REVIEW: CHAOTIC HOPE - LUNAR WINDS

 

CHAOTIC HOPE - LUNAR WINDS (Independent , 2001)

Produced by Chaotic Hope

Recorded in November 2000

Artwork by Darkteth

Tracks: 1- I, The Wanderer, 2- Oceanus, 3- Beyond the Gloomy Summits of Oblivion, 4- Black Wings

"I, The Wanderer" opens this CD in a majestic form, full of mysticism before getting in the hyper fast black metal of "Oceanus". The band makes a good balance between raw black metal and more elaborated one: there are parts full of speed and there are parts really subtle like the unison between guitars and keyboards on "Oceanus". There is plenty of speed here and a lot of dark atmospheres (mainly due to the heavy use of keyboards chord progressions to embellish the tracks). The band is really tight and I think they should achieve a better guitar sound to make this a black metal classic. Favorite tracks: "Beyond the Gloomy Summits of Oblivion" and "Black Wings".

REVIEW: CHAOSPHERE - COSMIC WARHEAD

 

CHAOSPHERE - COSMIC WARHEAD (Independent, 2001)

Recorded Oct 2000 - Jan 2001

Tracks: 1- Payback, 2- State of Terror, 3- Personal God, 4- 72, 5- Djihad

How can I define the music of this band? Well, I think the better way is to define it like a cross between heavy, power and thrash metal, being the first two influences the clearer ones. There are riffs that could be from a thrash metal band of the eighties, and some clean guitar intros like the one in "State of Terror" that are really good. The sound of this recording is not so good (the vocals are mixed really high and the guitars are buried in the mix). The vocalist sound like some vocalist that used to thing thrash metal in the mid eighties (it reminded me of the guy in Raven in the fastests tracks). This guys can do it better with more time to mix and maybe adding some more original ideas.Favorite tracks: "Personal God" and "State of Terror". Contact: www.chaosphere-area.com

REVIEW: CALMSITE - 99 MOONSHINE

 

CALMSITE - 99 MOONSHINE (Independent, 2000)

Tracks: 1- Streaper, 2- Sapath, 3- Helwizz, 4- Hate Red

Pure death metal but with heavy metal like riffs (including some galloping with the guitars and bass). In fact the thing here is about pure power. You won ´t find tsubtle things like keyboards or female vocals. Here you will find a powerful band playing crushing riffs and a guttural vocalist that fits the music perfectly. I like the guitar riffs that are played with a bigger than hell sound that makes the music sound closer to Bolt Thrower than to Iron Maiden. The CD includes also a multimedia bonus track with pics of the band and many more things. Favorite tracks: "Helwizz" and "Hate Red".Contact: http://listen.to/calmsite

REVIEW: BOLT THROWER - HONOUR, VALOUR, PRIDE

 

BOLT THROWER - HONOUR, VALOUR, PRIDE (Roadrunner Recs., 2001)

Produced by Bolt thrower and Andy Faulkner

Recorded at Sable Rose Studios

Artwork by Jan Meininghaus

Tracks: 1- Contact- Wait Out, 2- Inside the Wire, 3- Honour, 4- Suspect Hostile, 5- 7th Offensive, 6- Valour, 7- K-Machine, 8- A Hollow Truce, 9- Pride

This is Bolt Thrower´s latest opus and it marks a new step the band´s career. In fat is the first record with Dave Ingram on vocals. And the music is crushing as always, but Dave gives the final touch sounding more powerful than his predecessor Karl Willets. One thing that I liked here a lot is the drumming, is like more spatiated on tracks like the opening "Contact - Wait Out" relying heavily on the double bass and the ride cymbal. As always the tandem conformed by Jo bench on bass and Gavin Ward and Martin Kearns on guitars is demolishing and are the ones that create the main structure of the tracks here. War metal at its best !!! Favorite tracks: The whole album. Contact: www.roadrunnerrecords.com

REVIEW: BOLT THROWER - MERCENARY

 

BOLT THROWER - MERCENARY (Roadrunner Recs., 2000)

Produced by Bolt Thrower and Ewan Davies

Recorded at Chapel Studios, Lincoln, England

Artwork by Peter Archer

Tracks: 1- Zeroed, 2- Laid To Waste, 3- Return From Chaos, 4- Mercenary, 5- To the Last..., 6- Powder Burns, 7- Behind Enemy lines, 8- No Guts, No Glory, 9- Sixth Chapter

