Phobiatic/Fragments Of Flagrancy/Unundeux/2014 CD Review

  Phobiatic  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  brutal  and  technical  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Fragments  Of  Flagtancy"  which  was  released  by  Unundeux.

  A  very  technical  and  brutal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  fast  riffs,  guitar  leads,  blast  beats  and  deep  growls  and  they  also  bring  in  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  they  demonstrate  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skills  on  their  instruments.

  High  pitched  screams  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  small  amounts  of  melodies  being  added  into  their  musical  sound  at  times  and  there  is  also  a  good  balance  between  brutality  and  technicality  and  they  keep  there  songs  very  short  with  the  average  one  being  over  3  minutes  and  they  calm  down  a  bit  on  the  5th  track  and  add  some  progressive  elements  into  their  musical  sound  before  returning  back  to  a  brutal  direction  on  the  following  tracks  as  well  as  adding  in  an  old  school  death  metal  influence  and  they  close  the  album  with  an  instrumental.

  Phobiatic  play  a  very  brutal  style  of  technical death  metal  and  while  there  is  not  much  in  the  way  of  originality  present  on  the  recording  the  musicians  still  show  a  great  amount  and  skill  throughout  all  of  the  songs,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Phobiatic  are  a  very  decent  sounding  brutal  and  technical  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Downward  Spiral"  "House  In  Cleveland"  "Suitable  Method"  and  "Metropolis  (Of  The  Dead)".  7/5  out  of  10.     

Swashbuckle/We Hate The Sea/Get This Right Records/2014 EP Review

  Swashbuckle  are  a  band  from  New  Jersey  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "We  Hate  The  Sea"  which  will  be  released  in  August  by  Get  This  Right  Records.

  A  very  old  school  thrash  metal  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  aggressive  screams  and  growls  that  are  closer  to  early   death  metal  and  they  also  add  in  blast  beats  and  synths  and  they  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  On  the  second  track  the  music  starts  getting  a  lot  more  heavier  with  the  sound  of  mid  80's  death  metal  but  still  a  lot  more  closer  to  thrash  and  they  also  bring  in  back  up  gang  shouts  and  the  energy  of  punk  rock  and  crossover  and  the  only  thing  modern  about  their  sound  is  the  way  the  music  is  produced..  

  Swashbuckle  play  a  very  fast  and  aggressive  form  of  thrash  that  also  has  the  heaviness,  growls  and  screams  of  early  death  metal  and  they  always  manage  to  keep  everything  sound  heavy,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  pirates  and  humorous  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Swashbuckle  are  a  very  great  sounding  death/thrash  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE    "Beer  Goggles"  and  "Slaughter  Upon  International  Waters".  8  out  of  10.

   

Methedras/System Subversion/2014 CD Review

  Methedras  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "System  Subversion".

  Dark  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  more  heavy  progressive  metal  direction  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  the  music  starts  to  speed  up  a  bit  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  the  slow  parts  bring  in  elements  of  groove  along  with  the  band  bringing  in  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Vocals  combine  groove  and  death  metal  together  and  they  also  have  a  melodic  tone  to  them  at  times  and  the  band  has  a  more  modern  day  thrash  sound  to  them  and  the  leads  and  solos  they  use  are  in  a  melodic  and  technical  direction  while  they  also  have  their  aggressive  old  school  thrash  metal  moments  and  after  awhile  traces  of  electronic  music  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  You  can  hear  quite  a  bit  of  the  early  90's  death/thrash  metal  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  bass  guitars  start  dominating  certain  sections  of  the  songs  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams  that  are  closer  to  the  more  aggressive  side  of  thrash  and  there  is  a  great  amount  of  diversity  to  be  heard  in  the  bands  musical  sound.

  Methedras  creates  a  very  interesting  sounding  with  their  music  combining  both  old  school  and  modern  thrash  together  as  well  as  bringing  the  melody  of  groove  metal  and  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  into  their  musical  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  political  and  real  life  situations.

  In  my  opinion  Methedras  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death,  thrash  and  groove  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Subversion"  "Deathocracy"  "Shit  happens"  and  "Blood,  Oil,  &  Vengeance".  8  out  of  10.

    

Almost Human/0/2014 EP Review

  Almost  Human  are  a  band  from  Switzerland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death,  thrash  and  modern  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  ep  "0".

  Electronic  music  sounds  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  melodic  clean  singing  vocals  before  adding  in  some  heavy  guitars  which  leads  to  a  more  groove  metal  style  direction  which  leads  up  to  some  aggressive  vocals  which  use  both  growls  and  screams  and  the  band  also  adds  in  some  nu,  modern  and  alternative  metal  elements  into  their  musical  sound.

