12:34 - HORIZONTAL

Label: Independent

Year: 2006
Country: Canada

Line Up:

Michael Casey - vocals, guitar

Chris Dougherty - drums

Brian Layer- bass

JGPS - lead and rhythm guitar

Music by 12:34

Lyrics by 12:34

Tracks:

1-Deep inside

2-Horizontal

3-Colour of Life

4-Led Astray

Opening with the mid tempo of “Deep Inside” the band shows a heavy guitar sound and a lot of rhythmic riffs that transmit pure heaviness to the listener. The riffs are direct and powerful and they leave a lot of space for the vocals to do their work. And the vocals are essential because they are clean but powerful and they deliver interesting and memorable lines. And this vocals sometimes turn into more extreme type like in some parts in “Horizontal”. There is a good work in developing the four songs here making each of them violent and memorable growing into a climax every time. Despite having a pure metal feeling the band also has influences of bands of the style of Black label Society. Pure powerful rhythmic crushing music.

Cover Artwork by: 12:34

 

Produced by 12:34

Contact: www.myspace.com/rockwith12x34

 

286 - PROFILED

Label: Guerrilla Underground

Year: 2006
Country: USA

Line Up:

Adam

Nikee

Pete

Martin

Music by 286

Lyrics by 286

Tracks:

1-Profiled

2-68

3-Broken Peace

4-Dark Carnival

5-Record Store Prophets

This band is pure heavy rock with stoner rock influences and good guitar riffs of the rhythmic type designed to make people jump and follow the rhythm. The vocals are pure rock with a lot of strength and they create also some interesting rhythmic patterns in tunes like “68”. The tunes here are raw and direct and they use simple rhythmic session patterns in order to make the tunes more memorable. The tunes are not that original but they are rocking enough to make you follow the rhythms with your head. The sound of the recording is raw and I have to remark the loud guitars that are the essence of the band´s music. A pure rocking release.

Cover Artwork by: 286

Recorded in downtown Los Angeles

Produced by 286

Contact:  www.286music.com and www.guerrillaunderground.com

 

ABLAZE IN HATRED - DECEPTIVE AWARENESS

Label: Firedoom Records

Year: 2006
Country: Finland

Line Up:

Antti Hakkala -drums

Mika Ikonen - vocals, guitars, keyboards

Miaka Lehtivuori - bass

Juhani Sanna - guitars

Music by Ikonen / Sanna

Lyrics by Ikonen

Tracks:

1-Lost (the overture)

2-When the Blackened Candles Shine

3-Howls Unknown

4-Constant Stillness

5-Ongoing Fall

6-To Breathe and to Suffocate

7-Closure of Life

A dark atmosphere opens up this recording making the listener feel all the feeling of sorrow and melancholy that this band delivers. A clean guitar enters the composition with sadness before the wall of distorted guitars show that the band can be sad and melancholic and at the same time really powerful. Here we have compositions that are pure doom with excellent arrangements that make the band sound original besides depressive. And everything here is done in order to transmit the feeling of heaviness and sorrow to the listener. It is essential here the role of the guitars that deliver heavier than hell riffs along with some melodies. The vocals are really extreme, and they sound like coming from the underworld, fitting well the overall feeling of the music. The drumming is intense, focusing on the heaviness of the patterns and showing aggression besides slow patterns. The compositions are carefully constructed and I recommend this album to lovers of doom metal and also to lovers of bands like My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost or Anathema that have evolved into a different kind of music.

Cover Artwork by: Kalle Pyyhtinen

Recorded at Noisecamp Studios

Produced by Ablaze in Hatred

Contact: www.firebox.fi and www.ablazeinhatred.com

 

ALLERJEN - RESURRECTION

Label: Independent

Year: 2005
Country: USA

Line Up:

John Dower - vocals, bass

Paul Wilkinson - guitars

Paul Tarbuck - drums

Music by Allerjen

Lyrics by Allerjen

Tracks:

1-Resurrection

2-Beyond the Promised Land

3-Courage Will Find You

Opening climatically with a bass pattern in “Resurrection” before the pure aggression enters with heavy guitars and extreme vocals. The band´s music has elements of thrash metal and death metal with strong emphasis in rhythms and not on speed and they add here and there some more direct riffs in order to achieve really memorable moments. The vocals are extreme of the agonic type that shows that the vocalist spits his lungs to achieve utter aggression. But the main thing here are the riffs that are created in order to be heavy and aggressive but at the same time to make memorable moments that are essential to separate Allerjen from the other bands in the style. The rhythm section is solid and they leave space for the guitars to develope their ideas adding also some bass aptterns and many tempo changes and breaks. Here we have memorable tunes full of power and aggression with a killer deathly feeling.

