REVIEW: THALARION - TIMES OF DESPONDENCY

 

THALARION - TIMES OF DESPONDENCY (Mighty Music, 2002)

Produced By: Roman Slavik and Thalarion

Tracks: 1- 911...As the War Raged, 2- My Bitter Overstrain, 3- Tunes of Despondency, 4- A Tatrastream Romance, 5- Tatyana, 6- My Weakness, 7- Confined, 8- The Endless Cacophony, 9- Fly Away

Cover Art by Jacek Wisniewski

Recorded at Exponent Studio

This wonderful band comes directly from Slovakia and they have composed nine tracks of incredible beauty while at the same time they deliver savage riffs and black metal vocals. One of the main elements here are the keyboards that create the artmospheres that are essential to Thalarion´s music and orchestrates each of the compositions while contrasting with the fast guitars and the heavy drumming. It is really interesting the contrast between the melodies and the devastating guitars, between Juraj brutal vocals and Nela´s clean female vocals (she is great through all the recording). There are many changes on the songs and the band uses a lot of clean guitars combined with keyboards to deliver new atmospheres. One thing to remark is the excellent sopund that this release has, really making all the music shine with its perfection. A must

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.mightymusic.dk

REVIEW: TERMINAL DESCENT - MANIFESTING THE PRESENT

 

TERMINAL DESCENT - MANIFESTING THE PRESENT (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: Terminal Descent

Tracks: 1- I am that I am, 2- The Illusion Barrier, 3- Cultivating the Demon meme, 4- The Doctrine, 5- Taming of Beasts, 6- Hostage To the Devil, 7- Manifest The Present, 8- The Prophets Profit, 9- Subtle Misanthropy, 10- Cryptic Demise

Cover Art by Terminal Descent

This is another offering from this band that has an eerie sound (really raw sounding guitars) with brutal elements like the vocals and melodies and interesting arrangements. It is weird to listen to this band music because of the strange sound that the guitars have, specially when combined with slow drumming that gives a feeling of primitive doom that one is not expecting in the fastest parts that are closer to death metal. The sound of the recording is extremely raw and primitive and gives us the sensation of being listening to a live recording (specially because there are not overdubs and there is only one guitar doing all the arrengements all the time). One fundamental element here are the climatic parts like the beginning of "The Prophets Profit" which I think the band should use even more

Favorite tracks: "The Illusion Barrier", "Taming of Beasts" and "The prophets Profit"

Contact: http://members.tripod.com/terminaldescent

REVIEW: TERMINAL DESCENT - OF DARKEST LIGHT

 

TERMINAL DESCENT - OF DARKEST LIGHT (Independent, 2001)

Produced By: Terminal Descent

Tracks: 1- Satanic Mitigation, 2- Maelstrom of Inner Conflict, 3- Atom and Eve (of Science Vs. Religion), 4- Of Darkest Light, 5-Fatality through Futility, 6- Pandemic Somnambulant transition, 7- Let Sleeping Gods Die, 8- Acorn of Deviltry, 9- Acquisition of prescience, 10- Quantum Volition, 11- Rhetorical Quest Ion, 12- Master of My Own Domain, 13- Bound to the Boundless

Cover Art by Tom Hammer

This band is extremely brutal but at the same time has many climatic elements. Yes, the guitars construct incredibly fast riffs in many tracks (with an extremely raw and primitive sound that contrasts with some of the arrangements) but in many places they play melodies and interesting guitar solos that show another dimension of Terminal Descent´s music. There are many changes on each of the songs of this album and the drumming is bestial (I would mix the bass drums louder because there are interesting passages with double bass). The combination of brutality (specially on the vocals) and melodies is an essential feature of this band´s music and I think this guys should use even more melodies over crushing guitars and fast drumming as in "Atom and Eve" that is what gives them a lot of identity.

Favorite tracks: "Of Darkest Light", "Acorn of Deviltry" and "Quantum Volition"

Contact: http://members.tripod.com/terminaldescent

REVIEW: TAD MOROSE - MATTERS OF THE DARK

 

TAD MOROSE - MATTERS OF THE DARK (Century Media, 2002)

Produced By: Tad Morose

Tracks: 1- Sword of Retribution, 2- Matters of the Dark, 3- Ethereal Soul, 4- I Know Your Name, 5- In the Shadows, 6- Another Way, 7- New Clear Skies, 8- Riding the Beast, 9- Reason of the Ghost, 10- The Devil´s Finger, 11- Don´t Pray For Me

Cover Art by Jan Meininghaus

This power metal the way that it must be done: with powerful riffs, interesting solos, heavier than hell sound, twisted melodies and a singer that adds a lot of power besides doing melodies. That is the way bands like Jag Panzer, Vicious Rumours or Jag Panzer have chosen to do their compositions contrasting clearly with softer bands (most of them Helloween clones). This band main goal is to create powerful compositions with heavy feelings and not merely putting together a couple of melodies. Here we have Tad Morose´s heavy sound with amazing vocals and powerful epic choruses that are essential for this band´s music. There are energetic guitars riffs and interesting guitar solos through all this recording and the sound is making the band sound even more powerfully. A must for power metal lovers.

