Greece

Septicflesh, Modern Primitive (Nuclear Blast 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , ,

The new album from Greek symphonic death metal band Septicflesh is Modern Primitive, their eleventh.

Beginning in 1990 with the slightly different name of Septic Flesh, the Greek death metal band released six albums in the next many years. Taking a break in 2003, they returned four years later as Septicflesh, and since then have been back to their founding premise, continuing and expanding the scope of the their dramatic music. Modern Primitive is Septicflesh’s first album in five years, following Codex Omega. The band is Seth Siro Anton (vocals and bass), Christos Antoniou (guitar), Sotiris Anunnaki V (clean vocals and guitar), Psychon (guitar), and Kerim “Krimh” Lechner (drums).

There are nine tracks on the new album. “The Collector” is an ominous beginning for Modern Primitive, with its frightening melody. Even the clean vocals are paired with a crackling dark side. Full, rich compositions, a hallmark of symphonic metal, are on display establishing a theatrical presence and framework, really, for the album. “Hierophant” is a storm rolling across the Adriatic with unstoppable menace. Growls and punishing percussion burn off any remaining illusion, plunging you into “Self-Eater,” a state where you cannot hide from yourself. These songs are tied together in the narrative and, by themselves, create a classical drama.

The album continues with elaborate constructions and emotive metal. Stand-out songs for me are “A Desert Throne” with its stabbing guitar and aggressive footing that the melody is laid over, and “Modern Primitives” because of its pervasive heaviness tag-teaming with royal flourishes. The final track is “A Dreadful Muse.” This song is among the most energetic of the entire bringing a strong finish to an excellent album. Once things got started there was no slowing this metal down. Recommended.

Modern Primitive is out now through Nuclear Blast Records in the usual variety of formats.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://septicflesh.bandcamp.com/album/modern-primitive

Website, https://www.septicflesh.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/septicfleshband

YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/user/Septicfleshoffcial

Nuclear Blast, https://shop.nuclearblast.com/en/shop/item/groups/51000.1.html?article_group_sort_type_handle=rank&custom_keywords=septicflesh

© Wayne Edwards

Septicflesh, Modern Primitive (Nuclear Blast 2022)

Ectoplasma, Inferna Kabbalah (Memento Mori 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

Steeped in a horrifying glaze of dark otherness, the new Ectoplasma record is a feast for your twitching senses.

Since 2104, Ectoplasma has been spreading its dank word in the heavy metal scene. Springing up from Greece, this throat-punching death metal act has released a host of EPs and splits, plus three previous long-players, most recently White-Eyed Trance (2019). According to the band, the new album “shamelessly manifested their devotion to muddy, organic, disgusting, bone-breaking, and rotten-to-the-core death metal.” Who would argue with a musical self-description like that? The credited musicians on the new album are Giannis Grim (vocals and bass) and Dimitris Sakkas (guitar and drums).

Nicely fuzzy guitars startle the death metal arrangement on the first song, “God Is Dead, Satan Lives (Rosemary’s Baby).” A welcome groove steps in fairly early in the track and gives it pace and wings. “Appalling Abomination” has a darker initial presence, and a thicker heaviness. The beehive gets broken open in the first minute, however, and whirling, dizzying speed takes over. And then the groove kicks in again. I am liking this combination.

Later on, the title track bears the band’s death metal teeth and the gruff vocalizations are their most sinister so far. The bass line that opens “Gruesome Sacred Orgasms” is most inviting, and the stabby nature of the following riffs thoroughly sells the concept of the song title. “Filth-Ridden Flesh” offers callbacks to earlier tracks, and the closer drips hot, toxic wax on the set with a menacing cadence. There were a number of good surprises on the album and overall it hit the right spots for me. Recommended.

Inferna Kabbalah sprang to life on January 24th through Memento Mori and Rotted Life. Touch the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://ectoplasma187.bandcamp.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/Ectoplasma-1579524392276613

Memento Mori, http://www.memento-mori.es/

Rotted Life, https://www.rottedlife.com/

Ectoplasma, Inferna Kabbalah (Memento Mori 2022)

Abyssus, Death Revival (Transcending Obscurity 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

Greek death metal band Abyssus starts their tenth year with a full-length addition to their canon, Death Revival.

