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H-GEORGE

“Neurotic” CD & DVD

 

I have seen this release listed in some places as a demo and in others as an album. I personally lean towards demo tag as it is self-released and only has 4 songs but the bands site calls it an album. It is also packaged so professionally and presented with a DVD so I will give it the benefit of the doubt calling it an album. H-George travels to our ears all the way from Italy and call their sound “Alcoholic Thrash Metal”. Which I am not sure really describes their sound that well. As it kind of conjures up images (in my mind) of a raunchy, raw, loose sort of band with party / non-serious lyrics. But the fact of the matter is they play a really controlled power heavy metal thrashy type sound with a tight crisp performance and quite serious thoughtful emotional themes to the lyrics. It is honestly almost a little too in control and over produced for me. But there is no denying the talent displayed in George’s writing with some really solid riffs and well crafted meandering and entertaining guitar solos. This band is really George’s work and George’s baby and he has brought in Carlos in to play drums and Trevor in to handle the vocals. Carlos does a fine job on the kit, solid and professional and Trevor puts in a pretty gritty late 80s sounding sort of thrashy gruff performance. The vocals are good but buried in the mix and less prominent than one would expect for his aggressive style and performance. I would have liked to see him be brought a little more up front. In fact the aforementioned intangible raunchiness the music tag summons up is just what this release could use to put it over the top. Just a little too controlled and over analyzed. I bet this material comes off better in a live setting. That all makes it sound like I do not like this release. Which is far from the truth, as this is a nice release but it could go to another level, if it had not been gone over so much with a fine tooth comb and just let it all hang out a little more? The actual material itself on here is pretty killer. Now on to the DVD... It is about 30 minutes long and is pretty well done. It basically has interviews with the guys that recorded this record as well as studio personnel. They talk about their history / tastes in metal, their motivation and about the making this record. There is some various studio footage as well as some sprinkled stuff of the members out and about in Italy. It is pretty cool to see and it does give you a respect for what went into this recording. The DVD is all in Italian but there are English subtitles so no worries there.  – Dale

www.h-george.com   www.myspace.com/hgeorgemetalbeer    

 

 

HAEMORRHAGE

“Anatomical Inferno” 1998 CD

(Morbid Records)

 

Yes! Killer grindcore with heavy death metal influence played with immense energy and conviction - in short it will tear you apart! The compos are to the point sick, heavy, and brutally catchy with super disgusting and tortured vomitous vox. All death/grind fanatics feast your ears on this 14 track ball of phlemetic mayhem!

Morbid Records, Postfach 3, 03114 Drebkau, GERMANY

 

 

HAMMERFALL

“Legacy Of Kings” 1998 CD

(Nuclear Blast America)

 

Well, if you read issue # 1 or 2, you know how much I love this band on their early material. My only knock on their amazing power/heavy metal style is that they sounded too much like their heroes and not possessing an identity you could call Hammerfall. Well they have taken a step towards that with this mighty classic slab “Legacy Of Kings”. Joacim Cans has stepped up his performance further putting in a superlative, first-rate vocal display. He makes it seem so easy and effortless as he goes right through all the ranges with silky finesse. Time honored traditional metal with class the makes my inner flame rise! Hammerfall have still not reached their peak potential but they are perilously close with this album.

 

 

HARPOON

“Deception Among Birds” CD

(Seventh Rule Recordings)

 

Harpoon is a three piece band hailing from Chicago, Illinoise. I immediately thought of the band Cavity when I hit play. Though Harpoon are far more polished sounding, more controlled and their use of feedback on the guitars is more subtle than those maniacs. The songs are well crafted and there is actually a lot going on, despite not sounding cluttered. The vocals of Toney Vast-Binder are harsh, pissed off sounding yells with a lot of conviction and energy put into the delivery. The pacing of the music is nice as well, it has some speed at times, but also is painfully slow and grinding sludge drone at other times, creating some nice dynamics and emotion. I was skeptical when I read they used a drum machine, but I must admit this is one of the finest examples of hiding that fact I have come across. Deception Among The Birds is the type of album that you will keep finding new nuances you missed previously upon repeated listening. The album is not bogged down in a million time changes or far too busy for its own good. No Harpoon have really mastered a balance between intricacy and subtlety on here but never forgetting the emotive quality of their music, which is what gives it its real personality. Controlled chaos thinking metal is what I would call it, this is my first experience with the band and I am pretty impressed. – Dale

http://www.myspace.com/harpoonrockin4u  http://www.seventhrule.com/   

 

