REVIEW: ISKRA 1903 - BUZZ SOUNDTRACK

 

 ISKRA 1903 - BUZZ SOUNDTRACK (Emanem Disc, 2002)

Produced by Martin Davidson

Recorded in London 1970 or 1971

Artwork by Martin Davidson

Tracks: 1- Buzz Trio1; 2- Buzz Trio 2; 3- Buzz Trio 3; 4- Buzz Trio 4; 5- Bass and Trombone; 6- Trombone and Guitar; 7- Guitar and Bass; 8- Bass Solo 1; 9- Trombone Solo 1 ; 10 - Guitar Solo 1; 11- Buzz Trio 5; 12- Bass Solo 2; 13- Trombone Solo 2; 14- Guitar Solo 2; 15- Buzz Trio 6; 16 - Buzz Trio 7; 17- Buzz Trio 8; 18- Buzz Trio 9; 19- Bass Solo 3; 20- Trombone Solo 3; 21 Guitar Solo 3

For those who doesn´t know it, Iskra 1903 is a trio that puts together the talents of superb improvisational musicians like Paul Rutherford (trombone), Derek Bailey (amplified guitar) and Barry Guy (double bass). This guys are masters of spontaneous music and improvisations and they show it through all their recording. In fact this is a CD that was originally recorded in 1970/1971 and showcases all the habilities of the trio. In fact I think that the pieces that I liked most are the ones where the thre musicians play together because here you can feel not only their individual skills but also the mental connection that they have between them. Rutherford trombone lines crash against Bailey´s drop rain like arpeggios and they are reshaped by Guy´s double bass phrases creating this magical pieces that you can listen on this recordings. Also the solo tracks are killer and here you can learn what this guys know about spontaneous music.

Favorite tracks: "Bass Solo I"; "Buzz Trio 4" and "Buzz Trio 9".

Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

REVIEW: IRON MAIDEN - ROCK IN RIO

 

IRON MAIDEN - ROCK IN RIO (EMI, 2002)

Produced by Kevin Shirley

Recorded live in Rio de Janeiro; January 2001

Artwork by Peacock

Tracks: CD I: 1-Intro; 2- the Wicker Man; 3- Ghost of the Navigator; 4- Brave New World; 5- Wrathchild; 6- 2 Minutes To Midnight; 7- Blood Brothers; 8- Sign of the Cross; 9- The Mercenary; 10- The Trooper; 11- Brave New World (video)

CD 2: 1- Dream of Mirrors; 2- The Clansman; 3- The Evil that Men Do; 4- Fear of the Dark; 5- Iron Maiden; 6- The Number of the Beast; 7- Hallowed Be Thy Name; 8- Sanctuary; 9- Run To the Hills; 10- A Day in the Life (video)

This is a recording of a concert recorded in the beginning of 2001 (when Iron Maiden did their Southamerican tour with their new six-piece lineup). The recording features their entire set with two videos (one on each CD). The recording has a greta level compared to "A Real Live One", " A Real Dead One" and all that stuff. I liked the "Brave New World" album and there are plenty of songs from that album here. But nothing compares to the classics. Nothing compares to the glory of tracks like "Wrathchild" or "The Trooper". This is a proof that Iron Maiden needed a great singer and that they have got it with the return of Bruce Dickinson. And also it is a proof that they are still alive and kicking.

Favorite tracks: "Wrathchild", "The Trooper" and "The Number of the Beast".

Contact: www.ironmaiden.com

REVIEW: INTERVALLE BIZARRE / MALIGNANCY - SPLIT CD

 

INTERVALLE BIZARRE / MALIGNANCY - SPLIT CD (Shindy Prods., 2002)

Produced by Intervalle Bizarre and Malignancy

Recorded at Shhark Studio (Intervalle Bizarre) 

Tracks: Intervalle Bizarre: 1- Abortion by Muriatic Acid; 2- Disfigured Sculpture; 3- Raped Serenity; 4- Incomprehensible Movements; 5- Walking Corpse

MalignancY: 1- Fibroid Embolism; 2- Profitable Extinction; 3- Rotten Seed; 4- Post Fetal Depression; 5- Mortality Weakness

What a crushing split CD! First starts Intervalle Bizarre with their extremely technical death metal with some grind parts included (there are super fast blast beats in some places). Here the riffs are technical and there are multiple changes within each song. It is incredible the great sound that this band has (the second track, "Disfigured Sculpture" that starts as a grind track with some odd time rhythms is perfectly mixed and you can distinguish even the more subtle arrangements). There are some Pestilence influences in Intervalle Bizarre´s music, specially in the guitar riffs (also i find some Atheist in there too...great influences!). They end their half of the split with a Brutal Truth cover "Walking Corpse".Thumbs up for Intervalle Bizarre!!!

