REVIEW: STRATOVARIUS - DREAMSPACE RE-RELEASE

STRATOVARIUS - DREAMSPACE (Century Media Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Timo Tolkki

Tracks: 1- Chasing Shadows, 2- 4th Reich, 3- Eyes of the World, 4- Hold on to your dream, 5- Magic Carpet Ride, 6- We Are the Future, 7- Tears of Ice, 8- Dreamspace, 9- Reign of Terror, 10- Thin Ice, 11- Atlantis, 12- Abyss, 13- Shattered, 14- Wings of Tomorrow

Cover Art by Markus Itkonen

Recorded at Soundtrack Studios

Century Media Brazil is rereleasing part of the history of metal with this Stratovarius release. This is one of the first albums of the finnish band. In fact of the most famous Stratovarius lineup we have only Timo Tolkki on guitars and voice and Jari Kainulainen on bass. Yes, on this album Tolkki was singing (before Timo Kotipelto entered the band) and his vocals are a little bit weaker than Kotipelto´s. But all the elements that made the band famous, such as the hooks in the choruses and the guitar and vocal melodies are present on this release. Plus, here are Tolkki´s ultra fast solos with a rawer sound and we have in the keyboards Antti Ikonen who is a really underrated keyboardist (they used to mix him very low in the recordings). This is to know the beginning of one of today´s top power/heavy metal bands.

Favorite tracks: "4th Reich", "We Are The Future" and "Reign of Terror"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com

REVIEW: SOULFLY - 3

 

SOULFLY - 3 (Roadrunner Records, 2002 )

Produced By: Max Cavalera

Tracks: 1- Downstroy, 2- Seek´N´Strike, 3- One, 4- L.O.T.M., 5- Brasil, 6- Tree of Pain, 7- One Nation, 8- 9-11-01, 9- Call To Arms, 10- Four Elements, 11- Soulfly III, 12- Sangue De Bairro, 13- Zumbi

Cover Art by Nevile and Nesta Garrick

Recorded at Chaton Studios

This is the third recording of the band whose leader and main composer is ex-Sepultura Max Cavalera. With this band Cavalera is using many ideas that were in Sepultura´s last album "Roots" such as the rhythmic riffs, the dissonant guitar solos and the ethnic drumbeats. This time we see no big changes (apart from some industrial touches that some of the songs here have) when compared to the firsrt two albums. What we find here are thirteen songs in the path that the first Souldfly album set but with a better sound. What I always find amazing is the capability of Cavalera of making songs with catchy choruses (check for example "Enterfaith"). This another step in Max Cavalera´s band career.

Favorite tracks: "Downstroy"

Contact: www.roadrunner.com

REVIEW: SOLITARY - 3 TRACK PROMO CD

 

SOLITARY - 3 TRACK PROMO CD (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Solitary

Tracks: 1- Spineless, 2- 15 Years, 3- Relentless

Cover Art by Solitary

How can we describe the songs that Solitary have recorded on this three track promo? Well, I find some things from death metal (some of the vocals), Then I find a lot of modern metal, specially on the guitar sound, the extremely rhythmic riffs (I can imagine a concert of this guys with a lot of moshing and stage diving!!!) and the crystal clear drum sound. It is really important the sound that this guys have achieved on this recording because it gives them a lot of extra power. In fact they have achieved sort of a mix of studio sound but with the energy of a live show. The vocals are of the screaming type and fit this powerful music perfectly. I think this band is the missing link between death metal and modern metal bands like Pro Pain or Crowbar. For lovers of both styles. 

