Children of Mäani ~ Tradition - The Birth

pretty cool opening riffs. vocals kick in fairly soon and have a nice (albiet typical BM). The riffs have some good melody and are solid. We get some deep guttural growls thrown in every now and then that offer up a different tone. The keyboards seem to be there to add some atmosphere but imo tend to be abit high in the mix. Unlike most BM, we actually have a guitar solo half way through the song....and its actually good. There is another shortly after...the guy definitely has some skills as it looks like on the MA page that he did all instruments. I do really dislike the tone of the bass drum. The clicking double bass sound is just annoying to me....oh, just noticed its Vindsval from Blut Aus Nord who I am a fan of as well....although this is definitely a different style than that project.

Overall pretty good. looks like only released a few other songs, but will check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3xeZ2SDBFE

This fuckin' rips! Pure thrash madness, with some damn heavy, pummeling riffs driven along by the forceful drumming. I don't actually own any Holy Moses, but have heard bits and pieces over the years (probably from this album) but it's been a while, so this was aggressively refreshing to hear. The vocals are awesome - pure vitriol and sublime ferocity, and the riffwork is as good and concise as it gets within the genre. Being released a year after Reign In Blood you can at times hear (some) similarities, but this band has a sound and punch all their own (and much better solos). I have to say that I really dig the guitar tone a lot, it's sharp and still kind of crunchy, and like I mentioned earlier, the drumming is insanely good forming a perfect backbone with plenty of storming mayhem, and the bass is clearly evident, banging away in there also. Great solid thrash that will have you foaming at the mouth

Back into the filth...

Hic Iacet - Ritual II - Prophecy of Doom

Interesting but I’m not sure how I exactly feel about this. Sounds like something very atmospheric that really requires your attention to sink it and while I’m not sure if an entire album of this stuff would be my thing, I definitely do not mind hearing this. I like the buzzing guitars that sucks up right away. They’re not aggressive in their delivery but not completely retained either with creepy, eerie tremolo picking riffs. The vocals are somewhat distant (probably done on purpose I assume) because I feel that they would be slightly more effective had they been louder in the mix and the whole song definitely doesn’t screw around with unexpected song sections or whatnot. Maybe it’s just too one dimensional for me but I can’t help but think that this song lacks something. I’m not referring to catchiness but the whole thing sort of drags for my idea in the end. Maybe I’d get into the right mood for this stuff if I had to sit through 45 minutes or so of this music, but for now this is decent and inspired but not really that desirable I’m afraid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ_6ZnNL67s

Virgin Steele- Summoning The Powers

I can't help but think of the nu-metal band (or whatever they are) Disturbed whenever I hear the singer's voice. I like the eerie vibe the intro brings, but I can't help but think that it's rather corny. The parts in which it picks up a bit sound more like something I would march to. One aspect of the song I do truly enjoy is the guitars: very early power metal-esque. I thoroughly enjoy the solo that started at 3:40. The piano was a very nice addition towards the end. However, after that, I feel as though the song was stretched out a tad longer than need be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrEP69F4OaQ

Crucifixion - Catholicos Diabolicos

This started as essentially well done Death plagiarism. Before it changed my thoughts were well this is enjoyable enough when it's on but what the fuck is the point. Although it still remained influenced to some degree by the band, it did change away to straight up worship. Some pretty strong death metal here with a grating (albeit well-produced) barrage of drums which are very high in the mix. There's something a bit off about the mix . . . can't put my finger on it and it doesn't ruin it or anything but something definitely feels a bit weird. Proggy bass becomes prominent in sections and the lead guitar (this is definitely Death worship) is very well done. This is some pretty good professional death metal. Perhaps lacking a bit of personality but undeniably good for what it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC7rMfYJtKQ

UtlagrL : "Soleil Invaincu"

