Amorphis - Tales from the Thousand Lakes (1996)

Before Amorphis decided that they had had enough of the heterosexual lifestyle and shoulder-blocked their way from out of the confines of the closet, they were actually a somewhat decent death metal band from Finland.

There are many ways of looking at 'Tales From the Thousand Lakes'. One can be to interpret it as the band "dipping their toes" into one of many vast lakes of homosexuality (that are apparently located in Finland) before deciding to cannonball into its "depths" as they eventually did with 1996's 'Elegy'. Another is to see it as the natural progression from 'The Karelian Isthmus', or more accurately, 1/2 of that album as the other half merely consists of spiced up versions of demo and 'ep' tracks.

I actually really like this album. The band somehow manages to take the softer, melodious aspects of the riffing and bring them to the brink without ever actually falling into the lake of homosexuality. More than a few times things come close to that horrid scenario but are thankfully reeled back in and the sounds of ice cold majesty continue on their wintry path.

The vocals have always reminded me a bit of Barney from Napalm Death which is fine by me as I've always thought he had a killer voice.

The guitar sound is of the Skogsberg/Stockholm/Sunlight variety and fits the music perfectly.

Depending on how "daring" you consider your musical palate to be, this may or may not be the last good Amorphis album as 'Elegy' is the point where the band decided to go full retard what with all of the branching out and such. With TFTTL Amorphis were still safely entrenched within the confines of being a death/doom band.

Obliteration - Black Death Horizon (2013)

I've got mixed feelings on this one. Most of the time I hate it when bands do their best to emulate Autopsy as I've never been the biggest fan of that band. I didn't mind their initial run (Severed Survival-Shitfun) but I was hardly fanatical about them and since the inception of the whole "New Wave of Old School Death Metal" I've actually grown to despise them, so naturally I'm not very fond of those Autopsy cock-boys who jock their style at every turn. Obliteration is one of those rare Autopsy worship bands that I can sort of give a pass to as their albums are without a doubt a chock full interesting and grimy riffs.

Small wonder that that trendiest of trendies, Fenriz, has gotten (ahem) "behind" Obliteration as not only are they from Dark Throne's hometown but are also one of the more successful copy-cats of Autopsy, who are one of the few American death metal bands that manage to get respect from Scandinavians openly as it is apparently safe to do so without one losing credentials in the eyes of other Europeans.

Again, there's not much to say about Obliteration aside from the fact that they're an Autopsy clone that can actually write good riffs and rhythmic sequences. That and they have killer album covers, which for me, counts!

Groovy.

Movie Poster of the Week: Dreamscape (1984)

Godly Enslavement: An Interview with Jeremy Kibort of Desolate

What's happenin' Jeremy? How're the holidays in New England treatin' ya?

Josh brother, things are real good, holidays echh, just waiting for them to be done, another year full of disgust at how a "holy" day is used as a money reaping tool by retail industry.

Alright, what brought about the reunion of Desolate?

Haha funny you should ask..after seeing the fb page you started for Desolate, we could see there was still some fanship there after many years, so we decided to do a reunion just a few shows with the original members..Todd/guitarist just wasn't happening and Eric Roy was just too busy with work stuff to really commit to a practice schedule and basically had to back out. Mike Clayton was into the idea and took up his old drum spot and invited his friend Drew to come jam. Drew had 5 songs down for our first practice and all the songs learned in another couple weeks. We've just felt real good and started writing new stuff. ..

I know you guys have been quite busy playing festivals and shows since the resurrection of the band. How has that been going for ya and what would you say are the big differences from the early-mid '90's to now?

Yeah we've played through the summer and its been great..martyrdoom fest in Brooklyn was definitely a highlight . Things that have changed the most. .the venues I think. There are still a ton of places to play, but quality has suffered as many small clubs don't mic anything but vocals, and the overall sound really suffers. Still the same amount of shit joker promoters as there ever was. .bands too, holy fuck there are so many now. .tons. .some are real good, some are shit. .too many paint their faces and dress all black metal without actually taking the pain of writing dark compositions..not out to start calling false this and that, but fuck! Try writing scary music first. .

1993

John (Pathos) compiled and released your two demos as well as two previously unreleased tracks. Could you tell me how that came about and could you give me a little history on the bonus tracks as well?

Yes, sanity obliterated. .John Dwyer contacted me one day and said its about time for a discography. We had recorded a couple songs before we broke up in 97 , so John had it all remastered to get the songs to sound a little more consistent with each other. .were all pretty happy with it. The two songs at the end of the disc. .Blessings End and Graceful Denouncement are two of the four songs we had most recently written before breaking up and show a more mayhemic, blackened style of Desolate.. a direction we are continuing now. .

I gotta say... watching you guys live (unfortunately only through Youtube ) always puts a smile on my face as the rage and intensity that you exude is unmatched. I always hated bands that just "stood there" looking bored. Is this a conscious thing on your part or are you merely "going with the flow"?

Well thanks dude, no, just going with the flow. .but honestly a band thinks of songs and goes through the trouble of practicing and defining a distinct sound, getting shows, so when its time to play, you're just going to stand there like you cant be bothered? Fuck that. .I'm going to take this song and drive it down your fucking throat. ..why waste the moment you know?

