I am proud to
present thee with a great new (to me anyways) great dynamic death metal
act from PA. Hey, is that drum intro from “Crosses of Ice” taken from a
Kick Axe song…um no maybe I’m imagining things. Where was I? Oh yes, I
was going to say that Edenrot are extremely talented musicians. The odd
clean vocal is thrown in but generally there are alterations between
deep understandable growl and raspy shriek with an overall enjoyable
outcome. I hear some Scandinavian influence like early Edge Of Sanity
and the like mixed in with their decidedly American approach. Unlike
most American acts, melody is important to Edenrot I didn’t get a bio,
but with 4 songs is this a MCD? Tho’ it does clock I at 30 minutes long.
$8 US / $9 World.
Band contact:
Edenrot, 327 Ford Road, St. Marys, PA. 15857, USA website =
www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Stage/6728
|
This review will
be on the short side, I imagine. I mean do not get me wrong, I love
gore grind as much as the next deviant. But there are just not a
whole lot of dynamics, time changes, nuances etc… that lends the
genre to in depth description. One things is sure, Embryonic
Crytopathia are one sick and extremely manic band. For me “Uterine…”
immediately dredges up comparables such as early Carcass, old
Cryptopsy (but less dynamic) with a juicy sprinkle or splatter if
you like of the mighty Gut on the mix. A real relentless chugging
attack of flying riffs and dismembered drum runs. Whatever movie,
those first couple of intros are from, sounds awful twisted and just
campy as hell. I will have to make it a point to try to find and
watch that film. Recommended, if gore grind, is your thing.
– Dale
www.myspace.com/embryoniccryptopathia
|
Oh god, is this band
ever untalented! I mean I hate the limp wristed gothic metal/rock this
band plays but if they do it well, I will at least give them that. I
cannot do that with Entwined. This singer is worst of all, he is all
gravely and his voice breaks up as he drops in and out of tune. I mean
it is so hilarious every time he opens his mouth with that, goofy voice
and embarrassingly bad lyrics. I cannot help but burst into laughter
while listening to this. The music isn’t much better - simplistic,
awkward and boring. Who is the responsible for signing this band!? Fuck!
Earache Records,
Suite 915, 295 Lafayette St., New York, NY, 10012, USA
|
This is on Garm’s
new label and is supremely gay ambient infatuation, but not gloomy
rather a happy sort of soundtrack for a love scene in some Hollywood
movie. In other words it chews big fat donkey nuts! No one anywhere in
the CD is credited as being in the band. So I’m thinking it is a side
(or even solo) project of Garm’s. If this is what he likes no wonder the
new Ulver hangs like a shriveled penis on a cold, Canadian, winter
morn.
|
It is really cool to
see that Pagan Records is still going and strong I might add. I recall
enjoying (label head) Tomasz’s fanzine Holocaust immensely. As well as
his first couple releases (Crucifier & Behemoth) on the then fledging
young label. Anyway, here’s their 16th release and a fine one
at that. Esqarial very craftily meld American brutal death/grind with
the finesse of Euro thrash topped with raspy death vocals. They surely
know how to make heavy and often, brutal music with atmosphere (without
any cheesy keybored, female vocal crutches!) not often witnessed within
such blistering musick.
Pagan Records, P.O.
Box 12, 86 105 Swiecie 5, POLAND
|
Let me hit you
with some interesting background information. Firstly, the name has
an obvious Finnish reference. Though surprisingly the band is from
Sweden, made of mainly Finnish guys living Sweden. The second tidbit
is they had recorded a mini-album for Necropolis records in 1992
that was never released until now. I guess it is no surprise that
Paul Thind and Necropolis screwed something up yet again that can be
added to the list. What we have here is that unreleased record
entitled “Twilight in The Wilderness” plus their “Doomed” seven inch
from 1992 as well and their “Ceremony of Doom” demo tape from 1990.
