Genre: Folk Metal
Label: Napalm Records
It’s been a while since I practiced my Dutch or read anything about Germanic history or mythology… but I don’t think any of that matters since Uit Oude Grond is a headbanging good time!
Uit Oude Grond (meaning, “from old soil” in English) is rife with heavy, crushing riffs and raging basslines that appear to be born and bread for battle! The vocal approach is a sturdy one at that, combining Dutch lyrics with clean and death vocals that resonate off of one another in perfect harmony. As for the token unique instrument, the violin accents everything it was meant to and is a more than welcome addition to the fray. And if you dig magic as well as might, then these songs are right up your alley with content ranging from Nehalennia, the Goddess of trade and fertility, Vlammenzee, a song about a man who dies and has his spear pointing towards his next destination; beside the all-father Woden, Dondergod, the God of thunder and his giant slaying adventures and my favorite, Best Bij Nacht, which means “beast by night”. A vicious tale about a werewolf and his prey!
Overall: Heidevolk breaths new life into a genre that blew up too big, too fast with Uit Oude Grond. It’s a mythology/history lesson that kicks your ass from beginning to end with it‘s folk-y tinge and metal heart! A must own for any fan of the genre.
9.5/10
Heidevolk on MySpace
Originally Posted at E-MetalSpace
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Genre: Thrash
Label: Candlelight Records
Savage Messiah bring just that to the table: a savage form of thrash metal that hearkens back to the late 80’s and early 90’s. And yet, oddly, the band seems to be tempered with a touch of power metal.
The album strongly reminds me of Force of Evil’s album Black Empire, but in a good way. Considering how much I love Black Empire, hopefully this is a compliment. The riffs, the vocals, the drumming, all of it, I’m a fan of.
Unfortunately for me, I know almost nothing of Savage Messiah, so right now this review seems sparse. But, the music speaks for itself: I can’t wait for the next album.
8 out of 10.
Savage Messiah on MySpace.
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Genre: Brutal Death Metal
Label: Candlelight Records
GORE! GORE! GORE! ALL HAIL GORE!
And by gore I mean slaughtering all that moves and then fucking the corpses after.
This album is just pure sickness, splattered on the walls, floors, ceilings and in your eyes. It’s nearing the point of da slamz or whatever they call it, being near pornogrind at times too. But nowhere near as talentless as 99% of slam/pornogrind bands, I should add.
In fact, Ingested are shooting out a very talent filled release, and that should be somewhat apparent from the label that signed them. They aren’t anywhere near tech death, but the drumming alone should raise eyebrows. Guitar and bass wise, the riffs are fast, and brutal, and satisfying for people who want an even faster Cannibal Corpse (blasts at 280bpm!), and the gutteral vocals are so fucking intense. The occasional breakdown hits too, with pinch harmonics stabbing the brain while the drums go off on a super fast blast.
So in other words: fans of Cannibal Corpse’s and Death’s gore imagery, slamming death, and grinding, blindingly fast blastbeats , you might like this.
FYI, Ingested has members of Annotation of an Autopsy in their midst, and the artwork for Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering was done by Toshihiro Egawa, who’s also done work for Abigail Williams.
8 out of 10.
Ingested on MySpace.
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Genre: Black Metal
Label: Moribund Records
One of the oddest USBM bands, right up there in the strange with Tjolgtjar, Blood Cult are very kvlt. Only a handful of people really have a Blood Cult release, and most of those are splits with other bands, released in a very limited number (I think the ‘largest’ B.C. release so far is 200 copies; I might be wrong), and barely marketed. But now, thank fuck, Moribund are releasing a Blood Cult full-length.
If you’ve never heard Blood Cult before, imagine if Ted Nugent, Jimi Hendrix, and Joey Ramone hung out with the guys in 1987 era Mayhem, and recorded their jams.
Yeah. Like I said, strange.
This is not music for everybody, and even the most intensely grim of grim black metal maniacs might not understand what’s going on on this album. I don’t know if I get it, really. But I know I fucking love it. Classic rock solos over blackened rhythms, with grim vocals? Yeah, that shit is here, and now due to Moribund, it’s not going anywhere but to the hardened hearts of the hardcore.
If you’re into strange experiments in metal, you should find this release interesting at the very least. If you’re fucked up like me, you’ll love it too.
9.5 out of 10.
Blood Cult on MySpace.
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Genre: Death Metal, Folk Metal
Label: Napalm Records
Folk metal is kind of a lie. There’s a bit more happening here than just folk metal. Like death metal.
But hey, whatever. This album kicks ass. Accordions are side by side with some crushingly heavy guitars, as are whistles, flutes, and the like.
Vocally, death vocals are the order of the day, grunted out with a nice intensity, but not too fast. Kind of reminding me of Corpsegrinder’s sound, but totally different in style.
It’s another really simple review for Napalm Records, and my first review of Svartsot. This stuff is great, and it makes me want to play D&D and get hammered.
8.5 out of 10.
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