7^th NEMESIS / PUNISHMENT - SPLIT CD (Skull Fucked Prods., 2003)

Produced By: Skull Fucked Prod.

Punishment: 5-Godsick, 6- Graveyard Earth, 7- The Enemies Behind, 8- Bullet Time, 9- The Die is Cast, 10- Come With Me

 Cover Art by

This is a heavier than hell split and one of the split CDs of the year.

Punishment "Graveyard Earth" and "Bullet Time"

Contact: www.skullfucked.ht.st

A GOOD DAY FOR KILLING - ASSASSIN (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: A Good Day for Killing

Tracks: 1- Let´s Kill Someone, 2- A Good Day for Killing, 3- Deathgate Opened, 4- Ghoul

 Cover Art by Sarawut

 Recorded at 87 Music Room

Four tracks are enough to reduce your brain into a shapeless pulp with the amazing brutality that A Good Day For Killing´s music has. Here you have to take the most brutal and fast elements of death metal and add some grind influences in many parts to have just a small picture of how this band sounds like. Then you have to imagine a really distorted and raw guitar sound with drumming that uses heavily the cymbals to create mayhemic rhythms. And then you have to add some slower parts that add some climatic feeling to the music here. This will give you an idea of how the band sounds and it will give you an idea of how they will melt your brain with their sheer power crowned by the ultra brutal and guttural vocals that are a trademark of this band. This is an album that guarantees you twelve minutes of pure violence and aggression.

Favorite tracks: The four

Contact: www.thai.net/agdfk/

ACCURSED DAWN - ETERNAL TWILIGHT (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Acursed Dawn

Tracks: 1- Beneath a Sun so Cold, 2- The Becoming, 3- Eternal Twilight, 4- Dead of Winter

 Cover Art by Josh Woods

 Recorded at Nothing But Noise Studios

"Beneath a Sun So Cold" opens the fire of this aggressive death metal album at full speed. The four tracks here are like an explosion of energy full of guttural and screaming vocals that give a brutal feeling to the music, full of fast drumming with a lot of technical passages (this guy does impressive things with the double bass drums creating amazing passages of bestiality). The guitars create a devastating wall of sound with that low tuned sound that is essential for the death metal feeling, developing many arrangements and changes through all the four tracks (also putting some interesting melodies as it happens at 2:50 of "Beneath..." and some twin guitar parts). One really good thing here is the good sound that the recording has, being raw but powerful and giving the brutality to the instruments that they deserve. Brutality done with good musicinship.

Favorite tracks: The four

Contact: www.accurseddawn.com

ACE SOUNDS - STILL HUNGRY (Snapper Music, 2003)

Produced By:

Tracks: 1- Jet from California, 2- Back up, 3- One way love, 4- There´s no pleasin´some people, 5- No fear pf falling, 6- Skiers of Texas, 7- Glass Ceiling, 8- Your face hurts, 9- 45 Grave, 10- Prisoner, 11- This is the last time, 12- Mind taken over, 13- Phoenix, 14- We be

Cover Art by

 Recorded at

This is the solo album from former Skunk Anansie guitar player Ace and it is an album with a lot of variations track by track. No track is even similar to the other one. The music here is pure heavy rock with influences from different styles of music and with great guests participations from other musicians such as Lemmy from Motorhead and Yap from One Minute Silence. Some tracks sound heavier and some tracks sound more straight rock but I have one thing to say for certain: you will not be bored while listening to this album. In fact, you will find yourself guessing what the next track is going to sound like. There is good musicianship here that allows the band to switchfrom one style to the other with solid rhythmic work and interesting arrangements.

Favorite tracks: "No fear of falling", "Prisoner" and "Mind taken Over"

Contact: www.acesounds.com or www.snappermusic.com

AJATTARA - KUOLEMA (Spikefarm Recs, 2003)

Produced By: Ajattara

Tracks: 1- Antakaa Elää, 2- Surman Henki, 3- Haureus, 4- Huoran Alla, 5- Ikiyössä, 6- Musta Leski, 7- Sielun Särkijä, 8- Kituvan Kiitos, 9- Helvetissä on Syntisen Taivas, 10- Rauhassa

Mastered by Mika Jussila

 Recorded at Studiolla Marraskuusa

This is a superb work of art. How can a band combine extreme music and aggression with amazing orchestration and arrangements? Well, ask the guys in Ajattara. The band kicks off with "Antakaa Elää" with the amazing keyboards interacting with the heavier than fuck guitars. Then comes the extreme vocals that add sort of a death metal or more extreme metal feeling fitting the music perfectly. A remarkable thing here is the amazing mix that the album has that allows each instrument to sound clearly even in the fastest parts. The compositions here are grandiloquent and epic and I really loved that. I have to congratulate the keyboardist for adding here an amazing dark touch and a lot of the obscure feeling that the recording has. A must !!!

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.ajattara.cjb.net or www.spinefarm.fi

ALKEMYST- MEETING IN THE MIST (Nuclear Blast Recs., 2003)

Produced By: Alkemyst

Tracks: 1- Spells and Elixirs, 2- Still Alive, 3- It´s Time, 4- Up to Heaven´s Gate, 5- Hold on to Your Dream, 6- A Meeting in the Mist, 7- Passage, 8- Empty Skies, 9- Nameless Son Chapter 1: The Awakening, 10- Nameless Con Chapter 2: The Falling Star

 Cover Art by Alkemyst

A majestic intro with great orchestration sounding like a string section and keyboards opens this album full of progressive heavy and power metal. Drums enters ina really technical way doing nteresting fills and patterns before the full band enters. Here we have a lot of virtuosism from a band that sunds like a mix of bands like Stratovarius, Helloween, Yngwie Malmsteen and others of the styles. THe recording has an amazing sound. There is not that much originality here but this album will be loved by lovers of the style. The singer is a really good one, sounding sometimes close to Michael Kiske and sometimes to Timo Kotipleto. There is plent of keyboards and guitar solos here. For lovers of power metal and good songs in the style full of virtuosism in the guitars and keyboards.

Favorite tracks: "It´s time", "A meeting in the mist" and "Empty Skies"

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

ALL SHALL PERISH - HATE MALICE REVENGE (Amputated Vein Recs., 2003)

Produced By: Zack Ohren and All Shall Perish

Tracks: 1- Deconstruction, 2- Laid to rest, 3- Our Own Grave, 4- The Spreading Disease, 5- Sever the Memory, 6- For far to long..., 7- Never Ending War, 8- Herding the Brainwashed

 Cover Art by Ben Orum

 Recorded at Castle Ultimate Studios

A brutal voice opens this album with a long growl and then enters the whole brutality of All Shall Perish. Here every note was composed in order to devastate you with utter heaviness and with extreme brutality. Plus everything sounds even more bestial because of the good mix that this album has (the drums sound killer and this guy is an amazing drummer). I really liked the way in which the vocals are used that instead of spitting the vocals is used to emphasize certain riffs or rhythms (check the end of "Decontruction" as an example of this). One of the most solid rhythm sections in brutal death metal the one in All Shall Perish allows the band to be extremely fast and never loose control sounding always extremely tight. This album is essential to lovers of bands like Hate Eternal that have a lot of brutality and at the same time a lot of technical skills. Devastating !!

Favorite tracks: "Deconstruction", "Sever the Memory" and "For far too long"

Contact: www.amputatedvein.com

AMORAL - OTHER FLESH (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Amoral

Tracks: 1- Other Flesh, 2- Metamorphosis, 3- Nothing Daunted

 Cover Art by Kristina Sundman

 Recorded at Sonic Pump Studios

.Directly from Helsinki, Finland comes this pure death metal band with interesting riffs and some thrash influences. This guys deliver three tracks here that leave you wanting mroe Amoral. The heart and soul of Amoral´s music are the guitar riffs that are really technical and go well beyond those commonly used in death metal, using even twin guitars and many arrangement in the way some eighties thrash metal used to do. But the guys in Amoral have taken this type of riffs and added a more powerful sound. Plus they have a killer drummer who knows how to play double bass drumming and who also does interesting patterns with hihat and ride cymbal. The voice is really extreme as in bands like early Entombed. This is a MCD that leaves us waiting for the new Amoral album full of their good musicianship.