This is Bolt Thrower previous album, but I have to review it because it is the end of the chapter with Karl Willets on vocals (now the vocalist is the ex Benediction vocalist Dave Ingram). The music is really potent as always, slower than on their first albums and more focused in death metal with crushing riffs and a lot of rhythm changes. The sound is good here, but I have to admit that I would like them to mix in a different way the snare drum, like louder. On this release they are using more bottom end (Jo Bench is crushing as always on the bass) than in for example "For Victory...". there are some riffs that are more original than others like the ones you can listen on songs like "Mercenary" and I think the band is getting better with time doing this type of music. Favorite tracks: "Laid To Waste", "To the Last..." and " "Behind Enemy Lines". Contact: www.roadrunnerrecords.com

REVIEW: BLASTMAT - THEME FOR A DYING WORLD

 

BLASTMAT - THEME FOR A DYING WORLD (Independent, 2002)

Produced by Blastmat

Recorded at Barn Owl Studios. Engineered by Kerry Gollareny

Artwork by Blastmat

Tracks: 1- New Messiah, 2- Desensitized, 3- Lives for lies, 4- Theme for a dying world, 5- Taliban Fight Song, 6- Church and state, 7- You and Yours, 8- Fire in the city, 9- Jesus Saves, 10- It all comes down, 11- Dog Eat Dog

Take a little bit of hard rock, add some metal then add a lot of hardcore and punk and then you´ll have a close idea of how does Blastmat´s music sound. I enjoyed a lot the tracks contained here because of the choruses that the tracks have and I liked the simple and effective riffs (really hardcore) that Andy Reitano makes with his guitar. Here you will have from catchy songs to some that are much faster (like "Lives for Lies") and everything in between. The main thing here are the rhythms which are designed to make the people jump and to sing along with the band. The sound is a little bit muddy but this guys can solve that in the future adding more time to the mix. A good one for lovers of hardcore and similar styles!! Favorite tracks: "Lives for lies", "Taliban Fight Song" and "Jesus Saves". Contact: http://members.aol.com/blastmatcthc

REVIEW: BLACK MASS - TO FLY WITH DEMONS

 

BLACK MASS - TO FLY WITH DEMONS (Elegy Recs., 2001)

Produced by Black Mass

Artwork by Curtis Harris

Tracks: 1- Altar of Ill Repute, 2- Scource of Hell, 3- Continual Darkness, 4- Invocatium Satanas, 5- Weltering in Sin, 6- Parallex Profanity / To Fly With Demons, 7- Feast of Souls, 8- Kill them in Hell, 9- Abyssmal Torment

Mayhemic death/Black metal !!! This is what we have here: this is a combination of the most brutal death metal vocals with violent black metal riffs and the brutality of death metal patterns in the drums (that get into blast beats in a lot of places). The guitars sound like a wall of sound, with great riffs that are very rhythmic in a lot of parts. There are some short guitar solos that are really well placed and give the melodic element to the tracks contained here. The vocals are really guttural and fit the brutality contained on this recording perfectly. Lovers of death / black metal will fell in love with this band !! Favorite tracks: "Scource of Hell", "Weltering in Sin" and "Kill Them in Hell". Contact: www.usblackmass.com

REVIEW: BIOTECH - NEW WORLD DISORDER

 

BIOTECH - NEW WORLD DISORDER (Silver Music., 1999)

Produced by Biotech

Recorded at Sliver Music, parma

Artwork by Matteo Pretti

Tracks: 1- My Last Days (it will come), 2- S.K. 99, 3- Wile

The music of this CD goes in the way of bands like Sepultura and Fear Factory with some riffs that are different from those bands (they are quite more twisted and have many breaks through the same song). This recording has a really good sound and that makes the music to be more appreciated. The vocals are quite similar to the ones of Machine Head´s Rob Flynn: there are interesting things that I would like the band to explore more: like the solo at 2:30 of "My Last Days" which makes a great contrast with the rest of the music. I would like to listen a full length of this guys or to listen what are doing nowadays, A REALLY POWERFUL BAND !!! Favorite tracks: "S.K. 99" and "Wile". Contact: www.youngmusic.com

REVIEW: BETHLEHEM - SCHATTE AUS DER ALEXANDER WELT

 

BETHLEHEM - SCHATTEN AUS DER ALEXANDER WELT (Red Stream Recs., 2001)

Some Tracks: 1- Maschinsohn, 2- Somnambulism in Maschinenzimmer 30, 3- Mein Kuss erstickt im Imperativ, 4- Mary Samaels NFB 418, 5- Dunkle, kalte Materie, 6- Das 4. Tier Ass den Mutterwitz, 7- Roast, Wahne tote Gleise, 8- Tod einer Dieselkatze, 9- Aus dunkler Ritze fruchtig Wahn + A LOT OF BONUS TRACKS !!

