Thursday, April 30, 2015

Insepulto-The Necrodex (2015)

Insepulto from Costa Rica attack with their new album. This is quick, fast, and brutal, but manages to stick with the listener and perhaps seep into their dreams...haunting those unfortunate enough to be subjected to it's wrath. And boy, do I love it. Gore. Destruction. Mutilation. Death. You will find all of these awesome things on Insepulto's "The Necrodex". Vocalist sounds like he rips out throats or at least eats cereal without any milk (sick bastard), and the guitar solos style is like a dusty cloud of death is coming to fuck you up, introducing melody, which really helps in the "air-guitar" department more than you'd imagine. Musically, this isn't too far removed from the earliest album, though it does feature a more pronounced use of more complex structures and perhaps more involved song-writing (meaning, more drum fills, less repetition, etc.), but to be honest, these songs tend to be  memorable  as well. This album polishes things up a bit, maybe cooks the songs a bit longer for some extra juice, and serves you with a classic piece of death metal. Is this a brutal album? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Is this really fucking good? You betcha! for fans of Cancer and Massacre definitely it's worth checking out, and features some great songs and doesn't overstay it's welcome. I would suggest you pick this one up. Underground never dies!
www.facebook.com/insepultocr
Review by Paul Caravasi

Thundersteel-The Exorcism (2015)

While term like "melodic" often carry a negative connotation with me in the power metal sphere. Thundersteel manages to do this in a old school way, right now isn't exactly the greatest time for traditional metal, and the name 'Thundersteel' doesn't really evoke a lot one way or the other, but don't be fooled, these guys are the real deal, if you haven't heard them, I suggest you check them out, this band is quite interesting. So, I've established that the music is good, but what does it sound like specifically? Well, despite its accessible nature, the songwriting seems to draw from a number of influences. The oldschool heavy/power vibes are definitely there, but the catchy, galloping, attitude-laden riffs hearken back to NWOBHM more than anything else; Angel Witch and Raven come to mind, but I'm sure other comparisons could be made as well. Keep in mind this is primarily an influence on the riffing; the guitar harmonies slightly evoke thoughts of NWOBHM as well. The production is pretty cool, if a bit too polished even for my tastes; the guitar sound is thick but it works well here with the catchy bass lines and drumming, the songs are all very solid, really you just can't go wrong with any of the tracks. If you're into traditional heavy metal or think that a combination of NWOBHM and some of the meatier europower acts sound cool - of if you're just a fan of Metal - definitely check out this album, you'll be singing along for weeks. Heavy metal is the law !
www.facebook.com/thundersteel.ns
www.gromrecords.net
Review b y Paul Caravasi

Six Feet Under-Crypt of the Devil (2015)

I'm not going to try to break this album up too much in this review, and it will stay fairly simple. As stated above, every minute of this album just feels like one massive riff, and it's a damn good one! Every song melts into the next one, and sometimes it feels like there's no end to the last one or a beginning to the next, which works phenomenally on this record. Chris Barnes, It's hard to hate a guy that was the frontman of the legendary Cannibal Corpse and likes to write songs about horrible stuff happening in real life. Every song on this album has a very hard-driving rhythm to it, and makes you wanna bang your head with regularity. To add to this cool feeling, in every single song on this album, there's at least one riff that changes the pace notably, be it faster or slower (but always heavier) that gives me goosebumps every time I hear them. That isn't to say that the leadwork done  here isn't superb, because filling in between these amazing riffs is some very impressive stuff. This is also the  album that seems to show the new direction of Six feet under, i mean straightforward Death fucking Metal, still feels like a death metal record (not that there's a problem there), but this is thrash as well, the main connection is Barnes vocals of course. Upon multiple listens (which should be mandatory in our public schools) this album separates itself a little more song by song than anything they did previously. That's why this is a good Six feet under record, they're more refined and sound cleaner in a way that makes them more accessible in the best way, but every song is still manufactured by the riffing. They did a great work on this one. With "Crypt of the Devil" there's no wasted space, every moment is brilliant, if you don't have a sore neck when you're done listening to this album, listen to it again!
facebook.com/sixfeetunder
www.metalblade.com/sixfeetunder
http://www.earsplitcompound.com
Review by Paul Caravasi