REACH (US):

• We Seek the Means to Escape This Light, Intrusive (2012, EP) 2 Man band from Chicago, half the songs on this EP are instrumental, the other half have vocals. Music wise, this follows the djent scene pretty closely, self produced, Meshuggah poly-rhythms and guitar pyrotechnics and melody not out of place on a Periphery album. The big difference are the vocal tracks, the vocalist is far more understated, he sings, but the singing is more low-key and haunting, sorta like Maynard from Tool. And I appreciate that, it brings something a little different to the table. There's a bunch of variety here, from heavy instrumentals to melodic with vocals to electronica pre and postludes. Hopefully the band does a full length album and works on focusing the music a bit, while a lot of fun, this EP definitely sounds like a collection of odds and ends. They show a lot of promise, we'll see where they decide to go.
  

THE REEFER HUT:

• Stoned To Death (1995, Demo) A demo band from Ohio, The Reefer Hut is eclectic to say the least. Death influences, as well as Industrial, even a rap tune. Very brutal stuff, probably the biggest bass response I've ever heard on a demo. The songs have a few inventive riffs and some damn scary vocals, although I've been told by the band that the demo isn't necessarily a good indication of what their working on right now. They've also got a live drummer now (the demo has programmed drums). I'll wait to see where the band goes from here, hopefully they'll record some new stuff soon.

• Fused Together in Revolving Doors (2004) Very similar to their new album, with the usual treatment of brutality, speed and manic craziness. Productionwise, just every so slightly (like hair slight) more muffled than "Clients". Otherwise, not much else to say, the songs are great, the performance is over the top insane. These guys are quickly working their way up the grindcore ladder, and well deserve the praise you've been hearing. I'd still buy "Clients" first, because it is a slightly better album, but this is highly recommended too.
• Clients (2005) The Red Chord combines aspects of Nasum, Pig Destroyer and Dillenger Escape Plan into one crazy package. The music is just manic, nuts, super fast, in your face, tons of screams. It's like your mom yelling at you with her face an inch from your ear. Lots of start-stop riffs, squawks, the music jumps from riff to riff real quick, but it's not so chaotic as to completely lose you along the way (ie, it's not doing the "Disgorge" thing). There's definitely some standout parts to this cd, lots of great riffs and a good groove. Technical without becoming musical masturbation. Vocals are midrange growls with a few shrieks and even a few spoken word bits. The guitars tend to remain on the higher strings most of the time, plenty of out-of-tune bends and such with a few low chunky parts thrown in for good measure. Everything is really tight with a nice razor-sharp production. Awesome major label debut for the band, and highly recommended.
• Prey For Eyes (2007) More carnage from the chord. All the elements are here for a good CD, but they just don't nail it the way they did on their last album. It's tough to put my finger on it beyond a more general feeling that the song writing just isn't quite up to par. Everything else is here, all the ingredients that made their last album are present and accounted for, but there's just way fewer riffs where I go "fuck ya!". After such a great album from Despised Icon last month (I sorta put these 2 bands in a similar style category), this is just sorta a let down. Now that's not to say this is a bad album. There are still some good songs here, but there's also a lot of filler material that doesn't turn my crank. Like the last 2 minutes of the song 'Prey For Eyes' is the same riff repeated again and again, with very little variation. Same with 'It Came From Over There', the first 3 minutes seem to go on and on. A few good songs like 'Responsibles' and 'Dread Prevailed' do their best to save the album, and help elevate the CD's ranking from maybe a C to a B. Worth looking into, but I prefer their first 2 albums way more.
• Fed Through The Teeth Machine (2009) Better than their last album, but not as good as their second. The same general style as before, overall the song writing has improved a lot, way more frenetic energy this time. Production wise, it's got a better sound too, a little more bass and a little more in your face. The band really emphasizes whammy bar theatrics this time, they frequently use it to detune riffs, keeping the listener a little unbalanced. Worth a listen to see if anything grabs you, this is a big improvement over "Prey For Eyes".
  

