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February 2008 ~ April 2008
Hesperus
Tortuga
Boston's 5ive has been around for the past five or six years and consist of just a guitarist and drummer, much like GASP faves Black Cobra. The difference between 5ive and BC are 5 have no vocals, they're an all instrumental band, which works perfectly for them.
I first saw these guys back in like 2002 when they played the Middle East opening for someone I was seeing (Electric Wizard maybe?) and I thought they were cool then because they set up their equipment on the floor not too far from the sound board and just started jamming away. Their sound can only be described as heavy stoner rock with some intricate guitar melodies flowing through the songs and some powerful and talented drumming.
If you like stoner rock but get annoyed by the vocalists then these guys are your band. At 44 minutes this disc is the perfect soundtrack to your smoking session with your buddies! Spark it up dudes!
B -Matt Smith
Dying Vine
Ironclad
This disc, Alehteian's second full-length (third if you count their release when they were known as Crutch), was originally released in 2005. Since signing with Ironclad Recordings, the disc has been remastered and re-released with a bonus track, Aletheian's cover of Cynic's "How Could I?".
Delivering progressive and technical death metal, in the vein of Death, Cynic, and later Pestilence, Aletheian bring forth their Christian themed songs in a brutal, yet melodic manner. You get it all here, tons of time changes, plenty of guitar wizardry, acrobatic drumming, and varied vocal styles...and that's just in the first song "Paragon". "Broken Legacy" adds in a bit of almost choral sounding background vocals, and also overdoes the guitar wizardry a little bit, to the point where it gets in the way of other parts of the song. Unfortunately, this happens a bit more throughout the disc, and gets a bit annoying at times. One song where they don't do this is "Out From The Shadows", my pick for best song here. Featuring a good mix of brutality and technicality, utilizing both the growled and more raspy vocals to good effect, and even throwing in a brief acoustic interlude, this song is the strongest of the disc. "Shepherd's Fold" is also a very strong song, with a weird little outro that kinda sneaks up on you.
Production here is good, although a bit murky at times. The vocals are also mixed a bit too low on this, which may lead to some of the comments above about the guitar wankery overkilling the rest of the song. Granted, this was originally recorded on what I can only assume was a very small budget. With the backing of a bigger label, Aletheian should be able to create a pretty impressive follow-up to Dying Vine.
B- -Goz
Rise
Koch Records
This foursome made up of members of other moderately successful metal acts from the Austin, Texas music scene (Ünloco, Slaves on Dope) may be on to something with their sophomore effort, Rise. It’s no surprise that Anew Revolution has opened for such acts as Sevendust, Staind, and Trapt – there is no question they are cut from the same rock-radio friendly cloth. But it works, primarily as a result of tight chemistry and outstanding work by lead guitarist Shaun Stockton.
True. Anew Revolution won’t win any awards for originality. But what they do is done very well, with a hard-working sound that appears to be bred and honed on the road. The hooks are catchy, and the lyrics are intelligent, even if the introspection is al little forced at times. Heck, there’s even a cover of “True Faith” by New Order, which I have to admit was unexpectedly solid. Other stand-out tracks include “N.M.E.,” “Love to Hate,” and the title song. All in all, it’s worth a listen.
B- -Dan McDermott
In The Wake Of Collisions
Metal Blade
In the Wake of Collisions is the second release from Denmark's The Arcane Order. One of the most interesting aspects of this release is the fact that it is only available in the US as a digital download (iTunes, Napster, etc), while it was released as a physical CD for the European release. It seems Metal Blade is going to be doing this with certain future releases.
So what are you going to get when you buy this digital download? Fast, technical, thrashy death metal, with a good amount of keyboards as well. Think Strapping Young Lad, but toned down a little bit and without the humor. You're going to get a lot of double bass drumming, relentless and tight riffing, and plenty of guitar leads to keep the listener happy. "The Serpent Tower" is a good example of everything the band has to offer, with it's blistering paced opener, superb riffing, and some good guitar leads in the middle. In fact, you could replace just about any song title in the last sentence and it would still be valid. All the songs here have similar setups - strong beginning, riffage through the middle with a verse, chorus, guitar lead, and then back to riffage to end the song. This one of the albums weak points for me, as it all has a samey feel to it after a while.
The production here is another weak point. Everything sounds way over-compressed. Not compressed as in mp3 compression, but compressed as in what should sound like a wall of sound seems like it was crammed into a small doorway. All the instruments seem to be in each others way, like there is no breathing room at all, and everything is a bit flat because of it.
C- -Goz
Downburst (re-issue)
Metal Mind
Holy Bodom worship, Batman!
C- -Adam Kohrman
We Are The Nightmare
Nuclear Blast
I liked Arsis' last record, United In Regret, quite a bit. I was anticipating this release, their first since signing with Nuclear Blast. Did they improve upon UiR, or did they delve deeper into the technical mumbo-jumbo like so many other bands are doing these days?
Right from the opening title track, I get a really bad feeling about this disc. The sound on this is terrible, completely flat and thin sounding. Guitars sound somewhat "crisp", but don't really attack you at all. The Drums sound super clicky and totally digital, with only the snare drum being listenable. At least James Malone's vocals still sound decent, though. "Shattering The Spell" is a showpiece tune of how to overdo the technicality in a song and ruin some otherwise good musical ideas with too much guitar noodling. "Servants To The Night" is a decent track, as it keeps the noodling to the appropriate places, and features some well done guitar solos as well as a couple good pummeling riffs. This is tough to listen to since it sounds so flat out crappy.
Arsis fell off my list with this release. There are some small parts that are interesting, but the overused technical noodling and absolutely crappy sound on this render it gone from my collection. I hope my nightmares don't start having this crap as their soundtrack, because that would be truly frightening.
F -Goz
Todessehnsucht
Metal Mind
Originally released in 1992, Atrocity's second release, Todessehnsucht (renamed Longing for Death by the record label upon it's US release), is now being re-released by Metal Mind Productions as a limited (2000 copies) release. It's an interesting choice for re-issue, as the style of the band has changed drastically since this album - even releasing a couple of collections of terrible covers of 80's pop/new wave covers songs.
For those unfamiliar, Todessehnsucht combines technically impressive death metal with classical influences, and also features four opera singers in small parts, adding diversity and keeping things a bit different. The most impressive showing here is the combo of "Introduction" and "Sky Turned Red". "Introduction" is an atmospheric piece, with Gregorian Chant like vocals, and a brief spoken part. "Sky Turned Red" is a brilliant piece of songwriting, featuring Atrocity's interpretation of Wagner's main theme from Götterdämmerung (aka "Twilight of the Gods"). A great mix of technical musicianship and brutal heaviness creates a song that is just great to listen to.
For those that want more straight ahead death metal without all the added bits, check out "Unspoken Names" with it's kick-ass dual guitar lead, or "Necropolis", which is probably the most straight-forward track here. We can't forget their great cover of Death's "Archangel", included as a bonus track here.
I remember when I first heard this disc back in college. I was blown away by the diversity, and the inclusion of classical elements here and there (thankfully not overdone). After 15+ years, this disc still holds up for me, and I'm glad that Metal Mind chose to add this to their list of limited re-issues. Included, as is usual with these releases, is an insert with a nice 2 page history of the album/band and some extra pictures that weren't in the original Roadrunner US release. Sound quality is also improved with the remaster done here, making this a most worthy pickup.
B+ -Goz
Extraction From Mortality
Sanity Obscure
Dimensions
(re-issues)
Metal Mind
Extraction From Mortality
 Although Colebrook, Pennsylvania isn't a noted metal hotbed, given its all-around level of quality it's still a little strange to me that Believer's 1989 debut, Extraction From Mortality, only originally saw release on a tiny independent. Extraction... is a solid slab of thrash with good production and mix, owing a debt to Slayer with its uber-tight speed picking and riffage, while employing some more melodic guitar work--especially during the shredding trade-off solos--and some carefully calculated dissonance (check the guitar breaks in "Shadow of Death"). Vocalist/guitarist Kurt Bachman's voice isn't far removed from the stylings of Sacrifice's Rob Urbinati. In '89, Extraction... was just about as good as any other thrash album not released by the "Big Four." It wasn't long before the watchful eyes of Roadrunner (along with Earache, the best heavy music label in 1990) heard it, recognized the obvious quality and talent, and snapped up the band for future releases.
This collection, although for the most part fairly straightforward in its songwriting--the slow riff in "Shadow of Death" would fit well on any Slayer album, for example--did plant some seeds for the distinctive works that would follow it. Believer's two subsequent albums saw the band's material grow exponentially in complexity and compositional distinctiveness, successively incorporating more and more elements of orchestration (hinted at in the opening minute and a half of Extraction...'s title track), dissonance, and meter changes.
Nearly 20 years have passed since this debut, and it's held up pretty well when others its age have not. If you like thrash, jump on this while it's back in print.
B+
Sanity Obscure
 Sanity Obscure followed in 1990, and while overall still a thrash-o-rama this album showed marked growth from Extraction... in a number of areas. The riffs are much less derivative but no less catchy, and the songs themselves exhibit more diversity in tempos and rhythmic change-ups. The mix is minorly shy on the low end, but the guitars are HUGE--to my ears some of the best thrash guitar sounds ever recorded!! In addition to the 4 rhythm tracks laid down for each song, the band sees fit to overlay several parts (not just an occasional harmony lead) on top of the rhythms--I count 5 parts going simultaneously on the title track--and the end result is a pretty massive wall of metal.
8 songs in just under 40 minutes, and 2 of these tracks sees Believer pushing the limits of what a thrash band can include on a cohesive collection of songs. The first of these is track 6, the visionary "Dies Irae (Day of Wrath)," which successfully marries thrash with full-on operatic vocals and a chamber orchestra; the second is the closing track, a surprisingly faithful cover of U2's "Like a Song," where Kurt's vocals, while still "metal," retain the melody and emotion of the original. This album gets better marks for improvements in songwriting, meaner production, and musical exploration.
As with Extraction..., if you like thrash, get this while you can. You'll thank me later.
A-
Dimensions
This is probably my favorite metal album of all time, but it didn't start off that way. 3 years passed after Sanity Obscure, and then one day Mike "Cappy" Baronas sent me an advance cassette of Dimensions. I still remember listening to it in my car, lamenting how I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I did the previous albums. I think I even griped to Mike over the phone about it being a "letdown" or something because the music was way too complex. And it IS complex: mindblowing, disjointed rhythm change-ups on many tracks, choice production, and off-the-hook solos that rival anything heard on Megadeth's Rust In Piece. After several listens, little by little I began to get my head around the complicated arrangements, until I was listening to it at least twice a day for months straight; and I've been singing its praises ever since.
For its time Dimensions was an absolutely visionary progressive metal album deserving of mention alongside Cynic, Pestilence, and any other heralded metallic contemporaries pushing the limits of metal. The enlisting of Jim Winters (Conviction, Turmoil, The Promise) and violinist Scott Laird (who was involved with all the Believer albums and Kurt Bachman's high school orchestra teacher) as full time members really primed the pump for the creative dam to burst wide open. Lyrically, Bachman stepped up his game, pondering philosophical questions well suited for the complex music.
With the exception of "Singularity", a tribute to all the German thrash bands that ever influenced them--and the only song which might've fit onto either previous album--the material herein is a quantum leap from anything Believer did previously: pervasive use of hemiola with only short stretches of straightforward rhythm; musical counterpoints and (if you're really paying attention) musical impressionism that really takes the experience to higher levels...the patient listener will be vastly rewarded!! Take, for example, "Trilogy of Knowledge's Movement I: The Lie", which adapts the story of Jesus' temptation in the desert. The coda of this song is stunning if the listener understands that it is representative of the angels' comfort. The fugue in "Movement II: The Truth" is a total musical set up to the lyrical content following it. It's the purposefulness of all the details and sound effects that really sets this album apart from works where a band is trying to be 'clever.' Dimensions simply captures a promising band arriving at the zenith of greatness.
Beyond classic in my book. If you crave demanding, imaginitive metal, then don't miss out on Dimensions.
A+
Metal Mind did a nice job on all 3 of these albums, including liner notes specific to each, penned by mainstays Kurt Bachman and drummer Joey Daub. The digipaks are nice, the artwork well produced, and the booklets superior to all versions preceding. The one thing that puzzles me is why there is no place to tuck the booklets? All other Metal Mind releases I've seen (15-20 or so) have a diecut pocket inside the front cover which keeps the booklet from falling out...maybe just a manufacturing oversight this time? The remasters don't sound drastically better than the previous remasters or the originals, although the low end on each does seem to be slightly more in focus.
-Mark Fields
Bondage Goat Zombie
Nuclear Blast
Austria's Belphegor return with their latest blackened death metal attack, Bondage Goat Zombie. They rely on pretty much the same stuff they've relied on for their previous releases, so if you know Belphegor, you should know what to expect here...although they do throw in a couple small curve balls just to keep people on their toes.
Launching off with the blast beat laden attack of the title track (and the best song here), we're treated to exactly what Belphegor does best - play fast and furious death metal with a strong black metal influence. Riffing here is strong, melodies are all over the place, there are plenty of wild guitar solos to be found, and they throw in some slightly slower, grooved out parts as needed to balance off a bit. Some of the more melodic riffing can be found in "Stigma Diabolicum", a great mid-paced track with a lot of good going for it. "Sexdictator Lucifer" is the weak point on the disc. A slow paced track, with sampled sounds of women having orgasms to open it, I just don't see the point in including this, as it seems totally out of place - luckily, it is easy enough to skip over a track in these digital days. "Chronicles of Chrime" gives a good battle to the title track for best song here. A bit more slowed down, but featuring some of the best guitar playing on the disc - numerous solos, complex riffing, pinch harmonics, and just plain old downright heavy shit pours out of this entire song. The finales seemingly endless outro features a return of the female porn soundtrack, so the end of that song is a skipper for me as well.
