Written In Torment - Bellum Omnium Contra Omnes

Glorious North Productions 2013

 

1.Earth Decimated 2.Eternities of Suffering Endured 3.Beast of the Depths

4.Descent into Total Madness 5.O' Fortuna 6.Grief

7.Solitude 8.Behold the Trinity Maimed and Rotten 9.A Pig Hung in Golgotha

10.Necessary Evil

 

The UK seems to have an abundance on one man extreme metal bands, especially black metal ones and Written In Torment sit quietly in amongst them all, relatively unknown to many. Opener ‘Earth Decimated’ is a varied affair, mixing tempos well from standard black metal machine gun blasting through to slower more morbid passages. What is refreshing to hear is an actual drum kit, as opposed to clinical and over-produced electronic drums. It’s the use of 'actual' drums which probably sets this band apart from many of the other one man bands in the UK, the fact that Leviathan, the man behind the band, is a competent drummer and his skills behind the kit are being put to good use. ‘Eternities Of Suffering Endured’ is an extremely catchy song, the harsh yet melodic guitars really stand out here, being fast tremolo picked with an almost folk element to them, only very slightly however. The majority of the song is played at a fast pace, however, the pace it dropped to allow the haunting and chilling atmospheres being created to really stand out. Keyboards are used sparingly, but when added give the song an extremely unique sound. The song ends in very epic fashion, being almost ballad like as the melodic lead guitars close proceedings. ‘Beast Of The Depths’ is slightly different in delivery, mainly due the drop in pace but to be honest, when the pace is dropped to an absolute minimum and the melodic guitars once again take over, its unbelievably atmospheric and really begins to stir up emotions. ‘Descent Into Total Madness’ blasts open in complete comparison to the ending of the previous track. Furious drums accompany some frantic, harsh yet melodic guitars in typically brutal black metal fashion. However, another aspect to W.I.T that sets him apart from numerous other black metal bands is the use of guitar solos, Leviathan isn’t afraid to use them in extremely melodic fashion and quite frequently which is different, but in a positive way.

‘O’Fortuna’ delves even deeper into the catchy and atmospheric themes heard in earlier tracks, bordering on epic, this is as good as the band has sounded so far. Again, paces are mixed but the song actually works better when the pace is slow and mournful, especially when the morose cleanly sung vocal passages are added. Hate-filled sorrow probably best describes the atmosphere being created. Comparisons were quite hard to draw so far, but as the aptly titled ‘Grief’ opens up, then bands such as Vinterland instantly sprang to mind, mixed with Sacramentum maybe and when such comparisons are mentioned, you know you’re onto a winner. Leviathan does like to end in songs in epic and atmospheric fashion and here is another song which does just that. Instrumental tracks don’t do much to excite me, I’m always left feeling that vocals would have enhanced whatever is on offer and it’s no different with ‘Solitude’ which musically is superb and is absolutely screaming out to have some harsh black metal vocals bellowed out over it. A shame because it’s such a potent track, delivered with absolute conviction and malice but minus the vocal delivery. ‘Behold The Trinity Maimed And Rotten’ sees normal service being resumed. One point to note is the vocal delivery, not the harsh high pitched screams as you might expect but more a growled style used. Quite unusual for the style of music, but they work well and don’t sound at all out of place.  Musically the song jumps from faster blast beat sections to the slower mournful passages and then back to the faster sections which all adds variety and makes for another interesting track. ‘A Pig Hung In Golgotha’ has a real sense of urgency to it, giving off an almost frantic feel when the faster sections blast in. Fans of early Impaled Nazarene would probably really enjoy this track and the same could be said for the opening few riffs of final track ‘Necessary Evil’ which gives off an altogether different feel and sound to everything heard previously. This of course isn’t a bad thing because again, the sense of urgency and frantic nature to the music is openly on display again and makes for a suitably great finish to the album. Leviathan and Written In Torment have a lot to offer on this album and there is a lot to take in when listening to it. The mix of the harsher black metal and slower morose passages makes for an extremely varied and enjoyable listen. He’s quite obviously a very talented individual more than capable of writing and performing some fantastic atmospheric black metal as demonstrated throughout every song on this album and should you be looking to listen to something a bit different from the black metal norm, then Bellum Omnium Contra Omnes offers just that and comes well recommended.

