Celestial Sanctuary - Insatiable Thirst for Torment (2023)

Celestial Sanctuary came onto my radar with their 2021 debut Soul Diminished, it had some pretty distinctive artwork and fit right in with that death metal resurgence of bands like Tomb Mold, Cerebral Rot, Undeath, and Creeping Death, all cultivating old school sounds and then evolving them ever so slightly to become something refreshing. While that debut had a pretty solid, roiling, atmospheric production, Insatiable Thirst for Torment definitely operates with more clarity and maturity, not exactly changing up the style but delivering it in a way that might have more crossover appeal to a wider swath of the death metal audience. This is hardly novel stuff, the riff-set and general style reflect a plethora of influences, largely a twist on the Floridian death metal of yesteryear, but it's very well executed.

This is also measured stuff. The band can fire up the blasting speed when necessary, but they prefer to take their time and let you lay into a moderately paced groove. However, it's never stupid or simple, they will festoon the thicker rhythm riffs with squeals, atmospheric lead spikes, and all matter of variation in cuts like "Glutted with Chunder" or "Swivel Eyed and Gurning in the Shadow". Oh yes, the titles, these are some fairly literate gore hounds, but fear not, your scrubs will still be caked with blood by the time the double kick and blast of "Gutted with a Blunt Blade" resolves and you are permitted to escape. The drums are concise and killer, the bass has a nice fat tone to it, and the vocals are brutally restrained but always offer you that feel like they are being torn straight from the gut. Celestial Sanctuary is also unafraid to implement some atmospherics, like the gorgeous wailing that opens "Meandering Stream of Foul Fluid" or the tectonic, spacious doom dissonance in "Unquenchable Thirst...".

Pretty top shelf material from a band that knows how take simpler, choppier rhythms and then adorn them with enough character and atmosphere that they'll punch well above where you'd expect. It helps that the mix is phenomenal, you can really hear all these ingredients firing back and forth at you through your speakers while the central heaviness persists. It's not so catchy that I find myself thinking about it between listens, but when Insatiable Thirst for Torment is actually being pumped into my ears, I find it's another one that can fully captivate me. An easy recommendation if you're into any of the bands I listed above, or the heavier Blood Incantation stuff, or Vastum, Ulthar, or you want something to honor the legacy of groups like Morbid Angel, Incantation, and the like.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

https://celestialsanctuary.bandcamp.com/album/visions-of-stagnant-blood-2

Exhumed - Beyond the Dead EP (2023)

To the Dead was another darn good album from a band that has yet to fail me, but I wasn't completely in love with the production as I was with the tunes, so it didn't scale the heights of Gore Metal, Slaughtercult, or Death Revenge, some of my favorites. Beyond the Dead is a shorter follow-up, in title and overall aesthetics, with just four studio tracks, some of which might have come out as B-sides or bonus tracks, but all new to me at this time. It definitely rights the ship a little, the mix here just sounds a little more clear and vital to me than its predecessor, and the songs are actually quite good if you're into their post-Carcass brand of thrashing death/grind. All the riffs punch hard, the vocals deliver in their gruesome brute/snarl exchange, the leads are well written and it just has that exciting feel I always get from their records.

One of the tunes, "Septic Five" is a shorter piece, like something off 2019's Horror, so I didn't enjoy that as much as "Lysergicide" or "Rapid Unplanned Disassembly", but it still packs a lot into its minute duration and bangs your head four you. As an added bonus, there are also four live tracks which sound absolutely awesome. I've seen the band (more in their earlier years) and they definitely deliver, but these tunes are taken from across their catalogue and sound super clean without losing the sewage bass-lines, saturated gory tone, lead-work and such. Whether it's "In My Human Slaughterhouse" from the chunky debut, or "Dysmorphic" from Necrocracy, everything is performed as an accurate representation of its studio counterpart and as a worthwhile bone thrown to the fans of one our longest-lasting, consistent USDM bands to emerge in the 90s. I think it's digital-only, at least for now, and I do hope that changes, but if you like their recent records like To the Dead and Death Revenge, you won't be disappointed.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://www.facebook.com/ExhumedOfficial

Enforced - War Remains (2023)

In many ways, War Remains just feels like a Part II of Kill Grid from 2021. The black & white cover artwork from Joe Petagno, which is cool but not as amazing as what he came up with for the previous album. The overall aesthetics continue to explore a more purely brutal thrash sound, although I think there are a couple moments here which offer a slight throwback to the awesome crossover of the debut. The lyrics aren't all warlike, as the title might imply, but you get that same impression of battlefield thrash that reminds one of Sodom, or maybe war/death metal bands like Frozen Soul and Bolt Thrower, despite the difference in genre. One difference here, that nudges this ahead of Kill Grid, is that the production feels a more more powerful, dynamic and vibrant, losing some of the dryness and bleakness I felt there.

Same crew, they just really get a mix here that fleshes out the guitars and gives Knox Colby's vocals a lot more of a gut punch. The drums sound heavier, the riffs all have much more impact even though they're not structured with any more nuance or technicality than those from a few years before. War Remains sounds like a blend of Exodus mid-paced material, sans their guitar tone, Sodom's speed and those viral evil melodic Slayer breakdowns that turned Reign in Blood into a household name. When they roil out some faster tremolo picked riffs you get a little more death/thrash ("Avarice", or the grown in the title track), and the leads are well written and more memorable here than on the sophomore. Everything is performed with pinpoint accuracy, but it by no means sounds technical or over-polished, just written and delivered for maximum neckbreaking impact, and if you're just newly getting into thrash or seeking out an example of contemporary production and effectiveness, this is one to track down.

