Produced by Michael Heinrich and Ab:Norm

Mixed by Guido Hoizmann

Tracks: 1- Forward; 2- Upstairs; 3- Bleed for Me; 4- Stream; 5- Next Generation; 6- The Third; 7- Fear; 8- Abnormity; 9- Inside; 10- Backward

What a drummer has this band....he is a nightmare, doing a lot of double bass patterns and being fast in the blast beats. Also he plays a lot of breaks and changes and he has a great sound similar to the drums in Fear Factory. Ab: Norm is a powerful and brutal death metal band with many arrangements (in fact the tracks here have many guitar riffs each one and that is great ). The vocals in this band are guttural and fit perfectly the violent music that this guys play. Also I have to remark tha great job that the bass player does through all the recording giving support both to the guitars and to the drums. Another thing that caught my attention is the combination of this music with the aforementioned drums sound that gives sort of an electronic feeling to the tracks and makes the song even heavier. Check this extremely brutal band now !!

Favorite tracks: "Upstairs"; "Next Generation" and "Abnormity"

Produced by Alienation Mental

Recorded at Hostivar Studio

Cover Art by Radim Dvorak

Tracks: 1- The Restricted Cerebral Capacity; 2- Screw; 3- Psychogenes; 4- Crossed Out from the List of the Dead; 5- Children of South; 6- The Scathing Feeling Inside of Me; 7- Blind Alley; 8- One of Infinity; 9- Instru-mental; 10- Apocalyptic Vision of the Future

BRUTALITY!!!!!! Here you have Brutality at full speed and with a guitar sound heavier than hell !!!! But this band uses a lot of elements that are not typical in brutal death metal: to name just a few: odd times signatures in some riffs, bass lines with a clean sound, drums patterns that are not typical of the style (despite using blast beats in many places), interesting and technical guitar solos with really good note placement. Then comes the really good sound that this recording has that remark in a really great manner the achievements that the band has made here. I liked a lot the riffs and specially the breaks where the drums remain alone with the bass playing some solo lines like on "The Restricted Cerebral Capacity". This guys have really a lot to offer to fans of extreme music.

Favorite tracks: "Psychogenes"; "Children of South" and "One of Infinity"

Produced by Siggi Bemm and Angel Dust

Recorded at Woodhouse Studios

Cover Art by Gerald Axelrod

Tracks: 1- The Human Bondage; 2- Inhuman; 3- Unreal Soul; 4- Disbeliever; 5- Forever; 6- Unite; 7- Got This Evil; 8- The Cultman; 9- Freedom Awaits; 10- Killer

Here we have the return of Angel Dust after their "Enlighten the Darkness" album. This CD m"OF Human Bondage" is their sixth album (their fourth after their reunion in 1997). Here we see Angel Dust achieving great maturity and showing us their best material up to date. The emphasis on this CD is on the strength and heaviness of the songs. This album shows us the arrival of Richie Wilkinson on guitars replacing Bernd. The guitars are as always fast and furious dropping some power chords in the choruses to meke them more catchy and letting vocalist Dirk Thurisch to introduce his great mid ranged melodies. The sound of the CD is amazing (as it was in their previous album) and here the kmeyboards are clearer than before achieving their climax in tracks like " Inhuman". This CD should be on any metal collection !!

Favorite tracks: All the CD. A great demonstration of heavy power metal the way it should be

Produced by Jeff Waters

Recorded at Watersound Studios

Cover Art by Joachim Luetke

Tracks: 1- Denied, 2- The Perfect Virus, 3- Battered, 4- Carnival Diablos, 5-Shallow Grave, 6- Time Bomb, 7- The Rush, 8- Insomniac, 9- Liquid Oval, 10- Epic of War, 11- Hunter Killer

Annihilator is back and heavier than ever. Two things add a lot of heaviness to the music: 1- The guitar riffs are more devastating (while technical as always) and faster and they have a bigger sound than in all the previous albums; 2- Joe Comeau´s vocals are really powerful and they make the songs more raw and heavy. The drums sound strangely a bit raw (specially the cymbals and hihat) and this adds also to the heavier result. Annihilator has taken the elments of their first two albums, have modernized and accelerated them and add a much better sound in all the instruments and then they have come with this "Carnival Diablos". I think this is the direction which I like in Annihilator´s music: Their combination of heaviness with melodies and interesting arrangements. A lot of riffs reminded me of eighties thrash metal and I like this element to reappear in Annihilator´s music. Great heavy recording!!!!

Favorite tracks: "Battered", "Time Bomb" and "The Rush"

Produced by Anoxia

Cover art by Anoxia

Tracks: 1- Shaped like a Circle, 2- Without Beauty, 3- Kingdom

This guys form Denmark know exactly which is the best point for mixing heavy riffs with melodies. A great part of this is due to having four independent personalities: a great singer that goes from doing interesting melodies with his voice to doing a Cradle of Filth-like scream (this guys has a great vocal range and knows how to use it); a great guitarist that plays heavy riffs and clean guitar arpeggios (like the ones in the beginning of "Without Beauty"), a bass player with a lot of imagination as you can listen through the three tracks contained here and an imaginative drummer who accentuates in a really good way the songs. Maybe mixing the guitars a little bit louder would add some to the final result but the thing is that this three tracks leave you asking for more Anoxia !!!!

Favorite tracks: The three contained here

Produced by Arabesque

Cover Art by Arabesque

Tracks: 1- Inner Voice; 2- Last Attempt; 3- Haunted; 4- Instant Daydream

Arabesque is a band that plays what can be defined as progressive hard rock or progressive metal...They have intrincated compositions with excellent musicianship. Many of the arrangements are done by the keyboards and the guy who plays them has a lot of technical skills. There are heavy guitars doing interesting and powerful riffs and many licks that give a lot of strength to the songs. I liked a lot the combination of male and female vocals and I think that Katia Salemi´s ánd Nicole´s vocal range is extremely beautifula nad fits perfectly Arabesque´s songs. The drummer and bassist have a lot of technical skills to play this difficult style with many changes and moods. You can see this through the whole recording where the guys follow the guitars, do arrangements on their own or create intrincated rhyths or simple phrases. A great release.

Favorite tracks: The four contained here are really well devloped musical pieces. And I love Katia and Nicole´s vocals

Produced by Ascension

Cover Art by Ascension

Tracks: 1- Into Coppice; 2- Black in Men; 3- Two; 4- Me, the Lunatic; 5- Vertigo; 6- Bloodred Letter Day; 7- Paying the Debt of Nature

Ascension is a death metal band that have the characteristic of using a lot of melodies in their music and a lot of really technical passages. The music on this CD has many breaks and changes and you can listen that this guys are really well rehearsed. There are two types of vocals...one that is more guttural and other that is closer to Kreator´s Mille Petrozza. One thing that I love of this guys is the jazz influence that they have....yes!! they throw jazz lines in all their compositions with clean and distorted guitars and I really like the way it sounds. Also there are many guitar solos which I liked alot because they are done with really good taste and an amazing techncal skills. The bass player also helps to the technical side of Ascension´s music playing excelenet melodic lines that one could imagine in the hands of some fusion or jazz player. Thumbs up for this amazing band and I hope they release their new material soon because I am a fan of them now !! This is one of the CDs of the month

Favorite tracks: All the tracks contained here.

Produced by Boban Milunovic

Recorded at Boom Room Studios

Tracks: 1- New Gothicism; 2- Hollow; 3- Requiem To the Sun; 4- Turnin Away; 5- Dream Sequence; 6- Hate Tunes; 7- Garden of Eden; 8- Abuse Me; 9- Desire; 10- Symphony of Sadness; 11- Mortal; 12- Dissonant Trip; 13- The Lack of Inventive Genius; 14- Through

Here we have a heavy gothic band with intense and dark melodies but also with powerful guitar riffs that makes the songs really hard and contrast with the more calm passages where they use clean guitars and arpeffios. The first thing that strikes you here is the sound of the release that has nothing to envy to the one that bands like for example Anathema have. A key element to Autumn Clan´s music is the voice of their singer and guitarist Jens Hermann who sings in a very ethereal manner but reflecting a lot of anguish in his vocals. The vocal lines and the clean arpeggios contrast with the heavy riffs and I liked a lot the tracks where they are put together such as in the end of "Hollow". There is a lot of feeling of sadness here and I like the way in which this guys reflect it through their music, really dark and powerful.

Favorite tracks: "New Gothicism", "Dream Sequence" and "Abuse Me"

Produced by Martin Davidson

Recorded by Adma Skeaping

Cover by Barry Guy

Tracks: 1- Trio One; 2- Trio two; 3- Trio three; 4- Trio Four; 5- Trio Five; 6- Trio Six; 7- Trio Seven; 8- Trio Eight; 9- Trio nine, 10- Trio ten; 11- Trio Eleven

Here is another recording by a couple of musicians whose great music we have reviewed before: This time double bass master Barry Guy and piano magician Howard Riley are joined by Philipp Wachsmann on violin to create some trio improvisations. And the result is excellent, sometimes with a lot of cohession and osmetimes chaotic but with the musicians always in control of the spontaneous compositions. There are two types of trio tracks here: the first eight ones that were recorded in December 1977 and the last three that were recorded in January 1979 and you can feel the difference among this two groups of improvisations. Also we can listen that some trios are done in order to create atmospheres like for example "Trio Three" by using some double bass and violin sustained note while experimenting with the other instruments and some other trios are more like experimentation with melodic and chaotic lines played by each of the musicians (As an example you should check "Trio Four"). A must for lovers of spontaneous music.

Favorite tracks: "Trio One"; "Trio Four" and "Trio ten"

Recorded at Euphony Studios

Cover Art by Gudda

Tracks: 1- Coffinfucker; 2- Master of Violence; 3- Gore in Gore out; 4- Arabian Psycho; 5- Night of the ultimate Mosh; 6- The rolling massgrave; 7- Above, where are you?; 8- Catmouth; 9- Gut to Kill; 10- Bloodshed attack; 11-Eter nal Emotions; 12- Slaughter of flies; 13- Bowelthrasher; 14- Kid of the brown vomit; 15- the evil pig; 16- Everything is shit; 17- Dance on the frozen desert; 18- Crowes in the nose; 19- Death and insanity; 20- Carmolesting dead; 21- Suicide Maniac; 22- Victim of the grind

I have to say that this band surprised me... I expected only another grind band but Birdflesh is not like that. In fact they have moments where they play straight grindcore but there are many places where they play sort of extreme death metal and they show a lot of ideas such as the climatic passage in the first half of "Gore in, gore Out" or the one or two seconds before entering the more hardcore riff in "Night of the ultimate mosh" . This band is fast and brutal and has extremely brutal riffs together with screaming and guttural vocals. But the good thing here is that they throw short ideas here and there to make things more interesting. The sound of this release is good and you can listen this raw band in all their splendour because the instruments are well mixed and the guitars got the sound they deserve. If you are a lover of speed and brutality Birdflesh can be one of your favorite bands.

