Death Metal

[Zeno Marx]

I keep forgetting to ask.  Something new from Ignivomous coming?

[totalblack]

I don't have a physical copy yet, but have had the audio for a few months. Planetary Clairvoyance is an awesome record, and it's incredible to see how much this band has grown in the last 3 years. Tall poppy syndrome is commonplace in underground music scenes and it is not surprising to see people lashing out when a band becomes successful.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

I got into DM in the time when it was pretty much new thing happening. So most of bands of absolute top of my "best DM bands" list, are the usual suspects of the late 80's/early 90's bands. As much as I like good DM, I can't say I would really follow what happens in that genre overall. When I think should I listening something new, or re-listen some of the classics... I tend to think most of good DM needs to be listened a lot. The best of the albums are both: timeless and demanding. Absolute best DM albums you don't get instantly.

Problem with a lot of DM now, is the same most of other music has. A lot of weight is on image or concept. Not sure if this needs to be explained further? Contrast is so big compared to the old style death metal (not referring mere sound itself). In old times it was most often group of guys, most likely either high school friends or even childhood friends. It created unusual dynamic for groups and result was extremely diverse sound and approach. That combined to having to rely on your own skills on very limited gear or use studio where soundguy usually didn't know shit. Some of the best ones also looked pretty unique in cover art.
As soon as genre developed pretty much "industry of DM" - I was not really that interested in it. Especially abundance of seemingly uniform melodic death metal and brutal USA death metal type of things and studios giving most bands nearly the same sound.

I don't think it is nostalgia really. Any time you hear unheard old DM recording and unheard current band recording, it appears to be very clear what is what. Regardless of style. When I see most of cover graphics of current DM bands, I do not like it. It would be better if they got their kid brother to draw them something or some complete outsider, than some of the metal graphic artists..

One of the handful of DM bands of current times I got into, was Cadaveric Fumes. I didn't expect anything about it. I thought it would be some sort of gory brutal stuff, but turned out it is not. Perhaps one thing is that release didn't rely on packaging nor specific sound. It has neither, the contemporary teflon sound nor some specific gimmick. I can't really point which band they would remind of. Just lots of good riffs, some being slightly unusual. None of material relies on sound, just the actual substance of songs.
Demo material is far more bass frequency oriented and cavernous echoes and deeper guttural voice. 7" is like transition towards best stuff: I like most the 12" mini LP.
https://cadavericfumes.bandcamp.com/album/dimensions-obscure

I like more throaty voice on the latest material. It doesn't get as high pitched as death, asphyx and morgoth type of voice, I like how the delivery is done. New split ep I only heard from bandcamp. Being Hells Headbangers release, it should be pretty easy to get.

Been talking with many friends who used to like DM but have drifted away, that there must be good bands among the abundance of current DM. In Finland genre seems to be far more underground than Black Metal. If you got local underground death metal gig, you can guarantee there is pretty much nobody there. BM has notch more audience.

I still rather check small bands than new albums from old big names. Immolation and Gorguts are the rare cases who managed to make pretty relevant stuff even as their currently latest albums. To make me listen full album of current Deicide or such... I can't see it ever happening. I give new bands a try once in a while. Mostly I feel that despite it may be ok, I do not need own their records. Still it seems curious that most of albums seems to be pressed almost as little as noise/power electronics albums, hah...

[ashraf]

Nice to be reminded of Cadaveric Fumes. The Forsaken Triptych comp is my favorite metal CD of the past few years (along with Frozen Graves, though not DM).

[Euro Trash Bazooka]

I think the best Tomb Mold releases are their demos. I didn't like the new album's production much. It's great but a bit too "common', it lacks personality in sound. I think production makes or kills a record.

Regarding Cadaveric Fumes, they're as low-key and down-to-earth as their music. No posturing at all.

[Zeno Marx]

That Cadaveric Fumes is interesting.  My favorite moments are when it seems like a Ved Buens Ende/Virus influence comes to the surface.

[holy ghost]

I like Oksennus

Same! I think I like everything they've done, in particular the last couple demos they did, Neosmegma and Ala Luovuta Koskaan - truly a band that's not afraid to get fucking weird. I got turned onto them after Rado from Sedem Minute Strachu sent me their split - everything they've done has been really unique. I love that they seem to have a "NWN Prod side" and an "experimental demo" side.

[Mikerdeath]

this is going to be the best death metal album of 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwGJ0KOHWCk
Cerebral Rot

[DSOL]

20 Buck Spin has been killing it this year with DM releases

[Urban Noise]

I can relate with all FreakAnimalFinland said about today's DM. It lacks something that the old ones had.
The putrid feeling we get from the old recordings is something we can't hear these days.

[Thor]

The putrid feeling we get from the old recordings is something we can't hear these days.

Out if curiosity, which albums are you talking about when you refer to this putrid feeling?