Favorite tracks: the three

Contact: www.amoralweb.com

ANTARCTICA - UNLEASH THE DOGS OF WAR (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Antarctica

Tracks: 1- When Weapons Decide, 2- So many assholes - So Few bullets, 3- Forever Reign in Terror, 4- Peace Means nothing but reloading your weapons, 5- hate domain

 Cover Art by Attila

 Recorded at Mansion Studio

Some issues back we reviewed Antarctica´s previous album, and I have to say that despite being a really good album, this one is a good step forward for this norwegian band. This time the band is even more solid and powerful with their mix of death metal with brutal death and with modern metal. This guys have a lot of good musicianship that allows them to create amazing compositions full of memorable riffs (just check the first track "So many Assholes" to see what I am talking about). There are some blast beats here and there and a lot of heavy double bass work. As I said before the guitar riffs are memorable and are really well developed in order to give the song enoughhooks to remain in your brain after it has been melted by the power of the band. The rhythm section here is killer and the bass playing is mixed louder than in the previous album which is something I like a lot because it gives the opportunity to listen to the killer bass lines that play things that are similar yet very different to the guitar ones. Good musicianship and devastating compositions.

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.home.no/antarctica

ANTROPOMORFIA - ENGENDRO (Necromance Recs., 2003)

Produced By: Antropomorfia

Tracks: 1- Trance, 2- Hedor Pestilente, 3- Asi te pudras, 4- Corruptus Interium, 5- Holocausto Canibal, 6- En el nombre de Dios, 7- Mortal Curación, 8-Corpore in Sepulto, 9- En avanzado estado e descomposición, 10- Metastasis, 11- Engendro, 12- Requiem, 13- Nu-Metal, 14- After World Obliteration

 Cover Art by Antropomorfia

Pure brutality at its most extreme level . This is one of the most brutal badns coming from Spain. there are fast guitar riffs all over this recording and the brutal vocals emphasize the rhythms that are played at full speed with hyper fast double bass drumming and interesting blast beats thrown here and there to add that really extreme feeling. There are some rhythmic riffs which I think are the heaviest ones and I think the band has to follow this path in order to develope compositions with even more brutality. Some of teh tracks are in spanish labnguage but that won´t bother people who don´t speak this language because the main thing here is the impact of the vocals sound in the musical context and that is really brutal despite the language in which the lyrics are.Pure bestiality coming directly from Iberia.

Favorite tracks: "En el nombre de Dios", "Mortal Curación" and "Engendro"

Contact: www.necromancemag.com

ANTUBEL - ANTUBEL (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Antubel

Tracks: 1- Days Have Died, 2- The Face, 3- Wretched Spectre, 4- Antubel, 5- Nothing

 Cover Art by Antubel

A climatic yet raw sounding release. Antubel is a duo with extremely dark and sad ideas that they have put into their music. Here the guitars are raw and they deliver many melodies that create passages where you can imagine a landscape similar to the one in the cover art, something like dark woods in a winter day. There are keyboards here that make interesting arrangements and orchestrations in the compositions emphasizing the doom sound of the release and they are essential to generate the darkness that Antubel´s music has. The vocals are really extrems sounding really guttural in many places (they are like another instrument used to describe this dark place where the music transports you). This is what I called climatic music with a heavy attitude. The sound is extremely raw, specially on the guitars which are extremely distorted. Lovers of the dark will surely crave for this good release.

Favorite tracks: "Days have Died", "Wretched Spectre" and "Antubel"

Contact: darkantubel@hotmail.com

ART OF DESTRUCTION - UNDER ATTACK DEMO (Sinternational Recs., 2003)

Produced By: Art of Destruction

Tracks: 1- Under Attack, 2- End of the Suffering, 3- Pay for your freedom, 4- The Blood you Gave

 Cover Art by Art of Destruction

Art of Destruction is really brutal that Sinternational is releasing among their catalog of bestial bands. Here we have a band that delivers four tracks of pure brutal death metal with influences of old school death metal bands like the ones in the early nineties but with a more modern sound. Here we have potent guitar riffs played with a really fat guitar sound (that combined with the heavy bass guitar sounds huge!!) and amazing fast drumming with double bass patterns and almost blast beats in the use of the snare drum. There are climatic moments like in the middle section of "Under Attack" but the main thing here is the brutality that the four compositions have that don´t have mercy for the listener crushing it like a 100 tons hammer. The sound is raw and it can be mixed a little bit more polished in order to achieve a cleaner sound but the overall result is amazingly bestial. Pure brutality with an old school feeling.

Favorite tracks: "Under Attack", "End of the Suffering" and "The Blood you Gave"

Contact: www.sinternational.net or www.artofdestruction.com

ARVINGER - HELGARDS FALL (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Arvinger

Tracks: 1- Ut fra havn, 2- I Skogens Marke, 3- Hyllest, 4- Markets Dal, 5- Tapre Krigere, 6- Kalt Ved Navn, 7- Kongsarven, 8- Fanget av Vinden,, 9- Endetiden

 Cover Art by Arvinger

Pure epic black metal coming from Norway. This band plays really obscure metal with raw guitars and a combination of ultra fast riffs with more rhythmic ones. Plus, here we have an omniprescent keyboard that gives a lot of the orchestration to the compositions adding a darker feeling to them. The vocals are sometimes more extreme, sometimes more epic, depending on the feeling that Hauk and Djerv, the main brains behind Arvinger want to give to the music. There is an acoustic guitar that gives a completely different and magnificent feeling to tracks like "I Skogens Marke". Plus there is heavy use of fiddles and female vocals which are really well used on this album. This album is really powerful and at the same time has many things to discover on each listening. I recommend this to all fans of dark and obscure music that want something new to listen.

Favorite tracks: "I Skogens Marke", "Markets Dal" and "Kongsarven"

Contact: www.arvinger.com

ATROCIOUS DEVOURED - LIVE MURDERS (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Live in Metal and Atrocious Devoured

Tracks: 1- Times, 2- I Don´t Like it, 3- Pain Ecstasy, 4- Live Murders, 5- In the Desert infinite, 6- Killer Gods, 7- Golden Jail, 8- Murderer, 9- Under Your Eyes, 10- Hatred, 11- Ich Will Inhaus

 Cover Art by Mick B.

 Recorded at Studio La Cuisine

Here is the new Atrocious Devoured album and it is a good progression from the rpevious one, specially in sound. This is specially evident on the rerecorded tracks from "Golden Jail". Yes, here the guitars soujnd more powerful and clear while the drums are upper in the mix giving more strength to this wild band´s music. The guitars are fast and wild as always, giving the death metal feeling to the music and adding also some thrash metal to the mix. The vocals are also responsible of the deadly feeling that the music has, being really extreme and screaming (and sometimes guttural). There is double bass drumming and some thrash rhythmic patterns played at full speed thata re the essence of Atrocious Devoured´s music. Plus we have her interesting tempo and rhythm changes that add diversity. A good step forward for this killer band !

Favorite tracks: "Pain Ecstasy", "Killer Gods" and "Murderer"

Contact: http://perso.infonie.fr/atrocious.dev/

BADLY PRESERVED - DECADES OF DENIAL (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Badly Preserved

Tracks: 1- Blueprint, 2- Reasons, 3- D.O.D., 4- Running on Empty, 5- Alteration, 6- Trapped in a Child´s Mind, 7- Silent Scream, 8- Fragments, 9- Clear Again, 10- Random Numbers, 11- Adjust

Cover Art by Saz

 Recorded at BP-Studio

Overwhelming guitars with rhythmic drumming opens this album giving shape to the first song "Blueprint". Then comes a soft type of vocals that soon turns into most extreme voices screaming and spitting the lyrics. The guys in Badly Preserved are really tight, specially the rhythm section that is like a clock because of its precission. There is a lot of difference between the compositions here and that is essential to make this album really amusing and to keep the attentionof the listener. the mix is one of the things that have to be pointed out because it is really clear and gives that extra punch that all guitars need in order to sound like a wall of sound . This guy L-Tone is great in the vocals because he knows how to give a certain mood to the composition and how to sound aggressive and that is extra points for Badly Preserved. Pure power with a lot of intensity and variations.

