Various Artists- Rebellious Damnation Theories Compilation

Rebellious Damnation Theories is an online exclusive compilation featuring many bands from extreme metal/punk scenes all over the world. Featuring twenty five artists of various styles you are sure to find something here to your liking. All of this is packed into just over an hour of what will be new territory for most metalheads. Like all compilations there are a few duds here, or just tracks that simply don't sit right, but the final product still brings quite a few mosh worthy moments.

The compilation opens up with the monstrous Jugga from Nepal. Their track "Vultures Will Feed" proves to be the perfect way to open the compilation. It comes in, beats the listener down and flees from the scene of the crime. There are plenty of excellent tracks to be found here. One example would definitely be Dementia from Pakistan, a band that plays a healthy blend of thrash/groove metal. These guys have a very professional sound going for them and have fairly developed writing skills. Not long after Dementia's track you have the polar opposite Bvlghvm. Also hailing from Pakistan these dudes pack one heavy as hell punch with their brand of filthy, hate-filled sludge. There are also a few familiar faces to the website that we have covered before. Bands like Sledgehammer Autopsy, Death Inquisition, and Foreskin hold their own up against all the other bands crammed onto this thing.

Naturally, given the fact that the bands are from completely different regions of the world and have completely different recording situations, the sound quality varies a great deal from track to track. This may throw some listeners off but after taking some time to get used to it you adjust and it is barely noticeable. Unfortunately the production value of bands like Chillar Killer and Masturbate take most of the impact out of their music. Playing goregrind with such a flat sound just doesn't workout well, it lacks the punchy tone that this style of music thrives for. Due to this little problem a few tracks towards the middle sort of slow down the pace of the comp.

Overall Rebellious Damnation Theories is sure to introduce anyone who listens to some solid, new bands. These compilation covers touches all the major extreme subgenres. Death, thrash, black metal, crust, sludge, crossover, hardcore, groove, it's all here at one point of another. Definitely worth getting if you're a fan of metal or punk in general. There is a gigantic slew of bands out there just waiting to be heard, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Living With Disfigurement- Thrill To The Terror Of Death

Living In Disfigurement is a three piece death metal band from Britain. They classify their music as "sickening old school gore metal" which proves to be a pretty fitting term to say the least. This is the bands first release since their debut demo in 2006. Clocking in at just under twenty minutes it still only offers up a small taste of what Living With Disfigurement is all about, but it is enough to get the point across.

You know you're in for a good time when you pop in a CD and the first thing you hear is a clip from a Hershell Gordon Lewis flick. The Wizard Of Gore sample kicks off "The Dissemination Of Human Suffering", a track that features lyrics that confront our vicious obsession with violence. Apparently Living With Disfigurement is catering to what the people want because the rest of the lyrics are drenched in gory detail.

The guitar playing on the album is solid throughout. Catchy tremolo picked riffs run thick along with the company of plenty infectious grooves. Each track features a solo that is crafted with a certain level of fret mastery that leads me to believe Spengler is a perfectionist. Also fitting in miraculously with the songs these solos prove to be one of the highlights of the EP. The band does an excellent job blending the old school vibe with their own modern twist. The pace tends to change quite a bit on each track. While a good portion of the time they are blazing a trail in your ear canal they will occasional slow things down and show some off some of their Autopsy influence.

The bass is audible the entire duration of the record. For the most part it just follows along with the guitar parts. Nonetheless it thickens up the sound a great deal. On "Grotesque Side Effects" it plays a vital role and hits particularly hard, easily making it the heaviest track of the bunch. The vocals alternate between shrill highs and bellowing gutturals. Throughout the short length of this release a healthy amount of both styles is used. The way they are delivered is very reminiscent of something you'd expect from Exhumed. The vocals fit perfectly with the music Living With Disfigurement is churning out.

Overall Living With Disfigurement have captured a sound that is impossible not to dig. It may be fairly simple but it is delivered in a way that keeps you coming back for more again and again. Due to the fact that Thrill To The Terror Of Death is only eighteen minutes long it definitely leaves you with your mouth watering, begging for more. Fans of Exhumed, Carcass, and bands alike will dig this without a doubt. Living With Disfigurement isn't reinventing the wheel by any means, but they're using the old one and rolling over the competition with it. This EP will do a good job tiding you over until Living With Disfigurement drop their next slab of greatness. Get it.

