Confront Hate - Diabolical Disguise of Madness

For a first offering, “Diabolical Disguise of Madness” is not far short of staggering. The combination of diverse sounds presented, from ethereal, introspective soundscapes to furious and pummelling elements is astounding and makes it a highly good listen. Well, that, and the expert songcraft, too. There are nods to Meshuggah and Gojira in the way they fuse technical and crushing riffs with dark, dissonant and progressive harmonics, like evidenced in “New Divine Shadow” and “Conception”. In other moments, particularly on the excellent instrumentals, “Sokenra” and “Love Grows Cold”, Confront Hate reveals a penchant for epic and sinister ambiences akin to someone like Tool or Nine Inch Nails.
It’s clear that these guys are determined to create ambitious, potent and accomplished tunes, and although they still have to refine some details, perhaps eschew some of the tepid chugga-chugga riffing that hinders the impact of some of these songs, “Diabolical Disguise of Madness” is most certainly a memorable and crushing debut. (7/10)

David Alexandre
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Deus Otiosus - Murderer

If the sleeve and the title don't make it clear, then the first 30 seconds of opener “I Have Seen Him Slay” will spell it out, Denmark’s Deus Otiosus plays brutal death metal.
Drawing influences from groups such as Morbid Angel, Immolation and Incantation, the Danes proudly wave the flag of early to mid-90’s death metal and for the most part it works fairly well. Fans of old-school death metal will surely appreciate the recognisable traits of the style, break-neck drumming, vicious, furious riffs, chilling, devilish solos and guttural growls. “Murderer” is not all about early death metal homage though as songs like “Wall of Violence” introduce some death metal grooves and movie samples that set them close to Dying Fetus standards, while “Ash World” reveals some thrash metal leanings that reminded me of Sepultura circa “Beneath the Remains”.
Ultimately, “Murderer” is not always the most engaging experience, as it lacks some truly riveting moments and captivating dynamics that most listeners require to give it repeated listens, still it’s a record that death-metal die hard fans would want to give it a spin or two. (6/10)

Byrant Thomas

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Pain of Salvation - Road Salt Two

Pain of Salvation is a weird one. It has elements of Blues, Old school prog and Zeppelin era Rock n Roll whilst also featuring orchestration in parts and syncopated and polyrhythmic rhythms. Basically it’s an explosion of musical styles, and it does it well.
At first the music swaps styles so regularly it’s quite confusing to follow, but when you start concentrating on the music, it’s a beautiful journey delving into the soul. The varying musical styles also add to this effect and the journey just feels magical. There is no other word for it really.
This could quite literally be a soundtrack to a completely epic film, with tracks such as To the Shoreline having quite a Celtic sound, whereas Softly She Cries is very old school blues. There is more variance in one song that most bands manage to get onto an entire album.
The variance can be a bad thing as the music does sometimes feel fairly schizophrenic as it sometimes seems like the music doesn’t know where it wants to go next. Also as it has come only a year since Pain of Salvation’s last release (Road Salt One) it may be all too much for some people.
The band have recently been on the road with the likes of Dream Theatre and Opeth, and this is very apparent in their writing style that these two bands are huge influences on them, as the band seems like a blues version of Opeth.
Overall this is a pretty amazing album, and one I would definitely recommend to people who want a bit of everything from their music. (7/10)

James Merrett

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Coldworker - The Doomsayer's Call

Having traded US cult label Relapse for French independent Listenable Records, Swedes Coldworker figured out this would be a good opportunity to give an additional kick to their songwriting and performance skills and implement more rhythmic variance into their death-grind sound.
Not that there was anything wrong with it, their previous two releases, “The Contaminated Void” and “Rotting Paradise”, offered some pretty intense and pulverising moments that could rival with the likes of Phobia, Rotten Sound and Kill the Client.
Anyway, if the intention for album number three was to create a more dynamic and individual record then, mission accomplished ‘cause “The Doomsayer's Call" is their most complete and diverse record to date without any doubts. Whereas previous works saw the Swedes stepping hard on the pedal to create maximum aural wreckage, this new record sees Coldworker delivering more straightforward and slow-burning riffs that provides great contrast with the high speed grind attack. The aptly titled lead-off track, “A New Era” with its slow and infectious simplicity proves that “The Doomsayer's Call" doesn’t merely regurgitate old ideas, but introduces a variety of tempos, rhythms and song structures that gives each song a character of their own. Following themes, “The Reprobate”, “The Glass Envelope” and “Flesh World” feature a perfect balance between relentless sonic violence and rhythmically engaging brutality, displaying exactly how good death metal should sound like in this day and age. (7.8)

