Category: Technical Death

Singularity- Place Of Chains – 10/10 \m/

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Singularity

Place Of Chains

058172

Out 10/11/2019

Line up

Jack Fliegler – Vocals

Adam King Bass, Vocals

Nick Pompliano- Keyboards

Nathan Bigelow – Drums

 

 

Tempe, Arizona based misfits Singularity is back with a new album dropping very shortly, and I have to tell you people. It is awesome, I mean better than some of the stuff I have been hearing for the past ten months. There were not many albums that came out this year that impressed me thoroughly.  There were some I was excited about, and were exactly what I expected from them. Place Of Chains is on another level, its album of the year material in my book. I’m not going to waste any time hyping this one up.  I would only be talking about the first 5 tracks, however the first track is an introductory, and without lyrical content. I am also going to cover track #6 Desmoterion since that would make five songs with lyrical content, and also longer than 3 minutes in length.

 

 

#1) Bellum -The intro, what a nice lead up into the next track. I love when a band has a solid introductory track. While it may seem like a simple thing, some bands blow it in my opinion. This is how to lead in right. The first minute and a half has no drums. Then boom 1:40 things kick it up a level. The buildup is spectacular. A nice solo to finish things off and moving right in to the next track. More than just a mere introductory track. They pack a combo of killer instrumental work right before fading into Victory or Death.

 

#2 Victory Or Death- Hot damn this one is right out of the gate with rapid-fire blast beats, and menacing guitars. I need to give praise to these guys for beginning with “LET THE GAMES BEGIN” how can you begin an album with a more badass line than that. Jack just got everyone’s attention with that brilliant line.  I feel like I do not even need to listen to the rest of this song to make my mind at how awesome it is. They give you hell for a solid minute and then ease up on the listener. I am sitting in awe listening to Nathans drums. Dude this guy is nuts. I mean the guy was touring with Alterbeast and filling in on drums for others at the same time. He can definitely hold his own that is made clear right now. Man the guitars just lure the listener right in. Whoo, that is a Ric Flair-esqe guitar solo towards the end of the song there.  To be honest, this is my first chance listening to Singularity. I knew they were coming out with something so I held off listening to stuff from their first album until this album graced my hard drive.

 

#3) Sisyphean Cycle – Sisyphean cycle- grim intro with the vocals, a much slower start to a track than the last one. I get a bit more of a black metal vibe on this track. I’m not a big black metal fan, but, around 1:20, they eloquently begin to melt faces with that frenzy of blasts and guitar riffage. I must admit my interest was piqued with Blackened technical death metal but damn I like what I am hearing.  I am really digging the technical death metal bands that have the black metal style weaved throughout in subtle form. These guys blend so well. I believe this is one of the singles they released and for good reason. It really highlights their ability to go the distance with so much spice added to the song structure. That last solo starting at the 4:58 mark is spectacular. I love the orchestration behind that guitar solo.  I mean this is what I am talking about, absolutely brilliant sounding. The last minute and a half are killer. Goddamn these guys are on fire.

 

#4) Ritual of Regret – Nathan makes quick time getting this song set up and on target. It has a nice pace to it, and I am really digging the change of pace when the vocals come in. not a ton slower by any means, they still maintain a good pace. It was a damn good track to do some yard work too. Anything that requires your amped up energy levels, this is a good track.  I would say for any people who listen to metal and get motivated. This album will help you rip the shit out of whatever you are doing  Just a full disclosure, if there was one and only one song that I feel as though it is a little more 2 dimensional, or is a little leaner than the rest. It is the shortest track on the album not including the first introductory track.  Nevertheless, it does not lack in quality, let me be clear. The meat to this song is impeccable. I guess the only thing I can notice is less solo work, less Nathan Bigelow drum brilliance.

#5)-Consume and Assume – This is a solid example of Nathans kick ass drumming skills. Just listen to that beginning. The dude is just straight crushing it with something that is jazzy, technical and then flips his blast beat mode switch and completely decimates any room for a spare note.  Looking for a guitars solo that will make you want more, it happens right at the 1:43, mmmm listen to that solo. It feels like it had a double serving of soul in it. This is a fun track to listen to; the melody in the back is superb. They have constructed a sound so beautiful and yet damn they have such a razor sharp technical blackened death sound it is ridiculous. I genuinely am excited for anyone who is looking for something new, or have never heard singularity before, because this is going to be a fan favorite album. I am so impressed by this album thus far, it’s truly top tier metal.