Cover Artwork by: Alabama Dry Spocking

Recorded at Studio-Studio

Produced by Allerjen

Contact:  www.allerjen.com

 

ANCIENT RITES - RVBICON

Label: Season of Mist

Year: 2006
Country: Belgium

Line Up:

Gunther Theys (vocals)

Erik Sprooten (guitars)

Bart Vandereycken (guitars)

Raf (guitars)

Domingo Smets (bass)

Davy Wouters (keyboards)

Walter Van Cortenberg (drums)

Music by Ancient Rites

Lyrics by Ancient Rites

Tracks:

1- Crusade

2-Templar

3-Mithras

4-Thermopylae

5-Rubicon

6-Invictus

7-Ypres

8-Galilean

9-Cheruscan

10-Brabantia

This band is really amazing as always!! Their combination of extreme metal with more traditional influences is what sets them apart from most of the bands in the world. Combining speed in the rhythms along with majestic keyboards and killer guitar solos the band has achieved their own sound which is getting much better on each new album. The extreme vocals have that particular Ancient Rites sound that makes them so particular. And the songs here are complex, always changing and evolving into different moods and sounds. This is a much more epic release than their previous “Dim Carcosa” album and here the band shows all their evolution as musicians and also as composers showing a lot of technical skills and compositional habilities. The sound of the recording is really good letting you appreciate all the arrangements, solos and changes that this album has. A must have for any metal lover.

Cover Artwork by:

Recorded at Spacelab Studios

Produced by Oliver Phillips, Christian Moos & Ancient Rites

Contact:  www.season-of-mist.com and www.ancientrites.be

 

ARCANAR - DUSTY LORD

Label: Stygian Crypt

Year: 2006
Country: Russia

Line Up:

Alexander Zernov – vocal, keyboard
Roman Ilyin - guitar
Andrew Agapitov - guitar
Felix Vigorov - bass
Dmitry Osadchev - drums

Music by Arcanar

Lyrics by Arcanar

Tracks:

1. Intro
2. Without Changes
3. The Shadow Of My Own
4. Etude no. 1
5. Dusty Lord
6. I Could Be the Other
7. Etude no. 2
8. Insomnia
9. Arcanar

A beautiful intro with keyboards that create a feeling of sadness and solitude opens this album. Then comes the essence of the band´s music. That is a combination of death metal, black metal and also doom metal. Here we have the pure aggression of the guttural vocals and the guitar riffs, combined with the melancholy of the keyboards creating Arcanar´s own sound. Clean guitar arpeggios are also a way used here to achieve the melancholic feeling that the compositions have, sounding truly weird and original at moments. And here you can fully appreciate the good musicianship that this guys have that allows them to play intricate counterpoints between the two guitars and then change into a more violent riff and then come back to a clean rhythm. The vocals also change a lot going from the deep growl to a dark melancholic voice within the same composition. If I have to label the music I would say that this can be called dark death progressive metal but it is better to not label this extremely original band and enjoy their music instead.

Cover Artwork by:  W.Smerdulak

Recorded at Elixirmusic Studio

Produced by Arcanar

Contact:  http://stygiancrypt.cjb.net  and www.arcanar.ru

 

AUDIOWAR - UNDER ENEMY CONTROL

Label: Independent

Year: 2006
Country: UK

Line Up:

GRaham Rayner

Christian Weber

Music by Audiowar

Lyrics by Audiowar

Tracks:

1-Superfreak (Kreuzdammer Remix)

2-Breaking Down (Low Down Remix)

3-One Drug (Stealth Mix)

4-Money Shot (Hypefactor Remix)

5-Analyze (Dub)

6-One Drug (Libitina Remix)

7-Audio Crash (THe Pain machinery Filthy Sex Remix)

8-Super freak (Action Directe Red Colossus Remix)

9- Analyze (K-Nitrate De-Humanize Remix)

Opening fastly with "Superfreak" the band delivers dynamic compositions with noisy guitar sound and samplers that give sort of an industrial feeling to their rocking music. There is power her and also plenty of experimentation that makes this band sound truly original. The use of electronics is essential here and contrasts heavily with the heavy guitars  This is a remix album with remixes from an album we have reviewed before that is “Negativity” and here the band have experimented with different sides of their musical personality twisting and turning each composition making them like complete different songs. This guys extract new sounds from their instruments and turn them into industrial metal mayhem on each of the compositions here. Pure experimentation but without forgeting the powerful side of the music.

