REVIEW: THE WOUNDED - MONUMENT

 

THE WOUNDED - MONUMENT (Cold Blood Industries, 2002)

Produced by The Satanic Twins

Recorded at Franky´s Nieuwleusen

Artwork by Reggie

Tracks: 1- Dawn, 2- Garland, 3- The Real, 4- Grace, Murder, Divine, 5- Billet Doux, 6- Chaos Spectacle, 7-Red, 8- Black Heart, 9- Dark Moon Generation, 10- Child, 11- A Dance With the Insane, 12- Monument

The Wounded...everything in my mind told me that this was going to be a death metal album. But I was mistaken. In fact the music of this band reminds me a lot to Paradise Lost or the first Anathema because of the song structures...but they have a big difference, the vocalist. He things in a more medium ranged type of voice and the band has harmonized vocals in some parts. The guitars are really heavy (I would have liked to have them mixed a little bit higher) and the drummer uses a lot the crash cymbal an open hi-hat to give a lot of support to the guitars and bass. Some vocal parts which are harmonized me sounded to me really seventies progressive rock. Cool and strange at the same time!!! They have hooks in most of the songs and I wouldn´t be surprised if this band gets a hit single in the underground scene. !!! Favorite tracks: The whole CD....a great album!! Contact: www.coldbloodindustries.com

REVIEW: THE NEFILIM - ZOON

 

THE NEFILIM - ZOON (Roadrunner Recs., 2001)

Produced by the Nefilim

Artwork by Alison

Tracks: 1- Still Life, 2- Xodus, 3- Shine, 4- Penetration, 5- Melt, 6- Venus Decomposing, 7-Pazuzu, 8- Zoon (Part.1 y 2), 9- Zoon (Part III), 10- Coma

The Nefilim....I don´t know if this guys are related in some way to that great band called Fields of the Nephilim. This band is in the middle path between really death metal and industrial, adding some gothic touches. The vocals are killer and brutal and give a different feeling to the tracks whose riffs are more classical metal. There are keyboards and sound effects that create the industrial atmosphere that I was talking about . The clean guitars in some places make interesting calm passages that turn into extreme heaviness when the crushing guitars and the vocals enter. This is a really powerful release from this band. I would love to hear more from them. Favorite tracks: "Penetration", "Venus Decomposing" and "Coma". Contact: www.roadrunnerrecords.com

REVIEW: THE MAIDEN YEARS - TRIBUTE TO IRON MAIDEN

 

THE MAIDEN YEARS - TRIBUTE TO IRON MAIDEN (Sum Recs., 2000)

Produced by Lea Hart

Recorded at Hatch Farm Studios

Tracks: CD 1: 1- Can I Play with Madness?, 2-Two Minutes to Midnight, 3- Wrathchild, 4- Hallowed be thy Name, 5- Running Free, 6- The Evil that men do, 7- Phantom of the Opera, 8- Number of the Beast, 9- Iron Maiden, 10- Run To the Hills, 11- The Trooper

CD 2: 1- Bring your daughter...,2- Murders in the Rue Morgue, 3- Aces High, 4- Flight of Icarus, 5- Wasted Years, 6- Remember Tomorrow, 7- The Clairvoyant, 8- Prisoner, 9- Sanctuary, 10- Powerslave, 11- Killers, 12- Fear of the Dark

I have different opinions from this tribute albums. First of all I like some of the versions, and some not. The main problem in the songs that I didn´t like are the vocals which are extremely palid when comparing to Bruce Dickinson´s or even to Paul Di Anno´s (he is participating in some of the best tracks here) (Check for example the awful version of "The Trooper"...good guitar work but extremely poor vocals). The production is good but some of the guitars lack the adequate heaviness. This is a good selection of the best Iron Maiden tracks (obviously there are many more to make great versions) Favorite tracks: "Wrathchild", "Phantom of the opera", "Murders in the Rue Morgue".

