REVIEW: NECROFLESH - PROMO 2001

 

NECROFLESH - PROMO 2001(Independent, 2001)

Produced by Necroflesh

Tracks: 1- Beyond The Dark Stars, 2- Temptation, 3- Supreme Vengeance

A super fast blast beat along with a speedy guitar riff opens this CD from this italian band. Necroflesh are lovers of the most brutal death metal in Earth and they add to the style a lot of their technical habilities. Their music is quite complex because of the breaks and the tempo changes. In fact I think that I have to remark the great work that the drummer makes here (specially in certain complicated double bass patterns). The band sounds extremely tight and it seems that they have rhearsed a lot the tracks because of the great way in which all the changes are played. I hope this band gets a deal soon and releases more material. They are really good in their style !!. Favorite tracks: "Beyond The Dark Stars" and "Supreme Vengeance"

REVIEW: MIDNIGHT SCREAM - FALLEN FAITH

 

MIDNIGHT SCREAM - FALLEN FAITH (Independent, 2001)

Produced by Mike Galiatsos and Lukas Bergis

Artwork by Chris Chiotis

Tracks: 1- Lost in the dark, 2- Veil of Darkness, 3- Twisted Soul, 4- Fallen Faith

The opening of this CD really fooled me,. It starts with a riff in the vein of some power metal bands, but after some seconds it turns to death metal !! And it sounds really good. I mean the blend of this type of riffs and the more brutal vocals typical in death metal is a good combination !! But this guys through some other interesting things too. For example some super fast riffs like on "Veil of Darkness!", and some riffs that are quite more complex and give a different feeling to the tracks. I think Midnight Scream´s music has a lot of atmosphere because of the way the guitarist interacts (as an example listen to the change in "Veil of Darkness" at 2:02. This MCD contains four tracks from a promisory brutal band. Favorite tracks. The four songs contained here. Contact: http://welcome.to/midnightscream

REVIEW: MENTAL HORROR - PROCLAIMING VENGEANCE

 

MENTAL HORROR - PROCLAIMING VENGEANCE (Necropolis Recs., 2002)

Produced by Robles Dresch

Recorded and mixed in porto Alegre

Artwork by M. Miler

Tracks: 1- Intro of Vengeance, 2- Burning Alive, 3- Genocidal Inquisition, 4-Black Spiritual Void, 5- Rising from Chaos, 6- Screams of Tiamat, 7- Flagellum Forms, 8- Anguish Seas, 9- Tortured (Bleeding for the plague), 10- Profane Spawn, 11- Proclaiming Vengeance

How brutal can a band be? I think that not much more than Mental Horror with his extreme death metal. The core of Mental Horror´s sound is the crushing wall of sound that their guitars are, the guttural vocals that are all over their tracks and the blast beats and extremely fast drum patterns that the drummer plays through all the compositions. Death metal in its purest form. This is how I would describe Mental Horror´s music. This band has no mercy and there are only a few moments where they slow down (like in "Anguish Seas, a short interlude). I would like the band to make a clearer mix, specially on the guitars that sound a little bit opaque. There are some maniac guitar solos that add more twisted feelings to the music contained on this CD. Here you have brutality in its highest level. Favorite tracks: "Flagellum Forms", "Genocidal Inquisition" and "Profane Spawn". Contact: www.necropolisrecords.com

REVIEW: MACHINE HEAD - SUPERCHARGER

 

MACHINE HEAD - SUPERCHARGER (Roadrunner Recs., 2001)

Produced by Johnny K.

Recorded at Mad Dog Studios

Artwork by P.R. Brown

Tracks: 1- Declaration, 2- Bulldoxer, 3- White Knuckle Blackout, 4- Crashing Around You, 5- Kick You When You´re Down, 6- Only the Names, 7- All In Your Head, 8- American High, 9- Brown Acid, 10-Nausea, 11- Blank Generation, 12-Trephination, 13- Deafening Silence, 14- Supercharger, 15- Hople In the Sky, 16- Ten Fold, 17- The Blood, The sweat and the tears (live), 18- Desire to Fire (live)

Machine Head is Back! Blasting with their cutting riffs and their thunderous drum beats here is one of America´s most powerful bands. Starting with a noisy intro followed by a great drums opening before the band enters with their ultra heavy and modern brand of metal. The sound on this release has made a big progress from the one in "the Burning Red" their previous albums and also Rob Flynn and company have made an effort on doing better tracks here. As powerful as always this is Machine Head´s fourth album and is one of the heaviest up to date. The great combination of crushing riffs, screams and singing vocals is omniprescent on this release as on their previous ones. If you like modern metal you should check this CD. Favorite tracks: "Crashing Around You", "American High" and " Deafening Silence". Contact: www.roadrunnerrecords.com

