Deströyer 666 - To the Devil His Due (2010)

To the Devil His Due was released last year as a limited LP, but seeing as it kicks a fair amount of ass, Hell's Headbangers has decided to bring out a proper CD format. This is effectively a compilation of four 7" EPs that Australian road tyrants Deströyer 666 have issued through the years, gathered in one location for those of us who were either negligent or simply unable to attain the originals. Call me lazy, but I'm a sucker for this sort of product; normally it means that I don't have to blow a wad of cash tracking down music in a format I rarely use. What's better, all of this material is exclusive to the EPs, so you won't find redundancies with the four full-lengths or the original debut EP Violence in the Prince of This World, which is not included. It's not the most complete package out there, and I wouldn't have minded having the Terror Abraxas tracks here, but almost all of these songs are good, so it plays out like a straight full-length, with the obvious differences in production over time.

First are "Satanic Speed Metal" and "The Siren's Call", from the Satanic Speed Metal 7" (1998). The former is straight ripping black/thrash with some audience participation, K.K. Warslut tearing the admittedly cheesy lyrics out over the night; the latter a bit more destructive and serious. It's impressive that they had such a loud and potent mix despite the rawness of the material, but the collection reaches its peak with the 2000 King of Kings/Lord of the Wild material, which is far more atmospheric, melodic, and dense, with KK performing some of his more repressed, death grunts. I also love the haughty backing shouts on "King of Kings" and the loud resonance of the solo. But "Lord of the Wild" is simply one of my favorite Deströyer 666 tunes, bristling with a savage, incessant majesty as the fuzzed leads howl over the crashing chords in the bridge. Also gotta love the swelling ambient outro.

After this comes the ...Of Wolves, Women & War EP from 2002. Yes, the one with the broad getting it doggystyle, and here is yet another of my faves from the band, "Ghost Dance" with its airy, wild melodies Warsluts soul defying venom. "Taste the Poison" is more of a straight blaster, but it too has a pretty great bridge. But "Levens Bloed" returns to the threatening valor of "Ghost Dance", with some crashing background percussion and raw black/death riffing. Lastly, they've included the two tracks from their See You In Hell EP (2010), which are far more polished sounding than the rest. "Through the Broken Pentagram" is solid slaughter with yet another example of a great thrash breakdown, and "See You in Hell", while my least favorite on the album, is swaggering and manly with a lot of backup barks.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is pretty damn cool. A noble ambition. I've not seen the band live in some time, but I'd love it if they'd incorporate some of these in their regular set lists. That it plays out like some 'lost album' that you've never quite heard is just an added bonus. Of the 35 minutes here, 25-30 are mandatory for the Deströyer 666 fan base, and if you're one of the majority who were unable to acquire the limited 7"s from which it draws its content, then it is well worth a purchase.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

http://www.destroyer666.net/

Coroner - Coroner (1995)

Coroner is the final 'official' release by the band of the same name, a studio compilation. Though it reeks of contract filler, and Coroner had already disbanded, the trio had the decency to actually head into the studio, pull in some session musicians when the schedules and ideas weren't in sync, and lay out some new and unreleased material. Thus, the fans who were obvious dismayed by the breakup (and I was one of them) wouldn't feel poached of their hard earned money. I would have much rather had an entire disc of new content, even if it was rehashed b-side material, but at the very least they didn't just phone in some remastered or 100% reprinted tracks and walk out on us.

That said, of the three threads running their course through this collection, two of them are almost entirely disposable. First we have the reprinted element: one track taken from each of the band's five studio albums, a miniature 'Greatest Hits'. The choices here are obvious, but not necessarily disagreeable: "Reborn Through Hate" (R.I.P.), "Masked Jackal" (Punishment for Decadence)", "Last Entertainment (T.V. Bizarre)" (No More Color), "Serpent Moves (Grin)", and "Divine Step (Conspectu Mortis)" (Mental Vortex). They've also included "I Want You (She's So Heavy)", the Beatles cover from Mental Vortex. Why they would choose to run with this and not "Semtex Revolution" or "Pale Sister" is baffling, but it leads to the second largely dispensable segment of this disc: The covers.

