Every month, The Black Dahlia Murder frontman Trevor Strnad checks in with his favorite new releases of the month in our column, The Obituarist. Check out Trevor's previous recommendations here.
Howdy freaks, I sit here in a hotel on the eve of my 35th birthday wrapping up my latest offerings of fresh extreme metal for your waiting ears… by the time you read this, I will officially be farting dust. Thank you so much for your continued readership and support, and thanks to all the great labels and PR people who have been helping me out along the way, I really appreciate it.
Anorgasm – Mass Murder For Intercourse
Here we have an album of pure Indonesian brutal death savagery… not that much different from a lot of their peers, but that's a good thing in this case. Guttural Disease, Injury Deepen, and Intracranial Parasite come to mind… I find this to be equally sick and well done material. Some tasty grooving breakdowns help mix things up and will surely get your head banging… The old school ride action near the end of the first track was a nice unexpected change of pace. The more I listen to this, the more nuance emerges… There are even some slight melodic moments to break up the Suffo blasting barrage. If you can get behind the quadrillion Disgorge influenced bands out of Indonesia like I can, this could be the kick in the gut you've been looking for.
Grab it here!
Brutal Brain Damage – Bang Bang Theory
Abso-friggin-lutely savage death grind here from Brutal Brain Damage out of Portugal. Really heavy thick production will crack your skull as promised… this shit is like a wall!!! Decent variety gives it a nice replay value… there was definitely a lot of thought that went into the creation of these songs… each has it’s own individual identity, which seems to be a difficult feat for a lot of grind outfits. If Pigsty, Embalming Theatre, “Brain Corrosion” era Dead Infection, or Ingrowing are your thing, give these sick bastards a shot… they’ll have you d-beating and circle pitting in your living room in no time.
Grab it here
Castle Freak – Human Hive
Castle Freak! Gotta love that name! I’ve got to thank my girlfriend Casey for turning me on to these guys, she definitely likes her death grimy and these dudes are no exception. I was surprised to see Sebastian Phillips from Noisem jumping from guitar to the drum seat here with these Philly based denizens, he does an admirable job of whacking the skins and propelling this raucous brand of grinding old school death to a gruesome victory. Repulsion, Atrocity (US), Nuclear Death and Impetigo all come to mind… this has that element of campy, youthful fun that made those bands so memorable and timeless. Speaking of Impetigo, track 4 is a nice cover of their classic Horror Of The Zombies anthem “Boneyard”. It’s bloody, rockin’ and raw… and coming to a basement near you! Get it for free or kick ‘em a few bucks at their bandcamp. The tape is sadly already sold out, but perhaps with enough interest they would consider another pressing or format. Grab some gear instead.
Grab it here
Death Fortress – March Of The Unyielding
Sweet black/death, reminding me a bit of Dissection, Necrophobic, and early Dawn… it has that Swedish sounding touch to it… I was damned surprised to find on Metal Archives that they were hailing from New Jersey. J. Aversario of Abazagorath fame is a member here as well as the drummer of Disma Shawn Eldrige… these guys are veterans and definitely know what they are doing… there is a . There’s nothing new here at all but it sounds very convicted and feels authentically old… it seems like it’s been plucked right from the No Fashion records catalog of yore. I like how raw and real the drums are here… they sound awesome and the crispy snare is just right on. If you dig any of the aforementioned Swedish standards and or Sarcasm, Lord Belial, Thy Primordial, or Allegiance give these sick sorcerers a chance.
Grab it here
Desaster – The Oath Of An Iron Ritual
I really love these guys… nobody delivers black thrashing madness quite like Germany’s prolific powerhouse Desaster. They’re so metal they sleep in their spikes… they eat lightning for breakfast, and shit chains by lunch! They are majestic, hateful, triumphant… everything you could want I this kind of outfit. Homeboys vocals are instantly recognizable… he sings with so much venomousness in his approach that he sounds like a snarling dog man…. which is good. If you haven’t yet heard these guys, quit posing and press play.
Grab it here
Funebrarum – Exhumation of the Ancient
New Yorks Funebrarum return in 2016 to cast a treacherous shadow over the dark death metal scene worldwide with this new EP… this is some truly filthy stuff from these legends of OSDM. The production is so dark, dank and murky… it reminds me of some old obscure Finnish or Swedish release from 1990… had I heard it blindly I would have assumed this to be 25 years old. Moondark, Phlegethon and early Therion are summoned here… the recording is kinda bad, in a cool way… remember how many classic death metal albums have shit recordings? At least they had personality. Personally I find it’s cool to hear something irregular and downright fucked up in a world of glossy protools abuse. Really getting a Demigod vibe as well as early Belial… phenomenal low tuned crawling old school death metal that sounds like it’s been vilely spawned in the depths of an abyssal chasm. I can easily see this coming out back in the day and being on Wild Rags or Lethal Records. Godly material from a godly band. Get into it!
