REVIEW: LUCIFUGUM - INVADE

 

LUCIFUGUM - INVADE (War is Imminent Productions, 2000)

Produced by Lucifugum and Climent Monserrat

Recorded at Panorama Studios

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- Nocturnal, 3- Those Chaos from the Giants; 4- The Dark Eyes of Satan, 5- Ethereozul, 6- Where the Ancient Thoughts Pass the Dead Sky, 7- Moongrinder, 8- Holocaiust from the Blazed Lands, 9- In Satan we trust, 10- Vers La Nit

Lucifugum is a pure black metal from Spain (even if in some aprts they have some death and thrash touches). After the orchestral and atmospheric intro the tracks on this CD are raw and fast with amny changes within the same song. Another of the main features on this CD is the use of many differnt types of vocals: some screaming, some more guttural, some distorted, some spoken, some shouted, some melodic ones....and this gives a lot of diversity to the music. There are many melodic parts done with the guitars (I would like them to mix louder the guitars so this melodies will be on top of the mix and be the main ingredient of the band´s sound) . The drummer is extremely fast and does a lot of great double bass drumming while the bassist follows him and at the same time does interesting arrangements (as in"Those Chaos from the Giants"). Here we have a good option for thoise who like black metal and want something different.

Favorite tracks: "Nocturnal", "The Dark Eyes of Satan" and "Moongrinder"

Contact: www.unholycross.com

INTERVIEW WITH NECROMEMISIS

 

1. Do you like your music being labeled brutal death metal or do you think that it is too narrow?

Yes and no, yes because we do incorporate a lot of aggressive and intricate stuff in our songs, but then again we do have some melodic parts too, we don't want to be held to just writing a certain style of music all the time, we like to experiment with a lot of different styles of music, black, death, grind, hardcore, etc.

2. How has the "Demo 2002" been doing since its release?

Since the release of our demo it has been doing really well, we have a pretty good following out here because of it, we have been sending it all over the place, to people in other countries, radio shows, fanzines, etc… just who ever wants a copy, It is being played on some radio stations out here, 89.9 KUNM; Tomb Stone Rock, (very brutal radio show) and also on 104.7 The Edge on there local hour, and our shows seem to be getting bigger every time we play.

3. How did your music change when Bill left the band and was replaced by Wayne?

When Wayne came into the band, we think that the music has gotten more and more technical and intricate with every new song that we write he is very unique in his style of lead playing, as you will see on our next CD. He is a really good fit for us.

4. How important is having a good technique with your instruments for Necromemisis music?

It is extremely important to have a good technique with our instruments so that we can pull off some of the intricate and technical stuff, that we incorporate within our music.

5. How were the songs in "Demo 2002" composed?

They were composed in 2001, they had been written by all four of us, Ian Andres, Nick, and Bill, all of us pretty much knew how to play different instruments, so we just through all of our idea's together, and in July 2002 we went to a local studio (Third Eye Creations) and recorded our demo.

6. Do you have new material to be recorded?

Ever since the release of our demo we have been playing a lot of shows, but as of late we have written some new songs, and we have a lot of other idea's that we are working on, we are going to be recording here pretty soon, the new material is very sick and brutal, and should be available soon, check the website for updates.

7. Which is your equipment live and in studio?

All equipment is used both live and in the studio:

Ian: Marshall VS100 Head with a JCM 1960 Cab, L.T.D. Viper Guitar, and B.C.

Rich NJ Mockingbird

Wayne: Johnson 300 Head, VGH 412 Cab's, Jackson Warrior, Reverse Dinkey 7

String, Digitech DSP Whammy Pedal.

Andres: Carvin 500 Head, Hartke 4x10 Cab's, Ibanez bass

Nick: Pearl Export Series Drums, Zildjian & Paiste Cymbals, Evans Drum Heads,

Alesis D4, with DDrum Triggers, and Vic Firth Drum Sticks

8. How was your experience opening for bands like Soulless or Gorgasm?

Excellent, Educating, and Exciting.

