AARNI / UMBRA NIHIL - SPLIT CD (Firebox Netstore, 2002)

Produced By: Firebox Recs.

Tracks: Aarni: 1- Uddo Sathla, 2- Myrrys, 3- Lider Umdrarum vel Coniunctio, 4- Transcend Humanity, 5- Reaching Azathoth, 6- Anima; Umbra Nihil: 7- Follow and Believe / Fall without Relief, 8- A Mere Shell, 9- My Way to the Lakeshore, 10- Determination, 11- Water in Lungs

Design by Milzer

Then comes Umbra Nihil starting with a more melodic approach and with more doom/death like vocals that makes the music darker and more somber. Then they have hyper distorted guitars that contrast with the keyboards adding a lot of darkest colours to their music. One thing essential here are the guitar melodies which make the songs even more deppressive and interesting. There are many parts where the bass work is essential such as in the middle of "A Mere Shell" where the bass plays a melody that is soon combined with the guitars and whispering vocals. A must for fans of doom. 

Favorite tracks: Aarni: "Myrrys" and "Transcend Humanity". Umbra Nihil: "A Mere Shell" and "Determination"

Contact: www.firebox.fi

ABNORMITY - DEMO 2002 (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Abnormity

Tracks: 1- Fallen In Eternal Dislove, 2- The Perfect Sadness

Cover Art by Henk Van Rensbergen

 Recorded at Trastero Studios

This is a band whose music is climatic because of the way in which the guitars are used and extremely heavy because of the use of fast parts and extreme vocal parts in the black metal way (but there are also clean vocals parts that add a lot of variation to the songs). The two tracks on this MCD are long and let the band do some changes within them going from fast and heavy riffs to more climatic parts with a lot of clean guitars such as the beginning of "The Perfect Sadness" (and they also have riffs changes that are surprising within the songs). The mix of this CD is extremely raw in the heavier parts but surprisingly clean in the parts with clean guitars and vocals. I would like to listen more from them soon.

Favorite tracks: Both tracks.

Contact: http://www.geocities.com/abnormityband

ALL IN VAIN - THE BACKSIDE OF HUMANITY (Spreadit Agency, 2002 )

Produced By: All in Vain and Marrtosh Music

Tracks: 1- Annihilation of the Sun, 2- Psychological limbo, 3- Darkstars (Meteorites), 4- Introspection, 5- The Longed Wisdom, 6- Fallen Angel, 7- Revelations, 8- Epilogue

Cover Art by All in Vain

All in Vain is a band whose music can be described as death/thrash metal with no doubt! They have vocals that are clearly death metal (there is one screming vocal type that sound really original and different from what is common in the style). And this guys also have a lot of thrash emtal influences which can be heard in the riffs and guitar melodies that they make through all the recording (and also in some of the choruses). There are really good melodies, acoustic interludes and twin guitar work that add a lot of dynamics and different feelings to All in Vain´s music. The sound of the recording is good and raw and the guitars which are the key elment here are really well mixed and that allows the listener to appreciate every detail here.

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: http://digilander.iol.it/allinvain

ALL TIME PRESENT - DISTANT MICROPHONES PICK UP BOTH DIRECT AND REFLECTED SOUND (Evolving Ear, 2002 )

Produced By: Chris Forsyth and Rich Gross

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- Detail 1 , 3-MOCA, 4- MOCA, 5- Detail 2, 6-8 Fringe 1, 9-10 Fringe 2, 11-12 Fringe 3, 13- the true sound of the improv underground

Cover Art by Littlegem Design

 Recorded at Bar XVI, Red Room, MOCA-DC, Fringe Festival and Ear Space

Here we have an experimentation album that features a man whose work we have reviewed before: Chris Forsyth. Here Chris has been joined by two other guitarists and two percussionist in order to create the music without boundaries that All Time Present does. The CD starts with an eerie track with a lot of guitar arpeggios that deliver sort of a strange sounding eastern melody when combined. Then comes the heavier experimentation with lots of sounds going on in each one of the compositions...none of this guys have any problem in being spontaneous and breaking musical boundaries on each phrase or sound that they play. A must for those who like new music and experimentation.

Favorite tracks: "MOCA", "Fringe 3" and "Fringe 2"

Contact: www.evolvingear.com

AMUN RE - MAGIC KINGDOM (Real Treat Recs., 2001)

Produced By: Amun Re

Tracks: 1- Bad Dream, 2- Shadowhunter, 3- Anathema, 4- Reach for the Stars, 5- Avalon, 6- Twilight Pyramid, 7- Child of the Light, 8- I Wish it Back Again, 9- Diablo, 10- Under Dark Skies, 11- Magic Kingdom

Cover Art by Norbert Sigart

 Recorded at Holy Gasoline Recording Studios

Here we have this progressive metal coming directly from Austria. If you want melodies here you have them. They are done mainly through the guitars, keyboards and vocals (here we have beautiful voal harmonies done by a male and a female vocalist that know really well their job). But the main thing here are the keyboards: they play melodies, chord progressions and do a lot of orchestration of the tarcks of this CD. The male vocalist is not of the type that you expect in a band like this. In fact he uses more the middle range of his voice instead of using high pitched vocals (he achieves good harmonies with female vocals that are also in the middle range). I would like Amun Re to mix a little bit louder the guitars so the music will have more power. Lovers of progressive metal will surely like this one.

Favorite tracks: "Shadowhunter", "Twilight Pyramid" and "Under Dark Skies"

Contact: www.amunre.com

ANEURYSM - AWARE (Independent, 2001 )

Produced By: Aneurysm

Tracks: 1- The Cavern, 2- Larva, 3- Inner Side, 4- Ruin, 5- Torment, 6- The Hunt, 7- Ways, 8- All In the Name, 9- CD Rom Track

Cover Art by Giorgia Carteri

 Recorded at Pink Noise Studios

Aneurysm is a band whose music is extremely difficult to label (something like progressive death modern metal can be closer but I think is not fair to describe their music that way because their compositions go well beyond this styles). In fact I have to say that their vocals are sometimes death metal and sometimes cleaner and more melodic and sometimes closer to gothic. The main thing here are the technical skills of this four musicians from Italy. This guys change from riff to riff, from rhythm to rhythm, from clean to extremely heavy within the same song without missing a note. The band is extremely tight and the songs are realy well composed. Palms go to all the musicians because of the excellent work that they have done on this CD (specially the guitarists...Peter is really a virtuoso). One thing that also makes the results better is the extremely great sound that the recording has. Check this CD now!

Favorite tracks: All of them are masterpieces

Contact: www.aneurysm.it

ARCH ENEMY - WAGES OF SIN (Century Media, 2002 )

Produced By: Fredrik Nordström and Michael Amott

Tracks: 1- Enemy Within, 2- Burning Angel, 3- Heart of Darkness, 4- Ravenous, 5- Savage Messiah, 6- Dead Bury their Head, 7- Web of Lies, 8- The First Deadly Sin, 9- Behind the Smile, 10- Snow Bound, 11- Shadows and Dust, 12 - Lament of a Mortal Soul, 13- Bonus Video: Ravenous

 Mixed by Andy Sneap

Arch Enemy is a band that always surprise the listener with something new in their music. A soft keyboard intro in "Enemy Within" starts this powerful CD. In fact the first track starts with a riff that wouldn´t be out of place in a classic power metal band then starts the faster parts and the death and stronger than hell vocals of new singer Angela. She is amazing, in the vein of extreme vocalists like Holy Moses´ Sabina Classen, really extreme. As always, there are complex guitar riffs and a lot of guitar solos (Mike Amott is killer here). I have to speak about the production: Having Fredrik Nordström and Andy Sneap in the production and the mixing Arch Enemy is having the best production in their whole career, sounding better than ever, you can hear each melody, each drumbeat, each scream, all is crystal clear here! Arch Enemy is a band that every metalhead should check because they have a lot of power while having always new ideas..

Favorite tracks: All the CD. Arch Enemy always makes masterpieces

Contact: www.centurymedia.com.br

AZAGHAL - OF BEASTS AND VULTURES (Evil Horde Records, 2002 )

Produced By: Jani Loikas

Tracks: 1- Helwettiläinen, 2- Welho, 3- Reign, 4- Kaikki Elävä Kuihtun, 5- Of Beasts and Vultures, 6- Peto - 666, 7- Minä Olen Tie, 8- Verenjano, 9- Epilogue, 10- 13 Candles

 Recorded at Cursed Studios

This band is bestial !! And they have made something that I like a lot that is that mix of all the rawest elements of black metal and mixed them with riffs that are closer to heavy metal and also have added acoustic and climatic parts. And the final result is also helped by a really great mix (some black metal bands should check Azaghal to see how their music can sound more powerful with a sound liek this one). There are many interesting atmospheric part with acoustic guitars and keyboard solos and parts such as the one at the end of "Helwettiläinen". The vocals are those typical in the black metal style but this guys have also added some vocals closer to death metal that add a different side to Azaghal´s music. I have to point out the really good quality packaging that this CD has (I think that this is typical from Evil Horde releases). 

Favorite tracks: "Welho", "Of Beasts and Vultures" and "Minä Olen Tie"

Contact: www.evilhorderec.com

BLASPHEMER - LIFE KILLS ( Independent , 2002)

Produced By: Blasphemer

Tracks: 1- Life Kills, 2- Slaughter the Pig, 3- Bat Man Suicide, 4- Strange Abortion, 5- Another Shade That Fades, 6- Outro

Layout by Andrea Cattaneo

Recorded at: GB Studios

One of the most brutal releases that arrived to me this months. This band from Italy is devastating from the first second to the last. This guys know really well how to make songs that have all the most brutal elements: fast parts, crushing guitar sound, guttural vocals. The guitar riffs are well constructed and they seem to be very difficult to play, specially in the fastest parts. The sound of this recording is fairly good, specially on the guitars (that in some brutal bands get buried in the mix) and that adds even more brutality to Blasphemer´s tracks. Plus, there is one funny 22 second song that starts with Batman´s melody in the bass and finishes with a deathly explosion, called "Bat-Man Suicide". If you want brutality here you have this "Life kills" that will satisfy your urge.

Favorite tracks: "Slaughter the Pig", "Life Kills" and "Strange Abortion"

Contact: extremesickness@hotmail.com

BOOMERANG - WEAVEWORLD (Trance Music, 2002 )

Produced By: Boomerang

Tracks: 1- Mourning Sun, 2- Keepers of Light, 3- The Cold One, 4- Into the Night, 5- Weaveworld, 6- Shores of Ithaka, 7- Like Black Like White, 8- Dismanteling Fortress Architecture, 9- Of Blood and Honour

 Recorded by Stefan Grötzinger

Pure metal!!!!! And this is thrash metal the way it used to be in the eighties but with a more modern sound and some power metal touches and melodies !! There are fast drumbeats in the thrash metal way and vocals that can be harsh and at the same time melodic. The songs here have a lot of hooks and they are epic (without using the same german melodies that a lot of power metal bands copy again and again) and powerful. I find really interesting the voalist who adds a lot of the power that the band has and at the same time sings melodies that you can follow and sing. The band has a really european sound (why is it that you can always distinguish europena metal from american metal because of the way the compositions are done?). I find interesting that bands like Boomerang are making a comeback of thrash metal into reality with their powerful music!!

