AARNI - BATHOS

Line Up:

Master Warjomäa - intuition and xothian kantele

Comte de Saint-Germain - sensationa nd keys to secrets

Doomintroll - feeling and sense of fashion

Mrs. Palm - thinking and fuck-ups

Music by Markus Marjomäa

Lyrics by Markus Marjomäa

Tracks:

1- Overpokonos

2- Squaring the Circle

3- Quinotaurus (Twelve Stars in Sight)

4- Kivijumala

5- V.I.T.R.I.O.L.

6- The thunder, perfect Mindfuck

7- Mental Fugue

8- Niut Net Meru

9- Kesäyö

We reviewed some issues back the split that this band did with Umbra Nihil. Now it´s time for this album full of deppressive compositions. Slow rhythms are the trademark ehre even if there are good midpaced ones. "Quinotaurus" opens strangely with some flute (the flute is really a trademark of Aarni´s music) and clean guitar before getting into a clean rhythm that adds a melancholic feeling to the music. and there are incredible melodies here that set this band apaprt from all the rest of this style of music. I really like the use of clean guitars that Aarni does because it fits perfectly the mood of the music and adds a lot of arrangements that are truly welcome here. "Kivijumala" that is over 11 minutes long is for my taste a masterpiece in doom music full of all the elements that this style has. Pure doom done by this great finnish guys.

Recorded at Doominvalley Studios

Produced by Aarni

ABSENT - ERRARE HUMANUM EST

Line Up:

Byker - bass

Koras - guitars

Gizmo - drums

Gofer - vocals

Ramzes - guitars

Music by Absent

Lyrics by Absent

Tracks:

1- Slave of Addiction

2- Fiction

3- Manipulation

4- Blind Obedience

Eerie sounds soon takes us directly into the heart of the brutal world of Absent. this band that comes directly from Poland is extremely bestial going at full speed most of the time and spitting guttural vocals on each track. There is a good combination of fast riffs with more rhythmic ones emphasized by double bass drumming. But everything here is done to blast you with sheer brutality. Take some of his country fellow band Vader and add more violence, more brutality and aggression and you will have an idea of how the band sounds. The band sounds extremely tight, specially the rhythm section that sets the pace of all the compositions adding bestiality on each second. The recording has a good sound that is essential for this type of bands to sound as brutal as tey want. This is one of the most extreme releases of 2004

Recorded at Studio Hertz

Produced by Absent

ABSENT SOCIETY - ABSENT SOCIETY

Line Up:

Mike Brinkman - bass, percussion

Justin Burdt - guitar

Jason Everett - vocals

Matt Haynes - guitar

Music by Absent Society

Lyrics by Absent Society

Tracks:

1- WAsted Lives

2- Lobotomy Soapbox

3- Deception Plague

4- Dodgin Bombs

5- Once a Soldier

The music here is powerful and at the same time containing many climatic elements. The music can be defined as modern metal with certain hardcore elements in the heaviest parts. Jason Everett is a really good singer being extremely powerful when is needed and melodic when the composition deserves it. One thing that I have to remark is the guitar work that besides playing heavy riff experiment a lot with certain phrases and rhythms in the more atmospheric parts creating some original passages that are my absolute favorite here. This use of clean gutiars and wah wah gives a completely different dimension to Absent Society´s music. The band sounds really tight and they make the rhythm and tempo changes without missing a beat and this is essential in order to achieve the great result that is this album. A powerful release with a lot of originality.

Recorded at The Plant Studios

Produced by Absent Society and Justin Phelps

ABSENTIA LUNAE - MARCHING UPON FORGOTTEN ASHES

Line Up:

H. Danach - voices

Climaxia - guitars

Khrael X.E. - drums

Sephrenel - bass

Music by Climaxia

Lyrics by Ildanach

Tracks:

1- Intro

2- Marching under the Apocalypse Flag

3- Debries of Forgotten tragedies

4- Engraved by Father´s Nightmare

5- Burning a Candle

6- Cystallized Illusions

7- Mirrors of Reason

8- Triumph and Despair

9- Outro

A melancholic intro with keyboards suddenly turns us into the mayhemic blasting world of this black motherfucking metal band. The first thing that will blast you are Climaxia´s guitar riffs, played at the speed of sound and torning into your brain with its aggression. There is intense drumming here making each of the compositions really bestial with a lot of blast beats and intense rhythms where the snare drum and the cymbals are an essential part. There is a combiantion of the msot aggressive parts with more climatic ones like "Debries of Forgotten Tragedies" where the guitar does an interesting arrangements that gives a darker feeling to the music. The vocals are really extreme of the screaming type that is essential in black metal and sometimes are combined with a more atmospheric, almost spoken. This is pure darkness revealed and you have to keep an eye to this amazing raw band because they sum up the essence of black metal.

Recorded at Audiomark nad Light of Hesdalen Studios

Produced by Absentia Lunae

ACHTLOS - NICHT VIEL

Line Up:

Jens Schröder - bass

Bernie Enger - drums

Arnd Spiering - guitars

Gordon grimhow - guitars

Markus Mochalski - vocals

Music by Achtlos

Lyrics by Achtlo and Frank Schäfer

Tracks:

1- Angst

2- Überdenker

3- Bierchen

4- Lautstarkes Leben

5- Big Brother

6- Zeit Zu Sterben

7- Nicht Viel

8- Sternhagelvoll

9- Tausend Andere

10- Verlorene Weit

11- Einhundert13

12- Scramp

This is definetly german heavy metal with certain hard rock influences in some parts. Heavy guitar riffs are the essence here creating the right environment for the rest of the band to develope their rhythms and to the vocals to be carefully created. Markus is a good vocalist whose voice fits well the music of the band without contrasting with the rest of the band. The vocals in German give that unique feeling that the band that sing in this language can only achieve. The sound of the recording is raw but it is the exact point that the band needs, without sounding muddy, but powerful. This is pure heavy rock with powerful tunes !!

Recorded at JKS Studios

Produced by Achtlos

AETHELLIS - AETHELLIS

Line Up:

Ellsworth Hall - keyboards, guitars, vocals, programming

Music by Ellsworth Hall

Lyrics by Ellsworth Hall

Tracks:

1- Tie and Handkerchief

2- Saint Augustus

3- Hubris

4- Portal

5- Djibouti

6- Final Affinity

Aethellis surprised me with the music in this recording. Ellsworth Hall is the brain behind Aethellis and his trademark sound are the keyboards that start from the first second of the recording to create interesting melodies. And this melodies are sometimes more easy listening, sometimes more twisted but they always have an interesting progressive sound which I liked a lot. Ellsworth´s vocals are soft and melodic giving some of the compositions a hit format with memorable choruses. Most of the compositions here are long and I think that Aethellis develops carefully the music in such extension where he has place for developing all theideas that the music here has. there is a seventies feeling here but with a much more modern sound that makes the music sound updated. This is pure melody full of interesting ideas.

Recorded at Ellstudio

Produced by Aethellis

AGNOSYS - EQUILIBRIUM

Line Up:

Fabrice - drums

Maxime - vocals

Julien - bass

Stephane - guitars

Cedric - guitars

Music by Agnosys

Lyrics by Agnosys

Tracks:

1- Equilibrium

2- Lethal Path

3- Eternal Torments

4- Beyond Time

"Equilibrium" starts climatically before getting into a combination of the most powerful death metal combined with some thrash metal influence in some of the riffing. The guys in Agnosys show that they are extremely technical and that their musicianship is pretty strong. That is evident in the multiple rhythm changes in the breaks that the drumming does to change from one pace to the other,a nd in the combination of heavier than hellguitar with cleaner ones that embellish certain passages (and there are also some interesting melodies that show a different side of the band). The guitar riffs are not of the type that you are accustomed to listen in a band of the style, being more twisted and technical, sometimes more death metal, sometimes more thrash metal and even sometimes closer to black metal, adding that sort of dark feeling that this style has. The vocals are really extreme giving the deth metal feeling to the music with their guttural sound. The compositions are each voer 6 minutes long and that lets the band to develope their multiple ideas. Pure technical brutality.

Recorded at Hybreed Strudios

Produced by Agnosys

AHUMADO GRANUJO - SPLATTER TEKK

Line Up:

Veprelec - bowels excretion

Neckrokodyl - axe grinder

Vypytel - subsonic generator

Chleborg - pneumatic hammerhead

Music by Ahumado Granujo

Lyrics by Ahumado Granujo

Tracks:

1- Everyday Consumation (The legend continues)

2- Golden intestinal cyst

3- To mince and fuck up

4- Dumplings, cebbage, techno

5- Messerschmitt and junkers

6- Ashtray made of beef

7- Attention! You vitreous body is running out

8- Desesnsitized (regurgitate)

9- Secretion of teh Shrubbery

10- Rebound phenomenon during the sudden...

11- Cold Turkey

12-Extinguishing the swollen balls

13-Virtually Self-urinated

14-Heroin Harrashment

15-faekalic hydroxide

16-Oslotron

17-Cunt Slime

18- Dead body love

One of the most extreme grinding bands I have ever listened. Just listen to that putrid voice....extremely guttural and sounding like another instrument built to destroy. There are some elctronics here in tracks like 1 that contrast heavily with the more grinding parts and I find this contrast really interesting and worthly of more explorations. the drumming here is really fast with a lot of cymbals use (and good chaotic ride patterns). The guitars sound really raw and in your face and that makes things heavier and anarchic giving that true grindcore /death feeling to the music..There is also a cover of Pungent Stench´s "Dead Body Love" done in the Ahumado Granujo´s way. Grind your brain till you die with Ahumado Granujo !!

Recorded at Hostivar Studios

Produced by Zdenek Sikyr and Ahumado Granujo

AISLING - TRATH NA GAOTH

Line Up:

Valentino Casarotti - vocals

Matteo Castiglioni - lead guitar

Paolo Vidmar - rhythm guitar

Stefano Persi - Bass guitar

Alberto Bravin - keyboards

Paolo marchesich - drums

Music by Ailing

Lyrics by Aisling

Tracks:

1- Memories of a Timeless Vision

2- Laoidhan Fogharath Durhachas

3- The Shinning Darkness (Omega)

This is what I call melodic atmospheric black metal. Atmospheric because everything here has a really dark feeling of sadness and anguish, meldoic because the band is fast but at the same time their trademark are the melancholic melodies done by the guitars and the keyboards Some parts reminded me of Trail of Tears but only some of the feeling of the more climatic parts. The vocals give the black metal feeling being really extreme and combined cleverly with Daniela Pobega´s ones that emphasize the afore mentioned feelings. There are plenty of interesting ideas here and they are essential for constructing this darker than hell album (there are also many fast parts that contrast with the more melodic parts). The keyboards are a fundamental instrument here as you can see in the beginning of "The Shinning Darkness" with that haunting keyboard intro (with cello included). This is a masterpiece in darkness that leave you wanting more from Aisling.

Recorded at East Border Sound

Produced by East Border Sound

ALAMAAILMAN - VASARAT - KÄÄRMELAUTAKUNTA

Line Up:

Jarno Sarkula -saxes, bass clarinet

Tuuka Helminen - cello

Teemu Hänninen - drums / percussion

Miika Huttunen - organ /piano

Erno Haukkala - trombone, trumpet, tuba

Marko Manninen - cello

Music by Alamaailman Vasarat

Lyrics by Alamaailman Vasarat

Tracks:

1- Kivitetty Saatana

2- Vasaraasialainen

3- Pelko Antaa Siivet

4- Hamarapuolella

5- Astiatehdas

6- Vanha Lapsuudenystävä

7- Olisimme Uineet Vieläkin Pidemmälle

8- Lentävá MAto

9- Jää, Hyvä Mieli

This is a definitely unconventional band. As you can see this guys play instruments like sax, clarinets and cellos. But their music in tracks like "Kivitetty Saatana is extremely heavy with heavy drumming. And this is not the only mood that this guys use on this recording, going for a more melodic approach in "Vasaraasialainen" with an eastern flavor. THis guys are really good musicians that can switch to a different style on each track sounding well on each of them. The melodies created by the winds are the essence here and they are the main source of feeling here. The cellos creates interesting lines through all the recording  giving also some bottom line to the music making the compositions sound fuller. There is plenty of experimentation here and originality is the first name of this band. A release full of originality.

Recorded at Seawolf Studios and Stakula House

Produced by Jarno Sarkula

ALL PARALLELS - FORMULATE A TRAGEDY

Line Up:

Larry Chiswick - vocals, bass

Adam Kestler - guitars

Anthony Amodeo - drums

Music by All Parallels

Lyrics by All PArallels

Tracks:

1- Work

2- Lousy Reasons

3- World we be living in

4- Marrow

5- Such fragile Things

6- Weight of the World

7- Damaged Goods

8- Vapors

9- You won´t feel a thing

10- All Nighter

11- Push

12- Lost Wager

Some issues back we reviewed the previous album of this band called "You won´t Feel a thing", and I have to sy that this newer one shows a lot of progression, specaially soundwise. Here is the combination of heavy riffs with excellent vocal work reaching new climaxes with excellent choruses. And this is one of the trademarks of the band, taht combination of heaviness with a pop attitude that allo9ws the band to create powerful tunes that at the same time won`t be out of palce in every radio show. One of the trademarks here are te heavy guitars which are the center of power on this recording. I have to remark the good sound that this album has makingthings more intense. A grerat combination of melodies and energetic riffing.

