OSDM

Memoriam, Rise To Power (Reaper 2023)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , ,

Death metal heavyweights Memoriam are back for the fifth round, Rise To Power.

UK death metal band Memoriam was created by Bolt Thrower singer Karl Willetts and Benediction bassist Frank Healy. Since 2015, they have released three demos and four previous full-length albums, most recently To The End. The music stands on firm old school death metal ground, adding doom and groove and unexpected melodies to create fascinating music. Willetts and Healy are joined by Scott Fairfax on guitar and Spieky T. Smith on drums.

Talking about the album, Willetts says that Rise To Power is the second album of the second trilogy. He goes on to note, “The lyrical content of the new album carries on from those that precede it, maintaining the theme of grief, loss, and despair along with social commentary on recent events such as the war in Ukraine and past events such as the Holocaust. The ever-present subject of war is prevalent throughout the album as it is on all of the others. I feel that it is my responsibility as a frontman and lyricist to write about the things that I feel are important.”

The first of eight songs on the album is “Never Forget, Never Again (6 Million Dead).” There is minute-long lead-in with voices and dark melodies before the main theme lands: a mid-tempo death metal standard. The percussion shakes things up a bit, and a lyrical caveat in the middle jostles the momentum of the song. Staying true to the war theme, this opening track sets the appropriate tone for the record. “Total War” is gruffer and more actively aggressive – more like being in the battle than remembering it after the fact. Filled with speed and power and a nice lead guitar moment, this one saws the bone. “I Am The Enemy” follows and its tone sounds sorrowful to me. The establishing bars are doom-heavy and emotionally charged. The album is very much the way Karl Willetts described it, offering many views on the general themes of suffering and war. It is excellent metal with precise execution. Recommended.

Rise To Power is out on Friday, February 3rd through Reaper Entertainment. Get more info at the links below.

Band photo by Tony Gaskin.

Links.

Memoriam website, https://www.memoriamuk.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/Memoriam2016

Reaper Entertainment, https://www.reapermusic.de/reaper

© Wayne Edwards

Memoriam, Rise To Power (Reaper 2023)

Immolation, Acts Of God (Nuclear Blast 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

New York death metal icons Immolation let loose their eleventh studio album, Acts Of God.

After a couple of early name changes, Immolation got going in 1988. Their first full-length album, Dawn Of Possession (1991), planted a death metal flag that still flies. The new album has been five years in the making and fans are ready to reap the rewards of the long wait. Acts Of God certainly fits the bill. The band is Ross Dolan (bass, vocals), Robert Vigna (guitar), Steve Shalaty (drums), and Alex Bouks (guitar).

There are fifteen tracks on the album, including a couple of transitional pieces. Dolan’s rough vocals are the first thing about Immolation that imprints on your memory when you listen. The percussion and rhythm have such an unswerving reliability that they show themselves as co-necessities up front as well. The lead and melody guitarwork sail sublime seas whenever they appear. Their music is a full-force attack from every angle.

I love “Noose Of Thorns” because it is so dreary and oppressive with a caustic grind and shimmering lead break. “Blooded” is another stand-out, with the guitars seeming in a way to be mercurial. And then there is “Incineration Precession,” establishing immediately its breath-taking insistence and sure-footed forward push that cannot be resisted. These three songs might be my most preferred, but there is something remarkable that can be said about each one in the set.

There are a few heavy bands out there that have been around as long as Immolation, but there aren’t many at all that can match them. This new album is exceptional. I can tell already after a couple of listens that it will be one of my favorites of theirs. Highly recommended.

Acts Of God is out now through Nuclear Blast Records. Check out the links below. Immolation is on tour right now as well so catch them live if you can.

Links.

Immolation website, https://www.immolation.info/acts-of-god

Bandcamp, https://immolation.bandcamp.com/album/acts-of-god

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

Nuclear Blast Records, https://shop.nuclearblast.com/en/products/sound/cd/cd/immolation-acts-of-god.html

Immolation, Acts Of God (Nuclear Blast 2022)

Massacre, Resurgence (Nuclear Blast 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

Florida death metal band Massacre roll out the Lovecraftian Resurgence, their fourth big album.

It has been a long road for Massacre. The band formed in 1984 and became well-known for a number of demos they released throughout the rest of that decade. Their first full-length album was From Beyond (1991), followed five years later by Promise. Things got quiet for about fifteen years after that. Back From Beyond was Massacre’s return to form in 2014 and now, seven years later, the latest installment in their history is Resurgence.

The music is straight-forward old school death metal with a strong reliance on H. P. Lovecraft for narrative content. Vocalist Kam Lee describes to new music this way. “lyrically it is basically about body horror of aquatic transmutation. Any deeper meaning than that is just speculative, but could simply be metaphor for our world’s current situation with the pandemic and other threats of the spreading of viral infection. Musically it’s just proper O.S.D.M. the way it’s meant to be played …”

The set begins with mystery and esoteric insinuations on the “Eldritch Prophecy” lead-in before turning to a heavy pounding riff and then taking off at speed. A vocal growl is the sign that death metal is kicking in. Ascending guitars rise above the pummeling percussion and a hiss harmony deepens the vocal attack. It is a great beginning.

Through the course of ten raging tracks, the story unfolds and the music takes a tour through recognizable Old School Death Metal stomping grounds, adding fresh blasts and turns to enhance the delivery. The pace ranges from mid- to up-tempo, spending a lot of time in the fast lane. Lead breaks and guitar pairings are reliably recurrent and the metal is heavy and solid. Could you ask for anything more? Recommended.

