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Desaster - Satan’s Soldiers Syndicate
(Metal Blade) Review by Crin |
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Black, ass fucking thrash Metal from
Germany and this band have been ripping up gig halls since
1992. The bands first demo, The Fog of Avalon, appeared in
1993, and bolstered by the rise of the whole Black Metal
movement, the debut album, A Touch of Medieval Darkness,
blasted forth in 1996 to much acclaim. Six albums later, Desaster are still doing what they do best, and that’s
thrashing out regurgitated riffs from the late eighties and
spitting them over the faces of a modern audience. There are
numerous likewise act, most are shit, a few are good, namely,
Sweden’s Bewitched, and Norway’s Inferno, leading the
enkindling reanimation of the past.
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At times the vocals replicate Obituary's John Tardy, shredding the atmosphere with their
ear lacerating snarls. The tracks leap from rabid snare
bashing to hysterical riffamania and back again, repeating
this formula throughout the album. For sure the songs are
well strung together, well deployed and have a menacing sweat
crawling from the no nonsense guitar leads, all evoking a well
oiled Metal machine, and that is what basically Desaster are.
The Germans are one of the true bastions of Metal, so it
should not come as any surprise. Bullet belts and studs, leather and
denim, its hard not to like the blatantly Thrash Black Metal
retro music here, and yet its all just too familiar to bite
where it hurts.
www.metalblade.de
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Fueled By Fire - Spread The Fire
(Metal Blade) Review by AJ Carlile |
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Spread The Fire is the first album by California based
thrashers, Fueled By Fire, on the Metal Blade label.
The album opens with a damn fine two minute instrumental,
entitled "Ernest Goes To Hell", which showcases the bands
musical talents, and left me eager for the second track on the
album. As it came on, I was met by a scream that sounded like
the vocalist had just had his balls ripped off. Despite the
questionable start, the album was really quite good with some
fantastic tracks, such as "Command Of The Beast" and
"Betrayed", the latter of which I found myself listening to
over and over again. Spread The Fire is a throwback to early |
thrash metal (and a good one at that), featuring furious
fretwork, a few memorable riffs, and a load of frantic guitar
solos. And unnecessary screaming aside, the vocals were rather
strong, if somewhat unrefined.
Spread The Fire is nothing new, but that's not necessarily a
bad thing. It's a great listen, one that I'd recommend to fan
of early thrash. They still have a long way to go, but I for
one will be interested in seeing what these guys can do in the
future.
www.myspace.com/fueledbyfire |
www.metalblade.de |
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Full Blown Chaos - Heavy Lies the Crown
(Ferret Music)
Reviewed by Nathan Ward |
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Full Blown Chaos is a four piece thrash band from Queens, New
York. Consisting of Ray Mazzola on vocals, brothers Mike Facci
(guitar) and Jeff Facci (drums) and Mike “Lurk” Ruehle on
bass. ‘Heavy Lies the Crown’ is Full Blown Chaos’s 3rd full
length album, their first album for Ferret Records. They have
released two EPs: ‘Full Blown Chaos’ (2001) and ‘Prophet of
Hostility’ (2003), and two albums: ‘Wake the Demons’ (2004)
and ‘Within the Grasp of Titans’ (2006).
‘Heavy Lies the Crown’ has a total of 12 tracks, full of heavy
thrash riffs, influenced by the likes of; Pantera, Slayer,
Hatebreed, Cannibal Corpse and Agnostic Front. Mazzola’s |
vocal
styling sounds similar to Pantera and Super Joint Ritual’s
Phil Anselmo, which adds vocal aggression to each song. The
guitar and bass have the classic Slayer style distortion,
which is applied to heavy industrial thrash riffs. The drums
add yet more aggression to the album, but it’s not all ‘double
bass has fast as possible’, but it fits the songs, whether it
is double bass or not. To me they have the sound of Vinnie
Paul’s drums mixed with the playing style of Dave Lombardo.
