Straightforward, catchy, and very powerful Death Metal. There is a little experimentation, such as when the vocals are isolated alternately in the left and right channels in the title cut, but for the most part Dementor don’t waste any time with fucking around, and simply go for the kill from the first second.

This is weird Black Metal. The vox are fucking spastic, and rarely have much to do with the music. They vary from screams to yells to a freaked out cackle. The music varies nearly as much: Fast, slow, all speeds in-between. But it seems really thrown together. Maybe it’s the lack of different drum beats or the insane vox, but this is too crazy to be memorable for any other reason. I guess I’ll up the rating a little for that.

This church-burner clocks in at just over a half hour, so although a short album, it is at least long enough to be considered an LP. But what’s it sound like? In short, Serpents… is a distillation of their three previous albums. The production is supreme (I can even distinctly hear the bass this time!), the riffs and the drumming are as Hellish as you would expect, and the band’s trademarked catchyness is totally intact. There are some improvements, too. The vox are somewhat more understandable, but still utterly demonic. It’s an excellent compromise between clarity and brutality, and Glen would be well advised to stick with this style. And the guitar solos: With every album the Hoffman brothers have improved their leadwork, but this is the most notable progression yet. When Deicide came out in 1990, a lot of critics complained about the use of a harmonizer on the vocals, and the, shall we say, sloppy guitar solos. Their next album, Legion, was an attempt to prove that the band could play in a more technical style, and that plan backfired to a certain degree. Then Once Upon the Cross was unleashed, and the godkillers were well on their way back to glory. Serpents… can only be seen as the perfection of their efforts. Yes, there is a riff or two on here that is not 100% certified by Lord Satan, but this is very close to flawless. One thing I find a little odd about the lyrics, is this: They say “christ” more often than Mortification and Living Sacrifice combined! I know that Deicide says stuff like “fuck the christ,” or whatever, but maybe it would be cool to find a way to praise Satan without saying “christ this” and “christ that.” Let’s keep that joker out of it.

Ultrahigh energy Black Thrash, with more than a little Death Metal, and the added plus of really memorable songs. Very impressive indeed, and quite a step up from their Ma Belle Scapelle EP. This shows exactly what difference a good production can make.

Dedicated to our fallen brother, Tom Rojack, this disc is like a “how to” guide for memorable Death Metal. Supremely heavy and yet easy to remember. And they cover the Bloodfeast classic “Face Fate.” Pretty hard to top all that. I can only hope that the remaining guys will continue on without Tom and give the world more much-needed Metal.

Depressing Death/Doom Metal that is honestly majestic. Believe it or not, but I’m actually reminded a little of the new Venom album (Cast in Stone) in some of the slower moments. The vocals range from deep clean to deep growls to yells and sound very natural at all times. The monstrous riffs are backed up by precise drumming and ubiquitous keyboards. This results in songs that demand to be listened to over and over, and a truly impressive demo. My only criticism is in the recording, which has been mixed to highlight the vocals at the expense of the guitars. But a problem that trivial could be fixed easily, and shouldn’t stop you from checking this out immediately.

More or less as much simple Black/Death Metal as their first album, Triumphant Devastation, but maybe a bit more Death oriented, and certainly more memorable. Some demo tracks are included as a bonus.

Passable Death Metal with homoerotic “tough-guy” vocals.

[Metal Curse #11 had an additional loose page (“Last Second Additions”) inserted into the centerfold of the zine, featuring a bunch of even-shorter-than-usual “bonus” reviews of stuff that arrived after the deadline for that issue. This is one of those “Last Second Additions” reviews.]

D&D deliver massively brutal Death Grind guaranteed to crush the spirit of even the most jaded listener. The always impressive IF are just as furious, but also more technical and experimental. It would be difficult to find a better extreme Death combo than what’s on this disc.

Pathetic try at ripping off White Zombie.

