REVIEW: SUMMONER - SUMMONER´SIGN

 

SUMMONER - SUMMONER´SIGN (MAE Prods., 2002)

Produced by Summoner

Recorded at Media Sound Studio

Tracks: 1- The Maskplague; 2- Tears I´ve Shed; 3- Summoner Sign; 4- Vicious Fruit

Here we have a four track MCD from this italian band. They play what I would call symphonic death/black metal. I mean, their music has elements that are not out of place in the styles mentioned above. For example, they have growling vocals in the vein of death metal, the screaming vocals similar to the ones used in black metal. And here is the main point....I used the term "Symphonic" to describe their music. Why? Because of their heavy use of orchestrating keyboards, because of the melodic use of the guitars (this means that their music has a lot of power combined with interesting melodies and arrangements). All this elements give a sort of epic feeling to Summoner´ps music. The production of this recording is really good and maybe I would mix a little bit louder the guitars. There are many original riffs here that deserve to be remarked in a fair description of this band´s music. A must.

Favorite tracks: All the four tracks are amazing. This is a TOP metal band

Contact: www.mae.6go.net

REVIEW: SPELLCRAFT - TEARS LIKE RAIN

 

SPELLCRAFT - TEARS LIKE RAIN (Independent, 2002)

Produced by Davide Rosati, Alessandro Montoneri and Spellcraft

Recorded at A.C.M.E. Studio Recording

Cover by Roberto Grillo

Tracks: 1- Tears like Rain; 2- This Feeling; 3- Season Five; 4- Equilibrium; 5- Stolen Time

The first thing that caught my attention is the really good sound that this recording has. Then comes the musical ideas which are really well by this italian band. The music is heavy while having a lot of melodies in the vocals and a certain gothic flavor in some of the parts (in the vein that bands like Paradise Lost or Katatonia have used in some of their songs). The guitars are really heavy and have a special sound which I think is due to the heavy use of flanger in them...I like it a lot. One of the things that I liked most are Gino Chiarizia´s vocals which are powerful and at the same time full of anguish nad sadness (also I have to remark some interesting vocal harmonization that is used in some of the parts of the songs contained here). Thumbs up for the bassist who uses a clean sound that is not very common in bands of the style and gives a lot of identity to the Spellcraft sound ! (check "This Feeling" to see what I am talking about).

Favorite tracks: The five tracks are really well developed and are excellent and powerful songs

Contact: www.spellcraft.it

REVIEW: SODOM - M-16

 

SODOM - M-16 (Century Media Records, 2002)

Produced by Sodom. Coproduced by Harris Johns

Recorded at Spiderhouse Studio

Cover by Axel Hermann

Tracks: 1- Among the Weirdcong; 2- I am the War; 3- Napalm in the Morning; 4- Minejumper; 5- Genocide; 6- Little Boy; 7- M-16; 8- Lead Injection; 9- Marines; 10- Surfin´Bird

I have listened Sodom´s music since their "In the Sign of Evil" album and I always liked it (despite the metal press in Argentina, very relying in classic metal, that disliked them). I always found certain similarities between their music and the one that bands like Kreator or Destruction did, and I liked a lot the German thrash metal scene of the eighties.. Here we have their latest powerful release that haves as always Tom Angelripper on bass and devastating vocals, and Bernemann on guitars and Bobby on drums which are a killer duo to join Tom. The lyrics as in many Sodom albums spin around war and its consequences. Here we have a lot of the raw power that have made Sodom famous but with a better production that makes the songs more direct and powerful while clearly mixed. I liked a lot the work of Bobby on drums because he knows how to add the needed heaviness to Sodom´s music. A classic .

Favorite tracks: "Napalm in the Morning"; "Minejumper" and "Lead Injection"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com

REVIEW: SNUB - THE HARVEST

 

SNUB - THE HARVEST (Copro Records., 2002)

Produced by Snub

Recorded at Active Studios

Cover by Martin Jeffery

Tracks: 1- The Harvest; 2- Six Deep; 3- The Subtle Art of Slaughtering a Dream; 4- Flowers of Flesh and Blood

This is Snub´s latest MCD. Here we have four tracks full of power , with a really modern sound and a lot of hardcore influences. Here we have the heavy riffs with a lot of dirty arpeggios that make the music more climatic while being extremely heavy (this songs are designed for headbanging and moshpit). Full of crushing guitar riffs and devastating rhythms, Snub´s music is in a middle place between bands like Biohazard and Machine Head (they have rhythms similar to Biohazard but the heaviness off Machine Head to name just a couple of bands). I hope to listen to a full length release soon because this guy´s music is really powerful and kept my head banging while listening to it.

