W.H.A.T.E.V.E.R.

The Impetigo portion of this split consists of a single live cut, “I Work for the Streetcleaner.” And while the recording quality might not exactly be the greatest, it’s not bad, and I’m just glad to have any kind of live Impetigo, anyway. As for Ingrowing, we get a great new song, and a cover of none other than Impetigo (“Bitch Death Teenage Mucous Monster from Hell”)! This is a very fitting team up, with the legendary, and if there is any justice in the world, the soon to be. I must also mention the extreme coolness of the disc itself. It’s got a clear outer ring, so that the printing makes it look as if it were very uniquely shaped. It’s really got to be seen. And heard!

At last! After waiting impatiently for 9 years, this classic is finally available on CD, thanks to my friends at Morbid Records. In case you want to be extra sick, you can also get a picture disk 7-inch version. No Death Metal collection could possibly be complete without Faceless (and the Horror of the Zombies album, by the way). This is easily as important a release as Left Hand Path, Beneath the Remains, or Deicide. Admittedly, the Death/Grind on this CD is not as over the top as some of the Grind bands of today, but these are four songs that have passed the test of time and proven themselves to be more than extreme for the sake of extremity alone. That’s not to say that your head won’t still get ripped off! “My vengeance needs blood!” ‘Nuff dead.

Correct me if I’m wrong but I really don’t believe that this is this is Necromantia’s fourth release (or even full-length album). There was the split album with Varathron, Cross the Fiery Path, Scarlet Evil Witching Black and Ancient Pride. That would make Malice V, not IV. If you take out the split album and Ancient Pride (which was an EP), that would make this III. Mathematics aside, IV: Malice is Black Metal in the way that only Necromantia can play. The dual bass attack of this band sets them apart from all others, and to date nobody has even attempted to copy them. That being said, they don’t really cover a lot of new territory on this LP. If a comparison can be drawn, this sounds like a fusion of their previous two full-length releases. Granted, this album kicks ass and I fucking love it, but don’t expect Baron Blood and Magus Wampyr Daoloth to do something totally out of left-field. This is Necromantia at their most lethal, doing what they do best. No Nine Inch Nails, no Manson, no Kid Crock, no Pantera - Necromantia is Necromantia, and that is good enough for me.

Interesting. A slower pace isn’t what I was expecting from Morbid Angel. But then again, neither was a tour opening up for those shitstains, Pantera. That disgusting fact aside, this is a great (and don’t get me wrong, it’s often fast, too) album, although perhaps not quite as flawless as some members of the Metal Curse staff would claim. New growler/bassist Steve Tucker really comes into his own with this release, even writing some music as well as most of the lyrics, and as insane as it might sound to long time fans, I really can’t say that I miss David Vincent at all. Certainly anyone reading this must understand how unnecessary it is to even mention the awe inspiring drumming and guitarwork, but since this blasphemy machine has had a few less-than-memorable moments in the past, I’m glad to say that the occasionally slower tempos, combined with less technical riffs (which doesn’t exactly mean simple) and more repetition thereof, has made this album the band’s most consistently memorable in quite some time.

Any band with a song called “El Ataque de King Ghidorah” is fucking cool. End of story. Machetazo up the dose even further, with their unique brand of Grind Gore, that while perhaps not the heaviest, is ultra intense. I assume that the lyrics are equally as sick as the artwork and the music itself, but I don’t have a lyric sheet, and don’t speak Spanish anyway, so just this once, the lack of printed lyrics doesn’t matter. For added insanity, they even cover Abscess (“Suicide Fuck”), and S.O.B. (“Delusion of Terror”). There’s a weird “hidden” bonus track, too. Psycho (a.k.a. Death, of “Dear Death” fame) plays this disc when he needs to makes his harem start vomiting.

After an inspired intro by (possibly) Reverend Fishbone, we’re treated to the sickest, most perverted Death Metal I’ve heard in… Well, okay, maybe it’s not absolutely the sickest, and I guess there might be a band or two who are more perverted. Maybe. But who’s cooler than Lividity? Just to prove it to any residual doubters, they even cover Impetigo’s “Bloody Pit of Horror.” I guess it’s not exactly perfect, but despite that (or maybe because of it), The Age of Clitoral Decay is destined for classic status.

Like Carcass? Decrepit Septic Death Gore. Just look for the Roto-Rooter enema on the cover.