[FreakAnimalFinland]

I'm not mr. Urban Noise, but I feel he means pretty much the same as I did so...
While many of the contemporary DM is not *bad*, it can be good.
In context of noise, it is almost as if someone starts 90's style harsh noise project, and it sounds like Macronympha "Notes from the underground" with more boosted digital finish. And you can conclude, yep, it is sort of 90's, but in other hand it is nothing like 90's. In such case Macronympha or MSNP is almost cheaply used as reference point, but I doubt there are many who live up to level they set at their peak nor give credit to innovations + diversity their discography displays. And certainly failing to capture the 90's harsh noise that was way beyond just "crunchy wall".

Some favorite DM sounds for me are for example

Morgoth 1st mLP:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clkIcQqk7lw
"socially aware" lyrics basically, but dirt on the recording and insane raging vocals hits hard instantly

Autopsy Severed Survival LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5IHWtvU2zo
sleaze and the slimyness of "clean" bass sound and vocal regurgitation. Song writing by Autopsy very few can match.

Carnage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9OubX-ZhdI
or Dismember
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DsC_eywaO4
No band who wanted to get "sunlight sound", got it as dark and putrid as Carnage. New bands trying to replicate Swedish production sound often almost joke compared to early days of that sound emerging.

Immolation
To me this remains best song done by Immolation and iconic song of really dark sounding death metal. Most of technical death metal does not impress me, but here each trick seems to be in service of song, not the other way round.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icwNtcmqj8Y

Pungent Stench
when someone recommends me new death-grind or gore-grind, I can pretty much expect total crap. I'm huge fan of old school grindcore, but all the goreslam, cyber-guttural, computer edited, mall-death metal type of stuff sound so weak compared to things like below, which to me is in every way putrid and reeking of original death smell. Not the sanitized or cinematic version. Pungent Stench - not being always gold - is prime example of the unpredictable and monstrous death metal vibes you barely hear these days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8son3yX_n34

List could go on and on... and as a good reminded, while inserting the youtube link, autoplay started Excoriate track right after Pungent Stench. First comment I see is "2009? It sounds like something straight from the late 80's".  Well... Excoriate is pretty good, but if you remove the good vocal sound, especially production is most definitely 2009! What exactly results that there is pretty much no release that manages to sound as good as in old days, can be only speculated.

Also doomier or just slower death metal is something where I can't find bands that would be as good as there used to be. If you go to really slow stuff, it tends to lack riffs. If band got one "gimmick", they tends to follow that one formula and get boring quite quick. I get never tired of slower tracks such as:
Asphyx "Pages in blood"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBrS-UGAv6U

My Dying Bride "Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVHD4q0Z-os

Each linked thing has probably element that bands themselves, and perhaps also listener has feeling that they are somehow odd, that there is plenty of things to "correct", to make it sound good. Yet when you make those corrections, they would probably not sound as good anymore. All the really putrid sounding stuff emerged to be so. Possibilities where highly limited and spontaneous recording situation gave more to result than being specific product. Most bands those days would give many surprises, while now, a lot of material certainly is following narrow templates very tightly.


( When I think of typical contemporary death metal I tend to think something like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96NjL0d4vvA
Of course it's barely accurate, only presents one side of genre, it is the type of stuff what makes death metal sound more slapstick humor than needed to be. Equally little I am interested in slick melodic DM)

[Cdan]

Here's a demo recorded earlier this year. May appeal to those into Peaceville Three's early offerings, early Absu, Cenotaph, Ceremonium, first November's Doom, etc. Second press of the tape will but available thru mail order for US people, and copies are going to IBP later this week.

https://excarnatedentity.bandcamp.com/releases

[Cdan]

Short list of highly listened to favorites of the past few months, shit always changes:

Paradise Lost "Lost Paradise" (classic death doom decimation, best release)
Misery "Revel in Blasphemy" (The heaviest death metal recording?? At least from Australia)
Disciples of Mockery "Prelude to Apocalypse" (3/4 of the classic "Onward to Golgotha" line up takes up the desolation a notch. Lots of pinch harmonics and bleakness)
Cenotaph "Gloomy Reflections of Our Hidden Sorrow" (completely alien and utterly pulverizing death metal from Mexico City. Spawning ground of The Chasm, and members were also involved with Shub Niggurath who released two unbelievably heavy EP's and a truly unique LP.)
Morpheus Descends "Chronicles of the Shadowed One" (That weird middle ground between pure evil and slamming brutal death metal, one of the heaviest and most uniquely written NY recordings)

That'll do it for now.

[seventhcircle]

Here's a demo recorded earlier this year. May appeal to those into Peaceville Three's early offerings, early Absu, Cenotaph, Ceremonium, first November's Doom, etc. Second press of the tape will but available thru mail order for US people, and copies are going to IBP later this week.

https://excarnatedentity.bandcamp.com/releases

Really great stuff! Death doom done right.. do we get in touch with you directly about US mail order for the second pressing or will distros carry it?