REVIEW: HEAVENLY - SIGN OF THE WINNER

 

HEAVENLY - SIGN OF THE WINNER (Century Media Records, 2001)

Produced by Tommy Hansen and Heavenly

Recorded at Sound of the Winner Studio

Cover Art by Herve Monjeaud

Tracks: 1- Break the Silence, 2- Destiny, 3- Sign of the Winner, 4- The World Will Be Better, 5- Condemned to Die, 6- The Angel, 7- Still Believe, 8- The Sandman, 9- Words of Change; 10- Until the End

An orchestral introduction opens this CD on the tracks "Break the Silence" before getting in the heavy metal universe of Heavenly (this first tracks is a really good instrumental piece). The music of the band goes along the path of bands like Stratovarius or Yngwie Malmsteen but with more predominance of the keyboards. In fact I like a lot the work of the keyboards that give a lot of epic touches to the music on this CD. I think the band has to rely on this more in order to achieve their identity (and maybe a little bit less on the vocals that are really similar to Kotipelto or Michael Kiske depending on the song...for example he reaches more originality in tracks like "The World Will Be Better"). This is a CD for heavy power metal lovers that like fast guitar runs along with a lot of epic melodies and fast drumming with a lot of double bass.

Favorite tracks: "Sign of the Winner", "Condemned to Die" and "The Sandman"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com

REVIEW: GREYSWAN - GREYSWAN

 

GREYSWAN - GREYSWAN (Independent, 2001)

Produced by Greyswan

Recorded at Flying Studio

Cover Art by Greyswan

Tracks: 1- Sleepless Nights, 2- Alone Among Thousands of People, 3- Tragic End

Here is this MCD from this gothic dark metal masters. With some shades of Paradise Lost and Anathema, Greyswan has managed to develope their own style, with heavy riffs combined with keyboards and an excellent vocalist full of anguish and sad melodies at the same time. I like the way this band can play heavier than hell parts retaining the melodic side of the music at the same time. I liked a lot the keyboardist (please, mix him louder because he is great in all the chord progressions) and also the main guitarist who plays those sad melodies over the crushing rhythm guitars. This guys deserve soon a recording contract and a full length release. We want more from Greyswan!

Favorite tracks: The three on this CD are amazingly catchy and dark at the same time

Contact: greyswan@libero.it

REVIEW: FJELLTRONE - SKOGENS ANDE

 

FJELLTRONE - SKOGENS ANDE (Dark End Records, 2000)

Produced by Fjelltrone

Recorded at DarkEnd Records

Cover Art by Mig 91, Nyman and DoD

Tracks: 1- Skogens Ande, 2- Vintermånens Land, 3- Under Mörkrets Tistel, 4- In Till Döden; 5- En Sorg, 6- Demonernas Fjäll; 7- Ensanhetens Skugga; 8- Vintersorg

Here we have this incredibly melancholic band that plays a music that I would describe as nordic folk with some ambient touches. In fact there area lot of interesting features: one is the combination of keyboards and interesting percussion (as in tracks like "Vintermånens Land"), another one is the developing of sad melodies within each of the tracks (I love the way in which this guys express their ideas mainly using a keyboard chords progression and then adding a lot of melodies over it. People who like this type of music will be delighted with Fjelltrone´s originality and their musicianship. All this instrumental tracks are little masterpieces that awake a lot of feelings in the listener.

Favorite tracks: All the CD is a fucking great piece of art.

Contact: www.fjelltrone.com

REVIEW: EUSOPHOBIA - DEATH FROM ABOVE

 

EUSOPHOBIA - DEATH FROM ABOVE (Independent, 2001)

Produced by A. Orhan and Eusophobia

Recorded by A. Orhan

Cover Art by Eusophobia

Tracks: 1- Death from Above, 2- Excruciation, 3- Revealing the Decay, 4- Under the Bestial War Command

Here we have this MCD from this tight death metal band. The main thing here are the devastating riffs which are killer like the ones at 3:30 of the track "Death from Above", designed for the mosh pit. The band has reached a good equilibrium between the fastest parts and the more rhythmic and heavier ones which I think are the ones that the band has to use more often. There are interesting solos which are played fast and achieve the correct level of melody and they are transformed soon in a riff like it happens on the one at 1:50 in "Excruciation. The sound of the recording is good but I would like them to put the drums a little bit louder (specially the snare drum that is a little bit buried) and I think that in that way they can achieve a better result. Crushing.

