2007 Superlatives

As the end of 2007 rolls in, Nick and I were thinking of how we'd categorize some of the most famous and shame-ous albums of 2007...so we decided to go with the perfect way. Behold, the high school superlatives of slamming brutal death metal in 2007!

Best Debut Full-Length:

Down From The Wound - Agony Through Rituals Of Self Purification
Bow down to the new true masters of slam, your friendly neighborhood (OK, maybe not so much...fuckin' Filipino!) brutalites Down From The Wound. Their debut is chock full of chunky Devourment-isms and an equal amount of side-blasting, technical-shifting Suffocation references. As if that isn't enough, you get a couple vocal solos, some breakdowns that will literally make you want to pound your head into the nearest large solid object, and some truly excellent drumming courtesy of god-among-men Randyl (who we previously interviewed).

Best Debut EP/Demo:

MP5K - Deranged Stockholm Syndrome EP
What to say about the true inheritors of Swede-slam? If you can't beat 'em, join 'em is how the old proverb goes, and these young upstarts show that there's no better time to do just that than the present. Featuring ex-Soils Of Fate drummer and basically a thicker sounding version of SOF's basic template, these Scandinavian motherfuckers assault you with 5 tracks of insanely groovy, catchy, and brutal death metal! I think their debut might just kill a few people.

Heaviest Album:

Infernal Revulsion - Devastate Under Hallucination
You're gonna have a pretty fucking hard time finding something this heavy, and with such a REASON to be such. Subtly progressive song structures get this Japanese band far in advance of most of their contemporary competition, and the overall gravity of, well, just about EVERY instrument playing here AT ALL TIMES (even the vocals are heavy!) is beyond huge. The production also allows a ton of headroom for this to be the case; excellent and upfront riffs and slams are showcased by a pristine chugging guitar tone which highlights the lows and mids perfectly, while leaving room for a short solo or two to cut in. Speaking of that, check out the slamming instrumental opening track, nothing short of fantastic. More, please!

Catchiest/Grooviest Award:

Human Rejection - Torture Of Decimation
It's actually just the beginning of "Last Abortion Mass" which sells this one...that is seriously an infectious riff. The entire thing is short, to the point, and fucking groovy as hell. There isn't a boring moment on this one, and the band impressed me even more because they're Greek and don't sound like the other Greek slam available; they keep it tight with a Devourment (indeed, Nick noticed that the riff off the song I mentioned above is at least partially stol--er, appropriated--from "Masturbating At The Slab") style, only (as Nick puts it) "bouncier" and not as focused on being super brutal. It actually really works, somehow, and HR come out on top as being one of the more worthwhile Greek entries, right up there with our next winner:

Most Epic:

Inveracity - Extermination Of Millions
When I first put this on, I remember thinking to myself "did I actually just buy the lost Kronos album or something?" This album is chock full of amazingly epic riffing, from the syncopated lead harmonic riffs in "Visions Of Coming Apocalypse" to the improved style of old favorite "Raped." I actually wouldn't really call this slam, except for some places where they accurately throw in a nice chunky breakdown. For the most part, it's full of subtly catchy tremolo riffs with more melody than the standard "tremolo brutal" band Deeds Of Flesh, but not as much as some shitty Gothenburg. That said, this strikes a chord with me for also being one of those sophomore albums that goes way the fuck above and beyond what is to be expected of a band. I wanted more Suffocation worship, but I got something even better; a brutal album with brains and flair.

Most Drastic Change:

Infected Malignity - RE:bel
Er...what the fucksticks? This is definitely not the slamming Japanese guttural band Nick loved and I disliked for the most part. For this album, the band randomly became melodic deathcore and became momentarily (or maybe permanently) American/Canadian-sounding. I have to say, I think I laughed out loud when I first found out about this, but the album (despite being shorter than pretty much every slam album this year, though it's technically an EP I believe) is actually really damn good. Churning death metal with hardcore breakdowns, some acoustics (wah--?!), and a good helping of anger...this is good shit. Though...seriously...what the hell did they do this for? My logic points to money, and I'd believe it if they sounded passionless and stale, but...yeah I don't know. Whatever, I guess.

Best Cover Art:

Putridity - Mental Prolapse Induces Necrophilism
Nick and I picked an underdog for this one, an album he reviewed by an obscure Italian slam band called Putridity. We'd probably pick Extermination Of Millions if we didn't subscribe to the old "an album can only win one award" rule, so we went with this fucked up cover. Zig's trademark macabre style of weird stuff being eaten, impaled, and brutalized in general rings true here, but there's also this disturbing sense of space and depth. Then there's this dude with cysts growing out of his head standing right up front. And fucking...worm things and stuff...what the hell? Awesome!

Biggest Disappointment:

Condemned - Desecrate The Vile
With members of mighty pure-slam band Cephalotripsy, I was really looking forward to this, but felt highly let down. Sure it's heavy, fast, and slammy, but I didn't really see the point. Plus the last track, which I saw was 11 minutes long, was one I falsely expected to actually be 11 minutes of death metal, like Deeds' "The Endurance," but...no such luck. Stupid 9 minute outro...kind of bothered me. Without this it's like 23 minutes long, which is criminally short. I guess this album wouldn't really be disappointing if I didn't think it had potential in the first place, and that's what I'm getting at. Tons of bands are playing this only better...and with the personnel involved, I thought I'd get smacked by something impressive...ah well. No bad blood, though...maybe their follow-up will slay!

Andy's top 10 brutal/slam albums of 2007:
1. Down From The Wound - Agony Through Rituals Of Self Purification
2. Inveracity - Extermination Of Millions
3. Infernal Revulsion - Devastate Under Hallucination
4. Cephalotripsy - Uterovaginal Insertion Of Extirpated Anomalies
5. Ancient Necropsy - Apocalyptic Empire
6. MP5K - Deranged Stockholm Syndrome EP
7. Human Rejection - Torture Of Decimation
8. Malignancy - Inhuman Grotesqueries
9. Cenotaph - Reincarnation In Gorextasy
10. Putridity - Mental Prolapse Induces Necrophilism
w/ honorable mentions to the new Sadistic Mutilation, Defleshuary, Katalepsy, Odious Mortem (if it counts...not sure really), Defloration (same here), and Human Excoriation.

Nick's Top 10 brutal/slam albums of 2007
1. Infernal Revulsion - Devastate Under Hallucination
2. Down From the Wound - Agonies Through Rituals of Self Purification
3. Inveracity - Extermination of Millions
4. Human Rejection - Torture of Decimation
5. Malignancy - Inhuman Grotesqueries
6. Putridity - Mental Prolapse Induced Necrophilism
7. MP5k - Deranged Stockholm Syndrome
8. Cenotaph - Reincarnation in Gorextasty
9. Ancient Necropsy - Apocalyptic Empire
10. Defeated Sanity - Psalms of the Moribund
Honorable Mentions go to Cephalotripsy, Katalepsy, Sadistic Mutilation, Atrocious Abnormality, and Human Excoriation

Disconformity - Depravation of Stigma - 2005 -WD Sounds

Here's a nice little piece of the underground I picked up the other day from a local distro along with Pus Vomit and Down From the Wound's demo. This EP from Japan's Disconformity contains two new tracks and 3 demo tracks totalling out to a little over 17 minutes and comes in a little baby digipack.

Disconformity play a very heavy and very groove oriented slam. The grooves are very catchy and it's easy to draw comparisons to countrymen Vomit Remnants. They stray from the VR similarities with the use of some catchy non-slam riffs. These are well done and are nice change from the usual jun-jun formula. Besides that and a few well placed pinch harmonics it's the Devourmentism we all know and love. The songwriting is well done, especially on the two new tracks and utilizes the talent of the band.

One thing that I really love about this EP is the vocals, as per most Japanese bands they are very good. Again, a Vomit Remnants comparison is apt, along with Mike Majewski era Devourment. Very deep and very guttural which is just to my liking. A definite strong point of the band here. They also throw in a nice shouted/screaming part in Penetrated Unseen Supression which works well.

The production was surpisingly good on this EP, considering it's short length and inclusion of demo tracks. Kudos to the band for keeping the bass presence heavy and utilizing panning well. The only thing that concerns me is that this came out in 2005. When are we going to hear an album? Disconformity definitely have the talent, sound and songwriting skills to pull off something really great.

Defleshuary - Zombie Plague, Rampant Horror - 2007 - Homicide Watch Records

Since we all know Pennsylvanian death metal is so hard to find (Nick and I could really only think of a few other acts, namely Hamilton Fish and Inhuman Dissiliency), these slammers, fronted by the extremely nice and charitable Rick Shirk on guitars/vocals, have come to show the world how brutal PA can be. With this, their debut "professional" outing into the world of metal (they've had previous small distribution EPs and demos before), the dudes in Defleshuary hack and chop through 8 songs in around 22 minutes of chunky, slamming, and sometimes ridiculously catchy brutality.

