Deviant Syndrome started their journey in Russia 2005, definite melodic death
metal. Originality is a little lost with this album but it makes it
up with some medium to heavy lyrics. The
band is in rhythm with each other, a lot of bands nowadays forget the
importance of that. Monstrous jams
and underground bands are a dying breed, if any of you like the
formidable sounds of Kalmah and Children Of Bodom, then by all means
you will mosh to this album. There is a potential for
growth musically with Deviant Syndrome . Lets hope we get another
album soon.
Well, here we go. Another new thrash album for review. I had no doubt that it was going to be an amalgam of rehashed Slayer riffs, tired old tricks, and overall, a blatant rip-offery of the classics. Going into this album, I had low expectations, but after the first listen, I was, thankfully, proven very wrong.
Dementia’s 'Beyond the Pale'kicks off with a very cool thrash intro, an epic opener that sets a tremendous tone for the whole album. The intro ends, and “Reveries of Abhorrence” begins to play. And so we find that Dementia is not a stereotypical thrash band at all, but actually dabbles quite masterfully in a very thrash-influenced death metal hybrid.
The riffs here are extremely memorable, and often quite dynamic. Solos are very impressive, and unlike most new thrash solos today, leave a lasting impression on the listener. There are even some excellent clean vocals, which showcase a more traditional thrash sound than one more inspired by metalcore.
As you continue listening, the riffs and solos get more and more hooky, and frankly, quite awesome. This band definitely knows how to keep me interested. No matter how heavy or how fast they get, there’s always that strong sense of melody, which was laid down by NWOBHM bands, and then picked up by thrash bands in the 80s. This makes this album a blast to listen to, and quite a refreshing one as well, seeing as it fails to follow any set standards for thrash or death metal, but instead, brings forward the very best of both genres. If 80s Metallica, Megadeth, Testament, Anthrax, and Overkill were death metal bands, 'Beyond the Pale' is what I think they would sound like. And let me tell ya, it sounds damn good. [9]
Ever feel like listening to something that just blows your mind with its technicality, as well as its extremity? Well, Delta C’s 'Entity'does all that and more! On this release, the band shows off that really crazy technical death metal with wildly sporadic time changes, intense vocals, lots of minor guitar harmonies, and plenty of complex drumming.
Now, as I’m sure you know, this sub-genre of death metal has become very common nowadays. It seems like more and more bands are becoming interested in showing off how much better they can play their instruments than anyone else. What makes Delta Cepheid different from these bands?
Well, for starters, there’s a heavy dose of prog influence here. Take for example, “Singularity”, the intro to “Evolution Part 1,” and the title track, for starters, and you’ll see that these and many more tracks on this album have some very interesting and thought provoking melodic sections, and while it’s true that the band often opts for making their music mind-blowingly complex more often than making it melodic or memorable, they often add interludes, intros, melody lines, soft instrumental passages, and melodic solos to break up the cacophony and bring a little warmth to this cold and very mechanical sub-genre of death metal, and this is what keeps me listening intently.
This cyborg fusion of spastic, complex guitar noodling and heavy riffing with Progressive, free-flowing melody creates harmony in the chaos, and as a result, an interesting listening experience. [7.5]
Germany’s Abrasive has really done something here. 'The Birth…Born In Sodom' is full of that extremely violent, brutal death metal you can’t help but enjoy. Filled with relentless chugging riffs with that drop-your-guts-to-the-floor kind of heaviness, and, as shown in tracks like 'Stimmulate' and 'Hungry', some of the most gruesome breakdowns you’ll ever hear.
Every song begins like a blunt weapon that bludgeons you to the ground before slicing you open with razorblade riffs and hanging you from a lamp post by your entrails. This is the kind of devastatingly heavy and brutal death metal that just pummels you without mercy.
Every musician handles their instrument very well on this album. Drums are savage and wild, riffs are played with bone-breaking force, the bass throbs chaotically (And audibly!), and the vocals are just the vile, low-growling, hell-vomit you’d want in a brutal death metal band. There are even some solos to be enjoyed! Check out 'Porn Addicted' for an example.
My complaints with this album are small in number, but I’ll state them anyway. First off, the snare drum has that really annoying wood sound that’s becoming more and more popular, and it can be pretty distracting at times. Also, there really isn’t too much that distinguishes one track from another. But on that note, you shouldn’t listen to brutal death metal bands if you crave a lot of song variety. What Abrasive does on this album is brutal death metal done right. This is a great album that I had a lot of fun listening to and reviewing. Check it out! [8]
It seems that Japan has become a prime location for cultivating bands in this new thrash resurgence. With great new Thrash bands like Fastkill and Grief of War popping up and making excellent albums, my curiosity was piqued when this album was brought to me for review.
Impaler is Japanese thrash metal band that formed in 2006, and have released only this one debut album, 'Nightmare Attack'. And that’s about all the information I could find about the band from their MySpace page, due to the band’s broken English and my inability to read Japanese. But none of that really matters anyway. What it boils down to is the music itself. So let’s expound on that, shall we?
'Nightmare Attack' is an 11 track album (including intro) with only two tracks exceeding the five minute mark, meaning that this was going to be a wild ride of a thrash album, most likely fitting as many riffs and notes into a 3 minute song as possible. But I wasn’t completely right about this.
The album kicks off with a mediocre, and fairly boring, intro. The riffs are repetitive, and they don’t do much to grab your attention, but seeing as this was only an intro track, I didn’t let this set my expectations for the rest of the album, and I’m glad I didn’t, because Impaler had a lot to bring to the table. The vocals are what got me from the beginning. Shrill, maniacal howls and shrieks erupted from my speakers, and immediately demanded my full attention. This vocal style is very reminiscent of Fastkill’s Toshio Komori. What is it with these new Japanese bands and awesome vocals?
Also, it became apparent that, unlike many new Japanese thrash bands, Impaler had a knack for being able to effectively change up the tempos in their songs. This album has a lot of energy, and is full of wild, fast thrashing, but with lots of mid paced Thrash riffs and powerful grooves, including a crushing breakdown in “I’m Alive,” the pounding bridge in Dozaemon,” and many riffs in “Ash.” Impaler aren’t afraid to get heavy when they need to be, and it’s good to see a thrash band that’s not set to light speed the whole time. That being said, Impaler often find themselves riffing at blazing speeds, drums and bass galloping wildly below the savage guitarists, who seem to show a lot of good Vio-Lence influence on this album, such as the rapidly tremolo picked, palm muted, single string riffs in “Dozaemon.” The guitarists definitely hold their own on this album as far as speed, competence, and dynamics, but that being said, there’s really not much going on with this album to make it stand out. The solos are good, but not spectacular, or even memorable. The riffs, and even the songs as a whole, come off as mostly generic thrash with some interesting grooves thrown in. It’s nothing that you wouldn’t expect from any other new thrash band, but this album lacks the creativity and originality of even those.
Impaler definitely has a talent in switching it up in their songs, being able to switch from wild, savage riffing, to heavy, mid paced thrash grooves, which makes their music more interesting, but ultimately, as you continue to listen to the album, it brings nothing that can really engage you.
However, while it may not be anything new, this album is fast, fun, high energy thrash metal that can pump you up a few times before you get bored and move on, and while it may be far original, there are shining moments on this album, see “Dozaemon,” and “Junk Brain,” and while moments of real creativity are hard to come by on 'Nightmare Attack', I still found a good bit of enjoyment in its raw energy. [6]
