AARDIA - FAIRY TALES FROM BEYOND (Independent , 2002)

Produced By: Aardia

Tracks: 1- The Summoner, 2- Call to Arms, 3- The Wandering, 3- Fairy Tales from Beyond

Cover Art by Nicklas Lundqvist

What a good surprise is this band!!! I expected sort of a power metal band but this band does atmospheric music full of melodies and full of keybaords parts. I have to say that this album is one of the most beautiful ones that I have listened for a long time. This keyboards melodies are beautiful and at the same time they have amysterious element and some darkness. This feelings are enhanced by the medieval sounds of fight that can be listened in the background. There is good orchestration here showing the multiple ideas that Aardia has. There is a female voice in "The Wandering" that adds even more beauty to the tracks. This voice combined with the keyboards orchestration adn with some programmed percussion gives an ancient feeling to the music while at the same time gives you the idea of modern day music with an epic feeling. A must.

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: http://listen.to/aardia

AGONIZER - CAIN (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: A.Kippo

Tracks: 1- Whatever, 2- Mask, 3- Cain

Cover Art by Agonizer

 Recorded at Astia Studio

This is a really aggressive pure heavy metal band. I have to say that this band has really surprised me with their pure metal with guitars that sound much more heavier than the ones that we are accustomed to listen on this style, plus they have a more aggressive singer that sounds more powerful than many of the most well known and at the same time has a dark element in his voice that adds a different shade to Agonizer´s music. Mike O.D.´s keyboards are essential because when they combine their orchestration with jOnez and Jazzo´s guitars they give that trademark sound to Agonizer´s music. The rhythm section is really solid with double bass in many parts (like in short patterns that sound even better than doing this all time...cool!) and great bass arrangements as we can listen in "Mask". The album has a really good mix that gives the sound that the bands need to deliver their compositions in a really powerful way.

Favorite tracks: The three

Contact: www.agonizer.cjb.net

AHRCANA - INTO THE PROPHECY (Northwind Recs. , 2003)

Produced By: Ahrcana

Tracks: 1- ) The Prophecy, 2) The travel, 3) Gates to realm, 4) Immortal
5) We'll reborn, 6) In the village, 7) Long life to dark elf, 8) Tears in the wind
9) Stormmaster

Cover Art by Ahrcana

 Recorded at New Sin Studio

Pure heavy metal with some power metal influences is what Ahrcana delivers on this albums. Bands like Iron maiden, Helloween or Angra have influenced Ahrcana and they mix this influences to create their own heavy music. There are some elements of pure german metal like for example the choruses that sound really german. Here we have a solid band with a really good rhythm section that deliver a lot of patterns that are designed to make the compositions really heavy. The guitarists are really good in creating riffs and there are some neoclassical solos that fit the music really well. I would mix the guitars a little bit louder and maybe they can tune the guitars a little bit low in order to sound heavier. There are some acoustic parts that embellish the compositions too. The singer is really versatile and has a wide vocal range that is essential in this kind of music. Pure metal with good melodies and ideas.

Favorite tracks: "Gates to Realm", "We´ll Reborn" and "Stormmaster"

Contact: www.ahrcana.com

AHRET DEV - HELLISH (Dywizja KOT Recs. , 2003)

Produced By: Ahret Dev

Tracks: 1- Izis Ode, 2- The Damned, 3- Lords of Illusion, 4- Inhumation, 5- Eardh Kha Aamon Reeh, 6- Archnemezis, 7- Seventh Gate, 8- Nebirius, 9- Homicide, 10- Hydra, 11- Master´s Temptation, 12- Great th Cursed With your Wrath, 13- The Chasm, 14- Shall they Burn, 15- Hydra (bonus), 16- master´s Temptation (bonus), 17- the Chasm, 18- Shall they Burn, 19- War

Cover Art by Mariusz Jurczak

 Recorded at Selani Studios

Ahret Dev is a classical name in the polish death metal scene and here we have a new edition of two of their classics in one album. The recordings on this CD were done in 1995 and 1997. Plus, we have also some demo tracks from 1994 that gives you an idea of how powerful sounded this band in their early stages (despite the raw sound that became better in the newest recordings). Here we have a band that delivers intense death metal compositions with heavy emphasis in the mid paced rhythms and in the most aggressive parts s this band in a stage situation. On this album you will find plenty of heavy guitars that will crush you with their fast and heavy riffing. You will also find a drummer, Dominik, that plays fast blast beats in tracks like "Homicide" but also leaves a lot of space for the rest of the bands in tracks like "Izis Ode" configuring with the bass player a killer rhythm section. The voices are guttural in many places and in others are clearer giving a different feeling to the band´s music. This is pure death metal and is a classic recording from a classic band !

Favorite tracks: "The Damned", "Seventh Gate" and "The Chasm"

Contact: http://dywizjakot.prm.pl

ALAN TOMLINSON / STEVE BERESFORD / ROGER TURNER - TRAP STREET (Emanem Disc , 2003)

Produced By: Martin Davidson

Tracks: 1- E1, 2- N1, 3- E2, 4- N2, 5- E3, 6- EC3, 7- E4, 8- W4, 9- N5, 10- E5, 11-W7

Cover Art by Martin Davidson

 Recorded at Gateway Studios

Here we have a recording of the well known musicians Roger Turner and Steve Beresford on percussion / drums and electronics respectively, whose work we have reviewed in other issues. Plus here we have also Alan Tomlinson who plays trombones and this is his first full length since his 1980 solo album. This spontaneous recording from 2002. From chaotic percussion patterns to spontaneous and original trombone sounds and phrases (there is even some spekaing through the trombone in tracks like "N1" here we have eleven original and experimental compositions where the three musicians show sometimes together, sometimes alone their talent and their quest for new sounds. It is really good to listen Beresford creating a basement for the tracks with the electronics and then listening Turner´s twisted rhythms followed by Tomlinson´s demented sounds. This is pure experimentation where the sound of the trombone is essential to achieve the sound range that the musicians have imagined.

Favorite tracks: "W4", "EC3" and "N1"

Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

AMOK VEDAR - SEELENFRIEDE (Independent , 2002)

Produced By: Amok Vedar

Tracks: 1- A.V.E.D.U., 2- Psychopathic, 3- Sumpf, 4- Seelenfriede

Cover Art by Ray and Amok Vedar

 Recorded at Soundforge Studios, Berlin

Amok Vedar is pure black metal holocaust with many climatic parts. Their music is fast but they don´t abuse the blast beats and that is essential here to add a lot of feeling to the music here. Here we have fast guitars that interact really well with the fast drumming with many double bass parts. Plus we have a really good keyboard player called trakon whose arrangements when combined with the heavier parts are the heart and soul of Amok Vedar´s music. Here we have a combination of vocals thata re typical of black metal combined with more deathly growls. I really liked the tempo changes in tracks like "A.V.E.D.U." that introduces a more rhythmic riff after a fast one letting more space for the instruments to shine. There are plenty of arrangements here and this leaves you with many differnet sounds in your ears. And it also leaves you wanting more music from this amazing black metal guys. A killer release.

Favorite tracks: All the CD. Here is the future of black metal.

Contact: www.amokvedar.de

AMOK VEDAR - LIVE IN POTSDAM (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Amok Vedar

Tracks: 1- Psychopathic, 2- Schwarze Flut, 3- Sine Nomine, 4- Glaubensfluch, 5- Suizid, 6- Glückseligkeit, 7- Sumpf, 8- A.V.E.D.U.

 Recorded live in Potsdam 16/11/2002

This is a live recording of Amok Vedar´s music that opens really climatically with an amazing track called "Psychopatic". Starting with a mid tempo with a dark melody the tune has a guttural voice that is the main one used on this song that is combined with a screaming one. The track turns then into a mayhemic fast part with a blast beat and then turns into another fast aprts but with more space for the guitar riffs. And this is the trademark of Amok Vedar´s music: the combination of brutality, speed, dark atmospheres and really good musical arrangements (the keyboards are essential). The keyboards contrast heavily with the raw guitars and the blast beats and add another dimension to Amok Vedar´s music that makes them so unique. The recording has a really raw sound but at the same time the instruments are clearly mixed giving an even more powerful sound to the band´s compositions. Pure unholy black metal with good musicinship !!

