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Celestia - Frigidiis Apotheosia: Abstinencia Genesiis
(Paragon Records)
By: Dave Schalek |
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Celestia is a legendary French black metal act with an even
more obscure history than Blut Aus Nord, Deathspell Omega, and
other French acts that seemingly more or less invented the
whole “shrouded in mystery” sub-genre in black metal. Numerous
splits, EPs, demos, a live recording, and just one proper
full-length (limited to 2000 copies, naturally) are floating
around from Celestia, but shed little light upon the mystery.
Further investigations into Celestia from my own past efforts
always resulted in dead links, one-page web pages with minimal
information, and one or two grainy, black and white
photographs that were all that attest to the existence of this
entity. |
Obviously, some people were paying attention as Celestia has
resurfaced with decidedly more information available. The sole
project of Noktu, Celestia has caught the attention of Paragon
Records, a label that has a penchant for digging up high
quality, obscure European Continental black metal and
releasing it upon an unsuspecting American domestic audience.
In addition, Malefic himself has made himself available for
the keyboards for “Frigidiis Apotheosia: Abstinencia Genesiis”,
only the second proper full-length from Celestia in a ten year
career.
“Frigidiis…” is melodic black metal with rasped vocals, but
with an otherwise Gothic influence that is, at times, much
closer to early Type O Negative than Burzum, or any of the
other premier raw black metal acts. Mild melodies, variations
in tempo, a surprisingly crystal clear production, drum
patterns that are a bit more substantial than simple rolls and
fills, and an overlaying presence of haunting keyboards from
Malefic definitely set Celestia apart from their rawer
brethren. I had heard bits and pieces of Celestia’s past
output, but “Figidiis…” stands far above such previous efforts
with an excellent, well written, mature work from Noktu.
Obviously, the presence of Malefic is going to get everyone
excited, but his contributions are minimal as the work of
Noktu on all of the other instruments shines through. The
result is a varied listen while still retaining a harsh edge.
This is not going to be your average Marduk fan’s bread and
butter, but Celestia’s haunting presence on “Frigidiis…” will
serve to further the legend.
www.apparitia.net/
| www.paragonrecords.net/ |
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Deadsea - Deadsea
(Chrome Leaf) Review by Metal Mark |
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Columbus, Ohio’s Deadsea had me baffled for a little while as
I was trying to put my finger on their style. Not that it’s
terribly involved, but rather that a certain quality about
their sound seemed both familiar and yet different at the same
time. Finally on about the third play it hit me and I should
have noticed it earlier. I am used to progressive or power
metal bands integrated parts of speed or thrash into their
music. However these guys are essentially the opposite of that
as they are mainly a thrash band that incorporates occasional
blasts of melodies that are more commonly used in power or
progressive metal. Does this approach work? I would say it’s
hit and miss with the hits coming during the times they plug |
in more complicated parts. It seems like they don’t really
commit enough to working in the melodies and the result is
that some of the parts add to the music and some just seem
awkward. The thrash is overall competent and primarily sounds
like a number of old style bands including Testament, Exodus
and early Slayer. I think perhaps they need to re-evaluate
their sound because I think they have the capabilities to pull
it off. However, this album comes across seeming a bit incomplete and perhaps it’s even robbed of some of the
potential it had.
www.myspace.com/deadsea
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Dragnerve - London (Self Release)
Review by Steve Green |
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London based Metallers Dragnerve have only been together
since the ass-end of 2007 and already they've released this, their
debut demo. And as this release is very quick off the mark, I
hope they can iron out any faults early on in their career, as
I do detect a hint of something special here.
First up, the music is as vibrant as hell, with the guitars
in particular, sounding extremely fresh, with hints of old school
Metallica, early Machine Head and the obligatory Pantera
influence. The downside, for me, is the vocal styles used by frontman
Andy. He has a
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potent scream, which I absolutely love, but this style is used
sparingly. His main style, is a downbeat grungy tone, (imagine
Scott Weiland at absolute rock
bottom) which is as miserable as sin, and to me, it just
doesn't sit well with the more upbeat musical backdrop. In my
humble opinion, Dragnerve should go for broke and just tear
the place up. The Thrashy undertones have huge potential and
Dragnerve sound genuinely exciting when the intensity kicks
in. They have the groove and the swagger, they just need to
adapt the vocals to bring it all together.
