REVIEW: NAHEMAH - CHRYSALIS

 

NAHEMAH - CHRYSALIS (Iberian Moon Records, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at the Dark mansion Studios.

Mixed and Mastered at the Doom Pit Studios

Artwork by Daniel Gil.

Track List: 1- Ochre Mantle Star, 2- Sibylia, 3- Autumn is My Sin, 4- Bloodstained Carnival, 5- Thy Quivering Wings, 6- The Teardrop Fall, 7- From the Temples High, 8- Ligeia (Immortality Through Crime), 9- A Crystal Delirium

This is one of the albums of the month! Heavy and subtle at the same time, sometimes black metal, sometimes heavy metal....with spectacular keyboards that are the main point here...the ones that set Nahemah apart from any other band in the genre, when combined with the heavy and distorted guitars (which play excellent melodies within their riffs) thay arrive to its climax, being original, melodic and having a lot of strength at the ssame time. The vocals are really multifacetic and they reflect what that specific part of the song means...that is they are sometimes really rotten, really guttural or really screaming , sometimes they are whispering and sometimes thay sing melodies. Thumbs up for the guitarists who have achieved originality in their riffs and melodies even in the fastest parts, playing original lines even when the drums are doing some similar rhythm as a blast beat. This is an album that I think will please those who like this type of extreme music or those who love good musicianship and excellent instrumental passages. A must. Favorite tracks: "Autumn is My Sin", "A Crystal Delirium" and "The Teardrop Fall". Contact: www.afaland.com/nahemah

REVIEW: MYOPIA - CONCENTRATION OF SUFFERING

 

MYOPIA - CONCENTRATION OF SUFFERING (Independent, 2000):

Technical data:

Recorded at Ear Art and Baker Street Studios

Mastered at Baker Street Studios

Artwork by Markus Jacobson

Track List: 1- Self Inflicted Slavery, 2- Salvation In Death, 3- Twisted Ffate, 4- Acts of Futility, 5- Coerced Sympathy, 6- Onward To Extinction, 7- Concentration of Suffering, 8- Scarred From The Inside

Here we have a powerful band that makes with total conviction their death/grind style. Lovers of the style will surely like this one...it has all the elements that they love: guttural voices, hyperfast riffs over blast beats, cool breaks, a killer drummer, fat sounding guitars. They alos have some killer riffs: My personal favorite are the ones in the fifth track called "Coerced Sympathy" where there is a cool break at 1:45 before the band gets into the full speed mode again. The sound is really good and the mix is a good one too where you can listen clearly all the individual instruments even in the fastest parts. A good option for grinders and deathsters. Favorite tracks: "Salvation In Death", "Coerced Sympathy" and "Acts of Futility". Contact : http://listen.to/myopia

REVIEW: MY INSANITY - SOLAR CHILD

 

MY INSANITY - SOLAR CHILD (Season of Mist, 2001):

Track List: 1- Monument, 2- Cosmic Orgasm, 3- Bound and Lost, 4- Failed Experiment I, 5- Failed Experiment II, 6- Mirrors, 7- Solar Child, 8- Dead Season, 9- Twin, 10- Kings of Plush, 11- Infinity, 12- Sunday

From the first few seconds when you start this CD it impacts the strength that this band has, and how they have achieved a great mix of brutal and subtle moments. This is one of those bands that knows how to do excellent songs...and this is what this is all about: Songs. That is tracks whose music is sometime gothic, sometimes death but structured in a perfect way, designed to have a beginning and a perfect conclusion that closes the history within that track. Sometimes heavy as hell, sometimes full of melody (two types of vocals are used here for those who like melody there is one really good and moody vocalist, for those lovers of the death like growls there are vocals like that in some places too). There are also a lot of vocal harmonies in the choruses and for lovers of melody and harmony the guitars and the keyboards are permanently looking for new melodies to put in this great songs. Totally recommended. Favorite tracks: The whole album. Contact: www.season-of-mist.com

REVIEW: MURDER - FROM DEEP INSIDE

 

MURDER - FROM DEEP INSIDE (Lixo Sounds and Discos, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed at Cuarto Estudio by Diego Vanegas