Favorite tracks: All

Contact: www.amokvedar.de

AMON AMARTH - VERSUS THE WORLD (Metal Blade Recs. , 2003)

Produced By:

Tracks: 1- Death in Fire, 2- For the Stabwounds in our backs, 3- Where Silent Gods Stand guard, 4- Vs. The world, 5- Across the Rainbow Bridge, 6- Down the Slopes of Death, 7- Thousand Years of Oppression, 8- Bloodshed, 9- ...and Soon the world will Cease to be

Cover Art by

 Recorded at

Starting with a powerful riff and double bass drumming comes the new album by these swedish band. Here you will find all the elements that have made this band famous: heavy guitar riffs with really technical drumming and intense rhythmical work. Also here we have the extreme vocals that are a charachteristic of the band and the guitar melodies and interludes that add a different feeling to this guys music. Here you have from the fastest moments in tracks like "For the Stabwounds..:" to more climatic parts like in the middle of "Versus the World" with heavy double bass and a climatic riff. As always Amon Amarth delivers extreme riffing without letting you breath, track after track. I have to remark that they get a better sound on each album and this one is no exception with huge guitars and clear drumming. Pure violence from this classic band !!

Favorite tracks: "Vs. The world", "Thousand Years..." and "Bloodshed"

Contact: www.metalblade.com

ANTEVIRUS - ANTEVIRUS (Independent , 2001)

Produced By: Antevirus

Tracks: 1- Shamble, 2- Lowest, 3- Last Dance

Cover Art by Julien beluche

"Shamble" starts with an eerie intro with some guitar feedback, then enters the bass and then comes the heavy guitar riff. This is a band whose guitars sound really heavy and play rhythmic riffs design for headbanging. Plus, here we have a vocalist whose voice is guttural but perfectly clear, sort of the exact balance between the most guttural death metal and the shouts of a more modern metal vocalist. The guitars also deliver some open chords that add a different atmosphere to the music of the band making it sound more climatic (they sound really distorted and add all their heaviness to the music). Every single note, every drumbeat, every bass passage is designed here to devastate the listener with the utter heaviness that this guys from Mereville, France are capable. This is a release designed to be played live in front of a moshing audience. This is extreme heaviness in its purest form.

Favorite tracks: The three

Contact: www.antevirus.best.cd

ANTIQUE - BOOK ONE (Trostlos Recs. , 2002)

Produced By: Antique

Tracks: 1- Take this Sullen Timber, 2- A Meadow To Die In, 3- Essaying Paradise, 4- No Tears for the Devil Inside, 5- Elysium Cascades, 6- Frost Upon Broken Dreams, 7- What Temptation, 8- One Last Thought

Cover Art by

 Recorded at

A slow intro with keys and a spoken voice with an extremely dark atmosphere begins this album. After a while comes a more guttural voice combined with some more keys creating the atmosphere necessary for the heavy instruments (a processed guitar and percussion) to enter. Antique´s music is heavily orchestrated with keyboards thata re the main instrument here and that provide the basis for the vocals. Here everything is about creating dark feelings: the keys, the vocals, the doomy percussion, the processed instruments. Everything is colored black here and they are essential to comunicate the concept that Antique wants to transmit to the listener. The different types of vocals help a lot to get the right feeling of the tracks. Pure darkness unleashed.

Favorite tracks: "Frost upon...", "No Tears..." and "What Temptation"

Contact: http://disemia.com/trostlos

ASMODEUS - PHALANX INFERNA (Independent , 2003)

Produced By: Asmodeus

Tracks: 1- Intermezzo, 2- Phalanx inferna, 3- Summon the Horde, 4- Evoking the Beasts in Twilight, 5- The Ascend of My Demise, 6- Forlorn in Distress, 7- Eviscerated Carcass, 8- Odland, 9- Endarken My Spirit, 10- The Coming of the Storm, 11- Acceding the Throne of Devastation

Asmodeus is pure black metal full of hate and blasphemy. This guys have created ultra fast riffs combined with some death metal in some parts and they have added a twist with more rhythmic riffs in other places. There are blast beats here and many fast rhythms and also some more rhytmic parts that are the essence of Asmodeus´s music (ther4e is ultra fast double bass drumming in many places). The singer is really extreme in the black metal way but in some places there is a more guttural voice harmonizing the screams. There are some obscure melodies thrown here and there like a signature of Asmodeus music and this melodies are created by the guitars in a really dark fashion. But everything here is pure unholy black metal and the band has managed to create a really good recording of this style with good sound and full power !

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: asmodeus@gmx.at

AURORA BOREALIS - TIME, UNVEILED (Diehard Music , 2003)

Produced By: Ron Vento

Tracks: 1- Triumph Again, 2- Sky Burial, 3- Searching, 4- Transversing the Tides, 5- Berserker, 6- The Last Day, 7- Reign, 8- Sixteenth Chamber, 9- Slave to the Grave

Cover Art by

 Recorded at

After their previous "Northern Lights" here we have the new album of Ron Vento´s band. And if the previous album was brutal and a really devastating album this is even more powerful. Here we have Ron´s riffs all over the place delivering fast rhythms over crushing drumming. Auyrora Borealis is one of those bands that I would love to see in a live show because they are mind blowing. Here everything is really extreme: the manic guitar solos, the fast drumming, the screams, everything is designed to blast your brain like a thousand ton hammer. Here they start with "Triumph Again" and they don´t stop til the end of "Slave to the Grave" (this track is from their Demo 94 along with "Sixteenth Chamber). The sound is really good except on the two demo tracks where it sounds more primitive. This album is a step forward in the career of this amazingly brutal band.

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.diehardmusic.com or www.auroraborealis.org

AURORA K - 11^th HOUR (Independent , 2002)

Produced By: Johnny A.

Tracks: 1- 11^th Hour, 2- The Hopeless, 3- 11^th Hour Video

Cover Art by Petri Teräväinen and Timo Luostarinen

 Recorded at Studio 303

This is a single of this Finnish band whose music can be described as heavy rock with many metal elements. Here we have the melodic guitars of Johnny A., full of heavy riffs and at the same time of clean guitar arrangements and interesting guitar solos (check the title song). We also have here the really personal voice of Katriina, a singer with heavy use of middle range vocals and a powerful voice that adds a lot of strength to Aurora K´s music. One thing that is really amazing here is the production that makes each of the instruments really clear in the mix making each of them perfectly audible. I have to remark the good work of the guitars here and the good work of keyboardist Suvi Salo, specially in the most climatic parts of "The Hopeless". This is a band that creates SONGS with capital letters developing their ideas from beginning to end with a lot of taste. Plus here we have the "11^th hour" video done in a really good way (I don´t know how many money they spent but it seems to be really high budget video!) Thumbs up for this rocking band !.

Favorite tracks: Both

Contact: www.angelfire.com/rock2/aurorak

BACKDRAFT - HERE TO SAVE YOU ALL (Lunasound Recs. , 2001)

Produced By: Backdraft

Tracks: 1- Convoy, 2- Wicked Man, 3- Angels High, 4- See you burn, 5- Devil´s Hand, 6- El Rancho, 7- Goddamn Man, 8- Original Sin, 9- Penetration, 10- Hillbilly Blues

Cover Art by Backdraft

This is what I call a rocking release!. This band comes directly from Sweden and plays pure heavy rock with some seventies influences and with really good melodies and song development. This guys have created ten memorable songs here. I mean, each of this songs stick easily in your mind because of their guitar riffs and because of their choruses and vocals. And one of the highest points here is the good combiantion between guitars and good vocals. There are some acoustic parts in tracks like "Angels High" with a southern rock flavour but more powerful. There is also a bluesy side to the music and that gives a different side of Backdraft´s music. If you wnat rock...you´ve got it !!!

