REVIEW: LAGRIMAS NEGRAS - IN PENUMBRA

 

LAGRIMAS NEGRAS - IN PENUMBRA (Independent, 2002 ) 

Produced By: Lágrimas Negras

Tracks: 1- Distance, 2- Alive, 3- Cross of My heart, 4- El Claro al Final del Camino, 5- Morpheo, 6- Sabanath

Recorded at Estudios El Tostadero

Coming directly from Spain we have Lágrimas Negras (Black Tears) with this MCD full of dark metal that we can call atmospheric gothic death/ black metal because it has a lot of keyboards and orchestration through all the tracks, it has vocals that can be from a death or black metal band (the tracks are slow or mid paced....don´t expect blast beats here) and it also has other vocals that are clean and sound closer to gothic metal. The recording is well mixed, specially the keyboards that are essential to Lágrimas Negras music. I would like them to mix a little bit louder the guitar and lower the vocals to achieve more tightness in the sound. A must for people who enjoy climatic music with melodic elements and an extremely dark atmosphere.

Favorite tracks: "Cross of My heart", "Alive" and "Morpheo"

Contact: lagrimasnegrassoria@hotmail.com

REVIEW: LACUNA COIL - HEAVEN´S A LIE

 

LACUNA COIL - HEAVEN´S A LIE (SINGLE) (Century Media Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Lacuna Coil

Tracks: 1- Heaven´s a Lie, 2- Self Deception

Here we have two songs extracted from Lacuna Coil´s new album called "Comalies". And they show some progress from the previous album, specially in the sound which is deeper and clearer on this new tracks. Here we have Cristina Scabbia´s powerful vocals combined with Andrea Ferro´s ones which are the trademark of the band along with big keyboards that are essential to this two tracks. I wonder if all the album is like this two tracks. I will surely like to listen to it because it must be a masterpiece.

Favorite tracks: The two.

Contact: www.centurymedia.com

REVIEW: KISS OF DEATH - PROMO 2K2

 

KISS OF DEATH - PROMO 2K2 (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Kiss of Death

Tracks: 1- House of pain, 2- Uncontrolled Reaction, 3- Stronger Than Before

Cover Art by Fabio Chiesa

Recorded at Panpot Studios

This is a three track promo with brutal tracks that I would call thrash death metal . The vocals remind me a little bit to Kreator but the riffs are completely different from those played by the german band. In fact here we have some much more modern metal influences, specially in the sound that the guitars have. There are good guitar solos which add a lot of melody to the songs and give a special feeling to them. The mix is good and that helps a lot to the songs (specially the guitars that are mixed really loud as it must be). The drummer is crushing in "Uncontrolled Reaqction" playing some unexpected rhythms and fills that give a lot of originality to the songs. Now we have to wait a full length release from this band.

Favorite tracks: the three

Contact: www.kissofdeath.it

REVIEW: KARELIA - USUAL TRAGEDY

 

KARELIA - USUAL TRAGEDY (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Karelia

Tracks: 1- Letter for an Angel, 2- Usual tragedy, 3- Blind, 4- Daddy´s Grave

Cover Art Idea by Karelia

Here we have this powerful and melodic metal band with a lot of original elements that distinguish them from every other band of the style. The guys in Karelia have achieved a way to create extremely climatic metal songs with some power metal structures in some places and with a heavy metal voice similar to the one in bands like Stratovarius combined with other one similar to the one used by the guys in Moonspell (and there are incredible epic choruses). Also there are many riffs and ideas, as well as keyboards passages that are not common in the style using tempo changes and breaks. One thing that I have to remark is the excellent quality of the sound that ....here you can listen each note played perfectly. An amazing MCD from this promisory band!!

Favorite tracks: The Four

Contact: www.cybernemo.com/karelia

REVIEW: JEFF KAISER - 17 THEMES FOR OCKODEKTET

 

JEFF KAISER - 17 THEMES FOR OCKODEKTET (pfMENTUM Records, 2002 )

Produced By: Jeff Kaiser

Tracks: 1- Dirge, 2- Clad Like Birds, 3- Amplifying Their Parallels, 4- Nothing May Be Taken Naturally, 5- Even With Diagrams, 6- One Absolute Material, 7- Figures of this In-Between, 8- Figures to Be Actualities, 9- Figures With Wings, 10- Coincidentia Oppositorum, 11- Where His third Eye Could Be, 12- Fulfilled By the Reflected Image, 13- There is No profit from Dreams, 14- Into that Nothing Between

Recorded at Ventura City Hall

Jeff Kaiser is a great musician (he pays trumpet here and conducts the music) whose skills as improviser and spontaneous musician can be fully listened on this CD. IN fact this recording features live appearances by the Jeff Kaiser Ockodektet that is a group of great musicians who interact really well (on this recording you can not believe that this guys are improvising). Again we have here the great Ernesto Díaz-Infante playing the acoustic guitar and many other great musicians like Scott Walton on Contrabass or Richie West on drums. It is really amazing listen this guys playing, specially in the moments that they play all together like having a score and in fact they are improvising. The songs here go from atmospheric soft ones like "Clad Like Birds" to almost chaotic ones like "Even With Diagrams". An excellent showcase of spontaneity and improvisation. 