But while I think it's a very good album, a little better than Kill Grid, Enforced still doesn't have the same distinct qualities that so many my favorite 80s thrash acts did. Whether you were just into the 'Big Four' or 'Big Three' of that era, or even exploring the second and third tiers of the genre, there were scores of bands that really stood out vocally and musically. Like a lot of their peers, this just comes off a gestalt of repurposed ideas performed and recorded at a highly professional level. The execution is unquestionable, but the personality isn't quite as present as their more hybrid debut album, and although you'll catch me nodding if not outright banging my head throughout the runtime experience of this, it's not one where I can pick out a lot of songs of riffs after its over. Now that they've established this sound so well, it wouldn't hurt to hear some progression or ideas out of left field.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (Olive branches build the arrows)

https://enforced.bandcamp.com/

Deströyer 666 - Bitter Scorn EP (2023)

Bitter Scorn is little more than a bite-sized after mint to the phenomenal Never Surrender record, Deströyer 666 riding high on another success, and I have to admit it delivers. Partly on the strength of the cover song; K.K. Warslut and friends do not mess around when they decide to include something like this, and whilst Dio's "I Speed at Night" is a much different pick than something like "Prometheus" from the Terror Abraxas EP, it's another awesome execution which fully translates the driving, simplistic heavy metal number into their more volatile, armored and aggressive style, which feels flush with the increased elements of speed and thrash metal that have dominated their last two albums, but have always been in the DNA to some degree.

The new original, the title track, is also pretty good, with a great chorus and a vocal break that reminds me of something Venom would have done in their heyday. Like a lot of their recent material, it's largely built upon a speed/heavy metal structure but then injected with some of the blackened thrash elements, and yet they just don't sound a lot like the myriad of other bands doing their style. Perhaps because they've built up such a unique foundation from which to approach it, or the way they produce the guitars, Deströyer 666 has been fairly original for some time. Now, this is a 7", it's limited, collectible, and there are those restraints, most people will have to check out the Dio cover (at least) online, but it's worth hearing, and "Bitter Scorn" itself I think is available on one of the deluxe editions of Never Surrender, where it's probably a better fit. So as an individual PRODUCT, this has limited appeal beyond collectors, but the tunes will please those into the last decade of Deströyer 666.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

https://www.destroyer666.uk/

Shadows - Out for Blood (2023)

I guess my love for Abigail is so intense that just about any album cover with a black horse-drawn carriage is bound to pique my attention, and such is the case for the full-length debut from Chilean heavy metal act Shadows. I also thought their leather-shrouded costumes were pretty awesome, and fully embrace that more bands are going for a 'look' these days to help accent their overall aesthetics and live shows. Now, the sound here isn't often emulating King Diamond or Mercyful Fate, but more of a straightforward heavy metal reminiscent of some early USPM acts like an Omen, or perhaps if you 'slowed down' or simplified some of the earlier 90s Running Wild stuff. The chord progressions are often on the predictable side, but this is clad in an atmosphere and vocal grittiness that helps it all achieve a freshness that wouldn't otherwise.

The classy horror-based lyrics don't hurt it either, and the occasional scream or synth line help steer this one thematically into some very cool territory. But I'm reminded of Canadians Cauldron, maybe not in a side by side comparison of the writing, but just how these bands are able to set up such a basic heavy metal framework and make it sound like something you would have found ace in the 80s. The vocals here alternate between a sort of pinched, higher pitch, harmonies, and a harsher black metal bark ("Forgotten Rites"), both working well over the bedrock of dependable riffs. A few of the chorus patterns, as in "Sacrifice" can get a little on the cheesy or repetitive side, and there are a handful of places throughout the album where a King Diamond influence does crop up ("Into the Nightmare") in the vocals. The lead guitars are pretty straightforward and creepy, often more pure melodies that help elevate the tune, but then you've got a few that go Randy Rhoads. The rhythms are very meaty and though some have that 'stock riff' feeling, they are perfect to support everything else above and below them.

Speaking of below, this disc also has a solid low end with the bass and drums that conjure up an instant desire for fist pumping. And above, you've got little atmospheric interludes that are cool which also bring this a little closer to a King Diamond conceptual vibe (there's also a tune called "Alissa" with some falsettos), and I think the synth work throughout the album is delicious, often just an accompaniment but sometimes drowning the proceedings in an eerie aural moonlight. Overall, a very solid full-length debut; I think a few of the vocal chorus parts could use some tightening as they go with a repetition that doesn't quite give the impact they could. Also there could be a few 'meaner' or more evil patterns in the guitar riffs, this stuff is pretty melodic and graceful, but to the extent that retro sounding heavy metal/hard rock mirrors a common component to horror flicks from 40-ish years ago, this definitely has that aesthetic covered. Looking forward to more.

Verdict: Win [7.78/10]

https://shadows-heavymetal.bandcamp.com/music

Cirith Ungol - Dark Parade (2023)

With the news that Cirith Ungol has retired from touring after 2024, one can only wonder what the future might hold for the studio side of their collective career. But if Dark Parade ends up being the last that they record (and perhaps it isn't), they could retired with full confidence that they survived a quarter century hiatus and returned to rival all of their original output. Though my heart belongs to One Foot in Hell, there is no question that this record is the best-balanced, most impressively produced and heaviest proof of concept they've ever released, one that hooks you directly with its first and most exciting tune (unlike the Half Past Human EP before it), and then never really lets the listener go from its dour and overpowering paean to epic swords and sorcery, through the might of American heavy/doom metal!

This album sounds so fantastic that it almost feels like clones of the band from another dimension found the secret to immortality and transported themselves into our reality to continue the Californians' sound forward. Most of the guys in the band were in, what, their 60s, and sound like they can crush the fuck out of you with the simple squeeze of a hand. Tim Baker's voice sounds as mighty as ever, and I often find myself wondering how he can do that stuff without it hurting. (Maybe it does?) Robert Garven lays down a simplistic and straightforward set of beats but puts so much power into them you can just feel yourself lurching along with ever kick and snare, there isn't a single strike misplaced, and the bass has a great presence curving along with the slate-carved rhythm guitars, though it doesn't pop out as much as on the EP. The mix is loud, crystal clear but man do the guitars slam into you as they're chugging along, and the bluesy, burning leads are just dirty and dusty enough to send me flying back to my early teens and One Foot in Hell obsession. It sometimes feels like they tapped into my love of "Blood & Iron" and made a whole album just out of that.