This one is free to
download via their website, so go visit there now:
www.dragnerve.com |
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Fury UK - Salvation
(Rocksector Records)
Review By Strawb |
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It was back in the distant past of 2007 when I last reviewed
Fury UK with their album release Face Of Adversity. And I
recall that I liked it. This three-piece Manchester Band had
all of the right influences and added their own talents to
produce a refreshing and competent output. It was also
apparent at that time that these boys are no strangers to the
stage and seemed to be prolific in this area.
The advent of 2008 has not caused any massive changes. Their
touring schedule for the year is massive and is shown as being
in support of their new EP, which is the subject of |
this review. Opening with the title track, which sounds best
when the speaker cones are barely hanging on to their mounts,
the guitar has some excellent solo moments as the drums are
battered and the vocals strong. It seems to have been written
for the live arena, and I have no doubt will get any crowd
moving [well, OK, Mr Pedantic - maybe the quadriplegics, total
traction patients and Iron Lung wearers would defeat this
statement, but I’ll lay money their eyelids would be blinking
to the beat]. Manslaughter just cries out for audience
participation throughout, and I would venture that it will be
much longer than its three and a bit minutes during the tour,
but here it is short, sharp and over too quickly. Lost In
Forever draws us to a close – a slower pace to start – a backseat for the instruments as the vocals are allowed to
demonstrate their clarity and range, but then a crescendo as
the chorus arrives. After the second verse we have a period
where the guitar and drums are let loose, culminating in a
change to a faster pace, screaming vocals and a rise in volume
to a sudden end. This is a really well-crafted six plus minuter. My opinion is that this EP is a step up from the
album.
The touring venues seem to be mainly in the North West again
this year, but some are further afield and a few festivals are
included. I only have the one complaint, people; three tracks
just are not enough.
Still on t’internet at
http://furyuk.com/
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In Arkadia - Blind Oppression
(Another Sphere) Review by Adam Hawke |
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In Arkadia are a relatively new band on the scene and sport
death metal/thrash metal and rock sounds. They were formed
when two bands Catalyst and Lunaromony, both from France, fused
together and thus In Arkadia were born.
To me, this band remind me of early Metallica and that’s
refreshing. Opening the album with the song ‘Useless’, a
guitar thrashing heavy beat that got me hooked the minute I
put the CD into my drive. Fast paced and in your face, it's all
good and that’s what In Arkadia are good at.
The guitars are fantastic on each song and seem to get better
as the album goes on. They |
slow down slightly with the song ‘Dystopia’ which is a good
move as it sets a better sound for the album, making it more
diverse. The vocals are good as well, this CD is perfect for
those who want to chill out or unwind after a hard day at work. Other songs
like ‘Psychic Simian’ show off the bands guitar skills even
more. ‘Ego Alter’ is a slower song too…..so this CD is a good
mixture of fast paced metal and slow rock in my opinion.
The best song on the album has got to be ‘Vengeance Dies with
a Fallen Fate’, a great mix of guitar work and drums. Just a
magnificent song that gets either your foot tapping or head rocking.
In Arkadia have struck out and done a good job on this album
and they haven't just kept one sound all the way through….they
have changed it throughout, making this CD a great addition to
anyone's collection. Any heavy metal fan or Metallica fan will
embrace this album with open arms. A good buy and worth
listening to.
www.another-sphere.com/ |
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Korpiklaani - Korven Kuningas
(Nuclear Blast)
By: Joe Florez |
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The forest clan aka Korpiklaani is back once again with a new
release and new label after only one year. God damn! I have
hardly had time to soak in their last record and now it’s time
for another. Either way, I am happier than a pig in slop.
