REVIEW: KING DIAMOND - ABIGAIL II THE REVENGE

 

KING DIAMOND - ABIGAIL II THE REVENGE (Roadrunner Recs., 2002)

Produced by Kol Marshall, King Diamond and Andy La Rocque

Recorded at Nomad Recording Studio

Artwork by Travis Smith

Tracks: 1- Spare this Life, 2- The Storm, 3- Mansion In Sorrow, 4- Miriam, 5- Little One, 6- Slippery Stairs, 7- The Crypt, 8- Broken Glass, 9- More Than Pain, 10- The Wheelchair, 11- Spirits, 12- Mommy, 13- Sorry dear

 The voice of O´Brian of the Black horsemen along with a keyboard intro starts this new King Diamond CD. The story goes along the path started by the first "Abigail" album, lyrically and also musically. I like the way King Diamond does his music with all the guitar riffs and solos. It is true that all his latest albums have been really similar but it is his own style. My favourite musician here is Andy La Rocque who is a really versatile guitarist and is the one who put the flesh in King Diamond´s song (as Hank Sherman is the one who does it in Mercyful Fate). There are not many nrew elements here. The sound is much better than on the first part (there are 14 years between one part and the other). Fans of the King will be delighted. Favorite tracks: "Mansion in Sorrow", "Little One" and " More Than Pain". Contact: www.roadrunnerrecords.com

REVIEW: JUDAS ISCARIOT - TO EMBRACE THE CORPSES BLEEDING

 

JUDAS ISCARIOT - TO EMBRACE THE CORPSES BLEEDING (Red Stream Recs., 2001)

Produced by Akhenaten

Recorded by Akhenaten

Artwork by C. Szpajdel

Tracks: 1- I awoke to a night of Pain and Carnage, 2- Bathed in Clouds of Blood, 3- Terror from the Eastern Sky, 4- Where Eagles Cry and Vultures Laugh, 5- In the Valley of Death, I am Their King, 6- With Lust and Murder for our Drink, 7- Behold the Lamb of God Descending, 8- Spectral Dance of the Macabre, 9- The Dead Burst Forth from their Tombs

Judas Iscariot has become a legend in the underground in this years. The main man here is called Akhenaten and he is risponsible for all the music contained here and all the lyrics, helped only by session drummer called Cryptic Winter. Speaking about the music, the one contained here is pure raw black metal full of hate and anger. With hyper speed blast beats and trollish vocals, in the vein of bands like Ezurate. One thing that I would like Akhenaten to do is to mix the guitars a little bit louder and maybe the drums too (not the cymbals which are clearer enough). There are super fast runs with the guitars and some riffs that are more catchy and rhythmic but the main thing here is hate and speed. Even if there are slower tracks where i think the best of Judas Iscariot lies. Lovers of the style will be pleased with this release from this cult project/ band. And maybe with a better sound Judas Iscariot´s music will be more appreciated. Favorite tracks: "Bathed in Clouds of Blood", " Spectral Dance of the Macabre" (with a really catchy guitar riff!!!) and " In the Valley of Death, I am their King". Contact: www.redstream.org

REVIEW: INKBLACK - PSYCHODRAMA

 

INKBLACK - PSYCHODRAMA (Independent., 2000)

Produced by Inkblack

Recorded by Bas

Tracks: 1- Inside Your Mind, 2- the New Brood, 3- Battle Calls

A clean guitar arpeggio playing a haunting melody starts this CD and gets heavier pretty soon witha n interesting break that turns into something that I would call trance death metal. I put the word trance because the rhythm here is slow and catchy and can put your mind into a trance with some hypnotic charachteristics. Along with some slithering guitar melodies that are played here and there to make the tracks more diverse, we have different types of vocals and good guitar riffs. I would like them to mix maybe the guitars (specially the rhythmic) and fundamentally the bass a little bit louder to add some bottom end to the music. The main thing here is depression , achieved by the melodies and atmospheres created by this musicians. Three tracks are not enough and I would like to listen more from them. Favorite tracks: the three contained here

REVIEW: HONEY BARBARA - I-10 & W.AVE

 

HONEY BARBARA - I-10 & W.AVE. (Emigre Recs., 2001)

Produced by Honey Barbara

Recorded at home in San Antonio, Texas

Tracks: 1- Famous Animal, 2- Bad Day, 3- Sleep Late, 4- Beddie Bye, 5- Beat Again, 6- Killer duds, 7- Low Birth, 8- Invisible, 9- Eye on You, 10- How Bright The Sky, 11- Pards, 12- All Fall Down, 13- Come Away, 14- Ambush Chorus, 15- Solid Return, 16- Arabesque, 17- Renata

Honey Barabara makes really atmospoheric music, where the emphasis is on the climatic passages and in the arrangements. The band is a trio in which each musician plays a variety of instruments. In fact the main thing here are the keyboards and the atmospheric. Also, there are a lot of processed guitars that make the tracks more weird. The vocals are almost whispering and they are sometimes melodic, but not in the typical way...their melodies are twisted and make the songs even more weird than before adding them. I like experimentation and here you have a lot in the keyboards, in the guitars and on percussion. Each track here is a world on its own and all of them are completely different one from each other. If you have an open mind, this is for you. Favorite tracks: " Ambus Chorus", "Beddie Bye" and " Eye on You". Contact: www.emigre.com

REVIEW: HOMICIDE HAGRIDDEN - DEAD BLACK SUN

 

HOMICIDE HAGRIDDEN - DEAD BLACK SUN (Kick Promotion Agency, 2001)

