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Writing this review is like filling out a coroner’s report for a band I cherish. For this is not a review of the new Annihilator album; this is Annihilator’s obituary. Metal is such a bad album that I cannot imagine any record label distributing another record by them. Doing so would be financial suicide. Speaking of suicide, I think that all the members who partook in Annihilator’s classic albums will now do so. With their names associated with the name Annihilator after this abomination has been released, doing so is the only way for them to retain their artistic integrity.

I never knew Jeff Waters to be a drug user, but I can only assume that he was using countless amounts of drugs to think that this nauseating pile of wretched filth was worthy of being called “Metal,” both in name and in genre. Waters is catering to the mainstream by creating a nu-metal album, but he failed to see that nu-metal was mainstream six years ago. Therefore, Waters is hopped up on something.

Onto the music—if you can call it that. All I’m trying to say is that each song on this album is radio friendly garbage that could have achieved some mainstream popularity six years ago. Fortunately, Waters had the wherewithal to recruit a cast of characters from the current metal scene in order to spice up this dreadful release. He failed in this regard as well. While the addition of Alexi Laiho and Angela Gossow, the sellout train rolled right into Annihilator country. Coupled with those has-beens, the never was Corey Bealieu of Trivium is on this atrocity too, and it shows. On the third track, “Army of One,” Jeff Waters actually raps about the greatness of metal. Please read that sentence again. Jeff Waters raps about the greatness of metal. The aural juxtaposition is heretical!

I thought Annihilator’s previous monstrosity was bad. However, it is a bona fide classic in comparison to Metal. It’s always sad when a band that was once great can no longer produce good music. When a band sells out, it’s downright shameful. This album is the pinnacle of both creative nose diving and selling out.

ASG bring us their fourth release, Win Us Over, courtesy of Volcom Entertainment. Take one part rock, one part stoner, add in a bit of psychedelic and a touch of pop-punk and you might just end up with a sound similar to what ASG dole out here.

"Right Death Before" beings things with a powerful punch. Featuring a downright catchy riff backing up melodic vocals, before breaking into a fuzzed out guitar solo towards the end of the track. "Dream Song" showcases more of the bands ultra catchy riffs, but adds in a bit more diversity in the vocal department with a bit of screaming thrown in at appropriate times. "Coffee Depression Sunshine" is a slowed down quiet song which I found boring, and after the first listen to it I excluded it from playing ever again. If they play this one live, it'll be the song you use to take a leak and then get another beer.

Later in the album "Gallop Song" get's things going again, with a faster pace and a galloping (for lack of a better description) riff that'll get you up and moving. This one and "Low End Insight" tie for best track on the disc.

Overall, ASG presents a decent offering here. A bit more on the poppy side of rock than many might be looking for, but there are plenty of great riffs here to keep most happy. I think they do a decent job of balancing the poppy hooks with rock riffs, and hope to see how well it translates in a live environment on their upcoming tour with Fu Manchu from late February through most of March. Check their myspace page for details on a show near you.

Texas black metallers Averse Sefira summon forth their fourth full-length release in the form of Advent Parallax, on Candlelight Records. They mix a bid of old-school black metal, with cleaner production, along with more modern melodic bits thrown in.

"Descension" opens things up with a raging riff and superb blast beats from The Carcass behind the drums. A nice and slightly melodic riffs backs up the verse here, while the vocals fit into a black metal rasp category. This, my fiends, is what modern black metal should sound like - brutal and fast, yet with decent listenable riffs and melodies at the same time. "Viral Kinesis" has some of the best music on the disc, with it's masterful main riff, and it's fleeting, walking, almost arpeggion sounding bits. Freakin' brutally good is what it is...and that's only the first couple minutes of a 7+ minute song!

"Reflections of an Unexploded Singularity" slows the pace (at least for some of the song), making it even heavier than the rest of the disc. Still featuring a similar wall of distorted guitar sound, but with deeper, more growling vocals layered together in a violent way. This is my pick for best track on the disc.

Averse Sefira has created a great disc with Advent Parallax. Fans of both black metal and death metal could very easily like this. Although it is very early in the year to be saying this, it might be among my best of list for 2008. Be sure to check out their myspace page for tour dates in February with Rotting Christ, Immolation, and Belphegor.

Here is an interesting fact regarding ex-Skid Row front man Sebastian Bach’s latest solo effort, Angel Down. The cover art is from an original painting by his late father David Bierk, a celebrated artist whose work has been exhibited in art galleries all over North America. Not coincidentally, Bach’s father also contributed the cover art for Skid Row’s 1991 album, Slave to the Grind – by far the band’s best and heaviest (only?) metal album.

Fortunately, that isn’t the only interesting thing about Angel Down. The connection to Slave to the Grind is intriguing because this is the strongest music effort that Bach or any of his ex-band mates have put forth since the 1991 classic. Don’t be mistaken – Angel Down will not be leaving any footprints in metal history. But it is an entertaining album from one of the more appreciable characters from the late 80’s, early 90’s metal scene.

Standout tracks include the title track, “Angel Down” as well as “Back in the Saddle” (a passable cover of the Aerosmith mainstay), “Stuck Inside” and “American Metalhead.” It also features backing vocals from Axl Rose (he lives!) on three songs (including “Back in the Saddle” and “Stuck Inside”). Nothing outstanding other than “Hey, that’s Axl!”

Behold...the Arctopus is a three-piece super-technical band from New York, playing purely instrumental music that will bludgeon all your senses at once for the entire 33:33 of it's running time.

From the opening title track to the finale "Transient Exuberance", you will notice that BtA doesn't use standard song structures when making their music - in fact, they don't really use any song structure at all here. What they do, though, is show insane proficiency at their chosen instruments. Mike Lerner handles the guitar, Charlie Zeleny handles the drums, and Colin Marston plays a Warr Guitar, sort of a hybrid guitar/bass that spans a wide spectrum of octaves and can be played in a myriad of different ways.

There are few recurring themes here, not much in the way catchy riffs, but lots of showcasing of their talent and all out "look what I can do" type playing. Spanning genres at every change, BtA covers prog-rock, thrash metal, jazz, and grindcore with the greatest of ease. If you like shred guitar type music, this will be right up your alley. If you want something more "musical" or with normal song structures, steer clear of this.

Only old-school New York hardcore fans will recognize this unmistakable combination. Former Vision of Disorder frontman and guitarist Tim Williams and Mike Kennedy started Bloodsimple in 2002. Red Harvest is their second full-length album. It's theme, based on the 1929 novel Red Harvest, is part tribute to The Doors, part inside the mind of a serial killer, and almost all in-your-face metal.

Although Bloodsimple sounds a bit more mainstream than V.O.D. ever would be, it reinforces it as totally separate entity (except they still hate their fans). The guitar riffs still have a hint of the old V.O.D. vibe and have matured with grace. Tim Williams is like Jim Morrison in that he can sing (or should I say scream) with heaviness and sensuality simultaneously. It's a rare voice that can constantly deliver and still be clear enough to hear what's being said. With a kickass band to back him up, Bloodsimple is one thing no metalhead should miss out on. Pair this with Mr. Kyle Sanders and he brings to the band what most bands don't have; bass that sounds the way it should be on every metal album...not unnoticed. It sounds to me like Kyle enhances these songs to more memorable status.

