REVIEW: SCHOLOMANCE - THE IMMORTALITY MURDER

 

SCHOLOMANCE - THE IMMORTALITY MURDER (The End Recs., 2002)

Engineered by Greg Roller

Recorded at Caravell Recording Studios

Graphic Design by Scott Crinklaw

Tracks: CD I: 1- Part I. Absence / Contorted Porcelain - faced bitch, 2- Part II: Childless One / the Body as Sulphur Stench, 3- Part III - Matriarch, 4- Part IV: her Iniquity Uncovered / The Eastern Trinity Unexplained, 5- Virus ( the Theft of Knowledge), 6- Companionship and Philosophical Fire (The Third), 7- Bedevilment and Bewilderment (Reality Greets the Moral Whore), 8- The Next Step (For the Sake of the Greater Whole)

CD II: 1- Replacement..., 2- The Next Step (For the Sake of the Greater Whole), 3- Nothins is For, or About you, 4- Part I. Absence / Contorted Porcelain - faced bitch, 5- As if I were Beautiful, 6- Part II: Childless One/ the Body as Sulphur Stench, 7- And Yet we were dead, 8- Part III - Matriarch, 9-How Familiar I am, 10- A Riddle, 11- Part IV: her Iniquity Uncovered / The Eastern Trinity Unexplained, 12- Additons

This is a masterpiece !! This work consist in two CDs with a lot of incredible music. The music here is extremely elaborated and it is incredible how open minded seem to be the guys in Scholomance adding a lot of influences to their music but mantining always the dark aura that surrounds them. It is also amazing how technical and well rehearsed they are...they go from catchy rhythms to complex solos and melodies, then back to another rhythm and maybe adding a keyboard solo to spice things up. The main thing is the quality that this music has!!!There are like a hundred minutes of pure music in the highest level. The second CD is an instrumental one and really rich in harmonies. The CDs come with a great booklet with all the lyrics and a beautiful presentation that matches perfectly the concept of the music here. One of the albums of the month. Favorite tracks: The whole album!!!!!!!!!. Contact: www.theendrecords.com

REVIEW: SANATORIUM - INTERNAL WOMB CANNIBALISM

 

SANATORIUM - INTERNAL WOMB CANNIBALISM (Forensick Music, 2001)

Cover Artwork by Zig

Tracks: 1- Symtoms/Intro, 2- Postmortal Gorephobia, 3- Killing, 4- That Cunt name is Heather, 5- Intravenous Ejaculation, 6- Penis Epidermis Inflammation, 7- the False Prophet, 8- Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, 9- Dunwich Morgue, 10- dead Virgin Whore, 11- Internal Womb Cannibalism, 12- Final Goremageddon - Outro

This is pure brutal death/gore metal that reminded me of early Cannibal Corpse recordings like "Butchered at Birth" or "Tomb of The Mutilated". There are two type of riffs one that are more original like the ones at 1:15 in "Postmortal Gorephobia" and are better cosntructed and others that are full speed runs played over blast beats. Don´t expect subtle things here, this guys have come to crush you with their brutality. The vocals are extremely guttural and there is also a strange vocal effect like some gurgling or something like that which follows some of the rhythms. Tracks like "That Cunts Name is Heather" show all this elements within the same song structure. For death fans. Favorite tracks: "Killing", "Penis Epidermis Inflammation" and "Dead Virgin Whore". Contact: www.forensickmusic.com

REVIEW: RUBENS - GONE MISSING

 

RUBENS - GONE MISSING (Global Warming Recs., 2001)

Produced by Miroslav Opi

Recorded at Global Warming in July 2001

Tracks: 1- Shame, 2- Beauty Day, 3- Bet.com, 4- Destination, 5- heroine, 6- what´s Up, 7- Witches, 8- Beach, 9- Regina, 10- Hurray, 11- Gone Missing

I loved Rubens music from the beginning of this CD with its combination of electronics with certain elements of funk and certainly a Frank Zappa flavor. The keyboards are the main instrument here playing electronic sounds that gives some techno feeling to the music. The vocals that are sung in kind of choruses (they are harmonizing most of the time) are really interesting and gives the tracks an aura of happiness in tracks like "Shame" and of ethereal music on tracks like "Beauty Day". There are some guitars playing solos on many parts and also doing some rhythmic chord progressions along with the drum beats. Some of the tracks can be used for dancing too!!! This is amazing!! (check "Bet.com") (this guys have a great sense of humour too. Totally recommended. Favorite tracks: "Bet.com", "Heroine" and "Regina". Contact: www.globalwarming.co.uk

REVIEW: ROOTS V - THE PENTANGLE

 

ROOTS V - THE PENTANGLE (Root of All Evil Recs., 2001)