In addition to the Beatles tune, they include their ragga inflected rendition of "Purple Haze" which was included on the CD for Punishment for Decadence, and a version of D.A.F's "Der Mussolini" which is honestly quite fun, the only piece in this paragraph that contributes to the price of admission. Not that the selections are bad, mind you, but what Coroner fan did not already own them all on their original discs? Essentially, I've just rattled off 8/16ths, which is one half of this compilation, and outside of "Der Mussolini" and the warped cover image it's thus far entirely void of value...and I haven't gotten yet to the techno remix of "Grin [No Religion Remix]", which while not entirely absent of ideas, is about as effective as that Fear Factory remix album was. Bad electro mixes of songs that don't need or want them.

Now we get to the good bits, the unreleased studio material, some of which might have ended up on an album post-Grin had the band not exited stage left. In particular I'd point out the two halves of "Golden Cashmere Sleeper" as being particular strong points of the album. Sure, they maintain the Grin level of simplicity: the former half consisting of repeated, doom-like riffs and scintillating, alarm-like guitar radiance, the second sounding much like something you'd find off one of Joe Satriani's late 80s instrumental albums, especially the clean guitar tone Vetterli has adopted (though Joe would have thrown some bitching solos over the din, these are subdued and sparse). "Gliding Above While Being Below" is another worthwhile slice of tranquility, not unlike "Part 2", and sounding like something Rush might have come up during a smoke break in 1988.

There are a few brief intros and interludes: the marching, eerie ambiance of "Benway's World" and the even more abstract "Snow Crystal". The other unheard songs are "Shifter", which feels very much like a "Divine Step (Conspectu Mortis)" or outtake from Mental Vortex, but not all bad; and "The Favorite Game", which is fairly flush with the Grin material. Simple chugging rhythms, nice atmosphere, melodies, and a few of those whammy bar Voivod effects (all too briefly). I don't love the vocals here, but it's one of the better listens on the disc, and helps justify its existence.

If you're coming into this band with no experience behind you, trust me when I tell you to skip straight past this and acquire No More Color, Punishment for Decadence and then R.I.P. in that order. That is the meat of Coroner's career, the works that in the long run will have become the most hallowed and transcendent. But Mental Vortex and Grin would also be a better investment. The Coroner comp is a last resort, for those who are desperately in love with the band and were clinging on to any hope left us that the band would not dissolve after all. Yeah, it does have a sampling of the studio albums, but what good would it do, for example, to only have access to "Last Entertainment" and not the rest of No More Color? I'd rather off myself. As for the newer studio material, it's not bad, but I couldn't consider it a fair representation of their career, as it's more experimental, packing far more 'whimsy' than the full-lengths, and soon forgotten. While it's admirable that the Swiss were opposed to bilking their listeners with a pure Greatest Hits release, this honestly could have been better (for example, it might have included more from the self-issued unknown tracks tape they were handing out).

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

Coroner - Grin (1993)

About the time Coroner released their 5th album Grin, there was a noticeable pox upon thrash metal. Almost all of its better acts on both sides of the pond were suffering identity crises, compensating with often empty externalizations into new sounds. To the faithful, this was referred to as a natural evolution or progression, but in reality it seemed more like a desperate attempt to survive in the changing landscape of the 90s, when so many of the fans were bridging into grunge, rap core and other 'alternatives'. This blight fell upon most of the best in the business, including European heroes like Coroner. Mental Vortex might have sent out a few feelers into a newer, groove oriented, minimal expanse of exploration, but Grin more fully embraces the metamorphosis.

So much so, in fact, that without Ron Royce's familiar vocals, it would be difficult to identify this as the same band who produced Punishment for Decadence and No More Color. Where two years prior they were dabbling in less exciting, less showy fare focused on dark, central thrash riffs and a bluesier capacity to the leads, this is a work of simple rhythmic patterns, industrial and world music components, driven steadily by the bass rather than the guitars. I'd compare it to Sepultura's transition from the Beneath the Remains era to Chaos A.D., also in 1993. The bands really don't sound much alike, but the Brazilians also got in touch with their inner, tribal children to spout primitive, powerful hooks and offer the listener variation in themes and instrumentation. Coroner does not do a bad job of this. There's a particular, hypnotic modernism happening here that makes for an ultimately interesting, if slightly disappointing experience.

