Live 4 Metal - Reviews

Raging Speedhorn - Before The Sea Was Built (SPV) By: Dave Schalek
	OK, so my introduction to England’s Raging Speedhorn goes back to their last full-length, 2005’s “How The Great Have Fallen”, and their subsequent slot as a supporting act on the Nile/Hypocrisy tour of the United States later that year. If you’re not familiar with this band, Raging Speedhorn, at the time, consisted of a sort of mix between some dirty, almost thrash metal vaguely reminiscent of Motorhead (maybe a bit of a stretch) and a heavy dose of metalcore, primarily in vocal delivery. To that end, their inclusion on a full-blown death metal bill was a bit strange and, frankly, didn’t go over very well with the Key Club crowd in West Hollywood. The fact that some
of the band members looked like escaped mental patients probably didn’t help, either. At any rate, I enjoyed their set and gave them some applause and now, lo and behold, their next full-length, “Before The Sea Was Built” on German giant SPV, finds its way to my mailbox. Immediately, there are a few changes. The band has always featured two vocalists with Jon Laughlin and now, Bloody Kev, a replacement for the departed Frank Regan. I saw the band after this changeover took place, but there’s not a whole Hell of a lot of difference between the two current vocalists. The vocals consist of a dual shout with Bloody Kev, I think, occasionally dropping an octave or so. The main difference between “Before The Sea Was Built” and previous efforts is in the guitars and pacing. This time around, there’s much greater care given to the riffing and songwriting, in general, ultimately resulting in a cleaner sound with considerably more melody and catchy grooves. However, the music is still able to retain an edge. In addition, the tempo is varied throughout the album and no longer solely concentrates on a gallop as “How The Great Have Fallen” did. Although this is not my favorite style, anyone looking for a different take on metalcore should look no further than Raging Speedhorn and “Before The Sea Was Built”. www.ragingspeedhorn.co.uk/ \| www.spv.de/eng/news.html

Red Harvest – A Greater Darkness (Season of Mist) review by Sam Thomas
	Red Harvest. What more do I need to say? They’ve produced their tenth release, “A Greater Darkness”, and it’s everything I’d hope for/expect from them. Or to put it briefly, passionate industrial metal with a crushing intensity. Just reading their discography gives you a huge clue as to what these Norwegians are about: “Cold Dark Matter”, “Internal Punishment Program” et al. Definite candidates for the Not-so-Easy Listening section in your favourite music shop. If not the nearest psycho ward. But then again, we could all hold a great party when the men in the white coats catch up with us. “A Greater Darkness” is pretty close to its immediate predecessor “Internal Punishment
Program” in style, being more of the slow developing, pressure building up variety of writing. Suffice it to say that the immediate response to “I’m going to listen to Red Harvest” has usually been either a rapid emptying of the room or a muttered “I’ll put my headphones on, then” (that's cos she plays it soooo loud - Steve). I can’t understand it myself, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of bludgeoning intensity either before or after breakfast. The thing that makes Red Harvest stand out for me is the way that they manage to combine an industrial feel with so much passion. There’s no mistaking this for the more synthesised, more electronic style that normally characterises the genre, Ofu has too much raw power and aggression in his vocals to fit easily with that style. The tortured agonies of “Hole in Me” leave me both wanting to know the precise circumstances under which it was written and yet simultaneously feeling something of a voyeur. Which, I guess, is why music is such an important part of my life – it has the ability (when well written and performed) to reach the soul. “Beyond the limits of physical xperience” is a fascinating, multi-layered affair of great sadness with Red Harvest demonstrating that they can continue the intensity without necessarily having to play at warp speed throughout. It’s also the track which stands out for me. This is a very powerful, very intense album, which improves massively each time I hear it. Even reading the track titles is a delight: where else would you come across “Icons of Fear … The Curse of the Universe” and “I sweat W O M D”? Once again, Red Harvest have produced a beauty of an album, which should appeal to far more than just the lovers of the industrial genre. www.redharvest.com \| www.season-of-mist.com

Saturnalia Temple – Saturnalia Temple (Self Released) Review by Chris Davison They're very mysterious, these Saturnalia Temple chaps. All I can really gather is that they're Swedish, that they have an underground understanding of the lost art of the demo cover (all xerox black-on-white and ugly type print lyrics), and that there are three of them in the band. Sure, I could have spent more time on their myspace.com page, but with such a nod to the old school being paid in their liner design, it just didn't seem right to use the new fangled interweb to find out more. This, ladies and gents, is slow, groove laden, psychedelic bad acid trip doom. This here EP / demo contains no less than five tracks, but to be honest, with each track lasting round and about the eight minute mark, this lasts a great deal longer than most full length albums. Probably the easiest reference point for a lazy bastard like me is to say that this sounds like absolute prime time Electric Wizard, circa the mighty “Dopethrone” opus, all drawn out Sabbath riffs multiplied to their ultimate conclusion, only this time the music is even nastier, more obscure and with more than a hint of a black metal influence here and there. Sure, these days it isn't all that rare to hear about doom influenced Black metal, but it's rather rarer to be in the presence of Black metal influenced doom. Third track “Mount Meru Is Tall” is an absolute corker, with the vocals sounding very much like a collision between the early years of the second wave of black metal with an obscure late 60's psychedelic influence. The guitars and bass meld together into one super fuzzed out drone, while the drums keep a smacked-out beat, with the cymbal work being like rare flashes of consciousness in a Heroin induced coma. Sure, it isn't reinventing the wheel, but in a world where the real Electric Wizard have some ground to gain before revisiting their old glories, there is always room for someone who does the fucked up, scuzzed up and downright nasty end of doom well. I wonder how you'll ever be able to get hold of this, of course, but I've got a copy, and for that, I'm grateful. I Hate Records! You need this band. www.myspace.com/saturnaliatemple