REVIEW: KING DIAMOND - ABIGAIL II THE REVENGE

 

KING DIAMOND - ABIGAIL II THE REVENGE (Roadrunner Recs., 2002)

Produced by Kol Marshall, King Diamond and Andy La Rocque

Recorded at Nomad Recording Studio

Artwork by Travis Smith

Tracks: 1- Spare this Life, 2- The Storm, 3- Mansion In Sorrow, 4- Miriam, 5- Little One, 6- Slippery Stairs, 7- The Crypt, 8- Broken Glass, 9- More Than Pain, 10- The Wheelchair, 11- Spirits, 12- Mommy, 13- Sorry dear

 The voice of O´Brian of the Black horsemen along with a keyboard intro starts this new King Diamond CD. The story goes along the path started by the first "Abigail" album, lyrically and also musically. I like the way King Diamond does his music with all the guitar riffs and solos. It is true that all his latest albums have been really similar but it is his own style. My favourite musician here is Andy La Rocque who is a really versatile guitarist and is the one who put the flesh in King Diamond´s song (as Hank Sherman is the one who does it in Mercyful Fate). There are not many nrew elements here. The sound is much better than on the first part (there are 14 years between one part and the other). Fans of the King will be delighted. Favorite tracks: "Mansion in Sorrow", "Little One" and " More Than Pain". Contact: www.roadrunnerrecords.com

REVIEW: JUDAS ISCARIOT - TO EMBRACE THE CORPSES BLEEDING

 

JUDAS ISCARIOT - TO EMBRACE THE CORPSES BLEEDING (Red Stream Recs., 2001)

Produced by Akhenaten

Recorded by Akhenaten

Artwork by C. Szpajdel

Tracks: 1- I awoke to a night of Pain and Carnage, 2- Bathed in Clouds of Blood, 3- Terror from the Eastern Sky, 4- Where Eagles Cry and Vultures Laugh, 5- In the Valley of Death, I am Their King, 6- With Lust and Murder for our Drink, 7- Behold the Lamb of God Descending, 8- Spectral Dance of the Macabre, 9- The Dead Burst Forth from their Tombs

Judas Iscariot has become a legend in the underground in this years. The main man here is called Akhenaten and he is risponsible for all the music contained here and all the lyrics, helped only by session drummer called Cryptic Winter. Speaking about the music, the one contained here is pure raw black metal full of hate and anger. With hyper speed blast beats and trollish vocals, in the vein of bands like Ezurate. One thing that I would like Akhenaten to do is to mix the guitars a little bit louder and maybe the drums too (not the cymbals which are clearer enough). There are super fast runs with the guitars and some riffs that are more catchy and rhythmic but the main thing here is hate and speed. Even if there are slower tracks where i think the best of Judas Iscariot lies. Lovers of the style will be pleased with this release from this cult project/ band. And maybe with a better sound Judas Iscariot´s music will be more appreciated. Favorite tracks: "Bathed in Clouds of Blood", " Spectral Dance of the Macabre" (with a really catchy guitar riff!!!) and " In the Valley of Death, I am their King". Contact: www.redstream.org

REVIEW: INKBLACK - PSYCHODRAMA

 

INKBLACK - PSYCHODRAMA (Independent., 2000)

Produced by Inkblack

Recorded by Bas

Tracks: 1- Inside Your Mind, 2- the New Brood, 3- Battle Calls

A clean guitar arpeggio playing a haunting melody starts this CD and gets heavier pretty soon witha n interesting break that turns into something that I would call trance death metal. I put the word trance because the rhythm here is slow and catchy and can put your mind into a trance with some hypnotic charachteristics. Along with some slithering guitar melodies that are played here and there to make the tracks more diverse, we have different types of vocals and good guitar riffs. I would like them to mix maybe the guitars (specially the rhythmic) and fundamentally the bass a little bit louder to add some bottom end to the music. The main thing here is depression , achieved by the melodies and atmospheres created by this musicians. Three tracks are not enough and I would like to listen more from them. Favorite tracks: the three contained here

REVIEW: HONEY BARBARA - I-10 & W.AVE

 

HONEY BARBARA - I-10 & W.AVE. (Emigre Recs., 2001)

