Regimental Records

Although Spain isn’t known for their black metal, don’t ever make the mistake of overlooking some of the excellent artists who call it home. One of these bands that is relatively new to the world is Yskelgroth, having formed in 2007. Though the band is new, the members carry years of experience from various death metal bands like Christ Denied and Golgotha. This means they've got multi-band death metal vocalist Dave Rotten on vocals. But Yskelgroth isn’t death metal – Yskelgroth is hyper-driven black metal.

Other than a demo, Unholy Primitive Nihilism is Yskelgroth’s first release. It runs at a little under 29 minutes, putting it in that odd space between being an EP or a full length album, the classification depending on who you ask. Does it really matter? Fuck no. This EP/album is intense, chaotic, and violent. I haven’t heard anything quite like it, though it does bring to mind bands such as Impiety, Angelcorpse, Revenge, and 1349. But it’s not to be mistaken for any of these quite different bands, and only fleetingly can find comparison between them, merely for the ultra-violence it imposes upon all within earshot. And it’s not a one-trick pony, predictable, or repetitive form of ultra-violence, it’s an assiduous and purposeful ultra-violence that never lays stagnant, never falls into a “brutality hypnosis”, but quickly and dynamically changes it up over and over again, throwing riff after riff at the ear, each riff by itself perhaps not always complex  and vicious, but, in the string of others its working with, always ultimately devastating. The guitar tone is abyssic and hateful, a bleak tank of crushing rancor. Percussion sometimes sounds mixed a bit low, but is usually perfectly heard above the chaos of guitars and echoed roars. Guitar solos make appearances for added bursts of intensity, not for flare. Daves voice ranges from death metal roar to demon-summoning shrieks, and most things in between, amplified by echoes and reverb. The rampage ravages onward…

Hells Headbangers Records

The Australian black-death machine known as Denouncement Pyre has been around for a bit, and finally released a proper full length on Hells Headbangers Records last year, after 7 years together as a band. For most of this time, Denouncement Pyre was just the two guys from Hunters Moon. On World Cremation, the vocals and guitars are handled by Decaylust, and drums are done by InVotan who hails from the lovable StarGazer.

After a plethora of demos, EPs, and splits, Denouncement Pyre finally focused their energy and sound and recorded this album. What we’ve got is a rather standard concoction of blackened death, or deathened black metal. There’s a little thrash in there, too. Really, when I say this is standard I mean it is standard in every way. It’s shockingly unremarkable considering some of the material on those EPs, and never really bites as hard as you’re hoping it will. The barbaric quality of past work is toned down, and the album sounds as though it’s got a ravishingly modern production in all ways.