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A Life Once Lost - Iron Gag (Ferret)
Review by Steve Green |
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Iron Gag, great title by the way, is my first acquaintance
with A Life Once Lost and it's one where I'm undecided on
whether it's any good. Firewater Joyride is like a filthy
downtrodden version of Pantera and I've had enough Pantera
sound-a-likes recently to last me a lifetime. Ok, this is
loosely another Pantera comparison, but I can dig the Southern
influences, which remind me of Down, but a version of Down
with Phil Anselmo delivering his vocals in a more traditional
Pantera style, rather than the more laidback vibes as
demonstrated on Nola. During certain numbers, the lack of
melody in the verses, or anything to latch onto, spoils it for
me. It's when the music is dragged down into the gutter |
that I lose touch with it and this is at times, quite
depressing listening. I'm just not feeling it. On the upside,
there are some pretty cool choruses to get stuck into,
particularly on The Wanderer and All Teeth, which are also
complimented by some pretty nifty guitar work.
For all of my protestations, Iron Gag is also an album where
I've not really got anything bad to say about it either. The
production is good, the guitars sound great, especially when
they switch to twin guitar mode, and there are a couple of
songs that although I like them, they don't bowl me over. The
problem is that I've heard this style done so many times
before, even if A Life Once Lost add their own whiskey-fuelled
take on a well worn path, I guess average just about sums it
up.
www.alifeoncelost.com |
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Descent - This Violent Reality (Corellian Records) Review by
Marco Gaminara |
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In some ways it's really nice being able to complement people
you know on things well done, but man does it suck when you
have to do the opposite. Thankfully I only have compliments
about this album. Having played gigs with Descent from 2001-3,
I watched them go from strength to strength, and "This Violent
Reality" is the definitive culmination of a good few years of
work. It's nice to see that they included some of the older
tracks that I'm more familiar with on here, as that adds to
the nostalgia of the album, but fuck me is the new stuff
awesome. From the opening barrage of "Enemies Closer" and Ross
White's scream overlaid with thumping rhythms and guitar
melodies, it's easy to tell that this is going |
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to be fast and aggressive without any attempt to sugar-coat
their sentiments. Marc Dyos' drumming reminds me a little of Gene Hoglan's, in
the way it's so damn precise that it's scary, but having seen
them live I know he has no difficulty pulling off the
intricate tempo changes and timing signatures used on "My
Failure". Ross's aggro shouts and growls are complemented
brilliantly by Duncan Mitchell's far more guttural roars, but
then the clean vocals used on "Unanswered" meld seamlessly
into the former that it adds unexpected melodic layers to an
already powerful song. For me Tim Spurr is the unknown
quantity in the quartet, but suffice to say that he's been
assimilated into the fold and his leads scream professionalism
over Ross and Dunc's guitar and bass, even if they have to
fight rather hard over Marc's drums on occasion. ;o) "World Of
Dreams" has a very The Haunted feel to it, I guess that's cos
it's more hardcore than death metal, and in your face with
some Slayeresque riffage combined with Maidenesque melodies.
Sustaining the intensity, but with melodic choruses "Reveal"
flows into "Nothing's Changed" where the intensity is turned
up a notch and the snare leaves your ears bleeding 'til the
kick drum triplets come in to soothe them and the growls
become harmonised vocals take away all the pain. Far moodier
and chunkier is "Blasphemy Reborn" with its quickly changing
guitar riffs and leads, while "Dust Of The Fallen" combines
both fast and slow riffs for added texture. While most of us
would rather not know what really goes on "Behind Closed
Doors", it would appear that voyeurism is still thrust upon us
by tabloid and media, but it's nice that they decided to air
these leads as they would've been wasted otherwise. Taking
things to a completely different level with a pretty tribal
drum beat at first, layered onto by melodic guitars and then
finally all put together with bass and growls "Empty Words"
has a mellow choruses which have you swaying in your chair,
but insanely fast verses that makes you bang your head
involuntarily. Starting to wrap things up with "Concrete
Self", Descent have made a complete run through their best
material and you feel compelled to listen to it all over again
just to feel the sheer energy they exude in their music and
enthusiasm. and while it's been a long time coming, "Nine
Hours Of Hate" is a fitting conclusion to the album and a
clear display that they haven't eased on the throttle, in fact
have made certain that their older songs are faster and
heavier than they were 7 years ago.
www.descentonline.co.uk |
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Fen - Ancient Sorrow (Northern Silence Productions)
Review by Crin |
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English Black Metal, as I have repeatedly addressed, is not so
much a scene, but a collective of bands who are basically on
their own, making unique music that will more than likely end
up in the mists of time, unheard, forgotten and totally
ignored.
