THE ACACIA STRAIN

"wormwood"
Year:  2010
Country:  US
City:  Chicopee, MA
Label:  Prosthetic
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  12
Time:  40 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Metalcore

When it comes to THE ACACIA STRAIN, I usually enjoy their music live rather than on record. Vincent Bennett's brutalizing growls have a greater presence on stage than they do on stereo speakers, and the band's down-tuned approach to hardcore is simply made for the pit. That said, they make great records too, including fan favorites like 3750 and The Dead Walk. Lyrically, they preach unrelenting anger and absolute hatred of EVERYTHING. Fair enough. They have a satisfying sound which separates them from the massive wave of cliche' bands who copy them. However, on the new record, Wormwood, they've homogenized their approach a little too much through relying on a few elements of their sound. It's good for a band to be focused, so long as they don't make their sound too narrow.

Generally speaking, the album sounds pretty solid. Considering his successes with THE RED CHORD and ARSIS, this should be expected from producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris. The album starts out with the punishingly heavy song, Beast, featuring guest vocals from HATEBREED's Jamey Jasta. A sludgy, crushing sound persists through the entire album, and in a way, the band has started to sound a lot like MESHUGGAH (lots of intense crunchy grooves and tinny-sounding guitars). This is especially evident on The Impaler and Unabomber. But a MESHUGGAH record usually contains memorable riffs,  whereas on Wormwood, the guitars seem to just emit a constant CHUG CHUG CHUG, without many riffs to keep you interested. The singer seems to be sticking exclusively to low-end guttural vocals, which sound good, but after three or four songs of this, I was hoping he would use some more mid-range and high-end vocals as well. A few songs simply sound like one big breakdown without an actual song around it, and the entire album almost comes off as a single song cut into 12 pieces. A friend of mine summarized it very well when I spoke to him saying that after a few songs, you want to say to the band, "alright I get the point".

As for the lyrics, more than the previous albums, they are unbelievably angry. The first song has the refrain, "We are not enemies but we cannot be friends", and The Impaler makes you remember that "We destroy the things that make the world go round, We are the reason there is blood on the ground" and such uplifting messages like "I hate everything you love" from Jonestown. It might be the most negative record I've ever heard, and that's not a bad thing, just something that makes you say: "Holy crap, someone must have really ticked them off!" I think it's good to hear a band musically declare, "Screw everything else, let's just get really, really, really angry". And I have to credit them on the lyrics to track 6, Nightman (featuring Bruce from 100 Demons), where they use the ending lines to T.S Eliot's classic, The Hollow Men: "This is the way the world ends, Not with a bang but a whimper". From what I've heard though, you're not supposed to take them completely serious. Some interview clips I've seen are pretty funny, and I definitely recommend checking out the "Acacia Strain studio update" videos, which are absolutely hysterical. In fact, I noticed a few Call of Duty: Modern Warfare references on this album as well. (Tactical Nuke). The album is basically a burning swamp of crushing anger and sludgy grooves, which makes itself known easily enough, but more variation in guitar tone, tempo, and vocal style would have been really nice. The songs should be great to see performed live, along with the rest of the band's catalog. As cool as the record is, by its half-way point, I felt like listening to 3750 instead. To its credit: its baffling negativity, solidly brutal sound, and its hermetic atmosphere of crunch and chug, Wormwood earns a 8/10 (*Review by James Zalucky ).

  Discogs  ,  Lastfm  ,  Download  ,  Wikipedia  ,  Web  ,  Facebook  ,  Twitter  ,  Myspace

MULE SKINNER

"airstrike"
Year:  2018
Country:  US
City:  New Orleans
Label: Foad
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  13
Time:  26 min.
Lyrical themes:  social issues, politics
Genre:  rock
Style:        Grindcore

Classic grindcore has multitudes of rarities and disappearances left in the dust of the early 90’s death metal explosion and hardcore punk’s insidious, moshable collapse but few are as elusive as the original Sludge Records releases from New Orleans, Louisiana death-grinders Mule Skinner. Though I am a huge fan of the crossover between hardcore punk, death metal and grindcore that formed the best of fringe extreme metal in the late 80’s and early 90’s these guy’s early releases have always eluded me. Formed in 1990, by the time Mule Skinner was fighting fit on their ‘Stripped of Flesh’ (1991) demo the planet had enough time to digest the promising thrust of hyper-sped North American hardcore destruction from Atrocity, Righteous Pigs, Macabre and Terrorizer and even in their earliest incarnations Mule Skinner were generally up to speed. Still soggy, chunked-out, Blood-like and faster-than-thou a few beers later with their ‘Servitude’ (1993) 7″ EP the band had made little ‘progress’ but managed to capture the spirit of US deathgrind in a time where most formative bands had resorted to the pure death metal cash cow. What they’d hit upon with their official debut twenty five years ago is a fire still just as brutally raging today on their second full-length ‘Airstrike’.

