This is the second installment of "Buckets of Blood" and contains 74 minutes of total underground music. There are 20 obscure bands presented from the worldwide underground scene! The compilation begins with the unmerciful song of HORDE OF WORMS "Crystallized in Sanity". They play Canadian Blast Metal in a unique form that features lots of grim melodies and insane double-bass attacks with a vocal type changing from deep growls to high-pitched shrieks! It follows a song by my Death Metal band CASTRUM. Our selected song is "Sinister Omens", which is a good example of our aggressive yet melodic kind of Death Metal. The third track is reserved for the ultra complex Canadian Death/Grind act, namely TIME OF DEATH… The "Horrors of the Twisted Hallway" song doesn't feature regular vocals or something like that, though it has a short sample from a horror movie at the beginning. I should add that this tune has an incredible dose of insane guitar riffs. Track number four presents CUNTWORM from the USA. What a strange music "This Mortal Coil" combines? Industrialized noisy apocalyptic sounding stuff with a Black Metal influence supported by deathlike vocals and depressive cuts from movies. Really strange so to say. PRIMAL DAWN from Ireland continues with their groovy Death/Thrash track called "Cold Hills". It displays a strong song-writing musician-ship. During their track happens quite a lot of things as it lasts almost 9 minutes. You can hear there fast grinding insanity, slow acoustic-based guitar inclusions and catchy soling parts as well as interesting deep-to-high vocalizing! Then we have Hungarian DARK CLOUDS with their "Marketing Strategy Free Zone" song, which is about the underground and about the ones who dwell in the underground. Good idea to use such a theme for a groovy Hardcore influenced Death Metal anthem! The seventh track "Time Keeps Passing By" is coming from the Japanese COLOURFAST. Here we have a deal with an old-school Hardcore motivated progressive band, which surely opens some new doors for both styles. THURISAZ from Belgium is the next and they play keyboard-filled Black Metal in the DIMMU BORGIR way. That means a bunch of melodies and pompous atmosphere spiced up by ferocious vocals. Hell, it follows Canadian NOISECORE FREAK with its totally sick and brutal grinding noise! Awesome! Another Canadian act continues to kill our nerves. Their name is BOUND IN HUMAN FLESH. Musically "Becoming the Serpent" shows a technical yet fast Death/Black assault that was executed in a professional way! "Bloodlust" follows the massacre from Canadian FLESHCRAFT. Their evil Black Metal will tear your soul apart in nearly three and a half minutes! Canada's Goregrind monster SCABLORD delivers us an intense song full of dynamic guitar riffs and drums played by Alexander from HORDE OF WORMS. "Strangled by the Umbilical Cord" will make you craving for more splatter gore stuff from SCABLORD, it's for sure! The next song from F.O.B. (Czech Republic) surprised me a lot. This band earlier used to play Thrash-motivated Death Metal, but with their new track called "Neverending Projection" they skipped to ultra-guttural Grindcore madness. Russian PSILOCYBE LARVAE takes us to a journey into the fields of melodic Death/Black Metal with their precisely constructed "Out of Sanity" tune. Everything is perfect there! Track number 15 played by Polish MORBID EXECUTION. Their "Sodomy with the Devil" song is a pure dedication to such old-school Thrash & Black Metal warriors like SODOM, HELLHAMER, and VENOM to name a few. Crazy Canadians from FUCK THE FACTS take us to the level of insanity with their "Leper Accountant" song. Do you like sophisticated and sick to the core metal? If so, that is totally what you need! THRONEUM from Poland continues with "Madness Destroys". This band features Tomasz Hanuszkiewicz who is responsible for MORBID EXECUTION too. And music-wise they are pretty close to each other, though THRONEUM is about to use more old-school Death Metal riffs (e.g. MORBID ANGEL) instead of the Thrash-motivated ones. It's fast and totally uncompromised. The next is ERADYKATE with a mind-breaking mix of the Death/Grind monster "La Philocoprie Dans Le Bavoir". It's technical and brutal at the same time with a big dose of progressive insanity. The further is American BLOOD HAVEN and their "Dwelling in…" song. It's about mid-paced Death/Black and regurgitating screams from hell! Raw & obscure stuff! And last but not least we have Canadian BITCHSPLITTER with their "Beset by Parasites" song. This band plays a rough mixture of Death Metal with a storming dynamism and dedication to what we all love and respect: Underground rules!!!!!! As for me this compilation became simply excellent and I advise it to all the die-hard underground maniacs worldwide!

