REVIEW: TELESMATA / PRAYING GODS SPLIT

 

TELESMATA / PRAYING GODS - SPLIT CD (Ubus Recs. - 2001): Another experimental explosion from this two projects who dive deep into the forms of sound. Here are presented six songs from Praying Gods and three form Telesmata. As I have said before in the reviews of the other recordings from this artists, what is fundamental here is the search of new sounds created through devices that are not commonly used. Playing with sound and taking them from atmosphere to noise and then back is what makes this recordings so interesting. I wonder if these sounds can be used in a different context which I would love to explore. Favorite tracks: "Drowning River" (Praying Gods), Dissapointment Lake (Praying Gods), "Transmission Error 4" (Telesmata) and "Silicon Mass (Roaster Mix)". Contact: r_kasch@hotmail.com

REVIEW: TELESMATA - NEOLOGISTICS

 

TELESMATA - NEOLOGISTICS (Ubus Recs. - 2000): Another experimental record from noise/experimental master Robert Kasch who is also the head of Ubus Records. This Telesmata recording brings us fourteen tracks of sonic experimentation with a unique device called the Saylt digital voice synthesizer. This device can make sounds quite different than what one must be accustomed to listen to. What I like here is the variety of sounds that Kasch achieves through the whole album, going from something ambient like to the boundaries of noise in only a couple of minutes. This is for fans of this type of experimental music. My favorite tracks: "Meditation", "Transmission Errors 1 & 2", "Transmission Error 3". Contact: r_kasch@hotmail.com

REVIEW: SYMPHONY X - SYMPHONY X / THE DIVINE WINGS OF TRAGEDY

 

SYMPHONY X - SYMPHONY X / THE DIVINE WINGS OF TRAGEDY (NEMS Enterprises - 2001): This is the reedition of the first and third album from one of the main power progressive metal bands Symphony X done by NEMS Enterprises in double CD format in a great packaging that includes the lyrics from both albums. The first CD opens with a solemn introduction ("Intro The Dementia") before getting into the clasic "The Raging Season" with amazing choruses (in the vein maybe of Queen) incredible solos (this is a prove of the originality of Michael Romeo for those that say that he is only a copy of Yngwie Malmsteen. The songs are really well constructed (around guitar and keyboards obviously) and doesn´t show the vocals of the great Russell Allen (that is featured in the second CD presented here "The divine…". Songs to remark here are the before mentioned "The Raging Season", "Masquerade" (with that great keyboard/guitar harmony intro), "Absinthe and Rue" (killer guitar riffs , keyboards and double bass drumming) and "Tauting the Notorious" (a power metal race !). The second CD, "The Divine Wings of Tragedy" shows us a more mature and heavier Symphony X with better musicianship, an inmense sound (it is light years far from the one that was in their debut album) and a much better singer (Rusell Allen) with a lot of personality and that can give power and melody to all the songs. "Of Sins and Shadows" opens the CD with great strength and refinement. You can see the band is more tight and is not so focused on Romeo´s guitars or Michael Pinella´s keyboards as it was before (eventhough there are solos all over the place)…in this case the drummer and bassist shine a lot more than on the first record. Songs to point out: This is a killer album and the whole CD has great quality in its musicianship, in the compositional side and in the power/strength side too. If I have to pick one song to sum up it will be "Sea of Lies". Contact: nems@nems.com.ar

REVIEW: SILENT EXILE - DANCING WITH DEATH

 

SILENT EXILE - DANCING WITH DEATH (Naivlys Music - 2000): Silent Exile is a progressive band whose songs are constructed with an axis conformed by Cedric Rioux keyboards (omniprescent through all the recording) and Fabrice Blanchet´s guitars. This is not a mere copy of Dream  Theater, they are really original in what they do mixing the melodies of progressive rock with heavier passages. A distinctive feature of Silent Exile are the vocals of Chriss J.Y. that are not the usual high pitched vocals that bands of the style usually use. His vocals are more bluesier, more rock and roll. Songs are long and complex with a lot of tempo changes, solos and melodies. From ballad like parts such as in the beginning of "Stratosphere " or the beginning of "Glase Maakerstraat" to heavier stuff such as in the first part of "Images of War" called "Thunder on Ahland", this band covers all this range and the spaces in between. I think that some label should check on this band and sign them so they got the production and sound that they deserve. Contact: silent_exile@hotmail.com

REVIEW: SHADOWBREED - ONLY SHADOWS REMAIN

 

SHADOWBREED - ONLY SHADOWS REMAIN (Painkiller Recs. - 2001): Great death metal band from Holland!.This is death metal in the vein of Unleashed, Morbid Angel, old Sepultura or maybe Bolt Thrower. Crunchy rhythms and fast leads are trademarks of this style and Shadowbreed has that and much more (see as an example the CD opener "Warcraft (After 2001 Stories)"). A great guitar riff opens great song "In the Shadow of Ygdrassil" with rhythms to bang your head with. This band is supporting legendary dutch death metal band Thanatos in a tour through the Netherlands now and it seems from what I can hear in the CD that they must be a killer live act! (They have done shows with bands as Cannibal Corpse, Mayhem, Deicide, Hades Almighty, Primordial, etc. etc.). The recording has a killer sound: The recording was done in Harrow Productions Holland and was mastered by Harry Wijering (Harrow). I loved the guitar riff in the beginning of "Path In The Dark"…this is one of the best tracks not only in this album but in the death metal genre…it sounds great!. My favorite tracks: "Path In The Dark", "Battlerager" and "Warriors Blood" (with pumping bass sound included). Contacts: painkiller@infonie.be