I understand you guys are working on your long awaited debut album. How's that going and what can everyone expect to experience?

Yes we are currently busting ass to get ready to record an album of epic, sick, tale weaving blackened death the way we play it. .for some reason were having trouble shaking the term "old school death metal" which isn't bad, but I can guarantee that's not going to be the listeners first impression

New England's always had a sketchy history as far as death metal bands go. On one hand you have a handful of bands that have sort of been the "flagbearers" of the region (Vital Remains are the first to come to mind) while so many others have for some reason or another remained WAY underground. What are your thoughts on this and where does Desolate fit in? Also, are there any bands from the New England area that you'd like to give mention to?

Yeah from the old school days not many bands survived, Vital Remains certainly has but in general we prepped a good many fans for what was going to become the wave of shitty metalcore and deathcore garbage that followed .. desolate anyways had a very loyal following from the beginning, at times wish we would've thought big picture and stayed together ... in New England nowadays I'd love to give mention to some acts we admire. .Vaettir, Martyrvore, Cold Northern Vengeance, Infested Prophecy, Blessed Offal, Blood Stone Sacrifice ..I'm sure there's a few others that I'll hear and be impressed by and some others that will come off as shit. .

What are your thoughts on the current state of metal, death metal in particular?

There's still some pretty good bands out there, but it's just very saturated. .sooo many bands and perhaps they might have a good singer but the riffs suck, or vice versa. .and part of the sorriest state is all the "core" bands that have stolen from this artform and label it theirs, and unfortunately the labels that used to put out the bands you and I grew up with have flocked to that lame style of shit!

I know there are many who wonder... will Jerry ever resurrect Warhorse?

Haha. .hmm I've asked him and everyone involved with Warhorse is heavily into other projects, all of them quite different. Jerry, myself, Terry from Martyrvore and Dan from Scattered Remnants have been jamming some Warhorse tunes that were never finished and some new stuff also. .we're calling it

"Conclave"

If you could only pick three albums to take with you into the afterlife (any genre) what would they be?

Shit thats tough, I guess Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger, Elliott Smith figure eight, Alice in Chains s/t .. fuck depends on my mood upon said day of death.

Alright Jeremy... thanks a million for your time. Last words?

Josh, thanks for always being a supporter of Desolate, you will not be disappointed with the new album. .Get Evilution back together Brother!!

Desolate's 'Sanity Obliterated' is available through Pathos Production's and I seriously recommend you all to vamp a copy or two of this as quickly as possible!

Check out Desolate over at Facebook.

Sepultura - The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must be the Heart (2013)

Yeah, yeah, yeah... ok, so the album's title is supposed to be a clever reference to Fritz Lang's 1927 masterpiece 'Metropolis', but sorry, the shit just sounds plain lame to me.

Now, before you go thinkin' that I'm one of these "underground" homos who hates everything Sepultura has released post-stinky boy Max Cavalera (or for those truly underground cock-smokers who mock what the band has does since the release of 'Arise' way back in 1991) let me clarify that I've actually quite enjoyed the bulk of the material with Derek Green behind the mic. Despite the goofy homosexuality of certain bands (Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, P.O.D.) I actually didn't mind the Ross Robinson obsessed sounds of a small number of "nu" metal bands out there (and trust me... I really don't give a fuck what the Autopsy/Incantation wannabes think of that either). In fact, at the time I thought that some of the bands in that scene sounded rather refreshing and certainly brought something new to the table, so I really didn't mind the direction Sepultura headed in starting with 'Roots' (though one could rightly surmise that the first step taken in this direction actually began with 'Chaos A.D.'). For one, I've always preferred slower and lower tuned riff sequences as opposed to the more high pitched and tinny sounds of many a thrash band throughout the 80's. I also felt that the inclusion of Brazilian tribal drumming into the equation was awesome, especially when accompanied by a nice fat bowl (or joint or whatever the fuck your preference is). Sure, I was worried about Max leaving the band but after hearing 'Against' I was convinced that all would be well. Sure, that album wasn't exactly a flawless victory but the good outnumbered the suck and since that time Sepultura has released more hits than misses. Trust me.

'The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must be the Heart' continues the band's tradition of releasing quality yet misunderstood albums throughout the last decade and a 1/2. If there's one gripe I have with this album it's the production. Ross Robinson and Sepultura made a great team back in 1996 as I've always dug the earthiness of that album. This time around it sounds as if Ross showed up to the proceedings drunk on cooking sherry. There is such a sloppy and disheveled sound this time around that it really makes things feel rather tragic as a majority of the riffs and fluctuations are lost within the mix. One of the things that I've loved about the many post-Max Sep releases was the thick and flawless sound that they've harnessed. This time everything gives way to a rather unfortunate breakdown of their once winning formula. I'm sure that all parties involved were once again going for that earthy, "rustic" sound of old but something got fucked up in the process.