Recorded at New Alliance Studios

Produced by  Nick Zampiello, Marc Schleicher and All PArallels

ALPHA CAT - PEARL HARBOR

Line Up:

Angela Babin - guitars

Nick BEst - drums

Lori Bingel - bass

Samy Bishai - violin

Tom Devito - percussion

Derek Dragotis - b. vocals

Brian Drye - trombone

Rick Feridun - mandolin, guitars

Matt Glassmeyer - sax

Matt Gruenberg - upright bass

Matt Johnson - drums

Elizabeth Mc Cullough - vocals, guitars, percussion, bass, keyboards

Fred Smith - guitar

Clem Waldmann - drums

Music by Elizabeth Mc Cullough

Lyrics by Elizabeth Mc Cullough

Tracks:

1- Something of Value

2- Once Upon a Time

3- Monster (You can´t do it)

4- Snow

5- Across the River - Twice

6- All Mine

7- Sometimes when I Wake

8- Pearl harbor

9- Straw Hat

10- Black Hole

11- The truth

12-Thatched Roof Glass House

13- Cling

A release full of interesting arrangements and melodies is what we have here. the main thing here is the combination of guitars with Elizabeth Mc Cullough vocals. This woman has areally distinctive voice with a lot of middle ranges that gives a deep feeling to the music here. The compositions here are really accessible to your ear and at the same time they are really climatic (specially because of the use of multiple guitars, including some slide melodies). the music here has a definite seventies feeling which I dig and you can not escape the catchy choruses and phrases that will soon stick into your mind. Tracks like "monster..:" are more introspective showing a calmer side of the band with different ideas. One of the trademarks here are the vocal ahrmonies that are all over the compositions giving a beautiful sound to the music. This album is full of ideas and I am completely sure that on each new listening you will find some new elements in the songs. This is pure melody with clever poppish arrangements...this band can easily be in the charts soon. So keep an eye on Alpha Cat!!

Produced by Fred Smith and Elizabeth Mc Cullough

ALTARS OF MAD DEATH VOL. 1

Tracks:

1- MAELSROM "Innermost Commotion"

2- HERESY "Blast

3- KRONOS "Haterealm

4- PSYCHOBOLIA "Faust"

5- CARNAL LUST "Infectious Mind"

6- HYPNOSIS "Vortex"

7- HAERESIS "Trampling of the reason"

8- AGNOSYS "Eternal Torments"

9- THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC "Incarnation Divine"

10- OSTRACIZED "Follower of and century"

11- ETERNAL "HArdened in the tars of their will"

12- YORBLIND "Torture Souls"

13- VEHEMENS "Massgrave of Souls"

14- KABBAL "Extra Sensorial Journey"

15- BLOODY SIGN "Possessed by the Ancient Earth"

16- TREPALIUM "THe Worst"

17- RECUEIL MORBIDE "Tas de Chiennes"

One of the most brutal compilations of the year. One good thing here is that most of the band besides being really aggressive and brutal have a good sound and mix, which turns their power into a much higher level. All the bands here are of the most brutal side of death metal (some of them like Kronos have also some grinding parts and some more heavy metal riffs that set them apart from the rest). It is amazing to see this guys combine brutality with good musical skills in order to achieve here. As I said before there are differences in sounds but most of the bands sound really well (for example Psychobolia have a weaker mix despite their brutality and bands like Kabbal or Kronos have a huge sound that gives more violence to their music) . There are really originañ bands like Hypnosis which mix brutality with electronic elements achieving great results or Agnosys that mix the brutal death with some black emtal and including some melodies. The good thing about having bands very different within the same style is that you never get bored listening this seventeen tracks of pure mayhemic death metal. A great brutal compilation!!

Produced by Diamond Prods.

AMALA - STRONG

Line Up:

Randy Fogelstrom - all instruments, vocals

Music by Randy W. Fogelstrom

Lyrics by Randy W. Fogelstrom

Tracks:

1- Make Love To Me (House Mix)

2- Strong (Techno Mix)

3- How Can I say I Love You?

4- Feel the Love

5- When Your heart surrounds me

6- Make Love to Me (seductive groove)

7- Baby Tell Me

8- Don´t Give up on love

9- Alone

10- Next?

11- Abandon

12- I´ve had enough!

If I had to describe Amala´s music with just one word I would say "introspective". Yes, it is like Randy Fogelstrom is constantly looking deep into his soul and brain and always showing different shades of his musical personality. This is also a really eclectic release with plenty of different musical styles, going from hip hop to techno and from funk or r&b to ballad from one track to the other. This will surely surprise you and keep you amused while listening to the whole album. Randy´s voice is melodic but at the same time has a dark feeling on it that adds a different feeling to Amala´s music, making the music sound completely different than what you have expected just reading the titles. I found the Seductive Groove version of "Make Love to Me" more intrimate than the House Mix and I think this is a path that Amala can explore because it makes the music here darker and ideal to listen incomplete darkness or with your eyes wide shut. There is also a lot of originality here. This is an unconventional release with many carefully developed ideas and some experimentation.

Produced by Randy Fogelstrom

ANDREA TORRETTA - HORIZONS

Line Up:

Andrea Torretta - guitars

Christian Chelucci

Valentino Pollesel

Alessandro Ali

Music by Andrea Torretta, except 3 by Liquid Tension Experiment and 6 by paganini

Tracks:

1- Chronology Part 1

2- Chronology part 2

3- Universal Mind

4- Critical Break Point

5- Marea

6- Hexentantz (Danza delle streghe)

Andrea Torretta is a guitar virtuoso coming directly from Italy with incredible chops and a good melodic sense. His musical style goes in the way of players like Greg Howe or Vinnie Moore with virtuosism and compositions that have a certain neoclassical feeling but with plenty of melodies and a touch of fusion. The good thing about Torretta´s playing is that beside having great technical skills he does not ruin the compositions in order to add virtuoso lines when the tracks doesn´t need it preferring to play FOR the song instead than for the solo. the musicians that have helped Andrea on this recording are really good ones, specially it is remarkable the role of the keyboards that orchestrate many parts. The rhythm section is extremely solid and they are essential when the solos are played to keep the spirit of the song. A virtuoso to keep an eye on.

Recorded at home studio except drums at Jam Studios

Produced by Andrea Torretta

ANGER - THE BLISS

Line Up:

Pedro Pereira - vocals

Lino Vinagre - guitars

Alfonso Corte-Real - drums

Ricardo Melo - bass

Luis Silva - samples and keyboards

Music by Anger

Lyrics by Anger

Tracks:

1- Feel My Anger

2- Another Game

3- Iced

4- Devil in My Mind

5- Say (What You Wanna)

6- Instants

7- Upside Down

8- Innersight

9- Nenemy

10- God in Me

11- Gonna Drown

12- Lost Soul

Who says that new metal sucks? In an over saturated market of bands of the style comes one that can clearly distinguish itself from all of the Korn-clones and bands of the style. Anger delivers exactly what their name show: they deliver pure anger and aggression in a nu metal format with killer guitar riffs and really screaming vocals. One thing that is remarkable of Anger is that each of the songs is completely different from the other making the album really enjoyable when you lsiten to it. Comparing to bands of the style that have made their guitars weaker with time, Anger has a huge guitar sound playing ultra heavy riffs that are their trademark. I have to remark the good vocalist that this bajnd has that knows how to fit the music really well and at teh same time to add arrangements of his own. This album is a proof that many good things can be done in the nu metal realm and that the bands just need talent to achieve good results as it happens with Anger.

Recorded at Area 51 Studios

Produced by Tommy Newton and Anger

ANIMA DAMNATA -

Line Up:

Necrosodomic Corpse Molestator - guitars, vocals

Master of depraved dreaming and Emperor of the Black Abyss the Great Lord Hziulquoigmzhah Cxaxukluth vel Necrolucas  - drums, percussion

Music by Anima Damnata

Lyrics by Anima Damnata

Tracks:

1- Incipit

2-Onward to Dungeons of Death

3- Antichristian Nuclear Shitlust

4-Deus Mortem

5-Rebirth in Sodomy, Rebirth in Suffering (The Symphony of Sin)

6-Is It Worth Waiting for the Death Call?

7- Necrosadistic Masturbation Upon the Mary's Disemboweled Corpse

8- Satanation

9-Demonic Dominion

10-Fecal Daemon

11-Prometheus Coprophagus

This is a band that is extremely aggressive and that knows that speed is a weapon to achieve the most bestial sound possible. And they know that black and death metal are the ways to achieve bestiality. There is a combination of guttural voices and others of the msot screaming type. Everything here is done to destroy the listener. There is influence of classical death metal here but with heavy use of a much more modern sound. The main element here are the guitar riffs, soemtimes really fast, sometimes more of the rhythmic type and always fitting perfectly the rhythmic section giving more effectiveness to the powerful aggression. THe album has a clear and loud sound that makes the overall result even more powerful. A devastating release full of darkness.

Recorded at Hertz Studio

Produced by Anima Damnata

AOP - TAKE A FREE LOOK...

Line Up:

Roger K-Jo - drums

Guillaume Benoit - bass

Xavier Mitrouill - guitars

JB Baumont - guitars, vocals

Music by AOP

Lyrics by K-Jo

Tracks:

1- Back to the real life

2- Left (H)overs

3- The Empty fool

4- Another Game to Loose

5- Wicked Inside

6- Guardian of Stones

7- Wounds of the Past

8- The Pain this gives to me

Pure aggressive metal is what this guys unleash on this album, letting some place for some death metal influences that gives even more aggression to their music. Here we have fast guitar riffs played with a huge sound that is like being in front of the amplifiers set to amximum volume of this guys. One good thing is that this guys combine the more aggressive tracks with others that are more climatic (eve if they are extremely aggressive too) such as "Left (H)overs",a  track that uses acoustic guitars and heavy riffs like. There are some melodies in some solos which are done with really good taste adding a different dimension to the music. The vocals are the closest to death metal because of their growling nature. The sound of the recording is very direct and extrmely powerful like if you are watching a live show of the band, and I like that because you can feel the energy that the band unleashes. A band that is pure power.

Recorded at Backstage Studios

Produced by AOP

APHOB - HUMAN´S FEAR

Line Up:

Steph´n´Roll - vocals

Erwann - drums

Richard - bass

Arno - guitars

Music by Aphob

Lyrics by Aphob

Tracks:

1- Children King´s night

2- Without Dignity

3- New Item

4- Escape

Aphob plays an interesting mix between thrash metal, heavy metal and even some death metal . Their music is quite difficult to label because of the different elements used here. The guitar riffs are complex in tracks like "Without Dignity" and are not of the type that you would expect in an album of this kind of music, being more twisted. There is a good combination of deathly vocals and more emlodic ones tht shows a darker side of Aphob´s music. The rhythms are sometimes complex, adding a different feeling to the music and there are also some jazz sounding guitar runs in some parts.The sound is really raw and I think that with a better mixing the band will sound even more powerful. A trully original band with great ideas.

Produced by Aphob

ARCH ENEMY - ANTHEMS OF REBELLION

Line Up:

Music by Arch Enemy

Lyrics by Arch Enemy

Tracks:

1- Tear down the walls

2- Silent wars

3- We will Rise

4- Dead Eyes see no future

5- Instinct

6- Leader of the Rats

7- Exist to exit

8- Marching on a dead end road

9- Despicable Heroes

10- End of the Line

11- Dehumanization

12-Anthem

13-Saints and Sinners

Having witnessed Arch enemy´s show in Wacken I can not be compeltely onjective because their show really blasted me with pure power. This band live is a storm coming over the audience. And on this album they have achieved a live feeling that suits this band really well. Angela´s vocals are as powerful as always and on this recording they are combined with a more eerie type of voice in tracks like "Silent Wars". The tracks are as complex as always with killer guitar riffs (Mike Ammott is killer on this recording) and with the extremely tight rhythm section that is one trademark of Arch enemy´s sound. the melodies are here too in the solos and in the guitars that deliver innovative lines on each composition. A band that has become a classic

Mixed by Andy Sneap

Produced by Andy Sneap

ARS MACABRA - DAEMONOLATRIA HYPNOTICA

Music by Ars Macabra

Lyrics by Ars Macabra

Tracks:

1- Misteria Nocturna

2- A recollection of the world once called earth

3- Disciples of Torment

4- Machinator Tormentorum

5- Psycho Apocalypse

6- Sturmgeschutz of Chaos

7- Prolegomena of the Warfare State

8- Dawn to an endless night

A long darker than the deepest of hells intro with keyboards and some horrid laughs open this album. then comes the most mayhemic black metal that you can find. The music here is fast, aggressive and raw black metal with the elements thta re characteristic of this style. Here are the screamings filling with ultra violence the eight compositions, here are the blast beats in many parts that are like a machine unleashing violence over humanity. And the main thing here are the dark atmospheres, even if this is a really raw black metal album. Yes, the dark feelings are the main thing here making each composition and experience of utter aggression and dark blasphemy. The sound of the recording is raw and that gives sort of a live feeling to the music. Pure unholiness unleashed !!!

Produced by Ars Macabra

ARSIS - A CELEBRATION OF GUILT

Line Up:

James Malone - guitars, bass and vocals

Michael Van Dyne - drums

Music by James Malone

Lyrics by James Malone

Tracks:

1- THe Face of My Innocence

2- Maddening Desdain

3- Seven Whispers Fell Silent

4- Return

5- Worship Depraved

6- Carnal Ways to Recreate the Heart

7- Dust and Guilt

8- Elegant and Perverse

9- The Sadistic Motives Behind Bereavement Letters

10- Looking to Nothing

11- Wholly Night

This is a good surprise. Having never heard before the music of this band it is a pleasure to listen to such a good combination of agression and technical death/thrash metal. The music here is full of aggressive guitar riffs, some of them really fast and at the same time is full of interesting arrangements, mainly riffs that use technical skills in order to give another dimension to the music. And also there is use of some guitar melodies that add a lot to the feeling of the music here. Do you want a band that combines brutality with good musicianship on each of the compositions? Then you have to check Arsis, a band ufll of extreme vocals in the vein of Carcass and whose guitar riffs are excellent in developing new ideas and moods for the songs. It is remarkable also the good sound (specially on drums with killer double bass paterns) A must have. One of the albums of the month.

