Anniversary Series 130: Brutality – Screams of Anguish

Scribed by Sandre the Giant

For almost two decades, Brutality were one of those bands who appeared in the 90s, left us with three great records and then vanished into the darkness. Until their 2016 return, ‘Sea of Ignorance’, we had seen nothing of them since 1996’s ‘In Mourning’, but we’re not here for either of those. We’re here for their classic 1993 debut, ‘Screams of Anguish’, a lost classic of 90s USDM that needs to be given more life.

This and its 1994 follow up ‘When the Sky Turns to Black’ were two records that I found while deep diving into more cult 90s death metal bands when I was at uni in the mid 2000s. You know that phase you go through when you’re in your 20s and you ‘need’ to find the most obscure stuff to prove you know better than anyone else? That’s when I found some Brutality. A punishing swarm of brutally technical death metal that had more than its fair share of doom influences, ‘Screams of Anguish’ is a brilliant record. You get bludgeoned to pieces by opener ‘These Walls Shall Be Your Grave’, mesmerised by the melodic synth work of ‘Sympathy’ and the ghostly acoustics of ‘Spirit World’, and then carnage awakens during ‘Crushed’. A record that mixes the low end chugging power of Obituary with a little of Atheist and a big chunk of Deicide, ladles in copious amounts of melodic guitar moments and then wraps it all up in a chunky Morrisound production. ‘Screams of Anguish’ is a record that sneaks up on you with its memorableness, leaving you enthralled.

Not a record you can necessarily say is genre defining, nor a super influential classic on many other bands, but ‘Screams of Anguish’ was just one of those albums that if you knew about it, you loved it. A collection of varied, powerful death metal songs that varied from technical masterpieces to chugging brutality and everything in between. I’ve had a soft spot for this record ever since I first came across it and that remains to this day. To call it a hidden gem seems disingenuous but it definitely should have a higher profile. Maybe the fact that their debut came out so late in the genre’s initial birth meant that they would’ve struggled to gain a foothold, I’m not sure. But every moment of this album is Floridian legend.

https://www.facebook.com/BrutalityTheBand

Anniversary Series 129: Twilight of the Gods – Fire on the Mountain

Scribed by Sandre the Giant

This was a banner month of 2013 for those of us who love heavy metal, glorious and unabashed in its love for the genre. First it was In Solitude, then the glorious Twilight of the Gods record, ‘Fire on the Mountain’. Made up of metal icons like Alan Averill, Nick Barker, Rune Eriksen as well as Thyrfing guitarist Patrik Lindgren and Einherjer mainman Frode Glesnes, this was a record that captured a love of Cirith Ungol, Manowar, latter day Bathory and other legends of the fundamental heavy metal and doom genres. ‘Fire on the Mountain’ was their only release, but this was a doozy.

An album that tries to tread almost towards the ridiculous in its heavy metal thunder, but in its sincerety never really comes close, ‘Fire on the Mountain’ is full of massive hooks, massive riffs and a truly nostalgic feel. Nemtheanga’s rich tones imbue everything with a sense of gravitas, while dueling guitar harmonies cascade over a thick, doomy stride. My own favourite track, the wonderful ‘Sword of Damocles’ is merely one of the stand out tracks here. The mighty, sword swinging battle hymn that is the title track, the gloomy battlefield stride of ‘At Dawn We Ride’, you can tick almost every cliche heavy metal box you can find. But what you must also accept is that this is one of the definitive examples of heavy fucking metal done properly by a group of lifers of the past decade. Most bands would kill to put out a record as good as this, and the fact we’ve only ever had the one is both regrettable and yet somehow fitting. Does perfection need a sequel?

Considering most of their day jobs consist of something a little more extreme, a little faster or heavier, Twilight of the Gods manage to really capture this classic heavy metal sound without any trace of their day jobs sneaking in. Well, there’s maybe a little Primordial more than anything, but even then it feels totally different. Twilight of the Gods were a wonderful distraction from the ongoing world of modern metal, a clarion call for a more traditional time, when battles and swords and the like was all we needed. Indeed, this was their ‘heathen metal call to arms’! Altogether now, “WE ARE THE SONS OF THE HAMMER”. Man that’s great.

https://www.facebook.com/totgofficial

Anniversary Series 127: In Solitude – Sister

Scribed by Sandre the Giant

They came, they dropped three modern classics of heavy metal, then they left us. Sweden’s In Solitude were a fascinating band to follow, from their emergence in the mid 2000s and their classic self titled debut through sophomore effort (and my own personal favourite) ‘The World, The Flesh. The Devil’ and to this, their final offerings to us before riding off into the sunset. ‘Sister’ celebrates its 10th anniversary this month, and so we look back fondly on a record that reaffirmed the band’s growing status as an essential voice in modern metal.

