REVIEW: GOTHA - TAKE YOUR SOUL

GOTHA - TAKE YOUR SOUL (Spreadit Agency, 2002 )

Produced By: Gotha

Tracks: 1- Take Your Soul, 2- The Battle, 3- Banshee

Recorded at Bunker Studio

Here we have Gotha, a powerful thrashcore metal band. I have put "thrashcore" to describe their style bercause I feel they have influences from both styles (mainly thrash metal in some riffs and the solos and hardcore in the voclas and some choruses) and also from calssical heavy metal. The riffs are heavy as hell and I like a lot the arrangements that the bass player does while supporting the rhythm section (some tapping phrases and stuff like that, check "The Battle" to see this). Here we have three tracks, two of average duration and a shorter instrumental one. I hope this guys release a full length soon to listen more of their music. 

Favorite tracks: "The Battle" and "Take Your Soul"

Contact: www.gotha-thrash.com

REVIEW: GOLD FÜR EISEN - HEIMAT

 

GOLD FÜR EISEN - HEIMAT (Interregnum Musik, 2002 )

Produced By: Jörg Rainer-Friede

Tracks: 1- Heimat..., 2- Auf Der Jagd, 3- Stoertebeker, 4- Heimkehrer ´46, 5- ...und alles nur, weil Du nicht gewartet hast, 6- Deutschland, 7- Deuer! (ein Amoklauf), 8- Wieder daheim

Cover Art by Jub

Recorded at Tepa Tape Studios

Gold Für Eisen´s music is very difficult to describe. Take some elements of german bands like Sodom or Kreator, add some death metal feeling and some double bass drumming (programmed drums sound really good here), then add some choruses that sound extremely "german" and you have a small idea of what this band is about. Their music has a huge guitar sound that makes the music on this CD extremely heavy (the mix is really great and the band knows what to do in order to be heavier). There are certain strange passages like the ones in "Heimkehrer ´46" with spoken voclas and the drums in the background and the bass playing some slow phrases. There are plenty of melodies here done mostly with the guitars and this are essential for the Gold Für Eisen sound combined with the heaviest parts. This is a band that are developing their own style adding a lot of elements to their music.

Favorite tracks: All the tracks

Contact: www.goldfuereisen.de

REVIEW: FREEDOM CALL - ETERNITY

FREEDOM CALL - ETERNITY (Century Media Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Dan Zimmerman and Chris Bay

Tracks: 1- Metal Invasion, 2- Flying High, 3- Ages of power, 4- The Spell, 5- Bleeding heart, 6- Warriors, 7- The Eyes of the World, 8- Flame in the Night, 9- Land of light, 10- Island of Dreams, 11- Turn Back Time

Cover Art by Paul Raymond Gregory

Recorded at FC Studios

In the mid eighties and specially after the "Keeper I and II" albums Helloween set the path that millions of bands would follow in the future. And one of the bands that has done it is Freedom Call. Here the band has found a sound that is a cross between Helloween and Rhapsody and has developed eleven compositions much more powerful than in their previous album. Here we have all the melodies that the style needs and must have. We have the double bass drumming, and the galloping guitars, we have the twin guitars that make solos and melodies in all the songs, and we have the hyper melodic vocals that sing melodies that sound very "german", specially when joined by other voices in the choruses. Here is Freedom Call, a band that maybe with a little bit more of identity and originality could go directly to the top of the metal world.

Favorite tracks: "Ages of power" and "Warriors"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com

REVIEW: FLOWING TEARS - SERPENTINE

 

FLOWING TEARS - SERPENTINE (Century Media Recs., 2002)

Produced By: Waldemar Sorychta

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- Starfish Ride (for a million dollar handshake), 3- Serpentine, 4- Children of the Sun, 5- The Marching Sane, 6- Breach, 7- Portsall (departure song), 8- Justine, 9- The Carnage People, 10- Merlin, 11- Cupid of the Carrion kind, 12- For Tonight

Cover Art by Axel Hermann

Flowing Tears has the strange characteristic of being a band that can be epic and deppressive at the same time. It is this feeling that makes this band´s music so interesting. The mix of sad and enchanting melodies with the heavy guitars that leave a lot of space to develope interesting ideas is essential for Flowing Tears identity. The band has achieved a point where you listen just a few seconds and you know that it´s Flowing Tears music. And one of the things that make this happen is the powerful voice of Stefanie Duchene which is really melodic but has a lot of strength and energy to deliver. The mix by Waldemar Sorychta has again found the perfect balance between heaviness and beauty, this delicate equilibrium that Flowing tears manage so good. A must

Favorite tracks: A must. All the tracks are fabulous.

Contact: www.centurymedia.com

REVIEW: FANGORN - FANGORN

 

FANGORN - FANGORN ( G.U.C. Productions, 2002 )

Produced By: Fangorn

Tracks: 1- Paradies, 2- Pfeffer, 3- Phoenix, 4- Freudentanz, 5- Steinheit, 6- Verdammt, 7- Fluss, 8- Koma, 9- Felsen, 10- Herz, 11- Fährmann

Cover Art by Fangorn

Recorded at: Digidirt Studios

Fangorn is a band that sounds really european. With complex songs and many guitar riffs they sound like a mix of Dark Tranquility, Death, Sentenced and bands in that style. But this band has a lot of identity. With the interconection between the male and female vocals (this one are not in the vein that one is accustomed to listen to, in fact I think the range of this woman is a mezzo soprano and sounds really great here), the multiple rhythm and riffs changes. Here we have to point ourt the excelent guitar work with atmospheres, melodies and utter heaviness in the riffs. The sound of the recording is really good and make the results even brighter. Most of the songs here are sung in german and that adds a strange feeling and a lot of heaviness to the music. 

