Category: Reviews

Music and album reviews

Cytotoxin-Gammageddon- Album Review 9.8/10\m/

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Cytotoxin

Gammageddon

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Releases on Friday, July 21st

Grimo (Vocals)

V.T. (Bass)

Fonzo (Guitar)

Jason (Guitar

Stocki (Drums)

 

 

 

 

Radiatus Generis

Rapid fire blast beats, and guitar sweeps set the song up with just shy of fifteen seconds of that chaotic yet intriguing set up. Until the vocals start spitting lyrics. I absolutely love this song; they sink their hooks into you within the first minute of the song.  It has a solid tempo, but the guitar work is impressive. Check out the guitar riff around the :53 second mark, the riff itself has a solid set up, and the actual tone is fitting with their popular concept of nuclear armageddon.  The more I listen to this song, the more I realize they set themselves up for something killer several times before the song is halfway through right around the 1:19 minute mark is a cool set up, and then “We are the Same” and then the brutal groove begins. For about thirty seconds they deliver on a steady groove from the guitars and drums. Meanwhile “we are the same, condemned to perish” can be heard, all the while the song begins to build off of that. Eventually they hit a peak and the rapid fire blast beats and riffing begin to burn a hole in you from the intensity. Right around the 3:00 minute mark the song hits the apex of the song. The section that will repeat, and build until the song reaches the end. That solid minute long end is brutal, ESPECIALLY at the 3:48 mark when you hear “MASSIVE RADIATION DETECTED” and the drums are playing a bulldozing groove, that fucking fits like nothing else could. HOLY SHIT is this what the whole album will be like? If so I am ready for some technical brutality that will be sure to mutate me with the massive radiation detected.

Chaos Cascade

The song begins with a single guitar, a bit of drums and then a quick set up with the vocals before the blasting begins. This beginning sequence sets up the song well, it leaves the listener ready for how they end up breaking out into the first verse. Right around the one-minute mark, they head into a chorus like section. Simple yet catchy and then hits us with some guttural vocals, before transitioning into another section, this time a bit more intense than the last. I find myself really enjoying this album with each transition throughout all songs. This song is great for that, right around the 1:21 mark coming out of that catchy chorus.  The blast beats begin and the guitars sink their hooks in with ease. While the vocals continue to bludgeon with well-timed attacks that jive with everything going on.  This is one of the things I find myself enjoying more about this album that previous ones.  Grimo uses them a bit more sparingly with this album, but the delivery and the timing are on point.  Right around the 2:40 mark, the song rolls right into the same section a little over a minute before only to blast that out in short time before hitting the point of wrapping things up.  The last thirty seconds of the song tie everything up well. They manage to make ninety percent of the song technical, catchy and impressive and the last ten percent is a slower paced section with some groove and still packs a punch. I love it, but I am sure that the title track is going to be following the trend and raising the bar some more.

Gammageddon

The song begins with an almost chaotic yet brief three second set up from the guitars and drums before starting the first verse with the vocals joining in. it actually reminds me of something Despised Icon would have done in their earlier albums.  The song will certainly generate some head and body movement as this verse plays out.  By the time we get to the 1:25 mark we get a section with a killer riff and the intensity of the song builds up.  I mean now I am ready for anything. That amps me up big time, and it lasts about fifteen seconds.  But man the song isn’t even half over yet, they continue to completely destroy me sonically with this killer track.  They hit you at the 2:11 mark with that same killer riff and blasting section to satisfy my withdrawals from the moment before. This is such a killer track, I’m sorry the rest of this review is going to be hell after this song.  The last little drum solo is sooo very simple, and yet that’s all it needs to be. In that moment you can hear the drums crystal clear, I feel as though I was in the same room. Now that, I find impressive they have posted a few studio videos and they did the recording at. But the sound on this album is one of the more impressive aspects of this album.

I feel as though this is a good time to insert the video for Gammageddon so you can see what I mean.

Chernopolis

Now this song right here is the song that has gotten the most spins by me all around. When I first listened to this album I had it on random and this is the first song to play.  Just listen to that beginning. It has this ominous set up, with just enough progression from the drums and guitars to give the listener the feeling that this song is going to beat them to a pulpy mess of body parts. For a solid forty-seven seconds the beginning sequence just sets up the tone, while they come out of that with about another twenty seconds of even more buildup to transition to the first verse.  I have listened to this beginning several times alone, how this song makes me feel is that I can’t stop the song before that beginning sequence has played through its entirety, and then by that time, I am now invested in the song completely. What a killer way to start this song off. It’s a bit more calculated and slower paced. But the intensity of the drums, with the guitar riff makes this a no brainer that this is going to become a fan favorite.  The vocals join in around the 1:11 mark and they have the low guttural delivery before bulldozing the first verse with lows.  This song is a slower pace but it has a groove about it, that will have many moving to the rhythm. But not before reaching the1:57 mark where the guitars pull of another riff that sets up the next section perfectly, only to have that section build up even more. What I am finding more and more from this album is the natural progression of the songs.  I love it, everything is mapped out well and has me amped up to extreme levels. Not to mention the guitar solo at the 2:48 mark. Damn I want that guitar solo to play when I get a call or text. That solo is badass, it’s not a flashy solo, but it is a sweet lick that holy shit if that doesn’t cut right through you and have you ready to throw some horns up and hit the pit.  Right around the 4:19 mark the guitars hit us with another badass lick that gives off an alarm vibe but still has a badass feel to it. They set up a section of complete and utter filthy gutturals that make me turn the radio up louder roll down the windows and welcome all the surprised looks I get. This song has renewed my faith in Cytotoxin, as the last album just did not have as much of an impact on me as I had expected. They deliver a soulful guitar solo around the 5:46 mark before wrapping the song up and ending it to transition into Deadzone Outpost seamlessly

 

Deadzone Outpost

Dead zone outpost is just a track that offers some imagery to the album. They do a killer job with this as it’s not just something to skip through. Not every album needs a track like this to offer theatrics, or imagery. But I find that if done well, makes an impact on the album. I will admit at first listen I was just too eager to wait, I saw the time and realized it wasn’t a song. But the fact that Deadzone Outpost rolls right into “Redefining Zenith” which features Svencho as a guest vocalist.

 

Redefining Zenith

And it begins with a signature sound found often with Belgium blasters @Aborted, this is an unmistakable introduction by Sven De Caluwe. They hook us with that driving rhythm from the guitars and the blasting drums.  Just shy of half a minute they begin to transition in to the first verse.  Which is going to have the listener head and or body moving, because goddamn that’s catchy. Right around the :38 second mark. Sven lays down his first line of the song. And it compliments Grimo very well.  Fast forward to the 1:55 mark where the song is getting ready to transition again.  There is this moment when Grimo lays down a phrase, and then Sven responds with his line. The back and forth as well as the blend of the two vocalists sounds awesome. I’m not entirely sure what I like more the majority of the song which is fast paced lots of blasts and fast guitar lines. Or the heavier slower sections of the song. I sure as shit hope they have Sven as a guest again for future albums because this track is catchy as hell.  Not to mention how they finish this song up. The last line spit around the four-minute mark with a few growls but the guitars and drums sound sick. But I have to say, this track is so good.  It may not be my favorite off the album. But just to clarify, this song is so damn good it would score a 9/10 due to the compatibility of the two vocalists and my ear drums.

