Cannibal Corpse - Torture

Cannibal Corpse

Torture

Metal Blade

Let's get one thing straight before we continue here; one given with 'Torture' is that there's no real surprises to be expected. Everybody knows what Cannibal Corpse brings to the table, and that's brutality, riffs, blastbeats and buckets and buckets of gore. That they're still doing this on their twelfth studio album and still remain at the top of the death metal is testament to their merciless delivery time and time again.

'Torture' quite up there with recent albums 'Kill' and 'Evisceration Plague', but those two albums were mercilessly brilliant and that doesn't mean 'Torture' is a slouch in comparison. Far from it. There is an ever so subtle shift in dynamic without dramatically cutting at what Cannibal Corpse do. There's more than one occasion where they're almost in groove territory, which, if you've not heard the new album yet, is not something to be alarmed by – the riffs are still ultra heavy and George 'Corpsegrinder' Fisher delivers his guttural vocals in much the same fashion too. There's also some sterling bass work by Alex Webster on here, the highlight being a ripping bass solo during 'The Strangulation Chair'. 

Cannibal Corpse - Encased in Concrete (official video)

To sum it up with various tracks is futile because Cannibal Corpse is Cannibal Corpse. But once again, Erik Rutan's has turned out a sterling production job and captured Corpse's bloodthirst on record supremely well again. One or two outlets have proclaimed this album as a career best although, once again, I would still take 'Kill' from their recent output, but even if you've heard everything they've had to offer before, this is still a worthy pick up, and you're one of the few people on this planet to have never heard Cannibal Corpse (where have you been?), now is as good a time to start as any.

Peter Clegg

Buy 'Torture' here

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Last.fm

Hesper Payne - The Strange Tale of Samuel Gonzalez

Hesper Payne

The Strange Tale of Samuel Gonzalez

Works of Ein

This release missed my roving ear by some distance – 'The Strange Tale of Samuel Gonzalez' was released by Newcastle-Upon-Tyne's Hesper Payne right at the beginning of the year, and it wasn't until towards the end of last month, following some slightly earlier but nonetheless late buzz on another metal site that I chanced upon this band. I'm glad that I did, because Hesper Payne are another well kept secret that the U.K. north has churned out in recent years.

Visions: Flayed Disciple - The Shrine of Dahmer (NSFW)

The serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer isn't exactly new ground for metal artists to cover - Japanese stoner boogie overlords Church of Misery didn't miss the opportunity to add him to the list of killers they've based songs on, and grind legends Macabre had a whole album on him ('Everybody do the Dahmer!'). Even so, it hasn't stopped Flayed Disciple from tackling the subject of Dahmer head on. More so, they've only gone and created a downright nasty video to accompany it - plenty of shaky camera movement and grisly imagery make this an assault of depravity, occasionally cutting away to shots of the band, who pummel away at their instruments while their vocalists emits agonized brutal howls doing his best Chris Barnes impression (visually).

In all seriousness, we recommend you check out said video, after the jump, obviously. Flayed Disciple have been one of the leading lights of the UK extreme metal underground for a while now and their debut album 'Death Hammer' is released on May 28. On this evidence, they're going to tear the scene a new one.

Peter Clegg

Oblivionized - Nullify the Cycle

Oblivionized

Nullify the Cycle EP

Grindcore Karaoke

Guildford mentalists Oblivionized have been skewing metalheads' faces a new one for the last few years with their brand of molten brutal technical deathgrind, and following some impressive live shows of late, they're back with a new EP entitled 'Nullify the Cycle'. Oblivionized's initial output showed promise, but 'Nullify the Cycle' is but a taste of not only what they are capable of, but how far they can branch out too.

Napalm Death - Utilitarian

Napalm Death

Utilitarian

Century Media

Robin van Persie. The Klitschko brothers. Rahul Dravid. Valve. Eeyore. The one thing all these names have in common is reliability. In the case of all but Eeyore (for whom I can't vouch 'performance'), quality is another synonymous trait. These people, companies and indeed characters possess an unbelievable ability to produce striking results again and again and again. And again. And yes, again.

