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August 2008 ~ October 2008
Mamma Loves Sabbath
I saw 12 Eyes opening for Ichabod at O'Briens in Allston and were mildly intrigued by their brand of heavy stoner thrash metal. Nothing overly new to report here but they have a great sense of humor and that always scores points with me.
Most of this 5 song EP is recorded live a few years back but it strongly represents what they're all about. The first song "Go Fuck Yourself" was named by an audience member and that pretty much sets the tone of the whole disc. "Ride Home Blues" has a nice heavy groove riff and "Momma Loves Sabbath" has another heavy stoner riff and vocals that scream "Praise Jesus".
If you're looking for a humorous heavy band that is fun live look no further than 12 Eyes.
C+ -Matt Smith
In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns
Candlelight
In The Shadow of a Thousand Suns is Abigail Williams debut full-length disc, following up their 2006 EP, Legend. Since the release of that EP, the band has toured extensively, taken a break to work on this disc, and then jumped back out on the road.
While their Legend EP had a lot of -core influences to it, this disc slims them down a bit, but ups the symphonic elements quite a bit. One of the first things I noticed here were the seemingly ever-present keyboards - they often-times stick out like a sore thumb as they are mixed a bit too high and frequently seem to clash with what the guitars riffs are trying to do. That isn't to say they don't work well in places - for example, the last two minutes of "The World Beyond" is a brilliant bit of music, with great guitar work interplayed with the keys quite nicely - but the keys are still way too high in the mix for me.
The bands gets a little progressive at the beginning of "A Thousand Suns", with vocalist Ken Sorceron switching to a clean vocal style that sounds like it has been processed by a few different effects along the way. After a bit of that, they go back to their fairly generic sounding melodic black metal attack for the remainder of the song, featuring an extended keyboard solo in the middle, and some pretty good dual guitar work shortly after that.
Production here is by James Murphy, and it is overall good, aside from the aforementioned over zealousness with the keyboard volume. A decent effort by the band, but they still have a ways to go to make a big impression on me.
C+ -Goz
Wreath of Thevetat
Woodcut
Finland's Alghazanth has been crafting symphonic black metal for over a decade now, but this is their first release since 2004. Since then, the band has gone through numerous lineup changes, but now has seemed to settle in with the 5-piece lineup that presents their latest effort, Wreath of Thevetat, to us, courtesy of Finland's Woodcut Records.
"Moving Mountains" is the opener, and it lives up to its name quite well. After an intro quote from Battlestar Gallactica, we got smashed in the skull with some incredibly good riffing and a monster scream from vocalist Goat Tormentor (aka Swallow the Sun's Mikko Kotamäki). Follow that with a healthy dose of blast beat driven, tremolo picked, keyboard laden black metal, and you have yourself an opening track that leaves you begging for more.
Fortunately for the listener, there is plenty more after the opener. Seven more tracks, in fact, totaling 48 minutes of insanity. "On Blackening Soil" slows things down a little bit, showcasing Goat Tormentor's vocal range to a great extent, while also incorporating a vast amount of keyboards to keep the symphonic theme going strong. "Future Made Flesh" seems to have a different sound to it, compared to the other tracks on the disc. This is most the drums, which sound a bit more distant and flat, almost industrial at times. Not sure why this is, but I thought it might be worth mentioning.
Alghazanth's new lineup has put together a great collection of black metal music here. This will make nice addition to any black metal fans collection.
B -Goz
Along Came A Spider
SPV
Alice's last few albums have been hit or miss (mostly miss) and Along Came A Spider doesn't do much to change that track record. Back in the seventies the original Alice Cooper group, Alice, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, Glen Buxton (RIP), and Neil Smith made some classic anthemic records as a full band, but Alice was too interested in getting all the glory so he decided he could do it on his own. He had a few good albums (Welcome To My Nightmare and Goes To Hell) after the original band split up but never really captured the magic that band had.
Along Came A Spider at it's best, has mediocre clichéd song lyrics, sometimes sounding like a tired rehash of an earlier album or two. This album is based around, surprise, a serial killer named Spider, and it has a lot of potential but it doesn't live up to it at all. It's really too bad because the music is pretty good and even has some early Alice Cooper group vibes going on throughout the album and it's the musicianship that somewhat saves this album from being a cutout bin resident.
C'mon Alice, show us a little more effort and don't just go through the motions, listen to Motörhead's latest and you'll know what I'm talking about. You're a legend, but it's time to stop resting on your laurels!
D+ -Matt Smith
Overcome
Prosthetic
Overcome is the fourth release from the Springfield, Massachusetts metalcore band All That Remains. It is a stunning album, unfortunately a lot of people are gonna cry about the use of clean vocals. Their first album Behind Silence and Solitude was more of a melodic death metal album with no clean vocals and over the next few albums it saw Phil Labonte changing his vocal style and a whole shit load of line up changes.
In May 2008 with a solid line-up, the band hit Audiohammer Studios with producer Jason Suecof (Trivium, Bury Your Dead, Cannae, Chimaira, DevilDriver, God Forbid, If Hope Dies, Roadrunner United and Sanctity to name a few). It was the first record by the band not to be produced by Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage.
Overcome has gotten mixed reaction's from the critics due to its more commercial sound. Claiming that the band has put focus on catchy melodies rather than technical heavy metal riffs. Which is total bullshit. It is catchy as hell but the album is fucking techy from the nasty guitar riffs Oli Herbert and Mike Martin lay down to Jason Costa's crazy time signatures on the drums there is no claiming this CD isn't technical metal. Yes we get the fact that Phil doesn't find it a must to scream his balls off on every track but who cares?The dude can sing.
"Chiron" is the first track to be dropped as a single and its a pretty sick song.
In my opinion every song from start to finish is amazing. The most notable in my eyes are "Relinquish", "Days Without", "Two weeks", "Forever in your hands" (which is kind of a love song) and the Nevermore cover "Believe in nothing". The album is amazing from start to finish. That's very hard to find in a metal scene that is so saturated with cookie cutter copies of "the next best thing".
Also I saw them recently with Trivium, The Human Abstract and 36 Crazyfists in CT @ Toad's Place and there is no doubt they can still tear it the fuck up live. Go buy the CD it is definitely worth it.
A -Nick Caroselloma
Pacifica
Afan Music
Portland, Oregon based Amadan are a Celtic influenced fusion band, fusing punk, rock and world music into a fairly interesting blend of music that dares you to stay in your seat while you are listening to it. They'll likely be compared to contemporary band like the Pogues and Dropkick Murphy's, and while they do have some of the same influences, they certainly aren't copycats of either of those bands.
Incorporating more than you standard guitar, bass & drums for instruments, Amadan also uses slide whistles, fiddles, banjos, and a didgeridoo to add a bit of world music flair to their sound. Many of the songs have a good punk rock feel to them ("The Old North End", "Anchor Tattoo", and "Leaving Of Liverpool" to name a few), while others are softer ("Pishi"), and "Devil In The Kitchen" is a traditional tune where fiddle player Naoyuki Ochiai gets his moment to shine. The musicianship here is all solid, each band member plays off the other ones, and they all tie together well.
If you are into the aforementioned bands, then you are likely to enjoy this disc by Amadan. If you want something a bit different, that incorporate Celtic and other world music influences and infuses them with a bit of punk rock attitude, Amadan will fit the bill nicely.
B -Goz
Twilight of the Thunder God
Metal Blade
Amon Amarth follow up their great 2006 release, With Oden on Our Side, with their latest full-length, Twilight of the Thunder God. Showcasing 10 tracks of superbly catchy melodic death metal, featuring their ever-present viking themed lyrics, the band keeps going strong.
The title track is the opener, and from the opening riff, you just want to bang your head and sing along with Johan Hegg. Of course, they über catchy music and brilliantly phrased choruses make this easy to do. If you ever see this band live, you'll know what I mean - see our gigz section for a report from a recent show in Worcester that blew us (and everyone else in the packed Palladium) away. "Varyags Of Miklagaard" is a slower paced number, with a marching feel that could be the echoes of past soldiers marching forth in victory.
My pick here for best track is "Guardians Of Asgaard". It was the song that impressed me most upon first listen, and still impresses me the most after repeated listens of this disc (and even more so when they played it live). From the thumping open, with a kickass melodic riff and pounding drums, to the chorus that begs everyone to sing along (which worked well in a live setting). Musically, this is a pretty simple song, but who freakin' cares when it all works like it does here. Freakin' brilliant I say.
This release comes in a multitude of different formats - a CD/DVD combo, a couple of different vinyl releases, and a deluxe set with bobbleheads of the band (hopefully they all have their own little bobbling drinking horns as well). The DVD included is a live set from the 2007 Summer Breeze festival in Germany. The performance here is great, and the video and all is good as well. The only slight drawback is the lightning quick editing, which seems to plague almost all music video releases these days. I'd rather they focus on someone for more than a second or two at a time, than have the chaotic and seizure inducing changes...but maybe I'm in the minority here.
For those that are already fans of the band, you've probably already got this. If you aren't, you should get this. For a member of either club, do yourself a favor and go see Amon Amarth when they come back around on tour - they are an amazingly good live band.
B+ -Goz
Hilal
Season of Mist
Arkan are based in France, but many of it's member are of Algerian descent. Hilal is their debut full-length, following their self-released 2006 EP entitled Burning Flesh. Here, Arkan incorporates Algerian and Moroccan influences with the use of traditional folk instruments and spoken word bits interspersed throughout the disc.
The disc opens in what sounds like it's most likely a busy Moroccan market, with a man speaking something in Arabic. We hear some of the traditional instruments in the background, then are suddenly greeted with a massively heavy guitar riff and some brutal vocals (while the folk instruments continue to play in the background). We transition to an acoustic part with female vocals for a bit, possibly bringing us back to that Moroccan market for a quick little performance. There is a lot of this type of interplay on the disc, which at once helps to keep it interesting, while also sometimes causing the listener to fade out (at least this listener) for lack of continuity. Thankfully, Arkan always seems to come out of these little interludes with something amazingly heavy and attacking, drawing me right back into the fold once again.
I could probably do without the overly long "Lamma Bada", which at 3+ minutes of acoustic music with Arabic vocals comes right after a high point on the disc ("Mistress of the Damns Souls" - the best track here) and serves to derail the disc at that point. Luckily, it is easy to skip over to avoid this problem. You'll need to do this again with the almost 4-minute "Athaoura", another road block in an otherwise great musical journey. Make sure to keep going, though, as "Chaos Cypher" is next, and it'll grind your eardrums raw if listened to loud enough.
This is my first exposure to Arkan, and I'm impressed with what they are doing here. Blending Moroccan folk music with superbly well done metal isn't the easiest thing to do, but they do it quite well - aside from the previously mentioned bits (which wouldn't be so bad if they weren't quite as long).
B -Goz
The Daily Grind
Metal Blade
What's amazing about Germany's Anima is the mature deathcore sound blasting from this group of kids in their late teens. Their hardcore vocals, thrashing drums, and melodic guitars sound much older than their years but also incorporates a tinge of modern metalcore in the mix.
The Daily Grind only starts off sounding like your typical everyday ferocious deathcore with the required growling/screaming tracks. I soon discovered that every song on The Daily Grind has something that separates it from the others. Unique melodies and/or riffs keep the album from sounding repetitive. By the third track, "Sitting In The Wardrobe", I could pick out undertones of similar characteristics that drew me to other bands such as Unearth and older Slipknot. I also began to appreciate guitar melodies and the heavy chugging grooves made not by the guitars alone but the instruments in unison.