Favorite tracks: "Convoy", "El Rancho" and "Original Sin"

Contact: www.backdraft.web.com or www.lunasoundrecording.com

BAKBAKWALANOOKSIWAE / ANTIKRIST SPLIT (Independent , 2003)

Produced By: Bakbakwalanooksiwae and Antikrist

ANTIKRIST: 6- Sacrifice to my Lord Satan, 7- Satanic Goats Attack, 8- Baptized in Goats Blood, 9- War Goats March, 10-Destroying Christianity

Cover Art by bakbakwalanooksiwae

Antikrist is a more black metal band, specially on the songs titles and some of the scremaing. They have also delivered compositions full of sounds and noises and that also develope weird soundscapes. There are some riffs (I don´t know if that are guitars or not) that sound more in the black metal vein (different from the sounds used by the other band in the split. But here is experimentation with sounds too. This split is recomendable for people looking for something new, even if it is not easy listening music for those whose ears are not used to the most extreme music on Earth.

Favorite tracks: All Bakbakwalanooksiwae and "Sacrifice..." and "War Goats March"

Contact: www.geocities.com/bakbakwalanooksiwae

BANISHED REALITY - REALITIVITÄT (Independent , 2003)

Produced By: Banished Reality

Tracks: 1- Panzer, 2- Fixed Point, 3- My Darkest Planet, 4- Corpus Supra Anima, 5- Alter Ego Kain, 6- Poems of Ending, 7- Nacht der Leidenschaft, 8- Eternal Silence, 9- Neues Licht

Cover Art by Banished Reality

 Recorded at Pivo Studios

The first track "Panzer" opens up with a full guttural shout that gives a sign of the storm that is going to devastate our minds with Banished Reality´s music. Here we have a band that plays a music that can be describe as a fusion of pure death metal with modern sounding metal delivering nine crushing compositions on this demo CD. Here we have fat sounding guitars that create devastating riffs and also some eerie sounding melodies that give a lot of identity to Banished Reality´s music (plus there is a certain classic thrash metal influence in some riffs that gives an interesting twist to the music here). Fast drumming is essential for this guys music but here we have many doubble bass passages that are the core of the music as well as some rhythms never letting speed opaque the quality of the rhythms. The vocals are extreme and have a lot of variations making each song relly memorable. This is a pure devastating band !

Favorite tracks: "Panzer", "Fixed Point" and "Poems of Ending"

Contact: www.banishedreality.com

BERSERK - RITES OF SUPREMACY (Independent , 2003)

Produced By: Berserk

Tracks: 1- Rites of Supremacy, 2- Astapa´s Ashes, 3- Berserker´s Blood, 4- De Este a Oeste, 5- Gaze at the Sky, 6- Blood of the Gods, 7- Journey to Eternity

Mastered at Uni-X Sound Studios

 Recorded at Artica Studios

The track called "Rites of Supremacy" opens this album at full speed with heavy use of fast frumming and really raw guitars. This is pure black metal with some thrash influences here and there. But the main thing here is the dark atmosphere created by the heavy guitars and the blast beats and also the dark melodies that are thrown in some places and in some riffs. The vocals are really in the black metal vein (with some deathly shades) and interact really well with the guitars and with the drums, specially in parts where the rhythms leave more space. There are good clean vocals that add a darker feeling if that is possible. The mix is good keeping the instruments raw but making them fully audible. This is pure celtiberian pagan black metal and will surely bring darkness to your soul while you listen to it.

Favorite tracks: "Rites of Supremacy", "Astapa´s Ashes" and "Blood of the Gods"

Contact: www.berserkhorde.com

BLUTENGEL - ANGEL DUST (Out of Line Recs. , 2003)

Produced By: Chris Pohl

Tracks: 1- Angel Dust I, 2- Stranded, 3- Vampire Romance Part 1, 4- The End of love, 5- Iron Heart, 6- Our Time, 7- Wonderland, 8- Angel Dust II, 9- Black Wedding, 10- I Will Follow, 11- Silent Death, 12- Angel of the Night, 13- Keine Ewigkeit, 14- Night of Sin, 15- Vampire Romance II, 16- Angel Dust III

 Recorded at Fearsection Studios

The first part of the title track opens this album with dark keyboards and creating an obscure almost vampiresque atmosphere that sets the path for the other compositions of this band whose main brain is Chris Pohl. The music here is really gothic and full of keyboards and electronics. Here we have a recording that shows the dark side of the human soul. Chris keyboards are essential here constructing the dark atmospheres that are the main element here and he also delivers the male vocals on this recording that when combined with the female voices of Constance or Eva create gives an idea of what this is all about. There is beauty here but it is a really dark beauty and Blutengel´s music lets your imagination fly into a world without day and full of vampires and lost souls. Pure darkness.

Favorite tracks: "Silent Death", "Our Time", "Wonderland"

Contact: www.outofline.de

BOOGIEMAN - TRIPLE SIX BLUES (I Used to Fuck People Like You in Prison Recs. , 2003)

Produced By: Boogieman

Tracks: 1- Red Sleeve)C´Mon), 2- Satisfaction, 3- 14 Pictures, 4- In Hell, 5- Drown, 6- December, 7- Yellow Sea, 8- Hey hey Hey, 9- My eyes, 10- Infinity

Cover Art by

 Recorded at

This is a band that can create hits in a really heavy context. Their music is really heavy and at the same time is influenced by rock and blues. I find some elements of seventies rock and Black Sabbath and this combination of influences is what gives Boogieman their own identity. The combination of heavy riffs with a drumming that uses a lot the ride cymbal and the crash is essential for giving power to this band. There is also an excellent singer who is extremely heavy and at the same time can create melodies and hooks that keeps the music spinning in your mind for a long time. This album has a really clean sound in the drums and bass and a really distorted guitar that sound really bluesy in the solos and extremely heavy in the rhythms. This is music that is essential for those looking for good compositions full of power.

Favorite tracks: "In Hell", "Yellow Sea" and "My Eyes"

Contact: www.peoplelikeyourecords.de

BORN LOCO - REVOLUTION IN REVERSE (Independent , 2003)

Produced By: Daan van der Elsken

Tracks: 1- Paradox, 2- Stand-Off

Cover Art by Born Loco

 Recorded at Stilteloos Studios

The guys in Born Loco play crushing modern metal with influence of some new metal bands but turning each element into heavier stuff. Here we start with "Paradox" with a heavy bass line and then turning into devastating guitar riffs that are the essence of Born Loco´s music. The vocals are in the modern metal way following the riffs and the rhythms clearly and adding sort of a rhythmic feeling to the music. The drumming here is intense and we have here a really aggressive rhythm section that delivers a good basis for the songs. The only thing is that the two tracks leave you wanting more Born Loco. A devastating abnd that can kick ass to some bands that are famous nowadays.

Favorite tracks: Both

Contact: www.bornloco.nl

BURIED GOD - DARK REVELATION (Independent , 2003)

Produced By: Buried God

Tracks: 1- Back to Wreck Your Neck (The Final Decision), 2- The beast Rules Me, 3- Conquer Moriha, 4- A Piece of Flesh, 5- Buried God, 6- Eyes of the Gorgon, 7- Hunger, 8- Ruins of the Pantheon, 9- My Dark revelation, 10- Rape of Harmony (Elegy for a Bitch)

Cover Art by Patrick Engel

 Recorded at Rape of Harmonies Studios

This guys have no mercy for the listeners !! They start violently with "Bact to Wreck your neck" with full aggression and that is the way to better describe their music: pure aggressiona and power through ten tracks that are delivered really tightly. Each riff is conceived here to blow your brain and they succeed in doing it. The guitar riffs ound really thrash and death metal but they are played with a really huge sound and when combined with the fast drumming (this guy is really good in playing fast patterns with the drumkit but at the same time letting a lot of place for the other instruments to develope their ideas) they are like an atm bomb. The vocals are really aggressive and fit perfectly the rest of the music. There are some guitar melodies too that add a different side to the band´s music. This is pure power unleashed !

