REVIEW: EASY RIDER - EVILUTION

 

EASY RIDER - EVILUTION (Locomotive Music , 2000):

Track List: 1-Blessed, 2-Wormwood, 3-Babylon The Great, 4-Evilution, 5-From the Tribes, 6-Crowns of Gold, 7-, 8-Hiking Mars, 9-Signs, 10-The New Jerusalem, 11-Blazing Fire Victory, 12-When the Thousand Years are over, 13-So Shall Be

Acoustic introduction, with clean vocals ("Blessed"), then heavier parts with good rhythms (the first one from " Wormwood" reminded me of Queen´s "Stone Cold Crazy"). This is the sound of Easy Rider, in the vein of Judas Priest (listen to the beginning of "From the Tribes" to see what I am saying), Primal Fear and bands of the style. Maybe their weak point is originallity (like most of power metal bands nowadays), but they are a really strong band. I think that they must exploti riffs like the ones in "Babylon The Great" or "Evilution" to set them apart from the other bands of the genre. The sound of this release is really a good one and is better than the one that some of the main bands of the style have. Maybe another point to think about is using Eugenio Garañeda´s vocals in a way not so close to Rob Halford in some places. A good release for lovers of heavy metal. Favorite tracks: "The New Jerusalem", "Hiking Mars" and "Evilution" Contact: www.locomotivemusic.com .

REVIEW: DREAM DIVER - 606

 

DREAM DIVER - 606 (Independent, 2001):

Technical Data:

Recorded in Soundforge Studios.

Mastered in Powerplay Berlin

Track List: 1-Genau Dies, 2-Headless Procheck, 3-Stonewall, 4-Devil, 5-Gesichtspfand, 6-7/4, 7-Phantom, 8-Tag in Deinem Leben, 9-Cristae, 10-Open My Eyes

The curiosity here is that this band plays somem kind of metal that is sang in german and in english in some places. The vocal harmonies in "Genau Dies Wollte Wohl Keiner " reminded me of Faith No more, od the "Introduce Yourself" album and for example on "Headless Procheck" Chris vocals made me remind Glenn Danzig. Something weird.. I like the overdriven sound of the guitar, who seems to have a lot of space here since the riffs are a cross between metal and grunge or punk. Heavy tunes but with a pop sensibility to construct the songs. I liked a lot the clean guitar in "Stonewall", whose whole feeling is close to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers but with less funky rhythms. Also, there is a weirder side like on "7/4" with the funny vocals and the chorus harmonies that contrast a lot with the sound of the guitar. Really interesting. Favorite tracks: "Phantom", "Tag in Deinem Leben" and "Headless Procheck". Contact: hstahl@rz.uni-postdam.de

DIABOLIQUE - THE GREEN GODDESS

 

DIABOLIQUE - THE GREEN GODDESS (Orion Music Entertainment /Necropolis , 2001):

Track List: 1- On through the Night, 2- Remedy, 3- Innuendo, 4- White Nights, 5-Models, 6-Winter Blue, 7-All for You, 8- Elysee, 9-Snowblind, 10-Substancer.

Gothic, dark music with electronic elements and some pop sensibilities. This is how I would describe Diabolique´s music. Somber male vocals along with this rhythms designed to tap the floor with your feet are the constant here. On the first song called "On through the Night" you can also hear an encahnting female vocalist who helps to create the depressive atmosphere that reigns in Diabolique´s music. "Remedy", the second track made me think about Depeche Mode (this song could have been extracted from their CD "Ultra") because of the way the keyboards and electronics are used and because of the vocals that here are dangerously similar to Dave Gaham´s. The similarities disappear on the next track called "Innuendo" that is much closer to dark pop music than the others. I think this is an album for fans of gothic music and depressive atmospheres. Favorite tracks: "On Through the Night", "Remedy" and "All for You". Contact: furias@ssdnet.com.ar 

REVIEW: DEATH SS - PANIC

 

DEATH SS - PANIC (Lucifer Rising Recs. , 2000):

Technical Data:

Produced, Recorded and Mixed by Neil Kernon for Auslander.

Recorded at Rodgers Studios, Mantova.

Cover Art Concept: Steve Sylvester. Design: Enrico Lauricella

Track List: 1-Paraphernalia, 2-Let The Sabbath Begin, 3-Hi-Tech Jesus, 4-Lady of Babylon, 5-The Equinox of The Gods, 6-Ishtar, 7-The Cannibal Queen, 8-Rabies is A Killer, 9-Tallow Doll, 10-Hermaphrodite, 11-Panic, 12-Auto Sacramental