Sounds very Norwegian doesn't it? Definitely a bit of an Immortal vibe going on at the very least, right down to that Demonaz-ish style of guitar picking/chording and the marching tempos alternating with blastbeat sections. Vocals are a little higher and shriekier though; the basic tempo is also slower and the drumming sounds....well, not very charismatic compared with what might be its principal influence, Pure Holocaust. In fact, that might very well be a machine, yet somehow the transitions from the cool march beats to the blasting always comes off as a bit awkward, and it happens with total regularity. I enjoyed the sound of the riffing but it didn't do a lot to distinguish itself. When I first heard Pure Holocaust I was both thrilled and chilled, and the album still has that effect on me to this day. Not so much here; there doesn't really seem to be any kind of journey, just a few Demonaz-inspired riffs and a somewhat bellicose feeling that just ends when it ends.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dkxKk7v3D8

"Warfare-Prince of Darkness"

I like the main opening riff, though I think they kinda miss the hook (just by a little bit though). The verse riff is pretty good too, though with me, I cant say it really hits the mark spot on.

im not a big fan of spoken dialog over vocal singing, but i dont like that in any band (so its not like its specific to this band). its just not my taste, I usually skip those parts of a song, but in this case I cant really skip it because its a main part of the song.

I dont wanna assume anything but im guessing this is either your friend's band or your band? im only basing this off the number of views it has, though it could just be another upload from another user if this band is more well known. i like the sound though, and the composition of the music itself seems to be written my someone competent, so i'll give some other songs by them a listen, (also, is that Putin in the back? haha)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URz4fbILyrc

@ Hots_towel

Ophiuchus- Welcome to the Machine

Wow... just wow

Gotta say, this was... pretty awful

Musically, I guess you would describe it as just very modern sounding Thrash: very clean, very bland and I think they are ripping off Gwar in a few parts. Some Groove Metal in it too, which just doesn't help. This is just really bland, stupid sounding stuff(as an aside, I can't seem to find ANY relevant info on the artist). The clean sound is the most obnoxious thing of all: this is fucking Thrash Metal right? Not really though, it's just a cheap bastardization of it.

But lets spend a minute on the vocals. Those were the most shockingly bad thing of all. Wow, I mean holy what the fuck. At first, I thought I might be listening to some Nu-Metal vocalists Nu-Thrash side-project(and I might be, again, i can't find any relevant info on this artists at all). And is this supposed to be a cover of a Pink Floyd song or something? I don't listen to Pink Floyd, but they have a song by the same name as far as I can tell...

Overall, this was really, really, really bad. Not trying to be a dick to the poster. I'm sure he is a good dude, and bully to the people who dig this. For me, this is just bottom on the barrel stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wm18M9bbg8

Entropia-Gauss

Oh my, what is this?
I don't get into back metal very often, but this is extraordinary. Starting off as a deep depressive void that just sucks you in. The prog influences add a nice tone to it. Around 3:40, the song picks up and hits you like a wall: dropping all sludge/prog and becomes straight, pulverizing black metal. The vocals fit the music flawlessly. To put it bluntly, if Deafhaven was good, this would be the product. Checking out more songs and probably picking this up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2-aF-40rq4

Forced Entry - Apathy, off As Above, So Below

This starts off promisingly enough, with some energetic, speedy riffing and a nice, crunchy guitar tone. However, I was disappointed to hear that everything quickly devolved into a disjointed, choppy main riff that sounds like Morbid Angel's mid-paced moments, although severely lacking Trey's finesse and knack for strange hooks. The choppy, boring riffing pervades most of the song's length, which is rather confusing and sad, as the times where the band picks up speed are significantly more engaging, and show that these guys are clearly talented the enough to thrash it out relatively well. I have mixed feelings about the singer too, as his tone and attitude are satisfying enough, but his stiff delivery truly brings down his performance. Not much to say about the rhythm section, other than the fact that they are very underused, and they could've definitely spiced it up a bit to somewhat make up for the more boring sections.

Overall, this was quite underwhelming and bittersweet.

Let's step into different territory.