REVIEW: THE GLASSPACK - POWDERKEG

 

THE GLASSPACK - POWDERKEG (Small Stone Recs., 2002)

Produced by The Glasspack

Recorded at The Musueum, Louisville

Artwork by Mike Saputo

Tracks: 1- The Glasspack Song, 2- Shut up and Ride, 3- Mrs. Satan, 4- Whiskey House, 5- Sleeping Pills, 6- Mopar Fire Paint, 7- The Heebeegeebees, 8- Back Seat Whore, 9- Demolition Derby, 10- Jjim Bean and Good Green

Woooooww!! How great is the beginning of this CD !! It is a burst of power that starts"The Glasspack Song"....full energy and power on this short instrumental song that is almost an anthem of this band!! The band plays extremely crushing and distorted rock!!! The vocals are strange sounding really dirty and sometimes screaming at the top of the lungs. What I like most is the combination of the guitars and bass sound that make a real wall of sound. And this is the main point that make the songs here so heavy and dense....this sort of sound mix is heavier than hell. But the band has also some more rocking side and they show it to the listener on every track. I feel some Saint Vitus and Black Sabbath influences here and there but the band has its own identity. Lovers of this doom heavy rock style will surely like this one. Favorite tracks: "The Glasspack Song", "Whiskey House", "Demolition Derby". Contact: www.smallstone.com

REVIEW: THE BLAMED - GIVE US BARABBAS

 

THE BLAMED - GIVE US BARABBAS (Tooth and Nail Recs., 2002)

Tracks: 1- The Lonely Zagreb, 2- The Jealous Answer, 3- 1200 Stares, 4- You Not Me, 5- So Depraved, 6- Open Mouth, 7- In Szentendre, 8- Fictionary, 9- Cyclical, 10- Prayer for the Dead, 11- Positive, 12- Instrumental Until We Die, 13- Best in Show

This is a raw punk band with great sound in all the recording. In fact I liked the guitars and bass which add some power to this band that most of the punkish bands out there do not have. The sound is raw and at the same time is modern. This guys do not rely their music exclusively in the seventies. In fact they have a very modern sound and that is much better than just imitating the sound of their icons. The guitars are for me the best here because they give a lot of energy to the band and make their music really wild !!! Favorite tracks: "1200 Stares", "So Depraved" and "Prayer for the Dead". Contact: www.toothandnail.com

REVIEW: TEARABYTE - EMBRACE OBLIVION

 

TEARABYTE - EMBRACE OBLIVION (Screaming Ferret Wreckords, 2002)

Produced by Al Mead and Kevin Mead

Recorded at Intelecon Digital Studios

Artwork by Kevin mead and Lomy Chiv

Tracks: 1- Road Rage, 2- Embrace Oblivion, 3- Strike The Enemy, 4- Tear it up, 5- One More Day, 6- Under the Sand, 7- Lash of the Gash, 8- It´s all a Lie, 9- Price of Evil, 10- Screaming Pig, 11- Pissing Contest, 12- Spear of Destiny, 13- Ring of Fire

This is a band that is extremely heavy. And that doen´t mean that they are extremely fast. In fact they prefer to not abuse the fastest parts and they use a lot of mid paced parts and riffs. The vocals reminded me of Grip Inc´s Gus Chambers, specially on tracks like "Embrace Oblivion". The main thing here are the songs and they are really heavy. But they also have memorable choruses and great solos. There are killer melodies and the riffs are very original on most of the tracks. I would like the band to mix the guitars a little bit louder (so the hihat doesn´t opaque certain frequencies). Great songs !! Again, I think the main point here are the killer riffs that give the band a lot of identity (sometimes they have great thrash metal influences). I recommend this one. Favorite tracks: "Embrace Oblivion", "One More Day" and "Screaming Pig". Contact: www.screamingferret.com

REVIEW: TANGORODRIM - UNHOLY METAL WAY

 

TANGORODRIM - UNHOLY METAL WAY (Aggressor Prods., 2000)

Produced by Tangorodrim

Recorded at Head Lee Studios

Artwork by Akonith

Tracks: 1- Morgoth, 2- Unholy Metal Way, 3- Blind Aggression, 4- Alcoholic Desescration, 5- Palewoods, 6- Bestial Sleep

