Mütiilation - Vampires of Black Imperial Blood - album review

Mütiilation was one-man Black Metal band (featuring Meyhna'ch as the sole member), and a part of Les Legions Noires, an underground group of Black Metal musicians in France, known for releasing numerous demos, EPs and splits.Vampires of Black Imperial Blood is the band's first full-length released in 1995.

The album is the polar opposite of good musicianship, and has received acclaim as well as criticism, solely for the fact that it is an ugly, misanthropic work of sonic interference, dripping with muck and blood. Out-of-tune guitars, fuzzy riffing and almost inaudible bass, and sloppy drumming are the main characteristics of this album, yet, this is the perfect non-music album for expressing hatred towards humanity. The slower parts are nothing less evil than early New York Death Metal or Norwegian Black Metal, and the vocals are demented screams and vomits befitting the misanthropic atmosphere created by the fuzzy guitar riffs. The riffing is varied - sometimes catchy, sometimes depressive, sometimes downright grim. The sloppy drumming does almost nothing to add to the music, but because this isn't music in the first place, it doesn't matter - it just plays, blasting in fast sections, plodding in the slower ones. All songs are just sonic impersonations of hateful ramblings of a misanthrope confined to an asylum and surrounded by white walls, and in a straight jacket. The fact that Xasthur chose to cover one of Mütiilation's songs is enough to support that.

Every song in the album has a slightly depressive tinge to it, leading a lot of people to tag it as Depressive Black Metal, but this is something much primitive, and a lot more deranged than that. This is the epitome of rawness in the genre. It may not be musically good, but this is something what Black Metal has always been about, according to a lot of purists. It's solely the emotion and the hatred of the man behind it, encapsulated in the form of audible violence.

Mütiilation's Vampires of Black Imperial Blood is recommended ONLY if you like raw, badly produced, non-musical Black Metal. Otherwise, you will hate it more than you've hated anything else. Either way, this album achieves it's objective of invoking hatred in the minds of listeners.

No amazon link. Good luck finding an original Mütiilation record.

Disma - Towards The Megalith - Album Review

Disma appeared out of the blue in 2009 with their demo titled The Vault of Membros, and quickly gained attention attributed to the fact that it comprises of musicians from Incantation and Funebrarum. The fact that Disma is fronted by Craig Pillard was enough to send waves of excitement down any old school Death Metal fan's spine.

As with their demo, Disma prove with this album, that the immense amount of attention they got had a lot more to do with their music, and not with the mere presence of members from respected bands. Towards the Megalith is musically similar to a lot of new old school Death Metal bands - heavy, downtuned-as-fuck, and production similar to a mid-90s band. The riffs are slow to mid-paced, and the faster riffs are similar to those played by Disciples of Mockery. They evoke a sense of evil, not unlike a lot of early 90s Death Metal bands. The drumming is sharp and precise, which is a good break from the sloppiness shown, sometimes purposely, by a lot of Death Metal drummers. The snare sound is perfect and loud enough to support the crushing wall of sound created by the riffs and bass, and the bass drums sound neither too high nor too low in the mix. Craig Pillard's vocal delivery is sinister, low, and guttural as always. Though nothing compared to what he did on Mortal Throne of Nazarene, they can still be compared to dragging a heavy boulder on a gravelly road. The songwriting here is much more refined than that in their demo, and the songs are a lot more memorable and even catchy. The album includes the 3 songs from Vault of Membros, but with a much more refined sound, which isn't a bad thing, considering they sound even heavier and better than they did on the demo. The doom element is clear and obvious in this album, and is apparently something Craig Pillard really digs, as evidenced by the fact that almost all the bands he has been in, and has been involved with the songwriting, have slow, doomy sections.

