Blog Archives - secret-face.com

Bloodstrike – In Death We Rot (Redefining Darkness Records/2015)

6/7/2017

This Colorado based band has a lot to offer here to the death metal scene. They’ve been around since 2013 and have a demo out, this one is their first full-length. They have a female vocalist, too. I’m always thrilled when there’s a newer death metal band out.

The act is another classic death metal band with not very fast guitar bits. They have a cool vibe to them, rather catchy. You wouldn’t believe the female vocals sound very much like a male vocalist. Deep throat. The riffs are catchy, a lot of downpicking and drums with clinging double bass kicks. Their music seems pretty original to me. Check out songs like “Abomination” and “Cancer Among Man”, though I like all of their songs. Very catchy music. An atmospheric phase of blasphemy amongst your eardrums. But again, they’re not overtly fast though they have small segments of double kick frenzies. The vocals match the music perfectly and the music matches the vocals.

Production-wise, these guys had a sort of a raw sound to it. But it fit well with the music. I wouldn’t change any of what they did when they recorded this.

My overall impression of the band is that they’re a fine act that needs more exposure. They need to be out there in the metal community to show how unique they are. They’re not just your typical death metal band. They have a lot to offer the listener.

I liked them so much I ordered their CD. And you should too! This band is simply awesome!!
Rate: 90%.

Reviewed By Death8699 (ryanfanucchi@gmail.com).

Bear Mace – Butchering The Colossus (Gypsyblood Records/2017)

6/7/2017

This Chicago based band spews out old school death metal with lyrical concepts on war, death and of course bears. Personally, I like this style of theirs, not that I’m biased though. It just has an old school death metal vibe to it.

The music is what has got me hooked. The guitars are thick/heavy sounding like they’re tuned down (if you’re a guitar player), the tempos are slow, but groove laden. I really like the aura of the whole release. It’s laid back, but HEAVY. The vocals go good with the music, the lyrics are also very suitable for this style of metal that they play. Other bands that relate to them would probably be a slower form of Suffocation, but not entirely. They have this aura or sense about them that you can play them over and over and literally not get sick of hearing them. That is, unless you’re taking a mini break from music. But everything seems right here. The guitars are unique and the solos aren’t blindingly fast, but a good portion of the songs are thick and downright brutal. They sound like an atypical death metal band because they’re not borrowing music from anyone else nor are they just a band that puts out music that they want to put out. They’ve really pulled music together that will blow out your speakers, not to mention your eardrums, too.

Production-wise everything was mixed in OK, the guitars didn’t drown out the vocals, the drums you could hear everything going on, the bass maybe to a moderate degree and the quality was definitely there.

Overall, I loved this album. And the whole way through. There was nothing about it that I didn’t like. I thought everything was well constructed and musically progressive. They seem like a band that’s going to grow in time, their name just needs to get out there more.

This is the digital age, but still, support the band and buy the CD. It’s definitely worth it and I hope that this review convinces you enough to buy their album!

Rate: 95%.

Reviewed By Death8699 (ryanfanucchi@gmail.com).

Gardenian – Sindustries (Nuclear Blast/2000)

6/5/2017

Short career for these Swedish melodic death freaks, which is rather unfortunate. This one was a follow up from a more emotional album entitled “Soulburner”, that one is my absolute favorite. But yeah, I’m not entirely certain of the reasons of their departure from the Gothenburg music scene, it’s just sad.

Melodic death metal is actually my personal favorite genre of metal along with death metal and thrash. But these guys I favored their sophomore album and will never forget it. “Sindustries” packs a punch, just a B- rating by me though. I’ll explain…

The music is somewhat different than “Soulburner”, in fact it’s heavier/thicker sounding with the guitars. It’s not as noteworthy, but there still a lot of good songs. “Doom and Gloom” is one of them. They kind of pursued a more death metal approach to this one. The vocals vary, sometimes hoarse throat and sometimes clean, but I don’t think Erik Hawk doing clean on this one. He was my favorite guest vocalist on “Soulburner.” This album is a good follow up, though some songs just seemed mediocre to me. Others were pretty OK. However, it seemed to be a musical digression on this album, the melodic parts are there, just not as prevalent. I do like the fact that they used thicker guitar sounds on here, nothing can surpass “Soulburner” though. I can’t emphasize that enough. But still this release is quality, but I suppose they felt that they tried in the music scene and saw its flaws, so disbanding they had to do. But remember, their albums even this one are based solely on feel. That’s what’s so electric about them. They sound like no other just doing their music the way they wanted to. “Sindustries” will never be my favorite from theirs, but it’ll never exit my listening profile.

