REVIEW: NAPALMED - NEVER MIND THE MSBR, HERE´S THE NAPALMED

 

NAPALMED - NEVER MIND THE MSBR, HERE´S THE NAPALMED (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at Rehearsal Room Sport, Most by Radek Kopel.

Mixeed and Mastered at Daemon´s Pit by Daemon and Radek Kopel

Design and Layout by Radek Kopel.

Track List: 1-56:44 (Pt.1) / Never Mind the MSBR, 2- 56:44 (Part II) / ...here´s the MBFR

Fans of industrial noise rejoice !! Here is Napalmed hailing directly from the Czech Republic. Main man Radek is a master in combbining noise, sounds an elements in a way that is new (at least for me). Here is a list of unconventional instruments used here: metal junk, iron scrap, eggcutter, home-made metal guitar, prepared accoustic guitar, etc. This and many more things (and a lot of sound effects and processors) are used here to create this extrmely heavy industrial noise. This release is really a wall of sound... while the other one "Misch Masch Miksasch" is completely different, more calm and closer to ambient. Contact: napalmed@volny.cz

REVIEW: MY DYING BRIDE - THE DREADFUL HOURS

 

MY DYING BRIDE - THE DREADFUL HOURS (Peaceville Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Produced by Mags.

Track List: 1- The Dreadful Hours, 2- The Raven And The Rose, 3- Le Figlie Della Tempesta, 4- Black Heart Romance, 5- The Cruel Taste of Winter, 6- My Hope The Destroyer, 7- The Deepest of All Hearts, 8- Return to the Beautiful

 The masters have returned !! After getting back into the path of the style they do better with "The Light at The End of the World" here comes "The Dreadful Hours", their new CD. And this is an album that can be compared with "Turn Loose The Swans", sometimes heavy, sometimes dark, always depressive. As in the last album Aaron Sainthorpe has returned to th singing that he made famous in My Dying Bride´s first albums. But he has expanded his range using sometimes vocals that are closer to black metal (besides his more melodic side that is here in all its magnitude). Tracks are most of the time slow with bursts of speed in some places. The emphasis here is in the heaviness of the tracks. New keyboardist Yasmin Ahmed proves here that she is a great replacement for Martin Powell who is now in Cradle of Filth, delivering the chord progressions where the rest of the musicians construct their anthems of darkness. Favorite tracks: "Black Heart Romance", "The Deepest of All Hearts" and "My Hope The destroyer". Contact: www.peaceville.co.uk

REVIEW: MJÖLNIR - WHISPERING SORCERY

 

MJÖLNIR - WHISPERING SORCERY (Cold Blood Industries, 2001):

Track List: 1- Mysterica, 2- Whispering Sorcery, 3- Times Before The Past, 4- Dragon Sword, 5- Moonlight: The Nocturnal Serenade, 6- Bloomed But Withering, 7- My Sweltering Black Eyes of Innocence, 8- Falling Into Decay, 9- A Wasted Journey

This band is a really good one...exploring the boundaries of death metal and filling them with melodies, keyboards and female vocals. It is interesting how the conception of death metal has changed through time....years ago bands like Mjölnir would have been rejected by the die hard death metal fans. But today it seems that the guys have understood that this music is brutal yet subtle, ugly yet beautiful. Check for examplethe contrast between the male and female vocals or between the faster parts (almost black metal) and the more climatic passages. One point to remark here is Linda´s drumming which is brutal and avoids getting into the cliches of the style (blast beats, double bass drumming at hyper speed). The cover of this CD can confuse you....it looks like the cover from a power metal band...but don´t be fooled this is really climatic gothic/death/black metal. Favorite tracks: "Times Before The Past", "Bloomed but Withering" and "Falling Into Decay". Contact: www.coldbloodindustries.com

REVIEW: MACABRE - DAHMER

 

MACABRE - DAHMER (Hammerheart Recs., 2000):

Technical data:

Produced, Recorded and Mixed by Neil Kernon for Auslander.

Engineering by Justin Leeah and Bobby Torres

Design and Layout by Marco Jeurissen.

Track List: 1- Dog Guts, 2- Hitchhiker, 3- In The Army Now, 4- Grandmother´s House, 5- Blood Bank, 6- Exposure, 7- Ambassador Hotel, 8- How Bout Some Coffee, 9- Bath House, 10- Jeffrey Dahmer and The Chocolate Factory, 11- Apartment 213, 12- Drill Bit Lobotomy, 13- Jeffrey Dahmer Blues, 14- Mc Dahmers, 15- Into the Toilet With You, 16- Coming To Chicago, 17-Scrub a Dub Dub, 18- Konerak, 19- Media Circus, 20 - Temple of Bones, 21- Trial, 22- Do the Dahmer, 23- Baptized, 24- Christopher Scarver, 25- Dahmer´s Dead, 26- The Brain