For instance, in opener "Wax Sarcophagus," you get hit with a really awesome chunky section with Rick's excellent death growl fronting everything. The snare tone is kind of annoying, but all of the other drums sound pretty good. Panned cymbals really add to the depth of the recording, and well timed ride hits like in the beginning section of "Hunger Spirit" really nail what the drummer is going for...flavorful and tasteful brutal drumming that doesn't try to be overzealous, nor does it really sit back and relax. In this sense, I'm drawing comparisons to bands like Vomit The Soul and Goretrade, both of which have excellent drumming that doesn't go to either extreme too often.

Though this is only a combination of their first EP and 2 new tracks, everything blends together really well and I end up not minding at all despite having heard the 6 original songs before a year ago. The production is crisp, tight, and impressively thick for such a small label release. On the new tracks, though, we get to a kind of next-level technical slam assault with early Swedish almost-D-beats and great catchy riffs and slams. Given its short length, this is one of those things I can pretty much throw on any time, similar to Human Rejection's debut album, which I could also compare this to musically given the nice inclusion of semi-unique moments of bizarre technicality, intensely tight musicianship, and over-the-top shades of greatness.

Thanks to Rick and the guys for sending Nick and I not only a copy of this EP, but also for the fucking sick shirts...support these guys, they're attempting a renaissance of East Coast American slam, and I hugely wish that would happen...until next album...

Interview with Ivan of Ancient Necropsy

Brutal and infernal hails to you Ivancient...we hope to learn more about the Colombian scene, your epic style of songwriting, and anything else pertaining to ANCIENT NECROPSY in this interview...
hi bro all right!!

First of all, how do you think ANCIENT NECROPSY has changed since the first recordings ("Demonstration Of Madness And Hate" demo and s/t full-length)?
many things changed.-.. the lyrics concept,,, now is better..

What is in store for your future? Are you staying with Mutilated Records?
no i will not work more!!

You worked with the quality Goregiastic Records on "Deformed King's Mummification". How did the recording process go?
normal.. i recorded and they buying me the recording.. and no more..

How do you construct your songs?
first i created the guitars and later de drums.. the lyrics and it yet!!

As we understand, you're also in the excellent Colombian band SUPPURATION...how is work on a new album going (if it's in the process at all)?
no i play not with them... they are from other city so far away from the mine..
i only work teh guitars of their firt cd.. but no more.. is not my band

Where do you see the Colombian brutality scene heading in the next 5-10 years?
i thing that will be death.-.. no support..
many shows but only 50 peoples

Who are some bands you've played South America with?
i cant remember in 9 years.. i has been play wit a lot of bands.. i cant rembember... a lot..
are many..

What do you think of bands from other parts of the world? Do you listen to any brutal death metal from Asia, Europe, etc.?
sure... have many killer bands... but boored too..

Your epic style of riffs and songwriting are a key defining factor of ANCIENT NECROPSY's music, and these are also found in SUPPURATION's album...how do you do it?!
no suppuration i did .. i composed the guitars on a day..
ancient necropsy i did on a year per album.. is not the same... ancient necropsy is my empire..
the other things that a i made for others is without my soul..


Any plans for a tour of the US or Europe?
no.. plans to go there no.. still not.. and i thing that never couse.. the papers is so hard,,, and ancient necropsy will have a recces of many time i thing,,

Kind of a lame question, but always interesting to read about; what are your influences and why?
many things.. opera, classical music. deed of flesh. cryptosy , kataclism.. and dying fetus.. they are the best for me..


Thank you for taking the time to work with Slam-Minded, America's Most Brutal Blog...anything you'd like to ask us in return?
thanks to you for your time
visit us at
www.myspace.com/ancientnecropsy

Dirt - Promo - 2007

Now, last post we covered the Russian slam scene...but after this happened S-M got a friend request from a band called Dirt from Russia. I took a listen to the first real song on their Myspace and knew I had to review it for them once they asked me to. This is some really professional sounding, tight, and SLUDGY brutal death/goregrind/pornogrind. Sick, sleazy, downtuned slam riffs combined with some odd ambient acoustic(!?!) playing in "200." This only seldom gets above a mid-tempo speed, but it works at the pacing with a kind of Soils Of Fate-on-slow feeling.

Excellent drum programming that makes the band sound kind of like a mid-paced Libido Airbag in "Blackness" pervades all over this disc, with a lot of great catchy beats and fills hitting all the spots you want them to. The vocals are a deep raspy blend of gutturals and Negligent Collateral Collapse-esque pitch shifting with some "ree"s here and there, showing off a nice variety of different vocalizations. In "Fear Abyss" we begin with a nice catchy goregrind riff and go into nicely done blastbeats in a sort of old Lymphatic Phlegm style, so you can tell this will be good for all fans of depraved, perverse, and structurally complex grind.

I can see these guys getting signed with a label such as Bizarre Leprous, and I would totally encourage this as a Dirt tour would totally rule given what I've seen of their live pics. Overall, this is a surprisingly excellent demo in a hybrid style of a lot of brutal types of death metal and related genres. Bits and pieces of this could appeal to goregrinders, black metal kvltists, slammers, and everyone in between. Go forth and mutilate, Dirt!

Russian Slam Scene: A Critical Look

Nick and I recently read a headline that said 'Putin slams foreign nations for backing opposition' and we knew we had to do an article about Russian brutality; even their leader endorses it! Going off this, we now present our first in-depth look at the crazy, busy Russian slamming scene. Onwards!

Katalepsy: Now HERE's a fucking worthwhile band. Totally pro sounding heavy as fuck crushing slam death. Technical and musically competent, but not pretentious or wanky...just pure skull-devouring brutality. Some nice songwriting here with a few good covers on the full-length (they made a Mortician song sound GOOD, and a Megadeth song sound better! Hail to these guys...we await your new album when it arrives.

Cephalic Impurity: I'm sure Ivan, one half of this band's skeletal makeup (band members, folks), will be able to provide a postscript addition to this post (since we initially hired him to do so!), but for now we're just gonna sing the praises of this two-man wrecking machine. Their new ditty, "Surgical Defilement" is a really catchy and memorable sounding attack in the vein of Ingurgitate. The sound is straightforward but undeniably concrete and visceral, with a memorable drum programming approach to boot. I'll also give them huge props for having "no bass" on this song when it clearly sounds heavier than a ton of bricks...crazy!!

As for Nick's thoughts on the scene, he decided to talk about a very little known band:

Promiscuity: This band at first sounded like your typical slam band, but as the music progressed so did my enjoyment of it. Beyond the fairly good slam riffs there are some more melodic, but still very death metal, riffs. Maybe similar to (newer) Inveracity, Goretade and Inherit Disease riffs here and there, possibly a little old school as well. Vocals are pretty sick but also too quiet. Same problem for the drums. If this band can get better mixing and refine their songwriting I think they will definitely do well.

And so we arrive at arguably the most "famous" Russian slam band nowadays...

Abominable Putridity: As far as Devourment worship goes, I think those Texans have met their match here. For pure guttural sickness there is no better to rip off than the almighty, and these dudes realize that. Pure heavy slam grooves combined with very tight playing (even on the fucking demo!) and even a tremolo riff here and there (blasphemy!). We are both really, really, really (seriously) psyched about their upcoming full-length on Lacerated Enemy, so when that drops...there will be something new to praise around here. Something heavy, something...something Russian! All hail the new Czars of slam!

DOWN FROM THE WOUND T-Shirt Now Available!

DFTW's first widely available t-shirt is now purchasable from Sevared Records...I just bought one and I'm fucking psyched...support!!

Ancient Necropsy - Apocalyptic Empire - 2007 - Mutilated Records

What we have here is the latest album by Colombian deathgrind act Ancient Necropsy which consists of only one man, the multi-talented Ivancient a.k.a Ivan Jaramilla, who performs every instrument and does the vocals on this album. Very impressive if you ask me.

If you already like Ancient Necropsy you can stop reading now and go buy the album. It is everything you liked about the band before, but with slightly better production and songwriting. For those who haven't heard the band before continue on.

The riffs here are mainly fast and melodic tremolo riffs. However these are not your sappy Scandinavian melodic riffs, these are more in the epic and obscure variety, somewhat like Deeds of Flesh. These are more interesting and evocative than catchy. You will not confuse these with melodeath riffs in anyway. In my opinion these interesting riffs are what make Ancient Necropsy so good. Besides these riffs you can some typical pinch harmonic and power chord riffs to keep the brutality levels high.

