Serocs – Vore (Brutal Technical Death Metal)

Serocs was a band that many got to know in 2018 with their fourth full-length album The Phobos/Deimos Suite. The album crushed all competition in the genre and I myself had it high up on my yearly list and got the “brutal death metal album of the year” award. With that being said I was obviously stoked for their upcoming EP Vore. The album consists of seven tracks, where the two last tracks “Nihilus” and “Anthropic” are from a 2011 demo (“Nihilus” was featured in a new version on The Phobos/Deimos Suite, while the new “Anthropic” is the opener for Vore). So for an EP this is actually pretty sweet, close to a full-length I would say seeing the running time is over 26 minutes. The line-up has stayed mostly the same, with the big difference being that Phil Tougas (Chthe’ilist, First Fragment and Funebrarum) is not a full member any more like he was on The Phobos, but instead has helped as a session member with sick guitar solos on track two and additional songwriting on track one and five so he has been apart of almost half the album.

It starts of just like I’d hoped on the opener “Anthropic”, with some fast and heavy music that got killer technical riffs which they set the bar really high for on their last full-length. Gotta love those bass solos too! Need more of that in metal overall in my opinion. Following it up “Building A Shrine Upon Vanishing Sands” comes on, the single I quickly fell in love with and made me pre-order the album. This is also were Phil Tougas comes in with wicked solos. This is Serocs at its peak and it’s one of the best songs that will be released this year. If you don’t just go ape-shit over that solo half-way into the song then I don’t know if you even like guitars! It’s close to a perfect track in this style. After a short breather with the instrumental tune “Shallow Vaults” it’s time for another previously released single in “The Temple of Knowledge”. The track is a bit slower paced than the first two were but still packs a punch that will sucker punch you if you’re not ready for it. “To Self Devour” has some nice hooks to it but that song doesn’t really connect with me at first. I feel they might have strayed away from their sound a bit too much on the start of that song until it, around 1/3 in, ramps up where I then feel at home again and it ends on a high note. Then we have the two demo tracks. I could have lived without them in all honesty but at the same time it’s actually really fun to hear how two instrumental songs can turn into something quite different on the end results. The blueprints they used did eventually turn into two killer songs after all.

As it usually is with a good EP it’s over way too fast. Vore is another great piece in the Serocs discography and while it didn’t blow me away like The Phobos/Deimos Suite did (which I consider being one of the best brutal death metal albums of the decade) it’s superb musicianship by a very hungry band. Vore has some real highs but it isn’t near the same overall level however it showcase different sides of Serocs that fans can appreciate. I do miss having Phil Tougas on guitar on the whole album that’s for sure, but Serocs is all about quality and do extremely well on their own anyway it has to be said. Serocs is a band everyone should know by now, if you don’t Vore is a great place to start your journey before jumping on their masterpiece The Phobos/Deimos Suite.

Artist: Serocs
Label: Everlasting Spew Records
Release date: June 26th, 2020
Favorite track: Building A Shrine Upon Vanishing Sands
For fans of: Defeated Sanity & Unfathomable Ruination
Score: 4/5 Excellent

Serocs

https://www.facebook.com/serocsband/
https://twitter.com/serocsband
https://serocs.bandcamp.com/

Everlasting Spew Records

https://everlastingspew.com/
https://www.facebook.com/everlastingspew/
https://twitter.com/EverlastingSpew
https://www.instagram.com/everlastingspew/

The Metal Gamer best of 2019

Holy moly what a year! When I started this list a few weeks ago I had over 150 albums written down on albums that I really enjoyed, more than any other year since I started this blog. Which is why I am doing a top 50 this time (and years onwards). Even with a limit on 50 it was bloody hard to cut the list down! That speaks volumes on how good year 2019 has been for metal, in my opinion the best in many years with every genre putting out killer albums. 2019 was a quite wild ride for me personally too as I became a father of a beautiful daughter we’ve named Hilde in December. With that it also means The Metal Gamer will slow down some in productivity for a while, as you might have already noticed. The Metal Gamer Community also got created in 2019 and has reached over 400 members in only a few months. Started doing interviews seem to have been a hit too as most of them got a lot of interaction where I got to interview bands such as Visceral Bleeding, Deranged, Enthroned and The Great Old Ones to name a few. Last but not least the first ever The Metal Gamer fanzine got published digitally (hopefully will manage to do one more this year), which was read by over 200 people within the first 48h! Major thanks for the support metal gamers and I hope to bring you more content for many years to come!