Favorite tracks: "Keepers of Light", "Weaveworld" and "Mourning Sun"

Contact: www.dc-net.de/trance-music

BUNUH - THE TORSO KILLER (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: Bunuh

Tracks: 1- Cold Blooded Murder, 2- I Shall kill Again, 3- Humaneater, 4- Killed and Dismembered, 5- Raining Blood, 6- Nymphic Land, 7- Psychiatric Disorder

Cover Art by Nurul

 Recorded at TNT Studios

Directly from Singapore comes this extremely brutal band. Bunuh´s music goes along the path of the most bestial death metal with ultra fast riffs and extremely guttural vocals (sometimes closer to grindcore). This guys use also a lot of rhythmic riffs that make the songs even heavier than using only speed. Is precisely in this riffs and rhythm changes where the band shows that they are really well rehearsed and that they are extrmely tight. The only melodies that you can hear on the songs are the ones done by the guitar solos and maybe some guitar melody.The sound of this recording is good and makes the whole recording even more brutal. Also I have to remark that this CD comes in a digipack presentation with a CD that is semitransparent. Lovers of brutality rejoice!

Favorite tracks: "Cold Blooded Murder", "Humaneater" and "Nymphic Land"

Contact: bunuh2002@hotmail.com

CATHOLICON - 2002 & 1999 PROMO DEMOS (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Catholicon

Tracks: 2002 Promo: 1- Dawn of a Dark Age, 2- Gallery of God´s Love, 3- 14^th Century Apocalypse, 4- Embodiment of All That is Not, 1999 Promo: 5- 14^th Century Apocalypse, 6- Coronation, 7- Heir To The Throne, 8- Remember the Fallen

Since I have just reviewed the 2002 promo demo cd from Catholicon I will review here their promo demo from 1999. Here you can listen how Catholicon´s music has evolved between the two demos. In the 1999 the guitar sound was closer to death metal while the vocals were more of teh black metal type. Also there was less keyboard work than in the 2002 demo (even if it is present in this older version of "14^th Century Apocalypse"). The sound is far more primitive in the older demo and you can feel that the mix was not as good as in the new one. A good starting point to compare the evolution of Catholicon´s music.

Favorite tracks: "Coronation" and "Heir To the Throne"

Contact: www.fuckyourgod.com

CELESTIAL DAWN - GENESIS (Independent, 2001)

Produced By: Celestial Dawn

Tracks: 1- Celestial Dawn, 2- Breakdown, 3- Spectre, 4- Another Rising Sun

Cover Art by Brian Kosovan

 Recorded at The Sound Module

This is pure heavy metal!! Here we have this band whose music is metal in its purest form. It has all the elements of the genre, distorted guitars, open riffs that let the vocals do the melodies, and we have a drummer that knows how to play rhythms living a lot of space for the guitars to do their job, there are also melodic guitar solos that creates epic melodies in the songs. The vocals are closer to eightioes thrash metal ones than to typical metal because of the use of some relly high pitches (that bands like Toxik or Hexenhaus used a lot in their music). Here you have a good mix of the instruments that lets you hear perfectly each one of the instruments. Lovers of heavy metal in its purest form will surely like Celestial Dawn´s music

Favorite tracks: "Breakdown" and "Spectre"

Contact: www.celestialdown.com

CHAOS THEORY - THE SMOKEY BASEMENT EP (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Chaos Theory

Tracks: 1- Not for Me, 2- Shame, 3- Give Up

 Recorded in a Smokey Basement

Chaos Theory´s music is difficult to label but it has a lot of elements of eighties thrash metal and of pure heavy metal, such as the vocals and certain rhythms (some passages in "Shame" reminded me of early Anthrax). But despite this, Chaos Theory does not sound like an eighties thrash band. In fact they have a modern guitar sound and a bass player whose bass lines can be clearly listened through the whole recording. The guys here have good technical skills that help them to create the great music that we can listen on this EP. The mix of the three songs is clear and I really hope that this guys record more songs soon to listen the way in which the band evolves. This is a good sign that bands that have been influenced by thrash have developed their own sound, like Chaos theory did and are making a big thrash metal comeback. Thrash is back !!!

Favorite tracks: The three

Contact: www.chaostheoryonline.com

CHEMIKILLER - 4 SONG DEMO CDR (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Chemikiller

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

Cover Art by Chemikiller

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

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

Contact: www.chemikiller.cjb.net

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

Produced By: Ross Hoghart

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

Cover Art by Kris Mc Caddon

 Recorded at Rumbo Recording Studio

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

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

Contact: www.coalchamber.com

CYCLOPS - CYCLOPS FROM HELL (Independent, 2001)

Produced By: Cyclops

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

Cover Art by Mauro Vanzati

 Recorded at Jam Studio

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

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

Contact: www.cyclopsfromhell.com

DARK TRANQUILITY - DAMAGE DONE (Century Media, 2002 )

Produced By: Dark Tranquility and Fredrik Nordström

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

Cover Art by Niklas Sundin

 Recorded at Studio Fredman

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

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

Contact: www.centurymedia.com.br

DAVID CLEREST PROJECT (D.C.P) - MISSION: EARTH (Independent, 2001)

Produced By: David Clerest

Tracks: 1- Passage to Xonex, 2-Into the Millinium (155 B.E.), 3- Resolution Song, 4- Queen of Delusion, 5- Written in Heaven, 6- Final Mass Destruction, 7-Get Up and Help, 8- Blinded by a Lie, 9- Transcend Beyond (The Sign)

 Recorded at D.C. Mobile Studios

Favorite tracks: "Resolution Song", "Blinded By a Lie" and "Queen of Delusion"

Contact: www.davidclerestproject.com

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

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 21^st 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!

Favorite tracks:

Contact: www.dragstermetal.com.br

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

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

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

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

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

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.

ERNESTO DÍAZ-INFANTE & CHRIS FORSYTH - MARCH (Pax Recordings , 2002 )

Produced By: Ernesto Díaz-Infante and Chris Forsyth

Tracks: 1- 13 = Parts 1 to 13

Cover Art by Maria DumLao

 Recorded at Wombat Recording

Here we have the new duet album with the two great guitarists and musicians Ernesto Díaz-Infante and Chris Forsyth whom we have listened in numerous projects as Rev. 99 and All Time Present (this one is reviewed on this issue). On each track here Díaz-Infante and Forsyth develope new ideas and sounds that one may never have imagined could come from a guitar, piano or drum. Some of this sounds are more melodic and some of them are closer to noise, but each one has the trademark of the duo experimentation. Sometimes the improvisation (adorned with some vocals) becomes more weird and loose and sometimes more coherent but this guys are breaking sonic boundaries all the time. As I said with the previous album: fans of experimentation should check this one. 

Favorite tracks: "Part 3", "Part 6" and "Part 8"

Contact: www.paxrecordings.com

EVENT HORIZON - FROM BEGINNING...TO END (Spreadit Agency, 2002 )

Produced By: Event Horizon

Tracks: 1- From Beginning...to end, 2- Darkning Light, 3- King of Unknown Land, 4- Flight of Fantasy, 5- Take me Out (new version)

Engineered by Gianluca Amendolara

 Recorded at Studio Avatara

This is one of the most powerful and imaginative progressive metal bands I have ever listened. Their music has a lot of ideas and at the same time has a lot of power (here is essential the role played by the heavy guitars and the powerful vocalist who adds a lot of energy to the lyrics and not only melodies as most singers in the style do). Here we have musicians that are really virtuosos, specially the keybaord player who does a lot of arrangements and solos through all the recording. An example of this aspects that I have described is the fast song called "Flight of Fantasy", closer to power metal but with much more arrangements and changes that most of the bands of the style do. A must for lovers of melodies and ideas in a heavy context. 

Favorite tracks: The five tracks here

Contact: www.eventhorizonband.com

EXSECRATUM - ADITUS (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Exsecratum

Tracks: 1- The Mighty Frost of North, 2- Wandering Sons of the Obscure throne, 3- Northern Supremacy, 4- The Light of Unholy Souls, 5- A Breezing Vision of Damnation

Cover Art by Lord Azazel

 Recorded at Silver Poddu Studios

This CD starts with some noises and storm sounds in the beginning of "The Mighty Frost of North" before getting into the purest and raw black metal. Here we have the elements of this style: fast guitars with a raw sound, fast drumming and screaming vocals. There are also the riffs in which the guitars are used to create fast melodies ovber which are spitted the hateful lyrics. One thing to remark is the full speed of this release which doesn´t slow done through the whole CD. There are some rhythm changes in tracks like "Northern Supremacy" from one fast riff to another. The sound is fairly good and maybe the guitars and drums can be mixed a little bit better to achieve a bigger black metal sound. This is a CD full of hatred and blasphemy!!!! 

Favorite tracks: "Northern Supremacy", "The Light of Unholy Souls" and "A Breezing Vision..."

Contact: exsecratum@hotmail.com

FANGORN - FANGORN ( G.U.C. Productions, 2002 )

Produced By: Fangorn

Tracks: 1- Paradies, 2- Pfeffer, 3- Phoenix, 4- Freudentanz, 5- Steinheit, 6- Verdammt, 7- Fluss, 8- Koma, 9- Felsen, 10- Herz, 11- Fährmann

Cover Art by Fangorn

Recorded at: Digidirt Studios

Fangorn is a band that sounds really european. With complex songs and many guitar riffs they sound like a mix of Dark Tranquility, Death, Sentenced and bands in that style. But this band has a lot of identity. With the interconection between the male and female vocals (this one are not in the vein that one is accustomed to listen to, in fact I think the range of this woman is a mezzo soprano and sounds really great here), the multiple rhythm and riffs changes. Here we have to point ourt the excelent guitar work with atmospheres, melodies and utter heaviness in the riffs. The sound of the recording is really good and make the results even brighter. Most of the songs here are sung in german and that adds a strange feeling and a lot of heaviness to the music. 

Favorite tracks: All the CD.

Contact: www.guc-area.de

FLOWING TEARS - SERPENTINE (Century Media Recs., 2002)

Produced By: Waldemar Sorychta

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- Starfish Ride (for a million dollar handshake), 3- Serpentine, 4- Children of the Sun, 5- The Marching Sane, 6- Breach, 7- Portsall (departure song), 8- Justine, 9- The Carnage People, 10- Merlin, 11- Cupid of the Carrion kind, 12- For Tonight

Cover Art by Axel Hermann

Flowing Tears has the strange characteristic of being a band that can be epic and deppressive at the same time. It is this feeling that makes this band´s music so interesting. The mix of sad and enchanting melodies with the heavy guitars that leave a lot of space to develope interesting ideas is essential for Flowing Tears identity. The band has achieved a point where you listen just a few seconds and you know that it´s Flowing Tears music. And one of the things that make this happen is the powerful voice of Stefanie Duchene which is really melodic but has a lot of strength and energy to deliver. The mix by Waldemar Sorychta has again found the perfect balance between heaviness and beauty, this delicate equilibrium that Flowing tears manage so good. A must

Favorite tracks: A must. All the tracks are fabulous.