Produced by Honey Barbara

Recorded at home in San Antonio, Texas

Tracks: 1- Famous Animal, 2- Bad Day, 3- Sleep Late, 4- Beddie Bye, 5- Beat Again, 6- Killer duds, 7- Low Birth, 8- Invisible, 9- Eye on You, 10- How Bright The Sky, 11- Pards, 12- All Fall Down, 13- Come Away, 14- Ambush Chorus, 15- Solid Return, 16- Arabesque, 17- Renata

Honey Barabara makes really atmospoheric music, where the emphasis is on the climatic passages and in the arrangements. The band is a trio in which each musician plays a variety of instruments. In fact the main thing here are the keyboards and the atmospheric. Also, there are a lot of processed guitars that make the tracks more weird. The vocals are almost whispering and they are sometimes melodic, but not in the typical way...their melodies are twisted and make the songs even more weird than before adding them. I like experimentation and here you have a lot in the keyboards, in the guitars and on percussion. Each track here is a world on its own and all of them are completely different one from each other. If you have an open mind, this is for you. Favorite tracks: " Ambus Chorus", "Beddie Bye" and " Eye on You". Contact: www.emigre.com

REVIEW: HOMICIDE HAGRIDDEN - DEAD BLACK SUN

 

HOMICIDE HAGRIDDEN - DEAD BLACK SUN (Kick Promotion Agency, 2001)

Produced by Homicide Hagridden

Tracks: 1- Dead Black Sun, 2- Arena´s Sky, 3- Constriction, 4- the Way To love

This is a band from Torino, Italy with a lot of ideas. I would call their music style as progressive death thrash metal. Progressive because of all the changes and original parts that the music contained here have. Death because of the vocals that are in the vein of later Carcass or Kreator and some Destruction. Thrash because of certain riffs and drums patterns and because of the sound, that specially on the bass sound really thrashy. There are four powerful tracks here and the rhythmic riffs played with a lot of power and strength are the main thing here. The sound of the recording is really good and it is original because they are not trying to sound like the most famous bands out there. And the clarity of the mix helps a lot to communicate what the band is trying to show. I would like to listen more from this band , maybe a full length release soon!! Favorite tracks: " Arena´s Sky" and "Constriction". Contact: www.kickagency.3000.it

REVIEW: HIMINBJORG - HAUNTED SHORES

 

HIMINBJORG - HAUNTED SHORES (Red Stream Recs. 2001)

Tracks: 1- The Aves, 2- War, 3- The Haunted Shores, 4- Of Desire and Lust, 5- The Eternal, 6- Lonely, 7- The Voices of revenge

Himinbjorg is a killer band that is always on the edge between black and death metal with incredible song structures and amazing melodies (I love the way one of the guitarist plays them while the other makes this heavy riffs that are the core of the tracks contaied here). And here lies the main element in Himinbjorg´s music: they are not doing hyper speed and furious riffs all the time....they prefer diversity adding slow riffs in a lot of parts and some clean vocals followed by some melodies. Then they change to faster rifffs and more brutal vocals. But they are not afraid of using this diverse styles. And this is one of the main points here: Diversity (checkas an exmple the track "War" and listen the way they combine from screaming vocals to vocal harmonies in a few seconds). There are a lot of clean guitars here and there (like on "The Haunted Shores") that embellish the songs. If you want great metal with a lot of ideas then check Himinbjorg. One of the best CDs of the month. Favorite tracks: The whole CD. Contact: www.redstream.org

REVIEW: GHOULS - PROMO 2000

 

GHOULS - PROMO 2000 (Independent, 2000)

Produced by Ghouls

Recorded at Outer Sound Studios

Tracks: 1- Divine Chosen, 2- I´m The Living Swear, 3- Eternal Damnation

Crushing death grind, directly from Italy. The music here is pure death metal in its most purest form without any mercy for the listener. In fact it starts at full speed on the first track and it continues like that through the three tracks contained here. The main thing here is power and brutality and this guys achieve it through their fast riffs and killer drum patterns. The vocals can be screaming ones or more guttural depending on the riff that is played behind (in the fastest they use the screaming vocals and when they turn more rhythmic they use the guttural one). For fans of extreme brutality. Favorite tracks: "Divine Chosen" and "I´m The Liing Swear"

REVIEW: GHOLES - EXTRAIT CD 2000

 

GHOLES - EXTRAIT CD 2000 (Independent, 2000)

