Vader – “Humanihility” review

Vader is a death metal band from Olszytn, Poland consisting of original rhythm guitarist Mauser, backup rhythm guitarist Spider, bassist Hal, drummer Michał Andrzejczyk & frontman Peter. Beginning as a more traditional heavy metal group until moving on to thrash as well as speed & finally the death metal style they’ve become known for today, their first couple albums The Ultimate Incantation & De Profundis would become the most beloved entries in their discography. MNRK Music Group signed them for Black to the Blind & joined Metal Blade Records in a 3-album deal: Litany, Revelations & The Beast. Since 2009 however, they’ve been making theirselves at home with Nuclear Blast Records by putting out their last 5 LPs Necropolis, Welcome to the Morbid Reich, Tibi et Igni, The Empire & Solitude in Madness in addition to their last 3 EPs Go to Hell!!!, Iron Times & Thy Messenger on the label. Almost 5 years since Solitude in Madness, they’re reuniting for their 9th EP & the 9th project overall since the Nuclear Blast deal.

“Genocide Designed” was a tight deathened thrash metal intro singing about being a parasitic humanoid & rotten thoughts born in the deepest pits of Hell whereas “Rampage” works in more blistering tempos, technically palm-muted riffs & rapidly shredding solos describing an eternal war. “Unbending” sends off the EP with a death metal single calling to be respected for the soul he’s become even if it’s a surrealistic plea from his perspective

For only being 3 songs & 9 minutes at length, Humanihility’s viciously old school thrash metal direction contains enough ferocity to match the traditionally neck-breaking tempos Vader has become known for in the last 4 decades. It has a more personal style to it than Solitude of Madness, fusing the death metal sound they’ve become known for in over 3 decades & mixing elements of thrash along the way to hold off fans whenever their 13th album comes.

Score: 3.5/5

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Marilyn Manson – “1 Assassination Under God” review

Ohio singer/songwriter, actor, painter & writer Marilyn Manson making his Nuclear Blast Records debut with his 12th studio LP. Signing to Nothing Records & Interscope Records, his debut Portrait of an American Family proved to be a passable industrial rock/alt-metal debut although The Triptych launched him into international stardom. Said triptych including Antichrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals & my favorite Holywood: In the Shadow of the Valley. The Golden Age of Grotesque & Eat Me, Drink Me were both received to mixed responses as was his final Interscope offering The High End of the Low & the Loma Vista Recordings debut Born Villain. However during my senior year of high school, The Pale Emperor made his true return to form followed by Heaven Upside Down & the Shooter Jennings-produced We Are Chaos wrapped up his Loma Vista contract. Marilyn hasn’t been around musically in a while because of psychological & sexual abuse allegations, which I can’t speak for myself on whether they’re true or false. That said as someone who grew up during his prime, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in 1 Assassination Under God.

The title track sets it all off with this 5 & a half minute intro singing about refusing to suffer for everyone else’s amusement assuring them they’ll always be entertained & everyone showing up for the execution whereas “No Funeral Without Applause” infernally discusses the only thing in this world that can fill this hole inside of him. “Nod If You Understand” throws it back to the Antichrist Superstar era refusing to repent since that’s what he was sent here for while “As Sick as the Secrets Within” mixes elements of alt, industrial & goth rock to sing about making everyone dream of him.

“Sacrilegious” swaps out the goth rock influences in favor of glam rock telling us that’s exactly how he’s been feeling just before the industrially glam “Death Isn’t a Costume” sings about being left behind. “Meet Me in Purgatory” goes alt-rock again wanting everyone to come with him if he’s casted out prior to alt/industrial metal hybrid “Raise the Red Flag” sings about refusing to accept your surrender. “Sacrifice of the Mass” ends by getting dressed in his mortuary best ready for his ride.

I’m not exactly sure how many more chapters we’re gonna get outta 1 Assassination Under God since it’s said to be the 1st in a new series, but I can definitely say that this is easily the best thing that he’s made since The Pale Emperor nearly a decade ago. His production with Tyler Bates feels like a mix of Mechanical Animals & Holywood pulling from alt-rock, alt-metal, industrial rock, industrial metal & glam rock with the songwriting nostalgically taking us back to 2000 channeling all the anger he’s been feeling in the past 4 years.

Score: 4/5

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Nails – “Every Bridge Burning” review

Nails is a Oxnard, California grindcore band consisting of guitarist Shelby Lermo, bassist Andrew Solis, drummer Carlos Cruz & frontman/guitarist Todd Jones. Their 2010 debut Unsilent Death has become of the greatest albums in the extreme metal/hardcore punk fusion subgenre, landing them a contract with Sunn O)))’s independently owned Southern Lord Records to put out an acclaimed sophomore effort in Abandon All Life & later signing with Nuclear Blast Records a few years after that for You’ll Never Be One of Us. Nearly a decade of radio silence, Todd & company are returning on Every Bridge Burning.

“Imposing Will” couldn’t have been a better choice for an opening track mixing grindcore & metalcore having the effect of an urgency talking about no matter how deep it cuts, it’ll never be enough whereas the 1-minute “Punishment Map” brutality sets out to making people feel the way they make Todd feel. The title track explosively talks about the knife inside & the past being where there’s hurting just before “Give Me the Painkiller” fuses metalcore, grindcore, thrash metal, speed metal & stenchcore discusses a painkiller addiction.

On “Lacking the Ability to Process Empathy”, we have Nails going for a primarily metallic hardcore sound with additional elements of grind to talk about friends turning into enemies leading into “Trapped” going full-blown grindcore feeling stuck in a living Hell. “Made Up You Mind” continues the shortened song structures & a diverse palette of intense techniques calling out someone who isn’t in control, but then the skull-smashing “Dehumanized” discusses the idea of dehumanization.

“I Can’t Turn It Off” reaches the final moments of Every Bridge Burning addressing everyone who thinks that Todd’s a terrible person refusing to apologize for doing it his way & never compromising himself or the rest of the Nails for that matter & lastly, “No More Rivers to Cross” is this adrenaline-inducing 3 minute closer clarifying that he doesn’t see things the way others do wanting be left alone, pay his bills & die in his home.

Almost 15 years of cementing themselves further as the greatest grind band that the subgenre has seen in recent memory, Nails’ comeback effort makes it seems like they never even left in the first place because it’s their 2nd classic with Nuclear Blast & their 4th consecutively gratifying LP overall. They show everyone exactly how much they’ve evolved since the last time we heard from them taking their signature style & excellently fuse it with metalcore, crust punk, sludge metal, thrash metal & speed metal.

Score: 4.5/5

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