Tag: Old School Death Metal

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Necrophile (Jpn) – Awakening Those Oppressed (2017)

“Formed back in 1987, NECROPHILE are widely considered to be one of the first Death Metal bands from Japan. The band was formed in 1987 by two high school students, Takaaki Ohkuma (vocals/bass, ex-Criminal Christ and later Multiplex) and Keisuke Matsunaga (guitar/drums, ex-Messiah Death). During their original tenure, they were quite prolific. They recorded two demo tapes in 1988 and 1989 – The Terminal Derangement and Beyond the Truth, respectively – and especially the second demo received a lot of attention in the the worldwide underground scene. Then, with the lineup of Takaaki (bass/vocals), Takashi Tanaka (drumers, later Transgressor and Anatomia) and Kenichi Matsunaga (guitar, later Hellchild), they recorded the Dissociated Modernity EP and a split LP with Singapore’s Abhorer, both in 1991, and also played several gigs in the USA with Sadistic Intent, Deceased, and many others” – Iron, Blood And Death Corp Page

Awakening Those Oppressed beings with a glorious cry of guitars leads to raw drumming and equally aggressive riffing that carries the momentum of a primal attack. Unlike generic Autopsy worship or a straightforward Immolation derivation, Necrophile lies still in a very traditional Japanese death metal sound. The punk’ish tone, the mangled riffs and the batshitcrazy approach. This is a fantastic death metal record produced to perfection where you can listen to the smallest of movements in the background. The names of the tracks definitely take us to Autopsy and so does some of the drumming (Ex: Track 2 – Desire for Asphyxiation), the rhythm is absolutely relentless, this is like sitting in an armoured truck and just shooting continuously at an enemy that is equally persistent and revengeful. With every passing track Necrophile simply gets better, the sound is produced and mixed to perfection!

We need such quality work across other releases in the genre. The bass in particular is a delight, it’s right there, right behind the downtuned guitars providing the comforting layer to rest and yet never resting. Whilst Track #4 – Hysteria Siberiana displays a supreme sense of guitar oriented approach, the very next track Irrepressible Discharge is completely led from the front by the insane drumming. Fast, precise and lethal till the last moment, the band displays an excellent restraint in not overdoing it but sticking to the boundary to what is appropriate and can be done. The very next track the band summons all evil from the land of the east onto their composition and skillfully meanders through the atmosphere. Necrophile is an absolute delight, if you like death metal in any shape or form, you have to check them out! 

Album on Spotify

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Obliteration (Nor) – Black Death Horizon (2013)

Unashamed invocation of the Autopsy spirit. Falls short in terms of the atmosphere. Feels shallow with the rhythm not plugging in the gaps with the adequate distortion. The solos are spectacular and the drumming is on point. Obliteration have one agenda on their mind, play death metal that takes us back to the early 90’s, they do so without hesitation or a hidden agenda. Its not that I think this release warrants an entire review but I do not want to repeat words over and over again. I’m happy with this album and will perhaps get a digital copy of it but that’s pretty much about it.

Will I see them live? HELL YEAH!

Will I get a vinyl? Nope.

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Obliteration (Nor) – Nekropsalms (2009)

Bandcamp: https://obliteration.bandcamp.com/album/nekropsalms

WOW, what a jump in terms of approach! Having just reviewed Perpetual Decay and coming to Nekropsalms, I can immediately know the band has sat down and focussed on their entire sound. This is what I call a good evolution, is this how Obliteration hold a candle to Autopsy? Perhaps, but the path seems to be pretty clear here. The album opens with “Ingesting Death” which immediately shocks you if you know the band beforehand at all. A slightly matured approach to death metal with insane drumming!

The focus is on the songwriting, atmosphere and the all-colliding-synergy. The band manage to weave themselves with a sense of heaviness while adding their own energy into the execution. I guess this is what it is, a fantastic execution backed by excellent production. Autopsy fans will flock to this like moth to flame. Track #2 “Catacombs of Horror” is essentially old school death metal worship perfectly! I saw Autopsy live in Glasgow in 2017 and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Their slow methodic way of imputing atmosphere with the bass adding another dimension is what this album is all about.

I would not compare their earlier full length or the EP prior. Obliteration has managed to completely surprise me here because now I know the background of these guys, it’s firmly rooted in the right place. Now comes the question, is this a clone? Is this a better band? Can Obliteration move beyond? These are important questions, yes, but frankly it doesn’t really matter to me when they’re writing such fantastic dense layers of heaviness coupled with aggression. I am enjoying this release a lot more than the last one only because of the direction in which the sound has evolved. The musicians themselves seem to be more comfortable than just riding off into the sunset playing fast and heavy.

