• SHRT REVWS • This condensed version of short(er) reviews focuses on releases arriving in the first week of September covering death/groove metal, power thrash metal, traditional heavy metal, stoner/doom rock, black/death metal and thrash metal. // In an attempt to be more conversational these are more easygoing and casual than longform reviews, so relax and think for yourself. — If you find something you dig go tell the band on social media and support them with a purchase! If you’d like your music reviewed, read the FAQ and send promos to: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

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This second EP from Kildare, Ireland-based quintet GRAVE SERMON kicks off stabbing right at a thrashing Morbid Angel-esque pulse, resembling the groove metal inflected side of death metal in the mid-90’s as they carry on through these increasingly gnarled and tightly woven pieces. The basis of their inspiration seems to be a combination of death-thrash metal, or just classic death metal grooves, and maybe somewhat less grindcore compared to their prior EP though we do get a chunk of that bouncier riffing on “Vial of Wrath”. The vocals here are somewhat surprising in the sense that they lead with a Ben Falgoust-esque rasp most of the time but give it a bit more gut here and there for a slight amount of nuance. At about twenty minutes and presented without a great deal of variation beyond a couple of mid-paced moments this is a reasonable taste of their gig but it wore on me quick as a grinding and grooving deal without any real direction applied. There is a sort of in-the-pocket feeling to the mid-paced and somewhat technical grooves of “Preordained” and that’d be where I’d direct folks for a best first impression.

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A deep underground legend and a somewhat commonly bootlegged and/or compiled tape depending on the decade ‘Eternal Sea‘ is a surprisingly well-formed and inspired demo recorded circa 1988 by way of Split, Croatia-borne power/speed metal band WITCHCRAFT. There is a solid corpse of full-length album buried in the dust and cobwebs here where the distinct qualities of this band might’ve been genius in the hands of a great producer and a decent budget… but here today you’ll have to be keen to the late 80’s demo tape level sound. The collective effect is over the top in the way that Artillery were early on, though we could point to early Agent Steel (“Burn Witch”) and maybe Holy Terror in terms of traditional heavy metal vocals meeting up with heavier riffcraft (see: “Seventh Sabbath”). This is most essential for folks seeking thrash metal obscurities who also lean into the power-thrash metal dynamic.

The swaggering lead guitars on “Sinful Nun”, the droning keyboards on “Pray to Die”, the grinding guitar tone on “Den of Vice” when its ballad level chill stirs up to thrash… There are many great details here which help these recordings stand out but we’ll have to focus on the obvious things that’re a bit rough, such as the programmed drums without any real kick to them and the degraded tone of some of the guitar performances. I appreciate the authentic demo result here and the strange personality managed despite the adversity these songs met in execution. This allows for a strange brew of power-thrashing vocals, occasionally mind-bending speed metal riffcraft and an audibly set bass guitar tone which make for a recording which has its own estranged presence, a certain something which suits the darker lyrical content.

Otherwise this particular new edition collects the entire recording session, all ten songs, and puts it on a 12″ vinyl in a special edition. While I can’t speak the physical product I will say that this tape stuns with a big vocal performance and plenty of riffs up front but really makes its presence known within the flow of the album and I’d say the three additional songs make it feel all the more substantial. An important archive for folks who find value in secreted or lost dark gems.

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Chrysoupolis, Greece-based quintet MALLEVS pulls together a group of talent from their northeastern regional scenery for a distinctly traditional approach to heavy metal, of course rooted in the 80’s paradigm but with some deviation into power metal style harmonies and some thrashing riffs when called for. ‘The Hammer‘ is not a wild deviator or a different spin on heavy metal, it is a pure and loud record which slowly develops its more clever machinations without deviating from a melodic style familiar to folks who’ve been following the NWOTHM fare since the early-to-mid 2000’s. While there are not off-color slip ups or terrible choices made along the way there are only a few truly exciting songs among the lot here with “Revenge Comes Riding” bringing a catchier swing and heavier cut to its main arrangement as these folks they can surely bring an anthem when called for. Otherwise the way “Black Abyss” develops feels familiar but still full of their own personality as one of the more ‘epic’ feeling songs on the full listen. Later on in the album they pick up the speed (“Astral Plains”) and while I enjoy this side of their sound the mid-to-slow paced epic heavy metal pieces are the ones that’d proven the most captivating over time. In some sense this is just an average traditional metal record with a few modern touches and could be reduced as such but I’d enjoyed this one, finding it had the right spirit with a solid sound and plenty of great guitar work throughout. Great album artwork as well.

