Death Feast "Risen From The Tomb" Album Review

   Every so often you're made aware of new bands who like to delve deep into the old school sound from the mid eighties we all know and love,recently thanks to the fine people at Haloran Records for contacting me about doing reviews for bands on the label ,this is when i became aware of Thrash/Death/Black Metal Fiends Death Feast and have had the pleasure of listening to their excellent third full length album Risen From The Tomb let's get into the finer details of this magnificent opus.

  The eerie atmosphere of the intro The Initiation sets a tone not far removed from something from a Hammer Horror movie adding a nice homage to Old Horror movies,this is synonymous with what the band are well known for, as soon as you hear the guitars on Crossing The Fire you know you're about to delve into some evil and nasty old school riffage, this is a real headbanger of a tune and along with the intro sets the tone of what's to follow brilliantly, Banish From Monastery is full of riffs for days combined with lo-fi tones reminiscent of Sarcófago, time for some total Metal worship with the brilliant Commandments Of Metal obviously this is about spreading the word of Metal all across the world,we treated to some elements of Speed Metal throughout this track with subtle reminders to the legendary Venom, all the superlatives i've being describing so far get pushed to another level with the rip roaring majesty of Devoted Assassins were the hounds of hell are unleashed with unrelenting fury.

   Things get that bit more relentless with the hauntingly disturbing Hell Funeral the atmosphere is extrmely foreboding and does a fantastic job maintaining that unnervingly dark homage to horror while also having a very chaotic element to the overall sound, an abundance of mayhem is another prevelant theme running throughout this releases ,this becomes abundantly clear on The Evil Crown, the mayhem evloves into chaotic territory with the excellent title track Risen From The Tomb the lo-fi Guitar tone harks back to the Obsessed By Cruelty era of Sodom and has some extremely evil undertones, as soon as the bell chimes ring loud on Volcano and the Guitars roll along like a funeral procession you know you're about to get some old school mayhem that delivers with raw,evil and chaotic fury, The Blood Pact(Outro) sounds like some french horror movie and leaves a very disturbing finale to porceedings leaving you wanting even more chaos and mayhem.

 Overall Risen From The Tomb is a really enjoyable and worthwhile listen, if you like Hammer Horror, legends of Horror like Cushing,Price,Lee,Ingrid Pitt combined with homages to old school bands like Sodom,Venom,Celtic Frost and Sarcófago this is definitely an album for you,the production while having a very lo-fi approach still has a slight modern fell to it,also the musicianship is second to none,with razor sharp leads,extremely evil sounding vocals and a rawness and primitiveness stepped in the old school traditions of metal.

RATING: 9/10

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/album/7iRdruc2pKJf96sIaXJZnr?si=1AZKjcztSqSCwURwrF5ZSw

BANDCAMP: https://haloranrecords.bandcamp.com/album/hlrn002-death-feast-risen-from-the-tomb

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@haloranrecords

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/deathfeastpt

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/haloranrecords/

The Bastards Diesel "A Liminal Release" EP Review

 

  Let this serve as an introduction/commendation of the very interesting solo project The Bastards Diesel,stepped in the nuances of Experimental Sludge/Noise/Doom with a penchant for creating an audio/visual assualt on the senses with the absolutely fantastic debut release A Liminal Release.

  The bass heavy intro on opening track Thoughts Lost In The Ether sets a very bleak and dirge like tone added by the lo-fi miserably scrawled vocals, you can literally feel the nastiness and filthiness with every moving second,the repitive riff running throughout just pounds home the atmosphere, the lo-fi crushing heaviness of That Cold Feeling has subtle hints of Funeral Doom while still maintaining that bleak and nasty atmosphere,there's also the added elements of some fantastic guitar leads permeating in the background and epic drum fills executed with razor sharp precision.

  This is a great start of what's to come from The Bastards Diesel,the atmosphere created throughout paints a picture of Bleak,Nasty and Epic Soundscapes desigend to assualt the senses and leave you coming back for more,in all A Liminal Release is the perfect introduction for what we can expect from The Bastards Diesel in the future.

