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Archeon - End Of The
Weakness (Metal Mind) Review by James Young |
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It’s so easy to compare Poland’s Archeon to Children of Bodom,
but it really can’t be helped. The fast double bass drumming,
the neo-classical guitar riffs, and the extreme vocals that
sound pretty much identical to Alexi Laiho could quite easily
be mistaken for the Finnish metal monsters. However, with
Bodom growing in commerciality and putting out sub-par albums
as of late, it’s nice to hear a band still playing something
that resembles the sound of their ‘Something Wild’ era. The
keyboard sound especially harks back to the days of Bodom’s
most exciting and creative album. That’s enough comparison -
let’s assess the band on their own merit. This has the twiddly
quirkiness of power metal, with |
growled vocals of Michal
Kostrzynski yelped over the top of it all. The production is
well-executed, capturing the dual guitar harmonies of
Kostrzynski and Radek Polrolniczak, along with the excellent
jig-worthy keyboards of Janek Lesniak.
Each song revolves around a variety of key riffs, which are
straight from the power metal camp akin to Sonata Arctica and
Bodom. The fast double bass drumming contained within most of
the songs such as the opener ‘Arising’ or ‘Day Of The Doom’
certainly borrow from Bodom in their speed elements. The
stand-alone guitar leads, that usually lead into a solo, as in
the case of the latter song, are nothing we haven’t heard
before, but are well done, and show some great talent. The
solos, both guitar and keyboard, are fast and great to hear,
and the neo-classical influence that went into songs like
‘Ruins of Life’ had me as enthralled as when I first heard
Bodom’s ‘Something Wild’, even though being several years
later failed to hit me as hard. What is slightly more
promising in the originality stakes is ‘Hungarian Dance’, a
metal take on the classical piece by Brahms. Unfortunately
this only lasts for a mere minute, but it’s an interesting end
to what was otherwise a fairly predictable album.
It’s interesting to see such an act hailing from Poland, a
country renowned for its death metal without as much melody as
this. A dose of originality really wouldn’t go amiss, because
these guys are clearly incredibly talented, and ‘End Of The
Weakness’ is by no means a boring listen. Carving their own
sound in the genre would do them a world of good, and
certainly end their only weakness.
Note - Archeon have now changed their name to Made Of Hate and
a new album ‘Bullet In Your Head’ is also expected this February.
www.metalmind.com.pl |
www.madeofhate.net |
www.myspace.com/archeontheband |
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Behexen - My Soul for his Glory (Hammer
of Hate Records) Review by Crin |
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Ripping Finnish Black Metal that hurtles along in true Black Metal form.
Raw to the marrow, sinister head hacking music from a band who have been
around since 1994.
The album starts with the remorseless onslaught one would expect, a
hammering aural attack that shreds the ears into lacerated strips of
steaming meat. With 4 tracks of pummelling Black Metal setting the scene
of Satanic horror, the quite resplendent, 666, drools forth and drags you
into a slow motion soundscape of utterly captivating, gloom inspired
atmosphere. With the tone almost stooping into a stop, the
pace regains its momentum with the following, Cathedral of the
Ultimate Void. It is the ability to merge |
melody with dispassionate chaos that truly measures a good
Black Metal band from a bad one. Emperor were masters of this
ability, and there are many who also can spin a fine tune.
Immortal and Dark Funeral seem to have this ability, whereas Gorgoroth are overrated
when it comes to writing memorable songs. Behexen are a wonderful band who
drive onwards with an inexplicable knack of making a song both interesting
and enjoyable. There’s not much innovation, not much different happening,
but what we get, is done extremely well and with panache. This is, in every
way, a Black Metal album played how it should be played. It hovers above
the complete nihilisms of the Under a funeral Moon, style but never
ventures far beyond the riveting fury of, let's say, Marduk.
