Technical data:

This is powerful metal in the vein of Machine Head or Sepultura but much more aggressive. Some elements of death metal and hardcore surface her and there but the interesting thing here are the rhythms that go far beyond speed. There are certain elements that reminded me of Pro-Pain but in fact this is really different from that. 2 Ton Predator has an interesting point in the vocals of Mogge who is a really flexible screamer (going from melodic lines a la Phil Anselmo to a deeper growling). A killer guitarist is another column of 2 Ton Predator with rhythmic riffs, favoring good taste. Songs like "Pumpjack pleasure" are ideal for the moshpit !! Favorite tracks: "Duct Tape Story", "Pumpjack Pleasure" and "Downright Evil". Contact: www.diehardmusic.com or diehard@diehardmusic.com  

 

500 FT. OF PIPE - DOPE DEAL (Beard of Stars Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Produced,Recorded, Mastered and Mixed by Kris Shier for Hire and 500 Ft of Pipe.

Track List: 1- Detroit City (Never Done Me No Good), 2- 77 Burnout, 3- Not your Mule, 4- Dope Deal, 5- 420 To Go, 6- Big brother, 7- D.E.A., 8- Sunshine Superman, 9- Wear it Out, 10- We Blew the Whole Thing Up.

Stoner rock !!! Yes, this type of crude rock with psychodelic influences and drug inspired lyrics is what 500 Ft. Of Pipe does….and they do it really good ! As any band of the style should have, this band has a definetly seventies sound through all their recording. I liked a lot the guitarist that sometimes sounds like Tony Iommi because of this muddy sound that his guitar has and some licks that involves bending and legato that the Black Sabbath guitarist does sometimes. The music here is rocking and definetly takes you back to an era where the feeling was completely different from nowadays and there was a look for experimentation. A thing that caught my attention is that this is a trio consisting of a guitarist, a drummer and a keyboard/singer (his vocals are in the way of Corrosion of Conformity/Down singer Pepper Keenan) and that gives a special sound to them. Favorite tracks: "Sunshine Superman", "Dope Deal" and "We Blew the Whole thing Up". Contact: www.vinylmagic3.it

 

AEON - DARK ORDER (DeathVomit/Necropolis Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed at Courthouse Studio, Östersund, Summer 2000.

Produced by Johan Hjelm. Engineered and mixed by Johan Hjelm.

Cover artwork and layout by José Montemayor.

Track list:  1- The Return of Apolluon, 2- Eternal hate, 3- With Blood they Pay, 4- The Awakening, 5- Bloodlust, 6- Hell Unleashed.

Powerful album from this death gods ! The first things that take your attention here is how well mixed the guitars are, specially the rhythmic ones that are a kick in your face. The sound, to give you an idea is like having a mix of Morbid Angel and Fear Factory and throwing this into a brutal death metal machine. There are some interesting lead guitars phrases thrown into this mix too (there is a killer solo in "With Blood they Pay" with good legato technique and some tapping too). There are no subtle things here, everything here is designed to crush you like a one thousand ton hammer (ten ton hammer is for Machine Head, so I think One thousand ton hammer is more apropriated for Aeon). Fans of brutality will have orgasms here !!. Favorite tracks: "With blood they pay", "The Return of Apolluon". Contact: www.necropolisrecords.com

 

AMBEON - FATE OF A DREAMER (Transmission/NEMS Enterprises, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded, Produced and Mixed at the Electric Castle by Arjen Lucassen.

Mastered by Sascha Paeth

Layout by mail@dresham.de

This is a project that originally Arjen Lucassen planed as another Ayreon album, but finally he decided to do it different when he listened to 14 year old Astrid Van Der Veen who sings through all this album. In fact her excellent vocals are close to the tone of Annekke Van Giesbergen (The Gathering) but they are used in quite a different manner. Lucassen´s music is more calm and introspective on this album than in his work with Ayreon like showing a side that he had not shown before in his other project. As always there are a lot of keyboards but here they have the role of enhancing Astrid´s vocals which are the axis around which this CD spins. Another positive fact on this album is the great sound that Lucassen has achieved this time. Favorite tracks: "High", "Sick Ceremony" and "Surreal". Contact: nems@nems.com.ar

 

ARCHAEAN HARMONY - NIHILITY MUNDANE SOUL (Solemn Music, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed at Temple Studios, 15-18 July 1999

Sound Engineered and mixed by David Vella.

Produced by David Vella and Archaean Harmony.

Logo, Artwork and Design: C.J.Zarb

Track List: 1- Nihility Mundane Soul…Eschatology berft, l´Apostasy, 2- Metabolism Under the Ascending Moon Part I, 3- Metabolism Under the Ascending Moon Part II, 4- Venery Dreams.

Climatic black/dark metal band with really subtle elements !. This is the rerelease of the "Promo 99" from this killer band and as it says on the booklet, it is not a reflection of the new directions Archaean Harmony is working now. Main charachteristic of this recording: lot of keyboards, playing chord progressions, interludes; excelent guitars (killer melodies through the four tracks, interesting acoustics, excelent solos), played in a really subtle way, emphasizing the atmosphere of the music; some electronic drums that sound a little bit thin in some places but it helps also to generate the "Archaean Harmony sound". This is totally recomendable for fans of original music, elaborated black metal, and fans of atmospheric music too. A must. Favorite tracks: All four. Contact: http://go.to/solemn or solemusic@hotmail.com

 

ATTRITION - THE HIDDEN AGENDA (Invisible Recs., 2001):

Technical Data:

Recorded and mixed at The Cage - 1992-1993.

Produced by Martin Bowes and Mark Beswick.

Remastered by Martin Bowes at the Cage, 2000.

Art: Mark P. Lomax.

Track List: 1- Lip Sync (Xenophobia Edit), 2- Agenda Station, 3- The Deadline, 4- This Great Design, 5- Sister Teresa, 6- The Silent Mind, 7- The Cage, 8- The Mercy Machine, 9- The Next Day (re-visited), 10- His Latest Flame, 11- Lip Sync (reprise), 12- The Third House, 13- A Wing and a Prayer.

Well, in fact I like this kind of music: electronic sounding with lots of electronic and programming that is not designed to dance and shake your body. This is done to experiment with sounds that are not so common (eventhough "Lip Sync" would not be out of place in some weird rave). The voice here reminded me in some places of the guy in Rammstein, but this was recorded when that band didn´t even exist. There are a lot of industrial sounds here butthe fundamental here is the sound of electronic drums with that interesting ganme of female and male vocals that make the sound darker. I don´t know what Attrition is doing nowadays but I would like to listen new material from them to see how they have evolved since this CD. Contact: www.attrition.co.uk or www.invisiblerecords.com

 

ATTRITION - EPHEMERA (INCIDENTAL MUSIC VOL.II) (Invisible Recs., 2001):

Technical Data:

Recorded on location at The Cage - March-Dec 1993.

Remastered by Martin Bowes at The Cage, January 2001.

Art: Mark P. Lomax. Design by John Bergin,

Track List: 1- The Long Wait, 2- A Great Desire, 3- The Big Lie, 4- Wetenscap (Dream #9), 5- Lang Zal Jij Leven

This Attrition CD is completely different from "The Hidden Agenda". Where in that recording rhythmic patterns and bass drum were all over the place, here you have more atmospheric sounds, and climatic work. This are soundscapes made by the total experimental brain of Mr. Martin Bowes who si in charge of all the music here. Fans of this kind of electronic music will be delighted (perhaps this will be a little dark from them because of the heavy use of keyboard chords to create obscure atmospheres and the use of industrial sounding drums). Very interesting but for open minded persons. Favorite tracks: "A Great Desire" (with noisy intro followed by electronics) and "The Big Lie" (like a science fiction movie soundtrack). Contact: www.attrition.co.uk or www.invisiblerecords.com

 

AT VANCE - DRAGONCHASER + EARLY WORKS CENTERS (NEMS Enterprises, 2001):

Technical Data "Dragonchaser":

Recorded and Mixed by Olaf Lenk at Guitarland Studio.

Produced by Olaf lenk and Axel Thubeauville.

Artwork: Cristoph Berch

Track List:  Dragonchaser: 1- Dragonchaser, 2- Ages of Glory, 3- Crucified, 4- Beethoven 5^th Sinfonie, 5- Heaven Can Wait, 6- The Winner Takes it All, 7- My Bleeding heart, 8- Two Kings, 9- Too Late, 10- Ases Death.