Favorite tracks: "In the Shadows", "Matters of the Dark" and "Riding the Beast"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com

REVIEW: SYSTEM 81 - INVASION

 

SYSTEM 81 - INVASION (Sector 19 Recs., 2002)

Produced By: System 81

Tracks: 1- Right Here..., 2- One More Ticket, 3- Communicate, 4- Mysterious, 5- This Way, 6- Transmission, 7- Triformis, 8- Wonderland, 9- Aluminum Dreams

This is pure electronic music!! It´s been a long time since I received a band of this charachteristics for reviewing. This band uses all the elements that they can in order to create some electronic atmospheres (that are appropritate for dancing because of the bass drumbeat that is on most of the songs). Here we have many elements that are extremely climatic (this guys use many different sounds in order to achieve the results that they want) while retaining the dancing atmosphere. One thing that amazed me were the vocals that are whispering the lyrics behind the other sounds adding an eerie quality to each of the compositions. A great thing about electronic bands like this one is that they mix really well their recording making the final result brighter than it would be without the great sound. I hope to receive more bands like this one in order to spice up a little bit more the musical tastes of the extreme scene.

Favorite tracks: "One More Ticket", "Mysterious" and "Triformis"

Contact: www.sector19.com

REVIEW: SUHRIM - UNIDENTIFIED FLYING BODY PARTS

 

SUHRIM - UNIDENTIFIED FLYING BODY PARTS (Independent, 2001)

Produced By: Suhrim

Tracks: 1- Mutilated Corpse, 2- UFB, 3- Old Bomb Fucked Bitch, 4- As You Bleed, 5- House of Gore, 6- Headdrilling - the Odesy, 7- Joyride, 8- 666, 9-Hymn of the Underdog, 10- Shitlover, 11- Shathulud, 12-Headdrilling - the Sequel

Cover Art by Bruno Kan

Recorded at The Cavern Studios

Suhrim has been doing really good in the underground lately spreading their extreme brutality through all the extreme scene.A nd here we have their album full of the heaviest of death metal riffs, the most bestial drumming that a band can have and the growling vocals needed to reach the band´s main goal: transmit extreme brutality through their music. And they have achieved this goal on this album with their mid paced riffs combined with double bass drumming and with the fastest riffs where the vocals growl over and over till the listener´s brain is melted. Each of the tracks here have many parts and riffs and each of them is done to add brutality while giving new dimensions to each composition. I have to remark that this album has an incredibly good sound that enhances even more the bestiality of this guys. Here you have twelve tracks of pure brutality with good musicianship.

Favorite tracks: "UFB", "AS You Bleed" and "Shathulud"

Contact: www.dma.be/lugburz/suhrim

REVIEW: STARFLYER 59 - CAN´T STOP EATING EP

 

STARFLYER 59 - CAN´T STOP EATING EP (Tooth and Nail Recs., 2002)

Produced By: Andy Prickett

Tracks: 1- Compeating, 2- West Coast Friendship, 3- Happy Birthday John, 4- Give Up the War (Stereo mix), 5- Theme From Dromedary

Cover Art by Asterik Studio

I had an odd feeling while listening to this band. On the first track they sounded like a sixties or early seventies band but with a modern sound and that really surprised me. The music of Starflyer 59´s music is simple and at the same time climatic and full of melodies (even the cover they have chosen, "Happy Birthday John" is really melodic). The singer is all the time whispering the vocals with his particular voice, adding a deppressive side to the music of the band ( many different feelings crossed my mind while listening this songs). The guitars play always with a clean sound (sometimes they use some acoustic guitar) doing arpegios and chords that are an essential part of the music on this recording. A realoly melodic release with many dark feelings.

Favorite tracks: "Compeating" and "Give Up the War..."

Contact: www.toothandnail.com

REVIEW: SOTHIS - INSTINCT

 

SOTHIS - INSTINCT (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Sothis

Tracks: 1- Requiescat In Pacem, 2- Psychonoise, 3- Turn off the Light, 4- To The Philosopher

Cover Art by Sothis

Recorded at Temple of Noise Studio 

Thsi band is devastating!! From the beginning they start with their black/death metal full of arrangements and different parts smashing the listener´s brain (plus there are some killer melodies that really give a lot of originality to the band). One of the things that got my attention soon is how well rehearsed thius guys are, they play many different changes and parts without missing a beat and sounding really compact and tight. The vocals are closer to the ones we know in black metal bands but sometimes there are also more guttural ones. Thumbs up for the killer guitarist whose arrangements and solos are essential to the Sothis sound. One thing to remark here is the excellent sound that this recording has, specially on guitars and drums (this drummer is killer with a lot of incredible double bass work). Here we have four brutal and technical tracks for mankind !!!

