REVIEW: ARCHETYPE - DAWNING

 

ARCHETYPE - DAWNING (CDM Prods., 2002)

Produced by Ed Tomecko and Chris Matyus at Audioworks

Recorded At JGRS - Massillon, Ohio

Artwork by Chris Kallias, Chris Matyus and Tony D´Atri

Tracks: 1- Final Day, 2- Hands of Time, 3- Dawning, 4- Dissension´s Wake, 5- Inside your Dreams, 6- Premonitions, 7- Visionary, 8- Arisen, 9- The Mind´s Eye, 10- Years Ago

Archetype is one of the first bands that I interviewed for Music Extreme like one year ago or something like that. Now, I have received their latest opus, called "Dawning". Archetype´s music is what I called progressive: they have a lot of elements of heavy metal, of progressive rock and and there´s something also that reminded me of thrash classics like early Flotsam and Jetsam (certain vocals lines or crushing guitar riffs). In fact they are really eclectic and that makes tracks like "Years Ago" which is over twelve minutes, so interesting. The vocals are not what you expect of bands of the style....in fact, they are really melodic in places but they have always a lot of aggression that makes the result here really powerful. Also we have an extra point: the sound in this recording is really killer!! (also another thing that gives a lot of power to the tracks is the guitar sound which is really heavy and the way in which the drummer accentuates the riffs). A must for any metal fan. Favorite tracks: the whole CD. Contact: www.archetype1.com

REVIEW: AFFLUENT OF STYX - THORON

 

AFFLUENT OF STYX - THORON (Inner Cellar Prods., 2000)

Produced by Affluent of Styx

Recorded at Ender´s Inner Cellar

Artwork by Ender and Darx

Tracks: 1- Tue Ne le Divin Enfant, 2- Condamnation de la Trodecte, 3- Ad Usque Terras Mors, 4- Phusis, 5- Rapax Ataraxia, 6- Fardeau Miserable de la Genese Divine Fleaulienne

Here we have Affluent of Styx, a band of death/black metal extremely brutal and with some subtle elements. There are also some riffs that could be labeled as black metal, specially on the fastest parts where they are one not runs creating melodic background. I like specially riffs like the one at 2:16 in "Tue Ne le Devin Enfant" that reminded me of early Celtic Frost. There are a lot of keyboards on this recording that make the sound of the band much more interesting (and less raw). The vocals are extremely guttural and are mixed very low, so sometimes you confuse it with the music that is behind them. The best thing here are Ender´s riffs and solos which are original.The intrerludes here are really cool and melodic and give a lot of breath to the music contained on this album. Favorite tracks: "Condamnation de La Trodecte" and "Phusis". Contact: www.affluent-of-styx.com

REVIEW: ABADDON INCARNATE - NADIR

 

ABADDON INCARNATE - NADIR (Sentinel Recs., 2001)

Produced byMieszko Talarczyk and Abaddon Incarnate

Recorded in Soundlab Studios, Sweden

Artwork by Paul Mc Carroll for Unhinged Art and Design

Tracks: 1- I Will nail you in, 2- False, 3- They use dark forces, 4- Unclean, 5- Aeons of Our Dying, 6- Throne of the whore, 7- Funeral procession, 8- Traumatic Stress Solution, 9- Hunger Allowed No Choice, 10- Transgressor, 11- Victory or Annihilation, 12- Scene of the Crime, 13- Progeny, 14- Where´s my axe?, 15- Come Onto Me, 16- She Hates With a Marble Heart, 17- Seditious Thoughts Part 1, 18- Seditious thougts Part II, 19- Judgement was Passed before, 20- Hamunaptra (City of the Dead), 21- Bonebag, 22- ....And Then The World Bleeds, 23- Pogrom, 24- Rot

Abaddon Incarnate is a grind band from Ireland. The first thing that got my attention from this CD is how good it sounds. Th sound here is crystal clear, even in the fastest parts with blast beats. The music is extremely brutal full of fast parts and great riffs like the ones in "Aeons of Our Dying" (which are the riffs that I prefer, not so fast but much heavier). The band is really tigfht and you can notice that in the blast beats parts with breaks like the ones in Throne of the Whore" where everything is completely under control, despite being fast and complicated. This is a CD for grindcore fans and also for death metal ones because it has all the features that they love. Favorite tracks: "Judgement Was Passed before", "She Hates With a Marble Heart" and "Funeral procession". Contact: www.sentinelireland.com