Overall, Bondage Goat Zombie is a very good effort by Belphegor. I could do without the porn soundtrack bits, but other than those small annoyances, this is pure blackened death metal done right.
B -Goz
Apocalyptic Feasting
Metal Blade
I am going to write this review just like the Brain Drill seemed to have "written" their "songs" - completely at random, with no forethought or organization.
Blast beats, wanking guitar, randomly stupid acts of noodling. WAY overly triggered drums - hey another random wank on the guitar. Talent here is obvious, but musically this is terrible. Take a song-writing class or something guys. Play real drums Marco (or whoever plays the triggers on their next release, if there is one), these sound terrible.
God, it must suck to see these guys live, as it will just sound like one long guitar wanking session. How could you even tell what song they are playing, as there is nothing memorable about any of them. I don't think there is one cohesive riff on the entire disc. Hey, another wank up and down the fret board - look ma, I know all the scales, and I'm gonna put them all into this 15 second wank-a-thon randomly plopped in the middle of this "song". Wow, they slowed down for a second, it's a freakin' miracle...but it still sucks.
Sounds almost like a jam session where everyone is just trying to out-noodle the other, and no one ever wins, especially not the listener. Ugh. Didn't I just hear this song? Probably not, but it all sounds like the same utter crap after a while. I'm done with this, it makes me tired trying to listen for something that is remotely interesting.
Maybe if I get drunk this will sound better...nope, it still is some of the most miserable garbage I've heard in a long time. Maybe I'll smash the disc with a sledghammer. Ah, that's the trick to make this sound decent, destroy the piece of crap with a heavy metal object. Adios Brain Drill.
F -Goz
Downburst
Metal Blade
I’m sick of generic power metal. It’s everywhere, and all too often gets stuck in my hands to review. Bands like Nocturnal Rites, Rob Rock, and Dionysus are parading along with no real originality or essence to their music. That’s why it’s such a breath of fresh air when a band like Brainstorm comes along. Downburst isn’t a straightforward power metal album, instead bringing in influences from traditional and dashes of prog, thereby creating an elegant yet forceful sound. In a cluttered and stagnant field, even an album that may be nothing new can be a good listen, and Brainstorm provide. The album simply plays what so many of the aforementioned play, but with more flair, passion, and feeling.
Kicking off the album is a revving engine and a motorcycle taking off, which really embodies the album’s overall style: ballsy, Primal Fear-like power metal. The riffs on this album are crunchy, and backed by factory powered drumming. Opener “Falling Spiral Down” is infectious and straightforward, setting the pace for the rest of the album’s style. The next track, “Fire Walk with Me” highlights Andy B. Franck’s strong mid-range vocals. Franck decides never to show off throughout the whole album, simply complimenting the chugging hard rock riffing style. At times, the band shows off their chops though, like on the synchronized lead-in to the fantastic solo on “Redemption in Your Eyes.” The album later takes a more emotional turn with songs like “End in Sorrow” and “Surrounding Walls,” where the band evokes depressed and despaired emotion, but while retaining their crushing metal edge with powerful, choir choruses.
It just seems like Brainstorm went into the studio with the intention of having fun making an album, and it shows. This is exhilarating power/traditional metal without the showy shredding out forth by dozens of power metal bands these days.
A- -Adam Kohrman
Anthology
Candlelight
Burzum. You all know the story of this band. Varg Vikernes (aka Count Grishnackh) created some of the most extreme black metal, then got himself locked up in prison (see wikipedia or somewhere else if you don't know the whole story), and continued creating music as Burzum, although in a wholly different style - more ambient and synth driven. This Anthology release covers the whole spectrum of Burzum releases.
If you are a Burzum fan, you likely already have these songs on their original releases. If you aren't a fan, you probably won't care. If you are a completist, you will be adding this to your collection. If you are interested in a brief history of what Burzum is about, then this is a good place to start.
B- -Goz
Cataract
Metal Blade
Switzerland's Cataract have been going at it for 10 years now, and their self-titled fifth studio release is their strongest effort yet. They seamlessly blend elements of thrash and hardcore (with a touch of death metal), but I would actually hesitate to lump these guys in as a metalcore band, simply because they are so damn impressive, and I find most metalcore to be incessantly boring and lame.
"The Separation of Life and Time" is the opener, and it'll get you in the groove for what to expect from this disc. Crisp, staccato guitar parts, brutal vocals (dual tracked at times, which is nice), and a couple of good breakdowns, and some melodic bits thrown in as well. "Snake Skin" is another impressive track, with it's death metal like vocals, and a Slayer like breakdown mid-song that would get even the most lethargic old-fart up and moving. "Tonight We Dine In Hell", aside from having a great song-title, is an instrumental piece that has the band dipping into a more classic heavy metal approach, with dual guitar harmonies throughout. It is a good change of pace. "In Ashes" is a worthwhile track to end the disc, as it combines a bit of everything else the bands has thrown at us for the past 40+ minutes. Slowing down the pace a bit, there are breakdowns, some good guitar harmonies, and a couple quick parts to keep it all interesting.
Cataract take the good parts of thrash, hardcore, and a bit of death metal and combine them in a way that makes it all work together. Heavy as can be, brutal as all get up, yet still accessible to a good majority of metal fans. They have strung it all together and accomplished what many bands struggle to achieve.
B -Goz
Frigidiis Apotheosia : AbstinenciA GenesiiS
Paragon
Frigidiis Apotheosia : AbstinenciA GenesiiS is Celestia's initial release for Paragon records, and their second full-length release to date. Hailing from France, Celestia's stated goal is to create innovative and melancholic black metal. I found their previous release, Apparitia – Sumptuous Spectre, to be decent, and showed some promise despite it's poor production.
Right from the beginning, you can tell this release is going to be better than their previous efforts. Production is much better here, with a thick blanket of sound layed down by the super distorted guitars and atmospheric keyboards leaving plenty of room for the raspy vocals to come through. This, to me, makes all the difference in the world from their last disc, which sounded pretty poor. Musically, it is quite similar to Apparitia, featuring a moody, bleak atmosphere, yet still melodic sound that envelopes the listener with it's seeming complexity.
"Death of the Lizard Queen" is one of the more memorable songs here, with a great opening gallop of a riff that will get your interest, before they break into some crazy fast tremolo picking during the first verse. Celestia also break out the acoustic guitar at times, with "A Regrettable Misinterpretation of Mournfulness" being a good example. A long, slow, quiet intro of acoustic guitar and drums is joined by a wave of crushing riffs as the electric guitar comes crashing in with a pretty straight-forward metal riff. This song, to me, is the best song here, as it shows off most of the different aspects of Celestia's sound.
Celestia create some pretty interesting and impressive music here. While it's definitely not your standard black metal by any means, it does take the majority of it's queues from black metal, while adding in their own flavor of atmosphere and bleakness.
B- -Goz
Guardian Of Eternity
Eternal Legacy Records
Immediately I’m impressed with the professional presentation all the way for this Irish traditional metal quintet- as Celtic Legacy release their third album to the public. Relying on pre-ordering to finish off the studio recordings properly, these 10 songs document an act that throws down a healthy dose of domestic melodies (especially within the guitar solo skills of Dave Morrissey and Keith Hendley) along with a straightforward appeal that rivals the latter Gary Moore solo albums pre-blues era and 80’s Iron Maiden.
Vocalist Ciaran Ennis has a potent high range, assimilating the best of Bruce Dickinson and Geoff Tate throughout tracks such as “Afterworld” or “Forgive Me”. The closing epic title track has the feel of the ending Iron Maiden tracks- slow building with rapid fire lyrics and instrumental action that keeps you hitting the return button for more intense inspection.
Considering the tightness of label budgets these days, I’m shocked that Guardian Of Eternity wasn’t picked up for the skill and delivery rival the veterans in the genre.
Celtic Legacy should appeal to the older generation who loved the creative times of 1983-1987 for metal- especially within Europe. Well done, lads, well done…
B+ -Matt Coe
The Fragile Art of Existence
Metal Mind
As everyone reading this knows, The Fragile Art of Existence is the only recording ever released by Chuck Shuldiner's post-Death band Control Denied. Progressing along the same lines as Death's final three masterpieces, the music here goes even further into the progressive side, and added to the power metal aura with vocalist Tim Aymar.
With a solid lineup of musicians - Chuck himself on guitar along with Shannon Hamm, Tim on vocals, Richard Christy on Drums, and the amazing Steve DiGiorgio on fretless bass - the musicianship here is almost untouchable. Guitar lines are all played flawlessly, with crushing riffs interweaved with intricate melodies, all the while Steve's froggy sounding bass lines bring up all sorts of funky stuff from the bottom end. Richard Christie is no slouch on the skins either, not only keeping the beats, but throwing in plenty of technical fills where they need to be.
I hesitate to pick a favorite song here, because I usually just put this disc in and enjoy the hell out of the whole thing, and it seems I pick up new and interesting musical tidbits with just about every new listen. Unfortunately, due to Chuck's untimely passing, this is the last we ever got from him. Thankfully, Metal Mind has chosen this as one of their limited edition re-issues, remastered on a golden disc. The sound here is great (as was the original release, IMO), and the booklet includes a four page writeup about the timeline of Control Denied. A must have.
A+ -Goz
III: Architechts of Troubled Sleep
Goodfellow
Canada's Cursed definitely has taken a course on heaviness from EYEHATEGOD while maintaining a crusty hard core edge to their sound. Chris Collohan's vocals are a screaming rage not unlike Michael D. Williams (of EHG), while guitarist Christian McMaster delivers a gritty, nasty noisy guitar sound to the band and bassist Dan Dunham and drummer Mike Maxymuik bash the rhthym out behind the guitars and vocals.
The intro track "Architects Of Troubled Sleep" has some interesting sound bites of people talking about various psychotic topics and "Night Terrors" really gets the shit kicking happening on this minute and a half track on the disc. "Friends In The Music Business" is probably my favorite track on the album and "Into The Hive" pummels right from the first note in ways I haven't heard a band pummel in a long time. "III" is a nice slow sludgy three minute instrumental track that leads directly into the brutal "Unnecessary Person" which also carries that slow, almost doomy vibe through the whole song. "Hegel's Bastards" seriously picks up the pace and so does "Dead Air At The Pulpit" which leads us into the final track, "Gutters", which is a seven minute guitar instrumental that is surprisingly mellow compared to the other tracks on the album. It's sort of a breather after the brutality that occurs earlier in the disc.
Clocking in at a meager 34 minutes, this disc doesn't give you a chance to get bored with any bloatedness in the songs and just gets right to the point. I'm sure these guys kick ass live, and look forward to seeing them someday!
B+ -Matt Smith
Grave Human Genuine
Sensory
Experimental music has that sneaky quality to creep into your unconscious and really mess with your life when you least expect it. German quartet Dark Suns spent the better part of two years touring with Pain Of Salvation as well as furiously working on their third album, the one we hold now before us. The band play progressive metal with a significant melancholic overview, often building from one or two riffs to jam-like proportions - but never really running to the races in terms of energy.
“Stampede” is the opening instrumental and probably the fastest track for Grave Human
Genuine- propelled by vocalist Niko Knappe’s snare/ bass tempo flexibility.
“Flies In Amber” begins with viola parts that lead you to believe this will be an airy number, only to tear savagely into a twisted death song complete with guest growls from Schmidt of Disillusion. I’m surprised by the synthesis of complex arrangements coupled with atmospheric doom that permeates these 8 tracks.
You have to be in the right state of mind to fully grasp Grave Human
Genuine- one that can handle Anathema, Porcupine Tree and Tool all in the same breath along with airy, quiet clean vocals soothing the full aural journey. The collaborative artwork and photography within the CD booklet gives the listener more time to ponder the poetic lyric perspective. When I feel like running away from the world this album can provide solace and probably bring me back to square one. Dark Suns aren’t for the squeamish- if you like your metal force fed in quick increments, Grave Human Genuine won’t satiate in a fast food frenzy. The “ah ha” moments will occur instead on the 10th or 100th passing… the way eternal cult bands intend to keep you.
B -Matt Coe
Captured Rotation
Hawkwind
Alan Davey's reissued 1997 album Captured Rotation is a hisorical gem in the Space Rock genre. Having spawned from Hawkwind, Alan is no stranger to the aforementioned world and this album only further cements his place there. He plays almost all instruments (bass, guitars, synths, etc.) on this album and vocals for a few tracks are handled by Ron Tree, another Hawkwind alumni, who steps in as guest vocalist.
"The Call" kicks of the album in true Space Rock fashion with Ron Tree on lead vocals whereas "Never Comedown" and "Higher Than Before" are two of the nine instrumental tracks on the album that pretty much make up the overall vibe of this slab of Space Rock. "Ancient Light" is another Ron Tree sung track and carries the flow of the album nicely. "Space Bass" is another instrumental and starts off with organ that flows throughout this 4 minute song and "Hawkestrel" "and "Nebula" continues the instrumental vibe with a nice arsenal of swooshing synths and both tracks together only add up to about 4 minutes. "Thunderbird" is another nice instrumental interlude that prepares us for the intensity of "Nova-Drive", a driving up tempo song with some mid boggling analog synth action happening. "Spacial Wave" starts out dark and ominous, like a soundtrack to a black hole documentary and quickly turns into a tripped out instrumental that would be the perfect soundtrack to a black light-postered teenage stoner kids room. "Quirk" is the last instrumental track before "Pre-Med" kicks it back to Ron Tree's vocals to end the album on a rocking vibe!
Although I would never say this is a must for your Space Rock collection, I would say it is a nice addition to that collection for the Hawkwind connection.