Cover Artwork by: Audiowar

 

Produced by Audiowar

Contact:  www.audiowar.co.uk

 

AUTUNNA ET SA ROSE - L´ART ET LA MORT

Label: Ark records

Year: 2006
Country: Italy

Line Up:

Sonia Visentin - soprano

Simone Montanari - cello

Gianluca Lo Presti - guitars, electronics, programming

Disorder - vocasl, piano, percussion, electronics, sampled orchestra

Laura Lo Buono - violin

Music by Disorder

 

Tracks:

1- Qui, au sein...

2-Quand nous reverrons-nous

3-Kyfi

4-Lune et Arcades

5-ostia

6-N´importe oú hors du monde

7-Neue Wirklichkeit

8-Ewig-Dunkel

9-Et je me souviens aussi de...

We reviewed this musical project before in a split with Ataraxia and we noticed a huge amount of talent in their music. The main thing here are atmospheres full of melancholy and with some dark element that makes things even more sad. The piano melodies are essential here in order to achieve the exact feeling, mix of gothic, classical, medieval and experimental. The electronics add also a completely different feeling which gives a lot of identity to the music here. There is plenty of experimentation here and the vocals show that too being whispered at some times and spoken in other parts.  We have here lyrics in many different languages and that gives also a weird feeling to the music. I have to remark the good sound that the recording has that helps to feel inside the mood that Autunna et Sa Rose create here and also the amazing packaging that is like a bonus to this recording.

Cover Artwork by: Disorder

Recorded at loto Studio

 

Contact: www.arkrecords.net and www.ederdisia.com

 

AWAKE - INSANA

Label: Independent

Year: 2006
Country: Spain

Line Up:

Joan - guitars, vocals

Matts - guitars

Jose - keyboards, add.vocals

Lajnen - bass

Sisco - drums

Music by Awake

Lyrics by Awake

Tracks:

1-Insana

2-Cosmic

3-Hell.O

4-I Die tonight

5-Mind

6-Inside my Vains

7-The option 05

8-Intropection

9-Crying

10-I hear the voices

11-Zombie

12- Adios

Combining really aggressive moments with killer musicianship the guys in Awake have managed to create here twelve tunes full of powerful riffs and dark melodies. This is modern metal with some elements of classic thrash and also from death metal. The main thing here are the powerful guitar riffs that give aggression to the music but at the same time leave plenty space for the vocals to develop melodies and harmonies. And the guitars are also used in a clean way in many parts to add a darker feeling to the music.  There is a combination of clean vocals and more aggressive ones that is another essential trademark of this band. The rhythm section is tight and that is essential to make the band sound as heavy as they are. The sound of the recording is really good and that makes the arrangements shine on each of the songs

Cover Artwork by: Toni Butrón

Recorded by Hadrien Fergnad and David Martinez

Mastered by Mika Jussila

Contact: www.awakeweb.net

 

AXAMENTA - EVER-ARCH-I-TECH-TURE

Label: Shiver Records

Year: 2006
Country: Sweden

Line Up:

  • Peter Meynckens: Vocals
  • Ian van Gemeren: Lead Guitars
  • Sven Deckers: Rhythm Guitars
  • Jerre Vingerhoed: Bass
  • Tom "Tomme" Van Oosterwijck: Drums

Music by Axamenta

Lyrics by Axamenta

Tracks:

  1. Incognation
  2. Demons Shelter Within
  3. Ashes To Flesh >mp3
  4. A Nation In Atrophy
  5. The Midnight Grotesque
  6. Prophet Set To Witness
  7. Ever-Arch-I-Tech-Ture
  8. Threnody For An Ending >mp3
  9. Ravager 1.6.6.3.
  10. Of Genesis And Apocalypse >mp3
  11. Foreboding
  12. Shackles Cross
  13. The Omniscient

I have listened literally thousands of albums and recordings for reviewing on the webzine and it is amazing how you can find a masterpiece just listening a couple of minutes of a recording. This is the case of this Axamenta album which combines masterfully aggression, technical skills and clever arrangements. This band combines cleverly the aggression and speed of black metal with multiple influences that go from pure heavy metal to progressive metal achieving their own distinctive sound. It is like listening the score of a violent movie full of arrangements and aggressive patterns. As always the vocals are really extreme, fitting well the mood of the compositions, from the fastest tempos to the slowest ones. The sound of the recording is pure violence unleashed and it makes each arrangement shine. Lovers of extreme metal with good musicianship should like this one.

