Rude/Soul Recall/FDA Rekotz/2014 CD Review

  Rude  are  a  band  from  California  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Soul  Recall"  which  will  be  released  by  FDA  Rekotz.

  A  very  heavy  and  slow  Florida  style  death  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful  once  the  music  starts  heading  into  a  more  mid  paced  direction which  also   leads  up  to  growls  making  their  way  onto  the  album  along  with  some  fast  parts  and  blast  beats  shortly  after  that.

  The  guitar   solos  and  leads  bring  a  lot  of  chaos  the  the  music  and  the  vocals  remind  me  of  a  mixture  of  Morgoth  and  early  Pestilence  as  well  as  the  band  on  this  album  being  more  in  tune  with  the  mid  80's  and  early  90's  styles  of  death metal and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  As  the  album  progresses  some  long  and  epic  tracks  are  added onto  the  album  and  the  bass  guitars  also  have  a  great  amount  of  darkness  to them  and  on  one  of  the  later  tracks  there  is  a  brief  use  of  clean  guitars  which  also  take  the  album  into  a  more  epic  old  school  death  metal  direction  and  at  time s the  music  can  be  what  would  of  been  considered  brutal  in  91.  

  Rude  stick  to  a  very  filthy  and  dark  death metal  direction  from  beginning  to  end  of  the  album  with  nothing  modern  being  added  into  their  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  utilizing  the  technology  that  would  of  been  considered  professional  in  the  early  90's  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Rude  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  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Haunted"  "Soul  Recall"  and  "Last  Of  Us".  8/5  out  of  10.  

Undead Process/When The Horde Arrived/Senseless Life Records/2014 Full Length Review

  Undead  Process  are  a  band  from Canada  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "When  the  Horde  Arrives"  which  was  released  by  Senseless  Life  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  old  school  death  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  growls  a  few  seconds  later  which  leads  to  the  music  speeding  up  a  bit  along  with  some  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  and  the  music  starts  incorporating  more  blast  beats  and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  A  good  amount  of  melody  is  mixed  in  with  the  music  along  with  a  small  amount  of  thrash  influences  as  well  as  getting  more  brutal  as  times  goes  on  by  and  the  music  sticks  mostly  to  a  mid  paced  direction  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  there  is  very little  in  the  way  of  guitar  leads.

  Undead  Process  sticks  to  mostly  a  mid  paced  old  school  American  death  metal  sound  with  this  album  as  well  as  having  a  more  simple  approach  to  the  genre  and  while  this  is  not  one  of  my  favorite  styles  of  death  metal  I  still  feel  the  band  is  very  great  at  what  they  do,  the  production  has  a  very  professional  sound  to  it  and  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  gore  and  death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Undead  Process  are  a  very  decent  sounding  old  school  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out t his  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Return  To  Death"  "When  The  Horde  Arrived"  and  "Walking  Dead".  7/5  out  of  10.   

Under The Church/Self Titled/Pulverised Records/2014 CD Review

  Under  the  Church  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  very  old  school,  raw  and  ugly  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  which  will  be  released  by Pulverised  Records.

  Distorted  sounds  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  an  early  90's  Swedish  style  death  metal  sound  along  with  some  growling  vocals  and  melodies  and  the  music  is  in  a  more  raw  direction  than  most  of  the  bands  that  play  or  have  played  this  style  as  well  as  evoking  a  dark  atmosphere  which  is  done  all  without  synths.

  The  music  utilizes  a  mixture  of  slow,   mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  blast  beats  being  added into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music  it  starts  having  an  even  more  heavy  feeling  and  the  band  ignore  all  modern  trends  and  take  death  metal  back  to  is  more  underground,  raw  and  true  roots.

  You  can  tell  that  the  band  members  are  veterans  of  the  death  metal  scene  with  their  sound  being  very  old  school  and  not  having  a  retro  vibe  but  a  vibe  that  can  only  be  done  by  the  originators  of  Swedish  death  metal  which  these  musicians  where  a  part  off  with  Nirvana  2002  being  their  old  band  as  well  as  one  of  the  first  bands  in  their  home  country  playing  this  style.

  Under  the  Church  create  on  of  the  most  raw  sounding  old  school  death  metal  albums  that  has  a  sound  that  reminds  me  of  why  I  got  into  death  metal  in  the  first  place,  the  production  is  very  heavy,  raw  and  old  school  sounding  while  the  lyrics  cover  occultism,  gore  and  horror  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Under  the  Church  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  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  "Macabre  Cadaver"  "Under  the  Church"  and  "Haunted  by  Demons".  8/5  out  of  10.    