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/33T2sQtRgTfd3T6raeTB9r?si=_LuxQNbhT1-beg8Aste9KQ

BANDCAMP: https://thebastardsdiesel.bandcamp.com/album/a-liminal-release

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/thebastardsdiesel

PxBx "Commissary Or Die" EP Review

   Unbeknownst to the masses there's a plethora of quality Hardcore bands circulating up in the North of Ireland and they're producing some top notch material,just recently a new band of this ilk arose like a pheonix from the ashes in the shape of the Old School NYHC inspired trio PxBx with their excellent debut EP Commissary Or Die.

   Opening track PxBx(Prison Bitch) is an abrasive and sludgy offering with a very dark and foreboding atmosphere, we're treated to some relentless and raw in your face attitude with the short sharp shock of the title track Commissary Or Die time to explore the topic of mental health and the demons involved with it that we deal with on a daily basis with the extremely aggressive Cycle Of Destruction  things get that bit more vitriolic with the stigma and tragicness of substance abuse with gut punching aggresiveness of Meth=Deth, closing track Life(Death Penalty On Standby) slows the pace down a bit and has an element of groove combined with the filthy rawness that's very prevelent throughout this EP,

   despite the shortness of this release it achieves what it set out to do and that's have all the nuances and elements synonymous with Old School NY Hardcore with subtle homages to Black Flag,Leeway and Agnostic Front combined with a really dark and foreboding atmosphere that's all their own,for a debut this is a really ambitious attempt to deliver something that's not only an ode to Old School NY Hardcore but also touches on relevant and modern stigmas associated with life's struggle, keep a close watch on this band i can see plenty of memorable releases in their future.

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2KhcduWH4HK6mlIAyoSMpU?si=IglPE-p6Tb-kqfFSmcVnGA

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@PxBxBC

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pxbxbc

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/pxbxbc/

Rotlaust "The Dirge" Album Review

    Once in a while something comes out of nowhere and hits you like a tonne of brick or a curveball so to speak and your left utterly gobsmacked and speechless i could add a few more descriptive analogies to describe the absolutely mind blowing album The Dirge from Blackened Death Metal Project Rotlaust, Former Dead Aeon Vocalist Jack Penders is the brainchild behind this monumental project and has enlisted the help of a few old friends to help create possibly one of the best releases within the Irish Metal scene this year.

  Carrion opens up with the sound of thundering drums rumbling in the background before we're hit with a barage of crushing riffs and relentless drumming add to that a groove that continually evolves the track into nefarious tinged vocals which switch between Crushing Growls and tortured shreeks,suddenly there's the brief sound of a sitar which blends in seamlessly with the rest of the music before a soaring lead pushes the atmosphere to another level, Ceaseless continues the trend of combining groove with crushing relentlessness with an added darkness and atmosphere, the vocals begin to develop a much more darker and sinister tone,as the song title suggest the boundaries pushed into a territory that's never ending, The tempo is slowed down slightly with the groove laden heaviness of All But Calcerous while the dual vocals add a more caustic/aggressive atmosphere to proceedings,another addition is the riffs are a lot more melodic on this track, near the end of the track there's a sample of some man speaking about some nightmarish scenario about life and evolution this seamlessly flows into the earth shaking crushingly heavy The Deafening Dawn Chorus which seems to be touching on the topic of depression and the mental restraints that go with it, the further you delve into this album the darker and more sinister it becomes which is further compunded with another eerie sample from the same person about beliefs and how much they enjoy the darkness within life.

  Stain Of The Familiar delves further into mental anguish and societal collapse, the relentlessness begins to reach even higher levels, the musicianship is absolutely mind blowing and soars like a pheonix risen from the ashes, Nascent really pushes a relentless atmosphere and darkness to the fore further compounding the exremely sinister aura persisting throughout this offering,again we hear another sample/spoken dialogue from the same person this time talking about rage and a world full of bleakness and hopelessness, The Dirge combines every element and facet within this opus with a relentless efficiency that most Death Metal Bands would only dream of,about half way through the song we're treated to a dream like sequence which adds a slightly uplifting element to the overall aura before delving back into the malevolent and aggressive scenarios, Nex Internum is a fitting way to close this absolutely magnificient opus combining elements of Black Metal with the trademark crushing groove laden Death Metal ,all executed with ruthless precision and efficiency.

