Here we go. Mercury is still in retrograde, so you know, a parrot can be moody too.
The cavemen of death metal (self-proclaimed), OBITUARY, release Inked in Blood on Relapse. Beginning as a Kickstarter project, this comes out of the gate relatively fast, and then really slows the pace down. Like puts the brakes on for most of the record. The pace really picks back up near the end, and kinda almost frenetically. Not having much technical prowess doesnt mean this is pedantic, and most of the songs hearken back more to the old-school days of death metal. There is a definite groove going on in a lot of the songs, but the overall impression comes across as a little scattered and mixed up. The album does close with a total barn burner, though, that stirs up the intensity to almost a frantic pace. All in all, this is a pretty good record, certainly no Cause of Death or Slowly We Rot, but better than most of the mid-period catalog. Sooo, I dunno. 7 Fucking Pecks.
Not as good as the movie by the same name, but BLOOD FREAK release Squalor on Willowtip. What is there to say about this genre of extreme death/grind that hasnt been said before? There is a difference here, the riffs. This has thrash, death and a little grooviness to it, which separates it from the tons of Impetigo and Repulsion clones. There is some tech here, and the riffs are catchy, giving the overall impression of a pretty good record. Blood Freaks previous efforts really failed to rattle my cage too much, and although those were good releases, they werent particularly memorable. Not the case with Squalor. Some of these tracks have some fretwork that is busy, but still remains memorable. Im pecking digging this. 7 Fucking Pecks.
ANAAL NATHRAKH release Desideratum, (making sure my spell check is working overtime here), and prove that they really can keep up the ferocity theyre known for. American black metal really doesnt ruffle my feathers, but extreme music is extreme music, and this is extreme. This is abrasive and brutal, almost unrelenting at times. The occasional use of samples (lame, right?) and the industrial glitch here and there really adds to break up the monotony of the constant dick-kicking one gets while listening to this. Any fan of this band will surely like this, and anyone who just likes ear-fuckery will dig this, too. That being said, this is certainly not an exciting record by any means, and although unrelenting, is not going to really push them into any new territory. Not bad, but Im not thrilled either. 6 Fucking Pecks.