Strongest Death SS album up to the date, at least talking about riffs and sound !. A short intro called "Paraphernalia" with some keyboard sounds and voices in english and spanish leads us to "Let the Sabbath Begin" a song destined to be a new  Death SS classic. The hard rock/heavy metal sound of this band is more evident here and the voice of Steve Sylvester takes new and very different directions (similar to Alice Cooper/Trent Reznor/Kevin DuBrow and many more). "Hi-Tech Jesus" is still more rock and roll with interesting double bass drumming (almost mechanical). I think that what makes this band really special are the hooks that their songs have, you listen to them one time and you are singing the choruses along the record. It is interesting to see how they can mix this more rocking songs with darker ones like "Lady of Babylon" (with Francesca Cassio´s female vocals) or "The Equinox of the Gods" (lot of keyboards here). Originality is what comes to my mind here, because nowadays there are only a few bands trying to do this style of music and trying to experiment with the songs at the same time. Favorite tracks: "The Equinox of the Gods", "Ishtar" and "Tallow Doll". Contact: www.deathss.com

REVIEW: DEATH SS - LET THE SABBATH BEGIN

 

DEATH SS - LET THE SABBATH BEGIN (Lucifer Rising Recs. , 2001):

Technical Data:

Disc One mastered at Nc Gravity Studios, Florence.

Disc Two recorded live during the "Panic Tour 2000" by Ale Dufalini. Mastered at 00 Studios, Pisa.

Produced by Death SS

Cover Art / Design: Steve Sylvester and Massime Dellucci

Track List:

Disc 1 (Studio): 1-Let the Sabbath Begin, 2-Rim of Hell, 3-Let the Sabbath Begin (Pandemonium remix), 4-Hymn of The Satanic Empire or The Battle Hymn of The Apocalypse, 5-Ishtar (Great Mother Goddess Sexy Mix)

Disc 2 (live): 1- Let The Sabbath Begin, 2-Baphomet, 3-Lady of Babylon, 4-Baron Samedi, 5-Equinox of The Gods/Ishtar, 6-Medley (Black and Violet/Inquisitor/Cursed Mama/Chains of Death/Where Have you gone?/ Family Vault), 7-Scarlet Woman

This is a classical band from Italy, whose mainman Steve Sylvester is a cult hero among metal fans of that country. Their record "In death of Steve Sylvester" is a classic. This two CD set is comprised of one disc of studio and remixes tracks and one disc recorded live on tour in the "Panic 2000 Tour". The Studio Disc has an interesting version (Pandemonium Remix) of "Let the Sabbath begin" very close to the original but with some more keyboard touches and faster than the original version didn´t had. For those who doesn´t know the band, they make an interesting mix of hard rock and heavy metal with strong eighties influences and a very modern sound (on keyboards and guitars). "Rim of Hell" is another track remixed here that has an interesting result.The live disc is more energetic but the sound is quite muddy. Thumbs up for the medley consisting in parts of six DeathSS classics and the "Equinox of the Gods/Ishtar" track (more than twelve minutes long) that show what this band can do in front of an audience. A classic band that is still kicking asses. Contact: www.deathss.com

REVIEW: DARK FUNERAL - IN THE SIGN...

 

DARK FUNERAL - IN THE SIGN... (Necropolis Recs. , 2001):

Technical Data:

Recorded and Mixed at Hellspawn/Unisound Studios - January 1994.

Tracks 5, 6 recorded at Abyss Studios - March 1996

Produced by Dark Funeral and Dan Swanö. Tracks 5, 6 produced by Dark Funeral and Peter Tägtgren.

Track List: 1- Open the Gates, 2- Shadows Over Transylvania, 3- My Dark Desires, 4- In the Sign of The Horns, 5- Equimanthorn, 6- Call from the Grave

I have to make a warning here: this is not new material from Dark Funeral. In fact this is the reissue of some difficult to find material from the band from the period 1994-1996. This recording shows us all the trademarks that Lord Ahriman and Company have developed through all this years (obviously in a more primitive way, specially on the first four tracks) raw and fast balck metal with screaming vocals: A thing that maybe was new in 1994 but obviously is not new nowadays. The tracks recorded in 1996 ("Equimanthorn" and "Call from the Grave") have a better sound were you can hear clearly the instruments. Here you can see the evolution of the band that uses more catchy riffs apart from the blast beats that are so common in black metal. Also the first of this tracks has a catchy chorus (screaming Equimanthorn) that reminded me a lot of certain Venom classics. This is a CD for black metal fans or fans of the band that want to have all their material. Favorite tracks: The two newer ones. Contact: www.necropolisrecords.com 

REVIEW: BEHEMOTH - THELEMA 6

 

BEHEMOTH - THELEMA.6 (Avant Garde Music., 2001):

Technical Data:

Recorded and mixed in Hendrix Studios, Poland (July-August 2000)

Mixed by Nergal, Inferno and Arek Malczewski

Produced by Nergal and Behemoth.

