Druid Lord : "Grotesque Offerings"

With a name like Druid Lord I was expecting something more touched with folk metal and not such a dominant horror theme. When I first heard this band from Orlando on their Bandcamp page I was not sure what to think of the first song but knew I wanted to hear more from these guys in order to make a conclusive opinion, so I would say the opener was a success as it drew me in with it's brand of death doom. Growled vocals and dirty guitars crawling out of the speakers are really what keeps these guys from just being a doom band. The second song is more of the same but more grinding death metal with the occasional riff owing more to Sabbath than Morbid Angel. These guys rely more of the power of the chug than speed alone. The lyrics are very horror based and growled in a way that you can still decipher them.There is a much more obvious death metal feel to "Evil That Haunts this Ground" that reminds me more of early Sepultura. This also marks the first appearance of synths which are well place for needed atmosphere.It helps further darken things.

The first song that feels more like filler to me and is not as strong is "Black Candle Seance". On it's own two it is not a bad song it just doesn't seem as dynamic and doesn't connect with me. Lyrically there is some similarity to Acid Witch, but I feel that while Acid Witch might not be as heavy writes catchier songs. These guys prefer more glum tempos. On "Creature Feature"The vocals are spit out in a way that does the lyrics favor, as they are a very articulate growl. This song finds them tapping into the same kind of song crafting Acid Witch displays on a more frequent basis. However the lyrics don't feel as focus once they feel at one with the dead, then I am thinking where did this narrative go, but the thick murk of riffing keeps me distracted. They drop down into more of doom gloom on "Murderous Mr. Hyde". This song doesn't hold up as well as "Creature Feature" as it gets a little plodding and the lyrics are very vague.

The leading verse riff to "Last Drop of Blood" is rather cumbersome. The guitar harmonies work, well and if you are really into melodic death metal guitar then I would recommend this album. That only goes so far with me. I can't hear the bass at all. The drummer throws in double bass skillfully but is not really doing anything above and beyond the call of duty for what you expect from any death metal band. I don't want just any death metal band, I want my death metal to vary from what I already have or whats the point?  The song does improve thanks to a killer riff that is just mean as fuck in the last couple of minutes.Overall if you  are into death driven doom or doomy death metal then these guys are going to be up your dark alley. I'll give it an 8 as it works for me the majority of the time, not sure how much mileage I will get out of it , but enjoyed what I heard.

The Glorious Rebellion : "Euphoric"

Rough around the edges and kicking with a mall metal stomp recalling old Helmet this band from Orlando, Fla is pissing in your vinegar. Fans of Pantera offspring won't find these guys off putting. They remind me of that drug summer in the 90's when all the metal bands who had been trying to wear Prong's jock strap decided it was time to get weird and go grunge. I checked this band out because some one (Noisey) mentioned Acid Bath in reference to these guys and I am here to tell you they have nothing in common with that band. Clutch, well if you took out all the Led Zeppelin blues references and fed them on a steady diet of 90s alt rock. The chorus to the second song whose title is too long and silly for me to bother with, has a little too much Static  X for my taste buds. I can smell the crusty stain cock rock left on these guys when it comes to "Benaquyl". I'm shocked Vice would give a band this close to nu metal the time of day, but maybe nu metal is ironically going to be the net cool thing now that they are leaving black metal alone.

Just so you know Kim Kelly had nothing to do with putting these guys on that blog. "Have I Told You Lately That I Loathe You" is a few chugs and a couple sniffs of glue away from being a Coal Chamber song. The production on this album is rougher around the edges than most pumped up grunge you hear coming out these days, though it reminds me a little of the first Cold album, but without the Bush like vocals. On "the Dirtiest Dream Jobs" which has a cool opening riff, the singer admits that his cock won't suck itself. He doesn't specify who he wants to take care of that, but the following song is called "Bitches Hate Misogyny" . If you wanna throw that Helmet riff in the microwave while the singer yells about going straight to hell then maybe it's something you can dig. I'm more tempted to download the first Korn album and see how it holds up to my memory rather than give this album another spin.This album doesn't suck, it is not what I was expecting going into it nor is it all that original. I'll round it down to a 6.5.