Pyrexia - Feast of Iniquity

For the first few years of brutal death metal’s existence, it was quite interesting. Bands like Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, and Pyrexia were able to take what everyone else was doing and turn it up another couple of notches. Somewhere over the years, this feeling of intensity was lost to a mechanical, rhythmic sound that was ultimately very predictable. There are still some decent bands doing that style of music, but nothing beats the original. Proof of that fact is Pyrexia’s new record, “Feast of Iniquity”. This is a death metal album that is both more technical and aggressive than standard death metal, but also far more interesting than the brutal bands of today.

The best example of this is the hard-hitting opener “The Pendulum”. The riffs are straight out of New York’s signature sound, and even bring back hints of other greats like Malevolent Creation. Part of this is attributable to the guitar tone, which still has a bit of thrash feel to it. It gives more room for the guitars to breathe, as they aren’t excessively muted all of the time. This song also shows how slight hints of melody can actually help this style of music. Although melodic elements may not be what many seek in brutal death metal, it is a way to differentiate the songs. Even the use of a guitar solo in “The Pendulum” is welcomed because it once again shifts the energy of the song.

Another element of this record that is welcomed is the drum performance. The easiest way to ruin a death metal record is for it to be nothing but blast beats. Luckily, drummers Dave Culross and Doug Bohn inject a wide variety of rhythms (I can’t find any indication as to who played on which track). They makes full use of all styles of extreme metal drumming, from sections with relenting double bass, to blast beats, to thrashier sections. Perhaps the most impressive moment is near the end of “Infliction”, when the drums go half time and create an absolutely crushing moment when combined with the riffs overtop. 

Most of the songs on “Feast of Iniquity” tend to be similar. Some of them deliver better riffs than others (see “Wheel of Impunity” for maximum brutality), but there are no duds. One track that does stand out as a bit strange is “Panzer Tank Lobotomy”. Overall, vocalist Eric Shute’s performance on this album is nothing short of fantastic, but on this song it feels like he holds back the aggression a little bit. I hesitate to call it metalcore, because it’s not, but it has a very similar feel to it. It's not so much what the vocals sound like themselves, but more the attitude he has in the delivery. In general, however, the songs (“Panzer Tank Lobotomy” included) are so short that even when they aren’t moving at a thousand miles a minute, they tend to be over before you know it. This brevity provides a satisfy experience as the record never overstays its welcome, and provides just enough to leave you wanting more. “Feast of Iniquity” is a blueprint of how to create quality death metal in 2013, and fans of the legendary New York death metal bands will continue to worship Pyrexia when they hear this record.

Be sure to check out and like Pyrexia on Facebook!

Highlights

"The Pendulum"

"Infliction"

"Wheel of Impunity"

Final Rating

4.3/5 or 86%. 

Written by Scott  

Toxic Holocaust - Chemistry of Consciousness

I love most new thrash, but there is one criticism of it that is very easy to make. Aside from a few bands, most of these bands are out to sound like their idols. While they still enjoy bands like Iron Maiden, Diamond Head, and others, they do little to incorporate these bands into their sound. Likewise, few new thrash bands remember that thrash came about partly because of the influence of punk. The biggest exception to this has always been Toxic Holocaust. They’ve already delivered several brutal albums of punkish thrash, and their newest release, “Chemistry of Consciousness” is no exception.

The opening track, “Awaken The Serpent” is the best example of this sound. With its simplistic riffing and loose drumbeats, this song displays an energy unlike anything else you hear in thrash nowadays. The vocals of Joel Grind take this in a bit of a different direction, as he literally shreds his voice to pieces as he spits out lyrics. This vocal style takes much more influence from the blackened side of thrash, and adds some variety to the record. Aside from the opener, most of the other songs follow a similar format. They’re all pretty short, feature relatively straightforward riffs, and are a burst of aggression. The biggest exception to this is “Rat Eater”, which is the only song over 3 minutes, and that’s because it opens with a slower, heavy intro before the song morphs into something similar to the rest of the record.

Generally, this album is at its strongest when the band sounds as quick and raw as possible. The more punk that a song sounds, the more convincing it tends to be. This applies to the first track, as well as “Out of the Fire” and “I Serve…”, which are the other huge highlights. The reason these tracks are most successful is because they compliment the sound of the album. As mentioned earlier, Joel’s vocals are truly vicious, and the guitar tone follows a similar lack of listener-friendliness. The instruments sound pretty fuzzy; it’s almost like both the guitars and bass are as overdriven as possible. The drums are not particularly modern sounding. They aren’t excessively loud, and the snare doesn’t have that high ping that plagues many other bands. In addition, drummer Nick Bellmore does a great job in alternating between standard thrash beats and more traditional punk beats. These punk beats put more focus on the timing of the bass drum, and tend to reduce any sense of monotony this album gives off. 

