CD

CD Reviews

Don´t Trust - Harmony Dies (Ars Metalli Rec., 1997):

This records is a prelude of what Harmony Dies was going to achieve with their next record. It seems a little bit faster an unpolished, but the songs resume brutality in every riff, every beat and every growl. The sound is not as good as it was going to be in their next album (particularly the drums sound a little in the back up, specifically the cymbals are quite thin sounding). The riffs are faster in some songs than in "I´ll Be your Master" but they lack the punch that the songs in that album has. Eventhough, there are the trademarks of Harmony Dies: a combination of blast beats and slower parts (that here surfaced a little bit less than in the next record). My favorite song of the CD is "Living Corpses" because of the beginning with the two low tuned guitars and the drum part that follows. In this songs the vocals fit better the music and makes it sound bigger. A great debut album. An announcement of what was going to come next.

I´ll Be Your Master - Harmony Dies (Ars Metalli Rec., 2000):

Since the title track that opens the CD you know what you get: extrem brutality. This potent band from Berlin makes you bang your head to their music. I liked specially the more rythmic parts in the songs, that give diversity to the material. It would be good to see Harmony Dies exploiting more of this parts that are more crushing than the fast hyperblasts. I liked specially the song "Final Confrontation" with a riff in the middle of the song that is not charachteristic of death metal bands. The overall sound of the record is extremely good: you can hear the bass pumping through all the songs, the drums are a double bass nightmare and the guitars are devastating. "I´ll Be Your Master" was recorded again in Soundforge Studios with the asistance of Andreas Hillbert. Christoph Carl´s vocals are extremely gutural bringing up to my mind shades of Morbid Angel´s David Vincent or Napalm Death´s Barney Greenway (Harmony Corruption´s era) (it would be a good idea to include in the booklet the lyrics since the vocals are quite difficult to understand). The songs seem extremely rehearsed and the guitars seam the engines of a big machine. I recommend this CD for people that likes brutal death metal well executed and with a great mix. Other songs to point out: "Markmen´s Destiny" (heavy metal riffs mixed with death blasts) and " Wasted Minds".

War To End All Wars - Yngwie J. Malmsteen´s Rising Force (Spitfire Rec., 2000):

As all Yngwie fans know there are certain albums where the guitar sounds extremely fat and strong, such as "Marching Out" or "The Seventh Sign", but this is Yngwie´s heaviest album to date. The opening track "Prophet of Doom" is typical Yngwie with a heavy riff and an extremely catchy chorus. The guitar solos are amazing as always. One can only be surprised with the bonus track "Black Sheep of the Family" that sounds like Bob Marley meets Yngwie Malmsteen with a strange reggae feeling and vocals that don´t sound like Marc Boals. Drummer John Macaluso is heavier and more imaginative than in the previous album, "Alchemy" and keyboardist Mats Olausson plays his parts as good as always. In fact, there is little surprise with this new album, but Yngwie has this special touch that leaves you asking for more after the record has finished (like: "Only fourteen songs? That is not enough"). It is really interesting the balance between the heaviest songs ("Prophet of Doom", "Crucify" and the more radio oriented ("Bad Reputation", "Miracle of Life"). This balance is what makes Yngwie records so special for those who like him (obviously his guitar solos are another important part of this). A track that for me is the best: "Masquerade" (it sums up all that Yngwie is).