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Banger TV – METAL CASSETTE REVIEWS Ep 2 with Sarah Kitteringham Sarah continues to share her metal cassette collection. In this video she reviews: Dionysiaque, Hitter, Sabbatory. And asks you what this series should be called!
Sabbatory -- Ascension To My Holy Tomb
Unspeakable Axe Records to Release '4 Doors to Death' Split in January
Unspeakable Axe Records to Release ‘4 Doors to Death’ Split in January
Split releases have been part of the DNA of death metal almost from the beginning, but split full-length albums are a rare breed, and have been fewer and farther between after the initial heyday of the genre. In a conscious throwback to that era, Unspeakable Axe Records is proud to announce the January 22, 2016 release of 4 Doors to Death , featuring young and hungry bands CEMETERY FILTH…
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Sabbatory - Orbiting Obscuron
ALBUM REVIEWS!; New Music From Powerman 5000, Sabbatory, Vanhelgd, Serpentine Path, Deep In Hate, Darkest Era, The Great Sabatini, Opium Warlords, Sarcófago, Hard Riot, Stoic Dissention; June 04th 2014
HOLA EVERYBODY!
This week we've got new music from Sabbatory, Vanhelgd, The Great Sabatini, Darkest Era, Deep In Hate, and more! Plus the sophomore album "Emanations" from the crushingly heavy Serpentine Path, and "Builders Of The Future" from revived late 90's industrial act Powerman 5000.
And finally, a treat for old school fans; a re-release of Sarcófago's 1989 classic "Rotting". No new features or anything, but its a classic that so few are familiar with, so fuck it, here ya go!
Enjoy! \m/
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"Builders Of The Future" by Powerman 5000
Industrial Metal
Released May 27th 2014
While not necessarily nu metal in sound per say, there's no debating that lyrically and aesthetically, these guys owe A LOT to the nu metal genre. Musically, Powerman 5000 has been a boring party rock band playing the leftover scraps of a Rob Zombie album, and that reflects here; 'How To Be A Human' sounds like a really bland take on 'Revelation Revolution', 'Invade Destroy Repeat' is a bid dumb modern metal number that Five Finger Death Punch fans would roll their eyes at, 'You're Gonna Love It If You Like It Or Not' lyrically sounds like a Nickelback song with really annoying keyboard slams, and 'I Want To Kill You' is straight up one of the dumbest ballads I've ever heard and doesn't even make sense in principle alone, and even includes the cringeful line that even rappers don't use anymore; 'dont hate the player, hate the game'. Wow. 20 years in the industry and this is what you were able to come up with? For an album called "Builders Of The Future", it stands as ironic proof that Powerman 5000 is living in the past, under the assumption that barely-average pop hooks and alternative melodies are still the best thing ever, and that they're clearly convinced that this is the only possible way to write music. Bland hooks, terrible cliched writing, and several tired and over-used digital riffs later, Powerman 5000 ends up sounding more like Genericbandwaypasttheirprime-stuck-in 1999.
Rating: 1/5 (Terrible)
"Endless Asphyxiating Gloom" by Sabbatory
Death Metal
Released May 27th 2014
I think its obvious these guys love metal. Hell, their name is a play on Sabbat, and this albums name is a play on Asphyx. A lot of homage is paid to these bands and many more as the album progresses, which is usually a detrement for death metal bands, but these guys seem to have a really good handle on it. That said, eventually it becomes a guessing game as to which band they're homaging next; 'Being, Thy Eternal Perplexor' brings to mind a mix of "Necroticism" and "Symphonies Of Sickness"-era Carcass, the title track blend that Carcass with a little Celtic Frost, and 'Hypnotic Regression' opens on a strange but welcome crossover thrash note. It's standard death metal mixed with other subtle extreme metal influences, not to the point where its wildly different, but just enough to give Sabbatory their own feel. Admittedly some better sound mixing would benefit the album (some riffs just lack the punch that these guys are obviously aiming for), but I doubt that will bother the majority of death metal fans, especially if you love the late 80's/early 90's style.
Rating: 3/5 (Decent)
"Relics Of Sulphur Salvation" by Vanhelgd
Death Metal
Released May 27th 2014
With a heap of sweet Swedish death metal comes "Relics Of Sulphur Salvation", from modern torch-carriers Vanhelgd. Musically nothing has changed in their style since the day they were born, but this album see's a lot of established tricks of the band getting some refinement and added touches, including more use of spoken word passages, my favourite of which being the simple intro from 'Where All Flesh Is Soil', and the use of subtle melody and keyboards, in the vein of Dark Tranquility notably, is seen as well, particularly on 'Sirens Of Lampedusa'. This is far from a huge experiment in Swedish death metal, but it does display a smarter side to Vanhelgd and adds contrast to the more obvious metal out-takes, straying from standard themes and ideals. But of course those are present as well, like on the battering ram of 'Cure Us From Life'. Vanhelgd have delivered another solid album of death metal for fans to ingest, with enough subtle things here and there to keep the stale bits from jumping out.
Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)
"Emanations" by Serpentine Path
Doom Metal/Sludge Metal
Released May 27th 2014
Serpentine Path's debut was a huge kick of sludgy doom, one that displayed a debut band at their absolute best. "Emanations" unfortunately does little to expand on that, showing a conservative side to the band, but then again, its hard to argue with the same results when the initial results were great to begin with. The music is just as harsh and fearsome as it was before, whether it be through the sludgy poundings of 'Systematic Extinction', the swampy droning chugs of 'Disfigured Colossus', or the disturbing yet airy chords of 'Claws'. To say that it's all heavy as fuck is an understatement, as the guitars and bass absolutely crunch away in near-perfect unison, and drums practically crawl with a similar pace, but as noted before, nothing has changed for these guys, and nothing changes on this album. Don't get me wrong, I love me some doom, but 2 albums of the same stuff in a row is concerning for a band that has so much potential in them, and soon things begin to really drag along. Still, if you're looking for a hefty dose of modern doom, Serpentine Path has a winning recipe that you'll love.
Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)
"Chronicles Of Oblivion" by Deep In Hate
Deathcore
Released June 03rd 2014
To be entirely fair, Deep In Hate isn't necessarily deathcore in the purest sense. Oh don't get me wrong, all the staples are here, but not in the way you'd expect, and while there is death metal influence here and there, it's not quite enough to even call it death metal. Perhaps thats the ultimate problem with "Chronicles Of Oblivion", is that it very comfortably and conservatively sits right in the middle of the two genres, happier to copy the likes of Whitechapel or Chelsea Grin, but strangely even then missing out on the abrasive moods that those acts convey. With that in mind, you should quickly get an idea quickly as to what will happen here; lots of repetitive open string chugs, clunky breakdowns, double bass, and completely inaudible guttural vocals. Musically the album is completely dry for ideas, and while the sound mix is fine, infact the production values make everything crisp and heavy, but there's ultimately nothing here worth looking at. It's not a bad album, but still ultimately a very forgettable one.
Rating: 2/5 (Poor)
"Severance" by Darkest Era
Heavy Metal/Doom Metal
Released June 03rd 2014
Darkest Era revel in a sound thats tough to describe, because there's so much going on. There's some Primordial, some Immortal, some Grand Magus, some Orchid, some... everything really. Each track is different from the last, whether it be the doom/blackened-thrash hybrid of 'Sorrow's Boundless Realm', the strange Alice In Chains-styled eeriness of 'Beyond The Grey Veil', the bombastic and furious metal of 'The Scavenger', or the pure epic gallops and jumps of 'Trapped In The Hourglass'. With this variety comes a wide range of emotion as well, fuelling the thumping and often epic pace of the songs. It's tough to pull off such a wide range of emotion and diversity in a genre that can sometimes be polluted with cliches and tropes, but Darkest Era's great sense of song-writing seems matched only by the production, timing, and potency of the albums themes, and everything comes together in one fluid package. It's hard not to picture huge battles as drums flail, guitars screech, and vocals cry out in huge bangs, and even without the albums great sense of imagery, "Severance" succeeds because it's so musically diverse and interesting, that it remains impossible not to stay invested.
Rating: 4/5 (Great!)
"Dog Years" by The Great Sabatini
Grindcore/Avant-Garde Metal
Released June 03rd 2014
"Dog Years" is... weird. This is my first experience listening to The Great Sabatini, and quite honestly, I'm not entirely sure what to think. At times, "Dog Years" is a grimey and dirty album that reeks of classic grindcore with a little extra fuzz, but other times it feels mixed in with a lot of genres that really shouldn't be together. 'The Royal We' is a great example of the latter, opening on a broken riff with punk rhythm, before turning into a slow mix of sludge metal, diving back into hardcore later on, and finally ending on a steady and more traditional segment. I'd be lying if I said The Great Sabatini's wildly unorthodox approach wasn't intriguing on principle alone, but the execution isn't as big as I'd like. That doesn't mean the album is bad, just different, and that will likely make it hard to swallow for some. Taking the time to understand the avant-garde style of writing and performance though will help a lot, and soon tracks like 'Nursing Home', 'Reach', and 'Munera' pack giant punches. There's nothing quite like "Dog Years" out right now, and whether that's good, bad, or just plain weird is completely up for debate, but for me, the experimental madness is a bit too much for one sitting.