The rest of the instrumentation is pretty good, especially considering that this is all done by one person. The drum sound, with it's loud, pinging snare reminds me of a lot of the other Colombian bands, such as Amputated Genitals or Goretrade. The bass is not a prominent part of this album and the vocals could be a little better, but this is metal, and it's more about the guitar riffs, which as I mentioned earlier are really great.

So if you like Ancient Necropsy, get this, it's everything that made this band great in the past, done slightly better. If you want an interesting and unique album that keeps its heft and brutality, get this as well.

Top Five Vocal Performances

Me and Andy were shooting around some ideas for a post to do while we're waiting for Ivan of Cephalic Impurity to contact us, and I came up with the idea to list my top five favorite brutal death vocal performances. Here they are:

1. Wormed - Planisphaerium: Phlegeton's epic performance here has never, ever been matched in my eyes. His vocals are incredibly diverse, hitting every area of brutal vox and doing them all extremely well. He can go from insanely low croaks to fast gutturals, which perfectly compliments the music. Just amazing.

2. Disgorge - Cranial Impalement: Matti Way is highly respected member of the scene for one reason: he lays down some of the most extremely disgusting, wet, foul and vile vocals ever heard. These will turn the stomach of the non-brutal and put a huge grin on your face. The best part is they are catchy and go with the music too.

3. Devourment - Molesting the Decapitated: Although no longer the main vocalist for the band, Ruben Rosas took over duties for this monumental record. He mainly sticks to being deep and guttural, but busts out some rees for the catchy parts. Not quite as amazing in sound as the first two vocalists, he gets this high for the fabulous vocal patterns found throughout the album. Just check out Self Disembowelment.

4. Suffocation - Effigy of the Forgotten: The album that started brutal death also contains some of its best vocals. Frank Mullen's deep and powerful style would obviously be a huge influence on what was to come and was pretty revolutionary for the time. Combined with that amazing music, they really pound hard.

5. Soils of Fate - Sandstorm: Me and Andy wank over these guys a lot (see first post), but they deserve it. The vocals on here are ridiculously heavy and have a nice gutturalness to them. A friend of ours recently listened to Soils of Fate for the first time the other day and described the vocals as "gorrilla-like". Sounds pretty metal to me.

Human Excoriation - Virulent Infestation - 2007 Crematorium Records

I was originally only going to check this out because it has a cover of Pyaemia's "Sugar Spiced Anus" which, let's face it, is both an awesome song title AND an awesome song (by an overlooked band). When I finally ended up listening to this, I was hugely impressed. Big, thick production complementing the fast and slow switch-ups and meaty slam riffs pounding your brain into submission. A great up-front but not overpowering drum performance also drives this record forward, with accurate and tasteful use of cymbals and oddly heavy tom fills. Catchy mini-breakdowns occur such as in the second song "Inexorable Defilement" and showcase the band's adaptability to a variety of nice styles. The band claims to work in a hybrid TXDM/Japanese style, and I can totally hear it...combining influences that are obvious like Disconformity and Ingurgitate with some more obscure ones such as the Japanese Glossectomy and even Abuse (blast from the fucking past!), I could tell I was in for an album of guys who KNOW what they want to do, doing it, and doing it better than a ton of posers.

So, basically, what I ended up with was a slam album I could enjoy due to a great cover, and, goddamnit, a slam album I could enjoy ANY TIME! At just under a half-hour, the band churns out a group of ten memorable and sick songs without relenting one bit. The cover nails the first riff really well, also, and that is definitely a GOOD thing, considering it is one of the best riffs Pyaemia ever wrote (if not THE best riff, or even THE riff to end all riffs, rendering the rest obsolete). This band picks up the BPM on the song a tiny, tiny bit, ever so slightly changing it with a better vocal production. Only drawback is that the drumming is a little louder than I'd like it to be in this case. However, on every other song it is great sounding and well-played.

Also, maybe I'm the only one, but I love it when a band teases you with a super fucking good riff or breakdown and then destroys it in a weird rush of time changes or something, only to COME BACK with it...what am I getting at? The very beginning of one of the highlights here, "Murdered By Decree", which begins with a nice little vocal and drum part before going into a really catchy groove, which gets promptly stomped on by a drum fill, and re-enters the arena BETTER than it sounded before. So good. Subtle things like that make albums for me. Or break 'em. But this was meant to be killing people to, NOT broken. A band to watch out for...with a debut like this, who needs sophomore albums?!

Nicaragua: Upcoming Slam Scene Report

In my search for new and brutal bands from all over the world to cover in this blog, I came across a little-spoken-of country by the name of Nicaragua. So...why not; here's a random update about how brutal Nicaragua can be!

First off is a band with a silly name (though we're no strangers to that, we worship bands called Sourpuz and Fetal Mutilation among countless others), Gorepoflesh. Fast blasting slam sickness and insane reverbed inhaled vocals that sound somewhere between a toilet (generic I know) and a meat grinder. Fucking brutal! Snappy and nice drum production, especially the great kick sound. Awesome almost melodic riffs and fast paced chugging slam breakdowns coupled with the pinch harmonic laden breakdowns we're all used to, oftentimes a few per song! This is the kind of stuff that makes me wake up in the morning and go "what new ridiculously good bands from some random corner of the world will I find today?" Just totally leftfield stuff, and so good at that! Highly recommended.

Fleshtorture is a pretty badass name, so we're off to an impressive start right there. The one song available on their Myspace begins with a stupid sample before launching into some raw and almost Mexican sounding blast-slam-death. Right after the first blast part you're hit with a slam breakdown, but it's really only the usual. The drummer hits a few good fills, but the vocals are mixed way too high and the guitars too low to be very effective. Still, it is nice to see a band at least attempting brutality in such a small/weird place, so we'll give 'em a nice round of applause.

Humangrinder is quite good Mortician worship. Mid-paced "half-blast" style goregrind/brutal death with all of the Mortician trademarks...low and monotone vocals with catchy if repetitive riffs and the standard decently programmed drums. Still, there is some merit to this style, considering bands like Carnivorous Vagina have done it well in the past and are even well-liked by Rahmer himself. They even cover "Hacked Up For Barbecue" with much worse drum programming than in any other song, but perhaps better than the original overall (I have an overall distaste for Mortician in any case, but this band was fun to listen to possibly due to just being kind of charming and not hyped like the NYers).

Last but not least is Corpus Mors, a few guys doing old-school goregrind-sounding stuff combined with straight death metal and dual vocals. Nice fretwork reminding of Insidious Decrepancy without the insane scalework and more focus on straight riffs, with the pacing of a good Squash Bowels impersonator and with the edge of bands like Repulsion (you can also hear shades of their influences such as Mucupurulent and Oxidised Razor, too!). Nice stuff, pity there's only one non-live song on their Myspace...love to hear more. The live stuff does sound like a blast of pure noise mayhem, though...and I know for a fact that that shit is fun live.

And there you have it...Nicaragua has a few bands to call its own, and they're pretty brutal to boot! Perhaps this odd little scene will burgeon within the next few years...or decades. But we'll be here when it does...check it!

Down From the Wound - Agony Through Rituals of Self Purification - 2007 - Sevared Records

Here is a record I have been waiting for for a long, long time. If you recall, we did an interview with this promising new band a while back and that only whet my appetite. After the minor inconvenience of having to type all the song titles into iTunes (the joys of underground music :\) I began my listening in earnest.

Just like my virgin listen to Cranial Impalement, a giant grin crept on my face as soon as the first note hit and didn't fade until the last song was over. Holy shit this album is good. Better than even I expected. God damn it this is good. 'Ok we get it, it's good' you say, 'but what does it sound like?'

First thing I'll mention is the drumming. It truly is superb. The blast beats are heavy as hell and the drum sound is pretty natural. The cymbal work is tasteful and skillfully done . Randyl also does fills very well which is essential for this band.

The riffing here is great. You get your standard slams, but also some nice almost unique sounding ones. This is NOT just a Devourment clone. The blazing and incomprehensible blasts that usually fill the space in between the slams is set aside instead for fast, almost technical riffs. Another thing I really liked about the guitar work is the integration of pauses into the music to intensify the breakdowns, as well as give Randyl an opportunity to show off his talent. The production of the guitars is alright, nothing really noticeable either good or bad.

Tristan's vocals instantly reminded me of Ruban Rosas. They aren't quite as sick sounding, but he uses Ruben's style of 75% low gutturals and 25% high rees. Definitely above average. He also does a very nice vocal solo, which I always appreciate.

