It’s weird, considering the name of this blog, but for some reason I’m not doing too many Death Metal reviews. I think I this is my second or third one, and to be precise, it’s my first Brutal Death Metal release. Exciting.

About half a month ago the boys themselves approach us via Facebook, and their description of “Death Grind / Black Metal / Melodic Brutality” appealed to me, so I took the job. At first though, I was hesitant as in my experience, Brutal Death Metal bands got fairly low grades. That is, in comparison to bands from other genres like Black Metal and Hardcore. However, when I first turned on this 17-minute long piece, I was quite surprised to hear something which grabbed me. Usually, I feel that in Brutal Death Metal, the heaviness is drowning out in its own blood, and together with this, my interest for the music. Corpse Filled Caskets does not contain the loudest riffing, but there is some really interesting drumming and riffing going on which, together with the witty dialogues in between make for an enjoyable quarter of an hour.

The boundaries of Doom-Death Metal has been stretched again, this time by Greek act Hedon Cries. Their self-labeled “Atmospheric Doom-Death” is not quite as funereal or elegiac as expected, and adds a much faster tempo than the genre implies. After releasing two albums since 2001, the band underwent new changes in the form of bassist Stathis Karoutis and vocalist Christos Aidonis, and adding Thanos Lois on keyboard. The band, as a result, has shifted styles slightly into a gloomier Melodeath approach, akin to Novembre’s and Sentenced’s lovechild, with several other smaller influences hidden within The End of the Path is Nigh.

The record kicks off in style with a speedy number; the pounding drums from Papadoulas and Sentenced-like guitar-work of Boufas and Kopsaftopoulos keep the rhythm whilst injecting some melancholic melody in the chorus. The real center stage, and where the band excels, is in the guitar-work, combining a mixture of Tales…era Amorphis, Novembre and a touch of Agalloch circa Ashes… to create many a swirling melody within the songs.

It’s been a while since I wrote a review, since my life has been filled with mock exams, auditioning for pop-rock bands (sorry guys, there’s more girls in that area), and the like. Encirclement has been lying around for a long time, so I decided to give it the final eyes closed spin, and jump onto it.

Although some people would’ve put old-school Death Metal as the genre for this album, I’m a bit hesitant. Yes, Encirclement clearly shows a Death-influence. But, where Death is clean, sophisticated and tight, these guys are harsh, raw and heavy. So, style-wise I’d place them somewhere between old-school death metal, for their death influences, and death ‘n roll for their rolling rhythms. Old-school Death ‘n Roll anyone?

You may remember that some time ago CroOZza wrote a little piece on a Canadian formation named Karkaos. They delivered this immensely intense piece of Melodic Death Metal, with elements of darkness, Folk and pirate atmospheres, as well as a bunch of other stuff. Stuff’s definitely cool!

Anyway, one thing led to another and before we knew it we got into contact with Veronica Rodriguez, lead singer in the band, who got some of her band mates to agree to do an interview with us. That’ll follow in a bit, but first let’s present you with a brief overview of the band’s history, to give you some perspective.

Thousand Year War. Nothing we think we’d would want of course, because we’re all friendly people at The Baboon and we don’t wish anyone dead. Except for pop music perhaps. But, because we’re talking about a band, who’d have thought, that is turning out precisely the type of music that tickles our fancy, we actually do want it.

The project was started at the end of 2008 / beginning of 2009 by Hiram Lohr from Alaska. He then got reinforcements in the form of Kellen Sharp and after hiring a session drummer they recorded their first EP, and self-titled it. Not long after, in the same year still, work was started on the group’s debut record. After proper mixing and mastering, and finding a lable, Tyrants and Men first saw the light of day last September. With help of more session musicians, Hiram, who’s currently the only official member again, has now started work on the next EP, which is to be titled Doom Rides These Mountains.

You could say we’re having two stragglers from 2011 today. Scartown and Deviant Syndrome have both released an album onto the market last year, on which we haven’t reported yet at all. We’re happy to fill that void today, because in terms of Melodeath, Russia has actually got some quality to offer.

Where my prejudice about Norwegian Metal makes me expect all Metal from Norway is Black Metal, I’ve got a similar – and equally fucked-up – rule of thumb about Sweden. It’s either Old-school Death Metal type of stuff or Melodeath that they produce there. Absolute rubbish of course and the examples are numerous. Still, it’s a bit of a default thing to expect I guess.

Today we add another entry to our list of examples that counter that coarse generalization: Humanity’s Last Breath. They’re a five-piece from the city of Helsingborg, where I know also Soilwork is from. A typical line-up of two guitars, a bass, some bongos and a voice, these guys produce something undeniably brutal and aggressive, often a shit storm of blasts and chugs, but also often melodic and harmonious. That is what I pulled from the band’s latest release, which was sent out into the world in early 2011 as their second EP since forming in 2009.

My naïve self always held Norway responsible for the world’s main supply of Black Metal. The same brain responsible for that belief thought up that then also pretty much every Norwegian Metal band would be a Black Metal band. But lately I’ve been proven wrong in my generalization quite a few times. Like by Aspherium and Okular rather recently.

But I have noticed that Progressive Death Metal outfits like these two often do add in a thick and acid splash of Black Metal darkness here and there. The same is the case for The Fallen Divine as Toreignimmortal has already commented when he pointed you towards the free streaming album these guys have released in late November. Following in his footsteps, I’ve been listening to this highly promising debut release a bit as well.

One of the bands that lie close to my heart are Danmaku, a UK Thrash band that granted me the honour of reviewing their debut, when I was but a freshman. Now, more than half a year later, I still remember Paul Harrington and his “blood-covered tank of death”. Last week I send a quick e-mail over to the home front, to check out how things were going.

In short, Danmaku are a three-piece Death/Thrash outfit, with members from Anaal Nathrakh, The Ocean and Hospital of Death. Their debut Turn Up the Gas, certainly adds some coal to the fire, and contains seven tracks of tearing and intense Thrash Metal with some kick ass Hardcore vocals from Mike Pilat. You can read my full review here.

Despite that I’m late, in case Santacock has been a bit of a cheapo with his gifts this year, maybe I can make up for it with two little tips that’ll get you value without having to empty your purse. Nerve End and Mirrors of Obsidian have and EP and full album respectively up for free, at least if a digital version of the releases will satisfy you. However, like always, we would like to stress that you can in fact support these bands by donating a little something. It isn’t ‘name your price’ for nothing.