Ultimately, “Chemistry of Consciousness” is an album that is going to please fans of Toxic Holocaust. It’s a concise effort that accurately depicts the band’s sound, while still maintaining the quality they’ve brought in the past. It avoids pretty much everything that can ruin a thrash album (being too long, boring songwriting/lack of variation, etc.). It would be a surprise to not see this on many year-end lists!

Be sure to check out and like Toxic Holocaust on Facebook!

Highlights

"Awaken The Serpent"

"Out Of The Fire"

"I Serve..."

Final Rating

4.3/5 or 86%. 

Written by Scott  

Stone Magnum - From Time...To Eternity

Being a thrash enthusiast, I’ve always struggled to get into doom. It takes a very special release for me to really enjoy doom, and aside from Black Sabbath, those albums are few and far between. As you may have already guessed, Stone Magnum’s “From Time…To Eternity” is most definitely an impressive doom album. The cover art will draw you in, but the music will keep you spinning this record.

The album kicks off with the title track, which is one of the songs that are truly slow throughout a portion of the track (“Uncontained” being the main other one). Immediately the guitar tone will jump out as being eternally heavy. This is a prime example of how slow music can be far heavier than faster songs. This track gives room for vocalist Nick Hernandez to shine. He has a very classic traditional doom sound, not unlike you would expect from bands like Candlemass. The slow, churning riffs also give the bass room to breathe. While this opener is undoubtedly a great track, the first highlight is the next song, “Lonely God”. The only way to describe the main riff of this song is rocking. It is very simple, but much like Sabbath’s riffs, very effective. “Lonely God” also features the best guitar solo of the record, and is probably my favourite song overall (though it is challenged by the Iommi-like groove in the first solo on “In The Garden of Beasts”). The other major highlight on “From Time…To Eternity” is “By An Omen I Went”. I’ve already mentioned Sabbath a couple of times, but this song truly captures the essence of those classic Sabbath riffs (particularly from the “Vol. 4” era). There’s a fantastic groove on this track, and all of the elements click well.

Perhaps what surprised me most about this album (and should be attributed to my lack of doom knowledge) is how uptempo it could get at times. As mentioned earlier, “Uncontained” is one of the slowest songs on the album, but it eventually breaks out into a faster pace. The speed certainly doesn’t rival any thrash bands, but it doesn’t need to. It provides contrast to the sluggish pace of the remainder of the song. “Uncontained” is not the only track to deliver faster moments, but it is probably the best, as by the end of the song, it truly feels “Uncontained”. Interestingly, “In The Garden of Beasts” takes a more traditional approach to speed, as it sometimes features tremolo picking and what sounds like double bass drumming. Nevertheless, the song doesn't feel out of place on the record, and is an excellent closer. Overall, “From Time…To Eternity” was a huge surprise for me. If this album can convince someone is not a huge fan of doom metal, fans of the genre will absolutely love it.

Be sure to check out and like Stone Magnum on Facebook!

Highlights

"Lonely God"

"By An Omen I Went"

"Uncontained

Final Rating

4.3/5 or 86%. 

Written by Scott  

Nucleus - The Colony

The first way to make your metal band infinitely cooler is to make them sci-fi themed. It’s been done properly in thrash (Voivod, Vektor), and death metal has also had a few cool bands as well. Joining this style is Nucleus, a four piece from Chicago. Their first EP, “The Colony” marks the bands first major release, and is a fine slab of death metal. The first thing that will jump out at you is the production. The drums are extremely loud, especially the bass and snare drums. Aside from that issue, however, this EP is mostly solid. It spends much of its time delivering forceful, speedy riffs, which are pounded into your brain by the sheer intensity of the drums. Sometimes things can get a bit more mid-paced (particularly on “Mechanical Warfare”), but the band doesn’t abandon tremolo picking, they just adjust the feel of the song. Although this is a sci-fi influenced band, I would hesitate to call it technical death metal. There are moments of added emphasis on extremely skillful playing, but they generally don’t leave the realm of old-school death metal. The vocals are a pretty standard death growl; they’re not particularly understandable, but also don’t reach the depths of brutal death metal. At times, they can go a bit higher towards a black metal rasp. This style of vocals is very appropriate for the music.

My struggle with Nucleus is the songwriting. I am a big proponent of memorable songwriting, and unfortunately, I don’t feel Nucleus displays that. It’s easy to pick up a death metal record and find quality riffs (though admittedly Nucleus do better than most bands in this department), but the bands that combine those vicious riffs with catchy songs will always remain my favourites (Deicide, Morbid Angel, etc.). This isn’t a slight on Nucleus, because if you love death metal, you will love “The Colony”. There is room for improvement in the production and songwriting, but how many bands truly release a perfect first EP? "The Colony" is free to download, so check it out immediately!

Be sure to check out and like Nucleus on Facebook!

Highlights

"Inferior Species"

"Mechanical Warfare"

Final Rating

3.75/5 or 75%. 

Written by Scott