Skelethal/Cadaveric Fumes - Heirs Of Hideous Secrecies Split 7"

Labels: Hells Headbangers

Formats: Vinyl/Digital

Release Date: 30 Nov 2018

Tracklist:

1. Cadaveric Fumes - The Spectral Parade

2. Cadaveric Fumes - Necromancy Sublime

3. Skelethal - Emerging From The Ethereal Threshhold

4. Skelethal - Torrents Of Putrefying Viscosity

I always told myself I wouldn't write if I couldn't think of anything to start my review off with; however, I think conveying a bit of humanity is a good thing as it shows I'm not just a robot when it comes to this. Anyway, this is the latest split 7" from French death metal bands Skelethal and Cadaveric Fumes. It was released at the end of November via Hells Headbangers and despite the sheer amount of strong death metal that's already been unleashed this year, this is a split of pretty mighty proportions. 

First up you have the old-school sounds of Cadaveric Fumes and The Spectral Parade may sound like a feel-good punk song during the intro but it soon twists itself into a dark and gloomy mid-paced death metal piece with the blues/jazz riffs that could only come from France. It’s stellar. Necromancy Sublime is equally as rich in disgusting death, with uptempo verses and lowly doom-like passages in-between. I’d love to know where Cadaveric Fumes get that weird guitar tone from because it reminds me of Voivod at times. If you’re a devout follower of death metal then you’ll no doubt already be familiar with Cadaveric Fumes but if not, give them your time as they’re fantastic.

Skelethal may only be a duo but their sound is thick and noisy, as Emerging From The Ethereal Threshold demonstrates. The menace is strong here but once again it thrashes hard. The screeching guitar solo mid-way through it delivered with precision as well. Epic madness takes over! There’s no time for breath as the instant smash of the brilliantly titled Torrents Of Putrefying Viscosity drags you through Skelethal’s pyre and on to certain death. There is technicality here but it’s tasteful. Nothing about their sound is staid and like Cadaveric Fumes, you’ve got to immerse yourself in it. 

This split is great with both bands presenting themselves in the best possible way. We all know that death metal is alive and well but the sheer variation across the genre is what truly surprises. Old-school death is where that variation seems to be in the rudest of health and both Cadaveric Fumes and Skelethal are writing a new chapter for the French underground. 

You can stream "Heirs Of Hideous Secrecies" below via Hells Headbangers, where you can also grab it on vinyl or as a digital download:-

Cadaveric Fumes - https://www.facebook.com/CadavericFumes/

Skelethal - https://www.facebook.com/skelethal/

Hells Headbangers - https://www.facebook.com/hellsheadbangers/

Druid Lord - Grotesque Offerings

Tracklist:

1. House Of Dripping Gore

2. Night Gallery

3. Spells Of The Necromancer

4. Evil That Haunts The Ground

5. Black Candle Seance

6. Creature Feature

7. Into The Crypts

8. Murderous Mr. Hyde

9. Last Drop Of Blood

10. Final Resting Place

I sat down to write this review and got writer's block. I don't now why I use that term though as I'm not really a writer in the traditional sense. I'm also sluggish as hell this week but that's probably because I know that next week I'm not going to be working! I can't wait for a break in all honesty. Before that comes round though I've got a couple more reviews that I want to get out there before I start planning some new ideas for this blog. 

Tonight's subject is Floridian doom/death quartet Druid Lord and their latest LP "Grotesque Offerings". Druid Lord started out in 2010, releaseing their first full-length "Hymns For The Wicked" via Horror Pain Gore Death Productions that same year. They later released a number of splits and EPs, before unleashing this new ten song beast in January 2018 via Hells Headbangers.

“Grotesque Offerings” begins with an organ during the intro to House Of Dripping Gore, which reminds me of The Adams Family, but that image is quickly banished by Druid Lord’s hellish doom/death. It’s the lead guitar work early on that really catches the ear. It creates an atmosphere that’s bolder and more real than anything I’ve heard from this particular sub-genre for a while. The rest of Druid Lord isn’t bad either, with both the percussion and bass providing the death metal edge, while the vocals bellow and roar like they’re coming out of the mouth of a demon. In fact, Druid Lord pulls off this lurid and slow form of extreme metal better than their genre defining (and mostly Scandinavian) counterparts. It’s not often you hear that said but if you listen to Night Gallery, you might understand where I'm coming from. It’s the gloomy simplicity of their doom that’s the key here. The riffs at the six-minute mark are so heavy as well. 