Bass and Drums recorded at Organic Sound

Artwork by Diego Vanegas

Track List: 1- Unspatial Warriors, 2- De Nuevo en pie, 3- From Deep Inside, 4- Directo al Corazón, 5- Insinuación, 6- Substancies Travelling, 7- Atentado (Noche Sin Luna), 8- In the Middle of the Night, 9- Pecado y Castigo, 10- En Silencio, 11- Beyond 2012

Power / thrash metal directly from Colombia with a really modern sound and some new metal influences in some aprts. The first thing that gets my attention here is the great guitar sound and the diversity of the vocals used (from heavy metal, to some voices more like rap and others more death metal). I liked a lot this band, because they are original and they have a lot of influences whicha re not evident, like Carcass, Machine Head, New Metal bands and At the Gates. All this influences are totally mixed in order to get an original resulta. Half of the tracks here are in spanish. Tu remark again, the vocals interplay, specially thumbs up for Daniel Vazquez who creates different moods with his vocals and congratulations to the guitarists and the drummer who have achieved a great sound (there are great rhythms and solos too). Favorite tracks: The whole album. Contact: http://listen.to/lixo

REVIEW: MNPLTR - PRTTP

 

MNPLTR - PRTTP (Precipice Recs, 2001):

Track List: 1- cnfssn, 2- ftrlf, 3-ctchr, 4- mn, 5-pdwn,, 6- prnd, 7- nw wrld, 8- cls, 9- dlr, 10- ngl, 11- rmt, 12- shttr

Why the hell this band does not use vowels in the titles of his songs and in all the booklet?? Why?? In fact the name of the band would Manipulator if all the vowels were there. Well, I don´t know, but the music here is strange too. Somewhat industrial, somewhat trance. But I like it! From the start with "Cnfssn" (confession?, confussion?) with its electronic beats and the vocals that are sometimes singed, sometimes whispered. Track number two "Ftrlf" is heavier with distorted guitars, but the electronics and industrial sounds are still all over the place. The music here is really experimental (in some passages the singer reminds me of John Wetton in the great King Crimson album "Red"). One fundamental thing here is the electronic percussion that is heavily used aontrasting with calm vocals. A strange CD but all people who like experimental music will love it. Favorite tracks: "Ctchr", "pdwn" and "Shttr". Contact : precipice@mindspring.com

REVIEW: MISANTHROPE - LIBERTINE HUMILIATIONS

 

MISANTHROPE - LIBERTINE HUMILIATIONS (Holy Records, 2000):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed at Fredman Studios

Engineered and Mixed by Fredrik Nordström

Artwork by Severine for Holy Records

Track List: 1- Misanthrope Necromancer, 2- Matador de L´Entreme, 3- At 666 Days, 4- L´ecume des Chavans, 5- Total Eclipse Chaos, 6- Sous L´Eclat Blanc de Nouveau Millenaire, 7- Crisis of Soul, 8- Combatant Sans Sepulture, 9- Antiquary to Mediocrity, 10- Humiliations Libertines

As most of you surely know Misanthrope is one of the main bands in Holy Records, this label that always surprises with bands .like Stille Volk, Septic Flesh and many more. The music of Misanthrope is the most complex death metal with a lot of technical passages, sudden breaks and very heavy rhythms. This can be fully appreciated on this release because of the excelent mix done by Fredrik Nordström that gives a lot of clarity to the drums and bass and adds a lot of bottom end to the guitars making the result more powerful. Excellent rhythms and many arrangements are what makes this release so special. This is originality within the death metal realm. Favorite tracks: "Matador de L´Entreme", "At 666 Days" and "Total Eclipse Chaos". 

REVIEW: MING - RED

 

MING - RED (Hombré Recordings, 2000):

Technical data:

Mastered by Sean Magee at Abbey Road

Produced by Andy Knepp

Artwork by Miriam Stenning.

Track List: 1- Come, 2- Fish, 3- Vase, 4- Wings, 5- Yours, 6- Still, 7- Mine, 8- Angels, 9- Witch, 10- Taste, 11- Red, 12- Bailarina, 13- Wait, 14- Running

Ming is a project that makes electronic music in a more accesible format. I mean this because of the kind of rhythms that are used within this recording and because of the vocals that are used to which are really melodic. But in fact this is not music conceived to be in the charts, because the melodies are too ethereal, too obscure if you like or maybe they are different from what the people that like commercial music are accustomed to listen to. There are some beats that are fairly accessible and the songs have common song structures like intro - verse - verse - chorus - verse - chorus. SO who knows if Ming can not be in the charts in the future?. Favorite tracks: "Still", "Angels" and "Fish". Contact: www.hombre.co.uk

REVIEW: MILO FINE JAZZ ENSEMBLE - KOI / KLOPS

 

MILO FINE JAZZ ENSEMBLE - KOI / KLOPS (Emanem Disc, 2001):

Technical data:

Diigital Concert Recordings done by Milo Fine

Mastering by Dan Rein

Photo by Paul Higgins.

