Xenomorph- Empyreal Regimes Discography

Xenomorph is a technical death metal band from Nebraska. They formed back in 1990 and released a demo and one full-length within their five years together. Sadly there discography only consists of an hour of material, but with that being said the stuff they recorded was, and still is, amazing. Named after the creature from the Alien series and sporting that very same creature on the album cover Empyreal Regimes is proof that astounding metal gems can be found in the most unexpected places.

The tracks on Empyreal Regimes are longer winded than your average death metal track, easily breaking six minutes the majority of the time. Xenomorph has a decent amount of technicality going for them, at times resembling a more controlled version of Disincarnate. The song structures vary greatly on each track and it helps the album maintain an element of surprise throughout. The sheer amount of twists and turns they managed to fit in such a short amount of time is stunning. For example "Subspecies" is trotting along sounding like a typical death metal track and then about four minutes in all hell breaks loose in a chaotic display of awesome drum patterns and odd timing.

The vocalist sticks to one style for the most part. He barks out his wicked snarl and it simply fits perfectly with the atmosphere of the album. The drumming is fairly intricate just like everything else on the album. Sections similar to the previously mentioned moment on "Subspecies" are enough to leave the listener in awe. Switching up tempos very frequently there is no time to get bored with any aspect of this release.

Also featured on this disc is the bands 1993 demo titled Subspecies. It consists of three tracks featuring a younger and slightly less mature sounding Xenomorph. The production on these tracks is very raw as to be expected with a demo from that era. Even on these tracks there is an extreme sense of variety. It just doesn't go on as seamlessly as the material that was including on Empyreal Regime. Even with these minor flaws the band still sounds leaps and bounds better than many bands did in their demo era.

Overall Xenomorph's discography may only be made up of ten tracks, but this is ten tracks of some of the best death metal being churned out at that time. Easily rivaling many of the bands we consider "classic". Luckily their material is finally being made readily available and this chunk of Omaha made metal won't just fade into obscurity. Fans of old school and technical death metal will enjoy this due to the fact that it puts most of the competition to shame. It is one of the few albums that manages to maintain the old school sound while incorporating a great deal of technicality. It is a shame the band didn't release anything after their first full-length, they were certainly doing an amazing job mastering the style. Get it now.

Gravehill- When All Roads Lead To Hell

"IF YOU WANT BLOOD, YOU GOT IT!!!"

Gravehill is a thrashy death metal band from California. Far from new to the scene they released their first EP way back in 2001. They broke up shortly after and didn't reform until 2007. This is their second full-length and fans of the first will not be let down. Prepare yourself for just under fifty minutes of unrelenting blasphemy. It is highly recommended to crank this at a high enough volume that the booming from your speakers will knock the crosses on your neighbors wall upside down.

When All Roads Lead To Hell begins with all cylinders firing and continues that way until it is over. Nothing fancy here just straight up, filthy, aggressive metal. On the occasion that the band does slow down the results are devastating. The slow epic sections of "Extinction" demolish everything within a fifty mile radius. Towards the second half of the album the listeners gets to hear the near "death n' roll" style that is brought forth quite a bit on this record. Aside from this there are a few heavy metal anthems spread throughout the album, and whether done on purpose or not almost everything featured on the record is ridiculously catchy.

The album is packed with killer riffs that tear you limb from limb. The tone used here is very fairly standard for the style. Just enough distortion to pack a punch and a decent deep end. The solos melt face just as expected and fit every song they are put into perfectly. The vocals on When All Roads Lead To Hell work well. Though the music is more thrashy than anything else Abominator belts out some shrieks and croaks that would seem more fitting on a black metal album. The use of vocal layering on the album shows that this will prove to be great live material (with chanting galore).

The only complaint some may have about the album is that Gravehill rarely leave their comfort zone. Honestly playing the style they play whether this is really necessary or not is all up to the listener. Gravehill have their sound and they have their sound mastered and it is clear that you won't be hearing them playing any power ballads anytime soon.

Overall if you liked the band's first full-length plan on having a good time with this one. Though Gravehill's lyrical themes would leave you to believe otherwise these guys just want to pump out some fun, badass metal tunes, and with When All Roads Lead To Hell they did nothing short of that. Fans of any and all forms of extreme metal should check this out. There isn't a dull moment on this album. Get this.