Welcome to the second installment of Blistering.com’s Death Metal Report, Scribe Bloody Gore. The last time we left you bruised, battered and bloody, sort of like the picture of Sally Hardesty of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre affixed to our front page. Also like the protagonist of said film, we allowed you to get away. Not this time. After this installment, you’ll end up as human burger, packaged and given to the neighborhood cannibal to use as “venison” to pay his bar tab.
If we awarded a prize for best album in each volume of the death metal report, Insidious Disease’s debut album Shadowcast would get a human-bone medallion connected by a sinuous necklace of entrails. Featuring a star-studded lineup of Marc Grewe (Morgoth, Comecon), Silenoz (Dimmu Borgir, Nocturnal Breed), Jardar (Old Man’s Child), Shane Embury (Napalm Death, Brujeria) and Tony Laureano (Nile, Angelcorpse), Shadowcast revisits the glory of old school death metal but adds a modern touch. Expect magic whenever an ensemble of musicians of this caliber comes together, and the group doesn’t disappoint. Grewe’s return excited me the most. While nearly a quarter-century of growling and screaming has tamed his voice slightly, Grewe’s dry-delivery growls and anguished screams still touch a nerve like past Morgoth classics “Isolated” and “Resistance.” www.myspace.com/insidiousdisease
Severe Torture’sSlaughtered is the runner-up for best album. While the Dutch group doesn’t boast the massive following as the American acts that have given them inspiration, namely Suffocation and Cannibal Corpse, true death heads give much praise to their limb-snapping viciousness, tight execution and catchy grooves. Slaughtered, the group’s fifth full-length and first on Season of Mist Records, shows the group furthering its legacy of brutality. Although Slaughtered is guttural DM in all its goreified glory, there are still hints of melody and intelligibility, from the sharp edge of the guitars to Dennis Schreur’s vocals. No pussy shit here. Nope, Slaughtered is death metal in its purest, violent form. www.myspace.com/severetorture
The constant hammer of loose, acoustically sound drums define Adversarial’s debut album—All Idols Fall Before the Hammer. While the drums have a clear ring (no typewriter bullshit here), percussion consumes the album. Chainsaw buzzing guitars and throaty growling vocals take a back seat to the drums. With the exception of a couple tempo breaks and the subtle melodies that open “Scourge of a World Ablaze,” Adversarial’s drums just kill the album. http://www.myspace.com/adversarialmusic
I’m hearing more and more bands emulate the god fathers of Swedish death metal lately. Invasion’s war-themed album Orchestrated Kill Maneuver seems inspired by Stockholm’s earliest works such as the Nihilist and Dismember demos. The scathing production is akin to having your sphincter torn inside out. However, like experiencing an inverse sphincter, this is not a good thing. While the production lends that odd, spinning quality that only bands like Unleashed seem to attain on their guitars, their instruments and vocals would be more accessible if cleaned up slightly. Fans of raw, Swedish death metal take notice! http://www.myspace.com/saturationbombing
Veil of Maya’s[id] has the privilege of being the sole deathcore release covered on Scribe Bloody Gore. Their billing on Summer Slaughter 2010 and name brought my attention to this Midwest group. The group’s name brings to mind Cynic’s classic track, both borrowed the name from the title of a George William Russell poem, but their music has more in common with Meshuggah, minus the redundancies. Complex timing during chugging breakdown passages warrants this Meshuggah comparison, but the constant change ups certainly lend [id] progressive themes that one could connect to Cynic (if only in concept). The screaming/growling vocal partnership is typical deathcore in the vein of The Black Dahlia Murder, but the group’s musical ability makes this a stand out album. www. www.myspace.com/veilofmaya