If ‘Servitude’ was a ball of mushy, bloody flesh struck with a hammer a thousand times then the band’s debut ‘Abuse’ (1996) was a van full of drunk hardcore kids ramming mailboxes at full speed while blasting Terrorizer and Righteous Pigs. Old school even by 1996 standards it was a straight forward blast of grindcore that weaseled in just a small kick of death metal when it was time to slow down and even today it provides more of a thrill than most attempting the style. Since Flesh Parade drummer Todd Capiton had jumped on for ‘Abuse’ Mule Skinner went dark around the time Relapse Records picked up Flesh Parade; Even if just by proxy, anyone who still gets a kick out of ‘Kill Whitey’ will find Capiton‘s drumming is a just as much of a thrill on ‘Abuse’. Both bands would basically disappear until the 2010’s and Mule Skinner clawed their way back into existence around 2013.

Depending who you’re talking to many would argue Tungsten might be the most unsung heroes of New Orleans sludge but if focusing primarily on extreme metal hybrids Mule Skinner surely belonged right up there with the rise of Soilent Green back in the day. When they reappeared with the ‘Crushing Breakdown’ (2014) EP the sludge-grind focus felt very familiar in a post-‘Sewn Mouth Secrets’ world but didn’t necessarily indicate they would stray back onto the path of brutality they’d forged in the 90’s. You’re not getting any more of the sludge heard on “Revenge & Salvation” with ‘Airstrike’, it is all pummeling old school grindcore and violent grooves fit to pair with a record like ‘A Deleted Symphony for the Beaten Down’ if done by the Terrorizer of today.

The ‘riff and groove’ dynamic would be enough to carry a guitar record like this in the low-standard, experimentally diluted grindcore landscape of 2018 but Mule Skinner go above and beyond with drum work that demands tightly wound performances from all. The tension of grindcore that relies so much on the rapid fire unleashing of hardcore riffs and death metal blasts is a lost art that ‘Airstrike’ resuscitates with admirable authenticity. With Terrorizer‘s ‘Caustic Attack’ now in clear hindsight any fan might do well to give ‘Airstrike’ a spin and see which you think revived that old spirit with as much energy or with that old hardcore spirit informing the work. But hey, it isn’t a competition for who can be the most authentic old school deathgrind band in an age that has long left behind the straightforward, organic spectrum of the artform.

What value remains for me within the grindcore spectrum comes from the tautness of interplay between musicians and how they break up all of that tension. Without resorting to pure death metal or sludge metal yet touching upon both for those moments, Mule Skinner create a raw and uncompromising listening experience that is undeniably effective. You’ll still get a heavy waft of Soilent Green on tracks like “Bone & Debris” and “Backbone” but the majority of the record with the same neck-thrashing speed and precision they brought in the 90’s. It’d be easy to set ‘Airstrike’ next to the best of Brutal Truth or Extreme Noise Terror as it compares well and has the right balance of death metal and hardcore punk implemented. It is an easy to recommend experience to anyone who constantly chases the ghost of ‘World Downfall’ as I do. For preview you should go straight to “Suicide Vest”, “Battle Worshiper”, and “Faith in Blood” and swing around to “Bone & Debris” if you’re wary of the sludge they’d explore on the previous EP. (*Review by Terra Asimetry ).

  Discogs  ,  Lastfm  ,  Download  ,  Web  ,  Facebook  ,  Myspace  ,  Mincecore 

HELLKRUSHER

"human misery"
Year:  2017
Country:  UK
City:  Tyne
Label:  Ruin Nation
Format:  LP
Tracks:  15
Time:  40 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Crust Punk

They ain’t no fucking rock stars.  They ain’t no fucking rip off.  They care about what they do and they also care about you, too.  29 years have passed since the recording of their first record, called “Wasteland” and 29 years later they give you “Human Misery” released on Ruin Nation Records.  With numerous line-up changes, various ups and downs, breaks in playing, breaks in gigging, HELLKRUSHER with Scotty and Ali at the wheel are still ambitious punks that care about what they do and how they do it.  Time has come to talk about past and present with Scotty, the guitarist.  Read to the end, as there is a special announcement waiting for you. The band continues with their typical crust punk as well adding elements of modern thrash metal.