 

8 out of 10

 

Band Page: Here

Buy It: Here

Party Cannon - Partied In Half

Autopsy Records 2013

 

1.Duct Taped To A Flag Pole 2.Tyrone, You Put That Sugar Down

3.High Five Ghost

 

Scottish ‘Party Slammers’ Party Cannon could well be conceived to be somewhat of a joke, from the ‘balloon looking’ logo alone, not to mention the song titles. They are far from that though, it’s about having fun whilst playing some seriously brutal death/grind/ slam. Opener ‘Duct Taped To A Flag Pole’ belches forth in a torrent of nasty blast beats and monstrous riffing that is mixed with some truly coma inducing slam elements. There’s a great mix of vocals on offer, snarled rasping screams accompany some ultra-guttural, sub-human death growls, reminiscent to a lot of gore-grind currently out there. The production is perfect for the style of music, being bass heavy as fuck with all the individual elements mixed just right and working well together to produce an absolute monster. ‘Tyrone, You Put That Sugar Down’ is another beastly track, rabid blast beats and frenzied guitar work mixed to maximum effect and when interspersed with those pummelling slams again makes for another brilliantly tight song. The band do sound extremely potent and devastating when they up the pace and allow the blast beats to really let rip, pinch harmonics crawling all over the place. Again, the vocals are a real highlight, varied and extremely well delivered.

Closing this short three track e.p. is ‘High Five Ghost’ which continues the theme heard in the two previous songs. Frenzied probably best describes the sound when the band are playing a full throttle and what really makes the band stand out is when they deliver these faster ‘frenzied’ sections then plunge right into the heavy as hell slams, it absolutely destroys and then mix in some ultra-fast gravity blast laden sections and you know you’re going to be completely ‘spasticated’ (as the intro suggests) not only by this song, but by the entire e.p. Having witnessed the band live I can affirm the fact that Party Cannon are indeed (as these three songs testify) intense as fuck and yes, they really do enjoy playing their music which shows in both the live arena and recorded format. This is a massively great introduction to the band for those that haven’t been initiated into the party and shows the band off perfectly for what they are – an intense and utterly devastating death grind band (with a hint of Gore-Grind to really add impact) that are writing some original sounding songs and playing them with ease. Some out there may have chosen to give these guys a miss by judging the band by their logo, or their sense of humour. That would be a fatal mistake as Party Cannon are yet another band from the UK that have produced a massively impressive, albeit somewhat short, e.p. that stands them head and shoulders above most of the bands out there in a similar genre. The impact the music has is instant and you ignore it at your peril! Join the party and slam, you will not be disappointed, ‘Partied In Half’ comes very highly recommended.

 

8.5 Out of 10

 

Band Page: Here

Buy It: Here

 

Nihilism Incarnate - Deconstruct The Aeons

Abyssus Records 2013

 

1.Eat Shit And Die 2.Dark Matter 3.The Lords Prey(er)

4.Butcher Bludgeons Bloodbath

 

The first aspect that grabs your attention as opening track “Eat Shit And Die” opens up is the heavy as fuck production, steamrolling out of the speakers with a massive death metal punch (courtesy of a James Murphy mastering). Describing themselves as Progressive Death Metal, there is a slight progressive influence to be heard, but overall this first track is a quite straight forward heavy death metal affair, the pace being held back at slow to mid-paced. Vocally it’s as you would expect, crushing and guttural death metal growls, not too dissimilar to an early Ill-Disposed type delivery. ‘Dark Matter’ follows on in comparable fashion with similar paces being adopted once more. What differs with this second track is that the band does take on an altogether different approach, the ‘progressive’ element more evident throughout, the guitars leading the technical and at times melodic assault. The song breaks several times into acoustic guitar lead passages which only enhance the progressive theme.