Red Harvest starts out with their version of the Doors' "Ride With Me" then gets heavy and stays that way most of the way through. "Suck it Up" is the best song on the album for it's brutal ending. "Dead Man Walking" follows second for catchiness. "Truth (Thicker Than Water)" is the only other mellow track but it's not bad. I don't even need to skip it. "Out to Get You" apparently is their latest single and probably the most mediocre track. For now, you can find on their myspace page another excellent Doors tune not available on Red Harvest, "Five to One." It is one of the best covers I've ever heard. So close to it's original version yet metal-ized. Tim's vocal abilities are unforgettable. It sounds like he's possessed by Jim Morrison and has been through hell and back.

Bloodsimple can be ferocious and also sinuous without being boring. I'm extremely pleased with the underlying Morrison influence on this album. Even though I feel that a few of the tracks from their first release, A Cruel World, were better than each song on this release, it was still great from start to finish. Enough to want to hear repeatedly. So I will excuse them for generally hating their fans because of the powerful draw that IS Bloodsimple.

Electric Wizard is back with their latest opus of Stoner Doom madness and Witchcult Today easily puts them back on top of their game! I have to say I lost touch with them after their 2000 release Dopethrone (still, in my opinion one of THEE most defining Stoner Doom releases ever!) but from what I hear I didn't miss much in between this release and Dopethrone. A few line-up changes happened since then and we now have Justin Osborn (Guitar & Vocals) joined by Liz Buckingham on second guitar, Rob Al-Issa on bass and Shaun Rutter on drums.

From the second I put this disc into my player I knew the Wizard was back to let us know what Stoner Doom is supposed to sound like. "Witchcult Today" kicks off the album with a killer Wizard guitar riff that plunges the album into the reverb and delay drenched stoned hazy sound I always loved them for. The HP Lovecraft influenced lyrics of "Dunwich" continues the vibe and the appropriately titled "Satanic Rites Of Drugula" (who else could come up with a song title like that!) is classic Wizard (and my favorite track on the disc) from it's drug referenced lyrics to it's trippy stoner riffs that had me wishing I was at their show in a better state of mind. "Raptus" is a trippy little wah-wah fused 2 minute interlude before "The Chosen Few" kicks the whole thing back into gear.

"Torquemada '71" has the catchiest chorus song on the disc and "Black Magic Rituals & Perversions" (my second favorite track on the disc) at 11 minutes is a dark tripped out backward masked experimental instrumental that is an Satanic evocation that would easily conjure the Dark Prince himself if you were under the influence of some Lysergic chemical."Saturnine" finishes the disc at another 11 minutes and leaves me longing to see them live again!

Of all of 2007’s metal releases, possibly no album caused as much division and uproar than Elvenking’s The Scythe. People are screaming “sell-out” left and right because of its mainstream musical styling. For their past albums, Elvenking forged an original path with their unique and quirky folk metal sound. Well, that originality is certainly gone here. The strings are still present, but they used sparsely as background instruments. Instead, the band’s sound is similar to popular metal in Europe mixed with metalcore vocals and derivative, mediocre instrumentation.

Each song on this album opens with a little poetic monologue that tells the otherwise indecipherable story. Then, the songs usually kick into a power chord riff, then the chorus, and a solo: your basic metal song structure. Many of the songs, notably “Poison Tears,” are clearly catering to the mainstream metal audience. Their poppy choruses are backed by simple, emotionless riffs. Then, the mixed harsh and clean vocals add superficial elements of metalcore. Not one riff or solo on this album has uniqueness feeling or attitude. Imagining these songs on mainstream hard rock radio is no feat, as that is what they’re seemingly made for. Elevnking’s classic folk metal style is missing here, and it’s a shame.

Nevertheless, if Elvenking are trying to make an album that will be well received by the ignorant mainstream metal audience, they’ve succeeded. The song structure on this album is smoothed over and the upbeat, rocky choruses will make those audiences feel right at home. Even epic songs like “Romance and Wrath” are poorly structured, almost as if the and forgot how to write them. Almost every song features a very small bit of their old, classic sound. But these bits don’t fit with the new sound in the least. It’s almost like Elvenking are apologizing to their old fan base with these parts, while new, ignorant fans will be turned on by the supposed originality of the sparse strings.

The important factor here is not just Elvenking’s new sound. It’s that their new sound is the derivative mainstream sound that sells so well. Why Elvenking? Is there a reason that you ceased writing the music that made you the darling of the underground metal community? Of course there is. It’s money. Hopefully, you’re next album will return to your roots.

Germany's Endstille bring forth their fifth full-length release, Endstilles Reich, their first with their new deal on Regain Records. Endstille play a pretty straightforward black metal, harkening back to Pest-era Gorgoroth, yet have something a little extra that keeps them interesting.

The blasting starts off with "Among Our Glorious Existence". Full on blast beating drums, tremolo guitar riffing, and tortured, raspy vocals give you a fair taste of what is going to be ripping through your eardrums for the next 48 minutes. While the guitars do exhibit a lot of the tremolo picking riffs, there is a depth and almost melodicness to them at times (some of that little extra mentioned in the opening) - it's not just a total wall of trebly, distorted, indecipherable sound bombarding you the whole time. The title track is one of the more interesting offerings here, with varied tempos, and multiple riffs that keeps things changing through the whole track.

The last half of the disc seems to get a bit more angry and intense ("The One I Hate" is especially brutal), both musically and especially in the vocal department. Vicious would be an understatement if used to describe the vocal attack on the last 5 songs or so.

Overall, a very enjoyable combination of black metal with a little bit of something different thrown in to make it more interesting.

Indiana's Ensepulchred play in a style that can best be described as horror movie score meets black metal. Featuring programmed drums and extensive keyboard usage, while keeping guitar/bass use to a minimum, it definitely reminds one of a horror score, but with processed, grim sounding vocals dropped on top.

While this sound is interesting, and almost entertaining at the start of the disc, by the end it gets rather grating and boring to listen to. Slight boost in the ratings for sampling the introduction to Texas Chainsaw Massacre at the end of "Macabre". This music will probably interest people more into horror score than black metal, although the vocals might be a turn off for movie score fans.

Exalted are a four-piece band from Illinois, blasting out old-school, raw black metal. We Are the Grim Throng is their full-length debut.

After the requisite intro, the band blasts right into "Blood Magick". The drums are played furiously by Hecubus, keeping an almost constant blast beat speed going for most of the song, while the trebly guitars are played at blurring speeds by Arend and Baazigar, and the barely audible bass and ear-grating vocals are handled by Azog. It gets a bit more interesting when the band throws in some thrashier moments, such as in "As the Sky Turns Black", but they more or less tread in the same sound throughout the entire disc.

Even though it's only 33 minutes long, it seems like it takes forever to get through this disc, as it all runs together in one long, arduous stream of blast beats and crappy sounding guitar.