Contact: www.centurymedia.com.br

FREEDOM CALL - ETERNITY (Century Media Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Dan Zimmerman and Chris Bay

Tracks: 1- Metal Invasion, 2- Flying High, 3- Ages of power, 4- The Spell, 5- Bleeding heart, 6- Warriors, 7- The Eyes of the World, 8- Flame in the Night, 9- Land of light, 10- Island of Dreams, 11- Turn Back Time

Cover Art by Paul Raymond Gregory

 Recorded at FC Studios

In the mid eighties and specially after the "Keeper I and II" albums Helloween set the path that millions of bands would follow in the future. And one of the bands that has done it is Freedom Call. Here the band has found a sound that is a cross between Helloween and Rhapsody and has developed eleven compositions much more powerful than in their previous album. Here we have all the melodies that the style needs and must have. We have the double bass drumming, and the galloping guitars, we have the twin guitars that make solos and melodies in all the songs, and we have the hyper melodic vocals that sing melodies that sound very "german", specially when joined by other voices in the choruses. Here is Freedom Call, a band that maybe with a little bit more of identity and originality could go directly to the top of the metal world.

Favorite tracks: "Ages of power" and "Warriors"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com.br

GOLD FÜR EISEN - HEIMAT (Interregnum Musik, 2002 )

Produced By: Jörg Rainer-Friede

Tracks: 1- Heimat..., 2- Auf Der Jagd, 3- Stoertebeker, 4- Heimkehrer ´46, 5- ...und alles nur, weil Du nicht gewartet hast, 6- Deutschland, 7- Deuer! (ein Amoklauf), 8- Wieder daheim

Cover Art by Jub

 Recorded at Tepa Tape Studios

Gold Für Eisen´s music is very difficult to describe. Take some elements of german bands like Sodom or Kreator, add some death metal feeling and some double bass drumming (programmed drums sound really good here), then add some choruses that sound extremely "german" and you have a small idea of what this band is about. Their music has a huge guitar sound that makes the music on this CD extremely heavy (the mix is really great and the band knows what to do in order to be heavier). There are certain strange passages like the ones in "Heimkehrer ´46" with spoken voclas and the drums in the background and the bass playing some slow phrases. There are plenty of melodies here done mostly with the guitars and this are essential for the Gold Für Eisen sound combined with the heaviest parts. This is a band that are developing their own style adding a lot of elements to their music.

Favorite tracks: All the tracks

Contact: www.goldfuereisen.de

GOTHA - TAKE YOUR SOUL (Spreadit Agency, 2002 )

Produced By: Gotha

Tracks: 1- Take Your Soul, 2- The Battle, 3- Banshee

 Recorded at Bunker Studio

Here we have Gotha, a powerful thrashcore metal band. I have put "thrashcore" to describe their style bercause I feel they have influences from both styles (mainly thrash metal in some riffs and the solos and hardcore in the voclas and some choruses) and also from calssical heavy metal. The riffs are heavy as hell and I like a lot the arrangements that the bass player does while supporting the rhythm section (some tapping phrases and stuff like that, check "The Battle" to see this). Here we have three tracks, two of average duration and a shorter instrumental one. I hope this guys release a full length soon to listen more of their music. 

Favorite tracks: "The Battle" and "Take Your Soul"

Contact: www.gotha-thrash.com

GRAVEWURM - DARK SOULS OF HELL (Barbarian Wrath Recs., 2002)

Produced By: Gravewurm

Tracks: 1- In Hell we Reign, 2- Evil Oath, 3- Massacre in Heaven, 4- Gravemaster, 5- Raise the Flag, 6- Vengeance we seek, 7- Carnage for the Beast, 8- Ancient Storms of War, 9- The Guardian, 10- Fighting For Evil, 11- Iron Warriors, 12- Merciless Slughter, 13- Wizards of War

Layout by Chorazaim

Strange band this Gravewurm. The first thing that got my attention is the strange distortion that the guitars have. Then come the guitar riffs which are sometimes rhythmical and sometimes slow but never similar to the ones played by black or death metal bands (in fact they are closer to a more heavy metal band or bands like for example Sodom or even Celtic Frost eventhough the music is completely different). The vocals are of the type that some death metal bands use , that is, not extremely guttural but never clean. In tracks like "Massacre in heaven" the music gets faster and rawer. The overall sound of the recording is not really good and maybe with a louder mix and different guitar distortion the music could sound better (also the programmed drums sound really weird here, specially the cymbals).

Favorite tracks: "Evil oath", "Raise the Flag" and "Fighting for Evil"

Contact: www.mp3.com/gravewurm or www.barbarianwrath.org

GREAT VAST FOREST - BATTLETALES AND SONGS OF STEEL (Evil Horde Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Great Vast Forest

Tracks: 1- Intro/The Kings of power, 2- Pagan kingdom, 3- Wolvesclan, 4- The Gate Behind the Mountain, 5- Masters of the Old War, 6- Cold Souls of the Forest, 7- Majestic South, 8- Stormtroops, 9- Imperial Moon, 10- Outro/ ...and of blood was covered the hill...

Cover Art by Michel B.

 Recorded at Studio Hagnna

Here is this CD from this band whose style I would call war metal or battle metal (nothing to do with Bolt Thrower´s music). I expected some hyper fast black metal but instead I have found something new here. Here we have a music that is not straightforward black metal and not even death metal. Here we have guitar riffs that can be of both styles or maybe even of bands like old Venom (but with a guitar that sounds much more huge). Then comes the keyboards and the melodies: the keys are esential here doing a lot of the background (I would like them to be mixed a little bit higher) and the vocal melodies are specially interesting because they are not common on this style (in fact they make a great contrast with the more black metallish vocals). The fastest parts are devastating and extremely raw but the things that are fundamental for Great Vast Forest is the combination of this raw parts with the more epic ones. As I said in the Azaghal review the packaging here is of great quality. This is blasphemic music with an epic side!! 

Favorite tracks: "Wolvesclan", "Masters of the Old War" and "Stormtroops"

Contact: www.evilhorderec.com

HAND OF DOOM - DREAMS OF RESURRECTION (Gemini Recs., 2001)

Produced By: Hand of Doom

Tracks: 1- Dark Side, 2- Winter Days, 3- Dreams of Resurrection, 4- Deep Waters, 5- King of Beasts, 6- Just Another Days, 7- Tears of Eternity, 8- Ancient Spirit

Cover Art by Roberto Zoppi

 Recorded at Elfo Studio

Hand of Doom is a really good band coming directly from Italy. The music here has elements of heavy metal, thrash metal and some death metal. The main thing here are the good compositions with many different riffs within each song and multiple rhythm changes that add complexity to Hand of Doom´s music. In fact you have to check the first track here called "Dark Side" to see what this guys can do in eight minutes. The essential thing here is the combination between heaviness and melody, between wild vocals and melodic ones, between the crushing guitars and the somber and beautiful keyboards. This is one of the bands that I think will be a big number in the near future.

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.handofdoom.it

HOLY MOSES - MASTER OF DISASTER (Century Media, 2002 )

Produced By: Andy Classen

Tracks: 1- Intro; 2- We Are At War; 3- Disorder of the Order; 4- Break the Evil; 5- Deeper; 6- Hell on Earth; 7- I Bleed, 8- Blood Bond; 9- 1.000 Lies, 10- Princess of Hell; 11- Verfolgungswahn; 12- Heaven vs. Hell

Cover Art by Stephan Hagenow

 Recorded at Stage One Studio

Here is Holy Moses new album!!!! After last year´s "Master of Disaster" MCD which marked the return of Sabinna Classen´s band to the arena !! Now we have this "Disorder of the Order" With twelve brutal tracks with many ideas going on through each of the songs this another Holy Moses masterpiece ("the track "Disorder of the Order" is a new classic!!). This new era of Holy Moses has an interesting change in the guitar sound that has become more brutal. Sabina´s vocals are as brutal as ever and this time he changes it a lot through all the track (in some of them she seems to be in real pain and in anothers she is full of anger and hate !!!). I liked a lot Julien Schmidt´s work on drums which is really brutal and has a great sound through all the recording. Also a welcome addition is Andreas Libera on bass who supports in a great way the bottom end sound of the band. A devastating release from this crushing band !!! 

Favorite tracks: All this CD is an extreme experience of brutality. One of the records of the month

Contact: www.centurymedia.com.br or www.holymoses.de

HYPNOTHETICALL - IN NEED OF A GOD? (Spreadit Agency, 2002 )

Produced By: Fabio Lentola and Hypnotheticall

Tracks: 1- The Silent Masquerade, 2- Odour of Sanctity, 3- Like a Lamb To the Slaughter,

Cover Art by Hypnotheticall

Hypnotheticall´s music is difficult to describe but it sure is pure metal!!! The riffs and guitar parts as well as the rhythm section remind me sometimes to thrash metal and sometimes to technical death metal . That is, riffs that are fast and powerful and need a lot of technical skills by the musicians to be played. Then comes the singer who is extremely melodic and at the same time ethereal, melancholic and in times deppresive (this guy is killer in creating melodies with his middle range and in some places like in "Odour of Sanctity" he uses a mopre deathly type of vocal). There are excellent clean/acoustig guitar passages that add a different feeling to the songs and there are also many guitar melodies and solos. This guys deserve soon a label to release more of their great songs !!!

Favorite tracks: The three. A killer release

Contact: www.hypnotheticall.com

I.N.R.I. - HYPER BASTARD BREED (Cold Blood Industries , 2002 )

Produced By: I.N.R.I.

Tracks: 1- More Ruthless than the Devil, 2- The Depth Society, 3- Shoot, Hammer and Crush, 4- Terrorfreak, 5- Masturbate, 6- Hyper Bastard Breed, 7- Candidate for the Fuck of God, 8- The Resonance of Triumph, 9- Annihilation, 10- The Glorythrone, 11- Spawn of Abraham, 12- This World´s End, Wipe Out !!, 13- You´re Mighty Privilege, 14- Hell is Rising, 15- The All Consuming Darkness

Cover Art by Jacek Wisniewski

 Recorded at Franky´s Recording Kitchen

A hyper brutal release from this devastating band. From the first second of this release the guys in I.N.R.I. unleash all their violence in the brain of the listener reducing it to ashes!! The tracks here are hyper fast with brutal vocals of the screaming and guttural types (really clearly mixed, you can understand the lyrics with no problem). There are fast guitar solos in many of the tracks and fast drum rhythms with double bass and interesting work with the cymbals. This guys have made a good balance between the heavy rhythmic parts and the fastest parts with drumbeats that are almost blast beats. The sound of the release is really good and enhances a lot the music of this bestial band!!