This is a masterpiece !!This is an amazing CD ! !In fact this is a double CD !! The first one, called "Das Grauen" has 18 tracks (one of them that is thirteen minutes long is hidden and you have to wait until the cd counter goes to track number 66)!!! How can I describe this jewel? Well, first of all this is extremely climatic, combining the most beautiful and melodic moments with extremely heavy parts full of crushing riffs. The tracks here have complexity and are made in a way that they are interconnected between them. There are plenty of spoken partd, because this was conceived to be a theatrical piece. There are choruses that are greatly harmonized in a way similar to gregorian chant. Also...do you want some electronics? Well here you have them in some tracks. DO you want slower tracks? You have them. Do you want fdaster ones? Here they are. Do you love atmospheric parts? Here you will be delighted !! Are you a lover of keyboards and piano? Here you have plenty of them, including intros, solo passages and more. The second CD called "Der Dorsch" is more orchestral and it is like a movie soundtrack with all the elements described above and many more. THE CD of the MONTH!!!!!!!! Favorite tracks: The whole CD. This is the record of the month an probably of the year. Contact: www.redstream.org or www.alexanderwelt.org

REVIEW: BATHTUB SHITTER - WALL OF WORLD IS WORDS

 

BATHTUB SHITTER - WALL OF WORLD IS WORDS (Farewell Recs., 2001)

Produced by Bathtub Shitter

Recorded at LM Studios

Artwork by Osho and Henmarer

Tracks: 1- Wall of World is Words, 2- Wrinkly Wall, 3- Light Out, 4- M.A.D.S., 5- New Clear War, 6- We The Helpless, 7- Imitation of Life, 8- Fuck You

Bathtub Shitter is a culkt band in the grindcore underground. And here they are with this offering that includes three covers: one from Holy Moses, one by Scum and another one by Extreme Noise Terror. As you may know Bathtub Shitter has no mercy for the listener and they play ultrafast and brutal grindcore. Here is no exception. Starting with the title tracks they push the accelerator and go at top speed through the whole recording. The sound is clear enough to listen to all the instruments (even if I would have mixed differently the drums which are a little bit buried in the mix, except for the cymbals). A classic band that is as brutal as always. For lovers of extreme grindcore with original ideas and some death metal touches. Favorite tracks: "New Clear War", "Wrinkly Wall", We The Helpless". Contact: www.plastic-bomb.de

REVIEW: ARCHETYPE - DAWNING

 

ARCHETYPE - DAWNING (CDM Prods., 2002)

Produced by Ed Tomecko and Chris Matyus at Audioworks

Recorded At JGRS - Massillon, Ohio

Artwork by Chris Kallias, Chris Matyus and Tony D´Atri

Tracks: 1- Final Day, 2- Hands of Time, 3- Dawning, 4- Dissension´s Wake, 5- Inside your Dreams, 6- Premonitions, 7- Visionary, 8- Arisen, 9- The Mind´s Eye, 10- Years Ago

Archetype is one of the first bands that I interviewed for Music Extreme like one year ago or something like that. Now, I have received their latest opus, called "Dawning". Archetype´s music is what I called progressive: they have a lot of elements of heavy metal, of progressive rock and and there´s something also that reminded me of thrash classics like early Flotsam and Jetsam (certain vocals lines or crushing guitar riffs). In fact they are really eclectic and that makes tracks like "Years Ago" which is over twelve minutes, so interesting. The vocals are not what you expect of bands of the style....in fact, they are really melodic in places but they have always a lot of aggression that makes the result here really powerful. Also we have an extra point: the sound in this recording is really killer!! (also another thing that gives a lot of power to the tracks is the guitar sound which is really heavy and the way in which the drummer accentuates the riffs). A must for any metal fan. Favorite tracks: the whole CD. Contact: www.archetype1.com

REVIEW: AFFLUENT OF STYX - THORON

 

AFFLUENT OF STYX - THORON (Inner Cellar Prods., 2000)

Produced by Affluent of Styx

Recorded at Ender´s Inner Cellar

Artwork by Ender and Darx

Tracks: 1- Tue Ne le Divin Enfant, 2- Condamnation de la Trodecte, 3- Ad Usque Terras Mors, 4- Phusis, 5- Rapax Ataraxia, 6- Fardeau Miserable de la Genese Divine Fleaulienne