Then comes Malignancy with a sound that is not as good (the mix is a little bit lower than the one in the Intervalle Bizarre side, specially on the guitars). The music has amazing riffs !! I liked particularly the ones in "Post Fecal Depression" witha lot of pinch harmonics and some fills that are killer. Malignancy also is a very technical band prefering to explore the rhythm changes instead of some melodies (they use some odd timing here and there too). Their killer is guttural and makes the music really brutal. Brutality guaranteed with Malignancy.

Favorite tracks: "Disfigured Sculpture"; "Raped Serenity" and "Rotten Seed.

Contact: www.shindy.cz

REVIEW: INFIDEL? / CASTRO ! - CASE STUDIES IN BIOENTROPY

 

INFIDEL? / CASTRO ! - CASE STUDIES IN BIOENTROPY (Independent, 2001)

Produced by Infidel? / Castro!

Recorded at the Realm of Koland and La Casa de Alvarez

Artwork by Colin Marston and George Korein

Tracks: 1- The Violence of Hygiene; 2- The Act of Sterilization; 3- Objective Reality; 4- Mobius; 5- Spiraling; 6- Negativity; 7- Subjective Reality; 8- Circular thoughts; 9- A Hanging Man

Only reading the name of this band I thought "well, this guys must be really experimental". And they did not dissapoint me...their music while heavy has many elments that can be called industrila nad a lot of sound effects that create a dense atmosphere in all the tracks. There are interesting keyboard arrangements that bring twisted melodies and arrangements to the compositions. I think there is some improvisation too here in the parts that seem more chaotic. And that is how I would define this music....the perfect equilibrium between complete harmony and chaos. Fans of experimental music will be delighted with Infidel? / Castro!.

Favorite tracks: The whole CD. I like musicians who have the guts to experiment in the way that this guys do.

Contact: www.infidelcastro.com

REVIEW: IMMEMORIAL - MONOLOGUE

 

IMMEMORIAL - MONOLOGUE (Conquer Records, 2002)

Recorded at Selani Studio

Mastered by Adam Kuc

Tracks: 1- Forsaken in Nonentity; 2- A Monologue; 3- Wander Through Life; 4- Demons of Fate; 5- Under Delusion; 6- Born To Redeem; 7- A Nightmare; 8- Seized With Darkness; 9- Video Track

A brutal release but with a lot of finesse in the guitar work. In fact I liked a lot the contrast between the crushing rhythms and rotten vocals against the melodic guitar solos. This gives a lot of originality to the band. Also another thing that I liked are the breaks and the change of rhythmand riffs that they use within each song . The drums sound is strange but I liked it a lot (is really like listening to a machine instead of this technical guy.....the double bass is killer). There are some fast riffs that could be from a black metal band too and this along with the beforementioned guitar melodies. One point that is fundamental is the great sound tat this release has....it is possible to listen everything cristal clear even in the faster and more distorted parts. Get on your knees...Immemorial has arrived !!!!!!!

Favorite tracks: "Wander Through Life"; "Under Delusion" and "A Nightmare".

Contact: www.conquerec.com

REVIEW: HELL-BORN - HELLBLAST

 

HELL-BORN - HELLBLAST (Conquer Records, 2001)

Recorded at Hertz Studio

Artwork by Andrzej Zdrojewski

Tracks: 1- Intro; 2- Visions of Decline; 3- Raise the Dead; 4- The Victory; 5- Follow The Beast; 6- The Day of Wrath; 7- Inverted; 8- Hellraiser; 9- Those Are Dead But Shall rise; 10- Merciless Onslaught

Hell-born´s music is extremely raw and fast. Their riffs are played at hyper speed and the drummer loves doing blast beats and crushing your brain with them. Their music is what I would call black/thrash metal...and it is really powerful. Some bands come to my mind....Inferi, Usurper ....some Immortal things but all done with great personality (the way the vocals are treated is a trademark of Hell-Born´s music). Ojne of the things that I like most are the great riffs (the simple one at 2:14 of "The Vistory" is a killer one !!!!) very well conceived and the melodic solos (in "The Victory" you can have a sample of this too) that give a different dimension to the tracks and sometimes are connected with some melodic bridge. A killer release from this powerful band from hell!!

Favorite tracks: "Hellraiser"; "Follow The Beast" and "The Day of Wrath".

