Septic Grave - Beyond The... demo [1994]

Septic Grave were a little-known Swedish death metal demo act - no significant 'members of' (they have links to Prophanity and The Embraced but nobody else), and they only released this demo and the Caput Mortuum EP. It's a shame, because this demo is really good. It has a semi-Sunlight Studios sounding production, but it doesn't really fit too many of the common features of Swedeath - it doesn't have the rapid pace of any of the scene forerunners, except for the rare use of blastbeats. Admittedly, that may be due to their relatively late appearance on the scene, allowing foreign influence to more thoroughly permeate their sound, but nonetheless, this is excellent material with great songwriting. If you're fearful of demo sound quality, don't be, because this is incredibly well mixed - each instrument can be clearly heard along with all the melodies (and I don't mean that in a gay Gothenburg manner but more in a strictly musical manner).

256 kbps

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Napalm Death - Utopia Banished [1992]

Although, strictly speaking, Napalm Death's late 80s/early 90s heyday had probably ended by the time Utopia Banished came to fruition, it's just about similar enough to Harmony Corruption to be included in that era by some - and it's a solid album. Although the riffing style is much closer to the semi-dissonant approach used in the Diatribes era, the songs themselves are much more visceral and aggressive than most of the band's late 90s output. In particular, 'Cause And Effect (Part 2)' and 'Got Time To Kill' are stunning efforts which fit well among the death/grind of the previous few years. It's also, in my eyes, Barney Greenway's best vocal performance on any Napalm Death album, although it's a narrow matter as his style changed very little over the years. Still, a recommended album.

160 kbps

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Mule Skinner - Abuse [1996]

Mule Skinner are a death/grind band from Louisiana who are not particularly famous (indeed, the only member they share with any remotely famous band is ex-vocalist Joe Caper with Righteous Pigs), but who make that sort of death/grind that just hits the spot - it's aggressive and full of blastbeats, but with enough breaks from that to give an element of variety to the album. This is their only full-length album, and before this, they had only released a demo and a single. It's excellent stuff, though, and I highly recommend it to fans of Harmony Corruption-era Napalm Death, and particularly to fans of Abuse (that's ironic)-era Wormrot, or, in fact, to any grindcore fan. Give it a pop.

VBR, v1

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Re-upload: Immolation - Close To A World Below [2000]

It really is astounding how Immolation, just one year after their defining Failures For Gods, could produce such an immense follow-up. Once again leading the scene (Incantation notwithstanding), this is not an album to be missed.

Re-upload notes: Okay, I've been convinced that this is their defining moment rather than my beloved Failures For Gods, and I suppose it is a little bit idiosyncratic than their other work. Regardless, I strongly suggest you listen to both - they're both wonderful albums and some of the best music death metal has to offer.

320 kbps

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Re-upload: Discharge - Realities Of War EP [1980]

Another pre-'Hear Nothing...' Discharge release here. Discharge are pretty much the kings of hardcore punk, despite ill-advised trips to glam metal on 'Grave New World'. This EP was recorded in 3 hours, and so has a great punk vibe to it, throughout its 5 minutes.

Re-upload notes: Although it doesn't quite touch on the quality of Why or Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing, Realities Of War is certainly a solid release, even by Discharge standards. It's the first studio evidence of the d-beat as far as I'm aware (their '77 demo is just straight up punk), which adds historical value to the release.

192 kbps

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Warfuck - The Weak And The Wicked [2012]

Just to prove I do actually post band submissions when I like them, Warfuck is a French grindcore band - or rather, power duo - who play music based on the more riffy side of grindcore (think Nasum and Rotten Sound rather than Discordance Axis and Human Remains). The best part of the album is by far the excellent drum work, but the riff work is catchy and solid too. If there was any justice in the world, Warfuck would be much bigger than shitty bands like Gridlink already. The one less enjoyable element of the album is the vocal approach - they sound rather sterile and compressed, which to me doesn't suit this style of grindcore - nor does the production which is a little too clean for my tastes. Still, it's a good album and I recommend it.

320 kbps (I think)

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Doomed - From The Crypt EP [2010]

Doomed are a Slovenian death metal band. That's the simple introduction to them. I'll continue by saying that their music is available free from Bandcamp, and that it's a mixture of the old school (particularly Morbid Angel to my ears) with a splash of new school mannerisms thrown in (don't worry, this doesn't mean Necrofaggist-wank or breakdowns). Sure, this could describe a whole bunch of bands, but what sets Doomed apart is their ability to write songs - particularly opener proper of this EP - 'Chainsaw Puzzle' - but every track is well constructed and a joy to listen to. They're changing their name to Verminate soon because (quote from their set at BoA) 'some assholes took our name', but from what I've heard of their new material, it's equally solid. Somebody should sign these guys before they start writing shit music (the three links here are just examples of what happens when death metal bands' creative juices are left to stir for too long - the reason why we want Doomed to make more music quickly!).

320 kbps

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