The Metal Gamer best of 2019

1. Finsterforst – Zerfall

One of my favorite bands of all time Moonsorrow hasn’t released an album since 2016 but what does that even matter when Finsterforst release their best album to date and in all honesty one of the best albums in the genre ever! Became a clear album of the year for me, no doubt about it. Released August 2nd via Napalm Records.

2. Wormwood – Nattarvet

Wow what beast this turned out to be! I wasn’t all in on Wormwood before but with Nattarvet they really knocked it out of the park and has released the best black metal album of the year. They even topped it off with a great live performance at Månegarm Open Air in August which solidified my love for this band. Very big surprise to me. Released July 26th via Black Lodge Records.

3. Vale of Pnath – Accursed

Wow what a journey Vale of Pnath has had! They’ve always been of my favorite techdeath bands, much do to their black metal influences, but they really knocked this one out of the park! A perfect five in my book and a crown jewel in their already great, and growing, discography. Released May 17th via Willowtip Records.

4. Equipoise – Demiurgus

The best album I heard first quarter of the year was Demiurgus by Equipoise. They’ve done everything right, it’s technical death metal at its peak and it’s not only good but also fun! I mean who just adds in a acoustic flamenco track for the sake of it? Equipoise does and it pays off! The first 5/5 of the year went to Demiurgus. Released March 8th via The Artisan Era.

5. The Great Old Ones – Cosmicism

The Great Old Ones are back with yet another stunning Lovecraftian atmospheric black metal album. They seem to be able to do no wrong and the band has only strengthen what is already a very strong discography. Grown on me throughout the year to eventually land in the top 5! Released October 22nd via Season of Mist.

1. Finsterforst – Zerfall
2. Wormwood – Nattarvet
3. Vale of Pnath – Accursed
4. Equipoise – Demiurgus
5. The Great Old Ones – Cosmicism
6. Unfathomable Ruination – Enraged and Unbound
7. Warforged – I: Voice
8. In Mourning – Garden of Storms
9. Misþyrming – Algleymi
10. Shadow of Intent – Melancholy
11. Insomnium – Heart Like a Grave
12. A Wake in Providence – The Blvck Sun || The Blood Moon
13. Mgła – Age of Excuse
14. AngelMaker – AngelMaker
15. Vukari – Aevum
16. Saor – Forgotten Paths
17. Månegarm – Fornaldarsagor
18. Organectomy – Existential Disconnect
19. Panzerfaust – The Suns of Perdition I: War, Horrid War
20. Sempiternal Dusk – Cenotaph of Defectuous Creation
21. Tomb Mold – Planetary Clairvoyance
22. Enterprise Earth – Luciferous
23. Numenorean – Adore
24. Rendered Helpless – Suffer, Seraphim
25. Nile – Vile Nilotic Rites
26. Sinmara – Hvísl Stjarnanna
27. Sargeist – Death Veneration
28. Necronomicon – Unus
29. Eternal Storm – Come the Tide
30. Sentient Horror – Morbid Realms
31. Ragnarok – Non Debellicata
32. Misery Index – Rituals of Power
33. Truth Corroded – Bloodlands
34. Thy Art is Murder – Human Target
35. Wretched Fate – Fleshletting
36. Schammasch – Hearts of No Light
37. Malist – In the Catacombs of Time
38. Netherbird – Into the Vast Uncharted
39. Devourment – Obscene Majesty
40. Murdryck – Födelsen
41. Ereb Altor – Järtecken
42. Shadecrown – Riven
43. Blood Red Throne – Fit to Kill
44. Gods Forsaken – Smells of Death
45. Disentomb – The Decaying Light
46. Blood Incantation – Hidden History of the Human Race
47. Cattle Decapitation – Death Atlas
48. Amon Amarth – Berserker
49. Abigail Williams – Walk Beyond the Dark
50. Hammerfall – Dominion

