DEMO/EP ROUNDUP - Crush The Altar and Beholder

We continue delving into the depths of the demo/EP/single/mini-album underground ...

First up is CRUSH THE ALTAR providing a pretty straight-up thrash metal outing confusingly wrapped in black/death packaging for some reason (black and white painting of some skeletors pulling a robed female up some church steps). Regardless, Abhorrent Oblation (oblation = the act of making a religious offering ... guess that's what the girl is!) is three tracks and sixteen minutes of grimey thrash for the hardcore fan of the sub-genre. Pistons-popping rhythms rule the day here, with some slower breakdowns added for effect, along with some lower register growls dragging you further down into the muck. Good production here as well, guitars abrasively gnarly and drums in your face. Good stuff. [7]

BEHOLDER up next with the crushing Die Hard In The Dungeon (Bandcamp) EP. Four tracks of down'n'dirty black punk for your consumption here, two of which are covers which immediately tell you where the Brazilian's heads are at (Discharge's 'Protest & Survive' and Velho's 'Mesma Velha Historio'). Although horrible sounding, likely a self-produced-in-a-dungeon effort, there's no hiding the heads-down conviction of this lot when in full flight. This is some seriously demented and angry stuff that deserves a professional recording. Very promising indeed. [7]