Favorite tracks: "Masturbate", "The Glorythrone" and "Hell is Rising"

Contact: www.coldbloodindustries.com

IN FLAMES - REROUTE TO REMAIN (Nuclear Blast/Century Media Brasil, 2002 )

Produced By: Daniel Bergstrand

Tracks: 1- Reroute to Remain, 2- System, 3- Drifter, 4- Trigger, 5- Cloud Connected, 6- Transparent, 7- Dawn of a New Day, 8- Egonomic, 9- Minus, 10- Dismiss the Cynics, 11- Free Fall, 12- Dark Signs, 13- Metaphor, 14- Black and White

We reviewed Dark Tranquility´s last album above, so now we have to review the other kings of the Gothenburg sound. And those are the guys from In Flames. The In Flames albums used to be very similar one to the other, but this is quite different, this is more direct and at the same time has more melodies (and most of the melodies have been made by the vocals). Also there are some breaks and changes that are closer to what Dark Tranquility would do (with clean guitars and stuff like that). It seems like In Flames have changed a little bit their style adding some new elements like the mentioned before or the choruses in ths style of bands like Sentenced. There are also some weird sounds like the ones in "System" that are new for In Flames. It is good to see that this band is evolving and finding new ways in which to express their feelings without forgetting their roots and style.  

Favorite tracks: "System", "Drifter" and "Transparent"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com.br or www.nuclearblast.de

INSIDE CONFLICT / JUDOBOY - SPLIT CD (Plainfield Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Plainfield Recs.

Tracks: Inside Conflict: 1- Black Amber, 2- Beheaded Viper, 3- War Inside My Head, 4-Compulsion, 5- Dawn. Judoboy: 6- Sublime, 7- SiPrecieuse

 Recorded at Local #2 and Walnut Groove Studio

Judoboy is not as good as the previous band and they make a big contrast with Inside Conflict. The first thing is the difference in quality of the sound that in this two tracks is a bit muddy. Then the compositions are brutal but they don´t have the same degree of intensity that the other band has. One good thing is that here we have some atmospheric elements when the band slows down a little bit. And also we can appreciate some interesting drumming such as the one in "SiPrecieuse".

Favorite tracks: "Black Amber", "Beheaded Viper" and "Compulsion"

Contact: www.plainfieldrecords.com

JEFF KAISER - 17 THEMES FOR OCKODEKTET (pfMENTUM Records, 2002 )

Produced By: Jeff Kaiser

Tracks: 1- Dirge, 2- Clad Like Birds, 3- Amplifying Their Parallels, 4- Nothing May Be Taken Naturally, 5- Even With Diagrams, 6- One Absolute Material, 7- Figures of this In-Between, 8- Figures to Be Actualities, 9- Figures With Wings, 10- Coincidentia Oppositorum, 11- Where His third Eye Could Be, 12- Fulfilled By the Reflected Image, 13- There is No profit from Dreams, 14- Into that Nothing Between

 Recorded at Ventura City Hall

Jeff Kaiser is a great musician (he pays trumpet here and conducts the music) whose skills as improviser and spontaneous musician can be fully listened on this CD. IN fact this recording features live appearances by the Jeff Kaiser Ockodektet that is a group of great musicians who interact really well (on this recording you can not believe that this guys are improvising). Again we have here the great Ernesto Díaz-Infante playing the acoustic guitar and many other great musicians like Scott Walton on Contrabass or Richie West on drums. It is really amazing listen this guys playing, specially in the moments that they play all together like having a score and in fact they are improvising. The songs here go from atmospheric soft ones like "Clad Like Birds" to almost chaotic ones like "Even With Diagrams". An excellent showcase of spontaneity and improvisation. 

Favorite tracks: "Clad Like Birds", "Figures with wings" and "Coincidentia Oppositorum"

Contact: www.pfmentum.com

KARELIA - USUAL TRAGEDY (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Karelia

Tracks: 1- Letter for an Angel, 2- Usual tragedy, 3- Blind, 4- Daddy´s Grave

Cover Art Idea by Karelia

Here we have this powerful and melodic metal band with a lot of original elements that distinguish them from every other band of the style. The guys in Karelia have achieved a way to create extremely climatic metal songs with some power metal structures in some places and with a heavy metal voice similar to the one in bands like Stratovarius combined with other one similar to the one used by the guys in Moonspell (and there are incredible epic choruses). Also there are many riffs and ideas, as well as keyboards passages that are not common in the style using tempo changes and breaks. One thing that I have to remark is the excellent quality of the sound that ....here you can listen each note played perfectly. An amazing MCD from this promisory band!!

Favorite tracks: The Four

Contact: www.cybernemo.com/karelia

KISS OF DEATH - PROMO 2K2 (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Kiss of Death

Tracks: 1- House of pain, 2- Uncontrolled Reaction, 3- Stronger Than Before

Cover Art by Fabio Chiesa

 Recorded at Panpot Studios

This is a three track promo with brutal tracks that I would call thrash death metal . The vocals remind me a little bit to Kreator but the riffs are completely different from those played by the german band. In fact here we have some much more modern metal influences, specially in the sound that the guitars have. There are good guitar solos which add a lot of melody to the songs and give a special feeling to them. The mix is good and that helps a lot to the songs (specially the guitars that are mixed really loud as it must be). The drummer is crushing in "Uncontrolled Reaqction" playing some unexpected rhythms and fills that give a lot of originality to the songs. Now we have to wait a full length release from this band.

Favorite tracks: the three

Contact: www.kissofdeath.it

LACUNA COIL - HEAVEN´S A LIE (SINGLE) (Century Media Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Lacuna Coil

Tracks: 1- Heaven´s a Lie, 2- Self Deception

Here we have two songs extracted from Lacuna Coil´s new album called "Comalies". And they show some progress from the previous album, specially in the sound which is deeper and clearer on this new tracks. Here we have Cristina Scabbia´s powerful vocals combined with Andrea Ferro´s ones which are the trademark of the band along with big keyboards that are essential to this two tracks. I wonder if all the album is like this two tracks. I will surely like to listen to it because it must be a masterpiece.

Favorite tracks: The two.

Contact: www.centurymedia.com.br

LAGRIMAS NEGRAS - IN PENUMBRA (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Lágrimas Negras

Tracks: 1- Distance, 2- Alive, 3- Cross of My heart, 4- El Claro al Final del Camino, 5- Morpheo, 6- Sabanath

 Recorded at Estudios El Tostadero

Coming directly from Spain we have Lágrimas Negras (Black Tears) with this MCD full of dark metal that we can call atmospheric gothic death/ black metal because it has a lot of keyboards and orchestration through all the tracks, it has vocals that can be from a death or black metal band (the tracks are slow or mid paced....don´t expect blast beats here) and it also has other vocals that are clean and sound closer to gothic metal. The recording is well mixed, specially the keyboards that are essential to Lágrimas Negras music. I would like them to mix a little bit louder the guitar and lower the vocals to achieve more tightness in the sound. A must for people who enjoy climatic music with melodic elements and an extremely dark atmosphere.

Favorite tracks: "Cross of My heart", "Alive" and "Morpheo"

Contact: lagrimasnegrassoria@hotmail.com

LIFE KIT - LIFE IS A CODE (Independent, 2000)

Produced By: Bush K.

Tracks: 1- Metamorphosis, 2- Life kit, 3- Bitch, 4- Laps, 5- Bonus Video clip

Cover Art by Androgyne

This is a 4 track MCD from this band that also sent us an advance of their new CD. The first thing that got my attention is how well the drums sound here (in fact this CD opens with a drum passage that sounds extremely powerful). This guys have elements of death and modern (specially in the sound and in the vocals) metal in their music. Another thing that I listen here is the eastern sounding melody that this guys play in the middle of "Metamorphosis". There are some elements closer to bands like Fear Factory (like the guitar sound) even if the rhythms are completely different. The guitars sound really fat creating with the other instruments a wall of sound. The vocalist is really versatile going from a guttural and aggressive voice to a darker type of vocals with no problem. A powerful release!!

Favorite tracks: The four

Contact: www.life-kit.com

LIFE KIT - MONKEY NUMBER ONE (ADVANCE) (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: Life Kit

Tracks: 1- The Brief Case Man, 2- A Hand pulls Me Downward, 3- Faith and Lies, 4- Draught Air

This is an advance CD of the new album from the guys of Life Kit (in fact the album´s release date is february 2003 and it will have nine tracks and a multimedia section). When compared to "Life is a Code" this one seem to have a rawer sound (I don´pt know if this is a rough mix or not) and also the songs are much more weird than the ones contained on the previous release. Here we have many changes in riffs, moods and rhythms that are more complex than in the previous album. Also it seems to me that the vocals are darker this time with more harmonies that help to this feeling. There are interesting guitar riffs (played with a strange sounding guitar, I think he is using a lot of flanger effect) that make each song more powerful than the other. I would really like to listen the whole CD because Life Kit main characteristic is that each song is completely different from the other.  

Favorite tracks: The four.

Contact: www.life-kit.com

LIQUEFIED SKELETON - RIPPED AND TORN (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: Liquefied Skeleton

Tracks: 1- From Within, 2- Ripped and Torn, 3- Spill the Blood, 4- Messiah

Cover Art by Gilmour Design

 Recorded at Springvale Studios

Hyper fast drumming, guttural vocals, blast beats, super fast riffs, heavier than hell guitars. All this elements are present in Liquefied Skeleton´s music. Their music is hyper fast and they are goingo for the highest level of brutality a band can achieve. There are riffs which I like more like the one at 1:10 of "From Within" (I think this guys have to use more of this riffs because they are devastating). The drummer is amazing in the fastest parts and accentuates really well the rhythmic riffs while adding some double bass drumming. The vocals are guttural as hell and fit perfectly Liquefied Skeleton´s music. One thing that I have to say is that Liquefied Skeleton recorded this MCD as a trio but now they have added another guitarist so the result must be even more crushing. Music designed to melt your brain!!

Favorite tracks: "From Within" and "Ripped and Torn"

Contact: www.liquefiedskeleton.com

MACHINE GUN KELLY - HELL´S INN (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Tommy and Machine Gun Kelly

Tracks: 1- Hell´s Inn, 2- Stoned king, 3- Machine Gun Kelly, 4- On the Run, 5- Danger In the Wasteland

Cover Art by Umberto

 Recorded at Nadir Studios

Machine Gun Kelly is aband whose music can be defined as hard rock, but the band has some metal elements and influences and they have also a heavier guitar sound when compared to bands of the style. Here we have five rocking tracks that contain good riffs and some punk attitude in the singing and in some bass and drums rhythms. The mix of this MCD is really polished and that makes the result even more direct and powerful because you can listen every instrument that is played here clearly. The songs have a lot of hooks, specially on the choruses that are designed to be singed along by the crowd. This is rock of really good quality

Favorite tracks: "Stoned King", "Machine Gun kelly" and "On the Run"

Contact: umberto16@supereva.it

MIND WILD - SPIRIT (Spreadit Agency, 2002 )

Produced By: Mind Wild

Tracks: 1- Thrashers Rievocation, 2- Mindwild Spirit, 3- P.I.´99, 4- My Wild Mind, 5- No One´s Calling, 6- Inculation

Cover Art by Mind Wild

Mind Wild is pure thrash with an old school feeling and some death metal shades. Their music is fast with eighties riffs and some hardcore elements that give a different feeling to some parts. The songs are well constructed and you can imagine yourself in the late eighties thrash scene (even if this guys have a more modern sound). The sound is good and raw and it is not overproduced, so the music has this underground quality that many bands had in its beginnings (for example I find some Venom sound in "P.I.´99". There are faster parts that are closer to death metal like the end of "Mindwild Spirit". I find amazing how there seem to be a comeback of thrash metal to the underground but renewed with new sound and elments from other styles. 