Produced by Gholes

Tracks: 1- Who Would Die for Me?, 2- Same, 3- Dried Up Tears

This is metal done with excellent musicianship that I would label killer death metal with some black metal touches and with interesting keyboards and melodies (in fact I loved the combination of the melodies done by the guitarists and the ones made by the keyboards giving the tracks a unique atmosphere and feeling). Both guitarists are excellent here and they shine through their solos and complex riffs that are the core of the tracks here. I would love to listen more music from this band. Favorite tracks: The three contained on this CD. Contact: GHOLES, 125 Rue Circé, Les Comores III, (34090) Montpellier, FRANCE

REVIEW: FINIDI - LIFE IS A PRISON

 

FINIDI - LIFE IS A PRISON (Independent, 2001)

Produced by Finidi and Aki Peltonen

Recorded at Studio Sound Doctor

Tracks: 1- Screams of Wrath, 2- I am You, 3- Things that Exists

Furious death metal with killer riffs and vocals that reminded me in some places to early Enslaved material (despite the completely different music that they play). This is what I call death/thrash metal because of the influence that both of this genres have in Finidi´s musc (cool solos nad guitar riffs come directly from mid eighties thrash but with a modern sound an ellaborated in such a way that fit perfectly Finidi´s style....the guitarist is killer). There are multiple changes within the same song structure giving a lot of diversity within the same track. A great effort of this finnish band. Favorite tracks: "Screams of Wrath" and "Things that Exist". Contact: www.geocities.com/finidi_11/website.html

REVIEW: ESQARIAL - DISCOVERIES

 

ESQARIAL - DISCOVERIES (Empire Recs., 2001)

Produced by Esqarial

Recorded at Fonoplastykon Studios

Artwork by Lud

Tracks: 1- World in Flames, 2- Kill all of them, 3- Travel in Lust, 4- Sacred War, 5- Nightmare, 6- Unreal, 7- Atlantis, 8- New Land, 9- True Lies, 10- Guitar Explosions

Extremely technical death metal. I must admit that this is one of the styles that I like most. And Esqarial is a great exponent of this kind of music. Using riffs that need to have a lot of knowledge of the instruiments to be played correctly. And this music needs a lot of rehearsal to make the band sound really tight. And Esqarial is really tight, going from extremely melodic parts to parts that are technically complex and then going to a crushing and more simple rhythm structure. All within the same song. In fact I think that the award to best musicians of the year go this guys with no doubt and specially to the guitarists which are responsible of the excellent riffs and the killer solos that are on this recording. There is also a multimedia part on this CD: an excellent one. This is one of the CDs of the month. Favorite tracks: The whole album is amazing. Contact: www.empire-records.com.pl

REVIEW: EMBRYONIC CELLS - NECRO-REVELATION

 

EMBRYONIC CELLS - NECRO-REVELATION (Independent, 2001)

Recorded at Roaside Studios

Artwork by La Vache Folle

Tracks: 1- Necro revelation, 2- Guilty Crowd, 3- A Next Day

It is a pity that this CD has only three tracks. How well this guys combine their aggression and heaviness in the vein of Carcass with more atmospheric passages (created in a very intelligent way by the guitarist who has a great knowledge of note placement). The drummer is really a good one and knows how to play from straightforward rhythms to more complicated ones without difficulties. There are two types of vocals on this recording: one more guttural and other more screaming and that helps to add more variation to the tracks (even if the tracks are vary different one from another because of the great guitar work). If you like this type of death metal, then this is your band. Favorite tracks: The three contained here.

REVIEW: EMBRYO - THE SOURCE OF HATE

 

EMBRYO - THE SOURCE OF HATE (Kick Promotion Agency, 2001)

Produced by Embryo

Recorded at Far Fen Go Studios

Artwork by Giancarlo Capra

Tracks: 1- Drowning in Blood, 2- Hate Within, 3- Choice of Pain, 4- The Butcher´s Lullabye, 5- Painting the end

This is brutality and melody in the exact proportion to do an excellent album. In fact this is a MCD whose main charachteristic are the riffs that Embryo´s guitarists play with a lot of musicianship. One important thing here are the keyboards which are fundamental to give to the tracks the atmosphere that they nedd. And they add a lot of originality too. The voclas are in the vein of Kreator´s Mille Petrozza but more distorted. I really liked this band and recommend itto open minded death metal fans. Favorite tracks: "The Butcher´s Lullabye", "Choice of Pain" and "Drowning in Blood" Contact: www.kickagency.3000.it

REVIEW: DREAMLAND - UNDERWATER

 

