Grave Infestation - Carnage Gathers (2025)

Carnage Gathers (a joint release by Invictus Productions and Dark Descent Records) is the second album Canadian Grave Infestation and will be a feast for anyone into old school death metal. Think a mix of old shool US DM, bits from early Slayer (circa Hell Awaits / Reign in Blood), and a touch of war metal for the additional chaos and aggression. Good stuff!

 

The BC page. 

 

Hyperdontia - Harvest of Malevolence (2024)

Harvest of Malevolence, the third album from Hyperdontia will easily find its way among the best old school death metal release of the year. I discovered them with the excellent EP they released last year, and this album is totally up to my expectations. Perfect old school feel and atmosphere (taking from both the US and Swedish schools) with especially good guitar work (and the bass & drums are doing a good job as well). Recommended!

The BC page.

 

Hyperdontia - Deranged (EP 2023)

Deranged is the latest release from Hyperdontia, four tracks of excellent and nicely old-school death metal, with a primitive feel reminding a bit the early works of Cannibal Corpse. Good stuff.

The BC page.

 

 

Gorephilia - In The Eye of Nothing (2020)

In The Eye of Nothing is the third album, released by Dark Descent, from Finnish band Gorephilia. It's an excellent old school death metal album which main influence sound to be Morbid Angel (I'd say mostly Covenant / Domination time). You know, the crushing heavy groove and the feel of otherworldly ominous presence atmosphere. Nicely crafted and enjoyable. No reason you wouldn't like it if you're into that kind of stuff.

 

The Bandcamp page. 

 

Blood Incantation - Hidden History of the Human Race (2019)

Like with Blood Incantation first album, it took me some time to get how good is Hidden History of the Human Race. You don't catch all the subtleties at first listen. It's rooted in old school death metal, reminding Morbid Angel at its most cosmic, but also it's different, more technical but even more more progressive. And whether they do the brutal stuff or the more "weird spacey" parts, they excel. Highly recommended, this one will naturally sit in good place among my soon to come "best death metal of 2019" list.

The Bandcamp page.

Sempiternal Dusk - Cenotaph of Defectuous Creation (2019)

This second album from Portland's Sempiternal Dusk called Cenotaph of Defectuous Creation, again on Dark Descent Records, delivers some quality old school death metal/doom, that could remind both Bolt Thrower and Incantation. Slow and mid-tempo nicely crafted death/doom.

The BC page.

Skeletal Remains - Devouring Mortality (2018)

Devouring Mortality is another excellent album from Skeletal Remains, their third one. They managed again to make old school death metal, floridian style, sound fresh (they're Californian but still, they especially reminds Obituary and also Death), with a good balance between melody and being brutal and technical. With their musical and songwriting skills they're one of the most enjoyable recent death metal band and this new album is another proof of this.

The Bandcamp page.

Adversarial - Death, endless nothing and the black knife of nihilism (2015)

Adversarial is one of those "occult" death metal bands (along with Mithochondrion, Portal, Antediluvian, etc.), they are from Canada (Toronto more precisely) and their second and nex album, released by Dark descent records, is called Death, endless nothing and the black knife of nihilism. What I like with this album is that we get the evil and chaotic feel that is the trademark of this "occult death metal" scene but we also get the old school riffing (with a chaotic and evil twist but not buried under a muddy and too much dissonant sound). Maybe we could say their are closer to a more chaotic Immolation than to Portal. Nothing groundbreaking but a well done and enjoyable death metal album.

The Bandcamp page.

Unaussprechlichen Kulten - Baphomet Pan Shub-Niggurath (2014)

The cover art is awesome, the music is awesome as well. Baphomet Pan Shub-Niggurath by Chilean band Unaussprechlichen Kulten is truly a masterpiece in old school US death metal (reminding the Floridian masters Cannibal corpse and Morbid angel but also Suffocation and Immolation). Brutality, dark and heavy grooves with some lovecraftian inspired weird  and epic atmospheres. This is a really enjoyable album (their third full length, the first since 2008, released by Dark descent and Iron boneheads) that I listened to many times.  Highly recommended!


