REVIEW: VEXED - PROMO 2002

 

VEXED - PROMO 2002 (Anger Music, 2002)

Produced by Vexed

Cover by Vexed

Tracks: 1- Italian Aggressive Attack; 2- Elements of Anger; 3- Bringers of Death; 4- Lust of Revenge; 5- Oblivion Takes Unanimated Brains; 6- Death Justice

Vexed is an italian band whose music is aggressive black/thrash metal. They have many elements of thrash metal in their music and I like that because they add a new featrure to black metal. The music contained on this promo CD is fast, aggressive and raw with interesting guitar riffs and many changes in rhythm and moods. The sound of the whole release is raw and I liked a lot the way in which the guitars are mixed (also I liked a lot that this guys prefer to do interesting solos instead of simple noises with the guitars). There are some influences from norwegian and english band but the good thing about Vexed is that you can not say that they are similar to some band. Fans of aggressive metal will like a lot this band.

Favorite tracks: "Elements of Anger", "Bringers of Death" and "Lust of Revenge"

Contact: angermusic@libero.it

REVIEW: VEDERVÄRDIG - POST METAL

 

VEDERVÄRDIG - POST METAL (Independent, 2002)

Produced by Vedervärdig

Cover by Vedervärdig

Tracks: 1- Introducing Suffering; 2- Dead Before the Eyes of None; 3- Seventh Day Suicide (Part 1: Ond Bråd död; Part 2: Förruttnelse); 4- Concert for Radio and Percussion

Vedervärdig music is really weird. When the guitars first started in "Introducing Suffering" (with a really raw sound) I thought "well here comes the drums and we have black metal". I was wrong !! The drums never came. Instead this guys start experimenting with the sguitar sounds and some strange sounds and noises. This is really dense experimental music with many interesting features, like the heavy use of sound effects and voices. There are whispering vocals in many places that add a deeling of darkness to this guys total experimental release. One track that I liked a lot is the one called "Concert for Radio and Percussion" that starts with a big sonic explosion before getting into the most experimental parts with many noises and sounds. Those who love musicians who make a lot of experimentation and are not afraid of breaking boundaries will like Vedervärdig´s music.

Favorite tracks: The four tracks contained here

Contact: www.allruins.cjb.net

REVIEW: UNLEASHED - HELL´S UNLEASHED

 

UNLEASHED - HELL´S UNLEASHED (Century Media Records, 2002)

Produced by Unleashed

Cover by Media Logistics

Tracks: 1- Don´t Want to Be Born; 2- Hell´s Unleashed; 3- Demoneater; 4- Fly Raven Fly; 5- Mrs. Minister; 6- Joy in the Sun; 7- Demons Rejoice; 8- Death Metal; 9- We´ll Come For You; 10- Triggerman; 11- Dissection Leftovers; 12- Peace, piece by piece; 13- Burnt Alive; 14- Your Head is Mine; 15- Made in Hell

Unleashed is back !! After a five year hiatus after their recording "Warrior" the swedish band is here again with their death metal music. One of the main ingredients of the band is here in all its splendour...and that are the hooks that they have achieved through all their career. Yes, the songs here have a lot of hooks, specially on the choruses that are designed to be singed along (check for example "Don´t want to be born" or "Hell´s Unleashed" to see how good the soings are composed in order to achieve a lot of attention from the listener). Here are all the elements that made the band famous: Johnny Edlund´s vocals, the fast guitar riffs combined with fast bass lines, the powerful drumming that gives the adequate timing and rhythm to all the tracks and the guitar melodies which are better than ever on this CD (Fredrik is killer in the melodies and solos on this releas). If you love Unleashed you will surely like this album. If you don´t know them lets have a taste of their music.

Favorite tracks: "Don´t Want to be Born"; "Hell´s Unleashed" and "Death Metal"

Contact: In Southamerica: www.centurymedia.com . In Europe: www.centurymedia.de

REVIEW: TREVOR WATTS AND VERYAN WESTON - 6 DIALOGUES

 

TREVOR WATTS AND VERYAN WESTON - 6 DIALOGUES ( Emanem Disc, 2002)

Produced by Martin Davidson

Recorded by Steve Lowe

Cover by Gus Cummings

Tracks: 1- Unrest Assured; 2- Split Frequencies; 3- Rest Unassured; 4- Finding and Binding; 5- Blending and Bending; 6- Spacing and Placing

What a great combination!! Trevor Watts on sax and Veryan Weston on piano. This duo is incredible and are extremely connected....yes, it seems that each one of them knows what the other one is going to play next and so they anticipate each other creating a really coherent improvisation (check "Unrest Assured" where seems that Watts knows what Weston is going to play and pays a similar phrase over his piano progression). "Split Frequencies" mis an example of more dissonant experimentation by this duo where you can listen some minor ninths (or minor seconds) intervals that are really clashing with the chords that Weston plays (or he plays this intervals in the chord progression making the result even more weird). This is an imporvisational duet with a lot of imagination and an extremely open mind !

