Twitter: Fenriz Making Jokes About Anthrax

But that would be cool sometimes right? #anthrax #fenriz #untilthelighttakesus #darkthrone pic.twitter.com/nsDzS304Sw

— Nick Nihilist (@Metal_Elysium) March 29, 2016

Twitter: Sanctuary - Refuge Denied

https://t.co/Ph9FAHbZF2 Sanctuary - Refuge Denied (1987) What a phenomenal album!

— Nick Nihilist (@Metal_Elysium) March 29, 2016

Twitter: Cliff Burton RIP

You may be cool, but you will never be '#cliffburton wearing a cowboy hat and drinking a beer' cool! #Metallica pic.twitter.com/bznuWtdryy

— Nick Nihilist (@Metal_Elysium) March 29, 2016

Album Review: Moonsorrow - Jumalten Aika

Moonsorrow
Jumalten Aika
(Century Media)

Moonsorrow’s music is just so wild, forlorn, and free. They are one band I will always have a deeply emotional attachment to from my pure metal days back in 2008. At that time I was 22, deeply depressed, and going through all sorts of changes that a 22-year-old man thinks he is prepared for but sometimes finds himself incredibly lost dealing with. Kivenkantaja, and Verisäkeet were two albums that helped me through that transition. Anyway enough about me, the music is the point here, and perhaps one thing that makes Moonsorrow such a strong band is their ability to play songs that beautify tragedy and sadness. I think that is a gift that a lot of people try to capture when they’re writing music, but it often comes off as very cliché. Moonsorrow are able to do that, and through experiencing it for me the music is kind of an esoteric mindfuck.  Obviously I can’t understand a single thing that vocalist Ville Sorvali is saying, but I can definitely feel it, and that has just as much if not more meaning. One could almost call Moonsorrow charming.

If you’re familiar with Moonsorrow, then you know that their formula is to write each track as an opus. I feel like I’m going on an adventure when I listen to Jumalten Aika. There’s certainly the sense that each track is a different stage on this journey through peril. I can imagine myself as a heathen on hill in the mist, or as a sailor on a boat off of the coast of a Finnish isle. It’s really beautiful, and their music is very organic.  They’ve done it again. They’ve raised the bar with Jumalten Aika. This is already going on my favorite albums of 2016 list. How can I choose a favorite song on the album, when they’re each an individually and carefully orchestrated piece to fulfill a part of the experience? It’s like asking me which tale from the Silmarillion I enjoyed the most. I couldn’t tell you. It’s all like one big long sad epic poem for a shelf designated masterpieces.

After several years bouncing around miserable in my post college daze, I’ve found myself back in my roots as an avid metal listener, and I couldn’t be happier that Moonsorrow have released this magical album at around the same time.  Is there no triumph at the end of this sad, long, and lonely road? Where are the gods to lift one up from the torment of this trial? Alas, as I said earlier there’s a distinctive charm here, and you’ll find it at certain points in each song just before the storm. Honestly, I think a track like “Mimisbruun,” which is a 15:55 song that takes the listener all over the place, is as much of an exegesis on northern European heritage and heathenry as anything a scholar or historian could put out there. 

How does this heathen expedition end? By a crackling fire, and a blowing wind…

Twitter: Slaughter - Disintergrator-Incinerator

Life is too short for two bands named Slaughter.https://t.co/TZhAujsdNa

— Nick Nihilist (@MetalCatKvlt666) March 28, 2016

Twitter: Darkness - Burial At Sea

How many posers are dead because of this one song? Millions perhaps. https://t.co/LhwkTSIpcb #germanthrash #teutonicmetal

— Nick Nihilist (@MetalCatKvlt666) March 28, 2016

Album Review: Voivod - Post Society EP

Voivod
Post Society EP
(Century Media)

I’m half way through the first track on the new Voivod EP’s title song, and I’m ready to say that the new Voivod is really good, but then again why wouldn’t I be? That expectation is made before I even hit play. In the thirty years of this band’s mighty legacy, the prog thrashers have never really let fans down. Every time they release an album, you can anticipate something really weird, fresh, and punk. It’s not just that they’re a metal band, but they’re different, and they really are different.
What Voivod gets that so many others lack is the necessary groove behind a good rock song. They have the good old D-Beat that carries along throughout parts of their music that might otherwise lose you in the fantastically overwhelming opus of proggy jazz metal. For me, it’s not open to discussion – this band is really good. I can just sit here and drift off in whatever awkward direction the band is going.

