REVIEW: EVER SINCE - FIGHT THE ELEMENTS

EVER SINCE - FIGHT THE ELEMENTS (Sweet Nausea Promotions, 2002)

Produced By: Ever Since

Tracks: 1- Burning Inside, 2- Heart of Ice, 3- Brainstorm, 4- Back to life, 5- Who´ll Save Us, 6- A Letter for the Lady who Haunts My Nights

Cover Art by Jeremy In-Albon

Recorded at Studio XH-Virtual

This album opens powerfully with loud drumming and some electronics in "Burning Inside". How well combined are the multiple arrangements that the band do with the brutality that they deliver in many of the tracks. How well composed are the keyboards arrangements and the clean guitar parts. How incredibly well have been the vocals done in order to fit the music. And what a good sound this album has, specially on the killer drums (with a lot of double bass drumming). This record delivers darkness and sad feelings combined with power and energy on each of the compositions. The riffs and multiple parts are complex and the band has the technical skills needed in order to play them correctly. This is an album that you have to buy or die.

Favorite tracks: All the CD. One of the albums of the year

Contact: www.eversince.net or www.sweetnausea.com

REVIEW: ETERNAL SILENCE - THE DAWNING OF CHAOS

 

ETERNAL SILENCE - THE DAWNING OF CHAOS (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: Eternal Silence

Tracks: 1- Global Castration, 2- Left To Die, 3- Fading Inside, 4- Consumed By Darkness

Here is this MCD from this band that creates a unique style: they mix extremely heavy guitars with clean parts that make the tracks really atmospheric and charming while at the same time brutal as hell. There are multiple guitar melodies here combined with the crushing guitars and the drums don´t play what the listener expects prefering to create their own style instead of copying styles. There is heavy use of double bass drumming in tracks like "Left to Die". There are death metal vocals that add brutality to the music while the guitars play violent riffs in the vein of the most brutal death metal bands. People who like brutality but want at the same time many ideas will like Eternal Silence.

Favorite tracks: The four

Contact: www.eternaldeath.com

REVIEW: ENTHRONED - CARNAGE IN WORLDS BEYOND

 

ENTHRONED - CARNAGE IN WORLDS BEYOND (Napalm Recs. / Hellion Recs., 2002)

Produced By: Harris Johns

Tracks: 1- Boundless Demonication, 2- Infernal Flesh Massacre, 3- Spawn From the Abyss, 4- Bloodline, 5- Jehova Desecration, 6- Diabolic Force, 7- Land of Demonic Fears, 8- Radiance of Mordacity, 9- Graced by Evil Blood, 10- Carnage in Worlds Beyond, 11- The Septentrional Shrine (bonus), 12- The Horny and the Horned (bonus), 13- Genocide 2002 (bonus)

Cover Art by N. Daemon and Nornagest

Recorded in Spiderhouse Studios

The black metal beasts are back!! This time with the production of Harris Johns that has given their extremely raw sound an additional touch to make it sound even more powerful. As you may know this band plays the rawest type of black metal with extremely fast riffs, blast beats and extreme vocals. This time they show us that the band can evolve without loosing quality and brutality. Here they have included the usual fast riffs and they have combined them with some old school metal riffs (as in the first track "Boundless Demonication") that add new feelings to Enthroned´s music. I have to remark that this album contains the best compositions that the band has done up to know including many technical changes and melodies that add a lot to the extreme sound of the band. The album has a killer mix that makes things even more powerful.

Favorite tracks: "Boundless Demonication", "Bloodline" and "Graced by Evil Blood"

Contact: www.hellionrecords.com

REVIEW: ENGRAM - WINDOW OF SOUL

 

ENGRAM - WINDOW OF SOUL (Kick Promotion Agency, 2002)

Produced By: Engram

Tracks: 1- Without Soul, 2- Eaten from Inside, 3- Window of Death, 4- Revenge

Cover Art by Paolo Girardi

Recorded at MR Studio

Engram´s music is really complex and original. With many elements of death metal and countless arrangements done by the guitars, the drums and the bass we have here a very technical band that delivers brutality with originality in thefour tracks that are contained on this CD. I have to remark the amazing technical skills that this guys must have to do all the changes in tempo and moods that the compositions here have. The sound of the recording is good, speacially on the guitars and that gives a lot of power to the songs and combined with the cleaner guitar parts give a lot of identity to this band. Now we want a full length release from this band.

Favorite tracks: The four

Contact: www.kickagency.com

REVIEW: EBLIS - ...AND OUR TIME ANNOUNCES BLACK

 

EBLIS - ...AND OUR TIME ANNOUNCES BLACK (Faithless Prods, 1998)

Produced By: Eblis

Tracks: 1- Fall of the Usher, 2-...And our Time Announces Black, 3- Ceremony (Dance Macabre), 4-Travel Through Eternity, 5- Rite of Pass Away, 6- Last Dream in Darkness

Cover Art by Krzysztof Lutostanski

Recorded at Cyber Studio

This is quite an older release but I really considered that fitted Music Extreme´s spectre and decided to include this review. Eblis is a black metal band full of keyboards and atmospheric parts that combine perfectly with the most aggressive and raw parts. There are many blast beats parts but they are combined with dark keyboards progressions and many changes in speed that are combined with cleaner vocals (harmonized with the most extreme ones). This guys use heavily bells sound to give some darker twist to their music (check "Ceremony (Dance Macabre)"). The best thing here are the melodies that are achieved through the keyboards and the guitars and that give originality to Eblis music. Black metallers will surely like Eblis.