Corium Era

I will admit that there are songs with a beautiful roll out on the drums before bludgeoning us with heavy hitting double bass and blistering blast beats. The type of roll out that could be simple, it could be complex, but it’s perfect. And the sound quality of the drums is so clear. It only lasts about one full second, and then guitars come in. So I have just played a loop of the first ten seconds of the song for about a minute and a half. Wow, what an introduction to the nuclear madness that these guys unleash upon the listener. In just a short period of time they hook you, the guitar riff in the beginning continues for the first verse, and the vocals have some mean lows in a few accented areas.  The guitars are impressive on this song, the riff around the 1:03 mark is a great example of the caliber riffage they are slinging on this track.  Just when I think they can’t play something as infectious as the last section, they gut you at the 1:55 mark with a section where the guitars are playing this cool rhythm, drums are emphasizing the footwork for a solid thirty seconds. The whole time if this is being played anywhere, I am pretty sure it could summon a circle pit in any location, at any time.  I mean, teeth are probably going to be knocked out at many shows to this song. they come out of that with a solid final verse. Then around the 2:42 spot they hit us with the final solo of the song. A wisely placed squeal to set up the last thirty seconds of awesomeness, and the song ends.  I have played this song so many times because of the beginning and then by the time the song ends. I was just in metal head mode stuck in that “awe” feeling when you hear something so badass. I am loving this album so far.

Antigenesis

Julien Truchan from Benighted guests on this track so I am interested in the vocal delivery and blend of Grimo and Julien on this. The chaotic guitars in the beginning give you that sense of alarm that they seem to be projecting into the music. Adding to the imagery of the music, the band pulls off guitars like this and its impressive how the delivery is. This song is the shortest song with vocals, and I can respect the fact that I have not been let down with this album yet. I just got hooked by the guitars and drums of this song, I wanted more of those. But to be honest I wasn’t feeling the vocals as much as I had anticipated. I dig the rapid succession squeals around the 2:21 spot but it was because they really flowed well with the other instruments. The song as a whole is badass, I ended up gravitating towards the instruments more than the vocals on this track. Nothing wrong with them, I was just more impressed by the instrumental aspect of the song.  Contagious just like the first half of this album has been.

Outearthed

Some low vocals set up the song with a killer riff that follows and a cool rhythm that just lays down a killer groove with that solo. Grimo delivers a few more squeals in this song, and early I might mention. Not even half way into the song and executed those rhythm matching high pitched eardrum splitters.  I like the section of song around the 1:38 spot. The song builds up, the vocals have a cut up section and then, they assault you with this heavy section that is probably the easiest for them to play. simply put, it just grabs you, they did a great job on this song, and this album. Another few squeals around the 2:20, a growl and then a guitar solo. The song throws down the gauntlet with the change at the four-minute mark. This is the song ending sequence right here. probably the best part of the song for me, i really enjoyed the second half more than the first.

Sector Zero

This song is an instrumental track that delivers heavy doses of image inducing riffs and killer drums. This song will have anyone within earshot, moving to the song.  and what’s that some sort of sound like an alarm around the 1:08 mark. I like this subtle way of ending the album out, it really adds up. They hit us with things like “Massive Radiation Detected” Dead zone Outpost, and then this alarm sound. I love this album.

 

 

I love this album, while I didn’t get moved as much by Outearthed or Antigenesis as much as the other tracks. this album has so much packed into this album. It is catchy as hell and I am sure it can make some AOTY lists with ease.  I feel as though they took a look at their sound and style after signing with Unique Leader Records, and determined that the only thing to do is continue to hone their craft with every note being scrutinized and investigated to determine the worth of that one note, because they sure as fuck made sure to make this album a gem. The guitars on this album are incredible, I am impressed with this album.  The drums are crisp and sound great.  The actual sound quality of this album is something to be happy with. These guys put a lot into Gammageddon, the production is great, and there really isn’t anything I am not happy with or didn’t enjoy.  You only have about less than 23 hours to get on the pre-orders for this album so if you don’t want to miss out on any of those, you can find some links below for getting your copy of this absolutely killer album.

9.8/10 \m/

 

 

Find them on Facebook and give them a like to stay updated-https://www.facebook.com/Cytotoxinmetal/

Or check out their website HERE:  https://www.cytotoxin.de/

Pre-order digital copies- https://uniqueleaderrecords.bandcamp.com/album/gammageddon

 

Merch:

https://www.indiemerch.com/uniqueleader/band/cytotoxin

 

 

-Badger \m/

 

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

http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

 

 

 

 

 

Godeater- Outerstellar- E.P. review 9.3/10 \m/

on By

Godeater

Outerstellar

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Released: May 31st, 2017

Godeater line up:

Josh Graham – Vocals

Ross Beagan – Guitar, engineering, composing

Andrew Macdonald – Guitar

Will Keogh – Bass

Allan MacDonald – Drums, engineering

The EP begins with an ominous build up. A drum fill begins the music in “The Silent Prophecy” and takes us into the high paced and catchy riffage with powerful and heavy vocals. Not too brutal, but deep for sure. They beat us apart for the first fifty seconds until we get our first taste of real melody, (besides the touches used in the riffing). Then really nice soaring lead. We get brought back into the catchy fast paced riffage. About a third of the way through the song we get some more really nice melodic touches over the riffs. The vocals seem to go along with the music really well. As this lead part with vocals ends, we get somewhat of an interlude like section, that is spacey and ambient. Slowly they build back up starting with the bass and then a pick scrape into the slower heavy riff. This section is quite dark. It feels brooding, and it flows into the next, brief faster section really well. As that section ends we get another interlude section similar to the one in the middle of the song but it begins with an acoustic guitar. It is a nice way to end the song and also flows perfectly into track 2.

“Ethereal Majesty” begins with an almost white noise building up type ambiance with some more sounds that really remind me of Nomatic era Fallujah. Just after a minute they begin this riffage. It also begins brooding and slower, there is a doomy vibe almost. The vocals are killer and heavy as fuck here, then a nice pause into a sick good paced riff. The drums are constantly switching it up and really keep this section’s pulse. They briefly pause and transition with what sounds like some sitar and go into a slammy riff/ tremolo back and forth riff and the drums continue to switch it up and keep us on our toes. They slightly simplify it near the middle, but not for the worse, its pretty groovy and catchy, right before they pick it up to full force briefly again. This is indeed brief as they fade down to a drawn out chordy part with a really lovely lead, into an almost blackened chordy part with equally almost blackened vocals into – WOAH –  definitely a breakdown. They just morphe so many genres and totally killed it. The breakdown does do the classic ‘more dirty’ part and then they nicely flow into a prefectly head bobbing riff to end the song. They slow it ever so naturally and open fade into the last song ending perfectly.
“The Nebulon Abhorrency” begins a lot sooner than the others. The open fade soon brings some synth and eerie screams. They make us know some change is coming and begin the high paced and catchy verses. There is some sick melodic double picking riffage going on! I absolutely love it. This song seems to have the most notable synth though it is in every song. This one has almost synth leads at times. After one synth lead part over a cool riff we have a sweet groove! They then slowly let it breath with more synth and then totally melt our faces with fast technical ridding and powerful in your face vocals. The drums have some wicked blasts and are coming at a good pace with the blasts and thrash beats. There is also some really killer guitar fills in that section. They then slow it down to a more doomy vibe once more before the end. Fast double kick and powerful slow riffing which fades into synth that takes us to a close.

Godeater has made a strong impact with these three songs. They are catchy and well structured and have enjoyable production. I can tell there is room to grow but I have no quarrels with this EP whatsoever.