Recorded at Winter Sound Studios

Produced by Arsis

ASCENDANCY - RISE OF A DEAD EMPIRE

Line Up:

Terence - guitars, vocals

Michael - guitars

Seth - drums

Josh - bass

Music by Ascendancy

Lyrics by Ascendancy

Tracks:

1- Darkness Within

2- Conquering the Inferior

3- habitual Killing

4- Evisceral Battery

5- Forever Desensitized

6- Reign Above All

7- My Blood Upon You

8- World of Deceit

9- No Fear with a Deathwish

A band whose compositions have been created to destroy mankind with their utter brutality. Terence spits the lyrics with his guttural, almost grinding voice that gives that brutal death metal feeling to the music. Tracks like "Conquering the Inferior" have in the beginning some old school death metal influence which I like a lot before getting into the most brutal parts. Seth is like a machine behind the drumkit doing from blast beats to more complex patterns in the more mid apced parts and he is risponsible of making this band a panzer division for your brain and ears. the guitars are lowtuned and they deliver ultra fast riffs witha  lot of intensity and they are really tight sounding along with the rhythm section making a more brutal result. This is the music for Armageddon !!

Recorded at New Alliance Studios

Produced by Ethan Assault and Ascendancy

ATROPHIA RED SUN - TWISTED LOGIC

Line Up:

VX - keyboards

Milosz - drums

Kastor - guitars

Covan - vocals

Felix - bass

Music by Atrophia Red Sun

Lyrics by Atrophia Red Sun

Tracks:

1- Code World (personal) cold world

2- Abstract

3- Infected Tears

4- Inspiration

5- Nameless Rot

6- Sins of Nations

7- Sugar Cube

8- Twisted Logic

9- Structure of Emptiness

10- Into(my)xication

11- Acid Sideefect: Lost in Darkness

Definitely one of the most powerful releases in 2003/2004 must be this one. Combining intense death metal with modern metal and with extreme technicality this band from Poland has succesfully created an album that is at the same time pure aggressiona and pure musicianship. There are also some black metal influences in some of the darker parts and in some of the voices but the music has a definite death metal feeling. Complex rhythms are essential here with many tempo changes and breaks that are the essence of this band. Plus, here we have agreat keyboard that creates a dark atmosphere through all the compositions. And what can I say about the guitars? They are really devastating adding the aggression that this music must have. All this with a really good sound mixed to achieve the most intense level of power. There are no more words that I can say to fully describe the music here. I just have to say that this is one of the ebstr releases reviewed this year.

Produced by Atrophia Red Sun

AUDIOPAIN - THE TRAUMATIZER

Music by Audiopain

Lyrics by Audiopain (exc. 3 by Christine Westpold Wahl)

Tracks:

1- Believer

2- Fraud Machine

3- Living among Humans

4- The traumatizer

5- Thrash Mental

6- Religion of Reality

Recorded at Fias Co. Studios

Produced by Audiopain

AUTOPHAGIA - POSTMORTEM HUMAN OFFAL

Line Up:

Angelos -all instruments

Music by Angelos / Ayophagia, except 13 and 25

Tracks:

There are 25 tracks of pure grind madness here including a cover of Filthy Christians and another of Extreme Noise Terror

Autophagia is pure grindcore but with guitars that sound much bigger than in most of the bands of ths style. Inf act, while most of the bands of the style use chainsaw like guitars this band use more downtuned guitars that sound bigger. The vocals are guttural and gurgling, adding a putrid feeling to the music that this band is consciously seeking. This is one of the trademarks of the music here. The tracks here are short and are a burst of pure aggression and brutality. Most of the time the band goes at full speed but there are also some more rhythmic riffs that even more heaviness. This is pure brutality that can reduce all grindcore bands to ashes.

Produced by Angelos

AUTUMN TEARS - ECLIPSE

Line Up:

Ted Tringo - vocals,arrangements

Erika Swinnich - vocals on 4,6,10

Laurie Ann Haus - vocals on 3,7,8,9

GReg Ball - guitar, contrabass

Terran Olson - vlarinet, flute, hand bells

Kathlen Tringo - cymbals

Music by Autumn Tears

Lyrics by Ted Tringo

Tracks:

1- Commemoration

2- Ophelia´s Crown

3- Three

4- Dawn

5- Remember

6- Flight

7- The Beauty in All things

8- Pandora´s Womb

9- At a Distance

10- Eclipse

Here comes the new Autumn Tears album. This album has compositions recorded from december 2001 to june 2004 so you will see an evolution in the music here. As always one of the centers here are Ted Tringo´s vocals and arrangements. Most of the time the album has a really dark feeling that is essential in Autumn Tears music. ANd another trademark are the amazing female voices Erika Swinnich´s vocals are as wonderful as always and on this album you´ll find that beautiful voice only in a couple of tracks (enough to confirm how good she sings). And you have here also the talent of Laurie Ann Haus doing vocals in other tracks. Here we have also MAudlin of the Well´s Terran Olson doing flute, clarinete and winds adding sad melodies in many tracks. As always Autumn Tears deliver pure darkness  and melancholy with amsterful songs.

Produced by Greg Ball and Autumn Tears

AVE - MY DARK SEMEN

Line Up:

Baphomet - all instruments

Music by Baphomet

Lyrics by Baphomet

Tracks:

1- Intro (Omen)

2- Baphomet

3- My Dark Semen

4- Kaos

5- Victory

Coming directly from Poland arrives this one man band called Ave. The album opens up with a really long intro full of vocals and with a baroque almost church-like chorus and some operistic voices. the comes the core of Ave´s music. This guy Baphomet surely knows how to compose a heavy track and here he shows fiuve tracks full of heaviness and aggression that at the same time have many climatic elements created by the keyboards. My absolute favorite is the track "Baphomet" with contrasting guitars, double bass drumming and an omniprescent keyboard that orchestrates while making things even darker. The voice is extreme but not too guttural preferring to fit the darker feeling instead of just making the most guttural voice possible. As I said before the trademark here is the combination of aggressive guitars with the keyboards which is an element that while listening to it you realize that gives a lot of identiuty to Ave´s music. This is a darker than hell release with good musicianship and aggression.

Produced by Baphomet

AVE - LUCIFER RISING

Line Up:

Baphomet - all instruments

Music by Baphomet

Lyrics by Baphomet

Tracks:

1- Szeloszet

2- Lux Parola Gnosis Luciferi

3- Demon Est Deus Inversus

4- Lucifer Rising

5- My Dark Semen

Ave kicks off this album with no mercy with "Szeloszet", a really ehavy track with a good direct guitar riff. Baphomet´s vocals soon spit their violence. And Baphomet´s voice is one of the trademarks here (as I said in the previous review) fitting a dark atmosphere while being aggressive at the same time. The music has an old school feeling here but it is original and direct. I like "Lux Parola..." and the starting with killer double bass and speed. Ave is a good combination of powerfully aggressive music and dark ideas that are an essential element here. Darkness unleashed by the hand of Baphomet !!!!

Produced by Baphomet

AYGGHON -DES CAS DENSES

Line Up:

Music by Aygghon

Lyrics by Aygghon

Tracks:

1- Robinson

2- Guerre de Mazarine

3- Pulsion, Passion

4- Dialogues de Sourds

5- Hymne a la Mort II

6- Pacte d´Actes Morphiniques

7- Conjugate Violence

8- Mes Vents Coniques

9- Mort

10- Sure

11- Injecteé

12- Post Scriptum

Aygghon really fooled me in the begining of this recording. they start with a sort of White Zombie rhythm with vocals similar to Rob Zombie but they soon get into a completely different mood combinaing heavier than hell aprts with more climatic ones. THis is a powerful band whose music have a lot of moods and different contrasts, even within the same song. Just check "Pulsion, Passion" to see how this guys get into full brutal mode with killer double bass drumming, then get into a sort of industrial riffing and then add a chorus that has a lot of hooks and that got your attention and make the song really memorable. There is a lot of tightness in the playing and this guys are extremely well rehearsed making things even heavier. The recording is really good and the instruments are clearly mixed, specially the guitars and drums. This is pure aggression with originality.

Produced by Aygghon

BABYLON MYSTERY ORCHESTRA - ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN

Line Up:

Sidney Allen Johnson - all instruments

Music by Sidney Allen Johnson

Lyrics by Sidney Allen Johnsn

Tracks:

1- Descension

2- Semjaza´s Song

3- Violation

4- A Celestial Kiss

5- Receive, Trust and Believe

6- Ravishing Music

7- Bleed

8- War Anthem

9- One Man

10- Heaven Can Wait

11- And the Waters Prevailed

12- Rainbow´s End

13- Unrepentant

A climatic intro with keyboards and acoustic guitars kicks off this new album by the Babylon Mystery Orchestra. As I said on the review of the previous album, this is Sidney Allen Johnson´s babe, with all his ideas and he is playing all instruments here. His voice is deep and gives a lot of atmosphere to each of the compositions contrasting heavily with the powerful guitars and the programmed drums. Each track here has a lot of melodies and rocking attitude (as you can feel from "Violation" riffs). The repetitive choruses are essential here because they stick into your mind really soon and each composition is remembered through this type of choruses. This album has a clear sound that is essential to make each instrument fully audible and letting all the ideas to be heard perfectly. Another trademark are the keyboards that orchestrate and give a lot of feelings to the compositions. The christian lyrics give a different dimension to the lyrical side of Babylon Mystery Orchestra from what one is accustomed to hear. A really original release with a lot of progressions when compared to the previous album.

Recorded at Fallen Angel Studio

Produced by Sidney Allen Johnson

BALTAK - MACEDONIAN WAR

Line Up:

Gorgoroth - guitars, bass, vocals

Lord of Aeveron - drums

Music by Gorgoroth

Lyrics by Gorgoroth

Tracks:

1- Macedonian War

2- Goping to War

3- Sick people

4- We the Macedonians

5- Now and Forever

6- World Burning

7- Filip of Macedon

8- Unconcious

9- The Un-greek Barbarians

I have listened some years ago one of the firsts Baltak albums (I think it was called "Baltak") and this one is a good progression compared to that one, specially soundwise. The music is pure black/death emtal with fast guitar riffs and plenty of blast beats. There is a dark feeling in some of the tracks created by the guitar riffs. The sound of the guitars is really raw and that makes things really in the raw black metal vein. This guy Gorgoroth has a terrible voice that I think it feels like he is being tortured to death while he is doing the screams. My favorite track is "We the Macedonians" with a twisted riff with some galloping and a different sound for the band. This is for lovers of the rawest kind of black metal possible. This is pure hatred !!

Recorded at Polygam Studios

Produced by Baltak

BETHLEHEM - MEIN WEG

Music by Bethlehem

Lyrics by Bethlehem

Tracks:

1- Aalmutter

2- Allegoria

3- Knochenkorn

4- Frl. Deustch

5- Felbel Fittich

6- Dr. Miczo

7- Elf Soffitten

8- Einsargen

9- Im Sog

10- Maschinensatan

Here is the new Bethlehem album and it continues the path of their previous "Schatten Aus der Alexander Welt". That is heavy and atmospheric guitar riffs and at the same  with a combination of deep and aggressive vocals. the first track has a repetitive guitar riff that soon sticks into your mind making the track extremely memorable. The guitar melodies reminded me of some Paradise Lost (Icon-era) but they have their own identity as Bethlehem has proved throug their latest albums. There are keyboards that give a feeling of sorrow to the music and that is one trademark of Bethlehem´s music. "Mein Weg" is "My Way" in german language and I think that is the point: Bethlehem is following their own path with originality. A great release that emphasizes the identity of this german band.

Produced by

BISHOP OF HEXEN - UNVEIL THE CURTAIN OF SANITY

Line Up:

Lord Roder - vocals

Dimröst - keyboards

Ariel C. - guitars/bass

Ban Helsing - drums

Music by Bishop of Hexen

Lyrics by Bishop of Hexen

Tracks:

1- Unveil the Curtain of Sanity

2- Eyes Gaze to a future foreseen

3- Stride the Corridors of one´s mind

4- The somber grounds of truth

A climatic intro with some dark feeling opens this MCD. The atmosphere becomes really dark with a sort of trollish voice that starts telling a story. And then comes the mayhem with pure black metal (if this guys were scandinavian I would say that their music is closer to viking metal) full of contrasting guitar riffs and amazing orchestrating keyboards. And the keyboards are essential here because they are used almost through all the recording embellishing the aggresion that this band unleashes over mankind. The voices by Lord Roder add extra points here because he can do the screaming in the most extreme aprts as well as the deep singing in the more epic ones. The rhythms here are fast and furious and the rhythmsection is solid and leaves space for the keyboards and the guitars to develope their ideas. This is pure black metal but full of good ideas and with carefully developed compositions.

Recorded at Galgal Studios

Produced by Bishop of Hexen

BLOODWRITTEN - WE LIVE IN DARKNESS

Line Up:

D. Sanchez - guitars

T. Haisman - drums

J. Wooten - vocals

C. Bennett - solos

Music by D. Sanchez and Bloodwritten

Lyrics by Neil HArrison

Tracks:

1- Cycle of Ages

2- Darkness Pt. 1

3- Absent Twilight

4- Darkness Pt. 2

5- Bleeding of the heart

6- Darkness pt. 3

7- Revealer of the Shadows

8- Waters of Despair

"Cycle of Ages" opens this album at full speed with killer drumming and a fast death/thrash guitar riff.Bloodwritten here shows a good combination of good technique with good death metal brutality. This is a band that sounds really tight in their compositions doing interesting tempo changes and breaks that need of good musical skills in order to be played as tight as here. There is brutality but there is also some melodies in the guitar solos that are really cleverly done. The drumming is intense and with good double bass and snare drum work. Extreme vocals are essential here to add more of the death metal feeling that the music has screaming the vocals with fierce power. The recording has a a raw yet effective sound that adds sort of a wilder side to Bloodwritten´s music. Aggression with good musicianship.

