Death-metalband from the Netherlands with their 8th album. The last came in 2009 and during this time singer van Drunen (who sang in Pestilence in the 1980's) recorded and album with the all-star death metalband Hail Of Bullets in 2010.

This is old-school death, which means powerful, heavy, slow and fast, insane growl and clear and hearable instruments playing. This is as far as I go when it comes to heavy music. I like superheavy riffing and pounding drums and old school death has just that. Asphyx makes it well enough but I'd like better songs. It tends to get a bit boring and the growl isn't the best I've heard but works good in the faster songs.

1)Into the timewastes (8,0)

2)Deathhammer (7,0)

3)Minefield (5,0)

4)Of days when blades turned blunt (6,5)

5)Der landser (6,0)

6)Reign of the brute (6,5)

7)The flood (6,0)

8)We doom you to death (5,5)

9)Despa crabro (6,0)

10)As the magma mammoth rises (4,5)

Score: 6,10

Martin van Drunen-vocals (b.1966)

Paul Baayens-guitars

Alwin Zuur-bass

Bob Bagchus-drums

American death metallers released their 7th album, this time with only 3 members. Since the last album drummer Duane Timlin and guitarrist Mike Kimball had left the band being replaced with Trey Williams on drums.

The music is incredibly heavy, fast and just... crushing. It's also technically difficult. I enjoy it here and there, in the more thrashy parts but the fast chaotic parts gets too much for me. Also the growling is hard for me to like.  Even if I have some difficulties with the music sometimes, I realize that these guys are extraordinary good at playing their instruments and that the complicity and variation in the songs are really good but the songs tend to sound very alike eachother. But the best of all is that THIS IS real death metal! Many "modern" death metal-bands should learn what death metal is before they call themselfs that! In Flames can throw themselfs in the wall.

1)Your treachery will die with you (6,5)

2)Shepherd's commandment (6,0)

3)Hopeless insurrection (5,5)

4)Concieved into enslavement (6,0)

5)Atrocious by nature (6,0)

6)Descend into depravity (6,5)

7)At what expense? (6,0)

8)Ethos of coercion (5,5)

Score: 6,00

John Gallagher-vocals and guitars

Sean Beasley-vocals and bass

Trey Williams-drums

Melodic death metal band from Stockholm, Sweden here with their 8th album and they continue with their viking theme, and why not, they are from viking country and have beard and long hair... I have seen them live and that was a great experience but this album does not have good songs enough to rock me much. Seems like they had lack of ideas and there are no suprises here, but at high volume and in the right mood some songs make me play imaginary rhythm guitars and pound my head. Very well produced album with a good but maybe too polished sound that doesn't make the instuments justice, it melts into a wall of sound. Great cover!

1)War of the gods (7,0)

2)Töcks taunt -Lokes treachery part II (7,5)

3)Destroyer of the universe (7,0)

4)Slaves of fear (6,5)

5)Live without regrets (6,5)

6)The last stand of Frej (6,0)

7)For victory or death (6,0)

8)Wrath of the Norsemen (7,0)

9)A beast am I (6,0)

10)Doom over dead man (6,0)

Score: 6,55

Johan Hegg-vocals

Olavi Mikkonen-guitars

Johan Söderberg-guitars

Ted Lundström-bass

Fredrik Andersson-drums

+

Simon Solomon-guitars on 6 and 9

Swedish "death"-metal band Arch Enemy with the german singer Angela Gossow here released another album with what is considered Death metal, but I can not see this as death metal except for some parts here and there in the songs. Mostly its just heavy metal with growl vocals. The following text discribes it pretty well:

7 years since their last album, the death metal-band Morbid Angel from Florida released a new album that took 5 years in the making. One can wonder why the album is such mediocre when they had so much time. In a few songs the band has mixed in techno-beats instead of real drums and, tried to make something new? These songs are terrible; I don't mind them trying something new, and why not try this, but it really isn't any good at all, just endless repetition of the same beat and lyric-lines. The "normal" songs on the album are better but it's just too much for me.  I want to have more melody and heavy riffing, not just playing as fast as possible.

On this album Destructhor is the new 2nd guitarrist. He is norweigan and has played with Myrkskog and Zyklon. It's the 1st album to feature drummer Tim Yeung who replaced longtime drummer Pete Sandoval who has undergone back surgery. Tim plays with Divine Heresy and World Under Blood.

1)Omni potens (-) Intro.

2)Too extreme (2,0) Crazy and meaningless mix of death metal and techno.

3)Existo vulgore (6,0) This is real death metal! Skullcrushing superfast drumming and brutal vocals. Too repetitive refrain though.

4)Blades for Baal (5,0)

5)I am morbid (5,0) A heavy metal-song. Boring.

6)10 more dead (6,0)

7)Destructor vs the earth/attack (3,5) Strange Rammstein-marching techno-track.

8)Nevermore (5,0) Sounds just like some of the other tracks. No variation, just aggressivity and boring vocals.

9)Beaty meets beast (4,0)

10)Radikult (5,0) More variation but the techno-marching is also present here. Terrible.

11)Profundis-Mea culpa (2,5)

Score: 4,40

Mr. Vincent-vocals, bass and keyboards (b.1965)

Trey Azagthoth (George Emmanuel III)-guitars (b.1965)

Destructhor(Thor Anders Myhren)-guitars (b.1978)

Tim Yeung-drums (b.1978)

The first Venom-album I write about. They are not a favourite band at all and have never been, but it was interesting to really listen to an album by this band. Or should I say Cronos band? A lot of band members have come and gone during the bands 30 year carrier, even Cronos himself was out on some albums but returned in the middle of the 90's. Venom's music is considered as Black metal but on this album also more melodic songs that can be described as harder heavy metal, appear. I love the cover but the songs don't put up to that standard, making this an album I have no interest in listening to again. It just gets too noisy and uninteresting and Cronos dark "screaming pig" vocals is really not very fun to listen to for an whole album. It's not bad but it's not very good either.

1)Hammerhead (5,5)

2)Nemesis (6,0)

3)Pedal to the metal (6,0)

4)Lap of the gods (6,5)

5)Damnation of souls (5,5)

6)Beggarman (6,0)

7)Hail satanas (6,0)

8)Sin (7,0)

9)Punk's not dead (6,5)

10)Death be thy name (4,5)

11)Lest we forget (-)

12)Valley of the kings (6,0)

13)Fallen angels (6,0)

Score: 5,96

Cronos(Conrad Thomas Lant)-vocals and bass (b.1962)

Rage-guitars

Dante(Danny Needham)-drums