Upon first listen, one can immediately sense that Fisthammer possess the same knack for killer hooks and enthralling melodies that makes bands like Amon Amarth and Behemoth such great musical experiences. On their debut effort, the Philadelphia quartet lay down 11 perfectly memorable, brutal and technically proficient death metal tunes, combining heavy, crushing riffs with catchy harmonics and melody. I know we’ve already seen a myriad of death metal bands incorporating memorable melodies into their music, but these guys really nailed it.

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“Ugliest trio in the world is back!” Says the press release and I definitely agree with that ‘cause when it comes to old-school and Neanderthal thrash metal no one beats Norway’s Aura Noir. The guys have been proudly dedicated to old school music and ideals for more than twelve years now and they’ve never been know for subtlety so it’s no surprise that their new album “Out to Die” could be succinctly described as bad-ass, old-school thrash metal record.

Fans of the style will definitely eat this up with the same hunger as zombies have for fresh meat, it’s full of frenzied, ruthless and hyper-aggressive moments the we have all come to expect from these Norwegian metallers.

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Twelve studio albums, over two million records sold worldwide and countless tours, one of the most successful and controversial death metal bands around returns with a new record three years after their latest effort “Evisceration Plague”.

With a Cannibal Corpse record, you know what you’re getting. These guys don’t fuck around when it comes to churning out some vicious and bone-crushing death metal and that said, “Torture” is another massive achievement for the New Yorkers, it’s an utterly vicious, maniacal and brutal slab of extreme music.

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Purveyors of ass-kicking grind, Terrorizer are back with their third album (second since reuniting in 2005) and fans can expect more relentless and ultra-guttural grind. “Hordes of Zombies” shows little variation in the band’s proven formula, the band has retained their maniac and frantic edge that revolutionized the grind scene back in 1989 with their classic debut “World Downfall” and I guess we wouldn’t want it in any other way.

With drummer extraordinaire Pete Sandoval at the helm and Anthony Rezhawk of Resistant Culture once again providing indecipherable and inhuman roars, Terrorizer are now joined by Morbid Angel’s David Vincent on bass and Katina Culture also from Resistant Culture replacing the late Jesse Pintado, who died in 2006 following the release of their second album “Darker Days Ahead”.

The task of replacing Pintado is unbelievably arduous, but the Resistant Culture’s guitarist proves that is up to it by providing some viciously brutal and ripping riffs that do justice to the legacy started with the late guitarist years ago.

Rezhawk’s guttural bellows are as brutally strong as ever, and the drumming of Sandoval is still absurdly fast, which is absolutely surprising for someone who had just recovered from a back surgery. Yet unfortunately, underground legend Dan Swanö manages to ruin the bass drums to the point where they sound completely sterile, like a typewriter or similar.

Aside from that minor grip, “Hordes of Zombies” still is top-notch material, and certainly deserves a place on any grindcore fan’s record collection. (7.6)

Byrant Thomas

Band info: www.terrorizergrindcore.net

Label info: www.season-of-mist.com

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How can I sum up a band that sounds like everything from Drowningman to Fuck the Facts all at once? This could be post-hardcore. This could be tech-grind. Whatever it is, Burn Everything rolls through bewildering mathematical permutations on the most aggressive side of hardcore just as easily as they unfurl some relentless grindcore attack that decimates all in its path.

On the “Last Run through the Ruins”, the Rochester, NY based five-piece displays an impressive amount of proficiency and viciousness as they fuse elements of hardcore, mathcore, grind and metal altogether, delivering an abrasive and technical sonic mayhem that will surely enthral fans of acts like Botch, Deadguy, Dillinger Escape Plan, Psyopus and Ed Gein.

This is probably too bloody extreme for most, so approach with caution, and a nice pair of earplugs. (7.4/10)

Byrant Thomas

Band info: www.burneverything.bandcamp.com

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There’s no shortage of old-school death metal lately, and with bands like Entrails and Mr. Death emulating the corrosive sound of Sunlight death metal with surprising results, it’s also nice to listen to a band like Sweden’s Bastard Priest, whose Entombed-styled riffs are combined with a punk/crust twist that for the most part sounds utterly vile.

“Ghouls of the Endless Night” captures the naïve and primitive vibe of the early 90’s Swedish death metal perfectly, without trying to alter it or updated it any way. It’s brutal and straight ahead, delivering vicious riffs and furious drumming with incessant savagery, plus the raw sounding production of former Dismember drummer Fred Estby really emphasis the old-school vibe of the record quite well.