Loudblast/Burial Ground/listenable Records/2014 CD Review

  Loudblast  are  a  band  from  France  that  has  been  around  for  30  years  and  play  a  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Burial  Ground"  which  will  be  released  by  Listenable  Records.

  Acoustic  guitars  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  some  old  school  death  metal  style  screams  which  also  utilize  some  growls  and  then  the  music  starts  going  into  a  faster  direction  along  with  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  while  also  keeping  around  the  slower  parts  and  also  giving  the  bass  guitars  a  more  dominant  sound.

  After  awhile  the  music  starts  to  find  its  sound  which  is  more  close  to  an  80's  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  while  also  having  a  more  modern  day  feeling  to  it  and  the  band  also  brings  in  some  technical  and  melodic  sounding  old  school  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads  and  the  vocals  also  have  a  sound  that  is  more  closer  to  thrash  while  being  aggressive  in  the  early  death  metal  direction.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  band  starts  bringing  in  some  calm  clean  sections  while  also  focusing  on  having  a  more  heavier  sound  and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  at  time s the  band  brings  in  aggressive  almost  punk  rock  approach  to  their  music  and  the  album  at  times  also  evokes  a  more  modern  and  atmospheric  feeling  while  always  remaining  true  to  an  old  school  death/thrash  metal  sound  as  well  as  adding  in  more melodic  structures  as  well  as  having  a  few  seconds  of  clean  singing  on  one  of  their  tracks.

  Loudblast  show  a  great  amount  of  diversity  with  their  music  taking  their  old  school  death/thrash  metal  sound  and  making  it  more modern  day  sounding  along  with  a  great  amount  of  melodic  structures,  the  production  is  very  professional  sounding  and  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  philosophical  and  metaphysical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Loudblast  and if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "A  Bloody  Oath"  "From Dried  Bones"  "Abstract  God"  and  "The  path".  8  out  of  10.  

Gluttony Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

We’ve recently released our debut album Beyond The Veil Of Flesh digitally on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon.com and the likes. Then in late May it’s time for the physical CD release worldwide by Vic Records. And we’re rehearsing for the release fest of BTVOF which also includes Soreption and Tribulation.

2.You have a new album coming out in May, how would you describe the musical sound of the new recording and also how does it differ from your 2 previous released demos?

The songs on the album are much faster than the demo songs. The idea was to incorporate all the elements I love about old-school Swedish Death Metal from the early 90’s. Thus we have fast d-beat songs in the vein of Dismember, melodic 2-beat songs like Edge Of Sanity or Unanimated as well as heavier songs like Eaten Alive that remind me of classic At The Gates or Entombed.

3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?

Just like on Coffinborn and Eaten Alive, all the lyrics are inspired by horror movies and the occult. My personal favorite is the lyrics for Eaten Alive which are about a cannibal killer that gets executed but is buried in a cursed graveyard and thus returns to life as a zombie to continue feasting on human flesh.

4.The band originally started out as a solo project, what was the decision behind forming a full line up?

I started Gluttony as a solo project because I wanted to write simpler songs. The songs we wrote with My Own Grave took several rehearsals to write and the whole band contributed. I wanted the opposite, a contrast. At first it wasn’t meant to amount to anything, simply me writing old-school songs with my HM2 pedal. But then I decided the songs deserved to be recorded so I teamed up with Max and John of My Own Grave and when we got Magnus Ödling of Setherial onboard, we actually had a line-up that could rehearse regularly as well as play live.

5.Why did you pick the name 'Gluttony' for the band?

I was watching Dawn Of The Dead for like the 100th time and one thing I like about zombie movies is when the horde of zombies finally catch up with the helpless victim and form an eating pile. They attack with ravenous hunger that can only be described as gluttonous and then I decided to call the band Gluttony and to have a zombie feeding on the cover of the debut album to make the connection between band name and concept. I also ordered the cover artwork by Jeffrey Zornow in like 2011 or something. It’s been lying around ever since, in case we got a record deal. In fact, the title track for Beyond The Veil Of Flesh is also an old song that was actually fully recorded for the Coffinborn demo but I decided to keep it because it was such a great title track for a full-length.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Since Magnus priorities are with Setherial and the rest of us have family responsibilities at the moment we haven’t played live more than once. It was the release fest for Coffinborn, supporting Naglfar. Our stage performance is relentless and the songs are performed a lot faster than on the record. Once you get into that d-beat mosh, there is no coming back, you will get eaten by the pit!

