Living Monstrosity are hailing from UK and this is band’s fourth full length opus since being formed in 2010. Living Monstrosity play that UK school of death metal, old school death metal, but with added black metal influences in some guitar work, blast beats and atmosphere in songs, like combination of all those glorious UK death bands for example Benediction, Memoriam, Bolt Thrower, Napalm Death whose influence is also obvious, at least I hear it in some d-beat drum song parts like for example in excellent ‘The Worst Mistake In Human History’. Vocals are growled but you can understand most what is being sung, so that is another plus for excellent singer. There are also some atmospheric, calmer parts which serve as a prelude to insanity. Lyrics deal with death and fear of death, modern slavery in corporate world, pollution, nature, radiation sickness and similar more state of the world themes rather than fantasy and gore. Also, songs I must mention as my personal favorites are ‘Gratefully Confined To The Past’ and ‘Return To The Cave’ besides above mentioned song. Great opus by great band.
It is finally here! Gothenburg, Sweden’s melodic death metal legends In Flames released new full length opus with Nuclear Blast! After listening to the EP that went with Metal Hammer a week ago we got a taste of what is to come, but only a taste, now here is the full meal. Here are twelve songs of melodic death metal that take In Flames to their old school era leaning more on death metal than on influences they had in their songwriting as decades moved with them. There are still some electronic effects behind the riffs, some excursions into some more melodic and mellow waters but I love how Anders’ voice transforms between growling and clean melodic singing on epic choruses, sounding better than ever! Besides hits that were already on that EP like awesome ‘State Of Slow Decay’ and ‘Foregone Pt I’ and ‘Foregone Pt II’, there is also superb ‘Bleeding Out’, a perfect combo between harsh death metal and epic melodies. But, one of my personal highlights is for sure almost ballad like ‘Pure Light Of Mind’ having such gentle and beautiful lyrics topped with Anders’ vocal melodies and having almost pop influenced undertones beneath metal, me having Roxette in mind for a few seconds hehe. ‘In The Dark’ and ‘Become One’ are also songs to add as highlights. This is for sure to become one of the candidates for album of the year, it is an album of the month for sure.
Dead Sun released seventh album by the Swedish mastermind Rogga Johansson, who played, have been playing or is playing in too many famous bands and projects to mention here. For sure one of the most prolific musicians in Swedish underground metal scene. This opus contains ten songs of full blooded Swedish death metal, quite a good mixture of old school Stockholm Swedish death, with Entombed, Dismember and Grave coming to mind, but there is also melody reminding me a bit of all those great Gothenburg melodic death metal bands, namely At The Gates and especially Edge of Sanity, whose work I love and respect so much. One of the songs that are highlights on this opus for me is for sure ‘Sand and Rot’ being melodic death metal lesson, with almost some gothic influenced drumming and structure and having that atmospheric parts with synths and flutes if I am not mistaken, or maybe it is only synth. The album as a whole is epic lesson in melodic death metal with heavy hitters like ‘Tid For Jakt’, one of the two songs sung in Swedish, then ‘Mausoleum Melodies’ and the title song. Melodic death metal is my favorite death metal subgenre, so I love this one. Go listen!
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 