REVIEW: DOWNER - DOWNER

 

DOWNER - DOWNER (Roadrunner recs., 2000)

Produced by Bob Marlette

Recorded at Blue Room Studios

Artwork by Pushead

Tracks: 1- Flex, 2- Bi-Furious, 3- Last Time, 4- Savior, 5- Weed Eater, 6- Mud Bath, 7- Born Again, 8- Speed teeth, 9- Punching Bag, 10- Ventilation, 11- Curbed

Downer´s music reminds me in some parts of a much heavier Creed mixed with some grunge elements and some drops og gothic music. In fact what sets this band apart is the heavier sound of the guitars which are really fat and add a lot of heaviness to the tracks contained on this CD. The vocalist is really good and uses a lot of middle range vocal lines in a really melodic fashion (despite sounding quite similar in many of the tracks). The band has a cool drummer who accentuates correctly the guitar riffs and make the tracks rhythmic and at the same time very hard. Favorite tracks: "Last Time", "Born Again" and "Ventilation". Contact: www.roadrunnerrecords.com

REVIEW: DOOM - TOTAL DOOM

 

DOOM - TOTAL DOOM (Peaceville Recs., 2001)

Recorded at Birdsong and Rich Bitch

Produced by Doom

Tracks: There are 37 tracks from two classic Doom albums here.

37 tracks of energetic hardcore grind- death !!!! This is really pure and raw music from this classic band from the eighties. The tracks are form two classic recordings from this band: "War Crimes (Inhuman Beings)" and " Bury the Debt (Not the Dead)". There are tracks that sound better than others but the main thing here is the heaviness and power of their simple music. The songs are really short (less than one minute in many of the tracks). Some songs are more punk than others, some are pure grindcore like for example "Circles" (that reminded me to early Napalm Death or some things from Terrorizer). A great album for those who want to know the origins of this kind of really extreme music. Favorite tracks: "A Means To an End", " Days Go BY", "Money Drug" and "Phobia for Change". Contact: www.peaceville.co.uk

REVIEW: DEICIDE - DEICIDE (REMASTERED EDITION)

 

DEICIDE - DEICIDE (REMASTERED EDITION) ( Roadrunner Recs., 1990/2001)

Produced by Deicide and Scott Burns

Recorded at Morrisound Recording

Artwork by Ira Rosenson

Tracks: 1- Lunatic of God´s Creation, 2- Sacrificial Suicide, 3- Oblivious to Evil, 4- Dead by Dawn, 5- Blasphereion, 6- Deicide, 7- Carnage in the Temple of the Damned, 8- Mephistopheles, 9- Day of Darkness, 10- Crucifixation

It´s been more than twelve years since this recording was originally released. And this is still a classic of brutal satanic death metal. In fact listening to this you can see why Deicide has become a legend in their style. And you can realize how many bands have copied their style. Glen Benton´s vocals are extremely brutal screaming blasphemy after blasphemy and praising Satan. The sound is much better than in the original recording and here you can appreciate a lot of Steve Asheim´s killer drumming and the Hoffman brothers killer guitar tandem with crushing rhythms and frenetic guitar solos that set a standard (along with Morbid Angel) to death metal style. Favorite tracks: The whole CD....it is a true classic. Contact: www.roadrunnerrecords.com

REVIEW: DAEMUSINEM - DAEMUSINEM DOMINE EMPIRE

 

DAEMUSINEM - DAEMUSINEM DOMINE EMPIRE (Cold Blood Industries, 2002)

Tracks: 1- Daemusinem, 2- Domine Empire, 3- Throne of Illusions, 4- Witch´s Dream, 5- Killers of the Wood, 6- Burning Soul, 7- The Key of the Realm of Deads, 8- Silence in the Water Mother of Life

This is a great album. In fact I would label Daemusinem´s music as death/black metal but with riffs that go beyond what is typical in those styles. Some of the riffs are kind of thrashy, some of them are more like power metal. And there are also some keyboards that give the atmospheric touch to Daemusinem´s music. The tracks are really well developed and they have a lot of interesting riffs even in the fastest parts. And there are changes in which the vocals change doing some melodic part or where they speak some part over the keyboards chord progressions. This band is really original and at the same time very powerful. Favorite tracks: "Throne of Illusions", "Killers of the Wood" and "The Key of the Realm of Deads". Contact: www.coldbloodindustries.com

REVIEW: CORPSEVOMIT - RAPING THE EARS OF THOSE ABOVE

 

CORPSEVOMIT - RAPING THE EARS OF THOSE ABOVE (Blackened Moon Recs., 2001)

Engineered by Chris Djuricic

Recorded at Studio One Racine, Wisconsin

Artwork by Mike Beasley

Tracks: 1- Sons of Famine, 2- Maggot Lamb, 3- Waste, 4- Seas of Excrement, 5- Mind Scabs, 6- Gathering Chemical Children, 7- Seeping Dismay, 8- Death Meddle. 9- Crawling Visions, 10- Nothing

Extremely brutal and fast death/grind with some slower parts (almost doom in some places)is what this band does. And they do it with a l,ot of intensity giving even the slowest parts so much brutality that you will not believe it. Plus, the recording has a good sound, specially in the drums which are crystal clear and play blast beats and a lot of interesting slower patterns. There are fast and furious guitar riffs combined with slower phrases. But the main thing here is the band raw and savage brutality combined with good musicianship. If you love bands that crush your brain from beginnin to end of the recording then Corpse Vomit will surely become your favourite. Favorite tracks: "Seas of Excrement", "Crawling Visions" amd "Seeping Dismay". Contact: www.blackenedmoon.com

