REVIEW: TORN TO PIECES - PROMOTING ALCOHOLIC DISEMBOWELMENT

 

TORN TO PIECES - PROMOTING ALCOHOLIC DISEMBOWELMENT (Independent, 2002)

Produced by Torn To Pieces

Recorded in jena - Altes Gut

Cover Art by Benner

Tracks: 1- Madness and Silence, 2- Gory Reconstellation, 3- For A Minute, 4- Indoctrination, 5- Flesh and Beer

The music contained on this four track CD is extremely brutal, despite having some really slow passages like the one in "Madness and Silence" . This guys have a lot of elements of death metal, specially in the vocals that are extremely guttural, but the riffs are different. In fact, they use some crushing slow riff and some rocking riff too (check for example again "Madness and Silence" in the bridge of the song to see the riff that I am talking about). I think the guitars should be louder on the mix because they are essential to Torn To Pieces music and on this recording they are buried in the mix and the drums cover a little bit what the guitars are doing. I think that mixing better this release is going to be killer! (louder guitars, and lower vocals) The brutality of the music is essential in the four tracks here and I think Torn To Pieces achieves great levels of brutality through their heavier than hell riffs and guttural vocals. I think one of the points that this band should use really often are the slow passages because they add a lot of heaviness to their sound. Lovers of brutality will sure like this one.

Favorite tracks: "Madness and Silence" and "For a Minute"

Contact: www.torntopieces.cjb.net

REVIEW: TIMES EXPIRED - THE ELEMENTS E.P.

 

TIMES EXPIRED - THE ELEMENTS E.P. (Independent, 2001)

Produced by Times Expired

Recorded at Machine With Magnets Studios

Cover Art by Fred Raymond

Tracks: 1- Trust, 2- Ghost, 3- The Elements

This is a three song EP from this guys that mix elements of metal and hardcore in a way similar to the one that bands like Biohazard uses. In fact they have a very big hardcore influence that can be heard mainly through all the vocals that this guys use. The guitar sound sounds big and modern and they use a lot of rhythmic riffs that are designed to make the audience jump in a live show! The drums sound is good and the man behind the drumkit is the risponsible of doing the rhytmic patterns which are essential to Times Expired´s sound. The vocals follow the ones used in this style using two or more vocals to create the vocal lines and then more to create the choruses. Lovers of metalcore and related styles should check Times Expired.

Favorite tracks: "Trust" and "Ghost"

Contact: www.timesexpired.com

REVIEW: THINE - IN THERAPY

THINE - IN THERAPY (Peaceville Records, 2002)

Produced by Thine

Tracks: 1- Best Kept Secret, 2- Feel, 3- In Therapy, 4- Homewrecker Extraordinaire, 5- Never Learn, 6- Contact Point, 7- In Red Rooms, 8- Last better Day, 9- Deny Everything, 10- The Bar, 11- Running, 12- Bleaker Audio

Here we have this ethereal yet experimental release. The sound here has (in my opinion) shades of bands liek Anathema, Pink Floyd and some Katatonia. The melancholic vocals are essential for Thine´s sound nad also the harmonization that backing vocals do with te main ones (as for example in bands like Alice in Chains this harmonizations are fundamental). There are distorted guitars but they are used to make arrangements and melancholic melodies that add a lot to the feeling of the songs. Feelings like sadness, despair, sorrow and sensations like beauty, depression and many more are present on this CD. The songs have a lot of hooks for the listener in the choruses and despite the depressive kind of melodies you will find yourself singing the choruses along with the recording. A good option for lovers of the bands that I mentioned above.

Favorite tracks: "Best Kept Secret", "In therapy" and "In red Rooms"

Contact: www.peaceville.co.uk

REVIEW: THE NATIONAL CEMETERY ORCHESTRA - BEYOND THE SHADOWS

 

THE NATIONAL CEMETERY ORCHESTRA - BEYOND THE SHADOWS (Independent, 2001)

Produced by Karl Nix

Recorded at Spare Bedroom Studios

Cover Art by Karl Nix

Tracks: 1- Lost in a Dream, 2- Red Skies, 3- Time Bleeds Away, 4-Pergamum, 5- Nevermore, 6- Martyr, 7- Oblivion, 8- Stormfront, 9- Quake, 10- Utopia

