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.

The Afternoon Gentlemen- Pissedography

The Afternoon Gentlemen is a powerviolence band from the UK. This album is a compilation that features tracks from many of their previous splits and EP's. These guys are all about getting wasted and violent. Expect 38 tracks of pure, unadulterated chaos, all crammed into just under one hour of aural battery.

For the most part the songs here struggle to make it past the one minute mark. That is until towards the end which features the material from the Afterdoom EP. The final three songs on the disc all break one minute, in fact one of them breaks eight. When compared to the other material here the Afterdoom EP is something that definitely comes out of leftfield. It's obvious you're still hearing The Afternoon Gentlemen but rather than ripping through your ears at dangerous speeds they are trotting along at a turtles pace. These three tracks are riddled in sludge and prove that The Afternoon Gentlemen can be just as punishing using a different approach.

The riffs are very thrashy the majority of the time but there are also plenty of heavy grooves to keep things interesting. These mosh moments are sure to throw everyone in the area into an uproar. The style of powerviolence we see played here is very old school in a sense, having more in common with Spazz than newer acts like Magrudergrind. The variation of vocal styles used here is ridiculous. You've got some crazy piercing screams, gang chants, gutturals, yells, and the all too familiar Spazz "UGHSSS". This gives a slight upperhand when compared to many other modern powerviolence bands that typically stick to one or two approaches on each release.

Overall Pissedography is obviously a great way to get into The Afternoon Gentlemen. It features most of their material so far aside from live recordings and is still easy to sit back and listen to from start to finish. Even though the songs are from separate releases Pissedography still flows well as an album. Fans of powerviolence will definitely enjoy The Afternoon Gentlemen and fans of hardcore and grind shouldn't find it to be too huge leap either. Certainly one of the best powerviolence bands representing the UK right now. Get it.

Harpoon- Deception Among Birds

Harpoon is back and they are just as noisy as ever! The band formed back in 2007 and since they have put out a demo, a full-length, and popped up on a couple splits. Their sound is pretty "all over the place" to say the least. At one moment you may find yourself in a massive whirlwind of feedback filled, grind/powerviolence and the next you are hearing some very enthralling doom. Deception Among Birds clocks in at just under forty minutes and within that time Harpoon is going to do anything possible to win you over.

The guitarwork featured here varies quite a bit. Many sections on the album are very fast paced and filled with adrenaline and fury. This sections are great and these dudes definitely have the ability to thrash your face off, but when they take the time to slow things down things get very interesting. A prime example of this is the epic "Troglodyte's Delight". The track breaks seven minutes and is without a doubt one of the best things Harpoon has ever recorded. The slow, hypnotic riffs ring throughout the head of the listener for what seems like an eternity, which is by no means of bad thing. "Troglodyte's Delight" could be the soundtrack of my life and I would live on with no complaints.

Things get a little experimental at times. One example of this is towards the end of the title track. A brief moment of feedback hits and then you are sent flying into a wall of odd noises. This goes on for a few minutes and throughout that time the layers of noises dissipate slowly to reveal a simple acoustic melody to close out the album. The vocals are filled with hate and are very in your face for the most part. Toney takes every opportunity given to assault your ears and he is successful 100% of the time. At times some clean vocals come into play, this happens most during moments that can almost be classified as drone. It adds a nice chunk of diversity and keeps things from growing stale in the vocal department.

Overall Harpoon have really tapped into their sound with Deception Among Birds. This is by far their most mature release to date. Deception Among Birds shows that Harpoon isn't afraid to experiment and also shows that they can do so without losing their vicious sound that we had heard on previous releases. Fans of grind, doom, drone, death, oxygen, and thrash should give this a listen. You won't be sorry, and the play count will shoot up like a rocket.

Mammon- Demiurge

Mammon is a sludgy metal band from Canberra, Australia. When thinking of Australia slow, sludged out metal isn't exactly the first thing that comes to mind. Thankfully Mammon pull out all the stops in making this three track machine destroy as much as humanly possible. Prepare yourself for twenty minutes of home grown goodness.

The album opens with a clip of a man saying "I am a false prophet, God is a superstition" over and over again until the heavily distorted guitar creeps in and steals the show. The album consists of three tracks, simply titled I,II,III. These three tracks, when combined, come to a total of twenty minutes. During this twenty minutes Mammon made damn sure that they packed in some of the most harsh, angry, and epic music known to man. The riffs featured on the album are certainly a highlight. For the most part the guitar playing has a strong southern feel to it. In a few aspects it is reminiscent of Church Of Misery. Some people may be turned off by a sloppy note or two featured on the record but it really just adds to the natural feel in the end.

Though for a good portion of the record Mammon like to take it slow they still pack one hell of a punch. The intensity in some sections of these three tracks are off the charts. That being said there are some calm moments on the record but they don't stick around too long. The slow building section in "III" is surprisingly relaxing even with all the barbaric shrieks and shouts. That is what makes this release so excellent. Mammon never sacrifices one aspect of the music in order to fuel another. The album may be intense but they refuse to dumb down the writing just to sound heavy.

The vocals on the album consist of a wide variety of styles. Everything from growls, hardcore yells, and shrieks can be heard throughout the short runtime of Demiurge. The wide variety of vocals keep the listening experience fresh. Another thing that makes this aspect so enjoyable is the fact that these angry cries are convincing. So many bands just yell for the sake of being extreme but come out sounding uninspired, that is not the case here. I'm not going to act like I know the guy personally but based on this album I think it is safe to say that he was very pissed when recording this.

Overall Demiurge is definitely not a release that should be ignored. Mammon play a style of their own and can hold a listener's attention like no other. The band is versatile enough to appeal to a wide spectrum of metal and hardcore fans. So those of you in search of new music in the vein of Cower, Church Of Misery, or Bongzilla Mammon is without a doubt worth a look. If they ever decide to release a full-length big things could happen. The potential shown here is gigantic.

Email mammonband@hotmail.com with your address to get the demo delivered to you!