Grab it here
Game Over – Crimes Against Reality
Face ripping and technical Italian thrash metal is what Game Over purveys, and these dudes are not fucking around in the slightest. They have a cool retro approach that harkens to the late eighties/early nineties… I would play these guys on the same tape deck as Annihilator, Realm or Defiance. The fourth song “With All That Is Left” is something of a ballad, pretty cool and very classic sounding… I totally did not expect to hear something like that in this day and age… it could be from a Mordred album. The artwork helps sell the whole time travelling package… sign up, cut your bangs straight across and start thrashing!!!
Grab it here
Grave Miasma – Endless Pilgrimage EP
This is excellent, as expected. If you’ve been under a rock for a good while now, Grave Miasma play old school doomed out blackened death metal to die for… they are at the top of their game right now… this EP is golden, to say the very least. Grave Miasma summon the spirits of early Belial (FIN) and Incantation for a blackened summoning of hellish proportions and captured all of it on gloriously old school analog for the ultimate deathly experience. An impressive pedigree of players here with a long list of credentials including Binah, Cruciamentum, Destroyer 666 and Adorior just to name a few… this is true fear inducing death metal the way it was meant to be played.
Grab it here
Humanity's Last Breath – Detestor
Goddamn, these guys are monsters! I defy even ye most jaded death metal heads to give this a whirl… this just might be the band heavy enough to bring you over to the deathcore darkside that I too once so feared… in my opinion, things have been on a positive trajectory for the genre in recent (post djent) years, and Humanity’s Last Breath is a fine example of this. Imagine if you a much younger Vildhjarta gone evil as fuck; churning out a mega dark, combustive down tuned brutality laden with neck breaking grooves. It's skronky, huge well produced music that is crushingly heavy… this is a brand of deathcore I can live with. I am surprised these guys haven’t been snatched up by a big label… this sounds as professional is it gets. Give these young swedes a whirl if you dig Meshuggah, Vildhjarta, Black Tongue, or Traitors.
Grab it here
Hypochondriac – Disobedient
I had been seeing ads for this around the net and the name and cover piqued my interest… all signs were pointing to a high quality Indonesian brutal death release and that’s exactly what we have here. There is a lot of Suffocation at Hypochondriac’s core, so naturally I like it a lot… they offer twists and turns and a good injection of style to their music that helps separate them from many of their grooveless countrymen. They remind me somewhat of Viscral, which you’ll recall was my favorite Indonesian brutal death album last year… there is a similar NYDM stomp here that is undeniably sick. Indonesia just cannot be stopped right now… it’s a serious hotbed of young brutal talent and Hypochondriac are no exception to their cause of total world dominance.
Grab it here
Inbreeding Sick – Sickness And Plagues
Colombia’s brutal death freaks Inbreeding Sick have returned in 2016 with a gore filled follow up to their killer 2009 album Sodomized and Gutted entitled Sickness and Plagues. Featuring members of unhinged Colombian classics Melted Flesh, this kind of thing may be a little too grisly and messy for everyone, but you brutal death freaks who like it raw and gruesome will be all over this. If you see the charm of Gorepoflesh, Goreobscenity, Pathologic Noise and that kind of ultra and brutal lawless sound, Inbreeding Sick will be another maniacal addition to your brutal stash.
Grab it here
Logistic Slaughter – Corrosive Ethics
Wow! I love this cover art… it drew me in immediately. It’s really classically old school looking but I feel like the perspective is fresh… very impressive. The music is killer too, Logistic Slaughter bring a nice brutal death barrage out of Livermore, California that is somewhat in the vein of Atrocious Abnormality… it’s technically executed yet live and raw; host to old school grooves and songwriting juxtaposed by just a little modernity in its occasional Dying Fetus type slams, tech shredding and just a touch of dissonance. Varied vocals ranging from a dry midrange to some seriously freaky guttural reee reees… some of the vocal passages are so rapid fire that it’s downright insane (sometimes to the point of comic relief). I think a lot of brutal heads could be into this… if you dig the aforementioned Atrocious Abnormality, Saprogenic, Genethliac, or Truculency this could slake your thirst for more sickening death.
Grab it here
Megascavenger – As Dystopia Beckons
Wow this is really cool, and something of a surprise. Rogga Johansson, as prolific and bad ass as he is at turning out old school Swedish death metal with meaty hooks, is not really known for reaching outside of the box and with As Dystopia Beckons he’s done exactly that… I’m all for it! Simple chugging death metal of the Six Feet Under, Jungle Rot, and Bolt Thrower variety is married with slight industrial influences (think early Godflesh’s bare bones, rust covered, machinated approach) and the result is a killer album brimming with apocalyptic sound and imagery. Each song has a different singer, a lot of them real old school classics, including ex-Benediction/ex-Bolt Thrower current Hail Of Bullets singer Dave Ingram, Massacre’s Kam Lee, and Sinister’s Ad Kloosterwaard… this was a pretty cool concept in itself, gathering all of this vocal talent for one sweet old school freak out. Rogga is a very hard working force in the underground, his rap sheet is almost too long to mention (Paganizer, Demiurg, Revolting, and Putrevore, to name a few)… if you like high quality HM-2 driven Swedish death metal, Rogga is your man.