Favorite tracks: "Gore in Gore Out"; "The rolling massgrave" and " Dance on the Frozen Desert"

Produced by Braindead

Recorded with Akai DPS12. Jan-June 1999

Cover art by Nicole Streit

Tracks: 1- Circle of Fire; 2- Burning Down, 3- Addicted to Human Flesh; 4- Sudden Death; 5- Die Without Hope; 6- Face to Face; 7- Another Waste of Time; 8- Dreams of Pain; 9- Beyond the Silence; 10- You Die

Braindead comes to us directly from Switzerland and their music is really melodic death metal. Here on this CD they have achieved a great mix of heavy and raw death metal with interesting guitar melodies. In fact this melodies are the main ingredient of the band´s music and I liked a lot the way in which they are played contrasting with the heavy guitar riffs. David´s vocals are raw and fit perfectly the music of the bandmaking the result heavier. I would like the drums to be mixed a little bit higher (as they did on their next album "Crossing the Device") because in that way the double bass patterns and some interesting passages can be listened better. I like a lot the tracks where the riffs are more rhythmic and heavy as hell like for example "Burning Down". A great mix between fast and heavy songs complemented by interesting melodies and atmospheres.

Favorite tracks: "Burning Down"; "Face To Face" and "Dreams of Pain"

Produced by Braindead

Recorded at Megapeng Studios

Cover by Nicole Streit

Tracks: 1- We´re not Stupid; 2- The New Kingdom; 3- Pain in My Brain; 4- Ghost of Madness; 5- Rain on my Grave; 6- Changes; Bonus tracks: 7- Entfüehrt; 8- So Nit!

What a progress has made this band !! In fact their music has changed a lot since their previous album "For the Last Hour". The main change is in the vocals department where David has decided to use cleaner vocals (I think there is some harmonizing in the vocals too and choruses). This type of vocals make the result more interesting because it adds another dimension to the band´s songs (even if David did not like the final result and even if I miss the rawer vocals sometimes). Another welcomed change is in the guitar sound which this time is like more compressed and sounds heavier than in the previous recording. In fact the whole CD sounds better produced and the tracks have been designed with more hooks in order to be more memorable. A good adavance from this great band !!

Favorite tracks: "The New Kingdom"; "Pain in My Brain" and "Changes"

Produced by Kevin Gutierrez and Brave

Recorded at Assembly Line Studios

Cover Art by Mark Riddick

Tracks: 1- Escape; 2- I believe; 3- Falling Into Bliss; 4- Trapped Inside; 5- Before Nightfall; 6- To Dream Again; 7- Bleed Into Me; 8- New Beginning; 9- Out of Focus; 10- Candle in the Dark; 11- Waiting All This Time

Here we have this band formerly called Arise From Thorns whose album "Before an Audience of Stars" I reviewed many issues back. For those who doesn´t know the band, Brave is a really melodic yet heavy band with a lot of acoustic guitars parts, some use of keayboards and rhythms and with the amazingly beautiful vocals of Michelle Looze. This time we see a real progress in the compositions where each track has a beginnin a middle part and a climax really well developed. And the greatest thing here is the melodic sense that this band has: it seems to me that they have many and many melodies flowing through their minds and they know exactly how to put them together (some of the vocal lines are of extreme beauty...you will not believe it). There is a certain The Gathering influence in some parts which I like a lot but played with Brave´s own identity. A great beginning for this band with a new name !!

Favorite tracks: All the CD is bautiful and extremely melodic. Thumbs up for this band !!!

Produced by Neil Kernon and Cannibal Corpse

Recorded at Sonic Ranch Studios

Cover Art by Vincent Locke

Tracks: 1- Savage Butchery, 2- Hatchet to the Head; 3- Pit of Zombies; 4- Dormant Bodies Bursting; 5- Compelled to Lacerate; 6- Drowning in Viscera; 7- Hung and Bled; 8- Sanded Faceless; 9- Mutation of the Cadaver; 10- When Death Replaces Life; 11- Grotesque

Cannibal Corpse is back with a new album!!! This time their music has not change a lot compared to "Blood thirst" (and maybe this is the good thing about Cannibal Corpse). They have added some riffs which have more hooks than ususally like the one in the middle section of "Pit of Zombies" or in "Dormant Bodies Bursting". What has changed is the sound of the recording. This time the sound is more huge than ever, specially the guitars...where in albums like "Tomb of the Mutilated" or "Butchered at Birth" you could listen a fast guitar doing riffs here you can listen instead an inmense wall of sound thanks to this guys Jack Owen and Pat O´Brien. A lot of this great sound is also thanks to the rhythm section of Alex Webster and Paul Mazurkiewicz which are tighter than ever. And Neil Kernon has added a lot of power to the mix which is an excellent one. One thing that I would like them to add more are the good guitar solos because I like the way they enter in the tracks and add a new side to Cannibal´s music.

Favorite tracks: "Hatchet to the Head"; "When Death Replaces Life" and "Drowning in Viscera"

Produced by Carnal Diafragma

Recorded at Fors Studio

Tracks: 1- Ventilace Ritniho otvoru; 2- Scabies; 3- Deformation of anal vice, penis and vulva; 4- Pulverized Testicle; 5- Carrie, go home!; 6- A examination by Rectoscope; 7- Esmeralda, 8- Fist Fucking; 9- Misfortune in love, 10- I feel sick of skinheads; 11-Bakteriocidni Chemoterapeutikum sirokeho spektra; 12- Gorgeous Diphteria; 13- Zapusteni Kompresorove hadice do aortalni trubice; 14- 3 litres of Sperm; 15- Repulsion, 16- Nechtene urezani penisu rezavou pilkou na zelezo; 17- Vomited Shits; 18- Stench Vaginalis; 19- Bloody Issue of Sperm; 20- Satiated Necrophiliac; 21- Mastne Vystriky...; 22- Consequence (cover of gut); 23- IN vitro fertilization; 24- Nepochopitelne vysrani mlynku na kavu; 25- Deranged menarche injection; 26- v hlubinah neuronu

This band is a grind nightmare!!! They have tracks that are short and extremely fast and their riffs are really powerful. I like the way in which the album is mixed (I would like to have the cymbals and hihat mixed more clearly to add more clarity to the fastest parts). The guitar sound is really raw (as grind guitars should be) but mix loud enough to make the music here really energetic. There are several types of vocals on this release: one is very guttural and fits the music in the best way possible, another one is more screaming and then there is a third one that is much more thin that I would like it to be replaced by the guttural one. This are 26 tracks of pure grind madness with good sound and many interesting ideas going on. Fans of grind and brutal death will like this release.

Favorite tracks: "Misfortune in Love"; " 3 Litres of Sperm" and " Satiated Necrophiliac "

Recorded at Studio Shaark

Cover Art by Martin Hudak

Tracks: 1- Feeble Minds of the Nation; 2- Different world; 3- Yes ! Legitimate; 4- Same Choices; 5- Life is About Knowledge; 6- My inner mate; 7- Fear of Indiference, 8- The best in the end; 9- You are your own limit; 10- Throw your mask away; 11- Harsh Future; 12- Adios a las corridas; 13- For money but from the heart; 14- Don´t let her consume; 15- Frenzied Imagination; 16- Loss of identity; 17- Brutes and Animals; 18- Development; 19- You are a poor wretch; 20- kokos; 21- Harmless Citizen; 22- Feeling of Blame; 23- We are also people; 24- Clean Shaven Brains; 25- The more the higher; 26- Suicide

One of the most bnrutal releases of 2002 comes from this czech band. Full speed combined with crushing rhythms and and extremely huuuuuge guitar sound are the main features in Cerebral Turbulency´s music. A guttural voice that devastates the listener spitting the lyrics full of hate is another fundamental ingredient of the music contained on this CD (sometimes this voice is combined with another one that is more of the screaming type...almost hardcore) . A good surprise is the good sound that this release has which allows the listener to hear all the elements but fundamentally the guitars that are essential to feel Cerebral Turbulency´s power. Palms go to the drums who is like a rhythm machine with no mercy for the people that listen this CD...he plays fast and precise with a lot of use of the snare drum and double bass. A must for fans of brutality.

Favorite tracks: "The Best in the end" ; "Frenzied Imagination" and " Development"

Produced by Ciribus

Cover by Ciribus

Tracks: 1- Palace of Shame; 2- Sifting through your pieces; 3- Money is Emphysema; 4- Septic Regurgitant; 5- Bridges to Burn; 6- Never Quit, never Die; 7- River Styx; 8- Survival of the Fittest; 9- Spewings Chunks of Monstruous Proportions

Ciribus is an brutal as hell band and here we have this release that is brutality from beginning to end. Technical riffs, hyper fast passages, blast beats and crushing rhythms. I liked a lot the use of pinch harmonics in the guitar riffs that this band does and I would like them to use a lot of ideas like the ones in "Never Quit, Never Die" which I liked a lot. The vocals are really guttural (there are some Mortician influences here which I liked a lot) as the style demands and make a good contrast with the voice that is more thin and screaming. Palms go to the sound that is really clear and allows us to feel the brutality of the recording in a relly clear way (this is useful specially in the fastest parts where you can distinguish clearly all the instruments and know eactly what is playing each musician). I can say with no doubt that this is one of the most brutal releases of 2002.

Favorite tracks: "River Styx"; "Bridges to Burn" and "Never quit, never die"

Recorded at Deerfield Beach

Cover Art by Aaron Fox

Tracks: 1- Search for Purpose; 2- Eternal Suffering; 3- Shadowed Horizon; 4- Secrets No longer; 5- Unveiling the Path; 6- Lying in Wait; 7- Cloaked in Isolation; 8- Demon Winds; 9- Remnants of Existence; 10- Confronting the Absence; 11- Cast from the Heavens; 12- Realms of Conquest

Here we have a death/black metal supergroup!! Yes, Council of the Fallen has members from Hate Eternal and Broken Hope (Sean Baxter also plays in Em Sinfonia). The music is climatic death metal with an emphasis in brutality and dark atmospheres. Here we have crushing guitar riffs with extremely guttural vocals and also we have melodies created with the guitars in order to give another side to the deathly music that Council of the Fallen does. The production is really good (Derek Roddy produced this CD himself) and you can feel the power dripping from all the instruments that are played on this CD. The tracks are well composed and well developed giving the listener all the brutality that it deserves and also a certain amount of melody that is needed to give the tracks their Council of the Fallen identity. A must for lovers of brutality done with quality.

Favorite tracks: "Eternal Sufering"; "Shadowed Horizon" and "Confronting the Absence

Recorded at Raw Sound Studios

Cover by Christa Bouffil

Tracks: 1- Scared; 2- Sudden Death; 3- Nothin´; 4- Rebirth; 5- Fourth Dimension; 6- ...And Lost; 7- The Prince; 8- A trip of Confidence; 9- Remember; 10- People are People; 11- Brothers in Mind; 12- Listen (live)

Here we have Couragous new release (their latest one before this was "Listen" and I reviewed it on Music Extreme some issues back) and their music has progressed a lot. Here we have the elements that are the main ingredients of Couragous music: heavy riffs, a really good vocalist who knows how to do the melodies that the music requires to achieve the feeling they are searching for and also when to do a more deathlike voice, two killer guitarists that can do melodies, ultra fast riffs and good melodic solos in a great way. Here we have also a great bass player that knows how to support the ehythms of the band and also knows how to do the arrangements that are needed to give a twist to the music. The sound of this recording is much better than the one in "Listen" and this helps a lot to the sound of Couragous and makes their music even more powerful. Plus, the band has developed a great ear for hooks: their songs are really well constructed and have memorable choruses which is essential. Agreat step forward from this great band.

Favorite tracks: "Sudden Death"; "...And Lost" and " A Trip of Confidence".