Favorite tracks: The Four

Contact: megadave78@yahoo.it

REVIEW: SIMON H. FELL - KALEIDOZYKLEN

 

SIMON H. FELL - KALEIDOZYKLEN (Bruce´s Fingers Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Simon H. Fell

Tracks: 1- Duration, 2- Timbre, 3- Frequency, 4- (In)articulation, 5- Intensity

Cover Art by Simon H. Fell

Recorded at The Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall 

On this recording Simon H. Fell has put into one CD an interesting composition for improvised double bass, clarinet, piano and orchestra. So, here we Fell colaborating with Rachel Cocks on clarinet, Paul Kosciecha on piano and the LSTWO Ensemble conducted by Simon Baines. This compositions show us a different side of Simon Fell´s musical personality, this is a more introspective release with more relaxed improvisation and parts where the combination of ensemble and other instruments gives the listener a sensation of peace while the musicians are still experimenting. The five parts on this CD are really complex and have many different moods on each of them (the first one is more than 26 minutes long and makes all the musicians shine). A must for improvisers.

Favorite tracks: "Duration" and "Frequency"

Contact: www.brucesfingers.com

REVIEW: SIMON H. FELL - COMPOSITION No. 30

SIMON H. FELL - COMPOSITION No. 30 (Bruce´s Fingers Recs., 2002 )

 

Produced By: Simon H. Fell

Tracks: CD1: 1- Part 1: Prelude, Swing & Variations, 2- Part 2: Klangfarbenmelodie, 3- Part 3: Blues, 4- Construct 1, 5- Construct 2, 6- Quartet, 7- Construct 3, 8- Part 4: Rhythm, 9- Interlude

CD 2: 1- Part 5: Guitar, 2- Construct 4, 3- Construct 5, 4- Construct 6, 5- Trio, 6- Part 6: Chord Progression

Cover Art by Simon H. Fell

Here we have this strange and amazing composition done by Simon H. Fell. This a 2 CD set that is divided in many parts. And on each of this parts we have different musicians ensembles playing Fell´s compositions while at the same time imptrovising. Here we have musicians whose work we have reviewed before like John Butcher or Rhodri Davies and whose musicianship is really well known. Here Fell has composed each part for a specific musician and we have here these musicians playing solo parts, duets, trios, quartets and even octets (really difficult harmonies in pieces like "Construct 1"). The music has some swinging qualities but the main thing here is the experimentation in this context searching always for new sounds and new atmospheres, expanding the limits of music.

Favorite tracks: The 2 CD set.

Contact: www.brucesfingers.com

REVIEW: SIKFUK- GORE DELICIOUS

 

SIKFUK- GORE DELICIOUS (United Guttural Recs., 2002)

Produced By: Sikfuk

Tracks: 1- Semen Dripping Wounds, 2- Orgasm Through Virgin Dissection, 3-Fresh Christian Cunt/Eat that Shit, 4- Still Born Feast / Festering Maggots, 5- Graveyard Pimp / Prostituting the Dead, 6- Maggots Gorelore, 7- Gore Battered and Deep Fried, 8- Anally Aborted, 9- Sloppy Eye Socket Seconds

Mixed by Bob Moore

Recorded at Soundlab recording

Here we have a pure goregrind band from the style that rips tyour barina appart. But despite having many fast moments the main grind feature here are the completely guttural and distorted vocals. Why I am saying this? Because this guys have longer songs, with more changes in the rhythms and they use slower riffs and a bigger sound than most of grind bands do. This can be described as technical grind because this guys have more technical skills than most opf the grind gore bands out there (incredible breaks with bass phrases). Plus they have an amazing bass player who plays the bass with some slapping and popping and always with a clean sound that contrasts with the one done by the guitars adding new feelings to each track and he has good bass technique. If you like new ideas and have anb open mind for grindcore then you should check Sikfuk´s music.

Favorite tracks: "Orgasm...", "Still Born..." and "Graveyard Pimp"

Contact: www.unitedguttural.com

REVIEW: SHIP OF FOOLS - LET´S GET THIS MOTHER OUTTA HERE

 

SHIP OF FOOLS - LET´S GET THIS MOTHER OUTTA HERE (Peaceville Recs., 2002)

Produced By: Peaceville Recs.

