Füneral Rain Press Cörps

Genre: Thrash, Punk, Blackened Thrash

Label: Relapse Records

Yes! I’ve been waiting for three years to get my hands on some new Toxic Holocaust material! Conjure And Command couldn’t of come at a better time too. It seems that every act in Portland, Oregon (NOTE: Toxic Holocaust originated in Florida, hence the, “in Portland” and not, “from Portland”) and their cousins are releasing material about the same time. And so far, it’s all unbelievably awesome! Let’s cross our fingers and and see where Mr. Grind & Co. are taking us this time around…

Joel Grind ditched being a solo thrash master before recording Toxic Holocaust’s successful 2008 album, An Overdose Of Death. Continuing to find strength in numbers, Toxic Holocaust is once again a trio of semi-blackened thrash and punk driven madness! Bassist Philthy Gnaast plays his fours stringer like anyone else who feels under-appreciated: loud and aggressive so that somebody will hear you and go, “Dude, you fucking kick ass!” Well, Phil… Dude, you fucking kick ass! (Appreciation!) Meanwhile, drummer Nikki Rage trots and bangs his way through Conjure And Command at a pace that’s more befitting someone who’s more accustomed to playing sludgecore… oh wait. He’s in Kingdom Of Sorrow? Now I get it. Personally, I think he sounds much better in Kingdom Of Sorrow. In Toxic Holocaust, he just kinda lags behind and drags the whole album down a bit.

Joel’s voice has gone through a bit of a change since the last album. His blackened rasp has been scaled back for some songs to the point of almost being a traditional thrash/punk shout… sort of. But what can be said for sure, would have to be Joel’s continuation of cranking out some insane thrash riffs that you may or may not of heard before. Some of them sound like inverted or rearranged versions of Witchmaster and Artillery songs. Either way, they’re original enough for me to bang my fucking skull to!

And maybe it’s because of that, Conjure And Command has a sense of redundancy that one doesn’t exactly want in there new release from a fresh thrash act. But then again, maybe that’s just me…

Overall: Conjure And Command is probably Toxic Holocaust’s weakest album to date… and it’s still worthy of your time. If you’re a fan of Toxic Holocaust, then you’ll undoubtibly dig this one. If not, start off with Evil Never Dies and listen chronologically until you get to this one.

7/10

Toxic Holocaust On ReverbNation

Toxic Holocaust On Facebook

Genre: Brutal Death Metal

Label: Comatose Music

Whenever my dreary, miser-ish visages manages to contort into a painful looking smile, there are two possible reasons as to why:

1) I just saw a mop-headed skater biff it to the point of serious injury, or

2) A band like Disfigured shows me there are death metal groups out there that know that brutality isn’t just a fucking gimmick.

San Marcos, Texas natives, Disfigured are exactly what you think of when you catch yourself wondering what a band would sound like if they didn’t have to sacrifice ANYTHING in their art to please their label’s own agenda (probably one of the reasons why Comatose Music is so fucking killer). Everything is turned way down low, frantic as shit and as gritty as it all should be.

I wanted to use the tag “technical” in the heading, but all that really stood out or came close in that realm was the bass. I’m not saying that the guitarist and the drummer aren’t any good at all. I’m just giving the bassist a big ol’ thumbs up in the “Fucking-A, you kill!” department. It definitely helps that the mixing is top notch, so I can hear every note on every instrument, every time I play Amputated Gorewhore.

In the song Cunt Force Trauma, the vocalist deviates from his borderline annoying, stabbed-in-the-throat gurgle burps for a couple seconds and does this immensely annoying, gargling-with-semen scream. I really don’t understand the need for this particular type of vocal. Who’s demanding that they want their death/grind bands to sound like they find out that they’re bone-chillingly afraid of their own microphone while simultaneously trying to down a two liter of Shasta?

Also, Disfigured tended to overuse or go into that cliche territory with the samples from horror flicks or diarrhea sound clips. Even though we all love that scene in Dumb And Dumber where Harry shits his brains out… ok, I’ll let that one pass. With that being said, the track Drowning In Feces is a must listen. If you hear it and don’t dig it, then this album isn’t for you. Also, if you don’t dig it, I don’t think I want to know you!

Overall: Yes, Disfigured doesn’t abuse the “brutal” tag at all, but they do still manage to stumble upon the pitfalls that 90% of all bands in this sub-genre plummet into. In short; if you want a brutal album that fucking means it, check out Amputated Gorewhore.

7/10

Disfigured On ReverbNation

Disfigured On MySpace

Genre: Blackened Death Metal

Label: Vendlus Records

Arkhum is a band from Eugene, Oregon (yes, the one mentioned in that Sublime song… do you have any idea how many times I’ve been asked by out of staters about that shit?) that has been gaining notoriety at the same rate your mom’s throat gains scar tissue thanks to their chaotic live shows and ability to fervently release demo after demo after live video after single after EP after demo, etc… in five years!

