dark descent records

Begrime Exemious “Eviscerating Pestilential Shrines of the West MMXVI” Tour

In support of our new full length, Begrime Exemious will be crossing the border once again to play a string of shows on the west coast US/Canada.

September 1 – Kamloops, BC @ The Office w/ Watchdog, Wormhold
September 2 – Vancouver BC @ Astoria w/ TBA
September 3 – Seattle, WA @ The Highline w/ Drawn & Quartered, Oxygen Destroyer
September 4 – Portland, OR @ The Panic Room w/ Petrifacation
September 5 – Salem, OR @ The Space
September 6 – Sacramento, CA @ The Starlight Lounge w/ Crawl
September 7 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Blue Lagoon w/ Gloam, Moirai
September 8 – San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick w/ Seraphic Disgust, Xantam
September 9 – Los Angeles, CA @ The 5 Star Bar
September 10 – Oakland, CA @ The Golden Bull
September 11 – Eugene, OR @ Old Nick’s w/ Mortuary Drape, Predatory Light

Begrime Exemious – The Enslavement Conquest

The third Begrime Exemious album, “The Enslavement Conquest,” will be released this March on CD/LP/digital on Dark Descent Records. It features 9 brand new songs of savage thrashing death metal in addition to an Incantation cover. Listen to “Noose for a Monarch,” which is streaming online courtesy of Decibel Magazine.

Track List:
1. Cradled in Our Hands
2. Overpowered (Under Siege)
3. Transcendence
4. Rat Amongst the Herd
5. Conscription Woes
6. Subconscious Nemesis
7. Noose for a Monarch
8. Impending Diabolical Conquest (Incantation cover)
9. Crusade Towards Self Devolution
10. When the Vultures Leave

Lineup:
D. Orthner – Vocals, Guitar
F. Thibaudeau – Guitar, Vocals
A. Rintoul – Bass
L. Norland – Drums

“The Enslavement Conquest” was recorded in the first half of 2015 by Lee Norland, mixed by Derek Orthner, mastered by Dan Lowndes at Resonance Sound Studio (UK), with artwork by Mark Riddick.

I’ve never been more proud of anything I’ve ever done, musically or otherwise. This is the first album we’ve done with myself handling lead vocals and penning all the lyrics. I was also responsible for all the mixing and the layouts for the CD/LP. The LP will be available in both black and gold wax. Shows in west Canada and a tour of the west coast US will be executed throughout 2016 in support of “The Enslavement Conquest.”

Blood Incantation – Interdimensional Extinction

Genre: Death Metal | Label: Dark Descent Records
Location: Boulder, CO, USA | Listen: Bandcamp

Technical death metal is a genre that’s very hit or miss, with many bands missing the mark by a long shot. When I was a teenager, I became quite obsessed with the style, as the level of musicianship is a step above what most people can play. However, I found that the more bands I checked out, the more they just blended together into a mess of technical wankery in which nothing really stood out. The riff was lost, and eventually, so was my interest in this style of death metal.

Colorado’s Blood Incantation, however, have proved to me that quality technical death metal still exists. After releasing a trio of demos, these Rocky Mountain dwellers have teamed up with Dark Descent Records (who are also located in Colorado) for their debut EP. “Interdimensional Extinction” combines dazzling fretwork and science fiction themes into an old school death metal framework to create four memorable songs.

As stated, my biggest problem with a lot of technical death metal is that it just becomes an unmemorable mess. Blood Incantation, although technically proficient, do not sacrifice riffs to display their skill. Rather, their musical prowess enhances the riffs to give them that extra flair that’ll keep them in your mind. Listen to that death/thrash riff that comes up halfway through “Obfuscating the Linear Threshold” and you’ll see what I mean. These riffs induce some serious neck snapping, and that’s what death metal should be all about.

Blood Incantation’s songs are full of dynamics that are well arranged, giving each song it’s own identity. The opening track, “The Vth Tablet (Of Enûma Eliš),” has a break into a sweeping guitar lead, which is obviously dangerous territory where many bands would fall into a endless string of uninspired notes. However, these guys manage to make the lead guitars catchy, and that particular sweep will be stuck in your head for days. The second track features some death/doom breaks that balance out the speedier parts of the song. Catch and release songwriting is utilized very well on this EP.

“Hovering Lifeless” is perhaps the most standout track on this release. The intro is open and eerie, and allows the fretless bass to really shine. On that note, Damon Good (aka the Great Righteous Destroyer of StarGazer and several other quality Australian bands) fills in as a session member, and does a fantastic job doing so.

The EP ends off with its longest track, “Subterranean Aeon,” which again sees the band twisting their fingers around and turning the tempos on a dime without it feeling awkward. The outro utilizes some melodic playing on the fretless bass, and wraps up this 18 minute slab of music very nicely.

I really wish this EP was longer, as it seems to whiz by before you know it. It demands further listening, not because it’s difficult to comprehend, but because it’s just that addicting to listen to. That being said, it is understood that Blood Incantation has a full length in the works, which should be on everyone’s radar after listening to “Interdimensional Extinction.” Damian Herring (of Horrendous) once again did a wonderful job of making this release fulfill its potential in the production department. Blood Incantation has a very promising future, and anyone who enjoys classic technical death metal like Gorguts, Demilich, and Timeghoul should give this a listen if they haven’t already.