I must say this is some seriously cool doom with a slow to
approaching middle pacing metal. I feel this material is excellent
even by today’s standards. Well also nothing ground breaking by
today’s standard either but back in the day? You fucking bet!
Eternal Darkness do not get mentioned that often next to other doom
death pioneers like Autopsy, My Dying Bride, Anathema, Goatlord,
Thergothon, Cathedral but certainly should. That low rumbling
brutality and darkness is calling for you. –
Dale
www.necroharmonic.com
www.myspace.com/eternaldarknesssweden
|
This is the Finnish
band, who after releasing several demo tapes put out “Sinners Serenade”
their debut on X-Treme Records from Sweden. Melodic death/black metal in
the same general style as the usual Gothenburg boys but really do a lot
like any one in particular. E.T.O.S. tend to be a little more sad and
melancholic without thankfully incorporating any gay goth touches. The
male vocals are very acidic and good as well the female ones are done
straight and not that operatic cheese.
Website = www.iki.fi/jape/etos.htm
Email = t1772@myy.helia.fi
|
Superb brutalizing,
merciless & blasphemic death metal the way it was meant to be and is
sure to dehumanize your soul. There are a couple slow sections scattered
throughout the speed, catchy riffs, some choice guitar leads and
underlying heaviness mixed w/ great temperate and deep growling. An
excellent release that deserves your support!
Band contact:
Evilution, 403 Washington Ave., West Haven, CT. 06516, USA
|
Coming at us
like a bat out of hell or rather a band out of Illinois is Exalted.
First thing that hits me is the recording. I really like it, it is
more than clear enough but definitely gives me that early nineties
feeling and suits the maelstrom just fine. The album starts off and
I feel creeping darkness that sends a freezing plague through the
veins of any devout black metal junky. At times “We are The Grim
Throng” resembles a mixing of tracks from “Transylvanian Hunger” and
“Panzerfaust”. It may not be as good as those classic Darkthrone
albums but it is a good album on its own. There is even some really
rocking guitar injected from time to time ala Celtic Frost. It
almost seems as if it should not fit the whole musical scheme but
somehow it just does. If you can not get enough of that early 90s
black metal and classic Hellhammer / Frost vibe then you might want
to pick this one up. –
Dale
www.battlekommand.com
exaltedhail@yahoo.com
|
|
A B
C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
|
I was in touch
with this band 10 years ago, yes you read that right, a fucking
decade ago, geez I am an old koot. I was in quite good touch with
them, the guitarist took out an advert in issue 2! As I recall he
never did pay me for it either, yet the man who ran Wild Rags that
everyone accused of shady took out a full page and paid me more up
front than I had asked for. Yes, well back in those gray sundry days
of yore, Fall of The Leafe, played an evil brand of epic black metal
band, raw yet thoughtful. Fast forward to modern day, these Finnish
blokes are still kicking. Are they still black metal? Fuck no, they
are not even melodic death metal at this point. No sir, now they are
commercial gothic rock with a homo erotic atmosphere. They say they
are old goth mixed with grunge? What the fuck? I do not hear grunge,
though the singer sounds like he is trying to be a hunky version of
the Pearl Jam singer, so maybe that is it? He Leafers, want to buy
back your demo so no one finds out what you used to be? Total Crap.
– Dale
www.firebox.fi
www.falloftheleafe.com |
I see a lot of
people calling Fimbultyr viking / folk music. But unless I am little
too out of touch with what is going on in those genre’s these days.
Then I would are a little too fast and brutal sounding for that. I
don’t know maybe they are referring more to the lyrics and imagery.
I can definitely see some of the viking metal thing going here
musically, but it mixed with heavy doses of black metal. Fimbultyr
do a fine job of it too, as they interweave blazing speed and harsh
vocals with a lot of melody and dynamic song structuring. This
really is a nice surprise for me, you generally do not find material
this mature, involved and polished on a bands debut record. It is
impressive really. Now do not get me wrong they are not above the
odd flowery keyboard portion here and there. But thankfully for me
at least, it is kept fairly minimal and often in the background.