Favorite tracks: "Clad Like Birds", "Figures with wings" and "Coincidentia Oppositorum"

Contact: www.pfmentum.com

REVIEW: INSIDE CONFLICT / JUDOBOY - SPLIT CD

 

INSIDE CONFLICT / JUDOBOY - SPLIT CD (Plainfield Recs., 2002 )

 

Produced By: Plainfield Recs.

Tracks: Inside Conflict: 1- Black Amber, 2- Beheaded Viper, 3- War Inside My Head, 4-Compulsion, 5- Dawn. Judoboy: 6- Sublime, 7- SiPrecieuse

Recorded at Local #2 and Walnut Groove Studio

Inside Conflict plays brutal death metal with a really modern sound (incredible mix) and some hardcore influences that add a unique element to the band´s sound. In fact this last influence is really subtle because this band delivers total brutality through their devastating guitar riffs and their hyperguttural vocals (even in the cover of Suicidal Tendencies "War Inside My Head"). One thing that this guys have and is really positive is the huge guitar sound (they have nothing to envy to famous bands like Machine Head for example).

Judoboy is not as good as the previous band and they make a big contrast with Inside Conflict. The first thing is the difference in quality of the sound that in this two tracks is a bit muddy. Then the compositions are brutal but they don´t have the same degree of intensity that the other band has. One good thing is that here we have some atmospheric elements when the band slows down a little bit. And also we can appreciate some interesting drumming such as the one in "SiPrecieuse".

Favorite tracks: "Black Amber", "Beheaded Viper" and "Compulsion"

Contact: www.plainfieldrecords.com

REVIEW: IN FLAMES - REROUTE TO REMAIN

 

IN FLAMES - REROUTE TO REMAIN (Nuclear Blast/Century Media Brasil, 2002 )

Produced By: Daniel Bergstrand

Tracks: 1- Reroute to Remain, 2- System, 3- Drifter, 4- Trigger, 5- Cloud Connected, 6- Transparent, 7- Dawn of a New Day, 8- Egonomic, 9- Minus, 10- Dismiss the Cynics, 11- Free Fall, 12- Dark Signs, 13- Metaphor, 14- Black and White

We reviewed Dark Tranquility´s last album above, so now we have to review the other kings of the Gothenburg sound. And those are the guys from In Flames. The In Flames albums used to be very similar one to the other, but this is quite different, this is more direct and at the same time has more melodies (and most of the melodies have been made by the vocals). Also there are some breaks and changes that are closer to what Dark Tranquility would do (with clean guitars and stuff like that). It seems like In Flames have changed a little bit their style adding some new elements like the mentioned before or the choruses in ths style of bands like Sentenced. There are also some weird sounds like the ones in "System" that are new for In Flames. It is good to see that this band is evolving and finding new ways in which to express their feelings without forgetting their roots and style.  

Favorite tracks: "System", "Drifter" and "Transparent"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com or www.nuclearblast.de

REVIEW: I.N.R.I. - HYPER BASTARD BREED

 

I.N.R.I. - HYPER BASTARD BREED (Cold Blood Industries , 2002 )

Produced By: I.N.R.I.

Tracks: 1- More Ruthless than the Devil, 2- The Depth Society, 3- Shoot, Hammer and Crush, 4- Terrorfreak, 5- Masturbate, 6- Hyper Bastard Breed, 7- Candidate for the Fuck of God, 8- The Resonance of Triumph, 9- Annihilation, 10- The Glorythrone, 11- Spawn of Abraham, 12- This World´s End, Wipe Out !!, 13- You´re Mighty Privilege, 14- Hell is Rising, 15- The All Consuming Darkness

Cover Art by Jacek Wisniewski

Recorded at Franky´s Recording Kitchen

A hyper brutal release from this devastating band. From the first second of this release the guys in I.N.R.I. unleash all their violence in the brain of the listener reducing it to ashes!! The tracks here are hyper fast with brutal vocals of the screaming and guttural types (really clearly mixed, you can understand the lyrics with no problem). There are fast guitar solos in many of the tracks and fast drum rhythms with double bass and interesting work with the cymbals. This guys have made a good balance between the heavy rhythmic parts and the fastest parts with drumbeats that are almost blast beats. The sound of the release is really good and enhances a lot the music of this bestial band!!