Venereal Messiah- Bleeding The Humans

Venereal Messiah is a brutal death/goregrind band based in New York. The band has been around since 2005 and have released a few demos and splits during their time together. The band features Barret Amiss II, the owner of the very prolific death/grind label Sevared Records, on vocals. This release features eight tracks and clocks in at just under twenty minutes. Though the album may be short plenty of time is given for Venereal Messiah to get their blunt point across.

Unlike many bands of this nature Venereal Messiah doesn't just hide behind a wall of noisy, half assed grooves. There are plenty of heavy grooves to be had on Bleeding the Humans but they rarely come across as half assed. The guitar tone featured here is kind of detrimental to the overall sound, it just seems kind of flat most of the time. Adding some thickness to it would help give the riffs more impact in the future. Luckily the lack of power in tone is made up at times with catchiness (see the repetitive but effective "Oral-Fistula Transmission").

One thing that is unique about Venereal Messiah is that they feature a dual bass assault. Getting audible bass is a rare occurrence in the first place, having two different bassists plucking away is almost unheard of. Bass heavy tracks like "Gynacide" definitely come across as a breath of fresh air when they make an appearance. With the bass being so high in the mix the way they mesh with the guitars is almost reminiscent of early One Step Beyond (though they are worlds apart in style). The lack of power in the guitar tone is pretty much completely redeemed by the fat, creeping bass lines that are so prevalent in the overall sound.

The vocals are made up mostly of guttural burps and gurgles. These are the type of spews that are sure to trigger violent flashbacks to your last case of explosive diarrhea (in a good way of course). There is a major lack in variation but fans of the genre should be used to that at this point. That being said an occasional more traditional growl is thrown into the mix keeping things from growing entirely stale in the vocal department.

Overall Venereal Messiah has a solid chunk of brutal death on their hands with Bleeding the Humans. This is far from being groundbreaking by any means but they deliver the goods and fans of the genre will be more than pleased. If you find yourself enjoying most of the stuff Sevared puts out this will most likely sit nicely in your collection. This is a band that is worth keeping an eye on, they show quite a bit of potential here and with some minor tweaks they could definitely put out an excellent, punishing release.

Mincing Fury and Guttural Clamour of Queer Decay- Devolution

Mincing Fury and Guttural Clamour of Queer Decay are a goregrind/brutal death metal band from Czech Republic. The band formed in 1996 and have since released four full-lengths while in between doing splits with bands like Fuck the Facts and Screaming Afterbirth. Mincing Fury never limit themselves to the stereotypes of one genre, they play whatever they feel necessary and this may cause the album to be too crazy for many to handle.

The album is introduced with the soundtrack from the drug induced, mindfuck movie Requiem For A Dream, which is now re-titled "Requiem For A Fury". After this ends you descend straight down to the musical hell hole that is Devolution. The vocals on Devolution are insane. There is a dual vocal attack from Reef and Milcunt and many styles are used throughout the album. The majority of the album the vocals are the center of attention, whether the vocalists be using gutturals, gang shouts, hardcore yells, shrieks, squeals, croaks, or whatever other batshit vocal style one can think of.

Everything is very easy to make out on Devolution. The bass is audible the majority of the time and adds to the overall heaviness of this grind circus Mincing Fury displays with the album. Most of the tracks here consist of re-recordings of the band's past material but there are also five new songs for those seeking new Mincing music. The drumming is delivered with just as much energy as everything else featured here. Blastbeats are played with machinelike precision, and when a groove comes up the band runs with it.

The guitarwork here consists of tons of grooves that will make you want to punch the nearest human being (or animal) square in the face. Some moments of technicality pop up throughout the album, one of the most notable of these moments would be featured in the song "Blind". The track features complex riff that back the spastastic vocals that infest this release. The band throws in enough variety to keep things extremely interesting and tears the listener to shreds in the process.

Overall with Devolution Mincing Fury have managed to create something that can only be described as a full on brutal raping of the ear. This is what serial killers hear in their head all day as they commit their heinous crimes. This is highly recommended for those looking for a fun, heavy album to crank at full volume and scare everyone in the neighborhood. This is the musical equivalent of walking in on your parents doing the dirty.