REVIEW: DARK SANCTUARY - DE LUMIERE ET D´OBSCURITÉ

 

DARK SANCTUARY - DE LUMIERE ET D´OBSCURITÉ (Wounded Love Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at THD Studios by Pascal and Arkdae.

Artwork by Arkdae.

Front Cover by Eric Esculier

Track List: 1- Preludia, 2- De Lumiére et d´obscurité, 3- Le Paradis Noir, 4- Reve Mortuaire, 5- Cet Enfer au Paradis, 6- La Chute del ´Ange, 7- Interludia, 8- Au milieu des Sepultures, 9- Ordre et Decadence, 10- Les Entrailles de ce Purgatoire, 11- Funerailles, 12- Que mon Dernier Soupir m´emporte, 13- Summoning of the Muse

A great ethereal release is the one we have here !! Wounded Love Records have released this great recording comprised of thirteen climatic and orchestral tracks. We have keyboards, violins, bagpipes, clean guitars... everything is used in a sort of dark folk fashion...and that is how I would like to describe the sound of Dark Sanctuary: orchestral dark folk music. I have to speak about the amazing vocals of Marquise Ermia, because they are amazing...I think this woman must have trained herself a lot to reach those perfect pitched melodies, full of inflexions and to get this amazing vocal technique. In fact her voice is close in range to the one of the great Kari Rueslåtten but here Marquise Ermia harmonizes her vocals in the choruses parts in a darker way. This is a CD for fans of climatic music and of music done by people who know how to compose. Favorite tracks: "Le Paradis Noir", "Cet Enfer au Paradis" and " Les Entrailles de ce Purgatoire". Contact: wounder@tin.it .

REVIEW: DAK LEGION - BLOODSHED

 

DARK LEGION - BLOODSHED (Deadsun Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Promo 99 Produced, Engineered and Mixed by Arek at Manek Studios. Promo 20111 engineered and Mixed by W. Wesolowski at Nazir Studios.

Design and Layout by Jaromir "Deather" Bezruc and David Najbrt.

Track List: 1- Intro/Adrenaline, 2- Perpetual Fear, 3- Show No Mercy, 4- Sins of The Past, 5- Endure the Pain, 6- Vein, 7- Razor, 8- Haemorrhage, 9- Anticipation of Death, 10- The Dark Light

The first thing that strucks you with this release is the really good sound that it has....specially on the guitars that are fat and loud (the drums sound quite strange but the drummer is really a killer one). Do you want brutality?? Here you have a lot !!! plus, you have hyper fast riffs but that are not played in one note runs, instead they are twisted and have a lot of breaks. Tempo changes, breaks...this band knows how to be technical (example: the breaks in "Adrenaline" at 4:13) and here is where the originality of this band lies, in the interaction between the four musicians..it is amzaing to see how many changes they can do within a song structure (they have a killer bass player too which makes things better). Favorite tracks: "Perpetual Fear", "Razor" and "Anticipation of Death". Contact: www.deadsun.fr.fm

REVIEW: CORPSE GRINDER - PERSISTENCE

 

CORPSE GRINDER - PERSISTENCE (Destroyer Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed at Da Tribo Studio, June 2000.

Produced by Ciero, Tchelo and Corpse Grinder

Artwork by Sidnei F. Capetto.

Track List: 1- Natural Order of things, 2- Sarcastic Symphony of the Universe, 3- Reflections, 4- God of Disunion, 5- Shadow´s Land, 6- Condemned To Die, 7- Necrorealism, 8- The Oppressor

What is death/thrash metal? Well, we can define this as death metal with a lot of thrash guitar riffs, or maybe as a structure that would not be out of place in athrash metal band but with a heavier guitar sound and faster parts and growling vocals. Well, Corpse Grinder is a good example of this. They are a death metal machine but they use a lot of thrash metal structures (take a look for example at "Natural Order of Things"(2:16), that drum pattern and guitar riff...or check the opening riff and melody of "Sarcastic Symphony of the Universe"). I like the way the band sounds, I would have mixed a little bit louder th snare drum and the hi-hat on the drums but the overall sound is fairly good, obviously with more money they can do it better. Fans of the styles have a good option here from Brazil. Favorite tracks: "Sarcastic Symphony...", "God of Disunion" and "Condemned To Die". Contact: www.destroyer.br

REVIEW: BURIED DREAMS - PERCEPTIONS

 

BURIED DREAMS - PERCEPTIONS (Oz Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Produced, Engineered and Mixed at Studio Fredman by Fredrik Nordström and Buried Dreams.

