Engraved Disillusion: new album details

It’s been three years since their last studio album, but the UK’s “metal juggernaut” Engraved Disillusion are back with a new LP set for release on 31st October.

In the intervening years, the band have made a few changes – the addition of vocalist Matthew William Mead and new bassist Aaron Preston, allowing the band to utilise both throaty and clean vocals.

Continue reading

SUBSERVIENCE – Upheaval EP

SubservienceFollowing a busy couple of years yielding two self released EPs (one each in 2012 and 2013 respectively) and a truckload of live dates – including one in a town on a small island off the Kent coast – UK based death metallers Subservience showed no signs of resting in 2014.   If you thought that the departure of a frontman might set the band back, you couldn’t be more wrong.  With new blood and clearly invigorated by the near-endless touring, the band’s third release ‘Upheaval’ isn’t just hard, fast and generally uncompromising – it’s positively staggering.  As you’d expect, it’s top-notch in terms of production values and overall sound, but also in the complexity and quality of the material.

Continue reading

ABADDON INCARNATE – Pessimist

AIAbaddon Incarnate’s fifth album ‘Pessimist’ is a monster.  Their first release for Candlelight Records (home to Corrosion of Conformity and cult thrashers Pestilence) leaves no doubt as to the band’s intentions of being the fastest and most brutal band in Ireland.  A split second after hitting the play button their musical assault begins and the title track churns away at full pelt.  Drummer Johnny King (a member of the band since 2007) hammers at his bass pedals with the manner of a man in possession of extra limbs, while simultaneously hammering at his snares in a lightning speed attack, occasionally resulting in sounds clearly inspired by one-time Suffocation drummer Mike Smith.   The other half of Abaddon’s rhythm section, bassist Steve Finnerty plays equally hard, his instrument grinding at top speed, not so much bringing an anchoring bottom end – an important part of extreme metal (see early Carcass) – but more adding a layer of buzz-saw noise throughout.  The twin guitars of Steve Maher and Bill Whelan, meanwhile shred furiously, their shrill tones cutting through everything daring to stand in their way.

Continue reading