It doesn't take long to experience the shift in strategy, as the intro is a tribal percussion piece with some didgeridoo known as "Dream Path". "The Lethargic Age" follows, a simple thrash hammering that shows some promise with the opening chords and swells of bass, but then the verse seems incredibly bare, tiny polished chugs alongside the sparse, tinny rock beat. It's sort of catchy, but nowhere near the level of their 80s material, and even the lead seems more like one you'd find on any random hard rock record. The Aliens sample that inaugurates the next piece, "Internal Conflicts" helps to ramp up the excitement, and this is quite comparable to Beg to Differ era Prong, clean thrash with a mechanical vibe; a Sepultura-style groove arriving briefly around 1:15. There's a far cooler groove breakdown at 2:30 where Ron's repetitious vocal line creates a spell of hypnosis, but otherwise I've always found the track lacking.

"Caveat (To the Coming)" features a pretty swell intro with flowing clean guitars and playground samples that create a deceptive bliss before the transition into some bland groove rock guitars, but the bass bridges with the ringing guitars aren't half bad (if predictable). "Serpent Moves" is much the same, once it picks up, however the riffs here are sufficiently snakelike that it stands out as one of the more memorable tracks on the album; and the Voivod-spun "Status: Still Thinking" is likewise a favorite. "Paralyzed, Mesmerized" and "Grin (Nails Hurt)" are both solid, with 1-2 curious sequences found in each, but there is clearly some needless padding there. "Host" once again reminds me of Voivod with the great, off center melodic chords over the thrum of the bass (Nothingface era), and that breakdown at :45 is just creepy; ditto for Ron's spoken word narration (not unlike "Last Entertainment"), but once the guitars pick up it begins to null out.

When you compare Grin to what other noted thrashers like Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica and Destruction were inevitably going to shit forth over the course of the 90s, then it really doesn't seem all that much of a letdown. It's intelligent and well paced for the most part, just stylistically barren when you consider how explosive the band's earlier compositions had been. Unique enough that it should be listened to at least once, but there is definitely a 'running out of steam' sensation at work here, reinforced in hindsight by the fact that the band would call it quits the following year. To that effect, it seems a bit dull for a swansong. The trio would assemble a few unreleased tracks for the later Coroner compilation, but as far as any future prospects, the fat lady had already begun her incantations.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (erased myself)

Coroner - Mental Vortex (1991)

After an album like No More Color, Coroner might have just pulled up their tent posts, packed in their supplies and left the rest of us stunned and wandering through the ashes of astonishment, unable to escape the grim new reality they had opened through a window of precision craftsmanship. But this was a touring band, a power trio trying to make their stamp on the world beyond the cult following they had developed. To this extent, they have gone all out with the 4th full-length, Mental Vortex, so far as to record it down in Florida at Morrisound with Tom Morris. One can certainly ascertain the difference here; it's far more controlled and 'zen'. Not to say that the band have lost their touch for a climactic escalation through Tommy Vetterli's performance, but in all this feels like a stripping down of the spiraling wonders of their previous albums.

Unfortunately, this dive in complexity is relative to a descent in overall quality, a trend that would continue into their even more minimal follow-up, Grin. Mental Vortex is still a great album, with five near legendary Coroner tracks in its eaves, but this is the first case in which I felt any of my attentions slipping. Part of this is the cover of The Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" included as a core element of the album. They perform it effortlessly, and even manage to extract its sullen, bluesy darkness to a new height, but it simply does not concur with the band's sharper, original material. I'm also not an enormous fan of the opener, "Divine Step (Conspectu Mortis)". It creates a steady, frantic step through the punch of its discordant verses, so it's a decent enough start to the proceedings, but it's about 7 minutes without that one riff I always expect from a Coroner track to blow my mind clean out of my temple. I enjoy its mellow, spacious bridge segment for the contrast against the band's typical busiwork, but that metallic, misanthropic orgasm of guitar is nowhere to be found.

"Son of Lilith" is likewise not a favorite of mine, but there are a few pretty killer riffs hovering there that do well to build appropriate tension. As for the rest of the content, it's superb, if somewhat drier than Punishment for Decadence or No More Color due to the polish of the mix. "Semtex Revolution" alternates a flowing if simplistic speed lick with a swaggering, arching melody and some nice vocal finesse, all to a steady rock beat. "Sirens" follows at largely the same gate, with some more amazing verse vocals, and a killer breakout groove that they steadily lift the thrashing towards just before 2 minutes. "Metamorphosis" is inaugurated with some whale like squeals and smooth bass, before the choppy melodic guitars lead to a glorious, marching riff so incredibly bare boned that you have to wonder how no one had come up with it before; and "About Life" is perhaps the closest track on the album to the material of No More Color, with a superb charging note pattern in the verse. Best of all, though, is "Pale Sister" with its frenzied Vetterli cycles, some of the fastest on the album, another sweet groove in the chorus, great leads, and an unexpected but catchy breakdown after the final chorus.