David Alexandre

Band info: www.coldworker.com
Label info: www.listenable.net

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Morbus Chron - Sleepers In The Rift

Swedish quartet Morbus Chron seek only the ugliest, grittiest and most vicious side of death-metal on their first release "Sleepers In The Rift", totally embracing the nauseating, fetid tone of groups such as Autopsy, Furbowl and Grotesque. Yet don’t mistake the Swedes for another effortlessly listenable old-school Swedish death-metal discharge, unlike most of their peers, Entrails, Crucifyre and Necrovourous, Morbus Chron aren’t merely sacking ideas from the usual suspects, Entombed and Dismember. Instead, they choose to plug right into the same caustic, uncomplicated and filthy death-metal that Chris Reifert used to write for Autopsy. Fans will surely recognise many of the riffs in “"Sleepers in the Rift", as a few tracks like “Hymn to a Stiff” and “Red Hook Horror”, are unreservedly influenced by works like “Severed Survival” and “Mental Funeral”, carrying out an identical cavernous death metal rumble.
A crisp, yet fittingly raw production further strengthens Morbus Chron’s performance, delivering the primitive and devilish vibe necessary to give the songs an extra dose of credibility, yet sometimes it gets a bit messy and sloppy with the Swedes ending up sounding like an obscure second-rate South-American act. Whether that’s on purpose just to be as primitive and naive as possible or not, it sure doesn’t do Morbus Chron any favours.
Morbus Chron are definitely not for everyone, but if primitive extremity and nauseating morbidity is what you’re after, then this is one disc to look out for. (6.4/10)

Byrant Thomas

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Elimination - The Blood of Titans

Old-school proto-thrash metal is what UK’s Elimination offer on “The Blood of Titans”, the band’s first full-length release since forming in 2007.
In a way, “The Blood of Titans” sees Elimination mining the same ground as fellow countrymen Evile and Pitiful Reign, concocting a hard-hitting and head-banging thrash attack that pays homage to 80’s thrash heroes like Metallica, Anthrax, Exodus and Testament. Unfortunately, although Elimination’s debut is a worthy and solid work, there’s still not enough testosterone on display for it to place them on the same level as their comrades Evile. There are moments on “Blood of Titans” where Elimination live up to their name, delivering breakneck tempos, tons of great, pummelling riffs and some skilful, memorable soloing as in “Function of the Human Condition”, “Eyes Of Madness” (great NWOBHM solo!) and “Claustrophobia”, but for the most part the Brits are merely rehashing some overused and naff thrash riffs that any springing band could’ve easily crafted during their very first rehearsals. That’s a recurring problem for most of these new thrash metal revivalists.
Still, Elimination have created an album that is no joke, and offers some prime and old school metallic moments that will surely keep 80’s thrash metal aficionados entertained, which for a debut recording is not bad at all. (6/10)

David Alexandre

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The Best Albums Of 2011 You May Have Missed So Far

My second pick for best album of 2011 is “Pain is a Warning” from that Tennessee noise-rock institution known as Today Is The Day. Led by guitarist and vocalist Steve Austin, the legendary act has been pushing boundaries of extreme music since their inception in 1990, and deserves far more attention and recognition than what they’ve been getting.
“Pain Is Warning” is the band’s ninth studio album and presents a new rhythmic section courtesy of NYC noise-rockers Wetnurse, yet the final results are as twisted and chaotic as ever, maintaining the off-kilter, provocative and eccentric approach their demanding fans have grown to expect from them.
Check out the deliciously creepy and brutal title theme below:




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Entrails | Interview with Jimmy Lundqvist

Evoking the dirty, pestilent atmosphere of early Dismember and Entombed, Sweden’s Entrails are old-school death metal way down to the bone, but they cannot be seen as another bunch of new kids trying to emulate the crusty and infectious sounds of old-school Swedish death-metal as Entrails’ origins go way back to the early nineties.
The band has just released their crushing sophomore album, “The Tombs Awaits”, and we caught up with guitarist Jimmy Lundqvist to discuss this new record, and why has taken Entrails almost two decades to put forth their debut record.

