REVIEW: DUNGORTHEB - PROMO 00

 

DUNGORTHEB - PROMO 00 (Perennial Quest Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Dungortheb

Tracks: 1- Beyond The Darkness, 2- Place of Alienation, 3- The Only Rest, 4- Trip

Cover Art by Dungortheb

Dungortheb is a band that plays technical death metal in the style that bands like Death or Sadus have made famous. There are many excellent riffs within each of the songs and many rhythm and tempo changes that make the tracks really interesting. Also, here wqe have incredible guitar melodies and technical guitar solos done with really good taste (in the vein of guitarists as Chiuck Schuldiner, James Murphy, etc.). Since this is a promo from 2000 I would like to know how Dungortheb is sounding now, two years later. I think this guys were in the right path with this release and I hope that their debut will sound as good as this promo. Thumbs up for this guys !!!

Favorite tracks: All the CD. This guys play one of my favorite music styles.

Contact: jean_marc.werly@club-internet.fr

REVIEW: DRAGSTER - NEW TIMES

 

DRAGSTER - NEW TIMES (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Dragster

Tracks: 1- Break Down, 2- The Chase, 3- Why Do You Kill When You Can Save Lives?, 4- New Times

Cover Art by Público

Recorded at Nimbus Estudio

It´s been a long time since I last listened to a band playing thrash metal like this brazilian band does. The good thing is to listen this music that has been sadly forgotten (who says that metal don´t have trends?) and that I think will make a comeback really soon while people start searching for new things to explore. This band has influence from eighties thrash metal bands like Overkill, Exodus, Slayer and others and at the same time they have achieved a modern guitar sound. So their music can be labeled as 21st century thrash metal. Here we have the rhythms of the style with more crushing guitars and the guitar melodies that thrash lovers like while the vocals are really harsh and make some melodies that fit really well the music. Thumbs up for this band and I hope that this style becomes popular in the metal undergroundas in the late eighties again soon!

Contact: www.dragstermetal.com.br

REVIEW: DR. CHUNK - DR. CHUNK

 

DR. CHUNK - DR. CHUNK (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Dr. Chunk

Tracks: 1- Prelude, 2- 11, 3- Psycho, 4- Garden of Sound, 5-Crop Circles, 6-Face The Fear, 7- Disallowed, 8- Rager, 9- Traitor´s View, 10- Desolate, 11- Classified, 12- Feel My pain, 13- Cardboard Genius

Cover Art by Justin Ponsor

Recorded at Golden Track Studios

I was expecting more of a gore grind band or something like that, but I was wrong. Dr Chunk plays metal with some modern touches and a huge sound ! One thing that got my attention soon is the good sound that this recording has, and specially the combination of bass and drums that sound really huge (plus the drummer plays a lot of double drumming sounding almost like a human machine)! The guitars have a lot of nineties and eighties thrash influences and have the exact amount of distortion to sound monumentally heavy. The vocals are really original and give a lot of identity to Dr. Chunk´s music...the main thing in them is power....this guy is one of the most powerful vocalists I have listened in a while, and he doesn´t need to use guttural vocals or distorted screams. In fact he has a range of voice close to the one that John Bush has and he knows how to use it. Dr. Chunk´s music was for me a welcomed surprise!!!

Favorite tracks: "11", "Crop Circles" and "Rager"

Contact: www.drchunk.com

REVIEW: DOMAIN - THE ARTEFACT

 

DOMAIN - THE ARTEFACT (Nightmare Records, 2002 )

Produced By: Axel Ritt

Tracks: 1- Discover the Artefact, 2- Charade, 3- Mystery Stone, 4- Day Tripper, 5- Strangers From The Heart, 6- Blackhole Visions, 7- Seasons (The Circles Around the Moon), 8- Don´t Count on love, 9- Spirit of the Sun, 10- Almost Eden, 11- Downtown Babylon, 12- Heart on the Line, 13- Experience XTC

Cover Art by Sebastian Kozak

Recorded at Meadow Recording Studios

Here we have pure heavy metal in the vein of bands like Stratovarius, Yngwie Malmsteen and bands of the style. The band starts powerfully with "Charade", a song designed to be a hit in the heavy metal world. The musicians here have a lot of technical skills and they have created some european sounding melodies such as the ones in "Mystery Stone", that is a very "german sounding" track. One of the mmain elements here are the keyboards which are all over the tracks adding chord progressions and melodies in the songs. One thing to point out is the great sound that this recording has, specially on keyboards and guitars thata re essential for Domain´s sound. Pure heavy/power metal!!!

