REVIEW: UNFOLDING - CIMMERIAN LANDS

 

UNFOLDING - CIMMERIAN LANDS (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed at Aale Studio by Filax, Thierry Kinsch and Unfolding

Mastered by Pier.

Female Vocals by Annabelle Saffran.

Track List: 1- Enshroud the Light, 2- Away, 3- Unfolding, 4- Needs Grown Apace

This is one of my favorite recordings of the month...and the band comes from Luxembourg !!!I would define Unfolding´s music as death metal with heavy metal riffs and a lot of technical skills. There are a lot of arrangements on the tracks and a heavy use of subtle elements. Clean guitars are used for example, on away in order to create the appropriate atmosphere for this musicians to develope the melodies that form the song and in order to explore some darker paths. Guest female vocals are added in some places to enhance this dark feeling. The four tracks of this MCD contain different parts within its structures and it is amazing how well rehearsed are this four musicians in order to achieve this great results in such difficult compositions. This is one of those CDs that you have to get for your collection!! Favorite tracks: The four tracks contained here. Contact: www.okay.lu/unfolding

REVIEW: UNAUTHORIZED - BLACK SKY

 

UNAUTHORIZED - BLACK SKY (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed at Harrow Studios

Recorded, Mixed by Harry Wijering and Erik De Boer.

Artwork by Niels De Roo / Nelson Bros.

Track List: 1- Bothered, 2- Blacksky, 3- Falling, 4- Guilty as charged, 5- Confessions, 6- Bulletproof

Very modern death metal with vocals that are similar to their country men Pestilence...just a little bit heavier. The guitar riffs are more rhythmic than melodic and they are prefering brutality than simple speed. There are also some thrash metal riffs thrown here and there. I like a lot the track called "Falling" because of that slow and melodic beginning before getting into a part really powerful (this slow part is an important part of the track and reapears later to change the mood of the song). There is also "Guilty as Charged", a track with an excellent and original riff. Favorite tracks: "Bothered", "Falling and "Bulletproof". This band has achieved the perfect combination of brutality and technicality within their music, being fast when they want and not loosing originality in the meantime. Contact: http://come.to/unauthorized

REVIEW: TRISTANIA - WORLD OF GLASS

 

TRISTANIA - WORLD OF GLASS (Icarus Recs. / Napalm Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded in Sound Suite Studio

Produced and Engineered by Terje Refsnes

Artwork by Tor Søreide Studio.

Track List: 1- The Shining Path, 2- Wormwood, 3- Tender Trip on Earth, 4-Lost, 5- Deadlocked, 6- Selling Out, 7- Hatred Grows, 8- World of Glass, 9- Crushed Dreams, 10- The Modern End 

After the success of their previous album "Beyond the Veil", Tristania brings us their new offer, this time the CD is called "World of Glass". And the arrangements have changed when comparing with "Beyond...", on this new CD they are more in the Therion vein, including a lot of choral harmonies and classical structures. They are still using the male vocals, more distorted and heavy to make a counterpoint with the female vocals (Vibeke´s voice is more present now in the recording). Maybe they have exagerated a little bit their similitude with Therion (it is a pity ...even if the choruses are used somehow differently and they have more heavy vocals than what the band of Kristoffer Johnsson uses now). As always there are a lot of keyboard arrangements and acoustic guitars. The sound is much better on this release than on "Beyond...", specially on the drums (the guitars continue being a little bit opaque compared to the rest of the instruments). Favorite tracks: "Wormwood", "Hatred Grows" and "Crushed Dreams". Contact: icarusmusic@speedy.com.ar

REVIEW: TREAD - HIDING FROM THE SUN

 

TREAD - HIDING FROM THE SUN (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed at FTM Studios

Recorded, Mixed by Kirby Orrick.

Artwork by Joe Van Schoyck

Track List: 1- Delusional Fornication, 2- Hiding from the Sun, 3- Destroying My Enemy, 4- My Own, 5- Drained, 6- What U Are, 7- Supreme, 8- Deconstruction, 9- 13 Tons of Lead, 10- Bloodrush, 11- Scarless Torture, 12- Hydronic

Heavy as hell music !!! This is what the guys in Tread do !! But their music is very melodic at the same time, specially on the great vocals by Chad (watch for this guy in the future because he can be subtle when he wants and extremely heavy when he likes to. He is really versatile. The music here is modern metal at its best...in the vein of bands like Fear Factory, Machine Head or Grip Inc or even some Deftones. This guys crush you with their extremely heavy guitars and their monolithic sound. The twelve tracks here have no mercy for the listener...they are designed to make him mosh, jump, destroy !!!! They have a lot of climatic moments too where the vocals are softer and deeper and comunicatedifferent feelings than the ones in the heavier parts. I think this is an excellent band...and maybe we will see them being successful one of this days. Favorite Tracks: "What U Are", "Destroying My Enemy" and "Delusional Fornication". Contact: www.treadmusic.com

REVIEW: TRANSMISSION OK - THE SKY, THE STARS AND THE GREAT BEYOND

 

TRANSMISSION OK - THE SKY, THE STARS AND THE GREAT BEYOND... (BMG, 2000):

Technical data:

Mixed by Tom Weir at Tom Weir Recording Studio

Produced and Engineered by Blues Saraceno

Artwork by t42design.com.