Production sound was solid. You can hear everything pretty well, so no complaints on that end. It just flowed eloquently and you can definitely get into the music because of the quality production.

I’ll never escape from their sophomore release, though this album is a close second. I’m going to have to take a gander at their first release. Sucks that 3 albums is all they produced in their short musical career. “Sindustries” packs a punch with that rhythm guitar. That’s probably what made it to be the most memorable part of the album.

Buy this, it’s worth it. It does take some getting used to, though.

Rate: 80%.

Reviewed By Death8699 (ryanfanucchi@gmail.com).

Unbirth – Deracinated Celestial Oligarchy (Amputated Vein Records/2013)

6/5/2017

This band formed in 2005, but didn’t make a demo till 2007 and their full-length came out 4 years ago in 2013. But it was worth the wait. They’re an Italian brutal technical death metal band. And Unbirth is a sexual fetish involving the desire to be "swallowed alive" by the female genitalia. Pretty gruesome, these guys don’t fool around. There are 5 people in this band, and they make their music as a threat to your hearing capacity.

I personally like the genre they belong to. It reminds me a lot of Cryptopsy, older releases that is. They resemble them pretty closely, so if you’re a fan, you might take an immediate liking to them.

All 10 tracks are just brutal, really fast and a lot of tremolo picking guitar work. It’s really intense. They emit hoarse vocals with some shrieking in the mixture. However, not entirely, just as a variate. “Sterile Planets” and “Will of Ancients” are 2 tracks to check out. But the whole album is available on YouTube and also digitally. Buy the digital album though, this one is so technical it simply shreds. Like I said, no fooling around they are so brutal and technical it’s amazing. One thing I don’t like though is the shrieking. But the death metal vocals are fine. Either way, in that department they mix with the music. The music itself is enough to make your ears bleed. No song on here is really slow, they’re finely executed though and everything is in unison. This band shouldn’t been well reviewed a while ago!!

The production quality is quite good. You can hear everything being played and everything is heard really well. A solid mixing and all in that department was good.

Again, this band should’ve been discovered 4 years ago by writers/listeners, including myself. They emit frenzies with their music. I really loved the music entirely. Very original and matching closely with “Whisper Supremacy” by Cryptopsy, like I said.

Buy the digital album on their bandcamp site. It so worth it. Check out those songs I mentioned. They’re damn awesome. What an Italian treat in the metal community!

Rate: 95%.

Reviewed By Death8699 (ryanfanucchi@gmail.com).

Monstrosity – Will To Power (Conquest Music, Inc./2003)

6/5/2017

These guys have been around for 27 years, in 1990 to be exact. They’ve been producing some quality death metal over the years. Even early on. From the Tampa area, many of the more prevalent death metal acts around. I don’t think they’ve gotten enough attention though. That’s just my view.

Personally, I’m pretty big on death metal (only when in the mood for it) but these guys kick some serious butt.

The rhythm guitar has some serious fast picking and the musical tempos are quite furious. This album is about 50 minutes in length and it’s well worth sitting through listening to it. The leads are quite good too. This band has a dark vibe to them, especially hearing the deep vocals. I think this is one of their better albums, though I think most of their material is quite good. That’s just my opinion. Songs to check out include “Awaiting Armageddon” and the title track “Will to Power.” They’re a 5-piece act with some seriously catchy riffs. All I have are good things to say about this band. But mostly, they’re on the brutal death metal end. I like all of the songs, but the ones I mentioned the most.

The quality of the production sound is quite good. Everything you can hear well, and the mixing did the album justice. A better produced quality here.

All in all, this album and this band need more “likes” to it. They are pretty original in the songwriting and execution. They’re able to put out some quality material over the years, this one included.

If you’re a death metal fan who hasn’t discovered Monstrosity, try this one!

Rate: 85%.

Reviewed By Death8699 (ryanfanucchi@gmail.com).