The past few years have seen countless metal bands trying to repeat the success of their classic albums by simply titling their new album “Insert classic album title here: Part II.” Most of these albums have been ridiculous since the music itself has only vaguely resembled the past classics in both quality and style. After Helloween’s Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy and the downright awful Operation: Mindcrime II, nearly all metal fans were suspicious when power metal veterans Gamma Ray unleashed their supposed return to form. While the album certainly does hearken back to their glory days as much as the aforementioned albums do, it certainly does not retain the quality of Land of the Free.

In style, the album is quite similar to classic Gamma Ray sound, thus offering some credence to the album name. “Into the Storm” is a classic power metal opener—powerful, upbeat, and aggressive. The next two tracks continue in the same vein, making this a promising album. All this greatness leads into the album’s best track, “To Mother Earth,” propelled by Kai Hansen’s varied vocal styles and consistent drumming of Dan Zimmermann. However, after that the album goes into a slump. Songs like “Leaving Hell,” “Rain,” and “Empress” are simply formulaic and lack any compelling elements. Their solos go nowhere, and there are no memorable hooks or riffs. Luckily though, the album’s quality returns with the last two tracks. “Hear Me Calling” opens with a drum solo before going into a sludgy rock riff, and finally another solo that has some direction. The album’s closer is something that all Kai fans are used to: a 10-plus minute epic. Yes, in the same vein as both Keeper albums, “Insurrection” closes the album clocking in at 11:33. It certainly doesn’t capture the grand, flowing essence of Kai’s previous epic songs, but it suffices.

Land of the Free - II begs the question of whether or not Kai Hansen and Gamma Ray can innovate their sound without sacrificing the quality of their music. After multiple mediocre releases, Gamma Ray’s quality has returned, but their sound has gone back in time.

I first saw the Genitorturers back on the 120 Days of Genitorture tour in 1994 and didn't really follow them after that album, but from the looks of this DVD they haven't changed much. In a nutshell, the Genitorturers are a band that must be seen live to get the full effect. Musically they are a lot like White/Rob Zombie/Ministry kind of Industrial metal with lyrical themes of sexual torture, sodomy, and overall masochistically natured sex. Gen, the leader of the band is a beautiful dominatrix that conducts most of the torture on stage and she also has a powerful voice to boot. One part Wendy O Williams (RIP) and one part Marilyn Manson she rules the stage with a presence that you won't be able to take your eyes off of. This DVD is a collection of live montage videos of songs from their newest CD "Flesh is the Law". Lots of dildos, vinyl, whips, chains, piercings, and a fair amount of bare boobies make up a lot of the taboo things in this DVD, but it's hardly pornographic. It's basically soft-porn, and there are even some censored body parts that keep it from being an rated X DVD. Rack torture devices. mock enemas, people being hung by their piercings, live piercings etc. are what make up the "show" aspect of their live shows. In many ways the music is really just a backdrop to the "show", not that the music isn't well played or good, it's just that the visual aspect is so powerful.

The extras on this DVD are interesting but too short. My favorite is of one of the performers stories in an airport and how she was detained because of a trick exploding bible she had in her suitcase and you can imagine how the rest of the story is plays out with her suitcase contents.
Hustler photo shoot footage and backstage hi jinks complete the package.

It's also worth mentioning that the bass player is none other that David Vincent of Morbid Angel, or as he's billed in the band "Evil" D Vincent, and he's also Gen's boyfriend, or maybe his "bitch"! It's actually very entertaining to see him play with the Genitorturers after seeing him play with Morbid Angel.

If you're even the least bit interested in the Genitorturers, I would highly recommend seeing this DVD as it is an accurate representation of what they're all about and for long time fans this DVD is a must.

The Genitorturers, for those not familiar with them, are a band that must be seen to be believed (see my review of their live DVD) but that doesn't mean their music is merely a backdrop to their live show. Gen, whom I met in 1994 at Club Babyhead in Providence, RI, is their ringleader and vocally, sounds like a cross between Wendy O Williams, Rob Zombie, and Marilyn Manson. Musically they play a heavy industrial metal not unlike Zombie and Manson, and with songs titles such as the lead track "Lecher Bitch" you can easily guess the lyrics are about sexual perversion and all other kinds of sexual fetishes. Catchy choruses like the one in "Public Enemy #1" are abundant on most of the songs on this disc and would make a fan of metal AND goth rockers alike. Listening to them on disc without seeing them live will make you appreciate the music alone, but once you've seen their live show the music will conjure images of their live setting.

There are a few live songs like "House Of Shame", "Terrorvision" and "Live In 120 Days" that capture the mood of their live show and they do an excellent live cover of the Misfits "All Hell Breaks Loose" that would make any Misfits fan happy.

So if you like heavy, hard driving industrial metal then the Genitorturers will please you, but do yourself a favor and check them out next time they play at a venue near you if you REALLY want a true Genitorturers experience.

Genocide are a black metal band from Germany, and Ván records brings us their debut full-length release in Apocalyptic Visions. Consisting of 11 tracks and about 44 minutes, Genocide unleash a raw, tortured sound that is sure to please most fans of black metal.

Opening things we have "Command for Genocide", which fades in with church bells ringing, before hitting launching full speed into a nasty riff. The music slows a bit when the blood curdling vocals kick in, and you get the sense that you're in for a rough ride the rest of the way here. "Crucify (the Scum)" is an especially vicious attack on all the senses, with the vocals being a bit nastier here than they are anywhere else, along with the constant blasting drums and fierce guitar work. There is a bit of a break mid-song, but it's not for long, and they get right back into the insanity pretty rapidly.

By then time we get to the discs closer, "Eternal Holycaust", we've been repeatedly stunned by the sheer energy and brutality that comes out of every bit of this disc. The vocals kinda remind me a bit of Obituary's John Tardy, although they are a bit more high-pitched here, they offer similarities in the way the phrasing and stuff is done. Maybe they aren't really that similar, but that is pretty much all that came to mind. Give it a listen and see what you think, you'll be glad you checked it out.

The band Gorgoroth should not be new to anyone reading this review. They've been around for about 15 years now, in various incarnations. Up until now, the only common member among all of the Gorgoroth releases has been Infernus. I say up until now because there is a controversy surrounding the band. It seems King ov Hell and Gaahl decided to kick Infernus out of the band and continue on as Gorgoroth without him. Meanwhile, Infernus has assembled his own version of Gorgoroth, and plans to record and tour with it. To make matters more confusing, Regain Records has said they support the Infernus incarnation of the band, while a Norwegian patent office has sided with King and Gaahl. All this legal crap makes my head spin, so I decided to put in Regain Records newly released remasters of the bands first three discs to clear my mind. Note that neither King nor Gaahl appear on these releases.

Pentagram is Gorgorth's first full-length release. Orginally released in 1994, and re-released a handful of times since then, if not more. It is 30-minutes of raw, brazen, cold black metal - the way it was all done back then. Unrelentingly fast, with harsh vocals and wiry guitar sou

nds we'd all expect on a black metal disc from 1994. A good starting point if you want to see what Gorgoroth was like when they started.

