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An interesting
mix of metallic tapestry sweeping in on the winter winds from
Finland. The band seems to have an interesting colourful and
forceful array of content to their lyrics and message. A fave song
title of the 7 tracks present would be “New Clear Vision – Nuclear
Vision” and another goodie is “Anal Napalm Bomb”. That one sounds
painful both to the assaulter and the one receiving the gift haha. I
love a band with a raunchy attitude mixed with some evil hate and a
little fun humour. To be honest the music is rather simple, stripped
down and can use a little more flow somehow in certain parts. But
that is not meant to be negative as the music on here is rather
good, memorable and keeps the old metal spirit burning brightly in
my view. AFC play a mix of old school heavy metal and thrash with
some small death / black metal elements and even a touch of punk in
spots. They play generally at a more mid-paced speed ala the
American band Scepter who are probably not too far off as a
comparison, though Scepter was more on the old pure heavy metal
rocking side of the ledger. In other words, if you enjoy the audio
smell of a witches cunt & like headbanging then you should pick up
this demo now. – Dale
www.absolutechaos.co.nr/
www.myspace.com/absolutefuckingchaos
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This band is
coming from Singapore, the country where tons of great obscure
hordes in old-school metal are, and ABVULABASHY is right into legion
of destructive hordes! The music played here is real old-school
black-death, made in a really destructive way; the whole structure
is chaotic and brings nothing less than total destruction! It has a
raw sound, mad cutting guitar riffs, just sick blasphemous screams
and the whole dark atmosphere. I liked also all of those fast tunes
which is the music is created with. The main conception of this
stuff is total annihilation of humanity, a standard theme,
nevertheless great music underlines that ideas! 3 songs just, which
force you to get a knife and go to kill someone, he-hej. And of
course blasphemous atmosphere should force you worship to the music
of this band. Support them because ABVULABASHY deserve for support
from worldwide maniacs which are into blasphemous music! -
Aleksandr Maksymov (www.deadshop.info)
crucifixdestroyer@yahoo.com.uk
www.myspace.com/abvulabashy
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It is cool to
see bands continuing to release tapes, this time I received a
cassette demo from this aggressive Swedish band. Aggressive
Mutilator play loose, raw and lethal dark thrash metal in the old
school tradition. War of Extermination features very mid paced,
while continually preserving an evil edge and a cold atmosphere in
way few bands manage to accomplish these days. They just have that
raw energy to them, sort of a rough punk energy mixed with thrash
and an old school black metal aesthetic. Their music is pretty
simple, straight forward. There are five songs on here, including a
cool cover of “Sacrifice” by Bathory. They do a superb job on this
cover most importantly capturing the old feeling of this classic
song and the feel of that time in musically. The lyrics are steeped
in blasphemy, depravity, war and sleaze. I mean unless you are one
of those types that only loves plastic, razor sharp productions,
then there is very little here not to like. - Dale
http://aggressivemutilator.bandcamp.com/
mikael_holm@hotmail.com
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A nice surprise
here, this brings back memories. It harkens back to the days I sat
in my bedroom, ripping open package after package from fellow tape
traders and listening to great dark death metal. Now are talking
circa ’91 to ’93 and death metal, what I now call old school death
metal was a different beast. Not that many bands had yet jumped on
the guttural brutal death metal. This was slow to mid paced death
metal that still had some of that old feeling. I think back to bands
like Immortal Fate, early Acheron (the first album a lot and of
course that debut is one of the greatest metal records ever
released), Cemetary, early Rotting Christ, Varathron and the like, I
know there is some nostalgia going on here but fuck me it feels good
to listen to something like this, in this day and age of a million
miles a minute, glossy pro-tool’d razor shit that is just getting
too much. Five track of epic suffocating death metal. Yes the flame
still burns in Alioth, the ancient feelings in me have been stirred
and I am reminded why I fucking worshipped true metal of death and
the occult in the first place! Alioth is not flashy, Alioth is not
brutal, nor blistering fast or adrenaline filled. Now what Alioth is
heavy, deeply atmospheric, mysterious and hypnotic, they are
beckoning you to swing the river of styx, drink it deep and praise
be in the name of metal. Upon completion of this review I have come
to the knowledge that is the one man band of
Wargoat Obscurum from Cult of Daath,
quality metal from one of the truly dedicated. Consider my filthy
spirit channeled. – Dale
cultofdaath@comcast.net http://starlighttemple.atspace.com
S.T.,
Box 293,
Glendale, OR. 97442-0293, USA
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This is the
first demo from Altars, an Australian death metal band. There are
five songs on tap, this release is apparently limited to 500 copies.
The production is pretty thick and dense, but heavy. It is also a
bit muddy, but that kind of just adds to the atmosphere for me and
everything can still be heard fairly well. While Altars put a few
more dynamics than many death metal bands, I am not sure I would
push the “experimental” title that they seem to fancy themselves on.
Actually some of the quirky bits and time changes, remind me of shit
Gorguts were doing in the late 90s and what Cryptopsy were doing on
their first few records some years ago. But full marks should be
given, due to the fact that they do incorporate some unconventional
style elements, into their material. All the while, not hurting the
overall, brutality and flow of the music. Which is something, I have
seen gone wrong many a time, over the years, on releases I have
reviewed and purchased. As far as influence goes, I can hear stuff
like such as old Entombed, Dismember, Morbid Angel plus the Canadian
bands I mentioned above. All of which, receive regular rotation from
my record collection. So I suppose, it is of little surprise that I
enjoyed this demo. The vocals though in case you wondered, are
nothing like the bands I compared them to, save for Cryptopsy a
little bit. They are mainly belched and growled with the odd higher
pitched squeals to add some counter point. The packaging is
well-done here too. I can recommend you check these blokes out.
Apparently a 4-way split CD and split 7” ep in the works, so keep an
eye out for that as well. – Dale
http://myspace.com/altarsofficial
http://altars.bigcartel.com/
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This is
something different from what I usually get and that is a nice
change of pace. Not to mention they are from my homeland (or the old
country if you prefer) of Canada. It is always a pleasure to get
some music from back home. Ancient Obliteration play a quirky sort
of thrash and death metal mixture most often played at a pounding
slower to mid-paced speed. They sing about monsters and cool shit
like that from what I can gather, you know the kind that wreck
cities, slither out of swamps, ooze puss and sending people
scurrying like roaches when someone turns on a light. The production
is clear enough for me but also kind of muddy and obscure sounding,
but if you read Canadian Assault often you know I tend to like that
kind of thing. The vocals of Geoff Olson are excellent and I never
tire of hearing them. They are part shouted, part growled with that
old school thrash gruff clarity and he comes across a little bit
like he is an off-kilter mad man that stepped out of one of those
cheesy but great 70s horror flicks. Actually musically their
attitude and quirkiness makes me think somewhat of another great old
messed up Canadian thrash band I worshiped growing up by the name of
Dayglo Abortions. You mix Dayglo Abortions with some great old
American deathrashdoom sicko bands like Righteous Pigs, Impetigo and
Goatlord, then smatter in a healthy dose of their own sound and you
have Ancient Obliteration. Seriously the more I listen to these guys
it makes me think of a more off-balance slightly more modern version
of Righteous Pigs (which featured Mitch Harris of Defecation/Napalm
Death fame in its ranks). I loved the Pigs so that is a compliment.
