Asphyx – Embrace the Death [Recorded: 1990. Released: 1996]

“Embrace the Death” is Asphyx’s true debut album. Although it didn’t see the light of day until 1996 (Thus making it their 4^th released album), the songs were actually written in 1988/89 and the album was recorded in 1990. Due to a dodgy label boss pulling a runner with all the recording money, this brilliant album was lost to the void for a few years. Unfortunate, as this is one of their best releases.

One peculiar thing you may notice upon hearing this record is that some of the songs have been released on other Asphyx albums in rearranged and rerecorded forms; some times appearing under a different title. Most of these mentioned tracks are presented in a more primitive and raw form here.

The main thing that I like about “Embrace the Death” is that it showcases Asphyx at their most evil, unpolished and obscure sounding. The rough and unprofessional production job makes it sound more like a demo than a full length, which only adds to the dark and heavy feeling.

Most of the songs tend to stick to a slow-to-mid pace, really focusing on the doomier aspects of the Asphyx signature sound. Sadly, this and “God Cries” are the only two Asphyx albums that featured the vocal and bass talents of Theo Loomans (R.I.P.), a man who brought a very rough and brutal edge to the band. His vocal style didn’t differ too much from Van Drunan, but his input helped to embrace the more barbaric side of Apshyx, which sets “Embrace the Death” apart from the rest of their catalog.

“Embrace the Death” is a forgotten classic and an essential part of any Asphyx collection. Or any old-school death metal collection, really.

Highlights: 

Embrace the Death

The Sickened Dwell

Crush the Cenotaph

Final Rating: Awesome [8/10]

Angelcorpse - Hammer Of Gods [1996]

While their later releases ‘’Exterminate’’ and ‘’The Inexorable’’ will prove to be more cunning and technically surpassing albums, Angelcorpse’s debut album ‘’Hammer Of Gods’’ is not without flaws. The third and second effort are closely related, both possessing a more lively edge and a processed portion of Angelcorpse’s savage attitude, but although ‘’Hammer of Gods’’ is just frenetic and just crazed with erupting blackened death metal fury, it’s clear that it hasn’t fully been turned into a credible substance, thus offering no more than pure demented aggression. Even so, the debut remains as the most frantically driven and it beholds a strength that could reduce any man into cinder within the blink of an eye, therefore ‘’Hammer Of Gods’’ stands as Angelcorpse’s most barbaric incursion, although so of its blows may tend to miss its target.

The overwhelming savagery has an obvious reason here. The musicianship hasn’t properly developed, and therefore we’re left with heaps of uncontrollable energy and callow riffs, enjoyable nonetheless. ‘’Hammer Of Gods’’ big flaw is the lack of prowess, but it’s also devoid of the spiking, sturdy guitar tone of ‘’Exterminate’’ (which augmented even further on ‘’The Inexorable’’), leading us to fibrous riffs, dispersing and scattering vigorously. Of course, the coarse jumble of tremolos and chords are totally gut-splattering. ‘’Hammer Of Gods’’ will punch you with its iron hammer again and again, and it will send a swirling vortex of chaos upon the remainders of your pulverized body to distort even further. Every song is just another strike of the hammer, numbing continuously, and your flesh will be all but gobs of meat when the album ends.

If you want a tantalizing demonstration of Angelcorpse’s early sound, look no further than this record. It’s accessible compared to the band’s demo material but still raw, demented and drunk with power. The drumming is simple, crude blast beats, while the vocals are throatier than ever, and the production is also a futile one, raw and decrepit. I can’t say that this is my favourite old school Angelcorpse record, but I can’t say I dislike it either, because after all, there’s still stuff here that would make your head jut up and down until snaps, and no matter how crude it is compared to its peers, I can’t help but enjoy this berserk black/death album. 

Highlights

''The Scapegoat''

''Lord Of The Funeral Pyre''

''Envenomed''

Final Rating

Awesome [8.4/10]

122 Stab Wounds - The Deity Of Perversion [1996]

Note from the start that 122 Stab Wounds is not your average black metal bands just because they're from Norway and because their music is laden with black metal traits. Norway mustered some mighty fine black metal bands but surely, Norway isn't the first country to have joined black and death metal. I know because at the time, the blasphemous Canadians and Australians were engaging with Satan at rapid pace, releasing records like ''Fallen Angel Of Doom'' or ''Vengeance War till Death''. But just because Norway didn't have any remarkable death metal acts to present, doesen't mean that they still can't deliver some dominant black/death metal, very well played and composed all around.

