REVIEW: AMORPHIS - AM UNIVERSUM

 

AMORPHIS - AM UNIVERSUM (Relapse Recs. , 2001):

Technical Data:

Recorded, Mixed and Mastered at Finnvox Studios, Helsinki - October/December 2000.

Produced by Simon Efemey

Engineered by Mikko Karmila & Simon Efemey

Cover Art / Design: http://lahco.bombsquad.org

Track List: 1- Alone, 2-Goddess (of the sad man), 3- The night is over, 4- Shatters Within, 5- Crimsom Wave, 6- Drifting Memories, 7- Forever More, 8- Veil of Sin, 9- Captured State, 10- Grieve Stricken Heart.

This is Amorphis new album !!! Starting were "Tuonela" left, this album has not big changes compared to that one, in fact it is like a continuation of the path started then. Maybe "Am Universum" is a little bit more melancholic, but without losing the strength that was manifested through "Elegy" or "Tuonela". The album opens with two killer tracks: "Alone" and "Goddess" showing all the elements that we know that Amorphis can use. Pasi Koskinen has now taken complete control over the vocals and lyrics (and that has made this aspect somewhat more introspective). There are also elements that can take us back to "Elegy" for example the beginning of "The night is over" with one heavy guitar and wah wah on the other, making that psychodelic sound that characterized the heavier songs on that album. Talking about introspection, I think that here is one of the most ethereal and introspecive songs in Amorphis career and that is "Shatters Within". Amorphis continues on the path they created. Favorite tracks: "Goddess (of the sad man)", "Crimson Wave" and "Veil of Sin" (with saxophone included). Contact: www.relapse.com

REVIEW: YEARNING - FRORE MEADOWS

 

YEARNING - FRORE MEADOWS (Holy Recs. - 2001): Yearning is a duo that has made its impact in the underground since a while, Their new recording, this"Frore Meadows" shows us a band in evolution towards melodic and experimental fields (like Tiamat did but without the electronic sounding elements) . the main feature of Yearning is the singer with a privileged voice, almost operistic in some places and really death metal in others and who gives a lot of dynamism to the songs, listen for example the song that opens the CD ("Bleak"). The acoustic guitar parts or the ones without distorsion are abundant on this CD and I think that this is what the band uses to make of their music something extremely original and unique, together with the keyboards that maybe ar mixed a little bit lower than I would like. The atmosphere of songs like "Solitary" or "Autumn" is really depressive with beautiful melodies that enhance this feeling. Favorite Tracks: "Bleak", "In Strange Slowfooted Fever" y "Elegy of Blood". Contact: holyrecords@wanadoo.fr

REVIEW: VISIONARIES OF THE MACABRE - VOL 2

 

VISIONARIES OF THE MACABRE - VOL.2 (Lost Disciple Recs. - 2001): This is a compilation from Lost Disciple Recs. showing black metal bands from the USA. Bands like Bloodstorm, Kult ov Azazel, Abysmal Fall, Bloodshed Divine, Noctuary or Averse Sefira have their place here together with a lot of others of the same style. Due to their power and quality I would like to pick up some of the bands, first of all Noctuary (for the reasons that I wrote in the review of their record) with "Eternity Everfading", then Kult ov Azazel that are a very interesting band, despite the sound that the song presented her has that is worse than the one in their debut CD, also Averse Sefira with all their strength (they use an electronic drum but now they have a killer drummer), Cryptic Winds that presents us their track "Storms of the Black Millenium" with a strange black metal sound (the mix is not too good, it has too much reverb in the vocals…it seems recorded in a cave) and Corvus Coraz, with one of the best tracks (at least one of the most elaborated ones) that is "Terminus Est" with clean guitar introduction and melodies. Contact: www.lostdisciple.com or ALHuman@aol.com

REVIEW: VARATHRON - THE LAMENT OF GODS

 