 

HAT

“Vortex Of Death” CD

(Abyss Records)

 

The Hat keep the old Norwegian classic black metal traditions alive. I never tire of this sound, style no matter how many times I hear it again and again. It is probably only fair that you know that about me – I worship old school black metal. You can tell listening to this that Hat themselves have listened to and possess great reverence for the old bands on their early works like Darkthrone, Immortal, Emperor, Graveland etc… It is just so hateful, cold, cutting you to pieces with cruel torture. Yes I do not tire of their archetypal obscure bm rasp vocals, tremolo picking and hypnotic driven drumming. Vortex of Death is really well done and you can just feel the men behind it are dedicated to what they are doing. I simply can not resist recommending this album highly to you.  – Dale

http://www.officialabyssrecords.com/  http://www.myspace.com/Evighat  

 

 

HAVOC UNIT

“Hoarse Industrial Viremia” CD

(Vendlus Records)

 

So Havoc Unit hail from the mighty lands of Finland. They recently changed their name from …And Oceans. Now I do remember …And Oceans but it was from their early days in the late 90s. Back then, they played solid, yet, pretty forgettable symphonic black metal. So these days they are playing industrial death metal hey? Interesting… Well it is good to see a band change their name when this sort of about face happens – more bands should follow this example. I would not call myself a huge industrial death fan. But I do like some of the bands and have followed it virtually from its inception as a genre. Early stuff like Skinny Puppy to Malhovoc to Pitchshifter to old Fear Factory and others have all graced my collection over the years. Havoc Unit is a pretty straight forward band. To be honest they are sort of monotone and lacking any real punch or diversity in their song writing. Under their previous moniker they played average but pretty good sympho black metal and now 10 years later they are still pumping out the same quality level. Just in another genre these days. They do little to stand out or have much staying power to my ears and instead just blend in with the pack. It is worth a listen if you worship this style and if not then your money is best spent elsewhere.  – Dale

www.vendlusrecords.com   www.myspace.com/havocunit 

 

 

HEAVENLY

“Virus” CD

(AFM Records)

 

If you want the cliff notes version this is basically the French version of Halloween mixed with Gamma Ray. I hate to over paint them with that brush. Yet the fact of the matter is they wear their influences on their sleeve to the point it is hard to say they have much of a sound of their own. Coupled with the fact they play a style where you kind of need some sort of unique identity to stick out from the crowd. It is not like they are death metal and just make sure they are brutal to make up for the fact they are unoriginal. By deduction I do suppose the next question would be is it well done at least? For my liking it is a touch too clean, synth heavy and over produced but on the whole it is well done, yes. Some engaging riffs and sweet guitar leads. Vocalist Ben Sotto just bleeds Halloween vocals but he sounds excellent doing so, hitting all kinds ranges and high registers along the way. That is something Heavenly really has going for them, in this genre you need to have a strong vocalist and they have that part covered. If you are a fanatic of this style and can never get enough then by all means pick this up but otherwise just break out your “Keeper…” records instead. – Dale 

 

 

HEADHUNTER

“Parasite Of Society” CD

(Candlelight Records USA)

 