If you’re brand new to this record just play Track #4 “The Spawn Of A Dying Kind” and you don’t even need this review, you’ll know what you need to know and will rewind to Track #1 automatically. Quite a treat listening to this and I wish I could be more objective here but the band has just scratched the itch of the sound which we’ve all come to love and adore.

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Obliteration (Nor) – Perpetual Decay (2007)

Firstly where is this release on Bandcamp?

After the lightning quick EP, Obliteration (Nor) have released their first full length titled “Perpetual Decay” on Tyrant Syndicate Productions. Even before we begin, I really like the artwork, I like how the logo just disappears into the art. It is quite well done. As we open the cover of this coffin, we’re greeted with a blitzkrieg of riffs and drums that’ll unseat you right from the get go. Excellent pace of delivery here, there is no mercy, there isn’t any time left for the thought of mercy. Think of the late 80’s and early 90’s aggressive Florida death metal and add to it some Finnish precision and we pretty much have Obliteration’s sound nailed down.

No, there are absolutely no issues with what I’m listening to. The band is functioning as a multi cellular organism with a single aim to fuck shit up! Not bad right? Indeed. The riffs are razor sharp, the drumming is meticulous and the vocals fit right in. Now, I think I’ve just said that somewhere before and well there’s nothing beyond than that on the record. It is a good sounding record, well entertaining and absolutely a “Gig-Worthy” record that you’d go mental to. Unfortunately nothing else is happening here, all songs pretty much glue to a section of each other. Nothing’s really building up on anything or is even moving ahead.

It is a war in a predesignated territory and the band delivers beautifully in the zone they operate in. I’d have loved if the band pushed itself a little more and moved beyond the relentlessness. No songs actually build up to go anywhere, they meander around the militarised backbone and give you hell. To sum it up, it is a record really well made, the musicians are clearly giving everything that they can. Frankly it is an enjoyable record, to me though it’s good background death metal. I wouldn’t pick this out in a death metal line up to exclusively listen to it.

I would definitely go see this band live! It must be such a ball to thrash out to their music in a kickass pub!

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Gorguts (Can) – …and Then Comes Lividity (1990) [Demo]

I haven’t heard the entire discography of any band from the start to finish and I decided on rectifying this beginning with Portal (Aus) which was a huge success and then I immediately thought I should do it with other bands I love as well. The next (not so obvious choice) was Gorguts! Other bands in contention were Emperor (Nor), Iron Maiden (UK) and even StarGazer (Aus). Anyway “…And Then Comes Lividity” is technically Demo #3 of Gorguts as per their page on MA.

The demo kicks off with the well known acoustic intro which I actually like better here. Moving onto Haematological Allergy Gorguts immediately gets into the business. The writing is spectacular, the riffs are heavy and the band jumps between tempos at ease. I think we need to spend a moment on when this demo was released, it’ll add good context to the sound of the band.

1989 is one of the most important years for Death Metal, Bolt Thrower (UK), Death (USA), Morbid Angel (USA), Terrorizer (USA), Pestilence (Hol) and Autopsy (USA). Gorguts (Can) release this demo in 1990. Now, Morbid Angel gave us all batshitcrazy riffs and mind-melting solos so technically Gorguts isn’t reinventing the wheel nor (at the time of this release) were they the pioneers of Technical Death Metal. This demo serves to showcase what the band is capable of and it is impressive! Gorguts dropped a quality demo here, no denying it. Tracks like ‘Inflected Maturity’ showcases the maturity in songwriting and instrument proficiency.

The overall sound of the demo is surprisingly decent to say the least. The riffs are engaging, the drumming is never dull and the sound is richer! This demo showcases the seriousness and the talent of the band quite well. Frankly, I’d be sold if I heard this when this came out. The riffs are in the time continuum between Leprosy and Altars of Madness, although it is not a fair comparison, it is perhaps the best description of how heavy the band sounds and the approach to their songwriting on the whole.

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Releases to check this week!

  1. Loudblast – Manifesto
  2. Black Tusk – Years in Purgatory
  3. Toxaemia – Where Paths Divide
  4. pg.lost – Oscillate
  5. Tombs – Under Sullen Skies
  6. Lie In Ruins – Floating in Timeless Streams
  7. Ddent – Couvre-Sang
  8. Possessor – Damn The Light
  9. Convulse – Deathstar
  10. Carcass – Despicable

I haven’t documented anything in the past few days. I’ve decided to write small paragraphs of general releases and opinion pieces will be longform and that’s alright.