7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

The release fest together with Soreption and Tribulation is the only show we’ve got planned so far. We’ll see what turns up.

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

It’s been massive. You can tell that this music speaks to a wider audience than the songs I wrote with My Own Grave. In the first week of the digital release I’ve received merch and demo orders from all continents except Australia, and the fan base is growing at good speed. Despite not being very old-school or trve, Facebook is really handy when it comes to getting in touch with our fans.

9.What is going on with the other musical projects these days that the band members are involved with?

Setherial are releasing a new album this year and My Own Grave will release their long-awaited 10 years anniversary DVD that was shot in 2011 with 5 cameras. The DVD holds really high quality and also features songs from the entire career as well as a lot of guest appearances so it feels great to finally release it!

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We will stick to the formula of early 90’s Swedish death metal scene: Keep it simple, catchy, heavy as hell but also melodic.

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

I started listening to classic bands like Kiss, Iron Maiden and AC/DC and then moved on via Thrash Metal to Death and Black Metal in the early 90’s. When I pick up the guitar and start riffing, and especially when I’m downtuned to A and plugged in via the Boss HM2 pedal, what comes out is that old-school stuff that I grew up with. Simple, catchy, heavy and melodic – it’s in my DNA. I don’t really think “Now I’m gonna sit down and write a Dismember song” but as you’ve heard what comes out sounds a lot like them or Grave or Edge Of Sanity.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Horror movies and BBQ.

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

Stop by https://www.facebook.com/gluttonyswe  where we post stuff regularly such as news, live videos or hold polls about upcoming releases such as which songs to include. Gluttony exists not to change the world or do anything bold and original, but rather to keep serving you that old and vile Swedish Death Metal you grew up with that gets your blood boiling, the beer flowing and your body moshing!

/Anders Härén of Gluttony

Seprevation Interview

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

Jamie - We've played a few shows in and around Bristol including London and Birmingham. We've also taken the time to just chill out and have a rest after the madness of writing and recording haha. There's also been a lot of prep with getting the album and merch ready to go for release and there's a video in the works too.

Lluc - We've been working hard trying to push the album as much as possible. Because it's completely self funded, it's all come down to us and our management to get it off the ground. Obviously it's our first album so it's all new to us! That and preparing for the tour over a few pints down the pub!

Ian - We've been hard at work getting it all ready for release, really. It's all down to us and our management company, Chaotic Tapestry to organise everything since we have no label or anything.

2.You have a new album coming out in May, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction of the new recording and also how does it differ from your previous single and ep?

Joss - It sounds like a band progressing, in my opinion the current sound is far from what I personally want to achieve but this album is a huge step in the right direction.

Ian - The musical direction this time around is slightly different than our last release (Ritual Abuse, our debut EP from 2012), but definitely better. In some ways we've stuck with what we know but a lot of the songs are a lot more experimental, not quite so much straight up death/thrash. Not to say there isn't anything straight up on the record, because there is, but if you're expecting a carbon copy of 'Ritual Abuse', only longer, think again because there's places we visit on this album that we wouldn't have even thought about when we wrote that.

Lluc - The album is definitely more advanced than 'Ritual Abuse' in every way. We've stuck true to what we enjoy and love but tried to push our musicianship and song writing a lot further. Throughout the writing process I think the songs evolved a lot more and certainly opened us up in terms of bringing in new influences.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?

Lluc - I think again, along with the music the lyrics have certainly evolved. The album deals with a lot of the darker aspects of life. The question of purpose and being a long with dealing with the concept of death and the aftermath. There is still a fantasy aspect to some of the songs and others which pull you into a world of horror. I think the dark subject matter compliments the heavy music well and hope there's topics on there than anyone can relate to.

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

Joss - The name is entirely meaningless haha, the reason we decided on Seprevation was because it sounded cool and there was nothing on the internet like it, therefore we would be easier to find... And somewhat unique, we also wanted a one word name and it seems increasingly harder to do that now a days.

Ian - Sounds cool, right? Doesn't mean anything!

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

Ian - Bloodstock, and the Exhumed tour were both fucking amazing!! Personal highlights for me are pretty much every time we play the Gryphon in our hometown Bristol. It's a tiny little venue, about 50 capacity but being our home crowd (and favourite pub) it's just always beyond words. The beer, the staff and most importantly the crowd all make it incredible every time. Another highlight was playing on the Headbangers Balls tour last year, it's such a great cause and after the amount of brutally hard work the organisers did to get it off the ground, I'm really proud to have been part of the first year. It was a killer couple of shows,

so much so that we're doing a few with them again this year. Get your balls out for the cause!