Riff-wise there are some winning moments throughout and the band's new drummer is a worthy successor to Igor Cavalera. I, unlike many, have never found fault with the vocals of Derek Green. I always felt that his performances were solid and came with the right amount of energy and projection as needed for the sort of music a band like Sepultura creates. besides, let's be totally fucking realistic here... Max Cavalera was NEVER a giant when it came to vocal precision and dominance.

With all that said, 'The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must be the Heart' is a good album slightly marred by a half-assed production. Great album cover, by the way!

The Way's Top Ten of 2013 (in no particular order)

Bolzer - Aura

Haven't been this stoked about a death metal band in quite some time, really. I know the big cool way to describe evil sounding death metal these days is to call it "blackened" death (total fucking barf), but for my money this is straight up evil death metal. Everything from the morose and majestic tremolo picking throughout down to the Bolt Thrower-ish chug of 'Wolfshook', this album is a mind-blasting reminder of what could be.




Blut aus Nord - What Once Was... Liber III

I can only assume that this -ep- is one big giant FUCK YOU to the fags that threw a temper tantrum and pissed their diapers over the band's 777 trilogy because this motherfucker is pure evil! This is quite possibly the band's most vicious sounding material since The Work Which Transforms God. Great stuff and a reminder that this band has lost nothing.





Saturnalia Temple - Impossibilium

Nifty little two song -ep- of occult doom to hold you over until the next Electric Wizard comes barreling 'round the bend. That or album #2 from Saturnalia Temple themselves! At the rate we're going, don't hold your breath for either.







Psicomagia - Psicomagia

Stupidely delicious psych-prog from Astra's Brian Ellis. For me, this is far superior to his main band.










Vista Chino - Peace

Josh who? 











Holy Mount - Alpic

Picking up where 'We Fell From the Sky' left off, there isn't much "progression" from that album as 'Alpic' is more of a honing of skills. Fine by me. If you got a good thing goin' on, why fuck with the ingredients? 








Situs Magus - La Grand Oeuvre

Yet ANOTHER insanely awesome black metal band from France! What more needs to be said?










A.M.S.G. - Anti-Cosmic Tyranny

Weirdo "old style" black metal with jazz sections (?!) who are apparently "really into" Satanism. I couldn't give a fuck less. As long as the music jams... and it does!








Melt-Banana - Fetch

Who knew experimental grindcore with a healthy dollap of pop sensibilities would sound so fucking good? Well, I did! But that's only because Melt-Banana have been kicking my ass for well over a decade. Now if only C.S.S.O. would get off of their asses and make good on the promise of 'Diversion of Former Customary Trite Composition'!







SubRosa - More Constant Than the Gods

I'll be honest with ya... this can be downright boring at times, but... when this shit gets good, prepare for your head to freeze, crack and explode!

Antediluvian -vs- Mitochondrion -vs- Aevangelist

I can't say that I've been completely bowled over by the ocean of old school inspired 'black/war/children-of-Incantation' bands that have been flooding the underground for the last few years. Try as I have, there always seems to be some key ingredient that was spaced out during the mixing process. Whatever the case may be, many of these bands lack that one thing that their idols had in spades and that's 'riff charisma'. Sure, they totally have the "blasphemous & evil" thing down pat but when you strip all that away all you have is a handful of lame riffs that I'm pretty sure could have been trumped by a four year old amputee with Down's Syndrome.

I've tried many, many times to get into some of these bands due to the ridiculous amount of hype that surrounds them. I've oft-times wondered if I'm lacking the insight to whatever it is that seems to have everyone else enthralled. Last night, after drinking a few cups of coffee, I decided to once and for all dive into the confines of this new and blackened age.

Without further adieu...

The thing with Antediluvian is, that aside from the vocals there really isn't all that much to lure me in here. The guitar sound is rather on the pussy side of the fence (not a big fan of the jacked up tuning thing) and serves as a puzzling and ultimately awkward contrast to the behemoth slush-monster that is the vocalist. The riffs themselves are somewhat reminiscent of black metal, particularly those that are "strummed" or plucked, rather, in an attempt at being "avant-garde" or whatever the fuck which to me is just about as gay as gay can be. The fact of the matter is that, despite the technique these riffs are being manufactured through, the end result is totally fucking bland and serves more as a vehicle to annoy rather than enlighten.

When listening to Aevangelist I was extremely bummed when I realized that beneath the mass of  screaming souls lies a boring and sub-standard riff-sequence that sounds completely out of place. It really sucks because I actually like when bands use effects to accompany the more traditional usage of guitar/drums/bass. It seems like more time was invested in the use of effects rather than writing cool riffs. Again, the riffs just are not here. With all the praise these two bands have garnished I'm beginning to think that the government poisoned the drinking water with dum-dum juice.

The vocals are so-so. They don't outright suck but they aren't so great as to deviate me from the realization that I am in the midst of a rather ho-hum affair when listening to Aevangelist.

While I wouldn't say that everything going on with them is award winning, Mitochondrion makes it a bit more difficult for me to find fault with. The vocals are of the low-end/brute force variety and the riffs are plentiful and mighty with only a mere handful being tossed into the pot labeled 'I could do without'.

Overall, there's nothing wrong with all of these bands doing what they're doing. I mean, I'd rather see that than an influx of crunkcore or something as equally demeaning.