Chuck Schuldiner Project

Thursday, October 24, 2024

Zombina And The Skeletones - The Call Of Zombina

 


I don't write nearly enough about horror punk on this blog even though it is a truly great and storied genre. Which is why I was so stoked when I got the promo for the new album from Zombina And The Skeletones, The Call Of Zombina. This is a record that perfectly encapsulates so much of the fun of the genre. This is a record that seems to consistently go above and beyond. It's a record that is fun, creepy and a little bit over the top. The best part is though you can hear exactly how much fun the band members are having as they play. It's all we have grown to love about Zombina And the Skeletones over the years distilled into a cutting new album.

There is a wonderful and persistent charisma to the music of Zombina And The Skeletones. The songs sit nicely in the 80s horror punk idiom, never trying to be extreme or alienating. Instead this record is the perfect soundtrack to your next Halloween party. These songs are spooky and delivered with verve. Anthemic and delivered with a ghoulish smile, The Call Of Zombina is a record that will delight for spin after spin. The musical performances are tight too - overshadowing some of the stripped back production. This isn't a fancy album, but rather one that is a blast and which nicely calls back to the very DIY roots of the genre. 

Let yourself get lost in Zombina And The Skeletones haunted mansion. The ringing organs, punchy guitars and addictive vocals will keep your Halloween party going through the night. If you were looking for a scarily good time this spooky season then The Call Of Zombina is the perfect album for you. Get lost in the magic. The band has found a way to build on one of the most legendary catalogs in horror punk and this latest offering only moves the needle forward.

Pre-order the album: 

https://zombinaandtheskeletones.bandcamp.com/

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Old Forest - Graveside

 



Old Forest have become one of the UK's longest running black metal projects. 26 years and eight albums into their career they are still delivering some of their best material to date. This new record Graveside is some of their best work to date. It's a record that embraces the more rough and ready old school magic of the early 90s black metal scene and which doesn't worry about perfectly produced offerings. Instead there is a sense here that the band is trying to get back to the youthful core of the genre, with songs that are burgeoning with life and new possibility. This record sees the band executing at a whole new level and thrilling with a vision that is triumphantly atavistic. 

This is the best sort of tribute to the old days of the genre. The group clearly draws from acts like Emperor and Enslaved in order to create something that is deeply engaging and anthemic, that feels like it could have come out in 1992. Old Forest haven't gotten lost in the modern trappings of the genre, instead they have gone back, dug deeper and tried to unveil a layer of madness that few of the bands peers can really lean into. This is a record that perfectly nails the old school side of the genre and it's hard not to be enamored with the larger than life war cries, melodic guitars and buzzing guitars. 

Pre-order your copy: 

https://soulsellerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/graveside

Thursday, October 17, 2024

Destruktor - Indomitable

 

Destruktor are one of Australia's longest running underground metal projects. The bands output is understated to say the least, with only 3 albums across a nearly thirty year career. Yet for those of us who are dedicated to the scene, each record, compilation, demo or split from the band is like a rare treasure. Indomitable is no different, this is muscular, exciting and triumphantly executed blackened death metal that speaks to the talents that Destruktor have honed over their many years of black metal bitterness and unadulterated misery. 

This is a deeply personal record, digging into the concept of death and forcing us to stare it in the face. There is something strangely thrilling about such a personal record and Indomitable forces us to come to terms with our mortality again and again. Indomitable is a terrifying and strange offering, one leaning heavily on blast beats and tremolo picked guitars to unveil layers of chaos and misery. This isn't a record for the faint of heart, but if blackened death metal is your thing - then this is going to drag you deep into the abyss.

Pre-order the album! 

https://shop-hellsheadbangers.com/item.asp?PID=124257

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Living Gate - Suffer As One

 

This is a crusher. When I first found out about Living Gate I was stoked. It's a death metal band featuring members of Yob, Amenra, Oathbreaker and Wiegedood. For a certain type of fan this is an extremely big deal. I am that type of fan. Suffer As One is an impressive and gnarled release. This is an incredibly tight death metal album very much in the vein of stuff like Gorguts. It's technical, tightly written and endlessly exciting. These aren't songs for the faint of heart but rather those of us who really want to dig into punishingly pointed death metal insanity. 

Suffer As One is a dense release. It's a record without a wasted note, and yet within there is a maelstrom of sound, every note getting more and more crippling and unforgiving. This is what death metal is done right, where it's twisted, high powered and decidedly underground. It's incredibly satisfying to have a record that feels so intensely introverted and uncompromising. Unlike most supergroups this project isn't worried about winking back at the band members main projects. It's about creating art that is bitter, unrelenting and determined to rip your goddamn face off. Angular, muscular and simply unapologetic, Suffer As One is exactly the sort of grime you love. 

Living Gate have crafted something demented here and it's hard not to be enamored with what they have granted us. This is death metal that goes for the throat and drinks your blood. It's death metal that isn't afraid to show the world exactly how twisted this music can be when done right. It's death metal that leaves you begging for more. I desperately hope this isn't a one off project but rather one that leans into the abyss that the members have created, something tells me there is so much delectable darkness to come. 

Pre-order the album! 

https://livinggate.bandcamp.com/album/suffer-as-one

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Gorgon - For Those Who Stay


 

Unrelenting and unrepentant - such has been the magic of Gorgon for over thirty years. This band is one of the core French black metal acts and their upcoming album, For Those Who Stay is some of their most acerbic work to date. It's hard not to be thrilled by the devastating churn and unrelenting, bizarrely macabre charm of this new album. Wrapping up a trilogy of albums that started with 2019's The Veil Of Darkness, Gorgon find a way to consistently melt your face off for the 11 bloodthirsty tracks that have come to define this album. 

For Those Who Stay charms because of its outright stench of evil. Songs like "Despicable Beggars" are blasting paeans to suffering. The tremolo picked firestorm and unrelenting assault that the band brings to the table across For Those Who Stay is delectable and speaks to a group who have a deeper understanding of the genre. It's the kind of understanding that only comes after you've been doing this for a third of a century. Suffice it to say - 7 albums into their career, Gorgon remain great. This is black metal done with a deeper, thrilling understanding of the genre and it's hard to pull yourself away from the devastating and blasphemous vision that Gorgon bring. 

Pre-order the album! 

http://bit.ly/gorgon-shop