The Chisora-Haye Brawl - a musical analysis

[Credit for above picture unknown. Apologies]

Dereck 'Del Boy' Chisora probably wasn't known to many people outside boxing circles before his clash with WBC Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitchko a couple of weeks back. So its safe to say, this was a huge opportunity to make a name for himself. And that he did. For all the wrong reasons. Slapping Vitali at the weigh-in. Spitting water at Vitali's world champion brother Wladimir. Trying to get at Vitali after the result was announced. All this, yet he'd possibly redeemed himself a little bit following a gallant performance in defeat to the elder Klitchko. Of course, that wasn't the end of it. David Haye, former world heavyweight champion and somewhat tarnished by his defeat to Wladimir, which he infamously blamed on his little toe. Haye was at the post-fight press conference and heckled from the back, angling for a fight with Vitali. Chisora threw insults at Haye. Haye retorted back. Chisora got up and went eyeball to eyeball with Haye in the middle of the media scrum. The rest is now history.

 Above: The brawl that shamed boxing

At this point you may be asking, what has any of this got to do with this blog, or rock and metal music in general? Well...

Gorerotted - Only Tools and Corpses

(from 'Only Tools and Corpses', Metal Blade, 2003)

OK, so now you may be wondering, really what has this got to do with boxing at all? Well you'd be right. The title track from UK goregrind/death metal nasties Gorerotted's definitive opus hardly screams out as a boxing anthem a la Survivor's 'Eye of the Tiger' or LL Cool J's 'Mama Said Knock You Out', with it's macabre and tongue-in-cheek lyrics about carving up the dead. That said, the song doesn't half pack a punch and it doesn't mess about in assimilating everything that stands before it.

Gorerotted - Only Tools and Corpses

Think about it symbolically instead. In Chisora and Haye, we have a couple of proverbial tools whose actions that night shamed the sport they love. The corpses in question are potentially Chisora's career - though I expect his remorse will ensure he still has one - and almost certainly Haye's legacy, which could have been something great but will instead now be something of a joke. Plus, this choice of song is more than ironic, given its obvious tealeafing of the classic TV series Only Fools and Horses' opening theme tune drumbeat, and dear old Dereck's love for the show (whose theme tune he normally walks to the ring to). Whatever happens, its certain that Chisora and Haye might have some wheeler-dealing of their own to if they're to salvage anything from this mess.

Peter Clegg

Also in the series:

The trial of Conrad Murray - a musical analysis
The 2011 England Riots - a musical analysis

Beneath the Massacre - Incongruous

Beneath the Massacre 
Incongruous
Prosthetic

The metal scene is absolutely flooded with bands of a technical variety, and it goes without saying there's a fight to get to the very top. Based on their previous record, 'Dystopia', I wouldn't count Montreal, Canada's Beneath the Massacre in that upper echelon, as my expectations for that record were somewhat dampened by a lack of creativity that stifled the promise shown on their debut effort 'Mechanics of Dysfunction'.

Plague Rider - Genetic Devolution

Plague Rider

Genetic Devolution

North-eastern UK quintet Plague Rider describe themselves as a technical death metal band, conceived in February last year by core founder members, guitarists Jake Bielby and Dan Alderson, and drummer Matthew Henderson. Following the odd line-up change, the line-up was soon completed by vocalist Jamie Brown and bassist Lee Anderson, and their four-track debut demo, ‘Genetic Devolution’, soon followed.

‘Genetic Devolution’, made available by the band at the very back end of 2011, isn’t the finest demo I’ve ever heard, in terms of production quality or all-round end product, but there’s still plenty of potential to be found. There’s plenty of ideas but occasionally it appears to run out of steam, the instrumental ‘Nocturnal Awakening’ being one example which perhaps could’ve done with a little more variation within less time. They do hit the mark on a couple of occasions though, the title track opening with an interesting spoken word intro eerily proclaiming that ‘the world is a much more interesting place with people like you in it…’, before vocalist Jamie unleashes a blood-curdling scream to kick off a thoroughly pounding song. The same can be said of the self-titled end track, ‘Plague Rider’, which benefits in much the same way the title track does; from being more direct and not so exhaustive.

