REVIEW: GB ARTS - THE LAKE

 

GB ARTS - THE LAKE (Pavement Music, 2001):

Technical Data:

Produced by Victor Smolski

Engineered and Mixed at VPS Studio, Hamm

Mastered at Pauler Acoustics, Nordheim

Track List: 1-A Voice, 2-The Surface, 3-Silver Rain, 4-Break Free, 5-My new World, 6-The Chosen One, 7-I Can´t Remember, 8-Shadows of faces, 9-Old Warriors, 10-The Darkest is Over

What we have here? A band from Germany playing classical/progressive metal in the vein of bands like Yngwie Malmsteen, Dream Theater, Stratovarius and even Fates Warning (Perfect Symmetry/Parallels era) with a terrible quantity and quality of keyboard/piano and guitars (excellent work of Andreas Beckmann and Andre Rasfeld). This album features also the participation of reknown guest musicians like Peavey Wagner (Rage) on vocals on a couple of tracks, Mike Terrana (Metalium, Yngwie Malmsteen, etc.) doing some narrations, Victor Smolski doing solos on two tracks and second guitar on two others. The sound is really good but I would have mixed the guitar higher and with a fatter sound to give still more power to the songs. What I found really original on this release are the vocal harmonies that are not like the ones used on the above-mentioned bands or in bands of the style (they sound more like harmonies from bands from the seventies, if you know what I mean). Favorite tracks: "Break Free" (some Kashmir-like keyboard parts), "I Can´t Remember" and "Old Warriors" (the most original song of the whole album with different vocals and guitars). Contact: www.pavementmusic.com and pvmnt@aol.com

REVIEW: EVANESCE - SOWER OF SEDITION

 

EVANESCE - SOWER OF SEDITION (Retribute Recs. , 2000):

Technical Data:

Recorded at Philias Studios.

Cover Artwork: Emma Stuart, Steve Holland

Track List: 1-Inertia, 2-Sower of Sedition, 3-Pathogenia, 4-Autumnal Death, 5-Forever In Shadows, 6-Altars Burn, 7-Winters Sun 8-Second City of Empire, 9-On Wings We Tread, 10-Internal Decadence

A really heavy and strong album !!!! After the intro "Inertia", the title track with its Death-like music surprises us with its great riffs and screaming vocals (thumbs up also for the drumming, specially the parts where he uses the ride cymbal, that are very original. A reference for me here is Death in the Spiritual Healing era or Carcass in ther acclaimed record Heartwork (specially on the vocals) and some melodies, that is fast, melodic, heavy and technical, focusing on the track as a song instead of just throwing a bunch of riffs together. There are also faster numbers like "Pathogenia" with a great melody in the middle (0:40). I think that this guys have a lot of imagination and they can play very tight, just listen to the faster parts with blast beats. Also thumbs up for the great sound, specially on the drums that are really clear and can be appreciated in all their magnitude as in the beginning of "Autumnal Death" or the beginning of "Forever in Shadows (with cleaner guitars playing enchanted and somber arpeggios. A must have. Favorite tracks: "Autumnal Death", "Altars Burn" and "Winters Sun". Contact: Retribute@aol.com or www.evanesce.co.uk

REVIEW: ETERNAL GRAVE - DEMO (15/8/99)

 

ETERNAL GRAVE - DEMO 15/8/99 (Independent , 1999):

Technical Data:

Recorded in rehearsals on August 15th , 1999.

Produced by Eternal Grave

Track List: 1-Las reglas de la Cordura, 2-Cardiofagia, 3-Nazareno; 4-La Evolución del dolor; 5-Sádico placer; 6-Síndrome de Reinfield

I must say that this Demo is not representative of the bands music anymore, because even if they are playing some of the songs presented here and the style is the same, the lineup that recorded this effort is not the same, having changed the vocalist and the bassist since then. And they have evolved a lot in their way of composing their music. The music contained here is death metal in the vein of Cannibal Corpse or Malevolent Creation, with emphasis on the technical side of the songs (listen to the killer drumming through all this release (and I must say that having witnessed this guy in rehearsal he has improved a lot). Interesting tempo and rhythm changes can be heard for example on "Cardiofagia" or in the beginning of "Nazareno". The two guitars are really tight, specially in the more rhythmic parts ("Nazareno" (0:57) (2:17)). The overall sound is pretty good for being the recording of a rehearsal two years ago. I am waiting for their new material that they told me they will record in August, with better sound and with all the evolution that this band has suffered in this time. Favorite tracks: "Nazareno", " La evolución del dolor" and "Síndrome de Reinfield". Contact: http://eternalgrave.com.ar 

REVIEW: EASY RIDER - EVILUTION

 

EASY RIDER - EVILUTION (Locomotive Music , 2000):

Track List: 1-Blessed, 2-Wormwood, 3-Babylon The Great, 4-Evilution, 5-From the Tribes, 6-Crowns of Gold, 7-, 8-Hiking Mars, 9-Signs, 10-The New Jerusalem, 11-Blazing Fire Victory, 12-When the Thousand Years are over, 13-So Shall Be