Favorite tracks: The three

Contact: www.solitary.org.uk

REVIEW: SKINLAB - REVOLTING ROOM

 

SKINLAB - REVOLTING ROOM (Century Media, 2002 )

Produced By: Steve Evetts and Andy Sneap

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- Come Get It, 3- Slave The Way, 4- Purify, 5- Anthem for a Fallen Star, 6- Disturbing the Art of Expression, 7- Take as Needed, 8- Jesus Cells, 9- Never Give In, 10- One of Us

Recorded at Hyde Street Studios and Trident Studios

Skinlab is a powerful band that started their musical career in the nineties and soon become one of the most powerful bands out there. With an extremely modern sound with enormous guitars, drumming that sometimes is uiltra fast and heavy with double bass and stuff like that and sometimes is more groovy they developed a style of their own. This one is his new album after three years in silence. And this is a brutal comeback...the songs are extremely brutal and this is even more evident because of the excellent mix that the album has. Here we have ten songs where the guitarists devastate you, the drummer destroys your brain and the singer buries you with his vocals which are extreme but at the same time retain some melodies for the choruses. Modern metal for the masses!!!

Favorite tracks: "Slave the Way", "Take as Needed" and "Never Give In"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com

REVIEW: SERRATED SCALPEL - SUSPENDED IN MISERY

 

SERRATED SCALPEL - SUSPENDED IN MISERY (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Serrated Scalpel

Tracks: 1- Incipient Conquest, 2- Suspended in Misery, 3- Pernicious Encomium, 4- Denudation of the Scriptures, 5- Disinformation, 6- The Emblem of Immortality, 7- I.T.R., 8- Pariah, 9- Arcane Is That Which The Gods Bestow

Cover Art by Robbie Crash

Recorded in the Ammonia Gas Chamber

Serrated Scalpel is extremely brutal. Their music is heavy and deathly as hell but they achieve this brutality and violence through different styles. While there are many fast parts Serrated Scalpels uses heavier riffs than the faster ones...in fact the Serrated Scalpel sound is done by a combination of particular drumming with the guitars and the bass adding a lot of bottom end. The drummer is killer with the double bass and at the same time he is a master in accentuating the guitar riffs. One demonstration of this is the track "Pernicious Encomium". There are also really dense parts that are much slower than the rest and allows the band to change rhythms and riffs before getting into an aggressive aprt again. Lovers of brutal bands should check Serrated Scalpel.

Favorite tracks: "Pernicious Encomium", "Disinformation" and "Pariah"

Contact: www.serratedscalpel.cjb.net

REVIEW: SERPENT ECLIPSE - THE SEVEN DESIRES AND WOLVES BLOOD

SERPENT ECLIPSE - THE SEVEN DESIRES AND WOLVES BLOOD (Void Sector Recordings, 2002 )

Produced By: Serpent Eclipse

Tracks: 1- The Seven Desires...(intro), 2- A Sorcerer´s Suicide, 3- Cosmic Waveform Alchemy, 4- Twitch of the Death Nerve, 5- Scarlet Splendour, 6- Thy Bleeding Heavens, 7- When Purity Crawls to its grave, 8- Daimon Dementia, 9- ...Wolves´ Blood

Serpent Eclipse is pure hateful black metal with interesting features. First of all we have to say that this guys go most of the time at full speed but they make a lot of rhythmic changes and have a lot of diversity in the moods of the songs. Also a main characteristic of Serpent Eclipse´s music is the use of programmed drums that give a cybernetic feeling to the music and also the heavy use of keyboards that are esential for all the tracks. The guitars used by the band are extremely raw and make an interesting contrast with the magnificent keyboards making an amazing primitive-sophisticated antagonism within Serpent Eclipse´s music. A must.

Favorite tracks: All the tracks on this CD. Amazing.

Contact: www.voidsector.com

REVIEW: SCENT OF DEATH - ENTANGLED IN HATE

 

SCENT OF DEATH - ENTANGLED IN HATE (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Moncho Lusquiños and Scent of Death

Tracks: 1- Living Structures, 2- Tortured Mind, 3- Perpetual, 4- Feeling the Fear, 5- Entangled in hate, 6- Epilogue

Cover Art by Jaime Gago and Bernardo

Recorded at Taller de Música, Ourense, Spain

How can we describe this band´s music in one word? Brutal!!!! Yes, the music of this Spanish band is brutal as a hammer through your brain!!! But, at the same time this guys have achieved a good level of technical skills here, specially the drummer with interest patterns in the ride cymbal and in the double bass. There are also blast beats for lovers of the fastest parts. The vocals are extremely guttural and there are also some of the screaming type (but the main one is the most guttural). One good thing here is that despite the brutality of the music the guitarist makes some interesting melodies and solos like the one in "Living Structures" that change the mood of the song before getting into the most brutal part again. I recommend this recording to lovers of extremely brutal music done with good quality.

