2019

Ghriéving – Chimére de Hypnos [Venezuela, Black] (2019)

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Vigor Deconstruct | 4-1-19

Vigor Deconstruct is a new label which seems to be what is left after the dissolving of the venerated label Fallen Empire. From few Facebook posts, Vigor Deconstruct seems to be taking up the mantle, and remaining roster, and being the aesthetic torchbearer and dealers of obscure madness. Many things are uncertain but adie from a few signed bands without new material and older albums pressed onto vinyl, the only thing attributed to Vigor Deconstruct is this new Ghriéving. Alright, I can stick around to see what this is about.

Chimére de Hypnos is an EP following a debut that was released on a perhaps more obscure label — Ascetic Visions. Ghriéving ‘s stormy disposition fits the swirling unease of terror with high occult visions and a growing sense of unease. Metal Archives similar artist tag already has a connection with Skaphe which could be for music or visual aesthetic or both. whatever the case, Ghriéving is a a fantastic parade marshal which will hopefully usher in year’s worth of material from bands I never knew existed. I do not expect this to be another Fallen Empire but if it continues to unearth terror long bound in crypts by spells, I will be okay with whether this label is going to be.

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Tenebro – Demo [Italy, Death] (2019)

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Desert Wastelands Productions | 5-1-19

Allow the reverberations of instinct to take over. I think this is from Italy since the tag indicates it is “Horror Glorifying Death Metal from Fulci’s Land.” This demo comes by the way of Desert Wasteland which also released Astriferous’ demo. If that Costa Rican massacre was any indication then Tenebro is going to be of the same caliber. We will go with that. If the lack of information is offsetting, it is just apart of the luddite style death metal that I have come to love and worship. If any sound was akin to kunckledragging ogres then Tenebro is one of the grossest abominations to stalk the land. Heavy, inattentive, and only concerned with the lust for violence, this is death metal with a 10th grade reading level that dumps intelligence for strength.

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Hexivoid – Disdain From A Burning Cosmos [UK, Black] (2019)

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AHPN Records | 2-19-19

Alright, lets get fucking weird. It takes a special album to break my visual obsession with black and white JCard covers that feature rotting corpses. It also takes a special album that is going to rip my attention away from rotting death metal that sounds like it shoveled from the floor of an abattoir. This is it. One of the weirdest things I have heard all month and it is not just noise or left field black rather something that just pulses oddities from the cover to the bedroom style laboratory which makes up the bulk of its music. Disdain From A Burning Cosmos is a journey and one that can be enjoyed by a majority of people if they leave a few things at the floor. In here, production is meaningless, band members play everything, and all pageantry when it comes to visual design melts in a peyote vision quest. Fuck it all, lets get fucking weird.

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Rotted – Pestilent Tomb [US, Death] (2019)

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Maggot Stomp | 2-22-19

There is a joke among the ten people on the internet that listen to this music about caveman death and specifically heavy death metal with large riffs and a primal instinct and possibly a low reading level. The inspiration for these bands isn’t really clear though if you start at Rottrevore, Grave, and Obituary and make your way forward, you will have a good idea. This is not a genre nor even a style rather a direction some bands are flinging themselves into much like an oncoming bus. Maggot Stomp is a US label that seems to be the dealers in this killing floor style death metal with releases this year from Encoffinized and Frozen Soul. Whatever it is and if it differs from the other niche sounds of current death metal seems to be secondary to the monolithic riffs and and a drive for cosmic violence.

It is worth mentioning that this album was released in 2018 first on Headsplit Records and then in various states of pressing. I wont say that this Maggot Stomp Release is the most popular but it is the first time I have heard it so I am including this in the year 2019. If anyone has a problem with that they can find me by the greasy fire weilding a club.