Being a serial killer buff I find Macabre a really interesting band (first of all because of their lyrics). This time the guys are telling us the history of cannibal serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer who killed at least seventeen men and had parts of many of them in his department. I will like them to do one CD of each of the main serial killers (on their previous releases they have dealt with a lot of them). The music here is powerful death/thrash metal with an interesting drummer and good sounding guitars. There are many types of vocals here...from the growling one to a shrieking one (I don´t like this type too much). I like the way most of the tracks here spin around a main guitar riff that is twisted later to change its form but letting the main characteristics remain. The main thing here is their sense of humor. Favorite tracks: "Hitchhiker", "Blood Bank" (really punk!!) and "Apartment 213". Contact: www.hammerheart.com

REVIEW: LUJURIA - ENEMIGOS DE LA CASTIDAD

 

LUJURIA - ENEMIGOS DE LA CASTIDAD (Locomotive Music, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at Kirios in April 2001.

Engineered by Alberto Sabando

Design and Layout by Carlos Diez.

Track List: 1- Por Encima de Nuestros Enemigos (P.E.N.E.), 2- Lección de sexo, 3- Lilith, 4- No soy Carne de Cañón, 5- Cinturón de Castidad, 6- María Martillo (una Santa), 7- Beso negro, 8- Mr. Condom, 9- Larga Vida al Rock´n´roll, 10- Merece la Pena, 11- La favorita del Rey

Lujuria makes a music that is in the middle of hard rock and heavy metal. In fact I think that they are closer to the first of this styles because of the way in which the guitar riffs are constructed (Check for example the main riff of "Lección de Sexo" and compare it with the one in Motley Crüe´s "Live Wire". The main difference with hard rock bands are the vocals that are more raw and certain tempos that are faster and closer to metal. I like tracks like "No soy Carne de Cañón" because they are a little bit more original than the others. Favorite tracks: "No soy Carne de Cañón", "Beso Negro" and "Merece la Pena". Contact: www.locomotivemusic.com 

REVIEW: LEVIATHAN - DEL LADO DEL ROCK

 

LEVIATHAN - DEL LADO DEL ROCK (Leviathan Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at Mataderos Records, Sep-Dec 2000.

Mastered by A. Molina

Design and Layout by Daniel Trajtemberg.

Track List: 1- Marginado, 2- Destruyendo Agonías, 3- El Tren Se Va, 4- Oye Dios que me has Dado, 5- Mira Hacia lo Alto, 6- Postcrucificción, 7- Al Otro Lado del Silencio, 8- Lunes por la Madrugada , 9- No Bombardeen Buenos Aires, 10- Siempre que estás allí, 11- Desconfío, 12- Sólo Quiero Rock and Roll, 13- A Mi Manera, 14- Sucia Lady

This is Leviathan´s new recording and is a CD comprised of fourteen covers of bands mostly of Argentinean rock (but also including bands from Spain like Barón Rojo and Angeles del Infierno): ranging from the early seventies to the nineties. Bands like Kamikaze, la Torre, Polifemo or Pescado Rabioso were legends within their styles here in Buenos Aires. I think that Leviathan has achieved better results in those songs whose original versions were more related to heavy metal or hard rock, because this is were the band fits better. For example check "Solo Quiero Rock´n´roll" or "Oye Dios que me has Dado" to see the good results. Why am I saying this? Because if you are familiar with the original versions you will see that in those were the vocals tonality is more different than the ones from Javier C. Pereyra, the result is quite strange. It was a great idea to include new versions of "Sucia Lady" and "Marginado" that are songs from El Vago and Pereyra´s previous band called Flores Muertas. Favorite tracks: "Siempre que estás allí", "A mi manera" and "Postcrucificción". Contact: www.leviathan-hm.com.ar

REVIEW: LACRIMAS PROFUNDERE: BURNING: A WISH

 

LACRIMAS PROFUNDERE - BURNING: A WISH (Napalm Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed at lungfull Studios.

Engineered and mixed by Marc Patrick Fleischer

Design and Artwork by Kathi Klimm.