[Entrails]

It took almost 19 years for Swedish death metallers Entrails to put forth their debut album, yet only a year has passed since the release of “Tales from the Morgue” and the band already issued their sophomore record entitled “The Tomb Awaits”. Does this mean you’re determined to recover some the lost ground?

“Yeah, it was a long time for the debut to come out but things finally worked out turned and it feels great to finally have something released… so to your question I would say yeah, sort of…”

I understand that most of the material featured in “Tales from the Morgue” had been lying around for years, waiting to be recorded. What about this new record, is it all recent stuff or you had been digging through your old archives one again?

“That's right! The material was made in the 90´s on ‘Tales’ and like 80% of ‘The Tomb Awaits’ is from that time as well. Since we became a complete band for this album we also wanted to do something new, but still do it in the old way. And it worked out real good so I am not afraid to let them help on every song, plus there is more stuff in my tape collections that could fit in some songs in future releases.”

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Entrails - The Tomb Awaits

If you know Entrails fantastic “Tales from the Morgue” debut issued last year and the old-school Swedish death-metal they play, then you know exactly what you're getting with the new album “The Tomb Awaits”.
Still evoking the dirty, pestilent atmosphere of early Dismember and Entombed, “The Tombs Awaits” is a crushing slab of guttural and vicious death-metal with a dash of groove and melody thrown in to balance out all the chaotic madness.
First proper track “Unleashed Wrath” sets the tone of the record with crushing, dirty and chainsaw guitar riffs, thunderous drumming, and Jocke Svensson's deep death growls. The buzz saw riffs sound straight out of “Left Hand Path”, yet I’d say it’s amazing to hear this classic sound harkening back to a time when recreating the fetid stench and brutality of death were way more important than shredding like some Guitar World fanatic or mosh-pit breakdowns. Sure, it’s nothing overly unique, but when you’re getting strong tunes akin to any of your favourite death albums, it really doesn’t matter.
The production value and musicianship are not to be ignored, this is far from sloppy underground old-school death metal as the Swedes deliver their brutal onslaughts with amazing precision and intent.
“The Tombs Awaits” is definitely a must-listen for fans of classic Swedish death-metal in the vein of Dismember, Entombed and Grave. (7.4/10)

David Alexandre

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Untimely Demise - City of Steel

After it’s slow and stagnant death in the late 90’s and early 00’s Thrash music is having a large revival across the board, and I fear that it’s going the same way it did before it died last time. The scene is becoming oversaturated with bands that have leapt onto the bandwagon, had a hit album or two, and then fallen off the radar completely. Untimely Demise seems like it will be one of these bands.
They have tried to inject some different elements into the music, but it just sounds like Kreator and Sodom done badly. There is a bit of melody played throughout, but it doesn’t give the music much of a boost. I expected something much better when it’s been produced by Ex-Megadeth and king Diamond guitarist Glen Drover.
With song titles such as Virtue in Death and Bloodsoaked Mission, it feels like they’ve gotten a thrash by numbers book on writing lyrics and music, there is nothing new and nothing original here.
There are some redeeming points however, the music does get better as the album progresses, but still sounds all slightly disjointed, and the melody I mentioned before puts the band apart slightly from the rest of the pack.
I was extremely disappointed with this album, as even with its few redeeming points, the music feels like recycled riffs from bands that did this much better at the forefront f the thrash scene back in the 80’s. This is definitely an album I would not recommend. (4/10)

James Merrett

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The Best Albums Of 2011 You May Have Missed So Far

People, 2011 is almost over so we thought we’d take a look back at the best albums released so far and point them out just in case you've been living under a rock for the last few months and missed some of these amazing works.
So why not start with personal favourites Cave In, their fifth record “White Silence” puts a halt to six years of dormancy and offers some of the most outstanding and diverse material from their entire career.
Just check out remarkably catchy “Sing My Loves” from 'White Silence' below:




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Insomnium – One for Sorrow

There are very few albums that can be classified as both beautifully melodic and gut crushingly heavy. One for Sorrow is one of these albums and it is absolutely brilliant.
The melodies are constant and flowing against the backdrop of heavy metal which creates a beautiful atmospheric sound which can lift you up and carry you away. When the heaviness kicks back in it brings you back to earth with a jolt into some bone crushing riffs which are fast flowing and make you just want to jump into the pit.
There is a mix of melodic death metal, thrash metal and operatic classical music in this album which is melded together to create a sonic soundscape for the listener. Every track on this album is absolutely brilliant and everything feels new and relevant to today’s music scene. There is definitely something for everyone in this album.
There are some dark lyrics and it feels like Niilo Sevanen is baring some open and festering wounds on this album, with lyrics such as “And I feel tired, empty and hollow, heart-broken inside/
And I feel this life has nothing for me anymore” from "Through the Shadows" showing that there isn’t any happiness on this record.
Songs such as "Through the Shadows" and "Every Hour Wounds" will leave the listener in no doubt that Insomnium have returned once again with a brilliant album and it won’t let the fans down. (10/10)