Ashes To Ashes-Truth on Scaffold

interesting...grand keys start this song off. guitars have a tone i wasn't expecting at all but kinda cool. the vocals are abit of a mix of clean and harsh vocals....and it goes with the guitar riff. Once the keys start up again, the vocals are clean. NOt sure if this was done on purpose or not, but cool. Although i dig the guitar tone and the actual riff, this is little variation. the next section gets more interesting as the drumming starts to provide some interesting fills along with the keys providing some good atmosphere and kinda feel the anger in the vocalists voice. just over half way through the song we get a sudden stop in music with the singer singing quite nicely....the song builds nicely near the end and catching myself singing along with the Nailed to the cross chorus. Cool song...tempted to go listen to more of their stuff

Could only find the entire album, but hopefully this link starts at song starting point

Strange song title (if it's the right one), and I did a slight double take to make sure that's what it is... anyway this is some Chinese metal comin' at ya! Categorized as melodic black metal, which isn't a bad take on things, and it starts off with some acoustic strumming, reminding me of the intro to Behemoth's Beyond The Pagan Vastlands demo, and sounds rather weird and atonal, almost like the chords are in the wrong key. Production wise this is fairly thick and booming, and I can't shake the feeling that I have heard a sound in someone else that is familiar to me, maybe hints of Dissection or Master's Hammer, can't quite nail it down, but it's riding on the edges of me memory... and it's fairly heavy too, as the vocalist screams a barrage of abuse at you through the song as the melodic riffs keep coming. The barrage of buzzing riffs and some admittedly cool underlying melodic leads keep this interesting to a point, but it wears a little thin on me after a while, as there isn't much evolution throughout the track - it seems to repeat it's own motifs too much for any real impact I'm afraid, and while the rip itself isn't great, it sounds somewhat muffled and muddied when they speed things up, kind of a blur in those sections. This is average for me, as I've heard better.

Something I've been spinning lately...

Aosoth - Temple Of Knowledge (IV: An Arrow in Heart)

This is black metal that is cultivated in a thoroughly death metal way yet it still maintains the ominous character and atmospheric timbre of BM. The vocals are the most defining example of my claim as they have both the growl and rasp in them of both styles. The song itself takes its time and early on it gives you the feeling that it will unfold in the most monumental epic way. The riffing shuffles from thundering and fast to slow and doomy and it picks up the pace as it reaches climax. Everything is incredibly well planned and well executed and even if the climax isn't as shattering as the journey, it is still good while it lasts.

Something from my neck of the woods...

SIndulgence: "King Beyond the Wall"

Makes me feel like 1996 all over again. It doesn't remind me of any one band in particular but I can hear shades of all kinds of 90s stuff like Neurosis, Sepultura and maybe Prong. The vocals have that brute-yelling-right-up-against-the-mic approach, so that when he inhales, it sounds like he might just swallow it. There's a lot of chugging and weird screechy guitarwork, but some interesting rhythmic tricks keep it from being terribly monotonous. The band does have a personality that shows through in the rhythm changes, and so they should get some points for that. Vocals were not too good though, and it wasn't improved when they slowed down the tempo for a brief clean vocal/alternative rock sounding bit where he sounds a bit like the guy from System of a Down in his lower range. Drummer could have used a few more interesting techniques, I feel, but I liked how they did a quirky tempo acceleration as they were ending the song. It's a bit of a struggle to find enthusiasm for this though.

Well, here's some of that 90s stuff then:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlMPi83ldCk

Neurosis - The Web

Man, of course this is good. Souls at Zero is one of my favourite albums ever. This album represents Neurosis in transition between their hardcore roots and their trademark sound that started really developing on the next album. This also happens to be their best album (in my humble opinion, of course). Neurosis have never had more potent and aggressive riffs than on this album. This song definitely is an apt example of that. This is very layered, has more than one lead vocalist and features samples (just check the ones that starts off the song). This has some really dynamic songwriting and is intense throughout. Wouldn't call it one of the best songs on the record, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzxc00x3k5I

