Germany’s 5 piece nuclear power house Cytotoxin return from the studio with their 5th offering, a 53 minute, 11 song romp across the fretboard about - you guessed it - nuclear disaster and the horrors of Chernobyl. For those of you previously unaware of this band, that’s their schtick, and they do it damn well.
Arguably one of the most exciting technical death metal bands on the scene, Cytotoxin have gained a well deserved international following from their previous works, including my personal album of the year 2020 in Nuklearth.
So, with the expectations set sky high, and my eardrums eager to be blasted to Plutonium Heaven - will my hope be terminated, or will that brutal band who could just about pull off another barnstormer?
Leading the record is the first single released from this recording, Hope Terminator; a catchy, bouncy number, with furious riffage, hyper aggressive drumming, setting the table for the album to come.
Leading the record is the first single released from this recording, Hope Terminator; a catchy, bouncy number, with furious riffage, hyper aggressive drumming, setting the table for the album to come.
Lightning quick drum hits, frantic guitar licks, and Sebastian “Grimo” Grihm’s signature vocal barks, it’s got all the parts we’ve come to expect and love from the band, and given it’s abrupt punchy style, plus with it being both the strongest track on the album, it’s a natural choice to open.
Jason and Fonzo’s dual guitar work is sublime, with my mind constantly wondering how it’s possible to play such intricate passages with the clarity and precision on display here - these guys deserve to be recognised as some of the best guitarists on the scene from both a technical aspect and from a riff construction point of view.
The art of being able to play at crazy speeds and pull off mind melting fret wizardry, but then pull back and weave the magic into catchy riffs is the true skill many other high ability guitarists should take note of. V.T.’s bass is equally deserving of high praise, able to keep up with his shorter scale brothers and with a killer tone that punches through despite the audio chaos on display. Tonnes of chunky low end but with the nasally ping at the top that fellow bassists like myself like to hear. Chef’s Kiss.
This record is the first for new drummer to the fold Maximillian, who had some enormous shoes to fill with the departure of Stocki, who played on the aforementioned Nuklearth and 2017’s Gammageddon, and boy does Max do it and some.
Raining down a relentless score of hits from both hands and both feet, the drumming on the record is nothing short of perfection for the style of music on offer here - and like with the guitarists before him pulling back now and then to give the riffs space to breathe while other times going absolutely hammer and tongs is pure mastery of the instrument on display.
Grimo’s vocals on the record are excellent, as to be expected, however in some parts the stylistic choice to utilise more of a mid-pitched bark to deliver the lyrics doesn’t land quite as hard as using a different tone, to which he is a master. Hope Terminator actually has this on display, for example, where the stringed instruments fall away to leave us just with drums punctuating the vocals for a section.
Given Grimo’s monstrous range, it’s obviously his choice to deliver the lines this way, but I can’t help feeling like it was the wrong one. With the band going for a more well rounded death metal sound, and steering a little bit away from their brutal death origins, there’s less pig squealing or sewer sounds on the record as we’ve seen before, but when Grimo goes in for the ultra lows they still hit just as hard.
Of the 11 tracks on offer, there’s 9 songs and 2 atmosphere building interludes. Despite this, it’s hard to pick out any real stand out bangers that lodge themselves in your head. You get the feel for the record pretty quickly, but unlike the previous records where 3 or 4 individual tracks would stand head above the rest, the album feels like it’s lacking in that department.
Of the 11 tracks on offer, there’s 9 songs and 2 atmosphere building interludes. Despite this, it’s hard to pick out any real stand out bangers that lodge themselves in your head. You get the feel for the record pretty quickly, but unlike the previous records where 3 or 4 individual tracks would stand head above the rest, the album feels like it’s lacking in that department.
Consistency is a good thing, and don’t get me wrong, all the songs are of an equally high standard, but without the earworms I’m reluctant to give out the top grade as I have done previously to this band, who absolutely remain one of my favourites.