Produced by Bloodwritten

BLOODWRITEN - EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL DIES

Line Up:

S. Busi - bass

R. Arthur - solos on 3, 6

T. Haisman - drums

J. Wooten - vocals

D. Sanchez - guitars, vocals

C. Bennett - solos on 2, 3, 4

Music by Bloodwritten

Lyrics by Bloodwritten

Tracks:

1- Intro

2- Dormant Crown

3- Apocryphal Phase

4- Echoes of Sadism

5- Soul Betrayer

6- Crimson Collapse

Starting with keyboards on a climatic intro the band soon gets into their bestial music. This time we have many differences in sound because this tracks were recorded on different times. Sometimes we have a more direct sound, sometimes rawer, sometimes cleaner but always making the band sound powerful. The tracks are wild and as aggressive as in the "We Live in Darkness" album and on this one they have that kind of live show sound that gives extra aggression to the music sounding less polished. Here we have more evident a certain eighties thrash metal influence that gives a different side of Bloodwriten´s music to the listener. I feel some Kreator influence here but cleverly combined with some death metal riffs and rhythms. This is pure primal aggression and shows a more primigenic side of this killer band.

Produced by Bloodwritten

BORGOGNA - PROMO 2003

Line Up:

Tomas Borgogna - vocals

Pierpaolo Buzzi - guitars

Luca Bordin - bass

Music by Borgogna

Lyrics by Borgogna

Tracks:

1- Dirty Roses

2- All Your Love

3- Sweet Regina

Pure rock is what Borgogna delivers here. Their music is pure rock with heavy guitars and with a lot of hooks that make each of the three songs here truly memorable. There is some eighties influences here whichI liked a lot but taken to the 21st century thanks to a better sound and guitars that sound more powerful. Tomas Borgogna voice is melodic and the kind of voice that a band of this style needs. "All Your Love" is a more melodic song with acoustic parts and a good bridge and choruses (this can be the hit of the band). The guitar riffs are well constructed but the main thing here is the song and everybody here is working to achieve an excellent song (even the guitar solos that are technical are designed to fit perfectly the music). This style of music was crucified in the nineties but I think that that was truly unfair and the bands continued working hard and evolving, absorbing new influences and creating good songs. Borgogna is a band that deserves a lot of luck because they construct good songs with good musicianship. Pure rocking attitude !!

Recorded at In My Bedroom Studios

Produced by Borgogna

BRAINDEAD - THE NEXT SHOWDOWN

Line Up:

David Ackermann - vocals, guitars

R. Jazzi Heer - drums, b. vocals

Nicole Streit - guitars, b. vocals

Jan St. - bass (guest)

Music by Braindead

Lyrics by David Ackermann

Tracks:

1- Hostage of Metal

2- What Lies Beneath

3- For You

4- Thrash Metal Song

5- Silence is My Friend

6- Self-Projection

7- Fighting for my way

8- Dominion of Hate

9- Braindead

10- Afraid Sweat

I reviewed the two previous Braindead releases and I found there very interesting their unique style of playing combining thrash metal with elements of death metal and some heavy metal. Nicole riffs are the center of the compositions here and she is very talented in developing powerful riffs that sound really aggressive and at the same time very tight. Plus, the guitars have a unique sound which caught my attention also on the previous recordings.There is definitely an eighties thrash influence here which I liked a lot because I think this style of music has a lot to offer. When compared to the previous albums I found a lot of progression not only in songwriting but mainly in sound mixing each time better the instruments in order to achieve the power that this music must have. A good step forward in the career of this Swiss band that always surprises with good music.

Recorded at BrainRec Studios

Produced by Braindead

BUIO OMEGA - PANDEMONIUM UNLEASHED

Line Up:

Gorgoroth - battlecries, battleaxe attacks

Arcanum Anima - bass

Murtum - axe slaughter

Hate - drums

Music by Arcanum Anuma and Murtum, exc. 6 and 8 by Gorgoroth

Lyrics by Gorgoroth, exc. 7 by Arcanum Anima

Tracks:

1- Pandemonium Unleashed

2- Bestial War Commands

3- Sky in Flames

4- Imperial Accult Attack

5- Sigillum Diaboli (Blazeing Seal of Supremacy)

6- Total Black Energy (Nebulas Storm Pt. 2)

7- For Splendour and Might of Ancient Evil

8- Final Battle

9- Outro: Heirs of the Meditteranean Thrones

One of the rawest black metal bands ever unleashed over the mortals !! This is a band that goes most of the time at full speed and  has chainsaw like guitars that spread their aggression through all the album. Their sound is similar to the one by Baltak, specially in the anguished voices (Gorgoroth is doing the screams here too) but they use more mid tempos in some of the tracks than that band. There is a good ammount of darkness in the songs, mostly created by some guitar riffs that use arpeggios or stuff like that to construct the dark environment that si the essence here. As I said before, the sound is really raw and that contributes also to the overall dark feeling of the music here. I ahve to remark taht this guys have achieved an extremely aggressive release taht will appeal to black metal fans, specially those that like the rawest kind of this style.

Recorded at Techno Lab

Produced by Buio Omega

BURY YOUR DEAD - COVER YOUR TRACKS

Line Up:

Mat - vocals

Slim - guitar

Eric - guitar

Rich - bass

Mark - drums

Music by Bury Your Dead

Lyrics by Bury Your Dead

Tracks:

1- Top Gun

2- Vanilla Sky

3- Mission: Impossible

4- Eyes Wide Shut

5- Magnolia

6- The Outsiders

7- Mission: Impossible 2

8- The Color of Money

9- Risky Business

10- Legend

11- All the Right Moves

12- Losin´It

Why the hell this guys made an album with song titles from tom Cruise´s films? Who knows? Any way, this is an extremely powerful album. To describe this guys music I will use an old word: "crossover". This guys have succesfully mixed hardcore with extreme metal in a good crossover of musical styles. The main goal here is to crush the listener with heavier than hell riffs along with extreme vocals (that are the ones that give the hardcore feeling to the music in many parts). The band is extremely tight and their trademark are the brutal rhythms that are designed for the moshpit. There is also a death metal influence here in many of the vocals that are of the most extreme type, such as the ones in "Mission: Impossible". This is a blasting album from this band that goes directly for the throat. Anyone can tell me about the song titles?

Recorded at Q Division Studios

Produced by Matthew Ellard

BYPRODUCT - ...TO CREATE RATHER THAN DESTROY

Line Up:

Tim Waldron - lead vocals

Jason Abrams - guitars / vocals

Jon Milles - bass / vocals

Dave Lange - drums

Music by Byproduct

Lyrics by Byproduct

Tracks:

1- Blueprint of an open mind

2- Torn, Scarred

3- Absence of Light

4- Separation from the ego

5- Time Fades

6- Exploring Infinite Dimensions

7- Social Anxiety Disorder

8- Personal Revelation

9- To Create Rather than Destroy

10- There will be no more

11- The Collapse of the Tangent Universe

It is difficult to label Byproduct´s music, but a good way would be to say that thgey have combined death metal with modern extreme emtal riffs creating their own powerful sound. Yes, they combine riffs that emphasize aggression besides speed with more rhythmic parts. One of the main things here are the twisted rhythms, that are completely different from what most metal bands do. And this rhythms add a lot of originality to the band´s tunes. With good melodies in many parts such as in the beginner riff of "Absence of Light". The vocals are really extreme adding a more brutal side to the music along with some of the fastest drummings that gives a death metal feeling here. One remarkable thing is the extremely good sound that the recording has making each of the songs here a kick in your nuts with full violence. A really original release with aggressive feelings.

Recorded at Bossman Studios

Produced by Byproduct

CAB 4 - CAB 4

Line Up:

Tony MAcalpine - guitars

Dennis Chambers - drums

Bunny Brunel - bass

PAtrice Rushen - keyboards

Brian Auger - keyoards, piano

Music by Bunny Brunel (1,4,5,7,9,10,11) and Tony Macalpine (2,3,6,8)

Tracks:

1- Hold On

2- One for the Road

3- Shizuka

4- Tony Mac

5- Raymond

6- BB´s Rumba

7- Bass Ackward

8- Cloud 10

9- Alphonse

10- Jam and Toast

11- Dede

This is what we have been expecting for a long time. In fact I was waiting for this kind of album since the "Freedom to Fly" album by Tony Macalpine when he started to introduce jazz/fusion elements in his playing. And here we have a pure fusion album. CAB4 is a project by extremely talented musicians such as Dennis Chambers and Bunny Brunel and this album is full of chops and solos and improvisations. Tony macalpine´s guitar plays jazz lines but with his own sound and that is what I liked a lot. He is playing a different type of music but keeping his identity. Brunell and Chambers are a splendid rhythm section and, as it is mandatory in this type of music they not only keep the pace and the rhythm of the music but also add their own phrases and improvisations. And here we have also Brian Auger and PAtrice Bushen doing keyboards all along the album creating the chord progressions over the other musicians deliver their melodic lines. And they also create amazing solos. A killer fusion albums from master musicians that always surprise with their skills.

Recorded at Gigi Studio

Produced by Bunny Brunel and Tony MacAlpine

CANCER -  CORPORATIONS

Line Up:

John Walker - vocals, guitars

Carl Stokes - drums, percussion

Rob Engvikson - guitars

Adam Richardson - bass

Music by John Walker and Carl Stokes, except 3 by Celtic Frost

Lyrics by Carl Stokes and John Walker

Tracks:

1- Oil

2- Witch Hunt (live in studio)

3- Dethroned Emperor

4- Oxygen thieves

5- Oil (Severed Satchel Hairy Scary Mix)

Cancer is back !!!!! Yes, the british band from hell is back with a new MCD that shows all their power as it used to be in the nineties. This album is closer to "Black Faith" than to "Death Shall Rise" or "To the Gory End". Here the music is as fast as always with killer guitar riffs and extreme vocals that are combined with more melodic ones in the choruses of "Oil". The drumming is really intense and it has a weird sound in the hihat and the cymbals that give a different sound to the music here, really raw and machine-like in the fastest parts (just check the beginning of "Witch Hunt"). John Walker voice is as distinctive as always but as I said before his adding new inflexions to it making it fit even better the music. It is great to see the return of a band that was really missed in the underground. Cancer is a blasting experience to your brain.

Recorded at

Produced by

CAPITOLLIUM - SYMPHONY OF POSSESSION

Line Up:

St. Julius - all instruments, vocals

Music by Capitollium

Lyrics by Capitollium

Tracks:

1- Inverted Chant

2- Fire in His Hands

3- The Will and the order

4- Aurora in the Nightsky

5- Oblivion of Thy

6- Rebirth Beneath the Stone

7- Holyness of the...

8- Waiting Until the Sundeath

9- Fugue in the Myst

10- Unleashed Sorrow

11-The Mercy of christ

12-Ave Maria (Black Cover)

13-Almost Perverted

Capitollium delivers on this album thirteen tracks of pure darkness with incredible arrangements. Each of the songs here go along the black metal way but with multiple arrangements that give a lot of identity to the music giving originality to Capitollium´s music. There is clever orchestration here done by the keyboards which are the center of the msuic here while the guitars interact creating powerful riffs that give aggression to the music. This contrast between raw guitars and orchestration is essential here to show the dulity of Capitollium´s music, sometimes more aggressive, sometimes heavier, sometimes more climatic. The vocals are twisted and full of rage as this style must have. the sound is raw on the gutiars and drums and more polished on the keyboards. A darker than hell release.

Recorded at Capitollium Recs.

Produced by St. Julius

CAPRICE - SISTER SIMPLICITY

Line Up:

Inna Brejestovskaya - voices

Vladimir Bobovnikov - flute

Alexandra Korzina - violin

Alexey Tolstov - cello

Anton Brejetovski - piano, harpsichord

Anton Konchakov - clarinet

Alexey Bazhalkin - bassoon

Music by Anton Brejestovski

Lyrics by Britain´s best poets

Tracks:

1- Winter

2- I Saw You Weep

3- A Red, Red Rose

4- The Dole of the King´s Daughter

5- The Faerie Chime

6- To My Sister

7- Once Kings

8- The Green Bowl

9- Green are the Rashes

10- Juliet´s Beauty

11-Autumn

12-Twilight

13-Nothing Will Die

14-Summer

15- The Dole of the King´s Daughter (remix)

Do you ever listen a record that the main word that comes to your mind while listening to it is "Beauty"? Well, if you don´t then you should check this Caprice album because they have done a masterpiece here full of beautiful ideas an incredible voices. Here we have the poetry of Britain´s best poets arranged ina musical format by this genius called Anton Brejestovski, a man that has great musicianship and whose music can be described as neoclassical. Here we have violins, cellos and flutes delivering incredible melodies and arrangements. Anton´s piano is one of the main instruments here delivering beautiful chord progressions and arpeggios in many of the compositions. I have to remark Inna Brejetovskaya´s voice which is really unique giving a lot of identity to the music and adding a lot of feeling at the same time. If I have to say one thing about this album is that it is a masterpiece.