Tracks: 1- Diesel Spaceship, 2- L=SD2 , 3- Where is Here, 4- First Light, 5- In the Wake Of, 6- From Time, 7- Passsage by Night, 8- Western Lands, 9- Guidance is Internal, 10- Video CDRom track: L=SD2

Here we have tracks coming from the two albums that this really interesting band released for Peaceville´s sister label Dreamtime Recs in the early nineties. For those who doesn´t know the band it features Les Smith on keyboards who is now playing on Anathema and used to play in Cradle of Filth. The music here is instrumental an full of interesting arrangements, most of them done by the keyboards. Here you can appreciate how this guys were exploring sonic boundaries while developing each of their compositions. This can be trully heard on this CD that feature amazing moemnts from this glorious band. The songs have been mixed by Les Smith to give a more perfect sound and show the world Ship of Fools music in all its magnitude and with better sound. 

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.peaceville.com

REVIEW: SFQ - THIRTEEN RECTANGLES

 

SFQ - THIRTEEN RECTANGLES (Bruce´s Fingers Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Simon H. Fell

Tracks: 1- Start Frame + soft hard (interpolation 1), 2- Rectangle 1, 3- Rectangle 2, 4- Rectangle 3, 5- Rectangle 4 & 5, 6- Rectangle 6, 7- Rectangle 7, 8- Soft Hard (interpolation 2), 9- Rectangle 8, 10- Rectangle 9, 11- Rectangle 10, 12- Rectangle 11 & 12, 13- Rectangle 13, 14- Soft Hard (interpolation 3)+ end frame

Cover Art by Simon H. Fell

Recorded at Gateway Studio 

Here we have new experimentation from Simon H. Fell and friends. This time the context is closer to standard jazz and makes the experimentation and improvisation a little bit more accesible to ears that are not accustomed to them. Here the piano played by Alex Maguire is playing improvised lines and melodies while the winds section is doing the most extreme sounds. Simon Fell´s double bass pays from walking bass lines to improvised phrases interacting really well with drummer Steve Noble (who is the one that changes rhythms really often here taking the band to new rhythmic lands). It is incredible how this musicians can experiment freely and at the same time don´t loose control of what they are playing, being really coherent and full of virtuosism.

Favorite tracks: "Rectangle 2", "Soft Hard (interpolation 2)" and "Rectangle 6"

Contact: www.brucesfingers.com

REVIEW: SERIAL BUTCHER - GENOCIDE LANDSCAPE

 

SERIAL BUTCHER - GENOCIDE LANDSCAPE (Independent, 2004)

Produced By: Serial Butcher

Tracks: 1- A First Grade Teacher´s Pulpification, 2- Hospital Hecatomb, 3- Cum/Gut Expulsion, 4- Where is the rest of Me?, 5- Mangled in the Mortuary, 6- Brutally bashed Baby Boom

Cover Art by Serial Butcher

Brutal as fuck band coming directly from Belgium!! This guys have designed this six compositions in order to make your brain blow into pieces. Each of the tracks here is a showcase of pure brutality in its heaviest form. Here we have blast beats, hyper fast riffs and rhythms, crushing guitar sound with a lot of bottom end (the bass is crushing too), extremely guttural vocals. And the six tracks are bestial ! One thing that got my attention is that in many parts the guitars play slower riffs letting the vocals and the drums breath a lot or they sustain some chord while the other guitar works a lot with other riff or witha solo like on the devastating "Cum/Gut Expulsion". This is brutality in its purest forms but done with many elements that will surely get your attention.

Favorite tracks: "Cum/Gut Expulsion", "Mangled in the Mortuary" and "Hospital hecatomb"

Contact: www.serialbutcher.com

REVIEW: SEAR BLISS - FORSAKEN SYMPHONY

 

SEAR BLISS - FORSAKEN SYMPHONY (Red Stream Records, 200)

Produced By: Sear Bliss

Tracks: 1- Last Stand, 2- My Journey To the Stars, 3- She Will Return, 4- the Vanishing, 5- The Forsaken, 6- When Death Comes, 7- Eternal Battlefields, 8- Enthralling Mystery, 9-The Hour of Burning

Cover Art by Kris Verwimp

Here we have a great combination of raw and unpolished aggressive black metal with excellent melodies and orchestration. This two different styles contrast a lot on this recording because Sear Bliss has no desire to mix them in any other way. This is like a game of collission between styles that make this hungarian band unique. Here we have the raw sound of the guitars play the fastest parts along with the bestial drumming and then on the slower parts the guitar start doing more melodic riffs and the keyboards orchestration enters adding a darker side to Sear Bliss music. Plus here the band uses a brass section and tuba in order to achieve even darker passages than before and they have succeeded with that. Sear Bliss is a band that has all the elements of black metal and have retained the spirit of this kind of music while searching for something new.