 

#6 Desmoterion- Holy shit, this is absolute hellfire, mixed with legitimately everything you could possibly want in a track. This song clocks in around 7 minutes long, but have no fear you will feel like the song packs in a full 10. There is so much meat to this tune it is not even funny. In terms of how you will feel after listening to it. Well let us be honest with each other. You’re going to feel like there was life before Singularity- Desmoterion, and then life after this track. People are going to remember where they were when they heard it type of shit. Yeah, if they don’t release this as a single, it’s because they do not want to melt everyone before hearing the album in its entirety.  If you have managed to hold your shit together through the first half then just get a load of the moment 3:55 hits, because this sets up such a magical acoustic melody with the guitars. Drums come in with just the right zest and they work that, building up 5:10 when the vocals come in “Release me…..” and then one of the sickest solos one has offered up this year. This track is a pure display of superior musical power. God damn now that is a chart-topping track. This song alone sells the album for me, I do not even need to listen to the rest to know I am buying it, but since I’m writing a review, I have listened to more.

 

This album is going to be one of my top albums of 2019. I have not been a fan of any black metal or blackened anything that has come to me in months. However, damn, this is different. Starting out the album with the first words you hear for lyrical content is LET THE GAMES BEGIN. That right there is to me a small meticulous detail but the fact of the matter is that this album absolutely crushes because of all the little details. The pianos, the melody, the solos, how they blended black metal and technical death metal without any fluff. They do not need to trim the fat; they are a lean smooth running machine of some of the sickest metal I have heard in a while. The amount of “Technical black, blackened death” etc. I have gotten, and how many I have even considered writing about is two very different numbers. This album can and will stand the test of time. This album, this band has blown me away. There are some heavy hitters on the guest list too. Malcolm Pugh on every track for the additional orchestrations. Nick Padovani for co composition and guitar solo, Jared Christianson doing some guest vocals on Victory or Death. This album is packed to the brim with talent.  This entire album, from start to finish keeps the listener engaged. Every second of every song is musical platinum.  I cannot find a single thing I dislike about this album, I just cannot, and there is nothing that could be changed to better this album.

10/10 go out and buy this ASAP your ears will thank you

Go on and get ordering before this drops on Friday

 

Social Media Links
http://www.facebook.com/singularityaz
https://singularityaz.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/singularitymetal
https://twitter.com/SingularityAZ
https://www.instagram.com/singularity_az/
https://www.facebook.com/TheArtisanEra/ 
The Artisan Era YouTube Channel
http://www.theartisanera.com/

-Badger \m/

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

 

Spectrum Of Delusion- Esoteric Entity – Album review- 9.2/10 \m/

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Spectrum of Delusion

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Esoteric Entity

Released 08/18/2017

 

Tracklist:
Intro     
Beyond Affliction
Dead Weight
Illuminate Eradicate
Reverie
Ruler of Cruel
Unborn Tragedy
Mixotrophy
Timelines

 

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Lineup

Douwe Negenman – Vocals
Nathan Bonkerk – Lead Guitar
Frank van Rijswijk – Rhythm Guitar
Jerry Kamer – Bass Guitar
Jeroen Mostert – Drums

Hey there everyone,  today I bring you the Netherland based technical death metal team Spectrum of Delusion and their recently released album Esoteric Entity.

Forged in 2013 by drummer Jeroen  and Nathan they built the band up from performing covers until Frank joined and then they began their journey into creating killer music. Now the interesting part of all this is they actually had another album written and ready back in 2014 however after reviewing everything they scrapped it because it didn’t adhere to their level of acceptable standards and their sound. A whole album with seven string guitars and a five string bass, scrapped because it wasn’t true to their core.  They set off to create something more pure to their sound and decided to put a fretless in the hands of Jerry and upon that brilliant idea, Douwe joined and everything came together to  get Esoteric Entity finished. This is the debut Album of Dutch Technical Deathmetal band Spectrum of Delusion.

The intro will take you for a melodic stroll into the music with very slight progression, and the only hint they give you is the bass only seconds before the intro ends and “Beyond Affliction” begins.  I am really digging the levels of all the instruments especially the bass.  It is right there and not hiding behind anyone; they deliver a nice simple guitar solo around the thirty-second mark before jumping into the verse with a blasting rhythm from the drums.  Damn this track is awesome, melodic, technical and has a great mix to it, what a great song to start the album with.  It really hooks the listener, especially with the bass, these guys did a killer job on this album.

