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Nov 2006 ~ Jan 2007
Legend
Candlelight
Abigail Williams have been a buzz band as of late. They were making the rounds in the underground metal scene, and a little less than a year ago were signed to Candlelight USA. Now, their new EP Legend is in my hands to review.
The most interesting part of Abigail Williams is the vocals. They mix clean, low-pitched vocals with metalcore shrieks and cookie-monster vocals. Not only are they varied in style, but they vary in quality too. The low-pitched clean vocals are worked in at opportune points, creating a moody atmosphere. The shrieks are almost always out of place, and overlap riffs that would otherwise sound great. Finally, the cookie-monster vocals on Legend are hit or miss. Most of the time, they work in that awesome aggressive death metal style we all know and love. However, sometimes they fall flat, seemingly just there because the other vocal styles would be an even worse fit.
What confuses me about Abigail Williams is why they are such a hot commodity. Granted, their symphonic approach to metalcore is interesting, but apart from that they are just plain old, mediocre metalcore. Added to that the fact that they don’t always have symphonic sounds, they are even more mediocre. Abigail Williams does have something to offer in their symphonic sound, but they need to learn to stay with that and not tread into traditional metalcore.
C -Adam Kohrman
Life War
Bombworks
 Life War is a strong debut album from Brazilian power metalers Adiastasia. I heard an advance of this a while back and it took me entirely by surprise with the strength of the musicianship and songs. To my ears, a lot of the power metal excels instrumentally but fails to deliver memorable, anthemic vocal melodies and tones like Gamma Ray/ex-Helloween vocalist Kai Hansen manages to deliver time and again. Even Dragonforce rides that edge for me. Adiastasia's Jeff Winner, thankfully, delivers the goods in a big way, singing circles around ZP Theart and other "elf metal" singers. Every melody is memorable, and you'd happily sing along to all of them if only your voice could soar that high. Life War reminds me a lot of what Helloween would have sounded like if I ever could have warmed up to Michael Kiske (Winner, although similar, just sounds BETTER to me), and I'm sure I won't be the only one who compares them to Helloween.
After an intro on track 1, the band kicks into high gear for the next 5 tracks, with quick, galloping power metal driven by intricate guitar rhythms and embellished with cool, flashy leads and a splash of noodly keyboard work to keep you from getting your genres confused. On track 7, “By Dreams”, the band kicks back a notch and shows it can write some slower, more majestic songs alongside the barnstormers. In fact, the remainder of the album showcases a bit more of this side, with some of the most anthemic vocal work being held off for the last two "real" tunes before the outro track.
Bombworks signed these guys after hearing the finished album, and despite the limitations of the self-financed production - which isn't so limited that your ears won't get acclimated to it after a minute or two - Adiastasia's Life War shows a young band off to a very good start!
B+ -Mark Fields
With Oden On Our Side
Metal Blade
 Oden On Our Side is the sixth full-length release from Swedish tech/death/Viking metallers Amon Amarth. The band brings a good mix of superb heaviness with great technical bits and of course the classic Viking/war-themed songs.
While guitartists Johan Söderberg and Olavi Mikkonen layer great melody lines on top of crushing riffs, drummer Fredrik Andersson and bassist Ted Lunström keep a tight ship sailing in the rhythm section, and vocalist Johan Hegg uses his powerful voice to tell the stories of Viking ships and other Norse mythology. The band totally clicks as a cohesive unit from the opening notes of “Valhalla Awaits Me” to the finale “Predictions of Warfare”. “Cry of the Black Birds” is my top pick, with its abundant use of melody and syncopation, yet still retaining a brutal heaviness. There is a limited second disc that includes 6 extra tracks, 2 live from Wacken 2004, 2 demo songs from this disc, and 2 songs recorded at Sunlight Studios in 1997.
Amon Amarth keeps up their impressive assault on With Oden On Our Side, and show no signs of letting up.
B+ -Goz
Aurora Consurgens
SPV
 Remember the days when Sepultura was the hot band of the late `80's/early `90's from Brazil? After their sound permeated the international thrash scene, many wondered if any other forms of music could make as mighty an impact from South America.
Enter Angra; their debut album Angel's Cry out-pumpkins the great Helloween, reliving the glory days of the Keepers saga along with the native cultural accents which made it such a widely revered recording. Following Andre Matos departure on the less than enthusiastic & watered-down Fireworks, many shook their heads wondering what direction Angra would go in next.
Since then, two albums have hit the streets with Edu Falaschi at the microphone (Rebirth & Temple Of Shadows), the group has gone in a slightly heavier/progressive direction and in the process probably gained even more followers worldwide. Following a 124 date tour in support of their last effort, this sixth studio album see Angra continue to challenge their audience with lyrics relating to various mental issues from schizophrenia and manic depression to suicidal tendencies while the guitar tone and drum nature recalls the Awake Dream Theater times. “Ego Painted Grey” for instance sustains a meaty groove riff while the keyboard work floats about in slightly classical spheres and the Loureiro/Bittencourt guitar team run through their best dark scales in the solo section. “Salvation:Suicide” represents the closest example to the bridging of old and new Angra - the drum parts at break neck double bass while the guitars move back and forth between classic metal and modern overtones. Producer Dennis Ward captures an act that can safely take their studio energy on to the stages the world over, every nuance in terms of the notes, arrangements and playing ability par excellence.
Progressive Metal needs more acts like Angra in order to keep the sub-genre alive and kicking. Veterans should use this as a textbook for challenge, a rallying cry to set the bar even higher. I slightly favor Temple Of Shadows as the best I've heard in Angra's long discography, but you won't be disappointed at all in the contents of Aurora Consurgens.
A- -Matt Coe
United In Regret
Willowtip
 United in Regret is Arsis’ second full-length release, and is chock full of technically inspired death/thrash. The band records as a two-piece, with James Malone handling vocals, guitar, and bass, and Michael VanDyne pounding away on the drums.
They combine impressively catchy riffs with a lot of melodic passages, and a ton of technical leads and fills to keep things interesting. One example is “Lust Before the Maggot's Conquest” begins with a multi-layered guitar bit that is at the same time catchy, melodic, and finger shreddingly technical, yet it never loses itself or gets too convoluted to turn the listener's interest away. The same song contains an amazing little riff, right after the title line in the chorus; a quite dissonant piece that just sticks with me for some reason. “The Marriage Bed” also shines, showcasing numerous time and temp changes, as well as some stellar drumming.
Anyone who doesn’t check out this disc by Arsis will be United in Regret.
B+ -Goz
Socialized Hate & Violent By Nature (re-issues)
Metal Mind
1988’s Socialized Hate was originally released during my freshman year of college, and I clearly remember when it arrived at the radio station that I basically lived at for those 4 years.
Straightforward, and stripped-down chuggy riffs with a buttload of groovy nooks and crannies, Atrophy were actually one of the first bands Mark Fields and I ever interviewed when they hit the road with Sacred Reich. Singer Brian Zimmerman was most accommodating, letting us hang out on their bus for quite some time (we were stoaked to be 18 year old metalheads on a tour bus!) as we couldn’t even get into the show because Bunratty’s in Boston was a 21+ club. That being said, the bonus ‘bootleg video’ on this release of the band playing “Socialized Hate” is quite a nice treat.
Atrophy followed up with 1990’s Violent By Nature and packed this batch of tunes with much more meat on the bone. The group matured immensely both lyrically and musically between albums. Like state-mates Sacred Reich, some political touches on “Puppies & Friends” and “In Their Eyes” show a band with a lot more to say. Songs such as “Too Late To Change” “Process Of Elimination” showcase Zimmerman’s gravely vocals incorporating an almost ghostly chant to them. The overall sound is much heavier and pleasing and the band obviously took advantage of what surely was more studio time. It’s a very solid release all the way around. Like Socialized, this CD has a live video of the band playing the album’s title track.
I really did get into these guys and must’ve played “Beer Bong” every week on our radio show for a year straight. These limited to 2000 editions feature a 24-bit remastering process that really brings out a pristine sound. As with all the Metal Mind Roadrunner Records re-issues, unreleased demo and/or live tracks are also included.
While the material itself is a certainly dated by today’s standards (more so on Socialized Hate), it is still great fun to hear it all again.
B (for Socialized...) A (for Violent...) -Mike Baronas
Diabolic Impious Evil
Pagan
 Poland's Azarath is a band comprised of members of other well known Polish extreme metal band (such as Damnation and the mighty Behemoth). Not surprisingly, they play a mix of black and death metal, and do a damn fine job at it.
The opener, “Whip the Whore”, starts with a quiet, haunting guitar piece (which also ends the album), then suddenly launches into a blasting inferno of chaos. Speaking of blasting and infernos, Inferno plays drums here, and he has a mighty fast blast beat going on when it is needed, adding tempo changes and some pretty fancy fills when they are called for. Bruno handles the bass and vocals, and does a great job at both. He mixes his powerful lower growl with a double tracked higher scream (somewhat reminding me of Glen Benton at times), such as in “Baptized in Sperm of the Antichrist”.
Guitarists Bart and Trufel handle the fast-paced guitar parts with ease, and also shred away on some pretty good leads at times, such as at the end of “For Satan My Blood”. “Intoxicated By Goat Vomit” is probably my favorite track on Diabolic Impious Evil, with a great riff and some amazing guitar work throughout the song. The vocals are again stellar, as is the drumming.
Azarath show how blackened death metal should be done here. Top notch stuff all the way around.
B+ -Goz
Pestapokalypse VI
Nuclear Blast
Austria’s Belphegor are back with their inaugural release on Nuclear Blast (the bands sixth full-length overall), Pestapokalypse VI.