Favorite tracks: "The Forsaken", "She Will Return" and "Enthralling Mystery"

Contact: www.redstream.org

REVIEW: ROB ZOMBIE - THE SINISTER URGE

 

ROB ZOMBIE - THE SINISTER URGE (Universal, 2001)

Produced By: Scott Humphrey and Rob Zombie

Tracks: 1- Sinners Inc., 2- Demon Speeding, 3- Dead Girl Superstar, 4- Never Gonna Stop, 5- Iron Head, 6- (Go To) California), 7- Feel So Numb, 8- Trnasylvanian Transmissions Pt. 1, 9- Bring Her Down, 10- Scum of the Earth, 11- House of 1000 Corpses

Cover Art by Rob Zombie

Recorded at the Chop Shop 

Here we have Rob Zombie´s latest adventure. This time we have the extra attraction of having many guests on this album. Here are Ozzy Osbourne, Tommy Lee and Kerry King helping Rob in some of the tracks. The album shows us Rob Zombie doing the same thing that he is doing since White Zombie´s "La Sexorcisto...", that is rhythmic tracks with heavy guitars and his voice over them. The sound is better than in previous albums, specaially on guitars. For fans of Rob Zombie and White Zombie.

Favorite tracks: "Demon Speeding", "Iron Head" and "Feel So Numb"

Contact: www.robzombie.com

REVIEW: REQUIEM - THE ARRIVAL

 

REQUIEM - THE ARRIVAL (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: Arto Räisälä and Teemu Hänninen

Tracks: 1- Arrival, 2- Revival, 3- Broken Alliance, 4- Whispers, 5- The Invisible Touch, 6- Forgotten path, 7- Halls of Eternity, 8- Liquid Hours, 9- Masquerade

Cover Art by Jason Juta

Recorded at Watercastle Studios

This is a pure heavy metal band with an epic feeling on each of the songs. The sound of the band reminds me of the band Stratovarius and some Helloween or Yngwie Malmsteen influences. The riffs are typical of the style and there are many interesting keyboards passages that give a different harmony to each of the tracks. The guitar solos are musical pieces within the compositions and add interesting moments to the tracks. Plu I have to remark the good arrangements that the keyboards do with chord progressions or with solos and melodies. The singer Jouni Nikula is really good at reaching the pitch that is needed for each of the song and he also has harmonized his voice here. The mix is really good and the CD has been mastered at Finnvox Studios achieving a great sound.

Favorite tracks: "Broken Alliance", "Forgotten path" and "Liquid Hours"

Contact: www.requiem.kpnet.com 

REVIEW: PSYCHOTROPIC TRANSCENDENTAL - AX LIBERELD...

 

PSYCHOTROPIC TRANSCENDENTAL - AX LIBERELD... (Independent, 2001)

Produced By: Psychotropic Transcendental and Kuba

Tracks: 1- Ax Libereld, 2- Dirigah nax Ma-zarthilag, 3-Raxus Mahad Kirdail, 4- Sabagih Har Sabagihed, 5- Hava kirr Nax Lanamar, 6- Garmed Il-namars, 7- Or navorunas

Cover Art by Psychotropic Transcendental

Recorded at Cyberstudio

The guys at Psychotropic Transcendental are absolutely crazy! And they reflect this madness in their music. Their music is heavy and at the same times has many different changes and mood (as you can listen in "Dirigah Nax..." where they go from heavy metal to some noise parts in the middle). The band has a really versatile singer who can play from the more melodic lines to the dirtiest and noisiest ones. The guitars play similar phrases within each song giving a strange feeling to the listener and making the melodies enter into his brain. There are a lot of climatic parts that are really calm like the one in the begining of "Raxus Mahad..." with eerie guitar melody and some harmonic while the vocals do some melody that add a lot to the ethereal quality of the music. A must for people that want something new.

Favorite tracks: All the ones on this CD

Contact: www.psychotropic.pl

REVIEW: PREVAIL - RANDOM KILLERS

 

PREVAIL - RANDOM KILLERS (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Prevail

Tracks: 1- Murderer Song, 2- The Son of Man, 3- The New Messiah, 4- Human Virus, 5- Prey Song, 6- Random Killers

Cover Art by Simone Pittaluga

Recorded at Nadir Studios 

Prevail is a brutal band with many rhythm changes on its music and utter heaviness in their riffs and drumming. One thing that got my attention while listening the first seconds of this CD was the really good sound that this recording has, specially on the drums that sound like bands of the style of Fear Factory or even Pantera (that have more money for production). Then comes the composition. This guys have here six brutal yet technical compositions with influences ranging from thrash metal to modern metal (in the sound, I liked a lot the clean bass sound doinfg slapping and popping in tracks like "Random Killers"). The riffs are twisted and are well developed merging one with the other like a natural progression. The singer is really versatile like a much more brutal Burton C. Bell but with a thrasher side. If you like brutality with quality, check Prevail.

