Lychgate - Contagion In Nine Steps

Band: Lychgate
Title: Contagion In Nine Steps
Label: Blood Music
Release Date: 30 March 2018
Country: United Kingdom
Format reviewed: FLAC

This is one of those records which just happens to you. It finds you. Like a summer storm on a sunny day outside, like a momentary experience of a deja vu. Like a dream within a dream. Like a dark matter crossing the infinite.  And that’s the main reason that the present review wasn’t easy to write at all. At the end of the day I decided just to play the record and to write down everything I was feeling while listening. No special preparation, no notes, just lines pushed by all the emotions.

Lychgate’s music is like an ambivalent paradox, a multidimensional question,  a constant throw and pushes into finding the right decision for the key combination. A dichotomy of breathing black and white. An attraction of opposites. It is a labyrinth into the space, a quest, like a lifetime searching for the answers to the eternal questions. Imagine moving into endless corridors of space station, running, wandering and wondering, sometimes even finding a fields without gravitation, so you are just floating in the air...

OK, enough with the science fiction and the metaphysics and metaphors. However, this is not that much possible when reviewing “Contagion in Nine Steps”.  Lychagate simply delivers an astonishing effort. “The album is inspired by Stanslav Lem’s book “The Invincible” and all the historical and philosophical sources on the idea of swarm behaviour in crowds and civilisations from the era of Plato to Le Bon and the modern era.” And even though I am not into Lem’s science fiction heritage and characters, I would say I really found “Contagion in Nine Steps” very contagious and addictive. This third record of the English band from London certainly requires special mood and state of mind. Just because these 42 minutes, wrapped in 6 special forms of own life, deserve serious attention and imagination. “Contagion…” is an album that can’t be just played. It must be listened to carefully, several times, and then experienced. “What’s the style?”, you may ask. Well, it is space avant-garde, black, doom. There are from clean to aggressive growling vocals presented, drowning into choir or operatic passages, heavy guitars and melodic solos. An organ playing from the in a solemn hall of the corner of your cosmic sleep, a piano and a mellotron. The music is a roller coaster taking you up to the stars and drowning you suddenly down into black space holes – that much variations, layers, textures and imaginations.

I strongly recommend “Contagion in Nine Steps” nevertheless you like or dislike Lem’s book. It is a record for all those who live an breath the mysteries in music. The explorers. Those who dare. Those who are not following the flock of sheep. It is for the connoisseurs only. 8/10 Count Vlad




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Down Among The Dead Men - …And You Will Obey Me

Band: Down Among The Dead Men

Album: …And You Will Obey Me

Lable: Transcending Obscurity 

Release Date: June 15th 2018
Country: International

Format reviewed: Digital MP3

Obviously sleeping is for the weak. Why sleep when you can spend every waking minute writing riffs and constructing death metal tunes ad infinitum until you die. This, my friends, is how one Rogga Johansson and Dave Ingram choose to operate on what is, seemingly, a daily basis! 

The roll call for these two metal reprobates is a veritable feast of Death – Ingram, currently set down with ‘Just Before Dawn/Echelon/Ursinne and Ex of the mighty ‘Benediction’ and ‘Bolt Thrower’. Johansson? – Well, whom hasn’t he worked with? – But for the sake of examples; Megascavenger/Paganizer/Revolting/Ribspreader/The Grotesquery…you get the idea? Prolific is an understatement. 

Somehow, with the help of the talents of session musicians Kjetil Lynghaug on leads and Erik R. Bevenrud on session drums, Dave and Rogga have put together the third offering from their ‘Down Among The Dead Men’ (DATDM) collaboration. From the outset and to the very end of this thirty-minute beast, it is clear that DATDM take no prisoners. No reprieve, no mercy – just all out annihilation.

DATDM play exactly the type of steamrolling Death Metal I love to hear. Nothing complex about it – straight forward Old school Death (think Ingram’s other legendary acts) combined with a killer Crust/Dirty Punk element that is captured and delivered with sublime ferocity and power. Furthermore, there is a dark melodic feel to the 10 compositions on offer here. Match that with the deep-seated grooves that Rogga employs with his riffs and the whole thing just explodes with a fire and energy that is truly addictive. The album title itself is almost prophetic in nature as it implores you to reach for the repeat button just one more time. Oh yes, repeated spins is a given such is the spell that this album casts over the listener! 

For me personally, it must be stated that as great as Rogga’s work is on this album, it is Dave Ingram’s vocal performance that has me doing cartwheels. As a massive fan of classic Benediction, nothing pleases more that to hear Dave’s characteristic roar and distinctive tone given the full treatment on this record. Like a Willets or a Van Drunen, Dave’s phrasing and enunciation stands out amongst the crowd, and he is truly one of a kind in the way he constructs his lyrical delivery for maximum impact. For me, Barney Greenway is his only peer when it comes to all out Death Metal style conveyance.