Spetalsk - Spetalsk (Unexploded Records) Review by Crin
	Oh dear, another arse thrashing Black Metal release that pounds the brains into the skull at every turn. With iron crosses, corpse paint and a very savage musical direction, this band have certainly carved out a very clichéd path in Black Metals forever expanding genre. This is where the avenue of thought gets glazed by two things, firstly, does a band who adopt the ethos of a genre become bogged down in its own recycled roots? And secondly, if a band expands from the original ethos, does it become an outcast of the elemental fabric of its original form? The point I’m making is Spetalsk are nothing new. The band are stringent adherents to the Dark Funeral/Marduk school of Black Metal.
The drummer makes this album his own, with defining drum patterns and an octopus like ferocity with his sticks. There is also an air of musical capability about the songs, great use of melody and a massive power surge each time the band blast into hyper drive. If you have never heard a band playing their instruments like possessed cut throats intent on hammering their musical message into your cracking cranium, then this will blow you into the next world with ease. For the rest of us, this release is a fine, ‘heard it all before’ intense Black Metal album., but not much else. Spetalsk is the Swedish word for Leprosy, by the way. www.unexplodedrecords.com

The Devil Wears Prada – Plagues (Rise Records) Review by Samuel Munch-Petersen
	Wasn’t this a film with Meryl Streep? I think it was you know. Funnily enough TDWP have also come about in 2006 when the film was released, so who came up with the title first? A mystery you may want to follow up on. These six musicians call Dayton Ohio home and have gathered a rather heavy crowd of fans from Myspace (the place for all upcoming musicians it seems) and their music is something of a mix of emo and metal with undertones of operatic fusions. So far I’m impressed with them and they’ve continued to hold my attention though at the same time they haven’t given me anything new or fantastic to go “oooh” about. Their ten
track album seems pretty ordinary in sound and just seemingly continues to play at me without me smashing my face in with a stone. Mike Hranica on vocals gives us a range to work with and although impressive in places, isn’t overly haunting or special. Guitar work by Chris Rubey and Jeremy DePoyster (backing vx) is certainly well thought out and holds time but at the same time is lacking in something for my tastes. Daniel Williams and Andy Trick on bass and drums respectively power through and once again play well but are missing that je ne sais quoi. James Baney on keyboard is sometimes lost in the music (as can be the case with most keyboardists) but does add a level to their music which works and isn’t out of place. Some of the tracks sound better than others; Hey John, What’s Your Name Again? for instance and This Song is Called, with some lovely piano work which is heard pretty much throughout the piece, but lost amongst the heavy and durable metal influences. Overall and aright band with nothing special to give but at the same time not destroying (totally) the world of metal that we strive to protect. www.myspace.com/tdwp

Torn Apart - Craving Pale Flesh EP (Pathologically Explicit) Review by James Young
	Torn Apart are proud to state that there aren’t many death metal bands in Umeå, although they fail to spot that there are a fair few in the country itself. What they should be asking themselves what this delivers that other bands don’t, and the answer is, well, not much. Don’t get me wrong, these guys can play their instruments, and I absolutely loved the opener ‘Slaughtered By Hand’, as the production is spot on, the double kick drumming tight as hell and the whirlwind riffs groovy and crushing. The vocals have obviously been done before, but at least they’ve nailed the style, with an intense guttural roar on display, making me think of fellow Swedes Insision and Godphobia. It is around the second of the
four songs when you realise that the band just lack variation, with predictable double kick drumming, and some nice riffs which unfortunately go nowhere. ‘Craving Pale Flesh’ shows some promise in the sample-laced section which is accompanied by a chunky bass-line courtesy of Petter Johansson, which crescendos into a fairly heavy ending, but it’s still nothing groundbreaking. Not even a Braindead sample could save ‘Morbid Penetration’, the shortest song on the EP, which despite including some varied drumming, is unremarkable for it’s standard growling guitars which fail to make you want to press the play button a second time. An album is coming, and let’s hope that Torn Apart can emerge from the hordes of clones out there and come into their own. For now, I’m not really ‘craving’ this EP as it were, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have the talent and the vision to pull off a great full-length. www.myspace.com/umetornapart \| www.torn-apart.com \| www.myspace.com/pathologicallyexplicit