Acoustic introduction, with clean vocals ("Blessed"), then heavier parts with good rhythms (the first one from " Wormwood" reminded me of Queen´s "Stone Cold Crazy"). This is the sound of Easy Rider, in the vein of Judas Priest (listen to the beginning of "From the Tribes" to see what I am saying), Primal Fear and bands of the style. Maybe their weak point is originallity (like most of power metal bands nowadays), but they are a really strong band. I think that they must exploti riffs like the ones in "Babylon The Great" or "Evilution" to set them apart from the other bands of the genre. The sound of this release is really a good one and is better than the one that some of the main bands of the style have. Maybe another point to think about is using Eugenio Garañeda´s vocals in a way not so close to Rob Halford in some places. A good release for lovers of heavy metal. Favorite tracks: "The New Jerusalem", "Hiking Mars" and "Evilution" Contact: www.locomotivemusic.com .

REVIEW: DREAM DIVER - 606

 

DREAM DIVER - 606 (Independent, 2001):

Technical Data:

Recorded in Soundforge Studios.

Mastered in Powerplay Berlin

Track List: 1-Genau Dies, 2-Headless Procheck, 3-Stonewall, 4-Devil, 5-Gesichtspfand, 6-7/4, 7-Phantom, 8-Tag in Deinem Leben, 9-Cristae, 10-Open My Eyes

The curiosity here is that this band plays somem kind of metal that is sang in german and in english in some places. The vocal harmonies in "Genau Dies Wollte Wohl Keiner " reminded me of Faith No more, od the "Introduce Yourself" album and for example on "Headless Procheck" Chris vocals made me remind Glenn Danzig. Something weird.. I like the overdriven sound of the guitar, who seems to have a lot of space here since the riffs are a cross between metal and grunge or punk. Heavy tunes but with a pop sensibility to construct the songs. I liked a lot the clean guitar in "Stonewall", whose whole feeling is close to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers but with less funky rhythms. Also, there is a weirder side like on "7/4" with the funny vocals and the chorus harmonies that contrast a lot with the sound of the guitar. Really interesting. Favorite tracks: "Phantom", "Tag in Deinem Leben" and "Headless Procheck". Contact: hstahl@rz.uni-postdam.de

DIABOLIQUE - THE GREEN GODDESS

 

DIABOLIQUE - THE GREEN GODDESS (Orion Music Entertainment /Necropolis , 2001):

Track List: 1- On through the Night, 2- Remedy, 3- Innuendo, 4- White Nights, 5-Models, 6-Winter Blue, 7-All for You, 8- Elysee, 9-Snowblind, 10-Substancer.

Gothic, dark music with electronic elements and some pop sensibilities. This is how I would describe Diabolique´s music. Somber male vocals along with this rhythms designed to tap the floor with your feet are the constant here. On the first song called "On through the Night" you can also hear an encahnting female vocalist who helps to create the depressive atmosphere that reigns in Diabolique´s music. "Remedy", the second track made me think about Depeche Mode (this song could have been extracted from their CD "Ultra") because of the way the keyboards and electronics are used and because of the vocals that here are dangerously similar to Dave Gaham´s. The similarities disappear on the next track called "Innuendo" that is much closer to dark pop music than the others. I think this is an album for fans of gothic music and depressive atmospheres. Favorite tracks: "On Through the Night", "Remedy" and "All for You". Contact: furias@ssdnet.com.ar 

REVIEW: DEATH SS - PANIC

 

DEATH SS - PANIC (Lucifer Rising Recs. , 2000):

Technical Data:

Produced, Recorded and Mixed by Neil Kernon for Auslander.

Recorded at Rodgers Studios, Mantova.

Cover Art Concept: Steve Sylvester. Design: Enrico Lauricella

Track List: 1-Paraphernalia, 2-Let The Sabbath Begin, 3-Hi-Tech Jesus, 4-Lady of Babylon, 5-The Equinox of The Gods, 6-Ishtar, 7-The Cannibal Queen, 8-Rabies is A Killer, 9-Tallow Doll, 10-Hermaphrodite, 11-Panic, 12-Auto Sacramental

Strongest Death SS album up to the date, at least talking about riffs and sound !. A short intro called "Paraphernalia" with some keyboard sounds and voices in english and spanish leads us to "Let the Sabbath Begin" a song destined to be a new  Death SS classic. The hard rock/heavy metal sound of this band is more evident here and the voice of Steve Sylvester takes new and very different directions (similar to Alice Cooper/Trent Reznor/Kevin DuBrow and many more). "Hi-Tech Jesus" is still more rock and roll with interesting double bass drumming (almost mechanical). I think that what makes this band really special are the hooks that their songs have, you listen to them one time and you are singing the choruses along the record. It is interesting to see how they can mix this more rocking songs with darker ones like "Lady of Babylon" (with Francesca Cassio´s female vocals) or "The Equinox of the Gods" (lot of keyboards here). Originality is what comes to my mind here, because nowadays there are only a few bands trying to do this style of music and trying to experiment with the songs at the same time. Favorite tracks: "The Equinox of the Gods", "Ishtar" and "Tallow Doll". Contact: www.deathss.com

REVIEW: DEATH SS - LET THE SABBATH BEGIN

 

DEATH SS - LET THE SABBATH BEGIN (Lucifer Rising Recs. , 2001):

Technical Data:

Disc One mastered at Nc Gravity Studios, Florence.