Album of the year:
Finsterforst – Zerfall
Deathcore album of the year:
Shadow of Intent – Melancholy
Technical death metal album of the year:
Vale of Pnath – Accursed
Death metal album of the year:
Insomnium – Heart Like a Grave
Brutal death metal album of the year:
Unfathomable Ruination – Enraged and Unbound
Atmospheric black metal album of the year:
The Great Old Ones – Cosmicism
Black metal album of the year:
Wormwood – Nattarvet
Folk metal album of the year:
Finsterforst – Zerfall
Debut full-length album of the year:
Equipoise – Demiurgus
Song of the year:
Finsterforst – Ecce Homo
Best concert I went to in 2019:
Svartidauði, Sinmara and Grand Harvest (Plan B, Malmö, September 27th)
Biggest disappointment:
Carnifex – World War X
Most anticipated album of 2020:
Beneath the Massacre – Fearmonger

The Metal Gamer Community Best of 2019

1. Tomb Mold – Planetary Clairvoyance
2. Wormwood – Nattarvet
3. Mgła – Age of Excuse
4. Blood Incantation – Hidden History of the Human Race
5. Equipoise – Demiurgus
6. In Mourning – Garden of Storms
7. Månegarm – Fornaldarsagor
8. Saor – Forgotten Paths
9. Killswitch Engage – Atonement
10. Possessed – Revelations of Oblivion

Albums of the month: November

The year is soon over and with that we only got one last albums of the month article to go after this one and of course the album of the year list. The competition is fierce yet another month with heavy weights such as Nile, Ragnarok, Cattle Decapitation and Despised Icon releasing killer albums. However they got bands like Iapetus, Sentient Horror, Avslut, Immanifest and Unfathomable Ruination breathing down their necks. We’ve been blessed with a very good year for metal, with the album of the year list going to be really hard to finalize but that’s a good problem…. Don’t forget to give the bands a like and check out the labels too. The Spotify playlist is updated with music from November so get following, discover all the best new extreme metal music! New for this month is that The Metal Gamer Community has also been voting for the best albums in November and the poll has been running for a week. At the end of this segment you can see who got voted into the top 5. Don’t forget to join the growing community which is now close to 300 metal gamers! Thanks for your support!

Album of the month:

Unfathomable Ruination – Enraged and Unbound

What can I say when a band release the best brutal death metal album since Defeated Sanity put out Passages into Deformity in 2013 then I’m totally spellbound. Any fan of the heavy meaty sounds will love this. You can read the review here.

Unfathomable Ruination – Enraged and Unbound was released November 22nd via Willowtip Records.

Runners-up:

Nile – Vile Nilotic Rites

Nile is definitely a band I consider one of the best ever created for extreme metal. Their discography is vast and full of groundbreaking music. Vile Nilotic Rites is a great follow-up to What Should Not Be Unearthed and possibly their best album since Annihilation of the Wicked. Pure gold.

Nile – Vile Nilotic Rites was released November 1st via Nuclear Blast.

Ragnarok – Non Debellicata

I know there are a few doubters out there when it comes to Ragnarok since Jontho switched his drumkit to a microphone. I for one see it as a new era and I still have a lot of love for a band who I see being in my personal “the great four” of Norwegian black metal (along with Tsjuder, Emperor and Immortal). Non Debellicata is an album I spin regularly, its fury and speed might be something some see as one-sided but I see it as hellfire fuel that gets me up in the mornings.

Ragnarok – Non Debellicata was released November 15th via Agonia Records.

Schammasch – Hearts of No Light

I enjoy myself some Schammasch but I honestly didn’t think they would release one of the best black metal albums of the year and what possibly might be their crown jewel when they look back at their career. Hearts of No Light blew me away on the very first spin and it’s a big positive surprise.

Schammasch – Hearts of No Light was released November 8th via Prosthetic Records.

Sentient Horror – Morbid Realms

Sentient Horror is a very young band but they prove they are here to stay with yet another killer death metal album heavy influences in the Swedish school. Morbid Realms is one of my most listened albums during November with catchy hooks that will grab a hold of you, never to let go. A rather complete swe-death experience for modern times. You can read the review here.

Sentient Horror – Morbid Realms was released November 29th via Testimony Records (Europe) & Redefining Darkness Records (North America).