"Velocity (E.S.P.)" is so awesome that I remember repeating it several times before I'd even pay any attention to the rest of the disc, which by the way, did not let me down. Other favorites include the glorious, fell majesty of the Moorcock tribute "Sailor on the Seas of Fate", the hammering "Looking Glass" which has verses that feel the perfect soundtrack to a smithy forging instruments of war, and the epic finale "Down Below" which has thunder fucking drum fills and some of Baker's most angry and bitter howls that seem to condemn the very listener to the implied underworld to perish eternally in its most sulfurous and fiery pits. With age, Cirith Ungol seems to get ANGRIER, and it's a beautiful thing, not that they can't lay in some nice acoustic segues or wa wa leads to evoke the wonder of 70s and 80s fantastical sword & sorcerous landscapes, but this one gets the best at its heaviest and though the songs might not rign out in my memory as much as "Blood and Iron", "Chaos Descends", "Nadoskor" or "Doomed Planet",this record deserves all the praise I could hoist upon that one, and TECHNICALLY you might say this is their peak performance. I mean if I were picking an album to introduce someone new to their sound, this is that choice. Can they top it? Will they? Do they even need to?

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

https://www.facebook.com/cirithungolofficial

Sodom - 1982 EP (2023)

Sodom pays tribute to its own year of formation with a moderately paced new track, lyrics that are self-referential but not cheesy as you'd expect, more about the band's personal perseverance across decades when so many others had faltered or given up. This one has all the trappings you'd expect, from fast and nasty explosions to mid paced riffs, the latter of which are honestly kind of dull here, but it's all drowned in the whipping leads and energetic frenzy that they've put into a lot of their recent full-length studio efforts, and Tom's vocals still sounds admittedly awesome. The mix is also quite good, capturing a lot of the raw fury of the youth the band is giving homage to, but at the standards you'd expect 40 years later.

As for the rest of the 1982 EP, it's re-recordings of old tracks and not terribly exciting. That's not to say it isn't any good, because "Witching Metal" and "Victims of Death" are given a treatment similar to what the Cavaleras did recently with Morbid Visions and Bestial Devastation, just the power of today's studio abilities plastered onto a couple tunes from the band's earliest demos, and sounding more propulsive and aggressive for the effort. As someone who wasn't always thrilled with the sound quality on Sodom's earliest recordings, and a huge fan of their 40 Years at War compilation from a couple years ago, it's good to get more, but with the limited environment of 18 minute EP it's not exciting for very long, since you know there've been a good number of tunes left out and this could have been folded up into a 'Part II' of that excellent collection, and there's just no novelty whatosever. It blazes right past you, and sounds good, especially the vocals and leads, the intense drumming, which most importantly  proves this band has no intention of halting with age...it's full forward, combat boots, Teutonic thrash terror forevermore, just there isn't a lot of dynamic range here to keep me interested, and the new tune is just okay.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

https://sodomized.info/

Vendetta - Black as Coal (2023)

Vendetta's earlier 80s material had a lot of personality to it, and Brain Damage stands as one of my favorites in that second or third tier of German thrash metal, a record with some tongue-in-cheek elements that felt like a more tightly controlled, dynamic alternative to Tankard. But since the group's 2002 reunion, I haven't been able to connect with much of what they put out. The first of those albums, Hate, was the best of the three before this one, but it's been dodderingly average thrash metal which lags way behind the renewed efforts and energy of juggernauts like Kreator, Sodom and Destruction. Black and Coal makes an honest attempt to bridge the band back to its glory days, and it certainly does sound like a seasoned, confident group which knows its business, but this one just never quite goes the distance that it needs.

Let me be clear, the musicianship is totally adequate, with some thundering drum-work, a reasonable bevy of rhythm guitars with a nice chunky modern tone that can also convey the melody or leads, and vocals that fit the Vendetta style, though this is the same front-man they'd had since reuniting, and not quite as charismatic as the earlier albums when the English was probably a little more challenging. But to be fair, you could convince me this was the other guys just a bit older if I wasn't paying attention to my notes. So Black as Coal has almost the whole package going for it, except for good songs...it has all the finish and features of your contemporary thrashing, produced to current standards of its peers, and understands how to implement some degree of dynamic range, but very, very few of the guitar riffs here or chorus parts remain in the memory even momentarily after you hear them. You'll hear some nods to their classic material, only a bit more iron-clad due to the modern tone, but they never surpass or even come close to the quirkiness of Brain Damage.

Plenty of effort, and it doesn't quite become generic to the level of something like an AI-generated band (they're starting to pop up out there), but it's hard to think you could throw this many riffs at a wall and not have at least a few more of them stick. "For Dear Life" with its choppy verse rhythms and cleaner vocals is probably the most unique feeling, but still zigs when it should have zagged and doesn't end up delivering more than a moment's curiosity. It's strange, because if you'd never heard this genre before, and queued up Black as Coal, it would seem an exemplar of thrash aesthetics, but it simply lacks the nuance of quality songwriting or standout leads, it's not nasty or aggressive enough to skirt by on extremity alone, and even the cover is bland as fuck. File this one along albums like The 5th or Feed the Extermination as middling-if-proficient German thrash that doesn't do its band's legacy much justice.

Verdict: Indifference [5.5/10]

http://www.vendetta-band.de/ 

Septicflesh - Reconstruction EP (2023)

Reconstruction is essentially the leftovers for those of who don't have a particular version of the Modern Primitive full-length to chew on, and I happen to be one of those poor schlubs, hearing these for the first time when I had access to the digital files. As it turns out, these are purely symphonic, cinematic pieces that don't incorporate the death metal elements the band have been built upon. However, they do possess the same glance back at the great times of antiquity, perhaps more so than the heavier tracks, and the Philharmonic really gets to excel over these pieces with the freedom from accompanying the dark grooves and the extreme metal drumming. Both "Salvation" and "The 14th Part" are pretty good, especially the choirs and vocals of the former, which set up a sort of audio play, sometimes creepy, in which to lose yourself.