Mixing brutal and technical death metal with a healthy dose of black metal, the band doesn’t pigeonhole itself at any time. The opening two tracks showcase the fast paced side of the band, with a multitude of blast beats, some good melodic riffs, and evil sounding vocal lines slightly reminiscent of Deicide. “Angel of Retribution” follows with a super heavy, almost doomy feel to it, and features some great lead guitar parts as well. “The Ancient Enemy” is a furious assault of blast beats and the killer demonic sounding vocals mentioned before, and is perhaps the standout track on the disc.
If you like your death metal a little blackened, then check this out.
B -Goz
Mongo Musicale
Dental Records
 Sweden’s Birdflesh offers up 34 minutes of insanely good grind on their Dental Records debut release, Mongo Musicale. They mix humor in with their blasting array of music, which adds a slight flair that some other grind bands don’t have.
The opening instrumental title track barely prepares you for what you are about to subject your ears to for the next half-hour plus, as it’s more of a melodic death metal piece, with a huge nod to the Swedish sound we all know. From there, it’s an almost unrelenting aural attack of blasting drum beats, breakneck riffs, and the mix of growled and screamed vocals. “Wigdestroyer” is an all out blast beat track, while “Then You Know” begins at a slower pace, and mixes things up a bit mid-track as well. The band shows its humor throughout the disc, with tracks like “Crocophile”, “Handicapitation”, and “Nightgrinder”, with and intro that sounds like the Chipmunks.
They go for the prog rock crowd with the bass solo “Bass of Thunder”, drum solo “Drums of Death”, and guitar solo “Guitars of Steel”. “Colombian Tie” sounds as if it could be a play on Brujeria, with a very similar sound and feel to that band. Ending up the disc, we have “Moonwalk Massacre”, the longest track here at just over 3 minutes, “Victims of the Cat”, clocking in at 9 seconds and complete with “meow meow meow” lyrics, and “Ladies Night-Birdo Might”, which shows the band having fun again.
I’ve been a fan of grindcore since the first time I heard Napalm Death’s Scum and From Enslavement to Obliteration and Repulsion’s Horrified. Birdflesh’s Mongo Musicale may not rank up there with those classics, but it is a damn fine release, and one every fan of grindcore should have in their collection.
B+ -Goz
MoRT
Candlelight
Blut Aus Nord can best be described as…well, I don’t really know. MoRT is an almost 50-minute escapade into vast nothingness, with droning drum beats backed by the most discordant guitar work, indecipherable whispers, shrieks, and grunts for vocals, and all manner of other noises thrown in for atmosphere. This is a cold, stark industrial amalgamation of sounds that is unnerving and at times uncomfortable to listen to.
Nothing ties together, the drums are flat sounding, and the guitars are layered and disjointed, often sounding out of tune and off-time, and just plain eerie to listen to. The growling and stereo panning as it fades from track 7 to track 8 is downright disturbing.
Having said that, there is something here that is intriguing, something that makes me come back to listen again an again. Why? I don’t know. There are no hooks or memorable vocal lines that drag you in, but there is something that makes this addictive to me. Maybe I enjoy what a nightmare sounds like.
A- -Goz
A Headbashing Tribute
Rykodisc
Ok, so a bunch of hard rock/metal stars (and some semi-stars) got together to butcher some Beatles songs. We have Alice Cooper singing “Hey Bulldog” while Steve Vai noodles away on his six-string and basically making a mess of things. Geoff Tate sounds like he phoned in his performance, or maybe he just was bored and reading his lines from a teleprompter. “Day Tripper” is turned into a total cheese-rock turd thanks to the Damn Yankees Jack Blades and Tommy Shaw. Tim “Ripper” Owens tries his best with “Hey Jude”, but the outcome is bad, and finally Kip Winger cheesifies “Drive My Car” in a manner that only he can.
The best attempts on the disc are Lemmy’s gravelly voiced “Back in the USSR” (with John5 on guitar), “Magical Mystery Tour” with Jeff Scott Soto on vocals and Yngwie Malmsteen absolutely shredding away on his guitar, and Billy Gibbons’ laid back “Revolution”. Still, neither is that great, but compared to the rest of the shit presented here, they stink the least.
At first, this sounded like this could be mildly interesting to hear, if only for the possible comedic outcome of it all. Truth is, it truly is butchering a classic band's work, and the subtitle including headbashing is the most comedic thing about the disc, because I think I'd rather have my head bashed in that have to subject myself to this crap ever again.
Y (as in Why???) -Goz
Fuck You All!!!!
Season of Mist
Norwegian black metal mainstay Carpathian Forest unleash their latest, Fuck You All, a disc that infuses some rock n’ roll feel into more standard black metal.
The opening track, “Vi Apner Porten til Helvete”, is a bit of a bore, with its repetitive and uninteresting main riff and overly long run-time. “Start up the Incinerator (Here Comes Another Useless Fool)”, aside from having a great song title, is a much more interesting track. Using two very different vocal styles, one your standard raspy growl, and one a tortured scream, we get to see the band change things up a bit here. There is also a great groove riff mid-song, that shows some of the rock n’ roll feel mentioned earlier.
There are some other interesting bits to this disc (for example a great riff in “Dypfryst/Dette Er mit Helvet”), but my main problem seems to be the repetitiveness of the music. Many songs seem to get stuck and go nowhere, the music never seeming to change, and just droning away. I found it difficult to get through the whole disc in one sitting, as I kept losing interest due to boredom.
C- -Goz
The Other Side of Blasphemy
20 Buck Spin
Japanese three-piece doom/deathsters Coffins unleash their second disc, The Other Side of Blasphemy upon the unsuspecting masses. The band chugs along at a snail's pace for much of the disc, with You keeping the slow beats going on drums, and singer/guitarist Uchino laying down sludgy riffs upon which he adds his growls and grunts.
The band does pick things up a bit during “Evil Infection”, with a nice mid-paced segment that begins with a Frost-like death grunt and features some tortured background vocals by bassist Koreeda. “Only Corpse” is probably my favorite track on the disk. It’s got more of a death metal feel to it than most of the other songs, features some great death grunts, and a nice slow lead guitar part towards the end of the track.
Coffins mostly follows a pretty standard sludge/doom outline, with a bit of death metal edge in the vocals. If you liked their debut, you will certainly like this release, and if you haven’t heard them, they are worth searching out.
B- -Goz
The Contaminated Void
Relapse
Coldworker is a band founded by Anders Jakobson after the demise of the great Nasum following Mieszko Talarczyk’s death in the Asian tsunami of 2004. I only mention that because Nasum is one of my favorite bands, and Jakobson’s involvement is what led me to track down this release.
Coldworker play a slightly grind influenced death metal, fairly straight up, but with enough of their own character to keep it interesting. “The Interloper” starts us off on the right foot, with a nasty riff backed up by superb blast beats, and then transitioning into a nice groove riff momentarily. The guitars have the distinctive 'Swedish sound' to them, that is heavy, bone crushing distortion, while still allowing the melody parts to come through with the clarity they need.
It should be mentioned that Dan Swanö did the mixing for the disc, so you should know what to expect in terms of sound quality here. “D.E.A.D” has the band showing their more technical side, with some really good guitar work on the riffs and a great solo as well. “Return to Ashes” is a mid-paced affair that reminds me of Cannibal Corpse a bit, and also showcases the band's heaviness quite nicely.
The Contaminated Void is a great release, showing off all the aspects and talents of the band. Songwriting and production are both top notch. Insanely good stuff from this group of Swedes.
A- -Goz
Black Aria II
Evilive
 Glenn Danzig's latest instrumental opus is a 34 minute symphony about the mythical Lilith figure in early Christian literature that has been extremely kept under wraps in many Christian religions much like the lost book of Mary. Mostly because they don't like to admit she was written about because she represents women's strengths and not just weak child bearers and male servants as most of the bible's portrayal of women tends to be.
The disc opens with "Overture: Winged Night Demon", with synthesized middle eastern inspired keys and female vocals but it's a little hokey for an opening track and it sounds more like something from a B-movie than a serious classically inspired symphony. The next two tracks quickly make up for it as they become creepy on "Abbandonment/Recreation" and "Zemaragad" with some deep chanting and tribal beats that sound like the summoning of Cthulu himself. "Bridal Ceremony Of The Lilitu" has some full organ that creates an ancient church atmosphere and "Dance Of The Succubi" has an almost Omen soundtrack vibe to it.
On tracks like "Lamia", "Unclean Sephira", "LCKR", and "The Succubus Feeda" they all have an eerie meditative vibe running through them that would be fitting on a Gothic Meditation mix CD. "Shiddin" further expands on the tribal vibe and "Demons Reprise" follows the same formula as a number of the other tracks on the album but has some strings thrown in for good measure.
Probably the most moving track on the CD is the last track "Lamenta Lilith", a somber piece that almost has a funeral dirge quality to it, with female vocals that are very sorrowful. For the cover, Glenn has tapped renowned Marvel Comics artist Bill Sinkiewiez to do a beautiful (though blasphemous) portrait of a corpse-like nun in a not so nun-like pose that only makes me wish there was a poster sized version of it inside the CD sleeve, but no, we have to hope for a promo poster to come our way to fully enjoy this beautiful piece of art.
As with the first Black Aria, Glenn plays all of this electronically (except for some female vocals), which with today's technology works well, but doesn't have a lot of the warmth that an actual choir or orchestra does, although I must say it has a more organic feel than the previous release. If you weren't a fan of the first one, you shouldn't be possessed to buy this.
