Pick of the month:
GRAND MAGUS - "Iron Will"
HOUWITSER were a Dutch death metal band featuring members of SINISTER and THANATOS. They split up in 2004 and this is the reissue of their debut album from 1999. I'm not sure why they chose to re-release this. I wouldn't say this is a bad album, it's just that after this one they released three better albums. And even those records, fine as they are, don't hold up against the best works of SINISTER or THANATOS. That minor quibble aside, ‘Death But Not Buried' is an interesting album for anyone who likes their death metal basic, brutal and primitive.
HOUWITSER were sometimes criticized for their para-militaristic image (with balaclavas and all) and the fact that on promo shots they liked to pose in front of the Dutch flag, which seemed to give people the idea that they were some kind of extreme right-wing band. But lyrically it's mostly your basic horror/gore stuff, with some religion and sex thrown in for good measure. There really is nothing here that indicates dodgy politics. However, I don't know if it's got anything to do with this minor ‘controversy' but for this reissue the original cover art (a Dutch flag) is replaced with a photo collage that seems to be a compilation of samples taken from rotten.com.
Anyway, musically this is death/thrash/grind at its most basic, like it was made in the 80's and early 90's. Some very cool riffs, deep grunting vocals and messy production, you get the idea. It's all pretty decent but nothing earth-shattering if you're familiar with BOLT THROWER or just about any other extreme band from that era. Album closer "I Shape The Suffering" is the standout track by far. As a bonus there's a so-so cover version of POSSESSED's "March To Die" and some tracks that sounds like poorly recorded demo material. All very nice of Displeased Records to add this, but musically not all that interesting to be honest. An interesting release for death/thrash completists, but if you're not familiar with HOUWITSER yet you'd be far better served by checking out any of their superior later releases.
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