The new album might be only the second long-player from Athens-based Abyssus, but that statistic is misleading because they have released a great deal of music in the past decade. In fact, there are so many splits and EPs it is hard to keep track of them all. The band did release a compilation in 2016 called Once Entombed… that collects some of the earliest work they did, and that helps fans and collectors keep up. The best way to get started if you are new to Abyssus is to listen to their new album, Death Revival.

The music is a sort of thrash-inspired death metal. The new album hosts seven ravaging tracks that walk the line and, at times, crash right over it. Once you hear the album, you are going to want to go back and listen to more. The band is Konstantinos Analytis (vocals), Panos Gkourmpaliotis (guitar), Konstantinos Ragiadakos (bass), Jan Westermann (drums), and Chris Liakos (guitar).

“Metal Of Death” begins with a gentle rainstorm then comes crashing in hard and fast enough to give you a nose bleed. It is very much a thrash track with the riffs and lead breaks to match, and heavy vocals that turns it toward the world of death metal. Other songs are structured this way as well, but then you have divergences like “The Beast Within,” that strike a heavy groove and pair it with peppering blast beats.

I have a particular affection for “The Witch,” the shortest song of the set, for its sinister vibrancy, and for the closer, “When Wolves Are Out To Hunt,” which is the longest track. That final piece is dramatic, cinematic, and thoroughly rousing in every metal particular. Listening to it is an experience. Seek this album out – it is most excellent. Highly recommended.

Death Revival lurches to life today, Friday, January 21st, through Transcending Obscurity Records.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://abyssusgreece.bandcamp.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/Abyssus666

Transcending Obscurity Records, https://transcendingobscurity.aisamerch.com/

Abyssus, Death Revival (Transcending Obscurity 2022)

Black Soul Horde, Horrors From The Void (Vinyl Store 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

Greek dark metal band Black Soul Horde take a journey through the Lovecraftian ether on Horrors from the Void.

Black Soul Horde is rapidly building a reputation for reliably creating epic metal landscapes in dark dimensions. Take last year’s Land Of Demise, for example, and the earlier Tales of the Ancient Ones (2013). The music has an Iron Maiden kind of scale but leans in a somewhat speedier direction. The band is Jim Kotsis (vocals), John Tsiakopoulos (guitar, bass), and Costas Papaspyrou (guitar). Vasilis Nanos is the drummer for the recording session.

The new album has a specific narrative focus on the mythology created by H. P. Lovecraft. A lot of metal bands have found rich veins to mine in Lovecraft, and for good reason. Not every song on Horrors From The Void is sourced entirely from this realm but they do all have mystical premises. The way Black Soul Horde uses the literature it is to take an idea or story and set it in an imminently digestible metal package of approachable, catchy riffs and thrilling lead breaks.

We hear on these eight tracks a talent for melody and astute composition that make every song a living experience. It is metal told at an epic scale and Kotsis’s voice is strong and clear – well patterned to the musical paradigm. My favorites are the opener and the penultimate track, “Beneath the Mountains of Madness” and “The Curse,” because they exhibit all the individual elements that make the album work so well as a whole.

The CD version of the album contains two bonus tracks, “Dragonfire” and “The Horde.” It is worth getting the physical for these songs because of the blistering lead work on “Dragonfire” and the grand presentation that is “The Horde.” If you liked their last album Land of Demise then you will like this one, too. For me, the new one goes a notch higher. Recommended.

Horrors From The Void is out tomorrow, November 10th, in CD and digital formats. Links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://blacksoulhorde.bandcamp.com/album/horrors-from-the-void

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/blacksoulhorde

Vinyl Store, https://www.vinylstore.gr/

Black Soul Horde, Horrors From The Void (Vinyl Store 2021)

Dødsferd, Skotos (Transcending Obscurity 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , ,

The new EP from Greek Black Metal band Dødsferd is a fitting companion piece to Diseased Remnants of a Dying World.

Dødsferd is Wrath (Nikos Spanakis) who plays everything except the drums, and the drummer for this EP, N. D. (Nikos S.). The publishing legacy of the project dates back to a demo from 2003 and includes an impressive list of releases. Most recently, 2018’s Diseased Remnants of a Dying World was strongly welcomed by fans. The new two-track is essentially a solo release but it is also clearly aligned with the previous album – it is hard to separate one from the other. The main difference is the brutal pace of these two new songs compared to the more moderate general tint of the 2018 album.