VARATHRON - THE LAMENT OF GODS (Precipice Recordings - 2001): The legend of Greek balck metal is back!!!!! This is one of the bands that started the black metal scene in Greece togethere with Rotting Christ and Necromantia in the beginning of the nineties. Not like the first ones, Varathron continued to do the same style of melodic black metal that carachterized them, evolving but not changing style. This MCD (they are recording the follow up) starts with "Fire Spell/Forbidden Lust" a mid tempo track with interesting keyboard interventions and intelligent ideas. The main feature of Varathron´s music are their rhythms designed to blat your head off and their melodies that are all over the place done with guitars and keyboards. A clear example of this is "The World Through Ancient Eyes". Really good recording of this masters of darkness. I only have to add: We are awaiting for the new long duration recording. Contact: paganrec@polbox.com

REVIEW: AVERSE SEFIRA - BATTLE´S CLARION

 

AVERSE SEFIRA - BATTLE´S CLARION (Lost Disciple Recs., 2001):

Technical Data:

Recorded in Isotopia Studios, Austin, Texas

Produced by Stuart Lawrence and Averse Sefira

Cover Art: Jonzig, Layout / Design: Erika Swinnich (DS Design and Promotions)

Track List: 1- Battle´s Clarion, 2-Condemned to Glory, 3-Withering the Storm, 4- Deathymn, 5-The Nascent Ones (The Age of Geburah), 6-Argument Obscura, 7-The Thousand Aeon Stare, 8-Fallen Beneth the Earth, 9-Ablaze

I first listened to Averse Sefira´s music in the  Visionaries of the Macabre Vol. 2 Compilation (yes; the one I reviewed on last issue). The band got my atention because of the tightness in their playing and the use of electronic drums. Now, with the addition of a real drummer they develope their style of raw black metal with interesting atmospheres and riffs (check the beginning of "Condemned to Glory" to see some unconventional riffing and drumming). Really rotten vocals and an emphasis on dissonances and exotic melodies are what distinguish this band from others of the same style (check the melody at 2:23 of the above mentioned track to see what I am talking about. Tracks at full speed like "Deathymn" (great middle part at 1:02) are hand to hand with really calm tracks like the third one called "Withering the Storm" that is like an ambient interlude with some nature sounds. My absolutely favorite track in this album is "The Nascent Ones...", really atmospheric (some Slayer and Satyricon influences in there) with great sound like in all the album. A powerful release from this guys from whom I would like to listen more in the future. Favorite tracks: "The Nascent Ones", "Fallen beneath the Earth" and "Argument Obscura". Contact: ALHuman@aol.com or www.lostdisciple.com

REVIEW: UNDAGROUND DISCIPLES

 

UNDAGROUND DISCIPLES - UNDAGROUND DISCIPLES (Meathook Recs. - 1998): This guys are from the USA and they make a style that we could call rapcore since it is a mix of rap and hardcore. Maybe it is a matter of taste, but among the CDs from Meathook Recs. this is the one that I liked les (the rap parts, because the screaming choruses are really good). "Psychological Phenomenon" is the first song that I am talking about and it has a good guitar riff at 2:49 (in the end) that I woudl have liked to be used more. "Abduction" is a song that I like more because here the hip hop is not so in the front, is only a part of the song. In "Infiltrate" the rapped voices seem better done and together with tha main riff, ehich is really well done make this the better song from the CD for me. Favorite tracks: "Infiltrate", "Consensus" (really Biohazard style) and "Abduction". Contact : meathookrecords@mediaone.net or www.meathookrecords.com

REVIEW: TU CARNE - ANTOLOGIA DEL HORROR EXTREMO

 