‘The Lords Prey(er) see’s the band experimenting with pace, injecting some faster sections into the mix which are short, sharp forays into something new and sit well in amongst the slower more technical passages. As the song builds it begins to take on a really epic sound and ends on an extremely atmospheric high. Closing this e.p. is ‘Butcher Bludgeons Bloodbath’ and again, it follows on in similar fashion to the previous track, flirting with faster paces, but only very briefly, which is a shame as the songs would definitely benefit from adding varying paces as opposed to being rooted firmly in the slow to mid-paced which is probably why all four songs ultimately lack that killer punch (and reading the list of influences the band cite, it is filled with groups that use speed to add to the extremity, whereas NI don’t, which baffles slightly). However, Nihilism Incarnate’s  ability and musicianship is unquestionable; the technical guitar work is flawless and extremely well composed and delivered and is accompanied by some solid drum work. Technical death metal with a progressive edge, this debut four track e.p. showcases a band that are more than capable of handling their instruments and writing well-constructed and well executed death metal songs. The lack of (mixing) pace is a slight niggling point, but this shouldn’t detract from effort the band has put into this release and it is well worth checking out!

 

7 out of 10

 

Band Page: Here

Buy It: Here

 

Necroriser - Violent

Self Released 2013

 

1.Destruction 2.Cleanse 3.Suicide 4.Revenge

5.Slaves 6.Fear 7.Horror 8.Ambush 9.Pain 

 

Originally from Brazil, but now settled in the UK, London to be precise, Necroriser play a mix of death metal and thrash metal. This blend is illustrated perfectly in opener ‘Destruction’ which absolutely pummels from start to finish. Being thrash orientated and from Brazil, it may be too easy to draw comparisons to Sepultura, but actually there are some massive similarities to ‘Beneath The Remains’ era Sepultura, such is the bands riffing style and sound in places. Finishing in a flurry of blast beat laden death metal madness; it’s a great introduction to these Brazilian maniacs. Rooted firmly in the ‘old school’, ‘Cleanse’ is pure old school Slayer worship and is a more trash orientated song. It’s only really the vocals which add the death metal element to their sound, being just guttural enough to be classed as death metal. Next up is ‘Suicide’ and what a track this is, catchy chorus lines are mixed in amongst some exceptionally frantic guitar work and again it makes for a storming track. The mix of thrash and death metal is just right here; neither one over-powering the other. Again, the song is rooted firmly in that “old school approach” which adds to its appeal. ‘Revenge’ is a short and savage affair, blazing along at a whirlwind of a pace with manic guitar solos screaming and screeching in true Slayer style once again – great stuff!

There’s no let up as ‘Slaves’ burst forth in another torrent of brutal, old school influenced death/thrash. What makes Necroriser so enjoyable to listen to is the straight-forward approach to their song writing. It’s all about “just going for it”, which they again do in brilliantly brutal fashion. As ‘Fear’ opens up, it’s become quite apparent that the band are losing the temptation to draw from their main influences and are developing a style in their own right, sounding not too dissimilar to Germany’s own death/thrash juggernauts Dew Scented, a theme which carries on brilliantly into ‘Horror’ with a more European sound to this song, as opposed to the South American influence that was apparent throughout the earlier songs. Living on this side of the world seems to be having an influence on the bands song writing style, and what a great effect it’s had on this release! ‘Ambush’ is the shortest track on offer and being only 1m34 you would expect it to fire on all cylinders and blast brutally from start to finish. As fast as the pace is, there is however a dark and sinister undertone creeping into the slower sections which definitely adds a new dimension to the band’s sound, no complaints here! As the album comes to a close with ‘Pain’ the band are on top form, mixing everything they have in their musical arsenal excellently. The heavier Sepultura-esque riffs are re-introduced as are the manic Slayer style guitar solos which wouldn’t sound out of place on early Obituary albums also. It’s one hell of a way to end an album, and Necroriser do it brilliantly. The Album title ‘Violent’ pretty much sums up each and every track and the album as a whole, the intensity of the music on offer absolutely pummels and slays. The term “thrash attack” is banded about quite a lot, but this is exactly what the band does on every song, they attack you with a brutal assault of death thrash madness that leaves you battered and bruised but ultimately wanting more of the same. Reeking of the old school sound and with a straight forward, no nonsense approach to their song writing, Necroriser have hit the nail firmly on the head with this album as it smashes from start to finish and comes very highly recommended.