Track List: 1- Swimming, 2- Rocketship, 3- That Kind of Girl, 4- Fiberglass, 5- The Reason Why, 6- Wishing For More, 7- Coward, 8- Superstar, 9- All Good, 10- Smokin´Jesus, 11- Supermodel, 12- Low

Transmission OK is the new band from ex Poison axeman Blues Saraceno. Obviously the music here is melodic rock with modern sound (there are a lot of seventies and nineties influences here, specially on the sound). The music is completely different from what Blues used to do on his previous band, here he has more controlo on the composition and he has laid completely on alternative rock using melodic hooks in a completely different way than he used to do. He has also space to play different type of solos (always in the context of the songs). The band that supports Blues here is really solid and makes a great surrounding for this good musician. Favorite tracks: " The Reason Why", "Superstar" and "Smokin´Jesus". Contact: www.transmissionok.com

REVIEW: TOTAL DEVASTATION - DIVINE-ECSTASY

 

TOTAL DEVASTATION - DIVINE - ECSTASY (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at Hellhole, January 2001.

Track List: 1- I am God, 2- Burn Yourself, 3- Let It Bleed, 4- Prepare To Die

Total Devastation make a death metal really modern with riffs that are not so typical of the style and some climatic parts (as an example you can check the one at 2:50 of "I am God"). The sound is really heavy and somewhat mechanical because of the use of a very well mixed drum machine that enhances the results. This is a trio consisting in a vocalist, a guitarist and bassist and the third member does the programming plus they have two guest musicians here, one in violin and the other one on vocals. And they have a lot of variations in their music, I would call their style something like death industrial (because of the combination of sounds between the heavy guitars and the drum machine, plus the death metal vocals). The best riffs are those with their own identity as the ones in "Burn Yourself". My favorite tracks is "Prepare To Die" with the violin playing a melodic line over the rhythmic base which plays with clean guitars before getting into a full power track with crushing riffs and vocals full of brutality. Favorite tracks: "Prepare To Die" and "Burn Yourself". Contact: www.saunalahti.fi/pikka/td

REVIEW: THE METAPHYSICIAN ´S HAMMER - BENJAMIN CHADABE / BENJAMIN HARTLAGE

 

THE METAPHYSICIAN ´S HAMMER - BENJAMIN CHADABE / BENJAMIN HARTLAGE (Electronic Music Foundation, 2000):

Technical data:

Produced by Benjamin Chadabe for J&B Media

Recorded by Nathaniel Reichman at Murmur Music.

Graphic Design by Dill Design

Track List: 1- Divine Water, 2- Solo 1 , 3- Hell and Humdrums, 4- Solo 2, 5- Nickel, 6- Solo 3, 7- Metallic Frenzy, 8- Solo 4, 9- Exodus of Sun, 10- Solo 5, 11- Remembering Past Glory, 12- Solo 6

The Metaphysician´s Hammer is a collection of musical pieces that showcases the habilities of Benjamin Chadabe and Benjamin Hartlage on improvisation and poetry respectively. It is also the vehicle to transmit the poetry done by Hartlage, creating music that fits very well with the words that he is speaking throughout the recording. Chadabe is a master of percussion and he knows how to improvise on his drumkit veing very different one solo from the other (in fact in the whole recording there are six solos). It is interesting the feeling that you get while listening to this musical pieces: you listen to Chadabe drums improvisation while listening to Hartlage poetry recitation and you have a weird feeling of an ethereal world created by the drums and the words. Thumbs up for Benjamin Chadabe because of his great technical skills on the drums that makes this album a lesson on how to play them. Favorite tracks: "Hell and Humdrums", "Exodus of Sun" and "Solo 5". Contact: www.emf.org

REVIEW: TENHI - KAUAN

 

TENHI- KAUAN (Prophecy Productions, 1999):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed at Babe Musik Studios

Recorded, Mixed by Pekka Jhalainen and Tenhi

Artwork by Tenhi

Track List: 1- Näkin Laula, 2- Huomen, 3- Revontulet, 4- Hallavedet, 5- Etïsyyksien taa, 6- Lauluni Sinulle, 7- Taival, 8- Souto

Here is Tenhi´s debut album called "Kauan". This is music that can be labeled as extremely dark acoustic music. The music here, whose lyrics are completely in finnish (which adds a more cryptic atmosphere to the songs), is completely full of acoustic passages, melodies conceived to wake up the feelings of sadness in the listener. If I had to associate the music of this band with a color I would have chosen grey....or maybe the color that the cover has with that trees and that nebel...How depressive and beautiful are this guys at the same time !! And how deep is their music!! Can be call it folk? Well, if finnish folk music is so dark then we can call it like that. But I think that the most apropriate way to describe their music is as atmospheric and with a stron emphasis on melodies and anguished vocals. Fully recommended. Favorite tracks: The whole album. Contact: www.prophecyproductions.de

REVIEW: TELESMATA - WOODCARVING

 

TELESMATA- WOODCARVING (Ubus Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Created by R.Kasch using sounds made by The Official Bullshit Grinder

Best presented in a stereo system with wide speaker separation

Track List: 1- Intro, 2- Splinter Ballet, 3- Notch Politics

Robert Kasch, the mind behind Telesmata had the most weird idea this time. He sent this mini CD inside a sawdust bag...and I thought that this was to protect the other CD that came in the package and I almot throw it away. Luckily I read the ctatlog that spoke about a sawdust packaging and inside of it I found this three song mini CD. This time Kasch´s experimentation with Telesmata is done using sounds from The Bullshit Grinder, some kind of device that I don´t understand completely but that makes interesting sounds that are twisted by Kasch creating this insane tracks full of experimentation and trying to achieve the sounds that this man has in his heads. Surprising as always, Telesmata is this time the vehicle to extract all the posible sounds from this strange device of which I would like to know more. If you like new sounds and experimentation then check this one. Contact: http://homestead.com/ubus/main.html

REVIEW: SUNK LOTO - SOCIETY ANXIETY

 

SUNK LOTO - SOCIETY ANXIETY (Columbia Records, 2000):

Technical data:

Recorded at Festival Studios, Sydney

Produced and Engineered by Paul Mckercher

Artwork by Simon K.