Produced by Cradle of Filth

Tracks: 1- Dance Macabre; 2- For Those Who Died; 3- Camilla´s Masque; 4- Her Ghost in the Fog; 5- Malice Through the Looking Glass; 6- Hell Awaits; 7- Hallowed be thy Name; 8- Sodomy and Lust; 9- Once Upon Atrocity; 10- From the Cradle to Enslave

Here is a promo CD of this band that most of you know really well. This CD has some interesting things like some of the band´s hits ("From the Cradle to Enslave" and "Malice Through the Looking Glass" just to name a few of them) that have a great sound and interesting arrangements (keyboards and female vocals are the most significative ones) which are the trademarks of the band. Also here we have really good covers where I would like to remark the great versions of Slayer´s "Hell Awaits" and Iron Maiden´s "Hallowed be thy Name". The sound through all this recording is really good (obviously the newer tracks sound much better than the older ones but that is natural of a band´s progression). This CD is a good sampler of the balance that Cradle of Filth has achieved between heaviness and melodies; between savage riffs and dark atmospheres. A classic band !

Favorite tracks: "For Those Who Died"; "Her Ghost in the Fog" and "Once Upon Atrocity"

Produced by Decomposing Serenity

Cover Art by Decomposing Serenity

Tracks: Here we have 40 tracks of extreme grind gore !!!!!! Brutality guaranteed!!!!!

Favorite tracks: "May I use your teddy bear for the blood?"; "Suspended by a Hook" and "Explain the Screams and bucket of blood"

Here we have in one CD 40 tracks from this grind maniacs!! This recording range from early 1995 sessions to their newest 2002 tracks. Obviously the latest ones have a better sound and are better constructed. This guys are really speed freaks and they push the accelerator and don´t loose it till the end of the recording. I like a lot of parts where this guys achieve a crushing sound like the one in the first tracks which are also the newer ones because I think that this makes Decomposing Serenity more effective. This is a recording that has been completely designed to crush the listener brain and give him a good dose of brutality at hyper speed. Grindcore freaks will surely love this album!!

Produced by Hans Pieters

Recorded atExcess Studios

Cover Art by David de Graef

Tracks: 1- Dawn of Omega; 2- Samlaysman; 3- 7 Fathers I; 4- Raven; 5- Time (the Avenger); 6- Daylight Bleeding; 7- Vassago; 8- Eden is burning; 9- Shadowcross; 10- L´ame des immortels; 11- Godwind

Here we have a classic brutal detha metal band from Belgium. Formed in 1995, Deformity has released a couple of albums to show their brutality to the world. Now, this new one "Superior" is clearly their most brutal affort to date. Here we have the crushing guitars that are a trademark of the band plus the hyper fast drums that don´t stop for breathing through all the recording. There are a lot of climatic elements like the acoustic guitars in "Time (the Avenger)" that are really good for taking a deep breath and preper for the next assault that is "Daylight Bleeding". The production of this CD is really good and makes all the music better because it gives the power that the sound of this band needs to devastate the listeners. One of the best things here are the guitar riffs that require a lot of good musicanship to be played correctly without making mistakes throuigh all the changes. If you like brutality with a lot of musicianship then Deformity can satisfy your urge for it !!

Favorite tracks: "Raven"; "Daylight Bleeding" and "Eden is Burning"

Produced by Desire

Recorded at L´Enfant Terrible Studios, mastered at Finnvox Studios

Cover Art by Desire and Corvus Dark Creations

Tracks: 1- Preludium; 2- Frozen heart....Lonely Soul; 3- Cries of Despair; 4- The Weep of a Mournful Dusk; 5- An Autumnal Night Passion - Movement I ; 6- Movement II; 7-Drama; 8- Dark Angel Bird ( A Poet of tragedies; 9- Torn Apart; 10- (Love Is) Suicide; 11- Postludium

Here we have this amazing band coming directly from Portugal. Their music is dark metal with certain shades of black metal, death metal and doom metal. There is the dark feeling of black metal plus a lot of keyboards arrangements that make the music almost symphonic (the keyboards parts are fantastically composed). Also we have some death metal vocals that contrast with screaming ones more in the black metal vein. Also they have a lot of slow tempos that could be from a band in the style of Evoken but with more dark melodies. In fact one of the best things about Desire´s music are their guitar melodies combined with the keyboards that are a combination made for darkness. Thumbs up for this amazing band. This is a CD to show pwople that Portugal has much more to offer us than Moonspell ....here is Desire !!!

Favorite tracks: All the CD is amazingly climatic and has a lot of dark feelings on the tracks. Excellent album

Produced by Dave Leonard and Devolved

Recorded at Modern Music Studio

Cover by Devolved, Konrad P.K. and Damien Lange

Tracks: 1- Distorted; 2- Supremacy; 3- Progress; 4- Second Face; 5- Adapt; 6- Fallen Cities; 7- Aversive Control; 8- Functional Conflict; 9- Emergence

Here we have a great brutal release with an awesome sound....here is Devolved "Technologies" and the sound here is pure brutal deth mertl with a sound that can remind you of bandsw like Fear Factory "Demanufacture" era (that means that this guys have achieved a great sound, specially on the drums and the guitars that are crushing). The vocals are really powerful and fit the music really well adding more agression, if possible, to the tracks. The good thing about Devolved is that they change mood often in their songs going from total aggression and violence to more melancholic mood (like the ones in "Second Face") using cleaner guitars and changing the sound of the recording. A must for lovers of agression with imagination!

Favorite tracks: "Progress", "Fallen Cities" and "Aversive Control"

Produced by Distraught

Recorded at Estudio Live

Cover by Rodrigo Cruz

Tracks: 1- Infinite Abyssal; 2- Removing the Rubbish; 3- Umbral; 4- Antibiotic Tendence; 5- Spiritual Reward; 6- The Cut; 7- Science, Philosophy and Religion; 8- Tufao; 9- Dusty Land; 10- Slaves of Creed

Directly from Brazil we have this band that plays modern death metal with many changes and millions of interesting ideas floating on each track. The first thing that amazed me is the combination of heavy riffs and vocals with some melodies achieved through the guitar that turns each song into a unique musical piece. Also we have in Distraught a great lead guitarist in Ricardo Silveira who plays a lot of interesting and melodic solos with a warm guitar tone that reminded me of James Murphy. The music here is really powerful and Distraught have no mercy with their drum beats and crushing rhythms throgh all this recording. Andre Meyer´s vocals are really versatile and he knows how to use his voice to fit better each part of a track....sometimes more guttural, sometimes more screaming. The release has a good mix specially on drums and guitars that are fuindamental for Distraught´s music. This is a really intense recording.

Favorite tracks: "Removing the Rubbish"; "Spiritual Reward" and "Dusty Land"

Produced by Peter Böhm

Tracks: 1- Why don´t you say; 2- Drive; 3- For You; 4- Glory D, 5- By Myself; 6- Hold Out; 7- Sail Away; 8- Inside; 9- Raggedy Ann; 10- Entertainment; 11- Common Sky

Elfman plays modern metal with a lot of new metal influences in the sound and in some guitar riffs. Also here we have a vocalist that knows how to do the melodies that are recquired by this style. I would say that the most notable influence is Korn but here you have many more influences that gives more variations to the final release. The sound of the recording is excellent making the guitar shine (being heavier when they are heavy and extremely clean when they are clean as in the beginning of "Drive"). Here we have a fundamental role of the bass player and the drummer which construct the syncopated rhythms that are the main structure of Elfman´s songs. Also we have heavier than hell guitars which give the metalic edge to the music contained here through orifginal riffs (I like specailly the ones where they throw some harmonics here and there and sound almost mechanical. Fans of modern metal will surely like this.

Favorite tracks: "Drive", "For you" and "Inside"

ENTWINE - TIME OF DESPAIR ( Century Media Recs. , 2002)

Cover by Janne Pitkänen

Tracks: 1- Stream of Life; 2- The Pit; 3- Nothing Left to Say; 4- Safe In a Dream; 5- Burden; 6- Falling Apart; 7- Until the End; 8- Learn To Let Go; 9- Time of Despair

This CD opens powerfully with the track"Time of Despair" and after listening a couple of times it seems to me that this is a more powerful release than their previous album "Gone" which was released last year. For those who don´t know, Entwined is a Finnish band that plays a music that I would Call heavy gothic metal. It is heavier than most of the bands that are out there (particullarly on this release) but with all the dark melodies that gothic music has. One thing that is similar to the previous album is the sound oif the release which has a great quality, specially on the changes from heavy guitar to clean ones. This sound quality helps a lot to show the lsitener the arrangements and melodies that Entwine´s music has. Also, on this release, singer Mika Tauriainen is more deppressive than ever singing with a very dark voice full of sadness and pain. There are violins in tracks like "Safe In a Dream" (one of the most deppressive) and a lot of keyboards on each song. A must for fans of depressive music.

Favorite tracks: "Stream of Life"; "Safe In a Dream" and "Time of Despair"

Produced by Boban Milunovic

Recorded at Boom Room Studios

Cover by Carlos del Olmo Holmberg

Tracks: 1- Rawish; 2- Frontloader; 3- Dogma; 4- Entre Dos Tierras; 5- In Absentia Christi; 6- Overcast Sky; 7- Cumbersome; 8- Vangelis Mundi; 9- Unworshipped; 10- Conspectu Mortis II

Here is the follow up to "Still In the Grey Dying" and Evenfall has become really soon in one of my favorite bands. Why? Because of the quality of their songs. First of all I love Roberta Staccuneddu´s vocals which contrast with the more deathly ones by Ansgar Zöschg. Roberta has an angelical voice and has a lot of inflexions in her vocal range which allows her to sing the more difficult melodies in a great way. Thumbs up also for Max Boi who plays the keyboards that are essential to Evenfall´s music: He makes excellent chord progressions and amazing melodies through all this album. The music atmosphere is really dark and the main risponsibles here are the guitarists who play dark melodies through all the tracks and also play heavy rhythms that make Evenfall´s music completely original when combined with keyboard calm melodies. A must for everybody!!!!

Favorite tracks: The whole CD os amazing !!!!

Produced by Exterminator and I.M.F.

Recorded at Hautregard Studios

Cover Artwork by Baruch

Tracks: 1- ...:Birth...(intro); 2- Liberty....Death; 3- Circle of Violence; 4- Mirror Images; 5- Church of Chaos; 6- Bitter End; 7- Night Music (The Dark Caress); 8- The Kill; 9- Tragedy....Rejoice

Here we have a really brutal band with a lot of technique in the guitar riffs. Yes, the riffs here seem really difficult to play, specially the ones that the band plays in the fastest parts. Also they know how to change riffs suddenly like it happens in 1:22 from "Circle of Violence" (they change to a crushing and rhythmic riff) a great song that goes from riff to riff in an excellent way. And one of the main things here is the combination of the brutal vocals with riffs that are not typical of death metal (check for example "The Kill" to see that what they play is not common favoring metal riffs with more originality). Also here they have a very technical drummer who follows all the changes with complete precission giving a lot of variations and rhythms to each track. Any musician would love this CD because of the technical skills an excellent tracks.

