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Since The Flood - No Compromise
(Metal Blade) Review by Steve Green |
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I'm approaching this
album as a virtual Hardcore virgin and I'm only going to tell
you how this sounds to me, not who Since The Flood are
labelled as sounding like. Since (thankfully) taking back
control of my own website in the Autumn, I'm getting exposed
to many different styles that I'd either dismissed as not
liking, or styles that I'd never had the chance to hear
properly, but had dismissed as crap anyway. My love/hate for
Hardcore, kinda falls in between those two camps. 15+ years
ago I had a lot of time for Biohazard, circa Urban Discipline
and crossover bands such as DRI, Gang Green and Adrenalin OD
and then |
consequently, UK bands such as Medulla Nocte and Knuckledust.
Then, for want of a better term, the snottiness and elitist
attitude of the baggy pant wearing brigade completely turned
me against Hardcore in every possible form. Now, a good decade
on since I last listened to anything remotely circle pit inducing,
I'm really getting into the all out aggression on No
Compromise.
Forget that this is labelled as Hardcore, this is going to
appeal to fans of aggressive music in general, from Slayer to
Death Metal and everything in-between. My favourite track
Everything To Lose has all the quality trademarks that a
Thrash fan would die for. The bass lines are punchy, the drums
fearsome and the riffs molten, and they'd also be quite at
home on a punk album. Chuck Bouley's vitriolic tortured
screams are the exception to the rule, as they wouldn't fit
comfortably in any other genre. But whatever you want to label
this, it really is fucking good. As far as I'm concerned, it's
time once and for all, to completely remove my musical
blinkers and to embrace and explore all styles of extreme
music. If you decide to do the same, this ain't a bad place to
start.
www.metalblade.de |
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Striborg - Nefaria/Tragic Journey Towards The
Light (Southern Lord) By: Dave Schalek |
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Ugh! Hot on the
heels of the release of “Embittered Darkness/ Isle De Morts”
is the latest full-length from Striborg on Southern Lord, “Nefaria”,
packaged with the re-release of a demo, “Tragic Journey
Towards The Light”, from 1995 as a “bonus” for those of you
who consider yourselves lucky (the demo is, frankly, crap, and
really isn’t worth mentioning). Striborg, a long-running solo
project from one Sin Nanna from Tasmania, basically consists
of a horribly low-fi rendition of Bathory with a generous dose
of Black Funeral.
Striborg has been kicking around the underground for over a
decade, but has recently been given a great deal of attention
from Southern Lord chiefs Stephen O’Malley and Greg |
Anderson, who also paid homage to Sin Nanna with a track of
the same name on “Black One”. Frankly, I’m not quite sure what
the big deal is, because what I’m mostly hearing is a very
poorly, sloppily played knock-off of the last two gems from
Black Funeral with a more droning emphasis.
Black Funeral is difficult to get through in one sitting, but
at least you’re definitely listening to musicians who can play
their instruments, as well as conjure a forbidding atmosphere
combined with bizarre visuals. “Nefaria” sounds very similar
to Black Funeral in fuzzed-out guitar tone, the lack of
production, etc., but with much less emphasis on bizarre
industrial noise, and more focus upon nature oriented
atmosphere and primeval forests. Striborg would really be able
to succeed in this niche if Sin Nanna could play his
instruments. The guitars are just kind of there, with droning
riffs that do, in fact, sound a bit fuller than on previous
releases, but the drums are horribly played with obvious
lapses, seemingly unintentional, in beat, and poorly played
rolls and fills. This is distracting and gives the music a
very amateurish sound, rather than displaying atmosphere
through simple patterns. What Striborg does succeed at, only
fleetingly, is a sense of droning atmosphere that will begin
to seep into your consciousness with repeated listens. That is
probably the whole point of Striborg as an exercise, but it’s
just not pulled off very well.
www.southernlord.com |
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Symphorce - Become Death (Metal
Blade) Review by Steve Green |
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I'm not doubting the
quality of Symphorce on this their sixth album, they are
obviously skilled musicians. My only concern, which is a
biggie, is the lack of direction. I absolutely love the
pulverising, yet melodic opener Darkness Fills The Sky and the
melodious warmth of Condemned is impossible not to enjoy,
especially Andy B. Franck's welcoming tonsils. But when a band
is Death Metal one minute (Darkness Fills The Sky), followed
next with modern tinged Metal (Condemned), Goth the next (In
The Hopes Of A Dream), groove laden, Pantera meets Megadeth
(Death has Come) on the next, back to Goth again, (Inside The
Cast) the lack of continuity becomes a problem. How can a band
on album number six |
change
styles so many bloody times? By track 6, No Final Words To
Say, I'm in agreement with the band and I'm also struggling
for those final words to sum up this album.
