Cerebral Rot- Excretion of Mortality (Album Review)

Musicians: Cerebral Rot
Album Title: Excretion of Mortality
Genre/ Subgenre: Death Metal
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Release Date: June 25, 2021

Seattle death metal act Cerebral Rot are back with their second LP, Excretion of Mortality. And, from the very start it is a nasty and decay filled musical attack. 

Like their debut album, Odious Descent into Decay, this record is incredibly heavy and is full of putridness. The production feels grimy and crushing. The gruesome sound and lyrics make the album drag you into the most disgusting and vile of bowels.

Chainsaw guitars riff away in the opening of the title track, which sets up the tone perfectly. It has a suffocating and heavy sound that is accompanied perfectly by the inhuman and guttural vocals of signer/ guitarist Ian Schwab. Mostly a slow and almost doomy track, it speeds up every so often, including an almost Slayer like lead break. It is followed by the slicing and dicing sounds of "Vile Yolk of Contagion", my favorite track on the record. After its fast opening, it drags you down in the gutters of hell, itself, with its air of all consuming rot. The blistering "Spewing Purulence" sounds vile and reeks of decay, as well as having unrelenting moments of face smashing brutality. The album's most daring and complex track, "Crowning the Disgustulent (Breed of Repugnance)" is saved for the closer. The song starts out with an atmospheric intro in which you can feel the bile and heaviness simmering, until it explodes with its furious drumming and pulverizing riffs. It gathers more and more speed and driving brutality, throwing in blast beats and more Slayer-like leads. For the most part, it looks to be an instrumental, then around the six minute mark the vocals kick in. We get some sick and merciless breakdowns that slow it down further making it sound that much sicker! At a killer eleven plus minutes it is an epic song that shows the band heading into more progressive, but still disgusting sounds.

Excretion of Mortality from Cerebral Rot is the year's most repulsive release, and I mean that in the best way possible. Heavy and grotesque sounding, it successfully mixes crushing doom with the grossest of death metal. While, I definitely enjoyed their first release, this is an even better release and excites me for the nightmares they will be spewing forward in the future.

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At The Gates- The Nightmare of Being (Album Review)

 Musicians: At The Gates
Album Title: The Nightmare of Being
Genre/ Subgenre: Melodic Death Metal
Label: Century Media
Release Date: July 2, 2021 

The gods of melodic death metal, At The Gates, are back with their seventh studio The Nightmare of Being. And, in it, they have given us a brave, exciting, and technical masterpiece, that will blow you away from the second the very first track plays.

The band are their prime, delivering complex, dark, and bold sounds that add much depth and clearly sets themselves apart from others in a sub-genre. Which is one that can sometimes suffer from a rather sameness and predictable sound.

This opening track is the thundering and driving "Spectre of Extinction". It's a pounding song that starts off with a beautiful and tranquil guitar note, that soars and builds up as the drums come into play. It then thunders and stampedes across, with an absolutely killer and slicing riff. It's an energetic way to start off a masterful release. Another memorable song is the title track, which starts off in a manner that is beautiful, tranquil, and haunting. The song, itself, is dark and melodic with a strong atmosphere that makes it one of the album's most exciting songs in terms of how daring it is. It also has some of Tomas Lindberg's best vocal work, perhaps ever. "Touched By The White Hands Doom" is a pounding and energized song that starts off somberly until it explodes with energy. I could honestly praise every single song here, but the last one I will touch upon is the closing track, "Cosmic Pessimism". There is a calming start to it that is striking and atmospheric, until its half mark where the energy levels up but still manages to keep the same feeling that the track started with. It ends in a haunting manner that stays with one well after the song, and by extension the album, has finished.

Production is clear with crunching guitars and clear and powerful vocals. This is prime sounding sounding melodic death metal that you feel into your very soul.

The Nightmare of Being is At The Gates finest album since their comeback period. It even manages to surpass the amazing At War with Reality. In fact. the only album in their discography to top it is the influential masterpiece that is Slaughter of the Soul. Destined to be a genre defining classic, this is an easy contender for album of the year. 

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Terror- Trapped in a World (Album Review)

 Musicians: Terror
Album Title: Trapped in a World
Genre/ Subgenre: Hardcore/ Heavy Hardcore
Label: Self Released
Release Date: March 5, 2021 

Terror's latest release, Trapped in a World, finds their former guitarist Todd Jones of Nails rejoining them. Reconnected, the band goes through 12 of their most face pounding tracks from their first two albums, Lowest of the Low and One with the Underdogs. The result is is 24 minutes of slamming, adrenaline charged music. 

The tracks chosen here are all face rippers. "Life and Death" goes at full throttle and mixes speed and groove for a catchy and energetic ride. Speaking of groove "Out of My Face" is pissed off and blazing, with a catchy and angry chorus that you'll be signing along to and opening up a can of whoop ass. "Overcome" has this great intro of drums and riffs that goes right into Scott Vogel's barking vocals. It has one fuck of a pounding groove that will get you moving, even if its just you in quarantine. "Keep Your Mouth Shut" is an absolute banger with a battering assault of speed, groove, and lyrics that will get you fucking pumped up. The production is clear and helps to give a whole new life to the songs.

Trapped in a World is an awesome compilation of rerecorded tracks from Terror's first two albums. It's catchy, pissed off, and has groove out its fucking ass. Production is solid, making everything sound brand, spanking new. In all, it's great way to tide fans over till their next album, which is slated for later this year.

