The Black Twilight Circle/Crepusculo Negro collective of musicians have made some serious waves in the black metal community over the last few years. But, one cannot live by black metal alone, as evidenced by this self-titled three track cassette from Muknal, a mysterious trio that one can only assume is comprised of the usual BTC suspects (although I have not been able to confirm this, perhaps some THKD readers can?).
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Tag Archives: death metal
Cannibal Corpse – Torture (Metal Blade, 2012)
I recently saw Cannibal Corpse live for the very first time after having listened to them since high school; like most metalheads my age, I discovered the band around the time of The Bleeding and their infamous cameo in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and was blown away by their ability to mix over-the-top lyrical and visual gore with utterly eviscerating riffage. Finally seeing them live took me back to that time, those first sticky fumblings with death metal, loving it and being repulsed by it at the same time and loving that bizarre mixed feeling, wondering what people would think if I told them I was heavily into a band that had songs called “Fucked with a Knife” and “Stripped, Raped and Strangled.” But seeing them live wasn’t all misty-eyed headbanging nostalgia, it re-affirmed that Cannibal Corpse are still a force to be reckoned with; titans of death metal who have made a career out of pumping out some of the most quality-consistent, full-on brutal music the genre has to offer.
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For Those About to Rot: Exhumed @ People’s Court 04/16/12
The last time Exhumed played in Des Moines, it was the middle of July. If you’ve never been to Iowa in mid-Summer, imagine being trapped in a giant pair of sweatpants and forced to walk through someone’s sweaty, overheated crotch; now you’ve got a pretty good idea of what humidity in the Midwest is like. It’s the kind of heat that causes old people and animals to spontaneously drop dead. Now, imagine a tiny venue with no air conditioning smack dab in the middle of that nasty-ass environment. These were the conditions Exhumed were forced to weather their first time playing our little one-horse town, so it’s something of a small miracle that they actually agreed to come back. Granted, they’re in the midst of a high-profile tour with death metal kingpins Cannibal Corpse (for more on them, wait for my upcoming review of their new album, Torture), but still, I can’t imagine that initial encounter made a very good impression.
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Napalm Death – Utilitarian (Century Media, 2012)
Napalm Death are an institution. In three decades of existence, they have remained at the forefront of extreme music, constantly evolving and refining their sound while at the same time staying true to the band’s roots in early grindcore and punk. Despite the fact that there are no original members left in the lineup, they have never faltered in quality or watered down their singular vision in order to get ahead; their integrity and dedication has become something of a gold standard by which all other grindcore bands are judged. Utilitarian is Napalm Death’s fourteenth album, and it finds the band sounding as potent and relevant as ever.
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Revenge – Scum.Collapse.Eradication (Nuclear War Now!, 2012)
It’s been four long years since we last heard from Canadian filth purveyors Revenge, but I can assure you that the aptly titled Scum.Collapse.Eradication was more than worth the wait. No other band on the planet is capable of harnessing hatred and scorn into a chaotic yet controlled whirlwind of pure electric death the way the duo of drummer/vocalist J. Read and guitarist/bassist Chris Ross (aka Vermin) do on Revenge’s fourth full length. Even though the band’s basic approach on Scum.Collapse.Eradication differs in only the most subtle of ways from that of previous outings, the fact remains that Revenge are so goddamn good at what they do that their return to the frontlines of the war metal battleground is always a welcome one.
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Metallicus Ex Mortis: Ghoul @ People’s Court, Des Moines, IA 03/27/2012
It was a not-so-dark-and-stormy night when the creepy Creepsylvanians known as Ghoul brought their patented brand of uh, ghoulish splatterthrash to Des Moines, IA, aka the asshole of the Midwest. I was excited to see them for the first time, and that excitement was only heightened by a lengthy wait outside the venue (at least I wasn’t standing next to the Juggalos), followed by what seemed like an eternity sitting through a rather abysmal opening band (the less said on that, the better). After a declaration by the Grand Basilisk stating that we were all in violation of Creepsylvanian law for harboring these four maniacal hooded fugitives, the band hit the stage, immediately launching into “Off With Their Heads” from their latest album, 2011′s Transmission Zero. From the very beginning it was clear that Ghoul had come to kill, and the musical evisceration didn’t let up for a moment over the course of their thirty-odd-minute set.