DREAMLAND - UNDERWATER (Uncle Buzz / Dogfinger Prods., 2001)

Mixed and Mastered at Doghouse Audio Laboratory by Babdog Catlin

Artwork by James Cobb from photographs by James H. Sidlo

Tracks: 1- Sunspots, 2- I Frequency, Dream in Soundwaves, 3- Brief Moon, 4- Underwater: Pt.1 Descent, Pt. 2 Floating, Pt.3 Echolocation, Pt. 4 Deep Zone, Pt. 5 Ascent

A great electronic release from this experimental band!! I like people who are not afraid of experimenting and this is obviously the case here. This guys love experimentation! The feeling that I got when I first listened this CD was similar to the one I got when I first listened Tangerine Dream´s "Electronic Meditation" some years ago! Full of keyboards and synthesizers and there is James H. Sidlo oplaying a guitar with a distorted and processed sound that makes the music sound more complete and improvisational. In fact I think he is playing a lot of lines, some of them in a very dissonant fashion in order to break some structures and to make a big contrast with the keyboards that are doing some melodies and chord progressions here and there. Also there are some sound effects and native American flutes that make the music really eerie and that will surprise everybody. Excellent CD, really challenging !! Favorite tracks: The whole album: Contact: www.unclebuzz.com

DRAGONLORD RELEASE "RAPTURE"

 

DRAGONLORD - RAPTURE (Spitfire Recs., 2001)

Produced by Eric Peterson

Recorded at Driftwood Studios

Artwork by Travis Smith

Tracks: 1- Vals de la Muerte, 2- Unholy Void, 3- Tradition and Fire, 4- Born to Darkness, 5- Judgement Failed, 6- Wolfhunt, 7- Spirits in the Mist, 8- Rapture

For thos who doesn´t know this is Eric Peterson´s (Testament ) black metal side project. And I have to say that he has been very succesful with this style of music. This is black metal in the vein of Dimmu Borgir with a lot of keyboards and interesting ideas. And above all it has an amazing sound, specially on the guitars and drums (that in many black metal albums fail miserably to achieve a great result). There are also a lot of thrashy rhythms that wouldn´t be out of place in Testament. Peterson does all the vocals here in a great black metal fashion, and he has great mucisians like Steve Di Giorgio, Jon Allen and Steve Smyth from Sadus to make the results crushing. A great side project from Testament´s mastermind. Favorite tracks: "Tradition and Fire", "Judgement Failed" and "Spirits in the Mist". Contact: www.enterthedragonlord.com or www.spitfirerecords.com

REVIEW: DIVIDED MULTITUDE - DIVIDED MULTITUDE

 

DIVIDED MULTITUDE - DIVIDED MULTITUDE (Independent, 2001)

Tracks: 1- Dreamin, 2- Stigmatize, 3- I, 4- No Man´s Land, 5- Tale of Tomorrow, 6- Streets of Bucharest, 7- Inner Self, 8- Confused

This album has new material from Divided Multitude (four songs) and material that was contained on their first album called "Inner Self" (also four tracks). The band plays some sort of hyperprogressive metal with a lot of technical parts. The music in the first four tracks (the newer ones) is really heavy despite being complicated and melodic, specially because of the guitar sound and the drums accentuation. There are some odd time patterns here and there. The tracks are full of keyboards that combined with the guitars make the songs really interesting and powerful. The last four tracks that are from "Inner Self" are kind of more melodic (and I am surprised because of the good sound that they have). Interesting band to don´t miss a step. Favorite tracks: "No Man´s Land", "Streets of Bucharest" and "Stigamatize".

REVIEW: DISMAL - EMBRACE OF THE BLACK CLOUDS

 

DISMAL - EMBRACE OF THE BLACK CLOUDS (Independent, 2000)

Produced by Dismal & Gernot Huber

Recorded at A& M Studios. Vienna

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- Embrace of the Black Clouds, 3- Path To Failure, 4- For Those of the Darken Field, 5- The three towers of Mighty and Wisdom, 6- Frozen Flame, 7-...Towards Emptiness, 8- The Chamber of Emptiness, 9- Battlefield Ashes