Produced by Homicide Hagridden

Tracks: 1- Dead Black Sun, 2- Arena´s Sky, 3- Constriction, 4- the Way To love

This is a band from Torino, Italy with a lot of ideas. I would call their music style as progressive death thrash metal. Progressive because of all the changes and original parts that the music contained here have. Death because of the vocals that are in the vein of later Carcass or Kreator and some Destruction. Thrash because of certain riffs and drums patterns and because of the sound, that specially on the bass sound really thrashy. There are four powerful tracks here and the rhythmic riffs played with a lot of power and strength are the main thing here. The sound of the recording is really good and it is original because they are not trying to sound like the most famous bands out there. And the clarity of the mix helps a lot to communicate what the band is trying to show. I would like to listen more from this band , maybe a full length release soon!! Favorite tracks: " Arena´s Sky" and "Constriction". Contact: www.kickagency.3000.it

REVIEW: HIMINBJORG - HAUNTED SHORES

 

HIMINBJORG - HAUNTED SHORES (Red Stream Recs. 2001)

Tracks: 1- The Aves, 2- War, 3- The Haunted Shores, 4- Of Desire and Lust, 5- The Eternal, 6- Lonely, 7- The Voices of revenge

Himinbjorg is a killer band that is always on the edge between black and death metal with incredible song structures and amazing melodies (I love the way one of the guitarist plays them while the other makes this heavy riffs that are the core of the tracks contaied here). And here lies the main element in Himinbjorg´s music: they are not doing hyper speed and furious riffs all the time....they prefer diversity adding slow riffs in a lot of parts and some clean vocals followed by some melodies. Then they change to faster rifffs and more brutal vocals. But they are not afraid of using this diverse styles. And this is one of the main points here: Diversity (checkas an exmple the track "War" and listen the way they combine from screaming vocals to vocal harmonies in a few seconds). There are a lot of clean guitars here and there (like on "The Haunted Shores") that embellish the songs. If you want great metal with a lot of ideas then check Himinbjorg. One of the best CDs of the month. Favorite tracks: The whole CD. Contact: www.redstream.org

REVIEW: GHOULS - PROMO 2000

 

GHOULS - PROMO 2000 (Independent, 2000)

Produced by Ghouls

Recorded at Outer Sound Studios

Tracks: 1- Divine Chosen, 2- I´m The Living Swear, 3- Eternal Damnation

Crushing death grind, directly from Italy. The music here is pure death metal in its most purest form without any mercy for the listener. In fact it starts at full speed on the first track and it continues like that through the three tracks contained here. The main thing here is power and brutality and this guys achieve it through their fast riffs and killer drum patterns. The vocals can be screaming ones or more guttural depending on the riff that is played behind (in the fastest they use the screaming vocals and when they turn more rhythmic they use the guttural one). For fans of extreme brutality. Favorite tracks: "Divine Chosen" and "I´m The Liing Swear"

REVIEW: GHOLES - EXTRAIT CD 2000

 

GHOLES - EXTRAIT CD 2000 (Independent, 2000)

Produced by Gholes

Tracks: 1- Who Would Die for Me?, 2- Same, 3- Dried Up Tears

This is metal done with excellent musicianship that I would label killer death metal with some black metal touches and with interesting keyboards and melodies (in fact I loved the combination of the melodies done by the guitarists and the ones made by the keyboards giving the tracks a unique atmosphere and feeling). Both guitarists are excellent here and they shine through their solos and complex riffs that are the core of the tracks here. I would love to listen more music from this band. Favorite tracks: The three contained on this CD. Contact: GHOLES, 125 Rue Circé, Les Comores III, (34090) Montpellier, FRANCE

REVIEW: FINIDI - LIFE IS A PRISON

 

FINIDI - LIFE IS A PRISON (Independent, 2001)

Produced by Finidi and Aki Peltonen

Recorded at Studio Sound Doctor

Tracks: 1- Screams of Wrath, 2- I am You, 3- Things that Exists

Furious death metal with killer riffs and vocals that reminded me in some places to early Enslaved material (despite the completely different music that they play). This is what I call death/thrash metal because of the influence that both of this genres have in Finidi´s musc (cool solos nad guitar riffs come directly from mid eighties thrash but with a modern sound an ellaborated in such a way that fit perfectly Finidi´s style....the guitarist is killer). There are multiple changes within the same song structure giving a lot of diversity within the same track. A great effort of this finnish band. Favorite tracks: "Screams of Wrath" and "Things that Exist". Contact: www.geocities.com/finidi_11/website.html

REVIEW: ESQARIAL - DISCOVERIES

 

ESQARIAL - DISCOVERIES (Empire Recs., 2001)

Produced by Esqarial

Recorded at Fonoplastykon Studios

Artwork by Lud

Tracks: 1- World in Flames, 2- Kill all of them, 3- Travel in Lust, 4- Sacred War, 5- Nightmare, 6- Unreal, 7- Atlantis, 8- New Land, 9- True Lies, 10- Guitar Explosions

Extremely technical death metal. I must admit that this is one of the styles that I like most. And Esqarial is a great exponent of this kind of music. Using riffs that need to have a lot of knowledge of the instruiments to be played correctly. And this music needs a lot of rehearsal to make the band sound really tight. And Esqarial is really tight, going from extremely melodic parts to parts that are technically complex and then going to a crushing and more simple rhythm structure. All within the same song. In fact I think that the award to best musicians of the year go this guys with no doubt and specially to the guitarists which are responsible of the excellent riffs and the killer solos that are on this recording. There is also a multimedia part on this CD: an excellent one. This is one of the CDs of the month. Favorite tracks: The whole album is amazing. Contact: www.empire-records.com.pl