Contact: www.conquerec.com

REVIEW: HAN BENNINK / EVAN PARKER - THE GRASS IS GREENER

 

HAN BENNINK / EVAN PARKER - THE GRASS IS GREENER (Psi Records , 2002)

Produced by Evan Parker

Recorded at Gateway Studios

Artwork by Han Bennink

Tracks: 1- Traps of Appetite; 2- Traps of Instinct; 3- Outside the Usual Rules of the Eating Game; 4- Smoke of Sacrifice; 5- The Empty Hook; 6- Coyotes Are EatingPure Bred Poodles in Beverly Hills; 7- Pluto has a Moon; 8- To Tangle Lure and Snare

Here we have a duet CD from this two experimented improvisational musicians: Evan parker on saxophone and Han Bennink on percussion. The music here is really sponteneous and they call it in the booklet "instantcompositions". Everytime that I listen to Evan Parker I get really amazed by his flowing sax lines. He can start a solo line and don´t stop it till minutes later. The combination of this improvised runs and phrases with Bennink anarchic yet controlled percussion beats gives us the formula that makes this recording a unique experience. The two musicians know really well how to work together and this is evident on this CD. This CD is a must for people fan of experimental music in all its forms.

Favorite tracks: "Traps of Appetite"; "Smoke of Sacrifice" and "Pluto Has a Moon".

Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

REVIEW: GERD DUDEK - SMATTER

 

GERD DUDEK - SMATTER (Psi Records, 2002)

Produced by Evan Parker

Recorded at Gateway Studios

Photographs by Caroline Forbes

Tracks: 1- Phrase Three; 2- Ma Bel; 3- Smatter; 4- Body and Soul; 5- By George; 6- The Peacocks

How beautiful are the sax phrases that Gerd Dudek plays through all this album. And how great a musician Gerd is. On this recording he plays with John Parricelli on guitar, Tony Levin on drums and Chris Laurence on bass, playing classic jazz with a lot of improvised solos. The main thing here is how to play with extremely melody and not loose spontaneity. And this is what Dudek achieves here: he plays the greatest solo lines (in fact all the musicians have their solo parts on each composition) with extreme melody and original phrases. The standards played here include the always amazing "Body and Soul" where a great musician like Dudek can develope many new ideas within a really melodic realm. For people who likes really good music played by a master musician.

Favorite tracks: "Phrase Three"; "Body and Soul" and "By George".

Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

REVIEW: FREEDOM OF THE CITY 2001 - SMALL GROUPS

 

FREEDOM OF THE CITY 2001 - SMALL GROUPS (Emanem Disc, 2002)

Produced by Martin Davidson

Recorded at the Freeedom of the City Festival

Tracks: CD 1: 1- Smibramar A; 2- Smibramar B; 3- Smibramar C; 4- WesedsanA; 5- Wesedsan B; 6- Wesedsan C; 7- Nickrahug A; 8- Nickrahug B; 9- Nickrahug C

CD 2: 1- Tho 1; 2- Tho 2; 3- Wrewashugdur 1; 4- Wrewashugdur 2; 5- Butber A; 6- Butber B; 7- Butber C; 8- Minrustur; 9- CoxRut; 10- CoxMinRusRutRur

This is a recording also done in the Freedom of the City 2001 Festival. But this 2 CD set consists in recording of small ensembles (and two solo pieces by the great Pat Thomas on piano). As always there are great musicians envolved in thsi projecys like Lol Coxhill, Phil Durrant, Veryan Weston and many others. There are excellent improvisations through all the CDs and I liked specially the Maggie Nicols (voice, tap dancing), Caroline Kraabel (alto sax, voice)and Charlotte Hug (viola) which experiments a lot with voices, uncommon instrument combinations and tap dancing. An excellent recording of this great Festival that I hope some day will come to Buenos Aires.

Favorite tracks: "Wesedsan B"; "Butber C" and " Nickrahug A".

Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

REVIEW: FREEDOM OF THE CITY 2001 - LARGE GROUPS

 

FREEDOM OF THE CITY 2001 - LARGE GROUPS (Emanem Disc, 2002)

Produced by Martin Davidson

Recorded at the Freedom of the City Festival

Tracks: CD 1: 1- Trick on the Speed of Making It, 2- Daylight Receptacle

CD 2: 1- Flower of Flesh and Blood, 2- Morton´s Mobile; 3- Group Dynamics Around the Slide; 4- Concerto for Sylvia Hallett; 5- Double Rainbow; 6- Birthday Piece; 7- An If But To and When; 8- Proceeding 5

This is a 2-CD set in which the first one consists on two tracks (the first one is over 31 minutes) from a String improviser ensemble with great musicians like Phil Durrant, Chris Burn, Sylvia Hallett and John Russell to name just a few (the great Evan Parker appears in the second track and the second one is a big orchestra called the London Improvisers Orchestra. The London Improvisers Orchestra has many other instruments apart from the strings and here you can listen the talent of Lol Coxhill, Steve Beresford and many others. This recording was made in the Freedom of the City Festival 2001 and showcases the improvising and spontaneous skills of this group of talented musicians. The music contained here is highly experimental and spontaneous. It is great to see the communication between the musicians that is evident through all this recording. A great album from this extremely open minded musicians.

