REVIEW: ALTAR - RED HARVEST

 

ALTAR - RED HARVEST (Crash Music., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at Franky´s Recording Kitchen.

Produced by Peter De Koster, Berthus Westerhuis and Marcel Verdurmen

Artwork by Kelder and Kleijer.

Track List: 1- Sick, 2- The Stress Factor, 3- Spikes and Pain, 4- On the Throne, 5- The Unbeliever, 6- Red Harvest, 7- Generation X, 8- To my Friends (RIP), 9- Punishment for Decency.

Directly from the Netherlands here it comes one of the most emblematic bands from that country. Their music goes along the death metal paths with a more modeern touch that brings them also close to bands like Sepultura or Fear Factory. But this band puts more emphasis on brutality and in certain tracks like "The Stress Factor" on speed (this track has an excellent guitar phrase played over the chorus) and rhythm (killer double bass drumming in some tracks), without forgetting to add melodies here and there to spice up the results (as in the beginning of "Spikes and Pain" just to give an example). A really potent album from this band that has also the fame of being a great live act. Favorite tracks: "On the Throne" (melodies over a blast beat?!?!?!), "Red Harvest" and "Punishment for Decency". Contact: www.crash-inc.com

REVIEW: ACID DEATH - RANDOM´S MANIFEST

 

ACID DEATH - RANDOM´S MANIFEST (Black Lotus Recs., 2000)

Track List:1- Perfect Enemy, 2- Random´s Manifest Pt. 1, 3- Psycho love, 4- Sense of Annihilation, 5- Curse of Flesh, 6- In Sorrow, 7- Random´s Manifest Pt. II, 8- Misery colored yellow-black, 9- Teach To Kill, 10- Future Deadlock, 11- Random´s Manifest Pt. III, 12- W.A.R. (Wrong and Right)  

 Modern death metal in all its splendour. Acid Death, a greek death metal machine driven by an almost mechanical drum (courtesy of Costas T.). I loved the music of "Random´s Manifest Pt-1" with interesting keyboard parts, solos and a piano thrown into this death metal madness (really progressive...I wish this track would have been longer). The main element here is the antagony between the most brutal aprts and the dark melodies and experiments that this guys do through the whole recording....for example they do clean arpeggios after fast riffs or they throw a lot of clean guitars. There are also some keyboards enhancing all the results. Killer CD !!!!Favorite tracks: The whole recording. Contact: http://harmaforum.gr/Acid_Death/index_acid.html

REVIEW: NOMENMORTIS - HOW I LEARN TO BLEED... FOR THE THINGS I WISH TO FORGET

 

NOMENMORTIS - HOW I LEARN TO BLEED...FOR THE THINGS I WISH TO FORGET (Jackhammer Music, 2000):

Technical data:

Recorded at Accelerate Studios

Track List: 1- Mercy Dies Right Now (intro), 2- War Chant of the Hated Spawn, 3- maggot Tribe, 4- Tedd Deireadh - Conjunction for Armaggeddon, 5- Left there something to live for?, 6- Seen Through the Thorns of Despair, 7- Empirium of Mist, 8- Something Almost Buried, 9- Another Starblaze...Another Tragedy?, 10- Unholy Voices of Reason - Godexpeller, 11- Outcry of Senseless Sacrificed - Let me die at Last, 12- Eternal Shadow has Arrived (outro)

Death metal !! Yes, death metal in all its magnitude is what this band brings us with their latest release (they are recording new stuff now). The music here is technical death metal with an emphasis in brutality and really well constructed guitar solos . Crushing rhythms and a fat guitar sound made this release a powerful one within the realm of death metal music. Favorite tracks: "Unholy Voices of Reason...", "Outcry of Senseless Sacrificed..." and "Left there something to live for?". Contact: nomenmortis@post.sk

REVIEW: NOMENMORTIS - PROMO 2001

 

NOMENMORTIS - PROMO 2001 (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded, Mixed and Mastered between 16 may and 18 june, 2001 at Tomako´s Sound Laboratory.

Track List: 1- Mitgefangen Mitgehangen (Neckbreaking Consequences), 2- Stunning Sweetness of Revenge, 3- Steel Wind Symphony, 4- Something Almost Buried (2001 Re-recording)

Nomenmortis, one of the main names in the Slovakian death metal scene is here with a demonstration of what they are doing nowadays. The music is brutal death metal with some vocals that are similar to those used by grindcore bands (because they are really guttural). There are all the elements of the style: fast rhythms, drums at a thousand miles per hour, guttural vocals, maniac solos. I think that the band should use more riffs like some of the used in "Stunning Sweetness of Revenge" which are one of the more interesting ones here. This promo has a good sound, specially on guitars (but I think that the final result when they finish recording their new CD will be much better). It is good to see that this band is evolving in a really good way. Contact: nomenmortis@post.sk

REVIEW: SANCTIMONY - ETERNAL SUFFERING

 

SANCTIMONY - ETERNAL SUFFERING (Father Productions , 1999):

Technical Data:

Recorded at Phoenix Studio - Riga, Latvia.