Antichrist was released in 1996, and has been re-released almost as many times as Pentagram. Consisting of 6-songs and 25 minutes long, it is a quick listen, albeit fairly forgettable. While not a total turd, this is the weakest of Gorgoroth's first three releases.

1997 brought us Under the Sign of Hell (this, too, has been re-released numerous times). This, to me, is Gorgoroth's crowning musical achievement. It takes the rawness of Pentagram, adds in a bit more creativity and even some slightly melodic guitar riffs (for example, the running guitar line in "Krig"), and delivers a monster punch of extremely good black metal. The opening track, "Revelation of Doom" might turn some people away, as the drums sound pretty lousy, and are mixed super high to boot. They clean up the sound quite a bit for the rest of the disc, although they still get mixed pretty high. Get this if you can only afford to add one Gorgoroth CD to your collection.

       B-   (Pentagram)
     C- (Antichrist)
     B+ (Under the Sign of Hell)      -Goz

Havoc Unit is a Finnish band, formerly known as ...And Oceans. Apparently, after 10 years of ...And Oceans, the band decided a new identity was in order to fit in with their stylistic changes. What we have here is a blistering attack of brutal industrial metal. Industrial music has always been hit or miss with me. Sometimes I really enjoy it, other times I can't listen to it for more than a few songs at a time. When I first listened to this disc, I must have been in the miss stage, as I didn't make it past the first 3 songs. I've since revisited it many times, and it has grown on me quite a bit.

Mixing somewhat simple yet brutally heavy guitar riffs with intense and somewhat more complex drum sequencing, h.IV+ is in your face with it's sheer intensity right from the start. Adding in keyboards, varied samples, and vocal effects as needed, Havoc Unit create a soundscape that is at once enjoyable to listen to, yet grating and discordant at the same time. "Kyrie Eleison" is one such song. An extremely heavy guitar part anchors the song, but there are tons of samples mixed in, flying around seemingly at will, distracting from the main sound. Then comes a song like "Ignoration Elenchi", which almost seems like it is on the wrong disc. Still retaining much of the heaviness and industrial drums, the vocals here are clean and un-effected. Not a bad song, but it seems to be mismatched a bit with respect to the rest of the music here.

If you are a fan of industrialized metal, this disc will be right for you. If you are like me and are on the fence about it, then check out their tracks on myspace and decide for yourself before taking the plunge.

I want to say how I really feel about Insomnia but these guys sound like they might pop a cap in my ass. I had heard that (Hed)p.e. were a pretty good rap/metal band, but I'm disappointed with Insomnia as a first impression. After what little older songs I found on the internet, I'm absolutely sure I should've started with an earlier album. I wasn't expecting the whole gangsta thing that dominated this album.

Looks like this time around they were completely focused on putting out an album that was more hip-hop and gangsta rap than anything else. Ouch. If there's any type of music even the most open-minded metalhead just does not like, more often than not, rap is usually one of them. The main reason being we want to hear instruments being played with skill not buttons being pushed. Whereas, a lot of rap is describing what they do to female 'objects' of their species and what tough gangstas they are. Oh.. and drinking 40's.

Insomnia does have some punk and metal inspired tracks like "Habus", "Walk On By" and "Don't Let Me Down." Most of the other songs might have snippets of heavier music but not throughout the song and most of them are not very musically memorable. There almost was one or two. "Mirrorballin" started as a funky disco/metal song with the catchiest beat on the album, then turned ridiculously derogatory toward women and I quickly lost interest.

It seems, for the majority of Insomnia they were just trying to shock everyone by showing how disrespectful they can be. Now, I'm no holy-roller, but referring to Jesus as "that Nigga" was pretty rotten. Too many songs were blatantly offensive deterring you from looking for the few well written songs with something substantial to say like "Walk On By," "Children," "Tienanman Squared" and "Atlantis A.D." I would've liked to have heard more songs like that with more effort in the punk/metal area than all the gangsta rap, sex, and violence.

Trying to remain objective reviewing Insomnia was tough when women are only referred to as sluts. Hey, I like funny lyrics here and there sometimes too, but don't go looking for haters. More people would listen to you if you weren't trying to piss off the majority of the population half the time. And if you want the people to believe you're a leader and hear your important messages, quit boasting about how bad ass you are and show us.

Human Consumes Human is Greek band Homo Iratus' debut, originally released in 2001, and recently re-released by Arctic Music Group. They play mostly brutal death metal, and add in a touch of an industrial feel, and at times the drumming tends to have some hardcore leanings.

"Life-Like Violence" starts things off with a too-long intro, then a 2:30 song that is pretty basic, but still heavy and somewhat enjoyable, although unmemorable. "Dead Upon Conception" sounds almost like something that Fear Factory would have done in their prime (i.e. Soul of a New Machine/Demanufacture era). Super heavy riffs, brutal deep vocals, and cleaner/spoken stuff thrown in to change things up. This might be the best song here.

For the rest of the disc, it's pretty much the same stuff over and over. By the midway point of the disc, it starts dragging pretty badly, and by the end it's pretty much downright boring for me. In small doses, this is pretty decent stuff, but too much at once will lull you to sleep.

Florida's Khann recently released their debut, Tofutopia, on the unsuspecting masses via Black Market Activities. Blending screamo, metal, and grindcore, they create a sound that is fairly interesting most of the time.

What we have here is 19 songs of chaotic, fast, noisy and brutal music. Each song flows almost seemlessly into the next, not letting up to let you catch a breath at any point, and most of the songs are quite short burts of energetic noise. From the blasting "Himalayan Green", to the immense "Charisma" and the ferocious "Ignorance", the band keeps things amped up. Then, they surprise you with the trippy bits in "Apprehension" and "Anodynic Spheres". "The Lone Hum" closes things out with a 9-minute chunk of sludgy, doomy music that fades into some feedback type loop towards the end.

Khann puts together some entertaining stuff here. While not entirely in my typical range of what I would chose to listen to, they do it better than most, and I can appreciate the talent they have. Check it out if you are a fan of Neurosis, Isis, Rwake and the like.

Classic 80s metal outfit Lizzy Borden has returned in full force with Appointment with Death. It’s only their second album in eighteen years, and it’s clear they’ve had a LOT of energy building up over the years. This album is brimming with sheer power and adrenaline. With this CD, Lizzy forays into new territory while retaining his classic style. The new album contains many elements of Euro power metal. While the album does falter slightly towards the second half, which I call Defenders of the Faith syndrome, the majority of the album is frothing with so much energy and fist-pumping action that the weaknesses are (mostly) made up for. Nevertheless, this is an anthemic, powerhouse album!