For fans of Fallujah, Bleak Flesh, The Odious Construct, TETHYS, Vale of Pnath

9.3/10 \m/

LINKS:

CLICK THEM \m/
https://www.facebook.com/godeateruk
https://godeateruk.bandcamp.com/album/outerstellar  

http://godeateruk.bigcartel.com

 

 -Brett /,,/(°o°)/,,/

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

https://twitter.com/Bmetalbreakdown
http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

Apotheon- Mechanically Consumed-E.P. Review- 9.3/10 \m/

on By

Apotheon

Mechanically Consumed

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Andrew Morris – Drums
Fernando del Valle III – Guitar
Ibrahim Jimenez – Bass
Reece Deeter – Vocals

Ian Burnside – Guitars

Releases on June 22nd, 2017

 

Premonition

This song begins in an epic sounding way. This is something you put on right before you are ready to start something big, whether it be weight lifting, sparring for boxing or another martial art, to just getting yourself in an amped up mood and ready to attack all obstacles that life will throw at you. If there was going to be entrance music for someone and they wanted to be able to effortlessly project their attitude without a single word expressed. This track gets this E.P. set up very well and based on what Apotheon have delivered in the past. I can say that without a doubt the songs that follow are going to be erupting with some tasty riffs, and killer blasts.

 

Tyken’s Rift

This song is the song that will make any gamer past or future feel some connection to the music and also vivid scenery. Just wait until the one-minute mark where you will understand the last statement and then you will be immersed in a world of metal, and video game like imagery.  Now come back to the track titled Premonition, it really jives with this song. Again you get that uplifting and melodic style form the music and also creates a perception of imagery, scenery, and a different dimension or world. I feel as though Reece is hitting a lower range than on the previous songs but then again. I keep getting wrapped up in what sort of imagery you get while listening to this song and having the dialogue at the 1:09 that sounds straight out of a game.  Apotheon are taking the metal making game to some new levels as they are creating music that is not only heavy and addicting but also energizing and spawn images from words and musical notes. However as great as this song is, I know that my favorite track is about to follow.

 

 

Mechanically Consumed

This song begins quietly with a really a subtle amount of notes being played almost at random, before a stringed instrument like a cello lays down what one might expect from an old movie, a horror or thriller to be exact. But then the drums and the distortion begins and the pace of the song goes into high speed.  This song is my favorite off the E.P. in my opinion this is the heaviest track, it has the most jarring riffs, and the vocals are on point.  The hardest part for me is to narrow down what section I like the most, which part of the song gets me the most amped up and excited to listen.  The whole song has that effect on me. For example, right around the 1:43 mark the guitars and drums set up a badass section that is contagious. And it hits right before a solo, the vocals give way for the guitar solo, but only for so long before they are layered over the solo and really add to the reasons why I love it.  Now if that was it I’d say you have a solid track, but it’s not. Because right around the 2:50 mark they slow things down to an almost sideshow or circus sounding section.  Under most circumstances I would have heard this and thought “gimmicks” or “ yea why did they do that, it doesn’t even sound right with the song” but I can’t say that in this situation. It works, it sounds odd, and if they started or ended the song with it, it would have been a flop. But its smack dab in the middle of the most badass song on this E.P. and you haven’t even gotten to the second solo of the song. And this song is minutes less than the previous two tracks.  Apotheon have again packed so much into the song it’s almost unbelievable that they managed to make another killer E.P.

 

The Flesh Machine

All you need to know about this song, is that  some things should be left to mystery,  I typically will not breakdown the last song on an E.P. only because there aren’t that many songs and I want at least one song to be a little bit of a mystery. I just can’t find it in me to do that for this one. It is just too damn good.

The song begins with a subtle progression of the guitar playing a riff that’s panned from left to right while the drums are playing a jazzed up beat to go along with the guitars, while the bass is holding things down. A keyboard strikes a note at the :18 second mark and continues playing with the other instruments. leading up right at the :44 second mark Reece slices through all that buildup with a growl that sets up his next few lines perfectly.  Right around the 1:14 mark they have a section of solid riffing before the next verse. I’m beginning to have conflicting thoughts on which song I like more “Mechanically Consumed” or this one. Right at the 2:43 mark the song takes a deep dive into an uplifting and euphoric section that lasts just shy of a minute and then the vocals attack again. At what is roughly the 3:50 mark, the listener begins to become activated by the music.  Whatever you may be doing at this moment in time, whether it be driving, walking down the street, rocking out in your room, or getting your jam on at the office. This is where you lose all of your collective shit and fucking throw some haymakers, air guitar or air drums and rock the fuck out. I dare anyone who listens to this E.P. to not get ready to take on the world when this song reaches this point. As they come out of one of the most badass moments on this, Ian pulls off a whirlwind of a guitar solo. There is no better way to put it, this song wraps everything up brilliantly.

 

 

 

This E.P. is an awesome little banger to be dropping at the beginning of this summer like this. There is soooo much killer music coming out in 2017, but summertime is the time of year where I look forward to killer tunes and having speakers blasting  with the windows rolled down. This E.P. follows their 2016 E.P. titled The Acension (which gathered attention among Facebook groups following the Technical metal and deathcore scene) and then also the single Tyken’s Rift from January. Apotheon are making a name for themselves, and in a very short amount of time I might add. I am very pleased with this E.P. and has been some solid music to listen to while working on projects. While the E.P. is great I must admit, I have been listening to the advance copy, including instrumental tracks.  Whether or not the guys decide to release this with the instrumental versions or not, my recommendation would be to do it. The music is so damn good. An amalgamated blend of equal parts technical, melodic, and and heavy.  I strongly suggest anyone and everyone who is looking for something new to jam to this summer. Get yourselves over to their bandcamp page and get your copy ordered up because this drops on Friday. 9.3/10 \m/
****UPDATE****

I had to find out about the instrumental versions and I cant tell you how happy I was to hear from Fernando that they will be releasing an instrumental version of this E.P. as well.

“On streaming sites (Spotify being one of them) will have the ep + the instrumental tracks. Bandcamp will be vocal and instrumental versions sold separate.”  “Going forward we will always be offering instrumental mixes. We love the offering, and while we love our vocalist and what he brings to table, we also write this music without vocals considered! And as fans of instrumental music ourselves, it’s always cool to hear A different version of a song!”

So there you have it, there will be instrumental versions available. Now imagine how many,  videos can be made by people doing vocal or other instrument playthrough covers over the instrumental copies. I think Apotheons view on instrumental versions is a brilliant idea.  Metal fans, and metal bands, lets make that a thing shall we?

 

Check out these links for Apotheon:

Apotheon’s Website- https://apotheonband.wixsite.com/apotheon Click it, you know you want to see what happens

 

Apotheon on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ApotheonBand/ Go on show them some love, and like their Facebook page

 

-Badger \m/

 

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

www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

 

 

Lectern – Precept Of Delator-album review 7.5/10 \m/

on By

Lectern

Precept Of Delator

lectern

Released: September 23, 2016

LINE UP
Fabio Bava: vocals, bass
Pietro Sabato: guitar
Gabriele Cruz: guitar
Marco Valentine: drums

Today we look at “Precept Of Delator” the latest release by the Old School Death metal band Lectern.  This one has a massive dose of old school death, for fans of that style you may want to keep reading and check out the album stream at the bottom.

Gergal Profaner has an old school death feel right out of the gates, and I like that. I instantly know what I am about to get myself into with this one. And fuck am I pleased with the opening track. In a world full of so many different sub genres it’s nice to hear the bands locking up that old school feel still. Really taking that iconic FL death metal sound from the early 90’s.  Italy’s Lectern do that and then some on this album. Before you make it to the thirty second mark, you have already gone through a few tempo changes, but the riffs hook you.  Right around the halfway point the song has a bit of a set up for some drums and then a guitar solo which gives way to more blast beats, and then the song keeps adding more on.  This song has so much to offer but I am really digging the transition that happens around the 2:30 mark. They have this moment where the song comes back around and then they steam roll right back into the last verse of rolling double bass death.

