I think that 2011 might be a little late in the game for an X-Files sample, but at least it explains where the band gets its name. Unfortunately, that’s probably the most interesting thing about this LP. No, I don’t really mean it. That’s too unkind to DFH. This Aussie Death Metal group is absolutely competent, with really only a couple weak riffs to slow them down, although plenty of familiar-sounding ones. The real problem is that there are close to zero “holy shit!” riffs or moments - you know, the kind where you stop whatever you’re doing and scream out “FUCK YES!!” while furiously banging your head, and/or smashing your fist into a wall. The guitar solos throughout the album are, however, almost always interesting, and the playing is impeccable. Check out the ending of “Dead Before I Started” for a truly satisfying composition, with the slow-paced rhythm guitars and fast drumming in the background of a great solo. Also give the title track a listen, especially the vicious final 30 seconds. Craig’s monstrously hoarse vocals are certainly another highlight, when used to their throat-destroying full potential. While listening to it, Where It Dwells is intense and brutal, as Death Metal must be, but when it’s over, the desire to immediately spin it again just isn’t there. Maybe more samples next time?

When I think of Greek Metal, what first comes to mind is the old coffin spirit, the abyssic genesis of apocryphal desire. In other words, Black Metal! Necrovorous destroys that mold with Funeral for the Sane, which is at times Doomy, occasionally a touch Thrashy, and always vehemently Old School Death Metal. After six years of demos and EPs, this is (finally!) the band’s debut full-length album, sounding to my battered ears something along the lines of a mix of early Dismember and Bolt Thrower, or perhaps simply like Death Breath’s crazy half-brother. Unfortunately not quite all of the riffs here are up to the impossible standard set by the ancient masters, and there can be a little too much repetition, but when everything correctly congeals, this LP is amazing. The production has been left slightly raw, I assume intentionally, which works very well indeed, since a more completely polished sound would be at odds with the OSDM philosophy. All the necessary pieces for greatness are essentially in place here, and a modicum of songwriting fine-tuning might just make the next Necrovorous recording one for the vaults.

Holy hell, this is how to make an impressive debut! In just under 24 minutes, this two-man Italian Black Metal band covers all the bases from Dissection’s intensity and complexity to mid-era Katatonia’s melancholy and clean vocals, plus a couple Thrashier riffs (or even parts of riffs) mixed in, here and there, as well as perhaps a touch of early Opeth, when they still wanted to be a Metal band. All of which is highlighted by an absolutely stunning recording and production. It is difficult to believe that Black Metal Unbound is Ogen’s first release, because it sounds as if Hartagga and Mjollnir (greatest stage-name for a drummer ever) have been working together for a long time. I suppose that I could understand if some people might not appreciate Hartagga’s clean vox, wishing the he’d stick with his usual raspy rawness, but I don’t agree. He’s quite good at both styles (as well as guitar and bass), and typically uses the clean vocals to enhance the despondent moods when they take center stage, although not always… And that’s about as close to a flaw as exists anywhere on this amazing EP.

I don’t think that I’ve heard a thing from this German Black Metal band for the last decade, since 2001’s unimpressive Encyclopaedia Infernalis. Never bothering to check back after that was a mistake, because there has been considerable improvement over the years. Unfortunately I don’t know when it happened, but somewhere along the way, Grabak apparently mentally invaded Poland and started listening to Hate and Behemoth, because Sin is very much in the same style of precise Black/Death Metal, although perhaps more atmospheric. Which is to say that it’s amazing. This album contains a song for each of the so-called Seven Deadly Sins, plus a prologue and epilogue, giving it a feeling of cohesion that’s missing from many LPs. Holy hell, just check out “Sloth - The Echoes of Babel” - it doesn’t get better than that! And I’m not just saying that because Grabak has two bassists (one distorted and one “clean”). I can’t really hear them both distinctly, although the recording is perfectly clear and powerful, but it’s enough to know that they’re in the mix, bolstering the guitar and drums, with Jan’s raw vocals cutting through it all. Now I’m off to track down Grabak’s back catalog, and what better compliment could there be than wanting to hear more?

All hail the new gods of gloom! If you’re unfamiliar with this suicidal Finnish outfit -as I unfortunately was until about two years ago- you are truly missing out on one of the underground’s best kept secrets. The only thing that sucks about these guys is trying to find the right words to describe them. I could tell you this is absolutely essential listening for fans of Katatonia, Jesu, Alcest, and Swallow the Sun, but in truth they don’t really sound like any of those bands. Perhaps the one group actually fitted for the vague “Post-Metal” tag. Their sound is basically made up of two parts. The first part being the most infinitely dismal, depressive Rock imaginable to still somehow contain a radiant energy. Imagine if Alice in Chains had been frostbitten Scandinavian Metalheads instead of Seattle Grungemongers. The second part is grimy, distorted heaviness. Far more extreme by contrast, yet equally steeped in pure melancholy. Like Neurosis, but with talent. For these two styles, frontman Manne Ikonen flawlessly executes a downtrodden, clean croon for the former and a harsh, throat-tearing scream for the latter. If you’re trying to find a weak spot on this album you’ll have no luck. Even their masterful debut, 2007’s Guided by Fire, and its equally haunting followup, 2009’s Isolation Songs, had some scant traces of filler. Not the case here. This album starts with the acoustic “In the Woods.” I thought it somewhat peculiar to begin with an all-acoustic track at first. Fast-forward a week later and there isn’t an hour of the day when the chorus of this heartbroken anthem isn’t tattooed on my brain. And that can be said for any of these tracks. Whether it be the epic downer “Breakwater,” the sorrowful hymn “Chamber,” the aggressive angst of “Clawmaster,” or the bitter finale “Soulcarvers,” every song is a standout song. The lyrics are more or less my thoughts on a daily (“I want the ground to take me and swallow me whole”) and nightly (“You have to swallow the pain despite the taste”) basis, but Ghost Brigade articulate them better than I could ever dream of. This band has reached perfection.