SANITY´S DAWN RELEASE "CHOP COPPER"

 

SANITY´S DAWN - CHOP COPPER (Shredded Recs. - 2000): This Grind / death band from Germany has released a really good record for lovers of the style ( I think that people who like more extreme hardcore music will also love this release because there are some riffs that remind that style). Two different styles of vocals (it reminded me of Brutal Truth´s singer in some places) are the main characteristic of the band. The opening with "Half a brain" is a really powerful one with some rhythmic guitar riffs in the middle part. In fact I think that the band should exploit more this type of rhythms instead of ussing the blast beat parts that have the characteristic of sounding similar. For example the riff in "Fat Stinking Bitch" (0:35) is one that can be expanded and explored or for example the riff that opens "Pulled out tongue for my Kebap". Some riffs in "Komisch in Kopf" reminded me of early Carcass records I felt something similar listening to "Sewing lampshades with a scrotum and spermatic cords". I think this band has the potential to become one of the bests in the genre. Plus I think their drummer is really good at what he is doing. Favorite tracks: "Komisch in Kopf", "Pulled out tongue for my Kebap" and "Fat, splat and dead". Email: shredded@t-online.de

REVIEW - RHAPSODY - DAWN OF FIRE

RHAPSODY - DAWN OF VICTORY PROMO (NEMS Enterprises - 2000): Rhapsody is back after the "Symphony of Enchanted Lands" !! The two songs contained on this promo package continues the path of their two previous albums: epic songs full of melodies, double bass drumming and amazingly clean vocals (courtesy of Fabio Lione). Plus you have the always shredding Luca Turilli on guitars. The two songs in this sampler are quite similar to the ones that can be found in their previous effort "Symphony from Enchanted Lands". "Holy Thunderforce" is a great song destined to be a Rhapsody classic with interesting guitar and keyboards solos from the two main composers Luca Turilli and  Alex Staropoli. "Dawn of Victory" the title track is a faster one with a lot of interesting keyboard lines, some violin lines that make the result still better and great drumming and choruses. Rhapsody continues to develop their own style in this third recording with all their trademarks. Email: nems@nems.com.ar

REVIEW: RAVENS OVER GOMORRAH - DARKLY MELISMA

 

RAVENS OVER GOMORRAH - DARKLY MELISMA (Independent - 1999): Excellent metal band (in a black/death metal style ) with great melodies. In the three songs presented here they demonstrate a great cohession as a band with great melodies (see for example "Sacred and Profane Love"), interesting rhythms and corrosive vocals as well as spoken parts. They are really a promisory band. I would like tosee them recording with the budget of say Morbid Angel or a band like them to develope their full potentional. Excellent guitar parts and excellent technical drumming (apart from the blast beats parts) full of double bass. This band is going to release their new opus this year. I hope they can reach a broader audience since they are a really good band. My favorite tracks: the three tracks are excellent but if I had to pinpoint one of them would be "Kingdom Beneath the Wolf" that contains all the elements of Ravens over Gomorrah´s sound.Contact: heavenfalls@hotmail.com

REVIEW: PRAYING GODS - ANTLERS

 

PRAYING GODS - ANTLERS (Ubus Recs. - 2001): Extremely experimental ambient/noise project. Praying Gods are experimenting with sounds in a way nobody else does. The tracks consist in linking different sounds (sounds of different nature) to create an atmosphere or develope an idea. Lovers of bands like Telesmata or VoidChannel will be delighted with this release. There are tracks that seem more coherent than others, for example "Country Style" or "Burning Birch Timber". I can not tell you which instruments is this guy using but they sound really interesting, maybe a great way to explore would be mixing this sounds with a more common song structure so the idea developes in a different way like in "Ingrown Hair" for example. For fans of experimentation and sound madness. My Favorite tracks: "Ingrown Hair", "Radioplasma" and "Them Leaves is a Fallin´". Contact: r_kasch@hotmail.com

REVIEW: PECCATUM - STRANGLING FROM WITHIN

 

PECCATUM - STRANGLING FROM WITHIN (Candlelight Recs. - 1999): A beautiful opening of violins that leads to a harpsichord intro leads us into the world of Peccatum. This is Ihsahn´s (Emperor) project with the amazingly beautiful vocals of Ihriel and the orchestrations that in Emperor could seem out of place but here are of extreme beauty. It is really interesting the contrast of the male vocals (Ihsahn and Lord PZ) with the female (Ihriel). I think that here Ihsahn found a place to experiment things and stretch his music a little bit further than what he does in Emperor. For example there are certain passages with extremely vocals (kind of what King Diamond does). The opening "Speak of the Devil (As the Devil may Care) " is really amazing, the second song ("The Change") however is more similar to Emperor´s material. I think the best parts are were the similarity is not so strong and the passages with Ihriel´s vocals. There are great choruses in here (listen to the middle section of "The Change" or "The Song Whick No Name Carry" to know what I am talking about) and a killer guitar riff opens " The Song Whick No Name Carry " which is one of the best tracks of the album with twisted vocals and good orchestration. A really interesting album with a lot of experimentation within the black/dark metal realm that I think will please all those who love music to evolve and become better and different each time. My favorite tracks: "Speak of the Devil…", "The Sand was Made of Mountains" (with cleaner male vocals and interesting guitar solo) and "I Breathe Without Access to Air". Contact: www.candlelightrecords.co.uk