Here’s a selection of metal I discovered yesterday from bands both new and old. It’s a diverse mix of sounds, from bone-mangling and decimating to beautifully melodic, and I found all of it excellent.

MEDECOPHOBIC

Medecophobic is a two-man operation from Munich, Germany. Almost exactly three years ago they self-released their debut album Pandemic of Existence (available on Bandcamp here), and recently they’ve signed with a label called Permeated Records, which will be releasing a new three-song demo in January. The new demo’s name is Escalation, and yesterday the band started streaming one of the new songs — “Cornered”.

Brutal, slamming death metal is intrinsically visceral music, and “Cornered” punches really hard, right in the gut. The darting, jabbing riffs come fast and furious, and the off-the-hook drum attack is merciless (damn, am I loving the snare-drum weaponry on this song!). The instrumental work displays a lot of technical flair, the grooves are abundant, and the vocals sound like the cross-bred yowling of a sabretooth and a bear. Tasty! Continue reading »