The only track on the album that isn’t heavy and aggressive is
‘Mojave Red Pt. 1’ which is an instrumental. I think this
gives Mike Facci the time to show his lead playing abilities,
which only make a short appearance on ‘Halos for Heroes’, and
lets the band show that they can do non aggressive songs. Mike Ruehle’s bass parts sound like something Cliff Burton might
have come up with and Jeff’s drums have the simple but
effective style of Vinnie Paul. This is my favourite track on
the album, because it has nice melodies throughout it and
still keeps the heavy sound.
‘Heavy Lies the Crown’ is an aggressive album from start to
finish bar the instrumental track. It has great riffs you can
mosh along to. If you’re into bands like Hatebreed, Chimaira
and Agnostic Front give this album a listen.
www.myspace.com/fullblownchaos |
www.ferretstyle.com |
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Gorefest - Rise to Ruin (Nuclear Blast)
Review by Crin |
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One of the oldest European, Death Metal
affiliated bands, and most definitely the finest band to come
out of the Netherlands. Formed in 1989, and plucked up by a
very indie Nuclear Blast label, along with the likes of
Monstrosity, and Sinister, this is the bands seventh studio
album. The band split in 1998, reformed in 2005, and recorded
the impressive, La Muerte, album that appeared the same year. Today, we have a polished, melodic Death
Metal sound, that is firmly in the ‘Carcase ‘Swansong’ vein,
as opposed to the grind blasts of the insane Spaniards, or the
fluent technical brain annihilation of the Yanks. Gorefest
play a simplistic form of basic Heavy Metal formations with a
injection of
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grisly bottom end and an overtly virulent guitar edge. The
most distinctive part of the sound is the vocals; the almost
croaking distortion of the levelling grunts that make a
warthog sound audible. There was a time during the, Chapter 13
album when this band seemed on the verge of breaking into the
mainstream, but nine years on and this new offering is a kind
of relapse into the bone shuddering Deathly machinations of
the early nineties. Here we find Gorefest blasting their way
through a setlist of decently moulded songs, all driven with
melodic mid-sections and a near perfect sound, thanks to a
heavyweight production. The riffs, and melodic compositions that
are splattered across this release sustain its addictive
nature. This is easy listening Death Metal, rather like the
Entombed, or Arch Enemy, hard as the roof of hell and yet soft
to the ears when required.
I wouldn’t say this is the bands best album, but it definitely
equals the bands finest moments to date. That basically
implies that although Gorefest are way above many of there
contemporaries, they are at the same time living on the past
and making little inroads, towards being any different, and
that’s more than likely the way we would prefer them to remain.
www.nuclearblast.de |
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Merciless Death - Evil In The Night (Heavy Artillery)
By: Dave Schalek |
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You, like me, are in your late 30s. The awesome cover art is
by Repka (OK, on the re-release) and is straight out of a
zombie flick with ghouls and a babe, there’s a huge fold out
lyric sheet, an endless “thanks list”, a “fuck off list”, and
a large amount of band photos of themselves, friends, beer
cups, etc. all cut up and assembled into a collage. In
addition, there are lots of primary colors used throughout,
band photos with high tops, leather jackets, jeans, buttons,
etc.; and even the old Compact Disc logo on the disc itself.
All of this should sound familiar, and if it doesn’t, you have
no business calling yourself a metalhead. Yep, old school
thrash metal from the 80s is enjoying a resurgence, and a band |
at the forefront of this movement is Merciless Death from Los
Angeles (well, Valencia…, shit, that’s not too far from me).
Now, I’m not talking about
Metallica-Megadeth-you-just-know-they’re-going-to-wimp-out-sooner-or-later
thrash metal. No, we’re talking about old Exodus-type shit
with some nods to the German masters of the old school, and
not just Kreator, etc. We’re talking stuff like Exumer, the
Canadian bands Razor and Slaughter Lord, and that type of
shit. You have absolutely no reason to not go out and buy this
right now, and I haven’t even listened to this sucker yet.