Design and Layout by Oscar Reyes Torres

Track List: 1- Illnamiqui, 2- The Riddle, 3- The Mind´s Subconscious, 4- At The End, 5- Cosmic Prophecies, 6- 360, 7- Perceptions, 8- Gods of Fire

A solemn keyboard and orchestral introduction leads us into the world of this mexican band. This world is completely made of progressive technical death metal. It is really interesting to see how the guitars are constantly constructing melodies and structures over the keyboards progression, even in the most compicated parts. The vocals are lying in the path of bands like Atheist or Death adding anguish to the tracks. There are a lot of calm passages with clean guitars like the ones in "The Riddle" (  2:30), followed by heavily orchestrated sections. It is amazing to see how important the keyboards are in this band....without them the music would have been completely different. Thumbs up for this guys !!!. Favorite tracks: "The Mind´s Subconscious", "At the End" and "Perceptions". Contact: www.ozproductions.com 

REVIEW: BRIGHTNESS - DRINK AND DESTROY

 

BRIGHTNESS - DRINK AND DESTROY - LIVE 2001 (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded on Drink and Destroy Tour 2001

Track List: 1- intro, 2- Senseless War, 3- Sprightly Nights, 4- Headbangers Symphony, 5- Metallica Medley "The Four Bellz", 6- Revolution, 7- A Hard Way To Go, 8- Bullshit and More

Good old metal !! Why is it that countries like Germany, Norway, Sweden and Finland have so many good bands from so many different metal styles? They range from clasic heavy metal to death metal, black metal, grindcore and beyond. IS it a cultural reason? I don´t know. Brightness is a trio that is in the middle path between heavy metal and old school thrash (much closer to this latest style...in the vein of Sodom) ! With those thrashy riffs and drum patterns this band kicks ass in this live recording. I think that the effect would have been bigger if the sound would have been better (specially on drums and guitars that are quite in the back...but maybe next time that will be better). I like specially when the singer uses his middle ranges instead of the more thin Dave Mustaine-like voice because for my taste that fits better with the music. One thing that I would love this guys to do is to add a bass player to keep the bottom end of the music. Favorite tracks: "Revolution" and " Senseless War". Contact: www.brightness-metal.de

REVIEW: BRAINDANCE - REDEMPTION

 

BRAINDANCE- REDEMPTION (Progressive Darkwave Recordings, 2001):

Technical data:

Produced, Edited and Engineered by Vora Vor.

Mixed at Audiology Studios

Designs and Illustrations by. Kinchi

Track List: 1- Refracture, 2-Resurrection, 3- Resurgence, 4- Return, 5- Relentless, 6- Reduction, 7- Resilience, 8- Requiem, 9- Reflexion, 10- Redemption

When confronted to this wonderful CD you only can think in the inmense talent that both members of the band, Sebastian Elliot and Vora Vor, have. I have to take my hat off to one of the most original releases not only of this year but of all metal history. What amazes me most besides their originality is the way in which Vora Vor does the arrangement. This woman does not let even one hole here to fill from the more evident elements to the most subtle keyboard or guitar line. This is one of those albums that you have to listen many times because on each hearing you find something new...it is really full of surprises. What can you find here? Heavy guitars, odd time rhythms, great vocals,melodies, synths, electronics, and many more things. Buy it or die because of your ignorance !!. Favborite tracks: The whole album. Contact: www.progressivedarkwave.com

REVIEW: BLOODTHRONE - STORMS OF APOCALYPSE

 

BLOODTHRONE - STORMS OF APOCALYPSE (Forever Underground Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at Pidgeon Club Studios, Hovoken. NJ

Produced and Engineered by Bloodthrone and Wayne Dorrel.

