Exhumer releases Degraded by Sepsis and embarks on European tour

exhumer-degraded_by_sepsisExhumer will release their second album Degraded by Sepsis on October 15, 2013 through Comatose Music. The Italian deathgrind band embarks on a full European tour with Psycroptic, Hour of Penance and Dyscarnate starting this Friday. Tour dates follow.

Degraded by Sepsis presents an efficient and well-executed take on standard deathgrind. Guttural blasting abounds, underscored with melody, emphasizing a buildup to a vocal and percussion tirade that brings the song to its peak. Song development is minimal and mostly verse-chorus.

While this may not win any points with those who demand innovation and profundity, Exhumer’s second work shows us material that is deliberate, with no extraneous parts hanging around like at a poorly-cleaned morgue, and tasteful in that all pieces fit together and the song experience as a whole is enjoyable.

Psycroptic, Hour of Penance, Dyscarnate and Exhumer European Tour 2013

 
September 20 Aarshot, Belgium JC De Klinker
September 21 Essen, Germany Turock
September 22 London UK Electrowerkz
September 23 Dublin, Ireland The Pint
September 24 Glasgow, UK Ivory Blacks
September 25 Cardiff, UK Bogiez Rock Club
September 26 Margate, UK Westcoast
September 27 Paris, France Glazart
September 28 Lausanne, Switzerland Metal Assault Festival
September 29 Zurich, Switzerland Planet 5
September 30 Munich, Germany Feierwerk Kranhalle
October 1 Kosice, Slovakia Collosseum
October 2 Ostrava, Czech Rep Barrack Music Club
October 4 Rotterdam, Netherlands Baroeg
October 5 Copenhagen, Denmark Beta
1 Comment

Tags: ,

Incantation – Mortal Throne of Nazarene LP re-issue

incantation-mortal_throne_of_nazarene_lp_reissueThe good thing about the transition to two decades of operation is that a genre may benefit from advances in technology and funding to re-release its classics in restored or originally-intended form. Through this channel a burst of classics on vinyl has emerged over the past five years.

Mortal Throne of Nazarene is Incantation‘s most controversial album. People either love it or hate it, and a huge part of this is the simple fact that it’s impossible to follow up to Onward to Golgotha. That album walks the earth like an ice giant or Norse god, crushing all in its path. How to top that?

Part of what makes this album so controversial was its original production which captured a searing guitar tone but also managed to blend the vocals and guitars to create a stream of noise that often made it impossible to discern chord changes. It wasn’t terrible, for the time, but it made it harder to listen to the music under the vocals.

The LP re-issue of Mortal Throne of Nazarene fixes these problems. Not only are instruments clear, but the vocals are also present with great force. Not only that but the warmth of vinyl is put to good use preserving the color of distorted guitar, bass and drums, which fleshes out this album. It does it all without losing volume, making this an intense compacted flow of sound.

As far as the album itself, my supposition is that the controversy will never die. It has its inspired parts and flashes of genius, but large portions of the rest feel incomplete, like they got sketched out but never fully adjusted and shaped to serve at optimal power. Much of those are lengthy chromatic connective passages that seem to repeat where they would have branched on earlier releases.

It’s reminiscent of Suffocation’s Breeding the Spawn in that way. For confirmation, listen to the Forsaken Mourning of Angelic Anguish EP which follows this album and adjusts details of many songs such that they work together instead of divergently. Several LP songs are on that shorter release at greater effect.

What this re-issue of Mortal Throne of Nazarene will do is to fan those flames of controversy by letting us hear this album with a production on par to that of Onward to Golgotha. This means that with this LP re-issue, the band separate controversy over production from controversy over composition, and let the underground see this album in a new light.

3 Comments

Tags: ,

Glorious Times presents “A Day of Death 2013” on Saturday, September 28, 2013

a_day_of_death_2013The guys behind Glorious Times, the book that helped many rediscover the early death metal and black metal underground, are presenting the latest in their series of classic death metal concerts named after the original “A Day of Death” back in 1990.

Unfortunately, this one is also the last they’re going to do of this series.

Like many shows, this has brought several bands out of retirement. This will be the first show of Baphomet/Banished, famous for their brooding chunky heavy metal, and bands such as Sin-Eater who have been inactive until this time.

A Day of Death 2013
Saturday, September 28, 2013
The Forvm Buffalo
4224 Maple Rd Buffalo, NY 14226
(716) 831-3271
Doors at 5 pm, 1st band at 5:30pm
$20 advance, $25 day of show

Here’s the list of bands performing:

3 Comments

Tags: , , ,

Glorious Times team produces Jill Funerus benefit show on October 17, 2013

jill_funerus_mcenteeAs you may have read on this site, recently Jill Funerus (bassist/vocalist for FUNERUS) who is also the wife of John McEntee from Incantation ran into a spate of health problems. In addition to battling neuropathy and diabetes, she suffered a heart attack and related kidney dysfunction, but has pulled through.