The album begins with a guitar crescendo that showcases the album’s dramatics. Just like the rest of the album, Lizzy’s histrionic vocals, especially during his choruses, are exemplified by “Abnormal.” The bombastic “Kingdom of the Dead” follows with the same fun, catchy melodies and its brass background. The crusty riffing of “Live Forever” is next. The album’s best track, “Bloody Tears” follows. Its’ dual guitar melodies are reminiscent of a faster, harsher Crimson Glory. During this chorus, if you are not jumping up and down, rocking out, then you are not a metal fan, and probably don’t have a soul either. Unfortunately, the album simply cannot continue the power of “Bloody Tears,” as the record begins to meander with “The Death of Love,” which lacks direction without any unique instrumentation to accompany Lizzy’s vocals. Thankfully, that blemish does not last, as the next track, “Tomorrow Never Comes” is a singalong anthem, that plays its role (as the single) perfectly. The chorus’ multilayered vocal crescendo that leads into a solo is one of the album’s highlights. The album slows down with the eerie ballad “Under Your Skin.” Despite breaking the monotony of power metal ballads, the song has many irritating pop qualities. The next track is really the album’s last good song, “Perfect World.” It’s another catchy piece of power metal. After that, however, the album simply plunges into run of the mill songs that feel rushed. It’s a shame that an album that the majority of which is so strong could not go out with a bang.

Throughout this whole release, you can’t escape Lizzy’s soaring vocal patterns and unique rhythms. This is certainly not a bad thing. The greatest part of this album is that Lizzy is able to retain the qualities from the 80s that made them so great while modernizing their sound in the process. By adapting qualities from the ever so popular European power metal scene, Lizzy’s new album has something for both old and young listeners.

Hungarian black metallers Marblebog first releases Forestheart in 1995 on cassette tape only. It has since been released a couple of times in very limited quantities. Enter Autopsy Kitchen Records, who are spreading this out to the masses on CD, and in a limited edition clear vinyl release.

The opening track (simply titled "Opening") is an organ intro, completely different from the assault that is awaiting when the music really kicks in on "I Am the Forest Heart". This track has a doomy feel to it, mainly having to do with the recording, which is a bit murky sounding. Mid-paced, with a multi-layered, super fuzzed out wall of guitar sound, the song has a recurring guitar riff that is downright brilliant in it's simplicity. There are a couple sections where they drop in acoustic guitars, and even what sounds like a mouth harp, which is a very interesting addtion to a black metal song.

"Flame of Wisdom" slows things down quite a bit, yet is heavy as fuck, and still retains the wall of sound from the guitars. Closing the disc is the brilliantly titled "Closing", a 13+ minute bit of ambiance that begins sounding like an old monster movie soundtrack (might fit into Frankenstein), then transitions into a distorted bass solo for the last 8 minutes or so of the track.

Thanks to Autopsy Kitchen, many more people will have the opportunity to hear this great disc. If you like you black metal with a side of doominess and a bit of ambiance, then Forestheart should be made part of your collection now.

Montana's Martriden released their debut EP last year, which I found to be a decent, if unspectacular release. It did leave me wondering what this technically inclined blackened death metal band would come up with for a full length release, as the mere four songs on the EP are a pretty small sample. Enter their new full-length release, The Unsettling Dark. Packing 10 songs into a bit over 43 minutes, the band kept their approach the same, but seemed to tighten the songs up a bit.

After a brief guitar-laden intro, Martriden rip right into "The Enigma of Fate". Furious double bass drums attack while a wall of distorted guitars shred. Add to that some keyboards layered in there and ferocious black metal-ish vocals, and you have everything you need for a sold opening track. "Ascension Part 1" showcases the technical aspect of the band nicely. After an amazing opening guitar lick the twin guitar attack play off each other nicely during the first part of song, laying down a theme that is repeated a bit later. Metal guitarist extraordinaire James Murphy lends his talents by way of a great shredding guitar lead. This song flows perfectly into "Ascension Part 2", which is an instrumental and not as heavy as the first part. It is still just as technical, and if I could lump these together as one song, I'd have to pick that as my favorite track on the disc, with all the intricate guitar bits that tie together to make a great tune.

The title track begins with an extended intro, then commences to kick our asses with a most brutal assault of guitar riffs and pummeling drums. If you tend more towards the brutal side versus the technical side, then this is likely the track you will like most of this disc. The machine gun riffs that repeat a couple times are some of the most punishingly heavy you're likely to hear. "A Season in Hell" and "Immaculate Perception" bring things to a close rather calmly, with the last half of "ASiH" and all of the finale being comprised of classical acoustic guitar and strings almost exclusively.

So, did Martriden improve upon their sound from their initial EP to this new full-length release. To my ears, they very much did. They took what they were doing quite well before, focused it into slightly more concise songs, and came out with a top-notch result to show for it. Production here is stellar, with all the instruments coming through pretty much perfectly - if I was to say anything against the production, I would say the bass drums sound is a bit harsh and digital, and also mixed a tad too high for my liking. Aside from that nitpicking, this is a great release. Let's hope these guys can get hooked up for a good US tour sometime this year.

Slovenia's Noctiferia released Per Aspera originally in 2002, and it is now being re-released by Arctic Music Group. This is a vastly different sound than what the band had on their 2006 release, Slovenska Morbida. While the band is now rooted in industrialized metal, this disc is blackened death metal with some symphonic elements thrown in.

After a brief intro, we are greeted with "Grief of Master", an almost 9-minute affair full of complex riffing, numerous time changes, and plenty of symphonic bits thrown in (but thankfully not overdone). Also featured are a couple of really well done guitar leads. "Aught Against Thee" has an almost Morbid Angel feel to it, with the complex riffing taking the main stage here, and vocals that at times are David Vincent-esque. Massive trade-off guitar solos finish off the song in a strong manner.

"Never Rue" opens with a soaring guitar lead, then goes into some fairly heavily symphonic parts (with guitar leads still springing up quite often) topped with some black metal style vocals. Numerous blast beats, slaughtering riffs, and the pure power of this song make it the best on the disc. "Err to Hell" closes out the disc, and it gives "Never Rue" a close battle for best track, but comes out a close runner up.

If you are looking for something similar to Noctiferia's latest offering with this re-issue, look elsewhere. If you want some pretty damn good blackened death metal, then look no further than Per Aspera.

The Ocean's latest release, Precambrian, is made up of two parts - a 22 minute mini-CD entitled Hadean/Archaean, and a 61 minute full length disc entitled Proterozoic. Robin Staps is the guitarist, songwriter, and main mastermind behind the band, although he is joined by some 26 other musicians/vocalists/etc on this disc. How they were able to keep track of all that when recording and mixing the disc is beyond me, but they seem to have handled it quite well. To put The Ocean into any specific musical category would be impossible, as they mix in various bits from all sorts of styles, molding it into their own unique sound.

The mini-CD opens things up with 5 tracks of almost non-stop brutality. On these five songs, The Ocean focuses more on their hardcore roots, not fluctuating a whole lot musically. There is some really good interplay between the different vocalists here, as well as some great riffs and technical parts. A powerful way to get the listener for what is to come in the second part of Precambrian.