Early Works Centers: 1- Falling One by One, 2- Fortuneteller, 3- You´ll Survive, 4- The Guide, 5- My one and only love, 6- Tales of Mystery, 7- Out of Reach, 8- Your Love, 9- Kiss of Death, 10- Burning My Heart, 11- Memories, 12- Winter, 13- Tears of Pain, 14- Take My Heart, 15- Desperado

This is a 2 CD set containing the new At Vance album called "Dragonchaser" and the first one that was unavailable and is called "Centers". It is interesting to see in this package the evolution that the band has suffered since their first recordings. From all the power/heavy metal bands that surfaced in the latest years in the scene I think At Vance is one of the best (along with Symphony X). With the Malmsteen-like guitars of Olaf Lenk the tracks in Dragonchaser are much better sounding than the ones in "Heart of Steel", eventhough they are not so original. I prefer those tracks where originality surfaces, like for example on "Crucified" where they break part of the power metal structure favoring a more direct approach. For lovers of rarities: Dragonchaser includes an ABBA cover (it seems that this people are really fans) "The Winner Takes it All" and a version of Beethoven´s Fifth Symphony. The tracks in "Centers" are more direct in some aspects, with less arrangements and the mix is not as good as in "Dragonchaser", but you can listen perfectly Lenk´s guitar and the great vocals (that here sound sometimes like Joe Lynn Turner and sometimes like Graham Bonnett), the drums are a little bit thin for my taste here and it seems that for theirs too because they have changed that in the next recordings. Favorite tracks: " Crucify", "Ases Death" and "Ages of Glory". Contact: nems@nems.com.ar

 

AURORA BOREALIS - NORTHERN LIGHTS (Diehard Music, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at Nightsky Studios, Oct-Dec. 1999

Engineered and Produced by Ron Vento. Mastered at IQ Studios

Front Cover Art: Jay Marsh

Track List: 1-Thrice Told, 2- Enter the Halls, 3- Images in the Nightsky, 4- Draco, 5-Sky Dweller, 6- Hydrah, 7-Dream God, 8- Hydrah, 9- Dream God, 10- Distant. European bonus tracks: 11- War of the Rings, 12- Offerings of Jade and Blood, 13- Constellations Embellished with Chaos, 14- Aggressive Dynasty, 15 - Calm Before the Storm.

I published the review of this CD some issues back when Ron Vento sent me the CD. Now the guys in Diehard Music have issued this great album but containing five bonus tracks for Europe. The music is fast, direct black/death metal with good fast drumming with lots of double bass patterns. Interesting guitar riffs, specially the more original ones like on "Enter the Halls" (0:19) or the beginning of "Hydrah". The bonus tracks here are not so good sounding on the guitar like the rest of the recording but they have killer drumming (listen to the beginning of "War of the rings") and an interesting bass sound. Here the mix is lacking a little bit of depth on the guitars but the songs are really good ones and it shows the evolution that Aurora Borealis has gone through. Contact: www.diehardmusic.com or diehard@diehardmusic.com

This is a preview of the Beto Vazquez Infinity debut album with different versions of songs that will be appearing on that recording. As we can see there are a lot of guests musicians here, for example Fabio Lione (Rhapsody / Athena/Vision Divine) and Jörg Michael (Stratovarius) on vocals and drums respectively on "Battle of Valmourt" or Tarja Turunen (Nightwish) on the choruses on "Promises Under The Rain" (I would like to listen to the version with the full lyrics to listen the complete results). Beto Vazquez Infinity´s material is really original, including flutes and female vocals within an atmospheric heavy metal context, played with good musicianship and plenty of ideas. I think this is fresh air for the stagnant heavy/power metal scene from Argentina. Contacts: nems@nems.com.ar

 

BLUEFISH - COOLLOUDN´SWEET BABY (Suburban Recs., 2001):

Technical Data:

Engineered and Mixed by Frank Reijgersberg.

Mastered by Alan Ward at Electric City, Brussels.

Artwork by Bluefish. Layout: Mark Drillich.

Track List: 1- Lighyrt, 2- Betty, 3- Vitamin E, 4- Little Things, 5- Cowboy Song, 6- Hoppin´Around, 7- I´m in Love with You, 8- As Cool As You, 9- Come Take My Hand, 10- Dazibao, 11- Asshole, 12- Damage

I thought, looking at the cover and the inside pictures, that this was going to be more like pop music, but in fact I found some interesting punk sounding trio with strong guitars and interesting vocal harmonies. Is like Green Day but much more interesting and elaborated. "Lighter" starts the CD with some good vocal hooks and powerful bass and drums sound. "Betty" the next song is the hit of the album with nice choruses and some stronger vocals. Don´t like that much the song "Little things" because it is kind of too light for me, but is only one spot in this CD, and after this one comes one of the best tracks called "Cowboy Song" (great sense of humor here), fast and short. Favorite tracks; "Cowboy Song", "Lighter" and "Asshole" (country meets punk here?). Contact: www.suburban.nl

 

BY THE GRIEF - AS ONE (Nocturnal Music / Kick Promotions Agency, 2000):

Technical Data:

Recorded, mixed and mastered at West Link Studio - Cascina, Pisa (11/12/99-22/12/99)

Executive Producer: Richard Damien

Graphics and layout: Claudio "Baro" Baroncelli

Track List: 1- As One, 2-Revelation, 3-Fan the Flames, 4- Ray of Sun, 5- Scornriver, 6- Frail, 7- Disconnect the Power, 8- Life Functions Terminated.

Clean guitars open the first track of this CD, "As One", entering into climatic death metal after a while. The music in this CD brought images to my mind of (check this out): Testament, Paradise Lost (certain climatic guitar phrases) and Atheist (specially on the vocals). This italian quintet are extremely technical and they know how to construct a song with extreme musicianship without loosing their power. The use of clean guitars, original riffing (listen to "Revelation") and screaming vocals are the main features of this release. "Fan The Flames" is one of the top moments where the Atheist/Paradise Lost combination gets to its climax (the vocals are really original here). A good album for fans of technical metal full of ideas. Favorite tracks: "Fan The Flames", "Scornriver" (with piano touches) and "Disconnect the Power". Contact: www.nocturnalmusic.com or madfucker@libero.it

 

COOPER - ACTIVATE (Suburban Recs., 2001):

Technical Data:

Mixed by Frank Reijgersberg and Michael Schoots. Engineered by Frank Reijgersberg

Executive Producer: Michael Schoots

Graphics and layout: The Hague, Robert Muda

Track List: 1-Mirror, 2- Whatever Reason, 3- Hello, 4- No Clue, 5- New Age Crap, 6- Numb, 7- Too much on my mind, 8- Yeah!, 9- Doesn´t Matter, 10- Wrapped, 11- Girlfriend, 12 - Sister of Mercy.

Simple and efective rock and roll in the vein of Foo Fighters is what we have here. A lot of punk rock influences are shown here, for example on "Whatever Reason". What this guys have is a lot of pop sensibility because all the songs stick inmediately to your ear through those hooky melodies and the way the songs are created: in the style verse-verse-chorus-verse that is so friendly to the ear. Those looking for experimentation and dark atmospheres will not find them here. But if you like happy music and easy to listen songs will be delighted. Favorite tracks: "No Clue", "New Age Crap" and "Girlfriend". Contact: www.suburban.nl or info@suburban.nl

Hard rock meets punk and breeds this style that with a more nineties sound makes rockin music. All the songs here are designed to have some wild attitude and at the same time have enough hooks to be accessible to the listener. Guitars that are in the middle of heavy metal and rock (they use kind of a light distortion, like for example Stone Temple Pilots does), vocals that are total rock and roll (with some pop influences too). And a good production. Favorite tracks: "Co-dependant Idolatry", "Imperfect Demanding Perfect" and "Thank God I´m an Atheist. Contact: www.toothandnail.com

 

DARKNESS ETERNAL - DAWN OF THE SUFFERING (Dark Salvation Prods, 2000):

Technical Data:

Recorded and Engineered by Stew Kirkwood. Recorded at Rabbit Hunchback Monkey Studios.

Mixed by Stew Kirkwood and George Velaetis.