Favorite tracks: "Masturbate", "The Glorythrone" and "Hell is Rising"

Contact: www.coldbloodindustries.com

REVIEW: HYPNOTHETICALL - IN NEED OF A GOD?

HYPNOTHETICALL - IN NEED OF A GOD? (Spreadit Agency, 2002 )

Produced By: Fabio Lentola and Hypnotheticall

Tracks: 1- The Silent Masquerade, 2- Odour of Sanctity, 3- Like a Lamb To the Slaughter,

Cover Art by Hypnotheticall

Hypnotheticall´s music is difficult to describe but it sure is pure metal!!! The riffs and guitar parts as well as the rhythm section remind me sometimes to thrash metal and sometimes to technical death metal . That is, riffs that are fast and powerful and need a lot of technical skills by the musicians to be played. Then comes the singer who is extremely melodic and at the same time ethereal, melancholic and in times deppresive (this guy is killer in creating melodies with his middle range and in some places like in "Odour of Sanctity" he uses a mopre deathly type of vocal). There are excellent clean/acoustig guitar passages that add a different feeling to the songs and there are also many guitar melodies and solos. This guys deserve soon a label to release more of their great songs !!!

Favorite tracks: The three. A killer release

Contact: www.hypnotheticall.com

REVIEW: HOLY MOSES - DISORDER OF THE ORDER

 

HOLY MOSES - DISORDER OF THE ORDER (Century Media, 2002 )

Produced By: Andy Classen

Tracks: 1- Intro; 2- We Are At War; 3- Disorder of the Order; 4- Break the Evil; 5- Deeper; 6- Hell on Earth; 7- I Bleed, 8- Blood Bond; 9- 1.000 Lies, 10- Princess of Hell; 11- Verfolgungswahn; 12- Heaven vs. Hell

Cover Art by Stephan Hagenow

Recorded at Stage One Studio

Here is Holy Moses new album!!!! After last year´s "Master of Disaster" MCD which marked the return of Sabina Classen´s band to the arena !! Now we have this "Disorder of the Order" With twelve brutal tracks with many ideas going on through each of the songs this another Holy Moses masterpiece ("the track "Disorder of the Order" is a new classic!!). This new era of Holy Moses has an interesting change in the guitar sound that has become more brutal. Sabina´s vocals are as brutal as ever and this time he changes it a lot through all the track (in some of them she seems to be in real pain and in anothers she is full of anger and hate !!!). I liked a lot Julien Schmidt´s work on drums which is really brutal and has a great sound through all the recording. Also a welcome addition is Andreas Libera on bass who supports in a great way the bottom end sound of the band. A devastating release from this crushing band !!! 

Favorite tracks: All this CD is an extreme experience of brutality. One of the records of the month

Contact: www.centurymedia.com or www.holymoses.de

REVIEW: HATEFUL - AFTER THE LAST BREATH

 

HATEFUL - AFTER THE LAST BREATH (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: Hateful

Tracks: 1- Relieve the Despair, 2- Premature Death, 3- Inner War, 4- After the Last Breath

Cover Artwork by Daniele Lupidi

Recorded at Centro Musica

Hateful is a technical yet brutal death metal bands with great use of melodies in the guitars that contrast with the raw sound that this recording has. The band prefers to use more rhythmic riffs instead of faster ones (in fact in tracks like "After The Last Breath" they use some really slow riffs that sound even heavier) and also they like creating a lot of atmospheres through the guitars. There are influences of bands like Morbid Angel but this band is more climatic than Trey Azagthoth´s band. One of the main thing here are the guitar solos that add melancholic melodies and a certain virtuosism to the tracks. The sound is really raw and maybe with more time in the studio the band can explore more the way in which they want to sound. Death metal lovers check this one

Favorite tracks: "Relieve the Despair" and "Inner War"

REVIEW: HAND OF DOOM - DREAMS OF RESURRECTION

 

HAND OF DOOM - DREAMS OF RESURRECTION (Gemini Recs., 2001)

Produced By: Hand of Doom

Tracks: 1- Dark Side, 2- Winter Days, 3- Dreams of Resurrection, 4- Deep Waters, 5- King of Beasts, 6- Just Another Days, 7- Tears of Eternity, 8- Ancient Spirit

Cover Art by Roberto Zoppi

Recorded at Elfo Studio

Hand of Doom is a really good band coming directly from Italy. The music here has elements of heavy metal, thrash metal and some death metal. The main thing here are the good compositions with many different riffs within each song and multiple rhythm changes that add complexity to Hand of Doom´s music. In fact you have to check the first track here called "Dark Side" to see what this guys can do in eight minutes. The essential thing here is the combination between heaviness and melody, between wild vocals and melodic ones, between the crushing guitars and the somber and beautiful keyboards. This is one of the bands that I think will be a big number in the near future.