@ Dystopia:

murmur - water from water

seems like we're building up to something here.... come on.......almost....there..... maybe..... ok, getting bored now..... and all of a sudden we're listening to some kind of postmodern black metal. i have to wonder why they made me sit through 2 minutes of buildup intro when it just kinda stumbles into an unrelated, bland riff. musically this is mostly just dissonant riffs and stop-starty heavy/clean motions, although the drumwork is admittedly kinda fancy. breaks into a dark funeral-esque tremolo party after a few more minutes before shoegazing back into dissonance. not sure exactly at whom this was aimed, but not me. the drumwork is at least good, but it's overall just too clunky and there's nothing of any real substance there that it's worth forgiving the bad transitions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r03oBHwolV4

Martyr: "Prototype"

This was the first song I ever heard from this band. Funny thing though is that it was on a tape and I didn't have a tracklist for it, and while I knew it was all bands from Quebec, I had assumed it was Obliveon! it does sound a bit like the early Obliveon stuff, but even moreso does it call the US band Death to mind. Still, there's more than enough unique identity here to make this album stand out on its own. The band is immensely talented for sure, with all instrumentalists giving 100% and changing tempos, throwing in lead licks and interesting littel frills that all sound effortless. The vocals have an almost hardcore sound to them at times, which may not be to everyone's taste, but I enjoy it well enough, and it again helps to set them apart from all the Death wannabes out there. Dan Mongrave is of course well known now for being in Voivod and helping to deliver the phenomenal Target Earth, but here he seems much more inspired by Schuldiner and especially the various lead guitarists he worked with after 1990. Some of these riffs/tempos are very headbang-worthy, especially toward the end, and the song generally develops to focus less on the lead guitar flourishes as it goes on, which is a neat trick. That clear bass tone lacks heaviness but is pretty awesome for this style of music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMPfYr7JiZM

Oh man, I haven't been in this thread for months and when I come back, it's mother fuckin Ved Buens Ende! "I Sang for the Swans" is a classic!

Beginning with dizzying riffs, off-putting drum patterns and an incredibly strange bass presence - the song starts off with a lurching spiraling feeling, like being dragged down a spiral staircase in a surreal mansion that doesn't quite look like it should have a basement. Weird melodies float through in the air in a menacing manner, but they don't quite have an "evil" tone to them, rather an unsettling strangeness, resembling something more sinister than flat out malicious. The vocal delivery is distant, layered and with the occasional harsh undertone, it really adds to the superb serpentine atmosphere. This style of metal has often been imitated by later black metal bands (most notably of the French variety - I'm think Haemoth and Darvulia) but no one has quite captured the maddening manic delivery that VBE accomplished all those years ago. Truly a great song off of a great album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKWqYI0ylkk

@ frog:

Abom!

@ frog:

Verge - Because It's Wrong

Oh shit, funeral doom. There's little else in metal that I'm so ill-equipped to review because I've heard next to nothing in this subgenre. Better start somewhere I guess.
Overall, not a terrible song. Not fantastic either, but not bad. The band uses some drone elements, as well as lots of layering, to make the guitar sound bigger, but still hollow, if that makes any kind of fucking sense. The vocalist does a pretty good job of conveying a crippling sense of pain and suffering, and I can hear some black metal influences in his performance as well.
Again, not horrible, but not exceptionally noteworthy either. Or I just don't like funeral doom.
5/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu10EhbxrrI

Death I Am- Entheogen

Boy, I didn't realize there were new bands doing this sound anymore. I figured it kinda went out of vogue when Job For a Cowboy went Tech Death and Suicide Silence went radio rock.

I will say this song takes me way back. The whole Deathcore thing was so huge for a while in AZ because of JFAC and some of the other bands around like Knights of the Abyss. The whole Mesa/Tempe/Phoenix area was huge in the development of this particular brand of Deathcore, and I gotta admit when the thing was just getting started my interest was piqued. I went to JFAC's CD release show for the Doom EP, which is sort of Genesis for the whole sound.

Enough of the history lesson anyway... to the song.