We congratulate her on having survived such an intense health challenge. However, neither she nor her husband have health insurance and thus, they’re facing some intense bills for the surgery, medicine and several days she spent at the hospital.

The metal community is banding together to help them. Through the hands of Brian Pattison, one-half of the Glorious Times team, a benefit show has been established with 100% of the profits going to Jill Funerus’ medical bills.

Jill Funerus Benefit
Thursday, October 17 at 7:00pm EDT
The Forvm in Buffalo, New York
4224 Maple Rd Buffalo, NY 14226
(716) 831-3271

If you can’t make the show, like many of us who are thousands of miles away, you can send money via paypal to info@funerus.com. If you are from a metal band or have something else you can donate for sale/raffle at the benefit, please message the Glorious Times team via glorioustimesdeathbook@gmail.com. See also the Facebook event listing.

List of bands supporting the Jill Funerus benefit:

  • Abnormality
  • Abolishment of flesh
  • Abysme
  • Autopsy
  • Barzakh
  • Bernd Backhaus
  • Black Bear Printing
  • Blood Coven
  • Brutality
  • Buried
  • Butchered Records
  • Cannibal Corpse
  • Cardiac Arrest
  • Capathian Funeral
  • Chuck “Patchmaster General” Parsons
  • Cianide
  • Circle of Dead Children
  • Dark Descent Records
  • Darkapathy
  • Deathcrawl
  • Deceased
  • Deformity
  • Demented Dream States
  • Dismemberment (OH)
  • Druid Lord
  • Embalmer
  • Emblazoned
  • Fleshbound Productions
  • Full Blown A.I.D.S.
  • Glorious Times
  • Grave Descent
  • Gravehill
  • Gutter Christ
  • HPGD
  • Horrormerch.com
  • HRA
  • Immolation
  • Impetigo
  • Insanity
  • Jaymz Delisle
  • Jeff Standish
  • Legacy of Death Productions
  • Liquified Guts
  • Low Road Revival
  • Lucertola
  • Malevolent Creation
  • Malignancy
  • Manticore
  • Master
  • Mat Romero
  • Mausoleum
  • Mike Browning (Incubus)
  • Misery Index
  • Music Matters
  • New Order Records
  • Nokturnel
  • Nokturnel Eclipse
  • Pathos Productions
  • Prime Evil
  • Radiation Sickness
  • Randy Kastner
  • Repulsion
  • Rottrevore
  • Sacrific
  • Sam Biles
  • Sathanas
  • Seplophile
  • Signature Riff
  • Soulless
  • Splatterreah
  • Stevo (Impetigo, Tombstones)
  • Tainted Entertainment
  • Vile Records
  • Visions of the Night
  • Wehrmacht

No Comments

Tags: , , , ,

Letters: Why isn’t Metallica “thrash metal”?

metallica-kill_em_allA reader writes with a few questions:

Why is Metallica’s debut classified in your website as Speed Metal and not Thrash Metal? What defines Thrash Metal and why are Metallica and Kreator placed under Speed Metal? The second question really being what defines Speed Metal?

What is speed metal? Speed metal is the music formed of the hybrid of NWOBHM and punk music. NWOBHM itself was a fusion of Black Sabbath and the “metal-like” hard rock genres of the time, including some progressive rock, given an underground and DIY outlook. The definitive speed metal album is the first Metallica work, but we could also look to Overkill, Nuclear Assault, Anthrax, Megadeth, Testament and Prong.

What is thrash metal? A marketing term for “speed metal.” Some argue that it’s a separate genre, namely speed metal with “broken beats” or d-beats, but the fact of the matter is that the d-beat-influenced drumming was already part of speed metal. Musically, anything regarded as “thrash metal” is speed metal. Hence use of that term instead.

Now, as to Kreator — why is it speed metal? Kreator is on the line between speed metal and death metal but ultimately has more in common with later speed metal like Destruction and Sodom than it does with outright death metal. It was a previous generation to the music that expanded in the late 1980s through early 1990s.

What is thrash? Thrash is a hybrid form of heavy metal and punk music preferred by thrashers, i.e. skaters. This music evolved out of the explosion of punk music at the end of the 1970s and the tendency of bands like Discharge, Amebix, The Exploited, the Cro-Mags and others to take on metal riff-styles, especially as inspired by Slayer and other heavily punk-influenced bands. However, many thrash bands used riff influences from NWOBHM or before, with Black Sabbath being prominent.