By the fourth and title track, it becomes apparent that I can no longer ignore the vocals in the song or the album. As soon as "The Daily Grind" starts, all I can think of is the Haggard/CKY videos where
Brandon Dicamillo does his metalhead character; "woo doo doo". From then
on every time the vocals switch from screaming to monster, which is fairly constant, all I can think of is 'Woo doo doo'. I mean, if you're not doing it to offend people who don't listen to metal and solely for monster affect, then why have outrageously horrific vocals in the first place? And those that want to listen have to try and overlook such an important part of the music or just try not to laugh. Or we have to do extra work to just understand what you're saying while STILL trying not to laugh. So, I tried to focus on the music and thus gained more respect for Anima. By the end of track four, I was again enjoying the heavy, doomy outro.
On subsequent track, "Dismembered" I noticed the drummers style and then the percussion began to stand-out in the album thereafter. Next, "The Interference" has another memorable guitar solo. The seventh track, "Isolated" is more of a one-minute intro to the best song on The Daily Grind; "A Wrong Person To Trust In". I think this is the 'Headbanger' of the album. I really liked the galloping/striving vibe of this song. It also had great groves, lots of doom and more guitar melodies. Ending with "Ravaged By Disease", another doomy, stomping frenzy, and The Daily Grind leaves off much stronger than it began.
I think Anima is the start of something great. The skill of these youngsters is definitely advanced but I can hear room for growth in the styles of each member. Especially the vocals. Since they're doing pretty good now, I can't fathom how advanced the percussion, guitar melodies and riffs are going to be when these kids get 15, 20 years under their belts. Wow. Looking forward to hearing this band mature, for sure.
C+ -Alesha
Never Too Late
The End Records
The Answer is being touted as the next Led Zeppelin and I think the people are being mislead by this over-hyped band. In my opinion they're a little bit better than Kingdom Come, remember them? not many people do! Who knows, maybe they'll develop their own sound and style and stop TRYING to sound like Zep. Same of their lyrics sound like Christian messages and event the cover of this 4-song EP looks like they might be a bible thumping band.
If people want a band that is like Zeppelin live check out Troy, New York's Super 400, now THERE's a band worthy of having the Zep label placed on them, and their bassist Lori Friday is THE best bass player in the US, in my humble opinion.
D -Matt Smith
Exist
Prosthetic
American metalcore. I'm still trying to figure this out. Could someone please tell me where in all that is unholy, do clean vocals and crappy, sappy lyrics belong in metalcore? Who made this rule? And why are so many bands conforming to it? One minute there's growling, chugging, grinding out some guitar licks and pounding away on the double bass (OK we may have something here), then the chorus is the complete opposite direction; lovesick whining for some hole that isn't around anymore. Oh come now, if I wanted to hear that I'd be listening to country music.
With a female singer even.
"Immaculate Misconception" is the highlight of Exist. It's the heaviest track and caught my attention right away. "Angels" was the second to stand out. There were no clean vocals on either track. A couple others were catchy, too. Opener "Bomb Shelter" was good and the chorus wasn't too off-key. "Failure on Repeat" was a slow interesting number. The rest of the album had a few more almost memorable metal songs but the choruses were a major turn-off like in title track "Exist", "Awake" and "Final Words for an Unknown Friend".
California's Antagonist have potential. There's a good base of musicianship and songwriting skill here but there's plenty of room to grow. They have an OK shredder, drummer, and lead vocals (not bad on the slower tracks even) but they sound very... minor. As in 'under drinking age'.
They need to give up the clean choruses as it sounds adolescent and too hard to get used to. Downright ordinary these days. If they left just that little piece out, and possibly got some deeper lyrics, Exist could be an album I'd want get to know better. But hey, maybe it's just too polished. Studio albums can be deceiving. They could be rough around the edges live and it might make all the difference.
C+ -Alesha
What You Don't Know is Frontier
Southern Records
Asva's second album is a requiem for leader Stuart Dahlquist's brother Michael, of Silkworm, who was killed a year before he started creating the demos for this album at a mountain cabin. Four untitled tracks of experimental drone-influenced highly trance-inducing music that perfectly state without words how Stuart is and was coping with his brother's untimely death. Track one draws the listener in a slow droning manner that explodes at times into a noise filled doom jam session. The second track does the same except we have some tribal like drums accenting the song throughout most of it with more droney chords and analog synths intermingled provided by Troy Swanson.
Track 3 (my favorite) has the most mournful feel to it with melodic guitar chords strummed in a very Floydian fashion. Organ-like keyboards seep into the mix and Holly Johnston provides the only vocals on the whole disc. Sounding like a classically trained Yoko Ono, she sings in a foreign language I can't place before the guitars kick into melodic heaviness and the vocals kick back in with a world music feeling that transports the listener to another country. The song ends up with a really heavy doom sound half-way through with organs accenting the song. The song seriously picks up the tempo during the last three minutes and almost sounds like a back metal drone song.
Track four starts off sounding almost like a drone-doom version of the Clockwork Orange soundtrack with analog synths accenting the guitars and pounding drums and bass. Crescendoing into a full out psychedelic doom drone song this easily gets my vote for trippiest and most dismal sounding doom song of the year. It's amazing how much a vocal-less song can speak to you, and this tune does just that. At twenty four minutes this track is the most explorative on the disc and my second favorite.
Each track clocks in at least thirteen minutes with the longest being twenty four minutes. This disc is a MUST for any fan of drone metal similar to SUNN etc. or any one looking to listen to something inspiring and to seriously think about while zoning out. Probably one of my top ten favorite albums of the year!
A -Matt Smith
Ezkaton
Metal Blade
Ezkaton is the first release by Behemoth since signing a world-wide deal with Metal Blade records. It is an EP consisting of one new song, "Qadosh", a re-recording of "Chant For Ezkaton 2000 e.v.", two covers (one of the Ramones and one of Master's Hammer), and three live tracks. A nice little collection of tracks, and a good welcome to Metal Blade for them. I'll focus on what I think are the most interesting bits here - the new song and the covers.
"Qadosh" is the new one, and it is modern Behemoth from beginning to end. A bit slow and melodic to start, then suddenly it comes through and kicks you in the sternum with brutality and some insane drumming from Inferno. Big heavy riffs have some pinch harmonics squealing alongside them the whole time, with Nergal's massive voice belting out the blasphemies nicely. The middle part slows down a bit, and includes some brass instruments (a tuba perhaps?). Good to hear a new track from these guys, and it's a good one.
The Master's Hammer cover is next. They picked "Jáma Pekel" from the bands 1991 debut, Ritual. For those that don't know, Master's Hammer was a black metal (with a lot of experimental stuff thrown in) band from the Czech Republic. I'd recommend checking out their masterpiece, The Jilemnice Occultist, if you've never heard them. Behemoth's version here sounds like Master's Hammer's version cranked up to 666. The production here is obviously better, the guitars thicker and heavier, and Nergal's vocals are much deeper than Franta Štorm's raspy attack was. They definitely do justice to the song if you ask me.
"I'm Not Jesus", from 1987's Halfway to Sanity, is their Ramones cover song of choice. They take the Ramones simple, poppy punk song and turn it into a super heavy death punk song. They absolutely tear it up with this one. After the initial slow opening, they break into the verse which they play at lightning speed and heavy it up to massive proportions. A great job putting their own twist on this deep Ramones track.
This is a good and quick collection of Behemoth music here, and let's hope we don't have to wait to long to get a new full length from Behemoth and Metal Blade.
A -Goz
Quiet Earth
Metal Blade
Bison b.c. is one of those bands that is just too big sounding to listen to on a computer or iPod. This album seriously begs to be cranked the fuck up in an automobile with a sweet sound system or a home stereo where you can played it so loud the walls shake.
"Primal Emptiness Of Outer Space" kicks the disc off in a balls out heavy as hell stoner rock tune that Duncan Wilder Johnson would cream his jeans over. Monster riffs and massive drums blend this stoner rock vibe with some of the best elements of old school thrash. "Slow Hand Of Death" has one of the best riffs on the disc and "Wendigo Pt. 1 (Quest For Fire)" starts off with a mellow cello accented with violins before this eight minute opus kicks into the same riff with heavy guitars before the song breaks down into a tripped out section with a beast-like sound in a cave and some sick guitar riff that builds it slowly back up. The vocals sounds like a cross between John Tardy of Obituary and Chuck Billy of Testament.
"These Are My Dress Clothes" comically addresses daily attire of the rock band on the road with some sick mosh parts that would have bodies flailing and flying in a live setting. "Wendigo Pt. 2 (Cursed To Roam)" continues the Wendigo theme explored earlier in the album and "Medication" has a monster riff that gets your ass moving. "Quiet Earth" ends the disc on another monstrous riff with gang-style vocals chantig out the song title. If all this sounds good to you then you have your next CD purchase decided for you.
B+ -Matt Smith
To Travel
Hold True
First off, a proverbial tip of the hat to Hold True Recordings, whose mission is to release New England bands to a wider audience...and there are plenty of good New England bands deserving of attention. One of these promising bands is Beautiful Gorgeous out of Fitchburg ("the armpit of Massachusetts"), which serves up a hot, jagged plate of metallic, mathy, musical grind covering a lot of sonic territory across 13 tracks in just over 30 minutes.
Although there is no shortage of brutality herein, and no gimpy melodic vocals to sully the listening experience, it should be noted that BG mixes in a lot of atmosphere and carefully chosen melodic riffing in their material which conjures up a 1970's hard/southern rock vibe just long enough for them to flank the listener to land a series of blast-laced auditory body blows; and they manage to pull it off in a fashion that sounds organic and uncontrived. As a 4-piece with one guitarist, it helps BG immeasurably to have a skilled bassist in the ranks weaving in and out instead of simply following the root notes on any given section.
To keep anything like this together for an entire disc takes chops; moreover, the production is nice and mean--not veering into antiseptic or slop.
The only place To Travel fails is on track 7, "Gondola," a semi-acoustic instrumental which starts off with about 3-and-a-half minutes of acoustic guitar noodling...but it doesn't end there! Then comes a minute-and-a-half bass solo to round it out, the final 50 seconds of which sounds like it could've come off Super Mario Bros. or something. WTF! For the life of me, I can't understand what would've driven BG to include this 5 minute lullaby right in the middle of a 30-minute CD. I've ALREADY FIGURED OUT THAT YOU'RE GOOD MUSICIANS informed by a variety of styles prior to track 7; no need to get all artsy and clever by "challenging" the listener with something like this! Next time, if BG feels the urge to be this self-indulgent, I hope they either resist the urge outright or leave it for the end of the album so I can hit "eject" before I fall asleep.
Still, that leaves 25 minutes of worthwhile and refreshing brutality. I'll probably rip my copy and re-burn without "Gondola" so I won't wear out the "skip" button during playback. Grade includes track 7.
B- -Mark Fields
Flesh Inferno
Regain
After my first listen to Blackwinds Regain debut, Flesh Inferno, I thought it was a decent platter of fairly basic black metal. Then I was trying to think about some memorable parts on the disc, and nothing at all came back to me. So I listened to it again. Once more, it seemed ok when I was listening to it, but left nothing of a memory for me. The one thing I do remember now that I've listened to it a shitload of times trying to come up with something inventive to say, is that the drums are WAY overpowering here. And they sound like shit, too.
I'm sure there will be people that love this disc, but it left not even the slightest impression on me.
D -Goz
Dolores
Ipecac
Bohren & der Club of Gore are a German quartet playing what could best be described as doom jazz. The pace here is typically so slow, that even snails would pass it if it were a moving entity. When the drums are struck, they are often struck with authority and conviction, while the various organs, bass and saxophone layer on dark and droning tones that keep the listener feeling like they are locked in a pitch black room with no way out. "Still Am Tresen" sounds like it could be part of a slowed down soundtrack to an old film noir. In fact, the entire disc sounds as if it could be a slowed down sountrack to impending doom or some other major catastrophe.
Worth a listen, but there isn't a whole lot a replay in this music for me.