Favorite tracks: "A piece of flesh", "Ruins of the Pantheon" and "The Beast Rules Me"

Contact: www.buriedgod.cjb.net

CELESTIAL SORROW -DESPAIR WITHIN ME (Independent , 2003)

Produced By: Juha Matinheikki

Tracks: 1- Wavering Existence, 2- Concealed Torment, 3- Significant Decision, 4- Farewell After All

What a good band is Celestial Sorrow!!.This finnish guys have succeeded in blending the most aggressive music in the emtal realm with amazing epic and melodic passages that gives a lot of dynamics and contrasts to their music. This guys are real good musicians and here we have four compositions that are extremely well developed with aggressive riffs, guitar solos, twin guitars arrangements. There are some parts with clean guitars and some synths and piano arrangements that show a different side of Celestial Sorrow´s music. This guys deliver riff after riff, melody after melody, arrangement after arrangement, all this combined with vocals that wouldn´t be out of place in the most extreme bands, all done with amazing quality and showing to the world that you can be aggressive and at the same time original and a great musician. I have to remark also the good sound that this recording has making each of the parts here shine. A must

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.celestialsorrow.tk

CEREBRAL TURBULENCY - GERM OF ERROR (Khaaranus Prods. , 2003)

Produced By: Cerebral Turbulence

Tracks: 1- Jump from the fire, 2- Only One, 3- On the Edge of Tolerance, 4-It in itself, 5- Ensystemed, 6- Germ of Error, 7- The Strach na Vruble, 8- Sportorico, 9- Obscure Meaning of Infinity, 10- Maybe there, 11- Mushroom Hell, 12- Impartial, 13- The Others

Here we have again the grind bestiality of Cerebral Turbulency. This time with a much better sound the band continues to deliver their ultra bestiality full fo blast beats and ultra fast riffs played at the speed of light. Here we have the ultraguttural vocals that the style must have and we have thirteen tracks thata re really well developed adding some death metal elements in the riffing and in the drumming that are essential to open new horizons for Cerebral Turbulency. The sound is good and effective being much more clear than on the previous album and that makes things even heavier.Here we have good work of guitars doing fast and twisted riffs that sound powerful and will grind your head with their heaviness. Pure grind with some death metal touches !!!

Favorite tracks: "On the edge of tolerance", "Ensystemed" and "Mushroom Hell"

Contact: http://cerebral.webpark.cz or lolokar@mybox.cz

CHINCHILLA - MADTROPOLIS (Metal Blade Recs. , 2003)

Produced By: Ingmar Schenzel and Udo Gerstenmeyer

Tracks: 1- the Arise of a Madtropolis, 2- Our Destiny, 3- A Dance With the Devil, 4- When the Sand Darkens the Sun, 5- Entire World, 6- Satellite, 7- Heavy metal, 8- Headless Fools, 9- Turn Around the Magic Table, 10- Money Rules Everything, 11- Battle of the World, 12- Madtropolis, 13- The Fall of Madtropolis

Cover Art by Rene Imhof

 Recorded at House of Music Studios

Despite their strange name this band is pure heavy metal in its most classic way with some power metal elements. This time the album sounds less Iron Maidenesque than the previous one and I find this interesting because the band is getting more original adding more keyboards and with Thomas Laasch singing in a rawer way and givins more power to the band. Here the combination of Artur´s keyboards with Udo´s guitars is more essential and has become more tight. The rhythm section is as solid as always and gives Chinchilla the basement for their songs with a lot of double bass and heavy beats. The choruses are memorable in the german way which is really grandiloquent and epic. Pure metal for the masses!!!

Favorite tracks: "Our destiny", "Entire World" and "Battle of the world"

Contact: www.metalblade.com

COPH NIA - SHAPE SHIFTER (Cold Meat Industry, 2003)

Mastered By: Peter Andersson

Tracks: 1- the Hall of Truth, 2-To Fix the Shadow, 3- Lord of the Air, 4- Prime Mover, 5- Gnostic Anthem, 6- Hymn to pan, 7- The Mirror, 8- Stigmata Martyr, 9- Call of the Jackal

Cover Art by Mike Bohatch

As always Cold Meat Industry releases are innovative, very ethereal and obscure. And Coph nia are masters of this kind of music as they show here. Opening with a climatic intro in "The Hall of Truth" with voices before a keyboard orchestrated passage opens the aforementioned trrack, the band explores new paths on each composition. But the main thing here is the combination of a gothic atmosphere with the extreme darkness of the compositions (which sometimes sound like played in the middle of an abandoned cathedral at midnight. There are a couple of covers like Leather Nun´s "Primal Mover" or Bauhaus "Stigmata Martyr" done in the Coph Nia way but eveerything here is full of dark arrangements and Aldenmon Satorial´s sorrowful voice. This is a must for experimental dark music with heavy orchestration and harmonizations.

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.coldmeat.se

CORONATION - READY TO FEAST (Doomforce Recs. , 2003)

Produced By: Jochen Pelser

Tracks: 1- Smile for a Hatchet, 2- Create More Hells, 3- An Act of Possession, 4- Into Nothingness, 5- Gore Explosion

Cover Art by Daniel Von Dahlen

 Recorded at Hate Studio

Coronation has succesfully combined death metal with a modern sound that makes their music really attractive. This guys are really brutal but at the same time know how to deliver more rhythmic riffs that give a different feeling and power to their music. I have to point out the really good work of Ricci on drums doing fast patterns, breaks and really concise double bass (this guy is like a metronome with his feet) plus he is innovative in his drumming. The guitars create devastating riffs that when combined with Tom´s brutal vocals give the bestial feeling to the tracks. The guitar riffs are complex in many places and I love that because they go one step forward from other bands of the style. This is an ideal album to listen for those who like brutal bands with good technique and innovative ideas.

Favorite tracks: The five

Contact: www.coronation666.de or www.doomforce.de

COSMO´S MOON - COSMO´S MOON (Independent , 2003)

Produced By: Cosmo´s Moon

Tracks: 1- All´s Fair in Love and War, 2- Pushe, 3- 1000 Lies, 4- Just One Night

Cover Art by Cosmo´s Moon

 Recorded at A.R.T.I. Studios

Cosmo´s Moon is a band that plays heavy rock with heavy guitars played by Mark Valentino. Here the main thing are songs. Yes, each of the four compositions here are songs done with good taste and are well developed making them really catchy and memorable. The singer is really clean managing to create good melodies with his middle ranged voice. There are some good vocal harmonies in the choruses and melodic guitar solos. The sound of this recording is a little bit raw and I think that with a more polished sound the band can sound even better. The rhythm section here leaves a lot of space for the guitars and the vocals to develope their ideas. Here we have pure rock and roll with loud guitars in its purest form

Favorite tracks: "Pushe" and "1000 Lies"

Contact: http://cosmos_moon_band.tripod.com

CRADLE TO GRAVE - LIFESPAN SESSIONS 2003 (Independent , 2003)

Produced By: Cradle to Grave

Tracks: 1- Nuclear Flowers, 2- Shut My Eyes, 3- Southern Oak, 4- Just Cause, 5- Crown of Snakes

Cover Art by Cradle to Grave

 Recorded at Turtle Recording Studio

The Lifespan Sessions opens in a really epic way with the melodies in the beginning of "Nuclear Flowers" before getting into a more rhythmic type of riffing that is designed more for jumping and moshing. This band plays modern metal with influences of bands like for example Pantera but mixed with different influences and with a rawer sound, specially on the guitars. Here we have a singer that is powerful and whose voice is not extremely guttural preferring to use a more screaming type of vocals to emphasize the band´s music. Everything here is brutal and powerful and every riff, every drumbeat will blow your head off with their sheer agression. The mix of the album is raw and I think that with a better mix specially on the drums the band can sound even heavier. Pure aggression.

