Epitome of Torture- Sodom Review

Epitome of Torture - Sodom

Band name- Sodom
Album name- Epitome of Torture
Origin- Gelsenkirschen , Germany
Label- Steamhammer
Website- sodomized.info
Rate- 5/5


I'm going to state a fact about this review and about myself in general before I start. I'm not one of those guys who just loves being unique for the sake of being unique. I'm not one to take an album everybody likes, yell “this is shit!” and post a status on Facebook about it to see how many comments i'll get. But with that said, when I found out that the new Sodom album, Epitome of Torture, was only on a few lists of “top of 2013,” I was shocked and even a little disappointed. Being the big Sodom fan that I am, (in my top 3 bands, ever) I wasn't expecting massive, all engorging bellowing of support for the new album. But hell, I even saw Evile's Skull on more lists!

Alas, if i'm to be the one guy going nay against the masses, I guess this is it. For me, Sodom's Epitome of Torture was not only a great album, but one that saw the Gelsenkirchen trio step into refreshing and interesting territory. Now, as a fan, when I first received those ominous declerations by Tomas “Angelripper “ Such (vocals/bass) that the album will be much more melodic, my mind started racing (you can spot that same fear in my Watain review.) What does this mean? Are they going to try to sound like Metallica? Are they going to make a (yes it wasn't out at the time, sue me) Super Collider-esque Sodom album? Then I reassured myself by listening to their previous albums, and my heart was given some comfort. They simply couldn't go in the Megadeth direction, Angelripper's voice simply wouldn't be able to handle it.

Luckily, Sodom took the meaning of melody in an entire different direction. Rather than make the whole album more melodic as a whole, and kind of tone their direction that way, they simply made the songs snappier and more memorable. This can already be seen in the opener for the album, “My Final Bullet.” A happy song about suicide on the battlefield (not the game.) Basically, the song itself is a Thrash stomper, but rather than slow down at the chorus for a “melodic chorus” of some sort, they simply keep going into a super catchy hook of sorts, with this riff that keeps momentum but lets Angelripper's vocals sink in.



In the last few Sodom albums, you could see that they were trying to find a clever way to integrate a less primal level of musicality to their music. With songs like “The Art of Killing Poetry” standing as particular milestones in the way, they found a way to do it organically, genuinely and most of all, to not compromise any sort of headbangability (bam, Webster dictionary will owe me compensations for new words) along the way. But again, during the album, there are points that are melodic, but they are not the main event, and are not the majority of the album.

The following song, S.O.D.O.M, and Epitome of Torture are a masterclass in what Sodom is known for doing best. The uncompromising Thrash Sodom is so world renowned for returns in these two, and doesn't let off the gas for a minute. S.O.D.O.M (no, they didn't actually come up for words for the acronym) being the faster of the two tracks, is kind of the headline that is supposed to tell the listener that they haven't in any way, shape, or form deviated from course. Meanwhile, the title track, Epitome of Torture (fun fact, Epitome is pronounced as epi-to-my, which Angelripper mispronounces on the album as epi-tome) shows off Sodom's groovier capabilities. Don't get me wrong, this is still faster than your daddy's car, but the chorus kind of drops into this groovy midsection that bulldozes through the way.

The album goes then into the songs Stigmatized and Cannibal. Which much like the two opening tracks, show the two parts of this album intertwined. If you made the recording on Stigmatized shittier, and put Angelripper's balls back up when they were when he was a teenager, it could have easily been on earlier Sodom albums. Again, not in a bad way,but in a way that shows them cruising from power to power, much like Slayer being both melodic and powerful on Seasons of the Abyss. Meanwhile Cannibal is easily one of the more melodic songs on the album, with both a melodic opening and bridges, while never ditching the upper mid-tempo.

Well, it's been a quick ride but we're already on the second part of the album! Insert here the first promotional track released by Nuclear Blast off the album, Shoot Today, Kill Tomorrow. I don't know whether I grinded it out of proportion or it's just not as incredibly strong as the other tracks on the album, but it's probably my least favorite track on the album. Don't get me wrong, it's not a shitty song in any which way, it's just the only song on the album that you could really catalog as “ok, another Sodom song.” Not bad, not medium, not amazing, just another Sodom song. Like pizza, even if it's not the best one you ever ate, it's still pizza, and that’s already better than many other foods.

Then the album proceeds to cascade into the second part of the album, which is my favorite one. After a strong first half that finished off with Shoot Today, Kill Tomorrow, comes an even stronger second half which really blew winds in my Sodom boat's sails (yes, I have a Sodom boat.) Invocating the Demons is less war focused, and is alongside Into The Skies of War, harkening to Angelripper's statements and the organic melodic vibe on this album. It took a little bit of Kreator's antics on Phantom Antichrist, yet it didn't inject the whole dose of NWOBHM into their veins (feel free to see this as a Tapping the Vein reference,) only half.