Favorite tracks: "Liberty...Death"; "Mirror Images" and "Bitter End"

EXTOL - UNDECEIVED (Century Media Recs. , 2002)

Cover by Durling Inc

Tracks: 1- Undeceived; 2- Inferno; 3- Time Stands Still; 4- Ember; 5- Meadows of Silence; 6- Shelter; 7- A Structure of Souls; 8- Of Light and Shade; 9- Where Sleep is Rest; 10- Renewal; 11- Abandoned; 12- And I Watch. Bonus tracks: 13- Human Frailtie´s Grave; 14- Shadow of Death

I have listened Extol´s music before in a compilation and I remember that my attention was caught because of the combination of technical riffs and melodies within a death metal context. This is the first Extol CD that I have on my hands and I must say that this guys are amazing. The combination of technical riffs, clean guitars, heavy metal and death metal vocals (check the track "Renewal" to listen this in all its splendour). The guitarists have a lot of ideas here and there and sometimes in the choruses they let the guitars breath throwing power chords and letting Ole Børud sing his melodies over them. The drummer and bassist are a killer duo with extreme technical skills and a knowledge of differnt time signatures that help the rest of the band to construct the tracks. And one thing more....thney play all this technical music with a lot of brutality and power !! A must !!!!

Favorite tracks: All the CD...amazing !!!

Produced by Charlie Bauerfeind, Dan Zimmermann and Chris Bay

Recorded at Hansen Studio

Cover by Paul Raymond Gregory

Tracks: 1- The King of the Crystal Empire; 2- Freedom Call; 3- Rise Up; 4- Farewell; 5- Pharao; 6- Call of Fame; 7- Heart of the Rainbow; 8- The Quest; 9- Ocean; 10- Palace of Fantasy; 11- The Wanderer

Here we have a conceptual album by this german band whose main man is Dan Zimmerman, drummer in Gamma Ray . And the music here is pure german heavy metal with all its pros and cons., The pros are that the music is powerful and melodic with strong riffs and choruses. The cons are a certain lack of originality and a similarity to the main bands of the style being Helloween, Gamma Ray or Stratovarius. I think the key of the band is to follow the style that they have achieved in tracks like "Pharao" or "The Quest" with more dense riffs and melodies that are not so epic. The sound of this recording is really good putting a lot of relevance to the keyboards which are essential in the best tracks.. I feel that this band has some elements to be in the top of the metal world and I think the path goes along tracks as then one that I mentioned before and the grandiloquence of "Palace of Fantasy" with its minor tonalities and melodies.

Favorite tracks: "Rise Up", "Pharao" and "The Quest"

Produced by Freund Kein

Recorded by Hannes Kukla

Cover by Thomas Reitnayer

Tracks: 1- To Be - What a Shame; 2- The Brute in Him; 3- ....Against the Establishment and Burgeoisie; 4- Vicious Circle; 5- Subversive Revolution on All Fronts

Freund Hein are really original and they have that strange flavor that some bands from Austria have. Due to their lyrics I would call Freund Hein´s music revolutionary metal. And their music is revolutionary too because they are mixing extremely heavy music with a .lot of keyboard and piano parts and operistics vocals that are combined in a great way with the heavier and screaming ones. The guitars are heavy as hell and make a great contrast with the keyboards (also there is some use of clean guitars in some places. The drummer has a really huge sound and he makes a lot of interesting things with his double bass drumming. But the main instrument here are the keyboards which play interesting melodies and chord progressions through all the tracks but in a different way than most of the bands would do (starting with the sound which is completely different). A must for music lovers !!

Favorite tracks: All the tracks contained on this MCD. One of the CDs of the month

 FUNEBRARUM - CD 2002 (Necroharmonic Records, 2002)

Produced by Funebrarum

Tracks: 1- Tombs of Sleeping Darkness; 2- Adoration of Abscessed Cadavers; 3- Miasma of Pestilence; 4- Dormant Hallucination; 5- Depths of Misery

Here we have Funebrarum (the band that has members of Evoken on its lineup)latest release. This is a five track release and the music contained here is really a mix of death metal and doom. I mean, this guys love the heavy riffs and vocals of death metal but they also like to do some slow riffs like the one in the begining of "Tombs of Sleeping Darkness". I think that the main characteristic here is the oppressive and dark feeling that Funebrarum´s songs have. The guitar sound is really dense and this is really helpful for the dark atmosphere that this guys create through all the tracks of this album. There are some blast beats in some parts of the songs but speed is not the main ingredient here. The five tracks a re long enough and allows the band to develope the ideas that they want to transmit to the listener without missing the point. There are many changes within each song and this makes the tracks even more interesting. Lovers of death and doom will love Funebrarum.

Favorite tracks: The five tracks

Produced by Fury

Recorded by Tony Nesci

Cover by Lord Tim

Tracks: 1-Shapes of Three; 2- Slavekind; 3- One Thousand Pasts; 4- Forsaken; 5- Denying Fear; 6- The Serpent´s Kiss; 7- Lies; 8- Of This Insanity

Fury´s music is really difficult to describe due to its originality. In fact I would say that it is a mix of the following styles: pure heavy metal; thrash metal (in some riffs and drums patterns); death metal (because of some heavy fast parts and the most guttural vocals); hardcore (some vocals in the beginning of "Shapes of Three" reminded me of this style). I liked a lot this band and specially their versatile vocalist that goes from extremely heavy to creating incredible melodies. There are many changes in all the songs which I liked a lot and that make each song a unique and extremely interesting musical piece. The guitars are devastating doing all the great riffs that can be listened on this CD and playing amazing solos (I would like more of them...this guys rule). Check the riffs in "One Thousand Pasts" sincerely crushing!!! Fury is a really heavy as hell band which I would like to listen more in the future (and obviously seeing them perform live!!!).

Favorite tracks: All the CD is great !!

Produced by Andrea Nebel Haugen and Thorbjørn Akkerhaugen

Recorded at Akkerhaugen Lydstudio

Cover by Division 731 Studio

Tracks: 1- The Crossing; 2- Hel Goddess of the Underworld; 3- Frigga´s Web; 4- Labyrinth; 5- Little Light; 6- Raven Night; 7- Albion Autumn; 8- Where the Lonely Souls Go; 9- The Home that I will Never See; 10- The Soul of a Hound

This is Hagalaz Runedance new album (the third full length) and the follow up to "Volven". This time the music continues to be climatic and atmospheric but on this album I think it is more introspective. The compositions are kind of darker this time and I like them a lot. Also Andrea Nebel Haugen continues to write the lyrics about nordic culture and pagan myths, focusing on the mysteries of birth and death and the relationship between the goddeses Hel (goddess of death) and Frigga (patroness of women and children). The use of ancient instruments is a really attractive feature of Hagalaz Runedance and they reach their climax here: lute, bagpipe, Lyre, Harp, every one of this instruments is played here (the help is of the multifacetic Kristian Nordeide from Corona Borealis). Hagalaz Runedance continues developing their amazingly introspective music and exploring ancient paths.

Favorite tracks: All the CD. As always Andrea delivers the best.

Produced by Hellion Recs.

Cover by

Tracks: CD1: 1- ENSLAVEMENT OF BEAUTY - Dainty Delusive Doll; 2- SINS OF THY BELOVED - Forever; 3- THRESHOLD - Light and Space; 4- ERIK NORLANDER - Rome is Burning; 5- SEVENTH KEY - Only the Brave; 6- REPTILIAN - Steel of the Dagger; 7- HELLOISE - Children of the Night; 8- RING OF FIRE - Face the Fire; 9- NIGHTMARE - Cosmovision; 10- AKASHIC - The Fire of Temptation; 11- BEFORE EDEN - Fallen Angel; 12- STEEL WARRIOR - Your Majesty´s Return; 13- INSANIA - The Right to Be Free; 14- SKYCLAD - The Wickest Man in the World; 15- DARK FUNERAL - The Arrival of Satan´s Empire

CD 2: AFTER FOREVER - Ex Cathedra; 2- AFTER FOREVER - Monolith of Death; 3- LACRIMOSA - Liebespiel; 4- WITHIN TEMPTATION - Ice Queen; 5- LOVE LIKE BLOOD - Injustice; 6- LACRIMAS PROFUNDERE - Morning...Grey; 7- CENTURY - Lost; 8- LANA LANE - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road; 9- CHANDEEN - Ginger; 10- AMBEON - Ashes; 11- RPWL - Cymbaline; 12- EVERON - Fine With ME; 13- ALEX MASI - Blue Morning Blue Day; 14- SYRENS CALL - Storm; 15- EDENBRIDGE - Starlight Reverie; 16- TRISTANIA - The Modern End

CD 3: Video tracks: 1- PAIN OF SALVATION - Ashes ; 2-THEATRE OF TRAGEDY - Cassandra (live)

Here we have a compilation that is composed of three CDs...two of them are full with audio tracks from amny differnt bands and the third one has two videos. I like the way this compilation is done because they have chosen bands from many different styles going from power / heavy metal as Helloise or Steel Warrior, to more symphonic artists like Erik Norlander or Lana Lane, also balck metal with bands like Dark Funeral and Enslavement of Beauty and gothic like Century or Chandeen. Tyhe overall result is really good and I think it is a good sample of the catalog that Hellion Record has. If you want to have a taste of which is the sound of each of the bands mentioned above then I strongly recommend tcompilation.

Favorite Bands here: Sins of Thy Beloved, After Forever, Tristania, Dark Funeral, Lacrimas Profundere, Within Temptation, Erik Norlander, Century, Chandeen, Pain of Salvation

Produced by Hidden

Tracks: 1- Hidden (Unknown and Nameless); 2- Formation of the Universe; 3- Ice Crust of Wek; 4- Geochemical primates; 5-Time As Eternity IN the Cosmos; 6- A Bounded Span of Time; 7- Macronucleus Chromosome; 8- Spectral Magnitude; 9- Supercluster

Here we have a band with a lot of changes (each tracks is completely different from the other going from extremely fast death metal to slower and calm passages almost doom in some places). Hidden seems to be obsessed with outer space as they show it on the lyrics of this CD and in all the artwork contained on the booklet. The guitars are complex and play from faster one note riffs to clean arpeggios that are the key feature on this CD and construct the different atmospheres that the listener can feel within each of the songs. The singer is brutal and gives a deathly feeling to all the songs with his screaming and whispering vocals. The mix is a little bit low for my taste and I think that this guys should mix the guitars a little bit louder and have the snare drum sound a little bit more fat in order to achieve a better result. The rhythm part of the band is really solid and helps the rest of the band to develope their style which is a great combination of brutality and good arrangements.

Favorite tracks: All the CD is amazing because of the change of atmospheres and feelings.

Produced by Andy Classen

Recorded at Stage One Studio

Cover by Stephan Hagenow

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

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.

Produced by Illogicist

Recorded in Nov. 2001

Tracks: 1- Warped, 2- Visions of Decay; 3- Grimaces

Illogicist is a death metal band from Italia. And they play really good death metal with certain thrash elements in their riffs. Also there are some influences from old school death metal which I think fits this band perfectly. The rhythms are really fast and they are devastating for the listener . Combined with the deathly vocals here we have a really powerful band. The sound of the three tracks contained here is really good despite being an independent production. Also the drummer is a deadly machine, specially when he enters in the faster parts with the ride cymbal or when he uses a lot the hihat making the songs even heavier. Check this underground act, I think we will know more from them in the future.

Favorite tracks: The three tracks are really good

Recorded at Sirio Productions Studios

Cover by Sho

Tracks: 1- Intro; 2- Chaotic Matrix; 3- Colossal Vortex; 4- Lurking Monstrosity; 5- Cosmic Ancient Mountain; 6- Reborn in Victory; 7- Cataclysmic Origin; 8- Vatican Bombardment; 9- Destroyer Entity; 10- The Antiquary Horror; 11- Decapitation of the Weak

Speed and brutality are the two main ingredients here. Here you have this guys hailing from Colombia and playing the most hyperfast death/grind. The vocals are extremely guttural as in grindcore bands and there are different types of them. The guitars play interesting riffs that are more in the death metal vein while the drummer makes blast beats in many places (there are places where he seems a drum machine playing hyper fast double bass patterns with a really tight sound). This guys really devastate the listener in the faster parts having no mercy through all the recording. One thing that I would like them to change is some effects that they use in the vocals which makes them less clear and I think that beeing clearer they will gain a lot in brutality. Internal Suffering is brutality guaranteed for the listener.