Arriving in the middle of the ‘occult metal’ thing that was hitting around this time, ‘Sister’ was loaded with a sense of the occult but had none of the weird trappings of the other bands going for that. There wasn’t any flutes or pan pipes or incantations, there was just heavy metal. Real, old fashioned heavy metal that was infused at its most elemental level with a sense of the darkness in man. The gloomy gothic opener ‘He Comes’, with its cold acoustics and ghostly vocals, is a perfect example of how to give us an occult vibe with the leanest of approaches. The driving ‘Death Knows Where’ has the slightest touches of Baroness about it, while you can also sense a huge amount of King Diamond lurking underneath the likes of ‘A Buried Sun’ and the brilliant ‘Lavender’, that also gives away their love of early Judas Priest as well. You can sense the tendrils of ‘Sister’ stretching out into the future, grasping for what insidious influence they could leave within your favourite bands. Ghost may be the most famous of this particular brand of occult rock or occult metal or whatever, but In Solitude’s work is far superior and this take of classic metal filtered through the Sisters of Mercy is just iconic at this point. They became the worthiest of successors to Mercyful Fate.

Critically acclaimed when it came out, as well as being the band’s magnum opus and final record, ‘Sister’ has a bit of a legend growing around it. The band were so desperately young at the time, the oldest member being only 26, meant that when we were robbed of many more albums to come, it was a real bummer. But with hindsight, I can appreciate that decision to leave us with such a perfect, compact discography and this being their finest achievement, I can’t blame them. Maybe a reunion tour at some point would be good though, I’d love to hear ‘Pallid Hands’ live, just once…

https://www.facebook.com/insolitudeofficial

Review: Mercenary – Soundtrack to the End Times

Review by Sandre the Giant

Denmark’s Mercenary have been a band that I’ve followed very closely since I came across them purely by accident on tour with Nevermore in Glasgow in 2005. Their intoxicating mixing of genres has always led to a collection of records full of powerful, traditional yet modern metal anthems. Their newest record, ‘Soundtrack for the End Times’, is out now through NoiseArt Records and looks to carry on that tradition.

Possessed of an easily recognisable sound, Mercenary have got the melodic death metal/power metal/groove metal sound absolutely nailed at this point of their career. Their music is dense, heavy and yet intensely melodic and catchy. Take opener ‘Burning in Reverse’; huge chugging riffs meets keyboard flourishes with an impassioned vocal performance. The hooks aren’t even insidious, they are standing right out in the middle ready to grab you in. The blistering ‘Heart of the Numb’ features Matt Heafy on vocals, and has an extra bite to it that is pretty cool. The band make sure though that, despite all the gloriously melodic soloing and hooks, you still have galloping rampages like the start of ‘Through This Blackened Hatred’, or the fearsome thrash of ‘Black Blood Soil’. It is just all melded together with some unbearably memorable stuff, like the Devin Townsend-esque ‘Become the Flame’, with its grandiose spaciousness. Initially I felt like saying that, at over an hour, it might be a little long in the tooth and that we could do with maybe just a bit of judicious editing, but the more you listen to it you realise that, if a band are this good, why put a time limit of their talents? They’ve been making records like this for years and I haven’t complained yet!

Ever since they blew me away with their classic ’11 Dreams’ album in 2004, I’ve been a fan. But what is really satisfying about ‘Soundtrack for the End Times’ is that Mercenary haven’t dropped the ball at all in this almost 20 year period. Their consistency, their songwriting, the potency of their riffs and hooks, none of it has diminished and if anything has grown stronger. ‘Soundtrack for the End Times’ could be the most anthemic record this year that is also pretty heavy. Superb.

https://www.facebook.com/MercenaryOfficial/

https://www.noiseart.cc/

Review: Cruel Force – Dawn of the Axe

Review by Sandre the Giant

I can’t tell from the album art if German blackened thrashers Cruel Force prefer old Voivod or old Sodom more, but it definitely feels like a suggested cover of one of those two icons’ 80s work. The band released two well received records into the underground over a decade ago and then disappeared on hiatus until last year. Let’s see if they are back to their previous highs on new record, ‘Dawn of the Axe’, which is out now through Shadow Kingdom Records, and is ready to riff your face off.