In the fall of 2007 the Canadian label which "supports extreme music worldwide" released an extreme compilation "Buckets of Blood Vol. III". The track selection was made by A. Erhardt, J. Lawson and K. Kontros. To my mind the track selection proved to be really successful. On the CD one can find stuff by different bands from all over the world and this way it's possible to discover lots of new music. This time "Buckets of Blood" contains 22 tracks in almost 76 minutes. HORDE OF WORMS starts it with "Ghostly Mournings" from the "Unearthly Desolation" MCD. The track makes you excited from the very beginning and you have no way out but to listen to the whole CD up to the end. It follows CASTRUM's "Don't Make Me God" taken from "Phenomenonsense". The Death Metal band from Ukraine won't let you stay indifferent with the track taken from their latest album. Third one is TIME OF DEATH's "Inside the Abattoir" from "The Last Breath of the Dying" album. No one expects to find an instrumental track on such a CD but nevertheless it's a great choice. Let's proceed to mechanized Black Metal industrialists named as CUNTWORM. Their track "Your Wretched Human Flesh Sickens Me" an exclusive and really worth to be listened to. This one will attract your attention for sure. THROB OF OFFAL continues the ear massacre with their pretty down-tuned gore tale "Old Swamp" out from the awesome "Moss Funeral" CD. The sixth track is reserved for SCABLORD's "Autopsy Orgasm". It gathers some quite raw & relentless underground atmosphere in circa one and half minutes! By the way, it was taken from the demo sessions for "Kiss the Gristle" album. An exciting stuff with a nice beginning so to say. MANIAC's "Death Fuck" displays rather well the uncompromised way of the 80s metal bands. A real death fuck, that doesn't need too much comment. SENTIENT storms next and delivers us "Winters Unrest" from their "Sinesthesia" material. The band truly deserved to be performed on the compilation as they show some quite grim & frostbitten musical approach with razor-sharp guitars and vocals definitely thirst for blood. The 9th song is A MORS ET BELLO opus. They perform "From the Darkest Sites Of the Earth" from "Sounds of Horror". One of the darkest on the CD. Don't miss it! LINCOLN LOVE LOG is the name of the following band, while their track lists as "Intestines Pt. 2". Think whatever you want but definitely something brutal is going on over there. The pace is almost funeral-like at the beginning but later on turns to some hysteric madness and total chaos. Afterwards MACHINERIE PERFECT tries to capture our attention with their military-like yet industrialized Black Metal tune "Post Military Demarche" out from their "Exotic Dark Matter" CD. You will perceive there some really strange and chaotic effects, so be prepared. If you thought you have enough endurance for electronics then HYBRID XENOMORPH PREDATOR's song – "Obfuscated Rational Perspective" – will make you even more stronger in case if you'll survive. Definitely a good "perspective". It follows CARRION CRAWLER. A song that has a title as "Sick of All the Bitches in My Hood" plus taken from the album "Rot, Crumble, Collapsed" won't let you too much choices, right? Disgusting brutality spiced up with disgusting gore grind attitude, that's it! The 14th band is D.A.B.K. with their very original song title, namely "Song 3". An extreme portion of noise awaits you there. Something to survive again. ALIGNAK blows out next with "I Am Going to Hell When I Die". Everything is clear from the title and the song won't disappoint you. Raw Black Metal at its best with some isolated atmosphere to be frank. Well, the atmospheric feeling continues further on with ORDO TYRANNIS' "Victims Rites". This very dark & catchy tune would simply perfectly fit a horror movie. Next to perform is INTERNAL EVISCERATION. "Anal Sperm Treatment for Mental Retardation" is their ungodly submission. The shortest one on the compilation won't require much time to be understood. "Vomiting out the Chunks" by UNEARTHED CORPSE will easily surprise you with their inhuman vocalizing manner and freaking out lyrics. A sonic blast! The 19th band on the list is IRON BITCHFACE with their aptly titled "Ice Queen" tune. You won't expect such a sound from the track with such a title. Electronic holocaust with shrieks from beyond! Russian FESTERGUTS continues with their partly DEICIDE-like song called "Cannabilistic Perversion". Great musicians with cool sound but lack or originality and songwriting technique. Do you ever thought that there are metal bands in Dubai? Well, can assure you there are! NERVECELL is the fine example for it. Their song "Signs of the End" from the "Human Chaos" stuff will definitely impress you. Tough Death Metal played with an honest sound production and good skills. For the end we have another mind-breaking song from SENTIENT. The nicely titled "Misanthropy" which comes again from their "Sinesthesia" CD. The otherworldly one. I think it's worth to thank Bloodbucket for their work and the guys for such a great selection of tracks. More compilations like this one should be released in order to give metal fans the opportunity to discover some new things. Thanks to the "Buckets of Blood" many of us are able to enjoy the most extreme music in the world. Long live Death Metal!!! (Review written by Kate)