  Discogs  ,  Lastfm  ,  Download  ,  Web  ,  Facebook  ,  Twitter  ,  Myspace  ,  Listen To


























"buildings for the rich"

Year:  1992

Label:  Chaos Control

Format:  CD, LP

Tracks:  20

Time:  36 min.

Genre:  rock

Style:        Crust Punk

  Discogs  ,  Download

HELLYEAH

"undeniable"
Year:  2016
Country:  US
City:  Dallas, TX
Label: Eleven seven
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  13
Time:  50 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Nu Metal















  Discogs  ,  Lastfm  ,  Download  ,  Wikipedia  ,  Web  ,  Facebook  ,  Twitter  ,

THE DAMNED

"damned, damned, damned"
Year:  1977
Label:  Universal
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  12
Time:  38 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Punk Rock

THE DAMNED are a punk-rock band originally from Croydon, England, a suburb of London, who were formed in 1976. Despite being one of the definitive early punk bands they were also one of the most ambitious; with their later albums moving away from gothic rock to psychedelic rock. They are notable for being the first of the british punk band to release a official single, put out an album and tour the United States. Their debut album, "Damned Damned Damned" was released 6 months before The Sex Pistols’ debut "Never Mind The Bollocks". THE DAMNED have dissolved and reformed many times, with singer Dave Vanian remaining the sole constant. They have incorporated many styles in their music, most notably psychedelia, gothic and new wave. In addition to serving as inspiration for many of the american young bands who created hardcore music beacause their fast punk (in 1976),  THE DAMNED are also generally regarded as one of the founders of goth / dark music. Original members Dave Vanian (David Lett), Captain Sensible (Raymond Burns), and Rat Scabies (Chris Millar) were all members of the semi-legendary Masters of the Backside which included future Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde. 
 Discogs  ,  Lastfm   ,  Download  ,  Wikipedia ,   Web  ,  Facebook  , Facebook Group  ,  Vinyl Disco  ,  Myspace  ,  Myspace2   ,  Myspace3  ,  Forum  ,  Fansite

"music for pleasure"
Year:  1978 
Label:  Universal
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  11
Time:  32 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:         Punk Rock

"Music for Pleasure" is the second studio album by English punk rock band the Damned. It was released on 18 November 1977, through record label Stiff. "Music for Pleasure" was produced by Nick Mason of Pink Floyd and featured new member Lu Edmunds on guitar alongside Brian James, as well as guest saxophonist Lol Coxhill. The album was the last album-length studio release to feature original guitarist Brian James, who would rejoin the band in the late '80s and early '90s for a live album and studio single. It was also the group's final album release on Stiff Records. It saw the band move into more complex song structures, while maintaining the punk sound of their debut album. At the time of its release, the album was dismissed by critics as a poor misstep. During August and September they recorded "Music for pleasure", by produced by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason (of all people), which eventually did just the job for media hacks with a desire to write them off as has-beens. A notable flop, the LP was rather strange in a way that words can't describe, but boasted another clutch of fine songs, some of which were new ones by James. ‘Politics', a re-done 'Stretcher Case', 'You Take My Money' were James originals, but the standout was Sensible / Scabies' infamous attack on the band Television (‘Idiot Box'), complete with parodic Tom Verlaine guitar. Avant garde saxophonist Lol Coxhill even appeared on one track, the Stooges-like 'You Know'. The press hated it and therefore slated it. Scabies, who had to be persuaded to stay in the band to record the LP, left the band before it was released in November. The LP flopped dramatically: despite brilliant cover art by Barney Bubbles, the bad reviews sunk it.

