Vomit Remnants/Hyper Groove/Unique Leader Records/2017 CD Review

  Vomit  Remnants  are  a  band  from  Japan  that  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Hyper  Groove"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  uique  leader  Records.

  Horror  movie  style  keyboards  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  making their  presence  known  a  few  seconds  alter  which  also  leads  up  to  a  more  heavy  and  brutal  musical  direction  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  the  musicians  demonstrate a   great  amount  of  talent  and  skill.

  When  the music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  brutal  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  some  of  the  leads  adding  in  technical  elements  while  the  vocals  are  death  metal  growls  that  also  get  very  guttural  at  times  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  mid  tempo  sections  also  adds  in  a  touch  of  slam  and  keyboards  also  return  briefly  before  returning  back  to  a  more  brutal  direction  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  bass  guitar  leads.

  Vomit  Remnants  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  brutal  and  also  mixes  in  a  touch  of  slam  and  technical  elements,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  gore,  violence,  and  brutality  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Vomit  Remnants  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hi-Fi  the  Art  Of  Rapture"  "Inflicted  Artificial  Intelligence"  and  "Supreme  Indeterminate  Power".  8  out  of  10.          

Assault/The Fallen Reich/Transcending Obscurity Asia/2017 CD Review

  Assault  are  a  band  from  Singapore  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "The  Fallen  Reich"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Transcending  Obscurity  Asia.

  A  very  heavy  guitar  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  vocals  bring  in  a  mixture  of  high  pitched  screams  and  death  metal  growls  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  using  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Elements  of  thrash  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts and  there  is  also  a  perfect  balance  between  both  old  school  and  modern  influences  and  when  tremolo  picking  is  utilized  it  also  adds  in  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  music  always  remains  very  heavy.

  Assault  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  melodic  death  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  modern  thrash  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  war,  rebellions,  and  death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Assault  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Genocidal  Conspiracy"  and  "Final  Solution".  8  out  of  10.

Dante's Theory/Amut/2017 EP Review

  Dante's  Theory  are  a  band  from  Singapore  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal  and  deathcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  ep  "Amut"  which  will  be  released  in  April.

  A  very  heavy  and  brutal  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  as  well  as  some  death  metal  growls  making  their  presence  known  a  few  seconds  later  while  the  mid  tempo  sections  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  deathcore  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melody.

  All  of the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  throughout  the  recording  you can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  violent  movie  and  spoken  word  samples  and  there  is  a  brief  use  of  melodic  solos  and  leads.

  Dante's  Theory  plays  a  musical  style  that  mixes  death  metal  and  deathcore  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  anti  religion  themes.   

  In  my  opinion  Dante's  Theory  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death  metal  and  deathocre  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Qiamat  heretics"  and  "Amut".  8  out  of  10, 

Debridement/Vomited Forth From The Earth/Rotten Roll Rex/2017 EP Review

  Debridement  are  a band  from  Northern  Ireland  that  plays  brutal  death  metal  with  touches  of  slam  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  ep  "Vomited  Forth  From  The  Earth"  which  was  released  by  Rotten  Roll  Rex.

  Horror  movie  samples  start  off  the  ep  before  going  into  a  very  heavy  and  slamming  musical  direction  where  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  along  with  some  guttural  death  metal  growls  making  their  presence  known  and  when  the  music  speeds  upa  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

     Elements  of  grindcore  can  be  heard  during  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  and  the  music also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  horror  movie  samples  also  return  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  and  all  of  the  music sticks  to  a  brutal  direction  without  ever  using  any  solos  or  leads.

  Debridement  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  brutal  and  guttural  with  elements  of  slam  an  grindcore,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  gore and  sickness  themes. 

  In  my  opinion  Debridement  are  a  very  decent  sounding  brutal  death  metal  band  with  touche  of  slam  and  grind  and if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  p.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Screwdriver  Cranial  Penetration"  and  "Vomited  Forth  From  the  Earth".  8 out  of  10.

 

Oncology/Infinite Regress/Rising Nemesis Records/2016 CD Review

 Oncology  are  a  band  from  Northern  Ireland  that  plays  a  very  brutal  and  guttural form  of  death  metal  ad  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Infinite  Regress"  which  was  released  by  Rising  Nemesis  Records.

  Dark  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  and  after  awhile  the  music  goes  into a   very  fast  and  brutal  direction  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  guttural  death  metal  growls  and  melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  a  good  mixture  between  both  old  school  and modern  influences.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  add  in  a  touch  of  the  Florida  death  metal  style  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  there  is  also  a  few  seconds  of  synths  before  returning  back  to  a  more  brutal  direction.

  Oncology  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  fast,  brutal  and  guttural  sounding,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  metaphysical  and  anti religion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Oncology  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  and  guttural  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre, you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Beheading  Of  the  Prophets"  "To  Summon  Pyriel"  and  "The  Desolation  Of  Hope".  8  out  of 10.  

Basement Torture Killings Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?

We actually recorded the majority of the album last summer, but it took us time to work out a few parts here and there and also find the correct producer. Whilst this process was ongoing we also kept ourselves busy  playing shows and preparing for the album for release. We have also shot a video for the song The Ratcatcher which is a sort of hybrid of a performance video and lyric video.


2.You have a new album coming out in April, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Overall i am very pleased with the production job that was done on the album by Ivy Skuratov. Someone who has heard the released described the production as being very old school sounding but also modern which i think sums it up well. I am greatly influenced by the scene from the 90s but at the same time wanted the release to sound fresh as well.