Karl Nix has done it again! After the previous The National Cemetery Orchestra that we reviewed some issues back he has released this even more experimental CD with heavier guitar sound and a better mix. For those who doesn´t know him Karl Nix is the brain behind The National Cemetery orchestra and he composes and plays all the tracks here. The music on "Beyond The Shadows" is wilder and heavier than on "As Twilight Fades into Night". Here there are instrumental tracks as fast and furious that many black metal bands would really love playing. Some of the tracks here even have electronic blast beats!!!! Here we have as always the omnipresent feeling of darkness but this time Karl has added a lot of guitars to every track. This is a prefect mix of heaviness and experimentation by this really open minded musician.

Favorite tracks: "Lost in a Dream", "Time Bleeds Away" and "Stormfront"

Contact: www.mp3.com/NatlCemteryOrchestr or Nthrazz@hotmail.com

REVIEW: TERATISM - EX INFERNUS

 

TERATISM - EX INFERNUS (Root of All Evil Records, 2002)

Produced by Teratism

Tracks: 1- Resurrection Denied, 2- Hate, 3- Children of Scorn, 4- Resurrection Denied (live)

Here you have more than sixteen minutes of unholy black metal bestiality from this guys. Teratism is a band that have in its lineup members and ex members of bands like Theatre of the Macabre, Anal Blast, Mourning and Azrael...sort of a black metal dream team. The CD opens with an intro for "Resurrection Denied" and when the band enters the sound becomes lower (I think this guys must mix everything higher in order to make the music be listened better). The music on this MCD is pure raw black/death metal with fast guitars with one note riffs, blast beats in some parts and many dark elements. There are some slower moments but pure blasphemic black metal is the main rule here. One of the best thing here is the combination of different types of vocals (all adding brutality) .The tracks have a lot of fury and I think that with a better sound the result can be more devastating (in fact some of the tracks come from Teratism´s demo, I think they can be remixed a little bit). Black metal madness is here!

Favorite tracks: "Resurrection Denied (live)" and "Children of Scorn"

Contact: www.rootofallevil.com

REVIEW: TEARS OF DECAY - SAPROPHYT

 

TEARS OF DECAY - SAPROPHYT (Cudgel Agency, 2002)

Produced by Tears of Decay

Recorded at Audiocheck Studios

Cover Art by Thomas Westphall

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- Blind Reality, 3- Tears of Decay, 4- Der Übermensch, 5- Bellum Ominum Contra Omnes, 6- Homo Homini Deus Est, Pt. 2, 7- Soul Suicide, 8- Saprophyt, 9- Kill Fuck Die, 10- Outro

Ultra brutality!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is what we have here. It is amazing how Tears of Decay has managed to express all their anger, hate and despair in one CD. Here we have all the elements that can make a release extremely brutal. Specially if you like double bass drumming here you have a master class from this killer drummer that is Dirk Bakker. Crushing fast riffs are the main thing here but there are slower temnpos like the ones at 0:40 of "Bellum Ominum Contra Omnem" that are heavier than an elephant!! The vocals on this CD are guttural at the most extreme level and also we have vocals of the screaming type. The mix is good and I would like this guys to mix a little bit louder the snare drum and some of the toms (just a little bit...to fit perfectly the guitar avalanch that Tears of Decay creates). You wanted brutality, here you have Tearsd of Decay

Favorite tracks: "Tears of Decay", "Soul Suicide" and "Der Übermensch"

Contact: www.tears-of-decay.de or www.cudgel.de

REVIEW: TAETRE - DIVINE MISANTHROPIC MADNESS

 

TAETRE - DIVINE MISANTHROPIC MADNESS (Mighty Music, 2002)

Produced by Taetre, Andy La Rocque and Tony Felencovich

Recorded at Los Angered Recordings

Cover Art by Aurelien Palice

Tracks: 1- A Veil of Madness, 2- Virus, 3- Paint a Whore as a Saint, 4-No love, 5- Opathetic Organic, 6- Diabolical Age, 7- Destroy the Dreamvoid, 8- Paradox, 9- Fathers Foe, 10-Reclaiming The Spirit, 11- Living the Dream, 12- Deathportal