The final track is the pure symphonic rendition of "Coming Storm" without the aggressive instruments, and this too is quite cool to experience, like a rousing scene in a film where battle is joined or there is some great escape from disaster. The depth here is wonderful, equivalent to what you'd hear in a film or video game score, and proves again the multi-faceted talents of Septicflesh composers, and what having those broader interests can bring into their metal music. Ultimately it's not the most memorable stuff, but if you're into dark opera then it's worth hearing even if you don't like death metal. I'd definitely at least recommend that, if you haven't picked up Modern Primitive, you get the version that includes this for additional value if the price difference isn't too great. It's a fine addition and bumps up the album just a fraction in my estimation. But on its own, a well-executed if passing curiosity.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

https://www.septicflesh.com/

Varathron - The Crimson Temple (2023)

I haven't been enamored with everything Varathron has ever put out (Crowsreign, I'm looking at you), but they've always struck me as the Greek black metal band which took what it was doing most seriously, and the result is usually a work of depth that keeps me coming back for years, whether we're discussing the earlier albums or the underrated modern epics like Untrodden Corridors of Hades and their last one Patriarchs of Evil. So I know immediately without even hearing a note of The Crimson Temple that I can trust what Stefan and company will manifest into the world, and this time it might be an album that many could consider a consummate Hellenic black metal work, one that can withstand almost all scrutiny and hopefully match the timelessness of its lofty forebears.

Note, I'm not saying it's the best, or my favorite for that scene, but if you had someone who wasn't in the know inquiring about the distinction of this niche, The Crimson Temple does it all and then some. Not a 'starter kit', mind you, but an album which is probably accessible to those new to the sound. You have the incorporation of glorious metal melodies into the hammering black substrate, with rhythmic patterns that wouldn't be foreign to their fellows like Rotting Christ. Necroabyssious has just one of those iconic rasped vocals, one of the best in the medium, capable of some sneer and sustain but usually just barking along to the beats and guitars with the utmost occult class. The drumming is great, tribal and ritualistic and definitely helps enhance the more folksy moments of this album, whether they be nestled into the harder tracks like "Crypts in the Mist" or the amazingly festive intro "Ascension". Choirs and other native style instruments are non-intrusive and tastefully implemented only to the elevation of the material.

Most importantly, this is super consistent material, and while it all feels coherent in style, they can throw you for a few loops like the slightly doomier, awesomeness "To the Gods of Yore", the charging force of "Immortalis Regnum Diaboli", or the aforementioned tribal bits which take you back to the ancient times which weigh heavy on Varathron's imagination. All this with a glorious, bombastic production which does justice to all of the instrumentation without being overwrought. Are these always the catchiest guitar riffs in their catalog? Not necessarily, and I'd also add that this is hardly the darkest of their works, I feel like Untrodden Corridors of Hades takes that crown, but this is just so brazen, exotic, and magnificent busting out of my speakers that I couldn't care less. Hellenic black metal royalty retained.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

https://varathron.com/

Old Ghoul - Old Ghoul EP (2023)

Doom is perhaps the most natural fit of all metal styles for the horror aesthetics, partially because it hails from 50+ years ago to align with when and where so many of those post-Monster classics of that burgeoning cinematic field arrived, but also because, by design, it's got the most space to work through its atmospheres and haunted tones if we've approaching through purely aural aesthetics. Italy in particular has had a lot of bands embrace this post-Sabbath mixture, but to an extent, the Americans have also carried that torch, with groups like St. Vitus and Pentagram and The Obsessed making a lot of waves, the first of those probably touching upon such themes the most, while the others only dabble superficially in between the drug anthems and other more personal subject matter.

Old Ghoul is a project from the prolific Chad Davis, who is himself quite versed in doom itself through the excellent Hour of 13 and The Sabbathian, but has also played around in other genres including death and sludge and black metal. For this debut EP release, he sticks right to the source of his inspiration, largely reminiscent of the three US bands I mentioned above, and straight back to the moderately paced, Sabbath sluggers which would stick an accessible groove and thus inspire 10,000,000 stoner acts that followed. To that extent, this material is decent, especially the first track "The Crypt of Night", which of the three flirts around with a slightly darker vibe, vocal effects that help differentiate his delivery from the Ozz-man, although a lot of the pacing in the lines is quite similar. The rhythm guitar tone is another feature for me, just potent and clean and cutting into you just enough to complement his vocals, and then the drums have a nice, raw, live vibe to them which sits well with such simplistic material. Bass is a little weak, it doesn't really stand out for itself and with so much room in which it can maneuver, it just doesn't perform more than the bare minimum.

Where Old Ghoul runs into an issue is that at three tracks, I would have liked Davis to flex a little more dynamic muscle. There are some elements of "The Devils at Brocken" which get a little angrier, but in terms of tempo and riff construction, all three of the tunes are just too similar. Had "The Crypt of Night" balanced off against a faster, groovier number and then maybe an eerier, atmospheric piece, I feel you'd get a better experience and idea of the project's capabilities, unless they simply don't exist, which I'd find hard to believe. The production itself is just right, the tunes are decent, but I found myself a little less interested with each as the EP progressed, and they also transform into something a little more blander that doesn't really manifest the vibes that the cool, cloaked cover creep promises, becoming more of a stoner-by-numbers sort of doom that offers no more surprise than a competent but forgettable lead guitar. Nothing wrong with that vibe, but I want the blood, the bats, the moon, the skeletal talons, the gravestones, and this offering largely just floats around the cemetery like the haze from a bong, intermingling with the fog and gaslight but never drifting too low to associate with the more frightening denizens of its environment.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

https://regainrecords.bandcamp.com/album/old-ghoul

Carnifex - Necromanteum (2023)

I dropped off the Carnifex train roughly a decade ago. Not that I was ever a paying passenger, but I had followed the Californians along to experience their evolution as one of the cornerstones of US deathcore. Much to my chagrin, since I despised most of the material they put out in their earlier years, an example of vapid, mosh-over-metal which I simply don't ever jive with. But once they arrived at 2011's Until I Feel Nothing, I felt there were some seismic shifts in the songwriting, an advance in musicality, and that the band might develop into a more memorable entity through trial and perseverance. I didn't care much for the follow-up Die Without Hope, and did listen once through Slow Death, mostly attracted to the creepy cover artwork. I remember that one had dabbled in this symphonic-tinted style, but not much else about it, so I went into torpor over the rest of their catalogue...until now. Call me a sucker for a cool cover, but the sepulchral massive gates, gravestones, and green mist of Necromanteum called out to me. It looks a WHOLE lot like it should be on a Black Dahlia Murder album, but I figured I'd check it out and see if this band had actually managed to incorporate even more creepy atmosphere or horror theatrics until their chug-first, ask-questions-later style.