More great albums of November:

Abigail Williams – Walk Beyond the Dark
Cattle Decapitation – Death Atlas
Iapetus – The Body Cosmic
Paganizer – The Tower of the Morbid
Blood Incantation – Hidden History of the Human Race
Mara – RÖK
Immanifest – Macrobial
Krater – Venenare
Mesmur – Terrene
Midnight Odyssey – Biolume Part 1 – In Tartarean Chains
Sarke – Gastwerso
Aeons Abyss – Impenitent
Blind Guardian – Twilight Orchestra: Legacy of the Dark Lands
Second To Sun – Legacy
Esoteric – A Pyrrhic Existence
Cannabis Corpse – Nug So Vile
Kaamos Warriors – Shadows of Northern Chaos
Obscure – Darkness Must Prevail
Ganondorf – Ancient Ruins
Guru of Darkness – Ararat
Nordic Frost – Ov Blasphemy and Other Rites
Depressed – Into the Putrid Fiction
Ashen Crown – Obsolescence
Mourned – Devoured Humanity
The Drowning – The Radiant Dark
Third Chamber – Harvesting Our Decay
Despised Icon – Purgatory
Cryptic Brood – Outcome Of Obnoxious Science
Bednja – Doline Su Ostale Iza Nas
Zarraza – Rotten Remains
Crusadist – The Unholy Grail
Nerbrus – Dark Forces Reign
Obsequiae – The Palms of Sorrowed Kings
Celtefog – Outlands
Avslut – Tyranni
Hideous Divinity- Simulacrum

The Metal Gamer Community albums of the month: November

Album of the month:

Cattle Decapitation – Death Atlas

Cattle Decapitation took the first place in style and there was no doubt who The Metal Gamer Community saw as their favorite of the month. Personally I’ve never really fallen in love with their sound which is why you don’t see it in my top 5 but I can’t deny their impact on the scene and that they got no fear of doing their own thing.

Cattle Decapitation – Death Atlas was released November 29th via Metal Blade Records.

Runners-up:

2/3. Unfathomable Ruination – Enraged and Unbound & Nile – Vile Nilotic Rites

A two-way tie with Nile and Unfathomable Ruination proving to be high on everyones lists just like mine. Brutality prevails!

4. Abigail Williams – Walk Beyond the Dark

This was an album that went in and out of my top 5 all month. Prior Walk Beyond the Dark I wasn’t that big of a Abigail Williams fan but this is by far their best release yet and absolute killer. Who knows, given time, it might be higher up my end of the year list than some of the albums that were above it this month.

Abigail Williams – Walk Beyond the Dark was released November 15th via Blood Music.

5. Schammasch – Hearts of No Light / Ragnarok – Non Debellicata / Avslut – Tyranni / Obsequiae – The Palms of Sorrowed Kings

Here there was a bundle of bands with two of them finding their way into my top 5 as well. Other than that I can say that Obsequiae were actually recommended to me by a member of The Metal Gamer Community and it’s one of the best atmospheric black metal albums of the year. Avslut I know has a lot of fans, especially in Sweden, but again it’s a band that I’ve never really connected to and I even personally think their full-length debut from last year was slightly better.

Avslut – Tyranni was released November 29th via Osmose Productions.
Obsequiae – The Palms of Sorrowed Kings was released November 22nd via 20 Buck Spin.

The Metal Gamer songs of the month playlist

Unfathomable Ruination – Enraged and Unbound (Brutal Death Metal)

I don’t know about you but England’s Unfathomable Ruination has quickly become my favorite brutal death metal band this past decade after having had Cryptopsy, Dying Fetus and Defeated Sanity as my trio to go to for many many years when kicking back with some heavy music for the gym sessions, getting those extra gains. Already on their debut Misshapen Congenital Entropy in 2012 you knew something special was at work here, they then released Finitude and with that release one of the best brutal death metal albums of this decade. You didn’t think they could top that, but here we are and Enraged and Unbound is upon us. Buckle up because Unfathomable Ruination is coming in hard!

