This is the Way, We're Unleashed

Unleashed (Sweden)

Where No Life Dwells

May 1, 1991

Death... the Norse way. Somewhat of a Motörhead in the world of death metal, Where No Life Dwells sounds like anything Unleashed could come up with today in demo format. But this was 1991, and heavy chunky old school death metal with the viking focus was a fucking cool idea. Sticking to a no-frills showcase of the ideal classic Swedish death metal sound as an offshoot of an early incarnation of Entombed (songwriter/bassist Johnny Hedlund formed Unleashed as a reaction to his mates in Nihilist reforming themselves as Entombed without him), this thing packs a mighty fucking punch and is quite overlooked by other prominent, though no less badass, hometown merchants of death. Amidst all the battle axe mayhem and glorious rides to Valhalla (not to mention the obligatory early-90's Christ-baiting) are some sick groovy riffs and enough killer ideas to carry legitimate esteem and recognition. They pillage through wailing screams of guitar feedback and gallop up storms of bloody beatdowns, even "...And the Laughter Has Died" heaving down on some Autopsy-like grimy haunting doom atmospheres, a personal highlight. Choose this path for some violent ecstasy and into glory ride.

Parasight, Pure Sight, Parasite, You will See

Mitochondrion (Canada)

Parasignosis

January 18, 2011

Cavernous occult death metal supreme. Absolve your will to this plague from within. Drink to the blood of stone, thirst to the bile of ash, feast on the flesh of iron, and reap and ignite the impure. The tomb from which this emanates consumes with vitriolic wisdom, pure deathly spirit that curses the crescent below the cross. The spear of Satan shall strike down Saturn, and the purity will melt your lead idol. Omnivorous and omnipresent teacher for the adept of high agony to transcend parasanity. Only pure order can come of this infinite consuming of the nature of the beast, the throne of the worm, the blood and sperm of God and the hallowed parasite. The All parallels the Fall. Much like the world's favourite beverage of consuming blackness, Parasignosis is for Strength. I'm catching these diabolical alchemists live tomorrow night, and this album has been on repeat all week. Take a listen and transcend this vile earthly realm. Become one of the eleven.

I Wish to Be Alone with My God

Akercocke (UK)

Choronzon

November 4, 2003

Welcome to Satan's burlesque cabaret, hosted by none other than the Son of the Morning himself, Lucifer the Light-Bearing Fallen One. Hell's house band, Akercocke, the sharpest dressed men in death metal, will be providing tonight's soundtrack. Gentlemen and VIP only beyond this point. The blood of Christ shall be served all evening, aged over 2000 years to sinful perfection for only worthy occasions such as this. Only the finest of exotic dancers shall provide the entertainment; seduction and temptation know no bounds down here. Give in to your desires, and partake in deathly defilement. Bear witness to a head-spinning display of brutality with an un-fucking-touchable sense of class. Eternal black mass orgies shall follow as the after-party. Brutal avant-garde death metal, one of the best vocalists in the business and a subtle keen sense of progressive flair around the edges and a ruthless display of instrumental pyrotechnics. Light that cigar, this harem oasis amidst the desert of Hell awaits your presence.

Altar of Blood, Altar of Pain

Asphyx (Netherlands)

The Rack

April 13, 1991

Fuck yeah, Friday the thirteenth! Let's bust out some old school death metal horror! So Asphyx have released their latest -post, -post, -post breakup album, Deathhammer, as everyone knows of course. I'm not a big fan of band reunions, or comeback albums, etc. It's not that I'm against the reasons for reforming or anything, or the idea behind coming back together to relive something long past or whatnot, I just find that in the vast majority of cases, the new albums suck compared to the old ones. To me that doesn't necessarily imply their reputation is tarnished in any way. If anything, it makes me listen back to the classics that much more. Granted, Asphyx have not been idle for a few years now, but they've got me pumping out their influential early-90's classics despite the wealth of new material. The Rack is a significant contribution particularly to the Netherlands extreme music scene, but also had far reaching impact elsewhere. They took an approach to death metal with a lot of punk attitude, combining bludgening post-Pestilence power and Van Drunen's unhinged vocal snarls ala Autopsy or Obituary, sped up Discharge-fed d-beat intensity with crushing epic Celtic Frost doom marches, all scoured in grimy crust. Worth it for the title track alone, it's a fucking beast. Stream below.

Start Saving for Your Funeral

Coffinworm (USA)

When All Became None

April 5, 2010

Horror descends and madness takes control. Crusty doom sludge monster lurching through the sewers under the grey rainy city streets. Disease and stumbling disorientation overtakes with the odour of malicious intent. Occasional flashbacks of 'shroom-induced paranoia pump up the blood pressure, while a sonic freight train chugs through the skull. Psychosis takes reign over nihilistic attitude, channelling the fantasies of serial killers and other perverted scum of the earth. Becoming the lurching shit thumping urban monster of death and doom. The apocalypse will be brought with oceans of blood and terror. The cancer breeding forth from hearts of the cities becomes an epidemic. The sickening crushingly dense buildups of corpse intoxication continue to exchange with destructive stomping mosh fits of murder and cannibalism, spreading the plague further towards the death of all. This came out a couple years ago. Great band. Get high on the stench of this decay, and kill some zombies or something. Read more for the stream.