C- -Goz
Horoskopus
Prosthetic
Seattle's Book of Black Earth bring us Horoskopus, their second full-length release (following 2006's The Feast), and first for Prosthetic Records. As vocalist and guitarist T.J. Cowgill tells, the disc is about hidden astrological elements of the Christian Church. Reading through the lyrics, they most certainly have an anti-christian slant to them. Onto the music!
The first bit is an instrumental opener called "2160", with it's overly distorted, thick as molasses guitar sound, this sets up nicely for the real opener, "Death of the Sun". Instantly, you're slammed in the head with a bevy of heavy - from the guitars, to the drums and bass, to Cowgill's voice - it's all heavy as hell and unrelenting. So unrelenting in fact, that for the next 55 or so minutes, there is an unrelenting attack of brutal metal. They throw a combination of just about everything out there - black, death, thrash, doom - you name it, they bring it out at some point.
They do slow things down a bit for "Cult of Dagon". They've got a pretty strong doom feel going on here, almost droning at times. The slow down makes their insanely heavy sound feel even heavier, which is an achievment to be proud of here. Next up, we have my favorite track on the disc, "Funeral of Peace". There is a bit of a Swedish death metal feel to this song, with a ferocious guitar sound that cuts through just about everything, and it also features a great chorus that should work well live once people get more familiar with their music.
Book of Black Earth impresses quite a bit with this release. They recently toured with Watain and labelmates Withered and put on a good show (see my review in the gigz section). Hopefully, they'll get to go out on the road again soon and spread their heavy dose of blasphemy further.
B+ -Goz
Of Beatings and the Silence in Between
Woodcut
Chthonian is the brainchild of Mathias Lillmåns, better known now as the vocalist for Fintroll. He started the band in 1998 with drummer Markus Rosenberg. The band lay dormant for many years, until 2005 when they recruited Jens Frilund to play guitar for them. From there, they recorded a demo, and that led to Woodcut records releasing their debut disc, Of Beatings and the Silence in Between.
A collection of 8 tracks, totaling just over 27 minutes in playing time, this is a quick and enjoyable listen, although not overly groundbreaking or earth shattering. The opening track "III" gets going quickly, with a super fast riff and insane drumming, with a gnarly sounding bass holding down the bottom end. There is a super catchy riff in the middle, and slower part to showcase some more technical guitar work. Welcome to the first beating, I must say. The silence in between is non-existent, and the next beating is in the form of "Thirteen". Another ripper with some quick and catchy riffs, the band doesn't let up at all from the initial attack.
The title track winds things up, and is my pick for best track here. It features fast parts, melodic riffs, brutal vocals, and some really stellar drumming as well. Pretty much covers all that Chthonian has to offer in a neat little 5 minute package.
Of Beatings and the Silence in Between is a decent collection of pretty basic death metal from Finland's Chthonian. Weighing in at a scant 27 minutes, it's a quick listen when you want to be bombarded with some extreme metal.
B- -Goz
A Darker Kind Of Salvation
Pulverised
Singapore based Pulverised Records brings us the debut of Sweden based Closer, entitled A Darker Kind Of Salvation. Featuring 10 tracks of melodic death metal, with maybe a bit of metalcore influence thrown in as well.
"Chaos Internal" starts things off with a mathy techno-riff before breaking into a decent melody part. The standard melodeath vocals start in, and the technical work on the guitars continues on throughout the track, including some great lead work. A decent track and probably the strongest one here. "It Dwells In Darkness" is next, and it is weak when compared to the opener. Granted, there are parts of it that are really good - like the guitar work during the chorus - but the clean vocals over just bass and drums during the verse is pretty lame and weak sounding to me. They make attempts to get things going again with many of the other songs here, but it seems that right when they get a good bit of the song going, they slap some cliched melodic hook in there and out come the crappy clean vocals to ruin the moment.
A Darker Kind Of Salvation is at best an ok debut from these Swedes. They show some moments of brilliance, but those moments are fleeting and usually put to death by some lame bit that spoils the show. Maybe if they stick together their next release will be more solid.
C- -Goz
Full Fathom Five (CD/DVD)
Weathermaker Music
Clutch's first ever DVD is here. All we've had for video footage is bootlegs and such with less than sufficient audio or video on Youtube or whatnot. Now, instead of preaching to people about how phenomenal Clutch is in concert, I can just show them! Along with Full Fathom Five; Video Field Recordings; 2007-2008, they released companion CD Full Fathom Five; Audio Field Recordings; 2007-2008. Their first single is "Texan Book of the Dead" (originally from their self-titled, second full-length album in 1995).
Finally, a solid presentation where you can see that special 'oomph'
that Clutch live is. Even though nothing can substitute actually being there, now you can visually re-live that power anytime you want. AND you have yet another outstanding live Clutch album to add to your collection. Oh, did I forget to describe what Clutch sounds like? How about I just tell you this; I have never met anyone who has heard Clutch's music (excluding the old farts I work with who are forced) that did not like them.
Full Fathom Five is snippets of shows from four different venues on five separate days in late 2007 and early 2008; Hi-Fi (Sydney, Australia), Mr. Small's Theatre (Pittsburgh, PA), Boulder Theater (Boulder, CO), and Starland Ballroom (Sayreville, NJ). As with everything else Clutch does, it's really all about the music. No frills. Except they did throw in two very hidden extras in both of the song selections menus. Go to "main" and then scroll right on each menu and you will find a few minutes of extra footage and one of the secrets to their signature sound.
Much like their always different set lists on tour from night to night, they chunk together some related songs and shuffle their order about on both Full Fathom Five releases. But they are not the same. Between the CD and DVD are 22 live recordings from their nearly endless supply. Of these, 13 of the tracks are identical. The Audio Field Recordings are
15 tracks of which "Cypress Grove" and "Mr. Shiny Cadillackness" are unique to the CD only. The theme of Full Fathom Five is like a 'best of' for the general setlist of the past year or so of touring.
There's a better mix on the Video Field Recordings to make it more like a 'real' Clutch gig than a Clutch gig from this past From Beale Street to Oblivion tour. There are 7 tracks that are unique to the DVD. Two of my absolute favorite Clutch songs are there, "Escape From the Prison Planet" and "The Soapmakers" along with "Big News" I and II, "Burning Beard", "You Can't Stop Progress" and "Power Player." Some more highlights of Full Fathom Five are "Animal Farm", "Ship of Gold" and "The Mob Goes Wild." This DVD is 95 minutes of video footage of the very thing that knocked Lynyrd Skynyrd out of the number one slot in my 'favorite-band-of-all-time list" (which Skynyrd had occupied for over a decade); live Clutch. There aren't a whole lot of bands that can consistently put out great music album after album, start to finish with the added bonus of killer artwork in every jacket.
For me, Clutch is the most moving live band. Every jam band I have ever heard has bored me (which is probably why I have little patience for jam and progressive bands with lengthy instrumentals). My attention just goes elsewhere. Clutch is by no means a 'jam band' per se (they have their other band The Bakerton Group for just that purpose) but they are my only exception so far. Some tracks that are extended versions were "The Dragonfly", "The Yeti" and "The Soapmakers." With Eric Oblander (harp) and Bryan Hinkley (guitar) on tour with them, they were able to spice up their sets like with "Cypress Grove", "Texan Book of the Dead", "Big News" and "Mr. Shiny Cadillackness." When they go into a jam, it still sounds like actual music and not something alien, the percussion is jaw-dropping EVERY time, and they never get monotonous or over-extend the length of the songs. There's no reason for my attention to wander. This is a feat that no other band I've heard have been able to accomplish. Plus, watching the 'Master Gaster'
on the skins is riveting. You can see the bliss on his face. It shows that Clutch loves what they do and that is why they excel.
I treasure when Clutch releases their live recordings because all of their studio albums have unique vibes. Each album has slightly different styles of their nonpareil rock/metal. Clutch in concert always brings you intimate visits to these vibes. Sure they can make some fantastic music in the studio, but there's always a poignant difference in the same songs when they play for an audience. You can sense that they play to their crowd and the more enthusiastic the crowd, the more gusto they put into it. It seems like they choose their setlist based on location as well. They're not going to give the full-on Clutch to say... a crowd of first-timers standing around like cattle with "duh" on their faces at some megafestival (note: I am not referring to the Sydney crowd at all, as they were more tame than US but respectful and appreciative and that wasn't a festival. I am referring to the crowd at their last Locobazooka appearance). BUT, they sure will at the Starland Ballroom in New Jersey with a shoulder to shoulder mob at their feet. That's when they like to whip out the old stuff and get everyone riled up. Ahwoooooo!
Full Fathom Five has some excellent examples of Clutch versatility.
Between pleasingly extended versions of timeless Clutch songs, to one-of-a-kind drum solos, to watching the king of the mic in action and a good amount of the badass classic Clutch material that made them the 'Kings of the Underground', Full Fathom Five is not something anyone should miss out on. I only hope this doesn't cause a mad rush for tickets and their days of playing smaller venues to be over. My only complaints are I would have liked some more of my favorite songs and much more than five minutes of extras.
A -Alesha
Traced In Air
Season of Mist
Traced In Air is the long-awaited follow-up to the critically acclaimed 1993 release, Focus. Focus was seen as one of the landmark releases for progressive metal, with its elements of metal fused with jazz and all other sorts of music. The band broke up while working on a second album, and only recently got back together for a European tour, then decided to record a new disc. Does Traced In Air contain enough to bring the focus back on the band after a 15 year hiatus?
Right from the start, you can tell that this is the same Cynic from 15 years ago, although they're definitely more progressive/fusion and less metal here than Focus was. Sure, there are still plenty of metal riffs and gruff vocals, but there are also more parts of slow, quiet proggy passaged with clean vocals (thankfully they have less effects on them than Focus did). Songs like "The Unknown Guest" (just to pick one) have a lot of good parts, but seem a bit disassembled and jumbled around with all the musical changes (I though that about much of Focus as well).
While Cynic have good ideas and obviously have the chops to play all the crazy stuff they've dreamt up, I just get kinda lost in all the noodling and sudden changes. I know it's a personal thing, and that tons of people will love this and praise this as a landmark release, it kinda falls flat for me. It isn't terrible or anything, it just doesn't warrant many repeated listens for me - there isn't a whole lot on it that I find memorable enough to re-visit anytime soon.
C -Goz
Face The Colossus
Season of Mist
French quartet Dagoba step up to Face The Colossus on this, their third full length release. Progressing a bit since their last release, What Hell Is About, the band still wears their influences proudly on their sleeves - following a path forged by Fear Factory and Pantera, while adding their own little bits here and there.
What you get here is a healthy dose of groove laden, thrashy, somewhat industrial metal. From the opening title track, to the finale "Sudden Death", the band lays down some pretty heavy stuff, interspersed with lots of keys and some slower, quiet parts - most notably the terrible ballad-like "The World in Between". Musically, this isn't all that bad, albeit pretty standard and unoriginal, but the vocals here kinda kill the whole thing for me. At times screaming and gruff (not bad), but mostly cleanly "sung", which comes across sounding whiney and weak, bringing the otherwise heavy music down with it.
I guess this disc is what it is, an fairly generic and uninteresting collection of groove laden industrialized thrash.
C- -Goz
The Great Silk Road
Paragon
My first exposure to Darkestrah was last years Epos, a one song (all 33 minutes of it) epic of an album that led me to search out the bands previous releases. I was glad I did, as this band from Kyrgyzstan (although they now call Germany home) has put out three very good discs before joining up with Paragon Records and unleashing The Great Silk Road on us.
