GORGUTS "Colored Sands"

It´s always hard to review a record by a band like Gorguts. First and foremost they have recorded one of the most extreme records ever when it comes to strange rhythm patterns and riffing you only hear on planets above the earth. I guess you either prefer their earlier works with more focus on pure death metal, or the latter with focus on the very complex side of extreme metal. I think "From Wisdom To Hate" is a great record. It has their trademark crazy riffing, brutality, Luc Lemay´s desperate vocals and the atmosphere from another dimension of this universe. I am a bit divided in my thoughts for this new album, the first three songs sound a bit too slow for my taste. But the title track includes some great grinding within the cacophony of tones from your darkest and weirdest nightmare. Well I need some speed to get satisfied, otherwise I get bored even if it is flawlessly played with rich amounts of great musical knowledge and with a production you only hear from these Canadians . Maybe I am too "old school", but when one start to incorporate violins in "The Battle of Chamdo" and other stuff belonging to classical music I tend to be a little uninterested. (I understand that this kind of song is meant to be a moment of breathing before the next storm comes). In my opinion it would have been better to have this song at the end of the record. I have the deepest respect for these musicians but you can´t love it(the music) all, can you?. The next song that captures me is "Enemies of Compassion" which reminds me of the "From Wisdom To Hate" record. Really aggressive and very fu-king catchy (In a Gorguts way). "Absconders" follows and you got a Gorguts in great shape. Midpaced song with atonal chords as usual. One of the more brutal songs "Reduced To Silence" end this record. A good choice. Well, this record is like a neverending artistic cacophony of sounds that you hopefully can imagine in a strange dream. Exactly what you should expect from Gorguts today. Is it good. Yes, it´s very good. Is it excellent? In my taste, I would have preferred a more straightforward record. Maybe I have changed my mind in a few weeks, but right now I give this one 10 for being unique and 7 for being good but not great. And the cover is artistic supremacy, so I guess I have to give this record...

8,5/10

BLOOD RED THRONE "Blood Red Throne"

When it comes to death metal Norway hasn´t been very successful, Sweden has been much more in the forefront. But anyway Blood Red Throne is one of the exceptions, they have slayed and tortured since 1998 and they still do. Lately "Souls of Damnation" and "Come Death" have appealed to me a lot. Crunch, hooks and speed have been their trademarks. In 2011 they changed label to Sevared Records, known for their bands with gory and perverse covers. Well, "Brutalitarian Regime" didn´t impress me a lot(Even if the cover actually is cool). It was too generic and not much happened in the songs. Now they are back with a blastfest and a new vocalist who uses both "highs" and "lows" in a very good way. He sounds very demented when he shrieks (that´s a good thing, it´s death metal huh?), and growls decent, not phenomenal but way better than most of the label´s bands vocalists. This record is a beast that really hits you hard and goes for the throat. You have both heavy parts and incredible blastbeat hammering. The good thing about this record is that I can´t get enough of the songs, I always want to hear more, cause they are very diverse and never get boring. You can hear that these fellas are experienced musicians with a passion to destroy in a very pleasent way. Crushing riffs, great solos and a production that is very good, it´s dirty but you can hear all the instruments, at least you can hear the bass if you wear headphones. Now and then the bass is more audible (even withouth headphones), and that´s always a good thing. Even if it´s not Erlend Casperssen playing the bass. You get the most out of this record if you want bonegrinding death metal with a lot of attitude, this is death metal, not tech death, thank you guys. It´s very well played but not in a whanky way. The play raw and dirty death metal, but it doesn´t sound "old" it sounds fresh and vital all the way.

9/10