Witchery : "In His Infernal Majesty Service"

They have come back in a powerful way after the 2010 "Witchkrieg". The album features features new vocalist Angus Norder. The rest of the band features members of the Haunted , Grave, Seance, and Arch Enemy, There is more of a punk touch to the second song. "Netherworld Emperor" returns to to kind of deathly thrash that colored the opener, though it might not be quite as tightly coiled of an attack. There is a catchier Slayer like feel to "Nosferatu". This is fine with me since Slayer has not sounded like Slayer in a decade.

It's not until "the Burning of Salem' that feel feels like the band is playing at a speed too fast for the song. Considering the brand of death metal these guys are coming at you with that means they used some restraint up until this point. One of this album's strengths is the production. The guitars sound mean as fuck, like they could slice your neck right off your god damn shoulders. The additional dynamics of "Gilded Fang" help it to stand out of the blurred blitz of the other songs, even if such lapses in intensity are only momentary. There is a more Motorhead like rock punch to the opening of "Empty Tombs". This one is fast and feral, but doesn't hold my attention as well until it gets to the Slayer like breakdown. There is more punch to the thrashy groove of "In Warm Blood" . It's almost impossible to no nod your head to this one.

There is a more traditional  thrash metal riff to "Escape From Dunwich Valley". I always preach about our rule here "Cool Riffs alone do not make a good song" these guys get it and show you how you can have the best of both worlds more often than not. When they do not adhere to this rule the result is something more in lines with "Feed the Gun" and the riff just is too straight forward and not cool enough to apply in the first place. You can finally here the bass on "Oathbreaker". Things song races along and meets up with a slightly more melodic part. There is a fucking awesome tempo change in riff to "Eye For an Eye". The vocals even switch up here, which is what the album needed, the end result is something that sounds like it could have come from Entombed's "Wolverine Blues" album. They close the album with "Cloak and Dagger" which is  too straight forward that made me wonder what happened to the burst of creativity on the previous song. Sure there is a cool gallop at the end, but it's too little too late. I'll go ahead and around this one up to a 9 not sure how many listens I would get around to as far as this album as whole goes, but for death metal it's pretty awesome.This album comes out November 25th,

The Top 10 Death Metal Albums of 2015

While death metal doesn't get as much air time with me, I am no stranger to the genre having bought my first death metal album "Leprosy" in 1988. From there Morbid Angel and Deicide would become my favorite death metal bands  with Incantation, Obituary, Cancer, Nocturnus and Unleashed picking up the slack. As with all things the darker the better so that while factor in as we leave no grave unturned and dig into the best of 2015. This list is going to touch on every aspect of the genre sometimes getting so melodic I had to question if they were death metal and then give the album another listen to ease my doubts. There was not one sub-genre of genre that dominated this year though I tend to lean more toward the doomier more blackened side, we still have more traditional, tech and experimental death metal bands gave good showings. So here are my top ten death metal albums, ranked in according to which one got the most rotation on my iPod.Links to full reviews which include streams posted with each entry.




10 - Vehemence -"Forward Without Motion"

 Certainly could have stood to have listened to this one more, but I suppose I'm not always in need of this much shredding mixed in with your death metal. It was guitar players album for sure. The drummer was no slouch either but the focus in more on the sweep arpeggios. It is pretty melodic in the post- Spiritual Healing or Heartwork way. As this one progresses it becomes impressively melodic and not in the cheesy Dark Tranquility way. It can be hard to take a more conventional approach to death metal and make it interesting and these guys made more than listenable and topped out with outstanding shred guitar.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/10/vehemence-forward-without-motion.html

9 - Grave: "Out of Respect For the Dead"

 It's the eleventh album from the Swedish Death Metal vets. Along with Entombed they helped hone a sound that bands have been trying to emulate ever since.There is a lot of groove to this album which help keep it's dark and grisly vibe moving forward. This is pretty much everything you could want from this era of old school death metal . It's an impressive display of power, that comes with seasoned songwriting.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/09/grave-out-of-respect-for-dead.html

8 - Pyrrhon -"Growth Without End"

 The album title must be this band's motto as the New York based band headed in a more intense yet mathematical direction.The songs were short spastic burst not as herky jerky as power-violence or grind core. At times this came across like a more death metal version of what Converge does, but with a meth driven ADD. Where most of the so called deathcore bands attempt something similar to this, Pyrrhon gets it right and understands the beauty in creating ugliness. The production of the album is as in your face as the music that was recorded, not too noisy or lo-fi, but balancing out the layers like a Bosch painting.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/09/pyrrhon-growth-without-end.html

7 - Aevangelist: "Enthrall to the Void of Bliss"

This didn't hit me like "Writhes in the Murk " did as it's not as dense and jazz like. They shed some of the black metal elements to you deeper into the land of profane nightmares from a more death metal perspective. The drag riffs out of the murk, proving they are making metal and not just hell-spawned noise-scapes. The vocals stay at bubbling gurgle, like lava being poured down a drain pipe.They have brought experimentation and metal meet at a dark crossroads. This is like heavy machinery and should not be operated while on drugs at risk to your own sanity.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/09/aevangelist-enthrall-to-void-of-bliss.html

6 -Desolate Shrine- "the Heart of the Netherworld"

 This is an album of dark death where the guitars lay their melodies over a fairly brutal battering. The production on this album is how death metal should sound. It's not too , but it's not under produced to the point of sounding like they are playing in your crawlspace. Many death metal bands blown their wad after the first song, and hit me with everything they have. This leaves me waiting around to see what else they can do which is usually more of the same. This album made me forget that I was waiting around for as it evident the onset and didn't let up from there. It really grew on me with each listen.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/05/desolate-shrine-heart-of-netherworld.html