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.handofdoom.it

REVIEW: GREAT VAST FOREST - BATTLETALES AND SONGS OF STEEL

 

GREAT VAST FOREST - BATTLETALES AND SONGS OF STEEL (Evil Horde Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Great Vast Forest

Tracks: 1- Intro/The Kings of power, 2- Pagan kingdom, 3- Wolvesclan, 4- The Gate Behind the Mountain, 5- Masters of the Old War, 6- Cold Souls of the Forest, 7- Majestic South, 8- Stormtroops, 9- Imperial Moon, 10- Outro/ ...and of blood was covered the hill...

Cover Art by Michel B.

Recorded at Studio Hagnna

Here is this CD from this band whose style I would call war metal or battle metal (nothing to do with Bolt Thrower´s music). I expected some hyper fast black metal but instead I have found something new here. Here we have a music that is not straightforward black metal and not even death metal. Here we have guitar riffs that can be of both styles or maybe even of bands like old Venom (but with a guitar that sounds much more huge). Then comes the keyboards and the melodies: the keys are esential here doing a lot of the background (I would like them to be mixed a little bit higher) and the vocal melodies are specially interesting because they are not common on this style (in fact they make a great contrast with the more black metallish vocals). The fastest parts are devastating and extremely raw but the things that are fundamental for Great Vast Forest is the combination of this raw parts with the more epic ones. As I said in the Azaghal review the packaging here is of great quality. This is blasphemic music with an epic side!! 

Favorite tracks: "Wolvesclan", "Masters of the Old War" and "Stormtroops"

Contact: www.evilhorderec.com

REVIEW: GRAVEWURM - DARK SOULS OF HELL

 

GRAVEWURM - DARK SOULS OF HELL (Barbarian Wrath Recs., 2002)

Produced By: Gravewurm

Tracks: 1- In Hell we Reign, 2- Evil Oath, 3- Massacre in Heaven, 4- Gravemaster, 5- Raise the Flag, 6- Vengeance we seek, 7- Carnage for the Beast, 8- Ancient Storms of War, 9- The Guardian, 10- Fighting For Evil, 11- Iron Warriors, 12- Merciless Slughter, 13- Wizards of War

Layout by Chorazaim

Strange band this Gravewurm. The first thing that got my attention is the strange distortion that the guitars have. Then come the guitar riffs which are sometimes rhythmical and sometimes slow but never similar to the ones played by black or death metal bands (in fact they are closer to a more heavy metal band or bands like for example Sodom or even Celtic Frost eventhough the music is completely different). The vocals are of the type that some death metal bands use , that is, not extremely guttural but never clean. In tracks like "Massacre in heaven" the music gets faster and rawer. The overall sound of the recording is not really good and maybe with a louder mix and different guitar distortion the music could sound better (also the programmed drums sound really weird here, specially the cymbals).

Favorite tracks: "Evil oath", "Raise the Flag" and "Fighting for Evil"

Contact: www.mp3.com/gravewurm or www.barbarianwrath.org

REVIEW: GOTHA - TAKE YOUR SOUL

GOTHA - TAKE YOUR SOUL (Spreadit Agency, 2002 )

Produced By: Gotha

Tracks: 1- Take Your Soul, 2- The Battle, 3- Banshee

Recorded at Bunker Studio

Here we have Gotha, a powerful thrashcore metal band. I have put "thrashcore" to describe their style bercause I feel they have influences from both styles (mainly thrash metal in some riffs and the solos and hardcore in the voclas and some choruses) and also from calssical heavy metal. The riffs are heavy as hell and I like a lot the arrangements that the bass player does while supporting the rhythm section (some tapping phrases and stuff like that, check "The Battle" to see this). Here we have three tracks, two of average duration and a shorter instrumental one. I hope this guys release a full length soon to listen more of their music. 

