[2025-01-20]

OUT NOW AND SHIPPING!!!

CONCRETE ICON - Voracious Streams CD [MEMENTO-CXLV] The grisly 3rd full-length by this Finnish band. Formed in Turku in 2007, Concrete Icon unleashed their debut EP, "Where the Horns Reign", in 2012, quicky followed by their debut full-length, "Perennial Anguish", the year after. After going through numerous lineup changes and taking a short break, the band returned stronger and more determined than ever in 2019, with the release of their widely acclaimed sophomore full-length, "Rancid Harmony", which definitely turned them into a band to keep track of and a force to be reckoned with by diehard deathsters in the underground scene all over the world. Fast forward to late 2021, the band released an EP on tape format, titled "Rebirth", that featured two brand new songs, as some sort of appetizer before diving into the writing process of their third full-length. A few months later, a compilation named "Reign of Anguish MMXXII", featuring remixed versions of both their debut EP and their debut full-length, was released. Not long after, another major change occurred, as half of the band quit in the middle of rehearsals for the third full-length. Replacements were promptly found and the band returned to live action in 2023, finally entering the studio to record their long overdue third full-length later on. Concrete Icon blend the viciousness of classic U.S. Death Metal with the melancholic gloom of their European counterparts, combining leads drenched in despondency and suffering with a more angular and punishing riff barrage, resulting in an atrocious entity that´s as quintessential as old school Death Metal can get, while exuding a personality that´s their very own. For those in need of references, think a neck-breaking mix of Morbid Angel, Paradise Lost, Deicide, Amorphis, Monstrosity, Sentenced, Immolation... PUTRED - Megalit al Putrefacției CD [MEMENTO-CXLVI] The highly anticipated 2nd full-length by this Romanian band. Hailing from Transylvania, Putred was formed by Uriel on guitars (Morbicus, Vorus, Reveler) and Filip on vocals / bass (Necrotum, Vorus, Demoted) back in June 2020. Dante (Slaughter Ceremony, ex-In Obscurity Revealed, ex-Infested) joined the band behind the drumkit right after writing the first two songs, titled "Necroza" and "Devorat de Viermi." These tracks were self-released as a promo/demo tape in July 2020. In late 2021, Corina (ex-Deimos, Vorus, Reveler) joined the band as a bass player and Filip stuck to vocals only. In October 2022, Doru (ex-Necrovile, Vorus, Malpraxis) replaced Dante on drums, and the band immediately started playing live all over Romania. After myriad splits and more demos, Putred released their debut album, "Repulsie Post-Mortem", in early 2023. If that simple-yet-sublime debut full-length firmed up their filthy foundation, then Putred´s second album surely builds that foundation ever higher -and deeper- with miles of slime! Titled "Megalit al Putrefacției", Putred perfect pounding, ponderously mid-paced Death Metal of a most eldritch nature. Rancid and foul-smelling as ever, the Romanians´ tank continues to crush forward at a patient gait, exhibiting brutality and all-out heaviness not through sheer speed or dazzling displays of technique, but rather through thoughtful songwriting, slamming/slithering riffing and none-slimier atmosphere. The leads are especially eerie, as are the multi-tracked high/low vocals, with Corina´s wandering bass-work instilling a truly unsettling feeling. Sonic references across "Megalit al Putrefacției" are many -Mortician at half-speed, Cianide at their world-eating best, early Necrophagia´s weird textures, Apparition/Sorrow with a shot of energy, and of course the unholy trifecta of Bolt Thrower, Asphyx and Grave- but Putred manage to integrate their own personality into proceedings, particularly their lyrics, all written and growled in their native tongue, telling short horror-drenched stories about death, horror, the occult and the afterlife. The closing cover of Autopsy´s "Critical Madness" simply underlines that spiritual center. Completed by absolutely perfect cover artwork courtesy of Jan Pysander Whitney, Putred´s "Megalit al Putrefacției" is prime-grade Death Metal for those who want it slower, deeper and harder. MUTAGENIC HOST - The Diseased Machine CD [MEMENTO-CXLVII] The impressive debut full-length by this U.K. band. Mutagenic Host are a five-piece band hailing from London, as part of the New Wave of British Death Metal (Coffin Mulch, Celestial Sanctuary, Slimelord, Vacuous, Mortuary Spawn...). The band comprises members from various parts of the U.K. and the States. With a diverse background spanning the Hardcore, Black Metal and Death Metal scenes, Mutagenic Host blends Hardcore sensibilities and groove with the heavy, well-crafted sound reminiscent of 90´s Floridian Death Metal. Mutagenic Host dives into a technological apocalypse, examining a world overshadowed by hypocritical, insidious and murderous global powers. The band is deeply disillusioned with the traditional themes of Death Metal and Hardcore, feeling that these subjects no longer capture the urgency of the present. Instead, Mutagenic Host tackles the modern-day specters of complacency, apathy and the looming threat of AI. Their work is an allegory for the systematic industrialization of humanity´s eradication, whether by human hands or by the machines we create to snuff out life. In this narrative, the instruments of the state use AI to monitor, control and suppress the population, sounding a warning of impending doom through a fresh, intense lens in the Death Metal genre. "The Genotoxic Demo", unleashed in early 2023, featured four tracks that plunged listeners into a cerebral mulch while simultaneously slashing through them with a ruthlessness found in the streets. Following a year of relentless live performances alongside bands such as Incantation, Fulci, Fuming Mouth, Undeath, Celestial Sanctuary, Kruelty, Portrayal of Guilt and Doldrey, Mutagenic Host are now ready to unleash their debut full-length. Aptly titled, "The Diseased Machine" is a dark and thought-provoking journey into that post-plague world, which frankly doesn´t feel so far away from present times. As a debut album, it consolidates Mutagenic Host´s myriad strengths -stomping and slamming grooves, world-eating heaviness, patient deployment of double-bass movement- and then intensifies them to an enviable degree. To be sure, the band are the proverbial well-oiled machine (but not diseased!) across the album´s ten oft-twisting tracks, the clean-yet-crushing production amplifying their strident execution. And with their fluid shifting between tank-rolling downtempo and galloping bouts of speed, we can confidently declare "The Diseased Machine" as the epitome of "chug and slug" Death Metal. Mutagenic Host have stormed the gates to further solidify their ferocious presence in the Death Metal scene!

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