Here we have Affluent of Styx, a band of death/black metal extremely brutal and with some subtle elements. There are also some riffs that could be labeled as black metal, specially on the fastest parts where they are one not runs creating melodic background. I like specially riffs like the one at 2:16 in "Tue Ne le Devin Enfant" that reminded me of early Celtic Frost. There are a lot of keyboards on this recording that make the sound of the band much more interesting (and less raw). The vocals are extremely guttural and are mixed very low, so sometimes you confuse it with the music that is behind them. The best thing here are Ender´s riffs and solos which are original.The intrerludes here are really cool and melodic and give a lot of breath to the music contained on this album. Favorite tracks: "Condamnation de La Trodecte" and "Phusis". Contact: www.affluent-of-styx.com

REVIEW: ABADDON INCARNATE - NADIR

 

ABADDON INCARNATE - NADIR (Sentinel Recs., 2001)

Produced byMieszko Talarczyk and Abaddon Incarnate

Recorded in Soundlab Studios, Sweden

Artwork by Paul Mc Carroll for Unhinged Art and Design

Tracks: 1- I Will nail you in, 2- False, 3- They use dark forces, 4- Unclean, 5- Aeons of Our Dying, 6- Throne of the whore, 7- Funeral procession, 8- Traumatic Stress Solution, 9- Hunger Allowed No Choice, 10- Transgressor, 11- Victory or Annihilation, 12- Scene of the Crime, 13- Progeny, 14- Where´s my axe?, 15- Come Onto Me, 16- She Hates With a Marble Heart, 17- Seditious Thoughts Part 1, 18- Seditious thougts Part II, 19- Judgement was Passed before, 20- Hamunaptra (City of the Dead), 21- Bonebag, 22- ....And Then The World Bleeds, 23- Pogrom, 24- Rot

Abaddon Incarnate is a grind band from Ireland. The first thing that got my attention from this CD is how good it sounds. Th sound here is crystal clear, even in the fastest parts with blast beats. The music is extremely brutal full of fast parts and great riffs like the ones in "Aeons of Our Dying" (which are the riffs that I prefer, not so fast but much heavier). The band is really tigfht and you can notice that in the blast beats parts with breaks like the ones in Throne of the Whore" where everything is completely under control, despite being fast and complicated. This is a CD for grindcore fans and also for death metal ones because it has all the features that they love. Favorite tracks: "Judgement Was Passed before", "She Hates With a Marble Heart" and "Funeral procession". Contact: www.sentinelireland.com

REVIEW: 10$ HEAD - THE HENFORD CHAINSTORE MASSACRE

 

10$ HEAD - THE HENFORD CHAINSTORE MASSACRE (Independent , 2000)

Produced by Pete Freshney and 10$ Head

Recorded at Pulham Village Hall

Artwork by Dunn

Tracks: 1- Eat Shit and Die, 2- XXX, 3- Self Brutilation, 4- Surrogate

Looking at the coverof this CD reminded me of grind death bands of the late eighties. Specially it reminded me of Nuclear Death´s "Bride of Insect". But the similarities dissapear there: the music here is completely different. Here we have more like a straightforward death metal but with a special feature: electronic drums (and it does not play blast beats all the time). Also the guitars sound different from what they are supposed to sound in the style. In fact there are elements that would not be out of place in an industrial band. Can we call this "industrial death metal"? Who knows? The fact is that the music is fast and powerful and has many moods and atmospheres but it needs a better mix to achieve better results. Favorite tracks: "Eat Shit and Die" and "Self Brutilation".

REVIEW: WITCHBURNER - INCARNATION OF EVIL

 

WITCHBURNER - INCARNATION OF EVIL (Undercover Recs, 2001)

Produced by Erik Groesch

Recorded at Neway Studios, Schlitz

Cover by Dieter Klopper

Tracks: 1- Devils and Witches, 2- Nuclear Overkill, 3- Hexenhammer, 4- Steel Triumphator, 5-War and Witchery, 6- Execute them All, 7- Hochstift Mania, 8- Ultra Violence, 9- View Beyond, 10- Metal Warriors

Witchburner crushes you since their first track that opens this CD with their blend of death and thrash metal. This is really old school death metal with certain touches of thrash metal in certain riffs and breaks. And they have a really modern sound in the guitars and specially on the drums (killer mix here). Another high point is the bass that can be heard pumping through all the songs. The vocals are screaming with hate and anguish through all the recording. I liek specially riffs like the one in 1:05 of "Nuclear Overkill" which is really elaborated with some changes and progresses into another riff that is completely different. Some parts reminded me of bands like Destruction and Kreator, specially in the combination of guitars with drums. Favorite tracks: "Hexenhammer", "Execute Them All" and "View Beyond". Contact: www.undercover-records.de

REVIEW: WINTER - INTO DARKNESS / ETERNAL FROST

 