It’s a very enjoyable record, and I would caution against listening to it on anything less than good speakers due to the sonic complexity. Let's see if another couple of weeks of listening to it allows a song or two to firmly lodge itself in my brain. 8/10
LIK - Necro (Metal Blade Records) [GC]
When you see a band is from Stockholm you generally know what to expect and usually it is death metal in one of its many forms, the list of great bands that have blazed forward from this place is impressive and some of the most influential music in the genre has come form Sweden.
When you see a band is from Stockholm you generally know what to expect and usually it is death metal in one of its many forms, the list of great bands that have blazed forward from this place is impressive and some of the most influential music in the genre has come form Sweden.
This can also be a bit of a poisoned chalice as you are initially expecting excellence, so its down to LIK and their new record Necro to show if they too have what it takes to stand out or if they will just be another band in crowded scene.
Deceased is a good way to start and instantly allays any fears you may have, this has an urgent and breakneck pace with the guitars just tipping into the right side of scuzzy but not sounding muddy or paired back, the drumming is impressive and keeps everything moving forward with pace and the vocals round everything off nicely with the sort of savage delivery and no nonsense attack that you really wanted.
Deceased is a good way to start and instantly allays any fears you may have, this has an urgent and breakneck pace with the guitars just tipping into the right side of scuzzy but not sounding muddy or paired back, the drumming is impressive and keeps everything moving forward with pace and the vocals round everything off nicely with the sort of savage delivery and no nonsense attack that you really wanted.
The pace continues directly into War Praise and it has the unmistakable influence of At The Gates dripping from every buzzsaw riff and gargled scream, also the harmony shines through impressively well in places on this track especially the solos towards the end but never takes over and dulls any of the viciousness.
They has a thundering groove to it that runs through the song and it’s something that will keep you coming back over and over, as its addictively good and shows another impressive side to LIK’s style and shows that they aren’t afraid to slow things down to keep it heavy, the foot isn’t taken off the gas for long and Worms Inside blasts out of the tracks in a familiar fashion and absolutely annihilates everything.
It’s the fastest track so far and everything that has been good so far is now compressed and highlighted and they even manage to add in another section towards the that will stick in you mind for a long time, Morgue Rat might have come at the wrong time for me because while it’s a decent song and shows that they can really slow things down and it adds effect and subtlety that has not been heard so far, but its just for me a little too slowed and thoughtful compared to the rest of the album, still a very good song though!
Thankfully its straight to back to business on Shred To Pieces which clocks in at just over 2 minutes and is as furious and energetic as is needed to really get the flow going again in impressive fashion, no messing, no slow bits, just full throttle death metal savagery, and it’s a glorious listen!
And then again with In Ruins you think the style and pace is about to completely change but thankfully it doesn’t, they throw you off with a slow and meandering start that then explodes into life with the sort of melodic death metal that has no right to be this catchy and heavy at the same time, an absolute world class song this!
The Stockholm Massacre relentlessly throws the shackles off again and is another lesson in how to write brutally heavy music that still has soul and melody and then mix it all together to amazing effect. Fields Of Death is another rabble-rousing track that keeps the blood pumping and the head banging to decent effect and once again reminds you of the classic Gothenburg sound in all its glory.
Unfortunately the it goes a bit wrong with album closer Rotten Inferno which is a strange and subdued way to end such a savage gnarling album, it’s a slow crawl that never really picks up and underwhelms right at the last minute when they could have ended on a high note?!
On the whole Necro is a class piece of work and a great love letter to that classic Swedish death metal sound that we all love and hold dear, there was a couple of mis-steps but looking at the whole album these can be forgiven because for the most part its was a fantastic listen, if you love your death metal gnarly, thrashy and furious then this is one for you!! 8/10
On the whole Necro is a class piece of work and a great love letter to that classic Swedish death metal sound that we all love and hold dear, there was a couple of mis-steps but looking at the whole album these can be forgiven because for the most part its was a fantastic listen, if you love your death metal gnarly, thrashy and furious then this is one for you!! 8/10
Anoxia - Revel In Sin (Brilliant Emperor Records/Gutter Prince Cabal Records) [Thomas Megill Jr]
The absence of oxygen is the dictionary definition of Anoxia, with medical definitions describing it as a condition where oxygen is cut off from vital organs especially the brain. That's fucking brutal.