Graphic Design by Carol Pylypow

Track List: 1- The Final Conquest, 2- Jesus Bleeding, 3- Mass Suicide, 4- Dawn of the Suffering, 5- The Burning Waters of Acheron, 6- Impeccable Doom, 7- Shadow of the Scorned, 8- Black Pentecost, 9- Abandon Divinity, 10- Unrepenting Malice.

Brutal death metal with slower parts (almost doom in many places). In fact I find that this slower parts and rhythm changes is what Darkness Eternal should exploit to distinguish themselves. George Velaetis knows how to develope some interesting guitar riffs and drum patterns. There are clear differences in the sound between the tracks: in fact, "Jesus Bleeding" is muddier than for example "The Final Conquest". One thing that got my attention is that the booklet says that the songs here were written between 1997 and 2000, so there are some differences in the material. Points to remark: use of great changes and clean parts followed by faster ones like on 1:52 from "Jesus Bleeding". I would like to listen more recent material to see the evolution that this one man band has suffered. Originality within death metal´s realm. Favorite tracks: "Mass Suicide", "The Burning Waters of Acheron". Contact: darknesseternal666@hotmail.com

 

EN DECLIN - EN DECLIN (Independent, 2001):

Technical Data:

Recorded live at the Outer Sound Studio

Produced by En Declin, G.Orlando, M.Pagliuso

Track List: 1- Night, 2- Time, 3- Flyer, 4- At my Suffer, 5- Still Remain, 6- Fail once for all, 7- To founder, 8- The end is mine.

Really interesting work by this italian band. Mixing death/black metal with a great combination of gothic vocals (clean and melodic) and black metal (screaming ones) voices. Intensive use of clean guitars to enhance the dark feelings, like in the beginning of " Time". One really positive point about this CD is the great sound that this band has achieved in the studio, specially the drums that are really well mixed and that allows the listener to hear all the arrangements that Cristiano Loddo makes with his instrument. Another thing that is interesting is the constant change of riffs and rhythms that are done within the songs and that makes more interesting the final result. Favorite tracks: "Flyer", "Still Remain" and "The End is Mine". Contact: casuc@inwind.it

 

ENDORPHINE - ENDORPHINE (Independent / Kick Promotion Agency, 2000):

Technical data:

Recorded and mixed at Jumping Spider´s by Maddalena Bellini.

Artwork by Temno.

Track List: 1- Dust Rivers, 2- Cynic Show, 3- Nectar, 4- Dear Old Friends.

Endorphine plays extremely technical thrash /heavy metal with influences from eighties thrash bands like Annihilator, Testament, etc. Four songs are presented here, one of them an instrumental ("Dear Old Friends") full of thrashy rythms and certain elements and rhythm changes that most metal bands have forgotten (there are certain changes that I would like to listen more often in bands of all metal substyles). I must praise the work of the rhythm section, specially the drums of Peppe Iovine, that avoids certain cliches favoring an original approach to the instrument. Favorite tracks: "Cynic Show" and "Nectar". Contact: www.endorphine.3000.it or madfucker@libero.it  

 

ERNESTO DIAZ INFANTE & CHRIS FORSYTH - WIRES AND WOODEN BOXES (Pax Recordings, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded by Ross Bonadonna at Wombat Recording Co., Brooklyn.

Mixed by Chris Forsyth and Ross Bonadonna.

Score drawing by Ernesto Díaz-Infante

Track List:   1- NYC Journal excerpt (2000), 2- Metallic Strands…, 3- Sound is good all the time, 4- Straight to it, 5- Pulled Wires, 6- Passing one Another, 7- Knock on Wood, 8- Cut and Dried, 9- To place in, 10- Trace out motion

This is a CD full of duet experimentation between Ernesto Díaz-Infante who plays piano, acoustic guitar, toy piano and small percussion and Chris Forsyth who plays electric guitar, piano soundboard and small percussion. In fact here you will find dissonant chords played by Diaz Infante whil Forsyth experiment with sounds and nopises in tracks like "NYC Journal excerpt". Or maybe Forsyth and Diaz Infante experimenting with acoustic and electric guitar at the same time like on "Metallic Strands…" where the search for new sounds and textures between the two instruments is really interesting, specially because of the interaction and coherence among them. This is a recording for lovers of experimentation. Favorite tracks: "Metallic Strands", "Pulled Wires" and "Trace Out Motion". Contact: www.paxrecordings.com

EXIDIA - FROM THE DEEP (Independent/ Kick Promotion Agency, 2001):

Technical Data:

Produced by Exidia

Cover Concept: Exidia

Track List: 1- Proud Now I Wander, 2- The Infection, 3- From the Deep, 4- My Suicide

This another demonstration that not only power metal bands are coming from Italy. In Fact Exidia is a band of brutal and fast death metal. This MCD has all the elements that fans of the style love: Guttural vocals in the vein of Morbid Angel, fast rhythms with crunchy power chords, double bass drumming. The sound is fairly good, in fact I would change a little bit the mix in the guitars, where the rhythm guitar is a little bit low and some leads are mixed high and that gives the sensation that they are hanging on the edge. "From the Deep" is mya favorite track here with double bass drumming and bass rhythm in the beginning before the guitars enter (also there is some interesting guitars at 0:50). For death metal addicts. Contact: www.catsoundstudio.com/Exidia or madfucker@libero.it

 

GALAPAGOS - DESPUES DE LA TORMENTA (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mastered at Tec-Son on june 2000, Buenos Aires.

Recording Engineer: Gerardo Boya.

Cover Artwork by Sebastián Ántola.

Track list: 1- Levántame, 2- Viento, 3- ¿Qué tendrás?, 4- El dragón, 5- No hay lugar, 6- En la Inmensidad, 7- Miedo, 8- Para Ella, 9- La Marcha, 10- La Marcha (Parte II), 11- Demonio, 12- Después de la Tormenta

Hard rock in the vein of bands like Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep and other seventies icons (also I find some Kiss and AC/DC in there too) are what Galapagos shows us on this recording. A difference with those bands is that this band prefers to rely on a mid range vocalist, Daniel Carneglia, instead of a high pitched one. The songs here are short, carefully constructed and they are energeticly based heavily on the guitars of Sebastián Ántola and Tuki Sáenz. There are also some blues shades here too, like on "¿Qué Tendrás?" with a bluesy rhythm and some leads that remind of the style. It is good to listen bands of this style that is not as common here in Buenos Aires. Favorite tracks: "El dragón", "En la Inmensidad" and "Para ella". Contact: galapagosrock@yahoo.com

 

GOAT SEMEN - PROMO 00 (Devil´s Arts Prods., 2001):

Track List:  1- Goat Semen, 2- Madre Muerte, 3- Sodom Graves, 4- Warfare Noise, 5- At Luzbel´s Behest

They called this Southamerican Terrorist Black Death metal. They come from Perú like Levifer, but this band is less refinated and has not the same quality as Levifer does, eventhough the style is similar. Here the emphasis is on speed (blast beats everywhere) and the sound quality is not really good. In fact this band will be better if they would put more originality in their material (like for example they did on some parts of "Madre Muerte") and if they get a better sound (eventhough this is a promo), specially on drums and guitars. Favorite tracks: "Sodom Graves", "Madre muerte". Contact: goatsemen@hotmail.com or kdevilsartsprod@hotmail.com

 

GODLESS WICKED CREEPS - SMILE (Sedimental Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at the Jailhouse Studios, Horsens, Denmark.

Produced by Tommy Hansen.

Track list:  1-Bad Brains, 2- Coward with a gun, 3- Kid Death, 4- Perfect Day, 5- Liar, 6- Voodoo Girl, 7- Born To Lose, 8- Deal With the Devil, 9- Barnyard Balls, 10- Teenage Cowgirl, 11- Shotgun Baby, 12- Smile, 13- Death Becomes me, 14 - My Liquor

This is a quartet from Aarhus, Denmark whose style can be described (as they would like to do) as Punkabilly. And in fact I think is the best way to describe their music: a mix of rockabilly and punkrock (check for example "Voodoo Girl" that is one of the songs where this mix is more evident). There are also here some psychodelic elements like for example on the beginning of "Liar". Other tracks like "Born To Lose" are more punk than rockabilly, but the tracks that I liked most is where the combination of those styles is more explicit. Check this band because they can be a world wide success if managed correctly. Favorite tracks: "Coward with a Gun", "Liar" and "Deal With the Devil". Contact: www.diehardmusic.com

 

GROG - ODES TO THE CARNIVOROUS (Shock Wave/Warpath Recs., 2001):

Technical Data:

Recorded at Floyd Studios - January/February 2001

Produced and Engineererd by Nuno A. Loureiro.