Ancient Obliteration is probably an acquired taste for some that
like it all slick and by the numbers. For the rest of you reading
this check out these dirty sounding, fuzzy monster obsessed pervs
out. – Dale
http://ancientobliteration.blogspot.com/
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As soon as I
opened the package that this tape came in, it took me back to the
early 90s. When I was ordering demos left and right and would rip
open the rectangular package with adrenalized fury and pop the
cassette right in the stereo. The cover and inlay are pure old UG
style, photocopied and cut ‘n paste – hell yeah! Axeslaughter are a
bit sloppy and dirty as hell, they play death thrash metal in sound
and especially the spirit of old gods like Nunslaughter, Slaughter,
Repulsion etc… I find the riffing to be both heavy and abrasive, yet
strangely hypnotic in it’s own rhythmic / ritualistic way. The
vocals are harsh sandpaper growls / screams, the sorts of which you
might imagine coming forth from a well rotted decaying corpse. In
another old school tradition Axeslaughter employ weird or disturbed
audio samples from movies, tv and wherever in the intro and peppered
throughout the songs themselves. By the way a message to the band
with the outro entitled “Outro (FUCK YOU)”. I think you twats put
the outro one too many times in a row, so fuck you too! ha ha. Some
other song title highlights on this six tracker are “Ripping Up The
Virgin’s Tomb”, “Coffin Breath” and my favourite “Never Drink From
The Dead”. For those reading this that like slickly produced,
tightly played modern death and thrash metal. You need not apply
here as this was not made for you and you could not handle it
anyway. It is rough, ugly, low-fi and I like it, it keeps the old
spirit burning bright! Nice to see something like this come out of
Finland. – Dale
http://www.reverbnation.com/axeslaughter
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Here is
something a little different and interesting arriving in my mailbox.
They label themselves as a Metal/Rock/Blues mixture. Which, all in
all is a pretty fair description I suppose. I would say some
influences I can hear are Down, Alice In Chains, Pantera, Crowbar,
Eyehategod and just generally shoot from the hip garage rock ‘n roll
bands. I don’t hear that much blues influence but you can detect it
here and there, also despite some of the influences I list they are
not a doom band. The name does give you a pretty good indication of
what to expect. Just really raw and raunchy hard rock that is
probably played with few a beers in them, you know what I mean? I
dig some of those short spastic and energetic fills/solos. It is
pretty loosely played, lacking precision in the playing or in the
song writing and again I use the term raw sounding. Now for most
reviewers in this day and age that is probably enough to write them
off. But I think you know me by now I tend embrace the loose, the
low-fi and the rough music presentation. What Beer, Guts & Glory
lack in precision, technical song writing, they make up for with
coarse, nerve jarring emotion and fuck you we are doing what we want
and play what we like type of attitude. I respect that and you will
have to as well to enjoy this beer stained, cigarette smelling four
song demo tape. If you like your shit polished, clean and by the
numbers then you are going to hate these guys, you can book that
son. Didn’t blow me away yet I got some enjoyment out of it for
sure. – Dale
http://www.myspace.com/beergutsglory
http://www.reverbnation.com/beergutsglory
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Unfortunately
the CDR the band sent will not play and my computer reads the disc
as being empty and read to record. But fortunately for me (and those
reading this) the bands Reverb Nation page has the entire demo
available to play for free. Blood Legion hail from Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia and play dark death thrash metal with old school feel and
attitude. They play a stripped down, simple sounding and very
controlled brand of metal. I really like the vocals from Shan, they
are shrouded growled vox that seem to provide the most emotion in
Blood Legion’s music, as the guitars in particular are too muted and
listless sounding for my tastes. Though I must admit that area picks
up a little on the last track which sounds like a different
recording to me and the band let loose a and go balls out, they
should do more of this, it suits them. This third and final track
titled Blood Legion after the name of the band, is easily the best
song on here, it shows what Blood Legion are capable of. I think
they have a ways to before they make a name for themselves, but you
can see the foundation is there. Like I said if the song Blood
Legion is any indication you can expect the band to realize some of
that untapped potential with their next release. Hope I get a chance
to hear it soon. - Dale.
http://www.myspace.com/bloodlegion666
http://www.reverbnation.com/bloodlegion666
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Two years passed
and I listen to the latest album of this Ukrainian band which
management I run some years ago... To be honest I awaited some great
stuff from this album, and I was right! With this album BRILLIANT
COLDNESS opened new "gates" in its history, I mean this stuff is
more than great in all brutal death aspects, and I'm curious how
they did not find label still?!?! Well, I think musicians just
running poor promotion, because the internet doesn't have so strong
power… "Poisoned Reality" is really different from "Beyond
Eternity", this stuff is more catching, more brutal and very
technical (also here's more or less good sound as for Ukraina).
Music made in really rich way, here are tight rhythm-section,
massive sound, obscure atmosphere, deep growls… The strongest side
of BC is guitar parts, which are really killing, might it be
rhythm-section or freezing solos here and there, as well as good
drumming. Not only straight-forward riffs waiting here for your
soul, but such sick killer breakdowns as well (these moments BC
music reminded me such INCANTATION even, thx to those slooow
guitars/drums, and deeeeep growls…)… Also there is a huge influence
from gods MORBID ANGEL (again guitar parts, as well as solos and
tempo-changes). If we'll look deeply into music structure, we'll see
some influences from such TESTAMENT (from the latest albums) and
KREATOR as well as such as NECROPHAGIST even (yeah, killer,
technical rhythmic… ). It is really hard to try to fully descre
"Poisoned Reality"… Thus we have technical brutal death, made in all
its obscure "beautiful" way… for fans of twisted brutal riffs and
memorable stuff as a whole! I think BC have a big future, but they
will have to take care much more with promotion… - Aleksandr
Maksymov
www.myspace.com/brilliantcoldness
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Normally this is
the part where I say it is fucking awesome to get a cassette tape
and that never happens any more in this day and age. But the last
year or so has been a pleasant surprise and I have received I think
3 or 4 demo tapes. The old school way lives and the old traditions
die hard. That brings a smile to the sullen face of this old UG
scene goat! I read a review online that said these New Orleans
ghouls rose from the ashes of a band named High Priest which I see
released a demo and ep. I would call Burial Curse a blackened
mixture of brutal death metal and doom. The said review above (from
a site called Chips & Beer) compared these guys to Profanatica and
Incantation, I would agree with that but I would say a slowed down
version of the former and bang on the latter comparison. Oppressive
Darkness has a very brooding and suffocating atmosphere which slowly
grinds and steam roll you to bits. The vocals much like the music
itself are very obscure, sounding like blood curdling screams and
growling howls emanating deep in the woods, on a foggy night,
chilling you to the bone. This is an excellent debut release for
Burial Curse, look into this band, I believe this whole demo or most
of it is available to listen to for free online. So you have no
fucking excuse not to check into this tremendous new band. – Dale
http://www.reverbnation.com/burialcurse
http://www.myspace.com/burialcurse
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This is Crowned
and they hail from Brisbane, Australia and Ainulindale is a three
song demo, the bands debut recording as it were. The three tracks
are very epic in running time, going from 8 minutes to 11 minutes
respectively. The word epic fits very well as the band play an
atmospheric, drawn out sweeping form of black with short interludes
of speed and furry to add dynamic to the flowing mainstay. I think
right away people will think of the early Burzum albums when
listening to Ainulindale. That is the feeling I received and that is
my favourite period of Burzum, maybe not so surprisingly I quite
enjoyed this release. The first song is an instrumental, after that
you run up against some harsh and raspy / growling vocals that for
me do not fit this style quite as well as they would a less
atmospheric band (ala Immortal or someone along those lines). That
is not to say they are not good or are distracting, they are just
fine, but could be a little better. This is definitely a promising
demo and a good release by its own merits, it sounds like we will
not have wait long for a follow up as the band plans to record their
debut album sometime this year. Check it out. – Dale
http://www.myspace.com/crownedbmband
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As soon as the
first song starts "Dark Mass Medium", I know what this band is
about. You have a guitarist that has probably been wood shedding for
years in his bedroom - practicing until his fingers bled. He then
gets all his finger tapping and arpeggio sweeps down and decides its
time to form a band to showcase his talent. Said backup band is
anywhere from average to decent but the "star" is Mr. Wood Shed.