Featuring only 5 songs (hell, that's 4 more than Epos had!) but 54 minutes of music, Darkestrah's music takes on a big epic feeling. While the songs are all long, they don't drag on at all - quite the opposite actually. The songwriting is so well done, that the listener never even notices that the same song has been playing for 10+ minutes. Musical themes in the songs play out for a bit and then seamlessly transform into another passage effortlessly. Black metal is the basis of the music here, but to label the band strictly as that would be doing them a major injustice. Sure, there is plenty of whirlwind tremolo picked guitar and blasting drums to go along with the raspy vocals here, but there is also a huge amount of catchy melodic riffs and even some traditional folk instruments used in quieter transitions within the songs. Give a listen to "Cult Tengri", which incorporates some amazingly heavy riffing and soaring synths with some of the aforementioned traditional instruments. Everything works perfectly together, creating sounds that I've never heard in a metal song before. This is the kind of stuff that makes Darkestrah unique, and keeps me going back to listen to this disc over and over again.
If you are a fan of black metal at all, you really should know about this band already. They take black metal to a different and epic level, and do it amazingly well.
A- -Goz
The Great Karoshi
Season Of Mist
Dead Shape Figure has the old school thrash sound down but adds some ten ton balls to it in the process. Heavy fast thrash riffs dominate the album as does fast double bass drums and screaming guttural vocals. "Remington Lucifer", one of the best tracks on the disc has some smoking guitar solos and "Blithering Icon" is a truly fast paced thrash anthem that would fit into any 80's thrashers cassette collection. Mosh riffs abound and played live would get a crowd going in a circle pit in no time. IF you want some old school thrash like it used to be look no further than Dead Shape Figure.
B -Matt Smith
Aloha Jihad
Thrashachusetts
Aloha Jihad, the new EP from Boston heavy hitters Destruct-A-Thon makes a strong statement about the current war situation we're so frustrated with. "449 Billion dollars, 3,760 lives" is one of the repeated lyrics on the break down in the title track, "count up the lives all of them died" nuff said!
"Consume With Incisor" has a fast paced thrash momentum and a nice Sam Black Church breakdown in the middle with guitarist Michelle adding her excellent vocal abilities to accent this already brutal song. "Heart Attack" is a faithful cover song by hardcore band Bravado that D-Thon used to play with on tours past. "Jet Metal Voice Text" is a (fake?) voicemail threat from Jet of Sam Black Church that makes one wonder what Duncan did to piss him off so badly. And lastly is the radio friendly version of "Aloha Jihad".
Clocking in at barely ten minutes this EP makes this D-Thon fan only drooling for more from one of the best metal bands in Boston.
A- -Matt Smith
D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N.
Candlelight
The amount of legendary bands releasing abysmal albums in the past few years is staggering... Venom, Annhilator, Metal Church…just to name a few. Teutonic Thrash progenitors Destruction haven’t sunk that low, but they’re on their way. Years ago, before I was even a fetus, Destruction pioneered the raw German Thrash sound. Those days have clearly passed, as D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. is a watered down, failed modernization of their 80s sound. This album is just plain bland. Destruction found one formula: decent riff, new riff and verse with shouty vocals, up-tempo chorus—you get the idea. There’s a solo thrown in there, too. This just isn’t anything worth sinking your teeth into. Each song is repeated, and rarely do they capture Destruction’s classic, energetic sound.
Remember when Slayer went decidedly mediocre in the late 90s with albums like God Hates Us All and the earlier Diabolus en Musica? Well, it’s about time to liken their overseas thrash cousins into that field. Of course, no one was really expecting another thrash classic from Destruction, but this is just plain boring.
Honestly though, this album isn’t the worst of the worst. There are some catchy riffs. A few of the choruses capture the angsty vibe of classic thrash, too. These moments are few and far between however, and they just can’t save the album from its mediocrity. D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N is an album for the Destruction completist, but otherwise one to avoid.
D+ -Adam
Beware The Circling Fin
The End Records
Early Man is like a weird cross hybrid of Kill 'Em All era Metallica and power metal vocals. This 4 song EP gives us a good idea of what they're all about and that is sounding like Kill 'Em All era Metallica thrash metal mixed with some NWOBHM.
Honestly, they're a little TOO derivative and I get bored quickly. "Suck Me Dry", the last song on this EP is so annoying it's a good think it's only a minute and a half long, otherwise I wouldn't have made it through the whole thing.
D -Matt Smith
Farmer's Almanac
Forgotten Empire
Farmer's Almanac, the first full-length album by East Of The Wall is a rocking conglomeration of all things progressive on a metal edge. At times sounding like a bizarro Jesus Lizard, East Of The Wall shows us they can craft intelligent instrumental pieces that don't need vocals to express what they're trying to say. Intricate guitar melodies and winding drum and bass lines keep the listener interested to hear where the songs take them.
Eight tracks clocking in at 40 minutes is just enough to get you into the music without feeling like a major commitment to a long listening experience. For fans of interesting progressive instrumental rock with a metal edge I would highly recommend this very talented band!
A -Matt Smith
The Maniacal Vale
Season Of Mist
"Circle" starts off Esoteric's The Maniacal Vale with a melodic guitar line that blends into some heavy slow psychedelic doom riffs and at almost 21 minutes gives the listener a challenge because if you don't like this kind of stuff you probably won't make it to the end of the song, never mind the end of the disc. Fortunately, I love this stuff, and most of the time the longer it is the more I can get into the song. Esoteric takes classic doom and blends it seamlessly with modern drone doom like SUNN and Earth and creates a dark atmospheric realm you can zone out in. Dark death metal-style vocals accent the music nicely and give it another realm of depth to the already down tuned guitar and bass sound. Spacey passages in the middle of the song that could easily be used in a number of movie (most likely horror) soundtracks have very droney, analog synth sounds in them.
Now on to the second song, "Beneath This Face", starts off with some mournful synth that quickly breaks into the slow heavy doom sound again and merges with a tempo change that brings it to almost a full black metal blast beat section that slows back down into a noisy trippy section for a few minutes with some organ-like accents. "Quickening" starts off with a dripping water-type sound with some spacey synth sounds that could be another movie soundtrack possibility. The guitars slowly come in but the song stays pretty mellow throughout the song until the last few minutes when it blends into more doomy sounds. "Caucus Of Mind" ends the discs four tracks with a more traditional doom metal riff that slowly picks up tempo to a pretty fast pace that almost borders on death/black metal with some blazing lead guitar work. After slowing back down again the song ends on an extremely noisy trippy note that eaves the listener stranded on an ethereal plane.
Another great doom release for 2008, and one not to be missed!
A -Matt Smith
Among Beggars and Thieves
Metal Blade
Once again Swedish folky power metal act Falconer has continued their extremely prolific career by releasing a new album, going along with their near annual pattern. These guys just do not stop! You might think that their albums would begin to get redundant, or that they would burn out, but Among Beggars and Thieves is another quality release from the seemingly unstoppable machine.
Even though this album is full of pummeling riffs and Mathias Blad’s fearsome mid-range croon, there really isn’t anything terribly unique. The folk influences of yore have been significantly lessened for a more straightforward modern power metal sound. However, they stop and throw in a few parts with traditional folk instruments to change things up; they haven’t completely abandoned what made them special. Songs like “Man of the Hour” feature these distinctive passages that keep the album from plodding. On the other hand, these parts give the album a sometimes “stop and go” feel. Some songs, like “A Beggar Hero” continue the tradition of Blind Guardian styled folk ballads, although they seem to be trying to hard. It’s almost as if these songs are present simply because they should be, and therefore feel uninspired and weak.
Unlike so many other bands employing the occasional majestic female vocals, Falconer actually make it work. They aren’t overused or overdone, and they don’t descend into the pretentious operatic styles of so many singers (I wont mention names, in fear of a violent backlash). The soprano vocals on this album accent Blad’s voice in serene fashion.
If you’re a power metal nut, then by all means pick this up. Even if you have a passing interest in power metal, then this album is worth your time. It’s not as quirky and unique as other Falconer albums, but it certainly separates itself enough from the tired pack. All in all, another quality release from the Swedish power metal stalwarts.
B -Adam
Satan's Beauty Obscenity
Autopsy Kitchen
Satan's Beauty Obscenity is not only the first release by the Mexican black metallers since signing with Autopsy Kitchen Records, but it is also features the bands first newly recorded music in a long time. The disc consists of 4 new songs, along with a re-release of their 1996 5-song EP Grim... Evil...
Funereal Moon delivers a sort of ambient noise version of black metal here. Sparse and barely produced, it has an industrial and cold feeling to it. Dissonant guitar bits flutter around in the background, seemingly out of touch with the keyboards and percussion, but clinging on to something that makes it a bit interesting. Heck, the first song, "The Last Prophecy", is about as unmusical as can be. The tracks that follow are a bit more musical, but this could still be a tough listen for many people. It's almost like Blut Aus Nord, but with much more sparse instrumentation.
The inclusion of the Grim... Evil... EP on here shows where the band started, and how they've changed a bit over the years. While the production on this is even rougher than the 4 new songs, the music is a bit more straight ahead black metal, although the ambient/atmospheric stuff is still there as well - especially on "The Lust" and "I Came From Darkness to Conquer".
I'm not overly impressed with Funereal Moon from this release. There are small bits of it that I found interesting, but overall it was just kind of there and not impressing me much.
C+ -Goz
The Way of All Flesh
Prosthetic
French metallers Gojira unleash their fourth full-length attack of brutality, The Way Of All Flesh, via Prosthetic Records. How does it stack up to From Mars to Sirius, the immense 2005 release that it is the follow up to?
"Oroborus" opens things up with a funky progressive melodic riff and some pretty cool drumming, showcasing the Duplantier brothers (Joe on guitar/vox and Mario on drums) talents, while also setting the stage for what is to come. Sharing the talent-filled stage here are band mates Christian Andreu and Jean-Michel Labadie on guitar and bass, respectively. For the verses, the guitars kick the heaviness up exponentially, laying down a great foundation for Joe's gruff voice to emote the intensely dark lyrics. Cleaner vocals return along with the opening melody for a bit. A nice way to kick off this disc.
"Toxic Garbage Island" doesn't fool with any melodic bits to open the song, instead pummeling you right from the get go with a barrage of massively heavy riffage. Of course, they add some progressive elements in as well, which keeps the listener on his/her toes trying to anticipate what they might pull out next. "A Sight To Behold" throws some more curveballs at you, with a synth-driven opening bit that at first sounds a bit out of place, but within the context of the whole song, it just flat out works. Some of the heaviest bits on the disc are in this song as well.
"All The Tears" is one of my favorite tracks here - it features an all out brutal attack from start to finish, with some great pinch harmonics thrown in to help break up the ferocious heaviness. The drumming on this track is the true standout, though. Mario leaves no surface of his kit untouched during this track, and even gets some blast beats going about half way through the track. If this song doesn't leave you impressed, then you need to get your brain fixed because it's obviously broken.
Now that I've gone off on how good that song is, I will say that my absolute pick for best song here is "The Art Of Dying". From the tribal sounding intro, through the remainder of this 10 minute masterpiece, the band squeezes in everything they can. The end is a long fade out, with one of the best guitar bits I have heard in a while being the main focus (although the bass work here is also might impressive).
This disc pretty much solidifies the fact that Gojira is one of the bands that should be in the forefront of the current metal scene. My feeble vocabulary can't come up with enough adjectives and descriptors to make this very interesting, so just buy this disc already, you need to have it. Here's to hoping they will get a headlining tour going after their upcoming stateside trip with In Flames and All That Remains - they definitely need more stage time than the 30-40 minutes that they are likely to get on that tour.
A -Goz
Blood Money
Pulverised
Swedish thrashers Guillotine had previously released one album, Under The Guillotine, way back in 1997 and then put on hold shortly thereafter. Jump ahead to 2007 when the band got back together, wrote some new songs, and now we have their second disc, Blood Money, to show for their effort.