Disma continue their assault throughout the album, constantly demolishing eardrums with their bass-heavy riffs A highly recommended album and among the best albums of 2011, right up there with Autopsy's Macabre Eternal. and powerful drum sound, with intense vocal delivery. The album cover artist did a very good job with the album art, as that is a near-perfect description of Disma's sound on this album - evil, horrifying and heavy. Disma is a perfect band for fans of old school Death Metal in the vein of Incantation or anything that sounds like it was recorded while performing occult rituals.

Anatomia/Grudge/Coffins - Doomed To Death, Damned In Hell

Japanese once again prove to the world that they're among the best when it comes to metal. In this split album, 3 absolutely crushing Death/Doom metal bands present some of their best material, pounding the listener with sheer force with each note.

The album begins with Anatomia, bringing their sludgy, heavy and slightly melancholic variety of Death/Doom metal. It's reminiscent of Autopsy and a bit of Hooded Menace. The vocals are not low gutturals as implemented by Coffins or most bands from the genre, but are growls with a good range, similar to that of Chris Reifert (but nothing like them). The riffs are heavy, pulverizing Death/Doom in almost every song, except Mournful Cremation, where the band adds a strangely melancholic melody in midst of the powerful riffs the guitarist churn out. A certainly good band and worthy of being in this album.

After 5 songs of raw, suffocating power of Anatomia, the listener is treated with Grudge. The band stands apart from Coffins and Anatomia here, as they're experimental in terms of sound and songwriting and especially the vocals. The vocals are similar to Depressive Black Metal but not exactly like it. Distant moans of someone being tortured suit their music perfectly. The percussion, though not pummeling like that of Coffins, is prominent in the sound. The guitars sound more similar to early 90s Death Metal than Death/Doom.

The last part of the split album is the legendary Coffins. They sound even more evil here, than they did in Buried Death, with 2 sluggish, outrageously heavy Death/Doom tracks, and 2 faster-paced songs bordering on grindcore speeds, and equally heavy and destructive, which in turn sounds like a jackhammer pounding your face with relentless consistency. Not much needs to be said about Coffins, except that they don't disappoint and are clearly the best part of this album.

An amazing Death/Doom metal split album that needs to be checked out by each and every metal fan. This album grabs you by the feet and drags you under quicksand, choking the life out of you.

Ashpyx / Hooded Menace Split - Album Review

Asphyx recorded a split EP with Hooded Menace, released on 20th May 2011. A probable prequel to what the legendary band has to offer to us with Deathhammer, this split is a good 2-song EP.

The first side is Asphyx's "We Doom You To Death". The song starts out with an eerie riff that continues through most of the song. It is absolutely crushing and something that might fit on The Last One On Earth. Though it lacks the dirty, distorted sound of the aforementioned album, it doesn't take away from the crushing quality the song has. Absolutely devastating, slow to mid-paced, and menacing riff plays alongside Martin Van Drunen's equally menacing vocal delivery, and the heavy bass. Martin van Drunen's vocals never show a sign of degradation, and are the same for the past 20 years. The doom element is clear - both in the tempo and the sound of the band. The drums pound away at a rather slow pace with nice fills, and perfectly contributing to the doom atmosphere the band sets, and never unnecessarily speeding up or blasting. A very addictive song that I played over 5 times in a row.

Side B is Hooded Menace's "Abode Of The Grotesque". Which starts out with a blazing solo, transitioning into a mellow and melancholic lead, followed by the heavy rhythm guitar similar to that heard on Fulfill The Curse. The whole song relies mainly on the guitar solos which are quite remarkable, though the mellow leads do tend to drown out the crushing quality of Hooded Menace's sound. The vocals are vicious growls, and add a lot to the music during the heavier parts. This side isn't as catchy as the Asphyx side, and takes a few listens to really set in to the listener. The riffs are not very remarkable or memorable which a big downside. The song would have been better released as a single as it is a significant drop in the intensity and heaviness set by Asphyx. Nonetheless, a good song by a good band.

Overall, this is a good split and a must listen if you are a big fan of either or both of the bands.