[Metal Curse #11 had an additional loose page (“Last Second Additions”) inserted into the centerfold of the zine, featuring a bunch of even-shorter-than-usual “bonus” reviews of stuff that arrived after the deadline for that issue. This is one of those “Last Second Additions” reviews.]

This has its sludgy, Neurosis-like moments, but the band’s Punk/Alternative tendencies are a lot more easily noticed, which isn’t necessarily bad. The more extreme parts sound a bit forced, but I appreciate the heaviness. An interesting, if not totally successful, attempt.

From the title, I was expecting much Doomier Metal, but was pleasantly surprised by this “Dark Metal” masterpiece. This band starts this demo out with fast Black/Dark Metal blitzkrieg, then slow things down to an acoustic crawl for the intro to the second song. And so it goes for the remaining cuts. Their writing and playing is such that the different speeds and styles are seamlessly welded together into an easy to remember whole. But the best is yet to come - the vocals. Of course, they’re tortured and raspy, as they should be, but I usually make out what is being sung (yelled), and that’s uncommon, but cool. I’d imagine that Dawn of Relic will be signed soon.

Damn, the last time I heard Deathrash this awesome was probably the first Desultory album, Into Eternity. While New Hell is occasionally faster than the aforementioned classic, it’s understandably not as perfect. But really, what could be? And this is still a worthy heir to the throne vacated by Desultory’s very disappointing third album. I may be mistaken, but I think this disc is already a couple years old (hey, I just now got it!), and Dawn of Decay might well have a new one out by now. If so, I’d be really interested to hear how they have refined their already deadly sound.

The use of very simple drum programming and endless repetition of riffs might make you think that Darkstyle is an Industrial band, but nothing could be further from the truth. Actually, this is sort of a Doom band. The tempos are kept slow, but the riffs are not exactly crushing. However, the haunting keyboards certainly add an ominous feel, as do the expertly whispered vocals, which turn out to be the thing that makes this worth having.

A bit like Paradise Lost’s Shades of God LP, but wimpier.

[Metal Curse #11 had an additional loose page (“Last Second Additions”) inserted into the centerfold of the zine, featuring a bunch of even-shorter-than-usual “bonus” reviews of stuff that arrived after the deadline for that issue. This is one of those “Last Second Additions” reviews.]

This two-man band has clearly been listening to Emperor. But Darken is no mere clone. They slow things down occasionally and inject their own musical personality into this style. I hear a lot of potential, and they’re good now, but a more individual sound would help.

Yet another Polish band, this time a Death Metal band in the (you guessed it…) same vein as fellow countrymen Vader. This band also has the evil Nergal of Black Metallers Behemoth on bass, for added enjoyment… Anyway, musically, they are very tight and aggressive. Unfortunately, they sound a whole lot like Vader does. As a matter of fact, I think they sound like Vader in the same way that Vader sounds like Morbid Angel - close enough to make you say, “Hey, these guys sound just like…” but play with enough conviction to convince you that they’re legit.

This Australian band has a really cool Hatecore sound, but I could do without the vocals. Their lyrics are powerful, borderline political and somewhat dated. If you’re into vocals that make your throat bleed just by listening to it, you can appreciate this band’s latest work. The music is loud, fast and brutal. It may even give you a seizure.

After hearing, reviewing, and loving their first two demos, I never again heard from D.A.B.. In the meantime they’ve released two CDs - neither of which I’ve even seen (will somebody help me out with this?). Now at long last, I’m brought up to date thanks to my pals at Lard. This disc compiles all of their Alice in Horrorland and Abyssus Abyssum Invocat demos with two tracks from their Stormbringers album and four from Beyond the Mirror. Obviously I’ve long been a fan of the Thrashy Death Metal of Delayed Action Bomb, so I’m very happy to finally hear some of their newer songs, and also to have the demo tracks on disc.

The music is excellent keyboard laden atmospheric suicidal Black Doom. But the vocals almost utterly ruin things. When attempting a shaky Black Metal cackle, things aren’t terrible (not too good, though), but most of the time this dork sort of whines his way along like he’s terrified of something.