Track List: 1- Vinegar Stroke, 2- Porcelain Buddah, 3- Lift, 4- Submission, 5- Blunt

 Here we have five tracks of modern new metal with a lot of power and some influence from hip hop or rap! This is not a very original band because it makes what nowadays is very common but they do it with conviction. Here the music has all the elements of the style: very fat guitar sound with very rhythmic riffs, hip hop and screaming vocals, a thin sounding snare drum and song structures that can be typical of bands of the style. At least, this guys use some acoustic guitar on "Submission" which I think is the best track here...the more original, even if it is not the heavier. Contact: www.sunkloto.com

REVIEW: STRUNG - STRUNG

 

STRUNG - STRUNG (Sublingual Records, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at the Hospital, Amsterdam.

Track List: 1- String, 2- Stroppy, 3- Strumble, 4- Straps, 5- Struth, 6- Stripes, 7- Strokes, 8- Strumpf, 9- Straddle, 10- Strip, 11- Straw, 12- Stretch, 13- Strongo, 14- Stromage, 15- Strangle´em, 16- Street, 17- Stress, 18- Stream, 19- Strain, 20- Strenuous, 21- Strndlfmp, 22 - Straggler, 23- Straight, 24 - Strum

This time Sublingual Records brings us this music made by immigrant musicians who live in Amsterdam and who have string instruments as their main instruments. The music here is completely improvisational and spontaneous. This are 24 tracks of pure experimentations with all this great musicians playing what they feel and what comes to their heads without losing coherence among them . Here you have strange combinations of string instruments doing some conventional and unconventional phrases and surprising on each track. All the tracks here have their own identity being all of them completely different one from another . It is like having different bricks (for example with different colours ) to construct a building (in this case the building would have been this album). This is an album recommended for you, the one who is not afraid of trying something new. Favorite tracks: "Strip", "Straps" and "Strangle´em". Contact: www.sublingual.com

REVIEW: STEVE VAI - ALIVE IN AN ULTRA WORLD

 

STEVE VAI - ALIVE IN AN ULTRA WORLD (Sony Music, 2001):

Produced by Steve Vai

Track List: Disc 1: 1- Giant Balls of Gold, 2- Burning Rain, 3- the Black Forest, 4- Alive in an Ultra World, 5- Devil´s Food, 6- Blood and Glory, 7- Whispering a Prayer, 8- Iberian jewel

Disc 2: 1- The power of Bombos, 2- Incantation, 3- Light of the Moon, 4- Babushka, 5- Being with you (in Paris), 6- Principessa, 7- Brandos Costumes (Gentle Ways

Mr. Steve Vai, surprising as always brings us his latest work. And this time it is a double CD with all brand new songs. Each of the songs here was composed with a country in mind and they were all recorded live during the "The Ultrazone Tour". As he is doing since his albums with Zappa or since his first solo album "Flexable" Steve has a myriad of weird sounds to do with his guitar. This time he is joined by great musuicians such as Mike Mangini on drums, Phillip Baynoe on bass and Mike Keneally on guitar and keyboards. The songs are as always an amazing show of his compositional skills and obviously of his guitar pirotecnics. A must for any Vai Fan. Also, there is one song recorded live in Argentina, when he came last year. Favorite tracks: "Whispering a Prayer", "Light of the Moon" and "Alive in an Ultra World". Contact: www.vai.com

REVIEW: SPONTANEOUS MUSIC ORCHESTRA - SME PLUS EQUALS SMO

 

SPONTANEOUS MUSIC ORCHESTRA - SME PLUS EQUALS SMO (Emanem Disc, 2001):

Technical data:

Recordings made in London by Martin Davidson on January 25, 1975 at St John´s Smith Square and Januay 24, 1974 at Little Theatre Club.

Editing, Mastering and Design by Martin Davidson

Artwork by Margaret Richards.

Track List: 1- Plus Equals, 2- SMO at LTC

In 1974-75, John Stevens had to present his compositional works at the St. John ´s Smith Square and at the Little Theatre Club concert and he decided to present it in a really radical format: with the Spontaneous Music Orchestra. This Orchestra was formed with the 10 musicians that were part od the Spontaneous Music Ensemble and adding to the eleven other great musicians. The first tracks here is almost 40 minutes long and is formed by three different pieces: "Search and Reflect", "Sustained Plus" (which is more than 23 minutes long) and "Free Improvisation". Here all and each of the musicians of the orchestra have the space that they need to showcase their habilities as solo improvisers and their skills in the orchestra interaction. In fact, the first part, "Search and Reflect" was design to see how the musicians listened to and reacted to each other before evolving into something else. I have the idea that if you put together two different people to improvise they will always achieve very different results without repeating themselves. Here, with 21 musicians at the top of their possibilities we have some spontaneous interaction at its maximum level!!. Favorite tracks: All the track "Plus Equals". Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

REVIEW: SOFA / NORCD - SAMPLER

 

SOFA / NORCD - Sampler (Sofa Recs. / NORCD, 2001):