This is a record for those of us who enjoy razor sharp riffs, blinding speed and more than a little praise being leveled towards the Teutonic thrash gods themselves. It is obvious that Cruel Force have spent a lot of time listening to their legendary countrymen here; the thrashy fury of ‘Night of Thunder’, the galloping ‘Across the Styx’, or the blackened scythe of ‘Devil’s Dungeon’, you can feel Sodom, Kreator and Destruction coursing through their black veins. But it isn’t merely a tributary act that Cruel Force are doing here. No, their riffwork is crafted and honed to an absolute razor sharp edge, pulling in influences from the speedy hordes of South America too. Also, it is difficult to put across just how fucking catchy some of these tracks are. ‘Death Rides the Sky’ has a titular vocal refrain that has been wedged in my brain for DAYS, while the head nodding riffs from about 0:38 in ‘Power Surge’ are an air guitar fan’s wet dream.

Whether this is more to do with their maturation as songwriters or whether that burgeoning speed metal influence, it is making Cruel Force all the more interesting and compelling acts. Take the excellent closer for example. ‘Realm of Sands’ has a sweeping, ‘Powerslave’-esque riff before it takes off, Cruel Force using their breadth of talent to create a highly memorable and classic heavy metal-inspired epic. Angel Witch, eat your heart out. Pushing their music into more of a classic speed metal sound, while still keeping some of that blackened edge, Cruel Force are finding themselves as contributors to the rebirth of European thrash, rather than merely hangers on. ‘Dawn of the Axe’ is a record that gives us speed, riffs, hooks and enough Teutonic speed to satisfy even the most diehard, patchvest wearing mullethead. I’m talking about me, because I fucking love this record.

https://www.facebook.com/CruelForce

https://cruelforceofficial.bandcamp.com/

https://www.shadowkingdomrecords.com/

Review: Redeye Caravan – Snake Oil & Lullabies

Review by Sandre the Giant

We’re a fairly dedicated metal blog here at the Killchain, but it doesn’t mean we haven’t got other musical tastes too. We just don’t often write about them. But one I will write about is the new EP from dark country Greeks Redeye Caravan, ‘Snake Oil & Lullabies’. It is out now and is a style that I can blame the mighty Red Dead Redemption for…

Well, my interest in it at least. That bleak twang of a lonely guitar upon a prairie hooked me when I played RDR on my Xbox about a decade ago and while I don’t listen to a huge amount of it, that original soundtrack has a special place in my heart. That is the vibe that Redeye Caravan give me here, opener ‘The Circus’ has a bit of classic Western movie about it with an added sinister joviality to it. It’s like you’re about to get gunned down in a saloon, but the guy on the piano is playing a jaunty wee number. I’ve watched a lot of westerns in my time, I know that scene. ‘Slow Trains Are Never Late’ has a nice twanging drive to it, while the gloomy sermon of ‘Cardinal Sin’ weaves a dark tale. This is my favourite track here, really fulfilling that ‘dark country’ vibe to its fullest on here. ‘The Town’ has a grandiose finish to it as well, like a triumphant end to a feel good movie.

If you are into this kind of thing, I think that Redeye Caravan give you something to enjoy. It isn’t quite as grim as I’d like for a ‘dark’ country band but ‘Snake Oil & Lullabies’ is an enjoyable listen, with a number of fun tracks and an insatiable catchiness that’ll leavve you tapping a lonesome toe for many a minute.

https://www.facebook.com/redeyecaravan/

https://redeyecaravan.bandcamp.com/album/snake-oil-lullabies

Review: VULNIFICUS – Inextricable

Review by Sandre the Giant

aMERCIAN brutal death metallers VULNIFICUS are back with another EP this year, following on from their ‘Inexplicable’ compilation from last year. Keeping the ‘I’ theme going, (reminds me of German death thrashers Dew-Scented, I wonder whatever happened to them?), their newest EP is called ‘Inextricable’. It is due out in November and brings to mind the finest of NYDM brutality.

