Live 4 Metal - Reviews

Artefact - Ruins (Rupture Music) Review by Crin
	The third album from this French band who do not play the melodic Black Metal the biog surmises. This is technical, smooth driving extreme metal with slight detours in Black/Death and symphonic sub categories. This all collides in a solid all round sound of explosive modern extreme metal. Harsh vocals sit with warm clean chanting, soft keyboards swoosh alongside twisting riffermania, and the clean precise production breaths a progressive under current into the music's core I have played this cd a few times and although there are glimpses of exceptional musicianship, there a few memorable moments, the ones that stick in the head are certain parts of tracks that burst into such moments sporadically. Maybe it’s
the sheer complexity of the arrangements. The music seems to gallop along one moment, slither the next. The guitars weave magical solo’s, and bolster the sound with that progressive edge. The track, Gargoyles Unleashing, is over seven minutes long, and yet there is so much crammed into the duration it may as well be twice as long. This is a very off the radar metal band oozing with passion and undisputedly capable of weaving a song and spitting it out as a ravishing extreme metallic fireball, but I am at a loss as to place them in any particular genre as they sound at times like numerous parts of many. At best this is a very clean sounding progressive European metal album injected with a Dismember meets Dark Tranquillity meets Emperor Serum. www.rupture-music.com

Atrocity - Werk 80 II (Napalm Records) Review by Steve Green
	Who's in the singles charts these days? No fucking idea. The shit that is considered "pop music" these days holds no interest for me at all, emo is bad enough, never mind anything "urban" or "street". Back in the 70's and in the 80s, I knew every single hit, even the stuff I didn't like. But in those days, the crossover into pop music and other forms of chart music was acceptable. Mainly because they wrote good songs back then. We watched TOTP 2 on satellite this morning and I loved watching The Specials performing Ghost Town, a song that is still one of my favourite songs today, as are many other hits from that era. So here we have Atrocity, yes, the Alex Krull fronted Atrocity, performing a number of
80's chart hits, backed by an orchestra, a choir and of course, Liv Kristine. I never got to hear the original Werk's album from a decade ago, so I didn't really have an idea of what to expect... boy was I in for a surprise or two. Their cover of Depeche Mode's, People Are People didn't really do it for me at first, but then I found myself singing it constantly wherever I went, so I guess they did a good job after all. Bronski Beat's Smalltown Boy is pure genius. With Liv Kristine handling the opening high pitched section, normally handled by diminutive Scot Jimmy Sommerville, this one gets off to a flyer and never lets up. It comes as no surprise that this is the first single off of the album. Atrocity are a Metal band after all, so after 2 poptastic renditions, it's good to hear them plug in for a killer industrial version of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Relax. Alex Krull growls his ass off and this mixes perfectly with his cleaner voice and I see this as another possible single. I doubt though, that this one will get banned like the original did. Moving into lighter realms, the 80s big hitters are represented by orchestral covers of Simple Minds, Don't You Forget About Me and Aha's, The Sun Always Shine On TV. The latter, not sounding a million miles away from Leaves' Eyes bombastic sound. I'm sure the purists amongst you are probably pissing yourselves stupid by now, but hey, this is a fun album and both songs are absolute quality. After an intense version of Icehouse's, Hey Little Girl (sorry, it was never a favourite of mine) we move onto one of my favourite songs from the whole of the 80s, Visages Fade To Grey. I was so nervous that they'd murder it, I almost didn't want to hear what they'd done to it. Never fear, it sounds amazing. It captures the spirit of how the original song felt, but adds a bouncy bass line and just a hint of death. I'm presuming Liv does the sexy French voiceover, originally performed by Brigit Arendt, and a favourite part of my youth is preserved forever. I never had any time for Talk Talk, so Such A Shame, isn't a song I really remember. And I've never heard of Ideal or their song Keine Heimat. I understand Atrocity wanting to include a German band, but Propaganda's - Duel, or anything from their classic A Secret Wish album would have been more suitable. As we reach the home strait, it's the Eurythmics Here Comes The Rain that gets a complete makeover, followed by Alphaville's Forever Young, which I knew instantly, but had completely forgotten about. I was more of a Big In Japan fan myself. And because I'd completely forgotten about Forever Young, it was a rather pleasant way to end the album. This album is a thoroughly enjoyable stroll down memory lane. Sure, it won't appeal to everyone, but if you were a teenager in the 80s and had a broad taste in music, then this is an essential purchase. Just a shame they didn't cover The Safety Dance, by Men Without Hats. www.atrocity.de \| www.napalmrecords.com