Yet we have another band, which mixes a couple of styles altogether. You can hear a strong Heavy Metal influence on "Infant Brutality" but on the other side the Black Metal attitude is rather than evident and all this you should mix up with some classic yet Power Metal-like elements. Interesting? For me it's too bizarre, but let's go into details. There are 4 men responsible for this strange creation, i.e. Martin Kajzar (vocals, screams, guitar), Tomáš Jochec (guitar), Martin Belovský (bass) and Svatopluk Kolísek (drums). In my opinion the album's structure is quite formless due to the drastic rhythm and vocal changes. For example when a cool heavy metal riff begins to wheel with clear high vocals on it and from a sudden it turns to a double-bass motivated howling guitar-cloud with rasping black metal screeches I simply go crazy, ha-ha... But we can find this kind of transformation in the way of deathly growls turn to hymn-like clear vocals. Is there any point behind this? If so, this album is definitely for you, because here you can really expect some unexpected riff- and vocal-changes. Not mentioning the weird classical or acoustic inclusions in the middle of a song for instance. I think this kind of strange combination would fit any fan of progressive music pretty well. Anyway, I can recommend "Infant Brutality" to fans of heavy, black, power and classic music as well. Try and make a test with CARPATIA!

This Czech-based quintet doing something similar to MACABRE, I mean in terms of lyrics and wishes as the band not just simply writes lyrics about serial killers but even dedicates their songs to all the serial killers worldwide. So this album is definitely not for weak minds. "Massacre" has been recorded by the following mass-murders: Petr – vocals, Onecque – guitar, Pavel – guitar, Martin – bass and Smetak – drums. They offer us 11 murders in their detailed, raw and brutal form. Musically we have a mix between death and grindcore with an inevitable dose of fun and black humour. Due to DEFLORACE we can learn about such great people as Leszek Pekalski or Lada Hojer. Are you prepared to be murdered? Not yet? Then get this 26 minutes long album immediately as it will definitely help you to understand even deeper what's going on in the sick minds of serial killers and psychopaths. Get it before it's too late! The chainsaw has spoken! Preferred tracks: "Lada Hojer's Going" and "Christmas Song" (extremely well executed one!).

This MCD contains 6 short lessons on how to play old-school grindcore nowadays. The Italian quartet – Max Varani (vocals), Gianluca Lucarini (guitars & screaming), Fabio Fraschini (bass) and Cristiano Rotatori (drums) – doesn't open new doors for this style at all, on the contrary it's like a journey back in time, to be precise you have to travel back to late 80s yet early 90s when such great bands as NAPALM DEATH, TERRORIZER, FEAR OF GOD, REPULSION, DOOM or DISRUPT to name just a few reigned. The sound of the MCD is fair and the mood as one can expect is old-school to the core. Here and there you can bump into some obscure Death Metal influences too, but everything should be taken as old-school in the case of DEGENERHATE. The guys feel pretty right the atmosphere of the past thus the musical disappointment is out of the question. You will experience 11 minutes of pure nostalgic grindcore filled by the appropriate sociopolitical lyrics. I can only recommend this blasting piece of grinding brutality to all the death/grind freaks worldwide as well as to the fans of the above mentioned bands. You'll definitely like this MCD and as a conclusion I eagerly waiting its continuation in a form of a full-length release!

"Weavers of Unrest" is the first full-length album of this excellent Zlín-based techno Death Metal formation. At once I should point out that here we have a deal with a very skilled musicianship, namely Lukáš – vocals, Mira – guitars/keyboards/programming and Ivoš – bass/programming. The trio delivers us 9 opuses of highly quality professional music. Their songs combine so many riffs, harmony changes, insane breaks and emotional arrangements as well as classical influences that during the almost 36 minutes long masterpiece I felt I have a deal with an orchestra instead of a 3-piece band. Can't glorify them enough, but indeed in their interpretation every single note sounds so fascinating and outstanding. They aren't simply people who just rightly know how to handle their instruments; they are more, by far the best or I should say real composers, because the riffs and melody-chains they compose are about to cry and express deep feelings over and over again! The vocal parts are as suggestive as the instrumental side of the band; they tend from blackish screams, deep growls up to crystal clear vocals. I guess the boundless variety makes their music so unique and gives the key for their future researches. OK it's time to name you some bands whose heritage was influential on DRACO HYPNALIS' style, they are PESTILENCE, early DARK TRANQUILLITY, CYNIC, ATHEIST and last but not least a bunch of classical compositors. All is left to say, buy or die! Preferred tracks: "Disharmonic Points… In Opening", "Fortified Source of Invisible Light" and the extraordinary instrumental tune called "Coda".