Well some years back we had the re-formation of the classic thrash band Destruction. During his hiatus from Destruction, mainman, Schmier formed a band called Headhunter. A band which spat out a demo tape and 3 albums from the early 90s to the middle 1990s. Now he has come back full circle and both bands are going full steam at the same time for once. The other two members of Headhunter are Uwe Hoffman (Talon) and Jorg Michael (Rage, Running Wild, Grave Digger, Mekong Delta and a bunch more bands) whom many or most will know about. They play classic heavy metal. Schmier definitely has that clean and classic 80s sort of vocal style down pretty well and it is kind of cool hearing him do this style. The music is traditional heavy metal and it is pretty catchy and memorable. The song “Silverskull” is tattoo’d on my brain now and is a good example of catchiness and staying power I mentioned. It is pretty simplistic stuff overall but sometimes that is for the best in this style. There are some solid emotional guitar solos / fills that really grabbed my attention and unlike some bands they do not come off as forced or out of place. Headhunter like to mix up the dynamics every couple of songs (energetic and fast to brooding and etc…) and it makes for a pretty good, interesting listen. I can recommend this album. But I must mention that the Skid Row cover kind of sticks out like a strange sore thumb. Placing it right in middle of album (rather than the end) amongst the rest of the tracks seems unnecessarily disruptive to the overall flow and it is too. I could see that really annoying some people.   – Dale

www.candlelightrecordsusa.com    www.official-headhunter.com/en/

 

 

HELL MILITIA

“Last Station On The Road To Earth” CD

(Debemur Morti)

 

We have some dense churning black metal heaviness from France. The vocals kind of sound an evil husky growling biker that crashed his hog a couple times and does not believe in helmets. For me the album starts off decently and creates a heavy brooding sort of mood. Before long it becomes unraveled and disjointed and progressively worse. This is not a good thing when it was not that amazing to begin with. I am a huge GG Allin fan, despite what some say, he did made some great music and was not all shit and piss. So without looking at the song titles first, it surprised me hear a GG cover coming out of my headphones. I suppose they do an alright job on the cover, though it could have been better. But in the context of the whole album it stands out as a sore thumb and does not help the flow one bit. This is further highlighted by the fact that this cover is in the middle rather than a bookend to the record. I will be honest and cut to the chase. This is just not that good and definitely not up to the usual Debemur Morti caliber of release. It seems all of the members of this French band are in about half a dozen other bands as well. Which leads one to think it is hard to do all of them right and that appears to be the case here. Especially considering most of their other bands are of much better quality (such as Antaeus, Mutiilation, Arkhon Infaustus etc…). The most creative or stand out thing about this release is the album title that kind of tells the whole story right there.  – Dale

http://www.myspace.com/hell_militia   http://www.debemur-morti.com/

 

 

HELLACAUST

“Inevitable Dementia” CD

(Great White North Records)

 

This album is nearly 2 years old and unfortunately, for the band the label, which released it is now defunct. Yet the band must live on and keep fighting. Hellacaust is doing just that and sent “Inevitable Dementia” in for review to keep their name out there, while they brew some new material. Hellacaust residing often quiet metal east coast of Canada. They play a really interesting mix of black, death and thrash metal. I can hear influences from everything from early Mayhem & Immortal to Exhumed, Angelcorpse & Napalm Death to Kreator, Slayer and Megadeth. One large melting pot but they know how to smelt it all together into a solid and cohesive whole which is not an easy feat by any means. I think we have all heard a band or ten who attempted this sort thing, only to fall flat on their collective faces. Hellacaust keep it evil sounding but never afraid to rumble forward with some sick militaristic head banging sections in most songs, not to mention some smoking guitar solos brief but regular appearances. The vocals alternate between death metal bellows and black metal rasps and are well done. This is a flat out a very good album. I do not see Hellacaust being label-less for very long. – Dale

http://welcome.to/hellacaust   http://www.myspace.com/hellacaust 

 

 

HELLISH CROSSFIRE

“Bloodrust Scythe” CD

(I Hate Records)

 

