Phantom – The Epilogue to Sanity

by Nicholas Vahdias on July 6, 2019

Phantom are a mysterious band with no information on them apart from various claims that range from their music being called Terror or Phantom metal and that they are there to completely innovate the genre and to create acoustic terrorism. While such claims have been spurted by many artists in easy marketing attempts or to stir controversy before an almost identical band makes the same claim and receives their mandatory fifteen seconds. Phantom unlike other bands, seem sincere in their objectives and genuinely try to live up to these claims.

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Riff Analysis: Unleashed – “To Asgaard We Fly”

by Nicholas Vahdias on June 10, 2019

Unleashed had at this point released two good records that saw the band create Heavy metal songs with limited Death metal stylings and were known for possessing a particularly small set of tools which almost made their previous very repetitive. On Across the Open Sea, the band’s Magnum Opus, the band re-contextualized their previous influences to create rousing and anthemic works while seeking to expand further into Death metal technique and arrangement. “To Asgaard we fly” shows this subtle marriage between the two and how the band were able to combine such styles without to saturate the listener with stolen Iron Maiden leads.

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Accidental Suicide – Deceased

by Nicholas Vahdias on June 4, 2019

Accidental Suicide hail from Wisconsin and were formed at the end of the eighties and managed to release one full length in ’92 at a time where Death metal, despite its explosion still remained an underground genre as the band were quickly forgotten before finding a cult following and releasing a compilation in 2017. Accidental Suicide play a Death/Doom style that is firmly entrenched in many schools of Death metal and have managed to produce a minor gem that deserves an occasional spot on any Hessian’s playlist.

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DMU Song Contest #3: King of the Serfs Edition Part 2

by Tyrell Dahlstrom on May 14, 2019

By the Hammer of the Gods, the time has come to round up those contestants who dared to volunteer themselves as subjects to the perennially stern yet perspicacious judgement of the DMU Lords! Let us see who shall emerge from this round victorious, rising unchained while their compatriots be left to live among the ruins!

With all that said, let the judgement commence!

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Mangled Torsos – Drawings of the Dead

by Guest Contributor on May 4, 2019

Article by Svennerick

Not shortly after its inception, Death metal saw not only a stagnation in popularity, but also in creativity and artistic spirit. A genre that peaked and that had already developed most of its subgenres before even being given a concrete name showed the metal scene something new in the mid 80s and early 90s. But that magic eventually faded and now Death metal has only seen a small amount of innovation or peaks in the last two decades, since we mostly end up listening to band worshipping Gorguts‘ Obscura, yet missing its ferocity, or a band creating an entire album consisting out of blast beats and overly technical riffs, which feel more like filler than forwards moving music. Bands lost the connection to what made Death metal special in the first place and would rather waste their impressive talent and devotion trying to rehash what Necrophagist or Spawn Of Possession did in the early 2000s with great success.

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Uncovering The mysteries of Molested – Blod-Draum

by Nicholas Vahdias on April 5, 2019

Norway has never been known for being an exponent of death metal, barring the early contributions of Darkthrone and the parent bands to some of the greatest black metal groups to emerge from the country. The brainchild of Borknagar main songwriter Øystein Garnes Brun, Molested was a brief flash in the pan before the mediocrity of Borknagar would define his career.

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Imprecation – Damnatio ad Bestias (2019)

by Nicholas Vahdias on March 29, 2019

Imprecation return six years after their great release Satanae Tenebris Infinita with Damnatio ad Bestias which refers to a Roman game that consisted of allowing beasts to kill various criminals. Here it possibly refers to the various Christian martyrs that were killed this way and possibly a reference to the Morbid Angel song “The Lion’s Den” which deals with the exact same topic. Here the band are aware of the success of their previous record and attempt to replicate but with a slightly modern touch that takes away from the immersion yet remains an enjoyable listen that pushes certain previous ideas to their limit.

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