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Beastcraft - Dawn of
the Serpent (Grom Records) Review by Crin |
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Hot on the fiery heels of the debut album, Into the Burning
Pit of Hell, comes this overview of the bands impressive
demos. (The disc contains Beastcraft's 3 demos tied together +
2 bonus tracks) Here we find a ‘True Norwegian’ Black Metal band
adhering to the minimalism of Darkthrones ‘Transylvanian
Hunger’, whilst wallowing within a gloriously odious musical
mire of their own making.
The proceedings begin with the impressive, Crowning the
Tyrant’ demo [2005], that just oozes that archaic Nordic Black
Metal atmosphere. ‘Pentagram Sacrifice [2004], is just pure
brilliance set to audio sound, a truly awe-inspiring demo that
epitomised the early Norwegian scene in all its drowsy |
awakenings. The likes of Gehenna are evoked during the slower tracks, whereas the
bands most decisive track ‘Burnt at the Altar, [also on the
debut album, and aired in a wonderfully bizarre video on the
bands web site] is just magnificent.
With the Satanic Supremacy demo [2004], again, issuing a
barrage of tumultuous simplistic orthodox Black Metal in the
vein of the aforementioned Darkthrone when Darkthrone were the
very reflection of Satanic imbued evil.
The bonus tracks seem to evoke the blackened thrash of Bathory,
with a slight retro feel to the grizzled arrangements. All in
all, this retrospective is an enjoyable release that resides
in the very deepest clefts of the Norwegian Black Metal
underground. Utterly essential.
www.gromrecords.com/beastcraft.html
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Bokor - Anomia 1 (Scarlet Records) Review by Steve Green |
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I think this album is great, but I have a feeling Scarlet are
marketing this at completely the wrong audience. "For fans of
Anathema, Porcupine Tree and Opeth" (amongst others) is in my
opinion, way off target. Anomia 1 is downtuned, melodic and
dangerous enough to loved by fans of early Pearl Jam and those
who enjoyed Grunge before it went mainstream. I think the band
sum it up best on their website when they declare that they
like music with guts. And Bokor most definitely fit into that
category. This is music with feeling, music with a spark and
with a tension that comes close to exploding at a moments
notice... listening to Convert Into is like being on the brink
of an orgasm for the entire length of any particular |
fuck
session, and when that time arrives, the explosion causes a headrush of
massive proportions that saps all of the energy from your
body.
Anomia 1 is a rough edged mishmash of riffs, meandering
melodies that Neil Young would be proud of, it's Pearl Jam
meets Nirvana meets Soundgarden, and in it's own right, it's
quite unique. There's enough feedback to make you jump out of your
skin when listening to it on headphones, the music never stops
still and jumps around all over the place and at times is more
schizophrenic than village full of ex-girlfriends with raging
PMT. At other times, it's melodic, it's serene, it's
atmospheric, it's beautiful, it's utterly engrossing and above
all, it's powerful.
Trying to pigeonhole Bokor is no easy task, so I think
reviewers will have vastly differing opinions on trying to
nail down this talented Swedish band. I suggest the best
solution is to cut out the middleman and to hear Anomia 1 for
yourself. www.bokor.se |
www.scarletrecords.it
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Crown The
Lost - Reverence Dies Within (Self Released)
By: Joe Florez |
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CTL is a four piece unit formed out of the ashes of another
group from the Pittsburgh area. “Devoid Of All Praise” is an
instrumental that leads the way. The only thing here is that I
would not place this first. I think somewhere in the middle or
toward the end would be more appropriate, but who am I to say?
Well, what you are treated to is something that has a ton of
melodies that comes off across as vintage Metallica ala
“Master Of Puppets” meets Maiden with some minor blastbeats.
The composition is very tricky at times thanks to the
drumming. It has a vintage sound circa mid 80’s era metal that
blends old school metal with speed. Remember that term before
thrash just completely over? Pretty solid material thus |
| far.