Favorite tracks: "Shut My Eyes" and "Crown of Snakes"

Contact: www.cradletograve.ca

CUNTGRINDER - REIGN IS CONTINUED (Independent , 2003)

Produced By: Berlin and Cuntgrinder

Tracks: 1- Intro (Shut Up you Shitcunt), 2- A True Erotical Adventure, 3- Fuckloud Crust, 4- Vegan penetration, 5- I Erase your Family, 6- Golden Shower, 7- Die When You Die, 8- Anton, the son of the priest, 9- Bloody Cunt Fuck, 10- Cuntshredder, 11- Lex, the dragqueen, 12- Forever Free, 13- My Voodoo Ouanga, 14- Cannibal Song, 15- Choosen one, 16- United Forces, 17- Fuck the Whores, 18- Dildo Megawatt (Slaytanic Version), 19- Frau Braun (Fallen in Love)

Some months ago we reviewed Cunt Grinder´s previous album a devastating grind album mixed with some death metal influences. This one goes on a similar path but the songs are better composed and the sound is much better, specially on the guitars that now sound really devastating. This grindfreaks deliver here nineteen short tracks in almost forty minutes that are a showcase of their style: a fusion of blast beats and ultra fast guitar riffs with more rhythmic phrases and patterns that add diversity to their music. The vocals are used like another instrument and is extremely guttural combined in many parts with a more screaming type of voice that is a trademark of grind style. I have to remark that this guys have a more devastating guitar sound than most of the bands of the style. Plus they have a sactological sense of humour that is a plus here (including the parody of the "Reign in Blood" cover art). Grind to blow your head!!!

Favorite tracks: "Cannibal Song", "I Erase your Family" and "Fuck the Whores"

Contact: www.cuntgrinder.com

CURIOUS - FALLING (Independent , 2002)

Produced By: Curious

Tracks: 1- Thought of Angels, 2- Eclipse, 3- Rovers, 4- Falling

Cover Art by Marie

 Recorded at the Lucia Pred Den

Sweet keyboards open this album before the drums enter along with the bass. Here we have a band whose music is really climatic with heavy use of clean guitars and keyboards. Here everything goes along the paths of dark music with incredible melodic arrangements that are the essence of Curious music. There is a heavy influence of gothic rock but the main thing here is the beauty of the compositions. Here we have five musicians that create musical passages with a lot of feeling and whose main goal is to surprise you with their melodies and their atmospheres. Olli´s vocals fit the music perfectly adding a feeling of sadness and despair to the band´s music. If I have to describe r}the band´s music I have to say some thing like "a beauty in black" or something like that because of the mix of amazingly beautiful passages and this feeling of coldness and sorrow that the music has. This is what I call a really climatic release that takes also some pop influences and mixes it into their own music. Don´t expect screams and heavy riffs here, here you have melodies, arrangements, feelings and everything with a great mix that enhances the results. A must.

Favorite tracks: The four

Contact: www.curious-band.de

D.S.K. - DISRUPTION OF SOUL AND KIND (Independent , 2000)

Produced By: D.S.K. and Benoit Moritz

Tracks: 1- Te Asesinan, 2- In Cold Blood, 3- Drug Me, 4- Forever lost

Cover Art by Cedric Cadeau

 Recorded at Turtle Studio

Pure extreme death metal is the music that D.S.K. does . Here we have a band that combines cleverly speed and aggression in order to create a really brutal recording with a bestial death metal feeling but with many thrash metal elements like the riffs and some of the vocals on the track "In Cold Blood". The riffs are technical in many places and more simple in others but all of them are effective. There are some good guitar solos in the thrash metal vein that contrast heavily with the more brutal parts. The vocals are guttural and aggressive and they give the main death metal feeling to D.S.K.´s music. The sound is raw but clear and that makes things even more aggressive. If you like brutal music with many rhythmic riffs and ideas then you have to check D.S.K.

Favorite tracks: "In Cold Blood" and "Forever Lost"

Contact: www.dsk.fr.fm

D.S.K. - PROMO CD 2002 (Independent , 2002)

Produced By: D.S.K.

Tracks: 1- Introduction to not, 2- My Fist, 3- En la Ciudad, 4- With My Organs

Cover Art by D.S.K.

This are the newest tracks by the guys in D.S.K. and we have to say that this tracks are a step forward when compared to their previous album. Here we have pure brutality in their music combined with the thrtash feeling that is their trademark. As in their previous recording here we have a combiantion of the fastest rhythms with killer fast drumming with the more rhythmic parts that give even more heaviness to their music. The sound is much better here than in the "Disruption of Soul and Kind" album, specially on the guitars that here sound more in the fron adding mroe power to the music. The drummer is a machine in the fastets parts and he is one of the columns that support D.S.K.´s music. Brutality guaranteed.

Favorite tracks: the three

Contact: www.dsk.fr.fm

DANIELE BRUSASCHETTO - BLUVIOLA (Independent , 2001)

Produced By: Daniele Brusaschetto

Tracks: 1- La Teoria del Flusso, 2- I Love You All, 3- Trascino, 4- Goffo, 5- Dimmi, 6- L´Uomo nero, 7- La Terra Dell´Arcobaleno, 8- Saliva in Raduno, 9- Blu/Viola

Cover Art by Luca Ruvilli

Daniele Brusaschetto is really an original musician. On this album he plays guitars and does a lot of the sampling and percussion creating a post industrial experimental music with heavy guitars that add disonances to the atmospheres that are created here. Total experimentation s the main thing here. The combination of calm passages with the more distorted ones is essential int racks like "La Teoria del Flusso". Brusaschetto also sings the lyrics here adding a lot of hooks that will get the listener really paying attention to the experimentation while he sings. The combination of percussion, electronics and guitars is the essence here and is a trademark of Daniele Brusaschetto´s music. Here we have a pure experimental album done in a modern context with use of heavy guitars and interesting rock elements.

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.danielebrusaschetto.it

DANIELE BRUSASCHETTO - BELLIES / PANCE (Independent , 1997)

Produced By: Daniele Brusaschetto

Tracks: 1- Puerile, 2- Sint, 3- Oggi, 4- Suture, 5-Agnello, 6- Struttura, 7- Ancora Scatole, 8- Braccia Meccaniche, 9- L´Orso Poeta

Cover Art by Daniele Brusaschetto

 Recorded at Aqualuce Studios

This is an album of pure experimentation again in the way that Daniele does it: that is with heavy and distorted guitars combined with programming, sampling and electronics. This album is like the darker side of "Bluviola". This has more violent tracks like "Puerile" and other compositions that are more hypnotical and have a darker feeling in them like for example "Sint". The sound of the recording is not as good as in "Bluviola" but it is raw and effective for what Brusaschetto wants to transmit to the listener. Here again the experimentation is the main thema and Daniele is really comfortable creating this amazing compositions that can take you through many moods within the same track. A really original release.

Favorite tracks: "Puerile", "Struttura" and "Braccia Mechaniche"

Contact: www.danielebrusaschetto.it

DANIELE BRUSASCHETTO - MAMMA FOTTIMI (Independent , 1999)

Produced By: Daniele Brusaschetto

Tracks: 1- Mamma Fotimi, 2- Schiavo, 3- Odore D´Infanzia, 4- Movements, 5- Aviogetto, 6- Forse, 7- Martire, 8- Chi Ha la Faccia Scucita, 9- Autorita, 10- Return at Home, 11- Noioso, 12- 12

Yet here we have another album of this italian musician. This one starts calmly with clean guitars and voices that start developing an ethereal melody that is the core of the title track. Here the experimentation is again dark in many places but in others like "Schiavo" sounds almost epic (with that rhythm that sounds like a big hammer banging your head). There is kind of a different approach to sound in tracks like this one because there is use of noises and sounds in a different context and Brusaschetto speaks a lot of the lyrics here. It is good to see that Daniele makes each recording different from the other one always exploring new territories in the musical underground. There is aggression in some aprts too and that makes this a powerful recording. Pure experimentation with good results. Thumbs up for Daniele Brusaschetto!

