GENERAL SURGERY – Necrology (Relapse Records)

A band that gets a lot of grief for being a clone of Carcass is Swedish band General Surgery. There’s a damn good reason that happens, basically because the people that accuse them of such blatant copying are pretty much correct. They sound a hell of a lot like a band trying to be Carcass. But that doesn’t mean their music isn’t good and worth your time, because I’ve always found it is decent listening. It’s OK not to take every metal record you hear as seriously as the U.S. Constitution, you know? Just listen to it, and if you like it, then like it. Sorry, that’s just always irritated me. As many bands that are in existence, some are going to sound alike even if that isn’t the intent. Focus on the quality of the music. You’ll live a happier life that way. And by the way, Carcass’ Jeff Walker has said some complimentary things about General Surgery. Anyway, I kind of dug the limited amount of stuff I heard from this band over the years, and was looking forward to revisiting “Necrology,” a deluxe reissue of their 1991 EP (now with three bonus tracks, all alternate versions of “Necrology” cuts). By the way, the lineup you hear on this reissue is totally altered from the one that lives on as General Surgery now. So know that going in, just in case you got into the band with their more recent material.

Anyway, this 10-track effort is sticky with blood and disgusting as hell, as the dual vocals lurch out like a combination of belching and choking on bile. It’s heavy, thrashy, monstrous, and a real blast to absorb, even if it triggers that gag reflex. This is all figurative, of course. If the music literally was sticky with blood, I wouldn’t touch it. Germ freak, right here. The vocals on “The Succulent Aftermath of Subdural Haemorrhage” sound like a lion and demon battling for the stick. It’s ridiculous. “Crimson Concerto” fuses both classical music geek and flesh eater hunger in the same package; “Slithered Maceration of Ulcerous Facial Tissue” is a brow-beater, especially when it comes to the rapid-fire drumming; and “Grotesque Laceration of Mortified Flesh” has a pretty sweet grind groove and those blood-curdling growls you’ve come to love from this band. It’s like being operated on while you’re awake. Who doesn’t love that?

If you can’t shake the Carcass thing, then you probably won’t like this or give it a chance. If you just appreciate a total splatterfest of grindcore and death metal that turns your stomach as much as it pleases your ears, this reissue just might make your heart fill with joy. Just don’t be surprised if you can’t eat for a few days after you’re done with “Necrology.”

For more on the band, go here: http://generalsurgery.se/

DECAPITATED – Carnival is Forever (Nuclear Blast Records)

Polish death metal band Decapitated is lucky to be intact. Actually, scratch that. We as listeners are lucky to have Decapitated in existence, offering up a crushing new tech masterpiece that’s deliriously good.

This band seemed headed down the right track when they signed on with Nuclear Blast a few years ago following their 2006 album “Organic Hallucinosis,” released by Earache, but tragedy struck afterward when they were involved in a traffic accident in October 2007 near Russia. That incident claimed the life of the band’s drummer Witold “Vitek” Kieltyka and severely wounded singer Adrian “Covan” Kowanek, leaving guitarist Waclaw “Vogg” Kieltyka not only dealing with Decapitated’s future but, more importantly, coping with the loss of his brother. Vogg took time away from performing, then started working in a music store before fellow Poles Vader asked him to fill in on guitar for their tour. Eventually, he started thinking about his own band again and whether a resurrection was possible and proper.

Vogg assembled a new lineup for the group’s comeback record “Carnival Is Forever,” and the results are stunning. Their fifth album is a punishing, mind-blowing tour-de-force that not only does the band’s reputation well, but also serves as a proper salute to Vitek. Surely Vogg’s heart will always hurt, as he lost a sibling and a musical partner he played with since they Kieltykas were young. But he should be proud of this triumph of a record that should catapult the band into the upper echelon of Nuclear Blast’s roster and the massive death metal heap.

http://www.myspace.com/decapitated

LOOKING FOR AN ANSWER – Eterno Treblinka (Relapse Rec.)

When I first received Looking for an Answer’s latest full-length (their first for Relapse Records), I was expecting some tough-guy hardcore — I can’t remember exactly which hardcore band it is, but I’ve got an album around here somewhere that’s got this Spanish band’s name as the primary lyrics to one of their songs. At any rate, I’m glad I didn’t listen to my gut before popping Eterno Treblinka into the stereo. What erupts from the speakers after hitting “play” is some of the dirtiest, ass-kickingest and nastiest d-beat influenced death-grind I’ve heard in a long time.

To put it simply, these Spaniards know their shit — delivering thick, crusty guitars over-top unrelenting, jack-hammer drums. There’s a good bit of texture applied to this album that only adds to the dirty vibe that these guys are throwing off. Toss in some deep, guttural growls/screams and you’ve got yourself one a good bit of grinding death metal akin to an unholy marriage of Napalm Death, Terrorizer and the more modern Kill The Client. And all 17 tracks in just over 30 minutes time.