  The  guitar  riffing  brings  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  into  the  songs  and  after  awhile  blast  beats  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  some  clean  playing  being  utilized  at  times  and  as  the  ep  progresses  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  are  brought  into the  music  briefly  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction.

  Almost  Human  plays  a  very  modern  and  mainstream  form  of  extreme  metal  that  brings  in  some  of  the  death  metal  heaviness  to  give  it  an  edge  and  while  it  is  not  a  style  I  listen  to  on  a  regular  basis  I  feel  this  band  is  good  at  what  they  are  doing,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  scientific  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Almost  Human  are  a  very  decent  sounding  mixture  of  modern,  thrash  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Morning  Star"  and  "Each  Of  Us".  7  out  of  10.    

  

Bloody Harvest/Abstinence Syndrome/Metal Scrap Records/2014 CD Review

  Bloody  Harvest  are  a  band  from  Ukraine  that  plays  an  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Abstinence  Syndrome"  which  was  released  by  Metal  Scrap  Records.

  An  early  90's  style  death  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  and  then  the  music  starts  adding  in  blast  beats  and  growls  and  they  also  add  in  some  brutality  at  times  and  after  awhile  the  band  starts  adding  in  some  dark  sounding  melodies  and  guitar  leads.

  High  pitched  screams  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  there  are  also  some  riffs  that  bring  a  thrash  metal  feeling  to  the  music  and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  great  mixture  of  East  Coast,  Florida  and  Swedish  death  metal  elements  into  their  musical  sound  and  they  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  raw  aggression  into  all  of  the  songs  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  the  last  track  also  sees  the  band  adding  in  some  slam  death  metal  elements.

  Bloody  Harvest  remains  true  to  an  old  school  death  metal  direction  from  beginning  to  end  of  the  album  and  while  there  is  no  originality  in  their  music  they  still  show  that  they  knew  their  death  metal  very  well,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Bloody  Harvest  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  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Pandemia"  "Smile  Of  The  Beast"  and  "The  Last  Revelation".  8  out  of  10.        

Act Of Violence/Self Titled/Inverse Record/2014 CD Review

 

  Act  Of  Violence  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  modern  day  form  of  thrash  metal  with  elements  of  death  and  groove  metal    and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  which  was  released  by  Inverse  Records.

  An  intro  with  clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  more  modern  and  heavy  sounding  thrash  metal  direction  along  with  some  aggressive  vocals  and  some  old  school  thrash  metal  elements  and  the  band  also  uses  some  growls  and  screams  that  border  on  death  metal  along  with  some  blast  beats.

  You  can  also  hear  a  good  amount  of  melody  in  the  bands  musical  sound  and  the  lead  guitars  are  very  aggressive  sounding  80's  extreme  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads  along  with  elements  of  groove  metal  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  as  the  album  progresses  back  up  gang  shouts  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  which  also  bring  in  a  hardcore  influence..  .

  Act  Of  Violence  takes  a  very  modern  day  style  of  thrash  and  mixes  with  the  more  old  school  variation  of  this  genre  along  with  element s of  groove  metal  and  hardcore  as  well  as  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  to  create  the  sound  that is  present  on  this  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  hateful  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Act  of  Violence  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  thrash,  groove,  death  metal  and  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Crack  of  Dawn"  "S.O.B"  "Unprecedented  Evil"  and  "Act  Of  Violence".  8  out  of  10.  

Grace Disgraced Interview

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

After we recorded the second album, we were invited to take part in compilation “Russian Death Metal” and we agreed with pleasure. Our new composition “She Smells Death” was included in this compilation and Grace Disgraced played as headliners on the presentation of this compilation in Krasnodar.

The most significant change is our drummer. We had to say Good-bye to Andrey Ischenko due to his merciless occupation with other projects and Arkona in particular. So we invited Vladimir Lyashkov, who is our current drummer. We had some rehearsals with him and he turned out to be a very skillful guy, which was later confirmed on our live shows. Nowadays we are working on our third album altogether, but it is yet another story.

2.Your new album was released at the end of April, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction the band has taken with the newer music and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

As you might have already noticed, the style and the mood of our new album is a bit different from “Enthrallment Traced”. Although you could see the same structure of the album, the same way of expression and the same approach to conception, but the compositions on the new album have become more complex and more monumental. They have become longer. Now there are more melodic and detached moments, more philosophy and more sadness. The music have become more severe. Not brutal, but cruel, cold, yet sophisticated. This album really expresses the state of our feelings now.