Favorite tracks: "Schiavo", "Martire" and "Return at home"

Contact: www.danielebrusaschetto.it

DARK ASSAULT - INSANITY IN SANITY (Independent , 2003)

Produced By: Dark Assault

Tracks: 1- Dark Assault, 2- Revenge, 3- Fire in the Sky, 4- Legions of Chaos, 5- Bastards from Hell, 6- The Mad mortician, 7- Soul Tormentor, 8- Metalheads

Cover Art by Volker Mahlenbrey and Stefan Müller

 Recorded in Balingen

Dark Assault is a band coming directly from Germany whose music is pure extreme thrash with strong eighties influence but combined with faster and more furious death metal in many of the guitar riffs and specially on the most extreme vocals. There are many thrash riffs here and they have a raw sound and at the same time a crushing quality in them that makes Dark Assault´s music really devastating. Plus we have here some guitar melodies like at 1:15 of "Fire in the sky" that gives a small break before all hell breaks loose again. The vocals here are really extreme giving a deathly feeling to the music and making each track sound even heavier. I have to remark the work of the drummer who is killer with interesting double bass and thrashing drumming that is one of the essential elements in Dark Assault´s music. This is extreme thrash/death that will leave you picking up the pieces of your brain.

Favorite tracks: "Revenge", "The Mad Mortician" and "Soul Tormentor"

Contact: www.darkassault.de

DAWN OF DEFIANCE - SUMMONING DEATH (Independent , 2003)

Produced By: Diego Sendra

Tracks: 1- Summoning Death, 2- Haunted Dreams

Cover Art by Tamara Depueto

"Summoning Death" opens with some clean guitars and programmed drums that create a dark environment to develope Diego Sendra´s compositions. Here the dark element is in the guitars but we have elements from death metal, thrash and some black metal combined in order to create this two compositions. The guitars here are fast and have a thrash metal style in some of the more rhythmic riffing but teh vocals are more extreme. I would like the vocals to use a little less reverb and be a little bit higher on the mix but I think that this can be changed in future recordings. The essence of Dawn of Defiance´s music is the combiantion of extreme and climatic moments like on "Haunted Dreams" and that is the signature of this one man band´s sound. A good recording coming directly from Uruguay with total power.

Favorite tracks: Both

Contact: www.dawnofdefiance.com

DEATH DU JOUR - GAMASHINOCH (Independent , 2003)

Produced By: Death Du Jour

Tracks: 1- All Flowers Rot (Transact Exitus), 2- Artificial Excessive Excessivities, 3- Icing World Hunger, 4- Gamashinoch

Cover Art by Helgorth

 Recorded at Haven Studios

Death Du Jour is pure brutality played by technically proficient musicians who deliver riff after riff smashing your skull with their sheer aggression. Here we have an ultra brutal vocalist that spits the lyrics with extreme power being guttural but clear at the same time. The guitars here are devastating creating a wall of sound against which the drums deliver their rhythmic storm with blast beats and fast patterns. One thing that I have to remark is the really good mix that this album has making Death Du Jour sound even more brutal. Here we have four tracks that are bursts of pure energy and are like a fist against your mouth delivered with great technical skills that allows the band to change patterns and rhythms really fluently. Pure aggression.

Favorite tracks: The four

Contact: www.deathdujour.net

DEATH MECHANISM - DEMO (Independent , 2003)

Produced By: Death Mechanism

Tracks: 1- To Die from their Birth, 2- Horror Lab - Secret lab, 3- Hidden Ambition, 4- War Mechanism

 Recorded at Remaster Studio

From the ashes of italian thrash metal band O.D.O. comes this new outfit called Death Mechanism. Here we have some of the features that the previous band had but they have evolved into a more brutal form of thrash metal emphasizing those riffs that are devastating and making things more extreme than on the old recordings. Death Mechanism is in the vein of bands like Kreator or Destruction or even some Dark Angel in some of the riffing. Here we have very fast fdrumming that adds brutality to the music and I really liked some complex passages in tracks like "Horror Lab" (2:00) where the drummer uses really well the ride cymbal creating a rhythmic passage that gives a different sound to that track. The sound is raw and at the same time powerful and I would recommend this guys to mix a little bit louder the guitars in order to make them sound really huge. Here we have pure thrash coming from Verona, Italy with modern sound and ideas.

Favorite tracks: "To die..." and "Hidden Ambition"

Contact: pine.p@libero.it

DEMONIZER - THRASHING FORCE...ATTACK !!! (independent , 2003)

Produced By: Demonizer

Tracks: 1- My Scars Will Remain, 2- Streets of Terror, 3- Forever Banned in Chaos, 4- Execution of a Christian, 5- Demonized, 6- Human Disease, 7- Forget the past, 8- Lysva´s Breast, 9- Thrashing Force...Attack!, 10- Only Skin Over Flesh

The guys in Demonizer have mixed thrash metal with some elements of death metal in order to develope their own sound. The guitars sound really thrash but faster, with elaborated riffs and arrangements and multiple changes. The drumming is fast and furious with a lot of double bass patterns . This guys are influenced by german thrash with bands like Kreator and Destruction that come to my mind while listening to this violent album. The vocals are really raw in the vein of Mille Petrozza and they fit really well the music. Despite being really wild the band sounds really precise, specially in some difficult tempo changes in tracks like "Streets of Terror". This is pure thrash done with good musicianship. Check it !

Favorite tracks: "Streets of Terror", "Human Disease" and "Forget the Past"

Contact: www.demonizer.be

DESPOTIC - LET THE MADNESS BEGIN! (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Alexei Leao and Marküs Feminela

Tracks: 1- Just Pain Will last, 2- Masterpiece of Life

Cover Art by Natal

 Recorded at AML Studios

This two tracks make you want more Despotic. Starting with pure metal riffing and a good guitar solo with great note placement here we have this band whose music can be described as thrash metal with some classical heavy metal. I mean, their riffs go beyond heavy metal and make use of more breaks or changes that are closer to thrash. The singer reminds me of eighties thrash metal singers who had a wide range in his voice and he reaches high pitches but uses mainly his middle range to fit better the music. There are a lot of changes and breaks on the two tracks and this is the trademark of Despotic´s music. The sound is good and the guitars sound really heavy and tight (and also sounding really clear in the guitar solos). I would like this guys to record more songs soon so I can listen more of their material that is really promisory.

Favorite tracks: Both

Contact: www.despotic.kit.net

EBOLA JOY - SITRA ACHRA (Independent , 2003)

Produced By: Ebola Joy

Tracks: 1- Dying World, 2- You have No Choice, 3- Your Life in Death, 4- Touch of Death.5- Empty, 6- Weary, 7- Stay, 8- Return (on the boundary of light and shadow)

 Recorded at Ebola Joy Home Studio

I have never listened the music of this czech band before and I have to say that this guys deserve to be one of the most famous bands in metal style. Why? Because of the amazing quality of their music. The way in which they have merged aggressive music with climatic parts is really original and extremely powerful at the same time. The combiantion of aggressive heavier than hell guitars with omniprescent keyboards. And thsi keyboards are essential in Ebola Joy´s music they give a lot of atmosphere to each of the composition and they add harmonies and orchestration. Plus the vocalist is reallyv ersatile sounding really sad and heartful thorigh all the recording. I have to remark the good mix that this album has making the band´s feelings and ideas be fully heard through the eight amazing compositions here. A must !!!

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.ebolajoy.cz

ENDITOL - DEMO 03 (Independent , 2003)

Produced By: Enditol

Tracks: There are eight progressive metal tracks here

Cover Art by Enditol

Enditol is really heavy and at the same time they deliver complex music with good musicianship. Their music is really progressive in the sense that they have the technical skills that allows the band to deliver many tempo changes, odd time signature rhythms (check track number two) and in the sense that they deliver great orchestration done with keyboards that contrast with the huge heavy guitar sound (Endito has a crushing rhythm guitar sound). The constant changes and the multiple arrangements that this guys are capable of doing while keeping their music really powerful is really amazing. There are even some parts with use of blast beats but this is only one trick in a million that the band can do. I was really swept away by this crushing band, as a guitarist I really admire the guitar solos here done with really good taste and excellent note placement. This is what I call good musicianship and good song development. You have to buy this demo or die!