If I mention the following decent UK Black Metal acts, [past
and present] The Belonging, Arcane Church, Niroth, Ash, and
that’s to name but a very few, then you, or more to the
point, your memory of the aforementioned bands will
attest to this theory of mine.
So, here we have another enigmatic act, who gallantly enter
the polluted underground to carve their name in the embers of
darkness. Thankfully, I just adore the home-grown |
Blackened music, and I have always found it to be very
separated from the cloning Europeans and maybe that fact is
the music’s downfall in penetrating the much lauded overseas
market.
The music of Fen, is very much inspired by the lengthy driving
rhythms of Opeth, but never in blatant homage, rather as an
equally hypnotic lengthy compositions.
There are three tracks, the first, Desolation Embraced, an
eight minute brooding track that follows a simple arrangement
through epic guitar riffs and gentle keyboards. The harsh
vocals utter their bile fuelled words across the uplifting
melodies. The second track,
The Gales Scream of Loss, is a rousing similar track, with a
clean choir-like backing tethered to the tormented darker
vocal deployment.
Finally, Under the Endless Sky, clocking in at 12 minutes, is
a step up in gear, and the rapid drum work is the only real
difference to the otherwise still prevailing atmospheres of
the previous track. Again, the winding guitar arrangements are
the main body of the song structuring, with the rasping vocals
reminding us that the music is not just a instrumental workout.
English Pagan Black Metal is how I would describe Fen, The
dictorial description of the word Fen is thus, lowland
covered wholly or partially with water; boggy land; a marsh,
not conclusive in musical comparisons, as thankfully the
opposite can be credited.
www.northern-silence.de |
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Fleshcrawl - Structures Of Death (Metal Blade) Review by James
Young |
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Germany’s Fleshcrawl have been around since 1987, although
they were called Morgöth before 1991. Since then, they have
put out eight albums, one EP, and one compilation. With such a
tireless work ethic, I was hoping that this would be a sign of
quality rather than of churning out endless slabs of
predictable death metal. Unfortunately, the result is a little
bit of both - there are numerous signs of a great band - the
great melodic yet immensely heavy guitar riffs mingling with
fast drumming, crammed with exciting solos and a nice range of
growled vocals from frontman Sven Gross, with backing vocals
by the rest of the band. On the flip side, even though just
over forty minutes in length, the start of the album drags, |
and the band adds absolutely nothing new to the genre. To be
honest, it’s nothing better than what Monstrosity or God
Dethroned have already put out, and leaves you wondering what
they were hoping to expect in rehashing the old formula.
Let’s take the album’s weaker points - the first half of the
album is much weaker than the second half, sounding like a
ramshackle mixture of weak screams and thrashy death metal,
which is so shockingly generic it actually bored me from the
start. Usually I say that you can tell whether a death metal
band is your cup of tea after one song, and this certainly had
me turned off - the production is pretty good, but the sheer
unoriginality shines through. Take song endings for example -
the final flurry of words in ‘Structures Of Death’ are
‘structures of death…of death’, and the last lyrics of ‘Into
The Fire Of Hell’ are (you guessed it) ‘into the fire of
hell’. The same goes for ‘Written In Blood’, and although the
drilling drums are noteworthy, the same can’t be said for the
song in general. Onto the more enjoyable aspects of the album
- from around track five, ‘A Spirit Dressed In Black’, we have
a much more rounded death metal sound coming from the five
piece, with enjoyable song endings and headbangable riffs
throughout. Although the song titles are ludicrously
unoriginal, like ‘Fleshcult’, and ‘Anthem Of Death’ (no, it
really exists), the overall sound is vastly improved. Some of
the melodic hooks reminded me of Amon Amarth, especially in
‘Rest In Pain (R.I.P)’, where even the vocals are similar to
the death metal Vikings. This is probably the most enjoyable
song on the album, with a great solo, with groovy melodic
sensibilities woven throughout. ‘Anthem Of Death’, despite the
name, is another standout number with gloriously crunchy riffs
and clever hooks from Oliver Grbavac and Mike Hanus. Even
‘Nothing But The Flesh Remains’, despite its predictable
repetitions of the title throughout the song, contains a
fantastic build-up into a fast and exciting ending.