So, paint that face a deathly pallor, clasp that baseball bat bristling
with 6 inch nails and go and leap about a desolate cemetery hailing all
things to awful to mention in public.
www.hammer-of-hate.com |
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Day Eleven - Sleepwalkers
(Dockyard 1) Review by Steve Green
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I wish bands would sometimes stick to producing just one
type of music. After reading the biog, I really didn't hold
out much hope for this cd. But the pure punk energy of opener
Dissonance Fading had me eating my words. Ok, it contained a
few mellower moments, but boy, this took me completely by
surprise. Imagine if the Foo Fighters had the adrenaline rush
of Dave Grohl's previous band Nirvana and you are getting
pretty close to getting it. Track 2, Message, same raw energy
again. Salt, pepper and ketchup are now primed for my word
eating session... only that they, Day Eleven, can switch
styles so quickly and the raw energy can be replaced with a
soft harmony vocal in an instance, so the alarm bells are |
still ready to ring. If Nothing Comes Of You is too radio
friendly and is now veering towards arena rock and this is now
as dangerous as an amputee eunuch at a Roman orgy. My worst
fears were unfortunately confirmed and apart from the
occasional burst of energy, this album simply wimps out. If
you want to be showered in smooth light rock/pop
sensibilities, then fine, but don't dress them up in another
guise that doesn't deliver on what it initially promises.
Insert (no pun intended) prick teasing comparisons at will.
Look, these Finns are obviously a talented band, but the loss
of power and the switching of styles alienated me and I'm sure
it'll have the same effect on countless others.
www.day-eleven.com |
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Death Angel - Killing
Season (Nuclear Blast) By: Joe Florez |
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It’s been four years since The Art Of Dying and while that was
a very good effort I was waiting for something more. I read on
sites about how the band said that this was going to be their
heaviest effort yet. I was more than intrigued. Now, the time
has come. Will it a memorable one or just another throwaway?
“Lord Of Hate” opens the program with an acoustic guitar
intro. I am absolutely counting the seconds till the boys all
plug in and thrash away. By the 55-57 second mark, Mark comes
in and screams away as if there was no tomorrow. The riffs are
plentiful and gassed up with rage, yet they are catchy and
actually memorable. Andy hasn’t missed a step as he |
bashes on the skins . While this isn’t the fastest track on
here. There is more than enough energy on here to kick you
square in the nuts. I first heard “Sonic Beatdown” on Sirius Satellite
Radio’s Hard Atak program and absolutely fell in love with the
song right away. Now this number is more traditional thrash
oriented. The singing is much faster, but you can still make
out all the words and everyone else from the twin guitar
attacks to the rhythm section are on par and give it their
all. The funny thing here is that unlike the past, all the
cuts on here are funk free. The guys weren’t kidding when they
said that this was going to be more aggressive. I think the
four years off was a good decision to make before making
another record. It’s diverse, mature and filled with rich
dynamics. The best part is that this one will have you coming
back for more. I didn’t think they could write one song on
here without throwing in some funky influences, but they
managed quite well. The songs for the most part are more
straightforward than in the past. It’s not as technical and
out there. Bottom line is that this definitely makes my album
of the month and will vie for the spot for album of the year.
Now, instead of always playing on the west coast, can you
please do a full length tour? You do have fans all over the
U.S.A.
www.nuclearblast.de |
www.deathangel.com |
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Mass Extinction -
Creations Undoing (Underground Movement) Review
by Steve Green |
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I
remember Mass Extinction from the Intoxicated Volume 4, comp
cd I reviewed near dead-on, a year ago. Their old school
thrash had a heaviness that I compared to Slayer. This time
around I have three tracks to play with and yes, the Slayer
comparison will be made once again. Look, I could quite easily
throw in a dozen names and you could associate all of them
with different parts of Mass Extinctions make up. But most
importantly, these Dubliners have captured the vibe of the 80s
perfectly. It's kind of hard to truly evaluate them with only
3 songs on offer, but there is enough here to hint at a band
that could go places if all of their other songs have the same
quality as the ones on this EP. My |
only concern would be that although some of the choruses are
shouted out, ala Anthrax and to a lesser degree, Suicidal
Tendencies, they aren't as memorable as that of their peers.