If you want a perfect definition of what modern death/thrash metal means then you have to listen to this CD. Here we have a lot of death metal in the vocals, in the sound and in a lot of drumming patterns, then we have also a lot of thrash metal in some riffs, in some of the clean guitar parts in some of the vocal lines and also you have a modern sound. I think that this guys have used all this elments to create powerful songs which have been helped by a great mix (King Diamond´s Andy La Rocques is behind the mixing table and he knows what to do with all the volume and equalizing knobs). Here we have solos that are similar to those played in the golden age of thrash (by guys like Exodus´Gary Holt, Testament´s Alex Skolnick and others). On this CD everything is designed to make things powerful: I have one expression for this...."controlled brutality", because they are extremely brutal but they don´t abuse speed and they don´t become soon a ball of noise like many other bands. A great choice.

Favorite tracks: "Opathetic Organic", "Reclaiming the Spirit" and "Paradox"

Contact: www.mightymusic.dk

REVIEW: SOMNUS - THROUGH CREATION´S END

 

SOMNUS - THROUGH CREATION´S END (Root of All Evil Records, 2002)

Produced by Somnus

Tracks: 1- The Gate of Wolves, 2- Warlock´s feast, 3- Dawn of Spirits, 4- Tribunal of Woe, 5- The Deceiver, 6- Lament for Winter´s Passing, 7- Creation´s End, 8- Unfullfilled Prophecy (live), 9- CD ROM Bonus Track

Somnus new album starts powerfully with "The Gate of Wolves" at full speed with all the elements that have made the music of the band known in the underground scene. Here are the guitar riffs which are complex and have some swedish death metal influence, here are the brutal vocals combined with the excellent female vocals, here is the drumming with heavy use of double bass and ride cymbal patterns (really original way of playing). And above all here are the keyboards and the guitar melodies and solos. And if the drumming the heavy riffs and vocals are the skeleton around which Somnus music is constructed, then the keyboards and the guitar melodies and solos are the flesh and soul of it. The complexity of the songs is essential for Somnus sound as also is the sadness and darkness that everything transpires here. A must.

Favorite tracks: Every single note played here

Contact: www.rootofallevil.com

REVIEW: SIC SEED - AKA THE DEVIL BABY

 

SIC SEED - AKA THE DEVIL BABY (Sinternational Recs., 2002)

Produced by Sic Seed

Tracks: 1- Subliminal Envy, 2- Disconnect, 3- Last Right

Here you have three tracks, a little bit more than nine minutes of pure bestiality. The music here is pure brutal death metal with some modern metal influences from the heaviest bands of the genre. Powerful double bass drumming (with some modern metal influences in some of the rhythms tat make more powerful the music than a blast beat would do), a bassist that is really tight and has a really clean sound that fits really well with the guitars and the drums, guitars that are heavy as hell and an ultra wild and screaming vocalist that adds a lot of the brutality to the bands music. I hope this guys release soon a longer CD because their music is ideal to listen at full volume and we want more of their songs!

Favorite tracks: The three.

Contact: www.one40.com/sicseed or www.sinternational.net

REVIEW: SHE´S GORE - SHE´S GORE DEMO 2001

 

SHE´S GORE - SHE´S GORE DEMO 2001 (Independent, 2001)

Produced by Thanit

Recorded and mixed by Thanit

Cover Art by Thanit

Tracks: 1- God on Fire, 2- Fuck me, fuck my dog, 3- Hair in Teeth, 4- Fuck With Hate, 5- Wet Dream may Cum, 6- Tonight

Here we have another project from thanit Thepsitrakon who is also a member of Deathguy (whose CD we review on this issue too). The music here is brutal death with no subtle elments and some grindcore touches in some parts. Here we have extremely brutal death metal riffs played at super speed and with guitars that are tuned really low in some places. Here we don´t have the melodies from bands like Deathguy because this is a pure brutal holocaust demo. The vocals are extremely guttural (not at the point of some grind bands where you can not discern if it is the vocals or another noise) and add a lot of bestiality to the tracks. Maybe the mix is a little bit low for my taste (specially the drums) but I think that Thanit can solve this problem easily. For lovers of utter brutality.

Favorite tracks: "God on Fire", "Hair in teeth" and "Tonight"

Contact: thepsitrakorn@hotmail.com