Track List: 1- Melantroduction, 2- Without, 3- Adorer and Somebody, 4- A Summer´s End, 5- Solicitude, Silence, 6- 2 Sec. And a Tear, 7- Lastdance, 8- Morning...grey, 9- Diotima, 10- Re-silence

Lacrimas Profundere...what can I say? Only few times a name fits so perfectly a band...Sadness, depression, anguish and all this dark feelings are transmitted through their music. Lacrimas Profundere is the perfect soundtrack for a suicide. A music conceived to leave scars in your soul, in your heart. Besides Christopher Schmid anguished vocals, the main element that gives the darker edge to Lacrimas Profundere´s music are the guitars that are melodic, and repeat a dark phrase time after time until it is stuck in the listener´s mind. Plus the acoustic passages and keyboards are added to make the songs deeper and more complex for the listener. Do you wanna cry while listening music? Try with Lacrimas Profundere and you will not be dissapointed. Favorite tracks: "Adorer and Sombeody", "Lastdance" and " Solicitude, Silence". Contact: www.napalmrecords.com

REVIEW: KHARON - THE FULLMOON CURSE - DEMO 2001

 

KHARON - THE FULLMOON CURSE - DEMO 2001 (Neodawn Prods., 2001):

Track List: 1- Sentenced To Death, 2- The Fullmoon Curse, 3- Hell on Earth

Kharon comes from Norway (features two members of Ragnarok) and their music is black/death metal (the vocals are closer to death metal...remember Paradise Lost´s "Lost paradise" or "Gothic" albums). They are exploring the lands of the more mid paced black metal and they not overabuse the fast blast beats . They prefer to use those riffs where the other guitar can play a slithering melody over it or slower parts that emphasize the feelings that they want to transmit. The tracks are long enough to develope some good ideas within the same song and explore through them without letting them vanish after the first time they play it. The only low point here is the sound which sounds muddy...I think this is unfair to the band because they deserve a better sound. Maybe on next release they will have it. Favorite tracks: "The Fullmoon Curse" and "Hell on Earth". Contact: http://go.to/neodawnproductions

REVIEW: INSOLENCE - REVOLUTION

 

INSOLENCE - REVOLUTION (Maverick Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Produced by Sylvia Massy Shivy and Insolence

Recorded at CelloS tudios, Mad Dog Studios and Sound City Studios.

Design and Layout by OG Flemdog.

Track List: 1- Death Threat, 2- Head 2 head, 3- Poison Well, 4- Natural High, 5- Revolution, 6- 1-2, 1-2, 7- Lifted, 8- Game Over, 9- Get Up, 10- Mad Science II, 11-Detox, 12- Sick, 13- Breakdown, 14- Sativa

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: www.insolence.com or www.maverick.com/insolence

REVIEW: HYPNOS - THE REVENGE RIDE

 

HYPNOS - THE REVENGE RIDE (Morbid Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Produced, by Harris Johns.

Track List: 1- Raven´s Opera D´Moll,2- Crystal Purity of Treachery, 3- Evil Awaken, 4- Regicide, 5- Journey Into Doom, 6- Endorsed by Satan, 7- Spider-Werk, 8- I am the Wind, 9- lost, 10- Heroism of New Era

Hypnos is today one of the main bands in the Czech death metal scene. And they deliver this style with extreme brutality and technical quality. This time they had the help of the great Harris Johns in the production (who produced Kreator among many others). Fans of death metal in the style of Morbid Angel (that is complex and with a great fat guitar sound with a lot of fast parts) or Deicide will love this release. It has all the elements required: a Wall of sound guitar, guttural vocals (Bruno is also the bassist...and bass can be heard really well thanks to the great mix) ,fast guitar solos with good note placement (not only a bunch of whammy bar noises), double bass drumming (excelent sounding drums), complex rhythms. Recommended for deathmaniacs. Favorite tracks: "Crystal Purity of Treachery", "Regicide" (this track is a classic of death metal!!!) and "Spider-Werk". Contact: www.morbidrecords.de

REVIEW: HOLOCHAUST - VALLEY OF MISERY

 

HOLOCHAUST - VALLEY OF MISERY (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed at.MD Studios by OKI

Cover Artwork by Jan Helin, Timo Nässi

Design and Layout by.

Track List: 1- Beyond The Violence, 2- Valley of Misery, 3- I Wanna Lie

This is a three track mini CD from this finnish band. The style is thrash metal in the old vein with some heavy metal touches and a more modern sound. The one good thing here is that vocalists like Doomer are sorely missed in the scene nowadays...singing somewhere between Chuck Billy (Testament) and James Hetfield (Master of Puppets-era). Also there are guitar solos and acoustic guitar intros that are not so common nowadays as they used to be (check the intro of "Valley of Misery" with vocals closer to a mix between Glenn Danzig and Fernando Ribeiro (Moonspell). This is to prove wrong all those who say that "Thrash is dead"...Music is subject to a lot of tendencies...who can say if tomorrow thrash will be the main style again and Holochaust one of the bands destined to the top?. Favorite tracks: "Valley of Misery", "I Wanna Lie". Contact: http://go.to/holochaust or www.mp3.com/holochaust

REVIEW: HOLLENTHON - WITH VILEST OF WORMS TO DWELL

 

HOLLENTHON - WITH VILEST OF WORMS TO DWELL (Napalm Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed by Martin Schirenc at Vato Loco Studio.

Mastered by Akeem Koehler at Indiscreet Audio.

Cover Concept and Layout by Martin Schirenc.