Well we have some German thrash and yes, in case you were wondering, it is of the classic old style of their homeland. There are so many influences you could throw out there, but a few that come to mind, which are influences for HC are Poison (yeah you know which one I mean), Iron Angel, Kreator, Sodom, and especially Slayer and even a newer band like Desaster. You can just feel how much these guys love thrash metal through they’re playing. Bloodrust is a really excellent record, not a lame retro attempt, but all the same very clearly rooted in the days of old and they do manage to bring something substantial to the genre. You can even hear some little nuances going on at times that remind me of classic Priest or Maiden. This is pretty unrelenting stuff with a plethora of memorable riffs and headbanging parts to get your blood boiling. I dig those frantic Slayer-esque guitar leads that pop up now and then. Hellish Crossfire is not all full speed ahead all the time though. There are slower moody moments, sort of like a brooding tank slowly creeping along, barrel simmering with smoke, searching for victims of their next assault. Those brooding ominous moments definitely add a little more depth and personality to flesh out the bands sound. The vocals complement the music nicely with their classic early Slayer and Kreator tendencies. All that is left to say is, if you like to thrash, then you will love Bloodrust Scythe, it is as simple as that.  – Dale

http://www.ihate.se   http://www.myspace.com/hellishcrossfirethrash 

 

 

HELLCHILD / KILARA

“The Kutna Hora” 1998 Split CD

(Rhetoric Records)

 

More metal, sludge-core from the fine people at Rhetoric. Hellchild are cool crusty metal with bludgeoning riffs, clear/growly vocals. This band is tops in my books for doing the dirtiest Venom cover of “Witching Hour” ever - Yeah bitch!! I reviewed Kilara last issue and here we have more of the same grungy, Sabbathy metal with a hardcore flavor. These new tracks are a bit more catchy in a laid-back sorta way - Rockin’ stuff. $8US/$12 World for the vinyl version & $10 US/$12 World for the CD.

Rhetoric Records, P.O. Box 82, Madison, WI. 53701, USA

 

 

HERETIC

“Praising Satan” CD

(Soulseller Records)

 

Well it is odd to me at least that these guys have been around for 15 years and this is the first I had recall hearing of them. Praising Satan is apparently some sort of best of / compilation release that apparently is celebrating “15 Years Of Ultimate Satanic Sleaze”. I can not seem get a handle on whether this is supposed to be a joke band or something serious. Obviously the logo is a homage or simply mocking the logo of Beherit. I seen an interview online and the guy in the interview acted serious in it and said he was a devotee of Beherit, Barathrum, Mayhem, Root, Darkthrone. So I guess I will give the benefit of the doubt there is supposed to be some sort of serious intent behind the band. The whole presentation of the band, album and song titles such as Horns of Hell, Thunderbelial, Pure Goat Glorification, Black Metal Overlords had me wondering though. The music itself is decent for what is, and is simple sloppy punk rock with a metal undertone and some definite Venom worship. Which is always a good thing in my books, being a Venom maniac myself. Nothing amazing here, but I could still appreciate it. Obviously any black metal fans who pick it up that are looking for pure bm or sympho type crap and do not care for punk, will be easily and quickly disappointed. They are certainly unique that is for sure. I would say fans of raunchy punk, Venom and Piledriver type stuff will like this.  – Dale

http://www.myspace.com/hereticmaniacs  http://www.soulsellerrecords.com/  

 

 

HIMINBJORG

“Where The Ravens Fly” 1998 CD

(Red Stream Records)

 

This is an interesting find for Red Stream. With a choice production backing them, Himinbjorg present some of the best emotional and blazing metal in recent memory! Similar in sound to acts like (early) Ulver, Immortal, Dark Funeral, and a bit of Marduk. They posses a flair for creating brooding yet uplifting atmospheres of sound that will soon release itself from your grey matter. There are acoustics and keys in spots but are utilized in such a way not to force themselves ahead of the structure or beyond the materials general intent. I can fully recommend this to fans of brutal atmospheric black metal that will inspire visions of battlefields filled with pagan pride.

