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Nocturnal Vomit - Arts of Tenebrous Superstition 7” vinyl
Review by Crin |
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Starting with an intro of despairing and groaning
arrangements, the first track proper Putrid Grave Mass, kicks
in.
With a distinctive Greek style [Early Nightfall comes to
mind] the band employ a classic Death style, fast snappy drum
breaks and slow grinding sections with the all too familiar
vocalist who sounds like he’s swallowed a shovel full of
burning bones.
Flip the plastic over and you are greeted with, Temple of
Impunity, a cold miasmic early Paradise Lost guitar style
meets neck breaking grinding death head on.
Being exponents of classic Death Metal, there are numerous
references to the early nineties, bands like, Exhorder,
Atrocity, Gorguts, Immolation, Sadus, etc, all make a similar
noise. |
| The fact that Death Metal is pretty much restricted within its
own limits, unlike the endless progressive elements of Black
Metal.
Like the Doom genre, Death Metal is a victim of its own
purity, a singular sound with little deviation from the ear
battering purpose of its existence.,
That, is also the beauty of the genre, and one of the reasons
it is still here.
This EP, and other like it, keep the flame alive. |
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| No Love Lost - In The Darkest
Hour
(Self Release) Review
by Steve Green |
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If the band name and the title of this demo didn't give
the game away, the monstrous riffs of opener Desecration most definitely
will. This is Doom. And female fronted Doom too. Girlies fronting Doom
bands are a rare commodity, so therefore I think it's fair to day they
are going to have to work a little bit harder to gain respect, but Sally
Holliday will have no trouble being accepted.
This is actually a damn good 4 tracker. Engineered and mixed by
Esoteric's Greg Chandler, it's got a chunky sound and considering it's
orientation, it's got a nice feel-good factor about it,
especially the bounce-a-long groove of You Don't Belong Here,
which guitar-wise,
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reminds me of Paradise Lost. Elsewhere, the pace is slower,
with the ethereal Bane of My Life probably just edging it as
my favourite, with both Desecration and My Reticence reminding
me of Cathedral circa The Carnival Bizarre mixed with Paradise
Lost at their early 90s peak, albeit with a female twist. Good
stuff.
www.myspace.com/nolovelostdoom |
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Oceans of Sadness - Mirror Palace (Scarlet) Review
by Steve Green |
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We don't normally play cds in the car, but with a long
journey to the Mother-In-Laws last weekend, it was an ideal opportunity
to get some listening done and to garner each other opinions on a couple
of new releases. Little did I know how much trouble this album was to
cause. By the third song, the Missus could take no more and she ejected
the cd in an aggressive manner, which surprised me as I really thought
she'd like this. But opinions are like arseholes, everyone has got one
and this is my take on Mirror Palace, and most definitely not that of the
managements.
Mirror Palace is a mixture of Progressive Metal and the
Symphonic theatrics employed by
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both Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir. As is
argued by many a Metal fan, the Symphonic influences are most definitely
not Black Metal, but were it not for Tijs Vanneste's clean vocals, this
album could easily be attributed to either The Filthies of Dimmu Borgir,
as could the huge production, courtesy of Jens Bogren.
The more jazzy parts, such as the opening to Cruel Sacrifice or the
groove that slows down Sleeping Dogs, are not going to be to everyone's
taste. And in a way, they spoil the head of steam the opening duo of
Mould and Mirror Palce built up. Intoxicate Me, flips between funky Prog
and a more aggressive style and it is the latter style I most definitely
like more. I never liked Alice In Chains, however, Oceans of Sadness do
an ok job at covering Them Bones and it's a bit more tuneful than the
original.
The snarling Sheep & Shepherds, sees the return of the Cradle/Dimmu
symphonic's and I'm in a much more comfortable zone. Pride & Shame
continues the upbeat theme and the mid-album slump is becoming a distant
memory. Silence Is Gold is almost Death Metal in tone, with a Dani Filth
scream thrown in for good measure. I Know You Know is a stunning way to
end the album with strings complimenting the Amorphis-meets-Gothic
inspired cacophony spilling from my speakers.
There are a couple of difficult moments on Mirror Palace, but on the
whole, IE: On the more symphonic numbers, it's a good album. So I
recommend 7 out of the 10 tracks and I'll pass on the other three.
www.scarletrecords.it |
www.oceansofsadness.com |
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Overthrone - Declarations of Secession
(Self Financed) Review by Crin |
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Consisting of the brothers Nickels, one handling Drums/Synths
and vocals, the other, the guitars and bass.