Favorite tracks: "Death from Above" and "Revealing the Decay"

Contact: www.eusophobia.de

REVIEW: ELECTRO-MAGNETIC TRANSPERSONAL ORCHESTRA

 

ELECTRO-MAGNETIC TRANSPERSONAL ORCHESTRA (Pax Recordings, 2002)

Recorded by Eli Cruz

Cover Art by Aaron Benett

Tracks: 1- C; 2- D; 3- E; 4- B

Here we have this completely experimental recording by the Electro-magnetic Transpersonal Orchestra that has in its lineup nine great musicians who love improvisation. Here we have Aaron Benett who plays the woodwinds and drinking straw, Mark Chung and Jeff Hobbs on violins, Marlin Coleman and Adam Lane on cellos, George Cremaschi on bass, Joe Sabella on tuba, Dan Cantrell in acordion and John Finkbeiner on guitar and alto saxophone. This orchestra was designed to experiment with their instrument and the amazing thing here is the coeherence that the music achieves as result of their interaction (I love the way the accordion enters playing some melodies while the rest of the band plays an almost ambient background). This guys are obviously really good musicians and through the four tracks contained here (one of them is over 19 minutes long) they explore all the possibilities that they can with a completely open mind. There is an interesting contrast between the more melodic sections and the more chaotic that makes each of the tracks really dynamic and always changing. This is a CD that I would recommend to openminded people.

Favorite tracks: The four contained here

Contact: www.paxrecordings.com

REVIEW: DYSPRAXIA - RESTABLISHING THE EQUILIBRIUM

 

DYSPRAXIA - RESTABLISHING THE EQUILIBRIUM (Records, 2002)

Produced by Raul Manrique and Dyspraxia

Recorded at Tatxin Studios

Cover Art by Javi

Tracks: 1- Misery of Many...,2- Real Woman, 3- Restablishing the Equilibrium, 4- Warloot, 5- Bonus CD Rom: includes "Warloot" Video

Here we have Dyspraxia´s first work. Their music is extremely fast and brutal death metal with hyper fast riffs played at full speed. There are various types of voclas. A more guttural one and a screaming one and also a one more shouting. There are some guitar solos which I find interesting, sometimes played over slow rhythms like in "Misery of Many...". There are also some odd passages which I would like the band to use more often because they show us a weird side of Dyspraxia´s music which I like a lot. The bass guitar is suprisingly cleean contrasting a lot with the guitars that are a wall of sound !! The mix is really good specially on the guitars which have a crushing soun. Lovers of brutality have to check Dyspraxia !!

Favorite tracks: "Real Woman", "Misery of Many"

Contact: www.dyspraxia-extreme.com

REVIEW: DIVIDED MULTITUDE - FALLING TO PIECES

 

DIVIDED MULTITUDE - FALLING TO PIECES (Elevate Records, 2002)

Produced by Trude Midtgaard

Recorded at Brygga Studio

Cover Art by Håvard Gjelseth

Tracks: 1- Enter Paradise, 2- Focus, 3- Stigmatize, 4- Locked Away, 5- No Man´s Land, 6- Dreamin´, 7- Falling To Pieces

Here we have this amazing progressive metal band coming from Sweden. Here we have their epic keyboards, their virtuoso guitars and the extremely technical rhythm section. This, combined with Sindre Antonsen´s vocals which are very different than the ones used by the other bands of this style make a powerful recording. To give you an idea Divided Multitude is like a combination of progressive music with some heavier style such as the one played by bands like Vicious Rumours. The keyboards are all over the songs and they interact really good with the heavy guitars. One of the main things here are the melodies which are epic and dark. This is one of those recording that you listen over and over again and you always find something new, some arrangement, some lick, some pattern that you have not heard before. Thumbs up for Divided Multitude!!!!

