Goatcraft - The Blasphemer (2014)

If, like myself, you were a black metaller throughout the middle of the 90s, then you would likely have come across a number of side projects or tangential enterprises from various scene musicians that abandoned the harsher instrumentation to forage bleak, occult experiences through the mediums of neo-classical interpretation or, more modernly the fields of ambient/martial recording or dungeon synth. Labels like Red Stream and Full Moon Productions (among numerous others) were not averse to snapping up some of the more curious of these, whether they were haunting solo vehicles or full-fledged orchestral maneuvers, and these sorts of albums eventually collided with the fandom of industrual/dark ambient imprints like Cold Meat Industries or darker Gothic ventures and provided the extreme metalhead or misanthropist with an escape from his/her normal listening, that is unless he/she was as well-versed in classical/folk music as Scandinavian black metal.

I bring this up, because this has been a field slightly lacking over the last decade, or rather it's practice has become more of it's 'own thing' and pushed to the periphery, since there's just so much of the raw and heavy stuff around that it takes an eternity to explore it to the edge and beyond. Enter Goatcraft, a Texan one man act which seeks to once again corral such edgy aural voyeurs into believing in something beyond the standard fuselages of fuzz and ferocity into a more ancient source that, if The Blasphemer is any indicator, is far from disappeared on any map. Judging by the wave of praise I've seen from this recording, it has surely been one of the more 'noticed' jaunts of its type in some years, and after listening through this, I can understand all the praise, since it's an extremely consistent measure of escapism that thrust my imagination straight back into eras of grandeur and antiquity many centuries before I was even born. To an extent, there is some degree of minimalistic composition redolent of the ambient records Varg Vikernes has released through Burzum (the last few of which have become progressively more boring), but The Blasphemer strikes just the right balance of New Age and classical aesthetics that so morbidly swell it with potential.

Essentially, Lonegoat's attack is with a piano and a synthesizer, nothing else is needed to embark on such ritualistic mantras of darkness. Haunted phrases of chords or solitary notes are imbued with glittering, dust like cathedral-spire radiance that feel like bells tolling a soul to Hell for all damnation. A spectral haze of simmering ambiance is misted along the backdrop like the morning vapors rolling off a river into some mourning, plague-stricken village and there are numerous layers of dark, resonating piano keys which feel like some grand horror opera being performed from the top of a black tower, cascading down the spiral stone steps into an empty courtyard below. As ominous as I am making this sound, it's actually quite surprisingly vivacious and busy at times, there's nothing lazy or exceedingly repetitious anywhere and only once or twice does he move away from a concise track length to something more bloated, and even then he will pack a composition with enough performance and raw talent to evict any possible repercussion of lazy self-pandering, useless weight or indulgence (the entire experience is just under an hour, where he could have easily padded it out to fill an entire compact disc).

The Blasphemer is also entirely raw, and his piano sweeps really bounce off the room in which you are listening through it. It doesn't feel highly digitized or processed like a Castlevania soundtrack, for example, and I'm sure this could transfer immediately to any live setting. The music isn't always immensely catchy, nor does it really evade centuries of classical piano tradition, after all it's highly inspired by William Blake's art and archaic soundtrack qualities; but as mood music it is so highly committed. Invested. And, for me, was rewarding enough that I'd recommend it, whether as a score you could impose over a silent horror film or just something to experience with a glass of whine during the onset of a thunderstorm, where the streaks of lightning splay out like visual accompaniment to Lonegoat's key-hammering. It's a rare thing to even attempt such a sound in the 21st century, even rarer to eschew the sheet-music and write it for yourself, so you can bet Goatcraft is something worth keeping your eyes on...for I have a feeling the man hasn't even written us his masterpiece quite yet. Just powerful, gorgeously packaged music for when a rasp, guttural or blast beat just hasn't proven malevolent or magnificent enough.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://goatcraft.net/

Burning Saviours - Boken om förbannelsen (2014)

I remember first checking out Burning Saviours nearly a decade ago, they were definitely one of those 70s throwback/doom bands, alongside countrymen Witchcraft, who seemed to be taking the whole thing to the next logical step of nostalgic retrogression. That's to say they sound a lot like a band from 40 years ago, even to the point where the production on their records mimics that formative epoch. Now, three records and a number of single recordings later, they haven't altered the approach; so Boken om förbannelsen, a collection of four single recordings spanning 2011-2013, is pretty much textbook Sabbath/Cream worship which succeeds in sounding like the hard rock of the members' now distant youths...and whether or not you'll enjoy this really depends on your ability to stomach more of that relatively idea-less, retro rock & roll which seeks to stand on the ceremony of pre-paved riffing progressions and songwriting structures rather than fire up an original spark.

