Countess has been around forever (I believe this is their thirteenth album) and their sound has evolved quite a lot since their days of Bathory/Venom worship. On Wings of Defiance has a very melodic sound, with more Traditional Metal style riffing and less brutality. Still, the vocals are straight-out Venom worship, which puts this at odds with the music. Venom was unique in their sound because they were coming out of the Hardcore scene and their style was very Punk influenced. Cronos used Hardcore style vocals and the music was also very much Hardcore in style. The music of Countess, though, has become more melodic and doesn’t have that Punk edge. The clash of styles sometimes yields interesting results, but in this case, the vocals are too much at odds with the music. It would be like Chris Barnes (Six Feet Under/ex-Cannibal Corpse) joining Iron Maiden and not changing his vocal style at all. You can have great music, but if you have a vocalist that doesn’t fit the music, it will result in the whole thing not living up to its potential. This is the case here. The music pretty much requires a melodic singer - not someone who wants to sound like Cronos.

I don’t mind it when new bands ape Old School Swedish Death Metal. I don’t mind if 1,000 miserable kids write 100,000 depressing songs that all sound like Burzum. I don’t mind a Katatonia clone, and I don’t even mind it when 500 Deathcore bands all use the same 30 breakdowns. In fact, I’m rather fond of all those things, really. But for some reason when I hear kids doing the old, classic Thrash, I feel like I’m in a nursing home all of a sudden. Toxic Holocaust aren’t terrible, and I’d venture to say this is probably their most established work to date, given that Joel Grind has a proper band to work with now. But Conjure and Command feels like visiting a boring museum. I’m just not one of these guys that gets an erection from re-enacting the Civil War. You don’t see Rap guys still wearing Hammer pants, do you? When I want to hear the classic style, I’ll go to the vaults. Your tribute band isn’t coming close to the feeling I get from the real thing, and that’s why there’s no way in hell I would pay actual money for a Toxic Holocaust LP. Even if it were 1987, these guys don’t play with enough heart. They have chops up the ass, but can neither conjure nor command a single emotion from the listener. Life is too long to waste time on any musicians that are not slaves to Negativity and Her supreme will. Need proof? Of the ten tracks here, only the morbidly paced “I Am Disease” stands out from the pack. It crawls with sinister, Venom-meets-slow-Slayer vibes. Morbid + sinister = Negativity. The rest of the album is like re-runs of The Jeffersons.

Back in the day, when one said “Viking Metal,” you were only referring to three bands: Enslaved, Bathory and Einherjer. That was before the whole Folk Metal explosion that brought us Turisas, Falkenbach, Folkearth and dozens more from all over the planet. Sadly, Einherjer had broken up by then. Eight years after breaking up following their Blot album, Einherjer has returned to a landscape that has vastly changed. Though they were once considered the vanguard of Folk/Viking Metal, their sound and style bear almost no resemblance to what folks call Folk Metal now. These days, Folk Metal often sounds like a Renaissance Faire with a double bass drummer. Rest assured, though. Einherjer may have disappeared into the fjords for eight years, but they didn’t spend them drinking beer with Korpiklanni. In fact, with Norron, Einherjer may have invented a whole new sub-genre of Folk/Viking Metal. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a Progressive Viking Metal band before, but this album clearly falls into that category. This is way different than anything they’ve done previously. The inclusion of Progressive Metal elements into their sound makes this album an interesting listen, but it also brings with it some problems. The first thing that you tend to lose when you go Progressive is the simple, catchy hook that most Folk Metal bands rely heavily on. Without that hook, you lose a lot of memorability. When the CD ends and you can’t really remember any of the songs, that’s always a bad thing. Another problem is that the songs tend to be overly complex and meandering. This is particularly a problem with the first two tracks. The first one, “Norron Kraft” is a almost a full thirteen minutes long. The second song, “Naglfar,” is slightly over five minutes. That means that for close to twenty minutes, you get some convoluted songwriting before the good stuff kicks in. This isn’t to say that the first two tracks suck. They’re pretty good, but the other songs seem more focused and the Folk/Viking elements come out fuller. If you can make it through the first two tracks, Norron gets a lot better.