B -Matt Smith
Stinking Up The Night
Relapse
65% Autopsy worship + 15% Repulsion worship + 5% demo-era Death worship + 15% riffs that could've been on any of the Nihlist demos = 100% genius. That is all you need to know.
Don't trip over the 34-minute running time; believe the hype and buy it now.
A -Mark Fields
Thrash Anthems
Candlelight
Okay, another 're-imagining' of past excellence similar to Testament's First Strike Still Deadly is what initially crossed my mind...then I put the fucker in. HOLY CRAP!!! My favorite heyday German metal band put the pedal to the metal on this collection of masterworks...and it's blistering!
I can't say that I've paid unconditional attention since Schmier's triumphant return to Destruction on 2000's All Hell Breaks Loose, but I can vouch that this is no quickie sell-out CD. The trio sounds more determined than ever, thanks in part to the astounding production by Jacob (Invocator) Hansen. Mike wails on his six-string with more pronounced soloing, while Marc tags the skins like no other Destruction drummer in history. And, yes, Schmier can still shriek like a cat having its tail stomped on.
Standout remakes include "Reject Emotions", "Bestial Invasion" and the always fun "Mad Butcher" for the pure pulverizing sound bestowed unto these thrash classics. Also cool is listening to Schmier sing "Cracked Brain" as it should've sounded before the rest of the band made its (almost) career-ending mistake and sent him packing back in `89. Also included are two new tunes ("Deposition" & "Profanity") that fit right into the career-spanning mix and may well be classics in their own right.
The first essential Metal purchase of 2007!
A -Mike Baronas
Live Blasphemies DVD
Escapi
Live Blasphemies consists of live disc with a 50 minute gig recorded in Sweden in 2003, and a bonus disc with a documentary. The live disc is what you would expect. That is to say that it is full of heavy, buzzsaw guitars, monster drumming, and Matti’s crazy stage presence and killer vocals. Covering their entire career, the band plays “Dismembered”, “Casket Garden”, “Skin Her Alive” and many other songs from their extensive background. While the set is great and video and audio is top notch, it pales in comparison to seeing the band in person. Pop in the second disc for the real treat of this set.
The bonus disc features an 85 minute documentary “16 Years of Death Metal”, which is comprised of an interview with drummer Fred Estby, vocalist Matti Kärki and guitarist David Blomqvist, interspersed with live clips from throughout the Dismember's career. This is a great piece about the band, with lots of interesting tidbits and memories from the band's history. One such tidbit is that the band was originally called Dismemberizer. Nicke Andersson (then drumming for Entombed) was designing their logo and ran out of room on the paper, so they cut it down to Dismember when they released their first demo.
The live clips range from a very raw sounding first performance from 1988, up through some clips from a 2000 tour of Japan. The quality ranges from clip to clip, but it's nice to have such a wide range of clips that they could cull from to create this documentary. The last question asked of them is, “What does Dismember's future look like?” to which Fred replies, “Brighter than ever”. They proved that statement true with their recent release The God That Never Was.
Live Blasphemies is a DVD set that belongs in every metal fan's collection. The bonus disc alone is worth the entire asking price, and then some.
A -Goz
Rebirth of Dissection DVD
Escapi
 Rebirth of Dissection was filmed in 2004, at Dissection’s first show on the tour, and the first show since singer John Nödtveidt was released from prison and re-formed the band, albeit with all new members. The show is a 90-minte romp through Dissection classics, pulled mainly from their two previous releases The Somberlain and Storm Of The Light's Bane albums, plus “Maha Kali” from the EP of the same name and a cover of Tormentor’s “Elizabeth Bathory”.
This incarnation of Dissection shows superb skills, clicking like an act that’s been at it for a while, when in fact they couldn’t have had too much time to prepare since Nödtveidt was in prison until about a month or so before this show. Nödtveidt shows commanding presence on the stage and his vocals are as sharp and piercing as ever. The numerous shots of the crowd show that the diehards that made it to the show were more than happy to see such a great performance after an 8 year absence from the scene. The video and audio quality on the disc is superb, but I am not a fan of the video effect that is used frequently, attempting to make the verything look like old news reel footage or something – it’s quite distracting.
The disc also features some special features, including a video for “Starless Aeon” from the band's final disc Reinkaos. The biggest feature is a 25 minute interview with Nödtveidt, who wasn’t well known for granting interviews. He talks a lot about his time in prison and what he did while there (wrote Reinkaos among other things). He also goes into what Dissection is all about, and how he chose the new band members when he re-formed the band after getting out of prison. It’s a fairly interesting look into the mind of a man who didn’t allow his mind to be examined very often.
Nödtveidt was planning on breaking the band up after a few last shows following the release of Rainkaos. He committed suicide in August of 2006, shortly after the last of their European shows took place.
B+ -Goz
Born God and Aware
Unique Leader
Born God and Aware is the debut from Sweden’s Dominion. Featuring only two members – Victor Brandt on guitar, bass and vocals, and Jocke Olofsson on drums and backing vocals – these guys put together some thoroughly brutal and technical death metal.
From the opening track “The Endless”, to the final sounds of “Elite” some 40 minutes later, you are treated to some of the most brutal music that’s been released this year. On top of being extremely heavy, Brandt shows his skills as not only a good songwriter, but also as an astute bassist and guitar player. For example, in “The Endless”, we get a massively crushing main riff, with lots of fills here and there, and a screaming solo mid-song that ties it all together. One thing you’ll note right away as well is the bass guitar work – you can actually hear it, and it sounds amazing throughout the record.
Olofsson proves to be no slouch, either. His drumming is immense throughout the entire disc, keeping the pace nicely, but also throwing in some dazzling fills and ultra-fast blast beats to keep it interesting. His backing vocals on “Legion Dominion” and “I Bury Blades” (among others) are the perfect blood-curdling complement to Brandt's deep guttural growl.
Production is very nice here. You can decipher everything very clearly, yet it retains the insane heaviness that is needed to convey the power of music like this. A very impressive debut from these guys.
A- -Goz
A Fever Which Would Cling to Thee Forever
Paragon
Eyes of Ligeia combine slow, moody doom with elements of black metal, at times creating a somewhat intriguing mix of music. They have some great ideas, and numerous riffs and melody parts that are great, but they get very repetitive at times (sometimes it’s almost like a record skipping, but you can’t nudge the needle to fix this), droning on the same riff for what seems like hours. As an example, “Watcher in the Woods” has a great melody part in it, but it goes on just a bit too long and you start to lose interest. Just about every song follows this pattern – start a great riff or melody, then repeat it until the listener is on the brink of boredom, and go into a different one. It gets a bit monotonous if you ask me.
The biggest problem with this disc, and why it loses a lot of points with me, is the vocals. They are kind of like a raspy black metal style, but fed through all sorts of bad effects that cause them to echo, reverb, and sound just plain bad. If you can get past the vocals, you will hear some good (albeit repetitive) music behind them, but they get in the way and distract far too much.
D+ -Goz
s/t
Due Process
 It was a tremendously welcome surprise when I heard about the CD release of the complete recordings of Boston's criminally underrated late-`80s thrash outfit Formicide. I promptly snapped up a copy at the Due Process website and received the disc from them in less than a week.
Formicide only existed from about mid-1987 to mid-1989, but in that time ascended to near-hero status in the Boston metal scene. And they deserved that status, too: memorable songs played with superb precision, insanely fast guitar picking, creative solos, nimble bass work, and busy, ultra-tight drumming. Vocalist Steve Reppucci's distinctive vocals were simply the icing on the cake.
Adding to the aforementioned strengths, the high quality of the recordings of the 8 songs comprising the first two demos (the third and final one didn't circulate as widely), it's still a mystery to me how a band of this caliber didn't get signed when so many other less worthy bands managed to land record deals. It is therefore to Due Process' eternal credit that they rectified this 15(+)-year injustice by cleaning up and packaging (with complete lyrics and 2-panel color photo collage) Formicide's works for a proper CD release.
Moreover, it is worth noting that 3/4 of this band (Roy Costa, Kevin Stevenson, and Eric Stevenson) went on to form Only Living Witness. If you're familiar with the first OLW recordings, you will recognize "Dying System" (2 versions here). Craig Silverman, who joined Formicide in its final months, went on to succeed Kevin Stevenson in OLW. At $10 postage paid (in the US) for 15 tracks and nearly an hour of greatness, this should be a total no-brainer for any self-respecting thrash lover.
A -Mark Fields
Enemy Soil
(self-released)
 To be honest, when I heard one of Frozen's early demos a number of years ago, I didn't find it very memorable. Therefore, when I caught Frozen opening for Celtic Frost in November, I was completely unprepared for the massive assault they had in store for the audience.
Drummer Colin Conway (ex-Cannae, etc.), who found my jaw on the venue floor that night and kindly returned it to me after the show, also sent me home with Frozen's latest offering, Enemy Soil. A quick synopsis would be to say they mash some crushingly heavy and chops-intensive death into the melodic and compositional sensibilities of modern prog a la Dream Theater. And I have to say it works to great, great effect.
As a six-piece outfit, Frozen serves up an all-you-can eat sonic buffet via a variety of dazzling single/double-guitar leads, cool keyboard work (he wore a Napalm Death longsleeve when I saw them and sports a Slayer shirt in his CD photo, so put aside any stigma), and growled/clean vocals, all atop a super rhythm section. The songs are well-written and complex, and Frozen does a bang-up job of bringing one mood into the next without you even knowing. And the MIX. Wow! This disc deserves a good grade on the merits of the mix alone. Seriously. All courtesy of Frozen keyboardist Peter Rutcho.