REVIEW: 10$ HEAD - THE HENFORD CHAINSTORE MASSACRE

 

10$ HEAD - THE HENFORD CHAINSTORE MASSACRE (Independent , 2000)

Produced by Pete Freshney and 10$ Head

Recorded at Pulham Village Hall

Artwork by Dunn

Tracks: 1- Eat Shit and Die, 2- XXX, 3- Self Brutilation, 4- Surrogate

Looking at the coverof this CD reminded me of grind death bands of the late eighties. Specially it reminded me of Nuclear Death´s "Bride of Insect". But the similarities dissapear there: the music here is completely different. Here we have more like a straightforward death metal but with a special feature: electronic drums (and it does not play blast beats all the time). Also the guitars sound different from what they are supposed to sound in the style. In fact there are elements that would not be out of place in an industrial band. Can we call this "industrial death metal"? Who knows? The fact is that the music is fast and powerful and has many moods and atmospheres but it needs a better mix to achieve better results. Favorite tracks: "Eat Shit and Die" and "Self Brutilation".

REVIEW: WITCHBURNER - INCARNATION OF EVIL

 

WITCHBURNER - INCARNATION OF EVIL (Undercover Recs, 2001)

Produced by Erik Groesch

Recorded at Neway Studios, Schlitz

Cover by Dieter Klopper

Tracks: 1- Devils and Witches, 2- Nuclear Overkill, 3- Hexenhammer, 4- Steel Triumphator, 5-War and Witchery, 6- Execute them All, 7- Hochstift Mania, 8- Ultra Violence, 9- View Beyond, 10- Metal Warriors

Witchburner crushes you since their first track that opens this CD with their blend of death and thrash metal. This is really old school death metal with certain touches of thrash metal in certain riffs and breaks. And they have a really modern sound in the guitars and specially on the drums (killer mix here). Another high point is the bass that can be heard pumping through all the songs. The vocals are screaming with hate and anguish through all the recording. I liek specially riffs like the one in 1:05 of "Nuclear Overkill" which is really elaborated with some changes and progresses into another riff that is completely different. Some parts reminded me of bands like Destruction and Kreator, specially in the combination of guitars with drums. Favorite tracks: "Hexenhammer", "Execute Them All" and "View Beyond". Contact: www.undercover-records.de

REVIEW: WINTER - INTO DARKNESS / ETERNAL FROST

 

WINTER - INTO DARKNESS / ETERNAL FROST (Nuclear Blast, 1999)

Tracks: 1- Oppression Freedom / Reprise, 2- Servants of the Warsmen, 3- Goden, 4- Power and Might, 5- Destiny, 6- Eternal Frost, 7- Into Darkness, 8-Servants of the Warsmen, 9- Eternal Frost, 10- Winter, 11- Blackwhole

This is a rerelease of tracks from this classic death/doom band. The music is raw and dark, sometimes slow, sometimes more rhythmic. The guitar sound is huge and that makes the tracks heavier than hell. There are a lot of climatic parts, like in the beginning of "Into Darkness" (with a guitar sound mixed lower than on the last tracks and the drums mixed louder). I would like to mix the drums differently with a more opaque hi-hat and louder bass drums and snare to make it sound tighter with the rest of the band...nevertheless the double bass drum parts are killer and they help a lot to the final result of the songs. The vocals are really guttural and gives that deathly feeling to the whole CD. The slower parts reminded me of Evoken´s music, heavy and really dense. For fans of death and doom!!. Favorite tracks: "Destiny", "Servants of the Warsmen" and "Winter". Contact: www.nuclearblast.de

REVIEW: WATCHMAKER - KILL, CRUSH, DESTROY

 

WATCHMAKER - KILL, CRUSH, DESTROY (Wonderdrug Recs, 2001)

Produced by Cokederler

Recorded at New Alliance Studios

Tracks: 1- Broken by Refraction, 2- Dummy Test, 3- Mournful Visage, 4- Salt fertile Earth, 5- Watchmaker, 6- Flowers of Evil, 7- Invert and Crush, 8- Arise in Might, 9- Like Saturn Devouring his Children, 10- Gunscope Transplant, 11- The Darkness of Mere Being