  Discogs  ,  Download

"machine gun etiquette"
Year:  1979
Label:  Universal
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  11
Time:  36 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:       Punk Rock

"Machine gun etiquette" was THE DAMNED's third album but the first after a quasi-breakup and founding guitarist Brian James' departure, which was quite the blessing in disguise. The Damned made history with their punk debut, "Damned Damned Damned" but their second album, "Music for pleasure", was a real stinker. Without James they were able to reinvent themselves. Bassist Captain Sensible switched to guitar and they made an amazing record, far and away their best and one of the best albums of the era. The first song, "Love Song," is absolutely brilliant and the band recorded here (in my opinion) the first "proto-hardcore" songs ever. Hell, the whole record is great.
  Discogs  ,  Download

"the black album"
Year:  1980
Label:  Universal
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  18
Time:  58 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Goth Punk

Far from the Sex Pistols scandals and increasing "mainstream" of The Clash music, there was a third way which adopted by THE DAMNED and this was, of experimentation with many styles such as: post-punk, goth rock, cold wave and even sounds from the 60s decade like garage or psychedelia. With its debut album THE DAMNED demonstrated its fast and noisy punk-rock (in 1976), but with this "The black album" the band wanted to  be more creative than destructive, and recorded a concept album from start to finish as the huge work who had made their admired The Who with "Quadrophenia" or David Bowie with "Ziggy Stardust", a work of aArt in a nutshell. Often this disk is described as one of must on the list of so-called "Art Punk" due to high musical quality, but I personally think this is a complete post-punk album or goth-punk album, nothing more. The thing is THE DAMNED started to record very good albums with high quality in many aspects: creativity, originaliy, technical level, sound production, etc. Since "The black album" nothing to do with its three first albums.

  Discogs   ,  Download





























"strawberries"
Year:  1982
Label:  Universal
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  11
Time:  48 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Goth Punk

"Strawberries", originally titled "Strawberries for Pigs", is the fifth studio album by English punk rock band The Damned. It was released in October 1982 by record label Bronze. Describing the album we can to say this is a mix with classic punk-rock, goth rock and also an increasing influence of dark pop sounds. Despite their sound more melodic, the album is excellent and highly recommended. This release here was made in 2015 through major "Universal Music" (Sanctuary Records) on LP and CD format. 
  Discogs   ,   Download

NAZ NOMAD AND THE NIGHTMARES
"give daddy the knife Cindy"
Year:  1984
Country:  UK
Label:  Big Beat
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  12
Time:  30 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Psychedelic Rock

"Naz Nomad and The Nightmares" was a one-off project featuring the members of punk rock band The Damned. Naz Nomad and The Nightmares released one album entitled Give Daddy The Knife Cindy in 1984. The album was packaged to look like the re-issue of a 1967 soundtrack album to a (fictitious) low budget American horror film. A copyright notice on the front cover claimed the film was "Copyright 1967 American Screen Destiny Pictures", and credits are given for the film's stars, director and producer. The album itself featured covers of songs by garage rock and psychedelic acts who had influenced the Damned, plus two original numbers in the same style. Each member of the band took on pseudonyms different from those used in The Damned for the project.

  Discogs ,  Lastfm  ,  Download  ,  Wikipedia  ,  Facebook  ,  Myspace





































"phantasmagoria"
Year:  1985
Label:  Universal
Format:  CD , LP
Tracks:  8
Time:  58 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Goth Rock

"Phantasmagoria" is the sixth album by The Damned, released by MCA records in July 1985. Special editions were available on white vinyl or picture disc — some versions included a free 12" of their No. 3 hit Eloise. After much wrangling, the Damned received a new contract with MCA Records in October 1984 (past member Captain Sensible's hit solo career helped) and recorded the album in Eel Pie Studios between March and June 1985. It reached No. 11 in the charts, and was the band's highest charting album ever. The non-album single "Eloise," (a Barry Ryan cover), released six months later, became a huge UK hit reaching No. 3. The Damned centred the entire album around David Vanian's deep voice, giving much of the album a gothic feeling. "Edward the Bear" is a light pop tune sung by Roman Jugg. The album is currently out-of-print in North America but was remastered and reissued by Geffen Records in Japan in 2007, which features replicas of the LP's outer and inner sleeves and the CD's label resembles the white vinyl edition. One of the best gothic albums written ever. Excellent 
   Discogs   ,  Download

"anything"
Year:  1986
Label:  Universal
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  10
Time:  40 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        New Wave