Tangorodrim is a band that plays a mix between black and death metal with some eighties influences (They have a certain Celtic Frost flavor which I liked a lot). There are six tracks here which have no mercy for the listener. They crush your brain with their killer riffs track after track. I liked very much the drumming which is more than blast beats (even if they use blast beats in some parts like the beginning of "Blind Aggression"). The sound is good but I would have liked the drums a little bit louder (specially the snare drum that is a little bit opaque). The guitars are crushing and make really good riffs (there are certain riffs which are clearly rocking but played with a very low and fat sound like the one in the beginning of "Palewoods". A great album !! The recording is from 1999 so I would like to listen this guys new material. They rule ! Favorite tracks: "Unholy metal Way", "Palewoods" and "Bestial Sleep". Contact: www.aggressorprod.com

REVIEW: SUMMON - DARK DESCENT OF FALLEN SOULS

 

SUMMON - DARK DESCENT OF FALLEN SOULS (Blackened Moon Recs., 1996)

Produced by Summon and Rob Tylah

Artwork by Erich S. Wilkinson

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- Dark Descent of Fallen Souls, 3- Eve of Anticreation, 4- Beyond the Gates of Storm, 5- Necromantic Lust, 6- Midtro, 7- Under the Midnight Shadow, 8- Silence of Chaos, 9- Sorrows of Moonless Night, 10- Outro

This is Summon´s second album. After their debut that we have just reviewed they reached new depths of unholiness with this "Dark Descent of Fallen Souls". This album is a great step forward comparing to the previous one. It has better sound and better ideas in the riffs and the tracks. In fact I think that this is the recording where Summon found their own identity mixing their black metal with some death metal and thrash elements that amke the music more interesting. As always Xaphan and Necromodeus are screaming at the top of his lungs adding a barbarish and evil edge to Summon´s music. A black metal classic. Favorite tracks: "Under the Midnight Shadow", "Eve of Anticreation" and "Beyond the Gates of Storm". Contact: www.blackenedmoon.com

REVIEW: SUMMON - FIRE TURNS EVERYTHING...BLACK

 

SUMMON - FIRE TURNS EVERYTHING...BLACK (Blackened Moon Recs., 1996)

Produced by Summon

Tracks: 1- Intro/Blind Shadows of Darkness, 2- Enter Into Eternal Oath, 3- Eve of AntiCreation,4- Praising to a Blackened Moon, 5- Burning Black Desire, 6- Tales of Immortality, 7- Outro: Forest of Dark Spirits

As many of you may know this is Summon´s first album. Summon is a great black metal band whose latest two albums I have reviewed in past months. And here I have in my hands the first ones. They are Classics of the black metal style. This band starts with an intro before getting into their full speed full of hate black metal with really raw guitars. When compared to their other albums this is the one that has the least good sound (despite being all the instruments really clear in the mix). The best thing for me are the guitar riffs which are killer and have a lot of power and desire to crush the listener. This album is a black metal classic along with their next one. A great band full of darkness. Favorite tracks: "Enter Into Eternal Oath", "Tales of Immortality" and "Eve of AntiCreation". Contact: www.blackenedmoon.com

REVIEW: SQUAD FIVE-0 - SQUAD FIVE-0

 

SQUAD FIVE-0 - SQUAD FIVE-0 (Tooth and Nail Recs., 2002)

Produced by Barry Poynter

Artwork by Rose Wind Jerome

Tracks: 1- I don´t want to change the world, I just want to change your mind, 2- Make you a star, 3- Make you dance, 4- Screaming With the Sirens, 5- Piece of the Dream, 6- Underground hearts, 7- The Adolescent Night, 8- Turn It Up, 9- Don´t come Runnin, 10- No Tomorrow, 11- Crystal Coastline, 12- Wasted (With You), 13- Get Away

Dirty rock´n´roll with some interesting punk and Hanoi Rock / L.A.Guns influences. It´s been a lot of time since I listened a band like this one. They play rock and roll with a lot of attitude (specially on the vocals which I liked a lot). The guitar riffs reminded me a lot of what Tracii Guns and company did on their debut album or in "Cocked and Loaded". There are cool solos and a lot of melodies and above all I liked the choruses which are the main point of this songs...it is like you are waiting the chorus to arrive !! Rock´n´roll!! This band rocks!! Favorite tracks: "Screaming With the Sirens", "Turn It Up" and "Wasted (With You)".Contact: www.toothandnail.com