Wow!!! I did not expect this ...I thought by looking to the cover art of this CD that this was going to be some kind of industrial or modern metal band with politically correct lyrics. But in fact Watchmaker is an extremely fast band of death/grind metal. Their songs are fast and they have that extremely anguished vocals that make the music more effective. The guitars go at the speed of light with interesting riffs that change now and then giving diversity to the material. The drums use some blasnt beats here and there but I think the durmmer prefers to accentuate the different parts in another way. This is an eleven tracks CD with no mercy for your ear!!! Full speed and hatred in this release!!. Favorite tracks: "Mournful Visage", "Flowers of Evil" and "Raise in Might". Contact: www.wonderdrugrecords.com

REVIEW: VOID OF SILENCE - TOWARD THE DUSK

 

VOID OF SILENCE - TOWARD THE DUSK (Nocturnal Music, 2001)

Produced by Rich D - Nocturnal Music

Recorded at Massive Arts Studios

Artwork by Temno un art ( gleams@tin.it )

Tracks: 1- A Mild from hate, 2- Elemental pain, 3- Deamons from my Imagination, 4- Extasy in the Spiral, 5- My Proivate Hell, 6- Nigredo: Panic Malediction

Extreme doom/death metal. The music here is heavy in fact it is heavier than hell!!!!! Heavy and slooooowwww.....in fact this is really doom!! In the vein of the almighty Evoken, I hear also some Saint Vitus here and there. There are a lot of keyboards here that help to make things darker. And also there are some shrieking vocals combined with others that seem to be that of a gregorian chant....and that makes Void of Silence´s music much more sad, more obscure. Everything here is done in order to depress the listener, in order to make their souls cry with those heavy guitars and those deathly vocals coming from the grave. Favorite tracks: "Elemental pain", "My Provate Hell" and "A Mild from Hate". Contact: www.nocturnalmusic.net .

REVIEW: VIRGIN BLACK - SOMBRE ROMANTIC

 

VIRGIN BLACK - SOMBRE ROMANTIC (The End Recs, 2002)

Produced by Rowan London

Recorded at JR Recording

Photography by Samantha Escarbe. Layout by Camren Harm

Tracks: 1- Opera de Romanci (I:Stare), 2- II: Embrace, 3- Walk Without Limbs, 4- Of Your Beuty, 5- Drink the Midnight HYmn, 6- Museum of Iscariot (I-Stagnation, II-Death, III-Procession), 7- Lamenting Kiss, 8- Weep For Me, 9- I Sleep With the Emperor, 10 A Poet´s Tears of Porcelain

I must congratulate The End Records because of this excellent release!!! Opening with an amazing orchestral part with cello and eastern sounding vocals (in fact this made me remind of the soundtrack of a movie called "Before The Rain" which is a Macedonia/UK coproduction). Then suddenly all explodes and the orchestration is joined by an extremely heavy band on "Embrace"!! This is the perfect combination between ethereal music and extreme heaviness (this is why I think that being heavy doesn´t mean necesarilly to be at full speed all the time). Excellent guitarist...she is Samantha Escarbe and plays very interesting riffs with a very loud sound, she creates melodies and also gives space for the keyboards and the drums to breath. One of the best releases that I reviewed this month. Favorite tracks: "Museum of Iscariot", "Weep for Me" and "Walk Without Limbs". Contact: www.theendrecords.com

REVIEW: VELOCIDAD ABSURDA - FISICO TORTURA EMOCIONAL

 

VELOCIDAD ABSURDA - FISICO TORTURA EMOCIONAL (Independent, 2001)

Produced by David Diaz

Recorded at Silco Estudios

Art taken from the film "Aftermath"

Track: 1- Dracunculiasis, 2- Fisico Tortura Emocional, 3- Psicotica Asfixia, 4-Revienta y Destruye, 5- Ecos de Tortura, 6- Concilio de Odio, 7- Pensamiento Unico

Extremely brutal death/grind coming directly from Spain. With hyper speed in their riffs and a really guttural vocals, extremely rotten. There are some melodies in the vein of Autopsy´s "Mental Funeral". There are some twisted riffs and all the vocals are in spanish. I can describe this music in many ways but one word is better: brutal. The sound is fairly good and it helps to make the results better than in bands of the style that have a much worse sound. The plams here go to the guitarist and to the blast beat maniac drummer. Favorite tracks: "Dracunculians", "Revienta y Destruye" and "Pensamiento unico". Contact: velocidad@able.es