Tracks: 1- The Alchemist (Somnus), 2- Enraptured by Temptation (Theatre of the Macabre), 3- Valkyrie (Walhalla), 4- Scream Machine (Impaler), 5- Condemned Creation (Demonicon), 6- Choir ofImmortal Queens (Ancient Ceremony), 7-Caged (Opaque), 8- Don´t Ex´pect any Miracles (Disturbed), 9- Your Carcass (Crimson Thorn), 10- Black Metal (Sigh), 11- Downvain (Aesma Daeva), 12- The True Will Deisired (La Rue Delashay), 13- Smoke em if you got em (Maphead, 14- Blood from Zion (High on Fire), 15- Pianoskin (Ekstrand and Green), 16- Shrine (The Unholy), 17- Mulch (Pentagoria), 18- Death is Eminent (Ripsnorter), 19- L.N. (edit) (Rev. Poky Bunge, 20- Introduction to Evil (Brainmix)

This is a compilation from American label Root of All Evil Recs. featuring the bands that they have released in their catalog and some cooperations with other labels. So, here there are bands like Theatre of the Macabre, Walhalla, Somnus, Impaler, Demonicon, etc. Opening with Somnus was a good idea for this compilation because of the mix of elegance and brutality that their sort of death/black metal music with keyboards and spoken parts has. Following that track is Theatre of the Macabre´s "Enraptured by Temptation" with its killer keyboard and guitar based black/death metal. The interesting thing about this compilation is that covers very different sides of the spectre from Demonicon to Aesma Daeva...from Sigh to la Rue Delashay and much more. Plus it includes some rare tracks from bands like Maphead, the Unholy, High on Fire and more. Favorite tracks: "The Alchemist" (Somnus), "Downvain" (Aesma Daeva), Shrine (King Diamond Cover) (The Unholy). Contact: www.rootofallevil.com

REVIEW: RESISTANT - ANCIENT FUTURE

 

RESISTANT - ANCIENT FUTURE (Seventh Generation Recs, 2001)

Produced by Resistant and Schneebi

Recorded at Donner and Blitzen Studios

Art Direction and Design by Anthony E.

Tracks: 1- Strike, 2- refuse/Resist, 3- They Want to Keep You out, 4- Ball and Chain, 5- Four Wheel Drive, 6- Boss, 7- Man Against the Machine, 8- feathered Serpent, 9- Knowledge is the Key, 10- Ancient Future, 11- Mutated Future, 12- Medicine

This is band from California that makes a crossover between thrash, hardcore and death metal with a lot of other elements that makes them really original. There are a lot of breaks in the music here (in some of them you can appreciate a killer bass player). The vocals have a lot of moods from screaming to calm, from guttural to sort of industrial. The guitarists are really good musicians too and they have some funky flavour (the beginning of "Refuse/Resist" is really funky (starting as an extremely heavy and death metal version of Infectious Grooves and twisting into a Fear Factory/Sepultura style...cool!). One thing that got my attention is that all the tracks here are completely different one fom the other and that makes the CD more interesting to listen to. The palms here go to the great musicians which are original, heavy as hell and thay don´t miss a beat even in the more complicated parts. Favorite tracks: "They Want to Keep You Out", "Four Wheel Drive" and "Mutated Future". Contact: www.resistantculture.com

REVIEW: REFLECTING SKIN - AGONY STAR

 

REFLECTING SKIN - AGONY STAR (Luminous Motion Recs, 2001)

Mixed by Bruce McFarlane

Recorded at Supersonic Studios and

Cover Photo by Michelle Sola - Layout by Leah Chandra

Tracks: 1- Shadow of Your World, 2- Agony Star, 3- Snakes, 4- Remember Me, 5- Last in Heaven, 6- Soul Desert, 7- One, 8- Blue Night, 9- I dream You Sleep

There are a lot of aspects on this recording to consider it one of the bests of this month!! The first and most important is the excellence of Leah Chandra, whose vocals are so well placed through the whole recording giving an ethereal feeling and a lot of originality to the tracks. The second reason are the great arrangements that the band makes on this album. They are original and sometimes they are eastern sounding, sometimes more pop, sometimes jazzy. There is a lot of variety on the music here and that is, in my point of view, another reason to say that this is an excellent album. The percussion and the guitars are not what one is accustomed to listen...the drummer is really tribal in some parts and the guitarist knows how to be heavy and how to be subtle when the track needs it. Favorite tracks: "Snakes", "Soul Desert" and "Blue Night". Contact: www.reflectingskin.net

REVIEW: REALM OF CARNIVORA - VIKATI VARI TE PALGEL..."