Track List: 1- Y Draig Goch, 2- Woe To The Defeated, 3- Lords of Bedlam, 4- To Kingdom Come, 5- The Calm Before the Storm, 6- Fire Upon The Blade, 7- Conquest Demise, 8- Conspirator

What a CD !! A perfect combination of brutality, originality and arrangements. From the start with "Y Draig Goch" the band starts showing interesting arrangements (specially on the keyboards and samples section that sound like coming from a movie soundtrack)...and who we have behind this madness?? Yes, it is Martin Schirenc himself!! For those who don´t know him he was one of the brains behind Pungent Stench one of Austria´s main metal bands in the late eighties and early nineties.  But the music here is completely differnt from the one that he used to do with his old band, here everything is done to create this kind of baroque death metal, full of ornaments, complex harmonies, outstanding arrangements while retaining the brutality, that is manifested mainly through the heavy guitars and his vocals. Martin has reveales himself as a great composer here and he is in charge of all the instruments except for the drums. The lyrics are done by his wife Elena. A future classic. Fabvorite trcks: The Whole album. Contact: www.napalmrecords.com

REVIEW: HAISHA / MIZUKO - SPLIT CD - HAPPILY NEVER AFTER

 

HAISHA / MIZUKO - SPLIT CD - HAPPILY NEVER AFTER (Crucial Blast Recs., 2001):

Track List: Haisha: 1- loser, 2- Secondary Survivor, 3- My Hands, 4- Moral Coma, 5- Gutter, 6- Sinking the Sky, 7- Thrash Hero, 8- Faggot, 9- Damaging Noise, 10- Limerance, 11-Twerp, 12-Being Different, 13- Ass Explodes, 14- Knocking, 15- Breathing Ghost, 16- The Revenge of Mr. Dill, 17- Moral Majority, 18 - Pissing Blood.

Mizuko: 1- Traitor, 2- Suffocating in Radiactive Gas, 3- Happily Never After, 4- Xob, 5- Hated in Cyberspace, 6- Raping a Dead Girl, 7- Keep Sleeping Dreamwhores, 8- Subjective Human Core, 9- Societal Collapse, 10- Azbongazeeowzhi, 11- The Light at the Edge of the Neuroverse, 12- Razing the Sky, 13- Frail Tranquility.

 I will do this review in two parts, one regarding Haisha and the other one regarding Mizuko.

Well, Haisha is an extremely fast and furious death/grind band with hyperfast riffs, short songs. The tracks here have differnt sound...in fact the first two have a completely differnt guitar sound than the other ones, more clear and less thin. The singer has two ways of singing...one that is more guttural in the fastest and shortest tracks and another one that is like a deathly version of Tom Araya (Slayer). There are longer tracks (which I like more) and short grindcore bursts like "My Hands". Also there are some rhythmic tracks like for example "Sinking In the Sky". Ideal if you love the style.

Mizuko start their part with a noisy introduction including some explosions-like sounds and some screams and shrieks before getting into the main part of their first track called "Traitor". The music here is completely different from the one played by Haisha. Here the music is closer to ambient and sonic experimentation. The band goes in the paths that bands like Merzbow and others explored before but adding their touch of originality in certain way of facing the composition of their tracks. Through their thirteen tracks contained here they explore countless possibilities of working with sounds deforming them in a lot of possibilities.

Favorite tracks: Haisha: "Loser", "Secondary Survivor"; Mizuko: "Xob" and "Societal Collapse". Contact: www.morenoise.com/crucialblast

REVIEW: EZURATE - INFERNAL DOMINATIO

 

 EZURATE - INFERNAL DOMINATIO (Forever Underground Recs. - 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed by Craig Baker at Digital Audio Designs

Design and Layout by Gulg-gath Immortum.

Track List: 1- Possession of Twilight Shadows, 2- Battles of Armageddon, 3- Descending through Black Moon Skies, 4- Baptism By Fire, 5- Through Haunted Caverns, 6- Seal of the Dark Legions, 7- Season of the Witch

This recording shows us a band completely inmersed in black metal, and its more raw variations. It is ablack metal that could have been part of one of Darkthrone´s more recent recordings, it has that sound that Norwegian bands used to have. Hyperspeed riffs. That create some hyperspeed melodies over a crushing blast beat drumming and a diabolical vocal that screams the lyrics to the moon. "Posession of Twilight Shadows", "Battles of Armaggedon" , choose the song that you like most and you will have black metal there. The sound (unlike some bands that are around today) is really good. For my taste, maybe the drums are quite in the front in the mix, covering a little bit the guitars (that maybe are a little behind) and perhaps it has a litlle thin sound in the snare drum, but this can be fixed with more time and studio experience. Listen to "Baptism by Fire" or "Through Haunted Caverns" and let yourself be transported to the darkest part of your being. Contact: www.foreverunderground.com

REVIEW: GODKILLER - DELIVERANCE

 

GODKILLER - DELIVERANCE (Wounded Love Recs., 2000):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed at the Frozen Citadel.