Favorite tracks: "Trick on the speed of making it"; "Concerto for Sylvia Hallett" and "Proceeding " .

Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

REVIEW: FORLORN - OPUS III AD CAELESTIS AES

 

FORLORN - OPUS III AD CAELESTIS AES (Napalm Recs., 2000)

Produced by Øyvind Grøden and Forlorn

Recorded at Mansion Studios

Artwork by Tor Søreide Design

Tracks: 1- Distant Worlds and Distant Moons; 2- Legions of the Empire; 3- Spiritshade; 4- Shadow Cult; 5- Phantoms, 6- Necto Spiritus; 7- Midnight´s Overture; 8- Legends of Creation

A thought was spinning in my mind while listening to this band. How can I describe their music? After a lot of thinking I decided that the best way would hev been with some label like "melodic black metal with some operistic vocals". In fact this description is real but not completely accurate because it fails to describe Forlorn´s music in all its magnitude. In fact, there are black metal elements (specially some vocals and guitar riffs), there are a lot of keyboards that embellish the tracks, then there is a hyper double bass drumming and a lot of rhythm changes. Finally there are different type of vocals: some are more guttural, some are like operistic male vocals (in the more melodic parts). I liked a lot the way in which the songs are composed because it makes each track completely different from the other and that adds a lot of interest to the whole CD. A great album.

Favorite tracks: "Shadow Cult", "Legions of the Empire" and "Legends of Creation".

Contact: www.napalmrecords.com

REVIEW: FONY - ROUTINE IRREGULAR

 

FONY - ROUTINE IRREGULAR (Casket Music, 2002)

Produced by Martin Barbour

Tracks: 1- Sleep the Dollar, 2- Nervegas Breakdown, 3- Routine Irregular, 4- Off Line; 5- Chore Again; 6- R.I.U.P; 7- Centrepaed; 8- Tri; 9- Fait Accompli; 10- Impurity; 11- Make Shift (Pt. 1); 12- Make Shift (Pt.2)

Fony is a band that I have never heard before and their music is usually described as a mix between new metal (the sound of some of the guitars is definitely from this style) and alternative music (there are some Soundgarden and Tool influences here and there that make an interesting mix with the heavier guitar sound). Some tracks like "Nervegas Breakdown are fully modern metal (with some distorted vocals that add a cool vibe. The production is really good and every instrument is clearly mixed giving more impact to the tracks. One thing that I liked of this band are their catchy and melodic choruses which are in fact sang in a deppressive way. A good alternative for people that looks for soemthing different.

Favorite tracks: "Routine Irregular"; "Chore Again" and "Impurity".

Contact: www.coprorecords.co.uk

REVIEW: ENCRYPTOR - SERMON DECAY

 

ENCRYPTOR - SERMON DECAY (Dysmorphic Recs., 2002)

Produced by Encryptor

Tracks: 1- Cast Into Darkness, 2- Rebrutalization, 3- Sermon Decay, 4- Horrific Endangerment, 5- Vomit Congregation, 6- Images of tragedy, 7- Everything must Decay, 8- Bloodflow towards Salvation

Encryptor is a brutal death metal band with a really good sound (I like the way in which the drums sound, specially the double bass drums...almost electronic in some places). The guitar riffs are crushing and in some places they reminded me of german act Harmony Dies. There are interesting rhythmic parts where the band show what they are capable of doing. The vocals are extremely guttural and they fit the music perfectly. The band delivewrs burst of energy after burst of energy with no mercy for the listeners. I think that Encryptor is a great option for those who love extremely brutal death metal and like it to be with a good sound.

Favorite tracks: "Sermon Decay"; "Vomit Congregation" and "Bloodflow Towards Salvation".

