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Century Media Records -
The Visual Experience: The First Twelve Years DVD
(Century Media)
By: Joe Florez |
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After their three out of print VHS video comps have been out
of circulation for quite some time, CM has now decided to
press them onto two DVD’S perhaps thanks to the constant
emails and phone calls from fans…or not. “The Video
Collection”, “A Declaration Of Independence” (which I owned)
and “MTV Go To Hell” (I bet they wish they never said that
before since MTV now plays them on Headbanger’s Ball) have now
all been housed under one roof. And just to get you to
purchase this, they have even squeezed in an extra thirteen
vids from that time period as well. It’s good to see that even
after the likes of Nuclear Blast and Inside Out amongst others
that have been dumping DVD’s to the public for so long, CM has
finally caught up and is now releasing more and more as time
goes on. This is a great way to check out some new bands
obviously if you have never heard of them before or just
forgot about. Shadow’s Fall who has helped raise the label’s
profile before |
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jumping ship to Atlantic Records scores a track on here
“Thoughts Without Words.” There’s nothing special about it as
the guys are just jamming in a studio room. Everybody’s
melodic death metal sweethearts Arch Enemy score two on here.
One with Angela Gossow and the other with Johan Liiva. You
decide who is better. The recently deceased band Sentenced
manages to squeeze five tracks on here. Yes, they also have
their own DVD out in which all of these tracks are on., but
those who missed out can definitely view and listen to the
transformation from heavy to a more melancholy and comber band
in the end. Choice cuts include “No One There”, “Noose” and
“Nepenthe”. A couple of videos on here are sort of conceptual
and have a decent budget behind them. Dark Tranquillity have
two awesome numbers. The definitely manage to rock the house
with “Therein” and “Monchromatic Stains.” I think these guys
will more than likely carry the flag for the label since a few
bands have left. Who knows. Watch Tiamat who have been with
the crew since it’s inception have six visual movies. You can
surely see and hear the guys slowly transform from death metal
to gothic. It’s pretty wild to go from the harsh “The Sleeping
Beauty” to the poppy “Vote For Love.” New to the video market
is Swedish power metallers Nocturnal Rites. Even though “Eyes
Of The Dead” is a typical collaged clip featuring footage from
concerts, studio and hanging out with fans, it’s cool to see
them on here. True metal titans Onward released only two discs
and one clip for “Night” before calling it a day. This one is
a real trip because it looks like it was shot by some cable
access show. It’s the lowest of budgets and reminds me of the
“Hammerfall” vid. Very funny. You have to hand it to CM, while
MTV thinks that they are on the cutting edge by airing new
artists in the nu-metal/rap metal, metalcore these guys were
doing it long before, but never got any credit. Check out
Candiria, Stuck Mojo, Haste, God Forbid, Merauder, Subzero,
Chum and Mucky Pup. They were ahead of the curve if you ask
me. This double disc is chock full of stuff you still see
today and probably many more that you never saw or simply
forgot about. Talk about covering the spectrum. You get death
metal from Unleashed, Grave, Morgoth, Samael and more. There
is power metal, true metal, goth, metalcore, hardcore, nu-metal,
arap-metal, melodic death metal and the list just goes on and
on. It’s really cool to see some artists transform from one
style into something completely different while others just
disappeared. The best part of it all is that they throw in
something from Demolition Hammer. Right on! There are also
some really nice liner notes from one time publicist for
Century Media Loana Valencia before shifting to the Nuclear
Blast side. Hey, if you’re sick of watching the new
Headbanger’s like myself, then you can always have an
alternative and pop this in. Clocking in at four hours, this
is a must have for fans.
www.centurymedia.com |
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Dark Moor – Tarot
(SPV) Review by James Young |
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There I was thinking that Dark Moor were one of power metal’s
peripheral acts, as the only time I had ever experienced them
was on a Helloween tribute album. Then the new album Tarot
came my way, and to my surprise the blurb that accompanied it
proudly states this as their seventh album! What a find too!