And I'd say they have done just that, with the implementation of some orchestration that gave me vibes of other bands like Winds of Plague, or the lesser known, excellent Lorelei, or perhaps if we're going a bit more brutal, Italy's Fleshgod Apocalypse. I'll go even one further, and say that Carnifex doesn't merely add these elements, but they do so tastefully. Spectral strings or eerie sounds will break out over some bludgeoning blast beat rhythm, or a swell of a more complete symphony might lurk around a double-bass break. It's almost as if Carnifex have implemented these much like some older bands used industrial sounds, purely as a complementary aesthetic and not to drown out or distract what their core audience comes to them for. There are a few points where an added instrument can sound a little out of place or obnoxious, but I think of it from a horror perspective, it still works well within the concept, and there are some great breaks like the end of the title track where the little choir loop rings out and it's pretty awesome. I can't qualify that this is new ground for them, but it's all a huge plus.

What's even more important, is that the central music of the band itself has dramatically improved. It's still deathcore, but there are lot more melodic death metal ingredients which recall the direction of At the Gates at they gained in popularity, and then further extracted by the Black Dahlia Murder who I just mentioned. Hell, there are moments in tracks like "Crowned in Everblack" where you can almost discern a Swedish melodic black metal influence, often pretty derivative in structure, and predictable in pattern, but when fired up as just another weapon in an arsenal that includes blasting, hammering, grooving, and atmospherics, it adds a lot to what is already a loaded sound. The instruments here are technical marvels, from the dizzying drums of Shawn Cameron to the rhythms and leads of Cory Arford and Neal Tiemann. Anything you'd want out of your modern, polished extreme metal (think current Cattle Decapitation), these guys can mete out effortlessly, if not innovatively.

The vocals are still a slight sore spot with me, not because they are bad, but they're just the typical range of gutturals and snarls you'd expect from others in this niche, including those I've mentioned, but it's not that they are bad...they are professionally executed to a fault, it's simply that they never establish any unique identify for the band. However, I could say this about a lot of death metal or deathcore acts, and they function well enough. I noticed that a few of the tunes here seemed to be playing around with a little more of a progressive structure between the walls of chugging, for example "The Pathless Forest", and I think this is a good direction for Carnifex to explore, as they already have a lot of the moshing crowd pleasers to fall back on in their back catalogue. This album was a really nice surprise, and I was happy to actually buy a copy (for the first time), to eat some serious crow, and put it on the shelf next to my Lorna Shore, Fit for an Autopsy, and whatever scant few albums like this I actually have in the collection. In fact I'll probably backtrack and check out the few before this to hear what I might have been missing. 

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://www.carnifexmetal.com/

Seven Doors - Feast of the Repulsive Dead (2023)

England's Ryan Willis has become somewhat of a commodity of late within the horror/death metal underground, launching a number of acts simultaneously and maintaining a fairly prolific release schedule over the past half-decade, managing a decent level of quality throughout. I'd covered his campy camp slasher collaboration Blood Rage not long ago, before going exploring through his other work, and one of the standouts was the debut full-length Feast of the Repulsive Dead by Seven Doors. This one caught me for its stronger songwriting, balancing out a number of influences to create something that doesn't fall too closely under the shadow of any one seminal death metal icon of the past. Looking at the cover, or perusing the song titles, you'd think you might be getting something in the vein of Cannibal Corpse or The 'Tish, but it never broadcasts an excess of brutality, honing in instead on accessible structures, solid riffs and great leads.

You can certainly catch a whiff of rancid Floridian gloom, with riffs like the lead-in to the title track channeling a bit of Leprosy or Slowly We Rot, and this is found throughout the album, with some slight touches of Chuck's more melodic riffing elsewhere. However, the meatiness of Willis' rhythm guitars and the blunt guttural catapult this into a more contemporary sound, one that might have populated the ranks of a label like Razorback Records had it come out 10-15 years ago. But Seven Doors goes further, with a lot of mosh-driven groove carving out the grave-dirt, a few tints of the more brutal death metal you'd expect, especially when the riffs ramp up in pace. It's also clearly finding its footing in the thrash roots that would later morph into that genre, in particular where he's let the guitar crunch off on its own to set up some exciting new progression. And that 'crunch' is awesome, a thick and clenching tone without going into HM-2 overdrive. But what really puts this record into the 'must own' category for me are the scorching leads in tracks like "The Morbid Mortician", well-composed and catchy flights that elevate an already-appreciable riff-set into something I want to keep spinning repeatedly. A few of the more elaborate solos do hail from guest guitarists like Paul of De Profundis, but the praise stands.

Drums are mechanistic, suited to the task and never stepping in the way, but this is one area in which the project could probably improve its personality. Don't get me wrong, the rides, the rolls, the fills, it's all placed where it needs to be, but a more acoustic kit would go a long way. I mentioned the gutturals, and they're quite solid if nothing nuanced or unique. He'll add to these some runty snarls so you're getting a more Carcass or Exhumed vibe, and I think the latter band is a pretty apt comparison...Seven Doors doesn't go as grindy as that, but it carries that same 'fun death metal' vibe that I admire so much about Harvey and crew, something I can put in the CD player and listen through without ever needing to skip tracks. Willis varies up the thrashing, the tremolo-picking, and grooves well enough while keeping consistent threads running through them, specifically the more clinical riffs he plants under some of the leads which chop out some of the most memorable moments across the album.

Thematically this guy likes his guts and gore, and Seven Doors certainly sounds evil enough to honor those zombie and slasher flicks, although it's not too heavy on atmosphere or dissonance. This is more 'Hatchet' or its sequels than 'The Shining', if that makes any sense, a workmanlike and entertaining effort with plenty of muscle in the production and performance, but not likely to haunt your dreams in between listens. We're so deep into the death metal generations by now that I'm sure many purists will find this style arbitrary and recycled, but I've found as I get older that I just don't grow tired of a well crafted album like this one. Good for Halloween, good for horror buffs, great for death metal fans approaching from a number of directions, whether old school or more extreme and gore-splattered. I hope Ryan will prioritize Seven Doors among his legion of output so we can get more in the future. 