With “Prelude To Fall”, this is our first official track with
singing from Chris Renaldi. Right away, you can tell he revels
in the past. He possesses lungs that can go deep. They’re
dramatic, clean and somewhat haunting. He reminds me a bit
like Michael Grant from ex-Onward/Crescent Shield. Chris does
his job well and as far as the music goes, it’s tight, but
technical as hell as the guitars do a lot of change ups that
you have to actually keep up with because you will get lost
that quickly. The good thing about it is that it’s not
all about flash and pizzazz. The boys go with what they feel
should be inserted at that given moment. The drumbeats
continue to be sharp, focused and lightning quick. The
feminine vocals that join in during the chorus of the song
threw me off, but don’t offend me because they are faint and
aren’t the focus of he song. It’s just an accent. “Your Faith
Is Not Mine” starts out pretty simple and in fact I thought it
would stay that way, but it doesn’t take long before the gang
tries to lose you with their intricate prowess on all fronts.
The one thing that I didn’t see or rather hear coming is Chris
dropping his lungs a few octaves for a death metal like growl
that comes and goes periodically. It’s pretty sinister and
cool especially when it’s unexpected. What the fans get in the
long run is a disc that is chock full of energy and
excitement. This is a more than concrete offering that is
filled with a little bit of technical chops, speed,
traditional metal and then some all wrapped up in a nice
package. There is definitely something here for everyone to
sink their teeth into. At first, I thought this would sound
completely dated, but the guys manage to inject some modern
aural assaults into the mix. The only thing I would do here is
get a better producer for a slicker finish. For example: The
drums on here are slightly buried, but can be heard. I know this is
self financed and it serves its purpose, but a top notch
production would put this band and disc over the top. I hope
something major happens to these lads in ‘07 because last year
was mediocre at best and that’s coming from a lot of the top
hitters in the genre. Fresh blood is desperately needed and
these are the guys to do it.
www.crownthelost.com
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www.myspace.com/crownthelostmetal
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Dawnbringer - In
Sickness And In Dreams (Battle Kommand Records)
By: Dave Schalek |
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Frankly, I’m not quite sure what to make of the first release
from suburban Chicago’s Dawnbringer in about 9 years, “In
Sickness And In Dreams”, not the least of which is that this
is from USBM label extraordinaire Battle Kommand Records.
Creative mainman Chris Black has served time in noted BM
giant Nachtmystium, as well as other Chicago area acts, so the
great mystery of Battle Kommand as the label of choice has
dissipated, but this is definitely not suicidal BM as the
burgeoning label has been primarily known for.
I’m not familiar with Dawnbringer’s prior output, but “In
Sickness And In Dreams” is a real hodgepodge of different
styles that doesn’t quite manage to gel into a coherent whole.
At |
times
reminiscent of Motorhead with pacing, vocal delivery,
and a rough production, but at other times there are noted
diversions into NWOBHM (two rather bizarre songs right in the
middle of the album) and “Don’t Break The Oath” era Mercyful
Fate with some riffs seemingly right off of that
aforementioned classic. Chris Black even manages to pull off a
fairly decent King Diamond impersonation at one point. To
further confuse us, there are moments of chaotic BM style
riffing along with background vocals making an appearance to
muddy the waters even further.
All of this would either make for a fascinating release, or an
exercise in frustration. Unfortunately, I would have to say
the latter, but for reasons other than the chaotic mix of
styles. The album is essentially unfinished. Consisting of 14
songs in under 25 minutes, most of the songs seem to be little
more than some interesting ideas flung around for a minute or
so before moving on, sort of like a 9th grader with ADHD or
some such. A case in point is the last track, which literally
cuts off in mid-solo, ending the album (no surprise, I
suppose, that the track is called “No Answer”).
In short, Dawnbringer doesn’t quite hit the mark due to, I’m
assuming, a lack of patience in releasing material that has
not quite come to songwriting fruition. A proper, thoughtful
release would seem to be in order.
www.battlekommand.com |
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Era Vulgaris - What
Stirs Within (Open Your Ears) Review by Chris
Davison |
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Imagine two genres that just shouldn't work together. The
hoary old favourite of the armchair scientist of course, is
Doom/Death, a splicing of the ways that bang to rights you
wouldn't think would work together well. Now imagine this; Prog/Thrash. Surely an oxymoronic term, how could you really
conceive of the marriage of breakneck guitars, aggressive
attitude and hi-top sneakers with beards, cardigans and
serious men making 84 minute concept albums about the flight
of the lesser-spotted weeble-bird? Well, Era Vulgaris, (which
to be honest sounds like a complaint I had once that cleared
up with natural yogurt) reckon they've found the answer with
this eight track stunner. Yes, I use the |
term
"stunner" freely here, in every sense of the word, because
albums as refreshing as this just don't come along every day.