Having not heard the bands previous output I've no idea if
this is how their albums normally pan out. But for me, Become
Death was difficult to get to grips with simply because of the
constantly changing direction. And despite a promising
opening, I soon realised that this one was not for me.
www.symphorce.net |
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Trivium - The Crusade (Roadrunner)
Review by Jesse Ketman |
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Trivium have been
basking in press-fueled lime-light for a few years now, with
many proclaiming singer/axe-wielder Matthew Haefy as a guitar
hero in the making, and a band to watch out for. Despite these
proclamations of grandeur, I never really saw what the big
deal was. I listened to Ascendancy a few times, but quickly
grew disillusioned with the general ambience of the thing, as
it had too much MTV2, metalcore styling, replete with
high-ended melodics which painfully brought to mind pansy rock
like Fallout Boy, and gruff shouting (a must these days,
apparently). I think you’ll agree that this isn’t an easily
shakeable description, particularly one which could be amended
with a single album. Doing |
| what no
band has ever, and I stress, EVER done before, Trivium’s
burning metal epic The Crusade brought me from a state of
agitated wonder as to how the hell they got so big, to
a ravenous purchase of tickets in the span of an hour. The
biggest change, and undoubtedly the defining one, is a
refinement in overall style that all but deletes the pop and
core elements of the earlier material, and pumping 10,000 cc’s
of rippin’ thrash. If Ascendancy channeled Unearth and As I
Lay Dying, then it could best be said that The Crusade
channels more Megadeth and Metallica than anything else. The
breakout track of the album, Anthem, proves this beyond any
measure of doubt. It’s one of those songs that has to be
listened to at high-fucking-speed, the wind in your hair as
all thoughts of self disintegrate and you relent to the
sweetness of it all. Not only Anthem, but all of The Crusade’s
tracks are marvels in their own right, and I haven’t been as
psyched about the riffs in an album since Children of Bodom
changed my life with Follow the Reaper, and the solos elicit
almost as much head-whipping mayhem from me as Kill ‘Em All
with a belly full of Jameson. By now, any self-respecting
thrash fan should be salivating at this endorsement. I implore
everyone to forget everything you’ve ever known about Trivium,
and listen to this album without even the name Trivium in
mind, and you’ll see what I’m talking about. I never thought
I’d ever find myself saying this about a Trivium album, and
probably would have bet ferociously to back it up a month ago,
but here goes: This is a metal album for the fucking ages, and
the coming of age for a band that could very well dominate the
world. www.trivium.org |
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Vitalij Kuprij - Glacial Inferno And Revenge
(Lion Music) By: Joe Florez |
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Not since Jens
Johannson, has there been an individual who has not only
performed on countless projects with other people, but pumped
out their own material as well. Anyone in the prog scene knows
of V.K. He has been in bands with Artension, Ring Of Fire and
countless others. Look at the man’s site for all of that. He
is a very busy man being used up by the metal community, but
this neo-classical keyboard wizard has managed to dish out
“Glacial Inferno” with a bonus full length disc “Revenge”
offered up for a limited time. G.I. contains some powerful
musicians that are along for the ride. Michael Harris is a
guitar virtuoso that had an incredible release just a few
months ago on this label. Former Yngwie |
members
John Maccaluso on drums who has proven himself to be an
incredible performer and legendary bassist Randy Coven are on
board as well. With this line-up, it has to be good.