As best I can tell, Enemy Soil is a concept album about aliens invading earth. Aside from a couple of corny lyrics in "Eradication (in the night)," this is pulled off fairly well.
Enemy Soil is the best self-released disc I've heard in a LOOOOOOOOONG time. Take the time to check out Frozen. You'll be glad you did.
A -Mark Fields
Stigmata High-Five
Relapse
 In 1999 I made a Human Remains/Converge comparison to Spitfire's excellent (and overlooked) debut album, The Dead Next Door. The same comparison applies here, but in addition to the disjointed chaos and "normal" blast beats of the aforementioned elements, Ottawa's Fuck The Facts also ups the violent listening experience of Stigmata High-Five by incorporating devastating Origin-esque "gravity blasts" into the maelstrom.
Ultimately, this is a pretty damn sick and addictive album. It's really tech-y and there're plenty of pinch harmonics, and unmistakably savage vocals, but it's all pretty memorable to boot. The recording helps out quite a bit, riding a happy medium between organic and clinical. 7 tracks in all, totaling just under 34 minutes - so while you get all sorts of extreme for the duration, it's not simply a platter of exciting 2-minute grind bursts; FTF expends the necessary effort to flesh out the individual songs to more "metallic" lengths, but nothing herein sounds meaninglessly drawn out.
FTF has been paying dues for a while now with a lot of releases on smaller labels, and this album will no doubt expose them to a wider listening audience. Fortunately, Stigmata High-Five makes it abundantly clear that with Fuck The Facts, Relapse has added yet another killing machine to its formidable arsenal.
B+ -Mark Fields
Splatterthrash
Razorback
Ghoul's Splatterthrash is a perfect companion piece to the Blood Freak Live Fast... disc I reviewed a few months back. More campy cover art, B-horror hilarity, and - as band member names like Cremator, Fermentor, Digestor, and Dissector might suggest - more Carcass worship. They seem to have dialed in a really nice Carcass guitar tone with which they serve up a slew of cool Carcass-y tunes, but nothing nearly as derivative as what The County Medical Examiners offer.
You will even notice the occasional surf passage thrown in here and there for good measure. The production is also a step up from the aforementioned Blood Freak disc, and 12 songs fill the CD as opposed to Blood Freak's two dozen or so. Another good variation on a theme. And two Napalm Death covers ("Dead" and "You Suffer") are tacked on an unlisted track at the end. Nice.
B -Mark Fields
The Toxic Touch
Metal Blade
The first thing you’ll notice about God Dethroned’s latest release, The Toxic Touch, is that it’s full of grooves and melody, more than you’d expect from a band such as this. We’re welcomed to the disc (after a brief intro) by the mid-paced, heavy, grooving riff of the grim “Hating Life”. This song is catchy as heck, and features some of the best riffs on the disc. Lyrical content is what you’d expect from a track so titled, with such bits as “I hate this life, I have paid my dues, I don’t see the light, so I won’t stick around” and “Here’s a confession, I’m gonna kill myself tonight”.
Most of the disc tends to hover in the mid-paced range, with little in the way of blast beats that were used more frequently in previous offerings. They do sneak some blasts in between the great melody lines and lead guitar work on the stellar “On the Wings of Pestilence”. “Typhoid Mary” is the best track on the disc, with its slow, gloomy beginning that picks up a bit before a vicious and drawn out guitar solo, and ends with a thunderous round of double bass drums that will rattle your windows.
The Toxic Touch shows that God Dethroned isn’t averse to changing it up a bit so as not to get stagnant. It is brutal, but at the same time contains lots of melody and groove to keep it interesting.
B+ -Goz
In These Veins
Dental Records
Sweden’s Hearse releases their fourth full length disc, In These Veins, a 9-song, 40 minute affair full of melodic death metal with a bit of a rock n’ roll flair to it.
“House of Love” gets us going with a galloping riff into, followed by a good lead guitar piece, and then dives into a classic crushing Swedish death metal attack, complete with dual guitar harmonies and soaring leads. “Corroding Armour” follows, and showcases a bit more of the rock n’ roll flair mentioned earlier, with a main riff that sounds a bit reminiscent of something Motörhead might do. “Crusade” is an absolute pummeling song, with Max Thornell’s thunderous double bass driving the song, Mattias Ljung laying down a heavy riff as well as some nice fleeting lead parts, and Johan Liiva’s vocals ranging from a deep guttural attack to an agonizing scream. Ending off the disc is the instrumental “Hearse”, transforming straight into the title track, which is a fine mix of all the band has to offer, and may be the best track on this disc.
Production on In These Veins is top notch, with metal master Dan Swanö handling the mixing, making sure every note comes through loud and clear, yet retains a bit of grittiness that keeps it from feeling too polished.
B -Goz
Monochrome
Warcon
 Here it is, 14 years after the release of the groundbreaking Meantime, and Page Hamilton has finally put together the sequel. Seriously, if you listen to the two records back to back, it sounds (for the most part) like the same band, during the same time period...same studio...same producer...same pummeling start-and-stop riffs...the whole shebang.
The difference is, of course, that this is not the same Helmet you remember from the days of Strap It On, Meantime, Betty, and Aftertaste. Principal songwriter/guitarist/vocalist and visionary, Page Hamilton, is the only original that remains, though he has brought co-producer/engineer, Wharton Tiers along for the ride (the man who engineered the Helmet classics Meantime and Strap it On) to toughen up the sound and give it thet raw, nasty edge so prominent on the before-mentioned classic Helmet records. The approach works well, for the most part. The signature Helmet sound is here in full glory in both composition and delivery, from the syncopated riffs and huge machine-like guitar riffs, to Hamilton’s signature noise solos. Hamilton’s voice has been criticized of late as sounding thinner than in years past, but c’mon, what’s to be expected? Ol’ Page isn’t a 20-something year old anymore, and while there’s some muscle missing from his delivery, it’s right on.
Lyrically, of course, there’s a clearly an improvement that comes from maturity - there’s simply more going in here than during the glory years of the `90's. What’s initially satisfying about this record is the similarity, of course, to the classic Helmet sound, and it’s done so well that you can’t help but smile listening to a track like “Brand New Day” which sounds very similar to “Give It” from Meantime, or “Money Shot”, which sounds like it could have belonged on the Betty record.
As a Helmet fan through the ages, I’ll admit it...I don’t mind that Hamilton’s not charting new territory here. He’s been an innovator throughout his career, and this particular record is somewhat of a homecoming, of sorts. For a veteran like Hamilton, that’s quite alright.
B -Chuck Ferreira
Psalm II: Infusco Ignis
Hydra Head
Heresi is a one man band from Sweden, with Skamfer being he who takes control of all the instruments, insane drumming, and agonizing screams on his own.
Skamfer attacks from the outset with “Liotte”, sticking with the tried and true black metal styling of rapid-fire, trebly guitar riffs, pounding blast beat drums, and blood curdling vocals with plenty of echo effects added. He does slow down at times for a mid-tempo romp here and there, but for the most part, you know what you are going to get from one moment to the next here.
Heresi isn’t breaking any new ground, but if you are a fan of black metal, then this is something you should have.
C+ -Goz
Nocturne
Hopeless
The Human Abstract is a technical (shreddingly so) metalcore band from California, and Nocturne is their debut release. The band is definitely technically proficient in their playing, but sometimes that seems to get in the way of good music. They seem to be hung up on shredding and noodling as much as possible, with little in the way of catchiness or song flow. Sweep arpeggios seem to crop up out of nowhere, distracting from what might be a good riff or melody bit - for example shortly after the quiet middle part in “Harbinger”, there is a good melody line that goes all to crap with one sweep of the pick. Oh, yeah, about that clean part in “Harbinger” – it’s terrible and really does nothing for the song other than make me want to skip over it, and the vocals are just bad during that part.
“Crossing the Rubicon” begins with some over the top noodling, but then showcases what might be the most memorable stuff on this disc, with a good riff and some pretty vicious vocals followed with the requisite clean vocal chorus. The song ends with a long quiet, clean part that just kills all the momentum they were building up. Chop that part off the end, and you have the standout track on the disc.
Alright, so I just don’t totally dig what THA has put together here. Musically, they can play really well, but their songwriting leaves a lot to be desired. Vocally, it ranges from good to terrible, with the cleaner vocals (as in the aforementioned “Harbinger” and “CtR”) are just plain hard to listen to. Hopefully these guys will do a better job at songwriting in the future, and the vocalist will stick to more of his vicious screaming and less of the incessant whining clean parts.
C- -Goz
Between Two Worlds
Nuclear Blast
 Attention Metal fans worldwide: Abbath is back! After a mostly silent four year hiatus from heavy metal, the legendary frontman of Immortal has returned with his new project, simply called I. This album is not just Abbath, however, as it features an all-star lineup of Black Metal musicians. Former members of Gorgoroth, Enslaved, and Old Funeral accompany him.
It’s been no secret that Abbath has always held Motörhead in high regard, and with Between Two Worlds, it shows. The sound consists of the Black Metallers retaining the sound of their roots while mixing it with the Hard Rock/Metal sound of bands like Motörhead, creating a sound that is best described as “blackened heavy metal.”