Favorite tracks: "Mystery Stone", "Strangers from the Heart" and "Spirit of the Sun"

Contact: www.nightmare-records.com

REVIEW: DIO - KILLING THE DRAGON

 

DIO - KILLING THE DRAGON (Spitfire Records, 2002 )

Produced By: Ronnie James Dio

Tracks: 1- Killing The Dragon, 2- Along Comes a Spider, 3- Scream, 4- Better in the Dark, 5- Rock and Roll, 6- Push, 7- Guilty, 8- Throw Away The Children, 9- Before The Fall, 10- Cold Feet

Cover Art by Marc Sasso

Recorded at Total Access Studios

Here we have in our hands the new album of Ronnie James Dio´s band. This time features new guitarist Doug Aldrich. The music here is not so different from the one in Magica (except because here there is no concept behind the lyrics), and as in that album some of the tracks are not as direct as in albums like "Holy Diver" or "The Last in Line". Here we have Aldrich replacing Craig Goldy´s riffs and solos in a really good way and we have also the rhythmic tandem of Jimmy Bain on bass and Simon Wright on drums that add a lot of power to the songs. And we have the genius Ronnie James Dio whose voice is as wonderful as always and if the other musicians are the skeleton and flesh of the music, then Ronnie is the soul of all the songs here.

Favorite tracks: "Killing the Dragon", "Scream" and "Before the Fall"

Contact: www.spitfirerecords.com

REVIEW: DEFORGE - SILENT TERROR INSIDE

DEFORGE - SILENT TERROR INSIDE (Independent, 2001)

Produced By Deforge

Tracks: 1- Fear West, 2- necrotic Skin, 3- Terminal Revolting Idea, 4- Back To life, 5- K.K.K.

Cover Art by Ettore Gaetano

Recorded at: Temple of Noise Studios

A modern death metal band with some thrash touches !!!! This is the style that this guys from Italy play. Full of brutality this band has chosen a more technical side to play their music. In fact the first thing that got my attention was the drumming sound, almost mechanical and that lets you listen all the complex rhythms that this guy is playing behind the drumkit. Then you have the deathly guitars with a really fat distortion that is essential to achieve the results that the guys in Deforge want. Plus, we have a bass player that plays many interesting arrangements through all the tracks. The mix of this CD is really good and makes things more brutal than it would be with a rawer production. This guys rule and lovers of death metal should check them.

Favorite tracks: "Fear West", "Terminal Revolting Idea" and "K.K.K."

Contact: konkhra@tiscalinet.it

REVIEW: DARK TRANQUILITY - DAMAGE DONE

DARK TRANQUILITY - DAMAGE DONE (Century Media, 2002 )

Produced By: Dark Tranquility and Fredrik Nordström

Tracks: 1- Final Resistance, 2- Hours Passed in Exile, 3- Monochromatic Stains, 4- Single part of two, 5- The treason wall, 6- Format C: For Cortex, 7- Damage Done, 8- Cathode Ray Sunshine, 9- The Enemy, 10-I, Deception, 11- White noise / Black Silence, 12- Ex Nihilo, 13 - Video: Monochromatic Stains

Cover Art by Niklas Sundin

Recorded at Studio Fredman

Here is the new album of Swedish death metal gods Dark Tranquility. Yes, one of the founders of the Gothenburg sound are here with "Damage Done". As always the band delivers technical death metal with that typical swedish flavor that we know bands like Dark Tranquility or In Flames have. This band has achieved its own identity and they show this on this latest CD with all the elements that ahve made them famous: fast riffs played with a lot of technical skills, clean guitar interludes, melodic guitar phrases and solos and powerful vocals. When looking back on Dark Tranquility´s career we can find that on each recording they have got a better mix and sound and this one is no exception being the album with tightest mix and more devastating guitars. A classic.

