Greetings, Decibel readers!
I’ve got a good mix of music for you this week. Three of the bands here remind me that we live in the flattened, everything-is-available all the time era. Writing about the other two recall a time long past, when both existed in the days of print media and you bought them on cassette. Not because you were being an ironic spoiled brat, but because that’s what was available and convenient at the time.
Enjoy!
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Ensanguinate – Eldrich Anatomy
Dark, fiery, evil death metal played in a classic style but infused with modern production quality. Imagine Altars-era Morbid Angel and Nihilist with access to today’s production knowledge and equipment. Or just images Nightmares Made Flesh-era Bloodbath but with a slightly blackened twist. No matter how you spin it, it’s good stuff.
Stream: Apple Music
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King’s X – Three Sides of One
The perennially under-rated rock giants in King’s X are back, as are all the stylistic hallmarks that set them apart from their peers — past and present.
Stream: Apple Music
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Megadeth – The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!
Hey … this is pretty good! I haven’t really been excited for a Megadeth album since 2009’s Endgame (though 13 had some bangers on it), so I kind of shrugged my shoulders at the news of this album. But I have to say the rotating cast of band members has probably done Dave good over the years, and even his weathered voice (layered via several tracks, of course) fits in well enough here. As expected, the guitar playing is absolutely on fire, and the lyrics take a more general or metaphorical tack — rather than the lecturing and histrionics we were subject two for awhile. Artists, regardless of their message, should take notes on this point if they care about posterity.
Stream: Apple Music
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Vrenth – Succumb to Chaos
From our track premiere for “Succumb to Chaos”
“Vrenth have risen from their impermanent primordial slumber to grace our guts with their sophomore effort, Succumb to Chaos, again with Rotten Life as caretakers. Decibel fused our flesh with Rotted Life to bring the denizens of demise the title track, “Succumb to Chaos,” from Vrenth’s forthcoming puke-player. Death metal comes and goes, but this track has a few aces up its decaying legs. The riffs, the wild solos, and the elongated bursts of caveman-like brutality mourn into the grave of funereal atmosphere like Asphyx on a Disment of Soul bender. To say we’re stoked, well… we are!”
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Xenobiotic – Hate Monolith
I mean, it’s a Unique Leader release. Sometimes we’re in the mood for a sugary energy drink that amps us up and makes us want to pass out once it’s all over. That’s kind of what this is like.
Stream: Apple Music