The album kicks off with the track “The Storm I Ride,” which has a groovy riff underlying Abbath’s unmistakable growls. Then, we are treated to the song that resembles black metal the most, “Warriors.” The grim atmosphere of Immortal is in full force here. The awesome title track is next, but Abbath tries to sing at the end, which is a problem. Note to Abbath: Please do not try to sing. Keep playing guitar, growling, and writing kick-ass riffs. “Battalions” is the next track, which is probably the album’s only weak song. It has a great riff, but it just drags on, without much structure. “Mountains” begins with an icy, atmospheric intro resembling the later days of Immortal. This song has multiple great riffs. Around 4:05, there is a solo that sounds like a direct homage to Motörhead, in a spectacular way. “Days of North Winds” is the best track on the album. About one minute in, the album’s best riff comes in. After that, the song pummels you with new riffs and solos, all accompanied by some excellent drumming.
However, by this point in the album, the songs are still great, but do little to distinguish them from the rest. The riffs are still good, and there are still groovy solos thrown into the mix, but the last few tracks seem plodding at times. They just sound too much like the rest of the album. Nevertheless, I’m sure that “Far Beyond the Quiet” and “Cursed We Are” would be great on their own, the latter of which has great, angry chorus.
Although it remains to be seen if this will be any more than a side project, I have given the stagnant Black Metal scene a new direction with Between Two Worlds. Besides a few of the songs that blend in with each other, this album is a powerful, groovy blend of metal genres. I just wonder what Lemmy thinks of it.
B+ -Adam Kohrman
House Band at the Funeral Parlor DVD
MVD
I'm always impressed with bands that continue to carry on for decades despite changes in our culture. While they don't have the output of say Overkill, Impaler is still leaving its mark on the scene some 20 years later. The band's old-school, punk-infused splat-thrash with a horror bent has had its peaks and valleys in popularity over the years, so why don't you know the name "Impaler" as you do "Slayer"?
Nobody ever spoke of or wrote about Impaler like they did Exodus or Megadeth back in the day for the simple fact that they're terrible; and, oddly, House Band at the Funeral Parlor highlights that sad truth. You have 1984 concert footage backed with 2003 concert footage and it appears that there are even LESS people in the crowd this decade.
I hate to bash the Minneapolis quartet since they seem like such nice, happy-going guys in the interview portions of the DVD, but their music seems secondary to the look...which wasn't that good to begin with.
I admire their perseverance but can't get past their musical (in)ability.
D -Mike Baronas
The Scattering of Ashes
Century Media
The first thing I want to say here is that I absolutely hate the triggered/sampled drums Into Eternity uses on this disc. I am sure a lot of the discs I have reviewed use triggers or samples, but on this disc they just plain SUCK, and suck hard. It takes away from the album so much, that I needed to start this review off with it, and it’ll probably take up a majority of the review. The bass drums sound horrible, even worse than the Snoopy drum kit my neighbor had when we were 5-years old. Distant, void, flat, boring, throw out any crappy adjective and use it to describe the sound, and you would probably be right. The snare is a bit better, but it too is flat and bad. Now that that is out of the way, I’ll get on with the review.
“Severe Emotional Distress” starts us off here, and one of the first things you’ll notice is the horrific drums (I was hoping I could leave them alone in this part, but I can’t get past them no matter how hard I try). A double-bass attack kicks in 15 seconds into the song, and it just flattens all the power of the amazing guitar work and above amazing vocal work that is presented here. New(-ish) vocalist Stu Block has a vocal range that is likely matched by few, going from death growls to prog rock style clean singing to a Rob Halford-esque scream without so much as a pause. His voice is truly amazing, and is one of the standout points on the disc (if the damn drum sound didn’t overshadow everything else here). “Pain through Breathing” is possibly my favorite track here, with its scorching opening part, good mix of death and prog elements, and all the great guitar work throughout the track.
The Scattering of Ashes had the chance to be a top disc of the year, but the production drags it down so far that it is completely off my radar. I find it difficult to listen to more than a song or two at a time without needing to change to something else. How such talent can be destroyed by something like terrible drum samples is beyond me. Let’s hope they can get it right in the future.
D (an easy B/B+ with real drums) -Goz
Workaholica
Thrashachusetts
 Here we have a 3-CD set of recordings documenting 5 years of works featuring metal addict Duncan Wilder Johnson. Featuring Honkeyball, A.C., and Adolf Satan alumni in the ranks, up first is Destruct-A-Thon's Es Muerte, which is a collection of 14 previously unreleased songs recorded before the band broke up in 2004. A band which started as kind of a joke grew up and grew teeth. Duncan cites Slayer, The Melvins, Black Flag, and Kyuss as big influences on the music, and I can't say I disagree with him. The songs, falling mostly somewhere between those 4 bands, are chunky, riff-laden affairs. Often midpaced, sometimes slow and dirge-y, and occasionally thrashy (even a "mosh" part here and there), it remains heavy throughout. These guys aren't here to impress you with subtlety. Duncan handles most of the lead vocals and delivers them several ways: fierce barking, deep growls, and even a Keith Morris snottiness (during "Flamethrower," for example). Guitarist Michele Morgan contributes some catchy melodic vocal parts which add some variety in that department to a refreshing effect. In fact, if D'Thon's recent reunion sticks and more material results, I would like to hear her voice a bit more. Sonically, the drums are a little murky for my liking, but the mix is suitably brutal for a band called Destruct-A-Thon.
A nod to Metallica's "Hit The Lights" kicks off disc 2, the Kill It All Away E.P. recorded with D'Thon's Eman Pacheco (drums) as a 2-man studio project. The KiAA logo suggests powerviolence, but instead we get a meaner, bleaker, less melodic extension of their previous band...the Slayer and Black Flag influences come forward a bit more here. Vocal duties are handled by both guys with an array of guest vocalists, including Jesse "Jet" Crandall (SBC/Jet Fuel) and Jonah "Fucking" Jenkins (Only Living Witness/Milligram/Raw Radar War). Clocking in just short of 20 minutes, I'm curious to hear more.
Where Duncan really shines, however, is on disc 3: DWJ Has A Short Guy Complex: Spoken Word #4. I began laughing aloud less than 60 seconds into the first track, and the rest of the disc's a good ride as he rants about Muzak, reality TV, MySpace, frat antics, "cool" kids, and many other things worthy of verbal abuse and humorous discussion. I'm not an expert on spoken word, but Duncan's self-effacing sense of humor combined with his OTT adrenalized delivery and unabashed love of all things metal makes for a totally worthwhile listen that I will return to whenever I need a hearty laugh. Herein are some of the best pieces he's served up to date. As the 3-disc set is priced $11.99, this third disc alone is worth the admission price. Consider the first two discs bonuses to this.
B+ -Mark Fields
Chaos Is My Name
Hydra Head
Khlyst consists of James Plotkin and Runhild Gammelsæter, and if you know either of them, you know it’s going to be a pretty crazy ride.
Put the disc in, and your ears are treated (?) to some acid-gargling screams courtesy of Runhild, and some random drum/cymbal hits and highly distorted guitar notes, all on top of a whirling wind. “Chapter II” is a bit more laid back, although I wouldn’t call it relaxed in any way. It features a droning vocal line, with minimal percussive backing, and lot’s of shrieking/echoing something else going on. There seems to be a culmination of sorts in “Chapter V”, as it is very upfront, loud, and even more chaotic that the tracks prior to it, and it leads into an almost somber “Chapter VI”, which features some flute-like sounds over a droning, howling wind.
The final two chapters throw us right back into the fires of chaos, with Plotkin’s super distorted bass leading the way and Runhild’s death grunt like vocals and raspy screams laying down an eerie landscape.
Chaos Is My Name certainly isn’t something you’d sit down and listen to everyday, but I don’t think it was meant to be. It is pure audio chaos.
B -Goz
The Uncanny Valley
Listenable
Koldborn, from Denmark, offer more or less straight up death metal on their latest, The Uncanny Valley. They throw all the typical stuff at you – down-tuned, heavy as hell guitars, blasting drums, and growling vocals. At times they remind me quite a bit of Grave, although I think Grave’s guitar sound is vastly better than Koldborn’s. They mix up the pace as well, from the blast beat-laden title track, to the mid-paced and great “Hope Transformed Horizon”.
While far from being bad, Koldborn’s The Uncanny Valley seems all too familiar and is missing something that jumps out to my ears. They do what they do well, it just wasn’t that interesting to me.
C+ -Goz
March of the Parasite
The End
Laethora has released one of the first exceptional death metal albums in years. Death metal has become so stagnated that I was quite pessimistic. However, it was quite the contrary. I had no idea this album would kick my ass. Laethora breathe new life into the dormant Floridian Death Metal sound with March of the Parasite.
With intense riffs like on “Clothing for the Dead” and fast-paced drumming throughout the whole album, this album is a relentless revitalization of a genre. “Revolution at Hand” features odd time changes, but also has a sloppy solo. This may be unfair when reviewing a death metal album, but I need to take points off for the vocals. They are just the puking, heard-it-all-before vocals that are ever so prevalent.
Laethora slow it down when necessary, however, the clean vocals on “Black Void Remembrance” bring a melancholic atmosphere to the song, before pummeling the listener with lightning riffs and harsh growls once again. The next song is where the cookie monster vocals start to be a bit overkill. Nonetheless, this song has song really neat guitarwork, especially the use of pinch harmonics. “The Scum of Us All” is the black sheep of the album, as it delves into doomdeath territory. It has a slow tempo and never really picks up. It finishes with an echoed, eerie mood, which may have been the band’s intention. The song is a nice break from the sheer brutality of this album, which would have gotten old.
