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Misotheist - Vessels by Which the Devil is Made Flesh (2024)

Whore of Bethlehem (2006) used to be my clear favorite, but lately I've really grown quite fond of the most recent 3 or 4 going back to 2015. Especially the most recent full length, 2021's Worship the Eternal Darkness. But don't start there, go back to 2006 and start there with their first proper full length album release. Their earlier 90's EP's 'n stuff were much more raw and inaccessible, I almost never revisit that stuff.

Accurate. I was one of those kids. The first time I heard Once Upon The Cross I was 16, sitting alone in my truck before work, and the vocals actually scared me a bit. I used to like Benton's voice and thought the first 3 albums were killer. Never liked any of the later ones. They don't do much for me anymore but I think there's still some nostalgia value.

Future of Despair - S/T, hardcore/crust LA Dishönor - Chain Reaction, Mass Extinction EP, Greek d-beat/crust Dishönor - S/T, 2019, this kills if you're into this sort of thing. But I know most of you don't mess with the hardcore based stuff. I don't even care about the tryhard part, I'm able to ignore all of that nonsense, just stay above the fray. From a purely musical standpoint though I just don't like them, and I think they're boring. I haven't heard too many of their later albums, think I've heard about 5 of their 13 altogether so not quite half, but not a single note off of any their last 5. But judging by the first several that are supposed to be the best ones they're really just nothing special. And the worst part of their sound is Satan boy's vocals. For me anyway. Nothing worse than a vocalist who rubs you the wrong way splattered all over the top of everything. Not like you can just tune him out. So many better death metal bands out there to listen to, but there's a certain segment of the old school guys who absolutely revere them.

Hate Eternal - Live at the Garage, London June 4th 2006. I, Monarch would've been their most recent at the time. It's hard live as a 3-piece to sound full and complete with only one guitarist who keeps stopping to play extended solos. They do an alright job though. Not sure who the drummer is here, M-A says it should have been Derek Roddy up to 2006, but Youtube comments suggest it was someone else who was filling in while they were in between drummers. Deicide - Deicide, Tampa FLA 1990. Never got the hype over this band, or Hate Eternal either, but I'm giving them both another shot tonight. Deicide's greatest downfall is definitely Glen's vocals. Not a fan. But the band can play, although the song writing is nothing to crow about imo. If they could just muzzle Benton and have Rutan sing on this music it might not have been half bad. Rutan's vocals are probably the best thing about HE. Either way early Master blows early Deicide out of the water. Which come to think of it is what I probably should be listening to instead of this crap. Master - Master, Chicago 1990. Yes this is more like it. I think a large part of Deicide's popularity is mostly because Benton's an animated caricature of a satanic death metal front-man with the inverted cross branding, and the outrageous statements that have garnered some low-key publicity. While Speckmann just plays music. I'll take the first two Master albums over the first two Deicides any day.

Rotting Christ - Triarchy of the Lost Lovers Rotting Christ - Thy Mighty Contract

You really can't go wrong with any of them past 2006. That's my take anyway. LC is certainly a great album in my book.

Here's what happened. One of the brothers who runs Hells Headbangers distro, Justin Horval (J-Dawg) has a YouTube channel. His videos are mostly either interviews with old school American death metal luminaries he corners outside of gigs in Cleveland Ohio where they're based, or they're 20 minute rants about sports jersey and flat brimmed ball cap wearing poseurs at shows and which bands are harder and more brutal and which bands send which other bands "home on a stretcher" as he likes to say. He's an idiot neanderthal basically. A short little puffed up body builder with an attitude. Says he's only 38 but he looks 50 with his thinning guido hair and Dumbo ears and big square head. Dude talks as if he was the original death metal fan from 1989 when he was actually just a toddler in preschool then. I click on his videos in my feed sometimes for their comedic value, and sometimes I'll leave comments basically telling him he's a idiot who's talking out of his ass. Except when he goes on his rants about how only the first 3 Death albums count as actually being death metal, or two and a half as he's on the fence about Spiritual Healing. That I basically agree with although I would never tell him that. So anyway the other day he posted a video. Usually he starts off with paid questions, for $10 he will answer your question or read whatever statement you've written aloud. But there were no "Paid scaroonies" that particular day so his wife and camera woman "Hellcat" had printed out some comments from some of his previous videos for him to read and comment on. I was only half paying attention, I was texting somebody when I realized he was reading one of MY comments I'd made regarding Deicide. I'd asked him what's the deal Dawg, did Glen Benton blow you once? Why does he just harp on Deicide over and over on every single video as if they were all that? They wouldn't even be among my top 500 death metal bands. With so many other quality death metal bands to talk about in the last 30 years, why the fuck are we spending so much airtime on those has-beens? It's always Deicide and Cannibal those seem to be his two pet bands, along with Dismember and King Diamond and he seems to like a lot of goregrind too like Hemorrhage. So he said something about how I probably looooove Bolt Thrower (was that supposed to be a diss?) and then went on a rant about how if you don't like Deicide then you don't really like death metal. There's just no good reason why any true death metal fan who's not a complete poseur shouldn't worship them and count them among their favorite bands. But then he paused and laughed at my "they're not even in my 500 top favorite dm bands" line saying he realized that was hyperbole and he admitted that he exaggerates a lot too and is probably even more prone to hyperbole than I am, which I know isn't easy. I got a kick out of that brief glimpse of self awareness from a blockhead. Some of his "fans" have apparently started calling him "Sponge" in the comments, short for Sponge Bob Square Head, and he can't quite figure out what that means, these kids are trolling him calling him a blockhead, and he doesn't even get it. But after trashing Deicide so publicly, I figured I should at least probably brush up on their early stuff so I know what the fuck I'm talking about. That's the only reason I was listening to them last night, just to see where I currently stood on the mighty Deicide, because it had been a minute.