Favorite tracks: "Reasons", "Fragments", "Random Numbers"

Contact: www.badlypreserved.com

BAG LADY - 6 - BHARATA (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Paul Sven de Haan and Tiemen Seinstra

Tracks: 1- AFUfilt.dot, 2- Anti You, 3- Angrylittleman #2, 4- The throne #2: Dethronement, 5- Region, 6- Karoshi, 7- Insect Life, 8- Who the fucka re you?, 9- Wanted: reasons to be happy, 10- Kaputt, 11- Canicide, 12- Bharata, 13- God´s Own Country, 14- Popus, 15- Zumo de Vivo

Cover Art by Tiemen Seinstra

.A strange sound opens up this of strange yet original music. Here we have a band whose music is clearly metal because of its heavy sounding guitars but they can not be classified within either style known. Just check "AFUfilt.dot" to see the ultra weird and abrupt changes that this band does. The combination of keayboards used in a completely differnt way (really experimental and almost spontaneous in many places) combined with sounds effects and programmed drums give an amazing sound to Bag Lady ´s music. The extreme vocals add an extreme metal feeling, even death metal in many parts. There are infinite changes in rhythm, in tempo, in melodies and in arrangements within each of the tracks here. This is sometimes chaotic and sometimes more song oriented but always experimental and original. You will not believe all the different elements that this band is capable of putting into its own compositions. And this is really extreme music. A weird yet amazing and recomendable album.

Favorite tracks: "Insect Life", "Canicide" and "God´s Own Country"

Contact: www.baglady.nl

BALROG - KILL YOURSELF (DBM Prods. / Aeon Recs. , 2003)

Produced By: DBM and JBRollin

Tracks: 1- Kill Yourself, 2- Neutronized, 3- Kingdom of My Own, 4- Lead the Rats to their End, 5- All Life Will Turn into Death, 6- Funeral March of Mankind, 7-Tyranic Dreams, 8- Agonie, 9- Sword of Death, 10- Black Half

 Recorded at Studio Cube

Balrog is the main brain, heart and soul (a really dark one) of this one man project. He performs all guitars, basses, programs all the drums and does all the vocals here. This album opens with a funereal intro with keyboards where Balrog sets his trademark: the ultraobscure atmosphere that all the compositions here have. Then come the most black metal parts full of speed and hatred. One thing that I have to remark is that this recording has a really good sound that makes the music more powerful and clear. The combination of fast parts with blast beats with more climatic moments is another element that is essential to Balrog´s music. Here he delivers fast riffs and melodies with his guitar developing the blackest of all musics. Unholy souls awake and kneel down before Balrog !

Favorite tracks: "Kingdom of My Own", "Funeral March of Mankind" and "Sword of Death"

Contact: balrog6@caramail.com

BATTLESWORD - FAILING IN TRIUMPH (Neon Knights Recs, 2003

Produced By: Battlesword

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- Chapter II, 3- Baptized in Fire, 4- Battlesword, 5- This Silent Night, 6- Fatal Dreaming, 7- Bloody Reign, 8- Last Rising Sun, 9- Stormking, 10- Into the Soul

Cover Art by Battlesword

First you listen some battle sounds and then you have a brutal sound coming when the band enteres. If you expected a black metal band you are completely wrong. Here we have really brutal death metal with origianl riffs and multiple tempo changes that are the essence of the band when they switch from the most brutal parts to the climatic ones. And I think this climatic parts where the band uses guitar riffs more midpaced are the essence of Battlesword´s music. This climatic parts are really dark in nature giving a feeling of darkness to each of the compositions here. The sound of the recording is good and the guitars have the palms because of their compact sound. Brutality mixed with interesting climatic parts

Favorite tracks: "Baptized in Fire", "Bloody Reign" and "Fatal Dreaming"

Contact: neonknights@t-online.de

BIOMECHANICAL - EIGHT MOONS (Revolver Records, 2003)

Produced By: John K.

Tracks: 1- the Awakening, 2- Do You know Me, 3- In the Core of Darkness, 4- Distorted, 5- Hunted, 6- No Shadows, 7- Eight Moons, 8- Save Me, 9- Point of No Return

 Cover Art by DesignerAnimator.com

 Recorded at The Sony Studios

Opening with a fast riff in "The Awakening", Biomechanical shows how hard their mix of heavy metal and thrash metal with some elements and modern metal can be. The guitar riffs sound fast and powerful with a modern sound that when combined with the precise drumming turns the band into a killing metal machine. I find some elments of Vicious Rumours in the band´s music and that is cool because I feel that this is an extremely powerful band. There are great guitar arrnagements done through melodic solos, cool breaks and also interesting keyboards orchestration in tracks like "Eight Moons". The band sounds really modern, specially the drums that are really well mixed adding a modern metal feeling to the music. The songs here are really well developed and are memorable yet devastating. This is pure metal and a good bridge between classic sound and a more modern one.

Favorite tracks: "The Awakening", "Hunted" and "Eight Moons"

Contact: www.biomechanical.co.uk or www.revolver-records.com

BLACKENED - A JESTER´S TALE (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Blackened

Tracks: 1-

 Cover Art by Blackened

Pure motherfucking metal !! The guys in Blackened sure know how to play heavy riffs and how to develope good heavy metal songs. Here we have killer and memorable riffs with an european influence in them (there is no doubt that this guys come from Germany. The vocals are an essential part of the music here because they are really memorable and good choruses are developed in all the songs in this album. The rhythm section is really solid and there are interesting double bass passages where the drumming shines. One fundamental element here are the guitar melodies too that add more arrangements and orchestration to the tracks. This is pure metal with powerful sound and full of interesting ideas. This is one of those albums that you will lsiten over and over again.

Favorite tracks: All the CD. This is heavy metal played the way it must be played

Contact: www.blackened.de

BLACKLODGE - LOGIN: SATAN (Blazing Productions, 2003)

Produced By: Blacklodge

Tracks: 1- Login: Satan, 2- Subject to tragedy, 3- Satanus Sextions, 4- Tormentor, 5- Need a Needle to Tap in the vein, 6- The Empress, 7- Mors Ultima Ratio, 8- Redway.org , 9- Suicide Tutorials, 10- An Error in Darkness, 11- T.A.O.S. (The Arrival of Satan), 12- W.Y.N.F.S. (Whiten Your Nose for Satan)

Cover Art by Saint Vincent

 Recorded at Hellfuck Studios, Northern Sky Studios

Some strange noises and sounds opens this album before getting into ultra fast and furious guitar riffs with high speed drumming and really extreme vocals that have some effects on them to give them an even more distorted quality. The guitars sound extremely raw and they play riffs at fast speed that when combined with the programmed drums add a machine like feeling to Blacklodge’s music. There are moments where the riffs turn into more rhythmic parts like in 2:50 of the title track giving a complete change of feeling to the composition but adding even more interest to the music.The whole recording has a really raw sound that gives a black metal feeling to the music. But the band is more than simple black metal, having their own identity through distortion and some electronics. Really extreme !!