Mixed and Mastered by Nuno A. Loureiro and Grog.

Cover, Design and Illustrations by V.J.

Track List: 1- Ode to the Carnivorous (Prelude to Brutality), 2- Corpse Reanimation (The Mutants Revenge), 3- Fornicators Delirium, 4- Dead Art Collector, 5- Cult of Blood, 6- Terrified, 7- Necrogeek (The Doctor´s Diary), 8- Realm of the Soulless, 9- Raped by a Virgin, 10- Narcissistic Skinblade Reflection.

It is good to see that death/grind bands that are surfacing nowadays are getting better. This time is the turn of Grog from Portugal, and their style is really fast and raw death/grind with a really guttural vocalist and fast drums. Eventhough originality is not their best point, they are really solvent in doing their style and they have some interesting ideas , like for example the riffs with pinch harmonics on "Fornicators Delirium" (0:27). They have achieved a good sound that is much better than in some of the bands of the style where you have a ball of noise. Here, each instrument is adecuately mixed and that adds to the final result. Favorite tracks: "Dead Art Collector" (with blast beat included), " Cult of Blood" (with some of the most interesting guitar riffs) and "Necrogeek". Contact: warpath@wanadoo.fr

 

ILLDISPOSED - KOKAIINUM (Diehard Music, 2001):

Technical data:

Produced and Mixed by Jan Borsing at Borsing Recordings.

Mastered by Jonas Friis at Feedback Studios

Layout by Søren Granhof Schjøtt

Track list:   1- A warm welcome, 2- Just like a clockwork, 3- Richard Scarry, 4- Illdisposed, 5- Forever Young 2001, 6- Intellargent, 7- Kokaiinum, 8- A girl and her boss, 9- Fear Bill Gates

Since the beginning of the nineties Illdisposed has been crushing the death metal scene. This time the album is called "Kokaiinum" and they show a mix of death metal with industrial shades (in the vocals specially) with big heavier than hell guitars and an amazing drums sound. The perfect combination between fast and heavy rhythms with intense musicianship and interesting melodies. This band has the advantage over much of the bands in the same style that they are constantly trying to be original in their material and they don´t loose any strength because of that. Check songs like "Just like a clockwork" to see the mechanical sound that charachterizes this band (full volume required here and watch your windows and glasses). Favorite tracks: "Richard Scarry", "Forever Young 2001" and "Kokaiinum". Contact: diehard@diehardmusic.com or www.diehardmusic.com

 

IMMEMOREAL - TEMPLE OF RETRIBUTION (Blackend Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded in Studio mega March 27 to April 2, 2000.

Mixed 23-27 April 2000 by Bullen and Immemoreal.

Track list:  1- Intro - Duce the Chaos, 2- Curse of Cjaos, 3- A Nightmare Scenario, 4- Triumphant Grasp, 5- Intro - Duce the Power, 6- My Will to Power, 7- By The Sunset, 8- Temple of Retribution, 9- 19.1.20.1.14, 10- The Unholy (Intro), 11 - Blazing Glory, 12 - In Dark, 13- Armageddon Blade, 14 - Immemorial Ages, 15- Outro

Bestial death metal with subtle underlying melodies and a great sound (fans of At the Gates, check this release). The first thing that amazed me here was the number of intros (there are three) that were made by Morfeus of Limbonic Art fame, then another good surprise was the drumming of Wouthan that has quite more variety than most of death metal drummers out there (good use of bass drum and cymbals, specially when he uses the Ride). Also the guitars are quite diferent from what one could expect: they are not so fast in some parts and the riffs are more rocking instead of being twisted and they are used in lot of places to create melodies that help to distinguish the band from others of the style. Favorite tracks: "Triumphant Grasp", "By The Sunset" and "Temple of Retribution. Contact: www.blackendrecords.com En Argentina: furias@ssdnet.com.ar or calling 15-5333-9432.  

 

INTHYFLESH - REHEARSAL TAPE 2001 (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at Evening Studio .

Track List: 1- Harvested by Pride and Glory, 2- Victory Shall be Ours !, 3- An Epilogue in Ruins

It is always good to see extreme music bands coming from different parts of the world. In Thy Flesh comes from Portugal and their music is very raw black metal the way the style was done in the beginning of the nineties but with more precission in the execution of their instruments. All here is darkness, starting with the short introduction of "Harvested by Pride and Glory" and the band seems to be really accurate and rehearsed (as this is a rehearsal tape). I would like to see what this guys can do within a studio and with a higher budget…they may even turn up sounding much more heavier. Judging by this tape this band must be a killer live act. Contact: inthyflesh@iol.pt

 

JAMES COLEMAN:THEREMIN - ZUIHITSU (Sedimental Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded and Engineered by Mike Caglianone at Studio 7ª West.

Mastered by Peter Warren at Moon Hill Studio.

Artwork by Sofia Göthlin.

Track list: 1- this Castle Keeps Me, 2- Burial of the Combs, 3- Katydid, 4- Muddy Kemaris, 5- Lady of the Combs, 6- Flying Water Shrine, 7- Each Spire an Animal, 8- Events at the Laurel Pond, 9- Zwittering Maschine, 10- Tsunekos Dream, 11 - The Singing Sword, 12- Sticks & Stone I, 13- Sticks & Stones II, 14- Kokin Mystery Birds, 15- Released to the Stars.

James Coleman has composed this pieces for free improvisation and improvisational chamber music whose main instrument is the theremin and also using percussion, trumpet, saxophone, cello and vocals. The fifteen tracks contained here are really explorations of sounds and atmospheres done by an interesting group of musicians. The interesting here to pay a lot of attention is the use of dynamics here, going from really strong sounds in "Lady of The Combs" for example to really subtle and almost inaudible textures like in "Burial of the Combs". Experimentation arrives at its climax on tracks like "Events at the Laurel Pond" with some percussion (again, strong and subtle at the same time) and Coleman doing some weird sounds with his instrument. For people that like musicians that break boundaries. Favorite tracks: " Lady of the Combs", "Zwittering Maschine" and "The Singing Sword". Contact: www.zuihitsu.net

 

KAOS RISING - WIPED AWAY (Independent, 2001):

Track list:  1-  Social Parasite, 2- Wiped Away, 3- Pierced Through, 4- Mouthfull of Shit, 5- Suffer Beyond me.

Modern death/hardcore metal from Chicago, with extremely heavy guitars and a drum sound that made me remind of Sepultura (the snare drum sound). Two types of vocals: one really growling and other more in the black metal vein. Good guitar rhythms and riffing, depressive melodies and great solos. Multiple changes within a song and some keyboards used to create atmospheres. All this can be found in this recording. It is interesting to see how this guys manage to deliver all this agression without going to the faster part of the specter. I would like them to continue exploring riffs like the one at 1:00 of "Pierced Through" or the one at the beginning of "Mouthfull of Shit" (before the faster part enters). Favorite tracks: "Wiped Away" and "Mouthfull of Shit". Contact: www.kaosrising.com

Hailking from Turkey this band plays a style that I would define like death/grind/black metal with a really raw sound and some crazy ideas (like the slower parts on "Atomic Scrap metal Dealer"). They have a great sense of humor as can be seen in the live version of "5 times Coca Cola" or "There is no place like Mc. Turkey". Their music is powerful and can not be classified as fast or slow because there are parts that can be put into this categories and within the same tracks. Really gutural vocals in some places and black metal / grind like vocals in another and also spoken vocals…I like the different vocal types here. There are also certain interesting guitar arrangements in between grind parts that give a lot of originality to this band like the use of cleaner guitars. It is good to see bands doing great music from countries so distant from ours. Favorite tracks: "Lemon Pharmacy", "There is Brotherhood in the town of Fatih" (some crazy guitars here) and "Brother Saban´s Tea Garden". Contact: www.kuaforcengiz.com or al_bayrak@hotmail.com

 

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

 

LEVIFER - TRIBUTE TO THE SUPREME BEAST (Devil´s Arts Prods., 2001):

Technical data:

Produced by Devil´s Arts Prods..

