GATHERING DARKNESS - The Heat Of A Dying Sun Review

Gathering Darkness - The Heat Of A Dying Sun (Necromance Records)

Release date : May 22nd, 2017

Death Metal and Latin seems to be a natural fit like tonic and gin. Formed in 1998, Gathering Darkness is a Spanish outfit that carries the flag of Death Metal in the 1990’s fashion way. Think of Morbid Angel, Hypocrisy, and Vile and you have a good idea of the meaning of this last phrase.

VIOLBLAST - Conflict

Violblast - Conflict (2016, Suspiria Records)

What happens when Slayer and Testament are playing together in Spain? You get Bay Area Thrash Metal from Western Europe under the name Violblast. With the speed and intensity of Slayer and the technicality of Testament a blast from the past in the form of a nine songs platter under the title Conflict is the result. Does it has what it takes to measure up to the two major bands cited?

THE DESCENT - The Coven Of Rats

The Descent - The Coven Of Rats (2016, Suspiria Records)

Coming from Spain, The Descent is a contender for one of the best Melodic Hardcore Death Metal albums of 2016. They remind me of the best albums of Darkest Hour, Dark Tranquility, The Haunted, and Diecast. Even the Pulp Fiction sampling screams out Melodic Hardcore of the late 1990’s. As they say, it is nothing new under the sun but it is done right and in the spirit of the best offerings of the genre.