TU CARNE - ANTOLOGIA DEL HORROR EXTREMO (Independent - 2001): As I consider myself almost an expert in serial killer, I have recognized that the intro of this CD talks about the famous seventies killer Ed Kemper, because of the part where it describes how he killed his other, cut her head, cut her vocal chords and threw them in the toilet. Interesting beginning for this CD. The music here is pure Grindcore from Spain, with a really gutural voice, interesting drumming patterns, specially in "Una vez derretida". The CD is made of this intro, eleven tracks from Tu Carne and one Terrorizer cover "Fear of the Napalm". The tracks are short and direct, and that makes this band more interesting and easy to follow than other bands. We continue with serial killers …track number four called "Violación" has the same voice speaking about the last murder done by Ted Bundy, one of the most terrible serial killers of the USA, (the one of 12 year old Kimberly leach) before starting with a hyperdistorted bass and a not so fast song, but really heavy and good track with good riffs. I think this is a good , specially in the parts of grewat riffs that are not necessarily done at a lot of speed, instead they try to make them sound heavier than hell…it is also really well recorded despite being and Independent production. Favorite tracks: "Simulando una operación" , "Odio" and "Una vez Derretida". Contact: rbrt@ono.com

REVIEW: TRANCE TO THE SUN - ATROCIOUS VIRGIN

 

TRANCE TO THE SUN - ATROCIOUS VIRGIN (Precipice Recordings - 2001): Strange band coming Santa Bárbara, California. Strange sound is the one that we have here. They have a really good use of disonances (are those notes in the beginning of "Sleeping with the Natives" flat ninths?). Really good female vocals ! Very different from what one could expect…they are more whispering, more twisted. There are also a lot of electronic elements in this CD that make the result even more weird, the guitars are distortes in an industrial way and the bass has a really particular sound. I had not listened anything from this band before, but this really surprised me,. Is not a recording so easy to listen, but if you listen to it very carefully many times, you will always find different things. I liked a lot the sound of the recording, done in the Lions Den Studios and mastered in the Soundscape Studios by Robert Rich. Excelent band to sit and listen carefully trying to analize all the different aspects that make their music. Favorite tracks: "Thistle Lurid", "Map of the Lost" and "Terrible Parties". Contact: precipice@mindspring.com or www.trancetothesun.com

REVIEW: TIERRA SANTA - TIERRAS DE LEYENDA

 

TIERRA SANTA - TIERRAS DE LEYENDA (Locomotive Music - 2000): With an extraordinary packagin in digipack format and with the booklet with all te lyrics and pictures, arrives from Spain this CD of the band called Tierra Santa. An introduction with classical choirs and horse riding sound called "La Tormenta" introduce the title track. Specatcular sound! Even better than in a lot of bands that are the main bands in this power/heavy metal style (I liked a lot the bass sound…like a Steve Harris but more modern). This is all thanks to this professional musicians and the technology of the Estudios Sonido XXI from Pamplona and the production from Javier and Juanan San Martín, apart from the band who also produced it. Really great work from Arturo in the guitars of the track "Sodoma y Gomorra". The lyrics are in Spanish and they make the songs sound strange and cool. Fans of power metal…buy or die!!!! Favorite tracks: "La canción del Pirata", "El secreto del Faraón" and "La Torre de Babel". Contact: . www.locomotivemusic.com

REVIEW: SIRIUS - SPECTRAL TRANSITION - DIMENSION SIRIUS

 

SIRIUS - SPECTRAL TRANSMISION - DIMENSION SIRIUS (Nocturnal Art Prods. - 2001): I did not know this band until this record came to my hands. I don´t know if this is their first CD but what they show here is a powerful black metal, with the feature of a machine sounding drums (like Fear Factory´s Raymond Herrera) and very interesting keyboards (they are making chord progfressions most of the time, but in some points they make some phrases similar tu guitars, like the russian band Azeroth does) the lyrics are about dimensions, corridors, metamorphosis, they are quitre abstract. After the brief introduction "Spectral Transition", the CD starts with all its strength in "Spiritual Metamorphosis - destroy the earthly" and continues like that through all the recording. There are moments that are really interesting and you can see that this guys have rehearsed a lot to achiev this results. Another thing (one of the best) are the guitarists, with their short solos and melodies, creating together with the keyboards and the drums this metal monster called Sirius. Favorite tracks: "Axis", "Into Forbidden Dimensions" and "Paradox Timeline".Contact: www.neverland.un/sirius or www.nocturnalart.com