Currently Plague Rider seem a little rough around the edges, which is no bad thing at all at this stage. Their death metal does have a few technical flourishes but doesn’t go too weedly-weedly and does seem to feature more of a distinct death-thrash sound, very much the sum of their influences. The band are aiming to record their debut album in 2012 and looking to perform at plenty of gigs up and down the country as they work towards that goal. Despite its occasional flaws, this is still a solid, indeed savage demo and well worthy of any curious metal fan’s interest, and a sound base for these guys to work from.

Peter Clegg

Download ‘Genetic Devolution’ here

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Visions: Cannabis Corpse - Where The Kind Lives

Speaking of fucked-up acid trips, Cannabis Corpse are no strangers to the leaf and their latest video, for ‘Where the Kind Lives’, is hilariously overboard as you can get. Two stoners are getting high, then they see a light outside. One of them walks to the light, gets beamed up, and is subject to all kinds of probing by some crazed circle-pitting bud creatures. Oh and look, a bong rocket!

I shouldn’t keep spoiling it, its got to be seen to be believed. It was produced by The Gift Media Group, and they have done a fantastic job in bringing to life Cannabis Corpse’s weedy world in this highly entertaining video, taken from Corpse’s reefer-soaked ode to old-school death metal, ‘Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise’. Worship!

Peter Clegg

'Kin Hell Fest @ The Well, Leeds, 13/11/2011

(Originally posted on 12/12/2011 - now with live footage!)

Ninkharsag; I have no idea what that means, but every time I saw the name on a flyer it said to me “black metal,” which I suppose is helpful. Deeply rooted in the early days, this band would probably make those who use the words ‘kvlt’ and ‘trve’ do something sticky in their pants if they weren’t all miserable cunts and actually went to gigs.

The temperature of The Well is lowered as the grim hypnotic riffs flow between rolling drum fills and dark melodies. Ninkharsag have the same trance inducing quality to their music that Burzum have although they don’t follow in the same minimalist vein. They don’t compromise the song for the sake of speed, and the drums often emphasize the groove of a riff giving more weight to the track than endless shred/blast, although there is plenty of that to go around. I felt that the vocals didn’t quite match the power that the rest of the band created but Ninkharsag basically sound how black metal should do, evil as fuck. I was in fact so impressed, the urge to maniacally crab walk around screaming came over me. Unfortunately the ratio of beer to hangover was so far to the latter that by doing this I’d probably have fallen over and died. One black metal lunatic was completely overcome by the performance, he immediately set off out outside and set fire to a pile of leaves. Not quite a church but still.

Colonel Blast bring death metal but not as you’re used to. There’s a lot of shredding and build up riffs to big moments that sound like some sort of post death metal pinnacle, uplifting rather than minor orientated. Amongst these moments there’s moody acoustic dynamics that are eventually savaged by all out death metal, jittering riffs and gruesome vocals delivered by a front man who gesticulated wildly, throwing punches around his unaware band mates, and at several points I feared for the safety of the bassist. There’s often a feeling of moving over several different types atmosphere within one song, all surrounding one moment of sheer power to follow these disjointed parts. Colonel Blast have defined death metal their own way, and it sounds good.

Oblivionized push the boundaries of the term tech death, the speed and ability of the musicians is incomprehensible to me. The complete insanity of what’s going on is probably a little lost in a live show and I won’t pretend that I knew what was going on most of the time, apart from the drums being ridiculously fast. If you like your death metal as intense as possible and have bionic hands, then these guys would be right up your street, or you could combine a CD with strobe lighting and have a useful tool for extracting information from a prisoner of war. I honestly can’t get into what’s happening and the only appropriate action I can think of while listening to Oblivionized, would be to internally combust or lose my mind. The vocalist also adds a strange style of chaos to the noise. Chaos however is what the band are obviously going for and they do achieve it.