The Bandcamp page.

Thantifaxath - Sacred white noise (2014)

Sacred white noise is the first album by canadian black metallers Thantifaxath. They get some attention after the released of their demo in 2011 and this album, also released by Dark descent records, is a brilliant confirmation of their potential. If your looking for something very raw, brutal or trve pass your way. they belong more to the avant-garde side of black metal (while sticking largely to the basics of the genre, bleak atmosphere, croaked vocals, blast beats, etc..). The production is quite clean and clear and the use of contemporary music / neo classical elements as well as some elements reminding progressive music in a king crimsonian vein, bring a "classy" touch to their sound. They also use some dissonant riffing in a modern black metal vein (think Deathspell omega or Blut aus nord).  Their songwriting push more in the direction of creating melancholic, bizarre or epic atmospheres than on pure darkness or brutality. Sacred white noise is a fascinating album, a successfull step on the path of the broadening of black metal scope, a must listen for those interested in the more progressive / avant side of black metal, but it will also appeal to anyone into dark and atmospheric metal. A truly excellent album!

The bandcamp page.

Lantern - Below (2013)

With their first album called Below, released by the truly excellent Dark descent records, Lantern (a two man band from Filand) entered the death metal scene in the best way possible (not exactly their first step, they released before a good EP). the album has a big personnality while being firmly grounded in death metal tradition (they prove with style that you can do death metal the old school way without sounding like countless other bands).The vocals are powerfull and with an unusual, very rythmic, flow (reminds a bit Vader vocalist). the drummer keep it simple (often close to D-beat) but is doing just what is fitting the best for the dynamic of the song. the guitar work, often melodic and with many leads, is building strong and dark atmospheres. both morbid and catchy as only death metal can be, this one is going to be one of my favourite of the year in that style.

do yourself a favor and stream it on bandcamp.


Cruciatus, who handle all instruments in Lantern kindly answered to my questions. read it below :
  

-tell us about the project you had when forming Lantern, was being a band grounded into death metal tradition but doing it a different way a decision you made at the start?

Lantern was formed by me and vocalist Necrophilos in 2007, not too long after my old band Cacodaemon had ceased to exist. The primary agenda was to allow me to continue executing my musical perversions, and to be honest, we weren’t quite sure what would come out of the brew as we began to stir it. The first demo was even somewhat improvised (a method we still apply to our works to some extent), and our sound began to take form - slow but steady. Therefore, our sound was not pre-meditated, not at all. The pieces just fell into place, as we started putting this aural offal together… with as few restrictions as possible.

-do you play or have played in other bands?

 

Cacodaemon was my main band prior to forming Lantern, which is currently the only band I’m actively playing in. We played simple, straightforward, albeit pretty chaotic old-school death metal… more uncontrolled, one could say. Even though I nowadays think of the past band as a musical apprenticeship preparing me for Lantern, we still had some very good times and, not to forget, good material.

I’ve also spent, what, over 10 years with DTK (Death Thrashers Kuopio), truly a one-of-a-kind thrash metal output, wherein I play the drums. We haven’t been too active lately, although returning to the rehearsal room has been constantly discussed. Other than those two acts, I have been assisting a few mates’ bands on the drum department every now and then… Inhumane Deathcult, Hellboozer Union and Impervious to drop a few names.

-I read that your guitar melodies were influenced by progressive rock. but I think these melodic parts (by death metal standards I mean) don't really mellow your sound but on the contrary stress its raw, grotesque, side. was this blending of melody and rawness something you want to focus on when writing the song. 

I would not say the guitar melodies per se are influenced by progressive rock tunes. The particular genre - as well as all quality music that has changed my aspects musically - has moreover shown me how to do things differently, how to try to break boundaries. I could say progressive rock and the likes have taught me stubbornness, an feat essential to my style of playing and composing, and also essential to every attempt of creating something new / making progress anyway.