When the song kicked in, the first thing I thought was "This sounds like Job For a Cowboy when they did Deathcore..." and that is exactly what this is: mildly Technical Deathcore with breakdowns and even those wonderful pig squeals, though I will say this is more complex than JFAC's early stuff. Everything this is clean, tight and compressed: skull-fucking the shit out of dynamic range to be sure. The vocalist is actually fairly decent as far as Deathcore vocalists go. Good range of vocal styles and he's very clear sounding. The little guitar solo thing that starts at 1:38 sounds fucking awful though. Not sure what the thinking was for that.

Overall, very generic stuff that seems pretty dated, but I can't say I hate it. Truth is, I never worked up as much hate for Deathcore as others: I had a short interest, grew bored quickly and then just left it be, with a few notable exceptions(contrary to the bullet belt and old skull crowds constant bitching, there is quality Deathcore out there... this just isn't it)

Now for something st00pid and br00tal... and fucking awesome in my opinion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMnp5CeBHC8

Mitchell!



Inherit Disease - Nanoscourge

Wow. This is quite literally the opposite of the metal I listen to, so I'll have to use my limited knowledge of brutal/tech shit to explique! Some of the riffing is pretty damn dope, reminding me of mid-era Cryptopsy and Cephalic Carnage, but more umm....spastic? The tremolo sections have an incredible sledgehammer feel to them and when the guitarists aren't running up and down the frets, the song has a real sense of heaviness and structure (I know, I know, the point of the genre is to be all over and crazy). The occasional bass drops and tempo changes give the tune more of a "song" feel than just wankery, and I appreciate that. But, I'll never get used to those vocals, I'll tell ya what. All in all though, it had me both in awe of the technical skill of the musicians and headbanging along - which I guess is pretty much the point!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DymceY5CowE

hollenthon - lords of bedlam

i've heard this band's name, but can't remember anything about them apart from that a mate was into them about 10 years ago. it has a symphonic black metal sound to it, like i haven't actually heard for... well, 10 years now. this is a bit of a pounding number sustained by a keyboard/synth melody, but it's been lifted from a known piece (where's it from? the nutcracker?) and adds a level of cheese to it that it doesn't need. they could've made up a similar melody of their own and it would've been better. it's a decent enough song, but it suffers in that it's only average - nothing stands out, and when i think about it, it's almost wholly lifted (not the actual riffs and melodies, but rather the ideas and song structure) from dimmu borgir's "mourning palace". i wouldn't write the band off completely based on this, but i think i'd have to hear a full album to get a bit more perspective. on just hearing this one song, it'd be very easy to dismiss them as one of the many symphonic black metal bands that popped up in the early 00s just as cradle of filth and dimmu borgir hit it big. speaking of, whatever happened to cradle of filth? DB is still around, but COF just dropped right off the map.

my next choice is borderline metal in a lot of people's eyes, but particularly as a live track i think this is doomy as buggery. in any case (and pre-emptively in my defence), it's *much* closer to the black sabbath source than that goregrind song above. the vocals... oh man, if i could sing like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9jX1KAKp78

Alice In Chains - Love, Hate, Love

You know, although a big name...and I'm aware of their popular songs, i dont own or have heard a lot of AiC. Live version here, really like that opening guitar melody...has an eerie sound that drew me in right away..Staley's vocals are perfect for this as its powerful yet has that roughness to it....there are a few sections that build up before settling down again. It kinda gets heavier near the end but the riffs aren't really anything to take home (although there are some ok leads and has a nice tone) but not really the showcase of this song as i think Staley is the star of the song....i should probably listen to more of these guys..we'll see if i get around to it someday!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFYkwYAGHSE

Absu - Cyntefyn's Fountain

Featured on their second full-length, The Sun of Tiphareth, this is a song clocking at below 4 minutes so there is no wonder if it feels rather underdeveloped and underwhelming to some of us... And I remember *sniff* that eight or nine years ago I used to think Absu was the shit, but considering the year of release (1995), this song doesn't quite come off as impressive - Proscriptor plays mainly by the book of death metal with certain fills that strongly recall Disincarnate's Monarch of the Sleeping Marches and negotiates all time changes neatly, though these are much sparser than what would be found on Tara, for example. The guitar part is also impeccably executed and in very good sync with the drumming, providing adequately bellicose/melodic riffs during the whole songs, minus the last 20-30 seconds which end on a "fluffier", acoustic note. The vocals are limited to 2 or 3 verses, so this piece is almost exclusively instrumental. Might work as a very, very casual listen, but nothing to blow your mind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpZmGsYb67k

