Sodom In Context

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Article by Anton Rudrick.

To be fair, one must approach judgement of a legendary and veteran band such as Sodom, with care, so that their present actions are seen in light of the road they have tread. In this spirit, it is appropriate that we go over the band’s career, taking a brief look at each step of their evolution so as to get a picture of how the band came to be as we see it and hear them today on Decision Day. If we are to start from the very beginning, we have to look back to their very first demo released in 1984, Victims of Death, which stands in an area between MetallicaKill ‘Em All and Bathory’s self-titled debut album. Sodom’s first step is closer to contemporary hardcore punk than speed metal, which affords them a certain street credibility.

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Cóndor – Sangreal Out October 12th

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Cóndor, creators of some of Death Metal Underground’s favorite albums of the past few years, announced that their third album, titled Sangreal, is coming out October 12th on their Funbook page:

Les presentamos la portada de nuestro próximo álbum, ‘Sangreal,’ pintada por David Viana. El álbum saldrá el 12 de octubre. He aquí también el listado de canciones.

We present to you the artwork and track-listing for our upcoming third album, ‘Sangreal’ which will be released on October 12th. The cover was painted by David Viana.

1. Sangreal
2. Se extienden las sombras
3. Viejo jabalí
4. Outremer
5. Sainte-Terre
6. El árbol de la muerte
7. Roncesvalles

“¡Qué ingeniosos y hábiles tuvieron que ser los dioses para engañarnos!
Rápidos, estrepitosos y furtivos,
Hablando siempre en su lengua extraña.
¡Qué incierta era su música, qué incierto su desconsuelo!
¿Cómo fue que nos engañaron y olvidamos su presencia?”

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Insane – Wait and Pray (2005)

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Article by Lance Viggiano.

It’s ten thirty, you’ve just park your primer printed Ford Escort next to a mail box. As you approach the house party, you hear the faint but present rolling of open e rumbling which causes your fist to clench; unconsciously clamping the thirty rack of PBR you are carrying with heightened anticipation. As you approach the house, the scent of tobacco and descending drum fills leaks through the cracked garage door while brief phrases of frantic power chords begin alighting a fire deep inside… Insane fun awaits.

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Bolt Thrower Break Up

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Bolt Thrower have finally officially broken up after going on hiatus following the death of their long-term drummer Martin “Kiddie” Kearns. Vocalist Karl Willets forming Memorian with original, still-living drummer Andy Whale heralded this. Bolt Thrower  had not released an album in over a decade and their studio output had been a pale shadow of their 1980s grindcore peak. The band released a statement on their website:

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Bölzer Preview Hipster Christmas Carol

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Black/death ‘n’ roll band Bolzer premiered a track that sounds like the pretentious hipster occult version of the Beach Boys from their upcoming debut LP, Hero.  Their prior EPs had a few creative riffs in boring, meandering , and more boring alt rock songs. Rather than increasing the amount of actually meaningful musical content or improving their songwriting skills, Bolzer have tailored themselves to target the hipsters consuming the idiot safe-space pseudo-metal promulgated by Profound Lore, Vice, and MetalSucks. Will the bearded, flannel cutoff short short wearers be grossly offended by the runes tattooed onto Bolzer’s beer bellies?

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Blessed Are the Sick: Morbid Angel’s Last Advance

morbid angel blessed are the sick original

Nirvana’s Nevermind turned twenty five yesterday but since we at the Death Metal Underground condemn pop-punk Boston worship, we will celebrate a different anniversary today. Morbid Angel‘s Blessed Are the Sick was released twenty-five summers ago. Blessed Are the Sick was the last Morbid Angel record focused on inwardly improving the music rather than compromising it for commercial appeal to a mainstream market. The band had been obsessed with refining and expanding upon their compositions since Trey Azagthoth shelved the release of 1986’s Abominations of Desolation and fired then drummer/vocalist Mike Browning.

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This Ain’t No Fantasy: A History Of Punk’s Most Iconic Band, The Misfits

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Metalheads tend to be wary of punk, recognizing it only for its role as an influence on metal. This attitude obscures the fact that the best of punk is worth exploring on its own terms and merits, starting with perhaps the greatest influence of punk technique and heightened aesthetics in that genre, hardcore punk‘s The Misfits.

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