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U.S./Canada-based heavy/doom metal band CASTLE arrived upon the public consciousness at exactly the right time, breaking through with a couple of early 2010’s full-length albums when traditional doom metal, occult heavy rock, and such were receiving their most fevered reaction in years. They’d stood out most to me on their second album ‘Blacklands‘ (2012) a record which’d had the Sabbath groove for days, a Motörhead tribute, and a gnarlier style of riffcraft that wasn’t the usual Pentagram-aped style that was so prevalent at the time. They were clearly inspired out the gates and their general art direction and performances were impressive as they’d appeared to ease back on the density of their songcraft over time. So, to build any real expectations for this album I’d recommend skating through their discography and getting a sense for where they’ve been and how the intensity of their sound had shifted over time. I wouldn’t consider ‘Evil Remains‘ a direct follow-up to ‘Deal Thy Fate‘ (2018) in any direct sense but they’ve lost none of the pushed-forth traditional heavy metal step found in their previous work, that said this record felt more chill and more often than expected and I suppose in a good way. Some of my favorite pieces here, “Deja Voodoo” and “100 Eyes” aren’t reaching for particularly complex guitar runs or anxious trips and instead present an almost too straightforward heavy/stoner rock feel on first pass. Still, they’ve not set aside the riff and Mat Davis‘ always high standards are still the major left hand steering the ship here for my own taste.

This record is fantastic, essential stuff for September, but I can’t get past how bad the album artwork is… it doesn’t fit the rest of their discography and looks like an upscaled and messed-with AI image. These days I assume if you can’t name the album artist it is probably AI generated, but I can’t confirm. The aesthetic won’t matter to most but for me is is an ugly misstep from a band with an exceptional aesthetic in every other case. Not a big deal, doesn’t effect my enjoyment of this fine record but I figured I’d give my two cents.

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A molten admixture of 90’s Morbid Angel-level grooves, a satisfyingly clangorous guitar tone, and viciously thrashing blackened affect this New Zealand-based occult death metal duo make an effectively molten first impression on this debut EP. Though you might not have heard of some of their associated bands IFRIT sports folks involved in class acts Exordium Mors and Dark Divinity and though they’re not sporting such high-reaching production values the riffs are there and the general sound design is unique enough to make this one worth returning to. These songs are densely arranged, volatile and ‘ready built upon a sinister foundation of brooding death metal grooves and while the whole thing threatens to be one-note I’d found it thrill enough for the twenty minutes it’d set itself in. The Von cover is a bit more loose-necked than the other songs on here but otherwise they’ve curated a compelling and elite item that bodes well for whatever comes next.

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Solitary are a Lancashire, England area thrash metal band who’ve been around since 1994 and remain eternally driven by vocalist/guitarist Richard Harrington‘s ideation of Bay Area thrash metal which is most clearly inspired by the late 80’s reach of Testament and of course Metallica and such. They’ve had thier own take on this style down for years and generally base their sound around a 90’s metal paradigm where solid mid-paced grooves often center around big down-stroked riffs. While I generally prefer this approach to thrash over the odd melodic death riff infused styles of neo-thrash it ends up reading like an all-shotgun kinda gig, I’d like them to switch it up with a minigun or rocket launcher once in a while but they’re sticking with the good ole destructive quality of the double-barrel. It works and I enjoyed it the first couple of rips through but I’ve the same issue with all of their records in that they’re all a bit one note, its a hard-ass note with some interesting lyrics but the lack of variation was grating after some time. I’d say go for the CD version in this case solely because their cover of “Beat the Bastards” is pretty decent.

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