  The Dirge was an absolute curve ball of a release that no one was expecting and to everyones delight it delivered an album with all the hallmarks of a modern masterpiece,this has everything you'd want from an Extreme Metal band,darkness,crushing grooves,the technical proficiency of all the luminaries that create this type of Blackened Death Metal,a relentlessness that evolves to a mind blowing crescendo the further you delve into this opus, furthermore the work, focus and effort put into this deserve to commended with all the aplomb of modern masterpice of artistic genius.

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3cdNp5FWU7T85voDcEjkTb?si=7YK5qkZCRwuAzM2Wuq5uPA

BANDCAMP: https://rotlaust.bandcamp.com/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/RotlaustMusic

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/rotlaustmusic/

Koma "Dichotomy" Promo Single Review

   Following on from their hugely popular debut single The Betrayed Progressive/Melodic Metalcore quintet Koma are on the cusp of releasing their second single the brilliant Dichotomy lets dissect some of the finer details within this track.

   Much like their previous single Koma delivers a high tempo display of intensity intertwined with melodic/progressive intricacies and taut aggressiveness making Dichotomy an interesting listen full of hooks and all the urges for a proper headbanger,everything from the vocals,guitar intricacies,the high tempo drumming,aggressive backing vocals and lyrics exudes an abundance of passion and an element of real life struggle,even the imagery(artwork) used to depict this track and yes it does have a subtle reminder to the iconic image of a protester in Tiaanamen Square back in 1989 in the case of this artwork it's attempting to portray the shackled individual vs state dichotomy and as to whether they can truly be free from  a moral or societal point of view.

   Dichotomy offers alot of fantastic elements from Koma's brand of Melodic/Progressive Metalcore,combining plenty of groove,melody ,passion and all the nuances to push the band to another level, one thing the band have developed is how to build a track up to a massive crescendo with all the elements mentioned pushed to the fore with concise precision.

   The Single will be released on Friday 9th Decemeber and will be available on all releveant streaming platforms,here's a link to Pre-save or Pre-Order the single before it's release: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/koma14/dichotomy  in the meantime you'll find the bands social media and steaming platform links below,give them a Follow/Like/Subscribe to keep updated

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0yLoO1CPbeeojKSpD4KQua?si=d782ZtHhRja-FlO-kKoreQ

BANDCAMP: https://komaofficialni.bandcamp.com/track/the-betrayed

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@user-jz1tt6lt2o

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/komaofficialni/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/koma_official_ni/

Nømadus "Axis Primordial" Album Review

   Ever since i discovered Nømadus the progression and evolution of their sound has been absolutely mind blowing,there's a very noticable maturity musically and lyrically,the band have being creating massive waves throughout the local scene since their inception in 2016, this year alone the band reached the final of Metal 2 The Masses and despite getting the runners up spot the band would earn a reputation for their devastating live performances and unsuprisingly (to me) would eventually get the call to appear at the hugely popular Bloodstock Festival and by all accounts they once again delivered the goods ,furthermore all this is about to culminate in the release of their highly anticipated debut album Axis Primordial.

  As soon as you hear that opening riff on Last Words Of Wisdom you can feel the depth and scale of the journey you're about to be taken on the progessive element and groove within the song have a truly epic and passionate aura which sets the tone for what's to come on the rest of this adventure, Apex Breath opens with a gradual build then explodes with sheer ferocity before going into a melodic and progressive tangent which gives the atmosphere an really emotional feel,the lead guitar work on this is exemplary and very awe inspiring, the crushingly heavy and groove laden Fraction treats us to some absolutely heart wrenching lyrical and vocal delivery, again the progresive element throughout this just compounds the high level of musicianship been unleashed by the band.

  The brief instrumental that is Hadean creates an atmosphere that feels beautiful and melancholic and sets the tone brilliantly for The Ultimate Fuse to push the progressive element to another level while injecting vitriol fueled vocals,pounding drums and meticulously constructed rhytmn and lead guitar work, the standard just keeps getting better with each track on this and we get a full on barage of heaviness and speed with the sublime Paradox(Nerve Burn)  the drumming on this is pretty relenetless and sets a different tone to what proceeded it the aggression combined with the progressive riffing adds another layer to these passages and sets the album up for a explosive ending.

