REVIEW: BEHEADED - RECOUNTS OF DISEMBODIMENT

BEHEADED - RECOUNTS OF DISEMBODIMENT (Mighty Music, 2002)

Produced by Beheaded and David Vella

Recorded at Temple Studios

Cover Art by Sho

Tracks: 1- Broken thoughts of Righteousness; 2- Horde of the Stolen Sun, 3- Recounts of Disembodiment, 4- Consecrated Absurdities, 5- Compelling Derangement, 6- Inherited Plague, 7- Fed Upon Odium, 8- Disdain, 9- Spreading Contagion, 10- Unbound

Beheaded is a crushing band that plays death metal with a strong emphasis on rhythmic riffs combined with fast parts. Everything here is conceived to spread the brutality of the band to the ears of the listener. I loved specially the slower riffs combined with the hyper preecise double bass drumming that gives a lot of power to the tracks. Here we have a killer drummer who is technical and bryutal playing the fastest parts and changing rhythms with no difficulty. I must remark the guttural vocals which are powerful but at the same time clear enough to distinguish the lyrics of the songs. This is a CD that I will recommend to those who love brutality and intensity in music.

Favorite tracks: "Horde of the Stolen Sun", "Recounts of Disembodiment" and "Inherited Plague"

Contact: www.mightymusic.dk

REVIEW: AUTUMN - A ROMANCE OF ART

 

AUTUMN - A ROMANCE OF ART (Nail Records, 2001)

Produced by Autumn

Recorded at A-Plant and the Autumneum

Tracks: 1- Shells, 2- Windows, 3- Serenade, 4- Glaube, 5- A Romance of Art, 6- Flaming, 7- Blue Fortress, 8- Epilogue Dawn

Here we have a MCD from this excellent band that makes a great use of melodies combining acoustic guitars with keyboards and many female vocals. The tracks here are really calm and they take the listener into a trip of a beautiful dark world where Autumn is king. In fact the thing that is most amazing of this CD is the great combination of dark and beautiful melodies with interesting percussion. The male vocals are clean ones and they add a lot of feeling to each of the songs. And when the female vocals enter there is a great contrast that makes each of the songs a unique experience for people who listen to this album. A really original and dark release.

Favorite tracks: "Windows", "A Romance of Art" and "Blue Fortress"

Contact: nailrecords@infinito.it

REVIEW: ARMORED SAINT - NOD TO THE OLD SCHOOL

 

ARMORED SAINT - NOD TO THE OLD SCHOOL (Metal Blade Records, 2001)

Produced by Armored Saint

Tracks: CD1: 1- Real Swagger, 2- Unstable, 3- March of the Saint (2001 version), 4- Day of the Eagle, 5- Never Satisfied; 6- Tainted Past, 7- After Me, the Flood (live); 8- Creepy Feelings (live), 9- Lesson well learned, 10- False Alarm, 11- ON the way, 12 Stricken by Fate, 13- Reign of fire (demo), 14- Betty 79 (demo, 15- People (demo), 16- Get Lost (demo), 17- Nothing between the ears (demo), 18- Pirates (demo)

CD 2: 1- Medieval Nightmares (demo), 2- Video: Long Before I die (live), 3- Video: March of the Saint (live), 4- Video: Reign of Fire; 5- Video: Las Train Home

Here we have a double Armored Saint CD made of all rare tracks. On the first recording we have 18 tracks. Some of them are new (the first six), then there are a couple of live tracks from their 2000 tour and then we have a lot of rare tracks extracted from old demos or from their first EP. In fact this is a great opportunity to listen new and old tracks from this classic. Also as a bonus the second CD has a demo track and four videos: two of them played live. Armored Saint is a band that will never dissapoint you if you are looking for heavy metal. As always we have the great John Bush on vocals that gives a lot of quality to the vocal melodies. A classic.