The Atrocity Exhibit were up next and they bring on the filth; an unmistakable gravel like tone slaps you in the face and bastardized punk riffs give you that feeling in your gut that only something so brilliantly rotten can achieve. With the same kind of energy that Magrudergrind or Napalm Death can supply, the Atrocity Exhibit make me want to destroy everything in a grind induced frenzy and generally spaz out. The riffs are simplistic nasty, and seldom without massive groove. Obviously dedicated fans of all styles disgusting, the groove sometimes slows up into a sludged out stomp along, while piercing, abrasive screams tap into the feeling perfectly. Amongst the best underground grind bands in the UK, raw as hell and ferocious.

 

Foetal Juice bludgeon the energetic and appreciative crowd with fantastically sickening death and grind. I however, am sick of talking about the dodgy cunts so that’ll do. (Look at the Cannabis Corpse gig for more on these).

In a welcome change of pace, Wizard’s Beard appear to crush you like some sort of malevolent steam roller, assuming you didn’t have legs and couldn’t escape. The band drops into a disgustingly grim and droning start, each note pulling you further into some kind of sonic nightmare. Screams and shrieks punctuate howling feedback and fill the space between notes. As the tempo increases (not too much) the crowd are drawn in by planet shifting noise. The band are an interesting mix of droning depression and groove laden, schizophrenic blues. The groovier parts have an Iron Monkey type vibe to them, which is even more apparent with the similar all out throat ripping vocal style. While some parts of the set definitely stood out over others, the band has a distinct sound and can be crushingly heavy. One sinister and freakish crowd member of the crowd known as “Professor Big Bulge” described them as “swamp sludge, slow, heavy and powerful”. To be honest, that sums them up.

The band Diascorium is a violent attack on the idea of traditional song writing, and the musical equivalent of Mental illness. Insane sweeps are followed with slamming down beat brutality and a melodic interlude can descend into a complete cacophony within seconds, all while guttural/shrieking vocals perforate your ears. What surprises me about Diascorium is there one of the few bands I’ve seen that really make this work. The changes aren’t whimsical and work for and compliment the whole song. While it would be easy to watch them and focus on how impressive the musicianship is, it isn’t a regurgitated gimmick. There’s was plenty of crackin’ normal paced riffage and even the odd doomy bit to mix it up. One great thing about this was if something’s not to your taste in a track, you can guarantee there’s something in the pipeline that you will appreciate. This made them a fantastic band to watch live and they were certainly appreciated on the night.

 

Hangover defeated, I now faced a new challenge, which was staying upright and functioning with a great deal of beer and some very questionable local chicken inside of me while watching The Afternoon Gentlemen. The realisation that I couldn’t deal with the crowd at this point in time came as I first hit the deck, deciding to retreat towards the back and observe from afar. The Afternoon Gents bring awesomely psychotic violence in the form of music. Shredded vocal chords shout and screech in a constant barrage while relentless snappy punk and grind riffs create a whirlwind of flying bodies at the front of The Well. The bass crunches solo, with fuzz injected twang intermittently preparing you for the next bout of furiosity. The pace doesn’t let up but it doesn’t get boring; it’s kept fresh with stabs of sheer aggression and shredding followed by groove and power that keep the crowd moving.

 

The band are also pioneers of their self-coined genre ‘Power Joogle Pogger Violence’ which is their well practised art of running whilst playing with the retro toy known as “pogs”, and being angry at the same time.

I always though pirates were about disease, alcoholism and being sodomised but Skull Branded Pirates sound like they know otherwise. Power metal and melodic wizardry forms itself in tales of adventure from the seven seas. Good drinking music and a lot of fun if you’re not a cynical wanker (I am).

