutal death metal , I think its assumed that sure  metal bands can growl and play drums fast but  there’s no real talent there… right? WRONG  and this is what I love about this album, these guys tear shit up  following their modus operandi, but then half way through the album they decide to go south paw on us and deliver a different form of brutality. And these guys are really fucking good, this album is a must have for anyone a fan of death metal, let alone brutal death metal, and also progressive metal and the sub genres associated with it. One listen to even just the track Dharmata is enough to have sunk its claws in me and I wasn’t going to pass on this album. This album has everything from a hard hitting yet rapid hail of blast beats, and jazzy bass and guitar riffs with a more progressive drum feel to the songs, and the vocal are also different. I mean they didn’t just change the sound of the guitars or drums, they changed everything the vocals everything. And that adds a little more to what makes this album great. Because it’s like they wanted to do something with a clean slate but still get a chance to put it out with some recognition by their already established fan base, and then could also cross contaminate their fan base and generate a larger group of fans that will be following their musical creations. 9/10 \m/

 

 

 

 

Like what you are hearing? then pick up your copy by heading over to their BANDCAMP page and ordering this killer album.

Also don’t forget to give them the ol’ thumbs up on FACEBOOK

 

 

 

-Badger \m/

Visit our FACEBOOK page \m/_(><)_\m/
http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

The Devil’s Due- December 11th – Enigma- “Stars Misaligned” 9/10 \m/

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Enigma

Stars Misaligned

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released July 22, 2016

 Petr Oplatka – vocals

Byron Leon – guitar

Ryan McNatt – guitar

Dan Saltzman – bass

Harley Blandford – drums

 

Today the devils has brought us the debut E.P Stars Misaligned from the San Jose California tech death misfits Enigma and what a fucking brilliant E.P. it is too. Did you guys know it’s on bandcamp with a “name your own price” tag on it, which means download it for free or give them a couple bucks and help support them to make more killer music.

This E.P. is the real deal, these guys must have spent a lot of time working on the material for this and making sure it sounded just right. This E.P. has stellar production quality.  You have to appreciate their blend of melodic death metal and technical death metal. They are walking on that razors edge of balance and they seem to be able to seamlessly transition between both well within the middle of the song and all without over doing it.  For a group of musicians who may not be on everyone’s radar, sure know how to fuck shit up when it comes to playing bad ass music.

I really enjoy the acoustic guitar melody’s that are played throughout the E.P. because it adds that unplugged human element to the music, but hot damn can these guys shred too.  I think my biggest gripe about this E.P. is that it is just an E.P.  When I first listened to this it blew me away, I wanted more.  I still want more, but that’s because this E.P. kicks so much ass. You never heard of people wanting more of something that sounds like garbage do you? I dig the vocals and on songs like “ Of Vile and Bliss” Petr pulls off some Strnad style vocals, also similar to bands like carcass. A higher pitched vocalization but piercing as it has a staccato delivery.  Now I’m not saying this should get best album of 2016, but best E.P. of 2016 and it is going to be right up there. The fact that they have it on BANDCAMP for free is insane. But they made a bold statement doing that, I already got mine because it’s a solid E.P. one of the best I have heard in a damn long time. I thoroughly appreciate the fact that the E.P. has no fluff or filler, sure it has that intro on the first track, but that adds to the music, it doesn’t take away from the E.P. The E.P kicks ass, get on it.9/10\m/

I can almost guarantee that this E.P. is going to make many “best of” lists this month, and it looks like they might be working on new material too. So hopefully 2017 will be another good year for Enigma, and the metal heads looking for some kick ass technical melo-deth.

 

 

 

Like what you have read so far, well how about giving this E.P. a listen.

 

Like what you hear? Then pick up your copy or download for free whatever is clever but don’t fuck up and miss out.  Click here to go to their BANDCAMP page

 

You can also follow them on TWITTER

 

 

Or give them a like on FACEBOOK if that’s your social media preference.