B -Matt Smith
Euphoria
MeteorCity/Crusher
Sweden's Dead Man is one of those bands that transports you to a timeless age in music, when Led Zeppelin could play folk music one moment and rock you're fucking nuts off the next and the Incredible String Band could connect you to mother nature by their lyrics and world music instruments and Deep Purple could make you feel like a "Child In Time". Dead Man has definitely held meetings in the Court of the Crimson King and eaten from a Saucerful of Secrets and listened to the Minstrel in the Gallery once or twice. "I Must Be Blind" with it's pedal steel guitar sounds like a lost track from Led Zeppelin 3 and "Light Vast Corridors" with it's analog synth sounds sounds like a lost Hawkwind, or Soft Machine/Kevin Ayers song.
For the first minute and a half of "The Wheel" you can barely hear the slowly swelling sound that climaxes into mellow acoustic guitar and leads us on a 9 plus minute sonic journey only early 70's Floyd could have attempted to take us on. "Rest In Peace" is by far the heaviest (by guitar sound standards) on the album and clocking in at almost 9 minutes is also the second epic on the album. It starts off in a Van Morrison-esque way complete with tasteful flutes that eventually lead to a Black Sabbath-type guitar riff for the second half of the song that blends in a Santana-esque jam. "A Pinch Of Salt" is one of those songs that you just want to play in your car when your heading out on a long road trip with it's pedal steel/mandolin sound and would get a crowd full of deadheads dancing in the aisles or grass. "Euphoria" starts off with a nice little jam of flutes and guitar that sounds like a summer morning when you don't have to get up for work and you can just take the day as it comes. "July" ends the album on a nice little instrumental number that will have you feeling good for the rest of the day.
The vocals on the album are a sort of vibrato folk sound and only can be described as Robert Plant meets Nick Drake and the guitars sound like Carlos Santana, Jimmy Page and Tony Iommi had a love child together. The drums and bass are very tasteful and really fill out the overall sound.
I could easily see Dead Man playing a concert with Devendra Banhart, Jethro Tull, or KIng Crimson. This album is definitely one of my favorite releases of 2008!
A -Matt Smith
Deadsea
Chrome Leaf
Columbus, Ohio three-piece Deadsea launch their self-titled second release, the follow-up to 2005's great Desiderata. It's not possible to categorize this band in any simple genre, so I'll simply say this - they're freakin' GREAT at what they do. Coming at us with 7 varied tracks, totaling about 48 minutes, Deadsea doesn't just tread on genre boundaries, they trample over them and leave them crumbled in their wake, seemingly without care. These guys plain and simply write great songs with no musical boundaries. What more can you ask for?
"Northwitch" is the opening track, a doom-ish piece with a lot of progressive elements thrown in. The catchy main riff will stick in your head pretty much forever, and the multiple tempo changes will easily keep your interest. "Coming Home" features many of the same elements, with multiple tempo and musical theme changes, while bringing a gruffer vocal style to the fray. Once again, there are some superbly memorable riffs created here. "Killing Faith (Crying Death)" is a thrashy assault, with a lightning quick opening, slowing down to a great little breakdown (and no, it's not like a crappy mallcore breakdown) in the middle.
"Frozen Rivers" is a 16+ minute affair, starting off with some moog synthesizers and a mellotron, before slowly dropping in the guitars, bass and drums. "Frozen Rivers" twists and turns through a labyrinth of different segments, each with it's own positives, before emptying into a massively heavy riff at the end. A simply mesmerizing song, all 16 minutes of it. "The Morning Frost" is an instrumental piece that ends the album. The band lets it all hang out here, with numerous guitar and bass leads taking the center of the stage at times, and some brilliant drumming as well. But wait - There is more! Hidden at the very end is a short, punky track where the band seems to be having a good time just rocking out.
The entire band - Adam Smith on guitar, Alex Conley on bass, and new drummer Jeremy Spears - showcase their talents (both songwriting and musicianship) throughout this widely diverse disc. While it is impossible to categorize this band, what they are doing is great, and hopefully they'll hook up on a good tour soon to showcase their skills to more people.
B+ -Goz
Emanation From Below
Metal Mind
Originally released in 2006 by Poland's Empire Records, Metal Mind Productions has recently re-released (worldwide, along with a bunch of other Empire releases) Deivos' debut, Emanation From Below. This isn't one of Metal Mind's deluxe gold disc remasters with extras and limited to 2000 copies, just a standard jewel case and what I assume is the original packaging.
What we get from Deivos is a quick 31+ minutes of semi-generic brutal death metal, with some pretty interesting riffs and breakdowns to shake things up a bit. Most notably, "Realm of Desecration" has some really good riffs and time changes (not to mention some killer blast beats behind the chaotic guitar solo) that make it the most interesting track. "War March" throws in some really good dual tracked vocals (I'm a sucker for stuff like that if it's done right). "Hatebound" is a blistering closer, full of blast beats and insane technical guitar work.
Emendation From Below is a good, if fairly standard, release. The band is currently working on material for a new album, set to be recorded this fall. It will be interesting to see their progression when the new album comes out.
C+ -Goz
Building An Empire
Inside Out
Frenchman Nicolas Chapel delivered every stroke of vocal and instrumentation on this debut Building An Empire. Not an easy thing to do for a progressive musician, especially one who has an affinity for diverse influences from Dream Theater and Meshuggah to Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, and Tool. Do not worry if you think this will merely be a solo act though- as Chapel already has recruited three other musicians to bring this album to life on stage.
His vocals are expressive in a restrained, confident manner- soothing when carrying through the atmospheric lows and then powerful through the louder, charging parts. “The Perfect Symmetry” for instance contains in its 9 minute plus arrangement a series of simpler riffs that build in a circling fashion, as the drums smash through the second half with off tempo percussive mayhem and a lilting keyboard comforting the changing tides. The follow up “Shine” strips things down with dueling acoustic guitar melodies and another winning Chapel melody before turning the distortion jets on in the best Incubus/Tool mannerism possible. “Sapphire” reminds me of the middle Live albums with the jam like intensity displayed from beginning to end. He writes for the song- be it sprawling with the 16 minute closer “Sand” or tight and compact like the 3 minute “Temple”.
Since receiving this album, I’ve been hard pressed to not play Building An Empire at least once a day. Gaining the stamp of approval from Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree, I’m sure Demians will find high scores across the board for this record. It connects on multi-sensory levels, giving the listener nuances of difference and the outpouring of emotion lifts me to another dimension. Progressive ecstasy, this one will be talked about for years.
A+ -Matt Coe
666 - Satan's Soldiers Syndicate
Metal Blade
German black/thrash metalheads Desaster have been banging out the metal for about 20 years now, and their latest release, 666 - Satan's Soldiers Syndicate, finds them to be in top form. Taking the best elements of Thrash - that being the percussive and crisp riffing - and combining them with black metal-ish vocals and themes, the band lays down a fierce musical foundation that should appeal to a wide-array of metal fans.
After a brief intro piece, "Satan's Soldiers Syndicate" kicks things off with a raucous bit of thrashing mayhem. Fiercely moving along at breakneck speed, the song is an all out thrasher, complete with a chorus that everyone will be chanting along with live. "Angel Extermination" is also a blazing track (well, I guess they all are, actually), with some ass-kicking good riffs as well as a blazing solo towards the end. A.A.Nemtheanga of Primordial loans his amazing and unmistakable voice to "Tyrannizer", which is my pick for best track here. It begins with a slow, heavy riff that could almost be described as doomy. From there we are treated to numerous time changes, a bunch of good riffs, and some kick ass vocals from both Satanic and A.A.
While what they are doing is nothing new or groundbreaking, Desaster is doing it right and kicking ass while doing it. A perfect combination of German thrash with the right amount of black metal thrown in, and the result is hellishly fun to listen to. Strap on your spiked wristbands, tighten up your bullet belt, and buy yourself this disc.
A- -Goz
Ninewinged Serpent
Century Media
Devian is a band formed by Legion and Emil, both formerly of Marduk. I mention that not because this is musically similar to Marduk, as it is far from that, but because it seems to be one of the main selling points for the disc. What you get from Devian is a full on assault of old school Scandinavian death metal, some old school heavy metal, a good bit of classic thrash, and maybe just a touch of blackness.
"Dressed In Blood" is the first real song, and it starts off good enough. Some rapid fire guitar licks with accompanying drums, then a quick and brutal verse comes in, showcasing what most of the album offers - brutal, heavy, slightly melodic death metal with a fairly generic sound. "Suffer the Fools" offers up some great dual guitar harmonies (the old school heavy metal), but not a whole lot more. The title track is probably my pick for standout track here, with it's catchy riffs and ready to sing along to chorus.
While it seems like the bands ideas would make great music, this isn't really it. It's mostly good, but that's about as far as I'd go with it. It suffers mostly from repetition and sameness throughout the disc, and 55+ minutes of sameness gets old pretty quick.
C- -Goz
Borrowed Time
Canterbury
(re-issues)
Metal Mind
Diamond Head, known to most of my generation, as the band that wrote "Am I Evil?", one of ‘lica's biggest cover songs among fans, is being treated to Metal Mind's reissue series (the gold discs limited to 2000 copies). Now I had heard the original version of "Am I Evil?" before, but I had never really heard a full Diamond Head album until I received these two discs from Goz to review. These are DH's first two official full length albums released in 1982 and 83 respectively and were the albums that cemented their hold in the whole NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) movement that influenced so many bands in the 80's and still do to this day.
With all this being said, Diamond Head is a pretty standard hard rock/heavy metal band that, had they not been formed in the UK, would probably have become a part of the LA Metal scene back in the 80's. They definitely have that hair metal sound to their songs, albeit without all the makeup, but their sound is also rooted in 70's rock like Thin Lizzy and Led Zeppelin which gives them a definite advantage over that scene. The songs themselves are well-crafted and played but honestly, nothing I can really get excited about. Had I gotten into this band when I was in my early teenage years I might appreciate them more but I honestly have to say, aside from "Am I Evil?" there isn't much more that sticks with me after repeated listenings except for the song "Borrowed Time". Another thing that took me awhile to get adjusted to is the sound of the production, it sounds too thin and trebly. Now I know these guys are legends in the NWOBHM scene, so they get my respect there, but I just can't embrace them the same way I embraced Budgie!
There are bonus tracks on both discs (some live, some studio) and Borrowed Time contains an insightful June 1982 interview about the beginnings of the band as told by founding members Sean Harris And Colin Kimberly and Canterbury contains an interview with Sean Harris that is also interesting to hear. Some of the bonus tracks on Borrowed Time ("Trick Or Treat", "Dead Reckoning", "Shoot Out The Lights", and "In The Heat Of The Night") sound like they were recorded directly from the vinyl copy and this definitely takes away from quality of the tracks, although die-hard Diamond Head fans would probably overlook this fact because of their rarity.
I would recommend picking up Borrowed Time over Canterbury as the latter is a poppier version of the band and personally, I find it a bit boring.
C -Matt Smith
Dismember
Regain
When founding member, drummer, and main songwriter Fred Estby left the band about this time last year, many (including myself) feared that Dismember might not be able to produce the same ferociously brutal death metal attack they've been delivering for the last 20-years. Their self-titled eighth full-length release is their first produced since his departure, so let us take a listen and see what the results are.
Right off the bat, the opening riff to "Death Conquers All" should quell any concerns. Immensely heavy and brutal, the Dismember sound we are all accustomed to is still there in all of its grinding glory. Buzz-saw guitar, pounding drums, melodic, yet super heavy riffs, and of course Matti Kärki's vocals delivering the gore and horror soaked vocals. While the opening track is great, you better strap yourself in, because there is plenty more still to come.
"Europa Burns" is perhaps one of the most vicious aural attacks Dismember has ever committed to tape (or maybe hard drive in these digital times). The fuckin' guitar sound that the band achieves here is nothing short of amazing, and coupled with the heavy ass riffs of "Europa Burns" almost makes ones bowels erupt from the force. "Combat Fatigue" is a quick 2:30 minute wall of distorted guitars that will shred your eardrums to bits. "Black Sun" brings things to and end with a few changes of pace, but still wrenching out more distorted brutality that anyone's ears should be expected to survive. In fact, while listening to the disc on the way to see the fantastic RAMBO with some of the GASP crew, the following gems were uttered - "This is the definition of brutal", "freakin' MASSIVE", "this might be too heavy for the mini-vans stereo!".
As is usual, the band plays homage to their favorite and most influential bands. Witness their best Iron Maiden impression during the last 2 minutes or so of "Under a Blood Red Sky" (see it live here), and too a lesser extent at the beginning of "Tide of Blood". "No Honor In Death" pays great tribute to the mighty Autopsy.
Production on this disc was handled by Entombed bassist Nico Elgstrand, and his production skills show masterfully here. Everything sounds amazingly good, from the previously mentioned guitars, to the bass (which can actually be heard clearly throughout the disc), and the drums, now helmed by ex-Insision skin basher Thomas Daun. Speaking of the drums, it is refreshing to hear real drums for a change. It seems many (most?) bands are now using triggered drums in the studio, or even worse, programming their drum parts in Drumkit from Hell and letting the computer lay down stale, emotionless, and flat out shitty sounding drums. If the drums here are triggered, then everyone needs to find out what they used and use the same, as they sound incredibly good.
Obviously, Dismember has no problems recovering after losing one of the foundations of the band. It is fitting that they chose to simply title this release Dismember, as it is one of their strongest releases to date, and does a good job of summarizing what the band has been doing for 20 years now - or at least the best summary that can be done in a mere 42 minutes. This will be a contender for best of 2008. Pardon me now, while I go fetch my brain from the back wall - it was blown straight out the back of my skull while listening to this disc.
A+ -Goz
O3 A Trilogy - Part 3
Inside Out
While most Dream Theater followers went bonkers over Images and Words, I happened to be a long time fan of their debut offering When Dream and Day Unite. The vocalist at the time, Charlie Dominici, had that rare ability to keep up with the monster progressive metal proceedings while spinning melodies in the finest rock radio tradition. Lost from the scene for 15 years, Charlie has come out with a trilogy of albums, with O3 being the finale. His backing band consists of Italian musicians (the land that probably worships DT the most per capita) and I must say that the man hasn’t lost anything in terms of his singing prowess or musical chops on this hour long 8 song platter.