Yeah, the music is exactly as I expected. Guitar-heavy
production with a barely audible bass, drums that
should-snap-at-you-but-they-don’t-just-like-on-“Show No
Mercy”, speed typical of the 80s, and a nasally, snarled vocal
delivery that comes across as mix of Zetro, Blitz, and Mille
(if you don’t know who they are, you’re a poser that probably
thinks that Pantera is the heaviest band in the world).
If you haven’t been able to figure it out by now, I’m all over
this one and the only complaint that I could possibly muster
is that the damn thing is only about 25 minutes long! Buy or
fuckin’ die!
http://heavyartillery.us/
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Nightwish - Dark
Passion Play (Nuclear Blast) Review by Steve
Green |
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I'm probably the best sort of
person to review this album. I'm not a Nightwish fan. I never
got on with Tarja's voice, so I can review this without making
any comparisons with the Nightwish of old. But I have to say,
after all of the hype surrounding the new singer, which turned
out to be a load of bollocks as they recruited an unknown, it had better be a good album. And because of the hype
over this album, some idiot leaked it straight away, so our
promotional copies have more voiceovers on them than a night in front
of the goggle box, which quite frankly, ruins the experience,
but you can't blame the band or the record label for
protecting their (financial) interests.
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The opening number, The Poet And The Pendulum, is as much
upbeat and catchy as it is majestic and ostentatious. In
layman's terms it's a cross between an Andrew Lloyd Webber
musical and a pop song. Which is how I'd best describe new
lady Anette Olzon's voice. Part classical and part pop singer.
And I'll make no comment on whether she's the best singer in
the world and all that crap, but I will say her voice is a
perfect match for the music.
Bye Bye Beautiful, surely can't be a dig at a former band
member? One listen to the lyrics and it obviously is a huge
fuck off to their former singer. Aside from the venom being
spat out, it's also a good indicator that Anette Olzon and
Marco Hietala's vocal styles are completely compatible.
After the first couple of "high profile" numbers, the pace and
the atmosphere begins to settle and Nightwish begin to get
into the zone, that is until the thrashy/industrial Master
Passion Greed lets rip. I'm not sure if Nightwish were ever
this heavy before, or will be again. With the amount of venom
once again being unleashed, it can only be about Tarja's
husband Marcelo Cabuli. Shit, it seems as if Tuomas Holopainen
bears a grudge as vehemently as I do. Good on ya. And never
forgive them either. I never forgive the bastards that do me
wrong.
Approaching the halfway mark, the single Eva makes an
appearance. Listening to it in the context of the album, I can
see why it was chosen as a lead single. Knowing the bands
sense of humour with the hype of the new singer, I guess they
released it as it sounds nothing like the rest of the album. I
feel the band missed a chance to go over the top with Sahara, which
although lyrically deals with the subject, the mention of sand
gave it away, musically I was expecting something a little bit
more Eastern/Arabic in texture. Whoever Brings The Night, is,
in my eyes... and ears, pure filler. It never gets going and
is directionless. Even the chorus doesn't manage to save it
from mediocrity. For The Heart I Once Had goes one step
further and is actually pretty dire and I use the skip button
for 2 songs in a row. Let's hope this album doesn't die on us.
The Islander has a kind of Viking-cum-medieval feel to it. A
Scandinavian version of Jethro Tull instantly springs to mind.
I can sit and listen to this type of music all day and it's
one of the albums standout tracks. In fact, good people of Nightwish, how about another album full of tracks like this?
It looks as if I may have my wish, well partially at least as
the instrumental Last Of The Wilds, is a violin led jig. A
rival for Korpiklaani it is not, but it's a corking track all
the same. 7 Days To The Wolves sees a return to more familiar
territory, albeit one they are sharing with Epica. The
orchestral feel of the song mirrors what's on the new Epica album. Last song Meadows Of Heaven is a lighters in the
air number, which isn't quite a ballad, but comes across like
a Celtic version of Within Temptation's Never-Ending Story.
Very sugary.
Nightwish are in a no-win situation with Dark Passion Play.
Some older fans will love it, some will hate it, blah blah blah.