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Nails- Unsilent Death [10th Anniversary Edition] (Album Review)

Musicians: Nails
Album Title: Unsilent Death [10th Anniversary Edition]
Genre/ Subgenre: Hardcore Punk/ Powerviolence
Label: Southern Lord
Release Date: November 27, 2020

Released last year, in late November, this is a rerelease of the first studio album, Unsilent Death, by Oxnard, California hardcore punk outfit Nails. It features all ten song that were originally on the album without being remixed or remastered. In addition, it has three songs from their 7", Obscene Humanity, plus two tracks from the original Unsilent Death, recording that were never released before. These five tracks have been remixed by Kurt Ballou and mastered by Nick Townsend. The LP's packaging includes an 18"x24" poster but otherwise remains true as was originally released.

This classic and brutal album is one of the heaviest hardcore LPs ever. This rerelease is a great addition  for collectors and dedicated fans of the band, as well as those new to Nails' music. All of the tracks are killer, in particular the original ten. These include such head rippers as the piss and vinegar, unrelenting opener "Conform", the ass kicking and driving title track, and the battering, fast, and riff filled attack of "Scapegoat". The five additional tracks are just as vicious and good and are definitely not throwaways. These include the mix of crunch and full blown punk speed of "Enemy" and the killer album closer that is the venom filled and unstoppable power of album closer "Lies".

Pissed off as fucking hell, fast, unrelenting, and smashingly heavy Unsilent Death by Nails is a genre classic. One of the most punishing releases ever, this version is made even cooler thanks to the five, killer, additional tracks. US fans can order the album here, European fans can go here, and here is the Bandcamp. 

5 out of 5

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Sodom- Genesis XIX (Album Review)

Musicians: Sodom
Album Title: Genesis XIX
Genre/ Subgenre: Thrash Metal
Label: Entertainment One (eOne)- USA, Steamhammer/ SPV- Europe
Release Date: November 27, 2020

German thrash metal legends Sodom are back with a brand new album Genesis XIX. And, it is a complete and utter ripper! Musicianship is top notch, of course, with soaring leads and killer riffs from the double guitar team of Frank Blackfire and Yorck Segatz. While, the pounding and fast drumming of Toni Merkel is an excellent example of pure thrash metal joy. 

The result is that from the very beginning to the end, every single song on here is fucking killer no filler. As a matter of fact, its not even that every song is simply or good or even very good, as every fucking track is great and beyond! To put it simply, this fucker kicks ass and teeth in!

This record opens with a banger of an instrumental in "Blind Superstition" and never fucking lets up from there on! The thundering and driving "Sodom and Gomorrha" is the type of classic sounding trash metal that I live for! The catchy chorus sounds like a Motorhead track taken to the nth degree. It is the first sign that all these years signer/ bass player Tom Angelripper still sounds as awesome as ever. His voice is aggressive and just extreme enough come close to but never fully enter death metal territory. "Nicht Mehr Mein Land" actually starts with a death metalesque intro that leads right a pounding and groove-laden soundscape. Angelripper sounds fucking killer, yet again(!), with some pained and angry sounding screaming. That the song is German makes it that much more hostile and vicious! The last song I am gonna mention is "Occult Perpetrator" (though to be honest, I could gush about all the songs on here for hours on end!), which has this wonderfully atmospheric intro. This leads to an angry mix of driving crunch and speed, which makes for killer music to bang your head to. 

Sodom's Genesis XIX is their finest work since Agent Orange, in fact it feels like this is the direct follow up to that masterpiece. The album is the absolute best thrash metal release of the year. A fast, heavy, and unrelenting banger that, when concerts come back and these song get played live, will have mosh pits ranging. My fellow thrash metal lovers heed my word, this is a must have!

5 out of 5

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Lindsay Schoolcraft- Worlds Away (Album Review)

Musician: Lindsay Schoolcraft
Album Title: Worlds Away
Genre/ Subgenre: Goth, Classical, Ethereal 
Label: Cyber Proxy Records
Release Date: October 9, 2020 

Last year, Lindsay Schoolcraft, who among her many past gigs included being the keyboardist for Cradle of Filth, made her solo debut with the awesome Martyrs. This year, with COVID-19 resulting in quarantine, Schoolcraft worked on Worlds Away giving us a powerful album and beautifully haunting record. Returning to work with her is former and the first Evanescence drummer Rocky Gray (who also co-wrote Martyrs with her), as he adds some electronic beats on a couple of songs. 

The result is one of the most emotionally captivating records of the year, one that also happens to get better with each and every listening. In these difficult times, I have found peace and beauty in it. There is this welcoming embrace to it, that invites the listener and heals the soul. I connected to it on an spiritual level that is hard to achieve or even truly explain. This is the perfect record to relax to, as it calms the inner and deepest part of one. 

Most of the songs presented here are reworkings of her earlier tracks. Only two (the title track and "Dance On The Strings") are new. Regardless all of the songs are ethereally haunting works of music. That aforementioned title has a gorgeous and stunning string intro to it. It is complimented by Schoolcraft's beautiful and soothing voice. "Saviour", one of my absolute favorite off of Martyrs, is given a new life here. The intro to this one is haunting and, yet, with her gorgeous vocals there this new tragic and pained feel to it. It makes the song that much more powerful and effective. "Fading Star" is another stunner of a track. Her voice sounds amazing and works so wonderfully against here string work giving it an otherworldly and sorrowful feel. I would call it my favorite but, the truth is each listening gives me a new song that I connect more and more to. 

Lindsay Schoolcraft's Worlds Apart is one of the year's most beautiful, stunning, and powerful surprises. It touched the inner me in a way I wasn't expecting. In these trying times, it is an album that will soothe and calm the heart and the soul. Mixing elements of Evanescence, Within Temptation, and Sarah Brightman, it provides the perfect answer to those of who have a taste for the beautiful, tragic, and gothic. With Schoolcraft's gorgeous vocals and string arrangements, I have a found a release that has hit me in away like nothing else in 2020. And, without a doubt it cements her as one of the artists whose new work I will most anxiously await.

 4.5 out of 5

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