 

8.5 out of 10

Band Page: Here

Buy It: Here

 

UKEM Update

It's been a very busy time for UKEM just recently. As you will have seen from the blog header, we have had a new logo designed by Christophe Szpajdel (Lord Of Logos). I'm sure you will agree, its a vast improvement on the old logo!

We have started using this on all of our online pages and we are now planning a run of shirts and hoodies featuring this new logo. Our Facebook page continues to go from strength to strength and gaining in popularity as we have recently passed the 6000 likes landmark, so a huge thanks to everyone that joins us on Facebook. If you haven't visited the page, it can be found Here

 

Our label, UKEM Records has a several releases out in the last few months including titles from Necrogrinder, The Deathisodes and Primitive Graven Image. We also have had a massive re-development of the online store, making it much easier to navigate and find items with new sections being included and a new and improved shopping cart feature. If you haven't visited the new store, it can be found Here As part of this development and improvement we also introduced a new distro, namely Hell's Hammer Distribution. This subsidiary aims to stock the best titles from international labels and artists and we already have a massive selection of titles to choose from. As with the new UKEM logo, we enlisted Christophe Szpadjel to design the logo for a truly unique identity!

The Hell's Hammer titles can be found in the current UKEM store, however, the link directly to the products is Here

The easiest way to keep upto date with new arrivals is by heading over to the Facebook page and clicking like, we have new titles coming in on a weekly basis. Visit Here

We stock titles from: Nuclear Blast Records, Century Media Records, Metal Blade Records, Sevared Records, Comatose Music, Blast Head Records, Darker Than Black Records, Grindethic Records, Amputated Vein Records, Pathologically Explicit Recordings, Grindhead Records, Glorious North Productions, New Standard Elite Records, Season Of Mist Records + MORE!!! so there's bound to be something for everyone!

 

UKEM Records has also just ended a highly successful run of adverts in Terrorizer Magazine and Zero Tolerance Magazine which has undoubtedly gained us massive exposure to an international audience.

New releases are now in the planning stage for the label, with our next planned release being from old school death metallers THE OBSCENE with their debut full length album "Architects Of Deliverance". Then for 2014 we have a split album from CRUELTY'S HEART and FROSTWORK with another album from ABOMNIUM nearer the middle of the year (the second for UKEM records). So 2014 is already lining up to be a busy year. And needless to say, we will continue to publish reviews here on the blog, although this has become increasingly difficult due to the demands of the label and the new distro!

 

Finally, a massive thanks and horns high to everyone that continues to support UKEM, its really appreciated!