Images and Sleeve Design: Graal

Track List: 1-Antichristian Phenomenon, 2-The Act of Rebellion, 3-Inflamed With rage, 4-Pan Satyros, 5-Natural Born Philosopher, 6-Christians to the Lions, 7-The Universe Illumination, 8-In the Garden of Dispersion, 9-Inauguration of Scorpio Dome, 10-23 (The Youth Manifesto), 11-Vinum Sabbati

Do you remember Behemoth´s first album? Well, this is a completely different band, the sound in fact is completely different. More polished. The raw black metal spirit is there but done in a much better way with more original ideas. A great surprise is the great production that Nergal has achieved here that emphasize the power of the instrumentation and certain subtle ideas (like guitar lines that are in the background or some keyboards) that would not have had the same effect if the sound had been poorer. It is good to see the evolution of this band in a different way than a lot of others that radically change their style. In fact, the good thing about "Thelema 6" is that it has allowed the band to get better and at the same time evolve in the correct direction, one of originality, personality and better musicianship. Contact: www.avantgardemusic.com .

REVIEW: AZRAEL - MAFIA

 

AZRAEL - MAFIA (Locomotive Music , 2000):

Technical Data:

Recorded in M.M. de Monachil Studios, Granada, Spain.

Produced by Azrael y Josué Martin

Cover Art / Design: Sirai.

Track List: 1-Vuela, 2-Tarde Ya, 3-Mafia, 4-Volver a Nacer, 5-Jehová, 6-No Muerto, 7-Alas de Cristal, 8-Saca la Cabeza, 9-Atrapado, 10-Vendiste tu propia vida, 11-El Inexpugnable ocaso del Laberinto de la Razón

What do we have here? Heavy metal directly from Spain, with some electronic touches (great keyboards) and a modern sound in the guitars. "Tarde Ya" opens with a more climatic intro (with heartful guitar solo) before getting into a Helloween-style galloping. Not too original but powerful. In this song the vocalist shines more (eventhough I don´t like him very much). The title track is quite more original in the beginning with some clean guitars. What amazed me more is the great sound that this release has, really clean and loud (I would put a little less flanger to the vocals in some places)!! "Jehová" is one of my favorite tracks because of the lyrics dealing with preachers that fuck people to get their money (includes a radio program sound with the voice of a preacher asking money to the people). My favorite tracks: "No Muerto", "Atrapado" and "El inexpugnable ocaso del laberinto de la razón". Contact: www.locomotivemusic.com

REVIEW: ASHES TO ASHES - SHAPES OF SPIRITS

 

ASHES TO ASHES - SHAPES OF SPIRITS (Independent , 2000):

Technical Data:

Recorded at Gordon Studio. Engineered by Thomas Sörlie

Produced by Michael Stenberg

Cover Art / Design: Björn Luna, asisted by Shagrath

Track List: 1- Shapes of Spirits, 2-Gabriel, 3-Castle in The Air, 4-The Mourning, 5- Dying Room, 6-Divide and Conquer, 7-Sacrilege, 8-Ad Infinitum

If I mention Norway: what would you expect? Black metal? Wrong !! This band is much more than that, we can label their music as atmospheric/doom/gothic metal  (just to give some clue about their sound, I hate labelling musicians) with some symphonic elements. The trully distinctive element here are the combinations of male and female vocals. Starting with a beautiful instrumental intro called "Shapes of Spirits" to the next song, the powerful "Gabriel" with great vocal work (Randi Hoftvedt is a darker Liv Kristine) and a middle riff similar to the one in Deep Purple´s "Perfect Strangers". And a middle section has a darker and more atmospheric mood. The songs are long and they allow the band to develop a style reminiscent of old Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Anathema or Theatre of Tragedy (but with much more use of keyboards). This band succeeds in making the listener feel all the sensations that they wanted to transmit. A fundamental release. My favorite tracks: All the album. Amazing. Contact: atoa@atoa.net

REVIEW: ANKHARA - ANKHARA II

 

ANKHARA - ANKHARA II (Locomotive Music , 2001):

Track List: 1 - Jamás, 2- Mundo de Odio, 3 - Entre Tinieblas, 4 - Océanos de Lágrimas, 5- No digas nunca, 6-Buscando mi Camino, 7-Quema tu miedo, 8- Junto a mi, 9-Una vez más, 10- Tu sangriento pasado, 11- Ankhara

 An acoustic guitar prelude takes us to the harmonic way of Ankhara and to the first song called "Jamás". Heavy/power metal with european sound is whatb this band from Madrid, Spain presents in this, their second offering. What I find specially interesting here are the vocal harmonies and the guitar riffs (check the one in the beginning of "Mundo de Odio"). The music here is also full of double bass drumming, full of solos and guitar phrases and brilliant vocals, courtesy of Mr. Pacho Brea (there are certain harmonies in "Mundo de Odio" that reminded me of King Diamond despite the musical difference). "Entre Tinieblas" is a song that could have been extracted of an Yngwie Malmsteen record (due to the classical guitar phrases and the rhythms). Very subtle arrangements can be find in songs like "Océano de Lagrimas" with twin guitars and interesting solos. A good record for lovers of heavy/power metal. Great vocals on this one, maybe a little more originality is needed. My favorite tracks: "Océanos de Lágrimas", "Buscando mi Camino" and "Una vez más". Contact: www.locomotivemusic.com