  The penultimate stages of the album go into a much higher level with the monumental heaviness of The Pounding Curse which reaches epic porportions of progression with mutiple and well blended time changes throughout before unleashing an absolutely heartfelt and majestic guitar lead,the groove laden element also hits an unstoppable level, which are all pushed by the passionate vocal delivery, the melodic tendencies get pushed up a notch with Scent Of Death add the crushing heaviness to this and you have a fantastic mix of atmosphere and aggression, closing track The Passage brings every element on display to the fore with calculating precision,it nows becomes noticable that this was a very taut and well exceuted meticulously constucted piece of work only adding to the obvious persausion that this band are going to getting better in the long run.

  

  Axis Primordial offers an absolutely fantastic portrayal of the struggles with mental health and the ultimate sacrifice involved to maintain your own sanity and how it affects the people around you,the progressive elements, atmosphere and every facet of this album are nothing short of sublime offering plenty of heartfelt passion,aggression and a level of musicianship second to none, Nømadus have lit a fire that is unextinguishable and that fire shall spread throughout the land with devastating consequences,furthermore this is a definite contender for album of the year.

      

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2caGUbjIGxotyPDiY9tFVJ?si=HhebjWaASN6M7vIuoW04Hw

BANDCAMP: https://nomadus.bandcamp.com/

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@nmadusofficial1563/featured

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/nomadusni

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/nomadusofficial/

Karpackonaut "Distant Sequence" Album Review

 

   Now do we have something extremely interesting to delve deep into this time, it's not often you get to immerse yourself in something done on improvisation jams,no re-takes all recorded in one take,this is what the really unique Karpackonaut has to offer with absolutely fantastic aplomb on their excellent new album Distant Sequence.

   Straight away you can instantly feel the outworldly atmosphere hit like a tonne of brick on the crushingly heavy Outwards Through Time the vocals add a somewhat visceral appraoch to the atmosphere all while having a truly epic soundscape, Wordless I treats us to some deranged guitar pieces layered over a filthy bass and very rhytmic drumming while the vocals seem to be in synch with guitar while gradually getting more deranged and torturous,the atmosphere on this is extremely dark and disturbing, Sigils gives off a somewhat chilled out atmosphere with the beautiful guitar riff running throughout the track added by the slow hypnotic drumming and throbbing bassline,there's a vocal sequence half way through the track which keeps repeating the same line to push that crushingly heavy element to the fore.

   Things begin to get all the more epic with the brilliant Immaterial End which creeps and crawls through a devastatingly heavy and torturous atmosphere added by snarling and screaming vocals combined with the crushing vocals giving the atmosphere an altogether nastier feeling, this eventually build to an extremely disturbing crescendo and pushes the atmosphere to another level, it's about to get bleak with the lo-fi atmosphere of The Parellel it becomes noticable that the atmpshere gradually changes throughout the album with the addition of a cleaner vocal style and let's not forget the chants in the background which add a soothing yet impending dread element to proceedings, everything comes to the fore with the sublime title track Distant Sequence there's a nice subtle approach to the atmosphere on this track which makes the outworldly element all that more prevelent more then half through the song the vocals hit like an absolute juggernaut of crushing heaviness then gradually ends with a pace faster then any of the tracks that proceeded it.

   Karpackonaut have unleashed an album full of atmosphere, epic soundscapes, bleakness,dark and disturbing undertones,the further you delve into this the more you feel every essence of it consume your being,the band aren't afraid to mix different styles like Post Metal,Sludge,Atmospheric Doom,the fact that this is all done on improvisation makes it all the more interesting to listen to, this one is a grower folks one listen of this ain't enough you need to let all of it's atmosphere become a part of you to truly realise what a monumentally brilliant album this is.

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3GHjX0LIhCCD91Cb5GMAtm?si=d5hSbAG8Rl6T2ojAr6wB6w

BANDCAMP: https://karpackonaut.bandcamp.com/album/light-as-a-particle

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/karpackonaut

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/karpackonaut/