Favorite tracks: All the tracks

Contact: http://members.shaw.ca/enditol

EVAN PARKER & PAUL LYTTON AT THE UNITY THEATRE (Psi Recs. , 2003)

Produced By: Derek Bailey

Tracks: 1- In the Midst of Laughter and Glee, 2- On Reflection, 3- Mild Steel Rivets for P.H., 4- The Dirlston Dirler, 5- Through Consensus, 6- To unity

 Recorded at Unity theatre, London 7/1/1975

The master Evan Parker has released another recording through Psi Recs. and this time he is interacting with paul Lytton who plays percussion, electronics and vocals. One thing that surprised me from the beginning is that here both musicians play with a lot of sounds and they also experiment with silences and different dynamics. Parker delivers his extreme sax lines while Lytton waits for the right moment to enter with his percussive sounds. One thing that this guys use a lot are the diferent intensities in the playing, so sometimes when the sax is in the front the percussion is doing some soft lines behind and then comes up to the fron and the sax goes back to deliver some less intense lines. The experimentation on this album is really extreme and Parker delivers manic lines through all the recording getting original sounds from his instrument. This is experimentation in its most extreme form.

Favorite tracks: "In the midst...", "Mild Steel..." and "To unity"

Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

EXIT TO ETERNITY - LIVE DEMO 2002 (Independent , 2002)

Produced By: Exit to Eternity

Tracks: 1- Mindless Pawns, 2- Kristalnacht, 3- From the Depths, 4- No More

Cover Art by Exit to Eternity

Exit to Et4ernity starts crushing your brain with their fast "Mindless Pawns" track. The band goes in the path of classic thrash metal bands like Slayer with a more modern sound. The guys here have a good complement of fast and more rhythmic riffs combined with complex parts (some drum parts are extremely difficult....just check the middle section of "Mindless Pawns"). One of the best things here is the multiple changes in riffs and tempo that this guys deliver on every track, going to extremely fast to a more rhythmic pace, then to a slower part and then back at full speed again. The srummer is really a killing machine and he knows how to change patterns and do a lot of double bass and complex passages with teh ride cymbal without missing a beat. The sound of the recording is raw and that is due to the live nature of the demo (I think this guys on stage must be really a killer band and I would love to see them some day). Here you have extreme thrash done with a lot of musicianship.

Favorite tracks: The four

Contact: www.exittoeternity.com

FOREST OF IMPALED - FORWARD THE SPEARS (Red Stream Recs. , 2003)

Produced By: Forest of Impaled

Tracks: 1- Forward the Spears, 2- The Fall of the Trinity, 3- Thy Mighty Servant, 4- I Am The Temple to Eternal Death, 5- Hand of Vengeance, 6- Sons of Cain, 7- The Call of Death´s Dark Horn, 8- Orgy of Unearthly Delights, 9- Into the Mouth of Oblivion, 10- Death I Have Become Thee

Cover Art by Deather and David Najbrt

 Recorded at Studio One

Some orchestrated sounds open this album with some sounds coming directly from some type of movie before the devastating sound of Forest of Impaled enters the scene. Their music is a combination of three devastating styles taking to the extreme: death metal, black metal and thrash. This styles are put together in Forest of Impaled and the three combined are pure brutality from beginning to end. One thing that is remarkable is that the band is extremely tight through all the recording and they have achieved a crushing sound here. Plus, they know how to make each song memorable. For example they through a bass part and spoken vocals in the title track adding a catchy rhythmic riff before getting at full speed. Pure double bass druming with great tachnical skills is present in all the compositions here. If I have to define the music of the band I would say that they deliver a very bestial music but with originality and musicianship. A recording designed to blow your head !

Favorite tracks: "Forward the Spears", "Hand of Vengeance" and "Orgy of unearthly delights"

Contact: www.redstream.org

FRANCK BALESTRACCI - EXISTENCES INVISIBLES (Carbon 7 Recs. , 2003)

Produced By: Carbon 7

Tracks: 1- Screenplay of a movie, 2- Adrift in a city, 3- Le Veilleur Sous la Lune, 4- Our Inner theater, 5- Chaos Anterieur, 6- Obscure Part, 7- Les Desespoirs de Christa, 8- Baird Ts Memory, 9- Prelude Polaire, 10- Telle est La Raison, 11- Electric Day, 12- La Danse des Sons, 13- Plan Sequence, 14- Parcours de Memoire

 Recorded at Franck´s home studio

Frnack Balestracci delivers on thsi album fourteen compositions that can be described as fusion of several styles with heavy empasis on keyboards and great development on each of the works presented here. Balestracci plays all the instruments here and experiments heavily in all the tracks developing many different rhythms and melodies. This guy is really innovative in his idea creating amazing bass lines that really up in the front of the mix (I liked that) and that contrast with the keybaords and sounds that Balestracci delivers here. The programmed drums sound really natural and there are amazing melodies going on in all the compositions. There are many tempo changes and heavy experimentation with atmospheres througha ll the recording (check tracks like "Le Veilleur sous la Lune" to see how Franck puts many different things together creating a great track) I have to remark the really good mix that this album has making each of the instruments that Franck has recorded dound really pure and shining. Pure fusion and great musicianship !

Favorite tracks: "Adrift in a City", "Chaos Anterieur" and "LA danse des Sons"

Contact: www.carbon-7.com

FRODE GJERSTAD & DEREK BAILEY - NEARLY A D (Emanem Disc , 2003)

Produced By: Martin Davidson

Tracks: 1- Bell, 2- Stairs, 3- Studio, 4- A Cup of tea, 5- Nearly A D, 6- Leaving it There

  Cover Aet by Camill Sørvik

I always enjoy listening to Derek Bailey. He is the ultimate guitarist in what is concerned to improvisational and spontaneous music. Here he is creating interesting duets with saxophonist Frode Gjerstad where originality and spontaneity are the main feeling. It is surprising to listen the range that Gjerstad achieves with his instruments, going from very low sounds to really high pitched ones within the same phrases. Plus he can combine this extreme lines with more melodic and warm ones and then change into wild dissonances. Meanwhile Bailey creates rhythms and chords over which the lines are played and he improvises in a really extreme way getting sounds that can be achieved after exploring the heart and soul of the guitar. You will find on this album many original ideas and they are played with great quality going for the most extreme side of spontaneous music.

Favorite tracks: "Bell", "Stairs" and "Nearly A D"

Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

FUCK...I´M DEAD VS. ENGORGED - SPLIT CD (No Escape Recs. , 2003)

Produced By: No Escape Recs.

ENGORGED: 9- Alien Contamination, 10- Vomiting Butchers Redux, 11- Death metal Attack 2000, 12- the Final Giallo, 13- Surgery Drugs and Rock´n´roll

Cover Art by Sascha Pahlke

Then comes Engorged with their combination of death metal with some grind parts but with more charachteristics of death metal in their music. This guys are fast but have more changes in their music than the previous band and some of the riffs are quite difficult to be played as precisely as the band does. Here we have a drummer who is a beast playing this fast rhythms and technical passages (with use of ride cymbal and very intelligent use of snare drum). The band is brutal as a hammer smashing your brain but they have a good equilibrium between brutality and technical skills. A must for lovers of pure brutality.

Favorite tracks: "Anal Abattoir" and all the Engorged tracks.