I think that the border between melodicism and raw power is very thin in Lantern’s music. A little differently made, this could be very wimpy sounding music, hahah. But something in me keeps this material winding on the raging side, luckily, as death / black metal should never be too subtle. It needs to be comfortably linear and boneheaded. But you know: sheer linear power would not have the same power as the one combined with a bit of thought. You know, the calm only emphasizes the following storm… Fortunately juggling with these particular balance issues is not something I’d need to focus on when writing; it’s quite integral to my way of working nowadays, something music demands to become good, if I were asked.

-these unusual melodies and the "metaphysical" atmospheres in Lantern reminds me a bit of Morbid angel, is it an influence for you or does it just happens that the two bands shares some similarities? 

 

Altars of Madness was among the first vinyl records I have ever bought, so this connection might be deep-rooted in my brain somehow, although Morbid Angel is not among the top influences for Lantern. Perhaps both us and MA are just primarily inspired by similar things?

-I like how Below is produced in a way allowing to hear clearly all instruments, including the bass. seems to me that the bass is really an element that was really present in the sound of death metal (Cannibal corpse's The bleeding comes to my mind for example) but get often lost in more modern death metal. a comment about it?

 

Basically, our goal was to cram as much atmosphere into the soundscape as possible, while trying to keep the separate instruments / elements as audible as possible. For you know, the audio engineering duties were handled by the band, except for mastering, which was brilliantly executed by Dan at Resonance Sound – hail!

For some reason, bass has always been one of the most challenging instruments for me to mix. Yet maybe for that reason I have paid extra attention to that department, having the bass become somewhat audible as well. I dislike the idea of having bass as an instrument whose presence can only be acknowledged by muting it out from the mix. I don’t see it that way. I grew up listening to metal where bass had some characteristics, like older Autopsy and Death records.

-I also like how the drumming is simple (at least by death metal standards), but a bit different to the usual death metal drumming parts and really working as something adding some dynamic to the songs. how would you describe your approach to drumming in Lantern? 

 

I most definitely am not a metal drummer in particular. As described by many, I have a very loose touch for drumming; I tend to jam out and let go of rules and regulations. I guess that’s what happens when you let a natural born lead guitarist hassle in the rhythm department of a band, hahaha. Also, I’m very lucky to have such a great live drummer as J. Poussu, as he plays from a similar basis as I do… only better.

-a few words about the lyrics?

Well, their content varies wildly. Some of the lyrics deal with horror-like fiction (sometimes even faction), while some are written to manifest my unexplainable inner surges / visions / experiences. And it’s all tailored with the riffs for everything to go hand-in-hand and appear as uniform as possible. The lyrical efforts are something I’m very pleased with, so again: I’d endorse people to get to know their content themselves. I don’t want to spoil the texts for anyone by over-explaining them.

-which song on Below is your favourite and why?

 

If I had to pick one favorite from this album that works best as an entity, I’d say Entrenching Presences, simply because it has some nifty riffage I’m proud of.

-how did you get into death / extreme metal? do you still love it for the same reasons?

I got into metal through friends / typical teenage “social pressure”, I guess, hahah. It was the time black metal was becoming more popular, so that’s where I got my first, easy taste of it all. However, I “strayed” toward bands like Beherit, Impaled Nazarene, Possessed, Motörhead and Judas Priest pretty quickly. And I still love all those bands I discovered back then, even though my musical likings are much wider nowadays. Playing and listening to metal, still, is what feels most natural to me.

-Finland has a lot of great bands, which ones deserves to be more well know in your opinion?

 

I suppose most people know names such as Desolate Shrine, Corpsessed, Flame, Maveth, Krypts, Lie in Ruins, Profetus, Swallowed etc. But other than those, Mausoleum Gate, Sepulchral Temple, Hellspirit, Brainthrash (to mention a few) are definitely more than worth checking out… and never forget Pyöveli!

-what is the next step for Lantern?

 

Our next step is to play a good show at Kill-Town Deathfest in Copenhagen / Denmark. After that, we’ll focus on making new songs and start the slow crafting of the subsequent release, whose format is more or less undisclosed at the moment. But whatever the format will be, chances are we might try to record it with a full band instead of a duo. So keep your eyes peeled.