 

 

-Badger \m/

 

Visit our FACEBOOK page \m/_(><)_\m/

http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

The Devil’s Due- December 10th Throen- “Brennenburg” review 8/10 \m/

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Thoren

Brennenburg

released October 28, 2016

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Anthony Lipari: Guitars and Composition
Joseph Paquette: Bass
Chris Burrows: Drums

 

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Today the Devil has brought us a dark and dissonant surprise by the name of “Brennenburg” which is the debut album by Michigan extreme metallers Thoren.  Now I should warn you, what you are going to hear when listening to this is a lot of dark, abrasive dissonance,  killer drum work and dematerializing guitars.  They are a three piece band featuring Coma Cluster Void drummer Chris Burrows as the beat maker.  We got a taste of his  drumming skills  this summer when  CCV put out their album, but it was a great surprise to find out he had more stuff to offer in 2016.  Now im not going to bullshit you, this album is not for closed minded people, but metal of any form is not for closed minded people. Its how the metal genre was birthed, through open minded individuals who wanted to do something different.  So if you have an open mind, and want to hear some hauntingly sophisticated poly rhythms and catchy guitars then have a listen.  No vocals means no one can have the excuse of saying “ I don’t know what they are saying” all you need to know is this is some fucking cool and brooding dissonant metal, something you would play to cleanse your palette of whatever your go to music style is.  Give a fresh look into Brennenburg and you will see for yourself why we like them so much.  You don’t get this type of music everyday, and every where.  You could take any song off this album and use it for a suspense, thriller, or horror movie.  Shit you can play this anytime of any day and anywhere, and no matter what you are going to find people overhearing will have a twisted facial expression.  Its because when people don’t understand something they seem to be almost offended by it, but when you break down exactly what these guys are playing its quite impressive actually.  Not sure if you agree with me, here is a clip of Chris on the drums in a way demonstrating poly rhythms with screen notation.

 

So yea he’s not p[laying the typical 4/4 time signature and basic down beats and  8th notes on the h hat. Fuck that shit, the derivative demon himself plays complex percussion and the music  that he is involved in is a mind bending thought provoking dark practically carcinogenic heavy as fuck and truly is one of a kind. Like it or leave it, but I guarantee some will appreciate it musically as the complexity of the music is blatantly apparent, but its cool. Its cool because it flows in a strange way  it flows, it may not keep a 1,2, beat but that’s not how it flows. It flows in a way that only unlocked minds will be able to comprehend. The way this album hit us it came at a time when we were looking for something different, and one spin gave us what we were looking for. 8/10 \m/

 

So the question is, are you one of those people, and if so would you like to listen to Brennenburg and see if this one was for you?

 

 

 

If you like what you hear head on over to their BANDCAMP page and get your copy

 

Also go on give them a like and show them some love on FACEBOOK

 

 

 

-Badger \m/

Visit our FACEBOOK page \m/_(><)_\m/
http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

 

 

 

The Devil’s Due December 9th, The Devils Of Loudun- “Enduring Creation” review 8/10\m/

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The Devils Of Loudun

Enduring Creation

Released April 8, 2016

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The Devils of Loudun is:
Scott Hermanns – Guitars
Drew Tuel – Guitars
Ben Velozo – Keyboards
Vance Bratcher – Vocals
Billy Keller – Drums
LJ Cline – Bass

 

 

Today the Devil has brought his pals The Devils of Loudun to the stage. And we will be checking out their E.P. released back in April.  This is such a surprising E.P.  From Seattle these guys don’t follow the typical Seattle music scene style. (Pearl jam and other 90’s grunge bands) nope these are delivering some seriously suppressed Seattle melo/tech death.  This cool E.P. really flew under many peoples radar, and I’m not entirely sure why that is.  I suppose possible they were overshadowed by a larger mainstream release. But one listen to this E.P. will have you wondering why you haven’t heard them until now.  But take the chorus of the song Thrown to the Void for example. That shit is catchy as hell, and while we are the subject of that song. I will admit this is actually my favorite song off the E.P.  Simply put, that song fucking rips.  The song really delivers the melo-death aspect of this band really putting a lot of emphasis on the keys.  There’s melodic metal bands, and melodic death metal bands, but I am really impressed by the blended styles because these guys really make this sound their own.  Bonus points to Vance because I am a sucker for guttural exclamations, blurts,   spewt( see Ryan Travis for explanation) that retching sound that some vocalists add and it’s like having a drummer who has a cowbell at his set.  It’s just another tool and I fucking dig it.  Adding the keyboards, and the really fucking contagious hooks, these guys have pulled off an amazing feat.  Everything is technically precise like tech death, its heavy as fuck like death metal and the melodic aspect does not soften the blow. If anything, it’s the one two punch these guys pack.  I’m hooked I don’t know about the rest of you, but if you haven’t heard this E.P. yet, get on that. Songs to def. check out are going to be Thrown to the void, Cast The Stone, and Until the night ends. But wait that’s three out of five songs. Well I just figured if I told you to check out those three you would end up checking out the rest, because let’s face it. This E.P. kicks ass, and it’s time to give it a listen. If technical melo-death is something you would be interested in, than this E.P. is for you, 8/10 \m/