The absence of oxygen is the dictionary definition of Anoxia, with medical definitions describing it as a condition where oxygen is cut off from vital organs especially the brain. That's fucking brutal.
I wonder if that was the thought process going through the members minds, along with oxygen, when naming the band. I hope in reality it was an anagram for "I Knocks Ya in the face with my riffs". I seriously question why I'm allowed to have opinions .... or thoughts.
Anoxia blasts Revel In Sin out of a canon into the ether for the death metal masses to enjoy. Released through Brilliant Emperor Records, the Sydney, Australia based quartet delivered 8 new tracks of modernized Old School Death Metal clocking in at just under 34 minutes.
Anoxia blasts Revel In Sin out of a canon into the ether for the death metal masses to enjoy. Released through Brilliant Emperor Records, the Sydney, Australia based quartet delivered 8 new tracks of modernized Old School Death Metal clocking in at just under 34 minutes.
This album makes me feel like I'm fighting an extremely taxing boxing match and can't quite get above the physical exhaustion of trying to keep up with the utter massacre being performed upon my face.
It's quite hard to condense this band into a box and find comparisons to other bands as they seem to draw inspiration from literally all of them.
There's flashes of Death, Dying Fetus, Suffocation, Deicide and without the slightest shadow of a doubt, Cannibal Corpse. While they wear the influence of 90s death metal proudly on their chests, they do so with an original feel and swagger.
Every song on this album is another upper cut, right hook, nasty jab or body shot onto the ear drums that force you to keep pace to survive. Revel In Sin is a brutal assault with savage intensity and it's tactically sound.
I was hoping that the final track Merciless Sin would be a slower tempo'd ballad of sorts to catch my breathe, but I was mistaken and found a lethal straight right punch driven into my snot cavity, discombobulating my senses and making me question the definition of what is and isn't heavy.
This is a lean piece of veal and is a must listen for all fans of brutal/old school death metal. 8/10
Pearl Handled Revolver - Tales You Lose (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
I'm not sure what to make of Pearl Handled Revolver. I was expecting some swaggering NWOCR from the band name but I was very wrong. I'm also late to the party as this Bedford based band have already released five self-produced studio albums, two live albums, and four EPs in their 16 year existence. So more fool me for not having heard anything by them before.
So here I am jumping two footed into their new album Tales You Lose and you fall into a soundscape that's dark, macabre and bewitching, sitting between the gruff vaudeville jazz sounds of Tom Waits, the personal horrors of Nick Cave and the organ driven heavy blues of The Doors, Pearl Handled Revolver's world is uniquely curious.
Low smoky vocals, bubbling keys and organs and plenty of jazz on tracks such as Heart Of Gold, the proggy notes with Gilding The Lily or the swirling Doors’- like psychedelia on Courageous add to the trip that is Tales You Lose. Pearl Handled Revolver are doing something different in the rock scene and should be applauded for it. 7/10
Pearl Handled Revolver - Tales You Lose (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
I'm not sure what to make of Pearl Handled Revolver. I was expecting some swaggering NWOCR from the band name but I was very wrong. I'm also late to the party as this Bedford based band have already released five self-produced studio albums, two live albums, and four EPs in their 16 year existence. So more fool me for not having heard anything by them before.
So here I am jumping two footed into their new album Tales You Lose and you fall into a soundscape that's dark, macabre and bewitching, sitting between the gruff vaudeville jazz sounds of Tom Waits, the personal horrors of Nick Cave and the organ driven heavy blues of The Doors, Pearl Handled Revolver's world is uniquely curious.
Low smoky vocals, bubbling keys and organs and plenty of jazz on tracks such as Heart Of Gold, the proggy notes with Gilding The Lily or the swirling Doors’- like psychedelia on Courageous add to the trip that is Tales You Lose. Pearl Handled Revolver are doing something different in the rock scene and should be applauded for it. 7/10
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