From a neutral point of view, it's a good album, with some
extremely good songs on it. I'd have preferred a couple of
songs to be removed to make it a much stronger album as there
are a couple of fillers padding out the middle. Overall, the best
indication I can give is that I'll be
buying as soon as it's released so I can hear it without the
voiceovers.
www.nuclearblast.de
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Onslaught - Live
Polish Assault 2007 DVD (Metal Mind) Review by Steve
Green |
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I love a bit of nostalgia, in
case you hadn't noticed before. Upon discovering the likes of
Metallica, Accept and Mercyful Fate in the very early 80s and
my subsequent move to London in the latter part of the same
decade, I loved anything extreme. Which back in those days,
was mainly Thrash based. Oh how the times have changed, NOT.
One of my favourite albums from that era was Onslaught's
magnificent The Force opus. Having not heard the Onslaught
comeback album, Killing Peace, this dvd, which was recorded in
Warsaw in February of this year, is my first taste of the
reformed Onslaught.
I've never witnessed anything but the highest quality from
Metal Mind in the past, which is why it was a bit of a shock
as the sound on the first few numbers, including Let There Be
Death, was a tad weak. It takes until the monstrous Fight With
The Beast for the sound to level out and for Onslaught to be
heard at their best. Visually, as you'd expect on a Metal
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Mind dvd, the camera work and clarity of the picture is amazing,
although the editing is, at times, a bit "blink and you'll
miss it", which is hard work for an ageing Metalhead like
myself. Overall, the concert is good, but not as mind-blowing
as I'd hoped.
As always, you get a bunch of extras including an interview
with Sy Keeler and Nige Rockett, in their lilting Bristolian
accents, which sounds identical to my brother-in-law. Let's
hope they don't have a caravan like him too. The four live
tracks recorded in Japan last year, show Onslaught (and the
crowd) to be a lot more animated than at the Warsaw show, and
despite the rawness of the sound and vision, I actually prefer
these clips to the more polished (play on words unintentional)
versions. Rounding off the dvd are a couple of audio tracks
from 1987 and the usual array of galleries, discographies and
the like.
www.onslaughtfromhell.com
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Silhouette - A-maze (Self Release) Review by Strawb |
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Purchasers of this CD witness the embryonic emergence of this
four piece Dutch band. Their first release, it features 9
tracks and runs for 53 minutes. Each of the tracks shows that
the credits for words and music belong to an individual member
of the band. No collaboration tracks here. Silhouette recorded
the tracks between August 2005 and May 2006, so they took
their time both in the studio and in post production and this
is reflected in the standards displayed throughout. Silhouette
list the classic prog artists who have influenced their music,
and these influences have obviously carried on into their
cover and insert design. A slight aside, but Chris (Davison,
L4M writer) and I were discussing the |
demise of vinyl in the context of the loss of a 12” x 12”
platform in this area, and how now the standard can drop with
under 5” x 5” on a CD. This is an example of where the larger
size would have been better. The group also score high with
their publicity sheet, factual and no bullshit – a reviewers
delight.
The band use electric and acoustic guitars, drums and
percussion, synthesizers and keyboards, bass guitar and three
members are shown to share the vocal credits. The tracks are
crisp and clear throughout and each one has a theme from the
becoming standard destruction of the world, caused by both fat
cats and global warming; to the in the title Betray Me and
Reunion; to the questions raised on the use of the services of
a prostitute. I am not sure if Long Distance is a comment on
that type of relationship or reflections of a stalker. The Lie
was my track of preference; it is a futility of war song with
good slower vocals, excellent instruments and a different
closure.
I would look for this band to move forward and produce
something better
the next time out, but that is my nature and should not
distract from this competent achievement.
Their website is at
www.silhouetteband.nl
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Solitude Aeturnus - Hour of Despair (Metal Mind)
Review by Chris Davison |
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Ah, these folks over at Metal Mind have been hard at work
again. For those of you not in the know, Metal Mind are a
Polish firm of metalheads who appear to be monopolising the
market in band DVDs of the metallic variety. This could have
been a bad thing, were it not for two essential facts.