Had the first few songs been absent from the album, the whole
thing would have been more enjoyable. Unfortunately, these
first tracks merely serve to desensitise you for when the good
stuff comes along, and elongate the album for more than is
necessary. This still comes recommended for who are able to
overlook the generic death metal elements and appreciate the
more exciting aspects, which, believe it or not, are numerous
on this album.
www.fleshcrawl.de |
www.metalblade.de |
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Machinemade God - Masked
(Metal Blade) Review by Steve Green |
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I really thought
this album was going to blow me away. An Epica style, grand
keyboard opening makes way for a fusion of Thrash and a more
friendly (ie: commercial) brand of Metal to bounce along to.
The combination of raw and clean vocals works really well and I'm
already settling down for a corker of an album. Unfortunately
nothing matches the dizzy heights of Forgiven and I'm left
feeling a little perplexed.
I'm not sure why the rest of the album doesn't hit home like
the opening number. I'm guessing that it's all a bit
formulaic. The clean vocals on With You are so weak, it's hard
to believe they came from the same source that blew me away on
the previous song. I do like
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the extreme vocals of Flo Velten,
he brings the power to the band, but unlike Five Finger Death
Punch, Machinemade God haven't mastered the art of sustaining
the power during the lighter moments which are peppered
throughout most songs.
Personally, I'd ditch 90% of the clean vocals and concentrate
on the extreme end of the bands sound. When they are in full
flow, they sound convincing. Unfortunately, their attempt at
commercial acceptance is their Achilles heel. If they decide
to follow a heavier direction, I think they've got huge
potential, as the full-on Thrash of Vengeance showcases. But
I'm afraid that the weaker side of their sound will alienate
the more hardy of Metalheads.
www.myspace.com/machinemadegod
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Seree Lee - Variation-A (Lion Music)
By: Joe Florez |
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What we have here is another instrumental guitarist trying to
make his way into our hearts and make sure that we buy his
record. Two things pop up immediately that are quite odd. One,
Lion Music did not pick up this artist to sign to the label.
Rather Seree has a distro deal with the Finnish company.
Secondly, since when does a hot shot virtuosos come out of
Thailand? Well, we have one here and boy is this guy a breath
of fresh air to the already over populated scene.
“Stumble”
quickly grabs you by the ears thanks to the simple and
infectious riffing. There are these bizarre sound effects that
bounce in and out of the song. It doesn’t take long for |
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the man to switch gears and change things up with his
breakdowns. The flashiness on here is minimal. He makes things
fun and exciting here, but doesn’t go over the top. “Dragon’s
Fight” is what I would like to deem as a summer song cause
this is one jam that you want blaring in your car as your
cruising with the windows rolled down. There is a Satriani-esque vibe
going on here, but Seree knows better than to be a carbon copy
of the legend and just do his own things, which he does
successfully. This is a flat out rocker that keeps the energy
level on high for the duration. There is some shredding action
going on here, but it isn’t obnoxious. “Tough Guy” takes a
slightly different path and goes for the groove mode as there
is plenty of excitement from the blues rock licks to a killer
rhythm that just has you absolutely cheering the man on as he
cuts his way through 40 minutes of no nonsense B.S. The music
is more than versatile so it won’t bore you by being on a
single track. You get the upbeat and uptempo jams like the
first two mentioned as well as mid paced numbers like “Funny
Trip” or “Solar System” that aren’t as high impact, but still
deliver the goods. The one thing or two that I noticed is that
there is no sappy ballad on here to be found or something that
is overtly over the top. Seree keeps his ego in check and is
always in control of his guitar performances. This is a solid
debut in which I not only hope people will pick up on, but
that Seree will continue to write good music down the road.
What a treat this disc is. www.lionmusic.com
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Sodom - The Final Sign Of Evil (SPV)
By: Dave Schalek |
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You have absolutely no idea how much I was looking forward to
this release, or how ecstatic I was to open up the latest
batch of promos from SPV in my mailbox and find the latest
from legendary Teutonic thrashers, and a seminal first wave
black metal band of the utmost importance, Sodom. My personal
history with this band goes all the way back to 1984 with the
release of “In The Sign Of Evil”, an EP that belongs in every
self-respecting metalhead’s collection.
