Hey, Metallica has two new songs out, right? Well, love them or hate them, Decibel doesn’t pay me to write about that. Can I point out that I was right about the new Neurosis though? You’re damn skippy I was… so like peep some of this new stuff here.
There is new Agatus record called The Eternalist on Hells Headbangers, and while I usually like most stuff the label releases, this is not one of those instances. This is black metal, and not like what you think when you think black metal—more akin to first wave of black metal. Songs steeped in mysticism, darkness and demonology. This all sounds good, right? No, I mean this thing has no teeth, definitely more in the Bathory vein of things—and while I like Bathory, this is NOT that. You can easily tell what they’re going for here, and while there are catchy riffs, it just doesn’t do it for me. There’s clean singing, clean guitars and the production packs all of the punch of a toddler. This could be much better if there were ANY sack in this, but alas there’s not. So, if you like “real” black metal, check it out. But if you like raw, visceral or aggressive underground metal, this is not for you. 4 Fucking Pecks.
Finding out about a band called Aghast! isn’t that easy (there are a couple black metal bands called Aghast), and man, I really am not pecking digging this. This is what I think passes for metalcore in the U.K., and well… it sucks. This is death metal—you know, the typical boring type—with some breakdowns and some clean vocals thrown in. I don’t get it really, this is just wimpy sounding and may end up in a Hot Topic someday. Oh yeah, the record is called Something Else; Something Rotten and the title is correct, it IS something else, and it’s definitely rotten. 2 Fucking Pecks
Want some old-school Swedish death? From Arizona no less? Then peck out the new Gatecreeper album, Sonoran Deprivation, on Relapse. Finally, something I’m digging this week. This is NASTY death metal, and you know, kinda mid-paced, but still has some balls. Think old Dismember or Grave and you’ll get the idea. There are riffs, so it’s not just HM-2 blur, and the production gives this some life. These guys have slugged it out in the pits of the underground for years and finally are getting a “real” debut. This is cool, this is death, and this is real. 7 Fucking Pecks.