Opener ‘Intrinsic Inclination’ is a monstrous, gurgling rampage. A very bass-prominent assault, the guitar work is technical but much is hidden behind an impressively thick production sound. It really ramps up that murky ugliness that the band have traded well in in the past. ‘The Internecine Incarnation’ is utterly relentless in its execution, massive chugging riffs dominating the speakers while vocalist Eston Browne growls like an uncaged abyssal beast. The EP finishes with an instrumental version of the opener which really gives you the opportunity to appreciate that musicianship. There’s also less of the more industrial/blackened ambient effects that previous work has featured, which is an interesting direction.

It is another blast of brutality from VULNIFICUS, whose work is always a pleasure to listen to. They really have taken the spirit of the NYDM scene death metal heritage to heart and are focused on keeping that legacy going. Hopefully we can get a full length release from them in the near future, because I have a feeling it would be even better than ‘Inextricable’.

https://www.facebook.com/vulnificusbdm

https://vulnificusbdm.bandcamp.com/music

Review: Mean Green – Mean Green

Reviewed by Geary of War

What do you do if you live in Boone, North Carolina, love a bit of sludge, doom and stoner rock? You form a band is what. Mean Green is that band, and ‘Mean Green’ is their debut, self titled full length record, out now through Bandcamp.

You will be shocked and stunned when you hear the first mention of weed in the lyrics, honest. What will not shock you as much as pull you in is the well paced and delivered riffing and groove in opener ‘Law’, with rasping vocals on the cleaner side of EyeHateGod, you get a feel for what these lads are about. ‘Crow’ takes a much more doom laden tone, bludgeoning drums work alongside catchy, thick riffs. The tone continues with the self titled track. You can picture a crowd full of Sleep and Black Sabbath shirts and you know what? Every one of them made the correct call. Taking a turn for the slightly more sinister ‘Fiend’; it is not as much about groove as feel. Spending a good portion of the opening reeling you into its spell. Imagine ‘Voodoo’ by Godsmack, (stay with me here!), but instead of radio friendly, it’s gritty, dark and full of bad intentions. This is ‘Voodoo’ for the grown ups. ‘Last Bullet’ is dooooooooooooom to its core. Heavy trad doom with gravel soaked vocals and an almost mournful solo. No idea why but I picture this at night, with a bonfire and dark spirits being drunk.

Well before mayhem around said fire because god damn do they finish with a flourish. Fancy something more head nodding, ‘Grease Monkey’ has you covered. Not reinventing the wheel, it does it’s job and does it well. Closing us out is ‘The Deal’; brooding, thumping and lumbering its way forward. There is no room for niceties here. The track leads us home in a way that Sleep would be proud off, fuzz, attitude and, well the band put it best, a “fuck you” attitude. If there was a whole song off this riff at the end I would begin the next album with it. It is ace.

Mean Green are not going to defy convention, they will not (as yet) push the edges of what is possible in the genre but what they will do and have done is give you an album to enjoy. If there is one thing the doom/stoner genre can fall into the trap of is repetition, countless band have proven you can have too much of a good thing. Mean Green steer clear of that. You could argue a clean vocal would add another dimension to the doom/stoner vibes but would that really be keeping in tune with who they are and those mud covered sludge roots? For at its heart this is a dark underdog record, this is a band who came up the hard way, they paid their dues in other bands, met and recorded enough material to get on tour and spread via word of mouth. How can you not respect a band that does that? Mean Green, you do what feels right, in the meantime I am going to go enjoy your glorious self titled album once more.

https://www.facebook.com/meangreenmetal

https://meangreen.bandcamp.com/album/mean-green

Anniversary Series 125: Morbid Angel – Heretic

Scribed by Sandre the Giant

Not the first record by death metal luminaries Morbid Angel on our anniversary list this year, but certainly one of the band’s more intriguing releases. It was a real change in circumstances for the band, the last with Steve Tucker (until his triumph return in 2017) and Pete Sandoval as well as the last on Earache and the last recorded at Morrisound. It feels like the end of an era for a whole scene and genre, let alone just Morbid Angel themselves! I think due to that, it is often overlooked in the litany of great Morbid Angel records, but we’re here to put a stop to that right now!

