Only four songs and with a mastering that leaves a lot to be desired. But man am I digging this motherfucker!

Wall of the Eyeless are just two chaps, SL and Simon. The first is Russian, lives in Sweden, plays bass and all guitars and grunts around a bit. The latter is Swedish and bangs the bongos. They found each other only a few months ago and already came up with a first demo, downloadable for free (‘name your price’) on BandCamp. Worth your while!

My first encounter with Sadistik Forest was through a sample of the above album, which raised my interest. However, I had to beg Niek for it in order to get Death, Doom, Radiation in my lap, but it has been worth it, because this album is a tiny little gem in the big sea of Death Metal releases.

This album delivers us a pounding old-school Death sound, which gets me bouncing up and down each and everytime I spin Death, Doom, Radiation. The style of Thrash-infused old school Death Metal isn’t new, but the songs are memorable and this is actually a really sophisticated record. With Sadistik Forest, it’s all in the little details, as the awesome logo shows too.

When thinking of the recent rise in Deathcore acts over the past few years, most of them can be pinpointed to predictable areas on the map, namely in the US or the UK. One of the countries which doesn’t exactly spring to mind for a Deathcore act to be found is Belarus, but sure enough newcomers BFI prove that metal is ubiquitous and just as clear in mind as when it started off 40 years ago. The band’s name stands for “Belorussian Focking Idiots”, for reasons unclear until you give their début EP For The Brotherhood a spin. Placing themselves somewhere between Emmure and Parkway Drive with touches of proper Death Metal, they cut a clear and straight path in the allotted 20-minute, 7-track slot, with plenty of energy to burn.

The intro starts off promisingly with a melodic riff before kicking into a pseudo-breakdown, before an amusing cry of “Are you ready, fuckers? Let’s go!” from vocalist Neganov. The first proper track, “Last Night Together With My Friends”, lets the listener know the band’s intentions fairly quickly: breakdown-heavy chugging with some melodic noodling from Gleb Kondratyuk and Grischenko, backed up by a rhythm comprised of Volchek’s surprisingly audible bass and (presumably brother) Oleg Kondratyuk on the tight drumming. The comparisons to Emmure are fairly inevitable, particularly on the title track, but then BFI will pull out a tapped solo or Gothenburg riff to lighten the mood, such as on my personal favorite “Nothing Is More To Come”, which also sports an echo of Suffocation after the intro. Finally, the band decide to pull out all the stops on “Open Up Wide”, introducing a hilarious audio sample of “Ah fockin’ ‘ate pikeys”*, a strong melodic lead for the chorus and an outro comprising of a choir section.

There are many bands that can be lauded for their innovation and eccentricity, able to meld together seemingly opposing styles into a unique blend that feels more like an adventure than a collection of songs. Unfortunately, UK groove metallers Place Of The Hidden God have not quite reached this plateau, although certainly not for want of trying. The band describe the album as a journey fully open to interpretation both lyrically and musically, symbolizing struggle against control either as a personal or government-wide vendetta (appropriate enough in this current political climate). Taking two parts polyrhythmic rumbles of Meshuggah / The Ocean with one part Down / Lamb Of God, they tread the line between groovy Math Metal and Djent with their début album In Liberating the Conscience, We Free Ourselves from Restraint. Go read/watch!

Veil of Maya are new to the palette of Deathcore outfits I know (which isn’t too big). While Eclipse is the longest piece of work I ever heard from a Deathcore act, the others being EP’s and single songs, it left me craving for more, which is bad in the case of an album.

Starting off, Veil of May were kind of thrown into my lap by James Montheit of Hold Tight! PR, so they kind of crashed into my life. What first caught my eye was the running time and the number of songs, I mean, how can you write so many songs, and have such a short album? With only 28 minutes of playing time, it hangs in between of an LP and an EP, and there is not a lot of meat to be taken on. But that didn’t keep me from jumping in, and after all, I found Eclipse to be pretty good.

