DIEMENTIA-"Tears of Blood"

This album is from Glasgow thrashers Diementia and was made with their old line-up,not that it matters as this is well worth a listen!!! 11 tracks clocking in at around 56 minutes which is value for money!!! It kicks off in great style with a good slab off  good old thrash metal "Corruption" is the track in question and is a really good song and one of my faves of the whole album. It sets the scene for the rest of the album, and it gallops along at a fair old pace, keeps the interest no problem! Apart from the opener my other fave track is "Bad Blood" but in all honesty their isn't a bad track on here. Good album by a good band,if you want to check it out it's available on free download,just check out their facebook page,where you will also find links to their new material on reverbnation. Good to see more Scottish metal bands out there a great scene well worth supporting. 8/10

DESECRATOR-"Links Retribution"

 This is a release from Laceration drummer Mark Dubonwski, its a concept album based on the Legend of Zelda!!!!! Unreal or what! Mark plays everything on this release which just shows what a talent he is. Concept albums always make me think of dreary boring prog rock type shite but you don't get that here, what you do get is 8 tracks of heavy as fuck playing, no prog rock at all!! The tracks are all linked by a bit of narration to keep the story going,when the songs kick in they all have clean,growly vocals so you can follow the tale of Link easily. The playing is top notch and some really great guitar work on this album which kicks in at around 23 and a half minutes. There is no favourite track here as the whole thing is a story so differs from other albums, I really enjoyed this,it was something totally different from the usual stuff I listen too. Well recommended but I don't know how easy it is to get your mitts on,try contacting Mark on facebook. 8/10

LACERATION-Demo

This is a 3 track demo from Scottish Brutal Death Metal band Laceration and it is exactly that!! Brutal from the opening chords! Great opening track which goes really gets the proceeding going well, the other two tracks are just of the same quality. They are a very tight band and it shows on this demo, all tracks have slower doomy bits that lead up to a crushing explosion of pure heaviness! I don't have a favourite track as I really enjoyed all the 3 of them equally. It's a belter of a demo and has left me wanting to hear more from this band, who are-Hamish MacGuire-guitar and vocals, Ryan Simpson-bass and Mark Dubanowski-drums.  Got to love a band that has a track called Human Tikka Masala as well!! The demo is free to download and future releases are in the pipeline,can't wait!!!  8/10

Ironworks 04/08/11 Zombie Militia, Seed of Sorrow, Toby Michaels

Well I took myself off on the bus to a wet and dreary Inverness for a bit of local metal, you don't get much of a chance to see over much metal up here so I wasn't missing this for anything!! It was done on what was described as the small stage for local showcases and it attracted a fairly decent crowd 100-120 at a guess,and as it was a 14 and over show it was good to see some of the younger metalheads in attendance.
First up was Toby Michaels former front man of Stolen Order. Now I don't know if Toby is a rock'n'roll genius or a total madman!! An impressive entrance was hampered by guitar problems but he took them in his stride with some impressive banter that got the crowd laughing. His set was an acoustic one and it was of manic proportions!! I have had "Tribute" from Tenacious D stuck in my head for two fucking days now!!! As I have said he's either a genius or a total maddy but one things for sure he is an entertainer and was good value and warmed the crowd up nicely,he's a man worth keeping an eye on!!
Seed of Sorrow were on next, I had heard good things about this young band and had wanted to see them and I can tell you I wasn't disappointed they were as heavy as fuck!!! Really top notch guitar work from both guitarists and a great engine room of bass and drums,finish with a totally manic front man and you have just what you want form a metal band!!! I thought they were impressive and played a really tight set and I am now really looking forward to seeing them play with the Signal and Filthpact on the 27th of August, The Phoenix bar is going to get fucking shredded!! Well recommended and a band that I am happy to be seeing again real soon.
Last but definately not least were the main act tonight, the mighty Zombie Militia, I saw them a couple of years ago at a poorly attended gig in Invergordon where they supported Soundshok and I was very impressed then, they were a really good act and I enjoyed them then. Since this happened they have gone onto bigger and better things and now play all over Scotland and have won the Scottish heats to play at Bloodstock and now I can see why!!!! They were immense,a totally brutal crushing display of pure hard and heavy metal,really tight as fuck,an awesome display of power. Two new songs were showcased tonight as well which was pretty good too!! They have come a long way in a short period of time and I can only see good things for the Militia, I think the next stage for the band for the band has to be some sort of physical release, something I am hoping comes sooner rather than later!!
All in all a really good nights entertainment and for £3 you couldn't really go wrong,it was the first time I have been to the Ironworks this year and I really wish they put more alternative style music on instead of the indie,folky,tribute shite that seems to be the norm there. It bodes well for the local scene that Inverness can boast two really good metal bands,hopefully we will see a few more metal gigs take place soon!!