Dark Mass is basically an excuse for a competent guitar player to
release his music. By the way Mr. Wood Shed - tune your guitar or
work on the intonation - it's out of tune on several tunes,
particularly when you're using the clean sound. I like the drum set
in the music video from one of their live gigs. A lovely glitter 5
piece that is reminiscent of my junior high school jazz band's kit.
Hey, if that's all ya got, that's all ya got. It certainly is pretty
but probably too pretty for a band called Dark Mass. That would also
explain the mashy 80's snare drum sound I suspect, though. I was
half expecting Crockett and Tubbs to come driving down the road in
the video. If I had to pick between hearing a crushing E chord or a
flight of too many bumblebees kind of playing (like this recording)
- I'd pick that E chord - every damn time. Sometimes musicians need
to know when not to play so much. Guitar masturbation central is
this dead mass. - Mark
http://www.myspace.com/darkmassdark |
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I guess this
must be some sort of a popular cult release or it is treated as such
with it’s limited releases. This album was released on CDR in 2010
through the Kvlt666 label in a limit of only 66 copies. Now Salute
Records re-releases this album again on CDR, with new cover artwork,
this time limited to 100 hand numbered copies. Apparently my copy is
#3 in the run. They label themselves experimental Pagan Black Metal.
That seems like a fairly apt description. They also add in some
extreme death touches here and there, not too often, more like an
accent to their main sound. This is pretty interesting stuff,
definitely different, the experimental parts come in with a odd
sound on their production and incorporating strange, at times
psychedelic sound effects, that adds a trippy, off-kilter vibe to
their staple dark atmospheric sound. It is hard to explain, but the
sound effects are things like eccentric, weird popping sounds,
almost like something sampled from an old sci-fi movie or tv show
and re-purposed and presented in a musical way, other times it
sounds like sampled middle eastern Sitar type music and just various
random sound effects. They go to this middle eastern well a bit too
often for my liking though. Sometimes these experiments are really
effective, they create not only something different but something
resembling an original sound. Then other times the experimental
elements come off as clunky, out of place and that particular song
or section kind of falls on its face. But hey I guess you have to
give the band credit for attempting something different, while not
just being ridiculous simply to stand out. The traditional elements
are pretty simple, stripped down music, minimal beats, lightly
strummed guitar played at a pedestrian speed to create a dark, moody
atmosphere. This main theme you get is the pagan or viking metal
influence, slow and meandering as it is much of the time, lightly
sprinkled with some full on metal touches here and there. The vocals
are the obscure whispered style, which adds a little of that bold I
am a mighty pagan warrior vibe. The vocals like the music tends to
vary and be layered. I am not sure whether to recommend this or not.
If you are adventurous and appreciate bands trying new, different
things you might dig this. If not you will probably not get into
this, as mentioned at times it really clicks, other times it comes
off like a clunky, amateurish mess. Caveat Emptor my friends. -
Dale
http://www.reverbnation.com/demorian
https://www.facebook.com/SaluteRecords
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This is the new
band of Henrik Engkjaer, a member from the great Danish bands
Exekrator and Victimizer. I am a big fan of both of those bands (I
interviewed both for Canadian Assault to prove it haha). So
naturally I am extremely excited to receive this demo release.
Henrik is helped out here with some vocal abuse courtesy of Anders
Bo Rasumussen and Les Groth of Crucifix on the skins. This is right
in my wheel house, it is dark, it is brutal, but it is also quite
rhythmic and catchy and memorable with a very Euro flair to it. The
vocals are heavy death metal growls but well-done and the inflection
in the voice often mimics the melodies in the music and the result
is very satisfying. They are also not above throwing in a ripping
smoker of a fast guitar solo or two which sits well with me too. Mr.
Groth does not disappoint with blasting, but tasteful drumming and
lightning double bass. There are 4 tracks on here for interested
parties and the production is very solid in my opinion for a demo. I
think maniacs who appreciate bands Necrophobic, Edge Of Sanity,
Autopsy, Dissection, Death mixed with the attitude and imagery of
bands like Nunslaughter and Goatlord. Well worth checking out by
both fans and prospective record labels. I hear they might have a
new demo in the works. I am already looking forward to that shit
cumming down the pike. – Dale
http://www.deus-otiosus.com
www.myspace.com/deusotiosus
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You will
remember my favourable review of their “Death Lives Again” 2007
demo. Well these Danish purveyors of dark and dirty death metal have
hit me up again with this release. Which I think could be considered
a taster, for the upcoming “Murderer” album that was scheduled for
release sometime in late 2010. There are only 2 live songs on here,
those being “Wall of Violence” and “I Seen Him Slay”. The band is
loose and raw on this recording, but powerful and it adds an
atmosphere to their sound in a live setting that really works. I
enjoyed this, but it is short and only leaves me wanting for a copy
of their album now. Hail Denmark! – Dale
http://www.myspace.com/deusotiosus
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The Texan’s
album starts off with a classy instrumental tribute to Chuck
Shuldiner from Death. The guitar work on this song is fantastic and
it is pretty clear throughout that Mr. Shuldiner is a key influence.
I have a long standing interest in Discern going all the way back to
1998. When I reviewed and praised their only other release until
now. That is a long time with nothing new released but they (as in
the one man of the band Billy Fraser) are alive and definitely
kicking. If you like and are looking for meat and potatoes metal
then that is what you will get. Just some really hearty brutal
American death metal with good heavy riffing backed with a solid
wall of straight forward & driving drum pounding. You get a little
of everything as this is fairly equal parts of blazing speed and
brooding ominous transitions. It is all topped off with classic
death metal growling and barrage of guitar solos/fills that surely
has Chuck smiling from the beyond. I think this was recorded at a
studio that King Diamond has done some of his albums at and it
sounds very good. I can recommend you pick this up and you will
headbang to it. Good work Bill.
– Dale
http://www.discerndeathmetal.com/
http://www.myspace.com/discerndeathmetal |
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This seems to be
a brand new record label, so new it was very hard to find any kind
of an online presence for the label. The same, to a lesser extent
with the three bands they are kicking off the label with, all of
whom are apparently brand new bands as well. Those three bands are
Relentless, Nocturne, and Deathcult, with the exception of Deathcult
who previously had a demo out, none of the other bands have released
anything. Now I do not know if this is the label of one of the
bands. But two of the bands Relentless & Deathcult are one man bands
and both are the same man (Tim Pearons) doing everything for both
bands. Nocturne is also a one man band, but a different guy than the
other two one man bands, you got all of that straight haha? I think
I do now. This release is basically a three song sampler, with one
song form each band and one song is obviously not a lot to go on,
but I will try my best. Relentless, as soon as I read the name I
wondered if it was a Pentagram influenced band and named themselves
after that bands classic album. That is the case they are very
Pentagram influenced, a really cool song, entitled “United By
Darkness”, replete with Bobby Liebling copy vocals. I like
Relentless and want more, I am sucker for this stuff! Noturne hit us
up with the song “Pain of Purity”, hard to take away a lot from one
song, but I would say it is some interesting melodic flowing catchy
death metal, not bad stuff. Finishing things off, we have Deathcult,
who brandish a flaming sword of bitter, early 90s black metal
destruction with a fuzzy, otherworldly fuzzy guitar sound, some cool
riffing, a bit too stop and start in the middle for my liking, but
it does add some dynamic to the song. The production is clear enough
but pretty low-fi stuff which can be a positive with this style of
bm. With this band I feel I need more material to make any kind of
judgment, some stuff I really liked and some stuff I was so-so on
with this track. One thing is for sure apparently Do Or Die Records
plans to burst into 2013 like a blaze across the northern sky, as
all three bands will be releasing full length records in first few
months of the year. On a final note, love the artwork on the front
and the killer fanzine style page borders on the inside of the
booklet. - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/DoOrDieRecords
DoOrDieProductions@gmail.com |
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This is the debut e.p from the Texas based Enormicon I guess the
best way to describe this band would be is a mix of stoner rock,
traditional doom, and older prog music. It's not really my styles of
music so this review is going to suck as I don't too much about
these particular genres. So I will say if you are a Sabbath or High
On Fire fan or just old-school doom in general then you might enjoy
Enormicon.