Avantasia - The Scarecrow (Nuclear Blast) By: Joe Florez
	It’s amazing to watch and hear Tobias Sammet grow and listen to his music mature with time. I didn’t think he could be capable of taking Edguy, which is his main band, into other territories other than power metal, but he did it with the last two records. While many diehards gawked at his work, I found it refreshing. Now Avantasia is nothing more than a side project with a million guests on it. The first two were a smash and quite frankly if he didn’t do another one (meaning this one) I was fine with it cause they were special and if he did come back with another one it was going to have to be a big one. The Scarecrow has been talked about for quite a long time now and it’s judgement day for the young German.
Rather than guess what avenues will the songs take, I think it would be wise to just pop the bastard in and hear what comes out. “Twisted Mind” is a strong mid paced opener that has Roy Khan at the mic. Kiss drummer Eric Singer is an animal behind the kit as he pounds away on this one as well as the rest of the tracks. Tobi’s singing is bright, colorful and energetic. It’s everything a fan of the man’s work could expect here. Simply perfect. The title track is the epic number that clocks in at eleven minutes. There is a bit of a folk flair to this one that goes along with the amped up guitars and heavy rhythm section. Plenty of string arrangements on here to truly earn the term "epic". Jorn Lande who fronts the song here has an extremely distinctive voice that makes you take notice. It’s powerful and entertaining. Home run. “Shelter From The Rain” provides the classic power metal sound that we all have come to love the man for here and the track is gassed up from beginning to end here. One of the highlights is the Alice Cooper cut “The Toy Master.” This one is creepy and what is shocking about this little diddy is that this is better than the material Alice puts out himself. The vibe on here give you the chills and the man’s voice does wonders to create nightmares in your head, even to this day. Tobias has really learned how make great music thanks to years of experience and it’s amazing at just how mature this is. I am not sure if some of the songs written on here were specifically catered to certain singers, but they fit like a glove and you would be hard pressed not to agree. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the mood for drama (What Kind Of Love w/ Amanda Sommerville), speed, mid-paced, power or eerie it’s in here. There is something on here for everyone. The man has proved his weight in gold with this release and you would be a fool not to pick this one up. www.nuclearblast.de \| www.tobiassammet.com

Balzac - Deep Blue: Chaos From Darkism (Misfits Records) By Ray Van Horn, Jr.
	While speaking with punk firebrand Casey Chaos, we got on the topic of the Japanese punk troupe Balzac, and Casey relayed to me that this band is treated with absolute reverence on their home turf, so much that they have their own clothing store called Shocker. Balzac are both fashion plate punks as well as ghoul rock revisionists who “Whoa-oh-ohhhh” their way through most of their fast-paced tunes, which has prompted many to label them The Japanese Misfits. While there’s a great accuracy in this, considering they have their own skull logo, devil locks and face drapes to coincide with their manic horror punk, there’s a lot of other influences swirling around in Balzac such as Generation
X, The Clash, Social Distortion and Killing Joke, to name a few. In other words, Balzac is a highly dynamic punk band with large-scale ideas and a high profile, over-the-top visual presence that has them ruling the Japanese underground. Courtesy of Misfits Records, Balzac has penetrated the rest of the world with Out of the Grave and Into the Dark and now Deep Blue: Chaos From Darkism, and it should only take another half a year or so before the American underground has caught onto these guys once the word has spread properly. Once you see kids running around in revival John Entwhistle skeleton bodysuits (which Balzac largely adorns themselves in) as well as Unknown Comic paper bags on their heads with one eye slit in them, then you’ll know… This is but one image Balzac straps themselves in, which is realized to a hilariously effective measure in their bombastic “D.A.R.K.” video, where Balzac and the entire crowd they’re howling to are all wearing the same get-up, a sea of baghead-bonebodies bouncing all around like lunatics. You have to admire the simplicity of it, even if they’re borrowed tactics. The reason Balzac gets away with it is because they’re a damned fine punk band that keeps the throttle going on songs like “Deep Blue,” “Japanese Trash,” “XXXxxx,” “I Can’t Stand it Anymore” and “Godless” with joyful and speedy chagrin. Despite the fact that two of the aforementioned songs (“XXXxxx” and “I Can’t Stand it Anymore”) also appeared on Out of the Grave and Into the Dark, along with “D.A.R.K.,” Balzac still heaps on a lotta muck for your buck on this package, including some demo cuts on the CD and then the project’s true highlight, a lengthy DVD filled with an entire concert, rare live footage and five promo videos including “D.A.R.K.,” which alone is worth its weight, just to savor Hirosuke’s wackadoodle screaming through a bullhorn for the entire song. Also noteworthy is Balzac’s stage highly electric performance; they’re relentless, energetic and welcoming to stage divers. If this is your first go-round , with Balzac, Deep Blue: Chaos From Darkism is a good way to get acquainted, and trust me, you’ll likely be spending more and more time with these guys, because their vivacious insanity is just plain addictive. www.misfitsrecords.com \| www.myspace.com/balzac