James Merrett

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East of the Wall - The Apologist

“The Apologist” is the follow-up to last year’s “Ressentiment” and it sees East Of The Wall steering towards a slightly more streamlined and melodic approach, putting a greater focus on more memorable song structures.
The group still posses the meticulous craftsman and inventive intricacies that were present in previous works, but the insertion of more melody in detriment of a dissonant harshness, as well as the choice to render the songs with more memorable passages, makes “The Apologist” a little bit different. Whereas in previous works, the smooth and intricate passages would abruptly unfurl into all-out rage, it seems that this time East Of The Wall are a bit more patient when letting their rage unfold. As a result, “The Apologist” flows with an increased and marvellous fluidity from start to finish, with songs such as “Linear Failure”, the title track and “Whiskey Sipper” reflecting the band’s remarkable ability to smoothly transition between moodier, gentle progressive rock passages to raging metal/hardcore segments.
One thing hasn’t changed though, East Of The Wall’s music is still rather difficult to categorize, but regardless of what it sounds like and where it falls in the realm of heavy music, “The Apologist” is a great, well crafted record and is worthy of the attention of anyone into great, challenging and inventive music. (7.6/10)

Luca Niero

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All Pigs Must Die - God is War

With a name like All Pigs Must Die, it's clear that this Massachusetts four-piece are not into the subtlety game and their music is not to be taken lightly. Vile as a gangrene infection and menacing as the great white shark, “God is War” is one of the fiercest, ugliest, most threatening records issued this year.
From the get go, “Death Dealer” demonstrates what APMD are all about, enraged and buzz saw riffs, furious and relentless percussion and gut wrenching snarls amongst other delights. It’s like a cross between the primitive extreme metal of acts like Celtic Frost and Entombed with the raging d-beat/hardcore of Cro-Mags and Discharge. “Pulverization” recaptures that vintage Entombed sound, with the savage chainsaw guitars crushing all in their path while vocalist Kevin Baker spews pure bile. “Sacrosanct” erupts with relentless fury sounding like a fucked-up collaboration between Discharge and 1349.
Clearly, All Pigs Must Die (which features members from Converge, The Hope Conspiracy, and Bloodhorse) are not trying to break new ground with “God is War”, instead they seem sadistically pleased to fuck up with your aural and nervous system by tossing out a vicious amalgamation of metal, hardcore, crust and punk with unrelenting menace, abrasion and malice.
This is top-notch material that deserves a place your record collection right next to “Left Hand Path”, “The Age of Quarrel” and “Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing”. (9/10)

David Alexandre

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Wolves in the Throne Room - Celestial Lineage

Black metal is a genre of music which is thought off as solely coming from its bleak homeland of Scandinavia, far in the north and cold. Wolves in the Throne Room have set out from Olympia, Washington to disprove this theory and they do it with gusto, whilst also incorporating other elements into their music.
For example, take the opening track Thuja Magus Imperium which has a beautiful melodic opening with some clean singing before kicking into a ferocious attack of Black metal. The two styles of music weave together brilliantly and create a sonic landscape of a bleak winter night.
There are a couple off odd little filler tracks spread throughout this album though, such as Permanent Change in Consciousness and Rainbow Illness which seem to break up the flow and could really have been left off this album as there isn’t much purpose for them to be there sonically and at 1 and a half minutes each, they just seem to be put on to reach the requisite number of songs needed.
The majority of the songs on this album however is absolutely brilliant with tracks such as Woodland Cathedral and Subterranean Initiation creating some amazing sonic landscapes that just drag the listener into the music.
Wolves in the Throne Room are a band that have taken Black Metal rule book that the majority of bands live by and ripped it to shreds and then progressed onto making their own form of Black Metal the way they want to. By doing this they have escaped the usual limitations of the genre and managed to push through and become something more akin to Opeth than Emperor or Immortal. (8/10)