To make the next step up the ladder, a "Caught In A Mosh"
style anthem is probably going to be needed. But the potential
is most definitely there.
If you are, or were, a fan of Anthrax, Slayer, Nuclear Assault
etc... then you are going to love what Mass Extinction serve
up. Get this one via:
www.underground-movement.net |
www.myspace.com/massextinctionmetal |
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Overkill - Immortalis
(Bodog Music) By: Joe Florez |
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I have to admit, I was like a mother who has abandoned her
child after birth with this New Jersey quintet. My first
contact with Overkill was with the videos for Under The
Influence and The Years Of Decay. I bought that one and the
infamous Fuck You E.P. I listened to them a little after that
and then I simply quit hearing what they would put out. It’s
only with a pair of their last releases Killbox 13 and Relixiv
that I started getting back into them again. And ever since,
Joe got his groove back with this group. I did buy a batch of
their back catalogue and now I have the pleasure to dissect
Immortalis. The opening punisher “Devils In The Mist” is like
they have never missed a step. D.D.’s distinct bass playing is
heard loud |
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and clear and packed with rhythm while the guitar are
impressively catchy as always and make you want to thrash as
usual and Bobby’s vocals sound just as good as before. It’s
fast, simple and addictive. Sure, it’s the same thing as their
older material, but they have a right to do what they want
cause they have laid the groundwork for all the up and coming
thrashers that want to pay homage to their idols like this
crew. I found myself bobbing my head and air drumming. This is
sweet! The funny thing here is that I just reviewed Bob’s
other band The Cursed and boy oh boy this is like night and
day, even vocally. After a couple of songs going at it alone,
Randy Blythe from Lamb Of God lends his raspy growls and with
the Blitzman they create a beautiful duet that is simply skull
crushing. Sure, I used the most overused cliché, but it’s
true. All the ingredients one could ask for are here.
Basically, there are no surprises here unless you were
expecting them to play progressive death metal or something.
They are playing the kind of music that was meant to be played
for decades and they do it well. If you are a fan of the band
or thrash in general then this is a necessary. If you are
someone new to the genre or the group, then get this and get
schooled on how this genre should be played.
www.bodogmusic.com |
www.wreckingcrew.com |
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Overkill - Live At Wacken
Open Air 2007 (Bodog Music) By: Joe Florez |
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Here we go again with another one, but this one is just a
little more special It’s Overkill performing at the world
famous Wacken festival in 2007. Fourteen cameras were on hand
to film this one properly. Now, I saw them at this very
festival in Germany in 2001 and they kicked ass. Could they do
it again? There’s a nice overhead view of the park during the
band’s intro and it’s dark out. You can see the all the
various tents that served food and sold goodies of all kind.
On the main stage rightfully so, the New Jersey guys kick the
doors down with “Rotten To The Core.” Despite looking a lot
older now, Bobby voice remains intact as he shreds away on
this one. The place is packed and digging the boys and
everyone in the band is giving it their all for the fans. The
edits are fast which are annoying, but they are done nicely
and you get to see everything from the stage to the park. It’s
funny when Bob addresses the crowd and pronounces Wacken with
a ‘W’ instead of like a V as in Vacken which is how you say it
in German. |
Hell yes, back to back classics. “Elimination” is up next and
my blood is just pumping. Everyone just tears this one up. D.D.