Sodom first burst into the collective consciousness of myself
and my friends in early 1984 with the classic "In The Sign Of
Evil" EP. Featuring goofy looking band members with |
stupid names, weird haircuts ("Check out Angelripper's bowl haircut!"
one of my friends exclaimed), a silly cover, atrocious sound,
broken English song titles and lyrics that made no sense, and,
at the time, the most over the top, primitive black/death
metal to be found, Sodom earned a regular spot in our
collective rotation for years to come. For some of my friends,
this was the album that cemented everyone's interest in the
percolating first wave of black metal.
Although drummer Witchhunter would remain with the band for
some time, guitarist Grave Violator would make no further
contributions and only lived on as a mysterious, legendary
figure. Sodom went on to become regarded as one of the
forefathers of all extreme genres of metal and the rest is
history, so to speak.
Jump forwards to 2007 and Sodom is still going strong, firmly
rooted in Tom Angelripper’s work ethic and desire to keep the
band soldiering on, even with a steadily revolving door of
band members over the years. Feeling nostalgic, Angelripper
manages to entice Witchhunter and Grave Violator (the legend
lives!) to give it a go once again, with a re-working of the
original EP combined with seven additional tracks that were
intended for a debut full-length that never occurred (as a
side note of interest, those of you over the years that
managed to track down one version or another of Sodom’s
original two demos should know that these seven tracks did not
appear on those demos). This package now appears as “The Final
Sign Of Evil”.
Sodom’s taking a chance here, make no mistake. Re-tooling a
classic twenty plus years after the original is going to
rankle some people. Ultimately, however, Sodom can do whatever
they wish with their artistic endeavors, detractors be damned.
So, after this tremendous build-up, what actually occurs on
“The Final Sign Of Evil”? Well, not what I was expecting,
that’s for sure. I was expecting a full-blown beefing up of
the original material, replete with a gigantic, clear
production, professional musicianship, and a faster version of
what was to be had in 1984 (similar to the “Outbreak Of Evil”
re-working that appeared on some versions of “Persecution
Mania” years ago). No, not even close.
Angelripper’s approach is to completely strip and dumb down
the music, musicianship, and production back to the days of
1984. Besides the simplicity of the original EP’s five tracks,
the other seven are also of much the same vein, with simple
riffs and patterns. In addition, the musicianship is
intentionally very sloppy and even includes seemingly
“unintentional” mistakes and variations in tempo where there
shouldn’t be any. The production is very low-fi, but notably
lacks that energy and originality that was present back in
1984. In addition, the seven tracks not originally on the EP
aren’t nearly as interesting as the original five. In
retrospect, the original EP was done just right.
My initial listen of “The Final Sign Of Evil” was one of
disappointment and, although I “get it” in terms of
Angelripper’s intentions, repeated listens did not change my
opinion very much. I hate to say it, but there’s really no
reason for this release, in the form it is. Anyone looking to
explore Sodom for the first time should begin with their
classics such as “Persecution Mania” and so forth. Old fans
such as myself will probably be disappointed because we’ve
heard this before and done correctly the first time around. In
short, there’s no audience for “The Final Sign Of Evil”.
www.spv.de |
http://sodomized.info/
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Valkyrja - The Invocation of Demise (Northern Silence Productions)
Review by Crin |
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Swedish Black Metal strikes again, and
this time with a bite that devours the senses like a cocaine
fuelled insomniac clawing at the walls of your skull. Relatively newcomers to the scene,
having formed in 2004, and with two demos appearing in 2005.
The quality of this debut is rather startling as it contains
some immensely enjoyable gatling gun Black Metal. The drum
work pounds the atmosphere with remorseless precision,
demolishing the air with ear shattering savagery. The thick guitar sound is reminiscent of
the Norwegian band, Kvist, and fellow countrymen, Dark
Funeral. What gives this band an edge, is the fluency of the
songs, the well oiled musicianship that drives the music into
a ravenous velocity that just
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slowly melts into the head like blood trickling from an open
wound. The severity is made light work of and translated into
a very accessible form of fast, baneful Black Metal. The
decisive speed of the music however is not [and this applies
to so many bands] the strength of the album. When the
pace is reduced, the true power and rhythmic balance is
unleashed, revealing in its wake a band that can also write
great songs. The fact that the faster material is just as good
makes this band a definite one to look out for in the future.
www.northern-silence.de |
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Wolfpack Unleashed – Anthems of Resistance
(Napalm Records) Review by Chris Davison |
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I don't know about you, but for some reason that band name
just seems to scream “dodgy black metal outfit”. You know the
kind, the ones that parade around with Nazi ideology in order
to cover their short comings in a musical sense. Luckily for
me on all fronts, Wolfpack Unleashed have nothing to do with
such pathetic creatures. They are instead, it would seem, an
absolutely excellent thrash band.