 

Cover Artwork by: Axamenta

Recorded at Jacob Hansen Studios

Mixed by Fredrik Nordström

Contact:  www.shiver-records.com and www.axamenta.com

 

BATTALION - WINTER CAMPAIGN

Label:  Shiver Records

Year: 2006
Country: Belgium

Line Up:

Pieter - guitars

Kristof - bass

Ruben - vocals

Tomme - drums

Music by Battalion

Lyrics by Battalion

Tracks:

1-Spitfire

2-Bombenkrieg

3-Warfiend

4-Nuclear Devastation

5-Winter Campaign

6-Monolith

7-Skeleton City

8-Superior Fire Power

9-Defcon 696

10-The Swarm (Locus Invasion)

11-Ghost of War

12- Torture Tactics

13- Death at the Helm

Pure fucking death metal with extremely brutal parts and ultra fast guitar riffs is what you will find here. This is pure aggression with crushing drumming full of double bass and fast patterns. And the guitars deliver here riffs that are extremely aggressive and fast without abusing the one note runs that some death metal bands use so often, emphasizing instead the rhythms in order to make things even heavier. And the guitars deliver also original riffs that are not typical of the style as it happens in 3. If you like guttural vocals then Battalion is your band of choice cause here you have growling type of vocals that fits the deathly feeling of the music. The rhythm section is solid as hell making things tighter and heavier. I have to remark that the album has a direct and loud sound with good mix and that makes things even more brutal. An album that is like a fist through your brain.

 

Cover Artwork by: Scorched Engine Oil Design

Recorded at CCR Studios

Produced by Battalion

Contact: http://battalion.deathmetal.be  and www.shiver-records.com

 

BLACK CANDLE - LEAD ME TO THE TOMBS

Label: Independent

Year: 2006
Country: Luxembourg

Line Up:

Simon - vocals, bass, guitar, synths

Dan - lead guitars

Shadow - drums

Music by Simon

Lyrics by Simon

Tracks:

1-October Mist

2-Meeting with the Beast

3-Lead me to the Tombs

4-An d´Raaten...

5-My Black Sky

6-Dir Sidd all Dreck

7-Poisoned Dagger

8-A New Burial

9-Into Comfortable Darkness

10-Endtime Eon

We reviewed some years ago Black Candle´s previous album “The Faceless Angel”. This one shows that the band continues in the direction that is experimenting within a black metal context with agonic vocals and powerful guitar riffs. The combination of more straight forward old school black metal tunes with more experimental ones is a trademark. There is no speed abuse here, and mostly there is work on mid tempos with some Celtic Frost-ish parts such as in "My Black Sky". The vocals are truly in the black metal vein of the agonic type fitting well the agression and the dark spirit of the music. The sound of the recording is raw and dark fitting well the old school spirit of the music. Darkness with killer mid tempos and with some experimentation.

Cover Artwork by: Doudesgaard

Recorded by Simon

Produced by Black Candle

Contact: simonm@pt.lu

 

BLASPHEMER / ESKATON / MODUS DELICTI - SPLIT CD

Label: Frost Foundation Records

Year: 2006
Country: Italy

Tracks:

Blasphemer:

1-Nihilist Preachers of Death

2-Dining Upon the Unburied

3-38-gauge Absolution

 

Eskaton

4-Genocide

5-Crucified by Oblivion

6-3 Seconds to Extinction

 

Modus Delicti

7-Entomologia Forense

8-The Appearance of Others existances

9-Emotional Cooling-Off

Blasphemer starts this split CD with no mercy for the listener. They start at full speed with their grind/death showing how extreme violence in music must be. Ultra fast riffs, blast beating drumming and hyper fast rhythms are the essence here. The vocals are extremely guttural of the grindcore type. The three tracks here are an experience in extreme violence.

Then comes Eskaton with a similar style but a rawer and more chaotic sound. Their music has ultra fast riffs with a chainsaw like sound and it has also guttural vocals that give the grind/death feeling to the music. The sound is worse than the one achieved by Blasphemer and that becomes evident specially in drums and guitars that have a really live show type sound.

