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Atargatis - Nova (Massacre)
Review by Steve Green |
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With its grand intro, I thought I was about to hear another
new album by Epica. And apart from the different style of the
female lead vocals and a lessening of the operatics, this
isn't really a million miles away from the Dutch masters (and
Mistress). Apart from Epica, I could make comparisons with
countless other bands. And that's the problem with this album.
Lush melodies, the odd male growled vocal to counteract the
dulcet female tones, orchestrated musical interludes, the
items on the tried and trusted formula goes on and on. It is
all beautifully constructed, Stephanie Luzie, also of Darkwell,
has a stunning voice, but I've heard it all before. This style
has been done to death more times than I care to |
remember. This could be anyone from the Napalm roster or any
other European label and it could be any other faceless band
that has a female singer. Not even a dazzling cover version of
the Army Of Lovers, Crucified will make me change my mind on
this one (although I do really like this and the original).
I might be being a little harsh with Nova, but I'm not
having a go at either Massacre Records or Atargatis, I just
want bands to stand out from the crowd, but unfortunately,
this album just blends in with countless other releases. If
you like this sort of thing, then this album does sound
magnificent, it's just a shame that it sounds so bloody
predictable.
www.atargatis.de |
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Audiopain - The Switch To Turn Off Mankind
(Vendlus) By: Dave Schalek |
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The eloquence of Fenriz surfaces again with the following
quotation: “Support Audiopain, not Audioslave!” Given the
explosion of 80s retro-thrash that’s been occurring lately, a
band that’s been at it for awhile, Norway’s Audiopain, release
their second full-length, a rather short, six-song effort
entitled “The Switch To Turn Off Mankind” on Vendlus.
Having some connections to Aura Noir (gee, what a surprise),
Audiopain takes generic, second tier thrash from the mid 80s
and runs with it. A band that particularly comes to mind is
New Jersey’s Whiplash (they’re remembered mostly because each
band member was named Tony), along with a zillion others from
the era that all sounded the same. Take the |
rather weakly produced, generic guitar sound of the second
tier acts of the time and combine it with boring,
run-of-the-mill riffs and song structures, add a typical
thrash metal gallop with very little tempo variation, and you
have exactly as I’ve described: generic, boring thrash. I
suppose that what has attracted the attention of Fenriz is
that the music is somewhat filtered through the punk
sensibilities of Darkthrone’s latter output, mostly with a
snarl present in the vocals (Audiopain’s vocalist appeared on
“Plaguewielder”). No wonder why Fenriz is so enamored of
Audiopain.
Fenriz’ enthusiasm aside, this is not particularly good. There
are a few catchy moments, but we’ve heard all of this before,
and done much better, more than 20 years ago. This synopsis of
Audiopain is also somewhat of a critique of the resurgence of
80s thrash as a whole. This is not to say that thrash is a
dead end art form, but most of the new acts that I’ve heard
(there are a couple of exceptions) aren’t pushing the art form
forward and are, instead, simply cashing in on a current
revival of old material. A few of the acts will probably
survive to eke out a career of sorts, but I don’t think that
Audiopain will be one of them. Eh.
www.audiopain.com |
www.vendlus.com |
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Colosseum - Chapter 1: Delirium (Firedoom)
By: D.W. |
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When I first gave this album a spin, dusk was in submission to
the cold blackness of a Pacific Northwest evening, and upon
hearing the introductory volume swell of a guttural, agonizing
growl right as I turned away from the stereo, a genuine sense
of dread permeated the air in my apartment… and as soon as the
actual music started, comprised of a balance of haunting
keyboard/orchestral arrangement complementary to ripping vox
and driving funeral battery and guitar assault, uneasiness
concomitant to curiosity toward its abysmal essence ensued.
The aura of bewilderment and delirium ambient in the
soundscape emanating from this album seriously invokes
nightmarish thoughts of hopes and dreams |
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torched to ashes by delusion, illustrated in themes of
Sumerian/Lovecraftian mythos and dismal ambience; indeed the
listener should not be surprised to find their emotional
stability shattered into suicidal depression throughout the
whole damn album, and when it’s over it feels like a burden of
grief has been lifted, and that hey, maybe this knife
localized to my femoral artery probably shouldn’t find itself
in a position so labile to performing a quick and messy
exsanguination. One cannot help but submit to the sleek and
deliberate melodies over monolithic, classically-influenced
chord progressions, though those expecting a bit more
brutality might be disappointed as there is a focus on the
synthesis of an incredibly bleak, lifeless, doubtful and
dementia-ridden atmosphere versus beating you to a pulp at 30
bpm like Catacombs or Disembowelment. Rather, this music
brings out the worst of the psyche, and all those doubts and
fucked up aspects of life that you thought were repressed
embody a sonic hydra of these abominations that strikes for a
giant “fuck you, your life is a delusional piece of garbage
and nothing remains for continuing your petty existence.”
Believe me, if fucked up shit is going down in your life, this
album will be draining and relentless to your consciousness.
