REVIEW: TAD MOROSE - MATTERS OF THE DARK

 

TAD MOROSE - MATTERS OF THE DARK (Century Media, 2002)

Produced By: Tad Morose

Tracks: 1- Sword of Retribution, 2- Matters of the Dark, 3- Ethereal Soul, 4- I Know Your Name, 5- In the Shadows, 6- Another Way, 7- New Clear Skies, 8- Riding the Beast, 9- Reason of the Ghost, 10- The Devil´s Finger, 11- Don´t Pray For Me

Cover Art by Jan Meininghaus

This power metal the way that it must be done: with powerful riffs, interesting solos, heavier than hell sound, twisted melodies and a singer that adds a lot of power besides doing melodies. That is the way bands like Jag Panzer, Vicious Rumours or Jag Panzer have chosen to do their compositions contrasting clearly with softer bands (most of them Helloween clones). This band main goal is to create powerful compositions with heavy feelings and not merely putting together a couple of melodies. Here we have Tad Morose´s heavy sound with amazing vocals and powerful epic choruses that are essential for this band´s music. There are energetic guitars riffs and interesting guitar solos through all this recording and the sound is making the band sound even more powerfully. A must for power metal lovers.

Favorite tracks: "In the Shadows", "Matters of the Dark" and "Riding the Beast"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com

REVIEW: SYSTEM 81 - INVASION

 

SYSTEM 81 - INVASION (Sector 19 Recs., 2002)

Produced By: System 81

Tracks: 1- Right Here..., 2- One More Ticket, 3- Communicate, 4- Mysterious, 5- This Way, 6- Transmission, 7- Triformis, 8- Wonderland, 9- Aluminum Dreams

This is pure electronic music!! It´s been a long time since I received a band of this charachteristics for reviewing. This band uses all the elements that they can in order to create some electronic atmospheres (that are appropritate for dancing because of the bass drumbeat that is on most of the songs). Here we have many elements that are extremely climatic (this guys use many different sounds in order to achieve the results that they want) while retaining the dancing atmosphere. One thing that amazed me were the vocals that are whispering the lyrics behind the other sounds adding an eerie quality to each of the compositions. A great thing about electronic bands like this one is that they mix really well their recording making the final result brighter than it would be without the great sound. I hope to receive more bands like this one in order to spice up a little bit more the musical tastes of the extreme scene.

Favorite tracks: "One More Ticket", "Mysterious" and "Triformis"

Contact: www.sector19.com

REVIEW: SUHRIM - UNIDENTIFIED FLYING BODY PARTS

 

SUHRIM - UNIDENTIFIED FLYING BODY PARTS (Independent, 2001)

Produced By: Suhrim

Tracks: 1- Mutilated Corpse, 2- UFB, 3- Old Bomb Fucked Bitch, 4- As You Bleed, 5- House of Gore, 6- Headdrilling - the Odesy, 7- Joyride, 8- 666, 9-Hymn of the Underdog, 10- Shitlover, 11- Shathulud, 12-Headdrilling - the Sequel

Cover Art by Bruno Kan

Recorded at The Cavern Studios

Suhrim has been doing really good in the underground lately spreading their extreme brutality through all the extreme scene.A nd here we have their album full of the heaviest of death metal riffs, the most bestial drumming that a band can have and the growling vocals needed to reach the band´s main goal: transmit extreme brutality through their music. And they have achieved this goal on this album with their mid paced riffs combined with double bass drumming and with the fastest riffs where the vocals growl over and over till the listener´s brain is melted. Each of the tracks here have many parts and riffs and each of them is done to add brutality while giving new dimensions to each composition. I have to remark that this album has an incredibly good sound that enhances even more the bestiality of this guys. Here you have twelve tracks of pure brutality with good musicianship.