The two tracks on the Skotos EP are “Skotadi” and “Cursed To Die At First Light.” Both songs are a barrage of sound, aimed at the breaking point of your psyche. They really do seem to be engineered as an all-out assault on your senses from the punishing percussion to the indefatigable siege laid on by vocals and guitars. Having listened to them you can rightly consider yourself assailed.

The bonus from Transcending Obscurity for the digital album is much bigger than the EP – you get the entire Diseased Remnants of a Dying World album, too. If you do not already have this earlier album it is a no-brainer to pick up Skotos. Besides, these two new tracks fit in well with the earlier longer set and hearing them together is synergistic.

Check out the Bandcamp link for all the versions available. Skotos is out now.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://dodsferd.bandcamp.com/album/skotos-atmospheric-black-metal

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDodsferd

Transcending Obscurity, https://transcendingobscurity.aisamerch.com/band/dodsferd-greece

Dødsferd, Skotos (Transcending Obscurity 2021)

Nervosa, Perpetual Chaos (Napalm Records 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , , ,

The thrash is verily raging from the new metal set by Nervosa.

Nervosa began in São Paulo, Brazil just over ten years ago. Brandishing a rugged version of classic Thrash, the band released three albums over the years, the new one making four. Founder and guitarist Prika Amaral is joined by three new musicians for Perpetual Chaos: Diva Satanica (aka, Rocío Vázquez, on vocals), Mia Wallace (bass), and Eleni Nota (drums). It is a truly international band, with the three new members hailing from Spain, Italy, and Greece.

The new set is made up of thirteen songs – that’s a good number. Brevity is the call sign with these three minute furies, speeding as they do to bowl you over before you can tell what hit you.

“Venomous” is the no-nonsense opener that cracks and zips with fist punching riffs, blast beats, and a rollicking lead break. The vocals snarl into the Death Metal range, adding a sinister touch to the sound that matches well with the wicked themes – witness the next song, “”Guided By Evil.” Apart from the ever-present up-tempo, there are a lot of approachable hooks and fan-pleasing choruses that’ll be great live when the crowd sings along. The pressure is on all the way to the final track, “Under Ruins,” which, itself, is one my favorites.

There are a few guest appearances to add to the variety and season the mix, including by Guilherme Miranda (Revolta), Schmier (Destruction), and Erik A. K. Knutson (Flotsam and Jetsam). The album is imminently listenable and bears re-spinning at its end. The newest incarnation of Nervosa has definitely thrown down the gauntlet with this one. Recommended.

Perpetual Chaos is out now. All sorts of versions and merchandise are available at the Napalm Records site. The band has its own store, too, and there is always Bandcamp. Consider yourself hooked up.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://nervosa-brazil.bandcamp.com/

Website, https://nervosaofficial.com/website/english-home/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/nervosa

Napalm Records, https://napalmrecords.com/english/nervosa.html

Nervosa, Perpetual Chaos (Napalm Records 2021)

Blessed By Perversion, Remnants Of Existence (2020)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

Remnants Of Existence is the newest album from Blessed By Perversion, following up on their 2016 debut long-player Between Roots And Darkness.

The band entered the vibrant Greek metal scene in 2012 with their Destroy The Image Of God EP. Since then they have been working their way through the caverns of heavy music, making consistent progress and expanding their fan base. The basic style is a crowd-pleasing Death Metal crossover that will appeal to listeners of many different metal subgenres. The musicians are Manolis Kouelo (guitar), Kostas Foutris (guitar), Andreas Moschopoulos (vocals), Vaggelis Nanos (bass), and Vasilis Nanos (drums).

There are five songs on the EP plus a quiet, tense intro piece. “Gallery of Bones” sets the pace with steady rhythm and percussion alongside the gruff, intelligible vocals. The composition is very approachable, being neither dense nor highly complex, and the song includes a tasty lead break. “Atonement Refused” picks up the pace, moving toward the high end of mid-tempo, and including a couple of 80’s metal guitar warble homage moments. “Among The Tombs of Absent Gods” and “Caverns of Torture” establish viable bridges to the closer, “Within Monumental Chaos.” This song is my favorite of the set, and has perhaps the darkest tone and excellent rhythm and percussion elements. The bass line and the lead guitar are the most challenging here too, showing the breadth of expression the band is willing and able to display.

