Label: Relapse Records
Distribution: Rough Trade Benelux
Release date: July 2011
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Because the more-than-interesting label Relapse Records did send us quite an interesting summer-package with newly recorded, compiled and re-issued releases, I won’t review them separately (or at least not all of them), yet I’ll collect this stuff in some monthly ‘special’.

This is the third 2011-Relapse-Summer-special, this time dealing with some of the material this label released during July 2011. A May- and June-special have been written and posted recently as well (see the website’s update on September 18th 2011).
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Band: Morta Skuld
Title: Through The Eyes Of Death: The Early Demos
Release date: July 5th 2011
Review: compilation-CD

One of the most impressive American bands during the early years are Morta Skuld. The band released two excellent demos in 1990, Gory Departure (April) and Prolong The Agony (August), which I considered two of the best Death Metal demos that very same year (Sweden, Holland, Belgium and Poland did have strong competitors back then), and 1993 saw the light of the highly acclaimed split with Vital Remains. Four strong yet inconspicuous full lengths spread their merciless message worldwide during the nineties (Dying Remains, As Humanity Fades, For All Eternity, Surface) and silently Morta Skuld faded away. Forming members Jason Hellman and Dave Gregor, however, decided to continue under the new but evident moniker MS2, yet this band had nothing to do with Death Metal anymore. Instead, MS2 brought a modern and technical form of Nu / Thrash Metal. When MS2 broke up, the duo started 9mm Solution, which sort of continued the path of MS2.

Through The Eyes Of Death: The Early Demos compiles both 1990-demos, originally released on tape only.
Gory Departure was recorded by Jason Hellman (b) and Dave Gregor (g, v) with guitar player Jason Zeitler and drummer Jesse Rofritz. These tracks were comparable to bands like (early) Obituary, Death, Incantation, Pestilence, Asphyx, Human Remains, Possessed and so on – just somewhat slower; yet at the same time, it wasn’t just Florida-influenced Death Metal, for example. No, this demo showed a mature band that experimented with different tempos, including the changes from fast to slow and vice versa. As well did they play with vocal and instrumental escapades, yet without losing the almost-perfected symbiosis melody-brutality.
Prolong The Agony was released pretty quickly after the first demo with two new members, Jef Jaeger on drums and Jason O’Connell as guitar players. This demo sounded much more brutal, if only because of the sound, being much more oppressing, and because of the slightly manipulated grunts as well. Musically, I prefer(red) the first demo for being more ‘natural’ and spontaneous, and the second one being mixed too intensively, which caused a certain lack of natural progression. Prolong The Agony features, by the way, additional vocals of producer / co-engineer / co-mixer Eric Greif.
It does not matter if you are the proud owner of all albums by this band. This is not just a recommendation – this is an evidence if you want to call yourself – damn, I don’t care how you will call yourself. Through The Eyes Of Death I do see things in perspective…

--/100
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Band: Dying Fetus
Title: History Repeats…
Release date: July 19th 2011
Review: compilation-MCD

[Relapse did re-release four of the oldest recordings earlier this year – see update on May 8th]

Even though Dying Fetus are one of the best known and most influential bands from the US-scene, these death-groovers won’t ignore or betray their roots. It isn’t a new concept, recording songs from bands that were of influence, or that were a source of inspiration. And now Mister Gallagher and his buddies do release a cover-mini album too, paying tribute to a few bands that did inspire them throughout the years. Source of discussion: the use / uselessness of covering (raping the originals or not versus lacking creativity).

The band celebrates its twentieth anniversary and that’s the main reason to release this mini-album, consisting of six cover tracks and one new song, written for this release exclusively. That newly written track, Rohypnol, is a typical Fetus-eruption: groovy, filthy, grinding and totally mad (and very short, clocking forty seconds only).
The collection of covers isn’t that surprising at all, at least when talking about the choice. Dehumanized, Napalm Death (it is not the first time Dying Fetus do cover these UK-protagonists), Broken Hope, Bolt Thrower, Pestilence and Cannibal Corpse (both these two, Pestilence and Cannibal Corpse, were previously available on Japanese editions of their albums too, yet ‘unknown’ in our regions). The choice to cover Pestilence’s Twisted Truth might be the most obtrusive presence, I guess, and less obvious than the five other pearls.
Nicely performed, professionally translated into an own execution yet still true to the basics, but probably only interesting for Dying Fetus-fans only?...?

--/100
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Band: Hail! Hornet
Title: Disperse The Curse
Release date: July 19th 2011
Review: CD

Hail! Hornet, with former / current / guest / session / live members of e.g. Weedeater, Alabama Thunderpussy, Birds Of Prey, Sour Vein, Buzzov*en or Beaten Back To Pure, took over two years to finalise their new epos Disperse The Curse (duration: forty one minutes), but the result is worth having waited for. The quartet registered these tracks at the Sniper Studio (¹) (Moyock, NC) and Disperse The Curse can easily be considered a logical yet matured continuation of their self-called debut (Dwell Records, 2007). The experience taken from their other bands, indeed strongly involved within the Stoner, Southern and Sludge-scenes, is the main reason for such a cohesive and solid album.
[(¹) sound-result: filthy, raw, unpolished, massive, brutal, colossal, monumental]
Disperse The Curse is built upon a polygamist marriage of an ultra-brutal and ragging rhythm section, ponderous locomotive riffs and a rough and deep throat. The tempo varies whole the time: from mesmerizing slow over energetically up-tempo to thrashing fast, injecting elements from Punk and Hardcore. The Southern-injected Sludgecore-tracks on Disperse The Curse have been written and performed with persuasion and craftsmanship and it shows, because the result is above expectations. It will certainly please those who can appreciate everything between later Entombed, High On Fire, Eyehategod, Deadbird, Integrity or (some of) the band’s other (former?) acts.

82/100
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Band: Toxic Holocaust
Title: Conjure And Command
Release date: July 19th 2011
Review: CD

A couple of years after the splendid An Overdose Of Death-album (Relapse, 2008), Portland, Oregon (US)-based Toxic Holocaust return with the new thirty two-minutes long assault Conjure And Command. Indeed no ‘new’ or ‘renewing’ stuff by Joel Grind, who formed the band in 1999 (currently or formerly in acts like Tiger Junkies, Kunt Killer, Grave Mistake, HellVomit or Colon Rupture as well), yet a perfectuation of a decade of experience and professionalism. …and the sweet inspiration by an ignorant and pathetic (and -luckily- slowly dying) humanity.
Joel (vocals, guitars, music and lyrics) recorded this fourth full length (and the second for Relapse Records) with studio assistance of drummer Nick ‘Nikki Rage’ Bellmore (Phantoms) and bassist Phil ‘Philthy Gnaast’ Zeller (Rammer) (both of them did work with Kingdom Of Sorrow as session musicians too). And what this trio brings is the essence of straight Old Skool. The evil Thrash Metal exhales the prehistorical massiveness of the eighties with careful attention for all details. Personally I do appreciate the tempo, which varies a lot between mid- and up-tempo. However, in contradiction to many colleagues, Toxic Holocaust rather play the sluggish way than penetrating the whole with blasting attacks, and that’s both remarkable and appreciable. The faster parts sound somewhat Teutonic from time to time, and the ferocity is rooted deeply in each riff. But the constant changes in melody and speed are typifying for the band and it makes them no cheap rip-off bastard. More than once the whole gets immersed in a punky outfit, then again it comes with a Death’n’Roll vibe or an ominous-doomy atmosphere.
Not a ‘traditional’ Relapse-release, this no-bullshit-recording…

82/100
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Ivan Tibos.