PUTREVORE Morphed from deadbreath Review

PUTREVORE (Spain/Sweden) – Morphed from deadbreath
CD 2008 – Xtreem Music
8 tracks - 32'29
Rated: 7,5/10
Dave Rotten and Rogga Johansson who teamed up into a death metal band, that sounds juicely putrid to my ears. The result is some pretty decent low-tuned death metal, closer to the US old school death metal scene (old MORTICIAN, old INCANTATION and ROTTREVORE), and with Finnish death metal remnants (ABHORRENCE, DEMIGOD, ...). The whole is damned heavy as fuck, and sometimes you even have some deadly groove like on "the skies vomit sulphur", a kind of march of the dead, PUTREVORE manages to create some catchy tunes. Some tracks get slower, reminding doom/death metal, and kept an horrific mood strenghtened by the ultra low guttural vocals of Dave Rotten, this guy's amazing and doesn't use any effect!
"Morphed..." is the perfect soundtrack for any zombie movies, one can't only reproach the absence of guitar solos, maybe some variation in vocals like screams, but that's a pretty decent death metal release. This projects differs from what Rogga usually creates, I mean different from stuff like PAGANIZER, RIBSPREADER and their small swedish brothers.
If you're looking for horror-filled death metal to accompany your wandering nights in cemeteries, you have here the best tunes to rock your flesh eating comrades.
http://www.myspace.com/putrevore

AVICULARIA Born to be vile Review

AVICULARIA (Croatia) – Born to be vile
CD 2009 – Self released
8 tracks - 41'31
Rated: 7/10
Not easy to dissect this first AVICULARIA's release, there is a huge amount of work behind this "Born to be vile" and listening to it is exactly like being entangled in a web. AVICULARIA's technical death metal needs several listening for sure so if you're not into elaborated music please don't read further.
The musicians are skilful and create a complex blend of extreme metal, but death metal it is mainly: hard to not think about NILE in the beginning with the Egyptian atmospheres, epic occult parts similar to MITHRAS or MORBID ANGEL for some leads. AVICULARIA uses technical parts, sometimes it's a bit hard to understand the rhythms changes or the crazy breaks in the songs, that's probably the main reproach towards their music. This confusing side of the band can recall a band like SHADOWS LAND. AVICULARIA doesn't stop here when it comes to influences as you can detect riffing close to IMMOLATION or even GORGUTS and hard to not think about ATHEIST when they go into free-jazz alike parts.
But these elements written above shall not prevent you to listen to it, cause AVICULARIA mixed all these elements with pure death metal moments like these pounding riffs with great soloing that give a melodic side and help to appreciate the whole release. "Born to be vile" need an effort of listening but there are really good parts that make you forget the too much technical aspect. If you're looking for some exotical death metal form the Eastern Europe and if you're not repulsed by technical stuff, check it out.
http://myspace.com/aviculariaband

NERLICH Innards EP Review

NERLICH (Finland) – Innards
Tape 2009 – Nihilistic Holocaust
5 tracks – 17'58
Rated: 5,5/10
NERLICH after a bunch of cool demos and a quite brilliant album "Defabricated process", unleashed this EP in 2008 as an ultimate dirge before split up. A sad decision but why keeping up doing things if the guys aren't anymore into what they're doing. However, NERLICH got a good approach of death metal, rooted in the 90's era of the genre, with such influences as old SUFFOCATION, old GORGUTS, old MORBID ANGEL, etc... The tracks from "Innards" are in the continuation process of the album (especially the first two tracks), the musicianship is still good, the weak point being the drum sound (where's the kick-drum? Is it this awful click?) but you could find again these particular atmospheres from the album, you know these kinda occult ones reminding PESTILENCE on "Testimony...". The two following tracks are less captivating, more brutal they are just filling space in my opinion. There is a 5th track, and I don't know if that's a cover or a sick jam, a kinda punk/rock song, a MISFITS coversong? Anyway, this EP has a strange taste, a bit like an unfinished business, not bad but after a great album I probably expected more...
Contact: Gabriel S – 9 rue de la Scarpe – 59 552 LAMBRES LEZ DOUAI – FRANCE gabsk@wanadoo.fr http://site.voila.fr/NIHILISTIC
http://www.myspace.com/nerlichband