The drum kit has been moved from the middle of the stage and now sits amongst a captured audience, who are gathered in a circle focusing intently on two individuals in the centre. From the back of the room you can see no band, and the scene looks like a weird pagan ceremony’s under way, having said that, if I was at some sort of ritual of the earth and universe, I’d want Khuda playing as well. It must be almost impossible to define this band with a few words and without mind expanding substances but here goes. A great deal of their sound seems to be influenced by post rock, looping, layering and building up to a sound that should be orchestrated by the big bang itself. Post rock however, wouldn’t exactly be a fully accurate description, a great deal of foreign rhythms and styles present themselves, some of which sound Baltic, yet these are still only part of a complex tapestry of sound. Many of the climatic moments do fit the post rock label but there’s no certainty as to how things will go. Psychedelic acoustic twangs ring out in slow spacey moments that build up to die out or explode with energy and percussive power.

A very interesting and dare I say original band that stole the day for me as I know they did for many others. As if Leeds shat this golden nugget out.

Astrohenge bring the ‘omni metal’, which I’ve never heard before, but quickly decide is fairly odd. They give me the feeling of being chased around a dodgy fairground haunted house by Papa Lazarou, a scenario in which their music certainly fits. The instrumental four-piece have people stomping about the front with an odd combination of synth-fuelled riffs. There’s plenty of E-string thrashing amongst the groove and general anxiety inducing sounds. Astrohenge remind me slightly of Fantomas, but more riff focused.

The crowd that are watching Ingested don’t tell anything of the mixed feelings I’ve listened to through out the day. It’s easy to see why they’ve have gained popularity when watching live; they’re heavy and you know there’s going to be more than several points when you can stomp around pushing each other, or do that weird breakdown dance that makes me uncomfortable. I find parts of the set generic, predictable and very familiar, but there’s also quality death metal in there, plenty of fierce rhythms and some catchy riffs. Ingested have a formula and it works for those watching tonight, many of whom aren’t actually wearing New York caps and Ed Hardy t shirts!

 

‘Kin Hell Fest was a really fucking good day thanks to an awesome selection of bands

and a great atmosphere. It was also however, a very messy time, so the bands aren’t in the order they played, probably. Thanks a lot to Paul Priest and whoever else helped organise what was one of the best underground all dayers I’ve been to. Cheers to Jez Walshaw of Monster Riffage for the footage. Apologies to Decayed Messiah, who I unfortunately missed.

Bring on the next one!

Michael Collins

Remembering Chuck Schuldiner - 10 years on

Today marks ten years since a brain tumour claimed the life of Death guitarist/vocalist, and all-round death metal pioneer Chuck Schuldiner, at the age of 34. It’s fair to say that his legacy and influence are stronger than ever, with countless up and coming bands arguably inspired by Schuldiner’s ever evolving take on the style he played a huge role in creating.

The recent reissues of landmark Death albums ‘Human’ and ‘Individual Thought Patterns’ are living proof that Death’s music has stood the test of time. I finally got round to listening to the reissue of ‘Human’ just a couple of weeks ago and not only does it sound as fresh as did when it was released (and indeed, when I first heard it for myself around eight years ago), but its so darn heavier than the majority of (death) metal (or what passes for it) these days. Everything about Death’s Human-era line-up was firing on all cylinders when that album was recorded. As Chuck steered death into a more technical, progressive future, he also changed his approach and insisted on recruiting session musicians, as opposed to being part of a full band as per the first three Death albums. And in guitarist Paul Masvidal and drummer Sean Reinert, both of cosmic progressive death metallers Cynic, he had two candidates who were absolutely ideal for the role, while bassist extraordinaire Steve DiGiorgio (of Sadus) completed the line-up. Such a line-up underlined Chuck’s perfectionism, but Death wouldn’t be Death without Chuck’s attention to detail.

‘Individual Thought Patterns’ continued Death’s progressive trend, again enlisting DiGiorgio, and replacing the Cynic guys with Gene Hoglan on drums and King Diamond’s legendary guitarist Andy LaRoque. Schuldiner further pushed the boundaries of what could be done with death metal, throwing into jazzy bass rhythms and supreme technicality than was more than ably performed by his backing band, especially so by DiGiorgio. It even turned Hoglan into the in demand name for numerous metal bands to call upon, such was the performance and the album’s impact.

