I made this post about a year ago, I'm just going to paste it here:
First and foremost is a band that is no more, and only released two major releases.
Repugnant (Swe) played primarily in the vein of, of course, the old Swedish stalwarts, but there's also a healthy dose of various other old styles, including Celtic Frost. Their 1999 EP
Hecatomb and their posthumous full-length,
Epitome Of Darkness (recorded in 2002-2003) from 2006 should be staples in any collection for old school Death Metal fans.
Next up is another band that is no longer with us,
Kaamos (Swe). These two bands actually knew each other well, sharing a few members and playing live together. They put out two full-lengths,
Kaamos in 2002 and
Lucifer Rising in 2005, though possibly their most remarkable release was their eponymous EP from 1999.
Nominon (Swe) has been around even longer than Repugnant or Kaamos, and they're still around. They started out as a split from the Black Metal band Fafner and gradually moved more and more into the Death Metal vein. Their first full-length,
Diabolical Bloodshed, is actually more of a blend of the new and the old, and honestly doesn't work as well as it should. However, what came after, namely the
Blaspheming The Dead and
The True Face Of Death EPs and their second full-length,
Recremation, see them fall ever deeper into the realms of Death. They will be releasing their third full-length shortly, entitled
Terra Necrosis, which is said to be darker and more varied, so we'll see where they go from here.
Tribulation (Swe) is a newer band, but if their debut 7" EP,
Putrid Rebirth, is any measure, they should prove to be a very formidable powerhouse in the future. They're on the Swedish Blood Harvest Records, which is, from my reckoning, the foremost bearer of the flag these days, releasing 7" and 12" vinyls exclusively (so far). A good percentage of the rest of the bands I will outline have also spent time with Blood Harvest.
Necrovation (Swe) just may be the most promising band from the scene that I've come across that is still around. Their music just bleeds with passion and conviction for their craft. Their two releases, the 2004
Chants Of Grim Death 7" and
Curse Of The Subconscious 7" split (with Corrupt (Swe)), both on Blood Harvest, are must listens. Necrovation is currently working on a full-length.
Karnarium (Swe) is yet another horde hailing from Sweden, which shouldn't be of much surprise considering the inspiration for the style. On the other hand, Karnarium's influences are not always immediately obvious. Much of it is just a heap of disgusting filth. However, as much inspiration as they take from the Swedish legions, there is just as much stemming from Incantation, Autopsy, etc. They've so far released two 7" EPs,
Averse Incantation and
Deity Of Opposites, the latter being on Blood Harvest.
Vomination (Swe) is yet another sick Black/Death Metal cult, taking as much influence from the minds of Lovecraft, Poe, Nietzsche and the like as any music, especially Lovecraft. This is truly just a pile of filth. And if the Lovecraft influence is not obvious enough from the cover and title of their 7" EP
Yog-Sothoth (on Blood Harvest), they label the two sides of the vinyl Nyarlathotep and Shub-Niggurath. Beware, this one isn't so easy on the ears.
Degial (Swe) is, unsurprisingly, yet another band from Sweden. This newer group has so far only released a demo through Blood Harvest's sub label Zombie Ritual, but this is just too good to pass up if this is your style. Hopefully the scheduled 7" release in the works for Blood Harvest will be out some time soon.
Flesh (Swe) has so far released two full-lengths,
Dödsångest and Temple Of Whores. This is actually the solo project of Pete Flesh (Maze Of Torment), so that should tell you of the sincerity of this project.
Slugathor (Fin). I am most familiar with them through their early Perverted Taste 7" demo/EPs from 2000, namely
Delicacies Of The Cadaver and
Fabric Of The Multiverse, but they also have two full-lengths out (
Unleashing The Slugathron and
Circle Of Death), and they really know what they're doing.
The last Swedish band I'm outlining will probably be familiar to most, as it formerly boasted Dan Swano in their ranks. I'm talking about, of course,
Ribspreader (Swe), the main man behind this famous for his work in Paganizer (Swe) and assisting Swano in completing Edge Of Sanity's
Crimson II, doing a large percentage of the harsh vocals. Their first full-length,
Bolted To The Cross, is a damn fine display of old school Death Metal. The follow-up,
Congregating The Sick was widely regarding as a let down, even by the band, but after breaking up and reforming a number of times, now with a new lineup, Ribspreader has so far unleashed two new slabs of Death Metal 7" vinyls,
The Monolith (on Blood Harvest) and
Vicar Mortis, and these fall more along the lines of the debut. They're apparently working on another full-length to be entitled
Opus Ribcage, so we'll see where they go from here.
Necroccultus (Mex) is another one of my favorites from the modern era, and are, yet again, associated with Blood Harvest. They've so far put out the
Supreme Occult One...The Underworld Abhorrence 7" with them, and will also put out another, entitled
Deathrone's Dominium. They also have a full-length out, entitled
Encircling The Mysterious Necrorevelation, and a split with Throneum and Sanctifier.
The recently Nuclear War Now!-signed
Dead Congregation (Grc) is a frightening listen, from blast-beat driven assaults to slowed down funereal dirges, and then right back to the midpaced comfort zone that is the standard for most bands of this style, though they tend to be more on the extreme side than most. They've already released on EP,
Purifying Consecrated Ground.
Blaspherian (US) hails from Texas and plays from the pit of Hell. They have a real dirty, occult sound, both in terms of songcraft and production values, which complement each other nicely. I'm looking forward to the scheduled 7" EP they intend to do for Blood Harvest.
After a number of splits other assorted releases,
Necros Christos (Ger) has finally unleashed their debut full-length in 2007,
Triune Impunity Rites, and it should be enough to say that this will surely be on many top lists at year's end. Or at least it should be. Another occult-influenced band, yet sounding their own.
After 2005's widely hailed
Blood demo, which got them signed to Xtreem Records,
Deathevokation (US) has also recently unleashed their debut full-length,
The Chalice Of Ages. I have this on its way to me in the post at the moment, but the samples I've heard continue in the vein of the demo, hearkening most strongly to the Swedish hordes. A very promising band that is truly dedicated to maintaining the old school. Check out their website as well, as they sporadically host a lot of awesome old school Death Metal demos. They currently have up several Cadaver (Nor) demos.
Mandatory (Ger) is a band who I've only very recently come across, but I immediately felt compelled to own their 2006 EP,
...Where They Bleed. Just take a listen to the tracks on their myspace, the music speaks for itself.