After the brief noise intro, these guys get down to business with some seriously angry punk-infused grind. Listening to this album is like sitting face-to-face with an ill-tempered silverback gorilla that is prone to violent mood swings and a sharp distaste for the human race. It’s a violent album that at times comes across predictable, but for the most part hits you from every direction possible with blinding blasts, punk rhythms and grinding vitriol. Like I said, these dudes know how to deliver the blast!

Some of the more standout tracks that you need to check out are the volcanic eruption of “Guerra Total,” the relatively slow moving “La Peste Roja,” the rising fury of “Revelacion,” the fairly groove oriented “Terror Carnivoro” and the ferocious “Christianislam.” Now that’s not to say that the rest of the album blows chunks — it sure as fuck doesn’t. Those are just some of the songs that tend to kick me in the teeth each time I hear them.

Eterno Treblinka is one of those albums that has just enough modern day technique, as well as an old school, throw-back aesthetic that the album isn’t nothing short of infectiously awesome. Thick grind delivered in quick violent eruptions of riffs and blastbeats is cool by me any day of the week.

EX DEMENTIA – The Red Mass (Horror Pain Gore Death Prod.)

Originally released in 2009, New Jersey’s Ex Dimentia have been pushing their latest album, The Red Mass, pretty heavily this past Summer. I, for one, am glad that their renewed efforts in getting this album heard finally fell my way. The Red Mass is full of chunky, raw death metal with an old school vibe complete with a thick and insidiously dark atmosphere.

“Shadow In The Chapel” gets things started with your prototypical horror/sci-fi movie sound clip before finally exploding out of your speakers nearly a minute in with unrelenting, barbaric drums and evil guitars. The vocals are deep and guttural, but carry a decent cadence that only aids in giving the band’s music a decent flow. Musically, we’re looking at old school death metal bands like Autopsy and Cannibal Corpse to name a few. “Mud and Blood” even features Autopsy’s Chris Reifert on guest gurgles as these New Jersey natives pummel and bludgeon their way through this up-tempo beast of a song. This song is gnarly as fuck. “Liquid Flesh” has a bit of a Cannibal Corpse vibe to it, but isn’t a direct mimic as it plunders your skull with thick riffs and pile driving drums.

Throughout the disc you’ll be greeted with the claw-end of a rusty, brain encrusted hammer as these guys ratchet up the the violence periodically with explosive blasts and aggressive delivery. “The Radiant Ravenous” is just such a song. Featuring Splatterhouse’s Parasitic Tim on guest vocals, the track starts off with another brief sound clip before getting down to business with the unrelenting pace of a stalking psychopath with freshly used axe in hand. The song is violent and evil. “Splattervision: Channel 2” features another guest vocalist in the form of Impaled’s Ross Sewage. It’s a decent song that carries the same violent themes and overall vibe that the first half of the album has already been slinging like random body parts out the back end of a very busy wood chipper.

The remaining half of The Red Mass is pretty solid with the somewhat standard “Belial The Basket Case,” the thick and chunky title track and the Cannibal Corpse fueled “Dead! Nude! Dancers!” That last track is prefaced by a fairly long sound clip, but it’s worth slogging through to get to the rotten meat of the song. The only downside to the last half of the album, is the rather pedestrian Venom cover. It’s not really needed as I think “Dead! Nude! Dancers!” was a strong enough song on it’s own to close out The Red Mass.

At any rate, if you’re in the mood for dark, old school death metal that seethes with zombies and rotting flesh, then this is the album for you. The relatively lo-fi production fits the band’s sound perfectly as they thunder through churning riffs, animalistic rhythms and vicious growls. Ex Dimentia haven’t hit one out of the park with their latest effort, but any fan of death metal in general should find a little morsel or two to enjoy within the churning mass of necrotic tissue that these guys have served up, hot and steaming.

TORMENTED “ROTTEN DEATH” ALBUM. 2011 LISTENABLE RECORDS.

This beast of an album was originally released in 2009 on Iron Fist Records. It was another strike of ancient and rotting death metal that has now become so part of the norm in the underground. This strike was deadly though. Tormented became one of my favorites once I heard this monster and then also their split with another favorite of mine Bombs Of Hades released this year. This is top notch Swedish death metal madness that crushes and kills with the best of them. Heavy and ripping, done in the olden tradition by some members of Edge Of Sanity, Marduk and even Scar Semmetry(?) Regardless of some who will say “members of crappy, defunct or washed up bands jumping on the bandwagon”, this album KILLS!