Favorite tracks: "Colossal Vortex", "Reborn in Victory" and "The Antiquary Horror"

Produced by Boban Milunovic

Recorded at Boom Room Studios

Tracks: 1- Mother Mary Sleeps With Me; 2- One Hundred Percent Pain; 3- Unseen Insane I; 4- The Dance; 5- Some You; 6- Last Monday; 7 It All Means Nothing To Me; 8- El Funeral del Dictator

Here we have Jack Frost´s latest offering and I must say that is an excellent album that shows us all the elments that are main features of this band´s music. Here we have the dense guitar riffs combined with one guitar melodies in the vein of "Icon" era Paradise Lost. The music is incredibly darka nd full of deppressive melodies that fill all the tracks. Darkness arise on each of the songs contained here, specially when the depressive vocals enter. The recording has a really good sound that makes the music very direct and very effective when transmiting the feelings to the listener. Jack Forst are very tight as a band and that is shown through all the tracks on this recording. I think that fans of dark music with a big metal sound will be delighted by this CD.

Favorite tracks: "Mother Mary Sleeps With Me"; "The Dance" and "Some You"

Produced by Martin DAvidson

Recorded by Martin DAvidson

Cover by Martin Davidson

Tracks: 1- Jambridge; 2- Back Seat Witch; 3- Truckinge; 4- Psiotic; 5- Bye; 6- Mopomoso 2002

This CD presents us some improvised acoustic guitar solos from guitar master John Russell. The recordings here are from December 2001 to February 2002 and are a showcase of spontaneity in Russell´s playing. Here Russell shows us many different aspects of his musicl personality: from the softer side in many places of " Jambridge" to the more frenetic one in places of "Truckinge". This man knows how to extract millions of different sounds from his guitar : from noises, to soundsthat are almost imposible to discern and to melodies that are really dissonant. The last track, "Mopomoso 2002" is from a concert where Rusell improvised his music and you can listen how does his music changes in different environments (the first tracks where recorded at Martin Davidson´s house). This is an album with plenty of improvisation and experimentation.

Favorite tracks: "Mopomoso 2002"; "Truckinge" and "Jambridge"

Produced by Kaos Rising

I have reviewed previously the demo from this powerful band called "Wiped Away" and I have to say that they have progressed a lot since then. First of all the sound is much better on this, their debut full length album. Their music is extremely powerful and instead of using hyper fast riffs to achieve this they use a lot of rhythmic ones which gives us a much more brutal result. From the first explosion of sound in "" we get into a nigtmare of ultraheavy riffs with amazing drum rhythms that takes us into a world of pure heaviness and brutality. This is a ten track CD designed to blow your brain into pieces with brutality. Kaos Rising rules in the brutal music world !!

Favorite tracks: Tracks number 5, 8 and 9

Produced by Curtis Morrell and Katagory V

Recorded at Streamline Sound

Cover by Chris Maggio

Tracks: 1- I live On; 2- Evil Princess; 3- The Call of Midnight; 4- The Beginning of our End; 5- Steel Dungeon; 6- Morning Light; 7- The Forsaken; 8- Negative Attraction; 9- Present Day; 10- One Second Warning

Katagory V plays pure heavy metal and they have achieved their own identity while doing this. I can feel some speed metal and thrash metal influences (specially in the vocals and vocal harmonization which I liked a lot) well mixed here with classic heavy metal in order to obtain Katagory V´s own sound. And that is what is special here....while most of the bands try to copy a certain band that is more famous, Katagory V prefers to develope their own identity and play it heavier than most of this bands. I like a lot the guitar players here which are really technical and do many solos (I would like more solos !!!) and amazingly heavy riffs such as the ones in "I Live On" (this track is really powerful and deserves to be a classic metal track in the future). Here we have many changes on each track and an excellent sound that makes the results better and more clear. Katagory V rules!!!

Favorite tracks: "I Live On"; "The Call of Midnight" and "Morning Light"

Produced by Timo Kotipelto

Cover by Derek Riggs

Tracks: 1- Intro; 2- Travel Through Time; 3- Beginning; 4- Lord of Eternity; 5- Knowledge and Wisdom; 6- Battle of the Gods; 7- Beauty Has Come; 8- Vizier; 9- Chosen by Re; 10- Waiting for the Dawn; 11- Arise; 12- The Monument of the Nile

Here we have the first solo album by Stratovarius frontman Timo Kotipelto. And here we have many famous musicians helping him on this recording. Jari Kainulainen (Stratovarius) on bass, Michael Rome (Symphony X) on guitars; Roland Grapow (ex Helloween) on guitars; Janne Wirman (Children of Bodom, Warmen) on Keyboards and many more. Here Kotipelto and company have developed a great album with many Stratovarius elements but with really strong songs and a great sound. I like specailly the way in which Kotipelto uses his voice because he has much more variations than many of the top singers of the style. Here we have also acoustic parts where he can sing and make harmonized choruses. If you like Stratovarius you will surely like this CD a lot. Also if you like heavy metal with European sound here you have a great release.

Favorite tracks: "Travel Through Time", "Chosen by Re" and "Arise"

Produced by Don Gilmore

Recorded at NRG Recordings

Cover by Joseph Hahn

Tracks: 1- Papercut; 2- One Step Closer; 3- With You; 4- Points of Authority; 5- Craling; 6- Runaway; 7- By Myself; 8- In the End; 9- A Place For My Head; 10- Forgotten; 11- Cure for the Itch; 12- Pushing me Away

Here we have one of new metal´s sensation and one of the bands that you can see on heavy rotation on MTV. Their music is modern with many elements of bands like Korn and a lot of hip hop influences. There are tracks that are heavier than their hits and those are which I like most. The songs have a lot of melodic hooks that are easy to listen too and I think that is the key of this guys success...in fact theis formula is some rapping in the beginning before exploding in a memorable chorus with heavy guitar chords.

Favorite tracks: "Papercut"; "One Step Closer" and "Forgotten"

Mastered by Rudy

Recorded in the Ruptured Bowels of the Vomitorium

Cover art by Walta Uziga

Tracks: 1-Intro; 2- Morgue Whore; 3- Krash Kourse in Psychopathology; 4- Rape Camp; 5- The Forgotten Flesh; 6- Last Supper (The Aurophagous); 7- Involuntary Vaginal Vermin Slut; 8- Post Coital Eruption; 9- Nekro-Erotik Art; 10- Zombie Molestation (Raped by the Dead); 11- Lord Gore; 12- Breakfast at the Manchester Morgue

Here are the new masters of gore music!!! Yes, Lord Gore is one of the best known names in the underground together with Impaled and Disgorge. This band has certain influences from the classic Autopsy (in the slower parts that were typical of that band). One of the things that are really welcome on this CD is the great sound that it has....really clear guitars focusing on strength and powerful riffs. Another excellent feature here are the solos which are really well mixed and they are based on good taste instead of being based on simple speed. We have several types of vocals here....some are more guttural than other and some brought to my mind classics like "Symphonies of Sickness". I liked a lot the drummer who does not abuse the use of blast beats....he prefers playing more interesting stuff that fits the music better. A great extreme release.

Favorite tracks: "Rape Camp"; " Lord Gore" and "Post Coital Eruption"

Produced by Lost Souls Cry

Recorded at studio Postelflat

Cover by Danielle Van Deuveren

Tracks: 1-Diary of Darkness; 2- Tragedies of Existence; 3- Piece of Mind; 4- Age of Forthcoming Chaos; 5- Infinity of Nothingness

I would call Lost Soul´s Cry symphonic black death metal. Itt is symphonic because of the heavy use of keybaords and the arrangements which are epic, melodi cand at the same time really dark and sad. The tracks are fast as hell in some places giving you the idea of a black or death metal bands and the vocals are similar to those used by some black metal bands. The strange thing is that there is only one mind behind Lost Soul´s Cry and that is Frank Klein Douwel who plays all guitars and has done all the vocals and programming here. And he has done a good job, specially in the more climatic parts with excelent guitar riffs and keybvoards that create the darkest of all atmospheres. The sound is a little bit muddy but that is due mostly tothe programmed drums cymbals that give a strange effect. I think he has to do more tracks like the excellent "Piece of Mind", a really memorable tune with original melodies and sound.

Favorite tracks: "Piece of Mind";"Tragedies of Existence" and "Age of Forthcoming Chaos"

Produced by Manias

Recorded in Santa Fe, NM USA

Cover by Leo Gonzalez

Tracks: 1- Abacination ; 2- Domain of Forever; 3- Trapped in a Cage; 4- Homisight; 5- Ojos Sangrientos; 6- Recuerdas; 7- Blood Covered; 8- 97 Fiends; 9- Baila Sin Piel; 10- D.I. - Avulsion; 11- La Llorona; 12- D.O.M.; 13- Hijos; 14- Growth; 15- A.O.R. - A Team Theme; 16 - Unimagined Figure

This CD starts in a great way with parts of Slayer´s "Hell Awaits" before getting into Manias / Salé Sangre´s own material. Here we have ultrabrutal death metal with a lot of rhythm variations and excellent riffs that sometimes are death, sometimes are more hardcore and sometimes sound even like black metal. The vocals are guttural in some tracks and in others are more screaming ones giving a lot of variation to the tracks. The sound is ultra raw and it gives the tracks a great raw feeling adding some darkness to the tracks. There are songs that are longer than others and I prefer the ones that have more riffs and rhythm changes. This is a good sample of what this guys are capable of doing. This CD was released originally in year 2000 so I am anxious to see what Andrew Manias and company are doing now. I hope to listen more from them soon.

Favorite tracks: "Domain of Forever"; "Recuerdas" and "La Llorona"

Produced by Mental Amputation and Albrecht Felsestein

Recorded at Brickhouse Studios

Cover by Jaczek Wisniewski

Tracks: 1- Intro; 2- Mass Crisis; 3- The Inexorable; 4- Equinox; 5- Visions of Demise; 6- Hybrid Nation

Mental Amputation rules!! Their music is death metal with technical riffs and a grerat sound. The main thing here is that the songs are really well composed and there are many great arrangements that make things really interesting and add a lot of variation to the tracks. Here we have musicians that have a lot of technical skills.The recording has a great sound and there are a lot of things that shine like the keyboards in "The Inexorable", the clean guitars and the drum patterns which feature a lot of hi hat and ride cymbal that are mixed perfectly. This band deserves a recording deal now to be one of the main bands in the death metal scene. As I said before....Mental Amputation rules !!!!

Favorite tracks: All the CD. The tracks are really well composed and have many ideas going on !!