At last I can hold in my hands the few times delayed split CD of EPICRISE & BALLGAG! Well, our natives and number one porngrind band in Ukraine – EPICRISE – opens the split with 7 tracks into the funniest porngrind ever. The sickos of this highly-acclaimed pornsquad are as follows: Max (vocalzzz), Slawko (guitarzzzz/vokillzzz), Mychaylo (bazzzz) and Eugen (drumzzz). Regarding "Kublo 69" I can say only one thing, namely that it is a quite professional stuff done by exclusively die-hard maniacs! It structured perfectly with a flawless dose of groovy grindcore riffs, pulverizing blast beats, roaring bass cuts and crazy yet guttural vocal parts, which embrace the most various growls/inhales/shouts/screams/etc. ever heard per a song. The result is simply overwhelming that easily proves the fact that bands from Ukraine have also something to say yet to add to this particular style! You can experience this fact in almost 14 minutes of grind-madness spiced up with lots of funny porno themes as intros and/or as other ingredients during their songs. In a word, it's a must for every porn-addicted grindcore freak worldwide!!! Preferred tracks are: "Diving Into Curd", "Milk & Dumbbells" and "Plexus 69". Next on split are the sick US black-humorists from BALLGAG. Their repertory features 12 quite insanely-structured groovy death/grind tracks. Needless to say, the porn-elements are as indispensable there as their well-disposed-humor. So let's see the names behind this bitch-hunting massacre titled as "Tales of a Cornered Bitch". Here we go: Mr. Friday uses and abuses guitar/bass/vox, while Pissy limits himself only onto vocals and Lee Gorebanks responsible for the extravagant instrument called drums. The trio as often as not dives into the ultimate spheres of Brutal Death Metal, although they like to mix it up with fine grindcore riffs in the very old-school style as REPULSION and TERRORIZER for example. In total we get near 18 minutes of death/grind-induced BALLGAG music(k)! Preferred tracks are: "Beef, Beer & a Bitch", "Douches Wild", "Meet and Greet". Get this split immediately or you'll be split-wide-opened!

After an awesomely successful split CD with BALLGAG, EPICRISE strikes back with their debut album, with a massive sonic blast! Still executed in the musical vein & atmosphere of their split, i.e. in the triple x way of grinding! This full-length is a natural continuation and yet progression of the band's furious carrier. The album consists of 19 chapters, from which 17 demonstrating a totally innovative groove-fueled grind attack + 2 covers on ROT and GUT respectively, of corpse, executed in the EPICRISE way. I can definitely say that this stuff won't 'cause a disappointment to any grind or even death metal fan worldwide. The band's rage and energy seems to be unrestrained over their 24 minutes long repertory! So it keeps the attention of the listener always standby. There's also a big portion of black humor & fun-oriented intros there as we got used from this quartet lately on their split too. The band's line-up is the same as on their split, that is Max (low grunts & growls), Slawko (guitars & screams), Myshko (bass) & Eugen (drums). This CD will definitely smash the listener's mind with its crushing down-tuned bulldozer sound provided by "Beasts" studio. Everything sounds just perfect there plus you will have a totally high-quality booklet for your consumption with nice pit-art on the disc itself. All is left to say, get your hands on this monster of a disc from the best Ukrainian grind-team ever! Grind or be grinded!!! Preferred tracks are "Mexican Gulf" (I simply love those crazy hysterical screeches by Slawko), the old-school-oriented "Catastrophes of Body" and the ending ballad-like "Bloody Daddy" (this exotic approach needs to be further pursued!!!).

I would suppose it is stoner rock what we are about to experience in FORREST JUMP's eleven-song repertory, even though there's a massive so-called nu-metal influence spiced up with a pretty strange rattle-it-off shouting vocal parts here and there (it is used to be for (c)rap "music" in general). If we look through these annoying vocal themes and the irritating amount of electronics used in a few songs, we got a decent band, which manipulates mostly with the elements of such bands as BLACK SABBATH, TROUBLE or SPIRITUAL BEGGARS for example, but adds the sound of the 21st century plus the atmosphere of nowadays nu-metal movement. The music in general composed very accurately with a definite feeling so I can't complain to the musicians' technique and overall sound production at all. If you like the beforehand mentioned bands you will enjoy this circa 40 minutes long stuff. The songs have been interpreted both in English and Czech languages, the latter adds some unusual or I would say special mood to what FORREST JUMP heading for. In total "Killusion" is a very soft, full of happy melodies rock album. There's no speed, aggression, extremity, brutality or whatever in their music. It's recommended for people who are about to see only the bright side of life. The band consists of Pepa Michálek (vocals), Ivko Vrána (guitar), Mirek Kosa (guitar), Vlasta Kos (bass) and Sára Müllerová (drums).