Sniff a smelly armpit and scratch your sack. Have a sip from the dead beer you’re still holding in your hand. It’s time to rise and fuckin’ shine people. Smash play on your stereo and bust that hangover with a shot of cheap scotch and burb. Louder please. If that’s what a typical morning looks like for you, I’ll bet you’ll like Burning Hatred too.

Why so stereotypical? Well, because quite frankly my fellow Dutchmen from Burning Hatred are what you’d call the stereotypical Death Metal outfit. Couple of unfit, longhaired guys that are just a bit too old for their trade. Got stuck in time twenty years ago, judging by their fashion statement, and it’s probably the last time they saw a barbershop from the inside too. Or a razorblade. Except the drummer maybe. Drummers are the only band members that ever grow up and have kids. Two daughters probably and they pull dad a little more down into reality. It’s brilliant such stereotypes actually exist.

Why? Because it allows all those other Metalheads who’ve left their head in 1992 to stay right where they are. It’s also fantastic that these chaps can be themselves without caring a hairy rat’s arse about what anyone else thinks. It’s why I love Metal! Anyfuck, Burning Hatred isn’t even that old a band; they started in 2002, did a couple of demos and shit and then had a massive exodus of members. Four out of five members took off, leaving only guitarist Martin to pull the cart. Didn’t take long before he found himself four new band members though, and they quickly set out to do an EP, titled Unleashed, which was released in early 2011. Let’s review!

We’ve been getting more and more Metal from the Eastern regions of Europe lately. And the good thing is that often we’re surprised by the standard of the material. This one’s no different. It’s a Ukrainian outfit called Ambivalence, based out of the city of Lviv. Silicone Magic is their third full-length since forming up in 2001. It’s from 2010 and so a bit old already, but this thing was a pleasant surprise!

When I first picked up the album I had a brief moment of ”hm, nice hot chick”, only to then discover the shriveled old tits hanging from that same chick’s body. She’s holding a pair of silicone boob-stuffings and is wearing some proper bling. Looked into the whole thing a bit more before I even started playing the record and it turns out this album’s concept is a complaint to society’s superficial focus on appearance, or in any case to those that are led by this. That’s an original topic for a Metal album, and it turns out also the music is rather original in itself.

Gilead Media has hooked us up with a presser for the forthcoming 12″ vinyl release from Brooklyn, New York’s Mutilation Rites. This release is titled I Am Legion and will be issued as a one sided 12″ containing three songs with the second side being an etching of the cover art, if I understand correctly.

Mutilation Rites was formed in 2009 by Michael Dimmitt (guitar) and Justin Ennis (drums) and after line-up struggles has finally stabilized with the addition of George Paul (vocals/guitar) and Iain Deaderick (bass). The presser describes the sound as “filthy Black Metal with a heavy dose of Thrash”. Let’s see how accurate that is.

Freshly formed Canadian no-nonsense Death Metal outfit Xyphos recently self-released a short, two-song single into Metaldom. It’s the second thing they release after formation date, somewhere in 2010. What Comes Before was a four-song EP, released in early 2011. A Casual Stroll through the Lunatic Asylum – which I think is a brilliant title and highly descriptive of the slightly sense-absorbing atmosphere that characterizes the two songs – followed in late January of this year.

The four men from Toronto take the bulk of their inspiration from classic DM bands, including Cannibal Corpse, Immolation, Death, Gorguts and Morbid Angel and the result is something that sounds like a fist in the teeth: brutal, shattering and with complete disregard for feelings and emotions. Fans of the old-school Death Metal sound will definitely find something they like here.

Over the past time, I’ve spend my time listening to a gift from our Argentinian aunts; Delphoz are the latest South American gem presented by Las Tias Records. With their debut, laden with some high-energy Thrashy Groove Metal, the guys are ready to show the world what they’re worth.

Manifesto stands for energetic Groove Metal, it’s an angry declaration. The connection with Lamb of God and Five FInger Death Punch is quickly made, but if one digs a little deeper into the album, one will find that this connection holds little ground. Delphoz bring us music that is much more diverse, dynamic and driving.