Produced by Geniezoluzifer

Recorded at Overhead Project Koblenz

Tracks: 1- Heavy Metal Chainsaw; 2- Flight of Iron Pegasus; 3- Warriors Ride on the Chariots; 4- My Way is Heavy Metal; 5- Heavy Metal Samurai; 6- Dracula; 7- Metalucifer (Part II); 8- Lost Sanctuary

Pure heavy metal!! Yes, here we have heavy metal as it was in the early eighties, full of rocking riffs, choruses full of heavy metal hooks. The most notorius influences here are Accept, Saxon and Judas Priest. The sound of the recording is very eighties, giving us a complete picture of how heavy metal sounded in that time. But Metalucifer is also adding a twist to the music making it sound their own way. There are many guitar solos with a lot of power and melody combined with great riffs and simple drum beats that make the music really powerful !! If you like classic metal in the vein of the bands that I mentioned before then you will like Metalucifer. There are a lot of heavy metal tricks in the guitar riffs which I like a lot , check for example "Heavy Metal Samurai" and feel pure heavy metal music !!!

Favorite tracks: "My Way is Heavy Metal"; "Flight of Iron Pegasus" and "Lost Sanctuary"

Produced by Eduardo Mallada and Pablo De Luca

Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Sergio E. Nuñez Stolles

Cover by Friedrich Curwenius

Tracks: 1- the Desolation of Blendenstein; 2- The Pain of Uncertainty; 3- The Crushing of Blendenstein; 4- Mist of Ravens; 5- A Tribute to the Void; 6- The Unveiling; 7- The Dawn of Uprising; 8- War Against the Void; 9- Last Battle in the Fields of Blendenstein; 10- The Desert beside Blendenstein

This is a really climatic release from this project coming from the dark mind of Friedrich Curwenius who is here in charge of all the compositions and plays all the instruments and programming. The music is certainly climatic and has a lot of melodies while reminding you to black metal style. So it is a great mix between heavy and fast rhythms and intense keyboards that make melodies through all the CD making you imagine the story that Curwenius is telling us here. The keyboards chord progression are interesting and Curwenius plays original and sad melodies over them that are the core of the tracks contained on this CD: Also there are a lot of sound effects and voices that transports you directly to Blendenstein. A must for people who likes original music done in a really professional way.

Favorite tracks: The whole CD. One of the CDs of the month

Mixed by Teppo Seppänen and Ari Honkonen

Recorded at Mäkkäri Studios

Tracks: 1- Ultima Thule; 2- Pagan Funeral; 3- Metal Fever; 4- Sons of Kaleva; 5- Frozen Woods, 6- Kalevala; 7- Battleaxe/Made of Iron; 8- Throne of Doom (Divine Wisdom); 9- Attack; 10- Sinister Shaman

It seems to me that R.I.P. Records is realeasing really pure heavy metal bands...Metalucifer and Morningstar are a sample of this !! Here we have the Finnish guys from Morningstar who are a trio that plays pure metal with a really raw sound and some dark atmospheres. The vocals are not high pitched so it is not what you would call classic metal...in fact it sounds modern and has many changes that could have been done by a thrash metal band. There are many ideas going on here. As you may see in "Pagan Funeral" for example). The songs contained on this CDs are mostly from year 2000 and there are also new versions of older songs....One of the main things here is that the music has a lot of power and at the same time has a lot of hooks designed to make metal maniacs sing along the choruses with their fists in the air. Pure heavy metal lovers, rejoice...here is Morningstar.

Favorite tracks: "Throne of Doom"; "Metal Fever" and "Frozen Woods"

 MUTALA - CARNIVOROUS DISPOSITION (Nocturnal Music Recs., 200)

Produced by Nicola Lonigro and Mutala

Recorded at Half Moon Studios

Cover by Mutala

Tracks: 1- The Sorcery of the Deepest Beauty; 2- On a Blind Track; 3- What Hates Will Kill; 4- Mutala Submission; 5- The Shore of the Cursed; 6- Fall of the Angel; 7- Habit to Violence; 8- Carnivorous Plants

Mutala is a brutal detha metal band but they have a lot of atmosphere in their tracks. And they achieve this through their everchanging guitar riffs and through the mix of vocals that they have in their songs (growling, whispering, spoken). Also they use in some places acoustic guitars and clean guitars which create a different feeling from the one in the heavier parts. The main thing here are the guitar riffs which are really original and greatly played and they have a lot of melodies. Plus they make excellent guitar solos !! (fans of great guitar players rejoice!!). The sound of this recording is really good and that makes the result even better. The drums are really good to making the rhythms shine in all their splendour and adding a lot of heaviness to Mutala´s track (adding blast beats when its needed or making slow patterns in the more dense parts). I strongly recommend this release!!

Favorite tracks: "On a Blind track" ; "The Shore of the Cursed" and "Fall of the Angel"

Produced by Winterthorn

Recorded at Toad Hall

Cover Art by Gustav Dore (1860)

Tracks: 1- Deadface: A Tale of Purity; 2- Sanctuary; 3- Shepherd to the Faithless: a) Alone in the Rain, b) Quandaries of the Spirit, c) Vermis Rex; 4- In the Arms of Nepenthe; 5- Ex Tribas Lunaes

This is Necronom second album and it is, at the same time, the second part of the trilogy of tears. The music is heavy and distorted while at the same time being very climatic (Christopher Howard Lincoln is the mind behind the music contained on this CD and also he is who construct the darkest atmospheres within here). The music has many touches of death metal, specially on the vocals and uses a great combination of heavy guitars and orchestrating keyboards (this is fundamental for the Necronom sound that gets you through a river of sadness while listening to the music. The keyboards are really well composed and creates the environment to develope all the music). There are interesting calm parts, specially in the complex "Shepherd to the Faithless" with its three parts. This release comes in a dark digipack format that is very coherent with the darkness of Necronom´s music. A must !!

Favorite tracks: "Sanctuary" and "Shepherd to the Faithless"

Produced by James K Faw and ORdained

Recorded at The Sanctuary

Cover art by Scapegoat

Tracks: 1- The Ordained, 2- Caught in a Trap, 3- Let there be Death, 4- Beloved, 5- Sealed with a Fist, 6- Lowly Little Pawn; 7-Sanctum Secorum; 8- Destroyer, 9- I Am the One; 10- Perversery Rhymes; 11- Lunatic; 12- Punk You!; 13- Golgotha

How powerfully starts this CD !!! A drums passage and then the guitars enter in a really heavy way. In fact Ordained´s music has a lot of eighties thrash metal influences, (specially on The Reverend´s vocals) but with a really modern sound in the guitars and drums. And this is a combination that is needed in the world of metal music. Why? Because the heavier bands don´t have thais influences and play in a different way and most of the eighties band have changed their sound. So, it is really good that a band like Ordained takes this music one step forward and make a crushing CD like this one. The music here has a lot of variations, breaks and changes, and interesting guitar arrangements (using many different ruiffs within the same song) that contrast with The Reverend´s high pitched vocals. It is good to listen this band with a lot of originality in their music !!

Favorite tracks: "The Ordained"; "Sealed With a Fist" and "Perversery Rhymes"

Produced by Ordained

Recorded at D_Dungeon Studios

Cover by Scapegoat

Tracks: 1- Mortimus Grimley (2001 Mix); 2- God of Nothing; 3- All in Vein

This is a three song CD by this heavy band!! And I see some progress when compared to "The Second Coming", their previous release, specially in the sound which is much better. This time the band continues doing what they know best: excellent riffs with interesting solos, thrashy rhythms and over all this musical wall The Reverend´s anguished vocals spitting the lyrics. There are really climatic passages like the beginning of "God of Nothing" with clean guitars before getting into the heavier parts. The mix here is really good, I liked specially thebass and guitars mix which make the instruments fit perfectly to create a heavier than hell environment. This is a good MCD to await for the new Ordained CD!

Favorite tracks: The three tracks contained here.

Produced by Osh

Cover art by Osh

Tracks: 1- I.C.I.; 2- Hideaway; 3- Schreispiegel; 4- Crisis; 5- Worldsaw; 6- For Me; 7- Less Beloved Daughter; 8- Mantra; 9- Wilderness; 10- And Always the Deep Red Sea; 11- Helsingør; 12- Threshold to an embrace; 13- No Limit

Osh is an extremely heavy band, and that does not mean that they are at full speed all the time. In fact the guys in Osh prefer to concentrate on riffs that sound much heavier being more rhythmic and prefering to play power chords instead of one note runs riffs. Also they have make very clever arrangements in all their tracks (as an example you can check the beginning of "Hideaway" with clean guitars before entering the heavy riffs...then in the heavy parts they have a lot of changes and dissonances going on here and there making the songs really interesting. There is a lot of variety in the vocals too...sometimes heavier, sometimes screaming, sometimes more melodics, sometimes operistic, sometimes in a tone that would not be out of place in a Mike Patton album and sometimes harmonized. But the main thing here is the originality in the arrangements ( you can check the bass in some places of "Hideaway" to see an example of how this guys use their great technical skills to make great songs). If you like originality and a lot of variations in a CD where no track is similar to each other then Osh is a great options. One of the CDs of the month

Favorite tracks: All the tracks are amazing, weird and fantastically played.

Produced by Daniel Gildenlöw

Recorded at Roasting House

Cover by Daniel Gildenlöw

Tracks: 1- Of Two Beginninh}gs; 2- Ending Theme; 3- Fandango; 4- A Trace of Blood; 5- This Heart of Mine (I Pledge); 6- Undertow; 7- Rope Ends; 8- Chain Sling; 9- Dryad of the Woods; 10- Remedy Lane; 11- Waking Every God; 12- Second Love; 13- Beyond the Pale

Here we have the latest Pain of Salvation album...and I have to say that this is a masterpiece. From beginning to end you can see that this album is truly beautiful and deppressive at the same time. In fact I think this is the main feature in Pain of Salvation´s music....the splendour of their melodies and the sadness that all the recording has in it. One highlight to point out are the excellent vocals that have a really wide range and manage perfectly all the melodies needed here . I have to say that Daniel Gildenlöw is an amazing composer that can give a lot ofm feeling to the songs and at the same time add a lot of variations to them (check for example the crazy "Fandango" to see what this man is capable of doin and contrast it with the more deppressive and melodic "Ending Theme"). This album is going to be one of the classics in the future and Pain of Salvation is always an inspiration for musicians.

Favorite tracks: All the CD....this is what I call a masterpiece !!

Produced by Martin Davidson

Recorded by Martin Davidson

Cover by Martin Davidson

Tracks: 1- Red Rose Afternoon 1; 2- Red Rose Afternoon 2; 3- First Walnut, 4- Second Walnut; 5- First China Pig Extract; 6- Second China Pig Extract; 7- China Pig Lament; 8- Stalf; 9- Falst; 10- Flast; 11- Stlaf

This are recording of solo trombone improvisations by trombone master Paul Rutherford. The recordings are from four different concerts from the years 1986, 1992, 1993 and 1995. Here you have a man with his instrument who is always achieving new sounds and combinations that have not been tried by many musicians before him. In fact, Rutherford is exploring new paths on each track that one can listen on this CDs. In some tracks like "First Walnut" he uses sonic explorations trying to reach weird sounds with his instrument. In other tracks like "Red Rose Afternoon 1" he uses a lot of legato notes to create dissonant melodies and complicated phrases. It is amazing also how warm this instrument sound, being not loud and not overabused, reaching interesting melodies through all the CD. For lovers of exploring new sides of the music spectre.