Dead Weight

This track has a nice build up period lasting just shy of sixty seconds, but I really get hooked by their melodic and captivating sections with the instruments before the first verse begins.  The verse seems to sink the hooks in further.  They keep the song length around four and a half minutes long but I would say about two minutes of that is music without vocals. Nothing wrong with that though, showcasing the talent of all the musicians in the band is a great way to flex their muscles and give listeners like myself a solid idea of what we are working with here.

Illuminate, Eradicate

It has a much quicker set up, not much build up or progression before the first verse however they simply get right down to business this is one of my favorite tracks off the album, and yet it has some of the least instrumental sections of the album.  The song as a whole is very catchy, and the ability to really hear the bass is what draws me in the most.  Spectrum of Delusion is not one of those bands that has a killer guitarist, a drummer that can keep up and then the rest of the guys just fill in the blanks. No, each and every member of this band has talent worth the attention they get.  This song clocks in less than three minutes in length, but damn does it pack a mean punch.  I do wish it had a little more instrumental time however this is such an efficient track I respect the fact that they are able to hook me without the same tools as the previous tracks.  This is a track that has no filler, catchy with some tasty riffs, and still has a bit of a wow factor.

 

Reverie

This one seems to pick up almost the way Illuminate ends, it’s almost like “Reverie” should be a part of illuminate, it just follows up Illuminate so well. Tempo is nearly the same unit the first vocals are heard.  They slow the speed down for dramatic effect, and I find it to be effective right around the 1:36 mark Douwe adds another layer to that slowed down section, really emphasizing the vocals being held long.  This song is one of those songs where typically I hear it’s not as fast as the previous track. My mind begins to wander thinking that the song will just not keep my attention for long. That isn’t the case with this song, I did need to listen to it for a few spins. But the slowed down section grew on me, and it was all because of the vocals.  I went into this track not enjoying it as much, and then let it grow on me, and now I enjoy this song in a different light.

 

Ruler of Cruel

This song has a bit of an ominous buildup, but right around the :09 mark you can hear the bass hit a high note. And delivers two bars of that bass note, a few vocals and then back to that bass note. Jerry Kamer has taken my expectations of this album to a new level, but it’s the saxophone that has piqued my interest now.  Not many bands can pull off a cool album or a cool song and then also incorporate a saxophone into it and maintain the same level of heaviness. Cephalic Carnage, and WRVTH have been able to pull it off. But Spectrum takes things to a different level with the sound of the bass, then the saxophone and a jazzed up section in the middle of a heavy track.  Damn kudos to the guys for pulling it off and then also to Erwin Van Wieringen for playing the saxophone.  Which brings me to another item, session musicians don’t have to be guitarists or drummers they can be saxophonists that add another spicy level to some badass music.

 

Unborn Tragedy

This song really unearthed similarities to bands like Beyond Creation, and Necrophagist and I find myself really impressed by this album.  This song starts out slower than the others, and it has a bass filled melodic introduction that sets up the base layer of the song, and when that bass fades out the next section is up tempo and builds up that next layer in which the vocals are going to start, with a faster energy and a heavier attack.  The tempo changes several times in the song, and yet each transition is very fluid.  There is one section of the song I am not 100% sure I dig it or not.  But halfway through the song they have a section that is a bit repetitive and while it’s not sloppy, it’s not hooking me either. The saving grace for this track  is the drums and the bass.

 

Mixotrophy

The song begins with a quick set of blasts, and then a heavy bass line with a guitar over that making some sweet melodic build up. When the vocals start in, shit has gotten real at this point. The song heads into a fast paced tech death barrage of blasts and just when you have succumbed to that catchy section, they change time and direction slightly.  I am not sure what impresses me the most about this album, there are too many things to list. But I find with some bands too many changes can ruin it for the listener.  We want to be pulled in and stay with the song the whole time.  But with this track the changes are so subtle that they just flow into each other with very little set up for each transition.  They just flow right through the song.  from 3:10 to about 3:49 there are no vocals but a killer instrumental section. I love these instrumental sections Spectrum have added to some of the songs.  I find I enjoy these moments so much because the instruments all blend in well, there is no overshadowing, every instrument is clear, and it adds to the quality of the music.

