Usurper – Threshold of the Usurper [1997]

Usurper was a relatively primitive black/thrash metal band from Chicago. They split up in 2007 and left us a respectable discography of killer old-school metal. “Threshold of the Usurper” is their first EP, which was released in 1997 following their debut album “Diabolosis”.

The first thing that you may notice upon listening to Usurper is an obvious Hellhammer influence; the bass is really thick and heavy whilst the guitars have an ugly punk-ish feel to them, thus leading to this comparison. Not to mention the vocals are very reminiscent of Tom G. Warrior at times. However, there is more to Usurper than just another Hellhammer clone!

There is plenty of variety within the 5 songs present here (4 originals and a fantastic rendition of Mercyful Fate’s “Black Funeral”). “Necrocult, Part 1 (The Metal War)” is a pretty straightforward and relentless thrashing beast of a song, “Slavehammer” sounds like a beefed up Hellhammer tune and makes me think of what could have happened if Warrior and co. showed up after the death and black metal movement had already began its momentum, “The Dead of Winter” is a slow and atmospheric song laden with acoustic guitars and a deep level of denseness and the epic 14 minute title track ranges from crushing doom to manic black metal and everything in between.

Running at over 34 minutes, they could have easily gotten away with labeling this as a full length, but; they didn’t, which proves Usurper are not the type of band to do things half arsed. If you’re looking for a good starting point to get into this band, “Threshold…” is the place to look.

Highlights:

Slavehammer

The Dead of Winter

Final Rating: Awesome [8.3/10]

Satan's Host - Metal From Hell [1986]

We'd better add yet another great album to the list of legendary albums that came out in 1986 with this record. I'm not saying that "Metal From Hell" is legendary or that is of the same caliber as say "Pleasure to Kill" or "Reign in Blood," but it's a damn fine album that deserves a mention or two anytime that unholy year is brought about. Satan's Host are one of the more peculiar power metal groups from the United States, in that they were much darker and evil than bands like Omen, Griffin, Jag Panzer, and many of the other popular US acts in the early to mid '80s. Their lyrical focus was all about Satan, hell, death, and the evil kind of stuff like that, not your normal power metal type lyrics. Another part of their music that separated them from other bands was the production on this album. It's terrible, but in a great way that adds to the atmosphere, similar to bands like Iron Cross or Heathen's Rage. 

Musically, Satan's Host knew exactly how to work their instruments to near perfection. The riffs range from derivative thrash/speed metal blitzkriegs, to complete Motorhead worship, all the way over to stellar riffs that are blended with melody much like many of the USPM bands of the day. "Black Steele" is a catchy, thrashy track sure to get your headbanging and the next song "Into the Veil" is another decent song, but once past those two tracks, "Metal From Hell" comes in and blows the preceding two completely out of the water with a punk-inspired assault and intense vocals that command the listener's attention. Leviathan's vocals are a definite highlight on this record, as he can sing cleanly and beautifully, but can also scream his fucking lungs out and capture an evil, almost maniacal sound ("King of Terror"). The track "Hell Fire" is an epic one that epitomizes power metal with its terrific intro, top-notch riffs and the incredible guitar solos that lead into a clean section where, Leviathan, once again shows off his vocal skills. 

Much like the vocals and guitars, the bassist's performance on this record is fantastic. There are plenty of nice fills, like on "Strongest of the Night" where the bass almost outshines the guitar solos. The bass parts on the intro to "Hell Fire" is another moment that should be highlighted, as it contributed to the overall brilliance of the track. The drumming isn't quite as special as the other instruments, but it's adequate and no complaints can be made. "Metal From Hell" is quite easily a gem of the USPM scene (Which was one of the best scenes around) simply because it conjured evil spirits and demons that other bands simply could not, and for that I salute Satan's Host. 