- Patrick
http://www.myspace.com/enormiconmetal
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New Jersey's
Entrenched have launched their debut cd “Preemptive Strike” up on
the underground. But listening to the cd it is hard to believe this
is a debut. The band play a mix of brutal old school death metal
with a huge influence of violent war/thrash metal intertwined within
the violent speeding guitars and machine gun like drum patterns. The
vocals are shared by the duo and fit perfectly with a more deeper,
angry growl, grunt and intense shrieks of hate. While the band takes
no prisoners and refuses to compromise its sound. Entrenched have a
lot of good musical ideas and even some catchy memorable guitar
patterns throughout. If you enjoy straight forward death/thrash with
a touch of war metal insanity then entrenched is a band you must
hear! - Patrick
http://www.myspace.com/entrenchedusa
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Frosthelm are one of the newer bands that I've heard in recent years
that can mix the intensity of early eighties thrash/speed metal and
early nineties black metal to create a truly violent, intense sound.
The musicians in Frosthelm know how to play their instruments and
mix it nicely into their metal roots, guitars playing hyperspeed
riffs that are semi-raw for a black metal feel but have a very
thrashy/speed metal sound and feel. There are some real
whirlwind riffs and solo's. There are even a few melodic guitar
patterns but they are few and far between and only for short times
in the songs to give the songs a little more originality without
loosing their blackened thrashing sound. Not a whole lot can be said
except that if you enjoy blackened thrash metal then be sure to pick
up Frosthelm's debut mcd as this is definitely some quality metal
music played with both passion and precision.
- Patrick
http://www.reverbnation.com/frosthelm
https://www.facebook.com/frosthelm |
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I promised to
keep an eye on Guilty As Sin, and here once again they return to
Canadian Assault with a new release. I see on their myspace page
that they label themselves as Biker / Viking Metal. All I can say to
that is thankfully they are much better musicians than catch phrase
/ tag line creators. Nothing on here screams viking or biker in the
least. Musically GAS really are starting to hit their stride. There
is a great mix of heavy, memorable riffs you can headbang with and
build up a touch of adrenaline. Then there are long stretches where
they are more introspective and use their riffing and song structure
to create some wonderful atmospheric brooding. I am really impressed
with the fluidity on III and these guys know when they have
something good and milk it for all it is worth. This band is coming
a long way and fast, the guitar work on here is nothing short of
amazing in its ability to evoke emotion in the listener. I know that
is selling the drumming short a little bit here and I do not mean to
do that. The drummer Zak Ovaian turns in a subtle yet crafty
performance. But the guitars steal the show here. It is really hard
to pin this band down however. There are elements of everything from
classic hard rock to heavy metal to thrash and onward through death
metal. I know that sounds like it would be a train wreck, yet
nothing could be further from the truth, and it is all combined with
a dexterous touch and rich imagination. They manage to be very
consistent throughout. You even get a spacey feel that is loosely
akin to an Orchid / Solitude Sabbath vibe and it really works for
this album. Perhaps the most amazing thing about Guilty As Sin is
they have no singer and they make you both forget and not give a
shit about the lack of vocals. I am not sure I can give them a
bigger compliment than that. Consider me impressed. With the one
exception of the track Blood Groove which should have stayed on the
cutting room floor – at least it is at the end of the album. – Dale
http://www.myspace.com/guiltymusic2008
ovoianrocks@yahoo.com
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The
fascinatingly cool and enigmatic, Guilty As Sin, once again grace
the pages of Canadian Assault. Guilty As Sin, has always been a
bitch to nail down with a style to classify them. They are simply
all over the place and it is quite amazing their albums manage
retain a coherent lucid flow to them. I mean you can hear damn near
everything out of these guys, from Scifi / space rock to thrash and
hardcore metal, to death metal to punk, jazz bits, to pure
atmospheric wandering ambient music! Hell every now and then they
throw in belly dancing music, I shit you not. Also I should convey,
a lot of the time they do not do all of these styles in the confines
of one song, rather there can be a hardcore song, an ambient song
follows that, a thrash song and then a middle eastern belly dance
song. They keep you guessing and you just do not know what is around
the next corner as one song ends and the other begins. Future
History is no exception you get some ripping, heavy headbang tunes,
you get some really epic; at times almost awe inspiring guitar
ambient songs that will set your mind off wandering into the cosmos.
Then abruptly you jolted with some blast beating grind death metal
madness to slap you back awake. The vocals, which is another thing
whole sections of GAS albums have none, but when they are there with
this album on the more aggressive metal tracks. I hear a real Master
influence in those vox, they sound like they could have almost come
right off of the “On The Seventh Day God Created…Master” album, love
those vocals. No matter what you get with this band, it usually has
a sense of purpose, and vision, generally all pulled off with an
uncanny sense of emotive feel and care. I am not sure these guys are
for everyone, but they are for me, I think they are pretty fantastic
and you should at least give them a try. You might just be
surprised. - Dale
http://www.myspace.com/guiltymusic2008
ovoianrocks@yahoo.com
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This is
interesting and different. I remember another band some years back
with the same name and I wondered if this was them, but apparently
not, it is a new entity. Hammer Fight play raunchy, really heavy
hard rock / metal with balls and I can hear some punk / hardcore
influence and maybe a little Motorhead in there somewhere, but they
are heavier than that. Another band that just popped into my mind as
possibly being a real influence and a starting point for the reader
to gauge their sound and that band is Antiseen (whom I like). I
could see these guys appealing to both death metal fans with the
brutality edge and to the hardcore fans that like some metal in
their music. This disc definitely caught my attention and I will be
interested to see where this band goes from here. These bar
brawling, vodka drenched, tattoo’d motherfuckers even finish off
this ep with an AC/DC cover of “If You Want Blood (You Got It)” for
fucksakes. I need not saying anything more. –
Dale
https://www.facebook.com/HammerFight
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We see the
return of H-George to the pages of Canadian Assault. The mainman
H-George himself is not messing around. He has recruited infamous
Canadian thrasher Jeff Waters of Annihilator to mix and master this
record and it sounds great. It must have been a great honour to have
him mix the album, as listening to the music it is quite clear that
Annihilator are a huge influence on the band. There are “Alcoholic
Thrash Metal” 13 songs of on offer here, and they weigh in just
under 48 minutes of chugging metal. The band still propel a hundred
catchy, heavy riffs that tumble at you one after the other and are
well supported with some smoking guitar fills / leads. The
musicianship on here is top notch, quite tight and precise; these
boys clearly know what they are doing. The band knows how to craft
some interesting and catchy songs. Even though at times I find
things to be almost too tightly controlled and the emotional side of
the music can be a little stifled now and then. I just want them to
loosen up a little and let it all hang out. That is the only thing
that is missing for me as Slave Of Society is a superbly crafted,
well played and entertaining record. The vocals sound even better
than their first release, more range and feeling and a smoother
delivery. In fact, the vocals are a highlight of the album and fit
the music wonderfully. I get the feeling that these guys would
really kill in a more raw and stripped down live show environment. I
can recommend this record quite highly for disciples of late 80s
thrash metal. The band spared no expense with the booklet and disc
presentation here. – Dale
http://www.myspace.com/hgeorgemetalbeer