The reason we separate speed metal and thrash is that they are different movements. Speed metal is metal that incorporates some aspects of punk; thrash is a metal/punk hybrid that generally uses punk song structures and metal riffs, laying the groundwork for grindcore. There’s also no point in expanding the speed metal franchise into many different sub-types when all are essentially musically identical.

12 Comments

Tags: , ,

Pestilence releasing Obsideo on November 11, 2013

pestilence-obsideoDutch death metal band Pestilence confirm that they will release their latest album, Onsideo, through Candlelight Records on 11th in North America. Produced by vocalist/guitarist Patrick Mameli, the album is the band’s first recording for the label and first new material from the four-piece since 2011.

Obsideo sees Pestilence as a four piece, with guitarist/vocalist Patrick Mameli joining original guitarist Patrick Uterwijk, bassist George Maier and drummer Dave Haley to create a technical and aggressive sound. “We have gone beyond our human limits to achieve the highest form of brutal music,” said Mameli, who claimed the album consisted of “ten of the most demanding songs written in death metal.”

Following a lengthy absence, Pestilence resurrected itself in 2009 with Resurrection Macabre. Since then the band has toured and explored options for its new sound, which incorporates eight-string guitars and modern metal influences into its classic death metal sound.

Consuming Impulse, the band’s 1989 release, remains a highwater mark for death metal for its intricate assembly and integration of complex riffs and multiple themes. Since that time, the band has drifted toward more socially-acceptable forms of technical music.

Obsideo Track-Listing:

  1. Obsideo
  2. Displaced
  3. Aura Negative
  4. NecroMorph
  5. Laniatus
  6. Distress
  7. Soulrot
  8. Saturation
  9. Transition
  10. Superconscious

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3GO66yX488

9 Comments

Tags: , ,

Perdition Temple unleashes The Tempter’s Victorious in early 2014

perdition_temple-the_tempters_victoriousMembers of Immolation, Angelcorpse, and Black Witchery comprise the new Gene Palubicki-fronted project Perdition Temple, which will be releasing two new recordings on Hell’s Headbangers records in 2014. Arising from the ashes of Angelcorpse through its principal composer and most renowned guitarist, Perdition Temple extends the Angelcorpse concept to new extremes.

The first release will be a 7″ EP with one original track and one cover on the B-side. This is a teaser for the album and a showcase for the new lineup for those who are considering the album but not yet convinced. There’s no word on whether this will be Perdition Temple’s trademark high-speed intricate chromatic riffing or another style.

The Tempter’s Victorious will be released in early 2014 and will be a full-length album with eight new tracks and cover art by Adam Burke. Recording begins in the next few months to have this release ready in time for its street date. The following is the current lineup of Perdition Temple:

  • Gene Palubicki – guitars
  • Bill Taylor – guitars
  • Impurath – vocals
  • Ronnie Parmer – drums
  • Gabriel Gozainy – bass

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGoQa7BlExw

8 Comments

Tags: , , , ,

Are You Morbid? returns to the radio

are_you_morbid-radio_showAre You Morbid?, the radio show by newer generations to keep the music of the underground years alive, has returned from the dead. This show briefly thrived on two different radio stations during the 2010-2011 time period and became notorious for its love of the old school spirit in metal, whether past or contemporary.

The new show will be Monday nights from 11PM – 12:30 AM on KUOI FM Moscow 89.3. However, listeners worldwide can tune in via the live stream at http://kuoi.org:8000/kuoi.m3u. You can also watch the show happening live via the KUOI web cam

For those who enjoy classic metal radio, Are You Morbid? utilizes the format of long blasts of music centered around a theme, briefly interrupted by DJ explanations and topical commentary. During its previous life, the show gained listeners worldwide for its quality selection of death metal and black metal.

3 Comments

Tags: , , ,

Interview with Andrés Padilla (Underground Never Dies)

andrés padilla-underground_never_diesRecently the word got out about a new book that’s going to explain the metal underground. This book, called Underground Never Dies, is edited by Andrés Padilla, the longstanding publisher and chief writer of Grinder Magazine.

Like several underground books before it, Underground Never Dies does not attempt to summarize the underground from a single point of view. Rather, it lets many different voices speak and, like harmonization in song, a truth emerges.

Cover art by Mark Riddick graces the entrance to this all-star production of underground metal analysis and opinion. In these pages, you will find people that you know of, or will want to know of, who helped build the underground into what it is.