Whether it’s a kaleidoscope of images from a dystopian Shadow Run esque nightmare, or an alien invasion, every theme comes together with the dreamy guitar riffs and hooks that come courtesy of our main man, Chewy. Also, what’s a good rock band without a good bass player? Rocky has taken his spot in the Voivod lineup to no limits. His heavy rattling of the bass will be thum’ing in your head as an under piece to this entire post apocalyptic drama, guided by the bleak prophetic vocals of the colorful and genuine rock star Snake. And what would this band be without Michel “Away” Langevin, the mastermind behind it all? Once again the brilliant artist has conceived of a world beyond the imagination of the layman. What a genius rock star this guy is.

As for the finale, a dedication to the atmospheric rock band Hawkwind, the band delivers on “Silver Machine.”

Weird, cool, and maybe even worth a few extra credits in anthropology and political sciences, Voivod’s Post Society is another interesting and fun release from Quebec’s legendary progressive thrash metal unit. It came out February 26th, so go out there and get it before society becomes toast.

Album Review: Gehennah - Too Loud To Live, Too Drunk To Die

Gehennah
Too Loud To Live, Too Drunk To Die
(Metal Blade)

Too Loud To Live, Too Drunk To Die is the first release by Gehennah on the legendary Metal Blade Records, and their first release as a band since 1997. Columbine hadn’t even happened yet when Decibel Rebel was beating posers down. After they’ve beaten, busted, and boozed their way through a bunch of ripped off Motorhead, Venom, and Bathory riffs, Gehennah are finally going to get their shot on one of the biggest labels in history, so it goes without saying that they’re going to drop a “Bomber” fused shredder. Okay, let me be clear, ripping off Motorhead isn’t a bad thing. Sweden, please don’t let me down by losing this incredible scene, because you know there are things that just shouldn’t go away – and this Motorhead/Bathory rock thing is one of them. Gehennah are at the top of that ladder, and Too Loud To Live, Too Drunk To Die only gives them another reason why.

Let me tell you about them Gehennah boys. They’re good, they’re real good. They have me bouncing around in my apartment at three in the morning, wishing my hair was as long as it was in my beautiful prime, and that’s only on the second track “Life Metal Must Die.” What is Life Metal? Life Metal is metal for posers, so do not listen to it, or Gehennah will find you and beat you up with inverted crosses. You want the opposite of Life Metal, which is the kind of black n roll blasphemy suited for that one metal guy who got stabbed fighting off the KKK at a Trump rally in Anaheim, CA. Lowlifes, possibly with drug problems, and if nothing else poor and filthy misanthropes, are the type of squads that hang out at this band’s shows. Expect the music to sound like it caters to those types of righteous squads that haven’t really developed past the first stages of punk rock.

From front to back, back to front, their iron fist cocktail is a metal elitist’s bad ass wet dream. Even the introduction is titled “Still Elite,” which is pretty blatantly rock & roll on the message, that they’re basically the best of the best, and you don’t want to step to this because Gehennah will destroy your life. Okay, the track “Gehennah Will Destroy Your Life” comes in at track five, and it’s a rager. Circle pits are going to open for this one. Are you a speed metal punk, or are you a nancy boy? Get in there, and show your love for metal!

Let me tell you, if you don’t already have a bullet belt, buy one for this album. In fact buy two, for the two decades that everyone has waited for this album to drop. Thirteen tracks aren’t enough, but lucky for you, you’re going to buy this and play it over and over again until your ears bleed M60 full nickel rounds.

I had a lot of fun writing this review, because I was able to listen to the album. You may not have the chance to write about how cool this album is, but you will have the chance to listen to Too Loud To Live, Too Drunk To Die, which came out on February 12th. You should do that.