Favorite tracks: "The Battle" and "Take Your Soul"

Contact: www.gotha-thrash.com

REVIEW: GOLD FÜR EISEN - HEIMAT

 

GOLD FÜR EISEN - HEIMAT (Interregnum Musik, 2002 )

Produced By: Jörg Rainer-Friede

Tracks: 1- Heimat..., 2- Auf Der Jagd, 3- Stoertebeker, 4- Heimkehrer ´46, 5- ...und alles nur, weil Du nicht gewartet hast, 6- Deutschland, 7- Deuer! (ein Amoklauf), 8- Wieder daheim

Cover Art by Jub

Recorded at Tepa Tape Studios

Gold Für Eisen´s music is very difficult to describe. Take some elements of german bands like Sodom or Kreator, add some death metal feeling and some double bass drumming (programmed drums sound really good here), then add some choruses that sound extremely "german" and you have a small idea of what this band is about. Their music has a huge guitar sound that makes the music on this CD extremely heavy (the mix is really great and the band knows what to do in order to be heavier). There are certain strange passages like the ones in "Heimkehrer ´46" with spoken voclas and the drums in the background and the bass playing some slow phrases. There are plenty of melodies here done mostly with the guitars and this are essential for the Gold Für Eisen sound combined with the heaviest parts. This is a band that are developing their own style adding a lot of elements to their music.

Favorite tracks: All the tracks

Contact: www.goldfuereisen.de

REVIEW: FREEDOM CALL - ETERNITY

FREEDOM CALL - ETERNITY (Century Media Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Dan Zimmerman and Chris Bay

Tracks: 1- Metal Invasion, 2- Flying High, 3- Ages of power, 4- The Spell, 5- Bleeding heart, 6- Warriors, 7- The Eyes of the World, 8- Flame in the Night, 9- Land of light, 10- Island of Dreams, 11- Turn Back Time

Cover Art by Paul Raymond Gregory

Recorded at FC Studios

In the mid eighties and specially after the "Keeper I and II" albums Helloween set the path that millions of bands would follow in the future. And one of the bands that has done it is Freedom Call. Here the band has found a sound that is a cross between Helloween and Rhapsody and has developed eleven compositions much more powerful than in their previous album. Here we have all the melodies that the style needs and must have. We have the double bass drumming, and the galloping guitars, we have the twin guitars that make solos and melodies in all the songs, and we have the hyper melodic vocals that sing melodies that sound very "german", specially when joined by other voices in the choruses. Here is Freedom Call, a band that maybe with a little bit more of identity and originality could go directly to the top of the metal world.

Favorite tracks: "Ages of power" and "Warriors"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com

REVIEW: FLOWING TEARS - SERPENTINE

 

FLOWING TEARS - SERPENTINE (Century Media Recs., 2002)

Produced By: Waldemar Sorychta

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- Starfish Ride (for a million dollar handshake), 3- Serpentine, 4- Children of the Sun, 5- The Marching Sane, 6- Breach, 7- Portsall (departure song), 8- Justine, 9- The Carnage People, 10- Merlin, 11- Cupid of the Carrion kind, 12- For Tonight

Cover Art by Axel Hermann

Flowing Tears has the strange characteristic of being a band that can be epic and deppressive at the same time. It is this feeling that makes this band´s music so interesting. The mix of sad and enchanting melodies with the heavy guitars that leave a lot of space to develope interesting ideas is essential for Flowing Tears identity. The band has achieved a point where you listen just a few seconds and you know that it´s Flowing Tears music. And one of the things that make this happen is the powerful voice of Stefanie Duchene which is really melodic but has a lot of strength and energy to deliver. The mix by Waldemar Sorychta has again found the perfect balance between heaviness and beauty, this delicate equilibrium that Flowing tears manage so good. A must

Favorite tracks: A must. All the tracks are fabulous.

Contact: www.centurymedia.com

REVIEW: FANGORN - FANGORN

 

FANGORN - FANGORN ( G.U.C. Productions, 2002 )

Produced By: Fangorn

Tracks: 1- Paradies, 2- Pfeffer, 3- Phoenix, 4- Freudentanz, 5- Steinheit, 6- Verdammt, 7- Fluss, 8- Koma, 9- Felsen, 10- Herz, 11- Fährmann

Cover Art by Fangorn

Recorded at: Digidirt Studios

Fangorn is a band that sounds really european. With complex songs and many guitar riffs they sound like a mix of Dark Tranquility, Death, Sentenced and bands in that style. But this band has a lot of identity. With the interconection between the male and female vocals (this one are not in the vein that one is accustomed to listen to, in fact I think the range of this woman is a mezzo soprano and sounds really great here), the multiple rhythm and riffs changes. Here we have to point ourt the excelent guitar work with atmospheres, melodies and utter heaviness in the riffs. The sound of the recording is really good and make the results even brighter. Most of the songs here are sung in german and that adds a strange feeling and a lot of heaviness to the music. 

