REVIEW: DARK RITUAL - DARK RITUAL

 

DARK RITUAL - DARK RITUAL ( Independent, 2000) : Dark Ritual is aband combining elements of traditional heavy metal with elements of thrash metal, power metal and a little bit of hardcore. The band´s sound is really raw for this style of music and makes the heavier parts more heavy. It is interesting to remark that this band with better production could be really important because they have what they need to do it. I think that an important point to exploit in the future are the skills of the voclaist, who has a really interesting vocal range, specailly on the middle tonalities (in certain moments he reminded me of Glenn Danzig). This MCD has five songs, and my favorite is the second one called "Flesh", with really interesting guitar parts and some choruses kind of hardcore that give some good hooks to the song. Maybe the weak point here is the sound that buries some of the things that this guys do (I think that the hihat covers some guitar parts that would be intersting to remark). Maybe a less muddy sound in the future would help them (I kno that it is a budgetary matter and that they are going to solve that in the future). Favorite tracks: "Flesh" and "Loca". Contact: darkritual@darkritual.com or www.darkritual.com

REVIEW: CIRCLE OF DEAD CHILDREN - THE GENOCIDE MACHINE

 

CIRCLE OF DEAD CHILDREN - THE GENOCIDE MACHINE (Deathvomit Recs. - 2001): This is a Death/ Grind band in te style of extreme bands as de Exhumed, Brutal Truth or Mortician. In fact, I think that what sets this band apart from the others are two things: the guitar parts that are really intelligent and killer, specially in the slower parts (example: "The Genocide Machine" (0:20) and (0:42)), which I think should be more exploited in the future to get more identity and certain drums rhythms that are not typical from the style and that make the listener not feel that the songs are too similar. (listen for example the double bass drumming in the title track (0:46) that makes the song much more interesting that what could have been if he had only played blast beats) I like this record, specially the guitars that sound really tight and the drums (the sound is clear and you can listen all that this guy is doing behind the drumkit). There are also a couple of things that are quite strange for bands of this style, for example the experimental "Isabella´s Nightmare" with keyboards and sound effects or "Extreme Cannibal Smoke!" with a slow beginning and medium sections. Favorite tracks: "Only One Per Coffin", "Extreme Cannibal Smoke!" y "Beethoven´s Children". Contact: www.deathvomit.com.

REVIEW: CHAOS AS SHELTER - MIDNIGHT PRAYER / ILLUSION

 

CHAOS AS SHELTER - MIDNIGHT PRAYER/ILLUSION (Crowd Control Activities - 2001): Really interesting work of this band from Israel fomed by Vadim Gusis, who is the brain behind this project, helped by Vera Agnivolok (guitara in the song "Dream") and Elena Blinder (vocals on "No More Suffering") . This release consists in two CDs, one called "Midnight Prayer" full with ambient parts and full also of synthesized sounds (listen for example "Dead Sea Song" or "Et Filii (Jesus The Swordfish)" to see what I am talking about) centered in a religious thematic (I think that Vadim could explain this better), and the second "Illusion", that is maybe a little bit more accesible (not too much) and spins around the two parts of the song that gives name to the record. This second CD is also full of synthesized sounds and the experimentation is a constant. Favorite tracks: "Et Filii…", "Et Spiritus Sancti (the Gipsy Judgement 2)" from "Midnight Prayer" and "Get Back !", "No More Suffering" and "Lullaby for the Wind" from "Illusions". Contact: crowded@relapse.com

REVIEW: CAGED - DEAD END

 

CAGED - DEAD END (Meathook Recs. - 1999): A powerful recording from this band that mixes extreme hardcore with the most modern elements of heavy music. The CD opens witha n introduction Halloween movie´s style before getting in the first discharge, the song "Packed Fist". The music of this band brings me memories of certain elements of bands like Agnostic Front or the first D.R.I. together with more recent bands as Biohazard, Sepultura or Soulfly. The main characteristic of this band is the combination of the vocals of the singers, one with more growling screams and the other one more high pitched, there are also moments with clean vocals and a lot of screaming choruses. The producction of the CD is good, mainly in the drums that can be fully appreciated here, and also the bass. Maybe the guitars should be a little bit more in the front in the mix to give more impact to the music that is really good (in the beginning of "Sane" they can be more appreciated in the parts that they play in unison with the bass and drums) . Favorite tracks: "AIDS", "Hemorrhaging" and "Immortal". Contact: meathookrecords@mediaone.net o www.meathookrecords.com