9. Which are the band's main influences?

We have a lot of different influences, Deeds of Flesh, Gorgasm, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, and Slayer, just to name a few…

10. Something more to add? 

Keep it sick and very brutal, and thanks to all the sick muthafuckers out there who support the scene, and fuck off to all who oppose.

Check our Website for updates,shows, merchandise, etc…

www.necromemisis.homestead.com/necromemisis.html

Contact: necromemisisevil@cs.com

REVIEW: LOL COXHILL & VERYAN WESTON - WORMS ORGANISING ARCHDUKES

 

LOL COXHILL & VERYAN WESTON - WORMS ORGANISING ARCHDUKES (Emanem Disc, 2002)

Produced by Martin Davidson

Cover Art by James Ensor

Tracks: 1- The first duet of Worms, 2- The Second Duet of Worms, 3- Organ interlude, 4- The first Archduke Duo, 2- The second Archduke Duo

It is always amazing to listen a recording where Lol Coxhill takes part. And on this one he plays with another great musician as Veryan Weston is. This incredible duets of piano and soprano saxophone are an amazing experience. The good thing about Coxhill and Weston playing is that despite experimenting a lot they always achieve a certain melodic quality to all their tracks. It is like a stop and go process ...you have experimentation, then melodies, then experimentation again. And this type of experimentation brings a lot of different sensations to the listener and paint different pictures of this duets music. It amazed me how Coxhill achieves all the dynamics that he does on this CD: in fact he goes from extremely soft phrasaes to stronger ones, to almost thrashing his instrument (listen for example to "The Second Duet of Worms" to see what I am talking about). The good thing about listening great musicians like Coxhiull and Weston is that you always find something new in their music to learn from.

Favorite tracks: "The first Duet of Worms", "The Second Duet of Worms" and "The First Archduke Duo"

Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

REVIEW: LIVING SACRIFICE - CONCEIVED IN FIRE

 

LIVING SACRIFICE - CONCEIVED IN FIRE (Solidstate Records, 2002)

Tracks: 1- Imminent War, 2- Symbiotic, 3- 3x3 We Carried your Body, 4- The Poisoning, 5- Send Your Regrets, 6- Subtle Alliance, 7- Into Again, 8- Separation, 9- Black Seeds, 10- Ignite, 11- Distrust, 12- The Martyr, 13- Reach for the Sky

Here is Living Sacrifice new album. And here we have thirteen tracks of pure energy and power!! Comparing to their previous album that was also devastating, this one has more killer riffs and amazing rhythm passages. For those who don´t know the band, Living Sacrifice is the perfect mix of death metal, modern metal and thrash metal. They use a lot of different feelings, speeds and rhythms in order to be original on each atrck and deliver their ultraheavy music. And here is no exception: the thirteen tracks are mindblowing....from the killer drum passages to the huge guitars that deliver riff after riff making a lot of changes that make songs extremely interesting. The sound of the recording is really good and allows us to listen every instrument on this recording!! A great new release from this classical band!!!

Favorite tracks: "Imminent War", "The Poisoning" and "Subtle Alliance"

Contact: www.solidstaterecords.com

REVIEW: LINES - LINES IN AUSTRALIA

 

LINES - LINES IN AUSTRALIA (Emanem Disc, 2002)

Produced by Martin Davidson

Recorded at Ultimo ABC Studio 227, Sydney

Cover Art by Jim Denley and Martin Davidson

Tracks: 1- Lines in Australia, 2- Marks on the Sand, 3- Bush Onion Story, 4- Smokey Country, 5- Wurrkadi, 6- Seen from Above, 7- Bell Flower, 8- Ghost Gum

