Review: Nuclear Death Terror - Total Annihilation

Band: Nuclear Death Terror
Album: Total Annihilation
Year: 2009
Genre: Crust Punk/Death Metal

Here we have a great EP from this Danish band, Nuclear Death Terror (NDT) who blend crust punk and death metal. While yes the vocal style of Adam and Cormac fit quite easily into the realm of death metal it’s the riffs and to a degree the drumming that give off the flair of crust influence.

Ok so we have 3 high quality tracks here. Immediately you can hear the crust in the riffs of Total Annihilation of the Self. The guitar riffs are also pretty catchy and have a bit of a groove to them in the vein of the old Swedish death metal bands of the early 90s. But it isn’t strange to hear crust riffs on Total Annihilation or the second song Mind Chain. Look and you will find a sound resembling Extreme Noise Terror and their album A Holocaust in Your Head.

The tracks can go from what is seemingly normal mid to fast pace, and they never let up on the speed. Whether by mistake or it’s just another influence of the band the third and final track sounds a lot like Realm of Chaos era Bolt Thrower at times, both in the drumming and riffs.

Vocally one of the guys uses a kind of shout that has a deep death metal sound to it. One of them screams a little bit higher than the other and the lower growling can seem perfectly fitting of a death metal band. Overall they are a fun mix of crust a death vocals that still sound punkish while retaining the brutality of death growls.

So this is probably what it would sound like if you mixed Extreme Noise Terror with Entombed or Bolt Thrower. You have the riffs laden with the catchy Swedish groove with clear elements of crust. The production is for the most part top notch though the vocals sometimes feel like they were put a little low in the mix. This is a nice short release and I’m sure those who enjoy Bolt Thrower’s earlier material will enjoy this band and album.

Score: 9/10
Standout Track: Any of them really

Review: Dimension Zero - He Who Shall Not Bleed

Band: Dimension Zero
Album: He Who Shall Not Bleed
Year: 2009
Genre: Melodic/Death Metal

Dimension Zero is a Death Metal supergroup of sorts. We have Jesper Stromblad from (now ex)In Flames on lead guitar and bass, Daniel Antonsson who played for both Soilwork and Dark Tranquillity on rhythm guitar, and Joakim Gothberg who at one time did vocals for Marduk on vocals. To round out the group we have Hans Nilsson on drums.

The band comes up with a sound I've really been looking for in Gothenburg. If you were to mix the speed and aggression of At the Gates with the melody that old school In Flames pulled off so well you would have Dimension Zero.

The album starts off with a great song right off the bat, He Who Shall Not Bleed is fast and contains a sweet groove to it. But I especially enjoy the songs where the twin leads are sticking out like a sore thumb. This brings me to my favorite track on the album: I Can Hear The Dark. It starts off with violins in the background while Gothberg speaks a few lines. The music cuts in and you are hit with massive riffs that contain tons of melody. I find the main riff to be addicting myself.

I have to make note of the fact that the band recorded a cover of the Bee Gees song Stayin’ Alive. It’s the last track and it makes for a somewhat funny end to the album. Its played at light speed and Hans Nilsson throws in a lot of blast beats to compliment the heaviness. I actually enjoy it quite a bit.

Jocke Gothberg’s vocals are menacing and are far more black metal sounding than death metal with his high pitched throaty growls. There are some lower death growls peppered throughout the album as well.

The guitar riffs are for the most part memorable but there comes to be an issue. If you listen to the intro riff of Deny then skip ahead and do the same to The Was you will notice they are very similar. And that’s a problem throughout the album, some riffs seem to be recycled and reused here and there making you notice that certain guitar parts sound the same. This will probably bother a lot of people but I actually enjoyed the riffs so it wasn't too much of an issue for me. Still I have to deduct points for the lack of creativity here.

Even still it’s a great album, the vocals are ferocious, guitars are well played and melodic yet maintain their heaviness. The drumming is pretty standard. The bass rarely be heard except during breaks and its given a little fill. The production is top notch and you wouldn't be able to tell that it was recorded in 2007 but given a worldwide release of 2009.

He Who Shall Not Bleed is straight up melodeath with a larger focus on speed and “brutality” which is hard to come by these days where most the genre has been flooded by bands playing with a watered down hardcore influence. Props to Dimension Zero for being one of the handful of bands playing true melodic death metal.

Score: 8/10
Standout Track: I Can Hear the Dark