Finally Modus Delicti delivers their brutal grind/death at full speed and showing why this is one of the most brutal split cds of the year. Blast beating drums crush the listener´s brain while the ultra guttural voice spits the lyrics with full hate. The guitars deliver fast riff after fast riff unleashing all their brutality. The sound of the guitars is raw and loud and maybe with a more compact sound like the one used by Blasphemer the result could be even better.  

 

Recorded at AM Studio (Blasphemer), Screw Factory (Eskaton), live in Rozzano (Modus Delicti)

Contact: www.frost-foundation.com and www.blasphemer.it and www.eskaton.prv.pl and www.modusdelicti.com

 

BLOODFLOWERZ - DARK LOVE POEMS

Label: Silverdust Records

Year: 2006
Country: Germany

Line Up:

Kirsten Zahn - vocals

Jochen Laser - guitars

Jan Beckmann - bass

Tim Schwarz - drums

Music by Bloodflowerz

Lyrics by Bloodflowerz

Tracks:

1-Sajidas´Song

2-Damaged Promises

3-The Last dance

4-Healing Hearts

5-Illusionary Fields

6-Anthem for a Stranger

7-Violent Voices

8-THe Fool and the King

9-Dark Angel

10-Queen of the Freakshow

11-Dead love (A necrology)

We have reviewed the “Diabolic Angel” album from this beautiful band from Germany a couple of years ago. Here we have extremely memorable tunes in a mixture of rock and gothic style where the main thing is the dark feeling and the carefully constructed songs. Here we have powerful guitar riffs combined with an ethereal and powerful female voice (Kirsten delivers amazing vocals on this album). As I said the songs are carefully constructed with melancholic melodies that are the heart and soul of the music here. The tunes are direct and memorable and that is an essential quality in Bloodflowerz music. The sound of this recording is crystal clear making the sound powerful and introspective at the same time

Cover Artwork by: Timo Wuerz

Recorded at Mastersound Studios

Produced by Alexander Krull

Contact: www.silverdust.de and www.focusion.de

 

BRASSUM - LIVE

Label: pfMENTUM REcords

Year: 2006
Country: USA

Line Up:

Dan Clucas - cornet

Michael Vlatkovich - trombone

Mark Weaver - tuba

Harris Eisenstadt - drumset

Music by Mark Weaver

 

Tracks:

1- Selvage

2-The Meaning of the Word / hades of Grey

3-In Place Of

4-Brown Blue

5-Slub

6-A Grain of Mustrd Seed

7-Pumpkin Pie

Here we have jazzy improvisation at top level but with strong emphasis on some melodic lines. And that is what distinguishes Brassum from many others improvisers or spontaneous musicians. Here we have exploration of lines done with trombones and tubas and cornets with a certain jazz feeling but keeping main ideas through all the compositions. This is exploration of new sounds with a lot of coherence and developing new ideas but always keeping the main structures in mind that is what gives a pure jazz feeling .

 

Cover Artwork by: Mark Jackson-Weaver

Recorded live on tour 2004/2005

Produced by Mark Weaver

Contact: www.pfmentum.com

 

BURNING SKIES - DESOLATION

Label: Lifeforce Records

Year: 2006
Country: UK

Line Up:

Merv - vocals

Liam - guitars

Ben - guitars / vocals

Andie - bass

Phil - drums

Music by Burning Skies

Lyrics by Merv

Tracks:

1-Intro

2-RKD

3-The Sweet Sound of Violence

4-Bauer power

5-Desolation (For the denial of ignorance)

6-Damaged

7-Fairytale Supremacy

8-Caught in the Circle

9-Lurid Demolition

10-Could you sink any lower?

A noisy intro gets soon to an end leaving place for the aggression of “RKD”. And the guys deliver pure brutality in a death metal format from beginning to end. Intense drumming that includes blast beats and hyper fast patterns are the essence here, and huge guitars with insanely fast riffs are a trademark too. The vocals are pure death metal and brutality adding also some metal core feeling here and there. The rhythm section is extremely solid and they sound like a clockwork of brutality while delivering all the bestial rhythms that Burning Skies create. And there are also some melodies here and there that give a different feeling but without loosing any of the aggression. The sound is huge and that adds also extra points of hatred and violence to the recording. Lovers of pure brutality will love this one.

