Manic Scum - Better Left Undead [EP]

What is it with Grind bands and putting rotting skulls on the covers for their releases? Along with the nice ode to Repulsion, the music on Manic Scum's newest EP "Better Left Undead" also follows suit as there is definitely some Repulsion worshiping going on here, but also some clear Impetigo, Brutal Truth and Napalm Death influences thrown in for good measure. 

With seven tracks that add up to just a little over 11 minutes, there really isn't much to say about this EP. Every track is extremely ferocious and possesses that uncontrollable frenzy of energy that drives the listener batshit crazy, with some catchy midpaced riffs that are pushed to the extreme with unrelenting blast beats, the occasional death metal styled tremolo bursts and the low end vocals that top everything off. Well, the last track "Entombed for Eternity" does have some kind of melodic riff going on at the beginning that sets up the bleak atmosphere for the rest of the track, but all in all every song here fits the same mold and doesn't try to portray Manic Scum as some super original group of hipsters trying their hand at making Grindcore. Any fan of the aforementioned bands will definitely welcome "Better Left Undead" into their music collection, and personally I can't wait to hear more material from these guys. 

Be sure to check out and like Manic Scum on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/ManicScum

Highlights

"Wormfood"

"Undead Rising"

"Entombed for Eternity"

Final Rating

4.2/5 or 84%. 

Black Breath - Sentenced to Life

Despite the rather unimpressive artwork (though that is a pretty bitchin' new logo they've got), Black Breath's sophomore effort "Sentenced to Life" is nothing short of what fans of the band should expect. Extremely hard-hitting riffs, intense vocals, crazy solos and the high chance of some violence ensuing. While this isn't much of a departure from the sound that this band has created, especially on their debut record "Heavy Breathing," it wouldn't be much of a stretch to say that Black Breath has added an extra dose of metal influence into this full-length.

The same unrelenting energy from Black Breath's previous material can be found throughout "Sentenced to Life," and I probably would be pretty accurate in saying that this record is more aggressive and angry than anything this band has produced before. The riffs are simple, yet they're played in a way that makes them memorable and highly convincing that these guys are the real deal, similar to Joel Grind and every project that he touches. There is absolutely nothing mindblowing about the intro riff to the track "Home of the Grave," but it doesn't matter because the listener will be too busy giving himself a concussion from the inevitable headbanging that is sure to occur. The title track is another song that really excels at keeping things simple, but incredibly catchy with a great mix of death metal tremolo sections and crusty riffs abound. 

These metalpunk bastards hardly tweaked their sound here, but the more emphasis on the metal influence is definitely noticeable. The intro to "Endless Corpse" creates a highly eerie atmosphere with the use of melodies and other instruments before turning into an assault of high octane death/crust goodness. The track "Mother Abyss" is a complete onslaught of the senses  as it decimates everything in its path with some very thrashy riffs and some others that absolutely reek of Repulsion on "Horrified," which is always a great thing. The dark melodies found on "Sentenced to Life" aren't really new to the band per say, but they're found in more abundance. The melodies on "The Flame" and "Obey" are a great addition to the music as they give the music a much darker feel once again and play up that metal influence.

Even with the extra emphasis on the metal aspect of this record, I wouldn't say that these guys are closer to death metal than crust, like Bastard Priest, but there is no question that Black Breath is some top-notch death/crust. To put things simply, if you are a fan of any of the band's previous material then "Sentenced to Life" will instantly become a mainstay in your collection. If you haven't had the pleasure of listening to Black Breath yet, but you like any of the bands that I name-dropped earlier on then you had best be buying this record once it comes out. 

Be sure to check out and like Black Breath on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/BLACKBREATH.MUSIC

Highlights

"Sentenced to Life"

"Home of the Grave"

"Mother Abyss"

Final Rating

4.5/5 or 90%.  

Funeral Whore - Step Into Damnation

The Netherlands is no stranger to great metal acts, as some of the most respected names in the genre hail from there. Asphyx and Pestilence are probably the most notable ones along with underrated metal masters like Pyathrosis and Dead Head, but what about Funeral Whore? Do they follow in the same footsteps as those who preceded them? They definitely do and after listening to their debut record "Step into Damnation," I would definitely say they're well on their way to joining the ranks of fellow new (well, newer) death metal bastards in Hail of Bullets. 

There isn't really a specific subgenre of death metal that Funeral Whore could be pigeonholed into. There are plenty of instances when the music on "Step Into Damnation" gives off an evil kind of vibe, similar to Incantation or Immolation, but there are also several moments when the band sounds extremely similar to Entombed or Dismember, as well as glimpses of some Finndeath influence and the occasional Bolt Thrower grooving and pummeling. The first track "Eternal Genocide" definitely gravitates towards the more low-fi American death metal sound as a majority of the riffs are tremolo bursts that just ooze of early Incantation, while the very heavy vocals crush the listener in between the even heavier riffs placed occasionally through the song. The tracks "Camp Blood" and "El Salvador Death Squad" also show similiar tendencies and could be regarded as more American sounding. 

The Swedeath influence is mainly present in the melodies and solos found throughout "Step into Damnation," although the track "Obidience" is pretty much Nihilist worship through and through, with the midpaced heavy riffage and d-beat drumming. Songs like "Wasteland of Corpses" (Could this be what inspired that awesome album art?) and "Threesome" all have a very heavy doom influence and these tracks wouldn't sound out of place whatsoever on a compilation of death metal from Finland. Just listen to the melody near the end of the title track, it's completely reminiscent of bands like (early) Amorphis and Convulse as it conjures a very morbid feeling. I'm glad to see that Funeral Whore are fans of Bolt Thrower too, because the groovy riff in "Failure of the Sacrifice" is absolutely brilliant, like "War Master" kind of brilliant. 