 

REALM OF CARNIVORA - VIKATI VARI TE PALGEL..." (Ketzer Distro, 2001)

Tracks: 1- Intro-Let the Winter Last Forever, 2- Triumph of Armageddon, 3- Varjude Tants Jäälossis Kestab Iga Vesti, 4- Emission from the house of lords, 5- Grimm Ravens arrivel with Winterkill, 6- Caverns of No Return, 7- Ma Töusen üles Tuhast, 8- Outro-Nendele, Kes Iga Vesti Surid, 9- Hell Patrol (Judas Priest cover)

Realm of Carnivora´s CD opens with a very beautiful and melodic intro with a lot of melodic lines and keyboards atmosphere before getting in the purest of mayhemics black metals. Despite being full speed hatred black metal the music here has certain interesting arrangements. Interesting riffs that sound far from black metal when they slow down a little bit (and I think here is their best material and this is the path they have to follow in the future). There are some interesting melodies here and there played behind the death like vocals and some interesting guitar solos (the sound here can be better). An album for fans of original black metal. Plus there is a cover of Judas Priest´s "Hell Patrol" done the Realm of Carnivora´s way. Favorite tracks: "Emission from the House of Lords", "Caverns of No Return", " Let the Winter Last Forever". Contact: http://www.welcome.to/ketzer

REVIEW: RA - SINNOCENCE

 

RA - SINNOCENCE (Tribal Prods., 2001)

Produced by Tribal Productions

Recorded at Studio Box, Romania

Artwork by Valeriu Dudau

Tracks: 1- Medusa Child, 2- Sinnocence, 3- Nothing, 4- Hate, 5- My Goddamn Soul, 6- The Great Wide Shut, 7- Seductie, 8- Everything, 9- Just Wonders

Ra´s music is climatic and strange. Sort of a mid paced gothis music with distorted guitars. I hear some influences of Type o Negative in the vocals but Ra´s music has a bigger emphasis in atmospheres and extremely climatic tracks. I really liked this stuff, specially in the parts that where a crescendo is made going from a very climatic keyboard part to maybe a chorus like in the song "Sinnocence". The guitars give that metallic edge that Ra´s music deserve to have a good balance of power and magnificence. One thing to remark is that despite being very dark and heavy the tracks here have a lot of hooks designed to make things more interesting to the listener. I have not listened other releases from Tribal Prods. Before but judging by this recording and the one by Illegal Operation, I think that they release great music! Favorite tracks: "Medusa Child", "My goddamn Soul" and "Everything". Contact: www.tribal-productions.com

REVIEW: PRESENT - HIGH INFIDELITY

 

PRESENT - HIGH INFIDELITY (Carbon 7 Recs., 2001)

Produced by Guy Segers and Alan Ward for Carbon 7

Recorded at Noise Studio, tel Aviv

Art by Uri Dushy

Track: 1- Souls for Sale, 2- Strychnine for Christmas, 3- Reve De Fer

Highly Experimental music, disonant, with a really amazing work done by the winds section. But, above all, here we have excelent compositions. It is really interesting to see how this songs have a structure but at the same time leave enough room for great improvisations and experimentations. Spectacular track "Strychnine for Christmas" great musicians. The CD is done in three parts ...threee long tracks, one of them of more than 27 minutes of duration. There is an excelent guitar work in all the labum that reminded me some of the best things by King Crimson (Adrian Belew era). It is really surprising the fact that Present includes a lot of keyboards and mellotron that makes the sound os the band really progressive. Favorite tracks: The whole album. Contact: www.carbon7.com

REVIEW: PIRLY ZURSTRASSEN AND JEAN PIERRE CATOUL - SEPTIMANA

 

PIRLY ZURSTRASSEN AND JEAN PIERRE CATOUL - SEPTIMANA (Carbon 7 Recs., 2001)

Recorded by Philippe Ledent

Recorded at Talkie O Studio

Art by Michel Woodbury

Tracks: 1- Dies Jovis, 2- Dies Veneris, 3- Dies Saturnis, 4- Dies Solis, 5- Dies Luna, 6- Dies Martis, 7- Dies Mercuri, 8- Siamoise, 9- La Troisieme Porte, 10- Crocus, 11- Jaune, 12- Vert-tige, 13- Rouge, 14- Coquelicot, 15- Pour Wend La Viim

Amazing duets between Zurstrassen on piano and Catoul on violin. This two great musicians are making great melodies through all the recording using their good taste in every note they play. Zurstrassen combines really good his chord progressions and arpegios basements with melodies that embellish all the tracks. As an example you can check "Dies Saturnis". Catoul plays melodic lines and melancolic phrases with his violins over this progressions that are the skeleton of the songs here. So, if Zurstrassen chords and arpeggios are the skeleton, then Catoul´s violin is the flesh of this musical compositions. A really beautiful album. Favorite tracks: "La Troisieme Port", "Vert-tige", and "Dies Martis". Contact: www.carbon7.com

REVIEW: OPQUE - RESOLVE

 

OPAQUE - RESOLVE (Root of All Evil, 2001)

Tracks: 1- Caged, 2- Level, 3- Cut Throat, 4- Crossing, 5- Stripped of My Guilt, 6- Surface Pain, 7- Awaken, 8- Delt Fraud, 9- Stolen, 10-Strain, 11- Transformation

This album starts powerfully with "Caged" a great deth core piece. And this is the style that Opaque plays with influences of death metal, hardcore and modern metal. The fundamental thing here are the ultra crushing riffs. The vocals are powerful in the vein of bands like Pro-Pain or Crowbar. The choruses are screaming ones. There is a really good drummer here and a lot of hardcore influences and of modern metal bands like Machine Head. There are some industrial riffs in "Cut throat" and the guitars have a strong sound here. I would define Opaque´s music as a powerful and loud experienceMy favorite tracks: "Crossing", "Surface Pain" and " Delt Fraud". Contact: www.rootofallevil.com