I'd say that, while this sounds pretty authentic in terms of how the instruments are mixed and having a singer (Mikael Monks) with some genuine charisma, this well might just have been tapped too often and for too long to preclude me turning up my noise at some of the chord progressions, which are more or less timid rehashes of songs like "War Pigs" or a million others you could tune into on your local endless commercially recycled hard rock radio station right this second. A lot of those spider-crawling blues grooves that people have been getting high to since 1969, threaded with a slightly tormented melodic scream which is very able at sculpting a chorus which resonates far more than the rest of the songs. That these tunes were penned to be singles is evident, so there's a lot of consistency in terms of their pacing, a lot of chemistry between them, some even being thematically linked. The guitar tone is fantastically clear with just a little of that genuine old 70s mud, while the leads are relatively raw and emotional and generally well enough written...the bass plods away without much individuality and the drums are lethargic but a perfect fit to the peppy mid-speeds.

They do occasionally deviate from the central rock formula here, like the eaves of ringing harmonic blues that inaugurate "Doomus Maximus" or "I Am Lucifer", but at the most modern the latter sounds like an alternative to the Ghost debut Opus Eponymous with a different vocalist. To be truthful, people who love that album will actually appreciate this a lot from a more directly Sabbath-ian vein, there are certainly a number of cuts like the cleaner "Midnight" or "The Offering" which give off the vibe of ritualistic pipe-smoking hippie doom wafting through the rafters of our nostalgia. Ultimately, while I have no question that the band members were able to tap into that lifeblood of ancient heavy metal while in-session to compose these, and perhaps felt the same wonders of their predecessors, they're only doing that by basically borrowing material that had come before and paraphrasing the note passages. Boken om förbannelsen is a pleasant, occasionally catchy offering, and it's nice to have the disparate singles collected into an actual product of higher value, but the Burning Saviours ultimately cop a little too much derivative inspiration to stand out from the shadows of their distant forerunners.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

https://www.facebook.com/burningsaviours

Serpent Warning - Serpent Warning (2014)

Finland's Serpent Warning provides a prime example of what I like to dub 'laconic doom'; and by that I intend no insult whatsoever, only to best explain the style of songwriting they exhibit upon this full-length debut. Basically they stick to the core rock instrumentation and lay out a lot of slower to mid-paced grooves redolent of Black Sabbath, or by extension seminal doom followers like Witchfinder General, Saint Vitus or Pentagram. Riffing structures are minimalistic at best, often just a few woozy chords played out in familiar patterns, though they do occasionally bust out into a more melodic, upbeat charge. Therefore all moments of tension and release are in how much the vocals and lead harmonies can break out of the zone and offer some edge and abandon.

The production on this is really solid, nothing expressively atmospheric but all the instruments are laid out with equivocal volume and no one factor excels beyond the rest. Guitars are dingy but bright when called for, the bass lines are a thick soup of Geezer Butlerisms and the drums mellow but loaded with lots of march like fills that help compliment the simplicity of the chord architecture. Considering the rather close confines the band performs in consistently through the 40 minutes and six tracks, it certainly seemed like they 'felt out' the style they were exploring; thus there's plenty enough variation even when you might have a slightly hard time distinguishing one cut from the next, but the choruses and melodies expressed throughout all have a unique feel to them so you can get some replay value out of Serpent Warning on the whole. At more than six minutes per song, the tunes each hit their stride and give themselves plenty of space without going over the limit, with the sole exception of the finale "Ceremonies of the Sun" that might start to feel as if it's dragging its feet with about two additional minutes of baggage, ending at a rather anticlimactic point.