The sound of this album is also a major deal breaker! So Heavy! Superbly crafted with just enough dirt and grime in the back end to heighten it’s ‘Crust’ vibe, ‘Obey..’ possesses a thick pummelling production that only accentuates further the power and devastating intensity of Rogga and co! Such is the experience of the two main protagonist here; they just simply know how to play to each other’s strengths and as such, the whole album flows with unadulterated conviction and sonic precision. Put simply, ‘Obey..’ crushes. 

‘Obey..’ is a fantastic album. At its core, a record that pays pure homage to Old School Death Metal – dark and foreboding, yet the direct and unyielding Crust/Punk element gives a real streamlined edge to DATDM’s compositions. Not a second is wasted here. From the get go of ‘Destroy the Infinite’ to the superb crunch of ‘Darkness of Glass’, ‘Obey…’ is turn on, tune in, heads down, see you at the end! It will be your master…You will Obey! Confident this will be considered as one of the Death Metal albums of the year.  8/10 KMaN

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Taphos - Come Ethereal Somberness

Band: Taphos
Title: Come Ethereal Somberness
Label: Blood Harvest Records
Release Date: 8 June 2018
Country: Denmark

Format Reviewed: High Quality Digital Promo

If we talk about pure Death Metal assault, uncompromising, aggressive, with a great sense of rottenness and a great old school aura, then we can not ignore Taphos, a Danish quartet ready to shake off the drowsiness of the world's most cavernous Death scene.

"Come Ethereal Somberness" is an album that shouts to the four winds its passion and devotion to the foundations of the best Death Metal of the late 80's, although trying to define the style can become a somewhat complicated task. You could say that the strength of the combo lies in the ability to amalgamate different influences of the past, passing them through a modern prism (in terms of sound quality) that leads to a vicious and frenetic concatenation of Death Metal very well made, simple and terribly addictive.

Of course, the greatness of a band like Taphos lies in the distinctive grace that they apply to their compositions, which places them in a position of substantial privilege, unlike the multitude of acts that only remain in an attempt of homage that, unintentionally, they do not stop having a certain aftertaste to a simple carbon copy of past glories, like Gruesome, for example.

Taphos is responsible for redefining the teachings of legends such as Sadistic Intent, with some obscurity à la Incantation, Autopsy's own maniacal obsession and a tendency, in a lower percentage, for certain Blackened Death characteristics, which are so fashionable today.

The attack is fierce, with excellent riffs and fast tempos. Many millimeter-calculated blasts and tremolo techniques, in the most intense parts, stand out in structures made directly to create internal traumas in cervical areas.

The machine stops its march, at times, to delight us and give us a break with small acoustic interludes, although they are not very durable and, before we know it, we are quickly submerged again in a frenzied whirlwind of endless assault riffs. The formula works perfectly.

"Come Ethereal Somberness" is an absolute pleasure of pure classic Death Metal, totally punishing and very easy to assimilate and enjoy, made by a young band of which I hope to have more news in the near future. Put Taphos to 11 and break your neck!. 8.5/10 Sergio.

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Abythic "Beneath Ancient Portals

Band: Abythic
Title: Beneath Ancient Portals
Label: Blood Harvest
Release Date: 11 May 2018
Country: Germany
Format reviewed: Digital CD quality

"Beneath Ancient Portals" is Abythic’s debut full-length release which contains eight tracks and goes a little over forty minutes in its entirety. Although Abythic is a death metal band and fairly much influenced by the old school, there are at times, quite the hints of doom here too. This can be heard on and off throughout the tracks, especially in the first track, "Prelude to Obscurity", which comes across as a bit of an intro style track as well and without any vocals present either, and in the track, "T.H.O.N." and also in the track "Depths of Oblivion" too. In these moments the listener is cast into a world of slow, heavy, sustaining, sorrowful riffs which can be accompanied by dark harmonies and sometimes eerie solos as well. The sound here reminds me a bit of the likes of Desecresy and their style of a doomy death metal that they are known for. This combination of death and doom that Abythic does, works well together while the vocals remain guttural and brutal throughout despite the pace being either slow, mid-pace or fast. The more faster tracks on this full-length are Purulent Phantasm and the track "Afterwards Behind Beyond", which presents the more aggressive attack of old school death metal styles, that is also part of this release by Abythic. Not having heard this band before, until now, has made me take a further interest and shows how variations of styles can complement each other. What you have here, is raw, heavy, doomy death metal of the old school flavour taking you down a road of obscurities and dread. Abythic "Beneath Ancient Portals", is an example of underground death metal with a unique blend and worthy of your attention! 9/10 Wolven Deadsoul  




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Interview - Full Of Hell

Full of Hell is one of the most extreme young bands that music has given in recent times. Owners of a unique style, in which classic influences from Grindcore and Powerviolence join sludge, noise and even Power Electronics structures, with the sole idea of creating a high combustion amalgam capable of melting brains and producing hypoacusical damage.
With the band immersed in a marathon tour, we have the honor to exchange some words with Dylan Walker, vocalist of the band and author of abrasive noise, where he tells us some great news about the future of the band and gives some advice to those who were able to witness Full of Hell live and they became deaf.