These Spaniards present a highly polished symphonic brand of
European power metal, not sparing the cheese in any shape or
form. The production is courtesy of Luigi Stefanini, who has
worked with Rhapsody and Labyrinth, so you know that you can
expect the epic sound of a Hollywood fantasy flick. Expect
Nightwish’s sound environments - you know, the kind that need
four wind machines |
per band member onstage, with what seems at times like a full
orchestra and choir - all very epic indeed. Mercifully, the
band hasn’t chosen to go down the magic and dragons route, but
rather cleverly themed the album around tarot cards and their
symbolism, with each track representative of a different card,
and hence each track deserves to be treated in its own right.
Alright, I spoke too soon - the instrumental opening, ‘The
Magician’, is as predictable as it is mind-numbing. However,
‘The Star’ which follows is a perfect way to start things off.
With a nice sing-along chorus, female accompaniment, and
awesome symphonic arrangement, Alfred Romero’s operatic range
is fully shown off – cracking stuff. The first real guitar
solos make their entrance in the wonderfully Eurovision-y ‘The
Star’; Enrik Garcia’s twiddly sensibility is fairly
predictable, but fits in wonderfully. Romero shines once again
- some of the high notes raised goosebumps even in this
hot-blooded heterosexual reviewer – be warned! ‘Wheel Of
Fortune’ brings the theme in wheel-y well, with some pleasant
plinky-plonky keyboards over the top of it all, with a
carnival-esque guitar solo. ‘The Emperor’ utilises a
Latin-chanting choir and deep-voiced samples to full power
metal effect, but even more sinister is the eight-minute
breathtaking ‘Devil In The Tower’. With some disturbing,
almost nursery rhyme singing, and a memorable chorus, the true
highlight of this number comes in the form of the unsettling
acapella section, where Garcia’s layered vocal sections mount
up for maximum creepy effect. Possibly the fastest song on the
album, ‘Death’ incorporates some fantastic double-bass
drumming from Roberto Cappa, contrasting with ‘Lovers’, the
pleasant slow number which follows. A bit of a love song here,
the female backing singer again makes a welcome appearance,
and all is very sloppy and nice, especially with the acoustic
section. How romantic! The pumping symphonies of ‘The Hanged
Man’ reminded me of the melodies of Children of Bodom, but
nothing could prepare me for the eleven minute masterpiece of
‘The Moon’, based around none other than Beethoven’s Fifth
Symphony! I sat through this number drooling over my keyboard;
its perfect dynamics, mix of fast and slow elements, gorgeous
symphonies, and contemplative Opeth-like mid-section simply
blew me away. Bonus track ‘The Fool’ could never outdo the
previous track, but nevertheless, it’s a solid finish to a
cracking album.
I’m not quite sure how this album could be improved; perhaps
the gal on the album cover might have been wearing less, but
let’s not nitpick. Play your cards right and buy this album,
or risk being ‘the fool’ – the choice is yours.
www.dark-moor.com | www.spv.de |
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Demiurg – Breath of the
Demiurg (Mascot Records) review by Sam Thomas |
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Demiurg is a new one man project by Rogga Johansson (Paganizer,
Ribspreader). Well, sort of. He’s got a couple of mates along
to help out – Dan Swanö (fingers in too many pies to list!) on
keyboards and drums and Johan Berglund (This Haven) on bass.
Presumably by this point you’ve got a good idea of what to
expect: good old Swedish death metal. And there’s nothing
wrong with that at all. Dan Swanö produced the album, so
obviously the production is superb and the capability of the
band is beyond question.