• Unconsecrated (2008) Australia's version of Job For A Cowboy. Other obvious deathcore influences would be White Chapel and Suicide Silence. Plenty of low gargled vocals, blasting and double bass, chunky detuned guitar mixed in with the odd fast ascending scale, and the usual slow breakdowns. The album has excellent production value, and is played really well, the only problem is it's not very original. We've all heard this sort of thing before, just look at any of the bands mentioned earlier. There's plenty of good riffs, and their song writing is decent, but they're gonna need some other element if they want to stand out from an already overcrowded genre. If you're a deathcore fanatic and can't get enough of this sorta thing, The Red Shore is an excellent band. But I'm left wanting something a bit more.
• The Avarice Of Man (2010) Worthy followup to the first album. Overall it's the same style of music, the sound isn't quite as raw as on the first album, it's ever so slightly muffled and smoothed out, still brutal, but I preferred the energy of the first one. Fewer breakdowns on this one, which is always appreciated. Same general lack of variety to the music, but thankfully same good song writing, which makes it all worth it. My favorite riff has to be the main riff in 'The Seed of Annihilation', it's a really epic riff, epic like 100,000 warriors in medieval garb slaughtering each other in battle on the plains of ancient Europe. If you liked the first CD, you'll like this one too, overall I found it quite enjoyable.
  

• The Fantasy Effect (2012) Deathcore band from Minnesota. While there are a few cool aspects on this recording, from some good solos to a few nice acoustic interludes, the main issue with this band is the breakdowns. As in, almost each and every song is a breakdown. The Chorus is a breakdown. The Verse is a breakdown. The Breakdowns are breakdowns. The vast majority of the album is the same chord chugged again and again in odd rhythmic meter (ala Meshuggah). This leads to a lot of monotony. The group looks quite young in terms of the age of its members, so maybe their song writing will improve with time, they do show a lot of potential in some aspects, but right now I have to give this one a miss, they need to focus on the things that will let them standout, and if they must use breakdowns, use them sparingly, or at least vary the note once in a while.

• Progenitor (2012, EP) Spacy djent deathcore metal from Florida. The EP start strong with a reasonably melodic 2 minute intro that also contains some nice thick guitar. The 2nd track is the first real song, vocals are for the majority midrange and high pitched growls and screams. Guitars are somewhat thrashy riffs with a few more melodic parts. Pounding drums, while the songs have a few somewhat odd time signatures, for the most part the songs remain pretty straight forward in structure. To compensate for the generally boring breakdowns, the band add a few interesting details like the odd sung vocal, some chiming guitar chords, etc. I feel this band shows a lot of promise if they're willing to play up the more experimental aspects of the band, and don't just head down the path of yet another deathcore act. We'll see how their debut album turns out.
• Chasing Infinity (2014) Sadly, their debut disappoints. First off, the sound is far worse on this album than their demo EP. The EP had a much thicker sound. Second, most of the songs on the EP appear on this album, reducing the number of new songs. And then the new songs are just kinda soso, nothing truly memorable. This CD is ok, but the band needs to refocus if they want to get people's attention in a scene already filled with great work.
  

• Embalmed Existence (1993) Standard death metal mixed with keyboards, slow parts, and jackhammer drumming from Alex Marquez. Each song starts with a vocal interlude about the human condition, real grim stuff. The riffs on this album are really good, some very heavy and original stuff, and definitely carries an atmosphere all its own. Almost 10 years later and it still gets time on my CD player, definitely check it out.
• Ritual Slaughter (2007, Promo EP)
• Mistaken For Dead (2008) After a 15 year Hiatus, Resurrection decides to reunite and release a second album. Well, I guess reunite may not be quite the right word, since guitarist John Astl and vocalist Paul DeGolyer seem to be the only two returning members (although they were the core of the original band). Also, the style is pretty different, to be expected for a 15 year break, but in general I think it's almost better to think of this as a totally new band. And with that said, this band kicks some serious ass. It's old school death metal with plenty of groove, fast doublebass and a few blasts in the right spots. Just about every song has at least one standout riff that sticks in the brain. The production is powerful, clear and sharp. The sound style is almost like a faster, more aggressive Obituary. Paul's voice are far more up front on this album, far fewer effects, overall his vocals have gone from spooky on their first album to downright venomous and in your face on this one. I don't dig the new Storyteller voice on this album though, I much preferred the ones from the original (thankfully the new voice only makes a few limited appearances). If you want to hear some early 90s style death metal with 21st century production value, this is a fantastic album, and I hope they continue to produce more albums in the future. Definitely my favorite release of the week.
• Soul Descent - March of Death (2014, EP)
  

