Celestial Bloodshed - Cursed, Scarred and Forever Possessed
Bleak Norwegian Black Metal that pays homage to the forefathers on a track-by-track basis. The opening title track is pure Gorgoroth (before they fucked fashion designers), and “Sign of the Zodiac” is blatant Emperor theft. “Truth Is Truth, Beyond the God” has a distinct Under a Funeral Moon feel, while “All Praise to Thee” might as well be a Burzum cover. I’m not complaining about the lack of originality, these bands deserve homage. What sets Celestial Bloodshed apart is the vocals. A bit more gruff than the traditional Black Metal rasp, almost like Entombed’s Clandestine. Some of the more intense yells sound like ass, but overall you would really have a hard time not liking this. Especially if you miss Norway’s glory days.
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Carnifex - The Diseased and the Poisoned
This is pure down tuned Deathcore delight. The second album from Carnifex does not disappoint. Their recipe is simple, effective, and I fucking love it. Brutal breakdown on top of brutal breakdown, followed by brutal breakdown, add another brutal breakdown, throw in one more brutal breakdown, then finish with brutal breakdown. And when I say brutal breakdown, I mean Emmure, Whitechapel, and The Acacia Strain all need to watch their backs. Carnifex are as heavy as it gets, and they realize that Rock n’ Roll is not, has never been, and should never be rocket science.
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Brown Jenkins - Angel Eyes
Unlike 99.9% of the bands described as such, Brown Jenkins does actually sound a bit like Burzum. That doesn’t make it essential I realize, however, a little truth in Black Metal advertising is nice for a change. Brown Jenkins is the one-man entity known as UA, an obvious Lovecraft nerd with an affinity for noisy, bleak Black/Doom. Take some stripped down Burzum and Hades, thrown in a dash of Sludge, and you have the basic essence of Brown Jenkins. An essence that lands somewhere between Nortt (but with actual tempo) and Xasthur (but with actual songwriting and music). Angel Eyes is not as melodically memorable as its predecessor, 2007’s Dagonite, but is definitely moodier. It succeeds at serving as a very suitable, atmospheric backdrop for a world that completely fucking sucks.
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Blood Stands Still - Salvation Through Struggle
Look, basically all of these Old School Hardcore bands in the vein of Hatebreed, Terror, and First Blood musically sound identical to one another. It’s not a bad thing and I think even the bands themselves would tell you the same. That said, the pick of the litter are generally chosen based on their lyrics, vocals, and stage presence. The latter in this case I can’t vouch for, but I can tell you that vocalist Mark Williams, albeit very average, is passable. That only leaves the lyrics, which unfortunately for this So-Cal quartet, are a fucking joke. Positivity to the point of nausea! Every passage is like an inspirational Sly Stallone line lifted straight from a Rocky or Rambo script. Sorry, guys. My life sucks and I’m looking for lyricists who will back me up on this.
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Blood Stained Dusk - Black Faith Inquisition
About as cheap, generic, and forgettable as a Black Metal album can be. Nothing about this 72 minutes of wasted plastic even begins to approach anything remarkable, unique, or necessary. Mind-numbingly boring.
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Bleed the Sky - Murder the Dance
If you’re just going to play Screamo-by-the-numbers Metalcore, you’d better have breakdowns that make me want to move my fat ass, vocals that make me want to kill, and melodic passages that tear at my heartstrings. (Yes, I do have heartstrings.) Bleed the Sky do none of the above, and their production sucks to boot.
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Belphegor - Bondage Goat Zombie
Listening to this newest, seventh output from Austria’s Belphegor, I am still amazed at how far they’ve come. When you think about the joke Black Metal band they used to be, it becomes clear that, fail or succeed, they make a conscious effort to make each album better than the last. In 2008, Belphegor is a machine. A machine that creates extremely well-produced, blasting, blasphemous sickness. What’s more prevalent then ever before are the infectious melodies like those found on the title track and “Justine: Soaked in Blood.” There’s even mammoth groove this time around (“Sexdictator Lucifer” and “The Sukkubus Lustrate”). As is the case with every Belphegor album, there is some filler here and there, not to mention some outright Behemoth theft (“Chronicles of Crime”), but the continued improvement in songwriting and structural variety assures that Bondage Goat Zombie is probably their best work ever. At the very least a dead tie with breakthrough album Goatreich - Fleshcult.
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Behexen - My Soul for His Glory
Primal Black Metal with a vast array of weapons. “Born in the Serpent of the Abyss” begins with the maniacal hacking and slashing of old Blasphemy, but by song’s end transforms into near shoegazing territory. Other tracks have a strong early Bathory influence, while some have an almost Dissection-like mastery of melodies. It’s a beautiful thing when bands can run the gamut from homicidal to suicidal, and although I can’t quite put my finger on what Behexen is missing, if they ever put it all together they could be unstoppable. As is, still quite a mesmerizing, multifaceted atmospheric journey.
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Bahimiron - Southern Nihilizm
What the fuck does “chaotic War Metal with a southern flair” mean? Is that like profound brilliance with a touch of mental retardation? How about a really hot chick with a club foot? Not sure what exactly Moribund’s PR department is referring to, as Southern Nihilizm contains no flair, southern or otherwise. This is just noisy, average Black Metal with bad production and not a memorable moment to be found. I’m probably the wrong guy to ask though, as I much rather prefer crushing Funeral Doom with Caribbean undertones.
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