The distorted vocals are very reminiscent of another Swede,
Mikael Åkerfeldt. Maybe not such a surprise, as he has also
worked with Dan Swanö in the past. The unfortunate side to |
that is, however, that I keep expecting to hear the switch to
clean vocals that Mikael Åkerfeldt does so well, and it never
materialises. Now, according to the press release, I should be
able to detect influences from Entombed, Bolt Thrower,
Satyricon and Sepultura. I’m definitely no Satyricon expert,
but that one has definitely got me confused! Anyway, let’s get
back to reality. “Breath of the Demiurg” does have a very nice
groove to it that does set it apart slightly from your more
bog-standard Swedish death metal bands, and makes it far more
listenable.
I was a little surprised at the length of both tracks and
album (10 tracks 40 minutes) but then again, I do like my
death metal in large unwieldy chunks. The lyrics are spot on
however: death, pestilence and carnage being recurring themes.
I don’t think that my old English teacher would have approved
though – there were no less than three words prefixed “un” in
one line! The artwork is also perfect for the album: lots of
gloomy, sepia toned scratchy looking pictures of nothing very
much.
I must admit I was struggling to come up with words to
describe this album, but, eventually, after one last desperate
listening session, it came to me. The thing that really sets
Demiurg apart from the massed hordes of identikit Swedish
death metal wannabes is the underlying subtle little current
of groovy keyboard work. The more you hear the album, the more
you realise how pervasive it is. It’s beautifully judged,
managing as it does never to be too dominant, never detracting
from the overall death metal bludgeoning, yet always lurking
somewhere in the background. Basically, this is an album which
will grow on you, and probably sneak up on you when you aren’t
really expecting it. Definitely worth a few listens!
www.mascotrecords.com |
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FeedForward - Barefoot &
Naked (Self Release) Review by Steve Green |
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Barefoot & Naked is the debut album by Dutch melodic progsters
FeedForward and I'm at a loss for words to why this is a self
release. Are record labels afraid of signing talented bands?
FeedForward write simple, accessible songs that have huge
crossover appeal. Progheads are going to be delirious and I
see the Goths being enchanted by Biejanka's mesmerizing voice,
despite the obvious lack of darkness to her uplifting tones.
The accessibility to their music means that this ones a winner
on first listen. Fade Away is easy to absorb and the melody is
simple enough to work its way into your psyche immediately.
Run The Race follows a similar path, but the melody line
(mainly from Job's |
piano) is also familiar to me, yet from where, I have no
bloody idea and it's been bugging me for days. Wherever I know
the tune from, it's sounds great here, so I'll leave it there
before I go mad.
Crossing The Line again feels so familiar because of the
piano/keyboard intro, it's like a musical version of a warm
safe place. Things go off the boil slightly with Innocence,
but the upbeat 70s prog of 143 relights the touchpaper
completely. And drummer Pi's backing vocals add yet another
dimension to FeedForward's glorious sound. His calmer tones
are a perfect foil for Biejanka's more passionate performance.
Our Sky (For One Time) is just piano and vocals, and the
starkness and emptiness of the song is a real shivers down the
spine moment, before the metallic swagger of Before I Leave
kicks in. Silent, is anything but and keeps the metallic edge
to the fore with Mario's guitars taking centre stage before
the song disperses into a sultry Eastern ambience.
Instrumental, Moving glides effortlessly for a couple of
minutes with the rhythm section of Pi (drums) and Jan (bass)
playing an understated punk tattoo, before the guitars kick in
at around the two minute mark and it then flits between jazzy,
technical and metallic. I'm not sure why an old recording of
Stop To Think, from back in 2004, was chosen to close the
album. With the prominence of the bass for the first time and
the slightly raw production, compared to the crystal clear
production of the previous 9 songs, means it stands out for
these reasons rather than for the quality of the song. Maybe a
lesson to learn for future recordings, but it's only a small
mistake and one that doesn't detract from what is a very good
album.