Here we have a rather obscure, yet polished Black/ Death meets
prog rock in some lost space age commune.
The music is competent, technical metal oozing from a clean
sound, and with the first track clocking in at nine minutes,
so its with this singular impression that will either drag you
into the music’s multi layered spell or confuse the arse off
you.
The music literally takes snippets from every genre,
fashioning a whole new sound.
Fast parts, slow sections and a harsh/clean vocal style, all
converge in frenzy of sounds. |
Hailing from America and sounding like a hybrid Noctrunus/Argoseolent, and for those who are not familiar with those
Stateside acts, the next best comparison would be a fusion of
Nile loosely strung together with Atheist.
The guitaring is the strength of the album, revealing a rock
opera atmosphere at times, the six strings are clinical,
decisive and literally guide the compositions through their
many levels of intensity.
With adventurous songs aplenty, the last track hitting the
twelve minute mark, its one of those albums that you’ll need
to pay attention to, or just let it play in the background,
ether way it will surprise you at times, bewilder you and
ultimately mess with ya head.
Overthrone’s lush meandering music is harsh Blackened
thrashing metal at its core, expanding at every turn into
numerous extreme styles, only to recede back into the chaotic
swell of its conception.
www.myspace.com/overthroneband
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Planet X - Quantum (InsideOut Music)
By: Joe Florez |
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All has been quite on the Planet X camp for a while, until
now. This is keyboard extraordinaire Derek Sherinian’s baby
and a new album from them hasn’t emerged since 2002’s
Moonbabies due to the fact that Derek has been focused on his
solo career under his own name. The time has seem fit for
another outing. Along for the ride once again is his partner
from day one, the always mesmerizing Virgil Donati. Many
people say that this metal/rock/fusion effort is self
righteous and egotistical on Mr. Sherinian’s behalf. To a
degree, I could agree, but I think everyone hired on here gets
a shot at the spotlight. Lead-off cut “Alien Hip Hop” sounds
symphonic during the intro with the string arrangements and |
atmospheric keys boards, but Virgil can’t wait to join in and
the boys begin to rock out. Instant rhythm is produced with
what seems like a simple pattern produced by Mr. Donati, but in
actuality is quite complex and the guitars have a somewhat ZZ
Top feel and the bass is thumping like a rabbit’s foot
constantly. Again, this doesn’t last long as the band
once again build up from that sound into something else, which
ends up being a pretty much simple rock pattern where
everything is slowed down tremendously. Yet the
composition gets to breath as we forge ahead. The music shifts
from what some might say is mechanical to emotional as the
guitars seemed to be performed with power and feeling and that
helps make this track such a pleasure to listen to with great
awe. Virgil also gets to show the world why he is the best
with a mini solo that will have you scratching your head, but
drop your jaw. I absolutely love how “Alien Hip Hop” is always
being built up. They never stay satisfied and consistently
repeat themselves. There is always something new to marvel at
and we are just at the first of nine tracks. “Desert Girl” is
the first of two tracks to feature a guest performance from
the out there guitar God Allan Holdsworth. The other is “The
Thinking Stone.” You can consider this one classical meets
spaced out jazz fusion with tons of rhythm that absolutely
refuses to quit letting go of your ear. Derek switches back
and forth from moody soundscapes, to coming off as classy and
even managing to come off as bombastic as well. After a while,
you petty much know what you are in for if you are a fan of
instrumentals especially if it comes from the Planet X front.
All musicians on here deserve props as they continue to
deliver another well thought out record that will satisfy
anyone that appreciates complex, yet compelling music. Derek
doesn’t steal the spotlight by any means. He shares it with
everyone here and it shows on all of the songs. The music and
tempo changes are diverse and have plenty of life in them.
This is for serious fans only.
www.insideoutmusic.com
| www.xplanetx.com |
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Powerwolf - Lupus Dei (Metal Blade) Review
by Steve Green |
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Never judge a book by it's cover. Let me set the scene.