A clean guitar intro with some melodies and an interesting bass part takes us to the world of Dismal. This is a world of some sort of death metal (I am writing this because of the vocals and some guitar riffs) that has a lot of guitar that sound really heavy metal or hard rock (but with the crushing sound that death metal guitars have): an example of this is the opening track "Embrace of the Black Clouds". There are certain elements that use bands like Paradise Lost or My Dying Bride, for example, like the melodic guitar lines played over extremely heavy guitar riffs. One thing that I like of Dismal´s music is that they use a lot of riffs and melodies within the same song and that is one point that makes their music more interesting for me. I would like them to mix the snare drum louder to make the riffs and patterns sound more effective. This guys deserve a better sound because their music is original and really well done. Favorite tracks: "Path To Failure", "Frozen Flame" and "The Chamber of Emptiness"

REVIEW: DISAVOWED - PERCEPTIVE DECEPTION

 

DISAVOWED - PERCEPTIVE DECEPTION (Unque Leader recs., 2001)

Produced by Hans Pieters, Dennis Liedelmeyer and Disavowed

Recorded at Excess Studios, Rotterdam

Artwork by Jon Zig

Tracks: 1- Rhizome, 2- Abolition of Impediment, 3- Reason Rejected, 4- Condensed Conditions, 5- Masses Conformed, 6- Unfolding Disposition, 7- Generative Patterns, 8- Critical Emulation, 9- Opposite Extremities

Extremely brutal death metal !! Unique Leader is a label that is releasing the most brutal bands on Earth, like this one and Deeds of Flesh. This guys come from Holland directly to your stereo to crush your brain and squash it into pieces with their grinding riffs. Here the blast beats are used a lot in a way that will leave you in the floor begging for mercy!!. Favorite tracks: "Reason Rejected", "Condensed Conditions" and " Generative Patterns". Contact: www.uniqueleader.com

REVIEW: DISAGIO - COME WITH ME

 

DISAGIO - COME WITH ME (Independent, 2001)

Recorded by Disagio 2000-2001

Artwork by Sergio and Savino

Tracks: 1- Escape (Intro), 2- Dawnless Sun, 3- Come Back, 4- Windpipe, 5- Joyfull, 6- Friend of your enemies, 7- Come with me..., 8- Onnipotence Delirium

Majestic keyboards open this CD in the intro called "Escape". Then the band starts smashing your head with their dark metal. In fact the thing that I think is a main feature of Disagio´s music is their ability of putting sad melodies with their distorted guitars and with the clean ones too. This melodies are combined with interesting keyboard touches that make Disagio´s music unique. The only low point is the sound which is a little bit primitive for this kind of music (specially the drums and guitars which sound muddy). Interesting changes and different parts on each track make the music really interesting. A good ste for this band. Favorite tracks: "Come Back", "Windpipe" and "Friend of your enemies". Contact: www.geocities.com/disagio-metal

REVIEW: DESIRE - TALES OF PAIN AND DESIRE

 

DESIRE - TALES OF PAIN AND DESIRE (Independent, 2001)

Recorded at Lakiz Studios

Sound Engineering by Nick Terezakis

Tracks: 1- Desire, 2- Icons of the Past, 3- Messiah, 4- Passing Away, 5- The Saddest Tale of Fate, 6- Liliac - Icons of the past reprise, 7- Window of doom

This is a mix of gothic metal with some doomy parts and a whispering vocalist (in the vein of Johan Edlund from Tiamat). The main feeling on this recording is the one of sadness and depression. And this feelings are evident through the melodies that the guitarists are playing all over the songs contained here. There are certain tracks like "Messiah" which are more straight forward rock (and it is mixed lower than the other tracks), and others that are more embellished like "The Saddest Tale of Fate" with its clean guitar intro with melodic lines. I would like them to mix better the drums (which are programmed), specially the cymbals that are really loud covering certain parts of guitars in some parts. Favorite tracks: "Icons of the Past", "The Saddest Tale of Fate" and "Window of Doom"

REVIEW: DEICIDE - INSINERATEHYMN

 

DEICIDE - INSINERATEHYMN (Roadrunner Recs., 2001)

Produced by Deicide

Engineered and Mixed by Jim Morris. Recorded and mixed at Morrisound Studios

Artwork by Glenn Orenstein

Tracks: 1- Bible Basher, 2- Forever Hate You, 3- Standing in the Flames, 4- Remnant of a Hopeless Path, 5- The Gift That Keeps on Giving, 6- Halls of Warship, 7- Suffer Again, 8- Worst Enemy, 9- Apocalyptic Fear, 10- Refusal of Pennance

