Brief Analysis: Possessed – “The Exorcist”

by Nicholas Vahdias on October 2, 2019

The opening song of Seven Churches starts off with The Exorcist theme taken from Tubular Bells but performed by producer Randy Burns. This emblematic introduction played on a cheap organ synth with its muddy timbre is the perfect introduction for this innovative band that managed to reconcile underground metal with the blossoming Speed metal movement into a vicious piece that carries on towards a much darker path.

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Brief Analysis: Call and Response with Autopsy’s “Dead”

by Nicholas Vahdias on July 22, 2019

Upon initially hearing “Dead” on Autopsy’s Mental Funeral. Many would imagine that the second half consists of the same idea played on two different octaves before being harmonized together. While the call and response nature of this section may allude to that, the truth is surprisingly more complex as Chris Reifert and co decide to explore a much trickier idea of contrasting two related ideas played in opposition before reconciling them. Such notions are abound in rock music where the voice will alternate with the guitars during the verse before uniting with the chorus but in Metal such attempts have been met with general laughter. The more technical Hardcore bands would then introduce the poisonous and confused idea of then contrasting two completely unrelated ideas. Here Autopsy show that despite the simple nature of the melodies, that they are truly masters of the genre.

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Brief Analysis: Nihilist – “Sentenced to Death” Climax

by Nicholas Vahdias on June 29, 2019

For many bands, summer is the perfect time to record music and to rehearse for live concerts in a boiling garage or studio. The festival season and the holidays allow many musicians to take time off to focus on implementing new songs to their set list or to push their capabilities as players. Where most players seek to play more technically dexterous music, a few friends of mine wanted to master a song that was simultaneously simple yet physically exhausting to play. Nihilist and Sodom both fit the bill perfectly but we would settle on “Sentenced to Death” for its brief periods of respite between the bursts of rapid picking. Though we thought of this song as being a basic and minimalistic slice of powerful metal, after our wrists and arms had been decimated completely, we came to realize that the true power of this song is not the constant madness but the final flurry that manages to go even beyond the insanity before it.

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