• Empire Of The Obscene (2008)
• Existence Is Futile (2009)
• Chaos Of Forms (2011)
• Revocation (2013)
• Deathless (2014)
• Great Is Our Sin (2016)
• The Outer Ones (2018) So this band has been around for awhile, this being their 7th album. But it's the first time I've given them a listen. So someone who knows their back catalog would probably give a better overall feel for how this albums sits in comparison to their previous work, but this review will focus on the zero-gravity thinker perspective. Never heard the band? I give it a big thumbs up! Revocation reminds me a lot of the Montreal band Martyr and the dutch band Extol. This is high intensity thrash with death metal vocals with a deep focus on memorable riffs. So some speedy parts, some technical parts, some tasty guitar solos, and some nice chunky moshable bits. While this sort of music isn't really the fashion these days, I miss the old days of thrash, and this album honors that legacy while still providing a modern feel. Even love the instrumental towards the end, reminds me of some of the better Testament instrumentals. If you love old Thrash, or are a fan of some of the bands I've mentioned, this album will be right up your alley, I'll have to do a deep dive into their past releases.
• Netherheaven (2022) Wow, this album is awesome. Let's just start with that. The thrash / death / tech combo is running on all cylinders here. It's all about the riffs. I hear a riff and it's great, the next riff can't possibly be as good, and then it is. Well, two in a row is fantastic, but obviously riff 3 can't be as good. And then it is. The music is catchy while still being intense and brutal, just really really impressive song writing and amazing proficiency on their instruments. I'd love to do a song blow by blow, but every song has standout parts, so it's not like I can easily pinpoint my favorites. Love the solos and the vocal performance is inspired. Again, if you enjoyed older thrash bands like Martyr and want to hear what they'd be with more modern production and sensibilities, this album is everything you're looking for. Two enthusiastic devil horns up.
  

• Infernal Atrocity (2015) A throwback to early 90s death metal. This album sounds like a lost Suffocation album that came right after "Effigy of the Forgotten". In fact, some of the riffs can be almost directly compared, like the intro to 'Enticement To Carnivorous Impoverishment' is almost identical to the intro to the song 'Breeding The Spawn'. But despite the lack of originality, this album has many great riffs, its a great performance, the production quality is clear (although like other early 90s metal, not as polished as it can be made now), and I'm still giving it a thumbs up. I guess many of the people in this band came from the new defunct InExordium, which was also all about recreating that origins of death metal sound, so in that respect, they have done a great job.
• Live Atrocity - The Inception Of Sufferance (2017, Live)
• Cerebral Contamination (2023) One of the final albums of 2023, and it's a good one. Old school 90s death metal style, so a stronger focus on riffs than blinding speed. While it's a good performance, there's an off the cuff feel to everything, I doubt they recorded to a click track. Recording quality is good, a little more in your face than their debut. On a personal note, if the band is reading this review, there's a certain guitar solo that hits the exact same tone as the collision detection alarm in my car, so every time I play the song while driving I am momentarily freaked out that I'm about to hit something :) Some good memorable riffs here make this album highly enjoyable, I give it a big thumbs up if you like the classics, or in this case, new stuff in the classic style.
  

• The Conscious Seed of Light (2013)
  