The songwriting here is very good as well, although some of the songs, especially the shorter ones can sound a little samey. This is slam death after all though, and it comes with the territory. The fact that Down From the Wound can write a really good 6 and a half minute song and a really good 2 minute song shows their strength as musicians.

Agony Through Rituals of Self Purification again is a superb album and should be a must buy for all slam fans. This really solidifies 2007's place as the best year for brutal death in recent memory. Show these Filipino boys some love and pick up this album!

Interview With Rick of Defleshuary

Hello from S-M blog!...Thanks for doing this with us!
Thanks for giving us the interview! It's much appreciated and we really like what you're doing with your blog! Onto the questions...

How do you write the music and the slam breakdowns in your songs?
I don't force anything out. Writing tends to take me a bit because of that. I also tend to go in spurts. There will be a time where songs will just fly out of my head and then it's like I hit a wall where nothing comes for some time. I wrote almost everything on our album, but now the other members are contributing to the writing process and I'm loving it because seeing their ideas gives me new ideas.

Name 5 of your favorite albums and tell us why you think they're relevant to your influence:
I'll list the 4 albums that made me want to play metal. I got them when I was around 8 years old and they're still some of my all time favorites. When I got these tapes I listened to them nonstop and knew that metal would be one of my favorite forms of music forever and that one day I would be in a metal band.
1. Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden. This album is AMAZING and one of the best from the best band of all time.
2. Anthrax - Among the Living. I don't think I own an album I've listened to more than this. Charlie Benante's drumming is out of control good and the riffs hit so hard.
3. Metallica - Master of Puppets. What else needs to be said about this masterpiece?
4. Megadeth - Peace Sells... One of the many reasons the world should be thankful that Metallica kicked Mustaine out of the band.
5. Earth Crisis - Destroy the Machines. I actually started learning how to play guitar years ago by playing tabs of songs from this album.

If you had to pick one: groove or blast, which would you choose and why?
Hands down groove. Blasts are awesome, but if overdone they can lose their effectiveness. When a groove is played right it hits the listener to well. Nothing like a good groove to get the head banging.

So you guys recently released an EP on Homicide Watch Records. What was the recording/release process for that like?
The recording process was actually a 2 stage process. We recorded a 6 song demo (Mutilated and Skinned Alive.) It never saw an official release other than me putting it up for download online. Chris (singer of Methadone Abortion Clinic and runs Homicide Watch Records) had just started up his label. The only release he had out was a split with his band MAC and Screaming Afterbirth (I highly recommend buying this!). We were friends with him and were talking about how we wanted to get a release for our songs. He said he would do it as a split cd. Well, he couldn't find a band he wanted to do for the split so he said he'd put out the album if we recorded some more songs. So, we headed back into the studio to record 2 new songs we had written with our new drummer David. They became bonus tracks. The end result is Zombie Plague, Rampant Horror.
The actual recording process was alright. It tends to be tedious and can give you a headache haha. Recording the original 6 songs wasn't too bad, but our drummer basically quit right after laying down his tracks. That probably made me sound more pissed off on the vocal tracks because I found out right before going into lay them down. The last 2 songs on the album took a bit more time for some reason.
As for the art it was done by my longtime friend Andy Zubko. He contacted me saying he was doing a zombie painting and wanted to know if we'd like to use it for album art if we liked it. I saw it and about shit myself. His work is so good and I suggest other bands reading this that need art to contact www.myspace.com/zubko His shit is way too good!

At S-M Blog, we are looking to let anyone and everyone know about the multitudes of global slam scenes all over Europe, the Americas, and Asia. What do you guys think of foreign slam bands, and is there a unifying style to each different location?
I love the foreign bands. Tons of great bands all over the world. I guess you could say there's a sort of unifying style to different locations. A lot of Japanese bands have a style that you know they're from there, but at the same time there are bands from other parts of the world that would have similar styles.

So you are releasing a split with the Finnish sickos from Torsofuck and Cumbeast. How did you get into contact with them and what other details can you give us about this release?
They actually contacted us, Cumbeast that is. This is one of the instances that Myspace is a good thing! They heard our songs online and messaged us saying they really like what we're doing and would like for us to join them in a split with Torsofuck. You don't turn those bands down! We're beyond excited and thankful for this opportunity.
As far as details they're still being finalized. I know it will be out in the early new year. A label is all but agreed on I think, but I can't say for sure right now so I won't say their name. All I know is the world is in for some sick death metal. I know every band says this, but our newest songs are the best thing we've done yet.

What are some labels you'd like to work with?
There are a lot of great DM labels out there. It would be hard to say. We've had some approach us about a full length, so when that time comes to record that I guess we'll have to think more about this question haha.

The only other PA brutal band I can think of off the top of my head is Inhuman Dissiliency. Have you ever had any contact with them?
ID are our boys! We've played some shows with them and I've actually filled in on vocals for them one time. Great dudes and sick music. They really are one of the few DM bands in our area. We have some other bands in our area, but not many. Check out Age of Plague and Hamilton Fish.

Any plans on playing some fests, like MDF or CIM, in the future?
We'd love to play CIM. They really have it going on for brutal DM fests. I hope we get to do that sometime.

What’s the craziest thing that has happened in relation to the band?
Opening for Behemoth was pretty crazy. The club was complete shit and treated us like shit, but we got the best reaction even though we thought we played our worst set ever. The crazy thing that still gets me excited is hearing more people say how they like our band. I never expected our band to even reach this small point. It's fucking amazing to hear people say they love your work.

This is the time to think outside the questions and to ask us a question or two! Go for it!
Ok, question time!
Who is your favorite Simpsons character and why?

If you we told the only way Bolt Thrower would tour North America is if you killed 5 babies you'd do it right? Seriously, this is Bolt Thrower we're talking about here and those babies won't even know what life is yet.

Anyway, on behalf of the band, we thank you for this interview and appreciate what you're doing to help spread the name of death metal.
Keep a look out for out split with Torsofuck and Cumbeast in the new year! It's gonna be sick! Check back on www.myspace.com/defleshuary for more updates from us.
CHEERS!

Nick: Favorite Simpson's character? That's a tough one because there are so many good ones, but I am a fan of Flanders and Milhouse. They produce the most consistent laughs imo
Andy: I regret to inform that I don't really watch the Simpsons. I'd have to agree though that Flanders is damn funny even just as a concept. I've always been partial to Blinky (the three-eyed fish), though.

Nick: As for Bolt Thrower, those babies wouldn't stand a chance. I don't listen to them as much as I used to, but I have yet to hear a bad Bolt Thrower album.
Andy: Oh hell yes. I would so go Babykiller on them to see those guys here.

Cenotaph - Reincarnation In Gorextasy - 2007 Unmatched Brutality Records

What do we have here? You can bet I fucking ran to the store (webstore, you know) and bought this right when it was announced for order. Why? Because Cenotaph do brutal death right. Their last album, Pseudo Verminal Cadaverium, is in my top ten technical death metal releases ever, and is probably the best example of modern tech-brutal deathgrind at its absolute pinnacle. But this review is not about the last one, it's about this monstrous work.

Upon receiving this, I listened immediately. I remember practically blinking and missing the entire album, which was kind of deterring to me. Apologies for bringing up the last album again, but I have a few reference points to establish. First of all, the time. PVC was 39 minutes long; a veritable LONG-PLAYING ALBUM of ridiculous, spazzy, shifting, yet precise and surgical death metal. This is...25 minutes. C'MON! We want MORE gore-splattered brutality...bah.

Anyway, the other reference I have to make is the songwriting. I dunno what happened, but I remember the band announcing that they were changing their style a little, and the sample on their Myspace pre-buying the album ("Human Flesh Wax") was a bit of a clue-in, but it still sounded rather great. This is nowhere close to as sophisticated in technical yet tasteful songwriting as PVC; that is not to say, however, that the band has forgotten how to write excellently crafted songs...no, definitely not, considering there are a shitload of epic riffs thrown around all over the place here. The snare sound has been altered and is much deeper, and the speed has changed accordingly; the entire BPM of the band has slowed down to mid-fast paced. There are not even close to as many hyper/gravity blast sections as on the previous album, but I can deal with the change considering the awesome total sound we have here. Pounding rhythms, pinch-harmonic laden, well-constructed riffs and breakdowns, and the trademark feral vocals of Batu Cetin.

At first, this might seem like a disappointment. I remember feeling kinda empty, to be honest, after the initial listen. But in true metal fashion, this fucker grew on me like fungus after a couple more spins. And because it's so short, it's a handy palette cleanser or throw-it-on-anytime record! Recommended!

Putridity - Mental Prolapse Induces Necrophilism - 2007 Permeated Records

This is an album that I first mentioned back in the post about underrated 07 releases. Well I took my own advice and bought the thing. This is the Italian Putridity by the way, I have no idea what the Polish one is like.