I always feel awkward when I'm reviewing a forthcoming record like this and then learn that the vocalist has already stepped out of the band, and in this case Samuel Pesonen (who has performed in a number of other acts like The Wandering Midget) has been replaced by a female, Suvi Laaninen, so you can imagine the band's future installments might have a more idyllic, haunting quality to them akin to Blood Ceremony or fellow Finns Seremonia. However, on this album, Pesonen has a decent, melodic mid range with some weight to it, not incredibly complex or varied but he'll differentiate a chorus or two from the more middling verse lines and there's often some bite or vitriol to his timber which reveals a passion for the style. That said, there were moments where he reminded me more of an angst-ridden modern hard rock/nu-metal singer like you'd find in Disturbed or Godsmack, only with his natural accent shining through. Once again, I'm not offering that as some sort of putdown: I'm not usually into that style either, but Samuel does a real good job here of binding together the drums, riffs and that voluptuous bass into something that I enjoyed spending time with, even if it's not an album I envision returning to a great many times in the future.

Basically, if you're into hazy, rainy afternoon doom which hearkens to a 70s inspiration, but from another culture altogether and having the inherent quirks you might expect from that, Serpent Warning is worth a listen. It's not as serenely psychedelic or bluesy as other acts who operate under a similar mantle of mourning, but they definitely have a persistent flow to them which offers enough emotional texture and food for thought, much like the exiting line of monastic figures on the cover art, wandering humbly through the wilderness, soaking in the mist, beauty, and ultimate mortality of their environs; a pretty cool aesthetic to match that scrawling, classy logo.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (no, give me no grief)

https://www.facebook.com/serpentwarning

Vanhelga - Längtan (2014)

Though these Swedes have been around since just after the turn of the century, and started getting active with releases around 2010, I hadn't actually heard them until I sampled their Sommer EP last year. From the looks of the band in some of the pics I've seen, I had expected some really psychotic, fucked up black metal, perhaps of the Lifelover or similar depressive variety, and to be honest that style of off-the-hinges, emotional resonance is not entirely absent from this material; not all that much a surprise since there is a former member of that band in this one. The difference is that I felt like the vocals here feel even more bizarre and disjointed, especially where the guy spits out some echo/delay barks over an otherwise calming, melodic musical progression.

The drums here seem intentionally mixed to sound about thin and faintly perky under the oppression of the truly raw, cruddy electric guitars. Interestingly, though, the riffing sequences have a more glorious feel than you'd expect, even though the tinny little melodic wails are woefully simplistic and predictable. A lot of clean guitars are mixed in with the harsher distortion, which really gives the record a garage appeal that is sure to annoy some who want a more level sense of production. However, in the context of the maddening, raving vocals which are soaked in delay/echo and make all sort of irritating syllabic gestures, it seems to make sense to keep the recording as cheap and dirty as possible. That said, where a lot of other Scandinavian bands of the black metal persuasion tend to go for a more malevolent bent, Vanhelga just sounds slightly insane, at times like they're the only ones in on the joke but at others moodily effective and haunting. Songs tend to be similar in structure or instrumentation, but vary in length and riff count pretty broadly, with some of the best moments being where the guitars just ring out over the raw undercurrent...

Anyway, this is ultimately a weird, left-field experience where particular emotions are vomited forth to the fore and then rescinded into the madness of the musicians. As songs, these didn't really work for me on an individual basis, but if you just wanna laugh or cry for roughly 70 minutes then that seems to be the point. Slightly suicidal, yet in a strange way that keeps the listener guessing what might happen next, even though Vanhelga do stick to a particular set of arrangements that slowly curb their surprise potential the deeper into the track list. Still, some of the pure acoustic sections are quite nice, I just have a problem taking the vocals so seriously, even when I'm used to this alien approach. Fans of Lifelover, Woods of Infinity and Terra Tenebrosa might wish to give this a try if only because this style of joyous dementia has become increasingly rare with the dissolution of its former practitioners via tragic deaths. I was more affected by records like Konkurs and Erotik, personally, but this is close enough that some further refinement, or perhaps more unusual songwriting could fill this band into that open void.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.deathlust.net/