EV are yet another of these rapidly emergent Irish bands to be
hitting the scene. I don't know where in the blazes these
blarney kissing bangers are coming from these days, but to be
honest, it appears that there's a great scene to be had in the
land of Guinness and rain. In terms of the all important thrash
quotient, (because let's be honest, pure prog is as much an
exercise in futility as it is in tediousness), there are more
than the requisite skills to be had here. Riffs come thick and
fast, alternating nicely between the crushing and the ball-bustingly
heavy, and there are the melodies that weave in and out more
than a drink driver after an all day session. The drumming and
bass work are nicely reminiscent of the more classic spectrum
of the thrash market, while the real revelation is the voice
of larynx shredding vocal schizophrenic Chris Rob. One minute
he's roaaaaaaarrrring along like the bastard son of Anselmo and
a Dodge Charger stuck in first gear at 70, the next he's
crooning one off with as much aplomb as the next clean
vocaller. Indeed, on track 6, "Fate Draws A Curtain" (one of
the few things I could also draw with my boyhood
etch-a-sketch, childhood trivia fans), his voice sounds like
classic Halford in the moodier aspects of the Priests early
career. In terms of the Prog side of things? Well, you'll get
plenty of songs that weave and wend around the usual song
structures, spiralling instrumental sections and a couple of
"what the fuck?" musical moments that eventually make sense
(such as the mid section to opener "Brittle"). Thankfully,
there is little in the way of the usual ponderous nonsense
that you might have to endure with the Genesis-fellating
brigade, and none of that Pink Floyd pseudo-intellectual
rubbish in the lyrics that can often be little more than
pretentious skidmarks on the pristine underpants of music. The
song writing is of the massively catchy and competent standard
that is now becoming the norm from the rivet-headed ones from
the Emerald Isle, and the production, while sometimes thinner
than Posh Spice on hunger strike, is for the most part pretty
powerful and complimentary to the whole effort.
A great album then, especially for a debut - and a great deal
better than many an album from more established bands. If you
can find it, get it.
www.eravulgaris.com |
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Evil Scarecrow - The
Hell Dog EP (Self Release) Review by Steve Green |
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The need for another parody Metal band? Discuss!!!! I hated
Spinal Tap, I loved Bad News, S.O.D. and I hate Nu-Metal, and
Emo. My flirtations with and enjoying parody Metal are a bit
thin on the ground. My only problem with Nottingham's Evil
Scarecow is that I simply don't see where the joke is. Their
near neighbours (from a previous era) Lawnmower Deth were
funny as fuck and their names were of the highest quality:
Qualcast Mutilator on vocals, Schizo Rotary Sprintmaster on
guitar etc... Evil Scarecrow offer up Dr Hell on vocals,
Frenzy G. Spinesnap on drums etc.. sorry, this is a 3rd rate
concept at best. |
Musically, I don't find anything funny either. Just a band
trying to ape Cradle of Filth (especially the vocals), Iron
Maiden (for the lead guitars) and to a degree, King Diamond
(more in the conceptual department).
My advice to the Metal version of Worzel Gummidge is to drop
all the attempts at humour and the silly image and concentrate
on becoming a "proper Metal band". Evil Scarecrow are bloody
good musicians, the sound on this EP is top notch, the song
writing, as far as far as the music and the atmospherics are
concerned is also very good. I just don't like the choruses,
nor do I care for the lyrics, which for this 40 year old, are
complete kiddie fodder. For those young enough to be my kids,
visit www.evilscarecrow.co.uk |
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Grave - Enraptured
DVD (Metal Mind) Review by
Chris Davison |
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Poor old Grave, eh? Often seen as the runt of the "big four"
of the Swedish death metal boom of the early nineties behind
the more successful acts Entombed, Dismember and Unleashed,
they've always seemed to be in the shadow of their more
illustrious peers. All of which is a bit of a shame, as,
despite having maybe an in-essential album or two in their
history, they've often come up with the goods in terms of
sheer knuckle-headed enjoyability. Not everyone can be at the
cutting edge of their particular game, and so it is with
Grave. That doesn't preclude, of course, that they can be a
bloody enjoyable listen - as they have had many a spin on my
very own stereo. I haven't ever seen them live however, and so
this 16 track DVD has finally allowed me to assess them, in
some small way, on their live power.