WINTER - INTO DARKNESS / ETERNAL FROST (Nuclear Blast, 1999)

Tracks: 1- Oppression Freedom / Reprise, 2- Servants of the Warsmen, 3- Goden, 4- Power and Might, 5- Destiny, 6- Eternal Frost, 7- Into Darkness, 8-Servants of the Warsmen, 9- Eternal Frost, 10- Winter, 11- Blackwhole

This is a rerelease of tracks from this classic death/doom band. The music is raw and dark, sometimes slow, sometimes more rhythmic. The guitar sound is huge and that makes the tracks heavier than hell. There are a lot of climatic parts, like in the beginning of "Into Darkness" (with a guitar sound mixed lower than on the last tracks and the drums mixed louder). I would like to mix the drums differently with a more opaque hi-hat and louder bass drums and snare to make it sound tighter with the rest of the band...nevertheless the double bass drum parts are killer and they help a lot to the final result of the songs. The vocals are really guttural and gives that deathly feeling to the whole CD. The slower parts reminded me of Evoken´s music, heavy and really dense. For fans of death and doom!!. Favorite tracks: "Destiny", "Servants of the Warsmen" and "Winter". Contact: www.nuclearblast.de

REVIEW: WATCHMAKER - KILL, CRUSH, DESTROY

 

WATCHMAKER - KILL, CRUSH, DESTROY (Wonderdrug Recs, 2001)

Produced by Cokederler

Recorded at New Alliance Studios

Tracks: 1- Broken by Refraction, 2- Dummy Test, 3- Mournful Visage, 4- Salt fertile Earth, 5- Watchmaker, 6- Flowers of Evil, 7- Invert and Crush, 8- Arise in Might, 9- Like Saturn Devouring his Children, 10- Gunscope Transplant, 11- The Darkness of Mere Being

Wow!!! I did not expect this ...I thought by looking to the cover art of this CD that this was going to be some kind of industrial or modern metal band with politically correct lyrics. But in fact Watchmaker is an extremely fast band of death/grind metal. Their songs are fast and they have that extremely anguished vocals that make the music more effective. The guitars go at the speed of light with interesting riffs that change now and then giving diversity to the material. The drums use some blasnt beats here and there but I think the durmmer prefers to accentuate the different parts in another way. This is an eleven tracks CD with no mercy for your ear!!! Full speed and hatred in this release!!. Favorite tracks: "Mournful Visage", "Flowers of Evil" and "Raise in Might". Contact: www.wonderdrugrecords.com

REVIEW: VOID OF SILENCE - TOWARD THE DUSK

 

VOID OF SILENCE - TOWARD THE DUSK (Nocturnal Music, 2001)

Produced by Rich D - Nocturnal Music

Recorded at Massive Arts Studios

Artwork by Temno un art ( gleams@tin.it )

Tracks: 1- A Mild from hate, 2- Elemental pain, 3- Deamons from my Imagination, 4- Extasy in the Spiral, 5- My Proivate Hell, 6- Nigredo: Panic Malediction

Extreme doom/death metal. The music here is heavy in fact it is heavier than hell!!!!! Heavy and slooooowwww.....in fact this is really doom!! In the vein of the almighty Evoken, I hear also some Saint Vitus here and there. There are a lot of keyboards here that help to make things darker. And also there are some shrieking vocals combined with others that seem to be that of a gregorian chant....and that makes Void of Silence´s music much more sad, more obscure. Everything here is done in order to depress the listener, in order to make their souls cry with those heavy guitars and those deathly vocals coming from the grave. Favorite tracks: "Elemental pain", "My Provate Hell" and "A Mild from Hate". Contact: www.nocturnalmusic.net .

REVIEW: VIRGIN BLACK - SOMBRE ROMANTIC

 

VIRGIN BLACK - SOMBRE ROMANTIC (The End Recs, 2002)

Produced by Rowan London

Recorded at JR Recording

Photography by Samantha Escarbe. Layout by Camren Harm

Tracks: 1- Opera de Romanci (I:Stare), 2- II: Embrace, 3- Walk Without Limbs, 4- Of Your Beuty, 5- Drink the Midnight HYmn, 6- Museum of Iscariot (I-Stagnation, II-Death, III-Procession), 7- Lamenting Kiss, 8- Weep For Me, 9- I Sleep With the Emperor, 10 A Poet´s Tears of Porcelain

