Asphyx have come a long way. They emerged from their home country of the Netherlands in 1987 (a year before I matriculated). After several line-up changes (including over a dozen members), a death and band split-ups, Asphyx prevailed. Their almost decade silence from 2000 resulted in their resurrection in 2009, with releases again at a steady flow, leading to the current Deathhammer album. This more old-school Death Metal style will be just the ticket for anyone who may have grown weary of the Metalcore variants of late. The raw, mean Metal bursting from the tracks give you a good dose of speed, but also ease back with slow Doom-laced passages. Vocally you don’t get the expected deep guttural growls, but rather an intense shout (along the lines of classic bands like Obituary and Death), or kind of like Lemmy on a real pissed-off day!