We were lucky to get a chat in with Andrés as he prepares to launch this challenging work. Thanks to Andrés Padilla, Grinder Magazine and Doomentia Records for helping us secure this interview.

Click here for the full interview.

No Comments

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Interview with Andrés Padilla, author of Underground Never Dies

andrés padilla-underground_never_dies

Recently the word got out about a new book that’s going to explain the metal underground. This book, called Underground Never Dies, is edited by Andrés Padilla, the longstanding publisher and chief writer of Grinder Magazine.

Like several underground books before it, Underground Never Dies does not attempt to summarize the underground from a single point of view. Rather, it lets many different voices speak and, like harmonization in song, a truth emerges.

Cover art by Mark Riddick graces the entrance to this all-star production of underground metal analysis and opinion. In these pages, you will find people that you know of, or will want to know of, who helped build the underground into what it is.

We were lucky to get a chat in with Andrés as he prepares to launch this challenging work. Thanks to Andrés Padilla, Grinder Magazine and Doomentia Records for helping us secure this interview.
flag_spain

The most difficult question first (sorry!): what is the “underground”?

From a Thrasher’s point of view, it’s a very particular phenomenon developed in the early eighties when the roar and corrosion of Metal began to sprout all over the world. Ignoring rules, norms and standards, this trend and way of thinking opened up its way in a pure, honest and caring manner. Personally, the underground has been the path I have followed all my life, not only musically (I also listen to other music styles) but also in the type of life and philosophy to follow. Since the metal stench entered my blood it has never left. On the contrary, it has grown and strengthened my vision for this movement that in spite of any dogma, represents a way of life not only for me, but for many other devoted followers of this sound, which becomes my daily sustenance.

Underground is devotion and commitment; it is to follow your own path, not accepting the mainstream as your food, rejecting the rules of the religion – Christianity , impose your own voice, make your mark, teach others that way which means to believe in yourself. It’s a “fuck you” to the system.
Musically it is the opposite to the establishment. This is where the mind has a space to open freely and go with the corrosive and distressing death metal sound, which in my case is my favorite style.

It may have been born in the eighties, but not everyone who was there at the beginning has continued its traditions. I feel lucky to have never given up this way of life and even to this day, have supported its development and growth, either by editing a fanzine for 25 years as well editing and distributing discs and demo tapes. Although the rise of the Internet has dramatically changed the way it’s distributed and spread out, the underground has mutated over time, trying to keep his old philosophy and aesthetics. Long life to Death Metal!

How did the idea of this book come to you, and how did you embark on the course to write it and publish it?

Before finishing school I started to make my own fanzine. Up to this day I continue, sending letters, talking with underground bands, exchanging demos/CDs/LPs/videos etc. has been my way of life. I never wanted to look for a job in an office. Metal has been my best ally and daily food since I started listening to it in the mid eighties.

So if you ask me how I got this idea, well, it just came to me, I never looked for it! Everything came naturally. I like thriving, without losing its philosophy, and after 25 years doing fanzines, I wanted to do something more challenging, something that defined a little better what my life linked to music has been like, even if it’s been behind a desk. I’ve always believed that nothing is impossible, only death is unavoidable.

Then, as there is no worldwide publication that has managed to piece together an overall concept about this repulsive and dark phenomenon, I wanted to be the first madman to embrace every corner of the planet and display it in a book with a ton of posters, photos and comments that may finally tell, what, how and when all this happened. Underground Never Dies is just that, an incredible journey into the past where you can explicitly revive what was a unique time.

About the way it’s going to be published, maybe it was fate or luck that made me send a copy of my first book — Retrospectiva al Metal Chileno 1983-1993 — to Doomentia. Lukas (founder) loved my work and when I told him I was doing a new book about the worldwide Underground, and in English, he gladly accepted to publish it.

Do you think “underground” (perhaps like “outsider”) is a cultural identity more than a marketing category?

andrés_padilla-grinder_magazine-underground_never_diesAbsolutely, at least for me. I am very different from other normal people who wake up every day to go to an office or accept system standards. So this phenomenon for me has its own identity, and even though throughout its developmental years many people have left to take on another identity, I know that we are thousands who still believe that this sound must be kept in a low profile, away from the mainstream and with a unique identity.

And I’m not talking about the aesthetic aspect, because personally, even though I really like the aesthetic that surrounds it, if anyone sees me on the street probably they will not think I listen to Death Metal. For me the image is not everything. It is the thinking, actions and congruence with yourself. The rest does not matter. Now, I will not dress like a Glam Rock fan of the eighties. No way!

How important do you think “non-commercial” attitudes are to the underground?

