SEEN AND HEARD: PARASITE INC., PÕHJAST, DISGRAVED

Hey motherfuckers (and I mean that in the nicest possible way), I hope all of you have been having a kickass weekend. I know I have. Among other things, I finally got introduced properly to the music of a Seattle band that friends of mine have been raving about forever (more about that in another post). And I also came across a lot of new music and videos that put a stupid grin on my face (and by that I mean “more stupid than usual”). In no particular order, here’s a random selection of things that rocked my world over the last 24 hours.

PARASITE INC.

Thanks to a Facebook post by Madam X (of Angry Metal Guy fame), I heard the song you’re about to hear in the next video (and while I’m thinking about Madam X, I’ll throw in a plug for her recent review of Svart Crown’s new album). The band is Parasite Inc., a German collective whose second album Time Tears Down (mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren) is due for release on August 2 by Good Damn Records. The song is “The Pulse of the Dead”.

Do you want riffs that grab you hard from the first few seconds and capable soloing? Check. Would you enjoy some pneumatic rhythms that punch like jackhammers? You got it. How about vicious vocals that sound like a werewolf on the hunt? Yep, you’ll get those, too. A modern, powerhouse production that will ram holes in your walls? Covered.

And does that opening guitar part remind you of a devilish fiddle?

https://www.facebook.com/ParasiteInc/
http://parasiteinc.de/

 

PÕHJAST

Põhjast (which roughly means “north” in Estonian) are a multinational band composed of musicians from Estonia (guitarist Gates and drummer Marko Atso) and Finland (bassist Janne Perttilä) and a vocalist from Quebec, Canada (Eric Syre). Their last album was 2012’s Thou Strong, Stern Death, which our reviewer compared to Bathory, circa Blood Fire Death. They have a new one on the way, adorned by cover art from Kris Verwimp, by the name of Matused, which means “funerals” in Estonian.

A few weeks ago the band started streaming a new song from the album named “In the Shadow of the Glass Cross”, which KevinP sent my way. There is still a Bathory-esque viking metal atmosphere in the music, but it’s mixed with the stylings of classic doom (I’m thinking Candlemass). It’s slow and heavy, it pounds and grinds. You can sense the frost hanging off the notes and see the torches moving through a snow-covered forest, and you want to fill your hand with a sword. Eric Syre’s vocals are clean, classic, and very strong, and the chorus is just massively catchy. I really dig the guitar solo in the song, too.

Additional notes: Unless there are two Janne Perttilä’s playing metal from Finland, he’s one of the guitarists and backing vocalists from Finland’s excellent Barren Earth (and other bands), and Marko Atso is a member of another wonderful Estonian band, Metsatöll.

I haven’t seen a release date yet for Matused and am guessing that the band are looking for a label. We’ll be watching for more news. Check this out

https://www.facebook.com/Pohjast
http://pohjast.ee/

 

DISGRAVED

Disgraved are a two-man French band who released a two-song demo about a month ago, and I finally got around to hearing it yesterday. It’s an offering of worship to the old gods of Entombed, Dismember, and Grave. It’s corrosive, smoking, chainsaw death metal with simple, old-school drum beats and a lot of gut-rumbling distortion. Ghastly vocals and snakelike guitar solos complete the package.

Is it a new spin on an old standard? Nope, but as I’ve said before, if you mess with this formula very much then you’re changing it into something unrecognizable. From the fashioning of their name to the execution of their music, Disgraved are happy to be faithful, and I’m happy to hear it. I’ll also be interested to see what they do next (it appears from their FB page that they’ve found a human drummer since the recording of this demo, which is good progress).

The demo is a pay-what-you-want download at Bandcamp.

http://disgraved.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Disgraved