REVIEW: OCULTAN - REMEMBRANCES OF EVIL, THE CRUCIFIXION

 

OCULTAN - REMEMBRANCES OF EVIL, THE CRUCIFIXION (Evil Horde Recs., 2002)

Produced by Ocultan and Ze Renato

Recorded at Phonovox Studios

Artwork by Michel R.

Tracks: 1- Supremo Mal, 2- Eterno Poder Obscuro, 3- As Sete Caldeiroes Do Inferno, 4- O Orgulhoso Exu Belzebuth, 5- O Sangue, a Maior Oferenda, 6- Vossas Damas, 7- Lembranças do Mal, a Crucificaçao, 8- A Matança

This is music that is full of hate against christianity!! Yes, black metal in its rawest form!! The tracks here are incredibly fast and the guitar sound is really raw (as are the drums too). The guitar riffs are extremely fast and there are a lot of arrangements in this ultraspeed riffs that make the tracks more atmospheric while full of hatred at the same time. The sound of this recording is good (I would like maybe the bass and snare drum mixed a little bit louder). Also the packaging of this CD is great with a booklet really well printed with pictures and drawings and all the lyrics (which are in portuguese). This is pure black metal from Brazil / South America for the world !!!! Favorite tracks: "Eterno Poder Obscuro", "As Sete Caldeiroes Do Inferno" and "Lembranças Do Mal...". Contact: www.evilhorderec.com or http://www.geocities.com/ocultanblackhorde

REVIEW: OBTUSE - PROMO 2002

 

OBTUSE - PROMO 2002 (Independent, 2002)

Produced by Obtuse

Recorded at Blalsdell Studio

Artwork by Obtuse

Tracks: 1- Retrospect, 2- Wrong Place, Wrong Time, 3- Close To the End, 4- Questions, 5- Preacher

Judging by the cover art you would not guess what kind of music this band plays. In fact they play brutal death metal with extremely crushing riffs and tempo changes. In fact the brutalitty of this band is inmense and they make interesting arrangements in the tracks with excellent riffs like the one at 0:10 in "Wrong Place". The tracks are short but totally energetic and full of power. In fact, longest track within the five contained here is "Questions" that is three minutes long. The main thing here besides the brutality of the music are the interesting riffs that the guitarist creates. I would like to listen a full length from this guys really soon. Favorite tracks: "Retrospect", "Close To the End" and "Questions". Contact: www.obtuse.nl

REVIEW: OBSCENITY - COLD BLOODED MURDER

 

OBSCENITY - COLD BLOODED MURDER (Morbid Recs., 2002)

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- The Arrival, 3- Caught In Life, 4- My Dark One, 5- Alien Hand Syndrome, 6- Sleepwalker, 7- Blessed By Nature, 8-Soulpain, 9- Cold Blooded Murder

Brutal death metal directly from germany. The first thing that caught my attention (besides the brutality of the tracks) was the quality of the lead guitar player....he is really good and reminded me of great musicians like Alex Skolnick and James Murphy in some of the guitar solos. Then another thing: despite being extremely brutal the tracks have hooks !! Yes, the riffs are catchy in many places and the way the vocals are done (guttural) gives some extra rhythm to the tracks. The sound of this release is extremely good, specuially on the drums (killer double bass !!) and the guitars (an amazing wall of sound). This is a band that achieves greater brutality through really professional musicianship and doing really good compositions with different parts and technically difficult passages. A must !! Favorite tracks: "The Arrival", "Caught in Life" and "Sleepwalker".Contact: www.morbidrecords.de

REVIEW: NIGHTSKY BEQUEST - OF SEA, WIND AND FAREWELL

 

NIGHTSKY BEQUEST - OF SEA, WIND AND FAREWELL (X-Rated Recs., 1999)

Produced by Andre Mateew

Recorded at Graffitti Studios

Artwork by Emil Saparevski

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- Windsymphony / Reflection of Lost Years, 3- Your Sun / If I could Wipe this Dust Off My Eyes, 4- Green eyes, 5- The Moon is Waiting for its Song, 6- To Sing a Song / Just Life is Left, 7- Shadow of Myself / A Silent Bird...