They elect to break up the heaviness with some short interludes, where in the case of Spells Of The Necromancer, they mix spoken-word samples with old-school twin guitar melodies. It leads straight into Evil That Haunts This Ground, with it’s faint thrash and low-end heft. It takes their music in  a slower direction and the addition of more organ/keys adds occult imagery. “Grotesque Offerings’ is an utterly listenable record, which gets better the deeper you get into it. Black Candle Seance mixes the traditional elements of their sound and throws in some modern song-writing touches to keep things interesting. They certainly work! The sample at the start of Creature Feature is one of the scariest samples I think I’ve ever heard. It’s right at home on the album though. The rest of the song isn’t quite as disturbing thankfully. It is a lurching slab of brilliantly played doom/death though! To be honest I’ll take this over some brutally fast death metal any day.

Into The Crypts is a brooding but short instrumental piece, which quenches the thirst for more. Murderous Mr. Hyde takes the well-known story/horror and makes it even scarier through the band’s imagination. It’s perfect for this record. The music contained here is as inspired by death as it is by darkness and you really feel that on penultimate song Last Drop Of Blood. It goes beyond just a musical medium to something that is more thought provoking and frightening. Final Resting Place is the most apt title for this album’s closing song and it’s eerie organ/keyboard tones take centre stage again. “Grotesque Offerings” is great album. It’s recording/production/mastering helps it sound impressive while even with a slowish tempo, it’s filled with real momentum. More please!

You can stream "Grotesque Offerings" below:-

Druid Lord - https://www.facebook.com/DruidDeathCult/

It is available from Hells Headbangers via their bandcamp page above and via their webstore on all format, including tape, cd and vinyl - https://shop-hellsheadbangers.com/releases-records.asp.

Hells Headbangers - https://www.facebook.com/hellsheadbangers/

Hammr - Unholy Destruction

Labels: Hells Headbangers

Formats: Vinyl/CD/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 23 Feb 2018

Tracklist:

1. Intro

2. Satanic Raid

3. Under Black Command

4. Eternal Prey

5. Desecrator

6. Sadistic Poison

7. Death Reign

8. Unholy Destruction

9. Demonic Rites

10. Into The Pentagram

11. Final Sacrifice

Tonight is reserved for a journey into hell. The vessel of choice for that journey is the newest LP by Cleveland, Ohio's black/speed/punk entity Hammr. Having formed in 2013 under the name Schizoid Hammer, sole contributor J. Hammer altered the band's moniker and released a self-titled EP in 2015. A demo called "Into The Pentragram" swiftly followed a year later, before debut album "Unholy Destruction" was brought to unsuspecting ears by Hells Headbangers earlier this year. Hammr has connections to fellow Hells Headbangers band Demona and revels in all things occult and fast.

“Unholy Destruction” kicks off with an Intro that sounds absolutely perfect. The guitar riffs and the mixing/mastering of Commandor Vanik and Joel Grind respectively make the hairs stand on the back of your neck. The volume is high yet the pace gives no clue as to the madness to come. Satanic Raid is the first song proper and it rips with lashings of punk, thrash and black metal mayhem. The reverb on the vocals, which sit deep in the mix, fit the underground atmosphere of Hammr like a studded and spike-covered glove. On Under Black Command, J. Hammer channels the energy of classic Motorhead and label mates Nunslaughter into a galloping, headbanging rager. 

The speed metal of Hammr is obviously prominent throughout and Eternal Prey is a prime example. There’s absolutely no let up during this song, with the low-end rumbling away at a ridiculous pace while the screeching solo gives no rest. It’s one of only two songs that pass the three-minute mark, which should give you a clue as to the intentions of the band. At times Hammr sounds more akin to the early speed metal originators from Brazil and other parts of South America, especially during Desecrator. This record flies by and it’s the succinct manner in which J. Hammer delivers his songs that make it so listenable. Sadistic Poison is like a Wurlitzer to the face, that keeps on going even when there’s no face left to damage. 

Talking of damage…Death Reign inflicts it with one of the best old-school solo’s period. The drumming ain’t bad either. The title-track features a repetitive string of riffs that scream punk and cause involuntary whiplash. The whole album is really catchy, in a perverse sort of way, as illustrated by Demonic Rites. The record gets even more bonkers on penultimate track Into The Pentagram, the screaming lead guitar fading in and out as J. Hammer cycles through countless scales and finger picks to within an inch of his life. Album closer Final Sacrifice ends the madness the only way it can, with more! Hammr definitely produces speed metal that’s filled with variation and genuine grin-inducing musicality. As far as this sub-genre goes, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better record this year. 

You can stream "Unholy Destruction" and purchase it on all formats below:-

Hammr - https://www.facebook.com/Hammr666/

Hells Headbangers - https://www.facebook.com/hellsheadbangers/