James Merrett

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Textures - Dualism

Since the release of their debut “Polars” in 2003, Holland’s Textures have been gradually building a strong reputation as one of the most challenging and skilful acts in the metal scene, which now culminates in their most recent release ‘Dualism’. A record that marks a few firsts for the band, it’s the first album featuring new vocalist Daniel De Jongh and new keyboard player Uri Dijk, and it’s their first effort for Nuclear Blast, following three records on Listenable Records.
“Dualism” also sees the quintet moving towards a more progressive sound, yet you’ll only start noticing that change when third theme “Reaching Home” pops in with one of mellowest vocal melodies and most soothing chord progressions of their entire career. New singer Daniel De Jongh does a great job assuming the role left vacant by Eric Kalsbeek and his powerful, dynamic voice suits Textures' sound extremely well.
This new album offers plenty of quieter, subtle moments that could sit happily alongside someone like Marillion or Riverside, particularly “Consonant Hemispheres” and “Foreclosure”. These songs reflect a more subtle and polished side of Textures, with charming melodies that express some serious 80’s prog affection.
However, don't despair, they haven't abruptly morphed into a prog-fixated act like Opeth did on their latest work as “Dualism” still offers plenty of powerful, assertive and challenging moments. Songs like “Black Horses Stampede” and “Singularity” stand out, erupting from the speakers with vigorous and forceful intent.
“Dualism” is a mighty and accomplished record, the one that will surely promote Textures to the premier league. (9/10)

David Alexandre

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Skirmish | Interview with Mikko Kupiainen

[Skirmish]

Listening to "Through the Abacinated Eyes" is akin to getting caught in a bloody violent crossfire in the most dangerous drug cartel in South-America. Throughout 40 minutes, Skirmish holds nothing back and punishes our eardrums with their hyper-aggressive blend of raging riffs, crushing rhythms and furious vocals. In short, it’s heavy as shit.
Scratch the Surface asked guitarist Mikko Kupiainen what kind of things motivated or inspired the band to channel all this anger into "Through the Abacinated Eyes". Read the answers below.

Life itself, cold winters and bad hangovers. All of us have to take a certain amount of shit from somewhere each day and we, as a band, throw that into 40 minutes of aggressive music. It’s either better than buying a gun or doing something else stupid.
“Through the Abacinated Eyes” became aggressive and heavy as shit, that's for sure. Mikko wrote the basics of music, Jani most of the lyrics, but the infinite hours of jamming together finding the best solutions for each track moulded the album into the fierce bad motherfucker it is. And that probably sums up all of our feelings for the last winter.

Now that the album is finally out, what are your expectations for it?

Expectations are to get our name out there in the open. We have a strong album to promote, sales have been quite good so far for a nameless band, and the reviews have been mostly positive. Hopefully the concert promoters will recognize the name soon from the mass-load of e-mails they get daily. Also there are some things going on outside of Finland, let’s hope the promoters out there are nice too.
So far we’ve got some attention in the metal medias, Finnish Inferno magazine noted us with an interview, Metal Hammer UK included us on the free CD with the August issue and many webzines with their own community of readers have interviewed, wrote about the album release, reviewed etc.


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White Wizzard - Flying Tigers

Line-up shifts seem to be an issue for LA's White Wizzard, namely due to the constant changes with their vocalist. Yet while lead singer Wyatt "Screaming Demon" Anderson is gone, his legacy is well marked on the band's second album 'Flying Tigers' where he and his cohorts come into their own.
In opting for higher notes in the vein of hard rock 'n' roll this time, Anderson offers a stronger performance, as his voice hits raw ends with each verse. It also makes White Wizzard's sound all the more human, in the sense that his method this time around gives more emotional leeway to be heard and felt by the audience. Music is powerful at its most empathetic, and coupled with the tightened strings on the songwriting, Anderson's vocals prove this point repeatedly without ceasing to be enjoyable.
In turn, White Wizzard's worship of heavy metal's icons, typically Judas Priest and Ronnie James Dio, is given a greater boost on the grounds of the band's entire performance - whereas the seeds were there on previous album 'Over The Top', 'Flying Tigers' watches them bloom into a band that could well become a name worthy of stepping up to being a part of the genre's history. (8/10)