Rating: 3/5 (Decent)
"Taste My Sword Of Understanding" by Opium Warlords
Doom Metal/Dark Ambient
Released June 03rd 2014
This latest from Opium Warlords is every bit as doom-dredged and powerful as you would expect from them at this point, but "Taste My Sword Of Understanding" goes beyond that. It's extremely experimental, and takes turns and twists that are more than fitting, and yet, come unexpectedly. Big riffs and bass lead the way into mayhem most of the time, but its the twists that manage to intrigue, like the Author & Punisher meets Nine Inch Nails gloom of 'The Land Beyond The Pole', the pure ambient fuzz of 'The Sadness Of Vultures', the traditional doom metal structures of 'The Self-Made Man', or the titanic-sized riff barrage of 'Manisolas Of Misandria'. The results are quite frankly, thrilling; soon you're swept off by the surprisingly diverse changes in music, and the pure emotion that flows through as a result. Stories unfold, specifically in the off-putting and weird 'In Melancholy Moonless Achreon', where the song opens with a character openly admitting how lonely and useless he feels. Simple, but powerful, and relatable for some. And thats whats amazing about this album; as grand and progressive as it is, it manages to relay a lot of simple emotions, arguably making it very accessible, which is not an easy feat for a doom metal band, or any band in general.
Rating: 4.5/5 (Incredible!)
"Rotting" (Re-Release) by Sarcófago
Death Metal/Thrash Metal
Released June 03rd 2014
To know that so few people are aware of Sarcofago's glory, it makes me shiver. Along with Sepultura, who quite obviously became WAY more popular and successful, these guys helped Brazil create a strong rock and metal scene, and later on became a fore-runner for technical death metal, and their use of corpse paint on the "I.N.R.I." album cover even had an influence on black metal. Now, "Rotting" is back and available for the masses, so we're going to take a trip back in time and dig right in. At the time, this album saw the beginning of a shift in Sarcofago's musical style, and that's evident through a relatively solid mixture of thrash, death, and even subtle black metal; 'Alcoholic Coma' is an abrasive number with big thrash metal riffery, 'Tracy' is a vicious vintage 80's thrash ballad, the title track is a chunky punch of blackened death, and 'Sex, Drinks, & Metal' is every bit as raunchy and crushing as you'd expect a song with that title to be. "Rotting" has certainly aged since its initial 1989 release, but it still sounds great. My only real complaint with this re-issue, is that they had the perfect opportunity to update it, add some new material, even just bells and whistles for die-hard fans, and yet, nothing. Aside from that, "Rotting" is as much a great album now as it was when it was released.
Rating: 4/5 (Great!)
"The Blackened Heart" by Hard Riot
Hard Rock/Heavy Metal
Released June 03rd 2014
Let's get one thing straight; Hard Riot is far from a smart rock band. I mean, "The Blackened Heart"? That's the best title you could come up with? With a name like that, it's easy to assume that nothing but drab and tired hard rock from these guys, and if you were to think that, you'd be half-right. Its hard rock, but not drab and tired. Infact, these guys make up for their lack of originality with some great rock melodies, riffs, and even a little heart. 'Suicide Blues' packs hooks that bring to mind 80's metal with a dash of Foo Fighters, 'Devils BBQ' lives up to its name with heavy twists and energetic playing, and 'Count On Me' channels post-grunge influence, arguably in the vein of Nickelback, but strangely manages a great soulful melody alongside its more angsty lyrics. Nothing is off the wall or wholly original, but it's very energetic, especially in the guitar playing, as riffs borrow from a variety of sources and blend them into one solid rock sound. If you're looking for a good representation of simple modern rock n' roll with a heavy twist, this is a good place to start.
Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)
"Autochthon" by Stoic Dissention
Doom Metal/Black Metal
Released June 03rd 2014
I think it goes without saying that black metal isn't known for crystal clear production, but there's a difference between dark and abrasive noise and... noise. That's ultimately the biggest problem with "Autochthon" really, is that a lot of what goes on in the albums heavier moments are inaudible, especially in the vocal department; the shrieks that are supposed to come off as cold and painful instead sound more like a muffled yell, and the actual music itself find itself buried in static, with guitar lines and cymbal hits being the only thing that show up in the forefront. That said, there is a sense of scale in this noise; 'The Eldritch & The Atavistic', for example, starts off as a slow gothic tune with some beautifully sombre and light acoustic work, before diving into the abyss with blackened riffs and mournful screams. There's a lot of great stuff going on in the background, and everything is written so well, but I really do think that a bolder and crisper sound mix would make this all the better. That said, if you're looking for something new in the world of black metal and you're not picky about sound, it's hard to go wrong with this.
Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)
Sabbatory - Orbiting Obscuron
Track 7 from Sabbatory's upcoming debut album, titled "Endless Asphyxiating Gloom." Coming May 27th from Unspeakable Axe Records