O3 finishes the story of mystery, intrigue and war seen through the eyes of a detective (Anthony Dam) and a prisoner. The ending mirrors the Biblical tale of Adam and Eve, a dual future meeting the past tale that matches the stirring nature of the material on display. Two of the eight tracks pass the 10 minute mark, so expect long winded instrumental parts that showcase the interactive jam skills of guitarist Brian Maillard, brother/drummer Yan Maillard, bassist Riccardo Atzeni and keyboardist Americo Rigoldi. A lot of the down tuned crunch tone you hear in tracks such as “King Of Terror” and “Enemies Of God” will seem similar to recent Symphony X offerings, but there is much more virtuosity and schooled theory at work, even down to the solo details. Charlie’s high range takes on Kai Hansen proportions through “March Into Hell”, but otherwise he hasn’t lost any strength in terms of his wide open ability. Favorite tracks include the acoustic/electric blending within the slower “So Help Me God” as well as the choppy tempo juggling through the energetic “Revelation” which gives the rhythm section ample chance to win crowd approval.
Mike Portnoy urged Mr. Dominici to give the metal world more of his competence at the progressive genre, and I believe with O3 he’s reached heights achieved with his first Dream Theater record. Impressive, indelible material that will stand in future generation time capsules when it comes to the genre- do yourself a favor and seek this out.
A+ -Matt Coe
Voices Through Wires
Hold True
Describing the band's debut full-length, Voices Through Wires, Dour Cursiva's label, Hold True Recordings, cites Converge and The Red Chord as similar artists, and they are telling you the truth. Imagine those two bands in a fight to the death--that's pretty close to the result.
Boasting a great recording that doesn't sacrifice any instrument in the maelstrom, each song on Voices Through Wires features more chaos, time changes, and dissonance than most garden variety metalcore bands can concoct in a whole album. And while certain bands (like Beneath The Massacre) can play mind-blowingly complex songs and not come up with anything I find memorable, on Voices Through Wires, there is something strangely cohesive about the songwriting that keeps my attention from start to finish. Maybe it's the well-placed, subtly melodic passages that are woven into just the right spots to give the material some necessary breathing room; one way or the other, I'm strangely drawn to the album for repeated listens for a couple of months now. Effortlessly shifting from one dark place into another, there is no question in my mind that Dour Cursiva know what they're doing. This is one of the best New England bands I've heard in a while.
The music is impossible to pin down to any kind of traditional "A-B-A-B-C-B" or similar structure, so if that's as far as your attention span goes then you will hate it. The lyrics (socially aware, not evil or stupidly emo) don't follow any discernable verse-chorus pattern either, which ratchets up the already tense and challenging listening experience. On top of all of this, the album is mastered with no space between tracks, so it sounds like a continual bludgeoning for the first 30 minutes or so, until album closer "Eaton St." (the most recognizably riff-oriented song herein) brings the listener back down from the rush. Like with any Origin album, the first couple of spins are pretty overwhelming and you might become lost and/or discouraged, but it's worth the effort!
Check out some tracks from the album at the band's MySpace page.
B+ -Mark Fields
And another take on this release...
Rhode Island's Dour Curvisa are an unusual blend of experimental metal-core. Heavy guitars and fierce drums with almost no clean vocals. The vocals are mostly screamed in a slightly more spoken flow that could almost be nu-metal but without sounding like rap at all. Instrumentation is often complicated, industrial and purposely off-key, leading me to believe they are influenced by bands like Dillinger Escape Plan.
The angry tone of Voices Through Wires is set by opening track "Pro Patria Mori" (meaning 'right to die for your country'). The parts where the vocals were nearly clean (about 1:30 in) was awfully unpleasant to listen to. If hideous was the intended effect, they nailed it. I did hear a tiny bit of soulful guitar playing toward the end somewhere but it was so little and the strange vocal parts and instrumentation took away from it. Around the third and fourth tracks the album became less scattered and I could hear more guitar melodies and understandable metal riffing like in "Parallel Flatlines" and "Paint Kills People"; the two better songs of the album.
The screaming, growling vocals are good and the lyrics are above average. The most interesting lyrics were in "Deconstructing a Flower in 683,000 Steps" (and I swear I heard some Nintendo Super Mario guitar riffs that were a nice touch, around and just after the 4:18 mark). It was thankfully just before closing track "Eaton St." and I'm grateful my least favorite song is at the end. "Eaton St." is the slowest progressive song of Voices Through Wires and was tough to sit through. It definitely sounded like 'the experiment' of the album, very different from the others. The end of the song sounded like they were playing open strings and it left a bad taste in my mouth.
It sounds like Dour Cursiva are trying to mix too many styles of metal and influences together. One can easily end up over-blending and it just starts to sound more like noise than music. Nothing on Voices Through Wires really stood out to me as catchy or memorable and there's about 98 hundred other bands trying to do the same thing right now. You really need some soul or a lot of memorable melodies or grooves in the mix to stand apart from the rest. Even thoughtful lyrics isn't enough because if the music isn't catchy, not many will bother to try and find out what you're trying to say or catch a show.
C -Alesha Brunell
Absolute Design
SPV
The background for Sweden’s Engel illustrates five musicians with experience in varying levels of underground label success. Bassist Michael Hakansson played a couple of years in Evergrey, guitarist Marcus Sunesson spent dual time between The Crown and The Haunted, while other guitarist Niclas Engelin performed in Passenger with In Flames singer Anders Friden, who happens to produce and mix Absolute Design. The quintet spent 2006-07 developing a buzz with their demo and opening for acts like Dimmu Borgir, Amon Amarth and Atreyu to name a few. So it should come as little surprise that their debut album generates more than a cursory glance from the bigger press outlets, especially in the UK where many have proclaimed this 12 song record a superstar effort.
I guess that’s where I differ from the norm. Absolute Design has the low end stomp and speed train riffs one would expect to get audiences throwing down, yet it just sits stale when comparing their obvious nods to In Flames, The Deftones, or 90% of beginning bands to the melodic-death movement. “Descend” contains a nauseating “da-da-da, duh” guitar bend that any of the 90’s Korn descendents create and record within the first minute of rehearsal. “Trial & Error” watches Meshuggah meet In Flames, as vocalist Mangan Klavborn bleeds his throat dry in the verses then turns on a dime to alternative-emo choruses tailor made for college radio. Sprinkled in for good measure you’ll get industrial overtones in the drum department and thankfully Engel keep the songwriting compact, to the point and don’t overstay their welcome as no track runs above the 5 minute mark.
Two bands that infinitely impress me more in this genre would be Mercenary from Denmark and Gothenburg death gods Dark Tranquility. I suppose in the grand scheme of metal Engel aren’t terrible, but I can honestly say I will not remember a note from Absolute Design after this review ends.
D -Matt Coe
A Wound In Eternity
Meteor City
I first heard Farflung back in 1999 with their Belief Module album and even then I knew these guys were Psychedelic Warlords on a mission from the Mother Ship! Having a built-in audience of Space Rock fans, bands like Farflung can continue their quest to boldly go where no musician has gone before and their mission is just hitting it's peak with A Wound In Eternity, their 7th official release.
"Unborn Plant" kicks the album off in hyper-speed analog synth-style that will have you hitting the gas pedal in your spaceship, er, I mean car. "Endless drifting wreck" continues the journey at the same pace with cosmic lyrics about traveling through time and space ( a common theme with Space Rock I've noticed!). "Like It Has Never Been" slows the pace down on a peaceful planet filled with mesmerizing slide guitar and is definitely the first breather on the album. "Stella Volo" continues in mid tempo time and "Ix" slows things down to a spacey trippy little number that sounds like it could be a lost Kraftwerk song filtered through Hawkwind. "Silver Shrooms" has a very Meddle sound to it as it slowly crescendoes but never really picks up until halfway through the song and then slows back down with some cool space guitar solos. "Precognition" ends the album by starting off with some nice mellow analog synth sounds and slowly builds to a mid-tempo pace and carries the album off into new dimensions only the most daring Sci-Fi fan would dream of.
Even though the disc only clocks in at 46 minutes, I feel it is just enough to keep even the casual listener interested and the Space Rock fan searching for more!
A -Matt Smith
Robin
Candlelight
Released last year in Europe of Four Seasons records, Robin, from Finland's Farmakon, gets a US release via Candlelight Records as part of it's cult developing artist series. The band plays a technical/progressive death metal, with a lot of odd curve ball stuff thrown in as well, helping to keep it somewhat original and fresh.
"Time-Tables" and "Coma September" are the two opening tracks, and they are fairly straightforward with their approach. Progressive, technical, and heavy all at the same time, they are interesting, but not groundbreaking. We do get to hear all of the different vocal ranges from Marko Eskola here, though. From a deep gutteral growl that is the most common, to a clean singing which is slightly reminiscent of Dan Swanö on an off day, to a more raspy attack that is dual tracked with the basic growl to good effect in the second track. "Faint Light", "Recondite" and "Wings" turn the notch up a bit on the progressiveness, with a good amount of jazzy bits making an appearance, and some segments that sound like what might come out of a King Crimson jam session. Oh, and there is a trumpet used in "Recondite" as well. The instrumental track "The Mentally Disabled Guy and the Artist" brings everything to a close with plenty of showcasing of all the bands talents, before fading out quietly to the end.
Farmakon play some pretty out there music. While this is certainly not going to please everyone with it's experimental stylings, it should appeal to fans of Opeth, Edge of Sanity and Anata, or if you just want to hear some pretty wildly progressive music with no real style boundaries.
B -Goz
Vultures
Metal Blade
Vultures is Fate's debut CD out now on Metal Blade. Chock full of pretty standard metalcore, you know what you are going to get pretty much every step of the way. Downtuned chug chug riffs, breakdowns, über technical guitar runs from the middle of nowhere, and the all important bass drops are all present throughout the 30 minutes that encompass the 10 songs here.
To hear what I mean, just listen to the first 30 seconds of "Battle Grounds Beneath My Feet", you get pretty much all of it in that one little span, including a couple different guitar licks from out of nowhere. Later in the song we get a little acoustic/clean guitar bit (break out the lighters kids), and a bass drop for good measure. I'll probably pick the title track as the best one here, and it's an instrumental. Sure it has lot's of guitar noodling in it, but it lacks all the cliched stuff that makes the rest of this disc boring to listen to.
I am sure that there are a lot of metalcore fans that will love this record. It is good, and the band surely has plenty of talent, but the overuse of every typical element of metalcore gets old way too quick when listening to this.
D+ -Goz
MVEMJSUN(P)
Realize Records
Haieeta is a young band from Ireland, they play stoner/doom, and their debut EP, entitled MVEMJSUN(P), is out now. I have no idea what Haieeta means, but my guess at MVEMJSUN(P) is this: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and the no longer a planet Pluto. Poor Pluto, getting kicked to the inter-stellar curb all this time.
MVEMJSUN(P) is 6 songs and almost 40-minutes of down and dirty stoner rock. Kinda along the lines of Orange Goblin or Electric Wizard, but a bit dirtier and less polished. "Dragonflies Terrain" gets things going for us with it's slow, tribal feeling beats and rough riffing. Overlaying all of that is some pretty good guitar leads, with plenty of wah-wah pedal action, and some inventfully fun lyrics like "Rat tat tatta tat". At this point, I don't know who is having more fun, the band playing the music or me listening to it. "Haunted Gangster" is a mid-paced piece, very bass heavy with a bit of a bluesy feeling to it, almost like it could've been on Orange Goblin's "Time Travelling Blues".
"White Knuckle" is, at least compared to much of the rest of the disc, a white knuckle ride, as it's pace is much quicker and upbeat than the other tracks. This one would make a good driving song on a warm summer night. "Residual Hill" is the closer, and at just under 15 minutes is far and away the longest song here. Droning and slow to start, it picks up a bit, but continues with a droning feeling due to the repetitious nature of the main riff. A heavy way to bring the recording to an end.
Haieeta play some pretty decent, if unoriginal stoner style doom here. While the sound on this EP isn't the greatest, it does fit with the down and dirty style of their music. Let's hope they have plans for a full-length release in the not too distant future.
B -Goz
...Of Frost And War
Metal Blade
After releasing their debut promo last fall, Dutch metal all-star band Hail Of Bullets were quickly snatched up by Metal Blade and got to work on their debut full-length release, ...Of Frost And War. Consisting of re-recorded versions of the four tracks from their promo release, plus eight new songs, HoB delivers almost an hour of crushingly brutal death metal with war being their main lyrical theme.
The bands has stated that it is their mutual love for old school death metal bands that brought them together, and it's pretty obvious when listening to this disc that they lean heavily on those influences for inspiration in the song writing department. Take "Red Wolves of Stalin" for example. I commented on this in the review I did of the promo as well, but this song is pretty much a mix of Bolt Thrower and Autopsy, and to be truthful, you can't really go wrong with that combo - freakin' killer song. Continuing the war theme is "The Crucial Offensive (19-11-1942, 7:30 AM)", which is about Operation Uranus, a tactical operation during the Battle of Stalingrad where the Russians surrounded the Germans, forcing some 90,000 soldiers to surrender. Enough of the history lesson, because this song, too, shreds your head to pieces.
I can't believe how strong Martin Van Drunen's voice is - it is still as insanely good as I remember it from Pestlilence's Consuming Impulse. "Stalingrad" is my pick for favorite track. Featuring a mostly slow, super heavy main riff, but then breaking out a great melodic part in the middle and returning to it at the end of the track. Brutally good stuff. "Berlin" is the closer, and is slow paced, with lingering chords being overlayed with melodic guitar parts, creating layers of heaviness. There is a great machine-gun riff just over a minute in that fits in well with the war theme of the album.
