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Catamenia - Winternight
Tragedies (Locomotive/Massacre) Review by Metal
Mark |
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I
believe this style is often referred to as melodic death metal
which is a label that death metal fans would have likely been
very opposed to say 15-16 years ago, but times changes and so
do musical styles. The vocals are very much deeply embedded in
the old standard growling death metal approach. Yet the music
is where the difference lies, but I was expecting more of a
blending approach to the music and that’s not really what
happens. There is more of a separation to the music with heavy
death metal thrashing here and then some power metal style
there, and back and forth the two styles dance with each
other. I like how they plunge ahead without hesitation as I
think gives the sound a definite forceful |
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tone to it. The production values are very solid indeed and
manage to keep the different sounds on equal level and that is
vital for this approach to really work. Catamenia have a
strong handle on how to keep and maintain the energy level
going strong, but their creativity is really just decent as
they don’t particularly take a lot of chances. It’s enjoyable
for sure, but a lot of the tracks tend to melt together as
they are somewhat similar. Really it’s a good album, but far
from being a great one.
www.locomotivemusic.com |
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Destructor - Forever In
Leather (Auburn Records) Review by Steve Green |
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This cd took about 3 weeks to arrive from the US during the slowest of
all December postal delays. But it was worth the wait as this baby went
straight into my top ten albums of the year. Having played this
practically non-stop the last 3 weeks, it also fits in quite nicely with
everything in my collection from the 80s and it genuinely sounds like an
album that was recorded in that era. Yes, Destructor could be classed as
cheesy as they are as overtly Metal as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, or even
the cheese-masters themselves, Manowar. But shit, this is what Metal is
all about. Anthems that you can shout, scream and jump along with, revel
in their majestic being... and yes, you can rock like a bastard to them
too. |
Just a brief bit of Destructor history, that'll explain where
Destructor are coming from, if you haven't grasped that
already. Destructor were formed in the 80s and their career
was cut short when their bassist, Dave "Holocaust" Iannicca,
was murdered in 1988, which, understandably, was the beginning
of the end for the band. Fast forward to 2002 and the band had
now reformed with a new bassist, and had some unfinished
business to take care of...
It's obvious from the first notes of Tear Down The Heavens,
that Destructor are still very much in the 80s. Unadulterated
Heavy Metal, crashes head on with driving Thrash to create an
utterly absorbing slice of molten Metal goodness. The guitar
solos flow like drinks at an alcoholics convention, the drums
fly from every available angle, the bass rumbling on like
(proverbial) thunder and the vocals are like a cross between
Rob Halford's and Bruce Dickinson's. A perfect Metal
combination. And I cannot get enough of this. You don't
need a breakdown of this album as all you need to know is that
it contains 11 Metal anthems that will strike a chord with all
true fans of Metal. Fuck all trends and fads, this is
everything you'll ever need in a Metal album. Utterly
essential and available via
www.auburnrecords.com |
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Ensepulchred - Suicide In
Winter’s Moonlight (Autopsy Kitchen Records) By:
Dave Schalek |
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Indiana is a rather strange place to find an ambient, keyboard
driven black metal duo, but that’s exactly what the eternally
gruesome Autopsy Kitchen Records has dug up in the case of
Ensepulchred. The duo’s second full-length, a sixteen track
long monstrosity from 2006 entitled “Suicide In Winter’s
Moonlight”, was originally self-released and is now being
re-released by Autopsy Kitchen (apparently, some of the tracks
have been re-recorded for the re-release).
Ensepulchred’s brand of ambient black metal is driven almost
entirely by melodic, atmospheric keyboards, simple drum
patterns that are pretty obviously programmed, and |
muted, grating vocals reminiscent of Sin Nanna from Striborg.
Basically, a summation of Ensepulchred is that the keyboards
completely overwhelm the non-existent guitar and very muted
bass tones that are present. Initially, this sort of works and
is suitably haunting and atmospheric, but there’s not much to
differentiate the songs from one another, although there are a
few variations in speed. In addition, the mechanistic quality
of the drum patterns robs the music of the depressive
atmosphere that this form of black metal heavily relies upon.
Also detracting from the quality of the music is the
overwhelming keyboards’ propensity to begin sounding more like
a John Carpenter soundtrack from the 1970s rather than bleak,
depressive black metal. An out of place “Texas Chainsaw
Massacre” sample further ruins the atmosphere, and sixteen
tracks of essentially the same rhythms and melodies is way too
long for this release to be effective.