Wasting no time Enraged and Unbound starts just like you would thought an album with that title would do, pedal to the metal and enraged like a motherfucker with “An Obsidian Perception”. Nothing is left to chance here, production value has always been one of the things that I think Unfathomable Ruination almost perfected for the genre with Finitude and of course this album is just as crisp, making each element pop like it should at the right times. The vocalist, and gamer, Ben Wright pulls of his most varied performance yet and does it incredibly well (check out “Occulta Violentiam” as an perfect example of this). The title-track and later on “Codebreaker” gives you no room to breath as the sledgehammer keeps on bashing your brain in with mighty riffs, thundering drums that Odin himself would love and Ben’s sick vocals. “Defy the Architect” might start of a bit slow but it’s all a ruse as it gives you breakdowns and heavy hitting music that will make you want to mosh with your dogs at home straight away. Hell they even try an Cattle Decapitation approach on “A Prophetic Compulsion”, with elements of Suffocation and Morbid Angel on “Maniacal Disillusion” and does so with ease. This is one of those albums where every single song can be put into the favorite song section. Usually that’s because a band does an album where a lot of the songs sound the same but here it’s due to Unfathomable Ruination give life and identity to each and every one of the tracks, there simply isn’t a bad song here and every one could be put into singles. There is something for everyone of the brutal school here and I’m sure if I asked five people what their favorite track was I would get five different answers. That speaks volume on what they’ve created here.

Enraged and Unbound is a new step for Unfathomable Ruination that shows a band that’s not scared to try out some new things, be it vocals or instrumentals they are really pushing themselves here. If Finitude was the perfect album for how to make old school brutal death metal fresh then Enraged and Unbound is the perfect album for how brutal death metal can evolve into a new monster. There is nothing holding this album back at all. I can go as far as to say this is the None So Vile album of modern times and the best brutal death metal album I’ve heard since Defeated Sanity’s Passages into Deformity in 2013. This is how brutal death metal is made 2019, you try to break the boundaries with every single note to production and artwork being nothing but the best of quality. A pure gem for the genre that will blow you away and you will see this in the single digits on my album of the year article, that I can assure you.

Written by J.B.

Artist: Unfathomable Ruination
Label: Willowtip Records
For fans of: Defeated Sanity and Abysmal Torment
Release date: November 22nd, 2019
Favorite song: An Obsidian Perception
Score: 5/5 Masterpiece

Interview: Unfathomable Ruination

It’s been close to three years now since the modern brutal techdeath classic Finitude from Unfathomable Ruination saw the light of day. It was time to check in with vocalist and fellow gamer Ben Wright for a talk!

I want to start by asking some of your metal history. How did you get into metal and what made you start doing vocals? Any specific band/vocalist that got you into it?

I first saw a band on TV that looked pretty crazy, there was 8 dudes jumping around bashing shit with masks on so I checked them out, bought a CD and was hooked. It was the vocals that got me first, after that I just kept discovering heavier and heavier bands, I then found a CD in a store with some skulls on it and thought that looked pretty rad and it turned out to be hammer smashed face, that blew my fucking mind and since then I knew I wanted to be in a band, Chris Barnes and John Gallagher were my main inspiration to start vocals, I tried my best to emulate them as a kid.

You were a part of the band Fleshrot for many years until the split-up. I noticed a couple of the members, including you, are current or ex-members of Unfathomable Ruination. Was that how you got into the band?

Me and Dan go way back, he played in some local bands that played with Fleshrot at times and we got speaking through that, he ended up being our guitarist for a short while and we stayed in touch, he randomly sent me a message one day asking if I wanted to jam with UR and the rest is history! To this day he regrets sending me that text! Haha!

Unfathomable Ruination has risen very fast in the ranks of death metal with every release receiving amazing reviews. How has this affected you as a band?

I’m not sure it has, really? Were still a bunch of drunk retards who like making loud noises together! I’d say if it was to have any affect I guess it has made us more and more hungry each time to up the anti, keep on progressing and writing heavier, more technical, and powerful music.

Finitude is in my personal opinion one of the best brutal techdeath albums made in years, how will you top that on your next release. What can we expect from it?

Thanks man! I was really proud of all of us for that album, I’m not sure how we’re going to top it!? We have for sure set the bar high for ourselves! It’s been a really organic process writing for the new album, the material we are churning out is ridiculous! I’m pretty sure you guys are gonna dig it.

How far in development of the upcoming album are you? Can we hope for a 2019 release?

We recently announced the artist who is creating the cover art, Eliran Kantor. The album is in full swing, many cogs are turning! You’ll have to stay tuned for further updates but I can say we are expecting a 2019 release, yes.

You recently went on tour with Aborted, Cryptopsy and Ingested. How was it?