Track List: 1- Løpsk (Veslefrekk), 2- Dog (Ingar Zach / Ivar Grydeland), 3- No Way Out (Paal Nilssen-Love), 4- Axel (Sten Sandell Trio), 4- Who grew too (what) (Close Erase, 5- Third Scan (Tony Oxley Project I), 6- Mir (No Spaghetti Edition), 7- Stryfro (Karl Seglem/Arve Henriksen/Terje Isungset), 8- Horizontal Rain (Derek Bailey/Ingar Zach), Tor med Hammaren( Terje Isungset)

This CD is a compilation of great norwegian artists from both labels NorCD and Sofa Records. Both labels are focused on artists who play what we call intuitive, spontaneous and improvisational music. Here we have excelent artists that we have reviewed before (and some of them interviewed), like Paal Nilssen-Love, Ingar Zach/Ivar Grydeland, Tony Oxley project 1 and No Spaghetti Edition. Plus we have other very interesting musicians that are from the NorCD catalog like Veslefrekk (very ambient music with some weird sounds), Close Erase, an interesting combination of improvisation in piano and drums (is excelent to listen the drums breaks while the piano does some beautiful and frenetic phrases), Karl Seglem/Arve Henriksen/Terje Isungset who make a total mad percussion piece combined with some vocal phrases that are fundamental here or Isglem with his track "Månedans" with a very unconventional sound of guitar, bass and drums. For improvisation fans. Contact: www.norcd.no or http://sofa.norcd.no

REVIEW: SLAYER - GOD HATES US ALL

 

SLAYER - GOD HATES US ALL (American Records, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at Warehouse Studios. Mixed by Sean Beavan

Produced by Matt Hyde

Artwork by Louis Marino.

Track List: 1- Darkness of Christ, 2- Disciple, 3- God Send Death, 4- New Faith, 5- Cast Down, 6- Threshold, 7- Exile, 8- Seven Faces, 9- Bloodline, 10- Deviance, 11- War Zone, 12- Here Comes The Pain, 13- Payback

Slayer is back after "Diabolus In Musica" offering us the same musical violence as always, but this time with a few surprises. Yes, Slayer has incorporated a more modern sound to his music, even adding some touches of modern metal here and there. But don´t worry, that does not mean that Slayer has become a less heavy band...NO! they are heavy as always but they ha modernized their style (they have evolved....this is a word that some people fear a lot !!) . The speed is here, the always anguished and demonic vocals of Tom Araya are here too, the frenzied guitars of Kerry King and Jeff Hanemann are in all the tracks as wild as always. And Paul Bostaph is as always a drumming nightmare with his hyper speed double bass filling all the spaces. Well, what else can I say? This is Slayer, as heavy as always but with some differences.

REVIEW: SILENCER - KOZMOS

 

SILENCER - KOZMOS (NTT Records Group, 2000):

Technical data:

Recorded at Hellhole, January 2001.

Track List: 1- Mourning Star, 2- Kozmos, 3- Easter Island, 4- Missing Hope, 5- Industrial Command

Well, what we have here??? This is heavy/thrash metal in the vein of old school thrash (I mean bands of the late eighties) but with a really modern sound and some nineties influences too. I liked a lot the vocalist who has a lot of strength and sings with a vocal range that is completely appropriated for the band´s music (he does not abuse of the high pitched vocals, prefering to use a more mid range type of vocals which fit much better...I think he is somewhat close in range an inflexion to Anthrax´s John Bush but quite more aggressive). This type of bands are sorely missed in the metal scene nowadays, because they have good riffs, great guitar solos and thundering drums. It is good to see that Silencer´s songs despite being powerful have enough hooks to let the choruses and melodies stucked in your mind. They have excelent atmospheres for example in "Easter Island" which is an instrumental interlude and in the beginning of "Missing Hope" (thumbs up for the guitarists in the vein of old Annihilator). Favorite tracks: "Mourning Star" and "Missing Hope". Contact: www.silencer.cc

REVIEW: SIGNS OF DARKNESS - BEYOND THE AUTUMN LEAVES

 

SIGNS OF DARKNESS - BEYOND THE AUTUMN LEAVES (LSP Company, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded, at Music House Studio.

Mixed by Mark, Wouter, Joris

Artwork by Mighty Kris Verwimp

Track List: 1- Prologue, 2- Ad Noctum, 3- The Last Shinning Moon (Beyond the Autumn Leaves), 4- Poet Winter, 5- Intermezzo, 6- She´s the mirror´s opposite end, 7- Stars in the Nocturnal Sky Are a Thousand Screams in the Ruined Rosegarden, 8- The Sadness of Night, 9- Epilogue

Black metal with a female vocalist (Sarah) who makes a big contrast with male voices. The original thing about Sarah is that she sings different from most of the female singers out there. In fact, she uses a lot her middle range and does not use too much vibrato on his voice.The band has a killer drummer which allows thm to do the really fast parts without missing the tempo. It is good to see that Joris, the bassist and vocalist knows how to make hooks together with the guitars in order to create interesting parts along with his vocals. There are some parts of clean guitars with an omnipresent keyboard/piano that makes Signs of Darkness Music really melodic and obscure, yet heavy. The music has a lot of changes and that is good for my ears that find it more interesting (check the bass interlude at 2:41 of "Poet Winter" followed by a real melodic part, just to have a sample). Favorite tracks: "The last Shinning Moon...", "Poet Winter" and "Stars in the Nocturnal Sky,..". Contact: www.lsp-company.com

REVIEW: SEYMINHOL - NORDIC TALES

 

SEYMINHOL - NORDIC TALES (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded, mixed at Kirk Prod. Studio by Gilles "Warrior" Kaufmann.