The A & R's at the likes of Inside Out and Lion Music should
be clambering to sign FeedForward asap. If they don't, then
they are all completely mad. Buy this at
www.feedforwardband.com |
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Keen of The Crow -
Hypoborea (Grau Records) Review by Chris Davison |
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So, you were in one of Americas premiere doom bands, then your
band splits amicably, and you find yourself at a musical loose
end. What would you do if you were an ex member of Morgion?
Well, apparently, what you'd do is form Keen of the Crow, a
particularly impressive band that really defies easy archiving
in the metal genre file cabinet. If you're expecting this to
be an easy follow on from the stylings of the previous band,
you're going to have your expectations defied.
This is, for want of a better phrase, "Barbarian metal". Now,
I don't particularly want to cause yet another splinter
sub-sub-sub genre, but the music on this shiny platter just
won't |
be pigeonholed by the existing musical vocabulary of the
current categories. This is a release as wild and untamed as
the mythical namesake, and yet it also displays the will to
triumph and cold steel of the legendary warrior that haunts
it. If Conan did indeed form a metal band, I'm pretty sure
that it would sound very much like this. Imagine, if you will,
the wrath of High On Fire, Thee Plague of Gentlemen,
Primordial and The Lord Weird Slough Feg all clad in loin
cloths and wielding impressive weaponry. This is roughly hewn
metal, a huge wall of guitars trampling rough shod over the
furious drumming and war-hymn like drone of the bass. The
vocals are mostly an inhuman battle cry, hoarse and furious,
with the odd glimpse of clean vocals echoing over the aural
battlefield. The spirit of pure heavy metal in the guitar
melodies is distilled through the filter of extreme metal in
terms of the sheer brutality of the sound. Yet, as with the
untamed lands, there are moments of calm and atmosphere as
with the spirit of "The Eye of the Serpent", a mostly
instrumental keyboard piece. As you would expect, there are
strains of the (seminal) Conan the Barbarian official sound
track to be heard through the mix, although they are kept
subtle and only ever feel like an occasional reference through
the music.
The production is particularly organic and analogue sounding,
allowing impressive galloping sections like "To Reach
Emptiness" to sound like the ride of a cavalry charge set to
metal. If only more folk-metal bands could evoke such an
authentic sound without invoking the hey-nonny-nonny nonsense
of "medieval" melodies and accordions. Fantasy metal doesn't
have to be the squeakings of Power metal, which, let's face
it, past the swords and sorcery image really does little to
remind the mind of the fear and wonder of the works of such
writers as Robert E. Howard. Keen of the Crow have done the
impossible; created a soundtrack to Conan which surpasses the
original in scope and power.
www.grau.cd |
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Longing For Dawn - A
Treacherous Ascension (Grau Records) Review by
Chris Davison |
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Beyond grief, beyond misery and despair lie Longing For Dawn.
Yep, it's time for gut wrenching, heart breaking uber-doom
again folks, in the very best traditions of bleak, windswept
funereal music. Four tracks on this release, and not one
happy-go-lucky among them. Now many of my friends and
relatives don't like heavy metal. There are a few, though,
that are metal heads, and yet none of them can appreciate my
appreciation for this genre - which personally I find the
heaviest among the entire metal pantheon. Death metal has the
appeal of violence and visceral heaviness, where as Black
Metal has that "naughty" appeal and the philosophy of the
triumph of the individual against the herd. Funeral Doom |
stands for the death of the ego, the defeat and utter
decimation of the human spirit - the surrender of self to the
hopelessness of existence. I think that this takes a certain
kind of dementia to appreciate fully.
All of which brings me to the four epic journeys into the
darkest regions of the soul. Bleak, bleak crawls through halls
of submission await your listening pleasure. This is the audio
equivalent of the aching, shivering, shit drenched convulsions
of a raving junkie being made to go cold turkey. This is
lowest possible ebb music, and accordingly the tempo is slower
than many people are going to be able to tolerate, the vocals
drip with anguish and pain, the guitars are wrought for every
last drop of emotion. The drums are a failing, weakened
heartbeat while the bass works as the wheezing lungs as the
rest of the vital organs collapse. Tasteful keyboards add a
wretched ambience to the proceedings. You're not going to be
drinking beer and moshing about to this.