 

 

There is also this video they put out for Cast The  Stone

 

Check out their BANDCAMP page to get your copy of this awesome E.P.

 

Also if you like what you hear check out their FACEBOOK page and give them the ol’ thumbs up and stay up to date.

 

-Badger \m/

 

Visit our FACEBOOK page \m/_(><)_\m/

http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

 

 

The Devil’s Due- December 8th Vale Of Pnath- “II” review- 10/10 \m/

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Vale Of Pnath

II

Released June 10, 2016

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Vance Valenzuela – Guitar
Eloy Montes – Guitar
Reece Deeter – Vocals
Eric W. Brown – Drums
Alan Parades – Bass

 

Today the devil has brought us the second album by CO melodic tech death Jedi’s Vale Of Pnath.  If for some reason you missed this album when it came out, or you still haven’t listened to it, then you fucked up.  This album rips, it has a melodic yet technical death metal feel to it, and the use of classical piano as well as organ in the tracks Klendathu and Heart Of Darkness they set the bar high.  There are albums that are great, and then you have albums like this one, from start to finish it fucking kills it. Start with the first track of the album “Blacker Than” which is the most subtle way of the band showing the listener the bar that they are raising right before you. It starts out so mellow and smooth (in comparison to what you will experience later) with the acoustic guitars playing for just shy of half a minute before the guitars go to distortion and the drums come in. But it’s the vocals at the :48 second mark that leave the lasting impression.   I can honestly say that after listening to this album since the summer I am a fan and will be for the foreseeable future.   Now the tricky part is trying to tell you guys why you should check this out, and what songs to listen to. But the fact of the matter is that every track on this fucking holds their own.  It really depends on what your personal tastes are, but just know that Vale deliver the tech in a way that many haven’t done before.  They are incorporating all these different elements together but they pull it off. The talent and the shear amount of craftsmanship that went into making this album is astonishing.  Drums are surgically precise and have a hard attack.  The drums sound great too, but that’s not all, I mean each instrument can be heard and fuck these guys are talented.  But let’s shed some light on points of interest, now for starters I am going to explain probably my favorite part of this album. On the Track “A Nightmare Phantasm” you listen to that track and get to the 1:31 mark and you are going to hear one of the coolest, most bone chilling guitar solos of 2016. It’s short and to the point but man that guitar wails.  This song is my most played track off of the album to begin with, however you still have tracks like “ The Serpents Lair” that track absolutely decimates the feeble listeners who doubt what Vale Of Pnath have in their arsenal.  I would love to tell you the one to three tracks you really should check out but the fact of the matter is, that this album is 100% bad-ass. The talent these musicians have is impressive, and the sound quality and production are in top form. These guys did their homework, they took everything they could from their first album, and improved, they did not disappoint with this album.  It doesn’t happen often but this album is a solid 10/10 \m/ and should be in everyone’s collection who are fans of melodic metal, death metal, tech death and all the sub genres that are spawned from the previous mentioned genres. Vale Of Pnath will be a big name, the proof is in the pudding, and they only have time on their side to keep raising the bar in the same way they have been.

Want to hear what all the hub-bub is about click play below

 

 

Yea now you know why this is a must have, (so if you have a metal head on your Christmas list and don’t know what to get them look no further) and why it got a 10/10 \m/ rating.  The album, plain and simple kicks ass, a whole lot of ass, and it just keeps kicking.  I’m still spinning this album, and I haven’t gotten to a point where I wasn’t amped up when listening to it. And that guitar solo in A Nightmare Phantasm gets me every time.