War From a Harlots Mouth – Transmetropolitan (LifeForce) Review by Samuel Munch-Petersen
	What an odd, but somehow enjoyable experience with this band. They seem to fuse together mathcore, hardcore, grindcore (most cores in fact) along with the vocal elements of death metal and the surprising subtle intonations of jazz. Started in 2005 in Berlin, these guys have come to the fore in their chosen route and follow the likes of Dillinger Escape Plan and possibly even a heavier SikTh with a twist of Ion Dissonance in there. They claim to not be part of any real genre and state that they in fact just play music that is “crazy” and that’s certainly the case with this album. When you’re first confronted by this five piece band and their eleven track monolith you don’t know
where to look. There are cuts in the tracks that take the music down to an almost mellow and relaxed feel, which is then thrown out the window to allow for the ever piercing vocals of Steffen to come obliterating through your speakers. Guitar work by Simon and Daniel provides something of a pulsing effect and yet continues into the realms of solo work overlapping the rest of the piece. Filip on bass and Paul on drums power the whole set through with heavy explosions in speed and intensity whilst keeping the flow of the music continuous and straight, even though it’s mathed up to buggery. Track four; Trife Lilfe, reminds me of Eminem’s acclaimed Stan, though at the same time it’s nothing like it, WFAHM are certainly one for mixing everything up into a bowl and throwing it all over the audience to see what happens. If you like bludgeoning mathcore that impales you on every stroke and blast beat then you’ll love WFAHM without a further word from me. Touring with Dying Fetus, Skinless, Cattle Decapitation, Cephalic Carnage and The Red Chord you can begin to see what types of disreputable crowds they hang around with. You can also check them out on their first commercial release; a split CD with Molotov Solution released in 2006 on Twelve Gauge records. www.myspace.com/warfromaharlotsmouth

Wisdom In Chains - Class War (Alveran Records) Review by Steve Green
	To borrow a quote from the Yorkie advert, "It's Not For Girls". I'm not saying this is a strictly male affair, but this album is loaded with so much testosterone, that it'll definitely appeal to those with a big pair of cohones. Class War is a potent mixture of Hardcore, Punk and a forceful infusion of Oi. If you want a quick comparison, then this album is comparable, in an old school way, to Slayer's collection of punk covers on their seminal release, Undisputed Attitude. I loved the energy on that album and this one is right up there with it. First up is, This Is The Sound Of The End, a gang-shout led slow burner that sets you up
nicely for the ass kicking fury of Early Grave. Once this baby fires up, then the album reaches a new dimension. This is a rollicking ride which I'm undecided whether to call it the ultimate punk/oi/hardcore/thrash party album or an intense overdose of testosterone. Either way, I love it. To dissect this album is pointless, but what I will say is that Wisdom In Chains seems to flip styles every other song. I Don't Care is more hardcore in style, while the infectious Cap City is a more measured dose of Punk, then the intensity returns for the title track. The formula works really well as, one, it keeps it fresh and two, it controls the pacing of the album perfectly, particularly with some of the shorter tracks. I can't say enough good things about Class War. It has energy, aggression, passion and above all, great song writing and an intense performance. Seventeen tracks in 38 minutes leave your ass well and truly spanked. Awesome. www.myspace.com/wisdominchains \| www.alveranshop.com

Zonaria – Infamy and the Breed (Pivotal Rockordings) review by Sam Thomas
	They always tell you that you know you’re getting old when policemen start looking as though they should still be at school, but does the same apply to musicians? And more specifically to those playing death metal? I recently had the pleasure of reviewing Job for a Cowboy (average age: should still be wearing short trousers) and now I’m having severe feelings of déja vu (or should that be déja entendu?) with Zonaria (average age: about 19, but they’ve been around since 2002 in at least a prototype form). And yet again, the parallels with Job for a Cowboy are there – if I hadn’t read they biog, I would have assumed that they were far older, given that they can all play to such a depressingly high
standard. There is no hint of inexperience or lack of maturity here, everything about this album screams “talent” and “class” at you. “Infamy and the Breed” is the Swedish quartet’s debut album, although looking at the track titles I guess that it also includes their previous efforts, to wit one demo and one EP. They are best described as Swedish death metal, not a million miles from Hypocrisy, but a bit more bouncy (think Catch 22 rather than The Arrival) and with definite overtones of a more symphonic style (a tinge of Dimmu Borgir). I can’t find any credits for the keyboards in the information I have to hand, which is a shame, because they are pretty damn excellent. The subject matter is maybe the only thing which gives away the band’s youth – a typical angst-ridden mélange of death, destruction and Armageddon. Then again, those aren’t themes that are exclusive to youth! There are moments where you could easily be listening to Hypocrisy, Zonaria have mastered the art of casual brutality very well, and at times Simon Berglund does a more than passable imitation of Peter Tägtgren’s vocals, but the soaring flights of keyboard soon let you know that this is not an ersatz Hypocrisy, but something which the band members have developed into their own unique style. All I can say is, this is a stunning debut album from a great bunch of musicians. Go out, track it down, buy it and above all enjoy it! www.zonaria.com \| www.pivotalalliance.com