Aurvandil - Thrones (2013)

It's very much a shame I missed this one on release last December, it would have made for a pretty perfect kickoff to a steady winter season and almost seems out of place now that Spring is bursting forth in my neck of the woods. That said, if you've run across Aurvandil in the past, you know damn well what's at stake: a desolate, passionate experience which is best listened to in a state of solitude, preferably as far from the rest of your human surroundings as possible. Thrones isn't quite as impenetrably cold as its predecessor Yearning from 2011, but it's another substantial landscape of subtle, glorious details that won't fail to either lift or drown your spirit, dependent wholly on the reaction you typically observe for such a lonely, poignant sojourn.

This was originally a limited cassette, but has recently been released to wider digital distribution through Eisenwald Tonschmiede. Four compositions, each quite a bit longer than those on Yearning, a bit closer in corporeality to the 2010 EP Ferd. Bleak acoustics set the stage for tunes like "For Whom Burnest Thou", "Ingen Lindring" and "Summon the Storms", and though these guitars might not seem the most captivating in terms of their note construction, they flow really well, and give the listener the impression that a storm is about to strike, which of course what happens when the ruddy-cheeked, grainy electric guitars flow forth and initiate a dirty but majestic ascent into the eaves of distant highlands. Bathory and Immortal remain apt references, but how Aurvandil approaches his production sets him apart. It seems simultaneously lower in fidelity but really maintains a slight air of accessibility. Rhythm guitars power forth without searing into seemingly complex patterns, and there's always a patient, uplifting melody. Bass-lines are actually prevalent, though they usually follow the root notes of the higher-pitched guitars. One of the more distinct measures taken here is how his vocals sort of hover painfully astride the chords, rather than attempting to cut through them or subjugate...

This contributes heavily to the persistent airiness and forward, climbing momentum, even if it's hardly a show of prowess. Like Quorthon howling at you from the opposite side of a fjord or mountain, or like being carried directly on the wind of the raging strings. Though the preference is for faster material once the harder guitars enter a song, he does have some slower, rolling sequences like in "Summon the Storms" where the bass becomes this flood of warmth beneath the distortion. Granted, I wouldn't be opposed to hearing even more variety, but just that raw nature of the vocal and guitars allows for plenty of atmosphere to escape into, and once again I stress the seasonal spirit the music inspires, even if it's not so overwhelmingly frigid this time around. I enjoy this, and everything else I've heard by the guy, so if you're curious to hear a slightly different, windswept interpretation Scandinavian black metal circa the mid-90s that doesn't involve breaking out your copies of Blood Fire Death, Battles in the North or Vikinligr Veldi for the thousandth time, then this is well worth a try.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

Pact - The Infernal Hierarchies, Penetrating the Threshold of Night (2014)

Once these particular birds of prey have discovered the proper tactic to tear out your throat, they don't seem very keen on changing strategies; so you can expect that this Pact sophomore The Infernal Hierarchies, Penetrating the Threshold of Night leaves much the same carnage behind it as did their debut The Dragon Lineage of Satan back in 2012. That's both a good and bad thing, because while they join the ranks of the dependable and devil-driven, one might have hoped for some degree of evolution, variation and atmosphere to shape their sound towards the future. Painfully little of that, this is just a lot more paving of the road to Hell with ill intentions, and unfortunately the riff selection here just sort of wafted through one ear and out the other, leaving a sufficient beating but nothing extraordinarily memorable behind that I would deign to recollect very often.

That's not to detract from the confidence and competence here, the monstrous chords threaded with minor dissonant open string pickings, war-march drum cadences suffused with spleen-rupturing blast beats and double kick storms. Thick, present bass-lines, and a little bit of muddier chugging when a song calls to beef up that bottom end. A singer that continues to use a bit more guttural timber than the rasps generally associated with his genre, but they also thread in a number of those for support, to sound like a convocation of abyssal spirits. I definitely feel this retains that redolence of Bathory, Mayhem and Marduk if they had in turn pledged their unholy allegiances more directly to the war metal throne of groups like Blasphemy and Bestial Warlust, but with the added boon of a more fulfilling, modern production style. Other more recent  comparisons might be made towards Averse Sefira or Denouncement Pyre. Still, while a busy and incendiary album by all accounts, The Infernal Hierarchies... does lack the subtleties and advancements I might have hoped from the first record, an issue I might not take if I could find a few more riffs here that interested me for more than a handful of passing listens...