Guillotine thrashes their way through 12 tracks in just over 40 minutes here, throwing all the old-school thrash styles you'd expect to hear at you constantly. Crushing, fast riffs are the basis for all the songs, and there are numerous screaming guitar leads strewn about as well. The vocals are straight out of the late 80's/early 90's thrash style - and slightly reminiscent of Destruction's Schmeir at times. Comparisons can also be made to Slayer in many places, as some of the riffs, solos and vocal lines (especially in "Die/Live?") are very Slayer-esque. Standout tracks here include "Liar", "War", and the album closing title track - the latter with plenty of gang vocals to chant along with when/if you get to see them live.
Is this a thrashterpiece? No, it isn't, but it is a really good disc that is full of classic thrash. With the resurgence thrash has been making in the past couple of years, Guillotine may have chosen the right time to get back together and drop their razor sharp cuts on us.
B -Goz
It's A Living
Wrong Records
The Hanson Brothers are a Canadian punk rock band featuring members of NoMeansNo. It's A Living is a live recording of a show they played in Coaldale, Alberta, Canada.
The Hanson Brothers are obviously greatly influenced by the Ramones - you can tell that right away. They are also obviously big time hockey fans ("Third Man In", and their name as well), and avid beer fans ("We're Brewing"). The hockey influence has led some to call the bands musical style "puck rock". The hour-plus of the live performance moves along quick, thanks to the furious pace of their pop-punk songs. They sure as hell sound like they are having a great time on stage as well. There are interspersed bits of an interview with Tommy Hanson, which are quite funny.
The disc also includes a DVD version of an instructional video Johnny Hanson made on how to homebrew beer. Unfortunately, the disc seemed a bit defective, so I wasn't able to watch the whole video as it locked up constantly on numerous players I tried it in. What I did see of it was informative and humorous at the same time.
B -Goz
Ritual Sacrifice
Beer City Records
If this CD came out in 1988 I would have been all over it because it perfectly captures that era of thrash metal. Head On Collision sounds like what might have happened if Exodus, Slayer, and Sacred Reich got together and formed a supergroup. These guys are probably getting lots of props among the thrash revival crowd and it is deservedly so.
Tight riffs with Slayer-like guitar solos and sick fast double-bass drumming to back up the powerful vocals of Pat McCauley who sounds like a cross between Tom Araya and Scott Wiley from Sacred Reich. There's not a track on this disc that wouldn't have a crowd moshing to it's fury.
Head On Collision makes me nostalgic for the days when thrash was fresh sounding and a way to get my aggressions out from music. If they ever tour near the Boston area I will definitely be there!
If you're looking for a band that's doing an updated thrash metal sound look no further than Head On Collision.
B+ -Matt Smith
Neoheresy
Pulverised
Poland's one man band Hellveto has released a whole slew of stuff over the past 5-6 years (this is the 11th full length I believe). That is a furious pace for one man to keep up with, even more impressive considering the fact that the music L.O.N. puts out as Hellveto is quite good and complex.
While only being comprised of a single person, the music on Neoheresy sounds at times like there are 10 or more people on a stage together creating the arrangements. It is amazing what a talented musician can do with technology today. Sweeping orchestral parts, pounding, sometimes tribal drums, and well crafted guitar riffs make up the majority of the music here. While the music is mostly based in black metal roots, it is the orchestral parts that stand front and center most of the time, and provide most of the feeling and atmosphere that open the music up to much more than standard black metal feelings. Take the albums closer, "Sredniowieczna Egzekucja" - while it has blasting drums and ultra-fast guitar riffs, the monumental sounds from the orchestrated parts are what stand out more to me here.
It is mighty impressive how big the sound on this disc is, considering it is all done by just one person. L.O.N. should be proud of the music he has crafted here, and hopefully more than a few of you check it out and see for yourselves how good it is.
B+ -Goz
Cigadent
CrimeThink Music & Media
"if you can't handle secondhand smoke or switchblades than you probably can't handle this album- but I dare you to try."
Yeah... what? Get the fuck out of my face with this shit.
This band to me sounds like they have the perfect formula for angst-ridden pre-teens who wanna piss off mom and dad and shop at Hot Topic. The girl can sing, and she tries to scream and there is nothing wrong with that. But infused with the nu-metal and alternative riffs they kind of lose me.
Sorry guys, I respect that you made an album, believe in what you do and had it mixed together fairly well.
Unfortunately I can't stand this kind of music. Focus less on image, drinking, trying to sound bad ass and actually do something cutting edge.
D+ -Eric
Cloister Of Radiance
Prosthetic Records
Frances' Hollow Corp. blend hardcore with art metal and bring an interesting twist to that genre of music (artmetalcore?). The vocals are aggressive and border on death metal but don't rely on the growl that a lot of newer bland death metal has. The disc has talented playing and clever songwriting but I must say the riffs can be a bit cliched and predictable at times.
"Opium" is probably the most diverse song on the disc as it has some mellow guitar and bass lines that eventually lead into a slow heavy song. I would recommend this disc to anyone into hardcore but wants to hear some serious metal influence with it or anyone into metal that doesn't mind some hardcore influence.
If I had to describe their sound I would say they sound a bit like Neurosis except without the noisy element they have in their songs and more of their aggressive vibe. The CD is enhanced with an interesting video for the song "Thujon" that has some grainy black and white film footage that tells the story of the songs lyrics.
C+ -Matt Smith
The Crucible Of Man
SPV
After the blockbuster announcement that Matt Barlow would be rejoining Iced Earth, the metal scene has been on its toes, excited for the new album. Tim Owens could never match Barlow’s booming chest voice, and now he has returned to complete the band’s famed Something Wicked trilogy with The Crucible of Man.
I’ll be frank. I’ve never been amazed by Iced Earth. When other people have found them to be the greatest American power metal band under the sun, I’ve always found them plodding and disorganized. This album is no different. Sure, Barlow is back. Yes, the vocals are better. That doesn’t make the album any good. All the pieces are here to make a quality melodic metal album: diverse vocals patterns, chugging riffs, powerhouse drumming highlighted by thumping bass lines. Yet, it seems that Schaffer really rushed this. None of these parts seem like they fit together. The result is a jumbled array of guitar riffs and solos, drum and bass lines, and vocals that awkwardly overlapping. These pieces could make a great album, though! It’s almost as if Schaffer and the boys decided that that was enough, without bothering to craft and polish the songs as needed.
This is an album for the Iced Earth completist, but no one else. It’s just a rehashing of what they have been making for years now, just with stronger vocals. Sadly, I know the next Iced Earth album will sound exactly the same.
C -Adam
Dominator
Pulverised
Singapore's Impiety have been around since 1990, spreading their hate filled death/thrash/black/war metal through various full-lengths, splits, and EPs. Here we have their latest EP, the 5-track and 15 minute long Dominator.
After a brief intro, we're lead into the remaining 14 minutes of never slowing down, ear splitting, gut churning, head slamming ferocity that Impiety delivers perfectly. Not letting up for a second the entire time, you're basically getting your bloody eardrums handed to you constantly for the entire listen. The drums are unrelenting in their speed (although the triggered sound is piss-poor), and the guitars are constantly grinding out some of the fastest paced riffs around. I'm not going to pick a favorite track here, because at only 15 minutes, there really is no need to.
Pop the disc in, crank the volume up, and try to be prepared for the sonic onslaught you are about to face. Your ringing ears will thank you for it at some point.
B -Goz
The Incurable Tragedy
Century Media
Into Eternity is clean, sophisticated melodies and driving, elaborate rhythms with fantastic versatile vocals of unlimited range. Stu Block's voice sounds like it belongs in a building with vaulted ceilings, singing with the angels or something. They sound like old school, dark metal with a smattering of clean vocals that doesn't take away from the music like so many modern metalcore bands today. Their 'dirty' vocals also have a more sinister and believable quality than the usual growled-out cookie monsterish stuff. You would think they're Scandinavian or from somewhere cold. Saskatchewan... Scandinavia... I was close.
The Incurable Tragedy is their fifth full length album and their first concept album inspired by the loss of three beloved ones to terminal cancer. Tim Roth's father in 2007, and in 2006, friends of Into Eternity; two brothers (34 and 36) who passed away within two months of each other. Three title tracks "The Incurable Tragedy I, II, and III" are in homage to each one's passing and sound slightly similar but are distinct and not redundant.
The whole of this album encompasses their tribulations. What captures most of the emotion on The Incurable Tragedy is the guitar and lyrics.
The guitars, courtesy of Tim Roth, Justin Bender, and Troy Bleich (bass) are simply unforgettable. The instrumentals, acoustics and melodies are extraordinary. The lyrics are simplistic but nevertheless heart-wrenching and you don't need the words much to figure out what he's saying. Clarity is important in music and not always easy (or
fitting) for darker metal bands but Into Eternity make it all seem easy. All these parts blend so well with their signature styled, driving percussion, it's a metalhead's dream. The only sucky part is they didn't use real drums to record.
I think Into Eternity consistently put out great albums because I never feel the need to skip tracks, they don't all sound the same, and there's usually more than one or two aspects of each song that make them memorable and way above average. The Incurable Tragedy is no exception. The lyrics carry you through the album. Starting in "Tides of Blood" you go through finding out that you have cancer then in "Spent Years of Regret" you're mourning what you didn't do when you had the chance. You go through the emotions of accepting fate and the sorrow that comes with terminal illness, then pain, inevitable death, and loss as the album progresses. Not easy to pick favorites on this album because every song was A+ material for all different reasons.
"Indignation" stands apart for it's motivating percussion and guitar solos, "Diagnosis Terminal" had a heavy groove to it, more kickass drums and good lyrics, and I must mention "Time Immemorial" for its acoustic guitar intro and outro. I could probably sleep like a baby if Tim and Justin put out an album of just them playing guitar.... not that they're boring at all but their classical style is very comfortable, relaxing melodies that make you close your eyes (please refrain from doing so while driving). This album also has a couple tracks with some fancy piano and three instrumentals, of which "Symptoms" was not mellow and slow like you would expect. All together, The Incurable Tragedy, though a tad depressing, is a great work of art.
I have much respect for Into Eternity because of Stu's earth-shattering vocals, the beautiful, complicated guitar melodies and harmonies that easily convey all the emotion of The Incurable Tragedy, and percussion with a lot of style that you need to see live to appreciate (which new drummer Steve Bolognese picked up without a hitch). The fact that they aren't using real drums to record is hard to accept (and drops this review grade some). Live, with a good sound system, is a totally different experience. Percussion can dominate a show or a recording so they may have toned it down to keep the melodies cleaner on the album (which was probably very important for The Incurable Tragedy). Many bands out there, famous or not, are never fully appreciated until they are seen live. Without a perfect sound system, it's hard to get the entire taste of the guitar handiwork in concert, too. Solution: You shall have both!
You can go find their music, then catch them on tour and decide for yourself. I doubt you'll be disappointed (unless the sound system is awful).
B+ -Alesha
Hundre År Gammal
Candlelight
Hundre År Gammal (translated it means hundred years old) is Khold's fifth full-length release, their first since 2005's Krek. After releasing Krek, they put the band on hold while Gard and Sarke kept working on their Tulus project. At some point, they decided to bring Khold back from the dead, and this disc of slow, grooving black metal is the result.
Khold strips black metal down to its foundation, with strictly guitar, bass and drums - no need for keyboards or any added stuff here. Primitive and raw is they way they play, and it works out quite well for them. Everything is pretty much mid-paced and full of grooving riffs and beats, and quite catchy most of the time - somewhat reminds me of modern day Satyricon in some ways. While this is a good listen, some of the songs start to blend together after a while, since they are mostly paced at the same speed. It really never gets tedious to listen to, though, as the riffs contained here are all catchy and well played, so the monotony never really bothers.