Favorite tracks: "March of the Saint (2001 Version)", "Never Satisfied" and "Creepy Feelings "

Contact: www.metalblade.com

REVIEW: AGALLOCH - THE MANTLE

 

AGALLOCH - THE MANTLE (The End Records, 2002)

Produced by Ronn Chick and John Haughm

Recorded between Nov-01 & Apr 02

Cover Art by John Haughm

Tracks: 1- A Celebration for the Death of Man, 2- In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion, 3- Odal, 4- I am the Wooden Doors, 5- The Lodge; 6- You Were But A ghost In my Arms; 7- The Hawthorne Passage; 8- ...And the Great Cold Death of the Earth, 9- A Desolation Song

It is really amazing how this guys have developed their own style. In fact you can listen to this and say that this is pure Agalloch...they have developed an Agalloch sound (which was present also in their previous "Pale Folklore"). Here you have all the melodic and climatic elements combined in a really dark way. I mean, here you have keyboards, acoustic guitars and really calm passages but everything is designed to create a dark atmosphere in all the tracks. The feelings are of sadness, loneliness. There are heavier tracks like " I Am the Wooden Doors but they are all full of twisted melodies that make Agalloch and this recording a unique experience. A must for any music lover. One of the records of the year.

Favorite tracks: The whole CD ...One of the records of the month and of the year

Contact: www.theendrecords.com

REVIEW: AENDRIA - JADIS...

 

AENDRIA - JADIS... (Deadsun Records, 2002)

Produced by David Sahunet

Recorded at David´s Home

Cover Art by Blood Ink Prod.

Tracks: 1- Jadis, 2- Deleterious Winds, 3- Aeclipsis; 4- Beyond Praise; 5- Tragediam, 6- The Fruit of the Dead Tree

This CD is really a masterpiece. It is the perfect balance between aggression and beauty, between heaviness and atmospheres. In fact the only man behind this project is David Sahunet who has done all the composition, arrangements and recordings on this CD and he has a lot of idea and knows how to express them through his music. The thing that fascinates me is the heavy use of keyboards which are all over the tracks of this CD and are used perfectly to contrast with the heavy guitars and the programmed drums that add heaviness and a cold feeling to the recording. David prefers to use spoken or whispering vocals in order to give a better idea of the atmospheres that he wants to create. If you like original music then Aendria will satisfy your needs.

Favorite tracks: The whole CD is a masterpiece

Contact: www.deadsunrecords.com

REVIEW: ABRASIVE - DESIRE

 

ABRASIVE - DESIRE (Semen Demon Prods., 2002)

Produced by Abrasive

Recorded by Alex and Abbrasive

Cover Art by Alex Ringwald and Ralf Köhler

Tracks: 1- Domination, 2- Cum With Me, 3- On MY Knees, 4- Desire, 5- Late Night, 6- Taste Me, 7- Everlasting pain

Devastating release!!!! Brutality at it s most extreme level!! Here we have this ultraviolent band with really sexual lyrics and incredibly fast music. The music on this release is extremely fast and heavy with growling vocals that add a lot of brutality to this recording. The musicians are good and they know how to change rhythms within each of the tracks. The sound is crushing, specially on the guitars which sound really fat and are the main reason of the heaviness of Abrasive´s music. The drummer is really a beast playing all this blast beats and doing really killer passages like the ones in "Cum With Me" which are really technical and need a lot of skills to do it. Fans of brutal death metal will surely love Abrasive.

Favorite tracks: "Cum With Me"; "On My Knees" and "Everlasting Pain"

Contact: www.semendemon.de

REVIEW: WITHERING SOUL - WITHERING SOUL

 

WITHERING SOUL - WITHERING SOUL ( Independent , 2002)

Produced by Withering Soul

Recorded by Withering Soul

Tracks: 1- Possession of Deception; 2- The Frozen Oblivion; 3- Infinite Circle; 4- Fallen Release; 5- A Midnight Eclipse

Here we have a great band with a strong emphasis on atmospheres and climatic passages with a lot of depression while having an ultra heavy sound. Withering Soul has a lot of interesting keyboard parts thata re the main ingredient of the band´s music through their interaction wth the heavy guitars. The singer is a really good one who knows how to sing without missing a note and retaining the dark atmospheres that Withering Soul´s music deserves. There are a lot of drum patterns which I like a lot bringing to my mind shades of "Draconian Times" era Paradise Lost. There are many fast parts that contrast with the more climatic ones in a great way adding new tonalities to the music. This is a MCD with five tracks and it lasts more than twenty minutes. This guys deserve the money or contract to release a great full length with a bigger than hell production.