Resurgence rises to the surface on Friday, October 22nd through Nuclear Blast Records.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://massacre3.bandcamp.com/

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

Nuclear Blast, https://www.nuclearblast.com/massacre-resurgence

Massacre, Resurgence (Nuclear Blast 2021)

Unbounded Terror, Infernal Judgment (Xtreem Music 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

Early 1990s Spanish Death Metal band Unbounded Terror offers up a vigorous assault on your senses.

Thirty years ago the band came together in Mallorca, Spain. It was the early days of Death Metal there, and they quickly joined the ranks of well-regarded heavy bands. Nest Of Affliction came out in 1992, but the band parted ways shortly afterward due to musical differences. These things happen. The resurrection was last year with the well-received Faith In Chaos.

Infernal Judgment is a compilation that includes one new song, the title track released earlier as a single, three live recordings of songs from Faith In Chaos, and four re-recorded songs from the band’s debut album. It has been a little more than a calendar year since the re-entry album so it is nice to have this new material.

The single is the big news, and it is a thunderclap of ravaging menace. The signature sound is there, and we can take it as a sign of things to come. Fast and urgent, the melodic signatures are intermingle alongside the clever hooks and pummeling rhythm. The re-recorded songs are “Dreamlord,” “Fear,” “Slaves of Sufferage,” and “Sarcastic Souls.” A lot of metal bands are doing this, and the main advantage of re-tracking old songs is the improvement in recording technology and possibly cleaning up some odds and ends from the early originals. These new versions are definitely crisper than the initial recordings. The live tracks are “They Will Come From The Pain,” “Silent Soul,” and “Hated In Hell,” and they sound great. The presentations are consistent with the studio versions but with renewed energy and the magic and madness that live music creates.

The album is scheduled to be out now and is available in digital download, CD, cassette, and vinyl versions. Check out the band’s own website for more info on what they are up to, and buy the music and merch through Bandcamp. Recommended.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://xtreemmusic.bandcamp.com/album/infernal-judgment

Band website, http://www.unboundedterror.com/

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

Unbounded Terror, Infernal Judgment (Xtreem Music 2021)

Frozen Soul, Crypt Of Ice (Century Media 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , ,

The debut LP from Fort Worth metal band Frozen Soul is the merciless application of Old School Death Metal in the creation of a soundtrack for demise.

The band has only been releasing music for a couple years, with two splits, an EP, and a single leading up to Crypt Of Ice. They are OSDM in orientation, and for some reason they remind me a little of Tomb Mold, one of my favorite new(er) bands, except less frenetic and more deliberate. Expect blast beats and heavy rhythm circling the wagons around haunting growls. The band is Chad Green (vocals), Samantha Mobley (bass), Michael Munday (guitar), Matt Dennard (drums), and Chris Bonner (guitar).

The music has a grinding, heavy power to it. There is not a focus of lead breaks and whirling speed. Rather, Doom elements live in the metal here, bringing down the tempo and pushing the relentless riffs into focus. One of my favorite songs on the album is “Merciless,” and it is the perfect example of this, with a plundering, crushing weight towards the end that was set up by fierce first half. The song then leads into “Encased In Ice,” which very much feels like being surrounded by the thick walls of a glacial tomb for almost two minutes before the tempo picks up and stabs an ice pick in your brain. There is a flowing wave here. The wandering musical variegation is not random or haphazard – it is a compositional deliberation on the dark themes brought out in the album. The result is exceptional metal delivered on a frozen silver platter. Recommended.

The new album is out now and available widely from any place that carries Century Media Records products. Also, link below. Lots of versions and merch are out there if you are so inclined. Bandcamp has the earlier EP Encased In Ice if you are interested in that – it is also really good.

Links.

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

Bandcamp, https://frozensoultx.bandcamp.com/releases

Century Media, https://www.centurymedia.com/release.aspx?IdRelease=2323

Frozen Soul, Crypt Of Ice (Century Media 2021)

Revolting, The Shadow At The World’s End review (Transcending Obscurity 2020)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , ,

The next episode in the Revolting saga is another Old School Death Metal juggernaut.

Rogga Johansson is the driving force in Revolting. Joined by Tobias and Martin on the new album, they play in the Swedish Death Metal vein, old school style. That means a fast tempo, razor sharp, tight lead shreds, and the classic invader/dominator commanding coarse vocals. The band released a demo in 2008, and since then has issued an EP, a split with Morbid Ossuary, and six full length albums, the most recent being Monolith Of Madness in 2018. The Shadow At The World’s End, then, is their seventh LP, and if anything it is more creative and energetic than the ones that have come before.

There are nine songs on the new album, all at radio length and every one a ripping sonic roar. “Defleshed” is the opener, and from the first note it is like coming in on the middle of a high speed car chase. The vocals are gruff yet decipherable, and the riffs are layered. “1888” is next with a clompy rhythm up front for a short breather before the title track throws sparks and kicks it up a notch. There are a few somewhat down-tempo paced tracks, like “Daggers That Mimic Life’s Pain,” and there the power goes into the heavy so “slow” is not really a good way to describe the music. The whirring pace of songs like “To The Bitter Bleeding End” keep you on your feet all the way through, and the relative brevity of the compositions allows no attention drift. This is another excellent set from Revolting. Recommended.

The Shadow At The World’s End is available now. You can get the digital at Bandcamp. You can also order any of the amazing bundles offered by Transcending Obscurity through Bandcamp or through the labels’ US store.

Links.

Revolting Bandcamp, https://revoltingdeath.bandcamp.com/album/the-shadow-at-the-worlds-end-death-metal

Revolting Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/revoltingdeathmetal

Label website, https://tometal.com/

Label Bandcamp, https://transcendingobscurity.bandcamp.com/

Label US Store, https://transcendingobscurity.aisamerch.com/search/?q=revolting

Revolting, The Shadow At The World’s End review (Transcending Obscurity 2020)