Grab it here
Nucleus – Sentient
Awesome as fuck twisted old school Demilich influenced weirdo death metal… goddamn, this rules in every conceivable way! I hate to admit it, but up until very recently I’ve been sleeping on Unspeakable Axe records as a whole, I am blown away by their sick line up and this is just another addition to the madness! These sick sons from Chicago ooze forth dark, warped, convoluted music recalling experimental acts like early Atrocity, Adramelech, and Séance… I absolutely love this. I liken these guys to the technically proficient wizards of Contrarian and Artificial Brain… a tour with all three of them would be world endingly good. The artwork is just perfect as well… so nice to see Dan Seagrave still churning out great shit… I love the green… I feel like he was really stuck on browns for a while and this sort of super colorful cover is an awesomely welcome sort of retro. Bands and labels like this make the underground an exciting place to be.
Grab it here
Rebaelliun – The Hell’s Decree
Remember the Brazilan Death Metal craze that happened in the wake of Krisiun’s explosion into the death metal mainstream around their Conquerors Of Armageddon and Ageless Venomous albums? The world began to open its eyes to the awesomeness of fellow blasters Nephasth, Abhorrence, Ophiolatry, Mental Horror, and Fornication just to name a few… there were some really badass bands emerging and all in that relentless blasting style; one of the best of which was Rebaelliun, who have reformed last year after splitting up in 2002 to take revenge on the scene worldwide. This material is raging just as expected… it’s cut throat death metal savagery that takes no prisoners… there is no subtly here. This is just belligerent attacks with blazing kicks and forceful blasts galore. The vocals are dry and cool with an evil vibe to them that is somewhat Deicide or Centurian-esque at times. This is perhaps slightly more slick and well produced than I remember Rebaelliuns classic Burn The Promised Land and Annihilation albums being, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Overall, this is a good effort and I’m glad these wild Brazilian bashers are back in the fold.
Grab it here
Ripper – Experiment Of Existence
Jesus, these guys do really rip!!! Energetic blood pumping death/thrash from Chile recalling the awesomeness of bands like No Return, Dead Head, Assorted Heap and Eaten Back To Life era Cannibal Corpse… Ripper will look you right in the eyes as they split your stomach open and watch your entrails drop out onto the concrete… it’s that mean!!! I personally love the combo of Death and Thrash and consider it to be one majorly overlooked microgenre of the late 80s and early 90s… there are so many great bands that played in this style that didn’t really make much more than a ripple in the overcrowded seas. Ripper is a great, exciting outfit that undoubtedly tapped the same magic stuff previously employed by now-classics like Devastation and Epidemic. This album will have you smashing beer bottles over your own head in no time. Get one from the disgustingly sick Unspeakable Axe Records!
Grab it here
Rotheads – Unfazed By Death
Old school death metal freshly exhumed from an ancient grave somewhere in Bucharest, Romania for your sick listening pleasure. On Unfazed By Death, Rotheads are just filthy… they have an awesome murky throwback sound with a very dungeonesque quality… part Sadistic Intent, part Autopsy with a touch of Swedish death for good measure. It’s loud, buzz-sawing death metal as it was conceived in the cracks and crevices of the world in the early 90s.
Grab it here
Xenomorphic Contamination – Colonized From The Inside
Brutal Dave is back with one of his many projects, alien themed Xenomorphic Contamination in 2016, ready to turn some heads and crush some skulls. I read in a press release about this album incorporating some deathcore elements which had me a bit wary to be honest, but I don't really hear too much of it… I would use the term slightly modern if anything. There is a breakdown here and there, some low string stuff, some cool skronky chords… but I’d say most of this album falls in the same category vein of Hate Eternal or Near Death Condition… it’s aggressive as hell blast all day death metal that really kicks ass. The artwork here is quite stunning… along with a lot of cool package deals, they apparently are selling a limited quantity of statuettes in the likeness of the xenomorph from the album cover. I’m all over this album, and you should be too.
Grab it here
Zhrine – Unortheta
Wowzers…. we've got a good one here folks! Zhrine (formerly known as Gone Postal) hail from the recently crackin' black/death scene in Iceland and stand to do their countrymen proud with the release of their debut Season Of Mist album Unortheta. It's dynamic, long winded and expiremental black metal with a lot of depth and nuance that can go from Sigur Rós to Dodecahedron in the flip of a switch. Dissonant, dark, at times beautiful… these guys have a winning combination of sounds that leaves an impression of freshness to these ears… this is very creative, quality stuff. If you like Deathspell Omega, Otargos, or Sinmara, be sure to check these young spellcasters out and grab one of their sick bundles from the always amazing Season Of Mist.
Grab it here
Cheers one and all, thanks for stopping by this month. It’s been somewhat difficult to deliver this particular entry due to the extremely grueling nature of the current TBDM tour I am out on, internet and back rooms have been scarce and at times so has my will to live. Please tell your friends about this article and get involved in the underground, it has provided me with a life of happiness and has kept me young at heart. Here’s to another year of death metal bliss and many more!