Right off the bat it is obvious that Putridity really like Enmity. Just look at the logo. There is one crucial difference though and that is that Putridity are actually good. This is some seriously heavy, meaty slam. The whole album just feels raw and primitive. It appeals to my gut, and as Stephen Colbert says, that's where the truth(iness) lies. The riffs are thick and pounding and the vocals sound very throaty and guttural. Sort of like if Matti Way had a cold. The riffs are fairly typical, but it's slam death and it's good. Any fan of the genre should be delightfully head banging to this. Some very nice pinch harmonics as well.

The drum are fast, thudding and adequate. I don't remember anything outstanding but I liked the sound of them. The bass was also pretty good and popped in for a few solos which I always love. Also the bassist "Alessandro" looks exactly like Lemmy which is pretty damn funny.

The negative here is that this will really in no way engage your brain. However, a little brainless fun is always appreciated, especially when delivered in such a satisfying way.

MP5K - Swedish True Crime Slam

The deal with these guys is that they feature the talents of Soils Of Fate's drummer, and hooked up with him and the rest of SOF soon after forming. That's something to fucking boast about...so how do they sound? Slam-Minded gives you all the details.

Through acquisition of their demo, Deranged Stockholm Syndrome, I learned that these guys REALLY ARE the second coming of Soils Of Fate (who our blog's first post was about, no less!); totally tight rhythms influenced by early NYDM, some hip-hop influenced sections (just like SOF), the trademark catchy songwriting...they've got it all. Vocals are less guttural, but still powerful vociferations of power which carry the music quite well. Some off-time chugging in the last track (during the "breakdown") really works well with the band's style. I don't hear any solos, but I'm sure they'll add those in eventually. This is also REALLY insanely well produced for a debut EP/demo, so kudos to them for that. SO fucking good...

900 ROUNDS PER MINUTE!!

Myspace Link

Suffocation/Immolation/Skinless Concert Review

As some of you may know a tour chock full of NYDM is heading around North America. I managed to catch them last Saturday when they stopped here in Toronto. Here is my review of the show, including the local openers.

Maniak: This band appeared to be thrash but their bassist never showed and they got about 30 seconds of playing in before their equipment failed. They looked terrible though so I wasn't disapointed.

Heaps of Dead: Heaps of Dead played a decent set of brutal death metal which had bits and pieces taken from all the American scenes. Thankfully not the usual Canadian wankery, these guys dished out some heavy riffs. I think with a little more musical focus and work on songwriting these guys might put something good out.

Horde of Worms: Boring extreme metal that wasn't really death, black or grind. Not much else to say.

Skinless: And the "real" bands begin. As expected Skinless played average metal with great stage presence. The moshing was intense. I was towards the front the whole show and I got pushed around a lot here. They even orchestrated a wall of death which was pretty intense. I could take or leave the music but it was fun live.

Immolation: Another band I've always never really cared about but they put on a professional, crushing show. I have Harnessing Ruin but I thought it was boring. I didn't really know any of the songs but the stuff from the newest and the oldest records sounded the best. The singer also has a funny New York accent and seemed like a very cool guy.

Suffocation: Here's what I had been waiting for. I saw Suffocation Fall 06 (actually my only real life meeting with Andy.) and it was an amazing experience so I was psyched for this. They did not disappoint. They sounded crushing and Frank has a fabulous stage presence. For example after one song the crowd went crazy and when it ended we were all so tired we fell silent. Frank then got all indignant and said "Why is it so quiet? I'm up here singing and going 'what the fuck?' at the crowd going crazy". That got the crowd started again in a hurry.

The set list was almost perfect. No Liege of Inveracity, but all the other classics and some ones rarely heard like Brood of Hatred, Seeds of the Suffering and Misconcieved. They are all incredibly great live songs and they were performed to perfection. I guess I am gushing like a smitten schoolgirl but it was that good. If this tour passes by you just go. You will thank me later.

Another cool thing was that Derek Boyer, Suffocation's bassist, was wearing a Devourment shirt. Closest thing I can get to my two favorite bands in one place.

Shawn Whitaker Appreciation

Finally, we're getting to posting about the busiest fucking guy in Texas, Shawn Whitaker. Whitaker is, in case you somehow didn't know, the man behind bands including Viral Load, Grotesque Formation, and Insidious Decrepancy. A lot of the time, though, Shawn doesn't stick with pure TXDM slam and stomp stuff, but instead incorporates some really tight-knit influences here and there. Let's check it out.

Well, we should definitely start with his most famous project, Insidious Decrepancy. He's done two albums under this name so far, hopefully a third one will come soon (but that is unlikely as he is very obviously a busy guy, probably even outside of music, and it had been three years between his currently released albums). The music is highly Immolation influenced; hell, he even covers "Dawn Of Possession" on the first album and...it fucking rules. The rest of the album is technical, blasting, and gory, but it definitely doesn't forget to throw out the rulebook and write some nigh-catchy riffs now and then. On his newest album, The Inerrancy Of Profanation, Shawn begins the CD with a great song featuring some Deeds Of Flesh-isms as well as a lead section that just screams Death (mid-era)! I was hooked right there, and the rest of the CD lived up to my expectations; no more leads really, but straightforward, chunky, well-played, and well-rounded technical brutality. At first, I recall comparing it to a solo-less/lacking Necrophagist circa the first demo and subsequent album (Onset...). In any case, both albums are fucking brilliant; Shawn even came out with a live DVD recently (a month or so ago, if I remember right) called Texas Tormenting Tokyo 2005. I can tell that'll be ridiculous if the Youtube videos of ID are any indication!

Viral Load's up next, Shawn's more humorous project that he currently shares with Forrest of Cephalotripsy on drums (but he used a drum machine on the first two albums). The early material was rather different; raw, blasting sickness with Shawn's hilarious/evil screaming vocals piercing through the wall of great riffs (and astoundingly melodic ones here and there, such as in "Galloping Upon The Entrails Of The Dead." I don't care too much for the new material...I'm not a big fan of and cannot get much into "humorous" slam/brutal death, but whatever...that aside, I'm sure it's a similar style as both Brutalized Beyond Belief and Practitioners Of Perversion.

Grotesque Formation is a pure slam band which Shawn did vocals on for the Basement Decompositions album. I hated this at first, when I wasn't too into slam/brutal death...but now that I am I can tell you that this is excellent, chaotic, blasting, fast-paced stuff! This is great slam for fans of Condemned, Goretrade, and Guttural Secrete (though it's noticeably sloppier than the last two bands, and there's less melody, as it is).

I haven't heard anything from a few of his projects...but once I do, I'll end up editing this to let everyone know that they fucking rule...until then...

Abnormality - Demo 2007 Review

Starting with a totally bizarre intro called "___" we then launch into technical blasting brutal death metal with lots of snake-like riff patterns and nice tight drumming all around. Vocals are done by a girl (who is also really a cool chick, thanks for the kind words/interest Mallika!), but I'm not going to dwell on that; she does both the high-pitched and gutturals, which are both quite nice. They have that obvious feminine intonation, but it's not so bad sometimes and does not detract in any way, shape, or form from the excellent forward-thinking music. Interesting song structures are a big part of this band, and I think they are definitely carving a nice path for themselves in the local (Massachusetts) brutal death scene (they are playing/have played shows with bands such as Mortal Decay, Sexcrement, and Deconformity!).

As for improvements, I could definitely suggest a louder bass presence; the basslines, when audible, are REALLY nice and even progressive (a word I like to see associated with music like this, especially when nicely integrated into the disturbing, technical structuring of the songs themselves). A better/louder production overall would be excellent for this band's full-length...this is material suited to Willowtip as much as it is for Sevared, so I see no problem finding a good label to put out this talented young band's work. I definitely look forward to hearing more by them and listening to/watching their development as they progress...there's that word again!

Speaking of that, a rumor went around at the station I intern at when they were there that they may be writing longer songs; to which I responded with an enthusiastic "DO IT!" Long songs are a weak point of mine, but...don't mind me, and I digress. Check this out if you are into bands like Malignancy, Inherit Disease, Mindly Rotten, and Odious Mortem!

Human Mastication New Songs; Devourment Interview by SMNnews

Here's just a quick post on some happenings in the scene. Human Mastication, a band from our much loved Filipino scene, has released two new songs. Production is a little quiet but the slams are massive and the songs are well composed. They are up on myspace and are definitely worth a listen.

Human Mastication @ Myspace

Secondly, I found a new interview on SMNnews.com of Mike Majewski of Devourment. I enjoyed the interview and being a Devourment fanboy I had to post it. Thanks to the Devourment message board for posting the link originally.