Design and Layout by Bill Smith

Track List: 1- Bloodthrone, 2- Storms of Apocalypse, 3- Mummification, 4- Serpent, Goat, Spider and Skull, 5- Darkest Path to Eternity, 6- Marching Towards Armageddon, 7- Mayhem Upon the Heavens, 8- Outro

Raw black metal but with more emphasis in certain subtle elements instead of on speed. Evethough this band plays this style and has a lot of hyper fast parts, I think that their main features are on the parts where the guitars shine more, like on the melodic solos (which are not so common on the style) and in certain rhythms that are very different from the one note runs thta are so popular. In fact I think that this bands prefers not to abuse blast beats concentrating instead in trying to get their own identity in the world of black metal...check for example the first riff on "Mummification" which sounds like bands in the vein of Celtic Frost...really catchy but at the same time raw and powerful... totally recommended for black metal fans. Favorite tracks: " Bloodthrone", "Mummification" and "Darkest path To Eternity". Contact: www.foreverunderground.com

REVIEW: BEATEN BACK TO PURE - SOUTHERN APOCALYPSE

 

BEATEN BACK TO PURE - SOUTHERN APOCALYPSE (Retribute Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Mastered at Leadbelly Studios - June 2001

Produced by Steve Austin (Today Is the Day).

Design and Layout by Bailey at Retribute Recs.

Track List: 1- Whores Bath, 2- Tremors Beneath the Skin, 3- Acolyte, 4- Antietum, 5- Failure Wine, 6- Six Gun Salute

Take a little bit of Black Sabbath, put some Down on the mix, then add some Saint Vitus and The Obsessed and when it is almost ready add some Cathedral, Trouble and Today Is The Day...then you will have a close idea of what Beaten Back To Pure does. This is music that is in the path beyond stoner rock, doom and death metal (vocally at least). This is a good CD for those who love those rhythmic, almost psychodelic riffs with a growling vocalist that pushes forward the music by singing in different moods and sounding like he is putting a lot of effort on it. The guitars sound heavy, distorted and letting space for the songs to breathe. Fans of the styles mentioned above will love this one. One fundamental thing here: the grooves. Favorite tracks: "Tremors Beneath The Skin" and "Failure Wine". Contact: www.retributerecords.com

REVIEW: BALANCE OF POWER - PERFECT BALANCE

 

BALANCE OF POWER - PERFECT BALANCE (Nightmare Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Mastered and Mixed by Todd Fitzgerald, Lance King and Lionel Hicks at Oarfin Studios.

Engineered by Lionel Hicks at POD and Summit Studios

Art Images by Will Putnam.

Track List: 1- Higher than The Sun, 2- Shelter Me, 3- The Fire Dance, 4- One Voice, 5- The pleasure Room, 6- The Killer or The Cure?, 7- House of Cain, 8- Hard Life, 9- Search for The Truth

Balance of Power is a well known and respected progressive metal band from the USA. And this band is for me the perfect argument to say that good bands like this one can do their style without copying another one (this is for all those Helloween/Rhapsody clones out there) and using a lot of original riffs and ideas (not only the old galloping and runs between keyboards and guitars). Here everything is done in order to create good songs, the melodies, the solos, the chord progressions...the great thing is that I can not pinpoint the influence of one band here...there are shades of Dream theater, of Shadow Gallery, of Vicious Rumours (in the most twisted and heavier riffs) and many more...all put together creating Balance of Power´s own personality. The plams go to the multifacetic singer Lance King who knows how to make the songs shine and to guitarists Pete Southern and Bill Yates whose solos are far beyond what most bands are doing nowadays. Fresh Air for heavy metal. Favorite tracks: "Higher than the Sun", "One Voice" and "The killer or The Cure?". Contact: www.nightmare-records.com

REVIEW: AYDRA - ICON OF SIN

 

AYDRA - ICON OF SIN (Independent, 1999):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed at Sound Machine Rec. By David Lenel, Andreas Venetis and Aydra.

Mastered by Antonio Piazza and Aydra.

Cover Artwork by Eugenio Morganti.

Track List: 1- Icon of Sin, 2- Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, 3- Reflect and Desist, 4- Pleasure Dome, 5- The Day of the Weddings, 6- Xavier´s Dream, 7- Lost Time Fury, 8- Night Drive, 9- No R.M.X.

This guys are really technical !! I have the personal opinion that this bands that make the most technical versions of death metal are the ones that push the style one step forward and the ones that make the style evolve in the right direction. Aydra is an italian band and the musicians here extract all the sounds that are possible from their instruments (a special mention to Francesco Olivi who is a killer and original guitarist doing incredible solos with legatos and fusion phrases). Some parts here reminded me of bands like Cynic or Pestilence ("Testimony of the Ancients" or "Spheres" era) or maybe to Atheist. But this band has its own identity. Two words here to describe their music: Original, Extreme Musicianship. Since this album is from 1999 I am really awaiting a new effort really soon !!. One of the albums of the month. Favorite tracks: The whole CD. Contact: http://digilander.iol.it/aydra