Sabbatory/Endless Asphyxiating Gloom/Unspeakable Axe/2014 CD Review

  Sabbatory  are  a  band  from  Manitoba,  Canada  that  plays  an  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Endless  Asphyxiating  gloom"  which  was  released  by  Unspeakable  Axe  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  a  very  fast,  heavy  and  old  school  death  metal  sound  along  with  some  growling  vocals  and  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  thrash  in  the  recording  as  well  as  some  blast  beats  and  screams  and  after  awhile  mid  paced  sections,  solos  and  leads  make  their  way  onto  the  album  along  with  a  small  amount  of  melody.

  When  we  get  more  into  the  album  all  of  the  musical  instruments  start  sounding  very  powerful  and  the  band  also  sticks  to  a  more  mid  80's  style  of  death  metal  as  well  as  ignoring  all  trends  and  genres  for  the  past  20  years  as  well  as  slowing  down  during  certain  parts  of  the  recording.

  With  this  recording  Sabbatory  go  back  to  the  death  metal  era  of  87-91  and  mixes  in  some  thrash  elements  and  melody  to  create  an  album  that  pays  homage  to  the  death  metal  legends  of  the  past.

  Song  lyrics  cover  Death,  Suicide,  and  Occult  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  old  school  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Sabbatory  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  death  metal b and  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Being,  Thy  Eternal  Perplexor"  "Infantasy"  and  "Orbiting  Obscuron".  8  out  of  10.

  

Near Death Condition/Evolving Towards Extinction/Unique Leader Records/2014 CD Review

  Near  Death  Condition  are  a  band  from  Switzerland  that  plays  a  very  brutal  and  technical  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Evolving  Towards Extinction"  which  was  released  by Unique  Leader  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  a  very  fast,  heavy  and  brutal  sound  along  with  growls,  screams  and  blast  beats  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile  the  band  brings  in  slow  and  mid  paced  sections  along  with  solos  and  leads  while  also  keeping  around  the  faster  parts.

  When  the  album  goes into  other  songs  the  music  mostly  focuses  on  a  fast  brutal  death  metal  sound  while  also  adding  in  more  technical  parts  along  with  a  good  amount  of  slow  and  mid  paced  sections  and  they  also  bring  in  some  old  school  Florida  influences  in  the  guitar  leads  and  at  times  atmospheric  elements  and  melody  are  added  into  the  music  and  on  one  of  the  tracks  there  are  some  Gregorian  chants  being  utilized  for  a  few  seconds,  when  we  get  to  the  end  of  the  album  there  is  a  brief  use  of  avant  garde  soundign  piano parts  beign  utilized.
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  With  this  album  Near  Death  Condition  play  a  very  modern  form  of  brutal  death  metal  which brings  in  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  also  being  very  technical  with  the  musical  instruments  and  while  it  is  not  nothing  that  has  never  been  attempted  before,  it  is  still  very  good  quality  sounding  death  metal.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark,  violent  and  philosophical  themes,  while  the  production h as  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  brutal  and  professional  sound  along  with  the  bass  guitars  being  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix  and  the  last  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Near  Death  Condition  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal,  technical  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Words  Of  Wisdom"  "Pandemic  Of  Ignorance"  "Evolving  Towards  Extinction"  and  "Nostalgia  For  Chaos".  8  out  of  10.   

Dark Days Ahead/North Star Blues/Inverse Records/2014 CD Review

  Dark  Days  Ahead  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death,  thrash  and  groove  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "North  Star  Blues"  which  was  released  by  Inverse  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  a  very  heavy  and  melodic  sound  and  a  few  seconds  later  elements  of  thrash  and  groove  metal  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  southern  rock  style  guitar  leads  which  also  lead  to  death  metal  vocals  becoming  a  part  of  the  music  and  at  time s melodic  vocals  are  added  in.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  music  starts  to  find  its  sound  and  combines  70's  to  modern  hard  rock,  thrash,  power,  groove  and  death  metal  together  along  with  a  good  mixture  of  heaviness  and  melody  and  after  awhile  acoustic  guitars  and  a  ballad  is  added  in  before  the  music  returns  to  a  heavier  direction  on  the  following  tracks.

