REVIEW: OVERDRIVE 20 YEAR TRIBUTE COMPILATION

OVERDRIVE 20 YEAR TRIBUTE COMPILATION (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Tony De Block

Tracks: 1- ARTRACH "Curse of the Gladiator", 2- ARCHAI "Green Wave", 3- ESSATIC "Vermin", 4- BELLATOR "The Pulsar Voyage", 5- MOUSE ANALYSE "My Love For You?!, 6- MINDSTAB "Black Vise", 7- MORTIFER "The Old Monastery Infestation", 8- ACKROS "Pause", 9- DOUBLE DIAMOND "Run If You Can", 10- URZAMOTH "Sword of Destiny", 11- EVERGLOW "Lost In the Woods", 12- WELKIN "Sonic Death Monkey", 13- BLACK SNOW "Tales of Greed", 14- FLESHMOULD "NME", 15- CONTR-X "Embrace Our Slumber", 16- DEDICTED "Le grand Mal", 17- CRUSADER "King of Kings", 18- EXISTENCE DENIED "Numb To Reality"

Recorded at Midas Studios

Overdrive is a metal radio show that has been on the air for more than twenty years. And to celebrate this anniversary they have released this compilation CD with all bands from Belgium that have recorded this songs specailly for this album. Here you have bands from every metal style of the specter. Here you have the death/black metal of Archai, the death metal of Essatic, the more progressive metal sound of Everglow, the more straightforward heavy metal of Crusader and many more. The bands have a lot of quality and we have here more than seventy minutes of pure metal. The sound of the CD is good considering that each band recorded its song in just one session in the studio. This is a really good tribute for people that have fought for a long time for this style of music.

Favorite bands: Bellator, Dedicted, Everglow and Urzamoth

Contact: www.overdrive666.tk

REVIEW: OBITUARY - ANTHOLOGY

 

OBITUARY - ANTHOLOGY (Roadrunner Records, 2000)

 

Compiled By: Donald tardy, Obituary and Monte Conner

Tracks: 1- Find The Arise (demo), 2- ´Til Death, 3- Internal Bleeding, 4- Intoxicated, 5- Slowly We Rot, 6- Cause of Death, 7- Dying, 8- Chopped in half, 9- Turned Inside Out, 10- Back To one, 11- The End Complete, 12- I´m In pain, 13- Kill For Me, 14- Final Thoughts, 15- Don´t Care, 16- Threatening Skies, 17- By the Light, 18- Back From the Dead, 19- Buried Alive, 20- Boiling Point (212º Sporadic Mix)

Mastered by George Marino, Chris Gehringer and V E Nastasi

This is a compilation CD with songs coming from all of Obituary´s releases (except from the live album). Some of the songs here have been remastered and have a better sound than in their original versions (specially the ones from the "Slowly We Rot" album which had a rather primitive sound). Here we also have some difficult to find tracks like "Find the Arise" a 1986 demo from the beginnings of the band when they were called Xecutioner. We also have here "Buried Alive" and "Boiling Point (212º Sporadic Mix)" which are unreleased tracks that can be listened here for the first time. A must for Obituary fans. 

Favorite tracks: "Slowly We Rot", "Chopped in Half" and "The End Complete"

Contact: www.roadrunner.com

REVIEW: NOWHERE - ....RAGE AFTER SILENCE

 NOWHERE - ....RAGE AFTER SILENCE (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: Paso

Tracks: 1- My taking Off, 2- Saint Whore, 3- Mr.Nobody, 4- Cries

Cover Art by Nowhere

Recorded at Fear Studio

Nowhere plays really modern death/thrash metal with all that this expression means: that is heavy riffs, with a huge guitar sound in all the riffs, vocals in the vein of bands like Machine Head (that is sometimes screaming at the top of the lungs and sometimes singing eerie melodies) even if they are completely different than the ones in this band. Tghe four songs contained on this CD are extremely heavy and powerful and some of them like "Saint Whore" have really fast parts (with sort of a hardcore attitude). The whole recording has a killer sound and this is esential for the heavy sound that the band has achieved here (specially for the combination of guitars and bass in the heaviest parts). This is modern metal to destroy your brain with heavier than hell riffs.