It is the Proterozoic disc here that really shines. Opening with a brief instrumental track that almost sounds like the soundtrack to a film noir, complete with quiet saxophone and distant sounding drum beats, we get a brief idea that this section of the disc is going to be quite different from the opening bit. "Rhyacian" itself goes from it's opening with quiet guitar, bass, drums and a piano, to a quick burst of heaviness, back to quiet again, this time with a cello taking the main focus. Of course, this is an 11-minute song, so there are apt to be plenty of stylistic changes present in order to keep it from dragging on and getting boring. Boring is definitely not something that comes to mind when describing The Ocean's music here. "Ectasian" opens quietly with a piano and cello laying down a sorrowful tune, then proceeds to clobber you upside the head with some fiercely heavy riffs, pummeling beats and punishing vocals. Of course, this being The Ocean, there is also a violin solo and some really spaced out electronic effects in the song.

I could go on about how varied and interesting the music is here, but it really needs to be listened to in order to get the whole effect. Go out and get this now - Precambrian is a brilliant record, and should be a part of every metal fans collection.

This is not just a female-fronted metal band. Otep is seriously testing the boundaries within metal music as an art form. Blending poetry slamming and political outrage with blasting, meaty, metal riffage is a clever way to intrigue the listener.

I read that they were once more of a rap-metal band that did a lot of "def jam" style poetry. But for a first impression, I don't really hear much more than a hint of that on The_Ascension. To me they sound more like old Marilyn Manson or Deftones and are heavy most of the time like Slipknot.

Singer Otep Shamaya can belt out screams that can rival most male metal singers of the genre today. Her experimenting with mixing poetry and metal has evolved into something with a very powerful draw. She can be soft and sensuous and hard and heavy all at the same time. Her lyrical prowess is matched by very few. Here is a sample from opening track "Eet The Children; if I'm a danger to myself just think what I could do to you..."

There were many songs on The_Ascension that were very good except for "Perfectly Flawed." I don't even know why that song is on this album unless they had to throw a sacrifice track on there in case the radio hounds got hungry. I picked four favorites because they were all very heavy and extremely catchy; "Eet The Children," "Confrontation," "Ghostflowers" and "March of the Martyrs." Otep also expresses her grief with her tribute to Kurt Cobain on the eighth track "Breed."

In conclusion, because of the passion and musical umph, the whole album was good (with the exception of the only boring song, "Perfectly Flawed"). There are twelve songs and a hidden sample of her poetry at the end. Even when The_Ascension wasn't fast and heavy it was still seductive and lyrically artistic. I'm also very impressed that she's using words as an art form and putting across important issues and not just hacking out meaningless metal songs. So unless you are way too picky, this album is a worthy purchase easily broken-in. I would suggest that you look for the Best Buy version of The_Ascension because it has the extra track "Special Pets" also available for a listen on their myspace.

Irelands Primordial unleash their sixth full-length release, To the Nameless Dead - comprised of 8 songs and clocking in at about 55 minutes of powerful, epic metal. It's not very often that a new disc blows me away on the first listen, as that is usually just used as a feeling out period for me, to determine basic bits about what I think of the disc, and if I even want to listen to it again or pawn it off onto someone else...er, I mean pass it along to someone else to review. TtND was a different story - I knew from the first listen that this disc was something different. From the opening note to the fade out at the end of the disc, it had my full attention, and it has kept me coming back time and again.

The opener, "Empire Falls", kicks off with a massively layered riff that fits perfectly under the mammoth and powerful vocals. The music here is at once heavy, melodic and catchy, with hugely memorable riffs creating a backbone that everything else clings to. "Heathen Tribes" brings a bit of a Celtic feel to the music, with some acoustic guitars and non-standard drums beats. "Traitors Gate" is the fastest paced song on the disc - not blast beat fast, but somewhat close at times - with hints of black metal in the riffing and drumming (but certainly not in the vocal department). Closing out the disc, we have "No Nation On This Earth", which changes things up a bit. The music is still similar in style to rest of the disc, but the vocals change to a gruffer, almost growling style for much of the song.

To the Nameless Dead is an enthralling disc, from beginning to end. Full of epic songs, dripping with emotion, yet retaining heaviness and strength, this disc is a true masterpiece, and most definitely one of the best releases of the year.

In a lot of respects Tommy Victor, leader, guitarist, and creative force behind Prong, has come full circle. Power of the Damager finds Victor and company in very familiar territory, yet it’s completely fresh and forward moving. Power of the Damager brings with it a brutal and unrelenting approach similar to early Prong records Force Fed and Beg to Differ, yet melds maturity of song arrangement, technical prowess, and production values found on more later Prong classics, such as Cleansing.

Essentially, what we have here is truly the “best of both worlds”. Produced by Tommy Victor himself, Power of the Damager is a pummeling and ferocious slab of metal with an infusion of good old fashioned thrash and hardcore. There’s literally something for every Prong fan on this record, and if you’re a fan of all phases of the band, then this is the CD for you.

Lyrically and thematically, Victor’s approach is as equally brutal as the music. Oh, and the music IS rather on the brutal side—the current lineup of Prong, featuring drummer Aaron Rossi and bassist Monte Pittman, bring the fury along with Victor, who is probably one of the finest metal guitarist you’re likely to ever come across. Speaking of guitar playing, it’s hard to not be impressed with what sounds like an invigorated musician in top form. The huge, angular staccato riffs are all here, and the playing is precise and relentless. “3rd Option”, for example, a song that lyrically defies the defeatist notion of “that’s just the way it is”, features some of the most impressive down stroking this Prong fan has ever heard from Victor. It’s the kind of riffing that you’ll find yourself pressing the “back” button on the CD player to hear again and again.

The record is so full of great highlights that it’s hard to zero in on a just a few, but the ones that stand out for this listener (besides the before mentioned “3rd Option”) include the final track, entitled “Changing Ending Troubling Times”, which features dizzying, precise musicianship and provides stylistic shifts from thrash and hardcore, to an infectious Sabbath-esque “boogie” riff bridge section. “The Banishment”, another stand-out, brings some trademark Prong metal-disco our way with a massive four-on-the-floor stomp to go along with the theme of sometimes not wanting to stick around to see how this sad tale of humanity is going to shake out. Victor’s never been one to mince words, and you’ll find none of that here.

Power of the Damager represents a true return to form by one of metal’s most overlooked visionaries. There have been ups and downs, but credit Victor for not throwing in the towel and coming out one of the most accomplished, brutal, and exciting CDs of Prong’s long and respected career.

You pretty much know what to expect with any new Rob Rock album: straightforward power metal, catchy choruses, and uplifting Christian lyrics. This album is no different. While that certainly isn’t an immediate bad attribute, it certainly doesn’t help it all that much either. There’s no innovation here, as Rob sounds just like nearly all his projects have always sounded (except possibly some stuff by Impellitteri). Nevertheless, hardened power metal fans will find plenty of catchy, virtuosic vocal melodies on this album, that like all of Rob’s earlier works, showcase his massive range. Anti-Christian metalheads should steer clear from this release though, as it gets pretty damn preachy at times.

