Yetna Apmaskema - Ancestral Manifest of Evil Poison (2014)

  Usually it's easy to identify South American black metal bands, cause if they don't involve death metal influences into their music, or if they're not playing war metal, the reduced role of atmospheric sound (better sound quality) makes them distinguishable enough. Some might even announce (those who are into the style because of the softening side effect of the strong atmospheric sound) that it's a way different direction from Northern influenced black metal.
   The fact that Yetna Apmaskema by their so far one and only full-length album didn't even try to follow ordinary black metal imagery, could make the whole thing even more convincing. But a statement like this couldn't be more wrong. Even if the garnishing doesn't reflect the most evident features of Northern black, the themes definitely does. References of the biggest names of the Norwegian scene could be found in the guitar themes and even in the atmospheric effects, like Mayhem, Burzum and Darkthrone for instance. The band's better sound quality based approach had advantageous effect by highlighting their music's intensity. Melancholic slow downs are frequent and creating enjoyable dynamics with the intense themes. Musical diversity could be another reason why this album couldn't count as ordinary. In total "Ancestral Manifest of Evil Poison" is quite a Norwegian influenced black metal record, but it's also better highlighting the effectiveness of the extreme intensity that also became one of the trademarks of the genre. 

Putrid Evocation - Echoes of Death (2014)

   Putrid Evocation debuted in 2013 with rehearsal quality, but promising EP titled as "Blackness Enshroud". Their full-length album "Echoes of Death" followed the same path with slightly better sound that proved to be well fitting to their music by creating a moldy dungeon-like atmosphere.
   Their music wasn't putrid only because of the band name, therefore the atmosphere created by the poor sound quality helped to put that feeling into focus. The band preferred mainly middle speed with common slow downs and short term speed ups. This switching tendency combined with simple, slowly rolling basic themes led to Asphyx-like song compositions, and pushed the music close to the border of death/doom. In case of longer songs, this worked pretty well, and as the album goes on, by the involvement of slow melodic leads the obscure melancholy turns to a very familiar twisted feeling that might strongly remind to old Autopsy. Eventually this impression gets dominant, and like if it was some secret occult ritual, this last component completes the circle to recall a nostalgic aspect of old school death metal. The album is evolving slowly step by step, from a seemingly unimpressive start to a pretty enjoyable outcome, so it's definitely worth it to give some time. Especially for the fans of putrid old school death metal. 

Unaussprechlichen Kulten - Baphomet Pan Shub-Niggurath (2014)

   Unaussprechlichen Kulten's third full-length album was kind of a new milestone in the band's discography. They showed up as a strongly blasphemous, Lovecraft influenced death metal band relying on massive, intense brutality, and by "Baphomet Pan Shub-Niggurath" their music became more complex and diverse.
   From this album temporary slow-downs were frequently involved, that created enjoyable contrast with the intense themes. The sound quality also improved a lot and this proved to be a pretty advantageous step for the more complex song compositions. This complexity on the side of the tone of Joseph Curwen's deep growling vocal style strongly reminds to Broken Hope. Interestingly this analogy wasn't so evident at all previously. This might demonstrate well, how seemingly small changes could have quite determining effects in extreme underground music. The switch from raw brutality to greatly composed brutality didn't push their music to technical death metal fields, though it's definitely more technical than how it usually used to be. Compared to "People of the Monolith" when a a band could be heard that's probably still in some path finding state, the third album was made by an experienced band who knew exactly what they wanted and how. Ricardo Stöhwing's characteristic drumming style is also mentionable, that became an easily identifiable and indistinguishable feature of Unaussprechlichen Kulten. 
   An excellent masterpiece, strongly recommended for the fans of death metal!

Nervosa - Victim of Yourself (2014)

   For Nervosa it didn't take too much time after their formation to get a contract from Napalm Records and to become the second biggest worldwide known metal band from Brazil after Sepultura. 
   Their success lied on two factors. First of all, thrash metal was pretty much forced into the background since decades, and there was a tendency in the underground since the late '00s to bring back the style of the early '90s, that was mainly focused on old school death metal, but eventually black and thrash metal were slowly involved as well. Later this tendency infiltrated into the mainstream too in strongly restricted form, mainly by the return of bigger bands of the '90s. Of course ordinary thrash metal couldn't have much chance to gain wider attention, it had to be more aggressive, and Nervosa's death metal influenced thrashing proved to be as a great style pick. Their lyrics also reflected the same social issues and rebelling attitude that have been so usual for thrash metal back then in the '80s, but as the world have changed in some level in the need for more aggressive music, from another perspective the world didn't change at all, for such lyrics didn't lose from their validity. And soon it became evident that Nervosa wasn't joking, they've been impressively active and productive, by playing live literally anywhere they could, and they did their best no matter if they had to play before a few dozens or thousands of people. This is the main thing that could give real authenticity for a band. Also, in the '90s it wasn't new, but still it counted as extraordinary in the underground to see female members in a metal band, but a full female lineup was something else. The whole thing wasn't rare anymore in the '10s, not even in the mainstream, but nearly demanded by the audience, thanks to bands like Arch Enemy and several metalcore bands. And even though their musical approach wasn't so feminine by growling female vocal style, their music in general was still mainly for sissies so to say. Also the whole thing strongly relied on their sexualized appearance like in pop music. And then came Nervosa with their high quality old school thrashing and wilder appearance, that proved to be way more credible and evergreen the same time. It's still strongly improbable that a band with male lineup playing the same music could run the same career as Nervosa did, but that couldn't reduce their self-dedication and efforts to bring back thrash metal for wider audiences in a world that seemingly became more opened and accepting, but the same time maybe even more superficial and ignorant than ever. As in case of evolution and biology it used to be said: "life will find a way", for the mainstream scene it could be converted as: "metal will find a way". 