After a split 7-inch with Cephalic Carnage, two demos and two appearances on Razorback Records’ Gore Is Your Master series of compilation CDs, Oakland’s Impaled have finally released their debut album. Much in the vein of General Surgery, this has that “Sunlight” sound mixed with the pathological style of lyrics. If you don’t remember General Surgery (they only had one album and a 7-inch, both I believe were released on Nuclear Blast almost a decade ago), imagine the crossbreeding of Dismember and Carcass with the offspring possessing Dismember’s music and Carcass’ lyrics. Impaled plays in the mid-paced range most of the time, slowing down and getting heavy and occasionally kicking in with a burst of speed. This range is probably the best for this style of music as the over-distorted guitar sound gets real messy at high speeds. The best thing about this album is the fact that all the songs are memorable without losing any brutality. I only had two gripes about this album. I personally thought that the guitars were a bit low, and secondly, that 15 or so minutes of silence at the end of the last song just annoyed the fuck out of me. I absolutely hate it when bands do that. Other than that, this is a real ass-kicker. Oh yeah, is it me or does Sean McGrath (Impaled’s guitarist/vocalist) look an awful lot like our fearless editor Ray Miller? [It may just be you. -Editor]

Finally!! I’ve lost track of the years I’ve been waiting for a new album from Macabre. After all this time, could anything possibly live up to my expectations? Maybe not. This is, after all, not Sinister Slaughter Part 2 (although I’ve heard that their next album, Murder Metal, will be!). There’s less concern about extreme speed, and perhaps more placed on sing-alongs. That’s not to say that this is an un-heavy disc. It’s intense, and as you’d guess, plenty sick. But there are times while listening to it that I think it’s more “Murder Punk” than “Murder Metal.” Nothing new about that, though. Dahmer is certainly a memorable album, but for the most part, its extremity does lie more within the lyrics than the music. I don’t have a problem with that, but some might. So, is this the perfection I had been waiting for? It’s pretty close. And in some places, the playing is absolutely stunning, which is made even more so by the fact that they use their technical skill to write memorable songs, and not just show off.

A grand declaration of war upon their fans is apparently what the title means. Well, I for one have the necessary balls to call this “Mayhem” sellouts. However, I will not call these feeble “Electronica” wannabes “The True Mayhem,” because that would be a lie. This new album is sort of Industrial -and very bad Industrial, I must add- that is utterly lacking in everything that has ever been associated with the name Mayhem, with the singular exception of very occasionally fast drumming (that sounds as if it’s programmed). Mostly gone are the horrific vocals, the riffs, the evil feeling, and in a lot of places, gone is any trace of Metal at all. Sure, there are bits of their former glory trying to claw their way through this disaster, but they’re quickly destroyed and vastly overpowered by everything else. And then we get to the really bad section. And that’s just one more insane thing about this disc: it’s organized into different parts, but they apparently start with “Part II.” Naturally, I don’t have any of the real packaging [with the review disc], but what I do have makes no sense at all, and I can’t even figure out what songs go with what titles. Not that I’d fucking want to, though. To say that I’m disappointed is an extreme understatement. Euronymous must be preparing a very special place in Hell for these pretenders. Hopefully they’ll be arriving soon.

This EP comes in two forms, the first being a limited digipak version (with the bondage S&M cover) and the regular version (without the bondage S&M cover, but with the same inlay pictures, I believe…). The two versions of this EP have the same tracks, two new songs (the title track and “Funeral Bitch”) and a cover of “Into the Crypts of Rays” by the almighty Celtic Frost. The two new tracks continue on in the vein of Panzer Division Marduk and, though slightly more memorable, still have that rampaging Panzer Tank in a china shop feel. I’d be seriously surprised if this EP clocked in at more than 12 minutes because these guys just don’t seem to slow down at all. The Frost cover is probably the most memorable of the three songs here and has the stamp of Marduk all over it. I think it’s because Marduk plays the song twice as fast as Frost ever did and the vocals are also twice as rabid. Marduk fans who absolutely must have everything this band will probably find the $12 it will most likely cost you to be worth it, but the rest of us might feel a little cheated because this is so fucking short. Think before buying! (My rating would have been higher if this had been cheaper.)

The drumming is so relentless that it’s actually sort of distracting. Maybe the guitars could have been louder in the mix - I’m not sure. But the drumming alone could kick your ass. That said, MC has never delivered a bad album in all these years, and Envenomed is certainly one of their stronger efforts. The mix of musical styles covers quite a lot of the Extreme Metal underground, and everything is seamlessly blended. It’s also really cool to have Brett back on vocal duty, as his unique rasp goes a long way to maintain the band’s identity.

This is the sixth album by this Black Fucking Metal stalwart and as usual, Andy Harris (AKA Akhenaten, also the guy behind Breath of Night Records) has compromised nothing. This album is brutal, ugly and so raw that if it were a steak, it would still be mooing. The only thing I didn’t like on this release was the drum sound. They were a little too loud for my taste and the tone on them was pretty bad. I don’t know what happened with them because the rest of the instruments had a much better sound. Even with that minor detraction, I still enjoyed Dethroned, Conquered and Forgotten. The songs had a high ass-kickage factor and the atmosphere and feeling in the music is still more evil than 95% of the bands that call themselves Black Metal today. The music was a bit more complex than on previous releases, with the two-riff Von/ early Burzum/ early Graveland style has giving way to a bit more developed structures. Even with the more involved song structures in place, Judas Iscariot still is very effective in utilizing their riffs. This is a band that can do what few others can - beat two riffs into the floor for over five minutes and still have the song sound fucking great. Of all the bands out there in the Black Metal scene today, Judas Iscariot is probably the only band that hasn’t compromised a bit while still releasing excellent albums consistently.