 

 

HIRAX

“Chaos and Brutality” MCD

(Selfmadegod Records)

 

I possess nothing but respect for Katon W. De Pena and Hirax. They continue to just rage after all of these years. I mean to stick to your roots, for literally decades, is amazing and a mean feat all of its own. What we have here is a mini-album. I am sure this is just a stop-gap to keep the die hards from dying of thirst until the next full length brew comes out. So yes “Chaos and Brutality” is short but still a fine piece of work and worth owning. With the 4 tracks here Hirax explode out of the gates right off the first note and do not let up with their face ripping thrash attack until the disc stops spinning. Hirax pack punch after punch of fast headbanging riffs rhythms backed with De Pena’s wails sounding off like a siren of successive growls. ARGH! Once it is over though you have to hit the repeat button as this is just too short to hear just once. We need a new full album now and the sooner the better. – Dale

www.selfmadegod.com   www.hirax.org 

 

 

 

HIRUDINEA / WATCHMAKER

Split 2007 CD

(Bestial Onslaught Records)

 

Hirudinea – Are one frenetic death metal band. On these 4 tracks they employ a set of dual vocals. The main set of pipes, sort of remind me to the vox on the “Clandestine” album. The other set of vocals are harder to pinpoint and are more frantic, angst filled volleys that remind me a bit of old Ministry, of all things. I do not hear a lot of bands playing this style lately. That is to Hirudinea’s benefit.

Watchmaker – The Boston, Mass clusterfuck. If you are searching for some catchy head bang riffs, actual song structuring and depth. Then look somewhere else. It is no surprise, keeping with these comments that Watchmaker used to have an Anal Cunt member. Because the 7 tracks on this split are nothing short of a chaotic wall of thrashing white noise. Their only purpose seems to be to play as fast and in as in your face as they can, from a dead run, start to finish. They destroy everything in their path. It is actually pretty good stuff but you really have to be in the right mood for it, if you know what I mean? – Dale

www.bestialonslaught.com

 

 

HORNA

“Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne” CD

(Woodcut Records)

 

My deep and lasting obsession with Horna began somewhere around the beginning of 1997. I received their first masterpiece of a record “Hiidentorni” from their then label Solistitium records out Germany. Incidentally this lead to an interview I did with them way back in issue # 2 of Canadian Assault (I have put in a request for a new interview in this issue, no word whether it is happening or not, as of yet). It was during this period, the second wave after the rise of Darkthrone, Immortal, Burzum etc… came to be and they have stood the test of time as the best black metal band from this mid-90s era. This band has never let me down, releasing album after album, seven inches, LP and split vinyls at an alarming rate and each and every release has been a quality work, a new splash of darkness across the UG scene. Over the years the horde have managed to evolve and devolve in interesting ways but never betraying their roots, never scarring their devoted followers and never having to look themselves in the mirror with anything but pride and dignity. They may make your head bang with some devilish catchy riffs but they shall never stray far from the epic melancholy longing and cold, evil sorrow that is the foundation of their profound heartless cruelty. A very select few, a diabolic elite, if you will, have the ability to create so many emotions within the black metal realm, whilst relying upon on traditional instrumentation. That includes Horna, they have the uncanny ability to channel simultaneously through their music emotions such as disgust, hate, sorrow, melancholy, introspection, elation, adrenalized odium all while sweeping you away on a journey.  A vast journey outside of this pathetic existence, an epic walk through fields of pain blanketed by black night. Horna have always had some of the sickest rasps in black metal bar none and nothing has changed in this respect with “Envaatnags…”, despite member changes, the cold heart of Horna, Mr. Shatraug lives on, in the infamous black metal conjurer. Almost a decade later and Horna continues to haunt me! – Dale

www.woodcutrecords.com 

 

 

HUMILIATION

“Face The Disaster” MCD

(Nebiula Production)

 

First I just wanted to send out a greeting to Bear Bee, the vocalist of Humiliation for sending this in personally. It is always good to get a release from Malaysia. I used to have a tape trader in Malaysia, he turned me on to a lot of great old dedicated Malaysian UG bands like Sil-Khannaz, Brain Dead, Langsuyr, and Suffercation. There is some straight forward but solid death metal to be found here. The riffing is often mid paced and heavy with the odd speedy bursts that I am sure induce some nice headbanging live. I can maybe hear some old Bolt Thrower or Malevolent Creation type stuff, the bands is keeping it old school, which is just fine by me. The vocals are deep dark shouted growls with a little bit of an obscure texture to them. Those vocals again remind me a lot to the very early 90s death metal approach. A pretty good first release from a young band and I think there is room for some improvement. I am left wondering why no demos or anything were released before the mini disc? Either way this short player leaves me wanting to hear something more. And I am in luck as Bear Bee has sent me the follow full length album as well!  – Dale

nebiulaprod@gmail.com  humiliationband@gmail.com 

 