Favorite tracks: "First Walnut", "China Pig Lament" and " Flast"

Produced by Martin Davidson

Recorded by Roger Smith assisted by Ian Vickers

Cover by Marion Franses

Tracks: 1- Wood Green Waltz; 2- North 22 (no Catch); 3- Forward Fast; 4- Extended Ploy; 5- Strange Interlude; 6- Waltz with heating; 7- An Extract; 8- Diminuendo & Crescendo in Green; 9- Saul´s Beret Rode; 10- Local Twang; 11- The Last of the Season; 12- Arse Myth

We have reviewed Roger Smith´s music before in the recordings where he plays with the Spontaneous Music Orchestra. This time we have the chance of listening to a more melodic side of this great musician and guitar player. First of all we see that the music here is really quiet and melodic and that is due to the fact that Smith has recorded this CD at home and he plays during the night hours. This is interesting because we can see a more subtle side of his musical personality. Here we can listen how Smith constructs his guitar lines while armonizing them ...and he has played through all this recording with his finger in order to achieve a warmer sound very different than the one that one can achieve using a pick. There is heavy use of natural harmonics in tracks like "Extended Ploy" and the most amazing thing here is that all this material is improvised. Thumbs up for this amazing musician and innovative guitar player.

Favorite tracks: The whole CD. I love Smith´s guitar playing. IS experimental and at the same time very melodic

Produced by Lx Rudis and Ernesto Diaz-Infante

Recorded by Lx Rudis and Andres Custodio

Cover by Tohru Kanayama

Tracks: 1 to 3 - Three Collega Radio Ready Edits; 4 to 30 - Overthruster

I have reviewed recordings by Custodio and Diaz Infante before, but on this recording they have been joined by Lx Rudis who plays Matrix 12. This addition opens new possibilities and the trio explores them through all this recording. I liked specially Lx Rudis electronic sounds that match perfectly Diaz-Infante ´s experimentation with guitar, violin and voice and also Custodio´s percussion patterns. There is a mix of different type of experimental pieces here: one type are those musical pieces that are longer where there is more developing of the experimental ideas and other that are shorter and are sudden bursts of spontaneous sounds. I prefer the longer ones because in there I cqan see how well the three musicians interact and also how well they construct the improvisational piece. This recording is for those people who can listen to a fully experimental recording without being scared !

Favorite tracks: The whole CD is an amazing showcase of experimentation among this three open minded musicians

Produced by Seirim

Cover by Nightliner Tattoo Studio

Tracks: 1- Morbid Animalism; 2- Power of Elements; 3- Time for Your Deaths; 4- Your Blood; 5- Incosibea; 6-The Other Dimension; 7- Rulers of the World; 8- Creatures of Pain; 9- Killing Elements; 10- Beyond the Death

Directly from Germany comes this extremely brutal band with many interesting ideas. First of all I have the remark the great sound that this recording has, specially on the guitars which are really devastating. Then, I have to say that Seirim is one of the most brutal bands that I have listened in a long time...and they achieve a lot of this brutality through complex guitar riffs played with a monolithic guitar sound ( also this guys obviously tune down their guitars to achieve a lower end). Also the bass is clearly mixed and one can listen to it through all the recording playing patterns similar to those played by the guitars but with a more bottom end sound that makes the whole idea more crushing. Then comes the killer drumming which uses some blast beats but prefers to use heavier ideas that fit better the music. The vocals are guttural and screaming and fit perfectly the musical ideas of this ultra brutal band. Brutality at its maximum level!!!!

Favorite tracks: "Power of Elements"; "Your Blood" and "Killing Elements"

Produced by Sentenced

Cover by Vesa Ranta

Tracks: 1- Konevitsan Kirkonkellot; 2- Cross My Heart and Hope to Die; 3- Brief is the light; 4- Neverlasting; 5- Aika Multaa Muistot (Everything is Nothing); 6- Excuse Me While I kill myself; 7- Blood and Tears; 8- You are the One; 9- Guilt and regret; 10- The Luxury of a Grave; 11-No One There

It´s been a lot of years since I bought Sentenced´s "North from Here" and now looking back I feel that it is great to see a band evolve in such a way. Here they are, Sentenced 2002 and here are the melodies in the guitars, the crushing riffs that try to create a heavy song, here are tyhe clean vocals with a lot of power and feeling. It is amazing how well Sentenced has achieved an amazing technique to create songs....only a check of their latest albums confirms this. Every new album they are getting better in this. The main thing here apart from the vocals are the incredible guitar riffs combined with a lot of melodies that gives this feeling of depression to the songs contained here. The production of this album is really great and lets us listen to all the elements of Sentenced´s music. A great recording from this finnish band.

Favorite tracks: "Brief is the Lught"; "Neverlasting" and "You are the One"

Produced by Seven 13 and David Lefkowitz

Recorded at Renaissance Recording Studio

Cover by Vip Technologies

Tracks: 1- Drink!; 2- Out of Control, 3- Haunted; 4- Don´t You Wish; 5- Outcasts; 6- Whenever you Close your Eyes; 7- Venus; 8- If you Want Me; 9- Dianne; 10- You Could be Mine; 11- Falling

Here we have Seven 13. This is a band that really surprises me because they play powerful hard rock and at the same time they have sort of a dark atmosphere or sad feeling in their music which I liked a lot and that seems related to the great theatrical image that this band has. There are two excellent things here: one is the great use of vocals....the singer is really energetic and gives a lot of power to the songs; then the keyboards which are omniprescent through all the recording and construct the main feeling of the songs while contrasting with the heavier guitars. But the main thing on this CD are the amazingly well constructed songs....Seven 13 has an idea and knows exactly how to transmit it to the listener through their beautiful and melodic music. The band has also a lot of power due to the use of distorted guitars (the guitarist has really good taste for the riffs and also for the solos as you can check for example in "Falling". Seven 13´s music sounds even more energetic live as I can see through their "Drink!" video that they have made as a live videoclip. I liked a lot this band because of the melodies that they create in every way that is possible and the dark feeling that they obtain!!!

Favorite tracks: "Don´t You Wish" "You Could Be Mine" and "Out of Control"

Produced by Snub

Recorded at Active Studios

Cover by Martin Jeffery

Tracks: 1- The Harvest; 2- Six Deep; 3- The Subtle Art of Slaughtering a Dream; 4- Flowers of Flesh and Blood

This is Snub´s latest MCD. Here we have four tracks full of power , with a really modern sound and a lot of hardcore influences. Here we have the heavy riffs with a lot of dirty arpeggios that make the music more climatic while being extremely heavy (this songs are designed for headbanging and moshpit). Full of crushing guitar riffs and devastating rhythms, Snub´s music is in a middle place between bands like Biohazard and Machine Head (they have rhythms similar to Biohazard but the heaviness off Machine Head to name just a couple of bands). I hope to listen to a full length release soon because this guy´s music is really powerful and kept my head banging while listening to it.

Favorite tracks: "Six deep" and "Flowers of Flesh and Blood"

Produced by Sodom. Coproduced by Harris Johns

Recorded at Spiderhouse Studio

Cover by Axel Hermann

Tracks: 1- Among the Weirdcong; 2- I am the War; 3- Napalm in the Morning; 4- Minejumper; 5- Genocide; 6- Little Boy; 7- M-16; 8- Lead Injection; 9- Marines; 10- Surfin´Bird

I have listened Sodom´s music since their "IN the Sign of Evil" album and I always liked it (despite the metal press in Argentina, very relying in classic metal, that disliked them). I always found certain similarities between their music and the one that bands like Kreator or Destruction did, and I liked a lot the German thrash metal scene of the eighties.. Here we have their latest powerful release that haves as always Tom Angelripper on bass and devastating vocals, and Bernemann on guitars and Bobby on drums which are a killer duo to join Tom. The lyrics as in many Sodom albums spin around war and its consequences. Here we have a lot of the raw power that have made Sodom famous but with a better production that makes the songs more direct and powerful while clearly mixed. I liked a lot the work of Bobby on drums because he knows how to add the needed heaviness to Sodom´s music. A classic .

Favorite tracks: "Napalm in the Morning"; "Minejumper" and "Lead Injection"

Produced by Davide Rosati, Alessandro Montoneri and Spellcraft

Recorded at A.C.M.E. Studio Recording

Cover by Roberto Grillo

Tracks: 1- Tears like Rain; 2- This Feeling; 3- Season Five; 4- Equilibrium; 5- Stolen Time

The first thing that caught my attention is the really good sound that this recording has. Then comes the musical ideas which are really well by this italian band. The music is heavy while having a lot of melodies in the vocals and a certain gothic flavor in some of the parts (in the vein that bands like Paradise Lost or Katatonia have used in some of their songs). The guitars are really heavy and have a special sound which I think is due to the heavy use of flanger in them...I like it a lot. One of the things that I liked most are Gino Chiarizia´s vocals which are powerful and at the same time full of anguish nad sadness (also I have to remark some interesting vocal harmonization that is used in some of the parts of the songs contained here). Thumbs up for the bassist who uses a clean sound that is not very common in bands of the style and gives a lot of identity to the Spellcraft sound ! (check "This Feeling" to see what I am talking about).

Favorite tracks: The five tracks are really well developed and are excellent and powerful songs

Produced by Summoner

Recorded at Media Sound Studio

Tracks: 1- The Maskplague; 2- Tears I´ve Shed; 3- Summoner Sign; 4- Vicious Fruit

Here we have a four track MCD from this italian band. They play what I would call symphonic death/black metal. I mean, their music has elements that are not out of place in the styles mentioned above. For example, they have growling vocals in the vein of death metal, the screaming vocals similar to the ones used in black metal. And here is the main point....I used the term "Symphonic" to describe their music. Why? Because of their heavy use of orchestrating keyboards, because of the melodic use of the guitars (this means that their music has a lot of power combined with interesting melodies and arrangements). All this elements give a sort of epic feeling to Summoner´ps music. The production of this recording is really good and maybe I would mix a little bit louder the guitars. There are many original riffs here that deserve to be remarked in a fair description of this band´s music. A must.

Favorite tracks: All the four tracks are amazing. This is a TOP metal band

Produced by E.R., N.S. and T.A.F.

Recorded at Purerock Studios

Cover by Robert Butler

Tracks: 1- Firesphere; 2- Jumboo; 3- The plasma; 4- Always Radiant and Fucked; 5- Real Last Night; 6-I´m Half Sick of you; 7- Soul. Vent; 8- Motormouse and Autocat; 9- Dany; 10- March of Chameleons 2K; 11- Psyche

Here we have this rocking band coming directly from Italy. Their music is pure psychodelic rock designed to melt your brain with their rhythms and sound effects. The music here has a lot of seventies influences and the songs are like a dosis of drug in your body because you can´t stop singing them while they are rhythmic and have repetitive melodies designed to stuck in your mind. The production has given the band a lot of seventies sound in the guitars and also in the drums (if I am not wrong the cymbals are sometimes passed through a flanger effect). There are a lot of sound effects on each song that give a lot of psychodelia to the tracks while adding a stoner rock feeling. If you like this style you will surely love That´s All Folks.

Favorite tracks: "Jumboo"; Real Last Night" and "I´m Half Sick of You"

Produced by Tommy Tägtgren

Recorded at Abyss Studios

Cover by Mike Bohatch

Tracks: 1- Incubator; 2- The Hatebreed; 3- Cold Flesh Colony; 4- Dethroned; 5- Embedded Insanity; 6- The Second Manifest; 7- Injected Terror; 8- Human Chapter X; 9- Scars; 10- Mental Degeneration

The Forsaken is one of the most violent, powerful and heavier bands that I have ever listened. This is the second album from this swedish death metal masters and it has some improvements from their previous "Manifest of Hate". First of all I have to remark the excellent sound that this release has (Tommy Tägtgren is behind the mix on this one) that makes the music heavier as Hell (the drums are crushing...they have a specail sound that blows my brain). Then comes the music....the guitars are heavier this time and they make a lot of solos and melodies that turn The Forsaken´s music into a unique experience. The band has made a change in its lineup and now guitarist Patrik Persson plays also the bass being a great rhythmic tandem with Nicke Grabowski (drums). I have to remark also Ander Sjöholm´s vocals which are guttural but have a lot of power and he gives a lot to the Forsaken´s music. Up to now this is the heaviest release of 2002.