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THKD World Premier: Manipulator – “Passing the River”
Crawling out of the darkest depths of the underground, France’s Manipulator is a one man death metal entity that will appeal to fans of ugly and atmospheric DM practitioners such as Teitanblood, Void Meditation Cult and Antediluvian. Multi-instrumentalist M. creates a musical landscape mired in morbid filth, all blackened, buzzing distortion and howls of unholy agony.
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All Tomorrow’s Funerals: Autopsy’s maggot-ridden motherload unleashed.
I don’t typically do “news bit” type posts, but you guys know how much I fucking love Autopsy. So, when the kind blokes at Fresno Media contacted me regarding the band’s latest release, I just couldn’t resist letting THKD readers know about it right away.
The legendary California death metallers have been pretty much unstoppable since rising from the grave in 2009, releasing an EP, a full length album and a demos collection, in addition to playing just about every metal fest known to man. Now, with the help of longtime label Peaceville Records, the band has gathered all of their hard to find and out-of-print EP material on one convenient piece of gore-drenched plastic (or two slabs of wax) with All Tomorrow’s Funerals. Loaded with twenty-two cuts of the quartet’s patented brand of filthy, smoked-out death metal, the disc/DLP contains Retribution for the Dead, Fiend for Blood and The Tomb Within, as well as the Horrific Obsession single. You’re probably already thinking that’s a whole lotta Autopsy, but the band sweetens the fetid pot with four brand new songs, giving fans an additional EP’s worth of material on top of everything else. The new tunes are exactly what you’d expect from Autopsy, and just might be the ugliest, most morbidly heavy music they’ve recorded since reuniting. Here’s the title track below, just in case you need further convincing.
All Tomorrow’s Funerals is out now (officially released on 02/28/12), and is available directly from Peaceville or down your local shoppe. Check out my brother from another mother Dave Schalek’s review of the compilation for all the pertinent info.
Additionally, our pals over at Invisible Oranges are giving away two copies of the album, one on vinyl and one on CD. The contest ends on 03/07/12, so get your worthless ass over there and enter to win.
After you’ve entered to win a copy of the album (or gone out and bought the damn thing), swing back over to THKD and check out the two interviews I’ve conducted w/ Autopsy drummer/vocalist Chris Reifert here and here. I also reviewed The Tomb Within, which is included in this release, here.
Behold! The Monolith – Defender, Redeemist (self-released, 2012)
I’ve always been fascinated by power trios. It surely has something to do with my love of all things raw and stripped down, since it doesn’t get any more stripped down than tres hombres against the world, brandishing only electric instruments and bad attitudes. The power trio is the bare minimum of musicians needed to produce a full and complete sound within a rock or metal format (although I’m sure there are plenty of duos who would beg to differ… eh, fuck ‘em); it’s all about maximizing the minimal, and I’ve often found that power trios are inherently heavier and more powerful-sounding than these bands that feel the need to have three guitarists, two vocalists, four drummers, a percussionist, a keyboardist, a DJ, an acrobat, a lion tamer, etc… just listen to Motorhead, Venom, High on Fire or Hellhammer and you’ll catch my drift.
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THKD’S NUCLEAR NEW YEAR’S EVIL GIVEAWAY!
Thanks to you, the loyal readers, 2011 was the best year ever for That’s How Kids Die. I can’t believe the great response the blog has gotten over the course of the last year, and I’m honored that so many of you are willing to take time out of your days and nights to read my incoherent ramblings on all things heavy metal.
So, in the spirit of giving something back to you, the readers, and to kick off another year of THKD with a bang, I am proud to announce our first ever giveaway!
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