Favorite tracks: The five contained here....this guys are fantastic !

Contact: www.geocities.com/withering_s0ul

REVIEW: VISIONS OF THE NIGHT - ENVISIONING THE NEW AGE

 

VISIONS OF THE NIGHT - ENVISIONING THE NEW AGE ( Bloodbucket Prods, 2002)

Produced by Visions of The Night

Recorded between April and December 2001

Cover by Wolvesblood

Tracks: 1- Hatred for Humanity; 2- Postalled; 3- Murder of the Self; 4- Beseiged by demons; 5- Six Ways From Sunday; 6- Manifestations of Impure Thoughts; 7- Celebrity Scalped; 8- Consumption; 9- Black Revelation; 10- Victory through Suicide; 11- A Heightened Sense of Perception; 12- Grindblast (Dissolution); 13- Postalled (Vampiric Bloodfeast Version)

This is a really devastating release. It is an extremely brutal CD but at the same time has certain synth arrangements that gives another dimension to Visions of the Night´s music. This band has in its lineup Alexander Erhardt, also known for his work in Horde of Worms...and as in that band here we have alos a programmed drum machine that gives a strange touch to the music. Jenn Kilburn is a killer bass player adding a lot of the brutality to the music through her bottom low end lines pleyed at super speed and accentuating the heaqvier drum parts. Thumbs up also for Wolvesblood who does the main vocals which are really brutal. I liked a lot the use of the synth and some clean guitars in tracks like "Celebrity Scalped". I like this guys and girl because they are really brutal but they have also the desire to experiment with a lot of new sounds and atmospheres.!!

Favorite tracks: "Postalled"; "Six Ways from Sunday" and "Consumption"

Contact: www.visionsofthenight.net or www.bloodbucketproductions.com

REVIEW: VIRULENT - AZOTH

 

VIRULENT - AZOTH (Independent , 2002)

Produced by Virulent

Recorded at Moskou Studios

Tracks: 1- Crowning the 4th Age; 2- Dreams of Disharmony; 3- Zyem Carasophia

Here is Virulent´s new material and they have progressed a lot since "Under the Hex...." their previous recording. Here we have the guitars with a more crushing sound and the drums are clearly mixed so you can feel the hyper fast blasts done with great precission. Here we have amazing guitar riffs done with a lot of technique that creates the mood for Jorre Jansen to spit his guttural vocals with all the hate he is capable. Here we have a good work of bassist Ed Siderius who follows the guitars or the drums (depending the part of the track). Fans of brutal death metal will surely be delighted with all the elements that I described before and I encourage them to check this release.

Favorite tracks: The three conatined here

Contact: http://go.to/virulent

REVIEW: VIRULENT - UNDER THE HEX OF AMDUSIAS

 

VIRULENT - UNDER THE HEX OF AMDUSIAS (Skullcrusher Prods., 2000)

Produced by Erik De Boer and Virulent

Recorded at Studio Harrow Prods.

Cover by John Martin

Tracks: 1- Renouncement, 2- Kali Yuga; 3- Cult of the Magma Mares ; 4- Regie Amdusias; 5- Necropolis

This is what I call a violent release. Guttural vocals, guitars with a huge sound, hyper fast drumming and all this with a really good sound. Here we have a band thata has a lot of heaviness on each riff and knows how to do everything sound heavier than hell. The production here is good and I think that with a better sound this band could be in the same level as for example The Forsaken. This recording si from year 2000 and I think they have evolved since then doing another recording called Azoth which is self produced. What I liked most here are the guitar riffs which are original and sound really well when combined with the explosive drums...also the bass player does a great job in making the structure of the song with the drummer. For fans of brutal death !!!

Favorite tracks: "Kali-Yuga", "Regie Amdusias" and " Renouncement"

Contact: http://go.to/virulent