 

we are "Dedicated to Extremity, Supporting The Underground"

 

 

Carcass - Surgical Steel

Nuclear Blast 2013

 

1.1985 2.Thrasher's Abattoir 3.Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System

4.A Congealed Clot Of Blood 5.The Master Butcher's Apron

6.Noncomplience Of ASTM F 899-12 Standard

7.The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills 8.Unfit For Human Consumption

9.316L Grade Surgical Steel 10.Captive Bolt Pistol 11.Mount Of Execution

12.Intensive Battery Brooding*

 

It’s finally here, after months of rumour mongering and excited chatter on the social media sites Carcass return! It’s fair to say this has been the most highly anticipated album from a band this year, if not in recent memory. Having read interviews with the band, their promise to deliver something that mixes Necroticism era and Heartwork era Carcass is extremely accurate from the outset. ‘1985’ acts as a short intro before ‘Thrashers Abattoir’ blasts in at full throttle in a storm of snarling vocals, blasting drums and tight and catchy riffing. Showing their intentions in superb fashion, this is a magnificent way to let everyone know they are back – back to rip your face off! A similar theme is pursued throughout ‘Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System’, albeit in a slightly less frantic approach, with a touch more melody introduced. It’s great to hear those trademark dual vocals back, Jeff’s rasping snarls accompanied perfectly by Bill’s guttural bottom end bellowing’s. ‘A Congealed Clot Of Blood’ is monstrously epic, the pace slowed to a clinical crawl throughout its entirety which gives it an almost anthem like sound. In stark contrast ‘The Master Butchers Apron’ bludgeons the listener with blast bead laden drumming and sharp riffing. The song does then return to the slower pace used in the previous track and almost acts as an interlude, as the faster pace is then re-introduced to end the song brilliantly. Similarly ‘Noncompliance to ASTM F 899-12 Standard’ smashes open with more blast beats which introduce the track in brutal fashion before a more mid-paced approach is undertaken. The mix of tempos and styles is working really so far and will definitely appeal to older and newer Carcass fans alike.

‘The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills’ harks back to Heartwork era Carcass and the chorus’ are nothing short of inspired, the chants of “Six – Zero – Two – Six – Nine – Six – One” are massively original and sound unlike anything heard before, not only from the band, but in the genre, this is definitely the band at their best and their most inspirational. As if to further prove the point, ‘Unfit For Human Consumption’ is massive, bringing everything heard so far to the (Surgeons) table. It’s catchy, it’s brutal and epic in proportions, the dual chant like vocals really add a new, and welcome addition to the bands musical arsenal. ‘316L Grade Surgical Steel’ again shows a band sounding more sharp and precise than they ever have done, particularly venomous when the savage blast beats open up to accompany the razor sharp guitar work, executed precisely with utter conviction. ‘Captive Bolt Pistol’ is probably going to sound extremely familiar, as this was used as the “album teaser” with all the social media sites, websites and blogs all exposing the masses to its utter brilliance. And why not, it’s definitely the stand out track of the album that sees the band delving deep into Necroticism era riffing whilst mixing the modern edge to their sound perfectly. If you bought the jewel case version, then ‘Mount Of Execution’ is the final track of the disc and it ends the cd in catchy and epic fashion. However; spending a little more on the digi-pack gets you the bonus track* of ‘Intensive Battery Brooding’ which has a slightly different feel and sound to all of the other tracks on the standard version. It’s a dark and sinister offering that musically, has a much more classic heavy metal sound to it with the pace kept to a minimum for the majority of its length. There’s even a slight thrash metal influence on display here, only very slight however – just enough to make you sit up and think “that’s a bit different for them, but it sounds good”. Carcass are back and are truly on top form, pushing the boundaries of modern extreme metal to the limits. The whole album balances the bands two classic sounds (Necroticism and Heartwork) brilliantly, neither one overpowering the other, rather acting as partners to create an absolutely punishing and devastating slab of modern extreme metal. Highly anticipated? Yes, but the wait was more than worth it, definitely the death metal album of 2013 so far, it comes very highly recommended.

