Conqueror - War. Cult. Supremacy. [1999]

Your old mate Vagabond has been a bit busy with actual real life recently, so I haven't had much time to contribute to Nightmare Reality. With that being said, I've decided to transfer over some of the reviews I wrote last year for my "Arisen From The Crypt" monthly special which I stopped doing once I started doing old-school reviews on here....

Conqueror formed way back in 1992 and featured J. Read (Blood Revolt, Revenge, Black Witchery, Axis of Advance, Cremation, Kerasphorus, Arkhon Infaustus) on drums and vocals and R. Förster (Blasphemy, Domini Inferi, Revenge, Godless North) on the axe.

They played the most unrelenting war metal ever recorded. Constant blast beats, insane vocals that make your average black metal vocalist sound like Madonna and extremely fast distorted riffs all over the place are what to expect here, although it’s best to go into a release like this with no expectations, because whatever you’re expecting will be wrong.

In all honesty, this is the most savage album I have ever laid ears on. Most people who listen to “War. Cult. Supremacy.” will hear nothing but mush and noise, but the ones who actually “get it” will hear complete, utter primitivism and barbarity. This release is an audio war against humanity. No one is safe.

I have no other words for this. Get your hands on this any way you can and prepare to have your perspective on “music” changed forever.

Highlights: 
The whole thing.

Final Rating: Legendary [10/10]

Angelcorpse - The Inexorable [1999]

Angelcorpse’s sophomore ‘’Exterminate’’ was by far their most efficient release, even though its predecessor ‘’Hammer Of Gods’’ held an even more savage aura, and Angelcorpse’s final offering of the 90’s proves to be logical continuation of the previous record, yet for some reason, it’s their third release, ‘’The Inexorable’’ which appealed to me most. While the third siege may seem like an almost exact copy of the previous release, there are some nuances that make up all the deviation it needs to progress and thrive even further, despite the fact that the differences in between the two records are genuinely very little. ‘’The Inexorable’’ arranges the fulsome spectrum of riffs that previous albums possessed and puts them in order, thus giving birth to even more mature structures and riffs, more consistent patterns and more balanced elusive manoeuvres. With ‘’The Inexorable’’ the music reaches its utter peek in ripeness and the aftermath of the storm is (as always) nothing but sheer destruction.

Angelcorpse’s compositions have improved, and they have positioned their black and death metal textures even more carnally this time. The death metal half of ‘’The Inexorable’’ is just as it was on the previous record, robust, tantalizing, brutal and copious, boasting savagery and culminating annihilation, but the black metal side of the coin has differed, embracing the dispersing elements even more than before and giving more room to utter complexity and brain tangling riffs – proving to be quite varying over only single songs. The choppier yet cleaner tone also deserves laud, sustaining the bridge between crushing and energetic at all times. With nearly all of its implements properly placed, ‘’The Inexorable’’ becomes an even more efficient piece of artillery, and its hooks are bound dig even further into your flesh, because the band has also gotten rid of most of the hindrances that had the potential to mar the riffs and affect their diversity, so the album ultimately packs a more boggling punch than its predecessors.

Its maturity is the only aspect that separates it from its peers, and frankly it’s the only aspect that puts off metalheads that are more into the savage and blunt edge of Angelcorpse, rather than its riper side. ‘’The Inexorable’’ does have a small negative side, though. AS it focuses too much on the fertility and fullness of the massive, crushing guitar tone, it leaves the drums and bass almost in audible. In exchange, the album does attain a more enveloping sound and aura, but also becomes nearly devoid of one of Angelcorpse’s crucial intensity attributes; the drumming. While straightforward death metal overtones may render the drums clean, the blackened bestiality is far too cavernous for the drums to sustain complete audibility, therefore, they are sometimes rendered clean and sometimes inaudible. But even though the drums are sometimes marred, it does not prevent the riffs in general from possessing efficiency. ‘’The Inexorable’’ is probably not the favourite Aneglcorpse album of many, but to me it is, with its sharp hooks and everything. ‘’Exterminate’’ is very closely behind it, but my decision is likely to change frequently. 

Highlights

''The Fall Of The Idols Of Flesh''

''Stormgods Unbound''

''Smoldering In Exile''

Final Rating

Masterpiece [9/10]

Disciples Of Mockery - Prelude To Apocalypse [1999]

The late 90's weren't half as bountiful as the early 90's in terms of old school death metal, and that timeline mainly consisted of bands basically copying their elder masters and repeating the same style, and the funny part is, they weren't really pockets of bands coming out from the abyss. Some followed the path of the Swedish death metallers while some liked to toy with the despicable aesthetics that were originated by the almighty Incantation, a band which sprayed death and blasphemy throughout the 90's. My first impression of Disciples Of Mockery was simple: Incantation. But little did I know that the band actually consisted of former members of Incantation. Now, these are people who helped write and construct the astonishing masterpiece of horror and evil, ''Onward To Golgotha'', and obviously, much of early Incantation's style and haunting maliciousness flows in the veins of ''Prelude To Apocalypse'', so yes, get your hopes high about it.

It truly does fit in perfectly, ''Prelude To Apocalypse'' could have been the continuation of the infamous masterpiece, because it follows the exact path that ''Onward'' did, only with some nuances and slightly differing production quality. The riffs and riff patterns are blatant if you're familiar to Incantation (and who isn't?), spastic tremolo pickings with dual guitars performing eerie harmonies on top of the dense, chubby production quality. I can't say whether riffs stand out or not, though I can say that they vary from time to time. The shadowing tremolo sections may reign supreme as they outshine and outnumber any other style or aspect of the music, but sludgy passages of doom laden death metal is also a popular trend that keeps jumping into the intensified music. ''An Endless Pursuit For A Satisfying Pain'' is such a track where the whole of the riffs are set to move upon a sludgy track them lowers their velocity to turtle speed. And the third most prominent element used in the construction of the riffs is that black metal influence, a fluctuating current of chaos and sheer melancholy, but sections like these are limited compared to their counterparts.

Some may find the album too overwhelming and too boring or may tend to loose focus when aggression is omitted, especially when doom metal sections are preferred more, but for heav'n's sake people, that's the beauty of it! Passion is just as critical as brutality in albums like this, and its much harder a task to perfect it than perfecting aggression and raw energy. You get as brutal as you like, but if one attribute is excluded from the mixture of passion and melancholy, your whole experiment dies at your feet. ''Dogma'' is one track I have to suggest for death-oriented black metal fans, as it embraces the ancient art of black metal with a hint of death metal savagery and some additional heft. The drums is another notable gear while making the clockwork move viscously, they tend to create some excellent fills to link doom laden chords together. Overall, I doubt any fan of hefty doom, death or maybe even doom-driven black will hate this. ''Prelude To Apocalypse'' is yet another lost gem that bestirs doom, black and death metal bombastically.It's blasphemous, melancholic and filled with disdain. ''Onward To Golgotha 2'', I would say.

Highlights
''Literal Upheaval Of The Earth''
''God Of Love''
''Behold The Holy Virgin Whore''

Final Rating
Awesome [8.8/10]