REVIEW: BASQUE - FALLING FORWARD

 

BASQUE - FALLING FORWARD (Independent, 2000): An exceptionally beautiful voice opens CD taking us to the magical music world of Basque through the first song "Somefire". This is the classical music of the future: melancholic, soft, climatic with a lot of emphasis on the feelings expressed through the beautiful female voclas of Maryasque. Elements of celtic music and folk are put together in passages adorned by the keyboard chords and the bass (it is interesting to see how Brandt creates all this atmospheres) to conform this dreaming songs. Arpeggios and vocal lines wrap their sonic qualities in songs like "Grey and Green" or "Kamehameha". It is also impressing how well this duo uses dynamics. The best way to describe Basque´s musi is with the sentence that appears in their website: "The objective of Basque is to give silence its place in music - to create space and let people´s minds breath" . Favorite tracks: "Falling Forward", "Grey and Green" and "Inheritance". Contact: http://basquemusic.com or basque@basquemusic.com )

REVIEW: AS ALL DIE - TIME OF WAR AND CONFLICT

 

AS ALL DIE - TIME OF WAR AND CONFLICT (Crowded Control Activities, 2001): This record can be described with one word: climatic. The fundamental theme in these CD, as is pointed by the title us war, and about this Clint Listing, the main brain behind this, makes his lyrics. There are a lot of keyboards bases and guitars used as support ina way that maybe Pink Floyd could use (in their more melancholic material), I mean, to create certain textures. The CD opens with a militar march and the voice of Clint personifying somebody who is sending his people to war. There are depressing songs that are very interesting like, for example, "Johnny Got his Gun" where Listing´s vocals seem a mix between Roger Waters and Johann Edlund from Tiamat ("Wildhoney" era). We can also point out the darkness in tracks like "Mother Earth" with Listing whispering very softly the lyrics, almost imperceptible, making stronger the feeling of desolation that he is trying to show. Favorite tracks: "Johnny Got his Gun", "A Tear for the Hero" and "The Longest Day". Contact: crowded@relapse.com

REVIEW: ABSCESS - TORMENTED

 

ABSCESS - TORMENTED (Necropolis Recs., 2001): This is the first recording for Necropolis Records form these death metal supergroup that was in the lines of Relapse Recs before. Formed by Chris Reifert on drums and vocals (ex Autopsy and Death), Danny Coralles (ex Autopsy) on guitar and Clint Bowen (Hexx) on guitar. The music on this CD is a death metal that goes back to the roots of the style of bands like Autopsy. Some guitar riffs are very interesting like they were for example in the classic of the aforementioned band, "Mental Funeral". This recording has thirteen tracks where the mainfeature are the more climatic parts like the first solo in "Rusted Blood" or the beginning of "Madness and Parasites" or the last solo of "Death Runs Red". The tortured vocals are all over the CD and you can find in them different textures , from a gutural vocalist to another one that is more a barking one in a Carcass style for example. The sound of the recording is fairly good, but it brings to memory the sound that death metal bands used to have in the beginning of the nineties (I think that the band did this on purpose) and maybe it would be better put the drums a little bit up on the mix and to have a sound a little bit less muddy on the guitars to emphasize the band´s strength. The hooks that Autopsy had in their first recordings are present on this one too in all its splendour. Favorite tracks: "Tormented", "Street Trash" and the spectral "Scratching At The Coffin". Contact: www.necropolisrecords.com .