Spectacular release !! Nightsky Bequest is a really climatic and dense band whose music is at the same time enchanting and deppressive. The female vocals dominate the songs here contrasting with the deeper male ones. There are passages where the heavy guitars enter but most of the time the music is full of keyboards parts that are really well composed and designed to cause different feelings in the listener. There are great guitar solos in some tracks and a lot of interesting ideas flowing through all the tracks. If you want quality musicianship, great melodies, amazing atmospheres, enchanting vocals and great compositions that will leave your sense hurting and asking for more, then check Nightsky Bequest. Favorite tracks: All the CD. It is a great masterpiece. I loved it.. Contact: http://xrr.musicpage.com

REVIEW: NERVOCHAOS - LEGION OF SPIRITS INFERNAL

 

NERVOCHAOS - LEGION OF SPIRITS INFERNAL ( Destroyer Recs, 2001)

Produced by Tchelo Martins and Nervochaos

Recorded at Da Tribo Studios

Artwork by Denilson Tenebra

Tracks: 1- Cold Feelings, 2- Envy, 3- Conventional Lives, 4- Our Fury, 5- Speechless, 6- Repulsive World, 7- Satanic Domain, 8- Let the Bible Burn, 9- Upside Down Crosses, 10- Mortal Decay, 11- When The Mask Falls Down, 12- Those Behind The Light, 13- Legion of Spirits infernal, 14- Pure Hemp

A really strange guitar riff opens this CD of this brutal band. They come from Brazil and they have recorded this CD on the same studio as other cool bands like Genocidio and Oligarquia. The music is brutal death metal with some touches of modern bands. One of the main features here are the multiple changes that the band makes within each of the tracks (even if some of them are really short). Guitars are really well mixed and the drums too (the snare drum has this thin sound typical of modern bands like Slipknot or Machine Head and that adds a different feeling to the slower tracks where this si more evident even if the music is completely different from this bands). Fans of Brutality with great musicianchip and great technique will love this one. Favorite tracks: "Envy", "Repulsive World" and "Upside Down Cross". Contact: www.destroyer.com.br

REVIEW: MY MINDS MINE - SCENES OF THE COMPLETE ANNIHILATION OF THIS PLANET

 

MY MINDS MINE - SCENES OF THE COMPLETE ANNIHILATION OF THIS PLANET (Amenta Recs., 2002)

Produced by My Minds Mine

Recorded at Sing Sing Studios

Artwork by Bert

Tracks: 1- Nothing, 2- Signing Up, 3- Lockup Volunteers, 4- Anti-man, 5- On the Soil of Greed, 6- In Decay, 7- I Lied, 8- Empty Figureheads, 9- Sociopath, 10- Cyberchrist, 11- Easy come-easy go, 12- Numbered Corpse, 13- Pest, 14- Seen and Not seen, 15- Remote Controller, 16- Switch Blade Attitude, 17- Imago Mundi, 18- Confront, 19- the Game, 20- Reproach, 21- My Minds Mine, 22- Mobilization of Chaos, 23- Born Tired, 24- Pretentious Idols

This band is really extreme and crazy with really hiper fast tracks in the most extreme grind style. In fact the 24 tracks contained here are short and are like small bursts of energy and power. I like the longer tracks better beacuase it is where the band shows more what they are capable of doing. This is a band to see live (As you can see on the "live in japan" video that comes on this CD) because of the energy that they deliver on stage which is amazing. The drummer here is a machine doing all the blast beats through every track and he accentuates a lot the guitar riffs in the slower parts. This is a CD for fans of crushing and brutal grind !!. Favorite tracks: "In Decay", "On the Soil of Greed" and "Born Tired". Contact: www.amentarecords.com

REVIEW: MERCYFUL FATE - 9

 

MERCYFUL FATE - 9 (Metal Blade, 2001)

Produced by Kol Marshall and Mercyful Fate

Recorded at Nomad recording Studios

Artwork by Thomas Holm

Tracks: 1- Last Rites, 2- Church of Saint Anne, 3- Sold My Soul, 4- House on the Hill, 5- Burn In Hell, 6- The Grave, 7- Insane, 8- Kiss The Demon, 9- Buried Alive, 10- 9