Really, Pact is for those who want a rush of fuel and absolutely no forgiveness, a vision of the Underworld as as the domain of tyrants who clutch their gauntlets in steel might and let the blood run down their cheeks and chins while they sup on the souls of those that pass through the Leviathan's gates. Its suited to a war against Heaven's host, where you're so locked into the combat mentality that all the dying and flailing of angels and fiends around you blends into this one, cohesive blast of fear and fate, and it just doesn't concern itself with anything innovative or, ultimately, interesting. That's not to say there isn't an acceptable level of deviation with the more mid-paced floods like the opening of "Pactmaker Lucifuge", or a number of bridges over which the baleful, minimal behemoth leads wail into the frenzy, but it felt like such a stock black metal experience this time around that I couldn't get much out of it. Lots of aggression, a fiery production, and very little else in the shadow of these horns, possibly worthwhile to purists that enjoy the faster European style (Dark Funeral, Watain, Belphegor, Marduk) but I felt like that first album was bloodier and catchier.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

Skelethal - Deathmanicvs Revelation EP (2014)

I haven't heard a ton of French entrants into the old school death metal craze of late, but those I have, like that Cadaveric Fumes demo a few years back, have been quite worthy; Skelethal proving no exception with their Iron Bonehead debut Deathmanicvs Revelation. This could be considered raw, unseasoned material revealing a connection to the very roots of the style, though with an uglier production quality that somehow grafts additional personality on the barebones grooves and almost grind-like intensity. I rather felt like this had been recorded in a warehouse or empty studio apartment where a lot of natural reverb gave the songs a remote, distant quality about them without sacrificing my ability to perceive the individual chords and instruments.

The intro is pretty cool. Pianos and bells and haunting ambiance wrought from any cheesy Gothic horror fantasy, and then the band clubs you with the very opposite of elegance. Lots of trotting, march-like guitars with brief spurts of death/thrash and the aforementioned uptempo bursts where I almost had an impression of late 80s Napalm Death. There's also a sense of Swedish momentum with some d-beat-like rhythms and the raw, barbaric tone of the guitars, though with that far-off production style it definitely doesn't come off like the usual Entombed/Dismember clone. The bass guitar is faintly audible alongside the rhythm guitars, but that's largely because the knobs aren't tweaked to provide a ton of low end; it's all to sound as if it's being filtered at you through the environment, cavern-core to the max but we're talking a massive subterranean space as opposed to a small nook or alcove. Therefore, it doesn't seem to suffocate the listener nearly as much as some of the other bands touting this style, which is welcome...though the production choices here are not going to appeal to audiophiles who want everything warm and clear.

Structurally, this isn't the most interesting or unique stuff, with a bevy of riffing progressions culled from the Swedish golden age, peppered with some Autopsy or Floridian influences via Obituary or Death. Vocals are a low roar which can't really be distinguished from a dozen or so other bands. If you are jaded on this particular style (and on most days I am), then Deathmanicvs Revelation is going to leave the impression of a 'me too' sort of band in an already saturated medium. However, if you've got room left in the crypt for another ghastly denizen who keep shit painfully simple, brutal and atmospheric, then you could do a lot worse than Skelethal; and ultimately, this EP's coldness and purity work out in its favor. It's nothing amazing, or even really good, but consistent and effective. Also if you have a fetish for Tentacled Things From Beyond, the cover here provides yet another pinup model for you to obsess over.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://skelethal.bandcamp.com/

Hades Archer - Penis Metal EP (2008)

Not the deepest of dickings, nor a particularly memorable one, because by the time you're about to climax Hades Archer has already expended itself and moved along to the next willing victim. That said, if you're into a rough ride with your blackened war-metal, I can promise you that there's absolutely no romance or foreplay with this EP, just in and out thrusts the pitchfork as your ears are creamed with a violent load of functional blast beats, harsh rhythm guitars which have all the complexity and nuance of a gaggle of grinding sluts you could find in any inner city, and ravenous rasps and barks that talk dirty to you about the Devil's host, bestial acts involving his pet goats and hounds (maybe both at the same time), and a whole lotta damned souls, dead rising, fire and blood.