Like the promo, this was mixed and mastered in Sweden by Dan Swanö, so you know the production will be good. Guitars are punishingly heavy, the drums are crisp and solid sounding, the bass is loud and rumbling as it should be, and Martin's vocals are...well they're Martin's fuckin' vocals, what the hell else do you expect? Overall a great debut effort that improves on their promo and kicks some major ass.
A- -Goz
Ouroboros
CAPO
Hailing from Boston's underground metal scene, Haloburn has titled their latest release, Ouroboros, after a symbol of perpetual rebirth and renewal. Their musical style is closely related to that of others featured regularly on Boston's hard rock radio stations such as Disturbed, Tool, Godsmack, Drowning Pool etc. Haloburn stands a little apart from these bands for Micah's rare set of vocal chords.
Ouroboros is seven original tracks and ends with one of the gems of the album; their cover of the Bad Brains tune "Soul Craft" with guest vocalist Jet of Sam Black Church. The other stand-out tracks are opener "Left For Dead" and "Force Fed" for their heavy riff-age and lyrics.
"Hidden Places" is an all instrumental piece. It was slow and a bit repetitive until the end. The third track, "In Circles", sounded like something Kip Winger wrote and Haloburn added some double-bass to it. Not only did it sound like any Winger song, but it even sounded like Kip was a guest vocalist. I guess this track solidified my impression of the album as sounding like 80's to early 90's metal with a little extra umphh.
Over-all Ouroboros is an above average hard-rock/metal album. The guitar riffs were pretty good but not memorable. The vocals were very good, but most of the song choruses were not something I could listen to over and over. There also weren't any tracks I wanted to go back and listen to again. Haloburn seems to be better live than on CD and is a good band to check out when you happen to be out to see live music, but then, I wouldn't drive many miles just to see them alone.
C+ -Alesha Brunell
Fury & Flames
Metal Blade
Florida's Hate Eternal have been churning out brutal death metal for a bit over 10 years now. Fury & Flames is their first release since teaming up with Metal Blade records. With Erik Rutan being the mainstay member of the band, he has recruited some strong talent for the band to record this release - longtime friend Shaune Kelly on second guitar, the returning Alex Webster on Bass, and Jade Simonetto on drums. A talented bunch it is, but how does the music measure up?
"Hell Envenom" starts things off here with an interesting semi-melodic but before diving into the brutally fast first chorus, with unrelenting double bass drumming setting the stage for much of the sound. It is brutal as can be, with some pretty interesting guitar leads thrown in, and some inventive bass work that can actually be heard pretty well. A decent way to get us going. "Para Bellum" brings some much needed change of pace to the disc, with a bit of a slowdown in a couple parts that help break up the monotonous pace of the disc (and this is only the third song, mind you). Some Deicide like dual tracked vocals are used here to great effect as well, and Alex showcases some more of his great bass playing here.
From there, it goes on in very similar sounding songs for a bit longer, with "Thus Salvation" probably being the standout track for me, with it's slowed down approach and crushing riffs. Produced by Rutan at his own Mana Recording Studios, the sound here is quite good. Guitars are in your face powerful, the bass is audible and tight, and the drums sound decent, although the aforementioned kick-drums sometimes over-power and drown out the rest of the music.
Overall, this isn't a bad record, but it isn't great either. Sure, it's super brutal and super technical, but it's also quite repetitive and doesn't really have the replay factor that standout discs have. If I had heard this disc 12 years ago, it probably would've been something I would have fallen in love with, but it isn't 1996 and I just didn't find a whole lot to get excited about here.
C+ -Goz
And another take on this release...
Erik Rutan's Hate Eternal is back with another slab of technical brutality and right from the first track, "Hell Envenom" we know this is not for the casual listener as the pummeling sounds hit you in the gut like a medicine ball shot out of a cannon. Jade Simonetto's drums are lightning fast and every bit as brutal as Inferno of Behemoth's style and adds to Erik's brutal guitar riffing. Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse) is on bass for this disc and his bass fills the low end admirably, and Shaune Kelley (Ripping Corpse) has climbed on board as the second lead/rhythm guitar and combined they are able to create one of the most incredible Death metal albums since early Deicide. This is how Death Metal is played and any up and coming band or person thinking of starting a Death Metal band should listen to this disc for some guidance.
B (as in brutal) -Matt Smith
Headbanger's Karaoke Club Dangerous Fire
Hydra Head
Hayaino Daisuki ("I love speed" in Japanese, so says the press pack that came with the CD) is the latest (along with Gridlink) band featuring ex-Discordance Axis vocalist John Chang. Headbanger's Karaoke Club Dangerous Fire is a four song, 14 minute EP, and is their first release. It is likely to please grind fans everywhere, especially those who like John's chaotic form of vocal delivery.
So, what do you get from Hayaino Daisuki? You get a frantically paced blast of music, with high-pitched screaming vocals ripping at your ear drums. If you've ever heard the vocals of John Chang, you'll know what to expect from the vocals. The music is unrelenting in it's speed. All four songs follow a similar pattern - they start off fast and chaotic, remain that way for a bit, then have a guitar lead break, and back to chaos again to wrap up the song.
The weakest point on this is the production, which is a bit murky and lacking in the low-end, leaving the whole thing a bit weak sounding without a lot of attacking power. Overall, though, this is a good initial offering, and something they should be able to surpass with the next release.
B- -Goz
At the Pulse of Kapitulation – Live in East Berlin
SPV
This CD/DVD set of Kreator Live in East Berlin from 1990 is taken from a concert that signaled the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990 and is historic for it's metal history as well as it's social history. Filmed professionally and originally released on VHS in 1990, it has now been remixed in 5.1 by none other than Andy Sneap (Sabbat) and it sounds and looks great. Now I had never seen the original VHS release but one thing I have to say that annoys me a little about the concert film is the artsy jerky style some of the concert has at certain points. Thankfully the whole concert isn't like this so I'm not bothered by it to the point I wouldn't watch it again. It is a very entertaining concert by one of the originators of the thrash/speed sound that the Noise label brought to the metal world back in the 80's. All the classic Kreator songs are here, like "Pleasure To Kill", "Flag Of Hate", "Tormentor", "Riot Of Violence", "Under The Guillotine", "Some Pain Will Last" and "Betrayer". The band is in top form and the audience is fully enthralled by seeing (for many of them) their first metal concert in East Berlin.
There is also a very cool documentary included about how the fall of the Berlin Wall affected the metal community and how this concert, which also included other Noise bands like Tankard, Sabbat, and Coroner (unfortunately there's no clips of any of the other bands, I mean after all this is a Kreator DVD) really was the first ever festival in East Germany. It's interesting to hear about how albums and even band t-shirts were impossible to find and were so expensive that artists would create their own to make up for the lack of merchandise, When this concert finally happened the merch table was just flooded with people wanting to buy as much as they could afford because they could never get their hands on it before. The interviews and footage really give a clear picture of how lucky I was growing up in America and how treasured freedom really can be in other countries.
Also included is the Kreator Horror Movie "Hallucinative Comas" from 1991 which is basically a long form video that was created for the "Coma of Souls" album. Apparently this is the uncut version (Director's Cut) that has some blood and explicit killing scenes in it based on the concept story of "Coma of Souls" but it is nothing you wouldn't see in your average rated R horror movie. It is a pretty cool little "metal movie" though!
The CD is an exact audio version of the DVD and is basically like a bonus to the whole package. Any die-hard Kreator fan will have to buy this and it's a great place to start if you want to see what Kreator is all about and also a thrash history lesson as well as a lesson in how the fall of the Berlin Wall affected the metal community in Europe, specifically Germany.
B -Matt Smith
The World, The Flesh & The Devil
Arctic Music Group
Floridian black metallers Kult ov Azazel first released The World, The Flesh & The Devil back in 2005. Arctic Music Group recently reissued it, probably because the band is currently working on a new release.
TWtF&tD is 9 tracks of US black metal, and is slightly more polished than most black metal you'll find. Sure, the music is what you'd expect - hyper fast beats, tremolo picking riffs, and the raspy vocals are all there, but the production is a bit closer to what you'd expect from a death metal disc. This makes sense, as it was done at Mana Studios, home to a lot of Floridian death metal these days. What this does, at least for me, is take away some of the raw aggression that adds to the black metal feeling. I just like it a bit more raw than this, although going to far with the rawness also kills it for me. What can I say, I'm a picky bastard. Check out "The Glorification of Evil", my pick for best song here. Furious in it's speed, with some great riffs and purely evil sounding vocals.
Anyway, this is decent stuff, just not earth-shatteringly good. Maybe their new disc will be a bit less polished sounding.
C+ -Goz
War Metal Battle Master
Southern Lord
Lair Of The Minotaur is one of those bands that takes the old school thrash sound and perfectly blends it with the modern day doom sound and creates their own blend of unpretentious sounding extreme thrash-doom metal.
The first track, "Horde Of Undead Vengeance" starts with feedback but quickly breaks into a thrash riff that modern day Exodus only wish they could write. The vocals are a perfect blend of hardcore scream power with a death metal growl to level off the high end most hardcore screamers have. "War Metal Battle Master" and "When The Ice Giants Slayed All" continue the onslaught with more thrashy riffs and about halfway through turn to catchy heavy swinging riffs with cool harmonic notes sounding throughout the songs. "Slaughter The Bestial Legion" has one of the moshiest riffs I've heard in a long time while "Black Viper Barbarian Clan" has more fast paced movement that would have the crowd headbanging until their necks are sore!
"Assassins Of The Cursed Mist" has a swinging mid-tempo pace that holds steady through most of the song until the mosh fest riffage happens about halfway through the song. "Doomtrooper" is probably the sludgiest track on the disc, and clocking in a almost 10 minutes it's an epic of doom proportions and is easily my favorite track on the disc. Where that track ends "Hades Unleashed" picks up and keeps the sludge-kicking going but breaks into a killer uptempo pummeling riff to finish the album.
These guys must be insane live and I can't wait to see them when they make their Boston stop in May at Church, it should be fucking nuts!
B -Matt Smith
Lillian Axe
Love + War
(re-issues)
Metal Mind
Timing was everything for melodic metal acts in the late 80’s, and it was the one thing Lillian Axe apparently lacked. A talented group of musicians anchored by almost-famous guitarist Steve Blaze, Lillian Axe has always had a strong loyal following that unfortunately for them never translated into commercial success. The self-titled debut album is something of a microcosm of the band, melodic party rock offset by the occasional mature hard rocker. Later efforts by Lillian Axe would show more of a penchant for progressive, but their debut is quintessential 80’s glam.
Their second release, Love + War is definitely the stronger of the two albums. While their more mature (and ironically less received) efforts were still a release or two away, Love + War shows the band’s raw talent in a polished, radio-friendly release that was tailor-made for 1989. I have a hard time calling this or any Lillian Axe album respectable metal. But it does amaze me that, of all the slick melodic rock acts that drew big checks and stadium tours in the glam era, this one was summarily overlooked. Lillian Axe may have been one of the most talented, if not successful.
C+ (self-titled)
B (Love + War) -Dan McDermott
Sinister Slaughter & Behind the Wall of Sleep
Metal Mind
This is another in the great line of limited re-issues by Metal Mind Productions. This time we get Macabre's great Sinister Slaughter (originally released in 1993), with their 4-song EP Behind the Wall of Sleep (1994) as bonus material. Macabre have self-dubbed their musical style as "murder metal", as their lyrical themes all relate to various serial killers. I say they combine grind and thrash, with a touch of death, then throw in oddball stuff like classical guitar, jazz and whatever else they feel like. And the vocals are pretty unique as well - while one of the vocalists uses a pretty deep, gruff attack, the other vocalist uses a high-pitched almost whiney voice for his lines. Completely outlandish and adds to the brilliance and humor they convey with their lyrics.
"Nightstalker" kicks things off, and it seems like a pretty straightforward grinder - that is until the chorus when you get the high-pitched voice chiming in "Night Stalker - looking for...". I remember the first time I heard this disc, I was thinking what the fuck is this? Then I listened to it a bit more, and grew to love this stuff. "What the Hell Did You Do?" starts off with some classical guitar part before busting into a great little grinding track. "Mary Bell", and it's reprise that directly follows, are all acoustic bits with harmonized vocals - a bit off the bands usual path I'd say. On and on it goes, each song about a different serial killer from Dahmer, Gacy, Gein - you name a serial killer and Macabre probably has a song about them.
Metal Mind has seen it fit to re-release what I consider a classic album. Sure, it's not for everyone, but you should at least check this out and decide for yourself. In addition to the bonus EP they've also included a nice two-page history of the band, with some comments from guitarist/vocalist Corporate Death. Unfortunately, the only lyrics included are for the EP. It would've been nice to have the lyrics to all the other songs as well, but I guess I'll just have to hold on to my original Nuclear Blast disc for those. Thank you Metal Mind for releasing this.
A -Goz
Draining The Waterheart
Firebox
Chilean doomers Mar de Grises slowy release their followup to their 2004 debut The Tatterdemalion Express, entitled Draining the Waterfront. Comprised of 8 songs and clocking in at over an hour, Mar de Grises dish out some impressive melodic doom.
"Sleep just one dawn" is the opener, and after an extended intro, we are treated to some pretty damn good music. From about the 2-minute mark to the 5:30 mark, they give us multiple different musical themes, with some particularly impressive riffs and melodies coming in at about the 3-minute mark. This isn't to say that the rest of the song isn't good, but that segment stands out for me. "Kilómetros de nada" is next, and is penned in their native Spanish. Again, they throw some pretty damn good progressive and melodic elements into an otherwise slow and brutally heavy song. The way they interweave it all together is impressive, as other time when bands try to do this, it ends up sounding like crap. At times they remind me of a combination of Insomnium and Swallow the Sun, although it's usually little snippets of songs that bring these comparisons. "One possessed" features a really cool part about the 3 minute mark, where there is a dual guitar riff, but the two melodies are completely divergent and dissonant, instead of the usual harmony parts. Freakin' brilliant if you ask me, and probably my favorite song here as well.
