Deströyer 666 - Phoenix Rising (2000)

It's only a matter of moments into Phoenix Rising until you realize that Deströyer 666 has raised its intensity level by a considerable degree. New drummer Jarro/Deceiver metes out some hyper-blasting akin to faster European bands as a hallmark of the opener "Rise of the Predator", but to the Australians' they don't focus on this entirely, using it only as a weapon to create contrasts with the more middle paced rhythms; consistently throughout the entire album. There's still a lot of Bathory vibe here with the tempos, with a lot of very straightforward riffs in a Marduk mold (especially those blasted parts), but they've got a ratio of about 1:1 for some memorable rhythm guitars and then others you'd heard before and would quickly forget.

Altogether, the album has pretty great production, with no muddling or imbalance to the levels of the instruments, and a clear delivery which highlights all of them. The guitar tone isn't anything too striking, but it's got a good balance where the tremolo-picked melodies and lower rhythms feel evenly distributed, with the bass poking through all the time on its own crusade. The drums are a pretty noticeable technical improvement and these also sit evenly, while the vocals are at the fore, but not enough to smother any of the playing. I think this was K.K.'s best performance to date, especially his sustained rasps, they just seem a little more in tune with the music and slice a little harder when you pay attention to the diabolic details. The songs are all solid, though some of my favorites are nestled deeper into the track-list like the swaggering, almost folkish black metal of "Ride the Solar Winds" and "The Birth of Tragedy", or "Lone Wolf Winter" with its urgent sense of melodies and an atmospheric vibe that foreshadows records like Wildfire.

Also, that song's title and lyrics seem like a callback to the cover art for the first full-length; and speaking of callbacks, they have a new version of "The Eternal Glory of War" from the Violence EP and it's quite tidied up. This will please some, and piss off others, but I think this is the more effective incarnation. However, I'd say that about 5 of the tunes here are top notch, while others are held back by a few generic riffs that don't do much for the imagination, but at least have the production to maximize their impact. And there isn't that much of a gulf in the quality, I can definitely sit through all 40 minutes without any impatience; Phoenix Rising is consistent and well-balanced enough to get its points across and catapult the band into more of a contender against their Scandinavian and American peers.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

https://www.destroyer666.uk/ 

Deströyer 666 - Unchain the Wolves (1997)

Unchain the Wolves is an improvement on the EP in several ways, as the band converts more directly into a black metal sound with influences from others like Bathory or Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, and creates a much more immersive, structural and atmospheric sound. Still, it retains a little of the savagery from the earlier years, at any moment willing to bust out into some great speed/thrash rhythms and there are parts here that only separate themselves from the EP via the cleaner production aesthetics. I always thought this one had a super cheesy look to the cover, having still found their band name silly back in the 90s and then the wolf on the cover reminds me of something I'd get on a T-shirt at some smoke shop in the mall when I was a teenager.

With age, though, I can start to appreciate these things, I love the white wolf and the simplistic and menacing nature, and have even warmed up to the name. So too has the music grown on me over the years; again, this is not a favorite in their catalogue, but it's absolutely a solid listen for some more straightforward black metal. They almost overwhelm you with the opening track, "Genesis to Genocide", 10+ minutes long with this cool, frosty extended intro that features low pianos, brooding ambiance and sets up a surge of sea-storm riffs that wouldn't have sounded out of place on Blood Fire Death. This is not the only 'epic' on the album, the title track will take you by surprise with its great, majestic atmospheric sequences with a little bit of droning feedback, reverbed clean vocal lines, and a nice escalation into some thundering riffs and melodies, truly if Quorthon had written a record while touring the outback, this is what it may have ended up sounding like...although the production K.K. Warslut and crew get here is a lot more current with the 90s standards.

Otherwise, the album is full of straightforward ragers like "Australian and Anti-Christ" (great title) that convey a lot more of the hybrid of black, speed and thrash metal that the band will eventually revert to almost exclusively in later decades. K.K.s vocals are the same barking holocaust as the EP, though he will also turn in a few more decrepit rasps. I love some of the sped-up Celtic Frost style riffs and the punkish, hellish energy. This record has a few more standouts that I'd usually include on a D666 playlist like "Damnation's Pride" and "Six Curses from a Spiritual Wasteland", and again I'd compliment the production; the leads spike out from the rhythm sections, nothing's too complicated, just devastating, and the drumming and vocals really breathe throughout the record. I'm sure some of their original audience rued this transformation here, but there's still enough primacy that it doesn't feel like any sort of sell-out or anything. Good record, if not great, one I still break out from time to time.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://www.destroyer666.uk/

