DoC friends Deformatory kicked off 2016 with a brand new album. [It would have been nice to get a head's up, but you know, whatever...] Malediction is death metal in the most Canadian of ways: technical with lots of melody and no shortage of blast beats. Like bacon dripped in maple syrup, it's a combination that just works. [$8 CAD]
In nearby Quebec, Deviant Process have a similar approach to technical death metal. Remarkable for its focus and maturity, their first full-length Paroxysm recalls their countrymen Quo Vadis and Neuraxis in its combination of melody, brutality, and fretboard wizardry. A reminder, if one is needed, that Canada is home to both Rush and Cryptopsy. [$7]
If, like me, you love Swedish death metal but the endless procession of soulless Grave knock-offs is HM-2 much for you, Stockholm's Desolator will come as a welcome relief. The four song EP Spawn of Misanthropy combines elements of thrash and death metal in an attempt to carve out its own niche, not unlike similar scene outliers Hypocrisy and The Crown. A mix of old, new, borrowed, and true. [56 SEK]
Spaniards Altarage probably don't care much about impressing anyone with their musical abilities - they're much too focused on obliterating everything in their path. The unrelenting barrage of Nihil sounds like Hate Eternal employing the eerie (one might even say R'leyahan) atmospherics of Portal, Ulcerate et al. Simultaneously spacey and claustrophobic. [€7]