Insane. The shows were packed and it was great to tour the UK again as we hadn’t done that since the Malignancy tour a few years back, Ingested are old friends of ours so it’s always a pleasure hanging with those guys, it was amazing to watch Aborted, they really are a spectacle live, the stage show, the tightness, the props, it was awesome! The Cryptopsy guys were top blokes and great fun to party with.

Do you have any tours planned for 2019?

There a couple of ideas being thrown around at the moment, nothing set in stone currently. We are focussing most of our efforts on the album. We do have a few shows in and around Europe throughout the year, Brutal Assault & Kaltenbach etc.

As I know you like to hit the gym, what bands do you usually spin to get you doing that extra rep? Any special album even?

For me, anything with a good groove/rythm. I find that super techy or fast stuff kicks me out of sync! My last session I was spinning “Suffokate – return to despair” its got a perfect pace to it! And the new Whitechapel track, Brimstone gets me PUUUMPED!!

As a fellow gamer, what’s your favorite game of all time?

Wow that’s a ridiculously hard question!! I’d have to say if I was forced to choose, for its nostalgic value, and the fact it’s on my favourite console and my favourite movie series, Star Wars – Rogue Squadron on the N64. I’ll never forget the pure excitement as a kid flying an X wing around destroying tie fighters!!

Cheers for your time Ben! Any parting words?

No worries bro! Stay tuned for the new album, its going to be immense!! Add me up on Steam if ya wanna get owned on PUBG! Benrot138

Organectomy – Domain of the Wretched (Brutal Death Metal)

New Zealand, a country that not only has beautiful scenery and was where my favorite movies were filmed Lord of the Rings but it’s also the home of Organectomy. The band was totally unknown to me until one day I got a single called “Beckoning the Horrors of the Depths” and since then I was hyped for their debut Domain of the Wretched. I am perfectly aware though that a good single and a good album are two completely different things so where does this leave Organectomy?

Well hell this is one sweet domain they got there. From the get-go this is kickass brutal death metal that’s everything I hoped it would be. This is the music your mother has warned you about and it reeks of filthy death metal gore. It’s heavy as hell and once the album got its claws in you it never let go. Domain of the Wretched honestly got it all going from what I want in a brutal death metal album. There are the breakdowns, got a lot of technical aspects, insane gutterals, some slam in there and heck even a couple classic filthy old school death metal riffs here and there too (like on Beckoning the Horrors of the Depths). It’s a complete package. For me this is a mix of Disentomb, Analepsy and Bloodbath getting mixed in a blender to produce this retched filth, and it’s glorious. Actually it’s not just those band getting put in a blender, so is your brain as this will leave it in a muss from all the brutality. It may not be as heavy as Pathology, it may not be as technial as Defeated Sanity or whatever but they use all the elements I enjoy and perfected the mix with just the right amount of each part.

It’s been some time now since I had so much fun with a brutal death metal album. Domain of the Wretched does just about everything right on their debut and I am glad it wasn’t just the single I heard before being good, it’s the whole album. Anything from Sanctum of Deceit, Carnal Bloodlust to the epic, closing in on eight minute long, instrumental track Cascading into Despair (how many BDM songs you heard being that long before?) with an acoustic intro are of high quality. The best brutal death metal album I’ve heard all year which uses all the tools available.

Label: Unique Leader Records
For fans of: Disentomb and Rendered Helpless
Release date: April 6th, 2018
Favorite song: Beckoning the Horrors of the Depths
Score: 4/5

Logic of Denial – Aftermath (Brutal Death Metal)

Italy, not just a beautiful country but starting to become my go to country for great quality metal releases. 2017 has been a great year overall for metal but for Italy it’s been insane. I’ve mentioned it quite a few times already but wow are bands from that region pulling all the stops this year. Logic of Denial hails from, yes you guessed it, Italy! The band started off as Collapse in 2003, eventually changed name to Logic of Denial in 2006 and got two full-length albums behind their name prior this release. This is my first time with the band but from what I see it seems they’ve evolved nicely, having somewhat average reviews on their debut but on the sophomore and especially on Aftermath getting really good reviews.