Perhaps it's a symptom that the band were so busy the previous few years penning labyrinthine exercises in genius, or perhaps a conscious decision to boil the writing down to what they felt were the important, underlying musical themes. Coroner was not the only band doing so in 1991, there was a far more visible example (Metallica), but the Swiss clearly weren't deviating that far from their origins in R.I.P. That said, Mental Vortex does not have nearly so much to offer as its elder siblings. The material is sufficiently dark, riff-strewn and superior to the lion's share of thrash in the early 90s which was grinding the genre to a halt, but it half turns its back on the frenetic displays of passion that brought the band to the foreground of Europe's most promising bands. Creative. Curious. Not all that exhilarating. Sadly, there would be no turning back, as the following, more groove turned, mechanical album would prove to be the straw that broke this camel's back.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (she lives on your planet, but not in your world)

Hellfighter - Damnation's Wings (2011)

An examination of Hellfighter's lineup reveals it to consist of 80% former Xentrix members, including drummer Dennis Gasser, axe slinger Kristian Havard, and vocalist Simon Gordon, whose presence on that act's unfortunate, crippled swansong Scourge (1996) was less than encouraging. However, it turns out Gordon gets a last laugh in this new incarnation, because rather than just reignite that band like every other now obscure thrash act is doing, they've wisely decided to channel their musical evolution into a new entity. Hellfighter are not as directly thrash as Xentrix, but the bricks of the foundation are still present, here imbued within an envelope of traditional power and heavy metal with thundering drums and thick chugged rhythms.

Gordon works out well here, his voice more of a workmanlike beast than before, and the lyrics not involving any of the unfortunate accidents found upon Scourge. He can scream with the pitch of a siren, and does so fluently, but the majority of the lines are delivered with strafing, mid range aggression. The guitars are driving here, and the rhythm section rock tight (Dennis reunited with Mel Gasser, Xentrix bassist in their early years). I'd hardly call Hellfighter a storm of riffing, most of the structure serves as a solid support for the vocal thrust, power thrash combo with a bit of 90s induced grooves not unlike the later Xentrix albums. However, tracks like "A Lesser God", "Damnation's Wings" and "Faith in Lies" exhibit that this British band is well aware of how to compose a verse and chorus procession. "Descent" goes on further, with a more clinical guitar sequence that brings to mind For Whose Advantange? and I was thankful for that; plus the longer tracks "Bring Only Pain" and "Firewalker" well manage their periods of calm and violent escalation.

It becomes a little harder to place Hellfighter into the current metal spectrum, since a large number of the old Xentrix fans are probably not always keen on the more traditional power inclinations, and vice versa. However, I'd say that those who enjoy the modern chugging of a band like Evergrey or Nevermore, or perhaps the darker albums from Nocturnal Rites, might want to give this a try. The production is flush with the times, loud and crushing where applicable, graceful elsewhere, but always honest. There is certainly enough of their former selves, combining the Metallica-like 80s ingredients with their less appealing 90s components, to draw back those curious to whether or not they've still 'got it', and while I won't praise the album to the same extent that I might have once serviced Shattered Existence or For Whose Advantage?, it was not at all unpleasant to experience. For what it is, Damnation's Wings succeeds, with some room for further growth that veterans like these should have little difficulty filling.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.hellfighter.co.uk/

Coroner - No More Color (1989)

How does one improve upon perfection? What does one offer a king who lacks for no worldly possession? Coroner have your answer, but you'll have to traverse the cold and mechanical depths of their third album No More Color to understand why. Having already embarked on a remarkable musical journey into the tortured, glorious back waters of human sanity through their stunning debut R.I.P. and its colossal, flawless followup Punishment for Decadence, the Swiss set upon themselves to broach modernity. Thus the cleaner, clinical production found here, the more biting eaves of progressive thrash and lyrics honed even more focally onto depression, social unrest, pathology and media mindwashing. Yet, there is no sign shown here of abandoning the spurious fits of technical brilliance that first manifest through R.I.P.