Finland’s Melodeath masters have hinted at perfection many times in the past. 2004’s Since the Day It All Came Down has been a fixture in my stereo rotation since the day it all came out, but only for a handful of songs. 2006’s Above the Weeping World and 2009’s Across the Dark also had tracks that the repeat function was invented for, but as far as a completely flawless record, good to go beginning to end, Insomnium have come close but never quite made it happen… until now. Watching these guys open for Katatonia four years ago, the thought occurred to me: What would clean vocals do for these guys? Could they pull it off, and if so, how? My questions have been answered with One for Sorrow, an album title that lives up to its name. It’s not as though they’ve changed their style much at all. It’s still the same melodic Death Metal they’ve always played, flowing with melancholy yet at a mostly energetic pace, but the occasional clean vocals add so much to the record’s dynamic. I assume the clean singing is actually via guitarist Ville Friman, as I can’t imagine this soft voice emanating from lead vocalist/bassist Niilo Sevanen (he of defeated gruff roar). Unfortunately this is the age of technological faggotry, so I’m reviewing an mp3 file here and my online references are limited, but whoever is doing the clean vocals is doing a great job. A passionately sullen, operatic-but-far-from-too-operatic, very mellow style of singing that compliments Sevanen perfectly. This album flows with masterful melody from start to Finnish. An extravaganza of dejected majesty and epic depression. The perfect album to play while sitting in the dark, chain-smoking, chain-drinking, and evaluating the dismal shithole that is your life. You would end it all, but you’d miss out on monumental albums like this. If you’re a fan of Melodeath in general, a longtime fan of Insomnium, or basically anything but a fan of life and all its horrid gayness, I can’t see you finding anything wrong here. I tried to find flaws - as I don’t want to be the guy who just dishes out 10s like some Jehovah’s Witness with a stack of Watchtowers - but with every repeated listen I just fell more in love with the songs. All hail Insomnium. All hail sorrow.

This Italian cult has been around for a while (though not as long as the legendary Mortuary Drape). This is their fifth LP and debut for the Moribund Cult. For a 2011 release, it certainly sounds old. This album could have come out in the mid-’90s and it would probably have been lost in a sea of other albums just like this. Mid-paced Black Metal with keyboards a-la first EP era Emperor went out of fashion a long time ago, but the venerable cults still practice it. For a musical reference, look up old Ancient (pre-Metal Blade stuff), old Graveland (Carpathian Wolves and Celtic Winter-era), old Behemoth (Return of the Northern Moon-era), (here comes the obscure reference…) both halves of the Satanaquia/Angel of Light split-CD and Drawing Down the Moon-era Beherit. That should give you a good idea what kind of music Abhor plays. The best part of this album is the use of keyboards. Unlike other bands that go for either the minimalistic keyboards or the overblown Wagnerian orchestral sound, Ab Luna Lucenti, Ab Noctua Protecti has a horror movie score quality that sets it apart from so many of the old “Atmospheric Black Metal” bands from back in the heyday of this style. Having listened to stuff just like this for almost two decades, I admit to being a bit jaded because it’s nothing that I haven’t heard before. Still, this is a great album to listen to at night, in the dark and surrounded by burning candles. It has just the right amount of creepiness and evil to capture the atmosphere for your nocturnal rituals.