Definitely a worthy funeral doom album, and certainly
remarkable in its place as the principal funeral doom
excursion spawned from the darkest corners of the mind behind
Yearning. Whatever the hell they feed these Finns to keep on
pumping out such grim and funereal material, keep on bringing
it. Needless to say, the future of Colosseum as a heavy hitter
in modern funeral doom definitely appears promising after this
excellent first effort.
www.colosseumdoom.com |
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Herman Rarebell & Band - I’m Back
(Mausoleum) Review by Metal Mark |
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When a vocalist or a guitarist does a solo album you may have
some idea of what it could be like. When a drummer does a solo
album you probably have no idea what it could be like because
it’s an instrument that doesn’t normally have as distinct a
style as the voice or the guitar. Former Scorpions drummer
Herman Rarebell has delivered an album that ranges from
somewhat rocking, to sedate to bizarre. There are tracks on
here sound like 1980’s AC/DC, there’s a song that reminds me
of Tom Petty, there is a cover of “Rock You Like A Hurricane”
that doesn’t sound much like the original. So what we get is
really a mixed bag with the emphasis on mixed because it’s all
over the place. Nothing here that’s exactly |
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shockingly bad, but there is also nothing that’s all too
exciting or fantastic either. There is no doubt in my mind
that Rarebell was the best drummer to sit behind the kit for
the Scorps, but here he is just kind of lending his name and
sort of leading things as much as he can. It just all sounds a
bit haphazard and comes across as being very uneven and
perhaps a little unsatisfying in the end. It didn’t bother me,
but it didn’t impress me enough either. I don’t think
Scorpions fans are going to be thrilled by this and my guess
would be that there are indeed the largest group who might
initially be interested in this album.
www.hermanrarebell.com |
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Primordial - To The Nameless Dead
(Metal Blade) Review by Steve Green |
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I
think for the past couple of years, Napalm Records has been my
favourite label. This year, I think Metal Blade has been by
far, the label with the most consistently impressive releases,
although nothing has been a candidate for my album of the
year, up until now that is. I think my top two are already
decided upon and both are from more traditional Rock/Metal
bands, so that leaves Primordial in prime position as my
favourite Extreme Metal release of the year.
I have listened to a couple of Primordial tracks in the past
as they were recommended to me. And although I liked what I'd
heard, there was nothing there to make me go crazy |
over. To The Nameless Dead, is a completely different
proposition and the album is a glorious epic, that anyone who
likes extreme music should listen to. And legally as well, as
vocalist A. A. Nemtheanga has made his views on illegal
downloading very public recently. And hardworking bands like
Primordial do not deserve to be ripped off, nor do any other
band come to think of it. Anyway, back to how great this album
is.
This album is huge in sound and huge in texture. Nemtheanga
screams his heart out on practically every song and the
musical backdrop for this impassioned display, really is out
of this world. There's a whole epic feel about the album and
if I had to break it down into sub-genres, then the core of
the sound is Pagan Metal, but there are plenty of Primordial's
Irish roots on display and well as the occasional blackened
moment to add to the intensity. And this is an intense album.
Empire Falls is like a stirring battle anthem, with a huge
rolling army of guitars battering the shit out of you. The
rhythm section follows the leads of the guitars and batters
fuck out of the thick production. This is unbelievably good
shit. And the eight minute opening number sets the standard
for the rest of the album. Gallows Hymn once again see
Nemtheanga bare his soul and his voice is like another
atmospheric instrument, bellowing for all his worth. With the
first two numbers being so good, I fully expected the level to
drop, but no, Primordial keep it going on As Rome Burns and
Failures Burden... and every song after that, especially
Traitors Gate, which just blows me away every time I hear it.
And now I finally realise that I've missed out on such a
special band. With every song, you actually feel like you are
there, like this is a re-enactment of a story or of a piece of
history somewhere else in time, or maybe in another life.
Music is a powerful force and Primordial seem to have unlocked
its mystery.
My thoughts on this album after a few weeks of sporadic plays
are that it is destined to be a classic. In this game it is so
easy to never play a cd again after you've reviewed it (St
Anger being a fine example) but I know this is going to be a
favourite of mine for years to come. I hope discovering the
back catalogue is just as much fun as getting into this album
was. Absolutely essential listening.
www.primordialweb.com
| www.metalblade.de |
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Spice and the RJ Band - The Will
(Scarlet Records) Review By Chris Davison |
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Having first heard Spice on the brilliant Spiritual Beggars
“Mantra III” opus, it was a pleasant surprise to have this
platter come clattering through the letterbox (which reminds
me, I must punch my postman in the gob – he's always
clattering away at my door). Spice, of course, has one of
those voices that come around only once or twice in a
generation. His earthy tones are perfectly suited to the cusp
of hard rock and heavy metal, and yet again we find him at
work here in that particular genre.
