Its finally February after the longest January in world history and to start this month off I have the debut album Infernal Dawn from Kentucky death metal mob Sinistrum, with only a demo released so far this is their attempt to make the world sit up a pay attention.
Opening with title track Infernal Dawn the twin guitars of Garrett Netto & Timmie Ball sound huge and create a wave of sound that instantly reminds you what a good mix can do to a death metal record when the song proper kicks off it also has a nice touch of black metal mixed in then, the vocals kick in and I’m not really 100% sure I like the style too much, seems like the power of the music isn’t being backed up by the vocals at this point, still early doors though!
Next up Abomination Rising starts out with some furious guitar work but then slows down before throwing in some huge groove sections which all intertwine for the rest of the song and here we get another vocal approach, and it does fit the song much better and adds a lot to the whole feel of the song, much to my relief. Godforsaken And Bleeding follows the same groove laden path and feels like prime 90’s death metal, its twists and turns but never loses the cutting edge needed and the vocals really have come good now the noises spewing forth from Scott Briggs on this track are glorious!!
Coming out of the Indonesian DM scene, Perveration continue with their journey into the world of brutal death metal, with Putrefaction Of Infinite Apogee. Imagine a 31-minute pummelling with an iron fist and that will give you some indication of the aural treats to come. This is practically a one-speed trip into some of the darkest and most violent material committed to tape. Song titles are suitably horrific, channelling the likes of Cannibal Corpse through an extreme gore filter. It’s a crushing experience that lovers of extreme metal will lap up.
Unfortunately, it didn’t hit with me. There is no denying the technical ability on display as each song powers through with one of the heaviest guitar tones I’ve heard in a while, the actual song build doesn’t really change from song to song. Each seems to stay within a certain guitar pattern, whilst the drums provide the propulsive blast forward. The vocals occupy that extreme low register which seem almost muted. This is not to say its awful, it is far from that. Its fine, it does what it set out to do which is to be as heavy as it can be, it ticks all the boxes you could possibly want but it feels empty. I can’t put my finger on why it feels like that because as I’ve said its competently recorded and has some of the fastest drumming going.
What does it is that the songs blur into one cacophonous sound so that by the time you get to a change in attack with Necrocannibalism it’s too late to keep me engaged and by the end you are just fatigued by it. This is the sort of band that extreme metal heads will / should love, just for the chance to namecheck them as one of the most brutal bands going. It is brutal, it is extreme but its one dimensional to me. I appreciate that there is a glut of bands out there, all drinking from the same well of inspiration and there are only so many ways of playing the same music. The difference is that some are able to make it sound as though you have never heard it before.
After listening to Freak Dreams, the latest album from German act Slope, I’m at odds, whilst I am impressed by the seamless blend of Groove/Funk riffs with a Hardcore Punk attitude emphasised by the overall energy that this album contains; I don’t particularly like it.
Out of sheer curiosity when I first listened to the opening track It’s Tickin’ I decided to check out the video and it has to be one of the most bizarre music videos I have seen in quite awhile, so I was obviously quite intrigued but what becomes all too familiar, bordering upon the irritating is the vocal style - it’s predominantly Rap and that’s just one genre I’ve never been interested in.
That initial impression of clever genre blending becomes all too much, a bit incoherent and perhaps a little too clever for its own good. In fact, over the course of three songs and even within the same song, it was hard to tell if I was listening to Beastie Boys, RHCP or Slayer, though I have always had a broad spectrum of music within my collection, there’s a certain mood or frame of mind that I would need to be in, in order to appreciate that kind of diversity.
And honestly it’s a shame that this just isn’t for me, some of those riffs are great, the drum patterns complex enough at times to make a strong impression, let down due to that vocal style which as I say is purely my preference. Not for me personally but I’m sure there’s a fan base somewhere. 4/10
Legacy In Brutality thunders forward and is another solid death metal track that has more melodic tendencies, but I have to say that the addition of clean vocals does kind of stop me in my tracks a bit, not sure about that? Decent track but a bit throwaway in places, Death Omen then puts a rocket directly back up you and makes amends for the slowing of pace and has some absolutely monstrous groove sections included in the midst of the death metal onslaughts.
Morbid Reality continues the hot run with some more razor-sharp riffs that just keep going and going and there are some more nice melodic elements mixed in here to make sure that everything is not one dimensional, Deus Mortis starts of with a more slowed down pace than we have got so far and this continues throughout the song and its more of a groove metal song in places then full on death metal but when they want to they do turn the DM dial back up and throw it back in but, because of this I feel the song gets a bit messy and loses momentum from one idea to the next probably and is the weakest track on the album in all honesty.
Malicious Imprisonment just sounds all over the place to me, they try and do too much in too little time and trying to fit in all the different ideas makes it just feel all over the place and completely drops the momentum, its not like I hate it I just find it a bit difficult to listen to, unlike Hordes Of Hell which just concentrates on one thing and that is full blown death metal savagery, no melody, no slowing down, just in your face and violent and perfectly placed to set us up with closer Traverse The Swarm that takes all of the good bits on here and mixes them superbly the melodic sections are suitably huge and the death metal is suitably disgustingly executed if they could have had 9 more tracks that were this good my overall score would have been much higher that it was!