“Tapporauta” begins with a bang as this one is a lot heavier
than usual with leaner and meaner guitar licks, but remaining
catchy. Also, the drums are pounded harder, but fear not as
you will be able to dance around like a fool with your beer
stein in hand. The accordion remains intact and in fact is
played a little bit faster than normal. “Metsämies” is a bit
more of what the fans are used to. It’s mid paced, but still
packs a wallop. “Keep On Galloping” |
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adds something unique to their already distinct sound. There
are some percussions on here that act like congos or something equivalent. It’s pretty
neat, especially if you weren’t expecting a twist like this. I
have to say that even though this band is a ton of fun to soak
in audibly, a lot of their material was getting quite
repetitive. Thankfully, they have manage to throw in a few
curveballs to keep things fresh. Besides what was mentioned
above, “Gods On Fire” is a cool, slow ballad and an
instrumental here and there helped as well. There are more
songs on here in in Finnish as opposed to the past, but that’s
no biggie at all. Here’s another disc that I need to listen to
more often as well as their back catalogue. Do me a favor guys
and hold off for at least two years before releasing another
one. I need to get familiar with the past works. Bottom’s up!
www.nuclearblast.de
| www.korpiklaani.com |
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Psycho Charger - Curse of the Psycho
(GMR Music Group)
Review by Luke Goaman-Dodson |
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Emerging initially as a one-man project of Jimmy Psycho under
the name of The Psychonauts, Floridian industrial-psychobilly
band Psycho Charger (I’ve already typed the word ‘psycho’ so
many times that it’s lost all meaning for me) rob the same
graveyard that has provided the likes the of The Cramps, Glenn
Danzig, and Rob Zombie with their sound and image. Their
aesthetic influences are made plain from the start, with a
cheesy B-movie intro, before launching into their signature
track ‘Psycho Charger’, a mid-paced number based around a
repetitive keyboard riff and the standard surfabilly guitar
tones. ‘Graverobbers from Outer Space’ is inspired by the
absolute king of rubbish 50s horror, |
Ed Wood, and his infamous ‘Plan 9 from Outer Space’, a film
often named as the worst ever made. Thankfully, the same can’t
be said of the song itself, which is excellent.
And these tracks pretty much set the pattern for the rest of
the release. ‘Redneck Zombies’ is about as apt a description
of the band’s general image as you can get, and is a nice
little tune to boot. ‘Roadkill’ is an up-tempo bit of more
traditional psychobilly than the rest of the album. Further
cinematic themes come with ‘Sugar Tit’, which, despite the
name, is actually an indictment on contemporary media culture
that takes its cue from Cronenberg’s Videodrome, and
‘Operation: Psycho’ (there it is again), about the lead
character from Taxi Driver. My copy of this album included a
remix of ‘Redneck Zombies’ at the end of the album, along with
a couple of videos.
For anyone with a fondness for the likes of Ghoultown, White
Zombie, Man or Astro Man, and related bands, I really can’t
recommend this album highly enough. Bloody excellent stuff.
www.psychocharger.com |
www.myspace.com/psychocharger |
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Sabaton - Attero Dominatus
(Locomotive) Review by Metal Mark |
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This band has been around since 1999 and they play a rather
basic style of power metal. Like many other bands of this
particular genre they seem very fond of battles, and the
like for their subject matter. The music is perhaps somewhat
like Hammerfall’s early material, but perhaps not quite as
heavy and a little more in the background. The vocals are
surprisingly deeper than most of the singers in this style of
music. The music might become a little more shrill at times,
but the vocals stay in this style which I like, but it’s a
little one dimensional. The music is steady, but doesn’t take
a great of risks however I think the vocals and the shortness
of their songs actually helps them seem more direct than many |
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power metal bands who tend to drone a bit too much. It almost
felt like they were toned down from what I am used to in power
metal yet that was enough to set them apart and I enjoyed it. |
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SAHG - II (Regain Records) Review
by Steve Green |
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This is my first encounter with the Norwegian collective
known as SAHG. Not through choice though as I have tried
buying their debut on numerous occasions, but due to the lack of stock at most
major, and some smaller online outlets, I've still not managed
to get my hands on it. So the opener, Ascent To Decadence,
was, at last, my first chance to find out what all the fuss is
about. Frustrating as it has been, it has most certainly been
worth the wait.