Favorite tracks: "Six deep" and "Flowers of Flesh and Blood"

Contact: www.coprorecords.co.uk

REVIEW: SEVEN 13 - UNLEASHED

 

SEVEN 13 - UNLEASHED (What Matters Records, 2002)

Produced by Seven 13 and David Lefkowitz

Recorded at Renaissance Recording Studio

Cover by Vip Technologies

Tracks: 1- Drink!; 2- Out of Control, 3- Haunted; 4- Don´t You Wish; 5- Outcasts; 6- Whenever you Close your Eyes; 7- Venus; 8- If you Want Me; 9- Dianne; 10- You Could be Mine; 11- Falling

Here we have Seven 13. This is a band that really surprises me because they play powerful hard rock and at the same time they have sort of a dark atmosphere or sad feeling in their music which I liked a lot and that seems related to the great theatrical image that this band has. There are two excellent things here: one is the great use of vocals....the singer is really energetic and gives a lot of power to the songs; then the keyboards which are omniprescent through all the recording and construct the main feeling of the songs while contrasting with the heavier guitars. But the main thing on this CD are the amazingly well constructed songs....Seven 13 has an idea and knows exactly how to transmit it to the listener through their beautiful and melodic music. The band has also a lot of power due to the use of distorted guitars (the guitarist has really good taste for the riffs and also for the solos as you can check for example in "Falling". Seven 13´s music sounds even more energetic live as I can see through their "Drink!" video that they have made as a live videoclip. I liked a lot this band because of the melodies that they create in every way that is possible and the dark feeling that they obtain!!!

Favorite tracks: "Don´t You Wish" "You Could Be Mine" and "Out of Control"

Contact: www.seven13band.com

REVIEW: SENTENCED - THE COLD WHITE LIGHT

 

SENTENCED - THE COLD WHITE LIGHT (Century Media Recs., 2002)

Produced by Sentenced

Cover by Vesa Ranta

Tracks: 1- Konevitsan Kirkonkellot; 2- Cross My Heart and Hope to Die; 3- Brief is the light; 4- Neverlasting; 5- Aika Multaa Muistot (Everything is Nothing); 6- Excuse Me While I kill myself; 7- Blood and Tears; 8- You are the One; 9- Guilt and regret; 10- The Luxury of a Grave; 11-No One There

It´s been a lot of years since I bought Sentenced´s "North from Here" and now looking back I feel that it is great to see a band evolve in such a way. Here they are, Sentenced 2002 and here are the melodies in the guitars, the crushing riffs that try to create a heavy song, here are tyhe clean vocals with a lot of power and feeling. It is amazing how well Sentenced has achieved an amazing technique to create songs....only a check of their latest albums confirms this. Every new album they are getting better in this. The main thing here apart from the vocals are the incredible guitar riffs combined with a lot of melodies that gives this feeling of depression to the songs contained here. The production of this album is really great and lets us listen to all the elements of Sentenced´s music. A great recording from this Finnish band.

Favorite tracks: "Brief is the Lught"; "Neverlasting" and "You are the One"

Contact: In Southamerica: www.centurymedia.com . In Europe: www.centurymedia.de

REVIEW: SEIRIM - KILL. WAR. CHAOS

 

SEIRIM - KILL. WAR. CHAOS (Cudgel Agency, 2002)

Produced by Seirim

Cover by Nightliner Tattoo Studio

Tracks: 1- Morbid Animalism; 2- Power of Elements; 3- Time for Your Deaths; 4- Your Blood; 5- Incosibea; 6-The Other Dimension; 7- Rulers of the World; 8- Creatures of Pain; 9- Killing Elements; 10- Beyond the Death

Directly from Germany comes this extremely brutal band with many interesting ideas. First of all I have the remark the great sound that this recording has, specially on the guitars which are really devastating. Then, I have to say that Seirim is one of the most brutal bands that I have listened in a long time...and they achieve a lot of this brutality through complex guitar riffs played with a monolithic guitar sound ( also this guys obviously tune down their guitars to achieve a lower end). Also the bass is clearly mixed and one can listen to it through all the recording playing patterns similar to those played by the guitars but with a more bottom end sound that makes the whole idea more crushing. Then comes the killer drumming which uses some blast beats but prefers to use heavier ideas that fit better the music. The vocals are guttural and screaming and fit perfectly the musical ideas of this ultra brutal band. Brutality at its maximum level!!!!