Favorite tracks: "Subject to tragedy", "Redway.org" and "An error in darkness"

Contact: www.blazing.ws

BLESSMON - SACRIFICIUM AETERNITATIS (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Blessmon

Tracks: 1- Carnage of Humanity, 2- Way to Eternity, 3- The Dark Lords Son, 4- Damnation

Cover Art by M. Long

.Fucking black metal full of hatred!!!! Yes, Blessmon is an unholy band that plays the blackest of all metal styles. One thing that I liked is that the guitar is mixed louder than in most black emtal bands giving an extre heaviness to the music. Here you have all the elements that a black metal must have: blast beats, dark atmospheres, an extreme vocal, ultra fast drumming with heavy double bass passages. There are some more mid paced parts where the band developes darker ideas and I think that the band has to use this type of arrangements more often because they sound killer and this gives a lot of identity to Blessmon´s music. The fastest parts are really extreme and the good yet raw mix allows to lsiten clearly (the hihat is mixed lower than in most black metal bands letting all the guitars be fully audible. Pure unholy black metal for each obscure mind and soul !!

Favorite tracks: "Carnage of Humanity", "Way to Eternity" and "Damnation"

Contact: www.blessmon.com

BLOODWORK - IN HIS DEATH (Tarantula Promotions, 2003)

Produced By: Bloodwork

Tracks: 1- Bloodshed, 2- Yet i walk

 Cover Art by Bloodwork

Opening climaticaly with the beginning of "Bloodshed" the guys in Bloodwork show what they are capable of doing in two tracks. The songs are well developed and the band sounds really powerful in both tracks. What I think they should check is the drums sound that has the hihat sound a little bit loud in the mix opaquing some frecuencies of the guitars. The voice is extremely guttural and it is good to see the contrast between the aprts with use of clean guitars such as the beginning of "Bloodshed" with the heavy guitars and the most guttural vocals. This is a good preview of what this band is capable of doing.

Favorite tracks: Both

Contact: www.tarantulapromotions.com

BRUCKMANN / DIAZ-INFANTE/SHIURBA / STACKPOLE - GRAND MAL (Pax Recordings, 2003)

Recorded By: Myles Boisen

Tracks: 1- Catatonic Posturing I, 2- Nervous Tic, 3- Gray Matter, 4- Spatial Agnosia, 5- The final "d" in "grand" is not pronounced, 6- Big, bad, 7- Retrograde Amnesia, 8- Shaking Palsy, 9- Tonic Clonic, 10- Catatonic Posturing II

 Recorded at Guerrilla Recording

.Killer improvisations is what we have here. We didn´t expected any other than superb spontaneous music by Ernesto Díaz-Infante. Here we have three other improvisers with him: Kyle Bruckmann playing oboe and english horn, John Shiurba playing electric guitar and Karen Stackpole on percussion. From the first second the madness and imagination of this musicians is unleashed over the lsitener. Here there are over forty five minutes of pure improvisations and generation of musical ideas. Thisquartet of spontaneous musicians interact really well creating fascinating passages where the moods change fastly alternating fast parts with climatic slower ones. There is also a search for the ultimate sound of the instrument and also for the multiplicity of sounds that can be achieved on each of the isntruments present on this recording. Here you have to be really open minded to lsitenb to all the ten composaitions that the quartet presents here. A must for improvisers ans spontaneous music lovers.

Favorite tracks: "Gray Matter", "Big, Bad" and "Tonic Clonic"

Contact: www.paxrecordings.com

BRUIT´AGE - HILL PAIN(Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Bruit´Age

Tracks: 1- 31.11, 2- Shades of Blood, 3- Tribal Dance, 4- FFYD, 5- Bonus

Cover Art by Bruit´Age

A really brutal band with an extrmely raw sound specially in the guitars. There is a good combination of guttural vocals and more of the screaming type (hardcore type) voices here. The band sounds tight and their music is really extreme but at the same time has enough hooks to be memorable. There are many funny moments here (almost in many places sounding like a fusion between a brutal death band and the funniest Frank Zappa). The use of ultra distorted guitars combined with others that are cleaner in tracks like the fifth one add diversity to the music here. The drums are a little bit buried in the mix and I think they should be mixed a little bit louder (specially snare drums and bass drums). A brutal release.

Favorite tracks: "Shades of Blood" and "Bonus"

Contact: http://bruitage.tuxfamily.org

BURNT BY THE SUN - THE PERFECT IS THE ENEMY OF THE GOOD (Relapse Recs., 2003)

Produced By: Matt Bayles and Burnt by the Sun

Tracks: 1- Abril los Ojos, 2- Washington Tube Steak, 3- Battleship, 4- Forlani, 5- 180 Proof, 6- , 7- Arrivial of Nihuru, 8- Patient 957, 9- 2012, 10- , 11- Spinner Dunn, 12- Pentagons and Pentagrams, 13- Rev 101, 14-

Mixed at Avast Studios

 Recorded at trax East Studios

This is extreme brutality. After a short intro with ambient noises comes all the power of this band blending the most brutal death metal with a more modern band such as the one in bads like Machine Head. The band is epert in building crushing guitar riffs and rhythms that smashes your brain against the floor. The vocals are really death metal most of the time but again we have also here some modern sounding screaming which is not as guttural but that is extremely powerful and effective. It is remarkable the good sound that the band has achieved on this album and here it has a lot to do the brilliant production of Matt Bayles who also produced bands like Isis or Mastodon. This is a killer album that will appeal to those loving crunching guitars and heavier than hell riffs and pounding rhythms.

Favorite tracks: "Washington Tube Steak", "180 Proof" and "Patient 957"

Contact: www.burntbythesun.com or www.relapse.com

BYATIS - IN DARK ABYSSES OF MEMORY (Skull Fucked Prods, 2003)

Produced By: Byatis

Tracks: 1- Glorification of Life, 2- The Empire is..., 3- Apology of War, 4- Waiting, 5- Akhilleus, 6- Nornes 1: Urd, 7- Nornes II: Verdandt, 8- Nornes III: Skuld

Engineered by Hubert Letombe

 Recorded at Midnight Studio

A climatic riff with a guitar line played fastly opens this album before the whole band enters (with a cool double bass pattern). Byatis is pure death metal in its most brutal form. Here you have a lot of blast beats, an extremelñy guttural that makes Deicide´s Glen Benton sound like a ballad singer, and also the band has killer guitars with a low tune that adds heaviness to the riffs that they play. There are multiple breaks and changes and the palms here go to the tight as helkl rhythm section thnat is extremely solid and don´t miss a beat through all the tracks. The sound of the recording is clear and I think that I would have mixed a little bit louder the bass and the rhythm guitars in order to make the sound even more compact. One thing to remark is the use of some melodies and riffs that are not typical of the style in order to add a different feeling to the compositions. This is pure brutal death metal full of aggression.  

Favorite tracks: "Glorification of Life", "Apology of War" and "Nornes 1"

Contact: www.skullfucked.ht.st

CALMSITE - BITE THE POWERLINE (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Jani Loikas

Tracks: 1- Dienasty, 2- Melting the Frost, 3- Skinning Service

Cover Art by Calmsite

This is the third recording from this finnish band that we review on Music Extreme and it is possible for us to follow the evolution that this band has suffered since their first one improving with each new release. This MCD opens with one track that is a potential hit from this band. It is called "Dienasty" and is extremely powerful yet it has enough hooks in the guitar riffs and in the vocals (really deathly vocals) to be a hit in the metal world. The rhythm section is now more open than in the previous releases letting the guitar riffs and melodies breath more and develope more crushing rhythms and also helping the keyboards to sound really powerful. The sound is the best up to now and this is essential for the band because they are becoming more polished and effective each time. As always the recording leaves you wanting more from this band but we will have to wait to next time to listen more of them. But the quality of teh band leaves you with a lot of anxiety.

Favorite tracks: The three

Contact: http://listen.to/calmsite

CHARLOTTE HUG / CHANTALE LAPLANTE - BRILLIANT DAYS (For 4 Ears Recs., 2003)

All tracks by Charlotte Hug and Chantale Laplante

Tracks: 1- Aujourd´hui j´ai admiré le paysage, 2- Matieres Agiteés, 3- Ciel, 4- Zone of Zest, 5- Brilliant Arch

Cover Art by Barbara Hediger

 Recorded at the Free RadiCCals Festival, at the Internationales Künstlerhaus Villa Concordia

We have reviewed before some work from the amazing Charlotte Hug...here she is joined by Chantale Laplante on laptop and both create sonic landscapes that go beyond imagination. There are times when you think that they will create some chaos by playing really dissonant notes and noises but then they show you that they are in complete control of everything. It is really good to see such diffferent instruments playing together because you can hear them interacting in a really good way. And it is good to listen to Chantale because it is not so common to listen music generated with a computer in this type of live situations. This is pure experimentation and both Charlotte and Chantale have no boundaries in their imagination and spontaneity.