Forget about the histories of the band members, as this has
nothing to do with the likes of Gorgoroth, Manngard and Audrey
Horne, as this is prime, 70s influenced, for want of a
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better phrase, retro Doom. Ascent To Decadence has such a
chilled, laidback vibe, it's just like sharing a beer with an
old friend, or even an old flame, who you've just bumped into
after not seeing each other for years. You are instantly on
familiar ground, but it's still an exciting scenario. Things
get even better on Echoes Ring Forever, which I'm sure, will
have fans of Pentagram and Ozzy era Sabbath, wetting
themselves with excitement, or some similar activity, which
hopefully doesn't involve urine.
And these two opening numbers set the benchmark for the rest of the
album. From the bass heavy groove of Star-Crossed, the dreamy
hippy "Planet Caravan" vibe of Escape The Crimson Sun, or the
grooving Cathedral meets Witchcraft stylings of Pyromancer, it
all sounds immense. The production is faultless, no doubt,
aided by Rob Caggiato's mix and my only complaint, is that the
album ends on a slower number, albeit a 10 + minute epic.
Monomania, as with Escape The Crimson Sun, has a Planet
Caravan feel about it and I'd have preferred a more rousing
finale, to what is, a great album.
www.sahgweb.com |
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Zimmers Hole - When You Were Shouting At The Devil…We Were In
League With Satan (Century Media)
By: Joe Florez |
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This band has always been a mystery to me cause they had
released two underground discs and are nearly impossible to
find unless you look on a peer to peer site and was curious as
to what they were about even though I already knew that Jed,
Byron and Hoglan aka ¾ of SYL were involved. Now, Century
Media has taken on the task of making their third offering
available to those that can handle extreme music. The minute I
saw the title of the disc, I knew that these guys didn’t take
themselves seriously and cracked up cause the title of the
disc is a combination of band titles from Venom and Motley
Crue. No more wasting time as I must throw this in and the
first thing I recognized is the Devin Townsend like |
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production and the way The Heathen’s vocals were handled. It
does have an SYL flair and that is because Mr. Townsend did tackle the
mixing and vocal recording. The title track is the lead cut
and what a way to open the show. Jed attacks the audiences
ears with ferocious riffs that are fast, clean and aggressive
while Gene pounds away at breakneck speed, but has a groove
and nice pace and as far as Byron’s bass lickings go he’s
quick with his fingers. The Heathen is someone I don’t know
about, but his voice is vicious as he’s on the attack from the
get go. He can scream at the top of his lungs, but can also
growl like Satan himself. It’s sinister and funny. The lyrics
might drive some true thrash and death heads away cause they
aren’t relenting, but it’s all in good fun. Come on “Exodus
was fucking right, posers must die” and “glam rock can suck a
cock” doesn’t that make you giggle… just a little? “Devil’s Mouth
has an interesting twist to the composition. Despite it still
being heavy, there’s a bluesy Louisiana southern touch to the
song. It’s pretty cool actually. Nathan Explosion from the
band Dethklok from Cartoon Network’s Metalocalypse makes a
guest appearance on here which is a gag. The bottom line here
is that there are zero ballads on here. Each track does its
best to melt the flesh off of your face and with goofy Manowar
titles like “Hair Doesn’t Grow On Steel” and “What’s My
Name…Evil!” you are in for a good time and nothing more. I was
impressed by the way the guys managed to add melody to the mix
of intense performances. The production is quite Godly and the
performances are Grade A. This release will cause road rage
once it’s popped in the car stereo. True thrash fans and the
like should find this quite appealing.
www.centurymedia.com
| www.zimmershole.com |
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