Palpation Of Sacramentarian begins with a sound clip that is slightly ominous as it sounds like an abandoned building with random noises echoing throughout the empty carcass of a concrete structure. But I like the way the guitar lays down a very short riff, and a pause before the rest of the band comes in all at once with a heavier riff paving the way for more chugging riffs, and the occasional blast beat. This is an album you can easily find the groove and head bang to. This song is almost a solid two minutes longer than the previous track and has already packed in a lot considering. I am most impressed by the old school sound they pull off. For having formed in 1999, they really do a great job on this. Even adding that sound clip around the halfway point of the song, that sounded like chains or shackles.

 

Fluent Bilocation this song sounds like something falling and doing a little bit of a rattle around the ground before the vocals come in with a bit of effect to them and then they settle down into an old school slower tempo death metal vibe. The first verse has a good amount of build up to it around the :45 second mark. They hit a peak right there in the verse and add some blast beats and a catchy riff before going back into the next verse. This is a solid song, not much roof for fluff either, they keep it pretty trim, but they do throw a guitar solo in around 2:54 mark that takes the listener on a short ride before they come back into the last verse of the song.

 

Distil Shambles begins with a fast riff and a few notes to set up the first verse.  As the song really begins to unfold, I appreciate their old school flavor that they stay loyal to. I mean in a day where it’s cool to be old school sounding, but bands still add a modern flare to the music. They don’t really do that, they keep things simple, and keep it old school through and through.  They do a great job with this song keeping everything moving right along but still maintaining that old school groove to it. The thing I like the most about this song is that it has me consistently head banging to it.  It’s got a groove about it, which you lock right into and feel the music for the duration of the song.

 

Pellucid begins with some sort of chanting sermon style sound clip, but only for about twenty seconds before a chugging riff sets in and then the song rolls into the first verse. Not a bad song by any means, but out of the entire album this is the one song I just didn’t get into as much as the others. I’m not about to say the song is not good or that it is bad. It just didn’t affect me the same way the previous tracks have. But for best results you should listen to it and form your own opinion.

 

Diptych Of Perked Oblation has the song locked in from the first chugging riff, the slow but steady build up, just waiting to unleash the old school battery of death metal. This is a song that brings me back to when I first started getting into death metal. This is exactly what you would hear on a CD back in the day.  A simple but bad ass set up, no fluff just  playing and you know the band are all mean mugging while playing that bit.  It’s one of the characteristics that I find to be enjoyable. The changes are subtle, but the riffs are the best part of this song I would say. They stay in the zone and continue to deliver tone and riffs that are appealing. I am not ready to say this is my favorite song yet, but damn I have listened to this one a lot. Especially that guitar solo at the 3:00 minute mark. It has a different tone than I was expecting and it made it that much better for me. I must admit the first time I heard it, it threw me off because I really wasn’t expecting that sound. But hey it works, and now I am ready for the next track.

 

Garn For Debitors is the shortest track on the album, and it packs everything into that 2:15 long brief song.  The beginning is a barrage of blast beats that paves way for a more steady and direct roll from the double bass and heavy riffing.  This song is a good addition to the album because it really continues to push that old school death metal style. But I feel like there was something more I wanted from this song. Its great but it’s not exactly what I had been expecting. I like the energy it has from the beginning but I felt like there was something flat about it by the end of the song.

 

Precept Of Delator the beginning has a cool introduction of what seems like some ominous ambience with chanting and then the song really kicks off musically around the :25 second mark . By the time the vocals coming in you have had about a second or more of a steady double bass roll and the tempo is a bit on the slower side of things. But that does not take away from how heavy this track is.  I personally like this one a lot because it has a groove about it in the guitars, and then the old school flavor adds so much to the mix. It’s the simplicity and then the actual intensity of how heavy they are that really mixes well.  This song is solid and you will find yourself head banging from start to finish, not to mention they throw in a little guitar solo around the 3:31 mark that seems a little one dimensional, but I feel as if they almost do that on purpose to match the old school sound.  Either way whoever is playing the solo they don’t seem to push out of their comfort zone as much as I would have liked to hear.

 

Discorporation With Feral is the album ender, and they brought it all together to wrap the album up on a heavy htting note. They do a great job with this track because it is so straight to the point.  This track is exactly what you will want to hear at the end of this album, and it is exactly what you expect to hear also.  I like the fact that these guys did not under deliver, don’t get me wrong, they also didn’t over deliver. They didn’t go over the top with things, or re-invent the wheel. They play old school death metal, and made an album that is exactly that. old school death metal and it works, it sounds great even the production quality sounds a bit old school, not bad like they decided to save some money and cut corners. No they make it sound like some of the classic death metal albums you love

 

One last thing I want to point out is the killer album artwork, I know I don’t point out the artwork every time but it is still something I look at.  Growing up metal artwork was always something that appealed to me, something I was fascinated with, because not all albums had the same caliber artwork. This album art is exactly what I would come to expect, from the old school death metal sound they pair it with old school death artwork. When it comes to meal albums the artwork is the first thing you notice (if you haven’t heard the album) and it does trigger an impulse inside of you on whether or not it looks like you might like it. With this artwork, there is no mystery on what it’s going to sound like. To me that is some great album artwork, because it also sells the album.  If there was single blade of grass for the artwork, you would have no idea what type of metal, and what to expect. But this has demonic characters, pentagrams, ritualistic depictions etc.

When all is said and done, the album is solid, no matter how many times I have spun it, and how many times I have listened to something and thought maybe I need to listen to it again. The album doesn’t change for me, it’s a solid album but may not  satisfy every metal heads tastes.  7.5/10 \m/

 

 

Check out the links below click, share, spread the word.  \m/

www.lectern.in
www.facebook.com/lectern666
www.myspace.com/lecternband
www.twitter.com/lectern666
www.reverbnation.com/lectern
www.metal-archives.com/bands/lectern
www.instagram.com/lectern666
 

-Badger \m/

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

 

 

 

Tethys- Whispers Of Creation

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Alright guys! The new Tethys EP “Whispers Of Creation” comes out tomorrow! Get hyped! This is some of the best tunes I have heard all year so far!

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Band line up –

Stevie Bosier – Vocals

Quinn Broderick – Guitar, Clean Vocals & Backing Screams (live)

Cory Medina – Guitar

Shea Broderick – Drums & Piano

Sev Rivera – Bass

Their songs are exciting and very upbeat. After an ominous but interesting sound clip about a supernova, ‘creation itself’, they go into an absolutely punishing series of melodic and technical riff mastery, with some killer groove throw in for good measure. The songs have an amazing flow to them as well. Some bands using groove riffing can get stale but these guys mix them with amazing and catchy technical riffing as well as excellent transitions and nice chordy parts and killer leads. Let me repeat that KILLLLER leads. With an amazing, heart piercing tone. Their grooves are catchy and not generic either. The guitars seem to weave between playing a completely different rhythm lead scheme in and out of excellent riffing with great harmonies as well and sweet grooves that can be accompanied by wicked leads as well. Both of the guitarists solo and both write some absolutely soul touching leads.

Quinn’s solos are the beautiful melodic, artsy ones and they hit RIGHT in the feels. Quinn definitely has a beautiful legato esque tapping technique that he likes to use in the middle of his solos. Fuck is it ever beautiful! Not to take away from Cory’s solos either. The dude absolutely shreds! And his solos are definitely really creative and have their totally epic moments too, the ending of his solo in “Etheral Cypher” has some killer feel, and the way they so fluently switch who is soloing mid-section, sounds amazing and flawless.