If you search for some fresh yet chaotic Grindcore stuff supported by some really weird and awesomely executed vocal parts, then this is it! Stop searching, because these French freaks, namely Christophe Knecht (vocals), David Loessl (guitar & backing vocals), Frédéric Anton (bass) and Yannick Giess (drums), have placed their musical abnormality to a new level. Continuing as well as expanding further the terrific formula unleashed on "Growth" (2000) the band incorporates the craziness and high-speed riffing manner on a top level here. Their 4th album has been aptly titled "Life" and it is the middle album of the concept, which on the one hand illustrates the maturity of a life and on the other hand the accelerating progression of INHUMATE. It gathers 16 pieces of totally sick and abnormal Grindcore insanity. The well-guessed mixture of speed and dynamism is the key for their creativity. There's really no time to think about any thing during their almost 42 minutes long repertory. "Life" makes your head banging all the way until it becomes definitely paralyzed. To all this you can add a massive sound production, which is pretty clear and brutal at the same time. Oh, and if you need some more INHUMATE madness then you have to check the multimedia part of the CD that features tons of great shots, discography, artworks as well as 3 live videos taken at the Obscene Extreme Festival in 2003. I think such a large amount of audio/video brutality should please every grindcore freak. By the way, front cover artwork by Jon Zig!!! Preferred tracks: "A Trip", "Sickness is the Law", "Life?" (it contains a bunch of live tracks).

INTERITUS combines from the following musicians: Ioannes (guitar/vocals), Bára (vocals/flute), Honza (bass), Ota (guitar), Nicko (drums), Andrea (keyboards) and Vítek (viola). As you might noticed there's a few classic-oriented instruments in the band. Right, the 7-piece plays slow-paced, rolling Doom Metal with enchanting female vocals and beautiful yet classic accompaniments of flute and viola parts. The music they play over their 47 minutes long material was pretty well-composed, arranged and executed. It's just OK, but nothing new was done along their 11-song repertory. We have a deal with a decent album that was mainly influenced by Baroque music. I can more or less remember the harmonies of some songs for a short time (e.g. "Deep in the Pain" and "Frozen Darkness"), though it's hard to figure out them later on as most of the parts/structures were done earlier by hundreds of doom acts as well. It's a pity, but nowadays original doom bands are really scarce. Can't complain to the sound production neither as every instrument can be audible perfectly. So all is left to say, fans who want to fill in the emptiness in their collection with a decent Doom Metal band from Czech Republic should take their hands on this release.

Included are 7 songs of antichristian Black/Death Metal in the most intense form of it. The Belarus trio – Wrathodd (6-string desolation, chaotic mouth), Werwolfe (4-string disaster) and Forneus (drumfire) – mixes rather well the technicality of Death Metal along with the rawness of Black Metal. Rough uncompromised music is what we are going to experience throughout the nearly 36 minutes long material. The band displays a quite sinister attitude both music and lyrics-wise. Here you get some song names to decide for your own their lyrical approach: "In the Name of the Reversed Cross", "The Chris.t.slave", "Coronation of the Self-God" and "Desecrated River of Life" to name a few. Well, the production on "Dispatch the Incarnation of God" is very good even if I suppose it was a totally home-made recording. All the instruments sound very clear and the overall sound is simply killer. Congratulation guys! The album storms like a tornado and has a definite "kill the christian filth" motto. This CD will surely please fans of BEHEMOTH, HATE and MARDUK, but it's warmly recommended for fans of extreme Death Metal too. For example, the song "Plague Spreads Decease" has some MORBID ANGEL- and NILE-type riffing, which I really enjoyed. Keep it fierce and blasphemous guys! All is left to say, beware IRATUS DOMINUS the destroyer!

I have the pleasure to introduce you this young but quite promising Italian Death Metal quintet! LACERATER was born in 2002 and before this MCD they've managed to record 2 demos. On this MCD their line-up is: Antonio Susca (vocals), Marco Lambertini (guitar), Stefano Sabattini (guitar), Marco Zirondelli (bass) and Riccardo Grechi (drums). LACERATER plays in a kind of very groovy Death Metal style and as nowadays bands aren't fear to incorporate as much as possible brutality and melodic passages to their repertory. I don't know why, but when I listened first to their music it reminded me very much KATAKLYSM's "Sorcery" album. Maybe due to the special arrangements and vocal parts, which are all in Italian, by the way! The atmosphere is pretty same too and the riffing solutions are also above average. These 4 songs have been quite precisely built up and yet executed plus have to add that an awesomely good sounding production unites them. Eagerly waiting their full-length album as I really enjoyed listening to this 14 minutes long material. Keep it this way dudes!