Great stuff, but not for the feint of heart. Play in a
darkened room, feel sorry for yourself, enjoy the catharsis,
and wonder what kind of wretched existence Longing For Dawn
have endured.
www.grau.cd |
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Mael Mordha - Gealtacht
Mael Mordha (Grau) Review by Steve Green |
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Grau - Turning Grief Into Music. What a great slogan. And on
the label that likes providing us with lashings of misery, is
Mael Mordha, an amazing Gaelic Doom band from over the water
in Ireland. There'll be no beating around the bush from me on
this one. I am addicted to bands that add ethnic or cultural
slants to their sound and this album is simply one of the best
I've ever heard in this genre. Mael Mordha have created
such an aura, such a crushing slab of beauty, that it's
impossible not to sucked in by the whole being of this album.
The 10+ minute opener Atlas of Sorrow is drenched in misery
and reeks of authenticity, with a snare drum tattoo
accompanying a solitary tin whistle, there is no doubting
where this |
music was created. A simple piano line rides the crest of
monolithic guitars before
Roibéard Ó Bogail's tones of sorrow are unleashed. Godless
Commune of Sodom follows a similar desolate path, before it
explodes into life at around the two minute mark. The
desolation is replaced with venom and Mael Mordha become a
completely different proposition. The intensity increases on A
Window Of Madness as everything is turned up to 11. The
guitars are louder and the rhythm section tear up the mix,
with Shane Cahill's drums,
in particular,
sounding very impressive indeed. By the beginning of track
four, Curse of the Bard, the Doom elements seem to have
disappeared completely as this is a raw, bass heavy, driving
anthem of war. Halfway through, I'm rewarded with a
melancholic segue, which offers a brief respite from the
carnage, before the misery is fully restored on the mournful
The Struggle Eternal.
The title track, although still dark, is more uplifting and
because of it's accessibility, I can see why it was chosen for
a Terrorizer covermount cd. Last up, is Minions of Manannan.
Again, it's a tad more upbeat than earlier funereal offerings,
and although it's an ok song, it's not the colossus I expected
to end, what is an incredible album. Buy or die!!!
www.grau.cd |
www.mael-mordha.com |
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Messiah's Kiss -
Dragonheart (SPV) Review by Steve Green |
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Messiah's Kiss claim to be a pure Heavy metal band, influenced
by the likes of Priest, Maiden and Accept. With this in mind I
was very much up for listening to this as it just about
described my teenage listening pleasure. This is most
definitely pure Metal, but of the Power variety and not Heavy
Metal. Ok, you can claim the genres are so close, that I'm
just nitpicking. But this is your tight trousered high pitched
vocals, rather than you denim and leather clad frontman from a
grim Northern industrial shithole. Whatever Messiah Kiss may
claim, this more for your Helloween, Blind Guardian and Gamma
Ray fan, rather than |
say, for your typical Maiden and Saxon fans. Don't get me
wrong, this wonderfully produced and the lead guitars,
especially on Babylon and rip-snorting Nocturnal, are
perfectly executed, I just feel a little let down as my
expectations were so high. There is a definite Accept flavour
to the album though, especially on the title tracks opening
riff. It's not really a surprise as ex Accept six-stringer
Herman Frank not only co-produces the album, he also plays on
it too.
Despite an occasional Judas Priest nuance, this is Teutonic
Metal all the way. The fact I can namecheck a dozen band names
from Blind Guardian to Grave Digger also suggests this isn't
the most original recording even made, but I don't think that
was Messiah's Kiss blueprint. They set out to make a pure
Metal record. In that department they've succeeded as every
pore of Dragonheart is pure, fists in the air, balls to the
wall, dandruff shaking, Germanic Metal.
www.messiahskiss.com |
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