 

HUMILIATION

“Dawn Of Warfare” CD

(Nebiula Production)

 

Humiliation pick right up where they left off the year before on their mcd. They were only in year one as a band as I understand it with that first release. Now year two sees them already storming back with their debut full length. Despite that short period between releases and their infancy as a band, one can already hear a little maturity creeping into their songwriting. They are still brutal and heavy, their riffing and general song flow are smoother and pack more punch this time around. I have seen the Bolt Thrower comparisons and it is hard to deny that. They sound a lot like them and it is in a good way. I think I can detect some early Death influence on the music as well as the vocals and maybe a touch of Benediction (one of my fave dm bands, quite underrated). I am not sure if I can add much more than I have in this review and the one above. Some killer death metal for fans of Bolt Thrower and the great 90s British death metal bands. The one question I do have is why neither the label (which has been around a long time) nor the band seems to have a website? I remember my old friend from Malaysia some years back said the Malaysian government was harassing labels that distributed any metal music that was related to gore or satanic / occult themes etc… Some of them seemed to be keeping a real low profile. I am not sure if that is the reason or not?  – Dale

nebiulaprod@gmail.com  humiliationband@gmail.com 

 

 

HUNTERS MOON

“The Serpent’s Lust” MCD

(Hells Headbangers)

 

The mini-bio nails it when they mention Bathory as an influence. I can hear a lot of “Blood Fire Death” on this short player (clocking in at barely 21 minutes). I admit I have a bit of a soft spot for Aussie bands and their filthy, dirty, wicked old school ways. Hunters Moon is a little rough around the edges, but they know how to create a strong atmosphere with their music, that provokes emotion in the listener. The music manages to be both epic and flowing while juxtaposed with a certain cruelty and barbaric thrashing (especially evident on the Angel Witch cover of the song Baphomet). I like the vocals from Lust, yet at times they seem not to always fit the music and tend to fade into the background of the mix. Not entirely certain if that was intentional or not? Upon repeated listens though, I find myself not noticing or caring as much about the vocals, which originally struck me as a problem. All in all, I enjoyed this platter and find myself curious to hear their full length debut. Assuming of course that is in the plans.  – Dale

http://www.huntersmoon.cjb.net/   http://huntersmoon.hellsheadbangers.com/

 

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IN THE WOODS

“Strange In Stereo” 1999 CD

(Misanthropy Records)

 

Should be “Lame In Stereo”. I liked this once (as in formerly) black metal bands demo “Isle Of Men” back in the day. Now they are no black metal, hell they are not even metal anymore! This sounds like the new Ulver disc minus the industrial parts. Maybe the two bands are incestuous lovers!? Would explain a few things.

 

 

INFESTUS

“Ex | Ist” CD

(Debemur Morti)

 

The first thing that springs to mind is for a one man band, just how full and fleshed out the sound is. As well as how competent that one man must be at all of his instruments. It definitely takes some vision for one person to map all of this out and execute it. I guess technology these days helps you do this sort of thing more easily than in the past. Infestus play slick black metal in the newer way, generally speaking that is not something that interests me overly much. When they are so overproduced like most modern black metal and melodic death style bands, it just seems to lose much of its originality and feeling and starts to feel more like a product mass produced rather than being built on emotion and feeling (see a Famine for an example for the opposite of Infestus). As I said I can really appreciate that one man managed to put this all together, but that alone does not necessarily make this a great album. It is just an okay album for me and that is all.  – Dale

http://www.infestus.com/  http://www.debemur-morti.com/ 

 

 

INGROWING

“Cyberspace” 1998 CD

(Shindy Productions/Tentamen Records)

 

Grindcore with death influences from the Czech Republic. This is a cool album of straight on, head down grind with maniacal vocals. The production on here is very solid and fits to the music. 18 tracks (12 on the cassette version) of music that is not thrilling but solid and enjoyable nonetheless. See Shindy address elsewhere.