Track List: 1- Evocated Goat, 2- From the depths I invoked you, 3- Majesty´s Kingdom, 4- My Lord of Darkness, 5- Black´s Soldiers, 6- Levifer, 7 - Infernal Crypt.

This is fast, raw, dark, black metal coming directly from Perú. The music contained on this tape is pure unholiness but it has one big difference with some of the bands of the style…the guitar sound is more fat and they have interesting melodies like on "Majesty´s Kingdom" and this duo (Levifer on guitars, bass and vocals and Jose on drums) sound really tight, like they have rehearsed a lot. They have also some slow passages and more variety. It is good to see bands like this one in an oversaturated scene that sometimes offers quantity and not quality. Favorite tracks: "My Lord of Darkness", "From the Depths I invoked you". Contact: kdevilsartsprod@hotmail.com

 

LOS SUCESORES DE LA BESTIA - EXOTIQUE (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at Casa de Músicos Estudio, by Ing. Roque Reymundo.

Mixing and mastering at Casa de Músicos estudios by D-Alien and Roque Reymundo.

Arte de Tapa: Isb666

Track list:  1- Angel (map), 2- Este es el Final, 3- Sexonauta, 4- El Phooka es Frank Sinatra, 5- Diabulus, el maligno, 6-Casino (el hombre alado), 7- Capitán Petardo, 8- El sonido del amor, 9- Calmante, 10- Hijos del Viento, 11- Vertigo, 12- La bestia, 13- Ya es hora, 14- La arena es de oro en Las Vegas

Really enjoyable CD this one !! Why? Because of the different that all the tracks are one from each other. The basic sound here is psychodelic, full of seventies sounding electronic effects, psychodelic atmospheres, some funky stuff, influences from a lot of different music styles (I can hear, psychodelic rock, funk, hardcore, reggae and many more, some calypso among them). One thing that I like about this guys is that they have hooks in their songs but they don´t achieve that through easy melodies but with interesting arrangements instead. Purists will hate this album, open minded persons not. The sound is really good and this is quite difficult because of the quantity of different instruments that are used here (specially the winds section sounds really good). Favorite tracks: "El Phooka es Frank Sinatra", "Casino (el hombre alado)" and "Hijos del Viento". Contact: www.exoticorock.com.ar or sucesoresdelabestia@yahoo.com

 

LUCIFUGUM- INSTINCT PREVELANCE (Dark Horizon Records., 2001):

Track List:   1- On Search of My Soul, 2- Bringing by Rain, 3- The Mysterious Garden, 4- The Sabbat, 5- Wolves, 6- (Songtitle in Russian), 7-  (Songtitle in Russian), 8- (Songtitle in Russian), 9- (Songtitle in Russian), 10- 7:06

This is raw, primitive black metal from the dark lands of Ukraine. This CD released by Dark Horizon records is a collection of two of Lucifugum´s early demos "Path of Wolf" and "Fire of Hatred for Sky". The music contained here is pure holochaust in the vein of Dark Throne but embellished with some keyboards and acoustic guitars that help Lucifugum to show the feeling of darkness that they are evoking here. The sound here is quite primitive and I think is better on "Path of Wolf" (I think that they are using a programmed drum on the tracks in "Fire of Hatred for Sky" and that is not so evident on the tracks in "Path of Wolf"). I find interesting the mix of extremely raw parts at full speed and screaming with the more atmospheric passages of keyboards and guitar melodies (and slower parts that sometimes are more effective). For fans of Lucifugum and black metal this is a must. Favorite tracks: " Bringing by Rain", "The Sabbat " (excellent keyboards in the background) and "Track number 7". Contact: www.geocities.com/darkhorizon666

 

MAJESTY - KEEP IT TRUE (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded by Jochen Weyer. Mixed and Mastered by Jochen Sachse at House of Audio Studios.

Produced by Majesty.

Cover Artwork by Ingo Zadravec.

Track list: 1 - Keep it True, 2- Strong as Steel, 3- Hail to Majesty, 4- Son of Metal, 5- Into the Night, 6- Metal Force, 7- We will ride, 8- Last Revolution

I though that Majesty was going to be a band similar to Hammerfall when I looked at the cover and read some song titles, but in fact this is different: in fact I think that this guys have a different background: while most power/heavy metal bands seem to be influenced by Iron Maiden or Helloween, I find the sound here closer to Raven, Anvil or Manowar (in fact, part of the risponsibility lies on singer / guitarist/ Tarek "Metal Son" Maghary, whose vocals are in the middle range explored by the bands mentioned before, instead of the Michael Kiske-type of high-pitched vocals). The difference with those bands is the use of keyboards that make chord progressions in a more modern way. The guitar riffs are totally influenced by eighties metal as it is shown in "Strong as Steel". In fact, I would recommend this to heavy/power metal fans who are searching metal in its purest form regardless of originality, but don´t expect high pitched vocals here (some people criticize it). Favorite tracks: "Son of Metal", "Into the Night". Contact: Monarchs@gmx.de or www.clik.to/Majesty

 

M.D.U. / SALE HOPE - SPLIT CD (Trouduc Recs., 2001):

Technical Data:

Recorded and Mixed at Pourrisound Studio Tampax by Scotch Burne.

This is a split CD consisting on 24 tracks by M.D.U. that conform the "Les Bijoux de la Castafionstormofzenorth" and seventeen tracks of Sale Hope called "J´ai les kros". The music here is the most brutal death/grind (despite the cover art that seems from a band of a total different style). All the tracks presented here are short and full of bursts of energy and blast beats and also full of a somewhat special sense of humor. The sound is fairly good, specially on the M.D.U. part of the split (to say something, the sound is not like in the last Gorerotted album but it is not bad either because you can distinguish really well all the instruments). Obviously the better part here is when both bands play that are not as fast as the blast beats as in the beginning of "Troudball King". Favorite tracks: M.D.U. "Paco Rabanne dans ma ligne mire", "8 questions psycho-test pour savoir si tu es un gros PD". Sale Hope: "Groove Gars groove gay", "Oh, une trace de pneu sur la grande Bleu!". Contact: mdu66@netcourrier.com

 

MOTHERCARE - FUSOKU NO KIGEN (Independent/ Kick Promotion Agency, 2000):

Technical data:

Recorded at No Brain Studios (drums) and Bunkker Studios (everything else).

Edited and Mastered by Mike at Bunkker Studios

Produced by Mirko and Mothercare.

Track list: 1- Mugon, 2- Deceit, 3- Dog, 4- Onslaught, 5- Elucidation, 6- Deceit (live), 8- Game Over (live)

This is extremely agressive music that this italian band describes as being somewhere in between Napalm Death and Slipknot (I think that this is a fair description (the sound is closer to Slipknot, specially the drums) and some riffs are closer to Napalm Death or some other death metal bands. The first thing that got my atention is the mix on this album…it is really good and has nothing to envy to those of the bands that are more recognized. The drums are up in the front (they sound almost electronic, almost industrial) and there are some interesting double bass patterns and the bass is really tight with the rhythmic parts. Good guitarists in the vein of Andreas Kisser, Dino Cazares or Robb Flynn and extremely agressive vocals. This MCD contains two live tracks that are really showing what this guys can do live and that is kicking your ass with all their power (eventhough the sound here is not good at all compared to what they achieve in the studio). Favorite tracks: "Deceit", "Dog" and "Elucidation". Contact: mauro.z@easynet.it or madfucker@libero.it

 

MOURNING BELOVETH - DUST (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded and mixed from 29 may to 4 june, 2001 at Academy Studios.

Mixed, recorded and produced by Mags

Artwork by Sofía: lopezsofia@yahoo.com .

Dooom!!!!! Here is Ireland´s main exponent of this style. There are shades of Paradise Lost, Saint Vitus, The Obsessed and Trouble here. Anguish, despair and sadness is the general feeling here, and the music is the best way to communicate it. Slow riffs and melodies, anguished vocals (Darren is a killer vocalist, I think he is the one with the anguished voice and Frank, the guitarist is who provides the death growling) are the key elements here. Nothing here shows happiness, all hope is lost. All five tracks here are long and they totalize more than sixty minutes of obscure feelings. Favorite tracks: "Autumnal Fires", "All Hope is Pleading". Contact: mourningbeloveth@ireland.com

 

MYSTICA - BLINDED BY MY BLOOD (Painkiller Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded in february 2001 by Xavier Carion (Channel Zero).