Mastered at Millenium Studio

Artwork by Olivier Mogis, Duke, Olivier Labarrére.

Track List: 1- Nothing is Sacred, 2- Wailing, 3- At Dusk, 4- When All Hope is Gone, 5- Dust to Dust, 6- For My Days are Vanity, 7- Wisdom, 8- I am a Stranger in the Earth, 9- Deliverance

I still don´t know why a lot of metalheads hate electronics...is it because they make a subconscious relation with dancing music? Is it because of a close minded attitudes? I wonder what this stagnant power/heavy metal bands that flood the scene nowadays would do with the help of electronics...maybe they would sound more original.Well, I don´t know but one thing is for sure: Here we have a man, Duke, who can teach all of us how to use electronics to obtain a great result. Having changed radically hisstyle since the prior Godkiller release, he has dedicated himself to compose this amazing and climatic, yet heavy as hell album. Whay I like here is the heavy experimentation that Duke is doing in order to create the atmospheres that his mind reveals to him. Distorted guitars and clean ones are used with the same purpose too. I am really waiting the new Godkiller release to see what he is going to do next. Always surprising. Favorite tracks: "I am A Stranger in the Earth", "Wailing" and "For My Days are Vanity". Contact: wounder@tin.it .

REVIEW: FOREFATHER - THE FIGHTING MAN

 

FOREFATHER - THE FIGHTING MAN (Angelisc Enterprises, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed at the Croft, Surrey (England).

Produced by Forefather

Design and Layout by H.R. Graphics.

Track List: 1- The Fighting Man, 2- A New Dawn, 3- Together They Stood, 4- For These Shores, 5- The Call To Arms, 6- Out of Darkness, 7- The Paths of Yesterdays, 8- The Last Battle, 9- When our England Died

How can we describe the music that Forefather makes? Is death metal? Yes, but saying that is to narrow...Is it black metal? Well, they have some riffs that sound like black metal...but that is too narrow too...Is it heavy metal? Well, they have melodies, certain power metal runs here and there, but this is being to narrow too. Is it gothic? They have some vocals that could be of the style, but that is being short sighted too. Well, then how can we describe this? I think the better way is saying that they are a combination of all the styles mentioned above, really difficult, uh? But it is true...the combination of elements of all the styles is here at its maximum. And I think this is in part because of the versatility of the two members of the band: Athelstan who plays drums, guitars, bass and keyboards and Wulfstan who plays drums, guitars, bass and does the vocals. If you like recordings were each song is different from the other and have many different moods then this is the choice for you. Favorite tracks: "For these Shores", "Out of Darkness" and "When Our England Died". Contact: http://members.aol.com/AngeliscE.

REVIEW: EDICIUS - AEON

 

EDICIUS - AEON (Deadsun Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

All Songs Written and recorded at Temerraire Studios.

Track List: 1- Ogden Blut, 2- Gothic Breed, 3- Tremendous Unknown, 4- Misericordious Insane, 5- Bledemon, 6- At Mo S phere S, 7-Ravaged, 8- By Cold Anger, 9- And The Pleasure, 10- Of Death...

Really extreme black metal but with some almost ambient parts in the middle of their tracks!! Is this possible? Here we have Edicius, a trio consisting in Icon on drums, Alpha Coin on guitars and Insane on vokills, bass and synths. Well I like the contrast between the hyper fast black metal parts and the others were the synths are predominant. There are also parts in which the fast parts are accompanied by keyboards in the way that bands like Arcturus for example would do. But what is more surprising as I told before is when they start at full speed, then suddenly they stop and you have a keyboard passage, then they aceelerate again and then stop again...The overall sound is good here, specially the keyboards (I think that the drum sound could have been a litlle bit more fat to give more power to the band). Favorite tracks: "Gothic Breed", "Bledemon" and "And the Pleasure". Contact: : www.deadsun.fr.fm

REVIEW: DIABOLICAL MASQUERADE - DEATH´S DESIGN ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK

 

DIABOLICAL MASQUERADE - DEATH´S DESIGN ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK (Avantgarde Music, 2001):

Technical data:

Produced by Blakkheim and Dan Swanö.

Recorded at the Sanctuary except orchestrations recorded at Trivial Studios.

Art Direction and Design by Travis Smith.