REVIEW: WOHEDNESS - SKELETAL LIFE

 

WOHEDNESS - Skeletal Life (Independent - 2000): Pure grind/death is what this band does and they do it really well!! A really drummer is the fundamental part of this band that goes to the extreme of what is guttural. The riffs are played at hyperspeed. Do you remember "Scum" era Napalm Death? That is the band that Wohedness made me think about. The principal difference is that Wohedness plays more variety of riffs and include short solos in some parts of their music (is it a fuzz distortion pedal what I hear in the solos?). You can hear all this in songs like "Conspired Possession" or "Keeper to Tormentor" (with the most guttural vocals). I think that this band deserve a better production (eventhough the sound is good) to be more effective (perhaps making the drums sound a little less thin than here). They are really good in what they do. Maybe exploring more with the solos and melodies that they use sometimes will be a good idea. My favorite tracks: "Keeper To Tormentor", "Stenchcore Nextdoor" and "Truth of Fiction" (with short blast beats all over the song and some interesting drum breaks). Contact: corpsecore@excite.com  

REVIEW: TIM KASCH - TIM KASCH

 

TIM KASCH - TIM KASCH (Ubus Recs. - 2001): We have here the elements present through all Ubus Recs. Material: experimentation, noise, sounding madness…but here it seems that the device used to generate tis experimentation is different from the one used in other releases. Here it seems that Tim Kasch is using an analog synthesizer or a machine like that. It is interesting that some passages of this recording made me remember some experimentation that progressive rock bands or fusion bands used to do during their improvisations in the mid seventies. It is interesting to listen how many sounds you can achieve using this devices, sounds that are not heard in other part than here where they take experimentation to other levels. Contact: r_kasch@hotmail.com

REVIEW: THE SHOUT - ON ARRIVAL

 

THE SHOUT - ON ARRIVAL (Carbon 7 Recs. - 2001): I am not afraid to say that I have never heard group of people with so different vocal ranges before. And the interesting thing here is that they are not using the vocal harmonies in the way a classical chorus or a gospel or jazz vocal group would do. Here there are more influences, this is an eclectic group of people ranging from Gospel, Jazz, Blues, Indian, Classical, Opera, etc.etc. They can recreate great harmonies, vocal counterpoints and melody lines composed by Orlando Gough and Richard Chew who have also written together three outdoor choral pieces: The Shouting Fence, Corona and Journey To the North. This is specially amazing in songs like "Tall stories" a tale about 20th century immigrants thata arrived to North America and the five parts of "Axaxaxas MLO" which is a compendium of the skills of the composers and singers. The whole album is a must for people who likes great vocals, harmonies and counterpoints. In fact there are not instruments used here…the vocals are enough to build everything in a perfect way. Email: carbon7records@compuserve.com

REVIEW: TELESMATA / PRAYING GODS SPLIT

 

TELESMATA / PRAYING GODS - SPLIT CD (Ubus Recs. - 2001): Another experimental explosion from this two projects who dive deep into the forms of sound. Here are presented six songs from Praying Gods and three form Telesmata. As I have said before in the reviews of the other recordings from this artists, what is fundamental here is the search of new sounds created through devices that are not commonly used. Playing with sound and taking them from atmosphere to noise and then back is what makes this recordings so interesting. I wonder if these sounds can be used in a different context which I would love to explore. Favorite tracks: "Drowning River" (Praying Gods), Dissapointment Lake (Praying Gods), "Transmission Error 4" (Telesmata) and "Silicon Mass (Roaster Mix)". Contact: r_kasch@hotmail.com

REVIEW: TELESMATA - NEOLOGISTICS

 

TELESMATA - NEOLOGISTICS (Ubus Recs. - 2000): Another experimental record from noise/experimental master Robert Kasch who is also the head of Ubus Records. This Telesmata recording brings us fourteen tracks of sonic experimentation with a unique device called the Saylt digital voice synthesizer. This device can make sounds quite different than what one must be accustomed to listen to. What I like here is the variety of sounds that Kasch achieves through the whole album, going from something ambient like to the boundaries of noise in only a couple of minutes. This is for fans of this type of experimental music. My favorite tracks: "Meditation", "Transmission Errors 1 & 2", "Transmission Error 3". Contact: r_kasch@hotmail.com

REVIEW: SYMPHONY X - SYMPHONY X / THE DIVINE WINGS OF TRAGEDY

 