Favorite tracks: "Final Resistance", "The Treason Wall" and "The Enemy"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com

REVIEW: CYCLOPS - CYCLOPS FROM HELL

 

CYCLOPS - CYCLOPS FROM HELL (Independent, 2001)

 

Produced By: Cyclops

Tracks: 1- Welcome to me! (intro), 2- Metal Eye Beast, 3- Kill the Beast (Part One), 4- Bloody tears, 5- Metal Be With Us, 6- Stop this Hell

Cover Art by Mauro Vanzati

Recorded at Jam Studio

A slow melodic intro lets us into the heavy metal world of Cyclops. Here we have pure heavy metal with interesting guitar arrangements and clean epic vocals. The influences that I find here are those of Iron Maiden, some Helloween and a touch of old Queensryche. One extra point to these guys go for the excellent guitar solos (with lot of feeling and technique). All of the songs here have epic melodies and are of the kind of songs that are composed to be sung with your fist in the air. The mix is good but I would mix a little bit louder the guitars to make the result even heavier. There are some acoustic moments like in "Kill the Beast...". Plus there are lyrics thata re very sentimental (specially for people in Argentina) about the desparecidos and the killings that the militar governments did here in this country. Lovers of heavy metal don´t miss this one.

Favorite tracks: "Bloody Tears", "Metal Eye Beast" and "Stop this Hell"

Contact: www.cyclopsfromhell.com

REVIEW: COAL CHAMBER - DARK DAYS

COAL CHAMBER - DARK DAYS (Roadrunner Recs., 2001)

Produced By: Ross Hoghart

Tracks: 1- Fiend, 2- Glow, 3- Watershed, 4- Domething Told Me, 5- Dark days, 6- Alienate Me, 7- One Step, 8- Friend, 9- Rowboat, 10- Drove, 11- Empty jar, 12- Beckoned

Cover Art by Kris Mc Caddon

Recorded at Rumbo Recording Studio

In the life of the band the first album is what brings you immediate success, the second one is the one that solidifies your fame, but it is the third one the one that decides if you are going to continue being succesful or not. Knowing this, the guys and girl in Coal Chamber have started this third CD with a potential hit called "Fiend". The sound continues being the same as in their first two albums, that is heavy guitars with really fat sound, a clean bass guitar that follows closely the guitars, strong vocals and rhythms designed for the mosh pit or for headbanging. The mix of this album is good but no so different from the one in the first two albums. A third album to continue being among the top new metal bands.

Favorite tracks: "Glow", "Fiend" and "Empty Jar"

Contact: www.coalchamber.com

REVIEW: CHEMIKILLER - 4 SONG DEMO CDR

 

CHEMIKILLER - 4 SONG DEMO CDR (Independent, 2002 )

 

Produced By: Chemikiller

Tracks: 1- The blackest Night, 2- House of Blood, 3- Seek the Reaper, 4- Flesh Eaters

Cover Art by Chemikiller

Each Chemikiller songs sounds different fom the previous one!! The first track here opens up with a real thrash death riff before getting into a fast thrashy tun, then the second one, "House of Blood" is more rocking with more direct riffs and drumming. The third one is a more direct track and the fourth one is in a Motorhead style (and reminds me a little bit of Sodom´s classic song "Ausgebombt" from teh "Agent Orange" album). But each song is completely different from the other yet retaining the Chemikiller sound...and that is good. The singer here has a very special vocal range (sometimes closer to Tom Angelripper) and that also gives a lot of identity to the tracks. The sound of this four track demo is good and I would like te band to mix the guitar louder so they give some extra power to each of the songs.

Favorite tracks: "Flesh Eaters" and "House of Blood"

Contact: www.chemikiller.cjb.net