This is great stuff. Meticulously combining elements of funeral doom, melodic death metal, and progressive metal together - and doing it better than pretty much any other band has been able to do before. I now know exactly what I am going to put in next time I want to hear some melodic doom.
A -Goz
Creations Undoing
Underground Movement
Mass Extinction is a 5-piece thrash metal band from Ireland, and Creations Undoing is their second demo, presented here as an EP with the three original tracks as well as a bonus cover of the Vio-Lence track "Kill On Command".
Mass extinction play straight up, no-frills thrash - the way it should be. Vicious riffs, powerful vocals (with gang vocals used generously when needed), and long melodic guitar leads are the norm here. "Bodies for the Slaughter" has a biting main riff that will get your head moving in a quick manner, and a pretty catchy chorus that should go over well live with the crowd chanting along. A good breakdown follows the second chorus, and there is a really well done trade-off guitar solo towards the end of the song. "Manipulating Evolution" begins with the bass player showing off his skills with a brief bass solo, and then another scathingly good riff to carry the song. I love the way this band uses gang vocals while setting up the choruses. Sure, it's been done before, but they do a damn good job at it. The final cut is the previously mentioned live version of "Kill On Command", and it sounds like the band is having a good time playing it live, and they nail it pretty well.
Mass Extinction play old-scholl thrash, nothing more, nothing less. I'll definitely be interested to see what they can do with a full length release, so let's hope they can get some kind of deal done and record a longer collection of songs.
B- -Goz
Cover Up
13th Planet
After last years "final" Ministry release, The Last Sucker, it was announced that they would have be releasing one more disc, but this would be all cover songs. Cover Up is the resulting collection of songs, and it was released, appropriately enough, on April 1st. Featuring 11 classic hit songs, as well as a couple of hidden tracks. Joining Al Jourgensen for this release are Ministry regulars Tommy Victor, Sin Quinn and John Bechdel, as well as the late Paul Raven. In addition, Burton C. Bell ("Under My Thumb") and Casey Chaos ("Roadhouse Blues") provide vocals for a couple of tracks.
First up is "Under My Thumb", which almost sounds like a Eurythmics (or maybe a really early Ministry) song until the guitars kick in, then we can tell it's Ministry. Burton C. Bell provides the vocals here, and the band as a whole does a decent job of heavying up the song, while that 80's synth pop line just kinda hangs in the back the whole time, reminding us where Ministry started. They give the Ministry treatment to other great 70's hits like "Black Betty", "Mississippi Queen", and even Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay" and Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World". The hidden tracks are split versions of "What a Wonderful World" (one slow and one fast), and an a capella version of "Stigmata" from Al's alter ego Buck Satan, with one final jab at George W. Bush for good measure.
This disc is all good and fun to listen to, but it's almost all the same - take the original song, over distort the guitar riffs, digitally process everything a bit, and there you have it, Ministry's take on classic rock. Mind you, this isn't really a bad thing, it's just not something I'll be going back to listen to all that often. It's a part record, through and through. I am sure the guys had a great time recording this, and that comes through often in some of the gang vocal parts. After having been around for 27 years, Ministry deserves to have some fun, don't they? This is the result right here. For me, I'll likely reach for The Land of Rape and Honey and The Mind is a Terrible Thing To Taste hundreds of tiems over before I reach for Cover Up ever again. Adios Ministry, it's been a fun run.
B- -Goz
Night Eternal
SPV
Moonspell followup their Under Satanae (a re-recording of old demos and an early EP) with a new full-length of new material, Night Eternal. There will be at least two versions of this release - a regular release with 8 songs, and a digipack release with 2 bonus tracks (one new song and an acoustic version of the album track "Scorpion Flower") and a DVD with three songs from Wacken 2007, video clips of "Luna" and "Finisterra", and a making of for the latter video clip.
The main release is what we'll cover here, featureing 9 songs and about 44 minutes of heavy, keayboard laden gothic metal with blackened edges. "At Tragic Hearts" opens up with an atmospheric intro, having a horror movie score feel to it, with some spoken word going on top. Then the music kicks in, and we get the first taste of the extreme gothic metal that's going to please our ears for the next little while. Heavy riffing, brutal vocals, killer drumming, all made a bit lighter and more atmospheric with the extensive use of keyboards. "Shadow Sun" ramps things up a bit after a fairly somber opening. Featuring a riff that will rip your earsdrums out, and some really catchy chorus lines that I am sure fans will be singing along with when the band plays it live.
Fans of the Gathering (or more specifically, their former singer Anneke van Giersbergen) will be treated to her amazing voice on "Scorpion Flower", as she does a duet with Fernando here. Her unique voice simultaneously adds power and grace to the song that only she can, and it makes it one of the best tracks on the disc for me. It will be interesting to hear what the acoustic version of this song sounds like. "Moon In Mercury" is probably the most straight-forward "metal" song on here. Full of super heavy guitars, great growling vocals, enough keyboards to let you know they are there, a great guitar lead followed by a keyboard solo, this song kicks from beginning to end. "Spirit of Rage" calms things down for the most part, and allows Fernando to show off his clean vocals. Not that he hasn't used them up until this point, but his voice really shines in this song.
Night Eternal is sure to please Moonspell fans both new and old. A really good disc, and it shows that the band is still progressing and moving forward musically after all these years.
B+ -Goz
Descend
Firebox
Finland's My Shameful push out their fourth release, Descend, via Finland's own Firebox Records. Unlike labelmates Mar de Grises, My Shameful go for a more straight ahead doom metal, with death metal influences, forgoing the more progressive side of things.
The seven songs contained here all provide similar stuff for you - heavy as hell guitars, solid drumming, and brutal, angry sounding vocals. Keyboards are used minimally to provide a bit of atmosphere at times, but the majority if the time you'll be hearing massive down-tuned riffs coming from the guitars. "This Hate" is my favorite track here, with it's superbly slow parts, overt heaviness, and the great dual vocal lines used to add to the power of the delivery. The discs closing track, "Self Abuse", also uses this dual vocal delivery to great effect.
My Shameful puts out a massive attack of doomy here on Descend. While it isn't the greatest or most original music to cross my desk recently, it's pretty damn good, and sure to please those who like a good death/doom combination platter.
B- -Goz
The Aftermath Oddysey
Sensory
Sweden remains one of the most fertile breeding grounds for heavy metal. I think when you are a child, music classes seem to be the emphasis to spawn a creative outlet and through the good graces of fellow classmates you develop your passion to the point of starting a band. The Aftermath Odyssey represents the debut album for this sextet, a project begun through the efforts of Debase guitarist Jonas Karlgren and Face Down bassist Joakim Hedestedt. This 13 song album starts off a little slow with some instrumental/spoken word passage parts through “The End” and “A Rainy Day In Hell”, but quickly should win over many listeners who appreciate the mid-tempo and doomier offerings from diverse acts like Savatage, Evergrey, Memento Mori and Memory Garden.
The dual male/female vocals from Nielz Lindstrom and Sara Heurlin give Nation Beyond broader appeal as the former seems to portray the straight ahead metal voice while the latter offers the band a gothic/angelic higher range. “Confessions” illustrates both approaches nicely- with Nielz handling most of the verses and Sara honing in on the catchy chorus and refrains. The group musically seems to dial in with riveting riff work that rarely moves beyond mid-tempo, but nonetheless reverts back to an older, down tuned recording philosophy. How can you not be swept up by the Candlemass-like stomp within “War Of The Wasteland” which also differentiates itself with some appropriate growl placement? I am a little disappointed in the drum performance from Johan Helgesson- as he plays many of the songs with a similar snare/ double bass tempo pattern that pulls down tracks like “New Eden City” or “Aftermath” into average territory.
The Aftermath Odyssey isn’t mere speed power for the sake of the new
school - instead Nation Beyond should hit the older audience hard as this album contains enough emotional atmosphere to keep you replaying it for months on end.
B+ -Matt Coe
Bears of the Sea
Ironclad
Boston's November 5, 1955 can only be described as futuristic hardcore and it is way out there. Plenty of agonized, screaming vocals and obscure time changes with a bit of progressive jam. After a good thorough listen, one can guess at the meaning of their name and concept. In the classic movie Back to the Future, 'November 5, 1955' was the first time zone Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) got inadvertently sent to and stranded in. From the sound of their music, I think this band believes they're trapped in the wrong time, too.
In all actuality, now is a good time to be making this kind of metal as it has a rather large underground following. November 5, 1955 are one of the better bands in this arcane genre. Not to stereotype or anything but from my experience, I have good reason to deduce that most of the people that take an affinity to this type of extreme metal are either seasoned musicians themselves, or have been turned onto it by just such a person.
I admire their ingenuity and underlying style. The concept is cocky but the lyrics were very well written. I heard alot more snippets of soul in here than most of the "futurecore" I've heard. The songs that I had an easier time finding said 'soul' were opening track "The Ambassador to Sarajevo, and near the end of the album "(S)march On" and "Paint Yourself Out." I generally don't immediately enjoy this type of very complicated and spastic metal, but I easily became a fan of Dillinger Escape Plan after a little patience and November 5, 1955 seem to be almost as good. After several passes at Bears of the Sea have gone by, I am finally warming up to it.
What I have found is that there is a lot of talent and soul in November 5, 1955 but it's hard to distinguish, never mind separate melodies. At times it sounds like every band member is going off into their own zone and playing a clashing melody, oblivious to what the other members are doing. But it's deliberate. Added to that is very untraditional timing and notes that don't always harmonize well with each other. All this together, there's just too much going on for the average listener to pick up on unless they have an ear for it (such as a musician would).
The use of incompatible notes and off-the-wall structuring doesn't draw attention to the music and camouflages it into background noise. I suppose because alot has already been done and out of fear off ripping of someone else's tune, or just plain boredom, more and more bands are leaning in this direction. I understand a musician's boredom and will to play for themselves, unperturbed by what others think. Unfortunately you have to look at what sells, too. From a business standpoint, to an outsider (ie: your average pedestrian) the first impression of any song is often the lasting impression and catchy-ne$$ count$. Of course, if you already have enough money, then knock yourself out. Personally I hope the music of the distant future never sounds so far from straight up rock n' roll as to become indiscernable.
And P.S. Not everything has been done before. There is only 26 letters in the alphabet and they make a wealth of phrases. How many notes and octaves are there?
B- -Alesha Brunell
New Lexicon
Jade Tree
Fast, slow, heavy and melodic... all mixed together in 15 fairly short songs. There are some good/non- conventional breakdowns and catchy punk hooks. The lyrics are rather intelligent and almost everything about this album (and band) seems pretty angry.
There is a very good production on this album and like it or not PIB should be proud of what they made with New Lexicon. It's not a straightforward hardcore album and maybe thats a better thing. These days it feels like bands need to make a new sound to stand out and PIB stands out.
After seeing them live I wasn't sold on this band... and even after first listening to this album for review I still was not a fan. However, something about it kept me wanting to listen again because there was something in several songs that I did like ("Shell Game Redux" for instance). It feels like at times the songs are going in two separate directions then suddenly they both meet up and slap you in the face. While I wouldn't call them a favorite band of mine, I'd say my opinions of the band have greatly changed.
In fact I'm listening to this again right now and I like it even a little more each pass. I recommend giving it 3 or more listens and seeing if is the same is true for you.
B+ -Eric Guntor
Be Gone
Cruz del Sur
Traditional metal in its current state has made a slow and steady climb stateside in terms of appeal, sales, touring- but above it all probably a new found respect. When you break out your metal family trees and trace the roots of the movement, some branch always reverts back to the late 70’s/early 80’s NWOBHM, spearheaded by the likes of Diamond Head, Saxon, Tygers of Pan Tang and this little old band called Iron Maiden. I remember during the 1980’s grabbing every act worldwide that would dare to wield dual guitar lines, syncopated tempo changes and a singer who challenged the high echelon bird call range. For my money in 2008, there’s no better American act these days for traditional old school metal than Pharaoh. How they are able to put together such dynamically diverse, go for the throat material yet not live geographically close to one another (spread out amongst PA, FL and MI I believe these days) proves that when you have a singular mindset and a quartet of experienced tale nt, you create a masterpiece such as Pharaoh’s third album Be Gone.
I’m not surprised that Riot guitarists Mark Reale and Mike Flyntz plus long time guitar maestro Jim Dofka would contribute their solo know how to tracks like “Dark New Life” and “No Remains”. Tim Aymar gives his heart and lungs to these 9 songs, charging with abandon when he has to and perfecting the art of contrasting harmonies - look to opening cut “Speak To Me” or “Red Honor” for the best examples of his iron hard ethics and a voice that sits right up there with Dio, Dickinson, or Halford. Drummer Chris Black must feel like he put in extra leg and arm workout sessions in preparation for this recording, as the man really came to the table with steady feet and control while also exerting the propelling diversity I look for when listening to traditional metal. Bassist Chris Kerns does not merely hold down the bottom end- much like Steve Harris, Phil Lynott or Geddy Lee, his work contributes heavily to the song’s impact and outcome as the epic “Buried At Sea” illustrates. And if Matt Johnsen doesn’t win any guitarist of the year polls in US or overseas metal publications, then listeners need ear transplants as his multiple guitar parts and solo work show that he bleeds for the genre and knows how to keep the songs effective without unnecessary excess or meandering.
If you loved the genre 25 years ago, Be Gone should be an immediate buy. Those new to the game who’ve taken a cursory glance yet not treaded into these uncharted waters, Pharoah would be an awesome band to take a chance on. Overall, it’s going to be very tough for anyone to beat Be Gone for my album of the year- and I hope this one make veteran acts quake and rethink about their material.
A+ -Matt Coe
Pyramids
Hydra Head
Okay, Goz knows I like fucked up shit but even I, who think I'm pretty edgy in the experimental music category, was caught off guard by this CD.