Favorite tracks: All the CD.

Contact: www.guc-area.de

REVIEW: EXSECRATUM - ADITUS

 

EXSECRATUM - ADITUS (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Exsecratum

Tracks: 1- The Mighty Frost of North, 2- Wandering Sons of the Obscure throne, 3- Northern Supremacy, 4- The Light of Unholy Souls, 5- A Breezing Vision of Damnation

Cover Art by Lord Azazel

Recorded at Silver Poddu Studios

This CD starts with some noises and storm sounds in the beginning of "The Mighty Frost of North" before getting into the purest and raw black metal. Here we have the elements of this style: fast guitars with a raw sound, fast drumming and screaming vocals. There are also the riffs in which the guitars are used to create fast melodies ovber which are spitted the hateful lyrics. One thing to remark is the full speed of this release which doesn´t slow done through the whole CD. There are some rhythm changes in tracks like "Northern Supremacy" from one fast riff to another. The sound is fairly good and maybe the guitars and drums can be mixed a little bit better to achieve a bigger black metal sound. This is a CD full of hatred and blasphemy!!!! 

Favorite tracks: "Northern Supremacy", "The Light of Unholy Souls" and "A Breezing Vision..."

Contact: exsecratum@hotmail.com

REVIEW: EVENT HORIZON - FROM BEGINNING...TO END

 

EVENT HORIZON - FROM BEGINNING...TO END (Spreadit Agency, 2002 )

Produced By: Event Horizon

Tracks: 1- From Beginning...to end, 2- Darkning Light, 3- King of Unknown Land, 4- Flight of Fantasy, 5- Take me Out (new version)

Engineered by Gianluca Amendolara

Recorded at Studio Avatara

This is one of the most powerful and imaginative progressive metal bands I have ever listened. Their music has a lot of ideas and at the same time has a lot of power (here is essential the role played by the heavy guitars and the powerful vocalist who adds a lot of energy to the lyrics and not only melodies as most singers in the style do). Here we have musicians that are really virtuosos, specially the keybaord player who does a lot of arrangements and solos through all the recording. An example of this aspects that I have described is the fast song called "Flight of Fantasy", closer to power metal but with much more arrangements and changes that most of the bands of the style do. A must for lovers of melodies and ideas in a heavy context. 

Favorite tracks: The five tracks here

Contact: www.eventhorizonband.com

REVIEW: ERNESTO DÍAZ-INFANTE & CHRIS FORSYTH - MARCH

 

ERNESTO DÍAZ-INFANTE & CHRIS FORSYTH - MARCH (Pax Recordings , 2002 )

 

Produced By: Ernesto Díaz-Infante and Chris Forsyth

Tracks: 1- 13 = Parts 1 to 13

Cover Art by Maria DumLao

Recorded at Wombat Recording

Here we have the new duet album with the two great guitarists and musicians Ernesto Díaz-Infante and Chris Forsyth whom we have listened in numerous projects as Rev. 99 and All Time Present (this one is reviewed on this issue). On each track here Díaz-Infante and Forsyth develope new ideas and sounds that one may never have imagined could come from a guitar, piano or drum. Some of this sounds are more melodic and some of them are closer to noise, but each one has the trademark of the duo experimentation. Sometimes the improvisation (adorned with some vocals) becomes more weird and loose and sometimes more coherent but this guys are breaking sonic boundaries all the time. As I said with the previous album: fans of experimentation should check this one. 

Favorite tracks: "Part 3", "Part 6" and "Part 8"

Contact: www.paxrecordings.com

REVIEW: ENID - ABSCHIEDSREIGEN

 

ENID - ABSCHIEDSREIGEN (CCP Recs., 2000 )

Mastering By: Claus Prellinger

Tracks: 1- Erinnerungen, 2- Weg Der Weisung, 3- Reverie of Youth in Spheres of Dream, 4- Meer Der Einsamkeit, 5- Zug der Vergessenen Reiter, 6- Bondage´s Coronation, 7- Herbststurm, 8- Whispering of Goodbye

Cover Art by Florian Dammasch

Recorded at CCP Studio

Starting softly with a piano intro on the first track "Erinnerungen", this CD changes fastly its pace getting into some of the best progressive black/death metal I have ever listened. Full of different arrangements, orchestrations, melodies and keyboards progressions and many more ingredients, Enid music is a pleasure for the ears of those who want powerful music and at the same time want to be surprised with new things. In fact here we have excellent piano parts, male and female choir melodies, amazing orchestrations. All of this is complemented with screaming vocals, fast drum parts, heavy guitar parts. This is with no doubt one of the albums of the month!!!! 

Favorite tracks: All the tracks. This is a masterpiece

Contact: www.ccprecords.com

REVIEW: ENDRAUM - IN FLIMMERNDER NACHT...

 

ENDRAUM - IN FLIMMERNDER NACHT... (Danse Macabre Rec., 1993)

Produced By: Ensraum

Tracks: 1- Ouvertüre, 2- Schatten Der Nacht, 3- Albatros, 4- Orthosia, 5- Nostalghia, 6- Krumme Schatten im Stummen Muster, 7- Hommage, 8- Dämmerung mein Lichterkranz, 9- Demeter, 10- Zerdrückte Kehle

Cover Art by Endraum

Recorded at Weisser Herbst Studios

This is quite an old release but I want to review it because of the beauty and magnificence of the music contained on this CD. The music here is really atmospheric and ethereal where the main thing are the keyboards arrangements and the female vocals which are really dark and deppressive. There are also some ethnic elements such as the percussion in some tracks. But everything here is done in order to achieve the darkest music possible. And Endraum does it through the melancholic keyboards and the whispering vocals that you can listen all over the place. This is a classic.

Favorite tracks: All the CD.