5 - No Trust: "the Cycle"

 Despite having a slight black metal torment to the mid-range throat scraping of the vocals, these guys play death metal that attacks as a very keen machine. The compact songs , run around four minutes, getting in and getting the job done without losing you in the sprawl. This is not straight forward death metal, it retains enough of the raw aggression to give the tightly coiled progressive metal influence more bite, always finding ways to work in catchy grooves. Tastefully finding ways to conforms more to what today's headbangers would want from death metal, the band doesn't owe much to classic bands like Morbid Angel, but slight touches of Slayer can be detected. Keep your ears open to what the future holds for this band.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/07/no-trust-cycle.html

4 -Howls of Ebb -"the Marrow Veil"

 I hear too many bands in today's metal that play it way to safe , so Howls of Ebb are welcomed relief. They are not afraid of wildly deviating from the masses . I am not a fan of twenty minute songs, but these guys are able to occupy the space. They kick in with a bizarre psychedelic fury and ebb down to linger in the awkward silence of whispers. This makes the silence as confrontational as their louder moments in a manner similar to bands like Mr. Bungle.There is a chance that when this album is over you'll find your self wondering what the hell you listened to, depending upon how stoned you are. It will take a few more listens and a half dozen more bong hits to come to a conclusion. Stone cold sober I concludeD that I need more of this in my life , though would prefer it in smaller more song like doses and less like sprawling soundtracks. But if they do not choose to temper their wild creative streak with the restraint, then I'll take that as well.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/07/howls-of-ebb-marrow-veil.html

3 -Nightfell - "Darkness Evermore"

 The bar was raised pretty high as their debut album"the Living Ever Mourn" really killed it. The same woefully melodic throb still flows through the veins of this beast. The guitars are masterfully layered and production wise this album sounds even better than their first. The arrangements are crafted in a way that other bands should take note as it is so organic and fluid you almost don't notice the transitions. The song writing has stepped up to the challenge. I would otherwise balk at opening an album with a ten minute song, but they know how to make every second count. They gallop into the darkened landscapes with classic metal bravado, once again delivering the goods.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/08/nightfell-darkness-evermore.html

 

2 - Archgoat - "the Apocalyptic Triumphator"

 This Finnish band has been spreading the unholy word since the early nineties. They have left a trail of splits and eps in their wake but this is only the band's third full length...so it's kind of a big deal.While this band's mission statement and role in the occult community is more in line with black metal, but intention and attitude alone doesn't keep this album from being death metal as the vocals are growled in a manner below guttural like Angel Slayer is funneling a sewer from from the bowels of hell down his throat. At best it's blackened death metal, but the band's influences are pre-dark throne a time when death metal was the heaviest thing going and Deicide and Acheron were the most satanic shows in town. Never numbing you out with blast beats, they raised the bar for metal bands in 2015. This album proved it was possible to be insanely heavy with out forsaking songwriting. This album Has both the brutality and attention to detail I want from my metal death, black or otherwise.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/01/archgoatthe-apocalyptic-triumphator.html

1 - Tribulation - the Children of the Night Was a little torn as to if this album even belonged here, until I went back and listened to the album and "Music From the Other " sealed the deal. While I liked the band's last album, but found them much more fascinating of a creature on stage when I saw them open for Watain, so I am hoping some of those more progressive and wandering qualities have carried over from the road and right from the first few chords of the opener it seems like they have. There is an almost Opeth like lushness to the sound. They don't use the traditional metal crunch, instead just going for an organic tone that they are playing loudly. The vocals are more intelligible than the previous album. When they dive deeper into the darkness answering the question what would it have sounded like if DeepPurple had written the soundtrack to the Exorcist. This is another step forward for the band that continues to grow with every album, they blend the more classic metal elements in with their more ethereal colors with ease, as they are not afraid to push the bounds of what death metal can be.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2015/03/tribulation-children-of-night.html

Grave : " Out Of Respect For the Dead"

It's the eleventh album from the Swedish Death Metal vets. Along with Entombed they helped hone as sound that bands have been trying to emulate ever since. Its not until they slow down for "Flesh Before My Eyes" that they really get my attention. Its good old school death metal, no doubt but I caught the best of that back in the day, so I want to hear where a band is going from there. Granted I was listening to more Entombed than Grave then, so these guys are newish to me. They are fairly straight forward. Where most bands hit you with every thing they got on the first song then you are waiting to see what they have from their Grave drags this out into the second song, though the third has the most powerful groove yet. "Plain Pine Box" doesn't dig into any new subject matter, but they have a great guitar sound and the riffs to this one make the most out of it and the drums sound like they are right in your living room.

They get into the same old grind at times and seem to work better at mid paced gallops or slower. They lyrics change from dead to undead as they growl about haunted houses on "The Ominous They".  The lumbering doom laden moments are of course in my opinion going to be some of the better ones. There is not a whole lot of what gets called d-beat. At times they have more in common with Obituary than with Entombed. This is obvious on the more pounding sections of "Redeemed Through Hate" which also has the first guitar solo that stands out. If there were others they must have been buried in double bass.

When the groove drops down into the bass line of "Deified" this is the album hitting its high point.Even when the storm of double bass roars in the keep the groove until the blasting end section. 'Trail of Ungodly Trades" is just run of the mill death metal. They are good at it , but it's nothing special until they slower breakdown where he is chanting "Summoning the dead". They close the album with "Grotesque Glory" is has a very deliberate stomp, which finds the band in their best form. This song seems to be about zombies. There is a lot of groove to this album at time which keeps it's dark and grisly vibe moving forward. If you are a fan of the band I can only imagine that this is what you want from them, and it's an impressive display of power and at times even songwriting so I'll round  this one up to an 8. It comes out October 16gh on Century Media.