Favorite tracks: "Ceremony...", "Travel through Eternity" and "Rite of Pass Away"

REVIEW: DYSMORFIC - BORN TO BE FUCKED EP

 

DYSMORFIC - BORN TO BE FUCKED EP (Uxicon Recs. 2002)

Produced By: Dysmorfic

Tracks: SIDE 1: 1- Assmouth, 2- Fake, 3- Short Story, 4- Blind Trust, SIDE 2: 5- I can´t Stand, 6- Ciecita Mentale, 7- Violence is the way, 8- Fuck you, idiot, 9- Blitzkrieg Bop

Cover Art by Dysmorfic

Here we have a 7" EP by this ultra raw grind band !! Here we have the ultra speed in the riffs, the bklast beats, the guttural vocals. Everything has here total brutality and some death metal elements that give a special flavour to Dysmorfic´s music. Plus, here we have guitars that sound fat and with a really raw sound. I would like the band to mix a little bit louder the drums (not the cymbals) to make things even wilder and more bestial. Here we have nine pure grind compositions with good sound and also here we have a cover of the Ramones "Blitzkrieg Bop" than in the Dysmorfic way. Really devastating!!! 

Favorite tracks: "Fake", "Blind Trust" and "Violence is the Way"

Contact: brenda.b@skynet.be

REVIEW: DISPARAGED - DEATHTRAP

 

DISPARAGED - DEATHTRAP (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: Disparaged

Tracks: 1- Bloodstained Hands, 2- Souvenir, 3- Serpent´s Tongue, 4- Confide in me, 5- Salvation

Cover Art by Oli Studer

Recorded at Assburn Studios

This release is really brutal!! It has many elements of death metal and black metal and a really modern sound (including programmed drums) that give a machine-like feeling to each of the songs. The songs are fast with furious riffs that are designed to crush tyhe listener´s brain and ultra fast parts (including blast beats in some parts, check "Confide in Me"). The sound of the guitars is devastating and when combined with the extreme vocals they make the brutal Disparaged sound with extreme violence. I have to remark the good sound that this recording has (including the programmed drums that are difficult to mix to make it sound really well). Here we have five songs that deliver brutality and energy with interesting musicianship. 

Favorite tracks: "Souvenir", "Serpent´s Tongue" and "Salvation

Contact: www.disparaged.ch

REVIEW: DISGUISE - IMPETUS MALI / MORS FIDEI

 

DISGUISE - IMPETUS MALI / MORS FIDEI (Independent, 200)

Produced By: Disguise

Tracks: 1- The End of Mankind Is Arrived, 2- The Unchangeable Truth, 3- Impetus Mali / Mors Fidei, 4- the Calice of Death, 5- Puppets in the hands of fear, 6- A Dreary Night of November

Cover Art by Disguise

How to mix in a really good way extreme brutality with interesting compositions? Well, maybe listening to Disguise´s music will give you an answer. This band plays what I would call black/death metal with a lot of keyboards ideas that add originality to each of the compositions. Here you have extreme vocals (a mix of guttural vocals and of the type used in balck metal bands) mixed with fast riffs with twisted guitar ideas (as you may listen in "The Unchangeable Truth (2:35)) and many keyboard melodies and passages that give the darkest feeling to each of the songs while at the same time contrasting with the guitars and adding interesting arrangements to the compositions. I would define Disguise´s music as the perfect balance between what is extreme and brutal and what is subtle and original.

Favorite tracks: "The Unchangeable Truth", "The Calice of Death" and "Puppets..."

Contact: disguise666@hotmail.com

REVIEW: DFA - WORK IN PROGRESS LIVE

 

DFA - WORK IN PROGRESS LIVE (Moonjune Records, 2002)

Produced By: D.F.A.

Tracks: 1- Escher, 2- Caleidoscopio, 3- Trip on Metró, 4- La Via, 5- Pantera, 6- Ragno

Cover Art by Leonardo Pavkovic

Recorded Live at Lehigh University´s Zoellner Arts Center

This is a live recording from this great italian progressive band taken from their presentations in June 2000 in the USA. Here we have a band that is full of complex ideas, arrangements and incredible melodies. The guys in DFA shows on this record that the incredible musicianship that tghey achieve in studio is also achieved live. Starting with "Escher" you will hear the guitar and keyboards playing melodies before the complex drumming enters. It is incredible the way this four musicians interact without missing a beat and always creating new melodies and taking the songs to new boundaries. The shortest track here is more than six minutes long and I really liked the longest tracks here because each minute brings you new ideas from this great italian band. Lovers of original ideas in music will surely love DFA.

Favorite tracks: The six

Contact: www.moonjune.com

REVIEW: DEVOURED - NECROBSCENITY

 

DEVOURED - NECROBSCENITY (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: Devoured

Tracks: 1- Orgasm in Blood, 2- Take Her From Behind, 3- She, the Vampire, 4- Barbarian Sodomy, 5- Maniac

Cover Art by Devoured

Recorded at The Noise Factory Records

Ultra brutal death metal with devastating sound and guttural vocals. Hyper fast riffs with some open chords in many parts as in "She, the Vampire" that give a lot of hooks to the tracks. Double bass drumming with extreme precission. This are some of the features that Devoured´s music has. Combined with a really good mix and sound gives us one of the most brutal releases of the years. The main thing here are the brutal as hell guitars with fat sound that throw here and there some pinch harmonics adorning the riffs and adding a lot of musicality to this bestial band. If you like bands that are extremely brutal but at the same time have originality and a good sound then you will surely like Devoured

Favorite tracks: The five.

Contact: www.devoured.be.tf