Interview Here

Digested Flesh Appreciation

Emerging from the Guido ridden land of New Jersey in 1999 Digested Flesh were one of the first slam bands I found and still one of the my favorites. In this post I'll discuss in detail this band and why I think they rock harder than most.

First off the essentials. They formed in 1999 as I said, they released one demo in 2003, a full length in 2004 called The Answer to Infection (Macabre Mementos) and a split with Inhuman Dissiliency called Accumulation of Eviscerated Remnants (Macabre Mementos). I have both the split and full length and both are worth getting.

The sound of Digested Flesh is that of slam with special emphasis on the bludgeoning side of things. There are the usual catchy grooves, the really slow parts, the blasts, but occasionally they'll just belt out a pounding riff with no melody, no progressions just WUMPWUMPWUMP on your puny, pathetic personage. This is incredibly satisfying to me and adds to the brutality. This aspect is a little more prevalent on The Answer... but it's still in their newer stuff. Just pure violence

The vocals are also incredibly sick. The gurgles are incredibly sick sounding. Not exactly low or deep like Soils of Fate or Vomit Remnants, just... sick. Closest thing I can think of is Wayne Knupp on the early Devourment stuff. They managed to nauseate a black metal friend of mine but of course I love the vocals.

Digested Flesh also do the little things right. The drumming is tight and the drummer uses many catchy little hi-hat rolls that spice things up. The bass does it's thing well but doesn't get in the way. The songs are also distinguishable from one another which is nice in this genre.

What surprises me is how little this band gets talked about. I feel like worse bands get talked about more and get on bigger labels. Oh well, check out this band if you haven't and if you have then horns up to you!

Mutilated Records - New Reviews

Mutilated Recs was nice enough to send both Nick and I a great promo package complete with 3 CDs each and the booklets/traycards for each so we can make our own CD packages with 'em and keep 'em after review...so I definitely owe these guys reviews, as this is some nice stuff!

First on the platter, Colombia's My Plague. After a very good sci-fi oriented intro track (which is, rather humorously, longer than the first actual track), we get immediately bludgeoned by fast and lurching brutal death metal, constantly changing tempos in weird ways, shifting structures and excellent riffs with off-time drumming. The vocals are used mainly as a percussive instrument, almost totally inaudible under the banging of drums and churning of bass and guitars. This is CHAOTIC stuff, very reminiscent of countrymen Internal Suffering (all blastbeats, epic riffage, and odd songwriting styles!). What I really like about this kind of music is that despite the really great riffs and well-timed drumming, we get a sense of improvisation and DIY spirit; this would be just as suitable to see live as a jam or recording session as it would hearing in compressed format on a CD in your computer/stereo. Where this band really succeeds is its ability to grab listeners by the throat and strangle all their life out, then revive them just in time for the next semi-melodic riff, technical song shift, or other interesting, unique deviation from the style. Well fucking done...more Colombian brutal death that owns! Recommended for fans of the aforementioned Internal Suffering, Mindly Rotten, Disgorge (Mex), and Putrefukation. Though undeniably Colombian in style, the band often overlaps with a European and even Cali/US style on some songs. Definitely awesome and a new favorite to spin all the time!

Anal Blast's wonderfully (OK, not really) titled Assault On The Hot Wet Blood Hole is up next...this is really just kind of a compilation of essentially all of their recorded material on one disc. I have never really liked this band at all; they're mostly famous for having Joey Jordison on drums at one time. However, some of this is pretty decent deathgrind...definitely influenced by greats like Repulsion. Pity about the stupid aesthetic (putting their name on various logos, ripping off/paying tribute to Cradle Of Filth), but if you can get by that, it's not too bad. Still, I'm not a really big fan, and this doesn't change that. This is definitely suited towards people who really already like this band and want to get all their stuff on one CD. This is rather comprehensive, but the real problem lies not in the averageness of the music, but in the lack of any real documentation of the band's past; this makes the release seem lazy despite the large (28 tracks) amount of material here. Ah well. I'm sure someone somewhere loves the fuck out of this, but it ain't me.

We've got a really nice looking sampler up next, with artwork from the godly Tony Koehl. 26 tracks by 23 different bands ranging from brutal/slam death to grind and everything in between. Nice! Let's take a look:

1. Septycal Gorge - Well, we already know these guys. They contribute the song "Unidentified Corpse" off their Mutilated Records debut to this comp/sampler. Very awesome interesting stuff that sounds like a combination of newer Devourment, Deeds Of Flesh, and Ancient Necropsy.
2. Crepitation - I don't know anything about this band, but it's fast slam with horrible vocals. Nothing special, but there's room for improvement here. Breakdowns are good.
3. Ladies And Gentlemen - This is grind in the Cripple Bastards crusty raw style from Italy to boot. Not bad, kind of silly (inherent in the name), but overall I'd listen to a couple of 7" splits with 'em, meaning they can't completely offend my ears!
4-5. Yattai - This is grindy slam with moshing breakdown parts and cool vocals, like a slowed-down version of early Sublime Cadaveric Decomposition. Once again, it's not bad, but it just doesn't hit me and make me want to listen. Decent. They have two songs on the comp, and the second ("Stincky [sic] Witches") is the better of the two, starting with a great slow riff and going into furious groovy grind!
6. Morbus - This is some more traditional sounding NYDM with a faster pace than most. Production is kind of similar to Morpheus Descends, but there are some noodly guitar parts also which rule. This is some of the best shit on the comp so far...looking forward to hearing more by them! Definitely need their album. I can't even believe they're Venezuelan!
7. Côte d'Aver - French (who knew) goregrind with a raw production value and decent song structuring. They seem to know how to write catchy chord progressions, but the drummer needs to stop with the constant snare pounding. The breakdown is quite good, but the vocals are very weak (the guy's voice cracks here and there!).
8-9. Gastrick Burst - Didn't think this would be impressive, but lo and behold...it is quite good stuff. Drum production is insanely tight, vocals are nice trade-off gutturals and gruffer "hardcore" shouts, and the riffs are chuggy goodness. Also, the second song is called "Yogurt Attack" which is reason enough to listen to this band! Approved.
10. Repulsive Depravity - Colombian sickness...I've heard this before...starts with a crappy sample too. Vocals are screaming, not guttural, which makes it weaker than most. Chaotic production focuses too heavily on such vocals, detracting from what otherwise is pretty OK riffing and drumming. They'll improve, but now, they're 3rd-tier.
11. Typhoid - "All You Need Is Gore"...fucking totally! Blastbeat-laden slam in a pretty Italian style (similar to Putridity and Vomit The Soul on their early stuff)...but they're from Slovakia! TONS of pinch harmonics a-la Malignancy but even more annoyingly prevalent. Still, this is rather impressive stuff and it has a good title to boot! As an extra bonus there are a few bass solo measures, which is always nice; this guy is very talented!
12. Splattered Mermaids - Eh...OK now the world doesn't need more stuff like Artery Eruption with a dumber name and possibly even worse sound quality. Next?
13. Hellusinit - This band is from the US despite their odd name, and the name of the game here is cool modern TXDM sounding slam with a Cali crossover appeal. Straightforward, semi-progressive stuff with nice riffs and an obscure gang-sounding vocal approach.
14-15. Social Shit - Straight attack deathgrind from Argentina. Nothing special but then again it's not bad or even average...it's above average groovy grind with good production.
16. Relentless Attrition - I hate samples...goddamn. Anyway, once this starts, it's...not good really. Very generic slam from New Zealand (kind of a weird place) with a FEW good riffs, but overall too obscure and sheltered to really get the heading they need to become beyond demo/EP level. I've heard worse become rather heralded, though, so maybe...just maybe...
17. Depths Of Chaos - Now here's something that sounds like it'll be good...headbanging death metal...not really slammy or brutal at all, but impressive in style and substance. One of the best bands on the compilation thus far; a welcome addition to any collection of USDM!
18. Deconformity - This band goes for a nice slow paced slam to start off with, really tight mature stuff! Vocals aren't super guttural, but they are typical decent lows with some screams. A Middle Eastern progression carries the main riff. This is really a little more straight DM than brutal, but it's really good. Not to be confused with Japan's Disconformity, either!
19. Sourpuz - Lemme tell you, these guys kick ass...totally make up for their name with their contribution to this comp, titled "Building The Brutality Legion" (awesome title!). There is some amazing leadwork and great bassplaying here, as well as nice vocals and songwriting. One of the best tracks on the whole thing! Definitely need to look further into these guys! Oh, and it figures they're fucking Colombian. KILLER!
20. Cumbeast - The only Finnish band on this entire comp, Cumbeast is a devastating attack of great groovy slam (some of the only good shit from the country besides Torsofuck and Kataplexia!); having familiarized myself with their debut album Human Piñata, I'm just now realizing they have a NEW one out from '07...gonna have to get that for sure, this is great stuff!
21. Tsubo - Hey, what do you know...another killer Italian band! This is more similar to older Corpsefucking Art, only less...goofy. Really a nice thing, considering older CFA is pretty good stuff. This is also similar to some Hour Of Penance and has some cool rocking riffs and a good solo as well! Recommended stuff.
22. Spatter Snuff - This is typically Colombian too, but, hey...I ain't complaining. Super guttural slam brutality, heavy on the ride cymbal and with sick vocals (echoed high pitched screams!).
23. Perpetual - MORE stuff from Colombia...fuck, what is in the water here that makes such cool bands? This one's got keyboards making it sound more progressive...very nice touch; I'm into that more than Nick is though. On second thought, this isn't brutal or grind at all, definitely symphonic melo-death metal, similar to Compos Mentis and old Omnium Gatherum. Doesn't fit here, in other words. Still...rules.
24. Choked By Own Vomits - Czech goregrind, very similar to Dead Infection, Purulent Spermcanal, and similar lo-fi gore units. Really nice, of course. Silly name, but...ah well. I'll forgive 'em; good shit!
25. Scaffold - Cali sounding death metal from Slovenia, also bearing an extreme similarity to Septycal Gorge (first track on this comp, if you've been paying attention!). Sharp, driving riffs are backed up by slightly loud yet tight drumming with good tone. Verse riffs are nicely crafted and the vocals are on par too; a little forced, but that's not a bad thing sometimes. I haven't heard many Slovenian brutal units, so this is nice to hear.
26. Spiritual Invader - "Controlled By Hatred" is the last track on this rather impressive compilation by Mutilated Records (everyone's favorite Czech label, besides Bizarre Leprous et al!). This is some rawer brutality with a nice solo with a good polyrhythm playing underneath. Cool stuff.