This is great spontaneous music!! Lines is a five piece band consisting on some interesting musicans: Axel Dörner on trumpet, Jim Denley on flutes and alto sax, Philipp Wachsmann on violin and electronics, Marcio Mattos on cello and electronics and Martin Blume on percussion. And this guys let the improvisation flow through all this recording session that they did on February 12th ,2000. It is great to see the interaction between this musicnas, specially I liked the way Mattos creates sounds with his cello while Blume makes some noises and sounds with his percussion. The good thing here is that this musicians play a lot with sounds and silences, so there are parts where al instruments rmain in silence whil one plays a phrase and then let the other instruments play and breathe. People who like experimentation and spontaneity will sure love this. People who has not listeend this type of music before will find this interesting (even if they will have to pay attention to don´t miss a sound played here)

Favorite tracks: "Marks on the Sand", "Wurrkadi" and "Seen from Above"

Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

REVIEW: LEGION - OF ONE - PROMO 2002

 

LEGION - OF ONE - PROMO 2002 (Independent, 2002)

Produced by Legion

Tracks: 1- I see, 2- The Change, 3- Blindgods, 4- Rage of Ages, 5- Forever Bleed, 6- Fuse, 7- By the Furies, 8- Of One

Here we have this extremely brutal band with hyper speed in many of the tracks. In fact, Legion are a cult band in the death metal underground. Their album from 2000 "Conqueror" is killer and this promo shows us a little bit of what they are doing now. They have evolved a lot in the construction of the songs that sound much tighter now with a lot of fast aprts and incredible double bass drumming. There are two types of vocals , the guttural one and the screaming one that interact really well thorugh the eight tracks contained on this promo CD. The riffs are crushing (I would mix a little bit louder the drums and the guitars and I think the CD would be perfect) and are followed by the bass in a great way because that adds a lot of bottom end that this riffs need. It is good to see that this band is getting better each time. Now I hope to listen their new full length release.

Favorite tracks: "The Change", "Blindgods" and "By the Furies"

Contact: http://members.xoom.com/legion_99

REVIEW: LAW OF THE PLAGUE - THE FIRST INFECTION DEMO

 

LAW OF THE PLAGUE - THE FIRST INFECTION DEMO (Sinternational Records, 2002)

Produced by Law of the Plague

Tracks: 1- Piss on My Grave, 2- Inside Out, 3- Moribund (Penetrate)

Here we have this powerful metal band with really modern sound. I find in their music influences from bands from Machine Head, Crowbar, Pro-Pain, Pantera. And the good thing is that this guys mix this influences and get their own sound. But what is the main thing here? Power!! Yes, total power in their music! From the guitar riffs with a huge sound to the double bass drummin and the breaks (really tight rhythm section with powerful bassist and drummer), to the screaming vocals and choruses. Everything here is designed to devastate the listener with pure energy and power! This is a demo designed for pure headbanging. I think this guys must be killer in a live show. The second track here is slow in many parts and at the same time extremely heavy. One more thing: on the CD says that the full length album will be released on 2002. I hope they release it really soon because this is a killer band!

Favorite tracks: The three tracks are a good showcase of brutality!!!

Contact: www.sinternational.net

INTERVIEW WITH SERIAL BUTCHER

 

1- How has been the "Serial Butcher" CD doing since its release in June?

Since we're not selling it on a major scale i can't really answer that question. we're primarily sending it to zines and labels to get some exposure. we sold a handful at shows and through the website as well. weare however on the brink of signing a deal with a record label so i guess it will be sold to the general audience in a matter of weeks.

2- How would you compare "Serial butcher" to "Exhumed Rotting"?

Well it's 4 years later so it's definitely more advanced as far as songwriting and technical skills go. the production is also a lot better. The only thing unchanged is the lyrical level (or lack thereof haha). Our drummer Nico also wrote more songs this time around compared to Hendrik in the older days.

3- How did Serial Butcher´s music change when Bob and Steve left the band? Which is your lineup now?

I don't think it really changed significantly. steven has rejoined us last year so now it's just me (nicolas) on second guitar who's new in the band.