Mastered by Attie Bauw / Amsterdam.

Cover Artwork by Kris Verwimp.

Track list: 1- My Malediction, 2- Blinded by My Blood, 3- Mystica, 4- Follow your God to the grave, 5- Illusion, 6- Betrayal 666, 7- For the Love of God, 8- White Princess

This is agressive music with lot of melodies ! A mix of speed and slower riffs and temos is the main charachteristic here along with the groovy type rhythms like on "My Malediction" (0:32). One thing that caught my attention is the drums sound here that is really good, specially on the double bass parts where you can listen this arrangements that are interesting for Mystica´s music. (check"Blinded by My Blood" to see what I am talking about). Another thing omniprescent here are the two type of vocals (one growling and the other one more of a screamer). If I had to describe this release I would say that is pure energy, aggression but with some subtle elements (specially on the guitars, whose riffs are really special). Favorite tracks: " "Mystica", "Illusion" and "For The Love of God". Contact: painkiller@infonie.be

 

MYTH - PROMO CD 2001 (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at Dream State Studios on December 7^th, 2000.

Mixed on June 8^th, 2001 by Brandon Youngs and Myth.

Track list: 1- Through The Mist of Time, 2- The Shadow Beyond, 3- The last Feast of Marketh,

What a surprise this promo CD was !! This is melodic black metal directly from the USA, with the use of female vocals, flutes and viola with a great emphasis on melodies. The first track "Through the Mist of Time" is the slowest track here with the use of female choruses and a lot of keyboards. In fact, I find interesting the heavy use of keyboards, specially in the track "The Shadow Beyond" (interesting lines at the end of the track). "The Last Feast of Marketh" is a rhythmic instrumental track that opens with the flute playing some medieval-type melody before the band enters playing this heavy rhythmic phrase (interesting work of the bassist here, alla Steve Harris). I wonder if this band will get a recording deal soon so we can listen a full length release from them. Keyword: originality. Contact: stormdrums@aol.com

 

NIGHTSIDE - SHADOWS WEAVER (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded and mixed at Litle Fox Studios September 2000/January 2001 by Simo, Dany and Nightside.

Produced by Nightside.

Booklet and cover design: Valentina and Davide S.

Track list: 1- Abyss, 2- Illusion, 3- Darkness, 4- The line, 5- Only one, 6- Rain dance.

This is with no doubt one of the albums of the month ! It is a pity that Italy is now known because of its power metal bands and this is like a tree that does not let people to see the forest that is behind. Extremely technical death metal is what this italian band does with shades in some aspects of norwegian bands like In The Woods or Enthrall (in the clean voices). Interesting drum patterns are what Matteo C. Does, in the vein of maybe Sean Reinert to give you an idea. There are a lot of interesting guitar moments here, including complex riffs, clean interludes and two guitar games (for example one clean and another heavily distorted) or for example clean guitars while the bass does some interesting arrangements. This is recommended for those who love extremely professional bands with excelent musicianship. Favorite tracks: the whole album. Contact: tompa@virgilio.it

 

OCCULT - VIOLENCE AND HATRED (Painkiller Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded, mixed and engineered by Peter Gardian with Dream World Studios.

Mastered by John Korsten and Peter Gardian.

Produced by Occult and Peter Gardian.

Track list:  1-Violence and Hatred, 2- Killing for Recreation

This band has become heavier !! This CD single presents two tracks recorded last year by this death metal band. The music here is pure death metal but with riffs that are more close to heavy metal or eighties thrash metal, obviously with a more modern sound (the riffs brought to my mind Sodom´s "Agent Orange"). I have not heard in a long time rhythms like the one that opens "Killing for recreation", really Kreator / Destruction-like. There are two types of vocals here that sometimes make unison phrases (one is more guttural and the other one is more of the Carcass-type). The next full length of this band will be out in a couple of months through Painkiller Recs. and I would like them to emphasize this path they are walking on nowadays.Contact: painkiller@infonie.be

 

OSSIAN - PROMOTAPE 00 (Independent / Kick Promotion Agency, 2000):

Technical data:

Recorded at Blu Velvet Studios Modena - Jan/Feb 00.

Produced by Ossian. Mixed by Marco de Bartolomeo and Ossian at master Recording Studio

Ossian is a heavy thrash band from Italy and this is a three track promo CD. The music of the band is really heavy, take as an example a mix of Machine Head, Sepultura, and some hardcore band (Cro-Mags I would suggest…) with some melodic touches in the vocals on some bridges and choruses. There are some modern sounds like in the second track here that sounds like Korn meet death metal. It seems that the band has participated in some festivals with great response from the audience. If I had to resume the whole album in one world: strength. Contact: www.ossian.3000.it or madfucker@libero.it

 

POLIMETRO - METROPOLIS (NEMS Enterprises, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded, mastered and mixed by Andrés Godoy and Kike Yorio at Procor Studios, Santiago de Chile

Produced by Andrés Godoy

Concept, Art and Design: Aldo Robledo / Leandro Ibañez

Track list:  1- Intro, 2- Laberintos, 3- Dioses Negros, 4- Fábulas, 5-Hijos del Temor, 6- Sola, 7- Finjo ser Fuerte, 8- Guerras Eternas, 9- Luz y Sombra, 10- La Traición, 11- Episodios, 12- Instru Mental.

A keyboard introduction sends us directly to "Laberintos", in the more pure tradition of progressive heavy metal of the kind that bands like Dream Theater have made famous. There are a lot of changes within the tracks of this album. Despite being a progressive band here there are not extensive tracks (the longest one is 6:27 minutes long). This guys are obviously influenced by the main bands of the style and specially by Dream Theater (I think they should depart a little bit from them to gain more originality in their music). Interesting musicians here that are in total control of their instruments, and they show it through short solos and multiple changes. A positive point for this record is that they have achieved a great studio sound, specially on keyboards and guitars. Favorite tracks: "Laberintos", "Fábulas" and "Hijos del Temor". Contact: nems@nems.com.ar

 

PUTREFACTOR - SYMPTOMS OF SOCIETAL ROT (Independent, 1999):

Technical data:

Recorded , Mixed and Mastered at Vortex Studios, Lindenwood, N.J.

Engineered and Mixed by Jim Forbes and Putrefactor. Produced by Putrefactor.

Track list:  1- Disemboweled, 2- Eternal Sleep, 3- Climax, 4- Nightmare, 5- 13, 6- The Dying

Pure hatred death metal !! Violent, agressive, raw, crushing are some adjectives that come to my mind when listening to this band´s recording. The music here is death metal in its purest form with some thrash touches in certain guitar riffs and drum patterns (check for example "Disemboweled" at 1:20 to see that double bass nightmare). I like the overall sound here but I would have mixed differently the guitars (a little bit higher on the riffs) that are in some places obscured by the cymbals. Also there is a good drum sound, specially on the bass drum that is not so "electronic-sounding" as most bands like to do. I think that this guys must explore certain interesting rhythms that they have here and develope their sound full of brutality. Favorite tracks: "Disemboweled, "Nightmare" and "The Dying". Contact: it_lives_@webtv.net

 

RAINSPAWN - MESSENGER OF DEATH (Independent / Kick Promotion Agency, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded , Mixed in October 2000 at Temple of Noise Studios.

Produced by Rainspawn

Cover painting by Roberto Vallati.

Track list:   1- Reign of Pain, 2- Power of the Wind, 3- Awake, 4- Legion of Chaos, 5- Shade off from grace, 6- Ride The Storm

This is power metal but not in the vein of bands like for example Symphony X. The guys in Rainspawn have much more influences from thrash metal bands and their riffs are heavier than most of the bands in the scene (not mere the galloping that most of power metal copycats bands do nowadays). Shades of bands like old Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth or Testament can be heard here. Riffs done with certain complexity and drums using a lot of snare and cymbals. The overall sound is good (in fact I would like the snare drum a little bit more dry) and the result is a good thrash metal album. Favorite tracks: "Reign of Pain", "Power of the Wind" and "Ride the Storm". Contact: www.rainspawn.go.to or madfucker@libero.it

 

SABAISM - THE UNBORN DAWN (Independent, 1996):

Technical data:

Recorded, mixed and mastered at ARTAG Studio, Zurich.