Seemingly frustrated at not being able to write exactly what
he wanted, it seems as if the Spice-boy decided to form a band
with two old mates (the titular R, and indeed J that |
comprise the band are Ruben and Johann), and chuck genre
conventions out of the window and write just what the hell
they wanted to. Apparently. Actually, because of the
distinctive nature of his (admittedly) excellent voice, it's
sometimes a little hard to disassociate this with his previous
discography, but in general terms, it really is a little more
liberated in wearing a plethora of influences on their
collective sleeves. Here and there you will find poppy hooks,
plaintive tracks such as the emotive “Hold On” and out and out
barnstormers. Some of this is going to be a bit...well, let's
be honest here, “soft” for the average metal head, but let me
remind you dear rivet-head reader that there are twenty four
hours in the day, and not all of them need me dedicated solely
to the gods of metal. In my very own life, I can generally
allow up to and including forty minutes for only remotely
related to metal aural shenanigans.
The song writing therefore is tight, and you'll soon find
yourself tapping your foot along to the music here, and the
full and fruity production is like a big fat woman; warm,
squeezy and fulfilling, but you wouldn't necessarily want to
spend a lot of time with her. (Feminist readers note: I dig
fat birds, but then being ginger, I have low standards). I was
struck time and time again just how close to Radio 2 airplay
much of the music here is, but then again, for those moments
when you just want to wind down a bit, there's nothing wrong
with a bit of soulful hard rock.
Oh there is? Bugger.
www.scarletrecords.it |
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The Cursed - Room Full Of Sinners
(Screaming Ferret Wreckords/Locomotive Records) By: Joe
Florez |
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This is a new project from Overkill frontman Bobby “Blitz”
Ellsworth and Dan Lorenzo from Hades. Fans who are expecting
another power/thrash fest like Overkill will be thrown for a
loop as this is a tremendous departure from that realm. This
is something more. “Sweeter” will be a tremendous indicator.
For starters, the riffs are meatier and heavier. The bass is
thick and low and the drumming is harder and slower. The
biggest shock is that Bob lowers his throat capabilities.
Sure, you will be able to hear some of his screams, but they
are more or less far and in between. There is plenty of sludge
action going one here as this is all about punishing the
listener. Even the solo isn’t full of high impact energy. It’s
more |
precise, short and down trodden. Even I was surprised by this.
There is very little room for melody. “Evil, In The Bag” has a
bit of a catchy vibe going on thanks to the guitar licks. The
pace is picked up a bit and you can bob (pun intended) your
head to this one. Wow! I’d like to know how in the hell they
managed to sneak a saxophone solo on here and make it work.
“Serpintine Slither” is a funny number because it has more of
a jazz aesthetic to it thanks to the rhythm and the
infectiously low key bass pluckings. This one rocks out from
time to time, but this is a goodie. While I would have liked
this to have more oomph and less drag, this is cool to hear
the gang try something out of the ordinary and see if they can
produce an album that doesn’t represent their day jobs. The
tracks on here are very quick. In fact, the disc is under
forty minutes. This may make some fans happy or sad depending
on how much of a beating you can handle. This is more or less
for fans of Floodgate, Crowbar and basically, you get the
idea.
www.locomotiverecords.com |
www.screamingferret.com |
www.the-cursed.net |
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Wulfgar - With Gods and Legends Unite
(Kampas Records) review by Sam Thomas |
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Wulfgar are a five piece outfit from Sweden, a land which has
definitely produced more than its fair share of great metal
recently. This is another perfectly produced piece, very much
in the style of Amon Amarth. Well, that’s not a difficult call
to make, even just looking at the artwork (hairy Norsemen) and
considering the title. But these are not a hairy bunch of
imitators, although I could list the many comparisons between
them and Amon Amarth, they have produced something which
whilst it is indeed in the style of, it is nonetheless not a
pale imitation of the aforementioned Vikings.
The subject matter is very much what you might expect: Norse
mythology and conflict. And |
I don’t mean wishy-washy inner conflict and angst, we’re
talking blood and gore here. Titles such as “Cleansed by
Fire”, “Kneel to the Hammer of Thor”, “On a Battlefield in
Midgard I Will Die” and “Brothers of War (Into Valhalla They
Ride)” are a bit of a give-away really.
Emil Augustsson has the perfect vocal style for this: he
sounds exactly like a grizzled veteran of many frozen winter
campaigns as he roars out the lyrics. I can absolutely picture
him with an axe in one hand and a horn of mead in the other.
And I think that that is one of the best things about With
Gods and Legends Unite – the ability of the tracks to convey
pictures of ancient times with such clarity. I have no problem
at all in entering into the nine worlds of the Norsemen whilst
I’m listening to this, it is truly evocative. Sod your battle
metal anthems, this is the real thing!
The song structures are well-crafted, having an almost
mathematical logic and precision to them that makes them
almost catchy, in a sledgehammer kind of way. There’s also
some very clever use of guitar, notably on “Wendigo” to sound
almost like horns sounding above the intensity of battle,
whilst the drums pummel away, relentlessly.
It’s quite scary to discover that, a few demos aside, this is
Wulfgar’s debut album. If only all debut albums were this
good! Taking the band’s name from an epic poem might seem to
be a rash act of self-aggrandisement, but these guys match up
to the name they have chosen. They’ve chosen to forge a path
in a genre that I adore, and they have done it to perfection.
More of the same, please!
www.kampas.fi |
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