Favorite tracks: "Matieres Agiteés" and "Brilliant Arch"

Contact: www.for4ears.com

COCKROACH - TEMPLE OF MYSTERY (Supreme Chaos Records, 2003)

Produced By: Cockroach

Tracks: 1- Trial, 2- Phantom of the Dawn, 3- total Gym, 4- Temple of Mystery, 5- Underworld, 6- Inner Fire, 7- Fallen Angel, 8- Tears, 9- Cockroach, 10- Suck me beautiful, 11- Personal War, 12- Tekilla

Cover Art by Alexander Rauser

 Recorded at Sub Zero Studios

Cockroach is an extremely powerful sounding band with incredibly heavy riffs played with a really good sound (the mix of this record is really good) that are crushing from beginning to end. The music has many eighties thrash influences but this modern sound that this guitar sounds give a different feeling to the music. There are many guitar arrangements where the two guitars interact with a lot of ideas doing harmonized phrases and riffs and not falling into cliches. The rhythm secrtion is solid and there are good double bass drumming work and also a lot of thrash rhythms. Franhk, the singer is really versatile sounding really heavy on all the tracks, with heavy thrash metal influences but using also a modern approach in the ehavier parts. I have to remark the good sound that this album has making things even heavier and clearer due to the good mix. A powerful and thrashing album.

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.cockroach.de.vu or www.s-c-r.de

COMITY - THE DEUS EX-MACHINA AS A FORGOTTEN GENIUS (Messiah Recs./ Jason Recs., 2003)

Produced By: Comity

Tracks: 1- Act III - Scene 1, 2- Act II, 3- Act I - Scene 2, 4- Act IV - Scene 6, 5- Hidden Scene from Act III

This is what I called twisted metal!! Here we have a band that in the surface is death metal with some grind elements but they are much more than that.In fact, their music is full of changes in rhythm, in pace and this guys love to experiment with their instruments making each of the tracks that are on this album really original. The music on this album is not easy listening and you have to be pretty open minded to listen the infinite ideas that this band has. It is amazing to listen this band change from an extremely chaotic part to a really calm one within ten seconds and being extremely coherent. The vocals are extremely screaming and guttural giving the death/grind feeling to the music but this band has no boundaries and they make interesting contrasts between the more extreme parts with the climatic ones. This is a must for any lover of original music, but beware, be prepared to something completely new.

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.godsaredead.com or www.jason.fr.fm or www.comity.fr.st

CONSPIRACY - DEMO 2002 (Mad Messiah Music, 2002)

Produced By: Conspiracy

Tracks: 1- Let´s Get Crazy, 2- trapped, 3- Believe, 4- Shine

 Cover Art by Jason Juta

 Recorded at Steel Vault Studios

This four song MCD opens with some acoustic guitar and melancholic vocals before getting into the heavier stuff. And surely the guys in Conspiracy can crush you with their powerful guitar riffs and they demonstrate all their power in this four compositions. Here the main thing are the rhythms created by the guitars and strongly emphasized by the drums and bass but here there is also place for a lot of arrangments and interesting ideas. Everything here is pure metal. I like the tempo changes int racks like "Believe" where the band delivers interesting passages. I have to remark also the good work done by the vocalist (sort of a mix between John Bush and the singer in Trouble because of the melancholic overtone). This is strong metal with a good sound and with some classical influences that are transformed into Conspiracy´s own sound.

Favorite tracks: the four

Contact: www.conspiracyrocks.com

CORPORAL RAID - XENOPHILISM (Bizarre Leprous Prods., 2003)

Produced By: Corporal Raid

Tracks: 1- Assimilation/ Urethral H.C., 2- Proliferation of Fecal Pus, 3- Epathosplenomegalix, 4- Fist Fucking Enema, 5- Headfuck Oral Sex, 6- Abdominal Vaporization, 7- Limphatic Carcinoma, 8- Clitocritical Perforation, 9- Endoentestinal Excrement, 10- Fuck the Nerds, 11- Vulcoxantorrea, 12- Splattered Vagina, 13- Massive Ignorance, 14- Rectal Collapse, 15- Sexual Acceleration, 16- Sacrococcigeal Teratoma, 17- Preborn Pedophilism, 18- Cerebral Menses, 19- Fetish Copro-Dementia, 20- Lesbian Cunnilingus, 21- Star Grinding Wars (the final Chapter)

 Cover Art by Corporal Raid

 Recorded at Moonhouse Studio

Starting with a low volume intro that is really calm yet obscure, the guys in Corporal Raid soon get in the full speed mode that is the essence of their music. The music here is pure grindcore with some elements of the most brutal death metal. Here we have blast beats all over the record and the way they are played proves the amazing physical state and technicque of this killer drummer. Corporal Raid uses the most distorted type of guitars with extremely distorted bass guitar that acts as another guitar doing all the powerful riffs that you can hear on this album. As the style demands the vocals here are extremely guttural sounding as another brutal isntrument. This is pure grindcore/death with good sound that makes things even more bestial !!!

Favorite tracks: "Proliferation...", "Limphatic Carcinoma " and Splattered Vagina"

Contact: www.bizarreleprous.cz or bizlepned@hetnet.nl

CROSSOVER - DEBAUCHERY PROMO (Deadsun Recs, 2003)

Produced By: Crossover

Tracks: 1- World Crescendo, 2- N.M.E., 3- The Pilgrimage, 4- The sign of evil existence (Rotting Christ cover)

Cover Art by

Crossover is a powerful band coming directly from Greece. Are you expecting black metal? Wrong ! This is pure metal with some death metal influences in some parts and interesting vocals that give a different feeling from the one expected (sort of gurttural in some parts and thrash in others). I find interesting how this guys have taken influences from eighties complex thrash and they have modernized the sound and added their own identity to the guitar riffs and to all the music here. The drumming is really good with interesting double bass and changes in rhythm and tempo. There is a lot of technical aprts here and there are some interesting melodies included that give a lot of identity to Crossover. This is a really powerful album judging by the four good tracks (including a Rotting Christ cover) that we have here. I would really like to listen the full version of this killer album that ahs twelve powerful tunes.

Favorite tracks: The four

Contact: or www.deadsunrecords.com

CRYOGENIC - PARSIFAL 21 (Neon Knights Recs, 2003)

Produced By: Cryogenic

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- Cryogenesis, 3- Das Andere, 4- 4, 5- Momentum, 6- Verzweiflung, 7- Synthese, 8- Erste Elegie, 9- Parsifal 21

Cover Art by Cryogenic

This album opens with no mercy showing all the elements that are essential to Cryogenic’s identity: the original riffs that are not of the type that one is accustomed to listen in extreme styles like black metal, then the rhythms that don’t abuse speed, preferring to concentrate in more complex patterns and passages. The vocals here are of the darkest type, mostly sung with a voice that has low and middle range and in some parts screaming and also spoken in others. One of the best things here are the guitar melodies that give a lot of feeling to the music contrasting with the aggression of the riffs and complementing them. The tracks here have a dark feeling that is enhanced with the use of orchestrating keyboards that give an epic quality to Cryogenic’s music. There are some tracks that are sung in german language and that gives a different feeling to the music too. This album is a must.