Recorded by Andrei Abamukov

Produced by Caprice

CATAFALC - PAIN PERFORMANCE

Line Up:

Eero Soomere - vocals

Ando Enns- guitar

Mihkel Muru - guitar

Raino Suurna - bass, vocals

Eero Mitt - drums

Music by Catafalc

Lyrics by Catafalc

Tracks:

1- Masturbate with Gun

2- Small World

3- Progressive Surgery

4- Blessed with Pain

5- Death in deathrow

6- I Come, Blood on my hands

7- Even Evil Can Cry

8- Broken Bone

9- Impotent Scene

Recorded at Musicworks Studios

Produced by

CEREBRAL NOIZE - PROCESS

Line Up:

Cale Burr - guitars, vocals, percussion, keyboards

Steve Egan - fretless bass

Music by Cale Burr

Lyrics by Cale Burr

Tracks:

1- Stake through the head

2- Computer Art Geek

3- Processed Sound

4- Nature of Evil

5- Wept

6- Non Contradiction

7- About Love

8- ABC

9- Don´t Give up

10- Doc

11- Metal I

12-Rehoboam

13-Sibling Gibberish

Cerebral Noize is the baby of talented composer Cale Burr. The music is pure metal with influences of the most extreme side of the emtal genre. Heavy guitars are the main thing here delivering aggressive riffs all over this powerful album, but here we have also plenty of keyboards adding a more atmospheric feeling to the music. The combiantion of extreme vocals most of them of the screaming type with more melodic ones is another trademark of Cerebral noize´s music. The programmed drums also add a machine like feeling that fits really well the music and gives sort of a futuristic feeling to it. There is sort of a thrash influences in many parts which I liked a lot because it seems that Cale is taking the alste two decades of metal music and putting them together along his music. There are plenty of guests here adding their talents to Cerebral Noize´s music. A powerful release full of aggression and originality.

Produced by Cale Burr

CHEMICAL BURN - DEMO

Music by Chemical Burn

Lyrics by Chemical Burn

Tracks:

1- Turn

2- Follow

3- Invincible

Pure motherfucking mayhem is what the guys of Chemical Burn deliver here. Their msuic is a good mixture of heavy metal, thrash metal and modern metal with powerful vocals that sometimes reminds me to Testament´s Chuck Billy ("Demonic" era) and sometimes to Machine Head´s Rob Flynn. One thing that got my attention soon is the good sound tht this demo has and that is essential to give the huge sound that the guitars have here making each riff trully devastating. The main thing here are the rhythms. Each of them is heavier than hell and here we have plenty of changes on each track. just check "Turn" and you will see how this guys change riffs and rhythms keeping always the heavy feeling. The drumming is really itnense with good technical skills and strong syncopated rhythms. A really heavy band from which we want to lsiten more soon.

Produced by Chemical Burn

CHINCHILLA - TAKE NO PRISONERS

Line Up:

Roberto Palacios - bass, b. vocals

Chris Schwinn - drums

Udo Gerstenmeyer - guitars, keys

Thomas Laasch - vocals

Music by Udo Gerstenmeyer, Roberto palacios and Thomas Laasch

Lyrics by Udo Gerstenmeyer and Roberto Palacios

Tracks:

1- The almighty Power

2- Death is a grand leveller

3- The Call

4- The Ripper

5- Take no prisoners

6- Lost Control

7- Money Talks

8- Silent Moments

9- Stillborn Soul

10- Rich hounds

As most of you know, despite its strange name the guys in Chinchilla play pure metal with influences of bands like Iron Maiden or Helloween. On this album they deliver ten solid compositions with good riffs and memorable choruses and hooks. Here the main ting are the guitar riffs that are the heart and soul of Chinchilla, along with Thomas vocals that give melody and a lot of power to the music. Thomas Laasch vocals are quite similar to Bruce Dickinson´s but he has a german feeling on his voice that distinguish him from the Iron Maiden singer. The rhythm section is remarkably solid giving that feeling of tightness that Chinchilla´s music has. One main point here are the melodies that are quite different from the ones used by other bands of the style, giving identity to the music. The album has a clear yet powerful sound that enhances the feeling of the compositions. pure metal coming like a storm from Germany.

Produced by Ingmar Schetzel

CODE BLACK - PENETRATION

Line Up:

Mark Walzenburg - guitar

Barri Quern - vocals

Gary Williams - drums

Shaun Varney - bass

Music by Code Black

Lyrics by Code Black

Tracks:

1- Sound is all that remains

2- Superior Machine

3- Penetration

4- Hell of a World

5- Killing Word

6- Aftelife

7- Addictive Dimension

8- Scream when you Burn

9- Nothing Left

10- Escape vision Pain

11- Losing Myself

12-Black Mirror

Code Black is a pure thrash metal band with modern sound in the guitar riffs and with a certain hardcore touches in the voices. Screamed choruses are fundamental here and the energy of all the compositions can be fully perceived when you just listen a few seconds.The band sounds really tight showing a lot of rehearsal in their music and that is essential to their heaviness. The compact sound of the band is the essenc e of their heaviness. There are interesting rhythms with killer bass work, such as in "Penetration" and also killer double bass drumming in tracks like "Hell of a World". the voices are powerful, fitting the thrashing mood of the compositions, and there is an eighties feeling in them but conveniently modernized. The album has a really good sound, specially on guitars that sound huge. A really aggressive release and a good combination of old and new metal.

Recorded at Victor Sound

Produced by Jean Francois Dagenais and Code Black

CORIOR - LIKE A STRAY ANIMAL

Line Up:

Alex - guitars / vocals

Jibus - bass / b. vocals

Manu - guitars / b.vocals

Marc - drums

Music by Corior

Lyrics by Corior

Tracks:

1- Dead Bodies

2- Again and Against

3- Torment

4- Saturate

5- Armed Soul

6- Blizzard

7- Out of Order

We have reviewed Corior´s previous release and now comes to our mail box this follow up to that album. I have to say that the band has evolved since the previous release, specially soundwise, being the guitars much stronger and the srums much better mixed (specially the bass drum is much more audible now). the combination of death and thrash metal is the essence of the music here, delivering seven tunes full of aggression and power and showing interesting features like the guitar solos or the tempo changes in "Dead Bodies". The vocals are really extreme adding the more deathly feeling to the music and the rhythm section is really strong, specially on the fast parts where they don´t miss a beat. this is pure energy unleashed and lovers of extreme metal will be delighted with Corior´s music.

Produced by Corior

CORROSIF - SKELETON KIT

Line Up:

Fabrice - vocals

Luigi - gutar

Sébastien - bass

Sam - drums

Antonio - vocals on 4

Music by Corrosif

Lyrics by Corrosif, except 4 by Corrosif and Antonio Garcia

Tracks:

1- Underground

2- It

3- The Road

4- A Bloody Game

This album really fools you, starting calmly in the beginning of "Underground" with a climatic start and getting into the ehaviest mode within a minute. The band is pure metal with deathly vocals and some thrash metal influences in some parts (clverly mixed with more modern metal) and they deliver here four amazing tracks that combine the brutal with the climatic (just heck "It" to see what I am talking about). The guitars deliver heavy riffs that are the core of each of the compositions her while the rhythm section play heavy rhythms that leave a lot of space for the guitars and the vocals to develope interesting ideas. And the vocals are what add a deathly feeling that is really welcome in this compositions adding a more unearthly feeling to the music. On " A bloody Game" the band has Antonio Garcia doing completely different vocals in french language reminding me to such acts as Mano Negra, kind of rapping. A killer release with many original ideas going on thrugh the four compositions.

Recorded at BBM Studios

Produced by Corrosif

CORROSIF - JOIN US

Line Up:

Fab - vocals

Luigi - guitars

Seb - guitar

Chris - bass

Nico - drums

Antonio - Rap Vocals

Music by Corrosif

Lyrics by Corrosif

Tracks:

1- Human Enemy

2- New Order

3- Silent Voice

4- Fight for Life

5- Join Us

6- A New Start

7- Eternal Father

8- Slave of Death

9- Trasher Number One

10- Under his command

Having listened their MCD I knew what to expect from this swiss guys, but they are always surprising. One of the main surprise factors is the combination of deathly vocals with more cliamtic ones (some reminded me to Alice in Chains....just listen to "New Order"). Corrosif is an extremely original act that has succesfully blended the most extreme side of metal withkiller modern metal sound and some piure heavy metal sound. Each of the compositions here is clverly designed for moshing and headbanging, and most of the responsibility here is of the rhythm section that delivers intense rhythms through the ten compositions. I have to point out the excellent sound that this guys have achieved with a killer mix, specially on guitars and drums. Just as the title says Join Corrosif into their powerful world of heaviness unleashed.

Recorded at BBM Studio

Produced by Corrosif

CRUCIFIED MORTALS - CONVERTED BY DECAPITATION

Line Up:

Zach Rose - guitar

Sebastian Dzialuk - drums

Craig Horval - guitars/vocals

Novy - bass

Music by Horval (1,2,4,7), Rose (3,5) and Horval and Novy (6)

Lyrics by Horval (2,3,5,6) and Horval, dzialuk, Novy (4)

Tracks:

1- Intro

2- The Reaper´s Blade

3- Masked Murder

4- Converted by Decapitation

5- Sentenced to Extermination

6- Soul Afire

7- Usurpation

Recorded at Magnetic North Studios

Produced by Crucified Mortals

CRYPTIC VISION - MOMENTS OF CLARITY

Line Up:

Todd Plant - voclas

Rick Duncan - drums, keyboards, mellotron, guitars, bass, djembe

Robet Van Dyne - keyboards, guitar

Music by Rick Duncan

Lyrics by Rick Duncan

Tracks:

1- Introspective

2- New Perspective

3- Contemplation

4- Grand Design

5- Angeline

6- Losing Faith

7- Angel´s Requiem

8- Colored Leaf

9- Shock Value

10- Moments of Clarity

11- Ascension

Progressive virtuosism at its top level is what you will find in Cryptic Vision´s music. Combining multiple arrangements done with keyboards along with melodic vocals and powerful guitars, this band has managed to create eleven beautiful compositions full of interesting ideas and arrangements. One thing that I liked a lot is the combination of majestic keyboards with powerful guitar riffs. I find influences of bands like Yes, Dream Theater and Rush here cleverly combined to gice the band its own identity. There are many complex parts here and that is the esence of this band: the complexity along with the devlopment of excelolent composition. this guys have really good musicianship in order to play all this elements in a correct way showing at each time what they are capable of doing. The vocals are really melodic adding more melodies to the compositions. I would recommend this album to any music lover because of the good musicinship displayed here and to any progressive music fan.

Recorded at Paradox City, Morrisound Studios

Produced by Rick Duncan

DAN LORENZO - NICE BEING ALONE

Line Up:

Dan Lorenzo - guitars, bass, vocals

+ many guest musicians

Music by Dan Lorenzo*

Lyrics by Dan Lorenzo**

* except "Goin´Blind" by Simmons/Coronell

** except Devil´s a Lady by John Kosco

Tracks:

1- Bonjour

2- My Level

3- Too Fast for Hate

4- Nothing

5- Keep it Together

6- F-Bombs for Everyone

7- Naked

8- 323ILG

9- Goin´Blind

10- Tall

11- Devil´s a Lady

12- Frozen Planet

(13-17) Not so Hidden Tracks

Really soon arrives the new solo album by the Hades axeman. And again Dan Lorenzo shows what he is capable of creating. The compositions here are completely different from those of Hades, emphasizing more mid paced/ slower rhythms searching for ultimate heaviness. I prefer tracks like "My Level" (a track that sounds similar to Dan´s other band Non-Fiction) than "Bonjour" that unleash all the power that Dan´s playing has. The tracks here are short and effective being like a kick in your stomach with the combination of heavy guitar riffs with haunting vocals. There is a definite seventies influence in some of the playing, and you can see how versatile Dan is with the guitar. We have here Bobby "Blitz" Elsworth doing vocals in "Too Fast for Hate" adding the Overkill feeling to the music. the music here has a powerful sound that makes the results even heavier. A good solo release from a great musician !!

Recorded at Crystal Studios

Produced by Dan Lorenzo

DARK ORDER - THE VIOLENCE CONTINUUM

Music by Dark order

Lyrics by Dark order

Tracks:

1- Mission to the Continuum

2- War has Begun

3- The Terran Empire

4- Slaves of Nameless God

5- En Sagah Nur

6- S.J.N.

7- Condition  Red

8- Guilt of Blood, not stone

The Moby Dick Trilogy

9- Overture

10- Blood of the Sea

11- Once More unto the Breach

Pure thrashing is what this guys deliver on this powerful album. But this is not thrash metal with clear eighties influences. Instead we have here a band that combines thrash with some death metal influences and with pure metal riffs. The band sounds really tight and there is a Slayeresque voice combined with a more deathly one creating interesting crushing passages. Plus, the album has a sort of live feeling that makes the band sound more energetic and not as polished as sometimes happen with studio albums. There are some intriguing melodies that is one of the elements that the band can explore a little bit more in the future and I think that is the way they must follow. thrash metal has been clevely combined with death metal and I think this is the way Thrash sounds in the 21st century.

Produced by Dark Order

DARKSHINE - THE NIGHTSIDE OF EDEN

Line Up:

Krimloth - vocals, guitar

Helvete - guitars

Poisonius - bass, b.vocals

Sethnakt - keyboards

Alex - drums

Music by Darkshine, exc. 6 by Satyricon

Lyrics by Helvete and Krimloth, exc. 6 by Satyr

Tracks:

1- The Nightside of Eden

2- Our Immortal Black Soul

3- Angts

4- Awakening of Tyrante

5- Heavempire

6- Mother North

This band coming directly from Italy makes pure Black metal with keyboards and with many climatic parts. This is the style that Dark Shine plays on this powerful album. Dark Shine combines succesfully aggression and dark atmospheres with the interaction between the heavy guitars and the keyboards. the vocals are really extreme as this style demands. Powerful riffing is another trademark of the band as you can see in "Our Immortal Black Souls". The band sounds really tight and their playing is flawless even in the fastest aprts. Black fucking metal done wirth great musicianship.And this guys have made a cover of Satyricon´s classic "Mother North" in a faithful way but with the Darkshine spirit. THis is Black metal done to rule the world

Recorded at Noir Desire Studio

Produced by Cristiano Copat and Giuseppe Pascale

DARKTHRONE - TRANSILVANIAN HUNGER

Music by Fenriz

Lyrics by Fenriz, except 5-8 by Count Grischnack

Tracks:

1- Transilvanian Hunger

2- Over Fjell Gjennom Torner

3- Skald Av Satans Sol

4- Slottet I Det Fjerne

5- Graven Takenheimens Saler

6- I en Hall Med Flesk Og Mjod

7- As Flittermieca as Satans Spys

8- En As I Dype Skogen

Evil Horde Recs. is rereleasing this masterpiece of the most unholy and blasphemic nordic black metal. Here is an album that is a classic in the darkest of metal genres and that is a showcase of pure blasphemic aggression. Here you have the raw sound that characterizes the best of Dark Throne´s album and here you have the fast blast beating rhythms combined with the chainsaw-like guitars. Plus, here you have Fenriz spitting insults to God and mankind on the eight tracks of this album. Most of the tracks have lyrics in norwegin language adding a darkest (if possible) feeling to the music. There are that more atmospheric tracks like "Slottet I Det Fjerne" which has a darker feeling on it, but above all you have pure primal Dark Throne on this album. A classic of the darkest of musics.