Disc Two recorded live during the "Panic Tour 2000" by Ale Dufalini. Mastered at 00 Studios, Pisa.

Produced by Death SS

Cover Art / Design: Steve Sylvester and Massime Dellucci

Track List:

Disc 1 (Studio): 1-Let the Sabbath Begin, 2-Rim of Hell, 3-Let the Sabbath Begin (Pandemonium remix), 4-Hymn of The Satanic Empire or The Battle Hymn of The Apocalypse, 5-Ishtar (Great Mother Goddess Sexy Mix)

Disc 2 (live): 1- Let The Sabbath Begin, 2-Baphomet, 3-Lady of Babylon, 4-Baron Samedi, 5-Equinox of The Gods/Ishtar, 6-Medley (Black and Violet/Inquisitor/Cursed Mama/Chains of Death/Where Have you gone?/ Family Vault), 7-Scarlet Woman

This is a classical band from Italy, whose mainman Steve Sylvester is a cult hero among metal fans of that country. Their record "In death of Steve Sylvester" is a classic. This two CD set is comprised of one disc of studio and remixes tracks and one disc recorded live on tour in the "Panic 2000 Tour". The Studio Disc has an interesting version (Pandemonium Remix) of "Let the Sabbath begin" very close to the original but with some more keyboard touches and faster than the original version didn´t had. For those who doesn´t know the band, they make an interesting mix of hard rock and heavy metal with strong eighties influences and a very modern sound (on keyboards and guitars). "Rim of Hell" is another track remixed here that has an interesting result.The live disc is more energetic but the sound is quite muddy. Thumbs up for the medley consisting in parts of six DeathSS classics and the "Equinox of the Gods/Ishtar" track (more than twelve minutes long) that show what this band can do in front of an audience. A classic band that is still kicking asses. Contact: www.deathss.com

REVIEW: DARK FUNERAL - IN THE SIGN...

 

DARK FUNERAL - IN THE SIGN... (Necropolis Recs. , 2001):

Technical Data:

Recorded and Mixed at Hellspawn/Unisound Studios - January 1994.

Tracks 5, 6 recorded at Abyss Studios - March 1996

Produced by Dark Funeral and Dan Swanö. Tracks 5, 6 produced by Dark Funeral and Peter Tägtgren.

Track List: 1- Open the Gates, 2- Shadows Over Transylvania, 3- My Dark Desires, 4- In the Sign of The Horns, 5- Equimanthorn, 6- Call from the Grave

I have to make a warning here: this is not new material from Dark Funeral. In fact this is the reissue of some difficult to find material from the band from the period 1994-1996. This recording shows us all the trademarks that Lord Ahriman and Company have developed through all this years (obviously in a more primitive way, specially on the first four tracks) raw and fast balck metal with screaming vocals: A thing that maybe was new in 1994 but obviously is not new nowadays. The tracks recorded in 1996 ("Equimanthorn" and "Call from the Grave") have a better sound were you can hear clearly the instruments. Here you can see the evolution of the band that uses more catchy riffs apart from the blast beats that are so common in black metal. Also the first of this tracks has a catchy chorus (screaming Equimanthorn) that reminded me a lot of certain Venom classics. This is a CD for black metal fans or fans of the band that want to have all their material. Favorite tracks: The two newer ones. Contact: www.necropolisrecords.com 

REVIEW: BEHEMOTH - THELEMA 6

 

BEHEMOTH - THELEMA.6 (Avant Garde Music., 2001):

Technical Data:

Recorded and mixed in Hendrix Studios, Poland (July-August 2000)

Mixed by Nergal, Inferno and Arek Malczewski

Produced by Nergal and Behemoth.

Images and Sleeve Design: Graal

Track List: 1-Antichristian Phenomenon, 2-The Act of Rebellion, 3-Inflamed With rage, 4-Pan Satyros, 5-Natural Born Philosopher, 6-Christians to the Lions, 7-The Universe Illumination, 8-In the Garden of Dispersion, 9-Inauguration of Scorpio Dome, 10-23 (The Youth Manifesto), 11-Vinum Sabbati

Do you remember Behemoth´s first album? Well, this is a completely different band, the sound in fact is completely different. More polished. The raw black metal spirit is there but done in a much better way with more original ideas. A great surprise is the great production that Nergal has achieved here that emphasize the power of the instrumentation and certain subtle ideas (like guitar lines that are in the background or some keyboards) that would not have had the same effect if the sound had been poorer. It is good to see the evolution of this band in a different way than a lot of others that radically change their style. In fact, the good thing about "Thelema 6" is that it has allowed the band to get better and at the same time evolve in the correct direction, one of originality, personality and better musicianship. Contact: www.avantgardemusic.com .