Favorite tracks: "Saint Whore" and "Cries"

Contact: www.nowhere-akom.it

REVIEW: NOCTURNAL RITES - SHADOWLAND

NOCTURNAL RITES - SHADOWLAND (Century Media, 2002 )

Produced By: Daniel Bergstrand

Tracks: 1- Eyes of the Dead, 2- Shadowland, 3- Invincible, 4- Revelation, 5- Never Die, 6- Underworld, 7- Vengenace, 8- Faceless God, 9- Birth of Chaos, 10- The Watcher

Nocturnal Rites is with no doubt one of the most powerful power metal bands that have ever surfaced. First of all, their riffs are much more powerful than those that one can listen in any of the other bands of the style, they are faster and they don´t abuse the galloping rhythms prefering more interestiong riffs (check the "Shadowland" for example). Then they have a singer who sings putting all his guts in the melodies instead of simply abusing the high pitches melodies, and he has a lot of personality to distinguish his voice from the others of the style. Then this guys have Daniel Bergstrand producing them and that has made the guitars louder and more in your face as is also the keyboard (I like a lot the way this album is mixed because the production have make things tighter but have not taken the power of the band away as sometimes happen). Lovers of power metal will enjoy this one. 

Favorite tracks: "Underworld", "Faceless God" and "Revelation"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com

REVIEW: NOBODY´S FOOL - 2002

 NOBODY´S FOOL - 2002 (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: BK and Nobody´s Fool

Tracks: 1- Inside Out, 2- Hold On, 3- Forever, 4- Bye Bye

Cover Art by Nobody´s Fool

This is a four track demo promo CD from this australian rocking band. Here we have four new songs with a lot of hooks in the choruses and the riffs. The sound is a little bit more thin here than in the "II" CD (specially on the drums) and I liked more the drums sound in the other CD. The songs are well constructed and they have this eighties rocking feeling that is typical from this band. There are also the solos by BK that are an extra ingredient for Nobody´s Fool´s music that add some flavours that lovers of guitar will like. 

Favorite tracks: The Four

Contact: http://nobodysfool.cjb.net

REVIEW: NOBODY´S FOOL - II

NOBODY´S FOOL - II (Independent, 2001)

Produced By: Nobody´s Fool

Tracks: 1- Living in Another World, 2- Party, 3- Easy, 4- Forbidden Fruit, 5- Without You, 6- Heaven, 7- Born To the Sun, 8- Guiding Lights

Cover Art by Milosz

Recorded at EA Studios

Nobody´s Fool is a great hard rocking band from Australia. It ´s been a long time since I did not listened to an album as rocking as this one or the one by Machine Gun Kelly that we are reviewing too. The music here is heavily influenced by eighties rock and roll bands. One of the main things here is the job that BK, the guitarist does through all the recording. Playing all the rocking riffs and adding a lot of solos on each track here. Here we also have a rocking vocalist with some bluesy shades in his voice that add a warm touch to each of the tracks here. This is a demonstration that hard rock is not dead and that there are great bands like Nobody´s Fool out there!

Favorite tracks: "Living In Another World", "Born To the Sun" and "Heaven"

Contact: http://nobodysfool.cjb.net

REVIEW: NINE FINGERS LEFT - GROWING AS A HUMAN

 

NINE FINGERS LEFT - GROWING AS A HUMAN (Independent, 2001)

Produced By: Chico Santos and Johnny Cadaver

Tracks: 1- Make Up Your Mind, 2- Down To Nothing, 3- Found a New Day, 4- As a Human

Cover Art by Américas and NFL

Recorded at Morgan Sul Estudios

The CD starts really rhythmically in the vein of bands like Biohazard but even with more rhythm in the vocals. The guitars are here used to emphasize this type of rhythms that are constructed around some riff and the drums patterns. Here we have a lot of hardcore influences too that are evident mainly in some of the vocals and in some of the guitar riffs. The production here is very polished and the guitars sound specially heavy and clear. Ther is also use of clean guitars like in the beginning of "Down To Nothing" which soon get into heavier ones and into a faster rhythm. Lovers of bands like Biohazard or maybe later day Agnostic Front will like Nine Fingers Left with no doubt.