YOGTH SOTHOTH Abominations of the Nebulah Mortiis Review

YOGTH SOTHOTH (Colombia) – Abominations of the Nebulah Mortiis
CD 2008 – Sevared Records
10 tracks - 36'43
Rated: 7/10
This incarnation of the great old one comes from the Colombian hell and was invoked in 2003 with ex-members of PLANTA CADAVER. The conglomeration of glowing spheres is no less than a fucking death metal cosmic entity paying tribute to the Lovecraftian myth. Usually you expect some kind of atmospheres when writing music about Cthulhu and his minions, and does YOGTH SOTHOTH manage to create some? Well, with an old school brutal death style performed by YOGTH SOTHOTH you could have doubts but the band is able to surprise by playing with slow and very heavy paces. The riffing without being absolutely genuine displays some really dark tracks. In a way they can remind the brutality of bands like KRISIUN or INTERNAL SUFFERING but with more variations and slowdowns.
The music itself is pretty efficient with no innovation in terms of technical aspect, but some tracks definitely stay stuck in your brain. Some instants of linearity can also be felt and the lack of guitar solos is a mistake according to me coz they could break the linear times mentioned before.
Contact: Sevared Records c/o Barrett Amiss II – 19 East Main St. - Leroy, NY 14482 – USA
http://sevared.com/
http://www.myspace.com/yogthsothoth

GRAVELESS demo 2007 review

GRAVELESS (Brazil) – S/T
Demo CD 2007 – Self released
4 tracks - 17'49
Rated: 4/10
First demo for this brazilian outfit, and I'm surprised that they didn't sound like a KRISIUN clone. GRAVELESS is an old school death metal disciple into the late 80's/early 90's death metal. Almost no blast-beats here, just good old chuka-chuka drums mixed with thrash/death riffing. Think about stuff like POSSESSED, early MORBID ANGEL and UNLEASHED but less inspired.
This demo lacks of highlights, you listen to it but nothing really remains because it's mostly common death metal without stench of the deceased, it lacks of intensity because of tracks' linearity. I usually moans for the absence of guitar solos, there are some here, but they often sound wrong or don't fit the riff they're in. GRAVELESS has to work harder to propose something more gut wrenching coz I don't want to put this demo in my player again.
Contact: graveless_death@hotmail.com

NOMAD The independance of observation choice Review

NOMAD (Poland) – The independence of observation choice
CD 2007 – Empire Records
12 tracks - 44'29
Rated: 6,5/10
NOMAD has been active in the UG since 1994 but their name rarely comes to our frontiers, probably due to the small label that released their records and it won't evolve with Empire whose distribution is pretty weak. Fortunately, fellow traders are here to progagate the plague of death metal.
NOMAD is a death metal band that is completely in the stream of bands like VADER, DIES IRAE, DEVILYN, not they just follow these bands but they belong to the same sphere with similar influences (MORBID ANGEL, DEICIDE, CARCASS...). NOMAD's style is rather powerful death metal with old school elements and don't denies melodies and injects guitar solos for my greatest pleasure (and the guys are fucking skilled!).
The album is pretty intense due to the fast drumming but lightened by MORBID ANGEL alike dark parts. In fact some tracks could have been shortened for a matter of efficiency I think. The band also puts small intrumental pieces between the tracks and that gaves a time of rest until the next assault. In fact, you have here a good death metal band that may remain in the shadow of his great brothers VADER, HATE or BEHEMOTH to name a few. Good stuff if you're usually into extreme metal from Poland, they close the album with a death metallic version of « IX » of Italian thrashers BULLDOZER a longer version, don't know how they arrange it), this band is absolutely worth the listening for some good moments.
Info: www.nomad-band.com

CONSPIRACY Concordat Review

CONSPIRACY (Netherlands) – Concordat
CD 2009 – Pulverised Records
8 tracks – 43'04
Rated: 4,5/10
Not the most inspired moniker with the numerous CONSPIRACY existing, this one comes from Holland and is the beast of lonesome musician Al' Hazred (ex-MELECHESH) taking all instruments duty. So here is a large amount of work for a result which is a bit disappointing. Don't get me wrong, everything is well played, everything's tight, nope in fact what annoys me the most with this 2nd album of CONSPIRACY is its lack of personality. At first, you feel like listening to a bad copy of ABSU. This black/death/thrash metal reminds me a lot of ABSU with a less sharp sound and with similar vocals. CONSPIRACY is far more melodic and has the bad idea to add Swedish heavy/death alike harmonies. On the fifth track « faith » CONSPIRACY reminds a pagan metal band with choirs and keyboards, clean guitars..., a bit surprising it hardly fits the previous tracks' mood in my opinion but I guess the guy plays what he wants after all. Then on track 7 « Courage », you get a death/doom piece, quite melodic with guttural vocals, still different from previous stuff again, don't know where the mad arab wants to go...and that goes on with the last melodic instrumental closing the album. There are good moments but there are also many moments of boredom that prevent this album being just average.
http://www.myspace.com/metalconspiracy