Check this disc out if you've been a fan of Khold in the past. If you want something that is pure metal, stripped down to the bare elements, this is also for you.
B -Goz
The Black Curse
Regain
For 15+ years now, Sweden's Lord Belial have been dishing out black metal, and in their recent offerings have been adding more melodic touches to their music. The Black Curse is their eighth full-length release, and is the most melodic influenced of them all. I'll let you decide if that is a good thing or not.
"Pazuzu - Lord of Fevers and Plague" opens the album, and is one of it's strongest tracks (along with "Trumpets of Doom", which directly follows it). While the music is fairly basic here, it is catchy as hell and the chorus is perfect to chant along with. They lose me a bit with the quiet, whispering interlude in "Inexorable Retribution". In fact, after that part of the disc, my ears start to tire and my mind wanders, wondering when the disc might be over, or at least when it will get as good as the first two songs again. Sadly, it never really does, aside from a couple of small, fleeting moments.
Another flaw on this disc is the production. It is super glossy, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the drums on here are superbly terrible sounding. Completely weak, clicky, and just piss-poor. It's too bad, because some of the drum work could be construed as being good, if not for the craptastic sound that destroys it all.
D+ -Goz
Motörizer
SPV
Motörhead are one of the most reliable rock n roll (as Lemmy calls their brand of music) bands around, they have a track record that is unmatchable. It can only be said that their most recent album Motörizer ranks right up their with classics like Orgasmatron and Rock n Roll with some classic feelings of Ace of Spaces and Bomber.
"Runaround Man" kicks off the album in that old familiar Motörhead fashion, driving guitar riffs, thundering bass and pounding drums, and Lemmy's sandpaper voice sounding better than ever. Clever lyrics permeate the album in the only way Lemmy knows how. "Teach You How To Sing The Blues" continues the driving sound and "When The Eagle Screams" almost sounds like a song commenting on the state of affairs in Iraq and how America is involved using the military as pawns. "Rock Out" is definitely the "Ace of Spades" of the newer Motörhead generation and is even being used as a wrestling theme for the WWE. "One Short Life" has a heavy swinging blues feel to it that adds diversity to the album.
"Buried Alive" kicks it up a notch with some classic riffs and "English Rose" is an ode to mind-fuck relationships. "Back On The Chain" a song about doing time (actually, not wanting to do it) and has some smoking solo work from Phil Campbell. "Heroes", the longest song on the album at five minutes, sounds like another war theme going on. "Time Is Right" kicks the pace up a notch again and "The Thousand Names Of God" ends the album on a straight-ahead rock number with some nice slide guitar work from Phil. Mikkey Dee's drumming is stellar as usual and Lemmy's bass playing kicks ass as always.
Motörhead is back once again and it feels so good to hear that old familiar sound we know and love!
A -Matt Smith
Preatorians
Season of Mist
Greek black metallers Naer Mataron are back with their fourth full-length release, their first on Season of Mist, and also their first since some pretty big lineup changes that bring Victonik (better known as the voice of Dødheimsgard, or I guess now just DHG). Lets see what kind of blasphemies can come from this new lineup of the band.
Straight up black metal is what your mostly going to be slammed in the head with for the next hour once you put this disc in. The brutal, nonstop attack of tremolo picked guitar riffs and blasting drums will hit you from all angles at once. Victonik's voice isn't your standard black metal rasp, it is more of a tortured and struggling sound, but works fairly well in the context here.
"Death Cast A Shadow" strays from the standard fare a bit for an extended middle piece with a huge, almost melodic riff that carries throughout most of the rest of the song. This is definitely the strongest song on the disc. They throw bits like this into other tracks here as well, but it works best here in "Death Cast A Shadow".
Praetorians is a good collection of blistering blasphemous black metal. That said, it isn't overly memorable in too many ways, and tends to get a little long in the tooth towards the middle and end of the disc.
C+ -Goz
The Ghost Collector
Pulverised
The Ghost Collector is Netherbird's debut full-length release, although it is comprised mainly of songs from their previous two EP's. They play a fairly sterile sounding melodic black/death metal. It's really fairly uninteresting and boring if you ask me. The music is basic and derivative, the growling vocals are processed through some effects that make the sound like crap, and the high pitch vocals are just kind of annoying to me.
I don't really have much more to say about this, and don't feel like wasting anymore time trying to think of something witty to say about it.
F -Goz
±
Crucial Blast
Noism are a two-man band, originally from Japan (programmer Tomoyuki now lives in the states, while guitarist Yoshiri is still based in Japan), playing a brutal form of noisy metal with just guitar and programmed drums. They released a bunch of demos in the early 2000's, and were on a Relapse compilation called Drummachinegun, but ± is their first label release, on Crucial Blast.
The music Noism creates isn't easy to listen to. The programmed drums are lightning fast, all over the place, and completely insane, while the guitars are there to provide all manner of noises - squeaks, squawks, squeals and shredding galore is going on for the 20+ minutes that this disc lasts. This is really tough to review, because there aren't any real parts to point out - it is basically just a bunch of jumbled up insane noise. This is definitely something I would've loved to play back in college on my old radio show, when I used to play a 10-20 minute segment of the most over the top, noisiest, and incoherent music that I could find.
Get this disc if you want to piss off your neighbors.
C- -Goz
The Novella Vosselaar: Live In Belgium
The End
So, Chicago based Novembers Doom release their long awaited live DVD, and it is recorded in one of my favorite countries - Belgium (Great beer, great food, the best chocolate in the world...what more do you need?). Since I've yet to see this band live (and will apparently have to wait a bit long as they aren't on the Rotting Christ tour anymore), I was anxious to see this disc and get an idea of what the band is like live.
What they deliver is a 75 minute set comprised of material mostly taken from their last two releases, The Novella Reservoir and The Pale Haunt Departure. No problems with that as they are both great releases, and they do dip back a bit further for a couple of songs. The performance here is really good. Music wise, they are pretty well spot on and tight throughout the disc. Paul Kuhr's vocals are outstanding here - his growling is deep and strong, and his clean singing is always on key and spot on. The backing vocals by bassist Chris Djuricic fit in perfectly as well, but I wonder if it is really him singing them as he looks like he is trying to pinch out a loaf whenever he steps up to the mic...no matter, though - it sounds good and that is all that matters. The one thing that is noticeable, though, is that the band is typically quite still throughout the recording. Sure, you get the requisite headbanging here and there, but the four guys up front on the stage seem almost anchored to their spots on the stage. Again, nothing major as it all sound good, but a little more movement and energy always makes a show seem more powerful. Video and audio quality are really good here, no complaints on either end from me.
Aside from the great live performance, they also included three promo videos (for "Rain", "Autumn Reflection", and "The Pale Haunt Departure") and four fan made videos (for "Twilight Innocence", "Dark World Burden", "Broken", and "The Lifeless Silhouette"). While you've likely seen the promo videos before, it is nice to have them here. For the fan filmed vids, they are worth a look maybe once, but overall aren't anything superb.
This DVD by Novembers Doom is a must for a fan of the band. It should be somewhat sufficient to satisfy your ND needs once in a while - at least until they get back around to touring the states, hopefully sometime early on next year.
B+ -Goz
The Red Shift
Candlelight
Recipe for metal success:
1) Grow up in a cold, dark homeland- often where day and night occurs
without sunlight.
2) Spend all recreational time playing instruments, listening to every
album you can get your hands on and living the lifestyle at concerts/ festivals.
3) Keep pumping out album after album, refining and retooling your sound.
4) Land on as many diverse tours as you can- from within your genre and
outside- as multiplicity increases status and sales.
5) Gain praise in all media outlets, leading to proper promotional
opportunities.
The Red Shift from Finnish melodic death act Omnium Gatherum has all the requisite trademarks I expect from this fine band- but they’ve really stepped up the songwriting, talent and playing five notches. It’s understandable why mixer/ producer Dan Swano can be upset and in awe of their ability. Blending seamlessly the best of Dark Tranquility, Entombed, Type O Negative and a touch of 80’s alternative influence (Depeche Mode clean vocals, The Cure gothic keyboards), tracks like “The Red Shifter”, “No Breaking Point” and standout “The Second Flame” with its spirited Maiden march run circles around their early discography and showcase a band ready for the big time.
Singer Jukka Pelkonen evokes images of a seasoned voice in training along with a maniacal prisoner sent to live out his life within confined walls- bellowing with clarity and then charming with melody that you can hook the biggest shark in the sea. I wish more vocalists would change things up like the whispered verses that set up the venomous bridge and chorus work within ender “Distant Light Highway”. I’m already a big follower of guitarist Markus Vanhala with his other two acts in Malpractice (progressive metal) and Manitou (power/ traditional), but I think Omnium Gatherum should remain an equal priority for they have a darker, groove-oriented take on this genre that just keeps the alcohol flowing and the devil horns aloft.
If the planets align and perseverance gains a just reward, The Red Shift should move mountains for Omnium Gatherum as well as allowing full time careers as musicians for its members.
A -Matt Coe
Dragging Down the Enforcer
Season of Mist
NOLA natives Outlaw Order are basically EYEHATEGOD minus Jimmy Bower, formed as a side project for the rest of the EHG members while Bower was playing with Down. The band plays off their individual criminal pasts (their debut EP was called Legalize Crime) in their super violent, anti-authoritarian aural attack.
Sounding much like a downtuned, sped up version of EHG (with maybe a bit of Soilent Green groove thrown in, too), Outlaw Order slaughter your senses from beginning to end with a mound of distorted riffs that grooves with the best of them. You can feel the hatred pouring out of the speakers with each strike of the drums, each pluck of the strings, and each torturous vocal scream. "Safety Off" is one of the tracks that stands out to me here, with a slow, plodding opening that transitions into a faster, grooving bit with some insanely good and catchy riffs going on. They slow it back down and bit to a marching style riff that just kicks a ton of ass - good stuff there. "Alcohol Tobacco Firearms" is another great track, featuring more of the same groovy style riffs and super angry vocals.
Clocking in at just over 27 minutes, Dragging Down the Enforcer only takes a short investment of time to get a great payback in terms of quality musical entertainment. All fans of EHG should have this, and fans of other sludgy doom will definitely want to check this out as well.
B -Goz
Reborn To Kill Again
Metal Blade
Wow where to start with Overcast?? This year saw the release of the long awaited Reborn to Kill Again on Metal Blade records. To start Overcast is a metalcore band from Massachusetts, who most credit as being the pioneers of the metalcore scene. They were together from August 1991 until November 1998. The members go like this Brian Fair, now lead vocalist for Shadows Fall, Mike D'Antonio, bassist and founding member of Killswitch Engage, and Pete Cortese, of Seemless, Scott McCooe and Jay Fitzgerald. I grew up going to Overcast shows and on a funny note in those days it was a lot of keep your metal out of my core and vice versa.
Reborn to Kill Again is made up of 11 classic tracks re-recorded and 2 unreleased songs. The album was recorded at Zing Studios in Westfield, Massachusetts with Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage handling production and engineering. I think the idea behind this CD is brilliant.The new production really pops through,
but the songs have lost a little of there raw edge because when they were first recorded the band couldn't afford good production or more then a few takes for songs. Other then that the album is awesome. The new production is stellar. Everything is crisp and clean, especially the guitars. You can hear every little chug and mute of Cortese and McCooe as they destroy everything in their path.
From the start of this CD you can tell this isn't metalcore of this era. You can hear influence's of death metal and thrash all over it and that's great. Overcast uses melody perfectly, not every song has the melodic aspect to it, but the ones that do use it sparingly enough that it doesn’t become a crutch.
Songs that stand out the most for me are "Spun", "As a whole/two degrees below", "Seven FT. grin", "Reborn to kill again", "Filter of syntax" and "Apocalypse upon us" which has guest vocals from Trevor Phipps of Unearth. The band sound like they never even broke up. They have been playing shows in the New England area I was lucky enough to catch one and it was amazing. I definitely recommend you catch a show while you can and pick up this brutal CD.