The songs are a little more varied than those on our last release. To me our previous release was an exercise in sheer frenzy. This time things are a little more experimental, don't get me wrong it is still a very hard hitting record. Its just that we allowed the music to go places that we haven't previously. Such as some of the black metal style riffs and also the more thrashy elements.



One other big difference on this album is that we recorded a live drum kit, on the last couple of releases our then drummer played on an electronic kit. As good as you can get electronic kits sounding there is no comparison to the sound of a real kit.


3.You refer to your music as 'snuff grind', can you tell us a little bit more about this term?


Its just a term that we came up with that seems to fit the band. Obviously we have a very visual element to our music and the back story is that all of the band members are serial killers. As such i just felt that we were playing music which was akin to a snuff movie, so the term came from that really. I think that the band is quite unique sound wise so I think it is good to label it as something a little bit different.


4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?


As always the songs are based around horror based murder stories. There is no references to real serial killers on this album. They are just twisted ideas that myself and our vocalist Beryl have had. We have also for the first time done songs about the band characters and provided them with origin stories. So the songs "There's Something About Beryl" "The Story Of T" (Herr Krauss, Arzt des Todes and "The Butcher Of Smithfield" are based specifically about the band members. "Abduction Torture Snuff Porn" links to the band members, the other songs are all unique stories. "The Ratcatcher" is a bit of a homage to Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho. If you know the book then you will recognize the passage that this song is inspired by.


5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Basement Torture Killings'?

When we first started the band we knew that we wanted to make it around serial killers, I also very much liked the name BTK which is of course the nickname for Dennis Radar. However we didn't want to just use this moniker so we played around with words that matched the initials Basement Torture Killings was born. I think it worked very well for us as BTK also stood for Bertrand, Tarquin and Professor Kenneth and now stands for Beryl, Tarquin and Dr Krauss. It also reflects what the killers do to their victims, drag them to the basement and submit horrific bloody tortures until death.


6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?


We have been lucky as we have been able to play lots of really great shows over the 10 years we have been in existence. From memory some of the best shows have been London Death Fest with Deicide, Belphegor etc, The General Surgery tour, Siege Of Limerick, Malta Death Fest , the tours we have done with Holocausto Canibal spring to mind as some really good shows.


7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?


Yes we have quite a lot of dates planned for the future. We have been confirmed Dead Infection's 27th Anniversary show alongside Rotten sound in Poland in June, we are also going to XXXicken fest in Portugal. We have a bunch of Uk dates lined up and are also working on a full european tour for the summer.


8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal and grindcore?


Overall i am pleased with the response that we have had worldwide, I've done interviews for zines from Ukraine, South America etc so the name is spreading and people like the music. I think that with this new release we will get even more positive reviews and feedback and hopefully it will enable us to visit more of these places with BTK.


9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?


Well we are all involved in other bands. Our main vocalist has a death metal band from Craniation which is very active, our bass player plays guitar in a band called Casket Feeder which kind of combines old school Swedish death metal with hard-core, our drummer plays in a tech death band called Anakim which is due to release their debut album. I am also a member of UK Black metal band Thus Defiled although that is very much a sleeping beast at the moment, i don't know when or if the band will become active again although I am very proud to be a member.


10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?


Its hard to say what the new songs will sound like, I think that we will now let the songs go in there own direction rather than sticking to a strict death/grind formula. As always i think there will be a lot of blasts haha but i really enjoy the more thrashy elements of the new record so I would like to work on some more of that. But it is of course early days and i haven't even started thinking about writing for BTK at the moment.


11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I tend to list to the same music as always haha well at least with regards to metal. I very much like General Surgery, Haemorrhage, Impaled, Ghoul, Exhumed etc. I'm also really into all of the old 90s stuff so Suffocation, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Deicide and of course Carcass. I listen to a lot of black metal as well and I really like Arkhon Infaustus, Osculum Infame, Marduk etc. I also really like Ghost and of course the classic thrash bands. The others have a very mixed bag of influences, i think the only artist that we all agree on is perhaps Doro haha


12.What are some of your non musical interests?


Away from music i am very involved in martial arts and this was a passion that was there long before I learned to play guitar etc. I also like films and to travel, horror and the macabre is obviously very pivotal to my life.


13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thanks for all of the support and helping us spread the news of our disgusting crimes.

Basement Torture Killings/There's Something About beryl/Grindscene Records/2017 CD Review

  Basement  Torture  Killings  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  brutal  mixture  of  death  metal  and  gore/grindcore  and this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "There's  Something  About  Beryl"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  Grindscene  Records.

  A  very  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  death  metal  growls  while  high  pitched  screams  are  also  used  at  times  along  with  the  riffs  also  using  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  to  stick  to  more  of  an  old  school  gore/grind  direction.

  Horror  movie  samples  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  a  small  amount  of  melody  can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  90's  death  metal  and  grindcore  influences  and  some  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  the  music  always  remains  heavy.

  Basement  Torture  Killings  plays  a  musical  style  that  goes  back  to  the  90's  era  of  death  metal  and  gore/grind,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  murder,  torture,  and  gore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Basement  Torture  Killings  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death  metal  and  gore/grind  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "On  A  Mountain  Road"  "The  Rat  Catcher"  "The  Butcher  Of  Smithfield"  and  "Knives".  8  out  of  10.