Arguably, this brand of ultra-violent Underworld bloodlust blew its wad about a decade prior, when bands like Impiety, Impaled Nazarene, Blasphemy and Bestial Warlust took it to its logical, licentious end with an orgy of rehashed thrash, death, punk and heavy metal riffs played at X-rated, savage speeds where the only given atmosphere was its own coked up velocity. There's almost nothing present on Penis Metal which really distinguishes the group from its skull-fornicating forefathers, apart from a few español chileno lyrics. Having said that, it's my experience that a lot of studs into this style don't give a particular damn. Fuck and forget, throw the horns, strap-on your bullet belts and pentagram necklaces for a night and there goes the goddamn neighborhood! Only with less Ice-T. It took longer to read the band members' stage names than to make up my mind on this music, and that's never a good sign! It's little more than pure, testosterone-driven blasphemy predicated on a passion for barbarism, misanthropy, and 'because we can' attitude that precludes much of an chance at any poignant songwriting or malevolent nuance.

That's right: it's not nearly as demonic as it wishes it were, and that's a symptom most bands like this just can't overcome. No patience. Coitus inter-ruptured. Premature e-jerk-ulation. The rhythm guitar riffs lack any semblance of creepiness or diabolic, compelling note placement, nor do the frenzied leads which careen across the chords like drunks fiddling their zippers. Variation is all but alien to this duo, they have clearly not consulted their Kama Sutra and insist on just one position, which transforms the pounding drums into a monotonous, incendiary clamor and makes me quite happy that this was such a short session and you can move on to a more virile client. The super smutty secret Sodom cover circa 1986 is actually the best thing about the EP, because it showcases the mark bands like this are aiming for and falling short of, without any need to consult other sources. Hades Archer improved their libidos considerably for the later full-lengths (For the Diabolical Ages in particular is pretty fun), but Penis Metal is a spent contraceptive full of wannabeEvilSeed lying limp in the sewers of Perdition, just beneath the Moulin Splooge.

Verdict: Fail [4/10] (Metal for men & fuck)

Sarcomancy - DEMO (2010)

Sarcomancy is a name unknown to many who don't play black in Magic: The Gathering, but also a fairy obscure black metal band out of Massachusetts who I have a feeling we'll be hearing a lot more of in the future. This 2010 demo is only a three-tracker, traded directly from the band on a blank cassette (I even cheated and turned the logo into a faux cover), upon which they wasted no space, adding a mix of hard rock and metal tunes to fill out the tape! It's been a long time since anything like that has crossed my doorway. But all that is beside the point, because the original material here is strong enough to be counted among the gradually burgeoning New England black metal scene alongside groups like Infera Bruo and Autolatry; with a few aesthetic distinctions that hint at a greater ambition than merely cutting and pasting from the Scandinavian standards.

This is relatively dextrous black metal with a more prominent bass presence than the norm, courtesy of Josh Staples, who I'm sure I've likened to the 'Alex Webster' of Massachusetts, but if I haven't: well, consider it done. The guy has a strong death metal background, having played with a number of locals (currently Abnormality who kick all manner of ass). His lines here are fast, fluid and slightly higher in pitch than what you might expect from a lot of bottom feeders, but it adds a nice, almost classic heavy metal (Steve Harris-on-amphetamines) texture which lends some vibrancy and pulse to the streaming chords. The blasting feels a little thin and/or tinny, but it might have just been the old hunk of junk deck I was experiencing the tape on, and it's certainly adequate enough to drive the riffing selection and seat the filthy rasping vitriol being spit over the proceedings. As for riffs, they're generally pretty melodic in structure, giving it a very mid-90s appeal in how they contrast against the vocals, but I'd also point out that the leads and bridge elements here possess a semi-speed/heavy metal charisma to them which works rather successfully; in fact it was this and the bass that made me wish there were a lot more material to listen through.