I’ve only put primary focus on those albums given their recent reissuing. Death’s legacy reaches far beyond these albums, of course; their entire discography reads essential, and is full of classic metal anthems, namely ‘Zombie Ritual’ (from 1987’s ‘Scream Bloody Gore’); and Crystal Mountain (from 1995’s ‘Symbolic’) just to name a few. Add to that the numerous bands and musicians who can count Death and Chuck Schuldiner as an influence and the evidence speaks for itself. Chuck Schuldiner was a progressive visionary, a talented genius and unconstrained by the boundaries which seem to shackle so many of Death’s descendants today. 10 years on from his death, Chuck Schuldiner remains death’s metal’s most important figurehead. Keep on rocking Chuck, wherever you are.

Peter Clegg

Empty Words – the official Death/Control Denied/Chuck Schuldiner website

Death Bandcamp page

Official Death Facebook

Revocation - Chaos of Forms

Revocation

Chaos of Forms

Relapse

Despite accumulating a cavalcade of plaudits for their previous albums, swallowing up top positions in year-end lists like Sebastien Vettel snatching pole positions, Revocation can consider themselves unlucky not to have risen to the cream of the crop unlike recent metal success stories such as Mastodon, Kylesa, The Black Dahlia Murder, The Dillinger Escape Plan, etc. Their music is certainly on a par with those bands at least, possessing a care-free swagger fuelled by main man and guitarist David Davidson's style and sheer confidence that most rock 'n' roll bands would give their right arm for, never mind heavy metal bands.

Ghoul - Transmission Zero

Ghoul
Transmission Zero
Tankcrimes

Before we get into the skinny on Ghoul's fourth album, 'Transmission Zero' - their members are or were part of other groups such as Impaled and Exhumed, and keen inherit their gory themes across from those bands. This is known despite their efforts to keep their identities secret, performing in executioner-style masks and going by the monikers of guitarists Destructor and Digestor, bassist Cremator and drummer Fermentor. Oh, and all their songs revolve around happenings in their 'hometown' of Creepsylvania (aka Oakland, California), which I assure you is as welcoming as a bout of voodoo-induced insanity.

'Kin Hell Fest preview: Part 3

 
Well, this is it. The 'Kin Hell Fest is now less than 24 hours away! So without further ado, We Must Obey completes its in-depth preview of Leeds' newest all-dayer and takes a look at the final four bands:

'Kin Hell Fest preview: Part 2

Thanks to everyone for the positive comments on the social networks and the like yesterday. I don't mind offering free promotion if its worthwhile and it kicks arse, and the 'Kin Hell Fest and UK extreme metal falls into both camps. Right now, we've got part 2 of our 'Kin Hell Fest preview ready to go. Five more bands ready to shatter your bones into a million pieces this Saturday. Enjoy!

'Kin Hell Fest preview: Part 1

Further in support of the first ever 'Kin Hell Fest, taking place this coming Saturday at The Well in Leeds, we've compiled a few clips to show you what to expect from each of the thirteen bands performing at the fest. Here goes!

A Halloween Grimoire - Cannibal Corpse - Devoured By Vermin

There are other grisly Cannibal Corpse videos I could’ve picked but I’ve chosen this one (taken from 1996’s ‘Vile’) from the memories of first seeing it. And watching it back, it’s delightfully creepy, kooky and brutal in more ways than one. Filmed mostly in black and white, it’s gleefully unsettling throughout – Corpsegrinder pictured with blood dripping from his mouth, a brief yet brutal scene featured someone haplessly having their head smashed into the ground again and again by their killer, and that scene where the hands come from the abyss to drag the unsuspecting victim into the darkness. Yes, yes and yes! And that’s before we even get to the song itself, which just plain fucking kills.

Granted, Cannibal Corpse’s videos aren’t half as gruesome as the lyrics they pen, but this one had just the right amount of everything for me. The mostly black and white visuals and constant shroud of darkness gives the video the grim and nasty B-movie sheen that it needs. I do wish they delivered more in this vein – the crushing albums they deliver time and time again deserve it.