Favorite tracks: "Murderer Song", "Random Killers" and "Human Virus"

Contact: www.prevail.3000.it

REVIEW: PETE LARAMEE - ALONE BUT NOT LONELY

 

PETE LARAMEE - ALONE BUT NOT LONELY (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: Pete Laramee and John Grant

Tracks: 1- Call the Feds, 2- The Rope Swing, 3- Adena Watson, 4- Charlie Brown Wins the Lottery, 5- La Media Gringa, 6- Too Much Eggnog, 7- Split Personality, 8- Walking the Walk, 9- Survivor

Recorded at Cyberella Studios 

Pete Laramee is a guitar virtuoso who also plays in the great progressive metal band Kurgan´s Bane. Here he shows a different side of his musical personality, an instrumental side full of great melodies and virtuosism. On this CD Pete is joined by Sonus Umbra´s rhythm section (Jeff Laramee on drums and Luis Nasser on bass) on most of the tracks to develope nine tracks of great compositional and guitar work. In some parts Pete´s guitar is crying and in others he is expressing a lot of different moods with his instrument. There are beautiful acoustic moments like the ones in "Adena Watson" where there is an appearence of Kurgan´s Bane´s vocalist Lisa Francis doing some background chants. The main thing here is the good taste that Pete has for soloing and for composing beautiful melodies through all the tracks. Really inspirational for guitar players and lovers of instrumental music.

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.kurgansbane.com

REVIEW: PAUL ROGERS - LISTEN

 

PAUL ROGERS - LISTEN (Independent, 2001)

Produced By: Martin Davidson

Tracks: 1- Listen 99, 2- Listen 99 Bis, 3- Listen 99 Ter, 4- Listen 89

Cover Art by Debra Franses-Bean

Recorded at Theatre P Scarron (1999, May 1) and Sir Walter Scott (1989, October 8)

I really liked this recording a lot. I love the way the doube bass sounds while playing solos. And here Paul Rogers gives us fiour lessons on how to improvise and solo with this instrument. By doing a lot of arpeggios, phrases and constant rhythm changes, Rogers opens his mind to let the ideas flow to the listener´s ears. Each of this solo pieces is a catalog of new sounds and atmospheres that can be created with the double bass. In a way, Rogers is a researcher that is trying always to find something new on his instrument and so he goes from the softest of the melodic parts to the wildest bass solo within the same track. A must for improvisers of any instrument.

Favorite tracks: The four

Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

REVIEW: AUL LOVENS/ PAUL HUBWEBER/ JOHN EDWARDS - PAPAJO

 

PAUL LOVENS/ PAUL HUBWEBER/ JOHN EDWARDS - PAPAJO (Emanem Disc, 2002)

Mastering By: Martin Davidson

Tracks: 1- Spout-Hole Blues, 2- Philantropical Dance, 3- Primitivo Di Mantre, 4- Refrangible, 5- No Reason to Play the Blues

Recorded at Bremen by Paul Hubweber

Here we have trio improvisations and experimentation. On this recording we have Paul lovens on percussion, Paul Hubweber on trombone and John Edwards on double bass. The experimentation here is for moments really quiet and it takes some time for the musicians to develope the ideas which have a lot of variations. An example of this constant changes and quantity of ideas is the track "Primitivo Di Mantre" that is almost half an hour long (three of the tracks here are long improvisations and two are shorter) where Lovens, Hubweber and Edwards show their musicianship and their big imagination to construct new sounds. Lovens also uses a saw to create some percussive sounds in some of the tracks. This musicians also play a lot with silences making stops and rests in the improvisation (knowing that silence is a great way of expression in music).

Favorite tracks: "Primitivo Di Mantre", "Refrangible" and "Philantropical Dance"

Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

REVIEW: PANZER - THE STRONGEST

 

PANZER - THE STRONGEST (Spiral Noise Recs., 2001)

Produced By: Mauro and Panzer

Tracks: 1- Fake Games of Heroes, 2- Red Days, 3- Affliction, 4- Show Me!, 5- Box, 6- Speedy, 7- My Night, 8- Your Blood, 9- The Strongest, 10- Fear of God, 11- House of Decadence, 12- The Strongest (reprise)

Recorded at Alchimia Studio 

Here we have a Brazilian thrash metal who has a really modern sound in the guitars and the drums making them sound powerful. The first thing that got my attention is the singer: he sounds sometimes like Slayer´s Tom Araya, but in many places he is more guttural and in other he makes interesting melodies (fitting perfectly the music, such as a heavier John Bush). Here we have a band with an excellent sound (plus excellent mix of the album) who has composed twelve powerful tracks with technical parts and interesting arrangements. One thing that I liked a lot is the killer drumming with a lot of double bass arrangements that are really well combined with the guitar work (I liked a lot the joke in "Red Days" with the riff of Black Sabbath´s "Heaven and Hell" in the middle). This is a band that can be on top of the thrash metal scene and they have a really modern sound (this is another proof that thrash metal is making a comeback) !