REVIEW: ON THORNS I LAY - FUTURE NARCOTIC

 

ON THORNS I LAY - FUTURE NARCOTIC (Holy Records, 2001)

Produced by On Thorns I Lay

Recorded at Magic Sound Studios - Bucharest

Artwork by Spiros Antoniou (Set)

Tracks: 1- Infinity, 2- Future Narcotic, 3- The Threat of Seduction, 4- Feed her Lust, 5- Love can be a wave, 6- Ethereal Blue, 7- Heaven´s Passager, 8- Desire, 9- Back to that Enigma, 10- the K Song

One of the best bands that I have listened from Greece. This band has evolved and changed a lot since their latest album. This time their music is more ethereal, more melodic and has a lot of orchestrations. Don´t worry they are still heavy, they have not become a techno band. In fact they have added a gothic flavor to their music and a lot of keyboards. Also the vocals by Claudia J that contrasts with Stefanos ones are depressive and melancholic...but the band also uses some interesting choruses that complement their music perfectly. A really good CD. Favorite tracks: Future narcotic", "Feed her Lust" and "Back To that Enigma". Contact: holyrecords@wanadoo.fr

REVIEW: OBLITERATE - THE FEELINGS

 

OBLITERATE - THE FEELINGS (Erebos Productions, 2000)

Produced by P.Kusy and V.Bujnak and Obliterate

Recorded at Esprt Studio, April 1999

Cover by Ladislav Jusko, Obliterate

Tracks: 1-Abnormal indolence, 2- Life´s Attitude, 3- naive Mind, 4- Longing To Die, 5- Indian Holocaust, 6- Waiting for Nothing, 7- World of Unlimited Facilities, 8- Boundless Violence, 9 - Let´s Stop Violence, 10- The Anger, 11- Inane

Brutal death metal from Slovakia! The music here can be classified like that but the band has some hardcore edge and some modern metal influences in the way they make their riffs (not hyper fast...they are really elaborated riffs). Plus they have a killer drummer behind giving their music a good kick forward! The lyrics are very interesting covering different social topics like violence, racial problems, etc. The vocals are guttural but all the lyrics can be understand perfectly and the vocalist uses his voice along some riffs to make some rhythms more interesting and adding power to the part where he is singing, not merely shouting. The overall sound is good, I would have mixed a little bit louder the guitars but this is a great release for fans of brutality. Favorite tracks: "Life´s Attitude", "Indian Holocaust" and "Boundless Violence". Contact: www.erebosproductions.com

REVIEW: NECROPLASMA - BLACK FUNERAL HORNS

 

NECROPLASMA - BLACK FUNERAL HORNS DEMO II (Ketzer Distro, 2001)

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- Goat Sodomy Eternal, 3- Slaughter of the Light, 4- Awakening from Beyond, 5- Black Funeral Horns, 6- Witching Hour (Venom Cover), 7- In Bitterness and Depression, 8- Outro

ultra fast and raw black metal. Even if Necroplasma is a band from Sweden, the music here is pure black metal in the Norwegian way. One thing that surprised me here is that the bass is clearly mixed...you can hear it in the fastest parts without having to listen very carefully and in some of the tracks it plays some interesting arrangements while still following the guitars. Bands like Mayhem or Dark Throne or even old Bathory came into my mind while listening to this recording....The vocals in this recording are in the vein of the darkest bands in the black metal scene. This CD includes a cover of Venom´s classic "Witching Hour" in a really good version. Favorite tracks: "Black Funeral Horns" and "In Bitterness and Depression" and "Witching Hour". Contact: http://www.welcome.to/ketzer

REVIEW: MUST MISSA - SEX BEYOND THE GRAVE

 

MUST MISSA - SEX BEYOND THE GRAVE (Ketzer Distro, 2001)

Tracks: 1- Nöiad (warlocks), 2- On the darkest paths, 3- Shadowless/To Eclipse, 4- Be afraid of my true face, 5- To Become Buried / Fuck after grave

Must Missa is a really raw band who plays sort of death/black metal style with an incredibly saturated guitar. Riffs full of speed and hate in all the songs here. The vocals are somewhat spexial being not the trollish or screaming vocal that we are accustomed to listen to in black metal bands...instead they are more screaming in places and somewhat lower pitched in other parts. The drums are really thin sounding and they should mix a little bit different the hihat and cymbals to make their sound not opaque the guitars and vocals. A really raw release!!!! Favorite tracks: "Varjuta", "Karda Mu Palet" and "Mööda Tumedaid Radu". Contact: http://www.welcome.to/ketzer

REVIEW: MOONSORROW - TÄMÄ IKUINEN TALVI

 

MOONSORROW - TÄMÄ IKUINEN TALVI (Sagitarius Prods., 2001)