B -Nick Caroselloma
Tank Gasmask Ammo
Genet
Coming to us from Belgium (one of my favorite places in the world) is extreme metallers Psalm. After releasing an EP and a full-length, the band went through some major lineup changes, which also warranted a change in musical direction. Their previous efforts were firmly based in modern metalcore (complete with whiny clean emo vocals and yawn-inducing breakdowns) - thankfully they've grown past that and transformed into a much better outfit because of it.
Manifest is a collection of 6 songs and just under 25 minutes long. The band prefer to be dubbed simply extreme metal, and that is fine with me, because slapping any other tag on them would be to confining. They seem to have a good deal of black metal influence with the vocals and some tremolo picked riffs here and there, but they also draw heavily upon straight up death metal and less so on old-school thrash.
"Paradox" is my pick for best track on this ep, and it is also the longest. It starts off with a really well played fast and melodic riff that has a good black metal feel to it, then breaks down a bit into a massively heavy part that will force you to get moving. A bit more melody comes in to play when the verse starts, and the chorus has a really kickass memorable riff in it. Drummer BAAL gets to show off his excellent skills throughout the entire song here as well, from blasting to keeping the heavy beats, to some pretty slick fills, he put the whole kit to the test here.
Manifest is a good start for the re-invented Psalm. Thankfully, they've ditched the metalcore and brought something really good to the table with this release. I'll be looking out for a full-length from them, hopefully in the not too distant future.
B -Goz
The Proselyte & demo
I first saw The Proselyte opening for Black Cobra and Weedeater at the Middle East and was totally blown away by their original metal sound. From drummer/vocalist Alec Rodriguez ability to play insane drum parts and sing and Mitch Belch's guitar and vocal abilities as well as the same from Nicholas Wolf and bass player Brad Macomber. This Cambridge MA four piece creates a melodic heavy sound that can only be described as a more stoner version of TOOL.
These two discs accurately represent what they're like live and they are both well produced discs I would highly recommend getting a hold of. Definitely one of the most promising metal bands I've seen come out of the Boston area in a LONG time!
B+ -Matt Smith
We Love You All
Season Of Mist
Psykup represent French musical cross-breeding that may make sense to some but gave me a cranial nightmare with every succeeding pass. 6 songs of twisted cinematic exposes, most of which sprawled past the 8 minute mark and three of which careen past 10 minutes. Don’t get me wrong- I love free form expression as well as the ability to push limits into creative glory.
Psykup however test the patience of the consumer, who can’t determine from one moment if you are listening to Strapping Young Lad, Alice In Chains, Primus, System Of A Down or vocally channeling the greatness of Nazareth.
I’d rather hear the sound of my children tantrum ad nausea or an incessant obnoxious car alarm replaying forever than handle another hour of We Love You All.
F -Matt Coe
When Shadows Fall
Cruz del Sur
It’s not good to feel like you’ll fall asleep listening to metal. That means it damn sure isn’t a good album. That is the case with the new album from Greek traditional metallers Reflection. These guys have been around for more than 15 years, and you’d think in that time they’d hone a personal sound, and develop into something more organized. Nope. Instead, this album is nothing more than a jumbled mess of poorly structured songs devoid of hooks or memorable riffs. Each song seems to trail off into directionless oblivion. Just like this album as a whole, each song is too long. Memorable choruses are few and far between, and rarely repeated. While the band is certainly trying to create an “epic” theme and mood, they fail miserably. This drags far too much to be epic.
To start, Leo Stivala’s voice is limited, and while he can hit the notes he strives for, there just aren’t many of them. He never strays from a shrill, airy Warrell Dane influenced boom. The guitars? Well, I’ve listened to this album about 5 or 6 times, and I can’t remember one riff. I’m sure the riffs were there! But that just tells you how memorable they are. Nothing on this album ever conveys feeling or emotion. Each passage just contributes to its overall plodding feel.
I’m surprised that the normally dependable Cruz Del Sur Music would put out such a mundane, dull album. The label that is putting out great albums from Slough Feg, Battleroar, and Bible of the Devil would be one of the last I’d expect to release such a mediocre record.
D+ -Adam
No More Pain
Southern
Considered one of the best and most mysterious punk bands currently in the British punk scene today. Vocally I keep hearing hints of Amebix
and I'm a pretty big fan of that personally. This sound falls in with some 77-era punk and 80's Crust-metal or Crust-punk.
I actually really dig this album after listening to it a bunch of times, and think if you like bands like Crass, Amebix, The Sub-humans and stuff that may fit into that area of music you'll dig this too.
There are a total of 10 tracks on this album, the final track being "Panchelbel's Canon in E" which is a piece written by classical composer Johann Panchelbel in the 1600's... better known as "Panchelbel's Canon (in D). The album art was done by Nick Blinco who is a bit of a cult icon in this genera.
B -Eric
Life's Trade
20 Buck Spin
Ethereal, plodding, crushing, intelligent doom is the best way to describe Life's Trade, the debut album by Lawrence, Kansas-based Samothrace. This is a four-track CD that makes good use of the dark psychedelic vibe bands like Zoroaster and Neurosis use to the same effect.
Epic in length, each song is at least 10 minutes with the longest clocking in at 13 minutes. Bryan Spinks vocals are a soothing screech with a bit of black/death metal and the guitar sound is dirty and heavy. The lyrics are sparse and open to interpretation and the bass and drums fill the sound unbelievably.
There are some mellow parts in the middle of songs like the first track "La Llorona" that kick back into the heaviness. "Awkward Hearts", the second track, starts off in a beautiful clean guitar sound with melodic guitar and bass lines and solos that actually adorn every track and keep you mesmerized with their hypnotic quality.
This is definitely one of the most impressive doom debut albums of the year!
A -Matt Smith
Death Rituals
Metal Blade
Wow, it is hard to believe Six Feet Under has been around for 15 years now. First started by Chris Barnes of Cannibal Corpse and Allen West of Obituary, SFU has been churning out groove laden death metal more or less non-stop since the bands inception. Death Rituals is just the latest in a long line of near annual releases from the band.
With Death Rituals, we are given about 50 minutes of repetitive, groove filled, generic rock based death metal. While there isn't anything really bad about this, there isn't a whole lot of good either. Take "Bastard" for example. You get some of the most simplistic, boring guitar work, generic kick-snare drumming, and Chris Barnes vocals sound tired and superbly uninspired. The last bit is what plagues the record the most - Barnes voice seems to be showing age quite obviously, and just comes across as if he is struggling at times. Speaking of struggling - I find it a struggle to get through the monotony of the music here - everything is repetitive and boring. That is, until we get to "Killed In Your Sleep", which at least has some riffs that are interesting and change enough to keep the song from dragging on too badly.
I don't see myself digging this out of the pile to listen to again anytime soon, there just isn't any substance to it that invites me back. Death Rituals is a disk for SFU completists only.
D+ -Goz
Teloitus
Woodcut
Finland's Sotajumala (English translation is Wargod), and Teloitus (Execution in English) is their second release, both being handled by Finland's own Woodcut records.
What Sotajumala doses out on the eight track contained here is pure, old school death metal. Nothing more, nothing less. Pounding drum rhythms, relentless double bass, fast and complex riffing (bringing to mind Morbid Angel and Bolt Thrower at times), and a good combo of deep guttural vox and higher pitched screams bring me back to the early 1990's when death metal was spreading like the plague and I was loving every minute of it. Listening to Teloitus puts a smile on my face, a bang in my head, and simply brings back memories of those days. Nothing at all wrong with that.
Picking out a favorite track here is like going to the Dive Bar or the Armsby Abbey and trying to pick out what your current favorite beer on tap is - it's damn near impossible. Like the beer selections there, all the songs here are solid and well worth a try. Sure, some stand out a bit more than others, like the Deicide sounding "Oikeutus" ("Justification"), or the slow and insanely heavy title track, but all are worth checking out.
If this disc had come out in the early-mid 1990's, it might be considered a classic today. As it is, Teloitus is a great disc that will bring back memories of years past to a lot of old time metalheads.
B+ -Goz
De Oppresso Liber
Candlelight
Los Angeles based Sothis bow with their debut release, De Oppessso Liber, via Candlelight Records. If you put this disc in and didn't know anything about the band, you might guess they were from Norway or Sweden, as they play symphonic black metal in a similar vein to many bands from those countries.
While most of the music here is pretty much what you would expect from the a band that is dubbed symphonic black metal, they throw a couple little loops at you here and there. Most notably is the guitar solo just after the midway point (and the dual lead shortly after it) of "Obsidian Throne", which could just as easily been slapped in the middle of a power metal song - but it actually fits in nicely with the song here, as it is slower paced and a bit more progressive. That bit of uniqueness makes it my pick for favorite track on here. The rest are all pretty much what you'd expect, and wouldn't have been out of place on any of the recent Dimmu Borgir releases - and that's not a slight on Sothis, probably more of a compliment.
Production duties were handled by Andy LaRocque (of King Diamond fame), and he does a good job getting the sound to be clear and precise, in fact, it might do the album some good to dirty it up a bit, as it's almost a little bit to slick and clean to my ears. A worthy debut and a good addition to your collection if you like modern symphonic black metal.
B -Goz
When Time Fades...
Sensory
Progressive metal has a supremely loyal following on the East Coast- blossoming through the years thanks to heavyweights such as Fates Warning, Dream Theater and Symphony X. New Jersey’s Suspyre represent the newer breed of musician’s musician, taking in these older influences along with a modicum of progressive rock in the keyboard play and tonality and a unique twist of jazzy saxophone lead parts to create a stellar third album When Time Fades. Expect sprawling arrangements with classical/ theatrical movements (notice the nod to “The Grand Illusion”-era Styx during “Evolutions” in the vocal harmonies as well as the marching time signature at 2:10-2:26) and Clay Barton’s commanding impassioned delivery, similar to Russell Allen. You’ll also hear Suspyre employ robotic distortion to a few songs, giving the band a forward thinking science fiction appeal.
This album is not for listeners who want compact material or can’t handle excessive long winded instrumental development. “Siren” for instance clocks in at a touch over 10 minutes but begins with quieter piano passages before building in heavier epic fashion. The off tempo drum/ keyboard/guitar array hits a fever pitch during the four minute mark and features Gregg Rossetti’s dual excellence in the guitar and saxophone arenas as well as a fine guest female vocal appearance from Amaran’s Plight singer Trisha O’Keefe as Clay willingly trades off verse lines. Keyboardist April Sese injects a playful sense of decorum with her fleet fingers during “Reign”- one minute channeling the majesty of Steve Walsh/ Kansas and then delivering interpretations from the classical greats. Yet within that same song expect the quick picking acoustics that one will hear in an old Italian/ Spanish dining establishment (possibly their Blind Guardian
moment) - that’s seriously how wide-reaching Suspyre will go in terms of their musical landscape.
When Time Fades could have been shaved off time-wise by a song or two, as rarely do I hear an album that can sustain my interest past the 55 minute mark. If that’s the major criticism of an album though, you know I’m stretching as Suspyre deserve all the current attention they are receiving.
Let’s hope their cross-pollination in terms of influences translates into wider demographic appeal, as progressive metal just got stronger with When Time Fades...
A- -Matt Coe
Plague of Butterflies
Spinefarm
After their great release from 2007, Hope, Swallow the Sun toured all over the place, including a great US tour with Insomnium, Scar Symmetry and Katatonia. Somewhere amongst all of that, they found time to record a one-song (divided into three acts) EP, and Plague of Butterflies is the result.