Highlights
"Metal From Hell"
"King of Terror"
"Hell Fire"


Final Rating
Awesome [8.7/10]

Wargasm - Why Play Around? [1988]

I’m not big a thrasher as I used to be, but when I have the time to pull away from hordes of death and black metal releases, I always give one of my classics a listen. Beantown’s thrash massacre Wargasm are a legendary act for me not only because their debut album ‘’Why Play Around?’’ has been dwelling in my recollection for a long time, but also because they can properly bestir a combination of thrash metal, fast and ripping, with groovy rock n’ roll overtones. ‘’Why Play Around?’’ moves in a steady tempo around classic thrash many of you would be familiar with, but with a crisp and piercing tone, extremely memorable riffs, classy, yet simple patterns and brisk attitude, the album does characterize itself very well.

Technical may be the wrong word to describe the way of the riffs, although in some ways it still resembles their sway. Rich Spielberg, the sole guitarist of the band is the most efficient implement in the whole trio, pushing the music towards utter destruction and pure rock n’ roll driven mayhem can catchiness. In no way are his riffs bland, but they’re not utterly technical and mind blowing either, just exceedingly robust and devastating in the delivery. The riffs don’t really live of sordidness, because they can conjure up much more than just depraved riffs, but when Wargasm wants you to have a taste of evil, you can be damn sure they’ll give it. 

Despite the pummelling grooves and rhythms that rock and back and forth and splatter ears with excellent transitions for tempo switches, there’s also the ridiculously audible blast of the drums, and drummer Barry Spielberg doesn’t shy from showing off his arsenal of pulverizing beats and attacks. Well, the tempo is set, and the riffs flow with ease with crunch aplenty, so what’s left? Ah yes, the vocals. The vocals are actually not something you often hear in thrash metal, since most bands want to blast out pure extremity and relentless intensity, but here, you have vocals that very much sound, well, sort of weak, and it does feel queer to hear such a dwindling sound over a forceful storm of intensified riffs, but I’ll admit it – the vocal work fits the music well and that’s all that can be said about it.

I know many underground followers underestimate the power of thrash mainly because it’s not as frantic as the other genres, and I do think that thrash is the weakest offspring of the extreme metal genre sometimes, but the truth is, these are the records that formed up the basis of pretty much anything that came after it, and thrash has tons of old school underground classics – this being to exception. Wargasm’s sordid thrash attack is not something to be taken with a grain of salt, because when these guys bash their chords and beat their drums, it’s an absolute massacre. One of 1988’s many classics, and one record that ought to be taken much more seriously…

Highlights

''Wargasm''

''Revenge''

''Bullets And Blades''

''Undead''

Final Rating

Awesome [8.7/10]

Evocation – Evoked From Demonic Depths: The Early Years [Compilation: 2012]

After taking a break from listening to Swedish death metal, due to the sheer ridiculous amount of bands that I’ve heard in this style over the last year or so, I decided to pick up Evocation’s recently released compilation a few days ago when I happened across it in a local store. This release compiles Evocation’s two demo tapes from 1992, an unreleased rehearsal recording and a previously unrecorded track from ’92 entitled “Genesis”.

Evocation definitely have always had the “Swedish sound” akin to Dismember, Grave, Entombed and so on, but, they always stood apart from the pack in the way that they incorporated melodic influences that have more in common with the Gothenburg scene than the Sunlight studios crowd, leaving us with a more unique and accessible take on the old-school Swedish death metal sound.

I’m not sure how this was managed way back in ’91, but, Evocation got a really high quality sound on “The Ancient Gate” and the “Promo 1992” demos. When combined together on a release like this (or their previously released self-titled compilation from 2004), the two demos flow really well together, and if the band hadn’t broken up not long after, I think they could have released an absolute belter of an album that would be up there with legendary releases like “Left Hand Path” and “Like an Ever Flowing Stream”. Sadly, the previously unreleased rehearsal demo sort of feels like it was just tacked on the end as a sort of afterthought, with a real raw and sloppy recording job that sounds completely different to the other two demos. However, the versions of the songs on this part still sound good in their own way and give a different insight to songs that you’ve already heard earlier on the comp. “Genesis” would fit in perfectly well with the two demos and it’s great that the band finally recorded it as a bonus track for the compilation.