Produced by Sabaism. Engineered by Voco Faux-pas

Artwork and Logo by Marco Gemmet.

Track list: 1- Intro, 2- Einsamkeir, 3- The Unborn Dawn, 4- Fateful Sophism.

Great black/death metal band from Switzerland. Their sound is at the same time fast but full of changes, melodies and atmospheres. There are some dissonances in there that I loved (the ones in the clean interlude of "Einsamkeit" (3:14) or in the fast part of "Fateful Sophism" (0:28)) and some Sabbath like riffs (on "Einsamkeit"). I like this band because they are using elements that are not so common in this style of music and they have obtained a sound that is able to distinguish this band, not resting only on speed and blast beats, but using excellent stuff like for example the change at 2:46 of "Fateful Sophism" with good drumming work. This is a recording from 1996 and I would love to see what this band is doing now and how they have evolved. Favorite tracks: "Einsamkeit" and "Fateful Sophism". Contact: sabaism@hotmail.com

 

SIDE WALK SLAM - PAST REMAINS (Tooth and Nail Recs., 2001):

Track list:   1- Yesterday, 2- No need to apologize, 3- Yesterday´s actions, today´s regrets, 4- Heartache, 5- Hopes and Dreams, 6- Another Day, 7- Princess, 8- Not getting off, 9- Gone with the wind, 10- Eve, 11- I´ll be waiting at the southside tracks, 12- Ode to dispossession, 13- Love Letters, 14- Circumstances, 15- Holy Matrimony, 16- Past Remains, 17- Everyday

Total modern punk rock…nothing more and nothing less. Fans of the style will love it and detractors will hate it with the same intensity. In fact this is the kind of punk that is not so aggressive and is melodic. In fact some things here reminded me of Green Day or Blink 182. Those who like those bands will surely enjoy this recording. Contact: www.toothandnail.com

 

SOUL EROSION - FURIOUS MIND DEGENERATION (Warpath Recs., 2001):

Technical Data:

Recorded and mixed at LB Lab, France, July 2000.

Produced by Stephane Buriez and Soul Erosion,

Mastered by Benoit Roux at Master Lab.

Logo and Cover: Michael Schindler / Dragon Design

Track list:   1- Furious Mind Degeneration, 2- Kraniotomy, 3- Christ Militia, 4- El Gran Mazel

The most brutal death/grind metal is coming to us with this band from France. Really fast tracks are the four contained here (a terrible amount of double bass drumming appears on this release…killer drummer !). Brutality is the main thing here but we must not forget technique…this guys are like a death metal machine, sounding some times really like a clockwork mechanism, specially because of the drumming sound. Lovers of good death metal rejoice, here is Soul Erosion !!! Favorite tracks: 1- Furious Mind Degeneration" and Kraniotomy". Contact: warpath@wanadoo.fr

 

STRETCH ARM STRONG - A REVOLUTION TRANSMISSION (Solid State Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded at the Jam Room - Feb-Mar, 2001.

Engineered by Jay Matheson and Matthew Jones.

Mastered by Brian Gardner

Track List:  1- Means to an end, 2- Worst Case Scenario, 3- The Truth about Iowa, 4- For the Record, 5- Take Back Control, 6- When Words Escape, 7- Kill the Light, 8- Still believe, part II, 9- Dreams Away, 10- Positive Aspects of Negativity, 11- Transmission Demolition, 12 - Parasite Complex, 13- Angels of the Silences.

This is an Enhanced CD. Yes, a CD with music and a lot more things to see with your computer (really cool things). The music presented here is crude punk and hardcore with modern sound. With a vocalist that has a voice that sometimes is similar to the one of Zack de la Rocha (Rage Against the Machine) and guitars that sound really saturated, this band has also a side more melodic in the choruses (for example "Means To an End" (1:48)) and in the use in same places of clean guitars. But the main thing here is power that is what the songs contained here show, like on tracks with full speed like "Worst Case Scenario" (where the melody is played and singed over a thrash beat). Favorite tracks: "Worst Case Scenario", "For The Record" and "Still Believe, Part II". Contact: www.solidstaterecords.com

 

TERRORIST - COLLISION (Comando Santa Brigida Zine Prods., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded, mixed and mastered at La Nave de Oseberg Studio.

Produced by Comando Santa Brigida.

Track list: 1- Collision, 2- Situación Extreme, 3- Terroristas, 4- Horror, 5- Perfil Atroz, 6-Per-viviendo, 7-Impronta, 8- Convaleciente, 9- Grito Final, 10- S.B.M.F., 11- Silencio de Eclusión, 12-Terrorific.

From Grand Bourg, Argentina comes Terrorist with their potent death metal. The intro called "Collision" takes us directly to their fast realm of chaos in "Situación Extrema". Speed, riffs in the vein of bands like Morbid Angel and two types of vocals (a growling type and a screaming one) are the main carachteristics of this band. There is a good work of drums and bass in there that help the band to comunicate their musical message with solvency, it is no mere speed but a lot of rhythms done by this killer drummer (check "Perfil Atroz" to see this). Death metal fans will be delighted. Favorite tracks: "Horror" (extremely fast), "Perfil Atroz" and "Impronta" (with wah wah and some elements not so common in death metal). Contact: terrorist_band@yahoo.com.ar or comando_zine@hotmail.com

 

THEATRE OF TRAGEDY - CLOSURE: LIVE + INPERSPECTIVE (NEMS Enterprises, 2001):

Technical data:

Closure:live recorded live at the Metal Mania festival in Katowice 2000. Mixed at Woodhouse Studios by Siggi Bemm and Matthias Klinkmann.

Inperspective produced by Pete Coleman

Design by Øyvind Dreyer Stuestøl.

Track list: Closure:Live: 1- Intro/And when he falleth, 2- Der Spiegel, 3- Cassandra, 4- Venus, 5- Black as the devil painteth (rmx v2), 6- Siren, 7- Poppæa, 8- Bacchante, 9- A distance there is, 10-Der Tanz der Schatten, 11- Cassandra (CD Rom Video), 12- Der Tanz der Schatten (CD Rom Video). Inperspective: 1- Samantha, 2- Virago, 3- Lorelei (icon of coil remix), 4- The masquerader and Phoenix (phoenix mix), 5- ON Whom the Moon Doth Shine (unhum mix), 6- Der Tanz der Schatten (Club mix).

Well, this is a two CD set done by NEMS Enterprises consisting on two albums: one is a live concert recorded last year at the Metal Mania Festival and the other one is an EP of rarities and remixes by this great norwegian band. The live recording opens with the classic "And when he falleth" showing all that this outfit is capable of: dark moods, heavy riffing and the vocals of Liv Kristine shinning in all its magnitude and contrasting with the male vocals that are more of the growling type (or spoken in the new tracks). In fact I think this songs sound sometimes better live than in studio. The tracks in Inperspective can be divided into two: the rarities: "Cassandra" (really in the vein of Paradise Lost´s "Host") and "Virago" (heavier and slower) recorded in 1998 and the remixes which are almost dance in the case of "Lorelei" and "On Whom the Moon doth Shine" or "The Masquerader and Phoenix" (quite funny) or closer to the original version in "Der Tanz der Schatten". Favorite tracks: "Der Tanz der Schatten (live)", "Black as the Devil Painteth" and "Samantha". Contact: nems@nems.com.ar

 

THE FALLEN - THE TONES IN WHICH WE SPEAK (Independent, 2001):

Track List: 1- Suffer With It, 2- The Tones in Which We Speak, 3- All for None, 4- Harbinger, 5- Turning Hollow, 6- A Sunken Ploy, 7- To Dust, 8- Descend from Heaven, 9- Bound in Thorns, 10- Bloodwash.

This CD starts with a crushing explosion of guitars and drums before leading us into this metal opus with fast guitars and drums and strong vocals. "Suffer With It" is the first track and it kicks you in the face with this wall of sound in the vein of thrash metal bands with a modern edge (specially on the vocals that are closer to, say, Sepultura or death metal and certain rhythms that are not so common in the style) and modern sound. We have here an interesting drummer that is the main reason that the bands sound so powerful…I think he is putting all his strength on this release. Also the guitars are really full and there are interesting guitar solos that give more quality to the songs. Tracks like "All for None", "Suffer with It" or "Turning Hollow" are pure strength and aggression like all the material contained here !!. Favorite tracks: "Turning Hollow", "To Dust" (killer atmosphere!!) and "Bound In Thorns". Contact: www.thefallen.net

 

ULFHETHNAR - BEYOND THEIR MORTAL BOUNDARIES (Dark Hidden Prods., 2000):

Technical data:

Recorded during Ulfhethnar´s 13^th moon, with total contempt and hate.