Cover Artwork by: Meran Karamitant

Recorded at Rape of Harmonies

Produced by Burning Skies

Contact: www.lifeforcerecords.com and www.burningskies.co.uk

 

BY NIGHT - A NEW SHAPE OF DESPERATION

Label: Lifeforce Records

Year: 2006
Country: Sweden

Line Up:

Adrian Westin - vocals

Marcus Wesslen - bass

Andre Gonzales - guitars

Henrik Persson - guitars

Per Quarnström - drums

Music by By Night

Lyrics by Adrian Westin

Tracks:

1-It Starts Within

2-The Truth is Sold

3-Peple Like You

4-Through Ashes We Crawl

5-Same Old Story

6-Dead Eyes See no Future

7-Walls of Insecure

8-Idiot

9-Forsaken love

10-Cursed by The Thought

11- Time is Running Out

Superb drumming starts “The truth is sold” with razor sharp guitars tat deliver a huge riff that seems to be great for a live show. The band enters with full aggression showing that their music is pure violence with influences of metalcore, thrash metal and also death metal. The trademark of the band is their precise and machine like sound. Yes, they are so tight that they blast your face with all the intensity that they deliver tune after tune. The vocals are powerful spitting with hatred the lyrics and fitting well the aggression of the music. One point to remark is that the tunes are extremely memorable so you can listen this album over and over again. The sound is really good and that is essential here because this destructive machine called By Night needs this huge sound in order to crush the listener with all their bestiality.

Cover Artwork by: Henric Carlsson

Recorded at Studio Mega

Produced by By Night

Contact: www.lifeforcerecords.com and www.bynightonline.com

 

CALLING HOUR - THE SMALL ROOM

Label: Independent

Year: 2006
Country: USA

Line Up:

Mark Fanning - all instruments, all vocals

Music by Mark Fanning

Lyrics by Mark Fanning

Tracks:

1-Calling Hour

2-Soaked in Red

3-the Small Room

4-Dead End Mind

This is a one man band where Mark Fanning delivers each instrument with violence and aggression. The music here can be described as something of industrial death metal. Let´s say the music is 70% death metal, 20% thrash/modern metal and 10% industrial (mainly due to the use of programmed drums). Here Fanning delivers aggressive riffs that are the center of the compositions and he also creates some amazing deathly vocals. This vocals are extreme but not too guttural and that is good because you can follow really well the lyrics. Most of the time Fanning accentuates the guitar riffs with his voice. One essential point here is the use of guitar melodies and solos that add a lot of personality to Calling Hour´s music while showing some Morbid Angel influence here and there. A release that combines clever arrangements with aggression.

Cover Artwork by: Mark Fanning

 

Produced by MArk Fanning

Contact: www.myspace.com/callinghour

 

CARPATHIAN FOREST - FUCK YOU ALL !!!

Label: Season of Mist

Year:  2006
Country: Norway

Line Up:

 

Music by Carpathian Forest

Lyrics by Carpathian Forest

Tracks:

  • 1- Vi åpner porten til Helvete...
  • 2- The frostbitten Woodlands of Norway
  • 3-Start up the Incinerator (Here comes another useless Fool)
  • 4-Submit to Satan !!!
  • 5-Diabolism (The Seed and the Sower)
  • 6-Dypfryst / Dette er mitt Helvete
  • 7-Everyday I must Suffer ! (Featuring Nordavind)
  • 8-The first Cut is the Deepest
  • 9-Evil Egocentrical Existencialism
  • 10-Shut Up, There is No excuse to live...

Here comes the new Carpathian Forest album, full of bestial black metal, full of fast rhythms that go beyond the speed of sound. Raw guitar riffs playing fast direct riffs are the essence of the music that Carpathian Forest delivers on each album. Here we have the blast beats that are the essence in the style and also the agonic vocals that send the listener right to hell with no return. The band has the strategy of using riffs over and over through the compositions to make them stick in the mind of the listener with full violence. A grim atmosphere is essential here and it is achieved through the guitars and the vocals. The band shows again their influence of bands like Mayhem, Darkthrone and others of the raw black metal style. The sound is raw and loud and it fits well the direct feeling of the compositions without loosing any power. Pure darkness unleashed with no mercy

Cover Artwork by: Carpathian Forest

 

Produced by Carpathian Forest

Contact: www.season-of-mist.com and http://www.tnbm.no/

 

COCKROACH - THE OBSERVER

Label: Supreme Chaos Records

Year: 2006
Country: Germany

Line Up:

Frank Geue - vocals, guitars

Ulrich Mewes - guitars

Alexander Reichelt - drums

Timo Flöther - bass

Music by Cockroach

Lyrics by Frank Geue

Tracks:

1- Unexpected Life

2-The Calling

3-The Observer

4-Alive

5-Perfect World

6-Kiss to Eternity

7-Desireless

8-Eternal life

9-The Prophecy

10-By the Way

11-the Red Duke

12- Run Away

Cockroach kicks off violently with utter violence with “Unexpected Life”. We have reviewed before this band and here they show some improvements, specially in the sound that they have achieved here. Here the band delivers twelve tunes of their thrash metal with influence of modern metal bands like Fear Factory, Machine Head that includes also some death metal elements here and there. The riffs here are powerful and they are delivered with a huge sound that I think is an essential element here. We have also here a really tight rhythm section that is so compact that makes the music sound even more aggressive. And also we have a powerful voice that spits with aggression the lyrics. As I said, the sound is loud and huge making each riff sound like a stampede of elephants stepping through your head. If you like bands that are already classic thrash but that at the same time have modernized their sound (Anthrax for example) then you should like Cockroach´s music.

Cover Artwork by: Katja piolka

Recorded at Maranis Studios

Produced by Vagelis Maranis

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

 

COLLISION - ROADKILLER

Label: Bones Brigades Records

Year: 2006
Country: Holland

Line Up:

 

Music by Collision

Lyrics by Collision

Tracks:

1-Oh my goth

2-Redneck Rampage

3-On the Loose to reproduce

4-Drama Queen

5-Kill Phill

6-Heading for the End

7-Twins of Evil

8-Avoid the Masses

9-Body Building Blowout

10-Kung Fu Chicks with Dirty Tricks

11-Car Crash Cruelty

12-Cattle Killing Creatures

13-Attitude

14-A New Age of Stupidity

Fourteen tunes of pure aggression that include ultra fast rhythms, some death metal, some hardcore and also their main style which is grindcore. This guys have no boundaries in the methods they use in order to achieve utter violence.  This album does not stop bombarding you with their ultra fast rhythms from beginning to end. They include blast beats, fast thrashing rhythms on each composition. And the vocals go from the most guttural grinding voice to screaming hardcore type vocals. The compositions are short and effective succeeding in blasting the listener. One thing that sets Collision apart from other bands of the style is that they have a huge sound, specially on the guitars that turns them much more aggressive than most of the grind bands. A band whose music is designed to destroy and devastate.

Cover Artwork by: Collision

Recorded at Toneshed Studios

Mastered at imperial Mastering

Contact: www.collisiongrind.nl and www.bonesbrigaderecords.com

 

COMATOSE VIGIL - NOT A GLEAM OF HOPE

Label: Marche Funebre Productions

Year: 2006
Country: Russia

Line Up:

 

Music by Comatose Vigil

Lyrics by Comatose Vigil

Tracks:

1-Suicide Grotesque

2-Cataracts

3-Mirrors of Despair

4-Galleries of Coma

This is pure doom the way it must be done. That is with ultra heavy guitar riffs, graveyard like vocals and darker than hell keyboards. And also really long compositions like “Suicide Grotesque” which is almost 20 minutes long. Depression is the main feeling here and every note played is full of it. This guys succeed in creating this landscapes of pure sadness and sorrow with their compositions. The growling vocals sound almost like coming from an open grave and that is essential to achieve the desired depressive effect. The sound of the recording is direct and loud and that makes things even better cause it is essential to have a good sound to listen all the subtle elements that Comatose Vigil´s music has.

Cover Artwork by: Comatose Vigil

 

Produced by Comatose Vigil

Contact: www.comatosevigil.com and www.marchefunebre.com

 

CRYPTIC VISION - IN A WORLD

Label: Progrock Records

Year: 2006
Country:

Line Up:

Todd Plant - vocals, ac. guitar

Sam Conable - bass, vocals, bass pedals

Rick Duncan - drums, keyboards, guitar

Howard Helm - keyboards, vocals

Timothy Keese - guitars, vocals

Music by Rick Duncan

Lyrics by Duncan (1,2,3,8,10,12) ,Conable(6,7) ,  Plant (5) , Conable/Duncan/Plant (9), Duncan/Plant (11)

Tracks:

1- In A World

2-This Dream part 1

3-Common Ground

4-Merkaba

5-All Along

6-The Space in Betwe