After Captain Sensible left the Damned in 1984 when his solo career took off with the freak success of his single "Happy Talk," Dave Vanian took over the creative reins of the group, and he began nudging their music in a direction that reflected his growing interest in the goth movement. The Damned's flirtation with goth led to them signing a major label deal for the first time and enjoying one of their biggest commercial successes with the 1985 album "phantasmagoria". "Anything" probably was their most economic profitous album, but at the same time, their less talented. Despite all, there are three good songs (released as singles): "Eloise", "gigolo" and "in dulce decorum".
  Discogs   ,  Download  ,  Spotify

"not of this earth"

Year:  1996
Label:  Universal
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  12
Time:  40 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Goth Punk

Underrated, understood and forgot album. Due to unknown reasons, this album was released through different record labels, with different artworks and also differently untitled ("I'm alright jack and the bean stalk" for example), and maybe these all facts became in a complete faillure. The reality was the album passed unuticied by both, medias and audience. But despite this, the album is simply another great piece of rock, recorded by this legend band: The Damned.

  Discogs   ,  Download

"grave disorder"
Year:  2001
Label:  Nitro
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  13
Time:  58 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Goth Punk








  Discogs  ,  Download





































"so, who's the paranoid?"
Year:  2008
Label:  The english channel
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  13
Time:  60 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Goth Punk

Like any album from a band on the wrong side of 30, "So, Who's Paranoid?" comes with a stigma attached: The success rate on these kinds of middle-aged reunion projects is already low, and factor in a founding role in the '70s punk scene and members named Captain Sensible and Rat Scabies and the odds plunge to a nearly microscopic level. Realistically, the Damned is lucky enough to still be alive. Yet somehow the band has done two better than expectations would warrant, not only staying together (intermittently, and with a revolving cast of new and original members) but recording an album that somehow rises above mediocrity. So, Who's Paranoid? plays like a slideshow of the Damned's career, moving from simplistic, three-chord punk ("A Nation Fit for Heroes," "Nothing") to crooning goth ("Under the Wheels"), capping off with a baggy, shambling psych exploration that would be destructive if not placed safely at the end of the album. Along the way, the band makes room for some bloated Broadway style numbers ("Since I Met You," "Nature's Dark Passion") and even a dash of Britpop ("Danger to Yourself"), a thematic limpness that is either a sign of distraction or a way of showing off how diversely talented the band is. This cobbled, retrospective feel is the greatest failing here but ultimately feels like a quibble compared to how badly things could have turned out. The album is consistently smart and musically gratifying, if not overly sharp, and with the generally even tone established by Dave Vanian's refreshingly wry lyrics, it maintains a somewhat united feeling despite its scrapbook sensibility. For a band seemingly long past their prime, this level of quality is no small accomplishment, digging at old veins to create a smaller-scale version of the Damned's earlier successes.

  Discogs   ,  Download

"evil spirits"
Year: 2018
Label:  Universal
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  10
Time:  43 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Goth Punk







  Discogs  ,  Download

"darkadelic"

Year:  2023

Label:  Ear

Format:  CD, LP

Tracks:  12

Time:  40 min.

Genre:  rock

Style:        Goth Punk

  Discogs  ,  Download

CODE ORANGE

"what is really underneath"

Year:  2023

Label:  Warner

Format:  CD, LP

Tracks:  10

Time:  30 min.

Genre:  rock

Style:        Metalcore

  Discogs  ,  Download

"underneath"
Year:  2020
Label:  Warner
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  14
Time:  35 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Metalcore








  Discogs  ,  Download

"forever"
Year:  2017
Country:  US
City:  Pittsburg
Label:  Warner
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  11
Time:  34 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Metalcore

Code Orange (previously known as Code Orange Kids) is a hardcore punk band that formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2008. The band signed to Deathwish Inc. for their first two studio albums Love Is Love/Return to Dust (2012) and I Am King (2014) and have since released a third, Forever (2017), through Roadrunner Records (Warner Music). In 2012, four of the band's members – Reba Meyers, Jami Morgan, Joe Goldman and Dominic Landolina – formed the rock band Adventures. The band have one Grammy nomination under their belt for the song “Forever”. They started out playing "really straightforward punk rock," but would eventually take their music in a heavier direction with the introduction of new member, Bob Rizzo, who met members of the band at a local show and they were strongly influenced by music styles such as: sludge, math rock, thrash metal, etc.