 

Timelines

This is a great follow-up to Mixotrophy, because of the seamless transition from one track to the next.  This is really the only track I can say has some chugging coming from the guitars, the tone is a bit darker sounding to me, but the actual pace of the song and intensity is right around the same level. But I really absolutely dig the part at the :52 mark, where the vocals have an old school style to their delivery for just a few lines before the blast beats begin. The head movement starts to kick in and you are already hooked by the 1:10 mark. And the song has really only just gotten started. This track is the longest running track on the album but only by a second. The reason I bring that up is because there is so much packed into this song, and it really could have gone on longer. But Spectrum takes the last forty seconds of the song to finish the song out, but at the 5:15 mark they kick off a guitar solo and then fade out. Really leaving me wanting more to come out of my speakers.

 

 

All in all, this album kicks ass, this was my first time hearing Spectrum of Delusion, and I am glad I did. They remind me of a mix between Beyond Creation, Virvum, and Necrophagist.  A truly nice blend of melodic, yet technical/progressive death metal.

This album is great, the production, the balance of instruments to each other as well as the vocals. These guys don’t make up a band, they make up a team. A team that come together and don’t have any one member pulling the most weight through sound and musicianship. The intro track does a solid job getting the listener warmed up and then everything after flows perfectly.  This is an album you can hit play and leave all the controls alone.  Push play, listen, rock out, repeat.  The production of this album is well beyond expectations considering what these guys are asking for in price. Because who doesn’t have two dollars to spare for nine tracks ( eight and an introduction track)? I am digging this album, and I will be keeping my eye out for more from this badass bunch.  9.2/10 \m/

 

Check out the links below

https://www.instagram.com/spectrumofdelusion

https://spectrumofdelusion.bandcamp.com

https://www.youtube.com/user/SpectrumofDelusion

https://www.facebook.com/SpectrumofDelusion

 

-Badger \m/

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

 

Inanimate Existance- Underneath a Melting Sky- Album Review – 9.9/10 \m/

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Hey guys, got an early album review for you! One we are all super  stoked for ,and that I have already pre ordered…
That’s right, the brand new Inanimate Existence album ‘Underneath A Melting Sky’ which comes out this Friday, August 25th!

 

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Inanimate Existence line up:

Cameron Porras – Guitar & Vocals,

Scott Bradley – Bass & Vocals,

Ron Casey – Drums

Barely a year after Inanimate Existence’s 3rd album ‘Calling From A Dream’ was released, they unleash their The Artisan Era debut. This is also their first release as a 3 piece and damn, Inanimate Existence is not fucking around. They explore new horizons with each release and they seem to absolutely master each new direction they take. This album combines the dark brutality of ‘Liberation Through Hearing‘ as well as the fantastical soundscapes and atmosphere of ‘A Never-Ending Cycle Of Atonement‘. This is a very different album from its predecessor (I personally really enjoyed ‘Calling From A Dream‘).

There is plenty of apparent keyboards and synth that is mixed in perfectly. The synth is done very different than ‘Calling From A Dream‘. Here there are several different tones used throughout and some really fantastic melodies as well. The vibe created this time is entirely different and rather epic. The guitar leads are immaculately written and just soar with the music, and if you thought you liked the bass tone and work in ANECOA, wait until you hear this! Tracks like Forever To Burn, The Old Man in the Meadow, and The Djinn will blow you away! The riffs and overall songwriting is phenomenal here though. The riffs are some of the catchiest in the Death Metal subgenres that I’ve ever heard, and the quality doesn’t drop for a second. There is no lame filler riffs and it all flows really damn well.
There are also some deadly grooves in this album. The title track, In Moonlight I Am Reborn, Blood Of the Beggar & Formula Of Spores all have outstanding groovy parts that will have you keep coming back and will be irresistibly stuck in your head. They leave you no choice but to get right into the music.

Ron’s drumming is completely insane as per usual. I particularly like the grooves he lays out on this album. Super creative with excellent cymbal work. It fits the guitar amazingly and the listener can easily got lost in his sick tightness and creativity. His cymbal and ride and hi hat work in particular just mesmerize me.

Every song is simply outstanding and completely unique. Not only this, but the album flows song to song absolutely perfectly. This album is an absolute masterpiece. Add the amazingly well thought out story behind the albums lyrics and the quite possibly best art I have ever seen to coincide with them, Inanimate Existence has the full package right now. This album is everything they need to solidify their name on some of the sickest tours and get the respect a hard working band like them deserves. Absolute album of the year contender!
There’s still time to pre-order the album!

