MOB 47

This has been a long overdue post. However, it is pretty fitting to feature Sweden's OG hardcore band MOB 47 a week before they play here in Brooklyn (get info/tix here).

To be really blunt, these guys are like what Agnostic Front is to hardcore in America. These Swedish punx only have 22 songs to their name but I only have eight of them, which are featured in the now-legendary Kärnvapen Attack EP. You can pretty much purchase it at any independent record store but if you can't, order it at Havoc Rex - who officially reissued this hardcore gem.

Con Clavi Con Dio

The nameless ghouls themselves, GHOST, have uploaded a new track entitled "Con Clavi Con Dio" on their MySpace page. Nothing more needs to be said.

Needless to say, they are the band to see at the Live Evil Festival in London. If you can make it out there, do it.

Speak now from the text, pray for all die.

CRUDE SS

Are you surprised that this hardcore gem is from Sweden? Of course not! Here we have CRUDE SS, a unique hardcore band that played fast and morbidly slow with extreme feeling and aggression. It doesn't look like they will ever play again (haven't done so since '85) since Hocke, their drummer, died. Bummer. At least we got this crude music to enjoy.

Invoke the King of Hell

Out now on Iron Pegasus Records...



Holy shit! The debut 7" from Sweden's GHOST, entitled Elizabeth, is finally available - get this NOW!

Supreme Brutality, part VIII - WATAIN

Uppsala's black metal horde WATAIN will finally return to these damned shores for Maryland Deathfest and I couldn't be more stoked. I kinda stopped paying attention to that whole scene for a few years simply because a lot of the shit that's coming out is really whack but a handful of bands, like Watain, really keep it exciting. Their upcoming album, Lawless Darkness, is gonna blow some heads...! I saw them at Wacken in 2008 and seeing them live was a total trip! Really excited for this one.

BEAST

"What the fuck?" That was the first thing that came to my mind when I first heard BEAST from Sweden. To put it in a nutshell, these guys have a hard-edged garage punk rock sound. Imagine Germany's Dean Dirg with a more "Swedish heavy metal" touch, if you will. Not sure if they have any releases out (yet) but it appears they have shirts already. Check them out for a good, fun listen!

MORBUS CHRON

Sorry for the lack of updates. I am a busy person. In the meantime, check out MetalKult's cool review of Sweden's MORBUS CHRON.

Supreme Brutality, part III - WOLFBRIGADE

We're gonna take a detour today and touch upon one of the greatest crust/hardcore punk bands out there: Wolfbrigade. These Swedes aren't your typical crust punks, as they have very metallic tendencies (think Iron Maiden), which mainly include lots of guitar melodies and such. Actually, I would say these guys are a much more aggressive Bad Religion! Personally, they're one of my favorites and I'm extremely happy to be seeing them among all of the other pristine bands on the bill. Anyway, here's a few Wolfbrigade vids to get you stoked.

Post Apocalyptic Inquisition, part II

So here it is: part dos of the Post Apocalyptic Inquisition. Enjoy!

*****

Demonical - I first stumbled upon these guys after learning that they will be playing at Germany's Party.San Open Air Festival. I've heard of all the bands on that announcement but them, so I checked them out. All I can say is, wow, pretty much the only band now that can mix old-school Swedish Death Metal feeling with modern production! These guys are aggressive, ruthless, heavy, and make memorable songs... what's there to hate? If only every death metal band these days that can learn from them. I immediately passed these guys on to some friends and they're as hooked as I am. That has to say something. I ordered their latest (and second) album, Hellsworn, through Hell's Headbangers to cut import costs a bit. I still need the first one, Servants Of The Unlight, but it's not as good as their latest. I'm guessing it's for the (better) line-up and that these guys know how to progress. This band truly has it all!



Killer - These guys were passed on to me by a friend of mine who I believe discovered while in Europe. I remember it clearly: I was over at his place and he said, check out this band from Belgium called Killer. They worship Motörhead. Frankly, any band that worships Motörhead is good in my book. The album he gave me was Shock Wave, and if you like your heavy metal done right, look no further. I'm not exactly sure as to what else I should add about Killer other than they're great. You can order their CDs through Mausoleum Records, though it's a bit pricey. If you can find their LPs second hand (like I did, at a record fair here), grab 'em. If not, definitely order some CDs.