Vocalist Christofer Bergqvist puts on a great performance here with
his deep, menacing death metal growls that drip with emotion and
depth. Since this is their first record they are still refining
their sound, but they have come a long way in a short amount of
time. I think some that are not crazy about viking or folk inspired
bands will still enjoy “Gryende Tidevarv” and it’s many layers.
– Dale
www.unexplodedrecords.com
www.myspace.com/fimbultyrband
|
Almost 40
minutes of unmitigated cold and dark black metal coming from these
Portugese warriors. There is no doubt right from the first seconds
that this band plays some great early 90s second wave of bm dipped
in audio black blood of the Scandinavian variety. I do not think it
is out of line to state that the early works of bands like
Darkthrone, Dark Funeral, Gorgoroth and the like are an influence. I
have heard this bands name for sure but it was surprising to see
this is the bands 2nd album after a few demos, an ep and
10 years have passed since their inception. Okay so I am not going
to lie as Fagellum Dei do sound an awful lot like the bands they
worship and do not have a lot of charisma they could call their own.
But they have found the right man to do this review. As I happen to
really adore this chilling style of black metal. I can never seem to
get tired of it. So “Under The Might…” still managed to haunt me
like a nightmare, turning my day into darkest night. Will it do the
same for you or would you rather just pull out your old records?
Only you can answer that question. But until then I will bathe in
the cold sinister sounds of Flagellum Dei.
– Dale
http://www.myspace.com/flagellumdei
http://www.bloodyprod.com/
|
This band hails not
far from my old stomping grounds in Canada. If you were to check out
their bio, you’d think this band were the next big hope or something! I
got into the first song “Unleash” with it’s hatred, dynamics and
memorable chorus. To be honest, I could give two shits about the rest of
the album. It degenerates into a well played Korn/Fear Factory/Lost
Souls/Skinlab fest with big gobs of hardcore mixed in, for all the
‘jump’ metallers out there to get into. When this trend says ‘jump’, you
say how “how high!?”
Fueled By Ignorance,
P.O. Box 1552, Prince George, B.C., V2L 4V5, CANADA website =
www.fueledbyignorance.com
|
Funebrarum
– I am unsure if I have mentioned it lately. But Funebrarum are one
of my fave bands. So it should surprise no one that the 5 tracks
here have done nothing but blow me away! You must hear this to
believe it, simple words do not suffice. Funebrarum for the
uninitiated play absolutely crushing old school death metal with a
dirgy doom undertone. For a general reference point to their sound
and style, think of the old works by bands like Grave, Autopsy,
Repulsion, Nihilist… You know basically the stuff I worship. What a
brutalizing and suffocating atmosphere to this music – you will feel
it and know what I mean. It hits covers you in an avalanche. There
are two amazing cover tracks on here of Abhorrences “Caught In A
Vortex” + Grave’s “Into The Grave”. The Grave cover makes me want to
break shit and circle around an invisible pit in my living room! I
mean seriously I have not played this much air guitar or head banged
this mucking fucking in ages.
Interment
– Are really a great band to follow Funebrarum. They are a little
more thrashy and not doomy like Fune but are definitely cut from the
same cloth as the band they share this disc with. Think Autopsy on
speed mixed with heavy doses of Carnage and early Entombed. These
guys are fast and intense. The drummer Kennet Englund is a real
demon on the kit and asserts himself into sound quite prominently.
The riffing from Interment is just really heavy and catchy but in an
oh-so-brutal way. This made me an instant fan of Interment. This
release is just great and what an amazing split. This release is an
absolute must have it. – Dale
www.conquerorofthorns.com
www.funebrarum.com
|
|
A B
C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
|
This is some
gorgeous grind straight out of the Czech Republic. G.O.R.E. follow
in a similar to the tradition of one of my all time fave bands. I
speak of the mighty Gut. Okay as you would expect from the name they
are a little less porn then Gut and a lot more gory but a not too
dissimilar in sense of humour. You can also throw in some Terrorizer
and early Napalm Death and mix it all into the bloody organ stew.