Recorded, Mixed and Engineered by Janis Levits

Cover Art / Design: Artur Berzins.

Track List: 1 - Christ Church, 2- the Castle Mound, 3- Autumn, 4- the Lost, 5- Eternal Suffering, 6-The Pray, 7- First Cross, 8- Satan Fallus

This is a band of death/black metal with some doom touches that comes directly from Latvia. Their sound is pretty brutal but they have some elements to point out that I think are what this band should use more often: first of all the guitar solos, really tasty, like the ones at the end of "Christ Church", second the more interesting riffs like the one in "The Castle Mound " (1:42)...those are elements that will set this band apart from others of the style. A third point to explore are the slower parts like the one at 2:29 of the same track (with excellent double bass drumming). Full speed is what we found in the beginning of "Autumn" and when we thought this was all in that track, a slower, more atmospheric part appeared (here is another element to explore, the tasty bass licks at 1:02). I don´t know if this band is recording new material but I would like to see how they have evolved since this recording. Favorite tracks: ""The Castle Mound", "Autumn", "The Pray" Contact: Guntis@it.lv

REVIEW: QUATOUR ACCORDE - ANGEL GATE (1998-2000)

 

QUATOUR ACCORDE - ANGEL GATE (1998-2000) (Emanem Disc , 2001):

Technical Data:

Recorded at: 1,8,12 - Middlesex University by Joel Conde e Silva, June 23rd, 1998.

2-7 - Gateway Studio by Steve Lowe - July 14th, 2000 and 9-11 in concert at St. Michael and All Angels Church by Martin Davidson - July 17th, 2000

Track List: 1-One, 2-Slow Getaway, 3-The End of the Beginning, 4-Scraping Through, 5-Fermage, 6-Turnstyle, 7-Eye of the Needle, 8-Two, 9-St. Michael´s Mount, 10-Not in Fitful Visions, 11-A Box of Lucifers, 12-Three

I am crazy for this experimental string quartet !! Their music simply can not be described with words. First of all, there is a warning: all the instruments here were used without amplification or other electronics. And they sound really electronic in some parts !! Amazing!! There are three double bass solos on this recording appropriately called "One", "Two" and "Three". It is really interesting to see how in some tracks the basis of the piece is constructed over the double bass and cello and in others over the violin and viola turning upside down the scheme of the songs. I think that in this recording the fundamental thing is the experimentation, to break musical boundaries, to explore, to create atmospheres that our ears are not so accustomed to listen. Check for example the phrases in "Slow Getaway" ( 2:50) to see how the instruments interact to give form to the musical piece or the cuasi-noises in "The End of the Beginning" to see how this musicians are always walking on the edge. This are twelve interesting tracks for lovers of total experimentation. Favorite tracks: "Scraping Through", "Turnstyle" and "St. Michael´s Mountain". Contact: www.emanemdisc.com or emanemdisc@aol.com

REVIEW: PYRAMID - THE IMMACULATE LIE

 

PYRAMID - THE IMMACULATE LIE (Locomotive Music , 2000):

Track List: 1-Epilogue, 2-Hell Freezes Over, 3-Uthopia City, 4-Merciful Lies, 5-One of a Kind, 6-The Mastery of Flight, 7-Show Me, 8-Armageddon, 9-Virtual Superhuman, 10-The Prodigal Son

Pyramid is one of the most interesting bands from the Locomotive Music label: their music can be called progressive and because of the strength that their compositions have this is pure progressive metal. The album opens with a short piano instrumental called "Epilogue" before getting into "Hell Freezes Over with its complex riffs and changes (thumbs up for guitarist Tony Valles and keyboardist Javier Camps). The main influence for this band is obviously Dream theater (listen to the riff of "Hell Freezes Over" (3:32) that could have been extracted from "Images and Words". The main difference with the american band are the vocals from Javier Cespedes that sound really different from James La Brie´s (he made me remember of Toxik´s singer from the "World Circus" album) and the powerful guitar of Valles that is quite different from John Petrucci´s, even if they have a similar style. The songs in "The Immaculate Lie" are over five minutes long each one letting the musicians show all that they can do (specially on "Armageddon" that is almost fourteen minutes long with a lot of parts, changes and breaks). Excellent progressive band that I think in then future will find their identity and place in the progressive metal scene. Favorite tracks: "Uthopia Cry", "The Mastery of Flight" and "Armageddon". Contact: www.locomotivemusic.com

REVIEW: PROFANITY - SLAUGHTERING THOUGHTS

 

PROFANITY - SLAUGHTERING THOUGHTS (Cudgel Agency Recs. , 2000):

Technical Data:

Recorded at the Brickhouse Studio (August-September 2000) by Albrecht Felsenstein and Profanity.