Deicide is back!! Yes, they are back doing what they best know and that is their death metal with their full-of-hate lyrics and with those brutal vocals (as always Glen Benton is doing his guttural shouts ). There are some riffs here that can be considered new for Deicide, for example the first one in "Standing In the Flames" (before they enter on the high speed mode and in some breaks that they use in the middle). Demolition man Steve Asheim is in great shape as always, going from fast parts to slow and back without any problems. I think that maube the band should explore riffs like the ones in the beginning of "Remnant of Hopeless Path" or maybe the ones in the beginning of "Worst Enemy" to give more variation to their music. Favorite tracks: "Forever Hate You", "Remnant of a Hopeless Path" and "Suffer Again". Contact: www.roadrunnerrecords.com

REVIEW: DEFEATED SANITY - PROMO 2000

 

DEFEATED SANITY - PROMO 2000 (Independent, 2000)

Produced by Defeated Sanity

Mastered by Tino Köhler

Tracks: 1- the Parasite, 2- Forensic Entomology, 3- Horrid Decomposition, 4- Expectoration of Fear, 5- Retreat of the Conquered

A fast drum fill starts this album in a crushing way. Then the band enters and their extremely mayhemic death metal fills the air. The music is extremely fast with a lot of blast beats. I think that what gives this band their super strength is the combination between the guitar sound (extremely low end and very tight with the bass ) and the crushing drummer. The vocals are extremely guttural and fit the music really good. The sound is a little bit muddy and maybe mixing the instruments more clearly will make the resulkts more effective for this band. Lovers of the style will sure find a good option in Defeated Sanity. Favorite tracks: "Horrid Decomposition", "Retreat of the Conquered". Contact: Tino Köhler - Römhilder Str. 201 (98646) Gleichamberg

REVIEW: DEEDS OF FLESH - MARK OF THE LEGION

 

DEEDS OF FLESH - MARK OF THE LEGION (Unique Leader Recs., 2002)

Produced by Deeds of Flesh

Recorded at Moon Productions, Arroyo Grande, CA

Artwork by Zig

Tracks: 1- Cleansed by Fire, 2- An Eternity of Feasting and Brawling, 3- Mark of the Legion, 4- Spewing Profligacy, 5- Fulfilled in Warfare, 6- Contest of Wills , 7- Master of Murder, 8- Ideal Genocide, 6- Drink the Blood

One of the most brutal US death metal bands is back. Yes, Deeds of Flesh comes back from hell to crush us with their amazingly brutal death metal. The music here is fast, but I think that this band designs all their tracks in order to crush and disembowel you even in the slower parts. In fact I think that the better riffs are the ones like the one in "An Eternity of Feasting and Brawling at 2:26....amazingly crushing and followed then by some riff with pinch harmonics that nearly decapitates the listener with their power. The sound here is amazingly good and that adds a lot to the final result. Specially I would like to remark how well mixed are the drums and fundamentally the ride cymbal and the double bass which are fundamental for Deeds of Flesh´s music. Along with the Cinerary one this is the most brutal album of the month !!! Favorite tracks: "Contest of Wills", "Fulfilled in Warfare" and "Ideal Genocide". Contact: www.uniqueleader.com

REVIEW: DEATH DEVICE - SEPTICEMIA

 

DEATH DEVICE - SEPTICEMIA (Independent, 2001)

Produced by Sotiris Noukas

Recorded at Underground Studios, Thessaloniki, Greece

Artwork by "La Morte" Jean Delville

Tracks: 1- Death To Death, 2- Skinned Alive, 3- Into the Formalin, 4- Evil Under Cassock, 5- Serial Killer, 6- Under The Leadeership of a Liar God

Ultra blasting death/grind is what Death Device plays. From the first seconds of "Death to Death" you have crushing guitars along with blast beats and an extremely guttural vocals (they are similar to Chris Barnes ones in Cannibal Corpse´s "Eaten Back To life") I like a lot when the band changes rhythms and make rhythms that are more twisted like the ones at 0:53 of "Death to Death" or the beginning of "Dkinned Alive". The recording has a really good sound, specially on the guitars that make a huge wall of sound grinding your brain!!! Check this band to see how well they can crush you with their music ! Favorite tracks: "Evil Under Cassock", " Serial Killer" and "Death To Death".