Masacre - Brutal Aggre666ion (2014)

   Masacre is one of the not so many good examples for how a band could renew its style with time and to not disappoint their old fans meanwhile. Like if "Reqviem's" Masacre and the "Total Death's" Masacre (their 4th full-length album) were 2 different bands. And if we're looking at the line up changes that occured meanwhile (guitarist Juan Carlos Gómez as the only constant band member), they are.
   It might be interesting to compare Masacre's case with Massacre, if the analogy by style, band name, and cultic underground status wouldn't be enough. Both bands had lineup changes, both tried to change their style, but while Massacre tried it earlier in a drastic way led by the changing tendencies of the main scene and failed, Masacre's music changed in small steps album by album as a continuity and succeeded. More importantly they didn't try to abandon their old style, but to renew it. In 2014 Massacre came back from nothing and released a great album that was more brutal than how their early music was, but something was missing. Like if it was made by any other death metal band. A soulless mass product without any genuine features. In 2014 Masacre released a great album that was that was more brutal than how their early music was, and also sounded as a fulfillment of their musical development. Cause they haven't been gone meanwhile. That album was like if it was made by another band compared to their early period, but their music still had intense spirit. It was a different flame than in the old times (by different musicians it's understandable), but the flame was there, and it didn't just burn, it was incinerating. "Brutal Aggre666ion" isn't about trying to play something that certainly could be sold, cause there are well proven samples how to do it. It was about to enjoy being as brutal and compromise-less as the genre could offer cause that's why it was made for. An excellent record, strongly recommended for the fans of death metal!

Remains - Angels Burned (2014)

   If  someone's encounter an album design made by Mark Riddick, usually 2 things could be taken as granted: 1. it's most probably a death metal album, and 2. it's not going to disappoint. The same are correct about "Angel's Burned" by Remains.
   The band dedicated their music completely to old school death metal, and mainly to the Swedish scene. Grave and Unleashed should be mentioned in first line as their most possible influences. And it's definitely not weird from a Mexican band, since the audiences there are strongly into European bands. From the '10s the number of European metal inspired Mexican bands have increased, and even if most of them cannot offer any different or interesting perspective, they're quite good as fan-made projects, not to mention their impressive self-dedication. Also since the '10 Swedish death metal styled bands could be found literally in every country where's mentinable metal scene, if the nearly endless amount that Sweden keeps providing since the early '90s haven't been enough. If it's about themes, Remains' debut "Angel's Burned" definitely sounds like any death metal album from Sweden, except the typical "Swedish buzzsaw" sound was missing - at least on this album. But in the followings even this tiny "aesthetical issue" was avoided. 
   Strongly recommended for the fans of Swedish death metal!

Baphomets Horns - Atomik Warfuck Extermination (2014)

   Bathomets Horns had a stunning debut in 2008, but by the compilation "Atomik Warfuck Extremination" was released "posthumously" so to say, since the band did split-up already in 2010. 
    It was mentioned previously plenty of times, that American black metal is a pretty rare thing to find, since the genre didn't spark much attention there, and the great majority of American black metal bands are basically playing war metal, and those who aren't, are usually not free from death metal influences either. Therefore Baphomets Horns' approach of black metal also wasn't ordinary either of course. The concept, spirit and imagery definitely reflected the features and the strong influence of war metal, and the compilation introduces the band's short but swift journey. Their first demo "Satanic War Fucking metal" gave the first half of the record, that despite its title wasn't as intense as war metal used to be, and it was closer to ordinary black metal in themes. So close, that it was nearly free of death metal features, and sounded similar to raw black metal. But the atmosphere was still missing, and the focus completely lied on the rawness of the music. The second half of the compilation includes some songs on their full-length album "Perpetrators of Genocide", and a few rehearsal songs, that are unquestionably having all required exaggerated features of war metal.