Favorite tracks: "UFB", "AS You Bleed" and "Shathulud"

Contact: www.dma.be/lugburz/suhrim

REVIEW: STARFLYER 59 - CAN´T STOP EATING EP

 

STARFLYER 59 - CAN´T STOP EATING EP (Tooth and Nail Recs., 2002)

Produced By: Andy Prickett

Tracks: 1- Compeating, 2- West Coast Friendship, 3- Happy Birthday John, 4- Give Up the War (Stereo mix), 5- Theme From Dromedary

Cover Art by Asterik Studio

I had an odd feeling while listening to this band. On the first track they sounded like a sixties or early seventies band but with a modern sound and that really surprised me. The music of Starflyer 59´s music is simple and at the same time climatic and full of melodies (even the cover they have chosen, "Happy Birthday John" is really melodic). The singer is all the time whispering the vocals with his particular voice, adding a deppressive side to the music of the band ( many different feelings crossed my mind while listening this songs). The guitars play always with a clean sound (sometimes they use some acoustic guitar) doing arpegios and chords that are an essential part of the music on this recording. A realoly melodic release with many dark feelings.

Favorite tracks: "Compeating" and "Give Up the War..."

Contact: www.toothandnail.com

REVIEW: SOTHIS - INSTINCT

 

SOTHIS - INSTINCT (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Sothis

Tracks: 1- Requiescat In Pacem, 2- Psychonoise, 3- Turn off the Light, 4- To The Philosopher

Cover Art by Sothis

Recorded at Temple of Noise Studio 

Thsi band is devastating!! From the beginning they start with their black/death metal full of arrangements and different parts smashing the listener´s brain (plus there are some killer melodies that really give a lot of originality to the band). One of the things that got my attention soon is how well rehearsed thius guys are, they play many different changes and parts without missing a beat and sounding really compact and tight. The vocals are closer to the ones we know in black metal bands but sometimes there are also more guttural ones. Thumbs up for the killer guitarist whose arrangements and solos are essential to the Sothis sound. One thing to remark here is the excellent sound that this recording has, specially on guitars and drums (this drummer is killer with a lot of incredible double bass work). Here we have four brutal and technical tracks for mankind !!!

Favorite tracks: The Four

Contact: megadave78@yahoo.it

REVIEW: SIMON H. FELL - KALEIDOZYKLEN

 

SIMON H. FELL - KALEIDOZYKLEN (Bruce´s Fingers Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Simon H. Fell

Tracks: 1- Duration, 2- Timbre, 3- Frequency, 4- (In)articulation, 5- Intensity

Cover Art by Simon H. Fell

Recorded at The Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall 

On this recording Simon H. Fell has put into one CD an interesting composition for improvised double bass, clarinet, piano and orchestra. So, here we Fell colaborating with Rachel Cocks on clarinet, Paul Kosciecha on piano and the LSTWO Ensemble conducted by Simon Baines. This compositions show us a different side of Simon Fell´s musical personality, this is a more introspective release with more relaxed improvisation and parts where the combination of ensemble and other instruments gives the listener a sensation of peace while the musicians are still experimenting. The five parts on this CD are really complex and have many different moods on each of them (the first one is more than 26 minutes long and makes all the musicians shine). A must for improvisers.

Favorite tracks: "Duration" and "Frequency"

Contact: www.brucesfingers.com

REVIEW: SIMON H. FELL - COMPOSITION No. 30

SIMON H. FELL - COMPOSITION No. 30 (Bruce´s Fingers Recs., 2002 )

 

Produced By: Simon H. Fell

Tracks: CD1: 1- Part 1: Prelude, Swing & Variations, 2- Part 2: Klangfarbenmelodie, 3- Part 3: Blues, 4- Construct 1, 5- Construct 2, 6- Quartet, 7- Construct 3, 8- Part 4: Rhythm, 9- Interlude

CD 2: 1- Part 5: Guitar, 2- Construct 4, 3- Construct 5, 4- Construct 6, 5- Trio, 6- Part 6: Chord Progression

Cover Art by Simon H. Fell

Here we have this strange and amazing composition done by Simon H. Fell. This a 2 CD set that is divided in many parts. And on each of this parts we have different musicians ensembles playing Fell´s compositions while at the same time imptrovising. Here we have musicians whose work we have reviewed before like John Butcher or Rhodri Davies and whose musicianship is really well known. Here Fell has composed each part for a specific musician and we have here these musicians playing solo parts, duets, trios, quartets and even octets (really difficult harmonies in pieces like "Construct 1"). The music has some swinging qualities but the main thing here is the experimentation in this context searching always for new sounds and new atmospheres, expanding the limits of music.

