Monday 25 December 2017

Fave Death Metal For 2017

Death Metal for 2017:

First the albums without ranking:

Morta Skuld - Wounds Deeper Than Time
Holy fuck! Morta Skuld is back! I used to love For All Eternity. Classic 90s American death metal that one. This time sounding much better of course with modern production and no 90s murk. If you enjoy bands like Bolt Thrower and the like or just classic heavy grooving, you should love this.

Mors Principum Est - Embers of a Dying World
One of the most consistent and best melodeath bands since they started. They almost never let me down and the new album is real good too. A couple of tunes meander which is not my thing but when they kick the riffs into overdrive I'm giving it the horns and nodding along.

Fleshdoll - Hearts of Darkness
Catchy and punchy death metal. Heavy with rolling riffage with a thick, slightly murky sound.

Bleak Flesh - Overcoming Reality EP
Very nice tech death ep with vast array of riffy goodness.

Obsidium - Lesson Of Hatred
Tech death ala Necrophagist. Vocals totally annoying and core-ish but music amazing.

Unperfectum - Neomenia
I'm not really infatuated with melodeath any more but this caught my eye and ears. It's hyper melodic keyboard friendly melodeath. Not super aggressive or trying to scathe your ears with incessant rasps either. Very pleasant and super melodic death metal.

Rogga Johansson - Garpedans
The Swedish king of old school death with a solo album. The umpteenth of his career - he has about 3-4 releases a year. I find his stuff hit and miss but I mostly like this. Some nice keyboard touches too but mainly old school riffy death groove to get the juices flowing.

Necropolis - The Fate of Flesh (EP)
Just a 4 tracker and only 3 actual songs with an instrumental acoustic tune. The music is Death  worship but could be slightly cack handed in its aping but beggars can't be choosers when it comes to Chuck worship so a measly cheap sounding Death will have to do!

Incinerator - Stench Of Distress
Let's go retro. Buzzy guitars like a swarm of angry bees. Goodness!

Apotheon - Mechanically Consumed
Nice tech death 3 tracker with instrumental versions of the same songs as well.

Exhumed - Death Revenge
Great catchy death metal. Sometimes coming close to a few Chuck riffs.

Beneath - Ephemeris
Strangely it's been a great month for death fuckin' metal. Beneath adding to that tally with a catchy slab of battery.

Skyfire - Liberation in Death
One of my fave ever melodeath bands returns with an appetiser. Only 4 tracks but the quality is there for all to see. Lovely keys as always in this band.

Spectrum Of Delusion - Esoteric Entity
Tech death whirlathon. Vokills a bit dodge but OK. Music is warm, fluid and melodic with twangy and clean bass.

Arkaik - Nemethia
Hard hitting tech death blast fest. The scratchy vox are a bit harsh for me but they are not heard all the time. The normal death growls acceptable. Riffs are set to bludgeon and also with a machine gun like attack.

And now the top 15 in reverse order:

15. Undrask - Battle Through Time
Unknown US melodeath from outta the blue pleases me immensely. Imagine primetime IF with a little Minds I and earlier era DT and a little modern Amon Amarth and you have Undrask! Very cool shit!

14. Foredoomed - Ordeal
I have mostly given up on melodeath but this I love. Melodeath at its best for modern times IMO.

13. Paganizer - Land of Weeping Souls
Our old mate Rogga from a gazillion bands with another of his old school vehicles. This one however feels up to date but the pummelling riffs that still have that old school groove. Vocals are also perfect death roars. Love the monstrous rampaging grooves and head banging parts. Should please any fan of classic Bolt Thrower!

12. Nervecell - Past, Present..Torture
Savage, heavy death. Superb production and outstanding death vokills. Kinda death metal I love!

11. Carnal Decay - You Owe You Pay
This shit is fucked up. These guys are super angry man. Cross the road if you see these guys coming from the other side! Musically speaking this is as heavy and yet super slick and groovy as death metal gets. There is a slight hardcore atttude but I really like this take no prisoners feel. When I am feeling angry this sucker's going straight on. Some of these grooves will move mountains!

10. Dying Fetus - Wrong One To Fuck With
Definitely the best Fetus album ever. Too many great riffs and grooves to be moshed to here.

09. Lock Up - Demonization
Riffs! You like bludgeoning, earth shattering riffs? You like blasting drum overload? You're in the right place. I am surprised the album kicks so much ass. An amazing super brutal grindcore record.

08. Decrepit Birth - Axis Mundi
Some of the vocals are a little annoying but I can get by. The wicked tech riffing snaps necks as does the super tight double kick drumming

07. Archspire - Relentless Mutation
Absolutely insane tech death. Riffs, vocals and drums machine gun into your brain at rate of knots unheard of by the human ear!

06. Embrace The Dawn - The Effigist
Jaw droppingly awesome tech death with flawless clean sound. Absolutely love these guys. They amaze!

05. Incarnator - Argumentum Ad Ignorantiam
Death worship bands and albums are like gold dust so when one comes along we have to be grateful for small mercies. It's not Death but very good effort even though the vocals are a bit dodgy. The music is pretty amazing. A couple of Death covers tacked on at the end would've been nice too.

04. Suffocation - ...Of The Dark Light
Very cool stuff from another veteran death act with the Suffos. Winding tech death with urgent, manic riffs and always cool vokills. These guys don't need lessons from no one about death metal do they!

03. Obituary - st
Holy crap it's the best Obies album in aeons. The riffs are massive and groovy and Tardy's sick growls are in perfect tandem with the riffs. The grooves are fuckin' immense on this beast! Theyprobably thought let's try and release the definitive Obituary album - no bullshit, no title, no fancy cover, just Obituary death metal stomp!

02. Inanimate Existence - Underneath A Melting Sky
As I was saying death metal ruled and this was probably the best of the lot. Just a fantastic and  amazing tech death listen. Epic fret wizardry!

01. Cannibal Corpse - Red Before Black
The Corpse is back! A solid album and more complex than usual with torrents of whirling riffs rampaging here there and every fucking where. I wasn't that sure about this but repeat plays revealed pummelling monster catchy grooves and even a thrashier edge at times. Cannibal Corpse are experts at giving the fans what they want with no added bullshit. Just a straight up classic death metal album!

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