Abyssic Hate - Suicidal Emotions
This band reminds me a lot of Burzum. Not early Burzum but sort of middle period Burzum, around the Hvis Lysett Tar Oss or Filosofem era. The riffs are simplistic, the drumming is simplistic and all of the songs are well over the 5-minute mark in terms of length. Of the four songs here, the shortest is 7 1/2 minutes long and the longest clocks in at almost eighteen. The general feeling around this whole album is depression or melancholy - though I get the feeling that things were supposed to be a bit more grim and nihilistic when you look at the album title and the song lyrics. If driving you to suicide was the idea, Abyssic Hate is a bit too upbeat. I think bands like Evoken or Avernus are much more depressing and suicide inducing than this, for the simple reason that they are able to capture that particular vibe better. This is not to say that Abyssic Hate isn’t good at what they’re doing. In fact, this is a very solid album that has a good sound and captures the feelings of melancholy and emptiness fairly well. Not suicide inducing, but fans of middle period Burzum, the first Long Voyage Back album and Judas Iscariot will find this a worthy addition to their collections.
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Abominant - Ungodly
Some bands think that they improve from one album to the next, but few really do. Abominant, however, is one of those select few bands that keep focusing and refining their sound, ever inching closer to utter perfection in all areas. Although a few of these riffs do sound familiar, this is an otherwise excellent example of Thrashy Death Metal, along the lines of latter day Death or Pestilence. They even manage a very impressive Sacrifice cover (“Re-Animation”), expertly bringing it into their own style.
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Abigor - In Memory
This MCD is seriously a release meant for the Black Metal packrat only. This is essentially a compilation of tracks that appear elsewhere. Granted, some of these tracks are “unreleased,” but if you cut through the bullshit, this is pure rehash. A couple rehearsal or demo tracks do not make this something to run out and buy by any stretch of the imagination. I’m a big fan of Abigor, but after listening to this, I’m tempted to say that this is a cash-in scam. You get two cover songs - both of which are available on tribute albums (one Kreator song and one Slayer song) - and three Abigor originals. These originals are nothing to write home about because they are demo or rehearsal versions of songs that appear on other releases. My major gripe is that there is nothing really “new” or “exclusive” to this EP. If there were a couple new songs that would appear nowhere else on this, I would definitely say go out and grab In Memory right now. As it stands, packrats and total and complete Abigor junkies are the only people that are really going to want this.
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Abhorrence - Evoking the Abomination
Fans of Krisiun take note, with this new release, the lesser-known Brazilian 3-piece have mutated into an exact replica of their countrymate predecessors. If Krisiun’s lawyers heard this album, they would probably sue for product infringement. Surely it would be no small task to duplicate such inhuman speed and precision, but this may upset those in search of originality. Still, when such a mood requires no more than ferocious blasting and prodigiously technical guitar work, this disc would be just as worthy of a spin. Some of these riffs are actually pretty old-school! Impressive to say the least.
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40 Grit - Heads
Total fucking shit poseur Metal! Music 100% crafted for the blind masses of 7-string radio stardom. If you’re into lame shit like Static-X and Machine Head you’ll love this because it is in the same vein of gayness. Fuck Billboard Top 40 New Wave of Cum Guzzling Faggot Minimalism.
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Impetigo / Transgressor - Primitives / Deathfile
Recorded live on June 5th, 1988 (what were you doing back then?), the Impetigo side of this awesome slab really takes me back to the old days with three classic tracks. The recording quality is pretty good, and I hope that someone decides to put the entire show out on CD. I really need the extreme sickness of a live Impetigo album, and you do too. [I checked into this, and apparently there are not very many quality live recordings of Impetigo in existence. -Editor] On the other side, the awesome Transgressor delivers a pair of live cuts (one of which was recorded in Michigan [For the unenlightened, Transgressor is from Japan. -Editor], of all places!) from 1992 and 1994, and if anyone has any doubts that they deserve to be on the same piece of vinyl as the legendary Impetigo, these two songs should destroy them. I believe that this is an extremely limited edition item, so I suggest that you don’t hesitate.
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Impetigo - Giallo
I don’t know how this could possibly get any cooler. This is the band’s infamous 1989 demo, along with a couple of bonus tracks. Now that’s enough to make it a mandatory purchase, but Morbid Records likes to stack the deck in their favor, so they put it out on 10-inch vinyl. And it’s a picture disk as well. Side one is never-before-seen full-color artwork by gore master, and Impetigo vomiting frontman, Stevo (known back then as Stevo 138, since it was time to be an android, not a man). And side two is a colorized (very proudly by none other than me) version of the original b&w demo cover. So, even if you have the original demo, this is a must-buy situation, if you will. I now bestow upon Impetigo and Morbid Records the honor they so richly deserve: A perfect rating.
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Parricide (Poland) - Crude
You can always count on Parricide to deliver intense Death Metal, but they’ve really turned things up for this. As much as I liked their Accustomed to Illusion album, this is better. Not that it’s really all that different, just more perfected. I don’t mean in the playing, though. They’re complete experts on their instruments, and have been for quite a long time. I mean that these songs sound like they’ve been worked on over and over until there are no traces of imperfection left at all. Parricide was good before, but this is nothing short of awesome. Hopefully their next full-length release will come soon.
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In-Quest - Operation: Citadel
While not quite as flawless as their debut, Extrusion: Battlehymns, this is still a solid slab of Death. I can detect some “modern” influences this time, but for the most part everything is fine. If this album came from another band, I’d be singing their praises, but from In-Quest, I expect nothing less than perfection, and while this certainly kicked the asses of my neighbors as I reviewed it, I am left somewhat disappointed by its non-perfection.
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