death metal

My review of Nahemah’s new album is up at Stylus. After many listens, I realized that Nahemah was like a lusher, less repressed Isis. Up at Metal Injection is my review of old-school (and excellent) Swedish death metal act Flesh. Nahemah – PhoenixFlesh – Baptised on the Demon’s Throne

Open Wound SalvationWhat Is Worst?Driven by Hatred Self-Released2007 “Swedish” and “death metal” go together like “Swiss” and “chocolate.” That’s true for Ethereal, which sounds neither like its name nor the signature style of its Gothenburg area home. Instead, this band does straight-up death metal that balances simplicity and technicality. What jumps out immediately is the […]

My reviews of the latest Brutal Truth and Blut Aus Nord albums are up at Metal Injection. Brutal Truth – DementiaBlut Aus Nord – Chapter III

Sharing TogetherChain Reaction Self-Released2006 Terrible band name, but thankfully the sound doesn’t match! Whorecore plays neither, say, swoop-do’d metalcore nor gore-grind, as the name might imply. Instead, this Israeli outfit rolls out death/grind like Belgian bands Leng Tch’e and Aborted, with plenty of half-speed grooves amid the requisite blasting. In fact, Svencho of these two […]

Impermanence of BeingMimetic Conflation Brutal Bands2004 Speaking of Belgian metal, Emeth is an ultra-brutal death metal band on the aptly-named Brutal Bands label. What makes death metal “ultra-brutal” and not just “brutal”? Really, it’s all about vibe. In terms of sheer force, Suffocation hits just as hard as Emeth. Yet the latter is “ultra-brutal” because […]

At Metal Injection, I’ve reviewed fine debuts by Indiana death/thrashers Year of Desolation and Swedish melodeath dealers This Ending. Over at Stylus, my dual review of Blackmarket Activities bands Architect and The Network is now up.

Torn Asunder Self-Released2006 Icon-Eight is Mactabilis from Bergen, Norway. In Thrash the Moment! he’s concocted four cuts of raw, vicious thrash/death. The bio and title both reference ’80s thrash, but the sheer ferocity and occasional blastbeat tip this EP closer to death metal. Whatever you call it, it rocks. The production is gritty but solid, […]

Hate Eternal for me is one of the pinnacles of human achievement – I mean that seriously. That three people can produce a sound so fast, fierce, and efficient blows me away. Haters cite the band’s relentless speed, and while that’s true of the first two albums, I, Monarch was a huge step up in […]

Two more reviews up – at Metal Injection, I’ve covered the new Crimson Falls, absolutely ripping Belgian metalcore that’s pretty much death metal but for the occasional breakdown. At Stylus, I’ve reviewed the Meshuggah reissue of Nothing.

Geodesic DomePulses in Rhombus Forms Macabre Mementos2005 The promotional copy for this album is hilarious: “Wormed constantly pummels you with a massive onslaught of super brutal death metal throughout this release. There is some crazy concept behind this album that deals with space travel and the human consciousness. The heavy guitars scratch through your ear […]