I got his first two in a physical medium, I think he may have asked me to review Verstigenheit on a download, but I forgot since I was capped and the email must have fallen off the list. Whoops.

Not sure about their studio albums but they were horrible live and I haven't found any reason to check out their material based on what I heard that night. Metalcore trying to be tech-death it seemed to me. Some musicianship may be present with the guitarists but the music they make blows.

Lantern is finishing up their debut full-length now. Dark Descent is releasing it.

You are a good man, sir

To jump on the bandwagon, Jute Gyte's "Impermanence" is absolutely brilliant. But, I think its the kind of project that is so out there that it will always be somewhat obscure. In any event I still think the band is pregnant with potential - those melodies are so unforgettably odd yet somehow catchy.

I had high hopes for these guys too, as their debut is some of the only technical deathcore I can stomach, but this five-minute teaser for their new album sounds pretty disappointing. It sounds a lot more stereotypically deathcore, crappy breakdowns, airy screams and all. I guess we can scratch them off the "to watch" list, unfortunately.

Yeah, I actually loved their first record but those samples sounded like shite.

Dark Descent pretty much rounds up all the good death metal bands these days. Any news on a new Adversarial full-length? Will you still be releasing that?

Honestly, I haven't thought any of the Dark Descent's albums have been great yet, but as you can see they make up like 80% of my bands to watch list. Looks like they're starting to really get some great stuff out now.

New bands or reissue?

He just sold out of the only Briton rites cd on his site.

Cloak of Altering- easily my favorite Mories project. The Night Comes Illuminated With Death is easily top 3 in terms of Black Metal for me, and a new album could hit this year.

Muknal- the bands new EP is fucking AMAZING. They have that Dead Congregation-esque air to them... if a band is going to release another Grave of the Archangels, it will be Muknal

New bands. Reissues are quality through and through. Original bands have as yet unfulfilled potential.

Well i highly recommend.

http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Liv ... 3540285766

http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Hor ... 3540301705

the second Decapitation demo was great also.

Horrendous do nothing for me, haven't heard the others.

edit. That reminds me, anything happening with Burial Invocation in the n9ear future og?

Horrendous are pretty bland and safe... play Death Metal with as little experimentation, creativity and originality as possible then profit.

But they are not as relentlessly awful as some of these Swedish/early Floridian DM Revival acts have been(Morbus Chron, Misasmal, Macabra... Entrails ugh)

Awaits flamming.

the amenta, always have the potential to create an amazing album, so far all albums have been good albums but i can see them getting better with their next album

You've described practically every revivalist OSDM band/Swedish death metal band in existence.

I would not describe Mitochondrion, Gyibaaw, Adversarial, Dead Congregation or Grave Upheaval as "bland or safe.

All those bands are firmly rooted in the Old School aesthetic, but with actual unique ideas and concepts that were not stolen directly from Like An Everflowing Stream, Severed Survival or Slowly We Rot.

Then again, it's all opinion I guess. For me, reactionary genre re-hash is rarely interesting, minus a few exceptions(Decrepitaph, Disma, Norway's Execration)

Most of the bands you listed incorporate influences from other styles as well, I am not referring to them so much as garbage like Horrendous, Morbus Chron, Miasmal, Cruciamentum, and Excoriate. I've always wondered what people see in the style of death metal, it took this forum by storm in 09 and possibly a little earlier yet it just doesn't do anything for me outside from a few headbangable moments. I haven't heard of Gyibaaw though

I like Miasmal, they have nice riffs and good energy. I never liked much Swedeath so Morbus Chron are boring to my ears.

Veracs: It's that death metal can be aurally quite pleasant even if the riffs are incredibly derivate and mediocre. Unoriginal death metal can work as passable background music if it's well produced.

Not that I've listened to any of those bands you mentioned.

No one is going to "flame" you as much as call you stupid. Believe me, Horrendous isn't cashing in off their album. If you want cash ins, go check with bigger labels like Nuclear Blast and the like. Even then it is spotty because people like you prefer you mp3 collection you downloaded from some blog.

Potential...because most of the new stuff on the roster is just that....new. They have maybe an EP or single full length under their belt. Some bands, like Miasmal will move on to bigger labels. Things take time...a lot of these bands I have been working with are only now working on debuts.

Honesty, I like my death metal "old school." This has become quite a stupid term. Everyone wants to brand things under some stupid category. What about death metal? It wasn't but 10 years ago people were going nuts over the newest tech death album or brutal slam album. Do you honestly prefer that over "old school?" I don't. I never will. It isn't old school to me...this style never went away.

I guess we should call bands like Portrait or In Solitude old school heavy metal. Or Ghost old school wannabe occult rock.

Save your labels. It is either good or it isn't. You can derive sounds from past bands and still create good music. Everyone wants "original"...well I am here to tell you that you are listening to the wrong kind of music.

Just thought of Falloch. I don't really listen to much folk/post/black metal in that combination, but I really enjoyed their début album - it's got a lot of beauty, and a nice Celtic twist. I'd still say I liked Askival just as much, but Askival can't really have any observable potential any more, considering that it's not an active project.

Like og said, "profit" has nothing to do with what any of these bands are up to. I guarantee you not one band on Dark Descent or any comparably-sized underground label is making much money at all. Probably a bunch of them are losing money. About all of them maintain other jobs and tour/record when they aren't working. Say what you will about their output, but they're doing what they love - there's nothing cynical about it.