Tracks: 1- The Battle for Phjola (Part I - To brother, Part II - the Realm of Red Snow, Part III - IN the Glare of Icy Lakes), 2- On the Green Throne, 3- Winter, 4- Blood of an Apostate, 5- the Moon´s Sorrow

This CD starts with an orchestrated part along with some keyboards that embellish the air. Then this subtle parts are followed by some extremely raw and fast black metal whose mainpoint is that is full of keyboards everywhere...and that is what makes Moonsorrow a special band: the quality of the keyboard player which is all over the place playing from chord progression, to arrangements to melodic lines and creating dark climatic passages everywhere. This first track, which is more than twelve minutes long is called "The Battle of Pohjola" and is really epic with a lot of battle sounds in the background and interesting breaks and changes. Is like a mini concerto on its own. And that is a really great characteristic of Moonsorrow´s music...the heavy orchestration and arrangements and the really well structured musical pieces that are part of their musical opus. Four of the five tracks contained on this CD are over eight minutes long and are really well developed. One of the CDs of the month (specially thanks to the keys). Favorite tracks: The five.

REVIEW: MIND ECLIPSE - IN THE LIGHT OF ECLIPSE COMING

 

MIND ECLIPSE - IN THE LIGHT OF ECLIPSE COMING (Independent, 2000)

Produced by Mind Eclipse

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- live in Sodom, 3- Too Dead TO live, 4- Mind Eclipse, 5- For those who born under the chaos devise, 6- Of queen that enthroned in haunted citadel of Syberia, 7- the incarnation of my sorrow, 8- Immortal images and voices of satan´s sorrow, 9- Farewell, 10- Outro, 11- Promo 2001: We Are Not Messiahs

Really raw black metal with some strange sounds!! The album opens with a keyboard intro before getting into full speed and deadly black metal. The guitars are really raw and play one note melodies in their hyper speed riffs. The band has a trollish vocalist in the vein of some norwegian bands. There are also some riffs that are more rhythmic and add variation to the CD like the ones in "Too Dead To Live"The problem here is the sound...this guys deserve a much better sound, specially on the guitars and drums (the guitars are difficult to hear in some part). I hope that with more money or some deal with a label they get the sound they deserve. The track from Promo 2001 shows a great improvement for this band. Favorite tracks: "Too Dead To Live", "The Incarnation of My Sorrow" and "Farewell". Contact: www.mindeclipse.ca or http://mindeclipse.musica.mustdie.ru

REVIEW: MIGUEL SANCHEZ - THALISMA

 

MIGUEL SANCHEZ - THALISMA (Carbon 7 Records, 2001)

Produced by Guy Segers and Alan Ward

Recorded at Studio Bonzai and Studio De Studio

Layout by Els Van Hemelryck

Tracks: 1- Esperanza, 2- Contigo Soñar, 3- Mi Rollo, 4- Lere, 5- Fuente de Colores, 6- Punta Paloma, 7- jam De Studio, 8- Siete Cuatro, 9- this, 10- the Heritage (Buleria)

A beautiful release. Miguel Sanchez, "el Canijo" has the gift of knowing how to mix perfectly flamenco, jazz and even some new age music. And that is perfectly demonstrated on this release where he makes a great combination of his influences. There are also some eastern sounding melodies (this feeling is enhanced because of the use of exotic instruments in this context). I like the way Sanchez plays his guitar letting it breath with arpéggios and making some interesting melodies. Also there is a great work on vocals that are closer to flamenco than to the other styles mentioned above. There are plenty of phrases done by the instruments here doing some scales (a lot of phrygian modes and harmonic minor sounds). Also there are a lot of guest musicians who help to make this album a great one. Favorite Tracks: "Fuente de Colores", "Punta Paloma" and "Siete Cuatro". Contact: www.carbon7.com

REVIEW: MEGADETH - THE WORLD NEEDS A HERO

 

MEGADETH - THE WORLD NEEDS A HERO (Metal-Is Recs, 2001)

Produced by Dave Mustaine

Recorded and Mixed by Bill Kennedy

Front Cover Photograph by Dave Cronin

Tracks: 1- Disconnect, 2- The World Needs a Hero, 3- Moto Psycho, 4- 1000 Times Goodbye, 5- Burning Bridges, 6- Promises, 7- Recipe for Hate...warhorse, 8- Losing My Senses, 9- Dread and The Fugitivr Mind, 10- Silent Scorn, 11- Return To Hangar, 12- When

Megadeth´s latest album is a step in the correct direction, that is that of albums like "Countdown to Extinction", "Rust In Peace" or "Youthanasia". That is departing from the structures used in albums like "Cryptic Writings" and "Risk". Why? Well, this sound much better...there are more guitars, more solos and the songs don´t have a structure so commonly used in metal (I think this was the problem in "Cryptic..." and "Risk"...it was simple music written by a complicated and technical band that could do more than that). New guitarist Al Pitrelli is really good in his job doing good solos in songs like "Return to Hangar" or "Disconnect". Even the first single "Moto Psycho" is closer to "Angry Again" than to "Almost Honest". I hope they continue like this and I would love to listen in the future extremely technical and heavy tracks like the ones in the classic "Rust in Peace", but with the more modern sound that Dave Mustaine and co. Are using in their new albums. Favorite tracks: "Disconnect", "Return To Hangar" and "Recipe for hate...Warhorse". Contact: www.megadeth.com