Firstly, in terms of sheer musical output, as I say, I'm not
the hugest fan of the band, though |
I am a
fan of the old school sound of Swedish Death Metal, so factor
in for the rest of the review your own views of their music.
If you like their music, well, that isn't going to change on
the basis of the DVD, and likewise, if you're not wowed over
by bulldozing buzzsaw riffs, the kind of hoarse bellows that can only be
produced by Brian Blessed with a stern kick to the knackers
and tub thumping on a ballistic scale, then you need to look
elsewhere.
In terms of the DVD though, this is fucking standard-setting
stuff. Not only is the sound the clearest and most distinct of
any of the many music DVDs that I own, it's also brilliant in
terms of visual clarity. As anyone who has seen either of the
Vader DVDs can attest, the Polish gents at Metal Mind really
know how to make the best of a crowd, crystal clear camera
work and brilliant lighting. Those attributes have been raised
to an almost embarrassing level on this release; I am not being
hyperbolic when I say that every aspiring music director
should watch this footage and see just how well music DVDs can
be done. There are none of those irritating as holy Joe fuck
ADHD camera changes, and the direction is absolutely spot on -
every camera shot seems to be shot at just the right angle, in
just the right lighting, and for just the right amount of song
to actually fit to the music. It's fair to say that I'm no
visual arts buff, but I'm willing to lay a wager that those of
you with a more technical eye than me will also be extremely
impressed with the package. Covering everything from hoary old
classics like "Soulless" to tracks from their newest
endeavour, and with a wry stage banter that drips with
enthusiasm, it's clear that band and label alike have wanted
to reward the loyal fans. In terms of a love-letter from the
performer to the audience, I doubt I'll see anything so
accomplished all year.
www.metalmind.com.pl |
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Hawg Jaw - Don’t
Trust Nobody (Emetic Records)
By: Dave Schalek |
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All right, one look at the band name is all that’s necessary
to guess the genre and the hometown. Yep, “Southern sludge”
and “New Orleans” are the correct answers. If you flunked this
self-administered exam, I suggest that you go back and review
your notes. At this point, the next question becomes: similar
to Eyehategod or Down? Yep, Eyehategod’s the answer here, as
Hawg Jaw is a, more or less, sped up version of Eyehategod
with all of the signature elements of said band present.
Tortured, screamed/growled vocals, twisted, heavy riffs,
dissonant drums and bizarre time changes, and a bass heavy
delivery are necessary elements as exemplified by Eyehategod |
and Hawg
Jaw hits them all with gusto and aplomb. The comparisons
continue with a band history linked (no surprise) to
Eyehategod. OK, so to make a long story short, if you like
Eyehategod, you’ll probably like Hawg Jaw. However, there are
some, albeit minor, differences worth mentioning. First, Hawg
Jaw favors a speedier, more up-tempo delivery than the heroin
drenched riffing of Eyehategod. The songs tend to be much
shorter with a more focused, angry delivery with much less
tendency to wander aimlessly as Eyehategod is prone to do. In
addition, a hardcore punk influence (guitarist Gary has served
time in both Eyehategod and Outlaw Order) is noticeably
present, resulting in catchy songs.
Given that “Don’t Trust Nobody” is the band’s third
full-length (I’m not familiar with their prior releases), you
would hope by this time that Hawg Jaw would be able to
noticeably differentiate themselves somewhat from their
obvious influences. That’s not really the case, however, and,
although I enjoyed this release, I can’t say that I can
recommend this for anyone not already heavily into Eyehategod.
That, of course, is probably the intention, anyway.
www.emeticrecords.com |
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