REVIEW: DAVIDIAN - ... IN PAIN

 

DAVIDIAN - ... IN PAIN (Independent, 2000)

Recorded at Proberaum Plüderhausen

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- The face you´ll never see again, 3- Crescent Nation, 4- Burning Witches, 5- Torture, 6- Outro

An interesting bass intro opens this CD, then the bass pattern is joined by the guitars that are very well harmonized. In the end of this intro the drums enter, making a small demonstration of Davidian´s music before getting into "the Face You´ll never seen again". The two first bands that come to my mind while listening to this CD are: Kreator, because of the vocals and certain guitar riffs, and Coroner, because of certain guitar dissonances and clean intros. There are influences of thrash and some of hardcore (check for example "Crescent Nation" with multiple breaks and changes). Davidian has two very good guitarists whom I would like to listen more (and with a better mix), in the person of Alex and Micha. Their short solos and melodies give a lot of atmosphere to Davidian´s music. For fans of aggressive metal. Favorite tracks: "Burning Witches" and "Torture". Contact: www.davidian-metal.de

REVIEW: CRUEL HUMANITY - ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER

 

CRUEL HUMANITY - ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER (Independent, 2001)

Produced by Cruel Humanity

Recorded by Cruel Humanity

Tracks: 1- Atlantian Dreams / On the Edge of Forever, 2- Something That Bleeds, 3- Dogs of War, 4- Before Dawn, 5- Raid

I like the way this CD starts with a sort of keyboard introduction with some electronics going on here and there before getting into "On the Edge of Forever" a sort of musical piece with heavy use of keyboards and a raw guitar (which is difficult to discern) and a blast beat. What I don´t like are the vocals they sound really unnatural and like a chainsaw. This type of vocals contrast a lot with the rest of the music (despite the bad quality of sound in the guitars). Maybe using vocals with less effects on them will have a better result. The main thing here are the keyboards which make the tracks more epic and interesting and balance the raw side of Cruel Humanity´s music. And there is a big contrast (which I like) with the electronic drums. Favorite tracks: "Something That Bleeds", "Before Dawn" (with better sound) and "Raid"

REVIEW: CORONA BOREALIS - CANTUS PAGANUS

 

CORONA BOREALIS - CANTUS PAGANUS (Well of Urd / Hammerheart Recs., 2000)

Produced by Kristian and Pytten

Recorded at Grieghallen Studios, Bergen

Artwork by Eirik Vie

Tracks: 1- Cantus Paganus, 2- Tourdion, 3- Bordeaux, 4- Rencontre a St. Chartier, 5- Morning Song, 6- Molendinar, 7- Tristans Lament, 8- La Rotta, 9- Non Puesc Sofrir Qua La Dolor, 10- Ouvrez Moi la Porte, 11- Chaconetta tedesca, 12- The Pretty Harvestress, 13- Bay of Douarnenez, 14- Stella Splendens, 15- Tir Na N´Og, 16- Bjørgvindans

I must admit that I love the type of music that Corona Borealis does. That melodic spirit that flows through all their songs is really a way to take you to a land of dreams. In fact you can imagine the woods and the wilderness while listening to their music. Another thing that I like here is that all the tracks are quite different one from each other. Listen to "Tourdion" with that beautiful combination of guitars and flutes and see how subtle and elegant Corona Borealis can be. Also, here Ronny, Kristian and the multiple guest musicians play only instruments that can be found on celtic and european ancient cultures giving that extra flavour of being listening something that is ancient and at the same time new. I would like to listen their new album when they release it. Favorite tracks: The whole album. Contact: www.hammerheartamerica.com

REVIEW: CINERARY - RITUALS OF DESECRATION

 

CINERARY - RITUALS OF DESECRATION (Deepsend Recs., 2001)

Produced by Cinerary and Tom Jingles

Recorded at Moon Studio, Arroyo Grande, Ca

Artwork by Matt Richards

Tracks: 1- Undying, 2- Inheriting the Deified, 3- Recapitated, 4- Rituals of Desecration, 5- Hung by Intestines, 6- God of Cremation

Cinerary has absolutely no mercy for the listener !!! They start at full speed with their extremely ultrabrutal death/grind. The blast beats are all over the place and they are enhanced by a great sound. In fact the sound that this recording has helps a lot to make the tracks much more brutal because the instruments don´t get lost in the mix. From the start with an extremelty fast blast beat in "Undying" up to the end of "God of Cremation", the last track, the band crushes you with their speed and their powerful riffs. There are two types of voclas here: one more guttural, more typical from death metal and a screaming one that is used in grindcore and here in the fastest parts. There are also some slower moments which are really dense and whose rhythm then gets into a fast blast beat!!!!!! If you want to be crushed musically then Cinerary is a great choice !!!! Favorite tracks: "Inheriting the Deified", "Recapitated" and "Hung by Intestines". Contact: www.deepsendrecords.com