Thank you to MUTILATED RECORDS for sending me all this stuff...I have a lot of work to do now...gotta listen to a bunch of these bands!

-Andy

07 Releases You May Have Missed

2007 has been a fantastic year for brutal death metal. The number of releases has been staggering, and the quality has been all around excellent. However, with the release of marquee bands like Infernal Revulsion (Goregiastic), Inveracity (Unique Leader) and Cephalotripsy (Amputated Vein), a few releases have (wrongfully) slipped through the cracks.

1. Ancient Necropsy - Apocalyptic Empire (Mutilated Records). I talked briefly about Ancient Necropsy in my article about the Colombian BDM scene, and from what I've heard of this new album, it appears that everything I like about Ancient Necropsy has remained. It is sheer brutality mixed with interesting, engaging and occasionally epic riffs. And it's all done by one man. If you want something a little out of the ordinary, yet still bone crushing this is it. I don't know much about Mutilated Records, but they did release Septycal Gorge's debut which was fantastic.

2. Putridity (Ita) - Mental Prolapse Induces Necrophilism (Permeated Records). Here is a heavy as hell, simple slam album. Good beefy production and vocals. Heavy drums. Not much more needs to be said. If you like slam you will like this. Kudos for good John Zig cover art.

3. Atrocious Abnormality - Echoes of the Rotting (Comatose Music). My problem with Lust of Decay is that, while I thought the guitar work was excellent, the drums and vocals really turned me off. Now we get LoD guitarist Steve Green (also doing vocals here) in an all new band and the result is very nice. Touches of LoD are still detectable but the band is definitely different. Steve's guitar work continues to impress and his vocal talents are definitely up to the task. The bands takes a middle of the road approach to BDM, giving both fast riffs and slow grooves, with some solos to boot. Worth checking out.

Interview with DOWN FROM THE WOUND (Phillipines)

What's going on in the Philippines these days? Do you guys have any idea what accounts for the crazy number of good slam death bands from there?
-Everything is well here, I don’t have any idea how many slam bands accounts in here, I think I‘ll have to do a head count first hahaha.

How do you write the music and the slam breakdowns in your songs?
-Jeff does the guitar riff first and we arranged them until we create a song ranging to 3 – 4 minutes or more playing time, then the lyrics/gutturals will be executed after the music has been perfectly mastered.

Name 5 of your favorite albums and tell us why you think they're relevant to your influence:

-Disgorge (USA) – Consume the forsaken and Parallels of infinite torture
Devourment – 138
Cinerary – Rituals of desecration
Disavowed – Perceptive deception
Suffocation – Effigy of the forgotten

We are all heavily influenced by these bands in writing materials for the Agony through rituals of self purification CD and we look them as our main influences as well.

If you had to pick one: groove or blast, which would you choose and why?
-Both, if you combine them both, you will surely get a devastating brutal death metal, groove is like the sauce poured over the top of a pasta, Bon Appétit Hahaha!!!

You guys sure know what you're doing, how did you get in contact with Sevared for the new album?
-We got in touch to Sevared Records through myspace.com. I contacted Barrett told him that I’m going to send him our promo cd. After some series of exchanging messages, we made a deal and have agreed to that, and then he signed us immediately to his label.

At S-M Blog, we are looking to let anyone and everyone know about the multitudes of global slam scenes all over Europe, the Americas, and Asia. What do you guys think of foreign slam bands, and is there a unifying style to each different location?
-I don’t think there is a unifying style to each different location, if you’ll look at to their influences, you’ll see Devourment, Disgorge and Suffocation on their primary list. Almost every slam bands now are being influenced by the mighty Devourment. But in my opinion, every band has its own style and uniqueness that made them apart amongst other death metal bands.

What are DFTW's upcoming plans now that your amazing debut is out? What's in the works next? Will you stay with Sevared?
-We plan to bring out more albums, more sickness and more brutality in the future, play all shows/fest as much we can. If Sevared will still be interested in releasing our next stuffs, much better, but if not, we’ll look for another label to work with.

What are some other labels you'd like to work with?
-Unique Leader, Unmatched Brutality, Brutal Bands and Lacerated Enemy Records.

Do you guys have any affiliation with the "Davao Brutal Troops"?
-We and the other Davao bands had been friends and in touch for quite long time now. The scene in that area is going bigger and better and it seems that the kids there are getting hooked up into death metal. We are looking forward to play in there place spread sickness and bring brutality through our music…

I know this is a longshot, but any chance of you guys coming to America for a fest in '08/'09 or something?
-We still don’t know yet but we’re keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that we could tour and play in the USA or Europe someday. If there’s an offer, we’ll grab it as long as the conditions are good…

This is the time to think outside the questions and to ask us a question or two! Go for it!
-How you guys got into metal? And what made you sending us an interview?

(our answers: I got into metal in 2003, started with melodic stuff like Soilwork and In Flames. Soon after, I got into bands like Disgorge which appealed to me on a different level. I met Nick at a Suffocation show in November 2006 and we had talked a lot on a forum (UltimateMetal) before that. We quickly discovered that we both shared a passion for brutal and slam death metal, and we both understand it on the deeper level it often appeals to. We started SLAM-MINDED BLOG in September 2007 to help promote brutal death metal bands worldwide! We wanted to interview DFTW because of a friend who mentioned the band to me saying I would definitely love them. After listening to the Myspace tracks of DFTW, I was hooked...I knew Nick and I needed to get in contact ASAP!
-Andy


I got into metal in 2005 through Slayer and Hypocrisy. I very quickly worked my way to Suffocation and from that point on I knew Brutal Death was for me. Met Andy on Ultimatemetal.com forums and at a concert, and we talk regularly on AIM and this idea came to us. I found Down From the Wound when on a random jaunt through myspace. I had already found Human Mastication and Pus Vomit from the Philippines, so I was game to try another band. I think DFTW are better than the average myspace slam, and through this blog wanted to promote them, because bands not from Texas or California can often get overlooked. This is the kind of music that gets my blood pumping and my guts all warm and fuzzy, so I want to do everything I can to help
-Nick)

-thanks for the interest interviewing us, Horns up!!!

Interview answered by Randyl

Contact us at:
www.myspace.com/downfromthewound
downfromthewound@hotmail.com
randyl_dftw@yahoo.com
-------------------------------------------------------
After the album drops and both Nick and I listen to it, we'll both post our thoughts on the album in this entry in the form of a review. Thanks To Randyl for the correspondence and to Down From The Wound for being yet another excellent Filipino band worthy of praise!