Deströyer 666 - Violence is the Prince of this World EP (1995)

Though I wasn't initially too impressed with this band, Deströyer 666 was one I got in on the ground floor with, having heard this first EP and their debut through a local CD import shop. Australian black metal was a bit of a novelty, I had heard Bestial Warlust and this band around the same time and that was all, and my initial impressions were that it mirrored the Canadian war metal stuff a lot more than the Scandinavian bands I was completely enthralled by. I think that still holds true for this early material, but K.K. Warslut and company were definitely set on a path that would evolve for the better, and I think you can hear that even on Violence is the Prince of This World. It might not one of my favorites in their legacy, but this shit sounds positively savage even 30 years later.

There are definitely those blasted and soulless passages reminiscent of the war metal stuff, but there is a little more structure to some of the riffing, based around a vile thrashing aesthetic, a little bit of death metal also in the churn of the rhythm guitar. When they do resort to that primitive blasting, they retain a little bit of atmosphere through the riff choices, which to their credit, are a lot more interesting to follow than some other 'blast and forget' bands of the time, including arguably some of Marduk's material, though this stuff isn't as intense as something like Panzer Division Marduk. The guitars wind through these sections like serpents, and I also liked the warlike presence of the bass guitar which actually recalled for me some of the earlier Voivod records if they were just pitched at a higher speed. The drumming is a little bit of a clatter but it's also really well done for its day, effortlessly blasting or rolling out the double bass patterns to support the snaky distortion on the guitars.

I think the real star of the show here is how Warslut's nihilistic barking, which sounds like a midway point between black, death, and Germanic proto-black thrash styles, fuses itself so well to those frillier guitars and the primordial beating of the drums. This is the component that feels like the nuclear holocaust you're seeing on the cover art, and he definitely earns his nickname with it. Another strong point is that they definitely avoid monotony with some change-ups, for instance "Song for a Devil's Son" doesn't follow the same course as "An Endless Stream of Bombers", the band was working to create distinct tunes while merging them all together under the same banner of aggression. The mix can be a little uneven, some tunes coming across rawer than others, and it's certainly not their most coherent material, but I've always thought of this as 'war metal' with a little more memorable structure to latch on to, and whilst its one of the last things I'll reach for when I crave Deströyer 666, there's a timeless, vulgar charm to it which I cannot ignore.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

https://www.destroyer666.uk/

Doldrum - The Knocking, or the Story of the Sound That Preceded Their Disappearance (2022)

The Knocking... is one of their rare, anomalous records that comes around and completely eradicates you, and then has you begging the question: why it wasn't more popular? Even a couple years later, I am baffled that this one hasn't stuck with more listeners. Perhaps it's just too obscure, wasn't advertised much, released in a limited batch of vinyl or cassettes, no CD (to my dismay). The alternative would be to believe that folks weren't interested in a brilliantly horror themed progressive black metal opus which rewards through repeated listens, and that is a thought I am just not willing to bear. A few members of this project were also in the band Gallows, which put out an awesome record in 66 Black Wings, with a more traditional, straightforward black metal style, but Doldrum is far more ambitious and interesting.

I'd describe this as sounding like a mix of late 90s/early 00s Opeth and modern, progressive Enslaved aesthetics, but it doesn't sound quite the same as either. I was also reminded of Spain's Foscor for some reason; I daresay, even a little modern Chewy-era Voivod finds its way in, or Norway's Virus. It's got well-defined rhythms that make full use of the percussion and bass, both of which are brilliantly executed through the album, and then covers those up with dissonant, creepy guitar chords and an excellent, rasped vocal to deliver a chilling and memorable experience that never gets tiring even after the 50th spin or so. The lyrics are poetic, sad and incredible, spinning a tale of 1800s American folk horror that feels refreshing and unique amidst all the usual haunted houses, zombies and vampires. It's all told in five tracks ranging from 5-9 minutes, totally under 40 minutes, never wearing out its welcome and incorporating quite a lot of range within that timespan. The Knocking... is bristling with riffs to die for, textured and immersive and fully supported by the rhythm instruments which are every measure as important. The keys and acoustics are also tasteful and non-intrusive to the central, pulsing black metal aesthetics.