http://www.h-george.com/
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Nice to have a
band, from the area where I was born and grew up in, in Canada send
in a promo. This release is the bands first outing, though I can see
a couple of the members are fairly experienced in other bands, one
member, apparently is a transplant from overseas was in bands for
years over in the UK. Hammerdrone play hypnotic, melodic death metal
that really does a solid job of still maintaining that brutal metal
edge throughout as the underlying backbone. That is what helps put
it over the top for me. There is something there for the brutal
death fan, something for the melododeath file and it has, to use the
term again, a hypnotic flow to the music that some doom fans might
grab on to. In some ways it reminds me to Edge of Sanity from their
classic period, ala Purgatory Afterglow / Crimson. I am not trying
to say Hammerdrone are at that level yet, but those EOS albums are
some of my all time faves of any genre, so… It goes without saying
if I make that comparison these guys know a thing or two about
harmonies, song writing and there is some really nice emotive guitar
work on here. The vocals from Graham Harris are a nice compliment to
the music, they are very thick, brutish growls but much like the
music, there is some so emotional range present and they play off
the music, rather than just vomited over top, whether they fit or
step on the toes of the music itself as a lot of bands are prone to
do. I am impressed here, there are a couple of experienced members
in this group, but all the same A Demon Rising showcases a band that
has room to grow yes, but also a band that shows a lot of maturity,
vision and talent. I eagerly await more from Hammerdrone and boys
you are doing Albertan scene proud. This four song disc is well
worth your time / money. - Dale
http://www.hammerdrone.com/
http://www.reverbnation.com/hammerdrone
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HOD unfolds
before us an aural landscape of dark and raw death metal with
mordant vocals which fluctuate from a raspy black metal style to an
obscure traditional death metal growl (the lyrics can be
understood). The music itself has a foot in death metal but also a
foot firmly planted in old school metal in general (speed metal &
thrash feel). It is no surprise as these sickos are from the old
school days and features members formerly of bands such as Necrovore,
Thornspawn, Exulcerate, Shit, Pillcrusher etc... There are 3 night
terrors on here by the names of “Nine Days”, “Demoralizer” and “God
of Darkness and Winter”. A lot of the material is mid paced and
slower stuff on here with some solid musicality and the odd short
but great guitar fill / solo. It reminds me of a lot of old school
stuff because it is coherent with room to breathe in the pacing and
song construction. Not to mention it is dark yet decipherable, evil
yet you can head bang to it. This is a solid demo and with a little
more seasoning to the material I look forward to see where this band
is going to take their brand of horror to next. Addition –
Just an added note since writing this review a little birdie told me
they have signed to Ibex Moon Records and are recording their debut
album in Isotopia studios starting in the late Summer 2008. I will
be looking forward to that one.
– Dale
www.myspace.com/Hodtheband
Thornspawn@satx.rr.com
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Italian death
metal brutality, the production is pretty rough and muddy, but fuck
this is a demo people. The production still gets across what the
band were going for. Which is some brutal, unrelenting death metal
backed up with some pounding drum work. The vocals of Klaudia are
probably a bit of an acquired taste, I mostly quite liked them,
though at times were a touch grating. Nothing groundbreaking here or
that you have not heard before, but there is some talent there and
you can see with a little more time to simmer they might come up
with something special. This was another disc sent to me by Paul
Caravasi of Aquelarre zine, and like the other band Killing The
Reason, I will be interested to hear what this band does next, could
be something devastating. This release in the meantime is worth a
listen, as long as you are not one of those super picky assholes
with production, you might dig this one. - Dale
http://www.reverbnation.com/iwillkillyou666
https://www.facebook.com/1IWKY
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Thanks to Paul
Caravasi from Aquelarre ‘zine for passing along this piece of black
metal hate emanating from Spain. Killing The Reason, play an acidic
brand of blackened metal with some death metal touches. The vocals
are purely spat venomous rasps in the early 90s great tradition and
I really enjoy those, very cryptic and hateful. The music itself is
good, pretty straight forward, but it is well executed with an
intense energy about it. I feel like the songs and riffing, at
times, could have a little more flow at times, but that is a minor
complaint really. Followers of old school black metal should keep an
eye on this band, they have something special starting to brew. I
will really be looking forward to hearing what they can do on their
next release. Beyond Eternity is an extremely impressive for a debut
release! - Dale
http://www.myspace.com/killingthereason
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZMYc4KGOpY
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These
Brazilian’s love, 1980s thrash riffing, but also like newer bestial
warring metal sounds. An odd coupling to be sure but Labatut make it
work. Some bands to mention that can be clearly heard and influenced
are Slayer, Sarcofago, Moonblood, Mutiilation and loads of 80s
thrash, in general. The performance on this recording is pretty
rough, a little sloppy and loose. Yet in Labtut’s case it actually
adds a certain charm and identity to the music. It is strange they
manage to wear their influences upon their sleeve, yet despite that,
they manage to blend it all in a way I have not really heard before.
The whole thing is pretty sick really. Nothing ground breaking but
somehow by the time I hit stop on the stereo, I clearly feel like I
am a confirmed Labatut-iac!
– Dale
www.apocalypticempire.com
www.bloodynecromancer.de
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This Canadian
band could be described as a metalcore band that has a penchant for
progressive touches as well as possessing melodic Swedish death
influence in the guitars. Sometimes the mixings of these different
styles works and other times, not so much. At times the songs lack
flow and fluidity, coming off a little clunky and aimless. When it
works they can write some ripping, emotional metal though. The
vocals for me are another slightly sore spot; they are okay kind of
hoarse yells with a slight growling undertone. They come off
sounding a little forced and maybe are featured a little too heavily
in important parts of the song, distracting away from golden heart
of Lethal Halo. That gold is the guitars, there is some talent there
and if you pay attention the guitars they have some really
interesting things going on and the performance there is fantastic.
This is only their second release, so they have room and time to
grow. If they continue to mature in the song writing department and
the other aspects of Lehtal Halo can catch up to the guitar work,
this could be a band to really watch out for. - Dale
http://LethalHalo.com
http://www.youtube.com/HaloBand
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The
guitarist/vocalist/bassist from the great old Finnish thrash band
Maple Cross (formed in 1985!), heads up this band. Lord Of Pagathorn
released a demo tape way back in 1994, and then nothing, until now
some 15 plus years later! That is strange but good for us they
decided to pick up the band once again. Msilihporcen is an
interesting piece of older school black metal. There is speed and
hate, but it is all accented with some nice interludes and even some
eerie sounding acoustic guitar passages. The mixing of raw cold
anger and tranquil atmospherics is a mixing well met. The music is
nothing ground breaking, but very well done and performed expertly.
The vocals are suitably freezing shrieks with obscured whispered
undertone. The recording as well is fantastic for a demo, it is
heavy, clear and concise without being too slick. I came away from
this release being quite impressed and looking forward to hearing
from this sick horde. They tell me they are working on an album and
seek a suitable record label. I think they not remain unsigned for
long. Hail Finnish black metal! – Dale
http://www.myspace.com/lordofpagathorn
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Interesting.
