Gortuary at Myspace

When it comes to brutal death metal, I’m not very hard to please; it just needs to be fast, heavy, guttural and sickening. Immediately when I think of bands that possess those traits I think of Disgorge, Abysmal Torment, Execration, and so forth. However, here I sit listening to new-comers Gortuary and their Sevared Records debut, “Manic Thoughts Of Perverse Mutilation“, and while I know it’s going to be full of blastbeats and blistering riffs, I wonder – Can this album do more than just quench my hunger for brutality?

When the first introduction kicks in and I start hearing this psychokiller’s ramblings, I wonder when the hell the music will start. Then, with a climactic stabbing sound effect, I begin to realize why “Manic Thoughts Of Perverse Mutilation” was chosen as the album title. When the band swings into full-gear, I constantly found myself wondering what, exactly, is Oscar babbling on about? However, it really doesn’t matter what Oscar is growling, because I’m too busy sending myself to an early grave by headbanging violently. When I get that certain urge to throw my back out and snap my neck at the same time, I know I’ve stumbled upon something special, and little did I know how brutal this rollercoaster called “Manic Thoughts Of Perverse Mutilation” really was.

I’ve noticed that Jae Vizcaya (bass guitar) really stands out and again, this is very rare to see on an album such as this. You can really tell that the man sports some sick bass chops and isn’t afraid of leading the onslaught of gore straight into your ears. His role is very reminiscent of Erland Caspersen (Blood Red Throne, Emeth, Deeds Of Flesh) because of his ability to sort of roll right along with the riffs yet not completely overpower them. In a way he’s sort of like the Grim Reaper on this album, in the way that while sometimes you can’t hear him, you know he’s there, just waiting for the right moment to start tearing your ass apart and take your soul to some other netherworld.

If I could only choose three songs off the album to really show somebody what Gortuary is really made of, then it would easily be “Mutilation By Double Penetration“, “Hereditary Retardation“, and “Meat Grinder Homicide“. Each one of those tracks is the perfect embodiment of what brutal death metal is, all while keeping your attention focused on the music throughout its entirety.

Now, we all know that no album is without its faults, and while it’s very hard to find any on this record, I’ve managed to come up with two complaints. Oscar does a great job on vocals, but in some ways I wish he sort of mixed up the vocal patterns a bit rather than always following the riffs just to play it safe. The second complaint I have isn’t with the music itself, so it’s merely just a track issue. Six of the nine tracks were already on their 2006 “Splatter Fecal Matter” demo, so if you’ve already heard the demo, then you’ve heard about 70% of “Manic Thoughts Of Perverse Mutilation“, which just leaves you to explore “Mutilation By Double Penetration“, “Hereditary Retardation” and “Pedophilic Manipulation“. Lucky for me I heard this album before I checked out the demo.

I really can’t even begin to dissect each part of the album without sending praise to the five men who created this masterpiece. If there’s one thing they did right, it would have to be making nearly every single element of this album being memorable and some parts even catchy while not compromising their brutality. It is incredibly rare when both of those distinguishing traits join forces, and in a world where most new bands who try their hand at brutal death metal suck at it, this is an large breath of fresh air. If you’re a fan of the genre, then do yourself a favor and pick this album up post-haste.

Nunslaughter at Myspace

Nunslaughter are one of my favorite death metal bands. They play old-school death metal with no frills whatsoever; no keyboards, clean vocals, hell, I can only think of a few songs they have which contain guitar solos. This album chronicles a live performance at the WRUW radio station, and the first thing that I noticed is that the production is much clearer here than on other Nunslaughter releases. Much of Nunslaughter’s previous work was muddy as hell, but the production here is pristine. The song titles and lyrics are hilarious, with the band performing songs like “Killed by the Cross,” “Death by the Dead,” “Obsessed with the Visions of a Satanic Priest”, and “Atheist Ways” (although that last one doesn’t really fit. It’s almost like they’re actually atheists who just use Satanism to troll Christians instead of actual Satan-worshippers). But the best part of this album is the between-song stage banter. It’s an absolute riot, with vocalist Don of the Dead and drummer Jim Sadist performing the most hilarious Satanic schtick between songs. Highlights include Jim’s pedal breaking and Jim commenting that it must have been built by Christians, and Don and Jim describing the horrors of living in the hell of Pittsburgh. I heartily recommend this album, but it’s not going to win over anyone who’s not into this style of metal.