The title track is massive with the slow/mid build up and the samples of screams in the background. It gets all heavy and then once the fast banging starts, it doesn’t let up. It is a relentless attack all the way through! Great song! “Vengeance From Beyond The Grave” has a classic skank beat driven, heavy as fuck chug to it that just SLAUGHTERS all in sight. It’s the perfect mid paced banger that brings the album to a down and dirty level, in the sewer that is. “Blood Of The Undead” starts off with some double bass mayhem that then gets fast as fuck with the killer one/two beats. I love the parts where the drums, vocals and bass stop and it just the guitar, the riff RIPS shit to shreds. The slower double bass part/break towards the end KILLS. It’s nice and heavy. “Burning Torment” has the punches of doom to start it off. It gets all fast and ripping after that. If you look in the dictionary under Swedish death metal, you will see THIS song as the example. It has punches and 2 or 3 other riffs in the song. This is all that is needed to kill you.

“Death Owns The Night” starts the 2nd half of this masterpiece off. This will be the 2nd example of how this death noise should sound in that dictionary that I speak of. But then again, the whole album is an example of this! Bahahahaha. This one is a little slower paced, still has the fast one/two beats, but more of a slowed down/skank version, which is just fine by me. It fits these set of riffs together perfectly! “Come Back From The Dead” is next up. There is more horrific fast banging going on here. Brutal drum rolls on the chorus parts! “Drowning In Decaying Flesh” brings the total terror with a creepy intro and some chainsaw guitar lines. This band has harmonies and melodies to their death noise, but it becomes a part of it and mixes well with the murderous riffs. Plus those more melodic parts are totally EVIL. They are dark and grab hold of your neck. “Tomb Of Corpses” is another fast banger that doesn’t fuck around. The production on this album is quite impressive. It sounds like it was done all live in a graveyard. It is clear as far as hearing the instruments, but oppressive and crushing at the same time. “Reversed Funeral” brings the undead festivities to a close. This is the fastest ripper on here at first. It has a riff similar to the band Traumatic and their song “A Putrid Reek Of Mangled Remains” during the intro fats part. The song then slows down a bit to a mid paced banger style. Heavy double bass is all over the place. This is a killer song to close this fucker out.

The vocals of Dread Axelsson are impressive. Aggressive and throat shredding, they are understandable. With the sound and the songwriting, you have a deadly combination of total death metal purity, Swedish DOD style! This was one of the top albums of a couple of years ago and it is a top listening experience of today! You can get the original release through Abyss Records. This is for the collectors. Or you can get the re-release through Listenable Records. This is for you fancy fucks. Regardless, go get this album NOW! ESSENTIAL DEATH METAL!

ENTRENCH “Inevitable Decay” ALBUM. 2011 ABYSS RECORDS.

Good thrash metal is hard to come by these days. So many new bands jumped on the bandwagon of ugly ass Reebok high tops, tight pants, little vests with all the coolest patches fresh from ebay and even the poofy hair. Even quite a few of the older bands came back and tried another go at it. Most of the bands in both of these groups failed in my opinion. Then again, there are exceptions like the sets at Maryland Death Fest 2011 by old thrashers like Voivod and Nuclear Assault. They both kicked ass! Not sure about any new material that will be coming out, but both of those live sets RULED! Now Entrench have come to join the thrashing madness. They are from Sweden, but have a sound that is totally German. Think “Terrible Certainty”/”Extreme Aggression” era Kreator mixed with a little “Persecution Mania”/”Agent Orange” era Sodom. It has speed, power, aggression, ripping riffs, shrieking vocals and will make you head bang. The pace gets even a little faster at times, into the old Sadus speed, which is always welcomed! I know those will say “why waste time with a copy cat band when the originals are so much better.” This might be true at times, yet there are some bands that mix in their own stamp on the style so well, they can run with the greats. Entrench seems to be a band that has the potential to do just that. I wouldn’t call this album a “classic” but it is quite an impressive debut and all in all, a KILLER thrash album!

”As Dawn Breaks” starts everything off here, and you will swear that it’s 1987 all over again. It’s a total riff o’ ramma on this banger. Nice and fast at times and also has some killer head banging moments, like in the middle where it slows down a bit with some mid paced bangery, then gets fast again once the guitar solos kick in. “Debt of Sorrow” is 2nd and has some punches at the start that then lead to some double bass mayhem. A break comes and then a ripper of a riff introduces the manic speed of the ripping fast part. Relentless thrash at its best. “Portrait of a Phobia” is a roller coaster ride of thrashing rage that is all over the place and full of awesome riffs. I love the punk riff during one of the fast parts. The speed is more controlled, but is still fucking killer! This is one of the longer songs on here, but it doesn’t get old. “Into Oblivion” starts off with total mid paced banging. Throw in some heavy double bass and the killer mid one/two combination. The slower/fast part that comes with the vocals also rules. It remains pretty mid paced, the faster parts don’t get all that fast. But it is still a crusher of a song. Most of the songs have that “roller coaster” feel to them actually. The pace changes up quite a bit, but it all fits very well together.

