• MASSIVE REVIEWING CAPACITY • is our latest short review column focusing on stray quality releases a few times a month, or, roughly every two weeks depending on the current month’s release schedule. In an attempt to be more conversational these are easygoing and casual thoughts for the most part, so relax and think for yourself as I attempt to find something, anything to say about multitudes of new releases relevant to my interests. — If you find a record 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

---

After a thirteen year gap between full-lengths Zhytomyr, Ukraine-based technical/progressive thrash metal trio VIOLENT OMEN return with a fourth LP in ‘Locomotive of Chaos‘, a sublime exaggeration of their original intent which reflects the years between spent on related projects Bestial Invasion, Cosmic Jaguar, and Tria Prima. With guitarist/vocalist Floods exiting the band they’ve shuffled around duties and added guitarist and longtime collaborator Evgeniy Maestro for this record. As a result there are more Atheist-isms kicking around at the outset with tracks like “The 24 Faces of Lunacy” emphasizing speed and a righteously kinetic bass guitar snap. This is a best foot forward for my taste as it gives a sort of maniac direction for these folks to stew within, creating finger-wrenching scalar shred and lunging ‘Unquestionable Presence‘ extended grooves which impress off the jump. Later on “Path of Illumination” bears a bit more of their Sadus-esque ooze and their more direct prog-accessed touch shows up on parts of “Shared Sky” but overall you’ve gotten the idea that they’re pushing extreme tech thrash virtuosity without escaping the ‘old school’ mind palace. It is a remarkably well-formed return sure to stoke the brains of folks seeking ambitious underground tech-thrash.

---

Ferrara, Italy-based thrash metal quartet GAME OVER offer a seventh full-length album in ‘When Darkness Falls‘, a continuation of their melodic Bay Area inspired sound birthed from the neothrash movement in the late 2000’s. With three albums released in the space of roughly three years this prolific period of their history continues to lean into a sort of alt-metal braced Testament-trained brand of thrash which blurs the line between street-level stuff and more commercial arena sized pomp, an early 90’s coded ideal. Part of this comes by way of longtime bassist/vocalist Renato Chiccoli exiting the band a few years ago and new vocalist Danny Schiavina taking over on this and the previous LP, obviously bringing a very different presence and diction to their work. Taking in this album as a sort of interpretation of popular classic thrash aesthetics with its own melodic ambitions it ends up being kinda solid for what it is, even if it sounds like a lot of early-to-mid 90’s records from thrash bands unwilling (or unable) to take on the trends offered by the black album and groove metal. Not really my thing in terms of thrash metal uptake but a pretty seamlessly crafted record from this long active band.

---

Lead by longtime maestro Ralf Hauber (Heads for the Dead, Rotpit) Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany-based death metal band REVEL IN FLESH first hit the underground death metal consciousness in the early 2010’s, taking on the influx of Swedish ‘old school’ sounds with a few exceptional records. Known for hulking production values and a keener than usual grasp of the sound the band returns for a sixth full-length album, ‘Flesh for the Kult of Death‘, premising its focus as a call back to the early days, basically their F.D.A. Records/Cyclone Empire output. As skeptical as I was heading in this turns out be what they’ve basically delivered: Chainsaw sounds, sinister harmonies, and all manner of bizarrely strewn leads ensure this record carries the stink of old horror-death without leaving behind their cavernous Swedeath inspiration for a second. While I’m not sure this amounts to a bold argument for it being particularly standout in the HM-2 stomping realm this record should prove a welcome return for existing fandom, work which holds itself to a higher than average standard for composition, pacing and overall curation. “Hellhole” kinda drags, the Crowbar cover is just ok, and Side B in general wavers between quality and quantity but overall these folks output as worthy as ever.