This album is unbelievable. Now I love Punishment for Decadence like any man would love a skilled handjob, but No More Color is somehow even more important. In all honesty, if some theoretical situation were to arrive in which I was to be incarcerated and allowed only about ten albums to take with me, I could not pass on this.. Each of the eight compositions is highly potent, polished and writhing with ideas. It doesn't fly off the hook quite so much as Punishment, but here the effect of the band's proficiency is more one of drugged, surgical envelopment from which there is no escape from the ensuing paranoia. A labyrinthine lobotomy, each node of the human brain then being jolted with electrodes of pleasure and pain. It's a little less airy than the first two albums, the band having cycled towards its third producer/engineer in three albums. Pete Hinton's mix is a more confrontational and direct than Harris Johns or Gary Bidmead, with the riffing more central and swaggering and loud.

Most importantly, this is a burst of fresh, carnal creativity. Punishment was a heightening and polishing of the R.I.P. aesthetic benchmark, but No More Color takes Vetterli's incessant riffing genius into new corridors of clarity. "Die By My Hand" is one of the best metal songs I've ever heard, opening with Edelmann's escalating kit warfare into a harrowing, complex groove and a triumphant chorus break over which Tommy's punctual squealing marries Royce's predictable, dark poetry to give the impression that some insane choir of killers is howling it at both the witness and the empty sky. "No Need to Be Human" conjures a razor-like, numbing guitar rhythm with dense, compact fills and a Brave New World dystopian lyrical slant. 'Why do you do this...stop it now/'cos in fact you're innocent, like a newborn child' might not seem like such a clever chorus, but when placed in the beautiful rhythmic pattern here it's emotionally wrenching, and both of the bridges are effortlessly executed: the first a fast, cyclic thrashing and the latter evoking some bluesy slides before the well balanced cavorting of the lead.

"Read My Scars" starts and stops with warlike pallor, then emits another excellent verse riff with incredible fills, especially the mix of bass and guitar melody around :40, and the speed metal outbreak over which Vetterli scales off in the bridge. "D.O.A." is fucking surgery incarnate, with one of the most creepy, unnerving thrusts of guitar in the verse that make you feel as if you were literally on the table, under the damned knives, praying to escape malpractice as the local chirurgeon's eyes glare at you, curious and bloodshot. I don't know if I could pick a favorite on No More Color, but "Mistress of Deception" (along with "Die By My Hand") threatens such status with a frenetic fill at 1:00 that threatens to make the listener's eyes melt out of his/her already impacted cranium. Other points to note are the rhythm guitar below the middle of the lead at around 1:40, and the popping flux of the bridge beginning around 2:30. Yeah. Go change your shorts, I've already done the same.

Yet, Coroner has even more strategies at work. "Tunnel of Pain" hammers out a kinetic, rapid bass intro before it spirals out into the rafters like a love child of Escher and Beethoven. Totally love the bridge here, a moment of shining near-tranquility below which Royce's bass throbs before the incredible, minimal breakdown at around 2:20, soon joined by arching leads. "Why It Hurts" maintains the steady thrust of the previous song, a stolid and acrobatic thrashing with a break that screams out at you (1:15) before Tommy T Baron once again begins an exercise in making the listener jealous of his craftsmanship. "Last Entertainment", the suitable end to this bout of maddened audio mirth, is the most experimental. Steve Rispin's guest synthesizers ramble off behind a choppy mid-paced escalation, joined by a spoken word narrative, made strangely poignant by the strong accent of Royce. However, there are some beautiful leads here and its truly atmospheric, sucking the observer straight into a new reality of light and shadow.

You'll have to forgive my excess gushing over this one. No More Color is an album that changed me, changed my perception of what was possible within the metal genre. Like several others that had come before it: Reign in Blood, Master of Puppets, Powerslave, Killing Technology or Abigail to name only a few, it helped test the boundaries of what was possible in this medium, a staunch and serious evolution that dispensed with the trends and stereotypes. This isn't exactly Twisted Sister or Quiet Riot. It's artistry is far more daring. There is not a second on this album I would change if I was even given a time machine and complete license to do so. It is perfection from fore to aft, and though it's not the first such summit reached by this Swiss legend, it's the first to which I'd direct any intrepid explorer who wishes to shoulder its brilliant burden. Own it. Or continue to suck as a human being.

