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DROWNED
Ærth 7" EP '98
(Stormbringer Productions)
I got this excellent 7" of DROWNED from my great friend, Niclas of Stormbringer. The trio - Argon d.k. (vocals), Saman (guitars/bass) and Gothica Vermilion (drums) - stands for pure Doom/Death Metal in their 2 songs repertory. The side of air contains "Conquering The Azure" which is a quite melodic tune with lots of rhythm changes, powerful drumming and what's more it has both growling and clear vocals as well. As for the clear vocal parts I would say they're deeply emotional ones filled with a touch of depression, though. This song is more Death Metal oriented, while the side of soil includes a flawless Doom Metal piece, called "Antæus (Elevated)". It's about slow guitar riffs and drum parts that sometimes reminded me a bit the mighty Dutch Death masters ASPHYX. Nevertheless, I think the right way for DROWNED lies in their first song which has more potential in general. This stuff is about dark & melancholic music I can only recommend for every Doom/Death fans to get your hands on! It comes with lyrics, photo, etc. on blue vinyl.
GROINCHURN
Already Dead 3" CD '98
(Happy Hamster Records/Dark Ages)
Wow, it is the first South African band I've heard and to tell you the truth it kicks ass. This three guys really know how to compose fast bone-crushing Death/Grind themes. "Already Dead" contains 4 studio tracks and 2 live tracks in circa 13 minutes. The CD begins with the complex riff-massacre of "Already Dead". This track also featured on the new GROINCHURN album, "Fink", as well. The next two tracks come in the same but mostly fast grinding way with KRABATHOR-style singing. The fourth track was taken from their split 7" with WOYCZECH. This track a bit differs from the new ones due to its vocal-style and S.O.D.-based riffs, though the main crazy grinding motives of GROINCHURN are there. The last tracks were recorded live in Ibbenbuhren, Germany, on the "Mortal Memories" tour with KRABATHOR. And I guess that's why some of their newer tracks are a bit similar to KRABATHOR. In a word, this is a worthy Death/Grind material which should be checked by every Death/Grind freaks worldwide.
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