I must congratulate The End Records because of this excellent release!!! Opening with an amazing orchestral part with cello and eastern sounding vocals (in fact this made me remind of the soundtrack of a movie called "Before The Rain" which is a Macedonia/UK coproduction). Then suddenly all explodes and the orchestration is joined by an extremely heavy band on "Embrace"!! This is the perfect combination between ethereal music and extreme heaviness (this is why I think that being heavy doesn´t mean necesarilly to be at full speed all the time). Excellent guitarist...she is Samantha Escarbe and plays very interesting riffs with a very loud sound, she creates melodies and also gives space for the keyboards and the drums to breath. One of the best releases that I reviewed this month. Favorite tracks: "Museum of Iscariot", "Weep for Me" and "Walk Without Limbs". Contact: www.theendrecords.com

REVIEW: VELOCIDAD ABSURDA - FISICO TORTURA EMOCIONAL

 

VELOCIDAD ABSURDA - FISICO TORTURA EMOCIONAL (Independent, 2001)

Produced by David Diaz

Recorded at Silco Estudios

Art taken from the film "Aftermath"

Track: 1- Dracunculiasis, 2- Fisico Tortura Emocional, 3- Psicotica Asfixia, 4-Revienta y Destruye, 5- Ecos de Tortura, 6- Concilio de Odio, 7- Pensamiento Unico

Extremely brutal death/grind coming directly from Spain. With hyper speed in their riffs and a really guttural vocals, extremely rotten. There are some melodies in the vein of Autopsy´s "Mental Funeral". There are some twisted riffs and all the vocals are in spanish. I can describe this music in many ways but one word is better: brutal. The sound is fairly good and it helps to make the results better than in bands of the style that have a much worse sound. The plams here go to the guitarist and to the blast beat maniac drummer. Favorite tracks: "Dracunculians", "Revienta y Destruye" and "Pensamiento unico". Contact: velocidad@able.es

REVIEW: TWO WITCHES - AGONY OF THE UNDEAD VAMPIRE: PT II JUBILEE EDITION

 

TWO WITCHES - AGONY OF THE UNDEAD VAMPIRE: PT II JUBILEE EDITION (Actcom Recs., 2001)

Produced by Jyrki Wytch

Recorded at Harasoo and MSL Studios

Art by Jyrki Wytch

Tracks: 1- Ahony, 2- The Hungry Eyes, 3- the Omen, 4- Dead Dog´s Howl, 5- We All Fall Down, 6- Nightmare, 7- Fetish Dreams, 8- Mircalla, 9- Dreams, 10- Maybe Next Year, 11- Dreamworld, 12- Dead Dog´s Howl

This is a retrospective of songs from a classic gothic band...Two Witches. Many of you will know this band because it had in its lineup Anne Nurmi, singer in Lacrimosa. Here Anne played keyboards and did some vocals. But the main brain here is Jyrki Wytch. The sound of Two Witches is strongly based on the keyboards, in the guitars, sometimes clean and sometimes dirty, and in the vocals contrast between the female ones and the male ones that give sort of a dark feeling here. Musically the band is pure gothic rock nad this is one of the best exponents in the story of the genre. Favorite tracks: "The Omen", "We all Fall Down" and "Winter". Contact: www.actcom.fi

REVIEW: TRIBUTE TO AEROSMITH - NOT THE SAME OLD SONG AND DANCE

 

TRIBUTE TO AEROSMITH - NOT THE SAME OLD SONG AND DANCE (Roadrunner Recs., 2000)

Produced by Bob Kulick

Design by Chuck Wright

Tracks: 1- Back in the Saddle, 2- Rag Doll, 3- Chip Away the Stone, 4- Last Child, 5- Sweet Emotion, 6- Dream On, 7- Walk this Way, 8- Draw the Line, 9- Same Old Song and Dance, 10- No Surprize, 11- Toys In the Attic

There is no rest for Bob Kulick!!! He is always organizing this tribute albums with all his friends,a nd now is the turn of Aerosmith to be tributed. The results are sometimes better and sometimes worse. For example on "Rag Doll" the music is great but I don´t like that much the vocals (I think is Ted Nugent singing here). "Sweet Emotion" is really similar to the original version with a lot of strength. And there is an apotheotic version of "Dream On" with Ronnie James Dio on vocals and Yngwie Malmsteen on guitars...I think this is the best trcka here...other people that have a participation on this CD are: Jeff Pilson, Frankie Banali, Stephen Pearcy, Jack Blades, Tommy Shaw, Tim Bogert, Steve Lukather and many many more. For lovers of tribute albums. Favorite tracks: "Dream On", "Draw the Line" and "Toys In the Attic". Contact: www.roadrunnerrecords.com

REVIEW: TIERRA SANTA - SANGRE DE REYES

 

TIERRA SANTA - SANGRE DE REYES (Locomotive Music., 2001)

 