Produced by Profanity

Cover Art and layout by Profanity

Track list: 1-During the Hours of Darkness, 2-Drowned in Dusk, 3-Soultornado - Hate Burn inside, 4-The Springs Within, 5-Giants of Void Vortex, 6-Soulitude, 7-Strangulated with Thoughts, 8-When Colour Becomes Pallor

Germany´s Profanity have made a really heavy album. Death/thrash metal is the music they play full of souble bass drumming and no subtle things. Music design to crush you down like a ten ton hammer smashed on your head. Thomas Sartor vocals are guttural but at the same time understandable and fit perfectly the mood of the music that the band makes. It is amazing to see that this is a trio, because they have a really full sound, in fact I think that Martl has to make a lot of speed picking on his bass as a second guitar would do to fill every space. Profanity is a band designed to kick your ass and it seems to me that they have achieved their goals with this album (see "Drowned in Dusk" or "Soultornado-Hate Burn Inside" just to name a couple of the tracks presented here). Don´t ask melodies, don´t ask keyboards or female vocals. If brutality and power is what you wnat here is Profanity. Favorite Tracks: "Drowned in Dusk", "The Springs Within" and "Soulitude". Contact: www.profanity.de or brutal@profanity.de

REVIEW: PAAL NILSSEN-LOVE - STICKS AND STONES

 

PAAL NILSSEN-LOVE - STICKS AND STONES (Sofa Recs. , 2001):

Technical Data:

Recorded in Sofienberg Cgurch, Oslo - February 2001 by Thomas Hukkelberg

Produced by Paal Nilssen-Love. Co-produced by Ivar Grydeland.

Cover Painting: "Tangle" by Terry Nilssen-Love

Track list: 1-No way Out II, 2-Snap, 3-Sweet and Lovely, 4-Butterfly Wings, 5-Gulebøy, 6-Dots, 7-Spots, 8-Fast Colour, 9-B, 10-Hedda, 11-No Way In

Master percussionist/drummer Paal Nilssen Love recorded this CD on February of this year in the Sofienberg Church in Oslo. To express himself as can be heard through all this recording he used three different kits: a stripped down kit (consisting in hihat, snare and cymbal), a conventional jazz kit and an extended kit with additional cymbals, bells and stuff. What can I say? This guy knows how to express himself through his instrument and he has a great technique to play it. I find very interesting the difference between all the tracks here, some of them more complex, some of them less but always imaginative and creative. Tracks like "Sweet and Lovely" or "Butterfly Wings" show how much Nilssen-Love can explore and improvise with his instrument giving new meaning to the term drum playing. Recommended for drummers and fans of experimentation. Favorite tracks: "Fast Colour", "Spots" and "No Way In". Contact: www.norcd.no/sofa or sofa@norcd.no

REVIEW: ONASSIS DAY - ONASSIS DAY

 

ONASSIS´DAY - ONASSIS´DAY (Locomotive Music, 1999):

Technical Data:

Recorded at Borsing Studios, Aarhus, Denmark.

Mixed by Jan Borsing

Track List: 1-Intro, 2-1000 Little Ways, 3-Domino Circle Effect, 4-4 F.F. (Fucking Freedom), 5-Hybrid, 6-Pockets, 7-Hate, 8-I, 9-Number, 10-Help Me, 11-X-Rules

I can see a lot of influences in the music of Spain´s Onassis Day but none of them are really so strong that you might say that they are a carbon copy: Biohazard, Machine Head, Korn, White Zombie, Alice In Chains, Tool, some other bands of "new metal", etc. I think that this guys want their music to be really direct with few subtle moments (I think the guitars and keyboards give the music in here their more interesting aspects). Good riffs remarking the rhythmic aspect of the music ("F.F. (Fucking Freedom)" is pure Korn 100%). The main feature and the point that I think this band should use more often in the future is the combination between the keyboard phrases with the ultra heavy guitars like in "Hate" (3:00). A promising band with a great sound. Favorite tracks: "Hate", "Hybrid" and "Number". Contact: www.locomotivemusic.com