SYMPHONY X - SYMPHONY X / THE DIVINE WINGS OF TRAGEDY (NEMS Enterprises - 2001): This is the reedition of the first and third album from one of the main power progressive metal bands Symphony X done by NEMS Enterprises in double CD format in a great packaging that includes the lyrics from both albums. The first CD opens with a solemn introduction ("Intro The Dementia") before getting into the clasic "The Raging Season" with amazing choruses (in the vein maybe of Queen) incredible solos (this is a prove of the originality of Michael Romeo for those that say that he is only a copy of Yngwie Malmsteen. The songs are really well constructed (around guitar and keyboards obviously) and doesn´t show the vocals of the great Russell Allen (that is featured in the second CD presented here "The divine…". Songs to remark here are the before mentioned "The Raging Season", "Masquerade" (with that great keyboard/guitar harmony intro), "Absinthe and Rue" (killer guitar riffs , keyboards and double bass drumming) and "Tauting the Notorious" (a power metal race !). The second CD, "The Divine Wings of Tragedy" shows us a more mature and heavier Symphony X with better musicianship, an inmense sound (it is light years far from the one that was in their debut album) and a much better singer (Rusell Allen) with a lot of personality and that can give power and melody to all the songs. "Of Sins and Shadows" opens the CD with great strength and refinement. You can see the band is more tight and is not so focused on Romeo´s guitars or Michael Pinella´s keyboards as it was before (eventhough there are solos all over the place)…in this case the drummer and bassist shine a lot more than on the first record. Songs to point out: This is a killer album and the whole CD has great quality in its musicianship, in the compositional side and in the power/strength side too. If I have to pick one song to sum up it will be "Sea of Lies". Contact: nems@nems.com.ar

REVIEW: SILENT EXILE - DANCING WITH DEATH

 

SILENT EXILE - DANCING WITH DEATH (Naivlys Music - 2000): Silent Exile is a progressive band whose songs are constructed with an axis conformed by Cedric Rioux keyboards (omniprescent through all the recording) and Fabrice Blanchet´s guitars. This is not a mere copy of Dream  Theater, they are really original in what they do mixing the melodies of progressive rock with heavier passages. A distinctive feature of Silent Exile are the vocals of Chriss J.Y. that are not the usual high pitched vocals that bands of the style usually use. His vocals are more bluesier, more rock and roll. Songs are long and complex with a lot of tempo changes, solos and melodies. From ballad like parts such as in the beginning of "Stratosphere " or the beginning of "Glase Maakerstraat" to heavier stuff such as in the first part of "Images of War" called "Thunder on Ahland", this band covers all this range and the spaces in between. I think that some label should check on this band and sign them so they got the production and sound that they deserve. Contact: silent_exile@hotmail.com

REVIEW: SHADOWBREED - ONLY SHADOWS REMAIN

 

SHADOWBREED - ONLY SHADOWS REMAIN (Painkiller Recs. - 2001): Great death metal band from Holland!.This is death metal in the vein of Unleashed, Morbid Angel, old Sepultura or maybe Bolt Thrower. Crunchy rhythms and fast leads are trademarks of this style and Shadowbreed has that and much more (see as an example the CD opener "Warcraft (After 2001 Stories)"). A great guitar riff opens great song "In the Shadow of Ygdrassil" with rhythms to bang your head with. This band is supporting legendary dutch death metal band Thanatos in a tour through the Netherlands now and it seems from what I can hear in the CD that they must be a killer live act! (They have done shows with bands as Cannibal Corpse, Mayhem, Deicide, Hades Almighty, Primordial, etc. etc.). The recording has a killer sound: The recording was done in Harrow Productions Holland and was mastered by Harry Wijering (Harrow). I loved the guitar riff in the beginning of "Path In The Dark"…this is one of the best tracks not only in this album but in the death metal genre…it sounds great!. My favorite tracks: "Path In The Dark", "Battlerager" and "Warriors Blood" (with pumping bass sound included). Contacts: painkiller@infonie.be

SANITY´S DAWN RELEASE "CHOP COPPER"

 