That's the first word that comes to mind when I listened to Overture
- Neutrad Archon's newest full length. Hailing from California,
this sextet is truly a mix of many different style of metal and
music in general. Progressive base is mixed with black, death,
folk, and experimental metal elements. Quality musicianship is on
display with these guys for sure. The vocals are probably the
weakest part, though. I think there are parts on some of the songs
that are screaming for a clean vocal line ala Halford or Dickinson,
instead of the thrash/blackened hybrid voice that permeates the
album. The keyboard parts are a little out of place at times as
well. There are parts of the album that remind me of Emperor in
places - a wall of sound if you will. Again this is an interesting
release. I'd like to see what they do in the future. If you like
your metal with a cerebral component, Neutral Archon may be for
you. - Mark
http://www.myspace.com/neutradarchon
http://www.neutradarchon.com/ |
Some very old
and aged songs but it was sent in for review with some newer
material. In fact looking at the liner notes of the ’03 MLP I see
the music on that release was in fact written in 1998! Extremely raw
sounding old school black metal, a 1 man band and sounds like it but
this is also some good stuff. The background hiss on the recording
is extremely loud and hard to ignore, as is the fact that some of
the material is very disjointed with some sloppy transitions. Now on
with the new material, or maybe just new by comparison as the inlay
notes say the music is from 1996 to 2006, you have to give him one
thing, he is a prolific fellow. During this span of 10 years we are
presented with 7 tracks plus an intro and outro. Ahh this recording
is missing the hiss, I am not very picky with recordings but loud
hiss and white noise is very headache inducing. I am not sure if it
is the clearer production but the drum machine sounds worse, choppy
and more robotic than the MLP. The guitar riffing and sounds
excellent like the MLP and the transition work is more fluid but the
vocals are extremely thin and one dimensional, almost boring with
little passion. Well good luck to Machosias in finding a label as at
this point, a decade into the bands development, it is just not flat
out good enough to be past the demo stages. It is getting close but
there is some definite work to be done here. – Dale
c/o M. Lawrence,
Brunnen-str. 8, D-66538 Neunkirchen / Saar, GERMANY
www.oldpagan.de
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Three tracks of
exotic old school grinding death metal coming to us from Costa Rica.
Their sound reminds me of some of the death metal coming out of
Greece in the early to mid 90s (ala early Rotting Christ, Varathron,
Sickness etc…). I do not know that I would throw the death/doom tag
on Ordo Caper, then again I would not exactly argue against it
either. As they do have a number of slow brooding, doomy sections on
this release. Those sections have a lot of impact when mixed with
the mid pace and speedy death metal brutality. Everything on here is
very obscure sounding (each instrument and the vocals), a slightly
muffled production that for me adds a cool suffocating ambiance or
feel. Some might assume the sound is like this due to a poor
recording or mix job. I tend to think it was intentional as you can
still discern every moving part, just clear enough to balance the
rawness with a touch of clarity. My only minor complaint is at times
I dislike the drums, it is listed as a human playing it, but somehow
at times comes off sounding a little like a thin drum machine. That
however is not enough to distract from an otherwise excellent demo,
check it out. – Dale
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ordo-Caper/274505092586148
http://www.myspace.com/ordocaper
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It is always a
pleasure when I receive something from my homeland of Canada. I
actually had not really even heard of Riotor before now. Riotor hail
from the province of Quebec and I think we all know many of the
classic bands that this area has produced (Voivod, Yog Sothots,
Soothsayer and tons more!). This is a really interesting release.
They play classic thrash metal without doubt and do a fine job. The
vocals really grabbed me. Not really your usual ones and they seem
to have a tiny bit of death metal influence but still well rooted in
the classic thrash vocals. At times the vocals remind me to the
vocal performance on “Thirteen Frightened Souls” great ep by
Deceased. I love it. Apparently Riotor met and set the original
foundation for this band at a Razor concert back in 2005. Hell yeah!
Musically this brand of thrashing just feels so old school Canadian
to me. At times I am getting a vibe similar to the classic Sacrifice
album “Soldiers Of Misfortune”. You can hear bits of other Canadian
legends like Slaughter or Aggression in there too. They love to
thrash it out and make you head bang but there is more to it than
that. They definitely possess a sort of depth or dynamic that tends
to make good thrash bands memorable. There is an atmosphere and mood
that sets the tone that once they have you hooked in that is when
they go for the kill and make your neck sore if you know what I
mean?! Because the true order of the day is speed and we all know
that it kills. The playing on here is fantastic and I love the sound
they got it is so dirty yet you can hear everything in their
performance (from all members). Not to leave a single stone unturned
you also get hit with the odd short but just smoking guitar solo
that really fits in well with the music and is not forced. Well the
6 songs on here really fucking kicked my ass! I am so happy the band
sent this to me. I am hooked. They have not rested one second either
as I just checked online and they have recently released another new
demo by the title “Fucking Metal” so contact them right now and get
them both!! – Dale
http://www.myspace.com/riotor
http://www.riotor.ca |
It was nice to
see this arrive in the mailbox. It is the follow-up, yes already, of
their previous demo “Death and Destruction”. Which I reviewed and
loved some time ago and it is Canadian thrash, so you just know, it
will be damn good. I said they reminded me a little of the Canuck
legends Sacrifice and I still hear that. But this time, I think, I
am hearing a little more Kreator influence this time around and it
sounds good. I mean really good. That patented, suck you in and hold
on to you, memorable factor is still there and it serves Riotor very
well. They most definitely have that great old dirty, yet audible,
classic thrash sound down tight again with this recording. There is
another six tracks on this demo too, as Riotor are just rapidly
spitting out the quality material. I do not know if I can even add
much more to this. I would say just re-read my review above, as you
get more of the same. Which is classic quality thrash metal done the
way it was meant to be done. Just get this and support these
maniacs, they deserve it. – Dale
http://www.myspace.com/riotor
http://www.riotor.ca
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You know
sometimes you come across a release and yes I do mean release, not
demo, not rehearsal tape but a professional release by a record
label. You come across it or it comes across you (and does not even
offer a cum rag to wipe it off), you listen to it perplexed at how a
label could actually release it. “First Strike of the Possessed”, is
garage band rehearsal material in every way, from the paper thin,
boring and unimaginative material, pedestrian sub-par playing, thin
tinny drums and instruments in general that sound as if they were
all recorded simultaneously, in different rooms of the same building
creating something very disjointed sounding. Yes, my friends 11
minutes of something that was not good enough to be recorded on a
boombox, more less given a proper release. They claim in their bio
to be influenced by Beherit, Blasphemy, Profanatica, old Napalm
Death, Terrorizer, Anal Cunt and Venom! HAHA Satanochio cannot even
hope to hold a candle to Venom or even own one their albums, they
sound nothing like Venom or Beherit or Profanatica but do come off
as a lame 3rd rate mix of early Napalm Death mixed with
Anal Cunt and mumblings / sound clips of the movie “Evil Dead” and
evil lyrics to add the ‘Satanic’ part to their tag line of being
“Fist-fucking Satanic grindcore / noise”. I do have some very
unfortunate news, well make that two sad bits of news. First off,
this release was only pressed in 33 copies and is now sold out, so I
am afraid you will be shit out of luck ;). Only 33 people bought
this? Sounds about right. The other regrettable tidbit of news is
the band are currently recording a full length album, hopefully they
are smart and limit it to 66 copies because there are only so many
suckers to go around, you know. VENOM! I nearly busted a gut on that
one! Thanks for the laughs guys. – Dale
www.satanochio.go.ro
axa666@yahoo.com
www.axavalaha.go.ro |
Only 2 songs on
this demo, of note, this Australian act features Anthony Till, the
main man behind the awesome Misery’s Omen. The overall sound is a
tad muffled everything is mixed well enough you can definitely hear
what is going on. “Lone Pine” really takes me back as this release
just reeks and bleeds old Greek black death metal. I unquestionably
find my mind returning to early Rotting Christ, Varathron and
Necromantia. All of which I loved back in the day and still do now,
classic stuff. It is marvelous to hear a few bands starting to
revive this seemingly lost style again and do it so well. A deep
dark and depressively melancholic atmosphere permeates throughout
these two tracks. Update – I have just received word that Sacriphyx
have been signed to Nuclear War Now! For a few releases. Always nice
when a good band finds a good label. – Dale
Sacriphyx, Box
30, Civic Square, ACT 2608 AUSTRALIA
neil_o_death@yahoo.com.au
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Talk about
bombastic extreme metal! Scythian's debut demo is a pulverizing tour
de force that combines the brutality of European & old American
styled death metal, with morose doom passages and a heavy 80's
thrash aesthetic- imagine a combo of Sodom, Morbid Angel, Nocturnus
and Bathory and you get the idea of exactly what to expect out of
this relentless iron-balls recording. "Suffering to the conquered"
opens with the eerie and somewhat ethereal "Astral Assassins" before
picking up rapidly with "Shattered Idols" and then the very Bathory
esque "Pray to war". Next up comes "Spires to ashes" which echoes
German modern Black-thrash stalwarts Desaster. The title track
follows, showing off Scythian's more than competent handle on
ancient Teutonic thrash metal coupled with just the right hint of
Bathory's "Blood, fire, death" era. Appropriately enough, Scythian
closes this devastating release with a quality rendition of
Bathory's "Holocaust"- one of the few Bathory covers actually done
right. Scythian have emerged strangely enough from England- a
location with little to nothing to show for the heavier side of this
genre. But who cares about where this band comes from, right?