I think this might have even been recorded in Salem, MA at the Gallows Hill studios, which gives me a bit of a personal connection as I met my wife there and used to live with her a few years, well before this thing came out but I always marvel at the music that comes out of the place. Largely through Kurt Ballou's God City studios, yes, but it's cool to know there are other venues. But if I'm being honest, this might be my favorite metal or 'heavy' album ever recorded in that city, it's stunning. This shit slays, and though I loved it the year it came out (and I'm still pining for a CD release!), it's grown on me even more in the interim...the towering riffs, corpulent bass lines, grooving drums, excellent vocals, all of which can surge in and out of a more traditional black metal rhythm whenever necessary, but more often errs on the side of the adventurous. I might tell you that I'd be sad if this proved to be a one-off, but at the same time, it'll be just as timeless even if the project disappears like its unfortunate subjects.

Happy Halloween!

Verdict: Epic Win [9.25/10]

https://doldrumbm.bandcamp.com/

Death SS - Heavy Demons (1991)

There is some alternative universe in which Death SS would have found more international success. They fully embraced the shock rock thing from the beginning, with some cool cover images that caught the eyes even when I was younger, always giving me the impression they were some Italian parallel to KISS and King Diamond. But they never really seemed to latch on a particular style, evolving through the years to cover heavy metal, doom, thrash, and even some industrial metal stuff. Now, granted, the living god Alice Cooper explored a lot more territory over his lengthy career, but he had the benefit of massive radio hits early on in his time, where these guys were and are still a virtual unknown. That said, considering how huge the horror fandom is round the world, I think these guys can continue to expand an audience, even one day when it's posthumous, because Steve Sylvester and crew have a cult appeal that has survived since the 70s.

Heavy Demons might have been the record to break them, it's got some of the biggest production and accessible songwriting of their career. Big, fat, simple heavy metal riffs, sometimes with an almost thrash metal intensity. Leads that rip out exactly where they need to, although sometimes they have a lot more flash than feeling. Plenty of keys and sound effects, the creepy atmospheric parts like the intro, acoustic segments that thankfully never herald cheesy power ballads. Some of the tunes like "Peace of Mind", or "Baphomet" give me the impression of earlier Euro power metal with the drums and riffs, certainly you could place these songs alongside Gamma Ray of the time period. Part of "Inquisitor" even sounds like it could have appeared on Painkiller, and "All Souls' Day" has a rhythmic resemblance to King Diamond stuff. They even go back to their roots and mete out the atmospheric doom ("Way to Power"), one of my favorites here, which is almost the antithesis of some of its neighboring tracks, and ironically the closest they actually DO come to a cheesy power ballad in the chorus.

The instruments and production are quite good for its day, but I think the primary deterrent for many is going to be the vocal performance. Steve is a living legend, but he's got a very pinched, nasal edge to his voice which sounds almost like a mistake on some lines. Once you've gotten used to it, then it has a sleaziness about it which might have fit more on a lower tier glam rock cult classic, but I much prefer when he focuses in on some of the more powerful melodic lines where, or some of the shrieking, which does remind me slightly of King Diamond or Lizzy Borden (who were a similar shock rock/metal act), or some of the lower, harsher parts. He clearly has the pipes to do this, but I don't know if it's his accent or a stylistic choice which can tend to make some of the lines sound a little too cheesy in delivery, and I can understand why a lot of folks might have been turned off while listening to this. Otherwise, the stylistic content of the album also feels a little scattershot, not to 'dealbreaker' levels, it's clearly the same group of musicians but it lacks focus and good pacing in the track order.

Ultimately, I do like this album, in fact it's one of those I'm likely to spin first when I'm in the mood for Death SS, but it's clearly flawed, in some cases lovingly so, and probably best enjoyed by shock rock or theatric horror metal fans who want something that sounds slightly familiar but also a little quirky.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://www.deathss.com/deathssweb2/

Deceased - Ghostly White (2018)

Deceased have become one of our most enduring US death metal bands; granted they temper that genre with a lot of speed, thrash and traditional metal elements and have done so for the last 30+ years, but when it comes to their mainline releases, they've become synonymous with quality since Fearless Undead Machines and arguably even earlier than that. Ghostly White is another ambitious record where songwriting and pacing are key, structures and riffs are paired up alongside the lyrics and narrative of the themes, and there's absolutely no wanking or nonsense that doesn't serve the band's consistent style. The songs can pop off in 3-4 minutes or be blown out to over 13 and you don't get any noticeable dip in quality, everything is as it needs to be written.