New Goretrade Song and Videos From California Deathfest

Well today I logged onto the Slam-Minded myspace to a very welcome surprise. Goretrade have released a new song from their next album, to be released on 08. I eagerly gave it a listen, as Goretrade have become one of my favorite bands. After listening to it a few times I can happily say that it is awesome and it is the same Goretrade that I love. No new elements, no progression, just excellence. They are already unique and good enough not to have to reinvent themselves, so I'm glad they just stuck to their formula and made a kickass song. But don't take my word for it, listen to it yourself at their myspace.

Now as many of you may know, the first California Deathfest went down in Fresno, CA this past weekend. Despite numerous cancellations, most notably Disgorge and Devourment, it was still an amazing line up featuring Infernal Revulsion, Digested Flesh, Guttural Secrete and Cephalotripsy among others. Someone has graciously posted videos of some songs on youtube so I thought I'd post them here for your enjoyment. Hopefully the HTML gods are with me. EDIT: Meh, it's a little cut off, but not too bad. Enjoy!

Mike Majewski (Devourment) and Guttural Secrete (I think) playing Choking on Bile


Infernal Revulsion


Cephalotripsy


Notes on the future: We have sent out the interview questions to Down From the Wound and Randyl has told us he's going to get back to us in a few days, so keep your eye out for that.

More Upcoming Releases

It has already been a great year for brutal death, but two more releases will come your way this year. The first is from Abominable Putridity, the ultra heavy slam band from Moscow. Their debut full length, In The End of Human Existence, will be releases in November by Lacerated Enemy (Cze), which has previously releases Sarcolytic, Godless Truth, Condemned (CA) and Vomit Remnants. I for one have been a fan of Abominable Putridity for a while and I am very excited to see this come out. The cover art also looks fantastic.


Another release coming out soon is by Norway's (yes Norway!) Hideous Deformity. The title is still TBA, but it is being released by Sevared, who have been doing great things recently. Hideous Deformity found us on myspace and it is looking likely that we will get an interview with them soon, so stay tuned for that. From the tracks up on their myspace it seems to me that Hideous Deformity do a very good job of having both groove and technicality. This band is very tight and really feeds my hunger for death metal. And they're from god damn Norway! According to their page, the album should be out in late 07, so at this point I assume that is December.

Abominable Putridity
Hideous Deformity

Sarcolytic NEW SONG

"Manus Obscurus" has officially been posted on Sarcolytic's Myspace. This shows some nice compositional change from the previous demo songs, which were much more straightforward. Zig's vocals are a guttural style not unlike Cenotaph's, which will please some fans of theirs. The song structuring tends towards the progressive with some acoustic parts thrown in among the quick riffing. Drumming is cymbal heavy and abrasive, with kick drums being very loud as is usual in the style. I'm interested to see where this will lead (to a full-length?)...go check out the new song!

Inveracity - Extermination of Millions (Unique Leader; 2007)

I have to admit before I listened to Extermination of Millions I had never heard any Inveracity before. I had heard they were good, if derivative, but I was completely turned off by the terrible cover art of their previous album. However with much encouragement from Andy I decided to get their Unique Leader debut.

This is a superb CD. It has all the hallmarks of a (good) Unique Leader release: professional, well produced, well packaged and nice art. From the very beginning to the very end this album pulses with absolutely epic riffs that really feel heavy and brutal. Check out the beginning of Before the Uncreation, it's huge. The two bands that immediately come to mind while listening are Deeds of Flesh and Kronos. There is the alternation of melody and chugs that Deeds of Flesh use so effectively combined with the larger than life melodies that Kronos uses. This mixes to give us some fabulous and memorable riffs and songs. It makes you feel like you are one of the millions being fucking exterminated.

This is primarily riff oriented Brutal Death, but the drums, bass and vocals are all audible and well done. Vocals are not particularly guttural, just deep powerful roars. The bass is not terribly loud, but gets a few solos to add its input. Drums are what you'd expect but again, well produced and well done. Another things that I like is that the songs never overstay their welcome. Most are under 3 minutes, which allows the riffs to hit you and do maximum damage without getting tiresome.

Seriously, this is a fabulous album. If Infernal Revulsion hadn't released their album this year, Extermination of Millions may have been my number one Brutal Death release of 07. Either way it is a mandatory pickup.

Fetal Mutilation - Filipino Slam Masters

Nick has been telling me that slam death from the Phillipines is on the rise...and after a few more counts of battery on my ears from bands from that region, I think I'm convinced. But this is one of the more impressive acts...and what impresses me (and, yeah, also disturbs me and causes me to rethink why we even let labels exist if they won't put out awesome albums by bands like this) is that these guys are super, SUPER, BEYOND epic (riffs, breakdowns, technical parts, even the fucking vocals are better than 99% of slam bands...I mean, fuck!) yet, like I just mentioned, they don't have a CD out and apparently aren't releasing one anytime soon...

Barrett/Sevared should really listen to us here and sign this fucking band...he's got the ultra-brutal Down From The Wound putting out a CD soon (we'll have a review and interview from them soon right here!), the split between Human Mastication/Flesh Disgorged (both from overlooked Asian scenes; super kudos to the label for the attention to this part of the world...but seriously, sign Fetal Mutilation...now!!)...but...man, the rest of the world is missing out.

If you like your slams HUGE, your riffs BIGGER, your breakdowns EXTRA HEAVY, and your vocals sicker than your grandmother with tuberculosis...fuck, listen to this band. A demo review may be forthcoming...

Fetal Mutilation @ Myspace

Two Signings and a Rerelease

Here's a few news tidbits for you

Prophecy (TX, USA) has been signed by Grindethic records. Grindethic is from the UK and has recently released a slew of bands, including Defeated Sanity. This will be Prophecy's third full length and first in a while. It is to be entitled "Don't Fuckin' Mess With Texas".

Kronos (France) has signed with Neurotic Records and expects to release their next album sometime in 2009.

I can't say I'm a huge fan of either band, but it's nice to see the scene be healthy and bands getting signed.

On the rerelease front, Sevared Records has rereleased Septycal Gorge's (Italy) Growing Seeds of Decay and added on a few bonus tracks. This was one of my favorites from last year and if you don't have it yet, you no longer have an excuse. Get this album quick. The fact that it was rereleased after only a a year should show you how good it is!

Carnivore Diprosopus - Madhouse's Macabre Acts (Dan's Crypt; 2006)

Here we have the sophomore album by Colombian slammers Carnivore Diprosopus. Starting the album off is a very well-placed and well-chosen sample of a woman allowing a man entry to what she deems "the madhouse" which is "housing for potential murderers." Pretty fitting given the title. Immediately, the music begins after meshing nicely with the intro and we are treated to ultra-bassy slams with a lot of depth when listened to on headphones. The breakdowns are extremely well-written with good pinch harmonic sections right off the bat. The vocals aren't super guttural, but rather stay in kind of a mid-range guttural sound. So, in essence they're not as brutal as they could be, but I personally like this sound. Halfway in, we get the real treat; another sample, this time one of someone being zapped to a crisp, and we go right back into great slams with almost "gang"-like vocal sections.

I'm honestly quite impressed with this band. This is mature slam done in the traditional Colombian style (straightforward, high tuned snare sound, nice variation in slams like countrymen Suppuration if they were, well, better, to put it quite simply). This far surpasses a lot of the more old-style Colombian brutal death metal. All around you get extremely nice grooves complimented by subtle flourishes of melody all wrapped in a package of great slamming songwriting with nice change-ups from fast to slow and everything in between. Another positive note is the tasteful drumming; Sander knows how to put in the right amount of snare and hi-hat flourishes, and that's a virtue among common brutal death where, often, a drummer will randomly bang on things because he can, or otherwise completely overdo it. None of that here, everything the man does is for a reason, and the reason fits in with the concept of the individual songs.

The entire concept of the album is very good. We will forgive the band for their broken English on some song titles and such just because their slams and general sound are THAT damn good. "Nurse In Cannibals Orgy" begins with just the most kickass fucking slam section I've heard in quite a long time...I love blasting that, seriously...so primitive, so efficient, so damn quality. Some of the samples are kind of off-putting, such as the beginning of "Dancing With My Son's Corpse," which is also coincidentally kind of a weak/weird song title. But it's quickly remedied as they go right into a pulsing section of guitar grooves and fast double kick drumming. The last track, "Apocalyptic Crucifixion" has a very static sounding guitar part in the beginning, sounding almost black metal due to the tremolo style, but not as raw or high pitched; the band always opts for bass-style guitar playing and simplistic chords which sometimes burst with spontaneous technicality similar to the much-loved countrymen Amputated Genitals. And once you get a comparison to them, the review is pretty much over and everyone who wanted to hear something good about the band has just heard it. If you like Colombian death metal and don't have this in some form or another...I think you need to be commited to the madhouse!

-Andy