Favorite tracks: "Mindwild Spirit", "My Wild Mind" and "Inculation"

Contact: mindwild@genie.it

MINDBREAK - WELCOME TO THIS WORLD... (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: Mindbreak

Tracks: 1- Apathy, 2- Disharmony, 3- Centurio, 4- Broken Minded

Cover Art by Mindbreak

Here we have this powerful death core band. First of all I have to say that the sound here is really good (I expected some poor quality sound but I was wrong). Then come the songs which are extremely powerful, specially because of the heavier than hell guitar riffs and the powerful vocals. All the songs here have a main riff which is the center of the track and then they have some rhythm changes and breaks. But the main thing here is that Mindbreak have developed four really deathly and powerful tracks with interesting drumming and a focus in brutality but without forgetting songwriting. Check this brutal band and let them surround you with their violence!

Favorite tracks: The four

Contact: www.mindbreak-metal.com

MINDLOCK - PROMO 01 (Independent, 2001 )

Produced By: Mindlock

Tracks: 1- True Face, 2- Don´t You Care?, 3- Shattered Dreams

Cover Art by Mindlock

 Recorded at Soundzone Studios

Here we have Mindlock, a powerful band whose music can be described as braincrushing metal with nineties influences from bands like Pantera, Sepultura, Pro-Pain and others.The music has intense riffs designed for the mosh pit or for headbanging (I mean, they are those guitar riffs that make yoou jump again and again making you loose control). The drummer here is a guy who knows exactly what fits better the song in the style of drummers like Chris Kontos or even Raymond Herrera and when combined with the guitars and the powerful vocals they create Mindlock´s mindmelting music. The three songs on this promo have really good sound and I really hope that they release a full length really soon!!!

Favorite tracks: The three

Contact: www.mindlock.dk

MINDLOCK - SOULFRACTURE (Independent, 2000)

Produced By: Lars Schmidt

Tracks: 1- The Four Walls, 2- Unconsciously Aware, 3- Voice Within, 4- Soulfracture, 5- Exposed

Cover Art by Morten Ussing

 Recorded at SoundZone Studio

This is an EP released by the guys of Mindlock before the Promo 01. Here you have all the elements that make Mindlock´s music a neck breaking experience. Here you have the powerful riffs, the drum patterns that makes you bang your head, the powerful vocals that add a lot of power accentuating the riffs while spitting the words. The sound in the Promo 01 is better and that is good because it means that this guys have a clear picture of what they want inside their heads. The four songs on this EP have no mercy for the listener, crushing him from the beginning to the end with its smashing power!!

Favorite tracks: "The Four Walls" and "Voice Within"

Contact: www.mindlock.dk

MOTIVE - 4 SONG EP (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Motive

Tracks: 1- Lochness, 2- Straight Madness, 3- Burnt Flavor, 4- Genetic Cleansing

Here we have this 4 song EP from this guys whose main influences are in the thrash and death metal styles. There are elements of old school death metal in many of the riffs here and also many influences from bands from the mid eighties and late eighties, specially on the drums rhythms (but this guy also makes interesting double bass patterns that give extra points to the songs. There is also an excellent work by the bass player who is really tight with the drums yet making interesting phrases and arrangements (here the mix lets us hear clearly the bass). The vocals are really wild and have a lot of power that make Motive a really energetic band. We want more from them!

Favorite tracks: "Lochness" and "Burnt Flavor"

Contact: www.motive1.homestead.com

MOTIVE - DEBUT CD (Independent, 2001 )

Produced By: Motive

Tracks: 1- Expose The Lies, 2- Spiral Fracture, 3- Religious Intent, 4- The Deep End, 5- Land, 6- Damned if You Do, 7- Almost Over, 8- Liberty

This is a previous recording from this powerful band and comparing this to the 4 song demo that we reviewed before you can listen to the evolution that this band has suffered, specially getting a better sound. Here we have all the other elements from Motive´s sound, the fast drumming (the double bass work is not so clear on this recording), the great bass work, the fast guitar riffs and solos and the vocals that later became more powerful and have been mixed in a better way. This is a good band for those looking for pure power and energy and some wild attitude.

Favorite tracks: "Spiral Fracture", "Land" and "The Deep End"

Contact: www.motive1.homestead.com

MOURMANSK 150 - PSORIASIS GYRATA 3" (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Mourmansk 150

Tracks: 1- Skin and Internal Disorder, 2- Diagnosis, 3- Treatment, 4- Surgical Techniques

Cover Art by Unknownsickness

Here we have four tracks of pure experimentation with electronic sounds. Elemental sounds are mixed with electronics making this experiment in sonic madness. Mourmansk 150 knows no limits for their exploration of sonic boundaries, sometimes closer to noise and sometimes closer to ambient. Tracks like "Treatment" are more chaotic while tracks like "Diagnosis" have a different structure and show more coherence with spoken dialogues and sounds from some documentals from nazism and war. The compositions are quite long (more or less five minutes each) delivering a total of twenty minutes of pure exploration of sonic tapestries. People who enjoy this type of experimentation will surely find Mourmansk 150´s music interesting.  

Favorite tracks: "Diagnosis" and "Surgical techniques"

Contact: http://mourmansk150.free.fr

NAZGUL - DE EXPUGNATIONE ELFMUTH (Elegy Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Nazgul

Tracks: 1- Proemium, 2- Hult-Garth, 3- Elficidium, 4- Dies Festi..., 5- In Summis Montibus, 6- Nigrum Praesagium, 7- Impetus Quartae Lunae Novar, 8- Caelum Obscuratur, 9- Legio Draconarum orkian, 10- Natura Cadit, 11- Charcharon, 12- Solvitur Ad Elfmuth, 13- Bellum, 14- Epilogus

Cover Art by Vite

 Recorded at Petit Studio

Here we have this band that plays "orkish black metal". In fact their music is black metal with many orchestrated parts mixed with some extremely fasta and raw parts. The vocals here are of different types, from the trollish (or orkish) type to a more guttural one to a bass spoken one. This guys know how to do an orchestral compositiona nd they show it through all this release...each of the songs here have a lot of keyboards and samplers that reflects the feeling that this guys want to transmit to the listener. When combined with the hyper raw guitar (that is mixed a little bit low for my taste) and the programmed drums this gives us Nazgul´s sound. The sound is good, specially on the keyboards (the main elment here) and the vocals (I prefer the spoken vocals because they give more atmosphere to the tracks). Lovers of atmospheric black metal will like this one for sure

Favorite tracks: All the CD, specially the orchestrated parts

Contact: www.elegymusic.com

NEVER AGAIN - GERMAN DEATHMETAL AGAINST FASCISM (Deich Recs., 2002)

Produced By: Michael Eden

Tracks: 1- PROFANITY: Thw springs within, 2- SPAWN: At the Gates of Human Mercy, 3- MEATKNIFE: Bloodblister, 4- MEATKNIFE: Tombstone sucker, 5- TEARS OF DECAY: Redemption, 6- MENTAL ABERRATION: Escape from Within, 7- MALEDICTIVE PIGS: Delicay Deformity, 8- EMBEDDED: The forsaken Soul, 9- FETUS CHRIST: To those who Oppose, 10- GALLERY OF DARKNESS: Sea of Silence, 11- VERY WICKED: Creation of a God, 12-FALLEN YGGDRASIL: Nightflower, 13- IMPURE: Something Evil, 14- CRYPTIC: Shrinkhead Butt Plug, 15- ANASARCA: Something Evil, 16- INTESTIONAL INFECTION: Der Arbeiter, 17- INTESTIONAL INFECTION: Nazischweine, 18- THORNESBREED: Dream of Extinction, 19- FESTERING SALVIA: Festering Salvia Live, 20- OF TREES AND ORCHIDS: Nywlathetep; 21- FEARER: Stored Experiment; 22- DESPONDENCY: Dogmatic Strangehold

Cover Art by Michael Eden

Here we have 22 tracks of pure death metal from bands coming from Germany who show their feelings against fascism and nazism. Here is pure brutality with fast riffs from bands like Profanity or Of Trees and Orchids or the technicality of Embedded. There is a lot of difference in the sound of each band and some of them are mixed better than others but they all show teir brutality and their devastating riffs. My aboslute favorite here is Thornesbreed that delivers a brutal yet climatic tune that melts the listener´s brain. Apart from being a manifest against fascism this is a good sampler of underground death metal bands that are showing their talents in Germany today. A must

Favorite bands: Of trees and Orchids, Thornesbreed and Despondency

Contact: www.deichrecords.de

NINE FINGERS LEFT - GROWING AS A HUMAN (Independent, 2001)

Produced By: Chico Santos and Johnny Cadaver

Tracks: 1- Make Up Your Mind, 2- Down To Nothing, 3- Found a New Day, 4- As a Human

Cover Art by Américas and NFL

 Recorded at Morgan Sul Estudios

The CD starts really rhythmically in the vein of bands like Biohazard but even with more rhythm in the vocals. The guitars are here used to emphasize this type of rhythms that are constructed around some riff and the drums patterns. Here we have a lot of hardcore influences too that are evident mainly in some of the vocals and in some of the guitar riffs. The production here is very polished and the guitars sound specially heavy and clear. Ther is also use of clean guitars like in the beginning of "Down To Nothing" which soon get into heavier ones and into a faster rhythm. Lovers of bands like Biohazard or maybe later day Agnostic Front will like Nine Fingers Left with no doubt.

Favorite tracks: "Make up Your Mind", "Down To Nothing" and "As a Human"

Contact: ninefingersleft@hotmail.com

NOBODY´S FOOL - II (Independent, 2001)

Produced By: Nobody´s Fool

Tracks: 1- Living in Another World, 2- Party, 3- Easy, 4- Forbidden Fruit, 5- Without You, 6- Heaven, 7- Born To the Sun, 8- Guiding Lights

Cover Art by Milosz

 Recorded at EA Studios

Nobody´s Fool is a great hard rocking band from Australia. It ´s been a long time since I did not listened to an album as rocking as this one or the one by Machine Gun Kelly that we are reviewing too. The music here is heavily influenced by eighties rock and roll bands. One of the main things here is the job that BK, the guitarist does through all the recording. Playing all the rocking riffs and adding a lot of solos on each track here. Here we also have a rocking vocalist with some bluesy shades in his voice that add a warm touch to each of the tracks here. This is a demonstration that hard rock is not dead and that there are great bands like Nobody´s Fool out there!