For fans of The Zenith Passage, Decrepit Birth, Soreption, Virvum, Arkaik

9.9/10 \m/

Music and Lyrics by Cameron Porras
Engineered, Mixed and Masted by Zack Ohren at
Shark Bite Studios in Oakland, CA
Artwork by Justin Abraham

Formula Of Spores

Forever To Burn

LINKS

https://theartisanera.bandcamp.com/album/underneath-a-melting-sky
https://www.facebook.com/TheInanimateExistence/
http://www.theartisanera.com/products
https://www.youtube.com/user/InanimateExistenceUS 

Check out their new singles here

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheArtisanEra

-Brett /,,/(°o°)/,,/

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

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/

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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/

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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

 

 

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

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°)/,,/

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

 

Slugdge- The Cosmic Cornucopia- triple threat review 9.3/ 10 \m/

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I have a very special review of Slugdge – The Cosmic Cornucopia.

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Slugdge is a fantastic 2 man studio Death Metal project from Lancashire, UK. The band consists of Kev Pearson on instrumentation, guitar & bass performance, main composition and Matt Moss on vocals, lyrics and composition. I have been following Slugdge for a few years now, and it makes me so happy to see them finally able to physically release their material. They play an absolutely enthralling take on Blackened Death Metal with prominent elements of OSDM, Sludge, Prog-Death & Doom Metal. They mix these genres so well and fluently, it really makes for an amazing musical journey. When I first heard them it was about a week after they dropped Gastronomicon. My friend showed me them on bandcamp and we each bought both of their first albums for $20 each. (They are on bandcamp for NYP download).

This album is the Bible of The Greatfather Mollusca, harvester of the universe. An epic, 24 track, reverse chronological order compilation of Slugdge’s 3 full length albums, Dim and Slimeridden Kingdoms, Gastronomicon & Born Of Slime. Each album contains 8 dark and progressive Death Metal tracks.

First you have their newest album Dim and Slimeridden Kingdoms. The songs are pretty long, with only 1 song clocking in just under 5 minutes and most of them being between 6 and 8 minutes. They do not drag on though. They progress wonderfully with great songwriting that allows the riffs to flow to one another perfectly. This album is definitely the most diverse Slugdge album. It has the most technical riffs out of any of their other albums, and some of the blackened parts, always present in Slugdge, are more Technical and Progressive in this album. One thing that may come as a downfall to some, is that this album seems to have more clean vocal range and cleaner clean vocals & ‘Priest Chants’ as I like to call them. The gents have clearly progressed at their respective instruments. Definitely noticeable in the advancement of the clean vocals and the grim highs as well as the technicality of the riffing. That’s not to take anything away from their previous works.

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The middle of the album consists of most of my favourite Slugdge songs, in Gastronomicon. It has a really great instrumental intro whoch flows directly into the title track, which is almost 8 minustes long as it is. I like to think of the intro, Dark Side Of The Shroom (LOL) as part of the song Gastronomicon. This song also contains the lyrics which they will choose for their compilation title. This album has a very bleak, but yet spectral feel to it. It is dark, epic, and fantastical, all at the same time.

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The last third, Born Of Slime, this is Slugdge’s first full length album, and it’s pretty much just as great as the other 2. It’s place on this compilation is well deserved even though it does sound more primitive and raw than the other 2. Slugdge, to this day has a very dark vibe to their songs, but this album is especially grim and bleak. One interesting piece of trivia is that this album’s cover art was very obviously inspired by The Destruction of Soddom and Gomorrah, painted by John Martin in 1852.

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Sometimes people tend not to like compilations, and for me, it depends on the case but I generally don’t care. This one is great because it makes all 3 of Slugdge’s fantastic releases, available physically to the fans. The first 2, physically for the first time. Plus, the albums do flow really well. Though I do kind of feel that it should have gone oldest release to newest release, they obviously chose this order for a reason. One thing that I like about Slugdge that is not musical is that their titles are parodies of classic Metal titles that most fans of Slugdge have probably heard before. It is a fun Easter egg and reminds me of Cannabis Corpse and Dethklok.

For fans of Behemoth, Bal-Sagoth, The Chasm, Apocrophex, Emperor, Nile

9.3/10 \m/

OUT NOW

 

LINKS
https://www.facebook.com/Slugdge/
https://slugdge.bandcamp.com/album/the-cosmic-cornucopia-2
http://www.willowtip.com/releases/details/slugdge-the-cosmic-cornucopia-2.aspx

-Brett   /,,/(°o°)/,,/

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