Contact: www.encryptoronline.com

REVIEW: EDGE OF SANITY - EVOLUTION

 

EDGE OF SANITY - EVOLUTION (Black Mark Recs., 1999)

Produced by Dan Swanö

Recorded by Dan Swanö

Artwork by Dan Swanö

Tracks: CD 1: 1- Pernicious Anguish, 2- Immortal Souls, 3- Maze of Existence, 4- the Dead, 5- Angel Of Distress, 6-Everlasting; 7- After Afterlife, 8- Human Aberration, 9-Kill the Police, 10- When All Is Said, 11- Blood of My enemies, 12- Elegy

CD 2: 1- the Masque, 2- Pernicious Anguish; 3- Until Eternity Ends; 4- Song of Sirens; 5- Criminally insane; 6- Murder Dividead; 7- I Wanna Go Home; 8- Damned By the Damned; 9- Moonshine; 10- Bleed You Dry; 11- Mother; 12- Epidemic Reign

Edge of Sanity is an essential band from the swedish death metal movement. They started their career in the late eighties and made some of the most original albums, adding their particular sound to the tracks. Here we have a 2 CD compilation with all rarities: here you have demos, remixes, remastered versions and covers. All in one package. And the tracks go from their first recordings ("Pernicious Anguish" from their 1989 "Euthanasi" ) to their latest. The sound is obviously better in the newest track, but here you can listen all the talent that this guys (and specailly Dan Swanö) have. A must for any person that is into metal. This is a piece of heavy music history.

Favorite tracks: The whole 2 CD set is essential for any lover of metal music.

REVIEW: EARTH CRISIS - BREED THE KILLERS

 

EARTH CRISIS - BREED THE KILLERS (Roadrunner Recs., 2001)

Produced by Andy Sneap

Recorded at Pyramid Studios

Artwork by Mike Ski

Tracks: 1- End Begins; 2- Filthy Hands to famished Mouths; 3- Breed the Killers; 4- Wither; 5- Ultra Militance; 6- Into the Fray; 7- One Against All; 8- Drug Related Homicide; 9- Overseers; 10- Death Rate Solution; 11- Unvanquished; 12- Ecocide

As you may know this band plays modern metal with a heavier than hell sound and vocals that are completely distorted. The first track "End Begins" is reallys imple and efective. And this is where lies the main elements of this band. They are simple but at the same time really powerful. There are some hardcore and punk influences too (a couple of riffs reminded me to the great D.R.I.). The great production by Andy Sneap makes the instruments shine (this guys is producing a lot lately and he always achieve a great sound on the guitars and the drums).

Favorite tracks: "Wither"; "Death Rate Solution" and "Into the Fray".

Contact: www.roadrunnerrecords.com

REVIEW: DIMENTIANON - SEVEN SUICIDES (ADVANCE)

 

DIMENTIANON - SEVEN SUICIDES (ADVANCE) (Paragon International, 2002)

Tracks: 1- Self Inflicted Abuse; 2- Soulless Extinction; 3- Dead and Forgotten

This is a three track advance CD of the "Seven Suicides" album by this powerful death metal band which was called The Forgotten before and released some succesful albums. First of all, the music is really powerful with interesting rhythms and extremely guttural vocals. Second, the release has a muddy sound, I don´t know if that is because this is an advance CD....maybe they should mix everything a little bit louder and clearer to achieve a better result (specially the drums that are really opaque and that is a pity because the drummer is great and I distinguish some bass drum patterns that are great but difficult to hear). There are a lot of riffs that are not so common on the style and that gives a lot of originality to this band. Also the guitarist makes a lot of interesting melodies in the tracks like in "Self Inflicted Abuse" (3:50) I hope they send me the complete versionbecause this is a killer CD and I hope they do another mix to give this band the sound that they deserve

Favorite tracks: "Soulless Extinction".

Contact: www.paragonrekords.cjb.com

REVIEW: DETONATION - PROMO 2001

 

DETONATION - PROMO 2001 (Independent, 2001)

Produced by Detonation and Roland Root

Recorded at Studio Sandwijck

Tracks: 1- Forever Buried Pain; 2- Starve; 3- Voices Beyond Reason

This band plays a kind of death metal whose main goal is to deliver original songs through the interesting arrangements that they make in all the tracks. By listening to the three tracks contained here it seems to me that Detonation is a band ideal to listen in a live show and to headbang along their heavier than hell riffs. They have a lot of interesting arrangements, specially on the guitar department where they use interesting sad melodies and guitar harmonies (in a very thrash fashion) to give a different side to their music. The first track here is a must!! It is a classic, listen to that chorus and to that clean guitar interlude (interesting work of the drummer to accentuate the different parts). I hope this guys can release soon a full length effort to listen more material from this great band.

Favorite tracks: The three tracks contained here.