-a final "full of wisdom" sentence to end the interview?

A sentence full of wisdom? Well, maybe that wisdom should lie more in deeds than in sentences? Anyhow, thanks for the nice interview and your interest towards Lantern!

Desolate shrine-The sanctum of human darkness (2012)

Desolate shrine is a finnish death / doom band. I really liked their previous and first record, Tenebrous towers, released last year so I had big expectations for this brand new one called The sanctum of human darkness and released two days ago by the excellent Dark descent records.
I cannot say yet if it's better than Tenebrous towers or not, but I can already say that it's high quality music that deserves some attention.
Still a lot of mid tempo heaviness with a songwriting inclined to "epicness". maybe it's now a bit more subtle, more sophisticated (some discreet keyboards parts here and there), I feel that they explored more their doom dimension than their old school death metal one (but you still have the death vocals, some blastbeats parts, etc). since the result is a really good, rich and complex record, I'm ok with it. I have a feeling that it's a record that is revealing it's "niceties" bit by bit listen after listen...And I think Desolate shrine is a band that is quickly becoming a classic in their musical style (at least they deserve it).

their FB page

Anhedonist-Netherwards

Netherwards is the first album (after a good demo called "The drear" in 2010) of Anhedonist from Seattle. Netherwards (released by the excellent Dark descent records) is a really solid exercise in death/doom, the four long songs really carries a lot of heaviness and dark atmospheres. The death metal riffs having sometimes a bit of a Morbid angel (circa Gateways of annihiliaiton) influence, which can't be a bad thing in my opinion. If you like death/doom I'm sure you'll like it. So try it and you won't regret...

anhedonist.blogspot.fr/

A few slabs of Old school Death metal!

allez quelques tranches de bon vieux metal de la mort! une sélection de trucs bien terribles parus ces derniers mois.

I told you a few days ago about the new Asphyx record that old school death metal was alive (hum...) and kicking these days. now I prove it with a selection a very good records in that style released in the last months.

-Mutant supremacy / rotting season EP /2012 / Blastbeat mailmurder       bandcamp page
                               / infinite suffering LP / 2010

-Asphyx / Deathammer /2012/ century media.  my review here.

-Horrendous / The chills / 2012 / Dark Descent records. my review here.

-Antediluvian / Through the cervix of hawwah / 2011 / Profound lore records. bandcamp page (one song)

-Ritual necromancy / Oath of the abyss / 2011 / Dark Descent records. blog of Ritual Necromancy

-Desolate shrine / Tenebrous towers / 2011   Desolate shrine's bandcamp page

-Wolvhammer / The obsidian plains / 2011/ Profound lore records

-Disma / Towards the megalith / 2011 / Profound lore records     Disma's official site.

-Cruciamentum / Engulfed in desolation EP / 2011/ Nuclear winter records

-Funerus / Reduced to sludge  /2011 / Ibex moon records    Funerus official site 

-Landmine marathon / Gallows / 2011 / Prosthetic records    Landmine marathon official site and blog

-Morbus chron / Sleepers in the rift / 2011 / Pulverized records    Pulverized rec / Mobrus chron bandcamp

-Vastum / Carnal law / 2011       Vastum's bandcamp

and to finish a reissue, but a fucking good one :

-Timeghoul / discography 1992-1994 / 2012 / Dark Descent records    Timeghoul official page  

Horrendous

Riffs, grooves, drumming, solos, bass, vocals, everything is cool is this new Horrendous record. If you like old school death metal you will love it. With Dark descent records we are used to get high quality old school death metal, with The chills, released in january 2012, we are far from disapointed. I think it's going to be one of the best death metal release of 2012.

 Stream it in full and watch some live videos of the band here.

Pour les amateurs de bon vieux death metal old school ce disque du groupe américain Horrendous, sorti chez Dark descent records en janvier 2012, est à ne pas rater, tout est super bien fait, chaque chansons se distingue des autres par quelque chose de différent. Un disque très réussi donc. le lien juste au dessus vous permettra de l'écouter.