Necrovorous - Funeral for the Sane

NECROVOROUS - Funeral for the Sane (PULVERISED - CD 2011)

When this album was unleashed back in 2011 I ignored it, don't ask me why, I don't even remember what was the reason... but the truth is, I didn’t feel like I need to have "Funeral for the Sane" for many years. But when Necrovorous released split 7" with Anatomia (which I bought) and absolutely crushed there, I decided to catch up with their discography and got this CD. I am so lucky I finally did, because it's very good death metal album. Sure, it nothing groundbreaking, nothing exceptional, to be honest, but it is great enough to enjoy some pulverizing sounds. Necrovorous did everything so right on this album, went for the most traditional elements of 90's death metal, both from the brutal US scene and from more atmospheric and sometimes also melodic European bands and glued it all together into one fantastic, bloodthirsty beast. It delivers a great variety of different riffage styles and tempos, the music sounds venomous and aggressive, and like in "The Vilest of All Dreams" it can surprise with a crushing doomy riff and even keyboards, which help to achieve even darker and more eerie sound. And well... Like I said, it is nothing new, but Necrovorous learned their lesson in old school death metal very well and "Funeral for the Sane" sounds great and is a worthy effort.  

Think of Grave, Incantation, Asphyx, Autopsy, Morgoth, Death, Obituary, Vomitory, Bolt Thrower and more. Think of their excellent, timeless legacy. Necrovorous will never be called a classic and cult band, because they’re not from the golden era. But I do fuckin love this album anyway. Great pure death metal. I recommended it strongly, this album but also their more recent effort “Plains of Decay”. 

Standout tracks: "The Vilest of All Dreams", "Mind Lacerations", "Funeral for the Sane" 

Verdict: 80/100  

Blot Mine - Porphyrogenesis

BLOT MINE - Porphyrogenesis (NEAR DARK Productions - CD 1998)

Wow, I had no idea it is such a rare and expensive CD, especially that I haven't even played it in years and basically forgot about its existence. "Porphyrogenesis" is Blot Mine's first album, released back in 1998 by Near Dark Productions and if I remember correctly, I bought it after reading an interview with Blot Mine in Portuguese magazine Ancient Ceremonies. Well, they must have given a good recommendation there. And even though I let "Porphyrogenesis" rot in dust, I have to admit it was a mistake, because this album sounds pretty fuckin awesome. Yes, the band is Swedish and they do sound 100% Swedish, there's no sign of originality or something what would let you distinguish them from a bunch of other Swedish bands, but it doesn't need to be a reason to complain if the music is good. And it for sure is here. 

If I had to describe the style of Blot Mine music, I would simply mention three bands here: Marduk, Setherial and Dissection. If you want more, add also Dark Funeral, Sacramentum, Sorhin... Put them all together and you'll have "Porphyrogenesis". Blot Mine has the speed, viciousness and uncompromising black metal feel of the first two and melody and kind of epic atmosphere of the latter. When the first song started out, "Greater than Life", I almost had a deja vu and thought it is something of Dissection. So, originality isn’t the strongest side of Blot Mine, but their material sounds solid anyway. And nowadays I think it kicks ass even harder than it did back in 1998. Major part of the album is fast, so the music is powerful, it has also that dark feel, which is so characteristic for the Swedish bands. I like how melodic parts sound between fast, more vicious stuff, and this is a reason why such "Sha Nagba Imuru" is my favourite song here, as it's got the best riffs and best dynamics between the mentioned styles. Also "My Soul in Fury Flew" needs a mention, as this song differs strongly from the rest of the album, being the slowest and most "epic"... But damn, what a great song it is, I absolutely love the riffs there. For that song alone "Porphyrogenesis" is worth of my recommendation. 

So, give Blot Mine a chance, if you ever get an opportunity to grab a copy of this CD. It's not easy and definitely not cheap, but I think this album is worth it, especially since Blot Mine is such an unknown band. But the quality of their music certainly matches the music of Setherial for instance. And who knows, maybe someone will re-release it one day, it would surely be nice to see it on vinyl. 

Standout tracks: "Sha Nagba Imuru", "My Soul in Fury Flew" 

Verdict: 80/100 

Impure Declaration - Mind Upheaval, Unclear Signs

IMPURE DECLARATION - Mind Upheaval, Unclear Signs (OLD TEMPLE - CD 2019)

After "No Paths, No Guide" I was looking forward to hear more from Impure Declaration and finally time came for their second EP "Mind Upheaval, Unclear Signs". Why EP only, not a full length, I don't know, but I hope that an album will be unleashed in the nearest months also. Now I can listen to these four new tracks and well, I can definitely say that Impure Declaration didn't disappoint and again delivered a killer dose of death / black metal bestiality. Even better than previously! 