In “Progenitor Of Thought”, Quinn and Cory’s solos are separated by a brief and precise stop, powerfully welcomed into Cory’s face melting start along with a piercing scream by Stevie which compliments it perfectly, and builds up to a crazy sweet arpeggio section with a sick riff behind it too! That rhythm solo combination is so damn good! While Quinn’s solo prior to is just super melodic and perfectly written. Some killer ascending runs and arpeggios and then he blesses us with some more of that eargasmic tapping of his into a nice harmonic ending.
“Memoirs Of The Wanderor” is loaded with sweet grooves, they also give the bass the most time to shine in this song by toning down the ante in the middle section a bit. It is a nice moment for the song to breath and the music to diversify. This song also has some of the heaviest moments by far, and really cool alternating of back and forth lead playing over the grooves. Cory also gives us a super sick solo here which starts out really like a melodic lead and progresses nicely then finishing super epic with some nice slight whammy work.

“Astral Transcendence” is an amazing track. The riffs are exciting and there are lots of excellent little leads, with a beautiful tone. Quinn’s lead in Astral Transcendence, that he brings back (thankfully) later in the song, is just out of this world. He finishes the lead and goes into an incredibly catchy solo that hits in the feels hard. The second time he brings it back with a fucking amazing solo before it the second time and goes into vocals. Literally almost brought tears to my eyes. Definitely gave me fucking goose bumps. Only 2 other solos have ever done that to me, “Jealousy” by Death, my favorite solo ever and “Dedication To A Dead Cause” by Bloodshot Dawn, my second favorite solo of all time. Where does that put this sexy piece of magic? Congrats Quinn and Tethys I’m a huge fucking fanboy now. Fan for life. Like I mean really, it is soaring and just unreal feeling! One of the most epic leads I have heard in a long damn time! This goes into a really nice singing part by Quinn when the lead finishes. Oh, the beauty isn’t over, Cory comes in after with a super catchy and triumphant solo to end the EP with super strong momentum.

Sev’s bass totally adds to the punch too. At times the guitars will be harmonizing and the bass will hold down the riff or groove. It works really well. There are great moments of this in “Etheral Cypher” and “Memoirs Of The Wanderor” for sure. The bass has some nice distinct parts in “Etheral Cypher” just after a minute and a half in the song. He has really nice bass lines during the solo section. Again near the end he stands out quite a bit with the fills. At about 1:10 in “Progenitor Of Thought” they kind of soften it up for a brief bit, it flows so well and the bass has some really cool stand out parts during this section. Again after the first clean vocal section at about 2:35 they tone it down and let the bass shine.
There are other powerful moments as well as he just has a really good tone and fits the songs completely.
“Memoirs Of The Wanderor” is definitely the most stand out Bass track for sure. The whole song he just seems more distinct, and then middle section, it is loaded with cool bass lines that keep it very captivating.

This is one of my favorite vocal performances I have ever heard without a doubt. Stevie’s tone, range, delivery and articulation / enunciation of the words is beyond phenomenal. The way he matches the syllable rhythm of his words with the riffs is so excellent and clearly very well thought out. Not only that, but these lyrics are damn awesome to boot.

We enter the music of “Etheral Cypher” with a piercing scream and then he really shows what he can do for the first few verses. Sick timing, killer range and an amazing tone! He uses some really grizzly lows at times as well. The range displayed in this song is phenomenal. I love how he matches the vocal rhythms with the riffage too.
No beating around the bush. That whole song is just so deadly. Piercing highs, ridiculous enunciation. Super badass lows and a wicked range in this song. It just sounds amazing!
In “Memoirs Of The Wanderor” he uses a lot of powerful lows with wicked high accents and some cool layering. His delivery is timed perfectly with the music, especially in the groovy sections.

Quinn also offers up some excellent and fitting cleans in “Progenitor Of Thought” and “Astral Transcendence”. His vocals sound majestic and are smooth and powerful. And IN KEY! Overall they are great, they actually really add to the enjoyment of the songs, a lot.
While Stevie has some fantastic low mid vocals that are just bursting with power. He displays an amazing and tasteful use of range and tone on this EP but the vocals in “Astral Transcendence” are extremely powerful to me. The tone is just so awesome and passionate. I can feel it. But he switches the range a good amount in that song too. Some nice highs and lower lows used when needed. This guy has serious pipes. Watch the live set linked at the bottom to see for yourself. “WE ALL RETURN TO THE STARS FROM WHICH WE CAME”. Awesome.

The drums are killer. Some absolutely face-melting kick sections. The drums through the start of the album are consistently impressive and just punishing. Sweet blasting, and also good use of thrashy beats in a more tech Death setting. Killer groove and nuts kick all over. “Progenitor Of Thought” has some fairly brief but totally insane kick parts. When he isn’t melting our faces, he’s blowing our mind with creativity. He brings them back though, and also progresses with his beats a lot! “Memoirs Of The Wanderor” also has some really sweet kick patterns being used and great fills too. The performance is constantly interesting. Also some really excellent cymbal work on the album. He always keeps the flow of the songs perfect, and generally has a very upbeat and exciting pace to his playing. When it is less upbeat, he always makes it flow right. The third song “Memoirs Of The Wanderor” and the final song, “Astral Transcendence”, starts with a synth part, written by Shea I believe. In “Astral Transcendence”, it transitions smoothly into a great, kind of Thrashy section with really nice ride parts. Then into a sick groovy section. From here he generally keeps a good momentum for the majority of the song, keeping it uplifting and interesting, while going back to a deadly groovy while the sexy lead starts.

I am so excited about this EP, this band definitely has a bright future. They have the makings to be one of the best bands in all of Death Metal. Everything about them screams top quality. Their amazing tone. Their creativity and excellent songwriting. The fact that this is one of the best vocal performances I’ve ever heard. I mean, this can’t be just me? This guy is damn unreal! This band is unreal! And super sick live based on the set I watched about 10 times lol.

“I THINK; THEREFORE I AM”

For fans of Alustrium, Bleak Flesh, Vale Of Pnath, Black Crown Initiate, Equipoise

9.9/10 \m/

 

LINKS
https://www.facebook.com/Tethysband/
https://tethys1.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHLMHOavPIUGai1UC3lN8pw

PROGENTOR OF THOUGHT LYRIC VIDEO

FULL LIVE SET (pretty qood quality)

 

-Brett /,,/(°o°)/,,/

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

Fumigation / The Path To R’lyeh “INVASION” split review 9.1/10 \m/

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I’m stoked to bring you a look at the review for the upcoming split EP with Fumigation and The Path To R’lyeh.

FUMIGATION

Mat Desjardins (drums)
Jay Donnelly (vox)
Tom Hansen (guitar)
Chris Humeniuk (bass)
Matt MacIvor (guitar)

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The first four songs of the EP are Fumigation. This is them at their most gruesome and organic sounding yet. The approach to this EP was much more old school and gives a vibe of walking through an abandoned house that is covered in mold and cobwebs, to open up a cupboard and it be filled with a massive next of spiders.

The EP starts out with a grim build up into a cool heavy dissonant riff which transitions into a nice head-bangable verse that uses some of the same chords. The chorus is faster and has an enjoyable fast riff with more dissonant chords at the tail. I like how the theme of the first song seems to end riffs with a similar feel, but not the same part. There are some brief slams and more verses which flow well. They even make the main verse riff groovier which has a nice effect at one point. After the next chorus is goes to a series of wicked riffs that are made for a circle pit! The song continues to finish strong with sweet riffs and angry vocals. Their half of the EP continues to utilize some catchy tremolo riffs and lots of catchy Old School, bouncy but somewhat Thrashy riffs too. A Beard Full Of Maggots is full of exciting riffs and slows to a slower almost Death/Doom part near the end which is killer for a brutal and slow headbang.