• Monarch (2015) What Job For A Cowboy should be. Rivers Of Nihil has a good mix of modern death metal styles, from slower sludgy bits to faster blasting. Again, if I had to pick a single band these guys sorta sound like, it would have to be Job For A Cowboy, except these guys have more variety to their sound and riffs are way more memorable. Maybe it's Cowboy with a touch of The Faceless. Rivers Of Nihil write excellent, excellent songs that are catchy without losing any of the brutality. Coupled with an enormous sound, the band simply smashes the listener around the room. Vocals for the most part are mid ranged growls, no pig squeals or anything thankfully, just straight ahead aggressive shouting. 'Perpetual Growth Machine' is a good showcase to what the band is all about, and would probably be the best song to check out to see if you dig the band, I also really like the instrumental 'Terrestria II', it has a nice Death (the band) vibe to it, going in a bit of a more progressive vibe. Great album, well worth picking up.
• Where Owls Know My Name (2018) The band takes its sound and pushes it even more into the progressive field. That doesn't mean they get rid of all the brutality (the drums are especially pounding and fast on this one), but the focus on this one is definitely more on the progressive side, with more keyboards, wailing guitars, long songs, the occasional saxophone. The results are a bit mixed. The songs aren't as catchy as they were last time, although they certainly are epic, the general vibe I feel is the listener gets to look over a valley where thousands of soldiers are fighting to the death, contemplating the futility of war. So the album gains in terms of atmosphere, you feel like you're listening to some soundtrack for a fantasy film, but you can't really take any particular song and say 'I love the riff in that'. Maybe their next album will be the perfect blend of this one and the last one, which I think would be the ideal case for the band. Well worth checking out!
• The Work (2021) So in some ways this is a natural progression for the band, their last album was part progressive, part metal, and "The Work" eliminates almost all heavy and fast elements and goes full progressive. The music is still dark and haunting, but a ton more sung vocals, saxophone, piano and discordant strummed guitars. Elements of Tool, Deftones, maybe a little of The Amenta, and some parts I'd more likely classify as Doom metal or Industrial. I've some reviewers classify this as "brilliant", and I'm sure some of the people reading this will dig the experimental nature of the band, but for me, I liked their balance of progressive and metal, so without the metal, it just isn't my thing. Feel free to give this album a try, but for my personal taste, it's gone too far.
  

• Get Dead Or Die Trying (2008) Their name may have changed, but it's the same Gorerotted you've come to know and expect. First off, thankfully, the production has gotten good again, in fact, it's their best production yet. Also, while I've always enjoyed the band's riffs, it seems that this release they spent a little bit of extra time putting in some really brilliant material. Like the main riff in 'the Howling', or the slow beginning to 'The Body Tree', or the chunky riff at 1:40 in 'It's Like There's A Party In My Mouth (And Everyone's Being Sick)'. It's also cool to hear traditional blastbeats this fast, without the need to move to gravity blasts to achieve the speed. Hats off to the Nate. The last track is a bit of wasted space, but the other 10 are solid, fast and brutal as fuck. Short and to the point, this album should please all fans of the band, and anyone who likes no frills blasting and fast picking.
• Anarchogram (2010, EP) 6 song EP from the band. Sadly, the production is muffled again, not nearly as good as their previous album. They start off with two new songs, which are decent, but nothing special. There is one drum bit in the first track that's kinda interesting, some sort of bursting blast beat, I'm honestly not quite sure what he's doing. Then 4 cover songs, they do manage to add their own stamp to the songs, rather than making them a carbon copy, but I can't say they do anything really standout. Like the coolest bit from Sepultura's 'Propaganda' is the dissonant riff at the beginning, and these guys speed it up, making it far less cool. Also, they choose Entombed's "Out Of Hand", if you're gonna do an Entombed song, it really should be from their first 2 albums IMO. Anyways, it's a decent EP, but nothing that's a must have.
• Ad Nauseam (2012) In a word, boring. This band has always had some punk leanings, a death metal band with punk flavoring if you will. But this album removes basically all the metal elements, leaving a standard punk band in its wake (with a touch of death-n-roll). The songs are just so ridiculously simple. The same riff over and over again, the riffs use tired old chord progressions we've all heard a zillion times, there's just no spark to this record. After listening to a few tracks I kept skipping to see if the band would do anything cool later on, but sadly, the answer was no. I did give it one last try listening to it all the way through while writing this review, but sadly it turns out I hadn't missed anything. The album is at least consistent, even if it's consistently not my thing. If you're a fan of the death metal aspects of the band (like me), then this album is a must miss. Sorry guys!

• Under Pressure (1997)
  
• Drain (1999)
  
• Murderworks (2002)
  
• Exit (2005)
  
• Cycles (2008)
  
• Cursed (2011)
• Species At War (2013, EP) If you like Nasum, especially their "Human 2.0" album, you'll like this short EP. Crazy blasting, super short songs, and tons of distortion (great sound). Nothing much to distinguish the songs from each other, but brutal and fun, perfect for an EP.