Favorite tracks: THe whole CD. This is a masterpiece of progressive metal

Contact: www.dividedmultitude.com

REVIEW: DISORDERED SYSTEMS BARBARA ROMEN / GUNTER SCHNEIDER

 

DISORDERED SYSTEMS BARBARA ROMEN / GUNTER SCHNEIDER (Durian Records, 2002)

Produced by Barbara Romen and Gunter Schneider

Engineered and mixed by Hanno Stroher

Tracks: 1-4 Salut für Caudwell , 5- Disordered Systems

Here we have Disordered Systems a project by two great musicians and guitarists, Barbara Romen and Gunter Schneider. On this CD they play first a composition by Helmut Lachenmann called "Salut für Caudwell" in which they show a lot of experimentation with guitar sounds and rhythms, adding vocals in some parts but always letting their minds find new ways iof expressing themselves through their instruments. Then comes the second composition called "Disordered Systems" which is prepared for 13 guitar instruments and is played live without playbacks or overdubs. Here they experiment with different sounds and they use metall bars and knitting needles fixed between the string making sounds that are almost electronic but have a lot of new qualities specially for the listener that is not accustomed to listen to them. A must for people who wants something new in the guitar realm and who love musical experimentation.

Favorite tracks: The whole CD is amazing and completely experimental taking guitar to new levels

Contact: www.durian.at

REVIEW: DIM MAK - INTERCEPTING FIST

 

DIM MAK - INTERCEPTING FIST (Mighty Music, 2002)

Produced by Erik Rutan

Recorded at Dimensional Sound Studio

Cover Art by Wahid Wahid

Tracks: 1- Phoenix Eye Fist, 2- Tai pan Snake Venom, 3- Komodo Whip, 4- Shambling, 5- Mindgate, 6- Den of the Avalanche Dragon, 7- Interceptor, 8- Climbing Knife Mountain, 9- Nine Head Serpentine Sire, 10- Essence of the Northern Fist, 11- To the Negative Power

A devastating release!!! With a very modern sound with crushing guitars and an excellent drum sound here we have the violent music of Dim Mak.. The eleven tracks on this CD are a burst of energy and full power ....comanded by the fast guitar riffs and the devastating drums ,and with the brutal vocals they achieve this crushing music that you can listen on this CD.The production and mix are great and here we have Morbid Angel / Ripping Corpse guitarist Erik Rutan behind the mixing board. HE gives Dim Mak what they deserve a clear and brutal sound that enhances the results that this guys wnat to achieve. Violence and brutality guaranteed.

Favorite tracks: "Mindgate", "Tai Pan Snake Venom" and "To the Negative Power"

Contact: www.mightymusic.dk

REVIEW: DAWNDEATH INCINERATOR - TOMB OF CORPOREAL BUTCHERY

 

DAWNDEATH INCINERATOR - TOMB OF CORPOREAL BUTCHERY (Independent, 2002)

Produced by Vomucus Dawndeath

Recorded at Sanguinary Tyrant Studio

Cover Art by Jerry Sandefur

Tracks: 1- Gaddianton Robers, 2- Tomb of Corporeal Butchery, 3- Scorn the Abomination, 4- Campaign in Hell

Dawndeath Incinerator´s music is difficult to describe. First of all because on each track they have many parts: some of them are death metal , some of them are grind (with blast beats), then because of the vocals that are quite different on each track. Finally they have a guitar sound that is really original and sounds completely distorted and different from the one used by the bands of the styles mentioned above. Also, you have some samples that give a mechanical feeling to songs like "Scorn the Abomination" The four tracks here are bestial with a lot of hyper fast parts but with many changes on each track. The mix is really raw and gives a lot of distortion to the guitars making the result sound somewhat industrial. This recording is a really interesting. A really original band!

Favorite tracks: The four tracks here are devastating

Contact: fountain@wasatch.com