Don’t be fooled by Iron Bonehead’s sexy moniker and state-of-the-art website; there’s plenty of tasty gristle beyond their flash n’ sizzle. This German label specializes in “UNDERGROUND METAL SUPREMACY,” and, judging by the slate of rawer-than-thou death, black, and thrash that rounds out their roster, it’s tough to tangle with their tagline.
This gnarly lil’ label pinged Captain’s radar with a sneaky resurrection of reclusive Australian blackthrashers Gospel of the Horns, releasing the Ceremonial Conjuration 12″ last year to minimal fanfare. Now they’ve gifted us a fistful of new vinyl releases. Cap, Rev, and Danhammer dig in:
AGGRESSA – NUCLEAR DEATH + DEMO 1
Think about the overall contribution Australia has rendered to the metal scene over the past 25 years or so and a 50-megaton hydrogen bomb probably springs to mind. But long before the Vomitors and Destroyer 666s of our day began searing faces into fuming ash, we had bands like Aggressa (featuring future drummer of Sadistik Exekution, Sloth) stumbling out of the cellar in order to set the table.
“Roaringly drunk” might be the best way to describe the bulk of the late 80s material found on Nuclear Death + Demo 1. This is raw, desperately unsophisticated gutter thrash mostly suited for the OCD collector who obsesses over making sure his / her metal amassment covers every single base. Whether or not the release is worthy of your time depends on how willing you are to let a pile of pimply teens hammered on stolen garage beer into your life to ungraciously vomit about chemical death, questionable drunken slags and stage diving.
As polished as your Pop-Pop’s ’52 Victa lawnmower. [Michael Wuensch]
ZOM – MULTIVERSAL COSMOS
At first blush, ZOM comes off as yet another murkfucked, gasmask-y, old-is-the-new-new death metal thing: ultra-primitive skullcrackery for the pretending-to-enjoy-Teitanblood clan. While ZOM boasts a tech acumen that would peak at strapping Ammit to Sputnik and punting it straight at a boulder, they aim relatively high.
Yes, Multiversal Cosmos is raw as shitballs, and while that aesthetic is something that usually works more favorably for the black arts, it does lend sufficient creep-ola to these seven deathened inches. The vocalist roars / voms like a tranq’ed-up gorilla locked in solitary, and on the other side of a concrete wall…down the hallway fifty yards…past the third cell on the left…and behind the vending machine in the break room, some dude is blast(beat)ing his head off. When primal thrash riffs dance their way through this dissonance of retarded horror–like in the final minute of the title track–momentary, slack-jawed bliss is achieved.
Get your drool on. [Jordan Campbell]
DEATH KARMA – A LIFE NOT WORTH LIVING
Got enough murky, occult-ish death metal in your collection to last three lifetimes? Bah! Embrace the filth and save your blubbering for the End Days – we’ve still got interesting ground to cover.
A Life Not Worth Living delivers 18 minutes of the sort of ill-tempered, heinous grime you’ve probably heard a hundred times since Sunday, but this Czech duo (featuring members of Cult of Fire and Lykathea Aflame) dresses up the corners with bits of delightfully dingy, yet subtle hammond organ.
Wha? The same instrument at the heart of Booker T. & the M.G.s abused in an effort to drive the grim Hell of evil death metal deeper into our lobes? Naturally! And it really does sound right at home when smuggled into the backdrop of Death Karma’s cloudy brew.
All four tunes strike with a similar thrust, but the wicked, more punkish thump of “G.G. Funeral” stands as the EP’s highlight, despite the extended intro of some dude plainly jackin’ the beanstalk. Classy, all the way home. [Michael Wuensch]
BÖLZER – AURA
First impression: Bölzer sound real fuckin’ German. They’re not. But they’ve got that Truppensturm / Ruins of Beverast / blacktar bloodboil guitar tone absolutely nailed. And once in awhile, KzR does something straight mean with his stringed implement: He makes it cry.
There’s a brilliant bend at play here: Martial death metal riffage breaks itself into oddball BAN weirdism with a mere screw’s turn. It’s highbrow primitivism at its finest, footclubbed by Hellhammer but spiralling skyward, propelling itself with charred-black madness entwined in deathtrenched groove.
Side B is home to a stout, ten-minute epic in “The Great Unifier,” which places a howling suicidal head atop broad, strip-mining shoulders. But the true encapsulation of Bölzer’s blinding ambition is the wild-eyed “Entranced By the Wolfshook.” [Jordan Campbell]
OGDRU JAHAD – I
The keenest thing about Denmark’s Ogdru Jahad is the absolute delight with which they wield their total lack of sophistication. This is filthy, grinding, monochromatic Blasphemy worship, and y’know what? It’s pretty great. This tidy half-hour sports a bulldozing guitar tone, totally overdriven vocals from Necrodevil (also of Sadomator / Sadogoat), and some scattered lead guitar flailing that’s actually almost…pretty.
These songs are short and to the knife-point, the riffs are grimy but well-chosen, and subtlety is basically just a bullshit word for falses and posers and ‘leave-the-hall’sers to fill their paltry time with. “Hobo of Nazareth” is maybe the politest blasphemous song title I’ve scanned in many a year, but it gets the job done just as neatly as each of the album’s eleven tracks. Ogdru Jahad probably won’t set anyone’s world entirely ablaze, but if you need something else to slot in your Blasphemy / Conqueror / Black Witchery / Morbosidad / Proclamation playlist, these Danes have got your dance card and are ready to punch it.
Quick note, though, gents: If by the time album number two rolls around, you haven’t changed your name to Ogre Jihad and commissioned cover art featuring Shrek wearing a burqa, I am officially quitting the Internet. [Dan Obstkrieg]