A band, dressed as clergy, wearing corpsepaint style face paint with
blood red dripping from their eyes. A singer with Romanian roots, a
tenuous link to Transylvania I know, but how about song titles such as
Saturday Satan, In Blood We Trust and Vampires Don't Die? Horror or
Vampire Metal? I thought that, especially with the creepy intro Lupus
Demonae. Black Metal was also a possibility. But no, this is Power
Metal. Any raise your glasses high, as this is vintage Power Metal. And
I gotta say, despite it being as clichéd as you could possibly imagine,
this album is great. This is Heavy Fucking Metal that puts a
bit of fun back into music again. It's
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camper than a field full of tents, but you have to love it.
You'll be screaming your lungs out at full volume as Lupus Dei has such
a fun, party feeling to it. Even the most morose of greying headbangers
will be transformed into a smiling loon after a quick burst of We Take
It From The Living or Vampires Don't Die. Although Prayer In The Dark
will have you reaching for the skip button. Metal may well be our
religion, but I'm not singing along to this one for any money. I was
trying to think of a comparison to make with Powerwolf to give you an
idea of what they sounded like and Saturday Satan hit the nail right on
the head for me. Iron Savior and their classic Condition Red opus.
Mainly because of the similarities between Iron Savior frontman Piet
Sielck and Powerwolf's Attila Dorn. I'd also through a bit of Firewind
into the mix, mainly because it's pure Metal.
If classic Power Metal, or something fun to sing-a-long to is your bag,
then Powerwolf is an essential purchase. Brilliant.
www.powerwolf.net |
www.metalblade.de |
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| Skewered - Homegrown Brutality
(Self Release) Review
by Steve Green |
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Recorded in a basement on a non-existent budget, well
that's what it sounds like to me, this is brutal as fuck death metal
with garbled vocals and with subject matters that would not entice your
granny to go and watch them live. In fact I'll be shocked if the bands
own parents go and see them live. Imagine the look of horror on the face
of vocalist Mark's Mother, when she hears the bands tales of horror,
cannibalism, rape and anti-religious vitriol all being told through her
son.
As you may have guessed by now, this is your basic, puerile,
Cannibal Corpse inspired sickness, that wouldn't really shock
anyone in the Metal world these days, but it'll sure give
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the moral majority something to freak out over, especially in
the bands native Ireland. But to be fair to Skewered, were it
not for the awful production, this could have been a cracking
demo. There's plenty of technical ability, especially from
bassist Sal, to show that they are worth taking seriously.
Although I'm not sure that a song about gang rape and
(possibly) necrophilia should be called Surprise Sex!!!!!! To
taste the sickness, visit
www.skeweredmetal.com |
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Transmission 0 - Memory Of A Dream (Candlelight Records USA)
By: Dave Schalek |
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Isis/Neurosis “lite” seems to be my initial impression of the
second full-length, and Candlelight Records USA debut, from
Dutch band Transmission 0 entitled “Memory Of A Dream”. Isis
and Neurosis, while certainly appreciated by myself, are not
very prominent in my rotation although I tend to favor Isis a
bit more. With that in mind, I’m having a bit of a hard time
wrapping my head around this release.
Initially, I had a negative reaction to “Memory Of A Dream” as
I found the ten songs on this release to be somewhat
uninteresting. Vocal patterns and delivery similar to Isis
(the vocals are not used very often, though) and some rather
simple guitar riffs and bass lines, although |
prominent, are combined with mid-paced drumming without a
great deal of variation. Muted keyboards make numerous
appearances to add layers of atmosphere, but, frankly, the
songs just aren’t as “dense” (that’s the word that comes to
mind) as those of Isis or Neurosis. What seems to be lacking
is the overpowering sense of weight that Neurosis and Isis
seem to shoulder upon themselves.
OK, granted, these repeated comparisons are definitely unfair
to Transmission 0, particularly because a number of listens
were necessary for this album to begin to sink into my
consciousness. Taken ultimately as a mellow version of the
genre, “Memory Of A Dream” actually does have a lot of
interesting subtleties going on in the background through the
use of the muted keyboards and some well-placed acoustics.
There are some heavier moments to the album, certainly, but
these are not the moments to concentrate upon. I found myself
increasingly drawn to the subtle, mellow aspects of the songs,
and, once making that realization, I began to enjoy “Memory Of
A Dream” a whole lot more than I initially did.
Will this album remain in my rotation for a great deal of
time? Given my tastes, probably not, but I did ultimately
enjoy “Memory Of A Dream”.
www.candlelightrecordsusa.com
| www.transmission0.com
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