 

 

Check out their BANDCAMP page and order up your copy of II

 

Also head on over to their FACEBOOK page and give them a like to stay up to date on Vale of Pnath news.

Or Follow them on Twitter if that’s your social media vice of choice.

 

 

-Badger \m/

 

Visit our FACEBOOK page \m/_(><)_\m/

http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

 

The Devil’s Due- Dec 7th- Throne Of Botis ” Hymns Of Homicide” Review 7/10 \m/

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Throne Of Botis

Hymns Of Homicide

 released August 30, 2016

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Tim Crabb – Vox
Michael Tepper – Guitar / Additional Vox
Kevin Ansell – Drums
Alex Trotter – Guitar
Adam Dietzel – Bass

 

 

Today the Devil has brought us some Virgina Beach brutal death, by the name of Throne Of Botis. Throne of Botis  is some grimey brutal Virgina Beach Death Metal with a little bit of slam.  The debut E.P. from the Virginia Beach Brutal Death Metallers, contains 5 tracks of unmerciful death metal that  crushes all your expectations. From the first track you can tell that they are walking the line of death metal and slamming brutal death. “Malfeasance Of Mankind” will get you hooked early on in the song and I must say the production is solid. Sometimes you see “ Debut E.P.” from a band you haven’t heard of before and it turns out to be a demo recording in someone’s basement or a live setting and I am happy to say that this is not one of those situations.  With songs like “ This Sordid Abattoir” I’d be willing to bet they were influenced by bands such as Death, Suffocation,and Vader.  I have been spinning this E.P. for a few weeks now and I have to say, the more I listen to it, the more I enjoy it.  From the heavily armed drums, to the chugging guitar riffs, then you have those grizzly vocals.  What Throne Of Botis has done with “Hymns” is launch an assault on the listener with a barrage of blasts, and  guttural vocals with some catchy riffs.  This E.P. released in September of 2016 on Lost Apparitions Records has a few guest appearances on it, and absolutely crushes. Tracks that we really enjoy are Dismantled and Dissolved which is just brutal, honestly this is our most played track. It’s a filthy fucking track that has everything that appeals to a death metal fan like myself. The vocals are straight up post apocalyptic grizzly sounding, and the drums are tight.  From the rapid blasting to the clear ping of the cymbals when hit the sound is awesome. There is nothing we don’t like about this E.P. its heavy as fuck and when listening will trigger your mean face.  Solid E.P. and I cant wait to hear more from these VA death metallers. 7/10 \m/

Have a Listen for yourself and see what Virginia Beach brutal death sounds like

 

 

 

Like what you are hearing then go to their BANDCAMP page and grab your copy of their Debut E.P.

 

And don’t forget to give them a LIKE on FACEBOOK to stay updated on Throne Of Botis news and their music.

 

Released through Lost Apparitions Records
 Artwork by Uglies Art
 Recorded by Steven Miller Recording

 

 

-Badger \m/

 

Visit our FACEBOOK page \m/_(><)_\m/

http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

 

 

The Devil’s Due- Dec 6th- Veilburner “The Obscene Rite” album review 8/10 \m/

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Today the devil hath brought us a dark, and brooding album to listen to titled “The Obscene Rite” the third release from Pennsylvania  experimental black/death metal band Veilburner.

 

 

Veilburner

The Obscene Rite

released September 30, 2016

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Mephisto Deleterio – All musical compositions/performance, engineering/mixing, and backing vocals

Chrisom infernium – Main vocals, lyrics/themes, and album artwork

 

 

 