Autopsy Kitchen has found some unique recordings in the
deranged madness of Diagnose: Lebensgefahr and Stalaggh, but I
found Ensepulchred to be fairly pedestrian and wholly
forgettable.
www.autopsykitchen.com |
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Marblebog - Forestheart
(Autopsy Kitchen Records) By: Dave Schalek |
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Marblebog is a mostly single entity, sometimes duo, from
Hungary playing ecologically-tinged, Burzum-styled black metal
with plenty of atmospherics and a raw edge. “Forestheart”, the
third full-length and the sole creation of founder Vorgrov,
was originally released in a very limited tape edition in
2005, re-released by Tanhu Records on CD in 2006 (also a very
limited edition), and now finds a wider audience after being
picked up by U.S. label Autopsy Kitchen Records. “Forestheart”
is re-released with re-worked cover art and a new layout, as
well.
“Forestheart” comes across as a somewhat slower, dreamier
version of “Filosofem”- era |
Burzum with droning riffs, typical rasps in the background,
simple drum patterns with barely any fills or rolls, a fuzzed
out production, and atmospherics aplenty with some simple
acoustical work. A mix of tempos occurs from song to song,
with some slow, dreamy tracks and a few set at a faster pace.
The quality of this release varies, though. A few of the
songs, particularly “I Am The Forest Heart” are quite good,
with some memorable riffing and plenty of droning atmosphere.
Also, the song finishes with a nice flourish of acoustics.
Periodically, some strange, haunting melodies emanate from a
song or two, particularly “Howling Of Purity”. However, the
remainder of the six track album is rather uneventful with
some sub-par, non-memorable songwriting, and a few really
sloppy, amateurish moments when the riffing noticeably drifts
away from the accompanying rhythm. Unfortunately, these
qualities detract from what initially promised to be a solid
release.
Essentially, although very promising at moments, “Forestheart”
falls a bit short of a recommendation. I know that some place
this album in high regard, but “Forestheart” does not quite
stand up to the classics of the genre.
www.autopsykitchen.com |
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Remasculate -
Perversemonger (Unexploded Records) review by
Sam Thomas |
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Perversemonger is the second full-length recording from
Stockholm’s Remasculate. They are a fairly standard
death/grind outfit in pretty much standard death/grind style –
think Exhumed or Carcass and you won’t be too far off beam.
Vocalist Ludvig Engellau comes from Demonical, and drummer
Marcus Jonsson from Insision, which should give you a few
further clues.
The absolute best thing about this particular release is the
track titles: “This is Sour Music”, Abscessories” and “Well
Hung Over” had me howling with laughter. Sadly, this is also
where the big criticism sneaks in as well: because there are
no lyrics to read, and the |
distorted vocals are just a bit, well, distorted, I can’t
laugh myself sick at the lyrical content. Which is the whole
point of sick, extreme metal isn’t it? I’m sure that the lads’
ability to write twisted words isn’t solely confined to the
titles, so why for fuck’s sake keep them secret? I hope we
haven’t got into a Desecration-style persecution here, where
anything the band attempt to publish results in litigation.
Basically, what you have here is sixteen tracks in
thirty-something minutes, of reasonable standard grind,
disappointing only for the aforementioned lack of information.
Remasculate aren’t quite in the same league as Exhumed just
yet, but I assume it’s only a matter of time.
www.remasculate.net |
www.unexplodedrecords.com |
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Torch Of War - The
Principle Of Cosmic Instability (Autopsy Kitchen
Records) By: Dave Schalek |
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Autopsy Kitchen Records has gone out sifting through the
depths of Germany for some very harsh black metal in the form
of one-man act Torch Of War. A highly abrasive collision
between older Darkthrone and the “Az-I-Dahak”/ “Ordog”-era
thinned out sensibilities of Black Funeral, Torch Of War
effectively combines the elements of those classic acts into a
fierce blast of caustic, cold air.
What’s immediately striking about Torch Of War is the
atrociously thin, fuzzed out production that hits you as a
wall of noise that will literally hurt at high volume.
Exceptionally low-fi in production quality, the guitars on
“The Principle Of Cosmic Instability”, the debut |
full-length, virtually disappear in a sea of white noise, as
would be the case with latter-day Black Funeral. However,
Torch Of War eschew Black Funeral’s jarring, industrial
approach for a more straightforward blast of Darkthrone- style
black metal with, strangely enough, a full drum sound despite
the thinness of the production. The combination of muted,
higher pitched rasps, thin guitars, and full drums actually
works here, and the songs are further enhanced by some
downright catchiness to the riffing (which you can just barely
make out of the static). As abrasive as the music is, you may
actually find yourself humming along to some of the tracks!