“Doubt What’s Left” brings back some fast ripping again. The changes on this album are dynamic and flow so well together. The fast stuff blends well with the mid paced “mosh” stuff. There are multiple tempos all over this album. That is what makes it so enjoyable. Entrench actually remind me of my good pals here from Southern California Witchaven. “Blind Illusion” is next up. The song starts off fast and manic. The riffs tear you to shreds. It then slows down with some prime Sepultura like rolls and open riffs. It then slows down to some mid paced banging. You will find yourself banging your head clean off with this one. This song would be their “video” that all of us maniacs would stay up for back in the day, on the 3rd hour of MTV’s original Head Bangers Ball. The song takes off again with pure thrashing fury. There is an instrumental song “Crossing the River” that is next. This ain’t no pretty, classical inspired piece of artsy music, full of feelings. This thrashes and rages with the best of them. Reminds me a little of the old Metallica instrumentals, just with some more speed at times. Pretty fucking killer! Some effects at the end of the song lead into the album closer “Where Only Ruins Remain”. This banger starts off nice and slow. It still has the same killer and catchy riffs as the other songs though, especially when the fast part kicks in and the shrieks and screams from vocalist Fredrik slash through your ear drums. This song is a long one at over 7 minutes, but it never gets boring and always rages. Great work from these Swedes!

This is totally pounding and ripping thrash metal on display here. The guys can fucking jam, the riffs shred and the fingers are all over the fret boards at times. The drumming of Joel KILLS and he can get fast and attacking, as well as slower and nasty, with the best of them. The production and the sound of this are also old school, but you can hear everything, like those old Harris Johns recordings of the golden era. I HIGHLY recommend this to fans of blazing thrash, or just killer metal in general. Great work by Entrench and Abyss Records on this one!

http://www.officialabyssrecords.com/

Midnight - Satanic Royalty

"Satanic Royalty" track listing:

1. Satanic Royalty
2. You Can't Stop Steel
3. Rip This Hell
4. Necromania
5. Black Damnation
6. Lust Filth And Sleaze
7. Violence On Violence
8. Savage Dominance
9. Holocaustic Deafening
10. Shock Til Blood



Ohio black thrashers Midnight has eight years of small records, EPs, compilations and singles. “Satanic Royalty,” released through Hells Headbangers, is the group’s first full-length recording. The ten songs that comprise the track listing result in the short playing time of less than half-an-hour. Each track doesn’t move at the barn-burning speed of Slayer’s “Reign in Blood,” which should be in the dictionary for short, thrash albums. The leather-and-bullets attack of Athenar is simple and to the point. There are few brief instrumental jams—just straightforward verse and chorus.
“Satanic Royalty” is a nod in the direction of black metal’s blasphemous first wave. When NWOBHM joined speed metal, the unholy matrimony produced bands like Slayer, Bulldozer and Celtic Frost. Of course, many tracks resemble the forerunners to the above bands—Motorhead and Venom. “Necromania” features the mid-paced punch of Celtic Frost and Darkthrone. Functioning on a single guitar riff, the placement of vocals, drums and bass introduce variation. This riff and the accompanying chorus lines are so damn catchy that “Necromania” never becomes boring.
“Black Damnation” shows the group following Celtic Frost’s metallurgic formula. While producing more notes than some of their doomed catalog, “Black Damnation” has that slow, warped vibe associated with Tom G. and the boys. It’s like hearing a Motorhead record played at 33 RPMs. The bluesy, Mercyful Fate-type opening chords issue a good contrast to the barbaric, strumming rhythms that define the song. “Shock ‘Til Blood” and “Lust Filth and Sleaze” perfectly capture the spirit of Motorhead, which one would expect just by the title of the latter track. A bass solo sets a trail for the booze-fueled punk rock direction that defines “Holocaustic Deafening.” Fist-pumping NWOBHM addicts will drool “Venom” upon hearing “Rip This Hell.”
“Satanic Royalty” finds a good balance in being extreme, but not to the point of sounding shitty. The album has strong production values, bereft of the sterile, digital sound that characterizes much of today’s metal, but it lacks impurities such as the white noise heard on cassette tapes. Athenar has an aggressive vocal style, but one can distinguish every word he shouts. “Satanic Royalty” is one of those albums that are increasingly hard to find these days, as listeners can both sing and bang their heads. The only issue with this album is the length. The group could have added more solos and riffs as well.
Highs: "Satanic Royalty" contains plenty of air-punching, head-banging riffs and memorable vocal lines.
Lows: The album is quite short, less than a half-hour.
Bottom line: "Satanic Royalty" is a strong speed/black metal album, and length is its only negative feature.

"Satanic Royalty' is one of those albums that are increasingly hard to find these days, as listeners can both sing and bang their heads."

web : http://www.hellsheadbangers.com/midnight/