REVIEW: MARTYRIUM - IDEOLOGY OF DEATH

 

PRESS RELEASE:

MARTYRIUM - IDEOLOGY OF DEATH (Independent, 2001)

Recorded and Mixed by Erwin Hermsen

Recorded at Walhalla´s Basement on three days of May 2001

Tracks: 1- Failure Existence, 2- Enter Imaginations, 3- Stratus, 4- Abysmal, 5- Ave Solitude, 6- Mystical Journeys, 7- Ominous, 8- Eternalize Death, 9- Anguish and Despond, 10- Unleash War

This is death metal with a really mechanical sound!!! That is the first impression that you have while listening to the music on this CD. And a lot of this carachteristical sound and brutality is due to the particular sound that the drums have with an open hihat and a heavy use of cymbals. This is extremely fast and brutal death with screaming vocals and powerful guitars that play the riffs at maximum speeds without missing a beat. Some parts reminded me of Kreator (Endless Pain and Pleasure To Kill era). The sound is really good because you can listen clearly the riffs and changes and breaks despite of the speed at which this guys play their tracks. The ten tracks of this CD span the bands career from 1997 to 2001. A must for death freaks. Favorite tracks: "Enter Imaginations", "We Solitude" /this has to be their first single!!!) and "Unleash War". Contact: www.martyrium.cjb.net

REVIEW: MAJESTY - DOOMSDAY MACHINE

 

MAJESTY - DOOMSDAY MACHINE (Actcom Recs., 2001)

Produced by Gravehill

Recorded at Pop-Artikkeli Studio

Art by Timo Väänänen

Tracks: 1- Embraced by Dawn, 2- Reptilian Temptation, 3- Realm of Confusion, 4- Deadwood, 5- I walk without a sound, 6- Doomsday Machine

A beautiful keyboards introduction opens this powerful gothic/doom metal album. Marko Hautamäki is the composer and author of all the music and lyrics. And he also plays all the instruments. There are many good ideas in all the songs. Spectacular in the case "Embraced by Dawn". Marko uses heavy guitars all over the place and that gives and extra push and power to all the tracks contained on this dark album also there are good orchestrations through all the tracks. There are good vocals here which are sometimes more guttural and sometimes melodic using middle and low range. There is a certain feeling like it had the first Godsend album...and I relly like that ! Favorite tracks: "Embraced by Dawn", "Deadwood" and "Doomsday Machine". Contact: www.actcom.fi

REVIEW: MACBETH - VANITAS

 

MACBETH - VANITAS (Scarecrow Recs, 2001)

Recorded at Bips Studios, Milano

Cover Artwork by Fabrizio

Tracks: 1-13 November, 2- Crepuscularia (Agony in Red Minor), 3- Lady Lily White, 4- Fables, 5- Moisa, 6- El Diablo y la Luna, 7- Pure treasure, 8- Green Orchestra (Sonata for leaves and trees), 9- Romanzo nero, 10- Haeresis Dea, 11- Hall of the Scarlets

A superb album!! With music that is a combination of the best things of gothic, of heavy metal, of power metal. A perfect CD with all excellent tracks. The combination of keyboards/piano with extremely heavy guitars reachs perfection on this CD. The perfect combination of melodies with heavy as hell riffs. Melancholy, sadness, majesty...everyone of this feelings can be felt here. And Macbeth has the angelical voice of Morena who is one of the main ingredients here and contrasts with the male ones that can be very deep or screaming. If you like heaviness and more subtle feelings then you will definetly love this CD. Check the guitars solos...there is really good note placement...this guys know exactly what they are playing. An excellent album. Favorite tracks: The whole CD. Contact: crepuscularia@yahoo.it .

REVIEW: LATE ARRIVAL - KICK THINGS OVER

 

LATE ARRIVAL - KICK THINGS OVER (Dunham Recs. 1997)

Produced by Jeff and Tom Dunham and Mark Nalore

Recorded at Front Page Studios

Graphic Design by Marc Don Vito

Tracks: 1- Kick Things Over, 2- Safe Passage, 3- Torments, 4- Long Run, 5-Sunny Day, 6- Monkey See, 7- Waiting, 8- On the Highway, 9- Santa Fe, 10- Sticky, 11- Rolling Stone, 12- You are Sorry

This is pure rock´n ´roll in its purest form. Full of hooks in the vein of maybe AC/DC (in fact the second track called "Safe Passage" can bring to your mind pieces of "For those About To rock (We Salute You))". But for me there is one problem...this guys need more strength in their sound. And that is fundamental. If they mix the guitars louder maybe they can achieve that. This kind of music is meant to be played louder. Maybe an example of this would be the song "Long Run" that is one of the more powerful of the CD but can be enhanced a lot. I would like to listen something new from this guys to see how they have evolved. Favorite tracks: "Torments", "Monkey See" and "On the Highway".