The bass begins to stand out much much more in the second song, Forced Vaginal Harbourage. He weaves in and out of the riffs and the riffs themselves are more melodic as well and quite catchy, as well as pretty progressive in the intro. Near the end of the song the bass has some more sweet low but bouncy lines. Through most of the music, the bass is mixed in, making the tone nice and thick. It is audible but he only steps out of the rest of the arrangement occasionally. The parts all fit the songs and the low clunky tone sounds sweet.

You won’t really hear much blast beats in Fumigation at all. They have more Groovy and Old School vibes, especially in the drumming. There is some blasting in Forced Vaginal Harbourage. Aside from not utilizing much blasting the beats do fit, and there is some very consistent double kick. I like the organic sounding mix on the kicks and cymbals as well. Whole kit really. It has nice panning as well in the mix. Earwigs & Earwax has ripping double kick and super-fast tremolo riffs most of the time after an awesome and nostalgic King Of The Hill intro clip, perfect for the bands theme, featuring Dale Gribble leaving an angry and deranged exterminator phone message.

 
The vocals are also pretty old school in a good way. They have a low mid bellowy shout tone that almost reminds me of Psycrpotic but heavier at times. The vocals can also get pretty guttural at times and occasionally use semi high accents. While the vocals on this EP do not have the same badass powerful crisp low that their previous full length had, it is more comparable to the transition that Bloodbath went through vocally. This being a more putrid, organic and raw sound with plenty of passion. There are quite some brutal moments in Earwigs & Earwax, as well as some of the more “shouty” parts. It is a great and diverse performance. They are a unique tone that is hard for me to describe, and at times remind me of Deathgrind. The “shoutyness” that is incorporated almost reminds me of what could be the beginnings of those ‘hallowed priest shouts’ that Zombiefication and Apocrophex and Hour Of Penance use sometimes. It sounds kind of agonized and desperate. I like it. One other neat thing that adds to the vocal diversity is that each song has some guest vocals. Which becomes more apparent and distinct with more listens.

 

The second half is The Path to R’lyeh. This is their debut release and a rather impressive one at that. While none of them are brand new to the genre or scene either, they are still relatively unknown. They play an aggressive and technical Lovecraftian worship themed Death Metal and they have a pretty refreshing sound.

THE PATH TO R’LYEH

Alain Cloutier (guitar/bass)
Milann Vaidya (drums)
Yan Chatel (vocals)
Jonathan Lattimore Desabrais (guitar)

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It starts with a cool groovy slam with a blast and pauses before coming in full force with heavy blasting, cool tremolo riffing and powerful vocals. After they change heavy riffs a few times they go to a more almost atmospheric part with more prominent and great bass, vocals come in and they continue to fluently turn it into a sweet techy verse with equally prominent bass and guitar. I must say I really like this riff. They go back into the slam from the start with the blast. He goes on the mix up the cymbal work and it is really enjoyable. They then go to another fast but slightly “slammy” riff into a heavy ass slam with ripping double kick and pretty brutal but not overly guttural vocals.

The next song comes in with a catchy kind of Melodic Death style Thrashy riff. The vocals in this song switch depending on the verse, from a more love mid ranged bark to a wicked cool low tone to semi guttural and guttural at times. The vocals start to stand out more to me at the 1:10 mark when they change riffs and he goes lower. It is a very cool tone and I feel that it hits a bit harder than the more mid range tone, which is still a good one.

The following song starts out fast and strong, opening with a quick drum fill into furious riffs and drums and powerful low vocals. This is the first demonstration of highs in the album and it may catch some off guard. They are a rather blackened sounding shriek that has a piercing and agonizing pitch. Once you get used to them they are pretty badass, but definitely sound a bit unexpected almost every time. It almost reminds me of the ‘pterodactyl scream’ from Unhuman. The vocals and drums are totally furious in this song and they have some cool Origin-esque moments.

The final song starts with a super-fast riff with some quick gallops thrown in and techy fills. The drums are ripping the whole time with nice switching up on the cymbals quite often. The cymbal work right around the middle is totally excellent. The vocals are powerful and pretty brutal at times. Near the end of this song there is several sick groovy riffs that are really well executed.

This is a cool split EP of two bands that are different enough yet familiar enough to totally work and be enjoyable as one full listen. Their songs are quick and hard hitting. These bands managed to write some catchy songs, without any solos whatsoever. Proving that good songwriting really does topple over all. Though, I do love me a good solo. I would love to see the addition of tastefully placed solos into these bands music down the road. Perhaps that is not what they are going for, but here and there to mix it up like that is great in my opinion. Go pre-order the album now, it drops next Friday!

For fans of Skinless, Gorguts, Obituary, Cephalic Carnage, Bloodbath, Immolation, Konkeror

For fans of Origin, Demented, Cognitive, Brain Drill, Abysmal Dawn

9.1/10 \m/

LINKS
https://www.facebook.com/Fumigation-137024276331132/
https://www.facebook.com/PathToRlyeh/
http://www.cdnrecords.com/product/fumigationthe-path-to-rlyeh-invasion-split-cd-pre-order/
https://fumigationmetal.bandcamp.com/
https://thepathtorlyeh.bandcamp.com/releases

Fumigation

“Your Death Metal Pest Control Specialists” www.fumigationmetal.com fumigationmetal@gmail.com

 

Path To R’lyeh

path.to.rlyeh@gmail.com

Check it out below

 

-Brett /,,/(°o°)/,,/

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

http://www.badgersmetalbreakdown.com

Bleak Flesh- Overcoming Reality 9.5/10 \m/

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Hi guys! I am honored and extremely stoked to bring you my review for the brand new release from my Chilean brothers in Bleak Flesh!

First, let’s look at a bio of the band…

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Formed in 2004 in Santiago de Chile by Matias Quiroz under a different name. By 2009 the project had evolved to what is Bleak Flesh. Soon after, bassist Enrique Carvajal joined ranks. By 2012, talented drummer Sebastián Vidal had joined the ranks and they had recorded some demos which would later be released on a compilation in 2015 called “A Glimpse from the Past: The Unreleased Demo Collection”. In 2013 the band was complete with addition of Nicolas Martinez on guitar and Paulo Carcamo on lead vocals. The band would the release their 2013 debut EP, THE GATEWAY, presenting an interesting mix of genres like technical and melodic death metal with progressive touches and nice synth mixed in. In 2014 Bleak Flesh released their first full length album called TRANSCENDENCE. The album got great reviews from fans and critics alike and I even reviewed it a while back! The CD’s even sold out! This EP should be highly anticipated based on the great response Transcendence got, not to mention the brand new vocalist. On January 1st 2016 Radial Velocity came out as the first song recorded with Ngen Kerruff on vocals, being the first single for the new OVERCOMING REALITY EP. On December 19th 2016 they released the second single for the EP, The Spectral Path, along with a sweet music video.

Order or stream their new EP here:
https://bleakflesh.bandcamp.com/…/overcoming-reality-ep-2017

Their music is extremely well rounded within seamlessly molding different subgenres together. Not the same way Cyborg Octopus does, but these guys are still completely unique. They mix Progressive Metal with synths, Technical Death Metal, Djenty and other groovy and sometimes funky riffs, melodic Death Metal and more!

