Scaremaker- What Evil Have They Summoned...

Scaremaker is a three piece that just recently hit the scene. Their first release was a three song demo in cassette form that was only a hint to the horror drenched death metal that their full length would deliver. Given that the band is signed to Razorback Records and that the album comes packaged with a toe tag some might already have a slight idea of what approach Scaremaker takes, but most will be surprised with the depraved sound coming from their speakers. 

First things first this record is some of the most evil sounding death metal that comes to mind in recent years. The band has a straightforward old school death metal sound that many bands have tried to capture and failed. Let them be tortured by their envy, this would please the beast known as the Scaremaker. What Evil Have They Summoned... features a fair amount of variation for a band with their "straight to the jugular" style. The tempos vary throughout and the riffing is always memorable. Backed with one of the most consistent drummers in the business there is no excuse to make avoiding this album acceptable.

The guitar tone has a mean crunchy sound that meshes flawlessly with the overall sound. Many of the riffs pumped out create an epic feel, this can be easily seen on tracks like "Nocturnal Bloodbath". There is a good amount of diversity in the playing as well, on the instrumental "Fatal Eve" an atmospheric riff creeps along in a slow and almost relaxing manner. Also the bass intro to "Nocturnal Bloodbath" is excellent. It works as a solid build up to the killer riff-fest that ensues shortly after. The vocal delivery shall leave anyone who dares to listen in a pool of their own blood. The use of dual vocalists is executed perfectly. Anyone who says Arch Enemy's vocalist is the best harsh female pipes around needs to give Scaremaker a listen, the music is proof enough. The sickening lows and wretched highs mix well with the tortured sound Scaremaker throws down. On top of all that clean vocals are used on the cover of "Devil's Son", and as to be expected they slay just as much as the rest of the album it closes out. The cover track shows that if the band decided to explore more punk oriented styling that they wouldn't have to much trouble getting comfortable.

Elektrokutioner is behind the kit for this band and that is always a good sign. He is known for his work with Festered and Decrepitaph (both signed to Razorback as well). He playing displayed on this album is just as top notch as all of his other work and he continues to show his talent as one of the most underrated drummers in extreme music today. Just when you think his precise pummeling has ended it starts back up again and proceeds without mercy. 

Overall Scaremaker brings what they intended and they bring it with full force. Armed with the sinister sound they have this band could really go places. The bottom line is Scaremaker is a band that metalheads in general should keep an eye out for. The album doesn't produce one dull moment from start to finish. They without a doubt, show some of the greatest potential out of the many bands that are trying to resurrect the old school death metal sound, hell if more bands of this quality step up to the plate this year might be one of the best for extreme music in quite some time.

Deathcult- Demo

Deathcult is a four piece death metal band from Chicago. The band harnesses that old school sound we all know and love but manages to avoid being lumped in with all the bands currently taking on the style. The demo clocks in at a brief eight minutes but within that time Deathcult gives a decent idea of what they're all about. They are a step ahead of most bands and are churning out tracks with unlimited replay value while still in the early demo stages.

The demo kicks off with what may possibly be the most infectious death metal tune of all time. "Born to Lose" is chalk full of catchy riffs and is an anthem in pretty much every sense of the word. The other track "Mutant Generation" is no different, which brings us back to the replay value. It isn't difficult to play this release over and over again on repeat for an hour. The tracks hold up and I can't see myself getting burnt out on them anytime soon. The vocal delivery here is definitely one of the highlights. Rather than going with the frequently used guttural a more old school raw approach is used. This is nothing new obviously but they are spit out in a vicious, evil manner. The lyrics are also extremely easy to decipher which is all the more reason to chant along.

Overall these two tracks are near perfect all around. If this is any indication of what's to come from the band then their upcoming debut topping album of the year lists wouldn't seem too farfetched. One could complain about the length but with how solid these two tracks are you'd have to be a brainless mouthbreather to even think of complaining. Until the full-length is released this disc is guaranteed to stay in heavy rotation. Any fan of death metal would be doing themselves a major favor by giving this a listen and keeping an eye out for Deathcult's future endeavors.