Deranged - The Redlight Murder Case (Regain Records) By: Dave Schalek
	I don’t care what anyone fuckin’ says, the always solid Deranged release some seriously intense brutal death metal of a high caliber. Usually, critics savage Deranged for being a one trick pony; if so, however, they do that trick pretty damn well and with a great deal of consistency over the years. To that end, Deranged release their seventh full-length, a barnstormer of a death metal album entitled “The Redlight Murder Case” on the ever reliable Regain Records (founded by Deranged’s first vocalist Per Gyllenback), as a concept centered upon the murders of prostitutes. Deranged is particularly good at laying down some intense riffing on top of all out blasts,
while enhancing the brutality with an insane amount of catchiness. Usually these all out blasts are sustained for an entire album, which is fine with me because Deranged are so good at it, hence the tendency of critics to pigeon hole the band and dismiss them. However, on “The Redlight Murder Case”, Deranged mix it up quite a bit with plenty of tempo variation and different song structures that are still built upon all out blasts (this is Deranged, after all) as a base. Don’t get me wrong, this is still all out death metal completely devoid of any trace of melody (one or two minor solos make an appearance as well as Deranged’s patented “whooo” guitar lick), but the tempo variations are combined with infectious riffing and a few hooks, along with the usual, sustained deep seated growling. Other than that, what else is there to say? “The Redlight Murder Case” is solid, brutal death metal and you either like this genre, or you don’t. I, for one, will get anything that Deranged releases. Buy or die. http://iamderanged.com \| www.regainrecords.com

Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works (Relapse Records) Review by Jesse Ketman
	Without a doubt one of the most interesting and frenetic musical experiences of my young life, the new album from Dillinger Escape Plan, entitled Ire Works, does it’s best to straddle musical boundaries with a fresh perspective on what can be done in extreme music. Until I spent some extended time with Ire Works, I was under the impression that Dillinger was firmly rooted in grindcore. While this remains true to an extent, there are really so many musical flavors represented here it would be a journalistic crime to lump this group into any kind of categorization. The first couple of tracks (Fix Your Face and Lurch) display the required speed and intensity for fans to take it seriously, and really gear up the adrenaline.
Track three, Black Bubblegum, changes this build-up energy completely. All of a sudden Dillinger slows down, starts singing melodically, and throws in a catchy chorus, topped off with some slight electronic influence. On paper this may sound scary, especially if you’re fond of brutality, but I think it really works in this case, and reminds me strongly of Peter Tagtgren’s (Hypocrisy) brilliant side-project Pain. Things just get weirder (ie more interesting) as the album progresses; the next 2 tracks, Sick on Sunday and When Acting As A Particle, are electronic instrumentals that are surprisingly strange, but incredibly interesting nonetheless; a good analogy to the whole album, indeed. Things continue in much the same vain for the duration of Ire Works, utilizing much more of the frenetic grind sound fans love, as well as a few more creative, cleanly sung tracks like Dead as History and Mouth of Ghosts. I have a feeling that Ire Works is going to surprise a good amount of people, mostly due to the somewhat commercial nature of some of the tracks (IE Black Bubblegum), but don’t let that off put you, as it’s really quite good, with some great lyrics (You forget that in your fairytale, bitch I’m the wolf!). As I alluded to previously, there are so many influences going on in Ire Works, ranging from frenetic metal to jazz to electronic to atmospherics, you really never know what’s around the corner. What you will realize, however, after just a couple of tracks, is that this is an extremely ambitious project, with surprises and audible treats around every turn. You may have some preconception in your head as to what Dillinger are all about; it’s my duty to tell you to forget everything you ever knew and approach Ire Works, far and away one of the most interesting releases in extreme music in a long time, with an open mind. It’ll be way easier to blow that way. www.dillingerescapeplan.com \| www.relapse.com

