Baptists/Bloodmines/Southern lord Recordings/2014 CD Review

  Vancouver  B.C's  Baptists  have  returned  with  a  new  album  which  shows  them  continuing  their  mixture  of  hardcore  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Bloodmines"  which  will  be  released  in  October  by  Southern  Lord  Recordings.

  Dark  drone  sound  effects  and  distortion  start  off  the  album  before  adding  in  drums  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  to  get  a  lot  more  heavier  and  goes  for  more  of  a  brutal  hardcore  direction  along  with  some  aggressive  screams  that  also  bring  in  elements  of  death  metal  and  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  amount  of  melody  in  the  bands  musical  style.

  There  is  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  throughout  the  recording  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  on  some  of  the  tracks  you  can  hear  a  small  amount  of  melodic  guitar  leads  and  a  heavy  influence  from  both  noise  rock  and  post  hardcore  while  having  none  of  the  mainstream  elements  of  the  later  mentioned  genre  and  they  also  keep  the  raw  energy  of  punk  rock  that  was  present  on  their  previous  recordings.

  Baptists  remain  true  to  their  mixture  of  hardcore  and  death  metal  while  showing  some  progress  as  musicians  as  well  as  adding  more  melody  into t heir  musical  sound  this  time  around,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  emotional  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Baptists  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Wanting"  "Vistas"  "Festered"  and  "For  Profit".  8  out  of  10.    

Misanthrope Monarch/Self titled/2014 EP Review

  Misanthrope  Monarch  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  brutal  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  and  self  titled  2014  ep.

  Clean  acoustic  guitars  start  off  the  ep  along  with  a  good  amount  of  finger  picking  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  for  a  very  heavy  sound  that  combines  brutal  death  metal  and  thrash  together  along  with  some  growls  and  blast  beats  and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Screaming  vocals  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  the  90's  death  metal  sound  in  the  music  which  they  update  with  the  more  modern  and  brutal  version  of  the  style  and  the  solos  and  leads  they  use  are  in  more  of  a  melodic  musical  direction and  they  also  bring  in  a  couple  of  intros.

  Misanthrope  Monarch  takes  the  90's  styles  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  update  it  with  a  more  modern  and  brutal  sound  to  create  an  ep  that  is  very  heavy,  the  production  sound s very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  anti  religion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Misanthrope  Monarch  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Crushing  the  Unbeliever"  and  "Father,  Sin  And  The  Holy  Spirit".  8  out  of  10.    

Deserted Fear/Kingdom Of Worms/FDA Rekotz/2014 CD Review

  Deserted  Fear  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  both  modern  and  old  school  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2014  album  "Kingdom  of  Worms"  which  was  released  by  FDA  Rekotz.

  Dark  sound  effects  start  off  the  album  and  they  give  the  music  and  epic  feeling  and  after t he  intro  the  band  starts  going  for  more  of  an  old  school  Swedish  style  death  metal  sound  along  with  some  growling  style  vocals  that  are  more  closer  to  the  mid  80's  to  early  90's  style  and  they  also  bring  in  a  good  amount  of  blast  beats.

  You  can  hear  a  good  amount  of  melody  in  the  bands  musical  style  along  with  a  good  mixture  of  slow,,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  solos  are  added  into  the  music  they  add  even  more  to  the  melodic  side  of  the  bands  approach  to  death  metal  which  also  has  influences  from  the  German,  Dutch  and  English  bands  of  the  early  90's.

  While  the  music  is  mostly  rooted  more  in  the  old  school  style  of  death metal  it  does  have  a  more  modern  edge  with  the  way  the  music  is  produced  and  halfway  through  the  recording  a  brief  instrumental  acoustic  piece  is  added  onto  the  recording  while  the  following  tracks  sees  the  music  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction  along  with  a  good  amount  of  the  raw  old  school  brutality  and  some  of  the  later  tracks  also  use  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts..

  Deserted  fear  remains  true  to  their  old  school  approach  to  death  metal  creating  an  album  that  is  very  heavy  and  melodic  sounding  but  with  more  modern  technology,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  war  and  occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Deserted  Fear  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Forging  Delusions"  "Wrath  On  Your  Wound"  "With  Might  And  Main"  and  "Last  Of  A  Fading  Kind".  8  out  of  10.  

Infection/Necrokindergarten/2009 Full Length Review

  This  is  a  review  of  an  older  recording  from  Peru's  Infection  which  is  also  in  the  brutal  death  metal  of  their  new  material  with  the  album  being  self  released  in  2009  and  called  "Necrokindergarten".

  A  very  heavy  and  brutal  death  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  growling  vocals  and  a  few  seconds  alter  the  music  starts  speeding  up  and  adding  in  blast  beats  while  also  sticking  to  mostly  a  90's  style  of  death  metal  as  well  as  adding  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  At  time s the  music  can  be  very  technical  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams    and  when  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music  they  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  into  the  bands  musical  style  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to them  and  as the  album  progresses  you  can  also  hear  a  small  amount  of  thrash  influences  in  the  bands  old  school  approach  to  death  metal.

