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| Cover art by Thorncross. |
Belgian black/death outfit, Possession, stormed out of the hellfire gates last year with their His Best Deceit demo. While not anything overly original, it was well done and convincing enough for me to put them on my radar for future releases. Well, they haven't wasted any time and are back with a new 2 song EP, titled Anneliese. Without giving up an ounce of their furious nature, they demonstrate how restraint can make your music even more potent. They've mixed it up with slower tempos and catchier material while the reverberating demonic vocals are even more bombastic. I'm a huge stickler for the drum sound on most releases, and the very "live" feel and just that "slap" of the drum here really tickles my fancy. Very impressive.
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England's Binah released their debut album, Hallucinating in Resurrecture, in 2012. While I appreciated the style (old school death metal with the Entombed guitar tone) it wasn't something that ever stuck with me or made me want to break out for repeated listens. I enjoyed it, I just wasn't ga-ga. Which brings us to the new 12 minute EP, A Triad of Plagues. Definitely a step up from their past material. Far more memorable and a band that sounds much more comfortable with their style. They retained the same sound you heard on the debut, but refined it and made it just a wee hair less suffocating. Good to see a band 'up their game'.
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Furious Scandinavian-esque black metal from Greece. Septuagint reminds me of mid era Marduk. Lots of frantic blasting but with more tempo breaks than you would expect. This is where the band really makes their mark and separates themselves from just being another ferocious black metal blitzkrieg. And when they slow down you can hear the atmospheric guitar tone that almost has a post black metal feel to it. Don't be alarmed though as the material is neither of those two previously mentioned styles. If it makes you feel any better, there's a bassist in the band, but in typical black metal fashion, you can't even tell.
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| Artwork by Profanum. |
Metal Archives lists this as a demo. The band call it a promo. Bandcamp calls it an album. I'm going with EP as that suits this post. Raw, filthy, vicious, and bestial death metal from New Zealand. This sits somewhere between Heresiarch/Diocletian and Impetuous Ritual/Grave Upheaval. The production sounds like it was recorded in your garage in the early 90's, but that only adds to it charm. If you've never heard of any of the bands I just mentioned, I'd proceed with caution before listening. If those bands tickle your fancy, then Vesicant is another band to add to your 'must listen' list.