Ann Sulaiman

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Iced Earth - Dystopia

Iced Earth is known for writing some epic music, and this album does not disappoint in that respect. With new vocalist Stu Block (From Into Eternity fame) on board replacing former vocalist Matt Barlow, the pressure was on.
Featuring songs such as the full on thrash attack of the opener and title track Dystopia, the beautiful ballad that is The End of Innocence and the power metal vibe of V, this is an album that showcases everything that Iced Earth was known for, and puts a new twist on it.
Vocalist Stu has stepped into the admittedly large shoes that were left behind when Matt left and he fills them perfectly, with a huge vocal range creating multiple dynamics throughout the songs, going from really clean, to growls, to a Rob Halford esque shriek that fits the music perfectly.
Iced Earth has never been shy about releasing concept albums and that doesn’t stop here, with another brilliantly constructed album about a Dystopian future. The music brings this concept to life, with songs such as Boiling point and Tragedy and Triumph giving the concept life.
This is an album that stands proud and tall next to Iced Earth’s extensive back catalogue and ushers in the new era of Stu Block. This is a must buy for all Iced Earth fans and it could quite easily pick up many new fans as well. (10/10)

James Merrett

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The Browning – Burn This World

Once at the vanguard of the extreme metal, Earache Records now tries to sell us The Browning, a Dallas-based collective that is described as adventurous for pushing boundaries and pressing buttons in a way that most metal acts would not dare attempt.
Well, that’s plain and simple bogus, ‘cause in fact these guys try to pepper their generic deathcore sound with some electronic touches in a attempt to sound different, but unfortunately they end up on the wrong side of the equation coming across like a mediocre blend of someone like Chelsea Grin with awful acts like ATC and Vengaboys.
So, I definitely wouldn’t tag “Burn This World” as an adventurous and innovative record since the only thing that distinguishes The Browning from the hundreds of boring and predictable deathcore acts is their affinity for cheesy electronic sounds and beats, which also work against them really, completely ruining their respectability with some truly cringe-inducing moments. Damn, “Standing on the Edge” sounds like a cheap techno tune you'd hear at an amusement park.
If Earache wants to put out something truly innovative and groundbreaking, they only need to dig through their old archives and reissue the complete discography of Godflesh, Fudge Tunnel and Pitchshifter, not this plain awful mélange of deathcore and techno. (2.5/10)

Luca Niero

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The Ripe Harvest Vol. 2


HUMAN SCULPTURE – OUR WORLD TORN DOWN

With only one year of existence, Finland’s Human Sculpture already shows a strong level of maturity in songwriting and execution on their first effort “Our World Torn Down”.
Influenced by groups like The Black Dahlia Murder, At the Gates and Decapitated, the Finn’s sound can be enclosed in this new wave of bands that mix of death-metal brutality and technicality with heavy metal harmonies, along with some pummelling breakdowns. Yet not once they sound like a cheap and mundane imitation of these other acts, Human Sculpture grind along with total command of their craft, without having the need to resort to the same shameless plagiarism that affects a good percentage of similar acts. Although they don’t offer anything new on these three themes, Human Sculpture’s synthesis of technical breakdowns, furious riffs, staggering harmonies and throaty growls really kicks some serious ass and is reason enough for us to keep an eye on this promising and talented act. Check them out at: http://www.facebook.com/HumanSculpture

EAK – MUZEAK

If Converge and Mastodon had a bastard love child, EAK would definitely be that ugly and wicked creature. Brilliantly savage and scandalous vile, the band’s first full-length release “MuzEAk” is the perfect amalgam of Converge’s nihilistic and crusty riffs, Mastodon’s wickedly jagged rhythms and whole piss and vinegar attitude of their early records. “MuzEAK” is truly a pulverising experience, it’s filthy, it’s ragged and absolutely vile and when it’s over you feel the need to take a bath in clean and warm water. Get dirty at: http://www.facebook.com/muzeak 

WE ARE KILLING OURSELVES – THE ROAD OF AWARENESS

Portugal’s We Are Killing Ourselves are back with The Road of Awareness, their second album and follow-up to their acclaimed debut “Deconstructive Essence”. One of the best things about The Road of Awareness is the band's fusion of Meshuggah technical and mind-shattering rhythms with the pounding groove of someone like Lamb of God.
“Extispicium” smacks heavily of that Meshuggah's influence crossed with Lamb of God’s pummelling attitude, with intricate chord progressions, machinegun-like kick drums and a groovy and infectious chorus.
The band has definitely written a monster record that will surely break a bone or two wherever it spins. Get bruised at: http://www.facebook.com/We-Are-Killing-Ourselves

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