As I said before, there really isn't any sort of mold that these guys are trying to fit and they're just playing music that runs the gamut of all kinds of great death metal and they're doing it incredibly well. Any fan of the aforementioned bands should have no problem with "Step into Damnation" and Funeral Whore in general. 

Be sure to check out and like Funeral Whore on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Funeral-Whore/162850173791403

Highlights

"Eternal Genocide"

"The Bitch Died"

"Failure of the Sacrifice"

Final Rating

4.25/5 or 85%.

Nocturnal Torment - They Come At Night

Despite "They Come At Night" being Nocturnal Torment's first full-length album, these guys aren't necessarily new to the metal scene. They were originally known as Termination, who only released a single demo before splitting up, but now they've returned and they have done so with a furor of epic proportions on this record. This isn't the thrashy material these guys were playing 20 years ago, but some wicked death metal that brings with it an extreme amount of chaos and destruction. The most accurate descriptions that I've seen/read about Nocturnal Torment would be the comparisons to Floridian death metal giants Deicide and Malevolent Creation, but that's not doing this band justice. While there are definitely similar aspects to the music, these guys are much more than some new death metal act trying to play exactly like two of the most well-known bands of the genre.

Along with the aforementioned comparisons, Nocturnal Torment is definitely a bit more savage than those bands. It would be like Deicide and Malevolent Creation had a violent and bloody orgy involving members of Nunslaughter, [Early] Morbid Angel and Sinister. The opening track "Vile Affliction" is pretty standard American death metal, but the next track "Alternative Reality" is where the band's true talents lie. These guys manage to successfully mix some bludgeoning, heavy riffs with the traditional death metal tremolo passages for some quality enjoyment, but that inner savage makes itself clear later on and the band seems to go off of their figurative tracks, so to speak. The tremolo sections later on are highly chaotic and almost reminiscent of some crazy Blasphemy or Conqueror type war metal act, but the music is still very concise and never comes off as spastic. 

Probably the best quality about "They Come At Night" is the songwriting. Nocturnal Torment isn't content with writing songs that range between 3 and 4 minutes, instead delivering some mighty fine tracks that clock in at over five to six minutes. A lot of bands (these days, especially) try to come off as mature or musically adept by writing longer material but they simply don't have the ability to keep the listener interested for that amount of time, but these gentlemen provide enough dynamics on every track to keep the listener interested. Whether it's haunting tremolo passages ("Bleeding"), incredibly heavy and catchy riffs ("Sweet Decay") or just an all around brilliant piece of music with everything you could ask for ("Alternative Reality"), Nocturnal Torment gets the job done, and they do very well. 

There isn't anything negative that I can bring myself to say about this record or the band. "They Come At Night" is great from beginning to end and chances are this album will be one that sees steady rotation throughout the year, as well as make plenty of year-end lists. Incantation clones, Dismember worshipers, and Autopsy knockoffs had better beware, because Nocturnal Torment is exactly the kind of band that could put you all on the back shelf. 

Be sure to check out and like Nocturnal Torment on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nocturnal-Torment/234900306530240

Highlights

"Alternative Reality"
"Cycle of Life"

"Sweet Decay"

Final Rating

4.5/5 or 90%.

Skinfather - Atheos [Demo]

One of the key reasons that there is somewhat of a backlash towards the massive amount of new bands out today playing metal in the vein of the old-school, is that these bands show no originality or come off as complete ripoffs of their influences. You wouldn't believe how many bands out there are guilty of this, whether they're playing retro-thrash, death metal, doom metal or any other ancient form of metal, they are generic and not worth another listen. But that isn't the case for all bands. There are some bands out there who can manage to emulate their influences in nearly every category, yet sound refreshing and great all the same. Orange County's death metal five-piece, Skinfather falls into the latter category with their Nihilist/Entombed worship. 

"Atheos" is the band's debut five-track demo and this is how death metal is meant to be played in 2012. Raw, aggressive, and angry. I must emphasize angry when mentioning Skinfather, a band that features members from the metallic hardcore group Creatures, because that hardcore feel is present mainly in the vocals. This guy's vocals sound pissed and when backed by the incredibly heavy riffage, the need to break something or someone arises. The opening track "Christ Disease" starts with a feedback-ridden sample of some shitty Beatles song (I think it's the Beatles anyway) before turning into a violent assault of good ol' fashioned Swedeath style riffs that are later followed by the already mentioned hardcore-esque vocals. Personally, hardcore has never been a genre that I've been a fan of, but the vocals here suit the relentless music perfectly and also give Skinfather some factor of "uniqueness."

Skinfather's hardcore-tinged, death metal assault doesn't let up at all. "Unburial Rites" and "Slave to Faith" hit the listener one after the other like a sledgehammer across the jaw and bring about memories of Entombed's more hectic and violent tunes while the next track "Dead Deity" opens with a cool bassline and some heavy chords before giving the listener goosebumps with the haunting melody that follows. The title track, actually has quite a bit of a Bolt Thrower influence, especially in the way that the double-bass drums have an extremely thunderous sound and the doomy riff near the end of the song. 

It's starting to look like Sweden has some competition as far as this whole Swedeath worshiping group of bands goes. Bands like Terminate, Fatalist and now Skinfather all have made their mark on the American scene and I couldn't be happier. If you're a fan of old-school death metal, then there is no reason that you won't like these guys, so stop being a hater on the new breed and give "Atheos" a listen. 

Be sure to check out and like Skinfather on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/skinfatherofficial

Highlights

"Christ Disease"

"Slave to Faith"

"Atheos"

Final Rating

4.3/5 or 86%.