Cover: Gregory Lê

Track List: 1- Part 1: Immortal Lords, 2- Part 2: Berserker, 3- Part 3: Back of Thunder, 4- Part4: Into the winds of Chaos

A classical guitar introduction opens this CD from this French band of heavy metal, before getting into a slow part with some melodies that lead into a heavier segment. The singer Kevin Kazek shows here that he is a really clean vocalist (with this I meen that he can do some intrincate vocals without distorting his vocal range....in fact one of the main elements of Seyminhol´s music are the vocal harmonies). He is in the vein of singers like Timo Kotipelto from Stratovarius but with a vocal range that relies heavily on the middle range instead of the higher pitches. This MCD has four tracks and the lyrics are about Nordic Culture, really epic. Talking about epic...the tracks here have a lot of qualities that make them sound really epic, like the guitars that play melodies and the rhythms that are thought to sound very omnipotent (I like that the guitars have a really raw sound not typical for the style). Favorite tracks: "Part 1: Immortal Lords" and "Part 3: Back of thunder". Contact: www.chez.com/seyminhol

REVIEW: SEPTICEMIA - HOPELESS AGE

 

SEPTICEMIA - HOPELESS AGE (Independent, 2000):

Technical data:

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Michael Bösl, Thomas Löffler and Septicemia.

Recorded, mixed and mastered at Crossfade Studios, Vien.

Cover: Bobby Spiess

Track List: 1- Intro, 2- Enter Me, 3- Distress of Night, 4- Hopeless Age, 5- Coming of Chaos, 6- God Save The Queen, 7- Deeper, 8- Origin of This World, 9- Get through the Opposite, 10- Possessed by Bloodlust, 11- Morbid Cry, 12- The Arrival

Septicemia is a band that comes from Austria and they make an interesting blend of very technical black and death metal (also there are certain slow parts almost doom on "Hopeless Age"). I find since the beginning of "Enter Me" a band completely compenetrated in their riffs that are sometimes fast as hell and sometimes more mid paced adding a thrash flavor to the songs here (like some of the riffs that you can find in"Distress of the Night" for example). IT is interesting how this band changes rhythms very often within the same song, but that doesn´t mean that they play one riff two times and then they change it. No, they have a lot of ideas and they develope them into the tracks that we can listen here, that is they have a perfect connection among their ideas using a riff or drum pattern until they decide it has to be changed or transformed into another idea. The vocals here are guttural adding the perfect atmosphere to the tracks. I would like the band to mix the whole recording with a different drums sound that sometimes is a little bit opaque (I like the way the bass is mixed, you can listen it even in the fast parts). This is a good option for death metal fans looking for great ideas. Favorite tracks: "Hopeless Age", "Origin of this World" and "Possessed by Bloodlust" (killer opening riff). Contact: www.septicemia.start.at

REVIEW: SATANIC SLAUGHTER - THE EARLY DAYS: DAWN OF DARKNESS

 

SATANIC SLAUGHTER - THE EARLY DAYS: DAWN OF DARKNESS (Necropolis Recs, 2001):

Technical data:

Tracks 1-12 Recorded at Unisound Studios with Dan Swanö

Tracks 13,18-21, 24 recorded at Unsound Studios, 1995

Artwork by.José Montemayor

Track List: 1- Immortal Death, 2- Forever I Burn, 3- Dark Ritual, 4- Into the Catacombs, 5-Breath of the Serpent that Idles The Cold World, 6- On Black Wings, 7- Nocturnal presence, 8- Legion of Hades, 9- Divine Exorcism, 10- I´ll Await my Lord, 11- Embraced by Darkness, 12- Domine Lucipheros, 13- Intro, 14- Hatred of God, 15- Servant of Satan, 16- Satanic Queen, 17- Demons Feast, 18- Forever I burn, 19- Legions of Hades, 20- Breath of the Serpent, 21- Immortal Death, 22- Land of the Unholy Souls, 23- One Night In Hell, 24- Dark Ritual, 25- Forever I Burn

Satanic Slaughter is the band that eventually gave birth to what now is called as Witchery. Sounding as a more primitive version of that band, Satanic Slaughter made its huge impact on the Swedish underground. The music is at the same time similar but rawer than Witchery´s, with those great guitar riffs that the band has and a lot of the elements of death/thrash/black metal that we are accustomed to hear on their CDs. There are 25 tracks here from different eras of Satancic Slaughter ´s career. I prefer the newer ones better because they sound much better and they have more mature ideas. As always Richard Corpse and Jensen shine with their guitars which are the fundamental ingredient here. It is a cool decision by Necropolis Records to rerelease thios recording that is a fundamental aprt of the history of swedish death/black metal. Favorite tracks: "Into the Catacombs", "Breath of the Serpent...." and "I´ll Await My Lord". Contact: www.necropolisrec.com

REVIEW: RHYMES OF DESTRUCTION - A SUN REVOLUTION

 

RHYMES OF DESTRUCTION - A SUN REVOLUTION (Shiver Recs,, 1999):

Technical data:

Recorded and mixed by Jeroen Debonnet and Rhymes of Destruction

Recorded and Mixed at SAD Studios

Artwork by Grafische Technieken

Track List: 1- Prologos - Mobilmachung, 2- Onherbergzaamheid, 3- Intermezzo#1 - Obsessed by the Cruelty of Daylight, 4- Cynische Onsterfelijkheid, 5- Intermezzo #2 - Annoying Purity, 6- Leven in Het Teken Van Vooruitgang, 7- Intermezzo#3 - The Decline of Civilisation, 8- Terugkeer Naar Het Einde Van De Cirkel, 9- Intermezzo #4 - Destruktionstrieb, 10- Chaos and Disorder: A Sun Revolution, 11- Intermezzo #5 - Birth: A Disaster Theory, 12- Vreugde

Rhymes of Destruction is a band from Belgium that makes a strange kind of music. I can not label it relating it with some particular style such as black metal, death metal, etc. Rhymes of Destruction has certain black metal riffs but the vocals are completely different from those of this style and the guitars sound fatter and completely different too. There are interesting rhythm changes here and parts full of melodies, clean guitars and interludes with whispering vocals. Also, the use of a drum machine (really well mixed) contributes to the mechanical feeling of the tracks and to a certain industrial feeling (even if the music is completely differnet from this style too). I can feel that this guys have great musical skills because of the quality of the tracks which are sometimes very complicated. Favorite tracks: "Onherbergzaamheid...", "Leven In Het Teken..." and "Terugkeer Naar Het...". Contact: http://bewoner.dma.be/rhymes

REVIEW: SALACIOUS GODS - SUNNEVOT

 

SALACIOUS GODS - SUNNEVOT (Cold Blood Industries, 2001):

Technical data:

Engineered and Mixed by Berthus Westerhuys

Produced by The Satanic Twins

Artwork by.Jacek Msniewski

Track List: 1- Nebel (Intro), 2- Manifest of the Phantoms Fasade, 3- At The Sound of the Midwinterhorn, 4- Twaeduster Facht, 5- Spirits of the Eldergods Domain, 6- Soulbite, 7- Testify My Vanity, 8- Dead, Spectral Wolfmoon, 9- Prolongation, 10- Sunnevot

Well, many people mention countries like Norway or Sweden to mention countries whose scenes are full of black, death and many other metal styles. But they forget two countries: Holland and Sweden. In fact, Salacious God is a killer black metal band coming from The Netherlands. And they are crushing. Having all the characteristics that have made bands like Dimmu Borgir famous but retaining certain raw aspects in their sound, Salacious Gods have achieved with "Sunnevot" a great result. This is an album darker than death, totally blasphemic, and with great musicians working at full speed. One extra point is the excellen packaging that this album has containing all the lyrics plus excellent photographs of the members of the band. Can we call this epic black metal? I think so, because of the use of keyboards to accentuate the musical passages that add an extra flavor to the tracks. An interesting point are the guitars here which play some fast lines but also some more rhythmic riffs like in 2:43 "Twaeduster Facht". Lovers of black metal here is a new demon to keep the blasphemy alive!!!!. Favorite tracks: "Manifest of the Phantoms Fasade", " Twaeduster Facht" and "Testify My Vanity". Contact: www.coldbloodindustries.com

REVIEW: REFRACTORY - BLACK MAGIC FOREST

 

REFRACTORY - BLACK MAGIC FOREST (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at the Rape of Harmonies Studios

Produced by Ralf Müller

9-10 Recorded live at the Schloss / Freiberg

Track List: 1- Invasion, 2- Black Magic Forest, 3- Bloody Crack of Dawn, 4- Fucking Christ, 5- Deep In My Soul, 6- Hallucinations from Evil, 7- Visions of a Burning Sky, 8- History of War and Fire, 9- Black Hordes, 10- Execution

How peacefully starts this recording...with the sound of nature and an intro with acoustic guitars and keyboards. Then the keyboards volume goes up and you start listening a baby crying in the background and some voices. And then the band enters with its black metal.at half speed before getting in full speed. One important thing here are the melodies created by the guitars and the progressions that the keyboardist is doing in the background. There are two types of vocals here: one is more high pitched than the other that is similar to death metal bands. The tracks are very fast with a lot of blast beats but with original guitar riffs like the ones in "Black Magic Fores". There are great moments where the guitar plays some chords along with the keyboard with a more syncopated rhythm and the vocals adapt also that rhythmic structure ("Black magic Forest").The sound of this recording is in overall good but I would have mixed a little bit louder the snare drum and the bass drum (the cymbals and hihat are loud enough).Favorite tracks "Bloody Crack of Dawn", "Visions of a Burning Sky" and " Black Hordes (live)". Contact: refractory@gmx.de

REVIEW: RANDY COVEN - THE BEST OF RANDY COVEN

 

RANDY COVEN - THE BEST OF RANDY COVEN (Koch Recs,, 2000):

Technical data:

Produced by Randy Coven and John Stix

Produced for re-Issue by Dave Squillante

Artwork by Brad Wrolstad.