Now imagine a mix between SEPULTURA's groundbreaking "Roots" album along with a massive SOULFLY influence (of course) and for example the latest AGNOSTIC FRONT release. Well, maybe it's not too precise, but LIKE FOOL plays "modern" hardcore with the aforementioned mix plus lyrics in Czech language. The 5-man performs us groovy guitar riffs along with roaring bass lines, dynamic drum patterns and the usual sharp shouting vocals. There's really nothing special about them. Typical stuff with native lyrics, that's all. If you didn't experience a Czech hardcore band so far then it will be a good choice for you and for them as well. You'll get 12 songs in nearly 43 minutes.

Fast, faster, even more faster. That is the recipe of MERLIN's new masterpiece. Unbelievable, but this band storms like a hurricane over their 32 minutes long Death Metal opus. There are 11 songs in total, but I can't even take a normal breath during their repertory as it combines from such a killer bunch of riffs and grind tempos that it just simply blows me away. Exciting and at the same time incredible the masterfulness of the band members. Unfortunately, it was the last album with the best Russian Death Metal drummer ever - Nickolay Byckoff. He died in a sudden car accident last year. We will definitely miss his talent in the future, rest in peace Nickolay. Maria Abaza (vocals/bass) still incorporates well her death shrieks along with some ultra guttural voices. Her bass work is also remarkable. And last but not least, we have the Ioffe-Nazarov pair, whose guitar technique is some sort of supernatural phenomenon. Especially wild is the soloing work! It's a pity, but it seems that I wouldn't pick any song above the other as "Brutal Constructor" features just flawless songs in my opinion! It's a blasting over-structured and over-brutalized sonic Death Metal annihilation! That's it! And to all this you can add two cover versions. One on DEATH's "Zombie Ritual" song that was, of course, merlinized and executed in a way that Chuck (R.I.P.) would also estimate outstanding. The second one is "Slaughter on Ice", which is nothing else than a classic Prokofiev cover! Again flawlessly executed and merlinized to the core! In a word, if you wish to be torn apart in circa 32 minutes then you should buy this incredibly ferocious record right now! MERLIN is for sure a band that widening the borders of Death Metal even further!

Hell yeah! Finally out the long-awaited new CD by these Slovakian deathgrinders! The core of the band is still: Peter Hija (vocals), Peter Hutyra (guitars, bass) and Marek Mikudik (drums). "Cadaveric Changes" combines 9 tracks of rather sick Death/Grind devastation in approximately 32 minutes. The trio does everything on a pretty high level due to the insane live activity they manage to produce lately! The new stuff is quite different from the 2 years ago released "Slaughter of the Fatstock" album, be it musically or sound-wise, it simply displays a band with another view and another attitude. So to say, the band progressed amazingly a lot during this 2-year period! Their new songs are totally crazy, full of energetic yet complex rhythmic solutions, furious guitar parts and extra guttural vocals. The guitars have been tuned as low as possible thus making the entire material sounding ultra sick. I would also like to point out Marek's unstoppable variations, especially hand-wise, because there's a hell of a lot of breaks, blasts and fills there. To all this you should imagine a very tough, brutal yet clear sound production! Their half an hour long repertory storms like a tsunami and there's really no escape from its massive sonic attack! The CD comes with a quality 12-paged booklet full of killer live & band photos + lyrics (there's even a bonus insert with lyrics in Slovakian language too) and if somebody needs more there's a video clip for "Coldness (Algor Mortis)" song + lots of interesting stuff in the multimedia part as well. Mental & physical satisfactions are 100% guaranteed!!! Go and get your copy now! Preferred songs are: "Blood Coagulation" (like the opening riff a lot!), "Gas Diffusion" (nice, melodic solo there) and "Autolysis vs. Putrefaction" (awesome that alternated riff along with those variegated drum patterns at the end).

This band used to call their style earlier as experimental positive music (why then the bandname is negative?). Well, it was and still really strange categorization, isn't it? OK, to make clearer the musical direction of NEGATIVE FACE I will tell you they play progressive Doom Metal with elements from almost all the musical genres, beginning with classic, jazz, fusion, rock, whatever up to Death Metal. Vocals are as varied and limitless as the music itself. There are so many instruments and influences involved that I fear even to count them, ha-ha... The band or I should say the team (11 people in total???!!!) has a big potential undoubtedly. But to be honest this kind of abstract yet meditative music isn't for me at all. It's looking more like a cocktail of every style known. There are 10 songs in about 38 minutes supported by an excellent sound production. The CD-packaging is also remarkable. I can advise this band for people who simply like good music without borders and without exact style-categorizations.