Later on, the song “Warbitrary” has shades of Napalm Death, except more technical. This song brings the brutality back to the album, as it ends with a cacophonous, slaughtering onslaught of noise. “Facing Earth” is the closing song. It opens with sludgy, heavily distorted riffs. Instead of just playing great riffs, Laethora focus on mood on this song. In the beginning, it is slow and pessimistic. Then, about 3 ½ minutes in, it explodes into frightening, anguished despondency. After that, the album fades out into hopeless oblivion.
Laethora are up there with Nile and Behemoth as some of the only working death metal bands that don’t just focus on making the heaviest music imaginable. They actually make good music.
B+ -Adam Kohrman
Destruction Time Again
Escapi
Sweden’s Loch Vostok present their sophomore effort, Destruction Time Again, a mix of progressive rock, death/thrash metal, a bit of black metal, and other bits from varied forms of metal. Sounds like an interesting mix, and often times it is, but other times the attempts to put too many things together can be a distraction.
“Humanitix” starts things off with a very prog-rock intro, complete with keyboards and a nice guitar solo. From there, it switches into a thrashier part for a bit, and then a bit of a combination for the chorus. The musicianship is top notch; it’s pretty damn obvious that these guys are all great at their given instruments. “Jonestown Slumber Party” is a good track, with a long-ish intro, some amazingly well written riffs, and a bit of black metal feel with some of the vocals in the middle of the song. “Talk” might be the most pure prog-rock track on the disc. It starts off with great solos from the two guitar players and the keyboard player, and continues on a mostly prog track, but ads some thrashy parts as well.
Loch Vostok blends together a bunch of varied sounds and styles here. For the most part it is good, but there are times where the various parts songs just don’t seem to fit together correctly, which hurts the flow of the disc, as well as the replay factor.
B- -Goz
The Arockalypse
The End
If you're a fan of GWAR, then you'll eat up Lordi. These Finnish "monster rockers" have their superior American counterpart's shtick down pat in just about every facet.
As for the CD itself, Dee Snider has a few ominous lines during the intro which is kinda cool; they have songs like "The Deadite Girls Gone Wild", "Chainsaw Buffet" and "The Night of the Loving Dead" which are good and campy; many of these tunes sound like MCA-era Alice Cooper's shock rock anthems; and that about sums it up.
They're fun - yet average - as we've seen it all before.
C+ -Mike Baronas
From The Sun, The Rain, The Wind and The Soil
Escapi
Mahavatar is a band comprised of members originally from Israel, Jamaica and Poland. The band mix vastly different styles into a hard rocking sound that is impossible to specifically categorize. Take the track “Psychos” for example, with it’s middle eastern feel to the outro drum beats and vocal parts, to the slightly goth influenced metal track that follows, “The Prophecy”. Mahavatar make transitions like this on the fly, leaving your head reeling from the changes.
The opener, “Cult”, is more or less a straight metal piece, with vocalist Lizza Hasan ranging from a lower growling voice, to a powerful and more melodic tone later in the song. She shows this range throughout the album, and varies her styles as much as the rest of the band varies its musical styles.
Mahavatar present a wide mix of styles here, and for the most part it is done well. There are times, though, when the various styles get in the way of each other, or just don’t sound all that well together. They are definitely quite unique, and will probably be entertaining to many people looking for something varied and diverse.
B- -Goz
Emissaries
The End
Melechesh is a multi-cultural band that originally formed in Jerusalem, but now resides in the Netherlands and France. They play a thrashy form of black metal that they have dubbed 'Mesopotamian' metal, due to the musical and lyrical themes they use.
Emissaries is the band's fourth full-length release, and this one is full of somewhat catchy, heavy songs that lie somewhere between thrash and black metal. “Rebirth of the Nemesis” begins with a lightning fast blasting attack that has a very black metal feel to it. Tons of raw power and emotion are present here, and it’s a good track to initiate everyone to the album. “Ladders to Sumeria” changes things up a bit, showing a more technical and melodic side of the band, with its super catchy main riff that is repeated throughout the song. “Double Helixed Sceptre” is another outstanding track, with a massively heavy intro, and lots of double guitar melodies.
“The Scribes of Kur” shows a completely different side of the band. A 6+ minute instrumental with a very middle-eastern feel, complete with Sitar, flutes, and different percussion instruments all around. It provides an interesting break in the action, but does feel slightly out of place.
Melechesh blend elements of all sorts of varied musical styles into a pretty tight and entertaining package. There was news of them touring the US sometime in 2007, and you bet I’ll be there to see it.
B+ -Goz
(A) Senile Animal
Ipecac
I haven't kept up with the more recent Melvins Ipecac recordings, I think the last ones I bought were the trilogy of The Maggot, The Bootlicker, and The Crybaby. I thoroughly enjoyed all three of those (especially the one that had all the guest appearances). But the great thing about Melvins is you can miss a few of their releases and not feel like you're out of touch with them.
On their most recent release for Ipecac, (A) Senile Animal, they team up with a band called Big Business. Up until this release I had never heard of them, and obviously Buzzo and Dale felt strongly enough about them to collaborate on an album of original material. The result is a true Melvins record (meaty riffs, pounding drums, and Buzzo's trademark Ozzy-on-downers vocals). Coady Willis and Jared Warren from Big Business play drums and bass respectively, so, you guessed it, there are two drummers on this album, which only adds to the already punishing beats Dale gives to the Melvins' sound, and it works better than I thought it would at first. They all contribute vocals throughout the album giving it a melodic diversity in the vocal dept that no other Melvins record has had.
The first two tracks are short and to the point (under three minutes), "The Talking Horse" being a fast paced and "Blood Witch" a more slower, even paced number with a cool drum stick section toward the end that puts the two drummer line up to good use. "Civilized Worm" has a sweet melodic guitar riff that's undeniably Melvins along with equally Melvins'-style anthemic vocals we've come to expect from Buzz with backup melodies from the other guys. "Worm" also contains a bluesy solo from Buzz. "A History Of Drunks" has a cool chugging riff that blends into a sweet melodic bridge that eventually leads into the next track, "Rat Faced Granny", possibly the heaviest song on the album (and most Melvins-esque!). "The Hawk" has my vote for one of the best riffs on the album, sounding like a rockin death metal riff and a cool drum solo break that would most likely lead into a full-on drum solo live that breaks into "You've Never Been Right", a basher of a song with a driving riff that's the most metallic-sounding on the album. "A History Of Bad Men" is a heavy bottom-heavy track with one of the coolest (though too short) guitar noise-solo's I've heard from Buzz in awhile and a double drum solo intro from Dale and Coady. The chorus is also one of the most memorable ones with a sing-along style sound to it.
The last two tracks ("The Mechanical Bride" and "A Vast Filthy Prison") have that heavy slow crawl/Ozzy-on-downers vocals Melvins' signature sound to them and are a nice diversion from the quicker tunes earlier on the album. While "Bride" has the heavy guitar sound, "Prison" has a cleaner mellower sound of the slower songs and finishes the album on a quiet note. As with all Melvins' songs, lyrics are never really an integral part, meaning they don't necessarily mean much, they just flow well with the song and add to the feel of the songs.
Overall, (A) Senile Animal is one of the most satisfying Melvin' albums in awhile (probably since the Stoner Witch/Stag days). One hopes Buzzo and Dale can give Big Business another break and do another album with them, otherwise they'll probably go back to the more avant albums they've been making for Ipecac (which, in my opinion, ISN'T necessarily a bad thing).
A -Matt Smith
Customized Warfare
Overcome
Swiss grinders Mumakil give us 32 tracks (totaling about 37 minutes) of unrelenting grindcore on Customized Warfare. This is an all out attack, from the beginning to the end there is no letting up. It has all the standard grind elements – ultra fast blast beats, super distorted guitar, and vocals ranging from deep growls to high pitched shrieks and screams.
Taking influences from Brutal Truth, Nasum, and Repulsion, the band isn’t breaking any new ground, but they are certainly doing a good job at emulating and paying homage to the bands that laid the groundwork for the genre. Search this one out as it’s a good addition to any grindcore collection.
B -Goz
A Line of Deathless Kings
Peaceville
Picking up a My Dying Bride Record is usually a sure bet; for the most part, you know what you’re going to get. That’s not a bad thing...not at all. You’re guaranteed a lot of big, long decaying riffs, clean anguished vocals, and gothic aural tapestry interwoven into a gloomy sense of doom. Ahhh, there’s that ever-popular word these days - doom. My Dying Bride are the undisputed reigning kings of gothic funeral doom, and A Line of Deathless Kings only serves to reinforce this fact.
Anyone who follows this band closely will probably agree that this new record is one of their best releases in a long time, though I should make a point to say that they’ve never released anything bad. At times they’ve strayed a bit from a metal sound to head into Swans-esque territory, but A Line of Deathless Kings is actually their heaviest, most “metal” sounding record in recent memory. What stands out immediately with the opening track, “To Remain Tombless”, is the huge guitar crunch and big drum sound, while the vocal delivery of Aaron Stainthorpe is pure, classic My Dying Bride.
Other standout tracks include “And I Walk with Them”, with its Sabbathy guitar play and huge riffery. “Loves Intolerable Pain” rivals the opening track for the album’s most riff-happy, crunchy piece with its opening riff-and-rhythm lock approach, and also features a more menacing vocal delivery, while the closing track “The Blood, The Wine, The Roses” (doesn’t that title just about sum-up My Dying Bride’s obsession?) features some of the best metal doom you’re likely to hear all year.
My Dying Bride is a band dedicated to their craft, and A Deathless Line of Kings comes highly recommended, even to the uninitiated.
