Pestifer--Ravaging Fury (CD) {2025 Iron Blood and Death Corporation}

ironbloodanddeath.bandcamp.com

8/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

This is the second full length from this Portuguese squad, and their first release since 2017. They seem to take a lot of time between releases, as their only other recording is a 2009 demo. This care they take to release their best material is evidenced by this record and the high quality of the death metal that resides on it. They're equal parts Morbid Angel, Krisiun, and Vader, but they're adding something special of their own to these influences. The riffs are tremolo-picked insanity, changing often but repeating enough to form cohesive songs with plenty of hooks. The drummer is a machine, and his blasts are almost militaristic in nature, absolutely relentless with a stiff beat at all times. The vocals are mid-ranged throaty rasps that are full of hate and sound absolutely unique - no one sounds like this vocalist that I can recall. Fans of relentless blasting brutality would do well to investigate this release, and it will not disappoint.

Mortal Rites "Death in Heaven, Life in Hell" (Review)

Mortal Rites Death in Heaven, Life in Hell

2024 Iron Blood and Death Corporation (CD)

ironbloodanddeath.bandcamp.com

5/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

This is the first EP from this Quebecois band, with just one demo coming before. This is fairly run-of-the-mill death/thrash with a blackened edge that hearkens back to Dissection and bands of that era. Nothing truly spectacular jumps out, but it's at least solid stuff, just not terribly memorable. They do have a pronounced sense of melody and use it well within their songs, whether as a solo or a blackened riff to add dimension to their sound. This isn't something I'm going to actively track down and buy, but I wouldn't be upset if it wound up in my collection at some point. 

Violent Scum / Cambion "Cults of Black Death (Split)" (Review)

Violent Scum / Cambion Cults of Black Death (Split)

2024 Iron Blood and Death Corporation (CD)

ironbloodanddeath.bandcamp.com

7/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

Violent Scum (Chile) come first on this split, giving us bestial South American death metal clearly influenced by Deicide. It's not Deicide worship, but all the nuts and bolts are there and you can hear the influence clearly. This is fine by me - all bands are influenced by others, and why not the masters of Satanic death metal?! They can write a fucking song, too, which is excellent to hear. The performance is wild but tight enough, with slightly fuzzy guitars and a solid rhythm section. The drums and bass in particular are well-performed and they stick to each other like glue. Their four songs on this split are a pleasure to hear, especially when the solos kick in. A talented bunch, here.

Next up is Cambion, an international project between Texan and German metalists, if Metal Archives is correct. These gentlemen give us Angelcorpse-style thrashing death metal, fast, blasting, and furious, with plenty of black metal influence but with a death metal core that drives it all. The vocals are rapid-fire, which I always like, and in a higher register reptilian growl like a lot of black metal today. Actually, they remind me a bit of Legion on Panzer Division Marduk, which is great.. They give us three songs that are equally as good as the Violent Scum half of the split but in a much different style, but just as vicious. They also give us a cover of Slayer's "Evil Has No Boundaries" worked up in their style.

This is a split worth tracking down as an introduction to each band - they both are exceptional, and it should be a proper introduction to both of their sounds.

Gravered "Classic Cult to Death" (Review)

Gravered Classic Cult to Death

2025 Iron Blood and Death Corporation

ironbloodanddeath.bandcamp.com

5/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

This is the first full length from this Chilean outfit. They have a chainsaw guitar sound, Swedish style, but super dirty, and play a slow, dark sort of death metal almost like Incantation if it weren't for the guitar sound. The vocals are strong and brutal, but lack diversity in pattern. The compositions are loose, and they don't sound comfortable playing fast. They're very at home in slow- to mid-paced tempos, however. A fine line separates this band from death/doom - as such I found it boring, since it is indeed so slow all the time. "Procession in Rigor Mortis" is easily the standout track here, with the best vocal patterns on the album and the catchiest up-tempo riffs. I do like the chunkier riffs they progress into occasionally, like at the beginning of "Lugubrious Macabre and Sepulchral," but they lose me immediately heading into those doom parts. One thing of note - the drums are extremely well recorded. They constantly pan back and forth with where the drummer is on his kit, and it makes the album much more interesting.