Recorded in november / december 1993

Produced by Fenriz

DE/TEST - LANGUAGE OF VIOLENCE

Line Up:

Stefan Reese - drums

Michael Langner - guitars

Jens Albert - vocals

Thorsten Kämmerer - bass

Music by De/Test

Lyrics by Jens Albert

Tracks:

1- Silence is Broken

2- Part of Me

3- We Rise

4- This Time

5- It Hurts

If sucxh a thing as a "Language of violence" exists, the guys in De/Test manage it perfectly. The five tracks on this MCD are pure aggression, pure violence, unleashed over the listener. De/Test have chosen to storm humanity with their combination of modern metal and thrash metal. A masterpiece called "We Rise" is for my taste the best track here and a way for the band to follow. This tracks is pure aggression and it has a memorable melody that you can almost sing with your fist in the air and it also has devastating shouting choruses. The guitar riffs here are fast and they are a combination of more twisted riffs and of pure heaviness, following the rhythms and making each track a ten ton hammer through your head. I have to remark the role of the killer vocalist who is extremely aggressive most of the time but at the same time knows how to do interesting climatic parts that are for my taste the essence of the music here. THis i one of the msot powerful releases in 2004.

Recorded at Pivo Studios

Produced by De/Test

DEAD BY DAWN - NEW SOUNDS OF MURDER

Line Up:

Shorty

Rico

Sick

Sandereject

Music by Dead by Dawn

Lyrics by Dead by Dawn

Tracks:

1- Oppress the Oppressor

2- Acts of Damnation

3- Death Wish

Recorded at Excess Studos

Produced by Dead by Dawn

DEAD TO FALL - VILLAINY AND VIRTUE

Line Up:

Jonathan Hunt - vocals

Matthew Matera - guitars

Evan Kaplan - drums

Justin Jakimiak - bass

Antone Jones - guitar

Music by Dead to Fall

Lyrics by Dead to Fall

Tracks:

1- Torn Self

2- Bastard Set of Dreams

3- Stand Your Ground

4- You´ve Already Died

5- Villainy and Virtue

6- Little Birtds

7- Blood of the Moon

8- Cross Section

9- Master Exploder

10- Epilogue

Beginning with full force with "Torn Self", the guys in Dead to Fall soon crushes the listener with their heavy guitar riffs and the incredibly intense drumming that they deliver on each track. Guttural voices are an essential element here but the heart and soul of the music here are the guitars that play really intense riffs and also some melodies and solos that are essential to give each track its own identity. If I had to describe Dead to Fall´s music I would say that is a powerful combination of modern metal with death metal, taking the most intense elements of both styles and blending them into their own sound. It is remarkable the work of the drummer who is the risponsible of the extreme heaviness of the music on this band. This album is a guarantee of pure aggression and brutality and it will surely leave you without breathing after a couple of listenings.

Recorded at Trax East

Produced by Eric Rachel and Dead to Fall

DEATH ANGEL - THE ART OF DYING

Line Up:

Mark Osegueda - vocals

Ted Aguilar - guitars

Andy Galeon - drums

Dennis Pepa - bass

Rob Cavestany - guitars

Music by Cavestany (2,4,7,8,11,12), Galeon (9), Cavestany/Galeon/Pepa (3,5,6,10)

Lyrics by Osegueda (4,8,11), Cavestany (2,5,12), Galeon (3,6,7,9,10)

Tracks:

1- Intro

2- Thrown to the Wolves

3- 5 Steps of Freedom

4- Thicker than Blood

5- The Devil Incarnate

6- Famine

7- Prophecy

8- No

9- Spirit

10- Land of Blood

11- Never Me

12-Word to the Wise

Death Angel is back !! Taking from where they left in "Act III" the band delivers here their usual thrash metal full of their own identity. Mark Osegueda´s voice is in well shape as always being one of the distinctive elements of the band´s music. One good thing here is that the band is using their thrash metal structures but they are cleverly mixing it with a more modern sound that make this album powerful and modern (not outdated as some other bands that have not actualized their sound). Ted Aguilar replaces Gus Pepa on guitars, the only member that is not on this lineup and you will surely not miss Pepa´s riffs because Aguilar is a killer guitarist too. The rhythm section is extremely solid and compared with the older albums the bass has more presence here being etter mixed and following more closer the drums than the guitars in many parts. A classic band that return with full power !

Recorded at SanFrancisco Soundworks

Produced by Brian Joseph Dobbs

DEATH DU JOUR - FRAGMENTS OF PERDITION

Line Up:

PB - bass

TF - drums

OM - guitars

TK - vocals, guitar

Music by Death Du Jour

Lyrics by Death Du Jour

Tracks:

1- Grace by Chalice of Anger

2- Fragments of Perdition

3- Embittering Cicatrices

4- HArlot Deliverance

5- Weakmeat Vortex

6- Satire of Caustic Lunacy

7- Triangle Gallows

8- Dogma- The Suffering

Brutality at its most extreme intensity. Having reviewed the previous abum by this band I finbd the band in a good way developing their own brutal style with a huge sound. And this sound is what amazes here: the guitars are like an atomb bomb exploding and the drumming is extremely clear playing those technical double bass parts. This album is a clear evolution when compared to the previous onwe which was really devastating. But this one has taken this extreme feeling to the limit. The vocals are really deathly and are clearly mixed reminding me of the more brutal Morbid Angel (in the more guttural parts). One of the msot brutal releases of 2004.

Recorded at Pop-Studio

Produced by Death Du Jour

DEBAUCHERY - RAGE OF THE BLOODBEAST

Music by Debauchery

Lyrics by Debauchery

Tracks:

1- Blood for the blood god

2- Chainsaw Masturbation

3- Rage of the Bloodbeast

4- Devourer of Worlds

5- Killing in the Warzone

6- I Will rape and murder

7- Armies of Immortals

8- The Hellspawn

9- Ritual Killing

10- Wargrinder

11- Take My Pain

What a good beginning !! The band kicks off with "Blood for the blood god" with a repeating phrase that is heavier than hell and that soon turns into a bestial death metal structure. I have to remark the incredible power that the vocalist has, specially on the most guttural parts where his almost throwing out his lungs. While other vocalsits of the style fail miserably tryng to add more power to the music, this guy succeeds transmiting even more violence to the tunes. The guitars sound huge and they deliver direct riffs that are the core of the music here (they are really well mixed sounding extremely solid). Each instrument here unleash utter aggression and for example the drumming is technical and brutal at the same time with killer fast rhythms and double bass. An extremely aggressive release full of violence.

Produced by Debauchery

DECOMPOSED - UNKNOWN CREATION

Line Up:

John - guitars, vocals

X-faced - guitars

Philippos - drums

George - bass, b.vocals

Music by Decomposed

Lyrics by Decomposed

Tracks:

1- My Candle

2- Unknown Creation

3- Blind Alley

4- Almost Black

5- Night Fear

Recorded at Artemis Studio

Produced by Mark Andrian and Decomposed

DEITA KLAUS - ORDER OF THE GOLDEN DAWN

Line Up:

Music by Deita Klaus

Lyrics by Deita Klaus

Tracks:

1- Bloody Kisses

2- Rose

3- Saint Diana

4- Judas Kiss

5- Deita von Teaze

6- Vampire

7- Malibu

8- Love

9- Gothic Gospel

10- One Prayer

11- Vanity Faire

12-1000 Days

13-Las Vegas

This is pure gothic in its purest form, sometimes with more electronic elements and sometimes with more climatic ones. Deita Klaus sings with her dark voice every vocal line of this surprising release full of rhythms that can go from slow to almost dancing type and then turn into a more rocking beat. But the main thing here is Deita´s voice that is the heart and soul of the music in this release, screaming, whispering, moaning and always giving the feeling to the music. The music here has also some memorable hooks that stick in your mind, specially on the choruses that will soon get into  your brain and stay there. I am accustomed to listen a different guitar sound that I think could fit Deita´s music really well with a stronger sound. Maybe that would be the only thing that I would change, because I think the keyboards are very cleverly developed arranging each of the tracks here. This is a really cliamtic release with good voices and interesting songs with a lotm of potential.

Recorded at

Produced by Deita Klaus

DER EREMIT - DAS

Line Up:

Der Gian - vocals, sampling, programming

Dirk - guitars, programming

Mormegil - guitars

Daver the Braver - cello, e-cello

Da Rees - bass

Pat Fuse - drums

Music by Der Eremit

Lyrics by Der Gian

Tracks:

1- An Dich

2- Sturmauge

3- Neue Sonne

4- Lu

5- Die Wahrheit

6- Lichtbringer

7- Ozean

8- Hippiekacke

9- Das

10- Parolenpolka

11- Wintersonne

12- Thanatos

13- Umarmung

14- Schweigen

15-Wer da?

We have reviewed some Der Eremit releases before, remarking the experimental nature of the work of this amazing band. They are heavy with killer heavy guitars but at the same time they use a lot of programming and keyboards and also cello lines that give a weird feeling to the music. Each composition here is amazingly original and full of innovativ e ideas. Starting with the rhythms that go well beyond most of the known metal patterns (using some tribal percussion in tracks like "Neue Sonne". Eerie melodies are developed against the guitar riffs by Der Gian, a man that knows how to fit perfectly the music of the band. Again I have to remark the role of the killer cello that adds a completely diverse feeling to the music. To sum up I have to say that Der Eremit is the perfect combination of heaviness and experimentation with electronics.

Produced by Der Gian

DEVIANT SURGEONS - THE GLOBAL MASS GRAVE

Line Up:

Sikkardinal - guitars

J. Poison - bass

Insane Pedopathologist - guitars

Esoteric Manhunter - vocals

Ultimate Living Blasphemy - drums

Music by Deviant Surgeons

Lyrics by Deviant Surgeons

Tracks:

1- Defect

2- The Warchangel

3- Murder is My therapy

4- This World is dead

Deviant Surgeons are one of the sickest bands I have ever heard. Their music is really extreme brutal death metal full of fast rhythms and with the ultra extreme. The guitar riffs are really huge and are played with an enormous sound. THe drumming is extremely intense with interesting double bass patterns and combining the fastest rhythms with heavier ones that are the most intense here. As I said before, the vocals are extremely guttural adding the most brutal feeling to the music. There are some intense subtle melodies that are essential to add a slower moment and add different dynamics to the music. I have to say that the sound is raw but is well mixed making the instruments sound really huge. This is pure brutality created to devastate the listener by crushing its brain.

Recorded at The Clandestine Clinic

Produced by Deviant Surgeons

DEVIL IN THE KITCHEN - WIZARD´S WALK

Line Up:

Andy Reiner - electric fiddle

Stash Wyslouch - guitars

Bassil Silver-Hajo - bass

Alex Carrara - drums

Tracks:

1- Heather´s Concussion

2- Coked Up Leprechaun

3- Whipple Hill Medley

4- Trey Eats Meat

5- D-A Set

6- Wizard´s Walk

7- Mad Dog

Can you combine powerful distorted guitars with an electric fiddle and strings that sound almost like european folklore? can you combine traditional songs or even Mahavishnu Orchestra´s ones with your own heavy tunes ? Yes, the guys in Devil in the Kitchen succeed in doing all of this and more. Their music is really heavy and at the same time is full of virtuosismwith plenty of fiddle lines and with heavier than hell guitar riffs (just check "Heather´s Concussion" to see what I am talking about). A solid rhythm section with a lot of technical skills is here essential in order to play correctly the multiple tempo and rhythm changes that are all over the compositions here. This guys are trully virtuosos and each of the songs here is enjoyable and surprising because you will find yourself expecting the next change or the next melodic idea. A must have.

Recorded at Dangling Pineapple Studios

Produced by Josh Driscoll and Devil in the Kitchen

DIES ATER - OUT OF THE DARK

Line Up:

N.T. - vocals,guitar

Torgrim - bass, vocals

Ole C. - keyboards

Impurus - drums

Music by Dies Ater, exc. 1 by Falco

Lyrics by Dies Ater

Tracks:

1- Out of the Dark

2- Death to last

3- Ewiges Eis

4- Dethrone the Weak Mortality

Last year I reviewed the previous Dies Ater album and I was surprised with the aggressive type of black/death metal that this guys delivered with interesting melodies. On this new album they have taken their style to the extreme, adding more brutal parts and at the same time using more melodies and more complex riffing. The vocals are as twisted as oon their previous release adding the deathly feeling to the music, sometimes more growling, sometimes more screaming. Tracks like "Dethrone..." are really complex with rhythms that are completely different from the ones used in the style. And there are alos some arpeggiated guitars combined with keyboards that give a sad feeling to the music One remarkable thing is the good sound that this recording has making things more powerful. An extreme combination of aggressiona and darkness..