Raw fast drumming, sickly raw guitar speed picking, horrifically raw vocal screams. And as intentionally unpolished as this is, it’s to just the correct degree. Fans of “slick” Black Metal probably won’t like this, but that’s part of the point. This EP won’t be winning Andy Harris any new fans, but those he already has should be thrilled by the intensity to be found here.

Holy fuck. It’s not too often that a band has two great albums in a row, much less two flawless ones. Actually, to be really fair, I should point out that this must be somehow beyond flawless, since it is clearly superior to their last album, Glow Dying Sun, and you might recall that album receiving a 10. To say I’m impressed would be an understatement. The Gloom masters haven’t made any radical departure from their perfection, but instead tweaked the production into an even more soul-crushing ocean of suffocating dismal thickness, and threw in some double bass just for me. Plus they actually improved the vocal drone, making it even more devoid of hope and overflowing with sorrow than ever before. God damn! Check out the tracks “You Are the Cancer” and their cover of “California Dreamin’” to see what the soundtrack is to the extreme depths of depression. On its own, Glow Dying Sun was and is perfection, but Gloom Rock Asylum takes it all just a little further, a little heavier, a little more depressing and suicidal. This is a 10 if there ever was one, but I’m almost hesitant to give it the rating it deserves, just in case Jack Frost once again figures out how to improve on perfection on their next release. On a side note, someone find me this band’s first two CDs, and then name your price, okay? I’ll get you hookers, drugs, comic books, even cash!

These guys are the epitome of Death Metal, well the faster of the two kinds at least. Krisiun are tight, technical, and probably even faster live. You want brutal, crushing nonstop Death? Then look no further. Actually Krisiun should already be a permanent addition to your canon of the greatest Death Metal bands ever! Perhaps a mere touch more memorable riffs would make this great album flawless, but I’m not complaining. Death, nonstop.

Six songs in about 16 minutes (plus around 6 minutes of wasted “blank” space before the last track starts)! But, these sick fuckers play so fast, this is probably 90 minutes of music, just at warp speed most of the time. If I hadn’t seen them live a couple times, I’d wonder if it’s even possible to play the drums this rapidly. But the Gore Grind extremity and insane speed drumming aren’t the most impressive things about this band. No, that honor lies within the twisted mind and throat of my old friend, Sick Nick, former growler of the true Dysphoria (now sadly broken up), from the Chicago area. He’s easily one of the most versatile and demented Death-screamers I’ve ever heard, and brings this short album up from “good and fast” to “great and fast.”

One of the older bands in the Black/Death Metal genre, Incantation is probably a stranger to nobody by now. The Infernal Storm grinds along in typical Incantation style with little or no surprises. The low, monotone growling is still there, which really disappointed me because this is one of the things that, to me, made this band very boring. Incantation is a band that has fallen into a formula that may have worked once but really hasn’t changed at all over the years. Yes, this is brutal. Yes, this is Satanic. No, this album doesn’t offer anything you haven’t heard from Incantation before. If you love Incantation to death and will buy anything they release, then go and buy this. As far as I’m concerned, this album is interchangeable with any (and I mean any of their albums from Onward to Golgotha to Diabolical Conquest) of their older releases.

Damn! This is probably the cleanest sounding Impaled Nazarene album ever. As a matter of fact, Nihil sounds so out of character that I almost thought that this was a completely different band! This literally sounds like Dissection or In Aeturnam playing Impaled Nazarene covers with Mikka Luttien doing the vocal parts. The sound on the guitars is razor sharp and crystal clear, giving this a more Black Metal sound than any previous Impaled Nazarene album. Impaled Nazarene always sounded more like a Discharge-influenced Extreme Hardcore band with Satanic lyrics, but for whatever reason they decided to change all that this time. The Discharge element is still there, but the sound is so clean that they lost a lot of the raw, dirty Punk As Fuck sound. The songs are also a tad longer than before as well. The last time they did anything that was this far from the traditional Impaled Nazarene sound was the rather disastrous Soumi Finland Perkele album (which saw Kimo Luttien, Mikka’s brother and Legenda founder, getting kicked out for causing the band to stray too far from their roots). The songs are good and the playing is tight, but with the new sound I wonder if we can still call this Nuclear Metal?