  With  this  album  Dark  Days  Ahead  take  modern  mainstream  hard  rock  and  mix  it  in  with  the  heaviness  of  groove  and  death  metal  together  to  create  their  own  sound  and  have  a  better  approach  to  this  style  than  most  bands  of  this  genre.

  Song  lyrics  cover  everyday  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Dark  Days  Ahead  are  a  very  decent  sounding  mixture  of  hard  rock,  groove  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out t his b and.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Once  We  Stand,  Once  We  Fall"  "Yesterday's  Noose"  "Fall  To  Believe"  and  "Varra".  7/8  out  of  10.

Ninjaspy/No Kata/2014 EP Review

  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  Ninjaspy  which  continues  their  mixture  of  extreme  metal,  hardcore,  experimental  and  ska  with  the  ep  being  self  released  in  2014  and  called  "No  Kata".

  The  ep  starts  out  with  silent  sounds  before  adding  in  drones  and  melodic  male  and  female  chanting/vocals  and  after  awhile  bass  guitars  and  spoken  word  parts  are  added  into  the  recording  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  aggressive  vocals.

  When  the  ep  goes  into  other  songs  the  music  starts  combining  experimental  and  ska  sounds  with  extreme  metal  as  well  as  some  hardcore  back  up  gang  vocals  and  you  can  also  hear  a  good  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing.

  With  this  ep  Ninjaspy  continue  their  experimental  mixture  of  extreme  metal,  hardcore  and  ska  while  cutting  back  on  the  death  metal  elements  this  time  around  as  well  as  adding  in  a  few  songs  that  are  under  a  minute.

  Song  lyrics  cover  humorous  and  everyday  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  ep.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  decent  sounding  recording  from  Ninjaspy  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  extreme  metal,  hardcore,  experimental  and  ska,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Nihivas  (Slowly  Surfaces)"  and  "Skaingkh  (The  Skank)".  7/5  out  0f  10.

Ninjaspy/Nature/2007 CD Review

   Ninjaspy  are  a  band  from  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  metal,  hardcore,  experimental  and  ska  with  elements  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2007  album  "Nature".

  The  album  starts  out  with  sound  effects  before  going  into  a  heavy  direction  that  mixes  hardcore  and  metal  together  with  some  aggressive  vocals  and  you  can  also  hear  melody  and  ska  elements  in  the  music  along  with  clean  singing  and  spoken  word  samples  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  When the  album  goes  into  other  songs  more  experimental  and  thrash  elements  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  death  metal  influences  in  the  vocals  as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  they  also  have  traces  of  nu  and  groove  metal  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  after  awhile  acoustic  guitars  are  added  on  a  few  tracks.

  With  this  album  Ninjaspy  take  the  heaviness  of  death,  nu  and  groove  metal  and  mix  it  in  with  hardcore,  experimental  and  ska  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  which  kind  of  reminds  me  of  what  Mr.  bungle  would  sound  like  if  they  where  more  influenced  by  the  extreme  genres  of  metal.

  Song  lyrics  cover  humorous  and  everyday  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  album.

  In  my  opinion  Ninjaspy  are  a  very  decent  sounding  mixture  of  extreme  metal,  hardcore,  experimental  and  ska  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sub  Artic-Trickery"  "Pure  Sketch"  "Evolution  of  The  Skid"  and  "Dot  Calm  Down".  7/5  out  of  10.  

Mass Infection Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?

MI: The recordings of our new album took place in summer 2013 and the whole production finished in the middle of October, by George Stournaras at Infected Studios (GR).After that, we were focused on rehearsing and start the booking of live shows indoor and outdoor.We will hit the road in 2014 as more as we can!

2.You have a new album coming out in a couple of months, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical
direction of the newer material and also how does it differ from previous recordings?

MI: Yes our new album "For I Am Genocide" will be out on April 1st this year.Now musically it's a mix of classic
Death metal riffing,including elements of "modern" drumming like our previous release. I think that this album is "a level up" than our previous work "The Age Of Recreation", from the hand of song structuring,composing and final production.It's a mix of new and old era style of death metal music and sound. Expect a massive album of 9 tracks inspired mostly from the us sound of genre, similar with bands like Unmerciful, Hate Eternal,Origin,Severe Torture and more...  

3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects the new release explores?

MI: The lyrical theme of our new album is similar with our previous works.Written from our previous bass player
Victor,focused this time more into falling of the humankind and the bad aspects of religions.Describing scenes of
apocalypse and war, providing a fulfill dark feeling from start to finish.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Mass infection'?