In terms of overall aesthetics, I feel like the fell Romanticism inherent to Quebecois black metal is infused with a more savage Norse or Swedish convention; glorious but tainted. If you could imagine a hybrid of Bathory or Marduk with old Deathspell Omega and Forteresse, this might fall somewhere along that axis. Atmospheric, but largely just through the core riffing elements rather than any of the additional layers. The production is a bit disparate across the three tunes, but just because they're essentially basement recordings that were either recorded or mixed at different times, and this is all clearly outlined on the notes I was given (along with some amusing historical notes). The sound levels could be better, and obviously the packaging, but it's not as if this was presented as something it wasn't, and if you're unable to pick this up through a trade, there should hopefully be some manner of reissue in the feature (there are a few live YouTube videos available). As of this moment, these guys are actually bigger than the britches of this recording would have you believe, having performed up North at some fests with some overseas talent, and there is ample evidence of the conviction and darkness to go much further.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

https://www.facebook.com/sarcomancyblackmetal

Grim Legion - Unholy Resurrection (2014)

So you learn something every day, and the other day I learned about a New Jersey death metal band called Grim Legion who were formed back in the late 80s and kept a fairly low profile through the dawn of the genre, until folding in the early 90s. Fast forward 20 years and they've returned at an appropriate moment: when nostalgia for death metal is an infectious high, and fandom is simply starved for the music that reminds them of Death, Autopsy, Obituary, Morbid Angel and other favorites along the Floridian axis of antiquity. I promise you that Grim Legion does not surpass such comparisons (or expectations), nor do they wish to; but Unholy Resurrection, an album composed of older demo material refreshed into a full-length format, is incredibly fun regardless of how generic you might think it sounds after about 30 years of death metal. Hell, I even dug the comic book logo and the cover art which looks like it might have been an alternative cover for the old D&D Fiend Folio published way back in 1981. Cheesy to some, eye candy to others.

Yeah, the late 80s sounds about right, Scream Bloody Gore meets Mental Funeral with a few traces of Altars of Madness for good measure, plus perhaps a little Cianide or Cancer. Definitely love this guitar tone, which is natural and noisy but possesses a pummeling saturation that doesn't rely too much on the worship of Swedish techniques. Bass lines are evil and bouncy, not often disparate from the rhythm guitars of tunes like "Necromajesty" or "Beyond the Grave", but always pumping like an oilrig. The vocals are just gruesome with character, a little bit of Chris Reifert or Killjoy in there but they also have some sinister sneers or baleful moans (like in the intro) to add a little variety and keep the record fresh. Riff construction might be construed as a little plain or ordinary considering just how many albums like this have come out across the decades, but remember that a lot of this was actually written during that primal dawning, and so that lends a little more legitimacy...to be accurate, the chord/grooves are more like Autopsy and the tremolo picked riffs and harmonies more akin to the first two Death records, and that right there will tell you whether or not this is something you're going to pick up.

Personally, I've enjoyed spinning this a good half dozen times already, perhaps because it's an incredibly concise effort at 27 minutes and for some will feel more like an EP. They're wise to keep the material flashing between faster, aggressive rushes and mid-paced, murky breakdowns without often resorting to totally banal chugging or other tired tropes that just aren't very necessary. Even if the singer doesn't have the most unique chops in the field, he sounds about exactly how I'd want over material of this nature. Plenty of sustained growls that will shudder your nethers, and at times he almost sounds like a hoarser, beefier sibling to the late Chuck Schuldiner. Some will actually be thrilled to note that the blazing, atmospheric leads are provided by none other than John Paradiso of funeral doom gods Evoken, another well done component of this record that helps distinguish it from a disturbing number of throwback death metal bands that seem afraid to let those higher strings ring out in diabolic squeals. Anyway, it might be a little late to welcome Grim Legion back, since they've been reformed for a few years already, but this album really surprised me, because frankly I've been very jaded on the nostalgia trips of late and this one confirms to me that when it's done well, it still matters.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

https://www.facebook.com/grimlegion