Tentamen Records, P.O. Box 61, 67801 Blansko, CZECH REPUBLIC

 

 

INQUISITION

“Into The Infernal Regions Of The Ancient Cult” CD

(Hells Headbangers)

 

Inquisition probably are a band you will totally fall in love with or you will hate with every fiber of your being. I don't think their will be that much in between. The music is in the vein of early to mid 90's european black metal and is not horrible but I have heard much better and the vocals are annoying and don't really fit the music. I personally would say pass on this band as Hells Headbangers have a lot more great bands worth checking out. This is a re-release of their 1998 debut album. Also Hells Headbangers have out the US version of their new album Ominous Doctrine…  – Patrick Schroeder

http://www.myspace.com/inquisitionusa  http://www.hellsheadbangers.com/

 

 

INQUISITOR

“The Quantum Theory of Id” CD

(Forgotten Path Records)

 

A dual debut, the first album of the band and the initial release of Forgotten Path, with both entities hailing from Lithuania. Despite this being the labels start up release, they have not gone the cheap route, you get a beautiful looking digi-pak with a sixteen page booklet inside. Inquisitor are billed as progressive black metal and they have a penchant for epic length songs, all but one clock in at over 9 minutes long. I think I would call them more of a straight symphonic metal band, as honestly there is not much in the way of black metal elements and the music is not that dark. I would say only the vocals which are dark whispers with a hint of the bm croak underneath would be your only link to that style of music. Inquisitor employ a lot of piano and keyboards, but I will at least say this much for them, they do not fall into the trap of so many bands of letting the synth dominate the mix and drown out the other instruments. The song structures as you might guess from the self professed progressive moniker, are quite avant-garde and free flowing. It is no secret I am not the biggest fan of keyboards, but I will give Inquisitor credit for employing them in a tasteful way that furthers the song development. They do not come across as forced, in the old we need to be atmospheric so we will insert and force them in in unnatural ways even if they do not fit the song structure or mood. I suppose the only thing I can fault the band for is with the length of the songs. It almost seems like in order to keep it all free flowing at times, they let some of the songs meander on a little longer than necessary. Not normally my cup of tea very often, but The Quantum Theory of Id managed to win me over to an extent, it can be an enchanting and addictive listen. I think fans of things like Arcturus and the like might find this of interest. The bio states “The CD is released under ‘Creative Commons’ license – you are free to copy and share the music without any commercial purposes”. So apparently, if I understand correctly, if you find this review of the band interesting, as long as you use for personal use, you have permission to go find it and download or copy it.  – Dale

http://www.myspace.com/inquisitorlt  http://www.forgotten-path.lt/   

 

 

INSIDIOUS OMEN

“Anointed With The Blood Of Chaos” MCD

(Ahdistuksen Aihio Productions)

 

Insidious Omen are from Canada and more specifically from the area I grew up and spent the first 25 years of my life. So immediately the band peek my interest. As near as I can tell this release was released as a 7 inch vinyl a couple years ago and there has been nothing added on here as bonus. The recording definitely reminds to me to some of the old low-fi recordings from the late 80s and early 90s before everyone could record on their computer and use that pro tools shit. Those that love a crisp, full sound on their releases will immediately want to avoid. Think of Blasphemy on their Fallen Angel of Doom record, where it sounds like they are in a cave and someone is holding a microphone in the air outside the cave. I like it and some of my fave old releases sounded much like this. I mean who does not love early Beherit and the like?! There are only 3 songs on here but they are long songs ranging from the 8 to 10 minute mark. I think I have also thrown out some comparables to give you an idea of their sound. Like I mentioned early Beherit, Blasphemy, Conqueror possibly mixed with a little more ambient sounds and interludes ala Acheron on Rites of The Black Mass, though without the incantations and evocations. They also employ some more somber, reflective sections in between the bombardment. I enjoyed this and I am sure ardent fans of the warring metal style will also, but at the same time this is far from essential stuff.  – Dale

http://insidiousomen.blogspot.com/  http://www.ahdistuksenaihio.com/