Anyway, the conversation about old school revivalism has been beaten into the ground. I listen to bands like that because I like the old style of death metal more than the new one (for the most part - there are exceptions). I also don't think it was tapped out in terms of creativity or song- and riff-writing, but the relentless push into more atonal, brutal, and "experimental" waters made it passe for a while to play that way. I do like some straight-up clone bands (e.g. Entrails, who I think are good at what they do - which is copying Dismember and Entombed) - but plenty of these bands don't sound like anyone in particular to me. Who specifically is Horrendous ripping off? They're just a meat-and-potatoes OSDM act with their own take on the style and a good grasp of songwriting. A lot of the other bands I think are legitimately doing new things, but maybe because it's not a blur of .5 second long riffs, people don't get that. Adversarial IMO is a *great* band and I hope it's not long before they do another album. Thantifaxath has a very distinctive take on black metal. Begrime Exemious isn't "modern" in any particulars but the way they combine influences and genres strikes me as very unique. etc.

Hey Matt, I don't think that anyone was trash talking your bands and/or your label, and HeySharpshooter's statement probably resulted from bad wording more than anything else. Some good points have risen up here, as much as in the Anhedonist preview. Mainly that despite the reissues, newer bands releasing material in DDR have been slowly building up to something but have yet to fully bloom that potential, something to which I agree. No one (I think) is saying that they're crappy bands, just that they can do better in a near future and establish themselves as noteworthy acts, something that I also agree with. And you, as a label manager and leader, can perceive these commentaries as depreciative but I don't think that was anyone's intention. Bands on DDR are new and underground, so they need time to bloom, as for the time being they're just enjoyable acts. I guess that's the message to retain here.

Also, playing it safe is quite different from xeroxing other bands, which is the same to say that if a band has elements of another band or scene is doesn't exclude them qualitatively on accounts of lack of originality. I also prefer my metal "the old school way" and there's enough to enjoy in revivalist acts, as there are excessive bands that falter in the quality department in such approach. But as in all you have to differentiate the good from the bad, and originality has nothing to do with being good or bad. Good riffs/songwriting do.

On topic, as to contribute with something more than a "moral chill-out rant", I think that there's some potential in a new and renewed Greek metal scene that has brought some interesting bands to the table in the last years (few and far between though). The musicians that are part of Transcending Bizarre? are very skilled and have released some interesting works, which leads me to the concluding name, which is Hail Spirit Noir. I think that this side project from TB?'s vocalist and guitarist has everything to achieve some minor cult status. But then again it could as well fall back into obscurity. Time will tell.

Nah, I didn't think that or even care. I think HeySharpShooter is a little misinformed though. I've seen him talk about Swedish-style dm and other dm and how he's not a fan. So being a critic of something you profess not to like doesn't make much sense to me. As I said before, if you are looking for originality in your metal, you better be prepared to listen to a lot of crap. These styles that are being used are emulated or followed for a reason...because they are good. There's a reason thousands of bands took sounds from Sabbath or Priest or any other band that did it "first" in a particular genre.

In the end, it comes back to the songs. They are either good or they aren't. You can still have a great memorable album with convincing material, catchy riffs, great songwriting while still paying homage to older styles or bands. I think people have lost some perspective here. I'm not saying everything is good but it seems there are a lot who are dismissing entire styles for no reason other than to "hate trends." Believe it or not, this is underground death metal...not a trend. You want a trend to hate, walk around to a Vans Warped Tour or go check out an Ozz Fest. That's what you should be hating. ha ha...

From Denmark I would say Undergang, Deus Otiosus and Strychnos. But out of those only Strychnos don't have a full length out so I'll go with them.

Yeah, Undergang has quite a bit of releases out now, so I'd say they are well on their way to watched status. They'll be coming over to the US to play a show in NY soon.

well said and true

Yes, you're right. Though I imagine most metalheads have not heard of them yet. Could be wrong of course.

I can't believe I didn't list this one sooner, as they seem to be a band under the radar for many and exceptionally good:

Vengeful.

Their discography so far is outstanding and they have nearly everything I'm looking for in a death metal band. Their latest release, out late 2011, a double-CD self-titled release is really fantastic and one of my favorite albums. I also find the Omnipresent Curse outstanding. They offer quality sound, musicianship, and enough technicality and diversity to keep things continually interesting and have no stand-out flaws, IMO. A band that's only going to continue to get better and take over a larger share of the death metal market if they keep doing what they've been doing.

If you haven't heard them (or heard them recently), check out the track 'Malice' off of the 2nd-CD of that self-titled.

Malice: http://youtu.be/LpMWneCi_nk

The fact that their debut album has arrived today made me realize they belong here, Desecresy. Basically it's post-breakup Slugathor, with a twist. New album coming up in the Summer and if it's as good as their first then this is another "Finndeath" band to watch!

Sorry, a little off topic, but Autopsy, Funebrarum, Undergang all in one show in NYC?! Can't miss it! Thanks for the tip, og.

Pharao, as already mentioned, are quite "big" in my country (germany) and also elsewhere I suppose. Yet they haven't reached their peak for sure and I have the feeling they will get really more attention in the near future.

Also Chris Black's other bands, namely Dawnbringer and High Spirits, will surely gain alot of more praise than they already do. Seeems that this man just thoughtlessly delivers what "the crowd" demands



sweet! I love this band! is there any way to already see the cover?

I see Entrails, Horrendous and Miasmal have gotten some flak. I think people should keep their eyes peeled for all three bands mentioned. They have been both scorned and praised all in the same thread. Shows you how divided personal taste and overall perception is with people. But opinions do vary. Personally, I see no wrong in treading the orthodox path, thrusting your banner into the soil and enforcing your mark. A lot of folks seem to attach a stigma to that kind of thinking though. As already stated, it's tried and true. It works. The formula is effective and still deadly accurate. That is all. \m/

Skogfodt definitely. Love his first album, piratey goodness.

Evil Army for sure, their album is some blistering thrash. I wish Rob would get his ass out of jail already.