Contact: scentdeath@yahoo.es

REVIEW: SALEM - COLLECTIVE DEMISE

 

SALEM - COLLECTIVE DEMISE (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Salem

Tracks: 1- Broken Yet united, 2- Coming End of Reason, 3- Slave, 4- Act of War, 5- Collective Demise, 6- Dead Eyes, 7- Feed on Your Grief, 8- Decadence in Solitude, 9- Recall, 10- Inhuman Greed

Cover Art by Nir Gutraiman

Recorded at D.B Studios

Directly from Israel comes to us the pmain black/death metal band from that eastern lands. Here is Salem. Their music is amazing!! From extremely fast parts with almost blast beats (the sound is really good and the drums are perfectly mixed) to melodic intros with clean guitars and dual guitars that play melodies (with an eastern flavor in them like on "Collective Demise"). This guys are excellent musicians and they know how to play from the simplest riff to the most difficult one without hesitation. There are female vocals that give some atmospheric feeling to the tracks while the rest of the band continues to play heavy riffs. And this is one important part of Salem´s music....the mix of climatic parts or melodies with their heavier staff (as you can see through all this recording). A must for lovers of extreme music

Favorite tracks: "Dead Eyes", "Recall" and "Act of War"

Contact: http://all.at/salem

REVIEW: RUSH - VAPOR TRAILS

 

RUSH - VAPOR TRAILS (Atlantic Records, 2002 )

Produced By: Rush and Paul Northfield

Tracks: 1- One Little Victory, 2- Ceiling Unlimited, 3- Ghost Rider, 4- Peaceable Kingdom, 5- The Stars Look Down, 6- How It Is, 7- Vapor Trail, 8- Secret Touch, 9- Earthshine, 10- Sweet Miracle, 11- Nocturne, 12- Freeze (Part IV of "Fear"), 13- Out of The Cradle

Cover Art by Hugh Syme

Recorded at Reaction Studios

Since I am a fan of Rush´s music I could not let this album pass without reviewing it. This album starts with "One Little Victory" that is one of the most energetic tracks by the band since some years ago. As always here we have the combination of distorted and clean guitars used by Alex Lifeson, and here we have Gedy Lee´s bass lines and unique vocals and also we have Neil Peart´s unique drumming style (this guy is extremely influential for progressive bands like Dream Theater or Fates Warning). The songs are more direct than in many of the later albums by the band and that would maybe be liked by fans of the "2112" or "Fly By Night" era of the band (even if Geddy Lee is using now a different vocal tonality). Rush continues to make good albums.

Favorite tracks: "Ceiling Unlimited", "One Little Victory" and "How It Is"

Contact: www.rush.com

REVIEW: RUNNING WILD - PORT ROYAL

 

RUNNING WILD - PORT ROYAL (Century Media Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Running Wild

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- Port Royal, 3- Raging Fire, 4- Into the Arena, 5- Uaschitschun, 6- Final Gates, 7- Conquistadores, 8- Blown to Kingdom Come, 9- Warchild, 10- Mutiny, 11- Calico Jack

Cover Art by Sebastian Krüger

Recorded at Sky Trak Studios

Century Media Brazil is rereleasing this classic Running Wild album. This is the album that put the band in the top of the german metal world of the late eighties. With the previous great albums "Under Jolly Roger" and "Gates To Purgatorium", Running Wild established themselves as a great power metal band from Germany. But with this "Port Royal" they made the jump to success. Here we have eighties classics like "Port Royal", "Conquistadores", "Calico Jack" or "Final Gates" that have become icons in the history of metal music. Thumbs up for the release of this classic album from this classic band 

Favorite tracks: "Port Royal", "Conquistadores" and "Calico Jack"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com.br