I can say this with 100% certainty: the vocals WILL divide. They do this thing were they trick you into thinking that they’re decent brutal death metal growls, but as soon as you get comfortable they sink into what I’ve always hypothesized would happen if you gargled with raw sewage.

The guitars on the other hand are a mind blowing balancing act of Gigan-ish wankery, just right Wolves In The Throne Room inspired riffs and brain melting solos! Though, after a few tracks, it all does start to get a little old (it took me about five tracks before I wanted to listen to something else the first time through). The only thing that I can say is flawless is album closer Expendable Biomass. Take everything I complained about thus far and rotate it one hundred and eighty degrees! It’s five minutes and thirty three seconds of “YES! BANG YOUR FUCKING SKULL UNTIL SOME OF THAT SWEET GRAY SOUP OOZES OUT!”

On top of that, there is one other thing that nobody can object to and that’s the lyrics (look ‘em up because there is no fucking way you”l be able to understand them if you just jump right in). When you’re songs are about mechanical microorganisms, R’lyeh, or if you even mention the Ptolemaic System in passing, my inner sci-fi/sci-non-fi geek goes berserk! Arkhum has made a fan, right here.

Overall: Anno Universum may not be for everybody. Hell, it almost wasn’t ever for me! But, if you give it a chance and do in fact find something here that gets your blood flowing, it’s a satisfying ride through some cosmic what the fuck.

7/10

Arkhum On ReverbNation

Arkhum On Facebook

Genre: Death Metal, Deathcore

Label: Metal Blade

You know, maybe I was too hard on these lads when I reviewed their live performance with The Ocean and Cephalic Carnage. Maybe I was just put off by the heat and smell of ass that an overcrowded venue tends to permeate. Maybe… just maybe… I’m ready to give these guys another chance at winning me back.

Ok Gloom, let’s see what you’ve got to offer me…

::Fifteen minutes and thirty seconds later…::

FUCK!!! It’s still shit! Well polished, brutal, catchy shit!

…goddamn, I’m confused. I’m pretty sure that I don’t very much like what I’m hearing, but I honestly can’t stop listening to it. Jonny Davy’s vocals are just as mundane as ever and the lyrics all but scream mediocrity. But try as I might, I can’t fault the drumming. That skin punishment (in any of their release that I’ve heard) always gets my head banging. And before I forget (be it on purpose or out of simple retardation) the guitars are pure riff madness! Four tracks, innumerable amounts catchiness. ::Sigh::

Argh! I keep bouncing back and forth from, “Yeah. It’s actually pretty good.” to, “Fuck! Why am I listening to this fucking thing again?!” and it’s about to drive me crazy! I mean, there’s not a single original thing about this release! It sounds like Job For A Cowboy. If somebody was driving down the road, doing sixty while I was waiting for a bus, the bass alone would make me go, “That dumbass speeder was listening to Job For A Cowboy!” What kind of foul magic spell was cast upon this EP to make this review so damned perplexing?

Overall: I’m almost ashamed to say it, but I guess I enjoyed this EP. It’s probably what a lot of you are anticipating/dreading you’ll hear blaring out of Hot Topic as you make your way to Auntie Anne’s Pretzels. But for all its head scratching faults, it was still entertaining. And overall, that’s what I really ask of my metal.

7/10

Job For A Cowboy Official

Job For A Cowboy On Facebook

Genre: Alt-Rock, Industrial, Gothic
Label: Independent

This is a review being done as a special request. A Portland, Oregon based act called After Nothings End. It’s not something I’d normally review, but what the hell. I’m bored and was looking for something new to listen to anyway.

Immediately I’m annoyed with the vocalist’s choice of style. He’s got a decent clean set when he uses it, as well as a serviceable scream. But he opts to use this late nineties era whisper-sing-whine with distortion that just drags the whole damn thing down. Especially since he’s the highest thing in the mix…

Instrumentally, After Nothings End is a strong blend of Gothic synths and straight hard rockin’ string slingin’! Kind of what you hear in your head when someone reminds you that you used to listen to The Cure and Spineshank in the same breath. There is an industrial tinge to this album, but it’s not played up enough if you ask me. The song Complications Of The Mind (about eight tracks in, out of thirteen) is where Beyond The Broken Path hits it’s stride. Everything comes together in an explosion of gnarly solos, killer bass lines and an above the norm thus far vocal effort. I should probably point out the drummer is a madman as well! Crazy beats flood this album from beginning to end and stand out above the rest like a towering… tower of… towerness… made of drums.

Overall: Lose about ninety percent of the distortion and change the vocal style to something a bit more along the lines of straight-up hardcore screaming with clean breaks and you and I might have something going here Beyond The Broken Path…

7/10

Beyond The Broken Path’s Official