SANITY´S DAWN - CHOP COPPER (Shredded Recs. - 2000): This Grind / death band from Germany has released a really good record for lovers of the style ( I think that people who like more extreme hardcore music will also love this release because there are some riffs that remind that style). Two different styles of vocals (it reminded me of Brutal Truth´s singer in some places) are the main characteristic of the band. The opening with "Half a brain" is a really powerful one with some rhythmic guitar riffs in the middle part. In fact I think that the band should exploit more this type of rhythms instead of ussing the blast beat parts that have the characteristic of sounding similar. For example the riff in "Fat Stinking Bitch" (0:35) is one that can be expanded and explored or for example the riff that opens "Pulled out tongue for my Kebap". Some riffs in "Komisch in Kopf" reminded me of early Carcass records I felt something similar listening to "Sewing lampshades with a scrotum and spermatic cords". I think this band has the potential to become one of the bests in the genre. Plus I think their drummer is really good at what he is doing. Favorite tracks: "Komisch in Kopf", "Pulled out tongue for my Kebap" and "Fat, splat and dead". Email: shredded@t-online.de

REVIEW - RHAPSODY - DAWN OF FIRE

RHAPSODY - DAWN OF VICTORY PROMO (NEMS Enterprises - 2000): Rhapsody is back after the "Symphony of Enchanted Lands" !! The two songs contained on this promo package continues the path of their two previous albums: epic songs full of melodies, double bass drumming and amazingly clean vocals (courtesy of Fabio Lione). Plus you have the always shredding Luca Turilli on guitars. The two songs in this sampler are quite similar to the ones that can be found in their previous effort "Symphony from Enchanted Lands". "Holy Thunderforce" is a great song destined to be a Rhapsody classic with interesting guitar and keyboards solos from the two main composers Luca Turilli and  Alex Staropoli. "Dawn of Victory" the title track is a faster one with a lot of interesting keyboard lines, some violin lines that make the result still better and great drumming and choruses. Rhapsody continues to develop their own style in this third recording with all their trademarks. Email: nems@nems.com.ar

REVIEW: RAVENS OVER GOMORRAH - DARKLY MELISMA

 

RAVENS OVER GOMORRAH - DARKLY MELISMA (Independent - 1999): Excellent metal band (in a black/death metal style ) with great melodies. In the three songs presented here they demonstrate a great cohession as a band with great melodies (see for example "Sacred and Profane Love"), interesting rhythms and corrosive vocals as well as spoken parts. They are really a promisory band. I would like tosee them recording with the budget of say Morbid Angel or a band like them to develope their full potentional. Excellent guitar parts and excellent technical drumming (apart from the blast beats parts) full of double bass. This band is going to release their new opus this year. I hope they can reach a broader audience since they are a really good band. My favorite tracks: the three tracks are excellent but if I had to pinpoint one of them would be "Kingdom Beneath the Wolf" that contains all the elements of Ravens over Gomorrah´s sound.Contact: heavenfalls@hotmail.com

REVIEW: PRAYING GODS - ANTLERS

 

PRAYING GODS - ANTLERS (Ubus Recs. - 2001): Extremely experimental ambient/noise project. Praying Gods are experimenting with sounds in a way nobody else does. The tracks consist in linking different sounds (sounds of different nature) to create an atmosphere or develope an idea. Lovers of bands like Telesmata or VoidChannel will be delighted with this release. There are tracks that seem more coherent than others, for example "Country Style" or "Burning Birch Timber". I can not tell you which instruments is this guy using but they sound really interesting, maybe a great way to explore would be mixing this sounds with a more common song structure so the idea developes in a different way like in "Ingrown Hair" for example. For fans of experimentation and sound madness. My Favorite tracks: "Ingrown Hair", "Radioplasma" and "Them Leaves is a Fallin´". Contact: r_kasch@hotmail.com

REVIEW: PECCATUM - STRANGLING FROM WITHIN

 

PECCATUM - STRANGLING FROM WITHIN (Candlelight Recs. - 1999): A beautiful opening of violins that leads to a harpsichord intro leads us into the world of Peccatum. This is Ihsahn´s (Emperor) project with the amazingly beautiful vocals of Ihriel and the orchestrations that in Emperor could seem out of place but here are of extreme beauty. It is really interesting the contrast of the male vocals (Ihsahn and Lord PZ) with the female (Ihriel). I think that here Ihsahn found a place to experiment things and stretch his music a little bit further than what he does in Emperor. For example there are certain passages with extremely vocals (kind of what King Diamond does). The opening "Speak of the Devil (As the Devil may Care) " is really amazing, the second song ("The Change") however is more similar to Emperor´s material. I think the best parts are were the similarity is not so strong and the passages with Ihriel´s vocals. There are great choruses in here (listen to the middle section of "The Change" or "The Song Whick No Name Carry" to know what I am talking about) and a killer guitar riff opens " The Song Whick No Name Carry " which is one of the best tracks of the album with twisted vocals and good orchestration. A really interesting album with a lot of experimentation within the black/dark metal realm that I think will please all those who love music to evolve and become better and different each time. My favorite tracks: "Speak of the Devil…", "The Sand was Made of Mountains" (with cleaner male vocals and interesting guitar solo) and "I Breathe Without Access to Air". Contact: www.candlelightrecords.co.uk

