Death Metal Underground

The Accüsed

by Johan Pettersson on August 29, 2019

The Accüsed came to life in 1981 as a punk/metal-act from Seattle who indulge in a self-coined musical style interchangeably referred to as “splatter core” or “splatter rock.” Releasing their debut full-length album in 1985, The Accüsed developed tangentially to thrash luminaries such as D.R.I., C.O.C. and Cryptic Slaughter, with whom they share musical characteristics. Like the latter, the Accüsed applies metallic riffing to rudimentary song structures fueled by the raging intensity of hardcore punk.

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Tags: Crossover, Speed Metal, the accused, Thrash

Some Brief Thoughts: The Problem of Originality in Nowadays Metal

by Tyrell Dahlstrom on April 10, 2019

It is rather commonplace among certain circles to engage in lamentations over the current state of Metal and a perceived disconnect between the classic glory days of high adventure with contemporary mediocrity.

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Tags: Black Metal, death metal, Heavy Metal, nowadays, originality, some brief thoughts, spear of longinus, Speed Metal, thrash metal

Virgin Steele: A Retrospective (Part 2)

by Tyrell Dahlstrom on March 11, 2019

[Continued from Part 1]

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Tags: 2018, aeschylus, ballads, barbaric romanticism, blues, by the gods, classical music, cock rock, composition, Concept Album, cover songs, david defeis, dionysus, edward pursino, epic, exorcist, frank gilchriest, hard rock, hatred, Heavy Metal, insanity, jack starr, josh block, lilith, long island, love, madness, Mythology, new york, Occultism, Opera, original sin, over the top, Paganism, passion, piano, piledriver, power metal, rock opera, Romanticism, sexuality, Speed Metal, the hammer of zeus, the wrecking ball of thor, tragedy, Transcendence, USA, USPM, Vengeance, victory, virgin steele, wine

Virgin Steele: A Retrospective (Part 1)

by Tyrell Dahlstrom on March 9, 2019

By the Gods my friends!

Forged in the desolate halls of 1981, hailing from the majestic kingdom of Long Island, New York… Virgin Steele have been one of the most enduring acts of Powerful Epic Heavy Metal for aeons! The aural magnificence of ultra-charismatic vocalist / composer / keyboardist / all around renaissance mad-man David “Dionysus” DeFeis and trusty six-stringed axe warrior of indomitable fury and vengeance Edward Pursino’s combined creative efforts have been overlooked by scholars of Metal for too long!

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Tags: aeschylus, ballads, barbaric romanticism, blues, by the gods, classical music, cock rock, composition, Concept Album, cover songs, david defeis, dionysus, edward pursino, epic, exorcist, frank gilchriest, hard rock, hatred, Heavy Metal, insanity, jack starr, josh block, lilith, long island, love, madness, Mythology, new york, Occultism, Opera, original sin, over the top, Paganism, passion, piano, piledriver, power metal, rock opera, Romanticism, sexuality, Speed Metal, the hammer of zeus, the wrecking ball of thor, tragedy, Transcendence, USA, USPM, Vengeance, victory, virgin steele, wine

Retrospective : Artillery – By Inheritance

by Nicholas Vahdias on February 9, 2019

Artillery are a Danish Speed metal band that have continued to sully their legacy with endless mediocrity that was so boring that even Metal Blade had to drop them in recent years. Despite all their recent shortcomings, Artillery were once an underground Speed metal that released two excellent albums before abandoning the underground in the pursuit of their magnum opus. Inspired in part by their journey to Tashkent in the former USSR which is now the capital of Uzbekistan, the band incorporated oriental sounds, a multitude of different riffs, haunting arpeggios and fist raising Heavy metal to create one of the finest releases in a genre which had already died at this stage.

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Tags: artillery, By Inheritance, flemming rasmussen, mercyful fate, metallica, Speed Metal, suffocation, Terror Squad

The Best Underground Metal Of 2018

by Brett Stevens on December 31, 2018

The task before a reviewer varies widely. If you want to be a big shot, you need to write about what the labels want, since they are the only source of top-down money coming into the genre. They will then reward your publication with advertising, it will then reward you with a promotion, and eighteen months later, you can ditch it and move up to the big leagues.

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Tags: 2018, Angantyr, archgoat, best of, black funeral, Black Metal, condemner, death metal, deceased, Drawn and Quartered, Grindcore, Heavy Metal, internal bleeding, iskandr, judas priest, kever, master, monstrosity, nachtlieder, phosphore blanc, progressive metal, retortion terror, Satan, slam metal, sludge, Speed Metal, Summoning, Therion, trenchant, underground metal

Death Squad – Split You At The Seams (1991)

by Brett Stevens on November 22, 2018

Death Squad – Split You At The Seams
Ever Rat Records, 1991

Speed metal — rising from Tank, Satan, Metallica, and Mercyful Fate — had a good but short run in the 1980s before enterprising poseurs worked rock and blues back into the mix, taking away the focus on riffs and song construction in favor of what were essentially pop songs with lots of muted E-chords. Split You At The Seams shows a late entry with roll-your-own spirit.

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Tags: death squad, Speed Metal

Blasphemous – Emerging Through Fire (2018)

by Brett Stevens on October 26, 2018

As metal tries to reorganize itself, bands recombine previous styles, trying to find the right formula from which a next generation could be birthed. Such is the case with Blasphemous, which combines late-model slam-style death metal with power metal to make a listenable but ultimately rather simplified form of extreme metal.

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Tags: blasphemous, death metal, metalcore, power metal, Speed Metal

Mortem – De Natura Daemonum (2005)

by Ioannis Metaxas on October 12, 2018

Mortem hails from Peru and needs no introduction. The cataleptic, rhythm-driven songwriting makes De Natura Daemonum a strong sonic bastion in the band’s repertoire.

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Tags: death metal, fernan nebiros, mortem, Speed Metal

Afflicted

by Sawyer Clark on July 22, 2018

Afflicted were a Swedish metal band from the late 80’s to the mid 90’s releasing only two albums and a handful of demos. They began as Afflicted Convulsion playing primitive yet erratic death metal/grindcore. Although the riffs on their earliest (listenable) demo, Beyond Redemption, do little to set themselves apart from their contemporaries, we are presented with nuanced compositions that keep the listener enticed through each track, presenting satisfying wholes rather than myopic moments of inspiration. As Afflicted, the band would take their compositional skills and apply them to unique riffs on their demos and first album, Prodigal Sun. (more…)

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Tags: afflicted, beyond redemption, death metal, Grindcore, Hardcore, power metal, prodigal sun, Speed Metal, Sweden

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