"Sleds" the first track opens like a trippy (okay, that word is going to apply to everything on this CD, just a warning) and sounds almost like a shoe-gazing type of band song, only more spaced out. Okay, I'll put it to you this way, if you took some black metal musicians, some space rock musicians, and some industrial musicians in a recording studio with Dick "Magic Ears" Knubler and gave them some mushrooms this is probably what they would produce! The drums sound like they're produced by a drum machine, and the guitars are so reverbed and delayed out that you can't tell where one note begins and the last one ends. The vocals are very spacey and the words are unintelligible but to be honest, it really doesn't matter because you're so caught up in the overall vibe of this disc.
Other song titles that can give you an idea of what they sound like are "The Echo Of Something Lovely", "Hellmonk", which sounds like I swallowed a tab of acid before a Dimmu Borgir show, and "This House Is Like Any Other World". I listened to this CD in my car on my trip to NYC the other day and although I was totally straight I felt like I was stoned and it was the quickest 31 minutes of my drive!
Of all the discs I've slipped into my iTunes that say Genre "Unclassifiable", this one truly is!
B -Matt Smith
Awakening
Comet Music
Progressive rock has cult magnetism to most of its keen devotees. When you think back to your initial indoctrination to the cause, a reference point to the UK or Canada surely sprouts up, given the lineage to the movement with acts like Genesis, Marillion, Rush, Saga or Yes on the short list. So I’m not surprised when listening to The Reasoning from Cardiff, Wales that this sextet prefer to play a melodic brand of progressive rock, using many of their domestic mentors as well as forward thinking modern bands like Radiohead or Tool (in their atmospheric passages) to create their sound. In their short time span (they’ve been together since late 2005) they honed in on a solid 8 song debut album, packed with a passion for dynamic vocal presentation and lilting catchiness with just the right amount of playing chops to keep the listeners happy.
Marillion probably ranks most prevalent in the guitar theory and application from guitarist/vocalist Dylan Thompson, guitarist Lee Wright and keyboardist/vocalist Gareth Jones. The Reasoning employ a triad vocal attack, with dual male parts as well as the female siren in Rachel Jones and I think this helps diversify their material as you feel like you are undertaking an out of this world presentation. An example of their broad, wide open approach would be “Sacred Shape”, beginning with a middle-eastern vocal melody- drifting into an intimate piano/acoustic guitar component before lift off at the 4 minute mark into Rush-like bass heroics and circle guitar lines- returning to restraint at the conclusion. The melting pot strategy should help The Reasoning appeal to not only the normal progressive community but also extend olive branches to Nightwish/ Within Temptation aficionados with Rachel’s angelic high range.
I bet they go down like gangbusters at live gigs. The softer, subtle texture of material like “Chasing Rainbows” and “Shadows Of The Mind” keeps me returning to Awakening often, so if you prefer the intent to be a collective experience over individual ego enhancement, The Reasoning will win you over easily.
B+ -Matt Coe
Vallis Ex Umbra De Mortuus
Paragon
"Mane de Maeroris" starts the album with flutes and vocals that sound like they could be coming from a monk in an ancient monastery from the Middle Ages. "Silens Somnium" starts off with a somber clean guitar riff and then goes south from there, but not in a good way. Over buzzed-out, down-tuned guitars and pitch-shifted vocals and crappy drum machine sound all make this sound like these guys are really trying WAY too hard to be as doomy as they can be.
One tip for your guitar sound guys, cut down on the treble buzz because when a song ends my ears shouldn't be begging me to not play the next track. I'm not tooting my own horn here, but having played with doom legends WarHorse for a mere nine months I know what goes into making a good doom song and sound and this is definitely not it.
Rigor Sardonicous's heart is in the right place when it comes to dark and doomy vibes and lyrics (and even a few riffs) but they need more guidance in the execution department. In my opinion they're just treading water in the Blood Ocean, if you catch my wave.
F -Matt Smith
Into The Night
Metal Mind
Into The Night concludes the progressive rock/metal trilogy concept that came from the mind of drummer Wojtek Szadkowski. This record from the Polish quintet Satellite fuels three decades of a movement that contains brilliant, expansive arrangements, dynamics second to none in terms of musical ability and an overriding sense of awe as these five musicians push the boundaries of English and American inspired music. How many bands do you know are willing to place a 13:30 epic such as “Dreams” the second cut in on the album - complete with Marillion-like guitar lines and a vocal that seems in tune with Arena, Genesis or even the master Fish himself? The follow up “Downtown Skyline” takes things down into more of a low-key drum laden approach, with vocalist Robert Amirian allowing the softer serene verses room to breathe as the keyboards take a New Age meets current Toto feel. The American version of Into The Night contains two bonus tracks, filling out the timeframe at an hour.
I believe Satellite will appeal to two generations of progressive rock aficionados. The older sect of Peter Gabriel led Genesis, 70’s Yes or Nektar enjoy the analog tones and instrumentation of yesteryear while the newer generation get to latch on to a band that is creating fresh material that should keep the movement forward thinking and vigorous. Robert’s vocals aren’t screaming or high pitched in nature- which allows the listener to understand the full Satellite experience without any particular musician being in the spotlight. I felt like Into The Night propelled me into 1975, then would suck me back into 2008 within the next riff or song. “Forgiven and Forgotten” is a personal favorite, a wild tranquil montage of tropical guitar chords and a main keyboard riff that sits well in Egyptian-ish phrasing while the cultural vocal melody reverberates in my head incessantly.
Hopefully with new North American distribution Satellite will move beyond European appeal into international appreciation. Highly recommended.
A -Matt Coe
The Rock
Metal Mind
Polish progressive rock- sung in Polish- could be a difficult sell in most non-English speaking territories. With only 4 English lyric songs, The Rock from the trio SBB proves to be an endurance test in reviewing for me. The arrangements seem to be built upon quiet layering, clean guitar lines and a slight jazz rhythmic sense. These guys have certainly been around the block, as one look upon the studio photos enclosed in the CD booklet attests to the fact that these guys are clearly in their 50’s.
Overall, there isn’t anything that captures my ears. The songs have impressive playing yet little hook-wise to maintain my brain matter. The vocal melodies seem like an afterthought to SBB, as the singer often talks his way through the proceedings. They’ve studied their European 70’s progressive rock textbook well, but can’t say they are changing the face of the genre with The Rock.
Next…
D- -Matt Coe
Disintoxication
Goodfellow Records
Italy's The Secret can be fast and heavy metal blasting at you, and also slowed down and gloomy without being unsavory to the ears. A very dark album, Disintoxication gets slightly progressive several times without losing aggression or musical content, Extra points to Marco Coslovich for no clean vocals.
Powerful songs all over Disintoxication. After short intro, "Morte", "Intoxication" sets the formula for most of the tracks on this album. It starts off strong and fast for the first half, then gracefully transitions into slower progressions that still sound strong and laden with metal and other such heaviness. "Inferno", "Funeral Monolith", and closers "Death to Pigs" and "Kill the Dead" mainly share the same formula. Songs that maintained their speed were "Poisoned Blood is Never Enough" and "In Limbo". Late in the album, "Umea" started off slow and stayed that way but wasn't boring.
Best for last, I noticed Christian Musich's percussion stood out on this album during sixth track "Saul". The vibe of the instrumentation on "Saul" was killer. The only easily identifiable flaw I could find on Disintoxication were the lyrics. I couldn't tell you what they were about because trying to read them made my eyes feel like they were about to bleed or burst open. You could pop blood vessels attempting to read the customarily minuscule lyrics that were not only tiny, but were dark grey on a black background. Funny, these colors could also double as a good metaphor for the sound of The Secret's particular progressive style.
I'm impressed that The Secret can be experimental with their brand of hardcore/grindcore without sounding too industrial. Songs ooze anger and sadness and you feel it. The dark overtones and music flows so well it's nearly orchestral with mere guitar, bass and drums. The Secret knows the secret to making sinister, hardcore metal more slow and progressive and still sound like good music. And it's ALL metal so what could be bad about that?
B -Alesha Brunell
Genitales from the Porno Potty
Deathmetal.us
Massachusetts death metal act Sexcrement released Genitales from the Porno Potty in late 2007 and if you know where to find them they have been playing very consistently before and since the release. Not being much of a metalhead myself I still occasionally enjoy dipping into the metal pool for something new, fast and crunchy now and again. More entertaining than Cannibal Corpse... the song names alone made me know I was going to like this band. "Colostomy Bag Condom", "Camel Toe Rodeo", "Beef Curtain Call"... there are 7 more and all just as good. I hope this isn't insulting to the band by saying this, but it's almost like Director John Waters or maybe Dave Brockie was there to aid in the song writing. The lyrics are hysterical.
Lyrically raunchy, the music is fast, crunchy and powerful. I completely dig this album even if I'm not normally into a lot of Death Metal. Honestly the band is brutal and very talented. Add to that the production value of the album came out really good and it sounds great. These guys should be stoked with what they made.
B -Eric Guntor
s/t
Spinerazor
If their name doesn't pique your interest, this album is guaranteed to. I can honestly say Canada's Sinister Trailerpark Magic is the most diverse album I own and an eclectic masterpiece no one should be without. Called 'rock n' ruin', it is an unusually smooth blend of heavy metal, punk, progressive, skater, psychedelic, alternative, and classic rock, seeming without structure and it is very experimental. Though their music can sound almost too similar to many, Sinister Trailerpark Magic still have their own brand of unflinching distinction apparent in every song.
Pancake Porterhouse sings with more gusto than most of the other bands I listen to regularly. He also leads guitar and the guitars are excellent. The bass, always important in my book, played by Traxyl Burns also stands out. Appropriately named Rhythmatic Fever, is on drums and his style reminds me of Jean Paul Gaster (Clutch). Their use of background vocals is like a fifth instrument and is unmatched (think of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" only much better and without the circus feel). Sinister Trailerpark Magic's four seasoned musicians all have their own kickass style. Together they flawlessly extend across musical genres and boundaries where no band has gone before. I wouldn't be surprised if they became the next Beatles or Pink Floyd of the new millennium.
On Sinister Trailerpark Magic, most songs are around five minutes which is just right. Not too long, not a tease. It flows so well there is no getting bored. The songs all hold your interest and eventually make you stop and really listen. The only way to attempt to describe the band's musical characteristics is to compare them to The Beatles (especially after they matured and went experimental) or Pink Floyd who can leave unsuspecting listeners standing there with their jaw dropped.
It was not challenging to pick out some of their influences. I heard snippets of Dillinger Escape Plan and The Toadies among many others. Opening track, "Borderline" reminds me very much of Nirvana but only for the first half. The second half is style I can't compare and is all their own. As is the case with any of the twelve tracks. "Laylow" sounds a bit like Audioslave. "Our Child's Eyes" sounds like how Creedence might sound if they were still making albums today with a little 80's pop thrown in. "The Harper Dance" makes me want to skateboard. My favorites have to be "No Way Out"; the gem of the album and "Take Your Opinion" the heaviest track. There were pieces of every song that demanded my attention such as the intense second half of "When I Was Your Age" or "The Dead Night Sky" for it's meaty vocals.
Even comparing parts of their sound to other bands still doesn't do them justice. It would be too easy for talent like this to get sucked violently into the mainstream. You must hear for yourself and unless you listen to hardcore/black metal only, you should be left "Awe waiting" like me. All things considered, Sinister Trailerpark Magic is the best new band I happened upon in 2007.
A -Alesha Brunell
Inevitable Collapse in the Presence of Conviction
Metal Blade
Inevitable Collapse in the Presence of Conviction is Soilent Green's first release since signing to Metal Blade records. Of course, it follows a similar pattern to other Soilent Green releases, forgoing basic songwriting structures for more intricate, time-changing and interesting tunes, yet still retaining the massively sludgy down-tuned riffs that you'll be remembering for a long time to come. What more would you expect from a band that is comprised of members of Eyehategod, Crowbar and Goatwhore?
"Mental Accupuncture" gets the grooving moving in fine form, with it's plethora of riffs, technical guitar licks, massive drumming, and the powerful vocals of Ben Falgoust. Mixing grinding blast beats with the southern groove riffs and tying it all together with tons of time shifts makes this music shine in it's complexity, yet retains a simple and catchy edge that Soilent Green has had since day one (which is about 20 years ago now for the band). Adding in some country flair with a banjo intro is "In the Same Breath". Of course, the banjo doesn't last too long as we're then treated to another batch of hook laden riffs surrounded by blasting passages. Holy fuck this is some catchy music going on here. "Rock Paper Scissors" is worth mentioning for how tight the band seems to be during the track. Throughout much of the song, the whole band is playing along the same lines as the vocals, all locking in sync perfectly. This adds a really cool feel to the song - hopefully they pull this one out on their tour with Hate Eternal and Skeletonwitch.
Recorded at Mana studios with Erik Rutan, the sound here is solid and clear, as would be expected. Soilent Green's Metal Blade debut is a great release.
B+ -Goz
When Midnight Strikes!
Pivotal Rockordings
What greater gift could Italy bring us than Stigma's exotic blend of horror-metal? Sultry guitar melodies with pummeling percussion and Unearthly breakdowns is like a forbidden pleasure you cannot resist. As if that's not enough, When Midnight Strikes has vampires, werewolves and plenty of blood splattered all over it. Stigma drenches great metal in classic horror and brings forth deathcore that should be classified as a potentially addictive, controlled substance.
When I was a young kid, I remember one Halloween not long after my dad brought home our first cassette player, my cousins and I felt propelled to create a haunted house. We couldn't easily find horrific sounds and music to make a soundtrack for the haunting and ended up making our own creepy noises (mistake). Years later, I've finally found what I was looking for all those years ago. The intro, "Walpurghis Night", embodies horror with a slow, haunting feel and music complete with heartbeats and ending with sinister laughter. It then rips into "I Am Dracula" (video) which sent me into peals of laughter because it scared the shit out of my cat (who was nonchalantly cleaning himself) the first time I played it at home.