MI: When we was in searching of the band's name back in 2003,we would like to found something that reminds
the whole bad aspects of the human society over the years.Mass Infection was the unique name to describe the falling of every human's salvation belief. Many people, one by one everyday driven into misery and fear.
That's what we call "Mass Infection".     

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe
your stage performance?

MI: It's a difficult question man!haha. We've played some great shows these years..great moments!I'll try to mention some of them.We will always remember our support to the death metal legends Bolt Thrower in Greece,it's a great honour to share the stage with such a band.Also we always love to play in Italy,we have many friends over there and every single live is an experience for us!Our first abroad tour also along with Rotting Christ was really awesome including some great gigs in balkan area!We had great show also in Germany at Fuck The Commerce festival,Sweden at Gothenburg Deathfest and of course every show in our festival (Livadia Extreme Metalfest), which taking place in our city Levadia/Greece almost every summer from 2003.
That's some of our greatest shows i can mention right now...At our gigs you can expect a well played setlist, sounding massive and clear.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

MI: Actually now we are booking shows as i told you before for 2014..We are planning a european tour after the summer,and someshows in festivals and single gigs.Non of them is officially up until now, exept the "Greek Death Grind scene" festival in Thessaloniki-Greece  on 1st of March.As soon as possible we will upload the already booked shows.Also we have plans for touring the US in 2015.

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of brutal death metal?

MI: We are really excited of what we've heard for our music.We are receiving mails from people all around the globe and this is very enthusiastic.People of death metal seems to enjoy our material so they giving us the power to keep on and on...Thank you!

8.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects these days?

MI: Basically our drummer George Trakas has his own band all these years called "Blustery Caveat" playing brutal death metal as well.A project band also with George Stournaras (Guitar) and our first drummer Chris Panagotas is formed, playing black metal music and called "Pandemonical". You must check them both! 

9.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

MI: The main direction of our music these last years is the memorable riffing and the mix of the old school and the newest sound of  death metal.I think that our future releases will be in the same veins of music and maybe a little bit more "darker" than our previous works. 

10.What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what
are you listening to nowadays?

MI: Generally some bands that influenced our music are Origin,Unmerciful,Severe Torture,Deeds of Flesh etc from the newest wave of death metal and of course the classic death metal bands like Morbid Angel,Incantation,Bolt Thrower and loads more...Nowdays we want to listen some music played physically, and not the mix of a "digital" studio band.That's the point!

11.Do you have any non musical interests?

MI: hmmm,non musical?Both George's are into sound engineering but this is into musical interests also i think..I could say that drawing and digital design are the other interests of the band haha. 

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

MI: Yes of course,Thank you very much for this interview and we hope to meet all our friends out there!
Our new cd "For I Am Genocide" will be released under Comatose Music (USA) on April 1st and we can't wait to start touring and hanging out with all of our friends!Check our new album and don't hesitate to give us your feedback.Is more than welcome!!! Cheers! www.comatosemusic.com 

Khaoz/I Creator Of Damnation/Mad Lion Productions/2014 CD Review

  Khaoz  are  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  plays  a  very  brutal  and  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "I  Creator  of  Damnation"  which  was  released  by  Mad  Lion  Productions.

  The album  starts out  with  a  very  fast,  heavy  and  brutal  sound  along  with  blast  beats  and  a  mixture  of  screams  and  growls  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  some  melody  in  the  music  and  as  time  goes  on  by  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  bass  guitars  get  more  powerful  in  sound  and  the  band  start  mixing  the  90's  sound  with  the  more  modern  and  brutal  variation  of  the  genre  and  the  band  seems  to  have  a  lot  of  melodic  elements  being  utilized  at  times.

  Khaoz  bring  in  a  very  heavy  and  brutal  sounding  old  school  death  metal  sound  with  this  album  and  proves  that  even  after  20  years  some  musicians  remain  true  brutal  metal  and  all  of  the  band  members  are  veterans.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark,  gore  and  horror  themes,  while  the  production h as  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  professional  and  old  school  sound  where you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Khaoz  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal,  old  school  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ravishing  Khaoz"  "Purpose  Lost...I  Am  Dead"  "Rigor  Mortis"  and  "Creator  Of  Damnation".  8  out  of  10.