I have no idea how I could have possibly missed Eminenz’s 2007 self-titled album, but somehow it slipped past me unnoticed. So, although I quickly sorted out that mistake, I first listened to Nemesis Noctura with the idea that it had been 11 years since the band’s last LP, 2000’s amazing The Blackest Dimension, and I was relieved -but not surprised- to hear that these German blasphemers’ majestic combination of Black and Death Metal had changed little over the years. They’re too smart for that. And you can be damn sure that I’ve since then tracked down a copy of Eminenz (but have been too busy listening to this album 666 times to prepare for this review to spin it - yet)! All the songs here have unique identities, some more straightforward Death Metal (the slightly Amon Amarthish “Land of Lies”), others vehemently Black Metal (the title track), and even a touch of Thrash (“Northern Destroyer”), plus the symphonic interludes, “Blood Ritual” and “Ancient Silence.” And that’s not even mentioning the very Acheron-like (which I consider to be quite a compliment!) “Satan’s Invokation,” or the ominous cover of Venom’s “In League with Satan”! Lesser bands wouldn’t be able to tie everything together and make all of these styles work as an album rather than a collection of songs, but Eminenz is no ordinary band, and they achieve the seemingly impossible with no problem whatsoever. If there were any justice in this dismal world, these guys would have had Sony throwing dump trucks full of cash at them to release this masterpiece, rather than having to do it themselves.

All the anti-Deathcore lifelovers can say whatever they want to, the bands and their rabid fans aren’t going anywhere. And when it comes to vibes of pure seeping negativity, only Funeral Doom and Suicidal Depressive Black Metal offer more misery than the right Deathcore band. San Diego’s Carnifex is the right Deathcore band. These guys have already gone through many changes in only a 6-year existence. Lineup shuffling aside, each full length LP has had its own distinct flavor. Their 2007 debut, Dead in My Arms, was a pummeling beatdown of an album. Just a pulverizing breakdown expo that happened to come with a side of brutal vocals. Next year’s follow up, The Diseased and the Poisoned, was a bit of a sophomore slump. Still brutal, still a festival of breakdowns, but as time would sadly reveal, not a truly memorable song to be found. They seemed to find the perfect balance with last year’s Hell Chose Me. Each song following basically the same formula: start with fast and furious Death Metal, end with breakdown from Hell. It should be noted that the title track from this album was the most played song at any local bar with a jukebox worth a piss by my insignificant circle of friends and I that year (which led to many disgruntled patrons and staff). The first thing that jumps out at me concerning this new album is production by Tim Lambesis. This band over time have adapted a somewhat anti-religion lyrical stance, and as we all know, the As I Lay Dying frontman thinks Jesus looked sexy as fuck on that cross. Still, Lambesis has undeniable talent and his knob-twiddling skills here show no deviation from that fact. These songs have something to say for talent as well. By far the most dynamic material they’ve ever penned. It’s still intense, it’s still heavy as fuck, but the songwriting clearly shows an immediately evident maturity. The guitarists are layering their attacks. Building up to moments of climax and playing off each other as opposed to a berserker barrage of riffs followed by impending breakdown insertion. It’s not like Carnifex are going all clean vocal/acoustic ballads/touring DJ on our asses just yet, but I think it’s safe to say that we haven’t seen tracks as intricate as “Dead but Dreaming,” “Creation Defaced,” the title track, and the ominous closer, “Curse My Name,” from them up until this point. There was nothing wrong with them before, I want to make that perfectly clear. But there’s also nothing wrong with wanting to be better. Until I Feel Nothing just might be Carnifex at their absolute best. Only time will tell.