Now I, along with many other metalheads in their thirties,
will remember Thrash the first time round. Like many of my
peers, I now have a healthy suspicion about any attempt to
revitalise the genre, great though it was, and in some senses
still is. The problem was that |
“back in the day”, for every Megadeth or Slayer, there were a dozen Slammers and two dozen
Acid Reigns. Looking back at thrash with rose-tinted glasses
is all very good, but you have to remember that a lot of it
was fucking crap. Patriotic as I am, most of the new wave of
British thrash sounds awful at worst and generally contrived
at best, while many of the bands seem to think that wearing
bermuda shorts and a grin wider than Cherie Blairs is going to
make you awesome. It doesn't.
So, with cynical head on, I was more than pleasantly surprised
when Wolfpack Unleashed exploded across my speakers like
sticky white love matter across an aspiring actresses frontage
during specialist film footage. This is easily the best thrash
album I have heard all year, and to be honest, one of the best
thrash albums I have heard since the turn of this century. A
German outfit, WU have more than one foot (that would be two
then :P) placed in the bay area crunchy sound, while they have
guitar solos that are tastier than eating KFC off Kate
Beckinsale. The rhythm section is absolutely crushing, with
the bass and drums combining to be an almighty war machine. It
goes without saying that the riffs are both infectious and
heavy, not unlike a plague ridden Pavarotti (excuse the
controversial comparison!). It is perhaps in terms of the
vocals that I especially love this release though; rasped and
hoarse, they are nether the less completely audible and each
word is clearly discernible. This is really a lesson in how to
combine heaviness with hooks, and the vocals are prime thrash.
The songwriting is stellar, so for every thoughtful yet
powerful track such as “Killing Fields”, with its technical
guitar and soaring melodies, there is a bludgeoning brutal
number like the utterly essential “Religion of Control”. The
production is beefier than a weekend at the McDonalds
slaughter house, and should really be held as a model of the
modern thrash sound. All this and no Andy Sneap in sight! It
isn't hyperbole when I say that this is going to be the best
thrash album that you are going to hear in a very long time.
Oh, and buy it and you'll avoid some German fellow telling you
what album you're listening to. Twice a song.
Note to Napalm: please don't do this. If this wasn't such a
brilliant album, it would make me quite angry, and you
wouldn't like me when I'm angry...
www.napalmrecords.com |
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Wolves In The Throne Room - Two Hunters
(Southern Lord)
By: Dave Schalek |
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Simply put, if you like atmospheric black metal, the fastest
rising stars of USBM, Wolves In The Throne Room, have just
released an album that will easily find its way into your 2007
top ten list, if not reside entirely at the top. Yes, “Two
Hunters”, released on Southern Lord, is easily that good.
The Pacific Northwest of the United States, although not very
prolific in black metal, hosts three of the best USBM bands
around. Agalloch and Velvet Cacoon have received plenty of
accolades, but Wolves In The Throne Room is currently getting
the most notice with their epic take on black metal centered
on nature themes that originate solely from an American |
perspective and not merely as some Scandinavian rip-off.
“Diadem Of 12 Stars”, the band’s debut, was an excellent album
that strongly hinted at greatness to come. That promise is now
realized on “Two Hunters”.
Consisting of four long tracks, “Two Hunters” contains and
perfects all of the elements present on “Diadem Of 12 Stars”.
Fast, dissonant riffs with a dreamlike quality, haunting
melodies and harmonies with ecological overtones, the periodic
appearance of clean, female vocals, variations in tempo, and
even some psychedelic moments reminiscent of mid-period Pink
Floyd all combine together on “Two Hunters”. These disparate
elements have a haunting, simple quality that form rich song
compositions that are very much more than the mere sum of
their parts. It is precisely this quality of Wolves In The
Throne Room that separates them from many of their atmospheric
contemporaries. The three main tracks on the album, the first
being a soaring, melodic six minute introduction with layered
keyboards, masterfully weave together different elements to
produce absolutely hypnotic songs. This approach culminates
with the last track; a 17-minute opus entitled “I Will Lay
Down My Bones Among The Rocks And Roots” that is one of the
year’s truly epic songs.
There’s no doubt that “Two Hunters” will figure very
prominently in my top ten list for 2007. Utterly essential.
www.southernlord.com/
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www.wolvesinthethroneroom.com/
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