Verdict: Win [8/10]

https://sevendoorsdm.bandcamp.com/

Blood Incantation - Luminescent Bridge EP (2023)

Rather than making some major career choice and consigning one of their two styles to oblivion or a side project, Blood Incantation instead move forward with both their death metal and cosmic ambient halves on this latest single. As someone who enjoyed both of these creative entities, I can't say that I'm terribly disappointed, but I'm not sure how long this sort of split personality can be maintained without the band needing to spin off of them off. Or perhaps it never will be. On the downside, I don't feel that, for this particular release, both halves are created equally. Competent, for sure, but while the band expends a lot of effort to return to the death metal that put it on the map, and succeeds there, I don't feel like the opposite is the case...

"Obliquity of the Ecliptic" is quite good, at least on the level of the first two tracks off Hidden History, with some dark grooves to it and no shying away from the blasted mayhem, with just a few hints of proggier structures poking through. This track itself does have an ambient segue, and a nice one with the drums rolling around, an organic and glittering vibe to it when the soft synth pads do arrive. Eventually, it explodes into a more glorious, melodic second half and you really do feel through the almost 9 minutes that you've gone on some adventure. As for "Luminescent Bridge", it's got some nice clean guitar tones and spacious ambient textures, as well as a lead guitar that breaks out deep in its bridge (if ambient tracks can really have a 'bridge'), but it's just not as immersive for me as Timewave Zero was, though I dug the horn sounds at the end. It might even feel like it was thrown together because they didn't have two death metal tracks ready...I've mentioned it before, but considering the band's huge underground status they haven't put out a ton of tunes, they tend to take their time.

Nothing wrong with that, but I just can't envision myself revisiting this piece very often, and thus would probably prefer of "Obliquity" was just on another EP or full-length album. Is that track good enough after four years since Hidden History? I'd say it's adequate, if not exemplary. As a brief, 20 minute single or EP though, this is barely enough to tide the audience over as they anticipate whatever comes next or what style it might invoke. It's hard not to think, with all their exposure, and then the total turn towards the ambient for the 2022 record, that whatever comes next for Blood Incantation could be their 'ride or die', their 'make or break' to the fanbase and their expanding audience. No reason to believe they can't rise to the challenge, but I don't think we'll need any more little morsels like this while we wait to find out.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

https://www.facebook.com/BloodIncantationOfficial/

Sentenced 2 Die - Parasitic Infection (2023)

I won't promise you that Parasitic Infection is some extinction level event for the bro-core death metal scene of the 2020s, but this record is super fun nonetheless and a notable improvement over Sentenced 2 Die's 2021 EP in every single department. It keeps some of that hardcore influence intact, but is more than willing to ramp up the 'pure' death metal feel, to take a few chances, and more often to me this feels like a proper, well-written, low-tech slamming DM record that occasionally remembers where it came from rather than a metalcore or deathcore band earnestly trying to 'legitimize' or brutalize itself, not that bands from that scene need to do so, but you get the point. And this record gives ME the point, repeatedly, stabbing and bludgeoning me with its huge grooves, great production and much more memorable material.

"Canopy of Intestines" was one of my favorite death metal tunes of 2023, with its simple but creepy melodies and evil breakdowns, while "Bestial Deformity" took me completely by surprise with the addition of the ominous clean vocals that chant over its depths. The Minnesotans clearly sat down together and decided that what came before wasn't enough, that there was so much more musical quality they could wring from this slamming, basic style, and they accomplished such. The bass tone here is much mightier, bouncing along with a little more personality from the awesome crunch of the rhythm guitars, so they feel more like individual instruments even if the lines go in the same direction. The drums are also much clearer and you can make out the thunder from the fills. Vocalist Dave Sikorski uses the same guttural attack as the debut, but it's better fleshed out here, a little more abrupt and not just hovering in the midst of the musical weight, and when he flashes out some carnal snarl it's pretty effective.

But the production itself might be the star, with everything so heavy and loud and battering that it nearly blew out the windows on our Honda Fit. The album is also quite concise at around 24 minutes, so even if some of the tunes don't really throw out a truly impressive riff or surprise they go about their business quickly, and there's a sweet acoustic interlude right in the middle to let you take a breath before they crush your fucking face again. The leads aren't exactly a major feature of their style yet, but in some tunes like "Splattered on Pavement" they are making the attempt, and since elsewhere they already show their aptitude for nailing a good melody or harmony, this is a good space for further evolution of their sound. Parasitic Infection goes so much further than the EP in presenting the 'total package' of modern death that acknowledges its roots, and if you're into stuff like the grooves off the last couple Dying Fetus records, this is a lot of fun.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

https://www.instagram.com/sentenced2die/?utm_medium=copy_link

Creeping Death - Boundless Domain (2023)

Boundless Domain is the exact point at which it feels like Creeping Death would need to evolve its sound or flex a little more in order to create something more lasting and meaningful. Their output up to this time was pretty good and consistent, but still not nearing the level of mastery or immortality that so many of the first wave bands were able to achieve, not just because of their novelty but because of songwriting. I think that this second proper full-length does take a few small steps in new directions, but at the same time it doesn't really stride past its older siblings in quality. The differences here are largely those of the production choices and how certain vocals and instruments extract themselves and contrast with one another, though they definitely also try some riffing patterns they hadn't in the past, this is no re-run.

The cover from Tanner Caruthers is magnificent, I like how it melds the personal and cerebral with the expansive ugliness of all the fine death metal escapes, and even the logo and type colors are appealing. Their releases have always looked good, but this is probably my favorite. And it sounds as good as it looks, with perhaps their cleanest studio mix yet. It does sacrifice some of the bulk and heaviness for a more musical quality, not that the drumming and rhythm guitar is any less intense, but just pokes through the mix without bordering on overpowering the rest. Bass is a standout, you can hear it a lot more throughout this than on Wretched Illusions, and the increased integration of melodies in the guitars also gives this one a more progressive vibe than its predecessors, which is certainly what I would have wanted. On the downside, sometimes there are various riffs and patterns which just seem plopped down into tracks and don't really have as natural a flow, so the songs don't always hit enough of a payoff ("Vitrified Earth" is a prime example).