Favorite tracks: "Living In Another World", "Born To the Sun" and "Heaven"

Contact: http://nobodysfool.cjb.net

NOBODY´S FOOL - 2002 (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: BK and Nobody´s Fool

Tracks: 1- Inside Out, 2- Hold On, 3- Forever, 4- Bye Bye

Cover Art by Nobody´s Fool

This is a four track demo promo CD from this australian rocking band. Here we have four new songs with a lot of hooks in the choruses and the riffs. The sound is a little bit more thin here than in the "II" CD (specially on the drums) and I liked more the drums sound in the other CD. The songs are well constructed and they have this eighties rocking feeling that is typical from this band. There are also the solos by BK that are an extra ingredient for Nobody´s Fool´s music that add some flavours that lovers of guitar will like. 

Favorite tracks: The Four

Contact: http://nobodysfool.cjb.net

NOCTURNAL RITES - SHADOWLAND (Century Media, 2002 )

Produced By: Daniel Bergstrand

Tracks: 1- Eyes of the Dead, 2- Shadowland, 3- Invincible, 4- Revelation, 5- Never Die, 6- Underworld, 7- Vengenace, 8- Faceless God, 9- Birth of Chaos, 10- The Watcher

Nocturnal Rites is with no doubt one of the most powerful power metal bands that have ever surfaced. First of all, their riffs are much more powerful than those that one can listen in any of the other bands of the style, they are faster and they don´t abuse the galloping rhythms prefering more interestiong riffs (check the "Shadowland" for example). Then they have a singer who sings putting all his guts in the melodies instead of simply abusing the high pitches melodies, and he has a lot of personality to distinguish his voice from the others of the style. Then this guys have Daniel Bergstrand producing them and that has made the guitars louder and more in your face as is also the keyboard (I like a lot the way this album is mixed because the production have make things tighter but have not taken the power of the band away as sometimes happen). Lovers of power metal will enjoy this one. 

Favorite tracks: "Underworld", "Faceless God" and "Revelation"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com.br

NOWHERE - ....RAGE AFTER SILENCE (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: Paso

Tracks: 1- My taking Off, 2- Saint Whore, 3- Mr.Nobody, 4- Cries

Cover Art by Nowhere

 Recorded at Fear Studio

Nowhere plays really modern death/thrash metal with all that this expression means: that is heavy riffs, with a huge guitar sound in all the riffs, vocals in the vein of bands like Machine Head (that is sometimes screaming at the top of the lungs and sometimes singing eerie melodies) even if they are completely different than the ones in this band. Tghe four songs contained on this CD are extremely heavy and powerful and some of them like "Saint Whore" have really fast parts (with sort of a hardcore attitude). The whole recording has a killer sound and this is esential for the heavy sound that the band has achieved here (specially for the combination of guitars and bass in the heaviest parts). This is modern metal to destroy your brain with heavier than hell riffs.

Favorite tracks: "Saint Whore" and "Cries"

Contact: www.nowhere-akom.it

OBITUARY - ANTHOLOGY (Roadrunner Records, 2000)

Compiled By: Donald tardy, Obituary and Monte Conner

Tracks: 1- Find The Arise (demo), 2- ´Til Death, 3- Internal Bleeding, 4- Intoxicated, 5- Slowly We Rot, 6- Cause of Death, 7- Dying, 8- Chopped in half, 9- Turned Inside Out, 10- Back To one, 11- The End Complete, 12- I´m In pain, 13- Kill For Me, 14- Final Thoughts, 15- Don´t Care, 16- Threatening Skies, 17- By the Light, 18- Back From the Dead, 19- Buried Alive, 20- Boiling Point (212º Sporadic Mix)

 Mastered by George Marino, Chris Gehringer and V E Nastasi

This is a compilation CD with songs coming from all of Obituary´s releases (except from the live album). Some of the songs here have been remastered and have a better sound than in their original versions (specially the ones from the "Slowly We Rot" album which had a rather primitive sound). Here we also have some difficult to find tracks like "Find the Arise" a 1986 demo from the beginnings of the band when they were called Xecutioner. We also have here "Buried Alive" and "Boiling Point (212º Sporadic Mix)" which are unreleased tracks that can be listened here for the first time. A must for Obituary fans. 

Favorite tracks: "Slowly We Rot", "Chopped in Half" and "The End Complete"

Contact: www.roadrunner.com

OVERDRIVE 20 YEAR TRIBUTE COMPILATION (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Tony De Block

Tracks: 1- ARTRACH "Curse of the Gladiator", 2- ARCHAI "Green Wave", 3- ESSATIC "Vermin", 4- BELLATOR "The Pulsar Voyage", 5- MOUSE ANALYSE "My Love For You?!, 6- MINDSTAB "Black Vise", 7- MORTIFER "The Old Monastery Infestation", 8- ACKROS "Pause", 9- DOUBLE DIAMOND "Run If You Can", 10- URZAMOTH "Sword of Destiny", 11- EVERGLOW "Lost In the Woods", 12- WELKIN "Sonic Death Monkey", 13- BLACK SNOW "Tales of Greed", 14- FLESHMOULD "NME", 15- CONTR-X "Embrace Our Slumber", 16- DEDICTED "Le grand Mal", 17- CRUSADER "King of Kings", 18- EXISTENCE DENIED "Numb To Reality"

 Recorded at Midas Studios

Overdrive is a metal radio show that has been on the air for more than twenty years. And to celebrate this anniversary they have released this compilation CD with all bands from Belgium that have recorded this songs specailly for this album. Here you have bands from every metal style of the specter. Here you have the death/black metal of Archai, the death metal of Essatic, the more progressive metal sound of Everglow, the more straightforward heavy metal of Crusader and many more. The bands have a lot of quality and we have here more than seventy minutes of pure metal. The sound of the CD is good considering that each band recorded its song in just one session in the studio. This is a really good tribute for people that have fought for a long time for this style of music.

Favorite bands: Bellator, Dedicted, Everglow and Urzamoth

Contact: www.overdrive666.tk

OVERFIEND - SELF MEDICATED DREAMS (Independent, 2001)

Produced By: Barry Martin and Overfiend

Tracks: 1- Scars, 2- Hysterically Useless, 3- Ms.Take, 4- Bleed Me Weak

Cover Art by Rob Cinami

 Recorded at Diamond Hill and Blackcloud Studios

This is obviously drug induced music!! Yes, it is really weird. First of all I have to say that the music here is metal but not of any of the styles that we listen often. In fact Overfiend´s music has elements of death metal (in some vocal parts), of modern metal (in the guitar and bass sound) and other styles (I think that some of the vocals sound like some doom or stoner band). Through the four tracks that we can listen on this CD Overfiend takes us through many different moods, tempo changes and speeds. There is plenty of experimentation here and this four musicians are not afraid of making people wonde what they are going to do next. If you want a band that is really original while at the same time extremely heavy then you got to listen some Overfiend.

Favorite tracks: The Four

Contact: www.overfiendmusic.com

PHOBIC - SICK BLEMISHED UNCREATION (Elegy Records, 2002 )

Produced By: Phobic and Elegy Records.

Tracks: 1- Funebre Nuclearity, 2- Wickedness, 3- Iconoclast Rapture, 4- Feed Flesh Messenger, 5- Blemish Murder Execution, 6- Spawn Born In Sin, 7- Mured and Left Behind, 8- Manifestation of Hate, 9- the Right Ones, 10- Cancer of Soul, 11- S-L-999

 Recorded at Maelström Studio

Phobic´s music sounds really strange to me. Despite having a death/black metal feeling, the way in which this CD is recorded has surprised me. First of all the vocals are brutal but at the same time follow rhythms that are not the common in this styles (check for example "Funebre Nuclearity". The guitars are fast and the bass is mixed really loud so the sound has a lot of bottom end. There are fast riffs (that are not of the one note type that are used in black metal or death metal many times) and some rhythms are closer to blast beats but the band prefers to play other type of stuff with more heaviness and mid tempos. The sound is good but I would like them to mix louder the guitars to add more brutality to the songs. The drums and vocals are well mixed and are the core of Phobic´s music. A brutal release with interesting arrangements. 

Favorite tracks: "Wickedness", "Blemish Murder Execution" and "The Right Ones"

Contact: www.elegymusic.com

PRIMORDIAL - STORM BEFORE CALM (Hammerheart Recs., 2002)

Produced By: Mags and Primordial

Tracks: 1- The Heretic Age, 2- Fallen To Ruin, 3- Cast To the Pyre, 4- Suns First Rays, 5- What Sleeps Within, 6- Sons of the Morrigan, 7- Hosting of the Sidhe

Cover Art by Marco Jeurissen

 Recorded at Academy Studios

This CD starts at full speed with "The Heretic Age" ...a hyper fast track with crushing guitars and melodies that gives Primordial´s music a lot of identity. The main work here is in the guitars that are those who play the sad and epic melodies that make Primordial a unique band. Then comes the drumming that is fast and imaginative without missing a beat and adding a lot of musicianship to the music. The mix here helps a lot to the result because it makes each of the instruments shine. And here come another aspect that is essential to Primordial´s music: the vocals. Yes, the vocals go from black metal type of screaming to singing in a really epic tone and playing with the guitars. There are some acoustic guitars that give the music a climatic touch being like the calm before the storm (that comes when the double guitar attack enters in the songs (check for example "Fallen to Ruin"). Listen to this CD or perish!!

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.hammerheart.com

RATOS DE PORAO - ONISCIENTE COLETIVO (Century Media Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Alex Newport

Tracks: 1- Onisciente Coletivo (Radio Edit), 2- Onisciente Coletivo (Original Version, 3- Onisciente Coletivo (DJ Version)

Cover Art by Ratos de Porao

Here we have a single with three versions of the title track of the new album from the great brazilian band Ratos de Porao. The first one is sort of a censored version of the song "Onisciente Coletivo" with a lots of beeping where the censored lyrics are. Then the second version is the one that is featured on the new album with complete lyrics and then the third one (DJ Version) is an instrumental version of te song but with more arrangements and variations (and without vocals). I would really like to listen the complete album so I can make more comments on the new aspects of Ratos De porao´s music.  

Contact: www.centurymedia.com.br

REARVIEW - ENJOY (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Rearview

Tracks: 1- 3 Second Sex, 2- Milkway, 3- Enjoy

Here we have three tracks from this extremely climatic band. The album opens with a drum pattern followed by the bass guitar and the guitar playing some natural harmonics. Then enters Natalie´s whispering voice before getting into a heavier passage, then all of a sudden calm parts appear again. But is the calm before the storm. Rearview plays passages with extremely distorted guitars and interesting vocal harmonies. One of the main elements here are the vocals. The contrast between the melodic voices (Natalie is an awesome singer) and the heavier parts is amazing in "3 Second Sex" or "Enjoy". Tracks like those or "Milkway" show us how this guys and girl develope a lot of feelings through their music. Now we await a full length release from this awesome band.