Favorite tracks: "Unrest Assured"; "Rest Unassured" and "Spacing and Placing"

Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

REVIEW: THE SEVENTH GATE - NONE AS BLOODY AS THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST

 

THE SEVENTH GATE - NONE AS BLOODY AS THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST (Satan Rock Records, 2001)

Produced by The Seventh Gate

Recorded by Ken Olden and David Elizondo

Cover art by Jon Zig

Tracks: 1- The Eternal; 2- The Rubble of Glory; 3- To Forget; 4- The Mary Shelley Song; 5- Mine Will Rise; 6- Her Innocence; 7- I Alone; 8- Battered Skin

Here comes The Seventh Gate who play pure brutal satanic death metal (or american satan rock as they prefer to describe their music). In fact their music is brutality in its purest form. Crushing guitars, thundering drums, guttural vocals are all elements used here to blow the listener´s brain into pieces. But there are also more rhythmic and calm moments such as the beginning of "The Rubble of Glory" where the band plays a more mid paced riff after a clean guitar intro. This elements add a lot to the music of the band without letting the energy dissapear. The sound of the recording is really good, specially on the rhythmic guitars that are devastating. Also the drums are killer and the bass is clear in the mix following the guitars and accentuating with the drums. Steve´s vocals are guttural most of the time and screaming in others helping a lot to the brutal result. Brutality guaranteed !!!

Favorite tracks: "To Forget"; "Her Innocence" and "I Alone"

Contact: www.satanrock.com

REVIEW: THE NATIONAL CEMETERY ORCHESTRA - AS TWILIGHT FADES INTO NIGHT

 

THE NATIONAL CEMETERY ORCHESTRA - AS TWILIGHT FADES INTO NIGHT (INdependent, 2001)

Produced by Karl Nix

Recorded at Grandma´s Mosh Pit Studios

Cover by Karl Nix

Tracks: 1- Juggernaut; 2- Deaths Tragic Embrace; 3- Hence, the Tears; 4- Beneath a Dying Sun; 5- From Beyond the Oceans of Time; 6- As Twilight Fades Into Night; 7- Grasping Infinity; 8- Centuries of Turmoil; 9- Kwerqi; 10- In A Future Memory; 11- Eternities Restless Spirit

Here we have this great experimental music coming from the mind of Karl Nix, the only composer and musician on The National Cemetery Orchestra. Here we have eleven instrumental tracks full of ideas and a combination of sounds that make the result really weird. In fact here there is a heavy combination of distorted guitars playing heavy riffs and keyboards; then come clean guitar parts that embellish the music with a lot of melodies and then comes a fast drum pattern that makes things heavier. It is amazing how well developed are the songs and how many ideas can Nix put into a song without losing coherence. The sound is good and I would like him to do more solos like the one he does in "Hence, the Tears" with wah wah and combined with an ultra heavy break and riff. I have to listen more of The National Cemetery Orchestra because it is a great experience for my ears that crave for originality and good ideas !!!

Favorite tracks: "Hence, the Tears"; "Centuries of Turmoil" and "In A Future Memory"

Contact: http://www.mp3.com/NatlCemeteryOrchestr

REVIEW: THE FORSAKEN - ARTS OF DESOLATION

 

THE FORSAKEN - ARTS OF DESOLATION (Century Media Recs, 2002)

Produced by Tommy Tägtgren

Recorded at Abyss Studios

Cover by Mike Bohatch

Tracks: 1- Incubator; 2- The Hatebreed; 3- Cold Flesh Colony; 4- Dethroned; 5- Embedded Insanity; 6- The Second Manifest; 7- Injected Terror; 8- Human Chapter X; 9- Scars; 10- Mental Degeneration

The Forsaken is one of the most violent, powerful and heavier bands that I have ever listened. This is the second album from this swedish death metal masters and it has some improvements from their previous "Manifest of Hate". First of all I have to remark the excellent sound that this release has (Tommy Tägtgren is behind the mix on this one) that makes the music heavier as Hell (the drums are crushing...they have a specail sound that blows my brain). Then comes the music....the guitars are heavier this time and they make a lot of solos and melodies that turn The Forsaken´s music into a unique experience. The band has made a change in its lineup and now guitarist Patrik Persson plays also the bass being a great rhythmic tandem with Nicke Grabowski (drums). I have to remark also Ander Sjöholm´s vocals which are guttural but have a lot of power and he gives a lot to the Forsaken´s music. Up to now this is the heaviest release of 2002.