Line up for Overcoming Reality and current line up – Matías Quiroz – Lead Guitar, Enrique Carvajal – Bass, Sebastián Andrés Vidal Romero – Drums, Ngen Kerruff – Vocals

The vocals are powerful and have a great tone. His delivery isn’t quite as enunciated as their previous vocalist Paulo, however he makes up for it by having a really excellent tone and range. He does have enjoyable delivery as well and a wide range. He can go from gutturally low, which he only does on occasion, to a powerful, almost Polish DM sounding mid low and some soaring awesome highs which are also kind of dark and intense. They remind me of the blackened highs heard in Slugdge. Though overall, the bands are very different, they are both slightly experimental and incorporate similar vocal traits at times.
There is still clean vocals on this EP, like their previous work, but it is different and it isn’t coming off forced. That being said, no vocoder. Which I am OK with because I don’t really like vocoder and their previous work war the only use of vocoder I have ever managed to enjoy in any band. In fact the clean vocals in songs like Overcoming reality, where the cleans come in right away, before they even proceed to get brutal, and Sunshine, which has some great epic but totally add to the overall vibe and epic-ness of the songs. Sunshine by far has the most cleans and I think they are really fitting. It also has some great riffs and beats and grooves. The cleans remind me of the cleans that Cyborg Octopus lays out in their Neo-classical influenced song, Divine Right (In D Minor). I personally like them a lot.

The bass work sounds great! The opening and title track, Overcoming Reality has some sweet bass lines, especially during the parts with prominent synth. It sounds like there are some cool slapped bass licks and fills.
Expanding the Existence has an excellent bass solo when it mellows out and then goes in to a beautiful guitar solo section. They mellow it out the first time and he plays a great bass line and then they go to a nice upbeat riff for a bit and mellow it back down to the amazing solo sections.

The guitar is very enjoyable as well. Matiaz is an amazing player who can create beastly riffs and beautiful solos. The riffs are exciting and very upbeat. Expanding the Existence has some super catchy and quite intricate riffs and that absolutely lovely solo mentioned before after with wicked bass sections. Galactic Monolith is a great and varied song. Several awesome grooves and lots of really wicked fast parts too. I particularly love the little melodic lead near the end of the song!

The instrumental track, The Dawn of the Ancient Realms, is simply outstanding!

They soften it down at just before 2:00 and the bass has some totally awesome lines, then they go into a rather freely and super epic solo, into a sick groove with more awesome bass! This then leads into another fantastic solo! Love the tone too! The riffs are extremely exciting and quick with really blistering drums, though he has great feel when they need to let the song breathe too. The synth is pretty prominent through most of this song and it is used well. It fades out with a kind of tribal feel.

The guitar solo in Radial Velocity, which was one of the first singles for the album, released last year, is absolutely amazing. It is fairly lengthy and goes through several different ‘sections’ and is extremely well written. The solo section in the more recent single they released at the beginning of this year is out if this world as well. The Spectral Path has all sorts of incredibly catchy riffs, wicked intense drums and roaring and soaring vocals. But that solo is just absolutely fabulous!

The drums are killer. Great beats and mix. The cymbals sound great as is but when the synth is going, it is mixed really well too. The frequencies add a really nice angelic feel. He sometimes tastefully incorporates gravity blasts as well. Such as in Galactic Monolith, which also has some wicked groove at times and some excellent fast double pick and ride beats that I lust love. And also such as in Spectral Path, which has awesome blistering fast beats that are perfectly placed and not only speed, but excellent feel as they give this song room to breathe several times and every instrument totally plays into making it work, especially the guitar and drums in this song. All sorts of other enjoyable cymbal work as well. not only on that song. The EP is packed with awesome grooves, sweet super fast yet creative beats with lots of great cymbal and especially ride work, and seamless transitions.

It makes me proud to hear this EP. These guys are amazing people and musicians, creating truly unique and inspiring Death Metal. Fans of original and slightly experimental sounds with great melody and groove, this band is for you! The vocals are well ranged and have an exciting delivery and great tone. The drums have incredible speed and excellent beats and fantastic groove and feel when called for. The riffs are creative and very intriguing, with tons of stand out bass through this EP! I strongly urge you to give this a listen! I know this band can have a bright future in this genre if they reach the right amount of fans! It would be a dream come true to see these guys live or play with them some day!

For fans of Atlantis Chronicles, Between The Buried And Me, Dark Matter Secret, Cyborg Octopus, Slugdge, Flub, Black Crown Initiate

9.5/10 \m/

 

LINKS
https://www.facebook.com/bleak.flesh
http://www.bleakflesh.com/
https://bleakflesh.bandcamp.com/…/overcoming-reality-ep-2017
https://www.youtube.com/user/bleakfleshband
https://twitter.com/BleakFlesh

 

 

-Brett /,,/(°o°)/,,/

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

Virulent Depravity- Fruit Of The Poisoned Tree 9.9/10 \m/

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Virulent Depravity

Fruit Of The Poisoned Tree

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Releases April 7, 2017

Mike Low – Mixing
Zak Denham – Mastering
Justin Abraham – Artwork

 

 

I am thrilled to bring you guys my review of the highly anticipated debut Virulent Depravity album, Fruit Of The Poisoned Tree.

The line up for Fruit Of The Poisoned Tree is;                                                                        Colin Butler – Composition / Guitar / Bass / Vocals
Malcolm Pugh – Guitar
Kévin Paradis – Drums

Virulent Depravity band photo

I believe for the next album, the lineup will remain the same, with different guest appearances to look forward to. This is some of the most complexly composed material I have ever heard. The riffs are unreal, but retain catchiness, and are melodic in their own, incredibly technical way. Lots of great harmonizations and riff counter points.

Some songs with particularly great riffs are; “Beyond The Point Of No Return”, there is a SICK harmony melodic riff that repeats. Definitely one of my favorite riffs I have heard in a long time. The solos are insane. Some very creative licks and a unique, but epic feel utilized. All of the solo tones sound awesome, and fit, but sound individualized, especially the difference between Colin and Malcolm’s tones. Malcolm’s seems to sound more melodic, similar to his “A Loathing Requiem” tone, but still fit for this project. Where Colin’s tone seems a bit more alien in sound. The guest solos are all rather distinct as well. Mark Hawkins (Devolved) rips the first solo on the entire album with a very crisp tone right into a killer solo by Malcolm and a sweet melodic solo by Colin. The most similar of all the guest solos to Colin’s tone is Elijah Whitehead, who performs a killer solo after Colin on “Mechanized Defilement”. One of my favorite solos on the album by far as well.

This album isn’t just technically proficient though. Your mind will be blown with its feel and passion as well. “Only Human” begins with a beautiful, clean section into an almost classically influenced lead, into the brutality. It comes back to awesome soulful sections later on as well, one, after an awesome guest solo by Craig Peters (Deeds OF Flesh, Destroying The Devoid, ex-Arkaik), flowing incredibly with a nice bass part into a sweet groovy riff and beautiful solo by Colin. The song has some more badass verses, a chorus and a few more killer solos by Colin. The ending is very soulful as well and goes back to that Neo-classical vibe.
The closing track, “Crushed By Futuristic Filth”, is one of the most well-rounded. It is crushing and beautiful and so much more. It has an amazing soft section with a keyboard solo by Jimmy into a completely heart wrenching, beautifully written, emotional but uplifting solo by Malcolm. It is really fantastic! After smoothly going back to brutality it then sounds like it is over at about 5 minutes in and it kind of spirals into a beautifully written guest solo by the young virtuoso, Sims Cashion, over a soft section with keys and more beauty as well.