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: neonknights@t-online.de or black-attakk@t-online.de

DAGORLAD - THE END OF THE DARK AGES (independent, 2001)

Produced By: Dagorlad

Tracks: 1- Intro, 2- Sul Dahr, 3- The Revelation to Mallek, 4- The Cauldron of Death, 5- The Bull of Karos, 6- Neflit, demon from the Depths, 7- the Warriors of the ancient battle of Sulfin, 8- The March of the Dead, 9- The Holy Battle of Vorneas, 10- Epilogue

 Recorded at Luna Mora

A majestic introduction opens this album ...and from beginning to end this album is amazing! The combination of aggression with dark orchestration is really killer and here you can see a band whose music is a great combination of brutality with good musicianship. Here the guitars give a lot of the power to the compositions and at the same time the keyboards give the atmosphere that is needed here. Philippe Gandibleu is the risponsible of the grandiloquence that this album has because he has composed all the tracks here. The album has also the beautiful female vocals done by Tinuviel that constrasts heavily with the more extreme one. The sound is raw and that adds a different side to Dagorlad´s music giving different shapes to the music. A must.

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: http://home.tiscalinet.be/dagorlad

DANDELION WINE - LIGHT STREAMING DOWN (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Nicholas Albanis and Naomi Henderson

Tracks: 1- Begin Journey, 2- Light Streaming Down, 3- Les Parapluies Qui Ont Mange Les Paris, 4- To Drown is to Follow, 5- Cella´s Movement, 6- Begin Journey (Rejiggered)

Cover Art by mikegaal.com

An extremely beautiful female vocal open this album (Naomi Henderson is amazing in delivering this lines that send chills down your spine) creating the atmosphere that will prevail through all this amazing recording. The melodies that this voice creates takes you into a journey with a calm atmosphere that when combined with keyboards or guitars brings many pagan images to your mind. This is an album that is ideal to listen with the lights out because in that situation you can appreciate. Imagine a darker Dead Can Dance combined with the most obscure Kari Rueslåtten to just have a small idea of what Dandelion Wine does. Each composition is cleanly and perfectly developed and the use of amazing arrangements is essential for Dandelion Wine´s music. There are parts that have instruments like Cello and flute and this instrumentation add a differnt perspective to the band´s music. An amazing recording

Favorite tracks: All the CD.

Contact: www.dandelionwine.com.au

DANIELE BRUSASCHETTO - POESIA TOTALE DEI MUSCOLI (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Daniele Brusaschetto

Tracks: 1- Canzone per il Disagio, 2- Palla Bianca con Scritta Rossa, 3- Poesia Totale Dei Muscoli, 4- Matilda, 5- Spring Can, 6- Silvestro, 7- Dondolo il Cervello, 8- Arancione d´oro e marrone, 9- Utopico Drink, 10- Se lo Faccio Morirei, 11- Il Bambino Tram

Cover Art by Daniele Brusaschetto

 Recorded at Daniele´s House

Always surprising, Daniele Brusaschetto delivers here a new album full of his experimentation. Here Daniele is not as obscure as in some of his previous albums, preferring to explore a different side of his musical personlaity. As always his guitar delivers interesting arpeggios adn sounds that are created within a song context. There are vocals in italian language sung by Daniele and his voice fits really well the music that he composes. THere are songs that are more calm than others such as "Spring Can" showing an instrospective side of Daniele´s music. Daniele has no limit on this album creating amazing passages and developing new ideas on each track. Pure experimentation with a side where you can listen the album without being overwhelmed by the experimentation.

Favorite tracks: "Poesia...", "Spring Can" and "Utopico Drink"

Contact: www.danielebrusaschetto.com

DARK LUNACY - DEVOID (Metal Blade, 2001)

Produced By: Mike Lunacy and Enömys

Tracks: 1- Dolls, 2- Stalingrad, 3- Forlorn, 4- Frozen memory, 5- Cold Embrace, 6- December, 7- Devoid, 8- Varn Ka, 9- Time for Decay, 10- Fall, 11- Take my Cry

 Cover Art by Pumpkin´s Crew

 Recorded at Sliver Music Studio

This is DarkLunacy´s album previous to "Forget Me Not" and listening to this one is really good to appreciate the evolution of the band in the last couple of years. The ideas that surprised and amazed on "Forget..:" were already present on this superb album. Here the band opens with some violin combined with ehavy riffs in "Dolls". Do you think a band can combine perf4ectly utter heaviness with death metal vocals with technical guitar riffs and interesting orchestration and arrangements. Well, here Dark Lunacy shows how this must be done in order to achieve a masterpiece of dark and atmospheric death metal which I would called atmospheric and progressive death metal due to the complexity of some of the arrangements. There are many melancholic moments with violin and strings and also amazing female vocals. This is a must and this band is a classic !!!

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.darklunacy.com

DARK LUNACY - FORGET ME NOT (Fuel Records, 2003)

Produced By: Enomys

Tracks: 1- the dirge, 2- Lunacyrcus, 3- Fragile Caress, 4- Through the Non-Time, 5- Defaced, 6- Serenity, 7- My Dying Pathway, 8- Fiamm, 9- Lacryma, 10- Die to Reborn, 11- Forget me not

Cover Art by Bloodygirl

 Recorded at Frozen Sound Studio

 "The Dirge" is the name of the violin intro that opens this album full of feelings and full of dark beauty. Dark Lunacy transports us to a world full of darkness with their haunting melodies combined with the aggression of their guitar riffs. Here we have a band that has created this really extreme album with a lot of double bass drumming and fast riffs combined with a string section that clashes and interacts heavily with the band. This is one of the most powerful bands in this style and they have really good musicianship. You can see this in the multiple tempo changes, in the arrangements done with the guitars and with the strings. Also there is a lot of orchestration that is the essence of the band creating the dark atmosphere that Dark Lunacy needs. This album also has a really good mix, specially the drums are killer in the mix sounding loud and almost machine like sounding. A must.

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.darklunacy.com

DARKESTRAH - SARY OY (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Asbath

Tracks: 1- Part I: Sary Oy, 2- Part 2: Jashil Oy, 3- Part 3: Kyzil Oy

Cover Art by Kriegtalith

 Recorded at Vladius Studio, Kyrgustan

"Sary Oy" opens with some string instrument that plays a beautiful rhythm with folk shades while the wind blows in the background. Then enters some wind melody played with sadness and a dark feeling on it. This is pure pagan metal and you realize that when the whole band enters getting into an elaborated kind of black metal with climatic guitar riffs that add melodies and heaviness and with keyboards that give the dark atmosphere to the tracks and orchestrate them. There are some blast beats here at full speed and they are accompanied by keyboards that play chord progressions keeping the darkness in the fastest parts. The main thing here is the combination of heaviness created by guitars and the black metal type of voice and with climatic passages created by the keyboards. The band sounds raw and I would mix the guitar a little bit higher in order to give even more heaviness to the songs. Thumbs up for the keyboards that embellish each of the tracks here in a really good way. Dark pagan metal done with interesting ideas !!

Favorite tracks: The three

Contact: darkestrah@mail15.com

DAWN OF AZAZEL - VITA EST MILITIA SUPER TERRAM (Independent, 2001)

Produced By: Dawn of Azazel

Tracks: 1- Monarch of Bloodshed and eternal victory (solar invictus), 2- Conqueror Throned, 3- Triumph Upon Equinox, 4- Bloodforged Abdication

 Cover Art by Dawn of Azazel

 Recorded at Helios Studios

"Monarch of Bloodshed and Eternal Victory" opens in a really extreme way this four track release. Here we have the most extreme black metal that can be imagined. Starting with the ultra raw guitar sound that demolish the lsitener with the first riff with their chainsaw like sound. The comes the bestial drumming full of cymbal use and blast beats (this guy Phillip Osbourne is extremely fast ). The vocals are ultra bestial full of screaming and also with some guttural voice that does some bestial counterpoints. There are some riffs that wouldn´t be out of place in some brutal death metal band and those are the more midpaced where the band sounds really heavier than hell. The sound is extremely raw and sometimes chaotic creating a really extreme release. Pure bestiality within a black context.

