Edge of Sanity - Kur-Nu-Gi-A

Dan Swanö today is one of the best metal producers in Europe, but things weren’t always so. Back in 1990, at the time when this demo was released, Edge of Sanity were a ripe young death metal band, one of the original Swedish first wave death metallers, along with Entombed and Dismember. While Entombed would go on to pioneer the death’n’roll minigenre and Dismember would hold true to their old school roots, EoS became the precursor to the more accessible niche of melodic death metal. For those of you who don’t know, however, EoS’s material was deeper and far more eclectic than most of the things bands like Dark Tranquility or In Flames released which made the Gothenburg scene popular. It all built up to a legendary point in 1996 when EoS released Crimson, a single progressive/death metal song that ran for forty minutes and established a place for itself immediately in the death metal halls of fame. However, the “original sound of Edge of Sanity”, as Swanö himself puts it, was a more typical old school style similar to Death or other seminal death metal bands. The original demo release of Kur-Nu-Gi-A (the underworld of ancient Babylon) had five tracks played in this style and a synth outro. This picture disc release gives us these songs remastered plus two live tracks and a rough version of “Maze of Existence” as bonus. The demo songs are pretty cool, although certainly dated now and not really historical death metal moments. The live tracks are nothing to speak of, really. I never heard the quality of the original demo, but from what I can gather it was apparently not so great. I’m not sure if the “Maze of Existence (roughmix)” is the original, unremastered mix or what, but it sounds very similar to the new mix earlier on the disc. So it’s unclear to me exactly how much better the sound is here than on the original, despite the positive rumors I can provide.

In summary: Kur-Nu-Gi-A in itself is decent, and it’s certainly nice to be able to listen to this part of EoS’s history for those who weren’t around back in the day, and also for fans who will appreciate the renewed production, but the extras are really unmentionable, and in the end this is really not a very important re-release.

Standout tracks: “Maze of Existence”

Score: 6.0

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Wolfbrigade - Damned

Wolfbrigade are no newcomers to what they are doing. Their first crust assault struck the planet in 1996 under the name Wolfpack, and since then their output has been steady. As Wolfpack they released two albums, two EPs and two splits. After changing names to Wolfbrigade in 1998, they released four more albums, one more split and one more EP despite having a three year breakup in 2004. And now it’s been four years since 2008’s Comalive and we have Damned.

I keenly await every Wolfbrigade album that comes out. In my opinion, they have never released an album that did not totally kick arse. Damned is no exception. Even though this is slightly more death- or thrash-oriented – not quite as punky as the Wolfpack stuff – it is one of the band’s most cutting and anthemic records so far. I love Wolfbrigade because there is never any fucking around. You always know exactly what to expect, you always expect it to be of excellent quality, and you always get what you expected. And so, as always, D-beats rock almost non-stop, Micke’s vocals are as harsh and angered as ever, and the urge to pump your fist in the air is upon you. Production is more satisfying than ever before, each track a swift stab like an unavoidable shot of adrenaline. If you can’t bang your head to the likes of “Curse of Cain”, “Damned to Madness” or the jaw-dropping “Catch 22” then you are officially a boring cunt. This is the kind of punked up metal your grandma will be screaming the lyrics of with right beside you. Enough said.

In short: Catchy as hell from the moment it begins to the moment it ends, the new Wolfbrigade can only be described as the latest in a line of classics. The fans know what to expect and it’s a fantastic place for newcomers to begin. Let the new crust madness ensue.

Standout tracks: “Curse of Cain”, “Catch 22”, “Damned to Madness”, “Peace of Mind”, “From Beyond”

Score: 9.5

Coldworker - The Doomsayer's Call

I was thinking about doing a Coldworker review and not comparing them with Nasum, but decided that that was too hard. Keep in mind that all comparisons made in this interview are mainly there because the primary reason people are going to listen to Coldworker is to hear Anders play (that’s why I listened to them, after all). Coldworker and Nasum are two very different bands, despite playing in similar styles, and should each be viewed in their own right; that is to say, without one looming over the other’s head, because Coldworker and Anders are not trying to ride Nasum’s wave of fame. They handle their music with respect and have taken it in a naturally different direction.