Contact: www.noescaperecords.com

GALACTIC INDUSTRY - PERFECT LIFE? (Popron music , 2002)

Produced By: Galactic Industry and Mros

Tracks: 1- In the Infinite, 2- There´s No Way, 3- Regardless, 4- All we are Pieces, 5- Perfect Life, 6- Fall Down, 7- Point of Break, 8- You, 9- Would-be Stars, 10- Slight, 11- Worse than THC, 12- Chemical reaction

Cover Art by Andy Fierla

 Recorded at Citron Studio

What a powerful beginning! Starting with "In the Infinite" the guys in Galactic Industry deliver riffs combined with many electronic elements and keyboards that soon become their trademark. Their music is definitely metal but in a different way to all the styles that we know... they have the heavy guitar riffs but when combined with the keys and electronics and with the climatic vocals done by George 13 they are twisted into a completely different form. One good thing here is that each of the songs here are really memorable sticking eaily in your mind. The rhythm section plays tight patterns that give a lot of rhithmic sense to Galactic Industry´s music. The twelve tracks here are designed to crush you and at the same time to experiment new sounds and atmospheres. This is a really original album.

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.galactic.cz

GENERAL SURGERY / THE COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINERS - SPLIT CD (Razorback Recs. , 2003)

Produced By: Razorback Recs

THE COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINERS: 8- Bloatation (repugnant refloatation), 9- Cruentous Mess, 10- Forensic Photography, 11- A Brief Discourse on wound ballistics, 12- Cooperative Cadaveric Custody, 13- Prosector´s Bane: Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

 Recorded at Bacup Studios (General Surgery) and Tillinghast Workshop (TCME)

This is a really extreme split CD that will appeal to lovers of extreme death and grindcore.

Favorite tracks: "Cauterization...", "Decomposer", "Cruentous Mess", "Cooperative..."

Contact: www.razorbackrecords.com

GHOUL - MANIAXE (Razorback Recs. , 2003)

Produced By: Brad Kobylczak

Tracks: 1- Pleassant Screams / Forbidden Crypts, 2- Maggot Hatchery, 3- Sewer Chewer, 4- Ghoul Hunter, 5- Numbskull, 6- Boneless, 7- Maniaxe, 8- Mechanized Death, 9- The End?, 10- What a Wonderful World

Cover Art by Jake Carns

 Recorded at Studio 880

This album opens with a climatic intro called "Pleasant Screams" that fast enough leads us to "Forbidden Crypts". Ghouls music has a lot of death metal in the vocals and a lot of thrash and pure metal in some of the guitar riffs. I find some Carcass influence here and there but this influences are only a small part og Ghoul´s extremely violent music. Here we have ultra fast riffs, some of them more complex and some of them more simple and effective, and we also have a lot of fast drumming that is devastating. Dissector and Digestor have made a really tight job here constructing the skeleton of each song with their ultra distorted guitars. There are some grind moments but the main parts of the tracks here are pure death metal, emphasized by the guttural and screaming vocals. Here you have brutality with good guitars and memorable riffs.

Favorite tracks: "Forbidden Crypts", "Ghoul Hunter" and "Maniaxe"

Contact: www.razorbackrecords.com

GOD DETHRONED - INTO THE LUNGS OF HELL (Recs. , 200)

Produced By: Henrik Larsson

Tracks: CD 1:1- Into the lungs of Hell, 2- The Warcult, 3- enemy of the State, 4- Soul Sweeper, 5- Slaughtering the Faithful, 6- Subliminal, 7- The Tombstone, 8- Gods of Terror

 Recorded at Berno Studios

Here we have the new God Dethroned album and this comes with a bonus CD with live tracks and unreleased material, covers and rerecordings. Plus, the new songs are as devastating as always but this time mixed with a more compact sound that gives an extra strength to the compositions. It is remarkable the work of Arien on drums that delivers brutal parts but with a lot of technical skills and originality in some passages and patterns. The guitars have that special God Dethroned sound, sort of a mix between death metal and thrash metal with a really modern sound that is their trademark. The compositions are well developed and one thing that always surprise in God Dethroned´s music is the way in which they manage to make their songs really memorable despite being extremely aggressive. This album is a must have.

Favorite tracks: "Into the Lungs of Hell", "Soul Sweeper", "Subliminal"

Contact: www.metalblade.com

GODSTOMPER - HELL´S GRIM TYRANT (Enterruption Recs. , 2003)

Produced By: Godstomper

Tracks: 1- Giving Up on Humanity (intro), 2- Symptoms Don´t Appear, 3- Mountain View Cops Suck, 4- Semen in the Eye of Seth Putnam, 5- Straight Edge Massacre, 6- Wasted Life, 7- Eat Me, I´m a Carrot, 8- Real Suffering, 9- Keeping it Real, 10- Punishment Due, 11- International Audio Corporate Take Down, 12- Killing for Exxon, 13- Burn this !, 14- Damage is Good, 15- Assuck is dead, 16- Emo Purgatory is an Empty paper Cup, 17- I´m not Straight Edge, 18- Dead Pets, 19- Misery index (instrum), 20- Devastation Now!, 21- Hell´s Grim Tyrant (outro)

Cover Art by Exxx Ressler

 Recorded at Cesspool Concrete Bunker

This is one of those bands that sound extremely heavy and yet they are really slow paced in many places and they play rhythmically in others and thendo a grind part. Here we have some feedback noises too and a really raw guitar sound. There is some hardcore influence in tracks like "Semen...". This are twenty one tracks that are difficult to label but that let you banging your head against the wall with their sheer power and aggression. The combination of ultrafast parts with more rhythmic ones is the essence of Godstomper´s music and the vocalist sounds really distorted fitting really well the music. The drumming is simple and effective, sometimes chaotic in the fastest parts and keeping really well the pace in the most rhythmic parts. With no doubt an original and aggressive album.

Favorite tracks: "Symptoms...", "Wasted life" and "Damage is Good

Contact: www.enterruption.com

GRAVITAR - FREEDOM´S JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR NEVER GETTING PAID (Enterruption Recs. , 2003)

Produced By: Gravitar

Tracks: 1- Freedom´s just another word for never getting paid, 2- Freedom´s just another word for never getting paid, 3- Freedom´s just another word for never getting paid, 4- Freedom´s just another word for never getting paid, 5- Freedom´s just another word for never getting paid

Cover Art by Anthiony Skirvin

 Recorded in Dearborn

What a good band is this one!! Full of experimenting, the album opens with a King Crimson like opening with interesting drumming and clean but processed guitars. This first title track is over fifteen minutes long and you will never get bored listening this trio that has two guitars, horns, drumming and a lot of experimenting. Here we have a band that creates passages making the instruments interact and delivering really atmospheric and progressive parts. There are weird dissonances where the band delivers interesting lines that clashes one against the other always creating new melodies and always surprising. The guitars are processed and use a lot of effects in order to create new sounds. I have to recommend this album to all lovers of experimental music done in a rocking context and also to everyone looking for new or fresh ideas.

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.enterruption.com

HAEMOTH / AD NOCTEM - MORTUALES DELECTI SPLIT CD (Hohenstaufen Recs. , 2003)

Produced By: Hohenstaufen Recs.

AD NOCTEM: 9- Seance, 10- Support the Satanic Elite, 11- Those to be Exterminated, 12- Rex Tremendae Majestetis, 13- Pure Desecration, A New Hope Perverted, 14- Sentenced Under a Shroud of Darkness (A Requiem For the Burning Souls), 15- Chaos Finally Achieved

This are two bands that will be surely be worshiped by lovers of the most extreme black metal.

Favorite tracks: "Hoath´s Arrival", "Funeral Possession", "Support the Satanic Elite" and "Rex Tremendae..."

Contact: hohenstaufenrecs@hotmail.com

HARMONY DIES - IMPACT (Morbid Recs. , 2003)

Produced By: Harmony Dies

Tracks: 1- Narcotic, 2- Blessing, 3- Toxicated, 4- Illfated, 5- Impact, 6- Farewell, 7- Inside, 8- Suffering, 9- InstruMetal, 10- Silence, 11- Subliminal

Mastered by Andreas Hilbert

 Recorded at Soundforge Recordings