S.V.E.S.T. - The Alpha Wolf's Anger

Ah, France. Home of fine cheeses, finer wines, 35-hour work weeks and extremely pretentious orthodox black metal. I was actually only familiar with the band's full-length album, so hearing a track that dates back to one of their demos was fairly interesting. Like the full-length, this track has a thick-ass layer of white noise carpeted all over it, which somehow manages to leave room for the drums and vocals to breathe but entwines itself pretty thoroughly with the rhythm guitars, which was probably the whole point. Anyway this is a hell of a lot more straightforward and accessible than their bloated and often rather silly album, and I like how the very rock-'n'-roll guitar soloing is used here more in the context of the song as, well, a metal song rather than just adding to the cracked-out cacophony like the solos on the album seem to do. Still far from my favorite sort of black metal, but infinitely more listenable than their much goofier later material.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jOm1csBsic

Virvatulet - Sodan Roihuava Aamunkoitto

What the fuck, man? This is some quality black metal (and I haven't heard of this act... no beer for me today), makes me think of Horna with its warm approach to melody and knack for writing very catchy riffs. The kind of riffs that you could listen to on and on and after 5 minutes you would still find it hard to reach for the stop/pause button. The beginning of the song displays such a riff, it's so well executed that I almost sighed when they changed the tempo. It could have gone on just like Darkthrone's Quintessence and would have sounded awesome, but Virvatulet prefer a more epic song structure, and though the drummer can get to bash the skins in the purest BM style, he usually sticks to a more discrete and nuanced performance, with solid audible pedal work. The song is quite flawless until the third something playing minute when the riffing gets a bit thrashier in order to provide some variety, but discards some of the subtlety present within the previous melodies. It's still a very good tune, and I feel that I really ought to check more of this band's work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBdLsmV0qDk

psychotic waltz - out of mind

ok... i don't know what to think of this. the music's fucking awesome, clicked with me instantly. but the vocals are definitely an acquired taste. still, fucking tasty riffing. kinda like a slower version of technical thrash? weird that they paired this music with clean vocals, and such wailing ones at that - the dude's awful. nice interludes and proggy mix-ups, and the production is just how i like it: clear, but with a rough edge. all in all it's a seemingly weird combination of elements here - jazzy song structure, thrashy riffs, death metal guitar tone/drum sound with a scott burns-ish production, the singer from rush's talentless cousin, and the album cover from left hand path. overall it gets a thumbs up from me, but i dunno how much of the singer i could stomach. i'm going to label hearing this an experience - i'll probably casually name-drop them next time i'm hanging out with a mate who's into shit like cynic and listening to vinyl for the higher quality audio, pretend i know them from way back. haha.

next up is an old favourite of mine i haven't heard in a while: death metal meets blade runner, somehow:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWD_71GAiws

Fear Factory - Leechmaster

Great, Fear Factory! I've always been somewhat of a fan and this is from their rather impressive debut album. It chugs along in a usual and expected fashion but the sheer persistence and percussive nature of those punishing riffs eventually makes an impression. The lyrics are the usual unintelligible mess that resonates with one in an aggressive mood nonetheless and Burton C. Bell's delivery is once again as USUAL on point. The drumming is well centered and although I won't be hearing this again for a long time, it is still pretty OK stuff!

keep the adrenaline alive, shall we?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT2qw6RIwJM