Favorite tracks: The whole CD

Contact: www.panzerthrashers.com.br

REVIEW: OSCULUM OBSCENUM - BODY HURTING ART

 

OSCULUM OBSCENUM - BODY HURTING ART (Lofty Storm Recs., 2002)

Produced By: Lofty Storm Recs.

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- Prince Albert, 3- Enraptured by War, 4- Jesus Gay, 5- Hail the Lesbians, 6- Szandor (into my heart and my vein), 7- Caligula, 8- Bleeding like Abel, 9- Orgasmaniac, 10- U.N.G.O.D., 11- Oh Satanas, 12- Shibary

Release Date: December 2002

This is a release that is different from the grind death that Lofty Storm Records usually release. In fact this band is pure hateful black metal in its purest form, with some touches of death metal. The music here is extremely raw and fast with hyper fast guitars that play black metl riff after riff and ultra fast drumbeats (a lot of blast beats here). The production of this recording is extremely raw making the band sound even more wild with a lot of distortion in the guitars and bass (this sound remembered me of old Immortal albums). I would have mixed a little bit different the drums cymblas because they tend to cover some of the guitar arrangements but this raw sound is what this kind of black metal needs to be even more extreme. Lovers of old black emtal will surely love this one.

Favorite tracks: "Enraptured by War", "Caligula" and "Bleeding Like Abel"

Contact: www.loftystorm.hpg.com.br

REVIEW: ONWARD - REAWAKEN

 

ONWARD - REAWAKEN (Century Media, 2002)

Produced By: Toby Knapp and Brett Hansen

Tracks: 1- Reawaken, 2- Night, 3- The Seven Tides of Labyrinthine, 4- Where Evil Follows, 5- Eye of the Nightmare, 6- My Darkest Room, 7- In Due Time, 8- Clockwork Toys, 9- Who Saw the Last Star Fall, 10- The Next Triumph: I) Rememberance, II) Reawakening

Cover Art by Ioannis

Recorded at Audio Art Studios, Las Vegas

Here we have the second album of this band that features in its lineup the guitar virtuoso Toby Knapp. The band plays an elaborated power speed metal with elements of bands like Apocrypha (the ex singer of the band , Steve Plocica, sings here), some Cacophony, Vicious Rumours and bands of the style. Here we have ten really good compositions with heavy guitars and incredible solos and heavy as hell atmospheres. All the tracks have good melodies and they feature an excellent band where the singer Michael Grant shines with his powerful voice. But the main thing here is the combination of good compositions with the extremely virtuoso guitasr work of Knapp. I think that many power metal bands that steal from other bands should check Onward to see how the style can be done with a lot of originality.

Favorite tracks: "Reawaken", "Where Evil Follows" and "Clockwork Toys"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com

REVIEW: O.D.O. - BLINDED BY HATE

 

O.D.O. - BLINDED BY HATE (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: O.D.O.

Tracks: 1- Fusion man Weapon, 2- Blinded by Hate, 3- New Torment for Mankind, 4- Dominator

Recorded at Vision Studio

This release is pure thrash metal in its purest form. Here we have those thrash riffs that made the style famous played with a much more modern sound and with vocals that sometimes remind those of Kreator and sometimes those of bands like Sodom or Destruction. There azre multiple riffs here as the most complex thrash metal have, with many melodies and rhythm changes. There are breaks and good arrangements along with a corrosive voice that adds a lot of the thrash feeling to O.D.O.´s music. It is good to listen to bands like this one because they have taken the best of the eighties bands and added a more modern sound creating what I would call a New Wave of Thrash Metal. The sound of the recording is good and at the same time raw giving the band the clarity that they deserve. Thrash is back!!

Favorite tracks: The four

Contact: www.odiodistruzioneorrore.it

REVIEW: NOVEMBER´S DOOM - TO WELCOME THE FADE

 

NOVEMBER´S DOOM - TO WELCOME THE FADE (Dark Symphonies, 2002)

Produced By: Neil Kernon

Tracks: 1- Not the Strong, 2- Broken, 3- Lost in a Day, 4- Within My Flesh, 5- If Forever, 6- The Spirit Seed, 7- Torn, 8- the Lifeless Silhouette, 9- Dreams To Follow, 10- Dark Fields for Brilliance

Cover Art by Travis Smith

Mastered at Ocean View

It is amazing how each time that November´s Doom makes a new album they achieve great results....their previous "The Knowing" was really brilliant, and this one is even better. Here we have ten tracks of pure November´s Doom style metal with all what that means: Good riffs, excellent melodies, strong vocals and a great klnowledge of song structure. Plus this time we have Neil Kernon producing this album and adding some great mixing. Each of the songs here has that depressive quality that November´s Doom´s music has and that have made them an unique band. And that is due to the combination of one heavy guitar with some melodies and because of the use of some keyboards and some clean guitars. Plus, to add to the anguished and dark feeling of the recording we have the female ethereal vocals by Nora O´Conner in some palces adding a lot of beauty and darkness with her voice. A must