Firstly, Metal Mind only ever seem to pick bands that I have
at least a passing interest in, and secondly, they only ever
produce superior products.
As you may (or indeed, more likely, may not) know, Solitude
Aeturnus are in the top league of doom bands, their career
spanning back to 1991. From the outset, the core of the band
has been the dynamic duo of Robert Lowe (now well known as the
new lead singer for the utterly amazing Candlemass), and lead
guitarist John Perez. While the band may have gotten through a
fair number of musicians in this time, and even had an eight
year hiatus between the Adagio album and the Alone opus, one
thing that has remained constant is the overall quality of
their music. This is also the case on this most sumptuous of
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releases. With a particularly clear picture, the lighting
mostly set in blue, this is one moody, atmospheric piece of
music film. The evocative visuals are a perfect companion to
Solitudes melancholic and slightly ethereal branch of the doom
tree. While net reviewers, (this scribe included) have been
busy hefting plaudits upon bands such as Sweden's Isole, it's
interesting perhaps to note that when you get a chance to view
one of the founders of the genre, you notice how powerful
their performance remains. Of course, with this being
heartfelt and snail paced doom, you're not going to get the
most electric of performances; there is no Bruce Dickinson
dashing about the stage or synchronised head-banging to keep
the eyes amused, but there is the mesmerising stage presence
of Rob Lowe, clad in his mock-priest gear and frequently
rolling his eyes into the back of his head like some sort of
possessed cleric.
So, given the quality of the back catalogue, the music on the
disc was never in doubt. The direction and lighting are both
excellent, and a refreshing restraint from the MTV generation
of editing that makes me feel like an epileptic in a strobe
lighting festival. The extras are also fantastic, with a
particularly candid (and lengthy) interview with the two main
men themselves, and the usual goodies such as a full
discography and web links. Two short live bootlegs are also
contained on the disc which show interesting, if non-essential
glimpses into the band circa 1987 and 1992, which should prove
ample given the main concert boasts an impressive 12 track
concert. That might not sound all that much, but given that
even the briefest of SA tracks is likely to be an epic for
almost any other band, you are certain to get a whole lot of
music for your money. The chances of anyone in the UK getting
to see this magnificent band in a live setting is roughly the
equivalent of me being voted the UK's sexiest man. Do yourself
a favour; shorten the odds and buy this disc. Once again,
Metal Mind show themselves to be the masters of the DVD
medium.
www.metalmind.com.pl/ |
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Whitechapel - The Somatic Defilement (Candlelight Records USA)
By: Dave Schalek |
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No, this is not some “Christian metal” band (Candlelight
wouldn’t do that to us and besides, there’s no such thing,
anyway) as I initially thought when I glanced at the band name
on the promo CD while hurriedly on the way out the door one
afternoon. Knoxville, Tennessee’s Whitechapel is a deathcore
band named after Jack the Ripper’s old stomping grounds.
Deathcore is definitely the description here, as Whitechapel
fires heavily in a death metal direction along with plenty of
nods to metalcore and even a few moments of melodic death
metal.
Now, given this hodgepodge of different styles being tossed
into the mix, an album going in |
all of these different directions can come across as very
disjointed, or even annoying, in less than capable hands.
Luckily, although I’m not metalcore’s biggest fan, Whitechapel are able to pull off
a seamless mix of these styles while still concentrating their
efforts on a death metal base. Utilizing plenty of growled
vocals with all out blasts, Whitechapel will also change gears
in mid-song with plenty of grove laden breakdowns, slow
grinds, and a switch in vocal approach that uses a high-pitched scream similar to those from other deathcore bands
such as Despised Icon and so forth. In addition, periodically,
some guitar melodies will find their way into songs, as well.
Considering that “The Somatic Defilement” is Whitechapel’s
debut full-length, the ability to bring disparate elements
into a cohesive whole is somewhat surprising for a young band
moving out into a crowded field. Certainly, if you get into
deathcore, you’ll do yourself a favor by picking up “The
Somatic Defilement”. Recommended.
www.candlelightrecordsusa.com
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