Katjuscha, the song that followed is, alongside Into The Skies of War, one of my two favorite tracks on the album. The subject matter of the song and the grittiness with which it is portrayed is a part of what I really like about Sodom classics such as Agent Orange and Nuclear Winter. While it is not as melodic as the latter, the immortal chorus of “Katjuscha, clawing at the eyes of god!” simply hit that same spot in my heart that movies like Full Metal Jacket do. Which is the absolute opposite spot which Into The Skies of War touches. Probably the most melodic track on the album, is a really epic headbanger that reminds you of those less realistic and more grand in scale war movies where you see fiery projectiles dashing through the skies and onto the poor opposing army. If we are to continue the metaphor, the awesome guitar melodies and riffage laid down by none other than trusty guitarist Bernd “Bernemann” Kost, alongside the vocals of Angelripper, gives the same sensation as does the Flight of the Valkyries scene in Apocalypse Now. Vietnam references with Sodom, now 11 albums after Agent Orange (well to be fair, only 4 after M-16.)

Well, closer, Tracing the Victim seems to start very melodically and slow paced, it climbs into a stomping beast, and a fitting end to this album. I imagine it as somewhat the credit song of the album, has a little bit of everything without making it an 11 minute fuck fest of “lets play every shtick we know.” This track is by no means the raw brutality of S.O.D.O.M or Stigmatized, but has a little bit of everything to close this album.

In all and all, I greatly enjoyed the new Sodom offering. Maybe i'm just a sucker for them, maybe I picked a tack in it that others have not, or maybe it was just largely under the radar as they're smaller in the the USA than their counterparts. Who knows, but what I do know as that i'm already rooting for the next album, while confidently saying that since April 2013, this mother fucker has not left my regular play list. Well, you could look to your left for the score...but I bet you already know it by this review and the fact it's in my top 3 of this year.

Maveth- Coils of the Black Earth Review

Maveth - Coils of the Black Earth

Band- Maveth
Album- Coils of the Black Earth
Origin- Helsinki, Finland
Mark- 4/5
Label- Dark Descent Records









I sure hope this gets posted after my Sorcery “Arrival At 6” review because this can be the ying to it’s yang. The good to it’s bad. The old Metallica to it’s new. Well, but where are my manners? First let me speak of what we’re dealing with here. Remember the time Finland was crucial to Death Metal? Me neither, but Finland was one of those countries that when Death Metal came out of it, it kicked your ass back to second grade, wherein your priest molested your ass back into your mom’s womb. From Demigod, to Demilich to Abhorrence, while not as popular as their Swedish counterpart , they always offered a unique and innovative listening experience. But now fast forward 20 years, and what’s new and brewing within Finland? Well, much, but it certainly has not become the Death Metal mainstay that is Sweden. While a Metal capital for all things such as Folk Metal (ala Korpiklaani, Turisas, Finntroll, Moonsorrow, Ensiferum, and every other band that can hold a myriad of acoustic instruments) , Black Metal (ala Behexen, Impaled Nazarene, Horna, Sargeist, Archgoat and any other band who can’t afford proper amps/guitars/heating system) and of course, probably their biggest export, Melodic Death/Power Metal ( Children of Bodom, Norther, Wintersun and any other bands who’s guitarist can shred and wail at the same time.)

But oddly enough, this gem of a Blackened Death Metal band comes from Finland. Who are our brave troubadours? None other than the Hebrew named Maveth! (because fuck yeah adding an H to Hebrew words makes perfect sense! Just ask Katatonia…Elohim Crystal Meth) While I disagree with the odd Scandinavian way of adding h’s to Hebrew words (ala Meshuggah, Elohim Meth, ETC ETC,) this band takes rough, ugly, dirty (no, I’m not listing adjectives regarding Devon Townsend’s visage) and uncompromising BDM and does it right. If Arrival At 6 brought nothing new to the table, Coils of the Black Earth does everything to both be oldschool and refreshing at the same time. Right off from the samples of rain on “The Devourer Within The Gulf” (Saddam Hussein-Ben) one can see the beginning of the V’s on his Metal checklist . Dark? Yes, moody? Fuck yes, Evil? To quote Nergal, “blacker than the devil’s ass” and we’re only on the first song. What I like about this band is that their versatile. The band manages to install their grim, vicious brand of DM both on the slower mammoth like tracks, or the fast blastbeaty ones such as the aforementioned opener.

Hymn To Azazel is a mix of both. Mostly sticking to the super fast core of this album, by this track you can somewhat feel the line the band draws between Black and Death Metal. How so? Secret, nananana, you can’t make me tell. No but, you can notice the DM styling via the distortion and drumming which is very reminiscent of oldschool Euro Death with some very Taake/Marduk esque riffs and screechy guitars , with the Slayer a-melodic solos throw in. Sounds familiar? Of course, but Maveth again, gives it there own twist. In the modern world of oldschool DM where pretty much everything has been tried (or declared poser ;) ) it’s refreshing to see band with a taste. This is why, at least I think, bands like Maveth and Necrowretch, who are on their first release, garner so much success.

