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Mixtape: Death by Metal #2 - More is More

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“Every hitter likes fastballs just like everybody likes ice cream. But you don’t like it when someone’s stuffing it into you by the gallon. That’s how you feel when (Nolan) Ryan’s throwing balls by you.” – Reggie Jackson

For some metalheads, Reggie Jackson might as well have been talking about technical death metal. We can understand this by converting Reggie’s quote by sprinkling some heavy metal dust on it:

“Every (metalhead) likes (blastbeats, double bass, and riffs) just like everybody likes ice cream. But you don’t like it when someone’s stuffing it into you by the gallon. That’s how you feel when (Origin) (steamroll you with their staggeringly technical and complicated displays of musicianship and riffing.)”

If a few blastbeats are good, how about more? Why not speed them up until they are gravity blasts? I’ll have some more double bass, too, and crank up the BPM. While we’re at it, more riffs and notes, please. If a little was good, a lot will be better. Cram dozens of weird, twisting, brutal riffs and spiraling, writhing solos into my ears, and do it all by the gallon.

Because More Is More.

— Richard Street-Jammer

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DOWNLOAD: DEATH BY METAL #2 [74.56MB .zip]

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Sickening – “Against the Wall of Pretence”
from Against the Wall of Pretence (Amputated Vein Records, 2011)

Musically, this reminds me of Effigy of the Forgotten. The gurgling, grunting vocals remind me of Cattle Decapitation.

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Abysmal Dawn – “In Service of Time”
from Leveling The Plane of Existence (Relapse Records, 2011)

A solid band, a solid song, and I’ve never been able to figure out exactly who it is that they remind me of.

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Severed Crotch – “Caught in Transcendence”
from The Nature Of Entropy (Amputated Vein Records, 2011)

Their riffs and melodies have an odd, off-kilter quality; they are melodic without falling into the Iron Maiden-inspired Gothenburg scene. The events at 4:20 into the track took me by surprise. They’re from Iceland. Quick, name all the metal bands you can think of from Iceland! I remembered Sororicide and gave up.

I wish these guys would change their name to something that reflects the quality and intelligence of their music, because their current name makes them sound like a 4th-rate basement pornogrind outfit. One day, all of the combinations of violent verb and body-part noun will be exhausted, and goregrind bands will have to think outside the box when they name themselves. Until then, we’ll eventually be treated to bands with names like Labia Mauler and Bludgeoned Penis.

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Origin – “Expulsion of Fury”
from Entity (Nuclear Blast Records, 2011)

Entity is probably going to be my tech-death album of the year.

True story: I was on a date, and the girl told me she really liked guitar playing with cool solos. Since I was driving, I said, “Play ‘Expulsion of Fury’.” She made it about three seconds through the opening sweep picking and decided that was enough. Turns out she meant cool solos on songs like “Panama” or “November Rain.” I didn’t get another date.

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Burning at the Stake – “Mangled among the Heathens”
from Mangled among the Heathens (Burning at the Stake, 2010)

When I first heard this band’s name, I thought they would be a bunch of corpse-painted pagan black metallers, hands perpetually clutched around invisible oranges. They’re actually an up-and-coming Man Must Die-esque tech death band.

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Pathology – “Media Consumption”
from Awaken to the Suffering (Victory Records, 2011)

I have difficulty differentiating between slam and tech-death, and Pathology’s not helping me with my problem. It still blows my mind that Victory Records, purveyor of late ’90s metalcore, would sign a tech death band with slam parts. To paraphrase Patton Oswald, it’s like we’re living in an alternate world where Paris Hilton is a celebrity and spinach is poison.

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Aposepsy – “Necrocausty – The Smell of Singed Flesh, the Smoke of Burned Down Cartilage”
from Aposepsy (Amputated Vein Records, 2011)

This is some sick Russian goregrind. It’s not really my thing, but some of the vocals are awesome subterranean gurgling that does Demilich proud. The lyrics and music vie to see which is most violent.

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Oblivionized – “Abhorrent Evolution”
from Abhorrent Evolution (Oblivionized, 2011)

On the topic of vocals, Oblivionized’s vocalist sounds completely deranged when he uses high-pitched screams. The double-tracking amps up the deranged quality even further. I wish they’d place him just a little lower in the mix, as he tends to overpower the guitars and drums, which definitely deserve to be heard.

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Alarum – “Natural Causes”
from Natural Causes (Alarum, 2011)

Arguably the most melodic and least intense band on this mixtape, but they are by no means a sugar-coated lightweight. Fluid Motion (their first album) is a Willowtip release, and Willowtip hardly every missteps with a band signing. I love the band name, too, because it’s old-timey and rolls off the tongue in a pleasing way. Are you listening, Severed Crotch?

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Evan Brewer – “Actualize”
from Alone (Sumerian Records, 2011)

Mr. Brewer currently plays bass for the Faceless, and used to play bass for Animosity. His solo album, Alone, is composed of jaw-dropping bass playing with some sparse electronic effects. The track is entirely instrumental, and a calming and fitting end to the mixtape.