REVIEW: KRONOS - TITAN´S AWAKENING

 

KRONOS - TITAN´S AWAKENING (Warpath Recs, 2001)

Produced by Kronos and Jean Lou

Recorded at Second Side Studios

Front Cover by Deather ( indeedhell@ceznam.cz )

Tracks: 1- Mashkhith, 2- Sysiphe, 3- Enslaved by the Madness, 4- Bloodtower, 5- Eternal Mindwarp, 6- Outrance, 7- Sadistik Retribution, 8- Warmaggedawn, 9- Dismember, 10- Disease of God, 11- Demence of the Gnomish Warriors, 12-Supreme Nordik Reign

One of the most brutal releases of 2001 comes from this growing label called Warpath Records The main feature of Warpath´s bands (and obviously of Kronos) is their good sound and good mix in their releases. Kronos is no exception and they make an extremely brutal kind of death emtal where my favorite element is listening the drums (cristal clear double bass, hihat and cymbals). There are two type of vocals: one is a screaming one and the other one is more guttural. Another thing to point out are some riffs with pinch harmonics that the guitarists do in tracks like "Enslaved By the Madness". Is great to listen brutality so clearly like on this release. Favorite tracks: "Eternal Mindtrap", "Dismember" and "Outrance". Contact: warpath@wanadoo.fr

REVIEW: KATALEPSY - PROMO TAPE

 

KATALEPSY - PROMO TAPE (Independent, 2000)

Tracks: 1- Statement of Shit, 2- Larvae, 3- Reallity, 4- Morticia´s Frumpt / Bad Dreams (Impetigo), 5- Regurgitate the Dead (Embrionic Death), 6- Turn Face (Brutal Truth), 7- Sensless Strip (Agathocles), 8- Splattered Cadaver (Repulsion), Spiralin Alcoholic Demise (Drogheda)

This is a promo from this grinding band from Bolivia !! yes !! here in Sudamerica there is a great underground scene that maybe some day will develope into a great extreme music invasion!!! This band ´s music is brutal grind death with short tracks and a really rotten sound in their guitars and guttural vocals. The sound here is not very good and I think this band deserves to record in a better place so tey guitars will shine and the drums which are hyper fast with a lot of double bass will be listened in all its magnitude. There are some covers from bands like Impetigo, Brutal Truth, Repulsion, etc. really well done transmitting the brutality of the original versions. Favorite tracks: "Larvae", "Reality" and "Splattered Cadaver". Contact: bloodshed@eudoramail.com

REVIEW: KOMA - MOLESTANDO A LOS VECINOS

 

KOMA - MOLESTANDO A LOS VECINOS (Locomotive Music, 2001)

Produced by Miguel Aizpún

Recorded live at Kafe Antzokia, Bilbao 5th july, 2001

Tracks: 1- Mi Jefe, 2- K}Jack Queen Jack, 3- Marea Gora, 4- Aqui Huele como que han fumao, 5- Bienvenidos a degüelto (there are 18 songs in the full CD)

A really energetic live recording from this spanish band. After their previous album called "Criminal", this time the band delivers a live gig recorded on July 5th, 2001. As most of you may know Koma is a band of aggressive metal in the vein of bands like Sepultura, Machine Head or Pantera, using the crushing rhythms that are signature of those bands and singing in Spanish. This recording has a great sound and production and that allows us to feel the energy that this guys transmit in their live shows. This promo contains five tracks but the edition is of eighteen tracks in a double CD. Recommended to lovers of modern metal. Favorite tracks: "Mi Jefe" and "Marea Gora". Contact: www.locomotivemusic.com

REVIEW: KILLER KHAN - ROCK´N´ROLL FOREVER

 

KILLER KHAN - ROCK´N´ROLL FOREVER (Independent, 2001)

Produced by Richard Downs

Recorded at DBS Studios, Nashville

Artwork by Charlie Mabe

Tracks: 1-Kamikaze, 2- British barbie, 3- Neither King nor Kaiser, 4- Leather and Lace, 5- The Hated and the Damned, 6- Vanishing Point, 7- Dark Shadows, 8- Hammer of the Gods, 9- Sanctuary, 10- Rock´N´Roll Forever

It´s been a lot since I listened heavy metal like this one. It is really classic metal in the vein of Ozzy Osbourne with some slow touches in the vein of Black Sabbath (in fact is closer to a band like Trouble). The guitars have a really good sound....really fat and enhance the songs playing interesting riffs that change after some repetitions generating a good song structure. And that is what Killian Khan, the singer and main man here is looking for: great heavy metal songs. Richard Downs the lead guitarist is a really good one and I think that we will hear a lot from him in the future. It is good to see that this style of music is far from dead and there are good bands like Killer Khan defending what they like doing and creating a lot of hard music. Favorite tracks: "Neither King Nor Kaiser", "Vanishing Point" and "Hammer of the Gods" (in the vein of Ozzy´s "Perry Mason"). Contact: www.killerkhan.com

