DEAD METAL

Sepultura has been featured before, here and here . Schizophrenia (Cogumelo, 1987) is the first of the band's unholy trinity of releases - preceding Beneath The Remains (Roadrunner, 1989) and Arise (Roadrunner, 1991). It represents the first of several shifts in Sepultura's sound - away from the blackened death-thrash of Morbid Visions (Cogumelo, 1986), towards more of a straight thrash sound. The production might still be a little rough on this one, but the songwriting is outstanding; as is the execution. If you enjoy classic thrash and you don't have a copy of this one then you should rectify that immediately. You can preview it below, and order yourself a copy here .

29th JUNE Athanatheos  - Prophetic Era  ( Lavadome ) This French band formed in 2012, and Prophetic Era is their second full-length (brought to us by a Czech label). Death metal with black metal influences, interesting time signatures and some unusual vocal patterns/vocal performances. For fans of : Absu, Necrophobic, Shed The Skin 7th AUGUST Angel Morgue  -  In The Morgue Of Angels  ( Redefining Darkness ) Crushing death-doom excellence. American band Angel Morgue balances Disma-style heaviness with more accessible parts extremely effectively. The fact that this album is only preceded by a demo makes it all the more impressive. For fans of : Incantation, Immolation, Cruciamentum

All from bands that haven't been featured before... Ghost ( Poland ) - The Lost Of Mercy ( Loud Out, 1994 ): Groms ( Norway ) - Ascension  ( Arctic Serenades, 1994 ): Abhorrence ( Brazil ) - Ascension ( Wild Rags, 1997 ): Anesthesy ( Belgium ) -  The Fifth Season  ( Midas, 1998 ):

Internal Bleeding formed in 1991 and hail from New York. Still active, and still producing brutal death metal, they are now relatively well-known. This post is about the band's first couple of EPs, which were released on Wild Rags in 1993 and 1994. 'Slam' has become something of a dirty word, but when these guys were starting out it was just being born; and the production made it something quite different to the slam that we know and love/hate today. To be filed next to the likes of  Baphomet , Pyrexia , Carnal Dissection , Suffocation... Both EPs have been reissued a couple of times as part of  compilations . You can listen to Perpetual Degradation (1994) below.

For a review of the latest Worm offering, see here . ...and for a recent interview with the main man behind the project, see here . This post is about the band's first full-length, which was released on Iron Bonehead in 2017. Evocation Of The Black Marsh is less dimensional than Gloomlord, more black metal than anything else; but it is very strong on its own merits nonetheless. If you're a fan of Gloomlord, and you aren't yet familiar with its predecessor, then you should absolutely get hold of a copy. As with the new album, there was sadly no CD release; but records/cassettes/downloads are available  here . The debut can also be streamed in its entirety below.

See here for a number of previous posts about Monstrosity. Rise To Power, released on Conquest Music in 2003, is the fourth of six full-lengths. It is also the second of two full-lengths, recorded between the departure of George 'Corpsegrinder' Fisher in 1996 and the arrival of Mike Hrubovcak in 2006, to feature Jason Avery on vocals. Member changes have never seemed to alter the band's course, and this album sounds just as you might expect the follow-up to In Dark Purity/predecessor to Spiritual Apocalypse to sound. There is no such thing as a bad Monstrosity record, so get this one added to your collection today. You can hear it in full below, and pick up a copy  here .

All from bands that haven't been featured before... Jumpin' Jesus ( Germany ) -  The Art Of Crucifying ( Morbid Music, 1991 ): God Forsaken ( Finland ) - Dismal Gleams Of Desolation ( Adipocere, 1992 ): Infester ( US ) -  To The Depths, In Degradation ( Moribund, 1994 ): Capharnaum ( US ) – Reality Only Fantasized ( self-released, 1997 ):

Iron Bonehead has really been 'hitting it out of the park' this year. Ringarë is a collaboration between an American musician and a Swedish vocalist. This 35 minute 'demo' comes a year after their debut full-length (which was also released on Iron Bonehead). Sorrow Befell is an excellent atmospheric black metal offering, with some  Burzum influences. The whole affair is wreathed in majestic synth, and it concludes with a strong four-part dungeon synth-type instrumental. Alas, there is no CD release; but you can download it here  or order a limited edition vinyl copy  here . You can also preview a choice track from the album below.

This band has been around since 1989, and is still going strong today. Obscenity hail from Germany, but they have a lot of Floridian influences going on. Their first two full-lengths were Suffocated Truth ( West Virginia, 1992 ) and Perversion Mankind ( D&S, 1994 ). Suffocated Truth (which you can listen to at the bottom of this post) was reissued by Vic Records in 2015, but even copies of that edition are now extremely hard to find. Perversion Mankind was a limited edition release to begin with, and has never been repressed, so copies of that are at least as rare and expensive. It is also unavailable to stream anywhere, so here is a short bonus description: It opens and closes with the same Enya sample that went on to be used for Ready Or Not by The Fugees - which might explain the lack of uploads, and indeed reissues. That isn't the only somewhat-unusual sample/interlude present here either, but make no mistake - it is no novelty record. Musically, it very much ...

3rd JULY Convocation - Ashes Coalesce ( Everlasting Spew / Sentient Ruin ) This is the second full-album (and indeed release) from this Finnish duo. Funeral death-doom; it is epic, atmospheric and melodic stuff; but is also crushing. Rich and dimensional, it stands out from the crowd and demands your attention. For fans of : Evoken, diSEMBOWELMENT, Assumption 17th JULY Väki - Kuolleen Maan Omaksi  ( Redefining Darkness Records/Saturnal ) Fierce Finnish black metal. Väki formed in 2016, but this is the band's first full-length; with only a self-released two track EP ('Kirous', 2017) preceding it. Excellent riffs with some technicality to them; these guys are well worth checking. For fans of : Horna, Mgla, Funeral Mist

Blood Incantation has been featured  a number of times previously . Live Vitrification is a 2018 live recording (of both parts of Vitrification Of Blood, from 2016's Starspawn, combined); along with a bonus ambient track. Self-released on cassette and vinyl in 2018, it has only just seen a CD release. Each of the tracks is approaching twenty minutes in length, but the ambient one is not available digitally so a physical copy is recommended. The (fully mixed and studio-mastered soundboard) live recording can be streamed below. If you are a fan of this band, you will definitely want to own it.

27th January -  Coffin Curse  ( Chile, death metal ) - Ceased to Be ( Memento Mori ) 1st May - Vader  ( Poland, death metal ) - Solitude In Madness ( Nuclear Blast ) 29th May - Behemoth  ( Poland, blackened death metal ) - A Forest ( New Aeon Musick ) 29th May -  Xibalba ‎( US, death metal/hardcore ) – Años En Infierno ( Southern Lord )

Lluvia is Spanish for 'rain'; and it is also the name of this Mexican solo project. Mexico might seem like an unusual place for black metal to be born, but that only serves to make this offering all the more interesting. Eternidad Solemne swings between raw black metal songs and ambient interludes, and it does so very effectively. Atmospheric throughout, it manages to convey a wide range of emotions; albeit mostly from the angry/depressed/sad end of the spectrum. The album was released (in 2015) by Fallen Empire/Amor Fati/Leviatan Ouroboro on vinyl; Hellthrasher on CD; and GreySun on cassette. You can hear it below, and hunt down a copy  here .