‘Heretic’ is a record that contains everything Morbid Angel fans had come to expect by this point in the band’s career. The labyrinthine song structures of Trey Azagthoth were in full effect; that unbearable dense bass rumble and weirdly infectious chug that has plagued their work since ‘Domination’. You get bludgeoned immediately by opener ‘Cleansed in Pestilence (Blade of Elohim)’, dense low end chug meets chaotic frenzy . It was the first Morbid Angel record I actually ever bought, based on the cover art alone in late 2005, so I have a soft spot for it, but while it may not be as revolutionary or defining as ‘Altars…’ or ‘Blessed…’, it is still a mighty slab of warped death metal carnage. Trey’s guitar work has always been the most interesting part of Morbid Angel’s work, finding new and inventive riffs, melodies and abyssal bends each track to pull out. It always feels like he is playing in between dimensions, such is the almost alien nature of his tone and he’s backed up with the powerful wandering bass of Tucker, whose vocals are also ace, and the octopian drumming of Pete Sandoval, who never fails to add his own signature brand of controlled chaos into everything. What ‘Heretic’ definitely is, is Morbid Angel’s weirdest record. Uncomfortable pieces like ‘Place of Many Deaths’ and the ominous ‘Abyssous’ lie heavy with industrial and bleak ambient references, while the dissonance of ‘Praise the Strength’ and ‘God of Our Own Divinity’ are building blocks of much of modern dissonant death metal. They just don’t realise it.

‘Heretic’ is a record that was notable at the time mostly for being the last ‘good’ record the band had made until 2017’s ‘Kingdoms Disdained’ (totally dependent on your opinions on ‘Illud Divinum Insanus’ of course), but it was merely the latest in a long, long line of critically acclaimed and musically brilliant records from one of death metal’s most defining voices. Twenty years later, it still stands strong especially against some of the other efforts of late 90s/early 00s death metal. The genre may have been ready for its rebirth after the barren years, but Morbid Angel disappeared in that time, becoming mostly a live touring band until 2011’s controversial ‘Illud Divinum Insanus’. But we’ll get to that another time. ‘Heretic’ deserves your love today though, because it is simply a brilliant record and its place as a foundation for modern dissonant death doesn’t get spoken about enough

https://www.facebook.com/officialmorbidangelpage

Anniversary Series 124: Paradise Lost – Icon

Scribed by Sandre the Giant

It is almost as if Paradise Lost knew how good their 1993 opus was going to be, with a name like ‘Icon’. Coupled with the follow up, ‘Draconian Times’, the Yorkshire doom lords became one of the most singularly influential bands on modern doom in two records. ‘Icon’ was their magnum opus, the full realisation of the sound they had been working on since ‘Gothic’. Most of 1992’s ‘Shades of God’s progressive tendencies had receded leaving behind a sound that remains to this day. I think everyone knew how good Paradise Lost were, but I’m not sure anyone expected them to drop something so utterly genre defining.

An album that really defines the idea of ‘gothic metal’, although much doomier than most of modern gothic metal, ‘Icon’ was full of rich, atmopsheric guitar work and Nick Holmes really finding the voice that would work so well for another 30 years. It marked a movement away from the more death/doom feel of their first records, and added a huge Sisters of Mercy influence into everything. There’s an eerie soul to tracks like ‘Forging Sympathies’, while the doomy groan of ‘Colossal Rains’ lives on in so many bands today it isn’t even funny. Even now, it is hard to pick out an individual song or moment that feels particularly influential when the whole album has such a recognisable feel to it. It still feels more accomplished, more imperious and more important than most of its peers and its children, even after three decades. Gloomy, melodic without being catchy, heavy without being guttural, the very embodiment of a damp foggy day on the moors. The cold opening to ‘Christendom’ feels like it is in every atmospheric black metal album you’ve ever heard.

I remember the first time I heard this record very clearly. It was just after I got their self titled record in 2005 having heard ‘Forever After’. It reminded me a little of HIM, and I liked HIM at the time so I was in. A friend of mine told me that I needed to get ‘Icon’ and ‘Draconian Times’ immediately and, being an impressionable youth I did just that. I love them both, but ‘Icon’ has remained ahead just over the years, and is a record I enjoy going back to at least once a year to remind myself how good it is.  I started listening to Sisters of Mercy because of this record. I have an odd fondness for the Finnish gothic rock/gothic doom scene that this inspired.

When the band announced that, due to record labels owning the rights to ‘Icon’, they would rerecord it and release it as a special anniversary edition to make sure they owned their own music, I hadn’t realised that that was even a thing. An interesting wrinkle in the long running saga of bands and labels not always seeing eye to eye on business, but it is a great idea because the new generation deserve to be shown this masterpiece in glorious modern production. It is always important to teach every generation about the history of their new favourite bands, and without Paradise Lost and ‘Icon’, there are huge swathes of metal that just wouldn’t be here.

https://www.facebook.com/paradiselostofficial