Controversial, but I think Luciferian Crown is the best thing they have ever done.

One of the worst live bands I've ever seen. Not a fan of Deicide at all, but I get the hype. Glenn was a frontrunner in the Florida death metal scene and a master of publicly. I remember the news stories when he carved the upside down cross in his forehead, was burning bibles, etc. Perfect sorta shit to draw outrage and attention in religiously charged central Florida in the early 90s. The music was completely mediocre but had all the blasphemy you can handle. So naturally kids gravitated to something that pissed off all the right people. He gets the love for being one of the first and people being nostalgic for a time when DM was controversial, satanic, and new. Has to be because the music, aside from Legion which is serviceable, is meh.

😆Ha. I think we've all done that once or twice, but you got through at least two songs? Did you think the band had fallen off the deep end and gone full experimental modernism John Cage on everyone? That's actually really funny. I can see something like that causing some one's great grandparent to stroke. Disclaimer: Don't be offended. I know you're not foolish, but that really is funny to me. Agreed. The self titled Master album deserves it's vaunted place in the history books. Deicide to me, can be pretty good, but you're right about the attention seeking. I feel really split about them. On just a strictly musical level they're a little above average, especially for how long they've been around. Benton is the textbook definition of what a lot of people would call a tryhard though.

Lock Up - Pleasures Pave Sewers, UK 1999 the band's debut. Lock Up - Hate Breeds Suffering, UK 2002. Shane Embury of Napalm Death's side band, this was the first album with Tomas Lindberg from AtG on vox. No Hotel California cover.

Fuck! I thought there was something seriously fucking weird going on with the last three songs. There was extra instruments and shit that shouldn't have been there. Then in the last song started hearing an instrumental of Hotel California. It was then I realise the cooking videos I was looking at had sound and YT wasn't muted! Sounds much better without YT NP: Carpet Bomb - Awaken Terror

Jnr was obviously pissed off he got fired and maybe he was justified, but the world does not need a song like Don't Get Made Get Even. If you're going to write a song about being pissed off make it a decent song Don't Get Mad is terrible and Jnr showing off the sticker on his guitar in the film clip just makes him look petty and immature. Maybe he learnt that much of Snr.

Great choice! Love me some Dust Bolt. I have 4 of their albums, although they may have put out a new one since I last checked. Great new wave thrash.

Dust Bolt - Violent Demolition

Show wrapped last night. Would've posted a small summary, but I was well past my limit of cheap beer. I think the appropriate term is piss drunk. Regardless, day 3 was the best of the week. Highlights - Sodom, Demolition Hammer, and Rotting Christ. Darvaza was pretty decent too. Didn't get excited about Tank, though the rest of the fest seemed to enjoy them quite a bit. Also didn't get much for Forbidden, mainly because they only have 1 song I even remember and secondly because who the fuck can follow DH after they level the place. Surprise of the day was Rotting Christ. Never seen them or listened to them much. Pretty freaking great. Overall show highlights aside from the above - Queensryche (the early stuff kills live and after seeing them both I think I prefer LaTorre to Tate), Lamp of Murmur (pulled it off live), Candlemass, Sumerlands, Savage Oath, and Autopsy. 6th year here and it just keeps getting bigger. Some growing pains and capacity issues at the venue, but they have always been good at working those things out between years. Up there with MDF for quality run organized festival by good people. If you're shopping for a fest to hit next year, can recommend.