REVIEW: PAUL NELSON - LOOK

 

PAUL NELSON - LOOK - PROMO CD (Independent - 2001):  Virtuoso guitarist Paul Nelson (Liege Lord) unleashes melodies and chops through all the song that compose this promo CD called "Full Blast". Nelson is a great guitar player as has been shown in his work with the beforementioned band and countless collaborations with diverse artists. This song is reminiscent of the shredding fever that was popular in the eighties. I can listen to shades of Joe Satriani, Vinnie Moore and Steve Morse but with a lot of personality in Nelson´s sound. Legatos, speed picking, sweep picking,are predominant aprt of Nelson´s style. I would like to listen the complete work because this guy has a total dominion of his instrument, creating passages full of virtuosity, melodies and good taste. Contact: Liegelord2@aol.com

REVIEW: MURDER SQUAD - UNSANE, INSANE AND MENTALLY DERANGED

 

MURDER SQUAD - UNSANE, INSANE AND MENTALLY DERANGED (Pavement Music - 2001): Death metal the way it used to be in the beginning of the nineties ! Including that muddy sound that was present in the first releases of Entombed, Dismember and Carnage. This is a side project of four famous musicians whose main bands are Entombed (Uffe Cederlund and Peter Stjärnvind) and Dismember (Matti Karki and Rickard Cabeza). The result is similar to what this guys did in the first recordings of the above mentioned bands but with a clearer sound and more experience in the composition of death metal songs. Album opener "Slowly Burnt to Death" is a clear demonstration of what you can find in this recording (and it makes me remember a song from ex Entombed/Therion member Lars Rosemberg´s project when he came to Argentina). Speed, growls, hyper fast leads, deathly slow rhthms, is like watching a catalogue of the best features in the death metal genre (and they sound extremely swedish too). Favorite Tracks: "Twisted High", "The Return of the Rotten" (both musically and lyrically) and "Bloodfreak". Contact: bloodfreaks@hotmail.com

REVIEW: MORGUL - SKETCH OF SUPPOSED MURDERER

 

MORGUL - SKETCH OF SUPPOSED MURDERER (Century Media - 2001): Jack D. Ripper is a strange character and is the only member behind Morgul´s music (the band started as a duo in the early nineties). I think I can define his music as being dark metal with great keyboard orchestration, multiplicity of vocals (clean, high pitched screams, etc.) He introduces the album with the song "Violent Perfect Illusions" with a keyboard melody, orchestration and accentuation done perfectly. What I liked a lot of this Cd is the mixture of standard death metal with all this classical music passages and eastern and folk melodies. The originality is omniprescent in this CD and he dares to do a Kiss cover (that could be a sacrilege for some death/black metal close-minded fans) "She" (I think here the sound is not as good as in the rest of the album maybe is because the guitar riffs and keyboard bases are not as dense as in the other songs) in a very strange version. There are also some pieces with great piano and keyboards like for example "Truth, Liars and Dead Flesh" that for me is the darker song on the CD (the piano melody remembers me of some english horror movies soundtrack from the sixties). My favorite songs: "Of Murder and Misfortune" (with some blast beats than by an electronic drum), "Truth, Liar and Dead Flesh" and "Once Again" (an industrial/death/black experiment). Contact: www.centurymedia.com and http://home.no.net/morgul

REVIEW: MIDNIGHT SYNDICATE - GATES OF DELIRIUM

 