They are important to sustain its aesthetics, spirit and coherence with the environment. However, commercial attitudes are also valid. It is impossible to make a ‘zine and give it away for free, to spend thousands of dollars on a disc and then give it away. Money is in the middle of it whether we like it or not. Always. Moreover, we grew up on the grounds that money is everything. Unfortunately we are doomed to follow that path until humanity reaches its end. I prefer to make music or a magazine and sell it than belonging to a stupid company and take orders from an asshole boss.

Do you think the underground was a product of its time, when there was no Amazon and import CDs weren’t in regular stores, or does it still have relevance today?

To me, Underground is a concept born out of many factors, like our interest in something intangible like belonging to a music scene. We, are the ones who keep this alive. The bands, zines publishers, fans attending a concert, etc. All this makes the Underground continue thriving over time and avoid death to changes in humanity, like technology. Underground will always exist, but it is not going to go towards you, it is you who has to go to it.

What defines or identifies an “underground” band? Is there a specific sound, or is it an attitude, or a social position like being on an underground label, small pressing runs, etc.?

Arguably, in Thrash, Death, Speed, Black, Doom, etc, all trends derived from this devotion. Yes, there are patterns, pre-established rules and forms which we interpret as good or bad. Underground is devotion. And when it’s honest and pure, it is recognized. Who does not recognize it, then, they are on a different path.

How long did it take you to write the book? What is your process for writing?

From the first interviews, trips and design, I think it has been three long years. The first stage was the longest, perhaps collecting the information (posters, photos, etc.) and checking my personal collection amassed over the years of editing fanzines. Much of the material had been stored and forgotten.

underground_never_dies-andres_padillaThen it was about organizing the book concept and selecting the best of the material, trying not to be like any other work which has published about it. After several years, I think I arrived at the final concept. The experience of having done something similar, only dedicated to the scene of my country, was fundamental. That book, Retrospectiva al Metal Chileno 1983-1993, edited along with a 12″ vinyl disc (made by Iron Bonehead Prod, Germany) was very well-received worldwide.

Who’s going to print the book, and where/when will we be able to buy it, and for how much?

Doomentia Czech label will be responsible for publishing and distributing the book through its network of contacts and labels within the Metal realm. We all know who they are! If you’re reading this, it’s because you know! I have to confess that thanks to the Internet, now with a few clicks anyone can have the book. Hopefully the printed copies reach the right people. I have no idea what the price will be, but if you calculate a hardcover book with over 400 pages infested with posters and photos of the eighties, plus a 12″ gatefold with bands like Slaughter Lord, Incubus, Necrovore, Mutilated, Dr Shrinker, Fatal and more, then the price is more or less imaginable. I hope that the material is ready and available for December 2013.

You mention on your flyer that the underground was a way to fight transformation into a mindless sheep. This sounds straight out of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” or “They Live.” Is it really that bad?

The promotional poster you speak of, contains quotes taken from the people interviewed in the book. That phrase you mention is something you will have to interpret when you read the book and the complete response of the interview. That mystery I leave it for when you have the book in your hands. Each individual has his own version of what happened in these corrosive years, when Metal was a threat to the system. In my case, I lived through Metal in chaotic times for my country with a military dictatorship. I think that counts and left a huge mark in our youth.

Where does the underground live today?

Worldwide. It has never ceased to exist. We are the ones who should feel a natural devotion to go after it. Those who don’t feel that, simply do not belong in this cult. This will cease to exist only when there are no more humans on earth.

Can you give us a small biography of yourself and your past writing experiences?

Since 1988, I have been editing fanzines, corresponding with bands, tape traders, attending concerts and festivals worldwide. I saw the birth of Death Metal since it started wearing diapers. With 25 years of experience in this art, I think I have enough to identify which smells more rotten than the other. This is all I have done in my life.

I have never been part of a company, nor have I been employed by one, except for a radio station in Santiago for three years, but at that time it was only two days a week on the radio, so I wouldn’t call it being employed by them. The program was called “Ground Beef”, and was devoted to Metal . We played stuff like Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Nihilist among many other killer bands. It was a fun experience hanging out with some international acts when they played in Chile.

Will you be covering the internet, for example pre-1995 websites like the Dark Legions Archive?

The book mainly talks about the beginnings of Metal, but at the end it has a brief chapter on these issues, the emergence of the Internet and databases such as these and many others, like Metal Archives.

Thank you for this interview. Our readers will enjoy it!

Thank you very much to you for this tremendous space and support to spread this work that has required three years of my life. I hope that when it’s published, the public can appreciate it.

3 Comments

Tags: , , , , , ,

Classic reviews:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z