Just like on "No Paths...", here you will also hear a savage and vicious music, which could easily fit bands such as Grave Miasma, Grave Upheaval, Witchrist, Temple Desecration, Mefitic, Irkallian Oracle, Embrace of Thorns, Temple Below - just to name few among the best bands from this genre. All these bands have a lot in common, but each is special and truly excellent in their devil's work. I am happy to say that so is Impure Declaration. This band is absolutely fantastic, I love the blasphemous, sepulchral atmosphere of their music, their riffage, massive, very heavy wall of sound that crushes you into bloody pieces, especially with the slower parts... Great, ghastly vocals that command the evil... And powerful production, which is a bit like a raw live recording, but really fits this sort of death / black metal perfectly. Impure Declaration sounds great in slower, very doomy parts, especially in „Purgation Through Hallucinations”, which is a great song, but they do not have mercy also when they speed up into more chaotic and ravaging stuff. Either Way, the music is fuckin killer. I am impressed and can admit that this EP is one of those CDs, which I can play with a “repeat” button on. I demand a vinyl version. And highly recommend this CD. 

Standout track: „Purgation Through Hallucinations” 

Verdict: 85/100

Dead Dog's Howl - Mausoleum of Confessed Thoughts

DEAD DOG'S HOWL - Mausoleum of Confessed Thoughts (FALLEN TEMPLE - CD 2020)

Another Fallen Temple release is "Mausoleum of Confessed Thoughts" by American band Dead Dog's Howl. It's their first release, originally putted out by Nuclear War Now! Productions on cassette and now we have the CD. Honestly, I didn't have a clue what music could that be or if that's gonna be anything I will like. 

And to answer the first question, it is black metal. And the second, no, I don't like it. I'm afraid that Dead Dog's Howl music is terribly boring and forgettable and it's just as weak as majority of the ultimate primitive and noisy black metal bands can be. Really, "Mausoleum of Confessed Thoughts" sounds like these guys had no idea how to play, their "music" is terrible when speaking of the production, compositions, arrangements, riffs or anything else. It's the most lo-fi stuff you could imagine, the quality is very, very low, everything sounds messy, cacophonic and completely shite, to me. I don't even know why Dead Dog's Howl managed to get interest from some label, more so, I have no idea how could anyone actually like this stuff. Maybe I'm not true enough. Oh, who cares. I'm not going to waste my time on this album any minute longer. Piece of garbage it is, although very nice digipak presentation from Fallen Temple. 

Oh, interesting note I found about this album; that it “resurrects the pure spirit and form of the all-but-forgotten rites of ancient black metal”... Yeah, kiss my ass. Sure, you could compare it to some early 90’s demos, from some Greek bands for instance, but it doesn’t have even 10% of the magic of the old bands. 

Verdict: 20/100  

Vonülfsrëich - Hyperborëan Hills

VONULFSREICH - Hyperborëan Hills (FALLEN TEMPLE - CD 2020)

Not a long ago I had a chance to rip Vonülfsrëich's "Ylfsreälm Inguz" EP and now Fallen Temple unleashed another CD of this band, "Hyperborëan Hills" album. It was originally released on vinyl only by the infamous Darker Than Black (which means you can forget about buying it on Discogs or Ebay haha), but it is good to see a CD, because I think that this album is a killer. It's better than the mentioned EP, I like all these songs more and generally "Hyperborëan Hills" very quickly proved its worth. 

First thing I have to say about this album is that I am very surprised how clean is the production here. It's still on a raw edge, but it's not that primitive, noisy black metal sound, where you could barely hear anything. All instruments are well hearable, everything has got its own place and order, while it maintains the aggressive and vicious character of the music. Vonülfsrëich's style is traditional, Darkthrone-ish black metal (mainly in the first songs), to make the most obvious comparison, although if you listen to songs such as "Gyromantia" and Soïl" then you could realize that they sound rather different and the riffage is sometimes almost punkish. Maybe with a bit of Horna similarity. It's simple music, there's nothing fancy or sophisticated about it, Vonülfsrëich doesn't use any other instruments than the standard guitar / bass / drums. But I like what these guys do here, it's very cool black metal, with lots of great riffs, some untypical ideas and arrangements, what makes "Hyperborëan Hills" something more than your average black metal album. And as such, it definitely is worth of your interest. As I mentioned, I liked it a lot and I am sure that I will be spinning it a bit more today. 

Standout tracks: “Surumarssi”, “Ruumiskirja’, “Vonülfsrëich” 

Verdict: 75/100 

Pistilos Opium - Híbrido

PISTILOS OPIUM - Híbrido (FALLEN TEMPLE - CD 2020)

Pistilos Opium is another band of Ignominia members, whose "Ars Moriendi" CD I had a chance to review some weeks ago. Now it's time for "Híbrido" EP and honestly, I like what these guys do as Pistilos Opium more than as Ignominia. This is also a death metal band, but with a strong old school style, combined a bit with doomy parts, which is exactly a kind of staff I like to hear. It may be nothing revolutionary, nor the highest quality... but it is very solid, very enjoyable and just good enough to please my death metal taste. 

All these four tracks are solid, I think, Pistilos Opium music has a great, obscure feel, it sounds evil and sinister and is brutal and vicious. Everything here sounds just right (I like the production a lot), and even more, because it has that South American smell of hell and blasphemy, which I like so much, especially from Chilean bands. You could almost blindly guess where is Pistilos Opium from, so characteristic is that sound, but it's good to hear. Always. Accent of the vocalist and the Spanish lyrics also leave no doubts for their origins. "Distancia" is my favourite song, but the whole EP is good, so I am sincerely positive for I didn't expect Pistilos Opium to be as good. Very nice surprise. 

Verdict: 70/100