85%

Grave Ritual – Morbid Throne

Genre: Death Metal | Label: Dark Descent Records
Location: New Orleans, LA, USA | Listen: Bandcamp

Five years ago, and when they were based in Montgomery, death metal mongers Grave Ritual released their debut album, “Euphoric Hymns from the Altar of Death.” Prior to that, they released a handful of splits and demos under the moniker Meathole Infection. After five years of silence, the band has relocated to New Orleans, and have released their most punishing slab of death metal to date. “Morbid Throne” combines massive death metal hooks with a clear-yet-suffocating sound, making this album a clear winner.

Grave Ritual’s main appeal has always been the quality of their riffs. Not only are they dark and evil, but they manage to make a lot of catchy riffs. While some bands might only have one “big riff” per song, Grave Ritual delivers riff after riff of proper death metal. Even when they were known as Meathole Infection, these guys churned out some proper riffs. “Morbid Throne” continues this trend flawlessly.

Most of the songs on this album are around the three minute mark, which means there really is no time for filler. The band pushes a variety of musical feels with each song, further cementing an identity for each track. The opening track does a great job kicking off the album with some mid paced riffing and desolate lead playing. For those who’ve been following the band’s progress since the Meathole Infection days, some of these songs may sound familiar. “Baleful Aversion” is a reworking of “Satan’s Supper” from the split with Violent Gorge, and “Adversary Crown” is “The Stench of Rot” from the split with Necrovorous. There may be a couple more re-recordings that I’m not aware of, but either way, these old songs (with new lyrics) sound better than ever and show that Grave Ritual are serious death metal worshipers.

As I mentioned earlier, the production of “Morbid Throne” is definitely the best that Grave Ritual’s ever had. The guitar tone is very well balanced. It’s heavy, but it cuts like a fresh razor blade through flesh. The drums sound nice and thick, and don’t have any unnatural tones. Dan Lowndes (of Cruciamentum) mixed and mastered this record, and his work always manages to create a thick sound without being too murky.

Although Grave Ritual clearly has the Incantation influence in their sound, they don’t sound like a clone band to me. To me, it’s just proper old school death metal that wastes no time. I hear some other influences seeping in, such as Carcass in the way they build up and break down riff segments. Overall, this is a fantastic death metal LP with no frills, just riffs soaked in evil with deathly vocals roaring over top.

85%

Adversarial – Death, Endless Nothing and the Black Knife of Nihilism

Genre: Black/Death Metal | Label: Dark Descent Records
Location: Toronto, ON, Canada | Listen: Bandcamp

For those paying attention, Adversarial has been one of the most promising death metal acts of this decade. Formed in 2007, this Toronto power-trio has been annihilating everything in their path, whether people realize it or not. Their debut full length came out in 2010, which spewed forth an abundance of spiraling riffs to create a toxic atmosphere that was unparalleled by their peers. However, that infamously loud snare turned a lot of of listeners away from an otherwise incredible album. Adversarial corrected this problem with releases after, especially winning fans over with the split LP with Antediluvian. Finally, 2015 sees their second album, “Death, Endless Nothing and the Black Knife of Nihilism,” and it truly rises above all other black/death metal bands putting music out today.

First, one will notice right away that the production of this record benefits the style of music a lot more. Mixed by guitarist/vocalist C.S., it’s clear that a few more years of recording discipline have paid off. The guitars are thick, and allow the complexity of the riffs to stand out well against the barrage of drums. Drums of this speed are often hard to obtain a clear sound, but this mix achieves a great balance and allows all the hyperblasting and double kick madness to fulfill their roles properly. Lead guitars have a tasteful amount of delay that assist in creating a spiraling feeling of uneasiness. Furthermore, Damian Herring of Subterranean Watchtower Studios handled mastering duties and did a fine job of doing so. Any problems that listeners had with the debut Adversarial album have been nullified with this recording.

The songwriting of this album is unworldly. While most bands playing cavernous death metal end up with some murky version of Incantation worship (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), this is not so with Adversarial. The riffs presented on this album take full advantage of the fretboard, and subsequently offer a wider range of sound and create a vortex of immense destruction. I often find myself craving to hear many of the riffs throughout this album, particularly on the tracks “Eonik Spiritual Warfare” and “Lone Wresting Hymns To The Warmoon Of Chaos,” the latter being my favourite track on the whole LP. The use of these chords within the riffs remind me of Deathspell Omega but in a much more volatile context. I’ve noticed as I get older, I tend to prefer metal that uses d-beats to drive its rhythm at parts. That being said, if a death metal band can keep my attention without the punk influence, they have to have some massive riffs, and that is certainly the case here.

“Death, Endless Nothing and the Black Knife of Nihilism” has another strength, and that lays within the flow of the record. Oddly enough, the intro track is the second track, and there’s an interlude in the middle with some 1984-Orwell stuff on it. Some may find this to be overused, but I found it very fitting within the destructive nature of this record. There’s just the right amount of tempo variations throughout the album that keep it fresh throughout its 37 minutes of playtime. There is quite a lot of blasting which is easy to overdo, but they throw in just the right amount of space between to let everything breathe.

In my opinion, this is easily the best record to come out in 2015, and it’s not even a close race despite the fact there were quite a lot of great releases. Adversarial just really excelled and went above and beyond what I expected, and this was an LP I had the highest of expectations for. If the first album’s production turned you off, don’t let that stop you from hearing this. Once again, Danille Gauvin’s artwork has graced the presentation of this album, and much like the music, it contains many intricacies that are more apparent as you begin to emerge yourself in it.

95%