Vital Remains – Icons of Evil (Century Media/2007)

6/5/2017

This band formed in 1988 and are still active, but haven’t released an album in about 10 years. Tony Lazaro (rhythm guitar), David Sazuki (drums, lead guitars, bass) and Glen Benton on vocals are all that contributed forth in this latest release.

This is a straight forward approach to death metal, these guys put out especially on their one here brutal, unrelenting and intense. I tend to favor albums Glen Benton is in, but that’s just me.

The music again is fierce on this. It’s mostly fast tempos and the songs are LONG. Glen’s low bellowing voice is prevalent on here with minor back-up screams. The guitars are sick, a lot of rhythms with fury and leads well constructed by Sazuki. I think this is a quality release all in all. Sucks it’s been 10 years that they haven’t released anything, that’s startling. I think this one has everything it is to make it a successful release despite the negative critics. I enjoyed this release wholeheartedly. Nothing bad to say about it, I’m giving it a solid “B” rating.

Production quality was solid. You can hear the leads, rhythms, screams/bellowing, and drums perfectly.

I really dug this album though others have condemned it. You may think of Glen as a scumbag, but I enjoyed his efforts on here. No complaints.

Check this one out, and older releases as well!

Rate: 85%.

Reviewed By Death8699 (ryanfanucchi@gmail.com).

Deicide – In Torment In Hell (Roadrunner Records/2001)

6/5/2017

Deicide doesn’t need an introduction really, they formed in Tampa, FL in 1989 under the name Amon with all the original band members, the Hoffman brothers, Glen Benton and Steve Asheim.

Personally, it’s hit or miss with this band. I favor death metal, but each succeeding release seems to be getting worse and worse. With the newer band members too.

Follow-up from “Insineratehymn”, “In Torment, In Hell” is even more putrid than their predecessor. There’s nothing catchy about this album at all. The music is totally generic. The guitars are somewhat fast, but not noteworthy rhythms. And the leads flat out stunk. For a band that started out so great with the first two releases, what another major let-down. This one is 31 minutes of death metal misery. The drums are annoying and the music is awful. There’s just nothing good to say about this one. My view may change over time, or maybe not. I doubt it at least. If you own it, get rid of it.

The production sound was kind of flat, it was NOT mixed well at all.

I would think Deicide would put out some good music here, but I’m totally wrong. They haven’t put out a good album in my opinion since 1997 via “Serpents of the Light.” Nothing noteworthy or positive to say about this one. The vocals suck, the music sucks, the production is flat and Deicide just reared its ugly head.

I would download this and see if you like it. My guess is, probably not!

Rate: 55%.

Reviewed By Death8699 (ryanfanucchi@gmail.com).

Jungle Rot – Order Shall Prevail (Victory Records/2015)

6/5/2017

This band was established in Wisconsin circa 1992. They’ve had quite a few full-length releases, 8 to be exact and (to me) remained a consistent band over the years.

I personally like their style, though I feel that their full-length recordings should be longer than 30+ minutes.

This album is their latest. It simply rips. The tempos aren’t extremely fast, but a lot of tremolo picking going on…brutality galore. The vocals are hoarse and fit the guitars very well. This is a record that you can listen to repeatedly and not get sick of. It really kicks butt. I don’t agree with the critics giving this a “C-“ rating, it’s much more like a “B” to me. The melodies are somewhat limited, this is straight-forward death metal. The aura is a little eerie but that doesn’t take over the overall essence of this release. These guys here are highly underrated with this one. I don’t see why, everything here fits. The songwriting capabilities are superior to other death metal bands. This album and the magic of these songs are far superior to other bands. That I know is for sure. It may be under 40 minutes for this full-length, but the whole album rocks. Check out these songs: “Doomsday”, “I Cast the First Stone” and “Trench Tactics.” You can go wrong with those!

The production is pretty good, and is the reason why I’m giving this album a “B” rating. It’s different (the production) than other releases, though everything fit in well.

I liked this album from start to finish. It definitely hit home with me. Absolutely. Simply amazing guitar work and music that fits the death metal genre perfectly. If you don’t like this, then that’s your issue. I thought very highly of this one.

Get it on bandcamp or CD. It’s really worth it!!

Rate: 85%.

Reviewed By Death8699 (ryanfanucchi@gmail.com).