DEMO/EP ROUNDUP - Agnostic Priest and Master's Call

The Mighty Decibel continues its dive into the murky waters of EPs, demos, singles and mini-albums ...

AGNOSTIC PRIEST (isn't that an oxymoron?) starts things off with a seventeen-minute mini-album entitled Final Stand (Bandcamp). Sitting firmly in the thrash/crossover camp, this drips of speed, pistons-popping rhythmic patterns and beer-soaked love of metal. Sandwiched between two short instrumentals, the Oakland, California unit provide six tracks of authentic old school thrash with a nod to crossover mainly due to the accusatory vocals (somewhere between D.R.I.'s Kurt Brecht and Crumbsuckers' Chris Notaro). Fast, sweaty fun. [7]

Next up is a three-track EP of "dark blackened death metal" from MASTER'S CALL entitled Morbid Black Trinity (Bandcamp). Probably splitting hairs here, but I hear more of a black death concoction given that the riffage focuses more on the atmospheric black metal side of the equation, with death metal accents (including vocals) meshed within. Regardless of naming conventions though, one thing we can all agree upon is the sheer power of this U.K. based unit. This is well produced fare where the full frontal assault of all players is discernibly obvious. Seventeen minutes of crushing and professional extremism, with a touch of the epic, awaits those who reach out for this. [7.5]