Lt. DAN/SLAUGHTERGRAVE-Split

This release comes from Human Discount Records and clocks in at 18.44 mins,consists of 12 tracks from Lt.Dan and 9 from Slaughtergrave. First up are Lt. Dan from the U.S.A. a 3 piece band who specialise in short brief blasts of grind/noisecore, some of it is very short but all are extremely brutal. My fave tracks are "Fake Dealer" and "Grinding the Crusty" I would think Lt.Dan would be an intense,brutal experience live!! 7/10 for there part of this split.
Slaughtergrave the ace mincecore band from Greece are then on with their 9 tracks. I have a  fair bit of Slaughtergrave stuff as I trade with Spiros of the band,he is indeed a real D.I.Y. king!!! You are going to see a good few reviews of them here as they are a top notch outfit, heavy as fuck!! The best tracks on here are "Clinical State" and "Napalm Up Your Ass" and a good cover of Napalm Deaths "You Suffer" All in all a good release 7/10 for their part. Good c.d.I like it a lot.

STENCH OF VIRGINITY-"Filled With My Sickness"

4 track Cd-r release from Sewer Records clocking in at 13.18 mins from a right brutal bunch of Greeks!! The band are a 3 piece grind/death outfit and pretty shit ht they are too!! First up is "Above This Grave" and it kicks the proceedings off very nicely,real deep growly vocals and a good riff keeps the song going nicely,good start!! Next track is "My Brutality Rises" this is a lot slower with a real doomy feel to it,for about the first minute then it explodes!! with a real all out thrash,then back to the doomy style. Another really good track and i like the way its structured. The third track is the attractively titled "Gut Her,Split Her" and has a mental intro taken from the movie "New York Ripper" then it beasts into the track,another brutal beast it is too! Again it has slowish doomy bits and faster thrashy stuff,real deep vocals. The last track on this release is "Filled With My Sickness" and again is another slab  of pure brutality,good guitar work as throughout this release. This is a nice wee demo,I am pretty sure it can still be bought although it is from 2006, I got mine in a trade so it should still be out there,worth tracking down. 7/10

HRAFNBLOD-"The Quintessence of Man"

4 track release from 1 man black metal band ,running at 19.20 mins,  this is limited to 50 copies that he gave away free to get a bit of interest going in his project and I;m glad I managed to get a copy!! 1st track is "Concubine" and it gets the disc of to a flyer,good raspy vocals and great guitar work,good start!! Next up is "I Met the Dragon" great guitar work again,based on a really good riff.raspy vocals again but some parts have a deeper vocal,another great track. The next track is "Freya Beckoning" and starts with an acoustic guitar playing a very mournful tune for just over a minute and that is that!! very ambient and very good,I liked it! Track 4 is "Across the Pagan Vastelands" and starts with the sound of waves breaking the shore before the intro kicks in, deep vocals kick in about 2 minutes in and the track builds really nicely. This is the only track that Gareth doesn't write the lyrics on,its an epic track and my favourite of the release. It ebbs and flows and shows a really good standard of musicianship,really great guitar work and it shows the many facets to his playing.
I thoroughly enjoyed this release and its going to be a bugger for you to track down unless you were one of the lucky ones that got your mitts on one! Look forward to hearing more from this talented guy,you can contact him on facebook just bung the band name into your browser. 8/10