Favorite tracks: The 2 CD set.

Contact: www.brucesfingers.com

REVIEW: SIKFUK- GORE DELICIOUS

 

SIKFUK- GORE DELICIOUS (United Guttural Recs., 2002)

Produced By: Sikfuk

Tracks: 1- Semen Dripping Wounds, 2- Orgasm Through Virgin Dissection, 3-Fresh Christian Cunt/Eat that Shit, 4- Still Born Feast / Festering Maggots, 5- Graveyard Pimp / Prostituting the Dead, 6- Maggots Gorelore, 7- Gore Battered and Deep Fried, 8- Anally Aborted, 9- Sloppy Eye Socket Seconds

Mixed by Bob Moore

Recorded at Soundlab recording

Here we have a pure goregrind band from the style that rips tyour barina appart. But despite having many fast moments the main grind feature here are the completely guttural and distorted vocals. Why I am saying this? Because this guys have longer songs, with more changes in the rhythms and they use slower riffs and a bigger sound than most of grind bands do. This can be described as technical grind because this guys have more technical skills than most opf the grind gore bands out there (incredible breaks with bass phrases). Plus they have an amazing bass player who plays the bass with some slapping and popping and always with a clean sound that contrasts with the one done by the guitars adding new feelings to each track and he has good bass technique. If you like new ideas and have anb open mind for grindcore then you should check Sikfuk´s music.

Favorite tracks: "Orgasm...", "Still Born..." and "Graveyard Pimp"

Contact: www.unitedguttural.com

REVIEW: SHIP OF FOOLS - LET´S GET THIS MOTHER OUTTA HERE

 

SHIP OF FOOLS - LET´S GET THIS MOTHER OUTTA HERE (Peaceville Recs., 2002)

Produced By: Peaceville Recs.

Tracks: 1- Diesel Spaceship, 2- L=SD2 , 3- Where is Here, 4- First Light, 5- In the Wake Of, 6- From Time, 7- Passsage by Night, 8- Western Lands, 9- Guidance is Internal, 10- Video CDRom track: L=SD2

Here we have tracks coming from the two albums that this really interesting band released for Peaceville´s sister label Dreamtime Recs in the early nineties. For those who doesn´t know the band it features Les Smith on keyboards who is now playing on Anathema and used to play in Cradle of Filth. The music here is instrumental an full of interesting arrangements, most of them done by the keyboards. Here you can appreciate how this guys were exploring sonic boundaries while developing each of their compositions. This can be trully heard on this CD that feature amazing moemnts from this glorious band. The songs have been mixed by Les Smith to give a more perfect sound and show the world Ship of Fools music in all its magnitude and with better sound. 

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.peaceville.com

REVIEW: SFQ - THIRTEEN RECTANGLES

 

SFQ - THIRTEEN RECTANGLES (Bruce´s Fingers Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Simon H. Fell

Tracks: 1- Start Frame + soft hard (interpolation 1), 2- Rectangle 1, 3- Rectangle 2, 4- Rectangle 3, 5- Rectangle 4 & 5, 6- Rectangle 6, 7- Rectangle 7, 8- Soft Hard (interpolation 2), 9- Rectangle 8, 10- Rectangle 9, 11- Rectangle 10, 12- Rectangle 11 & 12, 13- Rectangle 13, 14- Soft Hard (interpolation 3)+ end frame

Cover Art by Simon H. Fell

Recorded at Gateway Studio 

Here we have new experimentation from Simon H. Fell and friends. This time the context is closer to standard jazz and makes the experimentation and improvisation a little bit more accesible to ears that are not accustomed to them. Here the piano played by Alex Maguire is playing improvised lines and melodies while the winds section is doing the most extreme sounds. Simon Fell´s double bass pays from walking bass lines to improvised phrases interacting really well with drummer Steve Noble (who is the one that changes rhythms really often here taking the band to new rhythmic lands). It is incredible how this musicians can experiment freely and at the same time don´t loose control of what they are playing, being really coherent and full of virtuosism.

Favorite tracks: "Rectangle 2", "Soft Hard (interpolation 2)" and "Rectangle 6"

Contact: www.brucesfingers.com