Hatred Embraced- Suffering of the Holy demo

Hatred Embraced is an old school death metal band from New Jersey. They formed back in 2007 and have since released three demos. Suffering of the Holy is the latest demo and it consists of four tracks along with a rehearsal thrown in as a bonus. Rather than going with the Autopsy worship or old school Swedish sound that everyone else seems to latch onto these guys take a slightly thrashier route. That being said you will still hear some major influence from bands like Suffocation and Death among others.

The demo starts off packing heavy punches on "Moloch... The Devourer". The track utilizes some very sinister sounding tremolo picked sections, which is an aspect of the band that is heard throughout this demo. Each track differs in structure from the last which really helps with the pacing of the release. At times things can get quite epic while maintaining the bands raw sound, this happens most often when they slow things down a bit. During these moments plenty of catchy, overpowering riffs can be found.

The guitar tone creates an ominous vibe and Chatterjee's menacing vocals only push those feelings into uncharted territories. He mainly sticks to gravely growls, but every now and then he comes in with some nasty raspy screams. The rough, raspy screams sound great and should be incorporated more often to keep things from getting stale. The drums play a major role in the overall sound of this release. They are very high in the mix and there is surely enough going on to keep Donato very busy behind the kit. The frequent changes in pace keep things interesting all across the board.

Overall Hatred Embraced show quite a bit of potential here. Only time will tell whether these guys can hold their own with the best of them, but if the full-length turns out as good as this I have no doubt we'll be hearing about them more in the future. Fans of death metal in general should give this a look. The new wave of old school death metal has never sounded this evil, and this is truly a breath of fresh air compared to many of the bands that have been coming out sounding like carbon copies of one another.

Interview With Rico Unglaube (Goregast vocalist)

In this interview Rico Unglaube discusses a bit about the new album, his label FDA Rekotz, and their upcoming split with Fondlecorpse among other things. These guys have been playing death/grind for awhile now and are a force to be reckoned with in the metal scene. 

FF: If you can please explain to the readers a bit about the history of the band.

Rico Unglaube: Yes I can. Goregast has his origin in 1993, under the name of DISTRESS. 2 demos were released in the mid 90's, then in 1997 or 1998 we put the band on ice. In 2004, the band was heated again with some new musicians. Therefore, we change the name into GOREGAST. 2006 the first album, "Viva el Animal", 2007 "La Revancha" and now number 3 "Desechos Humanos". Our current line up: Torge Ließmann on drums, Rico Krause and Steve Kleinert on guitars, Ronny Thiel on bass and me, Rico Unglaube on vox.

FF: What made you want to start the project back up after seven years?

Unglaube: In 2004 the former guitarist, later bassist Jörn Böttcher called the band back to life and asked if I
want to sing again. I had nothing better to do, so I said yes.

FF: The new album is being put out from your record label F.D.A. Rekotz. Do you plan on putting out future Goregast releases on your label as well?

Unglaube: Principle yes, a label will always work with a good band will always hold the band. But if a bigger
label makes a better offer, if the band can achieve more, then I do not mind when there are elsewhere Goregast releases in future.But next year comes a split with the great dutch Death Metal clan FONDLECOPRSE out on FDA Rekotz.

FF: How has the response to the new album been so far?

Unglaube: The album will be released in 2 weeks so there's not so much response yet, so far some reviews and interviews are flown in, from different countries. Each one very good, full points or almost full points and a lot of warm words! An absolutely fantastic start.We are very pleased.

FF: Do you have a personal favorite track from the new album? Whether it be one you had lots
of fun making or one you just enjoy the most.

Unglaube: The favorite songs are changing again and again. But personally at most I like the rotten old school death metal songs as "Desechos Humanos" or "Honor The Dead". We have a good mix of fast and
slow songs, something for everyone. For example "Puerco de Dinero" is a fast, brutal Grindcore crusher, also one of my favorites. You see, somehow I like everything.

FF: Have you had a chance to play any of the new songs live yet?

Unglaube: We have played most of the songs live to see the reactions of audience. They were well. Since last week we have a new drummer, who will now be incorporated first. Up from late October/ early
November, we can play the entire album and previous albums on the stage again.