I have to say the reviews I’ve seen are completely justified. Aftermath is a fine piece of work that sets the bar high for what Logic of Denial can produce. Just as Unfathomable Ruination was a smashing hit last year with one of the best brutal death metal albums which saw the band take new heights I see Logic of Denial doing the same this year. This is 43 minutes of an unrelenting force you do not want to stand against. Go with it instead, give into the beatdowns, the crushing waves of drums coming at you, the tight guitarplay and gutturals. Tracks like Larvae of Eden are leaving even the mighty Dying Fetus wondering what hit them and here I am wondering how I could not have heard of this album sooner? Everything I want from a brutal death metal release is in Aftermath. Having had a rough week at work this album has been going at least once a day and I’ve loved every second of it.

Aftermath is one of those albums that makes me want to dig into the bands discography and listen to how they have evolved into this sweet sound of death. A splendid release from Logic of Denial and definitely a contender for the best brutal death metal album this year.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LogicOfDenialBand
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/LogicOfDenial
Label: Comatose Music
For fans of: Unfathomable Ruination and Septycal Gorge
Favorite song: Larvae of Eden
Score: 4/5

Decimated Humans – Dismantling the Decomposed Entities (Technical Brutal Death Metal)

Starting with the sound of a brutal death by some alien, apparently a sample from a video game, it lays the grounds for what is to come, and it is brutal torture by aliens! I got to know of Decimated Humans as I got some recommendations that they got some kind of progressive mix with their brutal death going on, just like Swine Overlord who hit me like a bulldozer the other day. Difference between the two bands though is this is more towards slam and less progressive but more techdeath. Good, technical and brutal nevertheless, just not as progressive as I had in my mind when I first heard of them.

Decimated Humans is an international two-piece band and Dismantling the Decomposed Entities is the sophomore release from the well received To Provoke Genocide, which came out two in 2014. I really like their technical take on brutal death and even though their sound have a lot in common with slam overlords Vulvodynia or Ingested they mix it up with some brutal tech Unfathomable Ruination vibes. Speaking of Vulvodynia and Ingested there are guest vocals on the album from Vulvodynia, Ingested, Goemagot and Disfigurement of Flesh. Some heavy hitters in the genre.

I am still in awe with how many good brutal death metal bands there are out there that I’ve never heard about. As much love Unfathomable Ruination and Vulvodynia releases got during 2016 Decimated Humans should be within those same talks, because this is bloody awesome. If you’re a fan of brutal or slam death metal and want it on the technical side then this is an album for you.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DecimatedHumans
For fans of: Vulvodynia and Unfathomable Ruination
Favorite song: Consumed By Cadirus

Slaughter to Prevail – Chapters of Misery (Deathcore)

Slaughter to Prevail has got a lot of hype surrounding the band. A lot of it due to Alex Shikolai’s (aka Alex Terrible) cover videos. Safe to say he is a great vocalist with a very wide range of growling who seems to be able to do it all, some might even say he does a lot of stuff better than “his peers”.

After listening to this album I just want more of the brutal manslaughter that Chapters of Misery brings. Sure it’s an EP and in a way only shows what is to come when Slaughter to Prevail release a full-length album. Which I am stoked about and hope they will release one soon rather than later.

This is brutal. This is the definition of a good deathcore album, or well EP in this case. 26 minutes of brutal high-speed madness you do not want to miss.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/slaughtertoprevailrus
For fans of: Oceano and Thy Art is Murder
Favorite song: As The Vultures Circles
Slaughter To Prevail – As The Vultures Circle

Unfathomable Ruination – Finitude (Technical Brutal Death Metal)

Englands Unfathomable Ruination second full-length Finitude is packed with technical brutal death metal. Ben Wright’s growling is perfect to set the tone of the armageddon and destruction theme they got going on. I could easily see him as one of four apocalyptic riders wrecking havok. The chaotic, yet groovy, sound is sweet music to my ears and Ben Wright’s fellow riders of the armageddon Rosario Piazza, Daniel Herrera, Doug Anderson and Federico Benini have together made Finitude an album every fan of extreme metal would kill to get their hands on.

Finitude keeps being on that thin line between total chaos and technical melodic calm and they manage to pull it off so well that you can’t help yourself to headbang while listening. This is just great extreme metal music that you need in your life.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Unfathomable.Ruination.Official
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Unfathomable_R
For fans of: Defeated Sanity and Abnormality
Favorite song: Abdication of Servitude