Favorite tracks: All the CD.

Contact: www.guc-area.de

REVIEW: EXSECRATUM - ADITUS

 

EXSECRATUM - ADITUS (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Exsecratum

Tracks: 1- The Mighty Frost of North, 2- Wandering Sons of the Obscure throne, 3- Northern Supremacy, 4- The Light of Unholy Souls, 5- A Breezing Vision of Damnation

Cover Art by Lord Azazel

Recorded at Silver Poddu Studios

This CD starts with some noises and storm sounds in the beginning of "The Mighty Frost of North" before getting into the purest and raw black metal. Here we have the elements of this style: fast guitars with a raw sound, fast drumming and screaming vocals. There are also the riffs in which the guitars are used to create fast melodies ovber which are spitted the hateful lyrics. One thing to remark is the full speed of this release which doesn´t slow done through the whole CD. There are some rhythm changes in tracks like "Northern Supremacy" from one fast riff to another. The sound is fairly good and maybe the guitars and drums can be mixed a little bit better to achieve a bigger black metal sound. This is a CD full of hatred and blasphemy!!!! 

Favorite tracks: "Northern Supremacy", "The Light of Unholy Souls" and "A Breezing Vision..."

Contact: exsecratum@hotmail.com

REVIEW: EVENT HORIZON - FROM BEGINNING...TO END

 

EVENT HORIZON - FROM BEGINNING...TO END (Spreadit Agency, 2002 )

Produced By: Event Horizon

Tracks: 1- From Beginning...to end, 2- Darkning Light, 3- King of Unknown Land, 4- Flight of Fantasy, 5- Take me Out (new version)

Engineered by Gianluca Amendolara

Recorded at Studio Avatara

This is one of the most powerful and imaginative progressive metal bands I have ever listened. Their music has a lot of ideas and at the same time has a lot of power (here is essential the role played by the heavy guitars and the powerful vocalist who adds a lot of energy to the lyrics and not only melodies as most singers in the style do). Here we have musicians that are really virtuosos, specially the keybaord player who does a lot of arrangements and solos through all the recording. An example of this aspects that I have described is the fast song called "Flight of Fantasy", closer to power metal but with much more arrangements and changes that most of the bands of the style do. A must for lovers of melodies and ideas in a heavy context. 

Favorite tracks: The five tracks here

Contact: www.eventhorizonband.com

REVIEW: ERNESTO DÍAZ-INFANTE & CHRIS FORSYTH - MARCH

 

ERNESTO DÍAZ-INFANTE & CHRIS FORSYTH - MARCH (Pax Recordings , 2002 )

 

Produced By: Ernesto Díaz-Infante and Chris Forsyth

Tracks: 1- 13 = Parts 1 to 13

Cover Art by Maria DumLao

Recorded at Wombat Recording

Here we have the new duet album with the two great guitarists and musicians Ernesto Díaz-Infante and Chris Forsyth whom we have listened in numerous projects as Rev. 99 and All Time Present (this one is reviewed on this issue). On each track here Díaz-Infante and Forsyth develope new ideas and sounds that one may never have imagined could come from a guitar, piano or drum. Some of this sounds are more melodic and some of them are closer to noise, but each one has the trademark of the duo experimentation. Sometimes the improvisation (adorned with some vocals) becomes more weird and loose and sometimes more coherent but this guys are breaking sonic boundaries all the time. As I said with the previous album: fans of experimentation should check this one. 

Favorite tracks: "Part 3", "Part 6" and "Part 8"

Contact: www.paxrecordings.com

REVIEW: ENID - ABSCHIEDSREIGEN

 

ENID - ABSCHIEDSREIGEN (CCP Recs., 2000 )

Mastering By: Claus Prellinger

Tracks: 1- Erinnerungen, 2- Weg Der Weisung, 3- Reverie of Youth in Spheres of Dream, 4- Meer Der Einsamkeit, 5- Zug der Vergessenen Reiter, 6- Bondage´s Coronation, 7- Herbststurm, 8- Whispering of Goodbye

Cover Art by Florian Dammasch

Recorded at CCP Studio

Starting softly with a piano intro on the first track "Erinnerungen", this CD changes fastly its pace getting into some of the best progressive black/death metal I have ever listened. Full of different arrangements, orchestrations, melodies and keyboards progressions and many more ingredients, Enid music is a pleasure for the ears of those who want powerful music and at the same time want to be surprised with new things. In fact here we have excellent piano parts, male and female choir melodies, amazing orchestrations. All of this is complemented with screaming vocals, fast drum parts, heavy guitar parts. This is with no doubt one of the albums of the month!!!! 

