Detonation “Portals to Uphobia” CD

Here's another that I've been meaning to give a shout for a couple of months now since it really took me by surprise. Osmose Productions is a label that has never consistently impressed me by any means, so when a CD from such a source shows up with rather typical "mystical" looking abstract artwork, a lame band logo, an extremely plain band name, and a rather nonsensical album title... it's hard not to expect the mundane, you know? But thankfully that's not at all the case here.

Formed in 1997 in The Netherlands, Detonation really struts their stuff on "Portals to Uphobia", their second full-length effort, with a rather excellent set of tunes that brandishes a great mix of melodic death/thrash influences with top notch dual guitar harmonies and just the right amount of technical flare to keep you on your toes. It's nothing particularly out of the ordinary at its core—expect fairly standard snarling vocals, fits of tactful tremolo picking blended with classic thrash picking patterns within ample tempo changes, and a Scandinavian knack for intriguing chord phrasings and melodic trappings, not to mention various characteristics of several other Dutch acts as well—but it all boils down to powerful songwriting, and that's what places this band far ahead of the pack.

Detonation "Into Sulphur I Descend"
Detonation "The Source to Delve"

These guys seem to be drawing many comparisons to Dark Tranquillity, but that's inaccurate, so don't let that fool you. They're not leaning too heavily on the Swedish sound at all, and only warrant ties to that niche based on its massive prevalence within the metal landscape these days. I've seen Detonation getting a fair amount of rightfully positive reviews for this album, so hopefully they'll start to get a little more concrete attention to boot. The disc's only $11 from the US distributor, so have at it if you like what you hear:

@ The End Records

And here's another one for you...

So, I bought the new Subzero record a couple of days ago (it's good shit, of course, look into it) and it comes with some sort of Stillborn Records "Hardcore Street CD" sampler or whatever. Well, lo and behold, there's a fucking damn solid Bloodclot track on the thing!?

Bloodclot "Revolution"

Now what the hell is that all about!? How can the almighty Cro-Mags' own John fucking Joseph (and more than likely a damn strong backing band) go and record a track without a peep of information out there to be found about their activities!? No website (their URL is just a damn placeholder page), nothing. I can't find a shred of information about this band or what they're plotting, and I need more. So if anyone knows anything, hit me up.

Also, fucking Deathwish Inc. sold out of their mere 100 copies of the god damn Integrity "Palm Sunday" live LP in one fucking day, so I missed my shot. I've spotted it in a couple of overseas distros, but I don't know how reliable they are, so if anyone knows a trustworthy source where I can buy this stinkin' LP, please do let me know. Thanks. Inanely limited edition vinyl drives me nuts.