Peter Clegg

Pyrrhon - An Excellent Slave But A Terrible Master

Pyrrhon

An Excellent Slave But A Terrible Master

Selfmadegod

New York’s Pyrrhon first came to my attention through the 'NYC Sucks Vol. 1' compilation released by the MetalSucks team last year, with the track ‘King of All Tears’. It was a furious blast through three minutes twentyseven seconds of frenetic tech-death metal, with a nice technical sheen that wasn’t too over the top. When they self-released ‘An Excellent Slave but a Terrible Master’ earlier this year, I was quick to pick it up from their Bandcamp page, but for some reason, I continually pushed it aside as the number of new releases began to catch up. Having recently been acquired by Polish label Selfmadegod, the time was right to get a taste of the first Pyrrhon full-length. Why did I leave it so long?

Sanhedrin - And On Into the Eternal Nether...Of Forgotten and Stricken Souls

Sanhedrin

And On Into the Eternal Nether…Of Forgotten and Stricken Souls

Self-released

Black/death metallers Sanhedrin are a four piece hailing from the true founding grounds of grimness and evil, Hvddersfield, spouting their second blasphemous offering forth to corrupt the ears of you poor bastards, and for free no less!

Minor notes from an acoustic guitar ring out maliciously, as ‘And On Into The Eternal Nether…’ begins, and roll across a bleak wasteland, snow capped mountains, thick forestry or whatever your own custom black metal landscape includes. The haunting acoustic is in the company of the black metal spoken (or near enough) word, which saves itself by being fairly short in duration, leaving the atmosphere intact. The section thankfully sounds more like a sequence of devilish noises than a monologue which could have gotten dangerously queer.

Hackneyed - Carnival Cadavre

Hackneyed
Carnival Cadavre
Lifeforce

Germany is undoubtedly the world’s biggest metal market, holding the world’s largest metal festival (Wacken Open Air) and no shortage of metal fans at all. As far as rock and metal in general goes, look at each sub-genre respectively and they’ve nailed it. Hair metal? The Scorpions. True heavy metal? Doro Pesch. Thrash? Kreator, Destruction, Sodom et al. Punk? Die Toten Hosen. Industrial? Rammstein. I could go on and on, but the point is moot.

However, when it comes to death metal, Germany has yet to really corner the market that once dominated by Florida, USA, and Gothenburg, Sweden respectively That’s not to say they aren’t giving it a go though. Hackneyed emerged on the scene with ‘Death Prevails’ when they were fresh-faced teenagers, and they’re now on their third album, ‘Carnival Cadavre’. Such progress brings comparisons with Polish luminaries Decapitated, although their rise to prominence came about much quicker than Hackneyed.

‘Carnival Cadavre’, as its title suggests, seems to be a record about a macabre circus, and it sits within pretty comfortable groove-laden death metal territory, a little like Kataklysm or their compatriots in Centaurus-A. Some of the song titles are borderline amusing/cringeworthy, particularly ‘Damn (Your Dead Again)’, which sounds like a Seth Putnam castoff at first glance. Hackneyed do shine on this track though, a most mid-paced stomper but with a certain catchiness within the chorus to give it that anthem appeal. On other occasions, they’re going straight for the throat with devastating effect, most notably on ‘Bugging for Mercy’ and ‘Circus Coccus Spirilly’.

That said, much of ‘Carnival Cadavre’ walks a tightrope between traditional speed and blast, and going for the brutal slam kill – and too often does it fall for the latter. Up to a point it’s bearable, because it’s enjoyable enough and has enough quality to just get by. But eventually the sheen wears a little bit thin and though they do speed up a little more towards the end of the album, they still chuck in another beatdown or two when really it’s not needed.

It lets down what is otherwise a solid, if not spectacular, death metal record. Hackneyed are still a young band with plenty of time to improve and evolve, but relying to much maligned past trends isn’t really the way to go. All the fun of the fair? Hmmm…not quite.

Peter Clegg

Buy ‘Carnival Cadavre’ here

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