Forming in the late noughties when the band were just teenagers – young enough to rival Def Leppard in the precociousness stakes – Voice of the Soul always had very grand musical ideas. Following three self-released EPs between 2009 and 2011, the Middle Eastern extreme metallers found themselves in a great position to expand on their previous works. Taking to the studio in early 2014, the band set about making their first full length release – and in melodic death metal terms, the dark and sprawling world conjured up on ‘Catacombs’ does not disappoint.
Tag Archives: death metal
SUBSERVIENCE – Upheaval EP
Following 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.
ABADDON INCARNATE – Pessimist
Abaddon 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.
At The Gates, Destruction & Dark Funeral announced for BlastFest 2015
German thrash legends Destruction, Dark Funeral and black metallers At The Gates are among the first brace of bands confirmed for BlastFest 2015, a new extreme metal festival held in Norway. With a handful of bands already announced and twenty more to be confirmed, it’s set to put itself firmly upon the metal calendar.
The full press release can be read below.
Abysmal Dawn: stream of new track available
After three years away, US death metallers Abysmal Dawn make a triumphant return with new track ‘Inanimate’. The track is the first new material to appear from their forthcoming album ‘Obsolescence’ and can be streamed in full below.