Brutally Deceased - Satanic Corpse (2016)

Brutally Deceased are a death metal act hailing from the Czech Republic, named after a Grave song. This marks their third release and I'd consider a bit more comparable to modern Kataklysm than something like Grave, even though there are tinges of classic death metal acts the world over in their music. It's obviously a chunky sort of death metal, but it really delivers in the guitar area courtesy of dual axe tag-team Tomas Halama and Stembus and that's where it caught my attention. Throughout the disc there are loads of great melodies and terrific guitar solos, which really help this band from standing out and not going too far into what seems to be a modern, core-influenced direction. The record contains a couple of breakdowns and even features a frontman (Zlababa) who seems to be pushing as far as he can with the cookie monster style. This can't be said for all the tracks, but some of the growls rumble close to a gut-punch which can make parts of the record a turn off for me. However, the melodic element of the band is just so strong that even the most core-laden approaches imaginable couldn't detract me from it. Which thankfully, there aren't.

These guys do manage to get close to melodic death metal in general a few times, but I have no problem with placing them right in the center of brutal death and melodic death metal. Maybe closer to Dissection in that sense, but not in the sense of black metal. Things seem a little bit more brutal here, which is going to make them a bit more accessible to fans of that simplistic deathcore style, but Brutally Deceased have a bit more going for them than many similar modern death metal acts. Satanic Corpse isn't an amazing record, but it is well worth a listen if you're looking to cross over into the realms of traditional death metal without losing what you love about it's more modern incarnations. It'll be hit or miss for some, but a demonsend for others.

(9 Tracks, 29:00)

7/10

Imperium - Titanomachy (2016)

Formed from members of Trigger The Bloodshed and Cenotaph as well as former members of Boodshot Dawn and Prostitute Disfigurement (that would be the band's new vocalist, Doug Anderson) we have what is the first record from these guys since the Mayans predicted an apocalypse that never came. In any case, fans of Hate Eternal and The Black Dahlia Murder will probably enjoy this sophomore effort quite a bit, but there are just a ton of bands playing in this style and I feel that's one of the main weaknesses here in Titanomachy. A similar style might be fine for some, but I've heard this already and own several albums that sound very much the same. Just in flipping through these cuts a second time, I've noticed that no matter how killer these guitar solos are, they always seem to appear in the same spot for practically every song. That's completely fine too, but it doesn't really give me the listener anything new to chew on. Other than a lot of technicality and some rather engaging solos by the twin-guitar team of Mike Alexander and Rob Purnell, there's not much more to engage yourself with. I will admit that the playing certainly sticks out in the mix, but the base matter of the act just seems like a vehicle for these two to simply shred the hell out of their guitars. They could have just as well done this in any type of band, but it just happens to be this modern death metal act where they've chosen to do so. It's the kind of record where many things seem shoveled in despite their obvious brutality and aside from what I'd consider rather tasteful guitar engagements, I'm just getting a big heavy block of metal. You can definitely pick up this record for the shredding, but the rest of it really doesn't offer that much unless you like run of the mill modern death outputs. It just doesn't have quite enough of a bite for me, but I probably would have dug it years ago, especially if I hadn't listened to many other bands of this style before.

Having said this, I am by know means shoveling waste upon the guitar compositions here. I love my solos and could absolutely recommend the record based on those alone, but that seems to be all that it really offers. Take something like Whitechapel and add tons of solos, tons and tons of solos – and that's what you're getting with this one. Once again, there's nothing wrong with that and I know that some people are really going to dig it, but it's just not quite my bag. Maybe with a couple more listens it could grow on me, but as of right now I'm not getting the best second impression. If you've got to have your technical riffs and more solos than you can fit in a Greyhound bus, then go for it. I just need a little more substance, possibly not so much of the same style or tempo used in practically every song. That leans me to boredom, as not everything should just be ungodly hard and fast. Slow it down a bit gentlemen, you're not going to a fire.

(12 Tracks, 44:00)

7/10

The Mountain Man - Bloodlust (2016)

The Mountain Man isn't anything like it might sound, and those looking for modern death metal and core approaches will surely find something in this rather carnivorous offering. It is a groove-laden style of death metal, that occasionally djents and welcomes bits of melody, though it also pushes the vocals quite high in the mix, which overshadows everything else at times. Still, it's a bit more accessible than other acts. The recording is extremely thick and hugely warm, almost feeling like a post metal record at times. It doesn't really have a whole lot of real substance and does exactly what it came to do, which is to punch you in the fucking face. There are many breakdowns, a familiar harsh vocal approach and several of the things that I find will appeal a bit more to the current generation of metal listeners, rather than the older heads. The Mountain Man clearly know what kind of record to make, and there's undoubtedly an audience for it. It's just really not my kind of thing. I love groove-based death, but there's a lot of djent, breakdowns and “bro-core” vocals here that just rub me the wrong way. But if you're looking for something to pump you up before you get into a fight, or while you're doing exercises in the gym, this might just be what the doctor ordered. Maybe this should come with a coupon for a protein shake. All in all, I feel it's rather misleading to call the offering here any form of doom, as it is clearly not.

(5 Tracks, 21:00)

6/10