Favorite tracks: The whole CD is really powerful and has many subtle elments that make The Forsaken a truly original band.

Contact: In Southamerica: www.centurymedia.com . In Europe: www.centurymedia.de

REVIEW: THAT´S ALL FOLK - PSYCHE AS ONE OF THE FINE ARTS

 

THAT´S ALL FOLK - PSYCHE AS ONE OF THE FINE ARTS (Beard of Stars Recs., 2002)

Produced by E.R., N.S. and T.A.F.

Recorded at Purerock Studios

Cover by Robert Butler

Tracks: 1- Firesphere; 2- Jumboo; 3- The plasma; 4- Always Radiant and Fucked; 5- Real Last Night; 6-I´m Half Sick of you; 7- Soul. Vent; 8- Motormouse and Autocat; 9- Dany; 10- March of Chameleons 2K; 11- Psyche

Here we have this rocking band coming directly from Italy. Their music is pure psychodelic rock designed to melt your brain with their rhythms and sound effects. The music here has a lot of seventies influences and the songs are like a dosis of drug in your body because you can´t stop singing them while they are rhythmic and have repetitive melodies designed to stuck in your mind. The production has given the band a lot of seventies sound in the guitars and also in the drums (if I am not wrong the cymbals are sometimes passed through a flanger effect). There are a lot of sound effects on each song that give a lot of psychodelia to the tracks while adding a stoner rock feeling. If you like this style you will surely love That´s All Folks.

Favorite tracks: "Jumboo"; Real Last Night" and "I´m Half Sick of You"

Contact: www.vinylmagic3.it

REVIEW: SUMMONER - SUMMONER´SIGN

 

SUMMONER - SUMMONER´SIGN (MAE Prods., 2002)

Produced by Summoner

Recorded at Media Sound Studio

Tracks: 1- The Maskplague; 2- Tears I´ve Shed; 3- Summoner Sign; 4- Vicious Fruit

Here we have a four track MCD from this italian band. They play what I would call symphonic death/black metal. I mean, their music has elements that are not out of place in the styles mentioned above. For example, they have growling vocals in the vein of death metal, the screaming vocals similar to the ones used in black metal. And here is the main point....I used the term "Symphonic" to describe their music. Why? Because of their heavy use of orchestrating keyboards, because of the melodic use of the guitars (this means that their music has a lot of power combined with interesting melodies and arrangements). All this elements give a sort of epic feeling to Summoner´ps music. The production of this recording is really good and maybe I would mix a little bit louder the guitars. There are many original riffs here that deserve to be remarked in a fair description of this band´s music. A must.

Favorite tracks: All the four tracks are amazing. This is a TOP metal band

Contact: www.mae.6go.net

REVIEW: SPELLCRAFT - TEARS LIKE RAIN

 

SPELLCRAFT - TEARS LIKE RAIN (Independent, 2002)

Produced by Davide Rosati, Alessandro Montoneri and Spellcraft

Recorded at A.C.M.E. Studio Recording

Cover by Roberto Grillo

Tracks: 1- Tears like Rain; 2- This Feeling; 3- Season Five; 4- Equilibrium; 5- Stolen Time

The first thing that caught my attention is the really good sound that this recording has. Then comes the musical ideas which are really well by this italian band. The music is heavy while having a lot of melodies in the vocals and a certain gothic flavor in some of the parts (in the vein that bands like Paradise Lost or Katatonia have used in some of their songs). The guitars are really heavy and have a special sound which I think is due to the heavy use of flanger in them...I like it a lot. One of the things that I liked most are Gino Chiarizia´s vocals which are powerful and at the same time full of anguish nad sadness (also I have to remark some interesting vocal harmonization that is used in some of the parts of the songs contained here). Thumbs up for the bassist who uses a clean sound that is not very common in bands of the style and gives a lot of identity to the Spellcraft sound ! (check "This Feeling" to see what I am talking about).

Favorite tracks: The five tracks are really well developed and are excellent and powerful songs

Contact: www.spellcraft.it