B+ -Chuck Ferreira
Smear Campaign
Century Media
The latest outpouring from the legendary Napalm Death is a relentless, blasting onslaught of absolutely furious grind that is worthy to stand alongside the band's finest works. Being a long-time fan, I waited a little while to review this disc so that my assessment wouldn't be a rush to judgment - since Words From The Exit Wound, I've eagerly anticipated every release, and I didn't want my initial enthusiasm to inflate the grade. Besides, given the fact that I was still geeking out for a while over the fun it was to interview vocalist Barney Greenway for the site, I didn't want that to taint my opinion, either.
Well, now that my inner fan-boy has settled down and I've absorbed Smear Campaign a bit, I can (with level head) praise the band as it continues to develop and demonstrate its mastery of grind while occasionally incorporating some more experimental aspects to maximum impact. One of these instances, a guest vocal spot by The Gathering's Anneke van Giersbergen on "In Deference," sounds a lot like a nod to Celtic Frost's "Return To The Eve"...and it sounds great! Barney honors Tom G. Warrior in a few other places, as well.
The accelerator pedal is firmly depressed for a huge majority of the time, yet somehow they seem to know when to let up ever so slightly so that it doesn't become monotonous...then they dive right back into the jackhammering rhythms for another round of rapid blows to your head. For a bunch of guys pushing 40, they seem only to get faster and angrier with each successive release. And Barney's vocals sound more ferocious than ever. Primarily themed around the topic of religion and the problems its practice presents in its various forms, Barney's performance on Smear Campaign comes through with a renewed vigor and urgency. A perfect production and mix by Russ Russell, who's done really good work on ND releases dating back to the first Leaders Not Followers disc, but REALLY nailed it on this one. I can't imagine it sounding better to these ears. Everything sounds huge and devastating.
Is there better grind out there since Napalm Death emerged from its late-'90s slump? If there is, I can't imagine it beating Smear Campaign by much.
A+ -Mark Fields
The Novella Reservoir
The End
Chicago’s Novembers Doom unleashes their sixth full-length release, The Novella Reservoir, courtesy of The End Records. Be prepared for an aural attack that goes from overly brutal doom, to quiet, moody acoustic bits and covers pretty much everything in between. Novembers Doom prefers not to be lumped into any specific category of metal, and it’s for a good reason, as they offer a wide and varying array of sounds here.
“Rain” opens up with brutally heavy riff, and equally brutal vocals. The band perfectly combine monstrously heavy riffs with ringing melodies and superb guttural vocals, then completely switches gears mid-song with a quiet passage, before the heaviness returns to finish off a great opening track. The title track follows, and it’s a good bit different from “Rain”. Sure, there is a huge and heavy riff behind it, but there are also acoustic guitars aplenty, lots of clean vocals used here, and finishes off with a great guitar solo. “Drown the Inland Mere” follows with an all out brutal attack. Grab the MP3 from the band's website if you want to hear more (better yet, buy this disc when it comes out February 20th; it’s more than worth it).
“Twilight Innocence” follows - it’s all acoustic/clean guitars, all clean vocals, showcasing the versatility of the band as musicians and songwriters as well. It presents a perfect and welcome departure and great placement in the middle of the disc for a bit of a break. “The Voice of Failure” and “Dominate the Human Strain” completely lay waste to your ears, and it’s pretty much a toss-up between the two for best track on the disc. “Leaving This” is a great track to close the disc out. Mostly a slow-paced, quiet and moody affair, there are bits of huge heaviness thrown in, and some incredibly good drumming as well.
Production quality on the disc is outstanding. Mixing was handled by Dan Swanö, and mastering by James Murphy, who both have stellar track records with making music sound good. With the quality of the music here, I think a slightly trained chimp could’ve made it sound good, but Novembers Doom made good selections. Overall an amazing release that I’ll probably be revisiting it when the time comes to make a best of 2007 list this time next year.
A- -Goz
The Fierce Urgency Of Now
Goodfellow
From start to finish, this is a great metallic hardcore album. When I say "metallic," I'm not referring to stupid, open-E moshcore for backwards baseball hat-wearing guys. I mean to say that they combine the straightforward, speedy urgency of hardcore with crushingly heavy sonics and the metal technicality displayed in the quicker compositions of bands like Converge and early Cave In. Passion also employs occasional melodic guitar layering instead of traditional solos, which adds depth to the compositions without distracting from the strong rhythms already at work.
There is no mistaking that Passion is from Philadelphia, either: similarities to the dissonant tendencies of Jim Winters' work in The Promise and Turmoil can be heard all over the place (check out the opening bars of "Me" and "Depression Sets In" for starters). I'm not complaining. It sounds quite organic in the context of the songs and spices up the presentation. Tempo-wise, The Fierce Urgency Of Now varies quite a bit. Some songs are rollercoaster speed-fests, some are somewhat plodding, and some use a bit of both. Two of the disc's 12 tunes clock in under 2 minutes; four clock in over 5 minutes - a seeming eternity in "hardcore time" - but they have done well in choosing the track order, as the pace picks up and slows down before anything gets boring in either direction. None of the songs is shorter or longer than it needs to be.
Lyrically, it's a mixed bag. While the overall message is positive, for my liking there's a little too much emphasis on personal emotions. However, on more topical songs they really excel in conveying a true, er...passion for the subject matter. As I read the lyrics while listening to "In Ourselves We Trust," for example, my neck hairs stood up as vocalist Kenny roared a rallying cry to Americans to reclaim freedom from the treasonous D.C. whores who are selling us out to a police state. Finally, some new hardcore I can believe in.
A- -Mark Fields
Lust Stained Despair
Century Media
Poinsonblack’s second release, Lust Stained Despair, is a compelling blend of catchy rock/metal with some gothic elements to it.
The opening track “Nothing Else Remains” kicks in with a monstrously memorable riff, and continues on the catchy hooks with a chorus that will stick in you head for a while. “The Darkest Lie” shows us some more of the gothic side of the band, with an opening keyboard riff that reminded me a lot of Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence”. This track also features a great guitar solo, and another memorable chorus. “Rush” and “Never Enough” both have huge riffs with lot’s of pinch harmonics to open the track, and follow along in a similar vein to the other tracks here - catchy riffs followed with some good melody parts, add in a super catchy chorus, and what you come out with is a good, memorable rock song.
Poisonblack offer up some great music on Lust Stained Despair. If you are looking for some good, catchy rock with a touch of goth, then check this out.
B -Goz
Live In: Nerd Rage
Relapse
Brian Posehn, the comedian/actor whose list of accomplishments includes Mr. Show, Just Shoot Me, and Sarah Silverman's Jesus Is Magic, has put out a CD of his stand up material from the Comedians of Comedy tour he did some time ago. You may not know him by name (as I embarrassingly forgot when I ran into him at the Celtic Frost show in NYC at BB King's last September), but if you saw him you'd say, "Oh yeah, THAT guy - he's hilarious!" This CD further cements his role of a goofy funny man of comedy as Live In: Nerd Rage keeps the laughs coming as he covers everything from heavy metal to marriage.
Brian has some hilarious commentary on being a nerd and completely hits the nail on the head when discussing the fact that George Lucas let us down (in more descriptive terms which I won't give away!) with Episodes I and II (he hadn't seen Episode III yet so we unfortunately don't get to hear the redemption). He gives the uncool perspective a great new twist that will have any one who ever felt like a nerd or a misfit laughing all the way to the next sci-fi convention! His bit about interviewing metal bands for his high school newspaper is great (and very accurate of the era of metal he grew up in).
Brian also performs a metal song, "Metal By Numbers", with an all-star backing band that includes Scott Ian of Anthrax (if you get a chance to, check out the video for it, well worth your time!). In the song he talks about what it takes to write a metal song and describes the process in detail: "cookie monster vocals, growl like a wookie". The song will really be appreciated by all metal heads. Also included is a Titannica interview and the Titannica song "Try Again, Again" from the classic Mr. Show episode. Also, his take on smoking pot is probably one of the most original bits on the subject I've heard in awhile as well.
All in all, Live In: Nerd Rage, is one of the most original comedy CDs I've heard in awhile, so pick it up and get ready to laugh your ass off!
A -Matt Smith
The Years of Spiritual Dissent CD/DVD
Crash Music
 The Years of Spiritual Dissent is a comprehensive overview of the career of Matt "The Lord" Zane and his band Society 1 and their climb from an adult film metal band to a much more encompassing fetish-influenced metal band.
After listening to the CD part of this release I wasn't sure what to make of Society 1, because it is mostly a mix of, dare I say, Nü Metal and spoken word pieces. The music itself is not groundbreaking in any way, or even that interesting (except for the use of analog synthesizers in their songs), but what makes this band interesting is their visual impact and Zane's spoken word meanderings. Most of the CD is a compilation of their previous released stuff and two faithful covers, one of Alice Cooper's "Sick Things" and Black Sabbath's "Who Are You?". Out of the whole CD portion of this release these two tracks are the highlights.
The spoken word tracks are interesting and sometimes thought provoking, but border on the edge of pretentiousness. They seem to be influenced by Jim Morrison, but with a more metaphysical feel. In one piece, Matt talks about his life as a child not being able to sleep because of these "phantoms" that would haunt him and not knowing if he was asleep or awake. He says this made him learn that he had to face the terrors of the universe by himself.
The rest of the music is pretty standard mosh-invoking metal played well but we've heard a million times from the likes of Korn and Rage Against the Machine-influenced bands. There are only a few tracks that deviate from this formula and those are influenced by tribal rhythms and contain melodic vocals that are much more interesting than the heavy tunes.