“Symphonic Force” proves to be just that. You get a highly
passionate and explosive uptempo number that has Vitalij
moving his fingers across the black and white keys at MACH 5
speed. The section proves that they can keep up with V.K.’S
pace Mike surprisingly doesn’t shed. Instead, he plays at a
consistent speed that isn’t obnoxious or over the top. “Liquid
Rain” isn’t as outrageous as the opener. It’s still quick on
it’s feet, but more room to let the songs breathe are
showcased here. You can hear Mr. Harris’ work more prominently
as opposed to the first track which was pretty much over
powered by V’S work. Make no mistake, the composition is just
as complicated as ever, but it’s a bit more relaxed and an
easier pill to digest. You can hear everyone get down to
business and enjoy it. After four tracks of high impact,
things get scaled down just a bit for the title track. This
one is a departure from the rest of the material because it’s
more hard rock oriented with crunching riffs and a more
simplistic 4/4 drum measure. Sure there are some moments of
shredding and ivory key wizardry, but it’s the atmosphere and
calm state of minds that makes this song prevail overall.
As
we come to a close, I was more than impressed by what I heard.
When you play neo-classical prog, it’s very easy to come off
sounding like Yngwie or the countless others because they all
share the same common thread. The difference here is that VK
is a pro and knows that he is in competition with numerous
others and he has to find a way to set himself apart. He does
it very successfully because he marches to the beat of his own
drum and incorporates other styles to keep things high and
mighty. I normally try to stay away from instrumentals because
they wear me down after a while, but this is too good to pass
up and any true music lover won’t pass this up either. As far
as the second disc “Revenge” goes, this one is loaded with
guest singers from Joe Lynn Turner, to Doogie White, Goran
Edman and more. Tracks like “Burning My Soul”, “Into The Void”
and the title track to name a few on here are fast and furious
and have that Yngwie feel, but it can’t be helped due to the
fact that many of the singers were associated with him at one
point in their careers. There is plenty of tempo changes on
here to keep things entertaining. Overall, you are treated to
two hours of heavenly bliss on here. A sure fire winner for
all.
www.lionmusic.com |
www.vitalijkuprij.com |
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Wuthering Heights - The Shadow Cabinet
(Sensory Records) By: Joe Florez |
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I was along for the
ride on their last release “Far From The Madding Crowd” and
thought it was killer. This was my first time introduced to
the power/folk metal band. It has been a while since they
pumped anything out and now this record has come out and it
has knocked my ass over like a steamroller. I wasn’t prepared
for anything like this. “Demon Desire” is a rapid quick power
metal jam that utilizes neo-classical keyboarding, strong folk
metal crooning from one Nils Patrik and mix that with some
majestic, bombastic and epic song writing for not only an
explosive tune, but something that is fun and exciting. Nils
voice is so damn strong and distinctive that it’s sick. The
twin guitar attacks are nuts and the |
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musicianship is so tight that there is no room for error. The
time changes are fast so be prepared to catch them and what is
cool is that when the boys insert the folk elements it’s not
just an influence. They go balls out and perform it for more
than just a few seconds. This is the real deal. “Beautifool”
is another gem that combines haunting chants along with the
technical performances from everyone to searing guitar solos
and more dramatic singing. We take off mighty quickly, but
then manage to go for a more mid-paced pattern, but don’t get
to comfortable with it because the guys swing back and forth
with the greatest of ease and make sure that you are on top of
your listening game. As long as I have been a scribe and
faithful listener of music, I've had a touch of a hard time
keeping up with WH because their minds work in overdrive and
you can miss something in the blink of an eye. What I love
about this record is that it’s never boring and always full of
surprises. There is never a dull moment as there is something
new to hear on each track and in fact you will have to
re-visit this thing time and time again because you are going
to miss some things due to each song being crafted so well and
heavily layered. Folks, if you thought Blind Guardian, Iron
Savior, Gamma Ray, Helloween, Hammerfall and Primal Fear are
good, then you haven’t heard shit yet. This blows them all
away combined. My verdict…this is the album of the year to
beat right now. Also, if you buy this first pressing now you
get a nice treat. There is a live bootleg recording from the
Progpower festival back in 2004 with almost forty five minutes
of live music from their set.
www.wuthering-heights.dk |
www.lasersedgegroup.com |
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