just abuses his bass here and when “Blitz” says “Elimination”
he shrieks it like a dying dog rather than on the album when
it’s short and razor sharp. The new song “Skull And Bones” is
showcased on here. While it’s a duet with Randy from Lamb Of
God, he’s not here so Bob’s right hand man D.D. takes over on
vox. Despite this being only 50 minutes long, you get a
mixture of two brand new cuts from which the band was
promoting Immortalis at the time. There are some songs from
the new discs and obviously a trip down memory lane with the
songs mentioned above and things come to a close with “Fuck
You.” The band is tight. The songs are fast and filled with
grooves and they all sound like the studio versions so there
are no strange surprises. The boys have been busy lately with
the re-release of Wrecking Crew live with was their first DVD
and of course Immortalis and now this. The down side is that
this is a bare bones release with no extras of any kind. The
upside to it is that it’s cheap. About twelve U.S. bones. The
one thing I like about the label and the guys is that they
didn’t decide to repackage Immortalis with this DVD as a bonus
treat and jacking up the price higher. This is sold
separately. Fans must have this in their collection.
www.bodogmusic.com |
www.wreckingcrew.com |
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Rotten Sound - Cycles
(Spinefarm) By: Dave Schalek |
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Ah! Scandinavian grindcore drops into my lap in the form of premiere
Finnish act Rotten Sound’s latest full-length, entitled “Cycles”, from
Finland’s Spinefarm Records. “Cycles” is Rotten Sound’s fifth full-length
and, as always with this band, is an absolute scorcher from start to
finish. Consisting of eighteen all out blasts totaling just over a half
hour in length (anything longer than that for a grindcore album is
wasteful), Rotten Sound launch a politically-tinged salvo of grindcore of
the highest caliber on “Cycles”.
If you’re new to Rotten Sound, the band’s bread and butter is fast
grindcore with a decided Sunlight Studios death metal influence with the
signature guitar “crunch” of bands such as |
Dismember and Entombed present is spades. However, Rotten
Sound’s intensity is definitely greater than that of the
typical Sunlight Studio band; that said, however, Rotten Sound
is not just about all out chaotic blasts as a few mid paced
moments make appearances with thick riffs as well as some
standard death metal song structures. In addition, the vocals
lean away from the deep seated growls typical of Sunlight
Studios- style death metal and are a bit higher pitched in
timbre.
Overall, Rotten Sound is a well established grindcore band that certainly
flirts with the absolute top of the genre. If grindcore is on your list of
favorite genres, you pretty much can’t go wrong with Rotten Sound’s
releases and “Cycles” is yet again a solid effort from a veteran band.
Excellent.
www.rottensound.com |
www.spinefarm.fi |
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Spearhead - Decrowning
the Irenarch (Invictus) Review by Chris Davison
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Go on then, tell me the last great extreme British metal album you heard.
I don't mean good, I mean excellent. See? You're scratching your head
aren't you? Not easy is it? Well, fear not, because if you secure yourself
a listen to this album, you're likely to have an easy answer to that
question.
Spearhead are a war obsessed extreme metal outfit hailing from
these very isles. Sure, so we already have the rather fabulous
Bolt Thrower, with all their fatigue-wearing goodness, but
Spearhead are a completely different proposition. Now, as I
have said before, the blackened-thrash hybrid is a tricky
proposition, and very rarely successfully pulled off. |
Now add more than a smidgen of death metal heaviness to the
mix, and you've got a really very difficult formula to follow.
Indeed, it's rather an alchemical prospect to turn so many
base ingredients together into gold. Not so here, though –
there is more than a dash of mysterious magic at work here,
and you're going to hear it.
There is a lengthy treatise in the inlay before the lyrics in the very
aesthetically pleasing piece of work, detailing the philosophy of the
band. I'm sure I'm not doing the thoughts of the band any favours when I
sum it up in the form of “war is good, peace is bad”, but you know, for
the purposes of this review that will do. After an atmospheric opener,
Spearhead unleash the first salvo, not unlike the clattering of an ammo
belt being fed through a .50 calibre machine gun. Furious, intense
war-loving metal pours from your speakers, with some of the most rapid and
unrelenting drums since the hey-day of Angelcorpse, while the guitars
speak of blackened fury in the best traditions of underground favourites
Destroyer 666. Not that it's all light speed, heads-down thrashing – no
siree Bob. See, on this here album, there's dynamism and a real attention
to the craft of songwriting. Take, for example, the slow, tasteful solo on
“Road To Austerlitz” laced over the slow, grinding rhythm. It may not
sound completely like Bolt Thrower, but to be honest it's in the same
spirit, and most importantly of the same magnificent standard as the
killer tracks on their magnum “...For Victory” opus.