Favorite tracks: All the tracks. This is a masterpiece

Contact: www.ccprecords.com

REVIEW: ENDRAUM - IN FLIMMERNDER NACHT...

 

ENDRAUM - IN FLIMMERNDER NACHT... (Danse Macabre Rec., 1993)

Produced By: Ensraum

Tracks: 1- Ouvertüre, 2- Schatten Der Nacht, 3- Albatros, 4- Orthosia, 5- Nostalghia, 6- Krumme Schatten im Stummen Muster, 7- Hommage, 8- Dämmerung mein Lichterkranz, 9- Demeter, 10- Zerdrückte Kehle

Cover Art by Endraum

Recorded at Weisser Herbst Studios

This is quite an old release but I want to review it because of the beauty and magnificence of the music contained on this CD. The music here is really atmospheric and ethereal where the main thing are the keyboards arrangements and the female vocals which are really dark and deppressive. There are also some ethnic elements such as the percussion in some tracks. But everything here is done in order to achieve the darkest music possible. And Endraum does it through the melancholic keyboards and the whispering vocals that you can listen all over the place. This is a classic.

Favorite tracks: All the CD.

REVIEW: EMPTINESS - NECRORGY

 

EMPTINESS - NECRORGY (Independent , 2002)

Produced By: Emptiness

Tracks: 1- Necrorgy, 2- Subhuman Submission, 3- Our Hatred of Generosity, 4- Lead Us Sathanas, 5- Last Echoes Before Nothingness, 6- Xenophobia, 7- Supremacy, 8- Shemamforash, 9- Eternal Rising

Cover Art by N. Daemon

Recorded by Jeremy

Emptiness is a band whose music can be described as black/death metal with an extremely raw sound combined with a lot of keyboards in some parts (in fact Nerath Daemon who plays guitars and keyboards here is playing also in Enthroned). I am putting black/death to describe Emptiness music here because I think that this band has elements from both styles in their compositions, beginning with the vocals that are a combination of the more guttural voices in death metal with the screaming ones used in balck metal. Then come the guitar riffs, here we have the fastest ones that play some melody with one note progressions are closer to black metal and the more rhythmic and crushing ones are closer to death metal. I would like the keyboards to be a little higher in the mix to add a new dimension to Emptiness music. This CD also contains the "Eternal Rising" MCD recorded in the year 2000. Fans of black and death check Emptiness!

Favorite tracks: "Subhuman Submission", "Lead Us Sathanas" and "Supremacy"

Contact: www.emptiness-oficial.be.tf 

REVIEW: ELENIUM - THEM USED GODS

ELENIUM - THEM USED GODS (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Elenium

Tracks: 1- Demigodlike, 2-Outside View, 3- Inbred Infinity

Cover Art by T.R.

Recorded at Sonic Pump Studios

Here we have this band that plays what I would call extremely progressive death metal. The music here has deathly vocals and also a clean melodic singer who adds a lot of melodies here, plus Elenium has an incredible keyboardist. In fact the first track opened with sorto of a run that could be used in a neoclassical metal album, and this sort of phrases are really well mixed with more crushing rhythms, tempo changes and breaks (like the one at 3:12 in "Demigodlike" where the bass is lef alone with the drums before the whole band enters with keybaords playing at top speed). I really enjoy the combination of heavy guitars and amazing keyboards solos that this band does (this guy Johannes is killer). The sound of the whole MCD is great and this is one band destined to be sitting in the throne of extreme metal really soon!

Favorite tracks: The three tracks here are wonderful

Contact: http://elenium.tripod.com

REVIEW: DYNAMIC LIGHTS - RESURRECTION

 

DYNAMIC LIGHTS - RESURRECTION (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Dynamic Lights

Tracks: 1- Breath of the Earth, 2- Breath of the Sun, 3- Awakening / Consciousness, 4- Deception / Revenge, 5- CD Rom Video Section

Cover Art by Raffaele Mariotti

Recorded at Castriota Studios

Dynamic Lights is a progressive metal band of top quality as you can listen on this CD. Their complex arrangements, changes and amazing vocal harmonies are the main features here. Plus they have a heavy guitarist whose melodies and solos are essential to Dynamic Light´s sound (as also are the excellent keayboards parts). Also we have a killer rhythmic section with a bassist that can play from melodies to rhythm with great skills and a drummer who plays lot of interesting patterns and complex rhythms To sum up, we have here great musicanships who know how to play this amazing compositions full of elements (each time that you listen the songs you find something new that you had not heard before). If you liek bands like Dream Theater then you must listen Dynamic Lights

Favorite tracks: All the CD. Amazing!!