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Torso – Demonic Vomiting [UK, Death / Black] (2019)

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Me Saco Un Ojo Records | 2-21-19

This is so fucking gross. I do not even know where this band is from or if they are from 2019 or if there is any black metal in this tornado of filth that is devastating everything in front of it. Demonic Vomiting may only interest the few who can stomach gross imagery but what separates Torso from the other depraved brutal death metal bands is a knack for filling their atmosphere with killer riffs and having a general attitude which is cool rather than twisted and edgy. It maybe a line that is not necessary for others but those who want that vile downpour but can stand the sound of brutal death, maybe interested more in this demo.

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Witchbones – Entropy Rite [US, Black] (2019)

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Self Released | 2-19-19

I am not 100% certain how this projects name is presented as the Metal Archives has a space between Witch and Bones. I will go with what Bandcamp says but what I am certain about it that this demo is ugly as fuck. I am also not certain where this project is headed as the Entropy Rite demo follows a January 2019 release which was more baffling than it was pleasing. Entropy Rite makes strides into being something substantial though the two songs are marked with odd choices for atmosphere and an almost untamed spirt which runs through its core. This is black metal but without any need to impress almost like fireworks set off in the woods to an audience of none. Its sole creator seems to be using this project to channel a vile spirit and to what end it will manifest is anyones guess. What we know right now is that Entropy Rite maybe perfect for someone looking for music that is unpredictable, violent, and above all else exciting.

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Astriferous – Raise High the Scepter of Indulgence [Costa Rica, Death] (2019)

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I make jokes about being married to a genre and upon seeing the cover for Raise High the Scepter of Indulgence and seeing the genre tags, I immediately sent it to 3 friends. I am fully aware that not all grimy death metal that emphasizes riffs and attitudes is going to be good rather grimy death metal that emphasizes riff and attitude even at its mediocrity is still enjoyable. Lucky for everyone involved Astriferous not only hits the topes of its genre and aesthetic but also makes for an enjoyable demo full of looming riffs and snarling attitude. I am not familiar with the current black and death metal scene in Costa Rica as compared to other places in South America but if anything else sounds like this and comes clad in leather jackets, then I am going to be marked down as incredibly interested.

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Thanamagus – Incorporeal Passage [US, Death] (2019)

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Self Released | 2-12-19

It is important to realize that demos were once demonstrations of talent that were circulated by record labels and eventually fans of unpolished heavy metal. the spectacle of talent despite production limitations and the promise of potential is what makes demos so exciting. Today, the idea of demo could just be a permanent state for people who never have any intention on making anything else. This is fine but initial demos from new bands still have excitement and zeal s they once did especially when the band plays colossal death metal.

Thanamagus still has yet to get a Metal Archives page and their Last.fm count is currently at 0. If one wanted a band cut from the side of a mountain before any refinery techniques, then this is the time to look. With looming riffs and a wild black and white cover this is the perfect place to start if you wanted raw and unfiltered death that may or maybe be greymarket and may or may not be anything beyond this demo. People who are into this type of stuff, however, are into these types of quirks and love the shit out of this type of stuff.

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CREMATORY STENCH – Grotesque Deformities [US, Death] (2019)

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Blood Harvest | 2-19-19

There will be a day when I am not immedtially drawn to a BW photocopied cover that is blown out with one color (most likely red). there will be a time when I am not ecstatic when a band embraces an aesthetic and goes for a name, album, and song titles that oscillates between Lovecraft, a cemetery, and the charnel house. There will be a day when I am more discerning about what death metal I enjoy as I cant keep making room for every band with a red and black cover and a gross name. Today is not that day.

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Sanity Control – Demo 2019 [Poland, Thrash] (2019)

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Self Released | 2-2-19

I believe I have made my opinions on thrash known and its troublesome history past 1990. I do not think this demo from Poland is going to change any grand designs for thrash and its current history nor is it going to be the linchpin in reestablishing the genre into the underground. What Sanity Control could be, however, is fun for the listener and a wild ride with a classic that sound that cares less about throwing back or establishing a contemporary identity and wants to drink cheap alcohol out of a paper bag in a place without central heat. Thrash works at its best when not concerned with their position in the overall metal cultural totem pole. Sanity Control is honest to goodness dirtballs who only care about playing fast and fun. Lets fucking do this.

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