Dylan, how are you? It's a pleasure to be doing this interview with you. Tell us, how do you start in this? Before Full of Hell did you have other bands? 
Our guitarist Spencer started full of Hell. We had all been in bands before this but had never put out a real record or anything, so this was and is our first serious project. We simply wanted to start a band that played the exact kind of music we wanted to hear and we wanted to tour as much as possible.

Full of Hell is usually a band typecast in the genres Grindcore or Powerviolence. But there are many other styles that usually identify you. Noise, Doom, Sludge ... The amount of extreme genres seems to be endless in your mix. How would you define yourself? Within what style do you feel most identified? 

We definitely don’t define ourselves as a PV band at all. We love the style and take influence from it but it was never a label we used. We try to be casual about the genre labeling though. We don’t care what label people put on us, especially because no matter what genre you’re tagged with there will be people angry that you’re being labeled as such. It doesn’t matter. We are a band.

What bands or artists do you think were essential to influence you to make this music? 

It usually comes down to bands like The Endless Blockade, Gasp, Man is the Bastard/Noise, Swans, Napalm Death and bands of that style. Obviously, as years go by we bring new elements into the sound. It’s good to grow! 

I think that, currently, Full of Hell is one of the most energetic bands of extreme music, playing live. It must be tremendously exhausting. How do you live with being on tour and having to interpret music in this way? What is the secret? 

We don’t try to play any specific kind of way. We just react as we want to and play with passion. I don’t think we are that crazy in the big scheme of crazy bands, but it’s nice to hear that some think we are energetic at least. 

What is the most rewarding thing about being on tour for you? 

The most rewarding thing is the 20-30 minutes each night that we are playing. It is the most fulfilling part of this and why we do it. A small period of bliss.

If you had to tell us which is the most extreme, caustic and heavy album of Full of Hell, what would it be and why? 

Trumpeting Ecstasy, simply because I feel like it’s the furthest recorded example of what we want to sound like and I am most proud of that album. 

One of the great milestones of your career was having recorded with Merzbow. How did you meet him? 

We met Balazs Pandi in NYC years ago, he plays drums with Masami live. We became fast friends and he suggested the idea to Masami, who was very interested in it. It was all very simple and organic. No pressure, no guidelines. He is an amazing person. 

How was the recording process of "Full of Hell & Merzbow"? Did you remember any anecdote in particular? 

It was difficult for us because it was new territory. We had big shoes to fill and weren’t sure what to expect. We are content with the end result though. 

What advice would you give to people who went to see Full of Hell live, and was left with totally

screwed ears? 

Buy earplugs and suck it up. Or go listen to folk music instead. (Lol)

What are the next steps of the band? Do you want to tell us something about a future project? 

We just want to keep progressing and making records. We have a lot left to say. We are going to keep touring and doing just that. The new LP is almost done, so that’s the next thing we will be recording.

Is there something you want to tell someone who has never heard Full of Hell and is now reading this interview? 

Listen to GASP. 

Dylan, thank you very much for your kindness. I hope you continue to have the success you deserve. I wish you all the best in life. I send you a big greeting. 

Thank you very much! 

Interview by Sergio


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Ectoplasma "Cavern of Foul Beings"

Band: Ectoplasma
Title: Cavern of Foul Beings
Label: Memento Mori
Date: January 22, 2018
Country: Greece

Hailing from Greece, Ectoplasma began in 2013. They have a demo, two splits, an EP, and two full length releases to date with the newest release being, “Cavern of Foul Beings.”
Belting out riff after riff with a punchy guitar sound and melodic harmonies reminding me a bit like the tones of Brutality and Sinister, Ectoplasma offers a consistent and aggressive form of death metal that keeps things traditional without getting to technical or just blasting their way through all either. There is a lot of catchiness and hooks in the overall writing here with both American and Euro influences that has varying tempos from slow introductory riffs drawing the listener in, to some fast blast beat parts with all going full out in speed and mid-paced beats leading all for the most part through out this old school madness that Ectoplasma do. On top of this, there are powerful bellowing vocals of a low demonic-like roar that just punch through everything like a wrecking ball demolishing a building. From topic matters of horror, death, the supernatural and so forth, this 11-track death metal beast even features an Unleashed cover too and you can’t go wrong with that! What a way to begin a year! Already being impressed with a lot of the various death metal from Greece that I have heard over the years, Ectoplasma represent extremely well and are at the top of my list for 2018 so far! 10/10 By Wolven Deadsoul

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