However, this is definitely an album to take in measured doses
and a rather short running time of about 40 minutes or so
definitely works to Torch Of War’s advantage. Any longer,
frankly, and this album would be an exercise in auditory
masochism. Recommended with the caveat that Torch Of War is an
acquired listen, even for the “kvlt” amongst the readership.
www.autopsykitchen.com |
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Various Artists - Metal
Message IV (Metal Message) Review by Steve Green |
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As much as I like Pagan/Viking Metal, I don't know enough
about the genre. This is something I intend to remedy this
year and this compilation is a great starting point. After
hearing volume 3 of this series in 2006, which I think Crin
ended up reviewing, I decided I had to keep this one for
myself, and I'm really glad I did.
Of the bands I'd not yet discovered, Tharaphita from Estonia,
with their pulverizing, battle ready Pagan Metal, for me,
stand head and shoulders above the rest of the bands. Other
bands of note are Theudo from Belgium, whose keyboard led, The
Journey To Lyngvi stands out, as does the medieval noodlings
of the folkier Alkonost from Russia. Shame their |
website isn't in English as I'd like to know more about them.
Having converted fellow L4M scribe Strawb to the world of
bagpipes this past summer via Scottish nutters Soar Patrol,
I'm sure he'd like Germanic outfit Slartibartfass. Another
band that I'm sure are great to jig around to in a muddy
field. I also like the sound of Irminsul from Sweden, although
their production on Vinterskald is a little thin.
As well as discovering a few new bands, it was good to get
acquainted with Forefather once again with Engla Tocyme, from
the album of the same name. Forefather are a band I really
need to buy the back catalogue of. And the same goes for,
probably the most well known band on the cd, Skyforger. A
Crested Bird Sings, is simply stunning and a perfect example
of how good Folk-Metal can be.
Of the 13 bands on offer, I liked elements from every band.
Now and again I wasn't keen on a vocal style, or some other
small point, but overall, all of the bands are of a very high
standard. As is the presentation of this compilation. With
cover artwork by French artist Jean-Pascal Fournier and the cd
artwork itself designed by Kris Verwimp, you know a lot of
effort has been put into releasing this compilation.
www.metalmessage.de |
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Vulture Industries - The
Dystopia Journals (Dark Essence) Review by Steve
Green |
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I've not made my mind up yet on whether Vulture Industries are
crazy. This Bergen based band are comparable to the likes of
Arcturus, without being as outlandish, as well as other
Norwegian bands that break the stereotypical Black Metal
mould. Yet they fire off on different tangents and add so many
elements, a lot of them extremely subtle, into their
Progressive sound, it has me wondering whether it is musical
genius or a bunch of crazy Norwegians making crazy music.
Whatever side of the fence I finally decide to fall on,
there's no mistaking the quality of Vulture Industries work.
The musical side of the band provide a thick, beefy Metal
edged sound that is punctuated |
by violin and piano, while the vocals flip from, what to me
sounds like a modern, intensely theatrical version of Jethro
Tull's Ian Anderson, to an angry out of control growl.
The varying styles of both music and vocals, really give
Vulture Industries a captivating platform to perform on. And
this album does feel like a theatrical performance. There's
just something about their unusual approach that takes this
away from your normal environment and into something a lot
grander than your customary shitty music venue. Suitable for
airing in the Electrowerkz, (the shittiest venue in London I
could think of) this most certainly isn't.
The Dystopia Journals is something a little different from the
norm, but it is not different enough that you don't feel at
home with it instantly. Well worth checking out.
www.myspace.com/vultureindustries |
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Warbringer -War Without
End (Century Media) By: Joe Florez |
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The second or third massive tidal wave of new thrash acts keep
coming at the masses by the truckload. Furthermore, it seems
like the acts are getting younger and younger just like in the
80’s. LA's Warbringer has ages running amok from 17-22 and if
you think that they might be inexperienced, think again. These
kids throw down malicious riffs and sinister beats that’s
enough to cause your ears to bleed. The bio says that they are
all the rage now and since I take those comments lightly I
must investigate myself. What I heard was nothing short of a
FUCK YEAH! “Total War” is a full on onslaught of unrelenting
guitar licks and quick drumming that would make Slayer fans
grin. It’s fast and punishing without any sense |
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of melody. Thank God someone in this field got the formula
right? When you play mean and aggressive music, don’t lose the
momentum for any reason or else you will be left in the dust.
John Kevill’s vocals are anything but refined. His screaming
is enough to wither the flowers next door and I say this with
much love. It’s easy to figure out their influences came from
a steady diet of 80’s thrashers: Exodus, Testament, Slayer and
anything else from the San Fran area. I would be wasting
everyone’s time about commenting on each track because they
all breath the same fire and the tempo’s are similar with the
exception of some songs being slightly faster than others with
more use of double bass drumming. The bottom line is if you
like your music raw, but with good production and you need a
reason to put on your denim jacket and wear your bullet belt
on a Saturday night then this is it. Long live the new wave of
thrash.
www.centurymedia.com |
www.myspace.com/warbringer |
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