Favorite tracks: The three

Contact: www.rearview.de

RECTO RECTORS - FIGHT FOR YOUR GRIND (Spreadit Agency, 2002 )

Produced By: Recto Rectors

Tracks: 1- Raping the Ripped Reaper, 2- My Dog Was Taking a Shower when the phone rang..., 3- Lord of the Shit, 4- Cut the Cat, 5- More Stupid than a Stupid Idiot, 6- What about the Muck?, 7-21

Cover Art by Recto Rectors

Recto Rectors music, as the title of this CD tells us (and as their music confirms later) is pure grindcore of the fatest and rawest kind. Here we have short tracks that go at hyper speed (some of them, like "My Dog..." start slower but then goes to hyper speed turning slow again later) with extremely distorted vocals and ultra fast drum blast beats. There are 21 tracks on this CD (I only have the names of six of them) and the total time of this CD is something like twelve minutes. So, everything fits in the classic grind pattern. Extremely distorted guitars and bass, blast beats, guttural vocals, raw and primitive sound....if you like all this things then you have to check Recto Rectors music. 

Favorite tracks: "Lord of the Shit" and "Cut the Cat"

Contact: recto.rectors@yahoo.it

RISING MOON - AREA 51 (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Rising Moon and Elegy Records

Tracks: 1- Can´t Die, 2- Thirst of Hydrogen, 3- To Enervate, 4- Nature Killer, 5- Sikoyg-H, 6- Searching Hate, 7- Empty In my Eyes, 8- Forgotten Future, 9-Soulrust C/2010, 10- Area 51

Cover Art by Rising Moon

Having listened the band previous album "European Aliens" I find a lot of improvements on this new album. First of all the sound is much better than "European..."...this time the guitars sound clearer and the band´s complex riffs can be listened in their full magnitude. Then the drums are crystal clear and ypu can admire the double bass drumming that this guys do on most of the tracks. The compositions have improved a lot too, having more changes and more original riffs that are perfectly sustained by the rhythm section. The vocals have become more brutal too and this is fundamental for the mix of technicality and brutality that this band has. Rising Moon is a welcomed band every time that they release a new album!!!!  

Favorite tracks: "Can´t Die", "Natural Killer" and "Forgotten Future"

Contact: www.elegymusic.com

RUNNING WILD - PORT ROYAL (Century Media Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Running Wild

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- Port Royal, 3- Raging Fire, 4- Into the Arena, 5- Uaschitschun, 6- Final Gates, 7- Conquistadores, 8- Blown to Kingdom Come, 9- Warchild, 10- Mutiny, 11- Calico Jack

Cover Art by Sebastian Krüger

 Recorded at Sky Trak Studios

Century Media Brazil is rereleasing this classic Running Wild album. This is the album that put the band in the top of the german metal world of the late eighties. With the previous great albums "Under Jolly Roger" and "Gates To Purgatorium", Running Wild established themselves as a great power metal band from Germany. But with this "Port Royal" they made the jump to success. Here we have eighties classics like "Port Royal", "Conquistadores", "Calico Jack" or "Final Gates" that have become icons in the history of metal music. Thumbs up for the release of this classic album from this classic band 

Favorite tracks: "Port Royal", "Conquistadores" and "Calico Jack"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com.br

RUSH - VAPOR TRAILS (Atlantic Records, 2002 )

Produced By: Rush and Paul Northfield

Tracks: 1- One Little Victory, 2- Ceiling Unlimited, 3- Ghost Rider, 4- Peaceable Kingdom, 5- The Stars Look Down, 6- How It Is, 7- Vapor Trail, 8- Secret Touch, 9- Earthshine, 10- Sweet Miracle, 11- Nocturne, 12- Freeze (Part IV of "Fear"), 13- Out of The Cradle

Cover Art by Hugh Syme

 Recorded at Reaction Studios

Since I am a fan of Rush´s music I could not let this album pass without reviewing it. This album starts with "One Little Victory" that is one of the most energetic tracks by the band since some years ago. As always here we have the combination of distorted and clean guitars used by Alex Lifeson, and here we have Gedy Lee´s bass lines and unique vocals and also we have Neil Peart´s unique drumming style (this guy is extremely influential for progressive bands like Dream Theater or Fates Warning). The songs are more direct than in many of the later albums by the band and that would maybe be liked by fans of the "2112" or "Fly By Night" era of the band (even if Geddy Lee is using now a different vocal tonality). Rush continues to make good albums.

Favorite tracks: "Ceiling Unlimited", "One Little Victory" and "How It Is"

Contact: www.rush.com

SCENT OF DEATH - ENTANGLED IN HATE (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Moncho Lusquiños and Scent of Death

Tracks: 1- Living Structures, 2- Tortured Mind, 3- Perpetual, 4- Feeling the Fear, 5- Entangled in hate, 6- Epilogue

Cover Art by Jaime Gago and Bernardo

 Recorded at Taller de Música, Ourense, Spain

How can we describe this band´s music in one word? Brutal!!!! Yes, the music of this Spanish band is brutal as a hammer through your brain!!! But, at the same time this guys have achieved a good level of technical skills here, specially the drummer with interest patterns in the ride cymbal and in the double bass. There are also blast beats for lovers of the fastest parts. The vocals are extremely guttural and there are also some of the screaming type (but the main one is the most guttural). One good thing here is that despite the brutality of the music the guitarist makes some interesting melodies and solos like the one in "Living Structures" that change the mood of the song before getting into the most brutal part again. I recommend this recording to lovers of extremely brutal music done with good quality.

Favorite tracks:

Contact: scentdeath@yahoo.es

SERPENT ECLIPSE - THE SEVEN DESIRES AND WOLVES BLOOD (Void Sector Recordings, 2002 )

Produced By: Serpent Eclipse

Tracks: 1- The Seven Desires...(intro), 2- A Sorcerer´s Suicide, 3- Cosmic Waveform Alchemy, 4- Twitch of the Death Nerve, 5- Scarlet Splendour, 6- Thy Bleeding Heavens, 7- When Purity Crawls to its grave, 8- Daimon Dementia, 9- ...Wolves´ Blood

Serpent Eclipse is pure hateful black metal with interesting features. First of all we have to say that this guys go most of the time at full speed but they make a lot of rhythmic changes and have a lot of diversity in the moods of the songs. Also a main characteristic of Serpent Eclipse´s music is the use of programmed drums that give a cybernetic feeling to the music and also the heavy use of keyboards that are esential for all the tracks. The guitars used by the band are extremely raw and make an interesting contrast with the magnificent keyboards making an amazing primitive-sophisticated antagonism within Serpent Eclipse´s music. A must.

Favorite tracks: All the tracks on this CD. Amazing.

Contact: www.voidsector.com

SERRATED SCALPEL - SUSPENDED IN MISERY (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Serrated Scalpel

Tracks: 1- Incipient Conquest, 2- Suspended in Misery, 3- Pernicious Encomium, 4- Denudation of the Scriptures, 5- Disinformation, 6- The Emblem of Immortality, 7- I.T.R., 8- Pariah, 9- Arcane Is That Which The Gods Bestow

Cover Art by Robbie Crash

 Recorded in the Ammonia Gas Chamber

Serrated Scalpel is extremely brutal. Their music is heavy and deathly as hell but they achieve this brutality and violence through different styles. While there are many fast parts Serrated Scalpels uses heavier riffs than the faster ones...in fact the Serrated Scalpel sound is done by a combination of particular drumming with the guitars and the bass adding a lot of bottom end. The drummer is killer with the double bass and at the same time he is a master in accentuating the guitar riffs. One demonstration of this is the track "Pernicious Encomium". There are also really dense parts that are much slower than the rest and allows the band to change rhythms and riffs before getting into an aggressive aprt again. Lovers of brutal bands should check Serrated Scalpel.

Favorite tracks: "Pernicious Encomium", "Disinformation" and "Pariah"

Contact: www.serratedscalpel.cjb.net

SKINLAB - REVOLTING ROOM (Century Media, 2002 )

Produced By: Steve Evetts and Andy Sneap

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- Come Get It, 3- Slave The Way, 4- Purify, 5- Anthem for a Fallen Star, 6- Disturbing the Art of Expression, 7- Take as Needed, 8- Jesus Cells, 9- Never Give In, 10- One of Us

 Recorded at Hyde Street Studios and Trident Studios

Skinlab is a powerful band that started their musical career in the nineties and soon become one of the most powerful bands out there. With an extremely modern sound with enormous guitars, drumming that sometimes is uiltra fast and heavy with double bass and stuff like that and sometimes is more groovy they developed a style of their own. This one is his new album after three years in silence. And this is a brutal comeback...the songs are extremely brutal and this is even more evident because of the excellent mix that the album has. Here we have ten songs where the guitarists devastate you, the drummer destroys your brain and the singer buries you with his vocals which are extreme but at the same time retain some melodies for the choruses. Modern metal for the masses!!!

Favorite tracks: "Slave the Way", "Take as Needed" and "Never Give In"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com.br

SOLITARY - 3 TRACK PROMO CD (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Solitary

Tracks: 1- Spineless, 2- 15 Years, 3- Relentless

Cover Art by Solitary

How can we describe the songs that Solitary have recorded on this three track promo? Well, I find some things from death metal (some of the vocals), Then I find a lot of modern metal, specially on the guitar sound, the extremely rhythmic riffs (I can imagine a concert of this guys with a lot of moshing and stage diving!!!) and the crystal clear drum sound. It is really important the sound that this guys have achieved on this recording because it gives them a lot of extra power. In fact they have achieved sort of a mix of studio sound but with the energy of a live show. The vocals are of the screaming type and fit this powerful music perfectly. I think this band is the missing link between death metal and modern metal bands like Pro Pain or Crowbar. For lovers of both styles. 

Favorite tracks: The three

Contact: www.solitary.org.uk

SOULFLY - 3 (Roadrunner Records, 2002 )

Produced By: Max Cavalera

Tracks: 1- Downstroy, 2- Seek´N´Strike, 3- One, 4- L.O.T.M., 5- Brasil, 6- Tree of Pain, 7- One Nation, 8- 9-11-01, 9- Call To Arms, 10- Four Elements, 11- Soulfly III, 12- Sangue De Bairro, 13- Zumbi

Cover Art by Nevile and Nesta Garrick

 Recorded at Chaton Studios

This is the third recording of the band whose leader and main composer is ex-Sepultura Max Cavalera. With this band Cavalera is using many ideas that were in Sepultura´s last album "Roots" such as the rhythmic riffs, the dissonant guitar solos and the ethnic drumbeats. This time we see no big changes (apart from some industrial touches that some of the songs here have) when compared to the firsrt two albums. What we find here are thirteen songs in the path that the first Souldfly album set but with a better sound. What I always find amazing is the capability of Cavalera of making songs with catchy choruses (check for example "Enterfaith"). This another step in Max Cavalera´s band career.