Contact: www.dynamiclights.net

REVIEW: DUNKELSTORM - SCHICKSAL

 

DUNKELSTORM - SCHICKSAL (Furias Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Eduardo Mallada and Pablo De Luca

Tracks: 1- Requiem For a Stormy Day, 2- Born From Chaos, 3- I Swear Revenge, 4- Schicksal, 5- As the only Witness, 6- Miserable Agony, 7- Eternal Silence, 8- Morbid´s thoughts, 9- When the Snow Became Rain

Cover Art by Sieger

Recorded by Krauser

This is a good band from Argentina. The music can be somewhat described as progeressive black/death metal with lots of keyboards. The keyboards plus the programmed drums give sort of a cold cybernetic feeling to Dunkelstorm´s songs. One thing that I would like them to change is the guitar sound that is a little bit thin for my taste and I think that a more fat sound would make things more powerful. The vocals here are screaming ones and are sometimes processed adding this industrial feeling that I mentioned before. The sound is good, specially on the keyboards which are the axis of Dunkelstorm´s music. 

Favorite tracks: "Born form Chaos", "I Swear Revenge" and "Miserable Agony"

Contact: www.orionmusic-furias.com.ar or www.dunkelstorm.com

REVIEW: DUNGORTHEB - PROMO 00

 

DUNGORTHEB - PROMO 00 (Perennial Quest Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Dungortheb

Tracks: 1- Beyond The Darkness, 2- Place of Alienation, 3- The Only Rest, 4- Trip

Cover Art by Dungortheb

Dungortheb is a band that plays technical death metal in the style that bands like Death or Sadus have made famous. There are many excellent riffs within each of the songs and many rhythm and tempo changes that make the tracks really interesting. Also, here wqe have incredible guitar melodies and technical guitar solos done with really good taste (in the vein of guitarists as Chiuck Schuldiner, James Murphy, etc.). Since this is a promo from 2000 I would like to know how Dungortheb is sounding now, two years later. I think this guys were in the right path with this release and I hope that their debut will sound as good as this promo. Thumbs up for this guys !!!

Favorite tracks: All the CD. This guys play one of my favorite music styles.

Contact: jean_marc.werly@club-internet.fr

REVIEW: DRAGSTER - NEW TIMES

 

DRAGSTER - NEW TIMES (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Dragster

Tracks: 1- Break Down, 2- The Chase, 3- Why Do You Kill When You Can Save Lives?, 4- New Times

Cover Art by Público

Recorded at Nimbus Estudio

It´s been a long time since I last listened to a band playing thrash metal like this brazilian band does. The good thing is to listen this music that has been sadly forgotten (who says that metal don´t have trends?) and that I think will make a comeback really soon while people start searching for new things to explore. This band has influence from eighties thrash metal bands like Overkill, Exodus, Slayer and others and at the same time they have achieved a modern guitar sound. So their music can be labeled as 21st century thrash metal. Here we have the rhythms of the style with more crushing guitars and the guitar melodies that thrash lovers like while the vocals are really harsh and make some melodies that fit really well the music. Thumbs up for this band and I hope that this style becomes popular in the metal undergroundas in the late eighties again soon!

Contact: www.dragstermetal.com.br

REVIEW: DR. CHUNK - DR. CHUNK

 

DR. CHUNK - DR. CHUNK (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Dr. Chunk

Tracks: 1- Prelude, 2- 11, 3- Psycho, 4- Garden of Sound, 5-Crop Circles, 6-Face The Fear, 7- Disallowed, 8- Rager, 9- Traitor´s View, 10- Desolate, 11- Classified, 12- Feel My pain, 13- Cardboard Genius

Cover Art by Justin Ponsor

Recorded at Golden Track Studios

I was expecting more of a gore grind band or something like that, but I was wrong. Dr Chunk plays metal with some modern touches and a huge sound ! One thing that got my attention soon is the good sound that this recording has, and specially the combination of bass and drums that sound really huge (plus the drummer plays a lot of double drumming sounding almost like a human machine)! The guitars have a lot of nineties and eighties thrash influences and have the exact amount of distortion to sound monumentally heavy. The vocals are really original and give a lot of identity to Dr. Chunk´s music...the main thing in them is power....this guy is one of the most powerful vocalists I have listened in a while, and he doesn´t need to use guttural vocals or distorted screams. In fact he has a range of voice close to the one that John Bush has and he knows how to use it. Dr. Chunk´s music was for me a welcomed surprise!!!

Favorite tracks: "11", "Crop Circles" and "Rager"

Contact: www.drchunk.com