I would say the band continues to dial down its hardcore influence, but this is taken over by a more propulsive, thrashing energy in tracks like "The Parthian Shot", which feel like death/thrash that is about to explode into melodeath at any moment. You've still got a couple cuts ("Creators Turned into Prey") which are built almost exclusively for the beatdown, but even these improve once they accelerate into those choppy, thrashing rhythms, and in this way the material slightly embarks into a terrain they hadn't really explored in the past. Leads are well-implemented but often feel a little too spurious and brief in exercise, like an afterthought. The real highlight for me here is "Remnants of the Old Gods", which reminds me a little of Consuming Impulse Pestilence with an upbeat thrash-out, or closer "The Common Breed" with its nice spacious melodies; honestly I found the last half or third of the album the most entertaining, though not by a wide margin.

Boundless Domain is good, as with all their releases so far, but I get the feeling this is a transitional sort of record which might preface something really impressive. Creeping Death are not undeserving of their support, they have all the weapons present to become one of the premiere US death metal acts, I think they just need to innovate a little further, and that is certainly possible without abandoning the grooves and OSDM influences that inspired them. Wretched Illusions is a more entertaining listen throughout, but this is unquestionably a fraction more adventurous.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://www.creepingdeath.net/

Sanguisugabogg - Homicidal Ecstasy (2023)

Homicidal Ecstasy took a little more time for me to come around to than its predecessors. While the style here is largely the same, there was something more consistently level about the production and writing which I found a bit of a turnoff upon first exposure, perhaps a lack of dynamic excitement that Tortured Whole managed to cultivate. The weird photographic cover collage was also weird, I mean I appreciate 'weird', but a trio of cum-guzzling crab-legged women that seems really disjointed looking? Maybe half the legs are form a scorpion? I don't know, but right when I think it's hideous, I remember the impact the collages on old Carcass had upon me, or other goregrind staples, and then appreciate that Sanguisugabogg have chosen imagery that does something stranger yet sexual enough for their pervy themes.

When I mentioned that the production here felt a little too steady, that wasn't to infer that it was in any way bad, and once I cranked through the album's 45 minutes, their hugest undertaking yet, I began to appreciate how it kept and perhaps even increased the 'weight' of their sound. These rhythm guitars chop and groove like serrated metal beaters through vats of spaghetti and meatballs, and the bass is just so enormous that I felt like I would need to rush to the toilet and vacate myself at any moment. The drums are still vitally important hear with all the splashing, rims, and fills, yet they actually sound better reined in and not popping out in any antagonistic way. There are several tracks where the transitions feel a bit muddled and unexcited, like how the blasts poke through into "Hungry for Your Insides", and it only makes me crave the slower, chugging rhythms, but even there you're getting some sick drums and an appreciable beatdown from the vocals. In other places, like "A Lesson in Savagery", they seem as if they're utilizing some more dissonant chords to solid effect, and I think this is one area in which Sanguisusabogg could continue to evolve and make themselves sound even more evil.

The grooves and beats in several of the tracks also come off a little more ambitious, like the closer "Feeing for Bloodshed", and it's cool that, in their own microcosmic sound, they're still trying a few new tricks. Gone are the sweet synth interludes from the prior album, though, and I think something like that, or just something more atmospheric...perhaps some samples and ambiance, would have helped break this album up, because it can feel like a chore to get through at times. Almost like the whole affair is about 10-15 minutes longer than it needs to be, without compelling content to fill all that time. 7-8 of the tracks are evidently better than the rest, and that drags the overall quality a bit below the debut, even if the heavy instrumentation itself is no less for ambition and knuckle-brawling extremity. Still, the Ohio boys bring the punishment and perversion beyond the bare minimum required, avoiding the sophomore slump if not quite improving upon themselves.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

https://sanguisugabogg.com/

Frozen Soul - Glacial Domination (2023)

With their rapidly escalating popularity among the trending non-tech US death metal upstarts that include Gatecreeper, Creeping Death, 200 Stab Wounds, Undeath and Sanguisugabogg, the question was whether Texans Frozen Soul would double down the eternal grimness, soften up to accessibility, to extend their sound envelope to include more variation and atmosphere and just write some better songs than found on their rock-steady debut Crypt of Ice. Glacial Domination is a weird sophomore in that it simultaneously achieves all three. There are large swaths of material here almost identical to what you'd find on the debut, but they also grow marginally more ambitious in shifting tempos and structures around to create a more interesting experience, Lastly, the production, while still heavy as hell, has a brighter and more polished tone to it which might be due in part to Matt Heafy of Trivium's participation as a producer, or perhaps rather the heightened expectations placed on the crew after the breakout success of the debut.

The setups and samples for the songs are better, like the pulsing 80s horror synth that briefly establishes "Invisible Tormentor", "Frozen Soul", and "Morbid Effigy", the awesome "Annihilation" synth interlude, or the belligerent clip and drum that ignites "Arsenal of War". These seem a little stronger than the intros they'd use on the debut, but the meat of the material is quite similar, muscular and roiling death metal of the Bolt Thrower variety. There is a slight emphasis on faster, energetic riffage, and a little more oomph to the techniques like brutal death squeals or pinches and such that they'll use to fatten or round off the rhythm guitars. I think the drumming has also improved, not so much in pure speed or might but just the fills and overall production, and where this album relies so heavily on its breakdowns, like those in "Death and Glory" or "Morbid Effigy", they seem to be catering a little more closely to the slam or 'caveman' niche more than the closer Bolt Thrower contours of the debut. Frozen Soul also tries its hands at a little more melody and mood with the title and namesake tracks, and this is a welcome change that I had anticipated, although it's hardly all-pervasive.