Track List: 1- Funk Me Tender, 2- Yesterday, 3- Tree, 4- Toronto Blues, 5- Manhattan Mama, 6- Great Necks, 7- Strange Cat, 8- 10000 Notes, 9- Au Privave, 10- Angry, 11- I Wish, 12- Two Girls, 13- S-Bass Secrets, 14- Minute Mouse, 15- E-11, 16- Monday

Everyone knows that Randy Coven is a great bass player...he has show this on his solo albums and in works with guys like Steve Vai or his band Holy Mother ...or even playing live with Yngwie Malmsteen. This time what we have here is a compilation of his best solo tracks...coming from his solo albums "Funk Me Tender" and "Sammy Says Ouch!". There are plenty of guest musicians here like Steve Vai ( "instantly recognizible on "Funk Me Tender"), Vito Bratta, Blues Saraceno or Al Pitrelli to name just a few. Randy shows all his skills through his compositions and through some covers like The Beatles "Yesterday" ...obviously played with bass (a great version). And he also shows that as every good musician should be, he is really open minded and knows how to play in many different styles (Check for example the acoustic and almost country "Tree"). This is music for lovers of virtuosos and instrumental music. Favorite tracks: "Funk Me Tender", "S-Bass Secrets" and "Manhattan Mama". Contact: www.randycovensite.com

REVIEW: POP MUSIC FAVORITES

 

POP MUSIC FAVORITES (Ubus Records, 2001):

Track List: 1- Live Snowbox (XV Parowek), 2- Signal Failure (Maximal), 3- Kill To Radio (Sickness), 4- Parenchyma Na Koniu (Rare Parts), 5- Somebody Put Something in My Soma (Dischotic Symphony), 6- New Tribal Warning (Hated principles), 7- Backstreet´s Back (Andy Kisaragi), 8- The Drying Foetus Mimics Me 2 (Careplace), 9- The Boy Who Lay Down and Died/ Happy Birthday Mary Bell (13RXTNLE), 10- Right Out There (Dichotic Symphony), 11- Landscape Negative (K:V:T Clocking), 12- Squid Camera (E.Victor C.), 13- Scald (D.S.A:), 14 - 4Rhodes (Andy Kisaragi), 15- Martha Ann Johnson (Mantichora), 16- Shadow of Air (Cesium), 17- Full Body Contact Sports (Robert Warner), 18- Higher Than You (13RXTNLE), 19- Flux (Telesmata), 20- Ring of Fire (Dichotic Symphony), 21 - Akty (Zenial), 22- Profound Lack of You (Andy Kisaragi), 23- Wild Flower (13RXTNLE), 24 - A View of Modern Industry (Humanextermination Project).

Here we have 24 tracks of totally experimental music, going from ambient to electronic, to noise...every style is represented here. All this compiled by Robert Kasch, the man behind Telesmata and Ubus Recs. Here we have different kinds of experimentation. I will describe some of them. Most of you know telesmata from the reviews that I did of the latest works of this project: well Telesmata focalizes its experiemntationa round some instrument (like the weird Bullshit Grinder). Here there are bands and projects that depart fropm that. For example Maximal is an almost ambient project with interesting atmospheres and some experimentation within this calm context. Other band that surprised me is Sickness with its noisy and industrial sounds pouring all over the track. Rare Parts is an almost ambient band but with some elctronic touches that are the main experimental device on this track. Dichotic Symphony is one of the projects contained here which is closer to noise doing hasrh sounds and experimenting twisting them up to when they are almost chaotic. Favorite tracks: "Backstreet´s Back", " Full Body Contact Sports" and "Right Out there". Contact: http://homestead.com/ubus/main.html

REVIEW: PERVERSIST - NECROPHILHARMONY

 

PERVERSIST - NECROPHILHARMONY (Grodhaisn Prods., 2001):

Track List: 1- Consequence of Malformation, 2- Body Devourer, 3- Genetic Code Eraser, 4- Bells of Insanity, 5- Natural defense System, 6- Viva la Corrida, 7- Necrophilharmony, 8- Waiting for Judgement Day, 9- Faceless Dead, 10- Suicidal Self immolation

What this band does is old school brutal death grind. They have the advantage of having a really good drummer among them who also has a very clear sound throughout the whole recording. The guitars here are really brutal and they use a lot of guitar riffs that are extremely heavy (the guitars have a lot of bottom end and the mid ranges totally cut), some of them at extreme speed. Also the guitarists love to throw some pinch harmonics here and there on their riffs to add some different taste to them obtaining more variations. The voclas are really guttural in the vein of the more bestial death metal. One thing that got my attention was the acceleration on the track "Necrophilharmony" because it goes from slow to fast very progressively, changin the tempo gradually and that is not very common. Total brutality on this recording!! Favorite tracks: Body Devourer", "Bells of Insanity" and "Necrophilharmony". Contact: grodhaisn@seznam.cz

REVIEW: OBSCENE EXTREME 2001

 

OBSCENE EXTREME 2001 (Obscene Productions, 2001):

Track List: 1- Decrepit Crescendo (Exhumedd), 2- Ruptured remains (Regurgitate), 3- Untitled (Groinchurn), 4- Ozing Molten Gristle (Haemorrhage), 5- Where´s Mine Resurrection (Fleshless), 6- To Give (Lykathea Aflame), 7- Skin N´Bones (Driller Killer), 8- Hyperspace Souls (Ingrowing), 9- Irrumatrix (Isacaarum), 10- Peeling Off The Epidermis (Sanity´s Dawn), 11- Sick, Sick I´m so sick (Sanity´s Dawn), 12- Morte de Tossico (Cripple Bastards), 13- Fields of Repulsion (Viu Drakh), 14- Asphyxiate on Blood ( Desecration), 15- Isolated Victim (Godless Truth), 16- God Faith prostitution (Pathology Stench), 17- Loss of Identity (Cerebral Turbulence), 18- Yes! Legitimate (Cerebral Turbulence), 19-Harsh Future (Cerebral Turbulence ), 20- Stop Viagra - Smoke Pot (Utopie), 21- Fucking Shit (Inhume), 22- The Seat of... (Imperial Foeticide), 23- I´m (Anasarca), 24- Permanentni Manikura ( Grind 6.4), 25- Putrid Autopsy (Maledictive Pigs), 26- Cunt Slime (Ahumado Granujo), 27 - Cold Turkey (Ahumado Granujo), 28- The Truth Hurts (Abortion), 29- Pneumothorax (Bizarre Embalming), 30- Postmortal Goreaphobia (Sanatorium), 31- The Postman (!T.O.O.H.!), 32- Buried Belief (Pigsty), 33- So Fuckin cool (Human Error), 34- Freeedom-Criminal Suicide (Needful Things), 35 - Project Terror (Irritate)