Hunab Ku at Myspace

Where do I begin?  This album is spaz-tastic from start to finish.  These boys cover a broad spectrum of avant-garde and technical metal.  The album starts out stressing their evil carnival sound, recalling Dog Fashion Disco and Mr. Bungle.  After the organ disappears from the mix, you’re left with one brutal treble-y guitar that weaves in and out of barely decipherable rhythms.  The vocalist really does the Mike Patton thing well, which I can’t say I like that much, but he switches styles often enough, sometimes sounding like the Deftones or the Red Chord, that it doesn’t get stale.

If the frantic circus riffs aren’t your thing, there are a few other treats buried here and there.  My favorite track is the two-minute droning “Midnight Assassin”, which despite having so few notes, is so brutal that I’m worried the guitarist will stab out my eardrums with a guitar-pick shiv.  Sure, the crazy rhythms and harmonies on the rest of the album are great, but this short little song shows that these guys can be as brutal with a few notes and a howl as they are with all guns blazing.  If anything, this band knows how to pace itself, letting you relax just long enough that their attack hits you 10x as hard when it arrives.

RIYL: Swarm of the Lotus, Dillinger Escape Plan, Car Bomb, Dog Fashion Disco

Winterfylleth at Myspace

Hailing from the most grim and frostbitten city known to man, Mancunian black metal troupe Winterfylleth released this terrific wee demo EP in October 2007, and I’ve listened to it literally squillions of times since. Literally. Fuck, I hate people who misuse ‘literally’.

So seriously, then. This is great. Atmospheric and riffy, Winterfylleth successfully pull off the Eastern European pagan / heathen sound of Hate Forest, Drudkh, early Graveland et al but with a very British ‘tromping about in the rain’ twist. The production is by no means polished, but at least it manages to avoid sounding like your next-door neighbour smashing pans together (like so many BM demos) and instead sounds impressively full and heavy.

The mid-tempo drumming, acoustic influences, and long, repetitive riffs do a great job of making you feel like you’re out in the countryside thinking about how awesome England was before those fucking Roman bastards came and fucked everything up. Running water? Culture? Fuck off. I’ll keep my pig-ear and turnip stew, thanks very much.

The shitty thing about ‘Rising of the Winter Full Moon’, though, is that it’s incredibly short. Three songs, totalling about 17 minutes. But they’re apparently working on an album anyway, so whatever. They best hurry up and finish it and then start playing live so I can watch them at a venue near me, supported by some shitty deathcore band.

So yeah. Grab this if you can, it’s good!

(Click Album Cover for Samples)

“Lay down your soul to the gods of Rock N’ Roll!” Those are the words EVERY single person remembers when hearing the title track to Venom’s sophomore release “Black Metal.” Those words have always been kind of true in terms of Venom because of them coining the now infamous term, “Black Metal.” But, when you talk about Venom you cannot help but get into the whole discussion of who started “Black Metal” whether it was Bathory, Pentagram, or even Black Sabbath (I’ve heard people use the Black Sabbath argument).

But after so many “Black Metal” bands such as Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Burzum, and so on and so on, Venom as a band kind of faded away leaving the term, the image, and the attitude for the newer bands to take and make their own. Slowly, but surely, Venom had tried to stay revelant to the metal world, not the “Black Metal” world, with albums such as “Cast in Stone”, “Metal Black”, and now “Hell.” While Venom no longer really consists of the original members, Cronos being the sole leader and foundation, they have still have not let up or changed much of the ideologies that they began with.

“Hell” is very much a heavy album with very moody overtones, which at times, taps into a more “Doom Metal” emotion. At times, the album reminds me of Slayer’s “Diabolus In Musica” with the slow, droning riffs, heavy and prominent bass, and double bass drumming. The lyrics still hold true to their Ideology of doom, Armageddon, death, and anti-Christianity. In reality, very little has changed in the bands style, maybe a modernizing of playing, but this album actually fits pretty well within todays “Metal” world.