Verdict: Epic Win [10/10] (lost between machines)

Coroner - R.I.P. (1987)

While they would easily prove one of the most proficient, memorable and talented European thrash acts to hatch in the 80s, Switzerland's Coroner arrived through humble beginnings. They started out as a more traditional metal outfit until their 1986 demo Death Cult, and they had strong connections to that 'other' legendary Swiss band, Celtic Frost. Tommy 'T Baron' Vetterli and Markus 'Marquis Marky' Edelmann served as roadies for the Tragic Serenades tour. Oliver Amberg (who would later join Frost for their unpopular Cold Lake years) was an early part of the lineup. Most notably, Tom G. Warrior himself performed the vocals on the Death Cult demo, when the style of the band shifted closer to the entity that the once unstoppable Noise records would snap up in a heartbeat.

For the most part, though, that is where the similarities between the two bands end. Coroner could not have been any more different from the demonic, experimental black doom thrashers. They were writing highly technical, neo-classically charged infusions of thrash with the world had not yet encountered. Hell, with the exception of bands like Germany's Mekong Delta (or Deathrow on the Deception Ignored album), we haven't really encountered since. About the one trait that could be comparable would be the vocals of Ron Roye (aka Ron Broyer), which are not dissimilar to Tom Warrior, a dark and throaty concoction that conjures a barbaric, brute juxtaposition with the manic, exhilarating guitar work. Truly, we had bands out there playing with crass intensity that could twist skulls straight off their vertebrae (Slayer, Dark Angel, Tankard just to name a few); but none of these had Tommy T Baron, a shred-born anomaly who would tirelessly execute Baroque and other hyperventilated scales with fluid precision in the core riffs of the compositions (disregarding the actual leads).

Even more impressive is that the rhythm section was not intimidated in the slightest by this raving lunatic. Royce is highly capable himself, traversing the same grounds on the bass where needed; and Edelmann, though rooted in the traditional metal and rock drumming, provided a tight formation over which the pair could spiral off into madness. R.I.P. is a mind warping beast of a debut, potent and graceful in its controlled chaos, imbued with an unwavering morbidity that easily justified their chosen handle. Granted, a lot of the ideas here would be further exploited and perfected through the band's next pair of albums, Punishment for Decadence and No More Color, two of the greatest works I've ever had the privilege to own, but for its day, the debut is quite close to perfect itself, with an airy and wonderful Harris Johns mix. Seriously, this guy had a radar attractor to talent, and Coroner is yet another act he helped unveil to the world through his studio wizardry.

I am not exaggerating when I claim that this Swiss band, at least from 1987 through 1991, represented one of the high water marks of thrash metal, helping set such a standard for this genre that I have been forever spoiled for so many of the pathetic throwbacks and neanderthals who have tried to redefine it to a more primate state since. Coroner do more than just make you never want to pick up an instrument again out of envy: they write damned good songs. They pace their albums extremely well. Here, the beautiful pianos and resonant flutes of the intro are broached with windy samples, as if a trace of sunlight were dawning upon a sepulcher, its still denizens about to awaken, pick up instruments and channel the brilliant composers of years past. Then those very same undead minstrels flog the living fuck out of thee with "Reborn Through Hate", one of the best songs on this album and one of the highlights of the band's career, its snakelike, menacing rhythms colliding into the gymnastics of the bass and drums, and Royce giving his 'official' introduction with barked, almost constipated force.

"When Angels Die" offers a few plush, atmospheric chords before it spins off into a frenzied foreshadowing of the guitar lines that would later manifest on "Mistress of Deception" (No More Color), and then a dour, acoustic intro with war samples and shredding transforms into the song "Nosferatu", which is naught more than beautiful, climactic shredding with some atmospheric glaze and keyboard strikes, but ambitious nonetheless. This is not an album short on highlights. "Suicide Command" will dizzy you with its high strung intro before the fast paced razor speed of the verse erupts. "R.I.P." has a lush, attractive intro, an echoed vocal narrative over thick bass lines and clean, reverbed guitars before a thundering mid gait. "Coma" and "Totentanz" are likewise legendary extractions, and I love the atmospheric charge of the 'outro' with its angelic choir synthesizers. Perhaps the only songs I don't blow my lid and load over immediately are "Fried Alive" and "Spiral Dreams", the latter hailing from the Death Cult demo and included only on the CD version of the debut, but both are competent and do nothing to break the momentum.

