5 Underappreciated Newer Bands Playing "Old School Death Metal"

Editor's Note 8/6/19: Originally written on Metal Amino

So lately I’ve been thinking to myself: “What should I do for my first blog? With the userbase drowning in the current tidal wave of album of the year lists and New Years Resolutions, what can I do to add variety to the content on this app?”After thinking for a bit, I remembered that many of my peers on Metal Amino share my affinity for Old School Death Metal, so I figured I would talk about 5 criminally underrated newer bands playing some heavy ass 80’s and 90’s inspired death metal. Keep in mind, I’m not going to talk about bands like Gruesome, Skeletal Remains, or Feral because I assume most of you know who they are. I’m focusing on the more unknown groups playing classic styles.

 Sewercide

First up is Sewercide from Australia. Sewercide’s older material is really solid thrash-tinged death metal reminiscent of bands like Demolition Hammer, but their sole full-length album, Immortalized In Suffering, is a pure, visceral, 90’s style death metal gem with an extremely aggressive, blistering sound resembling bands like Immolation, Morbid Angel, and Considered Dead era Gorguts. There’s plenty here to love for OSDM fans like the nasty guitar tone, the surprisingly refined vocals, and HOLY SHIT THAT DRUMMING! Be sure to pick it up at Unspeakable Axe's linked Bandcamp if you dig. Unfortunately, I think these guys recently broke up, which is a damn shame because I would have loved to see what they would’ve done next.

Atomwinter

Up next, hailing from Germany, we have the mighty Atomwinter. I have no idea why this band is so slept on. They play ugly, war themed OSDM primarily influenced by Bolt Thrower, though with riffs that frequently utilize the buzz saw guitar tone prominent in Swedish death metal. Their 2018 release, Catacombs, is one of my favorite DM albums to come out this year. Catacombs and their other two killer albums all easily available on Spotify, so be sure to check them out if you like Bolt Thrower, Grave, or Entombed.

Cemetery Urn

Now here's another group from down under and the oldest band on this list, Cemetery Urn. Formed in 2006 by members of Bestial Warlust and Abominator, two of Australia's most prolific extreme metal bands, they made a name for themselves playing barbaric death metal similar to the sound prevalent in the early 90's, but somehow even more menacing with low, LOW guttural growls and a nasty guitar tone. Though their most recent album, Barbaric Retribution, changed things up a little bit, adding black/death elements to their sound. They have four full albums available on Bandcamp for very reasonable prices (split across two accounts for some reason, here's the other one). I highly recommend them if you like Incantation or Dead Congregation.

Obscene

 My penultimate band is Obscene from the good ol’ US of A. These guys play Florida-style death metal in the vein of Obituary and early Death with a tinge of SweDeath guitar work and a touch of doom. The vocalist even sounds a bit like John Tardy or a deeper Chuck Schuldiner, which is a plus in my eyes and fits the style quite well. Their EP, Sermon to the Snake, is a short and sweet release that should scratch an itch for many death metal fans. The band is currently writing their first full length album, which will be released next year on Blood Harvest Records and I'm excited to see what the future holds for this group.

Gutless

Seriously, what the hell is it about Australia and really good OSDM? Gutless are a new group that just released their demo a few weeks ago and MAN does it kick ass. Mass Extinction is 17 minutes of raw, dirty death/thrash. Despite this being the band's first release, they sound tight and experienced. It probably has something to do with the fact that all three members of the band are former members of Sewercide who performed on Immortalized In Suffering. Needless to say, I'm now over Sewercide's recent breakup because this shit rips. Mass Extinction is available for $1 AUD (which is like 70 cents) on Bandcamp and believe me, it's worth every penny.

So there you have it, five criminally underrated OSDM revival artists. I hope you enjoyed this foray into the death metal underground and found some new jams to start your 2019. If enough people like this post, I think I will do a sequel of sorts. I already have more bands in mind for a continuation/follow up.