This 5-piece Slovakian formation offers us 9 tracks of dark Death Metal insanity. Their circa 33 minutes stuff mostly builds upon mid-paced groovy riffing technology and precise playing. Won't say they discovered something new or mind-breaking, but their songs are very good to listen to. They simply flow with a dynamic pace and let you enjoy their old-school kind of riffing. Well, in a few songs we can experience some progressive kind of riffs, keyboards and acoustic inclusions as in the rightly guessed "Experience of Death" tune or in the song called "Seeds of Damnation". I would call their music obscure Death Metal, mainly because of the vocalist's die-hard growling attitude and 90s sound-production. If I would compare their music to anybody I think the right ones will be IMMOLATION and INCANTATION. Underground music prevails!

Slovakian extreme guttural maniacs have triumphantly returned! Their latest album features 9 tracks of the finest grinding Death Metal brutality. Needless to say, the sound is as massive and pounding as the noise of a bulldozer's engine at maximum rpm. These tunes of decay have been precisely structured with the aim of crushing and smashing every weak brain around the globe. In their repertory we can find both extremities, i.e. the slow groovy writhing parts as well as the hyper fast blast beats. Vocals are rather sick; especially it goes to the inhales. So being covered by the piles of brutal yet complex riffs we are about to experience an ominous attack on our ears. Sure, one can find there some melodic parts too, for example in song "A Pile of Skulls" or the nice female vocals in the opener track called "Desecrated – Decapitated (A hymn to Monika D.)". There are also 2 tracks previously featured on "Fetus Rape" MCD (2003), namely "Fetus Rape" and "Oral Fistfuck". I would also like to add that the artwork became simply awesome and deserves to be seen/known amongst every sick heads' worldwide, plus in addition a bonus track "Rectum Hook" was also included. In total we have 31 minutes of great brutal musick there. Attention sickos! Warmly recommended stuff! On "Celebration of Exhumation" the band's line-up was Martin (inhales/exhales), Magick (guitar/bass), Radodarebak (guitar) and Dzordz (drums).

At first sight the musical approach of SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION reminded me very much DESULTORY. And indeed both riffing- and vocal-wise the band is rather close to the Swedes' "Bitterness" album. Of course, beside my comparison they have their own ideas and face (especially the use of viola, trumpet, trombone and female vocals indicates it), which remarkably appear in the endless chains of guitar harmonies and melodies. The band definitely plays Death Metal, though its most melodious kind (mainly because of the ultra-melodic vocalizing), which the 4-piece (Doctor – vocals/bass; Canni – guitar; Wlassoid – vocals/guitar; Pickard – drums) became to combine with enchanting melodies and meditative tuneful passages. As much we dive in their songs as better we going to love their music. It's emotional Death Metal at its best! The band dedicates their album to mighty Chuck Schuldiner and this thing makes me to discover some slight influences of DEATH over their repertory, but there's unfortunately just a few riffs reminiscent of DEATH. I should say I had a pleasant time listening to this album even if the band was totally unknown to me until now. Professional musicianship, well-structured music, great sound production and dedication to metal characterize this material. Fans of melodic yet emotional Death Metal must get this nearly 1 hour long album immediately! Preferred tracks: "Shade of Triotus", "Separated" and "From Twilight to Dusk" (it simply can be a Heavy Metal hymn as well!).

Damn these guys are ruling supreme! This monster of a disc contains the band's early demos, namely "Blood Serology" (3 songs) and "Pain Has a Face" (4 songs) + 1 new track "Tapping the Veins" featuring Kevin Talley on drums, 1 live track called "Epoch of Barbarity" (cover of INTERNAL BLEEDING song) and a video clip for song "Insider". I suppose this compilation kind of material is quite good in getting an insight to the band's carrier from different angles/eras, be it past, present, live or studio. The demos sound fair, but in my opinion the music lacks of originality and variety there. Those songs were written mainly in the typical brutal Death Metal approach and were supported with ultra deep growls. In case of the opener/new track "Tapping the Veins" we have an evident rise of songwriting potential. Don't know why but this song reminded me very much Kevin's former band DYING FETUS here and there. Pulsating, dynamic, riff-oriented tune for sure with lots of changes, groovy guitar parts and awesomely executed guttural massacre. This is definitely a highlight of the CD. The cover/inlay and video clip for "Insider" were arranged by Pierre Dembri. Good work bro! Fans of brutal death/grind music will definitely have a good survey over the 35 minutes long material. All is left to add, SOILS OF FATE consists of Henke Crantz (vocals/bass), Mange Lindvall (guitars) and Kevin Talley (drums). Brutality is the law!