The amount of effort placed in a debut like this is earthshaking. From a composition standpoint, there was more going on in particular tracks than some thrashers create for an entire album. Yet, Coroner never feels like they are wanking off, or overindulging themselves. Certainly there is some degree of flash and flair due to Vetterli's exorbitant performance, but it all fits into the puzzle so beautifully that it just never occurs that he might be showing off. In a period already saturated with so many great or even brilliant albums (Reign in Blood, Finished With the Dogs, Master of Puppets, Zombie Attack, Terrible Certainty, Darkness Descends all just a few examples), the Swiss band still managed to stand out as one to watch with a frightening anticipation, and a superb setup to its spotless successors.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.25/10] (they've been waiting for years)

Oksennus - Vomit Ritual [DEMO] (2011)

Oksennus presents a rather unexpected twist on the atmospheric death metal that has been increasingly in fashion of late, in that they do not simply settle for the cavernous depth vocals and guitars, but seek to infuse the formula with a resonant, black metal atmosphere and sludge driven dissonance. Vomit Ritual (the name Oksennus itself meaning 'vomit' in the band's native language) is their first demo sampling, and incredibly rough around the edges, but there are certainly strengths which the young Finnish trio could carry forward as they sharpen their bludgeoning, malignant chaos into something more cutting and forceful.

The mix here is incredibly raw, with fuzzed out guitars, horrendous puking vocals and tinny beats colliding in its bile soaked excess. There are occasional wailing vocals which are affixed to the more hoarse death metal style, and together they create an eerie effect not unlike the low fidelity, depressive black metal tone pioneered by Burzum. The riffs are usually thick streams of discord with steady bass lines following beneath, with ingredients of Portal, Demilich, Autopsy and perhaps some of the bedroom black of Leviathan or Xasthur, but they will occasionally break down into a truly sluggish crawl (the bridge of "Wind of Suffocation") which is more akin to sludge and doom. Unsurprisingly, the band refers to this mix as 'vomit' but I'd have to give them a little more credit than that. I enjoyed how the leads cut straight through the ooze, and when the band is burgeoning head on in their namesake "Vomit Ritual", they are convincing enough.

Alas, the plotting of the four tracks here rarely feels more than a bunch of relatively disparate riffs strung along and dowsed in disgust, and this is the shortest straw in their arsenal. I never felt like the guitars were setting one another up, they seem to rub up against each other like strangers in a crowd. The vocals, while intended to be grisly, could also use some percussion in their delivery. As they stand, they trend towards monotonous, more like a drugged, sedate hurling of the stomach contents than a total projectile yuck fest. Vomit Ritual is only a demo, and the band is sharing it for free to gauge reactions and spread the word, but there is still some distance to cover in composition, even for such a raunchy premise. That said, you don't hear something quite like this every day, and if the Finns can pull this together, they might find a niche for themselves, alongside yet distinct from Swallowed, Lie in Ruins, Slugathor and other death upstarts from that territory.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.last.fm/music/Oksennus

Essence - Lost in Violence (2011)

I'm not going to lie that when gave a first pass through Lost in Violence, I felt some rare stirrings of Artillery (1990 and beyond). Not only is this young act from Denmark, but they open with a decidedly exotic, Eastern intro (ala "Khomaniac" from By Inheritance) and utilize a lot more melody in their compositions than most of the 21st century thrash acts. When it comes the riffing structure, there is obviously nowhere near the same level of complexity as their countrymen, sort of a mix of Terror Squad era with some Bay Area punch and the occasional S.O.D. brick house breakdown. But the leads here are incredibly well plotted, and Essence have something even more important going for them: they don't treat thrash metal like it's some pageantry for poseurs. There's a healthy respect for the genre they perform, and it translates to the energy and quality of the final product.

Essence also makes pretty good use of an aggressive, biting vocal style that falls somewhere between that of classic Exodus and the Swedish black/thrash band Raise Hell. There's a lot of edge and character to it, though I'm not sure that it's being used to its maximum potential yet. Tracks like "Unlimited Chaos" and "Blood Culture" crush along with mid-paced, bouncing force that is suited not only for the straining of the neck, but carries a slight edge of angry East Coast US hardcore which should have all manner of fists and knees flying about into the flesh of any nearby unfortunates. Fortunately, this does not manifest into the shitty breakdowns one might expect, but some solid riffs that, if not exactly exhilarating, get the job done. But I actually prefer it when the band picks up speed, like the bridge of "Blood Culture"; the melodic, driving overture "Trace of Terror" or the thundering "Night's Destruction" which its great descending early lead and a touch of wah-wah that reminded me of some of the tunes from Artillery's B.A.C.K.