This is a compilation of many differetn artists from genres that go to death metal, to brutal death metal to black metal to grindcore. There are very well known bands here like Exhumed, Groinchurn and Cripple Bastards, some that I know for reviewing their material like Sanity´s Dawn, Ingrowing and some who I did not know like (Needful Things, or Maledictive Pigs. As on every compilation here you have different levels in all the bands and their music, some of them better than the others. The most known bands have better sounds than the less known ones but that does not mean that they are better in fact there are some almost unknown bands that have a lot of quality here and that I would like to listen with a better production (like the one bands like Exhumed or Ingrowing have). An excellent compilation of sick music with a total emphasis on brutality. Favorite tracks "To Give" (Lykathea Aflame), "Hyperspace Souls" (Ingrowing) and "Isolated Victims" (Godless Truth). Contact: www.obscene.cz

REVIEW: NO FEAR - OUR SAYING

 

NO FEAR - OUR SAYING (Independent, 2000):

Technical data:

Recorded at Track Records Prods. Studios.

Produced by No Fear. Mastered at Nautilus Mastering

Artwork by Massimiliano Ricciardo

Track List: 1- Born from Fire, 2- Virus of Silence, 3- Free as the Wind, 4- Virtual Life, 5- Fake Madness, 6- Moon bluff, 7- Ghost Town, 8- Business Man, 9- Point of No Return, 10- Our Saying

Directly from Italy comes this heavy metal band with a really heavy sound on the guitars and a powerful vocalist who has a wide vocal range, called Dario Tirolongo. Are you thinking about bands like Rhapsody or something like that? Forget it !! This is much much heavier and this music can be reproduced live (while the one made by the band mentioned before needs of countless samplers). Here the music is epic but really rocking at the same time (there are certain guitar riffs that sound like a hard rock band but they sound differently because they are played with a much more heavy guitar sound). There are some tracks that start slowly and get heavier after a few moments and one of the things that I favoured is that the band does not abuse some heavy metal cliches that we all know. A promising metal band. Favorite Tracks: "Virus of Silence", "Fake Madness" and "Point of No Return". Contact: http://nofear.freeweb.org

REVIEW: NAHEMAH - CHRYSALIS

 

NAHEMAH - CHRYSALIS (Iberian Moon Records, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at the Dark mansion Studios.

Mixed and Mastered at the Doom Pit Studios

Artwork by Daniel Gil.

Track List: 1- Ochre Mantle Star, 2- Sibylia, 3- Autumn is My Sin, 4- Bloodstained Carnival, 5- Thy Quivering Wings, 6- The Teardrop Fall, 7- From the Temples High, 8- Ligeia (Immortality Through Crime), 9- A Crystal Delirium

This is one of the albums of the month! Heavy and subtle at the same time, sometimes black metal, sometimes heavy metal....with spectacular keyboards that are the main point here...the ones that set Nahemah apart from any other band in the genre, when combined with the heavy and distorted guitars (which play excellent melodies within their riffs) thay arrive to its climax, being original, melodic and having a lot of strength at the ssame time. The vocals are really multifacetic and they reflect what that specific part of the song means...that is they are sometimes really rotten, really guttural or really screaming , sometimes they are whispering and sometimes thay sing melodies. Thumbs up for the guitarists who have achieved originality in their riffs and melodies even in the fastest parts, playing original lines even when the drums are doing some similar rhythm as a blast beat. This is an album that I think will please those who like this type of extreme music or those who love good musicianship and excellent instrumental passages. A must. Favorite tracks: "Autumn is My Sin", "A Crystal Delirium" and "The Teardrop Fall". Contact: www.afaland.com/nahemah

REVIEW: MYOPIA - CONCENTRATION OF SUFFERING

 

MYOPIA - CONCENTRATION OF SUFFERING (Independent, 2000):

Technical data:

Recorded at Ear Art and Baker Street Studios

Mastered at Baker Street Studios

Artwork by Markus Jacobson

Track List: 1- Self Inflicted Slavery, 2- Salvation In Death, 3- Twisted Ffate, 4- Acts of Futility, 5- Coerced Sympathy, 6- Onward To Extinction, 7- Concentration of Suffering, 8- Scarred From The Inside

Here we have a powerful band that makes with total conviction their death/grind style. Lovers of the style will surely like this one...it has all the elements that they love: guttural voices, hyperfast riffs over blast beats, cool breaks, a killer drummer, fat sounding guitars. They alos have some killer riffs: My personal favorite are the ones in the fifth track called "Coerced Sympathy" where there is a cool break at 1:45 before the band gets into the full speed mode again. The sound is really good and the mix is a good one too where you can listen clearly all the individual instruments even in the fastest parts. A good option for grinders and deathsters. Favorite tracks: "Salvation In Death", "Coerced Sympathy" and "Acts of Futility". Contact : http://listen.to/myopia