We all know what Blakkheim is capable of. We have learned that through all the Diabolical Masquerade recordings and his collaborations with other musicians. But here we have this. And this is a soundtrack for a movie formed by 20 movements divided in sixty one fragments. If we add that the other person responsible of the composition is the great Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity and multiple other projects) we obtain this wonderful release.And this is a combination of black metal, orchestra and electronics at its peak. We have fragments that are full speed black metal, others that are only the orchestra (and maybe Blakkheim´s vocals ...helped here by Dan Swanö) and others that are full of electronic experimentation. The overall result is amazing and very weird at the same time. I dont think that people who don´t like experimentation and dark melodies would love this but the more open minded people will see in this release a magnum opus. Favorite tracks: The whole album. Contact: www.diabolicalmasquerade.com or www.avantgardemusic.com

REVIEW: DEATH KNELL COMPILATION

 

DEATH KNELL COMPILATION (Eternal Night Recs., 2001):

Design and Layout by.Anubis Tatoo / Jon Echeverry

Track List: 1- Scared (Agony), 2- Crowned Child (Ancient Ceremony), 3- A Tale of Mankind (Dysanchely), 4- Vindictive (Tombe), 5- 666 (Denata), 6- Storm of the Thrashers (Incinerator), 7- Voiceless Scream (Horfixion), 8- Besmeared with Blood and Viscera (Festerguts), 9- Blackmoon´s Ritual (Stormcrow), 10- Hatt (Warlust), 11- Festering Clausura (Nefarium), 12- Diabolical Redemption (Abominattion), 13- Dreaming in Splendour (Mithras), 14- Connected with Emptiness (Throneum), 15 - Pleasure of the Blood (Hatework), 16 - Escondidos Detrás Nuestro (Prosapia)

This compilation from Eternal Night Recs from Colombia is presenting us with bands from a lot of countries from America nad Europe. We have interviewed and review CDs from some of them like Denata, Horfixion, Mithras and Ancient Ceremony. All the bands here are from the more extreme styles within the metal realm, that is death/thrash/black metal. And we have pretty interesting bands here like for example Dysanchely from Slovakia with its extremely atmospheric black metal with keyboards and a lot of clean parts (here they present their track called "A Tale of Mankind"), or we have rawer bands like Incinerator from Sweden with their crude death metal or Festerguts from Russia with their gore death metal with some female choruses. This is a good way to check bands that are growing in the underground of different countries and to have a sample of their music....that is always extreme. Other bands here are Nefarium (Italy), Throneum (Poland), Hatework (Italy), Prosapia (Argentina), Agony (Colombia), Tombe (Netherlands), Stormcrow (Italy), Warlust (Netherlands) and Abominattion (Brazil). The price of this CD is U$S 10. Contact:  et_night@mixmail.com

REVIEW: DARK SANCTUARY - DE LUMIERE ET D´OBSCURITÉ

 

DARK SANCTUARY - DE LUMIERE ET D´OBSCURITÉ (Wounded Love Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at THD Studios by Pascal and Arkdae.

Artwork by Arkdae.

Front Cover by Eric Esculier

Track List: 1- Preludia, 2- De Lumiére et d´obscurité, 3- Le Paradis Noir, 4- Reve Mortuaire, 5- Cet Enfer au Paradis, 6- La Chute del ´Ange, 7- Interludia, 8- Au milieu des Sepultures, 9- Ordre et Decadence, 10- Les Entrailles de ce Purgatoire, 11- Funerailles, 12- Que mon Dernier Soupir m´emporte, 13- Summoning of the Muse

A great ethereal release is the one we have here !! Wounded Love Records have released this great recording comprised of thirteen climatic and orchestral tracks. We have keyboards, violins, bagpipes, clean guitars... everything is used in a sort of dark folk fashion...and that is how I would like to describe the sound of Dark Sanctuary: orchestral dark folk music. I have to speak about the amazing vocals of Marquise Ermia, because they are amazing...I think this woman must have trained herself a lot to reach those perfect pitched melodies, full of inflexions and to get this amazing vocal technique. In fact her voice is close in range to the one of the great Kari Rueslåtten but here Marquise Ermia harmonizes her vocals in the choruses parts in a darker way. This is a CD for fans of climatic music and of music done by people who know how to compose. Favorite tracks: "Le Paradis Noir", "Cet Enfer au Paradis" and " Les Entrailles de ce Purgatoire". Contact: wounder@tin.it .

REVIEW: DAK LEGION - BLOODSHED

 

DARK LEGION - BLOODSHED (Deadsun Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Promo 99 Produced, Engineered and Mixed by Arek at Manek Studios. Promo 20111 engineered and Mixed by W. Wesolowski at Nazir Studios.

Design and Layout by Jaromir "Deather" Bezruc and David Najbrt.