Favorite tracks: "Downstroy"

Contact: www.roadrunner.com

STRATOVARIUS - DREAMSPACE (Century Media Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Timo Tolkki

Tracks: 1- Chasing Shadows, 2- 4^th Reich, 3- Eyes of the World, 4- Hold on to your dream, 5- Magic Carpet Ride, 6- We Are the Future, 7- Tears of Ice, 8- Dreamspace, 9- Reign of Terror, 10- Thin Ice, 11- Atlantis, 12- Abyss, 13- Shattered, 14- Wings of Tomorrow

Cover Art by Markus Itkonen

 Recorded at Soundtrack Studios

Century Media Brazil is rereleasing part of the history of metal with this Stratovarius release. This is one of the first albums of the finnish band. In fact of the most famous Stratovarius lineup we have only Timo Tolkki on guitars and voice and Jari Kainulainen on bass. Yes, on this album Tolkki was singing (before Timo Kotipelto entered the band) and his vocals are a little bit weaker than Kotipelto´s. But all the elements that made the band famous, such as the hooks in the choruses and the guitar and vocal melodies are present on this release. Plus, here are Tolkki´s ultra fast solos with a rawer sound and we have in the keyboards Antti Ikonen who is a really underrated keyboardist (they used to mix him very low in the recordings). This is to know the beginning of one of today´s top power/heavy metal bands.

Favorite tracks: "4^th Reich", "We Are The Future" and "Reign of Terror"

Contact: www.centurymedia.com.br

SUIDAKRA - EMPRISE TO AVALON (Century Media Recs., 2002 )

Produced By: Andy Classen

Tracks: 1- Darkane Times, 2- Dinas Emrys, 3- Pendragon´s Fall, 4- The Highking, 5- The Spoils of Annwn, 6- The Quest, 7- And the Giants Dance..., 8- Song of the graves, 9- Still The Pipes are Calling

Cover Art by Kris Verwimp

 Recorded at Stage one Studio

Suidakra´s music goes thjrough the path between death and black metal and adding to their music a lot of melodies and riffs that would not be out of place ina a power metal or heavy metal band and mixing them with faster ones, adding a lot of variation to their music. And the guitar riffs along with the epic melodies (done both on the guitars are the keyboards) are essential for making Suidakra´s music really original and unique (check for example "Pendragon´s Fall" to listen how epic can be a black/death metal band without loosing its power. Another feature that I like a lot is teh combination of extreme vocals with more melodic ones (this ones are done to add a lot of the epic feeling to the songs and a t the same time they complement really well the guitar and keyboard work. An essential release.

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.centurymedia.com.br

THE FOCUS QUINTET - 1-8 IN 1 (Sachimay Records, 2002 )

Recorded By: Ross Bonadonna

Tracks: 1- Dedicated, 2- Foreward, 3- Acknowledgments, 4- Contents, 5-List of Plates, 6- Introduction, 7- Body, 8- Index

 Mastered by Sasha Victory

This is a new kind of experimental band that has in its lineup two musicians that we have mentioned several times before: Ernesto Díaz-Infante and Chris Forsyth. This duo is restless and when they finish recording one CD they start making another one. This time they jhave Jeff Amal on percussion, Dan Dechellis on piano and keyboards and Anita Dechellis on voice forming The Focus Quintet. The music here is sometimes dissonant, but most of the time is very peaceful and I specially love the moments in which Anita´s voice create some atmosphere reaching notes that one is not accustomed to listen. Here we have great experimentation but it seems to me that the quintet´s main objective is to create atmospheres while experimenting (in fact some of the atmospheres have something dark in them as you can check in "Acknowledgements"). A new experimentation album by great musicians.

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.sachimayrecords.com

THE LAST WINTER - IRA (Spreadit Agency, 2002 )

Produced By: The Last Winter

Tracks: 1- Crashing the Altar, 2- Dark Immortal Eyes

Cover Art by the Last Winter

We have here two tracks from the italian band The Last Winter. Their style goes somewhere between the paths of death metal with some black metal elements and modern guitar riffs. The sound of the band is really intense, specially the guitarists that are extremely creative in the way in which they compose the riffs that are the center of The Last Winter´s music. There are a lot of parts that show that the band has a lot of technical skills, like the tempo changes, the depressive melodies, the guitar arrangements and the breaks. I would like to listen more of this band that has a lot of musical qualities and deserves a full length release right now !

Favorite tracks: Both

Contact: thelastwinter@hotmail.com

THE SUICIDE MACHINES - BATTLE HYMNS (Roadrunner Recs., 2000)

Produced By: Julian Raymon and the Suicide Machines

Tracks: 1- Someone, 2- Hating hate, 3- Give, 4- Hope, 5- Black and White World, 6- Numbers, 7- High Society, 8-Pins and Needles, 9- Confused, 10- DDT, 11- Punck, 12- Step one, 13- In the End, 14- Face Another End, 15- What You Say, 16- Speak No Evil, 17- Empty Room, 18- Independence Parade, 19- Sympathy, 20- Strike, 21- Sides, 22- Jah

 Recorded at A&M Studios

Favorite tracks: Only the heavier tracks

Contact: www.roadrunner.com

THROCULT - HUNTED (Independent, 2002)

Produced By: Dave Otero and Throcult

Tracks: 1- Kill or Be Killed, 2- Hunted, 3- Eclipse of the Blood Moon

Cover Art by Nick Jackson

 Recorded at Hellion Studios

Throcult´s music is extremely dark. And at the same time they are extremely powerful. They have put together a lot of the black metl atmospheres with some of death metal riffs. In fact, the black metl side is more evident in the vocals and in some of the fast riffs (this guys have rehearsed a lot to put together the riffs so precissely being them so fast). The MCD starts with "Kill or be killed" a track with hyper fast riffs and a lot of keyboards progressions and one thing that is fundamental: a really memorable chorus. One thing that I have to mention are the keyboards: this guy is risponsible for a big part of the darkness that this recording has. In fact, when he enters with his keys doing some chord progressions or interacting with the guitars, you can feel the darknes, the loneliness and obscurity that they want to transmit (check the beginning of "Hunted"). A band to be followed closely.

Favorite tracks: The three

Contact: www.throcult.com

TIME OF ORCHIDS - (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: Mike Barile and Time of Orchids

Tracks: 1- Empress Curfew Inviolate, 2- Age gracefully, 3- Thread of the Dream, 4- Ulcer, 5- Laugh Track, 6- Party favors, 7- Scalex Throne: Shame of Heaven, 8- Graduation Day, 9- Son, I Saw It

Cover Art by Patrick Soriano

 Recorded at Purple Light Studio

This band is extremely experimental: here you have nine tracks of experimentation with different sounds (clean guitars or extremely distorted ones), different rhythms (each of the tracks have many tempo and rhythm changes, some of them are unbelievable), different kind of vocals (from clean ones to distorted ones to screaming ones). Here we have a band that is not afraid of trying something new on each track: from atmospheres in tracks like "Age Gracefully" to brutal experimentation in "Thread of the Dream". In fact this guys also have great technical skills and they are extremely well rehearsed in order to play this material that is complex and fascinating. They don´t forget also the heavy elments in their music such as distorted guitars crushing rhythms and extreme vocals. A must. 

Favorite tracks: The whole CD. This is a must for lovers of something new.

Contact: www.timeoforchids.com

VICIOUS CIRCLE - VICIOUS CIRCLE (Nightmare Records, 2002 )

Produced By: Steve Cichon

Tracks: 1- the Winner, 2- In Your Hands, 3- Never Run Away, 4- Hanging By a thread, 5- Hallucinations, 6- Rocks That Make The mountain, 7- Peace lady, 8- No mans Land, 9- Every Dog, 10- Gun To the Head, 11- What Ever You Do, 12- Vicious Circle

This CD opens powerfully with "The Winner" a really heavy tune full, of crushing guitars and the mid ranged vocals of the only composer and musician here, Mr. Steve Cichon. Through the twelve tracks that we can listen here, Cichon shows us all his potential as songwriter and guitarist going from powerful and rocking tunes to more calm songs that showcase his skills as a composer. Here we have many different moods through all the CD. A thing to remark of this CD is the really good mix and production that it has letting the listener hear every detail (specially when he uses clean guitars and after that starts a heavier part. This CD is a must for lovers of good songwriting and composition with heavy guitars and interesting soloing.

Favorite tracks: "The Winner", "Hanging By a Thread" and "Gun To the Head"

Contact: www.nightmare-records.com

VLE - BOOK OF ILLUSIONS - CHAPTER I AND II (Independent, 2002 )

Produced By: The VLE

Chapter II: 1- Kano, 2- the Dancer, 3- Trilogy of the I, 4- AMIntro, 5- AMTheme, 6- Scotland, 7- A Scene from a Tree, 8- In Silence, 9- Stark, 10- A Fortunate Reversal

Cover Art by The VLE

This is with no doubt one of the best releases of the year. Vle´s music can be described as Dark Experimental Soundscapes. And this is a well definition because despite being of extreme beauty, Vle´s music is extremely dark. And it really kicks ass with the dynamics of this compositions that gare made with keyboards and computers following the instinct of the composer The Vle...every musical piece here is improvised and The Vle has done a great job in creating the melodies and passages that we can listen here. Every soundscape here is completely different from the other and each one is a musical world in its own. After doing all the compositions, Michael molina recorded the real drums for this amazing release. Now The Vle has ready the third and last chapter of the Book of Illusions trilogy and I am ready and willing to listen to it. I say it again....this is one of the best releases of the year.

Favorite tracks: Both CDs are amazing. One of the best releases of the year

Contact: www.mp3.com/vle orovle25@hotmail.com

VORACIOUS HATE - THE DEPTH OF HUMAN NATURE (Independent, 2000)

Produced By: Voracious Hate

Tracks: 1- The Depth of Human Nature, 2- Feigned Security, 3- Healed Soul, 4- Opiate of the Mass, 5- When Insanity Commands, 6- Tempting Poetry

Cover Art by A. Rung

 Recorded at Atlas Tonstudio

It is amazing the decision that this band has made of changing their style (an obviously the name of the band). This album is a pure death metal album but with a lot of melodies such as the ones you can listen in "Healed Soul". In fact this band´s music is complex death metal with many melodic riffs and changes (I would really like them to do this kind of riffs in the new incarnation of the band with the addition of the more melodic vocals of Peter Rung....that would be great). This band is brutal but has at the same time really good musicianship that allows them to create this really good compositions with many changes and moods using guitars that play melodies and heavier than hell riffs with a lot of soul in them. A really good band that is evolving to new levels.

Favorite tracks: "Feigned Security", "Healed Soul" and "Tempting poetry"

Contact: www.voracious-hate.purespace.de

VORACIOUS HATE - ACT FOUR (Independent, 2000)

Produced By: Voracious Hate

Tracks: 1- Eye For an Eye, 2- Sign V, 3- Die Plage, 4- Degree of Sadness

Cover Art by Voracious Hate

 Recorded at KST Studio

I have to remark that this band has changed its name to Encounter because of the change in the music that is evident on this MCD (on the previous album this band was a straight forward death metal band). The entrance of Peter Rung on vocals has given more strength to the songs here that are pure metal !! Voracious Hate music is really heavy but yet has a lot of melodies and the addition of Peter has added new sides for the band to experiment and it also has added a lot of power, having vocals that will not be out of a place in a thrash or power metal band having a harsh voice but at the same time having a lot of melody. The guitars here sound better than in the previous album. Now I hope to listen some new stuff from Encounter soon!

Favorite tracks: The four are really good tracks

Contact: www.voracious-hate.purespace.de