It has been a very long time since music like this sounded so energetic; on No Guts, No Glory, Airbourne rock out like true believers and they have the chops to back up their ambition.

The end result is a raw, almost desperate affair brimming with stellar riffs, engaging caterwauls and an adrenaline-pumping pace virtually absent since thrash’s formative years.

While it’s questionable whether the band haven’t left behind one set of stereotypes only to embrace another, what isn’t questionable is that Imperium Dekadenz have produced an awesome album that is one of the best that the black metal genre has to offer so far this year.

All in all, Charred Walls… is a solid piece of all-out metal from a seasoned group of players who fit really, really well together.

The very recently released Arsis album, Starve for the Devil manages to fast and provide guitar parts that are memorable. The vocals are good and growley sounding but listening closely the words are almost understandable.

The concept of the covers album is a risky one. Nothing wrong with slapping one on as a B-side or extra track. But to propose a whole album of covers often begs the question, “What? Have they run out of their own material already?” When you decide to make the cover album an ongoing series, you run the risk of self-parody; Six Feet Under are getting dangerously close to that point with Graveyard Classics III.

The concept is simple, the execution unyielding, the principle uncompromising. Concept, execution, and principle may be summed up quite simply: death metal. Welcome to the macabre underworld of Vasaeleth. To pinch a famous phrase: abandon hope all ye who enter.

Tate Bengston reviews the Profound Lore debut album by Texan death metal duo Vasaeleth.

Hellbound readers, please welcome aboard Natalie Zed! Natalie was our big grand prize winner back in January, taking home more than 50 CDs + and shortly after she received her huge box ‘o CDs, Ms. Zed asked us over at Hellbound HQ if we’d be interested in running reviews of her winnings if she did postcard sized reviews of the albums. How could we say no?

So, without further adieu, here is Natalie’s first installment in what Hellbound likes to refer to as “Postcards From Natalie Zed”…