Track List: 1- Intro/Adrenaline, 2- Perpetual Fear, 3- Show No Mercy, 4- Sins of The Past, 5- Endure the Pain, 6- Vein, 7- Razor, 8- Haemorrhage, 9- Anticipation of Death, 10- The Dark Light

The first thing that strucks you with this release is the really good sound that it has....specially on the guitars that are fat and loud (the drums sound quite strange but the drummer is really a killer one). Do you want brutality?? Here you have a lot !!! plus, you have hyper fast riffs but that are not played in one note runs, instead they are twisted and have a lot of breaks. Tempo changes, breaks...this band knows how to be technical (example: the breaks in "Adrenaline" at 4:13) and here is where the originality of this band lies, in the interaction between the four musicians..it is amzaing to see how many changes they can do within a song structure (they have a killer bass player too which makes things better). Favorite tracks: "Perpetual Fear", "Razor" and "Anticipation of Death". Contact: www.deadsun.fr.fm

REVIEW: CORPSE GRINDER - PERSISTENCE

 

CORPSE GRINDER - PERSISTENCE (Destroyer Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed at Da Tribo Studio, June 2000.

Produced by Ciero, Tchelo and Corpse Grinder

Artwork by Sidnei F. Capetto.

Track List: 1- Natural Order of things, 2- Sarcastic Symphony of the Universe, 3- Reflections, 4- God of Disunion, 5- Shadow´s Land, 6- Condemned To Die, 7- Necrorealism, 8- The Oppressor

What is death/thrash metal? Well, we can define this as death metal with a lot of thrash guitar riffs, or maybe as a structure that would not be out of place in athrash metal band but with a heavier guitar sound and faster parts and growling vocals. Well, Corpse Grinder is a good example of this. They are a death metal machine but they use a lot of thrash metal structures (take a look for example at "Natural Order of Things"(2:16), that drum pattern and guitar riff...or check the opening riff and melody of "Sarcastic Symphony of the Universe"). I like the way the band sounds, I would have mixed a little bit louder th snare drum and the hi-hat on the drums but the overall sound is fairly good, obviously with more money they can do it better. Fans of the styles have a good option here from Brazil. Favorite tracks: "Sarcastic Symphony...", "God of Disunion" and "Condemned To Die". Contact: www.destroyer.br

REVIEW: BURIED DREAMS - PERCEPTIONS

 

BURIED DREAMS - PERCEPTIONS (Oz Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Produced, Engineered and Mixed at Studio Fredman by Fredrik Nordström and Buried Dreams.

Design and Layout by Oscar Reyes Torres

Track List: 1- Illnamiqui, 2- The Riddle, 3- The Mind´s Subconscious, 4- At The End, 5- Cosmic Prophecies, 6- 360, 7- Perceptions, 8- Gods of Fire

A solemn keyboard and orchestral introduction leads us into the world of this mexican band. This world is completely made of progressive technical death metal. It is really interesting to see how the guitars are constantly constructing melodies and structures over the keyboards progression, even in the most compicated parts. The vocals are lying in the path of bands like Atheist or Death adding anguish to the tracks. There are a lot of calm passages with clean guitars like the ones in "The Riddle" (  2:30), followed by heavily orchestrated sections. It is amazing to see how important the keyboards are in this band....without them the music would have been completely different. Thumbs up for this guys !!!. Favorite tracks: "The Mind´s Subconscious", "At the End" and "Perceptions". Contact: www.ozproductions.com 

REVIEW: BRIGHTNESS - DRINK AND DESTROY

 

BRIGHTNESS - DRINK AND DESTROY - LIVE 2001 (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded on Drink and Destroy Tour 2001

Track List: 1- intro, 2- Senseless War, 3- Sprightly Nights, 4- Headbangers Symphony, 5- Metallica Medley "The Four Bellz", 6- Revolution, 7- A Hard Way To Go, 8- Bullshit and More

Good old metal !! Why is it that countries like Germany, Norway, Sweden and Finland have so many good bands from so many different metal styles? They range from clasic heavy metal to death metal, black metal, grindcore and beyond. IS it a cultural reason? I don´t know. Brightness is a trio that is in the middle path between heavy metal and old school thrash (much closer to this latest style...in the vein of Sodom) ! With those thrashy riffs and drum patterns this band kicks ass in this live recording. I think that the effect would have been bigger if the sound would have been better (specially on drums and guitars that are quite in the back...but maybe next time that will be better). I like specially when the singer uses his middle ranges instead of the more thin Dave Mustaine-like voice because for my taste that fits better with the music. One thing that I would love this guys to do is to add a bass player to keep the bottom end of the music. Favorite tracks: "Revolution" and " Senseless War". Contact: www.brightness-metal.de

REVIEW: BRAINDANCE - REDEMPTION

 

BRAINDANCE- REDEMPTION (Progressive Darkwave Recordings, 2001):

Technical data:

Produced, Edited and Engineered by Vora Vor.

