Those of the Catacombs

Like most horror and OSDM fans would be, I was attracted to the cover art on Those of the Catatombs, which reminded me heavily of all that great old Italo creep cinema of past decades, like a potential period piece incarnation of the Fulci Zombi franchise. You can just envision all these putrid, horrific corpses popping at you from cellars, crypts and tombs, and to their credit, Scolopendra does their bloody best to match the morbid imagery with their crud-clad, almost minimalistic approach to extremity. In fact, their crude songwriting aesthetics mirror those of another Italian export, the great Barbarian, only where that band metes out a mix of primitive thrash, speed and epic heavy metal, this is more of a carnal hybrid of pure 80s death and thrash without any frills...

Chugging, hammering riffs that you've probably heard many times before in various forms, with a few lapses towards doomier, slower material. Lots of feedback in there, fresh and unpolished like a blend of Hellhammer and Venom, but never too noisy or clamorous that it disturbs the clarity of the recording. The raw rhythm guitar tone is balanced out by the simple bass lines and beats, and then both of the vocalists just slather on this raunchy, gruesome barks and roars which certainly remind one of Chris from Autopsy or the late Killjoy of Necrophagia. Some of the sustained vocals have a decay on them like a death metal toad roaring its dominion across a stagnant pond, and it's all total nasty and straight to the face. There's also a very 'live' vibe to this album, again it's not too disgustingly distant or crude, but as if you were getting this really intense, balanced, loud performance right in front of you.

They use a few little details like organs and such ("First-Class Coffin"), or the horror synthns of the interlude "The Smell of Cadavers" to spice things up so they don't become too monotonous, and a few individual guitar licks stray from expectations, but by and large this is very old sounding worship of the bands that stood at the forefront of extreme metal in numerous of its categories. There's nothing too nuanced or progressive about anything here, it's just a big, rolling, pounding bevy of death metal riffs that sound like the style was just then congealing on top of the corpse of thrash, and if you're into those first two Autopsy albums, Usurper, Impetigo, maybe some other bands like Cardiac Arrest, this is perhaps a band you're going to be into, and a lot more rudimentary than the members' other group Abhor. For myself, I really admired the artwork, the themes, the huge sound of the project and the attitude, but I did find a lot of the riffs direly predictable and it didn't exactly light my fire, there weren't many tunes I wanted to keep returning to beyond maybe the synth instrumental.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

The debut album of Italian old school death metallers Scolopendra is here.

Doomy riffs and crashing cymbals draw in the macabre mood of the release with maniacal vocals adding a sense of urgency to the atmospherically droning extremity. Building to crawling tremolo riffs and creepy blast-beats, the slower tempos are utilised in a ferocious and otherworldly manner along with some totally inhuman vocals to create some absolutely unique and savage death metal like nothing you have heard. Perhaps drawing more inspiration from the likes of Necrovore than the typical old school bands. Blasphemous and ritualistic passages fire away with a horrific and disturbing sound that will certainly divide listeners, pushing away the weak and ushering in those with an open mind.

There is an excellent use of more bleak riffs which melt into the caustic assault beautifully to conjure up a twisted sense of dread with the incantation like vocals and hammering drum work. The slower sections are where the band truly come to life, at least to my ear. While the more high-tempo parts are played excellently, there is something so blisteringly unnerving about the more textured, doomy parts that feel dangerous to listen to. With a more occult atmosphere that arguably feels closer to black metal but presented among totally brutal death metal concoctions, this is not a simple slab of brutal riffs, blasts and growls but rather an untamed tome of destruction.

Discarding the easy option of catchy hooks and basic grooves, Scolopendra have developed their own sickeningly dark version of how to pursue the sounds of carnage-inducing extreme metal and successfully so. In a world with an abundance of great death metal harkening back to its origins, it is fantastic to see a band take this in an unpredictable, volatile and disturbing direction that feels more akin to South American bands from back in the day more than their North American and European contemporaries. Obliterating and oozing with a mystical energy, this release will haunt and chill anyone to the bone who sticks with this unusual approach to death metal, making it totally worthwhile.

Scolopendra defy all ideas of how death metal generally sounds to deliver something monstrous and spectral with their debut album that is a thoroughly odd and yet totally satisfying listen. This is the refreshing type of release that undoubtedly stands out from anything else released lately, for better or worse depending on taste, but nobody can say they aren’t unique. I personally found this to be a killer record that is utterly unhinged in every sense.

Written for www.nattskog.wordpress.com

Injecting some sloppy primitivism back into death metal, Scolopendra seem to draw their character from an effort of sheer will as opposed to any notable technical talent. Far more sophisticated musical minds than this have created albums vapid and hollow compared to ‘Those of the Catacombs’. Aesthetically they are a spaghetti junction of clichés, but as if determined to prove that enthusiasm can in fact be an effective substitute for lack of talent, these tracks perfectly invoke the haphazard, dirty, DIY world they draw inspiration from. For the most part this is old school worship with an overtly evil aesthetic, drawing obvious inspiration from horror films and the like, with vocals more ghoulish than they are aggressive; thrash riffs blended through tritones and no small amount of breakdowns verging on Autopsy style doom. Drums are a simple yet creative metronome, defined more by simple, repeated sequences than any flashy fills or overly complex rhythmic play. But they serve their purpose of propping up the ultra-primitive ‘evil’ thrash metal core to this album, providing it with a near relentless swagger.

That being said, this album was serviced by two drummers, one for the first half and another for the final four tracks, and there is a noticeable adrenaline boost after the changing of the guard, as the rhythms become more sure of themselves, the kick-drums gain more presence, and the guitars, apparently egged on by this more sturdy footing become meatier and more dynamic as a result. We’re still a long way off Mike Smith levels rhythmic acrobatics, but the album is noticeably jacked by the second half.

Eerie keyboards crop up frequently, furthering the cheesy (but not overtly so) ‘house of horrors’ vibe to the whole affair. The guitar tone is suitably filthy, and lends itself to these highly basic but well crafted riffs, which are so minimal and persistent it almost feels like a Profanatica album. And indeed, this album could be said to have more in common with early black metal along the lines of Root, Master’s Hammer, and Beherit than typical death metal. The reason for this is because although by nature it is a highly primitive death metal album, the overbearing atmosphere and single-mindedness of ‘Those of the Catacombs’ embodies the streamlined philosophy of black metal more than it does the frantic and schizophrenic nature of death metal riffcraft.

For this reason, ‘Those of the Catacombs’ has more going for it than more polished but characterless death metal releases for the passion that has gone into their craft. As if aware of their limitations as musicians, Scolopendra have adopted the black metal philosophy of honing a specific mood and theme over the course of an album, and used what means they have at their disposal to communicate this. By that metric this album is a resounding success, and despite the hammy aesthetic and themes any seasoned death metal fan would roll their eyes at, there are little unique flourishes and pockets of unexpected joy for any fan of the dirgey, dirtier end of the scale.

Originally published at Hate Meditations