Tracks: 1- David y el Gigante, 2- La Ciudad Secreta, 3- Pegaso, 4- Juana de Arco, 5- La Sombra de la bestia, 6- Dos Vidas, 7- La Armada Invencible, 8- El Laberinto del minotauro, 9- El Amor de mi Vida, 10- Mi Tierra, 11- Sangre de Reyes

Here is the new release from Tierra Santa and it is not a big change from their previous album "Tierras de Leyenda". In fact they have not changed a little bit. Only the sound here is better but the compositions have one BIG INFLUENCE: Iron Maiden. There are some beautiful keyboards in the tracks and I think they should use them more to make compositions with more identity. The choruses have hooks and are done in the traditional Maiden way...like hymns to sing with your fist in the air. One thing to point out: Arturo´s excellent guitar solos. Favorite tracks: "Juana de Arco", "El Laberinto del Minotauro", "David y el Gigante". Contact: www.locomotivemusic.com

REVIEW: GALILEO BROTHERS - THE DANCING LAWN

 

GALILEO BROTHERS - THE DANCING LAWN (Carbon 7 Recs, 2001)

Produced by The Galileo Brothers

Recorded at Panama City, IZMR, Culver City and the Chapel of Our Lady of All Saints, Oxford and At Eastcote Studios.

Art Direction: Austin Horn

Tracks: 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-, 10-, 11-, 12-, 13-

The Dancing Lawn is a really experiment in melodies done by a group of great musicians (thewre are so many in this recording that I can not mention them all) whose main direction is given by The Galileo Brothers. The influences here range from jazz to some blues, to some new age stuff. And there are a lot of instruments that you will not expect here like xylophone, banjo, marimbas, etc, etc. The music is very beautiful and you can fnd from some strange musical phrases that you will have to listen carefully to understand completely to really easy listening parts. There are thirteen tracks here and all are played by different musicians: this means that the music has a lot of diversity among the tracks. Each of the tracks is played by many musicians giving you the idea of little orchestras playing each of the compositions. Favorite tracks: "8", "11" and "13". Contact: www.carbon7.com

REVIEW: SWAN CHRISTY - TODAY DIED YESTERDAY

 

SWAN CHRISTY - TODAY DIED YESTERDAY (Black Lotus Recs., 2001)

Produced by Nikos Nikoloudias

Recorded at Studio 5 and Studio Live

Artwork by Set (Spiros Anton.)

Tracks: 1- Today Died Yesterday, 2- Resurrection if possible, 3- One foot in the grave, 4- here comes...!, 5- My Home (Away from home), 6- No More Everything, 7- Night Flower, 8- the Benefactor

This is a really good recording starting with a song that has a riff similar to the one on Judas Priest "A Touch of Evil" but adding to it a lot of keyboards and arrangements. Then enters an interesting vocal part accompanied only by keyboards before the whole band enters together. There are a lot of duets between male and female vocals and there are also a lot of changes in riffs and rhythms. It is interesting how this band experiments with different sounds and with silences...maybe leaving onlky the bass and drums and then the keyboards play a little phrase like in some parts of "Resurrection if possible". The guitars have a really heavy sound an they are played really proficiently making Swan Christy´s music really heavy and at the same time climatic. There are guest vocals by Ferdy from Rough Silk, Spiros from Septic Flesh and Sakis from Rotting Christ. Favorite tracks: The whole album.

REVIEW: STEVE BERESFORD / PAT THOMAS / VERYAN WESTON - 3 PIANOS

 

STEVE BERESFORD / PAT THOMAS / VERYAN WESTON - 3 PIANOS (Emanem Disc, 2001)

Editing and Mastering by Martin Davidson

Recorded at Gateway Studios, July 23, 2001

Cover by Veryan Weston

Tracks: 1- Acorn, 2-Atlas, 3- Hogarth, 4- Flaxman, 5- Fremantle, 6- Vigilant, 7- Rippleway, 8- Elgar, 9- Western, 10- Bermondsey, 11- Thornton Heath, 12- Speedwell

Amazing trio of pianists and excellent improvisers. The music here is really melodic at times and really dissonant in certain passages (I can listen a lot of diminished chords played here and there and a lot of altered chords too). It is incredible how well this three piano masters interact, doing sounds and progressions that are not common and doing certain harmonization in certain notes here and there. New boundaries are broken by this three musicians who play their instruments with a lot of love and squeeze them in order to get all the sound possibilities from them (even doing percussion on the instrument). There are alot of exotic scales played in the trio improvisations, and the duets are fantastically constructed. I specially love the moments in which the threee play all together!!. Favorite tracks: "Atlas", "Thornton Heath" and "SPEedwell". Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

