Humiliation are a band from Malaysia, not immediately the country-number-one when it comes to Death Metal nowadays. There was quite a vivid scene at the end of the eighties (as well as in the neighbour countries, like Indonesia – it truly was the case!), but nowadays it’s rather an exception to hear (new) material from bands hailing from that part of our ugly globe. But Humiliation are such a band that will put Malaysia on the map again.
Everyone knows that Czech Republic-based Bizarre Leprous Productions are (one of the) most prominent labels when it comes to Grindcore. I think it is somewhat doubtful. At the one hand they house several splendid acts, with sublime release that caress every Grind-freak’s ear drum with rusty razor blades and electrified barb wire. At the other hand, unfortunately, there’s quite some ‘pulp’ around to within this scene, and I think Bizarre Leprous Productions sometimes took a wrong choice by signing band X or Y.
Eschatonic Records are a label formed by members of Inhuman Remnants, and they take care of the release of Ashes, which is the first official recording by young Australian act Undermine The Supremacy.
I didn’t know the Mexican label Iron, Blood And Death Corp., but apparently they did release quite a number of albums from fabulous bands and projects throughout the years. A new signing on their roster is Exordium Mors, an experienced five-piece with members from e.g. Stormforge and Heavy Artillery. They recorded this first full length (there were some demos and EP’s before) at the Revolver Studio with Alex Selman doing production, mix, engineering and mastering.
I have no idea what’s going on with Spanish label Xtreem Music. 2014 seems to be a highlight in many aspects, and those aspects are tens of superb releases by great bands, which I will come back to immediately. First a very limited history. David ‘Dave Rotten’ Sánchez González, whom you might know from notorious acts such as Christ Denied, Avulsed, Yskelgroth, Putrevore etc.
One year and a half after the Arrival Of The Tyrant-EP, Spanish duo Lurking Evil (drummer Nico ‘Guldur’ Morales and bassist / guitarist / vocalist Orlok) return with their debut full length, The Almighty Hordes Of The Undead. The album lasts for almost forty minutes and consists of twelve titles.
I know a couple of bands named as ‘Horrified’, but this review deals with the UK-based one, an act with former or current members of e.g. Plague Rider, Winds Of Genocide and Risen Prophecy. In early 2013 they released a (first?) demo, and now they debut with Descent Into Putridity, an expression of the old styled filth we all felt in love with two, maybe three decades ago.
Lucifers Hammer (to my humble opinion written this way, and not as lucifer’s hammer, without the ’ in between the ‘r’ and the ‘s’ – but of course that is of no major importance, yet being a purist, since I am searching for the most corrective way to inform you…) were an act from Michigan, formed in 1986 and creators of some demos and two albums, 1997’s The Mists Of Time and 2001’s Ghosts Of Fall. After that second album, the band split up.
We do know Transcending Obscurity especially for their superb support to the (underground) scene. Kunal Choksi and his crew try to promote the scene as much as possible, just like we at Concreteweb try to do as much as possible. And since his promotional activities focus especially on the Death / Black / Grind-trends, I do respect this Indian guy a lot!
It’s been long, way too long, but Belgian outfit Emeth finally return with their newest (fourth) full length, after 2008’s Telesis (released via Minnesota’s Brutal Bands; are they still active – to my knowledge they didn’t release anything anymore in more than a year?). Undersigned was quite enthusiastic with that former Emeth-album (surely the band’s strongest release to date).