For a debut album Infernal Dawn was a good way to introduce yourselves to the world, there were bits that were fantastic, but some bits just fell short of the mark, a few tweaks here and there and just that little bit more focus and the next Sinistrum album could be something phenomenal! If you like death metal, there is plenty here you like and enjoy, and going forward they can only get better! 7/10
Perveration - Putrefaction Of Infinite Apogee (Comatose Music) [Mark Young]
For a debut album Infernal Dawn was a good way to introduce yourselves to the world, there were bits that were fantastic, but some bits just fell short of the mark, a few tweaks here and there and just that little bit more focus and the next Sinistrum album could be something phenomenal! If you like death metal, there is plenty here you like and enjoy, and going forward they can only get better! 7/10
Perveration - Putrefaction Of Infinite Apogee (Comatose Music) [Mark Young]
Coming out of the Indonesian DM scene, Perveration continue with their journey into the world of brutal death metal, with Putrefaction Of Infinite Apogee. Imagine a 31-minute pummelling with an iron fist and that will give you some indication of the aural treats to come. This is practically a one-speed trip into some of the darkest and most violent material committed to tape. Song titles are suitably horrific, channelling the likes of Cannibal Corpse through an extreme gore filter. It’s a crushing experience that lovers of extreme metal will lap up.
Unfortunately, it didn’t hit with me. There is no denying the technical ability on display as each song powers through with one of the heaviest guitar tones I’ve heard in a while, the actual song build doesn’t really change from song to song. Each seems to stay within a certain guitar pattern, whilst the drums provide the propulsive blast forward. The vocals occupy that extreme low register which seem almost muted. This is not to say its awful, it is far from that. Its fine, it does what it set out to do which is to be as heavy as it can be, it ticks all the boxes you could possibly want but it feels empty. I can’t put my finger on why it feels like that because as I’ve said its competently recorded and has some of the fastest drumming going.
What does it is that the songs blur into one cacophonous sound so that by the time you get to a change in attack with Necrocannibalism it’s too late to keep me engaged and by the end you are just fatigued by it. This is the sort of band that extreme metal heads will / should love, just for the chance to namecheck them as one of the most brutal bands going. It is brutal, it is extreme but its one dimensional to me. I appreciate that there is a glut of bands out there, all drinking from the same well of inspiration and there are only so many ways of playing the same music. The difference is that some are able to make it sound as though you have never heard it before.
Others, because they want to write in a certain style are often trapped within it and the excitement that comes from being lauded as the most brutal, the fastest etc will fade. Perveration may be completely happy within that sphere of death metal. And why not, because there is actually nothing wrong with it. Except that once you get past the brutality there is nothing more to it. 6/10
Graywitch - Children Of Gods (Sleaszy Rider SRL) [Matt Bladen]
Formed in Nicosia but now based in Thessaloniki, Graywitch released their debut in 2021 and have quite quickly followed it up with this second full length. They are a band that bring power metal and classic metal together, I can hear the influences of Gamma Ray, Judas Priest and mostly Blind Guardian, especially on Odysseus which is the first track to bring bombast, while Holy Lands adds acoustics, the folk truly strong on Swansong, culminating in the stirring swashbuckling of Over The Red Sky.
Graywitch - Children Of Gods (Sleaszy Rider SRL) [Matt Bladen]
Formed in Nicosia but now based in Thessaloniki, Graywitch released their debut in 2021 and have quite quickly followed it up with this second full length. They are a band that bring power metal and classic metal together, I can hear the influences of Gamma Ray, Judas Priest and mostly Blind Guardian, especially on Odysseus which is the first track to bring bombast, while Holy Lands adds acoustics, the folk truly strong on Swansong, culminating in the stirring swashbuckling of Over The Red Sky.
Graywitch take a cinematic route as the album progresses, the addition of violins and female vocals bringing theatrics to Children Of The Gods, the sequencing is well done and while the vocals may not be Hansi Kursch, they do the job. On the epic God Of War, NWOTHM breakout star Dan Baune gives a searing solo alongside Jimmy Sinner of Everflow these two guests summing up the appeal of Graywitch. They're a little Homeric, a little heroic and have grand ambition most of which pays off. 6/10
Slope - Freak Dreams (Century Media Records) [James Jackson]
Slope - Freak Dreams (Century Media Records) [James Jackson]
After listening to Freak Dreams, the latest album from German act Slope, I’m at odds, whilst I am impressed by the seamless blend of Groove/Funk riffs with a Hardcore Punk attitude emphasised by the overall energy that this album contains; I don’t particularly like it.
Out of sheer curiosity when I first listened to the opening track It’s Tickin’ I decided to check out the video and it has to be one of the most bizarre music videos I have seen in quite awhile, so I was obviously quite intrigued but what becomes all too familiar, bordering upon the irritating is the vocal style - it’s predominantly Rap and that’s just one genre I’ve never been interested in.
That initial impression of clever genre blending becomes all too much, a bit incoherent and perhaps a little too clever for its own good. In fact, over the course of three songs and even within the same song, it was hard to tell if I was listening to Beastie Boys, RHCP or Slayer, though I have always had a broad spectrum of music within my collection, there’s a certain mood or frame of mind that I would need to be in, in order to appreciate that kind of diversity.
And honestly it’s a shame that this just isn’t for me, some of those riffs are great, the drum patterns complex enough at times to make a strong impression, let down due to that vocal style which as I say is purely my preference. Not for me personally but I’m sure there’s a fan base somewhere. 4/10
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