This is the way I like it. They just come right at you and never let
up. It is an immense wall of pulverizing guitars grinding along like
a chainsaw and backed with speedy buck shot drumming. The vocals are
deep and growling and rather undecipherable but damn good regardless
as they roll and rumble off the singers tongue. The goofy pop lounge
lizard tunes used as song interludes in the first part of the album
had me laughing. These bastards have got to be drunk (just check out
the lyrics!) with that idea but somehow it also works. The
production on here suits this style pretty nicely. It highlights the
sick guitars and pummel drumming but there is room for everything to
stretch its dismembered legs. It is gore and it is grind and death
metal and it does make me want to break shit. So I would say I can
recommend this.
– Dale
www.khaaranus.wz.cz
www.goregrinddeath.com
|
Atmospheric,
industrial music. I do no’t like this style, so this does nothing for
me. It is I can say well put together and orchestrated and fans of this
genre will like this I am quite sure.
Euphonious Records,
Skt. Jorgens Alle 7, O.G., 1615 Kbh. V., DENMARK Email = euphonious@vow.dk
|
Gorgoroth are a
bestial entity and with “Destroyer” they have created a intoxicating,
caustic record of obscure rage! I became familiar with this band when I
tape traded for their hellfire of a ’93 demo “A Sorcery Written In
Blood”. Then went on to enjoy their straight lightning forward
blitzkrieg of a debut LP “Pentagram”. Since them I had kind of lost
track of them (as they did of themselves as they went through a number
of member changes including the departure of Emperor’s Samoth). The
cover features a naval destroyer class battleship with a corpse painted
figure juxtaposed on top. Gorgoroth are not your average black metal
band. They have a very distinctive (recorded in a tube) guitar sound,
implementing more traditional metal riffing with their black metal
attack. Also they are not afraid to throw in a few doomy parts, which
compliments the acidic vocal strikes and overall bombastic open sea
naval war metal!
|
I am not sure
what this Norwegian horde was trying to do with that almost song
length intro. It has the same sound throughout the duration, which
sounds like someone recorded the sound filter bubbles in a fish tank
make, along with someone in the distant background banging on a
piece of iron now and then. My only hope was the music that followed
would be much better and gladly it is. As they come blasting through
the speakers at you with some energetic and eerie sounding, second
wave, early 90s black metal. The production on the guitars is very
heavy and thrashy sounding for this style. Though having said that,
Gravdal do offer up some catchy and almost rocking moments within
pitch-black veil encompassing atmosphere. Not so much as say
Carpathian Forest but that is probably a fair comparison to bring
up. I would also have to mention early Darkthrone and perhaps some
Immortal along the way. It never broods for long though and the
intensity level and speed is usually kept at a rather high level.
Generally speaking you have heard this all done before and every now
and then, you have heard it done better. This is their debut and
despite what I said it is a very solid release, even though it
really offers nothing new and is a little done by the numbers. I
still found a way to enjoy it. –
Dale
www.unexplodedrecords.com
www.myspace.com/gravdal
|
Grief of Emerald do
come up with the odd structural flash and catchy riff, but otherwise are
rather average black/death metal. The keys are mixed in far too heavily.
Die hard symphonic black/death fans need only bother with this one.
|
I really am digging
this, it is admittedly a bit of a departure from their early stuff. I
had a tape traded dub of their first demo, which was more, straight
grind. This is a promo of tracks (6 studio, 2 live) from their upcoming
album. Groinchurn are still grind but with a lot more traditional and
death metal influence. They even throw in “Toad - Ice” a sort of death
metal/punk song w/ the shout outs and all. What out for Groinchurn’s new
album coming out on Morbid Records.
Dark Ages, Ryan
(Lunatic Evil), P.O. Box 39550, Garsfontein, Pretoria 0060, SOUTH AFRICA
|
|
|
|