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

I always tried to express something human and touching with my lyrics – to explore human sufferings, the depths of our souls and minds. The second album is stick to some general female image, to different women’s hypostasis so to say. But you’re wrong if you think that’s it is some sort of soap opera. Vice versa, you will see quite usual things and phenomena, but from another angle. For example, what could be more common than natural ageing? But what could be more scarring at the same time, especially for women who are crazy about their beauty. I also give some freedom to my philosophical thoughts here in regards to creation and creativity, human motivation and fears, social disparity. So here are the main subjects, I suppose.

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

This strange combination means that to become disgraced you need first to be a grace. And what made me love these words is the endless variety of their literal interpretation. These were the main reasons why I chose this very name for my band in distant 2004.

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?

The most remarkable live show was in August 2010 at Metal Heads’ Mission Festival in Crimea. And what makes me recall this gig with shivers is the unbearable heat on stage. The sun was shining right at our faces and we thought we were going to be burnt alive with it. But, fortunately, all went well and we managed to represent a decent performance. And what pleasure it was to be welcomed by our new fans near the stage after the show, who brought cool beer to us! Actually, I could say that that shows bring more impressions namely which are held out of our native city. As for our performance, there are nothing supernatural. We are metalheads just like you and we just try to give our music some energetic impulse during live shows, to put our souls into it while playing.

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

The presentation for this album took place on 7 June in Moscow, then we afforded to go to 2 weeks holiday and now we are busy booking some dates in September in Europe in order to support our new album there.

7.The last 3 releases where released on More Hate Productions, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

More Hate Productions is an iconic underground metal label in Russia. It is active for 15 years and it pleases metal fans with new releases on a regular base. The main course of More Hate is promotion of young and talented bands. They release only good stuff, what they would listen to as metal-lovers. So they do not chase commercial profit. I could say that this label is the true one. Moreover, Aleksandr Kantemirov, the label manager is very pleasant to work with!

8.Recently the band was a part of a compilation released by Darknagar Records, do you feel being a part of this album helped you gain more fans?

It was a real pleasure for us to take part in RUSSIAN DEATH METAL Compilation, the artwork and the management were at a very high level there. Yes, it helped us to find new fans and to promote our new work, as all the material, represented in the compilation was fresh at the time, i.e, it hadn’t been released somewhere else. The exclusiveness of material was the main demand to the bands. Some reviewers noted that Grace Disgraced was a pearl in this compilation and we are happy to realize this. What is more, we are happy to be a part of such a splendid release. The interest for this release was very high! By the way Grace Disgraced played as headliners on the compilation presentation in January 2014 in Krasnodar.

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

Right now we can feel the growing interest to our new material from all over the world. A lot of reviews have already appeared and the majority of them are positive. The greatest amount of reviews comes from Europe and we have received some orders from USA and from Japan. That’s really great  - that increasing popularity in the underground, particularly taking into account, that our music is somehow difficult for perception, like some critics say. I think that it is the result of our work, that such a modest formation as ours could achieve this level of popularity. And I hope, that the level will be higher and higher!

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

Personally I am involved only in FLASH OF AGGRESSION – a project, created by Andrey Smirnov (UDO, EVERLOST) and other guys from EVERLOST. We recorded an album which was released last autumn by CD-Maximum and filmed a video-clip for “Paper God” – a song from this album. Now we are all occupied with our main bands, so the project is not the priority for each of us. And our bass player – Andrey Andreev is a member of 2 active bands – GUNSHOT BRIDE, who released their album recently, and PIG BOYZ BRU, who have regular rehearsals.  

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

Let’s wait and see. What is going on with GRACE DISGRACED now is the result of our natural progress and development. We do not hinder it, or artificially procrastinate it, do not try to make a dirty sound in the name of old school or something. We nurture our talents in freedom and what we play is what we are. I can tell you that the third album is already being created and it will be what we want, but not what the rules or the trends dictate.

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

Band which influenced us most of all are from 1980 – 90-s. And we still love to listen to them. I like some modern bands too and I like to find some new names in the underground scene, but as we all know first impressions are the strongest ones, so if we speak about real influence, we speak about bands we listened to in our childhood.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

I love sporting activities – I go to gym and to swimming pool and I try to use each opportunity to play some active games with my friends. Aleksandr has even closer relations with sport because he is a professional wrestler. Besides, we are fond of reading and partying with friends – everything in moderation.

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

Yes. We would like to thank all our fans for their support and for believing in us. Metal is something that unites people and we are happy that we could share our passion with all of you. Stay true!