Every song on When Midnight Strikes has something motivating or memorable about it and stands out in some way. This album, especially "Silver Bullets and Burning Crosses" reminds me of Unearth for its breakdowns and melodies which carries over to the next track "To Be Really Dead... That Must Be Glorious!". This track stood out for it's small bass solo and later the kickass dual guitar solo. There are a couple old-school tinged songs; "Sons of Midnight" and "Beneath the Crown of Eternal Light". The latter being one of my favorites so far for its speedy intro and ending, it's slowed down, heavy, doom and gloom, and modern melodic core. "Walking the Fields of Apocalypse" has memorable guitars and an unusual intro. Like the horror laced introduction, some more sinister sounds lead off closers "Sons of Midnight" and bonus re-mixed "Epitaph of Pain".
From vampires biting the necks of virgins to seductive groove laden riffs, the addition of motivating guitar melodies to these heavy and powerful songs is enough to send one over the edge. Great metal and erotic horror is a mixture I'd like to hear more often. I'm thankful Stigma has brought this unforgettable sensation to my attention.
B+ -Alesha Brunell
Live June 10, 2004
The Bowery Collection/MVD
30 minute live set from Californian hardcore heavyweights Terror, recorded at the now-defunct, legendary CBGB in New York City's Bowery district, about 6 weeks before Terror'a first full length, One With the Underdogs, saw release. You wouldn't necessarily guess it was recorded this early on, though. The crowd response--low in the mix due to the nature of soundboard recordings--is still great, and it's evident even at this early point that the band (recently signed to Century Media) is fully deserving of the recognition it has gained, delivering track after track of urgent, raging, uptempo heavy hardcore performed with confidence by a fresh band comprised of hardcore veterans.
In addition to the solid tunes, the listener is treated to some quality stage banter courtesy of vocalist Scott Vogel, such as, "More fucking stage dives! More fucking pit activity!" and, "I wrote this song for all the internet geeks that like to talk shit and cause drama...fuck that!"
The packaging is totally bare bones--a 2-panel booklet featuring liner notes from Handsome Dick Manitoba (brief history of CBGB and tribute to its late owner Hilly Kristal) and no indication anywhere except the front and back covers that this is even a TERROR recording (no technical credits or even band personnel are listed)--but if you're already a fan you shouldn't let this modest shortcoming dissuade you from picking it up. If you buy a legit copy, the distributor "is donating a portion of sales to the Hilly Kristal Foundation for Musicians and Artists."
B -Mark Fields
Punk Sugar
Selfmadegod
Polish five-piece grindsters Third Degree unleash their second full-length release, Punk Sugar, via Selfmadegod records. The band has been around for a while now, releasing numerous splits and a compilation of their earlier work. This release is my first exposure to the band, and I'm a grind freak, so let's see how this one suffices.
Comprised of 12 songs and just a bit over 30 minutes in length, Third Degree certainly don't write their songs overly long, or make them overly complex. Straight ahead crusty grindcore is all you're going to get here, and there is simply nothing wrong with that. "From Simple Punks" kicks it off, and features some grind staples - the biting guitar riffs and dual vocal attack to name the most obvious. We do, however, have to wait until the second track "Millennium Of Recycling Christ" to get one of my favorite grindcore elements - the blast beat. While not overly used here, the blast beats show themselves a bit and are quite well done. "Where Is The Consummation?" is my pick for the best track. It has a super aggressive sound from start to finish, with great guitar work, superb blast beats, and killer vocals. "So Long Bastards" and "Manipulation" are classic <10 second blasts of noise. The weak points on this disc are the two longer songs - "Dead Will" and "Pathetic". Both are decent, but seem to drag on too long when compared to the compact simpleness of the rest of the disc.
While not comparable to grindcore legends like Napalm Death, Third Degree's Punk Sugar will make a sweet addition to your collection of grindcore.
B -Goz
Rat Age (Sworn Kinds Final Verses)
Metal Mind
Thy Disease's Rate Age (Sworn Kinds Final Verses) is another re-issue by Metal Mind, originally being released in 2006 by Empire Records. Thy Disease play a sort of industrialized death metal, with tons of loops and samples present, programmed sounding drums, and a biting staccato guitar sound that at times reminds me a bit of mid-career Fear Factory, or Infotainment? era Pitchshifter.
The intro (aka, "Introduction #1) sounds like it came off of a 1980's arcade game, so that's cool with me. From there, we get into the meat of the disc with "Prophecy". Super heavy riffing, sampled loops, and pounding drums will envelop the listener. At times the samples hearken back to the 80's video game sound from the intro, an other times they are warping around from left to right adding all sorts of craziness to the music. "Earth Will Shake..." has some pretty good lead guitar work in it. "Syndicate" is a basic, yet crushing track with a monster of a heavy riff carrying most of the song, and some pretty good drum work as well.
One of the more interesting aspects of this disc is the story that the lyrics tell. Basically, a company called Syndicate World Corporation has ideas to kill the weak and manipulate the human race to create a stronger being. A group of mercenaries (for lack of a better term), grow incensed by the control of the Syndicate, and infiltrate the organization to get the codes to control the WMD's that the Syndicate has. Unleashing these WMD's totally eliminates humanity, thus ushering in the Rat Age...
While musically this is decent, it gets a bit repetitive by the midway point. Thankfully, there is a pretty decent story behind the music, so that makes it a bit more interesting, and keeps you wanting to stay to the end for the final payload. Not sure what the band is up to now, but a new concept album like this would be welcome, especially with a bit more variety to the music.
B- -Goz
Delusions
Candlelight
If you want to experience a true thrill ride in the progressive metal world, look no further than United Kingdom’s To-Mera. This quintet’s sophomore release on Candlelight puts a new iron on the stew flame with their brand of warped, kitchen sink repertoire. Not wanting to spoil the experience for everyone, you’ll hear blast beats, African percussive rhythms, jazz interludes and even Yngwie-like sax action intertwined into their known tech prog style. Vocalist Julie Kiss equals the challenge, breathing an airy freshness with her comfortable range and I agree with assessments I’ve seen online regarding the jazzy quality that permeates her melodies on tracks like “The Glory Of A New Day” or closer “Temptation”.
The drumming shifts measure to measure, at times like Dream Theater and other times like Meshuggah. Keyboards come and go with pitch shifting abound, a throw back to the Korg/ Moog 70’s. Where Delusions fits in is anybody’s guess, but I for one believe we have an act destined to be in the metal history books well after their gone. It’s not as rough on the ears as a Watchtower or Spiral Architect, but slightly more accessible during the verses than 90% of the progressive groups these days. It’s hard for To-Mera to condense their arrangements, yet I never feel out of breath or exasperated as each successive listen brings something new to the table for me. “Inside the Hourglass” would be my favorite at the moment, one of those sprawling epics with nifty guitar/ keyboard/ drum interplay as well as some darker chant vocal parts.
Don’t be afraid of this roller coaster- embrace the possibility.
A -Matt Coe
Meanderthal
Hydra Head
Aside from having one of the coolest album titles in a while, Torche's Meanderthal also contains some of the catchiest heavy music I've heard in a while. Combining elements of sludge with a bit of technical wizardry, then adding in a healthy dose of pop-punk, Torche create music that makes you (well, me at least) want to keep listening to.
The instrumental track "Triumph of Venus" starts off with a heavy ass riff that could've been on the last Black Cobra release, then transitions into some more melodic and technical bits. A good warm up for the listener. "Grenades" is more in line with what to expect for the next 35 or so minutes. Musically, it's melodic, sludgy, doom type stuff, but the smooth voice of Steve Brooks brings a pop-punk feel to the party that kinda smooths it all out. "Sandstorm" is a standout track here, with it's super heavy riffage and major league hooks all being backed by some pounding drum work. "Little Champion" is a 30 second bit that shows the bands technical chops off quite well. "Amnesia" is an epic track, occupying almost six and a half minutes of your time to listen to completely. It is completely worth the time, and probably will be revisited numerous times as well. Heavy as a ton of bricks, slow as a sloth, and catchier than and STD from a $2 street corner whore, "Amnesia" would make a perfect set closer when they play live. Love the fuzzed out bass sound there, too.
If you don't think metal and pop can collide and come out great, you need to check out Meanderthal. A great combo of metal heaviness with pop catchiness. Catch the band on tour with The Sword & Stinking Lizaveta throughout May - dates are on the bands myspace page. Also rumored to be touring with ASG in the near future.
B+ -Goz
Alive From The Apocalypse
Metal Blade
I knew a few years ago, when I first heard The Oncoming Storm, that Unearth could easily be champions of the new metal scene. After watching Alive from the Apocalypse. It looks as though they didn't have too hard a time getting here.
The first disc was filmed during a sold out show at the Glasshouse in Pomona, California. It perfectly captures the energy and brutality of their Unearthly metal. See the shredding up close along with their crazy onstage antics. Between the stageclown Ken Susi and guitar madman Buz McGrath, these goofballs keep you rooted and make for a very different and entertaining show. The second disc has a fantastic documentary (90+ min), plus all of their videos, more live footage from Loud Park in Japan and the Full Force Festival in Germany (720,000 people), and a huge photo slide show spanning the last decade.
In the documentary, Unearth tells you their entire band history,in detail, from their start in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1998 as Point 04. To gain vocals and lyrics as heavy as their metal is, they had to trick Trevor Phipps into joining the band. They stole John 'Slo' Maggard away from Flatline; a band he was in with friend Mike Martin (ATR).
They didn't leave out much. Even the bad times times are included like when original drummer, Mike Rudberg, left in 2003, some near-death experiences on the road, and their most recent hurdle when Mike Justian (The Red Chord) left. All the touring and the task of being the generator for an unrelenting band like Unearth is bound to burn anyone out. Sweet farewells aside, there isn't a nicer, more deserving, or more over-qualified guy on the planet to occupy the spot than their current fill-in drummer Derek Kerswill (Seemless, Kingdom of Sorrow). Derek nails every song perfectly and then some. Adds his own style to Unearth. If you know their songs well enough, you will notice it all over this DVD.
You will hear first-hand from greats such as Vinnie Paul (..duh..), D. Randall Blythe, Willie Adler and Mark Morton (Lamb of God), Mike Martin and Phil Labonte (All That Remains), Robby Roadsteamer, Carl Severson (Nora/Ferret Records), Corey Taylor (Slipknot/Stone Sour), Adam Dutkiewicz and Joel Stroetzel (Killswitch Engage), Brian Fair (Shadows Fall), Ryan Primack and Chris Hornbrook (Poison the Well) and many others. They all explain what Unearth is and how they got their reputation for being the fun band to tour with. You will see many of the outrageous things Unearth does during a set to try to outdo their last show like crowd surfing back to the stage after a quick mid-song beer on the bar. You will hear how touring with Damage Plan, they learned from THE party masters Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul how to be professional drinkers and have immeasurable amounts of fun.
What I loved the most about Alive from the Apocalypse is all the things I have been trying to tell people about why Unearth stands apart are on this DVD. For anyone in doubt, the proof is all explained in the documentary by various prominent, underground musicians themselves, and has tons of video and concert footage to back it all up. They could be the next Pantera or Slayer. What more can I say? I cannot imagine any metalhead watching this two-disc DVD and not becoming an Unearth fan immediately thereafter.
Alive from the Apocalypse gets major points for openly telling the entire history of Unearth so vividly. They also get extra points for including alot of the pre-Oncoming Storm stuff (which frankly, I don't know how they could ever top two outstanding albums like The Oncoming Storm and The Stings of Conscience) and I think I should double their points for making me laugh out loud alot. This DVD would be an A+ but I had to take away a tad for not having any interview or commentary from Mike Justian. However, I do believe a DVD this good will end up a classic anyway. My prediction is that generations from now, thousands of reformed emo-kids will look back and say "Unearth is the band that cleaned out my ears. And then I grew up."
A- -Alesha Brunell
Malevolent Assault of Tomorrow
Metal Mind
Kudos to Metal Mind for unearthing and re-releasing this lost 1987 gem by Germany's obscure Violent Force. I, for one, somehow missed these guys back then and I'm sorry I'm so late for the party!
I hear equal parts of the following 4 classic thrash albums: Endless Pain by Kreator, Violent Restitution by Razor, Hell Awaits by Slayer, and Riders of Doom by Deathrow. If you are familiar with those works, that is all you really need to know to put this on your "to buy" list.
To sum up, M.A.O.T. is some quality, violent thrash that embodies everything done right by German thrash bands of the late 1980's.
B+ -Mark Fields
War Without End
Century Media
There is a slew of new, young bands coming out now and playing old-school thrash. At times, it makes me feel old, as I was once as young as them, and a huge thrash fan at the time. Other times, it makes me feel as if I am back in high school, or my first couple years of college. Thrash metal was huge back then, and I listened to it almost constantly, wearing out tape after tape (yeah...freakin' tapes) and record after record (yeah, even records). Thankfully, cd's were created and stuff didn't wear our or start sounding like crap anymore. Warbringer falls into the second category, bringing me back to my late teen years with their quick tempo, percussive riffs, ripping guitar leads, and gang vocal attacks for choruses.
Opening up with "Total War", my pick for best song on the disc, Warbringer delivers a never ending onslaught of intense thrash, with minor flashes of guitar noodling thrown in as well. All the stuff you'd expect in thrash is here - plenty of riffs, catchy choruses, and good breakdowns/mosh parts. One particularly good breakdown is at the end of "Systematic Genocide" - you can just picture the crowd going nuts when listening to it. Another standout track is "Instruments of Torture", which features a good breakdown, ripping guitar lead, and some killer gang vocals.
Warbringer is pretty impressive with their debut release. They've also been touring quite a bit in support of it, so you'll likely be able to see how they come across in a live environment sometime soon.
B -Goz
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