Graveview - Demos '18 / '19

GRAVEVIEW - Demos '18 / '19 (RAW SKULL Records - CD 2019)

Death metal band from Florida? Hmm, that must be something new for us all haha. Joking aside, we all know how important this area was for creation of the death metal scene and how many legendary bands it bred. Graveview is also from there, and although I am not sure if they will ever manage to get the "legendary" status (probably not), but they can already boast of with two pretty damn good demos. As the title of this CD says, they were recorded in 2018 and 2019, they have no titles, which is pretty boring... But the music is really not bad at all.  

This death metal may not be 100% typical for Florida, but there are at least few slight "Leprosy" influences here and there. But the general style of Graveview is like a much, much brutalized Swedish death metal. There are some very characteristic riffs for the Swedish style of death metal, like in the opening song "Selective Mortality", so you could easily think of such Grave when listening to these demos. Even the guitar tone has that recognizable chainsaw HM-2 touch. At least that’s what I felt in the beginning. Because later Graveview mixed it all with lunatic blasts, which sound more brutal and savage than the typical Swedish death metal. Listen to “Descent into Filth”, what a massive, brute force this song has. 

Especially on the second demo, Graveview became more brutal, more crushing and relentless - which is where their music is much more alike the US style. The music kind of gruesome in its atmosphere, riffs are chunky and aggressive, the sound is massive and repulsive, more like from Gutted, Morta Skuld or Baphomet. Here I especially enjoyed “Amalgamation of Insanity” for its really wicked and uncompromising, yet somehow quite memorable riffage. 

Well, two very nice demos here, I must say. Graveview seems to be very consistent in what they do and try to achieve, they have good ideas and skills to rip some guts out and deliver crushing death metal. Again, it may be nothing new, but I listen to it with a smile on my face anyway.  

Standout tracks: "Selective Mortality" 

Verdict: 70/100  

Szron - Frost Eternal

SZRON - Frost Eternal (UNDER THE SIGN OF GARAZEL - CD 2020)

It's been a while since we've heard anything from Szron - their split with Martwa Aura "Temples of Genocide Worship" was released back in 2013 already. With "Frost Eternal" we don't get anything new, sadly, as it's their old 2001 demo. Originally it was released as a split with Hateful in 2002. Later in 2010 it came out also on cassette (limited to 250 copies) and finally, as far as I remember, it appeared also on "Reign in Frost" compilation CD. So, some of you may already know it, some don't... Anyway, this demo was not available for some time, so it's good that Under the Sign of Garazel Productions re-released it - and you could get it on three different formats now, including vinyl, which is good news for sure. But I hope that this reissue will be a prelude to something new from them. 

If you know Szron, then you know exactly what sort of black metal this band plays. And "Frost Eternal" is a great demo, in my opinion. It has a great feeling, of that cold, grim and hateful black metal, so enormously influenced by the Norwegian classics from Darkthrone or Gorgoroth, but also by such Judas Iscariot. Simplistic, harsh but very well played and composed stuff, which ticks all the boxes of what such black metal should have and how it should sound. With the fast pace through most of this material, "Frost Eternal" creates kind of mesmerizing feel, which I also like so much. And really, I have to say that there are some great riffs and I really like the production - it's almost surprising how well it all sounds, considering it was only a demo. All in all, this is a worthy re-release and definitely a must to have for many maniacs out there. 

Standout track: “Soil Enriched by Blood”, “Wintry Misanthropy” 

Verdict: 80/100  

Putrid - Antichrist Above

PUTRID - Antichrist Above (GODZ OV WAR Productions - CD 2020)

Putrid from Peru strikes with their new album "Antichrist Above" on Godz ov War Productions and when I listen to it, I can only regret that I never had a chance to hear anything from this band before. As here on "Antichrist Above" they really break necks with ultimately ferocious and bestial death / black metal. In many ways their music reminds me the very early Morbid Angel a lot, but immediately I could also think of Angel Corpse, Necrovore, Impiety, Order From Chaos or Vital Remains - to name only few. But comparisons aside, right from the opening song "Warfare in Golgotha" this album kicks ass and I truly like how merciless and fast it all is, how fierce and intense it sounds. And how dark and evil is the feeling here. Yeah, definitely all these bands from the South American hell know how to slay and they hate to sound soft or "compromising" haha. This stuff is just as relentless and brutal as it can only get. But I like that attitude. And I also like this old school, vicious feel, which could remind us "Abominations of Desolation" for instance. Maybe - just maybe - these songs can sometimes sound a lot alike to each other, as Putrid doesn't really try to diverse their music too much, not to mention enrich it with something else than these throat-cutting riffs and speeding drums. Here and there they may slow down a bit, but it always works as a short prelude to another blasting cannonade and wall of savage riffage. Just as it is in such "The Corpse of the Messiah" for instance. As long as it kicks ass, it is not a problem for me. And in this case, I think it is good stuff. I really don’t need from Putrid other than what they performed on "Antichrist Above" - this is exactly what I like to hear from such bands. No compromise, no place for the weak... Just straight forward hellish massacre. Trivial? Maybe, I don’t care. Good album? Yes, definitely. 