MIDNIGHT SYNDICATE - GATES OF DELIRIUM (Entity Prods. - 2001): The music that Midnight Syndicate developes can be called the soundtrack of a very dark and atmospheric horror movie, because this is the way they are composing now. "Gates of Delirium" is Midnight Syndicate´s fourth recording and is really amazing! The concept of this CD is the story of a madhouse from last century called Haverghast Asylum. The compositional skills of Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka are very mature and they are emphasizing the textures and atmospheres through all the albums with a load of keyboards and samplers. Plus there are voices from the characters of the story that really transport the listener into Haverghast Asylum. Twenty one great gothic and dark songs/passages composethis recording where I would point out the magnificence of "Haverghast Asylum" with its sad melody, the persecution like atmosphere in "Halls of Insurrection" or the orchestration grandeur in "Residents Past". The whole album is really amazing an they have become one of my favoirte bands because of their musical and compositional skills. This is an album to listen with the lights out and letting your imagination flow. 

Contact: info@midnightsyndicate.com

REVIEWS: MADDER MORTEM - ALL FLESH IS GRASS

 

MADDER MORTEM - ALL FLESH IS GRASS (Century Media - 2001): Agnete M. Kirkevaag has a powerful voice. And this is the first thing I though t when her voice appeared in the first song ("Breaker of Worlds") of this album, the second CD from this norwegian band (The first one is called "Mercury"). This woman uses her voice in a completely different way than most female vocalists do nowadays: she is really more aggressive. I mean she is energetic but he knows how to do it while singing great original melodies over the wall of sound created by the musicians. The second thing that came into my mind is the quality of the sound in this recording: is fantastic! Recorded on Studio Underground from Sweden where bands like Opera IX, Carnal Forge or Necrodeath have recorded, this CD features nine tracks of pure heaviness, pure twisted melodies and strange vocal harmonies. What the band wants to emphasize are the different atmospheres and textures that you can find through all the CD: Pure heaviness ("To Kill and Kill Again"), depression and despair ("The Cluster Children"), beauty ("Head on Pillow"). This is an amazing second effort of this promising band. I have not listened their debut but I would love to, considering the quality of "All Flesh is Grass". Favorite Tracks: The Whole Album. Contact: www.centurymedia.com or www.maddermortem.com

REVIEW: LUTI KRISS - THROWING MYSELF

 

LUTI KRISS - THROWING MYSELF (SolidState Recs. - 2001): This band´s music is really heavy, modern and climatic…the first band that comes to my mind when listening to them is Deftones, also I feel there are some shades of Fear Factory and Pantera in there but in a minor proportion. The recording has a strange introduction with some noises and effects before getting into "Black Smith" with great tempo changes in some parts. Followed by "The "Annihilat" Ion" a song with furious rhythms and vocals. Some exotic sounding melodies along with some breathing bases are thrown in "Ligh Blue Collar " one of my favorite tracks from this recording. "Patinetly Philadelphia" starts with an original riff before getting into some vocal madness and melody lines that creat an atmosphere of oppression. This band is really original and gives a needed new twist to modern metal music. My favorite tracks: "Light Blue Collar", "Patiently Philadelphia" and "An Act of My Own Volition". Contact: teresa@toothandnail.com

REVIEW: KRATORNAS- THE ONSLAUGHT OF BATTLE DEMONS, UNHOLY IMPALER - COLLECTION OF MEPHISTOPHILIS, PAGAN WINTER - INFEROS

 

KRATORNAS- THE ONSLAUGHT OF BATTLE DEMONS, UNHOLY IMPALER - COLLECTION OF MEPHISTOPHILIS, PAGAN WINTER - INFEROS (Ligum Dulum Prods. - 2000): This is a cassette that the people in ligum Dulum Prods. sent me containing songs from three of their bands, Kratornas from Philippines, Unholy Impaler from Italy and Pagan Winter from Germany. Kratornas is a really fast bands with elements of death/black metal and grindcore. They have interesting parts when they try to go slower and develop good ideas. What find strange here are some of the vocals that are two highpitched and distorted and seem an electric saw (maybe is because the sound is not really good). "Armaments of Sadism" is the song that I think Kratornas must use as a mould for new songs. Un holy Impaler has different songs and riffs with a crushing guitar sound (evethough the mix is not so good) and they have originality in their black metallish music. Songs like "Horror Village" and "Ritual tribal practice" are future classics of the underground. Germany´s Pagan Winter are graced with the better sound of the three bands here. Their music is raw black metal with fast riffs, blast beats and the vocals typical in the genre. There are also influences of bands of 80s thrash metal like Kreator, Destruction and early Sodom. Also there are some Bthory influences too, but with a faster edge like in bands such as Immortal. A great mix to my ears. Contact: ligumdulum@angelfire.com