All in all, this compilation is a killer package, with all of their early demo material (almost an hour worth of music) and a 32 page (!!!) booklet containing background info on the band, all lyrics, a bit of info about each song, liner notes, three live bootleg video enhancements on the CD version, information on the story behind each recording and a lot of photos, any fanatic of the old Swedish underground would be a fool to let this pass them by.

Highlights:

"Through the Darkened Peril"

"The Ancient Gate"

"Where the Headstones Shine"

"Veils Were Blown"

Final Rating:

Awesome 8.0/10

Grotesque - Incantation [1990] (EP)

Chances are, if you're a metalhead who knows at the very least that Sweden had/has an incredible death metal scene, then I don't need to go on about all of the bands and how there were myriads of fantastic bands that never got past the demo stage. Grotesque is one of those unfortunate casualties, as they have never released a full-length, but luckily they've left us with this terrific five-track EP "Incantation." Whether or not this EP is considered widely influential in the metal underground is beyond me, but I definitely hear a lot of the newer groups out today with plenty of Grotesque in their music (Tribulation, Zombiefication, Putrified, etc), so it's definitely within the realm of possibility, especially when considering that these Swedes didn't exactly have the same d-beat/punk influence, nor did they have the chainsaw tone (though, it was still a pretty thick and heavy tone) that their comrades had, and a lot of the music here was driven by the insane riffs and intense drumming, more akin to the American style. 

The self-titled opening track features plenty of different styles in the opening minutes, featuring some dark melodies, tremolos, and some thrashy riffs to get the listener's headbanging. The rest of the song follows suit, with an abundance of different riffs and some great vocals which are another highlight on "Incantation." I may not be the biggest fan of At the Gates (Or the subgenre that they play), but there is no denying that Tomas Lindberg (Or as he's known in Grotesque, Goatspell) can conjure some vile vocals that are absolutely perfect for fronting a band the caliber of Grotesque. What transpired on the first track is pretty much the entire story of this EP. The band did a brilliant job of structuring the music with a solid mix of thrashy riffs, death metal tremolos, melodies and an overall eerie atmosphere. "Submit to Death" and "Blood Runs from the Altar" are a couple of the more thrash-oriented tunes, but they're fronted by a death metal vocalist whose vocals could shatter glass. "Spawn of Azathoth" is an all-out blitzkrieg of intensity and if your head isn't banging, seek help. "Nocturnal Blasphemies" is probably the most "unique" song on this EP, as it features some riffs that have glimpses of technical patterns, but it's also one of, if not the darkest song here. So, the story here with "Incantation" and Grotesque isn't a new one, just one that I enjoy revisiting, because who doesn't love a little band that didn't make it as big as they should have? I know I do. 

Highlights

"Incantation"

"Spawn of Azathoth" 

"Blood Runs from the Altars"

Final Rating

Awesome [8.6/10]

Nidhoggr - Ravens Over The Road Of The Kings [1994] (Demo)

My sheer love for the grotesqueries that come out of Finland cannot be questioned. Yes, I’m talking about the Finnish death metal scene, a plentiful pile of rot and macabre decay, putrid and abominable in every way. But besides the death metal scene in Finland to emerge in the 90’s, there’s also a cult underground black metal scene, quite extensive yes, but still dwarfed by the captivating copiousness of the death metal scene. There were a few bands that the black metal underground respected and knew, but Nidhoggr is just not one of those exulted bands. Listening to their 1994 demo ‘’Ravens Over The Road Of Kings’’ is like Burzum gnawing against your ears with stark strictness, and amongst so many false imitators, finally comes a band who knows how to worship.