Just because These Are They contains three members from Novembers Doom does not mean they are a doom metal band. Sure, their newest recording Disposing of Betrayers has its down-tempo moments, but the bulk of the album operates at a mid-paced level, which is too fast to categorize as doom. These Are They is quite diverse in their compositions. “La Mano Nera” moves between skull-crushing stomp rhythms and Morbid Angel-like guitar ring-outs. “By Phaeton's Design” could pass off parts to Amon Amarth, and blasting drums and guitar work on the title track shows the group leaning towards black metal. Disposing of Betrayers is full of buzzing death metal guitar work, but the clean production, melodies and range of style makes it an album with crossover appeal. http://www.thesearethey.us/home.html
Beyond Hell’s debut full-length album The Sleeper Awakens is a better choice for fans of doom/death than the above band. The band moves between crawling paces and medium tempos, resulting in an album that appears fast in places, but never really steps outside of the boundaries defined as down tempo. Never travelling as fast as early My Dying Bride or as slow as Winter, Beyond Hell is a hard group to compare. Some parts relate affection to Death, while others recall Incantation or Asphyx. The Sleeper Awakens has a sound that would have fit well on an early nineties Peaceville Records compilation. A low-yet-discernable production further enhances the group’s monstrous vocals, straightforward drumming, eerie guitar notes and horror themes. I highly recommend The Sleeper Awakens to all fans of death/doom. http://www.myspace.com/beyondhellmusic
Instanbul, Turkey is not exactly a location for breeding bands of a classic death metal style or death metal in general. Burial Invocation has managed to defy its Eastern European barriers in its release of the Rituals of the Grotesque EP. Said album shares tempo traits with Beyond Hell’s inferno recording, but picks up the pace considerably. Burial Invocation switches between forehead furling churns, slow bar chords and single-string buzzing. These single-string notes mesh well with Mustafa Y.’s crescendo screams. Mr. Y. typically presents a guttural growl that is decipherable if listened to closely. Rituals of the Grotesque conveys an accessible fuzzy production that adds an element of meanness. Now that Burial Invocation’s music has made its way to the industrial West, let’s see what they have to offer in a full-length. http://www.myspace.com/burialinvocation
Apparently, Turkey has more of a death metal scene than most would think. In signing Heretic Soul, Rotting Corpse Records has set its gaze far beyond the big lake that borders the Windy City. Heretic Soul’s debut full-length Born into this Plague is the result of five years of hard work, resulting in a solid piece of death metal art. “The Truth Dwells in Your Head” changes often, alternating between stop-and-go rhythms, bruising breakdowns and goregrowler pinch harmonics. Born into this Plague stays interesting through its variation of tempo, and even throws a curve ball or two. Gradually striding from the melodic to epic, Heretic Soul repeats the title tracks words of “Beyond Hatred.” The group even includes subtle vocals such as whispers. Because Turkey contains bands of such a high caliber as Heretic Soul and Burial Invasion, a U.S. tour displaying the country’s most brutal acts seems more and more possible. http://www.hereticsoul.net/
Humangled hails from Italy, which is not exactly a breeding ground for gory death metal, but still a better place for releasing music than Turkey. Using a cool combination of words, Humangled chose a moniker that is at least attention grabbing. The sound of Humangled’s Fractal is anything but typical. Sure, there are plenty of death-isms such as chugging riffs, double bass drum beats and snarling growls. The production is quite smooth, which allows the group to draw an audible line around each instrument, especially the bass. The bass particularly stands out during slow down passages. Close scales and palm-muted riffing results in rhythms that are both strange and interesting. Fractal is an engaging listen, but I have to wonder why this is the first full-length recording by a 14 year-old band. http://www.myspace.com/humangled_nail