Favorite tracks: "Make up Your Mind", "Down To Nothing" and "As a Human"

Contact: ninefingersleft@hotmail.com

REVIEW: NIGHTWISH - CENTURY CHILD

NIGHTWISH - CENTURY CHILD (Spinefarm Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Tuomas Holopainen and Tee Cee Kinnunen

Tracks: 1- Bless the Child, 2- End of All Hope, 3- Dead To the World, 4- Ever Dream, 5- Slaying the Dreamer, 6- Forever Yours, 7- Ocean Soul, 8- Feel For You, 9- The Phantom of the Opera, 10- Beauty of the Beast

Cover Art by Markus Mayer

Recorded at Caverock Studios

Here we have Nightwish´s new album. And I have to say that this album is closer to "Oceanborn" than to "Wishmaster". Why? Because it has a heavier sound than on their previous release ("Wishmaster") which had a lot of emphasis on easy listening melodies. Here we have riffs that can be compared to the ones in classics like "Passion and the Opera" or songs like that one (check "Slaying the Dreamer"). On "Century Child" we have also more male vocals that contrast a lot with Tarja´s ones and add new sides to Nightwish´s music. The sound of this album is excellent and makes the music shine even more. .

Favorite tracks: "Slaying the Dreamer", "Beauty of the Beast" and "Ocean Soul"

Contact: www.spinefarm.fi

REVIEW: NEVER AGAIN - GERMAN DEATH METAL AGAINST FASCISM

 

NEVER AGAIN - GERMAN DEATH METAL AGAINST FASCISM (Deich Recs., 2002)

Produced By: Michael Eden

Tracks: 1- PROFANITY: Thw springs within, 2- SPAWN: At the Gates of Human Mercy, 3- MEATKNIFE: Bloodblister, 4- MEATKNIFE: Tombstone sucker, 5- TEARS OF DECAY: Redemption, 6- MENTAL ABERRATION: Escape from Within, 7- MALEDICTIVE PIGS: Delicay Deformity, 8- EMBEDDED: The forsaken Soul, 9- FETUS CHRIST: To those who Oppose, 10- GALLERY OF DARKNESS: Sea of Silence, 11- VERY WICKED: Creation of a God, 12-FALLEN YGGDRASIL: Nightflower, 13- IMPURE: Something Evil, 14- CRYPTIC: Shrinkhead Butt Plug, 15- ANASARCA: Something Evil, 16- INTESTIONAL INFECTION: Der Arbeiter, 17- INTESTIONAL INFECTION: Nazischweine, 18- THORNESBREED: Dream of Extinction, 19- FESTERING SALVIA: Festering Salvia Live, 20- OF TREES AND ORCHIDS: Nywlathetep; 21- FEARER: Stored Experiment; 22- DESPONDENCY: Dogmatic Strangehold

Cover Art by Michael Eden

Here we have 22 tracks of pure death metal from bands coming from Germany who show their feelings against fascism and nazism. Here is pure brutality with fast riffs from bands like Profanity or Of Trees and Orchids or the technicality of Embedded. There is a lot of difference in the sound of each band and some of them are mixed better than others but they all show teir brutality and their devastating riffs. My aboslute favorite here is Thornesbreed that delivers a brutal yet climatic tune that melts the listener´s brain. Apart from being a manifest against fascism this is a good sampler of underground death metal bands that are showing their talents in Germany today. A must

Favorite bands: Of trees and Orchids, Thornesbreed and Despondency

Contact: www.deichrecords.de

REVIEW: NECROPHOBIC - BLOODHYMNS

NECROPHOBIC - BLOODHYMNS (Hammerheart Records, 2002)

Produced By: Necrophobic and Tomas Skogsberg

Tracks: 1- Taste of Black, 2- Dreams Shall Flesh, 3- Act of Rebellion, 4- Shadowseeds, 5- Mourningsoul, 6- Helfire, 7- Cult of Blood, 8- Roots of Heldrassil, 9- Blood Anthem, 10- Among the Storms

Cover Art by Sebastian Ramstedt

Recorded at Sunlight Studios

Necrophobic is a powerful death/black metal band with interesting thrash touches. Here we have their powerful new album which was recorded on the mythic Sunlight Studios where the nineties scandinavian death metal scene developed. This time they have ten powerful tracks that are extremely fast and really powerful. Tobias Sidegård´s vocals are powerful as hell going from screaming to guttural but always adding power to the tracks. Also thumbs up for the killer drummer Joakim Sterner who can be clearly listened on this album (this CD has a great mix....Tomas Skogsberg is a genius doing this). The tracks here have subtle melodies as the ones you can hear in "Shadowseeds" which create a darker mood that is great in Necrophobic hands. 

Favorite tracks: "Dreams Shall Flesh", "Mourningsoul" and "Shadowseeds"

Contact: www.hammerheart.com