Favorite tracks: "Not the Strong", "Within My Flesh" and "Torn"

Contact: www.darksymphonies.com

REVIEW: NO FLESH SPARED - STORMS

 

NO FLESH SPARED - STORMS (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: No Flesh Spared

Tracks: 1- Storms, 2- The Ennead, 3- Trapped, 4- Dread, 5- Awake, 6- No Flesh Spared, 7- Gilles de Laval de Rais, 8- The Emperor, 9- Burial

Cover Art by Axeman Productions

Recorded at Wave Work Studios 

This CD opens up in a very climatic way with rain sound, clean guitars and a spoken voice speaking about the storms. Then it gets into a heavier part with some complex riffs and drums patterns. The tracks here are really heavy and at the same time technical (this guys have complete control of their instruments and they play riffs and melodies that are sometimes really complicated). But above everything is the heaviness of the tracks, each of them played with heavier than hell riffs (supported in a great way by the bass players). The vocals are guttural and fit perfectly the heaviness of the music, and in many places they change into a cleaner voice that along with the guitar melodies add a more atmospheric aspect to No Flesh Spared´s music. I think that people who enjoy listening heavy things with originality and good technical skills will surely like this album.

Favorite tracks: "The Ennead", "Awake" and "The Emperor"

Contact: www.nofleshspared.com

REVIEW: NEGLIGENT COLLATERAL COLLAPSE - R.S.D.E.

 

NEGLIGENT COLLATERAL COLLAPSE - R.S.D.E. (Obscene Productions, 2002)

Produced By: Robocop

Tracks: 1- Black Hole Monster in A Spin Releases Energy, 2- Billion Suns, 3- One Thing is Sure, 4- Buzz, 5- The Paul Dirac Medal..., 6- A Generalized Lie Derivative...., 7- KMM-Newton, 8- Electric Dynamo Effect, 9- Literate Phycisist Gets taste For Fiction, 10- Abalysis of Iron line, 11- The Hunt, 12- Payload Specialists, 13- Not Out, 14- MCG-6-30-15, 15- New Generation of Neutrinos..., 16- Something is Collapsed on my analbase, 17- Focused, 18- ON the Return Trip Home, 19- The Brain is Classical, 20- Two Dimensional Penrose..., 21- Quantum Modelling of the Mind, 22- Spacetimes Admitting Isolated Horizons, 23- Chain Reaction´s Domino Aka Termic Firer

Cover Art by Negligent Collateral Collapse

Recorded at Professional Sound Studio

The Czech underground scene must be really big because day after day there are extreme bands coming from that country. Here we have twenty three short compositions of this extreme grind death band. There are songs that are more grindcore than others but each of them is extremely brutal and each of them is played at full speed throwing here and there some rhythmic riff that adds more heaviness to the tracks. The songs are like a sudden burst of deathly energy: they are powerful, extreme and short leaving wanting more. The vocals are extremely guttural, in the grindcore fashion. Also, here there is some programming that gives an industrial feeling to the music that fits perfectly the music, specially when combined with one of the most processed vocals. If you like extremely brutal music with some twists then check this one.

Favorite tracks: Tracks 3, 7, 16

Contact: www.obscene.cz

REVIEW: MYRKSKOG - SUPERIOR MASSACRE

 

MYRKSKOG - SUPERIOR MASSACRE (Candlelight Records, 2002)

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- Domain of the Superior, 3- Detain the Skin, 4- Trapped in Torment, 5- Indisposable Deaths, 6- Over the Gore, 7- Blood Ejaculation, 8- Utter Human Murder, 9- Bleeding Wrists, 10- Outro

Here we have one of the most brutal releases of the year. This band features Destructor from Samoth´s band Zyklon and also drummer Secthdamon (Odin/Zyklon) who is extremely bestial on this recording playing rhythm after rhythm, blast after blast in a really brutal manner with an extremely good sound, adding a lot of the brutality that the band has. The guitar riffs here are extremely fast and have a huge sound that combined with the mentioned drums give the extreme heaviness tat this band has (I think this will be an album that a lot of death metal bands will take to the studio in order to have a similar sound when they record). Here we have eight brutal tracks that will not let a piece of your brain in its place. Thumbs Up for the killer sound that this recording has making each instrument shine and adding even more brutality if that is possible!!!!

Favorite tracks: "Domain of The Superior", "Trapped in Torment" and "Blood Ejaculation"

Contact: www.candlelightrecords.co.uk