Track List: 1- MF/SG 121001, 2- MF/SG 121002, 3- MF/SG/JS/NS 22011, 4- MF/SG/JS/NS 22012, 5- MF/SG/SN (incorporating elements of "181" by Scott Newell)

Milo Fine plays a lot of instruments ....and on this recording he is playing electronic drums, drums, piano, clarinet, electronic clarinet, violin and celeste (what a variety of different instruments!!). The recordings presented here are from three Milo Fine concerts, one on Decmber 2000 and the others on February an April of 2001. He is joined here by Steve Gnitka on amplified guitar, Jason Shapiro on piano and synthesizer, Nathan Smith on acoustic bass and guitar an dbass clarinet and Scott Newell on tenor saxophone and vocals. Playing in different line ups through the recordings, allows Fine to experiment with different musical formats, letting his imagination fly, and combining his sounds with the ones produced by the other musicians in order to create his musical structures. There is a lot of jazz influence on this particular recording, specially on the first track where Milo pays the piano and on certain acoustic bass passages. This is recommended listening for those who like improvisation and spontaneity. Favorite tracks: "MF/SG 121001" and "MF/SG/JS/NS 22012". Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

REVIEW: MAINPOINT - HEAVEN / EARTH

 

MAINPOINT - HEAVEN / EARTH (Morbid Records, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at DJ Sound Production Studio

Recorded, Mixed and Edited by Dirk Grabow and Mainpoint

Artwork by Mainpoint, Medienoperaring Kleemann and Mudu.

Track List: 1- Under the Cross, 2- Frozen Girl, 3- Again, 4- The Faithless Power of Jesus Christ, 5- Heaven and Earth, 6- Times, 7- Misanthropy, 8- Anaemic State, 9- Contaminated

How can I describe the music of Mainpoint and be fair? I think that sayiong that it ahs element of gothic music, and a lot of elements of metal would be a correct but short sighted way...but the elements and influences in Mainpoint are so many to be described in just a few words. Here we have nine powerful tracks which are completely different one from the other. Some in the vein of maybe Moonspell (the vocals sometimes remind me of that band) but heavier. And what gives a lot of identity to the band are the keyboards that are all the time playing arrangements in all the songs. One word that I would use to describe this CD is dense. It is like being in the middle of a fog that starts surrounding you without letting you breath. The guitars are extremely heavy and have a very particular sound (they sound like eighties heavy metal but playing a completely different music). Favorite tracks: All the CD. Contact: www.morbidrecords.de 

REVIEW: MASTIFAL - HOLOCAUSTO MENTAL

 

MASTIFAL - HOLOCAUSTO MENTAL (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed at Estudios Sebastián de la Riega

Engineered by Sebastián de la Riega

Cover Art: Huno

Track List: 1- Holocausto mental, 2- Devastación, 3- Espectáculo macabro, 4- Apodado hijo del diablo, 5- Privado de Libertad, 6- Lenta Muerte, 7- Indiferencia, 8- Ebola, 9- Cuando el sol crucifique mi nombre, 10- Fabrica de Monos, 11- La plegaria del obrero

This is pure thrash metal with elements typical of that style like certain drum patterns or guitar riffs. I like the way the tracks are made with a lot of arrangements on the guitars (like on "Devastación" in the middle part). The vocals are more brutal than in most of thrash metal bands and I think this give identity to the band, specially when used diferent from other bands. The main element here are the guitar riffs combined with the drums and the vocals (in the choruses there are screamings like in bands like Exodus for example). The CD is mixed in a way that reminds the thrash bands from the late eighties and beginning of the nineties with the bass really up in the front. The lyrics of this band are centered on the problematics of modern society, specially in third world countries...as an example check "Ebola" or "Devastación". Favorite tracks: "Holocausto mental", "Cuando el Sol crucifique Mi Nombre" and " La Plegaria del Obrero". Contact: www.mastifal.com.ar