"Suffering to the conquered" blows away just about anything coming
out these days so smugly labeled "brutal death metal", and it is
-more- than an adequate representation of the very best of what
keystone death & thrash bands have to offer us. A rock solid
production, strong vocals and unique combination of brutal & epic
influences makes this a highly memorable and worthwhile investment.
Now signed to Galactic Records, Scythian should have new material
coming along in the near future. Until then, absolutely do NOT
hesitate to contact the band for a copy of this release.
-
Wilhelm
band contact: scythian.death@gmail.com
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Excellent, a new
Skitzo record. I had high expectations for this and I am well
pleased to say I was not disappointed. I would say with this album
more than the last couple, they have gone back to their roots of
‘80s speed / thrash metal and crafted it beautifully. There are a
bunch of guest appearances here, Jeff Becerra sings the whole song
on “Metallic Tyrants” and this song is going to go down as a
classic, so catchy, so face ripping fast and very memorable. Phil
Demmel also sings lead on “We are Dead”, John Marshall from Metal
Church and Sickie Wifebeater from The Mentors both contribute some
lead guitar work. Just so much going on here. I guess my only minor
complaint is the drumming, now and then sounds a bit forced and not
overly smooth on the speedier sections, but not to the point
distracting. “Head of Laci” slows things down a little and we see a
little more introspective side, yet no less heavy or perverted,
that main riff is just so chunky and driving. Main man Lance Ozanix
sounds better than ever, really I have never heard him belt out
vocals this good, with this much range, it appears his ability has
finally caught with the undeniable character and texture his voice
naturally possesses. The recording is just excellent, clear, loud
and superb separation between instruments and hey the drums do not
sound like a typewriter, wonders will never cease. If you want to
headbang and just enjoy yourself in the old tradition get this is
album and hell you even get a robust cover version of “Iron Fist” to
cap off this 12 song platter, I am sure a label will be secured
shortly. – Dale
www.skitzo.biz |
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It is a shame that
this disc arrived in the mail with a crack in it. I took a chance
anyway and tried playing the disc. It did play the opening intro,
plus the first two songs. Unfortunately for me two songs are hard to
truly judge upon (but I will try my best), especially when taking
into consideration the rest of the disc is comprised of about 40
minutes of music. Stilllife play progressive hard rock / heavy metal
with long epic songs ranging from six minutes in length to over ten
minutes. You can tell this is a demo level band, albeit quite a good
demo level band, based on upon the level of execution and focus in
the song writing. That is not meant as a negative, they actually
have much more ambitious song writing aspirations on display when
compared to most bands at this young stage of development. You can
project at the same time with some maturity and time added to their
song writing skills, this could be a very special band. I think
listening to these guys you might be reminded of bands like Fates
Warning, Queensryche, Iron Maiden and maybe I am crazy but it
reminds me a touch of one of my fave albums “A Mended Rhyme” by Tad
Morose. The vocalist did a good job, and reminds me a lot to Ray
Alder from Fates Warning and I am a huge fan of Alders vocals (see
the album “A
Pleasant Shade
of Gray” for a sterling example of his talent). It really is a pity
my disc got a crack in it, maybe a tip for the band would be to
include a piece of cardboard in the envelope next time or tell the
mail people not to step on it haha. At least I got to hear some of
it, and I liked what I heard a hell of a lot. So that is a caveat to
those reading this review, I have no idea if the rest of the album
is up to the quality of those first two tracks. I can only assume
the answer is affirmative. I hope the band will keep me in mind for
their next release, I hear they are working hard on it as I write
this. – Dale
http://www.myspace.com/stilllifehome
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This a new EP
released in 2010 from the Australian Stormbane (not to be confused
with the Brazilian one). Four tracks of death and thrash inspired
metal. Four members in the band as well. After their first demo
comes this release. Is there anything wrong with this? No, not
really. Singular death metal guitar lines with a death/thrash vocal
style. Rhythm section is pounding the riffs into the listeners
head. For an unsigned band, it's good. Is it something I'd buy?
Probably not. There are just too many other bands that sound like
this. I don't hear anything that separates these guys from the
hundreds of other heavier metal bands. Production is good - nice
separation in the instruments without it being overly produced. Raw
enough to keep the edge, ya know? I did like the third tune, the
title track, an instrumental. Nice musicality with in the structure
of that tune. But, again, it's nothing to write home about. I
believe the bass player spent some time in Spear of Longinus. So,
that may give them either some cred or some press. But, if you take
the music on it's own merits, it's just decent. - Mark
http://www.myspace.com/stormbanemetal
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That band name
immediately makes me think of the horror flick from the 80s called
C.H.U.D (which stood for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground
Dwellers). Well I said in the last review of the Vladimirs, that
their album was something different from what I normally get. Well
it is funny I would have to use that line in back to back reviews.
This is even more out there from my usual norm. However like
Vladimirs, SSS seems to revolve their songs around horror movies and
as I said I have a soft spot for that and am a huge horror fan.
Subhumanoid do not do it through lyrics though, it is all through
movie samples. As you may guess this is an industrial project I
suppose you might call it. Some might think samples from horror
movies is over done, a lot of demo bands do it and personally I
never seem to tire of it. Just to be clear here, this is like pure
industrial music, not industrial metal as some might be assuming.