Remember how I mentioned slower hulking tracks? The first of these is Hymn To The Black Matron (black matron…Oprah Winfrey?) it’s a slow track, with those churning blastbeats and guitars that smell of evil. It gets faster at times, but it really somewhat reminds me of a more evil, a bit more Swedish, lower tone Asphyx slow track. And hey ho we’re in the last 4 tracks!

Stating Eritcho is of the more melodic tracks on the album, while nothing to gawk at and yell Metalcore, the guitar line is memorable and the vocal patterns are reminiscent of Nile/Behemoth to me. It is also one of my favorite tracks on the album, so you know it’s quality (I am the say all and end all, the alpha and the omega.) Before the last two parter track of the album, there’s a quote that goes “dream, dream so the day may come” (major Barack Obama points to you there) that then kicks into the Blackened Death Doomy goodness of this track. Definitely the slowest track on this album, the power of the bands American vocalist “Christbutcher” (couldn’t find his real name anywhere.) While he supplies good vocals all along the album, his Ross Dolan (Immolation) esque vocals really shine on this one. The album ends on a two parter named Terminus( no, not Where Death is Most Alive.) So they basically took my “oh my fucking god burn it with fire” hatred for “throwing all our tricks at one song and making it super long” and took it to a wholeeee new level. But by doing this, it feels like two more normal tracks. Which are a fitting close to this album. Grim, uncompromising , and gritty as the rest of it.

Burn the cats and draw the pentagrams, it’s one of those kind of nights.  

Dim Aura - The Negation Of All Existence Review

The Negation of All Existence 

Band- Dim Aura
Album- The Negation of All Existence
Origin-  Tel Aviv, Israel
Score- 7.8/10 (Please note that on my personal blog, I will use a 0-10 system with  incremental decimals so the number will reflect my opinion straight of the bat for those in a hurry)

I'm usually very skeptical whenever I get to review a CD from the local scene in Israel. Fact is, what was once a very strong ground for the various forms of extreme Metal has slowly dwindled to a few strong acts and many ultimately forgettable flavor-of-the-moment bands. I see a name that catches my eye, or something that excites, and ultimately sigh as I find out it's nothing more than a Pantera knock off or another run of the mil core band of one sort or another. But every once in a while, a band on their debut release manages to catch that spark to become really interesting. A band manages to make way around all the pitfalls and shitty cliches of the Israeli Metal scene as to surmount the mountain and show that they defied odds by releasing something unique, not only here, but on a global scale.

Dim Aura, the new-ish Israeli Metal maestros have done just that. Without trepidation from Israel's large and powerful Black Metal legacy (early Salem, Tangorodrim and Azazel to name a few...) Dim Aura went on to create something special. Now what do I mean by special? I mean that it goes through a lot of boundaries and mashes a lot of different kinds of Black Metal, at least by the way I look at it. The influences are wide and varied, and this can be heard all throughout the 8 tracks of this album.



The first section of the album is marked by its diversity as well as by its quality. Right off the bat you can notice the organic recording style they went for with this album. This is by no stretch of the imagination early Norwegian Black Metal style recording, but it's also far from other much more polished productions in Black Metal, which marks as a big plus. Right off from Gods of the Undying Darkness and the Golden Tombs you can sense the sense of raw forcefulness the band has. This band is very far away from Magor and Winterhorde's symphonic and melodic Black Metal, this is very grim, gritty, kick you in the face Black Metal that you should show your ID for and get your ears checked before listening to and after.

What I appreciate also it the sense of Punk that is married with some of the tracks of the album. The tortured vocals of Haim "H." Guseinov alongside the midtempo riffery of one Niv "Ferum" Mazkereth come together for a package that is reminiscent of Sweden's Shining or Carpathian Forest , especially on tracks such as Scarred Flesh Supremacy and Black Metal Genocide. This sense of rage is very nicely evened out by the deep sense of grandeur and melancholy on Thus Negating All Existence and Black Aeon.

But again, if Slayer makes a Jazz album, it would still sound like Slayer. Same here, there's hints of Punk, hints of DSBM, and hints of many other genres and sub genres of Black Metal, but in reality what you're getting all together is an uncompromising Black Metal trip. Dim Aura aren't here to play games, and thus, if your familiar with the grim opuses of Horna, early Behexen, Gorgoroth and Taake, you'll know where these guys are coming from.

And in short, there you have it. Dim Aura didn't try to reinvent the wheel, by the sure as hell gave it a bit of a polish, and some nice new rims. It's not revolutionary, and it's none of that new-age "pretty" Black Metal bullshit that is all the rage now. It's fucking honest, it's fucking brutal, and will bleed all the negativity out of you, so make sure to put a pillow on the other side of your head before you pull the trigger.