Three years after 2008’s The Redlight Murder Case, Deranged has returned with their 8th full-length album, and first for ever-growing US label, Sevared. This aptly-named band has always gone somewhat against the Swedish Death Metal grain by relying more on brutality and sickness over writing truly memorable songs. That may sound more critical than I intend it to. All I mean is that while Deranged has never let me down, and I proudly own their entire catalog, I’d be hard pressed to remember too many of their riffs. And after several listens, this new LP is no different, even literally repeating the past with the final track, a re-recorded version of “Flesh Rebel,” originally from 2001’s self-titled disc. While Cut Carve Rip Serve is playing, asses are kicked nonstop, and heads are banged; but the instant it’s over… well.. out of ears, out of mind. I will never tire of this kind of Death Metal, but there is a way to make the songs more memorable without sacrificing intensity, and the bands that know how to do that are the true elite.

Considering my well-known love of the genre, how the hell have I never heard of a five-year-old Greek Black Metal band that has already unleashed four full-length albums and a handful of splits?!? In my pitiful defense, all of Sad’s releases have been very short-run limited editions, some as few as only 50 copies. With that in mind, I think that it’s safe to assume that they’re all out-of-print, so hopefully the entire catalog will be reissued soon, because based on this two-song EP, I’d certainly like to hear more as quickly as possible. Main-man Ungod, who is in several other equally obscure GBM groups, expertly handles all of the instruments himself, while the only other member, Nadir, sings, or more accurately, shrieks and screams in an appropriately grim and tormented Black Metal style. The raw buzzsaw guitar tone is carried upon the shoulders of a thick bass sound (I have to like all Black Metal with audible basslines), with the drumming slightly pushed to the background, which somehow works perfectly here. Even during the faster, most intense parts of these tracks, the despondent feeling of the simple, repetitious music never completely disappears, giving …and His Minions Shall Eternally Reign an interesting sonic identity, and proving (yet again) that more complexity is not always better.

Despite the scarlet letter fans of Metalcore must wear in this time when Post-whatever boredom is the bandwagon to be on, England’s Malefice continue to excel and prosper, and deservedly so. I first discovered the band four years ago on microscopic indie label Anticulture. That full-length debut album, Entities , was phenomenal and their live performances widely heralded enough to score them a deal with Metal Blade. Awaken the Tides is their second release for the label, and wisely not much has changed. Their attack is still a Thrash-infused brand of Metalcore. Vocalist Dale Butler, when he wants to, can even channel his inner James Hetfield with his cleaner vocal style. And don’t think that’s some kind of get-with-the-times, we’re-on-a-bigger-label, sell out maneuver, he’s always done that. For the most part his vocals are harsh, not unlike Trevor Phipps from Unearth. There really isn’t much mystery to this band’s success. They write good riffs, heavy and melodic with breakdowns that compliment the song rather than embody it. They write good lyrics, straight from the heart with no bullshit attached. “We are what we are.” Again, not much has been altered, if anything. They’ve even managed to somehow keep the same lineup for five years. Almost unheard of for a touring band of this genre. We’ll see how long they can keep that up. I guess with now three solid full-lengths under their belts and a real label backing them, why would anyone want to bail? From what I’ve heard, I’ve got to see this band live before I kick the bucket, and you’ve got to go get this album so you can start moshing with your cats. Favorites: “Delirium,” “Dead in the Water,” “Blessed Curse,” and “Outnumbered, Outgunned.”

Not that I have anything close to a problem with it, but Finland’s Sacrilegious Impalement wear their influences on their collective sleeve, with (early) Emperor at times being the most obvious (check out “Enter Godhood”), and Naglfar a close second. Hellwind Inferion’s vocals are effective but surprisingly understandable, and speaking of Naglfar, remind me of a slightly less raw version of Kristoffer Olivius’ tortured screams. Considering that I’ve just compared SI to two of the heaviest hitting Black Metal bands ever (in my opinion, obviously), you might understandably think that these blasphemers could stand with them in the unhallowed halls of Hell. Well, not quite yet, as the first 25 a-cappella-Dead-Can-Dance-wannabe seconds of “Blessed to Resist” confusingly show. But if this entire album were as stunning as the flawless “Wolves of the Black Moon,” the masters would truly have to watch their backs. The other tracks are not far behind that standard, either, with only minor imperfections to be found. Sacrilegious Impalement clearly know how to write memorable songs, and are not afraid to mix up the tempos, swinging from speed and intensity to dismal atmosphere and gloom at the drop of an axe, even injecting a shadow of a Death Metal riff when the time is right. II - Exalted Spectres, which is the band’s second full-length album (after 2009’s Cultus Nex, two previous EPs and a demo), must be listened to a few times to fully appreciate its depth.