FF: Does the album have any reoccurring lyrical themes? And what does Desechos Humanos
translate to in English?

Unglaube: "Desechos Humanos" means "Human Waste". The whole album is about human disease. The songs are about many things that affect people. Sadists, murderers, boring workerholics, rapists, etc..
Every song is about a different theme, but overall, everything relates to the human disease.

FF: Having three albums finished now do you feel the writing process has gotten any easier?

Unglaube: The songwriting is even more easily from album to album. But we select much more. Songs that we do not want to take on the album, we throw away. Quality rather than quantity.

FF: During the track "The Boozer" there appears to be a little tribute to the band Cancer, or are
my ears just decieving me?

Unglaube: The text is about a drunkard, he's suffering from cancer. When I wrote the text, I also remember to Cancer's C.F.C. and thought that it could be viewed as a kind of Cancer tribute. I have nothing
against it, because I like the early Cancer very much.

FF: Are there any plans for a tour after the album drops?

Unglaube: Hopefully we play festival shows next year and a tour through Spain in spring and later also one
through Germany. We are more than open to play everywhere.

FF: Since the band reformed years back there has been very few lineup changes, is being in
Goregast a pretty laid back experience?

Unglaube: As we have found again in 2004, were Me and Joern, the only founding members. Rico K., Josch
and Steve played in a other band before. Joern left the band in 2005 and was replaced by Ronny. 2 months ago, Josch the drummer left the band after 7 years and was now replayced by Torge. But you're right, I could say we have a stable line up over the years.

FF: Thanks for the interview, is there anything you'd like to add?

Unglaube: Thanx for the interview, for your interest in GOREGAST, thanx for your support ! All the best for
you and your Zine !! Everybody who's interested in our new album, in the band or whatever can write to fda-rekotz@gmx.de or visit us on Facebook or www.goregast.de . Also check out our
record label: www.fda-rekotz.com
- VIVA EL ANIMAL -

Deus Otiosus- Murderer

Deus Otiosus is a Danish death metal band that formed in 2005. Murderer is their first full-length release. This is just over forty minutes of pure unflinching old school death metal. Deus Otiosus features members of many other projects such as Hideous Invasion, Victimizer, and Church Bizarre among others. With this release the band rightfully earn themselves a spot among the altar of the metal gods.This is an all out old school slugfest so those who have to have their music served up with a polished sound need not apply. The album opens with Rasmussen's bellowing growl which you'll be hearing plenty of for the next forty minutes.

The guitarwork here is all about the killer riffs. The band never misses a beat and pumps out some of the most consistent riffs in the genre these days. They drive their brand of thrash influenced death metal straight through your skull and when all is said and done it feasts on the contents within. From start to finish Deus Otiosus never lets up and by the end of the album you are reduced to a fine powder. That being said if you are looking for a great amount of diversity you need to go somewhere else. This album is clearly made for fans of the genre and when listening it is obvious that the band members are dedicated fans of the genre as well.

The vocalist sticks to one style the majority of the album and it sounds pretty good but some may find it a bit repetitive. When the band slows things down a little things get very interesting. An eerie atmosphere is created on songs like "Ash World" which features a whole track full of very infectious guitarwork. We're not just talking "huh, that's kind of catchy" memorable, we're talking about stuff you'll find yourself humming days after listening.

The drumming on Murderer is decent. Bentsen delivers a barbaric performance behind the kit but some more variety wouldn't have hurt. Calling Bentsen a boring drummer would be ridiculous but the performance on this album doesn't have the mindblowing quality that the rest of the elements featured do. That being said this doesn't really hurt the overall sound of the album much. The drums drive the record along at a nice pace and get the job done just fine.

Overall Deus Otiosus is just one of those bands that has captured the old school death metal sound and did a damn good job doing so. There is very little melody to be had here, this is just evil riff packed death metal that deserves a hell of a lot more attention than they are receiving at the moment. Murderer is just as raw as the cover art that represents it. Obviously this is recommended to fans of the genre.