Favorite tracks: "Power of Elements"; "Your Blood" and "Killing Elements"

Contact: www.cudgel.de or www.seirim.de

REVIEW: RUDIS / CUSTODIO / DIAZ-INFANTE - CRASHING THE RUSSIAN RENAISSANCE

 

RUDIS / CUSTODIO / DIAZ-INFANTE - CRASHING THE RUSSIAN RENAISSANCE (Pax Recordings, 2002)

Produced by Lx Rudis and Ernesto Diaz-Infante

Recorded by Lx Rudis and Andres Custodio

Cover by Tohru Kanayama

Tracks: 1 to 3 - Three Collega Radio Ready Edits; 4 to 30 - Overthruster

I have reviewed recordings by Custodio and Diaz Infante before, but on this recording they have been joined by Lx Rudis who plays Matrix 12. This addition opens new possibilities and the trio explores them through all this recording. I liked specially Lx Rudis electronic sounds that match perfectly Diaz-Infante ´s experimentation with guitar, violin and voice and also Custodio´s percussion patterns. There is a mix of different type of experimental pieces here: one type are those musical pieces that are longer where there is more developing of the experimental ideas and other that are shorter and are sudden bursts of spontaneous sounds. I prefer the longer ones because in there I cqan see how well the three musicians interact and also how well they construct the improvisational piece. This recording is for those people who can listen to a fully experimental recording without being scared !

Favorite tracks: The whole CD is an amazing showcase of experimentation among this three open minded musicians

Contact: www.paxrecordings.com

REVIEW: ROGER SMITH - GREEN WOOD

 

ROGER SMITH - GREEN WOOD (Emanem Disc, 2002)

Produced by Martin Davidson

Recorded by Roger Smith assisted by Ian Vickers

Cover by Marion Franses

Tracks: 1- Wood Green Waltz; 2- North 22 (no Catch); 3- Forward Fast; 4- Extended Ploy; 5- Strange Interlude; 6- Waltz with heating; 7- An Extract; 8- Diminuendo & Crescendo in Green; 9- Saul´s Beret Rode; 10- Local Twang; 11- The Last of the Season; 12- Arse Myth

We have reviewed Roger Smith´s music before in the recordings where he plays with the Spontaneous Music Orchestra. This time we have the chance of listening to a more melodic side of this great musician and guitar player. First of all we see that the music here is really quiet and melodic and that is due to the fact that Smith has recorded this CD at home and he plays during the night hours. This is interesting because we can see a more subtle side of his musical personality. Here we can listen how Smith constructs his guitar lines while armonizing them ...and he has played through all this recording with his finger in order to achieve a warmer sound very different than the one that one can achieve using a pick. There is heavy use of natural harmonics in tracks like "Extended Ploy" and the most amazing thing here is that all this material is improvised. Thumbs up for this amazing musician and innovative guitar player.

Favorite tracks: The whole CD. I love Smith´s guitar playing. Is experimental and at the same time very melodic

Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

REVIEW: PAUL RUTHERFORD - TROMBOLENIUM

 

PAUL RUTHERFORD - TROMBOLENIUM (Emanem Disc, 2002)

Produced by Martin Davidson

Recorded by Martin Davidson

Cover by Martin Davidson

Tracks: 1- Red Rose Afternoon 1; 2- Red Rose Afternoon 2; 3- First Walnut, 4- Second Walnut; 5- First China Pig Extract; 6- Second China Pig Extract; 7- China Pig Lament; 8- Stalf; 9- Falst; 10- Flast; 11- Stlaf

This are recording of solo trombone improvisations by trombone master Paul Rutherford. The recordings are from four different concerts from the years 1986, 1992, 1993 and 1995. Here you have a man with his instrument who is always achieving new sounds and combinations that have not been tried by many musicians before him. In fact, Rutherford is exploring new paths on each track that one can listen on this CDs. In some tracks like "First Walnut" he uses sonic explorations trying to reach weird sounds with his instrument. In other tracks like "Red Rose Afternoon 1" he uses a lot of legato notes to create dissonant melodies and complicated phrases. It is amazing also how warm this instrument sound, being not loud and not overabused, reaching interesting melodies through all the CD. For lovers of exploring new sides of the music spectre.

Favorite tracks: "First Walnut", "China Pig Lament" and " Flast"

Contact: www.emanemdisc.com