REVIEW: ENID - ABSCHIEDSREIGEN

 

ENID - ABSCHIEDSREIGEN (CCP Recs., 2000 )

Mastering By: Claus Prellinger

Tracks: 1- Erinnerungen, 2- Weg Der Weisung, 3- Reverie of Youth in Spheres of Dream, 4- Meer Der Einsamkeit, 5- Zug der Vergessenen Reiter, 6- Bondage´s Coronation, 7- Herbststurm, 8- Whispering of Goodbye

Cover Art by Florian Dammasch

Recorded at CCP Studio

Starting softly with a piano intro on the first track "Erinnerungen", this CD changes fastly its pace getting into some of the best progressive black/death metal I have ever listened. Full of different arrangements, orchestrations, melodies and keyboards progressions and many more ingredients, Enid music is a pleasure for the ears of those who want powerful music and at the same time want to be surprised with new things. In fact here we have excellent piano parts, male and female choir melodies, amazing orchestrations. All of this is complemented with screaming vocals, fast drum parts, heavy guitar parts. This is with no doubt one of the albums of the month!!!! 

Favorite tracks: All the tracks. This is a masterpiece

Contact: www.ccprecords.com

REVIEW: ENDRAUM - IN FLIMMERNDER NACHT...

 

ENDRAUM - IN FLIMMERNDER NACHT... (Danse Macabre Rec., 1993)

Produced By: Ensraum

Tracks: 1- Ouvertüre, 2- Schatten Der Nacht, 3- Albatros, 4- Orthosia, 5- Nostalghia, 6- Krumme Schatten im Stummen Muster, 7- Hommage, 8- Dämmerung mein Lichterkranz, 9- Demeter, 10- Zerdrückte Kehle

Cover Art by Endraum

Recorded at Weisser Herbst Studios

This is quite an old release but I want to review it because of the beauty and magnificence of the music contained on this CD. The music here is really atmospheric and ethereal where the main thing are the keyboards arrangements and the female vocals which are really dark and deppressive. There are also some ethnic elements such as the percussion in some tracks. But everything here is done in order to achieve the darkest music possible. And Endraum does it through the melancholic keyboards and the whispering vocals that you can listen all over the place. This is a classic.

Favorite tracks: All the CD.

REVIEW: EMPTINESS - NECRORGY

 

EMPTINESS - NECRORGY (Independent , 2002)

Produced By: Emptiness

Tracks: 1- Necrorgy, 2- Subhuman Submission, 3- Our Hatred of Generosity, 4- Lead Us Sathanas, 5- Last Echoes Before Nothingness, 6- Xenophobia, 7- Supremacy, 8- Shemamforash, 9- Eternal Rising

Cover Art by N. Daemon

Recorded by Jeremy

Emptiness is a band whose music can be described as black/death metal with an extremely raw sound combined with a lot of keyboards in some parts (in fact Nerath Daemon who plays guitars and keyboards here is playing also in Enthroned). I am putting black/death to describe Emptiness music here because I think that this band has elements from both styles in their compositions, beginning with the vocals that are a combination of the more guttural voices in death metal with the screaming ones used in balck metal. Then come the guitar riffs, here we have the fastest ones that play some melody with one note progressions are closer to black metal and the more rhythmic and crushing ones are closer to death metal. I would like the keyboards to be a little higher in the mix to add a new dimension to Emptiness music. This CD also contains the "Eternal Rising" MCD recorded in the year 2000. Fans of black and death check Emptiness!

Favorite tracks: "Subhuman Submission", "Lead Us Sathanas" and "Supremacy"

Contact: www.emptiness-oficial.be.tf 

REVIEW: ELENIUM - THEM USED GODS

ELENIUM - THEM USED GODS (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Elenium

Tracks: 1- Demigodlike, 2-Outside View, 3- Inbred Infinity

Cover Art by T.R.

Recorded at Sonic Pump Studios

Here we have this band that plays what I would call extremely progressive death metal. The music here has deathly vocals and also a clean melodic singer who adds a lot of melodies here, plus Elenium has an incredible keyboardist. In fact the first track opened with sorto of a run that could be used in a neoclassical metal album, and this sort of phrases are really well mixed with more crushing rhythms, tempo changes and breaks (like the one at 3:12 in "Demigodlike" where the bass is lef alone with the drums before the whole band enters with keybaords playing at top speed). I really enjoy the combination of heavy guitars and amazing keyboards solos that this band does (this guy Johannes is killer). The sound of the whole MCD is great and this is one band destined to be sitting in the throne of extreme metal really soon!

Favorite tracks: The three tracks here are wonderful

Contact: http://elenium.tripod.com

REVIEW: DYNAMIC LIGHTS - RESURRECTION

 

DYNAMIC LIGHTS - RESURRECTION (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Dynamic Lights

Tracks: 1- Breath of the Earth, 2- Breath of the Sun, 3- Awakening / Consciousness, 4- Deception / Revenge, 5- CD Rom Video Section

Cover Art by Raffaele Mariotti

Recorded at Castriota Studios

Dynamic Lights is a progressive metal band of top quality as you can listen on this CD. Their complex arrangements, changes and amazing vocal harmonies are the main features here. Plus they have a heavy guitarist whose melodies and solos are essential to Dynamic Light´s sound (as also are the excellent keayboards parts). Also we have a killer rhythmic section with a bassist that can play from melodies to rhythm with great skills and a drummer who plays lot of interesting patterns and complex rhythms To sum up, we have here great musicanships who know how to play this amazing compositions full of elements (each time that you listen the songs you find something new that you had not heard before). If you liek bands like Dream Theater then you must listen Dynamic Lights

Favorite tracks: All the CD. Amazing!!

Contact: www.dynamiclights.net

REVIEW: DUNKELSTORM - SCHICKSAL

 

DUNKELSTORM - SCHICKSAL (Furias Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Eduardo Mallada and Pablo De Luca

Tracks: 1- Requiem For a Stormy Day, 2- Born From Chaos, 3- I Swear Revenge, 4- Schicksal, 5- As the only Witness, 6- Miserable Agony, 7- Eternal Silence, 8- Morbid´s thoughts, 9- When the Snow Became Rain

Cover Art by Sieger

Recorded by Krauser

This is a good band from Argentina. The music can be somewhat described as progeressive black/death metal with lots of keyboards. The keyboards plus the programmed drums give sort of a cold cybernetic feeling to Dunkelstorm´s songs. One thing that I would like them to change is the guitar sound that is a little bit thin for my taste and I think that a more fat sound would make things more powerful. The vocals here are screaming ones and are sometimes processed adding this industrial feeling that I mentioned before. The sound is good, specially on the keyboards which are the axis of Dunkelstorm´s music. 

Favorite tracks: "Born form Chaos", "I Swear Revenge" and "Miserable Agony"

Contact: www.orionmusic-furias.com.ar or www.dunkelstorm.com

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