Contact: www.detonation.nu

REVIEW: DESECRATION - PATHWAY TO DEVIANCE

 

DESECRATION - PATHWAY TO DEVIANCE (Coprp Recs., 2002)

Tracks: 1- Cleaver, Saw and Butcher´s Knife; 2- Offer the Flesh; 3- King of the Missing; 4- Bloody Human Carvery; 5- None of Us are Saints; 6- Let´s Have a Hanging; 7- Swollen; 8- Bathroom´s Autopsy; 9- They Bled; 10- Frosted Breath

This is one of the most brutal releases I have listened this year. Despit being extremely brutal the band has devloped a great sound, specially on the guitars which are cristal clear (despite the big amount of distortion that this guys use and despite that they tune down the guitars to achieve a bottom end sound). The drums are also really well mixed and you can listen the interesting Ride Cymbals arrangements that the drummer does while doing interesting fast patterns. There are some slower tracks like "King o the Missing"which is one of the heaviest tunes here (I liked a lot the pasage where the guitars play a riff and the drums use a great double bass pattern at 1:31 of this track). Another interesting thing is that the band uses sometimes riffs with dissonances that make the guitar work more interesting. Brutality but with a lot of changes and interesting arrangements.

Favorite tracks: "King of the Missing", "None of Us Are Saints" and "They Bled".

Contact: www.coprorecords.co.uk

REVIEW: DESDEMONIA - PARALYZED

 

DESDEMONIA - PARALYZED (Independent, 2001)

Produced by Desdemonia

Recorded at Prosecco Studios

Artwork byM.Dosser and Oli Scheeck

Tracks: 1- Intangible, 2- Take Your Time, 3- Behind, 4- Spare Me, 5- No Retreat; 6- Paralyzed, 7- Nosferatu, 8- Taken, 9- 2.A.0.D.K.

Directly from Luxembour comes Desdemonia. Their music is brutal death metal but it has many thrash and heavy metal touches in the riffs (there are parts in which they use wah wah in the guitars, like on "Intangible"). The riffs go beyond what one is expecting and when you wait them to accelerate they surprise with a melody or guitar phrase. The drummer is killer and has a lot of skills with the double bass (using some difficult patterns in many of the tracks). There are also some rock elements like on the beginning of "Behind" and there interesting clean guitar parts . Can we call this style progressive brutal death metal? Why not? I think that it fits this music perfectly, because it has many interesting parts that go beyond the style and explore new boundaries.

Favorite tracks: "Intangible", "Take Your Time" and "Nosferatu".

Contact: www.desdemonia.lu

REVIEW: DEICIDE - IN TORMENT IN HELL

 

DEICIDE - IN TORMENT IN HELL (Roadrunner Recs., 2001)

Produced by Deicide

Engineered by Jim Morris at Morrisound Studios

Artwork by The Serpent

Tracks: 1- In Torment in Hell, 2- Christ Don´t Care, 3- Vengeance Will be Mine, 4- Imminent Doom, 5- Child of God, 6- Let It be Done, 7- Worry in the House of Thieves, 8- Lurking Among Us

Here is Deicide´s latest offering. And as always they crush us with their powerful music. Has Deicide changed? Not even a single bit. Maybe the sound is better here than on "Incineratehymn", but that is all. Is that good? Yes, because this is a crushing band whose albums I like a lot and they have shown the world their devastating music since the late eighties when they were called Amon. As always, Deicide is heavier than hell, and as they have achieved since "Once Upon the Cross" the recording has a great sound that makes the brutality more effective. If you want hell then Deicide is here for you!!!

Favorite tracks: "Christ Don´t Care", "Vengeance Will Be Mine" and "Lurking Among Us".

Contact: www.roadrunnerrecords.com

REVIEW: DAVID COVERDALE - INTO THE LIGHT

 

DAVID COVERDALE - INTO THE LIGHT (EMI, 2000)

Produced by David Coverdale

Artwork by Stylorouge

Tracks: 1- Into the Light, 2- River Song, 3- She Give Me, 4- Don´t You Cry, 5- Love is Blind, 6- Slave; 7- Cry for Love, 8- Living on Love, 9- Midnight Blue, 10- Too Many Tears; 11- Don´t Lie To Me, 12- Wherever You May Go

After the disolution of Whitesnake David Coverdale started a solo career focused on songs that sound more bluesy than the one of his previous band. The tracks contained here are more related to the "Northwinds" album or to the Page/Coverdale one than to the last albums that Whitesnake did. This is mostly because of the guitar sound: Earl Slick is a really bluesy guitar with a lot of early blues influence (and Led Zeppelin ones too). In Fact, I must say that I prefer Adrian Vanderberg, John Sykes or any of the other latest Whitesnake guitarist (Steve Vai obviously!) that used to give a more modern sound to the tracks (listen here "Too Many Tears" that despite being a ballad has this element and it is composed by Coverdale and Vandenberg). One step more on Coverdale´s career.