I’m glad that Gehennah didn’t come back the same way that Celtic Frost did. That would have really sucked. Stay thirsty my friends. Drink bad beer and listen to real metal.

Album Review: Davie Allan & Joel Grind Split EP

Davie Allan & Joel Grind
Split
(Relapse)

The new Davie Allan & Joel Grind split is a really different take from what you might expect if you’ve only ever heard Joel’s music in Toxic Holocaust. Not only is this album not anything like the toxic speed metal of Joel’s band, but it’s more around the lines of what would happen if the Beach Boys were to walk into a punk bar in Richmond or Oakland, and what would happen if?

The split has a really different style from all the other noise out there, but it feels authentic as fuck if you know what I mean. When you add Joel Grind into the equation, it feels like walking into a surf punk horror show. The speed and acid fuzz you may be familiar with if you’re accustomed to Toxic Holocaust is certainly there. I think the split has a lot of potential to be one of those fine novelties that you and a few of your friends have the privilege of really enjoying while listening to it. It definitely won’t surpass anything else that Joel has done, but it should be considered a fine addition to his lengthy and awesome career.

One thing I liked about this album is that it’s entirely an instrumental. On both sides of the split, they play only the cool shit, and there are no vocals to distract from the awesome atmosphere of old school surfer music.

I didn’t really know who Davie Allan was coming into this split. He is certainly not overshadowed by Joel on either one of his two tracks. “Buzz Saw Effect” is a track as cool as its name, and “Recycled Too” delivers the same fun beach fuzz rock you’ll enjoy throughout the short split. If you go into this not knowing who Davie Allan is, you will probably feel just as inspired as I was to go out there and listen to his music, which is on Spotify as well. As it turns out he’s a ‘60s movie soundtrack cult legend, so there’s certainly a lot of material out there with his name on it.

The split is available on bandcamp here.

Album Review: Destroyer 666 - Wildfire

 

Deströyer 666
Wildfire
(Season of Mist)
Check 'em out!

This old dog has not grown tired or weak. Deströyer 666 is still fucking cool. Wildfire presents the krieg machine of K.K. Warslut at its finest. It’s been nearly seven years since Defiance came out. That was a different band entirely. K.K. hasn’t been twiddling his thumbs, and he hasn’t lost his sense of direction as blackened thrash’s unsung Australian. He’s come back and delivers with a pounder on every track. If you are familiar with the music of Deströyer 666, then you know that the signature sound is a really visceral style of metal that has its own distinct brand to it. It’s really from the gutter and hell. On top of their mastery of mean aesthetic, K.K. Warslut also writes some incredibly good songs, and has a very fine talent for creating a really dark and exciting mood.

Although Deströyer 666 are characteristic for fast, fast, fast music for the catacombs, the band has also churned out really mellow brooding numbers that guarantee a few hairs will stand up. That’s extreme metal at its finest. Where can these hessians go wrong?

With tracks like “White Line Fever,” you get the sense that K.K. is still living fast, and proud of his lifestyle as a midnight marauder. The wolf hessians hit the street night after night living for the hunt.
“Die You Fucking Pig” is the anti-religious rhetoric that fuels it all. Fucking hypocrites and righteous bastards – leave the hall.

Perhaps my favorite track on the album is the foreboding conclusion. “Tamam Shud” spends most of its time building up to an epic finale that carries the listener away with a desperate cry to escape from this mortal coil. As the song says, ‘there’s nothing left that I can say, please take me away.’ The name of the song itself means ‘finished’ in Persian. Although I don’t think this is an allusion to the end of K.K. Warslut, if it were I wouldn’t blame him. After all, how could one live in a world gone so far down the shitter? Only with metal albums like this.

Album Review: Tombs - All Empires Fall EP

Tombs - All Empires Fall EP
(Relapse Records)
Check 'em out

Tombs have gathered quite the reputation since they burst onto the scene back in 2007. Known for combining their bleak Brooklyn aesthetic with the entrails of sludge and the manic aggression of black metal, Tombs are a unique band in a sea of genres that are becoming increasingly bland and irrelevant.