---

Italian ‘old school’ death metal inspired quartet NECROCENE approach their debut full-length album in embrace of the primal jutting of late 80’s/early 90’s thrashing Morrisound-backed realm amidst themes of sociopolitical unrest. You’ll hear nods to pre-’93 Death on pieces like “Tempestarii” and title track “Scumocracy” among others but they throw a broader net over that realm as the relatively short length of the album plays out. The band’s experience in the crossover/thrash realm kinda sparks up on a few riffs here and there, such as the early Obituary-esque “Human Lithification”, but they rarely rely on pure speed to make their point within succinct and reasonably dynamic pieces. The straight forward nature of their work paired with a great main rhythm guitar tone should be enough to pull ears in, though the full ‘Scumocracy‘ experience is brief and doesn’t necessarily nail itself in mind otherwise.

---

Though I’d enjoyed the evolutionary third album from Stuttgart, Germany-based drone/post-metal quartet BEES MADE HONEY IN THE VEIN TREE, ‘Aion‘ in review back in 2023 as a capture of liminal, estranged spaces it’d all but slipped my mind in approach of the sea-change found on this latest release. ‘In Between Strides‘ is suggested as a delve into “shoegaze and haunted folk” and melodicism in addition to their core tendencies. These elements work pretty well standing in for the slow thumping post-metal wash of prior records though the heaviness one’d expect is almost entirely dropped for shimmering, slow throbbing dreariness exemplified on pieces like “Clutching at Straws”. The shoegazing side of the band is solid enough though the folken ideas (“Respite”) aren’t as successfully integrated into the full listen. Closer “Return Precipice” ultimately serves the growling, distortion fed reap of their psych/post-metal edge and this kinda makes the experience whole with a ramping destination to cap things off.

---

HANGING GARDEN is a solo progressive death metal project from Yonkers, New York-based musician Dylan Cruz who is best known for his band Scumbag and time as guitarist/vocalist in Noxis. Now arriving upon his second full-length statement in ‘Dream Death‘ appears to focus on melding introspective intimacy with intricately cracked through prog-death rhythms. Carrying a host of modern sensibilities into a homebrewed feeling event their work remains densely active but also sort of post-hardcorish without fully dropping into deathcore action (“Dreamwoven”). The trade between finessed attempts at emotional resonance and their brutal, sometimes technical side isn’t always an equitable exchange but this offers a sort of bedroom metal, or, self-built ambition to the whole thing. I’d felt the wheels started to fall off a bit around “Carambola” in terms of riff ideas and structures collapsing into cacophony but some of the more melodic rants on the second half of the album pulled me back in here and there (“Tears of Lustful, Secret Desire”). With more room to breathe in terms of pacing and a human drummer in tow I think there is a shitload of potential here.

---

Szczecin, Poland-based thrashing black metal trio GAROTA offer throttled and gnashing hymns to nihil and black magickry on this latest EP, following closely beyond their most recent full-length in style and focus. ‘Strąceni w Ciemność‘ casts the listener into spiraling darkness using a fairly simple black metal informed palette with crisply cut, thunderous production values offering some additional depth to otherwise straight forward slow-trampling narration amidst a few surges of speed. The big standout here for my taste was probably “Korona Zepsucia” via its melodic black sluices and most coherent thread of riff but the whole EP is no less effective in its tear through the dark. If you’re not already familiar with the band’s work this is a finely rendered, well-contained showcase of what they do best.

---

Lévis, Quebec-based thrash metal quartet WODOS only formed a couple of years ago in 2024 but they’re already readied up with a self-released debut LP later this month. Featuring some of the folks from death metal crew Bleeding Remains these folks are obviously out to have a good time with it but that doesn’t stop ‘From the Grave‘ from entertaining true underground tribute to mid-80’s stuff from Sacrifice, Razor and Slayer among others. The raw and real punkish underground thrash they’re cutting here might not appear all that serious (band name is Sodom upside down and backwards) but their attack recalls something closer to ‘The Full Treatment‘-era Aggression if they were a bit more swinging. This one should be a draw for fans of obscure thrash and of course stuff showing great love for Canadian speed/thrash metal. The sped up “Breaking the Law” kinda works, “Head Dead” is kind of a drain on the pacing of the record, and the coolest thing here is probably the ~30 second grind slap through “Bobby Snatch” but the whole thing taken in is a good time and a decent debut.

---