Favorite tracks: "She Give Me"; "Too Many Tears" and "Slave".

Contact: www.davidcoverdale.com

REVIEW: DATAKILL - L´ODIO

 

DATAKILL - L´ODIO (Independent, 2001)

Produced by Datakill

Recorded at Underground Music Studio

Artwork by Datakill

Tracks: 1- Stress, 2- L´Odio, 3- Pensaci Bene, 4- Tutto Quello Che Vorrei, 5- Fascist Pig

This band is very powerful. Their music is modern with certain touches of bands like Sepultura, Prong and some Pro-Pain. They mix this modern side with some hardcore attitude that makes the music really aggressive. The sound of the recording helps a lot to the final result, making the tracks heavier and the riffs much more effective. I like the way Lorenzo plays this riffs, with a lot of strength and using a lot of natural harmonics in tracks like "L´odio". It is weird to listen the lyrics in Italian Language. There are really interesting melodic vocal lines like the ones in the chorus of "L´Odio" that give a lot of hooks to the songs. A powerful release that includes a cover of Suicidal Tendencies "Fascist Pig".

Favorite tracks: "Stress", "Pensaci Bene" and " L´Odio.

Contact: datakill@libero.it

REVIEW: CRUSHING BELIAL - MMII - DEMO 2002

 

CRUSHING BELIAL - MMII - DEMO 2002 (Independent, 2002)

Produced by Crushing Belial

Recorded at 158 Studios

Artwork by James and Simon

Tracks: 1- Burning The Shroud of Azrael; 2- Cleanse the Ears With the Blood of Martyrs; 3- Vengeance Ordained in Grace

How brutal can a band be? Well, Crushing Belial is extremely bestial, in fact they are brutal as hell. Their music is sometimes brutal death metal, sometimes doom (like on the beginning of "Cleanse..." and sometimes pure grind!! The drummer must be an octopus to play the blast beats that can be listened in "Burning The Shroud of Azrael" and also some of the other druum patterns. The guitar riffs are powerful and I prefer the heavier ones like the one at 2:02 of "Burning...". There are three tracks here that show what this band is capable of doing and how extreme they are. I liked a lot the contrast between some parts of all the tracks . I would like this band to have a better sound, which is a little bit muddy here, but that can be solved with more time in the studio. A crushing release !!!!

Favorite tracks: The whole CD. It is so bestial that it hurts.

Contact: www.crushingbelial.co.uk

REVIEW: CROWBAR - EQUILIBRIUM

 

CROWBAR - EQUILIBRIUM (Roadrunner Recs., 2001)

Produced by Keith Falcout and Kirk Windstein

Recorded at Festival Studios

Artwork byJohn Buttino

Tracks: 1- I Feel the Burning Sun, 2- Equilibrium, 3- Glass Full of Liquid Pain, 4- Command of Myself, 5- Down Into the Rotting Earth, 6- To Touch the Hand of God, 7- Uncovering, 8- Buried Once Again, 9- Things you Can´t Understand, 10- Euphoria Minus One, 11- Dream Weaver

Crowbar is one of the heaviest bands to come out in the early nineties. Since their debut album they have been crushing listeners with their powerful riffs and neck breaking drums patterns. Also in the side projects that involve members of this band they have achieved great results like in Down. Kirk Windstein spits the lyrics at the top of his lungs as always. This time some of the tracks are slower and heavier having added some more deppresive quality to their music. The music here is full of anger, hate and anguish. If you want to try something different that is not death metal, black metalor grind, then check Crowbar for extreme heaviness.

Favorite tracks: "Glass Full of Liquid Pain", "Command of Myself" and "Uncovering".

Contact: www.roadrunnerrecords.com

REVIEW: CRADLE OF FILTH - BITTER SUITES TO SUCCUBI

 

CRADLE OF FILTH - BITTER SUITES TO SUCCUBI (Spitfire Recs., 2001)

Produced by Doug Cook

Recorded at New Rising Studios

Artwork by John Coulthart

Tracks: 1- Sin Deep My Wicked Angel, 2- All Hope in Eclipse, 3- Born in a Burial Gown, 4- Summer Dying Fast, 5- No Time To Cry, 6- The Principle of Evil Made Flesh, 7- Suicide and Other Comforts, 8- Dinner at Deviant´s palce, 9- The Black Goddess Rises II, 10- Scorched Earth Erotica

Many people hate Cradle of Filth...I still don´t understand why. Despite liking or not their music, this band is really solvent in what they do. In fact their music is really atmospheric (despite some scream abuse made by Dani) and there is an interesting work in the keyboards arrangements.. I find this CD much more orchestrated than for example "Midian", and it has a really good sound that few bands can achieve. On this recording you can see the evolution that Cradle of Filth has gone through since the beginning because there are some old tracks here like "The Principle of Evil made Flesh", clearly rawer and with less orchestration.