Then you've got your guest stars...James from GoST does the synth-horror stuff, an admittedly cool addition, and among others you've got Matt Heafy doing a lead and some vocals, Blake from Power Trip and Fugitive also jumping in on a track, etc. All tasteful, none intrusive, this isn't some 'feature' list like you see in a lot of brutal death or deathcore bands emulating the hip hop scene, you never get the sense that the Texans are trying to cross-market or whore themselves out too far, rather let some friends join in on the fun. The cleaner mix here thankfully doesn't leech away the band's power, surely this is not as grim and depressing as what you heard on the debut, but when it comes to the pure riffing and performance, these tracks will run in lockstep with their forebears on any setlist. It just sounds a little 'friendlier' out of the speakers, and I don't mean that as any insult although for many it would surely be a negative. Make no mistake, this is a group already crossing the threshold to some international success, there are going to be changes...and the leads, intros and stuff here are well considered and go a ways towards the variation I was seeking.

Still, I can't say that I enjoyed this one more than a fraction beyond the debut, because for all its attempts, you're still not hearing the sorts of unforgettable riffing patterns or whirlwind moments you recount from all the go-to classic death metal on your shelf. I'm happy to spin this, but sometimes you expect the quality to match the hype. That's rarely in the realm of possibility, and Glacial Domination is more of a half-measure evolution than some transformative masterpiece. But Frozen Soul have a lot going for them, and each step forward should be a lot of fun to follow if these first two discs are any indicator.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

https://www.frozensoultx.com/

Autopsy - Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts (2023)

I was a little surprised to see another Autopsy record so hot on the heels of its predecessor, but as a fan of Morbidity Triumphant, I had hopes that this would continue that trajectory of some of their best material since their seminal works in the 80s and 90s. Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts has a title that certainly encompasses so much of what inspires and fuels the band's music, a love of raunchy horror, B-movie stuff of course, some of which have developed into undisputed classics. Autopsy is one of the bands that best translates this into the death metal medium, just by keeping it so sincere and ugly. Well, if I thought the band was going to dilute their quality by releasing too much in too quick a succession, I would have been very wrong, because this record is just as good as the one before it, in fact it's a little better for my money...

Only marginally, though. Ashes... starts off with the amazing, knockout combo of "Rabid Funeral" and "Throatsaw"; two churning, propulsive tunes that totally set a standard for everything to follow. The first tune actually transforms into this great, atmospheric piece at the end, with some awesome bass lines and messy but awesome leads, while the drums groove steadily along and there are all sorts of moans and growls hovering in the distance. The latter just beats the fuck out of you for the entire 2+ minutes. After that they definitely start to diversify the sound a little more, with some chuggy, death/thrashing moments ("No Mortal Left Alive"), some of their classic, semi-stoner death/doom ("Well of Entrails") and some of that deathpunk & roll they've been known for ("Toxic Death Fuk"). Not every tracks is totally off the cuff with regards to memorable riffing, but at the same time, there's nothing here I'd really skip either, the material is consistently engaging, capable of throwing a surprise or two your way, while totally adhering to the conventions the band has put into place since the late 80s on their debut album. 

The production is incredible here, a little brasher than Morbidity Triumphant, but also buries itself into my ears a little deeper. Chris's vocals are a little more focused and less raving mad, but he's still undeniably one of a kind, and the guitars and drums are flawless throughout. I'm going to give special cred to Greg Wilkinson though, his grooves throughout this thing are more noticeable than usual and offer a nice, fat, creepy lower level to the proceedings that gives you added body and dimension. It's not going to win me any cult status/points, but in the months that I've owned it, I think Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts tops Morbidity Triumphant and becomes one of my favorite albums in the entire Autopsy canon. In fact, I think this one even trumps the debut album, I've been enjoying it a lot, and it might just sit under Mental Funeral as one of their best. The production is amazing, the songwriting doubly so, and I won't be surprised if after a few years, this one grows on me even further. Could there be some future Autopsy masterpiece coming? At this rate, maybe by the Fall!

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100050176223094

Cryptopsy - As Gomorrah Burns (2023)

Crytopsy's drummer Flo Mounier is the same age as I am, but while I'm waking up with the aches of pains that grind deeper with every year of Middle Age, the guy sounds like he's jacked into some cybernetic shit, the living embodiment of his drum kit that makes every blast beat, double bass roll and tempo change as effortless as the input of a single key on a keyboard. Like brutal death metal is some binary language in his genetic code that automatically enables his hands and feet. The fact that the rest of his band isn't left behind his capability is a testament to how well they lock together, and due to this consistency and intensity, As Gomorrah Burns is the best album the band has put out during the McGachy-fronted era, trouncing the competent s/t from the previous decade, and the ensuing EPs, though not by a necessarily large margin.

The caveat is that this is the same, frenzied, modern tech/brutal death Crytopsy that they arguably always were, but had kind of faded into the background after a thousand other bands caught up with their skills and energy. It's a vortex of blasting death metal rhythms that alternate with thrashier, choppy outbreaks for pure neck-jerking, and rarely gets any slower than that. It's highly mechanistic sounding, and feels just like a lot of other works in the genre where individual tracks can lack the distinction of classic DM tunes. That said, they do keep some of those progressive, melodic breaks that were developed across the last EPs, and there are some formidable leads in between the grooving and thrusting, where the listener can get a little more atmosphere, something much of the brickwork brutality is lacking. The Mounier/Donaldson/Pinard trifecta is a virtual storm of limbs that never tires, and while McGachy's vocals still aren't as unique as a Lord Worm, he's well literate in this style and offers enough flexibility and professionalism that I'd consider this his best performance to date with the band; though he still clearly lacks the status of legendary growlers and snarlers you could pick out of a lineup.

As Gomorrah Burns gets better the more the band sticks its neck out for new ideas, like the flighty little melodic noodling that opens "Flayed the Swine" or the the dissonant thundering that "Obeisant" works up to. In fact, I'd love to hear the band just stretch even further into making the most weird and progressive BDM they can, though maybe not as loose and weird as something like Once Was Not or the lamentable And Then You'll Beg. But there is just so much latent musical potential here to explore even more psychotic vistas of extremity than what we're hearing. That's not to take away from this particular album, which has plenty of 'oh shit!' moments and is enjoyable whenever I'm in the mood for this style, but I still think there's room for more interesting songwriting, even if they take more breathers and don't feel the need to dizzy and impress us all the time. Wishful thinking aside, though, there's no reason the audience of brutal tech/death finesse would find much lacking in this 33-minute exercise in extremity, chalk full of the Canadians' patented weaponry.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://linktr.ee/Cryptopsy