For those who don’t know that direction is straight up fast, aggressive death/grind with a bit of a technical edge. This album in truth features a wide range of sounds, from crust punk to old school Morbid Angel . The song Vacuum Fields has a brilliant segment in which, while churning out a brutal mid-paced thrash riff, vocalist Joel Fornbrandt chants (or does spoken word) with a very sinister whisper gurgling quietly in the background behind him. I say this is sweet. The next song is even better, a flawless fusion of death, thrash and grind, impossible to actually tell in which genre any riff truly lies. All songs are distinct, although some are better than others, due to riffs that seem bland and generic in a few places. This strikes me on roughly the first few tracks of the album, but once we hit midway, The Doomsayer’s Call really takes off, laying out the most punishing, modestly technical riffs left, right, and centre. It is impressive how they manage to pull off being melodic and also actually crushing at the same time, rivaling more than your average band in plain old dirty brutality. The lyrics are also quite good, focusing on social problems, but with a nice little inventive gore thrown in on Becoming the Stench. I highly approve. Instrumentation is perfect, but I’m not sure I entirely enjoy the style of the vocalist. While he is clearly talented, he sounds like many others I seem to have heard.

Where does it lie comparatively to Nasum? Well, one thing you notice immediately is that there’s a lot more death here. The chain-gun pulse of Nasum is diminished and the drop-offs into the breakdown’s are not as steep; what I mean to say is the Coldworker give a variety of memorable riffs, but they rely on a more epic song structure, as opposed to the sudden contrasts between riffs that Nasum used to define their albums. Although short, songs remain contained, as opposed to being merely a tool in a bigger picture (aka the classic grind trick of single riff, one-or-less-than second songs). That said, you can definitely feel Anders’ presence here and there are moments where you feel nostalgic. The main thing is that these guys are doing what they want to do, and not selling out. Coldworker doesn’t even pretend to be Nasum, but the deathgrind is in their blood, and this serves as a worthy successor to one of the greatest grind bands of all time, although I do believe they have yet to reach the height of their potential. Hopefully next time Coldworker will bring us their masterpiece.

Summary: What would have been a brilliant album from a band with a very cool style is marred by a few boring riffs and vocals that don’t distinguish themselves.

Standout tracks: Vacuum Fields, Living Is Suffering, The Walls of Eryx

Overall: 8.5

Meshuggah - Koloss

Meshuggah. So everyone knows that Meshuggah are the most technically killer musicians on the extreme metal scene (figuratively speaking). Some fans would say they revolutionized thrash. Other fans would say they don’t play thrash at all. Both are wrong. First of all their songs are too difficult for anyone in a revolution to copy, and second, they do play thrash – mathematized thrash. Invent any new subgenre you want, I’m gonna leave it at technical thrash. You all know who Meshuggah are anyway, so I’ll quit speaking shit…

Koloss. Is it good? The answer is yes. This is Meshuggah. They are going to impress you. Is it better? I’m not entirely sure. Koloss pretty much just follows on the footsteps of obZen to be honest. Some tracks are jarring, dysfunctional pieces of nightmare/insanity-themed, mid-paced material and some are the most ridiculously brutal and precise thrash gunshot wounds that ever hit you. I prefer the latter, of course, and these days I wish Meshuggah would stop farting around in their angular, “unpredictable” element and give us a bit more good old mechanical tech thrash! Although to be fair, even the “avant-garde” stuff rocks, and I’m just kind of sniffing around for problems, although I do think the more conventional thrash is by far Meshuggah’s strongest material. Anyway, basically I just put it down to another Meshuggah release with loads of superheavy wicked songs on it!

In summary: More of where obZen came from, meaning nothing to complain about. Meshuggah don’t drop the ball.

Standout tracks:  The Demon’s Name Is Surveillance, Swarm

Score: 8.5