Better late than never ! Here Music Extreme brings you the review of Mercyful Fate´s latest album. As always King Diamond and Hank Sherman deliver their metal with conviction and strength. In fact I liked this recording much more than some of their latest material. Why? Because this has all the elements of classic Mercyful Fate but it includes some new interesting riffs and ideas that were not present before. Also the sound here is really good and allows Sherman´s riffs to be listen better and you can appreciate what a good guitarist Mike Wead is. Mercyful Fate is a classic band that still makes great music ! Favorite tracks: "Church of Saint Anne", "Burn In Hell" and "Kiss the Demon". Contact: www.metalblade.com

REVIEW: JOHN LATARTARA - PENETRATIONS: SONIC EXPLORATIONS IN SEXUALITY

 

JOHN LATARTARA - PENETRATIONS: SONIC EXPLORATIONS IN SEXUALITY (Sachimay Recs. , 2002)

Produced by John Latartara

Recorded at WGBH Studios

Tracks: 1- Perverse Implantation, 2- Interlude, 3- Ripe, 4- Touch Through, 5- Interlude, 6- Hitotose, 7-Interlude, 8- Trust and Betrayal, 9- Simone´s Confession, 10- Interlude, 11- Chateau La Coste

Welcome to the realm of extreme sonic experimentations. John Latartara is a musician dedicated to the exploration of the deeper sonic possibilities in the music world. And here he has designed eleven tracks to reflect the different aspects of the sex realm. Latartara delivers a lot of different styles within a track like "Perverse Implantation", going from a repetitive phrase to a burst of noise within a few minutes. His main exploration is within the realm of cacophony making notes clash one against the others (a heavy use of dissonances). Check as an example the track called "Ripe" where all this elements are even more evident as there are more musicians improvising and creating a really weird musical environment. For lovers of experimentation this is a must. Favorite tracks: "Ripe", "Touch Through" and "Trust and Betrayal". Contact: www.sachimayrecords.com

REVIEW: INCARRION - INTO THE EXPOSED ABYSS

 

INCARRION - INTO THE EXPOSED ABYSS (United Guttural Recs., 2002)

Engineered by Greg Conrad

Recorded by Greg Conrad

Artwork by Zig

Tracks: 1- The Creature Experiment, 2- The Darkest City, 3- Untangled from the Flesh, 4- Encapsulated in Ice, 5- Skeffington´s Cyves, 6- Desperate Procedure

Unitted Guttural records is a label dedicated to the release of the music of the most extreme bands over the planet. And they have Incarrion among their artists. Incarrion´s music is a burst of energy from beginning to end and the main thing here is their brutality that can be listened from the first second of this recording. The tracks are fast and brutal in a clear death metal / grind style but despite the speed the band delivers incredibly good guitar riffs with a great guitar sound that makes the result even more brutal. The vocals are extremely guttural as they should be on a band from this style. I like the riffs which are a little bit slower but are more crushing like the ones in "The Creature Experiment" (3:50) for example or the beginning of "The Darkest City". This CD can be described as a lesson in brutality. Favorite tracks: "The Darkest City", "Enacpsulated in Ice" and "Desperate Procedure". Contact: www.unitedguttural.com

REVIEW: HALFWAY TO GONE - SECOND SEASON

 

HALFWAY TO GONE - SECOND SEASON ( Small Stone Recordings , 2002)

Produced by Halfway To Gone

Recorded at W.O.M. Studios

Artwork by Mike Saputo

Tracks: 1- Great American Scumbag, 2- Already Gone, 3- Black Coffy, 4- Escape from Earth, 5-Thee Song (A Slight Return),6- Whiskey Train, 7- Brocktoon´s Wake, 8- Outta Smokes, 9- Lone Star Breakout, 10- Never Comin Home, 11- Tryptophan

Rock´n´roll !!! Yes, here we have a band that plays heavy rock with a lot of southern influences and some doom and stoner rock touches. The music is catchy and has this seventies like sound which all the fans of the style love. One thing that I liked is the feeling that all the tracks here have and that is like some sort of rock meets psychodelia. The guitar is really distorted and has a lot of lower range which is emphasized by the distorted bass (the band is a trio and havinga a bass player who plays chords with a distorted sound makes the sound much heavier). The gorilla in the cover art has a whisky bottle in his hand and I think this is a great album to listen in a hot noon with a cold whisky in your hand. A great rockin band !!! Favorite tracks: "Great American Scumbag", "Black Coffy" and "Lone Star Breakout". Contact: www.smallstone.com