Favorite tracks: "Monarch..." and "Conqueror Throned

Contact: dawnofazazel@hotmail.com

DEATH DIES - PRODUCT OF HATE (Black Tears of Death Recs. , 2003)

Produced By: Death Dies

Tracks: 1- Thorazine, 2- Death Dies, 3- Sundown, 4- Hateproduct, 5- Day of Doom, 6- False Philosophers, 7- Blasphemous Invocation, 8- Faust 2000, 9- Unholy Revenge, 10- The Circle, 11- Roots of Chaos, 12- Trigger

 Cover Art by Hieronimous Bosch

 Recorded at Infernal Studio

Pure raw yet technical black metal. This band delivers here twelve tracks of black emtal with a combination of fast riffs and more technical and twisted ones. The band sounds tight and this is essential here to make the technical passages and the multiple tempo changes sound correctly. One thing here to remark is that this album has been really well mixed specially in drums and guitars allowing each of the instruments to be heard perfecly and really clear. The dark feeling that this album has reflects all the hatred that the band wanted to deliver on it and they have succeeded in transmiting it to the listener. This is pure black metal full of fast riffs and enjoyable changes done by a really tight band.

Favorite tracks: "Death Dies", "False Philosophers" and "The Circle"

Contact: www.btod.com

DEEP THOUGHT - SOMEWHERE IN THE DARK (Galileo Recs., 2003)

Produced By: Deep Thought

Tracks: 1- Clock, 2- Changing the Rules, 3- Waiting for Darkness, 4- Simple Man, 5- Shadows of the Past, 6- Driving, 7- Ice, 8- Morphios, 9- Mud on the Hill

Cover Art by Simone Stickelberger

 Recorded at DT Air Raid Shelter Studios

Deep though is pure progressive rock and metal. Here the main thing is the excellent development of the songs. Each composition here is really well crafted with multiple instrumental passages. And all of them are full of original melodies. Here we have excellent musicians (I have to remark Dominick´s keyboard thata re omniprescent through all the album playing progressions, melodies and solos. Here you have a band that knows how to make complex arrangements and how to always add new elements to the songs. The guitars sound heavy and interact well with the keyboards, and the vocals are really clean and versatile without abusing high pitches (I liked the middle range of the vocalist). Pure progressive music with multiple ideas and excellent musicianship.

Favorite tracks: "Changing the rules", "Waiting for Darkness" and "Driving"

Contact: www.deepthought.ch or www.galileo-records.com

DEFENDERS OF METAL VOL. 1 - THE SEDUCTION (Man in Black Music, 2003)

Produced By: Man In Black Music

Tracks: 1- JESTERS MOON "Forbidden", 2- MOONLIGHT AGONY "Moonlit Horizon", 3- THE PROWLERS "Incubus", 4- ELEMENT "Pressure", 5- MADOG "Heart of Dragonsteel", 6- HELL CANDIDATES "Dead Keep Dyin´", 7-ANTARES "Shutting the Door", 8- Dr. MASTERMIND "Haunted", 9- METHARIA "Riflesso", 10- VICTIM "Bedlam", 11- ART OF FEAR "Pride of Creation", 12- STILL LIFE "Illusions", 13- RAPID FIRE "Liegia", 14- STAIRWAY "Under the Gun", 15- RAIN "Only for the Rain Crew", 16- MERCURY RAIN "Bride of the Dark", 17- SABATAN "Terror Mind", 18- BABYLON "The Sleeper"

This eighteen track compilation is a good opoportunity to listen to diverse metal genres and to listen to bands that you didn´t know before. Here we have bands like Jester´s Moon , Metharia or Sabatan whose music we have reviewed in the past but we also have the instrumental power metal of Moonlight Agony from Sweden (this guy with a better sound, specially on drums will kick ass!) or we have also the eighties sounding spped metal of The Prowlers or even the rocking sound of Element from the USA. There is a good sample here of many different styles and that is excellent because here you have something for very different tastes. The sound of the tracks depends on the band some are better than the other (for example Rapid Fire from Poland has one of the best sounding tracks). If you want to have a good sample of eighteen bands in metal then this is really a good compilation for you.

Favorite bands: Moonlight Agony,

Contact: www.maninblackmusic.com

DEMONCY - EMPIRE OF THE FALLEN ANGEL (Red Stream Recs., 2003)

Produced By: Demoncy

Tracks: 1- Enchanted Woods of Forgotten Love, 2- The Obsidian Age of Ice, 3- Empire of the Fallen Angel, 4- Night Song (Apocalyptic Down), 5- Sepulchral Whispers, 6- Shadows of teh Moon (The Winter Solstice), 7- My kingdom Enshrouded in Necromantical Fog, 8- Warmarch of the Black Hordes, 9- The Ode to Eternal Darkness

Cover Art by Juanjo Castellano

 Recorded at Dark Art/Finlaggan Studios

If I had to describe Demoncy´s music with only one word I would say: HATRED !! The ultra fast riffs played in the most extreme black metal way fit perfectly the fastest of blast beats that the drummer Ixithra plays here. And the vocals are really extreme adding a lot of the unholiness to the music spitting the lyrics with full hate. There are multiple changes in tempo that add variation to each of the track (I hve to say that this album has a good sound where the drums and the guitars shine and ar not buried in the mix as in many bands of the style happens). There is good musicianship here and that is evident in the way the compositions are developed changing from one rhythm to another without making it sound incoherent. This is pure black metal done in a really good way. Lovers of supreme darkness will surely enjoy it

Favorite tracks: "The Obsidian age...", "Sepulcharal Whispers" and "My Kingdom..."

Contact: www.redstream.org or www.demoncy.net

DENIM AND LEATHER - TOO DAMN LOUD !! (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Denim and Leather

Tracks: 1- Watch out, 2- Fist in the Air, 3- Hatred, 4- Gangland, 5- More You Sweat, 6- Lot to Lose, 7- Free Country

Cover Art by D.A.L.

 Recorded at Estudio Paulo B.

Pure metal from this brazilian band. Here we have a band that has a really eighties feeling in their music. We have on this album plenty of heavy metal riffs combined with some thrash influences in the vein of all the early bands of the style such as early Metallica, early Anthrax or even Exodus. There are multiple changes in rhythms and riffs and I liked specially the rhythmic moments with some technical twists. The album has a raw mix that adds more to the eighties feeling making the guitars sound powerful yet with an early thrash feeling on them. This is a really good pure emtal album and I think this is good for people who like to listen metal in a way that is not so common nowadays.

Favorite tracks: "Hatred", "Lot to Lose" and "Watch Out"

Contact: www.denimandleather.cjb.net

DENY LIFE - FROM THE ASHES OF HATE (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Deny Life

Tracks: 1- Negative IQ, 2- Stone Cold, 3- Obey your television, 4- Killing an Artist, 5- The Kill/Till I Die, 6- Face the Day

 Cover Art by Deny Life

 Recorded at La Grange

This is what I call a rawer than fuck album! On this six tracks you will be blown away by the brutality of Deny Life´s music. Here we have chainsaw like guitars played over a fast drumming that changes tempo turning tracks like "Negative IQ" into slower monsters with utter heaviness. The voices here are really extreme but not totally guttural. Here the vocals are clear and powerful and the lyrics are not buried in the mix thanks to that. I liked that the band prefers to engage in more rhythmic passages instead of abusing speed as most bands in the style do. Here we have some hardcore and some thrash influences, that along some death metal get mixed in Deny Life´s style. There is also on this MCD a cover of Napalm Death´s "The Kill" done in Deny Life´s way. This is pure energy where every fucking note is played in order to blast you !!

