Review by Vladimir on February 26, 2024.

It is undeniable that Poland constantly grows with metal bands from every corner, especially within the death or thrash metal branch. A new addition to their scene comes in the form of a death/thrash metal band Inferial from Białystok, who came out with their promo demo Eternal Descent on February 19th, 2024. Without wasting any time, let’s have a look at what this promo has to offer. 

What you can expect to hear from Inferial is very tight and aggressive death metal that borders with thrash metal in terms of its overall style, which has songs that incorporate downpicking riffs with occasional tremolo picking, mid-tempo drumming with double-bass work, and growling vocals. The songs all vary in terms of their arrangements, however some of them do include a breakdown or two in order to make things more interesting and have the songs flow much better from section, while keeping everything in order. For the most part, the songs are stylistically similar but very consistent, which contributes to the smooth transitioning from one track to another without breaking away from what is already established. 

The album does have some slightly dynamic songwriting, but to a certain extent, which all comes down to the fact how each of the songs were executed to be consistent yet similar. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t any songs that leave no impression whatsoever, because some of them do manage to stand out for their strong riffing or perhaps enjoyable melodies, with noteworthy examples being 'Spear Of Destiny' and 'Hypnotized', but so far, I’d still say that all the material has a solid foundation. The only minor issue that I have is that this release as a whole doesn’t really have that much admirable quality to it that could have been a contributing factor which could inspire you for a revisited/repeated listening, and what also doesn’t help is that at times it starts feeling a bit generic and not as memorable as it could have been. On the other side, the big plus about this promo release is that it has a very good and also pretty strong sound production, which surprised me because bands often tend to opt for a much thinner sound before going heads on with EP’s or full-length albums, but here they actually did a good job. 

Overall, it’s far from great but still only a few steps away from achieving something great, which I believe is quite possible in the near future. After all, this is a promo/demo which so far shows the band’s starting point that will further be expanded into something much bigger and stronger, and I have no doubts that it will be quite “inferial” so to speak. If you are into Polish metal bands, give this one a go and see what power it holds. 

Rating: 7.8 out of 10

Review by Vladimir on February 27, 2024.

If you are in the mood to check out something bloody and awkwardly sexy at the same time, then you should probably stick with me on this journey. In this review, I’ll be covering the US heavy metal band Vulgar Devils, with the lineup consisted of three current and one former member of Destructor. Vulgar Devils had already presented themselves with their debut album Temptress Of The Dark in 2016, however, they returned with their second full-length album Witches Wheel on February 29th, 2024, released via Witches Brew. 

As the ritual begins with the opening track 'Awaken The Night', we witness the flames burning high alongside some fine heavy metal. During this entire album’s runtime, you will notice that the majority of the songs on this album are quite simple rhythmic rockers filled with catchy guitar riffs, mid-tempo drums and epic singing vocals, with some exemplary tunes like 'Bringing Hell', 'Black Talons' and 'Death Or Victory' that stand out the most. The songs are stylistically very similar to each other which makes this a very easy listening all the way through, without ever losing track of what is going on. 

The album has very simple and straightforward songwriting which consists of basic heavy metal ideas that don’t necessarily possess anything so incredibly unique or dynamic. You will notice that it is mostly rock and roll all the way through, very much in the style of well-known oldschool heavy metal bands like Saxon, Grave Digger, Angel Witch, Judas Priest and others. However, that isn’t to say that this album is really all that great because it does have one glaring issue that prevents it from being exceptional. The biggest issue about this album is that it feels very formulaic and repetitive in the sense that the songs just follow one basic pattern and just stick to it, without there ever being any instance of heading towards a different direction or perhaps a memorable riff that stays trapped in your mind. On the first half of the album, it feels mostly alright and acceptable, and it really is no big of a deal, however during the second half it really becomes generic and unamusing as it goes because it sounds all too familiar. What saves it from being a very dry experience are a couple of the aforementioned tracks which are mostly better than the rest and possibly the only ones that feel less generic. One big thing that can’t be left out is the album’s cover art, which looks incredibly over the top, but nevertheless it’s quite sexy and bloody at the same time, and I would probably buy a shirt with that album cover just to walk around town and piss off conservative citizens. The album cover may be considered a bit unconventional for a very traditional heavy metal, and possibly more suitable to something more extreme like thrash, death or black metal, but I think it can be easily overlooked if you don’t really care about the album cover and you just want to hear the musical output. The album production is fairly alright, but the good thing about it is that everything sounds and feels organic for a modern-produced record. 

Personally, I wish we got something more out of this album that would really make me come back and listen to it again, but it is ultimately let down by its wasted potential of the album’s overall lackluster nature. On the other hand, it is an alright album in the end and it’s not something that you should completely avoid just because I had a hard time trying to get more fun out of it. I respect that Vulgar Devils aren’t trying to achieve anything fancy or appealing for a wider audience, but I think that they should definitely take into consideration to make their next effort a real banger that would really be worthy of its reputation.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10