Standout tracks: "The Corpse of the Messiah", "Warfare in Golgotha" 

Verdict: 75/100 

Fortid - Völuspá Part III: Fall of the Ages

FORTID - Völuspá Part III: Fall of the Ages (SCHWARZDORN Productions - CD 2010)

A few years ago I came across this band by accident and I have to admit that I liked their music right away. This relatively little-known (and definitely very underrated) project from Iceland plays very solid and interesting viking / black metal – of however you’re gonna name it, although that “viking” theme is pretty important here. And they really do match my preferences, when speaking of this sort of music, which is a good mixture of aggressive and vicious black metal with more epic, monumental sound and harsh riffage accompanied by a bit of melody and stuff like that. "Völuspá Part III: Fall of the Ages" was released in 2010, so few years have passed since it came out, but it still sounds very well and I have actually been spinning this CD like crazy for past few days, what also gave me an idea to write this short review. 

And you know what? I am quite surprised that such a good band spent all these years in a small label like Schwarzdorn, whose work and promotional possibilities must be rather limited. It's a shame, because Fortid deserves much more than they already achieved. Anyway, I already shortly described "Völuspá Part III: Fall of the Ages" as melodic, yet aggressive, epic, but vicious viking / black metal. Stylistically it could be compared maybe to Windir, Kampfar, Moonsorrow, even Manegarm, but at the same time they're different from each of them. It's interesting that Fortid music is very guitar based, so keyboards presence is rather sporadic and they never play a dominant role. The same is with vocals, which mostly are harsh screams, but clean vocals appear here and there as well for more majestic feel. But really, it's good to listen to such music, with all its diversity, amazing number of killer riffs, ideas and that atmosphere of old ages. Diversity is one of the key factors here, because Fortid is not afraid to shift between different parts, have a blasting, aggressive song here and later very harmonious, melancholic part with sorrowful, clean vocals. Just compare "Ragnarök Army from the East (Austursins heimsenda her)" with all its viciousness and "The Future (Framtíð)" which is the slowest, most melodic song of the album. 

But first it was "Ancient Halls (Fornir salir)", which caught my attention the most. This is a wonderful instrumental piece, with very bleak atmosphere and one of the best riffs on the album. The best song though in my opinion is "Equilibrium Reclaimed (Jafnvægi endurheimt)" - a real Nordic song, filled with epic, enchanting harmonies and insanely good clean vocals. If you dig all these monumental songs from Manegarm, Tyr or Windir, then you better check this beauty out also. "The Future (Framtíð)” is next to be mentioned, as it’s a ten minutes long masterpiece full of great melodies (again), a lot of diversity as well, including acoustic guitar, so it’s mesmerizing and as dark as the helheim. 

On the other side of the spectrum, "New Dawn (Ný dögun)" is for me the weakest part of the album. Technically there’s nothing wrong about this song, but it’s maybe a tiny bit too soft and progressive this time, especially the vocals and the whole Borknagar – like sound of this track. Not something what would majorly bother me, it doesn’t ruin the final result, but it’s just one part of "Völuspá Part III: Fall of the Ages", which I don’t need. In the end I need to mention also lyrics, which are based on the Nordic mythology – Ragnarok in this case – which are always awesome to read (lyrics are in Icelandic, but there are some notes for them all). Yeah... all in all, "Völuspá Part III: Fall of the Ages" was a pleasure to listen to and I can only recommend Fortid to you all. Killer viking / black metal, worth checking out. 

Standout tracks: "Equilibrium Reclaimed (Jafnvægi endurheimt)", "The Future (Framtíð)”, "Ragnarök Army from the East (Austursins heimsenda her)" 

Verdict: 80/100  

Conquest Icon - Empire of the Worm

CONQUEST ICON - Empire of the Worm (GODZ OV WAR Productions CD 2020)

Conquest Icon is not the most productive band on the planet, which for me is not a problem at all, as long as they can keep deliver quality stuff. It's been now ten years since "Hellspire" was released, but if there's anything to catch up, the second album "Empire of the Worm" does that fully, striking with fury and vengeance. I'm really pleased to hear it and to know that the band - despite its full line up change (when compared to the debut) - is stronger than ever before and crushing with such a killer death metal album. There's nothing else I want from them. 

Thing, which I think I like the most about "Empire of the Worm" is its brutal, vicious and savage feeling. There's really not much time to take breath, contemplate or whatever, and from start to finish the listener can feel like he's under a fierce attack. There's plenty of blasting parts, severe riffage, the attitude is very uncompromising and atmosphere is bleak and dark. Of course, there are also some slower parts like the brilliant opening theme of "Deathlike Shadows Rising", but often they work as a prelude to another furious, intense cannonade. But there’s enough variety and dynamics to keep the listener interested and hooked for the whole time. And believe me, the riffs here can really be punishing and crushing. I don’t find even a slight boredom or weakness on "Empire of the Worm" nor songs or parts, which would be useless. 

Another important thing about this album is that it doesn't have that typical death metal style. It's more old school, but I think you could also easily find here some traces of thrash or black metal, for instance Ronve's vocals remind me Baal from Hell-Born and Les from Damnation / Hell-Born, so they alone are able to set the mood for something more uncommon and darker. Rather harsh, but energetic enough production also works very well for this sort of music, so in the end I have to say that "Empire of the Worm" turned out to be a very enjoyable and welcome album. I span it at least a dozen of times and still it doesn’t feel like I have enough. Definitely this is an album, which I intent to come back to often. 

Standout tracks: “Sacrificial Circle”, ”Deathlike Shadows Rising”, “Empire of the Worm” 

Verdict: 80/100