REVIEW: KEMET - DYING WITH ELEGANCE

 

KEMET - DYING WITH ELEGANCE (Deadsun Recs. - 2000): Exceptional record from this great band from France. A mix of doom and gothic parts with great climatic vocals, ocassional screamings and great guitars are what make this recording so special. The opening with "Immaculate is really a great beginning with clean guitars pushing through a melody that soon becomes a distorted rythm in the fashion of My Dying Bride or Anathema. The vocals in this track are awesome, sort of a cross of Pete Steele and Aaron from My Dying Bride in the clean parts but worked out in a completely different way (In fact what I like from the singer is that he can transmit the feelings which he is singing about) . In fact the second song "Cowardly yours" starts in amore death metal fashion but getting more climatic after a few seconds. In the middle part of this song there is a screaming part (sort of black metallish) with some Emperor´s shades. "Will you forgive me" has the addition of really interesting bass lines that ornaments the work of the voclas and some twin guitar harmonies that are fundamental for the harmonies. This is an album to listen numerous times because you can find something new each time you listen it. Specially beautiful are the female vocals in "Like a Musing" that make an interesting contrast with the vocalist´s vocals and the guitar solo melodie in the middle of that song. The inclussion of acoustic guitars in some of the songs really help to remark the atmospheres that are present throughout the whole album. My favorite tracks: "Like a Musing", "Immaculate" and "Insignificant". Email: gurkkhas@aol.com

REVIEW: KATATONIA - LAST FAIR DEAL GONE DOWN

 

KATATONIA - LAST FAIR DEAL GONE DOWN (Peaceville Recs. - 2001): As they always did, Katatonia manages this time to surprise you with their newest recording. The atmospheres so depressing in their previous recording are present here two but in a more subtle way: as one can see in opener "Dispossession" (sort of Pink Floyd in some places, specially in the vocals). There is more contrast between the heavier parts such as the ones present in "Chrome" and the cleaner ones ("We Must Bury You" (with great lyrics)) specially when they are put one next to each other. What amazes here is the sound that is cleaner and more up to the fron than in previous recordings…I think the production is much better here (the CD was recorded on the great Sunlight Studios from Sweden and was recorded, mixed and engineered by legend Tomas Skogsberg, Jocke Petterson and Katatonia themselves). What I like from Katatonia is their hability to make a fusion of metal, gothic, dark and experimental music to create their own style (and this have made fans form such different styles as death/black metal and gothic music to like them). Jonas Renkse vocals are as charming, hypnotic and personal as always (check as an example "Tonight´s Music") and Anders Nyström and Fred Norrman are amazing in their job of constructing the songs with rhythms and subtle melodies. Katatonia is one of those bands that never will dissapoint you. My favorite tracks: "We Must Bury You", "The Future of Speech" (great orchestration) and "Sweet Nurse". Contact: www.peaceville.com

REVIEW: INSOLENCE - REVOLUTION

 

INSOLENCE - REVOLUTION (Maverick Recs. - 2001): This intense recording of this band from San Jose, California is a welcome addition to the "new metal" scene. The sound of the band is a mix of bands like Soulfly, Living Sacrifice, Korn, Limp Biskit (also some of the vocals are similar to the ones in The Prodigy and some melodies really twisted like the ones you can hear in a band like Tool) and many more. There are also some reggae and funk influences too. This band is really tight and it looks like that it has been rehearsing and playing live a lot. "Death Threat", the song that opens the CD is a song destined to be a hit. Second song " Head 2 Head" is much more aggressive and I liked it much more because of the strength that pours out of all the song´s parts. There are fourteen songs in this CD, including one experimental/industrial/hip-hop track called "Mad Science II". The band is touring with Soulfly, so I think that those concerts willbe killer…plus it would be good to see Insolence live to see their live act that they tell is very impressive. Contact: christian@susanblondinc.com