Plague of Butterflies" is a single 35 minute track, and was originally intended to be used for a big ballet project, which then went and got cancelled. The band is looking to use it in a new format now, as part of a short movie. Thankfully for these ears, they decided to release the music to the public now. As mentioned, the track is divided into three parts, but there are recurring themes throughout its entirety. Starting out slowly and quietly, we're then treated to some great and heavy melodic parts, before Mikko's clean vocals bring us the first part of the story at about the 5-minute mark of the song. Haunting and gloomy is the sound so far, then a couple minutes later, all hell breaks loose and we get an onslaught of heaviness and our first introduction to Mikko's evil sounding growls.
There is so much going on here, that it would be pointless to continue on with a play by play - the music and arrangement here is just too complex and powerful. There are transitions from clean to heavy, melodic to brutal, and everything else you could ever want in great music. Just go out and get this masterpiece now, and thank me later.
In addition to the one new track, Plague of Butterflies includes the barely released four song demo Out of This Gloomy Light from 2003. Having not heard this before now, I am pleased that they included it on here. It shows that the band has progressed a good bit since then, although the songs on the demo already show a band that is in top form.
Swallow the Sun has already confirmed two US tours for early 2009 - the first with Warbringer, Darkane and Soilwork in February and March, and then again in May with Keep of Kalessin and Enslaved (including a performace at the Maryland Death Fest). Check them out when they come through your area, as they are a great live band.
A -Goz
Tank Gasmask Ammo
Pulverised
Those Who Bring The Torture is another of Rogga Johansson's (Demiurg, Paganizer, Ribspreader, etc.) projects. On this one he goes by the name Crawl, and brings Worm and Maggot along for the recording of the 13 songs of grinding death metal.
What TWBTT give is here is pretty generic, middle of the road death metal with some grind influences. There isn't anything inherently bad about this disc, but there also isn't a whole lot that stands out on it. There are some pretty good melodic riffs that bring Carcass to mind for me - see "Reveler in Rot" and "All Hail the Goat (Lord of Great Mutilation)" - the latter also has some Carcass tinged vocal bits in it. The vocals for the most part are decent and in the growling style, the guitar work is standard with some decent melodic bits thrown in at times, and the drums are pretty solid and maybe the highlight of the disc for me.
Overall, an wholly average effort here. Like I said before, there is nothing bad about it, but nothing to really get overly excited about either.
C -Goz
Peasant
Autopsy Kitchen
This is what doom is and should be! Thou has all the elements of what myself and many other fans look for in a great doom band. Low-end guitar and bass, harmonious guitar melodies flowing throughout the songs, tortured vocals that border on black metal and slow pounding bludgeoning drums that cement it all.
They sound like WarHorse blended with Solitude Aeturnus with some classic UK doom thrown in like Paradise Lost and Swallow the Sun. Average song length is seven minutes with an eleven minute song at second place on the disc.
Mysterious looking artwork and CD booklet layout (actually, it's very difficult to read because it is black script text on dark brown background) that only makes them seem darker. And to top it all off song titles include "An Age Imprisoned" (my favorite), "Belt Of Fire To Guide Me, Cloak Of Night To Hide Me", and "Burning Black Coals And Dark Memories".
Need I say more? Doom as it should be!
B+ -Matt Smith
True Widow
End Sounds
True Widow sounds like a band stuck in a time warp circa 1993-ish and I mean that in a really good way! Ex-Slowride guitarist/vocalist Dan Phillips helms this project that can only be described as a cross between the mellower Alice-in-Chains and My Bloody Valentine. Mellow, almost shoe-gazing guitars adorn every track and the vocals have a lazy, hazed, late-night stoned and drunk vibe to them that draws you in even if you're sober. I could easily see myself popping this disc into my car stereo on a long late night drive home from Boston or some other hour-away location.
At their most rocking moments they have a bit of a Dinosaur Jr. feel to them but with a more Sonic Youth slant to their overall sound. Interesting songs structures and some sweet female vocals make this an intriguing listen for any fan of old school-sounding but not trendy indie-alternative music.
B -Matt Smith
The March
Metal Blade
This is what the Buz is all about. The first thing you will notice about Unearth's fourth full-length album is 'The Sweepmeister' Buz McGrath's unstoppable ascent toward guitar mogul status. It's like a concerto for Buz. He must practice instead of sleep or something. I have have no idea why Guitar Hero hasn't given him his own game yet but they should. The March is one of those albums that you keep backtracking so you can hear those awesome leads again and again. AND when your not marveling over the rippin' solos, the next thing you will appreciate is that the rest of Unearth is a tight, well lubricated, heavy metal front loader capable of goring, pounding, flattening, lifting and towing the masses. The March is the earlier Unearth I've been missing.
Their last album III: In the Eyes of Fire wasn't what I expected to hear from Unearth. I don't know if they were rushed through it, or if the pressure was on because they were working with producer Terry Date (Pantera, Deftones, Soundgarden) or if they weren't drunk this time but... aside from their strong lyrics and always imperial percussion, I felt jipped. There was something missing. Almost like they were pulling whatever they could out of their asses, handing it to Terry and voila; here's your record. I thought they KNEW it's not about how superfast your drummer can be or whatever the hell everyone else is doing. And I'll admit I was a bit nervous that they had been infected with the superstar virus and were starting to get lazy or that I was being too hard on them (after all, how could Slayer ever top Reign In Blood,
right?) but I wasn't about to give up on Unearth. I mean, III: In the Eyes of Fire was a great, anti-emo metal album of course. Better than most of the modern melodic hardcore out there, but it wasn't the Unearth I fell for in 2004. The March IS the [not so] 'old' Unearth I would recognize anywhere.
Thank Whoever they went back to producing with Adam Dutkiewicz (Killswitch Engage) again. The March picks up where The Oncoming Storm left off. The new album has no shortage of Unearth's signature meaty breakdowns and carrying, thrash-laced moshpit super-fuel. Though I'm sure my faves will change as it is still so new, here goes my initial impressions. A goodish amount of the songs hit you straight-off with fancy fretwork such as the very best song on the album "Crow Killer"
(no explanation needed), opener "My Will Be Done" and my second favorite "We Are Not Anonymous" because the lead makes me think of [Rimsky-Korsakov's] "Flight of the Bumblebee." I love the intro on title track "The March", too. Right behind Buz, Derek Kerswill's panache is all over this album.
The March started off real strong, got very motivating and anthemic, then a little chill at the end. There's another memorable hidden song after the white noise on the last track. This hidden track and "Hail the Shrine" sound like they could have been right off of The Oncoming Storm (that's actually a compliment not a complaint). "The Chosen" was a little weird for an Unearth song. Like they tried to throw in some Nugent influence or something but it wasn't bad. Closer "Truth or Consequence" starts off like typical Unearth, then 1:25 minutes in is the heaviest tease; a side of Unearth I've never heard before but I want to hear much more of. I only hope next time it lasts longer than 60 seconds. We want you to go all night, guys... WTF? I need to hear an entire album of that!
Ya... so they did an album with Terry Date and now they're even more of a household name. This here album has songs on it that you remember and that make you headbang when there's no music playing. With The March, Unearth proves they haven't lost the magic that made everyone stop and take notice. We just have to make sure they don't ever make another album without Adam D again. Ever! ...Oh and Ken Susi did a good job, too.
A+ -Alesha
Doom, Gloom, Heartache & Whiskey
Candlelight/Powerage
UK rockers Viking Skull began their life as a side-project/support act for Raging Speedhorn. Made up of three members of that band along with their merch guy and a guitar tech, the band recorded and EP and a full-length disc with that lineup. Turmoil within the band led to the three Raging Speedhorn members to depart - but the two remaining members filled out the lineup and proceeded to record a second disc, Chapter Two. This brings us up to the current time, where the band is set to release their latest collection of whiskey and blues influences rock and roll.
Right from the opening riff, you can tell what Doom, Gloom, Heartache & Whiskey is all about. Pure, flat out rock n roll, with major league influences by classics such as Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Motörhead, and the like, as well as some more modern influences (there is a big Clutch vibe going on here as well). From the thick, heavy, grooving riff, the gravelly vocals, and the lyrics about war, drinking and women, this has classic party rock written all over it. The fact that it is catchy as hell also helps to make this a most worthwhile listen. How classic are these lyrics to the closer "Drink" - "We're gonna drink, drink till we shit out pants"? The title track is based around a slow, chugging riff that gets you moving, and the catchy chorus picks things up nicely, and also features a killer guitar solo. I can almost picture Lemmy and the boys belting out "Hair of the Dog".
Viking Skull create some damn good, party vibe filled rock and roll here. Gather up come rock loving friends, a bottle of whiskey and a case or two of beer, add this disk, and proceed to have a good time with it. Better still, grab yourself a designated driver, go see them on one of their upcoming US shows with Clutch (see dates below) and grab a few drinks with the band.
Dec 27 Starland Ballroom Sayreville, New Jersey
Dec 28 Webster Theater Hartford, Connecticut
Dec 29 930 Club Washington DC
Dec 30 Newport Music Hall Columbus, Ohio
Dec 31 Orbit Room Grand Rapids, Michigan
B+ -Goz
Succulent Morsels demo
I first heard of these guys when I was given this CD by a guy in an Alice Cooper shirt at a show at the Palladium. Nashua, New Hampshire's Vintage Flesh's sound can only be described as nasty noisy black metal with some melodic guitars and a lead vocalist who also recites morbid, creepy, poetry.
This CD sounds like it was recorded in their practice space because it has a raw unproduced sound that fits them. I would love to see them live to see what craziness ensues on stage at one of their shows.
B- -Matt Smith
Dead In New York (dvd)
Koch
This dvd features one of the reunion shows held by Long Island's own Vision of Disorder in the summer of 2006. Which is pretty weird to think about seeing as I remember watching this band in the late 90's when they toured with bands like Snapcase, Diecast, Earth Crisis and about 20 other bands I could name off right now. Anyway, onto the actual DVD.
However the actual performance on the dvd is pretty incredible. If you were ever a fan of this band it won't disappoint. Personally I always thought they were a great live band and this showed that even though they disbanded in 2002 they still have it. The band's passion and the interaction with the fans reminded me what 90's metal and hardcore was like. I really dig this dvd and I'm glad I got a chance to view it.
There are a couple bits of extra footage from the other 2 shows they filmed, which were short and in my opinion not really impactfull. Bill Yukich did a great job filming the show but I wish the extras had clips from the band when they were together from like 1994-2002. I love seeing that shit, and it would have been nice to view a little on this dvd.
"Dead In New York" DVD track listing:
1. Intro
2. Choke
3. Element
4. Imprint
5. Viola
6. Ways to Destroy Ones Ambition
7. For The Breeders
8. Suffer
9. What You Are
10. Adelaide
11. Beneath The Green
12. Jada Bloom
13. Through My Eyes
14. D.T.O.
15. Jam
16. 7/13
17. Formula For Failure
B -Eric
Infernal Command
Selfmadegod
San Francisco's Vöetsek play a vicious crossover combination of thrash metal, hardcore, and punk. They take tight riffs, slap them together with snappy drumming, combine it all into short bursts of songs (the average length of a song here is just over a minute, with only 3 of the songs breaking the two minute barrier).
While musically, the band is quite good, the vocalist (Ami Lawless), has a voice that gets a bit grating after a very short while (and since there is just over 20 minutes of material here, it must get grating quick for me to mention it). That said, a song as good as "Bully With a Badge" is so good that you can overlook the crazy vocals. The massive guitar work on this song alone is worth the price of the CD - the blazing riffs and crazy solos here are just great. "Mucho Macho" is another track that features great guitar work - in fact, they pretty much all do...but the voice gets in the way a bit too much for me and I forget about the good stuff going on behind it.
Give Infernal Command a try if you want some face ripping crossover thrash/core/punk - just beware the vocals are a bit hard to deal with.
C -Goz
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