Recorded at Stage One Studio

Produced by Andy Classen

DIMHYMN - DET ENDA EVIGA

Line Up:

Nattdal: guitars, bass, vocals

Nordsjäl: drums

Music by Dimhymn

Lyrics by Nattdal (1, 2, 4) and Nattdal - Nordsjäl (3,5)

Tracks:

1- Omfamnad Av Döden

2- The Black Depth

3- Det Enda Eviga

4- Våndans Kammare

5- Shape of Eternal Hate

Darker than hell black metal with some atmospheric shades in the guitar riffs !! Yes, this is what the guys in Dimhymn have delivered here and you will surely feel the power unleashed through blast beats and fast guitar riffs.. One good thing that I liked here is that the guitars and bass play some low tuned riffs that give more power to the music. There are plenty of fast parts here but there are also some other parts that give a dark atmosphere to the music, through some guitar riffs that add dark melodies. The music here has a raw sound and it has some early blck metal feeling on it. the vocals are really extreme, sounding sometimes more trollish and sometimes much more distorted, sounding like another aggressive instrument. The overall result here is a destroying black metal release that delivers aggression and hate to the listener. Pure unholiness !!!! 

Produced by Dimhymn

DIN ADDICT - MUSIC FOR OPENED MINDS

Music by Din Addict

Lyrics by Din Addict

Tracks:

there are 27 blasting brutal grind tracks on thsi album.

Din Addict unleashes all their brutality on this album full of a mix of the most brutal death metal with some elements of old school death metal and grindcore. Sound weird? Not at all. The old school death metal influence is evident in some of the riffing but they are taken to the extreme, such as taken early Morbid Angel and putting pedal to the metal adding even more brutality. The vocals are extremely guttural but they are more effective than in most of the grindcore bands because they are used more rhythmically, in the vein of the most brutal death bands, not like a background noise as some grind bands do. The sound is raw but the guitars sound huge adding all their aggression to the music. And this sound of the guitars is a trademark, almost like downtuned chainsaws doing the main riffs. Pure aggression.

Recorded at Denever Studios

Mixed by David

DIRTY INFAMOUS - DIE ON PURE ADRENALINE

Line Up:

Looth Adler - vocals

Firman - guitars, bass

Ivan - drums

Music by Dirty infamous

Lyrics by Dirty Infamous

Tracks:

1- Euthanasia

2- Die on pure adrenaline

3- Unemcumbered Troops

4- Terkontaminasi Dalam Dimensi Hahi

5- Mind Destruction

6- Social Confusion

7- Endless Torment

8- Bastard

This is pure brutal death metal with interesting riffs, specially in the slower parts where tyhe guitars are more unleashed and do their most creative work. You can not have any music heavier than this one on Earth and just one listening will be enough to know why I am telling you this. There are plenty of tempo and rhythm changes here and this is an essential feature here being like a trademark of the band´sound. The vocals are guttural and are used to fit the guitars and the rhythms,except in the parts where they are used more in the grindcore bain, like being a more guttural guitar line. This is a violent release but with use of more interesting ideas than most of te bands of the style.

Recorded at K Studio

Produced by Rottrevore Recs.

DISPERSION - PROMO 2003

Music by Dispersion

Lyrics by Dispersion

Tracks:

1- Ungetelltes Laid

2- Menschenjagd

3- Leblos

4- Premutos

Four tracks of pure brutal death metal coming directly from Germany. The music here is extremely aggressive and you will not have any rest until the MCD has finished. If you survive this death metal demolishing band then you will like to listen more from them. Full speed is the order of the day here and most of the guitar riffs are played at hyper speed and alter combined with more rhythmic and heavier riffs. Extremely guttural voice is another trademark. And the voice is used to emphasize some of the rhythms as well as to spit the lyrics with hate. It is remarkable the good sound that makes them sound kind of in a live situation with a huge guitar ound. Pure brutality and a opromisory band whose music we would like to lsiten more in teh future.

Recorded at Lederfabrik

Produced by Marc Jüttner

DJAM KARET - NO COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL ROCK IMPROVISATIONS 1985-2002

Line Up:

Gayle Ellett: guitars, devices

Mike Henderson - guitars, devices, voice

Chuck Oken Jr. - drums, percussion

Henry Osborne - bass (CD 1 and track 1 in CD 2)

Aaron Kenyon - bass on tracks 2 and 3 of CD2

Music by Djam Karet

Tracks:

CD 1

1- Where´s L.Ron?

2- Dwarf Toss

3- Blue Fred

CD 2

1- The Building

2- The Door

3- The Window

Is the music that Djam Karet does progressive rock? Sure it is !! And they are an example of what this kind of muic must be: pure improvisations and experimentation are the main thing here.  there are compositions here that are over 20 minutes long here and the band developes incredible ideas on this 2 CD Set. There is extremely good musicianship here with plenty of virtuosism. And one thing that I liked a lot is that the first CD was originally released in 1985 and the second in 2002 so, while listening to both CDs you can see the evolution that the band has suffered through the years becoming a more solid and experimented band. I have to say that Djam Karet always surprises while you listen to their music because they experiment a lot and each composition is a world completely different from the other. If you didn´t know the band before thi is a good point to start listening them and if you already know them this is a great album to have in your collection. A mustr for any lover of goodmusicianship.

CD 1Recorded at Parsch Place Studio

Produced by Djam Karet

DOOMED AND DISGUSTING - HORROR SOUNDTRAX

Music by Dave Slave

Lyrics by Dave Slave

Tracks:

1- The funeral director

2- Evil Cathedral

3- Ghost Stories

4- Doomsday

5- Torture Chamber

6- D Monic Minor 666

7- Evil Cathedral (soundscapes)

8- Horror Soundtrax

9- The Funeral Director (soundscapes)

This iks an album created by Dave Slave who was the bass player of the legend Sadistik Exekution. . A really weird release where the first thing that got my attention where the voices. They are all whispered, spoken and in some parts screamed (with a close -to-black emtal attitude) The music si repetititve and slow (some parts reminded me the slower parts of Autopsy´s "Mental Funeral" even if the style is completely different). I don´t know if I can classify this music in doom metal because is different from this style but it ahs some elements such as the rhythms. THere are keyboards that add darkness to the music. The guitars play slow riffs and they also do some interesting solos in some of the tracks.Also there is a bass solo piece full of madness here The sound is raw.My favorite tracks are the ones like "Torture Chamber" where the keyboards take a more predominant role.

Produced by Dave Slave

DYNABYTE - EXTREME MENTAL PIERCING

Line Up:

Cadaveria - brainwave simulator

John - subharmonic Convulsion

Lj Dusk - Distortion Oscillator

Music by Dynabyte (exc.4)

Lyrics by Dynabyte (exc. 4)

Tracks:

1- I´ll rise

2- I´m my enemy

3- I stand still

4- Immigrant Song

5- Face the Storm

6- In another context

7- Final Condition

8- 178

9- My Brain

10- Dynabyte

This is the almighty Cadaveria´s other band and completely different from her own band or Opera IX. This one has an electronic feeling in some of the parts, specially on the drumming in tracks like "I´ll Rise". And there is plenty of electronic elements, giving a weird feeling to the music. Cadaveria´s vocals are more processed here. We have here a side of her musical personality that we have not listened before, such as many melodic lines that would have been out of place in her other work, combined with really extreme vocals. Here we have a guitarist that unleashes guitar riffs full of aggression with a modern metal feeling. There is plenty of experimentation with electronic elements here and this, combined with the heaviness of the feeling is the trademark of this band. Plus, there is an incredible version of Led Zeppelin´s "Immigrant Song" very different from the original oneThe album has good sound.making things much betterfor listening. An album completely different from what we could have expected from Cadaveria.

Recorded at Dynabyte Studio

Produced by Dynabyte

E-FORCE - DEMO 2002

Eric Forrest - Bass/Vocals
Dan Lauzon - Guitar
Louis Levesque - Drums
Bryan Donahue - Guitar

Music by E-Force

Lyrics by E-Force

Tracks:

1- Forest of the Impaled

2- Scarred

3- Belief

4- Crypto-Sporidium

This is the band from ex Voivod singer Eric Forrest. And is quite different from what he has done with the canadian band. More of a mix between thrash metal, death metal and some modern metal whose main goal is to achieve utter aggression and deliver it to the listener. Memorable tunes whose main objective is unleashing pure aggression. Eric´s screaming voice is the trademark here because he has a really particular voice that was also evident in the Voivod´s albums where he participated.. The sound is raw but really powerful and specially the guitars sound heavy as hell. Now this band has their first album in the shops, so it wouldbe great to see how they have evolved in the two years since this demo.

Produced by E-Force

ECTOPARASITE - CRUEL TEA AND THE BISTOURI

Line Up:

Gäleter - guitars

Orhandjiüss - guitar, vocals

Izma - bass, vocals

Gniork - vocals

Yoxadadel - drums, eprcussion

Music by Ectoparasite

Lyrics by Ectoparasite

Tracks:

1- Quand je serai grand

2- Vanne sèche

3- hanson engagèe

4- Reflexion usr la combustion spontanée d´un canari

5- Maman fais-moi des lasagnes

6- Gériatrie

7- Is my hair ok? (or the truth about metalheads)

8- Tricycle Inffernal

9- Génie

10- Be tnik or be dead

11- Self Service

12- The call of Kiss Cool

13- Le Thon

14- +2PQ

15- Essuyez-vous avant d´entrer

16- Ghost track

Ectoparasite is a really brutal band but at the same time they have achieved good results here adding elements from other styles besides death metal (such as the vocals in "Be tnik or be dead"). There is intense drumming here without abuse of blast beats, showing a preference for twisted rhythms instead of simple speed. And there is also fast riffing and rhythm breaks which are a trademark of the band´s music. The main voice is really guttural adding an extreme death metal feeling to the music. The compositions are short but powerful, like 2 minutes long bursts of energy designed to blast the listener. The osund is raw and maybe mixing a little bit louder the guitar would benefit the band´s sound. Pure twisted brutality with uncommon ideas.

Recorded at I-M Sound

Produced by Ectoparasite

EDEN WEINT IM GRAB - TRAUMTROPHÄEN TOTER TRAUERTÄNZER

Music by Eden Weint im Grab

Lyrics by Eden Weint Im Grab

Tracks:

1. Den Herbstlaubreigen Tanzt Der Tod
2. Des Träumers Melancholie
3. Im Blutrausch Schreien Engel Schrill
4. Schwarze Gräber Einsamseen
5. Untergang Im Rosenmeer
6. Sinfonie Des Schlafes
7. Leidenschaft In Rot
8. Monologe Trüber Wortgewalt
9. Wenn Die Welt Im Traume Flieht
10. Oh, Grabesstille...
11. Zeiten(w)ende

This is what I call an aggressive yet climatic album. This is a side project of Sascha Black from Winter Solitude and it is different from that band. This band can be described as a blend of black metal, doom metal and death metal with excellent climatic melodies nad with a feeling that reminded me in some parts to early Paradise Lost. The use of clean guitars in some parts and the use of different kind of rhythms and tempo is essential here. The lyrics are in german language and that adds also a particular feeling to them. Even the cover art is extremely dark, fitting all the msuic that si contained here. This band is a good mix of aggression and atmospheres being a referent on this style because of the good quality of their music.

Recorded at

Produced by

ELENIUM - VIA PURITIVA

Line Up:

Marcin Gorczyca - guitars, vocals, programming

Kacper Lecheta - keyboards

Hubert Betlej - bass

Music by Marcin Gorczyza and Elenium

Lyrics by Marcin Setlak

Tracks:

1- Insania Promethei (intro)

2- Mediterranean Past

3- Towards the Dismal Ecstasy

4- Via Puritiva

THis is a truly original band coming directly from Poland whose music can not be easily described because it has elements of many different styles and there is also experimentation with dissonances. There is a lot of heaviness here in the guitars and in the vocals which are really deathly spitting the vocals with rage, but at the same time there is a lot of beauty created by the orchestrating keyboards and there are plenty of operistic vocals (we have here a soprano, a tenor,a n alto and a bass that do amazing vocal lines in tracks like "Towards the Dismal Ecstasy". Plus, there are really good guitar solos and amazing riffs that give heaviness to themusic and at the same time add complexity. The four tracks that are on this recording leave you wanting more from this band. This is a release that I have to recommend to any metal lover because of its great quality. A must.

Recorded at Manek Studio

Produced by Jacek Garbaczewski

EMANCER - INVISIBLE

Line Up:

Mithrin - guitars, bass, electronics

Gorbag- main vocals

Music by Emancer

Lyrics by Emancer

Tracks:

1- Emancipation

2- On Borrowed Time

3- Smashed Mirror World

4- A Comedy of Hunger

5- Man Denied

6- Mass Dewatruction

7- Invisible

Starting with full aggression at full spped Emancer shows that theya re an excellent band combining the most aggressive black metal (this is not the typical black metal because they go way beyond this style adding many elemets of other styles and they are not afraid to experiment). There are blast beats in some parts and trollish black emtla voices but there are also many darker parts that for my taste are the essence of Emancer´s music. Tracks like "On Borrowed Time" show perfectly what this band is all about with that atmospheric part full of keyboards in the middle section and with the heavier than hell guitar riffs that are played adding aggressuion to the track..  I think the band has to mix the keyboards louder in the fastest parts in order to achieve even a better result. The perfect combination of aggression and dark atmospheres.