REVIEW: STATE OF THE UNION - 2001

 

STATE OF THE UNION - 2001 (Electronic Music Foundation, 2001)

Produced by Elliot Sharp

All Profits Go to the National Coalition Against Censorship

What are you going to say when I tell you that this are three CDs? And what are you going to say when I tell you that this three CDs have a total duration of 171 minutes? And what are you going to say if I tell you that there are 171 tracks here? And then...what are you going to say if I tell you that each of the tracks here are performed each by a different artist? I am sure that you would be at least surprised. Well, then listen to this collection of CDs...the music is extremely experimental, full of electronic sounds combined in millions of different ways, and the good thing is that each track sounds completely different one from another...from almost noise to melodic there is everything here. There are sounds that come directly from great musician´s mind like the ones of Joey Baron, Benjamin Chadabe, Bruce Bennett and many more. If you like spontaneous music, intuitive music, improvisation and experimentation, this is for you!!!!!. Contact: www.cdemusic.org/emfmedia

REVIEW: SPIRITUS MORTIS - FORWARD TO THE BATTLE

 

SPIRITUS MORTIS - FORWARD TO THE BATTLE (Independent, 2001)

Mixed by Spiritus Mortis

Recorded at Treenikämppä Studios

Tracks: 1- Forever, 2- Beware of the Quiet One, 3- In Pouring Rain, 4- Sweet Oblivion, 5- Sleeping beneath the Lawn, 6- In Between

An excelent opportunity to know something about the music of Finland´s Spiritus Mortis. This is HEAVY METAL! I am putting this with capital letters because this is heavy metal done with a lot of conviction and without falling in the cliches that a lot of the bands in the scene have. IN fact this band has a wider range of influences appart from classical metal bands. I can listen something that is similar to Danzig, and something close to Slayer on "Sleeping Beneath the Lawn" or Black Sabbath on "Sweet Oblivion". The singer has a lot of identity and puts a lot of strength through all the tracks. I like this band a lot and I think they deserve a much better sound and hopefully they will get it on their next release, Totally recommended. Favorite tracks: "Beware of the Quiet One", " In Pouring Rain" and "In Between". Contact: www.metalprovider.com/spiritusmortis

REVIEW: SOUL EMBRACED - THIS IS MY BLOOD

 

SOUL EMBRACED - THIS IS MY BLOOD (Solidstate Recs., 2002)

Produced by Brandon Ebel

Recorded by Ray Brooks and Jonathan parker

Layout and Design by D. Clark

Tracks: 1-I fade Away, 2- The Scorn of Death´s Kiss, 3- Helpless in Wither, 4- Angels with Raven Hearts, 5- Evolver, 6- End what has begun, 7- Buried In, 8- The Cold Stares of Dead Eyes, 9- My Name is Legion, 10- Scars Remain, 11- Still as You, 12- Kingdom of Shadows, 13- Leech

As always, Solidstate Records delivers crushing bands. This time is the turn of Soul Embraced a band that plays an extremely heavy kind of music, sometimes death, sometimes modern metal, always estremely heavy. The guitars have an amazing sound that I liked a lot going from being a wall of sound to extremely clean when the vocals are whispering. But what makes Soul Embraced unique is the combination of this sound with killer solos and complicate riffs. Another thing that I have to remark is the drummer with its machine like sound that is fundamental to Soul Embraced´s compositions. The vocals are really deathly going from screams to growl and making the overall sound a really anguished one. This is one band that can be fundamental to the metal scene in the future. Favorite tracks: The whole album. Contact: www.solidstaterecords.com

REVIEW: SINMASTERS - CRASHING DOWN

 

SINMASTERS - CRASHING DOWN (Actcom Recs, 2001)

Pre-Mastered by Oldhouse

Cover Photo by Qumma

Tracks: 1- Crashing Down, 2- Peeping Tom (Manic Mort Mix), 3- Crashing Down (i mix)

This is a mini CD from this eclectic band called Sinmasters. The music on this CD can not be labeled in a simple way. Imagine certain riffs that wouldn´t be out of place in a band like Rammstein, then add some vocals closer to Marilyn Manson combined with others closer to Type O Negative or Moonspell. Then add a drum machine playing rhythmic beats and put a lot of electronic elements. Then you will have some idea of what Sinmasters music is about. This CD has three tracks: two of them are different mixes from the track called "Crashing Down" and the third one is a mix of a track called "Peeping Tom". Great one for lovers of electronic, mixed with gothis metal and industrial. Favorite track: "Crashing Down (Single Mix)". Contact: www.actcom.fi