To some extent, it might lack some of the 'surprise' from albums like Supernatural Addiction and Surreal Overdose, since we're so used to them writing in this style. It's honestly hard to even dub this proper 'death metal', outside of King's harsh vocals, but in a way, that's kind of why it is, like Root is to black metal, these guys are an outlier in their genre who think for themselves and rarely sound like anyone else outside of some of their original 80s peers. But if we're analyzing the music directly, it's a mix of thrash, speed and heavy metal which is enriched with creepy melodies and leads and that hoarse and unmistakable tone of the vocals. There's a rawness about the mix, more so than a few of the other albums, which renders this thing perfectly timeless, with brash rhythm guitars and wild leads that almost always sound awesome and well-rendered into the ghastly atmosphere that their productions always deliver.

I don't think "Mrs. Allardyce" is the best track on the record as an opener, I don't really start getting drawn into this one until "To Serve the Insane" with its descending, mournful chorus melody, or "The Shivers" which is another nice speed/heavy metal rager with a great, simplistic melody that pokes out into the night. The aforementioned 13+ minute opus "Germ of Distorted Lore" is quite good, having Deceased play with some slower, almost martial sounding sections to break up the thrashing outbreaks, and "Pale Surroundings" stands out as another catchier tune later in the track list with some eerie female spoken word parts. That said, there isn't actually a weak song here, it's just not putting its best foot forward, but drawing you deeper into its web before you get to the truly memorable moments, and that's often the calling card of a well-written record. Which this is, and it's another victory for one of our finest USDM institutions, and probably mandatory for horror metal fanatics the world over.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

https://www.facebook.com/deceasedofficial/

Disastrous Murmur - Rhapsodies in Red (1992)

Another of the earlier Austrian death metal acts alongside Pungent Stench, I remember Disastrous Murmur largely for their hilarious, distinct band moniker as well as the gruesome and cheesy cover art on Rhapsodies in Red, their debut. These guys had a sound that, at the time, I found very UN-European. Sure, there were some parallels in that scene, like the earlier Atrocity records, but for the most part the sound developed here reminds me a little of Cannibal Corpse or Malevolent Creation evolving on a slightly separate path. Certainly more Florida or New York than Sweden, Finland, Holland or England. It's chuggy, ugly, and walks that borderline between the OSDM and brutality emerging through the 90s, with a guitar tone that sounds quite thrashy and choppy, and a few riffs to match, definitely giving off a slightly Eaten Back to Life vibe though I don't really think the bands honestly sound that close together.

This is very agile stuff with a lot of shifting tempos and gory, guttural vocals, but I find that the mix on this one has always detracted for me. In the way a lot of very archaic death metal records did, especially in the first half of the 90s. The guitar is sometimes too crunchy for its own good, and rarely is spitting out riff progressions that stick in my memory. The drum performance is good, but the levels feel off, with the kicks drowning out other stuff, making the guitars seem a little thinner. Also, while the vocals definitely have a pretty extreme sound, they weren't very distinct, just bludgeoning along with the dexterity of the death/thrashing rhythms and not leaving much more of an impression beyond their brutality. The bass here is audible, kind of bouncy and fat and blends in a lot with the lower drums, but I know there's always been a market for this style...I think Malignancy is an example where they took something similar to this and got a lot further with the creativity and songwriting.

I don't mean to sound totally down on this, because it definitely has some effort and intensity behind it and feels like a record that would have been more impressive for me had I been listening to it back when I first encountered Suffocation, Deicide, etc. Sometimes they get a rhythm guitar going which reminds me a bit of Death, Obituary or Pestilence and I dig those, but they will usually change it up too quickly before it can settle in. The occasional keyboards are kind of cool but they sometimes feel too obscure in the mix, except the intro to "Into the Dungeon" which rules. The lyrics are appropriately gross for the image that the band was conveying, and probably on the more shocking side for 1992, but musically this is an album I have to listen to more for its bludgeoning than the music value. It often sounds calamitous as if the young band was just trying to force rhythm after rhythm down your throat, and it just doesn't always stick the landing. But for 1992, it gets some lenience and is by no means bad.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

https://disastrousmurmur.bandcamp.com/

Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats - Blood Lust (2011)

Electric Wizard led me to Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, and I do admit I consider the latter to be an evolution on the other's sound, making it a fraction more mainstream and adventurous in the process since they bring in a lot of other 70s influences to the Sabbath style, namely the Beatles. If you heavily fuzzed out the Beatles, gave them cool horror lyrics and an edge, this might be the result, Uncle Acid is like the nexus between Hammer Horror, distortion-drenched pop rock and the Rise Above roster. They have never let me down on a single album, and though they've recently moved on to a more theatrical, progressive leanings, I still listen across all their catalogue fairly evenly, with the possible exception of the debut, which was decent but crushed by Blood Lust in almost every category.

