Death by a 1000 Bullets: Reviews of newish releases by Deathfiend, Alarum, Distorta, The Cure and Dystopiate by Mark J.

 


Death by a 1000 Bullets: Incredible Mixed Releases: Deathfiend, Alarum, Distorta, The Cure and Dystopiate by Mark J.

These are the dog bollocks, concise short reviews of shit you need to buy now. Got it, now read, buy and thank me later fuckface.

We have a blindingly awesome selection of releases here. Let's go and get into these bangers.

Deathfiend-Dark Rising. This is John Pickering's newish band's second album and if you have been sleeping under a rock, John used to sing for the UK Crust legends, Doom. So as expected, this is far from a relaxed and chilled album. But as with all his post-Doom bands, he has refined an extreme formula and added creative layers to this abrasive mix of death metal, black metal and modern crust. The gripping distortion rages thru every track and we even get Barney from Napalm Death on one of the album's finest moments Relive the Torment (audio porn as ND and Doom are two of my fave bands. The opener Plague Race is furious as all the early UK hardcore/Death metal classics; as is Earth Defiled(my personal fave as John taps into his love of black metal and this is utterly skin-peeling also vocally reminds me of early Kreator also) and the ripping brutality of Outliers, Age of Mistrust and  . You also have some brilliant variation in the doomy, sludgy grit of the title track and also Watch Them Crawl-which is like groovy, nasty groovy sludge and the slow tempo masterpiece Killing Joke-like Forget Mankind. On that esoteric vibe, Embrace the Flame closes the album out so perfectly. Deathfiend is a stunning mix of crust, death metal and old black metal with that subtle Celtic frost/Hellhammer vibe also.

This is essential and one of my fave albums of the year.


Alarum-Recontinue. Now often we get releases across the desk and symphonic, tech death or prog metal strikes fear into me. However I was pleased as punch to enjoy every second of this wild jazzy, proggy, death thrash beast of an album. it was technically proficient, but so much fun and engaging.This was as schizo as a Mr Bungle or a Scorn record. The playing is laser tight, the vocals insanely off the chain and the song structure a feat of epic and clever song writing. The whole album is an insane journey and intriguing, whilst being super crushing and dynamic.
Highlights: fuck me the entire album is a major feast of unique musical genres popped in a blender and spewed out to perfection. But I currently love: The Visitor, the spine-snapping Unresolve, Zero Nine Thirty for being as amazing as the finest Faith No More classics, and Footprints for being so gloriously proggy, weird and damn entertaining. What a record and flawless, faultless and powerfully cinematic in a psychotic way. Total classic.
https://alarumofficial.bandcamp.com/album/recontinue

Distorta-Deadman. So happy to hear this new EP for Ballarat metal legends, Distorta who are one of the best live metal bands in Australia and all very chilled out blokes. That aside, this EP builds on the already solid work these lads have done before and added more power and gnarly aggression to the mix of Death metal, groove metal and old school thrash. Lead single and classic video, Deafening Sins is a raging beast that is catchy and heavy as fuck.Deadman is a classic opening track with it's deep boots stuck in Death Metal trenches whilst being sonically quite classic thrash mixed with truckloads of thunderous groove. Anything this band does is solid as every player is brilliant in their roles. One of the many things to love on this very solid release is the cleans are a sprinkling on top of the very heavy vocals; I state this as a music fan who is not a fan of melodic or super clean vocals-but like Killswitch Engage it works perfectly. Long Way does this succinctly and the guitarwork is so tense and brooding.The Reaper is a real classic off this release and the pacing, structure and vocal work is top class. I also loved the main vocal part that sounds like Metallica when they were at their peak. When the War is Over is a stunning brutal way to close out a EP-the mix of Old School Death Metal, Lamb of God/Pantera worship and even vintage heavy metal-this has it all. The middle solo is hectic and classic as hell; this one one brilliantly composed track that will take your breathe away. Grab this asap via the usual platforms with CDS available from the band directly:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063733354410
or
https://www.instagram.com/distorta__band/
or
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5CcbSecm90hoN0tIETZKdB

The Cure-Songs of a Lost World. I love this band and frankly don't care if you are stupid enough not to grasp the greatness of this band. This is not only their first album in 16 years, it is a melancholic, grim and reflective piece on grief, mortality and self-reflection that is a dramatic masterpiece. Sitting somewhere between the eerie tone of the Pornography and Faith releases and also the wide-reaching atmospheric lush aspects of Disintegration. I ironically love the shitty reviews saying it is the band's worst album, it drags on endlessly, is devoid of any feeling etc etc; I mean do these clueless reviewers have any fucking sense of the band's journey over multiple decades and also the ability to absorb and take in such a deep album. If you caught the three recent live shows online; two BBC shows and a gig playing the album in full plus all the classics and deep cuts; you would get a feel of how engaged these performers are with the music-it is so obvious and these songs fit perfectly with the rest of their catalogue. Is this by any means an album of pop hits, not remotely. Whether it's the stunning songwriting, the visceral tone or the power of mature lyrics, this release is an emotional masterpiece. With repeated listening, your favourite tracks on this album will change, but with each sitting, you will get so much out of this album. In a usual The Cure manner it echoes a dreary tone that is uplifting at the same time. Songs of a Lost World is best enjoyed as a whole. Every track is sensationally composed and psychotically essential, for a reflection on grief, loss and mortality this has a vitality (thanks Stephen Owen for that description) that most bands don't ever get close to. I am not going over each track, but my current faves are A Fragile Thing, the sublime Drone:Nodrone and the Endsong. Buy, stream and adore this masterpiece asap. Watch the live stream of the full gig, it will make you cry, smile and celebrate the glory of an amazing real artist.
https://uma.lnk.to/TheCureSongsOfALostWorld


 Dystopiate-Terminal Dissonance. One thing that warms my soul and makes me want to run through brick walls is UK-influenced Crust Punk in the style of Discharge, Disorder,Doom, Amebix, ENT etc etc. So discover a new band that does this perfectly is a huge win.(Don't get me wrong I am also a massive fan of Swedish and Japanese Crust/D-Beat, but your first love is the greatest). Dystopiate is a killer raw crust/D-Beat band from Boston,this three-piece band is a fucking powerhouse that has been kicking since 2020 and this album is flawless. The vocals are acidic, raw and abrasive as an angle-grinder to your genitals or eyeballs. The bass and drums are an utter warzone with no respite and the riffs are just straight-up chainsaw-like, but well thought out and work with the cool song structures across this banging release. Of course, the ten tracks fly by in the blink of an eye but it is raucous and glorious, they even have a track that I thought was Discharge (Hit The Deck) followed by an utterly Disorder-like gem called A Day in My Head. 
Out now and this is one of the best D-Beat albums in the last 10 years. Support these maniacs!!

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