I decided to save the worst for last because as Dante noted on Clerks, real life often ends on a downer. On the surface, Waking the Cadaver has got it goin’ on with their latest release Beyond Cops Beyond God. Tony Khoel of The Black Dahlia Murder painted an action-packed picture worthy of a major comic book release. Joe Cincotta, the man who produced the last couple of Suffocation records as well as running live sound for Obituary, produced the album. The problem with this album is the drums and vocals drown out the guitars. Plus, we are subject to more boring breakdowns. The group’s sound, which took on the tag “slamming gore groove” seems too goregrind for the deathcore crowd and too bouncy for the goregrind crowd. They have a knack for keeping all their stop-n-start rhythms tight, but it all comes across as trite and typical. http://www.myspace.com/wakingthecadaver
That wraps up this volume of Scribe Bloody Gore. We’ve closed your casket, lowered you six feet underground and have sent the mourners on their marry way. Remember to check under your blankets at night for venomous creepy-crawlies and pay close attention to that taciturn loner at your bus stop because death lurks behind every corner…
Labels and bands interested in having your innards strewn about gorily in this column please send a press kit to:
If we awarded a prize for best album in each volume of the death metal report, Insidious Disease’s debut album Shadowcast would get a human-bone medallion connected by a sinuous necklace of entrails. Featuring a star-studded lineup of Marc Grewe (Morgoth, Comecon), Silenoz (Dimmu Borgir, Nocturnal Breed), Jardar (Old Man’s Child), Shane Embury (Napalm Death, Brujeria) and Tony Laureano (Nile, Angelcorpse), Shadowcast revisits the glory of old school death metal but adds a modern touch. Expect magic whenever an ensemble of musicians of this caliber comes together, and the group doesn’t disappoint. Grewe’s return excited me the most. While nearly a quarter-century of growling and screaming has tamed his voice slightly, Grewe’s dry-delivery growls and anguished screams still touch a nerve like past Morgoth classics “Isolated” and “Resistance.” 
Severe Torture’s Slaughtered is the runner-up for best album. While the Dutch group doesn’t boast the massive following as the American acts that have given them inspiration, namely Suffocation and Cannibal Corpse, true death heads give much praise to their limb-snapping viciousness, tight execution and catchy grooves. Slaughtered, the group’s fifth full-length and first on Season of Mist Records, shows the group furthering its legacy of brutality. Although Slaughtered is guttural DM in all its goreified glory, there are still hints of melody and intelligibility, from the sharp edge of the guitars to Dennis Schreur’s vocals. No pussy shit here. Nope, Slaughtered is death metal in its purest, violent form.
The constant hammer of loose, acoustically sound drums define Adversarial’s debut album—All Idols Fall Before the Hammer. While the drums have a clear ring (no typewriter bullshit here), percussion consumes the album. Chainsaw buzzing guitars and throaty growling vocals take a back seat to the drums. With the exception of a couple tempo breaks and the subtle melodies that open “Scourge of a World Ablaze,” Adversarial’s drums just kill the album. 
I’m hearing more and more bands emulate the god fathers of Swedish death metal lately. Invasion’s war-themed album Orchestrated Kill Maneuver seems inspired by Stockholm’s earliest works such as the Nihilist and Dismember demos. The scathing production is akin to having your sphincter torn inside out. However, like experiencing an inverse sphincter, this is not a good thing. While the production lends that odd, spinning quality that only bands like Unleashed seem to attain on their guitars, their instruments and vocals would be more accessible if cleaned up slightly. Fans of raw, Swedish death metal take notice! 
Veil of Maya’s [id] has the privilege of being the sole deathcore release covered on Scribe Bloody Gore. Their billing on Summer Slaughter 2010 and name brought my attention to this Midwest group. The group’s name brings to mind Cynic’s classic track, both borrowed the name from the title of a George William Russell poem, but their music has more in common with Meshuggah, minus the redundancies. Complex timing during chugging breakdown passages warrants this Meshuggah comparison, but the constant change ups certainly lend [id] progressive themes that one could connect to Cynic (if only in concept). The screaming/growling vocal partnership is typical deathcore in the vein of The Black Dahlia Murder, but the group’s musical ability makes this a stand out album. 