Yes, a Burzum scent reeks heavily in every riff, every break, every turn and twist; in every aspect. ‘’Ravens’’ is a relatively short demo, consisting of only three songs, but once you enter its frigid cold atmosphere it’s not easy to get out as you’re always in the grip of grim, sombre winter, absolutely blood chilling and glacial. The instrumentation is sheer brilliance I tell you. Brilliance. The riffs are set on a damp, jagged texture and flow with craggy, angular turns, and the production is exceedingly raw and diminishing, so the tremolo pickings will always be reduced in vivacity and fullness, and you’ll need to crank the volume up if you want to properly hear this one. Atmospheric traits are just as favoured as the dreary elements of the music. Every riff is harsh, abrupt attack, but at the same time, it provokes an epic sense, which is always a pleasant thing to hear in your black metal.

Even the vocals, sonically intense and gelid screams and harsh rasps remind me of Burzum, and these rasps are so cold and haunting that I can say that they’re even better than Varg’s vocals performance, even though they seldom tend to appear. ‘’Thou Shalt Burn At Our Stacker’’ carves a deep hole into the listener’s ear from the start, giving of a great impact of cold, grim melancholy and other raw aspects of the demo, and ‘’From The Forest Come The Wanderer’’ begins its six minute journey with brief little melody spectrum, flashing into an crude, cavernous tremolo attack afterwards. The concluding track finalizes the demo with a queer plethora of melodies and turns cutting and splashing onto each other with cantankerous complexity and cunning. I have no doubt that any Norwegian black metal fan will find this entertaining (though in a eerie way), and Burzum fans especially will salivate over this.

Highlights

''Thou Shalt Burn At Our Stacker''

''From The Forest Come The Wanderer''

Final Rating

Awesome [8.8/10] 

Protector - Golem [1988]

It's a damn shame that Protector isn't as well-known as their fellow countrymen in Kreator and Sodom, but history has proven that being well-known doesn't make your music better, because I would take "Golem" over albums like "Extreme Aggression," "Tapping the Vein," and "Release From Agony" 10 times out of 10. There's a reason why Protector is adored by many in the metal underground (especially in thrash circles) and that's because their brand of thrash was different from the bestial sounds of their Germanic comrades. This music is deadly, precise and absolutely violent, much moreso than the Bay Area bands of the '80s and plenty of other thrash bands that popped up. 

One thing that becomes immediately apparent with Protector and their music are the riffs. Instead of opting for the rape of the E-string and the insertion of some powerchords, a lot of the riffs are ridiculously fast and feature a vast amount of shifting hammer-ons and single notes that make for a lot of headbanging, but also a lot of memorable moments. The riffs on "Delirium Tremens" and "Protector of Death" are fucking maniacal and Hasse's intense drumming only adds to the blistering fury. And proving that they weren't just speed freaks, Protector did a brilliant job of structuring their music and showed some stellar songwriting skills with tracks like "Apocalyptic Revelations" and "Only the Strong Survive," as both start with some pretty epic buildups that eventually morph into an insane assault that have fallen upon many a metalhead's ears. 

Everything else on "Golem" is top-notch as well. The aforementioned drumming adds a lot of heft to the music, as well as even more speed. Belichmeier's bass performance is another highlight on this album, as it's always audible and almost seems like another instrument entirely, rather than simply following the guitar patterns. "Germanophobe" is probably the best example of the excellence of the bass on this record and is a prominent reason why it's also my favorite track. Missy's vocals are disgustingly beautiful as well. They're lower in tone than Mille Petrozza's, but not as guttural, yet they're just as diabolical and suit the music perfectly. There's really not much more to say about "Golem" and Protector. This is just a band that makes violent and masterful music that should be fellated by every metalhead. 

Highlights

"Delirium Tremens"

"Germanophobe"

"Only the Strong Survive"

Final Rating

Awesome [8.7/10]