Hey, this warlike Death Metal quartet comes from Sweden, but music-wise they mainly follow the US brutal Death Metal way. The musicianship combines of Samuel (vocals/guitars), Johan (guitars/backing vocals), Karl (bass) and David (drums). They mostly concentrate on the CANNIBAL CORPSE type of riffing but spice it up rather interestingly with the well-known Swedish chain of melodies and modern groovy elements. In the function of time length their mid-paced songs are between 2 and 4 minutes, but still featuring enough good riffs, changes, breaks and blasts. I would like to point out the well-guessed ultra tough and blade-like guitar sound. It makes the overall album sound like a massive kick in the backside. Vocals are rolling brutally along with the weighty riff-structures, while the rhythm section makes a concrete runway both for them and for the music in general. I think the band made a perfect mix of dynamics and brutality in their 10-song repertory! Keep it developing further guys! All is left to say, the formula is working and lasts about 28 minutes! Preferred tracks: "Obliterate" and "Hate Crime".

SPAWN OF POSSESSION was formed back in 1997 and since then they managed to release two successful demos "The Forbidden" (2000) and "Church of Deviance" (2001). The latter one yields the band a deal with famous Unique Leader Records and thus in 2002 "Cabinet" takes its final form in Pama Studios (Sweden). The recordings were committed by four demonic souls, namely Jonas Bryssling (guitar), Jonas Karlsson (guitar), Niklas Dewerud (bass) and Dennis Röndum (drums/vocals). "Cabinet" contains 11 ultra technical tunes executed mainly in the US Brutal Death Metal style. Sure their repertory features melodies too, but they mainly appear in the soloing work and here and there in the riffs as well but just for a short time as they gallop over and over again with a speed of light. At once I should point out the mega clean sound of the guitars that makes easy to remember the riffs and their songs in general. I would say due to such comprehensive sound production they managed to get an incredibly catchy material. Almost all of their songs constructs from at least 30-40 riffs (and what riffs?), which is really cool as you can't be bored by their songs at all. You can listen to it over and over again and you would always find something "new" and interesting for your ears. While the guitarists like to play hyper fast yet complex riffs the drummer takes the overall level even higher with his non-stop grinding assaults, clever breaks, jazzy stand-outs and precise cymbal-work. To all this you should add a strong as concrete and deep as supersonic boom bass sound. The growling vocals have been executed in a usual way, though I found pretty exciting the sometimes very fast manner, which results with more brutality as the slow-pronounced, for example. I can't explain how good the mix is. It should be heard by every Brutal Death Metal fans for sure! Songs like "Swarm of the Formless", "A Presence Inexplicable", "Dirty Priest", "Inner Conflict" or "Church of Deviance" are about to smash your brains in seconds, while "Spawn of Possession" or "Cabinet" display how sophisticated the band can be. Furthermore we have dynamically constructed songs as "Hidden in Flesh" and "The Forbidden", which are full of ferocious energy and killer thrash-like riffs! And at the end we have a composition like "Uncle Damfee" that perhaps contains the most emotional parts of this album and a great atmospheric inclusion in the middle of it. Oh, and the album ends by those demonic whispers which are familiar for us from the opening intro called "Lamashtu". In a word, it's an extremely well-done Death Metal album! Hats off! Eagerly waiting the next chapter guys!

SVARROGH is a Bulgarian Black Metal band, though its only member (Dimo Dimov) dwells now in Germany. "Lady Vitosha" features 8 songs written & composed in the best traditions of the pagan Black Metal style. To my surprise Dimo handles all the instruments maximally good (except the drums that are synthetic, but were programmed pretty good too) and the variations of different string-based folk inclusions are also remarkable. This guy really knows how to mix the raw guitar sound with sad yet heart-rending harmonies. The folk acoustic parts appear mainly in every song, except the war-like "Kum Vihúr v slamenata gorica" song, which storms like a tornado. The music is very varied so to say. You can find there everything from slow to fast, from sad to melodic, from meditative to depressive, etc. The lyrics (which are in Bulgarian) and the music itself were totally inspired by the ancient Bulgarian culture. Sometimes the atmosphere becomes very ancestor-like. I would call it as the voice of the ancients interpreted by Dimo himself. There's no doubt that the colorfulness of the vocals adds a big potential to the circa 48 minutes album. They are not just about the usual grim shrieks and rasping screams. For example the slow monumental parts were mainly accompanied by clear hymn-like vocals. The feeling is what counts and it is there for sure. Fans of folk-influenced Black Metal should take their hands on this unordinary stuff. Preferred tracks: "Grohnal pod edin dúb (Broken Under and Oak)" and "Ovchari na Bezbogg (Shepherds on Godless Mountain)".