4- What are the lyrics in songs like "Brutally bashed Baby Boom" about?

Something with a broomstick and a woman's womb. i don't wanna go into details here.

5- Which is the equipment of the band live and on studio?

Live we use Kramer and BC Rich guitars, and Engl and Digitech amps. In the studio we used a pod pro and protools instead of the digitech though. Nico has a tama drumset. Steven just drinks a lot of beer.

6- How is the process of composition of Serial Butcher´s music?

Since Hendrik is too busy with his bar these days it's mostly nico who comes up with new riffs. We'll work on it together and mold it into a song.

7- How do you see the evolution of the band since your first demo tape?

Over the course of the past 6-7 years i'd say SERIAL BUTCHER has always had one focus in mind - being the most brutal band around, without turning into some ridiculous grind band. we try to write catchy tunes as well and i think we pretty much succeeded in doing that.

8- Why was your first demo tape never released?

Because it sucked.

9-Which are your plans for 2003?

Releasing the album, playing more shows and hopefully touring a bit around Europe so everybody can witness the wonder that is SERIAL BUTCHER.

10- Any final words?

Yup thanks for the interview, check out http://www.serialbutcher.com and see you at our shows! peace out

REVIEW: LEGION - CONQUEROR

 

LEGION - CONQUEROR (Dark Horizon Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at Centurion Studios, March 1997.

Metal Grip Photo by Tracy Smart.

Track list:  1- Centuries, 2- Predominant Will, 3- Trust in Fate (One´s Own Undoing), 4- Discern, 5- Evergrey, 6- Plague of Indifference, 7- Infested Earth, 8- Curtains

This is a Legion recording from 1997 and it has two bonus tracks: "Infested Earth" from"Blissful Misery" demo (1994) and "Curtains" from "Legion" demo (1992). The music here is bestial death metal of the most brutal type (say in the way of bands like Sinister, Grave or Altars of Madness-era Morbid Angel) with some great riffs like the one at the end (6:36) of "Centuries" over which a good solo is played. The speed here is really fast in some parts (with lots of double bass in some places) and in other parts they prefer to use the riffs in a different way to make the heaviness prevail instead of the mere speed (for example on the beginning of "Predominant Will" with double bass drumming, melodies and riffs). The two bonus tracks don´t have the good sound that the rest of recording has (eventhough it is quite good for being demos from 1992 and 1994) and I prefer the tracks from 1997 instead.

Favorite tracks: "Predominant Will", "Discern" and "Trust in Fate".

Contact: : www.geocities.com/darkhorizon666

REVIEW: KENZINER - THE PROPHECIES

 

KENZINER - THE PROPHECIES (Leviathan Records, 1999)

Produced by David T. Chastain

Recorded at Babe Music Recording and Leviathan Studios

Cover Art by Rainer Kalwitz

Tracks: 1- Live Forever; 2- The Razor´s Edge, 3- Carry On Tomorrow, 4- Race With Time, 5- Trail of Tears, 6- Eternity, 7- Dimensions, 8- Like a Paradise, 9- Through the Fire, 10- The Prophecies

This is Kenziner´s second albuma and here we have some progressions comparing to the debut album. Here the sound is better, with the guitars sounding better, specially on the faster riffs. Here Jarno Keskinen shows us again what he is capable of doing with his guitars. The beginning with "live Forever" is great at top speed (thekeyboard intro of this song is pure David T. Chastain!!). here we have again the virtuoso guitar/keyboards solos and the harmonization with keyboards. Here we have again Stephen Fredrick strong vocals (one thing that I find always interesting in Leviathan Records recordings is the use of singers with a lot of power like this one, Kate French, Leather Leone, etc.). All the members of the band have their shining moments on this recording, for example the drums are great in "The Razor´s Edge" with interesting passages and good fast rhthms. Again, lovers of virtuosism check this one.

Favorite tracks: "Live Forever", "Race With Time" and "Through the Fire"

Contact: www.leviathanrecords.com