The DVD portion of this release gives a much needed dimension to Society 1. There's a documentary about the band and an extended interview. The documentary explores their roots as an adult film associated metal band because Matt was basically given an adult film company from his father to start his career. Wanting to shed this connection, he and Society 1 embarked on a different path by becoming more of a fetish-influenced metal band with Matt hanging from hooks in his back suspended over the stage and flown out over the audience while singing. While it made the band more interesting, they still didn't get their big break.
While this release has it's high points and low points, it will certainly appeal to freak worshippers and the goth metal scene.
C -Matt Smith
Alone
Massacre
Solitude Aeturnus brings us Alone, their sixth full length release, although the first in 8 years. The first thing you are presented with is a very grim disc cover, which does a good job at conveying what is forthcoming once you open it up and pop the disc in.
Starting with the slow, doomy, eerie “Scent of Death”, with an intro that almost sounds like it could be a sitar, giving way to a mighty riff that carries the tone of the song, which is the slowest and longest track on Alone. Along the way, Robert Lowe’s vocals layer on top of the monstrous beats laid down by drummer Steve Nichols and bassist James Martin, while guitarists John Perez and Steve Moseley blend the big riffs and lead bits together seamlessly.
For the fans of more mid-paced music, there is “Waiting for the Light” (with its infinitely catchy main riff) and “Sightless”. If you lean toward the slower end of the spectrum, we have “Tomorrows Dead” and “Blessed be the Dead” (with the latter being my favorite track on the disc).
Alone shows us that an 8 year absence didn’t hurt Solitude Aeturnus at all, and they can still churn out doom with the best of them.
B -Goz
s/t
Relapse
 If you're reading this and haven't already heard the album, you can probably already guess that I'm going to tell you it's awesome. That is because Suffocation has never wavered in the quality of its material, even after 5 years or so out of the scene they helped define.
And so, you are correct in your guess. The new self-titled Suffocation is awesome. After the initial excitement over 2004's Souls To Deny subsided a bit (they were, at that point, my favorite death metal band for 13 years), I had to admit that, while it was a good re-entry point for them and certainly a quality album, aside from a handful of tunes ("Surgery Of Impalement" and "Immortally Condemned" come immediately to mind), it just wasn't destined to be quite as memorable to me as some of the earlier works.
This time around, however, I'm hearing greatness all over the place. Unless you're totally new to death metal, you're already familiar with the general style. What they've done here - in addition to crafting some impossibly difficult, unbelievably brutal, blasting/grooving death metal - is to expand the musical palette a bit on top of their established sound. Keep an ear open and you'll notice more melody (!!gasp!!) in a lot of the solos. On "Bind Torture Kill" you'll notice some slightly different riffing in the vein of Malevolent Creation. And you'll notice that Frank has continued to evolve as a vocalist...still deep, but more naturally savage than he once was.
In addition to 40 minutes of top-notch new songs, the CD closes with "Prelude To Repulsion," a re-recorded track originally from 1993's Breeding The Spawn. As with that album's title track which was re-recorded to close Pierced From Within, this re-recording also proves the strength of the actual material that was all but ruined the first time around by a substandard recording and mix. If there is one extreme metal album which deserves a remix/remaster job, Breeding The Spawn is it; but until that cold day in hell, at least we now have proper documentation of two killer songs from that period.
Production-wise, the mix emphasizes Mike Smith's drumming (which has stepped up to new levels of excellence), but not to a point where the guitars are sacrificed. The drum sounds themselves at points remind me of Bill Andrews' kit on Death's classic Leprosy album. Listen to the aforementioned "Bind Torture Kill" at 2:13 and tell me it doesn't conjure up "Primitive Ways" not only in structure but also the actual tones themselves (some people criticize the drum sounds on Leprosy, but for the most part Bill Andrews wasn't playing the same way that Mike Smith does, so don't be scared off). The guitar tones are heavy and dirty, although not muddy. There are some tasteful effects on Frank's voice every now and then, and we even get treated to huge bass drops on "Misconcieved" which, like on the title track of 1995's Pierced From Within, sound fantastic. The production isn't generic by any means, but it's entirely appropriate and big enough for the material.
This one will show up on year-end lists, for sure.
A -Mark Fields
Then Comes Affliction To Awaken The Dreamer
Sensory
 Technical metal. Probably not the most widely sold product in the history of the genre, but admittedly you need to have the right mindset to full engulf yourself in all the riffs, twists, tempo changes and melody shifts.
Twisted Into Form consist of former Spiral Architect guitarist Kaj Gornitzka plus their original session vocalist Leif Knashaug along with Extol drummer David Husvik and bassist Erik Aadland. As far as the style this quartet play, expect a progressive /jazz-like montage not dissimilar to other acts on the Sensory label, infusing darker Zero Hour elements along with the instrumental expertise from their original name sake acts. Leif's vocal range is within human ears, remindful of a 1980's Rob Halford in tracks like "Instinct Solitaire" and "Torrents". You also get some killer Middle Eastern infusion that breaks into some quieter Fates Warning like guitar interplay within my favorite cut "The Thin Layers Of Lust Of Love".
Three years from crafting to recording completion insures a full-fledged 'from the soul' experience. Then Comes Affliction To Awaken The Dreamer should achieve plenty of top picks for the album of the year on many metal journalists lists. There definitely needs to be a full month to appreciate all the little dynamic parts and passages within these ten cuts, and while they may never gain the popularity of say Opeth in terms of their quality musicianship and songwriting, they should be on a good path to the tech metal hall of fame. Watchtower; Cynic; Spiral Architect; now Twisted Into Form keep the sub-genre alive and kicking.
A -Matt Coe
III: In the Eyes of Fire
Metal Blade
 Initially weighed down with the “metalcore” tag, III: In the Eyes of Fire should go a long way towards re-establishing Unearth as a straight up, bad-ass metal band.
Enlisting the services of mega-metal producer, Terry Date, Unearth have fleshed-out the sound they’ve flirted with on previous releases. You won’t find that cutesy, metalcore formula on this record...oh, you know the one I’m talking about right? You know...the heavy intro/big riff verse with screamo vocals/over-melodic chorus with soft, whispy, melodic pretty vocals formula that virtually every “mallcore” band uses these days. Nope. Unearth dispense with the nicey-nice and instead chose to follow the route of, say, a young, hungry Pantera (minus a lead singer constantly sticking his foot in his mouth).
From beginning to end, this record is an onslaught of precise, heavy riffs from dual guitarists Ken Susi and Buz McGrath (the Iron Maiden-eque dual guitar interplay is very very well done) and some of the most intense, skillful, and brilliant drumming by Mike Justian. Simply put, this record pummels and doesn’t let up. The energy found on this CD could probably power a small country for a year or two. This record is catchy, heavy as dumptruck full of molten lava, and harder hitting than a angry heard of rhinos charging down hill.
Repeat after me; Unearth are a metal band...Unearth are a metal band...
A -Chuck Ferreira
Goatcraft Torment
Southern Lord
Any disc that starts off with a tortured shout of “This is Satanic Black Metal” has to be good, right? That phrase is how Urgehal starts off their latest release Goatcraft Torment, and it’s pretty much what you get, although it may not be as completely old-school as the bio I got with the disc would want you to believe.
The title track begins with the previously mentioned phrase, and then explodes into a blasting, buzzing whirlwind of evilness that will make your ears bleed. Ultra-fast drumming, super fast, wiry sounding riffs, and then we get a groovy breakdown about half-way through the song. There’s even some pretty good lead guitar work thrown in there. “Satanic Black Metal in Hell”, aside from having a great title, is another song that showcases a catchy riff as the backbone on the song, and also an extensive guitar solo that completely shreds, fading out with some great blast beats. If you want some purely old school black metal, “Sentiment of Chaos” is the track you should check first, with its unforgiving speed and relentlessness.
Urgehal offers a slightly updated take on black metal, not going nearly as far as say, Satyricon, but still throwing in some different, more modern riffs and solos to keep things interesting.
B- -Goz
Specs Of Pictures Burnt Beyond
Sensory
 Years ago in my editing past I remember discovering this California progressive metal band, back before they gained their first record deal. I also remember interviewing the Tipton brothers (Jasun on guitars and Troy on bass) regarding their fresh approach to the genre- as Zero Hour willingly askew from the verse/chorus/versus/chorus/solo/chorus/ending arrangement and often spend a lengthy song rarely repeating a riff while producing a bevy of multi-dark tempo juxtaposing rhythms.
Specs Of Pictures Burnt Beyond keeps up that fine tradition of jazzy darkness meets Fates Warning plus Meshuggah-like guitar/drum interplay as well as introducing a new vocalist to the fold in former Power of Omens crooner Chris Salinas. This would be their third vocalist in as many albums, but I believe that this would be their best match yet as his Alder meets Tate range more than capably keeps up with the off kilter heavy proceedings. The dog piercing screams that open "The Falcon's Cry" attest to his leather lung-like capacity while the music spirals and navigates in a universe all their own. "Embrace" and "Zero Hour" offer a small reprieve from the epic numbers, and what I also like about Zero Hour is they keep the album length at a reasonable 44 minute clip, for there is plenty to undertake with each and every returning trek. Why a B+ you say then? I sense a second trip to the studio with Salinas at the helm will produce their masterpiece.
If you call yourself a fan of technical-laden progressive metal and haven't heard Zero Hour to this point, Specs Of Pictures Burnt Beyond would be the correct starting album. Such a shame I missed them on their East Coast tour, as they clearly stand head and shoulders above anything most of their influences have created in recent years.
B+ -Matt Coe
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