From the opening notes of "I'll Cut You Down", the sophomore is just brighter and more creatively conceived, with a nice pomp to the bass tone, and a rhythm guitar that constantly evokes nostalgia and atmosphere no matter how primitive some of its trudging riff structures. K.R. Starrs' striking vocals give you an Ozzy vibe without really channeling the Prince of Darkness, or perhaps they live up to the band's moniker by sounding like a psychedelic drug trip giving a voice. The feedback and distortion used on these and the guitars are excellent, it gives you that washed out, raw feeling not unlike Electric Wizard, especially their records around this same period, but the difference is in the songwriting, these never feel like garden variety evil doom songs, the menace is "Death's Door" or "Curse in the Trees" is how they groove along like a dude in a pair of bell-bottoms kicking perceived scorpions around his feet. The bass playing is simple, but I like how it curves up to those fuzzy guitars, and the drum kit here sounds pretty awesome too, though like their peers, it never needs to be too technical or flashy...

Just lots of fills and crashing, and in fact they're interesting in psyche pieces like the proggier "I'm Here to Kill You" that they'd probably sound great even without the other instruments. But all combined, this band is a total force to be reckoned with, and Blood Lust is compelling throughout its 43 minute length, from the catchy chorus of the opener to the belligerent flow of "Ritual Knife", the glorious voo-doom of "Withered Hand of Evil", or the almost 70s pure 'eavy metal' charging of the main riff in "Over & Over Again". The one exception for me is the acoustic finale "Down to the Fire", it's nice to turn off the amps perhaps and does eventually seem like it's going somewhere, primarily because Starrs' voice works well with the louder acoustic guitars, but it feels half-formed to me and just doesn't add much to what is already a bananas great freaking record. I could live without that, but otherwise Blood Lust is one of the best albums in an obscenely consistent catalogue. Nothing complex, just let it hypnotize you until you resemble the woman on the cover.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

https://www.uncleacidband.com/

Electric Wizard - Witchcult Today (2007)

Witchcult Today is one of those records that feels so simple and primal that you could just plug in, write it and record it on the spot, and that's not something I can always get down with unless its in the hands of a band like Electric Wizard. The Brits had long mastered their most daunting and crushing extremes with records like Dopethrone and Let Us Prey, and by the later 00s were settling into this catchier flow of raw, effective doom and sludge which I found just as hypnotizing as their formative releases. There is nothing pretentious or boring here, the music can speak for itself, exceedingly basic in construction yet just catchy enough to sing along with; this isn't some exercise in vapid repetition like Jerusalem but something with just enough variation and experimentation to fully immerse the listener whilst slowly punching them in the face.

Noisy, huge walls of fuzz that cascade at a crawled pace through Sabbath-like doom licks, it's that 70s foundation taken out to a wasted extreme, with very little concern for blowing out your speakers or sounding produced or polished...yet, the levels do somehow find a balance. The bass largely just plods along with the rhythm guitar, but that latter is so enormous that it's not about to find any competition in the mix other than Jus Oborn's wavering, drugged vocals, and that's only because they are genetically constructed to pierce through them. The drums might as well be trash cans, as long as they can provide the attention span with a steady pace to follow the catchy drudging. I can't tell you that a single riff on this record is original in any capacity, and yet I still enjoy it that much, because there's such a hideous conviction to how they're delivered. To be fair, they do layer in some melodies and bluesy wailings (as in the bridge of the title track) to create more depth, but this is the sort of record I might hate in the hands of someone less 'cool', if that makes any sense?

There are definitely some more psychedelic escapes here, like the noisy, quivering feedback of the interlude "Raptus" or the the moody mire of "Black Magic Rituals & Perversion", which sounds like the most atmospheric trad doom ever, given some ritualistic clout by the crazy fills and percussion as it transforms into this fuzz-fucked behemoth, only to later transform again into tribal droning noise with what sound like some reversed vocal samples. This shit is some of the most frightening they'd sounded since the aforementioned Dopethrone, and thankfully ground things back on planet Earth with the closer "Saturnine" and it's super-bluesy Sabbath lick and vocals that saturate the audience in stoner bliss, even if their lungs are as clean as a cathedral. Witchcult is just a transitive experience, like some of its own predecessors, the sort of record you come away from different than you went in, staggeringly heavy in tone but strangely accessible other than the weird bits. Cool blokes, cool cover, damn cool tracks, Lovecraftian and occult themes, what fucking else would you sign up for?

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

https://www.electricfuckinwizard.com/

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