Favorite tracks: "Stone Cold", "Negative IQ" and "Face the Day"

Contact: guillotpierre@hotmail.com

DENY LIFE - SOUNDTRACK TO A MASS RIOT (independent, 2003)

Produced By: Deny Life

Tracks: 1- Born to get Bored (Sweet Destiny), 2- Carcerale Sodomie, 3- jah, 4- Lobotomie Televisuelle, 5- Darkness, 6- The Ballad of Seth Putnam

 Recorded at La Grange

Some feedback sound open this newer work from this killer band. This time the band sound heavier than in their "From the ashes..." album that we have just reviewed. Most of this heavier sound is due to the heavier sound and better mix of the guitars. Yes, the sound is still raw but on this album is much more compact allowing the instruments to impact your brain in a more brutal way. The vocals are still extreme and they have some efect on them that distorts them a little bit more than in their previous album. As always the rhythm section is extremely solid and their work is essential for the heaviness of the band. As in the previous album, I liked the more rhythmic (and also the more slow paced) riffs (you can hear plenty of them in "Born to get Bored" just to name a track ) where the band reaches its climax in power and heaviness. This is a band that we have to keep an eye on in the future. Pure blasting energy.

Favorite tracks: "Born to get Bored", "Carcerale Sodomie" and "Darkness"

Contact: guillotpierre@hotmail.com

DESPOND - SUPREME FUNERAL ORATION (Haceldama Prods., 2003)

Produced By: Richard Loudin

Tracks: 1- Rains, 2- Once in the Hole, 3- Serenity in Darkness, 4- Stellar Ways to the Everliving, 5- Grief, 6- Moonlight Suicide

 Cover Art by Richard Loudin and Nicolas Favard

 Recorded at Mournful Studios

The most depressive kind of music is unleahed here by Richard Loudin the brain behind all the music that you will listen on this album. Here everytyhing is dark, oppressive, full of anguish and sadness. Tracks like "Moonlight Suicide" explains all this feelings in their lyrics and through the music. The tracks here are long and well developed combining dark passages with cleaner guitar and more deppresive parts with slow guitar riffs and dark melodies. The vocals are really obscure and transmit despair to the lsitener. I have never seen an album with a title so well used. Yes, "Supreme Funeral Oration" describes perfectly what Despond is about. This could be music for a funeral because of its inherent sadness. Remember old My Dying Bride ("As the Flowers wither" era) ? Well, this is slower and darker and taken to the extremes in every sense: in heaviness, in the doom guttural vocals, in the use of the sadest of melodies. This is the doom metal album of 2003 and I really enjoyed it. A killer release. If you have not comitted suicide after listening to it it menas that you have real strength of mind.

Favorite tracks: All the CD

Contact: www.haceldama.com

DETRIMENTUM - A MONUMENT TO THE SUFFERING (Grindethic Recs, 2003)

Produced By: Detrimentum

Tracks: 1- The first three circles of hell (Epitaph for the disfigured), 2- Regurgitate the Putrescence (Spiritual Scarification), 3- Spell of Miserable Incantation, 4- The Soul Ebbing Away, 5- Odyssey Through Torment ( The Path Towards Ruin)

A release full of bestiality where every fucking note is played in order to destroy the listener with utter violence. This is really extreme brutal death metal with a good mix that makes things even more bestial. Double bass drumming at the speed of sound, blast beats, hyper fast guitar riffs played with a huge sound, guttural and screaming vocals ripping apart the guitar riffs with all their power. All this things and more are on this really extreme album ! Here we have a good sounding album that is meant to be played really loud (check the sound of ths guitars when they are played at full volume ...if you can resist the impact. This is an album full of brutality but at the same time full of good bestial ideas.

Favorite tracks: "Spell of..." , "The soul..." and "Odyssey..."

Contact: www.grindethic.co.uk

DIES ATER - CHANTING EVIL (Neon Knights Recs, 2003)

Produced By: Dies Ater

Tracks: 1- Bitter Winter Waft, 2- Chanting Evil, 3- Dethrone the weak - Mortality, 4- the last of storms, 5- Der Schweur - Part III, 6- Der Wächter, 7- Gentle Eclipse, 8- Rausch der Macht

Cover Art by Dies Ater

An opening with some sounds and a really heartful yet dark melody with keyboards opens this album that is pure black metal played really tight and with and with many ideas in the guitar riffs department. Yes, here the guitars don[t play only fast notes to deliver riffs in the black metal way. In fact, the guitars combine fast riffs with others thata re more twisted and more complex. The band is really comfortable at changing a lot the pace of the compositions and the rhythms and I really liked the orchestrations done by the keys. The more black metal vocals are intertwined with clean vocals that add a feeling of anguish and some beauty to the songs. The sound of the recording is raw in the guitars but very powerful. And the sound is not muddy as in many bands of the style ( I think that this clearer sound gives even more power to the band). Here we have black metal with good musicianship and arrangements.

Favorite tracks: "Gentle Eclipse", "The Last of Storms" and "Chanting Evil"

Contact: neonknights@t-online.de or black-attakk@t-online.de

DIMENTIANON - SEVEN SUICIDES (Paragon Recs. , 2003)

Produced By: Dimentianon

Tracks: 1- Self Inflicted Abuse, 2- A Song for Elisabeth when she is dead, 3- Soulless Extinction, 4- Last of Seven, 5- Brotherhood of the 7^th day, 6- Razorblade catharsys (Selbstmordkönig), 7- Dead + Forgotten

 Cover Art by D.Olivencia

.We reviewed some issues back the band´s previous release and this new one has emphasized the darker side of the band making it sound even more obscure than in their previous effort. Here we have the darkest riffs with interesting orchestration. We still have the guttural vocals (this time witha more introspective approach that fits better the music contained on this album). But the main thing here is the interesting guitar work that is the heart and soul of the compositions here. The riffs are aggressive and original without abuse of the fast runs or one note riffs, using instead a mix of fast riffs with more melodic ones. The sound is a little bit muddy, specially on guitars (that are mixed a little bit low for my taste) but that doesn´t opaque the good work that the band has achieved here. Total Darkness with good musicianship.

Favorite tracks: "Self Inflicted Abuse", "Last of Seven " and "Brotherhood..."

Contact: www.paragonrekords.cjb.net

DISSECTED - HARMONIOUS CONCERTOS FOR CADAVERIC REQUIEMS (Independent, 2000)

Produced By: Dissected

Tracks: 1- Empyaema (liquefy till putrefy), 2- Pernicious Anemia, 3- Cerebrospinal fluid and vitreos humour, 4- Puncture and Pustule, 5- Gorespattered Instruments, 6- Verminous Ptomatophagous

 Recorded at Active Studio

This album opens up with "Empyaema" an instrumental track that is completely different from what I expected. In fact, I thought that Dissected was a straight and simple grind band but I was wrong. The track "Empyaema" opens up in a really heavy rock fashion, full of dissonances and fast parts and then comes the most grinding stuff with "Pernicious Anaemia". This guys are extremely raw and their music is effective in delivering. Tracks like "Cerebrospinal..." are a mix of this two styles with parts that are really fast and wild and other riffs that leave more space for developing arrangements. The combination of blast beats with heavy riffs that are played sometimes at the speed of light and sometimes more rhythmically are a trademark of Dissected´s sound. The overall sound of the recording is extremely raw and that makes their music even more aggressive. Coming directly from Greece here you have really extreme music !

Favorite tracks: "Empyaema", "Puncture and Pustule" and "Verminous.."

Contact: dissected99@yahoo.com

DISSECTED / SLAUGHTERGRAVE - SPLIT CD (Independent, 2003)

Produced By: Dissected and Slaughtergrave

SLAUGHTERGRAVE: 11- Epidemic bacterial war, 12- Violation of personality, 13- Slaughtergrave, 14- Death, 15- Hostility, 16- Desecration of domination, 17- Rats in the sewer, 18- Eternal Hypocrites, 19- Dear Stinky Cunt, 20- Grind Prix

A really brutal split CD this album opens up with Dissected and their special type of grind with multiple influences and sudden burst of power crowned by fast blast beats. As we said in the previous review Dissected is not a common grind band because they use elements from other styles into their own music creating a style on their own. Then comes Slaughtergrave which is more of a straightforward brutal death metal band with some grinding elements. Their music is fast and aggressive and they have powerful guitars (even if the mix is not that good on this album). There is a combination here of grinding drumming with blast beats in some parts and some thrash/old school death metal drumming that leaves more space for developing interesting riffs and arrangements. A really brutal split CD !