Lost in Violence is not about to change the world, but it's a solid debut full-length. If it has any problems, its that the chorus segments are not immensely entertaining, and you always get the feeling that you'd like to hear them propel along much faster than they do here. They are not inept at formulating their guitar riffs, and usually each song has 1-2 catchy bits, but it seems content to merely hover at the edge of inspiration. The production is decent, with a lot of crunch to the guitars and some bitter emotion delivered through the proximity of the vocals, and the leads given just enough gleam to endorse their quality. Essence is not incredibly impressive, but neither are they a joke. Just a good, honest fit for the style, and considering how much time they've got before them, who knows what they might accomplish down the stretch?

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.myspace.com/essencemetal

Sorrowseed - The Extinction Prophecies (2011)

Though I certainly get a fair share of local music passing my desk, it's rare that I hear something quite so painstakingly crafted as the 2CD debut album of Western Massachusetts' Sorrowseed, a group that establishes a missing link between Cradle of Filth's extreme Goth metal inclinations and the lush paradigms of mid 90s female fronted fare via Theater of Tragedy or The Gathering. Granted, such a fusion of aesthetics might not find a wide appeal beyond those enamored of such artists; but The Extinction Prophecies manages to glue such poles together into a cohesive, Lovecraftian landscape of haunting myths and harrowing, calm interludes distributed through a lattice of glazed guitar melodies, ambiance, pianos and outbursts of impish menace that dwell somewhere in the theoretical overlap of Velvet Darkness They Fear and Midian.

Sorrowseed has woven its endtime epic in two halves, the first being the Dread Sylvan Summonings and the second the Descent of the Scarab Prophet. Each occupies its own CD, and while the content is somewhat interchangeable in terms of overall mood, there are some notable differences between the two, largely in the vocals. Dread Sylvan Summonings features calmer and more eerie compositions, favoring a mix of female vocalists: Lilith Astaroth handling the Dani Filth-like blackened rasp and shrieks, and 'The Reaping Willow' Bonnie Miller covering the clean tones that are reminiscent of The Gathering's Anneke van Giersbergen via Mandylion. While I haven't in general fancied such a blend in a decade or more, I'll admit that Sorrowseed pulls it off due to the ghostlike fabrication of the writing. As for the second disc, Descent of the Scarab Prophet, the band turn towards their other vocalist, Casey Jones, who uses a guttural style not unlike Vader or other Polish death acts, and is backed by more of the rasping. It's a curious concept, and not one I've really seen attempted to this extent, but in a strange way, it actually does better distinguish each of the discs.

Musically, I found myself more inclined towards the latter, especially when the mysticism hits a crescendo of swelling components, the growl and rasped vocals flowing in conjunction over the solid guitars and creepy synthesizers in "Circle of False Gods" or the finale "Astral Harvest" which has a hint of Gothic, progressive extremity to it. The riffing side of the band is extracted more fully here, but that said I would have liked to hear the power of the guitars a bit more than I do. The almost constant use of the pianos and synthesizers is not a problem for me, but I do feel that they were a little loud in some sequences. With the Dread Sylvan Summonings tracks, I actually did feel that there was some more punch to the riffs, but this is possibly due to their contrast against the cleaner vocals, the rasping and the more Gothic focused songs like "Flowers to the Furnace", "Demeter's Reckoning" or "Willow's Edge".

I can't claim that the songs across both discs are incredibly distinct or catchy, but they flow very well as the saga proceeds through its roughly 90 minutes of desolation and despair. Aside from a few of the aforementioned volume levels, which are but minor irritations, the production is quite good. Special credit must also be given for the lyrics and packaging here. The former are incredibly poetic and resonant, saturated with the appropriate dire imagery, but never cheap or shallow; some of the best I've read of late. The latter (artwork) is great for an unsigned band: a spiraling Elder God trampling a storming cityscape, with a nice lyric booklet included inside the digipak. It's also of note that the band is a sort of Gothic metal collective, with the guitarist and composer Morte McAdaver at its center, and a rotation of core, live and guest members. That such a symposium, with such varied constituents remains so 'together' is a testament to their potential.

Sorrowseed might still be a project in its infancy, 'lurking at the threshold' of its promise, but the ambition and professionalism here are laudable. Metal fans who don't wince at my earlier comparisons, or appreciate Gothic/extreme metal hybrids like Graveworm, Crematory and Therion might find much to enjoy here.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (dead God-flesh obscures the future)

http://www.myspace.com/sorrowseed666
http://www.reverbnation.com/sorrowseed