There is a real martial spirit here that glowers from the speakers like
the penetrating stare of a warlord or dictator. The rasping, yet clear
vocals bring to mind Jeff Walker during his Heartwork days, but are rather
the opposite of his sarcastic, peace-loving content. Orator Barghest
really is such – he is more akin to a fist-pounding general rather than a
conventional vocalist. Nephilim and Invictus are guitarists of
considerable aplomb, equally at home creating ultra-speed blitzkrieg aural
invasions, or slow, rumbling tank-tread over furrowed earth riffs. The
production is clear and allows the punchy drum sound (courtesy of
double-bass pedal abusing Vortigern) to have their maximum impact.
This really does have the capacity to become a modern classic, and with
enough support and exposure, we could truly have another band that could
rival the illustrious career of our notable past – bands like Carcass,
Bolt Thrower and Napalm Death. If this is just their second release and
they're producing masterpieces like “In The Face of the Absolute”, just
how good can they get? Well sign me up, soldier, I'm in for the campaign,
not just the battle. Where next to conquer?
http://invictusproductions.net/ |
www.myspace.com/spearheadofficial |
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Thy Disease - Rat Age
(Sworn Kinds Final Verses) (Metal Mind) Review
by James Young |
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The fourth album from Poland’s Thy Disease encapsulates that
tight death metal sound that the country seems all too
proficient at producing. The use of samples however provides a
nice original edge, providing the industrial electronic edge
of bands like Samael and ‘World Ov Worms’ era Zyklon. In
addition, ‘Rat Age (Sworn Kinds Final Verses) is a concept
album, with each song containing an accompanying story, each
of which follows some apocalyptic story about the coming of
the ‘Rat Age’. Well…nobody ever said they were sane. Musically
competent however is a guarantee, and this pretty much blows
away many death metal acts out there. Superb production
captures the industrial edge perfectly, |
meeting crunching guitars and hammering drums, which reminded
this reviewer of a groovier digitized version of Behemoth. The frontman, Michał
"Psycho" Senajko brings a throaty growl to the mix, and an
monotone speaking voice when necessary, like in ‘Life Form’,
which captures the Armageddon- like atmosphere perfectly.
The band fulfil the aim of making your head bang throughout
this album, and one of the many highlights on this album
includes ‘Prophecy’, which includes some trippy keyboard
effects and infectious riffs. The deployment of Cube’s
synthesisers in some songs can sound downright threatening,
and do a great job of enhancing the already pulverising sound.
‘Fire Storm’ and ‘Rat Race’ combine terrifying keyboard noise
with crushing rhythms, which have the same kind of effect as
The Berzerker, but the slower tempo makes it even more groovy
and exciting. Cloud’s drumming is astounding throughout the
album; ‘Earth Will Shake’ contains some devastating blasting
and creative techniques, whilst the accuracy of ‘Syndicate’
resembled a programmed drum machine (although this certainly
is not the case). The band aren’t afraid to step into black
metal territory, and some of the tracks such as ‘Enemy’
contain more atmospheric and sweeping riffs, although it’s not
long before the keyboard weirdness and infectious grooves make
a return. The bonus track ‘Unity’ is a three minute
electronica number, and sounds totally different to the songs
on the album, excluding a couple of instrumental interludes,
but it doesn’t feel too out of place on an album with such an
industrial vibe. This was the only track that failed to win me
over on this album, but it’s nice to hear something fairly
original and different in the world of death metal these days.
This album is forty minutes of everything that is good about
extreme metal - boundaries are broken, rulebooks are thrown
out the window, and Thy Disease just play honest, catchy
industrial death metal. The apocalypse has never sounded so
good!
www.metalmind.com.pl |
www.myspace.com/thydisease |
www.thydisease.com |
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