Track list: 1- Ave Satani, 2- Cold Fields, 3- A Call for the Rising Mists, 4-Fenriz Stamm, 5- Winter Darkness, 6- the Eternal Silence, 7-Epilogue.

This is black metal directly from Argentina !!!!!!!!! The music here is inspired by bands like Dark Throne, Gorgoroth and Ulver ("Natten Madrigal" era), that is the most raw and full of hate kind of black metal. Speed. Raw guitar, hyperfast blastbeats and screaming vocals are here all over the place. The guitars sound is quite thin and they play fast one note riffs in the tradition of say "Panzerfaust" (that is fast, raw and primordial riffs), maybe the band with a better mix can make them sound fatter to enhance the final result. There are some interesting breaks like at the end of "Cold Fields" (2:06) and I think that this guys should use more things like this in the future or things like tempo changes for example. For black metal fans. Favorite tracks: "A Call for the rising Mists" and "Fenriz Stamm". Contact: ulfhethnar88@hotmail.com

 

VALHALLA - NORTHMAN (Independent, 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded in an eight track demo machine, April 2001. Produced by Valthor.

Design by Martin Kainbrecht

Track list: 1- Phönix Aus der Asche, 2- Undead Life, 3- In the Shadows, 4- Northman, 5- Of Mortals and Gods, 6- The Legacy, 7- Where the Soul was Given, 8- Runes of Death, 9- A……r, 10- Remember your ancestors, 11- The Sword of My Father, 12- Die Heerscharen Meines Volkes, 13- Der Wed des Nordmannes, 14- Thunderbay, 15- Victory.

From Austria comes this trio that makes a music reminiscent of eighties thrash (in fact the three bands that came into my mind were Celtic Frost, Sodom and Coroner…what a great mix!!!) but with some keyboards on it and diverse atmospheres….some of the tracks are heavier, shorter and more concise like "Undead Life" with screaming choruses, some of them are more climatic, like the instrumental "Northman" (based almost in its entirety in keyboards with some epic melodies) or "The Legacy" (with acoustic guitar and keyboard and vocals that are really adequate) that is one of the most interesting tracks here. The sound is not so good but it is because the CD was recorded in an eight track demo machine, and I think that the result would have been better in a studio. I hope they get a deal with a label to solve this point. This is an album for people that like memorable songs and variety. Favorite tracks: "Phönix Aus der Asche", "Of Mortals and Gods" and "The Legacy". Contact: valhalla-metal@gmx.at

 

VALHALLA - BEYOND THE UNDERWORLD (Laute Records, 2000):

Technical data:

Recorded in Power Jevosound Turbo 2000 3D Plus Studios - Sept.99-Abr.2000.

Recorde, produced and mixed by Valhalla.

Artwork: Iñigo Martínez.

Track list: 1- Aliens, 2-Rohirrim, 3- Eclipse, 4- Shadow of the King (Part I), 5- Medieval Feast, 6- Guardians of Metal (Re-Edited), 7- Metalopolis (orc. Version)

It is quite funny to have two different bands with the same name in the same issue and so different in musical style…this is Valhalla from Spain and their style is progressive power/heavy metal with abundance of keyboards and in the vein of bands like Rhapsody (with less barroquism) , Helloween or Stratovarius. Here we have two excellent guitarists, Mikel Martinez and Ignacio Garamendi who are the basis of the band, and great musicians on the bass, keyboards (there are excellent passages of unison between guitar and keyboards) and drums. All the elements that you like or hate of this style are here: speed with drumming galloping, clean vocals, melodies, etc. etc. I would like them to get a little bit away from their influences and I think they are going to achieve this through time. I recommend this album to fans of the style. Favorite tracks: "Rohirrim", "Shadow of the King" and "Metalopolis". Contact: valhalla@guardiansofmetal.com

 

VEIL OF SORROW - DARK RIVERS OF THE HEART (Demolition Recs., 2001):

Technical data:

Recorded, mastered and mixed at Studio Soundcreation, May 2000.

Engineered by Per Ryberg.

Produced by Veil of Sorrow

Layout by Lars Jamne / Oskorei Graphics: mail@oskorei.com

I have only read about this band and I had not listened to them before. It is a pity because they are a great band ! Melodic gothic metal with melancholic vocals and original guitar riffs. What is more important about this band is that they create SONGS without loosing their power. The influences here come from the side of Amorphis, My Dying Bride, the heaviest Anathema (also I find something of Katatonia in there too). In fact is an excelent mix of influences that all together makea great recording. One thing to point out is the excelent work of the guitarists…the leads have enchanting melodies and the rhythms are crushing !! I hope to listen more from them soon. Favorite tracks: "The Dark Within", "Shades of grey" and "Remnants of a dying sun". Contact: veilofsorrow@hotmail.com . En Argentina: furias@ssdnet.com.ar or calling 15-5333-9432.  

 

WARMTH IN THE WILDERNESS : A TRIBUTE TO JASON BECKER (Lion Music, 2001):

Track list:  CD 1: 1- A little ain´t enough, 2- Altitudes, 3- Eleven Blue Egyptians, 4- A Jam for Jason, 5- Higher, 6- Becker Ola, 7- Dogtown Shuffle, 8- Go Off, 9- Hammerhead Shark, 10- Jasin Street, 11- If you have to shoot…, 12- Baby´s on Fire, 13- Sensible Shoes, 14- ESP, 15- Air. CD 2: 1- Opus Pocus, 2- Mandy´s Little Throbbing Heart, 3- Blue, 4- It´s Showtime, 5- Becker´s Bolero, 6- Lydiás House, 7- Drop in the Bucket, 8- Forcefield, 9- Urmila, 10- Black Station Jam, 11- Hawking, 12- Primal, 13- Rain, 14- Concerto, 15- Tell the Truth, 16-Outro Jam.

This is for me (and because of my love for Jason Becker´s music) one of the album of the year. Hear there are, 31 tracks cellebrating the music of Jason Becker, the great guitarist, the great composer, the great man. This album is full of great musicians and it would be unfair to mention some of them and not mention them all, but because of the lack of space I will mention some of the contributors to this great recording: , Chris Poland, Vinnie Moore, Marty Friedman, Steve Morse, Phantom Blue, Carina Alfie, Rolf Munkes, Torben Enevoldsen, Paul Nelson. And there are many many more playing through the songs here. The material is based basically on the "Perpetual Burn" and "Perspectives" solo albums, on the two ecellent albums that he did with Cacophony and on the album Jason did with David Lee Roth, plus there is some original material here too!!! This is a must for every guitar freak !!!. Favorite tracks: The whole 2 CD set !!!.Contact: www.lionmusic.com

 

ZA FRUMI - ZA SHUM USHATAR UGLAKH (Independent, 2000):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed in Stockholm 2000.

Engineered by Za Frumi.

Track list:   1- Intro, 2- Dushatar, 3- Za Kala, 4- Za Shulg, 5- Nudertogat, 6- Albai, 7- Vrapogat, 8- Interludium, 9 - Za Ismael Kala (Act I), 10 - Za Ismael Kala (Act. II), 11- Knish Requiem (Outro).

This is a conceptual album narrating an epic story about the orc leader Uglakh and his compatriots. Much in the vein of Lord of The Rings or the "Planet of Adventure" saga. The curious thing here is that the lyrics are in a strange language (in fact they are not lyrics, they are dialogues between the creatures that are the protagonists of this history), the one used by the characters and the booklet has the translation to english. The music here has something tribal (like on "Dushatar" with tribal percussion), something atmospheric (there is heavy use of keyboards and clean guitars and also female vocals like on "Albai"). It is like listening to the soundtrack to a science fiction movie. It is an interesting concept to create a history and then put music on it in order to make the listener see an imaginary movie. I have never before listened something like this, full of battle noises and all the sounds that you would hear in the cinema, plus the voices of this creatures. Favorite tracks: "Nudertogat" and "Albai". Contact: zafrumi@hotmail.com