Crunchy, palm muted thrashin' speed metal madness eh? Sure why not. The opening salvo is pretty damn tight and furious, gloriously galloping along, with a cool harmonious lead lick thrown in before the snarling, wailing vocals charge in. The music here isn't anything I haven't heard before in this style, but it is pretty savage with the spiteful, snarling vocals being particularly cool riding over the precise riffing, and the gang shouted chorus lines. Production wise it's very good, even through the YT mess you can tell it's mixed well. There is however, no real deviation in delivery here, as it follows a well worn path in this style, with minimal extra cool riffs or licks thrown at you besides the slower section for the main lead to shine, but it is only a short burst of furious energy so that's okay with me... The other downside, which was a big one for me, was the wailing, high-pitched notes the vocalist uses - I found these rather bad unfortunately, in their strained, cat-on-fire delivery. Not something I liked at all I'm afraid. Overall this wasn't terrible, but neither did it totally win me over.

No reinvention of the wheel here, but something I've been digging.

Kever-Under Dark Eclipse

Wow, what an average (since Sweden sets the bar for death metal pretty high) Swedish 90's death metal band... No? 90's Florida death metal band? No. These guys are from Israel and this album is only six months old. It's almost as if this was taken straight from the 90's. Instrumentally: really rhythmic, raw, and powerful with a gripping solo. Vocals are about as cut and dry as early death metal gets. The closest thing I could relate these guys too are a mix of Wombbath and early Obituary. These guys are decent, solely based off this song, but they don't do anything to stand out. I'm curious to see more from these guys, however.

An album I've recently taken a liking too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I84762UVKSg

Ahab - The Divinity of Oceans

I know some don't like the posting of long songs (there are quite a few i'd post but probably not get reviewed for days).....but I love Ahab, although i haven't spun this album as much as others...especially call of the wretched sea. Anyways, intro riff is solid, tone is similar to that of said mentioned debut album whereas Giant had a different sound/feel to it. What i really like about this song and Ahab in general is that the tempo is slow...but unlike some doom, doesn't really bore me as there are nice leads/melody and the drumming is actualy quite varied....even accoustic less heavier sections have a sound that doesn't sway away from the rest of the song...good song! definitely need to listen to this album again

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5ciJcksiEU

quo vadis - silence calls the storm

the name quo vadis just instantly reeks of faux-intellectual gothick metal, so i've always avoided this band. instead it's melodeath. wasn't expecting that! is this some kind of therion deal where this is from the band's first album, and now they're all black candles and corsets? doesn't matter - in any case, this song isn't too bad at all. i think i'd have enjoyed this if i'd heard it as a teenager, back when i was all about the in flames and dark tranquillity. it's a bit heavier than both of them, much more of an emphasis (at least on this live clip) on fancy drumming, which is more in line with regular death metal. i can hear a bit of pete sandoval in the drummer's footwork, similar patterns. not much to say on the vocals, dude's just your standard growler. good melodies throughout - standard melodeath minor scale melodies over riffs you'd expect; not overly flowery, but not overly brutal. it's actually at that exact middle point that this style should be. the distinction between melodeath and gothenburg, etc. hearing it in 2014 it's obviously not breaking any boundaries, but if this is from the mid-late 90s then mad props.

here's an idea that i don't think was ever explored much further in metal, although i think it kicks arse:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7Rx85aKlSY

@Turner

Suicidal Tendencies - Surf and Slam

A colorful instrumental which showcases the guitarists' capacity of coaxing some atmospheric tones and their love for the good old surf culture at a classic surf rock pace. Though the song isn't necessarily on the sunniest side of the sonic spectrum, its vaguely threatening melodies only add to the general fun, after all, surfers don't seek waves 1 meter high. Very enjoyable overall, there are some vivid solos included, and although they didn't borrow the wet, reverberating surf rock tone, they should sound every bit as satisfying to a surf fan's ear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGfEc6fyl6I

Akercocke - Enraptured by Evil

The Akercocke I'm familiar with is much more experimental than this but this is rather tame straight ahead death/black metal with more emphasis on death as regards the pacing and texture. It is adequately heavy though and adequately engaging. The drumming is varied and the vocals are a lovable indecipherable mess but it is the guitars that sound the most incredible and which make this worth hearing over and over again. Grade A!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ObrwgSr0Kk