Of course, it’s nowhere near the brilliance of the leaders of the whole old-school brigade, but hey Bastard Priest probably don’t care about that, as they're obviously genuine followers of the style and sound like they’re having a blast here. (6.5/10)

Byrant Thomas

Band info: www.facebook.com/bastardpriestsweden

Label info: www.pulverised.net

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It may be their first release ever, but Finland’s Fleshred show on “Bloodtorn” that they have already mastered all the essential aspects of great and extreme death metal. This is amazingly heavy stuff, containing brutal riffs, thunderous, relentless drumming and harsh, guttural vocals. The Finns shred like pros and seem to have all the chops and abilities that bands like Hypocrisy and Vader are continually lauded for.

“Total War” opens the hostilities with brute force, precise blast-beats and a fierce, solid riffing, while following track “Merciless Words” sees Fleshred switching up from ludicrously fast blasts to a mid-tempo pace with guitarists Jani Hentila and Paavo Mikkola churning out some catchy, groove-filled death metal.

This masterful level of dynamics is what really sets “Bloodtorn” apart from the myriad of current death metal releases; slower grooves are paired with rabid tempos to create a nasty and well-balanced body of work that satisfies on every conceivable level.

Considering this is the band’s first effort and what a great accomplishment “Bloodtorn” is, you can be sure that we’ll be hearing a lot of positive things from this Finnish combo in the near future. (7.8/10)

Byrant Thomas

Band info: www.fleshred.com

Label info: www.violentjourneyrecords.com

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If the sleeve and the title don't make it clear, then the first 30 seconds of opener “I Have Seen Him Slay” will spell it out, Denmark’s Deus Otiosus plays brutal death metal.

Drawing influences from groups such as Morbid Angel, Immolation and Incantation, the Danes proudly wave the flag of early to mid-90’s death metal and for the most part it works fairly well. Fans of old-school death metal will surely appreciate the recognisable traits of the style, break-neck drumming, vicious, furious riffs, chilling, devilish solos and guttural growls. “Murderer” is not all about early death metal homage though as songs like “Wall of Violence” introduce some death metal grooves and movie samples that set them close to Dying Fetus standards, while “Ash World” reveals some thrash metal leanings that reminded me of Sepultura circa “Beneath the Remains”.

Ultimately, “Murderer” is not always the most engaging experience, as it lacks some truly riveting moments and captivating dynamics that most listeners require to give it repeated listens, still it’s a record that death-metal die hard fans would want to give it a spin or two. (6/10)

Byrant Thomas

Read full issue here.

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Swedish quartet Morbus Chron seek only the ugliest, grittiest and most vicious side of death-metal on their first release "Sleepers In The Rift", totally embracing the nauseating, fetid tone of groups such as Autopsy, Furbowl and Grotesque. Yet don’t mistake the Swedes for another effortlessly listenable old-school Swedish death-metal discharge, unlike most of their peers, Entrails, Crucifyre and Necrovourous, Morbus Chron aren’t merely sacking ideas from the usual suspects, Entombed and Dismember. Instead, they choose to plug right into the same caustic, uncomplicated and filthy death-metal that Chris Reifert used to write for Autopsy. Fans will surely recognise many of the riffs in “"Sleepers in the Rift", as a few tracks like “Hymn to a Stiff” and “Red Hook Horror”, are unreservedly influenced by works like “Severed Survival” and “Mental Funeral”, carrying out an identical cavernous death metal rumble.

A crisp, yet fittingly raw production further strengthens Morbus Chron’s performance, delivering the primitive and devilish vibe necessary to give the songs an extra dose of credibility, yet sometimes it gets a bit messy and sloppy with the Swedes ending up sounding like an obscure second-rate South-American act. Whether that’s on purpose just to be as primitive and naive as possible or not, it sure doesn’t do Morbus Chron any favours.

Morbus Chron are definitely not for everyone, but if primitive extremity and nauseating morbidity is what you’re after, then this is one disc to look out for. (6.4/10)

Byrant Thomas

Read full issue here.

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Despite their poor choice of moniker (sounds like a drive in restaurant doesn’t it?), Weekend Nachos do an impressive job on ‘Worthless’ of proving their, err worth. This is a filthy, ugly and abrasive blend of grind, doom and punk fury that sits perfectly at home in the Relapse stables alongside the similarly violent and chaotic sounds of Mammoth Grinder, Disfear and Phobia.

Throughout fourteen tracks, the four-piece pick up pieces of the most frantic and relentless grind out there, the most anguished and hopeless doom concocted by Khanate and most Neanderthal crust made in Swedish suburbs and tie it all together in a very impressive and hazardous way.

Byrant Thomas

Read full review here.

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