The bass isn’t overshadowed either. Often in albums when it is performed by the primary composer who is a guitarist, the bass gets the role of simply “holding down the low-end”. Not here. Not only does it have an “EXCELLENT” tone, but Colin steps in and out (mostly out) of the guitar work and throws in a lot of perfectly placed, totally sick fills. He mixes up the technique a lot as well. Between finger picking, slap parts and cool tap licks. The bass has it all on this album. All the tracks have awesome bass. We’ve established this, but some songs have especially great parts that are worth mentioning. Such as “Only Human” has a great bass part during a soft instrumental section in the middle of the song. “Mechanized Defilement” has awesome fills, strategically placed to grab your attention through the entire song, and there is a stop with a nice bass sweep which everyone loves when done right. In the last song, “Crushed By Futuristic Filth”, following the guitar solo is a piano solo with an amazing bass line under it. Not overly shred-dy, just so good. The piano continues after the rest of the instruments stop to give a bleak, but slightly hopeful sounding end.

The vocals are just “WOW“! He utilizes so many different tones as tasteful accents, while the main tone seems to be a low mid to a low that are very aggressive. The delivery is what really gets me here. Most of it is well enunciated and while crushingly brutal and technical, still fairly easy to understand. At other times he uses what I call, “vocal artistic integrity” and just massacres us with some of the sickest deliveries I have ever heard. Especially during certain techy riffs, the speed and ability to manipulate words slightly to fit perfect, is incredibly impressive. The vocal speed and delivery in “Serpentine Messiah”, some of the line in “Your Demise” and, the vocals in “Beyond The Point Of No Return” are ridiculous and some of the verses in “Crushed By Futuristic Filth” are nearly inhuman. Simply astonishing performance. Hard to keep up to even reading along at times. “Your Demise” also has some really great delivery in lines that are not incredibly fast. My favorite being “as you sleep in your cocoon of ignorance, night approaches and we are coming for you” before Malcolm’s solo. The delivery is simply sinister and perfect. The whole song has excellent vocals, not to mention the whole damn album.

The drum performance is also totally crazy. Ridiculously fast blasts with meticulously placed but sporadic at the same time fills. He is capable of basically any type of beat he demonstrates. He tastefully and strategically places occasional gravity blasts, but mostly keeping to jarring blasts and crazy bursts and fills. The snare beats and kick bursts in the first verse of “Serpentine Messiah” is just nuts. Incredible doubly kick speed and stamina through the whole album. especially on that song, “Spineless Obedience, Your Demise”, “Bad Drug”, “Beyond The Point Of No Return”, and “Only Human”. As well as super tasty cymbal word with the changing between crashes / Chinas / splashes and even super tasty hi-hat use between hits. It is my understanding that Colin composed all of the riffs, and wrote general ideas for the drums, but it was all basically Kevin. He even records in his home studio. Which is a huge plus to me. The drums have a very refreshingly organic sound, which can especially be heard during the softer instrumental sections. The cymbals sound amazing and are panned great. Everything about the drum performance, engineering and mix is completely stellar in my opinion.

One thing I really love about the album is that while being absolutely mind-boggling-ly technical, it remains cohesive, and often even has a psychedelic vibe. At times the lead tone helps achieve this, such as the solo in “Spineless Obedience” and a lead section, in “Desecrating Eden”, which comes back at the end also and I just love it and the way the guitar mixes with the Keyboard solo in the middle. This is a largely unexplored sound in the genre and it has been demonstrated magnificently here. With classical level intricacy in the composition and a modern spin to the technicality and riff style mixed with the perfect levels of brutality and passion in the right places. There is even some Neo-classically influenced licks. If this isn’t one of the most creative and well-rounded albums in Death Metal history, then I must have a lot to learn. Definite contender for album of the year! Get on this people! Soon! … I want vinyl.

For fans of Spawn Of Possession, First Fragment, Anomalous, Archspire, Inanimate Existence, Ending Tyranny

9.9/10 \m/

 

Guest Musicians:
Jimmy Pitts – Keys (Track 4, 10)
Mark Hawkins – Solo (Track 1)
Nick Padovani – Solo (Track 6)
Craig Peters – Solo (Track 8)
Elijah Whitehead – Solo (Track 9)
Sims Cashion – Solo (Track 10)
Nathan  Bounds – Guest Vocals  (Track 10)

LINKS
https://www.facebook.com/virulentdepravity/
https://virulentdepravity.bandcamp.com/album/fruit-of-the-poisoned-tree
https://theartisanera.bandcamp.com/
http://www.theartisanera.com/
Check out the early stream from Tech Death Tuesday HERE

 

 

-Brett   /,,/(°o°)/,,/

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Lock Up- Demonization- Album Review 8.5/10 \m/

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Lock Up

Demonization

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Released March 10th 2017

Shane Embury
Kevin Sharp
Nick Barker
Anton Reisenegger

 

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First started as a side project by Shane Embury, they are now on to their fourth album this time featuring Kevin Sharp on vocals. I had to go back and listen to “Pleasures” with Peter Tagtgren , and then albums with Thomas Lindberg on vocals to be able to compare Kevin to both. I have seen some people express dissatisfaction with this album, and a lot comparing Kevin to Thomas. However to really give Kevin the benefit of the doubt he needed to be heard alongside the Tagtgren style also.  And after listening to a lot of Lock Up recently, I can honestly say, I really enjoy this album. Kevin is a great fit in my opinion. However one thing I really picked up on was the fact that Nicolas Barker had more range on his drums and the clarity of his drums are fucking crisp.  If you have been under a rock and don’t know who Nicholas Barker is, or have known any of his other bands. He played with Cradle of Filth on five albums including Cruelty and the Beast, as well as Dimmu Borgir and a handful of other bands with albums an E.P.’s.  but the one thing I always wished you could get from a Lock Up album was to get better sound of Nicks Drums.  But with songs like “The Decay Within The Abyss” Nick rattles off a roll out on the toms that you just didn’t get on previous albums.  It has just that much more to offer than previous albums when it comes to the drums in my opinion.  The album starts out with “Blood And Emptiness” a solid opening track, music starts out hard and fast after a short sound clip.  They slow it down, but you hear the first example of Nick’s drums being so crystal clear around the :53 second mark.  This is the moment when my ears perked up, and I knew that this album was going to be a good listen. The song goes through a few tempo changes but really maintains a heavy dose of death grind in typical Lock Up style.  They follow up with The Decay Within The Abyss” and that tracks starts right out of the gates with such a clean and fluid rollout on the toms before engaging an arsenal of blast beats.  This song really gets the listener amped up with plenty of blast beats but also riffs that provide a thick layer of groove.  I find I enjoy this album so much because of the added elements with this album.  Nick is an unbelievable drummer, the guy has so much talent and unless you were a fan of his, you might not realize it. I think in all previous albums my biggest gripe was even though nick was the drummer, his name in the credits. I just didn’t hear the Nick Barker I had listened to for years. To be honest the only reason I became a Lock Up fan in the first place was because I saw Shane Embury, and Nicholas Barker were in a band, and I knew it was going to be cool.  There are still tracks like “Locust” that are basically saturated with grinding blasting mayhem that are going to keep the die-hard’s satisfied. I really have enjoyed my time listening to this album. The album has the same raw aggression as previous albums, but it has Kevin Sharp on the microphone, and that adds a few other spices blended into this album. Kevin has a bit of a blend between Tagtgren and Lindberg almost down the middle, he has similarities to both vocalists prior. I dig this album, and I like what Kevin brings to the mix, but being able to hear Nick’s drums with more free range and crisp sound really helps out.  8.5 / 10 \m/

 

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Then CLICK HERE to grab your copy of Demonization

 

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-Badger \m/

 

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