Dark Angel - Ok, these guys aren't the most "underground" band but they are definitely INSANELY overlooked. When one speaks about the Bay Area thrash scene, especially the second wave when the music got even more aggressive, Dark Angel is hardly mentioned. There's the first Testament album, Sadus, Exodus' first, and even Possessed (again, a shame). Well, let me reintroduce Dark Angel. A band so fast and insane that you just can't help but punch people in the face. I don't know what to say about these guys. Gene Hoglan on drums. Not convinced? Then get out. Just listen to Darkness Descends because that will make everything clearer.




Agent Steel - Let's be real here: Agent Steel is the Bret Hart of speed metal. They're the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. They are the excellence in executing speed metal. The early German scene is great, but Agent Steel's better. John Cyriis resembles a true front man. Here's a man who was an extremely talented singer, songwriter, and a true character. No one knows his true history. Some say he's actually an alien. Whatever the case may be, they will never be the same without him. I'm sure they don't suck now, but there will always be one John Cyriis. The first 2 albums and EP will always be highly regarded by me, and surprisingly, they're a bit hard to find. I lucked out, to say the least, to own them on LP (thanks Slipped Disc). Anyway, get into these guys!

VETERNUS

A lot of the new death metal bands coming out of Sweden are all great. No, really. I don't think I've encountered a single shitty death metal band from Sweden recently. However, these motherfuckers totally blew my mind. The reason consists of two words: Morbid and Angel.

Veternus probably listened to Morbid Angel a bit too much. Actually, who the hell am I kidding? There is never enough. "Morbid Destruction" even has the signature Trey whammy-bar-dive thing. Drummer P.Possessed definitely likes his blasts like Pete Sandoval.

I don't know what else to say. These guys are my new favorite death metal band. Get their demo tape at Detest Records now.

*****

Part 2 to Post Apocalyptic Inquisition coming soon. Blame these guys.

Post Apocalyptic Inquisition, part I

I woke up this morning sore as hell from carrying around a crate full of records, but it was damn worth it. Thanks to Tooth and Ryan for hookin' it up! If you haven't heard already, they're in a sick old-school heavy metal band called Natur. I wish they can play their own music on their own show. That would be something.

As for me, it was an experience DJ-ing for the first time. I got some pretty good feedback and allow me to use this post as a doorway to check out some of the bands I played. "Pick your poison" is the phrase but I say, "fuck it - pick 'em all!" You'll find some new bands, not-so-new bands, and everything in between.

*****

Ketzer - this is a band that Tooth was raving about when I played them, and he has every reason for it. These German youngsters play an insane style of blackened thrash metal that is as sinister as their debut album's artwork. You can get Satan's Boundaries Unchained on Kneel Before The Master's Throne's distro. If you're into Nifelheim or early-1349, you'll dig these guys.




Midnight - Here's a band from a few of Ohio's black rock n' rollers. Basically, these guys play 100% pure blackened rock/metal in the vein of Venom and Motörhead with some punk-feeling splashed on top. I blind-purchased their great EP Farewell To Hell a while back and it's still being spun around here. You can find it on Nuclear War Now! Productions' distro.



Skitsystem - Sweden's finest crust band! They broke up a while ago but thankfully reformed and will play shows again. Whew! These guys were the first crust band that I listened to back in like '05 and there was no turning back. Tomas Lindberg from At The Gates/Disfear and Adrian Erlandsson of At The Gates was in the initial line-up but have long since quit. These guys are as brutal as ever and you can get their albums at Havoc Records.



Ulysses Siren - These fucking guys! For those of you not aware of the glory that is Ulysses Siren, let me give you a heads up. These Bay Area thrashers only released 2 demos in their entire career and lasted for maybe 2 or 3 years total. Relentless Records just put them out in one package called Above The Ashes. You can get the super-limited vinyl version at The Omega Order. Do you like your trash fast? Look no further.



*****

Look for part II soon...

New DEATH BREATH Track

Ok... this is big news: new Death Breath track! It's unmixed, but if they released this as-is, I'm pretty sure no one would know. For those of you who listen to this band, you know what I mean.

The song is called "Obsessed By Sodomy" - and it's a fast one. The guitars have noticeably more distortion and I can't help but assume the track is a tribute to Sodom(as in, Obsessed By Cruelty...?). Whatever the case may be, it's still a fucking awesome song. Can't wait for the new LP!