Recorded at THe Hartvix Facilities

Produced by Emancer

EMETH - INSIDIOUS

Line Up:

Kimps Tom - vocals

Ales Tom - drums

Dupont Matty - guitars

Music by Emeth

Lyrics by Emeth

Tracks:

1-Impermanence of Being

2-Catatonic Entanglement
3-Manifestation
4-Mitigated Enmity
5-Endemicy Preordained
6-Stratum
7-Archaic Halos
8-Mimetic Conflation
9-Aeon

If you like bands like Criptopsy or Malevolent Creation you will be delighted by this guys from Belgium. Their music is at the top fo the brutality scale with fast drumming (including some machine-like blast beats) played by this beast called Ales Tom. The guitar riffs are fast and they have that extremely low tuned sound that adds a lot of heaviness to death metal music specially when it is as brutal as Emeth´s. Kimps Tom vocals are of the extreme gutural type, with nothing to envy to George Corpsegrinder or Chris Barnes in their most guttural performances. You want speed? That is the second name of this devastating band. Do you want an excellent killer sound? This band has it with a killer mix on each instrument, specially on the drumming and the guitars. This is bestiality unleashed over mankind....you just have to taste it.

Produced by Emeth

EMPTINESS - GUILTY TO EXIST

Line Up:

Phorgath - bass, vocals

Nerath Daemon - guitars

Khapth - drums

Music by Emptiness

Lyrics by Emptiness

Tracks:

1- Tyrants forever

2- Unleash the Emptiness

3- Interludium

4- Tenebrium prophecies

5- Subhuman Submissionm

6- Interludium

7- Fucked by the beast

8- None Existence

9- To Extinction

10- Necrorgy

11- Age of Nothing

12-Xenomorph

13-Warhatred/Blasphemy

14-Into the 11th Blackshell

15-By the loss of mour dogma

16-Conceived to reject

17-The loss in blind perceptions

Emptiness is pure brutality done in the most deathly metal possible with guttural vocals and a certain black metal feeling in some of the darkest parts. With some ex memeber of Enthroned in the line up this guys have taken the black metal style and added a bigger proportion of pure death metal in order to achieve the Emptiness sound. This guys sure know how to blast beat but they use different rhythms in order toi achieve a heavier feeling besides the wildest bestiality of the fastest parts. Good double bass drumming is a fundamental part here and you can feel the good technique that this drummer has that allows him to play fast and complex parts that are needed tlo achieve the feeling of the most brutal parts. The album has been well mixed and that makes things more effective. A brutal yet technical release.

Produced by Emptiness

ENDORPHINE - THE FUTURE SEED

Line Up:

Luka Zaccariello - vocals

Maddalena Bellini - guitars

Alessandro martinelli - guitars

Raffaele Lanzuise - bass

Daniele Ciao - drums

Music by Endorphine

Lyrics by Luka

Tracks:

1- Self Portrait

2- One Day

3- Endorphine

4- Makin Me Bad

5- A World Outside

6- My Breath Away

7- A New Yourself

8- Unleashed Godmind

9- The Future Seed

A climatic intro opens this album before getting into "One Day" a darker than hell track. This guys succesfully achieve the most dark feeling without heavy use of keyboards. There is really amazing guitar work, where the riffs of the guitars interact one with the other. The vocals are the main thing here combining guttural moments with more climatic voices. The use of clean guitars in some parts is essential too to achieve this type of feeling. The rhythms go from fast to slow and then back to fast but always done with excellent musicianship And there is plenty of good solos full of technical skills (with use of wah wah in some tracks....killer ones). THis album is what I call a perfect ten. A masterpiece

Recorded at Jumping Spider tudio

Produced by Endorphine and Cruna Recs.

ENSIFERUM - IRON

Music by Ensiferum

Lyrics by Ensiferum

Tracks:

1- Ferrum Aeternum

2- Iron

3- Sword Chant

4- Mourning Heart - Interlude

5- Tale of Revenge

6- Lost in Despair

7- Slayer of Light

8- Into Battle

9- Lai Lai Hei

10- Tears

One of the most powerful bands with subtle elements and epic feelings that I have listened in a while. This guys have combined a style similar to viking metal (even if they don´t have that viking roots) but full of an epic feeling and orchestration. The sound of teh recording is absolutely amazing, close to perfection. Here you can feel the guitar riffs as if you were standing in fron to the amps. You can feel the keyboards orchestrating each of the tunes and you can feel the drums and the bass pounding against your chest with fury (there is killer double bass work here). There is use of acoustic guitars here thata dd a melancholic feeling to the music but the main thing are the heavier than fuck riffs. The vocals are sometimes extreme and in other parts more epic. There are really virtuoso guitar solos that are like a song within a song. One of the albums of 2004.

Produced by Ensiferum and Flemming Rasmussen

ENTWINE - DIEVERSITY

Music by Entwine

Lyrics by Entwine

Tracks:

1- 2/4/943

2- Bitter Sweet

3- Someone to Blame

4- Bleeding for the Cure

5- Still remains

6- Frozen by the Sun

7- Six Feet Down Below

8- Refill My Soul

9- Everything for you

10- Nothings Forever

11- Lost Within

The guys from Entwine have achieved to establish themselves as one of the main finnish bands in the metal scene. With their combination of metal with gothic elements, full of dark atmospheres and catchy choruses, the band has made their own place in the metal realm. The track "Bitter Sweet" is a probable hit here because it has many vocal elements that are essential in order to let the music flow in the listener´s mind. And that is essential to make the band be more popular (if Him did it...why not Entwine?) Powerful guitars are another of the trademarks here distinguishing Entwine from many bands in the style that sound weaker than them. The keyboards adorn every single track adding an epic feeling to the music. I have to remark the excellent sound that this album has making things more powerfula nd more beautiful, being each arrangement much more effective. A release that deserves to be gold or platynum soon..

Produced by Entwine

ERIKM / MÜLLER/NAKAMURA - WHY NOT BECHAMEL?

Line Up

eRikm - 3k pad/computer

Günter Müller - mds,ipod,sel perc, electronics

Toshimaru Nakamura - no-input mixing board

Tracks:

1- Keburu

2- Kabel

3- Cable

This is onwe of the most difficult to listen albums I have ever heard. You will not believe your ears while you are listening what this guys are doing. This is heavy experimentation with small sounds and noises in search of an atmosphere that expands all known boundaries. And there is also experimentation with silences that sometimes are really long (just listen the first minutes of "Keburu"), but soon new sounds are created and are turned into the mix generating a really spontaneous compositions that surprises with its originality. It is like making a cake: you have all the different levels, and here each level is a sound or noise....and after some minutes you have that composition (cake). I have to say that this guys are really innovative and surprise constantly with their experimentation. If you thought you have already heard everything then you should check this one.

Recorded at Sion, Switzerland

Mastered by Nicolas Dick

ESKATON - GENOCIDE

Line Up:

Pala - guitar, vocals

Fishdick - bass, vocals

Surovy - drums

M666 - vocals

Music by Eskaton

Lyrics by Eskaton

Tracks:

1- Genocide

2- 3 Seconds to Extinction

3- Crucified by Oblivion

Full speed madness starts in the first second of "Genocide" taking the listener to the utter brutal world of Eskaton, a band that has decided to destroy your brain with their pure aggression. Do you want guttural vocals? Here you have the most guttural ones that you will find anywhere combined with some that are more of the screaming type. Do you want blast beats? Here you have plenty of them creating a brutal fast as hell rhythm for the tracks to be developed (the drumming here is almost superhuman in some of the fastest parts). The guitarssound extremely raw and they deliver fast riffs that are the essence of th music here taking your ears to destruction within the three tracks. This is brutality in its most extreme form with a raw sound and killer aggression.

Produced by Eskaton

EYES FROM THE ASHES - EYES FROM THE ASHES

Line Up:

Music by Eyes from the Ashes

Lyrics by Eyes from the Ashes

Tracks:

1- Blind

2- Burn

3- Distant Runaway

4- Thorn

I was completely fooled. I expected sort of a death metal band. And I found a more classic metal band combined with a rocking attitude and with an extremely powerful female singer that has one of the most crystal clear voices I have ever heard. The riffs are pure heavy rock with some Black Sabbath feeling in some of them. The track called "Burn" is more climatic with use of clean guitars and here is where the voices shine to a climax. The songs are well cosntructed with use of keyboards in some parts and with a really tight rhythm section. I have to say again that I fell in love with the voice of this woman, powerful and at the same time extremely melodic. I hoope to hear more from this band in teh enar future because they left me wanting more from them.

Produced by Eyes from the Ashes

FACEWRECK - DEMO 2003

Line Up:

Vinnie - guitars

Sander: vocals

Roelant - vocals

Rogier - bass

Veron - drums

Music by Facewreck

Lyrics by Facewreck

Tracks:

1- Wait and See

2- Doing My Thing

3- Where´s the Door?

Three tracks of pure aggression unleashed is what you will find on this MCD. Facewreck combines interesting heavier than fuck guitar riffs with some death metal feeling along with some hardcore in the voices. The tempos here are sometimes fast with an almost thrash feeling in tracks like "Wait and See" and  sometimes slower as in the middle aprt of that track with the heaviest of riffs played at slow tempos. The hardcore influence here is huge, specially in some rhythms and above all in the vocals and the choruses that are like a kick in your teeth. The drumming is intense and sets the pace of the tracks with some syncopation that is essential to achieve heaviness here. the sound of the recording is raw but at the same time is compact making the recording sound heavier. Heaviness unleashed.

Produced by Facewreck

FARMAKON - A WARM GLIMPSE

Line Up:

Lassi Paunonen - guitars

Toni Salminen - guitars

Riku Airisto - drums

Marko Eskola - vocals, bass

Music by Farmakon

Lyrics by Paunonen / Eskola

Tracks:

1- Loosely of Amoebas

2- My Sanctuary in Solitude

3- Mist

4- Stretching into Me

5- Same

6- Flowgrasp

7- Flavoured Numerology

8- Pearl of My Suffering

9- Wallgarden

A wild release with no doubt, the guys from Farmakon unleashe here nine tracks of pure aggression with original parts in their compositions. Take a really aggressive band in the death metal vein and then add something like Faith No More in the mix and then you will have just an idea of what this guys sound like. Thereis an interesting combination of aggressive and more climatic moments on each of the tracks (just check "Same" to see what I am talking about). and there is also a lot of experimentation with different moods and different rhythms that make each composition really original. Farmakon has a powerful sound that is enhanced itha good mix. A killer release.

Recorded at Sound Sound Studios

Produced by Farmakon

FINNTROLL - NATTFÖDD

Music by Fintroll

Lyrics by Fintroll

Tracks:

1- Vindfärd/Människopesten

2- Eliytres

3- Fiskarens Fiende

4- Trollhammaren

5- Nattfödd

6- Ursvamp

7- Marknadsvisan

8- Det Iskalla Trollblod

9- Grottans Barn

10- Routas Vaggvisa

I can not be objective here because Fintroll is one of my absolute favorite bands. And here they have unleashed ten new tracks that are destined to be new classics in their discography. Their music is so original and they have created their own style through this years combining the most brutal riffs with the more majestic keyboards. And through time they have been becoming better with each new release. THis "Nattfödd" is majestic and shows how good musciians this people are and how good are their technical skills. If you don´t know the band this is a good album to start knowing them and if youhave already listen and liked them this surely is for you. Another masterpiece by Finntroll.

Produced by Fintroll

FINNTROLL - TROLLHAMMAREN

Music by Fintroll

Lyrics by Fintroll

Tracks:

1- Trollhammaren

2- Hemkomst

3- Skog

4- Försvinn Du Som Eyser

THis is a MCD that gives you a taste of how Finntroll sounded in early 2004 being a prelude to their latest album "Nattfödd". The only song that is also on "NAttfödd" is "Trollhammaren" so, this MCD is a goodcomplemetn ot the whole album. As always Finntroll shines with their musicianship and absolutely original ideas.

Produced by Fintroll

FIVE FIFTEEN - THE MAN WHO SOLD HIMSELF

Tracks:

1- Stoner Cold Heartbraker

2- Innocence is no Excuse

3- Jesus Went to N.Y.C. (Again)

4- Mrs. Rolling Stone

5- Silver Machine

6- Wayward Child

7- Games of May

8- Black Monday

9- Eastern Song

10- Call the doctor (live)

11- My oh my

12-Rocking Horxe

13-Believer

14-Hanuman Dance

15-I don´t remember

16-Mrs. Dalloway meets Mrs Gallagher

17-Prostitute

This is pure rock with some aprty feeling on the tracks. But this guys have taken elements from seventies, eighties and even nineties into their music. There are killer riffs here that are in the style of this type of music that is sorely missed from the ehavy rock scene. The solos with wah wah are great and are full of power and at the same time are memorable, sometimes like a song within the songs. The vocals are really good and tehre are interesting harmonies (some parts reminded me to Crimson Glory´s "Strange and Beautiful" album...that album was kind of more rock than metal and closer to the style that Five Fifteen does). The songs are really well developed and are catchy and memorable. Many of the songs here can bein the rock and roll charts. A pure rocking release.

Produced by Five Fifteen

FLAGELLATION - MIND THE GREATEST ENEMY OF HUMANITY

Line Up:

Xyron - voice

Zydar - guitar

Seth - drums

Vice - bass

Music by Flagellation

Lyrics by Flagellation

Tracks:

1- Intro

2- AK-47 (Breath of Death)

3- Inexhaustible Source of Hatereed

4- Kill your mother rape your dog

One of the most guttural releases of this issue, Flagellation blasts you with the intense brutality that they deliver in this four tracks  Fast drumming is like a hammer in your brain through the almos ten minutes that this recording lasts. The tracks are of medium duration but long enough to let the band develope all their brutal ideas and to transmit them through their bestial rhythms. I have to remark the guttural voice that even beiong so guttural lets you follow most of the lyrics because of the clear way in which they are mixed. The Dying Fetus cover adds additional points to this already devastating release, being more brutal than the original version. Poland metal Rules and Flagellation too !!

Produced by Flagellation

FLUTTR - TRITHEMIS FESTIVA

Line Up:

Kara Trott - vocals

Vessela Stoyanova - Midi Marimba

Valerie Thompson - cello, vocals

Troy Kidwell - guitars, vocals

Jason Marchionna - drums, percussion

Music by TKidwell