There's quality in the familiar, as proven this week by Pandemic, Revolting, Becerus and Epitaph.
Pandemic – Phantoms
Genre: Thrash/speed metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Country of origin: Poland
Here's some Polish old school speed thrash that has a level of free-spirited enthusiasm and inventiveness about it that makes it sound like it actually took part in founding the subgenre. Next to the agile shredding and half-rough vocals there are also influxes of darker shades of metal, like black metal tremolo and a couple of sections of straight-up classic doom. But while these certainly add to the thematic of shady spiritualism, this is not an "evil", and certainly not blackened, kind of thrash, instead leaning towards the epic and ever so slightly atmospheric, more like classic heavy metal in that regard. It doesn't get stuck repeating ideas or instrumental approaches, managing the kind of variation that allows each song to take on a quick-to-grasp, distinct identity, and offers highlights in riffs, melodic passages, clever rhythms and vocal variations alike.
Highlight: "Santa Muerte" and "Under Gypsy's Spell"
Revolting - Night of the Horrid
Genre: Melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Country of origin: Sweden
Rogga Johansson (Paganizer, Ghoulhouse, etc.) strikes again, this time with his Revolting project, which offers up yet more crushing, old school Swedish death metal, featuring recognizable elements from his other bands, and a familiar, gory horror theme, but with a greater emphasis on melody. To the extent that I dare call this melodeath, although definitely with the grinding riffs and glass-gargling vocals front and center, which is no less than what you'd expect and hope for. It doesn't feel extraordinarily well-considered as full albums go, more like picking up where they left off and driving the deathtrain for the next stretch of distance, but still dropping bloody gems of brutal bangers along the way like it's second god damned nature. Gimme more, just keep on giving me more.
Highlight: "Blades Will Cut"
Becerus - Troglodyte
Genre: Death metal/grindcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Country of origin: Italy
Straight-for-the-throat deathgrind that's primitive in all the right ways. It's agile and precise, like a highly practiced axe murderer, with caveman-grunt and feral-scream vocals, and a hungry rhythm attack that rips apart its victims into appropriately sized pieces to grind down with crushing riff sections. Each track, which ranges from just over a minute to just under four, has its own menacing strategy to inflict debilitating damage, whether it be with brutal frontal assault or knife-wielding stalking, and it always achieves the kill. Not a refined or expansive thing, but a great surge of pure savagery.
Highlight: "Obfuscated by Imbecility"
Epitaph – Path To Oblivion
Genre: Doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Country of origin: Italy
The third full-length from this long-going Italian doom project brings the kind of crunchy, warm riffs and winking occultism that you'd expect from genre tops like Candlemass, and adds onto it with a more patient, kind of playful mystery that feels a bit like exploring an abandoned medieval castle and imagining dark deeds of the past from the crumpled remains. Some of the time it's simply entertaining, and at its best it's delightfully quirky - getting you lost in a slow, reverent dance of epic dreams.
Highlight: "Voices Behind the Wall"
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