The band picked up a lot of momentum leading up to their critically praised Path of Totality in 2011, which won several awards including album of the year over at Decibel. I remember rocking that album quite a bit that fall, and praising it highly on the metal review forums that I often frequented. I was not too surprised with their follow up Savage Gold, which basically repeated their same pattern of kicking ass and staying true to an aesthetic of gloom with a touch of artsy ambition. It goes without saying that the new EP All Empires Fall is basically right in the same vein.

Clocking in at 24 minutes, All Empires Fall gives you just enough Tombs to hold you over with some depressing downtrodden symphonies for the damned and doomed of our time. I’m not ready to hold it up to the opus that was Path of Totality, but I think it fits snugly next to their 2014 release. Give it some time, and the EP will probably drag you down as well.

 

Album Review: Rotten Sound - Abuse To Suffer

 

Rotten Sound - Abuse To Suffer
(Season of Mist)

Check 'em out!

A few weeks ago a friend of mine introduced me to a band from Finland called Rotten Sound. I liked their name, and I like bands from Finland, so I was already stoked to hear them before she even sent me a link to Exit. While I tediously slaved away on an assignment for the click bait agency we both worked for, the sounds of Finland’s grindcore phenomena brought a furious surge of beats and counter cultural degeneracy into my life. It was good. It was real good. I wish I could have made a living by telling people to share this motherfucking album, and “you won’t believe what they’re going to release next!”

Well, Abuse To Suffer is certainly one album I would like to take with me into what seems to be an inevitable Trump Presidency. I mean listen to this stuff. It’s the kind of music that makes me want to throw a Molotov cocktail into someone’s face. Nevermind that you don’t need to hit someone with a Molotov cocktail in order to hurt them with it. That’s beside the point. Will you pay good money to see Donald Trump hit with a Molotov cocktail? Would you even pay with your life? That’s a YouTube video I could picture with Rotten Sound’s “Yellow Pain” playing on a continuous loop. You can just picture his orange face going up in flames while this grindcore group from Finland is playing their new album in the background.

How could I compare the latest release of Finland’s premiere modern grindcore band to anything else? I mean it’s just what you would expect from bare bones in your face extreme music. These guys are taking misanthropy to another level. It feels like a tank in the streets, and a Patrick Bateman in the sheets.

Abuse To Suffer reminds me of that one time eleven years ago when I saw Extreme Noise Terror at the Elks in Cambridge in front of a packed audience of crust punks and metal heads. We were steaming in mid July heat and humidity, I was young and dumb, but I felt alive and free. I’m not typically engaged with grindcore and metal of this magnitude, but I think that this band are giving me new incentive. The band has been around since 1993, but I think they’re going to be keeping it real for a long time to come, and I’m stoked to be a new fan.

Album Review: Embalmer - Emanations from The Crypt

Embalmer - Emanations from The Crypt

(Hells Headbangers)
Check it out!

Embalmer have done it again. What was sealed in the tomb for a decade has risen again to manifest itself as the extreme and diabolically delightful second full length Emanations from The Crypt. Oh, this is good.

Their first full length 13 Faces of Death was considered by many fans of the band’s early ‘90s extreme EP to be a disappointed, and even the band themselves were disappointed with the 2006 release. What Emanations from The Crypt has that 13 Faces lacks is a superb focus on song writing and nailing that essential groove that carries through each song.

Personally I thought their 2006 release was decent, but I did not feel it had the same energy that Emanations has, and that could also be because their new album is just better mixed and recorded. The sound is a lot clearer, and I don’t feel like I am listening to some old demo tape I found in a Savers bin. With the quality in sound, the mood of Embalmer really comes alive, and I think that is a very important part of Embalmer’s music. There is just something really sinister and vile in the new album that kind of felt absent in their last release, which is also absent in a lot of death metal bands.
Having said that, Emanations from The Crypt also follows a really simple formula. It’s just really straight forward brutal stuff, done properly, and genuinely.

I would totally recommend this album if you plan on killing someone, although I cannot confirm or deny that I recommend you kill anyone.