I had no idea what to expect of this third full-length offering from the Polish Death Metal horde known as Deivos. Their 2006 debut, Emanation from Below, was an outstanding face-melter of an album. The band blew me away with their blend of primal, unhinged brutality played with surgically precise skill. 2010’s Gospel of Maggots was a different story, however, as everything seemed taken down a notch in quality. Perhaps none more crucial than the LP’s highly inferior production. Inferior by the debut’s standards anyway. So, flip a coin. What’s Demiurge of the Void going to be about? Techno infusion? Their Prog album? Jazz? Bluegrass? Earlier works set to Classical music? No, thankfully none of the above. Just being a dick. I’m happy to report the band have delivered Emanation: Part Two to us, the malnourished and evercraving Death legions. Boy, did we need it. This is pure brutality done in the memorable way. The production is back to stellar. Kamil might be, if not the best, the most entertaining bassist in Death Metal. He has all the Websterian chops and a bass tone close to industrial machinery-meets-tsunami. What was that, you want to hear the bass guitar on a Death Metal album, do you? Feast! I was shocked to learn he is not who played bass on Emanation because the style and sound are identical. And it’s what sets Deivos apart really. “No Gods Before Me” cements the tone nicely with those thunderous Behemoth/Hate Eternal-style sweeping rolls. I guess that’s becoming the standard for the opening track on a brutal Death Metal record. No complaints here. Holy shit! They also have a new vocalist (appropriately named Angelfuck), who was not on the debut, who sounds exactly like their original singer. This is getting creepy, but I like it. Even with a completely revamped lineup, the band are recapturing the glory of the not-so-distant past. Maybe after the speedbump that was Gospel they had to clean house? Clearly the right move, as few Death Metal albums in 2011 will serve to be this pulverizing without being instantly forgettable.

I’m a huge fan of the real, Japanese, Animetal. They did Metalized covers of classic anime theme songs, often incorporating well-known riffs here and there as a tribute to bands they like, such as Iron Maiden and many, many others. Ever since I was a small child, I had prayed to Satan for Metal versions of the Mazinger Z, Getter Robo, and Space Battleship Yamato theme songs, and so the first time I ever heard Animetal play exactly what I had always hoped to hear, I just about died of pure joy. Of course, I was disappointed when Animetal split up in 2006, but more because I’d never be able to see them perform live than anything else, as they had long since covered everything I really needed to hear, and honestly had started to branch out into some slightly less than mandatory territory. And that brings us, at last, to Animetal USA, which is a “supergroup” of sorts, comprised of Mike Vescera (Obsession), Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot), Judas Priest’s Scott Travis, and Chris Impellitteri. I must admit to not really being sold on that lineup, especially Sarzo, since the real Animetal’s bassists, Take-Shit (yes, Take-Shit!) and especially Masaki were total badasses. With that in mind, I was cautiously enthusiastic about hearing this album. I’m not sure if I was relieved or not to discover that Animetal USA more or less covers Animetal’s covers, rather than doing Metal versions of the theme songs from US cartoons like The Simpsons, The Jetsons, or South Park. (There is another band called Powerglove that already does that, by the way.) Musically, this is phenomenal, hyper-energetic Power Metal, and sounds very close to the original Animetal. Sarzo’s basswork even turns out to be okay (not as masterful as Masaki’s, however!), and even Vescera’s wailing vocals are not bad (and not too far removed from Eizo Sakamoto’s singing), but he does make one mistake, and it was almost a deal-breaker for me: he sings in English. I don’t understand why he’d do that. This album, which is essentially Animetal-Japan’s “greatest hits” re-recorded, may never even be released outside of Japan (where, believe it or not, Animetal was/is kind of a big deal), so assuming that Vescera doesn’t speak Japanese, why not learn all the lyrics phonetically? I’ve listened to the original, awesome, Ichiro Mizuki version of Mazinger Z’s theme song so many billions of times that I can sing it in Japanese, so it’s not impossible. To my ancient ears, this stuff doesn’t sound quite right if it’s not in Japanese. And that brings me to the ultimate question about Animetal USA: Why? I suppose that the demand was there for the true Animetal to reform, but apparently they didn’t want to, so did Sony form this group to replace them? Or did the guys get together and approach Sony with the idea? I just don’t know what to think about it either way, but if it’s okay with the original band, I guess it’s okay with me, but they can never be as good as the original Animetal. That said, if Sigh ever breaks up, I demand to be in Sigh USA - we’ll only play the early stuff and their Venom covers!