Check it out here, ya maniacs.

TRIBULATION

Well, well, well... what do we have here? Well, we have another fine band from Sweden and the one I'm gonna focus on now is Tribulation. These guys are in a very interesting state of affairs over yonder in Scandinavia, much like how bands like Bonded By Blood and Warbringer are over here in the States. The "interesting state of affairs" that I'm referring to is the "sudden resurgence" of the bands' respective scenes/genres. Over here, we have the thrash "revival" where many journalists (in some cases) lump any young band that sounds/looks thrash as "thrash revival" and the same rules apply in Scandinavia with death metal. Thus is the sad truth about the industry "know-it-all's"...

Tribulation are not, in any way, shape, or form, a "revival" band! There! I said it! So what are they then? A death metal band. I would also say they have some pretty strong thrash influences as well, which seems logical since the band evolved from Hazard. Again, I must reiterate the fact that these guys don't sound "retro" and even though they are from the same country that spew forth Entombed and Dismember, they have nothing in common with their Heavy Metal Pedal countrymen.



One good listen to the band's debut LP, The Horror, will make you aware of this fact. There's no shortage of speed here. There's also no shortage of insane riffs! I'm actually gonna stop right here and direct you over to MetalKult's review of the album. Why? I don't like to repeat myself.

I will, however, repeat one point that was touched upon in that review: the artwork. Holy. Shit. Two words, when put together, that means... you know - something awesome. Guitarists Adam Zaars and Jonathan Hultén apparently aren't just skilled at their instrument. They actually have their own art/design firm called Necromantic Art and if you're looking for something brutal for your band or whatever, be sure to get in touch with them (details below).



Another interesting thing about these guys are their other bands. Bassist/vocalist Johannes Andersson and Hultén are in another (excellent) death metal band called Stench and Zaars is in the traditional heavy/speed metal band Enforcer. Without giving too much away in this particular post about Tribulation: if you like either genre, you're most likely enjoy gonna both bands.

If you want to know more about Tribulation (though you probably won't since this band is pretty mysterious), head over to their MySpace. For Necromantic Art, check out their official homepage for contact info.

For the CD version of The Horror, go to Pulverised Records' webstore. For the super-awesome vinyl version, head on over to Blood Harvest's webstore. While you're there, you can also find their great 7" EP, Putrid Rebirth. Check out Detest Records for the EP as well.

*****

One last thing about the band: if you're in Germany around early-mid August, be sure to attend Party.San Open Air! Tribulation will be playing alongside the best of the best in the realm of death and black metal! More coverage on this later...

Entombed U.S. Tour!

Praise be to Satan! Here's the story, taken from Blabbermouth:

Swedish metal veterans ENTOMBED will play a week's worth of shows surrounding their appearance at this year's Maryland Deathfest appearance. Support on the trek will come from MERAUDER, with WOE OF TYRANTS appearing on the last five dates.

The details are as follows:

May 31 - Championship Bar and Grill - Trenton, NJ
Jun. 01 - Opera House - Toronto, ON
Jun. 02 - Gramercy Theatre - New York, NY
Jun. 03 - Peabody's - Cleveland, OH
Jun. 04 - Blondies - Detroit, MI
Jun. 05 - Reggies - Chicago, IL
Jun. 06 - The Rave - Milwaukee, WI

Appearing with:

May 31 with MERAUDER
Jun. 01 with OBITUARY, MERAUDER
Jun. 02 - Jun. 06 with MERAUDER, WOE OF TYRANTS

Tickets go on sale today at EnterTheVault.com exclusively until March 1, at which point they will be made available through all normal ticketing systems.

Personally, this is simply INCREDIBLE news since—as some of you may know—I totally worship this band and haven't had the chance to see them live yet.

For those of you not in the know (shame on you), check this classic footage of them playing "Left Hand Path" from 1992's Monkey Puss video:



And here they are playing "I For An Eye" in 2008 with the current line-up:




Some highly recommended LPs to have in your collection:












You can get Entombed's first three albums over here at the Earache Records Webstore and latest four releases (including Inferno and their second live album Unreal Estate) over here at Candlelight USA's webstore. Of course, if you want to know more about the band, check out tour dates, or whatever else, visit their official MySpace page.