Neil Burkdoll's (Fatalist) Top 5 favorite New Old-School Death Metal Bands

Posted November 9 by Chris D.

By Neil Burkdoll (Fatalist)

5. Vorum (Finland) - I really don't know much about these guys other than I think they are going to go really far in the metal world. Their Grim Death Awaits mini CD is incredible. I listen to it all of time and I play it for anyone who will listen. They are another band that combines elements of Old School and the New School. They are very tight and brutal, but with very memorable songs. I hear elements of early Terrorizer mixed with Demigod when I listen to them. I'm sure they would totally disagree with me, but that's what I hear and it rules. I had John from Ibex Moon check them out and I heard that he liked them, so we will see what happens. They are not very known yet, but people should check them out online and give them a chance.

4. Infinitum Obscure (Mexico) - Roberto from this band contacted me a few years back and wanted to do a trade of some kind. Like an idiot, I sort of forgot about him and his band until a few months ago when I heard their song “Seeding Darkness” on a compilation. I instantly fell in love with this band and contacted them again. I just got a copy of their new album Sub Atris Caelis last week and I haven't stopped listening to it yet. They have this vibe to them that reminds me of being 13-years old again and hearing Schizophrenia by Sepultura for the first time. I absolutely love what this band does. The delay on the vocals almost puts you in a trance and you don't get that sort of feeling from bands anymore and I miss it.

3. Deathevokation (USA) - I have known Götz from Deathevokation for a few years now, and I think their album The Chalice of Ages is the fucking shit. I listen to it all of the time and it really brings me back to the good old days. It totally has the vibe of all of the early Century Media bands like Grave, Asphyx, Morgoth, and Unleashed. The production was perfect and I hope to record our next album with John Haddad because of this album alone. I would love to share the stage with them at some point in the future, but I hear that they might not even be a band anymore. I hope this is not the case because the world needs another album from these guys.

2. Lifeless (Germany) - I have been in contact with Marc from Lifeless for at least two and a half years, maybe even three. When Fatalist had only instrumental/drum machine demos up on our MySpace page, Marc asked if he could do some vocals on our songs. He told me he was starting this band Lifeless and that I should check them out when they released a demo of some kind. Eventually I got a copy in my hands and I was really into their Old School meets New School vibe that they had going for them. They combined a bunch of Old School riffs with the modern brutality that a lot of new bands have. As much as I like the 7 song demo, the new songs that I am hearing, like “Moribund”, are amazing. If they can release an album with songs of that quality, than it might be my favorite album of the year. I actually got John from Ibex Moon into them, and a deal was done, so we are now labelmates with Lifeless.

1. Gravehill (USA) - These guys are good friends of ours, and we have played a bunch of shows with them in the past. Their drummer Rhett was our original drummer for about the first 4-5 months of our existence. What I really like about them is that they combine a lot of Celtic Frost and Autopsy with some early Slayer thrown in for good measure. They might not agree with me, but that is what I hear when I listen to them. They are really great performers live and they sound very professional as well. They put out quality releases that keep getting better in my opinion and I can't wait for the next CD. Also, they don't try to have any kind of modern production with all kinds of studio bullshit involved. You can hear that they are really playing their instruments and that they are fine with little mistakes here and there because it adds character to their songs that you don't get in today's recordings. We were supposed to do a split 7-inch with them that never actually happened, but maybe one day we can make it come to life.

** Fatalist's new album, The Depths of Inhumanity, is out now on Ibex Moon Records. Order here.

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