Eternal Deformity - Frozen Circus (Code 666) Review by Steve Green
	Having started 15 years ago as a Doom band, Poland's Eternal Deformity are now the purveyors of crazy fucked up circus music, well that's the concept at least. I guess it's just a theme to try and make them standout in the crowd. Forget the attempts at the circus lark, because if you want crazy, then go and track down the Lunatic Gods from Slovakia. When you strip away the band names: Announcer on Vocals (obviously), Juggler on drums, Illusionist on Keyboards etc... and the occasional dip into fairground music, you are left with the shell of what they really are. A solid Rock/Progressive/Avantgarde/Metal, whatever you want to call them, band. There's a nice dark edge to everything and I think
overall, there's no need for this Metal Circus crap as the band don't fit onto that image anyway. This is more comparable to their fellow countrymen Riverside, with a gothic slant that veers into more symphonic environments. I prefer the darker, more moody material such as Little 15, which a gothic masterpiece in the making, especially the keyboards, from our friend, Illusionist. I also like the symphonic, blacker tones, but only when they flow in a uniform way. The downside is when they tend to drift in and out of different styles. For example: The softer approach doesn't work on Crime, but the more bombastic parts of the song do. So a little more cohesion is called for in places. Don't believe the hype on this one. Eternal Deformity are far from the "Circus Metal" act they are marketed as. Sure there are the occasional flourishes, but this is far from being a new, exciting genre. Frozen Circus is a good album in its own right and enjoy it for that, and that alone. www.eternal-deformity.com

Ophiolatry - Transmutation (Regain Records) By: Dave Schalek
	Standing a bit below Krisiun on the Brazilian death metal totem pole are bands such as Abhorrence (whatever happened to them?), Nephasth and Rebaelliun (the ashes of these two bands recently formed The Ordher), and, the subject of this review, Ophiolatry. Each of these bands is more or less playing the same style; that is, generally brutal death metal with exceptional speed and similar riff structures from one band to the next. The bands are all somewhat cookie cutter clones of each other, which means that they’re all pretty good, in my opinion. At any rate, though, Ophiolatry has been around for quite awhile and now release their
second full-length, entitled “Transmutation”, on Regain Records. Getting signed to Regain Records (Brazil’s Forces Of Satan Records has a hand in this) is a big coup for a band that’s been around for almost ten years and has released numerous splits, but has only managed one proper full-length prior to “Transmutation”. Basically, “Transmutation” is typical Brazilian death metal with fairly technical, lightning fast riffing, blastbeats galore, a few time changes, burped vocals, and not much variation from track to track on this 16-song opus. Luckily, each song averages only about 1 ½ minutes or so, so the prospect of the material getting boring quickly is dealt with in a reasonably efficient manner. Overall, there’s nothing surprising about “Transmutation”, but this is enjoyable brutal death metal nonetheless. However, there is one surprise, I suppose, which resides as the last track. The last song is “Prelude #4”, a beautiful classical guitar piece by Brazilian classical composer Heitor Villa- Lobos from the 1940s. I instantly recognized the piece because my father, who plays classical guitar, has played the piece since I was a kid. “Prelude #4” is a nice touch to finish the album, and a nice homage to an influential Brazilian musical giant. www.ophiolatry.org \| www.forcesofsatan.com \| www.regainrecords.com

Otargos - Kinetic Zero (Rupture Music) Review by Crin
	The first track proper emerging from the obligatory synth intro, drags its rotten carcass across huge crunching riffs, bass chords thicker than snot flavoured treacle and a scowling vocal delivery more aligned to a retro blackened thrash act. As the slithering menace of the intro fades into oblivion, the band burst into life in a flurry of snapping snares and busy guitars. The thing that grates me the most is the sound is far from the Black Metal ethos I was led to believe.. This is more modern melodic Death; a kind of snarling At the Gates meets Sentenced. The sound has none of the icy bleakness or chill factor the Norwegians, nor any mystical attributes. To even suggest this band are Black Metal is quite bemusing in
itself. Taken in its context, the music here is inventive, well delivered and bolstered by a heavy as hell production. They say never judge a book by its cover, and in a Metal music you can generally account for the contents by the cover art, and especially the band pics, but not in this case. This is the bands second album, and as I have not heard any previous works, I can only presume the band were more black metal in sound than they are now. Even the corpse painted band members cannot sway my aforementioned words on the sound here. That apart, there are many bands doing this kind of blackened metal and this is neither any better or worse. www.rupture-music.com

Rebellion - Miklagard (Locomotive) Review by Metal Mark
	If Viking warriors were around today would they listen to this music to fire themselves up for battle? Maybe not, but Rebellion certainly get fired up on singing about Vikings, battles, raising you sword and hammer high and everything that goes along with that process. The music is pure power metal of the non-sappy, moderately heavy variety. They are not recreating the wheel here, but they do tear at their material like they mean it and that helps. The music is overall heavy and direct, but not very complicated which makes it only just initially likable. “Miklagard” gets repetitive rather fast both in music and subject matter. Not a bad way, but it certainly becomes predictable rather fast and it’s not helped much by a
vocalist with a very limited range. Diehard fans of this style of power metal will love it while fans of more complicated power metal or more casual fans might get bored about 2/3 of the way through.