Ursula "Lords of Impermanence" (Review)

Ursula Lords of Impermanence

2025 Iron Blood and Death Corporation (CD / Cassette)

ironbloodanddeath.bandcamp.com

I was intrigued by this one for some reason, when it hit my promo "pile" (meaning: digital file hoard awaiting review). The name of the band was curious, and I was thinking maybe it was some sort of sludge or doom metal band, but based on the label I thought perhaps not. And indeed, I was right - it was not. This is serious death metal from Singapore with plenty of originality yet enough nods to the styles of the past so that it's rooted in tradition. Think of Repulsion, Impetigo, Master, fast Autopsy, early Death, Celtic Frost, Slayer, Angelcorpse, Nunslaughter, and any other band that frequently gets lumped in with them. You'll be reminded of the styles they represent, but Ursula holds their own with originality, and is easily one of the best albums so far this year. Every song stands apart from the others, and nothing blends together. All the riffs are great, and the guitar solos are nicely structured and enjoyable, and there's one in almost every song. Their songwriting is traditional verse/chorus/verse songwriting for the most part, using the traditional metal approach (and it makes sense since two members of the band played in a thrash metal band prior to this one). The song that stood out the most for me, and is my favorite, is "Slave Driver," with its almost Dream Death style main riff. It's slower, pounding, and evil-sounding. I'll be buying this one at some point in the near future, for sure. If this album is the benchmark of how this year in death metal will go, we're in for a great year. The true death metalists reading this should take note, and take a listen.

Deconsekrated "Ascension in the Altar of Condemned" (Review)

Deconsekrated Ascension in the Altar of Condemned

2024 Iron Blood and Death Corporation (CD)

ironbloodanddeath.bandcamp.com

2024 Alkolik Holocaust Records (CD, Argentina)

2024 Ancient Sounds of Madness Productions (Cassette)

ancientsoundsofmadnessproductions.bandcamp.com

2024 Futhark Records (LP)

www.futharkrecords.com

BADASS SONG TITLES: Spectral Rites, Litany of the Blasphemous

From Chile we have this excellent death metal band who plays fairly original material in the vein of some of the greats like Incantation, Morbid Angel, and Sadistic Intent! They add their own twists to the formula, with incredibly evil-sounding vocals with a Spanish accent that really sets the music apart from the clones. And I know that's just the accent the singer has when he uses English, but man, it adds something special. I always loved metal performed in Spanish or where singers have a Spanish accent - it's a tough-sounding language for a tough-sounding music. The vocalist also has a catchy, nasty growling style, and his vocals are thick with reverb, helping them sound even more evil. The songs are all good, with riffs that really caught my interest, and they're varied enough to maintain it, which seems like it's always the trouble with bands these days. This band does not have that problem. They're good songwriters. The playing is also excellent overall, and I can tell these gentlemen are accomplished musicians. The guitar sound is thick and well-recorded and fat with nastiness. The drummer stood out to me, he seems impressive. I hope to see more from these fine metalists!

Stabwound "As Humanity Dies" (Review)

Stabwound As Humanity Dies

2024 Iron Blood and Death Corporation (CD)

ironbloodanddeath.bandcamp.com

Every once in a while I happen across a record that immediately catches my attention and gets me really excited. Usually the first thing I do is text Dan Gates (of TON infamy) and let him know there's a real motherfucker of an album he has to check out! The second thing I do is let it play several times through. That's exactly what happened with this record. 

As it opened, I had a feeling I was in for something good when the intro contained an almost Lucio Fulci-style horror synth composition, and ended with some sinister monks singing. The first thing that struck me as the first true song started was that this is death metal with the energy of a hardcore band in many ways. It's simpler, aggressive, angry, and pounding with straight-ahead drumming, much like a band like Merauder or All Out War is (show me a person that doesn't like Master Killer and I'll show you someone who doesn't like metal all the way top their core. Now, I'm not saying that this is even part of their set of influences, but I hear it, and I love it. Death metal evolved from heavy metal and hardcore punk, so it makes perfect sense to me. At some point the evolution wraps back around to full circle.

The riffs and structure made me think of the Merauder comparison, and it's also valid to bring up the names of Massacre, Entombed, and Cianide. This band fits right in among these, as being similar in attack and performance. This is pure, ancient death metal played the right way, with a punk sensibility (in the same way that Nunslaughter has a punk sensibility) that makes the songs bleed energy, power, and movement. The solos scattered about are excellent, morbid affairs full of sick melody and evil harmony. There's even a pronounced d-beat punk influence on the track "Devoured," and since I love anarcho-punk and d-beat as well, this was a welcome sound. 

The vocals vaguely remind me of Demolition from California's demo, in some ways, especially when they're layered and reverb-drenched. At other times he reminds me a little of the singer from Dismember. Don't take this to mean that he is a derivative singer - far from it. He's doing things his own way, with personality, charisma, and style! It's a strong performance, as it is from the rest of the band. Structurally, a lot of their songs have a thrash breakdown that really amp up the heaviness and aggression, and I could see these parts working extremely well live, creating violent pits or aggressive headbanging against the stage!

This album is a high water mark of last year's death metal releases, and I put it right up there with the best stuff that I've heard. I'm still working my way through about 600 different records to review, but Stabwound has created a minor masterpiece here and I'm very interested to see what the next album brings. If this album is any indication, they'll deliver a real heavy bastard.