Power Metal albums always need to have flowing, catchy openers, in the vein of “Eagle Fly Free.” While Rob Rock’s “Garden of Chaos” title track opener doesn’t reach the pinnacle set by that classic (but what does?), its chorus will certainly be stuck in your head for days. The song (and the rest of the album, for that matter) retains that classic bombastic Power Metal sound. This certainly is not a bad trait, but the next two songs, “Satan’s Playground” and “Savior’s Call” are practically the same exact song. The quality plummets even further with the painstakingly mainstream and poppy “This Time is the Last Time.” Unless you’re coming off a painful breakup, this song will simply make you roll your eyes. None of these songs have any good riffs or hooks, instead opting to depend on Rock’s vocals. The album picks up again with “Only a Matter of Time,” which finally brings in some precarious, riveting instrumentation—not to mention a solo that simply rocks. The album continues with “Spirit in the Sky:” a song that begins very contrived, before it kicks into a majestic repetition of the chorus until fading out. “The Metal Breed” is nothing more than another simple ode to metal, despite having a crunchy, headbanging chorus. After that is the album’s best track, “Millennial Rain,” with its powerful, almost thunderous chorus. The solo on the track is the album. It’s the only song on the album without any useless parts. After that great track, the record goes into the awful throwaway track “Unconditional.” I guess this is Rob’s song for his wife, profiling his “unconditional love” for her. Please Rob: sing this to her on Valentine’s Day to get laid, but don’t put it on the album. After this is the rock anthem “Ride the Wind,” which sounds like it came off one of Gamma Ray’s first couple albums. It also features a welcome solo from young guitar virtuoso Gus G. The final track is much like “Unconditional,” a throwaway ballad. Rock simply shouldn’t do ballads, as they simply sound lame. They lack the emotional sincerity necessary for great metal ballads. They just sound like light interludes.

The tracks don’t coalesce into one album. They seem fragmented, each standing alone in their distinct seclusion. The album does not flow, but some songs like “Millennial Rain,” “Only a Matter of Time,” and “Ride the Wind” have some catchy hooks, riffs, and solos. Much more can be said about Rob Rock’s stellar vocal melodies, which resonate in even the worst songs on the album. Overall, the album has a few enjoyable, standout tracks, but otherwise feels contrived and jumpy. Power Metal purists will still eat this up, though.

Sheavy are back with another slab of Canadian Sabbath-infused stoner metal. If you're not familiar with Sheavy, they borrow heavily from Black Sabbath, so much so that vocalist Steve Hennessey even has Ozzy's voice down to a tee, from the pronunciation of the words to his nasal whine vocal style. Picture Sabotage-era Sabbath filtered through a stoner rock band and you pretty much have their sound. I mean I would never call them a Sabbath rip-off, but if you want a modern version of the Ozzy-era Sabbath then Sheavy is the closest thing you'll find to that in my opinion.

"The Sleeping Assassin" kicks off the disc with a killer riff while "Demon Soldiers" and "Humanoid" carry the album in typical Sheavy fashion. "Dawn Of The Black Orchid" slows things down a bit while "Aboard The Mothership" kicks things back into gear. "Rings Of Saturn" has a killer riff that kicks into one of my favorite tracks "Here Falls The Shadow" which seriously sounds like a lost slower Sabbath song. "Lords Of Radiation", "The Dark Carnival", "Where Earth Meets Sky" all keep the album cooking in similar fashion as does "One Of Us Must Be Dead". "The Gunfighters" ends the disc on a rockin note and so we have another classic Sheavy album.

Sheavy isn't breaking any new ground here but why would we want them to when they do what they do so well!

I listened to Sol – Let There Be a Massacre five times for this review because it took me a few times to get the feel of the album. I usually don’t make snap judgments when it comes to something like this because doom and sludge are not your typical music. I happen to be a huge fan of this genre, hence the fact the fact that I was sent this disc. After about the third time, I just felt that this guy was trying too hard to be scary. This album reminded me of stuff I was doing in high school with my friends for joke bands. I would agree that dirge/sludge music can be repetitive, but there was just something about this that was lacking. I’ve read what others have said about this album and they seem to think that this is the bleakest album in history and can’t say enough about it, but I think that they must be listening to another disc or high on meth or something. I listen to all kinds of noise bands, in fact, I’m a huge Upside Down Cross fan and Larry Lifeless has got to have the single-most annoying voice in the world, but I love it. So why don’t I like this album, it’s because I don’t buy it. The whole thing sounds forced and a huge attempted to be overly scary.

Virtually a one man band except for an additional guitarist on one track, Sol is the brainchild of Emil Brahe. He sees nothing of any worth in the world and he tries to share this feeling with us through his music, but there’s not enough to impress the listener. The first track, "Centuries of Human Filth", fades out and goes to white noise which you would think it would signal the next song or something, but it doesn’t. The whole thing sounds like some kids who just put a band together and who are trying to scare mom. The next track "Apathetic Pride" is pretty heavy, but sounds pretty amateurish at times. "Boginki" follows soon after and goes straight up my ass. There is this hokey drum bit that goes on for a minute before the bass kicks in and that goes on for another minute. Then these industrial vocals pop in and it sounds like a sad attempt to be Ministry or Skinny Puppy. There is an accordion added later on, which is revolutionary and adds a real sadness to the song, but by the time the song gets to it, I already hate it. This song bothers me more than any other on the disc and it seems like it will never end. I actually like the next two tracks "Where Angles Rot" and "Era of Decadence". They remind me of some of the stuff the original Post Mortem from Boston were doing back in the 80’s and early 90’s, except that Mortem had better vocals. "The Inanity of Man" is also not so bad and has this great guitar bit at the end that is one of the best things about the album. It really captures the whole depressive qualities that have been sought after throughout the whole album. The last track, "Apocalypse", is the best track on the whole disc. Utilizing solely unconventional instruments like the accordion, clarinet, and banjo, the whole album is summed up with the most depressing song I’ve heard in a long time. I could listen to this track endlessly and enjoy every bit of it. I would have this played at my funeral because that’s what it feels like, a funeral dirge for the whole world.

So, after the fifth time I realized that I liked the last four songs more than the first three. The last track is definitely a winner. Is it worth buying on the strength of that track alone, possibly, if it intrigues you enough to want to hear it.. I think that there is a market for this disc and there are many that will love this album. Let There Be a Massacre is not a terrible album, it has some worthy traits and it grows on you the more you listen to it. I’ve heard that Emil Brahe is working on a new album and I’d be interested enough to check it out.

Not quite stoner rock and not quite metal Stereochrist straddle that line that bands like Exhorder made popular. At times sounding like a lighter rockier version of Pantera they have some cool grooves and swinging guitar riffs. “Supersorrow” is a ballad that almost sounds like it could be a lost Seven Mary 3 song, in a good way because I never really liked SM3.

And speaking of Seven Mary 3 the vocals can only be described as a more aggressive version of that. "Way Back Home" has my vote for catchiest song on the CD with it's chugging guitar riff. The vocals, playing and lyrics all sound inspired and collectively create a sound that is accessible to most mainstream rock radio fans and metal fans alike.

Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza is an extreme metal band from Tennesee. Playing a mix of metalcore with some slight tinges of grindcore elements, their music is typically chaotic and seemingly out of control.

Opening with a spoken intro featuring a couple rednecks yapping in front of a bar or something...skip it. The first real track, "You Gonna Buy the Beers or the Whole Damn Bar" is a technical metalcore piece complete with screeching guitars, screaming vocals, and lots of low e-string breakdown bits. Pretty standard and typical fare these days it seems. "I Don't Mean to Impose, but I am the Ocean" is next, and it's a much better song. A bit less chaotic and more well written, with less of the screechy guitar noodling found on the opener.

"The Electric Boogaloo" is a bit slower and easier to listen to, with minimal chaos happening, but maximum breakdowns, leading it to seem overlong even at only 3 minutes. The silliest song title is "Nobody Eats BBQ Two Days in a Row" (I guess I am nobody then) is more or less the same thing. Breakdown, divebomb guitar riff, blast beats, screaming vox. Rinse, repeat. You get the picture.

TDTE will appeal to people who like their chaotic, super fast and technical metalcore. There are more than enough breakdowns and all that stuff to please them. Problem is, from beginning to end, it all runs together into one long chaotic mess of breakdowns and divebombs. They are much better than a lot of the crappy bands that do this kind of stuff, though...and there are a ton of them out there now.

This disc is the most poorly recorded and played black metal I've heard in a long time. It sounds as if it was recorded out in the woods somewhere on a Fisher Price tape recorder circa the 1970's. I've heard better drum sound from an old crappy Snoopy drum kit (it's worse than St. Anger, even!), and the guitar sound is absolutely horrendous.

Upon Infliction is basically your standard death metal, there are technical guitar riffs at times with thought out and interesting solos.

Drums are typical death metal style and well played and the vocals are the typical growling, similar to Cannibal Corpse style and the lyrics are your pretty standard death metal subjects, “You Will Suffer”, “Surgical Murder”, “Dead Have Risen”, “Mutilation” to name a few song titles.

Although not groundbreaking there is some stellar playing that makes this disc a worthwhile listen for any death metal fan.

This 105 minute live DVD features footage from the Stodola Club in Warsaw Poland on February, 17th 2007, the final stop of their "Impressions in Blood" tour. The show was filmed with 7 cameras and is quite impressive when watched with a surround sound system because the sound is very high quality. Unfortunately I don't have a widescreen TV, otherwise that would have been even sweeter. As any death metal fan knows Vader is one of the enduring acts of the genre and this concert film just cements their explosive presence on stage and lets you get a sweet view of close shots of the band that you wouldn't be able to see at an actual live show. Their set list spans their whole career with highlights that include "ShadowFear", "Sothis", "Helleluyah!!! (God Is Dead)", "Out of the Deep", "Carnal", "Epitaph", "Predator", and "Wyrocznia" which has Orion of Behemoth joining them on lead vocals and it just sweetens the close of the show. Peters vocals and guitar work is top notch, as is Daray's playing who, in my opinion is one of the best drummers in the death metal world. Novy (bass) and Mauser (guitar) keep the sound as solid as ever throughout this whole brutal show.

As if the concert wasn't enough to satisfy fans the extras are cool too. The interview with Peter, which is insightful as he talks about (in Polish with subtitles) the bands struggles and determination to keep on top of their game, even in the face of tragedy, like original drummer Doc's eventual disintegration and death. There is also a cool video clip of "Sword of the Witcher" which is a song they recorded for the video game Witcher and has them playing outside a castle setting along with clips from the video game itself. Other features include a live photo gallery, desktop images, biography and discography.

This DVD is a must for Vader fans old and new and it would be a great place to start for people who aren't familiar with the band.

Germany's Verdunkeln play a sort of doomy black metal, with the black metal influence leaning a bit more towards the old school stuff. It's all typically slow and plodding, but at times they pick up the pace a bit. All the lyrics are in the bands native tongue, so I can't really tell much about what they are saying, but it's probably prototypically evil and dark.

Opening with "In Die Irre", we get some recurring chanting surrounded by breakouts of heaviness with the standard black metal raspy vocals on top of it. Tons of echo and reverb on everything here, like it was recorded in a large hall with poor acoustics or something. "Im Zwiespalt" is overly long (at almost 16 minutes), and gets rather boring after a very short time. "Der Quell" picks up the pace a bit, and has a bit of a Master's Hammer sound to it, but the pedestrian drumming and poor production bring it down too far if you ask me.

It continues on like this for a few more songs, never getting much more than slightly interesting to my ears. It may appeal to some, but I am not really sure who to recommend this to.

Noise metal never sounded so good as this first release by Werwolf Ensemble. Created by the mysterious duo of Robert W. (Guitar) and Marius H. (Vox, Noise and programming), this album goes beyond noise, nearly entering the ambient genre, all the while maintaining it’s doom origins. The first track "Wahrheit" is positively demonic and achieves what so many bands strive for, actually being scary. This track sounds like something that should have been played during the struggle between the possessed Regan and Father Merrick in the Exorcist. Next up is "What is Good", which begins with the cool quote about human beings being a virus from Agent Smith in the Matrix and then violently explodes in a sound experience that can only prove that nothing in life is ever good. Track three is Dem Unbekannten Gott, the title of a piece by Friedrich Nietzsche entitled The Unknown God, which exudes the power and disparity that only Nietzsche can deliver. "Nemesis", the following track, begins with tinkling of glass and metal to be followed by a grinding guitar loop and tortured vocals from the netherworld. Track five is "…And THE Stars Scream", which is not only a cool title, but this, is my favorite track. Ethereal without being gay, then detonating with such anguish, the music sounds like it should hang itself in depression. The following track is "Despair", starting out lightly, the downward spiral begins with a doom guitar riff and corkscrews further with layered vocals piled with noise. If hopelessness had a theme-song, this would be it. "Yule Horror" is a surprising piece that takes the most metal Christmas song, Carol of the Bells, and turns it into something so bleak, you would expect to see Santa floating in a blood-filled bathtub with his wrists and femoral arteries sliced open. Track eight is "Beyond Redemption", beginning with a recording of lilting vocals of a woman from long ago, absolute horror is layered over the vocals till the crushing noise takes over in elephantine proportions. The last track is Conjure, a doom invocation that can only be reserved for the Great Old One’s of Lovecraftian Mythos. While hearing this, one could imagine the Great Cthulhu slowly rising up from the depths to instantly snuff out your life, thus ending the album.

Werwolf Ensemble creates music for cultists. It is music that real Satanists listen to, not most of the unscary kabuki painted black metal that poisons the music industry today, but something that is truly black and filled with misery. This CD paints a landscape of bleakest proportions while letting the listener drift in gloomy euphoria.

I can recommend this disc to fans of noise and industrial metal, as well as folks who want something they can put on as background music without any pretentious bullshit. I look forward to future offerings from this band and if you’re looking to get a copy of this disc, the band is currently selling it on cafepress.com and can also be found on myspace as well. The more I listen to this album, the more I like it, so I’m giving it a decent grade.