Favorite tracks: The whole CD is really powerful and has many subtle elments that make The Forsaken a truly original band.

Produced by Karl Nix

Recorded at Grandma´s Mosh Pit Studios

Cover by Karl Nix

Tracks: 1- Juggernaut; 2- Deaths Tragic Embrace; 3- Hence, the Tears; 4- Beneath a Dying Sun; 5- From Beyond the Oceans of Time; 6- As Twilight Fades Into Night; 7- Grasping Infinity; 8- Centuries of Turmoil; 9- Kwerqi; 10- In A Future Memory; 11- Eternities Restless Spirit

Here we have this great experimental music coming from the mind of Karl Nix, the only composer and musician on The National Cemetery Orchestra. Here we have eleven instrumental tracks full of ideas and a combination of sounds that make the result really weird. In fact here there is a heavy combination of distorted guitars playing heavy riffs and keyboards; then come clean guitar parts that embellish the music with a lot of melodies and then comes a fast drum pattern that makes things heavier. It is amazing how well developed are the songs and how many ideas can Nix put into a song without losing coherence. The sound is good and I would like him to do more solos like the one he does in "Hence, the Tears" with wah wah and combined with an ultra heavy break and riff. I have to listen more of The National Cemetery Orchestra because it is a great experience for my ears that crave for originality and good ideas !!!

Favorite tracks: "Hence, the Tears"; "Centuries of Turmoil" and "In A Future Memory"

Produced by The Seventh Gate

Recorded by Ken Olden and David Elizondo

Cover art by Jon Zig

Tracks: 1- The Eternal; 2- The Rubble of Glory; 3- To Forget; 4- The Mary Shelley Song; 5- Mine Will Rise; 6- Her Innocence; 7- I Alone; 8- Battered Skin

Here comes The Seventh Gate who play pure brutal satanic death metal (or american satan rock as they prefer to describe their music). In fact their music is brutality in its purest form. Crushing guitars, thundering drums, guttural vocals are all elements used here to blow the listener´s brain into pieces. But there are also more rhythmic and calm moments such as the beginning of "The Rubble of Glory" where the band plays a more mid paced riff after a clean guitar intro. This elements add a lot to the music of the band without letting the energy dissapear. The sound of the recording is really good, specially on the rhythmic guitars that are devastating. Also the drums are killer and the bass is clear in the mix following the guitars and accentuating with the drums. Steve´s vocals are guttural most of the time and screaming in others helping a lot to the brutal result. Brutality guaranteed !!!

Favorite tracks: "To Forget"; "Her Innocence" and "I Alone"

Produced by Martin Davidson

Recorded by Steve Lowe

Cover by Gus Cummings

Tracks: 1- Unrest Assured; 2- Split Frequencies; 3- Rest Unassured; 4- Finding and Binding; 5- Blending and Bending; 6- Spacing and Placing

What a great combination!! Trevor Watts on sax and Veryan Weston on piano. This duo is incredible and are extremely connected....yes, it seems that each one of them knows what the other one is going to play next and so they anticipate each other creating a really coherent improvisation (check "Unrest Assured" where seems that Watts knows what Weston is going to play and pays a similar phrase over his piano progression). "Split Frequencies" mis an example of more dissonant experimentation by this duo where you can listen some minor ninths (or minor seconds) intervals that are really clashing with the chords that Weston plays (or he plays this intervals in the chord progression making the result even more weird). This is an imporvisational duet with a lot of imagination and an extremely open mind !

Favorite tracks: "Unrest Assured"; "Rest Unassured" and "Spacing and Placing"

Produced by Unleashed

Cover by Media Logistics

Tracks: 1- Don´t Want to Be Born; 2- Hell´s Unleashed; 3- Demoneater; 4- Fly Raven Fly; 5- Mrs. Minister; 6- Joy in the Sun; 7- Demons Rejoice; 8- Death Metal; 9- We´ll Come For You; 10- Triggerman; 11- Dissection Leftovers; 12- Peace, piece by piece; 13- Burnt Alive; 14- Your Head is Mine; 15- Made in Hell

Unleashed is back !! After a five year hiatus after their recording "Warrior" the swedish band is here again with their death metal music. One of the main ingredients of the band is here in all its splendour...and that are the hooks that they have achieved through all their career. Yes, the songs here have a lot of hooks, specially on the choruses that are designed to be singed along (check for example "Don´t want to be born" or "Hell´s Unleashed" to see how good the soings are composed in order to achieve a lot of attention from the listener). Here are all the elements that made the band famous: Johnny Edlund´s vocals, the fast guitar riffs combined with fast bass lines, the powerful drumming that gives the adequate timing and rhythm to all the tracks and the guitar melodies which are better than ever on this CD (Fredrik is killer in the melodies and solos on this releas). If you love Unleashed you will surely like this album. If you don´t know them lets have a taste of their music.

Favorite tracks: "Don´t Want to be Born"; "Hell´s Unleashed" and "Death Metal"

Produced by Vedervärdig

Cover by Vedervärdig

Tracks: 1- Introducing Suffering; 2- Dead Before the Eyes of None; 3- Seventh Day Suicide (Part 1: Ond Bråd död; Part 2: Förruttnelse); 4- Concert for Radio and Percussion

Vedervärdig music is really weird. When the guitars first started in "Introducing Suffering" (with a really raw sound) I thought "well here comes the drums and we have black metal". I was wrong !! The drums never came. Instead this guys start experimenting with the sguitar sounds and some strange sounds and noises. This is really dense experimental music with many interesting features, like the heavy use of sound effects and voices. There are whispering vocals in many places that add a deeling of darkness to this guys total experimental release. One track that I liked a lot is the one called "Concert for Radio and Percussion" that starts with a big sonic explosion before getting into the most experimental parts with many noises and sounds. Those who love musicians who make a lot of experimentation and are not afraid of breaking boundaries will like Vedervärdig´s music.

Favorite tracks: The four tracks copntained here

Produced by Vexed

Cover by Vexed

Tracks: 1- Italian Aggressive Attack; 2- Elements of Anger; 3- Bringers of Death; 4- Lust of Revenge; 5- Oblivion Takes Unanimated Brains; 6- Death Justice

Vexed is an italian band whose music is aggressive black/thrash metal. They have many elements of thrash metal in their music and I like that because they add a new featrure to black metal. The music contained on this promo CD is fast, aggressive and raw with interesting guitar riffs and many changes in rhythm and moods. The sound of the whole release is raw and I liked a lot the way in which the guitars are mixed (also I liked a lot that this guys prefer to do interesting solos instead of simple noises with the guitars). There are some influences from norwegian and english band but the good thing about Vexed is that you can not say that they are similar to some band. Fans of aggressive metal will like a lot this band.

Favorite tracks: "Elements of Anger", "Bringers of Death" and "Lust of Revenge"

Produced by Accelerado

Recorded at KUNM 89.9

Cover by Victimas

Tracks: 1- Murderous Resurrectional Foresight; 2- Breeding the Slaughter; 3- Mandatory Disposition

Victimas is brutality guaranteed !! Each of the three tracks contained here is pure brutality from beginning to end. IN fact the tracks are short and effective. They have a really fat guitar sound that crushes your brain (he makes interesting riffs specially in the more rhythmic parts) with its power and the drummer is killer adding blast beats in the fast parts and a lot of heavy rhythms in the slower ones. The track i like most is "Mandatory Disposition" because they have added a clean guitar that fits the rest of the music perfectly and it is also the track with more changes and that nmakes it really interesting and original. The vocals are extremely guttural and fit the music perfectly. This is a record for those who love brutal music at its best!!!!

Favorite tracks: The three contained here . Full brutality!!

Produced by Erik De Boer and Virulent

Recorded at Studio Harrow Prods.

Cover by John Martin

Tracks: 1- Renouncement, 2- Kali Yuga; 3- Cult of the Magma Mares ; 4- Regie Amdusias; 5- Necropolis

This is what I call a violent release. Guttural vocals, guitars with a huge sound, hyper fast drumming and all this with a really good sound. Here we have a band thata has a lot of heaviness on each riff and knows how to do everything sound heavier than hell. The production here is good and I think that with a better sound this band could be in the same level as for example The Forsaken. This recording si from year 2000 and I think they have evolved since then doing another recording called Azoth which is self produced. What I liked most here are the guitar riffs which are original and sound really well when combined with the explosive drums...also the bass player does a great job in making the structure of the song with the drummer. For fans of brutal death !!!

Favorite tracks: "Kali-Yuga", "Regie Amdusias" and " Renouncement"

Produced by Virulent

Recorded at Moskou Studios

Tracks: 1- Crowning the 4^th Age; 2- Dreams of Disharmony; 3- Zyem Carasophia

Here is Virulent´s new material and they have progressed a lot since "Under the Hex...." their previous recording. Here we have the guitars with a more crushing sound and the drums are clearly mixed so you can feel the hyper fast blasts done with great precission. Here we have amazing guitar riffs done with a lot of technique that creates the mood for Jorre Jansen to spit his guttural vocals with all the hate he is capable. Here we have a good work of bassist Ed Siderius who follows the guitars or the drums (depending the part of the track). Fans of brutal death metal will surely be delighted with all the elements that I described before and I encourage them to check this release.

Favorite tracks: The three conatined here

Produced by Visions of The Night

Recorded between April and December 2001

Cover by Wolvesblood

Tracks: 1- Hatred for Humanity; 2- Postalled; 3- Murder of the Self; 4- Beseiged by demons; 5- Six Ways From Sunday; 6- Manifestations of Impure Thoughts; 7- Celebrity Scalped; 8- Consumption; 9- Black Revelation; 10- Victory through Suicide; 11- A Heightened Sense of Perception; 12- Grindblast (Dissolution); 13- Postalled (Vampiric Bloodfeast Version)

This is a really devastating release. It is an extremely brutal CD but at the same time has certain synth arrangements that gives another dimension to Visions of the Night´s music. This band has in its lineup Alexander Erhardt, also known for his work in Horde of Worms...and as in that band here we have alos a programmed drum machine that gives a strange touch to the music. Jenn Kilburn is a killer bass player adding a lot of the brutality to the music through her bottom low end lines pleyed at super speed and accentuating the heaqvier drum parts. Thumbs up also for Wolvesblood who does the main vocals which are really brutal. I liked a lot the use of the synth and some clean guitars in tracks like "Celebrity Scalped". I like this guys and girl because they are really brutal but they have also the desire to experiment with a lot of new sounds and atmospheres.!!

Favorite tracks: "Postalled"; "Six Ways from Sunday" and "Consumption"

Produced by Withering Soul

Recorded by Withering Soul

Tracks: 1- Possession of Deception; 2- The Frozen Oblivion; 3- Infinite Circle; 4- Fallen Release; 5- A Midnight Eclipse

Here we have a great band with a strong emphasis on atmospheres and climatic passages with a lot of depression while having an ultra heavy sound. Withering Soul has a lot of interesting keyboard parts thata re the main ingredient of the band´s music through their interaction wth the heavy guitars. The singer is a really good one who know