 

9 out of 10

 

Band Page: Here

Buy It: Here

Dead Beyond Buried - The Dark Era

Self Released 2012

 

1.Opening the Gates 2.The Rupturing 3.Spirit of the Void

4.Cold Black Stars 5.Shadows Consuming Spirits 6.Utopia

7.Failures 8.Dripping Black Bile 9.The Dark Era

 

First track ‘Opening The Gates’ begins life in pummelling fashion, the bands well-honed brand of brutal death metal sounds crisp, tight and is amazingly savage from the outset. Of course you would expect nothing less from a band that are now unleashing their third full length album and can probably be classed as “seasoned veterans” of the UK underground scene. It’s a good start. As if to prove the point, ‘The Rupturing’ is even more brutal than the opener, and absolute storm of blast beat laden brutal death that destroys. The pace is dropped to a sludgy crawl nearer the middle of the song, not lasting too long; it is then followed by the return of the bludgeoning and blasting death metal. DBB sound overwhelmingly intense when they’re at full speed. As the song ends, the pace is returned to the slower tempo which is a good way to close the song after all of the devastation. ‘Spirit Of The Void’ tricks you into thinking it’s going to be a slower, filler song as it begins slowly, and similar to what was on offer in the previous song. However, just as you settle into the slower pace, blast beats are unleashed without warning, hurling the song into oblivion. This doesn’t last long however, the pace is then dropped and the remainder of the song takes on an almost Morbid Angel feel and sound, an evil and sinister crawl ensues. ‘Cold Black Stars’ is a much more varied affair, utilising everything heard so far to great effect in a well-constructed and crafted song. There’s real power in this track, especially in the choruses when the fast tremolo picked guitars and pummelling double kick drums work in unison to maximum effect and give the song an extremely catchy sound. These passages also show off the bands tightness extremely well, but you wouldn’t really expect anything less really.

‘Shadows Consuming Spirits’ is another monster; being the bastard child of Immolation and Hate Eternal should any comparisons be needed. And again, the band add variety to the song writing by mixing tempos well which in turn ensures the listener is never going to get bored – definitely no fear of that here! The opening riffs to ‘Utopia’ are actually quite melodic, and unlike anything heard so far and almost act as the introduction to the song before the heavier and slower riffs burst open in marked contrast. Vocally the track is actually very sparse as there is a long section to the song which would be classed as instrumental, the drums being given free rein to really ‘do their own thing’ which they do for the good of the song. The more melodic start to the previous track appears to have ‘rubbed off’ on ‘Failures’ as it begins in quite melodic fashion, having an almost anthem like feel to it which may be attributed to the slower pace in part. Personally, the band sound at their best at full speed and this song really detracts what the band are capable of doing, which is playing brutal as fuck, tight and precise savage death metal. Maybe this track is the album ‘filler’? ‘Dripping Black Bile’ returns the album to the heavier death metal which was lacking previously, however the pace is once again held back to the slower tempos which is shame as this is the shortest song on the entire album and anyone hoping they would blast entirely through the three, nearly four minutes will be sadly let down. Title track ‘The Dark Era’ closes proceedings continues on in similar fashion, slower heavier riffs are accompanied by slow rhythmic drumming which lacks the truly killer blow to end the album. It’s fairly obvious the band were opting for the more epic ending which is fair play, epic endings do work on certain albums but as mentioned earlier, DBB are a much greater proposition when they unleash the furious blast beat lead brutal death metal. These are added in towards the close of the song, but only sparsely. Overall, the album is almost a tale of two halves with the opening few tracks bursting forth in suitably brutal fashion and highlighting what the band are truly capable of. Then, as the album progresses, the pace and feel to the album is somewhat relaxed and takes on a more epic, anthem like sound. Thankfully, the differing styles adopted don’t sound “too different” so as to give the album a disjointed sound. The production utilised holds all the songs and the album together well as does the tightness of the playing. Packed full of variety, with a tightness and extremely high standard of musicianship, there will be something to quench the thirst of the majority of extreme metal fans, be it the brutal blast beat heavy death metal assault or the slower, Morbid Angel inspired crawls, this album is sure to please and comes well recommended.

 

7.5 Out of 10

 

Band Page: Here

Buy It: Here