DEMO/EP ROUNDUP - Wulfaz and Brutal Order

We continue venturing into the bottomless pit that is demo, EP, single and mini-album releases ...

WULFAZ up first with their three-track, eleven-minute EP entitled Eriks kumbl (sorry - translation attempts came up empty), available on Bandcamp. Grind-infused black metal is at the core here, lyrically focusing on Viking themes I'm told (all songs are sung in their native Danish, I assume). Melodic, yet blistering, elements of folk are also injected into the mayhem creating a modern, yet somehow also arcane, feel to the material. The vocals are of the throaty, lascivious nature, with impassioned shouts interspersed, adding to the overall smeared and feared sound. Fans of early Enslaved releases will certainly dig this. Out of Denmark something wicked this way comes! [7.5]

Brazil's BRUTAL ORDER up next with their debut of tough thrash metal called Homo Homini Lupus ("man is for other men a wolf" - Plautus), also available on Bandcamp. Musically in alignment with the title of the EP, the headbanging affair reeks of the ruthless, dog eat dog world we live in. Mostly in the mid-tempo, chugging pocket, with speedy sections interspersed, the band create a piece of controlled pummeling for the weary listener. Good production here, instruments clearly discernible, and the shout vocals of Tiago Xaves work well too. Not too brutal, but brutal enough to appease the hardcore thrasher. Kinda like Sacred Reich crossed with Metallica and Jungle Rot to these ears. Good, sturdy stuff. [7]