REVIEW: BYFIST - ADRENALIN

 

BYFIST - ADRENALIN (Independent, 2002)

Produced by David Wayne (Metal Church). Engineered by Joe Floyd (Warrior)

Recorded at Silvercloud Studios

Tracks: 1- Eternal Damnation, 2- Meltdown, 3- Left To Die, 4- Mary Celeste

It has been a lot of time since I listened an album with this thrash/speed metal feeling. And I think that this is really positive, because this was a style that was really missed by me because I was a big fan of this style of bands in the eighties. The music here has great riffs and a good drummer who knows how to accentuate the changes and passages from one riff to the other. There are interesting guitar solos from great guitar players Notch Vara and John Rodriguez. The vocals reminded me of the guy that used to think in that great band called Toxik and also it has some inflexions that wouldn´t have been out of place on the first Anthrax album "Fistful of Metal". It is great to know this band because I would like to listen more from them and I know that this guys can give this kind of metal style the place that it deserves. Favorite tracks: "Eternal Damnation", "Left To Die" and "Mary Celeste". Contact: www.byfist.com

REVIEW: ATMOSFEAR - ATMOSFEAR

 

ATMOSFEAR - ATMOSFEAR (Independent, 1999)

Produced by Atmosfear

Recorded at Monseny Studios

Artwork by Atmosfear and Jorge Soto

Tracks: 1- Zero Vision, 2- Don´t Preserve, 3- Disavowed, 4- Lost Soul, 5- Trapped in Emptiness, 6-Fade Out

Atmosfear is a band from Spain that plays brutal modern metal with some influences of death metal bands, some influences from thrash metal too and a lot of power in the riffs and drums patterns. The sound is better in some of the tracks than in others. The mix gives space to the drums bu the snare is a little bit opaque for my taste. There is a lot of use of clean guitars and bass in intros and the tracks have good melodies and solos that make them more interesting for my ear. Since almost three years have passed since this recording I think the band must have evolved...I would like to check some newer material. Favorite tracks: "Don´t Preserve" and "Trapped in Emptiness". Contact: Javi Bellido - C/Garbi Nº244 (08397) Pineda de Mar - Spain

REVIEW: ARCADIA - TRUST

 

ARCADIA - TRUST ( Independent, 2000)

Produced by Arcadia

Recorded ain 2-10 June, 1999

Tracks: 1- Behind, 2- H.I.R.A, 3- Senseless-Inane

It is difficult to describe the music of this band...in fact I think that the best way would be saying that they play some sort of mix between death metal and modern metal in the vein of Machine Head but with parts that are similar to Fear Factory (there is a special combination of clean vocals and keyboards that are typical of that band). There are a lot of keyboard passages that are put between heavy discharges of guitars and drumming. There are interesting guitar solos which fit the song perfectly but at the same time add some melodic features that give a lot of originality to the songs. A better sound would do this band a lot of justice because they deserve it. Favorite tracks: The three. Contact: Demetrio Scopelliti - Via Rocciamelone, 25 - (13100) Vercelli - ITALY

REVIEW: ANCIENT - PROXIMA CENTAURI

 

ANCIENT - PROXIMA CENTAURI (Metal Blade, 2001)

Produced by Ancient & Jacob Hansen

Recorded at Los Angered Recordings, Sweden

Artwork by Air-brush Perre

Tracks: 1- A Lurking Threat, 2- Proxima Centauri, 3- The Ancient Horadrim, 4- IN The Abyss of the Cursed Souls, 5- the Witch, 6- Apophis, 7- Satan´s Children, 8- Beyond the Realms of Insanity, 9- Audrina, my Sweet, 10- On Blackest Wings, 11- Eyes of the Dead, 12- Incarnating the Malignant Deity

It has been a long time since Ancient surpased the boundaries of the black metal that they played in their origins. And they have developed a style of their own with more original elements adding even some rocking riffs and elements that are not typical of the style. This recording has a great sound that gives a lot of space in the mix to the drums and the keyboards which are fundamental in Ancient´s music. Aphazel is creative as always with the six strings and he has a great team here ....I will like to point out the keyboards played by Jesus Christ! and Deadly Kristine´s vocals which are sometimes calm and sometimes as rotten as hell making great contrasts and duets with Aphazel´s ones !! Favorite tracks: "In The Abyss of the Cursed Souls", " Beyond the Realms of Insanity" and " On Blackest Wings". Contact: www.metalblade.com

REVIEW: AKIN - STANZAS

 

AKIN - STANZAS ( Independent, 2001)

Produced by Akin. Mixed by Diego Ruiz

Recorded on 8 track digital recorder

Artwork by Javel

Tracks: 1- The City in the Sea, 2- To One in Paradise, 3- Annabel Lee, 4- The Valley of Unrest

Here is this MCD with four tracks from this band...and I have to say that this must be one of the best albums of the month and maybe of the year. The band plays a mix of climatic death and black metal but with tons of melodies and they have an excellent female vocal who contrasts with the guttural vocals. In fact she is great using the middle range of her vocal spectre since this is not so common (generally female vocalists in this type of bands use a higher pitched voice). Another excellent feature here are the keyboards and the flute which create enchanting melodies through the four tracks. Apart from the guttural vocals and the female one there are also spoken ones in the more climatic parts. One of the records of the month. Favorite tracks: The four tracks contained here.