  Infection  goes  back  to  the  90's  style  of  brutal  death  metal  on  this  recording  as  well  as  adding  in  some  technical  parts  as  well  as  remaining  heavy  from  beginning  to  end  of  the  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  gore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Infection  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  old  school  and  brutal  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Cannibals  Death"  "Necrokindergarten"  "Brain  Infection"  and  "A  Hooker  is  Slaughtered".  8  out  of  10.     

Infection 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?
Once again we are in a weird predicament. The album was recorded from 2012 to 2014 during the time I was still living in Peru. Once again, I’m living in another country so the album had to be released digitally (as a side note, we expect to produce physical copies of "Acrotomophile Mutilator"). It is clear that we’re not going to be able to play it live, at least not until I return and we find permanent members for the bass and drums positions. So it can be said without hesitation that we’re a studio band at this very moment.

2. In July you had released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
Instrumentation is one of the biggest differences between our first and second full-length album. For instance, there’s a more conscious work on the guitar department: the use of a broad palette of dissonant chords apart from the classic fifths; there are melodic passages where the axes harmonize with each other; the songs in general have different motifs and incorporate influences from thrash metal and black metal… all of that can be appreciated after several spins of the disc. Concerning the bass, it has a more predominant role on the mix, even doing his own thing here and there. Finally, something that was noted by many reviewers of our first production was the lack of changes in the vocals. This time Giuliano, our vocalist, did his best to demonstrate that he can growl like a caveman and screech like a demon!

3. This is the first album to be released in 5 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time?
Five years is a lot of time, too much I’d say... Well, “Necrokindergarden” was released in 2009 while I was living abroad. When I came back to Peru in 2010 our drummer was not anymore in the band. The bassist was overwhelmed with personal things and became an intermittent member of the band. We played some time with a new drummer but he also had to left the group due to personal issues. In the absence of stable members, it was difficult to rehearse on a regular basis. We even had a session drummer but he also had a band so Infection wasn’t his priority musically speaking. As you can see, it was a trying period. Nevertheless, in spite of that (and the lack of money) we continued working hard and managed to record “Acrotomophile Mutilator”. We had to do it in stages: first drums, then guitars, bass and vocals at the end. All that I‘ve told you contributed to the big gap that separates our two studio albums.

4. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
The original idea behind this new album was to speak only about young killers. Those stories of children harming and killing their peers was fascinating, a demonstration that there’s no innocent soul on this planet. So, "When Children Murder," "Kidnapped and Kill," and "Psychopath" are examples of that. As time passed, the main theme branched out. This is evident in "Rape... Kill... Rape" and "Beheaded Children Contest," both are about children predators. These songs were ultimately not included in this production, but we expect to release them some day. With the rest of the tunes the themes are varied, ranging from cannibalism to zombification. Horror stories and disgusting topics are always part of our repertoire!

5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Infection'?
That’s a good question! In the beginning, the chosen name was “Infected.” When I was talking to a friend about it, he told me that some year ago there was another Peruvian band with the same name. I didn't know that, so I decided to change it to “Infection” to avoid misunderstandings. In both cases, an infection is something that spreads inside the body, ultimately killing the person if no treatment is received.

6. Currently there are only 2 members in the band are you planning on having a full line up again in the future or do you choose to remain as a duo?
It is sad to say this but in Peru we don’t have so many musicians that are willing to be in a metal band. Among those, there are a just a few ones who can follow a metronome, if you know what I mean. Moreover, it's rather complicate to find a skillful drummer who can cope with the constant changes in tempo and signature, and that isn’t playing with another band. We don’t want to wait years for the chosen one. I have no problems recording the bass myself and programming the drums in MIDI. Yes, it is better to have real musicians but at this very moment is not happening so we have to resolve to the issue. We released “Acrotomophile Mutilator” in that way, and we’re happy with the results.  So, answering your question, there are no plans to incorporate new members in the short term.

7. What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Well, well, it has been a long time since we played live. However, let me tell you that metal shows in Peru are wild, totally insane. Concerts as a general rule occur in remote locations, on the skirts of the city. To get to those places one have to travel a lot. Even though the provided musical equipment is usually not the best, it’s really fun to play in front of a crazy mosh-pit. We hope to get back to play live, definitely.

8. Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
A few months before the release of our new album I began looking for a label but after some research I stop doing that. You see… it represented no benefit for us. Furthermore, without a strong fan base it would’ve been almost impossible for a label to sing us up. Fortunately enough, a band can nowadays release their own music and keep the (small) revenues to themselves.  Although we acknowledge that money isn’t the thing that drives us, it is always necessary for the recording process and manufacturing of future albums.

9. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal?
Metal music is universal. In that regard, fans from around the world have shown interest in our stuff. Our Facebook official page has received good comments and support from headbangers around the world. To this date, magazines and webzines have given positive comments to our new album. We didn't make too much effort to promote our music in the past, but this time we’re doing it differently, our goal is to reach a bigger audience.

10. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Basically, we want to continue releasing brutal music. Of course we won’t shift our style; death metal is what we love to play. We're not interested in trends... what is hype now isn't necessary good stuff. Just see what happened with some legendary bands and their catastrophic attempt to make “modern” music.

11. 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?
I can mention three bands that are the main inspiration to our music: Death, Cannibal Corpse, and Monstrosity. However, we are not interested in cloning exactly what they’ve done or what they’re doing now. As a musician, you should be really opened to all kinds of genres and styles; otherwise you’ll end up biting your own tail, doing the same over and over again. There are plenty of bands that are stalled (you know which they are.) I mean, having a recognizable style is good, but repeating yourself is not. Besides metal, I listen to rock, country, and electronic music. I also love jazz and I can say that music had influenced my soloing style (for example, the insane chops by saxophonist John Coltrane). I’m not saying I play like Coltrane or that I’m as good as him, I’m just saying I like chromatic long runs when it comes to soloing. As for bands that I’ve been listening lately, I can mention you some: Tacit Fury, Vektor, Vomit the Soul, and Internal Bleeding.

12. What are some of your non-musical interests?
I do graphic design for a living, so I'm always analyzing websites, magazines, and everything that has a visual aspect on it. I also like architecture and art. Thus, traveling and visiting museums is one of my greatest pleasures.

13. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
First of all, we'd like to thanks “The True Bringer of Death Zine” you for this interview. This opportunity to frankly speak about our music and future plans means a lot to us. Secondly, we invite all metal heads that haven't listened to our music yet to grab our new album and give it a try. We deliver good old death metal spiced up with some technical stuff, what can go wrong?

<iframe src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:album:6KdNXLcSNX3choKim5KFHk" width="300" height="380" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true"></iframe> 

Morthra/Desecrated Thoughts/Vic Records/2014 CD Compilation Review

  Morthra  where  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  played  a  very  heavy  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  compilation  album  "Desecrated  Thoughts"  which  will  be  released  in  November  by  Vic  Records  and  consists  of  their  2  demos  and  a  2  track  promo  from  the  90's.

  A  very  dark  sounding  synth  intro  starts  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavy  death  metal  direction  along  with  some  growls  and  they  also  use  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  you  can  also  hear  a  thrash  metal  influence  in  the  bands  musical  sound  at  times  along  with  some  melody  being  added into  the  guitar  riffing  at  times.

  The  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  on  the  recording  are  what  you  would  expect  from  a  death  metal  recording  that  came  out  of  the  90's  and  they  add  a  bit  of  chaos  into  the  bands  musical  sound  when  they  are  utilized  while  some  of  the  tracks  only  use  rhythms  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  band  starts  having  more  of  a  raw  and  aggressive  approach  than  what  most  death  metal  bands  had  from  that  era  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars,  synths  and  spoken  word  parts  on  some  of  the  tracks.

  Morthra  where  a  very  underrated  band  for  their  time  with  their  music  being  some  very  great  sounding  death  metal  from  the  90's  and  if  they  did  not  break  up  early  they  probably  would  of  been  a  very  well  known  name  in  this  musical  genre,  the  production  has  a  very  raw  and  heavy  sound  while  the  lyrics  cover  violence  and  anti  religion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Morthra  where  a  very  great  sounding  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  compilation.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Choking  Screams"  "Tale  by  The  Antichrist"  "Paganistic  Dismemberment"  and  "Slay  The  Vicar".  8  out  of  10.    

Sinners Burn/Disturbing Creatures/Vic Records 2014 CD Review

  Sinners Burn  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Disturbing  Creatures"  which  was  released  by  Vic  Records.

  A  very  raw  and  old  school  death  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  growling  vocals  and  blast  beats  and  after  awhile  the  band  starts  adding  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  a  small  amount  of  melody  in  their  musical  sound  at  times.

  All  of  the  tracks  are  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  Swedish  death  metal  style  and  the band  avoids  using  any  solos  and  leads  and  focus  more  on  a  raw  and  heavy  approach  to  death  metal  and  all  of  the  songs  sound  like  they  could  of  easily  been  around  more  than  20  years  and  there  are  also  a  great  amount  of  catchy  rhythm's  being  presented  throughout  the  recording  and  on  one  of  the  later  tracks  they  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  horror  film  samples  and  the  close  the  album  with  a  hidden  track  that  is  an  all  acoustic  instrumental..    

  Sinners  Burn  creates  a  very  old  school  sounding  Swedish  death  metal  album  that  is  heavy  from  beginning  to  end  of  the  recording  as  well  as  focusing  more  on  rawness  and  heaviness  than  melody,  the  production  has  a  very  old  school  sound  to  it  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  death,  gore  and  evil  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sinners  burn  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  "Once  Upon  A  Time  (In  Human  Flesh)"  "Sweet  Stench  of  Death"  "Hellraiser"  and  "Baptized  by  Evil".  8  out  of  10.