  Discogs  ,  Lastfm  ,  Download  , Wikipedia  ,  Web  ,  Facebook  ,  Twitter





























"I am king"
Year:  2014
Label:  Deathwish
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  11
Time:  30 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Metalcore








  Discogs  ,  Download

destileriasonora

MÖTLEY CRÜE

"generation swine"
Year:  1997
Country:  US
City:  Los Angeles
Label:  Warner
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  13
Time:  45 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Heavy Metal

Mötley Crüe is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, on January 17, 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, lead singer Vince Neil and lead guitarist Mick Mars. Mötley Crüe has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, including 25 million albums in the United States, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time. The members of the band have often been noted for their hedonistic lifestyles and the persona they maintained. Following its hard rock and heavy metal origins, with the third album Theatre of Pain (1985), the band joined the first wave of glam metal. Its most recent studio album, Saints of Los Angeles, was released on June 24, 2008. Its final show took place on New Year's Eve, December 31, 2015, and was filmed for a theatrical and Blu-ray release in 2016. On September 13, 2018, Mötley Crüe announced that they had reunited and were working on new music.

  Discogs  ,  Lastfm  ,  Download  ,  Wikipedia  ,  Web  ,  Facebook  ,  Twitter  ,  Instagram

"idem"
Year:  1994
Label:  Warner
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  12
Time:  45 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Heavy Metal








  Discogs  ,  Download

"new tattoo"
Year:  2000
Label:  none
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  12
Time:  42 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Heavy Metal








  Discogs  ,  Download

"saints of Los Angeles"
Year:  2008
Label:  Warner
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  13
Time:  45 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Heavy Metal







  Discogs  ,  Download

MALEVOLENT CREATION

"the 13th beast"
Year:  2019
Country:  US
City:  Buffalo
Label:  Century media
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  11
Time:  50 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Death Metal

It would be easy to pass off the latest Malevolent Creation release as a cheeky nod back to the band's brief albeit notable emergence in the underground death metal scene back in the early 90s, but that would mean forgetting the band never really went away. Sure, looking at each gap between their last few albums will only ever cast an impression of a band taking their time, but Malevolent Creation are in no rush to release new material these days. Rather, they're seemingly content to flesh out ideas, take their time and have as much fun as their younger selves did back in 1991.

Unfortunately, as solid as latest effort The 13th Beast is, it's little more than what would satisfy those who have been waiting for this new release for a while. It's very hard-hitting, indeed, but it's also easy to annoy because of the sheer boredom some songs allow. Add to this the fact that the album borders on 50 minutes in total length (I.e. too long for a death metal release of this calibre), and you're left with a flash in the pan. Opener "End the Torture" introduces the album fittingly enough with some frankly menacing grooves and on-point rhythms, even elaborately battening down the proverbial hatches with those razor sharp solos, but to hear so much repetition in virtually every other song is a bit, well, lazy. It's not so bad if you've been following Malevolent Creation since day one, but to newcomers hearing the likes of "Canvas of Flesh" even once becomes tiresome.

As a flipside, at least the obviously stronger moments in The 13th Beast go some way to derailing your thoughts of boredom. "Mandatory Butchery" is a more frenzied animal and doesn't settle down into the same groove-flecked main riff for longer than half a minute, whilst "The Beast Awakened" revels in youthful exuberance thanks to its punkish energy and generally more grinding performance. That said, the production doesn't quite match the musicianship. Imagine you're listening to The Ten Commandments and then hearing the otherwise raw riff work as it gets twisted and cleaned up, sounding synthetic as the end result. You can hear how compressed the album sounds and it offers no feeling of immense power or maniacal deliverance, something which engaged Malevolent Creation's earliest works from the get-go. Here, the result feels too clean, and hearing too much of it on the near 7-minute long "Born of Pain" simply gets frustrating too soon.

The 13th Beast isn't exactly the best death metal album to kickstart the year with. For comfort listening it's decent enough, but decent in this day and age won't quite give anyone further reason to lend repeated listens, especially for those who know they can get better quality versions elsewhere. Nobody's knocking Malevolent Creation for wanting to stay true to what has worked for them for almost three decades, but with average, tiresome full-lengths such as this perhaps four year gaps between releases can be seen as a good thing (*Review by Robert Davis ).

  Discogs  ,  Lastfm  ,  Download  ,  Wikipedia  ,  Web  ,  Facebook  ,  Myspace  , Twitter  ,  Metal