REVIEW: KEVIN MULLIGAN - INTERNATIONAL

 

KEVIN MULLIGAN - INTERNATIONAL (Carbon 7 Recs., 2001)

Mixed by Kevin Mulligan at High Plains Studios

Recorded live at Au Petit Coq, Brussels

Layout: Gunther Fobe

Tracks: 1- Roll Away, 2- To love Somebody, 3- Rivertown, 4- KN3, 5- Havana, 6- King Court, 7- Memphis, 8- Soft and Slow, 9- Home in that Rock, 10- Sixteen Tons, 11- Great North Plains

What a deep voice has Kevin Mulligan!! He has a really subtle way of singing and he is really expressive. Also Kevin is a great songwriter and he creates songs where he can be accompanied by his band or where he can sing along his guitar. The songs are really acoustic here going from really folk like music, to blues (on "Rivertown"), to rock´n´roll (on "To Love Somebody"). The main feature here is that he makes great songs, and that he sings them in a great way. This is a CD to play loud to listen his slithering guitar arpeggios and his voice going everywhere and letting him charm your ears. Most of the tracks here are played live and you can listen Mulligan´s interaction with the audience. He has great musicians in his band like Barry McNeese on fretless bass or Steve Willaert on piano and keyboards. Favorite tracks: The whole album. Contact: www.carbon7.com

REVIEW: JOHN LITTLE BAROI AND PIERRE VERVLOESEM - ZALA ZALA

 

JOHN LITTLE BAROI AND PIERRE VERVLOESEM - ZALA ZALA (Carbon 7 Recs., 2001)

Produced by Pierre Vervloesem

Mixed and Engineered by Pierre Vervloesem

Graphic Arts by Els Van Hemelryck

Tracks: 1- Teer Nai Tore, 2- Tor Hashite, 3- Kai Gelo, 4- Pothiker Vhari Bozha, 5- Talee Talee, 6- Tor Kotha, 7- Zala Zala, 8- Prethibee Prethibee, 9- Aei Kotha

Some charming acoustic guitar arpeggios open this beautiful CD. This is what I consider a complete masterpiece. I liked a lot the influence of eastern sounding music on this recording. It makes really interesting and snakecharming the music here (in fact here the listener is the snake, Baroi and Vervloesem are the snakecharmers). There are a lot of interesting guitar sounds made by Vervloesem who has a lot of knowledge on note placement and how to make each sound really beautiful. The main thing here are the melodies and the vocals that fit the music perfectly. Favorite tracks; "Tor Hashite", "Talee Talee" and "Aei Kotha". Contact; www.carbon7.com

REVIEW: ISENGARD - CROWNLESS MAJESTY

 

ISENGARD - CROWNLESS MAJESTY (Hemisphere Entertainment, 2001)

Produced by Ragne Wahlqvist and Isengard

Recorded at Thunderload Studio, Stockholm

Artwork by Michael Schindler / Dragon Design

Tracks: 1- Dreamland, 2- Coming Home, 3- Legends, 4- The Winds of War, 5- Stormcrow, 6- Dragon Empire, 7- Shadows of Light, 8- The Crownless Majesty, 9- Armour of Gods, 10- Poltava, 11- Eye of the Storm, 12- The Empire

This band plays power metal...and not a very original one. This band has all the elements that a band like Stratovarius or Hammerfall could have and not much more. They have the high pitched vocals, the thundering drums and the galloping guitars and the classical solos. I think this band should set tyhemselves apart from the whole heavy/power metal scene that is in complete decadence by adding some new elements to their music. This is a good effort with good sound but they need to be more original. Favorite tracks: "The Winds of War", "Shadows of Light" and "Eye of the Storm". Contact: http://i.am/isengard

REVIEW: ILLEGAL OPERATION - DIGITAL HERO

 

ILLEGAL OPERATION - DIGITAL HERO (Tribal Productions, 2001)

Produced by Tribal produsctions

Recorded at Private Home Studios, january-march 2001

Artwork: Valeriu Dudau

Tracks: 1- Trails To Nowhere, 2- Antourage, 3- Digital hero, 4- Unfair, 5- When All The Children, 6- Digital hero - remix. 7- Encounters, 8- Unexpected Error, 9- Life as Lie, 10- C.P.U. the Hero, 11- Mystical, 12- Welcome, 13- Under the Underground, 14- Again and Again

This band is amazingly diverse in what. There are two words to describe their music: originality and diversity. In fact all the songs here are completely different one from the other. At the same time Illegal operation´s music is really heavy and powerful...sometimes it has an industrial touch, sometimes they use electronics, sometimes they sound closer to Fear Factory. Then a slapping bass enters and changes completely the mood. The interesting thing here also is that there are multiple changes within the same track and this guys are not afraid of experimenting with their music. There is a lot of diversity too in the vocals...they go from death like to some really melodic voice, to an industrially processed vocal. All in one CD !! Favorite track: "Digital Hero", "Encounters", " Welcome". Contact: www.tribal-productions.com