Mixed at Audiology Studios

Designs and Illustrations by. Kinchi

Track List: 1- Refracture, 2-Resurrection, 3- Resurgence, 4- Return, 5- Relentless, 6- Reduction, 7- Resilience, 8- Requiem, 9- Reflexion, 10- Redemption

When confronted to this wonderful CD you only can think in the inmense talent that both members of the band, Sebastian Elliot and Vora Vor, have. I have to take my hat off to one of the most original releases not only of this year but of all metal history. What amazes me most besides their originality is the way in which Vora Vor does the arrangement. This woman does not let even one hole here to fill from the more evident elements to the most subtle keyboard or guitar line. This is one of those albums that you have to listen many times because on each hearing you find something new...it is really full of surprises. What can you find here? Heavy guitars, odd time rhythms, great vocals,melodies, synths, electronics, and many more things. Buy it or die because of your ignorance !!. Favborite tracks: The whole album. Contact: www.progressivedarkwave.com

REVIEW: BLOODTHRONE - STORMS OF APOCALYPSE

 

BLOODTHRONE - STORMS OF APOCALYPSE (Forever Underground Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at Pidgeon Club Studios, Hovoken. NJ

Produced and Engineered by Bloodthrone and Wayne Dorrel.

Design and Layout by Bill Smith

Track List: 1- Bloodthrone, 2- Storms of Apocalypse, 3- Mummification, 4- Serpent, Goat, Spider and Skull, 5- Darkest Path to Eternity, 6- Marching Towards Armageddon, 7- Mayhem Upon the Heavens, 8- Outro

Raw black metal but with more emphasis in certain subtle elements instead of on speed. Evethough this band plays this style and has a lot of hyper fast parts, I think that their main features are on the parts where the guitars shine more, like on the melodic solos (which are not so common on the style) and in certain rhythms that are very different from the one note runs thta are so popular. In fact I think that this bands prefers not to abuse blast beats concentrating instead in trying to get their own identity in the world of black metal...check for example the first riff on "Mummification" which sounds like bands in the vein of Celtic Frost...really catchy but at the same time raw and powerful... totally recommended for black metal fans. Favorite tracks: " Bloodthrone", "Mummification" and "Darkest path To Eternity". Contact: www.foreverunderground.com

REVIEW: BEATEN BACK TO PURE - SOUTHERN APOCALYPSE

 

BEATEN BACK TO PURE - SOUTHERN APOCALYPSE (Retribute Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Mastered at Leadbelly Studios - June 2001

Produced by Steve Austin (Today Is the Day).

Design and Layout by Bailey at Retribute Recs.

Track List: 1- Whores Bath, 2- Tremors Beneath the Skin, 3- Acolyte, 4- Antietum, 5- Failure Wine, 6- Six Gun Salute

Take a little bit of Black Sabbath, put some Down on the mix, then add some Saint Vitus and The Obsessed and when it is almost ready add some Cathedral, Trouble and Today Is The Day...then you will have a close idea of what Beaten Back To Pure does. This is music that is in the path beyond stoner rock, doom and death metal (vocally at least). This is a good CD for those who love those rhythmic, almost psychodelic riffs with a growling vocalist that pushes forward the music by singing in different moods and sounding like he is putting a lot of effort on it. The guitars sound heavy, distorted and letting space for the songs to breathe. Fans of the styles mentioned above will love this one. One fundamental thing here: the grooves. Favorite tracks: "Tremors Beneath The Skin" and "Failure Wine". Contact: www.retributerecords.com

REVIEW: BALANCE OF POWER - PERFECT BALANCE

 

BALANCE OF POWER - PERFECT BALANCE (Nightmare Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Mastered and Mixed by Todd Fitzgerald, Lance King and Lionel Hicks at Oarfin Studios.

Engineered by Lionel Hicks at POD and Summit Studios

Art Images by Will Putnam.

Track List: 1- Higher than The Sun, 2- Shelter Me, 3- The Fire Dance, 4- One Voice, 5- The pleasure Room, 6- The Killer or The Cure?, 7- House of Cain, 8- Hard Life, 9- Search for The Truth

Balance of Power is a well known and respected progressive metal band from the USA. And this band is for me the perfect argument to say that good bands like this one can do their style without copying another one (this is for all those Helloween/Rhapsody clones out there) and using a lot of original riffs and ideas (not only the old galloping and runs between keyboards and guitars). Here everything is done in order to create good songs, the melodies, the solos, the chord progressions...the great thing is that I can not pinpoint the influence of one band here...there are shades of Dream theater, of Shadow Gallery, of Vicious Rumours (in the most twisted and heavier riffs) and many more...all put together creating Balance of Power´s own personality. The plams go to the multifacetic singer Lance King who knows how to make the songs shine and to guitarists Pete Southern and Bill Yates whose solos are far beyond what most bands are doing nowadays. Fresh Air for heavy metal. Favorite tracks: "Higher than the Sun", "One Voice" and "The killer or The Cure?". Contact: www.nightmare-records.com