122 Stab Wounds deals with some of the less common attributes and elements involved in black/death. War metallers like grind up their captives ruthlessly with their raw incursions of primal, savage black metal with a death metal influence showing good prevalence. However, this band leans more on the death metal side and even adds some thrash crunchiness on top of it to spice things up. 122 Stab Wounds includes members of Forlorn and Gehenna, which are both quite convincing black/death acts. The riffs spastically incorprate furious death metal tremolo picking and crushing thrash metal stomping into them, and all of that raw power perfectly blends in with the bestial black metal atmosphere that roams over all the riffs. Tremolo picking has never sounded so serious, as the guitar tone is crisp and clean and the razor sharp tremolo bursts constantly sink into the listener's flesh, like raws of serrated sharp teeth clenching a prey by its neck. Despite all the dark atmosphere that it succesfully attains and the horrific landscape that it manages to produce, ''The Deity Of Perversion'' has a lot in stock in the energy department. All the riffs are played in forlorn sense, yet their bitterly sharp taste enables energy to spawn out of its veins.

As if all that wasn't sufficient, the music comes with more than just chainsaw ripping tremolos and vigorous bursts. Three songs on the album are weird ambients of some sort, so that leaves us with only seven proper songs. Fortunately, the number is quite adaquate considering that all the songs are quality ones, with little exception. Of course the guitars don't make up the whole anatomy of the album, and the album comes with an abundance of decorations to compliment the riffs well. The drumming is precise yet never that intense, and always keep a steady pace no matter how fast the riffs get. Some may find that intimidating or irritative but actually considering the album emphasizes on dark atmopsheres and mellow feelings as sort of a side attribute, it is actually quite the opposite. The riffs are quite melodious - the tremolos all played on the lower sections of the frets and the depressing feeling always on top of everthing. That's when the efficiency of the vocals kick in. The vocals are treuly perfect for this type of black metal, eerie rasps and incedibly low tones. I love the vocalist's shreiks and high-pitched growls on ''Holocaust Breed'', displaying both epicness and depression.

122 Stab Wounds are so obscure and no wonder. Over the years they have been crushed and stumbled upon numerous times, all thanks to the abnormal fame that the Norwegian black metal masters have. This album is a stellar burried treasure that I myself found out totally by luck, and I'm even luckier that the internet provides all sorts of information, and hopefully bands like this and many were more that were lost in time will be discovered once more. Though before you start your search, I would like to warn you as the band changed into the name The Deviant, shortly after their annihilation.

Highlights
''Divided Thoughts''
''Hunting Humans''
''The Torture Art''

Final Rating
Almost a Masterpiece [8.9/10]

Abhorer - Zygotical Sabbatory Anabapt [1996]

This album is obviously not as raw as the very awesome "Rumpus of the Undead" demo, instead it's much more concise and dare I say "matured." I don't mean mature as a way of saying that Abhorer decided to start furiously masturbating to the uber-technical death metal albums that were being churned out or that they decided to mimic Coroner on "Grin," but the structure of the music was definitely better and provided some memorability to the chaos captured on "Zygotical Sabbatory Anabapt."

While the song titles are all completely bombastic, the music itself is pretty simple. The riffs range from razor sharp death metal tremolo bursts that are incredibly fast (Although, a lot of that speed comes from the intense drumming) which is made apparent as soon as the intro track is over and "Concubinal Celibatic Myrmidonian Whores" shreds through the speakers, to crushing midpaced riffs that would bring down the Wall of China (Get it? Because they're from Asia) most specifically on the song "Dom Abaddoniel Abysstic Demonolatry." There's also some melodic sections, but they're downright evil and are guaranteed to leave goosebumps. "Hymeneal Altar of Messianic Salicitation" meshes together the sinister melody with Crucifier's morbid vocals flawlessly for a dark atmosphere that isn't unwelcome at all. 

That is pretty much the whole story on "Zygotical Sabbatory Anabapt," and aside from the one doomy riff in "Dom Abaddoniel Abysstic Demonolatry," most of the music here follows the same sound. This is definitely a standout album of the black/death genre, mainly due to it not being as extreme as bands like Bestial Warlust and Blasphemy, but just for being all around brilliant and adding to Asia's extreme metal scene.

Highlights

"Concubinal Celibatic Mymidonian Whores"

"Phlegethonic Sybartical Demimonde"

"Dom abaddoniel Abysstic Demonolatry"

Final Rating

Awesome [8.8/10]