The music is repetitive beats, a drum machine, no vocals but there
are little hisses, growls and the like of which you might often hear
emanating from a zombie in a movie and that actually works with the
music on here. Which is pretty simple and as I said repetitive in a
sort of stark, cold mechanical way. I kind of got into this, but I
am not sure whether or not the average metal maniac reading this
would dig this or not. But if you feel like checking out something
different than the norm and not run of the mill, then you might want
to check out SSS. There are 4 tracks on here and off the top of my
head I would say it runs maybe 8 to 10 minutes in length. I could
not locate a website when searching online and none was included
with the disc, so just an Email for those interested. By the way was
that one sample taken from the classic film They Live?! Nice. – Dale
raysada@yahoo.com
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Another fine compilation from the mighty UG to the maximum
Nihilistic Holocaust raising hell in the fiery, prolific French
scene. 4 bands on here with 3 to 6 songs a piece, here we go…
Incinerator -
Raw raucous and heavy chugging old school thrash metal with
some intense solos and vocals that scream old German thrash
influences but musically they remind me a lot of Sacrifice.
Excellent band… the.heretic@lycos.com
Vacarme –
Mid paced death metal with some speedy parts, kind of reminds me of
early Sinister or some early 90s death metal demo bands. Not bad…
stenchvacamre@free.fr
Lethal –
In the immortal words of Dayglo Abortion “Arghh Fuck Kill!”. This is
killing alright, 80s reminiscent Speed Metal nightmare, straight
forward, catchy with epic adventurous solos, pounding drums and a
husky singer that reminds me to Bob Reid during his S.F.H. days.
Superb stuff here, keep your fucking eyes out for this band!
sorath@hel l-mail.zzn.com
Re-Creation –
Moody death thrash metal with a slower pace, heavy but with a
lot of slow contemplative type of moments and deep growls. Not that
any band on the planet is as good as Disciples of Power but their
style kind of mirrors them a bit. Good…
www.re-creation-band.com
– Dale
Nihilistic
Holocaust, c/o Gabriel Skowron, 9 rue de la scarpe, 59552 Lambres,
FRANCE
gabsk@wanadoo.fr
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No date, no bio,
no information except contacts which suits me just fine. I
acknowledge that is four piece are either Russian, Ukranian or are
from Belarus, My incisors have into a shit-sandwich with some
infected hospital waste for dressing on this one. I’m sick of it!
Call me a bastard, but this sub-par DM laced with Godflesh,
futuristic sci-fi sounds, folk, flute and stealing keyboards right
from the final Emperor and Dimmu Borgir. All this is good for is
posers who think Fear Factory is the real shit! No Remorse! –
Clayton
amorth@mail.ru
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Torn The Fuck
Apart hail from Kansas fucking City, Kansas and play brutalizing
death metal. I love some good crushing and pillaging death metal as
much as the next guy. I liked some of the little secondary guitar
noodling accents to the riffing, similar to stuff Cryptopsy used to
do and others. But I have to be honest that was the only thing about
this album I really liked. The vocals are decent too. The music
however, overall is some really generic, boring death metal, Torn
even try to throw in some groove parts that sound forced and
uninspired. I can respect these guys for trying to do things on
their own and just getting out there and making it happen, more
power to them. But after releasing a demo and well I guess,
essentially two self-released full length demos after that, over the
span of nearly a decade, with still no action on the label front, I
can see why. But hey, if the boys believe in what they are doing and
are having fun, well then keep on plugging away. I am not saying
they are terrible or anything, just very, very average. - Dale
http://www.reverbnation.com/tornthefuckapart
https://www.facebook.com/tornthefuuckapart
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I am immediately
hit with a very, very familiar sound when pressing play. Right from
the vocals to the guitars, to the riffing style and really
everything sounds like Pantera. That is not to say they do not have
the sound down and are good at what they do. It is probably boils
down to the fact I am a not a huge fan of this, what is sometimes
called modernized thrash metal, when I do feel like listening to
some (which is not often) I will just reach for a Pantera album to
be honest. I will say they did not skimp on the production of the
album, everything sounds very good and clear. If you are not like me
and wish Pantera was still around then this might be a band for you
to check into. – Dale
http://www.facebook.com/trialsmusic |
This is a one
man band by the drummer of Blessed Offal (among other bands). There
are four tracks on this cassette, which are filled with hatred and
drip with a morbid atmosphere. I think Vein could be best described
as worshippers of Blasphemy and Sarcofago. That is what you get
here, nothing new or innovative, but it was not meant to be, it is
not pretending to be anything else. The atmosphere on here is
extraordinary, it really does capture the mastery of the classic
works by the bands I mentioned above. I mean right down to the
obscure sound, low-fi production values, which is probably the only
way this style of evil warring black metal should be heard. If you
are a devotee of this sub-genre of music, you will want this
release, if you are not a die hard follower of those bands and this
sound; this is probably not for you. I seen online there is only 5
copies of tape left, hopefully you get one before they sell out.
There is however, a digital download version for $4 you can find at
a link below. - Dale
http://novisiblescars.bandcamp.com/album/into-the-vein
http://nvslabel.blogspot.com/
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I have to
commend this Wisconsin band, on going all out on the promotion
front; they sent a very complete and impressive promotional package.
I have not seen this much effort, money and patience put in to a
promo package for probably a decade now (Yeah I have been at this a
long time I know) at least. It was a little more common place back
then, but these days in the age of digital downloads and everything,
well it is nice to see. Warseid play I suppose more of a European
style black folk metal. Now this is listed as an ep, but you get 30
minutes of music, to Decide and a lot of bands would consider that
album length. The vocals are harsh black metal rasps with a growling
undertone type of vox, they are fine for what they are, but I have
to be honest, for me, to my ear they do not really suit the music
very well. They just do not seem to convey or match the energy or
emotion of the music or seem to fit very well to the music, if you
know what I mean? It is not one of those cases where you go I can
not imagine a different vocalist in there, I can and the one I
imagine is a better fit. The music itself is some good black metal,
not really harsh or low-fi, yet they do not abandon their aggressive
or hateful roots altogether either. No it is a little crisper, with
a slight punchy metal edge, but that edge is rounded off by some of
the symphonic elements and nice rhythms and well thought out, catchy
harmonies. The music is really pretty solid, it could honestly use a
bit more flow though, it is a tad rigid and not always seamless when
transitioning from straight up parts to the more symphonic or
melodic sections. But that will come with time; I am sure because
there obviously is some imagination and talent on display here with
Where Fate Lies Unbound. I think fans of the more symphonic or
melodic black metal and folk sounding bands will be interested in
this one. Yes it is not without its faults, but at the same time it
nicely displays a talented band still finding their way they just
need to work on those vocals first, of course. – Dale
http://www.reverbnation.com/warseid
http://www.warseid.com/
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I love this
bands attitude and honesty in their bio, I also can really relate to
them as they speak about playing a style similar to what they grew
up listening to through tape trading, plus talk of being old. I am
right with you brother, grew up on tape trading too (early to mid
90s) and I am also an old goat in this fucking scene haha. The four
songs on here for me simply are fantastic, they are heavy, they are
rocking, they are dark and they are dripping with old school
intensity and attitude. Not to mention combining some of my
favourite bands and styles as influence. I am not even sure where to
start but think of mixing classic Celtic Frost / Hellhammer, Venom
together with Dismember, Grave, Darkthrone (especially their
releases where they show their Frost influence) and even some
Motorhead thrown into the mix for good measure. The vocals kind of
follow suit to those influences I mention above, a mix of old thrash
gruff yelling with a decipherable growling undertone. They wear
their musical hearts on their sleeve, and I like that, we share that
metal heart and it is hard to tear apart. I say if you are a product
of the 80s and early 90s metal and miss those days, With Burning
Contempt is for you. Keep the ancient flame burning and the spiked
fist pounding! - Dale
https://www.facebook.com/WithBurningContempt http://www.reverbnation.com/withburningcontempt
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