Just because These Are They contains three members from Novembers Doom does not mean they are a doom metal band. Sure, their newest recording Disposing of Betrayers has its down-tempo moments, but the bulk of the album operates at a mid-paced level, which is too fast to categorize as doom. These Are They is quite diverse in their compositions. “La Mano Nera” moves between skull-crushing stomp rhythms and Morbid Angel-like guitar ring-outs. “By Phaeton's Design” could pass off parts to Amon Amarth, and blasting drums and guitar work on the title track shows the group leaning towards black metal. Disposing of Betrayers is full of buzzing death metal guitar work, but the clean production, melodies and range of style makes it an album with crossover appeal. 
Beyond Hell’s debut full-length album The Sleeper Awakens is a better choice for fans of doom/death than the above band. The band moves between crawling paces and medium tempos, resulting in an album that appears fast in places, but never really steps outside of the boundaries defined as down tempo. Never travelling as fast as early My Dying Bride or as slow as Winter, Beyond Hell is a hard group to compare. Some parts relate affection to Death, while others recall Incantation or Asphyx. The Sleeper Awakens has a sound that would have fit well on an early nineties Peaceville Records compilation. A low-yet-discernable production further enhances the group’s monstrous vocals, straightforward drumming, eerie guitar notes and horror themes. I highly recommend The Sleeper Awakens to all fans of death/doom. 
Instanbul, Turkey is not exactly a location for breeding bands of a classic death metal style or death metal in general. Burial Invocation has managed to defy its Eastern European barriers in its release of the Rituals of the Grotesque EP. Said album shares tempo traits with Beyond Hell’s inferno recording, but picks up the pace considerably. Burial Invocation switches between forehead furling churns, slow bar chords and single-string buzzing. These single-string notes mesh well with Mustafa Y.’s crescendo screams. Mr. Y. typically presents a guttural growl that is decipherable if listened to closely. Rituals of the Grotesque conveys an accessible fuzzy production that adds an element of meanness. Now that Burial Invocation’s music has made its way to the industrial West, let’s see what they have to offer in a full-length. 
Apparently, Turkey has more of a death metal scene than most would think. In signing Heretic Soul, Rotting Corpse Records has set its gaze far beyond the big lake that borders the Windy City. Heretic Soul’s debut full-length Born into this Plague is the result of five years of hard work, resulting in a solid piece of death metal art. “The Truth Dwells in Your Head” changes often, alternating between stop-and-go rhythms, bruising breakdowns and goregrowler pinch harmonics. Born into this Plague stays interesting through its variation of tempo, and even throws a curve ball or two. Gradually striding from the melodic to epic, Heretic Soul repeats the title tracks words of “Beyond Hatred.” The group even includes subtle vocals such as whispers. Because Turkey contains bands of such a high caliber as Heretic Soul and Burial Invasion, a U.S. tour displaying the country’s most brutal acts seems more and more possible. 
Humangled hails from Italy, which is not exactly a breeding ground for gory death metal, but still a better place for releasing music than Turkey. Using a cool combination of words, Humangled chose a moniker that is at least attention grabbing. The sound of Humangled’s Fractal is anything but typical. Sure, there are plenty of death-isms such as chugging riffs, double bass drum beats and snarling growls. The production is quite smooth, which allows the group to draw an audible line around each instrument, especially the bass. The bass particularly stands out during slow down passages. Close scales and palm-muted riffing results in rhythms that are both strange and interesting. Fractal is an engaging listen, but I have to wonder why this is the first full-length recording by a 14 year-old band. 
I decided to save the worst for last because as Dante noted on Clerks, real life often ends on a downer. On the surface, Waking the Cadaver has got it goin’ on with their latest release Beyond Cops Beyond God. Tony Khoel of The Black Dahlia Murder painted an action-packed picture worthy of a major comic book release. Joe Cincotta, the man who produced the last couple of Suffocation records as well as running live sound for Obituary, produced the album. The problem with this album is the drums and vocals drown out the guitars. Plus, we are subject to more boring breakdowns. The group’s sound, which took on the tag “slamming gore groove” seems too goregrind for the deathcore crowd and too bouncy for the goregrind crowd. They have a knack for keeping all their stop-n-start rhythms tight, but it all comes across as trite and typical.