Lluc - Certainly Bloodstock was a highlight and the whole tour with Exhumed. We love playing live and try to have as much fun as possible and hope the fans do too. Haha I guess a fast, relentless, beer fuelled death thrash machine would sum us up pretty well!

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album once it is released?

Joss - First of all we are touring the UK with Bonded by Blood and Flayed Disciple, the tour starts on May 18th in London, then we are off with Bloodshot Dawn in October/November around the UK and Ireland, we will have more shows in between but nothing is confirmed for now.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

Joss - We would definitely be interested if the right offer came along, it depends!

Ian - We've not received any interest as yet, nor have we been actively looking. If something came along that seemed right we may go for it, as obviously having a label with you is a massive plus, but it's not something on our radar right now.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death and thrash metal?

Lluc - I guess it's only really begun to spread across the globe. We had some amazing support from fans in the US and surprisingly Indonesia but it's been pretty small scale so far.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Joss - I'm really not sure, all I think about is the direction of this band, sometimes I think it needs to be more extreme, sometimes more experimental, to combine all of my personal influences is hard enough, let alone considering everyone else's haha, I'm really looking forward to it though, the thought of caring what people

think about Seprevation has long gone and I'm entirely focused on what sounds good to me at the moment.

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

Joss - At the moment I'm listening to a bit of a everything haha, Soundgarden, Wormed, Defeated Sanity, Vektor, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Trash Talk, CCR, Coroner, Judas Priest, Flayed Disciple, AC/DC, Cynic… But I think the main influences on Consumed are still bands like Possessed, Sadus, Death and Morbid Angel, anything around the late 80's and early 90's, the classic era for death and thrash.

Ian - Obviously the main influences for our band are bands like Morbid Angel, Sadus, Death, Slayer, Megadeth etc, real old school death and thrash. Personally I've been loving the latest Exhumed record, it's about 6 months old now but I must still listen to it weekly, but other than that, non metal music I love Laura Marling, First Aid Kit, 'nice' chilled out stuff like that (most metal heads probably think it's complete shit) and I've been listening to an absolute fuckload of Creedence Clearwater Revival lately, fucking love it.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Joss – Football, Which in metal seems to come with a shit ton of abuse.

Jamie - Cooking, Eating, Smoking and Drinking and the occasional trip to the gym haha

Ian - Drinking.

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

Lluc - If you're a fan of death or thrash metal, check out the video and if you like what you hear Consumed is out May 10th!! Check it out!! As always, any and all support is appreciated. Cheers and see you on the road!!!

Ian - Buy Consumed right fucking now!! Or download it from our Bigcartel. Whatever, just listen to it and if you like it come to a show! Thanks.

Funest/Desecrating Obscurity/Memento Mori/2014 CD Review

  Funest  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Desecrating  Obscurity"  which  will  be  released  by  Memento  Mori.

  Horror  film  soundtrack  style  synths  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  band  goes  into  a  very  fast,  heavy  and  brutal,  old  school  style  Swedish  death  metal  sound  along  with  blast  beats  and  a  mixture  of  screams  and  growls  and  after  awhile  the  band  brings  in  a  mixture  of  both  slow  and  fast  parts.

  When  melodies  are  added  onto  the  album  the  music  starts  having  a  more  dark  and  evil  sounding  feeling  to  it  and  the  band  rarely  uses  guitar  solos  or  leads  and  focuses  more  on  a  fast,  dark  and  raw  old  school  death  metal  sound  and   when  leads  are  finally  added  in  they  only  only  utilized  briefly  and  they  enhance  the  dark  nature  of  the  recording.

  On  some  of  the  later  tracks  the  bass  guitars  start  bringing  in  a  more  powerful  and  dominant  sound  to  the  recording  an d they  also  bring  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples  on  an  interlude  that  really  adds  in  a  more  violent  atmosphere  and  the  album  returns  back  to  a  heavier  and  darker  direction  on  the  following  tracks.

  Funest  are  another  young  band  bringing  back  the  Swedish  style  death  metal  sound  while  also  being  a  bit  more  heavier  and  darker  than  most  band s of  the  genre,  the  production  is  very  dark,  heavy ,  old  school  and  professional  sounding  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  blasphemous,  horror  and  death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Funest  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Buried  And  Forsaken"  "Darkened  Genesis"  "The  Stench  Of  Blessing"  and  "Deranged  Baptism".  8  out  of  10.