Favorite tracks: "All Hope in Eclipse"; " Suicide and Other Comforts" and "The Principle of Evil made Flesh".

Contact: www.spitfirerecords.com

REVIEW: CIRCLE OF NERO - MASSIVE OBLISS

 

CIRCLE OF NERO - MASSIVE OBLISS (Independent, 1999)

Produced by Circle of Nero

Recorded at Walton Recording Studio

Artwork by Chad Michael Ward

Tracks: 1- Church of the Pagan God, 2- Mother Doom, 3- Massive Obliss, 4- Dark Side of Eternity, 5- Walls of Pain, 6- Million Miles Away, 7- Thorizine Dreams, 8- Moon Quake, 9- Hear My Cries, 10- The End

A beautiful intro with some chants and clean guitars open this CD, getting into the first track that is pure heavy metal, in fact it is really progressive heavy metal, with many changes and a vocalist that uses a medium range with some gothic reminiscences which I like more than many of the high pitched guys out there (I don´t know why I feel some Candlemass in some parts....great!!). There is a great guitar work here in the vein of guys like John Petrucci or Savatage with interesting solos (even using a whammy pedal on "Mother Doom"). The sound is really good (it can be a little better on the drums, and maybe it would be a good idea to add some bottom end to the guitar too). This guys have many ideas and they combine a lot of them on each track giving an atmosphere of complexity to the songs. If you like elaborated metal this is definitely for you.

Favorite tracks: "Dark Side of Eternity", "Moon Quake" and "Church of the Pagan God".

Contact: www.circleofnero.com

REVIEW: CATAMENIA - ETERNAL WINTER´S PROPHECY

 

CATAMENIA - ETERNAL WINTER´S PROPHECY (Massacre Recs., 2000)

Produced by Catamenia

Recorded in Tico Tico Studios

Tracks: 1- Gates of Anubis, 2- Soror Mystica, 3- Blackmension, 4- Kingdom of Legions, 5- Half Moons, Half Centuries, 6- Forever Night, 7- Dawn of the Chosen World, 8- Eternal Winter´s Prophecy, 9- In the Void, 10- The Darkening Sun, 11- In the Capricorn´s Cradle

I must say that I really like Catamenia. This band mixes perfectly their ultra raw black metal with the elegance and melody of the keyboards played by Heidi Riihinen. To give you an idea, is like listening to a much colder Dimmu Borgir with more melody and interesting passages and with a darker feeling. This guys know how to arrange their compositions in order to make them sound in a powerful way. The orchestrations are getting more relevant on each release of the band and on this one they are up in the fron contrasting a lot with the music that the rest of the band does (it is really interesting how in some parts Mika Tönning seems to follow the keyboards with his vocals). This album is a really must for lovers of dark metal. Favorite tracks: "Dawn of the Chosen World", "Gates of Anubis" and "Kingdom of Legions".

Contact: www.massacre-records.com

REVIEW: CATALEPSY - BASS METAL

 CATALEPSY - BASS METAL (Independent, 2002)

Produced by Alex Mastrocola

Recorded at Alex´s Home

Artwork by Alex Mastrocola

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- the Murderer, 3- Rainbow Rising, 4- The Prophet, 5- Obsession in a Jail, 6- Shaman´s Dream, 7- Dream of Moon, 8- Androphoby, 9- Take The Power, 10- New Wave of Bass Metal

This is a weird CD. Alex Mastrocola has developed this musical experiment called Catalepsy....in fact the opnly instruments that can be listened on this recording are two bass guitars and the drums. The music is strange also because there are a lot of effects used in the vocals. The bass guitars are sometimes used as bottom end to keep the rhythm and sometimes like a guitar creating melodies. The experimentation is great here and you can listen Mastrocola´s skills with his bass. The drums are sampled and have a certain electronic feeling that makes the tracks even more weird. Mastrocola does all the vocals here in a certain heavy metal feeling. If you like unusual musicians here is one for you !!!

Favorite tracks: "Rainbow Rising", "Shaman´s Dream" and "Androphoby".

Contact: www.catalepsy.cjb.net