Remnants Of Existence is out now, and the quickest pick-up is at Bandcamp. Get some more metal in your 2021. Recommended.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://blessedbyperversion.bandcamp.com/album/remnants-of-existence

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/blessedbyperversion

Blessed By Perversion, Remnants Of Existence (2020)

Exarsis, Sentenced To Life (MDD Records 2020)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

With their fifth album Sentenced To Life, Exarsis fulfills your need, your need for speed.

Greek band Exarsis has been flying the flag for Thrash and Speed Metal for ten years. Under Destruction was their first long-player in 2011, and since then they have been they have been lashing the shores with a new guitar tsunami every couple of years. The band is now Nick Tragakis (vocals), Chris Poulos (bass), Chris Tsitsis (guitars), and Panos Meletis (drums)

Sentenced To Life is perhaps a little more approachable to crossover fans than some of their earlier music with more emphasis on melody, but the speed is still there and it rolls you right over. They play an old school brand of Thrash, touched by the nearly forgotten style of Speed Metal. The result is a credible case for whiplash.

First up on the record is “Cen$ored,” an intro bit that starts with a crackling voiceover that is increasingly heavily bleeped and distorted on the way to the first wailing high-octane song, “Another Betrayal.” Tragakis gives us high register vocals matching up with the stunning speed of the guitar riffs and lead blasts that are so wilting your ears are a little behind on getting all the notes in.

The percussion is at pace as well, pummeling like a cavalry at full charge. You can really hear the intense drumming on songs like “The Truth Is No Defense” where it seems to defy physics. Every song has outstanding attributes and they all call out to be heard again. The ones I hit more than a couple times were “Mouthtied” for the amazing passage in the middle of the song and “Interplanetary Extermination” for its sheer blaze. Fantastic. Recommended.

Sentenced To Life could be flowing into your brain right now. It is available to buy from MDD Records through Bandcamp and you can listen on the usual variety of streaming services.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://exarsis.bandcamp.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/exarsis

MDD Records, https://mdd-records.de/

Exarsis, Sentenced To Life (MDD Records 2020)

Black Soul Horde, Land of Demise (2020)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

Heavy riffs are pulsing from the Greek Islands as Black Soul Horde release their second album.

It has been a while since we heard new music from Athens heavy metal band Black Soul Horde. Their first album, Tales Of The Ancient Ones, came out in 2013. There have been a lot of twists and turns since then, but, whatever road had to be traveled, the journey was a success because the new album is a showcase of old school metal. The primary driving force in the band is John Tsiakopoulos (guitars and bass), who also did all the producing and technical studio work. John is joined on Land of Demise by Jim Kotsis (vocals) and Costas Papaspyrou (guitar solos), with session drumming by Vasilis Nanos.

The musical style is a classic brand of heavy metal with clear New Wave Of British Heavy Metal roots. You can hear this in the vocals particularly but also in the rhythm and riffs. The percussion is more on the contemporary metal side and this overall combination seasons the songs for a crossover palate.

“Stone Giants” gets things started with a confident thumping tick and growing feedback consolidating into a theatrical opening (ala Vivian Campbell on Holy Diver, say). You start to get a sense of the scale of the musical composition as early as the second song “Into The Badlands,” where elements of epic metal show through, the drums really start roar, and a generous lead break makes its appearance.

Fantasy strands are persistent in the narrative themes and they shape the overall feel of the album. The songs are held in the four minute range, making them confrontable. The final songs are every bit as strong as the ones in the middle and the beginning. Indeed, the lead work winds up to new levels near the end in “Lord Of All Darkness” and, the closer, “Iron Will,” is a raging torrent with sinister outro. This album is definitely throwing up sparks. Recommended.

Land Of Demise had been delayed for a little while because of the pandemic. The digital is out now, with a CD release slated for December 14th, followed by the vinyl early in February.

Links.

Bandcamp, http://blacksoulhorde.bandcamp.com

Facebook, http://facebook.com/blacksoulhorde

Black Soul Horde, Land of Demise (2020)