My Blood, a Swirling Vortex of Space

Stargazer (Australia)

A Great Work of Ages

August, 2010

Like a crustacean from prehistoric times slowly being weathered away, slowly formed and carved out through time, and through the ages, refined with the delicate touch of mystical healing men and various divinatory mediums between the cosmos and the earth and imbued with the power of storytellers and mythmakers of old, whose tales and truths have come to identify cultures and identities of mankind all over the world. This is fractal thrash from Australia, sharing members with the mind fucking Impetuous Ritual and Portal. There's a distinct scope of grandness contained and refracted into digestible slices of jazzy deathy entropy. See, for example, the multidimensional fractal bloom of "Chase for the Serpentsong". The intent seems prehistoric, and reptillian in execution, as riffs slither and twist to form with a primal sheen of when today's crude were actually multi-ton pre-aviary lizard behemoths. Technical and very jazzy (especially with drums and bass), but still able to dish out some hard driven thrash mania, as exemplified in "Pypes of Psychosomatis". One of the best releases of 2010 for sure. Take a listen below.

Downward Spiral Into Madness

Anata (Sweden)

The Conductor's Departure

June 12, 2006

I realized I haven't posted a whole lot of death metal yet, and it's certainly a genre I'm a huge fan of, but technical death metal in particular is very finicky (I generally prefer the cavernous hell swamps drawn from the schools of Incantation and Immolation). One of the easiest genres to pump out material, but one of the hardest genres to make an original statement. Anata disbanded for quite some time, but recently got back together and will be releasing a new album this year. This is all at once, brutally heavy, possessing the perfect production for this style (clean enough to capture every note played as tight as a duck's arse, but not overdone to showcase that real humans are playing), yet with just enough of a touch of emotional attachment especially in the lyrics--which are very uncharacteristic for the genre--but also in the carefully constructed melodic depth that is initially hard to detect but surfaces the more you listen. This is what gives it such replayability as opposed to the dime-a-dozen pubescent tech death circle jerks that crowd up all the malls and mainstream magazines. Take a listen or 10 after clicking 'read more'. It's better to be grieved than fooled.

Triumph of Death

Hellhammer (Switzerland)

Apocalyptic Raids

March 7, 1984

Apocalyptic Raids is one of the most important releases as far as the evolution of extreme metal is concerned. Despite being but a minor blip on the radar at the time of its release, this demo EP provided a schockwave that, along with Venom, Bathory and Bulldozer collectively became the first wave of black metal. This was released only a couple months before the partnership between Martin Eric Ain and Tom G. Warrior overflowed the confines of Hellhammer and began the next chapter as Celtic Frost. Despite Warrior's supposedly unfavourable hindsight towards his early work, this was some of the most extreme music ever heard at the time. Early use of the gothic black metal font, hideous depiction of a hyperphallic demon drawn by Warrior himself, the demented sonic madness, overtones of psychopathy, etc. Euronymous, of Mayhem, was inspired to name himself from the disturbingly masochistic centrepiece "Triumph of Death". 28 years later, the reek of death permeating through today's lo-fi, death metal, chunky crust, black metal, filthy doom and other morbid combinations continues to owe their existence to this gloriously foul collective. Read more for a history lesson...

Guided Through Visionary Flames

The Chasm (Mexico)

Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm

September 19, 2009

Here's one of my favorite releases of all time. The Chasm originated in Mexico, but since 1997 have been operating out of Chicago, yet I still consider them as Mexican. Mostly instrumental, predominantly mid paced death/thrash that is progressively composed and arranged, epic in scope, and spiritually visionary. Unbelievably tasty riffs are conjured forth from the constellations through the embodiment of ancient Mayan and Aztec civilizations in an stunningly effortless display of absolutely flawless, intricately serpentine mastercraft. Unspeakably overlooked, yet its appreciation cannot be overstated. This mesmerizing molten miasma of monolithic music takes you somewhere else, on a voyage through superior dimensions upon shoreless tides to rest so far from home, where the sun and the moon are corroding, the final time to liberate and to unveil the code to open the final gate. Also, this happens to be a great album to go for a run to, oddly enough. Read more and indulge in a fiery rebirth.

Chilled to the Bone

Horrendous (USA)

The Chills

January 2, 2012

Check out this old school death metal project that's been rocking the fuck out of my world lately. 'Ripped to Shreds' just drips with early At the Gates style but with more of an Autopsy-like unhinged menace, while 'Altars' trots along like a rabid pale horse just seething with bile and disease. 'The Somber (Desolate Winds)' was featured in my February 2012 mix tape, and showcases the maturity thats well beyond the members' years, and 'The Eye of Madness' is an epic jaw dropping clinic to those exhuming the corpses of filthy soundwaves exhibited by early Entombed, Obituary and Pestilence. This is some fresh, tasty, savoury tenderloin cuts, I can't get enough of the gnarly horrific atmosphere and the all-around badassery on display here. I have a feeling this will be one of the top albums of the year for me. What's up with all these amazing debuts coming out all of a sudden!? Keep them coming, good music will never die. Listen to this album below. Then buy it right away.

When the Sun Drank the Weight of Water

Demilich (Finland)

Nespithe

February 8, 1993

Today, Demilich's sole full length turns 19 years old, finally old enough to be considered an adult here in Canada. Demilich was a short-lived enigma in the early 90's European death metal scene. Most distinguishable about this band is the utterly absurd zombie-toad-belching-on-barbiturates vocals of Antti Boman, of which the band maintains that absolutely no effects were used to create the inhuman effect. I'm drawn to this album because of the vocals, but I stick around because of the cavernous atmosphere and understatedly technical grooves. Riffs weave like a serpent throughout the expressive drumming attacks, thickening up during the sluggish crawls, and piercing its venom through tasteful pinch harmonics. It's an intimidating listen for sure, but unpretentiously forward thinking, unlike a few other 1993 releases from the early death metal scene that I don't care to mention. Enjoy this album in its entirety below. You can skip through the tracks or allow it to play through the album continuously.