Now this is an album that came out back in September and while trying to review this album in my own regular format (track by track) due to the nature of the album.  This is not an album you can really breakdown the way I do on most reviews. But after giving this album many spins it was apparent that to get the true and full effect you actually need to listen to this album from start to finish without stopping or skipping.  To listen to each track and focus on one is taking away from the album as a whole. The songs blend right into each other and it really needs that continues play through to get the big picture.  This is the third release by these guys and holy hell is it dark and intriguing. The first track (Postmortem Excordium)  is the one that is going to set the pace of this album  because when listening to it you really get the full spectrum of what they are going to be hammering you with for 9 tracks.  The vocals are the closest thing to a pure evil entity summoning a dark and malevolent being. Yea it’d kind of like that, its dark and ghastly to listen to.  The lyrical content follows very dark and thought provoking theoretical situations about the human race and evolving past physical and mental limitations.  I mean lets just take a moment to understand their lyrics for a moment.  They are writing songs with lyrics that are based on humans evolving beyond our limitations, if that’s not enough to get you interested I don’t know what is. I mean any band could make lyric content about the typical themes, gore,  and the like. But Veilburner focus on a different (if not darker) point of view and the music relays that. Vaterchen is a great example of this, because the darker the content the music is going to reciprocate the feeling.  This is where they excel, really pulling out the big guns to make this some of the darkest music you have heard in a long time.  fans of Deathspell Omega, Akercocke, and I’d say Dodheimsgard will really appreciate this album.  If you like your metal dark, sinister, straight up mind bending evil sounding,  Veilburner have just what you need with their latest album. 8/10 \m/ But don’t take our word for it, have a listen for yourself by listening below.

 

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Bonus:  since the album really should be played start to finish, and their previous releases are just as compelling as this one and it is cool to listen to Noumenon, and then The Obscene Rite from start to finish and back to back. But I must warn you, it’s probably going to fuck with you on various levels so make sure you are in the right frame of mind before you do.  Other than that get ready to have your mind warped from the brilliant and  mysterious Veilburner. Also it is worth mentioning that when The Obscene rite came out they were unsigned. And shortly after the release they signed to Transcending Obscurity Records.

 

 

 

 

If you like what you hear then head on over to their BANDCAMP page and grab your copy of The Obscene Rite

 

Also if they offer up a sound you can really dig, then give them a like on FACEBOOK and stay current with Veilburner news.

 

 

-Badger \m/

 

Visit our FACEBOOK page \m/_(><)_\m/

http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

 

 

 

The Devil’s Due- Dec 3rd- Minachrist- “In Absence” album review- 7/10\m/

on By

Minachrist

In Absence

released May 27, 2016

Connor McNamee- Lead/rhythm guitar, clean vocals, songwriting, lyrics
Nick Shaw (Black Crown Initiate) – Bass guitar, engineering
Jerry Martin (Alustrium) – Harsh vocals

 minachrist

Back in May, Minachrist dropped this album and it slipped right under so many radars, that we found it to be very justifiable in adding it to this months Devil’s due segment. Think of 12 days of Christmas, only its 31 days of metal you should be checking out.

Well if you are looking for some progressive blackened death metal that absolutely crushes.  I have always been a fan of blackened death when its done right. Well Minachrist have formulated a way to make the black and the death blend so well that when the progressive metal element is introduced as a listener you have embraced every note that has flowed out of your speakers.  Yea this album kicks a lot of ass, a whole lot. “Our Rose Garden” is one of our top played tracks, it is a downright killer track that has so many infectious elements that pull at you. With every change and transition you are wanting more. but then there are the softer tracks that are just as compelling as the fast and heavy bringing out that progressive feel.  They do rock clean vocals on this album, whether you like them or hate them. our opinion is that if you are going to do them, make sure they really fit the music. Well Minachrist walks that balanced delivery and you will be reminded of bands like Opeth that switch from really clean guitars and vocals to heavy as fuck guitars and vocals. The production of this album is on point and  after listening to this a good handful of times  its very deserving of the 7/10 \m/ rating we give it.  Have a listen for yourself and tell us what you think.

 

 

Also featuring:
Andy Thomas (Black Crown Initiate) – guest guitar solo on “Our Rose Garden”
Ethan McKenna- guest guitar solo on “The Ecstasy of Dreams”
Ceia Schweitzer- lyrics for “Our Rose Garden” inspired by poem of the same name

 

If you like what you heard then head on over to their BANDCAMP page by clicking Here

And dont forget to head on over to their FACEBOOK page and give them a like to get all the latest.

 

-Badger \m/

Visit our FACEBOOK page \m/_(><)_\m/
http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com